Wednesday, September 09, 2009 There is a reason... ...for my silence these several months. Stand by to see what the non-fuss is all about.
7:51 PM
Sunday, March 15, 2009 Cool Site
In a sea of fancy websites with flashy animations and annoying sounds, I've found a small sliver of tranquility, a simple site that does only one thing, but makes its point very effectively without a lot of clutter. It reminds me of the early days of the Internet, which makes sense because the page was last updated in 2001.
Since I'm not a government employee, I have not been able to continuously monitor this site, but I have looked at it twice now and saw no signs of violence.
10:32 AM
Monday, February 16, 2009 Second Post of 2009
So I've managed to do two seemingly incongruous things simultaneously: 1. neglect my blog to the point of being unaware that I even have one; and 2. manage to average an impressive one post per month in 2009.
But seriously, I have often mocked the importance of my unimportant blogs, but in looking back at some of the old posts on tincupforachalice, I have unearthed dusty memories that are almost worth remembering. For instance, I had no idea that I tasted and rated 9 different Beajolais Nouveaux in 2003. I doubt that I could even find 9 different bottles today. This is both a pleasant memory and very useful information. So useful that I'm considering dusting off that blog as well, if only to have my tasting notes saved somewhere. I'd also totally forgotten that I boycotted French stuff in 2003 and suspended said boycott in order to conduct the BN tasting. The memory of that boycott has long been drowned in Dior lipglosses and Chanel eau de parfum and painted over with Givenchy mascara, so the fact that said memory has been sitting on that old wine blog waiting to be rediscovered is a testament to the utility (or semi-utility) of these blogs.
5:39 PM
Thursday, January 01, 2009 First (maybe only) Post of 2009
A New Year, and a new opportunity to stop neglecting the ol' blog. Will it last? Time will tell...
4:32 PM
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
It is 2008 and I AM SO AWESOME!
Recently, I've noticed a marked increase in the amount of spam sneaking through my spam filter and thus rearing its ugly head in my inbox. I've also noticed that it is of a certain variety. It seems that I have a lot of overseas admirers, and they REALLY admire me! Apparently they've heard great things about me, since I'm quite famous. Except that I'm not famous at all. Some of them are really impressed by my "profile" that they've apparently been looking at, which is quite a feat considering that said profile does not actually exist. But even though I never bothered to complete a profile, the words within it are such that they stir the very souls of these exceedingly polite foreigners. They pour out their hearts to me (and only me) and spare no details in describing their various misfortunes.
I'm not merely the hero of a bunch of random losers sitting in crappy internet cafes. I'm the hero of well-educated and highly pedigreed individuals, who all happen to be extremely wealthy and eager to share their massive wealth with me. They all want to meet in person, of course, because they hold me in such high esteem, but even if that isn't possible, they admire and trust me so much that they will arrange to transfer millions of dollars to me. I have only to send them but a pittance to facilitate the transaction. That's how great I am!
As evidence of my extreme fabulousness, I offer the following (unedited) email that I received today:
From Miss Mary Allen I am delighted to write to you. My name is Mary Sandra Allen, I am sorry if this mail will come to you as an embarrassment or a surprise, I just felt like empting myself to you, after reading your profile ,I decided to confide in you, as am faced with total frustration and hardship. My Ernest prayer is that you find this mail in good health and blessings.I am presently residing in Abidjan,Cote d'Ivoire.I left my country with my father after the death of my mother during the war in our country and we came here because my father owned a business here,(cocoa business), during the going political crisis here which has turn out into a civil war since 2003,my father was attacked and killed here at the hit of the crisis as the rebels were killing prominent foreigners with the reason that they were financially supporting the government against them and the rebels are accusing the government of doing the killing. Presently,I am staying in a REFUGEE camp assisted by the Red cross orga nisation, due to the way which the camp is securitized by united nations forces and after the death of my father, our house was set ablaze, I was unable to meet my needs pay my bills and accommodation and in my dilemma which was another reason for going to the camp, where I could not at least feed and sleep as I did not know anyone here. I take permission to go to the town where they have internet access to enable me correspond with you. Secondly, my late father confided in me before his death the sum of $8.5 million dollars which he deposited with a bank here in cote d'ivoire.I will want you to help me see that this fund is transfered out of this country because of the war here.My father confided so much in me after the death of my mother, we were so close that he never did anything without my knowledge and opinion. All that I want is your sincere and genuine help in helping me to see that this fund is transfered to your account in your country were you will also help me inv est this fund in a very good business as soon its been transfered to your account.I cannot allow the money remain here, why, because of the war here which possess a great risk to as my life and future solely lies on it. If you have heard from the news for the past few months now there has been intense fighting and bombing by the French troops which I will like to live here as soon as we have this money moved out of this country. I will also like to know if you can come down here for this assistance but if you cant come,i will also suggest you ask the bank to provide you with a lawyer that will represent you here because am a small girl and i really dont know much about transaction.I know that this is our first mail, but I have decided to confide in you from the choice of your word on your profile. I want you to know that for years now, I have lived inabsolute frustration, tires and pains without any person around me, no parent, uncles or friend, but God had kept me until now, which I believe that I will smile once again.Thirdly, I do not want to attach myself to you out of desperation so that I do not get used rather I intend you helping me to see that this money as I intend living for your country to start an entire new life and complete my education, as you will have to help in the investment of this money. But I really need your help at this trial and difficult time of mine. I am totally frustrat ed that my whole mind for now lies on my survival which is securing this money. Finally,i am going to give you 20% of the total money for your assistance.Please I am confiding completely in you and I really need your assistance at this point of my life as you alone knows of this venture. I have enclosed my copies of my personal pictures and my late father's pictures for your view while I will expect to have yours in return. I wait to hear from you. Thank you. e-mail me (mary70allen@yahoo.fr) Miss Mary
Seriously, this stuff is getting old. Although it's easy enough to click on "empty" and get rid of that crap, it still rather irks me that so much stupid garbage is sent on a daily basis. Also, I find it particularly annoying that some of it is slipping through the filter. Again, it's easy enough to delete, but I find it extremely bothersome that damn fools are still falling for this crap and therefore making it profitable for these criminals to send out millions of spam scams each day. And I think there's a special spot in hell reserved for people who choose to spend their time generating this crap. If the world really hates us as much as they say on the news, then the reputation of the USA would be only more tarnished if we were to, say, order some tactical strikes on a few internet cafes. Obviously this wouldn't entirely solve the problem, but if the targets were chosen carefully based on their spam output, it would certainly help. And the huge explosions would be awesome. And I know awesome when I see it.
4:50 PM
Monday, July 16, 2007 Free John Mackey!!!
(Yes, I know that John Mackey is not imprisoned.)
I've been watching the saga of John Mackey (of Whole Foods fame) with MUCH amusement lately. It seems he spent some of his spare time awhile back on yahoo message boards, singing his own praises in a very big way, anonymously, this being the internet and all. This went on for about eight years. He seemed to think a great deal of Whole Foods Market, himself, his actions as CEO, himself, his hair, himself, and his own great genius, and, finally, himself. He probably found this whole affair of creating his own biggest and most outspoken (virtual) fan REALLY amusing. And rightfully so. I was certainly amused when I read the tale on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
Some of my personal favorites: Commenting on Mr. Mackey's sense of style, in April 2000:
"I like Mackey's haircut. I think he looks cute! If his hair bothers you now you should have seen what it looked like 10 years ago! The guy was/is clearly into alternative lifestyles and is one of Paul Ray's Cultural Creatives I outlined in my 2 posts to Hedge.
"You must not patronize any of WFMI's stores. Tatoos, piercings, unusual dress, and interesting haircuts are everywhere in the stores. In comparison, Mackey looks like a model for Brooks Brothers!"
Claming to be George W. Bush, denying he's John Mackey, in January 2004:
"I've stated my identity on this board before, but no one apparently believed me. I am George W. Bush and a long-time customer of Whole Foods Market. I own quite a bit of stock in the company and have owned it since the IPO back in 1992. … At the end of the day it doesn't matter what my non-screen identity really is or what yours is or who anyone else's is on this board.
"dcc7 [the screen name of another member of the forum] has claimed that my true identity is John Mackey. You can believe that one or not. Doesn't matter to me. If I really am Mackey, then I'm the ultimate insider at Whole Foods and you would be well served to pay attention to what I have to say on this board. If you don't believe I'm Mackey (admittedly the idea seems pretty far fetched) then you should still pay attention to what I have to say on this board if my ideas and arguments make sense. If they don't make sense or you disagree with me -- well that's what bulletin boards like this are all about."
April 25, 2006:
"I am a smartass. So what."
As Banya would say, "It's gold, Jerry, gold!"
But of course the assholes are now moving in to ruin all the fun (in spite of the fact that the actual fun stopped on it's own well before it was made public). There is talk of Mr. Mackey being charged with crimes for this. Whether or not he technically violated anything, I sincerely hope that the man does not get in trouble. For two reasons: 1. Free Speech, blah, blah, blah...so obvious that it doesn't need to be explained. 2. Internet message boards absolutely MUST be taken with a grain of salt, and this should not be forgotten by anyone. Obviously 'Rahodeb' sounded reasonably well-informed and intelligent in his posts, and he made a lot of correct predictions, and possibly even divulged some juicy bits, but the fact is that he did it anonymously, and presented no official credentials or anything that would make a reasonable person adjust their investment strategy regarding Whole Foods Market. If other members of that message board believed his details about WFMI, they should have also believed him when he denied being John Mackey. I'm sure some folks "liked the cut of his gibberish", if you will, and maybe found themselves agreeing or disagreeing with him to the extent that maybe they did adjust their strategies accordingly, but that is in no way John Mackey's fault. For all anyone knew he was a particularly articulate organic food shopper and reader of Whole Foods Market literature who happened to be a 14-year old boy posting to yahoo while sitting in his underwear in his parents basement. Internet message boards can be useful in the 'real' world but only if people realize that there is a strong possibility that the people posting on them might be completely full of crap. If John Mackey is prosecuted for his actions, that means that there are fools in government who think that people who make decisions involving real money based on the opinions of fake people on message boards which real people have created for their own amusement are somehow deserving of protection. They are anything but. It's fine to read stuff on message boards, think it sounds good, and act accordingly, but only if you realize the limitations of it, seek out some sort of independent verification, understand that everything you read may be utter fabrication, and that the person posting whatever they are posting is not accountable to you and may very well be sitting in his underwear in his parents' basement laughing at you for taking his fictional creations seriously.
6:31 PM
Michael Bloomberg has been a Democrat for a long time, and merely changed his affiliation to Republican to make the Republican party look bad. He may say he had other reasons, but it's hard to believe any of them considering the tremendous success he had in making the GOP look dumb. Now if only a few other RINOs will shed their GOP t-shirts and show the "Hillary 2008" wife-beaters they've been wearing all along...
7:37 PM
