datacloudi forgetSpam as Market Force- August 30, 2006 BBC News has a piece on how the rapidly increasing volume of penny stock spam appears to be affecting stock prices. Ironically (or perhaps predictably, I'm not sure—probably both), the profits go to the spammer. Here's how it works, according to researches at Purdue and Oxford: Penny stock spammers buy low-priced stock, then flood In boxes with spam touting the stock (stock spam accounts for up to 15% of spam). Enough people respond by purchasing the stock, which drives up the price a...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001947.html Directions- August 30, 2006 I follow directions well when I agree with the directions. — Les Claypool (Harp, October 2006)...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001946.html Jim Rockford's Answering Machine- August 28, 2006 I learned everything I know about firearms and driving from The Rockford Files. The Rockford Files Homepage has a transcription of the messages left on Jim Rockford's answer machine (a plot device used to open every episode of the show for its six-season run). Here's episode 311 ("The Trouble with Warren"): Jimmy, it's Phil in Puerto Rico. This is real important. Talked to Mr.line noise, he'll pay $20,000. Call him at line noise. And both from the two-part "Gearjammers"...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001945.html Cassette Tapes- August 28, 2006 For those of you (like me) who grew up on analog audio, tapedeck.com has images of nearly 140 blank cassettes from a variety of manufacturers online. I pitched several hundred of these about five years ago, but I still have a box of them I haven't parted with. That little box came in handy last year when I did a twenty-hour round trip to Pennsylvania in a rental car that only had a cassette deck and FM radio. The nineteen hours I spent listening to Warren Haynes on the Ritz Power Jam cassette...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001944.html Search Engine Referrer Logs: Special Edition- August 24, 2006 I know there's a hyphen in there somewhere. 22 Aug, Tue, 12:28:43 Google: john-dan eilola...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001943.html The Evolution of Speechballoons- August 24, 2006 Too cool: The Evolution of Speechballoons. 300 AD to 1927. During the 18th century, British caricaturists changed the shape of speechballoons from gothic speech-bands or flags into fluffy balloons, our modern speechballoons. I'm using the word speechballoon as the general, inclusive term. (The gothic form of speechballoons are speechbands, flags, scrolls or sheets of paper, the modern form of speechballoons are balloons, but also little rectangles, often rounded at the edges, or simply little...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001942.html Guitar Tabulature and Intellectual Property Law- August 22, 2006 NYT has a piece today on moves by industry groups such as the Music Publisher's Association to shut down websites where guitarists share guitar tabulature—the low-tech graphic representations of how to play chords or notes for specific songs for people who don't read music. Sites like olga.net, one of the earliest and largest sites (which currently offers no guitar tab, but does have the text of the take-down letter they received from the NMPA and MPA's lawyers). Industry groups complain..http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001941.html Inmates Running the Asylum- August 21, 2006 From Briem's page on Web text layout: Many of the best people who are shaping the Web are intelligent, ambitious, barking mad, and apparently blind. (Briem is a pretty functionalist designer, so the pages are a little old school. But scannable. Cynical always gets bonus points in my book though.))...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001940.html Lake Ozonia Road- August 21, 2006 flickr...http://www.clarkson.edu/~johndan/datacloud/archives/001939.html |