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Long Descriptions

This is my collection of content from any long descriptions on my site (and maybe something not on my site). It's just far easier to manage when on one page.

TELCO ADSL

Fake pricing plan from “TELCO ADSL” (Your email. Your world wide web. Your imagination.).

  • $29.95 includes 500 MB of free transfers to non-peering websites at the full speed. Limited to 128 kbps thereafter.
  • +$5 (pathfinder) Includes a massive extra 1,000 MB a month to non-peering and non-elected websites. Limited to 256 kbps thereafter. Shows logos for Google, Yahoo Search, WordPress, Flickr, Blogger, Bing, YouTube, Ask, Wikipedia.
  • +$5 (international) Includes the top 200 services from over 30 countries. Shows logos for Baidu, BBC, India Times, Yandex, Web.de, News.com.au.
  • +$5 (news) News Freak? Get your fix. Includes free online access to your local news site. Shows logos for Digg, CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, MSNBC, Fox News.
  • +$10 (hollywood, $15 after September) Includes free hulu subscription. Enjoy exclusive content from your favourite networks. Shows logos for YouTube+, Joost, Hulu, Netflix, TV.com, ESPN.
  • +$0 (the social, just $5 after three months) All social networks. All your friends. Includes all your dating sites. Shows logos for Twitter, Facebook, MSN, MySpace, AOL, Bebo, Yahoo, Friendster.
  • +$10 (the beat) Listen to your favourite music. Includes three months of emusic. Shows logos for Last.fm, Pandora, Spotify, Napster, Rhapsody, Emusic.
  • +$5 (marketplace, Access to services not pictured here may incur additional costs.) Save money. Shop online. All your favourite things, secure and fast. Includes Internet Banking from over 20 financial institutions. Shows logos for Amazon, Overstock.com, NewEgg, Skype, PayPal, Ebay.
  • +$5 (playground) Gamer? We hear you. Unwind, relax and play hard. Shows logos for Steam, EA, RealArcade, Full Tilt Poker, World of Warcraft, Gametap.
  • +$5 (recharge) Recharge. Your full-speed quota wasn't enough? A massive 2,000 MB for access to your company's VPN at full speed. For accessing your friends' non-peering websites at full speed. For getting your emails faster and the included limit didn't cut it. Or if you're a web designer and need some extra buffer. Whether it be the world wide web, VPN or email, we have you covered.

From the posts Net Neutrality News and We Need to Raise a Stink about Net Neutrality.

Network Solutions Disqus Comments

This is a transcript of a series of Disqus comments a user had with Network Solutions before they were deleted. The image from which this text is pulled is in the post Network Solutions Is Most Likely Not Phishing.

tylerdurden999 commented · 7 days ago

I have a better idea (vs. your suggestion to call Customer Support)–structure your email to direct recipients to log on to their account management portal and click the "Verify my Whois" button (or whatever the process may be). As an organization that handles highly sensitive information (domain registrations, ssl certificates, etc.), you should be well-versed in these kinds of security best practices. There are several problems with this email:
1. It's structured exactly like a phishing email (mildly threatening, embedded click-to-action, etc)
2. It contains no identifiable information for recipients to validate what domain (or even what account) you're referring to. Maybe you could email us our account portal password as verification? (that is a joke, don't really do that)
3. The link you provide is not even SSL secured. Lord knows what kind of information you're passing back to "your server" in clear text.
Wise up, NetSol.

tylerdurden999 commented · 7 days ago

– It is never a good idea to click on any hyperlink in an e-mail, especially from unknown sources. You never know where the link is going to really take you or whether it will trigger malicious code. Some hyperlinks can take you to a fake HTML page that may try to scam you into typing sensitive information. If you really want to check out the link, manually retype it into a Web browser.

tylerdurden999 commented · 7 days ago

Be especially cautious of emails that:
– Ask you to confirm personal or financial information over the Internet and/or make urgent requests for this information.
– Aren’t personalized.
– Try to upset you into acting quickly by threatening you with frightening information.

tylerdurden999 commented · 7 days ago

For more information:
http://www.phishing.org/scams/…

Network Solutions replied to tylerdurden999 · 2 days ago

Thank you for your feedback, Tyler. Your input is important to us. You've made some valuable points and we’ll consider for future updates to the process.

tylerdurden999 replied to Network Solutions · 2 days ago

Glad to see your consideration involves deleting my comments from your site and disabling the comment functionality on this page of your blog

Duomo, Firenze, Italia

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 and completed structurally in 1436. Read more at Wikipedia.

This photo was taken from the top of the bell tower (campanile) on October 12, 2012. The photo was taken with a  Pentax K20D, f/3.5, 1/750 sec., ISO-100, +2 step exposure bias, and a focal length of 18mm.

This long description is referenced from the post What to Consider before Using Free Getty Images.

A Rough Guide to Spotting Bad Science

A text description of the not-at-all-infographic-but-still-inaccessible-content found at CompoundChem.com.

Sensationalised headlines
Headlines of articles are commonly designed to entice viewers into clicking on and reading the article. At best, they over-simplify the findings of research. At worst, they sensationalise and misrepresent them.
Misinterpreted results
News articles sometimes distort or misinterpret the findings of research for the sake of a good story, intentionally or otherwise. If possible, try to read the original research, rather than relying on the article based on it for information.
Conflict of interests
Many companies employ scientists to carry out and publish research — whilst this does not necessarily invalidate research, it should be analysed with this in mind. Research can also be misrepresented for personal or financial gain.
Correlation & causation
Be wary of confusion of correlation & causation. Correlation between two variables doesn’t automatically mean one causes the other. Global warming has increased since the 1800s, and pirate numbers decreased, but lack of pirates doesn’t cause global warming.
Speculative language
Speculations from research are just that – speculation. Be on the look out for words such as ‘may’, ‘could’, ‘might’, and others, as it is unlikely the research provides hard evidence for any conclusions they precede.
Sample size too small
In trials, the smaller a sample size, the lower the confidence in the results from that sample. Conclusions drawn should be considered with this in mind, though in some cases small samples are unavoidable. It may be cause for suspicion if a large sample was possible but avoided.
Unrepresentative samples
In human trials, researchers will try to select individuals that are representative of a larger population. If the sample is different from the population as a whole, then the conclusions may well also be different.
No control group used
In clinical trials, results from test subjects should be compared to a ‘control group’ not given the substance being tested. Groups should also be allocated randomly. In general experiments, a control test should be used where all variables are controlled.
No blind testing used
To prevent any bias, subjects should not know if they are in the test or the control group. In doubleblind testing, even researchers don’t know which group subjects are in until after testing. Note, blind testing isn’t always feasible, or ethical.
‘Cherry-picked’ results
This involves selecting data from experiments which supports the conclusion of the research, whilst ignoring those that do not. If a research paper draws conclusions from a selection of its results, not all, it may be cherry-picking.
Unreplicable results
Results should be replicable by independent research, and tested over a wide range of conditions (where possible) to ensure they are generalisable. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence — that is, much more than one independent study!
Journals & citations
Research published to major journals will have undergone a review process, but can still be flawed, so should still be evaluated with these points in mind. Similarly, large numbers of citations do not always indicate that research is highly regarded.

Silicon Valley Sexual Harassment Bingo

Silicon Valley Sexual Harassment Bingo
“Not all men.” “He’s helped other women.” Praise for the apology. Apology pre-empts worse allegations. Blames others for tarnished reputation
“Now men shouldn’t hire women.” “But it’s bad everywhere!” Calls victim crazy / nutjob / etc. Defended by wife / friends. Threatening the victim.
Pando article. “He’s a good guy.” Uber
Free Space		 “She was drinking.” Says what she was wearing.
“Men can’t help themselves.” “It’s natural / normal.” Inappropriate messages. Targets Asian women. Medium apology.
“Women share responsibility.” Non-disparagement agreement. Company cover-up. Inaction by superiors. Sexual assault (including groping or kissing).

From this tweet:

CSS variables for reduced motion media queries

:root
{
   --duration: 0.5;

   @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)
   {
      --duration: 0;
   }
}

.element
{
   transition: width calc(var(--duration) * 1s) ease-in-out;
}

.another-element
{
   // half --duration
   transition: width calc(var(--duration) * 0.5s) ease-in-out;
}

That block of code is from the image in this tweet:

Zero Gravity Toilet

Passengers are advised to read instructions before use

  1. The toilet is of the standard zero-gravity type. Depending on requirements, System A and/or System B can be used, details of which are clearly marked in the toilet compartment. When operating System A, depress lever and a plastic dalkron eliminator will be dispensed through the slot immediately underneath. When you have fastened the adhesive lip, attach connection marked by the large “X” outlet hose. Twist the silver coloured ring one inch below the connection point until you feel it lock.
  2. The toilet is now ready for use. The Sonovac cleanser is activated by the small switch on the lip. When securing, twist the ring back to its initial-condition, so that the two orange lines meet. Disconnect. Place the dalkron eliminator in the vacuum receptacle to the rear. Activate by pressing the blue button.
  3. The controls for System B are located on the opposite wall. The red release switch places the uroliminator into position; it can be adjusted manually up or down by pressing the blue manual release button. The opening is self adjusting. To secure after use, press the green button which simultaneously activates the evaporator and returns the uroliminator to its storage position.
  4. You may leave the lavatory if the green exit light is on over the door. If the red light is illuminated, one of the lavatory facilities is not properly secured. Press the “Stewardess” call button on the right of the door. She will secure all facilities from her control panel outside. When green exit light goes on you may open the door and leave. Please close the door behind you.
  5. To use the Sonoshower, first undress and place all your clothes in the clothes rack. Put on the velcro slippers located in the cabinet immediately below. Enter the shower. On the control panel to your upper right upon entering you will see a “Shower seal” button. Press to activate. A green light will then be illuminated immediately below. On the intensity knob select the desired setting. Now depress the Sonovac activation lever. Bathe normally.
  6. The Sonovac will automatically go off after three minutes unless you activate the “Manual off” over-ride switch by flipping it up. When you are ready to leave, press the blue “Shower seal” release button. The door will open and you may leave. Please remove the velcro slippers and place them in their container.
  7. If the red light above this panel is on, the toilet is in use. When the green light is illuminated you may enter. However, you must carefully follow all instructions when using the facilities during coasting (Zero G) flight. Inside there are three facilities: (1) the Sonowasher, (2) the Sonoshower, (3) the toilet. All three are designed to be used under weightless conditions. Please observe the sequence of operations for each individual facility.
  8. Two modes for Sonowashing your face and hands are available, the “moist-towel” mode and the “Sonovac” ultrasonic cleaner mode. You may select either mode by moving the appropriate lever to the “Activate” position. If you choose the “moist-towel” mode, depress the indicated yellow button and withdraw item. When you have finished, discard the towel in the vacuum dispenser, holding the indicated lever in the “active” position until the green light goes on… showing that the rollers have passed the towel completely into the dispenser. If you desire an additional towel, press the yellow button and repeat the cycle.
  9. If you prefer the “Sonovac” ultrasonic cleaning mode, press the indicated blue button. When the twin panels open, pull forward by rings A & B. For cleaning the hands, use in this position. Set the timer to positions 10, 20, 30 or 40… indicative of the number of seconds required. The knob to the left, just below the blue light, has three settings, low, medium or high. For normal use, the medium setting is suggested.
  10. After these settings have been made, you can activate the device by switching to the “ON” position the clearly marked red switch. If during the washing operation, you wish to change the settings, place the “manual off” over-ride switch in the “OFF” position. you may now make the change and repeat the cycle.