Comments for 27 February 1996

Ad Nauseam's been nominated for Useless WWW Page Hall of Fame!

Date: Thursday, 21-Mar-96 11:31 AM
From: Joe Lorino
Subject: Copyright material

I noticed that you have this copyright notice on your useless page about
'adnauseam.'  Why is it then that you have some pictures that are
obviously from someone elses web page?  There is no way in hell that a
court case would hold up if you tried to sue someone for "stealing" your
material.  NONE OF IT IS ORIGINAL!  You used some kind of program to
create your pictures.  You talk about useless sites on the web and then
you have links to some of the most useless pages ever imagined.  One more
thing... you should include your homepage on the list of useless sites
not to visit.

my $0.002,
Joe Lorino

Because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Joe's currently going to the University of Kansas ... his wide range of vocabulary and mastery of debate is proof that our educational system is delivering another qualified individual into the new global marketplace.

Donald McArthur points out that the local microbreweries are perhaps tampering with their product, enough to influence even yours truly:

Date: Saturday, 09-Mar-96 06:46 PM
From: Donald McArthur
Subject: Netscape and a New OS???

Jim,

    Some beer! The hops must have been genetically spliced with an
    opium plant.

    Does the business world's investment of $n,nnn billion dollars in
    installed base of hardware and software ring any bells? Toss it all and
    start from scratch?

    Compatibility engineering to account for the scads of legacy
    software and hardware is what causes all of Microsoft's problems now. I
    don't think the business world is going to agree to a new OS.

    If we were going to do it right, we'd start with a clean sheet of
    paper, dump the Intel x86 architecture and the crummy bus structures,
    and write from scratch a design for a, a, ....BeBox?

    Hmmm....

Donald W. McArthur
DonatLa@ix.netcom.com
****************************
"This gum tastes like rubber."

Graphitti on a condom vending machine,
a men's room, campus of the University
of New Orleans, Fall 1995
****************************
Visit me at:
http://www.vistech.net/users/donw/misant.html
"The Misanthropyst - Celebrating The
Evil And Stupidity Of Mankind"

What can I say? There's been weirder things ...

Here's a little trophy for the virtual mantel:

Date: Thursday, 29-Feb-96 05:53 PM
From: sunnyvale.frys1
Subject: Fry's

Found your page while checking out the ISDN kiosk here at the Sunnyvale
FRY'S!!!  Nice job.  Everybody here says HI!

There's just a sense of satisfaction from reading this, you know?

Not everyone was in such agreement about my treatment of Fry's, though. Consider:

Date: Friday, 08-Mar-96 08:25 AM
From: Gerald Bodden
Subject: Fry's

Gee, Jim, I just read you artcile on Fry's and you don't seem to like the place
very much.  However, it was fun to read.  It was witty and you have a find
feeling for the language.  But like your judgment of Fry's, your article is pure
horseshit.

Yes, there are many things that tens of thousands of high-tech shoppers like
about Fry's.  That is why it is a one of the first stops of just about every
Asian resident makes after they step off the plane at SF International, not to
mention thousands of loyal shoppers in "The Valley", where I lived for 15 years.
The prices are right, the stock is complete and the nearest to one-stop
shopping one can find in electronic equipment in the area, the return policy
is honored, but the service leaves something to be desired.

Please write an article about any superstore in the Bay Area where the
clerks are polite and knowledgeable, the crowds are minimal, and Bach string
quartets play softly in the background, quiety rooms are provided for children
while their parents shop, and when a customer snaps his finger, a PHD in
electronic engineering rushes forward to answer his/her questions.  And where
are there are nice honorable people who shop and work at these would never
DREAM of walking off with a few computer chips and maybe even a bag of M&Ms.
Shrinkage (aka "theft") robs the store owners and raises customer prices, and
shrinkage is rampant at electronic stores.

Still, I liked your articlen and it was at least a catharic outlet for your
frustration with the Fry Organization, and much more constructive than leaving
a bomb in the Men's room.  It should be required reading for the Fry boys
running the opeartion, assuming of course that they can read.

Jerry Bodden
Bangkok, Thailand

And, a flip side of the coin:

Date: Saturday, 09-Mar-96 05:07 AM
Subject: Fry's Electronics
From:  A Fry's employee.

I was just told about your article about Fry's today. And after reading it....
well lets just say -- I know!!

If you only knew what the employees had to go through you could write a thesis.
And I don't just mean listening to peolpe like you.  (You know...Sick and tired
of beng SICK AND TIERD of know-nothing, bumbling, incompetent, so-called,
"HARDEWARE SALES PEOLPE").

Hey -- we're with ya, buddy.

Check this out:

Date: Sunday, 10-Mar-96 08:38 AM
From: Dave Carpenter           \ Internet:    (voicebox@best.com)
Subject: Fry's article

Regarding your Fry's article:

The Sunnyvale store has a permenant parking spot right next to the
front door marked "Police Parking Only". I asked an employee there
once if that was showing favoritism, and he said "No, we have several
shoplifting catches every day. The cops need a place to park that
doesn't block traffic."

And the video surveillance! Notice those black plexiglas spheres on
the ceiling in the stores. Remote control cameras. That's why you
were unable to avoid the gorillas during your camera incident. Some
security guy was following you on camera and reporting your
location to the big ham on the floor.

And the payment thing... Fry's now scans driver's license info right
from the back of your license when you write a check. "To save the
customer time..."

But they DO have one of the only "Almost no questions asked" return
policies in the bay area. That's the only reason I go there. If I don't
like something, many other stores won't take it back, or will give
you a hassle. Fry's, except for the paperwork and waiting, usually
doesn't require anything for a return.

Funny article...

Video surveillance? Is that anything like the cameras they place over the gambling tables in Nevada? The "Las Vegas School of Business" theory rings true ...

Not bad for the most useless site on the Web.