DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Dave Winer says, I bet Aladdin will sell a lot of these. I fear he’s right. Where do I sign to prevent it?!

This is pretty much the last thing in the world I need: “high-impact emails” with “vivid colors, eye-catching photos, and plenty of web links”.

The only question now is whether anyone has developed a qmail filter that refuses delivery of HTML email, the arterial plaque of electronic communications.

Serendipity! Today, CamWorld published a link to this: Configuring Mail Clients to Send Plain ASCII Text

I’ve released a new version of the software that powers this website. Changes include:

• Channels/genres lists can be maintained via a new admin form
• Journal items can be categorized into multiple channels
• Bugfix: new query restrictions prevent visitors from previewing future content

Also, there’s now a mailing list to support Monaural Jerk users; see the FAQ for more info.

Google taught the world that there’s always room for a better search engine. Now perhaps Wisenut is going to repeat the lesson.

The Wisenut technology overview is worth reading. Be sure to download their search engine white paper; it details why Wisenut’s WISErank technology is superior to Google’s PageRank in producing relevant results.

Here’s a picture of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates surrounded by the detritus of his dim-bulb ideas, e.g.

• faking evidence in the antitrust trial
• “embracing and extending” Java
• smart tags
• buying Intuit
• Documenting the company’s strategy to discredit Linux/open-source software in the Halloween Documents
• Declaring war on open-source even though Microsoft uses open-source software themselves

If you have anything to add, drop me an email; I’ll update the list.

Here’s how I usually buy an electronics device:

Go to Costco, take notes. Stop by Good Guys on the way home. Compare brands and prices. Return home, research brands on the web for two hours. Ask experienced friends for opinions. Check manufacturers’ websites. Read epinions.com reviews. Do many Google searches.

Review ads in supplements to Sunday newspaper. Check Consumer Reports Buyers Guide for warranty and reliability ratings. Pore over specifications and features. Scan half.com and ebay for deals.

And then, 2-3 weeks later, after having spent 24 hours researching, I make a purchase decision. At a reasonable contracting rate, those 24 hours of work cost me in the neighborhood of $24 million.

So when it came time to buy a DVD player, I employed a new tactic. I can summarize it here:

• Wait until your wife says she’s going to Costco.
• Ask her to buy a DVD player.

There, I’ve just saved you an entire day of your life.