Archive for the ‘Web’ Category

Spammers used to try and encourage personal growth — literally — by using subject lines that suggest you need a bigger, harder, more energetic trouser snake*.

So it’s kinda funny to see a new trend with the subject lines in my spam box: “What a stupid face you have here” and “You look really stupid”. Rather than trying to encourage us or flatter us, they are now using the opposite tack: insult us. I think this will probably work better — no-one likes people to think badly of them and I reckon a few bruised egos or insecure souls will be clicking on those links.

This is briefly amusing, though it does alarm me somewhat to wonder how far this could go. It’s not much of a leap from this to use subject lines that are bullying, intimidating and downright threatening. Maybe if this happens, catching and prosecuting spammers will suddenly become as important as catching terrorists — with all the curtailing of civil liberties that seems to entail.

I shudder at the thought.

*Yes, even you ladies.

This is what you get if you fail to put the Beach Boys in your top selling music game.

I’m not funny or clever enough to make up a good April Fool, but quickily trawling the web this morning reveals the first few for your day one amusement. Big fat warning: if you like to be surprised by April Fools, I’ve already ruined these for you. Add more links in the comments as you you find them please!

• Flying penguins
• Google FutureSearch
• Betamax to HD-DVD converter
• Virgle — Men on Mars 

You’ve gotta hand it to the spammers.

In an effort to bypass spam filters, their “Enlarge your penis” emails now have even sillier subject lines. Just today I received these: “Bomb her womb from your huge cannon!”, “Elongation of your baby-maker size is not a dream! (Your banana is too small)”, “Most popular way to increase your dummy length (Your Big Daddy is too small)” and “Stop being a sniper, be RAMBO”.

I’m actually looking at my spam folder regularly now, just for new laughs. I guess their plan worked!

Corporate giants beware: Consumers are getting more and more tech-savvy and can use the web against you. The Guardian shows how 2007 was the year of consumer power. Another great example of how the web is maturing and being used in positive ways.

It’s a new year: what better time for a lick of paint around here? The old design was never finished and I never really liked the literal interpretation of ‘pale movie’: monochrome images of some of my favourite films. So they are gone: dumped down the virtual swanny.

The new theme is still straightforward, but instead of a lighter background, I’ve opted for something more sombre. The focus is the large, randomized background images which capture ideas about loneliness, alienation, dereliction, decay and obsolescence; themes that I’ve always been interested in and will be exploring over the months to come as I try to improve both the subject matter of my posts and my writing style (I’ve been accused of being too wordy and too dry). While this is part of my style, I really want to develop language that’s more colourful and compelling, so stay tuned to see if I manage it…

Oh, and Happy New Year, etc.

Bloxorz is a fabulous little flash game that will really test your both your spatial awareness and your patience. 33 levels of block tumbling fun will have you glued to the screen for hours. It certainly did for me. And not only is it infuriating and addicitve, it’s incredibly well produced too. Check it out:

http://www.gameabode.com/games/1898/bloxorz.html