Revenge of E-mail Surcharge Bill 602P

The Evil Empire that is the U.S. Postal Service is preparing to unleash a nefarious plan called “Bill 602P” that will charge Americans for every e-mail sent, raising billions and delivering a crippling blow against its archenemy, the snail-mail slaying Internet. Or so says an hoax from at least 1999 that absolutely refuses to die. … Read more

On Gas Spikes and the Free Market

During the week of 9/11/2001 I wrote an editorial about the gas spikes taking place in a few towns in the Mid-West. Panicked individuals, shaken by the attacks, were swarming the gas stations for fuel. Gas station owners responded by raising the prices. My point was that this action — usually called profiteering — was not immoral, and indeed, was an example of what was, is and hopefully will always be right with America.

A controversial idea, at least in this day and age. I expected some sort of response and I got one, from Mr. Daniel Bishop. (Read the letter). As for my thoughts on his letter…

The iBook Road Trip

The following review provides an overview of my recent vacation in the western American states of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah with my trusty Apple iBook. December 19, 2001 While running around the house in a frenzy of last minute packing, I trip over the iBook’s power cord, sending it crashing to the floor from the … Read more

Sulfnbk.exe is not a virus

An e-mail urging folks to search for an alleged virus-infected filed called “sulfnbk.exe” on their Windows computer is a hoax. This harmless file exists on most Windows 95, Me, and 98 machines, and is not evidence of a virus infection. Deleting it won’t destroy your computer, but it will make you feel very silly when … Read more

Organizing Your Campaign Online, Part II: Alternatives

Organizing your campaign online is easy, especially using Yahoo! Groups, a free online discussion board offered as part of the Yahoo! search engine. But for those who don’t want to use Groups — perhaps because of Yahoo’s notorious terms-of-use contracts (Yahoo’s terms of use includes language that leads some to believe that the company is … Read more

Wake Up and Smell the Future, Redux

For some reason last month several readers responded to an editorial I wrote this time last year called “Wake Up And Smell The Future!” One asked if my demands for a high-tech future was a little too materialistic — focused too much on gizmos, and not enough on the Big Issues, like eliminating pollution, global … Read more