From MetaFilter:

Owner takes car to dealer.
Tech takes car on joyride at 140 mph.
Tech writes up experience and posts to internet.
Owner reads tech's post.
Hilarity ensues!
posted by Wet Spot at 5:28 PM PST – 41 comments
[http://65.31.67.109/showthread.php?threadid=29134]
[http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=19809]
[http://www.metafilter.com//comments.mefi/20391]

(If short on time start with the last link first, the first few messages pretty well sum up what happened. This will unfortunately be 'suspicions confirmed' for some car owners!)

Sweet. Everything's falling in line, and my plans are taking shape.

The frustrations of life are finally getting off my nuts, and maybe, just maybe, the plans I've been making for the last 3 weeks will finally fall into place as I want them to.

It begins.

And I know this is nondescript. I don't feel like typing out my master scheme.
, this vague post is for you. πŸ˜‰

dnetc v2.8015-469-CTR-01051421 for Linux (Linux 2.4.18-686-smp).
Using email address (distributed.net ID) 'paul@timmins.net'

[Sep 26 17:33:33 UTC] Automatic processor detection found 2 processors.
[Sep 26 17:33:33 UTC] Loading crunchers with work…
[Sep 26 17:33:34 UTC] The keyserver says: RC5 is closed.
[Sep 26 17:33:34 UTC] Unable to load any work. Quitting…
[Sep 26 17:33:34 UTC] *Break* Shutting down…
[Sep 26 17:33:34 UTC] Shutdown complete.

Feels weird after spending 3 years running distributed.net to actually see that.

Now who feels like competing at RC5-72 when it comes out? πŸ™‚
http://stats.distributed.net/participant/psummary.php?project_id=5&id=225316

Anyway, I just renewed my account. Wow. I forgot how fast this site actually goes when you pay for the privlege.

Big money behind "inspirational" billboard campaign

I was digging up all the information on this, and I found something on google that explains my findings exactly, but it's written better.
Check this out if you're bored.

http://home.teleport.com/~alliance/2002/april/billboard.html

If you've seen these, or any of the other "Pass it on" billboards or commercials, and have been suspicious about their source, you're not alone. On Feb. 18, "REXELLA" posted to the Portland Indymedia website expressing annoyance ("Gross, isn't it?") about the little girl billboard, pointed out that "The Foundation for a Better Life" is the apparent funder, and surmised, "From the amount of exposure they're able to afford, it wouldn't be a long shot to assume there's big money somewhere. Anybody have any leads?"

As it turns out, several people did have leads that they posted to the Portland Indymedia newswire as they found them. Before long, a money trail was uncovered that led to Philip Anschutz, whom the BBC has described as having "a reputation as one of the hungriest of U.S. corporate vultures."

The relevant thread on indymedia they were mentioning is here:
http://portland.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=7597

Another reason I love my ISP…

My bill's late. Yea, no surprise, seems to be SOP for me lately. This bill is actually paid indirectly by my office, so have somewhat of an excuse that if they dont pay me, I can't pay the bill. πŸ™‚

Anyway, I guess my account lapsed, and rather than just drop loop on the DSL and let me figure out what happened, they did something clever:
Redirect all port 80 http requests to their billing server, with a message saying that my bill is past due, and letting me pay it online with my credit card.
Which would be cool if I had the cash.

I called the 800 number listed right there on the page, told them that my work would be paying me the expense check next monday, and tappity tap tap on their end and my internet was working again. He's like "ok, anything else?" I said: "Wait, that's all the explaination you need?" "Sure, we trust our customers here."
wow. What an awesome company. Between their contests, their understanding tech support, and their reliable service, I'd go without internet rather than choose any other provider. I've never been treated this way by an ISP before.

If you're looking for a DSL ISP for professionals, speakeasy is it. They're a bit more pricey than you could find elsewhere, but with that price comes some of the best customer service I've ever seen, anywhere. (Well, other than the mexican restaraunt across the street, but ya know.)

If you end up signing up, tell them noweb4u sent you. The referral bonus doesn't come into play in my recommendation, but it would be appreciated. πŸ™‚

I found what I'm spending my gift certificate on. I preordered this:

Back to the Future – The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)

see larger picture
List Price: $56.98
Our Price: $42.74
You Save: $14.24 (25%)

Availability: This item will be released on December 17, 2002. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives

w00000t!!!!!!!!!!!