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Sometimes David wins, and sometimes Goliath
In 1994, Donald Trump – that wonderful specimen of humanity – convinced the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to exercise eminent domain on his behalf to condemn the home of Vera...
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Spammer = Liar
Spam is by its very nature deceptive. Spammers don’t want you to know who they are… they just want your money and a verification that your email is valid, because that can information can then be sold...
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A day of my life is quite enough.
Back in the days of the PalmOS, I became enamored with a little time-waster called “Bejeweled.” Apparently I was late to the party, because PopCap had introduced the game long before the Palm became...
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The High Cost of Smoking
To my eternal discredit, I smoked heavily when I was a kid. I thought it was cool, and six years of it left lasting scars on my lungs. But when I started smoking, a pack of Luckies cost 33¢. Yes, that...
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Another dumb scammer: “Mrs. Gogna Mridula”
Just posting this in case anyone else does a Google search for text in this advance-fee fraud message. In case anyone was wondering, this is a scam. If you want to see how these play out, click through...
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Those Pesky EULA’s
Lately I’ve been encountering websites with text on them or flash popups (which can usually bypass standard popup blockers) which say something like this: “This site uses cookies. By continuing to use...
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Wind power? I’m a big fan. But not as big as this one.
Berlin’s Godzilla-size windmills, 1932 “Berlin rests in the shadow of a monstrously tall steel tower with a hydra head of spinning fans, each about 500 feet in diameter. A medium-sized town’s...
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A clever idea for combating elder fraud
I’ve written about sweepstakes fraud before – a number of times, actually, since greater exposure means more people protected. But it’s difficult to reach everyone, and especially those who are most...
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Fraud by Deception – Labor Regulatory Compliance Office
Executive Summary: Do not pay this company a dime. They are charging an outrageous fee for something any business can get for nothing, and using scare tactics to imply that you are at risk of fines up...
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Le Robinson Resort from the air.
Previously I wrote about Le Robinson, a resort in Patterson, NY just north of New York City. It was owned by my father’s first wife, Miriam, and her second husband, André Lavielle. Recently I’ve been...
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Going on a phishing trip
Scam Warning: Free Shipping Problem This email appeared in my inbox overnight. It’s a scam, of course, but sadly many people will be taken in by it. Why is this a scam? First of all, I haven’t ordered...
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Not Dead Yet – The Celtic languages hold on for dear life.
From Maps on the Web: A brief history of the Gaelic languages: Middle Irish spread into Scotland and the Isle of Man about 1000 years ago and has since developed into Scottish Gaelic, Manx and Modern...
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Africa: Seen through dialects, not colonial borders.
Each shade is a language; each color is a group of languages. Click the image for a larger version. The Old Wolf has spoken. (For what it’s worth, I speak all African languages equally well.)
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Look Magazine: The first mass-produced 3D Picture
The magazines LIFE and LOOK were regular guests in our home, along with the New Yorker, the Saturday Evening Post, and a few other esoteric offerings. At one point in the 1960s, LOOK began including...
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Cigarette Psychology, 1959
Anyone who has ever smoked or still does, knows that a big part of the habit is the ritual – to mention a few, opening the packs, tamping the cigarette down, the lighting with match or lighter, how you...
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An Especially Devious Spam Comment.
People can be so bloody dishonest it makes my brains hurt. This comment showed up on my post regarding combating elder fraud: I don’t know if it’s just me or if everybody else encountering problems...
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America: Beautiful in any language
I recently posted about my experience watching two of my friends become American citizens. Now comes the Superbowl with its spate of commercials, one of which has generated some sentiment that...
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The defense and the illustration of the English Language.
Not 1549, but 2014. I previously wrote two articles, here and here, about the efforts of France (and Québec, since we’re on the subject) to keep their language unspotted. Many Gallic purists will point...
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Selfie, 1920 Version.
One of the earliest selfies, taken by principals of the Byron Company, in 1920. Byron Company: Uncle Joe Byron, Pirie MacDonald, Colonel Marceau, Pop Core, Ben Falk-New York, 1920. Museum of the City...
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Mexico: 1916 Auto Wreck
This picture is nearly 100 years old, and is titled “Car wreck on Tlalpan Road, 1916.” The exact location of the crash is not indicated, but for different reasons (and based on more photos) we...
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