[NTLK] [OT] New twist on Poutine (Archer version)

[Andrew Beals]

(Looks as if the sarcasm mark was removed from my e-mail)

I didn't mean to light a fire - I'm well-familiar with who's being sold
when one uses a "free" service.  When using such things, I tend to pollute
their database (think of it as giving wrong answers to the "Are you
thinking of an animal?" game) about things I like and/or where I am.  One
service thinks my GPS location is 1500 miles east of where I really am at
this instant.

We're all free to be ourselves: http://www.freetobefoundation.org/

Just as some of us may fly kites (I need to find a good place here in far
eastern Kansas to do so), some of us may not.  I used to carry a selection
in the back of my vehicle and would go fly them at lunch-time at a (then)
local good-spot-for-flying-kites.

I personally shoot film from time to time, because it's prettier than
digital and gives me more to work with due to the increased dynamic range.
I have several full-on mechanical cameras that I like to pull out in "no
electronics may be used" situations.

My little green friend hasn't been powered up in a while (=3 years?) due to
my [a] losing my perfect newt-sized murse in a move and [b] the fact that
the data sync was never reliable, was slow, and would scramble contacts.
All of my (contact) data is now sitting in $SERVICE (guess which one) and
does sync back and forth among several devices reasonably reliably,
although not without its own problems - at least it doesn't co-mingle
different people based upon single factors.  (I know several people who
share my name (first & last, but not middle) but not my DNA and I have
their e-mail addresses in my contacts)  (The fact that I was also syncing
up to yahoo didn't help as they have their own contact-scrambling
problems)  My desired/typical syncing setup was very hairy: Newt<->Mac,
Mac<->GOOG, Mac<->YHOO, Mac<->PalmOS device(s).

Just like there are people who don't use FB, there are people who avoid the
Google at all costs.  ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RiHHs1HYzE )
Usually (as others have implied) for the same reasons.

AltaVista was great in its day.  I switched over to El Goog when it started
providing better results.  Like most folks, I try to use the best tool for
the job.  "Job" and "Best" varies with the user, of course.

A Newton version of Evernote would likely cause me to de-mothball my 2100.
(Uh-oh, another "Free" service!  Good thing I keep a local copy of my DB
thanks to Nixnote/Nevernote)

Ah, back to FB - I'm on, and have the public account for work/junk and my
controlled personal account, which is used for anything from co-ordinating
local events to (gasp) keeping in touch with old friends.  It's become the
default gathering place for a lot of folks - I suspect that if someone
builds a competing service that is somehow more compelling, most everyone
will migrate away.  Even on my real account, I'll put in bogus information,
like being in far-away places, attending events I couldn't possibly attend,
and add in silly "life events" such as "I sneezed".  Being there hooked me
up with the local freethinkers because I saw a friend say that she was
attending an event -- and being a part of that community means that it's
easier to keep my sanity here in the bible belt.  Just like "not watching
television" (my favorite hobby), it works for me.

This is a great little community, even if we sometimes have our
disagreements.  I'll drink a virtual beer with y'all after 5pm.

Andy, somewhere in Flyover Country