adrian

it's all about the packaging.

critical thinking, random / 1 Comment

Ever since Harry J Anslinger used public gullibility and racism to make himself look important, we have burned an awful lot of money in a completely ineffectual battle of ignorance against marijuana use while cheerfully sanctioning two drugs which are demonstrably far more addictive and harmful– alcohol and tobacco. Note that they both reap tons of tax revenue for the government, and they are represented by extremely wealthy and powerful lobbies. Money money money. Hmm.

Meanwhile, the other uber-power lobby, Big Pharmaceutical, steadily churns out all sorts of drugs to manage symptoms without ever producing a cure. Often the possible side-affects are more horrific than the afflictions they claim to moderate. We don’t seem to mind. And Big Pharma is not in the business of curing, obviously. There’s no money in a cure. But treating the symptoms? Huge, huge piles of money. Hmm.

This is not paranoia. It’s not extremist. It’s not fear mongering or conspiracy theory. It’s just simple fact, plainly visible in every aspect of our everyday lives.

So while our government fights our Misguided War on Misunderstood Drugs, and Big Pharma exploits our desperate need for a quick fix, imagine my surprise when I tripped over this gem: Marinol, it’s pot in a pill, complete with the giggles and the munchies, and it’s FDA approved.

Bastards stole my idea. Of course.

it's all about the packaging. Read More »

the striking part

critical thinking

(Read the first part of this post here).

1-866-879-5172 has been calling for months, off & on and at all hours. It’s a telemarketing and contact centre called Minacs, or Aditya Birla Minacs. Spammy, evil robots. There are a LOT of complaints at places like 800notes. Enough is enough. Here’s how you can affect them back:

– If you have a website of your own, like a blog, post the phone number, Minac’s full company name, and a few words like “spammer” and “evil”.
– save and publish the post.
– write another post with the number and company name and the same words and link each of the key words to the first post (and vice versa if you want to take the time to edit again).

Google will then associate all those words, and if enough of us do it anyone who searches their company name will see exactly what they have been doing to all of us. Our complaints will show up even before their own website in web searches. Then they can explain to their clients why everyone hates them and refuses to answer the phone when they call. Suddenly they have no more business and we win.

It works, though you should avoid mentioning Google in your post, seeing as Google is no doubt aware of the Googlebomb phenomenon since the glory days of “George Bush is an ass” and is probably keeping an eye out for their own name in this sort of post.

By all means, pass this on to everyone you know.

the striking part Read More »

consumers strike back

critical thinking / 3 Comments

1-866-879-5172 has been calling for months, off & on and at all hours. It’s a telemarketing and contact centre called Minacs, or Aditya Birla Minacs. Spammy, evil robots. Enough is enough. Here’s how you can affect them back:

– If you have a website of your own, like a blog, post the phone number, Minac‘s full company name, and a few words like “spammer” and “evil”.
– save and publish the post.
– write another post with the number and company name and the same words and link each of the key words to the first post (and vice versa if you want to take the time to edit again).

Google will then associate all those words, and if enough of us do it anyone who searches their company name will see exactly what they have been doing to all of us. Our complaints will show up even before their own website in web searches. Then they can explain to their clients why everyone hates them and refuses to answer the phone when they call. Suddenly they have no more business and we win.

It works, though you should avoid mentioning Google in your post, seeing as Google is no doubt aware of the Googlebomb phenomenon since the glory days of “George Bush is an ass” and is probably keeping an eye out for their own name in this sort of post.

By all means, pass this on to everyone you know.

consumers strike back Read More »