Internet Crush

I’ll cut to the chase and just put it out there: being single sucks.  Okay, maybe not all the time, but more often than I like.  Anyway, as a result, I’ve been running the gamut of dating and hook-up websites for the past two years… usually getting the same old pile of drek.

However, I recently discovered something a little bit different.  The makers behind Crush or Flush are offering up an interesting twist on the nearly ubiquitous chat function.  There are the usual promises of letting you meet people without sharing your contact information, not permitting spam, anonymous selection of whom you would and would not like to meet.  The real beauty in their chat system comes in how they handle memberships:

Unlike traditional sites where members can hide behind multiple profiles tied to different e-mail addresses, on Crush or Flush you can only have one profile that is tied to your cell phone number…  During the sign-up process, your cell number is used to verify that you are a real person, and there can only be one profile per number. If someone harasses you or causes a problem, we will block his number and that person will permanently disappear.

So you not only are getting the benefit of getting to meet people who have mutual interest (without disclosure of your personal information), you’re also getting the benefit of knowing that the site’s membership process is making life that much more difficult for creepers and stalkers.  This is good, because the world is far too full of them as it is…

List After List… After List, After List, After List…

It seems like there’s a new “2.0” site being launched every minute, and a new “lists” site every week. Add to the fray the beta List After List. I’m really not sure what to make of this site. It seems like it has the potential for genuine usefulness – much like SuperViva, Listigator or 43 Places – but is currently missing the mark. There are plenty of lists, to be sure, and some of them actually seem somewhat relevant or useful to the general population.

Wish I’d Seen This Sooner…

Ian writes about what may be the most perfect, extravagant and fattening gift on earth.

I can think of at least one person who may receive one of these for Christmas 2008…

This Morning’s Chuckle

NSFW.

Today’s Giggle

Almost three years ago, I cheered the resignation of Ashcroft while kvetching about the response I received to the petition I originally signed against his confirmation (look near the bottom).

My “local representative” at the time of the petition was one Larry Craig, R-Idaho.

Imagine my surprise to run across this:

Best Republican Sex Scandal of the Summer: Larry Craig

In Sickness And In Health

A long day, spent finalizing the most recent project while simultaneously coping with two violently ill toddlers and a bored tween.  By 4 PM, headache was setting in… the kind that bends you over and kicks you in the butt for not immediately donning face masks and latex gloves the moment nearby small children started spewing from various orifices.

This was, surprisingly, exactly what I needed to read today.

Arlan’s Right

There are no words.

Absolutely brilliant marketing ploy.

What Happened To The Happy Medium?

Youth suspended over sketch of gun

This story contains some good examples of how the US, as a nation, has largely descended into hysteria and paranoia (with much help from on high). I’m sorry, but I fail to see anything threatening about the drawing in question. In fact, I even question the father’s comment about it being a “laser”-like doodle – looks more like some sort of Caribbean cruise ship to me. Perhaps this is a Rorschach test in the making…

Also, the whole butt-slapping incident… I’m aggressively against such conduct in schools, because it is true there are often negative ramifications for the people on the receiving end. However, handcuffs and interrogations are excessive. I’m of the opinion that the more appropriate discipline would be the suspension received by the young man who made the mistake of doodling in class.

Finally, this only further supports my desire to yell at the top of my lungs and ask people why they think it is that we have to worry about all these things in this modern age, and how we think it came to be this way in the first place.

Let You Down : Trespassers William

Oh love, you’re driving me crazy
And I don’t know what to do
Will I throw this all away
For you

O, The Places You Will Go!

Many moons ago, I found and signed up for SuperViva. One of the items I added in my “life list” was that of making a map of all the places I have lived, and another of all the places I hope to one day visit.

I’ve almost completed the one for all the places I’ve ever lived, using Platial. Growing up in the military made it a bit more challenging than usual. Currently, it plots 29 points, and there are still more to add. That’s before even starting the map for the places I’ve yet to travel.

There is something to be said for the modern-day gypsy.