If you own a Toyota Prius, you may want to bring it into your local dealership. Just pray that the steering wheel doesn’t break off in your hands on the way.
Government Policy
Pith & Vinegar: The Spinning of the Chum
By 6.1.06
• Old news but we didn’t talk about it yet: Telcos secretly funding anti-net-neutrality websites. Probably made by the same ad agency who did the pro-C02 spot. [Digg]
UPDATE: Trifecta of Crappy Airplane Stories
By 5.31.06
After going through a ringer of horror with three different airlines on Friday, Sebastien and his family retreated home to try again the next day. On Saturday, he and his brood were “selectees” earmarked for special detention by TSA at the security checkpoint. Later, he noticed his ticket had “SSSS” printed in the lower right-hand corner. His return ticket, where he had no special inspeciton, had no such S’s.
Frivolous and Lawsuits Have New Bed Partner: Useless
By 5.31.06
Yay! Free money. Clampants got a card in the mail yesterday from the “Benny/Lundberg Settlement” against Sprint, reading:
Shotgun Blast Settles $36.50 Gas Bill
By 5.29.06
Now that prices of gas are skyrocketing, it’s perhaps understandable that you’d underestimate the cost of a full tank. But watch out! Being short on bread for a tank of gas could cause you to look down the cobalt blue double barrels of a sawed-off shotgun.
Skype, Dark Lord of the Sith, Conspires Against StreamCast
By 5.29.06
Someone over at StreamCast Networks is channeling the ogresque spirit of Patrick Byrne: they’ve sued eBay, Skype and 21 other companies for engineering an insidious, overarching conspiracy to cost StreamCast billions of dollars. Luckily, they did not describe the conspiracy as originating from the Dark Lord of the Sith, but you generally don’t say such a thing in a legal briefing.
Baush Apologizes With Free Eye-Solution
By 5.26.06
Users of Baush & Lomb eyecare products received a letter today.
Trifecta of Crappy Airplane Stories
By 5.26.06
It’s the mother lode, one man’s tale of how his and his family’s Memorial Day weekend was ruined, in swift succession, by no less than three airlines.
The News: All The Fat That’s Fit To Print
By 5.26.06
• Hasbro cancels plans for line of racy dolls based around ‘Pussycat Dolls,’ switches focus to My First Little Lolita rollout. [NYT]
Spanish-American War Telephone Tax Revoked
By 5.25.06
You’ll never ever ever get that cool G refund from the telephone company, but here’s one refund you can count on: an obsolete long-distance tax that telephone customers have been paying for 108 years has finally been revoked by the US Treasury.
H&R Block Snuffs Tax Efficiency
By 5.23.06
If your mind has folded in on itself like a Chinese Puzzle Box trying to grok the convolution of this year’s tax forms, we have good news: the IRS bureaucracy wants to make the process as efficient as possible. Unfortunately, the guys you pay to do your taxes don’t… and they’ve successfully lobbied to continue their monopoly on their obtuse arbitration of your income.
IRS Is Really A Nice Guy, After All
By 5.22.06
Next time the IRS bangs on your door asking you for your tax form, just tell ’em your dog ate it. Your dog named TurboTax.
UPDATE: Win $1000
By 5.22.06
We want you to have $1000 and will give you a prize for just trying to collect it.
Source Documents Implicating AT&T and NSA Internet Spying
By 5.22.06
At 2:00 AM EST this morning, Wired News published primary documents incriminating the NSA and AT&T in a clandestine surveillance operation by the government to monitor the internet.
Pith & Vinegar
By 5.19.06
• Find free wifi nearby with your cellphone at ilovefreewifi.com. Stalking on a shoestring has never been easier.
