After years of dreaming (and being unemployed) I finally decided to buy a digital SLR. If you know anything about the way I make (large) purchasing decisions, I hemmed and hawed for sometime. I did my homework, comparison shopped, price shopped, coupon shopped, used shopped and eventually shop shopped.
For more than a few moments I was strongly considering buying a used model (read: kijiji). The benefits were many: significant price cut, no tax, (usually) minimal use. There were plenty of sellers (in Toronto), and I was very close to sealing a deal (which fell through). But then I noticed this extremely dodgy deal: no name, no address. Just send me your money via Western Union and I'll courier you the camera. Ok, yeah, I'm going to fall for that one. And the funny thing is, every ad I looked at after that felt like it was a scam waiting to happen. So I bought it from Dell!
I know you just can't WAIT to see the photos I'll post now.
ooh, shiny.
Btw, if you want to know what a classified-ad scam might look like, here you go:
I want to tell you something in advance.You are buying this from grey market. There wil be No tax No receipt.I can't provide you my phone number, address, store name or web address.But I am located in Mississauga Ontario.
Pick-up is not available even for the local customers.
The kit will be shipped via Purolator and
shipping cost will depend on service you want.
Shipping cost with Purolator:
$40 Transit time 4 Days
$51 Transit time 2 Days
Payment terms are in advance and via Western union
The Reason why Western Union:
1. I don't collect people's Credit card #s and personal information
2. No paypal because of http://www.aboutpaypal.org/buyers_using_paypal_to_scam_sellers
If you are still interested please let me know.
Farhad Manjoo's lastest column in Slate discusses the ethics of the browser plug-in that blocks all ads on websites. I think it is clear to most people that ad revenue is how many websites make money; perhaps not the only way, but it might be. So, if we browse the web while turning all ads off, isn't that akin to piracy? Or, perhaps, you think of it as a consumer's right - more like fast forwarding or changing the channel while watching TV.
The article looks to a middle ground, where users choose which sites they are willing to see ads for, and those they are not. The difference might be between a site you visit a lot, or perhaps sites which do not offer intrusive ads. For me, personally, it's more about the latter: even if I like a site very much and visit it regularly, if they offer full page pop-up ads, or big flash banners with in-your-face graphics, I will turn off those ads, no ethical dilemma at all.
So, how do we get to that middle ground? One way is to use a plug-in like Flash Block which will prevent those nasty flash ads from loading, but still allow you to selectively load flash as you need to. Ad-block itself plans to allow users to choose to allow ads on sites that they visit often with a 'guilt' prompt: "As a frequent visitor to this site, maybe you should start viewing some ads. This site promises they aren't too annoying."
Yeah, ok, I'll look at your ad. Just as soon as I finish downloading this movie off PirateBay.
Remember me? Yeah, I've been doing this whole work thing, which has sucked some of my blogging inspiration out. I have put a bit of content on the other site, but it is designed to be only sporadically updated.
Here's some stuff to listen to. Beatbox guy. Lost to a teenage Canadian for an online thing. He wuz robbed!
Just got back from a run. This was the last song playing.
Emma and I watched this movie, "Tell No One". It was really very good. I'd say watch it, but don't actually watch this trailer. Also, it's in French.
We got Hillside weekend passes! For the first time, after three years of attending.
Guelphites should recognize the scene above.
I should probably write something about starting my new job as a librarian. I'm not sure what to say, though.
Most importantly, I'm working with fantastic people. I knew that going in, which is why I really wanted the job. On the other hand, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I knew that this job would bear no resemblance to anything I did in school. And I also knew that because of the co-ops I chose, it would also bear no resemblance to that, either. Which means I need to figure this out as I go. There a high expectations for me, so I better figure it out in a hurry.
Also, I'm just mentally exhausted from trying to take everything in. I'm sleeping well, though!
When I finally update my other site, I will start writing library-related commentary there, so as not to burden you with the details.
Is it just me, or are subliminal marketing messages getting a whole lot more liminal?
Picked up this vintage book from Value Village today (along with Neuromancer)
