[rescue] WTB: Cisco C3524 and C3512

[Jonathan C. Patschke]

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006, Phil Stracchino wrote:

> You'd think the fact that almost all viewers almost always mute or
> skip the commercials, if given the ability to do so, would tell them
> something.

You'd also think that folks in the advertising would learn from the
volume of people that don't want advertisements in electronic mail, and
who transfer bulk postbox mail directly to the recycling bins without
even a cursory glance.

But they don't.

I daresay that ascribing to them the possibility of learning that their
misleading[0], irritating[1], everpresent[2] garbage is not wanted is
just barely short of anthropomorphization.  It's basic human decency to
not lie, to not mislead, to not annoy, and to not waste people's time.

That's not to say I'm anti-advertisement.  I'm willing to put up with
advertisements in exchange for the advertiser subsidising a product or
service.  Advertisements on envelopes haven't caused my bills to
decrease.  Advertisements at the gas pump for damn sure haven't made gas
less expensive.

Advertisers are just scum, quite nearly to a man.


[0] "Buy New Super Muscle Enhancer 2000!  It'll make you TOTALLY
     RIPPED!" <motormouth speed="500%">Super Muscle Enhancer 2000 will
     not make you totally ripped without spending eighty five hours a
     week at a gym and may cause cancer, chronic wasting disease, leaky
     bowels, hair loss, bone density loss, visual impairment, erectile
     dysfunction, and ringworm.</motormouth>
[1] There's at least one 30-second advertisement on Austin radio station
     consisting of multiple ringing telephones (for the entire duration
     of the advertisement) at annoying volume.  WTF?  Radio
     advertisements with traffic noises likewise get lumped into this
     category.  I'd wager that most folks who listen to the radio in the
     US do so in their cars.  Let's distract them with squealing tires
     and horns!
[2] I can't pay a bill without seeing an advertisement on the envelope-
     flap.  I can't look up a telephone number in the phonebook without
     sifting through pages of advertisements in the leaves (and on the
     binding).  There are advertisements in my CHECKBOOK now (the size of
     regular checks, scattered in every few books.  Advertisements on
     ATMs while they "process [your] transaction"--ever notice that,
     prior to the advertisements, the transactions took place instantly.
     And, the most annoying of all, advertisements at the gas pump--not
     signs or banners, but a speaker going yakety-yak about something or
     another while I'm trying to go broke filling my vehicle with fuel.
-- 
Jonathan Patschke    )   "A man who never dreams goes slowly mad."
Elgin, TX           (      --Thomas Dolby, "Valley of the Mind's Eye"