RelentlesslyOptimistic

Skulls Unlimited

Via (exclamation mark)

Turn your junk mail into spam!

Despite the snarky title, a new Remote Control Mail service posted about at Techcrunch is pretty interesting. Document Command, Inc. will scan the outside of all paper mail you have forwarded to them. You then specify whether to have each piece shredded, recycled, archived, opened and scanned, or forwarded to you.

The service will cost $25 per month for home users, $50 per month for businesses, and is targeted at rural residents, those who travel extensively, students, expatriates, organizations with multiple offices or anyone who wants less paper in their life.

Users of the service can forward all mail, or can provide one of the company's Remote Addresses to selected senders, such as credit card companies, utility bills, etc. Magazines, newspapers and packages can still be directed to users' regular addresses.

The company insists that their highly automated system is more secure than paper mail, which can be stolen from mailboxes, trash cans or recycle bins. They also claim that their automation and web interface makes them less expensive and more convenient than other mail forwarding services. DCI also offers affordable mail, document and file management systems to businesses.

Squid Parking

Squid Parking from Laughing Squid's "Squid" blog.

Some assembly required

Cynical-C Blog pointed out the product details for this $600 animatronic pony on Amazon:

• Adults take note: Pony comes unassembled in box with head detached.
• You may wish to not open the box around your children if they may be frightened by a box with a decapitated horse inside.

Unless you want to send a message

Happy Thanksgiving!

The E-Z Catch Poultry Harvester from Bright Coop

Update: Video of the harvester in action.

Desperate GOP pretends to be Democrats, slams voters with repeated automated calls

The moral values party: If they can't win on the issues, they'll try to fool the voters.

The Republican Congressional Campaign Committee (RCCC) is running an automated call program in at least 53 House races nationwide with calls that begin by pretending to be from the Democratic candidate; the calls are repeated as many as seven times if the voter hangs up without listening to the message.

The call starts by saying "I'm calling with information about [Democratic candidate]," and then pauses to allow the recipient to hang up. If the voter does so, the call is repeated as many as seven times. The call goes on to slam the Democrat. Many voters are calling the Democratic candidates' campaigns to complain about the calls.

At a minimum the calls violate FCC rules, which require automated calls to identify the caller. At least one Republican group is spoofing the caller ID from their automated calls.

Reported extensively on Talking Points Memo and TPM Muckraker, and slightly in a few other spots.