Linking to documents online: the good and bad

• February 1, 2005
• James Skemp

Linking to documents that are found online is almost always a troublesome issue. Unlike print documents, that one could purchase online, read in the library, or read in a bookstore – for those that don’t like to purchase books – online documents are fairly fluid. This is because one major reason, as well as a few other reasons. This article will discuss that main reason, as well as whether it’s beneficial to link to documents online, and if it is, how to best do it.

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Have we discovered the true goals of the United States of America?

• January 22, 2005
• James Skemp

First it was Afghanistan. Next, it was Iraq, Iran and North Korea, parts of the ‘axis of evil’. Now Condoleezza Rice is calling our attention to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Burma and Belarus (Belarus? Is anyone else wondering where this is? And I keep myself fairly up to date on these things, I thought.). Gavin introduced me to Noam Chomsky’s spoken word, so I understand why Cuba would be a threat to the United States.

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Buying Perfume

• January 21, 2005
• James Skemp

She was an attractive woman, quite attractive in fact. She was the kind of girl that you couldn’t help but smile at if she gave you her eyes, even if you were having one of the most shit-filled days in your life up to that point. She walked over, not quickly, but not slow. It was a perfect pace for a girl in her profession. If you move to quickly, you make the customer think that you’re desperate, while moving too slow gives off a feeling of disinterest, or boredom, both of which scare a customer away, or instil a like sensation within them.

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Stoplights: Is it better to be the first one at the light, or the last one through?

• January 19, 2005
• James Skemp

Something has been on my mind for a number of months as of late regarding stoplights and cars. People tend to, and perhaps naturally, speed, and my article regarding speed limits (On the Speed Limit) is fairly popular because of it. However, people also tend to not stop for yellow lights, and sometimes even for red lights, but would much rather drive through them. This raised the question of whether it really is best to be the last one through a stoplight (speed up while the light is yellow), or if it makes more sense to not ‘run’ the light, and instead be the very first one in ‘line’ at the light.

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Blockbuster is ending late fees? Kind of

• January 10, 2005
• James Skemp

Somewhat major news is the fact that Blockbuster™, the popular video and game rental store, is ending late fees. While it’s certainly interesting news, reading up on this you’ll find that Blockbuster™ hasn’t really ended late fees, rather they have changed them in order to make more money[1]. For those of us new to late fees, these are basically fees imposed by a rental agency for not returning the rented items by the due date.

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Anti-Virus Software

• January 9, 2005
• James Skemp

The average computer user is not an IT (Information Technology) professional. That said, the average computer user, computer users below average (especially), and many above average computer users, will end up with some kind of computer related problem at least once while using computers. There are a great number of reasons why this will occur, but for the most part it is because there are a number of programs out there that attempt to use computers for a specific purpose, while ignoring the desires of the computer’s user.

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Can Wisconsin Pick a Presidential Candidate, or What?

• January 8, 2005
• James Skemp

After the 2004 election, where Bush won by allowing the American public to live their lives in fear (see my own On the Saying “Terrorists Will Put Bush in Office”), I decided to look at the voting record of Wisconsin, whether they could pick a President, or not.

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Does 'Clown Shoes' Refer to Something Other Than Shoes?

• January 7, 2005
• James Skemp

Listen to Does 'Clown Shoes' Refer to Something Other Than Shoes? (MP3 format) If you’re like me, and I’ll be assuming that you are during this article, then you’ve probably seen a lot more use of ‘clown shoes’ on the Internet. For whatever reason, this is not occurring simply on sites in the industry of ‘all things clown’, but is also occurring on some of the larger, and more popular, web communities.

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Should Doctors Always Tell Patients the Truth?

• December 31, 2004
• James Skemp

Looking through an old philosophy anthology, Biomedical Ethics: Fifth Edition, I found and read On Lying to Patients, by Mack Lipkin. After reading this piece, I was again made to realize how much I dislike ethics. While Lipkin sets out to give us a theory, or method, he leaves us with more questions than answers. For this article, I would like to discuss whether doctors have an ethical obligation to tell the truth to their patients.

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My Recent Experience at Best Buy

• December 29, 2004
• James Skemp

So I had seen the 10th Anniversary DVD Edition of Myst before the holiday rush, and was planning on making a purchase when I thought things would settle down a little bit. I also wanted to pick up a couple of copies of The Beatles, but I wasn’t sure which CDs (until I heard Norwegian Wood on the radio on the way – more about this and my interest in The Beatles in another article).

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