Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Why Are There TV Crews On the Edge of Campus?

Posted on April 19, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

As I was driving on the north and north-west sides of the UM campus this afternoon, there seemed to be at least two different TV crews set up, from two different local stations, one on the north, one on the NW sides of the campus. No idea if there are others elsewhere. We're used to them when there's an event, and of course down near the south-west side where the baseball stadium is. They were still there when I came back 30 minutes later.

So what's up with this on a SundaySaturday afternoon? Nothing (yet?) on the local news I could find. For a minute I thought this might be it — Police: College Students Attempt To Capture Gator – Miami News Story – WPLG Miami, but no, the dateline is Daytona Beach Shores, Fla.

So I still have no idea.

Posted in U.Miami | 7 Comments

I’ve Been Joe-Jobbed Again

Posted on April 19, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Someone has emailed the entire universe a series of cheap ads for tawdry goods forging my email address in the “from” line. It is not the first time I've been 'joe jobbed' but it seems to be an even more thorough job than in the past.

As a result, I'm getting a flood of mailed bounces, rejections, spam complaints and the like. No doubt many systems will now blacklist my address. And so on.

And it makes finding the real mail a bit of a needle in a haystack problem. Not to mention that if I tried to mail you, misspelled something, and it really bounced, I'll never notice.

If you need to reach me in the next few days, or more, please consider the phone if I don't reply.

Posted in Internet | 4 Comments

The Job Market of the Future

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

It seems at least one filmmaker with a wicked sense of humor is pretty bearish about the job market. See Job Market In 2009.

Posted in Econ & Money | Comments Off on The Job Market of the Future

Friday McCain-Bashing

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Seems like there are an awful lot of things that are younger than John McCain.

He's older than…Iceland?

Posted in Politics: McCain | Comments Off on Friday McCain-Bashing

Blue Jeans Cable Responds to a Demand Letter

Posted on April 18, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

The letter reprinted at Blue Jeans Cable Strikes Back – Response to Monster Cable makes for some fun reading.

Here's how it starts,

RE: Your letter, received April Fools' Day

Dear Monster Lawyers,

Let me begin by stating, without equivocation, that I have no interest whatsoever in infringing upon any intellectual property belonging to Monster Cable. Indeed, the less my customers think my products resemble Monster's, in form or in function, the better.

I'm not a patent lawyer, but the trademark and trade dress parts of this letter look pretty good to me, and the patent stuff was fun to read — seven words I never wrote in that particular order before. I even laughed.

(Thanks to OJ for the link.)

Posted in Law: Trademark Law | 2 Comments

Chocolate Considered Dangerous

Posted on April 17, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Women More Likely Than Men To Surrender Security For Chocolate:

Women are four times more likely than men to surrender their computer passwords for chocolate, according to a survey of 576 office workers conducted outside Liverpool Street Station in London by Infosecurity Europe.

According to the survey, 45% of women revealed their passwords to strangers posing as market researchers for a chocolate bar, compared to 10% of men.

Apparently the overall percentage of password-yielding respondents this year (21%) represents an improvement over 2007, when 64% of respondents traded their security for a few moments of chocolaty goodness.

Infosecurity Europe made no mention of whether inducements tailored to men, such as sports tickets, free beer, or explicit pictures, were offered to test the possibility that the noted gender disparity might be reversed under different circumstances.

(via PogoWasRight.org)

Posted in Etc | 6 Comments