1 Simple Trick

I just got my Taste of Home recipe newsletter and as is always the case, they also put in a few ads.  I don't mind them too much and generally ignore them but this one caught my attention:

I wonder what 1 simple trick in Photoshop they used to make that woman's eyes look so green?  If they didn't alter the photo, then I wonder if there's 1 simple trick to removing those vivid green contacts, because I think that woman wearing them stared too long into an X-Ray machine.  If it's not that, then I wonder if there's 1 simple trick to exorcising that demon that's inside her?

Can You Hear Me Now?

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, never phoned his wife or his mother.

They were both deaf.

And, in case you didn't get the rather insensitive joke in the title of this post, here's its origin:

...although he's since gone over to Sprint.

And a ToTG public service announcement:  if someone calls you and asks you a question or speaks very faintly and you complain they need to speak up and they "make an adjustment" and in a louder voice "Can you hear me now?", do NOT say "Yes." which might lead to them using that to change your long-distance service.   Some sources on the 'net say it's not a proven scam, but best to not take chances.  At the least, you'll be telling the possible scammer on the other end of the line that it's a working phone number. 

Personally, if I don't recognize the number, I don't answer. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

In the now-iconic 1966 animated TV special Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Boris Karloff was the narrator and voice of the Grinch, but didn't sing its most famous song, You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.  The singer was Thurl Ravenscroft, arguably best known as being the voice of Tony The Tiger from 1953-2004.

Forbes Haiku

I was looking for some financial-related information and saw a link to Forbes.com and thought I could probably trust the information I would find there since I've read a lot of other articles on the site and it's all been good advice.  They have a "splash page" before the link, the content of which I don't see because of my ad blocking add-on on my Firefox browser.  I have to wait on a countdown clock for a few seconds before I can proceed to the article, but it's no problem, much less annoying than an advertisement. 

Yesterday, though, I got this message on the splash page:

I'm fairly certain that doesn't fit the definition of a Haiku, but that's not my complaint; rather, it's trying to shame me in such a "cutesy" fashion.  Sorry Forbes, I hate to deprive you of ad revenue, but many sites go overboard with their adverts, slowing the page load times even with my fairly fast connection and often having multiple flash ads which sometimes hangs up my browser.  I also don't like places like Facebook following me all over the 'net...that's why I use an adblocker.

I wrote a reply, not in a Haiku, but a short verse.  I can't post it because I have a few words in it that rhyme with "Haiku".  It DOES have a little bit to do with "love", though.

You Can't Skip

You can't skip this Geico ad, although it's well worth watching to the end.

Mom & Kids Drifting in a Minivan

New Famous Footwear Advert

Your Crock I Block

Since I've been using various adblocking extensions and social media and content blocker on my Firefox browser, I've been getting these types of messages on the pages:

(click for larger view)

Sometimes I get a "guilt" type message "This website exists because of the revenue we get from ads, so please disable your adblocker."

Well, 'scuse me, but I wouldn't mind a banner ad or two (or three or even four) placed within the page, but it's when you serve up several dozen ads and scripts that slow the loading down to a snail's pace...and I have an above-average fast connection...well, that's when I begin to get annoyed.

As the above graphic shows, sometimes the extensions and add-ons I use do interfere with the videos, so I disable them for a one-time viewing of what it was I wanted to see, the re-enable them before I leave the page.  I don't mind them trying to make a buck off their website, but I DO resent having to wait a minute or longer to see what it was I came to the site to see.   I also don't like it when a video auto-plays.  I have used a script blocker before to stop that, but while I can whitelist sites I regularly visit, it gets old going to new ones and having to adjust the settings.

I'm resigned to having Facebook follow me all over the 'net, but I draw the line at other social media scripts and image bugs you put on your pages, not to mention the zillion ads you seem to think you have to have to pay the bills.