I admit that I have been an IWON user and participant nearly since its inception and have at times enjoyed it and at times being very disappointed by it. I have had a free e-mail account with them for many, many years and have given the address out to very few but still manage to get 98% spam and junk. Personally I think IWON was the source of some of it, and that is beyond the stuff they sent to me on their own behalf which was fine as I had signed up and agreed to the service. It is because of all this spam that they had a way of designating the e-mail as spam without opening it and then they would hopefully id it as such and treat it as such and better id future e-mail as such.
IWON did not do a very good job of it though as they continually had more spam e-mail ending up in the inbox than they were transferring into the spam junk box. The problem seemed to be getting worse rather than better. Now it has gotten worse to the nth degree.
IWON redesigned their e-mail user interface and they got it all wrong. They have put frames in that take up all the valuable real estate that was previously used for viewing the e-mail. The frames are fixed and defined by IWON and are not sizeable. This allows them to dedicate prime space to their advertisers but doesn’t allow you to see the whole picture of your e-mail in any given meaningful way. This is not the worst of it.
In the old system you could highlight an e-mail item from the selection list and label it as spam without opening it. This was safe and smart operating since it is generally easy to know by the topic heading and the senders name if you are receiving a legitimate e-mail or not. The safety factor extended to the fact that by not opening it in the first place you were not in danger of sending back any kind of message that lets the spammers know this is a valid e-mail account.
Under their new system, they have added a preview screen to see the contents of the e-mail as it is selected from the list without opening it into a new window. This is similar to Outlook’s preview ability but with Outlook it is just an option; you decide if the risk is worth the previewed image. IWON does not give you the choice. They have taken away any ability to designate the e-mail as spam without opening it in the preview window. They have also taken away any ability to delete the offending e-mail without opening it in the preview window. Buried in the preferences is the ability to suppress the image viewing which might save you from viewing objectionable images but given their track record I am not sure I want to take that chance.
I have sent them an e-mail voicing my concern but not to the extent I have here. We shall see if there is a response but again based on past problems I am not holding my breath. That is sad as I have been a long time user of IWON and have spent way too many hours playing their games and looking at their advertisements. You would think that I would be considered a valued customer, and would be important enough to listen to. Evidently not.
IWON was also supposed to be about the winning. You always had the chance to win a big million dollar prize or at the very least a few pretty cool lesser prizes. The only thing I have won during that whole long stretch of time is a few Amazon gift cards, hardly sufficient pay for the amount of time spent and adverting revenue that must have generated at my expense. The odds of winning anything in IWON makes playing the Powerball lottery seem a sure bet. The only difference is that instead of putting down hard currency to buy a lottery ticket you were putting down soft currency, you hard earned time.
The games I admit have been fun (some better than others) but with the amount of trouble I have had in using some of them it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore. The last format change was to the gaming screens and they made it so they wouldn’t work using IE. I finally got them to work with the latest edition of Firefox but what a pain and the solution did not come from them. Last time I tried to use Explorer the games still wouldn’t load so they haven’t fixed a thing.
The home page used to be user defined and set up to show many topics of interest to you as an individual like many other search sites such as Yahoo and Google. The page is still there but is lost in the back ground and isn’t worth visiting anymore. The search engine function that was also a main draw is also a losing proposition as they have gone with ASK.com (I think that they are all under the same corporate umbrella) and the searches have gone downhill. They can’t even find this blog no matter how hard you try to ask and direct. After the last redesign you can no longer tell which search results are real and which are advertisements (hint: the advertisements are all listed first and none of them are relevant). In case you haven’t noticed I am still looking for a decent search site.
So to sum up, Dear IWON, three strikes and you are off the list. I have given you the benefit of the doubt and have wished for the best from you. I truly wanted nothing more than for you to be a premier web site that offered great games, useable searches, valued links and information, and a simple effective e-mail account. You had all of these elements at one time but slowly one by one you have lost it. Like so many other companies, you have lost your vision and your way. I say you have lost your vision but I think that you have changed your vision and your direction and it is that which has caused you to lose your way. The web is still a big wide world and it is full of options and choices galore that make it easy to be fickle. So long IWON. Wish you would miss me even half as much as I am going to miss what you were.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
29 August 2008
23 August 2008
Biden, really?
Obama chose Joseph Biden to be his running mate? Really? This truly is a socialist ticket from the socialist party.
I can't think of one good thing Biden has ever done but I do know that my memory has him associated with some pretty terrible legislation. Hopefully that will come out but I am sure the media love feast will continue and the kid gloves will be extended to one and all.
No really, is Obama trying to lose the race? I mean I can understand why he wouldn't want to have a Clinton on the ticket (too much baggage for even Charles Atlas to carry), but is the pool of Democratic socialist so thin that this is the best he could come up with?
Perhaps I should stop here because an old phrase is running through my head. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I know I am unable to follow that all the time and when it comes to opinions shouldn't, but what if the rest of the media followed that saying just a little bit more themselves? The local and national news hours might last about three minutes, (and that is after the two minute commercial break).
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
I can't think of one good thing Biden has ever done but I do know that my memory has him associated with some pretty terrible legislation. Hopefully that will come out but I am sure the media love feast will continue and the kid gloves will be extended to one and all.
No really, is Obama trying to lose the race? I mean I can understand why he wouldn't want to have a Clinton on the ticket (too much baggage for even Charles Atlas to carry), but is the pool of Democratic socialist so thin that this is the best he could come up with?
Perhaps I should stop here because an old phrase is running through my head. If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I know I am unable to follow that all the time and when it comes to opinions shouldn't, but what if the rest of the media followed that saying just a little bit more themselves? The local and national news hours might last about three minutes, (and that is after the two minute commercial break).
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
27 July 2008
Pleae start seeing bikes.
If there is one thing I have noticed since this latest gas price crunch, and you should have too, it is that there are many, many more bicyclist and motorcyclist on the roads these days. This requires extra care in looking out for them as well as for the others sharing the road. In some parts of the country where the weather is fine year round, you have probably just noticed an increase in volume, but then there are other parts of the country that have a winter and will notice that the volume of riders is affected by the seasons. There are a lot of fine weather riders who only come out on the good days, I know as I tend to be one of those kind.
Speaking of seasonality, bicyclists tend to have a strong upsurge in volume around this time of year, in part thanks to the popularity of the Tour de France bicycle race. Many a biker has been inspired by this yearly event, which can easily be seen thanks to the marvel of television, and that inspiration leads to an increase in biking activity as we try to bring out the Lance Armstrong in all of us.
The fact of the matter is there are as many different kinds of riders as there are people in this world. Everyone is represented in some form or rather from the youngest of children to the oldest of uprights. There are the ultra serious road racers training for the next big race, there the mountain bikers always hungry for that next great section of single track. There are casual cruisers that are less concerned with how long it takes than just making sure they take a ‘stroll’ around the neighborhood. There are adventures that have loaded up the packs and headed out for a major cross country tour that most would never even dream of. There are basket bikers that are looking for thrown out pop cans to put into the baskets attached to their handlebars. There are buddy riders that have the weekend jaunt out with the gang and there are the solo riders that put the miles down as they seek the quiet solitude of meditation and reflection that only a solo ride can bring. There is also the common commuter that has replaced at least some of his transportation requirements with his beloved bicycle.
That makes for a whole lot of different riding styles just as there are different driving styles you’ll see on the road around you and you need to be looking out for those differences. Good or bad, right or wrong they are all out there.
My personal preference is that a bicyclist should ride the rules of the street just as any other vehicle. This means using the road as any other would along with proper hand signals, lane choice, right of ways at intersections, and obeying stop signs. Sometimes traffic and speed differences do not allow for this to happen and adjustments must be made. Some creative riding is necessary to insure safety for all those involved. Sometimes it is easier to cross the intersection with the flow of traffic then back track and join up with traffic flowing 90 degrees the other direction than to try and cross two lanes of heavy traffic in order to use the left hand turning lane, but this is only sometimes as use of the left hand turn lane is what should happen.
You see if the biker and the motorist are using the same rules of the road they will know what to expect of each other and they can more easily play together. If one or the other does something that is unexpected, then adjustments need to be made (and sometimes quickly) or problems happen. This is true of all things that happen on the road and in all cases with our interaction with other vehicles we share the road with.
That is why it is important to teach good habits from an early age and unteach bad habits (if that is possible) in order to make things run more smoothly. One of the biggies is that bikes should ride with the flow of traffic, not against it. There is a lot of misinformed children out there who were taught to walk against the flow of traffic (so they could see and identify the car that hit them I guess although I would just as soon not know what hit me. Now that I think about it though we used to joke about what we didn’t want to get hit by or rather what we would prefer to get hit by such as a Mercedes versus a VW or a Rolls Royce versus an old Chevy pickup) and so by default they were taught to ride against the flow of traffic. Be aware that this is especially true in neighborhoods were kids have not learned or not permitted to ride great distances from home yet. In fact, in neighborhoods many kids will ride all over the streets and sidewalks and yards, they just aren’t as predictable.
Also most importantly, you do not need to sound your horn to signal a pass when approaching a bicyclist. This rule went out sometime around the turn of the 19th century and should not be reinstituted. Of course some riders bring it on themselves by riding three abreast at 15 mph on a road that cars are expecting to be doing 60.
Many of our roads out there just do not lend themselves well to bikes. Some roads have a good shoulder many have no shoulder as all. Be aware fellow motorist that just because there is a shoulder on the street you are driving, it does not mean that it is in any kind of condition to be ridden on. All that road debris and unused gravel gets pushed and blown to the side of the road and is seldom if ever swept up. Stuff that is a pain to walk on as a pedestrian is very difficult to navigate when riding a bicycle. The tires on some of your fancier road bikes as well as average everyday bikes are thin and susceptible to flats so most riders will try very hard to avoid running over things that will cause time consuming tube repairs. Also, just because the rider is on a mountain bike does not mean they wish to be riding of the pavement and in the weeds just so you can have the whole lane to yourself. Many bikers that are looking for efficiency will try to ride on the smoothest part of the road for the lowest rolling resistance. Many like to ride on the painted white stripe that defines the shoulder because the paint fills in the little valleys of rock in asphalt and provides just a little bit less friction. It is noticeable and I do it myself when I can, (especially if I am trying to keep up with someone).
Many people should take up biking, I strongly encourage it. It is good for your health, body, mind and spirit. If you are a thinking person it gives you time to think and ponder. If you are an adventurer it is a great way to explore. If you are a social person it is a great way to meet people and enjoy a common bond. If you are observant you will notice many things in your travels, things that would otherwise go unnoticed. There is a great deal of ways to enjoy things if you keep them from becoming a chore.
Now for motorcyclist I have a few things that need to be said. Some of what I say about bicyclist goes for motorcyclist as well but with some big differences. The biggest is that the power comes from the twist of a wrist rather than the twist of peddle. There is a weight difference as well as inertial mass so handling dynamics are different. The other major thing is speed. Motorcycles are not bicycles and bicycles are not motorcycles.
Because of the increase in gas prices there are a lot of new riders. If you watch closely you will notice that there are quite a few riders that are a little shaky starting off from a dead start, or don’t take the corner as smoothly as another rider might, or have a little trouble picking a line and staying on it. This is all part of the learning experience and they will get better with time.
Some riders might just be a little rusty after not having ridden for quite awhile. The price of gas is the motivator that brings their latent desires out of the storage shed and back to the street for a reawakened sense of freedom that a motorcycle can provide. It is important to remember that most motorcycles can accelerate faster and brake faster than most cars. The do not have the physical presence of a car and so they are sometimes harder to notice. Most riders with any experience are know this and are constantly on the lookout for the inattentive driver. Most accidents occur with the statement, “I just didn’t see them”. If you ever find yourself asking “Where did he come from?” then it is the first step to awareness. Take the extra time, take the second look.
A very common mistake that happens with all vehicles but especially with motorcycles and bicycles is that of someone pulling out if front of you. They may see you but that don’t take the time to truly judge just how fast you are traveling. So they decide to ‘go for it’ and this leads to frustrations because all too frequently they do not accelerate quickly enough and that means putting on the brakes and giving up momentum. That is just rude. If you discover that you have pulled in from of someone either by accident or on purpose accelerate quickly enough that they do not have to hit the brakes or even lift their foot off the throttle. Make sure that you speed up to the point that you are going at least as fast as they were or faster so that you do not become a hindrance. This is good motoring.
Every vehicle has blind spots; some have bigger blind spots than others. Be aware of what your blind spots are and what might be there. Be mindful of the blind spots in others. Try to spend as little time as possible in the blind spot of another no matter what kind of vehicle you or they are traveling in. Always be looking ahead, behind and to the sides to know what is around you and what others are doing. Some motorcycles and small sporty cars are very agile and that agility allows them to change positions very quickly and frequently which can be very convenient at times but also can catch other drivers off guard if they are not expecting you to be anywhere other than where you were when they last looked at you.
We all should be able to enjoy the road together and it really doesn’t have to be that hard. It is just a matter of being considerate of others as you would wish them to be considerate of you. It is because we are different that we come to different ways of answering our daily commuting needs. And it is exactly because we are different that the world is an interesting place to be.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Speaking of seasonality, bicyclists tend to have a strong upsurge in volume around this time of year, in part thanks to the popularity of the Tour de France bicycle race. Many a biker has been inspired by this yearly event, which can easily be seen thanks to the marvel of television, and that inspiration leads to an increase in biking activity as we try to bring out the Lance Armstrong in all of us.
The fact of the matter is there are as many different kinds of riders as there are people in this world. Everyone is represented in some form or rather from the youngest of children to the oldest of uprights. There are the ultra serious road racers training for the next big race, there the mountain bikers always hungry for that next great section of single track. There are casual cruisers that are less concerned with how long it takes than just making sure they take a ‘stroll’ around the neighborhood. There are adventures that have loaded up the packs and headed out for a major cross country tour that most would never even dream of. There are basket bikers that are looking for thrown out pop cans to put into the baskets attached to their handlebars. There are buddy riders that have the weekend jaunt out with the gang and there are the solo riders that put the miles down as they seek the quiet solitude of meditation and reflection that only a solo ride can bring. There is also the common commuter that has replaced at least some of his transportation requirements with his beloved bicycle.
That makes for a whole lot of different riding styles just as there are different driving styles you’ll see on the road around you and you need to be looking out for those differences. Good or bad, right or wrong they are all out there.
My personal preference is that a bicyclist should ride the rules of the street just as any other vehicle. This means using the road as any other would along with proper hand signals, lane choice, right of ways at intersections, and obeying stop signs. Sometimes traffic and speed differences do not allow for this to happen and adjustments must be made. Some creative riding is necessary to insure safety for all those involved. Sometimes it is easier to cross the intersection with the flow of traffic then back track and join up with traffic flowing 90 degrees the other direction than to try and cross two lanes of heavy traffic in order to use the left hand turning lane, but this is only sometimes as use of the left hand turn lane is what should happen.
You see if the biker and the motorist are using the same rules of the road they will know what to expect of each other and they can more easily play together. If one or the other does something that is unexpected, then adjustments need to be made (and sometimes quickly) or problems happen. This is true of all things that happen on the road and in all cases with our interaction with other vehicles we share the road with.
That is why it is important to teach good habits from an early age and unteach bad habits (if that is possible) in order to make things run more smoothly. One of the biggies is that bikes should ride with the flow of traffic, not against it. There is a lot of misinformed children out there who were taught to walk against the flow of traffic (so they could see and identify the car that hit them I guess although I would just as soon not know what hit me. Now that I think about it though we used to joke about what we didn’t want to get hit by or rather what we would prefer to get hit by such as a Mercedes versus a VW or a Rolls Royce versus an old Chevy pickup) and so by default they were taught to ride against the flow of traffic. Be aware that this is especially true in neighborhoods were kids have not learned or not permitted to ride great distances from home yet. In fact, in neighborhoods many kids will ride all over the streets and sidewalks and yards, they just aren’t as predictable.
Also most importantly, you do not need to sound your horn to signal a pass when approaching a bicyclist. This rule went out sometime around the turn of the 19th century and should not be reinstituted. Of course some riders bring it on themselves by riding three abreast at 15 mph on a road that cars are expecting to be doing 60.
Many of our roads out there just do not lend themselves well to bikes. Some roads have a good shoulder many have no shoulder as all. Be aware fellow motorist that just because there is a shoulder on the street you are driving, it does not mean that it is in any kind of condition to be ridden on. All that road debris and unused gravel gets pushed and blown to the side of the road and is seldom if ever swept up. Stuff that is a pain to walk on as a pedestrian is very difficult to navigate when riding a bicycle. The tires on some of your fancier road bikes as well as average everyday bikes are thin and susceptible to flats so most riders will try very hard to avoid running over things that will cause time consuming tube repairs. Also, just because the rider is on a mountain bike does not mean they wish to be riding of the pavement and in the weeds just so you can have the whole lane to yourself. Many bikers that are looking for efficiency will try to ride on the smoothest part of the road for the lowest rolling resistance. Many like to ride on the painted white stripe that defines the shoulder because the paint fills in the little valleys of rock in asphalt and provides just a little bit less friction. It is noticeable and I do it myself when I can, (especially if I am trying to keep up with someone).
Many people should take up biking, I strongly encourage it. It is good for your health, body, mind and spirit. If you are a thinking person it gives you time to think and ponder. If you are an adventurer it is a great way to explore. If you are a social person it is a great way to meet people and enjoy a common bond. If you are observant you will notice many things in your travels, things that would otherwise go unnoticed. There is a great deal of ways to enjoy things if you keep them from becoming a chore.
Now for motorcyclist I have a few things that need to be said. Some of what I say about bicyclist goes for motorcyclist as well but with some big differences. The biggest is that the power comes from the twist of a wrist rather than the twist of peddle. There is a weight difference as well as inertial mass so handling dynamics are different. The other major thing is speed. Motorcycles are not bicycles and bicycles are not motorcycles.
Because of the increase in gas prices there are a lot of new riders. If you watch closely you will notice that there are quite a few riders that are a little shaky starting off from a dead start, or don’t take the corner as smoothly as another rider might, or have a little trouble picking a line and staying on it. This is all part of the learning experience and they will get better with time.
Some riders might just be a little rusty after not having ridden for quite awhile. The price of gas is the motivator that brings their latent desires out of the storage shed and back to the street for a reawakened sense of freedom that a motorcycle can provide. It is important to remember that most motorcycles can accelerate faster and brake faster than most cars. The do not have the physical presence of a car and so they are sometimes harder to notice. Most riders with any experience are know this and are constantly on the lookout for the inattentive driver. Most accidents occur with the statement, “I just didn’t see them”. If you ever find yourself asking “Where did he come from?” then it is the first step to awareness. Take the extra time, take the second look.
A very common mistake that happens with all vehicles but especially with motorcycles and bicycles is that of someone pulling out if front of you. They may see you but that don’t take the time to truly judge just how fast you are traveling. So they decide to ‘go for it’ and this leads to frustrations because all too frequently they do not accelerate quickly enough and that means putting on the brakes and giving up momentum. That is just rude. If you discover that you have pulled in from of someone either by accident or on purpose accelerate quickly enough that they do not have to hit the brakes or even lift their foot off the throttle. Make sure that you speed up to the point that you are going at least as fast as they were or faster so that you do not become a hindrance. This is good motoring.
Every vehicle has blind spots; some have bigger blind spots than others. Be aware of what your blind spots are and what might be there. Be mindful of the blind spots in others. Try to spend as little time as possible in the blind spot of another no matter what kind of vehicle you or they are traveling in. Always be looking ahead, behind and to the sides to know what is around you and what others are doing. Some motorcycles and small sporty cars are very agile and that agility allows them to change positions very quickly and frequently which can be very convenient at times but also can catch other drivers off guard if they are not expecting you to be anywhere other than where you were when they last looked at you.
We all should be able to enjoy the road together and it really doesn’t have to be that hard. It is just a matter of being considerate of others as you would wish them to be considerate of you. It is because we are different that we come to different ways of answering our daily commuting needs. And it is exactly because we are different that the world is an interesting place to be.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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