Category Archives: News

Facebook Discriminates Against Web-saavy Users

Posted on by

Since it’s inception, I have had an account on Facebook. Over the years, it has grown to be one of the best social networking sites available. It’s users range from teens to adults, but a recent move by Facebook is going to upset a small portion of it’s users, the technically advanced users.

My email address is admin[at]jaypoc[dot]com, and has been for close to (if not more than) ten years. I have maintained this address as my personal email address and is the address that friends and colleagues know to contact me and/or search for me on social networking sites. A few weeks ago, I signed on to Facebook and saw a message stating “Our systems have detected that [email protected] is no longer a valid email. Facebook requires all users to maintain an active contact email.“.

It asked me to enter a new email address or re-confirm the same one, but would not allow me to reconfirm my valid email. I searched their help for a reason this was happening. It took a while to find it, but I located this absurd statement:

“Unfortunately we do not support email addresses with generic prefixes (e.g. info@, webmaster@ etc.). Since email addresses of this nature are typically used for organizations and businesses, we do not allow them to be used for personal Facebook accounts. You will need to use a personal email address that does not contain this type of prefix. There are no exceptions to this rule.”

Sure, Email addresses of that nature COULD be used for organizations and businesses, but only if the domain name is  owned by an organization or business. I own a PERSONAL WEB-SITE and have a PERSONAL domain name, so it’s only fitting that [email protected] is me. Facebook ignorantly refuses to accept that an individual could have their own domain name or web-site. Unfortunately, Creating a “valid” name according to Facebook’s statement would require me to reconfigure my mail server with additional aliases or email addresses. While a trivial task, none of my colleagues, friends, or family will know this new “facebook-compliant” address. How would they search for me? The simple answer is that they would not be able to. The basic functionality of Facebook, bringing people together, would be lost because of their closed-minded opinion that a domain name can not belong to an individual.

The fact remains that my email address is what it is. I will not change it for Facebook. If they want to kick me off of their system, then that’s what will happen. I will become a victim of discrimination not because of my religion or skin color, but because email address (while valid) doesn’t conform to their standards.

Michael Jackson RIP (and now some tasteless humor)

Posted on by

So yesterday as work ended, I had the opportunity to watch the events of Michael Jackson’s unfortunate death unfold. As somebody mentioned his name, I opened up Twitter Search to find that everyone was reporting Michael Jackson as dead. The strange part is there were few or no references. Finally I get a link to TMZ.com. They reported he had passed away, but hitting up other news sites reported only that he was taken to the hospital. After checking numerous news sites, I settled on CNN and started watching their live feed.

Around 6:28 PM they announced that they received confirmation that Michael had passed away, but it’s amazing how sites like TMZ can start up such a stir. A handful of other news organizations, including our own local Newsday.com reported the death prior to receiving any confirmation. They cited TMZ as their source long before any confirmation had been received.

Michael Jackson was an incredible performer and artist, but definitely had a quirky sense of being. It seems that we’ll never know for sure if all or any of the allegations against him are true or not, but they’ve certainly lead to tons of celebrity gossip humor. While some of it may be tasteless, I’ve continued to get bombarded with text messages containing Michael Jackson jokes, so rather then sending them all on, I will post them here for those who care to read them to do so.

If you are offended by Michael Jackson jokes, please leave this page now.

  • LA County hospital are unsure what to do with Michael Jackson’s remains since plastic recycling isn’t until next Tuesday.
  • Rumor has it Michael Jackson wants to be buried at sea and strapped to a couple of buoys…
  • Michael jackson hasn’t been this stiff since Macaulay Culkin slept over
  • When Farrah Fawcett got to heaven, God granted her one wish. She wished for all the children of the world to be safe. So god killed Michael Jackson.
  • In remembrance of the King of Pop, McDonalds is coming out with the McJackson Burger. 50 year old meat between 12 year old buns.
  • Due to the fact that Michael Jackson was 99% plastic, instead of being cremated, he is going to be melted into toys so little boys can now play with him.
  • Michael Jackson died of food poisoning. They found 9 year old sausage and 11 year old nuts in his stomach.

Thanks to the few of you who sent me the above (or variations of the above) jokes.

CW11 embarassed, loses credibility.

Posted on by

It would appear that an April Fools prank has finally gone too far, leaving the initial pranksters victims of abuse of copyright law, and taking away the credibility of a major news network.

On April 1, 2009, Improv Everywhere reported about their latest mission, to give a mourning family the best funeral ever. They reported that in their Improv Everywhere style, they attended a funeral and pretended to act as friends of the deceased. Their stunt shocked many people, including myself, who realized after about 30 minutes that this whole story was nothing more than an April Fools prank. But CW11 News did not see the humor.

The stunt was reported as real by CW11’s anchor, Jim Watkins, as legitimate. Obviously embarassed by the fact that he got it wrong, Jim Watkins noted on his blog that the staff at CW11 knew that the IE report was an april fools joke in itself, but reported it as true as an april fools joke of their own. I don’t buy it for a minute as Improv Everywhere had a recording of the CW11 news report up on YouTube, but it was taken down after the parent company of CW11 filed a copyright claim against the video with YouTube.

To watch the Improv Everywhere prank head over to www.ImprovEverywhere.com and also feel free to watch the CW11 news report below.

Download this video for yourself here. (Right-click on this link and select Save.

It’s time for a change.

Posted on by

I finally decided to get off my lazy butt and re-do the site. Let’s face it! It was in dire need of a facelift. Check out the new Jaypoc dotCom and let me know what you think of it. and if you’re looking for something from the old site, it’s still available. Just change the www to old in the incorrect URL and you’ll find what you’re looking for.

I still have a lot to do, but for now I’m happy with the layout/organization. I’ll be tweaking it over the next few weeks, so feedback is invaluable!

Now you’re playing with power

Posted on by

Many people would kill to get a hold of a Wii, but would you die for one? Jennifer Strange of Rancho Cordova, California did just that. Radio Station KDND (appropriately nicknamed, The End) held a competition “Hold your Wee for a Wii” where contestants were given bottles of water in 15 minute intervals, and advised to “hold it in” as long as they could. The last person to relieve themselves won the Ninntendo Wii console.

Jennifer was only 28 years old when she died of what is believe at this point to be water intoxication. Officials are still waiting for more information confirming the cause of her death.

Other Resources:

Taipei Times

wii60