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Someone needs to start an online gigantic cake business

Every once in awhile, there's something I cannot find on the Internet. Usually it's either something to do with lists of people's credit card numbers or food, and this item is no exception.

Melissa, a somewhat concerned reader, wondered where a person could purchase a cake that could be jumped out of. I had mentioned a cake like this in a previous column, thinking it was funny, because it never actually happened. I guess I didn't understand at the time the repercussions this could have.

Search engines are funny

Since I put my site up in July, I've been keeping track of how many people visit, including what pages they view, how long they stay on the site, the color of their hair, etc. Looking at the web statistics report is pretty funny sometimes because you can also see what people searched on to get to your site.

First book excerpt available

As you may or may not know, I'm in the process of writing a book. It was fun, but I'd like to finish it, get it published, sign some books and start working on the next one.

In the meantime, I'm going to provide you a few excerpts so you can see what I'm working on.

To set the stage for the first one, one of the book's main characters is meeting a blind date who happens to closely resemble her favorite celebrity.

Read the excerpt

Finding the email of a potential date

The Good Advice Committee had to answer an interesting question this week: Is it OK to email someone you are interested in dating, even if that person didn't give you his/her address personally? The committee members outlined a couple scenarios where this would be OK, and some that would be totally off limits.

The final decision was close, but in the end, the committee voted no, 3-2. Click here to read their opinions.

GAC: Finding the email of a potential date

QUESTION

Is it OK to email someone you are interested in dating, even if that person didn't give you his/her address personally?

AMANDA: NO

My opinion is no, unless you want to look like a stalker. The obvious response to the email will be, "So, how did you get my address?" And what will the reply to that be? "Oh, I decided to look at member directories at every email service I could think of to try to find out how to contact you." Talk about scaring someone off!

From the Archive

Ninjas are terribly high on the pecking order

In the latest IM tellin', Sean and I debate the rules that really should govern ninjas, among other things.

Sean: vampires, by nature, are essentially smooth criminals

Sean: if you think about it

Ben: that is a good point ... almost like ninjas

Sean: ninjas are not smooth criminals

Sean: because you cannot by any means measure a ninja to be smooth or not

Sean: because....who is going to see them?

SitePal the new Max Headroom

I'm not a big fan of sound on websites, but talking heads with sound? OK, now you have my attention. SitePal apparently delivers just that, with somewhat freakish characters that appear to be saying what is actually being said. As the site says, for as little as $9.95 a month, you can have a SitePal on YOUR very own site. It appears the company also makes custom Pals, as I found one for Santa Claus.

Tech news from someone who knows it

I oftentimes pass along links to other news sites, but I rarely pass along sites you should bookmark. That is, unless you go ahead and bookmark every single site you visit, just to see if you can collect the whole set on the Internet.

But if you want to read interesting technology news, visit The Pulpit, which is the home of PBS' technology writer, Robert X. Cringely.

Book review: 'The Soul of a New Machine' by Tracy Kidder

Being an author (occasionally) and having book events (rarer than occasionally), people often recommend other books or authors I should read. Usually the books pertain to what I have written about (technology) or possibly the style in which I attempt to write (sarcastic humor?).

Buy now.. low price... lifetime guarantee

One big disadvantage working at night is the television quality when I arrive home. Sometimes there could be a "Perfect Strangers" rerun or two, and possibly an old game show, but most channels are overrun by infomercials.

Webster defines an infomercial as "a long television commercial, often made to resemble a talk show, educational demonstration, interview, etc." Kudos to Webster's assessment. The only words missing from the definition are "trash," "ridiculous" and "cheap."

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