<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title>RSS feed for InstantSpot site Dave&apos;s Blog</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com</link><description>My journey in blogging</description><language>en-us</language><copyright>This work is Copyright &#xA9; 2009 by Dave&apos;s Blog</copyright><generator>RSSVille ColdFusion FeedMaker, version 1.0</generator><pubDate>Sat, 21 Nov 2009 12:20:45 GMT</pubDate><item><title>How to Correctly Build Backlinks for SEO</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/24/How-to-Correctly-Build-Backlinks-for-SEO</link><description>&lt;div id=&quot;body&quot;&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Most webmasters will attempt some form of Search Engine Optimization during  their career as website owners. They will do this because they want to increase  their Page Rank which will increase their website traffic. Most will fail; this  article will go into depth on how to build a good backlinking campaign  correctly which will in turn increase ranking and sales.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  When most people think of SEO they think of backlinks.&lt;span&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;They are under the perception that the more  backlinks they have the better page rank they will get.&lt;span&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;They are partially correct, but it needs to  be done correctly.&lt;span&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Below are some  helpful tips on the correct way and the incorrect way of building backlinks.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The correct way to build Backlinks&lt;/strong&gt;:&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  1) Get relevant websites with good Page Rank (PR) to link to your website.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  2) Join a Forum that allows you to put your link in your signature. You&amp;#39;ll  want to find a forum that is in your niche that way you&amp;#39;ll build relevant  links. &lt;strong&gt;Do not spam the forums&lt;/strong&gt;, that is the fastest way to get yourself banned.  Participate, and not only will you create backlinks that the search engines  will spider but you will get traffic from the forum itself and  develop relationships with others within your niche.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  3) Get a Good Link Baiting campaign going by providing content that attracts  other webmasters to link to it.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  4) List your website in relevant Directories.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Wrong way to obtain Backlinks&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  1) Write hundreds of articles (This produces low value, spammy links from  the same block of IP addresses).&lt;br /&gt;  2) Write Hundreds of Press Releases about your site stating how great it is.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  3) Have unrelated sites with poor Page Rank to link to you.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  4) Participate in a Link Farm   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  5) Spam blog sites comment fields. This is a waste of time anyway since most  blogs put a tag on any user created link of (rel=&amp;quot;nofollow&amp;quot;. When  Google spiders the website, if it comes across any links with this tag it will  disregard them. Read more about the no follow tag from the &lt;a href=&quot;http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/01/preventing-comment-spam.html&quot;&gt;Official  Google Blog.&lt;/a&gt;   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The most important thing to learn from this article is that backlinks from  relevant sites will increase your page rank the most.&lt;span&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;Spamming blogs will do nothing but waste your  time and irritate the blog owner.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Useful Tool&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.quirk.biz/download-searchstatus&quot;&gt;SearchStatus Firefox Plugin&lt;/a&gt; :&amp;nbsp; This is a very useful plugin for building relevant backlinks.&amp;nbsp; Remember above&amp;nbsp; where I said you want backlinks on relevant pages with good Page Rank.&amp;nbsp; Well this plugin puts a little bar graph on the top of firefox that weill let you know what the Page Rand and the Alexa rank of whatever page you are visiting.&amp;nbsp; Not only that but it has a setting that will highlight any link on a web page that uses the no follow tag.&amp;nbsp; This is very beneficial if you are looking for page to establish backlinks on.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;span style=&quot;font-size: 12pt&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  </description><pubDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:27:30 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/24/How-to-Correctly-Build-Backlinks-for-SEO</guid><category>Better Blogging</category></item><item><title>Major League Baseball Caps With Gang Colors</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/24/Major-League-Baseball-Caps-With-Gang-Colors</link><description>&lt;table border=&quot;0&quot;&gt;   &lt;tbody&gt;    &lt;tr&gt;     &lt;td&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;/userfiles/102006/201/gangsymbols.gif&quot; alt=&quot; &quot; /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;     &lt;/td&gt;     &lt;td&gt;     &lt;p&gt;     &lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NEW YORK &amp;mdash;  Official &lt;a href=&quot;javascript:siteSearch(&amp;#39;Major League Baseball&amp;#39;);&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Major League Baseball&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;     caps blatantly featuring colors and symbols for some of America&amp;#39;s     deadliest street gangs are turning up on store shelves in Harlem.  &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/span&gt;     &lt;/p&gt;     &lt;p&gt;     &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;     &lt;/p&gt;     &lt;/td&gt;    &lt;/tr&gt;   &lt;/tbody&gt;  &lt;/table&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;Outraged local activists charge  that New Era, the caps&amp;#39; manufacturer, and the New York Yankees &amp;mdash; whose  famous interlocking NY cap features a choice of a red and black  bandanna design for the Bloods, blue and gray for the Crips and a gold  crown for the Latin Kings &amp;mdash;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;and &lt;a style=&quot;border-bottom: 0.075em solid darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; text-decoration: underline; color: darkgreen; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 1px&quot; href=&quot;http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294409,00.html#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;iAs&quot;&gt;Major League Baseball&lt;/a&gt; are deliberately marketing to gang members and wannabes.&lt;/span&gt;   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;span&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;Companies involved should  not profit from the promotion of gang affiliation, which leads only to  gang violence,&amp;quot; the activists, who call themselves the Coalition to  Protect Our Children, said in a statement. The coalition is concerned  that unsuspecting kids could buy one of the hats, wear it in the wrong  turf and then be targeted for attack.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;The group marched Thursday in East &lt;a style=&quot;border-bottom: 0.075em solid darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; text-decoration: underline; color: darkgreen; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 1px&quot; href=&quot;http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294409,00.html#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;iAs&quot;&gt;Harlem&lt;/a&gt;  to try to pressure local shops into pulling the caps from their  shelves. One store operator agreed to do so, MyFOXNY.com reported.&lt;/span&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Meanwhile, an MLB official claimed the league was not aware that the designs were gang-related.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;Major League &lt;a style=&quot;border-bottom: 0.075em solid darkgreen; font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; text-decoration: underline; color: darkgreen; background-color: transparent; padding-bottom: 1px&quot; href=&quot;http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294409,00.html#&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; class=&quot;iAs&quot;&gt;Baseball&lt;/a&gt;  &amp;hellip; is very concerned about the issue,&amp;quot; said Silvia Alvarez, the league&amp;#39;s  director of multicultural and charitable communications, in a  statement. She indicated that MLB would encourage and support the  pulling of these caps from stores.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The  Coalition to Protect our Children said the group would continue its  efforts to stop the sale of caps with gang colors and symbols and plans  to hold gang-awaren  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:13:29 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/24/Major-League-Baseball-Caps-With-Gang-Colors</guid><category>bizarre</category></item><item><title>New blog</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/20/New-blog</link><description>I just launched a new blog at &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.papazoo.com&quot;&gt;www.papazoo.com&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s going to be concentrating on humor, bizarreness and anything funny, whereas this on is whatever I want.&amp;nbsp; Come over and check it out, and any criticism good or bad is appreciated.  </description><pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:58:26 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/20/New-blog</guid><category>News</category></item><item><title>Hilarious Telemarketer Prank Call</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/20/Hilarious-Telemarketer-Prank-Call</link><description>&lt;p align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;  This has to be the funniest telemarketer prank call  I&amp;#39;ve ever heard.  You gotta listen to this, you&amp;#39;ll be on the floor  rolling with laughter.   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  [youtube J5z4Vs26-TI]  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:12:02 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/20/Hilarious-Telemarketer-Prank-Call</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Britney gets topless for photo shoot, but is no-show for interview</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/18/Britney-gets-topless-for-photo-shoot-but-is-noshow-for-interview</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  The cover of the September issue of Allure magazine features Britney  Spears posed provocatively in jeans and dark brown wig, her bare  breasts covered by her arms. There are two similar shots inside the  mag. She very cooperatively posed for the shots in April. When it came  to sitting for the interview she had also agreed to, that became a much  different matter.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;ldquo;Britney showed up for Allure&amp;rsquo;s cover shoot on time and ready to  work,&amp;rdquo; editor-in-chief Linda Wells wrote in an a letter for the issue,  on newsstands Tuesday.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;ldquo;She was entirely unself-conscious: She took off her wig and then  stripped down to the waist, for no apparent reason, before sitting for  hair and makeup,&amp;rdquo; Wells said. &amp;ldquo;She was agreeable and cooperative on the  shoot and left at the end of the day, followed by a trail of paparazzi.&amp;rdquo;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  As for the interview that was to follow, the 25-year-old Spears  missed four appointments with Allure interviewer Judith Newman, Wells  said.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  At one point, Spears put off the chat because she was &amp;ldquo;delayed by  important work in the recording studio,&amp;rdquo; Newman wrote. But, she added,  &amp;ldquo;The paparazzi found her a few hours later at a salon, getting her  nails done.&amp;rdquo; .  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  What do you do when you have no profile to accompany some alluring  photographs? Newman wrote a first-person essay about her experience  trying to track down Spears.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;ldquo;Britney has long lost her role-model status,&amp;rdquo; Wells commented.  &amp;ldquo;That dream of a comeback seems to occupy an ever-more-distant speck on  the horizon.&amp;rdquo;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Sun, 19 Aug 2007 01:54:41 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/18/Britney-gets-topless-for-photo-shoot-but-is-noshow-for-interview</guid><category>bizarre</category></item><item><title>Telemarketer Call: Crazy Old Lady</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/16/Telemarketer-Call-Crazy-Old-Lady</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;This is hilarious.&amp;nbsp; Pyscho old lady goes off on a telemarketer.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  [youtube wgjFjCOlv7I] &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:03:46 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/16/Telemarketer-Call-Crazy-Old-Lady</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Bizarre - Sheep trial</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/15/Bizarre--Sheep-trial</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  A Dutch man was cleared of having sex with a sheep because the animal could not testify.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The  man - from Haaksbergen, near Utrecht - was reported to police by a  farmer who caught him having intercourse with the four-legged animal.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  But  the case was thrown out of court because the sheep couldn&amp;#39;t take to the  stand to testify it had not consented and had suffered emotional stress.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Bestiality is not illegal in the Netherlands unless it can be proven the animal did not want to take part.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Animal  rights campaigner Jos van Huisen said: &amp;quot;Short of putting the sheep in  the dock, at the moment these perverts cannot be prosecuted.&amp;quot;   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Minister of Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin has announced plans to change the law. &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:27:12 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/15/Bizarre--Sheep-trial</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>How to do nothing at work and still get paid</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/14/How-to-do-nothing-at-work-and-still-get-paid</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  Do you have a coworker like this?&amp;nbsp; Now you too can learn how to show up at work and not do a thing, the amazing thing is that you will still get paid.&amp;nbsp; You too can consume valuable oxygen and take up space that would normally be used by someone of value.&amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  [youtube YYgtUvgYi8U]  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:57:37 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/14/How-to-do-nothing-at-work-and-still-get-paid</guid><category>Cool How To&apos;s</category></item><item><title>Panhandler fatally shot after asking woman for a quarter</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/13/Panhandler-fatally-shot-after-asking-woman-for-a-quarter</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  CINCINNATI &amp;mdash; A woman shot and killed a panhandler who asked her for 25 cents, police say.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;He asked her for a quarter,&amp;quot; Police Chief Tom Streicher said. &amp;quot;That&amp;#39;s apparently all there was to it.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Donald Francis, who police believe was homeless, stood outside a gas  station late Monday asking people for money. Geraldine Beasley had  complained about Francis to someone else, and when he approached her  she pulled out a gun and shot him, police said.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Francis, 44, died at the scene.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Beasley, 62, was charged with murder and today was ordered held in  lieu of $500,000 bail, according to court documents. Her attorney, Mass  Ionna, told Municipal Court Judge Fanon Rucker that his client has  mental issues.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Beasley&amp;#39;s court record dates back 15 years with traffic charges,  eviction cases and civil judgments both for and against her. She was  fined in 2003 for improperly transporting a loaded gun after officers  found one in her van.  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:21:18 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/13/Panhandler-fatally-shot-after-asking-woman-for-a-quarter</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Bush is like a scratched record</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/12/Bush-is-like-a-scratched-record</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  Our president wants to enact another policy that favors U.S. Corporations, which is code for helping his rich buddies that put him in office.&amp;nbsp; He is considering another tax cut, even though we now have a record deficit, and the Iraq war is costing us billions with no end in site.&amp;nbsp; This means the deficit will increase, and since it only affects corporations then the burden falls even heavier on us.&amp;nbsp; He must be seeing that the end is near and wants to squeeze every last dollar he can out of us for his cronies.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;blockquote&gt;   &lt;p&gt;   President Bush said yesterday that he is considering a   fresh plan to cut tax rates for U.S. corporations to make them more   competitive around the world, an initiative that could further inflame   a battle with the Democratic Congress over spending and taxes and help   define the remainder of his tenure.   &lt;/p&gt;   &lt;p&gt;   Advisers presented Bush with a series of ideas to restructure   corporate taxes, possibly eliminating narrowly targeted breaks to pay   for a broader, across-the-board rate cut. In an interview with a small   group of journalists afterward, Bush said he was &amp;ldquo;inclined&amp;rdquo; to send a   corporate tax package to Congress, although he expressed uncertainty   about its political viability.&amp;nbsp;   &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/blockquote&gt;  </description><pubDate>Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:46:50 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/12/Bush-is-like-a-scratched-record</guid><category>politics</category></item><item><title>Christ-like smudge on garage floor fetches $1,500 on eBay</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/11/Christlike-smudge-on-garage-floor-fetches-1500-on-eBay</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  FOREST, VA. &amp;mdash; A smudge of driveway sealant resembling the face of  Jesus Christ has fetched more than $1,500 in an online auction.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The family that found the image on its garage floor sold it for  $1,525.69 on eBay Wednesday, more than a week after the slab of  concrete was put on sale.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;I really never thought I&amp;#39;d get any, to be honest,&amp;quot; said Deb Serio, a high school teacher.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s fun to see what people say and think about it,&amp;quot; said Serio, who has gotten hundreds of messages from around the world.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The family has hired a contractor to remove the section of concrete.  The chunk will be turned over to the winner, identified only as  &amp;quot;islandoffthecoast.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  An active Lutheran, Serio considers the smudge just an odd occurrence &amp;mdash; not a sign or miracle.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;There are some people who need this kind of thing to sort of start  them on their faith journey. I don&amp;#39;t,&amp;quot; she said. &amp;quot;That&amp;#39;s why I don&amp;#39;t  mind parting with it.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;/userfiles/102006/201/christ.jpg&quot; alt=&quot; &quot; /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Sat, 11 Aug 2007 15:13:40 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/11/Christlike-smudge-on-garage-floor-fetches-1500-on-eBay</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Builder does DIY castration</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/10/Builder-does-DIY-castration</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  Building boss Howard Shelley carried out the ultimate DIY conversion by castrating himself.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The 42-year-old dad of two decided on the drastic move after being told  he would have to wait at least two years for a sex change on the NHS,  reports The Sun.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   He found a website which gave a  step-by-step guide to the eye-watering home surgery, then waited till  wife Janet went out before setting to work with a kitchen knife in the  loo.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   With the job done, he wrapped his severed appendages in a cloth and dropped them in the bin.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Then he drove five miles to his local GP, explained what he&amp;#39;d done, and  was packed off for treatment at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital, near  Aylesbury.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   Amazingly, three days later he was back at his desk.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   Howard, who wants to be known as Holli, said: &amp;quot;It was very painful, but the moment I cut them off I felt all woman.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m the sort of guy who, when I make up my mind to do something, wants  it done there and then. I didn&amp;#39;t want to be a man any more so I decided  to do it myself.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   &amp;quot;The worst bit was steeling myself for the  first cut. The whole thing took six minutes. It was agony, but I knew I  couldn&amp;#39;t stop.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   He is saving up &amp;pound;5,000 for a full sex-change  operation in Thailand. He said: &amp;quot;I want breasts and hips - then I can  be a real woman.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;   Janet, 42, who has an MBE for setting up  their firm, said: &amp;quot;We still love each other. I&amp;#39;m just angry he had to  take such extreme action.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:40:47 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/10/Builder-does-DIY-castration</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Hilarious Skittles commercial</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/09/Hilarious-Skittles-commercial</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  &amp;quot;The Skittles Touch&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; this is hilarious.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  [youtube Ue3d5xUQr0I] &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:07:43 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/09/Hilarious-Skittles-commercial</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>My Animated World</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/06/My-Animated-World</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  This is a really cool Stop Motion video by Jelle Van Dun from the Netherlands.&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  [youtube cYhhfHYZa5s] &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 03:13:41 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/06/My-Animated-World</guid><category>video</category></item><item><title>T-Shirt History</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/03/TShirt-History</link><description>&lt;div id=&quot;body&quot;&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  A modern t-shirt usually has no buttons, collars or  pockets. It can be made of cotton or polyester or a blend. The t-shirt  has round neck and sleeve holes and currently may be decorated with  text and graphics, sometimes funny.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  But, the t-shirt has not  always been this way, oh no. The t-shirt has a long and proud history  beginning with the ancient Egyptians who wore formal undergarments  while they were erecting the pyramids in 120-degree desert heat.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Some  historians theorize that the pyramids were actually supposed to be  large cubes, but since each crew was exhausted from wearing t-shirts  underneath their garment in the high desert heat, that subsequent crews  did less and less work. This desire to do less and hurry the finality  of the project lead the crew leader on day to simply put a point on top  of the cube-turned-pyramid and inform the high priests and priestesses  that there had been a cost overruns and a &amp;ldquo;change in plans&amp;rdquo;.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Be  that as it may, t-shirts again reared their ugly heads in the 19th  century, once again as formal undergarments in Britain. The Brits and  their famous eye for prudence started requiring school age boys to wear  t-shirts and tuck them in over their underwear but inside their pants  in order to foil the bullies&amp;rsquo; attempts at giving atomic wedgies.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The  bullies were not foiled however, and just grabbed t-shirts and  underpants in two motions instead of one and proceeded to give atomic  wedgies as before. Some schoolchildren then used flatulence as a  defense mechanism to deter the bullies, but this is for another  discussion altogether.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  T-shirts became popular again with the  advent of World War II. Military types such as sailors began wearing  these undergarments to work in and when overheated would throw off the  shirts atop and work in t-shirts only.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Some early videos posted  on Youtube show sailors in the 1940&amp;rsquo;s performing their duties in  t-shirts aboard huge warships and occasionally breaking out in song and  dance particularly to &amp;ldquo;Y-M-C-A&amp;rdquo; by the Village People. Calisthenics  were performed on board these large aircraft carriers to keep the men  in shape and even Richard Simmons&amp;rsquo; father, Gene would lead the jumping  jacks in his t-shirt.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  In the 1960&amp;rsquo;s Forrest &amp;ldquo;Running Man&amp;rdquo; Gump  heralded in a new era of decorated t-shirts. When he was once again  rejected by Jenny, he took to running cross country and wiped his muddy  face on what would become the first Happy Face t-shirt. Gump also told  another runner that &amp;ldquo;stuff happens&amp;rdquo; or some similar vulgar verbiage and  this became a national motto in no time, decorating t-shirts from coast  to coast.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Since this time, t-shirts have been a method of  self-expression for millions of people. First worn as a means of  political commentary, it didn&amp;rsquo;t take long before the commentary turned  humorous and then people started wearing all sorts of funny t-shirts to  express their inner goofballs to the world.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  So, there you have  it, a twisted history of the modern t-shirt. Though this may be a  fractured fairytale of what really happened, the essence is in fact  accurate. No go out and buy a t-shirt to express your inner goofball.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  </description><pubDate>Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:28:57 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/08/03/TShirt-History</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Microsoft patents the mother of all adware systems</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/30/Microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;It&amp;#39;s such a tremendously bad idea that it&amp;#39;s almost bound to succeed. Microsoft has filed &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070716-microsoft-patent-gives-a-peek-at-the-future-beyond-the-taskbar.html&quot;&gt;another&lt;/a&gt; patent, this one for an &amp;quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&amp;amp;Sect2=HITOFF&amp;amp;d=PG01&amp;amp;p=1&amp;amp;u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&amp;amp;r=1&amp;amp;f=G&amp;amp;l=50&amp;amp;s1=%2220070157227%22.PGNR.&amp;amp;OS=DN/20070157227&amp;amp;RS=DN/20070157227&quot;&gt;advertising framework&lt;/a&gt;&amp;quot; that uses &amp;quot;context data&amp;quot; from your hard drive to show you advertisements and &amp;quot;apportion and credit advertising revenue&amp;quot; to ad suppliers in real time. Yes, Redmond wants to own the patent on the mother of all adware.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  The application, filed in 2006, describes a multi-faceted, robust ad-delivering system that lives on a &amp;quot;user computer, whether it&amp;#39;s part of the OS, an application or integrated within applications.&amp;quot;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070717-microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems.html&quot;&gt;Click here to read the rest&lt;/a&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Mon, 30 Jul 2007 21:50:34 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/30/Microsoft-patents-the-mother-of-all-adware-systems</guid><category>rants</category></item><item><title>Computer Stupidities</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/26/Computer-Stupidities</link><description>&lt;p&gt;  I work in Tech Suport for a major DSL provider and we always get calls from people that are shall we say less than proficient on there computers.&amp;nbsp; I recently found a website called &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/&quot;&gt;Computer Stupidites&lt;/a&gt;  and below are some of the better ones.&amp;nbsp; Anyone that has ever done some kind of tech support can relate to these.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Me&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;DSL is a lot faster.  It--&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Friend&amp;#39;s Father&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yeah, but if you have DSL, there are a   lot of threats.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Me&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes, that&amp;#39;s true to a degree, but there are firewalls   that--&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Friend&amp;#39;s Father&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;No, but they can hack into your computer even   when it&amp;#39;s off and steal your electricity.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Me&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Umm...I&amp;#39;m pretty sure that won&amp;#39;t happen.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Friend&amp;#39;s Father&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s all over the news. You mean to tell me   they&amp;#39;re wrong?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Me&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;...I guess so.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;hr width=&quot;100%&quot; size=&quot;2&quot; /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;I got DSL, but it&amp;#39;s not working.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;What kind of modem do you have?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Ummm, I dont know.  It&amp;#39;s built into my laptop.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Ok, did you receive the modem package we sent out?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Modem package??&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Well, it looks like the modem was shipped to   &lt;em&gt;(address)&lt;/em&gt;, Pennsylvania.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;I don&amp;#39;t live in Pennsylvania. I live in New York.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Huh.  Do you know this Pennsylvania address?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes, that&amp;#39;s my Mom&amp;#39;s house.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Ok, this DSL phone number you gave me -- is that   your mother&amp;#39;s number?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes, they told me in order for me to have DSL,   I need to have your company&amp;#39;s phone service.  My mother has it, so I   gave them her telephone number.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;hr width=&quot;100%&quot; size=&quot;2&quot; /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Sir, Click Start, then Run, and type the letters   C, M, and D.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Wait a minute, don&amp;#39;t run off the end of the earth away   from me now. I can only go so fast with this thing.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Sorry, sir. Did you click Start?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Where is that start button? Oh, here is is. Now what?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Um, did you click it?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Dammit, no, do that now?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes, then click on the word Run.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Dammit, slow down!!! Run, run, run, where the hell   is run?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Should be a the very bottom of the Start Menu that   came up on the screen.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;I already clicked Start. Click it again?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;No, it should be there in the lower left corner.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Hey, I found the word Run. You want that instead?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Sure, why not? We&amp;#39;ll see if that works. Did you   click it?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Ok, type the letters C, M, and then D.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Slow down, dammit!! I&amp;#39;m not a programmer!!! I told you   I&amp;#39;m only a car dealer!!&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Sorry, again, sir, what do you have there?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Z.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;No, we need &amp;#39;C&amp;#39; like &amp;#39;Charlie.&amp;#39;&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;C-H-A-R--&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Not the whole word &amp;#39;Charlie,&amp;#39; sir, just the &amp;#39;C,&amp;#39;   please.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;If you don&amp;#39;t want a Charlie, why tell me to type   it?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Um, what&amp;#39;s in the box now?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;I&amp;#39;m trying to find the eraser here.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Just hit the backspace key.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;That just moves it further to the right without typing   anything.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Which backspace key did you press?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;The long one in the middle. I pressed it on the back   side.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  Eventually, we &amp;quot;found&amp;quot; the correct backspace key and got that Z  replaced with a C.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;ul&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Now that we just have a &amp;#39;C&amp;#39; there, type an &amp;#39;M,&amp;#39;   like &amp;#39;Mary,&amp;#39; but &lt;em&gt;just&lt;/em&gt; the &amp;#39;M,&amp;#39; ok?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;. &amp;quot;M-O-K.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Remember that backspace key?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Press it twice.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;All right, but it took off the &amp;#39;O&amp;#39; and &amp;#39;K&amp;#39; you wanted.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Never mind that, I&amp;#39;ll live. Now type a &amp;#39;D,&amp;#39; just   the letter D.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;D.  Now what?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Now press the enter key.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;E-N-T-E-R.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Is there anyone else around the lot that is   maybe a little more familiar with computers than you are?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Customer&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Well, my wife uses one at her work and might be a   little more familiar. She comes in in an hour. You want to talk to her?&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;   &lt;li&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Tech Support&lt;/strong&gt;: &amp;quot;Yes, please.&amp;quot;   &lt;/li&gt;  &lt;/ul&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;p&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2007 18:43:12 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/26/Computer-Stupidities</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Worst Job</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/25/Worst-Job</link><description>&lt;span&gt;  &lt;div id=&quot;msgcns!C6AEB80478260E1F!321&quot; class=&quot;bvMsg&quot;&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  I was curious what everyones worst job they ever held was.  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  I would have to say that mine was at Hardee&amp;#39;s.  It was my first  job.  I was 15 and had to alter my birth certificate in order to work  there.  I actually broke the law to work in a fast food place.  I was  the burger flipper.  I can&amp;#39;t say cook since you really don&amp;#39;t know how  to cook, you just flip the burgers when the timer went off.  It was so  hot that by the time I got off, I stunk to high heaven.  The  interesting thing was that the general manager was a coke head and the  assistant manager always disappeared to the roof to smoke weed.  This  actually had its benefits.  When the assistant manager was high he  became the nicest person and wanted to be everyones best buddy.  This  got me off work early numerous times.  I usually worked nights until  close, and there were a couple times that after close we had pickle and  and ice fights over the entire restaraunt, it was alot of fun until we  had to clean it up.  We wouldn&amp;#39;t have been able to get away with this  if the bosses weren&amp;#39;t stoned.  I make it kinda of sound like fun and  looking back at it 20 years later it actually sounds fun, but it  sucked.    &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  Please leave a comment and let me know what your worst job was.  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;  </description><pubDate>Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:29:07 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/25/Worst-Job</guid><category>humor</category></item><item><title>Tammy Faye Bakker dies</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/22/Tammy-Faye-Bakker-dies</link><description>Tammy Faye Messner, who as Tammy Faye Bakker  helped her husband, Jim, build a multimillion-dollar evangelism empire  and then watched it collapse in disgrace, has died. She was 65.  &lt;p class=&quot;textBodyBlack&quot;&gt;  &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Messner  had battled colon cancer since 1996 that more recently spread to her  lungs. She died peacefully Friday at her home near Kansas City, Mo.,  said Joe Spotts, her manager and booking agent.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;textBodyBlack&quot;&gt;  &lt;span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;A family service was held Saturday in a private cemetery, where her ashes were interred, he said.  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;textBodyBlack&quot;&gt;  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19891663/&quot;&gt;full story&lt;/a&gt;    &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;textBodyBlack&quot;&gt;  &amp;nbsp;  &lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class=&quot;textBodyBlack&quot; align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;  &lt;img src=&quot;/userfiles/102006/201/tammy.jpg&quot; alt=&quot; &quot; /&gt; &lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;  </description><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:15:32 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/22/Tammy-Faye-Bakker-dies</guid><category>News</category></item><item><title>Darwin award witnessed</title><link>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/18/Darwin-award-witnessed</link><description>&lt;span&gt;  &lt;div id=&quot;msgcns!C6AEB80478260E1F!289&quot; class=&quot;bvMsg&quot;&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;While I was in the army I  was stationed in Landstuhl Germany from 1998-2001, and while I was  there I had the morbid pleasure to witness the aftermath of a Darwin  Awardee.  Below is the text from their website and they call it Mental  Eclipse.  While it is tragic to see something like this happen, I was wondering if anyone else has a similar story.&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;   &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/index_darwin2001.html&quot;&gt;http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/index_darwin2001.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; &lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;(11 August 1999) A 42-year-old man killed himself  watching the eclipse while driving near Kaiserslautern, Germany. A  witness driving behind him stated that the man was weaving back and  forth as he concentrated on the partially occluded sun, when he  suddenly accelerated and hit the bridge pier. He had apparently just  donned his solar viewers, which are dark enough to totally obscure  everything except the sun. &lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;div&gt;  &lt;font size=&quot;3&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Yes when I read this I can&amp;#39;t help but to laugh.   The scene was hardly funny though.  I think he was driving a VW Golf  but the car was so mangled it was almost impossible to determine.  I  find it morbidly amusing the way we as humans can find humor in others  stupidity.  I can&amp;#39;t help but wonder, was this guy in that big of a  hurry that he couldn&amp;#39;t stop for 2 minutes, and what was he thinking?   Was it something like, I don&amp;#39;t need these eyes?  I got it.  He was  using his telepathic powers to guide his car but that pier just jumped  out in front of him.  It&amp;#39;s kinda like people talking on their cell  phones while driving but multiplied by a hundred.  We&amp;#39;re all guilty of  it.  I guess that&amp;#39;s the reason you can get a drivers license while  being deaf but can&amp;#39;t if your blind. &lt;/font&gt;&lt;br /&gt;  &lt;/font&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/div&gt;  &lt;/span&gt;  </description><pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 2007 01:31:57 GMT</pubDate><guid>http://dave.instantspot.com/blog/2007/07/18/Darwin-award-witnessed</guid><category>humor</category></item></channel></rss>