I used to be a pretty big fan of Lowe’s despite not being the sort of person who spends a lot of time in hardware stores. A good percentage of my Christmas lights and decorations have been purchased from Lowe’s over the years and on those rare occasions when I did need something hardware related they were often the first thought that popped into my head.
Then they started doing stupid shit that simply pisses me off. It started with their decision to cave into Right Wing Nutcase pressure to pull their ads from the reality TV show All-American Muslim back in December. Not that I don’t think companies have a right to advertise on whatever shows they want, but the reasoning behind the decision. That annoyed the shit out of me and gave me pause to consider whether I wanted to support such a cowardly company.
Then I read over at ArsTechnica.com about how they have a Linking Policy with forms you’re supposed to fill out, sign and send to them prior to linking to their website or using their logos. Apparently because they think they have any control over such things:
If you’re linking to Lowes.com and we’re using each other’s mark(s)/logo(s) on our separate sites, download the Version B link agreement (in PDF Format).
Please fax completed link agreement applications to: (302) 995-6906
You see that Lowe’s logo over there to the right? I haven’t asked permission to use it in this post. Same goes for the link I put in that very first paragraph. That’s OK, though, because both fall under the Fair Use clause in part because I am engaging in criticism of the company in question. Specifically the criticism that the company can go fuck itself.
The folks at Ars were equally confused by this policy and contacted the company in regards to it:
It all seemed so odd that I contacted Lowe’s public relations department and asked if it was the company’s position that people need to obtain such a license in order to link to Lowes.com. And if so, what legal basis stood behind this position?
“Managing link agreements is part of protecting our brand,” is the polite reply I received. “The process we have in place to handle links to lowes.com is a business decision.”
Obviously they have no legal leg to stand on and are just hoping people are stupid enough to think they have to have permission before linking to their site. While technically harmless, this sort of bullshit just gets my dander up in a major way. You can take brand protection to ridiculous extremes and in the process end up alienating otherwise loyal customers. Customers like me that will avoid Lowe’s from now on. Not because either thing they did is wrong per se, just stupid and cowardly. Sometimes that’s enough.
I was skeptical of the first movie under Sam Rami due to the changes they were making, but it turned out to be pretty damn good and even relatively faithful despite the changes they made. I’m also skeptical of this new movie, but if the trailer is anything to go by then it may also be pretty damn good and faithful to the source material. Which is really quite the feat when you think about it.
An awesome video by Jared Scheib and one of the finalists in the Richard Dawkins Foundation’s Ten Point Vision of a Secular America contest.You can see the rest at that link and vote for your favorite one.
It seems the inclusion of items I’ve shared through Google+ is confusing the hell out of a few people and I’ve had multiple complaints saying that folks don’t want to sign up for Google+ in order to read my posts. Ignoring the fact that there’s no need to sign up with Google+ to read anything I post publicly there or here, the extra but shortened content seems to be more problematic than useful for a lot of folks.
So I’ll shut off the importation plugin and go back to my usual much longer, but less frequent postings. The plugin(s) I was using for this process were a bit wonky anyway so it’ll be much less of a hassle for me. Perhaps this’ll motivate me to put more effort into posting by hand more often. Or at least I won’t have to keep repeating the same explanation to people.
It’s hard to say how much damage they’ve done to their own reputation with this, but it’s good to see so many people standing up for Planned Parenthood. The Koman Foundation bowed to political pressure from Christian zealots and a lot of folks just don’t appreciate that. #seb #politics #backlash
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Angry Reviewers Sink Susan G. Komen Foundation’s GuideStar Rating
As you’ve probably read about in the last few days, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (also known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure) decided to stop funding breast exams and mammograms at Planned Parenthood locations. This has obviously not gone over well with a number of people who view the decision as a capitulation to Christian conservatives. So in response, some of them have taken to the non-profit world’s equivalent of Yelp to voice their disapproval.
There is a growing number of people in the various entertainment industries that are calling for a different approach to dealing with piracy other than trying to nuke it from orbit. There will always be a certain amount of piracy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make money from your products. Especially if you can come up with new ways to turn pirates into customers. This is a problem that requires innovation, not legislation. #seb #piracy #videogames
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Angry Birds CEO: “Piracy May Not Be A Bad Thing”
While lawmakers and Hollywood execs try to come up with ways to combat piracy in ham-fisted, knee-jerk ways that punish everyone, the CEO of Rovio Mobile — better known as the company that makes Angry Birds — has joined his voice to more sensible suits who see online piracy as an opportunity to learn and grow.
While admitting that his company has issues with piracy and unlicensed products that make money off the wildly popular game, Rovio Mobile CEO Mikael Hed said earlier this week, “We c…
That’s pretty cool in its own right, but the best part is that it sounds like it may have sparked an interest in science for the young girl. #seb #science #discoveries
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5th Grader Accidentally Makes Explosive in Class, Gets Co-Authorship on Subsequent Paper
Kenneth Boehr wasn’t expecting more than the usual from his ten-year-old students when he started a lesson on the Periodic table and handed out the molecule modeling kits. Then Clara Lazen handed him a model constructed from oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon atoms, and asked if she’d made a real chemical or not. Boehr found himself stumped. So he took a cellphone picture of the whole deal, and sent it to an old college buddy: Robert Zoellner , professor of chemistry at Humbolt State University.
Tu…
We’re pretty heavy Redbox users in my house so this is very welcome news. Of course it could result in another rental price bump, but even if it does it’s still one of the more affordable rental options around. Netflix could learn a lesson or two from these guys. #seb #Movies #Rentals #Redbox
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Red Box To Warner Bros: Shove That 56-Day Rental Delay Up Your Ass!
The sale of physical movies is way down, as a result: some of the movie studios have been acting irrationally — forcing delays on physical rental services like Netflix, Blockbuster and Redbox. Because if customers aren’t buying your movies anymore, they must be punished.
Earlier this month it was announced that Warner Bros would no longer sell their DVDs and Blu-rays to rental services unless they adhere to a 56-day delay. This move forces film fans to pay full retail to see a new DVD/Blu-ray…
Six states have bills similar to the Indiana one in the process of winding their way through the legislative process. It's a sad statement that in the 21st century we still have people trying to take our science classes back to the 18th century. And we wonder why so many of our fellow Americans are idiots. #seb #Creationism #Science #Politics #Religion
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Indiana Senate passes bill putting religion in science class
Yesterday, after almost no debate, the Indiana State Senate approved a bill that would allow its schools to teach the origin stories of various religions when a class touches on the origin of life. It now moves on to the state's House, where one of its cosponsors is currently the Speaker of the House.
Although the bill as written could be used to create a comparative religion class, its sponsor, Senator Dennis Kruse, has made it clear that he hopes to see it foster the teaching of creationis…
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