Lighting The Grill
Guess what happens if you use three gallons of liquid oxygen to help light the barbie? Kids, don't try this at home! (Note: the pictures are part-way down the page).
Category: kaboom!

Alien Abductions
Have you ever been abducted by aliens? Do you want to be? This site could be just what you're looking for.
Category: Owch, get that thing out of my nose

Soul Exchange
And if you can't get abducted, why not just sell your soul -- it's probably quite a similar experience.
Category: Bedazled

Readers Say (updated hourly) Westhaven funeral home... - Graeme Have Your Say

It's A Week For Six-shooters
Spam and cowboys -- they seem to share an unbreakable bond don't they?

Well, it looks like another one may have just rode into town.

Several Aardvark readers have emailed me complaining that the "web design" (and I use the term loosely) company Active Digital Designs has sent them unsolicited commercial email offering to build them a one-page website for $180 plus $35/hour for any extra work.

Wow! What a deal (not!)

This guy has the cheek to put at the bottom of his message:

"NEVER SEND SPAM. IT IS BAD"

Excuse me?

The URL this spur-wearer gives for those who want more information is www.westhaven.net.nz/webdesign which, when I tried it using Netscape, produced a page of HTML code rather than a properly rendered webpage. (Here's a screen-dump).

So... maybe he should add to his little sales-pitch: "Testing? What's that?" -- or maybe he simply doesn't realise that over 25 percent of the web-surfing public don't use Microsoft's browser.

If you're using IE, or can figure out the HTML that Netscape users get handed then the next page of this "web designer's" site really puts the chaps on the cowboy. I count four "borrowed" animated GIFs and a rather uninspiring layout.

But let's back up a bit and look where that URL is located.

What does this mean? Perhaps his office is out-back of the crematorium or does he embalm bodies on the side?

Should he take his own hint and hang up those six-shooters?

I see this virtual-horseman also offers computer training -- well how good can his advice be if he doesn't follow it himself (remember that sage advice he offered in his email: "NEVER SEND SPAM. IT IS BAD")

I can't help but get the impression that this guy might be no more than 18 years of age and is trying to replace his paper-run with some web design. If that's the case then I guess we can't criticise too much.

The prices are low -- but then again, so is the level of professionalism (spamming?) and so is the quality of the work -- this all means that the value for money on offer is also very low.

Maybe it's time that WDNZ dusted off the cobwebs and started raising public awareness that the "Cowboy Quotient" is rising out there -- quite frankly I'm getting tired of playing Sheriff!

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