a message for 'Huge'

[Huge]

Bingo.

[The Natural Philosopher]

don't confuse him with facts...

[Andy Burns]

In general yes, I mad the mistake of searching for car insurance with confused.com, as ever I used a throwaway address based on their domain name, as expected they started spamming me, so I clicked on the unscubscribe link, wait 14 days for it stop their website said, spam still kept coming, so I contacted them by email, sorry they said, we've removed you but it might take another 14 days, about a month later more spam from them, emailed again, assured it really was removed now and to wait another 14 days ... we'll see ... guess who I won't try for a quote next year?

[Terry Casey]

The address that I used to use on Usenet was eventually getting up to 100 spam emails a day!

Then, about a year ago, Virgin Media switched their email service to Google and, since then, in a bad month, I might get one that slips through their (very effective) net ...

[Terry Casey]

I did that and used gocompare.com and comparethemarket.com. I also appear to have used swinton.co.uk but that might have been triggered by one of the other two ...

The first mail to that account was on 22/07/2009.

There were 80 mails received on that account: the last was on 29/07/2010, 53 weeks later!

Of these, 8 are from gocompare.com, 33 from comparethemarket.com, 1 from Dial Direct and 38 from swinton.co.uk!

[Andy Wade]

A proper pedant should point out though that to create an *alternating* E-field involves repeatedly charging and discharging the capacitance in the wiring and,in consequence, will create a corresponding reactive current, and therefore a small alternating H-field.

[Peter Scott]

It is part of the tradition of usenet that people are outspoken and insulting. New subscribers are warned of the ferocity of flames and advised to lurk without posting to get a feel of the style. I am happy to have my ideas and arguments attacked. That is all part of how we learn. However like Alan I find personal attacks unnecessary and often counter-productive. Like a previous poster I accept that that is how it is done, and ad hominem attack is now very fashionable, even outside the Web. Mostly it is simply amusing but it still astounds me how an argument can instantly change from rational argument to extreme personal abuse.

The only time I felt nauseated was some time back on this newsgroup. There was a subscriber called Mary, who was forthright in her views but I think never abusive. She died, or I believe she did. Just after that was announced, there was a post saying in effect that it was good she was dead. I am still ashamed that I did not reply to that post.

So if you don't take it seriously, ad hominem abuse is at best amusing and at worst pointless. What it never does is add anything to the discussion. Alan's ideas about the dangers of mains electricity are almost certainly wrong. Even at high currents 50 hertz fields are thought most unlikely to do harm, and his socket will probably only supply a fraction of an amp. Radio frequencies are possibly another matter. I wonder whether he uses wifi in his router or frequently uses a mobile next to his head. So far there has been no sound evidence of bad effects, and probably won't be, but we can't be sure what might emerge over decades of use.

Peter Scott

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Peter Scott saying something like:

Istr speculation that Mary was deceased, but it turned out she'd simply been doing other things. Of course, the incident you refer to may have been later. I recall she wasn't in the best of health.

[Huge]

I can strongly recommend mailinator.com. It generates single use mailboxes on the fly - you don't need to set them up ahead of time, so when one of these spamming scum asks for an email address, you just give them [e-mail], then go to

to read it. 24 hours later the mailbox vanishes and you need never look at it again.

[Derek G.]

But if a Fukwit *won't be said*, then a judicious application of *The Clue Bat* is indicated just to put them in their place.

Derek G

[S Viemeister]

Was that Mary Fisher? I knew she'd been ill, but hadn't heard that she was dead.

[ARWadsworth]

It was geoff that "hoped that she was dead" and when she posted again much later she used a different name and geoff's reply was "OMG the witch is back". She has not posted anywhere since June 2010 under either of her old IDs

[Peter Scott]

I stand corrected. I didn't see 'OMG' post. If it was a different name I probably wouldn't have looked. I never really understood what people had against her though, hence my shock at the comment.

[Mike Clarke]

I think she just gave up on usenet. Her candlemaking website is quite up to date - at least I assume it's hers.

[Tabby]

whining snipped.

If you post something useful/helpful/informative/interesting etc, you'll start to get respected.

NT

[Nightjar]

It would certainly relieve pressure on the NHS if people didn't have them.

As to EMF, I was peripherally involved in the early stages of the MRI scanner. As you might expect, there was a *lot* of study done into any possible side effects of magnetic fields on the human body. The conculsion was that there was no credible evidence that there were any harmful side effects, with one possible exception. There were some indications that prolonged exposure to very strong magnetic fields - much higher than you are likely to meet in the average residence and much longer than would be required for a scan - might be linked to a higher than average incidence of childhood leukemia.

Colin Bignell

[ARWadsworth]

I guess that it is their site. Right names right place etc.

[John Rumm]

Nope, its easy to demonstrate if you have a compass handy, a bit of wire and a battery like a AA cell. Stand the wire vertically beside the compass, and observe it has no effect on the direction pointed. Couple the battery to each end of the wire (don't do it for two long since you are in effect shorting it), and watch the needle realign.

(anoraks may care to even predict the direction of movement using the right hand grip rule)

There may be a current flowing in wires in the wall - even the non obvious ones not connected to a socket etc. Any magnetic field produced from them tends to fall away with an inverse square relationship to distance though.

[John Rumm]

Oops my bad - did not read what you wrote!

Current flowing is required for a magnetic field. Potential difference is all you require for an electrical one.

[John Rumm]

Not only that, a quick play with streetview will reveal a giveaway based on previous discussions on the group with her.