About Me

PBX I'm Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using open source software, especially Django. In the '90s I did graphic design for newspapers and magazines. Then I wrote technology commentary and reviews for Wired, Salon.com, Chicago Tribune, and lots of little places you've never heard of. Feel free to email me.

Book

I'm co-author of "Python Web Development with Django", an excellent guide to my favorite web framework. Published by Addison-Wesley, it is available from Amazon and your favorite technical bookstore as well.

Colophon

Built using Django, served by Apache and mod_wsgi. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive. The markup engine is Markdown.

Pile o'Tags

Stuff I Use

Akismet, bitbucket, del.icio.us, Django, Emacs, FreeBSD, Git, jQuery, LaunchBar, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Postfix, Python, Review Board, S3, SQLite, TextMate, Ubuntu Linux

Spam Report

At least 102345 pieces of comment spam killed since January 2008, mostly via Akismet.

Signal to Noise

Whenever I get one of these communiques through eBay I'm always astonished at the amount of extra verbiage. This one takes the cake, though. Only about 1% of the message body is the actual message -- the words "it's taken care of." Presented below in full, slightly reformatted and munged.

From:     member@ebay.com
Subject:    Re: Question for item #__ - __ __ __
Date:   September 17, 2005 4:03:09 PM EDT (CA)
To:       __@e-scribe.com
Reply-To:     __@comcast.net

----------------------------------------------------------------

eBay sent this message to __ __ (__). 
Your registered name is included to show this message originated
from eBay. 
Learn more:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/confidence/name-userid-emails.html 
----------------------------------------------------------------
eBay sent this message on behalf of an eBay member via My
Messages. Responses sent using email will go to the eBay member
directly and will include your email address. Use the Respond
link below to send your response via My Messages (your email
address will not be included).          
----------------------------------------------------------------

Important Marketplace Safety Tip:
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter
--------------------------------------- 
Always remember to complete your transaction on eBay -- it's the
safer way to buy.

Please do not offer to buy or sell this item through this form
without completing the transaction on eBay. If you receive a
response inviting you to transact outside of eBay, you should
decline -- such transactions may be unsafe and are against eBay
policy.

================================================================
Response to Question about Item -- Respond Now
================================================================

Response from __
Item: __ __  (__)
This message was sent while the listing was active.
__ is the seller.
---------------------------------------
it's taken care of

================================================================
Respond to this question in My Messages: 
http://contact.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?M2MContact&item=__&
requested=__&qid=1251585165&redirect=0
================================================================

Item Details
---------------------------------------
Item name:                             __ __ 
Item number:                           __
End date:                              Sep-19-05 15:34:28 PDT

View the item description here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=__&sspagename
=ADME:L:RTQ:US:1

---------------------------------------
Is this email inappropriate? Does it violate eBay policy? Help
protect the community by reporting it.
-- eBay policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/rfe-unwelcome-email-misuse.
html
-- Report URL:
http://cgi1.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ReportEmailAbuseshow&
emaildate=2005/09/17:13:03:09&emailtype=3&trackId=__

Thank you for using eBay!
http://www.ebay.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------
Learn how you can protect yourself from spoof (fake) emails at: 
http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial

This eBay notice was sent to __@e-scribe.com on behalf of
another eBay member through the eBay platform and in accordance
with our Privacy Policy. If you would like to receive this email
as HTML, change your notification preferences at:
http://cgi4.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?OptinLoginShow

See our Privacy Policy and User Agreement if you have questions
about eBay's communication policies.
Privacy Policy:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/privacy-policy.html
User Agreement:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/user-agreement.html

Copyright (c) 2005 eBay, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their
respective owners.
eBay and the eBay logo are registered trademarks or trademarks
of eBay, Inc.
eBay is located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA
95125.

Saturday, September 17th, 2005
rants