X-Message-Number: 17051
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 16:43:59 -0700
From: Kennita Watson <>
Subject: Re: hoaxes, temperature, selfishness
References: <>

> From: Louis Epstein <>
> Subject: The "Bill 602P" HOAX
> Breaking my self-imposed silence since Kevin
> banned clear and comprehensive replies from
> Cryonet,because I can't BELIEVE this tired old
> hoax is back...

?? Cut people a break!  There are hoaxes that have been going around
_much_ longer than this one.  The Urban Legends Archive has been around 
since 1991, and there were urban legends long before that.  It can be
frustrating dealing with newcomers who haven't seen them, and well-
meaning persons whose BS filters fail in their panic, but I doubt that
insults will get anyone anywhere they will really like being.

The main site that I check whenever anyone sends me anything that they 
insist I forward to evryone I know is:

 http://www.hoaxbusters.ciac.org

(FYI, CIAC stands for "Computer Incident Advisory Center".)

I suggest you bookmark it and (if  you want to perform a public 
service) reference it in your signature file.  You can find reference 
other urban legends at  http://www.urbanlegends.com.  It's not quite 
as straightforward, but enlightening and fun to browse :-) .

Keith Lynch wrote:
> Please DON'T forward THIS message to anyone (except those who email
> you another copy of this urban legend).  Chain letters are a BAD idea,
> even if the intention is to combat other chain letters, or some other
> good cause (e.g. dying boy wants cards, terrible new virus on the
> loose, etc.).  Exponential growth can easily consume and trash all
> available resources in a remarkably short amount of time.

> Sorry if I'm being blunt, but after receiving TENS OF THOUSANDS of
> email chain letters in the past 16 years, my temper is worn a little
> thin.

I'm right there with you.  I've blown my stack over chain letters a few 
times myself -- I don't know if it helped, but I felt better getting my
frustrations off my chest and doing my little bit for good Internet
hygiene.  I hope you feel better now :-) .
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: 
> Subject: Refrigerators are good for converting temperatures
> 
> So what is the answers from the two questions posed from above?  The first
> answer is that a Fahrenheit degree is not quite as substantial as a Celsius
> degree by a factor of 1.8 (and therefore, while begrudgingly, the USA should
> probably make the switch).  And what about the conversion of -23C to its
> equivalent in degrees F?  Well, I will post the correct answer tomorrow if I
> can figure out how to get the freezer section to go a few degrees colder, and
> if I can figure out where I put that digital thermometer!

FWIW, I am helped in seat-of-the-pants calculations by recalling that way back 
in high school I learned that -40 degrees C = -40 degrees F.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: Lee Corbin <>
> Subject: What is a selfish act?

> I do not want to hear lame, unrealistic answers like
> "well, I might do it, but it would be for a selfish
> reason---if I'm nice to that person, then he or she
> will be nice to someone else [faulty logic!], and
> eventually it would get back to benefit me".  No, as
> I said, you are in a very, very large city that you
> never intend to visit again (sorry to be so thorough
> here).

Starts sounding like Karma to me :-)

> Also very feeble is the reason, "Well, I did it in
> order to feel good."  Well, duh!  EVERYTHING that
> people do could be written off with such reasoning,
> e.g., "I, Sidney Carton, do willingly give up my
> life for my friend Entremonde---not out of love or
> honor---heavens no!  Instead, it is a far, far more
> selfish thing that I do, than I have ever done before,
> and a far more self-interested rest that I go to...
> than I have ever gone before".   [Absurd]
> 
> Nothing is more comical than to hear libertarians try
> to rationalize every genuine act of kindness they do,
> as something committed for their own self-interest.
> The excuses they make!  The hoops they jump through!

I look at my generous acts as benefiting my self-image if nothing else.
I help the faceless stranger because I like to think of myself as the
sort of person who helps others.  I also want to live in a world where
people help others.  The part of the world that I have most influence
over is the part nearest me, and the only part I can control is myself.
So if I help, I'm doing a bit to create the world I want to live in.
That does wonders for my self-esteem (YMMV).
-- 
May you live long and prosper,
Kennita
--
Kennita Watson          | Way Cool Internet Radio: http://www.live365.com
     |      
http://www.kennita.com  |    I eschew arthropods -- so don't bug me!

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