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I just posted an ad on craigslist, but to prove I'm not a web bot or automated script, I was asked to type in the word the appears above.
WTF?!
Apparently it says "MANUS", although the only reason I know this is because there was an option to listen to the word read aloud, presumably for the visually impaired.
These reverse Turing tests are called CAPTCHAs. Last year, my brother Andy posted about his own problem passing one of them.
Maybe robotism runs in families?
My friend Scott has posted his diatribe against people who sit through the end-credits of movies. Several of his "film snob" friends (myself included) strongly disagree with him, which makes for a rare debate via blog comments. Hopefully you'll weigh in:
A few weeks ago, something small but momentous happened. I received my first royalty check.
Ever since I was 16, I've worked on video games and movies as a profit participant, someone who would theoretically benefit if the project ever made millions. Sometimes the promise of potential royalties has been my only compensation. Other times, I've taken a reduced salary just as a means to pay rent while waiting for the real money to start flowing in.
Whenever I've applied for a lease or a credit card, I've always listed my annual income and then written next to the figure "plus royalties". As if a loan officer might read it and consider, "Oh, wait. His income may be modest, but he gets royalties. We definitely want to be in business with this guy."
The problem is, none of the projects I've had points on have ever broken even. Until now.
Chavez Ravine, the short documentary I produced a few years ago, has finally earned back its advances and paid its first royalty check. I'll personally only get 10% of this particular check. Which may seem pretty paltry considering the hundreds of unpaid hours I've put into the project, but let me tell you, that $206 is immensely satisfying.
