But you don't actually have to start the 14-day free trial to do the record search from the Titanic. Originally that's what I thought as well. However you can start entering searches without starting the trial (I guess I went through the page where I created a login but then when I got to the credit card info page I clicked back to their main page) by hitting the orange Search Now button.

I agree that the "give us your info now and we won't charge you immediately so this is FREE!" bit is sleazy.

UPS package tracking FTW

The water that gets dissolved into ethanol screws the crap out of outboard motor carburetion systems. Don't think I want to convert to 100% ethanol in my car.

Well, there could always be the issue of "thats the way we always did it." If no one has shown the folks doing the purchasing how the process ought to go before, then they will do whatever they are familiar with/whatever they can come up with. You might be able to get somewhere by setting up a very simple procedure (making sure to avoid the problems mentioned in parent) and then get out and talk with the people who are making the requests that sidestep your department. Basically, if you can train people to come to you first then you can sanitize all the requests. On the other hand, if people perceive faults like the parent suggested, this won't work.

Where in the world is . . . Carmen Sandiego?

Thats an interesting point. If you follow the golden rule you will get hurt by someone who doesn't - and that person won't be hurt at all. On the other hand if you "treat other people as they treat you" at least there is some feedback, some encouragement to follow the rule as well.

Your analogy is flawed; music/video pirates don't generally turn around and sell what they 'swoop in and steal', whereas software pirates in this case are profiting immensely.

Erm. Whoosh?

That sounds like a pretty nice manual. My 2008 Toyota Matrix has absolutely no "how to fix" info, very basic oil info (use 5W-30), and thats about it. I wish it would cover things like "how to turn off the 'needs maintenance' light after the guys at Jiffy Lube forgot that step in the oil change," "how to turn off the weight sensor in the front passenger seat that is letting me know that the pizzas aren't buckled in", etc. I guess they figure the owners of lower-end cars won't care. I may have to shell out for the repair manual.

Generalizing from my own experience: most recent cars don't come with manuals that are worth anything. They basically cover the warning lights on the dash and instruct the user to take the car to the dealer ($$) if any of the little lights come on.