Back to Dick’s Gadget Warehouse Friday, December 11th, 2009, Netcast 980
Yes, that was the (unbelievably sexist) headline in an ad from 1980! Here's a bit of the ad :
Some of the wonderful copy if you can't read it above: Miraculously watch even someone you have just met do exactly what you silently command her to do. Willingly…cheerfully…quickly! (Notice there’s no mention of a woman commanding a man’s mind!!) Very shortly you are going to demonstrate that fact with any girl you want. On this exciting occasion you are going to project a thought command to that girl. Not one word will be unuttered by you – yet that beauty is going to follow your silent command to the letter without ever knowing that you gave the order. (More hype, then:): Your next test is even more unbelievable! You’ll command not just one, but four or five gorgeous creatures. This time you’ll project a thought command to this entire luscious group!
So you send your ten bucks for the SUCCESP manual. By the way, SUCCESP stands for The Science of Extra-Sensory Persuasion -- which turns out to be a small, 34-page booklet with about 4 sentences on each page. Your booklet starts out on a positive note: If you could employ Succesp with 100% effectiveness, it would make you the master of everyone. You could sell anything to anybody. You could make anyone love you. The toughest, meanest “egg” would be soft putting in your hands. Unlike the hypnotist, you would place no one in a trance. You would act and talk as you do now. Yet you would possess a power of persuasion that is truly awesome in scope.
Then things take a turn toward the less-positive:
Far be from us to suggest that you will ever achieve this level of total efficiency. It is not that you cannot achieve such a level, it’s merely unlikely. While the achievement of the maximum might be your ultimate goal- your “reach for the stars” ambition – your failure to attain it will be far from disastrous. Even a 1% level might be all you would ever require to sway the odds of success in your favor. Let’s assume you reach a 5% efficiency rate. This means for every 20 times you attempt SUCCESP, you will be successful just one time. This “once” might be on your very first try…or on your 20th. Even this gives you a definite edge not in your possession at this time!
And what is the secret? You have to think of yourself a human broadcasting station, transmitting your mentally powered signals into the air. Once you master that, you add sending pictures through the air. (It’s almost like TWiT!) And don’t forgot; this ad appeared about 30 years ago. $10 back then is probably about $25 today. Of course, now instead of ads like this, we have emails telling you won millions of dollars – provided you give them all your bank info. So scams continue, but in a more tech savvy way.
Hear this Netcast: www.twit.tv/dgw980
The ad is here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=4e0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&ots=Xlv8qa8f_L&dq=Weekly+World+News+Now+Succesp+Ad&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html
December 13, 2009 
So the holiday tree looks great with all the lights, ornaments and tinsel. There’s only one problem. When it’s time to turn on the lights, or even turn off the lights, usually someone has to get down on the floor to plug it in, or to take out the plug. Here’s something that’s a whole lot easier. The Westek Ornament Touch Dimmer. It’s from the folks at www.CableOrganizer.com. Here’s how it works: You plug the Touch Ornament Dimmer into the wall, and the Holiday tree into the dimmer. Then you hang the included tree ornament on a branch that’s easy to reach. That’s a thin wire that you connect between the dimmer and the ornament. Now the ornament controls the tree lights! Touch it once for on – then each of the next three touches gives you 3 levels of brightness. The fourth touch turns the tree off again. It’s easy to install and no electrical experience necessary. CableOrganizer also carries similar touch units for dimming lamps. $19.95
