I'm becoming increasingly aware that

I'm becoming increasingly aware that the advertising market for the internet is hitting rock bottom. The daily links from MetaFilter often point to news sites, and in the past few weeks the tide has definitely shifted from a minority of newspaper sites having obnoxious pop-up or pop-under ads to a majority. I'm actually surprised now when I can find a news site that doesn't feature annoying advertising. Banner blindness means giant flash ads or forced advertising breaks in the middle of stories, as the only advertising that anyone notices seems to be the annoying types of ads. The ads themselves have also shifted in content. Gone are the harmless computer company pitches or even the goofy sexist x10 camera ads, as the rock-bottom of the internet advertising world (aside from porn ads of course) is making frequent appearances in my browser: online casino ads. They're not only legally questionable, they're gaudy, ugly, and remind me of the mob.

In business, if you need money and don't have it, and you can't secure a loan from the bank, you call the mob for an emergency loan you'll soon regret. Apparently the internet advertising business works the same. When all else fails, advertise for online casinos.