I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s hit “reply” to a newsletter, just knowing that my words would fall on deaf ears, but needing to get a gripe off my chest. Generally, whatever brings me to that point also leads me to cancel my subscription to that newsletter.

Case in point: I’ve subscribed to Chaplain Klingenschmitt’s newsletter ever since he was drummed out of the Navy for refusing to use non-sectarian prayers in his services. I applaud the Chaplain’s willingness to put his faith before his career, and enjoyed following his story. (Note: as I’ve stated here and in everywhere I’m asked, I’m an agnostic, but a strong believer in the rights of anyone to practice their beliefs freely, so long as they don’t try to prevent me from living my life as I chose.)

Lately I’ve found the Chaplain’s newsletter to be a bit abrasive. Not so much the content, but more the the formatting, layout, and color choices; together with style often approaching the level of “rant”, not a great pleasure to read. See for yourself, but don’t blame me if you get a headache.

The newsletter last week was the final straw for me. I read it, was curious about the claims made in regards to the subject, and decided to click through to his website to find out more. Sadly, the passages announced to be behind the links were not there to read. Frustrated and realizing the results were not worth the effort, I fired off an email explaining my frustration and decision to drop the newsletter. I added a few thoughts on the topic that led me to start looking through the website – polite but definitely critical – and promptly unsubscribed.

I hadn’t thought twice about it until this evening.

Then I received this response from the Chaplain:

Got it sir, Semper Fi…..
In Jesus, Chaps

Enough to tell me he actually read the message. Completely unexpected and even a brief, polite response to my open criticism. I’m not going to re-subscribe to the newsletter, but that alone is enough for me to think I’ll go back and check up on the Chaps now and again. Chaplain Klingenschmitt, you have my sincere wishes for fair winds and following seas. Best of luck in your endeavors.

A very nice update – not much changed from the visitor’s standpoint (basically, nothing!), but the admin bits are very nice.

This little “Quickpress” editor could have a few more features, but it’s quite a handy way to drop in a short note.

Wordpress 2.7 “Coltrane”

I am pleased enough with this transaction, I want to share. Here’s the comment I just posted to ResellerRatings:

Wrong item was shipped (I believe the problem is the manufacturer part number mix-up, not NewEgg’s error), called for RMA. Explained similar problem I have still not resolved with another company, CSR was *very* sympathetic and helpful. RMA issued, credit issued, replacement ordered, discount applied “for my inconvenience”, and return label provided to send the items back. I honestly can not think of a more satisfactory resolution to a problem like this. Bonus points for CSRs Nelda and Lory, who literally did everything right to ensure I will remain a loyal NewEgg customer. Thank you very much.

Note: I don’t get anything from NewEgg for my endorsement, I just believe they deserve a hearty pat on the back.

Thank you, NewEgg. You’ve made up for this error in grand fashion – and made it obvious to me that a few bucks’ savings is no reason to deal with a company like the one I’ll describe below.

Below:
Now, why I ordered these enclosures from NewEgg – after I had just ordered the exact same items from another company… that brings me to story mode:

Last fall I ordered three external hard-drive enclosures from a certain computer surplus discounter. These particular enclosures are a common variety sold by several companies, with iMicro commonly being the cheapest. What I received was the same brand, marked with the same part number – but definitely *not* the same enclosure. When I inquired about an RMA, I was provided a lengthy row of hoops to jump through in order to get one. I finally did obtain an RMA, although I am sure the non-English speaking customer disservice representatives still had no idea why I was dissatisfied. In my complaint, I thoroughly described the error, and suggested a replacement from a different manufacturer if the original wasn’t available (as I said above, several companies market the same enclosure). I mailed back the received enclosures at my expense, and waited to receive something in return.

A month later, after checking the tracking information to ensure my return shipment had been received, I emailed them to ask about my replacement. I received no response.

I called them, got a recording, left a message; I received no response.

Over the next few weeks, I sent several emails, ranging from inquiry to demand.

Finally, I registered a complaint with their local Better Business Bureau; they ignored the BBB as well.

I continue to receive the company’s emails offering their “deals of the week”, although I now filter them off into spam automatically. I am also working with my bank to take my money back from the sorry bastards. I’m very tempted to take them to small claims court here in NC (they’re in CA). I imagine I could justify taking a bit more from them if I bothered to go to that extent.

I wasn’t going to name the bad company… but screw ‘em. Surplus Computers (mash it together and add .com) are the bastards described here. They’ll never see another dime from me, and hopefully not from you, either. They’ve listed some decent prices, but Customer Service Reps can literally make or break a company; theirs ruined it for me.

Note: Everything stated here is true. If a representative of Surplus Computers wants to contact me to try to dispute (or resolve) this, they are welcome. They could still correct the mistreatment I have suffered, but that will neither change what I have written nor bring me back as a customer. I would, however, note any such gesture here with this complaint – and notify the BBB that they’d made amends.

Just a minor rant, as I clean out the trap of another spam filter (gmail, this time)

Awhile back, I had subscribed to the MinutemanHQ.com (link deliberately left out, if you want some of this, find it yourself) newsletter. All was fine for quite some time, but then I noticed I started getting the same emails from several different addresses. “Right v. Left”, “Christian (something), etc. At first I assumed it was an short-term error, so I adjusted my filters to shuffle them all off into the same folder and ignored the duplicates. Then more poured in. And more.

Let me just say I’ve never subscribed to any of the “extra” sites or newsletters… just the Minuteman site.

I asked them to unsubscribe me using the links provided in the email. I was not unsubscribed. I did it again and I think I have been unsub’d from the one I signed up for, but according to the filter I just emptied out, not the others.

For whatever reason, the Minutemen have chosen to share their mailing list without permission. Their friends/allies/whatever are sending the *exact same* emails as the main list, only from a variety of different addresses. I could well understand if they had their own mailing lists and duplicated another newsletter to their own, but this is nonsense. I honestly think these people have good intentions, but are simply naive.

I have no idea how to contact these other groups without breaking the cardinal rule of spam-fighting by replying or following links in the unwanted messages. Most of them are now being caught by the several spam filters I’ve placed between me and my email, so it shouldn’t really bother me too much anymore, but that’s not the point.

I’d really hate to make a federal CAN-SPAM case out of it, since I doubt malice is the root here, just complete ignorance.

/rant off…

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot

I’m still amazed at the effectiveness of the anti-spam security tools in place here. Akismet is the most “proud” of the lot, and rightfully so…

“Akismet has caught 2,000 spam for you since you first installed it.

You have no spam currently in the queue. Must be your lucky day. ”

The daily numbers are still way down, as compared to before the “King of Spam” was tossed in the slammer. Not a coincidence, I think.

Wordpress has added a pile of new features, and as I’ve just discovered, no longer works with a number of plugins I had been using. Part of this was expected – the better plugins are now obsolete, as Wordpress has the same functionality built in now. Some will need upgrading, and I’ll get to that soon. In the meantime, this layout will do.

Sorry for the mess!

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, maybe it’s “Bad Behavior” doing a better job lately. I don’t know, but there’s been a huge decline in comment spam filtered out by Akismet lately, and then I read this… damned good news.

‘Spam King’ Arrested and Charged – News and Analysis by PC Magazine

A top spammer known as “the Spam King” has been arrested after years of investigations.

According to news reports and anti-spam organizations, Robert Alan Soloway, which appeared on the spamhaus.org list of top spammers, was indicted by a grand jury in Seattle on charges of fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. Soloway is accused of violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, among others.

You’ve seen the commercials… “sign up for our service and get your free credit report now!”

You’ve probably also heard that the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) are required by the Federal Trade Commission to provide you a copy of your report every year, for free.

Do you know that the commercials mentioned above are a fraudulent (in my opinion, don’t send the lawyers, I’m entitled to my opinion) attempt to get you to PAY for what they* are required to give you for FREE? Sure, they justify it by providing your “magic number” (credit score) as well as the report… but that’s a generally nonsensical reason to give up your hard earned money, unless you happen to be planning the purchase of a new home. Most of us just need to keep an eye on our credit reports – to protect ourselves against ID theft, fraud, and the stupid mistakes creditors are known to make.

The pay services do allow you access to your report any time you like… but again, how many of us want or need to see our report every day, week, or month? Every few months seems to be fine – and the free reports as mandated by the FTC will provide just that, as long as you apply a modicum of self-discipline.

FTC Facts For Consumers regarding free credit reports.
ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM — The ONLY real site for free credit reports.

A Warning About “Imposter” Websites

Only one website is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit report you are entitled to under law – annualcreditreport.com. Other websites that claim to offer “free credit reports,” “free credit scores,” or “free credit monitoring” are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program. In some cases, the “free” product comes with strings attached. For example, some sites sign you up for a supposedly “free” service that converts to one you have to pay for after a trial period. If you don’t cancel during the trial period, you may be unwittingly agreeing to let the company start charging fees to your credit card.

Some “imposter” sites use terms like “free report” in their names; others have URLs that purposely misspell annualcreditreport.com in the hope that you will mistype the name of the official site. Some of these “imposter” sites direct you to other sites that try to sell you something or collect your personal information.

annualcreditreport.com and the nationwide consumer reporting companies will not send you an email asking for your personal information. If you get an email, see a pop-up ad, or get a phone call from someone claiming to be from annualcreditreport.com or any of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies, do not reply or click on any link in the message. It’s probably a scam. Forward any such email to the FTC at spam@uce.gov.

Here’s what I do:

I have a reminder through my email client that appears once every four months. Three times a year, I remind myself to pull a single credit report, moving sequentially through the three services. I resist the temptation to subscribe to any of the little pop-up offers on the way to the free report, and I save a copy of the report to a secure storage device each time. Some of them refuse to provide a report that can be downloaded (print only), however PDFCreator or a similar program deals with that nicely.

Unless you’re a victim of identity theft, or have some serious credit problems that require a higher level of monitoring, you probably don’t need to waste your money on “services” that provide nothing of value. Take advantage of the free reports the monitoring services are required by law to provide.

*note: “They” may be the credit reporting services, third parties in collusion with said services, or simply third parties out to make a buck by misleading the consumer… I have no idea, and frankly I don’t care.

edit: I had thought to provide links to the fake “free” credit report sites… but they don’t need the little bit of traffic this site would provide… they’re already all over the television, radio, and internet. Which makes it all the more apparent that people need to be told there’s a real way to get your reports for free.

I have officially changed my message filters to not only automatically mark all email from Panda Software as spam, but also to forward it to SPAM@UCE.GOV.

Panda software is in violation of CAN-SPAM

(4) PROHIBITION OF TRANSMISSION OF COMMERCIAL ELECTRONIC MAIL AFTER OBJECTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—If a recipient makes a request using a mechanism provided pursuant to paragraph (3) not to receive some or any commercial electronic mail messages from such sender, then it is unlawful—
(i) for the sender to initiate the transmission to the recipient, more than 10 business days after the receipt of such request, of a commercial electronic mail
message that falls within the scope of the request;
(ii) for any person acting on behalf of the sender to initiate the transmission to the recipient, more than 10 business days after the receipt of such request,
of a commercial electronic mail message with actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, that such message falls within the scope of the request;
(iii) for any person acting on behalf of the sender to assist in initiating the transmission to the recipient, through the provision or selection of addresses to which the message will be sent, of a commercial electronic mail message with actual knowledge, or knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances, that such message would violate clause (i) or (ii); or
(iv) for the sender, or any other person who knows that the recipient has made such a request, to sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise transfer or release the electronic mail address of the recipient (including through any transaction or other transfer involving mailing lists bearing the electronic mail address of
the recipient) for any purpose other than compliance with this Act or other provision of law.
(B) SUBSEQUENT AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT.—A prohibition in subparagraph (A) does not apply if there is affirmative consent by the recipient subsequent to the request under subparagraph (A).

in that they refuse to honor opt-out requests.

I’m sick of trying to be reasonable – it’s time to fight back. I’m obviously not alone, but I don’t see any kind of real effort to shut them down. Any ideas?

Like many others, I subscribe to “google alerts” to see when JonathanMurray.com is mentioned on the web… it’s not often, so I’m not exactly overwhelmed. Usually it’s links from blog listing services, message boards I’ve written on, or trackbacks from other blogs.

Today I was greeted with a surprise entry… google seems to have indexed an entry I wrote as “alert worthy”.

Is it one of my interesting posts regarding islamic terrorists up to their dirty tricks? No.

Is it a post regarding the idiocy of the dummocrats? No.

Is it the one time I’ve mentioned idiots who happen to be christian? You betcha.

Funny.

And not in the humorous way.

Update! THIS POST GOT NOTICED, TOO! (the irony is almost too much to bear)

I’ve been an off and on E-bay buyer for years – nothing serious – but more than enough to recognize the potential for fraudulent bidding. The only thing that amazes me about this article is that the author seems to believe this is news; something novel and unique that has only cropped up recently, or that most people might find unexpected and interesting.

Sorry folks, if you’re looking for a large purchase from an honest broker, buying from an anonymous stranger over an anonymous auction service via the anonymous internet is really the wrong approach.

The simple rule for buying things via Ebay? Know what you’re willing to pay, never bid higher. Follow this rule every time, and you’ll never be sorry.

Revealed: how eBay sellers fix auctions

Last week one of the UK’s biggest eBay sellers admitted in a taped conversation with an undercover reporter that he was prepared to use business associates to bid on his goods for him.

Our inquiries found evidence that a number of businesses — ranging from overseas property agencies to car dealerships — have placed bids on their own items using fake identities.

The cases raise questions about whether eBay, the world’s biggest auction site, is doing enough to protect consumers.

Taken from here.

The idea here is that you have to press play on the following videos (in vertical order) so that they all stream to you at the same time. You may need to adjust the volume on each respective network, though. Press play on the top (YouTube) video, then immediately press play on the second (Google Video), and then press play on the third (Revver). Bam, bam, bam – and you should see ‘em playing back simultaneously.

Be sure to scroll down enough to see all three, then press “play” on each one, from top to bottom, so they all play at the same time.

It made the Windows Secrets & LangaList “Wacky Web Week” list!

FBI-IC3 alerts new email scheme designed to extract personal financial information and implant virus. – The Emergency Email & Wireless Network ………. www.EmergencyEmail.org ……..

SPAM E-MAIL CONFIRMING THE PURCHASE OF A COMPUTER.

The IC3 has received the following information concerning multiple e-mail hoaxes confirming the recipient’s purchase of a computer:

* The first e-mail hoax claims the recipient made the purchase through an online service provider. The e-mail contains a link if the recipient wishes to dispute the charges to their account. Once the link is selected, the recipient is requested to provide their account information.
* The second e-mail hoax includes a PDF attachment claiming to be the order summary. The attachment contains a virus which will infect your computer.

THE E-MAILS ARE FRAUDULENT.

Be cautious of e-mails requesting personal and/or financial information. When made aware of any fraudulent purchases to your account, contact the respective company to file a report.

Further, do not open attachments from individuals you do not trust or know.