blog brumax
nicer
lets all try to be a little nicer as the new year starts
I will do my part- I am going to try to cut down on the mean rants and find some new things to focus on
its easy to be funny at the expense of others but a better challenge is to be nice and kind to others to create a better and happier world
Opportunists: You will be assimilated
Sadly, the tidal wave tragedy is barely a day old and I have already gotten what appears to be a scam email asking for aid (it even slipped through the new spam filter).
It has occurred to me lately that there are far too many people out there who do not add real value to their fellow human and who make their living off of the work of others rather than their own work. There are entire careers, whole businesses in fact whose existence is solely based on being glorified parasites. I'm not just talking about the scammers either - there are many industries where things like referral fees, finders fees and layers of "value added resellers" (who don’t add value) clog the system and probably prevent as many sales as they help. I have some friends who have had this experience with realtors lately. The realtors I worked with recently were good. There are some in the industry however who survive more on finders fees to other out-of-town realtors and getting listings that they don’t work and sell (another agent does and they still get half the fee) rather than actually working hard and adding value.
One good thing about the internet is that it helps level this playing field to some degree. There are enough small businesses out there that are adding value one user at a time that it makes a dent in the huge phony companies who try to outspend competitors in advertising in place of having a good product. With the increase of shareware, freeware, royalty free music, use of the creative commons copyright and other developments, companies better make darn sure they have a very good product that people want if they are too survive. Workers at these companies should likewise make sure they are adding some kind of value to the equation as well.
After a decade of mainstream use, the internet now promises to start doing some of the things that were predicted in the mid 90s.
Oh web cam emails how I will miss you
My old friends

Cialis, Viagra, Propecia, make money now, low interest mortgages and you too Amber with the webcam, we will have to meet another day.
You see my friends, I have a new sidekick now – its name is
MailFrontier and since I started it yesterday afternoon I have been feeling rather lonely.
MailFrontier blocks spam. I’d been meaning to get one since I started getting more spam emails a day than Canada has pine trees. When I took a few days off a couple weeks ago and came back to find 700 messages in my inbox I knew it was soon to come.
I thought about installing a JavaScript on all my email address popup boxes on my sites to prevent screen scraping but this would only slow the flow of new spammers – not stop the penis enlargers and 3.14% financing people who hound net citizens 24/7 with more tenacity than the FCC on a democrat radio show host. I also worried it might exclude legitimate people who did want to contact me.
I was even tempted a time or two to click on the “stop spam now” emails – NOT!
Then I read on
CNet about MailFrontier – the geeks at CNet said it’s the best spam blocker and they didn’t steer me wrong with my new Sony Handicam so I figured I’d give it a shot.
The results: great. Its everything CNet says and more.
The unexpected result: it seems so lonely - I realized I was logging in 10 times a day, basically to delete junk mail and filter the much smaller number of actual messages. Now I go in and only see real emails from people I want. I have to ask; “Is this all the mail I have?”
I keep checking the blocked spam emails thinking that somehow MailFrontier has blocked a good one – they haven’t yet.
I don’t know what I will do without you Cialis, Propecia and Amber web cam but all this free time I have will give me more time to enjoy the $25,000,000 I am getting from my friend in Nigeria who contacted me before I had MailFrontier.
Who’s afraid of Mozillas?

Its scary, lets face it.
Switching to a new browser.
I have about 200 items in my favorite places file on MSIE and those are just the ones I’m “meaning to get to”, there are another 400 or so that I have been accumulating over the years.
I have a bunch of blogs I’d like to read but I just don’t have time to go to each one individually and when I do, they are not always updated. I need a service that gives me a new homepage and puts my most important links and the option to scan for other stuff such as blogs. I know there are a bunch of great services out there - but what the geeks in the know keep telling me is to switch to
Mozzilla and to use
Newsmonster.
The thing is, Mozilla is a whole new browser. Now, I am not afraid of downloading new stuff, its just that, Microsoft stuff works pretty well and anything that has the words “open source”, “Unix”, “Linux”, has a PayPal donation icon on its homepage or any weird combobulated method of reporting bugs scares me.
I’ve downloaded a number of these things in the past and they usually turn out to be junk. Say what you will about Microsoft, Bill’s stuff works for 99.9% of the people it is meant for: people who want to spend more time working and less time configuring, etc. On the other hand, I have gotten some great software that is freeware, cheapware or whatever - back when I played Ultima Online there was this utility called easiest that was awesome- I think it was $10 a year or something.
I have the problem of being in geek limbo - I'm a geek, it’s true, you have to be if you start a dot com (that actually worked) in 1994 and you are a member of Generation X who grew up with Commodore 64s, TI99s, Apple 2cs and Digital Rainbows. Of course I am a Gen X
geek -the problem is - I am not quite ENOUGH of a geek to really be into this funky world of Mozilla and Firefox and Unix and whatever - but just enough of a geek to actually know these things exist and to care to give it a try. I need my computer to make a living and want it to actually do stuff and enjoy the results a heck of a lot more than the process of setting things up.
So what do I do? I buy Microsoft stuff - I run MS everything. Does this mean I get ripped off? Sure, there's probably a free solution for everything from the operating system to the browser to whatever else. Does this mean I am not getting the best program? Probably that too. But I can’t spend $600 worth of my time to save $200 on a piece of software that might not be compatible with our business partners or might not even work. I can’t tell you how many die hard "real" geeks have laughed at me for using FrontPage for my websites. I've probably "programmed" 2000 pages of content using MS FrontPage. The die hards say my code looks like crap and if anyone clicks "view source" they will know it wasn't made by a member of the Vulcan High Council of MIT grads. But guess what? When my customers come to the site it looks fine and the people clicking "view source" ain’t putting food on my table. They laugh when I tell em I use FrontPage but they usually stop if I ask them if their site actually generates any revenue.
So here I stand - in geek limbo - I have my Franklin Edition Boba Fett Sculpture looking down at me from above the Ninja Lego’s on my office shelf, I've got the 30 some odd domain names, the desktop filled with icons, the comic book collection in the closet and the blog I am posting on now. BUT I also have MS everything and the aforementioned AOL account. I stand on the knife's edge of geeky by default and true geeky. Do I cross in to geek domain forever?
I'll give it a shot and see
what Mozilla is all about.
I liked AOL before it was cool

I signed up for AOL back in 1992 when you'd go to "the chat room" (there was only one) and CEO Steve Case would come and say 'hi'.
I kept the account all these years, much to the ridicule of my friends. When I moved I got rid of the AOL Broadband service- here's one of my 10 tech support chats.....
...transfered from one department...
Welcome FentonB...
MHI Lhyn: I understand that you wish to cancel your service.
FentonB: huh?!?!
FentonB: I want to make sure broadband is cancelled, not my membership
....3 minute wait....
MHI Lhyn: I apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced concerning this matter. Based on your account records, your DSL service subscription is active.
FentonB: yes, i canceled it on Nov 17
FentonB: i have not used it since then, and i have been trying to fix it for 2 weeks
MHI Lhyn: For best possible assistance with this issue, please allow me to provide you
with the number you can call to speak with a trained specialist. Do you have a pen handy?
FentonB: this is the THIRD time i have been transferred, and now you want me to wait on hold
FentonB: i have been trying to fix this for 2 weeks -- what is the problem?
MHI Lhyn: So that we can best assist you with your concerns, please contact our AOL Broadband with DSL toll free support line at 888-418-1258 from 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m. EST, seven days a week. For more information, you may refer to AOL Keyword: AOL Broadband.
MHI Lhyn: I do apologize for the referral; however, I want to direct you to the proper
Department who can best assist you with your concern. I hope this little information has lessened the inconvenience you may have experienced. I really wish to help.
FentonB: that is what the last person said
FentonB: and I said "are you sure they wont just transfer me again"
FentonB: and they said "I assure you it will be the right department"
...5 minute wait...
FentonB: WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT FIXING THIS???????
---9 minutes later-
MHI Lhyn: As much as I would like to assist you with your broadband service but DSL service
cannot be processed via Billing Live Help at this time.
FentonB: I just got connected at that number and they said they couldn’t help - and have
now transferred me to another department
MHI Lhyn: Do you have any other billing questions I may assist you with at this time?
MHI Lhyn: If you do not have any additional questions at this time, kindly close this active
window so I may assist the next member. Thank you.
FentonB: You haven’t answered the questions I did have, I am still trying to get this fixed
MHI Lhyn: Please understand that DSL service cannot be processed via Billing Live Help at
this time.
MHI Lhyn: I do apologize for the referral; however, I want to direct you to the proper
Department who can best assist you with your concern.
MHI Lhyn: I hope this little information has lessened the inconvenience you may have
experienced. I really wish to help.
FentonB: NO, IT HASN’T, I AM LOOKING FOR A PERSON WHO CAN FIX THIS ONLINE OR BY PHONE
- 4 minutes later --
MHI Lhyn: We can easily assist you with this matter by please contacting our DSL team at
1-888-275-4720, (7 AM to 2 AM EST).
Please call us at least 72 hours before your next billing date to avoid being charged for the next month's service.
FentonB: I am on hold with the SECOND person at the first number you gave me, in a
different department and, he ALSO says this is not his department
MHI Lhyn: Calling early in the day usually reduces the waiting time to speak to a consultant.
FentonB: I am talking to a consultant now - that is not the problem --- the problem is that he says that is not his department
FentonB: just like the person before him
FentonB: AND the person before him
FentonB: AND you
FentonB: AND the person who forwarded me to you
FentonB: do you understand? please don’t answer with a macro
MHI Lhyn: I would like to assist you with this issue. However, I will need to refer you to
the web site or department where your concern can be best addressed. Let me get
that information for you now.
MHI Lhyn: We can easily assist you with this matter by please contacting our DSL team at
1-888-275-4720, (7 AM to 2 AM EST).
Please call us at least 72 hours before your next billing date to avoid being
charged for the next month's service.
MHI Lhyn: If you do not have any additional questions at this time, kindly close this active
window so I may assist the next member. Thank you.
FentonB: So I take it there is no real person at the end of this chat room?
MHI Lhyn: I am a real person and I am here to help you with your inquiries.
FentonB: then why are you not listening?
FentonB: you keep giving me the same macro -- and I keep telling you that the number is not right
MHI Lhyn: But your concern can not be solved via online and this can only be resolved by
call us directly at 1-888-275-4720.
FentonB: ok - as I mentioned -- this does not work
FentonB: every department says that they cannot handle it
FentonB: including the number you keep giving me
- 3 minutes --
MHI Lhyn: If you do not have any additional questions at this time, kindly close this active
window so I may assist the next member. Thank you.
MHI Lhyn: I apologize for the inconviennce but as long as this window remains active and we
are not communicating, I am unable to assist the next member. I am going to
close this session now however; I invite you to return should you have future
questions.
MHI Lhyn has left this session.
The session has ended.
Read the dictionary
Webster online
sar·casm (sar-ka-zm) noun
1 : a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2 a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
Ok are we clear?
No, I do not
really think that "Bob Dylan should be locked up with Cat Stevens because he helped Hurricane Carter who was obviously guilty because he's black."
I didn't quite take the Onion literally when I reported thier headline "Kerry goes to Vietnam to avoid service in the Alabama National Guard."
I do not think war is "cool" or that Pres Bush is a hero and I watch things other than Fox News.
When I say its good that Private Ryan got censored because it will be harder to get poor kids to sign up for the war and that Michael Powell should silence Speilberg and Stern because they are Jews - do you think that maybe, just maybe it might be a satircal point?
Apparently not, since I got three emails accusing me of being anti semetic.
If you were not sure, I have an important fund you need to donate to - its called the "Seriously clueless and gullible people who dont understand sarcasm, parody or satire Fund" - please send $100 today, its a Federal law and you could get ill if you dont.
Bravo Romeo Uniform Mike Alpha X-Ray
I bought a new video camera today!!
When I was placing the order I had to repeat the order numbers and "D" and "E" or "N" and "M" kept sounding alike so I decided to memorize the cool alphabet from all the action movies
Here it is
A .......... ALPHA
B .......... BRAVO
C .......... CHARLIE
D .......... DELTA
E .......... ECHO
F .......... FOXTROT
G .......... GOLF
H .......... HOTEL
I .......... INDIA
J .......... JULIET
K .......... KILO
L .......... LIMA
M .......... MIKE
N .......... NOVEMBER
O .......... OSCAR
P .......... PAPA
Q .......... QUEBEC
R .......... ROMEO
S .......... SIERRA
T .......... TANGO
U .......... UNIFORM
V .......... VICTOR
W .......... WHISKY
X .......... X-RAY
Y .......... YANKEE
Z .......... ZULU
Learn it and make sure that next time you order a laptop you dont get a hair dryer.