Spam problems.
Spam is always a trouble for me. I try to manage a half dozen e-mail accounts, plus I usually leave a backdoor e-mail account on any website I set up, more for the client than myself, just so there’s a way in, in the event of tech problems. I was trouble shooting just such a problem last week, and I couldn’t, for the life of me, remember the password for that backdoor. So much for being a smart boy.
I got a note from the remote server I use, just as I was about to head out the door to meet clients. Seems that my server has been used by some unscrupulous bulk e-mailer, exploiting a little hole left by the server’s software. I had to patch that up right quick like, can’t have **my** server punching out bulk triple-X advertising.
With a complex site like this, which is more like layers of sediment, one little patch then creates a whole boatload of other problems, and it was a “quick fix this” and “quick fix that” to patch all the leaky holes.
It’s all working again, but not without a few frantic moments on my part. A quick fix is never quick, nor does it address all the problems. But I did hit on an idea.
See: unsolicited bulk e-mail is a business. That means it must make money. I just have to ignore the sexually explicit stuff because it’s so far from my realm of thinking, but there are other items that I can do something about.
Norton Utilities is being advertised, I mean, I’ve gotten dozens of ads for their stuff. I know that Norton is almost a required tool for basic computer maintenance. I use it myself, bought a copy and everything. Duly licensed and registered. Of course, it’s not Symantec.com who’s sending me the bulk notices. But it is their product.
The company can easily claim that it’s someone downstream from them. That’s all well and good. But I no longer have to buy Norton. I’m not about to use some bootleg, but I can’t support a company that allows unscrupulous advertisers to hawk their wares.
There are other utilities, and until Symantec.com takes some kind of a stand, I’m wondering if I shouldn’t just vote with my wallet, and take my business elsewhere.
People are no good.
Ain’t nobody’s fault but mine. But basically, most people are just no damn good. To be sure, the clues were there, I just missed them, and it’s my fault alone. What did I do wrong? I acted like I had a heart. I acted like I cared. I did something nice for someone – **again** – and it backfired. Again. It’s only a $100 lesson for me, but it just reminds me that most people are no good.
What happened, and I sure would like to eat me words on this, but as of the time I’m writing this, I’m down and I’m dirty. I feel mean because I was betrayed, yet again.
Deal is this: I got a request for a series of chart reports, and the person requesting the charts asked if mailing a check was okay. Sure, no problem, I just have to wait to send the stuff out until \\after\\ the check clears was my standard response. Check’s been mailed, you should have it, and I was hoping to present the other person with the chart reports this coming weekend. To which, I had to reply, no check, no reports. Then, as the weekend got closer, and right before I was logging off to go someplace, I had a brief lapse in my mental condition, and I went ahead and sent the stuff on out over the wire. In fact, I included a little extra, because I like to make sure there’s plenty of value. Besides, in a series of relationship reports, it never hurts to have a complete picture of each individual.
I got back in town after being gone for a whole week. No check. I sent query note, the other person said okay, sure, I’ll send another check. Still no check. It’s been a month now. I seriously doubt it takes that long for a check to get to me. I’ve had two rounds of eBay auctions close, and all those funds have cleared. But no check from \\wherever\\.
I was walking home, the long way, after dark, and I was thinking about this situation. I’d made a special trip to check to the mail, just because I believe that when someone says two checks have been mailed, that those two checks have been mailed. Must be a problem with the mail or something. The eBay deals, though, that sort of suggests that the mail is getting to me.
So if the problem isn’t the post office, then I wonder if a check was every really mailed. Couple of clues, and I was trying to be understanding and all, the person ordering never revealed a real name or address. “I’m afraid to put a credit card on the net.” I’m afraid of the dark, too, but I’ve gotten over it. I rather enjoyed the night air, just a touch cooler than before, the twilight over taking the sky, Venus just marching her way across the night’s hues, oh yes, it was good.
But no check. No sign of the first check at all, and now, no second check, either.
I’ve been had, and that ruins it for a lot of people. This sort of cheating means I have to demand a payment up front. I’m just a little worried that I’m acting in a rash manner, venting my spleen like this, but after waiting almost a month, I’m pretty sure I just been taken.
You know what happens when you take advantage of your astrologer? That sort of behavior invites all kinds of mean, nasty, undesirable events to occur in your own life. Plague of frogs. The fleas of a thousand camels. Parking tickets. The Fish and Game department will check that license you meant to update but didn’t get around to – because you were waiting on someone \\who promised to pay you but didn’t\\.
People are just no good.
Destination unknown
First, read the reviews ofthis toy. I pulled out of the trailer, after wrestling with Ma Bell and discovering, much to my dismay, I had no phone service on one line.
As I hit the trail, I was either heading for the creek and swim, or the post office, or maybe to get a bite to eat, or perhaps to grab some coffee. But there’s a reason why I wasn’t sure about my destination, after spending too much time in airplanes and such, I wanted unwind a little and enjoy my hometown for what it is.
Keep Austin Weird. So, I made a command decision at one point in the trail and hit the creek first, shivering in the cold water, and marveling that the creek itself was clear, except for the debris floating on the surface, some of it was organic, some of it was definitely man-made. My hair was still damp by the time I pulled into the post office, wherein I transacted my business then got on about the rest of the afternoon. I stopped at the place that used to be Ruta Maya, ordered up some coffee from a Gemini lad, and ambled on out the door, moving towards downtown, a vague rumble in my belly, demanding food.
Avenue Cafe [Las Manitas> was still open, so I had a plate full of Al Pastor, some frijoles and rice, a couple of tortillas, spiced well enough to make me glad to get back to regular cuisine. Life was good again.
I covered mucho mileage, got in a swim, had some classic TexMex, drank a tub-o-coffee, stopped off at the bank, and called it day. Nice to be home. Oh yeah, had to go and lecture, too. That was fun. I do believe I have that pontification gene.
