Rants On...

Extreme SPAMMING

2008-03-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Today I received yet another question from a “member” on Fanbox (which I now refer to as SPAMbox). So, I search Google for: fanbox spam. They are doing some obvious seeding.

For example, take the posting they’ve done on the Office Tweaks blog. There is a comment there by a guy named “TJ Brown” that is an obvious Fanbox seed.

I love FanBox! They have so many cool applications and features on their desktop! Their social network aspect rivals even MySpace and Facebook! I looked up the old stuff on SMS.ac, and who cares? It wasn’t even a big deal and they have since discontinued offering sms service. So stop crying and give the site a chance.

- TJ

Sounds like he’s trying to sell me a used Pinto. Honestly, who signs off on a blog comment? Nobody!

Fanbox is SPAM, plain and simple. No other company out there sends me emails with “questions” from people I don’t know. Fanbox will phish your password, SPAM your friends, and phish their passwords.

Fanbox is a scam. Every message I receive, I mark it as SPAM and post another blog to help spread the word. Judging by the number of posts I have about Fanbox, you can see that I’ve been SPAMMED a lot lately. Keep the emails coming, I’ll keep posting.

Time Warner Sucks

2006-12-19T14:39:00.000-08:00

OK Here I go, lately I've been lately hating Time Warner Cable. It all started when I moved to my new pace in Sherman Oaks. I had the Time Warner cable, phone, and Internet at my previous place. When I moved to my new place they told me I will need to get Adelphia for a little while and then they will change to Time Warner. When I had Adelphia everything was cool and worked good.

The real trouble started when I bought my dlp projection HDTV they told me to come . I waited for like 1 1/2 weeks for an appointment so they came and installed everything and the HDTV DVR box worked a whopping six hours then just died. I went to the Adelphia service center to get the box replaced and did so supposedly they did not have any HDMI cables which I requested but that was OKtomorrow. I came in on Saturday my day off and there was a huge line so i just decided to wait. I was there more than 30 mins so I get to the teller and she is like we do not supply HDMI cables. So I just got pissed off and left. I wasn't really too pissed off because later I talked to some people and some got one and some did not.

Recently my new box is having problems the sound keeps cutting off and its needs to be restarted which really sucks if you are recording a show. I went to the same service center know which is now named Time Warner finally. The teller told me that theydon't have those boxes I have they have an older version called "moxi" don't quote me on the spelling. Which I know everybody who had one had to get it replaced for the new one that I have. Also those boxes require "professional installation" which requires an appointment. I told her I just want to exchange the box and that my schedule does not permit me being at home waiting for a repair man to show up. Her response was we done have any and we don't know when we will be some in January , February,etc. she would not give me an answer. She said that I could watch regular cable in the mean time.

The really pissed me off because I don't want to watch regular cable on a $2k HDTV also not to mention the extra fees associated with the HDTV channels. I bought the TV to watch HDTV period. I don't know which direction Time Warner is going with its customer service but definitely its not the right one. I'm actually contemplating switching to satellite.

Christians Gone Wild...

2006-12-14T11:33:00.001-08:00

'Tis the season for some news about Christianity. I was reading an article on CNN about the son of Jim Bakker (remember that swindler?)

I saw an ad on the side of the page with the headline: Davidic Christianity Christian Polygamy. The text ad read: Davidic Christianity seeks to fulfill the prophecy of Amos 9: 11-12 by... Perhaps it was my red-blooded American curiosity that got me clicking. I mean, David was hooking it up.

Now, typically, I don't blog, bulletin, or otherwise comment on material that I don't want to promote. After all, all press is good press. On top of this, I suspect that the folks at House of David Ministries paid good money for their ad on CNN. I'm now giving them additional value for their spend on CNN. But the message they are trying to convey is of great importance.

The folks at House of David Ministries claim that they are trying to convey a message of God. Please, by all means, read the article they have crafted about Biblical Marriage. This is a sweet idea! Hell, if God supports polygamy, I'm all for it. Any man stupid enough to try to take on fulfilling the needs of more than one woman deserves what he's going to get. Then again, the "Biblical" concept of marriage is the transfer of ownership of the bride from her father to her husband. So, I suppose there's not a whole lot of focus on fulfilling any of her needs when it comes to "Biblical" marriage.

My personal favorite is the Conclusions section. Honestly, this is a rather well written article that clearly outlines the conclusions of this biblical research. Yes, it is filled with authentic Biblical gibberish. Yes, it is entirely too long for anyone in their right mind to read in a single sitting. In fact, I encourage you to read it over several bathroom visits. There are plenty of Bible quotes that truly prove that either (1) polygamy is established through the word of God to be not just acceptable but honorable *OR* (2) parts of the Bible can be used to support any idea someone can come up with.

Read Conclusion #8. The first 8, please, not the second. At the time I wrote this, there were two 8's. Will the House of David Ministries change it by the time you read this? I'm not sure. I suppose it depends on how many people spend their time reading my blogs :-D

Why Best Buy Posted Low Profits

2006-12-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

I could have predicted this months ago. In fact, I posted a comment on some guy's blog about stores like Circuit City and similar businesses. The last time I went to Best Buy was about two months ago. The time before that was about a month earlier. Nothing changed. Best Buy had some new Plasma TVs that just confused the hell out of me because some looked good and others looked like crap. There was so much selection that I just didn't even want to waste my time.

Instead, I went online and looked for TVs. I found all kinds of great reviews and information. I asked my friend Keen about projection TVs and all that good stuff. The end result is that I went to Costco and found the DLP projector of my dreams. It had everything that Keen was talking about. It had everything that all the super geek websites said it should have, for a reasonable price.

What I want from a store is for them to limit the amount of clutter. I don't want 500 choices when it comes to my television set. I don't want 200 choices when it comes to my washing machine. I want a store that is going to stock ONLY the highest quality merchandise and tell me, "Jared, this is the best item right here."

Of course, since I rule the universe, it was no surprise when Best Buy posted disappointing profits.

Best Buy profit disappoints, shares fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Best Buy Co. Inc. reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday as the consumer electronics retailer cut prices on flat-panel TVs to boost sales at the start of the holiday shopping season, sending its shares down 5 percent.

A lil Bush humor

2006-12-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

I'm Stuck On Which Phone To Buy

2006-12-11T15:24:00.001-08:00

I have service with Cingular. My old Razor broke on me after only 1 year. I really don’t like any phone that Cingulars has and the prices are ridiculous too. Get this, Cingular is giving me a so called upgrade deal if i sign up for two years I can receive the 1 year contract phone price. So basically I get 50 to 100 dollars off the MSRP which is not a great deal in any means. I kind of like the Samsung Blackjack or the D807 but never had a Samsung cell phone so I don’t really know how good they are. Today I was reading Engadget and saw that the Blackberry Pearl is coming out for Cingular. A couple of people in the office have them on the T-Mobile network and they look kind of cool. I’m Just not sure if I really need a Blackberry or not. Also the MSRP is $579.95 which is ridiculous. I would get one for around $200 if possible.

More Myspace BS

2006-12-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

I'm an avid user of myspace. That's not to say that I'm one of those people who has a totally pimped out profile with 300,000 friends who I don't even know any of them. All it means is that I, like many people, sign in to myspace once or twice a week to keep in touch with many of my friends. I post comments, fill out lame surveys, post bulletins, write blogs, etc. I use myspace as a useful method of communicating with some of my friends.

Given the usefulness of communicating through myspace, I figured that I would attempt to utilize myspace as the wonderful networking tool that so many people have claimed it is. I went to the Myspace.com Classifieds section and posted a job opportunity for bloggers. I wasn't sure exactly where I should post such a classified. Posting it under the job section seemed to make sense. Granted, it was not a paid position. It was not a typical posting, but the job section seemed to be a logical fit. After all, the requirements are essentially the same as a job. You need to be able to post a blog on one of the topics at least once a week.

However, I'm not going to pay any of the bloggers money (for now). The starting point for this network is that of a cross promotional network. Each individual contributor will receive a link on the blog to their personal website/blog/etc. Individuals promote the network, the network promotes the individuals. The network is simply a means to expand your exposure for yourself. Simple idea, now back the the Myspace BS...

My classified posting was deleted. There was no notification stating that it was being deleted. There was no message sent to me saying something along the lines of: "Jared, we noticed that you posted a classified for a job that does not pay money. This does not fit the guidelines of the myspace.com classified section. Please consider a new location for you posting." The best part is that the posting is completely gone. I can't even go back and move it to another location on myspace. To top things off, when I click on the link to view my classified posts, I receive the infamous:

Sorry! an unexpected error has occurred.

This error has been forwarded to MySpace's technical group.

Now, I know that people have been saying that myspace is going to die out because of all the problems it has. I have another suggestion. How about Google buys myspace from Fox? Seriously, everything that Google touches seems to turn into gold. Imagine a myspace world where stuff actually works, where you can post a bulletin without having to worry if you "profile is temporarily unavailable for maintenance". Imagine a myspace world where you wouldn't receive the infamous Sorry! an unexpected error has occurred message whenever you try to go back to you home page. Imagine a myspace world where you don't want to strangle Tom because the damned website just erased your bulletin after you've been working on it for 15 minutes! I'm sending good ESP vibes to the business development folks at Google so that they buy myspace from Fox. Join me in this entrancing thought. The will of the masses can make this a reality.

You have a baby.....In a bar

2006-12-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

I was just thinking about people I have known/know. You know the ones All trash occasionally no trailor? Then there are the ones that have the trailor and are not trash at all.
You see them all dressed up they think that it`s hidden. HA! If you look hard enough you`ll see Budweiser paraphernalia,eighties hair,white studded belts,scrunchies. You`ll be tipped off quickly. Maybe instead of gaydar I have built in trash detector?
More often than not they are trying to pull themselves out of the park,they just can`t pull it off because they revert back to their trashy ways,before the deal is sealed.
I act differently around my best friends than I act around my husbands co workers. It`s still the same me. I would say things trashy or ghetto ,joking around with Tara or Lynne. Because they would know that I was joking. Where as the others wouldn`t be certain. I am pretty much considered a snob by most of my dads family. I have never been rude to them or anything like that. When I REALLY have a problem with people I use the "If you don`t have anything nice to say about anyone,don`t say anything at all." Would they prefer me to say that I think the majority of them are trashy welfare suckers,drug addicts & horrible parents? I pretty much have no contact with most of them. My dad busted his ass to have things he came from the same place they did. BUT then my dad got confused and lost it all to one of THOSE women. Another for instance,I have a very close friend. She has two sisters one is in the middle of a divorce,partly because she has stolen credit cards ,checks etc. She has received credit cards under others identities,bought cell phones using other identities of her family members. The other sister is just lazy with no goals,also pregnant again,living with her lazy husbands parents. The sister of these two (my friend) works her butt off,has a nice home,cars etc. Her sisters had the same opportunity,they just didn`t want it badly enough. These were girls that did not start out as trash,yet two of them are right down in the gutter now. I just went to check my mail,looked to my left and had to come in to edit my blog. My neighbors have SIX cars in their yard yet borrow a vehicle to go places. None of those SIX work. They have atleast 3 kids,two of which are between 2 and 4. They let these kids stay outside unsupervised ALL the time. We live about 80 feet from a very busy road. It could be worse,they don`t bother us although their yard is annoying and lack of supervision of their children.
The trashy behavior I am referring to is getting drunk causing a scene in public or even your front yard. Calling the cops having one another arrested only to be all in love within 48 hours. Your teenage kids with their baby on their hip. You thinking that`s ok.
Every now and then you will find the Reformed trash. It doesn`t happen often but it does happen either by marriage or determination . I was talking to a really good friend of mine asking her about some people that we knew in school. This one particular person I asked about and then was told that she now looks down her nose on everyone. I said, "Girl!,why didn`t you remind her that we know she lived in the projects till she got married??" She said well her familes moved up, they live in the trailor park now.
I am not referring to money here at all, I am reffering to attitude & morals or lack there of.
Now I have spicy chicken fingers on my mind ,I have lost my train of thought. I can`t remember where I was going with this. Sorry.

Elfs?

2006-12-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Santa may reward the nice, but, Thursday, one of his elves was punishing the naughty. The elf happened to be an Orange County sheriff’s deputy and he gave a little extra sting to some speeding tickets.
Richard Lockman stands 5-foot-6. He’s dressed in green and red. He’s wearing tights. And he even has pointy shoes. But he’s no ordinary elf.

“I’m Santa’s helper today, helping to save lives so we can help these people enjoy their Christmas, so their families can enjoy their Christmas without the tragedy of traffic crashes,” Deputy Lockman told Eyewitness News on Thursday.

With a sign that said, “Help An Elf - Slow Down,” Lockman clocked the speed, while an army of 20 little helpers bagged the speeders along University Boulevard near Pelee Street.

“This stretch of highway is notorious for traffic crashes, around the holidays and full time throughout the year,” explained Commander Ken Wynn, Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office got a complaint call that it wasn’t right to use Santa to stop speeders. But Lockman was no Santa, just an elf armed with a radar gun.

“It’s absolutely terrible. Why would they do that? It’s not what Christmas is about in any way,” said ticketed driver Tiffany Coy.

Like so many who were stopped, Coy thought the elf was more like a Grinch.

“Yes, I saw elf. I think that’s quite entrapment, but what are you gonna do,” she said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office wrote 53 tickets in 45 minutes and wound up writing a total of about 180 in the nearly three-hour detail. Two people were also arrested, one for marijuana and another for illegal firearms.

Deputies were able to write the tickets in only two hours and 45 minutes thanks to new technology. Now, a driver’s license is scanned through a handheld computer and, after the infraction is loaded in, a copy of the ticket is printed out.

One deputy told Eyewitness News he’s gone from writing 12 tickets a day, to 60. The machines were paid through a state

Get your nuts out of my cubicle

2006-12-08T11:56:00.000-08:00

So this guy on the other side of the cubicle (We'll just refer to him as B for this story) asks my cube mate if he wants some honey roasted peanuts. My cube mate says he doesn't want any. So, B comes over and puts his open sack of nuts a couple of inches in front of my face. I tell him, NO. So, the f*k puts them closer to my face. I tell him no again, and he looks at me like I'm the dick. I'm just like, WTF! You come put your open honey roasted nut sack in my face and then get pissed at me for saying no two times in a matter of 1 minute!

This tops it off. Then B turns to my cube mate and asks him if he wants some nuts! For the love of gawd! What is wrong with this guy!?!