Verizon Users, Your Information IS About to be SHARED!

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

That innocuous little "privacy" notice you just got gives Verizon the right to sell everything they know about your account, who you call, etc., for a fee, with whomever they choose, unless YOU OPT OUT, inside of 45 days! They call it CPNI (could stand for Cyber Ninnies, I suppose) Call 800-333-9956 to opt out via phone droid, or 800-922-0204 to opt out via human Or do it online, if you've set up a MyVerizon account.

Oh Joy!

Lowell Newspaper Scammed

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

In the Lowell High School newspaper, an Ultra right group manages to place an ad, referencing a website that has content that initially appears innocuous, and which, when the ad is printed, changes to an ultra right site:

http://www.victoryforever.com/

full story at www.sfgate.com

Wonder who inherited Pete Hammer's old job?

Why I Have Issues with FedEX of Oroville

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

For some crazy crazy reason, from time to time, FedEx get a wild hare up their pasture, and instead of shipping from Sacto to Grass Valley, 20 minutes from here, they ship the stuff to Oroville. Case in point, an Epson Artsan 810 printed makes it from Indianapolis to Sacto in three days. Instead of shipping it to Grass Valley, they send it off to Oroville, where they make trips every now and then up to North San Juan. Net result, it is now 5 days since the package hit Oroville, and it is still yet to show here.

I hate Fed Ex when they lie about communications with their trucks. I sign for a package and the truck can barely make it to highway 49 before the fact that I just signed for it shows up on my computer. For them to claim it is only one way, and only consisted of drop off information, is a total and complete LIE. Those trucks are linked by private radio networks, and have at a minimum their version of texting, if not full two way voice communication, either via private radio, or more likely now, via cell phone. It is very unproductive for America to have people hanging around home base all day, waiting for stuff with no assurance that it will even show.

I'm also sure the trucks all have GPS units that show where they are. They deny that too.

277FOTO Covers Yuba River Charter School's 2009 Moondance

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

I took some great photos at the Moondance, put on by the Yuba River Charter School, last night, November 7th, 2009. The event took place at the Nevada City Miners' Foundry. You can see the entire batch as I put them up, at www.flickr.com/photos/keachie . The images will be in the Set, a Flickr term for Album, Moondance 2009, so do a search within Keachie's photostream. There are 11 photos there now, and there will be at least 100 more added over the next week or two. Redeye removal, cropping, and color adjustments take time.

Douglas Keachie, your friendly village photographer.

PS, I also took some middlin' pictures, which will be posted too, so everyone gets to see themselves. If you'd rather an image not be posted, please let me know. 277FOTO is a local cell, as well as a soon to be active, website.

Microsoft Support is So Bad...You Can't Even Pay for It!

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

I was trying to renew a domain name I had through Microsoft Live, which has expired. My Microsoft Live Email was being rejected as non existent, and so I tried calling. One of the the options was "pay for it" support. Rather than waste a lot of time, I thought I would pay for it. So I sat on hold for 15 minutes, no human, just muzak.

It hung up on me.

A chance to hire back the 800 employees they just laid off, and the phone hung up on me.

Here's the response I got after emailing for support, as it was recommended by Microsoft that I do, to: SUPPORT@OfficeLive.com:

Envelope-to: doug207@keachie.com
Delivery-date: Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:55:05 -0700
Received: from bay0-xmr-012.hotmail.com ([65.54.241.164] helo=BAY0-XMR-012.phx.gbl)
by host133.hostmonster.com with esmtp (Exim 4.69)
(envelope-from )
id 1N64fx-0005Xz-Eo
for doug2009@keachie.com; Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:55:05 -0700
Received: from mail pickup service by BAY0-XMR-012.phx.gbl with Microsoft SMTPSVC;
Thu, 5 Nov 2009 07:55:04 -0800
To: doug207@keachie.com
From: Microsoft Office Live
Subject: Domain Renewal, Login Issues
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-transfer-encoding: 8bit
References:
Message-ID:
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 05 Nov 2009 15:55:04.0384 (UTC) FILETIME=[56F55400:01CA5E30]
Date: 5 Nov 2009 07:55:04 -0800

You have reached an unmonitored e-mail address; we apologize that we cannot directly reply to your message.

For help with Office Live Workspace, please see http://workspace.officelive.com/support

For help with Office Live Small Business, please see http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/FX101954801033.aspx

"We'd Like to Know a Little About You for Our Files..."

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

I pay $588/month for medical through United Health Services, and there is a mental health coverage. Mom died, and I thought it would be good to get some counseling. Made arrangements, followed procedures, and then got this form in the mail. Basically it is a suicide and drug and drinking questionnaire, with the results to be FAXXED to a number where a minimum wage worker will see the last four of my social, my full name, and my accurate birthdate. Do they even bother to shred? I never give out the birthdate accurately, except in absolute need to know situations. Suffice it to say, I'll pay for any therapy out of pocket, and cross this "benefit" off as one that puts you on all kinds of lists, and exposes you to a risk of identity theft, and porbably even asking to exercise this benefit will affect my ability to get other coverages, including life insurance. One good thing, maybe fewer mailers from life insurance companies...

Online Consumers vs MegaCorps, Score, 0 to 99

Technorati Profile

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping

After a couple of years, I've had a new occasion file a major complaint about a product. Last time I did this there were many sites for consumers to blow off steam, and educate one another. Made the Mega Corps mad, and what they couldn't stop legally, they bought out, by grabbing the websites. Many of them were on the order of www.megaCorpsoandsosucks.com. The one from Home Depot was particularly choice, with hundreds of pages of horror stories, both from employess and customers. Today the site is still up, and at first glance it looks like they are going strong. Look closely, nothing newer than 2005, none of the disgruntled employees, etc. It's a camouflaged buyout.

Epson makes no bones about it. www.epsonsucks.com goes directly to a site that directs you to all the normal Epson sites. So here I am, the only place to post about an Epson Artisan 810 that just won't go after printing 10 pages total since new is here. Technorati will index it so other consumers can find it? Used to, not any more. Not unless you have established a following of at least several hundred. Less than that, and they don't even index your site any more. The promise of the Internet to help consumers is being destroyed, quietly, so as to not disturb the buying public.

The Consumerist www.consumerist.com , used to be great. Now you can't comment unless you are witty and creative and approved by their "board." Their content is now all largely coupons, and stories that have already hit the newswires. You want to post something new about a problem with a printer, FAT CHANCE! Now it is one big ad for Consumers reports. Those that started these sites are probably living well on their buyouts....the American Way strikes again.