I have received such a huge response to these stalker posts, and so many personal stories and questions from readers, regarding calls from blocked numbers and restricted calling.   Look, when you see “Blocked Number” come up on your phone, it is because who ever is on the other end does not want to be identified, which usually indicates something is not right.  They went out of their way to use *67 to block their number or they choose to set their Mobile phone to not share their caller I.D.

Regardless of whether you are being harassed by a stalker, ex-employee, psycho from no where or a telemarketer, who ever it is is not someone calling with your best interest in mind, am I correct?  Of course I am. read this entry »

So, my honey says he has a Kite for Kite Boarding and can I please post it for sale on “Greg’s List” [sic] – of course I get that sinking feeling in my gut because I watch “Help Me Howard” and he always does stories on Craig’s List scams.  So I say, sure… here it is.  Shortly there after I receive a highly suspect email that inquires “Is the item still available ?: – to which I think, “Of course it is!  I just posted it with a crappy picture and not much of a description and if I were a buyer I wouldn’t even respond to such a shoddy post.

Anyway, I respond kindly and say “Yes, still available”

I get a second response which reads as follows:

Hello, Thanks for getting back to me,I am satisfy with the price and I am really in need of this item, and i want you to take the ads of Craiglist,I will give you an additional $50 for taking it off, so I will need your full name and address so my secretary can issue a check to you hopefully tomorrow morning,and it will be cashed instantly without any delay, My mover will come for the pickup as soon as you got it cashed, Kindly get back to me asap so we can finalize this transaction in a timely manner. XXXX

To which I respond, (*getting annoyed since the typos tell me this is a scam… )
“Do you even know what I am selling? This is a scam and I am reporting you.”

I went to the “Greg’s List” complaint form and filled it out, and here is a lovely video made available by the kind souls over at the Federal Trade Commission for those of you who are gullible enough to move beyond the ridiculous first email correspondence:

How to File a Complaint with the Federal Trade Commision

What is holding back the US & the FCC from Broadband progress?  We know what it is, a lot of willy-nilly, self obsessed (i.e. Verizon and AT&T, et al) corporate posturing that really doesn’t proactively lead to positive results! What do we have now, the negative results we CAN see in black and white are, the US falling even further behind in the Global ‘race’ for broadband…

If I have to listen to one of my U.K. colleagues poke fun at my crappy Verizon DSL service here in the U.S./NYC, I am going to move to a country where I can get affordable broadband that isn’t barricaded on all sides by the even crappier through points along my digital path and excessive installation fees!

The pontification of decision makers is totally counter-intuitive to their ability to realize a common goal – the insidious dialog we hear on the subject of Broadband in the US has seriously caused eco-socio-psychological damage to our Nation’s ability to be a technological Global leader.  Here is the what the Wall Street Journal wrote:

According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. dropped from third to fifth in the World Economic Forum’s latest rankings of national information technology systems. Sweden topped the rankings, and, to nobody’s surprise, China and India made huge gains.

But, they also say:

The U.S., which fell from third place, last held the first-place spot in 2005. But the report says the U.S. is “one of the world’s most innovative countries,” as reflected by the patents it produces. Usage of technology, particularly by businesses, is high, although the country ranks 72nd in the percentage of people who have mobile subscriptions.

Thank goodness for small favors…