The Golden Rule of Security

Last week, my job sent me to a Security + class. I now have to study and take the test for the certification.

The instructor reminded me of the Golden Rule of Security: I will not spend more (money/effort) to protect the asset than the asset is worth.

When you're dealing with an enterprise network, you may need advanced encryption and security features. But you also have (hopefully) enough properly trained and qualified employees to carry it out. You can also configure your workstation images so most of it is an abstract to your users. They don't have to think about it.

A home network is a different story. I'm an IT and cyber security professional, but my wife and children are not. I also don't have the resources and budget or an enterprise network. But the majority of my equipment and data don't require that budget or resources either.

I once locked a home network down too hard. While still married to my ex-wife, "somebody" was getting into my accounts and sending nasty messages from my accounts to hers. Taking everything at face value, I overreacted and locked everything down. I set an overly complex password to access the wireless router. I changed several passwords to a much more complex schema.

And of course, it only worked for me. At the time, I was a geographical bachelor living and working in Virginia while my family stayed in New Jersey. The job market up there sucked, so I went where I could get a decent enough job. So while I was away, for some reason, other devices couldn't access the network. They'd have to wait for me to come home every other weekend. I think my ex's parents just bought a new router and set it up.

During all of this, my ex received another message from my gmail account, signed with "Sent from my iPhone". When I have an iPhone, I never leave that line in the signature.

I consulted with several cyber professionals, and the best they could come to was that it was an inside job. I realized that my ex knew my common passwords and PINs. I changed them, and the next time I went "home", I took every possible device she could access and use out of the house.

The "hacking" stopped. I can't prove it, but it does seem like an inside job. I still don't completely understand why, but I have several theories. All I can say is, once a woman turns on you, there is no going back.

So, I've learned to apply an appropriate level of security to my network. I lock it down as best I can, but not so hard my family can't use it. My wife, at times, can't tell the difference between her Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft, and iCloud accounts. I have to accept that and account for it. I also can't expect my children to understand MAC address filtering.

One neat thing I learned in the class, for those of you fluent in the OSI model, is Layer 8. Layer 8 is the user or PEBKAC layer. And you have to account for it. Some people are completely ignorant of technology, and are proud of it. They refuse to learn. They're proud to still have "flip" phones. They don't know the difference between Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, or 10. And they don't care. They install Weatherbug and every stupid toolbar that asks to be installed. And people like us have to clean it up when they complain their computers stop working.

A friend of mine used to have his network locked down as hard as possible for a home network. He didn't broadcast his SSID and had to manually approve every MAC address. He finally realized that when you lock it down too hard, people start wondering what exactly you're protecting. Then, having become curious, they'll try to break in. He relaxed his posture somewhat.

Boycotts Are Getting So Complicated...

UPDATE: Although numerous such links are flying around about the PepsiCo CEO's statement, it has been brought to my attention that the quote is false. My first reaction was to figure "Who cares? I'm not a journalist; nobody is paying me for this." But that would make me no better than John Stewart and what's his name Oliver, who engage in political commentary, then when somebody calls BS on them, they make a statement like "My show is followed by puppets making prank calls." But I believe (and am trying to teach my boys and stepson) that integrity and trust have to be worked hard for, and can be lost in an instant. Maybe never earned back.

So I did some fact checking, and it turns out the statement is fake. Even the sites that quote her and infer it are mistaken, and I don't want to be one of them. The PepsiCo CEO did make some leftist comments about her employees not feeling safe, which I consider ignorance on their part, but mostly harmless. All they have to do is listen to Trump's own words; he's the most pro-gay President in history.

As more and more people are waking up to how dishonest and corrupt the "mainstream" media is, plenty of allegedly conservative, libertarian, and alt-right sites are popping up all over the place. Many of them are proving to be just as bad, as if they're part of some COINTELPRO disinformation campaign, which wouldn't surprise me.

The actual video referenced is below. I am separating out my original post with a line, and will let most of it stand with fact checking added in and the profanity cleaned up while I'm at it.


_________________________________________________________________________
PepsiCo's CEO went on a rant a few days ago, and said she doesn't want business from Trump supporters. <UPDATE: This turned out to be false.>

Actor James Woods is happy to join in. As am I. <UPDATE: As false, I am rescinding my boycott of Pepsi products.>

But this gets complicated. Apparently, Gatorade is a PepsiCo brand. So is Cheetos. And Lays. And Quaker. I like those. I don't care about the high fructose corn syrup water; I avoid it for the most part anyway.

Fine; I'll switch to Power Aide if I have to. And Utz has plenty of processed cheese flavored corn product stuff to buy. Don't want my business, PepsiCo? You've got your wish. I don't have any Pepsi stock to sell, but I can quit throwing pocket money in your direction.

I've had no problem boycotting Starbucks. I've known for years that godless company actively works against my interests through every identity I hold: Christian, man, American, family man, father, veteran, etc.

And I have no problem boycotting Target, although I used to like shopping there. The ONLY reason I didn't get caught in their cybersecurity breach in 2013 is because I was going through a divorce and couldn't afford Christmas presents. Otherwise, a large portion of my shopping would have been at Target. Anyway, I don't go there anymore. I don't want my identity and credit cards stolen, I don't want to be asked to apply for a Target credit card, and I don't want my friends' daughters molested in Target bathrooms.

But according to the same list, Chick 'fil' A is listed as a Coke product, as are Subway, Five Guys, and Red Robin. Coke gave millions to the Clinton Foundation, which rather than being a charity, financed the Clintons' lifestyle, $3 million to Chelsea's wedding, and apparently pedophile human trafficking. I don't want my money going to those things. And my wife is addicted to Coke. She can't get off it.

I'll tell you what; if Sam Adams ever shows up on one of these lists, I'm going to cry like Hillary's campaign staff. I can only hope God Emporer Trump starts some trust busting activity like Teddy Roosevelt to break some of this crap up. That way it's easier to tell which brand will work against your personal interests and which won't.

Doing Business With Magazines Is Painful

Ah, magazines. Can't live with them, can't live without them.

10 or more years ago, right around Christmas, I started getting notices from "American Handyman" demanding I pay for my subscription. Except I didn't have one. I offhandedly commented on that to my ex-inlaws (who weren't ex at the time). I found out my then mother-in-law got me a subscription to them for Christmas. But rather than sending me my issue from my paid up one-year subscription, they started sending me bills. Talk about confusing messages. I did not bother renewing after my gift subscription was up.

Last year, I started getting email from Forbes. I've always liked Forbes. My ex-inlaws had a subscription and let me read their magazines after they got done. So I figured, what the hell? I got a subscription of my own to Forbes. And while ordering online, I was offered another year for the same low, special price.

And of course, before I got my FIRST ISSUE, Forbes started sending me junk mail demanding I pay for my subscription. It was already paid up for two years. And of course, all along the way, I keep getting email and paper bills that my subscription is going to run out and I have to pay.

What the hell is going on with magazines? I am an expert in IT. I know how easy it is to keep a customer database to send timely reminders to subscribers AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. I'm not falling for it.

Why are magazines such crappy businesses? I know a lot of them are dying. Maybe it should be that way.

When I was in the Navy back in the 90's, I came to appreciate Reader's Digest. I used to pick them up at the Navy Exchange or out in town. They were great. Then I got a subscription. And I will NEVER do business with them again.

First, I started getting sweepstakes notifications. Then they wanted to sell me on their condensed books. Then I started getting tons of junk calls from sweepstakes I apparently won, but had to release $400 on my credit card to receive.

Then, after paying my bills, I got past due notices. I finally cancelled, and like I said, I will NEVER do business with Reader's Digest again. I haven't bought a single issue since 1997, and have turned down free ones.

And don't get me started on Dr. Andrew Weil. At a point where I was researching alternative health stuff, I paid for a one-year subscription to his newsletter. Of course, I immediately started getting notices to pay. I got exactly two issues, then nothing. Go to hell, you dishonest "renegade Harvard-educated doctor". Never doing business with you again. You owe me 10 issues, nutjob.

Some magazines that come with memberships are OK. I get VFW magazine with no hassle. I get a few others from groups I belong to, again, with no hassle. But subscribing to an actual magazine? Way too much hassle.

Then there are digital magazines. They're all into that stupid flash based flip format, which totally sucks. Just give me a pdf that I can scroll. That's all I want. Productive Magazine is one example of this. I like their content, but I can't STAND their app. They used to provide a pdf, but now it's some flash based app that I don't like. When I try to scroll, I get to the bottom, and it suddenly flips the page. But I'm not done reading the last one. So I have to go back, but it takes me to the top, and I have to find where I was and try to avoid "flipping" to the next page. Too much trouble; not going to read anymore. Just give me a page at a time pdf and I'll come back.

Marketing Tactics You Shouldn't Use (at least, if you want to do business with me)

Marketers are annoying. I know, there are tons of "boot camps", "webinars" and "master classes" out there to tell you how to supposedly sell your material. Most of them suck, and make you look annoying if not dishonest, greedy, and stupid.

I've been exposed to many of them. There are some people, like Mike Cernovich, that get it right. Mike recently put a new book up for pre-order. He wrote a blog post, and sent out a SINGLE email to his mailing list with a link to the post. Essentially, it was low key. "Hey, guys, I have a new book coming up. Here's what it's about... You can pre-order it here." That's all. I pre-ordered it, because I like Mike's work and he didn't annoy me with his sales pitch. I also read his book "Gorilla Mindset", which I haven't gotten around to reviewing. You can buy it here:Gorilla Mindset.

Contrast that to some other techniques, most of which send me running the other way.

Using the words "webinar", "boot camp", or "master class".

These words do not resonate with me. Webinar for some reason, I associate with scaminar. Somewhere back around 2008 or 9, I signed up for some free "social media webinar". It was an hour and a half of things I already knew, followed by a sales pitch for some multi thousand dollar "social media bootcamp".

I have been to boot camp (called Recruit Training in the Navy). Whatever you call your scaminar, I'm sure it is NOTHING like a real military boot camp. Your marketing doesn't even come close in association to me. Maybe some non-military, baby boomer draft dodger will see it as an elite term. To me, you look stupid. And I don't do business with stupid.

You want a real boot camp? Spend 8 weeks living in open bay barracks, doing pushups every time you or anybody else screws up, stand watch at night, march, go up to 10 hours in between head calls (bathroom breaks), try to stay awake through classroom instruction, eat crappy food, get yelled at, experience the "gas chamber", and so on. That's a boot camp. You also get paid for boot camp, although it's probably several thousand dollars less than most of these idiot camps cost.

Master class is another word I associate with a scam. What makes your class any better than any other class? I have a bachelors degree and am more than halfway to a master's. I've been to many classes; real classes put together by people who are hopefully subject matter experts and accredited by an association. Is your "master class" accredited by anybody or anything? Then what value can I expect from it, especially when it costs more than a regular college class, many of which are too expensive anyway?

Repeated emails

I don't mind giving my email address. Sure, it's your prerogative, maybe even right as site owner to ask for an email address before allowing access to site content. But then the emails keep coming, and coming, and coming, until I'm forced to either unsubscribe or create a filter that just routes them to a label in gmail where I can mark them all as read and delete them at one time. Or mark them as spam.

I recently gave my email address for access to a site. And I haven't had a chance to go through the "free" material yet, but now the guy sends me 4-5 emails a day. Most of which are just repeats. That's Eben Pagan.

Donald Miller is about to get unsubscribed from too. I've read and reviewed a couple of his books, and enjoyed them. I guess I subscribed to his list at some point. Now, I get 3 or more emails a day from him about his story something or other program. One is enough. And I don't mean one a day. Send me a single email announcing it, with the details, and if I'm not interested or able, I'll delete it and move on. Send me more, and I'm off your list. Your precious list.

Subjective value

"This information product is valued at 18 trillion dollars, but I'll sell it to you for $79.95"

People will try to sell a 30 page "ebook" for $40-$70 or even more. Unless you can provide some REAL reviews, I'm not biting.

I can't believe you didn't take advantage...

One of the fastest ways to get me to delete your email and unsubscribe is this tactic, which I see as dishonest. It's normally matched to my name, but I know email autoresponders can do that so I'm on to your dishonest game. "Eric, I can't believe you haven't taken advantage of my $79.95 a month Social Media Master Class!"

Right, as if you're sitting around with my picture and my resume, praying and fasting to God that I'll register and pay so you can fill me with your Holy Spirit of Internet marketing. Kiss my ass. Unsubscribe. I used to follow Michael Hyatt, and unsubscribed from his emails shortly after he tried this bullshit with his Platform University. Believe it, Michael, I haven't taken advantage of your offer. And by this point, I won't. And I'm not buying your book either.

The fake superior requesting somebody do something to get me to buy

This one is even worse. You get what looks like an email forwarded from a higher up to the lower level sales guy "Bob, see what you can do to reach out to Eric. I've been trying to contact him, and he's a perfect fit for this offer- Harry Balls, Supreme Diety of Marketing".

I don't know if anybody is stupid enough to fall for that one. Car dealers around here do this all the time. I'll get a letter with what looks like a photo copied sticky note from the Sales Manager telling a salesman to reach out to me about some great deal, or to get me to trade in my current car for a supposed great deal. I wish they'd just throw them away on their end to save me the trouble.

I've been trying to contact you!

I hate this tactic. If you've been trying to contact me, why don't I see ANY evidence of it whatsoever? No emails, no phone calls, no voice messages. You obviously have my email address. If you want to come off as dishonest right out of the gate, use this one.

Not providing a real unsubscribe

Some people build email lists, and there's no way to unsubscribe from them. Sure, there's an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email, which you click, enter your email address, and get confirmation that you've unsubscribed. But the emails keep on coming. And you unsubscribe again. And nothing changes.

Mike Adams "The Health Ranger" is a good example of this. I once thought it might be worth being on his email list. But he sends out more than 6 emails a day, which is far too many for my tastes, especially when hardly any of them have value. So I tried to unsubscribe several times. Each time, I got confirmation that I unsubscribed. But nothing changed. So I was left with no choice but to mark his emails as spam. And sure enough, every morning when I check my spam folder, I have six or more emails from Mike Adams in there. And every other email list that doesn't actually let you unsubscribe. It's getting overwhelming to the point where I have a hard time filtering out the real email that got marked as spam for some reason.

Changing your autoresponder email address

This one really annoys me. I prefer to keep my inbox only to emails that are important to me. If I decide your email is low priority but still worth reading WHEN I DECIDE TO READ IT, I create a filter and have it shunted off to another folder. Then you change your address, and I get a ping on my phone telling me I have a new email in my inbox. Hoping it's somebody I actually want to drop what I'm doing to hear from, I check email and find it's only you. So I set another filter, and you change addresses again. This is annoying. What are you, an attention whore? Nobody likes an attention whore. Go post selfies on Facebook like a good attention whore and leave me alone.

Countdown

This one is just as bad as too many emails. Brian Tracy is famous for this, among others. "Only 24 hours left to get this great deal!" "Only 23 hours left to get this great deal!" And so on.

You will never see this deal again!

Bullshit. I've been on your list long enough to know you've been running this same deal every 3 days for the past several years. Liar.

Conclusion

I do business with you for the value it gives me. Not the other way around. I don't care what you get out of the deal. I don't even care if you're still around next month, and the more you annoy me, the more I hope you're not. If you provide value, and don't annoy me, I hope you're around for a LONG time.

So for you younger guys getting into Internet marketing, please remember. Create a product that brings value to people. It's probably useful to offer some free information to show that you have value to offer from your paid products. Great examples of this are Ramit Sethi and John T. Reed. Both provide a lot of useful free information, and their paid for products are an even better value. I haven't taken any of Sethi's classes, but I have bought his book. I've bought and read 4 of Reed's books. Good stuff. Follow their examples, and the examples of men like Mike Cernovich and Roosh V, not Brian Tracy, Eben Pagan, and some of the others I've mentioned. Don't annoy people. Remember, it's about what's in it for me. (Me being each individual customer you hope to acquire- and of course, ME).

ROK: Why You Should Boycott the NFL

Return of Kings had a post up yesterday about why you should boycott the NFL. I'd love to participate, but maybe not for the reasons given. It would be hard for me to boycott the NFL, because I've been effectively doing it my entire life.

I've never in my life been able to get into sports. Sure, I can throw a ball around in the yard. I have a fairly decent throw and have taught my children how to throw. But trying to watch a game bores the living shit out of me. I saw an analysis recently that said in a 3 hour game, the ball is only in play for a total of 11 minutes. No wonder it's so boring for me.

Mark Dice says sports fans are more easily amused than a dog. "He's got the ball! He's got the ball!"

The reason ROK's writer gave to boycott the NFL is that a player's father is dying of cancer, and he wants to wear something on his uniform to raise money to help. The NFL has strict uniform regulation (except for pink ribbons because they sold out to women), and he's being fined severely.

Reasons I would give to boycott the NFL, besides all the pink and boredom, are:
1) The NFL is a multi-billion dollar non-profit.
2) The NFL is a monopoly. There is no competition for the NFL.

Stefan Molyneux explains it far better than I can:

Can't A Man Just Order Electric Without An Upsell?

I'm moving next week. I need to arrange for utilities at the new place. So I called the power company. That experience wasn't too bad at first. It was at the end when things got ugly. First, the rep asked me if I wanted to hear about "green energy". I said "No, thank you." The rep kept going, something about "we have a lot of green energy initiatives..."

I said "No, thank you. Anyway, will it cost me more?"

"Well, for most people it's about $20 more."

"Then, no, thank you."

When "green energy" can compete in the market on its own two feet, great. I'm not paying more for it though.

Then I get asked if I'd like to be transferred to another call center that can help me set up services and find me savings. On the surface, that sounded like a great idea, although I was thinking they'd help me figure out who to call to arrange for water. I was naive.

I end up in a phone call marathon with a guy who is trying to upgrade my Comcast service. I figured we'd arrange to transfer that ourselves. He keeps telling me about all these channels he's going to hook me up with.

I keep saying I don't give a crap about channels. I mostly watch Netflix and Hulu on my Roku. And I don't think in terms of channels anyway; I think in terms of a few shows I enjoy watching. I don't care about HBO and Showtime and the sports channels are as useless to me as the Ophrah Winfrey Network. I just want a fast Internet pipe so Netflix doesn't stall.

Then he says they need to run a credit check. I said "I'm moving in a week. I can't have any inquiries on my credit report right now."

"OK, we can do it without a credit check for $100."

"I'm moving in a week. I don't have an extra $100 right now."

I ended up getting off the phone. I asked if I could call back later.

But seriously, all I wanted to do is make sure the lights and air conditioner work when I move next Wednesday. That's it. I didn't want a "green energy" pitch or to pay Comcast any extra money.

It's getting to where you can't conduct business with ANYBODY without them trying to upsell you or sell you products from one of their partners. 

Why Isn't The Whole Company "Comcast Cares"?

Like many others, I'm still stuck on Comcast. I pay them about $100 a month for basic cable, Internet and HD programming. I do not "feel" I'm getting $100 worth of value from this deal. My cable package contains tons of channels I never have and never will watch (BET), and few that I will.

On top of it, they keep adding some "Blast Plus" package with HBO, unauthorized, for an extra $25.

I mostly watch Netflix and Hulu on my Roku. My wife occasionally watches the cable channels, but mostly uses On Demand.

On nights like tonight, when I come home from a long day at work and a long drive home, I just want to watch Netflix or Hulu. And Comcast won't work. I ran an Internet Speed Test, and came out with a download speed of .03. My connection was so slow, I couldn't even load Comcast's page to pay my bill.

So I started ranting about it on Twitter.

Normally, when you have a bad experience with Comcast (is there a such thing as a good one?), an organization called "Comcast Cares" may contact you. They monitor social media. Sometimes they can help. In 2008, when I had this experience, Comcast Cares left a comment on my blog. I called them, and they sent a COMPETENT tech out to fix my problem, whereas the people at 1-800-COMCAST had no clue and the tech they sent was no better.

But that's what I want to know: why does Comcast need a separate business unit to "care"? Why isn't this part of the corporate culture and training? Comcast obviously knows they suck, but seems content to continue sucking, while throwing the occasional bone to disaffected customers through social media.

Marketing Terms I Can't Believe People Still Fall For

A brief glance at my junk mail inspired this post.

Final Notice

A green, postcard size piece of card stock. It even has the text on the address side "WARNING $2000 FINE, 5 YEARS IMPRISONMENT..." and all kinds of other bad stuff "FOR OBSTRUCTING DELIVERY OF THIS LETTER". That's too bad. Obstructing delivery of this crap would be doing me a favor.

On the back, it says I've been selected for a credit card hardship program. Right. More like targeted. I have one credit card at 7.9% APR. I've never seen a better rate; not even from the same credit union I've had that card with since 1994. Oh, sure I can get 0% for six months, then it goes up to 20%. I reject this for the same reason I object Comcast's "Get all our stuff for $79 for a year (with a two year contract.)!" I'm not taking a special rate just to get locked into a worse one later.

Back to the junk mail. So let me get this straight: This is my FINAL NOTICE, that I will NEVER AGAIN get an offer to refinance my 7.9% APR Visa card at 30%?

If only. I get 3-5 of these a week. I wish just one of them would be honest that this is the final notice I will ever get about this crap.

ACCOUNT INFORMATION ENCLOSED - RESPONSE REQUESTED

Of course. It's in one of those 3 sided perforated envelopes you'd get a check in, but it's not in the shape of a check so I know it's bullshit. But rather than ripping it up and throwing it away, I'll open it so I can rant about it.

This one is for some debt negotiation service. No thanks. Their rates would be far higher than anything I'm currently paying.

I wish they'd just rip these things up on their end and throw them away. Now I have to walk to the trash can, which really isn't worth the effort for this junk mail crap.

You will never see this offer again!

This one tends to come through email. I get it all the time, from the same people. And yet, within less than a week, I'm told I will never again see the same offer I was told I'd never again see last week.

Do people seriously believe and fall for this crap? I guess they must. If there was no money in it, nobody would do it.

Pity And Single Mothers

Lately I've been watching Undercover Boss on Netflix. It's an interesting show.  It's highly formulaic though. Like Ghost Hunters, only the people and backgrounds change from episode to episode.

It starts with some scenes and commentary from "The Boss" about the company, his or her background, and why he or her wants to go undercover. Then a locker room scene with before and after shots of the transformation from Boss to worker. Then the boss goes undercover.

I've only seen one or two episodes where the boss can actually handle the front line jobs he's there to do. The Subway Boss couldn't even put a sub together after hours of instruction.

But as the scene goes on, the boss starts talking to the worker, asking about background, family, hopes and dreams. The boss finds out the struggles many people have with not being able to make ends meet, sick family members, etc. During the reveal, the boss hands out various gifts like promotions, vacations, charity donations, etc. to the struggling workers who touched his or her heart.

The one thing I am constitutionally incapable of is feeling automatic pity for a single mother. That is, until I know the reasons. There are a variety of reasons a woman could become a single mother, and at least one of them can be summed up as "That's your own damn fault".

I have known many reasons why a woman became a single mother through no real fault of her own. I've also seen and lived through the other side of the coin, where a homewrecker has a reliable provider yet says "GTFO" and seeks a life of near poverty to be rid of the guy.

It's kind of like how you can have pity on somebody who was hit by a drunk driver, but you can't have pity on the drunk driver because he did it to himself.

So when I hear about some "poor, single mother" I wait until I hear some facts surrounding the situation before I decide whether she's worth feeling sorry for or not. But I always feel sorry for the children.

Some people always feel sorry for single mothers. I don't. It is mathematically impossible for all of them to be beyond reproach for making poor decisions.

Gross Income Is A Very Stupid Metric

On paper, I make pretty damn good money. I'm occasionally impressed by the number associated with my gross income.

Too bad I don't get all of it.

During the divorce last year, I put my student loans in forbearance. I maxed out my credit card and line of credit as well as wiped out my savings paying the financial vampire; I mean, divorce mediator.  Something had to go from my budget.

I'm no fan of student loans. They're a huge financial bubble as well as a government protected monopoly. But in one single point of defense, they are by far the easiest bill to call up and say "I can't pay right now. What can we do about this?" That won't work with rent, car, utilities, cell phone, mortgage, or anything else. But at least the government sanctioned and protected student loan monopoly is willing to deal. They've got you by the short hairs anyway.

So a year later, I'm still paying off the divorce and trying to get my life back together financially. And the student loan payment would really hurt. So I called to ask for another forebearance.

The operator tried to help me avoid a forbearance by offering me an economic hardship deferral. But when he asked my gross monthly income, he said I made too much money.

I said I had some mitigating factors. I don't have access to my entire gross income. Not only do I have to pay taxes and benefits, I also have a substantial portion that has to go to child support and alimony. I said if I had access to the entire gross income, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Then I asked "Do you have access to your entire gross income?"

He said "I see, sir" and processed the forbearance.

A lot of the apartments in my area are "income restricted". That means, they'll give you a break on rent if you don't make much money. But if your "gross income" is above a certain level, they charge you more money for the same apartment. It doesn't matter what mitigating factors are involved. On paper, you make too much money so you must be punished.

They need to come up with a better metric, like a real economic viability index or something. 

Is Comcast Needy? Or Do They Simply Suck?

I've had some memorable run-ins with Comcast in my life. Like the time my Internet went out, and a "tech" told me I lost my IP address and had to call Microsoft to get another one, then they could get me back on the Internet.

After a brief stint on Verizon DSL, I reached a happy medium with Comcast: at least they weren't as bad as Verizon.

I'm starting to wonder why it's impossible to get anything done with Comcast without at least two phone calls and two visits.

A friend of mine recently changed service to upgrade. My friend tried to upgrade service online, but of course that never works, so my friend had to call Comcast. The first person quoted one package, but for some reason, Comcast decided to update all their systems during business hours, so the customer service guy couldn't make the changes. He said he would though.

My friend called back, and sure enough, Mr. "I Promise" had done nothing. The next rep gave my friend a totally different price.

The tech showed up to install the wireless gateway. It didn't work. So another visit had to be scheduled. That one worked.

Then my friend tried to make a change to service. The Internet stopped working, which required another call to Comcast to get that fixed. Somehow the gateway lost registration. Then another call because the TV picture got jumpy.

I'm starting to wonder if Comcast just really likes to hear from customers. Surely that can't suck that bad; that every single event requires at least two tries to get right?

How To Make Sure A Business Receives A Fax

Faxes Are The Most Secure Way To Transmit Information...

I do NOT believe that at all. But I've been told it. In this day and age when you can sign a document on an iPad or Android phone the same way you'd sign it on paper, a lot of businesses still insist that sending a fax is the "most secure" way to do it, and won't accept a digisign.

Did you know the first fax was sent in 1848? That's right. The "most secure method of transmission" your bank or insurance company insists on is technology that predates the Civil War. That's almost as old as the Baby Boomers and Silent Generation people who run these businesses, and almost as useless (yes, a fax machine is slightly more useful than a Baby Boomer or member of the Silent Generation working in a large corporation and not retiring, but not by much).

I've gotten into a lot or arguments with customer service reps about this. Do you know how many faxes I've sent with personal information on them (like SSN) that were never received through this "most secure method of transmission"? A fax machine spits out paper, which can easily be lost, or somehow never makes it to the person it's intended for.

And in almost every case, a business that insists on fax is too freaking lazy or useless to confirm they received it in the first place. It can take them DAYS to have somebody walk by the fax machine to sort out the faxes that came in. They're so process oriented, they can't take a simple action of letting you know they got the fax in the first place.

A friend of mine is having trouble at the same time with both a financial institution and a health insurance company. My friend sent faxes to both, and both claim they never received the faxes. And they won't accept the confirmation the fax machine spits out as proof it was sent in the first place. And in one case, my friend has several hundreds of dollars in claims that should be covered denied because they claim they never got the fax of a $10 receipt.

That's why I came up with my "Master Plan" for dealing with businesses that are still using pre-Civil War technology.

Send the fax a lot. Seriously. Don't just fax it once and take the "confirmation" your fax spits out as an assumption that they received it. If you're dealing with an archaic business, sent the fax 100 times. Or 200 times. Just keep sending the fax until they ultimately call you and ask you to stop. That's your proof the fuckers got it. In fact, put it on your cover sheet that "You bastards keep telling me you didn't receive my fax. I'm going to keep sending it until you finally tell me you got it and have processed it. You can inform me of receipt of any one of these 1000 faxes at xxx-xxx-xxxx".

Until they call you, run their fax machine out of both toner and paper. Repeatedly. In fact, make it your goal to cut into their profits with the amount of toner and paper you'll cost them. If you're dealing with a health insurance company, eat up more than the amount of denied claims in toner and paper.

That should get their attention.

If we work together, we can create a fax free future.

Book Review: Judaism, Law & The Free Market by Rabbi Joseph Isaac Lifshitz

I picked a Kindle version of this book up for free at some point from the Acton Institute. I finally got around to reading it.

As a Christian, I often enjoy reading books by rabbis. I'm convinced where the church often goes wrong is in being ignorant of the Jewish roots of Christianity. I've heard way too many sermons attempting to exposit the teachings of Christ in the context of 21st century American Evangelical Churchianity. I attempt to not make the same mistakes on those rare occasions when I get to teach.

This book is primarily focused on economics, specifically what can be learned from the rabbis and sages over the years. The author quotes extensively from Jewish documentation from just about all periods of history. In some cases, he may quote a little too much. Each chapter has copious notes for further explanation.

This book contains 6 chapters:
1) Introduction
2) Property Rights and the Image of God
3) Social Welfare in Talmudic Law
4) Generosity
5) Competition
6) Spontaneous Order

The most valuable insights I got from reading this book are from my highlights:

• "...charity is considered an act of kindness rather than an act of justice."
• "...charity does not redefine property rights. The rich man does not owe the needy, and the charity he gives is not a redistribution of his wealth according to justice."
• "Economic success is considered a worthy aim, so long as one achieves it through honest means."
• "...Rabbi Akiva taught his son: 'It is better to profane your Sabbath than to become dependent on others.'"
• "When choosing between your own poor and the poor of the city, your own poor come first."
• "The commandment to give charity was not intended to appease the poor person but to raise him out of his misery."
• "There is another important difference between charity and generosity (investment- my addition). When performing charity, the focus is on the giver. In generosity, the focus is on the needy. I am thinking of the common practice whereby an older, well-to-do businessman helps a younger businessman by giving him leads or even capital. This sort of generosity is not identical with charity. It bears more similarity to a father helping his son."
• "A community of generosity is also prosperous. Many times the young man who was helped climbs up the ladder of success, and ends up later helping the person who helped him. Thus, when an older person helps a young man, his act is similar to planting a tree insofar as even if the old man himself does not benefit, his children will."

This was an interesting book. 

I personally believe charity should be local, and this book validates that. Keeping it local provides accountability and reduces waste. It prevents politicians and crusaders from dipping their hands in the pot and diverting funds to other causes or to their own pockets.

When the author speaks of generosity, he means investment. It is better to invest in the poor and needy to lift them out of their misery than to just throw a little money at them and let them remain in that state.

If you're interested in what thousands of years of rabbis and sages have to say about the free market, you can get the book from my Amazon affiliation:

Jeffrey Tucker: If Food Service Ran Like Health Care/Insurance

The other day on the Laizzes Faire Club blog, Jeffrey Tucker related a story of how he ended up at a restaurant and enjoyed a $5 bottle of wine and a $7 cheeseburger. He then pondered what it would be like if the food industry ran like the health care/insurance industry:

Now, let’s just replay this situation according to modern health care rules, which is to pretend that the food market plays by the same rules as the medical market.

You walk in and ask about the special of the day. The waiter wants to see your food insurance card. So you dig around and find it. He points out that you have a high deductible. This means you have a minimum amount to pay if you happen to order anything that is not covered on your food plan. But you don’t happen to have your food plan on you, so you really don’t know if burgers and wine are covered.

In any case, you order wine, but there’s only one kind available. So you ask the price. They don’t know. They are stunned that you would even ask. It will show up on the final bill, and much of how much you pay depends on your food planners and the plan you’re on.

Fine. Let’s move on to the meal. You’d like a burger, but you need to know the various options. Again, the waiter points out that the need to have a burger is a matter of human dignity. Human beings cannot and should not be tainted by issues of choice over what you’d be willing to pay for. This is why we have food insurance: so that no one may ever go hungry.

But wait just a minute. What if you’re actually concerned that you’ll get too much to eat? What’s the point of paying for tons of things you don’t actually want?

Plus, the only cheese I truly love is pepper jack. I’ve tried cheddar, provolone, American, Swiss, and all the rest, but I only actually connect at a deeper level with pepper jack. Criticize me if you want. It’s just the way it is.

The waiter rolls his eyes: the burger experts know what is best. He has no idea why I’m being such a problem eater. I should be a “good eater” just like “good patients” in hospitals and just accept what is coming to them. This is how we go about doing our part to serve the common good.

Several months later, you finally see the bill for your meal. Part of it is paid by the food insurer and part is paid out of pocket. The hamburger fryer has his bill, as does the bun person, and the waiter gets his cut… well, you get the point.

There is a huge number of specialists involved here! We dare not deny them their income, else we find ourselves without food! Never mind that the bill is through the roof. Hundreds of dollars, even thousands.

- See more at: http://lfb.org/today/cheap-wine-and-expensive-health-care/#sthash.8yImjtQ5.dpuf

Scary, ain't it?

Why Do People Still Do Business With Banks?

Vox Day blogged about a story I've seen pieces of in other outlets, about a man in the UK who tried to take HIS money out of HSBC and was declined for the full amount. They wanted a reason why he needed to take out so much of his own money, and apparently weren't satisfied with his reasoning.

I've pretty much always dealt with credit unions for my banking. For a brief stint in New Jersey, I had accounts with Commerce Bank, now part of about three different mergers into a large soulless megabank. I can't keep track of which one it is now. I only went to Commerce Bank because I'd just moved there, needed a place to put my paycheck, and my credit union hadn't moved into south Jersey yet. Also that was back in the dark days of writing checks, and nobody would take a check from my credit union because it wasn't local at the time.

Book Review: The No Asshole Rule by Robert Sutton

I borrowed this book from the library about three and a half years ago. I realized I never wrote a review of it, so I'll wing it from memory.

The No Asshole Rule is the absolute best business book I've ever read. It should be required reading. Here are some high points from memory:

I don't have the book in front of me, so I lack the academic definition of an asshole. A review says they're the "the jerks and bullies at work who demean, criticize, and sap the energy of others, usually their underlings."

Get Rid of Assholes: Many organizations have assholes working in them. Assholes are often tolerated because they get good results. Usually, the asshole is compared to the rest of the workers, who don't measure up to the asshole's productivity and results. However, many organizations find by getting rid of the asshole, the rest of the workers suddenly increase productivity and results; often collectively to greater levels than during the asshole's membership with the organization. The asshole usually has a negative effect on the morale of the rest of the organization, which depresses productivity and results.

Assholes Reproduce: Assholes often move into positions that allow them to hire. Most people attract like minded people. If you allow one asshole into your organization, especially into a hiring position, you could find yourself on Spaceball 1. "How many assholes we got on this ship anyway?" "Yo!"

Keep firing, assholes!

Asshole poisoning: Often, exposure to assholes can cause you to become an asshole yourself, even for a short time. The author recounted how he found himself in a meeting with an asshole, and became an asshole himself for a while.

The No Asshole Rule was informative, educational, and a hell of a lot of fun to read. I highly recommend it. We should all work together to ensure a no asshole workplace.

You can get it from my Amazon Affiliate link:

Health Insurance/Care Sucks

Since our voters and politicians can't seem to differentiate between health care and health insurance, I guess I shouldn't either. But I can't help it.

It doesn't matter. Both of them suck.

Let's look at a typical case study from the HEALTH CARE industry. This happened recently.

Friend gets admitted to ER with pain. The absolute best of 21st century technology and allopathic medicine leave a doctor standing there, shrugging his shoulders and essentially saying "I dunno".

Book Review: Raise the Bar by Jon Taffer

For some reason, back around September, I kept hearing about a show called Bar Rescue. Since I like shows like Restaurant Impossible and Kitchen Nightmares, I figured I should watch it. Wow, great show! As an added plus, my girlfriend likes to watch it with me.

I found out Jon Taffer has a book. It was available through the Kindle Lending Library, so I borrowed it to read. It's a great book.

Taffer has a business philosophy he calls "Reaction Management". He says he owns it so I assume it's trademarked or copyrighted. It's about creating positive reactions in staff and customers. Everything in hospitality is connected to emotional reactions, and if you can create them, you'll be successful.

Is Aaron Cleary Writing for Forbes Now?

Not really; he linked the article on his blog, and it sounds like what he's been saying for years. Forbes asks "Is it time for companies to fire their Human Resources Departments?"

I'm convinced HR would NEVER exist in the wild. The only reason it has proliferated to this day is due to laws, regulations, and a fear of lawsuits. Forbes documents what most of us already know: HR is mostly a useless roadblock to a company functioning.

Are you an attractive woman? Good luck getting a job with one of these HR departments, and not for the reasons you think:

The economists hadn’t reckoned on the fact that 93 percent of the HR staffers deciding whether to call in someone for an interview were female. It turns out that HR women (who also tend to be young and single and hence still in the dating market for men) are eager to meet with handsome men. But they’re jealous of beautiful women. So your business is losing out on talented people (and wasting time with untalented ones) based on their looks.

 I've seen some collosal HR cluster***ks. When I was at Lockheed Martin, HR hired a Windows NT administrator for a Unix Administrator position. The hiring manager was also at fault because he didn't have a clue that NT and Unix are not the same thing. The guy's resume said "Administrator" and he did well in the interview. The Unix guys were not invited to participate in the hiring process. This guy ended up sitting in a chair against the wall. Yeah, he was old and couldn't adapt to change, like trying to learn a new system.

I once got hired for a job because I had an acronym on my resume that matched an acronym they were looking for but wasn't the same thing. I came on board and learned the new system anyway, but that's just me.

Forbes closes its article with this quote:

Fortunately, business is moving the other way, to reduce HR departments by outsourcing its paper-pushing functions; PriceWaterhouseCoopers, for instance, estimates it can shave 15 to 25 percent off your HR costs. These humans are simply not resourceful enough. We should be glad HR is going the way of acid-wash jeans.

I'll be glad to see HR go away.
 

Infowars Caught Being Reactionary and Incorrect

I know, the headline is as obvious as one about me caught with a glass of cold beer.

I saw something on Facebook the other day about Chase stopping international wire transfers. I've been occupied with some other things, and I don't have any Chase accounts or money (much less money to wire overseas), so I ignored it. I saw it both in Alex Jones' and one of his writer's feeds.

John T Reed, a journalist and expert in these matters, looked into it. He found that Infowars was wrong.

The issue had to do with levels of accounts. Chase went from a "one size fits all" account to small business and large business. The small business accounts don't have the ability to wire money overseas, but have smaller minimum balances. The larger business accounts have a higher minimum balance and the ability to wire money overseas.

I used to listen to Alex Jones. I stopped about a year ago. Mostly it had to do with time. His 3-4 hour podcast was a huge commitment. Plus, he had a buttload of commercials that had to be skipped. Also, as a radio show, it seemed like he wasted so much time just restating himself after every single commercial break. I don't have anything against Alex Jones other than his reliability. There are some amusing YouTube videos about failed Alex Jones predictions. In July 2010, I was listening to him on a drive from New Jersey to Virginia for a job interview. That day, he was predicting an imminent war between Israel and either Syria or Iran within two weeks. We're still waiting.