Unclear Rate Communications

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Austin Seraphin

So many companies these days have misnomers for names. Clear Rate Communications comes to mind. I thought I would do something to save money, but ended up getting burned. Listen to my tale and learn.

In January of this year, I had a fever. While coping with my illness, I received a call. The guy on the other end offered service from a new phone company. Ordinarily, I probably would have hung up after asking him to add my number to his do not call list. Perhaps because of my illness, or perhaps because I wanted to try to save some money on my phone bill, I listened. He assured me that they simply resell Verizon’s lines, since they buy them in bulk they can give better rates, and that I’d get the exact same quality. He assured me I could get unlimited long distance, something I need. Verizon would even still do repairs, I would just have to go through Clear Rate. That sounded reasonable, so I accepted.

Problems started immediately. On the day of the switch, I picked up my phone to find nothing. I had to use my cell phone to call Clear Rate, whose number I quickly memorized since I had a feeling I would need it frequently. I already had a bad feeling about this. I had fiber lines, and they had switched me over to their copper network.
Since my copper lines had fallen during a storm, they no longer existed, and hence I had no signal. This enraged me, but they promised me they’d have a Verizon tech out to fix it, which they did. Nevertheless, the line has a hum to this day.

After getting the line working, I wanted to set up my voice mail. I quickly noticed that the standard Verizon number didn’t work, so I called Clear Rate back for instructions, feeling glad I had memorized the number. They gave me a toll-free number to call, so I did. I felt disgraced to hear a completely uncustomized Asterisk PBX, stock prompts and all. This probably took them literally two hours to set up, they changed nothing I could see, as evidenced by the empty advanced menu. My contempt increased, and I laughed at their lameness, and began to regret switching.

After that debacle, things worked as well as expected, but a feeling of uneasiness remained. For one thing, I would not get an interrupted dial tone when I had voice mail, meaning I could miss messages more easily. For another thing, despite their name of Clear Rate, my bills never remained constant. Each month’s charges seemed a little different, and slowly increasing. This bothered me, so I called them back, once again glad I memorized their stupid number with the same looping hold music. At least they had a good attitude so far.

I’ve had a second line which came with the house, and for a while I held onto it with minimal coverage, since it would remain working when my main line failed during rainstorms. Since I switched companies, I left the package deal with Verizon, and my Verizon bill increased as well. Additionally, Clear Rate could not give me a good deal on the second line, which had now become superfluous. I now had a larger bill than I had with Verizon, less service, and more hassle. Besides, I felt like the Verizon techs regarded me as scum.

Finally, today something happened which capped it for me. I noticed long distance charges on my bill. I made sure I had unlimited long distance. When I called, the dork groggily told me that I had gone over the residential limit of 4,000 minutes per month. I became irate! “Do you mean to tell me that I only have 4,000 minutes of long distance per month?” “That’s right.” “At no time did they make this clear to me.” True enough, though a quick glance at their Terms of Service confirms this hideous truth. Apparently, consistently using a phone represents an inconsistent use of voice applications. I could not believe it. If I would have known that, I would never have switched. I knew what I had to do.

As soon as I began vehemently asking Duke Dork how I would go about switching my provider, his attitude began to shift. He told me I would have to call my provider of choice, and they would take care of it, so I did. I still had to do some running around Verizon’s system, which annoyed me, but I expected as much, and they
would welcome me back with open arms, according to one saleslady. She gave me a good deal, but wrote my number down incorrectly during the first verification. He transferred me back to the main number. It started burbling on. “Fuck!” I screamed. “OK, here is some help.” the robot calmly retorted. Did they actually map profane exclamations to the help function? It then gave me some error about not completing my call. Confused, I called their number for people with disabilities to also get free directory assistance, and finally got the verification completed as well. While waiting the second time, the song Satisfaction, by the Rolling Stones, played in the background – rather fitting.

I felt like I had won a war, but still had one small battle remaining. The Shire still needed scouring. Our friend from earlier called me back about my bill. He guiltily told me that they could
only take fifty dollars off my bill. I didn’t even care at this point, I just wanted out. On top of that, earlier he told me that I’d have to pay a $99 termination fee on each line. Those bastards got me up until the very end.

In summary, I wanted to do something to save money, but ended up spending far more. I also feel deceived, since at no point did someone make the 4,000 minute monthly limit clear. You can see for yourself, even on their web site, it has Unlimited> splashed all over it. They grossly overstate their abilities, and grossly oversell their services. To summarize the summary, if someone calls you promising you better service at a cheaper rate, take heed, and read their terms of service. To summarize the summary of the summary, people are a problem. If this article prevents just one person from getting ripped off, especially by these vagabonds, then I will feel like I have done my job. That makes me feel happy.

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Why Rand Paul Opposes the Americans with Disabilities Act

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Austin Seraphin

Today, I read an article which I felt required my response. It attacked Rand Paul for opposing the Americans with Disabilities act, then attempted to link him to violent anti-government radicals. I wanted to respond firstly to the issues of the attack, and secondly to the issues of the attacker.

Rand Paul, the son of Ron Paul, just won the nomination to run as the republican candidate for the Kentucky senate. This has sent shock waves through the political sphere. Most freedom loving people celebrated, and most of the establishment reeled. The candidate who openly embraced the so-called tea party movement thumped the establishment-backed candidate in a landslide victory.

This victory comes with a cost of course, the inevitable backlash from the establishment. As anyone who participated in Ron Paul’s campaign knows, he had to face the most ugly attacks, and so did his supporters in some cases. The attacks continued on to his son, often using the same misunderstood arguments used against his father.

For those who don’t know, Ron Paul started out as a republican representative from Texas, though born here in Pennsylvania. Even though he ran on the republican ticket, he most certainly has never held the views of the establishment republican party. In fact, he even ran as the libertarian presidential candidate in 1988. Later, he returned to congress again, becoming known as “Dr. No” because he would vote against pretty much every bill up for a vote, on the grounds that the Constitution would not allow it. This strict adherence to the Constitution became the bedrock of his presidential campaign in 2008. Many diverse people gathered on an educational mission, even if they didn’t know it at the time. After eventually losing the nomination to John McCain, he started the Campaign for Liberty.

Rand Paul has many of the same views as his father, however during his campaign, he disenchanted some by supporting efforts in Afghanistan. Most supporters felt that he had to do that to win the vote. Others felt critical. I said we’d wait and see, and now we will.

To understand why Rand Paul said he opposed the Americans with Disabilities Act, you have to understand that these views go back to a strict Constitutional interpretation. The United States Constitution grants certain specific powers to the national government, and the tenth amendment grants all other powers to the individual states. Rand Paul opposed the ADA because the Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to regulate that aspect of life.

The Constitution has these provisions for good reason. Firstly, if someone with a disability has a problem with a business, they should first take it up with the business. In the case of an employer, this means working together to find a solution. As a customer, it means going through all provided channels to get satisfaction. In either case, if the business fails to deliver, the local or state authorities should then become involved. This localizes the problem. It does not mean heartless capitalism or mindless anarchy. Under the current system, a business might have to undergo a costly redesign to comply, and as a result, simply not hire the disabled for fear of getting sued. The disabled deserve equal access and opportunity, and this legislation hurts the people it claims to help. The Constitution provides the elegant balance.

If that article had the true purpose of only pointing out an issue worthy of discussion, it would have ended at that point, but it continues, and so shall we. After introducing Rand Paul as a fringe kook backed by dangerous extremists,

“while much of the GOP established has organized and encouraged radical tea party protests, they have lost control of insurgent extremist candidates like Paul.”

the article makes the leap from supposedly discussing the rights of the disabled, to implying that Rand Paul supports the second amendment as a means to violently overthrow the government.

“While Paul is proud of his radical pro-business agenda, he is less willing to talk about his ties to the militia movement and violent anti-government groups.”

Since no logical connection exists between these two issues, one must conclude that the author had other motives.

A common disinformation tactic involves mixing two different unrelated issues, so that people make the subconscious correlation between the two. In this case, grouping these two diametrically opposed topics together makes it sound like if someone opposes the ADA, that they support a violent overthrow of the government. It also makes it more uncomfortable to stand up against the article, and gives the casual reader an uncomfortable association. It also makes it sound like anyone who supports the second amendment supports it in a twisted radical form. Every group has extremists, including the left.

Now don’t get me wrong – I do not mean to accuse the author of this article of working for the CIA or anything paranoid like that. This principle lends itself to all areas of human interaction, starting in the schoolyard, and from the looks of it, ending there as well. As I followed the links in the article and read the comments, I became angered at the mean-spirited nature of the content. To me, reading their banter seemed less like reading a political column, and more like watching a bunch of bullies at recess, congregating in their clubs to laugh and hate together.

Since the author basically called me a dangerous violent anti-government radical without knowing anything about me or my character, I feel like I have the right to have a little fun at his expense. What the hell does “Guest Blogger” mean? Doesn’t having a blog make you enough of a guest? I mean, don’t people get blogs in the first place because they have nowhere else to write? What makes this dork so special? What does he have that I don’t? I write funnier and truer stuff than he ever will. I have a cooler blog anyway. Speaking of, don’t you hate it when blogs have tons of links? JUST SHOW ME THE ARTICLE! If I wanted to read a bunch of articles, I’d go to Liberty Pulse, where I will also publish this article as a guest blogger.

After getting that out of my system, I remembered that the people I have the hardest time feeling compassion for need it the most, and my anger turned to sadness. It makes me sad to see people so ignorant of basic issues. It makes me sad to see people who treat politics like a schoolyard game. I pity those who have not learned to think critically, for truly they suffer the most. I feel afraid when I read articles like these, painting peaceful patriots as insurgent extremists. I fear for the fate of the movement and for this country. Still, I remain secure in my faith that evil always destroys itself and good always prevails.

In this article, I introduced Ron and Rand Paul, discussed why they have the views they do, and showed the type of vicious attacks used by the establishment. I believe I have logically shown that Rand Paul does not hate disabled people and does not want to violently overthrow the government. These do not sound like the views of an optometrist – an eye doctor. I should know – I became blind at birth.

Posted in Blind Rage, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

My Nightguard

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Austin Seraphin

I just wanted to give a quick update on my Nightguard. I got it eight weeks ago. I got it while also getting a brutal filling done, with a more hardcore local anesthetic called Carbocane. Heavy stuff! The left half of my mouth filled with a numbing lifelessness, and an unpleasant electric-like tingle ran along my tongue, as if touched to a 9-volt battery. This quickly ebbed, but at times the numbing felt cold, like a focused ice cream headache. After this, I got my Nightguard.

At first, the Nightguard looks like a silly piece of plastic, akin to something you might purchase in a joke shop. A lot actually goes into it, however. You have to put it under warm water for around 30 seconds so that it can become pliable, then you put it over your top teeth. It has an exact mold of your teeth, so it stays in place while you sleep. This prevents your jaw from grinding during the night. You also have to brush it with a toothbrush every day, or plaque can build up on it. I find it funny how dentists call it calculus, seeing as how I had to take two semesters of it in college!

So does it work? They of course could not say that it would cure it. I still notice a little jaw popping, but it has gotten better, and more importantly, my ears haven’t felt stuffy. I originally became concerned because my hearing felt off for around a week. I went to an ear doctor, and he told me it came from TMJ, which brought me to my dentist. Speaking of, if you live in the area, then you should go where I go! I’ve gone since childhood, and they have always taken care of me.

   Decrescenzo, Dante:
   145 N Narberth Ave.
   Narberth, Pennsylvania
   610.667.6630.

Tell them I sent you!

For other articles I’ve written about my progress with TMJ, go here.

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Backup Making

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Austin Seraphin

With all the talk of “making markets” i.e. manipulating markets, I thought I’d tell a recent illustrative tale which happened to me last night.

I just got a second hard drive so I could back up my media collection without worry. I set up a cron job to run a script daily to do this. I ran the script manually to test it, and it worked fine. I figured everything worked and didn’t give it a second thought, until it actually came time to run it for the first time in real time.

Things went nuts. Both drives started going insane. I noticed around 150 rsync processes running, and things ground to a halt as I issued multiple killall commands. Gradually, the processes stopped, and normal operation resumed. Obviously, something went wrong.

I looked in my /etc/cron.daily directory. This directory has something special about it. The cron daemon runs every file in it once per day. A quick directory listing showed me that Emacs had saved a backup file ending in ~ as it usually does. This meant that not only did it execute the regular version of the file which I had tested and which worked, but it also executed the backup file at the same time. Goddess only knows how they differed! I really need to customize Emacs to save all the backups in one directory. Keep this in mind if you use Linux. Purge your backups from your cron directories.

Running two programs like that did something very weird. It ran rsync, which synchronizes directory structures, good for backups. Since it ran twice at the same time, it began having to compensate for itself, as it didn’t know that it also ran in another process. You can imagine the loop that built, causing the spawning of other processes to deal with the race condition. This perfectly illustrates what happens when two computer programs, and in this case two of the same program, interact with unpredictable results.

Does this remind you of anything going on in the news? I watched with amazement last Thursday as the stock market dipped a thousand points in fifteen minutes, and just as quickly began shooting up to make up the difference, finally closing down around 350 points. Today, the market has shot way up but still shy of 11,000. The whole thing seemed weird, and the establishment still hasn’t given a reason as the pundits continue to clamor.

So why did it happen? Don’t you love the cliches they have come up with over the years? Fat fingers? I picture some greasy dude in nasty sweatpants with fat fingers pressing the wrong button on a Bloomburg machine while wrestling with a Big Mac. Give me a break! Every programmer knows what happens when programs interact in the manner I described above. Computers trade seventy percent of the shares on the New York Stock Exchange. These programs protected by sneaky secret proprietary processes interact in unpredictable ways. They cause feedback loops just as my backup program did. In this case, this causes sells to outnumber buys, and this drives the price of stocks and the whole market down. Once this happens, humans begin reacting, selling to not lose money. People can also put in stops, in other words telling their broker to sell a stock when it hits a certain price or percentage, and these huge swings will blow out a lot of stops, further adding to the selling. All these things compound, and
everything crashes.

So did this happen by accident? I don’t think so. If I can figure this out while sitting comfortably in my armchair, surely these Wall Street intellectuals can. Globalist bankers want to crash our economy, and they will use these computer systems to do it. After all, you can’t convict a machine.

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On a New Server

Posted on May 7, 2010 by Austin Seraphin

I just moved this site and a few others to a new server. I feel very excited about it. The old one ran CentOS and an incompletely installed version at that. I could never get the hang of it. This new one runs Debian, which I have a better rapport with, though not as good as Arch Linux or Slackware. Still, it makes a good environment for a server, and Linode offers lots of great tutorials.

I just figured I’d write this, just to confirm that everything works for everyone. If you received any errors, they should straighten themselves out. I have a lot to blog about, and look forward to doing so on this shiny new server.

Migrating never goes completely smoothly, as any sysadmin will know. This time, I had to mess with Postfix and find a line I forgot to add in the configuration, and some other minor annoyances. Check and recheck those configuration files. Apache proved similarly annoying, with its fragmented configuration files, but it turned out the culprit came from something simpler. It turns out the default installation didn’t enable the rewrite module, which struck me as odd, most do. If this happens to you, just use a2enmod rewrite and it will work.

Have fun. I’ll check back soon, I promise.

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