My recent post about T-Mobile SMS Spam has another chapter. I followed the advice of the sweet, but not very smart, T-Mobile rep that I spoke to yesterday and text messaged the spammer. I asked them to “please stop, wrong number”. As expected, I started receiving messages with dramaticly increased frequency.
Working out the numbers, it was looking to cost me at least $20 / mo to be spammed, all that money going to T-Mobile. So I called again today. The customer service rep was much more helpful. He was very friendly, as always.
He explained that my spam from a 6 digit number was from an IM account. He instructed me to send a text message with the command:
?d[username]@[emailaddress]
the messages were from 406002. I was to send a text message to 406000.
So, let’s say the address was jackass@gmail.com from 406002
I sent a text message to 406000 with the text:
?djackass@gmail.com
So far, no more messages… but it’s only be a few minutes. I will comment as the week progresses.
Why on earth is this not incredibly available information?
I was rather frustrated trying to find resources about Microsoft Silverlite. Each search I performed showed a bunch of Microsoft bashers and whiners and not much of anything helpful. Then, of course, I’d see my blog. That was surprising since I didn’t have anything except my early opinion of how powerful Silverlite might be. The I discovered I was misspelling it!
T-Mobile has been a much better company to deal with than Verizon. To be short and to the point, I will NEVER deal with Verizon again for the rest of my life, so help me god. I recommend to you that you avoid them like an incurable disease. T-Mobile won my business by providing excellent customer service though their mobile coverage leaves something to be desired. When are they going to enhance their cell towers?
Since a few weeks after I activated my T-Mobile cell phone, I began receiving spam messages from an untraceable number indicating a gmail return address. They appear to be jibberish though they could be Turkish. I can’t tell. All I know is that I get between 5 and 20 per week. At $.15 per message, that adds up. My text messages are costing me about $8/mo and most of them are spam. So nearly $100/yr is landing in the pockets of T-Mobile due to something I have no control over. I called T-Mobile customer service to see if they could block the messages. They indicated that they do not have the technology to do that. As a technology professional, I understand that to mean, “we don’t really give a shit and it’s not in our interest to provide that feature.” After all, they get paid for each message I receive whether I want it or not.
They suggested texting back to this address, asking them to stop. Clearly, this would prove the number to be valid. I didn’t want to do that. The next suggestion was to change my mobile number. I don’t know why that sounds like such a simple and convenient thing to do to them. Clearly, they must know what a personal asset a phone number becomes.
I texted back to this spammer, begging them to stop. My next step is to switch carriers, once again. The only one left for me is Cingular, now AT&T.
It is disappointing to see that T-Mobile, a company whose service is pathetic but whose superior customer service wins the loyalty of people like me, disregarding the interests of its consumers. Dell is a shining example of what happens when a company abandons its customer service principles in favor of lower margins. Dell is no longer a company that reflects quality. Their product is now the bargain solution rather than the quality solution. Their customer service is non-existent and I am now building my own computers again (something I do not enjoy). I am searching for a viable business infrastructure alternative to Dell but they happen to have the best prices. If that slips, I will jump so fast their India based tech support will feel the wind from my exit. I am stuck, like most, in a contract with T-Mobile. My wife is forced to get alternate service, despite our contract, because T-Mobile does not get service in her building. She is going to move to AT&T. Perhaps I will suck it up and switch with her. After all, T-Mobile suggested I change my number. Perhaps I should take their advice?
Grady Healthcare is in a death spiral that requires massive change to recover from. In a move that mirrors many dysfunctional organizations, consultants were brought in to assess ways to cut the fat. Despite the fact that there are large numbers of employees at Grady who belong to a culture of, “that ain’t in my job description so I refuse to get off my ass,” the consultants identified the largest cost center for the institution was its pool of experienced physicians and medical professionals.
As a result, they extended early retirement to about 580 employees who are at least 55 years old and have at least a 10-year tenure. For general society, this might sound like a reasonable plan but physicians train well into their 30’s before becoming an attending physician, assuming they enter the medical field directly out of college. Most physicians work well into their 70’s. They received at least 70 percent acceptance. What this did to Grady was prune the most experienced, dedicated and well-trained doctors, nurses and anesthetists from the staff, leaving a critically severe shortage of physicians.
Grady was already short-staffed. The doctors they asked to leave had dedicated their careers to a public teaching institution where they made significantly less than their peers in the same field. These are the most dedicated, selfless and talented medical professionals in the world and now they gone. Asking them to leave must have been a severe slap in the face. It is also a blow to future medicine as these amazing teachers have left the operating room classroom. It was a shortsighted, ridiculous and damaging move on the part of the board and the consultants who recommended the strategy.
Grady is a teaching facility for Emory and Morehouse medical students and residents. Residents are MD’s who are completing their specialization training in their field of choice. A Surgery resident rotates through the various aspects of surgery to learn the intraquacies of the field. They learn from attending physicians by taking part in the procedures and care of patients. Grady sees the patients that no one else can or will. Grady is the best level one trauma center in the country. If you are seriously injured in a car accident, no one will do a better job putting you together, and saving your life, than Grady. If you have a rare, dangerous strain of virus, you are going to Grady. They are better equipped for extreme response and treatment than anyone in the world, much less the Atlanta area. Learning at Grady is like learning trauma on the front lines of the battle field and learning disease and medical care in a 3rd world country except that you have the facilities of an American medical center. The residents earn approximately $40k while completing their training. At one time, they were forced to work as much as 120 hours in a week. If you average the hours a resident works today, even after regulations were enforced to prevent the abusive schedules that threatened residents safety, they make about $6/hr. McDonalds employees in Atlanta are paid $10/hr and extra for overtime hours. Apparently Mr. Purdue suggested that GA physicians take a huge hit in the form of a completely unfair physician-only income tax to pay for Grady. “They learn there, they should pay for it, ” he suggested. They already have. I’ll withhold name-calling and explicative.
Grady also sees Atlanta prisoners. Gunshots are all taken Grady. Stabbings, beatings, etc. all Grady. Severely crack-addicted, prostitute mothers are cared for at Grady. Homeless people, criminals and indigents are all a large part of Grady patient population. I hear uninformed people lobbying for public healthcare, not realizing what that would do to quality in this country, and I can’t help but think that we already have it as all of these people are covered by government institutions. Of course, they pay far less than it costs Grady to provide the services. We are an advanced society, we will continue to care for these people, and we should. It is our responsibility, as a society, to provide basic health to all. If for no other reason we have to protect ourselves from the spread of disease and desperation that would result from neglecting these people. However, I would hope that our human compassion drives us more persistently than that. The question that is most present on my mind is: Where will all these people be taken if Grady is no more? The answer is to your local private hospital. That’s right, gang bangers who shoot each other up would now be sharing a room with your daughter who fell off her bicycle or your son who has developed thyroid disease and is going to be treated for it. Of course, I’m sure you won’t be happy with that so some other institution will pop up to serve the privileged but the damage will be done. Once these people are discharged, they will be sent out the front door, into your backyard. Think about it… Grady patients: coming soon to a hospital near you!
There are a lot of people who feel that Grady really isn’t their problem. “I live in Dunwoody,” you might say. The next time you see a flight-for-life helicopter on the freeway, remember that someone is in the kind of crisis that an ambulance wouldn’t suffice and they are on their way to Grady. Keep in mind that they have the best chance for survival they would have anywhere in the world. Consider how you’d feel about Grady if that were your spouse being strapped into that helicopter. You’d be full of hope, full of desperation.
Grady is in that kind of trouble right now. They brainlessly removed the top 40% from the staff and now they are out of money and short on talent. However, even short on talent, they are more qualified and more capable than you’d find at any medical center in America or the world. If you think that has value to Atlanta, consider paying more attention to the Grady developments and getting involved where you can. Be informed, vote. This isn’t an inner city problem. This isn’t a medical problem.
Just thought I’d pass the compliment from one of our girls at Perfect Wedding Guide. We picked up cup cakes from Matty Cakes in Atlanta for the boss’s birthday today and everyone was absolutely floored with the cupcakes. The latest was an unprovoked, “that was the best cupcake I’ve ever had in my entire life!” Specifically, she was speaking of the Chocolate ganache.
Just thought I’d follow up with another yeah baby for this c# zip library! I used it to unzip uploaded, packaged html mini-sites to a published location on PerfectWeddingGuide.com. I have been using this system to create and publish html and found myself with a need to edit an existing, published set of files but I was on a different computer from the one that I created the files from. The same scenario would apply for someone editing someone else’s creation.
From the time I created my “GetPackagedAssets” action in my Monorail controller to the time I was downloading my first zip file from an existing production directory was approximately 15 minutes. Some of that credit goes to strong adherance to OO design which made all the intrinsics trivial (finding and generating paths, retrieving records, streaming the result, etc). However, this unzip library is fantastic!
I just read a friend’s blog about the anniversary ofhis loss and it made me a little teary-eyed. I forgot how personal a blog can be. I forgot how fortunate I really am. As an IT professional and I tend to think of this as a tool more than an outlet sometimes. That is not always the best approach. Blogs are personal journals - made public. This post is for that purpose…
Last weekend I had a very difficult conversation. I was dreading it, had ample warning, yet I was completely unprepared. I expected something frustrating but it was harder than that. I felt like I was 12 years old again, trying to be accepted, fighting to be important. I felt like I was losing something. The topic of that call went unresolved. Since then, I’ve not been myself. I refuse to whine and complain about it but grown-ups aren’t supposed to act like spoiled children.
Yesterday I had a B-class sequel to last weekend in my professional world. The same level of self-absorption interfered with our ability to resolve the problem and I fear that the situation may continue, even escalate. Fortunately, I have had lots of involuntary experience dealing with this kind of personality conflict and I believe it will play out favorably if I am extraordinarily cautious, respectful and objective. My advice to anyone who finds himself in professional conflict with someone who is not their direct report is to take the high ground, refuse to be drawn into any emotionally charged exchange and deal specifically with the problem situation and not the resultant feelings. Most importantly, you have to listen and not let words fly. Eventually, when the flames subside, either the problem can be dealt with objectively or the offensive personality will direct their attention to someone who will drink the drama. If the latter happens, it is time to let that person go. In my previous experience, this was not that case and the cost to the whole organization was huge. People who aren’t results focused represent only liability. Thanks to Irina and (that girl whose husband was coding for her) for teaching me just how abrasive a work relationship can get. What I learned in both situations was that the heat will pass and you won’t even remember why everyone was so damned upset. If you get sucked in however, you might be signing unfortunate HR papers or playing, “how do we feel today” games with her supervisor. Thanks, James, for that fun experience. You owe me a beer for putting me through that!
Life is a cyclical experience, for sure. After all this personality conflict and irrational behavior, I needed an outlet. I got together with Dean and played some Alice in Chains and Foo Fighters songs through some pretty loud amplifiers. Ironically, the Alice songs are the same tunes I used to play when I was a much younger, much less patient, much more excitable person. They had the same calming effect. This post has provided a nice outlet, as well.
I think the reason blogs are so powerful as personal emotional tools and self therapy is that you are expressing your most personal thoughts in a way that is not very private at all. You have to check your mouth before you hit “publish” if you want to maintain your reputation. For that reason, you can’t just “rant”, though some people do. The best way to approach it is to keep it as real as you can. It’s just a blog. However, in editing your own words, you are often editing your thoughts or, perhaps, your emotions. You can take a buddah-like stance on the situation and remind yourself that you are the source of your emotions. While you proof-read your post, you may find yourself counseling the author in an effort to avoid the regret that comes from a terse or abrasive post. When its time to fight, take your stance and cover your face. When its time to grow, take in only healthy things.
A while back, I was looking for a simple support ticketing system that integrated with pop email, was easy to install, and …well, worked. I found a few free tools that had relatively inactive communities and a couple commercial products. I wasn’t really ready to lay out for a commercial product. Frankly, I could build what I needed in a couple of days and then I have that beautiful solution meets need arrangement. However, I am not one of those not invented here snobs.
Randy suggested: kayako support suite. It looks great. At $300/yr, its reasonably priced. However, it’s more than I needed at the time (or right now) and I wasn’t ready for another recurring expense.
Spiceworks
I found something wonderful, however. Spiceworks is a free support ticketing and helpdesk tool. Yah, free. It’s also installed locally, which I like. Installation is seamless. It uses its own webserver and is built in Ruby (cool factor). The first version had pretty crappy performance but they fixed that in the recent update.
One problem I ran into is that our support email address is terribly spammed. These show up as support requests in our help desk system. Closing these not only is messy but I do not want to send a reply to these senders. Its a problem that would be solved with a simple “delete” button but Spiceworks decided that “delete” should not be allowed. What I found was that the database is in a file, uses SQLLite and is very easy to work with using SQLLiteAdmin.
Removing Spam from Spiceworks
I’m having trouble getting my videos processed on YouTube. I’m using CamStudio and its not working very well. I may seek another recorder. Ideas, anyone?