This upcoming weekend could be an interesting if tropical storm Bill tracks the way it is now. Of course, there’s lots of ocean to cross and plenty of time between now and then but keep an eye out (no pun intended).
I was just wondering when our tropical storm season might heat up and it looks like that time is now.
Update Aug 17 9:30 PM: Looks like Hurricane Bill will veer away from the mainland.
We drove up to our friends the Naylor’s Lake Gaston lakehouse this morning. It had been a while since I drove up that part of Capital Boulevard and I was dismayed to see the old Cheviot Hills Golf Course now completely cleared, with few, if any, remaining trees. I’ve known it was coming, as it was bought by car dealers and car dealers do what car dealers do: they build car lots. But do they have to plow over every damn tree to build their lots?
I don’t know why it bothers me so, as I never set foot on that golf course, and the jackass who ran it pissed me off with his late night, drunken hunting. I suppose it’s trading a unique community resource for yet another faceless car dealership.
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Now you’ve been working so hard
Running in circles
Like a robot shorting circuits
Like it’s set to blow
I’ve gotta make an appointment
Just to kiss you
Baby I’m not complaining
But I’ve got to know
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Guitar legend and music pioneer Les Paul died yesterday at the age of 94. I knew he had invented the solid-body electric guitar, but until yesterday I had no idea he had invented multitrack recording.
What a genius he was.
I once worked at a great small business. One day, one of my coworkers abruptly announced she was leaving the company. This woman was one of the original employees and knew the company as well (or better) than the founders. How could she possibly be leaving? I had to find out her reason, so I stepped outside with her.
“What’s the scoop?” I asked.
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Got a call on my pay-per-use mobile phone from number 916-219-8193, claiming to be from “cardholder services” and saying I was eligible for a program to lower my interest rate.
The scamming scumbags are back in full effect.
I’m partial to songs with Morse Code rhythms.
Article 4.
Telephone Solicitations.
ยง 75-100. Findings.
The General Assembly finds all of the following:
(1) The use of the telephone to market goods and services to the home is now pervasive due to the increased use of cost?effective telephone solicitation technologies and techniques.
(2) While some consumers enjoy and benefit from telephone solicitations from legitimate telephone solicitors, many others object to these telephone solicitations as an intrusive invasion of their privacy in the home.
(3) In addition, the proliferation of telephone solicitations, especially during the evening hours, creates a nuisance and a disturbance upon the home and family life of telephone subscribers during a time of day used by many families for traditional family activities.
(4) North Carolina residents should have the freedom to choose whether or not to permit telephone solicitors to contact them.
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Just when the phones at MT.Net were no longer ringing with car warranty scams, we got another one this morning. This time it’s from phone number 732-903-0837. Some folks on the 800notes website say it’s a New Jersey company called Motor Vehicle Protection Corporation. That’s who the salesguy said was calling. Could this company be the spawn of Great Atlantic Warranty/North American Warranty Solutions or Automotive Warranty Solutions?
As I’ve long been on the Do Not Call list, it’s time to collect some money from these bastards. Time to see how this works.
Update 11:30 AM: Bah. Looking at the wording on the N.C. Attorney General’s page, the bastards get one free call before I can sic the dogs on them:
If you have received more than one telephone call by or on behalf of the same entity that is in violation of the Do Not Call law, you may go to state court …
How much you wanna bet that the company will then claim a “prior business relationship” based on the first bogus call? This law is toothless!
To recap, the Motor Vehicle Protection Corporation is violating the Do Not Call registry, but they’re doing it below the penalty phase of the law. The company is identifying itself with a live human being, which is a step up from the previous car warranty scams. In essence, the scam continues but with fewer vulnerabilities for state attorneys general to attack. Clever, indeed.
Also for those of you finding this on Google, we received a dead-air call from this number over the last few days. This is likely from the company’s auto-dialer, finding live phone numbers to later feed to its sales queue. Oh, hey! This is where my “more than one” phone call comes into play! I can sue them after all!
