Time Bandits & Other Paranoid Conspiracies
Time bandits. . . that's what I call anyone who steals our time. Just like that old saying, "Time is Money" our time has as much value as anything else. We only get so much in this life and, like money, some have plenty while others only have a few precious years.
I don't say that lightly, either, as I know of one young man who recently made the mistake of getting into the wrong car on the wrong night. He wasn't even driving, although there are rumors that the driver was participating in an impromptu drag race. . . still, no one else has confirmed this and, as with any other rumor, this information should come to light, if it's true. That is, the other car's driver will eventually surface.
Right now that young man -- barely 17 and still not a driver himself -- is in the ICU, on life-support and may never regain consciousness. If he does, he may be a vegetable. . . or, because his vertebrae was fractured, may never walk again. . .
This was one of my son's best friends. I won't give his name, but I can tell you, he is a very nice, cheeful, easy going person. . . the kind who is agreeable and fun. Now his brother and his mom live at the hospital. . . and he may never have another decent day. Time's Up!
Because this, my friends, is just another example of Time Bandits.
Time bandits take many forms, though. They are also the telemarketer who calls and asks, "can I have just a moment of your time?" As if Time is nothing. They are the credit card companies who promise reasonable payments, but never bother to point out that it will be YEARS before you can actually KEEP any of the money you've earned. They are anything that promises then delays on delivery.
Time Bandits. They're everywhere.
Okay. . . here's a paranoid conspiracy theory if ever there was one.
All of the Email servers are working so very hard to remove spam from our emails. Now, I understand this to some degree. But lately, as in the past, I've seen them automatically filter out emails that I not only WANT, but NEED.
WHY?
Well, for one thing, there are no regulating laws governing email servers. That is, the Email Service Providers (ESPs), as far as I know, do not have to answer to anyone other than the W3.org, or the organization that governs all internet activity. And no one has said to them, "you cannot tamper with email."
So they tamper. For their customer's benefit, of course. Sure. . . right.
I mean they get all kinds of complaints against spam. So they MUST step in and tamper. Afterall it is SO HARD for someone to press "select all" and "delete". That takes, oh, two seconds. Please.
Hmmm... sorry. But this is starting to sound a little fishy.
I mean, ESPs are usually owned and run by big corporations. Now, why would they want to stamp out a lot of little marketers... hmmm. I mean, afterall, that would just ensure that everyone had to go to one big corporation or another, once all the little mom-and-pop internet businesses were shut down. But what is that to them? Hmmmm.
What I want to know is, who are they to decide what one person considers junk and another considers useful information. I, myself, must do all kinds of extra work just to make sure I receive all my emails-- and I have my own WEBSITE, where nothing is filtered out! It's ridiculous.
I have never been a fan of spam, but I would rather go through hundreds of useless emails (which, by the way, I still do, because for all their supposed "filters" spam gets through regardless), if only to be sure I got the emails I want.
It's a lot like the US mail. Only with THAT system, the carriers ARE NOT ALLOWED to tamper with the junk mail. And that's okay. Imagine if they operated like ESPs? And they suddenly decided that your Publishers Clearing House entry was junk and just threw it away... without ever asking you if you participated in their sweepstakes... and it so happened you DID.
Same difference.
So why ARE ESPs allowed to make these decisions for us? Who died and made them the Decider of Email? And, most importantly WHO'S WATCHING THEM????
I don't say that lightly, either, as I know of one young man who recently made the mistake of getting into the wrong car on the wrong night. He wasn't even driving, although there are rumors that the driver was participating in an impromptu drag race. . . still, no one else has confirmed this and, as with any other rumor, this information should come to light, if it's true. That is, the other car's driver will eventually surface.
Right now that young man -- barely 17 and still not a driver himself -- is in the ICU, on life-support and may never regain consciousness. If he does, he may be a vegetable. . . or, because his vertebrae was fractured, may never walk again. . .
This was one of my son's best friends. I won't give his name, but I can tell you, he is a very nice, cheeful, easy going person. . . the kind who is agreeable and fun. Now his brother and his mom live at the hospital. . . and he may never have another decent day. Time's Up!
Because this, my friends, is just another example of Time Bandits.
Time bandits take many forms, though. They are also the telemarketer who calls and asks, "can I have just a moment of your time?" As if Time is nothing. They are the credit card companies who promise reasonable payments, but never bother to point out that it will be YEARS before you can actually KEEP any of the money you've earned. They are anything that promises then delays on delivery.
Time Bandits. They're everywhere.
Okay. . . here's a paranoid conspiracy theory if ever there was one.
All of the Email servers are working so very hard to remove spam from our emails. Now, I understand this to some degree. But lately, as in the past, I've seen them automatically filter out emails that I not only WANT, but NEED.
WHY?
Well, for one thing, there are no regulating laws governing email servers. That is, the Email Service Providers (ESPs), as far as I know, do not have to answer to anyone other than the W3.org, or the organization that governs all internet activity. And no one has said to them, "you cannot tamper with email."
So they tamper. For their customer's benefit, of course. Sure. . . right.
I mean they get all kinds of complaints against spam. So they MUST step in and tamper. Afterall it is SO HARD for someone to press "select all" and "delete". That takes, oh, two seconds. Please.
Hmmm... sorry. But this is starting to sound a little fishy.
I mean, ESPs are usually owned and run by big corporations. Now, why would they want to stamp out a lot of little marketers... hmmm. I mean, afterall, that would just ensure that everyone had to go to one big corporation or another, once all the little mom-and-pop internet businesses were shut down. But what is that to them? Hmmmm.
What I want to know is, who are they to decide what one person considers junk and another considers useful information. I, myself, must do all kinds of extra work just to make sure I receive all my emails-- and I have my own WEBSITE, where nothing is filtered out! It's ridiculous.
I have never been a fan of spam, but I would rather go through hundreds of useless emails (which, by the way, I still do, because for all their supposed "filters" spam gets through regardless), if only to be sure I got the emails I want.
It's a lot like the US mail. Only with THAT system, the carriers ARE NOT ALLOWED to tamper with the junk mail. And that's okay. Imagine if they operated like ESPs? And they suddenly decided that your Publishers Clearing House entry was junk and just threw it away... without ever asking you if you participated in their sweepstakes... and it so happened you DID.
Same difference.
So why ARE ESPs allowed to make these decisions for us? Who died and made them the Decider of Email? And, most importantly WHO'S WATCHING THEM????
posted by Marige | 11/21/2006 08:19:00 AM
