I’m generally skeptical whenever anyone asks for money. Today I came across a charitable organization that, at first, appeared to come from a legitimate organization. They sounded different than the scams I have seen and they caught my interest. They had a nice website and were almost convincing.

I am registered on a website that helps pair up volunteers with charitable organizations needing help (http://www.idealist.org/). I’d like to be able to do some good in the world and this morning I was excited to get the following email which I assumed was from my contact information on the volunteer website.

Dear Warren,

My name is Harvey XXXXXX and I am the HR manager for Glen Hamilton Foundation. I have just found your information at one of the employment portal and I think that you would be interested in two job opportunities at Glen Hamilton Foundation: CSR (20 hours weekly) and Corporate CSR (30 hours weekly). Both positions involve a lot of responsibility, attentiveness and independence, but they are well rewarded. Annual incomes of CSR and Corporate CSR are US $32,400 and US $65,600, respectively.

Warren, if you are self-reliant enough to work at the convenience of your own home or office, and if you are a quick learner and ready to develop your customer service and management skills, please contact me and I will give you a very detailed account of these vacancies.

It sounded interesting to me, the type of thing I’d love to do so I Googled them and came up with nothing, which was a huge red flag. I went to the website in the email (www.ghamiltonhome.org). It looked and sounded great. The type of thing I’d absolutely love to be a part of…but I still wasn’t sold.

I did a whois on the domain name and my enthusiasm melted. The address was registered two weeks ago in China (http://whois.domaintools.com/ghamiltonhome.org). I went back and looked at the website closely. It says their main office is in the Netherlands and they have job openings in New York (but no New York contact information). Then I read some of the job descriptions and it infuriated me.

They are looking for people who will be paid out of commissions from the donations they process (7%). They also talk about how urgent it is to process each donation immediately so that that charity can be performed on time. First it appears they are preying on people’s desire to do good by soliciting donations. And second, they are getting other people to do their dirty work all under the guise of working for a charitable organization.

I have filed a complaint with the BBB, the Attorney General, sent the information to the Seattle Times, and notified idealist.com.

I would love to be wrong here because I would have been eager to help promote a cause like this. But from everything I have found, it’s a total fraud. But more than that, it’s a step up from the typical email frauds we have all grown to know and hate. They’ve built up a website and gone even further to trick people into doing their bidding. And they try and leverage our desire to help and do good in the world to do it. It really pisses me off.

Based on the evidence I’ve gathered…it looks like a total scam and I hate to think of the people they are tricking into giving money and lobbying for them. If I’m wrong about this…somebody let me know and I’ll be one of their biggest advocates.

This little girl has a beautiful voice but, apparently, is not pretty enough to represent the Chinese people. They want her voice, not her face. So they plugged in a more “attractive” nine year old girl to stand in front of the cameras for the Olympic opening ceremonies. I saw the performance and was touched. I hate when I’m manipulated like this. It leaves me feeling like a dimestore hooker. And I didn’t even get a dime out of it.

I liked Milli Vanilli too, back in the day. Now before you rag on me for admitting it, I’d like to point out that their albums sold millions and they won a Grammy, so I wasn’t alone. I didn’t like them because of the dancing puppets we thought were making the music…I liked the music. I was sad there weren’t more albums. But were the dancing puppets necessary to get the music out? The sad truth is that I probably wouldn’t have ever heard Milli Vanilli otherwise…because it’s not just about the music.
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How can people get away with this? The Mako shark is endangered (see the Wiki article) yet in this video we see one caught and killed for a fishing contest. How about we just have a Bald Eagle huntathon…hey aren’t endangered anymore. I don’t understand how a threatened species can be killed so thoughtlessly? If you watch the video (which CNN placed on their front page), you see the shark swimming around the boat before it is hooked. They saw what it was and yet they still chose to hook and kill it. A creature that is threatened by extinction, hauled in for a $15,000 prize. That’s just wrong.

Am I missing something? Maybe that sport fisherman call them one of the more challenging catches because they jump and splash and fight. We wouldn’t want to take that fun away now would we? I guess that makes it okay. And of course their impressive fang laced mouth looks better hanging over a fireplace than swimming through our oceans. They kill swimmers too. The wiki article referenced above reports 8 attacks, 2 fatal. I guess we better remove them and every other animal that has killed at least 2 human beings.

This just upsets me. They didn’t have to kill this shark. I’m not opposed to fishing or hunting. I haven’t hunted in years but I do go fishing a couple times a year. But this is a creature that we are in danger of losing. And they had a good look at it before they chose to cut it down. And then they win a contest and are plastered on CNN and newspapers reveling in their glory. Obviously I’m in the minority here. What am I missing?

Since I was young enough to spend my own quarter, I’ve heard the slogan, “Buy American.” If we live in the US we should support our own, right? Well, I’m not so sure.

I’m not against helping my neighbor and supporting our nation’s economy, but when you consider that, generally, we live in luxury compared to the majority of the world it seems quite selfish to want to make sure our wealth stays within our own borders. So I ask you, where are the boundaries of our social community…the edge of town, the state line, or the fences we are building around our nation?

People asking me to draw the borders tight and buy locally seem to feel that helping my own neighbors survive and prosper is the highest priority. Doesn’t that imply one group of people (those in my vicinity) are more important, more deserving, or, ultimately, more human than somebody five states away? I’m all for eliminating poverty at home, but generally it less about that and more about the marketing campaign for those wanting my business.

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Three things usually make me change the radio station. Any jewelry commercial, a DJ that launches into a commercial while making it sound like he’s just chatting casually with his listeners, or a Washington State lottery add.

The lottery is one of the greatest hoaxes the wealthy have ever pulled across on the lower classes. It’s like the authoritarian father telling his children they are not only going to clean out the toilet; they are going to enjoy it. The lower classes have been duped into paying all the taxes funded by the lottery and they defend their right to do it. We are so disillusioned that we don’t care that it’s a scam.

People often vote for what they feel is best for them individually regardless of its effect on society. It’s why we see litter on the ground, why crime exists, why Exxon is making record profits while the rest of the country is suffering a recession. Desperation drives people to extremes. Somebody watching their children starve is going to have a lot easier time stealing food than most of us. But the lottery transcends this logic. The lottery is the pathetic epitome of this warped mentality.

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Molly was a good dog and as you can see, well loved. We didn’t expect her to make it through the night and the kids were saying goodbye. Although this was several years ago, I’ve been thinking about pain today. I made the mistake of watching the video on the news of the eight teenagers that beat up a girl and video taped it. I couldn’t finish it. How can people be so cruel? This type of things weighs me down. In addition, two people I care about are in a lot of emotional pain right now and I hurt for both of them. At least that type doesn’t weigh me down like the other example. Pain caused by love hurts but pain caused by cruelty is toxic.

I grew up with the teaching that we live in the “lone and dreary world.” Religion often teaches that this life is the test and the good stuff comes later if you pass. A core Buddhist philosophy is that “life is suffering.” Birth is suffering, death leaves a wake of pain, and in between is more sorrow than sometimes seams bearable. But what would I be without pain? My pain has carved and forged me into the person I am today and for the most part, I like who I am. I wouldn’t trade my pain. But the thought of future pain scares me and sometimes I hold myself back because I’m afraid of what is around the next corner.

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I work with good people. At Microsoft I worked with fun people, but most of the focus was on the fun. Many of my current coworkers actively promote and participate in community building activities (blood drives, charities, volunteer requests…). Perhaps it’s because a different type of person works in public education than in a corporate environment. Anyways, I bring this up because I just received an email from a committee here at work asking for food donations for the local food bank. Next week is spring break which means that a lot of kids who get free lunch at school will go hungry.

The email was that simple but put an instant lump in my throat and gloss on my eyes. This type of request has a bigger effect on me than the old Sally Struthers type commercials. Maybe because I don’t feel like horrific images are being used to try and leverage my emotions. Maybe because it’s local and feels more real. Or maybe because I tend to avoid reality when it comes to hunger, disease, death, and pain in the world because I feel helpless to change it. I know it’s a pathetic excuse, but it’s incredibly discouraging to hear about terrible things and feel like nothing I could do would matter.

I know my attitude is toxic. It’s what keeps our world stuck. Without a mass change in attitude there will never be mass change in reality. It’s like voting. People who don’t feel like their vote matters don’t vote. There are excellent politicians who will never win because we don’t want to waste a vote on someone we don’t think has a chance, if we vote at all. So we pick from the forerunners: somebody who has a chance so our vote will matter. It would be interesting if we could strip out the social and psychological factors and vote for who we felt would best lead our country. But in this too, a feeling of helpless prevents real change…and I digress.

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This entry is just one long rant about Canon, so if you aren’t a photo buff I’d just walk on past.  Nothing to see here…

I have 5 Canon lenses (EF 50mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 28-135 IS, 75-300 IS, 100-400L IS, 70-200 2.8L IS) and 2 bodies (1D MII, and 10D). I’ve also had other Canon equipment, an Elan, D60, and other lenses. I’ve spent a lot of cash on Canon gear. In the past few years I’ve gone with their pro gear. For those of you who aren’t camera buffs, the “L” lenses are the professional line; ultra sharp, extremely durable, and more expensive.

I had minor problems with the 100-400L shortly after I purchased it. Occasionally an “error 99” would force me to turn off the camera, remove the lens, remount it, and turn the camera back on. Initially this happened rarely (once in a full day of shooting). But by the end of the year, it happened enough that I researched the problem.

A quick Google search (try it: search 100-400 error 99) showed that I was not alone in my frustration. I posted this on the DPReview.com forum (it’s not the first time it’s been on it, see these other discussion lines: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ) and had quick responses from others with the same problem. Other camera forums had long threads related to the dreaded “Error 99.” I called Canon and was told to try cleaning the mounts with an eraser. This helped, but in retrospect was harmful advice. By giving me advice that helped me get by, the problem was delayed long enough to put the lens out of its one year warranty. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently an astronaut drove 14 hours wearing a diaper to get revenge on another women interested in the guy she liked. Not the guy she already had (her a husband and father of her children), she wanted this other guy now. So she resorted to pepper spray, wearing a disguise, and a personal assault which got her arrested where she faces charges on kidnapping and attempted murder. Like my wife said, “an astronaut is supposed to be intelligent!” We don’t expect to see Jerry Springer characters among the educated. We expect it in the trailer parks. But the truth is we are all human and all do stupid things.

We usually think of educated people as being “trailer park proof.” It’s a harsh stereotype, but we generally seem to expect more domestic problems, violence, and crime in places of poverty. To me, it’s strange how we have defined crime. There are certain types of illegal acts that we, as a society, tend to view as committed by a ‘real criminals.’ A 17 year old boy who robs a convenient store of $318 with a fake gun Read the rest of this entry »

This morning as I was leaving for work the garbage was scattered all over the place. It hasn’t happened for a long time…squirrels used to get in it in the Spring, but we got a new can that locks shut and since then it hasn’t been a problem. It may have been a raccoon this time. But, anyways, so as I was picking it up I wondered what they were after: not the moldy bagels, not the bacon that had gone bad, hmmm. I continued to pick up the slimy objects. I then came to a large empty can of refried beans…

I keep under the sink a big can to pour in all the excess grease, slime, fat, and sludge left over from cooking meat. I know this stuff can be recycled somehow, but I don’t generate much and I usually just throw the whole can away when it’s full…it takes a while. Some poor little creature ate a whole can of lard. Not a small can either (not the 16oz cans). This was the larger size. Not only that, it had been licked clean. I felt sorry for the little guy. Man, I thought, geez, I ought to walk around and see if I can find a sick little raccoon somewhere nearby. That much sludge in your gut can’t feel good…even to a scavenger, but who knows, maybe I’m wrong.

As I finished picking up the garbage I thought about my response and I was happy with myself. A few years ago somebody broke into my car and stole my CD Player. It was a piece of junk though. Not only didn’t it play CD’s, it scratched the hell out of them. I was like…oh man, I hope those idiots put in their favorite CD very first! But my auto reaction today was very different, not “that little varmint got what he deserved for digging through my garbage,” but “oh, the poor little guy.” And I’m glad that was my reaction. I like the little critters around my place…even if I have to pick up some trash once in a while. But not the case for the theives. I still hope my old CD player scratched their favorite CD.