Sunday, July 19. 2009I Seem To Be Having More Of "Those" Sorts Of Days....John Linton ....than I can remember used to be the case in the past....though with the way my memory is these days the 'past' isn't very long ago. Without getting deeply philosophical, which I personally can't do because of an irremediable lack of education plus a massive disinterest in such things, I sometimes wonder lately whether it's worth getting out of bed in the morning. Saturdays used to be pleasant days with email dropping to around 30% of the 'week day' average and zero phone calls as well as few contacts with Exetel personnel (who, quite rightly, choose to do sensible things on their weekends that don't involve a need to contact me). Yesterday was far from pleasant with too many work related issues intruding in to almost every hour of the day and being of the type of intrusion that cannot be ignored very easily and can't be ignored at all if you have even a vestigial sense of responsibility. I started the day normally catching up on the communications media 'news' and when I completed yesterday's blog I turned to my email which I noticed with mild surprise when I opened my email client yesterday morning that it had much more email than was usual (I habitually clear my email before going to bed each night). However I was dismayed to see the heading on the first unread email was "$42 Million Lawsuit" and even more concerned when I read the contents from our compliance manager referring to this: http://www.screenhub.com.au/news/shownewsarticleG.asp?newsID=28062 and demands by the apparent litigant earlier last week alleging Exetel was involved somehow in his problems. While it is all stuff and nonsense (as far as Exetel's alleged involvement is concerned) it was an unpleasant way to start the day and it yet again reminded me that the world's percentage of unreasonable people seems to remain on a steeply increasing curve. I cannot possibly comment on the 'facts' of the situation as I know none but it is becoming a more regular scenario where Exetel, and therefore Exetel's scarce management resources, are dragged in to ludicrous situations that have absolutely nothing to do with our business. I wrote to Larry asking for the full details but because of the time difference between Colombo (where he is at the moment) and Sydney there was nothing more I could do for 6 or 7 hours so I sighed and moved on. After a few less mind jolting emails I read another communication relating to a customer believing that Exetel owed him $A3.5 million dollars for share trading losses he incurred because his ADSL2 service was off the air for five days (including Saturday and Sunday of last weekend) and his email was over 2,000 words of densely convoluted 'argument' concluding with a demand for Exetel to provide him with a bank cheque within 48 hours of the send time/date of his email (12.20 am Saturday 18th July). I'm unaware of any bank that is open over a weekend and assuming we actually had that amount of money lying around in cash and were prepared to agree that we were liable for such a claim I would think he would know it would be impossible to actually get such a financial instrument raised in such a period. I didn't know how to reply to such insanity so I deleted the email and moved on with a feeling that there must have been a full moon on every one of the days last week.... ....and thus came across another example, which clearly vied for first place among all the insane claims made against an internet service provider ever registered. These sorts of gross insanities are becoming more evident in our 'nanny state'/'cargo cult' society. The third email of yesterday morning was from a clearly deranged man who wanted Exetel to provide compensation to him because his wife had left him to move in with someone she met in a sex chat room using an Exetel ADSL service. He thought he would "be satisfied with about $A10,000" to pay for getting someone in to clean and cook for him while he "adjusted to the situation". When my mind stopped spinning I deleted that nonsense and managed to get through the remaining messages without coming across any other such ravings. What is wrong in Australian society where any sane person involved in a mundane business can get three such claims for 'compensation' about such nonsensical situations in one email 'session'? What deity have I offended so badly that I have been selected for this particularly cruel and unusual punishment on a weekend? How can there be such insane people running around unrestrained who haven't been certified and locked up years ago? Well, it certainly got the day off to a really weird start and it never recovered. Throughout the day it seemed to me that the tone and insistencies of emails I received during the day were thoroughly unwarranted and often contained 'demands' that were just plain unreasonable and in several cases very offensively worded....what is it about email that seems to encourage people to lose all inhibitions in phrasing their thoughts and opinions so unacceptably? I blame Krudd for his constant lying promises of a socialist cloud cuckoo fairyland in which every loser in the country can get showered with money just "because", the because bearing no relation to the person's individual circumstances, an actual cause of those circumstances in Australia or, for that matter the rest of the planet but "because" Krudd needs to shore up his election chances. It has to be something as widespread as that as I can't believe the whining level in Australia can be caused by any other single factor other than the lunacies perpetrated by Krudd over the past 2 years of lying and pretending. I usually deal with between 200 and 300 emails a day on week days and something less than 100 on Saturdays and Sundays but yesterday there were over 200 emails including the three amazing ones and more than a dozen other distasteful communications. A thoroughly depressing day. Trackbacks
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Easy problem to solve, just design a generic template for dealing with such arseholes.
Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your email. Please forward all correspondence to X at HWL via mail, and they will get back to you shortly, Regards, John Linton Let HWL deal with them, and give them the instruction to counter sue these losers for defamation/slander/whatever. Then just add their email address to your junk mail filter. Comment (1)
Talking about the upward whining level what about your constant carping and whining about the PM . MR K. Rudd . This
country lets everyone have their say but to blame Rudd for everything thing that is wrong in the country is tiresome and boring . He was voted in by a majority ( of stupid people , in your words ). So deal with it and get over it. Your other pontifications are generally great . Comment (1)
The remedy for not being exposed to my 'tiresomeness' and 'boringness' is entirely in your own hands.
Comments (3)
43% actually voted for Mr Rudd's supporters. Few voted for Rudd, and they are all in Queensland.
Pedantic, but it occasionally needs to be remembered. Comment (1)
Talk about one persons vinegar being another's Grange Hermitage, your blog today made me laugh out load.
I consider my self to be a fairly compassionate person, but my 'tosser' alarm went to full alert with at least two of those emails. Laugh heartily as you send their emails to the oblivion they so clearly deserve, and then have a nice day. Comment (1)
I mightn't agree with all or most of your views on the PM and Comm. minister.
But they bring a smile to my face. So please continue. It's your blog. People don't have to read it. Comment (1)
Haha, J.No wants you to pay up along with ZGeek & Filmhouse! LOL!
Comment (1)
If someone is relying so heavily on their internet connection for something so important, why are they using a single residential-grade service with no failover option?
Wonders will never cease. Comment (1)
I got a great chuckle from your blog this morning. very entertaining. Its unbelievable that some peoples minds actually work in that fashion.
Comment (1)
John,
if you put yourself out there, the nutters will follow .. why delete them -- just put their emails out there for us to read with a reply address , you have a massive undercurrent of support by people here that have more than one braincell. Im sure we can help them see where they are going wrong. cheers bill. Comment (1)
Oh man, I just read this post after reading some news which already had me pretty bitter about how lazy our population is. I had no chuckles with this post it didn’t help how I was feeling. I get so worked up sometimes with the current state of Australia. We are a population that is lazy, just waiting for socialism to sweep through. What's the point of freedom if people can't make basic choices and take responsibility. We have a system which rewards the wrong people (be it bludgers, taxing businesses, crooks or those wanting "compensation"). I get hated on because I’m a “rich boy”, if only people would realise that I’m not exactly rich and simply value things like education, working hard and healthcare rather than smokes, unions and grog. I always gave the Americans a bit of flack about the smart stuff they do until I visited. No matter how dishonest I felt their pricing (taxes not included) and tipping was they have a much better understanding of freedom then we do. It's unfortunate that they elected BHO as they look like they are heading down our path now.
Don't get me wrong, I’m also a bit of a nationalist, I feel there are very valid arguments for some state owned infrastructure (provided the ALP isn't running it). I grew up in rural QLD and visit places like St George quite a bit (love the country broadband thing you’re trying to do!). Sometimes I think we need a reminder of what freedom is, it’s unfortunate that those reminders normally come in the form of war. I’m surprised you get such positive comments considering the internet community is very socialist, I normally stick out like a sore thumb opposing the dreamers wanting to talk about why they are somehow in the right for pirating something. Comment (1)
John,
why focus on the nutters, simply there isn't anything you can do about it so why bother thinking about it? look at the numbers.... I for one was surprised today after signing up as an agent for country broadband.... within hours I received my first enquiry about service on a rural property which I will check out in due course... Forget the detractors, you need 100K more subscribers in 12 months and to support those helping you get there...then you need to double it every year for 6 years!..... Don't look into the mud, look up into the blue sky.... Bruce Stewart Bungendore Comment (1)
John,
If it is any consolation, you're not the only one on the receiving end. Have a look at this bizarre allegation against Apple: http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/07/lawsuit-alleges-apple-helped-mafia-to-send-threats-via-ipod.ars Comment (1)
Gold, pure gold. That there's a internet company with the URL http://1337.as, that someone think's they'll ever get millions of dollars from a company by sending a threatening email. Wait.. that's what I'm doing, but it's only $450.
But the real gold there is demanding a maid to replace the partner that left because she met someone different. It's worth framing. Comment (1)
The "bizzare" claims have absolutely nothing to do with Rudd's "socialism".
This sort of "I don't have to take responsibility for my actions" claim was something developed by legal professionals acting on a "no win-no fee" basis. AFAIK until the claim turns up in written form, you have nothing to worry about and only then when you get the court documents to say the claim has been lodged. Comment (1)
They sound like attempted extortion to me ...
I wonder what the Fed Police would say? Comment (1)
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