1TO10REVIEWS

My Review: 8

Buying goods at a Costco brick and mortar store requires a certain kind of mind-set. If you are in a hurry, you should not go to Costco. If you are tired or cranky, you should not go to Costco. But, if you want to browse around, buy goods at a great value, and/or have a great return policy to in the event of problems, then Costco rules.

The variances between certain stores make it difficult to specify a lot of hard and fast attitudes. For instance, does your Costco have the full cold cases at the back of the store with fresh foods and designer cheeses, or only one simple cold case with a few deli type items? Does you Costco make rotisserie chickens? At the checkout lines, do they offer bags, let you purchase re-usable bags, or hand out boxes from unpacked deliveries? These things affect the overall experience.

But if you enjoy commerce, and you like buying new toys (or a lot of damn food) then Costco can be a magical place. I remember the first time I shared it with my friend Rochelle. Having never been there, she had adopted a supercilious attitude about it, bemoaning the excess of American commercialism and excess. But once she walked around, and saw the shiny electronics and flat screen TV’s on the front, right-hand side of the store, she was as much in heaven as the most hard-core consumer. You can’t help but be excited about all the quantity.

Currently I live close enough to Costco that I can walk there. Having done so, I don’t know if I can give it up. Sometimes I still drive (if we’re buying things that are too heavy or too bulky to carry) but it’s so exciting knowing that I can walk there. Sighhh. But crossing the acre-long parking lot (after parking at the rear to avoid the competition for spaces at the front) contains a special joy. Perusing the various samples can be joyous and exhilarating.  (Although it is irritating when people wait in line, clogging the aisles, before the samples are ready.)  Eating an over-sized hot-dog and a soda for $1.29… sometimes I am overcome with emotion. Is it joy, nostalgia, indigestion? I’m still not sure, even after minutes of self-examination.

As long as I am ready for the crowds, mentally prepared for the long lines and the over-stimulation, buying goods at Costco remains a wonderful and exciting experience, even after 20 years of shopping from Price Club to Costco and beyond. The jury’s still out, however, on Sam’s Club.

My Review: 7 

I have a confession to make.  I have been fuming for days about Skype and their customer service, but I really had no right to do so.  They’ve done a good job.  I am an idiot.

I wrote a long, long post about how they did a terrible job responding to my security concern.  After I finished, I proof-read it and in so doing re-read the correspondence between Skype support and myself.  When I re-read their very first email carefully, and then followed the link to the main Skype Blog page and read the content there, I realized that they had in fact addressed my concern appropriately from the very beginning.  If I had read it more carefully, I could have saved them and myself a lot of time.  So, instead of posting a rant in which the Skype Support team receives a rating of 2, I am still going to post a blog entry, but give them a well deserved 7 instead.  Sorry Timo T., and well done.

I am still posting some of the content I had written, and revising other sections to show Skype in a more appropriate light.  Revisions will be highlighted with bold text and lots of strikethroughs.

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I am not blogging here about the Skype service itself. I am a huge fan of Skype, and if you haven’t used it yet, you should. It is a free VOIP software service that let’s you make free phone calls over the internet to other users. You can also instant message with other Skype users, make inexpensive calls to regular phone lines, make cheap international calls, and even have video calls with other Skype users - it is really cool. Skype is free to download and free to use with other members of the network; they charge reasonable (read: cheap) rates to make outside calls to regular land lines.

But I had a virus / bug / attack / phishing scheme / problem and I received adequate and appropriate responses. It has pleased me enough to blog about it.

So, what happened is this: my contact list was hijacked. I went to lunch with my Skype open (I leave it open most of the day so I can send and receive chat messages) and when I came back from lunch I had two chat windows open.  Both were from people in my contact list.  Both had almost identical messages, asking me to click on links to pornography, and to download malicious files.  As it happened, I was using my Macbook so I was largely immune to the viruses these messages were trying to get me to download.  But it was pretty disconcerting.  Who has my contact list?  Why do they have the ability to send me chat messages as though they were my friends?  If I had been using my Windows PC would I now be host to some kind of malicious, hard-drive eating, identity stealing virus?  I am still pretty upset about it.

So what do you do when you have a security concern with a piece of software?  Who you gonna call?  (Don’t say it, and I won’t either.)   You call the manufacturer, that’s who.  So I went to the Skype Support page and sent them a message.  I also took a screenshot on my Mac with the chat windows open, so that they could see the content of the messages, and see that the chat windows were both from people in my contact list, even though my friends did not in fact send me those chats.  Here is that image:

I regard this as a huge security breach.  I think it’s a really big deal that strangers, posing as my contacts, can send me chat messages, ask me questions posing as my friends, and I might not realize until I have said something I shouldn’t.  I now know what Skype is going to do to fix my problem.  So far, the answer is a big fat “we’ve addressed the issue and released the answers on our blog.  Read about it here.”  Below I am copying all of my correspondence with the support team at Skype.    Please read for yourself:

First is the initial message that I sent to Skype Support via their website support email system:

Topic:      Abuse (harassment, fraud, scam, spam, etc.)
Subtopic:   Other abuse
Subject:    Inappropriate Chat Windows That Appear to Be From My Contact List
Message:
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I had two chat windows open up while skype was open - both appeared to be from my skype contacts
 list.  Neither of the chats was actually from one of my contacts, but they had the contacts\' names
 and images.  Both were trying to get me to click on links to pornography and other inappropriate
 material.  I think they might also have been trying to install a virus.  The links tried to
 download files with the extension \".scr\".

Neither of these people had actually tried to have a chat with me, both were fraudulent and had
 essentially the same content.  I took a screenshot of both of the chat windows, though I don\'t see
 anyway to upload an attachment here.  I will hold on to it in case you want me to send it along.

I know two other people who have had have had similar problems.  This issue makes me very
 uncomfortable becasue some malware, spyware, program, or malicious person has access to my account and my
 contact list, and can make it look like they are one of my legitimate contacts when they try to
 contact me.  I\'d like a response on what this scam means for me regarding my security using skype.

Thanks,

David

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Next is the series or emails and responses between myself and Skype Support:

First Response:

Hello David,

Thank you for contacting Skype Support.

Skype has learned that a computer virus called “w32/Ramex.A” is affecting users of Skype for
 Windows. Users whose computers are infected with this virus will send a chat message to other Skype
 users asking them to click on a web link that can infect the computer of the person who receives
 the message.  Please note that Skype users ONLY become infected after they have downloaded the
 link and run the malicious software. The chat message, of which there are several versions, is
 cleverly-written and may appear to be a legitimate chat message, which may fool some users into clicking
 on the link.

Skype has been in contact with the leading antivirus software companies about this worm, and we
 know that they are updating their software to effectively stop this worm and as well as its side
 effects. Currently, F-Secure (www.fsecure.com) and Kaspersky Lab (www.kaspersky.com) have already
 updated their antivirus products to detect and remove the worm.

We would like to encourage our users to ensure that they are running anti-virus software on their
 computers and to download the latest anti-virus updates in order to provide the best protection
 against this and other viruses.

More information can be found at heartbeat.skype.com

Best regards,

Timo T.
Skype Support

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My Reply: 

Hi, and thank you for the response.  I don’t think I fit into the category you described in your email.  I am using a MacBook, not a PC, and I never clicked on a link or installed a virus.  Someone, somehow, has access to my contacts list and can initiate chats as though they were one of my contacts.  I am attaching a screenshot here of the two chat windows that were opened.  As you can see both of them appear to be from my contacts, though neither of those people actually tried to chat with me.  The content of both of the fraudulent chats appear to be very similar.

It looked like the response you sent was a boiler plate that you send out to lots of people.  I’m sure you have lots of customers and lots of questions to answer, but I’d like a more personal response, rather than a cut and paste, addressing this issue.  I regard this as a very serious security concern, and I am considering switching to Jah Jah or Gizmo rather than continue without any answers.

If you need or want any more specifics about my system or the circumstances please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help and attention.

David

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Their Response: 

Hello David,

Thank you for contacting Skype Support.

You are correct that this virus does not work on Mac.
These messages show that your contacts have this infection.

We apologise for the inconveniences and for being unclear.

Best regards,

Timo T.

Skype Support

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My Last Reply:

To: Timo - Skype Support <support@skype.net>
Subject: Re: GQW: Inappropriate Chat Windows That Appear to Be From My Contact List

Thank you for the response.  Can you please tell me what I should do?  Is there any danger or
 liability associated with this?

David

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Their Last Response:

Hello David,

Thank you for contacting Skype Support.

The only thing that you can do is  notify your contacts about this problem. As you are a Mac user,
 this virus can not affect your computer even if you visit these links.
If you have more questions please feel free to contact us again.

Best regards,

Timo T.
Skype Support

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Since that communication I have not heard from them, nor do I expect to.  There is no need since they gave me a good answer in the first place and I have been bothering them for no reason since then.  Once I finish this post I am going to send them another email with a link to it.  Not that I think it will have them quaking in their boots or anything, but maybe it will express my pleasure and chagrin in a more concrete way.  Maybe, just maybe, they will realize that I am pleased enough not simply to send them emails or smile to myself, but to also try and reach a wider audience with my words of praise and admiration for Skype’s support team.

What am I hoping to accomplish?  I’m not 100% sure.  I certainly don’t want to quit using Skype.  I like Skype.  A lot.  But I am so pleased by their communication, their response (or lack of it) and their willingness / ability to offer a solution.  I am not solely a Mac user.  In fact, I am writing this post on a PC.   So I could indeed have downloaded a virus; I am not immune.  What’s more, there is not even a mention of the fact that my contact list has been appropriated by someone who most likely has a malicious intent.  I can’t imagine that they have my best interests at heart.  How did someone gain access to my contacts?  Why can they initiate chats with me?  I now know what exactly is going on with Skype security, and that they have addressed the issue in good faith.

I would love any comments or thoughts from all you people out there in the ether.  Thanks for letting me squirm and writhe with chagrin at my stupidity.  Maybe something will come of it. :)  At the moment, and because someone kicked a little ass, Skype’s customer response gets a lovely seven, and they are probably deserve more to scrape by with than that. Grrrr. Hooray for Skype.

My Review: 3

Last January I met Ron Jeremy.

This was similar to my meeting with Paris Hilton. By that I mean that the “meeting” and our “conversation” consisted of approximately 3 words. This all went down in Las Vegas, during CES (the Consumer Electronics Show.)

While nerds and porn stars do not hang out on on an every day basis, once a year in Las Vegas they do. This happens every year, because CES occurs every January, as does the AVN (Adult Video Network awards.) These two shows almost always overlap by at least 2 or 3 days. People pour in from all over the world for CES, to trade secrets and cut deals and see the newest gadgets and gizmos. Adult stars and starlets also pour into Vegas, from famous adult entertainers like the subject of this post all the way down to the lowliest of adult internet site developers. The adult community gathers to honor one another with accolades for various milestone achievements in adult entertainment. There is no doubt in my mind that the gathering of adult entertainers in Las Vegas at the same time that 100,000 geeks come into town is no coincidence.

Anyway, I happened to be hanging out in the casino of the Venetian hotel towards the end of CES, after the first full day of the AVN awards show. As I was “people watching” (read: gawking) and observing all of the porn stars, who should happen by but Ron Jeremy, the overweight and hirsute adult star of over 3 decades of naughty film making. It so happens that a Showtime exclusive movie was made about the life of Mr. Jeremy, and it also so happens that while I was sick in bed I watched that special no less than 3 times. So when a friend poked me and said “isn’t that Ron Jeremy?” and I turned around and saw that in fact it was, I took off like a shot to meet the man.

I caught up to him, and the “hedgehog” (as he is sometimes known) looked exhausted and grumpy. Undeterred by his demeanor or by good manners, I stuck out my hand and said “Mr.JeremyIjustwantedtosayhiandthatit’snicetomeetyou”in a breathless rush. He stuck out his own hand, gave me a brief and very limp shake and mumbled something inaudible without pausing in his stride or looking at me.

I was disappointed, and that is actually the reason for the low rating, but the truth is that I have fond memories of my “meeting” with Ron Jeremy. It made for a neat story, not least because I had bolted like a felon at a Policeman’s Ball when I heard that Ron Jeremy was in the casino. I wish he had been nicer, but I’m still glad I met him.

My Review: 8

Snapple bottle tops are fun. The facts are sometimes really interesting, and sometimes really lame. The one sitting on my desk right now (fact #306) reads: “In the Middle Ages, chicken soup was considered an aphrodisiac.”

That’s a good example of a bad example. Meaning, that was a sucky fact. Not only does no one care, it is a.) totally unverifiable, and 2.) completely irrelevant. That’s not a cool one you can drop at a party… But, I think this one is the exception, rather than the rule. Most of the time you get a really cool factoid like #233 which says: “Atlanic Salmon are capable of leaping 15 feet high.” Now that is a cool random fact. Or, take #227: “Today’s “modern” wrestling moves have been seen in tomb drawings from ancient Egypt.” That is a great, fun fact that I would never have known without Snapple. I suppose I don’t really care, but I do think it’s fun. (So I guess then that I do care?)

If you never remember to keep your Snapple caps (like me), and you don’t have the spare brain cells to keep all the Snapple facts you ever read memorized (like me) then you can always visit their website to see the facts (and find new ones.)

The point here is, it’s just plain fun to open the Snapple and see what’s under the cap. No stupid games or points, just information. Points for your mind man. Points for your mind.

So I say Snapple facts rate an 8, because they are enjoyable and informative. If they didn’t have the occassional moronic factoid peppered here and there they would have gotten a 10. But heck, an 8 is pretty darn good. So let me leave you with a doozie - it’s appropriate since there is a movie currently dulling senses of tens of thousands of Americans right now that revolves around this topic. Snapple Real Fact #133: “You have to play ping-pong for 12 hours to lose one pound.” I feel smarter now, and I’m sure you do too.

Post Script

You may have noticed that I did not talk much about flavor, ingredients, or company ethos. This post is not about Snapple as a drink or a company; it is restricted in focus to the merits (and demerits) of the “Real Fact” system. Lemon Snapple is probably my favorite flavor though. That is David Fact #11 : “I like lemon Snapple.”

My Rating: 9

There are certain things on the cracker and cookie aisle that seem to fade into the background. Take Mother’s Cookies, for instance. They’re always there and we just don’t notice them anymore. I fear that Wheat Thins have fallen into this category and I am here to resurrect their importance and value in society. Our little square, sharp friends need to be recognized for their utter brilliance. There are 5 reasons why Wheat Thins are like the Matzoh of Modernity.

Reason 1: 5g of Whole Grain per serving

I don’t know what Whole Grain is, I don’t know what it does for you but I want it in my crackers. You’re there, you’re eating crackers, you’re getting healthier. I like that and so does my mom.

Reason 2: The crunch explosion when I take a bite

Stuff 3 of those bad boys in your mouth and go to town. My neighbor just called to complain about the noise. My wife is deaf. That’s crunchy. Big crunchy.

Reason 3: more Crackers per square inch

Go buy some potato chips and tell me what you get. Go ahead. What do you get? Air. Lots of air in the bag. Why? Physics, people. When they put those chips in there they strategically place them so that it seems like a full bag but they don’t have to put as many. Wheat Thins are square, thin and perfectly flat. They fit together - many of them - stacked in compact spaces. That yellow box equals value.  No hidden tricks.

Reason 4: So much variety, all of them really freakin’ good

Reduced Fat, Low Sodium, Vegetable Garden Flavored, Ranch, Cinnamon - they even have BIG variety if you want to have a BIG mouth and the little one’s seem too small. There are so many types that Nabisco needs two pages to explain it on their website. That’s variety.

Reason 5: They’re the right cracker at more moments than a Morton’s Steak.

Look, if you stuck a Morton’s Steak in my face and said, “you MUST either eat a $100 Steak or some Wheat Thins,” I would probably go with the Steak. But, how often does that happen? Only once in a while. So, as a rule, I’d say that generally Wheat Thins are the right cracker given most of moments of your life.

Thanks, Nabisco.

(now that’s a good looking woman)