So I notice it’s been nearly three months since last I posted. No surprise there, I tend to live in my own time continuum where weeks and months fly by and crawl by simultaneously. But eventually something sufficiently motivating will occur and I’ll do a little typing.

I just found out that George Carlin died yesterday, of heart problems. Sad news to hear. I’ve always had a lot of respect for Carlin - we certainly disagreed on a lot of things, but that’s completely irrelevant to me, because he was a thinker (and incredibly funny).

In particular he would think me a fool for believing in God: he passionately believed that all religion was the worst kind of ridiculous make-believe. But he was a thinker, he came by his beliefs after a lot of time and energy, and I have infinitely more in common with a man like that than with the countless hordes of my fellow believers who give no thought whatsoever to anything deeper than what’s on tv tonight.

My faith didn’t just fall from the sky one day. It is what it is today because of untold hours of thinking, reading, writing, meditating, praying; I’ve looked inside myself, outside myself, considered dozens of viewpoints about the meaning of life and humanity’s place in the universe. In short, I’ve worked at it - I’ve taken the time to consider the profound questions, the important truths, and while Carlin would doubtless be disappointed at my conclusions, I like to think he would respect the thought and self-examination involved in the process.

George Carlin was foul-mouthed, brutally honest, and very, very funny. He was a great comedian, but not a clown or a buffoon. He entertained his audiences by challenging them to think - think about themselves, think about those they allow to govern them, think about the world around them.

I’m sure many will fondly remember Carlin for his classic bits, like ‘Seven Dirty Words’, or his memorable movie roles, like “Bill and Ted’s” Rufus, or even his TV role as ‘Mr. Conductor’ on “Shining Time Station”. Here is one of my favorite Carlin routines - I’ll miss ya George.

P.S.

The irony of this post’s title does not escape me - I believe George’s exact thought would be, “He didn’t ‘pass’ anything! He fuckin’ died!”

P.P.S.

Or, as my good friend Hydrophidian put it: “George Carlin Passes - TOUCHDOWN!”  I think Carlin would have appreciated that.

Forum Discussion

So ever since the latest round of foolishness with DRG, the comment spam to this blog has gone from 1 or 2 entries a day to almost 50 a day. You know, comments full of nonsense words and dozens of links to all kinds of crap sites, that sort of thing.

Usually none of them are actually posted, thanks to automated spam blocking software, but I was curious as to why the sudden increase. Of course I would never accuse DRG servers of directly targeting a site they don’t approve of without proof. I did learn something interesting though.

Remember ‘DeathBG’, who was an obvious shill for DRG? His IP information tracks back to here:

OrgName:    RIPE Network Coordination Centre
OrgID:      RIPE
Address:    P.O. Box 10096
City:       Amsterdam
StateProv:
PostalCode: 1001EB

Country:    NL

I looked up the info for the IPs of the last 10 spam posts - 8 of those 10 IPs resolved to the exact same information.

I’m sure that’s just a coincidence though.

(Which reminds me - I always keep redundant copies of TheMook.Net archived off-line, so no worries there … but if the site does get hacked, I think we all know from where such an attack would come).

Forum Discussion

(A shameless plug for a real server host!)

DRG Servers does not seem very happy - they reported my site to my server host (as is their right of course) as “abuse”.

My server host reviewed the site and reasonably concluded I can post whatever I want (within the normal legal limits).

If you are ever in the market for a webhost, I cannot recommend Esosoft highly enough! Not only excellent prices and server stability, with fantastic customer service, but apparently they won’t just throw you to the wolves on the whim of some baseless accusation either. Can’t ask for much more from a webhost!

(Read on …)

(A shameless plug for a real server host!)

I can’t believe it - checked my email the other morning and there was actually an email from Lee at DRG Servers! Their last contact with me was a full year ago.

For those not familiar with the way our SoF2 clan was treated by DRG Servers, it is more fully explained in these three posts: DRG Servers - Avoid At All Costs, DRG Servers - Update, and DRG Servers - Still Unprofessional.

Here is the email I received from Lee/DRG:

(Read on …)

(Prior to the post, here is a shameless plug for a real server host!)

Well folks, here it is at last - what you’ve all been waiting for, the next installment of “Just how unprofessional IS DRG Servers anyway?” Below is (likely) the last email conversation I will ever have with DRG, as these emails are from many, many months ago and they have sent nothing since. Looks like our $25 will never be refunded - hopefully we can at least let prospective customers know the sort of business geniuses they are dealing with before they rent a server from DRG.

(Read on …)

(Prior to the post, here is a shameless plug for a real server host!)

As ridiculously incompetent as “DRG Servers” is, I probably would have succumbed to my chronic lethargy and never got around to filing a complaint with the BBBOnline - except that I’m so angry and frustrated (and concerned) about my father right now that I felt the need to channel some aggression. So for those following along at home, below is the Better Business Bureau complaint filed against them, seeking the refund of our $25.00:

(Read on …)

(Prior to the post, here is a shameless plug for a real server host!)

I’ve dealt with a lot of companies in my day. A lot. Online and offline, obscure and mainstream, big and small, I’ve dealt with them all. Steve Jackson Games has been my favorite company for years and years - I buy anything I can through them. Great products, great prices, and, most importantly, exceptional customer service (seriously, the absolute best).

Which brings me to the point of this post. I don’t consider myself a particularly difficult customer - in fact, my expectations for customer service in these days of universally lax civility are actually pretty low. But I have a new “Worst. Company. Ever.” for my list - DRG Servers. I believe that if you read through the following email exchanges I had with the company you will reach the same conclusion. (But get comfy, it’s a hella long post.)

(Read on …)