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SPAM
Wed, Jun 17 02:05 PM
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For those of you still using SkyCon/Williams servers for your e-mail services:
Today I turned off all SPAM countermeasures.
My reasoning behind this is:
- Spammers have become more adept and circumventing measures taken by ISP's to prevent SPAM
- More SPAM was getting through than being stopped
- Just as many messages were being tagged as SPAM that were not, as were
- Some messages were not getting through, or had a long delay caused by the countermeasures
- Junk mail filters built into current e-mail client software like Thunderbird, and the Outlooks works better because it's tailored and trained by the end user (you), who is a much better judge of who is sending you SPAM than any program will ever be.
I have been running Thunderbird on a few mail accounts for the past month, one account received an average of 200 SPAM messages per day. Thunderbird's junk filtering works so well that only about 2 per week get past it, and in the past month it has only had 2 false positives. The junk can be moved into a junk folder you create so you can examine it yourself, and never have a message that's lost because our server deleted it.
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SkyCon.net ceasing service on Dec 1 2008
Thu, Nov 27 12:11 AM
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Dear Skycon.net customers,
On Dec 1 2008, the skycon.net wireless network will cease to function.
- All skycon.net e-mail addresses are guaranteed for 1 year until Dec 1 2009.
- All hosted domains will actually get an upgrade as the server is going to be moved to a faster connection at Williams Office Equipment, all future billings from Dec 1 will come from Williams, I will be maintaining the server there.
The migration of customers (mostly to Charter) coupled with rising rent expenses over the last year have forced my hand. Logically it would have made sense to do this sooner, however I wanted to avoid leaving anyone without the ability to get high-speed Internet at some of the locations we serviced where nothing else was available.
That's changed now that between DSL and Cable Internet even most rural areas are covered. High speed connectivity is also available from cellular networks AT&T and Alltel for those who can't get Cable or DSL access.
Over the last 10 months we've lost nearly 1/2 of our customers to Charter, we incurred a fairly large liability in tower rent, and our main base of operations (Action Sports) is moving, as well all the promises we've had from vendors that their equipment would allow us to deliver services to more rural areas have been empty.
I've enjoyed providing Internet service to Cheboygan for the last 11 years, working with NMO, BlazeConnect, and the last 6 years with Skycon, but it's just not a small business playing field any more.
When searching for new service keep the following in mind:
- Charter offers greater upload speeds, which is almost necessary for businesses where multiple computers are in use, a VPN operates, or where vast amounts of uploads and mail are sent from.
- DSL is usually cheaper, and probably more than adequate for home networks having up to 3-4 computers.
- Cellular internet is quite fast, and if you're a laptop owner having high speed wherever you go can be handy, however the service is more expensive and not as fast as either DSL or Cable.
- If you often send large e-mail attachments, upload files to remote websites, or connect to a VPN you're going to be better off with cable internet, as they offer upload speeds up to 2Mbit and 16Mbit download.
- Any business should have a router capable of implementing Quality of Service (QoS) rules, otherwise you WILL suffer times where the entire network is slowed down when 1 person sends an e-mail with a 10MB attachment, or decides to use some filesharing service. I really can't stress this enough. At skycon I prioritized some traffic types over that of others to try to make sure that didn't happen.
I'm sorry I just can't continue this any longer, computers and networking have been my thing since I was 7 years old, and learned to program in BASIC.
Thank you all for your business over the last 6+ years, some of you for a decade!
Any questions about this or just needing advice on what to get for your home or business please feel free to e-mail me at info@skycon.net
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Bills are pro-rated for 1/2 month service
Sun, Nov 16 11:27 PM
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If I haven't gotten notification that your account should be canceled then you will receive a bill for 1/2 month service in the next day or two ($25).
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Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012...Trend forecaster, renowned for being accurate in the past, says
Fri, Nov 14 09:42 AM
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The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting fut More..ure world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.
Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the great depression".
"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others. He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.
The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest," and that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.
"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it: the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."
"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax. You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop."
"It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before. Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more."
"We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well. It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime. And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be. So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension."
"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."
— CNN Headline News
"A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."
— The Economist
"Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right."
— USA Today
"There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about."
- CNBC
"Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute."
— The Wall Street Journal
"Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around."
— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."
— The New York Times
"Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."
— 48 Hours, CBS News
"Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."
— The Detroit News
"Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees."
— Chicago Tribune
"The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture."
— The Los Angeles Times
"If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."
— New York Post
So there you have it - hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.
[ read more... ]
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The Dow is Down 21.99% Since the Bailout Was Announced
Wed, Nov 12 07:22 PM
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 10,482.85 on October, 2—the day before the announcement that the $700 bailout had been reached. Today the Dow closed 8,282.66 for a total percentage loss of 20.99% since the bailout was announced.
I thought this was supposed to happen IF we didn’t get the bailout!
Let’s face it: times are going to be tough no matter what we do. But, according to an article I read in today’s Wall Street Journal, which Meg already mentioned earlier today, this might be a great time to ease into the market.
[ read more... ]
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Another AIG Resort "Junket": Top Execs Caught on Tape
Tue, Nov 11 07:06 AM
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KNXV Discovers $343,000 Secret Gathering, AIG Signs and Logos Hidden
Even as the company was pleading the federal government for another $40 billion dollars in loans, AIG sent top executives to a secret gathering at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week
Where's the outrage? American's used to fight for their rights and equalities - why the hell are all these AIG execs walking around w/o being harrassed? Why has nobody thrown dog feces and bricks at their cars and windows?
The only way these pricks are going to stop blowing our money so boldly is if they are afraid to leave their houses - and when they keep rubbing this bailout in our faces they deserve to be!
[ read more... ]
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Ron Paul: Why More Regulation Makes Things Worse
Mon, Nov 10 04:05 PM
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By tmartin • November 10, 2008
Ron Paul explains why those who blame the free market for the financial crisis are wrong, and how excessive regulation encourages moral corruption as well as blind, irrational trust in government oversight.
The Moral Hazard of Regulation
by Ron Paul
Since the bailout bill passed, I have been frequently disturbed to hear “experts” wrongly blaming the free market for our recent economic problems and calling for more regulation. In fact, further regulation can only make things worse.
It is important to understand that regulators are not omniscient. It is not feasible for them to anticipate every possible thing that could go wrong with whatever industry or activity they are regulating. They are making their best guesses when formulating rules. It is often difficult for those being regulated to understand the many complex rules they are expected to follow. Very wealthy corporations hire attorneys who may discover a myriad of loopholes to exploit and render the spirit of the regulations null and void. For this reason, heavy regulation favors big business against those small businesses who cannot afford high-priced attorneys.
The other problem is the trust that people blindly put in regulations, and the moral hazard this creates. Too many people trust government regulators so completely that they abdicate their own common sense to these government bureaucrats. They trust that if something violates no law, it must be safe. How many scams have “It’s perfectly legal” as a hypnotic selling point, luring in the gullible?
Many people did not understand the financial house of cards that are derivatives, but since they were legal and promised a great return, people invested. It is much the same in any area rife with government involvement. Many feel that just because their children are getting good grades at a government school, they are getting a good education. After all, they are passing the government-mandated litmus test. But, this does not guarantee educational excellence. Neither is it always the case that a child who does NOT achieve good marks in school is going to be unsuccessful in life.
Is your drinking water safe, just because the government says it is? Is the internet going to magically become safer for your children if the government approves regulations on it? I would caution any parent against believing this would be the case. Nothing should take the place of your own common sense and due diligence.
These principles explain why the free market works so much better than a centrally planned economy. With central planning, everything shifts from one’s own judgment about safety, wisdom and relative benefits of a behavior, to the discretion of government bureaucrats. The question then becomes “what can I get away with,” and there will always be advantages for those who can afford lawyers to find the loopholes. The result then is that bad behavior, that would quickly fail under the free market, is propped up, protected and perpetuated, and sometimes good behavior is actually discouraged.
Regulation can actually benefit big business and corporate greed, while simultaneously killing small businesses that are the backbone of our now faltering economy. This is why I get so upset every time someone claims regulation can resolve the crisis that we are in. Rather, it will only exacerbate it.
[ read more... ]
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"U.S. Taxpayers Got a Raw Deal"
Mon, Nov 10 08:39 AM
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Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz writes in the Washington Post:
"U.S. taxpayers got a raw deal, compared to the terms won by other governments (such as Great Britain) or by the legendary investor Warren Buffet, who provided capital to the best capitalized investment bank.
***
Want further proof that Washington got a lousy deal? Look at how the markets reacted. The share prices of the bailed-out banks shot up, showing that investors expected net profits to rise substantially.
Of course, unlike taxpayers in China, where bailout money is being used to pay for" low-rent housing, infrastructure in rural areas, as well as roads, railways and airports . . . tax deductions for purchases of fixed assets such as machinery to stimulate investment [and] allowances for low-income urban households" that will actually stimulate the economy, the trillions spent so far in American bailouts have simply gone to fat-cat Wall Street firms, banks, and their executives and shareholders.
And unlike taxpayers in European countries, who get voting shares in return for their bailouts, the U.S. taxpayers have no say in the management of the companies they are giving their hard-earned money to.
U.S. taxpayers have gotten a raw deal indeed.
[ read more... ]
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AIG reportedly near deal on new government bailout
Mon, Nov 10 08:35 AM
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I can hear the AIG exec's now, "Yay! More parties!"
NEW YORK — American International Group Inc. late Sunday was reportedly near a deal for a revised bailout package from the U.S. government that would make borrowing terms easier for the troubled insurer.
A proposed $123 billion bailout package would be replaced with a new $150 billion package, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Details of the arrangement could be announced as early as Monday, when AIG is scheduled to report its third-quarter results, the Journal said. The plan reportedly would replace an $85 billion two-year loan with a $60 billion five-year loan at a lower interest rate.
The government also reportedly would inject $40 billion into AIG in exchange for preferred stock.
AIG representatives were not immediately available for comment.
The government had earmarked $85 billion in September for AIG's rescue. Another $37.8 billion was made available in October.
[ read more... ]
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Obama promises new era of scientific innovation
Wed, Nov 05 02:30 PM
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In it he promised to lead a new era of scientific innovation in America and to restore integrity to US science policy. This would be achieved by doubling the federal investment in basic research and by addressing the "grand challenges" of the 21st century, he said. The rhetoric gained him the public endorsement of 61 Nobel laureates.
And so it begins already - I don't recall seeing that the Federal government had the power to invest money in sciences anywhere in the articles of enumaration in the constitution, and any power not granted therein does not belong to the federal government. I would expect a constitutional scholar such as Obama to know and understand this, he took an oath to uphold and defend it. So pony up!
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Now That Obama Has Won . . . There is No Excuse
Wed, Nov 05 07:17 AM
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Now that a Democrat has been elected president, the Democrats in Congress have no excuse. They can no longer pretend that they have to "hold back" to win the election.
They have no excuse to delay war crimes charges against Bush, Cheney and company for Iraq.
They have no excuse to delay war crimes charges for torture.
They have no excuse to delay criminal charges for spying on Americans.
They have no excuse to delay criminal charges for 9/11.
Now is not the time for Democratic machine politics. Now is the time to implement true American values - cherished across the political aisle - of liberty and justice.
There can be no liberty in America unless the tyrants who have tried to imprison us and enslave us are prosecuted.
There can be no justice in America unless the high and mighty are held accountable for their actions.
Obama is a former Constitutional law professor. He knows the value of the Constitution and the rule of law. He promised during his campaign to curb the unconstitutional practices of the executive branch.
But that is not enough. Because if the tyrants in both parties who have trampled on the vision of the founding fathers are not held accountable, then future tyrants will learn that they can get away with it, also.
Now that Obama has won, there is no excuse. Those who have trampled on our country and our people must be held to account for the whole world and future generations to see.
[ read more... ]
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Obama: Government Should “Change Behavior” by Raising Energy Bills
Mon, Nov 03 07:32 AM
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In the video here, taped in 2007, Barack Obama told public television in Iowa “it is undisputable that the climate is getting warmer” and the government should jack up energy bills up through “price signals” in order to force Americans to accept the globalist agenda. “I think it is important for us to send some price signals to change behavior. You know, if electricity goes up, people start becoming more mindful of their electricity bill,” Obama told Associated Press reporter Mike Glover.
Should we expect Obama to revise his contention about global warming now that all four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA’s GISS, UAH, RSS) have released data indicating that over the past year global temperatures have dropped precipitously? Will Obama now admit that solar activity is a much larger driver of climate change than selfish Americans driving SUVs or leaving the lights on?
No, because that does not jive with the austerity and impoverishment agenda of our rulers. “We must address the global climate crisis with a single voice, and impose rules that apply worldwide,” declared General Lord Guthrie, director of N.M. Rothschild & Sons, at a secretive Trilateral Commission meeting last year. Guthrie’s use of the word “impose” is not incidental. “We cannot address this crisis as 180 separate nation-states. We must act as a single world state.” In other words, the globalists plan to use the cooked up — or maybe it should be cooled down — climate ruse to usher in a one world government.
[ read more... ]
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