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Source: http://medium.com/feed/%40cogdog

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<title><![CDATA[Stories by Alan Levine on Medium]]></title>
<description><![CDATA[Stories by Alan Levine on Medium]]></description>
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<title><![CDATA[Toot in/em Bed]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/toot-in-em-bed-6e443c40ca8e?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/6e443c40ca8e</guid>
<category><![CDATA[mastodon-social]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2022 02:03:48 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2022-12-14T02:03:48.789Z</atom:updated>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*EYIWS7nmDg9Rwxn0JdUOqA.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elephant_towel_animal.jpg">lephant towel animal.jpg</a> a Wikimedia Commons image by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Littleinfo&action=edit&redlink=1">Littleinfo</a> licensed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Creative_Commons">Creative Commons</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA</a></figcaption></figure>As the meme goes… I don’t medium much, but when I do…No embed for blog…<a href="https://cogdogblog.com/2022/12/toot-in-em-bed/">https://cogdogblog.com/2022/12/toot-in-em-bed/</a>But BirdPoopSpace gets one… Just by pasting in <> embed editor<pre>https://twitter.com/cogdog/status/1601283027824410625</pre><h3>Alan Levine on Twitter: "@ds106dc #tdc3983 #ds106 For unusual comfort animal, I offer you the caress-able and hugging snake. C'mon and pet the snake@If you have ever felt the firm hug of a python wrapped on your arm, you know what I mean. pic.twitter.com/2KSl9Z8iVb / Twitter"</h3>@ds106dc #tdc3983 #ds106 For unusual comfort animal, I offer you the caress-able and hugging snake. C'mon and pet the snake@If you have ever felt the firm hug of a python wrapped on your arm, you know what I mean. pic.twitter.com/2KSl9Z8iVbMastodon? Yup! Just by pasting in <> embed editor<pre>https://social.fossdle.org/@cogdog/109506785930744037</pre><a href="https://social.fossdle.org/@cogdog/109506785930744037">Alan Levine (@cogdog@social.fossdle.org)</a>So there it is Geoff.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=6e443c40ca8e" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[Never Mind Medium, I Rolled My Own Site for the Puerto Rico Connection]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection/never-mind-medium-i-rolled-my-own-site-for-the-puerto-rico-connection-7b5d281d2a4d?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/7b5d281d2a4d</guid>
<category><![CDATA[care4sagrado]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[podcast]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 24 May 2018 19:35:57 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2018-05-24T19:35:57.852Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Hey, sometimes you make different turns in web making. So this publication experiment in medium has quickly taken the left turn at Albuquerque.<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fe8TUwHTfOOU%3Ffeature%3Doembed&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3De8TUwHTfOOU&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fe8TUwHTfOOU%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/ca554cb1a86f3df3b94655be66fcf5d7/href">https://medium.com/media/ca554cb1a86f3df3b94655be66fcf5d7/href</a></iframe>Instead we are publishing the full show and podcast at a brand new self-hosted, fully reclaimed Wordpress site <a href="https://prconnection.cogdog.casa/">https://prconnection.cogdog.casa/</a><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*00lk5G3eilzk7NhLu9ernw.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://prconnection.cogdog.casa/">https://prconnection.cogdog.casa/</a></figcaption></figure>See the full exciting technical details at <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2018/05/pr-connection-podcast/">http://cogdogblog.com/2018/05/pr-connection-podcast/</a>.Thanks for all the fish.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=7b5d281d2a4d" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr><a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection/never-mind-medium-i-rolled-my-own-site-for-the-puerto-rico-connection-7b5d281d2a4d">Never Mind Medium, I Rolled My Own Site for the Puerto Rico Connection</a> was originally published in <a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection">The Puerto Rico Connection</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[The Puerto Rico Connection Podcast Episodes 1–4]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection/the-puerto-rico-connection-podcast-episodes-1-4-55efbce1a1ed?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/55efbce1a1ed</guid>
<category><![CDATA[puerto-rico]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Wed, 02 May 2018 03:56:03 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2018-05-02T03:56:03.856Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1000/1*GilBS_KMHfKX-8FnoWKHYw.jpeg" /></figure>Antonio and I have intended to do a podcast series for a long time; it was only a big wind named Maria that put a kink in the plans.The logo you see is a mashup of the flag of Puerto Rico with the main building of the <a href="https://www.sagrado.edu/">Universidad Sagrado del Corazón</a> inside an outline of the Puerto Rico Map, all with French Connection style typography.In deciding where to publish podcasts once gets mired in platform and technical details. Antonio and I decided instead to free form it and move across a few platforms.This is emergent, after all.We published the first four episodes on <a href="http://tapewrite.com/">TapeWrite</a> an interesting platform that provides a mean to attach media / content “cards” on an audio timeline, in a way a form of annotation. Because we are looking at moving now to another place, I suggested we start writing our notes up here in Medium (we had been writing up the episodes in our own blogs).A downside we found, was that because we are friends, we like to talk a lot… like over an hour. That ends up being a lot of content to annotate, so by Episode 4 we came up with the infamous Twenty Minute limit.Emergent.Below are links and summaries for the PR Connection show so far.<h3>Episode 1: Hola Antonio, Hola Alan</h3>Without reliable enough connection to connect directly, Antonio and Alan introduce this show by uploading segments back and forth via Google Drive. We lay the ground (we hope) for the goals of this show.<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fembed%2F59fecd510ca3172b5e33a593&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Ftapes%2Fplay%2F59fecd510ca3172b5e33a593%2F&image=http%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fuploads%2Fpics%2Fe4c6269c8b59e65b88f6cc3fcef71d20_share.jpeg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tapewrite" width="500" height="620" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/e800ebe332ed5a8dab4dcc64dc89d6f7/href">https://medium.com/media/e800ebe332ed5a8dab4dcc64dc89d6f7/href</a></iframe>Show notes: <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2017/11/puerto-rico-connection/">http://cogdogblog.com/2017/11/puerto-rico-connection/</a><h3>Episode 2: Connecting between Puerto Rico, Australia, and Japan</h3>There was enough electricity in San Juan for Antonio to join a Skype call while Alan was in Wollongong Australia at the home of Kate Bowles AND Parisa Mehran joined in too from Osaka, Japan.<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fembed%2F5a2e13ecdb5e932b6f327839&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Ftapes%2Fplay%2F5a2e13ecdb5e932b6f327839%2F&image=http%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fuploads%2Fpics%2F88e56930cc14aaf44d872230b3a1ac84_share.jpeg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tapewrite" width="500" height="620" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/b6ca40d46b2ab9dea4fa61a6e732f6d2/href">https://medium.com/media/b6ca40d46b2ab9dea4fa61a6e732f6d2/href</a></iframe>Show Notes: <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2017/12/4-people/">http://cogdogblog.com/2017/12/4-people/</a><h3>Episode 3: Raiders of the Lost Tape</h3>In good spirit for this third episode, Alan & Antonio woke up early on New Year’s Day and spent a good hour recording it. They had fun. Then forgot about it.<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fembed%2F5a75fffe0ca3172b5e35da31&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Ftapes%2Fplay%2F5a75fffe0ca3172b5e35da31%2F&image=http%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fuploads%2Fpics%2Fa4c2f128fee300b567399d226924c184_share.jpeg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tapewrite" width="500" height="620" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/5489092c228167c64185f0c158106733/href">https://medium.com/media/5489092c228167c64185f0c158106733/href</a></iframe><h3>Episode 4: Twenty Minutes From Stardom</h3>Will our heroes resist the temptation and stay strictly under twenty minutes? Check for yourself this fourth episode of The Puerto Rico Connection!<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fembed%2F5a9c863c0ca3172b5e36d281&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Ftapes%2Fplay%2F5a9c863c0ca3172b5e36d281%2F&image=http%3A%2F%2Ftapewrite.com%2Fuploads%2Fpics%2F893d381ed28494ce75f0fdb9cc93a750_share.jpeg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=tapewrite" width="500" height="620" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/76cd6645e156b07760c1d37e66e3912a/href">https://medium.com/media/76cd6645e156b07760c1d37e66e3912a/href</a></iframe>Show Notes: <a href="http://blogs.netedu.info/2018/03/09/pr-connection-podcast-episode-four/">http://blogs.netedu.info/2018/03/09/pr-connection-podcast-episode-four/</a><h3>What’s Next?</h3>There is a recording in the vaults when Alan visited Jim Groom and colleagues at the Reclaim Hosting workshop in March. Somebody should get on the editing. Where the audio will live remains to be seen… er heard.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=55efbce1a1ed" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr><a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection/the-puerto-rico-connection-podcast-episodes-1-4-55efbce1a1ed">The Puerto Rico Connection Podcast Episodes 1–4</a> was originally published in <a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection">The Puerto Rico Connection</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[El Puente de Puerto Rico: A Bridge of Postcards]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection/el-puente-de-puerto-rico-a-bridge-of-postcards-82974a350455?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/82974a350455</guid>
<category><![CDATA[puerto-rico]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 01 May 2018 23:12:36 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2018-05-01T23:12:36.705Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*jEYa24rTZMcKP4u6mFtDiQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>“Postcards For Puerto Rico” flickr photo by cogdogblog <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/37427303750">https://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/37427303750</a> shared into the public domain using (CC0)</figcaption></figure>Originally published Oct 13, 2017 <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2017/10/el-puente/">http://cogdogblog.com/2017/10/el-puente/</a> being republished to start <a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection">the new publication on medium</a>.Are you stressed, tired in the middle of your semester?Imagine your classrooms, campus, students not even sure if they have water, electricity, food, much less internet, just because the place they live was twice in the path of hurricanes. Imagine you are a citizen of the United States of America and hear its leader blame you for this problem, and not delivering a fraction of the aid seen in Texas and Florida.Imagine your syllabus when, as university professor teacher, your are hoping just to contact students, and figure out how to continue classes.Imagine.Like several of my colleagues, I have been very worried about our friend, colleague <a href="http://skateofweb.com/">Antonio Vantaggiato</a> (@avunque), and relieved when he was finally able to message us that he was okay.<h3>Antonio Vantaggiato on Twitter</h3>Frustrated. Friends fleeing. Power authority says nothing on when service reestablished (3 weeks off now) and LTE from AT&amp;T is snail-slow.Antonio has been a generous soul in our field, arranging for me a slot at the TEDx event he organized plus <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/tag/sagrado/">a month long fellowship he arranged for me</a> at <a href="http://sagrado.edu/">Universidad del Sagrado Corazon</a>.I don’t think he bumped into Zuck’s avatar.<h3>Antonio Vantaggiato on Twitter</h3>Is this serious? Where does it come from? FTW #maria https://t.co/Yd4JautvY1A few people have been asking how we can help, and Antonio is working to come up with some needs and suggestions.<h3>Pumpkin Yang on Twitter</h3>@avunque I am so so sorry for what you are enduring. There are no words. Is there any way for us to help the PR edu community? @brlamb @cogdog<h3>Antonio Vantaggiato on Twitter</h3>@pumpkiny @brlamb @cogdog Thanks!! Well, I am waiting till I know better my students' personal stories, which will be next week, when we reopen for classes. 1 of 2<h3>Antonio Vantaggiato on Twitter</h3>@pumpkiny @brlamb @cogdog Thanks!! Well, I am waiting till I know better my students' personal stories, which will be next week, when we reopen for classes. 1 of 2As a very small thing I thought we could do now, I suggested we start a campaign of mailing postcards to he and his students just to say, that unlike our President…. we care.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*LlqLBhg6Y14ZNsPgf2pQrw.jpeg" /><figcaption>Send a postcard to Antonio and his students at Universidad de Sagrado Corazon</figcaption></figure>It’s really simple. Do you know what the postage is to mail to Puerto Rico? Easy, the same as mailing something to me in Arizona or some clown in Washington DC. You seek, Puerto Rico is in the United States of America (someone mail that to the clown).That is 34 cents to mail from the USA to the USA.<h3>Antonio Vantaggiato on Twitter</h3>We are 1.8M meals short". Un-freaking-believable // Puerto Rico: US officials acknowledge serious food shortage https://t.co/R4AmvGgaEhSo I am asking as many people as possible to send a We Care About Puerto Rico postcard message to:<blockquote>Universidad del Sagrado Corazon Attn A. Vantaggiato Computer Science PO BOX 12383 San Juan PR 00914–8505</blockquote>Also, some things Antonio and I have talked about:<ul><li>We will plan a DS106 Daily Create on Wednesday October 18 as another way to send a message of care.</li><li>Ask people to tweet messages of support with #care4sagrado and/or any of his course tags: #inf103 or #inf115 or #inf1034 or #inf1037</li><li>As Antonio teaches his courses via blog syndication <a href="http://inf103.com/">http://inf103.com/</a> and <a href="http://inf115.com/">http://inf115.com/</a> (where you can already see some posts like <a href="http://inf115.com/2017/10/05/rebuilding-after-maria/">Rebuilding after Maria</a>), he’s thinking about setting a way people could blog messages to his students via RSS feeds</li><li>We are thinking about doing a podcast / storytelling project about teaching and learning under these conditions</li></ul>These are small, but as Antonio and his university develop their continuation plans, we will wait until he can share some more specific needs of his students.In my month in Puerto Rico, I experienced an overwhelming amount of friendliness, generosity, and spirit despite what were challenging conditions before the Hurricane. And I am horrified by the tone and lack of empathy our President is sending out; he does not speak for me.I’d like to think a pile of postcards might let our friends and fellow US citizens in Puerto Rico know that others feel like me.As I was scrambling to find a first card to send, I only had a few left from some old movie postcards I bought last year. But the one I did pull was for the movie <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_puente_de_Waterloo_(pel%C3%ADcula_de_1940)">El Puente de Waterloo</a> (The Waterloo Bridge) — so with some editing via Sharpee pen, I want to declare it as part of a Bridge of Care to Puerto Rico.<h3>Alan Levine ☠ on Twitter</h3>We have a terrible president.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=82974a350455" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr><a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection/el-puente-de-puerto-rico-a-bridge-of-postcards-82974a350455">El Puente de Puerto Rico: A Bridge of Postcards</a> was originally published in <a href="https://medium.com/the-puerto-rico-connection">The Puerto Rico Connection</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[We’ve Virtually Come a Long Way]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/weve-virtually-come-a-long-way-60d5184b9c29?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/60d5184b9c29</guid>
<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[vr]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jan 2018 15:57:48 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2018-01-22T15:57:48.579Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[Inspired by:<h3>Mike Caulfield is tired, so tired. on Twitter</h3>And the current vision of VR is literally you strap a mobile phone to your head. (I'm a believer in smart use of AR, but even there the thinking is so small).<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.knightlab.com%2Flibs%2Fjuxtapose%2Flatest%2Fembed%2Findex.html%3Fuid%3Da375dd48-ff8c-11e7-b263-0edaf8f81e27&src=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.knightlab.com%2Flibs%2Fjuxtapose%2Flatest%2Fembed%2Findex.html%3Fuid%3Da375dd48-ff8c-11e7-b263-0edaf8f81e27&type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=knightlab" width="700" height="500" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/de012261c81a30ae8d820932f2fb31d7/href">https://medium.com/media/de012261c81a30ae8d820932f2fb31d7/href</a></iframe><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=60d5184b9c29" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[We will remember names…]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/we-will-remember-names-c906a911581?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/c906a911581</guid>
<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[scam]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 05 Dec 2017 07:52:59 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2017-12-05T07:52:59.367Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*YC7jP8Y4WSQDlfftMobtWw.jpeg" /><figcaption>Names of US Representatives and Senators who voted in favor of the not so Great 2017 #TaxScamBill, image created at Wordclouds.com It seems to form some kind of pattern. Weird, eh?</figcaption></figure>They worked feverishly into the wee hours, hand scribbling in legislature, finding mutual backs to scratch, tossing tiny bones of favor to the remaining stragglers. Now they are back slapping congratulations, tipping their champagne glasses at this barge of shit they sold their souls for.This seems funny because in the source I thought told us how bills are made into law…<iframe src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FtyeJ55o3El0%3Ffeature%3Doembed&display_name=YouTube&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtyeJ55o3El0&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FtyeJ55o3El0%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="640" height="480" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"><a href="https://medium.com/media/98b1eb6bfae08e85ae9c8330b9b1d241/href">https://medium.com/media/98b1eb6bfae08e85ae9c8330b9b1d241/href</a></iframe>… I don’t recall anything sung like these scribblings:<h3>Dylan Scott on Twitter</h3>not at all weird, very regular, very normalBy the time most Americans realize what they paid for in terms of a time expired tax cut morsel, 13 million left without healthcare, higher education a long forgotten dream, cuts in medicare, national monuments sold off, and the softest klink of $1.5 trillion deficit bump… why the signers of this bill will be long gone off into the sunset in their gold plated chariots.Just for the sake of memory below are the names of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/16/us/politics/house-vote-republican-tax-bill.html">all Representatives who voted for their Tax Bill</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/01/us/politics/senate-tax-bill-vote.html?_r=0">all Senators who slithered a Yes for their version</a>. Need I say they are all Republican?Meet the architects of our future econopocalypse. Remember their names. See to it that your next vote provides them a one way ticket out of D.C.Adam Kinzinger Adrian Smith Alex X. Mooney Andy Barr Andy Biggs Andy Harris Ann Wagner Austin Scott Barbara Comstock Barry Loudermilk Ben Sasse Bill Cassidy Bill Flores Bill Huizenga Bill Johnson Bill Posey Bill Shuster Billy Long Blaine Luetkemeyer Blake Farenthold Bob Gibbs Bob Latta Brad Wenstrup Bradley Byrne Brett Guthrie Brian Babin Brian Fitzpatrick Brian Mast Bruce Poliquin Bruce Westerman Carlos Curbelo Cathy McMorris Rodgers Charles Grassle Charlie Dent Chris Collins Chris Stewart Chuck Fleischmann Claudia Tenney Clay Higgins Cor Gardner Dan Newhouse Dan Sullivan Daniel Webster Darin M. LaHood Dave Brat Dave Reichert Dave Trott David B. McKinley David Joyce David Kustoff David Perdue David Rouzer David Schweikert David Valadao David Young Dean Heller Deb Fischer Dennis A. Ross Devin Nunes Diane Black Don Bacon Don Young Doug Collins Doug LaMalfa Doug Lamborn Drew Ferguson Duncan Hunter Earl L. “Buddy”\x9d Carter Ed Royce Erik Paulsen Evan H. Jenkins Francis Rooney Frank D. Lucas Fred Upton French Hill Garret Graves Gary Palmer George Holding Glenn Grothman Glenn Thompson Greg Gianforte Greg Walden Gregg Harper Gus Bilirakis Harold Rogers Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Jack Bergman Jackie Walorski Jaime Herrera Beutler James B. Renacci James Comer James Inhofe James Lankford Jason Lewis Jason Smith Jeb Hensarling Jeff Denham Jeff Duncan Jeff Flake Jeff Fortenberry Jerr Moran Jim Banks Jim Bridenstine Jim Jordan Jim Risch Jim Sensenbrenner Jodey Arrington Jody B. Hice Joe L. Barton Joe Wilson John Barrasso John Boozman John Carter John Cornn John Culberson John Curtis John Hoeven John J. Duncan Jr. John Katko John Kennedy John McCain John Moolenaar John Ratcliffe John Rutherford John Shimkus John Thune Johnn Isakson Joni Ernst Justin Amash K. Michael Conaway Karen Handel Kay Granger Keith Rothfus Ken Buck Ken Calvert Kenny Marchant Kevin Brady Kevin Cramer Kevin McCarthy Kevin Yoder Kristi Noem Lamar Alexander Lamar Smith Larry Bucshon Lindse Graham Lisa Murkowski Liz Cheney Lloyd K. Smucker Lou Barletta Louie Gohmert Luke Messer Luther Strange Lynn Jenkins Mac Thornberry Marco Rubio Mario Diaz-Balart Mark Amodei Mark Meadows Mark Sanford Mark Walker Markwayne Mullin Marsha Blackburn Martha E. McSally Martha Roby Matt Gaetz Mia Love Michael C. Burgess Michael Crapo Michael Enzi Michael McCaul Michael R. Turner Michael Rounds Mike Bishop Mike Bost Mike Coffman Mike D. Rogers Mike Gallagher Mike Johnson Mike Kelly Mike Lee Mike Simpson Mimi Walters Mitch McConnell Mo Brooks Morgan Griffith Neal Dunn Orrin Hatch Pat Roberts Pat Tiberi Patrick Meehan Patrick T. McHenry Patrick Toome Paul Cook Paul D. Ryan Paul Gosar Paul Mitchell Pete Olson Pete Sessions Peter Roskam Phil Roe Ralph Abraham Ralph Norman Rand Paul Randy Hultgren Randy Weber Raúl R. Labrador Richard Burr Richard Hudson Richard Shelby Rick Crawford Rick W. Allen Rob Bishop Rob Portman Ohio Rob Wittman Rob Woodall Robert B. Aderholt Robert Pittenger Robert W. Goodlatte Rod Blum Rodney Davis Roger Marshall Roger Wicker Roger Williams Ron DeSantis Ron Estes Ron Johnson Roy Blunt Ryan A. Costello Sam Graves Sam Johnson Scott DesJarlais Scott Perry Scott Taylor Scott Tipton Sean P. Duffy Shelle Moore Capito Steve Chabot Steve Daines Steve King Steve Knight Steve Pearce Steve Russell Steve Scalise Steve Stivers Steve Womack Steven M. Palazzo Susan Collins Susan W. Brooks Ted Budd Ted Cruz Ted Poe Ted Yoho Thad Cochran Thom Tillis Thomas Massie Tim Scott Tim Walberg Todd Rokita Todd Young Tom Cole Tom Cotton Tom Emmer Tom Garrett Tom Graves Tom MacArthur Tom Marino Tom Reed Tom Rice Tom Rooney Trent Franks Trent Kelly Trey Gowdy Trey Hollingsworth Vern Buchanan Vicky Hartzler Virginia Foxx Warren Davidson Will HurdDo not forget them.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=c906a911581" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[Bearing the Cost of an Imploded Healthcare System: Calculating #NoInsurance]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/bearing-the-cost-of-an-imploded-healthcare-system-calculating-noinsurance-ca03e3ef5b93?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/ca03e3ef5b93</guid>
<category><![CDATA[obamacare]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[aca]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[healthcare]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[diabetes]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Oct 2017 05:54:49 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2017-10-20T05:54:49.546Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*e89OAnNqWO6qFyiCKTjHYg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ADDING_MACHINE_2.jpg">“Adding Machine 2”</a> Wikimedia commons photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Free2barredo">Free2barredo</a> shared under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">CC BY-SA</a></figcaption></figure>Personally, the issue of TrumpDontCare nee Obamacare is most important. As a type 1 diabetic since age seen and since 2012 self-employed, without access to this insurance, I’d be deeply screwed. Looking at premium costs misses out a larger picture, each year the new version of the plan I had the year before shifts more costs, with no justification, my way, offering less service at more costs.Prescriptions are slid to higher tiers, prices for some diabetic supplies are more expensive purchase through insurance covered providers than me buying directly from suppliers. Except insulin- there is a veritable controlled monopoly on the pricing of the most essential substance for diabetics.And while the President and Congress bat this issue around like a toy, the 20 million or more people like me are left in limbo for the opening of the Marketplace exchanges. We wait to see how badly we will be whacked with costs and undercut be less coverage. I’ve been researching how to fund my care if no insurance is really provided.And the whole lumping of people into the Healthy vs Sick is a false division. I’ll explain why.<h3>Tea Partying</h3>One of the more unusual things I did this year was attending the April 11th meeting of the <a href="http://paysonteaparty.org/past-meetings-and-events/">Payson Tea Party</a>. With a population of 15,000, a median age of 55, and 95% white, t<a href="http://www.areavibes.com/payson-az/demographics/">he demographics of Payson, Arizona</a> make it prime TP country, in the middle of a very red Gila County.The reason for going was the evening’s speaker was my Congressional Representative, <a href="https://gosar.house.gov/">Paul Gosar</a>, who was there to “discuss how the US House of Representatives and Freedom Caucus is working toward implementing President Trump’s goals.”I’m hardly a fan of Gosar nor does he much represent my interests. For years, his singular platform was by anti Barack Obama rhetoric. It was only a few months ago that sarcastic images of Obama the Land Grabber and the cartoon image of brown people crashing through a border gate disappeared from Gosar’s web site.In his early remarks that night, Gosar talked about how the House was going to repeal Obamacare and rebuild the healthcare system, with the usual generalities of making it more competitive and giving choice of doctors. “Competition will drive prices down.” He talked about how it was going to take a long concerted effort to make all the changes.As a dentist, Gosar pitches himself as a healthcare expert. As that is one of my primary issue interests, I wanted to hear what he had to say. A few other local liberal friends showed up to the Tea Party meeting. I respected their efforts to confront Gosar with questions on a number of issues. I especially enjoyed watching the anguished eye rolling of the regular meeting attendees. The grimaces of the woman sporting a pink “Cowgirls for Trump” t-shirt muttering “SHUT THE **** UP” were priceless.I think a better strategy is not to tip your hand in these kinds of crowds. It just sets up for confrontation. So I wore my t-shirt advertisinf the local FM radio station (mostly country music) and a cap with an elk logo on the brim.“I feel lucky, “ I said, “Last year in Pima County, Obamacare premiums rose 120%. Mine only went up 58%. “ A few smiles. “But... as much as I did not like paying that much, as a self-employed type 1 diabetic, I’m just glad I can get insurance. I wonder (looking around the room)… how many people here are dependent on ACA insurance?”I think I saw 2 hands go up. I heard “We’re on Medicare” (please note the irony). I did not see if Gosar’s hand was raised. (<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/04/12/523335954/what-happens-to-a-congressmans-health-insurance-if-obamacare-goes-down">There is a dirty Congressional secret.</a> All members of Congress and staff are eligible the ACA, except they get Gold Coverage plans that are 70% subsidized by tax payers.This is a thing. So many people that are worked up and angry about ObamaCare are not even affected by it. How is that?“My question, Representative Gosar, is that hearing you outline how complex the system will be to change, I would like to know how I can plan and budget for 2018 with no idea if there will be a system in place?”I can’t remember what he said, it was pretty much the same as Charlie Brown’s teacher wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah-wah. There was no answer.The funny thing was after the meeting, sitting in the bar with my rebel friends, how many TP people came up and said, “Great question!” “Are you coming back to future meetings?”I just smiled.What has Congress done in the last 6 months? The House floated and fumbled a terrible plan. The Senate hosted three turds up the flag pole and could not get enough Republicans to cheer the smell. Thank you John McCain for standing on principals. No thank you, Jeff Flake, for having the spine of old celery.And this week, the President of the Entire United States gleefully pulled the jenga blocks out of the system (after bleeding the PR budget, shrinking enrollment periods, and inserting weekend outage time for the marketplace) in his desire to “implode” Obamacare. He declared it dead. Smiling as he said so.<h3>Alan Levine ☠ on Twitter</h3>There's a word for people who derive pleasure out of hurting others out of spite. Word has been updated: President of the United States.I’ve been running my own numbers on what this might cost me if there is no healthcare plan, looking at scenarios of buying diabetic supplies via other countries.<h3>The American Game of Health Insurance</h3>In most civilized (and even some uncivilized) countries of the world, this is how you get access to health insurance.You are born there or become a citizen.That’s rather simple. Every citizen has some baseline of coverage. That’s somewhat of a smart investment in society. People with healthcare can be more productive. I am sure some economist has written about that.Here, in what is supposed to be the most advanced country in the world, is how you get access to health insurance.<ol><li>You are so fabulously rich you just pay for health care out of pocket or from the taxes you don’t pay. You likely get private suites at Mayo Clinic.</li><li>You take a job with a company that provides or subsidizes health care.</li><li>You marry someone in category 1 or 2.</li></ol>I’ve managed to fail all three of these approaches.Even worse, I made the terrible error of developing Type 1 diabetes when I was seven years old. Boy was that dumb. I am a sick drain on the system because I have a pre-existing condition.<h4>My Truth on Premium Costs</h4>The Imploder in Chief visited Arizona and trotted out the number that last year Arizona ACA premiums went up 116%, but that’s one cherry picked number, not an average —<a href="https://www.healthinsurance.org/arizona-state-health-insurance-exchange/"> it’s the benchmark rate for the second lowest silver plan</a>.How does that factor into the average increase for the two remaining providers, 74.5% increase from Healthnet 51% from my provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Mine went up 58%, which was a bite, but not 116%. (Sideline, I have never understood why the whole system is piecemealed to the county level, increasing the complexity of the system and taking away the averaging potential of a larger state or national pool).<blockquote>It’s worth noting that in 2016, Arizona had among the lowest rates in the country; of the 38 states that use Healthcare.gov, only one state — Utah — had a lower average pre-subsidy premium than Arizona, and Arizona’s average of $324 per month was well below the $396 per month average across all 38 states. The spiking premiums in 2017 will take them well above the national average, though. For 2017, only three states (Alaska, North Carolina, and Oklahoma) that use Healthcare.gov have higher average benchmark premiums than Arizona.</blockquote>Source: <a href="https://www.healthinsurance.org/arizona-state-health-insurance-exchange/">https://www.healthinsurance.org/arizona-state-health-insurance-exchange/</a>A story I heard on NPR Radio was that the rates were low those early years because there was nothing the benchmark for the costs, and the 2017 spike would have been a one time correction, that rates should have leveled again in 2018. If only orange monkey wrenches were not tossed into the works.I’ve been on ACA health insurance since 2013, and actually until last year, the rates were pretty flat. It has not radically increased every year as “some” keep saying.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*TtpwPR7DQzJn9uzu_mfECA.jpeg" /><figcaption>My monthly healthcare premiums for a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona 80/20 plan</figcaption></figure>But looking at premiums is missing out on a major chunk of impact on individuals- the ongoing eroding of coverage and benefits. I wrote earlier this year <a href="https://medium.com/@cogdog/hey-you-dont-with-my-unaffordable-healthcare-fe9086ddb82">on the costs of bearing the costs of supplies</a>. It just keeps costing me more and covering less.Each year I have always purchased am 80/20 plan, but these are the little things that change. You do not gauge these if you only look at premiums:<ul><li>In 2017, my prescription deductible went up from $400 to $500, the amount I have to pay out of pocket until coverage kicks in.</li><li>Last year, my insurance company created a separate deductible, not present before, for “durable medical equipment” (these are the supplies for my insulin pump, essentially plastic tubes). So my first refills for the year were more than $900 out of pocket.</li><li>This year there is no coverage for these supplies until I hit me (increased) $4000 deductible.</li><li>I just got in the mail a bill for $46 for my share of the laboratory panel tests my doctor orders to check on my body functions, things like cholesterol, protein, etc. In 2016 my share for this was $41. On 2013, 2014, 2015, my share was less than $9. Who even picks these prices?</li><li>Last year my insurance plan moved my insulin from a Tier 1 to a Tier 2 level supply, meaning a 3 month supply cost went from $80 to $120. Just for comparison, my first year on ACA, this cost was $30.</li><li>In 2017 my plan shifted from a PPO to an HMO one. This means that every specialist referral and every new prescription, requires paperwork to for pre-authorization. This us time spent by two different offices, and my insurance company. I did all my pre-authorization steps in February, but gaffes in the paperwork meant I had 8 visits rejected multiple times. This is still in dispute and countless hours have been spent by my doctors office and insurance providers. No one at Blue Cross Blue Shield has an answer when I ask how pre-authorizations provide me better health care.</li></ul><h3>One Blood Test Strip is Not The Same as Another</h3>A key to diabetic care is regular checking of blood sugar levels. This follows a razor industry model- the meters are almost free,, but the replaceable items, the test strips are priced to be jacked up.There’s hardly a functional difference between Bayer COntourNext test strips (left) vs OneTouch Ultra (right).<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*PhfXDkMW5cucdg6GElGi-w.jpeg" /><figcaption>Besides the numbers of strips in the packages, what’s the difference in these blood test strips?</figcaption></figure>I use the ones on the left, because the Bayer meter can send my results through a wireless connection directly to my insulin pump, which makes it easier to dose and track.The Bayer ContourNext are considered a Tier 3 prescription item under my insurance plan. A 3 month mail order supply refill would cost me $230.The OneTouch strips on the right are categorized as a Tier 1 prescription, and if I used them, my 3 month mail order supply would cost me only $3o.No one I ask at Blue Cross Blue Shield can explain the logic of this.I don’t even bother buying this through my insurance coverage since I can buy them on Amazon.com for $65 for the 3 month supply.<h3>The Tubes</h3>I’ve found a similar situation for the insulin pump supplies I need to buy regularly, essentially a 3 day supply reservoir that’s like a syringe body that fits in the insulin pump and a plastic tube that gets pushed into my belly.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*lMEn7WtmLzEdlJYaAHGy1g.jpeg" /><figcaption>Insulin pump supplies</figcaption></figure>The 3 month supply purchased through my insurance covered provider for the insulin pump reservoir (left) is to me, $268 and for the infusion set, right a 3 month supplies would cost me $336 — or a yearly total out of pocket cost of $2400 for both items.I started researching and found through an internet supplier, <a href="https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/1171/medtronic-minimed-paradigm-reservoir">ADW Diabetes</a>, without going through my insurance company, my costs for 3 months supplies for these items are $105 and $342. The item on the left is more than 50% cheaper and the one on the right a few bucks more. But buying from ADW for a year, my out of pocket costs are a more than a bit less $1788.This game of buying medical supplies outside of insurance is not what I expected to be playing. Why do I even have to do this? The one thing I am losing is having these costs not count towards my deductible. But I am nowhere meeting that number, so I might as well save a few bones.<h3>No Cost Corners on Insulin</h3>It’s essential, and I need 8 bottles every 3 months.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*MwOqI3fQBWW2mBlrCj9OGQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>With insurance each bottle costs me $24. Without insurance pricing, each one is 10 times as much.</figcaption></figure>There is <a href="https://www.drugs.com/price-guide/novolog">no cost cutting on insulin</a>. One can ask <a href="https://medium.com/insulin-report/why-does-insulin-cost-so-much-in-america-4e6b2f598596">Why does insulin cost so much in America?</a> but the answer is.. because they can. Or because they can lobby. How is this even possible? Does Humalog insulin really cost that much less to produce in Spain?<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/650/1*hFZ4_3GXjZDiI3wIrhf5KQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>Prices of insulin around the world in February, 2016. Credit Irl B. Hirsch, MD via <a href="https://www.medscape.com/article/861746/">Medscape</a>.</figcaption></figure>There are tons of fly by night offers for cheaper ways to purchase insulin (these are often substandard brands and non human based insulin sources), and some discounts through income based discounts.Then I find myself googling “how American can purchase insulin from Canada” and “how to purchase insulin in Mexico”. I am not sure if I will pursue these, but still, the question is — if America had a patient care designed system, would I even have to be doing this research?<h3>Whatever the Jacked Premium Rates I’ll Be Paying</h3>I cannot afford to go without. Beyond the costs of these supplies, just once incident without insurance coverage might mean losing my house. I don’t want to afford the unaffordable affordable insurance but I will have to.In 2016, my insurance premiums accounted for 10% of my income and my total medical costs made up 22% of my earnings. That’s a big bite. It’s a good thing I do not have a lavish lifestyle.With the jump in premiums, so far in 2017, premiums are eating 14% of my budget and total medical costs chew up 18% of my earnings. I’d ask what percentage of his income the President pays, but we know the futility of asking for those kinds of numbers.<h3>The Myth of the Sick vs Healthy</h3>There’s much talk that divides the people needing health insurance with one side being the “Healthy”, clean, smiling, wholesome people who should not have to bear heavy costs of all those...… leering, sore oozing, zombie sick people, which include me as a diabetic.This is a gross distortion of reality.Because the only thing keeping those Shiny Healthy People from needing services is… time. Eventually they will be needing hip replacements and asthma inhalers and cataract removal and surgery for carpal tunnel. And then angioplasty or worse, chemotherapy. You age, you need more healthcare.So let’s take Healthy Joe. He should get cheap good coverage because he does not need healthcare now. But two years later, Healthy Joe is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (it does happen to adults). Joe is lucky, he has good coverage.But me, sick Alan, who was diagnosed diabetic at age 7, has been lumbering around with an Expensive Disease, and thus my insurance costs more and covers less than Joe.Isn’t this scheme just a form of age discrimination?And here is the thing about sick Alan. I am 54 and I have never had surgery. No broken bones or parts replaced. Having lived with diabetes for 47 years, I have never been hospitalized for it, never lost a day of work. Healthy Joe exerts himself as much as walking to the fridge, but I have hiked to the top of Mt Whitney (14,505 ft elevation, the view amazing), done a Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike (25 miles overnight), completed 2 full marathons and 6 half marathons.I’m way healthier than Joe.But in 2018, no one, not Representative Gosar, can inform me what I am in for in the game of Healthcare Insurance bingo. I can only wait for the exchanges to open in November, gasp at the cost increase and coverage decrease. Then I get to figure what I have to cut out of my life to pay for it, or work even more to cover insurance.Yeah, maybe I need to find an eligible billionaire to marry. There’s a plan.Thanks, Mr President, for imploding my healthcare plan. Because… you can?<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=ca03e3ef5b93" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[Conglomerate Owner of HostGator, iPage and their Practice of the Internet’s Oldest Profession]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/conglomerate-owner-of-hostgator-ipage-and-their-practice-of-the-internets-oldest-profession-dae6e693884a?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/dae6e693884a</guid>
<category><![CDATA[spam]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[marketing-strategies]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[cockroach]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:54:05 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2017-06-03T19:54:05.628Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*OlqYNKgl2hJc3TvzQ5d3-w.jpeg" /><figcaption>I did a google images search (set for openly licensed images) on “world’s oldest profession” and got much less racy / relevant images than I imagines, but as this one shows, the oldest profession is not what you think (it’s used as image on the Wikipedia article on Agriculture which lends itself to fertilizer and the topic of this post). It is a <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg">Maler der Grabkammer des Sennudem 001.jpg</a> Wikimedia Commons image placed into the public domain by The Yorck Project.</figcaption></figure>I am so old I remember both doing this and recommending it in the Ordovician era of the web- putting my email address at the bottom of every web page.Ha ha, fool. But there was no harvesting and selling of emails for purposes of sending unwanted marketing spam. Once the internet altered to become the advernet, this all changed.Email spam is now a <a href="https://www.allacronyms.com/FOL/Fact_of_Life">FOL</a>. Gmail saves me a lot of even seeing the river of sludge that is down in the foul underbelly of the internet. I almost never look at my spam folder, but sometimes I do just to get a sniff of the sewer (and mine is relatively clean).<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*cseaGRUMkayuXevTxWTnog.jpeg" /><figcaption>There is nothing like the smell of spam in the morning (screenshot of my freshest stuff)</figcaption></figure>I also get a regular stream of offers to write guest posts, often for pet web sites, but a lot of ed-tech products; mostly I delete and move on, sometimes I am compelled to fulfill <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/">the offer that is right on my home page</a>, to <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/tag/cockroach">mock them</a>.Largely it’s not worth the time. Delete and move on, delete and move on, delete and …And that’s what I did with this one spamvertising HostGator web hosting that came on May 29.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*ZUWubkJwiV5dydMeEz5x9w.jpeg" /><figcaption>Who is Alex Smith? I don’t know. Why is he emailing me ads for HostGator? And other people. I don’t use HostGator, never have. This reeks of spam.</figcaption></figure>That’s right, the oldest internet profession is email spam marketing.I have never used HostGator and have no relationship with them. It is clearly unsolicited email, and you can tell that it is a spam effort as the sending address is a Gmail account, and my email is one of 12 in the senders list (software for doing this sends in small batches to not look like spam) (you can’t fool me) (it is effing spam).But when a second one came came a day later, different wording, but pretty much same spam message, my fur hackles went up a bit.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*aD5q33bA0lk6F5R6spAqQw.jpeg" /><figcaption>I manually flagged this as spam, Maggie (who the **** are you?)</figcaption></figure>Slightly different. This one sent just to me. Same thing, coming from what purports to be a personal Gmail account offering services from Hostgator. Advertising for Hostgator. Spamming in Hostgator’s name.What to do? Become irate in twitter! That will do something.<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>@hostgator I have no business with you but have 3 spam email messages offering HotGator deals. Stop now or get FCC complaint.They responded lightning quick. They really care!?<h3>HostGator Support on Twitter</h3>@cogdog Hi Alan, Can you forward that email to us, at feedback@hostgator.com? We will get this reviewed for you.Okay I inflated by one. They did respond quickly and from multiple support accounts. Thus I emailed them the the two messages like:<blockquote>This is the second Hostgator spam message I received in reference to <a href="https://twitter.com/HGSupport/status/869608053359992832">https://twitter.com/HGSupport/status/869608053359992832</a></blockquote><blockquote>This is unsolicited email and a clear violation of the CAN-SPAM act. This contains links to your site.</blockquote>The first response clearly shows they did not read my message:<blockquote>I hope this message finds you well. My name is Adrienne, and I am part of the Customer Service Management Team here at HostGator. We work with every department within the company to ensure customer satisfaction. We received your email and wanted to follow up with you.</blockquote><blockquote>First and foremost, we would like to offer our most sincere apologies for the frustration that this matter has caused you. We will certainly do everything in our power to have you removed from our mailing list. What email address would you like us to have removed?</blockquote>Yes, my fur is really standing up<blockquote>This is bullshit. I was not contacted from a mailing list; the emails were sent from gmail accounts not associated with HostGator, and sent to my email address w/o permission or any relationship with HostGator.</blockquote><blockquote>Maybe have your lawyers refer to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business">https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business</a> and come back with a better explanation why HostGator is using spam advertising.</blockquote>Ahh, now they get it:<blockquote>Thank you for taking the time to follow up with us. We understand that your time is valuable, and as such, appreciate you taking the time to reach out to us. Please accept my apologies for misunderstanding your request. After a review of the information you’ve sent in your previous email, we will continue to investigate the source of this email and why it was sent. Again, I offer my sincerest apologies for the trouble.</blockquote>On twitter, this is the “explanation”<h3>HostGator Support on Twitter</h3>@cogdog These may be originating from one of our affiliates. We will absolutely investigate this. We do thank you for letting us know.Who are “affiliates” Are they people at home sending spam email ads via their personal gmail accounts? Are Maggie Logan and Alex Smith real honest fervorous lovers of Hostgator?Then look what came in this morning…A web hosting ad for a different company, <a href="http://ipage.com/">iPage</a>, again sent from a personal gmail account that I do not know, bearing the same email spam victims as the first message from Hostgator.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*7hJhXczg0qqMt2NLNpUk7g.jpeg" /><figcaption>What are the odds that a different person would offer me and the same victims of the email from Alex Smith promoting Hostgator would send me unsolicited advertising for a different company? Freak? or…?</figcaption></figure>I have never been a customer nor have any affiliation with iPage. Now we have a relationship, I call them out as spammers.<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>@iPage @HostGator No I will not take this to DM. Look for a blog post soon calling you all out, and an FTC complaint. Stop pissing on the internetThey come back with <a href="http://familycircus.com/comic_tag/not-me/">a Family Circus “Not Me” ghost </a>on.<h3>iPage on Twitter</h3>@cogdog @HostGator We did not send this. This came from a gmail. I'll grab the affiliate ID and investigate. Thanks for reporting. -ESI won’t take this fertilizer at all.<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>@iPage @HostGator blaming in affiliate is a shitty excuse. Ads link to your sites and you are responsible. Sorry won't cut it. It's biggerWhy am I getting unsolicited email spam from multiple web hosting companies?Because they are not independent. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=who+owns+ipage">The answer is one google search away Who Owns iPage</a>. From <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPage">Wikipedia</a>:<blockquote>iPage was initially founded in 1998 as a full web service provider, but the company completely re-launched operations as a web hosting provider in 2009. It’s currently run by Endurance International Group, which is also the owner of other web hosting companies such as BlueHost and HostGator.</blockquote>Endurance International Group, WTF is that, some kind of ultrasports trainers? <a href="https://www.endurance.com/">Nope</a>.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*GcWkAHPygGwMvRBR3EyEWA.jpeg" /><figcaption>Such a pretty site — are they athletes or what? <a href="https://www.endurance.com">https://www.endurance.com</a></figcaption></figure>Nice. They offer “Everything small businesses need to fuel their online presence and reach customers everywhere” including spam email advertising campaigns?Let’s get them into the fun circle.<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>So @ipage is doing same illegal spam marketing just like @hostgator Both are farms of Endurance Marketing. CAN-SPAM violators $10k a pop<h3>Endurance on Twitter</h3>@cogdog @iPage @HostGator Alan, thanks for bringing this affiliate email to our attention. We are going to investigate and will circle back when we know more.Always blaming “the affiliates”. Who the fuck are affiliates? They will try and shift the blame to some third party, but the fact is the affiliates are email spam marketing campaigns with direct links to the <a href="https://www.endurance.com/our-brands/">companies listed as Endurance International group “brands”</a> (I anticipate the Blue Host offers next).Let me repeat- the same exact type of spam advertising was emailed to the list of victims for two different Endurance “brand” companies- I hold the Endurance International group 100% accountable for this practice.An illegal practice.For the Endurance group, let’s do a review of the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business">FTC CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business</a>:<blockquote>Despite its name, the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t apply just to bulk email. It covers all commercial messages, which the law defines as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,” including email that promotes content on commercial websites. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. That means all email — for example, a message to former customers announcing a new product line — must comply with the law.</blockquote>What I am seeing in my email are commercial advertising messages. For Endurance International Group “brands”.They violate rule 1:<blockquote>Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information — including the originating domain name and email address — must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.</blockquote>and rule 5:<blockquote>Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that’s easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn’t block these opt-out requests.</blockquote>But most key, Endurance International Group, who is only blaming “affiliates”, is absolutely responsible for ad messages to their business. I do not see how this could not be more obvious.<blockquote>Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.</blockquote>Once more in case you did not see that The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law.I have three violations sitting in my inbox and ready to file with the FTC.<blockquote>Each separate email in violation of the law is subject to penalties of up to $40,654, and more than one person may be held responsible for violations. For example, both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that originated the message may be legally responsible. Email that makes misleading claims about products or services also may be subject to laws outlawing deceptive advertising, like Section 5 of the FTC Act. The CAN-SPAM Act has certain aggravated violations that may give rise to additional fines.</blockquote>And let me be very clear- you picked the wrong person to piss off as you piss all over the internet I once loved:<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>This is where you are headed when you try to toss me BS excuses onlineMaybe you should focus more on providing good company service like my friends at <a href="http://reclaimhosting.com/">Reclaim Hosting</a> / <a href="http://rockawayhosting.com/">Rockaway Hosting</a>. They have a soul, a conscious and do not have to do spam marketing. They also pick up a lot of your frustrated customers.Despite tweets saying they were investigating, the HostGator spam continued, I got one per day between 10pm and 1am PDT.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*TbslN8Jx3X-49BoGyDpQNw.jpeg" /><figcaption>Gee “oliyullah” (may I call you “oli”?) DO you really think I am interesting in a web hosting company has spammed me the last three days?</figcaption></figure>I was told by Endurance Whatever that the problem was taken care of:<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>@EnduranceIntl @iPage @HostGator I am still getting @Hostgator ad spam. Are you ignoring this? Ticket KJO-50569264<h3>Endurance on Twitter</h3>@cogdog @iPage @HostGator Hi Alan - we've taken action as a result of those affiliates' violation of our terms. We'll reach out shortly to discuss further too.I got an “explanation” from Jonathan at HostGator:<blockquote>First, I feel it would be beneficial to address your concerns on what an “affiliate” means to a hosting company. Here at HostGator, as well as many other non-Endurance owned hosting brands ( <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/affiliates/affiliate-program.aspx">https://www.godaddy.com/affiliates/affiliate-program.aspx</a>), we offer an affiliate program where individuals can sign up, then refer customers to HostGator to earn referral payments. More information on this program can be found here : <a href="https://www.hostgator.com/affiliates">https://www.hostgator.com/affiliates</a></blockquote><blockquote>Our affiliate team does take time to evaluate applicants to this program to help ensure that only quality individuals get accepted, but regrettably from time to time we have bad apples that participate in unacceptable behavior such as spamming. It is strictly against our affiliate terms of service (<a href="https://www.hostgator.com/tos/affiliate-tos">https://www.hostgator.com/tos/affiliate-tos</a>) for any affiliate to spam, as this of course not only violates the CAN-SPAM act, but as you are aware, sullies the reputation of the brand they are attempting to “promote.” I use this word in quotes as these individuals are clearly combing the internet for e-mail addresses, and are looking to take advantage of HostGator in the interest of earning a quick buck, which certainly does not promote HostGator’s reputation.</blockquote><blockquote>We take these offenses very seriously and will immediately terminate any affiliate found to be violating the agreement linked above. So far, we have terminated the affiliates you originally reported…</blockquote><blockquote>In summary, the messages you received were in no way approved by HostGator or it’s parent company and are a direct violation of our affiliate/referral program, so we appreciate you sending these examples along.</blockquote>a.k.a we are not responsible for what our affiliates do. Some would call this.. ummm… bullshit? I looked at their affiliates program:<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*swOp9IBYskg_lYIBF4koYg.jpeg" /><figcaption><a href="https://www.hostgator.com/affiliates">https://www.hostgator.com/affiliates</a></figcaption></figure>Hostgator pays people who send emails to people ads who sign up for Hostgator services? How much more ****ing obvious is that these people are incentivized to do things they are wanting to wash their hands of responsibility for?So HostGator and parent company just place blame on rogue affiliates, whom receive some kind of compensation for referrals.I responded with my opinion that the CAN-SPAM act made it clear that HostGator was responsible for spam email advertising their services even if it was sent by these so called “affiliates” — again <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business">quoting from the FTC</a>:<blockquote>Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.</blockquote>I bet a gator can understand this as clearly as I do.But Jonathan? Nope. Wipes his slimy hands.<blockquote>After review of this message, we have found that this was actually the same affiliate from the original report who has since been terminated from the program. In regards to your concern on oversight, this section of the CAN-SPAM act would not apply as we do not offer the affiliate program in order to handle our e-mail marketing on our behalf. Our e-mail marking is not handled by affiliates, and as outlined in our terms of service, our affiliates are not allowed to send unsolicited e-mail. The affiliates are empowered to use banners or ads for their websites and are never given instruction to send unsolicited messages.</blockquote><blockquote>While we agree that it would be ideal to have such a high level of oversight, I’m sure you can understand that we cannot realistically review every e-mail an affiliate sends as we cannot prevent an individual from creating an e-mail address with Gmail and sending messages without requesting our approval. What we can do is continue to improve the vetting of our affiliates, and act on any reports of abuse or misrepresentation of our program or brand.</blockquote>It does not matter how the email spam got to me, ****hole, it got to me with ads to your company. You and you Endurance Daddy Company are 100% responsible.Should I feel assured this is over?F*** no. I got another spam email tonight, following Jonathan’s last message.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*9VEWBWNaCvJVevp3aA1nyQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>You might notice that Oli is now using Alex Smith’s email, the guy who sent the first HostGator spam.</figcaption></figure>One more tweet across the bow.<h3>Alan Levine on Twitter</h3>@EnduranceIntl @iPage @HostGator You are full of shit. I was promised you took care of this problem, and I am still getting @HostGator email spam. FTC complaint commencingThey have stopped communicating with me.At this point, with 4 spam email marketing messages for Endurance International Spam Group, it’s time to file my complaint.Don’t **** with this dog.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/500/1*Mm1M4moNVoiFtkFMP4C8AA.gif" /></figure>As always the practice, this was published first on my own web site <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2017/05/oldest-profession/">http://cogdogblog.com/2017/05/oldest-profession/</a> So many people think medium is soooooo much better at getting stuff read. I am not sure. But I will do anything to get under the skin of internet cockroaches like Hostgator and Endurance International.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=dae6e693884a" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[If Dave Pell Won’t Attribute His Images I Guess Someone Has to Help]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/if-dave-pell-wont-attribute-his-images-i-guess-someone-has-to-help-9d25599a98e3?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/9d25599a98e3</guid>
<category><![CDATA[creative-commons]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[attribution]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Tue, 23 May 2017 17:32:35 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2017-05-23T17:32:35.872Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*3B6mwlEG8NThkLQIZRBw0g.jpeg" /><figcaption>“Help is Here” flickr photo by cogdogblog <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/6025003406">https://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/6025003406</a> shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license</figcaption></figure>I don’t know <a href="https://medium.com/u/bcbdd85db310">Dave Pell</a> but I read his medium posts. He’s a good writer, and publishes <a href="http://nextdraft.com/">NextDraft</a> “a quick and entertaining look at the day’s most fascinating news.” Dave has 126,000 followers on medium.He uses great lead photos in his posts.He never, ever, as far as I can see, attributes the sources of his photos. <a href="http://cogdogblog.com/2016/12/lonely-attribution/">I chased one down he used</a> and found it came from a copy lifted from a fee based stock photo site.<a href="https://medium.com/@davepell/the-smart-binge-music-and-book-guide-12a05f88a5fb#.8v9qhx7y8">I posted what I thought was a respectful reply</a> but heard nada. I only have 1800 followers on medium, so I’m small time.Maybe he just does not know how. Maybe I can help.Do you see that photo above? Do you see what’s in the caption? Attribution. The funny thing is… that’s my photo. By the technical reading of copyright and Creative Commons licenses, I do not have to attribute my own photos.But I do. Always.Not because of the law, but because it sets the stage for readers to know where images come from. Because attribution is not about following rules, it’s giving credit to the source of photos. Because it’s about saying thank you, a lesson my Mom instilled in me.So here is <a href="https://medium.com/@davepell/dont-blame-twitter-a5f9b99952ea">Dave’s most recent story</a> (it’s pretty good IMHO) (the writing)<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*CgKDJ-Zseix6olDAsxGdiQ.jpeg" /><figcaption>Screenshot of Dave Pell’s “Don’t Blame Twitter” <a href="https://medium.com/@davepell/dont-blame-twitter-a5f9b99952ea">https://medium.com/@davepell/dont-blame-twitter-a5f9b99952ea</a></figcaption></figure>Nice photo.No attribution.I had an eerie feeling that the photo might be my own. I have taken <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/13638539435/">photos of the optometry goggles</a> several times while I wait for Dr Risser to check my eyes.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*4dk6VkxJGUgQl2gftzu_nw.jpeg" /></figure>It’s not hard to find the source. A right/option click in Chrome, Search Google for image.Boom.The first item under “Visually similar images” is definitely a match.That was easy.You can deduce without too much difficulty that the same photo shows up on web sites of optometrists as well as SEO keyword sites.But the last one looks like possible likely source, <a href="http://hdimagelib.com/optometry+equipment?image=40001705">a page at HD Image Lab</a>.The site itself gives zero clue to what it’s purpose is, nary an About page. Just images and a “Contact Us” button.But <a href="http://hdimagelib.com/optometry+equipment?image=40001705">the entry for the image that Dave used</a> has a “source” link, leading me to <a href="http://www.okcoptometrist.com/gallery/picture-016/">a gallery page of Oklahoma City optometrist Dr Kenneth Guthrie</a><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*sVEJocdlZ4-om-BUT1P8Yw.jpeg" /><figcaption>Photo by Dr Kenneth Guthrie <a href="http://www.okcoptometrist.com/gallery/picture-016/">http://www.okcoptometrist.com/gallery/picture-016/</a></figcaption></figure>It’s a fair guess that this is Dr Guthrie’s own (copyrighted) photo. His phone number is right there, I could easily call him to confirm.But Dave Pell must be too busy to bother chasing down the source of the image. It took me 3 minutes (writing this post takes 10 times as long) to find the source. I guess I have too much free time.It’s questionable whether Dave Pell has the rights to use Dr Guthrie’s copyrighted photo, but regardless, here is an attribution Dave Pell could put below the photo he cribbed from Google. If Dave Pell cared.<blockquote>Photo by Dr Kenneth Guthrie <a href="http://www.okcoptometrist.com/gallery/picture-016/">http://www.okcoptometrist.com/gallery/picture-016/</a></blockquote>My problem with Dave Pell is not the obvious copyright violation.It’s that he publishes columns every day for over 120,000 followers, and perpetuates the myth that it’s ok to grab photos from the internet, use them, and not give one shred of credit or appreciation.And that is shitty.I can’ promise to do Dave Pell’s attribution work for him every day. But maybe others out there can end a hand.<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*o5W7oAsOPrQ16rKjvFea8A.jpeg" /><figcaption>“El” flickr photo by ahyakal <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/14573469@N03/13651730764">https://flickr.com/photos/14573469@N03/13651730764</a> shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license</figcaption></figure>Or maybe Dave Pell can just start doing the right thing.<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=9d25599a98e3" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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<title><![CDATA[I Pay Taxes…]]></title>
<link>https://medium.com/@cogdog/i-pay-taxes-40ada4ae4549?source=rss-1f8fe716ec7e------2</link>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://medium.com/p/40ada4ae4549</guid>
<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[taxes]]></category>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Alan Levine]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Mon, 17 Apr 2017 19:41:45 GMT</pubDate>
<atom:updated>2017-04-17T19:41:45.224Z</atom:updated>
<cc:license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</cc:license>
<content:encoded><![CDATA[<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*oOe_HgNRMhCP90AM9c319g.jpeg" /><figcaption>“I PAY MY TAXES” flickr photo by cogdogblog <a href="https://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/33276670913">https://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/33276670913</a> shared into the public domain using (CC0)</figcaption></figure>Over the weekend I finished and filed my 2016 taxes. Fun. Yesterday I mailed my first quarterly estimated sales tax for 2017 (because I am self-employed). More fun.I can tell you that last year I sent 17.5% of my income to the US treasury. The current President is proposing a budget that reduces the portion of my taxes that go to programs I think should not be cut (Education, arts, science, etc) as well as giving it to ones I’d prefer it not go to (building a wall along the border, buying more military weapons).Still, I pay taxes. It’s not an a la carte menu order. But paying taxes is a civic duty, it’s the price I pay to be part of a shared democracy.Therefore I find it abhorrent, hypocritical, and inexcusable that our wealthy President, while not legally required, will not disclose how much, if any, of his massive earnings he contributes to this country. To the budget he now commands. While we pay for his weekends in Florida.The lack of even an expressed estimate only leads one to speculate that it is close to 0%.I find it even more incomprehensible that every tax paying citizen is not asking the question of this President, “Do you contribute financially, in an amount comparable to those who elected you, to the country you now lead?”I, we pay taxes. Do you?#ShowUsTheTaxes<img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=40ada4ae4549" width="1" height="1" alt="">]]></content:encoded>
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