The Stubborn Writer

Some people just won't give up

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What We’re Doing Now

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Although the Stubborn Writer website was once very active, other demands have caused it to be somewhat dormant for a long time. However, we are pleased to announce that we are bringing the site back into action – this time with a new focus.

The primary purpose of this site when it was created was just to be a place to post random rants and complaints about things that annoyed me. The problem with this strategy is that I’m actually a pretty happy person with a good life and few things to complain about. In order for this site to continue, the focus would have to change into something more sustainable over time.

So, we’ve shifted our focus to the secondary purpose of the site to turn this into a resource for writers. Some of the things we’ve added include directories of writing publications, organizations for writers, writing software, scriptwriting software, and conferences for writers. We are also reviving the Stubborn Writer Facebook Page. Our Twitter page (@StubbornWriter) never went inactive, but it will start focusing more on writing related posts.

This post will be followed by a few targeted blog posts for each of the new directories we have added. This is just a method of helping the search engines find the resources we have added to the website. Once those posts are up, normal blogging will resume. And for those who enjoyed the old attitude of the site, don’t worry. While most of the focus will be on issues related to writing, we will make sure to find time for plenty of snarky posts about other things too.

Thanks for returning to our site, we hope you enjoy it.

 

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Open-carry, Brady campaign, Starbucks, and the gun rights debates at Dunkin Donuts

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Dunkin' Donuts
Image via Wikipedia

The debate among the open-carry gun rights advocates, Brady campaign supporters, and lovers of Starbucks coffee spilled over onto my Facebook page this morning after an innocent status update about Dunkin’ Donuts.  It became so entertaining I decided it could be converted into a blog post.  How’s that for harvesting the internet for easy stories?

When I don’t feel like working from the office, I often go to my favorite Dunkin’ Donuts location to access their free wireless internet and the best coffee in America.  Today they have a sign up with the clever slogan that summarized my life philosophy into six words, and I felt that it deserved to be shared.

I updated my Facebook status to read:

“Sign in Dunkin Donuts says ‘Problem: bad mood? Solution: fresh brewed.’ No truer words were ever spoken. Except perhaps ‘I’m gonna tell the teacher on you.'”

After a few coffee-related comments by friends, David (an old childhood friend) made a comment that triggered an unexpected debate on gun rights.  For those who haven’t been following the story, the “open-carry” gun advocates have been swarming Starbucks locations all over the country because Starbucks decided it would not have it’s unarmed barristas throw them out.  This, in turn, caused the Brady campaign gun control advocates to condemn Starbucks for not throwing out all the open-carry folks sporting their shiny pistols in public.  Those not involved in the debate on either side opted to use the drive-through window or went to Dunkin’ Donuts.

I don’t know what is going on at the Starbucks down the street, but I’m happy to report that if anyone in this particular Dunkin’ Donuts has a gun, he or she is keeping it politely tucked away in a boot holster or under a shirt.  No one here seems to feel compelled to pull out a weapon while getting a refill on their coffee. Which is good, because those of us here who are trying to relax and/or focus on work really don’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of idiots brandishing guns, nor do we want to see anti-gun morons agitating the people who have guns.

The thing that both sides of this debate fail to appreciate is that the average person sitting in a coffee shop doesn’t give a damn about their political views.  We aren’t here to push a political agenda.  We want to eat donuts.  We like to drink coffee and listen to classical music while quietly chatting with friends or surfing the internet.  We don’t want you coming around messing up a peaceful afternoon with your personal political issues.  If I want to watch a political protest, I’ll take my cup of coffee down to the local abortion clinic.

To me, the issue is not about whether people have guns.  I don’t really care if a responsible person has a gun tucked away inside his boot or hidden under a sports coat.  Sometimes I’ve considered doing the same thing myself.  But I do have a problem with a bunch of angry people with an attitude swarming coffee shops wearing guns out in the open while hoping someone will give them an excuse to have an argument. I’m not anti-gun, I’m anti-idiots-with-guns-in-my-face.  There’s a big difference.  I mean, really, what person in their right mind wants to be in a room full of hostile people getting caffeine jitters with their fingers on the triggers of their guns?  I think I’ll pass.

I respect their right to own guns.  I really do.  But must they take them out in public where everyone has to see them?  I respect their right to have penises, but that doesn’t mean I want to see them waiving their dicks around in a coffee shop.  Like their little pricks, they should keep their guns in their pants and not out in the open.

And if you start disrupting my quiet coffee shop with your crap, I’ll key your cars and let the air out of your tires.  Consider yourself warned.

Someone get me another one of those Bavarian creme donuts.

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Facebook Gold is a scam – don’t fall for it, don’t click on it, don’t like it

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Image representing Facebook as depicted in Cru...
Image via CrunchBase

Facebook Gold is a scam.  Don’t fall for it, don’t click on it, don’t like it.

Many people are passing around an invitation to their Facebook friends to sign up for a group called Facebook Gold.  Sometimes it is an offer for a free membership (while they last), other times it is just a suggestion that you join the group.

The idea is enticing.  After all, who wants to be a regular Facebook member when you can be a Gold member?  So why isn’t Facebook promoting it directly on the site?  God knows they post enough advertisements on every page.  But nothing about Facebook Gold?

A Google search produces numerous websites that say it is this great program that lets you upgrade your Facebook account, and it only costs $9.95 a year.  Then other sites say it is a scam that harvests your private data.   Some think it is a harmless prank.  One of the links turns up a Facebook group link that no longer works.  There’s a pretty big clue.

Then it occurred to me that Facebook has a Help Center.  Why not just check the source?  When I did, the search result was “I’ve got nothing for you.  Your search term did not match any answers from Facebook.”  There’s an even bigger clue.

You don’t have to be a researcher for Snopes.com to know that if Facebook doesn’t know what Facebook Gold is, it isn’t a legitimate program.  Speaking of which, I checked Snopes.com but they don’t have anything on this scam yet.  However, the best guess is that Facebook Gold is another incarnation of the 4Chan Gold Account scam.

Don’t fall for the trap.  Stay away from Facebook Gold, unless you want to fall for a phishing scam and/or pay out money for nothing.

See also:

Facebook Gold Account Logo

Gold Membership Trolling

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FTC Complaint filed against Google Buzz for alleged privacy violations (copy of original complaint included)

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Google Inc.
Image via Wikipedia

Google Buzz, the new social networking tool released by Google just a week ago, was hit with an FTC complaint on Tuesday of this week. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a 16 page GoogleBuzz_Complaint with the FTC, alleging that Google Buzz violates the privacy of Gmail (Google email) users. The EPIC complaint alleges that Google “is engaging in unfair and deceptive acts and practices,” violated user privacy rights, and “may have also violated federal wiretapping laws.”

The EPIC complaint demonstrates in detail how the Google Buzz system violated Gmail user privacy by automating the process of who was able to follow the user, based on that user’s email history. Users were not explicitly warned that their profile would be available to the public, or that anyone in their email profile had access to their posts. The system also automatically creates a list of followers from the user’s email account, thereby disclosing to the public the people with whom the user has frequently emailed.

While Google has made two major revisions to Google Buzz since it was launched, it still has a long way to go before it can be deemed safe to use.  I am a huge fan of Gmail, and I was looking forward to Google Buzz until I actually tried it.   I was stunned to see that I already had “followers” as soon as I opened Buzz, without having the opportunity to decide who could follow me and who couldn’t. Unlike Facebook, where a person has to approve a “friend” before they are allowed access to your profile, Google Buzz puts everything on public display first. I have not spoken to anyone who actually likes Buzz, and I do not plan to make use of it until Google gets a clue on how social networking is supposed to work.  Not everyone who sends me an email is my friend.

Of course, with Buzz’s current privacy settings, I may be using it more than I know.

To read the FTC complaint, click here: GoogleBuzz_Complaint.

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