Wednesday 19 November 2003

Pic of the day: Another picture of the Last Rose of Summer (or indeed Fall) -- or is it the First Rose of Winter? (It's the tiny pink speck among all the fall colors.)

Someone likes me; not my ISP

"On July 27, 2002, someone told us they like you and we told you that special someone is out there. You still don't who it is so now we're just going to tell you!" So says the email from someonelikesyou.com, and there is a certain truth in that. They did indeed send me a mail last summer (or thereabouts) telling me that someone likes me. I commented on it in my journal then, and I repeat it now: If you like me, just send me an e-mail. And please don't make it look like spam.

Anyway, in the event that I want to find out who liked me in July 2002, I would first have to sign up with something called jackpot.com. This has so far convinced me that the only one who likes me is a merchant, and only for my money. According to the latest mail from them, this is my last chance to find out. Let us hope so.

***

Speaking of merchants who only like my money, I once again got a bill from my Internet Service Provider, Telenor. It was exactly the same amount as the previous bill. Not a big surprise, since I have ADSL and pay a fixed amount each month. Telenor is also my telephone carrier, but I don't use them for that.

What I did notice this time was that I was paying for an extended ADSL account, but also for a dial-up account equal to what I had before I got ADSL (a little more than a year ago). That is to say, when I got ADSL I had not thought to cancel my earlier dial-up account. My ISP obviously had not thought of it either; or if they did, they presumably thought of it with great joy. Another sucker, more money! Well, I have canceled it now. And they hereby have free publicity on my web page for as long as my archives remain on the Net. Incidentally, one of the two customer reps that I talked to was quite knowledgeable and helpful. I think maybe his name was Theo, but perhaps not; they speak their names quickly (something I can quite understand) and I am bad with names, especially when I have something else on my mind.

I have just barely started on the next chapter of my novel. Unless it changes while I write it, it will be one of the most boring so far. On the bright side, this is the third journal entry I dictate tonight. My hand hurts less than yesterday, and even the hemorrhoids seem to be receding; so perhaps Someone likes me after all! (Just kidding; I don't judge quite that superficially.)

(Actually, unlike me some Christians -- especially in the USA and Switzerland, from what I hear -- really consider health and prosperity a sign of divine favor. But the Bible says: "So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. All share a common destiny"... So whether Someone up there actually likes us, remains a matter of faith for as long as we live. God does not send e-mail.)