• Scams & Deception
    The Anti-Scam Scam

    One of the most ingenious scams is to create an anti-scam website, and promote only “approved” products… which themselves are scams or of dubious credibility. The concept isn’t new, and shouldn’t be surprising.

  • Scams & Deception
    Another Acai-Cleanse Victim

    So I was out with my kids and ex-wife, of all people. She was telling me about how her roommates, a young married couple, may split up due to financial reasons. The straw that broke the camel’s back completely floored me… the husband was fooled by the Acai/Cleanse scams seen everywhere online.

  • Scams & Deception
    Scam Alert Website Lists

    Below is a list of websites that were seen advertising in early 2009, offering such promises as thousands of dollars a month at home. Many offered friendly pictures and testimonials, and virtually all were fake affiliate blogs.

  • How To...
    If Your Zune Software Crashes

    My Zune software had worked fine for several weeks until I moved my hard drive into another computer. At that point I started getting an error upon startup. I looked at Microsoft’s solution which was very long, confusing, and led me to a web page with a dimmed out button and no...

  • Entertainment
    Cesar Franck and the Rise of French Chamber Music

    I wrote this paper in graduate school. I recall being highly motivated by the subject, reading and researching as much for my own enjoyment as for this paper. It is dated June 1992, and received an A. Chamber music had never been an integral part of French music until the end of...

  • History
    Jefferson, Thoreau, and King: Justice and Equality

    I wrote this paper during my Senior year in college for an English course. I received an A in the class, so this paper must have earned a decent grade. It is dated July 25, 1990. Justice and equality are two ideals which Americans claim as of the foundations of the United...

  • Entertainment
    Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements and the Classical Model

    This is another paper from graduate school, dated March 7, 1992. As with other papers I’ve posted here, the examples are missing due to limits of technology at that time. Igor Stravinsky often drew from Classical models in his composition.  Stravinsky himself admitted that when he was composing, he listened to works...

  • Entertainment
    Beethoven’s Expansion of the Symphonic Coda

    This paper was originally dated 12/9/1992. And since this was 1992 and I had no scanner, my examples were merely copied on a copy machine and glued onto the blank spots – so I no longer have the actual music samples for those examples. Ludwig van Beethoven contributed a wealth of innovations...

  • Entertainment
    Methods of Analyis of Schoenberg’s Die glückliche Hand

    I wrote this paper in  June 1993 for one of my graduate music theory classes, which I believe was taught by the John Crawford mentioned in this paper. Schoenberg’s Die glückliche Hand is a work which combines music with other elements, such as drama, visual effects, libretto, and art.  It is perhaps...

  • Consumers
    Aqua Finance = Shady Business

    I have a very nice Kinetico water system that I financed nearly 4 years ago. My financing was through Aqua Finance. I’ve been paying on this Aqua Finance account for nearly 4 years. I’ve paid faithfully and regularly. Sure maybe a couple of late payments over the years, but nothing significant. I...

  • Consumers
    Daily Calorie Chart

    Below is a chart to show how many calories the average, low-activity person should need per day to maintain their weight. To reduce your weight, you will need to reduce your calories. Everyone is different and these numbers should only be used as a guide. If you are a more active or...

  • How To...
    Signs You Live With A Meth User

    I originally wrote a similar article detailing my 15-year life with a meth user. I have yet to post it. While I still plan to post that at some point, I found it too difficult to publish at this point. If you’ve lived with a meth user, you know how emotionally, physically,...