Archive for the 'Stories' Category

Page 2 of 3

Facebook Phishing

Published on January 2, 2008 in Social Media and Stories. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

This was posted on my Facebook wall, twice, tonight:

lol i cant believe these pics got posted….its going to be BADDDD when her boyfriend sees these- http://absenturlforyourprotection/

The person who allegedly wrote it was only an acquaintance. The real url went to something like “facebook.com.blah.blah.cn”. An obvious phishing attempt. The post I left on the person’s wall tells the story:

I barely know you, but there’s something you must know.

In the last 24 hours you posted this on my wall:
“lol i cant believe these pics got posted….its going to be BADDDD when her boyfriend sees these- http://absenturlforyourprotection/”

When I clicked the link (which I was suspicious of), I was asked for my name and password. “.cn” is China’s domain extension if you were unaware. I submitted the email address “bob@aol.com” and the password “asdf”. The login was successful and I was redirected to “facebook.com”.

This means that your facebook account has been compromised and you’re spamming ALL of your friends with this garbage. I don’t know whether a spammer has compromised your account, or it is one of the dozens of crappy third-party applications you’ve apparently randomly added. Either way, most people don’t take kindly to spammers, and it’s unfortunate your account was compromised. You should probably fix the problem and apologize to your friends.

I don’t take kindly to people who (seemingly) cannot take care of their web accounts. Unfriended. I’m don’t think I’m bitter or heartless – I believe I’m pragmatic. Although I understand that the person whose account was used to spam dozens of walls is also a victim of the spamming, I doubt facebook itself is to blame for the access. At this point, the person’s burden overtook their usefulness as an acquaintance.

A Note to Yourself

Published on December 29, 2007 in Ricky and Stories. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Write a note to yourself,
you’ll be glad that you did.
It’s a reminder of the past,
a piece of your thoughts frozen in time,
unaltered by fickle emotions.

It can be a diary, journal, or post-it.
Not a blog, never a blog,
for the public eye foils honesty.
Write one from yourself, to yourself, by yourself.
Stash it away, and be sure to read it later.

I wrote that poem, A Note to Yourself, for a school literary magazine earlier this year. I rarely write poetry, but I felt (and feel) passionate about this topic.

I usually post important details about my life here on Exposay. The crux of this post, however, happened before Exposay even existed. Last year, starting January 1, along with my new year’s resolutions, I instituted a secret policy. I started keeping something resembling a journal. Using the application MacJournal, I wrote myself a note every day for the last 365 days. In a journal, analogous to a file folder, I created twelve journals corresponding to the twelve months of the year. In each of those journals, I wrote between 28 to 31 entries, corresponding to the days of the month.

I use Christmas Break as a reflection period of the previous year. Keeping with that theme, and listening to the advice in my poem, I read my entries for the last year. My first entry was simple enough… Continue reading ‘A Note to Yourself’

Don’t Make Assumptions

Published on November 5, 2007 in Stories. 1 Comment Tags: , .

I read an article today on the wonderful 43 Folders titled, Resolve Conflict Quickly with The Four Agreements. I quote:

You can spend hours generating theories about why someone did something, or you can just ask. When someone lashes or does something unexpected, save time by seeking clarification.

This notion struck a cord with me. Occasionally, I hear someone make some comment to me that I believe was hurtful. I’ll wonder why he or she made such a remark, and let it drive me crazy. Why not simply ask him or her to quality the statement? Genius.

My Failed Accomplishment

Published on September 18, 2007 in College Admissions, Dover, Ricky and Stories. 9 Comments Tags: .

I’ve been writing a résumé of my high school accomplishments, but have been hung up on one major issue in particular. I once started a massive technological project that was promising and successful, until it was eventually undermined by forces out of my control. I wondered if I should mention my participation in the project. Normally, it would be an exemplary story of initiative and skill development; however, it ended in failure. Here we go:

When I was a mere freshman, I was approached by a technical worker whom I was friends with at my high school, and was asked if I had any ideas to get some sort of television-driven announcement distribution system established throughout the school. I had plenty of free time back then, and by the next day I had a decent prototype created. Technically, it was unimpressive – a web page with three frames. The top frame had a clock that updated itself and slowly moved left and right. The middle frame’s loaded a .txt file and scrolled messages up the screen. The bottom frame was a CNN-esque ticker, which also loaded from a .txt file. My idea was that one could remotely access a computer attached to the video feed and launch the web page full screen. Then, he or she would update the .txt files to update the announcements. The master web page would force-refresh itself every 10 minutes to display updates. The system was simple, but elegant. It got the job done, and cost taxpayers nothing. Continue reading ‘My Failed Accomplishment’

Some Thoughts on 9/11

Published on September 11, 2007 in Dover, Ricky and Stories. 5 Comments Tags: .

I had an intense experience this morning, and I’ll never forget it. At Dover Middle/High School, HS Student Council members have to say the pledge and read the morning’s announcements each day. This month is my assigned month (and some other people’s), and I had an additional duty this morning. Directly after saying the pledge, I was to instruct the student body to remain standing for a moment of silence to remember everyone impacted or stolen from us six years ago.

While reciting the pledge and this unique announcement, I became very emotional. I was certain that I would be fine before doing it, but upon saying, “I pledge,” I felt immensely sad. Completing sentences was painful, and I’m amazed that I was able to finish the task without stopping completely.

It was obvious that I was troubled by the task, but people were kind enough not to say anything to me about it. I wish I didn’t have to do that this morning. To a much greater extent, I wish no one had to.

Take me Out

Published on August 10, 2007 in Stories. 1 Comment Tags: .

I went to a Renegades game last night and had a great time. I ate some overly expensive food, hardly cared, and even caught a ball! Fine, it bounced off of a woman and then I caught it. I still caught it though, right?

That’s my question for today, does it count? It’s nothing profound and I’m not asking for help. I just want to know, can I boast that I caught a baseball at a game after it bounced off of another person? I’m interested in the feedback I get from this one.