A series of comments were just posted by an “anonymous” poster. They are a bit odd because all of the comments are on the same post, all come from the same IP address, and just read a bit- oddly. I am allowing them, but I am editing the name of the poster from ‘Anonymous’ to ‘Odd Poster’
This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to require signing up in order to comment.
There has been a dick of an Egyptian leech who has posted in comments here for quite a few years. He has been banned from this site more than half a dozen times over the past two and a half years, but each time he comes back under a different IP address, different user name, using a different email address. He has posted here under the following names:
and a few others. His real name is Tarek, and he is a student at the University of Oklahoma. Let me refer you to rule 8 of the commenting rules on this blog:
If warnings don’t work and you keep at it, I will ban you from ever posting on this site again. I know that you can pull tricks like IP spoofing, changing your name, etc. So don’t think doing that is going to earn you “I’m so clever” points. It doesn’t make you clever, it makes you an ass.
I have added yet another ban to the list. That makes 8 different names that I have banned you under.
For the past 36 hours or so, I could not access the blog’s admin pages. I could access the website as a viewer, I could access the server. As near as I can tell, all of the other websites hosted here on this server were functioning.
Looking at the server, we were not experiencing a large amount of traffic, so this wasn’t a DDOS attack. Still, every time I tried to log in, I got an error saying that my database was missing. I logged in to the server last night, intending to restore the site from a backup, and it was working again.
Odd, that.
A search for the original claim or story about pets being killed and eaten in Ohio reveals nothing but ‘fact checkers’ calling Trump a liar from the past 48 hours. If anyone knows where the story originated, please place it in comments.
Thank you.
I can’t believe that I have to do this post again. It seems like every few months, people have to read this, so here we go again.
A couple of people got their panties in a wad because I disparaged Pit Bulls, and they decided to take the argument personal. Since they demanded that I show my work and provide sources, I did so. Then I demanded that they do the same.
Instead, they engaged in a two part attack: They declared that my sources were not reliable, then engaged in personal attacks. At the same time, there was Internet chest thumping about how they would be willing to go to jail for murder if someone shot their pitbull.
One of those who commented even called me a communist for daring to call CFS because a dog who was known to attack people was permitted to be in the yard alone with the child and had torn off a child’s scalp.
Having had enough of the nonsense, I locked comments on the thread, as there was no productive dialog going on at the time, just Internet chest thumping and finger pointing. After that, I received messages about what an asshole I am and how they won’t be back to read my blog. Here is my answer to that:
I don’t care. This isn’t an airport, you don’t have to announce your departure.
This blog costs me money. I blog because I want to. I don’t make money on advertising, nor do I need large numbers of readers in order to validate my feelings. If you don’t want to read what I write, then don’t read. If you want to comment, that’s great. I love a back and forth debate, but let’s not pretend that “I demand that you provide sources,” then refuting those sources with, “I don’t believe them,” while not providing any sources of your own, then impugning my character.
There are rules here for commenting, and I link to them here. They are simple rules, summarized below-
Because of this incident, and the amount of work that arguments like this cause, there will be another rule added to the above list:
If you demand that anyone provide evidence for an assertion that they are making, then you must hold yourself to the same standard when making a counterargument. It takes time and effort to research sources, and replying with “Nuh, uh, I refuse to believe that” while not providing sources of your own to refute them is how an 8 year old debates.
Again, I don’t need everyone to agree with me, but I do require that people be civil and hold themselves to a standard of decorum. Locking the comments on that particular post was the least intrusive thing I could have done. I keep moderation to a minimum here.
With that being said, the people who engaged in personal attacks have seen their entire IP banned from commenting.
I added about ten more manuals to the training materials page. Check it out.
This blog gets anywhere from 20-40 spam comments per day. I periodically scan the spam filter to make sure legit comments are being filtered out. Spam comments are trying harder and harder to appear as though they are legit. This one tickled my funny bone:
I appreciate the way you use your platform to advocate for positive change, social justice, and equality, making the world a better place for all.
This one obviously doesn’t read this blog.
I received some tragic news this morning by email. It appears that the bastards at my HR department began firing people here at AreaOcho this morning.
Dear divemedic,
Good Day,
Find below names of staff whose employment has been terminated with immediate effect.
Please find attached
<file attached that I will not link to or click on>Kindly note that henceforth they should not be copied in all email correspondences.
Find where your name falls and comply accordingly.
Thanks and regards,
areaocho.com Human Resources
HR/payroll Manager
This comes as quite a shock to all of us here at AreaOcho. The employees that were let go will be sorely missed, but I want my readers to know that it will no affect posting or operations here at AreaOcho headquarters.
I have received three reports of problems with my RSS feed within the past two weeks. I subscribe to my own blog using Inoreader, and don’t have a problem getting updates. Still, I validated my feed using this tool, and it seems to be fine.
The feed I am subscribed to is https://areaocho.com/?feed=rss2 and it seems to be working fine.
All three of the people reporting the problem are reportedly using Feedly. Perhaps its an issue with them. If anyone else is having problems or has suggestions, you may post them as comments to this post.
As a nurse I am beholden to my oaths to do no harm as a lesser physician, to heal.
Aesop replied:
I took no oath to become a nurse; I simply received a diploma, and passed a licensure exam. I’m about as invested there as I am with a driver’s license.
When I was in school, we were forced to take the Nightingale pledge. I just moved my lips, because I don’t agree with it, specifically these passages:
I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.
I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug.
The problem that I have with this, is what defines taking or giving a product that is harmful to health? I consume alcohol, salt, sugar, all sorts of thing that are harmful. Also, they DO know that this pledge was written for women to pledge celibacy, right? That’s what “pass my life in purity” means.
Even so, I am not such a willing martyr that I will submit to a communist takeover, nor will I fall on my sword when the Civil War begins. I will aid and treat those on the side of liberty, and I will mercilessly eliminate those who would bring violence and communism to my door.
Aesop, again:
I did, however, on three separate occasions for two different military branches, swear a very particular oath of allegiance to the Constitution. I was never informed of any expiration date on it.
I took an oath to the Constitution twice during my military service. I took it again when I became a firefighter, and again when I was promoted. I stand by that oath. I will defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The left has openly derided the Constitution, calling it a piece of paper that, being written by old white men, is no longer applicable. That decides it for me. The left is the enemy of the Constitution, and that is all I need to know.