Random Connections

A second Saturday in May, and time for another Lowcountry Unfiltered trip. This time our group was heading back to Sparkleberry Swamp, and we had perfect weather and water levels for it. Unfortunately, because there was perfect weather, many of our group had other places to be. So, only four brave souls ventured further into the swamp than we’ve ever been. It was a nearly perfect day in the swamp. (Have I said the word “perfect” enough?)

I got up early Saturday morning and made the drive down to the Sparkleberry Landing put-in. Initially I had the place to myself, with only a few boat trailers. As I unloaded the boats I brought, a couple of guys came up to me and asked about kayaking. Continue reading ‘Sparkleberry Perfection’

To Joy

Joy, thou beauteous godly lighting,
Daughter of Elysium,
Fire drunken we are ent’ring
Heavenly, thy holy home!

Thy enchantments bind together,
What did custom stern divide;
Every man becomes a brother,
Where thy gentle wings abide.

Be embrac’d, ye millions yonder!
Take this kiss throughout the world!
Brothers—o’er the stars unfurl’d
Must reside a loving father.

–Friedrich Schiller, 1786

Last night the Greenville Chorale joined forces with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra for a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.  The 9th is one of my favorite pieces, and I’ve had the privilege to perform it once before.  Last night’s performance, though was one of the most stirring I’ve ever experienced.

For the Chorale, the piece came together fairly quickly.  Many of us were familiar with the music, but also the chorus doesn’t sing that much in the concert.  We’re only there for the last half of the last movement of the piece – about 20 minutes worth. Bing Vick often let us out of rehearsals early, which was a nice change of pace.

However, that is a VERY challenging 20 minutes.  First there is the range.  The piece is written at the extreme upper vocal range for all parts.  I can’t think of another piece that has the basses singing a high F as many times and as long as this one does.  Then there was the tempo set by Maestro Tchivzhel – fast, then blindingly fast.  We had to squeeze a mouthful of German syllables into such a fast pace that I don’t think any of us got all of the words correct, even in the final performance.  Oh, yeah, they had to be on the right pitches and at the right dynamic, too.  It was a bear. Continue reading ‘O Freunde, nicht diese Töne’

Yesterday several of our schools received an invoice similar to the one above. The invoice is for a service agreement that “covers preventative maintenance on all telecom system equipment, including, [sic] telephone instruments, switches, routers, & cabling.” The bill was for $425, and since it included technology equipment, it wound up on my desk.

Of course, I had no clue what it was or from whence it had come. I keep track of all of our technology maintenance agreements, and I know all the companies with which we do business. This wasn’t one of them, and I began to smell a rat.

I checked their website, and it looked like a like a legitimate business site, offering the standard fare of switching and telephone equipment.

Still, though, I was skeptical. I know fake websites can be convincing. I called the 1-800 number on the invoice, was put on hold for about 15 minutes, then shunted into voice mail. That pretty much cemented my conviction that this was a scam, and I left voice mail stating as much.

This morning I checked with my counterparts from other districts around the state. Every one that responded said that they have received similar invoices from UST. They also pointed me to links confirming this group as a bunch of scam artists…

• Cease and Desist Order from North Dakota Attorney General for UST (PDF)
• Trustlink Comments regarding UST – most are negative
• Texas A&M Warning about Fraudulent Invoices – and a PDF example of said invoice

One of my colleagues actually got through to them on the phone, and what they were told was that this was an OFFER of services, and not an invoice.  Neither the words “invoice” nor “bill” appear on the document, but the implication is that the amount is to be paid upon receipt within “Net 30 Days,” a phrase generally reserved for an invoice.  If this was an “offer” and not an invoice, then it is intentionally deceiving.

It appears that UST was targeting public institutions, and was hoping that some bookkeeper would receive this and just go ahead and pay it.  Fortunately, our folks knew to question it, but I wonder how many around the US fell for this.  If they are so deceptive with their practices, I also have to question the quality of their maintenance “services.”

I guess with everyone now learning how to recognize, filter, and ignore spam and e-mail scams, UST decided to use good old paper and snail mail.  With e-mail so common, there seems to be an air of authority about a document you can hold in your hand.  I’m sure there were some that did fall for it.

I’ve had unscrupulous vendors attempt to scam me over the phone.  They would call offering a “sample” of a product, but when questioned, had to reveal that there was nothing free, nor free from obligation about the offer.  I’ve heard other tales of someone at a school accepting a free offer of supplies, be they technology, cleaning, or something else, only to receive exorbitant invoices later.  Our finance director told me that one company sent materials unsolicited, THEN tried to bill for those materials.  He said he dumped both the materials and the invoices in the trash.

I guess there will always be someone trying to scam the system, but it just makes my blood boil when I see it in action.  I really hope UST doesn’t get any takers on this fraudulent action, and won’t be able to cover their cost of mailing this junk.