Phone solicitors
peter alway
calling on behalf of the National Association of Rocketry.
"Cool," I think, expecting something related to model
rocketry to follow. But Noooo! It's a solicitation for
phone long distance services. Now, I know that organizations
like the NAR have various special deals for members that
we can use or not use, but I draw the line at getting
junk phone calls under the guise of model rocket stuff.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
IF I KNEW THEY'D HAVE PHONE SOLICITORS CALLING I WOULD NEVER HAVE
LET THEM GET MY PHONE NUMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Peter Alway
Mark Bundick
(a) I got the same solicitation, but I was out, so my wife had to deal with it.
But I was also interested in the offer.
(b) My employeer has solicited me for "free life insurance" for the past three
months on 5 separate occasions. This after I said to a managing
supervisor,"take me off the list". Took two more calls for me to get them to
stop and I work at the damn bank (jeeeeez!).
These calls are a by-product of our arrangement with SFA. I'll have to get
someone else to refresh my memory on the particulars, and that might take a
couple of days. I'll also ask Pat to check into the possibilities of mail
solicitation instead of phone.
=========================================================
Mark B. Bundick "Running a NARAM will never be
NAR Vice President harder than writing a Pink Book"
Iskandar Taib
>These calls are a by-product of our arrangement with SFA. I'll have to get
>someone else to refresh my memory on the particulars, and that might take a
>couple of days. I'll also ask Pat to check into the possibilities of mail
>solicitation instead of phone.
Interesting indeed. I got a letter from the AMA last week about a
phone card/long distance discount deal - I can't say I've ever gotten
a phone solicitation but I'm not home most of the time. I _was_ kinda
interested in the offer, but the University phones here are weird - I
don't think it'd work. They do have an eye care plan that I may take
advantage of someday - basically a card arrived in the mail that I can
show to the optometrist who will take 10 (or 20?) percent off the
bill... No cost to me, and no hassle.
Yes, I'd be upset if I got a phone solicitation too.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iskandar Taib | The only thing worse than Peach ala
Internet: NT...@SILVER.UCS.INDIANA.EDU | Frog is Frog ala Peach
Bitnet: NTAIB@IUBACS !
J A Stephen Viggiano
[stuff about pests calling to solicit long-distance services deleted]
>GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
>IF I KNEW THEY'D HAVE PHONE SOLICITORS CALLING I WOULD NEVER HAVE
>LET THEM GET MY PHONE NUMBER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey, I can't wait for them to call! I'm gonna have some fun! Maybe something
like this:
Me: Hello?
Pest: Hello, I'm Zurnie Frink, calling on behalf of the National Association
of Rocketry . . . .
Me: Wow! The NAR? Cool! I want to talk to you about this neat rocket
I'm building; it's a scale model of the Trailblazer 1. I got some
tubing from NCR, FSI, Estes, and LOC, and I'm turning a couple of
pieces on my lathe. . . .
Pest: Mr. Viggiano?
Me: That's *Professor* Viggiano; yes sir, that's me, Professor J. A.
Stephen Viggiano, AB, MStat, ScM, Director of the Model Rocket
Building Facility (tm). Vee Pee of MARS, Section 136 of the NAR . . . .
Pest: That's why I'm calling, Mr. Viggiano . . . .
Me: *Professor* Viggiano.
Pest: . . . Professor Viggiano. I'm calling about . . . .
Me: Yeah, I know why you're calling. Gee, I have these gabfests with
Dan Wolf two-three times a week, an hour or two at a time. Sometimes
with Ferenc Roka, too.
Pest: I see; that's very interesting, Mr. Viggiano . . .
Me: *Professor* Viggiano; my friends call me Vigg . . .
Pest: Well, Professor Viggiano, if you know why I'm calling . . . .
Me: Sure I know why you're calling! You said you were calling on
behalf of the NAR! You're calling to talk about rockets! Let's
talk about rockets for an hour or two.
Pest: Actually, Professor Viggiano, if you make these long calls to
your friends, Dan and Frank. . . .
Me: Oh, don't call him "Frank," he'll say, "That's not my name; it's
Ferenc," even though they're pronounced the same -- he's from
Hungary, you know. Sometimes we call him the "Silver Tongued
Devil;" my goodness, that fellow has the gift of gab; they must
have a copy of the Blarney Stone in downtown Budapest.
Pest: Well, as I was saying, *Professor* Viggiano . . .
Me: That's better.
Pest: . . . you can save on your calls to Dan and Ferenc with our Long
Distance Plan. We guarantee . . . .
Me: Would you believe it? *Three* hours on one fin? And bass works so
easily! I'm sure glad I didn't try to make it out of birch! I was
saying to Dan, just the other day, "I've simply got to find that
Dremel Moto-Tool, that's all there is to it. I had it at the
apartment; I can't lay my hands on it since I've built this house."
Pest: Well, would you like to hear how you could save money while talking
to Dan and Ferenc?
Me: Sure, always like to save money. Not like my friend, Emil, who
goes to a store and tells the salesperson, "What do you have
that's not on sale? I only pay full retail; sales are for the
unwashed masses. . . ."
Pest: Well, Professor Viggiano, I've got something that your friend
Emil would hate. You can save lots of money. Tell me, what area
code you you call most frequently?
Me: (49) 7231. Did you hear about the flying saucer I designed in
PostScript that took first in Drag Race at DX-Local? Did it all
on our laser printer.
Pest: That sounds impressive. Did you say (49) 7231?
Me: Yup, (49) 7231. Pforzheim, Germany.
Pest: Germany? Well, we don't have an international program yet. . . .
Me: Well, I simply can't picture the NAR without an international
presence of some kind or another. The history of hobby rocketry and
the history of the NAR are one and the same. They should stay
that way. We don't have the 3-48 rule anymore. . . .
Pest: Yes, but we do have a 15 percent savings over AT&T on domestic
calls. . . .
Me: What does that have to do with rockets?
Pest: Why, you can talk with your friends for less money.
Me: Dan and Ferenc live in town. I talk to them free, right now. Laid
out the shroud for my D-Dual Egglofter for ECRM in PostScript, too.
Part of a package I'm putting together, all in PostScript.
Pest: (Now quite agitated): WHERE DO YOU CALL IN THE UNITED STATES
OUTSIDE YOUR PHONE COMPANY'S CALLING AREA, IF YOU DON'T MIND
TELLING ME?
Me: As a matter of fact, I *do* mind; you keep trying to change the
subject. Why did you bother calling me if you don't want to talk
about rockets?
Pest: I'M CALLING ABOUT A LONG-DISTANCE SERVICE, OFFERED AS A SERVICE
TO MAMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ROCKETRY.
Me: Oh, if you're trying to sell me something, please don't call
again. I'm writing down your name and afilliation, and if you
call me again within a year, I'll complain to the FCC, and they'll
give you a fine. You nuisance callers should get a clue. Good bye!
==========================================================================
Come on, give me that call! Just don't do it while I'm in the tub! (Or
building rockets!)
--
John Viggiano, js...@rc.rit.edu or sjv...@ritvax.isc.rit.edu
NAR 25615 I'm the NAR, and I vote!
Gary Hughes - VMS Development
They nailed me too. After insisting that I could make l.d. calls anywhere for
$0.14/minute I said I was interested if they'd guarantee that rate, in writing,
for calls to Australia.
They said they'd get back to me.
I think this will hurt the NAR more than it helps.
gary
C. D. Tavares
> I think this will hurt the NAR more than it helps.
Please note that, at least to my knowledge, no one in the NAR is involved
with or has authorized this promotion. It is coming out of Sport Flyers'
Association, the folks we have our insurance arrangement with.
These folks have a operational history of "just do it and stop if the shit
hits the fan" instead of "coordinate it with the NAR first."
You may remember the announcement in AmSpam that as of 1993, chartered
Sections had to have five individually insured members, instead of three.
Well, despite the fact that it ran in our magazine, it was placed by SFA
and coordinated with NOBODY.
I complained loudly about this. As a result, at the February Board meeting,
Pat announced that SFA had been beaten up about it, and they had agreed that
since they never negotiated the change with us, the increase would not be in
force during 1993.
Of course, most Sections had already chartered, and more will charter by
the time this announcement ever reaches the magazine -- if it ever does.
So SFA's apology doesn't amount to a hill of beans.
You may hear from other Board members that I have a "thing" about SFA.
This is just one example of why I indeed have that "thing."
--
c...@rocket.sw.stratus.com --If you believe that I speak for my company,
OR c...@vos.stratus.com write today for my special Investors' Packet...
Roger Wilfong
asking for A. Wilfong - they said they'd call back but haven't. Last night
I mentioned that I knew what the call was about and the conversation worked
its way around to the flap about Capt. Kirk and AmSpac. So we began
thumbing through the issue. I was mentioning the 'scanned' photos and
flipped back to the masthead to see who the graphics company was. Out of
the corner of my eye, I noticed 'Long Distance Advantage' in Steve's letter.
Here's the text:
"I want to urge everyone to take advantage of the new member benefit that
allows us to sign uo and use the Members' Long Distance Advantage phone
service. The program offers lower long distance rates than AT&T, MCI and
Sprint can offer while providing additional income to NAR and American
SpaceModeling. ..."
On page 23 is an ad for the service.
I checked the President's Corner and Pat did not make mention of this new
service. (BTW. Pat does suggest contacting him by "E mail" to discuss
actions by the board but neglected to give is address.)
My question is:
Does the NAR actually get a kick back on the service? (I'm not against the
kick-back (it's an inovative revenue source), I'd just like an authorative
confirmation that it exists.
- Roger
cc. Pat Miller (CIS: 7207...@copmuserve.co
Mark Bundick
writes:
> Please note that, at least to my knowledge, no one in the NAR is involved
> with or has authorized this promotion. It is coming out of Sport Flyers'
> Association, the folks we have our insurance arrangement with.
>
marketing efforts between NAR and SFA. I think we sort of agreee that each
organization will try to promote the products and services of the other, but
without a formal agreement outlining the precise nature of the products and
distribution systems, we have a quandry here. I know you and I both want such
a formal agreement.
> These folks have a operational history of "just do it and stop if the shit
> hits the fan" instead of "coordinate it with the NAR first."
This approach is SOP in most startups. I would have thought given your
professional experience, you'd know that (grin)
>
> You may hear from other Board members that I have a "thing" about SFA.
> This is just one example of why I indeed have that "thing."
>
I think this is a fair criticism of your interaction with SFA. While I agree
with you that some elements of their operations are not what I'd like, let's be
clear about what we got. We've got an insurance arrangement that's less
expensive, provides better coverage and is infiniately easier for our members
and our HQ to administer than AMA ever was or will be. That's worth a lot,
IMHO.
Secondly, I'm still waiting for a practical suggestion regarding what to do
about the shortcomings, short of "I don't like it and I didn't approve of it".
=========================================================
Mark B. Bundick "Running a NARAM will never be
NAR Vice President harder than putting out AmSpac"
C. D. Tavares
> "I want to urge everyone to take advantage of the new member benefit that
> allows us to sign uo and use the Members' Long Distance Advantage phone
> service. The program offers lower long distance rates than AT&T, MCI and
> Sprint can offer while providing additional income to NAR and American
> SpaceModeling. ..."
> On page 23 is an ad for the service.
> I checked the President's Corner and Pat did not make mention of this new
> service. (BTW. Pat does suggest contacting him by "E mail" to discuss
> actions by the board but neglected to give is address.)
Pat tells me just today that he was not aware of the phone solicitation.
He is bothered by the fact that there was no advance notice, and he was
bothered by their use of the NAR's name in the solicitation. He plans
to speak with the SFA, and he feels confident they will "stop if he asks."
He also mentions that SFA has used our name in the past in reference to
permanent flying fields and other SFA ventures without our knowledge.
Bunny asks how we stop this sort of thing in the absence of a joint
marketing agreement. The only three recourses I'm aware of are lawyers,
large Italians, or taking our insurance business elsewhere.
> Does the NAR actually get a kick back on the service? (I'm not against the
> kick-back (it's an inovative revenue source), I'd just like an authorative
> confirmation that it exists.
Haven't the FOGGIEST idea. In the absence of a joint marketing agreement,
which SFA has energetically neglected to establish with us, my guess is no.
J A Stephen Viggiano
>Bunny asks how we stop this sort of thing in the absence of a joint
>marketing agreement. The only three recourses I'm aware of are lawyers,
>large Italians, or taking our insurance business elsewhere.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CD, if you didn't like my post on the thread, why don't you just say so? :-)
Sorry to say, my great-grand uncle Joseph Palma is dead. He was decorated
for valor as a Secret Service "T-Man," served as Staten Island Borough
President during La Gaurdia's mayorship, and had the motto, "It takes a
crook to catch a crook." Oh, yes, and he also fixed things up between Henry
Ford and his Jewish friends.
His old Tudor house in Toat Hill, Staten Island, was featured in the
original _Godfather_ picture. Quite a man, old Uncle J.P.
Roger Wilfong
> In article <19930702075534...@umich.edu>, Roger....@umich.edu (Roger Wilfong) writes:
>
> > allows us to sign uo and use the Members' Long Distance Advantage phone
> > service. The program offers lower long distance rates than AT&T, MCI and
> > Sprint can offer while providing additional income to NAR and American
> > SpaceModeling. ..."
>
> > On page 23 is an ad for the service.
>
> > I checked the President's Corner and Pat did not make mention of this new
> > service. (BTW. Pat does suggest contacting him by "E mail" to discuss
> > actions by the board but neglected to give is address.)
>
> He is bothered by the fact that there was no advance notice, and he was
> bothered by their use of the NAR's name in the solicitation. He plans
> to speak with the SFA, and he feels confident they will "stop if he asks."
(I'm so used to them that I've started wasting their time: "I've won $1000
of free merchandise? All I have to do is answer a qualifying question.
Okay, I'll give it a try. Whose face is on the Lincoln head penny? Wow,
that IS a tough one. No wait, don't give me any clues - it's right on the
tip of my tongue. I know - Raymond Massey! What!?! That's not right!
But it looks just like him.").
I was concerned about the representation that the NAR was going to receive
additional income from the phone service. I think everyone is going to
have to make the choice of selecting the phone service based on their
individual needs and situation.
Even when something like this is covered more completely else where, Pat
usually makes a mention of it in his epistle. The lack of that mention
sent up a red flag.
> > Does the NAR actually get a kick back on the service? (I'm not against the
> > kick-back (it's an inovative revenue source), I'd just like an authorative
> > confirmation that it exists.
>
> which SFA has energetically neglected to establish with us, my guess is no.
- Roger
robert.a.littlefield
>
>Bunny asks how we stop this sort of thing in the absence of a joint
>marketing agreement. The only three recourses I'm aware of are lawyers,
>large Italians, or taking our insurance business elsewhere.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think trying to bribe marketing people by buying them
Submarine sandwiches is a good idea. Unless you order them with lots of
onion and mayo, and talk to them real close. Hot pepper will also give you
bad breath. (PS. For those of you not residing in the North East, a
Submarine sandwich is also known as a hoagie, grinder, or a Gyro.)
Speaking of Gyros.., aw, 'never mind...
Bob Littlefield
C. D. Tavares
> I checked the President's Corner and Pat did not make mention of this new
> service. (BTW. Pat does suggest contacting him by "E mail" to discuss
> actions by the board but neglected to give is address.)
In my original response, I forgot to include it for those who don't have it:
> Okay, I'll give it a try. Whose face is on the Lincoln head penny? Wow,
> that IS a tough one. No wait, don't give me any clues - it's right on the
> tip of my tongue. I know - Raymond Massey! What!?! That's not right!
> But it looks just like him.").
Raymond Burr?
George Lincoln Rockwell?
Lincoln Senator?
Live from Lincoln Senator?
Joe Pfeiffer
bad breath. (PS. For those of you not residing in the North East, a
Submarine sandwich is also known as a hoagie, grinder, or a Gyro.)
Speaking of Gyros.., aw, 'never mind...
I've heard of people up there mis-referring to submarine sandwiches as
hoagies and grinders :), but a Gyro is something totally different...
come to think of it, cutting the meat does involve spinning it,
doesn't it?
Ah, one of the parts of Seattle culture I miss the most down here:
Gilley's Subs...
-Joe.
D. Glenn Arthur Jr.
>I've heard of people up there mis-referring to submarine sandwiches as
>hoagies and grinders :), but a Gyro is something totally different...
>come to think of it, cutting the meat does involve spinning it,
>doesn't it?
*ahem* What you're talking about is a "gyros", and the folks
who drop the terminal 's' generally mispronounce it horribly
as well, causing great suffering to my half-Greek ears. (I'll
forgive y'all for pronouncing a gamma as a hard 'g', but it's
definitely not a 'j' sound, and that 'y' should be between a
short 'i' and 'ee', okay?)
Now this has gotten me thinking ... I wonder whether I could
build an odd-roc out of pita bread ... I'd have to toast it
first, I guess, to make it rigid ... then again, I could roll
it into a cone (sort of like the way I've most often seen
gyroi made) and use a black olive for the nose to give it even
more of a Greek touch ... hey, this has possibilities. Maybe
this isn't as far off-topic as I'd thought.
--
D. Glenn Arthur Jr. The Human Vibrator gl...@digex.com
"Being a _man_ means knowing that one has a choice not to act like a 'man'."
I'm currently way behind on my personal email, as well as mailing lists and
newsgroups. I'm not ignoring you, I'm just behind.
bill nelson
: >hoagies and grinders :), but a Gyro is something totally different...
: >come to think of it, cutting the meat does involve spinning it,
: >doesn't it?
:
: *ahem* What you're talking about is a "gyros", and the folks
: who drop the terminal 's' generally mispronounce it horribly
: as well, causing great suffering to my half-Greek ears. (I'll
: forgive y'all for pronouncing a gamma as a hard 'g', but it's
: definitely not a 'j' sound, and that 'y' should be between a
: short 'i' and 'ee', okay?)
Yeah - pronounce it "hero", that is pretty close - although still
not quite right.
Bill
Joe Pfeiffer
In article <21ercn...@dns1.NMSU.Edu> pfei...@nmsu.edu writes:
>I've heard of people up there mis-referring to submarine sandwiches as
>hoagies and grinders :), but a Gyro is something totally different...
>come to think of it, cutting the meat does involve spinning it,
>doesn't it?
*ahem* What you're talking about is a "gyros", and the folks
who drop the terminal 's' generally mispronounce it horribly
as well, causing great suffering to my half-Greek ears. (I'll
forgive y'all for pronouncing a gamma as a hard 'g', but it's
definitely not a 'j' sound, and that 'y' should be between a
short 'i' and 'ee', okay?)
Oops, did I spell that? As you say, gyros not gyro. Pronounced sort
of half-way between hero and gear-o. Look I'm from Seattle, a city
named after a guy whose name is frequently spelled Sealth! What do we
know about pronunciation?
-Joe.
G. Thomas Rush
Did I tell you about the Sandwich Shop Bob Crane and I were going
to open, right before his untimely demise? We were going to call
it...
Hogan's Gyros
--
thomas rush compaq computer corporation
tho...@cpqhou.compaq.com their employee, not their opinions.
It's time to tell President Clinton to cut spending _first_. Write him
at Pres...@WhiteHouse.Gov. Please do it today (and tomorrow and...).
Roger Wilfong
> Now this has gotten me thinking ... I wonder whether I could
> build an odd-roc out of pita bread ... I'd have to toast it
> first, I guess, to make it rigid ... then again, I could roll
> it into a cone (sort of like the way I've most often seen
> gyroi made) and use a black olive for the nose to give it even
> more of a Greek touch ... hey, this has possibilities. Maybe
> this isn't as far off-topic as I'd thought.
pita bread. Toasting and a piece of body tube should work just fine.
BTW - are whole pieces of pita bread refered to as loafs or slices?
If you split it in half top to bottom, do you get two slices?
- Roger
Evan Nau
dog. All this thread is doing is making me hungry. But, I know as soon as I
go to fix a sandwich I'll be interupted by some damn phone soli... wait a
minute, my phone is ringing. I'll be right back. Hello?
Evan...@med.umich.edu
peter alway
gl...@moeng2.morgan.edu (D. Glenn Arthur Jr.) wrote:
.....
Now this has gotten me thinking ... I wonder whether I could
build an odd-roc out of pita bread ... I'd have to toast it
first, I guess, to make it rigid ... then again, I could roll
it into a cone (sort of like the way I've most often seen
gyroi made) and use a black olive for the nose
Would that constitute an olive ogive?
Peter
Lawrence Curcio
The figures last forever.
WE *HAVE* THE TECHNOLOGY!