It looks like as of 11:56 P.M., Eastern time, I've become a witness to the virtual rebirth of the prank phone call.

I was walking down to my basement to do a load of laundry when I hear my phone ring. Assuming it was one of my friends, I immediately rushed over and picked it up, surprisingly, to hear a female voice say "hello". I said hello and asked who it was, and she subsequently hung up. A few minutes later she calls back the number that called her, I answered the phone and politely explained to her that my number shouldn't have called her, as well as explaining the way the call had been made.

The original call was placed via my MySpace page, by someone using my GrandCentral WebCall button. For those of you not familiar with the premise of GrandCentral, here's my brief explanation:

GrandCentral is a service which allows you to ring all your phones with a single number. Their service is still in beta (as of this date) and is available to the public by invitation only. They also offer a Click-to-Call service which displays a web page that allows you to click on one of the contacts in your address book and call them. When you click to call someone, GC first rings your phone, then calls the other person. In addition to that feature, they also offer a WebCall button (among many other things, you can read about it on their website GrandCentral.com) which does pretty much the same thing. You click the button, put in your phone number, then it calls your phone and your CID shows up as my GC number, and it calls my phone.

Obviously someone used the button on my MySpace page, put in someone else's number, and clicked on the call button. Their phone rang, my phone rang, I answered the first time, and you know the rest.

So clearly the VoIP technologies used by GrandCentral, as well as all other providers, are bringing the next generation of prank callers upon us. A generation where neither party involved in the phone call knows what's going on.

I can see some good hackers being able to take that to the next step. I can easily place a VoIP call from my laptop. I know that eventually, someone, somewhere, will have their computer wardialing VoIP numbers and ringing up several VoIP users at a time. It'll all be done through the internet so it'll be completely free to the master hacker who does this. This will also be much harder to trace.

Most of you who know me know the type of person I am. You know that I'm usually a very nice, calm, friendly person who would never try to hurt anyone.

So what finally made me snap? A very special girl whose name I will not disclose.

It started out a while ago, she added me on MySpace. Simple enough. At the time I didn't think anything of it and, truthfully, didn't think much of her. Let's face it, she's not the first person you think of when physical beauty comes to mind. I just thought to myself "OK, another friend."

Well, it was a little while later that I saw her post, basically, a feel sorry for me bulletin. Basically a list of complaints about her life. I don't publicize them usually, but I often have similar things to say. That intrigued me, so I started talking to her. Not long after that, I asked for her screen name and started talking to her over AIM.

This girl was amazing. She had a very unique personality, she was smart, and even funny at times. It's really the first time I found myself attracted to someone only after I got to know her.

But what then happened? I guess she's not only stubborn and close-minded, but she doesn't let go of things easily, either.

Chat transcript:

10:26:13 PM me: Evenin'
10:26:17 PM her: hullo
10:26:32 PM me: How are 'ya?
10:26:42 PM her: ...ehh
10:26:50 PM her: und you?
10:27:07 PM me: Meh, bored. Something the matter?
10:27:34 PM her: nah
10:27:42 PM me: Just bored.
10:27:43 PM me: ?
10:27:58 PM her: i guess
10:32:21 PM me: Does your computer have a microphone?
10:32:32 PM her: nope
10:32:39 PM me: How come nobody does?
10:32:46 PM her: i'unno
10:33:23 PM me: You'd think more people would have the damn things.
10:33:31 PM me: It's not like it's rocket science.
10:33:58 PM her: or, maybe they just don't want one
10:34:14 PM me: But there's so much you can do nowadays.
10:34:28 PM her: so what
10:34:43 PM me: I use my laptop to make free calls to my friends.
10:35:13 PM her: really don't think you can do that if you have cable
10:35:24 PM me: Oh wow, you have no idea.
10:35:43 PM me: I'm on a cable internet connection, first of all.
10:36:05 PM her: wow, way to make it sound like you're talking down to me
10:36:06 PM me: Voice is transmitted as data packets over the internet.
10:36:07 PM her: thanks

OK, a couple lines in there may have seemed condescending, but that wasn't my intent. Besides, that's it. That's all that it took to get her to refuse to talk to me. OK, I can understand shunning me for the rest of the night over that, but she took it too far.

More than a month passed. I tried to apologize more than once. Apparently that wasn't going to work. I finally got fed up.

Chat transcript (really just me, though):

5:23:44 PM me: I want to talk to you.
5:25:01 PM me: This has been going on for far too long.
5:25:44 PM me: I'm sorry if the way I worded what I said to you that night seemed as though I was talking down to you.
5:25:51 PM me: That wasn't the intent whatsoever.
5:26:26 PM me: But that was also hardly anything to get upset over.
5:26:46 PM me: So there must've been some deeper issue, and I want to know what it is.
5:27:08 PM me: You were looking for an excuse to stop talking to me, and I want to know why.
5:30:36 PM me: Well?
Changed status to Offline (5:31:35 PM)

Lose her internet connection? Computer die? NO! She blocked me!

That was it. Enough was enough. I couldn't take it anymore. She obviously wasn't treating me very well, and she refused to tell me if there was anything else wrong. If she had another problem, I would've listened. If it was in fact something deeper, I'd have liked to know.

OK, at this point it's pretty obvious to me that she's not interested in hearing from me. She clearly didn't feel she needed another friend. I'll admit I was getting a little interested, even, but it's not like that matters now.

I knew what I was about to do would practically ensure that I never hear from her again. I don't care. I'm not proud of it, but I'm not sorry for it either. It's a rare occasion that I'll be so mad at someone that I actually want to hurt their feelings.

Final chat transcript:

8:58:00 PM me: This is bullshit.
8:59:29 PM me: I'll leave you alone after this, but you've seriously pissed me off.
9:00:12 PM me: It's no wonder you can't find a boyfriend. You shut out any guy who even shows a slight interest.
9:00:31 PM me: What? Is it my looks? It's not like you're much of a prize, either.
9:00:42 PM her: fuck you
9:00:44 PM her: fuck you
9:00:46 PM her: leave me alone
Changed status to Offline (9:00:55 PM)

And that's it. I actually got her to talk to me again, brief as it was. She hadn't said a word to me in over a month.

All this was completely un-called-for. She should've gotten over that nothing a lot quicker. If there was something else about me that she had a problem with, she should've told me. I know I got really harsh there at the end, but maybe I got through to her.

Like I said, I'm normally a nice person. If someone's going to treat me that way, though, then I don't want to hear from that person again.

Greetings,

Please note that I will be directly addressing several of you, but without mentioning any names.

A little over a year ago, I met you. We only got to know each other online but we became friends rather quick. From that point on I knew that whenever I talked to you, most of the time you would make me smile. We always discussed back and forth that we needed each other as friends, and that (jokingly, of course) we could never fall for each other for that reason. And through time we got closer. I could always talk to you if I had a problem, and likewise I know I helped you through some hard times as well. Recently you moved away, and we tried to keep in touch over MySpace, but gradually we stopped communicating altogether. Every time I think about this it makes me sad, especially as I'm writing this. I know we always used to joke about it, but I think the real reason I kept bringing it up was because I was trying to convince myself that under no circumstances should I ever fall for you. It's a little hard to say for certain, but I think I failed in that regard, not that it matters now. I'll be amazed if you ever read this.

I remember Valentine's day, when you were excited because you had made plans with your boyfriend of the time. I remember that it wasn't until very late in the evening that he finally even bothered to contact you. All I could think on that day, as I was discussing this with you, was that if it were me, you would've been the first thing on my mind that day, and the first thing I would've done was call you. I know it no longer matters, but I can't help how I feel.

Those last two paragraphs are directed at the same girl. Those of you who know me will immediately know who I'm referring to.

You are an interesting person. You added me on MySpace a while back, but it wasn't until a couple months ago that I started talking to you. One night you posted a bulletin which I thought sounded a lot like something I would say. Soon after that, I started sending messages back and forth to you on MySpace, and eventually I asked you for your AIM screen name, which you gave me. After that I'd start IMing you and, over time, I could've sworn we were getting along just fine! You eventually even started discussing personal things with me. I felt good about that, and glad that we could talk to each other so easily.

One night, however, and in fact only a little over a week ago, I don't know how it happened but somehow I managed to get you angry at me to the point where you would from then on refuse to talk to me. I suppose you felt I was talking down to you, and I will admit that maybe I could've presented the topic I was discussing a little more gracefully. Regardless of this, I find it ridiculous that after nearly two to three months, I can no longer get any kind of response from you. I'd appreciate having conversations with you again. It's even ironic that the topic I brought up, as well as the reason I brought it up, is what made you stop talking to me.

While we're on the subject of girls who don't talk to me, I suppose I should mention another one of you.

You were always so friendly in high school. Yes, I thought you were cute, too. You were the type who would say hi to me just because we happened to cross paths during lunch. I liked that about you. You were always so cheerful and, let's face it, often very wired. I've had your screen name for well over two years. I remember talking to you often. Not long after I got it from you, we started discussing music and I was delighted in finding out that you had very similar tastes in music to mine. I remember when on occasion we'd both be watching "The Apprentice" (for those of you who don't know, we knew we would be watching it the next day in class) and we'd discuss what was happening online. I miss those days.

Over the summer last year, or perhaps it was closer to fall, I began noticing your away messages which would indicate that something was wrong. I would see sad faces and messages that said something was hurting you. I asked you what was wrong, but you replied "nothing". Not long after that, I was getting little or no response to the IMs I kept sending you. Eventually I was getting no response whatsoever. The last time you ever said anything to me was January first. You just bounced back the "Happy New Year" greeting with a simple "you too". I've still been trying to get you to talk, but not successfully. I'm sorry that I cared enough to ask you what was bothering you.

I suppose, given that I've had to put up with all of this, I should be thankful for the ones who still do talk to me.

After you read this, you may not wish to talk to me. I hope it doesn't come to that. I met you online early this year. You're very friendly, very smart, and very pretty. Recently, you've made it known that your past relationships have all failed for various reasons. You may get very defensive on the matter and not be willing to listen, at least not to me. Rather than post a large argument in this text, I'd like to just tell you how I feel, and you can decide whether or not to take anything from it.

I know, I know, you're young, and you're in high school, and the one thing you want most is love. Honestly, I wouldn't mind having that myself. The one thing you have to realize, however, is that you cannot be dependent on other people to make yourself feel better. You've had three different relationships since I met you, and none of them have lasted much longer than a month. I know you're not happy to hear this, but maybe you should stop actively pursuing relationships and work on helping yourself. You're a bright young woman, so you should've figured this out long ago. You've admitted that your grades are suffering, to the point where you might not finish high school. This is a very destructive mentality, one that I have endured myself. Please, PLEASE realize that I'm not trying to put you down, pick on you, be mean-spirited or insensitive. It's just that I don't like seeing you in trouble any more than I like seeing myself in such a predicament. You're smart and you know you are. Please make intelligent decisions. Consider your past experiences and learn from them.

To every one of you, please, realize that I care, or at least cared at one time, for every one of you whom I've addressed in this letter.

Some final thoughts,

Please don't try to rush anything. Life will happen. Life will happen far too fast, and you'll end up wishing you had behaved differently during these times.

I don't like the fact that all I ever try to do is be friendly, really, and yet a couple of you still refuse to talk to me.

Anyone who has a comment, preferably something constructive, please respond.

Horrible night. My cell phone is a poor, pathetic excuse for one. The only positive I can see is that it's hard to break, which is good, because it pisses me off so much that I throw it all over the house!

In other news, not only am I an immature coward, but when I finally do face my ridiculous fear of simply calling a girl, nothing ever comes of it. I either get voicemail or "This wireless customer is not available at this time..." blah blah blah! I can only communicate in text messages, apparently.

My laptop has to go back into Apple because my track pad has a dead spot, so thank God it's under warranty.

I want to scream and throw things, but apparently, even when the house is empty, I can't do that or really express any emotion because somehow I'm too afraid to do that. I know that every action has an equal reaction, which would just result in my laptop and cell phone getting broken, holes being put in the wall, and somehow nothing would get resolved.

One of my closest friends moved away this week. I miss her, even though I never actually saw her. I dunno how this is going to make anything different, but knowing that I'll never have a chance, at least not for a long time, to see her in person just saddens me.

Apparently all my friends secretly resent me and can't be honest. I'm sick of this. I just want to spend the rest of the night in peace, possibly happy, watching CBS.

I'm tired. Somehow I accidentally took a nap today even though I got a full night's sleep. I don't get it. Life sucks sometimes.

I don't know why "Tell us what you're reading, viewing, or listening to:" has to default to something, even if I could be doing none of those things in the list. I'm watching TV, dammit!

This is surely a night to remember. Allow me to start off with a simple MySpace Announcement:
"Hey folks, we are fixing your top 8 friend list right now and your urls. :)"
OK, that's simple enough. Why am I blogging about this? Because I find this unacceptable for any web site on the internet, even a free one.

My "Top 8" or as it's now called, my "Top Friends" has been rearranging itself and acting stupid for about an hour now. In addition, there was a point when some of my comments disappeard, as well as a point where all my comments disappeared and my "Top Friends" list was empty. Would anyone care to take a guess at this unacceptable phenomenon? The title of this entry may be misleading; it's not so much the coding as it's the SERVER! The Windows NT-based web and database servers that MySpace uses are unbelievable! They're probably fine for a small business or otherwise, but this is MySpace for crying out loud, one of the most frequently visited websites in the nation. Why on earth wouldn't they employ a more powerful server and/or possibly an industry-standard UNIX server with the Apache HTTP Server software installed?!?

They're idiots! It's plain and simple. There are simple solutions to their problems and they have yet to take them. Go figure!

Oh by the way, my "Top Friends" currently displays only three people. Wonderful.

Let's look at another one of those wonderful "MySpace Announcement"s that Tom likes to post:

"you dont have to post a bulletin to keep myspace free, or to keep your account, or to get a feature of any kind.. all that's a hoax. thx ;)"

Well thanks for clearing that up, Tom, because nobody in their right mind would fall for a chain bulletin claiming to be from you suggesting that their accout will be deleted, they'll have to pay for MySpace, or some idiotic new feature that you wouldn't be able to program into MySpace if your life depended on it!

Oh wait... people are that stupid!

I don't get it. I've even told several of my MySpace "friends" that those things were untrue, but people still post and repost those dumb things to the point where my bulletin board is cluttered with meaningless messages and anything legitimate is only there for a few minutes until more crap takes its place and it's forgotten about.

What is wrong with you people? Chain bulletins, as well as their predecessor, chain letters, are just a meaningless waste of space. No harm can possibly come to you pending your decision not to repost a bulletin containing a threat. Tom is stupid, but he's not stupid enough to rely on such a ridiculous way of spreading messages. When Tom has something stupid to say, he posts a "MySpace Announcement". If you're actually dumb enough to believe this crap, you shouldn't even be using MySpace!

Morons.

Seriously, MySpace is more pathetic than I thought.

First of all, I don't know who it was, but one of my friends disappeared and there's a blank space sitting in my friends list where it shouldn't be. The blank space should be at the end of the friends list, not on the first page!

Second of all, I restyled it last weekend. I finally came up with a streamlined, easy to use stylesheet that uses all of MySpace's custom CSS classes. I narrowed down the main page font, all the links, the appearance of the tables, etc. to basic properties and came out with an attractive layout. Though I'm talented at this, the server did not make it easy for me. I tried to make it easier to read and interpret all of the properties with comments in the stylesheet, but for some reason the server deleted them all and replaced them with .r{} which makes no sense whatever. The server also deletes the pound sign and replaces it with two periods, I haven't the slightest idea why!

MySpace is atrocious, and I'm getting sick of it!

Posted by Tom on November 29th, 2005: "sorry about the site being slow tonight and last night.. ! we've got some Database probs we're working on right now!" Oh really, you've got some database problems, eh? You know what, you've also got some server problems. Oh yeah, you know what else, you've got some inefficient and INVALID coding problems, too! Your server is slow, your XHTML is invalid, and your CSS is nothing short of shameful! I don't think you can blame all of that on the database. Let's face it, MySpace is as bad as Windows 95! Constantly making errors with no chance of redeeming itself. Would you mind maybe programming something correctly for a change? Oh, and while you're at it, why not type something like a grown-up for a change? Grown-ups capitalize the first letters of their sentences, and they don't try to shorten everything into single-syllable words.

Is there even a nobile purpose behind this website? Honestly, is there a difference between this and those incredibly cliche High School social groups that you see on TV? From the looks of it, your populaity is measured by the number of friends you have. Gee, just like on TV. Those from specific groups of friends at school befriend each other and seldom anyone else, just as if they were actually in school. All this site really does for anyone is help them declare their own social status to those anonymous viewers on the internet who don't really care. Of course, those who have little to no social lives find themselves with very few friends on MySpace compared to others, some of which they don't even know in person. Ugh... Perhaps the posting of this blog is merely a product of my own self-perception of worthlessness, but I feel it should be said anyway.