Gary McGath

About Gary McGath

I am a freelance technical writer in Plaistow, NH.

Deceptive Unitil “refund” offer by SmartEnergy 1   Recently updated !

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged New Hampshire scams on by

A few days ago I got an item in the mail supposedly offering me a $100 refund as a Unitil customer. The name on the return address was “SmartEnergy,” not Unitil, so it immediately looked fake. It is.

The text inside says:

“Your order is not automatic.

To get started, you must call:

1-800-485-4839

Your REFUND OPTIONS (choose one):
I. Mail me a $100 Visa Prepaid Card
II. Mail me a $100 refund check

SmartEnergy would like to issue you a $100 refund.

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New Hampshire’s questionable alert system

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged New Hampshire privacy technology on by

The state of New Hampshire has a system where you can sign up to get emergency alerts. In itself, that’s a good thing, but the way it’s run raises red flags. The registration site is on genasys.com, and registering requires providing more personal information than necessary. The probability is close to 1 that Genasys sells this information. It’s also easy to exploit the system to annoy people.
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Thoughts on the four dark laws of engagement

This entry was posted in Commentary and tagged Internet SanityProject on by

Derek Thompson has listed four “dark laws of online engagement” that explain a lot of what’s wrong with social media, and perhaps a significant part of what’s wrong with America. He discusses their effect on people, especially young men, who are socially isolated. I’d like to look at the way they distort the information that we get on the Internet.
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ICE watching in Maine

This entry was posted in Personal and tagged ICE Maine on by

On Wednesday I learned that ICE had launched an incursion into Maine. They call it “Operation Catch of the Day,” implying that human beings are just fish to be swept up in their net. Maine is alarmingly close to home. I considered what I could do and decided that going to Maine to watch for ICE activity would be useful. Yesterday (as of Friday, when this will be posted) I drove to York, which is about an hour from home. The biggest trouble area is in Lewiston, which is twice as far, but I decided I couldn’t justify that much travel. Besides, ICE might strike anywhere in Maine.

I followed recommended precautions: Have a plan. Let people know your plans. Turn off phone face unlocking. Dress inconspicuously. Bring food and water.
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