Writes: Christos Mousouliotis Just as car manufacturers programmed vehicles to recognize when they were being tested and artificially reduce emissions, smartphone manufacturers have embedded software capable of lowering Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) measurements during tests and turning them into safe-to-use devices! Phonegate is neither a “technical issue” nor a simple circumvention of…

so, today, godaddy called me at about 3:30pm to ...chat? it was probably the weirdest marketing/sales/support/survey call i've ever received. this is a paraphrasing of the exchange.

contextual note all of the following are true: i don't like phones; i panic a little when my phone rings; i am usually very uncomfortable when talking on the phone; i am primarily concerned with the conversation-over cue(s) during any given phone call. (prosody is not my strong point)

[pick up phone, miss the intro speech about why this person is calling me as i get to a spot with service. heard the words "godaddy", "account" and "security".]

woman: hi, i'm calling you about a couple of things regarding your account and security.

me: ok?

woman: one of the cards attached to your account is expired. can you verify your account for me with your zip code and i will tell you the last four digits?

[this happens, it's a card, many years old, barely used]

woman: you should remove it from your account so no one who has that information can call and confirm your identity.

me: ok

woman: i can walk you through the steps right now and it will only take a few minutes...

me: no, it's ok i can definitely figure out how to do that.

woman: ok... how is your hosting?

me: what?

woman: how is your hosting experience with us?

me: it's ok?

[woman is starting to get annoyed with me. i'm so confused at this point, am i doing it wrong?]

woman: you should purchase a hosting package instead of buying it monthly, it will save you money and [sales dribble]

me: ...no. i buy it monthly on purpose because it is temporary.

woman: [irritated] i see you don't have any auto payments set up either, and your domain xyz is expiring in january.

me: i know, i have it marked on my calendar. i don't want to set up autopayments.

woman: ...okay. well, do you have any other questions while i have your account open?

me: nope

woman: okay, well, call us if you have any issues. have a nice day.