Those of you
who know me well are aware of my obsession for being
"reach-able." This page serves as the definitive word on
how to reach me. However, my easy availability has been a
two-edged sword. I used to get lots of unwanted telephone
calls including numerous 'wrong number' and telemarketing
calls; since I can't really stop these people (and
robo-dialers, too) from calling me, at one time I recorded the
following message on my telephone answering
machine:
Mitch's
Answering Machine message:
"This is
not ABC Chinese Carry-Out or Super
Pride Market, though many of you seem to think so. If
you don't recognize my voice, chances are that you are
one of the many people who dial my number by mistake
every day. Soooo, hang up the phone, put on your
glasses, sober up, learn to read, don't call back. If
you're trying to sell me something, don't bother; I
either don't want it, don't need it, can't afford it or
already own it-- sometimes all of the above. Any
legitimate callers, please leave your name and number
at the tone. Thank You!"
I figured that
if I can't stop 'em, I can at least make 'em mad.
Here's the rest of my contact info. If you reach the
answering machine, you can bypass the greeting and begin
recording by pressing the key on your touch-tone phone.
M I T C H E L L H E L L M A N
842 West Hester Street
Silver City, NM 88061-4316
USA
Tel.: +1 575-388-2280 or Toll-Free (US only): 800-484-3186, code 4355
Mobile: 575-313-2652 / AIM: MitchHellman
I do not allow organizations to use my name or to
contact me to make solicitations other than as permitted
in my Declaration . Please read my
Notification and Offer To Senders of Uninvited Email Solicitations.
About
MCI...
I worked for
MCI from March of 1985 to September of 1998 and I used to
feel that I owed a lot to the company. They hired me as
an inexperienced un-professional and provided me with the
opportunity and tools to learn about communications in
general and electronic mail in particular (while not
putting much effort into making me conform to a
"corporate" image). Thanks to MCI, I was able to visit 22
different countries in a little over three years while
teaching people about the benefits of electronic
messaging. Early in 1996 MCI provided me with a new
opportunity: I began to work for MCI Web Services, and in
1997 I became a DNS administrator.
As of September 14, 1998 MCI completed the merger with
WorldCom. As a result, I was no longer an MCI WorldCom
employee. As part of the merger agreement, all of MCI's
Internet business was sold to Cable & Wireless
USA-- and this means that I (and about 1,200
co-workers) went on the Cable & Wireless payroll.
This was a good thing. Once MCI was bought by WorldCom,
the company went straight down the tubes. Whatever
respect and esteem I had for the company has long since
disappeared-- along with most of the people I knew and
cared about, the value of the stock I owned, the company's
commitment to quality, and anything that resembles a
business plan.
In April 2002, the CEO of MCI WorldCom, Bernie Ebbers,
was ousted from his position. In June 2002, the new CEO,
John Sidgmore, fired the CFO (and friend of Bernie),
Scott Sullivan, after alleged accounting irregularities
were discovered. The value of the company has plummeted
and I hope Bernie's learned a lesson-- any idiot can
buy market share; the challenge is to
grow it. Meanwhile, MCI is struggling to
stay afloat, and only time will tell whether Bernie gets
off scott-free.
...and for
those of you who, like me, used to work for MCI, check
out
After my job with Feeble
& Witless (oops, I mean "Cable & Wireless")
dried up at the end of 2002, my wife and I decided to
relocate from Fairfax, VA and go into business in beautiful
Silver City, NM.
If you would like to find out about our new business venture,
click on our company logo above.
My Heart's in the Right Place...
...and I've got
the pictures to prove it. If you are
interested in finding about my heart attack and
what I learned from it, you can read a two-part article I
wrote on the subject. It's written using Adobe Acrobat;
if you don't have the Adobe Reader, you can get
it for free by clicking on the link below.
"As for
me, except for an occasional heart attack, I feel as
young as I ever did." - Robert Benchley
If you love a
wide variety of ethnic music from all over the world, you
may already be familiar with the Putumayo music label.
They have over 100 anthology CDs available (and over 20
individual artist CDs) covering a myriad of musical
styles, themes, locations and ethnic groups.
If that sounds like something you might enjoy, here is
your chance to experience it for yourself free of charge.
By clicking on "LISTEN NOW!" below, a new browser window
will open and you'll be able to listen to over 28 hours
of Putumayo music in a continuous loop. Each of the disks
is represented by one to three of my favorite tracks, and
new tunes are added each month when new disks are
released.
Shown are the three most recent songs on the playlist for my station.
If you like
what you hear on my broadcast, there is a way to show
your appreciation; while you can listen to Live365
without paying anything, by becoming a Preferred Member
you can listen without hearing or seeing ads-- and a
portion of your monthly subscription fee can be
designated to help pay my fees as a broadcaster. Just
click on the graphic below for details.
Other Web Hot Spots...
Here is a
selection of some useful Internet hot spots:
WORLDTIMEInteractive atlas,
timezones, public holidays worldwide
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About this page...
RealAudio sound clip of the above
message.
key on your touch-tone phone.
P.S.: Don't even dream of using my
contact info for marketing purposes.
Part 1: Pay Attention-- You're Next!
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WORLDTIME
Universal Currency Converter®
Internet Movie Database
