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
P.S.: Don't even dream of using my
contact info for marketing purposes.
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 am 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. Since MCI was bought by WorldCom, the
company has gone 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 own, 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 recent 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 Acrobat 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 nearly 80 anthology CDs available (and another 21
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!", a new browser window will open and you'll be able to
listen to nearly 18 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.
Currently my station has
listener(s) tuned into "
" performed by
from the Putumayo disc entitled "
."
Other Web Hot Spots...
Here is a selection of some useful Internet hot
spots:
WORLDTIMEInteractive atlas, timezones,
public holidays worldwide
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.
Alotta Gelato?
My Heart's in the Right Place...
Part 1: Pay Attention-- You're Next!
Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
Do you like World music?
Other Web Hot Spots...
WORLDTIME Interactive atlas, timezones,
public holidays worldwide
Universal Currency Converter®How many
forints are there in a kwacha?
Internet Movie Database Info on any film
or actor you can think of
Fun Stuff
Leave a comment in my Guestbook! (Opens in a new
window.)
Hellman's Home Page 
