Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Stupidity: when it comes to people, you can count on it!

People are really damned stupid. Not you, of course. Not everyone. Just...a lot of people. Give stupid people a forum for unbridled self-expression like the Internet and their stupidity--manifest in the form of irredeemably idiotic blog rants, self-incriminating photographs, belligerent discussion board personas, relentless strings of unrestrained typo-laden Tweets, less-than-pointless YouTube clips, you name it--will flourish like bacteria on the floor of an Interstate rest stop bathroom (especially during those frantically busy holiday travel periods when the janitors can't get in there often enough to push stinky pink bleachy bacteria-murdering stuff around with the mop). For the record, I will attempt to demonstrate here and now that this is not an irredeemably idiotic blog rant; but that's ultimately for you to decide, not me.

Anyway, I would like to share a recent instance of incredible--yet sadly typical--human stupidity with you. No, I'm not referring to the capsizing of the Costa Concordia cruise liner off the Italian coast. That was certainly stupid, avoidable, tragic--which is nothing to say of the captain's criminal egotism or staggering cowardice--, but that story is not my own. No, my story is about linoleum flooring. Specifically, it's about my attempts to recycle some old linoleum flooring from my house for artistic purposes by offering it for free on Craig's List. That act in particular is not the stupid part, but let me explain.

Last week, after months of procrastination, I finally got around to downloading about 400 images from my digital camera to my computer. Among these were photographs of the linoleum flooring that decades ago had graced one of the bedrooms in my house--a bedroom that had clearly once been a nursery or baby's room before it was carpeted and turned into Mrs. Brown's dressing room, complete with an enormous vanity and the most gratuitously large collection of [mostly unused] makeup products that I have ever seen outside of a department store. Here are a few photos of what I like to refer to as the creepy nursery flooring:


















Here's another photo that illustrates some of the other cute figures that appear in the flooring, like kittens and chickens (on wheels?!), rabbits and piggy banks, even a camel:


I knew that the flooring wasn't in fantastic shape; but it's certainly unique, rare, slightly endearing, definitely amusing--and a potential goldmine for artists who use such materials. Thus, I posted on Craig's List, as I have done on many occasions before, this time offering any and all of this linoleum flooring for free to anyone of creative persuasion willing to stop by and check it out.

One of the first individuals to respond said this (and only this): "some of that old flooring was made with aspestas."  Okay... Appreciate the warning, but, um, that's not even how you spell "asbestos." Granted, I could have been a snarky shit by responding to that effect but I simply thanked this person for the concern and forgot about it.

Now, here's where the stupid comes in. The very next day I received this response to my earnest attempt at freecycling from the faceless dunce hiding behind the e-mail address crenovationsllc@gmail.com

LOL !  You must be drunk ! IT"S GARBAGE ! Where do you drunken nuts come from ?  Did it ever occur to you that the" VINTAGE" linoleum has "VINTAGE" asbestos in it?

Okay, stupid! I thought to myself. You wanna show the world how unequivocally stupid YOU are by attempting to make a fairly smart person feel stupid?! Think you can get away with jabbing an honest gent who happens to enjoy a good stiff drink now and again? HUH?!  And this is how I responded:

Drunk?!  Occasionally, absolutely, but not when I posted (to the best of my knowledge...) and certainly not right now.

Honestly, what was the point of your responding to my post if your only accomplishment was to sound like an ignoramus fuck?  Why do you think that I'm giving this stuff away as opposed to trying to sell it?  Clearly you're not familiar with the fact that some people actually use this material for art.


If even one person can or will use this linoleum to create something funky, unique, beautiful or inspiring, why NOT give it away as opposed to tossing it in the trash?  One last thing: asbestos is only dangerous when large quantities of it are inhaled in airborne particulate form.  Working with materials that contain asbestos can be done safely as long as one protects oneself from airborne particles--especially when those materials aren't known to crumble into clouds of fine dust.

Do a little research before trying to sour perfect strangers' evenings with your abusive ignorance, chap.  In plain English, get a fucking life.


So there you have it. I never heard back from the prick, in case you were wondering. Maybe the universe afforded him a moment of clarity just potent enough to recognize that he, in fact, was incorrect about something. But probably not. In all likelihood my response was deleted without ever having been read. You know, my mom was right years ago when, during any one of a number of arguments, she would rhetorically remark You always have to have the last word, don't you? DON'T you?! Yes, mom, and I still do.

Before I finish, I would like to share one final example of stupidity--or whatever you want to call it--that I have encountered perhaps half a dozen times in the past few weeks. Perhaps you've seen it yourself:


The day that I first encountered--and subsequently screen-captured--this particular web artifact, I was enjoying an uneventful music-supplemented morning at work doing something or other on the computer. (At that very moment, as you can tell, I was listening to songs by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour--one of the best guitarists of all time--on YouTube.) So, you ask, what qualifies this as an example of stupidity? The claim, boldly splashed across the top of the image like a front page newspaper headline, that Jesus Christ is Lord? No, certainly not. Lots of people believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. The fact that an online Christian dating service is trying to seduce me and thousands of other unsuspecting viewers with an image of a generic bleach-blond Barbie slut who, for all I know, could boast a laundry list of mastered (and commercially available) filthy acts that would put poor Mary Magdalene to shame? BINGO! I can think of some other things to call it, too: shamelessly desperate. Tacky. Sad
* * *
Oh, and to the blond girl in the image: I'm sorry for the things I said. You're probably a very nice girl. I just hope that that particular shot of you doesn't appear in your high school yearbook anywhere. Or as your Facebook profile photo.

29 comments:

  1. Regarding that Ad you saw about single people, Its not just stupidity, it just shows you to what degree people will go to make a few dollars.

    If it was a real service, do you really think thats where they would be advertising it?? Today Ads go up where the target people are most likely to show, that part of the business makes sense but that at there doesnt to me!

    Light

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  2. Michael I loved the blog! When I saw that ad for the first time it made me think of redneck christian republic daughters almost immediately! Love you friend!!

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  3. republican daughter -- hee hee -- Love Kris

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  4. You don't know me Michael, but after finding you via a quick search for our mutual (sick) friend, I find that we have even more in common than being on the receiving end of ugly criticisms from ignorant, unemployed (or is it unemployable) turkeys. Whereas I also wasted my time educating this person in lieu of his response to my ad on craigslist for someone to do some yard maintenance on a house I own in Regent Square, I find myself somewhat wealthier for having found your humble blog. Needless to say, I applaud your reuse/recycling art ingenuity and spirit. I get the impression you are mindful dude, just don't sand the cutback with which that linoleum was set. I've been a woodworker/cabinetmaker/carpenter/philosopher for a few years and would rather spare anyone any potential issues. That being said, let me know if I can be of service in the future. Have Bell's Hopslam, will travel. Peace! (email:gromitj32@gmail.com)

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  5. Dude just found your blog after also googling our pal. What a guy he is! This was his rant in response to an ad looking for unemployed veterans to help my organization www.one9five.org complete a service project to help out family house pittsburgh. A quick glance at our site is enough to realize that we make no money from these endeavors, more often than not pouring our own money into the organization to make these events possible.

    YOU FUCKING LOWLIFE SCUMBAGS ! Praying on vets for free labor, you should be ashamed of your lowlife selves ! TRY GETTING THEM A PAYING JOB SO THEY CAN SUPPORT THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES YOU PUKES ! You're helping yourselves, not vets ! Rot in hell you pieces of shit ! You have some fucking nerve suckering vets into free work to " network and resume build " The only people you're helping is yourselves ! I see YOU get paid for this as a nonprofit, so why not pay the vets like you do yourselves ?

    I feel much better after reading your blog.

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    1. Hi Jeff!

      Thanks for the response and welcome to the elite group of craig's list patrons attacked by Mr. Nasty! (We're a pretty good group, too, if I do say so myself.) It just goes to show you how unbelievably negative some people are compelled to be, not to mention woefully ignorant--and to no constructive end whatsoever. By the way, a good friend of mine runs a non-profit org. that creates public art (large-scale sculpture) and provides professional skills for veterans--from welding and project management to PR and fundraising--called Operation Valor Arts, which you can find online. Let me know if you're interested in networking with those folks and I can put you in touch with them.

      Cheers, and good luck!

      Mike Jehn

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  6. His name is dan hobbins of gibsonia PA (<3 Google). He sent me a rude comment when I was trying to upcycle too! (Today).

    I didn't send anything back, but PLEASE flag him as a spammer on craigslist to help other!!

    This is a gret way for him to get bad press as he is some kind of handy man.

    Keep Sharing!

    M

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    1. Hi Miss Jacky White, thanks for the information! Hmm, Dan Hobbins of Gibsonia, PA. With such a rotten attitude about human beings (and presumably life in general?) I wonder how this guy even stays in business! Anyway, I appreciate your comment and wish you well!

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    2. Yup, you're spot on. I know this is old, but it helped me learn who sent me a harassing email. This is what I'm posting on Yelp:

      His behavior was very shocking and I never met him or worked with him. I did a search to confirm who he was and thank you for sharing the reviews Yelpers Dave and Lori. I was shocked by his message and so glad I didn't work with him. Let the buyer beware. This is what he wrote when I contacted him on Craigslist for help with moving my mom and he wrote back from crenovationsllc: " You cannot pay mileage ? LOL ! LOL ! LOL ! Are you insane ? Who is supposed to pay the mileage charges for YOUR MOM"S MOVE ? ME ? GET A JOB ! Fuel costs money ! If you are too cheap to pay for ALL the services you want, THEN DO IT YOURSELF DEADBEAT !!!!!!! The truck rental company charges mileage. I guess I am supposed to pay them for mileage but you are not going to pay me ????? WHERE DO YOU LOSERS COME FROM ??And your mother is not covered on the insurance and doesn't get to ride in the truck EINSTEIN ! HERE'S AN IDEA ! Instead of expecting the movers to put up with your mother getting in the way, why don't YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR MOTHER AND RIDE HER TO THE NEW HOUSE ! You Are hiring movers, not social workers ! You pay for ALL THE SERVICES AND BABYSIT YOUR OWN MOTHER , OR DO IT YOURSELF !!

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    3. Anonymous, thanks for the comment. I hope to see your review on Yelp soon. Best wishes with more positive interactions with decent, sound-minded human beings in the future!

      Delete
  7. Hello, I just stumbled upon your blog doing research for the e-mail address crenovationsllc@gmail.com I had placed a add on craigslist to barter a 1939 General Electric refrigerator. This guy is a warped troll, he ripped me apart with some profanity and insult and said where do all the nuts like you come from. Im happy to find this info out on him and I guess I got my answer here. Thank You much for mentioning this.

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  8. Like the previous submitter I found your blog after Googling "crenovationsllc@gmail.com" when I, you guess it, received a trolling email from him. I posted an ad on craigslist looking for someone to mow my parents lawn as I live out of state with my husband and my brothers who usually mow are at college and my dad isn't physically capable because he has cancer. The troll's response to my ad?

    "LOL ! Try more like $40 MINIMUM !"

    As I obviously think our $20 offer for less than an hour of work is more than acceptable, I didn't give him the pleasure of responding. I have, however, subscribed him to numerous spamming email lists.

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    1. Hi Liz, thanks for the comment, and I apologize that it has taken me so long to respond. (Obviously I've been neglecting the blog but I plan to post something new soon.) I'm sorry to hear that you too have been unnecessarily attacked by this jerk. Although it's unfortunate that so many people have been drawn into this web of negativity, I'm honored that my insignificant little blog has become a venue that has brought several of us together--and, for better or for worse, Mr. Dan Hobbins of Gibsonia, PA has been outed, home address and all. Peace and best wishes!

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  9. His name is Dan Dobbins his home phone is 724-444-3081 he lives in Gisonia at 4042 Gibsonia Rd. His wife is named Mary, she grew up in Glenshaw and went to Shaler High School. This troll has a long history of attacking people by means of email. I work in the federal bldg downtown. Depending on the severity of your situation, I can provide vehicle make model year, employment history, banking institution with account numbers ss#. My advice for anybody that encounters this guy as I did months back, call his wife or mail via post office, a unthreatening letter asking him to stop. Do not harass back, as it brings you to his level.

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    1. Hi Anonymous, thanks for sharing all of this personal information about our little friend, and I apologize about the late response! I will certainly keep his name, address, and phone number in mind if he hever assaults one of my Craigs List posts again. Cheers!

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    2. He is a total sociopath and not to be messed with...a letter is pushing it. Unfortunately, the guy's wife is normal (and at his mercy), and they have children. She doesn't deserve the public shaming. People should just call his local police. They will catch on.

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    3. Just to add. Here is is yelp page with updated phone number:
      https://www.yelp.com/biz/custom-renovations-gibsonia
      Feel free to leave your own comments.

      Daniel Hobbins of Custom Renovations aka crenovationsllc crenovationsllc@gmail.com (412) 526-2466

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    4. Thanks for the update, anonymous! I keep wondering (only half-seriously) if the day will come when Mr. Hobbins finds my blog, tracks me down, and tries to kill me. It wouldn't surprise me, given his horrifying pattern of behavior. However, between you and several other commenters, we've pretty much laid the guy's public life out in the front yard on this blog. Thanks for commenting.

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    5. I have an entire folder of emails from this ass. He has been up to this for years. I swear as the moon rises he comes to life. I can almost predict when to expect one of his lovely letters. He must not be a capable craftsman since he has to troll through the gigs section of Craigslist for every possible job. I have hired for all types of work from automotive to construction. Dan Hobbins will respond claiming vast experience in everything. Those responses are the sweet side of this ass. I have tons of letters rich with insults. Some of his favorite words are retard, Einstein, asshat, fucktard and oh so many more.

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  10. Sad that this individual has nothing better to do than sit at his computer attacking others. His ignorance was apparent when he responded attackingly to an add I posted on cl seeking qualified candidates to fill a foreman position.
    I politley responded back (prior to reading these posts) explaining the definition of the word "negotiable".
    Thank you for the info on the person hiding behind this email.

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    1. Hello, thanks for your comment! It IS truly sad that there are so many people in the world indulging in these revolting activities--subjecting countless total strangers to their hostility and abuse via the Internet for sheer pleasure while attempting to hide behind the veil of online anonymity. This reminds me of the recent high-profile case of notorious Reddit troll Michael Brutsch, AKA 'Violentacrez', whose numerous subforums with their themes of rape, violence, death, and child pornography pushed the boundaries of socially acceptable public content, and whose first television interview (with CNN) lends a lot of insight into why some people feel emotionally and psychologically compelled to engage in these behaviors:

      http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/18/exclusive-man-behind-jailbait-posts-exposed-loses-job/?iref=allsearch

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  11. Hello Michael, imagine my surprise when I googled "crenovationsllc@gmail.com" that I found out I was unknowingly inducted into this fraternity created by Mr. Dobbins. My brother who is a struggling actor in NYC was jumped last week and had his iPhone and $100 stolen. In trying to help him out I posted a wanted ad on Craigslist asking if anyone had an iPhone that they would be willing to sell me for $150. I never asked for a brand new one. Just if someone had one to sell for $150, as that is my budget. This is the reply I received from him:

    "$150? LOL! Are you high on something? $300 would be a good price.! If $150 is all you have, THEN YOU CAN'T AFFORD AN I PHONE!"

    I'm not going to print my reply, as it was not fit for public consumption...lol...and I'm a little embarassed that I stooped to his level, but I was pretty outraged at his nerve. Now I see its what he does.

    I'm sorry that we've all had to deal with this troll. Karma is a big fat hairy bitch, and look out when she sets her eyes on Mr. Dobbins!

    Have a great day!

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  12. Hi, I work for a property preservation company and I hire contractors to work on bank owned properties. I'am looking for someone full time in the pittsburgh area right now to expand with my clients. The contractors hired for the position receive company credit cards for all expenses (gas, materials, hotels), we supply insurance and workers comp, and the contractors do not work on a 1099, everything is taxed and legit. I posted an ad on CL today, with all this info attached in it,and received this email..











    crenovationsllc



    2:53 PM (2 hours ago)

    to vg9nh-35471081.

    You don't get to pay hourly like a real employer for a contractor and
    get out of paying taxes and supplying work comp and loiability
    insurance you CHEAPASS PIECES OF SHIT ! Contractors arte not paid by
    the hour you CHEAPASS LOSERS ! Where do you lowlife scumbags come from
    ? Hourly wage for a sub contractor ? LOL ! So I supply your company
    with the truck, tools, insuirance, fuel, equipment, labor, skills,
    vehicle insurance and maintenance for an hourly wage ? GO FUCK
    YOURSELF UNLESS THE WAGE IS $40 an hour LOSER ! ! !

    http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/lab/3547108165.html



    Needless to say I wasn't shocked to find this blog, but must say a little relieved. Glad I was not the only one to incur the wrath of this maniac. Thanks : )

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    1. Hi, thanks for your response, and welcome to the club! I won't repeat things that I've written previously about this guy, but suffice it to say that his abundant [ab]use of ALL CAPS and atrocious spelling speak for themselves, rage and abusiveness aside.

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  13. This bozo is still at it! I got a troll response to a window AC unit I was giving away!

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    1. Thanks for the comment. It's a shame to hear that our "buddy" Dan is still at it--but I cannot say that I am surprised. People like him rarely change. I'm sure that he's a REAL charmer to work with or to hire on a project. I sure as hell wouldn't let someone fostering that much hatred get within twenty feet of any project at MY house (or my family for that matter).

      Despite pathetically failing to maintain this blog, I'm glad that people are still finding it and commenting. This is a reminder that I should add some new content soon.

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  14. I was his latest victim and decided to google his email address to see about this guy. All I posted on Craigslist was free wood for someone to use as firewood. He responded that I need to get a job and then a bunch of exclamation marks and capital letters saying ridiculous statements. This guy is a lunatic. I'm not one to be a tough guy over the internet but would love to have this guy come see me in person.

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    1. Mark, I apologize that this happened. He's your classic troll--actually reminds me a lot of a bitter, judgmental, in-everybody's-business neighbor of mine who thinks that he's smarter and more clever than everyone else, and also apparently can't stand me for, you know, fixing up my house and paying my taxes and keeping the street clean while increasing curb appeal and overall property value on the street. (Meanwhile he's drinking himself and chain-smoking himself ever closer to his next heart attack. He's already had one.) I have a lot of trouble understanding how or why some people are so miserable and so committed to spreading that misery, almost like some kind of a classic Disney villain: the more goodness there is, and the more people try to do what's right in the world, the more furious and hateful the villain gets because he or she just CAN'T STAND goodness. Thanks for sharing, and I apologize about the delayed response. I tend to neglect this blog. :)

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  15. still at it posted a car and he was being real pushy and when I told him I was retracting the post he got nasty with me

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