The above Sunday morning "Guest" post was in the moderation queue, waiting for approval. I got online Monday night for the first time in a few days, so that's why this post took so long to make it to the front page. When a logged-in member of Toledo Talk posts a new topic, it appears on the front page immediately and doesn't need to wait for the admin to approve it.
On Monday morning, I heard WSPD AM 1370 morning talk show host Bob Frantz read the same statement that was posted here by Guest. I also received a copy of the statement via e-mail. It's making the rounds.
A whois check as of Monday night, April 19, shows:
thementalblock.net
Registrant:
Paul Hem
ATTN: THEMENTALBLOCK.NET
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA. 20172-0447
Domain Name: THEMENTALBLOCK.NET
Administrative Contact:
Hem, Paul s84mn85r3n3@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
Paul Hem Consulting
ATTN: THEMENTALBLOCK.NET
c/o Network Solutions
P.O. Box 447
Herndon, VA 20172-0447
570-708-8780
Technical Contact:
Network Solutions, LLC. (HOST-ORG) customerservice@networksolutions.com
13200 Woodland Park Drive
Herndon, VA 20171-3025
US
1-888-642-9675 fax: 571-434-4620
Record expires on 11-Sep-2005.
Record created on 11-Sep-2003.
Database last updated on 19-Apr-2004 22:24:59 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS63.WORLDNIC.COM 216.168.225.203
NS64.WORLDNIC.COM 216.168.225.204
===============
The whois check posted here a month ago shows:
Registrant:
The Mental Block (AYPLBRZAUD)
1000 East Wooster
Bowling Green, OH 43403
US
Domain Name: THEMENTALBLOCK.NET
Administrative Contact, Technical Contact:
Channel, Dr. Phil (35953338P) mentalblock2@hotmail.com
1000 East Wooster
Bowling Green, OH 43403
US
419 372 2741
Record expires on 11-Sep-2004.
Record created on 11-Sep-2003.
Database last updated on 16-Mar-2004 19:42:15 EST.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS27.1AND1.COM 217.160.224.3
NS28.1AND1.COM 217.160.228.3
If you vist TheMentalBlock.net now, you get:
"Internet Surfing Security Consulting
Your Internet use should be safe for you, your business and family! We can help!"
Etc, etc, which is the same thing as PaulHem.com.
The Mental Block no longer displays criticism of the Blade, JR Block, Mayor Ford, and Toledo City Council. Some will say those four entities are all the same thing.
posted by jr at 10:28 P.M. EST on Mon Apr 19, 2004 #
I really can't fault the Blade for going after ownership of the domain name, especially when the author of thementalblock made it so easy for them. (Come on... the address it was originally registered under is the BGSU football stadium isn't it?)
It's tough to defend someone who hides behind anonymity by falsifying information. (There are ways of registering domains properly and still hiding your personal info if you so desire) I suspect that's why Network Solutions re-assigned the domain name upon request.
I strongly urge the mystery writer to show himself/herself and openly register for a new domain name. If you truly believe in what you're writing, do the right thing and openly stand behind it. Your words will carry more validity if they are backed by a real person.
I suppose we'll see if the author wants to operate the site badly enough to try it under a different (and properly registered) name.
posted by photodan at 11:59 P.M. EST on Mon Apr 19, 2004 #
Correct photodan. From what I understand, the reason the domain name has a new owner is due to false information given for the contact info by the former owner of thementalblock.net.
Dr. Phil Channel? What about getting a P.O. box somewhere?
When registering domain names with Network Solutions, it's only $5 extra to make the contact information private, like Paul Hem has now done with thementalblock.net, which you can see above. Surprisingly, Mr Hem has no private feature enabled for his personal site paulhem.com.
posted by jr at 12:30 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 20, 2004 #
Trying to attack the work done by Blade staffers by going after the awards is also pretty juvenile. It smacks of sour grapes as does the accusation of "pirating" the Web site. Hem was the only party to give truthful information for the registration, which is hardly piracy.
If they are looking for vindication, they will have to do better than unsupported accusations of spamming and whining about their bogus domain registration. (Although I will say that the page put up by Paul Hem is the worst P.O.S. I've seen on the Web in a long time. I'm not sure who would use his services after seeing that.)
posted by photodan at 01:16 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 20, 2004 #
"Although I will say that the page put up by Paul Hem is the worst P.O.S. I've seen on the Web in a long time. I'm not sure who would use his services after seeing that."
Yeah, I thought it was 1997 again. Hem is a security and networking dude, which is harder to find than a web designer.
A few years ago, I read a how-to article by white-hat hacking guru "mudge" titled "How to Write Buffer Overflows." The thing I remembered most from mudge's article was:
"Ok, the program works. Then again, if you couldn't whip up that little prog you should probably throw in the towel here. Maybe become a webmaster or something that requires little to no programming (or brainwave activity period)."
The hardcore nerds believe that if you're not manipulating addresses with C or Assembly, then you're not a real programmer.
Anyway, I agree that the thementalblock.net is partly responsible for losing its site, but I also think that an award-winning newspaper would have better things to do with its time than to be concerned what a website is saying. It shouldn't be too hard for a new version of thementalblock.net to be back online. Then what will the Blade do?
It just seems we're not getting the whole story about this. There's probably more than we're aware of. Maybe there were libel issues, and the Blade had no one to contact to question what was written.
posted by jr at 08:39 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 20, 2004 #
I agree that we aren't getting the whole story and that a newspaper does have better things to do, but did "the newspaper" do this? We should be careful about labeling a whole staff by the actions of a small number, especially when we don't have the facts.
Also, the Pulitzer wasn't given because of how The Blade handles all its affairs, but because of the quality of the work done by staff members on a series of stories on one topic. Going after an award like this is like someone stealing your car because you won a court case against them. It doesn't make sense.
posted by photodan at 11:22 A.M. EST on Tue Apr 20, 2004 #
Hey, the original The Mental Block is back and full of that spunk we've come to enjoy.
"John R. Block is moving heaven and earth to put us out of operation. We will resist with everything we have. However, if Mental Block should disappear, we will resurrect ourselves, perhaps as TheNutBlock. He will not stop us from publishing what is really happening in, and what he and his cronies are doing to, Toledo. He will not shut us down permanently."
"Treu House of Munch, the area Budweiser beer distributor, says its pre-April sales are down 5% in Toledo, but up 9% in the suburbs."
"The Blade recently boasted about Toledo's inclusion on a list of "most unwired cities". Unwired refers to wireless internet computing, similar to how cell phones communicate versus hard-wired telephones."
Well, that's not a good thing. I missed this story. I certainly don't believe technology is the answer to everything, nor do I buy every gadget that comes on the market, but being on the "most unwired list" is not cool. What happened to Toledo being a "progressive" city? Oh wait. Toledo is only progressive when it comes to a smoking ban.
"What the Blade didn't say is that Airpath is selling its downtown headquarters and leaving Toledo for greener pastures."
From the Airpath website:
"Airpath Wireless, Inc. 715 Jefferson Ave. Toledo, OH 43624 USA"
"Boston Millennia Partners is pleased to announce its recent investment in Airpath Wireless’ $6 million Series A Preferred Stock financing. Airpath Wireless is a privately held wireless services company focused on managing roaming and back-office services for hotspot providers. Boston Millennia Partners led the financing, and Jean-Yves Lagarde, Partner at Boston Millennia, joined the Airpath Board of Directors."
Come on Toledo government. The Glass City needs to move toward a more arts, culture, and technology-based city. That is if you subscribe to Dr. Richard Florida's ideas for improving the economy of a city or region, which Mayor Ford does support. At least in theory he does.
Back to the Mental story about Airpath:
"A person well-connected with the industry says, "In order to even begin to attract executive management, Airpath has to be relocated to Boston, as no self-respecting potential VP-type would ever relocate to Toledo. It's too bad for the City of Toledo." "
posted by jr at 04:26 P.M. EST on Wed Apr 21, 2004 #
Sad it's gone now, my favorite web-page is now history, thanks to you-know-who. It is a sad day in Toledo when you can't make a statement without certain people throwing a wrench into the works. I pray for the day I retire to another City and State, beats living in an environment where you have no say in anything, or you have to keep looking over your shoulder for more of Madigans personal Nazi Regime.
posted by memorex at 11:36 A.M. EST on Sat Apr 24, 2004 #
From a Russ Lemmon column, appearing in the Sunday, April 25 paper.
"I don't recall specifically where, but I'm pretty sure I read on a Web site -- one that constantly stomps its feet in protest of Toledo's smoking ban -- that an area beer distributor says sales are down 5 percent in Toledo and up 9 percent in the suburbs."
He's being sarcastic, right? I mean, are we to believe he doesn't know that he read that on TheMentalBlock.net? Where else would that stat be?
Hey, TheMentalBlock.net is offline again, as of Noon today.
Back to Lemmon:
"These figures, according to the Web site, are an indication of the "magnitude" of business dollars flowing from Toledo to the suburbs as a result of the smoking ban."
"I remember having to reread the story because, in my 45 years on this planet, I had never seen "magnitude" and "5 percent" in the same paragraph."
"The Web site's alarmist tone reminded me of the time I saw John Orr, the owner of the Bronze Boar, on the TV news whining about the smoking ban being "disastrous" for the city. He was among the doom-and-gloomers claiming business was down at least 25 percent at Toledo bars."
"Perhaps Mr. Orr should become a contributing writer to that whiny Web site."
posted by jr at 11:19 A.M. EST on Sun Apr 25, 2004 #
TheMentalBlock.net owner mentioned that the website could come back under a different name, such as TheNutBlock. I don't think so. As of 17-Apr-2004, Paul Hem owns TheNutBlock.net, TheNutBlock.com, and TheNutBlock.org. Now this is becoming a bizarre and childish game.
So let's join in. How about we come up with new domain names and see if Paul buys them? The word "block" has to appear somewhere in the name.
Anyway, how about:
BlockedIn.com
ToledoBlockWatch.com
BlockAndLoad.com
BowelBlockage.com
Duds. I'm not that creative. But they are available.
A Sunday whois on thementalblock.net
Registrant:
rusin, anna (AYPLBRZAUD)
ul.Jana Pawla II 66
Elk, poland 19-300
PL
Domain Name: THEMENTALBLOCK.NET
Administrative Contact:
rusin, anna (37739072P) mentalblock2@hotmail.com
ul.Jana Pawla II 66
Elk, poland 19-300
PL
0-87-620-0056
Technical Contact:
The Mental Block (35953337O) no.valid.email@worldnic.com
1000 East Wooster
Bowling Green, OH 43403
US
419 372 2741
posted by jr at 11:50 A.M. EST on Sun Apr 25, 2004 #
Did anyone notice that TavernForTots.com is also offline? Just wondering. Thanks
posted by Guest at 05:46 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 27, 2004 #
"Did anyone notice that TavernForTots.com is also offline? Just wondering. Thanks"
The site is there, alive and well. You're missing an 's'.
The URL is www.TavernsForTots.com.
posted by jr at 09:42 P.M. EST on Tue Apr 27, 2004 #
Thanks for the info...sorry about that!!!
posted by Guest at 04:09 P.M. EST on Wed Apr 28, 2004 #
My vote goes for "Toledoblockwatch.com"
posted by slickone at 01:44 P.M. EST on Wed May 05, 2004 #
How about Thecementblock.com
posted by Guest at 05:55 P.M. EST on Wed May 12, 2004 #
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