Author Archives: jik

It’s MY desk, dammit!

I share my home office with my kids, an unfortunate necessity in a house with five bedrooms, five children, and no dedicated office space (the “office” is actually one of the bedrooms).  All the kids are fully aware of the “never, ever touch anything on Daddy’s desk” rule, but apparently the stuff on my desk… Read More »

Sears violates CAN-SPAM act

Today, I received a commercial email message from Sears Home Services, a.k.a., Sears Holdings Corporation.  They got my email address when I made a service appointment through their Web site, which I subsequently canceled when it became clear that they were going to charge me more than a local repair man. The email message contained… Read More »

Joe Fitzgerald’s token Christmas-loving Jew

To: letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com To the editor: On Dec. 10, Joe Fitzgerald wrote about Irina Koltoniuc, his favorite Christmas-loving Jew, for the sixth time (“Jewish immigrant champions Christmas”).  Does he keep writing about the same woman because he’s too lazy to find someone else, or because he can’t find any other Jews willing to talk about how… Read More »

Mea Culpa on Westboro Baptist Church visit

Last week, I received, via email sent to one of my synagogue’s contact email addresses, a flyer from someone at the Westboro Baptist Church, announcing the protests they were planning on holding this week in front of Jewish institutions in Boston. I was appalled, and my initial reaction was to make a big deal out… Read More »

Lighthouse International: Yet another 2+ years of mailings after the first removal request

I just sent the following email message to Mark G. Ackermann, the President and CEO of Lighthouse International: Dear Mr. Ackermann, I am taking the unusual step of writing to you because my efforts to get this issue resolved “through channels” for over two years have failed. In a nutshell, I have asked Lighthouse International… Read More »

The Vilna Shul: We just don’t feel like removing you from our mailing list

November 26, 2009 Jack Swartz, President The Vilna Shul 18 Phillips Street Boston, MA 02114 Dear Mr. Swartz, I am writing to you because my efforts over the past two years to resolve this matter through The Vilna Shul’s executive director, Steven Greenberg, have been unsuccessful. Over two years ago, I embarked upon an ambitious… Read More »