Author: <span>Ron Charest</span>

…And Other Comments on Spammers and Hackers

My rant on being hacked and spammed
Programmer At Work

When I started this website over two years ago, I envisioned a comfortable family-type website that could help our far-flung family keep in touch.  I wasn’t a newbie at running websites as I had operated a “commercial” website for the five years prior to my divorce (commercial in the sense that I had hopes of making money off it, not that I actually did make money). 

I was well aware of the threats from hackers, and the annoyance of getting hundreds of daily spam e-mails offering everything from increased site traffic to earning thousands, even millions, of dollars overnight using whatever money-making system the particular spammer was pushing. It was about three years between the times I shut down my flagship “RCM TravelSite” to the time I started “The Charest Family on the Web.”  I have been shocked at how the Internet community has changed over those years.

Tech Talk

This And That
This And That

I just wanted to wish all mothers reading this website, and even those who don’t read it, a very happy and belated Mother’s day. Here’s hoping that everyone had a lovely day and was able to spend at least a short while with family and close friends.

I also wanted to say a few words after a very long and busy month.

Family Stories

A Preview of Things to Come?

an approaching storm over lake Michigan
The Gathering Storm

We’ve been having what local news stations are referring to as “nor’easter.” Loosely translated, this appears to mean a major storm affecting the entire North Eastern part of the United States. Had I not read this in the local newspapers, I’d of thought we were brushed by a hurricane even larger than Katrina.

Family Stories

Opinions & Commentary

Easter Bunny Smile
Easter Smile

I just wanted to wish all Christians a Happy Easter celebration. Although raised in a household with a Catholic Dad and Lutheran Mom, I’m not much of a practicing Christian of any flavor now-a-days (neither Protestant or Catholic). Winnie, as a Buddhist with essentially no exposure to Christianity before meeting me, doesn’t really understand the significance of today’s celebration.

For us, today has been a quiet day dedicated to unpacking boxes and arranging the house. But I do remember some of my Bible teachings, and want to reflect on them briefly.

Family Stories

Our House With  Dogwood In Flower
Our House With Dogwood Tree In Bloom

On this Easter Sunday, 2007, I’d like to share a few neighborhood pictures of what spring looks like in our new home.

But you’ll need to click the “More” link to see them… Consider this news post is several thousand words long!

Family Stories

Family Stories

Typical Big Box Store
An Empty Big Box Store

All we wanted to do was return a vacuum cleaner.  We had purchased it 5 days earlier, broken it after 20 minutes total use, and decided to get a different model.  By the time we were successful we had involved most of the Wal-Mart’s night shift, provided entertainment for other shoppers, yelled at the store manager and received personal guidance on choosing a vacuum cleaner from the housewares department manager.

All of this only took about one hour.  What a night.

Family Stories

Home Sweet Home
Home Sweet Home

We’re still moving stuff into our new house, but now we’re actually living there.  Last Friday we had the cable guy hook up our television and Internet service.  We moved our venerable futon bed, set it up in the downstairs bedroom, and that was it.

Time to move in!

Family Stories

Flying Mail
Flying Mail

In my continuing series of letters, I’ve had the opportunity to write to columnist Andrew Sullivan. “Andy” is a conservative columnist who writes for a number of publications, including “Time” magazine and “The Atlantic,” both their print and on-line publications. The occasion for my letters was being fed up with Andy expressing shock at the latest public outrage by shock-jock Ann Coulter.

Advisory: Don’t click over the fold if you get the vapors from adult subject matter.

Opinions & Commentary