Oct 21 2008

Don't fax me: I'll fax you. (I'm a jerk.)

Posted by Joe Rinehart at 10:59 AM
10 comments - Categories: Off Topic

This morning I've been getting calls every two minutes or so from a fax machine that's obviously trying to dial a wrong number that happens to be my own. Thanks to caller ID, I was able to track the number back to a small company in Virginia.

I called their front desk (I love Google) and asked them to knock it off. They confirmed the fax number was theirs and that they'd be happy to.

For the next ten minutes, no rings, no beeps in ear.

Once it started back up, I called again. Asked them to stop, stating that if they didn't I'd simply occupy their fax line to stop my home line from ringing.

I don't think they understood what I meant, because their fax line is still busy receiving the full 110-page PDF of the federal bailout bill. If that doesn't do it, I'll move on to the instructions (including tax tables) for the IRS 1040.

Comments

todd sharp wrote on 10/21/08 11:37 AM

you are my hero. but next time, fax them the cfml reference...

Craig Kaminsky wrote on 10/21/08 11:37 AM

That is absolutely fantastic!! I get a few of those calls a day and they bug the sh$t out of me. Well done Joe!

Ryan wrote on 10/21/08 11:52 AM

The CFML reference is and awesome idea. If it still continues, there's always War and Peace (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2600) :)

Paul Carney wrote on 10/21/08 12:19 PM

Awesome! I will remember that for my next annoying fax call.

franz wrote on 10/21/08 2:03 PM

I once was annoyed by someone who sent me a fax. So I sent them a one page fax with a terse message. Although it was only one page, I taped the ends of the page together so that it formed a loop. A fax machine endless loop. I sent the fax at 3AM. I don't know how long it ran for but I emptied their fax of paper.

todd sharp wrote on 10/21/08 2:30 PM

Jim Priest wrote on 10/21/08 3:09 PM

We used to have a 'few' sheets of black paper we'd use to send to people with annoying fax machines. Wipe their toner right out :)

Adam Tuttle wrote on 10/24/08 10:29 AM

I was thinking along the same lines as Jim. Make a one page doc that has a black background and some small white text that says "please double check the phone number before you send that fax...", repeat it 1,000 times into a PDF, and send.