General notice...

Guys, I've just had several emails saying that people, including some of you, have requested to link to me on Facebook. Obviously, you know who you are!

This sounds completely daft, but I didn't even know I had a Facebook account. I guess I must have set it up some time ago at someone's request and then forgotten about it.

It's all good - but I'm a bit at sea with it, having never done it before. Please bear with me for a few days while I try and discover what the heck Facebook is all about and how it works, huh?

How green and middle-aged sounding is that? Oh dear oh dear...

And if anyone feels like giving me some tips or pointers - all advice gladly received!

Cheers guys - C

Hi Ceri, and thanks for the add! The best advice I can give you is to stay away from the quizzes and gifts. They seem to be spam engines. The only thing I do from time to time is the "top 5" lists. They're probably also a bit spammy, but it's just one application instead of many.

Check out this article from Time magazine: "Why Facebook Is for Old Fogies" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1879169,00.html

We oldsters are taking back the 'net!

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I really like all them "Aster" guitars. You know, like the Stratoc, Telec and Jazzm.

Haha, thanks russianracehorse!

All a bit confusing at first glance, but I'll get up to speed on it shortly. And thanks for all the others who seem to have added me in the last few hours...!

My uncle in Boston has been perstering me for ages to get on Facebook, so I presume it was at his insistence that I must have set up an account - and then promptly forgotten about it...

Cheers guys - C

It's not me, not that I wouldn't want you as a friend, Ceri, but I've only heard negative comments about Facebook lately, so I've not registered.

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Yes indeed: something I'm very conscious of, and one of the reasons I've avoided most of these things so far.

Also, many of those companies make revenue by selling the personal information they collect from us to marketers and who knows who else. Which is why spam often increases after people join them. A glance at the agreement that most sign without reading upon joining is very instructive!

Quick funny aside on internet security: one of the brothers of my wife is a very high powered IT guy in online security. He has done consultancy work for many banks, including the Bank of England, the Federal Reserve and several Middle Eastern banks (about which there's another funny story - for another time).

To this day I don't do online banking because of the terrible tales he as told us about our vulnerabilities in that medium.

Just heard last week that he had done some online bank transactions himself - and had his identity stolen. In no time £7000/$10,500 had been lifted from his bank account!

Talk about "physician heal thyself"!!!

- C

Hell's teeth! That is not funny at all. I do hope ultimately it wasn't your personal loss? Could you get it back, one way or another?

My brother-in-law wasn't really responsible for the lapse in security he suffered, and so of course was refunded by the bank when the error emerged...

What the heck: I'll tell you that other story about him right here.

He was brought in by a big bank in a Middle Eastern country which shall remain nameless, supposedly to troubleshoot their new computer security arrangements, but in reality to give them a comforting pat on the back about what an excellent job they'd done.

Members of the board assembled and he sat down at a computer in front of them and proceeded to hack their system and potentially remove billions before their eyes. He said it took him about five minutes, more than half of which was picking up from the floor certain board members who'd just about fainted away at what he'd done to them.

Unfortunately, one of those members, and the one in charge of the security project he'd just demolished, turned out the be the crown prince of the country in question. Making a royal fool of this fella in front of his colleagues was such a seriously bad mistake that my brother-in-law was advised to leave the country absolutely instantly, without even returning to his hotel, and never come back.

Which he did...



Of course not. As I hope you can tell.

Onward and upward!

Cheers - C

Lord, what a nightmare! And ultimately in a case like that there may be no lesson to learn. The same thing could presumably happen all over again and little to be done to prevent it.

How miserable.

Cheers - C

It's funny, cause both my aunts want me to join But I tend to think it's another Myspace. (Just a more lowsy one in my opinion.)

Ceri , interesting thread , i just put a couple of pic's on my facebook page , i have'nt written any thing yet right now the drummer and guitar player in the band are working on a myspace for the band so people can hear the music and maybe buy it as well.

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you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.