Robert Wenzel Fraud Watch Continues. Who is Chris Rossini?

April 17, 2013 – 8:18 pm by JDM

In lieu of the unbelievable information that has come to light I am now certain that one of my favorite libertarian and economic writers “Robert Wenzel” is in fact a fraud. In an article by Tim Swanson he completely outs “Wenzel” as a fraud, citing various sources and visual proof to build his case. What bothers me so much was the fact I was featured on the site many times and actually spent time promoting the cause.

I had been in contact with Chris Rossini his “producer and IT guy” several times and have documented emails proving it. I was lined up to update the look and functionality of the website. Chris and I had been back and forth several times about the project and I was assured that “RW” was in the loop but quite busy.

Chris told me several times that Mr. Wenzel travels a lot and thus I would be dealing with him mainly. This didn’t seem out of the ordinary to me. Rossini gave me answers and input for mockups I did for the site which can be seen here (very early mockup just working with wireframe). I also built them a Chrome plugin which can be found here. Nothing seemed out of place.

Looking back through the emails I can confirm that Rossini is not Wenzel and is not the same person. There are instances where I am in an email conversation with both of them talking about site slowness and display issues. I wanted to clarify this because looking on Twitter, Rossini has received a tweet or two asking him who he is and if he is in fact “Wenzel” — I don’t believe he is.

What is worth noting though is Rossini has changed his Twitter information. I have attached screenshots and you can also view the cached version of the Twitter account using Google.

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I’m not really sure what to believe anymore but seeing Chris switch his bio like that on his Twitter and Google Plus account leads me to believe there is something more than a simple misunderstanding going on here. Severing all ties with a blog and individual that I know for a fact he worked hard to gain the trust of? Very odd.

In one of the emails to me he states that “Robert doesn’t trust anyone and does not let anyone in to the backend of the website.” — knowing that Chris had recently published to EPJ it would be safe to assume he gained the trust of Wenzel. So why now does he abandon ship? Not accusing Chris of anything at all, I think he may have been duped but it would be nice for someone to set the record straight.

More as I find anything.

Update: Looking through my email here is a screenshot of Rossini accepting me on LinkedIn.

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Facebook Graph Sear… WTF?

April 17, 2013 – 7:02 pm by JDM

Has anyone seen the Facebook Graph Search interface lately? I recall the search being flush and blue to match the top bar of the site. It was smooth and when I used it seemed to function well. It wouldn’t be in your face or an eyesore.

I log on to Facebook today (I know, I hardly use it) and it looks like something out of a Visual Basic project from 1998. What is going on? See below.

Original:
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Newer:
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I’m assuming the changes were made due to confusion but holy shit, did it need to change that much!? The round corners of the search box are out of place and make for a very distracted experience. I don’t want to search with the box, I’m just annoyed with it. Applying some simple style changes just to the radius and adjusting the size makes it much more friendly.

Adjusted:
Screen Shot 2013-04-17 at 3.07.28 PM

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The EPL Arrives on NBC

April 17, 2013 – 3:46 pm by JDM

NBC Sports and the Barclay’s English Premier League has finalized a deal to bring all 380 matches to NBC television here in the United States. This deal includes streaming matches via the web and Match of the Day will be broadcast!

For the first time ever fans will have live access to all 380 games of the Barclays Premier League. Here’s how it works. All matches will be presented live on television with studio pre and post game coverage. The matches will also be streamed live via NBC Sports Live Extra. Games not aired on a designated NBC Universal channel will be made available to distributors via Premier League Extra Time, a package of overflow television channels available at no extra cost for customers who receive NBC Sports Network.

Sign me up!

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A Look At Tomorrow

April 15, 2013 – 8:56 pm by JDM

Don’t be too surprised if this is your future.

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General Zod speaks

April 15, 2013 – 3:25 pm by JDM

Fresh leak to the world, General Zod has a message for the Man of Steel. Truth be told Michael Shannon is poised to steal the show when Man of Steel hits theaters. This video is just proof.

“My name is General Zod.”

Nothing more need be said.

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Facebook Home

April 4, 2013 – 7:43 pm by JDM

There is no doubt hundreds of different writes ups about the new Facebook “phone” but the best and really the only thing you need to read is the following. A nice quote from Brad Mccarty @ The Uptake:

If I had to consider what my personal version of hell would be like, it would be senseless arguments, baseless debates and uneducated ranting, shoved into my face at all hours of the day.

It would be updates from “friends”, concerning things that nobody cares about such as little Billy’s first poo poo of the day (there will be 4 more such updates from this person in the next 24 hours.)

Oh yes, and between the times when I’m trying not to wretch from the vile filth that these so-called friends are spewing forth, I’ll be shown ads. Ads for things about which I couldn’t possibly care less. Because targeting only works if your audience is being truthful about themselves and allowing you to see it, targeted ads largely fail on me.

That’s exactly what Facebook has decided to provide, with the release of Home and its companion phone, First.

That sums it up, of course lest we forget the countless pictures of cat memes, rage faces, and horrid Instagram food photos. Can’t wait! Where do I sign up?

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Elmcrest

March 25, 2013 – 6:16 pm by JDM

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Took a ride up to the abandoned Elmcrest mental institution in Portland, CT. The site is preserved beautifully and has a wonderful open layout. It is on a main road so when visiting please be sure to use caution and always respect the grounds. The best way to get in would be parking a few buildings down, we picked a church parking lot.

The grounds served as a care facility for mentally disturbed children and kids with behavioral problems. From what I know there was no limit in terms of age and did cater to children of all ages. We found something like ten buildings on the grounds but only managed to get in to four of them. The others were accessible with some creativity but looking inside we saw one of a few dangerous situations (collapsed ceiling, water damage, mold, etc). Usually on an UrbEx (urban exploration) we bring respirators but this round, since it was the first of the season we only had ourselves, pocket knives, a small first aid kit, and flashlights. If I decided to go back to explore the other buildings then I’ll absolutely bring some respirators.

The buildings weren’t abandoned with any haste and the town of Portland has done a great job of keeping the grounds clean and the buildings well preserved. Heavy cementing, screws, and wood panels keep people out which is good as it’s important people don’t go here and destroy the grounds. My biggest issue is people destroying, spray painting, and looting any abandon building. It’s wrong to destroy. I advocate enjoyment, never destruction.

I have added some of the pictures to a Dropbox gallery, thanks Drew Coffman for the recommendation. Enjoy and of course keep your eyes peeled for more of this summer’s adventures.

Check the gallery here: [Dropbox]

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