Hens Lay Eggs
food for thought
Caveat Emptor
Publishing is an unregulated industry. Freelancing is unregulated, too. Gig workers don’t receive benefits like healthcare coverage, retirement contributions, and other perks that employers use to make full-time employment attractive. In short, freelancing isn’t for the faint of heart.
And it helps tremendously to have a partner who has a steady income, especially during those dry spells when gig work is hard to come by.
For me, 2023 and 2024 have been brutal. Following COVID-19, an already highly competitive market of freelance writers and editors swelled with a glut of new entries into the market, folks not wanting to go back to the office and thinking that freelancing was a quick and easy way to make lots of money. Scammers, always prevalent, increased in number to take advantage of those hungry gig workers.
I like to think I’ve grown pretty good a detecting them.
Recently, I submitted a proposal for a project consisting of writing articles. The job description stated that content briefs would be provided. The prospective client soon contacted me with flattery (my portfolio was impressive) and an offer of the lofty rate of $1.50 per word for two 1,400-word articles. No interview was needed: I was hired! Payment, the client said, would be made by the “sponsors” of the articles, not him. That’s a new twist.
The check arrived via USPS Priority Mail from Union City, NJ. A quick Google search did not find that business at the return address (in Union City, NJ) printed on the envelope. That same search found the sender’s name and business, a confectionery, in New York City, NY. As the client stated, payment would come from someone else, not him.
And so the discrepancies began.
The check was made out for the full amount: $4,050 for both articles due by February 20, 2025. He signed my contract and returned it, although the signature looks like a doctor’s prescription: impossible to read. Really, I can’t hold that against him.
The content brief contained the topics of the articles (“internet and youth development” and “social media and mental health”) and a handful of key points to address for each topic. The articles were “intended for an upcoming social sensitization program/webinar aimed at students aged 15 to 21.” I’m not sure how two articles of 1,400 words each fit into the online learning environment of a webinar, but I’m no expert in course design.
The client is Charles Hartman (which I doubt is his real name). I checked his email address (itproffllc@gmail.com). The “itproffllc” comes up with some close matches: ITPro.com (an IT company), IT Pro US, LLC (another IT company), and itprofiler+llc (a provider of journalism articles). Why would any of those companies be used to hire a writer? Granted, the article topics would be appropriate to the first two possible companies.
Hmmm.
Mr. Hartman sent me proof of delivery for the check and requested that I deposit the check immediately and send him proof of deposit. Um … no. I had to do my due diligence first.
Of course, I checked the check. The paper is not watermarked. The “rub here for validation” mark doesn’t darken when rubbed. There are no other security features I can detect with the naked eye. The ABA confirms the routing and account numbers exist as well as the bank to which those numbers are assigned.
Hmmm.
According to the check, the sponsor paying for the articles is an ammunition company. I called the company. They were closed for the weekend. So, I used their contact form to send a message requesting verification that the gig and the check are legitimate. I assured them I wouldn’t deposit the check until I received such verification.
I know they’re not. Also, why would an ammunition manufacturer want articles on those topics? Why would one company pay for articles for both companies? Why would a confectionery want an article on the assigned topics?
Hmmm.
I’ve been down this road before. The twist in this little adventure is the so-called client’s insistence that I deposit the check immediately and show proof of deposit. Were I not cynical and suspicious, I might have allowed the urgency of that request to send me to the ATM to deposit the check right away.
I can see two outcomes that would have happened had I deposited the check. One is that I’d receive another check from the other sponsoring company and be asked to refund the overpayment. Another is that Mr. Hartman would someone glean my bank information from the proof of deposit then use that information to drain my bank account. Of course, my own financial institution would penalize me for cashing the fraudulent check. Regardless, I’d be out a lot of money.
Scams like this are growing more sophisticated. Do your due diligence.
Even when you’re not the customer, caveat emptor is the rule of the day.
Hen House Publishing is happy to do business with honest customers.
Thoughts for Advent
During the homily at Sunday’s Mass and after mentioning the first Sunday of Advent as the beginning of a new liturgical year, the priest made a point of discussing our purpose, the purpose for which every human being was created. He said that everyone taught by nuns would know this by heart.
Except, I went to public school. There were no nuns.
The priest reiterated that purpose (to glorify God) and went on to speak to the many distractions thwarting that purpose. Those distractions range from “drunkenness and carousing” (from the Gospel reading) to the “anxieties of everyday life.” In other words, sin. Big sins. Little sins. We’re all sinners, he said.
I can’t disagreed. I don’t know anyone who’s perfect. In fact, this is emphasized with the Confiteor at every Mass:
I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned through my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sister, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
That point led to another, the obligation of confession. In the Roman Catholic Church, that obligation is the sacrament of reconciliation and all Catholics are supposed to confess at least once a year.
That’s one of the many ways in which I fall short of my divine purpose as a human being.
When I was a child, my mother ensured my brothers and I went to confession every three months. I hated it. I objected to going, not that my objections did me any good. I even went so far as to speak with candor: “I’m not sorry for what I did.”
“Do you think you’re perfect then?” came the horrified response from my mother.
No, I never thought I was perfect. Sure, I sinned the small, venial sins children often commit, but I didn’t like telling the priest a lie, especially within the holy environs of the church. But I was given no option not to go to confession, so I manufactured guilty feelings and confessed: Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned …
As a child, I didn’t think that going to confession to lie about feeling remorse for my sins was the right and good thing to do.
I still don’t.
I no longer waste time manufacturing feelings of self-reproach regardless of how guilty I might be. When I do err (i.e., sin) and I am sorry for that sin, I apologize. That apology is sincere, not manufactured.
I still don’t think that going to confession to lie about feeling remorse for my sins is a good thing. Maybe I’ll get lucky and a priest will read this and get back to me. I’d be interested in whether my admittedly weird sense of fair play or honesty is even close to being on-target.
It seems to me that bearing false witness (i.e., lying) in the confessional about feeling remorse for whatever I’ve done is worse than not going to confession at all. Why should God forgive me my sins when I can’t drum up any contrition? The Act of Contrition is a standard part of the sacrament of reconciliation:
My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong
and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance,
to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us.
In his name, my God, have mercy.
When I err—and I often do because I’m not perfect—it doesn’t necessarily follow that I go on my merry way and leave destruction in my wake. If I feel remorse, then I apologize and the apology is sincere. Sometimes I don’t; sometimes I’m not sorry for what I did. Should I lie about it?
Am I holier than thou? Certainly not. I’m a flawed individual. I can be cruel without realizing it; sometimes, I’m deliberately cruel. I get distracted. My undisciplined mind wanders, leading to thoughts and desires and urges that many would consider petty if not outright depraved or evil. But I’ve always been taught that actions speak louder than words, especially when it comes to being a good person. I might fantasize about doing somebody wrong, but I don’t actually do it. I know some sneaky ways to kill people—now there’s an interesting conversation!—but I don’t act upon that knowledge.
Is that sinful? Is the imagining of harming someone who hurt me as sinful as it would be do actually follow through with the deed?
Some would say it is. I say it’s human to want tit for tat, to desire an eye for an eye. (That comes from Hammurabi’s Code, by the way.)
Am I a good person? I try to be. That doesn’t mean I am or that I believe in my moral superiority over others. There’s no pretension to perfection here, only a striving toward professional excellence and personal integrity. I don’t always achieve that goal, but does anybody?
Regardless, I haven’t been to confession in at least a couple of decades.
I won’t lie to the priest that I feel remorse when I don’t … assuming I could even remember the list of my sins. Perhaps that will count against me on Judgment Day.
Advent is a season of joyful anticipation. It’s also a season of reflection.
Where do your thoughts take you?
What’s best? It depends.
The week started out warm, warmer than normal for the week before Thanksgiving. Wednesday came with rain and wind and dropping temperatures. Thursday dawns with snow on the ground. By Friday, most of the snow had melted, but temperatures are still cold.
Winter has come.
The pending arrival of winter results in many horse owners blanketing their horses long before temperatures dip close to freezing.
Some blanket their horses because they’re still showing their horses. Judges don’t like to see scruffy, fluffy winter coats in the show ring. Blankets combined with keeping horses stalled under bright lights as the days grow short helps horses retain their summer coats—or at least delays the onset of winter coat growth.
I don’t particularly condone the practice, but I do understand it.
Other people blanket their horses for other reasons. My best friend blankets one of her geldings because he typically does not grow a thick winter coat to protect him from the cold. She also confines him within the shelter of a stall (in an insulated barn) when the weather is inclement. He seems to thrive under such pampering, so it works for them. (Her other horse grows a more robust winter coat.)
I firmly believe, however, that most horses do not need to be blanketed as a routine practice.
Horses evolved on the steppes of Asia. It’s cold there, really cold in the winter. The wind blows incessantly. Horses evolved to live and thrive in that inhospitable climate, which means most modern breeds are built like boilers. That means they’re built to retain heat. (Desert breeds like the Arabian horse tend to be built more like radiators to disperse heat.)
A horse’s natural diet aligns with the evolutionary development to retain heat. Digestion in the equine hind gut ferments the grasses (and other forage) to produce heat. The horse grows a thick, sometimes long, winter coat. Long guard hairs protect the soft inner coat. Piloerection fluffs up the coat to trap warm air next to the skin. That layer of protected warm air is called loft. The horse’s large muscle groups build heat throught contraction via movement and even shivering. The lower legs and hooves are particularly well designed to withstand standing in snow without losing functional capability.
Horses are built for winter.
I currently have three horses: a Morgan-Arabian gelding, a Halflinger mare, and a Morgan mare. The Morgan mare is a recent acquisition. I’ve had horses for over 40 years. Seldom in those decades have I seen the need to blanket any of my horses.
But I have blanketed my horses—not often—when I knew they need the extra protection.
I let the horse be my guide. If the weather is cold (below freezing), wet (raining, not snowing), and windy, then I’ll bring them indoors. When a horse’s coat is soaked through, the horse cannot build and retain heat, and its ability to stay warm becomes compromised. My barn is not insulated and it is drafty (sometimes downright breezy), but it offers a lot more protection from the elements than being outdoors. If one of the horses is shivering, that indicates the horse is uncomfortably cold. I’ll towel-dry the horse as best I can and blanket the animal to help it build and conserve warmth.
The “blanket or not to blanket” debate rages on. And I do mean rage. It’s as heated (hah, see the pun!) as the debate among writers and editors regarding the Oxford comma. The solution to both is the same: no one-size-fits-all solution works for all occasions. That warrants flexibility and discerning judgment rather than rigid reliance upon rules. Changing variables factor in the decision to retain a a grammatically incorrect sentence (or sentence fragment) or to blanket my horse, a decision always slanted toward the question of what’s best.
Not what’s correct. What’s best.
That illustrates the arts of writing and editing and the reality of good horsekeeping.
Author
Hard boiled, scrambled, over easy, and sunny side up: eggs are the musings of Holly Bargo, the pseudonym for the author.
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