150+ OUPS utility poles in Norwood, Ohio?

On Williams Ave. at
Hazel Ave., Norwood

Duke Energy has been aggressively replacing old utility poles in Norwood, Ohio with new ones. In many cases, the old pole has other utilities attached, typically Cincinnati Bell phone lines or Time Warner Cable cable lines. Duke's contractor cuts the top of the old pole off, leaving the other utility lines attached, and may mark "OUPS" on the old pole with white spray paint (see picture). OUPS stands for Ohio Utilities Protection Service and it means, in this case, that the pole is slated to be removed.

The other utilities move their lines to the new pole and then the old pole is removed. That's the plan, at least, and many times it works well. But here in Norwood it hasn't. I estimate that there are over 150 old, OUPS utility poles lining our streets.

I have embarked on a project to document these poles and report them to city officials so that they can take action. I have a lot on my plate right now and this is a low priority so it will likely take me at least a year to do this. I'm hoping that some of these poles will be removed before I finish my project. As I do, I will publish the results here; there is no reason not to make them public.

At the same time, I have noticed a set of steel utility poles on Montgomery Road that are rusting and need to be scraped and painted. Some are currently being used but many no longer have a use. As a related project, I'm going to document these and see if someone (the City of Norwood or Duke Energy) can repair or remove these eyesores.

It's all about improving the city that I live in.

Illegal phone calls to my business — June 2014

For the month of June, I'm going to log illegal phone calls made to my business. As a business, my phone number is easy to find and is not on the National Do Not Call Registry. I'll let you research why these calls are illegal and you can submit a comment if you disagree. I have checked each number using Google search to insure that it isn't for a legitimate business.

June is done. Almost 50% of the calls to my business were illegal. My conclusion: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which is responsible for enforcing the laws and regulations, has totally lost control over the marketers.

On June 10, I removed all of my blocked numbers. Calls to a blocked number go directly to voice mail without my phone even ringing. Also note that I don't use the word "Hello" when I answer the phone; some systems incorrectly key off of that. I have Reveal from Cincinnati Bell which makes it harder for anonymous or private callers from calling my business. I did not include missed calls and there were a few of those the last week when I was on vacation.

If one of these phone numbers is yours and you want it redacted, please contact me by email.

Phone Number	Caller Identifier Name	Date, Time of Call	Type of Call	Business Mentioned or Note
402-260-1555	West Point, Nebraska	June 4 1:21 p.m.	Hang up
458-201-0551	Eugene, Oregon	June 4 5:10 p.m.	Robocall	Business loan
678-606-5652	GA, USA	June 6 11:06 a.m.	Robocall	"Google Maps service provider"
458-201-0419	Eugene, Oregon	June 9 1:13 p.m.	Hang up
714-233-2319	Huntington Beach, California	June 9 2:02 p.m.	Hang up
714-233-2319	Huntington Beach, California	June 9 2:34 p.m.	Robocall	"Small business loan up to $250,000"
661-295-8596	Palmdale, California	June 10 8:41 p.m.	Robocall	"Political call," "SBA grant for exports"
215-383-1717	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	June 11 4:33 p.m.	Silence	Waited for 30 seconds after answering.
216-278-0121	Cleveland, Ohio	June 13 3:56 p.m.	Hang up
206-858-8178	Seattle, Washington	June 16 1:47 p.m.	2-second rule
661-295-8596	Tullahoma, Tennessee	June 16 9:41 p.m.	Robocall	Recycle your electronics.
727-938-0000	Tarpon Springs, Florida	June 18 1:44 p.m.	Robocall	U.S. Federal Data Corporation (see note 1)
253-236-2670	Kent, Washington	June 19 2:52 p.m.	Hang up
361-400-1007	Yorktown, Texas	June 23 12:18 p.m.	Hang up
513-452-5045	Harrison, Ohio	June 23 12:47 p.m.	Robocall	"Someone has claimed your Google business listing."
513-247-****	Cincinnati, Ohio	June 25 4:03 p.m.	Spoofed; Silence	See note 2.
214-440-0271	Plano, Texas	June 26 2:17 p.m.	One ring	See note 3.
800-646-6942	Toll Free	June 30 7:24 p.m.	Hang up
800-646-6942	Toll Free	June 30 6:45 p.m.	Silence	Waited for 20 seconds after answering.

Times are in Eastern Daylight Time (U.S.A.)

Explanation of type of call

2-second rule: The marketer must talk to me within two seconds after I have finished my greeting. This marketer violated that rule.
Hang up: I answered the phone and the marketer hung up on me without speaking.
Robocall: An automated system called me.
Silence: After I answer the call, give my company name and say, "This is Bruce," the marketer does not respond. The note shows how long I waited for a response.
Spoofed: See note 2.

Note 1: The Better Business Bureau has given the U.S. Federal Data Corporation an "F" rating.

Note 2: The caller actually spoofed my company's fax number. When I answered it, there was silence and I hung up after 15 seconds. There is no way my fax machine placed this call. I don't know if this is technically illegal, but I'm wondering how many other people they're calling using my fax number.

Note 3: This call only rang one time and left the caller identifier but hung up before the second ring. My understanding is that marketers try to time the number of rings to avoid voice mail.

There are a number of services for tracking these types of phone numbers but there are too many to choose from. I will use the format here instead but just for one month.

Updated July 6.