Here are two new things for you to look at:

Sugarplum Fairy, Sugarplum Fairy from jack maatman on Vimeo.

Mom from jack maatman on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

I’m frustrated.

Here’s the backstory: I use wellsfargo.com online banking a lot. They are my bank and I check up on my accounts often. Last fall I started to notice something, I was mistyping my password and still gaining entry. Instead of investigating it right away, I assumed that I was just imagining mistyping and I was actually typing it right. At Christmas time I was at home in Iowa and it happened again. I investigated. I typed my passwords without any capital letters, I got in. I typed it with capital letters, I got in. Weird.

Maybe I just have two passwords associated with my account. That would be strange, but not unheard of considering my history with WF. It was the holidays, I decided to let it go for now.

Today it happened again. I typed in my password with different letters capitalized, I got in.

Wells Fargo passwords are not case-sensitive. I decided to call the online banking number. The first guy I talked to was ready to admit that their passwords were in fact NOT CASE SENSITIVE. I was shocked. How could a billion dollar company not be able to do something I figured out in my spare time last week?I do understand their users are more than mine, but it seems pretty basic, right?

Every other Wells Fargo service that requires a login, has case sensitive passwords:

• Wells Fargo Financial
• Wells Fargo Broker (?)
• Securities
• Employment Opportunities (!)
• Advantage Funds
• and lastly…Wachovia (!!)

This was not hard to find, Google did the work for me.

So. An email I was to write, yes? Yes.

“There’s a great little link, Contact Us, on the top of your main page, click there. Then click, Email us.” So I draft a response:

I’ve discovered that Wells Fargo Online Banking passwords are NOT case-sensitive. Googling the issue has shown that every other Wells Fargo service that requires a login, Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, Wells Fargo Financial, Wells Fargo Securities, Wachovia (!), and Wells Fargo Broker (all just on the first page of googling), all have case-sensitive passwords, but Wells Fargo Main Online Banking page does not have case-sensitive passwords.

I found an article dating back to September of 2008, http://www.pcsympathy.com/2008/09/05/wells-fargo-passwords-are-not-case-sensitive/ highlighting the fact that your passwords are not case sensitive.

I’m very surprised by your lack of online security in this issue. The woman I spoke to in online service assured me that Wells Fargo is the leader in online banking, but I question that claim due to your lack of basic security on the accounts of your clients.

I am web savvy and I run my own basic website–personal blog and resume. I’ve recently needed to password protect content on my own site and I was able to make case sensitive passwords on my own, without too much trouble. I in now way assume that I have nearly as many people using my website as you do, but I was able to do it on a very small scale, very easily.

Security is extremely important when it comes to online banking and the place to start would be with a secure entry point into your service.

Please fix this issue as soon as possible, guaranteeing my safety when it comes to online banking with Wells Fargo. I’m very happy with the service at Wells Fargo, but this issue is big enough that I’m considering switching banks because of it.

I add my telephone number and we’re good to go, right?

“You’re response is too long. Please limit your comments to approximately 20 lines.”

What?! I’m limited in how verbose I can be when complaining? If I only had this luxury when it came to clients! I’m sorry, your notes are too long, please resubmit them. BAH!

So, I pare down my response to the bare minimum.

I’ve discovered that Wells Fargo Online Banking passwords are NOT case-sensitive. Googling the issue has shown that every other Wells Fargo service that requires a login, Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, Wells Fargo Financial, Wells Fargo Securities, Wachovia (!), and Wells Fargo Broker (all just on the first page of googling), all have case-sensitive passwords, but Wells Fargo Main Online Banking page does not have case-sensitive passwords.

I found an article dating back to September of 2008, http://www.pcsympathy.com/2008/09/05/wells-fargo-passwords-are-not-case-sensitive/ highlighting the fact that your passwords are not case sensitive.

Please fix this issue as soon as possible, guaranteeing my safety when it comes to online banking with Wells Fargo. I’m very happy with the service at Wells Fargo, but this issue is big enough that I’m considering switching banks because of it.

Less personal, but under the legal limit. Success. Well, kindof. This is what the person on the other end will see:

Not only was my length of comment regulated, any formatting I added (simple double return for reading ease) was removed. DOUBLE BAH!

As I stated in my original letter, the second woman I spoke to said “Wells Fargo is a Leader in Online Banking.” While that may be true in numbers, it’s not true in terms of innovation and security.

Dear Wells Fargo,

Please stop sucking.

Love,

jack.

UPDATE 3.43 PM

I’ve received a message from Wells Fargo:

Dear Jack Maatman:

Wells Fargo uses layered security. Layered security means using multiple security measures to prevent and detect unauthorized account access. Wells Fargo uses many security tools such as secured websites, fraud monitoring systems and session encryption. Security questions are an additional layer of protection for your accounts online.

For more information about security questions, please visit wellsfargo.com/securityquestions

I have forwarded your comments to our Project Management Team who are always interested in ideas for improving our service. We find that the best ideas often come from our customers.

Your views are always welcome. Thank you for banking with Wells Fargo.

Sincerely,
LeAnne Wojo
Wells Fargo Online Customer Service

Wells Fargo is dedicated to protecting your information. To learn about our security measures and what we do to protect your accounts online, go to wellsfargo.com/privacy_security/fraud/

I’m not impressed or dissatisfied. They seem to know this is a problem and skirt the immediate issue by pointing in other directions. Look, that elephant stands at the door when you’re logged in! It’s big! I think there is a special logical fallacy name for that, but in my experience it’s called, LOOK OVER THERE!

I like how they use jargon to intimidate me. Layered Security. I don’t believe I’ve ever set up security questions.

But, it’s fun to be angry at a giant corporation who won’t care if they lose my business. At least they can vote now, too.

Oh, and if the layered security is so incredible, why do all their other websites use case sensitive passwords?

had a morning coffee at la bento and I wrote some one liners.

Here is page 2:

The incessant barking of the distant dog tears my concentration to shreds.

Trash day brings opportunity for those with and without truck.

Today the black cars look grey and the blue shine bright.

There are some that talk like that, but they are not here.

The acrid smell of old dirt distracts my nostrils from the fresh felled rain.

If grammar was your study, why accept such a trivial and exhausting position?

__

page one: twitter.com/jackmaatman

page three: facebook

Albums that I’ve spent most of time with in 2009:

Midnight Organ Fight – Frightened Rabbit(*)

For Emma, Forever Ago – Bon Iver*

Sigh No More – Mumford and Sons

Atlantic Ocean – Richard Swift*

Langhorne Slim – Langhorne Slim**

Hometowns – The Rural Alberta Advantage

Dark Was the Night – Disk 1 - Various Artists

Sun Giant – Fleet Foxes

Not Animal – Margo & the Nuclear So and So’s*

I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers*

Honorable Mentions:

Veckatimest – Grizzly Bear

Gather, Form & Fly – Megafaun*

North Hills – Dawes*

In Rainbows  – Radiohead

Most of these albums came out in ’09, but not all. I picked the self titled Langhorne Slim album because it has my favorite songs on it. He released an album this year too, Be Set Free, but I spent a lot more of my time with the rest of his work this year. My list isn’t all encompassing or exhaustive, it’s just what I enjoyed listening to this year. Most of what I discovered this year is due to Brian and Jon. Thank you both for consuming and recommending so much good music.

* denotes seeing them live this year. I was going to see Frightened Rabbit, but it sold out–I’m retarded.

one of them best of lists is on its way. until then:

I like them moving pictures. I’ve started watching Friday Night Lights and I really enjoy it. It’s very good TV.

Watching so much TV-on-DVD has made me want to write a TV show. I have no idea if I’ll do it, it seems like quite a time commitment, but my thinking about story has shifted from two hours to many many hours.

Some have suggested we’re in the Golden Age of TV. I tend to agree. There hasn’t been a time in my memory where there have been so many quality shows on that I have to pick which ones I give time to, knowing that I’ll eventually go back and watch the ones I missed.

Shows I know I’ll watch eventually:

• Deadwood
• Sopranos
• The Wire
• Mad Men

They are all daunting because they are multiple seasons and come highly recommended by many sources. It’s committing to watch a 61.3 hour movie.

Here are two reels I’ve edited for coworkers. Enjoy!

Larry Whitaker

Mil Bagul

My reel and scenes from projects I’ve worked on…

In college I was introduced to Exploding Dog. I asked for and received one of his books for christmas. I have misplaced it (read, it’s in that basement somewhere). This summer Sam took part in Layer Tennis, one of my favorite things on the internet. I forgot about his work. It was really great to be reminded of him. My sources have linked me to another one of his daily-ish comics, Dog Hates Me. I’m astonished at how great it is. Sam is a very talented man, but I thought maybe I grew out of that sense of humor somehow. I’m consistently smiling/laughing at every post.

I need to call Adam back. I think I’ll do that now…when I’m through with this very essential blog post.

You are what you like or You’re only as good as your taste or Something in Latin that Makes Me Sound Smart. I guess I don’t always believe this, because I know plenty of people that I find to be very wonderful people, who have very different taste than I do. I tend to (I blame college for this), tell them they have bad taste when it doesn’t align with my own. I know it’s horrible and confrontational, but it’s also a little bit funny. How can one taste be any worse than another. It’s your opinion, it can’t be wrong–unless it is.

Taste is, was, and will be fascinating to me. How can we get along if we don’t agree on what is good? We just do. We argue about it. We agree that I’m right and you’re full of it. We agree that I’m full of it and you’re right. It all comes back to House, MD. That’s right, the TV show. I won’t get into it because I bang that drum too often, but it’s true, taste can change. Sometimes it doesn’t though, and that’s weird.