Patrick C. Notchtree's Blog: Patrick C Notchtree
September 10, 2022
The Glamour Boys
I enjoyed this book. The only LGBT aspect of it was that many of the characters involved were allegedly gay.
What interested me was not the fact that they were gay but the politics and the inside history of that time. It has revised my view of Neville Chamberlain; far from being the weak vacillator, he was a ruthless bastard. I found the references to Bob Boothby interesting. I remember meeting him as a child.
There were also some little delightful nuggets of information, such as a reference to the bisexual Hugh Gaitskell. Often referred to as the best prime minister we never had, who knew about this aspect of the man?
I can see that for some who are not particularly interested or informed about the history of that period it could seem somewhat dull and repetitive, indeed one member likened it to a series of research papers that were oppressively dull.
What interested me was not the fact that they were gay but the politics and the inside history of that time. It has revised my view of Neville Chamberlain; far from being the weak vacillator, he was a ruthless bastard. I found the references to Bob Boothby interesting. I remember meeting him as a child.
There were also some little delightful nuggets of information, such as a reference to the bisexual Hugh Gaitskell. Often referred to as the best prime minister we never had, who knew about this aspect of the man?
I can see that for some who are not particularly interested or informed about the history of that period it could seem somewhat dull and repetitive, indeed one member likened it to a series of research papers that were oppressively dull.
July 1, 2022
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
I enjoyed reading this book. They say that opposites attract, and Luc and Oliver are certainly opposites.
I liked the author's style and one felt inside his mind. I thought it was a jolly, rollicking tale. I found it amusing and I kept wondering how much it was really true. Is this a disguised memoir?
I loved the idea that his charity was to support a very unloved and apparently unworthy bug.
It seemed obvious to me before it seemed obvious to them that fake dating was no longer fake.
There were times when I read until far too late at night, and I had to ration myself.
A friend said it reminded him of the Notting Hill / Bridget Jones genre. A good summer / holiday read.
There really is a hotel in Durham called The Honest Lawyer, although I have never visited it. So if that bit is true, how much of the rest of it is true?
I enjoyed reading this book. They say that opposites attract, and Luc and Oliver are certainly opposites.
I liked the author's style and one felt inside his mind. I thought it was a jolly, rollicking tale. I found it amusing and I kept wondering how much it was really true. Is this a disguised memoir?
I loved the idea that his charity was to support a very unloved and apparently unworthy bug.
It seemed obvious to me before it seemed obvious to them that fake dating was no longer fake.
There were times when I read until far too late at night, and I had to ration myself.
A friend said it reminded him of the Notting Hill / Bridget Jones genre. A good summer / holiday read.
There really is a hotel in Durham called The Honest Lawyer, although I have never visited it. So if that bit is true, how much of the rest of it is true?
May 8, 2022
Emma Hamilton, a life revealed
Mistress of Land and Sea: a novel about the life of Lady Emma Hamilton by David Lawrence-YoungMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had read a couple of other books by this author and as an historian by training,, I was aware of the meticulous research he puts into his historical novels; this novel on the life of Emma Hamilton is no exception. Obviously he has used his imagination to recreate dialogue and some details but within the context of known information. This makes a very readable and interesting novel that brings the reader into the world that Emma inhabited, along with her seemingly inexorable rise and eventual demise. In that world we read how she identified with the ruling classes and like so many of them totally failed to see the plight and needs of the poor, despite her humble beginnings, as revolution and war engulfed Europe.
The characteristics of her succession of male protectors are well drawn, including of course Horatio Nelson, and the author's interpretation of their nature brings them to life and stands the test of comparison with known facts.
There is an impressive bibliography which supports the author's research. This is a thoroughly readable account and lovers of historical novels will find this a rewarding read.
View all my reviews
April 25, 2022
"Gay Bar: Why We Went Out"
At the beginning of this book I wondered what was going on. So there he is on his knees in front of the blond's erection. And then he goes off on a five minute discourse into literary criticism and discussion. I wonder what the blond lad was thinking while all that was going on. He seemed to have waited patiently for fellatio to commence.
Much of the time it seems that Lin couldn’t make up his mind whether he was writing a history of the gay community as he saw it through a succession of visits to gay bars or simply the history of his own life, principally with the enigmatic "Famous". I thought "Famous" was underdeveloped in the book and I wanted to know more about him.
I'm guessing that Lin is an approximate contemporary of mine but his experience of gay life is very different. After an active period as a teenager, I was firmly closeted for decades after that while he was sampling everything that was available. Maybe that difference is why I found it interesting despite its split personality and so I enjoyed to the end.
Much of the time it seems that Lin couldn’t make up his mind whether he was writing a history of the gay community as he saw it through a succession of visits to gay bars or simply the history of his own life, principally with the enigmatic "Famous". I thought "Famous" was underdeveloped in the book and I wanted to know more about him.
I'm guessing that Lin is an approximate contemporary of mine but his experience of gay life is very different. After an active period as a teenager, I was firmly closeted for decades after that while he was sampling everything that was available. Maybe that difference is why I found it interesting despite its split personality and so I enjoyed to the end.
October 2, 2018
Interesting deveopments in Macular sight loss
It’s been an interesting few weeks with regard to macular degeneration. First there was a small study in the USA that indicated that regular small doses of sildenafil (ie Viagra) had a beneficial effect on dry macular degeneration. Some participants found the decline in vision stopped and some even experienced an improvement. So guess who started taking a daily 25mg of sildenafil! And of course it has a beneficial side effect! Lol
Then there was the news that Avastin would be approved for the treatment of wet AMD in the UK. It is apparently equally as effective as Eylea and Lucentis, the manufacturers of these had opposed the use of Avastin. But I was shocked at the cost of these drugs to the National Health Service (NHS).. Each injection of Eylea costs over £800 ($1070) and Lucentis costs over £500 ($670) a time. Avastin costs just £28 ($37) a time. I have now had many Eylea injections into my ‘wet’ right eye. There is no way I could have afforded these so thank you, NHS!
I went to the eye hospital yesterday for another injection yesterday into my wet right eye but of course they also do an eye test. My score for my dry left eye, the one I use as my right has corneal damage, showed a 10% improvement, lifting me well clear of the legal driving threshold here in the UK. Is that a normal random variation – or is it the sildenafil? With no obvious adverse effects of it, I will keep taking the sildenafil.
I noted that when I was being prepared for the injection, that they were still using Eylea. It seems there are still some legal loose ends to be tied up before Avastin can be used. And even then it will be clinical decision made for each patient rather than solely on the basis of cost. Don’t you just love the NHS?
So then I got my injection, quick and almost painless and there once more was my private lava lamp again. It faded quickly though and within a couple of hours vision was normal.
Back again at the end of November.
Then there was the news that Avastin would be approved for the treatment of wet AMD in the UK. It is apparently equally as effective as Eylea and Lucentis, the manufacturers of these had opposed the use of Avastin. But I was shocked at the cost of these drugs to the National Health Service (NHS).. Each injection of Eylea costs over £800 ($1070) and Lucentis costs over £500 ($670) a time. Avastin costs just £28 ($37) a time. I have now had many Eylea injections into my ‘wet’ right eye. There is no way I could have afforded these so thank you, NHS!
I went to the eye hospital yesterday for another injection yesterday into my wet right eye but of course they also do an eye test. My score for my dry left eye, the one I use as my right has corneal damage, showed a 10% improvement, lifting me well clear of the legal driving threshold here in the UK. Is that a normal random variation – or is it the sildenafil? With no obvious adverse effects of it, I will keep taking the sildenafil.
I noted that when I was being prepared for the injection, that they were still using Eylea. It seems there are still some legal loose ends to be tied up before Avastin can be used. And even then it will be clinical decision made for each patient rather than solely on the basis of cost. Don’t you just love the NHS?
So then I got my injection, quick and almost painless and there once more was my private lava lamp again. It faded quickly though and within a couple of hours vision was normal.
Back again at the end of November.
June 21, 2018
Giovanni's Room
Giovanni's Room by James BaldwinMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
After all the hype, I was disappointed. I only kept reading because it was the choice of a book club I attend. I just couldn't empathise with any of the characters. It on;y got interesting right at the end.
View all my reviews
April 27, 2018
Unrecognised early signs of sight loss
The more I read and learn about macular degeneration, the more I realize the signs have been there for years. It started with television actors. Some casting directors seem to have very limited tastes, especially when it comes to female actors. Several actors in the same drama would be young, blonde etc. Obviously to the taste of the (no doubt male) casting director. The trouble was I found it increasing difficult to tell them apart, which made following the story line of a drama rather awkward at times. It was fine if they were particularly distinctive, or well known and recognisable. But often I would find myself checking with my wife which character was which. There is a known condition which causes people not to recognize faces called prosopagnosia or more simply, face blindness. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosopagnosia). I thought this was what I had, and even joined a society for sufferers. The trouble was though that I had no problem with familiar faces, so it didn’t quite fit.
As I got a bit older, another issue I found was that it took longer for me to adapt to changes in light levels. This was most noticeable of sunny days when I was driving, and I looked down at the instrument panel and found I could not see it. Before my eyes had adjusted to the car interior, I had to look back at the road. I assumed that the problem was my ageing irises now could not move quickly enough to open up the pupil of my eye. But I could see the angle of the speedometer needle even if the figures round the edge could not be read. So one carries on.
As the years passed, I accommodated to these minor nuisances and as far as my vision went generally, all seemed normal. Except I was now getting new glasses more often.
I started to find glare a problem, especially when driving, for example on a bright sunny day behind a white van or car. I would screw my eyes up a bit to reduce the glare. Of course, polarised clip-on sunglasses helped with that. Another little adaptation, and life goes on. I was told the glare was caused by my mild cataracts I was developing, but as everything else seemed as usual, I was not concerned.
At one regular eye check up, I was advised to make an appointment to see a specialist at the excellent eye hospital not far from where I live. This I did.
“Who told you that you had cataracts?”
I told him and he replied, “Well, you do but they’re very mild. You main problem is macular degeneration.”
My heart felt like stone. My mother had suffered with this and so I knew a bit about it and it wasn’t good.
“I wish I had cataracts,” I said to him.
“Why?”
“Because you can do something about cataracts.”
“True,” he said.
Aged 69 I was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration in my left eye and wet in my right. For those that have never heard of this it is in fact the most common cause of blindness. The cells at the focal point of the retina, the macula start to die off, causing loss of vision directly in front. Sufferers are not totally blind because the edges of vision are not affected. An example from many years ago when I took my mother on a trip out among the mountains.
Suddenly she said, “Look at the climbers up on the crag.”
I looked and found some tiny figures high up a mountain. “I thought you couldn’t see.”
“I saw them out of the corner of my eye, Now I look straight at them and I can’t even see the bloody mountain!”
My additional problem is that because of an accident many years ago my right cornea is badly scarred meaning that for the past forty years I have relied on my left eye for vision. However, as the dry type in my left eye has no treatment available as yet (although there are some interesting developments but cures are years away), they decided to treat my right eye with injections which cause the rogue blood vessels which disrupt the macula to reduce. These injections are given straight into the eyeball which is not a lot of fun but is mercifully quick and it beats the alternative of losing sight. Discomfort level about on a par with having a small filling at the dentist, but it’s over a lot more quickly. Their reasoning is that if they can save the right retina with injections, if my left eye deteriorates too much, a corneal transplant might be possible so I can use my right eye again. I have now had fifteen injections, the interval is varied depending on the state of the retina. I have been taking a supplement designed to protect the retinas to try to halt the decline of my left eye. This is made to what is called an AREDS2 (Age Related Eye Disease Study 2) formula, the main ingredients being lutein along with zeaxanthin. The consultants at the eye hospital are happy with this, and the loss in the left eye seems to have plateaued, for the time being anyway. Fingers crossed. I am still able to drive although I am aware my vision is not what it used to be. So I am careful. Dusk is the worst time I find, especially when people in grey cars drive on a grey evening along a grey road and decide it’s not time to put any lights on yet.
So why did I start this by discussing face blindness from twenty years ago and reading my speedometer from about ten years ago? Because I now realize that these were the very earliest signs of macular degeneration starting.
Human faces are all pretty much the same – forehead, two eyes, a nose in the middle and a mouth. The brain devotes huge resources to identifying and magnifying small differences. We learn this as we grow up and facial patterns seem to be wired into us, which is why we often see ‘faces’ in objects, like looking into a fireplace into the burning coals, or the man in the moon; or in one case that went round the internet, a house that looks like Hitler. People often find the faces of other ethnic groups harder to distinguish, especially those where complexion and hair colour tend to be the same. But we learn to adjust to the fine detail and then their faces too become recognisable, But what if our eyes aren’t seeing that fine detail? I have likened the loss of vision a bit like going from high definition 1080 television back down to 720 or 640. It is in facial recognition that this is first noticed by many people. Seeing who is who at a distance becomes more difficult, and it means that people have to be closer before you can be sure who they are. Of course body language and other cues may enable you to know who the person before you can actually resolve the image of their face.
So far in my left eye I have no totally blind areas and no distorted vision, as seen on a grid square called an Amsler Grid. It’s harder to tell with my right eye of course because the cornea scatters the light. There seems to be some distortion at about ‘10 o’clock’.
So what about the changes of light? I have taken part in a study into dark adaptation as a test subject because it is now thought that the inability to quickly adjust to changes in light level is another early sign of macular degeneration. This study is ongoing.
So that’s where I am. With treatment, lutein and whatever, things seem stable. Long may they remain so.
As I got a bit older, another issue I found was that it took longer for me to adapt to changes in light levels. This was most noticeable of sunny days when I was driving, and I looked down at the instrument panel and found I could not see it. Before my eyes had adjusted to the car interior, I had to look back at the road. I assumed that the problem was my ageing irises now could not move quickly enough to open up the pupil of my eye. But I could see the angle of the speedometer needle even if the figures round the edge could not be read. So one carries on.
As the years passed, I accommodated to these minor nuisances and as far as my vision went generally, all seemed normal. Except I was now getting new glasses more often.
I started to find glare a problem, especially when driving, for example on a bright sunny day behind a white van or car. I would screw my eyes up a bit to reduce the glare. Of course, polarised clip-on sunglasses helped with that. Another little adaptation, and life goes on. I was told the glare was caused by my mild cataracts I was developing, but as everything else seemed as usual, I was not concerned.
At one regular eye check up, I was advised to make an appointment to see a specialist at the excellent eye hospital not far from where I live. This I did.
“Who told you that you had cataracts?”
I told him and he replied, “Well, you do but they’re very mild. You main problem is macular degeneration.”
My heart felt like stone. My mother had suffered with this and so I knew a bit about it and it wasn’t good.
“I wish I had cataracts,” I said to him.
“Why?”
“Because you can do something about cataracts.”
“True,” he said.
Aged 69 I was diagnosed with dry macular degeneration in my left eye and wet in my right. For those that have never heard of this it is in fact the most common cause of blindness. The cells at the focal point of the retina, the macula start to die off, causing loss of vision directly in front. Sufferers are not totally blind because the edges of vision are not affected. An example from many years ago when I took my mother on a trip out among the mountains.
Suddenly she said, “Look at the climbers up on the crag.”
I looked and found some tiny figures high up a mountain. “I thought you couldn’t see.”
“I saw them out of the corner of my eye, Now I look straight at them and I can’t even see the bloody mountain!”
My additional problem is that because of an accident many years ago my right cornea is badly scarred meaning that for the past forty years I have relied on my left eye for vision. However, as the dry type in my left eye has no treatment available as yet (although there are some interesting developments but cures are years away), they decided to treat my right eye with injections which cause the rogue blood vessels which disrupt the macula to reduce. These injections are given straight into the eyeball which is not a lot of fun but is mercifully quick and it beats the alternative of losing sight. Discomfort level about on a par with having a small filling at the dentist, but it’s over a lot more quickly. Their reasoning is that if they can save the right retina with injections, if my left eye deteriorates too much, a corneal transplant might be possible so I can use my right eye again. I have now had fifteen injections, the interval is varied depending on the state of the retina. I have been taking a supplement designed to protect the retinas to try to halt the decline of my left eye. This is made to what is called an AREDS2 (Age Related Eye Disease Study 2) formula, the main ingredients being lutein along with zeaxanthin. The consultants at the eye hospital are happy with this, and the loss in the left eye seems to have plateaued, for the time being anyway. Fingers crossed. I am still able to drive although I am aware my vision is not what it used to be. So I am careful. Dusk is the worst time I find, especially when people in grey cars drive on a grey evening along a grey road and decide it’s not time to put any lights on yet.
So why did I start this by discussing face blindness from twenty years ago and reading my speedometer from about ten years ago? Because I now realize that these were the very earliest signs of macular degeneration starting.
Human faces are all pretty much the same – forehead, two eyes, a nose in the middle and a mouth. The brain devotes huge resources to identifying and magnifying small differences. We learn this as we grow up and facial patterns seem to be wired into us, which is why we often see ‘faces’ in objects, like looking into a fireplace into the burning coals, or the man in the moon; or in one case that went round the internet, a house that looks like Hitler. People often find the faces of other ethnic groups harder to distinguish, especially those where complexion and hair colour tend to be the same. But we learn to adjust to the fine detail and then their faces too become recognisable, But what if our eyes aren’t seeing that fine detail? I have likened the loss of vision a bit like going from high definition 1080 television back down to 720 or 640. It is in facial recognition that this is first noticed by many people. Seeing who is who at a distance becomes more difficult, and it means that people have to be closer before you can be sure who they are. Of course body language and other cues may enable you to know who the person before you can actually resolve the image of their face.
So far in my left eye I have no totally blind areas and no distorted vision, as seen on a grid square called an Amsler Grid. It’s harder to tell with my right eye of course because the cornea scatters the light. There seems to be some distortion at about ‘10 o’clock’.
So what about the changes of light? I have taken part in a study into dark adaptation as a test subject because it is now thought that the inability to quickly adjust to changes in light level is another early sign of macular degeneration. This study is ongoing.
So that’s where I am. With treatment, lutein and whatever, things seem stable. Long may they remain so.
March 31, 2018
Book piracy - Google complicit?
I guess like many authors I set up a Google alert for references to my book. It crops up occasionally and it’s usually of no concern.
The other day I got one offering a free download of my book from storage.googleapis.com. Naturally I was concerned about piracy of my book, although my book is on Google Play etc. it’s not free.
When I clicked the link I was offered a PDF. This turned out to be a page that described my book using my own blurb etc, and a download link. This took me to a site called eaststemcell.com which wanted money for a subscription after which I could download thousands of books for free – including mine.
At the foot of the page was a link called DMCA and as I knew my book is copyrighted I clicked this. The page described in detail how to lodge a complaint and then had a link to another page to fill in a contact form. Guess what, 404.
So I decided to contact Google support to see why storage.googleapis.com seemed to be in collusion with pirates. Here is the ensuing conversation:
Google Support
Yogesh
8:35 PM
You are now connected to Yogesh, who will be with you momentarily.
Yogesh
8:35 PM
Hi, thanks for contacting Google Books Partner Program support! How can I assist you?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:36 PM
I have a book on Google Books and I find it seems to be being pirated by eaststemcell.com via googleapis.com. How can this be prevented because they have not sent me any royalties?
Yogesh
8:37 PM
I understand that your book is available on Google Books via googleapis.com without your consent. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:40 PM
Not quite. I did submit it to Google Books, but I assume that Google would pay royalties. It seems to be offered by eaststemcell.com without my consent. They claim almost 4000 downloads and say it's had 566 reviews. I received an alert about this a short while ago and the link was to googleapis which then took me to eaststemcell.com
Yogesh
8:41 PM
Could you please share the URL of the book in question?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:42 PM
https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&...
Patrick C Notchtree
8:42 PM
That gets you a PDF which has a link which takes you to eaststemcell
Yogesh
8:43 PM
Thanks for sharing the link.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:43 PM
This is via storage/googleapis.com
Yogesh
8:44 PM
Please allow me a few minutes to look into your concern.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:44 PM
Then you get this
Patrick C Notchtree
8:44 PM
http://eaststemcell.com/files/storage...
Patrick C Notchtree
8:45 PM
Their DCMA contact link is a 404!
Yogesh
8:48 PM
Thanks for waiting.
Yogesh
8:49 PM
The book "The Clouds Still Hang" is available on Google Play in GB at the price of GBP 2.99. You'll receive earnings from Google if your book has been bought from Google Play.
Yogesh
8:50 PM
The link that you've shared leads to the eaststemcell web page and if your book is available on this site I suggest you to contact the eaststemcell and also, the DMCA link is working on my end.
Yogesh
8:50 PM
Here is their DMCA link: http://eaststemcell.com/storage/dmca....
Patrick C Notchtree
8:52 PM
Correct. It gives lots of details but they say they can only handle a complaint from their contact page which is 404. Try the link in that page.
Yogesh
8:54 PM
I suggest you to scroll down to the bottom of this page: http://eaststemcell.com/files/storage.... You'll find a DMCA hyperlink that should not give you a 404 error as it's working on my end.
Yogesh
8:55 PM
Hi, are you there?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:56 PM
That's just the same page again
Patrick C Notchtree
8:56 PM
It sends you round in circles but you always get directed to the contact page in the end which is 404
Yogesh
8:57 PM
Could you please try this link once: http://eaststemcell.com/contact.php?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:57 PM
They claim they do not host any files themselves so where are they getting the PDF from? Because of the link with googleapis I can only assume that this is a security flaw in Google Play.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:59 PM
If you follow the chain of links from there you end up in the same place. They're bloody clever and I guess just hope people will give up.
Yogesh
9:01 PM
Please know that your book is DRM enabled. DRM is intended to protect the content owner and keep e-books secure from unauthorized sharing. Your book is completely secure with us and only those users will be able to read it who have bought it. Please refer to our Help Center article on DRM: https://support.google.com/books/part...
Yogesh
9:01 PM
I apologize but I won't be able to help you with their website.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:02 PM
That’s what I thought. So is there a way of breaking their link with googleapis on grounds of abuse? It makes them appear legitimate and abusing Google's name.
Yogesh
9:04 PM
Please allow me a minute to fetch relevant information for you.
Yogesh
9:07 PM
Thanks for wating. I apologize but there is only one way which is to contact them as they are holding your book on their website.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:08 PM
It's impossible to contact them
Patrick C Notchtree
9:08 PM
Every DMCA circuit ends up at the 404
Yogesh
9:09 PM
You can email them at their email address.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:11 PM
They are quite clear that DMCA can only be handled via the specific page which is a 404. Maybe my only option is remove the books from Google Play and see if that makes it unavailable on eaststemcell.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:11 PM
If I email them I can bet that that's the reply I will get.
Yogesh
9:12 PM
Please know that removing the book from Google Play will not make any difference as it isn't linked with Google.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:13 PM
So why is the link forwarded from storage.googleapis.com?
Patrick C Notchtree
9:13 PM
Google could break that link.
Yogesh
9:15 PM
The link doesn't open on my end. Also, on clicking download button on http://eaststemcell.com/files/storage... leads to a page which claims that one needs to sign up first to read as many ebooks as they want.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:16 PM
Correct. And they say 4000 copies have been downloaded. But I've received nothing from them and I never uploaded the book to them so they are pirating it from somewhere and keeping my cash!
Yogesh
9:17 PM
It seems to me a fake link which leads to another fake link. Every link keeps you rotating to another link which leads you back to the same link.
Yogesh
9:18 PM
Please understand that they're not getting your book from Google.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:18 PM
That's what I've been saying all along. But I guess I'm getting nowhere. According to a whois search their server appears to be in San Francisco.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:19 PM
Possibly not, but people see the storage.googleapis.com and assume it's legitimate. So break that connection.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:20 PM
Wherever they got it, they are using Google's good name to carry on their scam.
Yogesh
9:21 PM
Please know that we only assist with queries related to Google Play Books Partner Center program. I request you to search for this google apis website and contact them as we only assist with Partner Center queries.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:21 PM
OK. Good bye
After a bit of a hunt I found the email address cloud-abuse@google.com
And so I sent them information, only for Google to bounce that saying it doesn’t exist.
I do not know where eaststemcell got my book in PDF format or any other, but does seem to me that Google are complicit, or at least negligent in allowing a server under their control to host pirated material.
So that’s my rant – any ideas or comments?
The other day I got one offering a free download of my book from storage.googleapis.com. Naturally I was concerned about piracy of my book, although my book is on Google Play etc. it’s not free.
When I clicked the link I was offered a PDF. This turned out to be a page that described my book using my own blurb etc, and a download link. This took me to a site called eaststemcell.com which wanted money for a subscription after which I could download thousands of books for free – including mine.
At the foot of the page was a link called DMCA and as I knew my book is copyrighted I clicked this. The page described in detail how to lodge a complaint and then had a link to another page to fill in a contact form. Guess what, 404.
So I decided to contact Google support to see why storage.googleapis.com seemed to be in collusion with pirates. Here is the ensuing conversation:
Google Support
Yogesh
8:35 PM
You are now connected to Yogesh, who will be with you momentarily.
Yogesh
8:35 PM
Hi, thanks for contacting Google Books Partner Program support! How can I assist you?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:36 PM
I have a book on Google Books and I find it seems to be being pirated by eaststemcell.com via googleapis.com. How can this be prevented because they have not sent me any royalties?
Yogesh
8:37 PM
I understand that your book is available on Google Books via googleapis.com without your consent. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:40 PM
Not quite. I did submit it to Google Books, but I assume that Google would pay royalties. It seems to be offered by eaststemcell.com without my consent. They claim almost 4000 downloads and say it's had 566 reviews. I received an alert about this a short while ago and the link was to googleapis which then took me to eaststemcell.com
Yogesh
8:41 PM
Could you please share the URL of the book in question?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:42 PM
https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&...
Patrick C Notchtree
8:42 PM
That gets you a PDF which has a link which takes you to eaststemcell
Yogesh
8:43 PM
Thanks for sharing the link.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:43 PM
This is via storage/googleapis.com
Yogesh
8:44 PM
Please allow me a few minutes to look into your concern.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:44 PM
Then you get this
Patrick C Notchtree
8:44 PM
http://eaststemcell.com/files/storage...
Patrick C Notchtree
8:45 PM
Their DCMA contact link is a 404!
Yogesh
8:48 PM
Thanks for waiting.
Yogesh
8:49 PM
The book "The Clouds Still Hang" is available on Google Play in GB at the price of GBP 2.99. You'll receive earnings from Google if your book has been bought from Google Play.
Yogesh
8:50 PM
The link that you've shared leads to the eaststemcell web page and if your book is available on this site I suggest you to contact the eaststemcell and also, the DMCA link is working on my end.
Yogesh
8:50 PM
Here is their DMCA link: http://eaststemcell.com/storage/dmca....
Patrick C Notchtree
8:52 PM
Correct. It gives lots of details but they say they can only handle a complaint from their contact page which is 404. Try the link in that page.
Yogesh
8:54 PM
I suggest you to scroll down to the bottom of this page: http://eaststemcell.com/files/storage.... You'll find a DMCA hyperlink that should not give you a 404 error as it's working on my end.
Yogesh
8:55 PM
Hi, are you there?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:56 PM
That's just the same page again
Patrick C Notchtree
8:56 PM
It sends you round in circles but you always get directed to the contact page in the end which is 404
Yogesh
8:57 PM
Could you please try this link once: http://eaststemcell.com/contact.php?
Patrick C Notchtree
8:57 PM
They claim they do not host any files themselves so where are they getting the PDF from? Because of the link with googleapis I can only assume that this is a security flaw in Google Play.
Patrick C Notchtree
8:59 PM
If you follow the chain of links from there you end up in the same place. They're bloody clever and I guess just hope people will give up.
Yogesh
9:01 PM
Please know that your book is DRM enabled. DRM is intended to protect the content owner and keep e-books secure from unauthorized sharing. Your book is completely secure with us and only those users will be able to read it who have bought it. Please refer to our Help Center article on DRM: https://support.google.com/books/part...
Yogesh
9:01 PM
I apologize but I won't be able to help you with their website.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:02 PM
That’s what I thought. So is there a way of breaking their link with googleapis on grounds of abuse? It makes them appear legitimate and abusing Google's name.
Yogesh
9:04 PM
Please allow me a minute to fetch relevant information for you.
Yogesh
9:07 PM
Thanks for wating. I apologize but there is only one way which is to contact them as they are holding your book on their website.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:08 PM
It's impossible to contact them
Patrick C Notchtree
9:08 PM
Every DMCA circuit ends up at the 404
Yogesh
9:09 PM
You can email them at their email address.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:11 PM
They are quite clear that DMCA can only be handled via the specific page which is a 404. Maybe my only option is remove the books from Google Play and see if that makes it unavailable on eaststemcell.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:11 PM
If I email them I can bet that that's the reply I will get.
Yogesh
9:12 PM
Please know that removing the book from Google Play will not make any difference as it isn't linked with Google.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:13 PM
So why is the link forwarded from storage.googleapis.com?
Patrick C Notchtree
9:13 PM
Google could break that link.
Yogesh
9:15 PM
The link doesn't open on my end. Also, on clicking download button on http://eaststemcell.com/files/storage... leads to a page which claims that one needs to sign up first to read as many ebooks as they want.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:16 PM
Correct. And they say 4000 copies have been downloaded. But I've received nothing from them and I never uploaded the book to them so they are pirating it from somewhere and keeping my cash!
Yogesh
9:17 PM
It seems to me a fake link which leads to another fake link. Every link keeps you rotating to another link which leads you back to the same link.
Yogesh
9:18 PM
Please understand that they're not getting your book from Google.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:18 PM
That's what I've been saying all along. But I guess I'm getting nowhere. According to a whois search their server appears to be in San Francisco.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:19 PM
Possibly not, but people see the storage.googleapis.com and assume it's legitimate. So break that connection.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:20 PM
Wherever they got it, they are using Google's good name to carry on their scam.
Yogesh
9:21 PM
Please know that we only assist with queries related to Google Play Books Partner Center program. I request you to search for this google apis website and contact them as we only assist with Partner Center queries.
Patrick C Notchtree
9:21 PM
OK. Good bye
After a bit of a hunt I found the email address cloud-abuse@google.com
And so I sent them information, only for Google to bounce that saying it doesn’t exist.
I do not know where eaststemcell got my book in PDF format or any other, but does seem to me that Google are complicit, or at least negligent in allowing a server under their control to host pirated material.
So that’s my rant – any ideas or comments?
January 21, 2018
Some good eye news, January 2018
It's been a while since I updated about my macular degeneration, but it's time to catch up, especially as there is some good news to share.
This has been an interesting week as far as my macular condition is concerned. On Tuesday I saw the consultant. They took all the usual photographs of my retinas, as well of course as testing my eyesight. My dry AMD left Eye has not deteriorated which is good because that is the one I use. I am still well above the level required to drive. Keep taking the AREDS2 tablets.
In one sense, there was even better news for my right eye. This is the one with wet AMD, but also corneal scarring from an accident many years ago. Therefore it is not one I use much, but the idea of treating it for wet AMD is so that a corneal transplant may become available in the future if my left eye gets too bad. The good news with the right eye is that the injections of Eylea have been working, and there is now no fluid behind the right retina. The consultant wanted to order one more injection of Eylea and then wait for a whole 10 weeks before seeing me again. So that is good progress. I had the injection this morning. (Saturday January 20th)
Of course, should experience problems in the meantime, or my eyesight gets worse, then I can go straight back to the eye hospital and they will see me immediately. Thank God (well, the Labour Party actually) for the National Health Service, and long may it survive.
This has been an interesting week as far as my macular condition is concerned. On Tuesday I saw the consultant. They took all the usual photographs of my retinas, as well of course as testing my eyesight. My dry AMD left Eye has not deteriorated which is good because that is the one I use. I am still well above the level required to drive. Keep taking the AREDS2 tablets.
In one sense, there was even better news for my right eye. This is the one with wet AMD, but also corneal scarring from an accident many years ago. Therefore it is not one I use much, but the idea of treating it for wet AMD is so that a corneal transplant may become available in the future if my left eye gets too bad. The good news with the right eye is that the injections of Eylea have been working, and there is now no fluid behind the right retina. The consultant wanted to order one more injection of Eylea and then wait for a whole 10 weeks before seeing me again. So that is good progress. I had the injection this morning. (Saturday January 20th)
Of course, should experience problems in the meantime, or my eyesight gets worse, then I can go straight back to the eye hospital and they will see me immediately. Thank God (well, the Labour Party actually) for the National Health Service, and long may it survive.
November 22, 2017
The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst
This book spans a life time and in fact is pretty much contemporary with mine. We meet David Sparsholt while 17-year-old student at the beginning of the war at Oxford. He seems old for a 17-year-old to me but maybe that was the war. His physical attraction was never in doubt. The book moves on in several stages and the Sparsholt affair changes in meaning as we advance. We follow his son as he grows up realising he is gay, although since Bastien he always knew.
What becomes apparent, and struck a chord with me, was that there was some scandal involving both sex and money, in which David Sparsholt was a major player. The exact details emerge slowly, but once it is for sure, the stigma remained with David Sparsholt to the end. For him too, the clouds still hang.
What becomes apparent, and struck a chord with me, was that there was some scandal involving both sex and money, in which David Sparsholt was a major player. The exact details emerge slowly, but once it is for sure, the stigma remained with David Sparsholt to the end. For him too, the clouds still hang.
Patrick C Notchtree
Rambling rants and reflections of the author of “The Clouds Still Hang”, a trilogy telling a story of love and betrayal, novels that chart one man's attempts to rise above the legacy of a traumatic ch
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