Weekend Assignment #363: (Almost) Scammed!

For Weekend Assignment #363: Scammed!, I asked,

Weekend Assignment #363: Scammed!

Have you ever been successfully scammed? Was it a phone fraud, a phishing email, a trojan worm, or something else? How did they fool you, and what have you learned from the experience?

Extra Credit: Tell us about a scam that didn't succeed in tricking you.

I think I was hit by a Facebook worm once, and an AOL phishing scam years ago (well, it would have to be years ago, wouldn't it?). My credit card issuers get hit more often than I do. On numerous occasions in the past several years, a bank has sent me a new card and a new card number long before the old one expired. It almost always turned out that the bank was worried that some credit card database had been hacked. On several more occasions, a bank called to ask whether I really spent money outside my usual spending patterns, or I noticed something I didn't authorize. Sheesh.

But scams can be much more interesting than that. Last week, a guy with a heavy Asian (India/Pakistan or something) accent call the land line here, claiming that "Your computer has a virus." Which computer? Mine? John's? The iPad? I didn't ask him that, though. "Go to your computer and let me show you," he said. Yeah, right. First of all, the land line interferes with my internet connection. It's not supposed to, but it does. Second, this guy has not told me anything that indicates he knows anything about me or my computer whatsoever. He has not used my name, identified the operating system, mentioned the presence of more than one computer or the broadband connection, etc. Third, if someone could somehow detect that your computer - yes, yours! - had a virus, wouldn't the logical way to contact you be online rather than by phone? Fourth and finally, I have both Norton and McAfee. If they can't protect me, no random guy on the phone is swooping in to save me.

So I told the guy I wasn't going to take his word for anything or give him access to my computer, and I hung up on him. Then I did a little research. Apparently there are companies that claim you have viruses, and install something on your computer that shows you these alleged viruses, in some cases leaving a big warning on your screen that you can't close. Then they tell you that Norton and other companies can;t help with this, and sell you something to save your computer from this thing they just caused, which according to what I read doesn't work. Nice, huh? And I'm not convinced that any of this is a virus in the usual sense. When I was Googling for images to put in this week's Weekend Assignment computer screen picture, I found a picture of a window reporting the presence of viruses, or something. (I didn't save the image, for reasons that will soon become clear.) When I clicked on it from the Google Images search page, it took me to a little dialog box that quickly started racking up the count of alleged viruses on my computer. I closed it after a few seconds, and Norton hasn't found anything since then but tracking cookies. My guess is that the thing was a very realistic animated gif, designed to show anyone and everyone that their computer is infected, and desperately needs the scammers' solution. But it was still pretty alarming!

There's one other telephone scam I heard about recently from a friend with Fibromyalgia and other health issues. Arizona voters recently passed a medical marijuana law (again), and my friend is interest in pursuing this for pain management. Although her doctor has already approved her for this, a naturopathic doctor's office has been trying to pressure her to pay him $150 for an appointment to obtain eventual access to medical marijuana. My friend initially made an appointment, checked with her own doctor, and did not go to the other alleged doctor. She further called the state's consumer protection division to alert them of the probably scam, but apparently the woman on the phone was disinclined to investigate, since my friend was not actually out any money.

So, tip of the week: if someone calls you up wanting to help you clean up your computer's viruses or get yourself some medical pot, don't believe them!

Karen

EMPS: Historic Tucson

And now for the NEW Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot! I don't want to let the week slip by again, and I suspect I won't have time this week to get out for a ramble with the camera. So let's dip into the archives for this week's topic, which is

Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot #117: Historical Places

I've been to many places around Tucson that are historic in one way or another, and taken pictures of all of them. For example, I've been to Fort Lowell Park, site of a fort from 1873 to 1891. I posted photos of it for a past Round Robin Photo Challenge, but here's one I haven't used before:

From Fort Lowell, Arizona

Another place I've photographed extensively is the Historic Depot - and yes, it's actually called that. The old train station in downtown Tucson was very important in the early growth of the city. It's also where Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday shot a man named Frank Stanton. Here's a 2005 photo of my dad with Wyatt and Doc:

From The Historic Depot

And if that's not enough, the Historic Depot is across the street from Hotel Congress, where John Dillinger once stayed, and it led to his being captured soon afterward.

Dillinger Days 2008. From My Tucson

And here's Agua Caliente Park, where people used to come and "take the waters" back in the late 1800s:

From My Tucson

That'll do for now. If I get time, maybe I'll take some new photos of old places for this next weekend.

Karen

EMPS: A Mixed Drink

Carly's asking for a picture of a cold drink, and it's not as though I haven't had any this week; but I got distracted and didn't photograph one until now.



Normally I like to mix fruit juices with diet soda, but it doesn't work as well with diet cola as with Diet 7-Up and its rivals or else diet orange. Diet Pepsi is all I have right now, so cranrasblackapple juice it is!

Karen

Round Robin: The Blustery Edge of Spring

This week's Round Robin Photo Challenge, as suggested by Suzanne R of SuzyQ421'S Photo Blog, is "Winter Meets Spring." Living in Tucson, where wintry weather is rare and spring is nearly undetectable, I had serious doubts that I would find anything suitable. But on March 21st, which I usually think of as the first day of spring, the weather was extremely blustery. At the hanger-like building I work in northwest of Tucson, the wind whistled down the hallway all day long. I came out after work, drove toward the freeway and photographed this:



and this:



Chasing further pictures for this Challenge, I got off the freeway several exits closer to town, and photographed this:



Unfortunately once I did so I was pretty much forced back onto the freeway going the wrong way, back toward Phoenix.

I soon turned around and headed to Tucson, only to get off on what I hoped would be the scenic route. It made the drive home much longer, and I never really got a good vista to photograph. The best I managed was this:



When I got home, though, the sky over Calle Mumble did not disappoint:



So that was how Winter met Spring in Tucson this year--except that it turns out that it wasn't the first day of Spring after all. According to one of those websites that list easily obtained facts in the hope that you'll click on them and see their ads, we're halfway through a run of six years in a row in which Spring starts on the 20th instead of the 21st. Really? How did that happen?

Karen

Now let's see the juxtaposition of Winter and Spring in the other Robins' cameras!

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Weekend Assignment #362: Two Cinnamon Candles and Clear Plastic Tape

For Weekend Assignment #362: Emergency! I asked:

Weekend Assignment #362: Emergency!

How prepared are you for emergency situations? Do you know how to do CPR? Does your home or business have an evacuation plan or do fire drills? Do you have a generator, duct tape, candles, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, sandbags or other emergency supplies on hand? Why or why not?

Extra Credit: Does your smoke detector (if you have one) have fresh batteries in it?

Listen, it's a darn good thing we don't live near an ocean, in a tornado alley or war zone, or near a major fault line.  We are so unprepared for emergencies that I feel a little guilty as I admit to you the Awful Truth: our entire stash of emergency supplies consists of two cinnamon and nutmeg votive candles and two partially used boxes of matches. I was going to say that at least we have duct tape, but John corrected me. What we actually have is several rolls of clear plastic tape, suitable for mailing packages. I mentioned this accounting of our disaster preparation inventory to John: two candles and clear plastic tape. "We're ready!" John asserted ironically.

Around here, there's a very slight chance of a minor earthquake, but I've never felt one, anywhere. Not a real one, anyway. In the early 1970s, I once reported a possible earthquake in Manlius NY to a local tv station. The station's news anchor called me back to explain that what actually shook the ground that day was an excess of explosives used in doing some blasting at nearly Green Lakes State Park. I never found out what the blasting was for.

Tornadoes are possible in Tucson, but again, I've never seen one, only dust devils. Obviously we get no blizzards around here. The big danger, which might sound counterintuitive for a desert city, is flooding. Anyone who builds on a "500 year floodplain" around here is asking for trouble. Up in the mountains there is also the danger of wildfire, but in the city, not so much.

I guess John and I aren't very big on preparing for low-probability disasters. That's probably foolish of us. In fact, I'm tempted to either put batteries in our smoke detector for the first time in a decade, or replace it with a better one. It used to drive us crazy, beeping whenever we cooked or took a shower. But what the heck: we have a working alarm system. It consists of two dogs, Cayenne and Pepper. Day and night, they are on alert, protecting us from all dangers. Well, maybe not all dangers, but at least from cats in the alleyway!

Karen

Weekend Assignment #361: Giving It Up!

For Weekend Assignment #361: Give It Up!, I asked...

Weekend Assignment #361: Give It Up!
Lent has begun, and in certain denominations, people are "giving up something for Lent" - in other words, not indulging in some pleasurable food or activity between now and Easter. Have you ever abstained from something for a period of time for a religious or spiritual purpose? What was it? How successful were you at avoiding it?

Extra Credit: Regardless of whether you believe in doing so, if you were to give up something you enjoy between now and April 24th, what would it be?

For years, Father Smith at St. Michael's has sort-of advocated against "giving up something for Lent," suggesting instead that one do something positive. Some years I've made a special effort to read specific parts of the Bible, catch up with my webmastering duties for church, do some kind of volunteer work, or some other attempt at a Good Thing. Often, though, I fall back on the same kinds of Lenten sacrifices that many folks do. I've given up, or tried to give up, a number of things over the years:

Mahjong. One year, I gave up playing Mahjong on the computer for Lent. It was one of the games on a Disney Mulan software package, and I'd become quite addicted. Giving it up cold turkey was a really good thing to do. Did it bring me closer to God? I'm not sure, but I certainly don't regret my choice that year.

Ice Cream. Okay, this one is not very original. I think I held to it pretty well, though.

Carbs A disaster. Trying to lose weight in general, or do a low-carb regimen, has never worked for me during Lent. Maybe it's too ambitious - or maybe, that's more about doing something for myself than doing something for God, and not applying any discipline or motivation. I'm not likely to try this one again. Not at Lent, anyway. Now, a New Year's Resolution, on the other hand...!

So what am I doing this year? I'm giving up french fries. Yes, it's seriously unoriginal. Thing is, though, I hit fast food and hamburger places fairly often, and it's all too easy to automatically go for the combos. I'm not even that big a fan of fries, so why do I get them? Well, for now I'm not getting them any more, and at least trying to make this a sacrifice rather than a self-serving thing. I'm not sure how to do that, to be honest. Also, I accidentally ate one french fry the other day.

But I'm trying to do a positive thing, too. I'm taking over the church newsletter, The Messenger. I'm a little nervous about it; it's been more than a decade since I last edited a newsletter. But I'd better tackle it soon: it's due out in two weeks!

Karen

See also: beliefnet: What I'm Giving Up For Lent

EMPS: Cell Phones and Potato Bags

For this week's Ellipsis Monday Photo Shoot, Carly wants to see what the cameras on our cell phones can do. As it happens, I was at a new burger joint recently without my "real" camera, so I took a bunch of pictures with my Samsung/Verizon phone. Here are the best of them:

The name of the chain is 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. Or something like that. Like Whataburger and In-N-Out Burger, they have a red and white retro look to the decor and signage. Unlike the other chains, however, this extends to the display of red and white bags of potatoes. This reinforces the fact that the fries are hand cut and made fresh from whole potatoes. (In-N-Out makes theirs from actual fresh potatoes as well.)

Another unusual thing they do with their potatoes is use them for crowd control. The line from the cash register, which that night went all the way back to the main entrance at the other end of the room, is herded past a barrier of stacked potato bags. The crowd thus becomes a captive audience for a wall full of glowing food reviews and testimonials from around the country.

When some new food chain hits Tucson, large numbers of Tucsonans show up to check it out. About ten years ago, when Krispy Kreme first opened here, people drove across town and stood in line for twenty minutes or more for the dubious privilege of eating a fresh glazed doughnut. About four years ago, In-N-Out Burger arrived, and the local press reported a 90-minute wait for their wares. The In-N-Out people hired a large staff to process as many people as possible as efficiently as possible, and did so very well. Even so, it was quite a while before one could get one of their burgers in 10 minutes instead of half an hour or more. Now it's 5 Guys turn. At this newest location, the wait was about half an hour, I think.

So was it worth it? Well, I wouldn't want to wait that long for a burger every night, but yes, it was good. The basic cost is a bit higher than at most places, but for that you can add as many toppings as you like in any combination you want. I got mine with cheese, ketchup, mushrooms, lettuce and tomato. John's had jalapeños and I forget what else. Needless to say, however. John did not join me in line for all this. John does not like lines. At all.

When I pulled these pictures off my phone tonight, I discovered that the little card in it is well on its way to being corrupted. I'm lucky these photos survived long enough to be posted. All, in all, though, I think my cell phone did okay that night.

Karen