Scams: They Can Be Fun

So, I just got a couple of emails requesting computer service, sounded sketchy right off the bat, but I was willingly to look into it, just in case.

First email:

From: Lord Jones
To: Me
Date Sat, Apr 3, 2010 at 10:31 PM
Subject: Computer Repair And Installation
--
Hello,

I got your contact and i was just checking if you will be available to
repair and install some applications on 13(Thirteen ) PC .

Get back to me for details if you'll be available.

Guess it was mostly the poor English that made it look bad, but I know plenty of adults that can't write coherently. So I replied that I was available. Second email:

Hello ,

How you doing?

Thanks for you quick response,I have some Hp PCs(Intel Pentium IV)
since we currently have a major breakdown on most of our systems and I
thought it was best to have a general upgrade and maintenance.(I will
be providing the software needed).Below are the things needed to be
done one on each laptops:

1 Format Hard Drive
2 Install Win Xp with Service Pack 2
3 Microsoft Office Package
4 AVG Virus Software (Free Lifetime Updates )
5 Adobe Acrobat
6 Laptop Cleaning of the keyboard, screen and other case.
7 Diagnostics of the entire system after to check hard, CD Rom, floppy,
etc.

I will like You to know that my mode of payment is by US certified
check mailed and address to you from my employer company since I am
presently on a business workshop in Panama city,South American and i
want you to know that i will handle the shipment myself since i have a
shipper from the state here that will bring the laptops to your
place,and will come pick them up as soon as you are done with them.

I should have make this a phone order but i have a network problem of
where i am and my shipper will be coming with the necessary Software
for the installations of the Computers with both the Operating
System,Microsoft Office and the Anti-virus for each computers .

However,get back to me with your last asking price for the 13 PC.
I await your urgent response so that i can put the arrangement in
order.


Thanks and hope to read from you soon.

What? He is shipping them from where? A certified check?

Suspicious I Google'd the TWO email addresses he used, nothing. How about, "laptop repair scam south america". Ah. Exact same message.

I am thinking I could have some fun with this, I quoted him $75/PC for $975 total, then $150/PC for $1,950 total after the Googling. Still a fair price, apparently. Now all he needs is:

I will be sending you the payment inform of US certified cashier check
mailed and addressed to you and regards to this kindly get back to me
with your full information (in the format below)to receive the payment
so it can be made out on-time.

NAME:
ADDRESS(NOT P O BOX):
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
CONTACT PHONE NUMBER:
DIRECT PHONE NUMBER.
BEST TIME TO CALL

I Will be waiting to read your mail soon.

I haven't decided what information he will be getting. Maybe 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. ? Too obvious? One way or another, this could be fun.

P.S. This search turns up even better results. I do want to know where he got that email, it isn't the one I use for work (including my freelance tech support).

LOST & Exodus

The LOST narrative (allegory?) seems to take on more and more Old Testament allusions, as well as broader Biblical ones. However one in particular struck me yesterday as I was reading my Bible (and had finished reading Slate's on-going commentary on LOST).

Smokey & Richard in Ab Abterno

Everyone remember the most recent scene with Smokey, as he confronts Richard on The Black Rock? Smoking, electrical arches, etc. Well, the following comes out of Exodus 19, about two months after God led the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses continues up Sinai and receives the Ten Commandments from God after this:

¹⁶ On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. ¹⁷ Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. ¹⁸ Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, ¹⁹ and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. ^c

²⁰ The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up... (NIV)

Given the dubious nature of un-Locke, this either goes nowhere, or makes it all the more interesting. I leave it to you.

Programming

As I write this I am trying to program. It has been awhile and is frustrating me a little bit. I am trying to convince my program to connect to a database that I created in the program. In other words, I am trying to get my program to talk to itself. And I can't.

Apparently it has simply been too long since I tried to program, at least in Visual Basic (e.g., "easy" Windows programming, as opposed to Linux programming, which is the most recent programming I have done.)

I am not really sure what the point of this entry is, other than I want to start blogging at least a little bit again.

Where I've Been

The other night Katie and I were talking -- as we often do -- and the conversation turned to where we "are going" in life.

It got me thinking, first, about where I am, much less going. I push carts for a big retailer with a wage barely above minimum wage. I do the same thing day in and day out. Why am I here? How did I get to place that seems to be going nowhere? What have I been doing? The answers came to me more quickly than I expected. And, I think, converge: I wanted to marry Katie.

She had a shot at what I thought would be a fantastic opportunity for her a thousand miles away and I let her know I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity for her even if it was a thousand miles away. She got the job and I followed her down because, well, I was going to marry her. (And she had no clue about the latter.)

My job did not follow me, nor did new ones appear quickly. My bills, however, did follow and did appear quickly. The only interview I had was pretty sketchy and I am glad that I didn't end up with the job. Pushing carts was the only job that came my way.

That pretty much answers the why and how. Next I started thinking , "So I am where I am so I could marry Katie... so I could prepare for the rest of our lives together." Wait, so I've spent the last year and a half getting ready for the rest of my life? That is true, but only to the extent that every day we are getting ready for the rest of our lives. "Is that it?" I wondered.

No. It is not. I am pushing carts but I enjoy my life (I am married! To a wonderful lady!). Moreover, I have enjoyed it, even when it was getting ready to get married, even before Katie knew this was my plan. I've enjoyed road-tripping, I've enjoyed spending a lot of time with my parents in Minnesota before I came down here, and more time when they were able to visit, I enjoyed seeing Katie regularly, I enjoyed going to church, I enjoyed meeting and getting to know new people (if only a couple of them well), I have enjoyed working on my car (at least part of the time), I've enjoyed learning new things at work, I have enjoyed learning how hard I can work, I've enjoyed having a regular routine that lasts longer than a semester.

And this isn't a complete list! My low level low wage life has been good! Most of the days haven't been exciting, but the events have been. (If my life was a movie I think it would be pretty good, more on that later.)

In other words, I have enjoyed living now, not just getting ready to live later, even though it has "just" been pushing carts "getting ready" for The Next Big Thing. If The Next Big Thing never comes (although I think it will) I'll be ok, in fact, I am sure I will continue to enjoy life as much as I have.

The Second Step

I have successfully completed the second step of becoming a great writer: not writing.

I know, it sounds odd to say that, especially as I just wrote a post about the one defining thing about writers is that they write. Well, they also spend a lot of time not writing, and I seem to be better at that part.

I have a common theme running through my blog posts, going back five years (although many of them are lost), that theme now continues, "I had some great things written in my head, but they didn't hit the page."

I didn't work I think that I would have a lot more time to write. In fact, I would probably have 25-40 more hours a week to write. Of course, all the things that pop into my head while pushing carts wouldn't and I would probably end up doing the same thing that I do when I get home anyway, splitting my time between reading up on the day's news and playing mafia wars.

This is a really boring post, I know that, I am just going to say that straight up. But in the past week I've spent enough time on the second step of writing that I need to spend at least some time on the first part.

Like God

me: heh

Are you on FB chat?

Jeff: Yep.

I'm everywhere.

me: Just like God...

Jeff: well… not exactly

Writing for Its Own Sake

Writer: One who writes.

It is a fairly straightforward definition but one I find more often than not difficult to fulfill. People tell me I am a good writer and I enjoy it, yet I rarely write more than pithy emails these days. So I decided that I ought to start writing again, for its own sake.

The best writers are the ones that write daily, even if most of the pages end up being recycled, to only be written upon and recycled again. I guess it is just the very practice of writing something.

I did a lot of my best writing when I was in China. I mostly blogged about stuff that interested me. Sometimes the topics, I knew, were ones nobody else cared about. Other times I tried to write towards a goal of other people being interested. Obviously writing about something you nobody cares about doesn't go anywhere. Surprisingly, writing about something that you know does interest them (but doesn't interest you) doesn't turn out well most of the time.

If I have more than one or two readers going forward I am going to be surprised. But I'm not writing for them. I am writing for me. I am writing for the sake of writing.

Another Bumper Sticker

-------------------------------
JM Addington
jm@jmaddington.com
-------------------------------
Sent from my phone, which has spordically working "A" & "B" keys. Oh, and no spellcheck which I have become quite accustomed to.

Scary? Yes.

-------------------------------
JM Addington
jm@jmaddington.com
-------------------------------
Sent from my phone, which has spordically working "A" & "B" keys. Oh, and no spellcheck which I have become quite accustomed to.

Wait for it...

How much heat do you think Obama will catch for supposedly calling the Cambridge police stupid? I am betting the "blogosphere" is already catching on fire.

In case you are wondering, referring to a recent where a black man was arrested after breaking into his own home*, Obama said, "[t]he Cambridge police acted stupidly [given there was evidence the man was in his own home]."

*And showing two forms of ID to top it. Of course, he was arrested for disorderly conduct (charges were dropped today), not breaking and entering.

Food Insects

From Zach Braff's Facebook page:

Do you think Noah had to bring extra insects to feed the frogs? If so, were they told ahead of time they were the food insects versus the repopulating the world insects and if so to that, were they in a cabin like coach where they had to bring pre-purchased snacks?

@JJ: You are absolutely right.

Tennesse = Safe Driving?

Well, that is how the local media will be spinning it after Allstate's 5th Annual Best Drivers Report. The top ten:

1. Sioux Falls, S.D.
2. Fort Collins, Colo.
3. Chattanooga, Tenn. (21.4% better than the national average)
4. Cedar Rapids, Iowa
5. Knoxville, Tenn. (19% better than the national average)
6. Fort Wayne, Ind.
7. Lexington-Fayette, Ky.
8. Eugene, Ore.
9. Boise, Idaho
10. Colorado Springs, Colo

After driving here for five months I have to come to the conclusion that either (a) Tennesse drivers are less likely to get into accidents but not neccesarily due to safer driving* or (b) I really have no idea how bad the rest of the country drives.

Minneapolis and St. Paul come in at 39 (4.5% better than the national average) and 41 (3.6% better than the national average), respectively.

P.S. As I was looking for something regarding methodology on the study. The L.A. Times calls it an "in-depth analysis." Allstate says:

The Allstate Best Drivers Report is produced solely to boost the country’s discussion about safe driving and to increase awareness of the importance of being tolerant and attentive behind the wheel. The report is not used to determine auto insurance rates.

Uh huh. I am leaning towards option a above...

*E.g., safer driving conditions could be a factor.

"I'm Parked Somewhere Out Here..."

Words you *don't* want to hear as you are walking around the parking lot with boards on your shoulder for a customer.

-------------------------------
Sent from my phone, which has spordically working "A" & "B" keys. oh, no spellcheck which I have become quite acostemed to.

More Penelope

Guess this is mostly what I have pictures of on my phone.

Actually I have a couple more that are pretty good (not of the dogs!) but I need to blur out some identifing information.

Penelope Helping Katie Drive

Little too big? Maybe?

Work Responses to Photos

(In response to this post)

Ironman Coworker: "Thanks, I'm not invincible!" I need to tell her invincibility is a good thing.

President or Whatever*: "I'm going to start calling you Master Chief." I'm ok with that.

*I don't remember his actual title because the company where I work is owned by another company. It is unclear whether we are technically a division or a fully own subsidiary (separate company). Moreover, our parent company is owned by two other companies.

It's complicated.

Watching Bethel

This was rendered yesterday and slightly different from the rest, it goes at a slower speed. As I write I am working on what I hope are the final steps towards filtering out all of the night and weekend shots. I know I am making some progress at any rate.

Previous time lapses can be found here, the first post on the subject here. Links provided mostly because this post is aimed at a certain high level person at Bethel whom I hope is able to find some use of this.

As long as I am at that, I have to thank Dr. KT for pressing me to show this to others at Bethel, I know that at least one high level person found it very helpful.

I don't think I ever told the story of how I started this project and it is kind of funny. Basically, a little over a year ago, I was sitting in a classroom. Slightly better than the dungeons of the HC (a nasty set of classrooms at BU), but no windows and right next to the building you can see above. I could feel the tremblings of the bulldozers.

I knew that last time BU had setup a major building project (the new dorms) they had set up a webcam. I even know someone that found the IP address of the webcam and found that s/he could pan/zoom it via their browser, but I digress.

Wanting a "window" to the outside I searched for the new Commons project on Bethel's website and indeed found the webcam. At first I just watched it in class (meaning, for the first day or something like that.) I quickly realized that it would make a pretty cool time lapse. Where "pretty cool" means that I would get a kick out of it. I like doing time lapses and have set up a couple on my own for, well, fun.

That really was the whole point and genesis of this project -- it was fun and I could do it. Usefulness was never really considered (hence the thanks to Dr. KT). By today I am just short of collecting 400 days worth of photos. I grab them both hourly in one set and by the minute in another set. The set shown has always been the former. The latter is the one I am working on to "perfect."

Guess we'll see how that goes in the coming days. It takes a little bit of time to render these (viz., putting all the relevant pictures into a video) especially on a computer that is at least 8 years old.

Work Photo

Outside of everyone's cubicle at work is their name with a picture of them underneath in front of a wall with the company logo behind. I didn't have a photo, so I decided to make one.

You'd be surprised how good this looks printed out glossy at Walgreens...

Ironically, the only person to walk by and recognize the picture was the head of the company (or division, or whatever exactly the place I work at officially is.)

Another employee wanted a picture too (her real one wasn't good enough I guess), so I indulged.

Just That Cool

So my brother, M, & myself are driving down to Knoxville, TN as I write. My brother and I wanted something that wasn't on the local radio or XM -- both of which were available to us.

Coming prepared I pulled out an FM transmitter, my laptop, power inverter, and cell phone. Together, we are streaming The Current (89.3 FM - Minnesota Public Radio) while driving on I-75 south through Kentucky mountains.

Yeah, we are just that cool.