Who hasn't received countless notices in the mail that the warranty on their car has expired and they need to extend it immediately before it goes up in smoke like a "Mission Impossible" tape? Worse yet are the phone calls -- always at supper time or during an exciting episode of Jeopardy -- with a recorded message breathlessly telling me it's their final notice. I should be so lucky. My car is a 2003 model and has been out of warranty for some time now. Since the mailings mention the model and year they know that too. One harassed fellow citizen pretty much lost it over one of these scams.Though threatening to touch a match to the offender's place of business seems a might harsh, I can't say similar thoughts haven't occasionally crossed my mind. Now the poor soul is in the slammer on a terrorism charge. If there was ever a time for the court to show some mercy this is it.
It's difficult to imagine that enough people fall for this pitch too cover the marketing expenses. It's even harder to imagine any subscriber actually recovering even a small portion of covered repair costs. It might be interesting to request a sample contract and peruse the fine print.
I recall a news item a few years back exposing the fact that our DMV sold auto registration data lists to marketing firms. Who on Earth would think that was a good idea? Public servants my foot. Then they set up a state "Do not call list" to stem the barrage of telemarketing calls. Geez!
Many of these hucksters have given up on the car owners and moved on to helping people suffering from mortgage and credit card stress. They are implying that they have Federal stimulus money to pass around. At least we can't accuse these bottom feeders of lazing around sucking up unemployment money. But then maybe they are. Sitting at home dialing the phone while collecting unemployment compensation and food stamps, etc.
Sadly these lowlifes tend to target senior citizens that are often overly trusting and easily coerced. Even eager to avoid offending the caller. Think of that the next time the phone rings. Maybe even make a list of things to say AND NOT SAY during the call. The best thing to do is just hang up. Don't worry about the caller feeling rejected. They'll get over it.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Blogging with alacrity
Drudge briefly ran a piece on recent cyber attacks on treasury dept. and secret service web sites. The article quoted DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano as saying something like "agents are meeting the challenges of cyberwarfare defense with alacrity." Alacrity. ALACRITY! alacrity. In the context of the article it means, "looking to kick butt!" It's a nice word I like it. It feels good on the tongue. I think I'll find a way to use it in conversation at the coffee shop today. Watch it bouce from forehead to forehead causing wrinkles and expressions that say, "What the hell kind of a high brow word is that?"
I just went back to the Drudge Report to re read the article and get a better fix on this new (for me) word and it's gone!. The Napolitano quote I mean. They took away my word! It's like it was never there. Why would they do that? Was it a misquote? Did Janet call up and say, "I didn't say that. Hell I don't even know what alacrity means" (erronously pronouncing it with a soft cee). Or maybe she meant to say they were on hold with the Microsoft help desk to deal with the problem. Did Drudge decide it is too much of a liberal sounding word for its pages? Did cyber attackers hack the site and ice my word? Web content is constantly changing unlike a print issue of the New York Times where you can circle a word and slap it down on the table prove to those skeptical coffee swillers it's legit word. They'll think I stay up nights searching through the dictionary for arcane words to drop on them. They're tough crowd.
Ah ha! Plugged alacrity into news.google.com and came up with 195 hits. Topmost is the BBC article that Drudge first cited and later switched to Yahoo News. So it's a Brit word. Use it and I'll sound like a Limey. I'd better rethink this whole thing. Wait there it is again. The BBC used the exact same quote in a June 30, 2009 piece on a related but different subject. So they liked the word too. Couldn't wait to throw it out there again. I wonder if it will catch on and gain common usage? I remember back to the 2004 (I think) election campaign when the tv talking heads learned the word 'gravitas'. Mostly in referring to John Kerry they beat that poor little word to death. It tore through the media like a wild fire through dry brush. I haven't heard it since. Don't miss it either.
I hope they don't do that to alacrity. It's too cool a word.
I just went back to the Drudge Report to re read the article and get a better fix on this new (for me) word and it's gone!. The Napolitano quote I mean. They took away my word! It's like it was never there. Why would they do that? Was it a misquote? Did Janet call up and say, "I didn't say that. Hell I don't even know what alacrity means" (erronously pronouncing it with a soft cee). Or maybe she meant to say they were on hold with the Microsoft help desk to deal with the problem. Did Drudge decide it is too much of a liberal sounding word for its pages? Did cyber attackers hack the site and ice my word? Web content is constantly changing unlike a print issue of the New York Times where you can circle a word and slap it down on the table prove to those skeptical coffee swillers it's legit word. They'll think I stay up nights searching through the dictionary for arcane words to drop on them. They're tough crowd.
Ah ha! Plugged alacrity into news.google.com and came up with 195 hits. Topmost is the BBC article that Drudge first cited and later switched to Yahoo News. So it's a Brit word. Use it and I'll sound like a Limey. I'd better rethink this whole thing. Wait there it is again. The BBC used the exact same quote in a June 30, 2009 piece on a related but different subject. So they liked the word too. Couldn't wait to throw it out there again. I wonder if it will catch on and gain common usage? I remember back to the 2004 (I think) election campaign when the tv talking heads learned the word 'gravitas'. Mostly in referring to John Kerry they beat that poor little word to death. It tore through the media like a wild fire through dry brush. I haven't heard it since. Don't miss it either.
I hope they don't do that to alacrity. It's too cool a word.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Another pet peave
I've been online since about 1979. There wasn't an internet back then. We had bulletin board services (BBS) where local computer enthusiasts kept their computers turned on 24/7 and connected to a dial up modem. Dial their number and the machine would answer allowing you to upload or down load files and leave comments on a discussion board. Pretty rudimentary, but it was a new and exiting way to converse with others and exchange idea. Interesting or fun posts where copied and posted on other BBS thus working their way around the country.
Fast forward through the era of Compuserve and AOL to the internet explosion. With it came an email system allowing us to communicate with anyone with an online account. Cheaper than long distance telephone we could keep in touch with friends and family at almost no cost. Easier and faster than snail mail. Better yet you could send to same message to a number of your friends and relatives. What a deal! For the recipient running low on original thoughts to share it was just a matter of forwarding fun or informative stuff one to a new list of contacts. Spam was born. Some of the more popular ones would find its way back to you every so often.
Some individuals who I suspect lacked meaningful goals in their life developed a hobby of creating such spam in the form of chain letters for the sole purpose of seeing how long before it came back. News that the federal income tax is illegal and you don't need to pay it or forty pound New York rats that stole babies from their cribs. Some of these are just tongue-in-cheek fun while others are nothing more than slanderous gossip with harmful intentions. Remember Procter and Gamble having to publicly refute the notion that their logo is in fact a satanic symbol? I personally hate gossip, malicious or otherwise, and refuse to participate. I won't embarrass myself by forwarding this trash to ten of my friends as instructed.
For a long time I simply ignored such alerts as Mars will soon be closer to the Earth than any time in the past 30,000 years or so and appear bigger than the full moon. Lately it's become more of a personal campaign to fight email pollution. I respond to the Forward-button-pusher by gently (or not) pointing out the error of their ways including links to informational sites that logically refute these nonsensical chain letters. As I polish my reputation as a curmudgeon I have started to use the 'reply all' feature to publicly refute and hopefully embarrass the forwarder. Here's why.
The other day I received an informative email from a close friend telling me how I could survive a heart attack with no one around to help. It went on to describe how by coughing energetically during an infarction one can massage the heart enough to keep the blood flowing. The text cited medical establishments that discovered this method, etc. to give it street cred. Coughing CPR! Something everyone over forty should practice, right? I've already had one infarction and this could save my life some day. It was pretty well crafted and almost had me until the last sentence. "BE A FRIEND AND PLEASE SEND THIS ARTICLE TO AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE". The tip off. A quick jump to a couple of my favorite web sites, snopes.com and hoax-slayer.com brought me back to reality. Just enough science fact to hook the non-skeptic, but otherwise total B.S. Stuff like this could be dangerous. Sooner or later there will be a spam letter circulating that will contribute to someone's injury or even death. How will the innocent forwarder feel then?
Fighting this junk email is a lonely battle. Would you like to join me? We could start a new grass roots movement.
Fast forward through the era of Compuserve and AOL to the internet explosion. With it came an email system allowing us to communicate with anyone with an online account. Cheaper than long distance telephone we could keep in touch with friends and family at almost no cost. Easier and faster than snail mail. Better yet you could send to same message to a number of your friends and relatives. What a deal! For the recipient running low on original thoughts to share it was just a matter of forwarding fun or informative stuff one to a new list of contacts. Spam was born. Some of the more popular ones would find its way back to you every so often.
Some individuals who I suspect lacked meaningful goals in their life developed a hobby of creating such spam in the form of chain letters for the sole purpose of seeing how long before it came back. News that the federal income tax is illegal and you don't need to pay it or forty pound New York rats that stole babies from their cribs. Some of these are just tongue-in-cheek fun while others are nothing more than slanderous gossip with harmful intentions. Remember Procter and Gamble having to publicly refute the notion that their logo is in fact a satanic symbol? I personally hate gossip, malicious or otherwise, and refuse to participate. I won't embarrass myself by forwarding this trash to ten of my friends as instructed.
For a long time I simply ignored such alerts as Mars will soon be closer to the Earth than any time in the past 30,000 years or so and appear bigger than the full moon. Lately it's become more of a personal campaign to fight email pollution. I respond to the Forward-button-pusher by gently (or not) pointing out the error of their ways including links to informational sites that logically refute these nonsensical chain letters. As I polish my reputation as a curmudgeon I have started to use the 'reply all' feature to publicly refute and hopefully embarrass the forwarder. Here's why.
The other day I received an informative email from a close friend telling me how I could survive a heart attack with no one around to help. It went on to describe how by coughing energetically during an infarction one can massage the heart enough to keep the blood flowing. The text cited medical establishments that discovered this method, etc. to give it street cred. Coughing CPR! Something everyone over forty should practice, right? I've already had one infarction and this could save my life some day. It was pretty well crafted and almost had me until the last sentence. "BE A FRIEND AND PLEASE SEND THIS ARTICLE TO AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE". The tip off. A quick jump to a couple of my favorite web sites, snopes.com and hoax-slayer.com brought me back to reality. Just enough science fact to hook the non-skeptic, but otherwise total B.S. Stuff like this could be dangerous. Sooner or later there will be a spam letter circulating that will contribute to someone's injury or even death. How will the innocent forwarder feel then?
Fighting this junk email is a lonely battle. Would you like to join me? We could start a new grass roots movement.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Garlic: C&F
Growing up in Minnesota I was raised on Finnish/Scandinavian cuisine. Certainly a root cause for adolescent rebellion. Mom's spices and seasonings consisted of salt, black pepper, onions and maybe chili powder. Dill and mustard seed were only for pickles. Oh yes and cardamom for pulla bread. According to history the vikings invaded the British Isles and replaced the Roman (Italian) cooking style with their own as an eternal punishment for the natives.
In early adulthood I was lured to the dark side by oregano, thyme, tarragon, rosemary. And mostly that addictive garlic. I can't name a dish that wouldn't be enhanced by the addition of a clove or two of this glorious bulb. Well, maybe quiche. But then real men don't eat quiche anyway.
Through the years I've attempted growing some of my own garlic with less than satisfactory results. A few years ago my daughter and I took in an area garlic festival. A great preview of Heaven in my book. Chatting it up with some local growers I learned a few of the finer points about cultivating this member of the family Alliaceae. I was doing it all wrong. You plant garlic in the Fall of the year after the first frost, like tulips and other bulbs. The plants grow a bit before freeze-up and then die back. The young roots will continue to develop through the Winter. Garlic is hungry and requires ample fertilizer. I use about 2 pounds of 5-10-10 for my 100 plant bed at planting time. I tried a couple of types of seed from that local grower and settled on a stiff necked variety that seemed best suited for my garden conditions.
Seeing those bright green spearlike leaves appear soon after Spring thaw kind of jump starts my gardening activities each year. Now in mid June it's better than waist high and sending up blossom stalks. Interesting things that form a loop near the top. The blossoms themselves are nothing to look at and the resulting seeds while drawing on plant strength won't produce a desirable crop. So off with their heads! The stalks are quit tender and flavorful making them a delightful ingredient for soups,salads, omelets, etc.
Sometime in late July or August the leaves will turn brown and die back. That's the time to dig up the bulbs and lay them out in the sun for a few days to form that characteristic parchment covering. Then I gently bush off remaining soil and cut off the roots and stems. Since I only grow the stiff necked variety now braiding them for display isn't an option. The largest bulbs are set aside for the next planting. The remainder will spend the Winter in a net onion sack hanging in the breezeway. An inviting potpourri to welcome holiday guests.
I can taste that December pot of spaghetti sauce already.
In early adulthood I was lured to the dark side by oregano, thyme, tarragon, rosemary. And mostly that addictive garlic. I can't name a dish that wouldn't be enhanced by the addition of a clove or two of this glorious bulb. Well, maybe quiche. But then real men don't eat quiche anyway.
Through the years I've attempted growing some of my own garlic with less than satisfactory results. A few years ago my daughter and I took in an area garlic festival. A great preview of Heaven in my book. Chatting it up with some local growers I learned a few of the finer points about cultivating this member of the family Alliaceae. I was doing it all wrong. You plant garlic in the Fall of the year after the first frost, like tulips and other bulbs. The plants grow a bit before freeze-up and then die back. The young roots will continue to develop through the Winter. Garlic is hungry and requires ample fertilizer. I use about 2 pounds of 5-10-10 for my 100 plant bed at planting time. I tried a couple of types of seed from that local grower and settled on a stiff necked variety that seemed best suited for my garden conditions.
Seeing those bright green spearlike leaves appear soon after Spring thaw kind of jump starts my gardening activities each year. Now in mid June it's better than waist high and sending up blossom stalks. Interesting things that form a loop near the top. The blossoms themselves are nothing to look at and the resulting seeds while drawing on plant strength won't produce a desirable crop. So off with their heads! The stalks are quit tender and flavorful making them a delightful ingredient for soups,salads, omelets, etc.
Sometime in late July or August the leaves will turn brown and die back. That's the time to dig up the bulbs and lay them out in the sun for a few days to form that characteristic parchment covering. Then I gently bush off remaining soil and cut off the roots and stems. Since I only grow the stiff necked variety now braiding them for display isn't an option. The largest bulbs are set aside for the next planting. The remainder will spend the Winter in a net onion sack hanging in the breezeway. An inviting potpourri to welcome holiday guests.
I can taste that December pot of spaghetti sauce already.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Gardening Time cont'd
It must have been a busy month. I haven't found time to post for quite awhile. May is always a fun filled month for we gardeners with seeds to start and plants to put in the ground. Of course there is grass to mow about every other day as well.
The tulips and daffodils put on beautiful show again this spring though it's getting time to dig them up and separate them again. During a shopping trip I picked up a batch of seeds at the local Walmart. What a disappointment. I got two viable cucumber plants from the whole package. Nothing recognizable from the two packages of pepper seeds. The Big Boy tomatoes had about 30% germination. Pretty grim for the few seeds you get for that $1.00 per packet. I figure it comes out to about a nickel per seed. The summer and winter squash did very well, however, so all was not lost. I set the green bean seeds to soak earlier this week before the monsoon settled in. They're getting lengthy sprouts on them so I must get them in the ground this weekend. I will definitely rely on the local garden store for my seeds again next year. Running too late to reseed, it was off to the nursery for some replacement seedlings to populate the waiting garden. It's still raining so they're in the garage getting even leggier. Sunshine predicted for tomorrow (Saturday) so I'll be busy again this weekend. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers and some morning glories for the fence. Oh yes, and the beans. And mow the %$&@ grass.
This morning's batch of Italian bread is about ready for the oven so it's time to spindle this one.
The tulips and daffodils put on beautiful show again this spring though it's getting time to dig them up and separate them again. During a shopping trip I picked up a batch of seeds at the local Walmart. What a disappointment. I got two viable cucumber plants from the whole package. Nothing recognizable from the two packages of pepper seeds. The Big Boy tomatoes had about 30% germination. Pretty grim for the few seeds you get for that $1.00 per packet. I figure it comes out to about a nickel per seed. The summer and winter squash did very well, however, so all was not lost. I set the green bean seeds to soak earlier this week before the monsoon settled in. They're getting lengthy sprouts on them so I must get them in the ground this weekend. I will definitely rely on the local garden store for my seeds again next year. Running too late to reseed, it was off to the nursery for some replacement seedlings to populate the waiting garden. It's still raining so they're in the garage getting even leggier. Sunshine predicted for tomorrow (Saturday) so I'll be busy again this weekend. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers and some morning glories for the fence. Oh yes, and the beans. And mow the %$&@ grass.
This morning's batch of Italian bread is about ready for the oven so it's time to spindle this one.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Gardening time
I've enjoyed growing vegetables since I was a young lad. There's nothing like eating peas right off the vine or wiping a carrot clean (?) on your pant leg before enjoying it. Today I bring the produce into the kitchen to be prepared properly. Most of the time. While enjoying those tasty BLT's is still a few months off, it's time to get started. I tilled up the gardens last weekend. I say gardens because our wooded surroundings provide only scattered areas of adequate sun exposure.
The garden where I prefer planting cucumbers and squash was only recently reclaimed from the wild. Weeds and even brush are still more than a minor annoyance. Pulling weeds is not my favorite pass-time during those hot summer days. Especially when they are entangled with the vines. Being a bit on the lazy side I figured there should be a way around this thankless task. So instead of sending the newspapers off to recycle during the winter I stack them in the basement. Now the town collects all the fallen and pruned branches from local residents and chips them up for composting. Locals can haul away compost or raw chips free of charge. Getting the picture?
After tilling and raking the soil I drag out the newspapers and cover the ground two to four layers thick. Overlapping the layers for good coverage. Since this garden is on a slope I start at the top so the lapped layers won't form a watershed. Then I weight down the paper with a sprinkling of wood chips. I doesn't take many to hold things in place. Keep in mind that choosing a calm day for this allows me to keep my language at a PG rating. During frequent rests from this back breaker it's fun to read last year's news.
It's amusing to read how those now forgotten controversies stirred up the populace. Well, at least the reporters got excited about it. Today the color of Michelle's inauguration day gloves doesn't seem all that critical. Whatever happened to the bird flu pandemic? Migrating song birds with a skull and cross bones on their backs never showed up. Oh yes, all those banks crapped the bed and it's not over yet, but I'll read all about it next spring.
Fast forward to mid-summer. A chair in my favorite shady spot and a can of my favorite brew... Vwallah, no weeds! By autumn the newspaper will be pretty well deteriorated. Any leaves that won't fit into my three composting bins will get dumped on top of this garden. Next spring the whole works gets tilled into the soil and it starts all over again. This will be the fourth season using the paper mulch method on this garden and the soil has become unbelievably rich and loose. The earthworm population has increased dramatically. They love those leaves with paper.
Other garden areas for tomatoes and peppers get the shredded junk mail and grass clippings treatment. Maybe I'll return to that a different time. Or not.
The garden where I prefer planting cucumbers and squash was only recently reclaimed from the wild. Weeds and even brush are still more than a minor annoyance. Pulling weeds is not my favorite pass-time during those hot summer days. Especially when they are entangled with the vines. Being a bit on the lazy side I figured there should be a way around this thankless task. So instead of sending the newspapers off to recycle during the winter I stack them in the basement. Now the town collects all the fallen and pruned branches from local residents and chips them up for composting. Locals can haul away compost or raw chips free of charge. Getting the picture?
After tilling and raking the soil I drag out the newspapers and cover the ground two to four layers thick. Overlapping the layers for good coverage. Since this garden is on a slope I start at the top so the lapped layers won't form a watershed. Then I weight down the paper with a sprinkling of wood chips. I doesn't take many to hold things in place. Keep in mind that choosing a calm day for this allows me to keep my language at a PG rating. During frequent rests from this back breaker it's fun to read last year's news.
It's amusing to read how those now forgotten controversies stirred up the populace. Well, at least the reporters got excited about it. Today the color of Michelle's inauguration day gloves doesn't seem all that critical. Whatever happened to the bird flu pandemic? Migrating song birds with a skull and cross bones on their backs never showed up. Oh yes, all those banks crapped the bed and it's not over yet, but I'll read all about it next spring.
Fast forward to mid-summer. A chair in my favorite shady spot and a can of my favorite brew... Vwallah, no weeds! By autumn the newspaper will be pretty well deteriorated. Any leaves that won't fit into my three composting bins will get dumped on top of this garden. Next spring the whole works gets tilled into the soil and it starts all over again. This will be the fourth season using the paper mulch method on this garden and the soil has become unbelievably rich and loose. The earthworm population has increased dramatically. They love those leaves with paper.
Other garden areas for tomatoes and peppers get the shredded junk mail and grass clippings treatment. Maybe I'll return to that a different time. Or not.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Global Warming?
Oops, I guess climate change is the politically correct term these days. Whatever you want to call it the thermometer hit 88 this afternoon. That's a record for this date in our neck of the woods. I know one day doesn't confirm true climate change, but it give us old codgers something to talk about while sitting in the shade nursing an iced tea.
This morning I cranked up the chain saw and cleaned up some dead wood left over from last winter's ice storm and before. It made a nice addition to the wood pile. This fall we'll spend an evening or two by the fire pit while it turns to ashes. A radio turn to some soft music and a companion for a little quiet conversation. You remember conversation. It was that past time we had before tv and the internet. By noon it was getting too hot to attack any more outdoor chores.
So I escaped to the basement. I'm a computer hobbyist and somewhat of a packrat. The accumulation of cast off computers is starting to get out of hand. Next Saturday is hazardous waste disposal day at the town garage. You know, that day when we all load our old televisions, computers, cell phones, microwave ovens, old cans of paint and used motor oil into the back of the car and spend 45 minutes creeping along with a line of neighbors bent on doing their part to save the planet. It's hard to fight the urge to walk up and down the waiting line to see what goodies others might be throwing out. A few things that I might find useful some day. But no, I must focus on the task at hand. Stern orders on the home front to clear out some of that (maybe useful some day) junk. Sigh.
Good bye to a couple of Dell Pentium IIIs and a Digital PII sans hard drives and memory chips of course. Also several dead mother boards and power supplies. I'm still saving a few cases that will accomodate standard ATX or micro ATX mohter boards that can be found frequently at bargain prices. It's always nice too have an extra computer or two in the wings in case one of those that I'm using dies. I use the Debian Linux operating system on most of mine. I only resort to Windows when I don't have a choice. I'll leave further discussion of my passion for Linux for another day.
Now to load up the car.
This morning I cranked up the chain saw and cleaned up some dead wood left over from last winter's ice storm and before. It made a nice addition to the wood pile. This fall we'll spend an evening or two by the fire pit while it turns to ashes. A radio turn to some soft music and a companion for a little quiet conversation. You remember conversation. It was that past time we had before tv and the internet. By noon it was getting too hot to attack any more outdoor chores.
So I escaped to the basement. I'm a computer hobbyist and somewhat of a packrat. The accumulation of cast off computers is starting to get out of hand. Next Saturday is hazardous waste disposal day at the town garage. You know, that day when we all load our old televisions, computers, cell phones, microwave ovens, old cans of paint and used motor oil into the back of the car and spend 45 minutes creeping along with a line of neighbors bent on doing their part to save the planet. It's hard to fight the urge to walk up and down the waiting line to see what goodies others might be throwing out. A few things that I might find useful some day. But no, I must focus on the task at hand. Stern orders on the home front to clear out some of that (maybe useful some day) junk. Sigh.
Good bye to a couple of Dell Pentium IIIs and a Digital PII sans hard drives and memory chips of course. Also several dead mother boards and power supplies. I'm still saving a few cases that will accomodate standard ATX or micro ATX mohter boards that can be found frequently at bargain prices. It's always nice too have an extra computer or two in the wings in case one of those that I'm using dies. I use the Debian Linux operating system on most of mine. I only resort to Windows when I don't have a choice. I'll leave further discussion of my passion for Linux for another day.
Now to load up the car.
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