justxploring's Blog

Does anyone know what agency I should contact and the address or telephone number for reporting telephone fraud?  I just checked my voicemail on my cell phone and a man left a message saying "This is Conner Jenkins from Data Com Research.  It is imperative that you call me immediately about your credit card balance. The minimum payment is going up and we might have a solution that can help reduce your debt."

Believe me, this call is not real.  The telephone number he gave is (800) 210-2935.  The number on my cell phone shows as (231) 732-2413.  Interesting - I just googled this number and this is what I got:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-231-732-2413 

I went onto the FBI web site and there is a link for Internet Crime, but not this type of scam.  I report the fraudulent emails I get once in a while, especially the ones that say my Chase or Citi card is frozen and I need to call or email my social security number and account number, but I doubt if much can be done, although I hope that if enough people complain quickly (before the email or number is changed) eventually some of these maggots will be arrested and prosecuted.

Last night what was supposed to be a 5 minute telephone chat with a friend turned out to be a long debate.  If you didn't hear the story on the evening news or read about it in the paper, you can Google words like Wisconsin, gas station, 33 cents and get several articles. 

She was trying to convince me that the people who filled up for 33 cents a gallon weren't stealing.  The problem is, when someone asks you your opinion, she shouldn't get upset and yell at you when you give it.  I guess we all do that once in a while.  "What do you think of...  ?" and expect to receive an answer we like. 

Well, I did give an answer, and this is what I said.  If I filled up my car today at my local Shell station and my credit card receipt was under $5 bucks, I'd know something was wrong and report it to the station and pay the correct amount. Am I wealthy?  No, far from it, and neither is the gas station owner or the people who work there. 

I asked her what she'd do if she went to the bank, requested $100 and when she got home there was $200 in the envelope the teller gave her. When she checked her bank statement, only $100 was deducted from her account that day.  Would she call the bank? I know she would if the situation were reversed. 

My answer was plain and simple.  They were wrong. They were taking advantage of a huge goof and stealing from the gas station owner, not showing any concern about the attendant who obviously made an innocent mistake. 

Am I a saint?  Not even close.  I won't list all the things I've done that are probably going on my 'permanent record.'  LOL   

So please answer honestly.  No personal attacks please on me or anyone else who posts a response.  Thank you. 

As you probably know, the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday in retail, because that's when the businesses that have gone into "the red" during the summer begin making a profit and go back into "the black" because of increased sales.

For years people have been showing up at stores like Walmart at 5 in the morning if they want to get that special 4 hour deal before they run out of stock.  This year Best Buy is advertising a complete package with an eMachine desktop computer, a 17" LCD (yup, not CRT) monitor and a Canon all-in-one printer.  No rebates, just an instant discount.  Wow!!

Sounds really great, right?  I called locally and my sister called Best Buy in MA.  From what I learned, in 2006 people were lined up in the parking lot at about 3am and a couple of families camped out in places where it was allowed.  At 4 they begin handing out tickets (sort of like a bakery I guess) so nobody cuts in line at the last minute.  At 5 the door open and it's first come, first served.  The ads say they have 15 in stock, but my sister was told that store only has 1 left.  Hmm. 

Well, I thought I'd mention this in case someone really, really needs a computer and only has $200 to spend.  It would also make a fantastic gift, wouldn't it?  They're also advertising a Sony Vaio laptop for $399 which is about $350 off the regular price.

Some stores are open on Thanksgiving (hard to believe!) and some are having online only sales during certain hours.  Good luck in your pursuit of the great bargain.  In this day and age, maybe you should take along your pepper spray!

Here are some links:

http://www.blackfriday.info/

http://www.black-friday.net/

http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/ 

Happy shopping.  I think I'll go to the beach.  It's cheaper...and probably safer too.

Target Corp yesterday said it is working to add labels that warn consumers when meat is treated with carbon monoxide to make it look fresh. Federal regulators faced criticism for allowing the practice, which critics call unsafe.

I have an idea.  I think they should write an obituary for the cow.  That would have all the dates - born, slaughtered, packaged.....

 Several newspapers reported today:

Four transplant recipients in Chicago have contracted HIV from an organ donor. The patients also contracted the Hepatitis C virus. 

I was very surprised to read this in 2007.  Back in the 80s a close friend was infected with HIV during an emergency blood transfusion, but that was when testing was in its infancy. 

Since transplant patients often wait for years praying for an organ, and many die waiting for a compatible donor, this is the cruelest twist of fate. 

I'm not blaming the Iraq War for this tragedy.  After all, contracting HIV or Hep C from a transplant is extremely rare.  However, where are our priorities when it comes to Federal Funding? 

"President Bush is willing to spend endlessly for the war in Iraq, with money borrowed largely from foreigners, while refusing to invest in important priorities here at home, like children’s health care, medical research, local law enforcement and homeland security. President Bush should stop playing politics and work with Congress to pass legislation that reflects the needs of our middle class families here at home."  Democratic Caucus's Senate Journal

Of course we need to protect our nation from terror and oppression.  But we first need to be strong in both mind & body or we will crumble.  When its citizens have to choose between buying home heating oil or prescription medication, it must be hard to have confidence in our leaders who make empty promises.

I won't even begin to tell you I'm an expert on global warming or its effects on the environment.  We all need to be conscious of the mess we've made of our beautiful planet and the amount of garbage we dump on its land, water and into the air.

However, every time I watch the news and hear about another bombing somewhere, I wonder how many trees, plants and animals have been destroyed or poisoned.  I guess because the toll on human life is so devastating, many of us are concerned that such a statement might sound insensitive. After all, if your son or daughter died in Iraq, why would you give a hoot about all the pollutants that will be inhaled or ingested for the next several months, years or even decades? 

After the invasion of Kuwait in 1990, Iraq burned over 11 billion gallons of oil, releasing immeasurable amounts of toxins into the air. Since then the leukemia rate in Iraq has increased by more than 600%.  Coincidence?  Maybe it was from the tons of shell casings, bullets and bomb fragments laced with depleted uranium that the British and USA planes and missiles left behind.  Who cleaned it up?

More recently the United Nations estimated that United States and British forces have used as much as 2,000 tons of shells made of depleted uranium since we invaded Iraq in 2003. Maybe because it's happening in a land so far away, most people don't care about the children who are the main victims and whose mortality rate from cancer is close to 100% due to inadequate medical care.  But that toxic air will continue to blow and blow in our direction until someday, when you open your windows or turn on your air conditioner, it seeps into your home.  When I was at Walmart I didn't see any filters that said "filters small radioactive particles." 

Maybe that's why when everyone is screaming "global warming" and telling us to change our light bulbs, drive hybrids and take shorter showers, I sometimes turn a blind eye and shrug my shoulders. Of course I care about planet Earth.  But all the conservation in the world won't mean diddley squat if someone drops the big one on us. 

I just started humming a song and it struck me that it's from the musical Hair from 1968. 

Welcome sulphur dioxide,
Hello carbon monoxide
The air, the air is everywhere
Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep

Bless you alcohol bloodstream,
Save me nicotine lungsteen
Incense, incense is in the air
Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep

Cataclysmic, cataplasm
Fall out atomic orgasm
Vapor and fume at the stone of my tomb
Breathe like a solemn perfume
Eating at the stone of my tomb

Welcome sulphur dioxide,
Hello carbon monoxide
The air, the air is everywhere
Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep

Does anyone know who said "the more things change, the more they stay the same?"

 It's 4 in the morning, I just took my 3rd Advil and still can't get rid of this headache, so I won't write too much.

.......and the LP members stand up and  

but reading this headline in a Canadian online paper got me a little upset tonight

 Dollar soars beyond $1.09 U.S.

Isn't this the first time in history?  I admit political science & economics weren't my strongest subjects, but I used to travel a lot and my dollar was welcome everywhere because people knew it would grow in value. Well, I guess I won't be moving to Canada to look for cheap housing anytime soon.  Isn't it nice to know that Japan & China hold over $4 trillion of our debt? 

Don't get me started on The Federal Reserve.  The American people have been sold down the river. 

In South Carolina last week a judge sentenced a 22 year old man to 5 years, reduced to 3 years in prison and 2 of probation. 

Now, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't care if this man was sent to Alcatraz, if it were still a federal prison, but does the punishment fit the crime?

The man was having an argument with his girlfriend when the &*%$#@ tossed her puppy off of a balcony of an apartment building.  The poor puppy suffered massive head & body injuries and was euthanized. The judge, expressing his shock and disgust is quoted as saying in the courtroom "You mean he threw a helpless animal off three floors because he was mad at someone?"

In the news everyday we read about drunk drivers who get their hands slapped, pedophiles and rapists who get released after spending less than a year behind bars and, of course, all those celebrities who just seem to get into trouble all the time.

Personally, I don't even like killing an insect.  I think that animal abuse is just one step away from violence against another human, especially when it's obvious (as in this case) that unmanageable anger caused the offender to lose control.  Still, I'm not sure spending 3 years of his young life behind bars is the only way to send a message that what he did was reprehensible. 

What do you think about this judge's decision?

E. coli is in the news again!  This time 5 million frozen pizzas have been recalled by General Mills.  The state with the most reported cases is Tennessee.

General Mills says no signs of the bacteria have shown up in any of their packing facilities, but they are recalling the pizzas as a precaution. 

CHECK YOUR FREEZER

The recall involves the following frozen pizzas and product code numbers:

• Totino's Party Supreme, 42800-10700
• Totino's Three Meat, 42800-10800
• Totino's Pepperoni, 42800-11400
• Totino's Pepperoni, 42800-92114
• Totino's Classic Pepperoni, 42800-11402
• Totino's Pepperoni Trio, 42800-72157
• Totino's Party Combo, 42800-11600
• Totino's Combo, 42800-92116
• Jeno's Crisp 'n Tasty Supreme, 35300-00561
• Jeno's Crisp 'n Tasty Pepperoni, 35300-00572
• Jeno's Crisp 'n Tasty Combo, 35300-00576

I wonder if there are any local charities that collect leftover Halloween candy.  Does that sound stupid to you?  I'm not sure if a shelter or food bank will accept candy. I have lots of Reece's peanut butter cups, Kit Kat bars, Milky Way and Twix that are unopened.

I realize that sugar and sticky caramel isn't good for any child's teeth, but I'm sure there are homes in which the boys & girls don't get a costume or the chance to go door to door to get their share of the yummy treats. 

I wasn't planning to blog anything tonight.  However, I wanted to see if there was any more information on the young student who was murdered and left in the trunk of her car after answering an ad on Craig's List for a job as a nanny, so I used Google.  This is what I got.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,306317,00.html

I knew it wasn't a picture of the victim, since I saw her photo on the news earlier and she had curly hair and was only in her early 20s.  I guess Heather Nauert is smiling for the cameras, but I see nothing to smile about here.  Yes, I agree she's very pretty and has nice teeth and her hairdo is exactly what I asked for last time I went to the salon.  If you enlarge her photo, you can check out her sharp red blazer too.  But next to her posed photo is

"Tonight we are learning that 24-year-old Katherine Olson of Minnesota was murdered — shot in the back, her body stuffed in the trunk of her car where she was found late Friday night."

We're becoming a nation of glamour shots.

George Washington, a beautiful colt, was put to death after fracturing his leg while competing in the Breeder's Cup race on Saturday.  It had been raining for days, but the race must go on when so much money is at stake.  Unfortunately, you can't put special tires on a horse for traction since it's not a race car.  You can only "supe it up" so far before it breaks down and then there's no second chance, no way to tune it up once its lungs burst, its heart gives out from exhaustion or its legs begin to crack.

If 2 people want to get into a ring and beat the crap out of each other, that's okay with me.  But these 4-legged "investments" don't have much of a choice.  Judging from the number of injuries this year, I'd say that we humans might want to take a second look at the demands we put on these creatures for our personal profit and entertainment.

Guess we have some competition!    What a remarkable woman.  She looks great!  Wow - 52 years older than I am and I have my AARP card.  LOL   Amazing. 

http://www.appscout.com/2007/10/worlds_oldest_blogger_celebrat.php

You know that old expression that says "You can pick your friends, but not your relatives?"  Obama and Cheney are distant cousins! 

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1621534220071016

(or is the expression: you can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose) 

Believe it or not, I have nothing to say.  I think this article from my local paper says enough.  I just want to highlight the paragraph:

"Since Thursday more than 300 illegal migrants have arrived in Windsor seeking legal status, most of them asking for social services, costing city taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in food and lodging."

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/sep/28/sinjsuste_windsor_brace_more_illegal_immigrants/?breaking_news

Actually, I do have something to write.  I feel really badly for these immigrants.  You should see the conditions many of them live in, sometimes 2 families in one trailer, but I'd rather the good people of Canada foot the bill.