Beginning on or around March 15, 2011, numerous people have reported that they’ve received virus scam calls on Skype from a robotic voice telling them that their computer is infected.The callers are shown as coming from Online Notification, Skype Alert System, or System Alert and ask you to accept the call.

via Skype Scam Alert – Fake Virus Call from System Alert.

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Scouting. Today is the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. I remember when I was Cub Scout so many years ago. The scouts are active in Calvert County.  Congratulations to our Scouts on their wonderful century long achievement.

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Today my spouse and I had the pleasure of moving one heck of a lot of snow in the driveway so we could get at least one car out.

The road crews that plowed the main street into our subdivision blocked every driveway with a two to three foot wall of ice. When I got to the street working from the front door forward I realized the snow drift the plow left was solid ice.

Just as I was ready to put down my plastic snow shovel and get a pick and metal shovel the Good Samaritan drove by. I don’t know his name.

The man was driving a black pick up truck with a snow plow attached at the front. He motioned for me to get out of the way. Next thing I knew he had shortened my task by a good hour or more by moving the wall of ice out of my way. Hooorah! He looked out his passenger window and asked me, “Did that help?” I said, “Yes sir,” and he drove off into the sunrise.

Thank the Lord for the random act of kindness and thank you Good Samaritan in the black pick up truck whoever you are.

My thanks also to the snow crews that kept our streets plowed even in the dead of night. Despite being eight miles from civilization our neighborhood was clear for emergency vehicles.

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Well I jumped in and purchased a Kindle DX. It isn’t here yet but I am reading the reviews at Amazon.com of the Kindle 2 and the tweets from Kindle owners on Twitter. What I have read before making my purchase decision leaves me thinking that the public has given it mixed reviews. People love it or are disappointed in it or are somewhere in between.

All I can do at this point is save in my own memory the comments folks are making and make my own decisions later. Granted it was an expensive plunge but this reader and others like it are in my view the shape of things to come. We have to run out of paper eventually

I’m going to watch and see what troubles I have with the service and keep in mind the opinions of others:

@DonMcNay says, If anyone has had a problem with Amazon charging unwanted books to their Kindle and difficult getting refund, email me. May write about.”  (That has me concerned. Over the years I have purchased many things from Amazon and they have never sent me anything I didn’t order. Don is a syndicated columnist so he may know something I don’t.”

What prompted me to make the jump to the Kindle was the PDF file. The DX has support for native PDF. I had been printing mountains of paper. Coast Guard Auxiliary training manuals now come in PDF format. The Boat Crew program literally has a wheel barrel full of heavy books once printed. Even at eighteen ounces the DX would be an improvement and I can take my books with me now.

@tamoor, Examiner.com’s Jay Siegel, Consumer Electronics Examiner wrote about his first experience with the Kindle DX on June 16, 2009. Jay’s article had some concern about the weight and the conversion of some graphics in PDF files. Most of my PDF’s are older text based files with few fancy graphics so I am hopeful I won’t run into that problem. We will see. It would be a significant disatisfier if the simple trusty PDF didn’t display properly most of the time.

@Patti_Oshea wrote, “A Couple Months With My Kindle: I’ve had my Kindle now for about 2 1/2 months now and I love it–a lot. I like b.. (from her blog)

Patti really likes the Kindle and has many reasons that I will share. Setting aside time to read is a problem. Having my books and manuals on the Kindle will make it easier to read. Her concern is one I have read about the earlier Kindles that there is no support for a filing system. I suppose people cope but a device like this should have a way to categorize books so they are easy to find. Patti notes that her reading is often interrupted by persons curious about the Kindle. That I hadn’t thought about   I’m going to look at the storage system after I get mine and offer my own two cents.

There are lots of Kindle users on Twitter. My first TweetDeck Twitter search filled the buffer with on-hundred results. Many were quite informative and several lead to great reads like Don, Jay, and Patti’s.  Well I’m back to reading the Twitter feed and anxiously awaiting a new way to read books. Can’t wait to get my Kindle DX.

©2012 Faster, better.... All Rights Reserved.

SALISBURY — A legal encounter hyped as a major First Amendment battle for the Internet Age quickly became a source of amusement for a state District Court judge who advised a Delmar Web logger to “get a life” and told local politicians to thicken their skin to electronic criticism.

read more | digg story

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The Chemistry Blog, subtitled It’s Talent Stupid, published a very insightful article on age discrimination on Friday April 24, 2009. Roger, the author is based in the UK and writes on HR topics. Age discrimination is a very public topic now in the UK but for the most part historically ignored in the media in the USA. Tracking this topic has been of some interest to me so that I can present myself to recruiters and to potential employers as being a great deal, or as one of my favorite supervisors called me in a formal performance evaluation, “A keeper.” 

Excerpt, “I attended the Recruiter Forum today, for my thoughts see my previous post.  One of the questions asked by the panel to the audience of 60+ recruiters, was, "do they see age discrimination as they go about hiring for companies"…the whole room put up their hand.”

Read Age Discrimination – Who isn’t doing it?

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Workers ages 45 and over form a disproportionate share of the hard-luck recession category, the long-term unemployed–those who have been out of work for six months or longer, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

read more | digg story

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April Showers bring May Flowers! Or in my case, they bring May fruits and vegetables.

read more | digg story

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(WSJ.COM via DIGG) Researchers discover software capable of stealing information installed on computers in 103 countries, an apparently coordinated attack that targeted the office of the Dalai Lama and government agencies around the world. Suspect computers are almost all located in China.

Also see this article at the International Herald Tribune

read more | digg story

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(New York Post via Drudge via Digg) COULD actress Natasha Richardson’s tragic death have been prevented if her skiing accident had occurred in America rather than Canada?

read more | digg story

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When my spouse and I left the San Francisco Bay Area in September 2001 for our new home in Maryland we left behind what I always considered real conservative AM radio. I had listened to radio station KSFO for many years. Their line up of presenters both local and national was impressive. I remember Melanie Morgan AM radio host.  Melanie went on to become a significant behind –the-scenes political leader whom we still see interviewed on many TV news programs. Her co-host Lee Rodgers still hosts the morning program at KSFO.  Barbara Simpson was another big favorite of mine. All of these folks were brighter than the average bulb. They absolutely captured my attention and kept me informed.

Perhaps my favorite host was Mr. Geoff Metcalf. Metcalf’s style was unique. Through the news of the day, he was able to capture and keep your attention on subject matter that really mattered. When he had guests on his program his interview techniques contributed to that guests success on-the-air success with each listener. I recall particularly his interviews with former military leaders. Having been in the service of our country himself, Geoff extracted from each guest interview the heart and soul of the subject at hand.

Metcalf read the news, but more than that he dotted the i’s and cross the t’s and tied all of the minutia together in a tight analytical package. On the national level this was done by Bill O’Reilly on his radio show but with much less detail in a much shorter time span. That’s been the trouble with national programs. Radio is timed so people can tune in and tune out so only a few important details are repeated over and over again or covered very quickly in very simple terms. This is often not enough for my more complicated mind.

Geoff Metcalf challenged your brain. His analysis was more akin to Brit Hume’s if I had to find a comparison. Some intellect is required to follow thoughtful analysis. What Geoff always did was to give you the background in sufficient detail so that you could follow his train of thought. You had to listen to his show to get the entire benefit.

Recently I checked to see if Metcalf was on the air here in Maryland. I had heard him guest host a program locally some time back. Mr. Metcalf, it turns out, is in-between gigs as it were. I certainly hope his program gets picked up by broadcasters in Maryland and the D.C. Metro area. He is well worth the listen.

©2012 Faster, better.... All Rights Reserved.

Some Catholics are outraged at the new President’s position on certain faith-related issues. They do not want the President honored with an honorary doctorate degree because of it. A website called http://www.notredamescandal.com/ exists so concerned Catholics can sign an on-line petition requesting that the college not follow through.

Click here for more information.

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(BoatingIndustry.com Friday March 20, 2009) – BoatingIndustry.com reports that Boater’s World Stores owned by troubled retailer, Ritz Cameras is shutting down. This means Calvert County will lose it’s major competitor to West Marine in Solomon’s Island, MD. A firm is being hired by Ritz to sell off Boater’s World assets.

Read about it here.

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W9USA TV reporter Scott Broom started his WordPress blog today. Scott is an Internet-ready high-tech one-man-band version of the old roaming TV news team. He’s fully wired on social networking sites like Twitter (scottbroom.) Unlike his predecessors Scott seeks out persons and websites that might have just the story he needs to make the day’s news on WUSA channel 9.

I met Scott on Twitter when he took an interest in my humble postings. His level of effort to make his job work, his unbridled enthusiasm for the news, and his high-tech energy might just make him the Washington D.C. metro area six-million dollar reporter. We also see him covering Southern Maryland. Scott is the local newsman to watch in 2009 ushering in a whole new concept for TV news.

Visit Scott’s blog, One Man’s Band, covering the new era of the digital correspondent in TV news and catch him filing reports from almost anywhere with his mobile TV-phone.

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(WUSA9.com 031209 BALTIMORE, Md.) — The coldest winter in years and skyrocketing energy bills have put 120,000 Maryland residents between a rock and a hard place. Their power could be cut off by April Fool’s Day. But Maryland state regulators have given these consumers a one week reprieve.

(Ed. Note: Our power and oil costs are outrageous despite having taken steps to conserve and wearing heavy clothing in our own home.)

Click here to read the rest of the story.

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(Yahoo News via DIGG) “The Vatican said Friday that the apology issued by an ultraconservative bishop who denied the Holocaust was not good enough to admit him into the Catholic Church as a clergyman.”

See also the report at FoxNews.Com.

Germany May Issue Arrest Warrant for Holocaust-Denying Bishop

(Ed note: There is still evil in this world. This anti-Semitic “clergyman” and Holocaust Denier may be the world’s best example of evil at the moment. I have been to Dachau for the tour and like most people paid close attention to history. At Dachau there are memorials to slain Catholics as well as Jews. Our Jewish brothers suffered horrifically over the rest. The Holocaust happened and we shall never forget that it did. The Christian faith is deeply rooted in Judaism and I for one am proud of those roots. People perpetuating hate need to be kept in their place. He has no business as a priest in ANY church and I test my faith when I think about praying for him to see the darkness in his views.)

©2012 Faster, better.... All Rights Reserved.

(Fox News via DIGG) With Americans holding on to their cars longer in the recession, the Better Business Bureau is warning motorists to be “extremely wary” of bogus telemarketers who say their auto warranties are on the verge of expiring.

(Ed Note: I find it fascinating that the real story was actually missed. This telephone scam has been in place for years and has numerous victims. The government and the BBB have known about it but nothing has ever been done. They admit as much in this article. The telemarketing companies routinely violate the Do Not Call list but the only solution proposed in the story is for people to sign up for the Do Not Call list. Go figure. I expected better from Fox News, our government, and the BBB. It is time someone with some chutzpah took charge here and put the scam out of business!)

read more | digg story

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(Mail Online via DIGG) Social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, an eminent scientist has warned.

(Ed Note: As I recall, they said the same thing about television.)

read more | digg story

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Never volunteer information to someone calling you on the telephone. Phishing is not just an Internet scam. There are still people using the telephone attempting theft and fraud every day. When someone calls you that you do not know and they are asking you very personal questions ask yourself whether you should confirm anything they have told you. Be very cautious about giving a similar caller any new information regardless of how innocuous the call may seem.

Today I received a call from a person claiming to represent a company that provides pharmaceutical insurance for my health insurance company. The call just seemed odd. The caller was on a headset I could barely understand. That to me is a sure sign that the caller is in a call center and might be a telemarketer. I immediately challenged this person because I had previously told my health insurance company I wanted all communication from them in writing and they were happy to oblige. They have been very good about our relationship so this call made no sense to me.

The caller wanted to discuss my health and medications. In an effort to assure me she was who she said she was she volunteered the name of my pharmacy! Next she said to simply look on the back of my medical insurance card for the name of her company! Yeah right. What is wrong with this picture. I hung up on her.

My next call was to my health insurance company. Now aside from their telephone tree they do a reasonably good job with customer service. The representatives I have spoken to have had the authority to resolve problems. This representative listened carefully to my information about the call. She said she would call the pharmaceutical company. She made that call and discovered that the company had NOT called me.

According to my insurance company both they and their affiliates keep records of all calls to customers. They had a record of my last call from a pharmacy a few weeks earlier but no call made today. Very interesting don’t you think? The insurance company was next going to alert their security folks.

No one has a clue at this point where the call really came from. All I know is that the telephone number on caller ID was 180-026-8570. The caller clearly wanted me to feel at home with her and stay on the line telling her whatever she wanted me to tell her. Just in case I also called my pharmacy. Everyone I deal with knows what happened. We are all on our toes.

Phishing is on the increase. It is on the increase because some people are not as careful as others. Remember that if anyone calls you on the telephone you are under no obligation to give them anything. Call them back if you have to. Verify who they say they are before you say anything. You just never know who people are or how they want to compromise you or your family.

Be very suspicious of people calling you and just as suspicious of caller id because it can also be compromised.

©2012 Faster, better.... All Rights Reserved.

BIG Star Trek fan. I cannot help myself. Every version has captured my attention since Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. The finest theme ever written for the series was the one for Enterprise. I’d have to say that the last two series were my favorites and Enterprise was perhaps number one of two. The theme for the show is actually very moving. Perhaps you will find the full version as moving as I do:

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As we have all heard, Alaskans are closely watching the Redoubt volcano a hundred or so miles from Anchorage. There are definite signs the volcano is ready to erupt again. The last eruption being in 1990. The Alaskan Volcano Observatory has web cams pointed at the various volcanoes, including two at Mt. Redoubt.

Now if you’re like me, you would just as soon watch a web cam to wait for a volcano to erupt as watch a football game on television. Click the link above and perhaps you will be among the first to see the volcano erupt. You can also follow the activity reports for the Redoubt volcano on Twitter.

©2012 Faster, better.... All Rights Reserved.