The Beeb says China’s navy will patrol the coast of Africa to combat the rampant piracy there. This is quite a departure from the Chinese navy’s tendency to stay close to its home shores. It will be an important test of China’s ambitions to build a blue water navy.
It will be not only an education for Chinese sailors but also for the other navies already patrolling the area, providing them a glimpse of China’s long-range naval capabilities. It will certainly be interesting to watch.
I did some more poking around the Police Protective Fund and discovered more.
The state of Missouri tipped me off that the “charity” is incorporated here in North Carolina, of all places, and lists a corporate services company on Hillsborough Street as its registered agent.
Its also licensed charity number SL000978 in North Carolina, with a number of documents available online from the North Carolina Secretary of State’s website.
I found the Filing Amendment dated 22 August 2008 to be notable. PPF’s law firm states PPF does not use professional solicitors or fundraising counsels in the state of North Carolina. Yet I have been unable to determine any presence the firm may have in North Carolina. So the question remains as to why did I receive a call from a Charlotte-area telephone number? Is PPF falsifying the CallerID of its solicitation calls?
I’m embarrassed that this charity exists in North Carolina. There is more digging to be done here, to be sure.
Christmas is next week and I was just comfortably standing outside wearing shorts. Ah, North Carolina winters are so unpredictable.
(Title means nothing other than the songs of the season eventually run together in my head)
I was going through the special features of our Netflix rental How the Grinch Stole Christmas and up popped Phil Hartman, in full Troy McClure mode.
What a talent he was.
Today’s paper mentioned sketchy fundraisers posing as the highway patrol, so that was on my mind when I got a call this evening from a 704 area code. A man claimed to be calling on behalf of the Police Protective Fund (PPF) and looking for tax-deductible donations. As soon as he said “tax-deductible,” I asked him “can I get your tax id?”
The folksy caller didn’t skip a beat, saying he’d have to get up from his desk to get it. After he got up, I heard a number of other telephone solicitors calling folks as the “North Carolina Police Protective Fund.” The main I talked with never said “North Carolina,” so I became a little more suspicious. He came back to the phone a minute or so later and dutifully read his organization’s tax id number: 74-2864446.
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I found a short-term contract position advertised and submitted my resume. The recruiter called back immediately and is submitting my resume today.
Its only a three month contract but that would be enough for me to get in on any first quarter hiring. Plus its with a good company so I might get a chance to stick around.
I’m no lock on the position and nothing’s been offered yet, but its better than my phone not ringing!
Wish me luck!
I walked out of the house with Hallie and Rocket on our way to Hallie’s school. Behind us came a gaggle of neighborhood kids – three brothers and a sister also on their way to school. Hallie, Rocket, and I waited for them to catch up before stopping by Hallie’s friend Oscar’s house to add him to the group.
There I was, marching down the street with six kids and a dog. It was a wonderful, happy scene! I got to know the neighborhood kids (who are really nice and polite) as we walked and then watched as they, Hallie, and Oscar gleefully raced up to school.
I had a smile on my face the whole walk home. Still do!
An article in the Coastal Federal Credit Union’s Beacon magazine [PDF] alerted me to an interesting scam involving gift cards.
In essence, the thief walks into a store where the gift cards are displayed openly. The thief makes note of the card numbers – either with a portable barcode scanner or a simple notepad – then returns the gift cards to the rack. At some point in the future (say, the day after Christmas) the thief calls the phone number to check the gift card’s balance. If there’s a balance on the card, the thief goes shopping online with the stolen card number, draining the card of its balance. They can only use the stolen number online because they don’t have the physical card, though with a mag stripe programmer a legit card could easily be reprogrammed with the stolen number.
This scam can be defeated by buying only gift cards that are held behind the counter. Also, gift cards with scratch-off PIN numbers are also relatively safe.
You can read more about the gift card scam at Scambusters.
Here’s a great forum thread on dog (and cat) nutrition. Our dog trainer mentioned some of this last week and it opened my eyes. I never gave much thought to what is being put into dog food.
The good news is that the food we’re feeding Rocket is some of the best. Check the label of the stuff you’re using to see how it stacks up.
My exasperatingly-beautiful editor wife has observed my use of “its” as a substitute for “it’s” makes me look foolish (or adds to this appearance, anyway). I replied that I’d once seen official word from the All-High Grammar Police that such use is now acceptable. Now, however, I cannot cite any references for this proclamation, but plenty that say I’m Doing It (or is it it’s?) Wrong.
In an effort to curry favor with the aforementioned grammar police, MT.Net will resume using “it’s” wherever appropriate.
