Beware the Police Protective Fund

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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Progress!

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!

Good start to a good day

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!

Gift card scam

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.

Dog foods

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.

It’s no use

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.

Power surge

I picked up a donated motherboard/CPU from a fellow TriLUGer and popped it into my Myth box last night to see if it would fire up. Fire might be an apt word, as the motherboard did exactly nothing while I had it powered.

After I checked connections and powered it up again, I gave up on it and put the power supply back on my existing motherboard. When I plugged it back in, I got a huge power surge that nearly tripped my UPS. My power supply clearly didn’t like being tethered to that questionable motherboard.

The good news is my power supply is still okay. After its surge, it booted my Myth box fine. Now I need to find a new donated motherboard/CPU for my project. Hey, it was worth a try!

It’s not you, it’s me

I’ve gotten a few responses in response to positions for which I’ve applied. Here’s one from the other day:

Hello Mark,

Thanks for contacting us, I apologize, but like so many companies in
the current environment we’ve had to put our hiring plans on hold
temporarily. I’m hoping we can open things up again in Feb or Mar. If
you’re still looking at that point it would be great to talk.

And this one came in today from a large software company in Cary:

Dear J Mark. Turner:

Thank you for your interest in employment at $LARGE_SOFTWARE_COMPANY. We appreciate your application for $POSITION. Because our business needs have changed, we are no longer recruiting for this position, and the opening has been cancelled.

These are phantom jobs. Job seekers get their hopes up but the job evaporates between the time its budgeted and the time its advertised. These phantom jobs are good for one thing, though: meeting the two-applications-a-week unemployment benefit requirements.

Shell game

I saw a “pulic” notice in the N&O’s classifieds today (link may not work as N&O web stuff is sometimes broken). It involves a minor change in the license for WRVA-FM 100.7, a.k.a. “The River.”

I generally don’t pay much attention to these things but this ad stood out its sheer length. Here’s the most interesting part (my emphasis):

The general partner of Capstar TX Limited Partnership is AMFM Shamrock Texas Inc., and its limited partner is Capstar Radio Operating Company. AMFM Shamrock Texas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Capstar Radio Operating Company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of AMFM Texas Broadcasting, L.P. The general partner of AMFM Texas Broadcasting, L.P. is AMFM Broadcasting, Inc., and its limited partner is AMFM Texas, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of AMFM Broadcasting, Inc., which is wholly owned by AMFM Radio Group, Inc., which is wholly owned by AMFM Operating, Inc., which is wholly owned by Capstar Broadcasting Partners, Inc., which is wholly owned by AMFM Holdings, Inc., which is wholly owned by AMFM Inc., which is wholly owned by Clear Channel Communications.

Got that? Think the taxman does? Anyone still doubt that lawyers have ruined the entertainment industry?