One of my first jobs was a part-time position stocking and cashiering at Dart Drug in Sterling, VA. It was a throwaway job in many respects, working for minimum wage with some shady characters and finally quitting after being falsely accused of helping myself to the till. The job was useful in that while working there I once helped track down a killer, but that’s a story for another day.
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One more phisher call
Add another number to the car warranty phisher list: 732-242-6556. Again the CallerID says “Warranty Division.”
I now have eleven phone numbers listed for these calls.
Bushfire
I was there when The B-52s counted down the last seconds of the 80s at San Diego Sports Arena. It was a good time in my life.
Bushfire
The B-52s [warning: music]
On the horizon, the landscape’s burning red
Bushfire—smoke in your eyes… smoke in your eyes
If you feel something, that makes you warm all over
If you got a fire and you can’t put it out—got a bushfire
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iPhone hack
Check out this cool new iPhone hack I found on YouTube [warning: self-launching video]. The cleverness of geeks never fails to amaze me.
Update: Click on the link above and you’ll be Rick Rolled. You can blame this guy for giving me the idea.
Slugging away
“Slug,” my Linux-hacked Linksys NSLU2 has been running Openslug Linux for months now and generally doing great. When the battery began dying on the UPS its been plugged into, Slug would reboot when the power would drop. It would then boot up but would frequently swap the drive order when it did, causing all sorts of mayhem.
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Warranty phishers call in the evening
The alleged Great Atlantic Warranty/Automotive Warranty Solutions (alleged scumbags), allegedly called my house at 6:30 this evening using “Warranty Division” and the number 732-242-6557 as their alleged CallerID.
I have allegedly filed complaints with the alleged Departments of Justice of the alleged states of Florida and North Carolina. Allegedly they’re on the case. I allegedly have lots of evidence to present to them.
Cops with tasers out of control
This morning I finally got around to watching the RCMP kill Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant who spoke no English, with three shots from a taser at the Vancouver airport in September. Sickening that no one seemed to have compassion for the man. No one even attempted to revive him once he collapsed. It bummed me out all day.
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Red-shouldered hawk moves in
That hawk I mentioned seeing in our backyard over Thanksgiving? It’s apparently moved in. I looked up again at lunchtime today to see it perched happily near the creek in my neighbor’s yard. I walked outside for more pictures but it flew into the woods upon my approach.
I got another good look at it about 15 minutes ago, again hanging around near the creek. Turns out it is a red-shouldered hawk. He’s probably looking to scoop up any frogs or snakes that hang around the creek. My bird book says they’re timid and it shows!
My telephoto lens doesn’t do it justice but I’ll post what pictures I have tonight.
Car warranty phishers get back to work
Thanksgiving is over now and the crooks at Automotive Warranty Solutions have wasted no time in dialing for dollars again. This morning’s call came from 208-844-6519, a number not yet listed on 800notes.com (it is now…heh). I was betting the number was a fake CallerID and I was right.
I’m thinking of calling Automotive Warranty Solutions’s CEO, Ralph Mancusco, at his home number (561) 865-2294 and giving him a piece of my mind. That wouldn’t be right, though.
During a related search, I found a nice writeup in this month’s AARP Bulletin discussing this sleazy company.
Turkey Day time off ticking away
The final minutes of my Thanksgiving holiday are ticking away. I have thoroughly enjoyed the four day weekend and the time with my family. I am grateful to have had the days off as a paid employee, as I have been a full-timer for a mere six weeks now. Though I won’t be climbing into a car tomorrow for a commute, I will still miss the “home” time I’ve had.
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