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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in Rant | 209 Words

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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I think I found my sweater

I got tired of having to fiddle with our clothes dryer’s lint filter just to get it to fit, so I unscrewed the filter cover and took a peek in. A few scoops later and I had a pile of lint as big as a cantaloupe! The ill-fitting filter’s centimeter-sized crack was enough to pass a virtual mountain of lint in the three years we’ve had the dryer.
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Cheap Thoughts: Police Flashers

On our way to the lake today we passed a police officer conducting a traffic stop. It reminded me of a thought I’d been meaning to blog about. When police pull people over, they fire up every light they have. Blue lights and high-beam flashers are going crazy. While the blue lights do convey authority and make the traffic stop visible to other motorists, I think the rapidly flashing high-beams are counterproductive. Such a fast-paced flashing can’t help but make the motorist nervous.
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Turkey Day track walk

I hope everyone’s enjoying their Thanksgiving today. I know I am. The breezy, sunny, mid-70s day certainly doesn’t hurt.

We awoke after 8 AM (!), had a fun, leisurely breakfast, dawdled a bit and then set out for a nature hike around Durant Nature Park. We got to the corner of our street when we heard what sounded like a train horn, at which point we turned towards the tracks to see the train.
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