TJ's Blog
Search:

Posted by TJ on Monday October 20, 2008 @ 01:43 PM
[Tags: internet, technology, google]

Every tech blog has had a Google Goggles post. Now I don't think many would consider this a tech blog and I am late to the game but here it is:

If you haven't heard Gmail Goggles prevents sending regrettable drunk emails by requiring you to take a quiz before sending emails during set times.


Now this is pretty clever. Who would of thought the email would have such historical advances in 2008?

I think that Google added this feature as more as gimmick and publicity stunt than usefulness. But what I wonder is why instead of a quiz why can't they add an "unsend" button to emails. I understand that they are unable to retrieve emails that have already been sent, however, they could hold the emails for a set period of time (set by user) on their servers before sending them. Or what's stopping you from being able to retrieve an email sent to another gmail user that hasn't been read? Has this feature been considered?



Posted by TJ on Thursday October 16, 2008 @ 04:41 PM
[Tags: music, lyrics, humor]

[Music: Matthew Costa - Sunshine]

Quote:

Sunshine
I'd really like to tell you
Oh my sunshine
Even though your skies are blue
You're drying up my bed
How can I get any rest now?
Sha la la la la la la la

Someday
You will get the best of me
Oh someday
Probably when I'm old and grey
I'm lying in my bed
And I will soon be put to rest now
Sha la la la la la la la

Sunshine
I'd really like to tell you
Oh my sunshine
Even though your skies are blue
You're drying up my bed
How can I get any rest now?
Sha la la la la la la la

Someday
You will get the best of me
Oh someday
Probably when I'm old and grey
I'm lying in my bed
And I will soon be put to rest now

I'm lying in my bed
And I will soon be put to rest now (Ooh ooh) [x2]
Sha la la la la la la la


Okay so I figured out what happened with this song, this guy, we'll call him Matthew Costa sits down and starts to write a song but then he gets writers block, doesn't feel like writing songs no more but still needs that song to fill up his album. So this genius of a guy just repeats the only paragraph he did have ambition to write 5 times to make into a song.





Posted by TJ on Wednesday October 15, 2008 @ 10:51 AM
[Tags: rant, internet, hints]

No, I'm not going to buy your product or service if you are emailing me from an @gmail.com, @yahoo, or @aol.com address.

I do not understand why people still try to conduct a "professional" business using a free email provider.

Your @aol.com or @gmail.com account should not be used to conduct a professional business. You can have your own domain (IE: yourname@yourlegitimatebusiness.com) for as low as $10/year. Get with the times.. this is 2008 not 1999.

/Rant



Posted by TJ on Monday October 13, 2008 @ 09:14 PM
[Tags: scam, internet, hints]

Note: This is part 2 of the Job Scam Series.

I just received an email offering a position with Advan LTD "Advan Group LTD". This is indeed another poor attempt at a scam.

How do I know this is a scam?
The senders address is different then the reply address provided in the email and the company has little history in a Google search.

Why am I writing about this?
Hopefully this blog will show up in search results and prevent potential victims. Since this is a new scam there were no search results for this company so I thought I should make some.

How does a scam have such a sophisticated website?
Anybody can create a professional looking website in a matter of minutes by copying an existing website. You can do this is Firefox by selecting File->Save as File->Webpage Complete. A scammer would then change the logo and text to coincide with the name of their fictional company.

What's the purpose of this scam
They want to get information from you... SS#(from application), bank account number (from direct deposit info), email address (for spamming), or they are going try get you to transfer your money to them using wires.

What are Common things to look for to spot a scam?
  • Are they using a free email provider (ie: @gmail, @hotmail, @aol)? Reputable and professional companies have their own domain and use it in their emails (IE: @thesitename.com).
  • Is the "reply to" address stated in the email? Is this different then senders email address? Scammers often distort the header to show different senders addresses so they get passed email filters
  • Does the email provide a link to the companies website? Look up the urls registry info by going to http://whois.sc/thesitename.com. Check to see when it the registration was created and if the registry addresses match the companies address. If the website domain was just registered then this means the sender probably created the website just to scam people.
  • Use Google and search for "the company scam" or that turns no results just search for the "company name with quotes".
  • Does the email offer a Work at home opportunity? It is very hard to find a legitimate work at home job online so these should require extra caution before replying to
  • Broken English, misspelling, poor grammar. Most of these scammers are foreigners and can not create a professional sounding email in english.
Here's a copy of the email I received:
Quote:

We have an opening position for your attention. This job offer is limited and can be offered for US citizens only. Our Company is looking for persons for part-time based vacancy. This is home based, online, part-time, fast-paced position. Part-time employees usually works over 4 hours every business day (from Monday through Friday) and typically do not work on weekends or regular holidays. During working process you will accept orders from our clients about purchase of tourist permit. Your starting salary will be from $3,500.00 (depending on employees plan), which will be paid to you in accordance with our standard payroll procedures. In addition, you will be eligible for bonuses. What we do? We buy/sell/exchange touristic tickets, tours, airline tickets, booking and etc. Our marketing management department decided to accept sales orders from international customers, that is why you are reading this job offer letter. During all working process you will be official representative of our company with full rights and standards. You will receive orders/payments/billing records/payment invoices/transactions from our clients, customers and investors Our part-time employees also receive an attractive benefits package. Please note that these opportunities are part-time only working approximately 16 hours per week. Actually we do not require any work experience or base requirements. This job if perfect for students, moms and those who are looking for good part-time/online job. This is a great chance to start your career with us, we are fast growing international company, don’t waste your time, start your career right now. Hurry up, this job opportunity is limited.

If you are interested in our offer, we shall send you detailed description of the vacancy. Write to me on e-mail: maloof.marcie@gmail.com
You will get a response in 2-3 days.

Thanks for your time and interest.

NOTE: This is original e-mail letter from ADVAN LTD. This not any kind of: MLM, scam, spam. We will never ask to you to provide any kind of investments.

What should I do if I provided my information to scammers?
  1. Do not respond to further communications.
  2. If you sent bank Information: call your bank immediately and tell them what happened. They should be able to change your account number or cancel your account.
  3. You should consider signing up for automatic credit monitoring LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention
  4. You can also file a claim with The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). They are probably overloaded with these types of claim though, so I would not expect an individual response.
  5. If the email you received was different then the one posted in this post paste it below (or explain the differences) so others will find this warning.

    If this post helped you I would appreciate if you left a comment so I know to keep posting these alerts. Thanks!



Posted by TJ on Monday October 6, 2008 @ 04:28 PM
[Tags: links, thoughts, humor]

spaceweather.com said:
A small, newly-discovered asteroid named 2008 TC3 is approaching Earth and chances are good that it will hit. Steve Chesley of JPL estimates that atmospheric entry will occur on Oct 7th at 0246 UTC over northern Sudan . Measuring only a few meters across, the space rock poses no threat to the ground, but it should create a spectacular fireball, releasing about a kiloton of energy as it disintegrates and explodes in the atmosphere. Stay tuned for updates


Okay so according to this report it doesn't look like were actually screwed, however, as a coincidence “The Time Monks” has also chose October 7th as the beginning of a period of extraordinary event that will surpass 9/11. The Time Monks is a computer based project that is basically computers analyzing data to predict the future.

http://rstr.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/100708/ said:

“ The Web Bots see September 22-27, 2008 as precursor dates to the main turning point date of October 7, 2008. Closely watch events during September 22-27, 2008 for hints as to what to expect on October 7, 2008.

Cliff said whenever “it” happens, and whatever “it” turns out to be, “it” will be a date in history you remember like 9/11, we will remember 10/7.

The Web Bots foresee that October 7, 2008 to February 19, 2009 will be filled with emotional intensity, and the length of the release period will be extraordinary. The Web Bots have never picked up any event lasting this long. In comparison, 9/11 length lasted about 10 days. This event will be four months of high emotion…….”

Based upon the September 22nd interview on Coast to Coast radio with the Time Monks, here is an outline of what the Web Bots have uncovered for the following weeks, months and years:

The next year will get very ugly and will change your life worse than 9/11. It is important to understand the magnitude of the data. The sort of agony, grief, pain and rage that was felt the six days following 9/11 will be felt for five and a half months. From October 7th, 2008 until March of next year….

* Will there be a total economic collapse?

Yes. 2009 will be a “year of transformation.” The keyword “monumental” shows up as how the future will view our current situation. Time Monks describe this as an “epic situation”


And add to this my blog post how the stock market actually decreased drastically 2-3 weeks before the September 11 events, speculating you may be able to see a huge drop in the stock market as predicting a huge event.

So all these commingling events seem to all add up, and I think it's as a good time as any to get your tinfoil hat on. User submitted image No?

And as if this is not enough to worry about we also have a UFO and some aliens visiting us on October 14th. Blossom Goodchild, a physic says she has been visited by the Federation of Light. The FoL gave her a message that speaks of giant lightships appearing and humanity will be rocked by the sightings. She stresses they come in peace. Here's the exact message she said she received.

http://www.blossomgoodchild.com/ said:

***The Lightships are there in our skies
Connected to the thoughts and wishes and hopes of humanity
They are indeed higher self consciousness aspects of humanity
Or could be referred to as "us in the future"
First contact individually has already occurred
It is First contact globally that has not occurred yet
This First contact globally shall be in response to the consciousness level of humanity
Discernment must be used as darkworkers try to counteract everything that the Light brings in (yet they are failing in this)****


Boy are those aliens going to be mad when they finally decided to come visit us and we are no longer here.



Posted by TJ on Friday October 3, 2008 @ 10:13 AM
[Tags: links, amazon, humor]

Obama & McCain Costume Masks $11.24 - 55% off at Amazon
Put on your party face!

Amazon.com has the Obama and the McCain Costume Masks for $11.24 each. Put on a suit and tie and you're all set!!

Obama Mask

McCain Mask

Amazon also has the Palin mask for $29.99 (no discounts)

Enjoy!



Posted by TJ on Monday September 29, 2008 @ 07:54 PM
[Tags: scam, internet, rant]

Today I was going through a pile of old mail I have yet to open and found an notice that I was selected for inclusion into the "famous" Strathmore's Who's Who. Wowzer's!! Right?

Now at first I figured this is probably a scam, the same as when I poem I wrote got selected to be included in a special edition collection of elite authors by poetry.com. All you need to do is pay some elaborate fee for the "publishing".

But then I thought hey maybe they saw I received my CPA or maybe saw this website which would definitely earn me a spot on any list(Ok that's an embellishment).

So I did a search and found it was definitely a scam.

What makes me wonder most about these scams is how do the people... the owners, the sales people, or even the secretaries of this company ... how do they wake up everyday and knowing that they are going to work for a company that is completely worthless to the society and just a fraud to the American dream? A cashier at the McDonalds, a disgraced politician, hell even staff at an abortion clinic earn more admiration then these people do, I just can't imagine the type of people who could make a career doing stuff like that.

And what sucks more is people actually fall for this type of scam. This press release by Wayward Community College congratulates a professor for their successful induction (buying) into the list.



Posted by TJ on Saturday September 27, 2008 @ 11:11 AM
[Tags: news, tv, rip]

I added Paul Newman to the list of famous colorblind people on the colorblind facts YESTERDAY. I checked the news today and the poor man died of cancer. Talk about weird coincidence, huh.

RIP Paul Newman January 26, 1925 - September 26, 2008



Posted by TJ on Tuesday September 23, 2008 @ 12:40 PM
[Tags: scam, links, internet]

Note: This is part one of the Job Scam Series

I just received an email offering a career with PHC Consulting and confirmed that this is a scam. Despite it's elaborate looking website I'm 99.99% positive this website is a scam.

How do I know this is a scam?
It's registry data says the website was registered/create September 21 2008. No legitimate business can be created in 2 days.

Why am I writing about this?
Hopefully I this blog will show up in search results and prevent potential victims. Since this is a new scam there were no search results for this company so I thought I should make some.

How does a scam have such a sophisticated website?
Anybody can create a professional looking website in a matter of minutes by copying an existing website. You can do this is Firefox by selecting File->Save as File->Webpage Complete. A scammer would then change the logo and text to coincide with the name of their fictional company.

What's the purpose of this scam
They want to get information from you... SS#(from application), bank account number (from direct deposit info), email address (for spamming), or they are going try get you to send them money somehow or another.

Here's a copy of the email I received:
Quote:

PHC Consulting has an opening for a TRANSACTIONS SPECIALIST position. We do our best to fit all our customers' needs as soon as possible. That's why all are staff is a professionally trained and can solve any problem that occurs on their way. We are not just a set of people, we are a family. We offer you, our potential colleague, to join us. See below, what we offer you.

General Requirements:
- Be at least 21 years old.
- Not special Qualifications Needed.
- Have a minimal experience and knowledge of basic bank operations.
- Ability to maintain confidentiality of all information.
- Willingness to work from home, take responsibility, set up and achieve goals.
- The Ability to create good administrative reporting.
- Honesty, responsibility and promptness in operations.
- The ability to operate with more than one task effectively, and have an adaptable, flexible, professional attitude.
- The ability of stable communication with our company and on
-time and detailed reporting.
- Familiar to working online, Internet and e-mail skills.

What we offer:
- Generous salary (over 3,000.00 USD monthly).
- Social benefits and medical insurance. - Free training and seminars.
- Paid Holidays plus 2 weeks of Paid Time Off (PTO).

This is easy job, but your help is very important for us and our clients. This job does not require any special education. You wouldn't have to pay us for taking you on our list. However we guarantee stable income.

Please send your answer letter or resume to our e-mail: makovski@phcconsulting-inc.com
(!) Add ours e-mail in your Address Book!!!

Best regards,
Linda Makovski.
phcconsulting-inc.com

What should I do if I provided my information to scammers?
  1. Do not respond to further communications.
  2. If you sent bank Information: Call your bank immediately and tell them what happened. They should be able to change your account number or cancel your account.
  3. If you are still concerned you might want to enroll in credit monitoring such as LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention
  4. You can also file a claim with The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). They are probably overloaded with these types of claim though, so I would not expect an individual response.



Posted by TJ on Saturday September 20, 2008 @ 04:28 PM
[Tags: news, article, tv]

Okay I feel like traveling by airplane is getting a lot more dangerous while advances in technology should be making it more safer. Below is a list of plane crashes involving famous people. Note that these are all private planes so don't worry commercial airlines are probably still the safest way to travel, however, it does seem like a lot more famous people die from private airplane crashes then car accidents.

  • James Stephen Fossett (April 22, 1944 - missing September 3, 2007, declared legally dead February 15, 2008) was an American aviator, sailor, and adventurer who became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon. Partial remains and wreckage of his plane was not found until a year later on September 29th 2008. Source

  • Cory Fulton Lidle (March 22, 1972 – October 11, 2006) was a Yankee right-handed baseball pitcher who died when the small aircraft he owned crashed into a residential building in New York City. Source

  • Peter David Tomarken (December 7, 1942 – March 13, 2006) was an American television personality primarily known as the host of Press Your Luck. Tomarken, a private pilot, and his second wife, Kathleen, were killed when his Beechcraft Bonanza A36, N16JR, crashed a few hundred feet offshore in Santa Monica Bay during climb-out from the Santa Monica Airport in California on the morning of March 13, 2006 Source

  • John Thomas Walton was a decorated American war veteran, and a son of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. On June 27, 2005, Walton died when the CGS Hawk Arrow homebuilt aircraft that he was piloting Crashed shortly after takeoff. Source

  • Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was a Grammy-nominated American singer, dancer, actress, model, teen idol. Aliyah's plane crashed shortly after takeoff killing all 7 on board citing overweight cargo (sound equipment) and an unqualified pilot as the cause. Source

  • John F Kennedy Jr, the third son of the late president JFK. On July 16, 1999, at the age of 38, Kennedy died along with his wife and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, when the aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. Source

  • John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), One of the most popular artists of the 1970s, was an American Country Music/folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician. On October 12, 1997, Denver was killed when the Long-EZ aircraft he was piloting crashed just off the coast of California at Pacific Grove, shortly after taking off from the Monterey Peninsula Airport. Source

  • Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played with the New York Yankees from 1969 to 1979. Munson was killed at age 32 while trying to land his personal airplane during a test fligh. Thurman is one of three Yankees who died in aviation accidents, including pitchers Jim Hardin in 1991 and Cory Lidle in 2006. Source

  • Lynyrd Skynyrd was an American Southern rock band that would be later inducted into the Rock and Roll of fame in 2006. Their plane crashed October 20, 1977 due to low-fuel killing 6 including the lead vocalist, guitarist, and road manager. Source

  • Rocky Marciano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969), born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, was the heavyweight champion of the world from 1952 to 1956. In August 31, 1969, on the eve of his 46th birthday, Marciano died when the small private plane crashed in bad weather with an unqualified pilot. Source

  • Otis Redding is best known for his hit, “Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay,” which was released after his death. Redding had recorded the song just three days earlier. Him and and four members of his band were killed when their Beechcraft H18 plane crashed during a fog. Source

  • Buddy Holly (Holley), the Big Bopper (J.P. Richardson) , and Ritchie Valens all Rock and Roll Hall of famers died on February 2, 1959 when their Beechcraft Bonanza crashed during a winter storm "The day the music died". Source

Other interesting incidents:
Travis Barker, Adam Goldstein (DJ AM) Four people died but Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein survived when their private plane crashed off a runway on September 20, 2008. Travis Barker was best known as being former guitartist for the rock band Blink 182.
  • Barak Obama was a passenger in private plane on January 12, 2008 that clipped another airplane on the ground source
  • Patrick Swayze survived a emergency landing on June 1, 2001 Source
  • Sandra Bullok Survived a crash landing on Decmeber 20, 2000. Source



  • < Previous Page | Next Page >