Window Shopper

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If you have any charges on your credit card, debit card, Paypal card that do not belong, be sure to dispute them. Do not allow them to get away with this. What am I talking about? Recently, I received two charges on my Paypal card which, by the way, dips into my bank account if there isn’t enough money in the Paypal account. Up to now, that has been a very handy thing for me. However, at this time, it is difficult since my economy has pretty much gone the way of the country economy. We have a problem.

What I am talking about here is a company that is pretty much a ripoff outfit. They are called TWX NSS magazine subscription service. Where they come from, I do not know. But here is what is clear. We do not buy magazines usually. I did buy two for my nieces but they are no longer interested. I allowed the subscriptions to lapse. That happened a couple of months ago, if I recall correctly. Then a few days ago, I noticed a charge in my Paypal account that was something like this (not the exact transaction):

TWX*@@@@@@*READERS DIG 800-927-9578 NY

There were actually two of these with different magazine subscriptions. Between them, they drained my account and went into my bank account. The phone number that is included is simply a place to give you a robot getting you to buy more from them. They are definitely ripoff artists. I did get another such charge about a year ago. I don’t recall what happened there. Not sure I disputed that one though I should have.

In my case, we called Paypal, which is much easier to do now. I talked with an agent who helped me very much. Their suggestion was to cancel my debit card and issue me a new one. I loved the idea. They are doing that. If, however, you have a problem like this, it may be in your credit card or bank debit card. Those are different and need to be handled through your local bank or your credit card company. The main thing is DO NOT allow these people to get away with this. They are simply preying on people who do not know better or, at least, do not want to go through the hassle. If you do not stop them, they will continue to grab money from your account. That is not an option in my case. They have already caused us problems with our bills now.

Do not allow them to win!!!

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Computers seemed to be a hot item today. That has little surprise in it although I think if I had gone out today, it would have been for other items as gifts for Christmas. I do realize that people save enormous amounts of money on a day like this assuming they actually get their items. I suspect that many people went home with only some of what they were after and others went home disappointed altogether. We would have not faired well today at the store. We, that is my husband and I, are quite slow these days. I think we would have to have hired someone to do the running for us.

Now there’s a thought. People who are young, speedy and able to grab hold of the preferred items would be handy, very handy. Of course, you would likely spend the money that you had otherwise saved in hiring said people. However, it is a thought. That could be someone’s new line of business. I can think of so many products and items that we could own if only we were much more speedy of foot ourselves. Computers do come to mind. Lots of computers are much cheaper on the shelves only today. And now I have to admit something. I have never in my life owned a Mac computer. I have no clue about Mac memory, Mac notebooks, Mac hard drives, Mac anything. It is a total mystery to me. All I ever heard was that they were different as night and day from the standard PC and laptops. I have no clue.

Should I now try to find out? I have no idea.

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During this time of year, there are lots of places that will try to get your attention to donate items and money. This is great because almost all the causes need it especially when the economy is in such dire straits. However, some are well noticed while others are not so much.

I encourage you to give to those places that need food items. The food banks are really hurting right now. With the holidays coming, it is vital that they be able to respond to those who need it most. Food banks are almost always in need and it is so simple to donate. If you do not have the cash or would rather donate food items, you can do so by simply going to the food bank office and telling them you are doing that. Much of it is tax deductible. But here is the kicker. All of those places that need food now also need it the rest of the year. Did anyone notice that while these places are able to help right now with giving out a full meal at Thanksgiving and Christmas, they need the food the rest of the year too since people do eat more often than just during the holidays. Lest you believe that they are wasting their money or food on people who don’t need it, think of those who have recently lost their homes either to some disaster or to financial difficulties. Those folks will need food and help. It is impossible to help when the money is gone.

Now, while I have focused on food banks and what they can do, I have a sis in Texas who does other things as well. She loves to work on craft items and clothing. She is quite good at it. In fact, it is a ministry for her. She makes caps and hats for those who are undergoing treatments for cancer and kidney problems. Chemo takes a great deal out of a person including losing their hair. Anyone watch Robin Roberts on Good Morning America? It makes them susceptible to many things including being cold, especially during the colder days. Having a good hat or cap on will help to keep the cold out. That’s just one thing that is possible. Don’t forget those who are on dialysis. Their bodies are undergoing a treatment that also takes the energy out of a person. They need your help. Not just now but also at other times of the year as well.

Won’t you take the time to find out what you could do to help these folks. Maybe it’s simply giving a couple of cans of food at a food drive. Just don’t forget those people when the food drives are over. Possibly it’s a person that just had a cancer treatment. They are so weak and in need at that time. Could you please support them in any way possible? If my sis can think of ways to help and people can give a couple of cans of food, so can you. If you are a crafter, think of how your craft can help. If you make toys or some type of kids items, please consider donating to a children’s hospital or local charity. It is all worth it!!

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For those who have no clue what I’m talking about, these two sites supposedly bring together those who are looking for long lost members of usually their high school graduating class or the college graduating class. Often you get emails telling you that someone from your class is looking for you. They send out thousands of emails with that same line. In this case, both sites are wanting to match you up with your class. Both make sure you give your information before they give you theirs. What is wrong with this picture?

What they are looking for is for you to pay them to see who is looking for you. Now, if you are desperate to find someone from that class, by all means, go ahead and get the upgrade they offer….with a little caution here. Remember why they actually sent you the email in the first place.

More often than not, there will not be anyone that has tried to contact you. I am not saying that no one is looking for you but both those sites send out emails stating that someone is trying to contact YOU. That is the incentive to buy their membership. Oh, they tell you that you can be a member for free. However, any relevant information that you want on those people from your class will not be there until you pay out money to be a gold member or whatever they call it. At some point, you realize that they are not all that but you already paid your money. They will not refund it.

Warning here. When you have paid out to be a gold member, check the options on your profile page or your account page. There will be an option to do an auto pay or manual pay. Do yourself a huge favor and select manual pay. Trust me, they will bug you about your account. You do not have to fear that they will cut you off from their site. But please put in the manual option. Why? I did not do that until the last month of my membership with Classmates. I had bought a year which was okay. I did get together with a couple of old classmates but I also ran into some guy who was a total stranger to me. It’s a trolling place for people too. But since I did not take the option until the last month, apparently their software did not notice that option and charged me the whole year’s membership at a time that I really did need the money. I argued with them about it. They did see the light for me. I received my refund in about four days. That is not the case with most of the people or so I assume since I saw several forum comments concerning them.

On Reunion, I simply kept getting the messages about people looking for me. When I clicked on the message to go to the site, I found myself at a place where they expect you to sign up for the paid membership. If you do not, you cannot see who is looking for you. The fact is, it is more likely that there is no one looking at that particular time. They simply want your money.

I am not against these sites. But I am warning people against their tactics concerning money and memberships. If you like the membership, that’s great. I did see some people on the site that I used to know but it was not the big deal I thought it would be. For one thing, most people do not visit there every day. In fact, sometimes they took a week or more to answer me when I wrote them. These folks are otherwise busy. Classmates is not a high priority in their lives. Neither is Reunion which is not as popular as Classmates. In both cases, they expect you to be curious enough to sign up for the upgraded membership to find out. Now you are warned.

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Have you ever had that opportunity? You can sign up online to become a Nielsen family for several things. But we got a call from the Nielsen folks a couple of weeks ago asking us if we would like to be one of the families to do a television diary for them. Of course, we loved the idea and told them yes!! The man on the phone assured me that they were grateful and that it would be for “sweeps week” which is really exciting too.

We received the diary a couple of days before the big start which was last Thursday (November 13th). All we had to do was list all of the channels we could watch, who is in the house, how many televisions we have (they send out a diary for each set regardless of whether it even comes on or not). And then the big day came. Of course, Thursday is not the greatest day for us since we often don’t watch anything but Stargate SG-1 on the Sci-Fi channel. Friday, ditto. Saturday and Sunday are great days to watch movies that we already own or others that are rented. Sometimes we do rent though not very often.

But our brightest day, television wise, is Monday. Those shows are awesome. We always either watch or tape to watch later. And we love the shows so much. Whoever would think of a secret agent working in an electronics store in the mall? Chuck is an intersect, called that because his so-called best friend (who is secretly…what other kind is there???…a secret agent) sends him a disc. He plays it on his computer and all of a sudden has the top secrets of the country in his head. The disc then was destroyed in classic Mission Impossible style. Now Chuck is being guarded by two agencies of the government, the FBI and the CIA. One is a guy and one a lady, both very good at their job. We love this show!!!

Next up is what I can only call a strange but really fun show called Heroes. An eclipse happens and suddenly some people have abilities they never had before, some quite harmful, others good. You are allowed to see into the lives of some of these heroes. Actually, not all are heroes as you soon find out. Some are villains with evil in their hearts those abilities help them with their evil deeds. They are in the third season. Excitement is still high. We still want to know what is about to happen next. Both of those shows are on NBC.

Finally, we look in on Boston Legal. For years, we have watched as Denny Crane and Allen Shore take on the world, so to speak. The combo is good with William Shatner in the role of Denny Crane who has “mad cow” disease. He has little trouble telling people about it and less trouble showing it. The reality is that he might have Alzheimer’s disease, his worst fear. His comedy sidekick, though he announces that he is the star of the show (they do that whole “fourth wall” thing which is totally hilarious), is Allen Shore who is a brilliant attorney who takes a different road. He definitely does not do the normal. If I had a lawyer like that, I would have sued at least a couple of places and people in my life and won! Backing up those two are some sane lawyers who also have unconventional ways but tend to win their cases. All in all, a really good show. The sad part is that ABC has canceled the show at the end of the season. We disagree and say so on the diary. We are assured that the network people look at that.

On to Tuesday where we have one favorite show there called Eli Stone. This show is in it’s second season and I hope it runs for many years. Another lawyer show, this one is highly unusual in that Eli has found out he has an aneurysm in the brain that, apparently allows him to see future and could be future events by putting him into the vision. At first, he thought he was in the activity in the vision but realized, somewhat after ducking an airplane that wasn’t really there and acting in court like he saw things that were not there, that those were future events and not reality. That changed his life. Seeking help, he finds a man who does acupuncture. The really strange part of that is that the man used to be a friend of his father’s who also had such visions. This is an awesome show and I hope they don’t take it off the air for a lot of years.

Wednesday, the reprisal of Knight Rider with Kitt, the car that talks, brings all the technology with it and puts it into the car. Updated abilities of the car and the new characters are what make it as exciting, and often more exciting than the original show we loved so much. Knight Industries have come a long way, baby! Kitt and company are up to their fenders in dangerous missions each week. Kitt now has the ability to change his appearance so much that you would not know it’s really a mustang. He can change color, change into an SUV or an attack vehicle. Just say the word. But he has his “human” side too or is trying to learn it. That is somewhat reminiscent of Data on Star Trek, The Next Generation, the android that wanted so much to be human. Kitt does not take it that far but is trying to understand humans.

So, on Wednesday night, we will finish up the diary, seal it and send it off to the Nielsen people. We will have our say in what people watch. I love that. Haven’t you sat there watching a show you wish they had never made? Or watching one you just know they will cancel but wish they wouldn’t? We can hope that our opinions matter.

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I have to say that in all the years that I have gone to doctors, our present doctor and the office are quite pleasant. But it was not always that way. Our current doctor simply does not have a fit over things we do not do. He believes that we are grown adults, subject to feelings and needs. When it is necessary, he is quite persuasive. My husband had a small, persistent pain that he could not shake. We ended up at the doctor’s office thinking that he might have a pill or some suggestion. He did. We went to the hospital where my husband’s appendix was removed and fairly quickly. If he had not gotten there when he did…well, it would not have worked out well. Due to our doctor’s swift diagnosis and insistence that he go to the hospital, my husband is still here.

There have been other doctors over the years. You know the ones. Nice, chatty, willing to be your best friend…until you don’t do what they want. Then they become Godzilla on steroids. It turns into a trial to see them. Even though their office staff love to give out promotional pens and calendars, their attitude truly does not fit what a doctor’s office should be. One doctor we went to was very good..at the beginning. He was thorough, friendly, compassionate and understanding. Somewhere along the line, we questioned a diagnosis he made. We were then considered a pariah. After that, it was uncomfortable and difficult. He even had me do a test that was not relevant to my problem at a time when I was very sick. The test required me standing for a period of time, a mammogram. I was dizzy and unsure of myself. Eventually, I realized that I had an infection. He finally got around to treating it. What it took to get us to leave was when he was on vacation, I needed a new prescription for some meds he was writing for me. I had no idea that the level of med was toxic to me. Found that out when I asked and the nurse practitioner told me that I can’t have that much. (It was for stomach problems) I insisted that she was wrong because the DOCTOR was writing it that way. Had I known it at the time, I should have sued him for giving me the meds at that level. It was hurting me a lot.

Other doctors seem to be fine, compassionate, able to sit with you for some time, not rushing out the door right after you have sat for two hours, getting to see him for all of two minutes…..until the HMOs get them. At that point, find another doctor no matter what you think of that one. I am telling you, it will only end in tears (quote from Anastasia, the animated movie, but appropriate). One doctor that did end up in the clutches of the HMOs worked himself literally to death. He was the one that could only stay in the room for a couple minutes since he was in such a rush each and every day.

Not all doctors are created equal. Not all are compassionate, have a sense of humor and are really good. Some are just there to fit the image of the parents, want to be king/queen of all he/she surveys, love the god complex that goes with it and other things like that. Do the research. Find the one that’s totally right for you. If you happen to live in a rural area like we do, check out each one of the doctors. Find someone that everyone else likes, especially the older folks. They will tell you like it is. Some people believe that as they get older, they have the right to say what they like. That’s the person to see regarding your next doctor.

So, it is never REALLY pleasant to go to the doctor but it can be less aggravating as long as the office people are nice, pleasant and helpful. As long as the doctor does not feel he/she knows it all. I find it refreshing to have a doctor that says he does not know but has someone in mind who would. That is worth it’s weight in gold!

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Today, I received an email with a subject line that said “Notice from Department of the Treasury” that stated that the IRS had calculated my fiscal activity. My, isn’t that interesting. And they mentioned something about having found out that I am eligible for a tax refund of $189.60. Nice figure. Not a lot of money but it would help a bit. Of course, I wouldn’t be buying provisions for a trip to California anytime soon. There just would not be enough money for that and for the trip too. So, my dreams have once again been devastated by a lack of money. Oh yes, I needed to submit my tax refund request in the next 6-9 days by clicking on the text that read “click here”.

Okay, anyone? This is a spam email that just happened to have an inviting amount of money attached to it so that you would go to the website, wherever it is, and put in all your information. Did I click on the link? Of course not. It was a sad attempt to get information, an act called a “phishing” expedition. At some point, all your information is then sent to whoever is looking for it, gathering info on lots of people. They can then scam you, steal your personal info or simply make your life hard by sending out viruses, worms or any other nasty programs into email that you open unknowingly.

A good example of that is an email I received today that had two nasty items in it. Since I did not open the attachment with the email, it did no bad things to my computer. That particular email was sent supposedly by United Airlines. It said that I had used my credit card to purchase a ticket and that the attached file had the information concerning that purchase. Before I ran out and purchased travel insurance, I decided to check it out a bit. It was a nasty little bugger. But wait. I had not bought a ticket to anywhere with United Airlines. Not only that but I don’t have a credit card. They blew it. Now, people who have credit cards and are worried about such unknown purchases on their cards will likely open the email. That would have released whatever thing was in the email attachment. However, you do not have to be defenseless here. But you must have an anti-virus program running for this to work.

I right clicked on the attachment. That brought up a box with choices. I chose to “save as” and put it onto my desktop for easy finding. Then I closed that and went to my desktop. I right clicked on the item which gave me the option to have the offending item on my desktop scanned. When it was finished, it notified me that there were two items inside the attachment that were hazardous to my computer. At that point, I deleted both the item on the desktop and the email that brought it to me. I am now not worried about anyone taking my credit card account and purchasing a ticket on an airline.

With a little bit of savvy, you can keep your computer free of such emails that threaten your computer. Oh and just so you know, I knew that the IRS had not sent the email. It had a few non-IRS-like phrases like “If u don’t receive your refund”. See anything wrong here?

1) The IRS never emails citizens. Everything is by snail mail. That makes it more official.
2) They do NOT use a single letter for a word. (”u”)
3) They do NOT use a contraction. (don’t)
4) How do they know they have the right person? This email did not address me by my name. All correspondence from the IRS has the person’s name, usually several times, in it. This email was to “undisclosed recipients”.
5) The IRS does not spell things wrong. “your records must show wether” and “the maner of
section; and the realtionship” (wether=whether, maner=manner, realtionship=relationship)
6) It was sent as a “noreply” which could be suspicious coming from a place like that when they actually want to hear from you.

Both of the examples are spam and have destructive capabilities to your lives or computers or both. Always check the email out if it looks even remotely suspicious. Your computer will be safe from such things as long as you do not panic, make sure it is not toxic to your computer and before you click on any email link, stop and think if this would really pertain to you. Most of these people believe you will click on the link because of fear or curiosity. Often, they are right. Too many people lose their computers or their bank account balances due to such people and the scams they pull. Don’t you be a victim.

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Not long ago, my husband and I made two videos that showed how much we love where we live; the slower pace, the lakes, trees, wild life plus the historic places for people to see and enjoy. Hometown videos give the viewer a picture of the life in a small, rural village. Beginning as a retirement town and fast growing into a family center as well, this area is blooming into a retirement hub as well as a tourist attraction in the summer months. We enjoy the benefits of both the retirement area and tourist attractions with the several lakes, recreation centers, restaurant, tennis courts, drive through golf course and so much more. We enjoyed making the videos because it is just pleasant to live here.

Even now, when the weather is starting to turn cooler, we have seen those who are dedicated to their sports heading to the tennis courts and golf course with rackets and golf bags in hand. Enthusiastic golfers and tennis players still have a lot of time before our weather makes it less possible to play the game they seem to love so much. Occasionally, we head in the direction of the golf course, driving into it since they ran the street right through the course which we thought was weird but is fun nevertheless.

All in all, this is a good place to live with the prices somewhat cheaper here than other places. Housing is easier to find and affordable. When others are paying over a hundred thousand dollars for a place to live, you can find many, many places that are far less in price. We live in a neighborhood that has woods nearby. In this village, only a few houses are on a street and the woods is part of the charm. Each neighborhood has their share of the trees to live around. Sometimes in the fall, we will wake up to a family of deer in our yard. So beautiful are these creatures. Yes, this is a good place to live.

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Especially during the holiday season, we tend to think of all the things we could give a person. However, if we don’t know them well or they happen to be one of those people who have literally everything, it becomes pretty hard to buy something nice for them. Gift cards are a fantastic answer to the problem. I have used them myself on several occasions with great results. Others have gifted me with a gift card as well. I always loved that because then I could buy what I wanted instead of get some strange item that I could never use or return. That made them valuable to me and thousands of other people who either bought them or received them as gifts. The retail stores receive millions of dollars for gift cards. The question is, are they any good when the person tries to redeem them?

When it comes to the larger retail stores, they are likely to be just fine although there is at least one store that is heading into bankruptcy. Smaller stores need to be checked out very carefully. If you do not, the gift card may be worth nothing at all. When the company that sold the card goes into receivership, often the commitment of the card is not honored and you become one of the people who gets to wait until they pay the debts of the company. Unfortunately, they pay the largest debts of the company first. The likelihood of the card holders getting anything back is extremely slim and none at all. If they do, it’s pennies on the dollar. When the stores or companies are in trouble, they still will not stop selling the cards since they are looking for all the money they can find so you, the consumer, get to hold onto a dead piece of plastic that’s worth nothing. You won’t know that until you try to redeem it.

People often believe that gift cards never lose their value but that is not true either. Even if the store is doing fine, that does not mean that the card will always be there just waiting for you. One young man was saving his gift cards that he had received for Christmas and birthdays for a couple of years only to find out that they were worth absolutely nothing due to maintenance fees. Another option is to buy the cards from a bank instead of a store. These are called open loop cards. Seems like a good idea but, again, the maintenance fees will bring down the value of the card to nothing if you wait long enough.

The best idea is to buy the cards from strong, stable companies and stores like Target and Walmart. While I am definitely not a fan of Walmart, we still buy the gift card to save money on gas that we purchase at the gas station. These cards are good as long as they are in business with no fees whatsoever. Many of the large stores are counting on and expecting high gift card sales to bolster they slipping sales for this holiday. So, be warned. Gift cards are not always the gift you thought they were. Givers, buy the cards close to the date of giving the gift. Recipient, use the card as quickly as you can. That way, both of you receive the satisfaction of the gift given and received.

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Hey, I realize that this is way overdue and late to boot. But if you can remember it for next year, that works too. In this amazingly bad economy, it boggles the mind that anyone would want to go to such places in the first place but if you do that, you need to know a few things that might help you. This particular subject and post are happening due to someone who commented on another post here. So, I will try to help in any way I can. That person said that they wanted to spend as much as they could when going to the fair. Yes, I understand that. However, there are things unseen going on there. One really big thing here, I am not talking about permanent amusement parks. This is about traveling carnivals only.

For instance, that carnival that has all the rides and games is only there for one thing, to separate you from the money in your wallet. That is it. No other reason. They do not care whether they entertain you or not. That is a side benefit since it brings people back for more. The food is high priced but you will probably eat it anyway because it’s unique to that time and place…more or less. Most of those things can be fixed in your own kitchen but I suppose it’s not the same. One thing here, a foot long hot dog is only 9 inches long. Thought I would share that.

Games are there so you can lose. Yes, people do win occasionally. And if they win a large stuffed animal, unless they had whatever they were tossing right on the mark, it took them much more money than it cost for the thing in the first place. Most games are rigged for the house. Big shocker. All of them are rigged to not lose much at all. Little kid games will get you little bitty prizes. Big kid games almost always get you little bitty prizes. The trinkets cost less than a few cents. The stuffed animals cost much less too. Often, the win or lose is a judgment call by the person in the game booth. These people have to pay the boss if they lose some of the “plush” so they try very hard not to do that.

Rides in most states are not regulated enough to be safe. Some states or local governments do not have rules in place for the safety issue. Some do. Some are very strict but most are not. There are no real regulations on the games either. But let’s take a closer look at the rides. These pieces of machinery are painted, repaired and packed up at the beginning of the season, carted around the country, set up temporarily at the site where they are going to operate for a few days up to ten days. The people that the owners use to assemble these large, heavy pieces of machinery are usually from the town or city where they are setting up. These folks have zero clue what they are doing. That is not safe. But the carnivals rarely have enough people to do the job themselves. At the end of the stay, the rides are torn down in less than 6 hours usually, packed up and heading for the next stop.

In the beginning, they are well repaired, look fresh and crisp. Don’t let that fool you. Those rides are usually pretty old. They have a new paint job. After they have been on the road all season, are usually in need of repair they will likely not get until they go back to winter quarters. They are dangerous in the beginning and worse at the end of the season. And those who love carnivals will not pay one bit of attention to me on this but they should. It might save a life or some injuries some day.

Just my two cents worth for today.

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