08:06 – I just shipped the last biology kit we had in stock. Fortunately, I finished building more biology kit subassembies yesterday, so I’ll get another batch of the biology kits assembled today. We’re also getting low on chemistry kits and forensic kits again, so I’ll get started on more of those.
14:09 – Hmmm. As I was assembling a biology kit, the phone rang. It was someone from Microsoft, although he had a very thick foreign accent. He told me that their monitoring had detected that my Windows computer was infected with a horrible virus. Not to worry though. He was going to direct me to a website where I could download and install a scanning utility that would find and remove the virus. I wish I’d had time to screw with him a little, but I’m too busy. So I just told him that I had no interest in installing his hostage-ware and that it wouldn’t run under Linux anyway.
I’ve actually thought about starting to answer the phone, “Federal Trade Commission, Telephone Fraud Investigation Division, extension 2549, Thompson speaking, how may I help you?” I’ll bet I’d get a lot of hang-ups. In fact, I’ll bet I wouldn’t make it all the way through my greeting on many of the phone calls I get.
Obummer has got to be fucking kidding:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/359368/obama-world-more-stable-it-was-five-years-ago-andrew-johnson
So, is Virginia a blue state now to elect this nonsense?
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/23/Terry-McAuliffe-Pledges-Colorado-like-Gun-Control-If-Elected
DC is polluting the rest of the states around it. Pray that they do not come to your state. We getting a few of these morons in The Great State of Texas. There may be open season on them some day.
As I was assembling a biology kit, the phone rang. It was someone from Microsoft, although he had a very thick foreign accent.
Did you really get called? If so, amazing! The scary thing is how many people will comply with the scammer / cracker’s request. I would not be surprised if it was greater than 1 in 10 people.
Yeah, I really got called, not for the first time.
One time I was bored, so I played around with the caller, which IIRC was a woman. Her drive-by download didn’t work, of course, so she directed me to another URL to download her hostage-ware manually. I did that. She told me to go to the downloads folder and double-click on whatever the name of the executable was. So I did that. Of course, I didn’t have WINE or any virtual Windows machines installed, so her executable died horribly. I read her the error messages as she requested, but she didn’t figure out what was going on. Finally, I asked her if the problem might be that I was running Ubuntu 9.04. She still didn’t twig, so I said, “That’s Linux.” She hung up on me.
Possibly good news from Down Under:
“The hope is that with the election of the Abbott government the adjective “Australian” will again signify “no nonsense decency.” By far the majority of Australians want a government that will prudently manage the economy and Australia’s wealth of natural resources. They want safe hospitals with world-class medical treatment. They want schools that actually educate children rather than wasting time on political consciousness-raising campaigns. What they don’t want (unless perhaps they voted Green) is for the government to focus its attention on social engineering and the persistent rubbishing of the Christian culture on which one of the most stable and successful democracies in the world has been built.”
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/on-australias-new-catholic-prime-minister?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrisisMagazine+%28Crisis+Magazine%29
Any time somebody starts talking about a “Christian culture”, my Jewish-Atheist alarms start sounding. Historically, it has not been healthy to be Jew in a “Christian culture”.
Rick in Portland
You’re dreaming Dave.
Rick in the Peoples Republic of Portland wrote:
‘Any time somebody starts talking about a “Christian culture”, my Jewish-Atheist alarms start sounding. Historically, it has not been healthy to be Jew in a “Christian culture”. ‘
It hasn’t been healthy to be a Jew in many Islamic states, or Nazi Germany, or Poland, or the atheistic Soviet Union, or many other places.
Robert sez: “I’ve actually thought about starting to answer the phone, “Federal Trade Commission, Telephone Fraud Investigation Division, extension 2549, Thompson speaking, how may I help you?” I’ll bet I’d get a lot of hang-ups.”
My wife often answers the phone with “This is not a secure line.” whenever she doesn’t recognize the caller ID.
I used to keep telemarketers/political pollsters/other assorted scum talking, being really obvious about it… and then telling them, OK, you can keep talking or hang up, whichever you prefer. We’ve traced this call to your physical location. Oddly, not a one of them stayed on the line after that.
I must say, since we got rid of the landline and have had only a VOIP phone we’ve had essentially zero junk calls. I’m sure that won’t last, but it’s held up for three years so far.
since we got rid of the landline and have had only a VOIP phone we’ve had essentially zero junk calls
With a new number on the VoIP line, or your old number ported?
With a new number on the VoIP line, or your old number ported?
We had our phone number ported from AT&T to Comcast VOIP. We still get junk calls. I inform them that we are on the DNCL (which is not really effective) and will be filing charges. But when I am in good mood I play along. When they ask me how I am doing I start describing this horrible wound from a recent gunshot that is festering along with describing the ooze that is coming from the wound. A colorful enough description will get them to hang up.
My wife often answers the phone with “This is not a secure line.” whenever she doesn’t recognize the caller ID.
I like that and may try that. I may add some three letter combination in front.
On my land line I just screen. If they don’t leave a message I know it was SPAM, if a family member or friend starts to leave a message I pick up. On my cell phone I usually ignore calls from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane because they’ll be call centres trying to get me to sign up for something. It’s basically not a problem.
I e-mailed my member of parliament, saying the DNC register needs to be toughened. He agreed and disagreed, saying that some organisations need to be exempted. I didn’t vote for him in the recent election but it didn’t matter as he holds a safe Labor seat.
Nifty suggestions for answering spam calls; will try some here; I get a few per day on the cell and occasionally on the landline. Tx, fellas!
30-40 years ago the phone book recommended a method for nuisance calls that would probably be frowned upon today: keep a whistle by the phone, and when one of the heavy breathing brigade rings up blow the whistle as hard as you can near the mouthpiece.