French Vanilla Iced Coffee

This article is pretty scary and if you use Gmail, you should read it.

What would you do if a criminal stole something very personal, and very valuable from you?

What if they were able to target your business and criple your income?

You wouldn’t be too happy now, would you?

What if you also discovered that this was happening because of a Google security infection that can affect every GMail user on the planet?

That’s what has just happened to me, and here I’m going to tell you my story. I will detail everything I know about the web pirates who are threatening my livelihood, and tell you what you need to know in order to avoid the same thing happening to you.

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Did you have a paper route when you were a kid? I did. Got it when I was 14 I believe and had it until I was 16. Back then, papers were delivered after school, and were a way to teach responsibility. Kids would learn about delivering on time, collecting money, dealing with the public.

In our area, the papers would be dropped off around 4 pm and most kids had 35-50 papers to deliver. We’d get our bundle, count them, and then put them in our bags or a shopping cart we ‘borrowed’ from a supermarket, and off we went. We’d be sure to put the paper in the door and shut the door if it was raining or snowing. We’d fold the paper into thirds to fit it into mailboxes.

I had a helper for the heavier paper days, until she began stealing money from me by collecting and then claiming the customer didn’t have money for a tip and I’d get it next week — pocketing the quarter each time.

If we ran out of papers, since my house was the last on the route, I’d either call the office and ask for another paper, or run to the store and drop a quarter and buy one. Each week I’d collect from each customer and then on Saturday would go to the bank and buy a money order to pay for my papers. We weren’t allowed to pay by a check from our parents, just a money order, but back then the convenience stores didn’t sell money orders, and the bank gave them for free. Really really, to quote Shrek.

Seque to 2007. I pay for my newspaper ever year by check to the newspaper office, adding in a tip. I never see my paper delivery person, but know I have had many. They get their papers around 5 AM and that means at 6 am I hear their car pull up, door slam, heavy footsteps on my stairs …… or they throw the paper with a loud thud. I’ve had carrier who are old enough to be my grandfather.

Yesterday my newspaper had a poorly typewritten sheet of paper by my new carrier, apparently. He said that if the paper is not there, to call him and not the newspaper office, as they charge him $1 or $2 for each missing paper. WOW. What happened to the office calling the carrier to report the missing paper?

Also, in bad weather, the paper is delivered in a plastic bag. I toss mine. However, my carrier asks me to now save it as he has to pay for it. Not only that, when the paper comes in a rubber band, I’m now asked to save those, too, as he has to pay for them.

So, now I’m supposed to remember to save my plastic bags and rubber bands and leave them for some anonymous person who slams my door shut on Sunday mornings when I want to sleep late?

Things have certainly changed. Now carriers drive cars to deliver the paper, and at $3 a gallon, they must not be making much at the end of the week. I give credit to older men who are trying to pay the bills and are taking on an extra job, but think it’s wrong of the newspaper office to charge them a buck or two if my newspaper is missing.

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YOU KNOW YOUR FROM MASSACHUSETTS IF..

1. You’ve pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left

2. Stop signs mean slow down a little, but only of you want to

3. You know how to cross four lanes of traffic in five seconds

4. You believe using your turn signals gives away your plan to the enemy

5. You think it’s not actually tailgating unless you’re touching the bumper of the car in front of
you

6. You know that a yellow light means that at least five more people can get through and a red one means two more can

7. The transportation system is known as the “T”

8. You could own a small town in Iowa for the cost of your house

9. You almost feel disappointed when someone doesnt flip you off when you cut them off or steal their
parking space

10. There are 24 Dunkin Donuts shops within 15 minutes of your house

11. When people talk about “The Curse Of The Bambino” you know what they’re talking about and
believe it too

12. You’re amazed when traveling out of town that people at McDonalds actually speak english

13. If you stay on the same road long enough it eventually has three different names

14. Someone has honked at you because you didnt peel out the second the light turned green

15. You have honked at someone because they didn’t peel out the second the light turned green

16. All the potholes just add to the excitement of driving

17. You think if someones nice to you they either want something or they are from out of town and lost

18. Six inches of snow is considered a dusting

19. Three days of 90 degree heat is definately a “heat wave” 63 degrees is “on the warm side”

20. You cringe everytime you hear some actor/actress imitate the “Boston Accent” on TV or in a movie, if you don’t have it then you’re never going to get it even if you were born here

21. At the ice cream shop you call chocolate sprinkles “jimmies”

22. You can go from one side of town to the other in less than fifteen minutes and see at least fifteen
losers you went to high school with doing the same thing they were doing when you saw them last

23. It is raining and/or snowing, the person in front of you is going 70, and you’re still cursing them for going too slow

24. You know how to pronounce towns like Worcester, Haverhill, and Cotuit

25. You know what they sell at a “packie”

26.You’ve called something “wicked pissa”

27. You’ve slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgator

28. You still try to order curly fries from Burger King

29. You keep an ice scraper in your car all year round

30. You know at least three Tony’s one Vinnie, and a Frank

31. Paranoia sets in when you can’t see an ATM or CVS

32. You think crosswalks are for wimps

33. You’ve bragged about saving money at The Christmas Tree Shop

34. You know what “regular coffee” is, and you order iced coffee in January

35. You can navigate a rotary without a problem

36. You have been to Fenway Park

37. You refer to the New York Yankees as the Evil Empire

38. You feel the rest of the world needs to drive more like you

39. When someone calls you a “masshole” you take it as a compliment

40. You use the words “wicked” and “good” in the same sentence

41. You know what a frappe is

42. Saint Patrticks Day is your second favorite holiday

43. You are proud to drink Sam Adams and think that the rest of the country owes Bostonians a thank you

44. You never say “Cape Cod” you say “the cape”

45. You went to Old Sturbridge Village and Plymouth Plantation in elementary school

46. You can drive to the mountains and the ocean all in one day

47. You have a special place in your heart for the Worcester Firefighters

48. You know the Mass Pike and 128 are some strange weather dividing lines

49. You do not recognize the letter “R” as a part of the English language.

50. You’ve gone from I-95 South to I-93 North by driving in a straight line and never changing direction.

51. You understand everything just said and passed it on to other massholes

52. You know you’re from Mass when you give directions that cite land marks that USED to be there…

You bang a left at the lights, and then you drive just past where the old farm was… the one that used to have the giant catepillar in front… and then you take a wicked sharp right to where the movie theater used to be…

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Have you noticed that coupon clipping isn’t quite the same? I admit I don’t bother with coupons anymore, but used to do it quite frequently. Now you’ll notice that coupons say “buy 3, save 50 cents” or “buy 6 and save $1.00″. Years ago it was buy 1, save money! All of a sudden now coupons are for multiple items, have you noticed that?

And, what’s with the “DO NOT DOUBLE” on coupons issued by the manufacturer? The store pays the extra cost, not the manufacturer, so why do they care and disallow the store from paying double on a coupon???

Today I saw a coupon for bags of walnuts, the brand I use. Generally they are $6.99 at my local supermarket but if I go to Target, they are $4.75. Obviously I buy them when I am at Target. The coupon? Buy 3 bags and save $1.00. Uhm, I don’t think so … 3 lbs. of walnuts is waaaaaaaaaaay too many to buy. Plus, it’s just a buck. 33 cents a bag.

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I’m a huge fan of self checkouts at supermarkets. If they don’t have them in your area, let me explain. Basically you go to the checkout counter and scan your items yourself, and bag them yourself. You put your money into the self-checkout machine and it can give you change, too. I like it because it’s often quicker than dealing with clerks who love to chat with co-workers but mostly as I can bag my own groceries.

One of our supermarket chains, Stop and Shop, has a clerk who hangs around at the 4-5 self-checkout stations, helping when people need it, bagging if they have nothing else to do, etc. Shaw’s Supermarket, another chain, doesn’t have one specific person for this job. They have a front end person whose job is to supervise all the registers/checkouts and that includes helping people who need it.

Of course, people who haven’t a clue use these things. They don’t know how to find the 4-digit produce code on their produce, they don’t know where to find the scanner code, they don’t bag when you’re supposed to. And, these machines aren’t reliable as they often yell at you, “item removed from bagging area” and if you put the item back, “please remove item from bagging area.” MAKE UP YOUR MIND.

The worst has to be when you’re in a rush and don’t pay attention and push the Spanish button instead of English. All of a sudden this machine spits out Spanish at you and you can’t make it stop. Sorry, I’m in America, I speak our language. But, I digress.

Today, Stop and Shop showed me a new way to check out, but it’s so much more than that. When you walk into the store, you scan your shopper card. A button now flashes and a little gizmo is yours. The idea is you pick up the gizmo, plastic and paper bags, and as you shop, you scan the item then and there and bag it as well. When done, you simply take your gizmo to the self checkout, scan in your gizmo, and pay and leave. Simple, huh?

Aren’t I taking a job away from someone this way? What if it scans in the wrong price? Now I have to try to find someone who works for the store to delete it from my gizmo and put in the right price.

They also explain that they have the right to ‘audit‘ your groceries at any time they wish … in case you ‘forget’ to scan an item and bag it and try to leave the store.

I know at the large Wal-Mart Superstore, they did away with self checkouts. I asked why and they told me due to theft. People would scan in all their items at the register, bag them, and walk out the door, without paying! And, I’m told, at local supermarkets they do the same thing.

Look, I love to bag my own items, but if you expect me to start scanning them as I shop, bagging as I shop …. Uhm, why don’t you offer me lower prices if I’m doing my own bagging and scanning? You’re obviously saving money on the cost of an employee, so why not pass the savings on to me?

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Here is one scam. A friend emailed to ask me if the car advertised in the South Coast Craigslist (our area) was fake or not. He’s asked before and they were always bogus.

How did I spot it? He sent me the link and I ran the email address through Google and it gave me 2 links … one for an identical car in Washington, DC and another for a car being sold on Craigslist that had been removed.

ALWAYS check before making such a purchase online

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Now, what bothers me about this is she was not a PORN star. She did have an adult website, and she did appear nude, but did not do any hardcore sex. When girls pose on Internet sites, they are “porn stars” yet when they post nude in Playboy, they are revered as sexy women who chose to pose nude. Why the double standard?

RIP, Zoey Zane.

Autopsy slated for secret porn star

EL DORADO, Kan. - The search for a missing college student who led a secret life as an Internet porn performer turned into a homicide case after her body was apparently found.

Authorities said the preliminary physical description of the body found Thursday about 50 miles east of El Dorado matches that of Emily Sander, who was last seen leaving a bar here a week ago with a man who stayed in a motel room where police found large quantities of blood. An autopsy was planned for Friday.

Investigators refused to give details about the state of the body or how it was found. Police Chief Tom Boren said the cause of death was not yet known.

Sander’s case drew wide attention after it was revealed that she appeared on a popular adult Web site under the name Zoey Zane. In some photographs, she appears merely scantily clad in lingerie or cowgirl outfits. Other pictures, some of which require viewers to pay for, are more explicit, showing her nude, fondling herself and posing with other women.

The 18-year-old Butler Community College student was last seen Nov. 23 with Israel Mireles, 24. Authorities are looking for him and his 16-year-old pregnant girlfriend.

The rental car the pair were driving was found abandoned Tuesday in Vernon, Texas, where Mireles has relatives.

“We got no information from them at all and very little cooperation,” Boren said of Mireles’ family.

The search for Sander gripped this small community, and the apparent discovery of her body left only memories to comfort her friends and family.

“She was probably the most independent girl I know,” said Nikki Watson, a close friend. “She was so anxious to get out on her own and make something of herself. She was ready to take on life.”

Former boyfriend Michael McAllister, 20, said Sander moved in with him when she was 17.

“It was the best time of my life, and I hope it was the same for her,” McAllister said.

He helped her finish high school, and she encouraged him in college. They bought pink and white Denver Broncos jerseys for themselves and their dog, Zan, that they wore on game days. She loved to dance to hip-hop music.

“She wanted to choreograph music videos. That is the only reason she did the Internet thing — to get a little exposure,” McAllister said.

They broke up in September after she started posing for nude photos, he said.

Watson said the attention over Sander’s Web site has upset her friends.

“She never referred to it as her porn site,” she said. “It was just her Web site. She didn’t make it into this big thing.”

Police insisted that Sander’s Internet activity had no connection to her disappearance. “The issue of the Internet and the spinoff of that has been literally crippling our investigation,” Boren said.

The body was found as searchers on foot and all-terrain vehicles were checking the tall grass along each side of Highway 54 as they traced the route Mireles may have taken Saturday on the way to Baxter Springs to pick up his girlfriend.

Sander’s grandmother, Shirley Sander, said the discovery of a body would “very definitely” bring closure to the family.

“We had to know one way or another,” she said in a telephone interview.

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Didn’t realize it had been SO long since I’ve written in this blog. Well that is about to change!

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