After sleeping for one week on my new tempurpedic mattress, I have gotten up every morning without aches and pains, little "creaks," and I feel wonderfully refreshed. I never remember sleeping so comfortably in my life! What great friends to give us their tempurpedic mattress!
The other day I posted a pretty sorry excuse for a Nigerian email scam letter.
Today I post another example:
Dear Friend,
I am Lloyd Phillips. A solicitor and confidant to the late German property
magnate Andreas Schranner who was on board the ill-fated AF4590 concord
plane crash of 25 July 2000.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/859479.stm . As the attorney to
Andreas Schranner here in UK, I am aware of the amount Fourteen Million
United State Dollars ($14, 000,000), proceeds from the sale of properties
here in UK, he deposited with a bank in Europe before his death.
I have decided to pull the fund out before the bank declares it
unserviceable. This has become necessary since my client died some years
back. Moving the money in my name is not possible since he use to be my
client. I hereby solicit for your assistance and consent to present you as
my partner and next of kin to the deceased so that the proceeds of this
account valued at fourteen million, United States Dollars ($14,000,000)
will be transferred into your account. I am ready to concede 40% of the
funds to you as your share. As a lawyer, I will secure all necessary
documents to back up our claim and personally apply to the bank for the
release of the funds into your account. I assure you it will be a
legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of law. I
also need your assurance that you will follow my instructions and be
sincere in all your dealings with me.
As soon as I hear from you, I will give you more information on this
transfer.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Phillips
While this is obviously another twist on the Nigerian email scam, it is a far better, more believe able example.
1. There are no spelling errors in the letter (with the exception of a non capitalized "concorde.")
2. The gentleman alleged to have left $14 million in an account is indeed dead (proof is provided).
3. As an attorney, I wouldn't put it past the guy writing the letter to be a greedy, decietful scumbag (my apologies to all non greedy, forthright and honest attorneys who may be reading this).
4. What better partner in international monetary fraud could there be than me, the Hotdogman!
While I know this is a scam, I at least give the attempted perpetrator an "A for effort."
Does anyone really fall for this BS? Know of anyone who has?
I received the following email the other day:
Hello Friend,
Attention Sir/Madam
Please don't be surprise to receiving this mail, I was appointed to pay all the foreign contractors that executed contract here in River State Nigeria, after paying all the contractors, this amount of money was remaining in our custody, I decided to contact and present you as one of the contract beneficiaries so that I can transfer some part of the contract entitlement fund into your bank account
What I require is utmost co-operation as this transaction involves a very large sum of money. The money is 12 million but I want to transfer 6 million into a foreign account And return the remaining to Federal Government this is why I have decided to Contact you to see if you will assist in the transaction as I have a very short period Left to conclude with this contract payment proceedings.
Ibrahim abubakar
Special Adviser on Contract and
Fund Entitlement Matters
There are millions of these emails out there claiming to offer me a cut in some illicit scheme to get "my share" of unclaimed money. These types of emails are commonly known as "Nigerian Email Scams" since many of them originate in Nigeria (or so I've read).
This particular one is a little sad. First of all, the perpetrator of the email greets me as his friend, then proceeds to call me "Sir/Madam." If I was such a good friend, you'd think the guy would know my gender.
Second, the guy doesn't even bother to hide the fact that he's from Nigeria. You'd think a smart scammer would try to hide the fact that he's from a country known for email scamming.
Third, I am always amazed that a Hotdogman from Massachusetts is such a frequent beneficiary of goodwill from corrupt bankers, contractors, ex-wives and government officials all over the world. To date I have been offered to be the recipient of ill gotten international funds totalling over 1 billion dollars!
Last, this guy doesn't capitalize his last name. I don't know if this is a Nigerian custom or this guy is just a dumb ass.
*sigh*
Even dumb email scam letters aren't as funny or creative as they used to be!
Today I woke up for the first time in my new bed! Our friends gave us their Tempurpedic King Size mattress (they got a new bed). This is going to be great for my back. Thanks Ellen and Jerry!
Q: What is the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?
A: One is a vicious, bloodthirsty animal that will rip your throat out,the other is a dog.
In the earlier years of this century, a popular way to consolidate debt was to refinance your house. I know- I wrote a lot of debt consolidation mortgages back in those days.
What with the current state of the economy and the depressed housing market, refinancing is not such an easy option anymore. The Federal Government is bailing out banks and mortgage lenders right and left and the money just isn't flowing as freely as it did a few years ago.
That means people who need to consolidate debt have fewer options. If you have a bunch of credit card debts and don't want to (or can't) refinance your house, there are a number of options. In these times, keeping more of the money you earn in your pocket is important. Fuel and heating costs are going through the roof, so you'll need every penny you have (just make sure you have enough left over to buy a couple of hot dogs).
BEWARE OF DEBT ELIMINATION SCAMS! There is no such thing as "DEBT ELIMINATION," despite what some unscrupulous internet marketers would lead you to believe. The only way to eliminate debt is to PAY IT! The simplest way to pay of credit card debt is to reduce the interest you pay. This can be done with "zero percent balance transfers" where you can pay off one credit card with another that has a zero percent interest rate. The most important thing to do is pay the debt down while there's no interest and DON'T PILE UP MORE CHARGES ON THE CARD YOU PAID OFF. You could also explore a low interest unsecured loan from your bank.
If borrowing to pay off debt isn't in your plans, debt settlement is the best bet short of bankruptcy. Your credit rating will get whacked, but you can work out a plan where you can reduce the dollar amount of your debt and/or pay it back slower at lower rates. You'll be able to pay off your debts AND keep more money in your pocket too.
Whatever you do, look into all the ways to consolidate debt that are available to you. Every penny counts!
With the summer winding down, the most frequently asked question at the Hot Dog Truck lately is "when do you shut down for the season?"
In years past, I have stayed open through the winter. Last year, when I lost my old spot, I decided to close for the winter. I don't think I will be selling hot dogs in January, but I do plan on staying open until December 23. If we have a warm winter, I may stay longer, but I guarantee I will be there until Christmas.
There may be snowy days before then (YUCK-SNOW) and I don't think I want to drive the Hot Dog Truck in the snow.
Maybe I'll have another go at opening a diner.......
I have an old friend in New Jersey and we have been trying to get together for a family beach vacation for a few years. He brought his family up to our place a bunch of years ago and we also visited them down on the Jersey shore a few years ago.
He always rents a house for a couple of weeks in Wildwood, New Jersey during the summer. We used to go there BC (before children) and have wild party weekends. Now that we're all grown up with kids of our own, we tend to lean towards more family oriented activities. Since he rents a house, we don't have to worry about finding a place to stay. This is a good thing because we like to hit some of the amusements in Wildwood with the kids.
Morey's Pier is a fun amusement park. It's an "old school" beach front amusement park. There used to be lots of these kinds of parks on the entire east coast-sadly many are going condo! Whenever we go there, it takes me back to my youth at Revere Beach or Nantasket Amusement Parks. Morey's is indeed one of the last of it's kind. The have all the classic rides, including a Mrs. HDM approved roller coaster (Mrs. HDM LOVES roller coasters). There's also the Raging Waters Water Park which the kids really like.
Even though we are almost done with summer, there are still lots of weekly specials so you can save a few bucks. If you don't want to rent a house for two weeks, you can find plenty of Wildwood hotels and motels on Morey's website.
Even though I am a creature of Buzzard's Bay, I still enjoy the Jersey shore with the family.
Heartbreaker sans Livin Lovin Maid from 1975. Page in his prime does a nifty solo "in between songs."
Matthew 7: 1,2
"Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you."
The scammers are everywhere. I just got this email from my sister in law:
This just happened to me:
I got a call (no caller ID), the woman said
"I'm Terry from Comcast. Your account is past due and your scheduled to be disconnected on the 15th. This is a courtesy call. Would you like to pay it off, over the phone, with a credit card? That way you won't be disconnected on Monday."
She was kind of pushy about it and kept saying that this was a courtesy call, but If I didn't pay this, my Comcast service was going to be cut off.
Well, I don't handle the Comcast bill, Steve does. So I told her something to that effect and that I'd have him look into it. and thanked her for the notice and hung up.
Now I'm thinking Steve wouldn't let his cable bill get unpaid. So, I called him and let him know he may want to take care of this. As it turns out, that bill is paid, up to date. He even called Comcast to see if anyone had called us and if there was a mix up. No one from there called us.
So..... either Comcast is really messed up (probably, but not this time) or the most likely scenerio.... I didn't give a scam artist my credit card info. WHEW!!!!!
Please be careful who you give your info to. And couples.... "Terry" asked for Steve and then asked if I was his wife.....because I could take care of it.... that doesn't usually happen. Anyway....
Please be careful.
One of the rockinest Led Zep tunes done exceptionally well.
Page absolutely kicks ass on this tune.
This is the 1,000th post on this site!
WOO HOO!!
That's a lot of stuff.
Here's a few of my favorite posts from the first 1,000 posts
Ketchup on a Hot Dog
Spell Check
Top Ten Stupid Questions asked at the Hot Dog Truck
For Battle of Bloggers
How a Red Sox Fan Got Religion
Hot Dogs, Blogs, Snakes and Frogs
Update on the ditch on a sunny day
They haven't all been eaten!
The Office of the Jury Commissioner for the Commonwealth
Interview with the Hot Dog Man
Punny but True
Eastern Box Turtle
First Timers
California Doggin'
BEST FISHING TRIP EVER!
Help me steal $48 Million!
Clicker Etiquette
Review: HomeCamera.com
Clicker Wars
The Look
The Foot Long
All Around
Home Haircut Kid
Thank You
Adeste Fideles
Sox on a Plane
Cell Phone Returned to Ref
It's Curtains for Me
Top Ten Things to do on a Rainy Day at the Hot Dog Truck
Fenway Flashback
Coaching Girls
Maitre'd for a Day
Fantastic Fishing
Tom Brady's Knee
There are lots more-just look around!
The dreams of Patriot's Nation were dashed Sunday when marquee quarterback Tom Brady went down with a knee injury. It was later revealed that Brady would miss the entire 2008-09 season with a torn ACL and would require reconstructive knee surgery.
It has always been said the team could deal with any injury except one to Brady. We'll see how it goes.
I created a "flow chart" of the implications Brady's injury will have on the team:
I stumbled on this site and I just can't get enough of it! The site is Superdickery.com and it features thousands of comic book covers and panels from old comic books.
The site was started by someone who realized that Superman can be a real dick sometimes! So they collected a bunch of comic covers that prove Superman is a dick. There are other categories too and you can spend hours looking through this site. Look how much of a dick Superman is being on this cover:
There's also lots of panels with inexplicably ridiculous and inappropriate dialogue from all sorts of comics. Check out this frame from a Batman Comic:
WTF?!?! Funny Stuff!
Check out Superdickery.com for hours of laughs!
After a summer off from Blog Your Blessings, I return with my weekly blessing. We go away every weekend in the summer and, alas, we don't get to church (or blog) much. Our lives are in sync with the rhythm of the school year. With the new school year, we return to the church and to BYBS.
On a lighter note, the NFL and my New England Patriots return today (OK, so the Giants played Thursday). There will be much rejoicing.
Ecclesiastes 8: 15
So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.
The NFL season is almost upon us! The first game is Thursday night and free football picks are up and ready to go at my Winning Football Picks site. Make sure you visit often to get great free picks. If you're smart, you too can profit from the NFL season.
Check out Winning Football Picks today!
For those of you who have been living under a rock, the Olympics recently ended in China. As part of the closing ceremonies, there is a "hand off" to the host country for the next Summer Olympics in the UK in 2012. Part of that hand off was a Led Zeppelin classic, Whole Lotta Love, performed by Leona Lewis and the one and only Jimmy Page. I love Led Zeppelin and have included the entire closing segment here for your enjoyment.
