Will It Never End?

Checked the email yesterday.

Yep! I've won again.

I have the luckiest email I guess. This time I've won £850,000. That is approximately $1,669,227.15. Oh, it also informed me that I've won a BMW 550i. COOL! This email doesn't say which lottery. I suppose it is still the UK National Lottery like yesterday since I will be paid off in Pounds Sterling. Or maybe it is the Isle of Man National Lottery. They also use the Pound Sterling.

Does the Isle of Man have a National Lottery? Probably not. If they did, I'm sure this email wouldn't have been sent to me from Purdue.edu email account. And I'm certain the lottery official wouldn't have a hotmail account. You would think his email would be something like mrbigshot@uknationallottery.com or some other something like that.

Anyway, I know I haven't won anything. But it is fun to think about and write about.

Oh, by the way you might drop Mr. Cornejo Isoulath or Mr. Alex Hooper (Fiduciary Agent) a line at bmwclaimsdesk08@hotmail.com (This is the for real email address that they want me to respond to) to check on your BMW and cash. Or you can wait. I'm sure you'll get your email soon.

On a more serious note: I use Mailwasher Pro from Firetrust Ltd. They make some great products. Mailwasher Pro allows you to view all email on the email server before it ever gets to your computer. You can then delete any spurious email before downloading anything in your email client. Give it a look see. If you're not sure, they have a free version that you can try out. It's called Mailwasher Free 6.1.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Good News--I've Won!

Got an e-mail today. Boy was I excited. The email said I was the winner of the UK (United Kingdom) National Lottery. It says that I've won GBP £550,000. WOW!!! That's about $1,079,703.70, give or take a few cents. This I've got to check out.

Yeah, it says my email has won. I guess I'm set for Easy Street now. The email says I have to contact a Mr. David Owen for claims. All right. I'm counting the money and think how to spend it about now. WAIT A MINUTE!! Why does the Claims Director for the UK National Lottery have a Yahoo email address? This bears further inspection. The email itself came from an email address with charter.net in it. It appears that charter.net is the email for customers of Charter Communications and Charter Communications is located in St. Louis, MO.

I suppose the UK National Lottery has moved to St. Louis instead of London, England now. After all, the dollar has dropped quite a bit. It has to be cheaper to operate in the US now. The director is even using a Yahoo address instead of a government email address. I suppose this cuts down on expenses for the lottery and they can sink more money into the prizes. That means more prize money for me.

Nah, I didn't think so either.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Day Off, Still Had To Work

Took a day off on Sunday. Didn't post. I thought I'd rest. I didn't rest much. And, I've had better days.

I got up at 6 AM in order to fix a roast for Sunday lunch. That went off without a hitch. I started to do some work on the computer. That's when I discovered it had been infected by a Trojan Horse. The Trojan Horse was Trojan Horse Agent.MQO. Before I started on the Trojan Horse, I put some biscuits in the oven and then started work on the computer. I researched on the internet and found a great site that gave good advice. The info was on mudcat.org. The thread that contained the info I needed was about 2/3 of the way down the page. The first post about this particular Trojan Horse was dated Jan. 11, 2008, so apparently it is a new one. I read the advice and started the procedure. katlaughing on mudcat.org said she got the Agent.MQO on her computer and that she felt like it now had a "social disease". There went the better part of the morning and the early afternoon.

By this time I forgot the biscuits. Fortunately I remembered them before it was too late. They were extremely well done. A couple of shades shy of burnt to be precise. I was able to make do with the biscuits. I was also able to save the computer from the Trojan Horse. YEA!! No more "social disease".

Then came a few errands. And finally, back home by 3:30 for the Dallas Cowboys playoff game. The errands went off without a hitch. The game was another story. Looks like the road to Glendale will be passing through Green Bay and not Dallas (Irving really, soon to be Arlington).

All things considered, the roast was great. The rest I could have done without.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Broke Brake Right Light Night Break

Problems with the truck. Chevy Silverado, 2007 model. Red. Broke brake light.

Chris and I went to pick up Julie last night at work. At the Dwyer Group, light was fine. How do I know? Julie got in on that side. She would have told me.

As we passed through downtown Waco, light was fine. How do I know? The police cruiser driving behind me would have stopped me. How do I know? I got stopped 4 times in 2 hours because of a burned out headlight a couple of years ago.

When we got home the light was broke. How do I know? Chris told me. Then Julie told me. Then I looked. They were right. It was broke. A broke brake light, on the right, at night.

I took pictures. Duct tape good. Warranty better. Part is on order. Have to live with duct tape a few more days.


© 2008 Barry T Horst



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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

"But Wait! There's More."

Who hasn't seen an infomercial? They seem to be all over TV. Especially late at night. That's when you get to see the full length infomercials. They are the ones that normally show up on the cable guide as "Paid Programming". It's strange to watch one of these. They have commercials during the infomercial. And what are the commercials for? Well they're for the item being sold in the infomercial. That's right; a commercial for the commercial during the commercial.

The father of these commercials/infomercials is Ron Popeil. You remember him. He was on TV in the 60's and 70's selling items ranging from the Ronco Spray Gun to the Inside-The-Shell Scrambler; from the Veg-O-Matic to the Pocket Fisherman. It seemed as if he was everywhere on TV. According to the commercials he had just developed the greatest thing since sliced bread. And we could get it for an unbelievably low sum. "But wait! There's more." Famous words that meant the deal was about to get better. Now tell me. How could the best deal in the world get better? I don't know, but Ron always made it better.

The modern infomercial follows the same strategy. The problem is identified. The solution is given. An example is the Simoniz Scratch Removal Kit. The price is mentioned; $19.95 + $9.95 S&H. And then it begins. The grand giveaway. Not only can you get the advertised product for $19.95 but you will get a free bonus (Just pay $12.95 S&H--Now that says free to me!). Oh the bonus is a "FREE TURBO VAC."

Now even better is the deal you get with Zoorbeez. They will also send you a second Zoorbeez free. I think Billy Mays says it nicely, "Order now and we'll double the offer!" Oh, I forgot. you also get a Micromen Microfiber Duster free. A $60 value for only $14.99 + $11.97 S&H. Give me a break. Who do they think they're fooling?

One of my favorites is the lifetime Infinity Razor infomercial. You can get not one but two lifetime Infinity Razors for $19.95. and they'll throw in an Infinity Micro Trimmer and Infinity Chef Knife.; just pay $19.95 plus the $8.95 shipping. Now why would someone need two lifetime razors?

© 2008 Barry T Horst This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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Where's the Loop? I Need To Get In!

Technology is wonderful. Instantaneous communication. Cell phones, IM, e-mail, etc. The school district where I work relies on their e-mail system to disseminate information to all staff. The campus I work on relies on e-mail to inform staff of important meetings, deadlines, etc. I'm sure they do this to save paper and to communicate faster and more efficiently. I imagine another reason is to keep from having to interrupt classes by constantly making announcements. So I have one question. How come I never know what's going on?

Invariably, one of two things will happen. One thing is that I'll hear through the grapevine about a change or some other important event. I'm often told to check my e-mail later for details. I make a point to do something I generally do not do. I check the e-mail during class time - Nothing. I check again later - Still nothing. Time to go home so I check again - Still no message. Some time later I get an e-mail. This, of course, is after I've received the information from others that apparently are in the loop that I'm not in.

The other instance that occurs is when I'm late for an important meeting or I miss an important deadline. Then I'm asked, "Didn't you check your e-mail? We sent one earlier!" I reply, "No! I teach. I can't check my e-mail because I'm teaching. I check after the kids have gone home." By then it is often too late.

But remember, the district did save paper. Oh, and they did communicate faster and efficiently. I guess I need to find that loop. And just maybe check my e-mail instead of teach all of the time.

© 2008 Barry T Horst


This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.