Investigate BEFORE you hit "ENTER"

Has anyone gotten scammed with what looks like a great deal or a cool product online? Well, I have to admit, I have. Scammers are using AI to copy and repost valid looking web pages and grabbing millions from unsuspecting people. No just older people, but everyone. It's a crime but really hard for authorities to stop. And it's not only online but on TV, radio, with these phrases: "Operators are standing by" "Time is limited, order now, only ?? left." "What are you waiting for?" This is a limited offer, act now." 'Supply is going fast." "Don't be a victim, get yours before they are gone." "Don't be late, act now." And my favorite, "Fill out this survey with your email address and phone number." NO, DON'T DO THAT!! Now they have your information to dig deeper for social security number, home addresses and so on. And if you do order something online, make sure it ships from the good old USA. That is where I got took. Even if it looks too good, it's not. 

Even on Amazon, Walmart, Target web sites, look closely at the page and see if it is real. Sometimes it is very hard to see the real thing.

Don't fall for the flashing page that comes up saying "Your computer is infected by a virus, call this number for help." Somewhere, somehow you unwillingly downloaded a virus and they want to get you on the phone to hack you bigtime. Don't call! It looks real, it sounds real but it's not. 

I don't know about your area but it seems the Phoenix area has been flooded with injury attorney advertisements. "In a wreck, need a check?" "Were you in the Navy or a firefighter? We got your back. Have you been diagnosed with Mesothelioma." And the latest, "Don't be a victim of home property title theft." It is getting so you can trust anything you see or hear of social media or TV and radio. Even some of the purchasable program to stop this stuff use the same tactics by scaring you into thinking you need them. And you may, but look at the fine print first. You may change your mind.

All of this is scary to someone who does not think as well as they did 20 or 30 years ago. There are too many distrustful things going on, and we all have to realize the days of good people in the world is going away. But believe me, there are still a lot of the good guys and girls around that would never lead you wrong.  I hope people think I am one of the good folks. I know you are too. Take care, stay safe and stay alert.

Gosh it's HOT!

You know this, it's been damn hot, and it is no matter where you travel. So in my retirement (and maybe before) I have worn shorts whenever and are allowed, which mostly everywhere we go. Well, except into so religious places overseas. Once I had to wrap a skirt around myself to go in a holy place. I was not the only guy or girl that had to do that. I guess they were prepared for Americans. We each just looked around at each other and shrugged our shoulders. 

Anyway, I wear shorts all the time. Did you know that in 1936 in Yonkers NY, they had a LAW saying "NO ONE CAN WEAR SHORTS IN PUBLIC". And the law was enforced with a $150 fine and possible jail time. How crazy is that? The law lasted only a couple years. 

So trying to get out of the heat for a week or so, we flew to Tennessee to visit so friends and a cousin of mine. Guess what? It was hot there too. Not AS BAD as Phoenix, but hot.

We visited so real awesome places like Oak Ridge and the place featured in  the movie 'Oppenheimer'. It is called K-25 and the place the first nuclear bomb was created. A huge 400 acre area in the middle of and close to a very small town. The government cleared off many acres just the build this and disassembled it immediately after the war.

The concrete in the background is where the huge building stood. After that, we toured the museum which was mind blowing. Actual artifacts and reproductions of objects they used, but never knew what they were building. Everyone who was hired lived there and could not leave. Everything they would need was in this government made city, food, hospital, gas station, schools, housing, swimming pools, activities, everything. No one knew what others did, even the scientists working on the actual bomb. The museum held more information than my little brain could comprehend, but so cool. This to follow up our trip to Los Alamos New Mexico a few weeks before.

Just before we visited with my cousin, we went to the Eastern Tennessee History Museum in downtown Knoxville. Since my ancestors came from Tennessee while it was part of North Carolina (1750s), I thought it would be a neat place to do a little research and kill some time. Again, a very cool place it you like history. One exhibit that brought back memories from my teenager years was an old drug store very much like the one I worked at through my high school years, Bernhardt's.  I think I started at 75 cents an hour and when I left I was making $1.50. The big bucks. Of course that was in the mid-60s. Gosh I am old. 

My cousin is one of my favorites, and it was so good the visit with her and her friend Bob. Great guy. She took us to a State Park with a beautiful waterfall and a drive through some unbelievable forest roads. So thick, I almost got claustrophobic. But one thing I did not luck was the bugs. That I love about Arizona, NO BUGS, to speak off.

Didn't I start this blog complaining about the heat in Arizona? Well, it was not AS hot there but still hot so we flew home.

A great trip to see friends and a relative. Over all, good time. But I wore shorts the whole time, and I usually do anyway. Take care, stay safe and stay cool. Later.