This is non-scientific…generally speaking, ok? Markets were ok after the inauguration and then tanked at tariffs. It was all doom/gloom. Except….Trump, who said the short-term pain would be worth the gain. He was right. My retirement is currently higher than it has EVER been…ever! If you like this, follow me. Haters can go elsewhere.
The Markets and My Retirement Read More »
This is Shani Gabay on October 7th at the Nova music festival, wounded by gunfire, bleeding, her face filled with fear, pleading for help.
She was murdered inside an ambulance, along with other young people trying to escape.
To understand the cruelty, Shani was considered missing for 47 days. Only then was it discovered that her remains had been buried together with the body of another young woman murdered beside her.
Shani was just 25.
The more I see in this pic, the more evil it becomes. Looks like a female behind Shani … was she killed in the ambulance too? The ambulance is there. And the guys near her, wrist bands….different colors….what do those mean. To think that they are about to kill her.
Honoring Shani Gabay from Oct 7 Nova Festival Read More »
I use a password safety program to generate passwords. This one is not real, but is the type I use. Even so, someone was able to hack my M3ta/Fbk account and cause my FB page to be “permanently disabled”. Appeal denied. No further appeals allowed. I had 20+yrs, hundreds of friends and probably thousands of posts/pics in albums from hs, college, teaching, family, friends…. So sad. I will be doing more with non-M*t@ programs. Stay tuned.
It happened to suddenly. I was IN the program when it went blank. While I was trying to figure out what happened, my wife came in to tell me a friend had contacted her and asked her if I was okay, and that when she tried to look me up, I didn’t exist.
I could not access the “help”, “hacked”, “identify” or other links suggested by every source I could find. I got messages like:
I’ll be writing more, but here are some things I’ve learned (so far) through this experience:
If someone tells you they are honest, professional and will do a great job for you, or if everything sentence ends in “sir”, …..RUN!
Before you click on one of those “Ask-Us-Anything” type of online tech support, or at least before you authorize any payment (especially if it seems innocent enough, such as a $1 or $5 payment), READ THE FINE PRINT.
The Best Buy Geek Squad tech was very polite, professional, empathetic and helpful, even though he was not able to resolve my case.
Since it didn’t look like I was going to recover my account, I chose the option to “Create a New Account”. I put in my phone, used a different email (the one I had been using wasn’t acceptable), did the video facial recognition and clicked to submit. At that point it told me my “appeal” would be addressed in 48 hours. It only took 1-2. Then….
If you have a recommendation, I would appreciate it.
Account “permanently disabled” Read More »
Why is it that everyone who claims they can fix your account need you to “purchase” a tool? Should those who are professional “fixers” already have the tools they need? Where are the legit options?
Suspended account scammers Read More »
I have chased after several referrals & found a pattern. All need me to buy (a dark web app, or a special fb tool, or some other 1x program) that can be used to recover my account in 1hr. X, Instagram, Threads, LinkednN. One claimed to be a Meta engineer. When I said no, the price dropped …. or maybe just a deposit. And I can earn referral fees to recover my cost. BEWARE!
Beware these social media scammers after FB users Read More »
How do I get it back? Read More »
The Virginia Beach Music Festival was a multi-day event that included competitions in Marching, Concert, Parade, Jazz, and Inspection.
Normally a band year has multiple seasons. Summer and Fall are mostly Marching Band. Some competitions included an inspection element, which included standing at attention for about 15 minutes while someone went through with white gloves and inspected selected instruments and uniforms. Marching season transitions into Concert Band — and Jazz Band starts up. Late Spring and early Summer is parade season.
To prepare for Virginia Beach, all that had to be going on simultaneously.
During school, the concert band would rehearse. Jazz Band was after school and evenings were a combination of marching, parade and inspection practice.
The campus had a long driveway that we used, but would often go through a couple of the neighborhood blocks. Inspections involved Copenhaver’s paddle. We would stand at attention and he would walk in front of us, stopping to stare and to grab and check instruments. If anything was wrong, he’d say, “That’s one”, which meant he would get you with the paddle when he got behind you, which could be several minutes later. And if you moved when he whacked you, guess what. Right. I never got the paddle.
The first time Holmes participated in 1969, (my Freshman year) Holmes was Grand Champion. We returned in 1970 as “Honor Band” for the event.
Director Copenhaver was from Virginia and our two Greyhound busses stoped at a park near his hometown for a community-provided picnic. I remember one of the busses got stuck crossing a small creek.
Two memorable events at the hotel we used. First, was one evening during the week when Mr. Copenhaver was in the parking lot and looked up at many of us on the balconies and said,
“They know we’re here.”
Other than when actually winning an event, it was the happiest I recall him looking and sounding.
The other was an evening when a group of seniors came knocking on our door. I was in a room with three other freshmen boys. They were there for “initiation”, which normally included some combination of ice down the underwear with shaving cream there and everywhere else — and then locked out of the room.
The four of us (I think we all four), went over the balcony. The floors were close enough together that we could go from floor to floor…. Until we could jump to the ground.
I can’t believe I did that.
But I never experienced “initiation”. And I never did that to anyone else.
Virginia Beach Music Festival and the 3rd Floor Balcony Read More »
I just watched a podcast showing numerous student loan defaulters who consider themselves “under-employed” and carrying “unsustainable loans”, complaining about the prospect of having to pay them back after years of covid and other reasons for repayment pauses.
I responded. Hard-hearted? Or real? Tell me what you think (nicely, please).
“I went to a state university because I couldn’t afford a top-tier private school. I had some scholarships, but also worked at least one job every semester and accepted financial aid via work-study and loans. With my degree, I got the job I studied for, struggled a few early years to repay my loan, and continued with life.
Current trends are to borrow immoderate amounts for over-priced private, name-brand schools, bypassing the more moderately priced options, to get a useless degree or one that offers low potential for justifying the price or the loan incurred.
With an attitude and degree no business wants to pay for, they accept lower wage jobs and spend what they should be setting aside for their loan obligation to get tatted, buy the fancy new car, best phone, gaming, credit card debt and party life. And then they want ME to subsidize their lifestyle so they don’t have to pay their debt. All four of my family went to college. Three involved loans. All paid back. Pardon my insensitivity.”
Increasingly, hs graduates are opting to learn high-paying trades or going into the military, which offers opportunities to learn, study, and gain financially — with stability. Those are wise decisions in the current environment.
Student loan defaulters Read More »
Accounts of recent separations of news personalities from their employers remind me of a time my boss told me,
“You can’t say that.”
Years ago, on a hot sunny mid-day, our high school was evacuated over a threat. One of my thoughts at the time was wondering what was going through the minds of those stopped in traffic as 1500+ students, teachers, and staff crossed the state highway en masse. After accounting for all the students who left class, we sat in the football stadium bleachers until the end of the school day when busses and parents picked up students from the stadium rather than the high school. The congestion and confusion on that side street was significant.
The afternoon was especially stressful to those who had to work through the safety protocols to ensure students left only with a legal guardian. How do you call the school when the school is evacuated? How and to whom are calls forwarded? And what about student records with parent/guardian names and information in an area without computers and connections? How do they sign out from a remote location? Parents were frustrated as everyone was trying to do the right thing in a setting we had never before experienced. I should note that the communication and information issues of that day were addressed.
My uncovered bald head was significantly sunburned in those nearly three hours. By the time I got home, my head hurt and I was angry, especially after learning all that was the result of one student’s prank. I made an ill-advised comment on personal social media that punishment should include affixing the offender to the schoolyard flag pole and allowing all who spent those 2-3 hours in the stadium sun file by to express thoughts of the experience.
I should not have said that and I deleted the post, but not before someone shared it with the building boss, who called me to his office the next day. With a copy of my post in his hand, he not-quite laughingly said that, although he might feel the same way, “you can’t say that”.
I wasn’t fired.
You can’t say that Read More »
No fancy graphs or editorials ….just FYI. Some numbers don’t seem to “add up”, so feel free to note or correct discrepancies.
Are public schools receiving less in Indiana due to SB1 Read More »
