Thanks -I also enjoyed your pictures. Very nice- good looking pup on avatar too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

He's a big sweetie...

I had a pitbull mixed with labrador, loved the water. Also loved to dig and chase people, parents gave him away while I was in school. Soooo wrong.

something strange happened at our xmas party yesterday...

My cousin who is pretty much an anti wants to get a shotgun. He said things might actually hit the fan with the economy going the way its going.

Want to know what I told him?

"Hope for the best, prepare for WAR young jedi" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My wife just signed up for facebook with her daughters and grandaughters...
I assisted in setting up the account and showing her a few things.

Have I opened a Pandora's box????

My favorite saying is by a friend WarEagle off of a different forum.

Always prepare --- Prepare All Ways


Cheers

Went shooting for Christmas. My family (which likes to tell me I'm crazy for buying guns) took me up on my joke to take them shooting. I thought, Sure-they'll bail out last minute! NOT. Shocker. We all had fun, all 16 of us(uncles,cousins,etc.) What have I started...?

Careful Dawg, you'll end up having your own family army <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Careful Dawg- they will shoot all your ammo and want more. Next- they will want all your steel. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Got a replacement credit card in the mail the other day. They told me that
my account had been compromised, but that they didn't think there had been
any fraudulent activity on it. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif" alt="" />
Ok, I can buy that, but I questioned why they didn't get ahold of me in a more
timely fashion? Especially over the Christmas buying season!
Spent an hour on the phone with the guy going over each and every purchase made
on my card over the last 2 months. Turns out that I could account for each and
every transaction, so all is well.

We canceled the old card and activated the new one.

The new one has one of those computer chips in it.
I asked directly if it could track my movements via satellite. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />
The guy said it couldn't <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> ... yet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
After a lengthy pause without laughter on my part, he told me that he was just
joking...who said they don't have a sense of humor. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Then he told me that it was an additional layer of card security to prevent
double skimming (not sure what that is?)
All is well <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I think <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />


Cheers <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The "chip" in your card is called a RFID (Radio Frequency ID) tag. They have a lot of neat uses, but some potential privacy infringing uses as well. Skimming is where someone takes your card out of your sight (like when eating someplace and they take your card from you while at the table and go ring it up) and they run it through a handheld device that allows them to copy the info on your card and fradulantly copy the info to a blank card. Google both if you want to learn more.

Andy, do you own shares in Google by any chance? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> just kidding.
Thanks for the info. I'll look that up when I get a chance.

Cheers <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

They replace your card if there's a chance that it has been compromised, not just if they know it has. Like they may have had a security breach and lost a thousand credit card records, and yours just happened to be one of those leaked.

By the way, I would take that guy seriously when he says "not yet". There are some truly scary technologies being developed in the name of security. A good question to ask when people talk about security is, what's being secured; and another is, what does it actually cost. Not in money but in freedoms.

I try not to be too paranoid, but... They're not out to get you, but if they were, you're screwed.