The Dash by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

I have heard this poem before mostly at memorials and wanted to share it here with full acknowledgement of the author. It is an encouragement to live your life to the fullest:

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

Adding video to my blog

I have been wanting to include video within my blog pages.

I am interested in photography so I had a lot of source material for doing this video.

Using a web service called animoto.com both music and animation are available to the project. This first attempt is crude but was also an interesting challenge.

Next attempt will be a video where I talk about a subject where I am on video…

Click HERE to view the project. ( time 2:12 )

Thanks for watching,
Have a blessed day,
Bill

Scanning project

For many years we have had photos accumulating in boxes and a few albums. But mostly in boxes. I think we have 5 or 6 boxes of them now.

Always, the goal was that “someday” we would scan them into a digital form and then organize them.

We have finally started that project.

First was to determine the scanner to use. We have an Epson scanner that is a very good professional scanner but it has a large hinged top that must be lifted to put the next item to scan. It has high resolution scans but it horribly time consuming and we have found it to not be very productive for large scanning jobs.

Looking at Amazon we found several candidates that looked good, but only 1 stood out as a solution for the project. In addition to scanning a large number of pictures, we also have a large number of business cards we wanted to scan and then discard.

We settled on the Fujitsu SnapScan iX1600. It can scan small to large sizes (business cards to full 8 1/2 x 11 sheets). It is fast. It can do duplex scanning so one time through the handler and we have both sides of the item. This is critical because many of the pics have notes on the back. It also has a very small footprint on the desk so we have more room for the project work.

We are extremely happy with it. Included in the package is some image management software that allows multiple scan profiles to be defined and then easily selected. Then those images can be edited with the same software.

This device is perfect for the need and now I am not scanning daily. We are very pleased with the results so far

More on this soon…
Blessings to all!
Bill

Screens available, 15 inch and 17 inch VGA

I am beginning to clean out my garage. I have gathered equipment over the years “in case” I needed it. In the case of screens I have 2 each 15 inch (VGA) and 3 each 17 inch (VGA) that I have tested working today. I have found that having a second screen on a system is uber useful and have added second screens to many systems; both my own and other clients that need them.

Put your email on the second screen and it is soooo convenient to have it there. Makes it much easier to move files around too, with a second screen.

In any case, they are available to anyone with a need.

Let me know by emailing bill@pertel.com or calling and leaving a message at
949-830-2092.

Easter blessings to you all!
Bill

Password Managers overview

I am shopping for a password manager and found 5 likely candidates below. I am looking for people that may have used one or several and have a strong opinion on which one to choose. Or is there another not among this group that someone likes a lot. Please email me at bill@pertel.com or go to the comment section below for discussing…

IT Glue (https://www.itglue.com/)
One of the most popular amongst IT pros, IT Glue features powerful documentation management features to store all your passwords and other important documents that your team needs on a regular basis.

RoboForms (https://www.roboform.com/)
RoboForm started as a tool designed to automate filling out personal data, but it soon adopted password management. IT Managers like it because they can store passwords as well as aid in form filling online.

Dashlane (https://www.dashlane.com/)
Dashlane offers great UI/UX and makes smart password management a breeze, with many security-focused extras. A new favorite amongst the IT crowd.

LastPass (https://www.lastpass.com/)
LastPass has been a long-time favorite of IT Managers and MSP due to the strength of their free tier which includes all of the standard password manager capabilities, plus a few features that other services restrict to paid accounts.

1Password (https://1password.com/)
1Password does what it promises, to enable users to sync passwords to access all their sites, across browsers and devices. It offers great bang for the buck on its paid version (and a generous 30-day free trial).

SCAM – delivery guy has flowers/alcohol – needs signature and delivery charge on your CC

This one is amazing. I have copied it from the neighborhood blog today and shared it with my fiends here. WATCH OUT, the scammers are coming:

From the Nextdoor Blog:
Be Alert. This is very clever. I would probably fall for it, if not warned. Give this wide distribution. This scam is very clever. Just when you thought you’d heard it all. Be very careful out there! Beware of people bearing gifts!

The following is a recounting of the incident from the victim:

Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: “Express Couriers,” (The name could be any courier company). He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for me that required a signature.

The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in approximately an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I was very surprised, since there was no special occasion or holiday, and I, certainly, didn’t expect anything like it. Intrigued, I inquired as to who the sender was.

The courier replied, “I don’t know, I’m only delivering the package.”

Apparently, a greeting card was being sent separately. (The card has never arrived!) There was also a consignment note with the gift.

He then went on to explain that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50 “delivery/ verification charge,” providing proof that he actually had delivered the package to an adult (of legal drinking age), and not just left it on the doorstep where it could be stolen or taken by anyone, especially a minor.

This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He then said that the delivery company required payment to be by credit or debit card only, so that everything is properly accounted for, and this would help in keeping a legal record of the transaction.

He added, “Couriers don’t carry cash to avoid loss or being, likely, targets for robbery.”

My husband, who by this time was standing beside me, pulled out his credit card, and the “delivery man,” asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. Frank, my husband, was asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction.

The guy said everything was in order, and wished us good day, and left.

To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines.

Apparently, the “mobile credit card machine,” which the deliveryman carried, now, had all the info necessary to create a “dummy” card with all our card details including the PIN number.

Upon finding out about the illegal transactions on our card, we, immediately, notified the bank which issued us a new card, and our credit/debit account was closed.

We, also, personally, went to the police, where it was confirmed that it is, definitely, a scam because several households had been similarly hit.

WARNING: Be wary of accepting any “surprise gift or package,” which you neither expected nor personally ordered, especially if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. Also, never accept anything if you do not, personally, know or there is no proper identification of who the sender is.

Above all, the only time you should give out any personal credit/debit card information is when you yourself initiated the purchase or transaction!

PLEASE, pass this on; it may just prevent someone else from being swindled.

Arrest Warrant – Federal Reserve

About once a week I get this scam call.

The Law Enforcement department of the Federal Reserve has an arrest warrant out for me. It seems that I have done illegal transactions and they are coming for me.

Initially it is a robo call and when I hit 1 I get a person with a heavy east Indian accent. They must really think we are naïve, and, maybe we are.

What a bunch of scammers. But a call like this would have really scared my mom. So they know they can get some individuals to comply with their requests.

Hope this helps reveal to you yet another scan!

Blessings to you all,
Bill

Working together – Geese

I have been reading a book focused on solving problems. It is called “Thinkertoys” by Michael Michalko. The book goes into many ways to noodle out the solution to a problem, be it something from business like sales, or something you might be trying to do. It goes into how groups of people may solve a problem and he gives one example about working together that I quote below:

Working together in God’s creation:

Next time you see geese flying along in V formation, you should consider what science has discovered about why they fly that way, which provides good model of teamwork. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. The geese get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether we’re talking about people working in an organization or geese flying south. Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. We should encourage our leaders as well with shows of encouragement.

Finally, when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation, to catch up with their group. We should help others keep up with the rest at work by working with them.

Scam calls (3 of them) today apparently from Apple

The scammers are alive, well and very busy today. I have received 3 today from Apple tech support scammers.

All 3 started with a Robo caller – 2 male voice and 1 female voice. ( OH NO! ) , My apple ID has been compromised. Click 1 to resolve it with a technician.

Clicking 1 in each case brings a man on the phone, strangely, with an east Indian accent. I am directed to the following website:

www.support.me

From there the person wants to give me the 6 digit code to “help” me with my apple ID. If I, or you, go past this point in the conversation, the scammer, now hacker, will have control of your computer. And from there can do a lot of damage as well as theft of your personal information.

APPLE WILL NOT CALL YOU. You need to call them if you ever want technical support. And you get ther number from the Apple website, www.apple.com

I hope this keeps you safe from these very despicable people trying to take advantage of those not aware!!!

Blessings to all,
Bill Perry