Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:22 pm**

Well no mower yet. The one I thought Id made a deal far didn't happen. Day before yesterday he said he'd bring it out and I could test it. When he arrived it was the wrong mower. He brought a $2000 like new zero turn. Not the old $450 one Id looked at. Yesterday I was supposed to call early and he'd bring the right one. I tried all morning and no answer. So at noon I took my allergy medicine that puts me to sleep. Right then he called but I couldn't do it then. I want to be awake to test a riding mower lol. So he said call today and he'd bring it by.

Again I called all morning and at 2pm he answered. Been out all morning. But whats this?..he sold it yesterday to his friend that came by wanting one. Said he wasn't sure I wanted it. Id made real sure I wanted it. Told him if it worked and mowed no problem then Id buy it today. Even have the cash. But he says his friend offered him $650 for it. So he wanted $450 but made his 'friend' give him $650. Hmm ok.

So he says he'll find me one today. He is always buying and selling them. I asked if he repaired them and he said no just buys and sells...and services them. Strange. I agreed ...but doubt Ill answer the phone or door today. Taking my meds and napping.

Looked him up online. Has past arrests on not only money things but criminal stuff. Not sure what.....maybe stolen stuff lol.

And theres STILL nothing listed online to buy. Sigh.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:40 pm**

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:43 pm**

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:22 pmLooked him up online. Has past arrests on not only money things but criminal stuff. Not sure what.....maybe stolen stuff lol.

One wonders how many times he sells and resells the same mower.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 3:41 pm**

Sigh. Theres a 2 season old zero turn Simplicity in the next county over...$850 which is a little much and they cant deliver heheh....but wow nice price. I even see one a ways away someone is giving away..looks almost new..probably blew the engine or something..still free..geez. Sometimes people give shit away if they separated and are angry. Once saw a like new Jeep for $ super cheap..maybe $200. Really wish I had a pickup and trailer hehe. Maddening trying to simply get a 'good' 'working' mower. I really dont want to buy a push mower.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:19 pm**

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:29 pm I keep getting emails from somebody called Venmo saying I paid somebody some money. Click here if that is incorrect.
I figure it's some kind of scam but a new format of some kind.

Maybe I'm missing a joke, but Venmo is a real thing, an app similar to PayPal. I use it.

If you're getting notices that someone with your identity is paying someone else, you might want to look into it.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:32 pm**

Just found out that Social Security CANNOT send me a new social security card... Because they apparently never got "proof" that I am a US citizen, despite having naturalized DECADES ago. And given SSA offices are still closed, I have to submit my ORIGINAL naturalization certificate by mail or dropbox (which is like, 1 block away) plus paperwork and hope they don't lose the ****.

Frankly, applying for a passport would have been easier.

And who'd knew that employers are NO LONGER ALLOWED to take a naturalization certificate (which has a photo) as proof of work eligibility, but they can take a social security card (which doesn't)?

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:36 pm**

Holman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:19 pm
dbt1949 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:29 pm I keep getting emails from somebody called Venmo saying I paid somebody some money. Click here if that is incorrect.
I figure it's some kind of scam but a new format of some kind.
Maybe I'm missing a joke, but Venmo is a real thing, an app similar to PayPal. I use it.

If you're getting notices that someone with your identity is paying someone else, you might want to look into it.

I looked up Venmo. I have nothing to do with them. They have nothing but my email. Why would I want to get involved with something that is a scam? No thank you.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:39 pm**

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:36 pm
Holman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:19 pm
dbt1949 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:29 pm I keep getting emails from somebody called Venmo saying I paid somebody some money. Click here if that is incorrect.
I figure it's some kind of scam but a new format of some kind.
Maybe I'm missing a joke, but Venmo is a real thing, an app similar to PayPal. I use it.

If you're getting notices that someone with your identity is paying someone else, you might want to look into it.
I looked up Venmo. I have nothing to do with them. They have nothing but my email. They have also been telling me my account is messed up. Why would I want to get involved with something that is a scam? No thank you.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:40 pm**

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:36 pm
Holman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:19 pm
dbt1949 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 5:29 pm I keep getting emails from somebody called Venmo saying I paid somebody some money. Click here if that is incorrect.
I figure it's some kind of scam but a new format of some kind.
Maybe I'm missing a joke, but Venmo is a real thing, an app similar to PayPal. I use it.

If you're getting notices that someone with your identity is paying someone else, you might want to look into it.
I looked up Venmo. I have nothing to do with them. They have nothing but my email. Why would I want to get involved with something that is a scam? No thank you.

Like PayPal, Venmo can be linked to a credit card or a bank account.

You might want to contact them and make sure no one is stealing from yours.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:46 pm**

I've never done business with Venmo. They do not have my bank account or credit card numbers. I have checked in the past.Just clicking a button in you email can send you places you don't want to go. For all I know it could start downloading stuff to me. No thanks.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:50 pm**

I've been getting more phishing attempts lately -- mostly emails (and some texts) about nonexistent orders and packages. I rarely buy anything so they're pretty obviously fake, but I can see how an avid consumer would be fooled.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:04 pm**

Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:50 pm I've been getting more phishing attempts lately -- mostly emails (and some texts) about nonexistent orders and packages. I rarely buy anything so they're pretty obviously fake, but I can see how an avid consumer would be fooled.

Yesterday we got six identical phone messages left on the machine asking us to press one if we wanted a refund, etc, from "our computer service provider" which was shutting down "due to Covid". The voice (which I think was computer generated) kept mispronouncing Covid. Being a senior in Florida is like that, we get scam calls or cold calls or other nonsense every day. We've quit answering the phone entirely and just letting the machine screen the calls.

Posted: **Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:26 pm**

jztemple2 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 11:04 pm
Kraken wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:50 pm I've been getting more phishing attempts lately -- mostly emails (and some texts) about nonexistent orders and packages. I rarely buy anything so they're pretty obviously fake, but I can see how an avid consumer would be fooled.
Yesterday we got six identical phone messages left on the machine asking us to press one if we wanted a refund, etc, from "our computer service provider" which was shutting down "due to Covid". The voice (which I think was computer generated) kept mispronouncing Covid. Being a senior in Florida is like that, we get scam calls or cold calls or other nonsense every day. We've quit answering the phone entirely and just letting the machine screen the calls.

I stopped answering the phone the minute I shut down Curio City. And even then, I let most calls go to voicemail. 75% of them were criminals, 15% were complainers trying to get something for nothing, and 10% were people who wanted to give me money but were afraid of the internet.

I do think the pace of phishing is accelerating because I'm old now. On my last birthday, "the government" sent me a package of information about signing up for "Medicare" in the next year. Like there's any such thing as Medicare. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck, you know.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 1:16 am**

I get more than a few bogus SMS recently, pretending to be Amazon, USPS (3 x from different URLs), a fake "delivery tracker", even "This is _____ your FedX (sic) driver..."

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 1:38 am**

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 1:16 am "This is _____ your FedX (sic) driver..."

I have to laugh because I had a random text last week saying "I'm your Hanjin driver. What is the code to your building?" and I happily sent him the code to the front door of the building. An hour later he texted me a picture of my coffee filters outside my door.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 6:45 am**

My email address is [my first initial][my last name]@gmail.com. For years, I've gotten emails for individuals who share my first initial and last name. Other than understandable typos, I just don't understand how it happens so frequently. Are people genuinely forgetting their own address? The majority isn't spam and newsletter sign-ups either--these will be legitimate looking receipts and replies from workplaces and mom & pop businesses, etc.

The other day, I got a reply that a shop was out of the ammunition that I, [first name that is not my own], ordered. I replied that they had the wrong email, and they wrote back that my email address might have been used in a fraud attempt, and provided me with the supposed IP address/geographical location the order was placed from! Never had that offered to me before. Maybe it's just because they're second-amendment types. I'd think they should be legally concerned I'd hunt down and punish some innocent using that information.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 8:54 am**

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 30, 2021 9:46 pm I've never done business with Venmo. They do not have my bank account or credit card numbers. I have checked in the past.Just clicking a button in you email can send you places you don't want to go. For all I know it could start downloading stuff to me. No thanks.

If you really wanted to check, you could go to their website (not via the message you received) and contact customer support.

If you're getting those messages, it's possible that someone is using your phone/email to perform various transactions. Even if it never touches your actual money, it could mean a headache for you if whatever they're doing is illegal.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 9:00 am**

Sudy wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 6:45 am My email address is [my first initial][my last name]@gmail.com. For years, I've gotten emails for individuals who share my first initial and last name. Other than understandable typos, I just don't understand how it happens so frequently. Are people genuinely forgetting their own address? The majority isn't spam and newsletter sign-ups either--these will be legitimate looking receipts and replies from workplaces and mom & pop businesses, etc.

When I was in grad school, I hopped on email early (it was 1992) and snagged [my first init][my last name]@umich.edu.

Unfortunately the president of the UM medical system shared my initial and last name, and people just assumed that my email would be his. I often received highly sensitive info about the economic state of the university in my inbox, and I would dutifully contact the appropriate office. Eventually I was on a first-name basis with his secretary.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 11:37 am**

Speaking of email addresses...

When I first got on AOL, I had a 3 letter username... my initials. Sorta. Later due to a bit of a mixup on their end, I had to give up that account, but I got a 4 letter username.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 12:23 pm**

WTF@AOL.com was probably a bit ahead of its time.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 12:30 pm**

Back in the mid to late 90s there were email hosting sites where you could choose a @something name. I remember me and a friend had ones that were like blah@thepentegon.com and such.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 2:36 pm**

So, 18 years we've lived here, and 18 years we've dealt with an non-lockable bedroom door.

Today I found a skeleton key that fits the antique mortise lock.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 2:47 pm**

Dont even have a doorknob on my bedroom door. The house is old and so are the knobs. They tend to stop working over the years. First was this bedroom about 20 years ago. Then the bathroom about 10 years ago. And now about a year ago the back bedroom doorknob has started to not work sometimes. They will all go. I dont care.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 4:25 pm**

Mine is somewhat similar to this one:

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 5:19 pm**

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 4:25 pm Mine is somewhat similar to this one:

From watching old movies I know how to unlock one of these doors if I am on the other side from the key, requiring just needle-nosed pliers, a nail or other slim tool and a newspaper. Totally useless knowledge, but that is my usual field of expertise.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 6:19 pm**

When I went looking, I was trying to find out if there was an easy way to pick them. What I found out was that 90% of these interior locks used one of three standard skeleton keys. Get those three keys and you can open almost any of them.

When I heard that I went and grabbed my RPG prop box, which included a number of keys, one of which was a legitimate (non-decorative) skeleton key. It worked.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 6:22 pm**

We had giant key locks like that in the farm house I grew up in. Had one big key for all of them.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 8:52 pm**

Well.................I got a couple of new keys for my lawnmower. So there!

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 9:38 pm**

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 6:19 pm When I went looking, I was trying to find out if there was an easy way to pick them. What I found out was that 90% of these interior locks used one of three standard skeleton keys. Get those three keys and you can open almost any of them.

When I heard that I went and grabbed my RPG prop box, which included a number of keys, one of which was a legitimate (non-decorative) skeleton key. It worked.

Best of all, now you can keep the key in the lock to prevent your creepy butler from peeking!

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 10:06 pm**

Good way to let Raydude steal it.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 11:04 pm**

I'm wise to the old newspaper and a stick gimmick Next time I lock it, I'm going to superglue the key in so that old trick won't work! Now who's laughing?!?

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 11:27 pm**

Keep in mind, you can still purchase replacement skeleton keys for older mortise locks.

Posted: **Sat May 01, 2021 11:44 pm**

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 11:27 pm Keep in mind, you can still purchase replacement skeleton keys for older mortise locks.

I actually had that same set in my cart earlier ( I'd found them linked in the article that mentioned that almost all interior doors used one of three designs) when I remembered that I had a few in my D&D props box and decided to check those first. All but one were 'hobby' keys, a under-sized and decorative. The only real one I had in there did the job (same as the top key in that picture.)

Posted: **Sun May 02, 2021 1:33 pm**

Ive just watched the live videos for Miley Cyrus' cover versions of Zombie and Heart of Glass. I think she's found her rock future. She should stick with rock. She has the voice for it. I mean she is damn good at it wow. Stop the pop stuff now.

Posted: **Sun May 02, 2021 1:36 pm**

Heart of Glass is fairly pop.

Posted: **Sun May 02, 2021 1:59 pm**

Disco

Posted: **Sun May 02, 2021 3:09 pm**

Well Disco is anathema to Rock.

Posted: **Sun May 02, 2021 9:09 pm**

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sun May 02, 2021 1:33 pm Ive just watched the live videos for Miley Cyrus' cover versions of Zombie and Heart of Glass. I think she's found her rock future. She should stick with rock. She has the voice for it. I mean she is damn good at it wow. Stop the pop stuff now.

She covered Nine Inch Nails during the end credits of her Black Mirror episode and I kind of liked it.

Posted: **Tue May 04, 2021 12:48 am**

what is the deal with Punisher? i know it was the '80s but who at Marvel thought a 'superhero' whose 'power' is 'owns a lot of guns' a worthy idea?

Posted: **Tue May 04, 2021 9:22 am**

70s. Lots of guns was the height of cool back then, and the big deal about him was that he was more an anti-hero than a hero. In an era when comics were recovering from the smiles and hand-shaking of the Comics Code era, lots of books were exploring what could be done. Adding a character that simply killed the bad guys to a series with a classic "don't kill" hero (Spider-Man) stood out.

Octopus Overlords

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