Snowflake's Forum

Would You Have Fallen for This Phone Scam? Would You Have Fallen for This Phone Scam? You may have heard that today’s phone fraudsters like to use caller ID spoofing services to make their scam calls seem more believable. But you probably didn’t know that these fraudsters also can use caller ID spoofing to trick your bank into giving up information about recent transactions on your account — data that can then be abused to make their phone scams more believable and expose you to additional forms of identity theft. Last week, KrebsOnSecurity told the harrowing tale of a reader (a security expert, no less) who tried to turn the tables on his telephonic tormentors  and failed spectacularly . In that episode, the people impersonating his bank not only spoofed the bank’s real phone number, but they were also pretending to be him on a separate call at the same time with his bank. This foiled his efforts to make sure it was really his bank that called him, because he called his...

OK OK, I am back!! NOT with any great enthusiasm though. BUT keep getting emails from people saying "Come back Snowy" as well as I realized after a week, that while pissed at how things are going on here, I DO have a small but loyal following and abandoning you all was being kind of selfish. BUT things will be different. When an entire thread was all about two guys bashing each other, insulting each other, instead of engaging in a lively debate about why they see the world so differently, I was reminded why I walked. I also moderate on Germaine's channel, and there is far less of that kind of partisan name-calling, but then again, the whole mood there is more analytical and scholarly, so maybe I have only myself to blame for leaving this channel TOO wide open? AND - YES - I was missing it, I have to be honest. I do believe that I owe it to those who have stuck with me since the old Disqus days and give this another go. But from now on, any kind of garbag...

I honestly thought asking the question of how much is too much was a rational question that would lead to real debate.  Instead it turned ugly.  One such participant has asked us to show some humanity.  Humility would be good too. I understand from his post there was loss, for which I am truly sorry for.  I also may have contributed in my manner of calling him and others out improperly for that ugliness. NPR had an article about why there was so much confusion over the appropriate steps to take.  There are multiple experts making vastly diametric claims.  That in itself is worthy of conversation. But not mud slinging.  Maybe someday folks will be able to keep their emotions in check.  In the meantime I hope to be able again participate in this forum.  I am responsible for my reaction, regardless of the names and insults being slung about.  Being human I erred. Lance

Ok, here goes: Things are very heated. Insults are flying, and we're not on any sort of good behavior. The slightest things are getting blown up out of proportion and tensions are higher than ever. And I have boldly contributed to that in the worst way. Recently the founder of this community quit posting and I must admit it shook me a bit. To see someone who held on through all the turmoil and four years of this hyperpartisan hell suddenly decide this is enough felt like the end of an era, and the de-evolution of any means of community and communication. And then my neighbour died of COVID19. Folks, when we talk about 50,000 people dead, and we have debates about whether we are overreacting to that amount of death, I want you to remember one thing: that's someone's friend, neighbour, parent, child, sibling. That is a human being. That person had dreams, hopes, love, frustrations, and a host of other things you experience every day too. That person is not a number. ...

A City Official Has Resigned After He Threw His Cat During A Zoom Meeting A City Official Has Resigned After He Threw His Cat During A Zoom Meeting "OK, first, I’d like to introduce my cat," the Vallejo, California, planning commissioner said, raising the animal up to the camera before tossing it out of the frame. Stephanie K. Baer Posted on April 27, 2020, at 8:50 p.m. ET A California city's planning commissioner has resigned after he threw his cat into the air during a Zoom meeting where city officials also said he drank alcohol and used derogatory language. During the April 20 meeting, which took place via Zoom as the city practices social distancing because of the  coronavirus pandemic , Vallejo planning commissioner Chris Platzer was asked if he had any comments regarding an agenda item the commission was discussing. "Yes, if I'm allowed to make them," Platzer said, after his cat was heard meowing loudly in the background. ...

https://www.insider.com/fast-food-secret-menu-items-2018-7 13 fast food chains with secret menus — and what you should order at each one Marilyn La Jeunesse Jul 5, 2018, 3:12 PM In-N-Out grilled cheese It's perfect for vegetarians. Aly Weisman/Business Insider In-N-Out hasn’t forgotten about its vegetarian fan-base. The burger joint offers grilled cheese sandwiches, which are essentially the In-N-Out cheeseburger, minus the meat.  Jamba Juice pink Starburst smoothie Surprisingly, smoothie franchise Jamba Juice has a secret menu dedicated to sweet treats. In fact, Jamba Juice managed to put everything you love about pink Starbursts into a delicious smoothie. Packed with plenty of strawberries, raspberry sherbet, and lemonade, the  pink Starburst smoothie  is the ultimate summer refresher that you wish you’d known about sooner. Starbucks Thin Mint Frappuccino Every Starbucks fan knows this coffee giant boasts a long list...

Prehistoric Sahara Filled With Ferocious Predators Was 'Most Dangerous Place in the History of Planet Earth,' Scientists Say Around 100 million years ago, an area of the Sahara in what is now south-eastern Morocco was home to a frightening array of ferocious predators, so much so scientists have dubbed it "most dangerous place in the history of planet Earth." In a paper published in the journal  ZooKeys , a team of scientists reviewed an assemblage of fossils found in ancient rock formations known as the Kem Kem group, located near the border between Morocco and Algeria on the northwestern edge of the Sahara Desert. The Kem Kem group provides a "window into Africa's Age of Dinosaurs," lead author Nizar Ibrahim, a biologist from the University of Detroit Mercy and a visiting researcher at the University of Portsmouth, U.K., said in a statement. The fossils, which are now held in collections around the world, include those of large dinosaurs, pter...

Supermarket Steps Up To Buy From Farmers, Dairies And Donate To Food Banks A Publix Supermarket in Orlando, Fla. John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images Publix says it will buy fresh produce and milk from Florida farmers and southeastern dairies and donate the staples to Feeding America-member food banks.  "As a food retailer, we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of families and farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic," said Todd Jones, chief executive officer of the Lakeland, Fla.,-based grocery chain.  The effort is aimed at farmers and dairies that have been forced to discard produce and milk because of reduced demand from schools, restaurants and other closed businesses.  As NPR  reported  earlier this month: The country's food distribution system, in normal times, is a marvel, efficiently delivering huge amounts of food to consumers. But it relies on predictability, like a rail system that directs a...

Psst!  Anyone watching?   No?  Okay, let's commit cultural slaughter!  Time talk talk about the most over-rated "icon" of a book you ever read! For me, it's The Lord of the Rings.  High drama!  Bloated poetry!  Racist undertones!  And a story that is ninety per-cent irrelevant! Face facts, in the end, it's about three guys carrying a ring cross-country and throwing it into a sewer. Michael Moorcock --a writer who took real  chances with his work-- call's the book a form of infantilization.  The New Yorker did an article on Moorcock's thinking five years ago. " Moorcock, one of the most prolific living fantasists, sees Tolkien’s creation as little more than a conservative vision of the status quo, an adventure that brings its hero “There and Back Again,” rather than into a world where experience means you can’t go home again. Moorcock thinks Tolkien’s vast catalogue of names, places, magic rings, and dwarven kings is, as he t...

White House cancels media briefing as Trump rails against 'enemy' UPDATE:  White House says president's  daily coronavirus media briefing is back on EARLIER:  The White House abruptly canceled Monday's daily media briefing on the coronavirus pandemic after President Donald Trump railed against "enemy" journalists and officials signaled a new public relations strategy. This would be the third consecutive day without a briefing, an event which has been a fixture for weeks, but became a public relations disaster for the president last Thursday when he suggested people could inject disinfectants to fight the virus. The White House had scheduled a briefing for late afternoon, then issued an update saying it was canceled. Over the weekend, none was scheduled and on Friday the president left without taking questions. Trump has been ridiculed around the world for Thursday's disinfectant comment, which he later claimed was meant to b...

Hey, I have to keep all yuz antsy people busy somehow! 😛 Dilemma: You have been told you have to give up your current citizenship and move to another country.   What country would you move to and why? *          *          * Me: I guess what would be pretty important (to me) is that I already speak the prominent language of the country I’d be moving to.   Though English is so-called a "universal language," that limits my choices somewhat.   I'd want to have the basic freedoms that I appreciate and enjoy now.   I'd also want universal healthcare and other "democratic socialism" mechanisms in place so poverty would be minimal (hopefully).  I'd want my new country to be charitable, empathetic and a fair one, and one that respects the rights of its citizenry.  I don’t really want to live where it’s cold all the time.   I can put up with the seas...