A little humor is good for the Soul…

Our teacher asked us what our favorite animal was, and I said, “Fried chicken.”

She said I wasn’t funny, but she couldn’t have been right, everyone else in the class laughed.

My parents told me to always be truthful and honest, and I am. Fried chicken is my favorite animal. I told my dad what happened, and he said my teacher was probably a member of PETA. He said they love animals very much. I do, too. Especially chicken, pork and beef.

Anyway, my teacher sent me to the principal’s office. I told him what  happened, and he laughed too. Then he told me not to do it again.

The next day in class my teacher asked me what my favorite live animal was. I told her it was chicken. She asked me why, just like she’d asked the other children. So I told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken. She sent me back to the principal’s office again. He laughed, and told me not to do it again.

I don’t understand. My parents taught me to be honest, but my teacher doesn’t like it when I am. Today, my teacher asked us to tell her what famous person we admire most.

I told her, “Colonel Sanders.”

Guess where I am now…

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Malware Threatens to Sue BitTorrent Downloaders

Peer-to-peer file sharing is a major source of viruses, trojans, and other malware.  On service calls, I’ve frequently found Limewire downloads or Torrents that served as the entry point for malicious software. Be careful where you download from and be very selective with what you choose to download.

Source: Malware Threatens to Sue BitTorrent Downloaders | Wired.com.
Source: Trojan threatens legal action – The H Security: News and Features.

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N.Y. Firm Faces Bankruptcy from $164,000 E-Banking Loss — Krebs on Security

While it’s true that viruses are a nuisance, there are cases where it becomes criminal in the extreme.

The article below discusses a case where a business person was using her computer as she normally would for online banking.  She had also most likely been using the computer for casual web surfing and in doing so had contracted a nasty trojan horse.  The trojan horse installed software allowing the theft of passwords and other login information.  The thieves then caused her computer to crash through use of software downloaded by the trojan horse.  While she was dealing with the computer crash the crooks made off with her money.

Lesson learned…the computer you use for banking must be secure.  You should not bank on the same computer you use to surf without making sure you surf safely.  Ideally you should bank on a completely separate computer (or virtual machine) used only for banking and NEVER for surfing.  For many this is just not realistic so I’ll put together a “Safe Surfing” article later…

Source: N.Y. Firm Faces Bankruptcy from $164,000 E-Banking Loss — Krebs on Security.

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Share the wealth…yeah, that’ll work…

It’s both funny and sad that we live in the only nation in the world that thinks we’ll get an hour more of sunlight each day by rolling the clock forward an hour.  It’s even worse that many people believe our nation as a whole will be better off by taxing those who work to provide for those who don’t.   Health care or welfare, these days it all seems based on this same principle…

As the late Adrian Rogers said, “You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.”

A friend passed on the following…

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that Obama’s socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama’s plan”.  All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A…

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D! No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else..

All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Can’t really make it any simpler than that.

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Thoughts to Share (3/2/10)

“I believe we must constantly nourish the seeds of love, harmony, and unity in our homes and families. Fathers are to preside over their families in kindness, remembering that “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.” (D&C 121:41) Husbands and wives are to love each other with a pure love that transcends selfishness. In a single-parent family, the parent presides. Parents are to nurture their children and teach them the principles of right living. Regardless of the help other individuals or institutions may give, the Lord has placed this responsibility ultimately with parents. Children are to honor their parents (see Ex. 20:12) by obeying them, living as they are taught, and fostering peace in the home.

“Parents should plant deeply the seed of the work ethic into the hearts and habits of their children. As society has shifted from an agrarian to an urban structure, the joy and necessity of diligent, hard work have been neglected. If our young people do not learn to work while in their homes, they likely will be compelled to learn later in a setting where the lesson may be painful.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Seeds of Renewal,” Ensign, May 1989, 7

“Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. …

“Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other”

Marvin J. Ashton (1915–94) “The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword,” Ensign, May 1992, 19

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Would You Have Spotted the Fraud? — Krebs on Security

Card skimmers, in some respects, are rather impressive devices.  Designed to be invisible, they can be installed by criminals on ATMs, gas pumps, or essentially anything else with a card slot.  The principle is easy…your card gets scanned when you insert it into the machine and generally a camera will be located nearby to record your PIN when you type it in.  With this information, a criminal is able to simply reproduce your card for his or her own use.

As far as I know I’ve never actually seen one.  Just be safe and be observant…if a machine doesn’t look quite right then go somewhere else.

Source: Would You Have Spotted the Fraud? — Krebs on Security.

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Close your eyes and use your imagination…

Garrison Keillor and cast members of A Prairie...

Image via Wikipedia

I’ve been a fan of radio shows for years, dating back to when I was introduced to them by a friend in high school. If I remember correctly, Sean introduced me to “The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy” first, then series like “Now Nordine“, “The Cabinet of Doctor Fritz”, and “A Prairie Home Companion.”

It was just incredible to turn out the lights, climb into bed, close my eyes and get lost in the sounds and characters from these stories and performances.  One of my favorites was Jack Flanders.  The background sounds in this series were recorded live in the locations they described.  You can hear and feel just like you were standing right there with the characters as the events happen.

The ZBS Foundation, who produces the Jack Flanders series, describes it this way; “Jack Flanders is an adventurer. He not only travels to different countries in search of knowledge, he also steps into other dimensions to solve strange metaphysical puzzles. All of Jack’s stories have a lightness and humor, as well as some wonderful little wisdoms scattered throughout.

“Jack Flanders’ adventures are often set in locations where we traveled to record the sounds; Brazil, the Amazon, India, Bali, Java, Sumatra, Belize, Costa Rica, Morocco, Montreal and New Orleans.”

There are a number of Jack Flanders’ adventures:

All I can really add is that it is truly amazing how these stories can entertain and spur the imagination.  Movies and TV can accomplish much, but your imagination can do so much more…

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