We'd rather be skiin'

Advice for keeping your credit info safe and secure

Not A Joke!!   Even If you dislike attorneys..You will love them for these tips.
 
 Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company:
 
 1. Do not sign  the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.'  
 
 2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts,  DO  NOT put the complete  account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the  last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it.
 
 3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never  have your  SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.
 
 4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.. Keep the photocopy in a safe place.  
 I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards..
 
 Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more.  
 But here's some critical information to limit the damage  in case this happens to you or someone you know:
 
 5. We have been told we should  cancel our  credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.
 
 6..  File a  police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
 
 But here's what is perhaps  most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.)  
 7. Call  the  3 national credit reporting organizations  immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number.. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name.  
 
 The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit..
 
 By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks..
 
 Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen:

 1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285  
 
 2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
 
 3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289
 
 4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line):  
 1-800-269-0271
 
 We pass along jokes on the Internet; we pass along just about everything.
 

If you are willing to pass this information along, it could really help someone that you care about.

Washington D.C. Clunker Math explained

· A vehicle at 15 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 800 gallons a year of gasoline.

· A vehicle at 25 mpg and 12,000 miles per year uses 480 gallons a year.

 · So, the average clunker transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320   gallons/vehicle  per year.

· The government claims 700,000 vehicles were traded in, so that's 224 million                      gallons / year.

· That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.

· 5 million barrels of oil is about   25% of  one day's US consumption.

· And, 5 million barrels of oil costs about  $350 million dollars at  $75/bl.

· So, we all contributed to spending $3 billion to save $350 million/year.

How good a deal was that?

And in the process, the government (federal and state) gives up the gas tax revenue on that       224 million gallons/year.    Put out of business are a lot of independent garages who fixed        those clunkers.   And this "stimulus" program saddled a lot of those 700,000 buyers with a           new car debt they could not afford and will not be able to pay.

What a Fish Story‏

 

?

A True Fish Story


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A resident in the area saw a ball bouncing around kind of strange in a nearby pond and went to investigate.

It turned out to be a flathead catfish who had obviously tried to swallow a child's basketball which became stuck in its mouth!!

The fish was totally exhausted from trying to dive,

but unable to because the ball would always bring him back up to the surface. The resident tried numerous times to get the ball out, but was unsuccessful. He finally had his wife cut the ball in order to deflate it and release the hungry catfish.

You probably wouldn't have believed this,

if you hadn't seen the following pictures...

 

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle

TAKE HOLD OF EVERY MOMENT

A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package:   "This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package." He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box.   "She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on. Was saving it for a special occasion.
Well, I guess this is it. He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothings he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died. He turned to me and said:
"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion".
I still think those words changed my life. Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything. I spend more time with my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day. I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if i feel like it. I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to. The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now. I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends.
She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favourite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come.

I would regret it, because I would no longer see the friends I would meet, letters... letters that i wanted to write "One of this days".
I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my brothers and sons, not times enough at least, how much I love them.
Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives.
And, on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day.
Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.
If you got this, it's because someone cares for you and because, probably, there's someone you care about.
If you're too busy to send this out to other people and you say to yourself that you will send it "One of these days", remember that "One day" is far away... or might never come. .

Thank you's, to all who helped out Jordan...

For those who haven't heard, the son of a member of the ski club family was seriously hurt recently, attempting to replicate one of those stunts you see on TV while on his motorcycle (actually, it was a total accident, but I'm trying to make him feel better)...

Jordan's his name . . . crashing's his game . . . we can sorta laugh now, since he's home..but not before scaring the living bejeesus out of all of us.

Daddy Dave O sent this along prior to his release:

"Subject: Jordan's doing so much better

 Thank you all for your prayer, love and concern.

Jordan is so much better! And I know all that everyone did was a contributing factor! Thank You

A few photos of the man, post-action, can be found by following the link below:

http://www.dropshots.com/hdfmajor"

Our illustrious commodore Alicia really marshaled some forces of good will amongst the ski crew and her OC buds.

 Thanks to the following who donated T-shirts and such to help cheer J up:

Katin Surf Shop: 16250 PCH-Sunset Beach/562-592-2052

Stone and Ceramics: 5381 Commercial Drive-Huntington Beach 714-894-8453

Sergio's Painting 714-914-0669

and Calvery Chapel Surf Team.

"They all donated T-shirts," Alicia notes, "And Katin also gave some stickers as well along with there T-shirt to Jordan to get well.  They didn't know  him, and to give to someone from their hearts, we should really embrace this."

And we do.

Folks above, thanks!  And, please take our commodore up on the standing invitation to come out and ski with the club one of these days.

And, yo, J:  Leave the "stunts" to T.J. Hooker ;)

Job searches difficult in this economy...

Thanks to Chuck D. for sending this one along!

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm

clock  

(MADE IN JAPAN )

for 6 am.

While his

coffeepot

  (MADE IN CHINA )

  

 was perking, he shaved with his

  

o 

electric razor

   (MADE IN HONG KONG ).

  

He put on a

  

dress shirt 

(MADE IN SRI LANKA ),

  

designer jeans

   (MADE IN SINGAPORE )

  

 and

  

tennis shoes

 ( MADE IN KOREA )

  

 After cooking his breakfast in his new

  

electric skillet

   (MADE IN INDIA )

  

he sat down with his

  

calculator

   (MADE IN MEXICO )

to see how much he could spend today. After setting his

  

watch

   (MADE IN TAIWAN )

  

to the

radio

   (MADE IN INDIA )

   ;

he got in his

car

   (MADE IN GERMANY )

  

filled it with

GAS

   (from Saudi Arabia )

  

and continued his search

  

for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

  

At the end

  

of yet another discouraging

  

 and fruitless day

  

checking his

  

Computer

   (Made In Malaysia ),

  

 Joe decided to relax for a while.

  

 He put on his

sandals

(MADE IN BRAZIL )

  

poured himself a glass of

  

wine

   (MADE IN FRANCE )

  

and turned on his

  

TV

   (MADE IN INDONESIA ),

  

and then wondered

  

why he can't find

  

a good paying job

  

 in AMERICA.

Profound statements...mostly about politicians...

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm and three or more is a congress. 


-- John Adams 





2. If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed. 


-- Mark Twain 

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But, then, I repeat myself. 


-- Mark Twain 

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. 


-- Winston Churchill 

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. 


-- George Bernard Shaw 

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man;  which he proposes to pay off with your money. 


-- G. Gordon Liddy 

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. 


-- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994) 

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. 


-- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University 

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. 


-- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian 

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. 


Rockwell">-- Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850) 

11. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases:  If it moves, tax it.  If it keeps moving, regulate it.  And, if it stops moving, subsidize it. 


-- Ronald Reagan (1986) 

12. I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. 


-- Wil l Rogers 

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! 


-- P.J. O'Rourke 

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. 


-- Voltaire (1764) 

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! 


-- Pericles (430 B.C.) 

16. No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. 


-- Mark Twain (1866) 

17. Talk is cheap...except when Congress does it. 


-- Anonymous 

18. The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. 


-- Ronald Reagan 

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. 


-- Winston Churchill 

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. 


-- Mark Twain 

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. 


-- Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher (1820-1903 ) 

22. There is no distinctly native American criminal class ... save, Congress. 



23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians. 


-- Edward Langley, Artist (1928-1995) 

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. 


-- Thomas Jefferson 





25. The biggest difference between Republicans and Democrats is the spelling. 


-- Anonymous 

Got more?  Add 'em in a comment!

40 tips for a better life...

 1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It  is the ultimate anti-depressant.

 2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
 
 3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
 
 4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,  My purpose is to _____ today.'

 5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
 
 6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2008.
 
 7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with  daily fuel for our busy lives.

 8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of six.
 
 9. Dream more while you are awake.
 
 10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants. Eat less food that  is manufactured in plants.

 11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.
 
 12. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
 
 13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

 14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, or issues of the  past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

 15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime .

 16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince & dinner like a
 college kid w/a maxed out charge card.
 
 17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.
 
 18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
 
 19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
 
 20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
 
 21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
 
 22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
 
 23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their  journey is all about.

 24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
 
 25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

 26. Forgive everyone for everything.
 
 27. What other people think of you is none of your business.
 
 28. REMEMBER GOD heals everything.
 
 29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
 
 30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friend s
 will. Stay in touch.
 
 31. Get rid of anythin g that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
 
 32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
 
 33. The best is yet to come.
 
 34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
 
 35. Do the right thing!
 
 36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!)
 
 37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

 38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
 
 39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

 40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about. I just did.
 
 May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing but happiness come through your door!