Good morning!!!!

[PJSprog]

When I was speaking to my bank manager about my first incident, Randy, he told me that 80% or better of the card fraud cases start when you physically hand someone your card, not through online theft as I had suspected. He said think about it, what happens when you hand them your card at a restaurant? They take it and walk away. You have no idea what they are doing with it. Your card info gets copied, and they sell the lists they compile to a buyer. It may be months before they get around to using your number, which makes it even harder to trace it back. In your case, though, that seems pretty obvious.

 

[PJSprog]

The Tex-Mex here in Texas is better than the Mexican we could get in STL :licking:

Agreed. There are some very good Mexican restaurants in the area. We have a pretty good one in our little town called Mexico On Main, run by a Mexican family.

However, the best food was during many trips to Texas, either traveling through or during our many visits to Fort Hood while the oldest Stepson was stationed there.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Buckeye, which company is this?? Pm if you don’t want to make public.

Azur derma
It was for face cream my wife wanted to try.
Apparently it's a common scam, they have many different product names, and lots of people have fallen for it.

 

[Looking4new]

RNG, the temp in here varies between 75 and 80 F all the time in winter.

Our company policy used to be, "go safe, go clean or don't go". And "no job is so important that it cannot be done safely".

 

[jbrumberg]

Good Morning Everyone!!!!

5ºF was today’s low; 15ºF presently; probably close to today’s high temp. A good day for hot coffee and a working wood stove.

Kyle- I am so glad that your boy is ok.

BEF- Good luck at achieving resolution on this ripoff.

Eric- We rented/co-opt a working farmette with the landlady. She had pet sheep. The ewes always seemed to wait for the worst possible weather (usually sleet/freezing rain) to drop their lambs. I am happy to read that the lambs are ok especially the wayward one. Thanks for sharing,

Thomas- I can gimp around indoors w/o crutches with the T-ROM locked in at 0º, but need a cane or crutches for the single steps with which I have to deal downstairs. I was told to avoid stairs. In 8 days, 13.5 hours I hope to increase ROM. I won’t need much increase in ROM to operate the tractor. Wifey may prove to be a rather difficult obstacle with which to deal. I can probably pull off my first priority- breaking down firewood already on the deck to kindling with the electric wood splitter that is parked there. I/We are on our last week’s supply of kindling that I split last October/November. The deck looks lie the driveway, but with sun and warming temps I should have a decent area with in I can work the wood. I may or may not need the kindling due to the way I heat the house, but I am better off being prepared than not.

RonJH- I hope you have an uneventful paperwork run and that your Wife has a decent OT session. My + thoughts, wishes, and prayers.

All our CC fraudulent charges have been + resolved with the CC companies. Wifey had her pocketbook lifted and wallet stolen from a locked apartment at the Assisted Living Facility where her Aunt resided by a CORI cleared staff person. It was a fiasco, but ultimately no CC issues. The biggest challenge was replacing her Driver's license and ID's. The local LE gave her a temporary handwritten driver's license. good only for driving w/in the town.

I hope that everyone is having a decent day.

My + thoughts, wishes, and prayers.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Good Morning!!!! 52F @ 6:30AM. Periods of rain, heavy at times early. High 52F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Localized flooding is possible.

This latest storm dropped about .6" of rain yesterday, showering on and off all day. I didn't make it out of the house even once, not even into the garage. Got another quarter inch this morning, with more on the way through Thursday. Yeah, I'm ready for some sunshine! The rain is hammering on the glass slider door and the wind is threatening to rip the porch cover off again, just had a 35mph gust. Enough already!:confused2:

Good thing you were keeping an eye on your young man, Kyle. Hopefully he learned a lesson he won't forget.

It got so every year my credit card was compromised and I'd go a week or so without one until the replacement showed up. Once it happened when I was on a motorcycle trip in Mexico, and I ended up borrowing money from my traveling companion until the end of the trip. What a huge PITA! And I'd have to update about two dozen automatic charges to use the new number. Now, I have one card I use only for automatic charges, and another one for everything else. It's been almost two years without either one having to be changed, so I think the CC companies are doing a better job against the fraudsters.

Spent most of yesterday trying to get the weather station software running on what used to be my main laptop. Finally figured out what serial to USB adaptor drivers it needed, and what the proper configuration settings were, and it seems to be OK now. I also moved over the security cam software, and the network errors have stopped as well. The old 2011 laptop just wasn't keeping up with the motion detection routine's data flow on seven cameras. Apple has a stand alone graphics processor available for the new laptop, and I'm wondering if I shouldn't get one. It will come in handy some day when the next new laptop comes along and I repurpose the one I just got to manage the house and what will almost certainly be more video cameras and home automation tasks. And by then, Apple will probably have dropped that graphics processor and i won't be able to get one. Still have some clean up and sanitizing to do on the home control computer to free up drive space, then decommission the 2011 laptop and probably sell it. Not worth much, but it's not going to be used and there's no sense letting it sit around to gather dust.

Saw an interesting Kickstarter project today on a new tool to help build spoked bicycle and motorcycle wheels. It uses a digital gauge to measure the thread engagement between the nipple and spoke, the idea being if all are set the same, the wheel will end up perfectly round. I can see several flaws in that idea, because rims get bent and certain lacing patterns don't respond "normally" to retensioning the spokes to compensate. That and the manufacturing tolerances aren't that tight on spokes and nipples. I've asked some rather detailed questions of the inventors, and it'll be interesting to hear what they say. I've also passed the project on to a couple pro wheel builders I know to get their take. Take a look if you're interested: TruSpoke.

Happy Hump Day, gang!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I called these guys again, got a different rep. She confirmed my account was closed, and gave me the same cancellation number.
I asked her to email that the account was closed, she said an email went out. No email was received, and i checked the spam bucket.

She could not verify if the new "order" got shipped.

So now wait and see what arrives. If i get a shipment i will refuse delivery.


My tax filings were "accepted". At least i have that going for me...

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Some weather p0rn for Jay. I think what he meant is it's gonna rain summore, but only for a coupla hours...:laughing:



Mesoscale Precipitation Discussion 0087 NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 812 AM EST Wed Mar 06 2019 Areas affected...

Northern CA Concerning...Heavy rainfall
Valid 061310Z - 061710Z

Summary...
Showers and thunderstorms have increased in coverage across northern California.
Hourly rain totals to 0.5" with local amounts to 2" are expected.
Discussion...
Radar imagery has shown a gradual uptick in convective coverage and intensity of precipitation over northern CA, with bands moving into northwest CA and the upslope areas of the western Sierra.

This is occurring near a frontal system just east of a deep layer cyclone with a central pressure ~994 hPa (per 12z observations) moving northeast just offshore northern CA.

Hourly rain totals to just beyond 0.4" have been reported from area mesonets as of late. Inflow at 850 hPa is convergent at 35-45 kts per RAP mass fields and VAD wind profiles. Precipitable water values of 0.75-1" exist here per GPS data. MU CAPE of 100-500 J/kg exists here, which has been enough for convection to break out.
Wet bulb zero heights are ~6500 feet per some interpolation from the Oakland CA sounding.

The mesoscale guidance indicates an uptick in activity here over the next few hours before waning thereafter, with the expectation of 0.5" an hour rain totals being possible as late as 17z per instability fades.
Considering the available instability, another few hours of heavy rainfall is probable across the upslope of the western Sierra. The guidance indicates local amounts around 2" through 19z.
*These magnitude of rainfall would be most problematic within burn scars at elevations below 6500 feet and areas prone to rock slides.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Oh, forgot to mention that I found water on the floor of the van again Monday. Yeah, the skylight was still leaking. I think the reason it took so long to show up is that water accumulates in the plastic housing for the lift crank, and when it gets an inch or so deep it finally overflows and drops to the floor. I learned that when I took the crank off and got a face full of water. Took everything off again, and this time used a garden hose to fill up the depression that surrounds the seal. I learned that the water doesn't get high enough to overtop the seal, so it has to be coming in under the seal where it engages the hole in the roof, or through one of the many screw holes. I'd already smeared the junction of the seal and roof with Dicor, but there was a small hole. Smeared a bunch more on, and resealed all the screws again. It'll be interesting to see if it makes any difference after what's coming down now...:confused2:

 

[jbrumberg]

".... This is occurring near a frontal system just east of a deep layer cyclone with a central pressure ~994 hPa (per 12z observations) moving northeast just offshore northern CA." NWS/Meso per RNG

Thanks for the laugh. It seems that CA have been getting nailed all Winter with these strong cyclones. 994hPA is pretty strong. First the fires and now the flooding/mudslides I would not be surprised if the storm centers of these low pressure systems tracking North America are lower on average nowadays then in yers past. It's :embarrassed: that Meso Discussion is usually the 1st or 2nd internet site that I check into every morning: SPC Hourly Mesoscale Analysis

Some day I'll get a life

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Here's a little sumthin' to help you over the hump:

Ray and Bob, two government maintenance guys, were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up. A woman walked by and asked what they were doing. "We're supposed to find the height of the flagpole", said Bob, "but we don't have a ladder."

The woman said "Hand me that wrench out of your toolbox."

She loosened a few bolts, and then laid the pole down.

She then took a tape measure from their toolbox, took a measurement and announced, "Eighteen feet, six inches," and walked away.

Ray shook his head and laughed. "Well, ain't that just like a Miss-know-it-all-woman?", he said. "We needed the height, and she gives us the length"

Ray and Bob are still working for the government.

But now they're congressmen.

 

[jbrumberg]

^^^^^. Too funny. RNG- Thanks for the laugh. I worked for the MA Department of "Mental Health"; position competency and hard work was usually not the reason for career advancements. I hope you can figure out the source(s) for your water challenges.

 

[ronjhall]

Oh, forgot to mention that I found water on the floor of the van again Monday. Yeah, the skylight was still leaking. I think the reason it took so long to show up is that water accumulates in the plastic housing for the lift crank, and when it gets an inch or so deep it finally overflows and drops to the floor. I learned that when I took the crank off and got a face full of water. Took everything off again, and this time used a garden hose to fill up the depression that surrounds the seal. I learned that the water doesn't get high enough to overtop the seal, so it has to be coming in under the seal where it engages the hole in the roof, or through one of the many screw holes. I'd already smeared the junction of the seal and roof with Dicor, but there was a small hole. Smeared a bunch more on, and resealed all the screws again. It'll be interesting to see if it makes any difference after what's coming down now...:confused2:

Not sure it will work on your van. I used Eternabond tape around all my opening in the roof of motor home.
RV Leak Repair Tapes & Sealants | EternaBond
Lots of places carry it today. 10 years ago best place to buy it was Best Materials. Best Materials (R) | Roofing Supplies, Roofing Materials, Caulking, Sealants, Backer Rod, Waterproofing, and Rubber Roofing

 

[toppop52]

When I was speaking to my bank manager about my first incident, Randy, he told me that 80% or better of the card fraud cases start when you physically hand someone your card, not through online theft as I had suspected. He said think about it, what happens when you hand them your card at a restaurant? They take it and walk away. You have no idea what they are doing with it. Your card info gets copied, and they sell the lists they compile to a buyer. It may be months before they get around to using your number, which makes it even harder to trace it back. In your case, though, that seems pretty obvious.

They told my girls that the machine wasn稚 working at the window and took the cards back where they couldn稚 see them.

 

[sodamo]

61°F and .89 inches rain.
Hoping for a drier day, dry enough to paint would be ideal.
I did pick up my new propane generator at freight yard yesterday. Kohler 14kw RESA. Still on my trailer, tarred over as not place for it yet.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

 

[buckeyefarmer]

They told my girls that the machine wasn稚 working at the window and took the cards back where they couldn稚 see them.

Which is why some restaurants now have a machine to pay at the table.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Good morning to all! Low went to 26, already up to 42, high around 65. Sunny. Not to rub it in...but... It's t-shirt weather! Supposed to reach 68 Tomorrow!

BEF, the wifey also got "taken" by one of those "free trial" scams a couple of years ago. Very similar to how yours happened. Very deceiving tactics. She used a debit card for the "shipping", but they hit it twice for about the same as you. She didn't notice it until about a week later. When she called the bank, they refunded the amounts immediately, and blocked any future charges from that company. We never got any of the "promised" merchandise.

I had an Ebay account hacked one time. I had sold a few motorcycle parts and had about $1800 sitting in the Ebay account. A few days later it was GONE! I saw a "charge" on my ebay debit card for $1800 to a cleaning company in Miami Fl! Called them up and said I have never been to Florida, don't own any properties there, and wouldn't pay that much to clean a house....ANY HOUSE ! They promptly refunded the account and Ebay issued a new card. I sure hope somebody's house was REALLY CLEAN !

Kyle, I'm glad to hear your son is OK. Scary stuff! I have been holding back giving my opinion.....but... NEVER give any fluid or other food to someone who is choking. It can cause a total airway obstruction. If they are coughing, or talking, they are 'moving air' ... Leave them be.. If they cannot talk or cough, then the Heimlick maneuver is appropriate. There is far more information about this than can be posted / written here... My suggestion for everyone... Take a community CPR class. They are easy, quick, and can save a life!

OK, I'm off my soapbox....

RNG, I hope you can find the leak and get it resolved, frustrating I'm sure!

Drew, I bet it's warm in that greenhouse....maybe cut up the 'taters in there to simulate being outside?

Hope everyone gets over the hump today! Prayers sent.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

61°F and .89 inches rain.
Hoping for a drier day, dry enough to paint would be ideal.
I did pick up my new propane generator at freight yard yesterday. Kohler 14kw RESA. Still on my trailer, tarred over as not place for it yet.

Prayers for all
Be safe
Have a great day

Was just looking at Diesel Generators for Home Power or Off-Grid Electricity some diesel gens. If I ever get power to my barn, I should include a way to backfeed a generator from the barn to my house.

 

[lostcreekranch]

It was 31°F here this morning. It's sunny and forecast to get to 59°F this afternoon. This morning was the last "freezing" day for a while and we're forecast to see high 70's next few days, but with high likelihood for rain nearly every day.

I'm hoping winds stay down this afternoon so, I can get a few more trees trimmed.

Today, in Texas, we remember the Defenders of the Alamo. On this date, 183 years ago, they fought and died valiantly during the final siege. Remember the Alamo!

Hope everyone has an excellent Hump Day!

Prayers to all.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Remember the Alamo!