2-2-06 I'm finding it very hard to stay caught up on this blog thing because much of my time in the computer lab is spent managing financial affairs from long distance.
The lastest was an attempted Nigerian money transfer scheme by a prospective tenant for our rental in Vergennes. He sent a bank check for $4,000, my credit union accepted it as good, and instantly the pleas came from the prospect to Western Union $2,000 back to him so he could by a plane ticket. Fortunately I got a hold of the bank while the check was still in their possession and I asked them why they had made the funds available instantly? They said because the check appeared to be an official bank check. I described the situation further and encourged them to look into it deeper. They did by contacting the issuing bank and learned that that check number had cleared the issuing account over a year ago and was a fraud this time around. Yikes! And all of my communication was done via on-line "chat" with my credit union. I should have been on the beach.
But before hassling with long distance banking yesterday, I did teach a Mexican man how to drive his VW bug without a clutch. As I was walking down the street he was trying to push his dead car through a left turn of a busy intersection. I helped him push and once we were through I asked him what was wrong with the car. He showed me the limp clutch pedal, and I offered some version of "We don't need no steenking clutches!" I sat in the driver seat and he in the passenger and I showed him how to drive without a clutch, a skill I perfected when my clutch used to break all the time in my 1961 VW Beetle. (I also used the trick once in a Toyota station wagon in Baltimore after a funeral.)
On another note, I'm a cheapo who hasn't paid for a haircut in about 5 years. I wasn't able to fit my Flowbee and shop vac in our bags so I brought my barber's trimmer instead with two trim comb attachments. One is 1/8th inch for my beard and the other is 3/4 inch for my scalp. I offered Miles the golden opportunity of cutting my hair the other night. He was a little nervous but willing. I snapped a trim comb on the clippers, turned them on, and showed him how easy it was to run the thing right from my forehead back to the back of my head. Oops! I had put the wrong attachment on and had instantly given myself a reverse mohawk 1/8th inch tall. The kids and I busted out laughing and Ruth buried herself deeper into the book she was reading. I'm now sporting an almost chrome-dome of just an 1/8th inch all around.
Fortunately I hadn't buzzed my head before accidentally running into a Hinesburg neighbor in the produce section of the Playa del Carmen Wal-Mart. In one of those moments where I'm asking Ruth, "Does that woman look familiar?" and we each take turns circling to see if we can figure out who she is, I finally took a chance and asked the lady if she spoke English. Yup, she lives about 1/2 mile through the woods from us on a different road but we often end up at the same town meetings. She's just in Mexico for the week and was able to update us on what lousy weather we're missing.
Time to go swimming!
The lastest was an attempted Nigerian money transfer scheme by a prospective tenant for our rental in Vergennes. He sent a bank check for $4,000, my credit union accepted it as good, and instantly the pleas came from the prospect to Western Union $2,000 back to him so he could by a plane ticket. Fortunately I got a hold of the bank while the check was still in their possession and I asked them why they had made the funds available instantly? They said because the check appeared to be an official bank check. I described the situation further and encourged them to look into it deeper. They did by contacting the issuing bank and learned that that check number had cleared the issuing account over a year ago and was a fraud this time around. Yikes! And all of my communication was done via on-line "chat" with my credit union. I should have been on the beach.
But before hassling with long distance banking yesterday, I did teach a Mexican man how to drive his VW bug without a clutch. As I was walking down the street he was trying to push his dead car through a left turn of a busy intersection. I helped him push and once we were through I asked him what was wrong with the car. He showed me the limp clutch pedal, and I offered some version of "We don't need no steenking clutches!" I sat in the driver seat and he in the passenger and I showed him how to drive without a clutch, a skill I perfected when my clutch used to break all the time in my 1961 VW Beetle. (I also used the trick once in a Toyota station wagon in Baltimore after a funeral.)
On another note, I'm a cheapo who hasn't paid for a haircut in about 5 years. I wasn't able to fit my Flowbee and shop vac in our bags so I brought my barber's trimmer instead with two trim comb attachments. One is 1/8th inch for my beard and the other is 3/4 inch for my scalp. I offered Miles the golden opportunity of cutting my hair the other night. He was a little nervous but willing. I snapped a trim comb on the clippers, turned them on, and showed him how easy it was to run the thing right from my forehead back to the back of my head. Oops! I had put the wrong attachment on and had instantly given myself a reverse mohawk 1/8th inch tall. The kids and I busted out laughing and Ruth buried herself deeper into the book she was reading. I'm now sporting an almost chrome-dome of just an 1/8th inch all around.
Fortunately I hadn't buzzed my head before accidentally running into a Hinesburg neighbor in the produce section of the Playa del Carmen Wal-Mart. In one of those moments where I'm asking Ruth, "Does that woman look familiar?" and we each take turns circling to see if we can figure out who she is, I finally took a chance and asked the lady if she spoke English. Yup, she lives about 1/2 mile through the woods from us on a different road but we often end up at the same town meetings. She's just in Mexico for the week and was able to update us on what lousy weather we're missing.
Time to go swimming!
posted by The Lambersons at 2:50 PM
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