Phishing Alert!

I received an email tonight, and I thought I would share the info with anyone who might use PayPal. Below is the body of the message. It was accompanied by an attachment named "AccountVerification.html". A couple of key points to remember:

1. Paypal would never send an email with such an attachment
2. When corresponding with its customers, the email would be addressed to your name and not "Valued Member"
3. Never, ever, ever, ever click on a link in an email. If you think there might be some validity to the email, close all windows, open a new browser window, and type in the website address (i.e. www.paypal.com) yourself.

Might seem silly to rehash this, but I know of two people who ran into trouble by not remembering those points in the last two months alone. Just take a minute to read below and familiarize yourself with the content.

Dear Valued Member,

As of the 24th of July 2011, our system has blocked unusual charges to a credit
card linked to your account.

                  We detected an intrusion that someone tried to access your
PayPal account
without your permission. Due to this, we have limited access to your account.
Moreover, we
have sent you an attachment which contains all the necessary steps in order to
restore your
account access. Please download and open it in your browser.
     
                  Thank you for your attention to this problem. Please do
understand
that this is a security measure taken with intention to protect you and your
account.
We apologize for any inconvenience.


Sincerely,
PayPal Account Review Team

How You Can Aid Somalia Famine and Drought Victims - International Business Times

How You Can Aid Somalia Famine and Drought Victims - International Business Times

US Women's Soccer

You can follow some of the US Women's Soccer Heroes!

		AmyRodriguez8 (Amy Rodriguez)
		LoriLindsey6 (Lori Lindsey)
		mPinoe (Megan Rapinoe)
		JulieFoudy (Julie Foudy)
		AlexBKrieger (Alex Krieger)
		brandichastain (Brandi Chastain)
		hopesolo (Hope Solo)
		TobinHeath (Tobin Heath)
		alexmorgan13 (Alex Morgan)
		laurencheney8 (lauren cheney)
		Heather_SBFC (Heather O'Reilly)
		ussoccer (U.S. SOCCER)

10 Things It IS ok to Say to a Pregnant Woman

By now, it should be clear what will get you into trouble if you should blurt it out to an Expectant Mother. We won't rehash those. The following things should assure you make it out of the day alive. *

1. "I thought you said you were pregnant!" - this one comes straight out of the American Brown-nose Handbook. Sort of self-explanatory.
2. "Funny, I have these gift-certificates to the Spa, and no one to use them! Hmm..." One of the very few times in life you can actually buy love.
3. "Did I mention I am an expert foot-masseur?" Be ready.
4. "Just to keep you up to speed, I'll be doing all the chores. Thanks." Let her know who's in charge here, damn it. Oh this shows how grateful you are to be allowed to work for her
5. "You know, texting is a great way to get whatever you crave, whenever you want it." - shows her that you're very tech-savvy. And willing to do what it takes to survive.
6. "I have no problem creating a 10-course meal and then throwing it away 'cause the smell makes you sick." Foodies, write this one down, k?
7. "Want me to take that waist in a little?" Ok, this one might get you punched, as it is a little over the top. Still worth it.
8. Another good thing to say to overdue pregnant women- “Whatever you want”. Period. (courtesy of "What To Expect")
9. "You should really gain some weight. The baby's well-being depends on it!" Not sure how close you should be standing if you try this one. Try the preface: "You're stunning, ya know that?" first. Sort of tests the waters for you.
10. "Your wish is my command." Sort of makes you sound like a Genie. No one ever throws rocks at Genies. They mostly like Genies. Go ahead, be brave.

I hope I've contributed in some small way to the peaceful survival of the species. These ideas could mean the difference between making it through the Baby Festival and finding out what pain is. 

Final thought: learn how to say "yes." A lot.

If you have any you'd like to add, there are some people out here who would really appreciate it.

*Note: some of these gems came about as a result of some polling and research. Some of them came about as a result of me having a really keen survival instinct.

Why Will I Follow You On Twitter?

I'm someone who enjoys the "social" side of "social media". Twitter, in particular, has given me a lot of joy since I began getting to know people 140 characters at a time. I love that there is no limit to the kinds of people to interact with, (although the Twitter rules sometimes limit the amount of people I can interact with!)

For me, it's like being invited to a really cool party. The best parties have always been the ones where I get to meet a lot of people I may not have known before. I've learned a lot over the years because I spoke with people whose acquaintance I just made. And some of the funniest stuff ever has come from people who just relax and let their hair down a little.

I don't much care for rules. I don't show up at parties and tell people what they should or shouldn't talk about. I don't like to dictate the rules of engagement. We've all been places where maybe someone is talking about something we don't care to listen to. I simply move on to the next group and see what's happening there. I would not deign to tell anyone how to conduct their social behavior. Not my place to do that. It's not my party, I'm just an attendee like everyone else.

Now if I'm conducting some sort of business meeting, sure, this is a time for decorum and protocol. Meeting are formal, after all, and they have a business purpose. Rules should and do apply. And if I'm running the show, I'm dictating the topic, the rules, the agenda.

Twitter for me is fun. And while there's nothing wrong with learning something new at any time, I come there to be social. I speak to people of every possible age-group, nationality, gender, creed and orientation. Why? Because they speak to me. Sure, sometimes we run into the bots and spammers and phishermen. So what? It happens in life too. We've all run into the insurance salesman over cocktails, right? We wait for the right moment, and find an excuse to move on. Live for the moment, so to speak, and enjoy.

So why will follow you on Twitter?

1. You're nice. "Nice" is underrated these days.
2. You are apparently aware that the Earth is populated by other people too.
3. I like random. I have about 100 people I follow who crack me up at least once a day with a random outburst. I do love me some "WTF" moments.
4. I do like to know what you're up to. I like the fact that at some moment, someone in Germany fills me in on what's for dinner. Gives me ideas for dinner of my own! I'm in charge of feeding some finicky kids!
5. You take time to occasionally share something you've learned. Remember, very few of us are born knowing everything about everything.
6. You're not too worried about everyone's rules. Free speech, to me, means that people can say things I might not agree with, or care about, but I'd hate to think of any medium where everything is exactly the same, day in and day out.
7. Pictures. I love pictures of people who like to share a little of their everyday lives. Sometimes I like to think they're even smiling just for me.
8. You understand two-way communication. We all have those friends who haven't figured out that their phone is capable of dialing out as well.
9. I like hearing what kind of day you're having. Maybe I have a trick up my sleeve that might lighten your mood if you need it, or maybe I like sharing a little of the joy in your day.
10. You're social. Yes, sometimes I'd love to know how great an expert you are in the Social Media realm, but sometimes the "social" gets left out. When I want to be "all business", I usually go to work for that. They pay me there. I don't make much money on Twitter. I don't think that's why I joined.

I will follow you because I like you. I will follow you because you're someone I'd be friends with in "real" life too. I will follow you because you do what Twitter lets us do: share some of our days together. I will follow you on Twitter for the same reasons I'd talk to you at a party.

So, let's have some fun,OK?