SAWright on the Net

Facebook Email Fraud

2009-11-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

In the past few weeks I have been receiving and I am sure a lot of you have too, a number of emails appearing to be from Facebook. They are not...

The first is a very formal email that looks like it may have come from facebook but it doesn't. It's a phishing email where they try to get information from you to either hack into your account, steal your identity or hack your computer. We are not sure what this email was attempting to do because the site was already down by the time we started researching.

The second email I have been getting is a text email with the subject line of "Facebook Password Reset Confirmation. help Centre." The first clue should be the way they spelled "Center" but unless you have requested a change in password Facebook would never simply reset your password. This email contains a virus, Malware.

So if you receive either of these emails simply delete them. Don't open any attachment or click any of the links within the email. You may find yourself so busy trying to clean up the mess you won't have time for Farm Town.

Together We Can Make a Difference!

2009-09-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

"Buy American" has almost become a cliche. I have actually grown up hearing this phrase from nearly everybody. But are we? Judging by the number of companies who have taken their manufacturing to other countries in attempt to cut cost, I would say not. If we were buying only product manufactured in the good old USA, companies like Herseys wouldn't be closing their plants here and moving them to Mexico. But maybe that is the reason why. You may think you are buying American, but in actuality, you are not. Maybe it's time we start checking those labels even closer.

The following was an email that was sent to me this week that really got me thinking:

Check this out. I was in Lowes the other day, and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China. The next day I was in Ace Hardware, and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachements there. The were made in the USA. Got me thinking. Start looking at the labels.

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy, or do, affects someone else - maybe even their job. My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I just noticed that it is marked "made in Mexico" now. I choose not to buy it any more. My fovorite toothpaste, Colgate, is also made in Mexico now. I've switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. (Can be true for any store) I needed 60W light bulbs, and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and next to the GE brand I normally buy, was the off brand labeled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same, except for the price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand... but the thing that surprised me the most, was the fact that GE was "made in Mexico" and Everyday Value brand was "made in (you got it) the USA", in a company in Cleveland Ohio.

So throw out the myth that you cannot find the products you use everyday... made right here AT A GOOD PRICE!

On I went to another aisle. Those Bounce dryer sheets I needed - yep, you guessed it Bounce costs more money and it's made in Canada. The Everyday Value brand was less money and made in the USA. Bye-bye Bounce! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like Bounce Free I've been using for years and at almost half the price!

Judging by this story those companies didn't cut costs to save us money, they did it to increase their profits. So why should we stay loyal to a company that is not really loyal to us, the American public. Let's revive that old cliche and "Buy American". Check the labels when you shop, the job you save may be your own.

Think about it!

A Story of Faith

2009-09-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

This weeks blog is about a little girl name Audrey and a story of faith and real commitment. The video you are about to view was created by Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN by a pastor at the church named Pete Wilson. Pete named the video Plan B, what do you do when things don't go as you planned.

I was so moved by this story and the courage of Todd and Angie, I simply had to share it with you. Todd is a member of Selah, a christian group who latest album features a bonus track called I Will Carry You - Audrey's Song, which is also included in this video.

You can follow Pastor Pete Wilson's blog at http://www.crosspoint.tv/.

Closing point I would like to make. You don't know what God has for you and I know you sometimes you feel like you don't matter. But here is a story about a little girl who only had 2 and half hours to make a mark on this world. You must agree Audrey mattered.

When I heard this story a vision went through my head... God is in heaven with such a sweet spirit. So loved by God He was only going to give her minutes on earth before He called her back. Then He thought, about what He would put her parents through, and who He would choose to be the parents. Then he thought of Todd and Angie. A couple with faith so strong and their love is so great they would be able to handle it and take what He had given them and count it as a blessing. So instead of minutes he gave them 2 and half hours.

Trillian from Cerulean Studios

2009-09-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the best solutions to stay connected that I've seen. Instant messaging is a great way to communicate and let you know who is at their desk in a remote situation. With Trillian it doesn't matter what instant messenger your customers or associates use because it supports all of them at the same time. I can be logged into Yahoo, MSN, AOL and ICQ all at the same time and my list of contacts appears in one list making it easier to manage. With Trillian Pro, I can keep a history of conversations and go back and review them at anytime. It also supports video and audio messaging. Trillian Basic is FREE and Trillian Pro is only $25.

This is HOT! Trillian 4.0 (Astra) incorporates Facebook and Twitter and soon there will be a version for your iPhone and iPod Touch.

Visit Cerulean Studios

Removed Web Site

2009-08-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well I have finally decided that blogging is the only way to fly. So I have removed my web site from the Internet. Those of you who liked playing the Shockwave games can find the link to the games page in the sidebar.

Each week on Monday I will updating my blog and maybe more often when things come up and I have time to share them. Right now I am working on a story that I know will touch your hearts, it did mine. Watch for it in the coming weeks.

Today I want to talk about a Christian group called Selah. They are very special to us because of Amy Perry. Nancy (my wife) and I have know Amy since she was ten. She happens to be our daughter-in-law, Jennifer's sister. She has always had a super voice and now she finally gets to share it with everybody. She is the newest member to Selah. She started singing with them around two years ago. Last week Selah's first album which included Amy came out. It has already made it to number 3 on the iTunes Christian / Gospel chart and number 1 on Amazon. The name of the album is called "You Deliver Me". Check it out, you won't be sorry. iTunes or Amazon

My Twitter won't Tweet

2009-08-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't write this but I could have. I just had to share it.

Steve

Things are spiraling out of control. I think I have become lost in a world of electronic madness. One of my sons informed me this week that my cell phone has become obsolete and I must head down to the Cell Phone store and get a phone that is contemporary with the time.

I pointed out that the fancy Razor/Slim line phone with camera built in that he made me trade my perfectly good flip-top Motorola cell phone for two years ago still works perfectly fine. Well, except for the camera thing. Never could figure that out.. Even the few times I actually did take pictures I couldn't figure what to do with them and gave up. That is except when I would push the wrong button and take a video of the ceiling or my feet.

Seems the issue is that I am unable to text with the tiny little 3 character buttons. "Hi, son," would come out looking like, "Gh mo." My grandkids have even spoken to my wife about Poppa's crazy text messages. Give me abreak. Whatever happened to actually talking on a phone? Isn't that whatthey were invented for?

They want me to get one of those phones that you can turn upside down and sideways and has a typewriter keyboard with keys about one-eighth the size of my pinky finger. One of my four sons is a realtor whose real occupationis fly-fishing. "Way to go, son." Or in text language, "Xbz um Io, rmo."

We were floating the Yakima River in his guide quality drift boat south of Ellensburg, Washington . We were miles from anything remotely resembling civilization. Rock canyon walls were on either side of us. Bear with me Itry to explain this strange thing.

His "Blackberry" rang. It was blue and I asked him why it wasn't called a Blueberry. He shook his head with that 'dealing with an elder despair' look I get a lot these days. It was another realtor who called to say that the sellers he represented had agreed to my son's client's changes and he had the signed documents in hand.

My son told him to FAX the papers to his office and he would get them signed and Faxed back, to close the deal that morning. A minute later the phone rang and he hit a few buttons and looked over the FAX, now on the Yakima River with us. He then called his clients and told them he was Faxing the papers to them to sign and asked them to FAX them back to his office. While he was waiting, he hooked into a fat rainbow and was just releasing this 22 inch beauty as his phone rang again with the signed FAX from his clients.

He called the other realtor and told him he was sending the signed papers back by FAX. The deal was closed. He smiled and just said, "You are a little behind the times, Dad."

I thought about the sixty million dollar a year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a Blackberry that played music, took videos, pictures and communicated with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouse, 13 grandkids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix ands omething that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Nobles talking to my wife as everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. Seems I have to take my hearing aid out to use it and got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-ul-ating" You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then when I would make a right turn instead, it was not good.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GSP lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings. The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up everytime I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth re-usable bags to avoid looking confused but never remember to take them in with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me,"Paper or Plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look.

Old Wheezy

Sometimes I just don't get it!

2009-06-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

There are two things I just don't get about companies buying software. One deals with the cost of the software and the other is getting training to use it. Or I should say the lack of training.

First question I have. Why do customers have very strong reservations about paying 3-5 thousand dollars for software that is needed for the business to thrive, but don't hesitate to spend 10 times that for a car that simply gets them to and from work?

The second question I have. Why do customers spend any amount for software then don't bother to learn everything that software has to offer. Like the brain, which we only use about 10% of, when it comes to software the same holds true. We never really get the most of our software purchase because we never bother to learn more than we need to, to use it.

I have been working in the customer service area or working directly with end users for all of my adult life and I can assure you that over 90% of problems people have with software is caused by their lack of knowledge. I swear that if states didn't bother to give driving tests there would be more accidents because we never learned to drive before we got behind the wheel.

If you are going to spend the money to purchase software for your business, spend the extra and make sure your staff knows how to use it. Let me illustrate. If I give you a piece of blank paper and pencil and ask you to draw me a picture. You may give me something like what you see in the first illustration.

BUT, with a little training and practice you could give me a drawing more like the second. Same paper and pencil the only difference is the person using them.

We should spend the little extra to make sure our employee's have the training needed to use the software. Not only will you have fewer problems with the software you will get the most out of it. Each and every day our Tech Support staff hear the same comments from our users. "I didn't know it did that!" Every time one of your employees says that you should cringe and realize, cha-ching, it just cost you in lost revenue and production.

Some of the art work included in this post are courtesy of
Brian Duey at www.dueysdrawings.com.

Starting a NEW Blog

2009-05-07T11:01:00.001-07:00

Welcome to SAWright on the Net. Here we will be discussing what ever is on my mind at the time. That should be interesting, since most of the time I am out of my mind. Anyway, we will talk about everything from the Internet, working remotely to family. It should be fun. So join us on this journey and subscribe to SAWright on the Net.