Merry Christmas to All

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas.

Holiday Prep Essentials

Posts like this always remind me to keep the essentials on hand. A few things worth having around: seasonal storage bins, LED string lights, and a gift wrap organizer.

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Cody at WranglerStar Masterpiece Video of theYear

Wow Cody. You've REALLY raised the bar with this one. Your normal homesteading vids have taken on a whole new light. Congratulations buddy.

Wanna see an incredibly inspiring and beautiful video?  Check out Cody's latest over at his Wranglerstar channel on YouTube.

Home Office & Tech Essentials

Posts like this always remind me to keep the essentials on hand. A few things worth having around: an adjustable laptop stand, a wireless keyboard and mouse, and a desk organizer.

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Call to ACTION: Help This Officer NOW (please!)

Officer Scott Berry responded to a call where a man was holding his family at knife-point. This suspect had previously been arrested for punching his mother SO HARD in the face that it caused an orbital floor fracture and her eye popped out. She lost the eye permanently.

When Officer Berry took this turd to the jail cell, an altercation occurred. It was video taped by the police jail camera. Officer Berry defended himself AFTER the scumbag took a swing at him (as shown in the unedited version of the video.) As due process, his actions are being reviewed before a court. His is on suspension until he gets cleared of wrong doing.

Unfortunately, the main-stream-media has attained this video and edited out the part where the suspect attempted to punch the officer. What these morons didn't realized was that the original footage showing the attack is playing in the background behind the reporter as she prattles on about the mean officer.

Please view it for yourself then, if you have the time, leave a comment on the youtube video in favor of Officer Berry. He has not had his trial yet so any support should work in his favor.

x

http://youtu.be/MfgbxIfnLro

I know Officer Berry personally and would trust him with my childrens' lives. Those of you who know me (in real-world or bloggerdom) know how I feel about family. We need officers like him on the streets.

What you can do:

1) Watch the video for yourself and see how calm Off. Berry was initally (showing he was not in an angry mood initially). See the unedited footage in the background showing the suspect attempting to punch Officer Berry before he ever did anything.

2) Thumb up the comments that are honest and positive in Officer Berry's defense to they stay at the TOP of the comment screen. There will always be idiot spammers that talk trash on comments and we need to keep the positive comments above those. You can do this by clicking the Thumbs Up button and "like" the comment.

3) Thumb down the rediculous comments, using your own judgement.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and help my friend...Officer Berry.

Don't forget to vote.

Two more hours left on my night shift then it is time to go vote. I have already googled to find my local voting poll. I think I'll join up with Wifey and take some of the kids along so they can see the process.

Everyday Essentials

Posts like this always remind me to keep the essentials on hand. A few things worth having around: a set of storage bins, a daily planner, and a durable tote bag.

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Facebook virus alert: eventforyous "www .vidolaughs. com"

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Facebook virus alert: eventforyous "www .vidolaughs. com"

To remove this Virus go HERE. (opens in a new window)

I think most of my readers (maybe even all THREE of you) are anti-Facebook but for those that have children on FB, here's a little warning. As I have three of my six daughters on FB, we've come across the latest virus. Being the old White Hat that I am, I'll post a little info on it here knowing that Google likes to index the crap out of this blog and it should reach a majority of people Googling for a fix to the problem.

(Sidenote: Google indexed this blog post in 18 minutes. 0_o)

If you've seen a goofy Facebook post that has horrific spelling like this:

"hahahahaha <name of recipient>  i cant believe whaaat u did in thiss videeoooo it's sooo stupid it's all over face bok!!! gooo hereee removee theee spaaaces -----> www .vidolaughs. com "

then you have witnessed the handiwork of a hacker. With a simple suggestive hook (ie., look what you did AND it's on video) an unsuspecting user willingly clicks on the link provided. In this case, it is VidoLaughs.com.

Several warning bells should sound in your head when you see this stuff. Misspellings THAT bad are dead giveaways for hackers posting in a non-native language. Simple misspells like VidoLaughs instead of VideoLaughs are suspicious but the ridiculous "whaaat" and "videeoooo" are most certainly done on purpose to gloat the unfolding malicious act. Taunting, if you will.

Always watch the URL when accessing an unknown site. If you are clicking a link like the aforementioned VidoLaugh.com but when your page loads and the URL clearly says "eventforyous.com/login.php" then you should not proceed any further.




Picture courtesy of YooSecurity (note the URL)

This is the classic FAKE login page that will steal your information once you attempt to log in.  The only good news, so far, is that the hackers, in this case, are NOT changing the passwords on the FB accounts once they have access. They are only logging in, spamming the bogus links, and moving on.

If you are affected by this hack, at this point, you can simply log in to FB and change your password.  You would also be wise to run a virus scan on your computer. I recommend Malwarebytes software for a safe and easy solution. I've used them for a few years now and with constant FREE upgrades, I haven't been stumped by a bug yet.

A little geek research for fun:

VidoLaughs.com appear to be located in Portugal, although this is most likely a mirror.

A WhoIs search on VidoLaughs shows a Registrant Protected status but shows the name of the server as ns1.clearfbevent.com. Clear FB Event, as in Clear out Facebook Event? Hmmm. The name VidoLaughs.com was just registered on Oct 2, 2012.

Of course, a quick visit to clearfbevent.com shows nothing. However, a Google search of "clearfbevent" shows 704 entries where the phrase clearfbevent was used in what appears to be a link scam for traffic. "Click here for a free Apple iPad 3" type advertisement.

This attack is mostly (90.6% of visitors) occurring in the United States, says Alexa (click on the "audience" link).

10 CLS

20 PRINT "Hello, world!"

30 PRINT "OrangeJeepDad blog is awesome"

40 REM "Visit us daily"

50 CLS

60 PRINT "All your base is belong to us"

70 END

80 LOL

RIP: Michael Clarke Duncan

Sad news today. A great man and actor has passed today. RIP Michael Clarke Duncan.

Courtesy MGM The Green Mile

All time FAV: Armaggedon

A link to an article on his death is here. He died two months after having a heart attack (myocardial infarct) and had become vegetarian three years prior.

How to Make MORE Money at Your CURRENT Job.

How to Make MORE Money at Your CURRENT Job.

August is a financially straining month for me. Birthdays include my wife, eldest daughter and mom not to mention Christmas is soon coming. So usually in July is when I start to panic about how much money I need to come up with to afford the presents.

So I sit down and attempt to figure out what I want to buy them. Tally it all up and try to figure out how I'm going to come up with the money (known as reverse engineering finance.) Since this occasion can translate into most "I need more money" situations, one way I increase income is by boosting my paycheck at work. I've written eleven ways in which I have milked extra money out of my "day job" without having to pickup a second job.

Milking Method #1: Stay a little late. Every fifteen minutes I stay late at work adds a little more to my paycheck. Sure, fifteen minutes isn't much but add it up over a two week pay period and it starts to show.

Milking Method #2: Show up a little early for a shift. Same philosophy as MM #1.

Milking Method #3: Skip a lunch here and there. It is pretty easy to eat WHILE working. Stash some food nearby and eat while being productive. Technically, you can't be deducted for a lunch if you didn't separate yourself from your work. Your results may vary.

Milking Method #4: Since I work at a hospital, I can choose to take "call." This means I am on a stand-by status when I am not at work just in case someone needs extra help. I get $3 per hour for being on call regardless of if I get called in or not. If I do get called in to work, I am paid 1 1/2 times my pay rate for a minimum of two hours, even if I only had to do thirty minutes worth of work.

Milking Method #5: Temporarily increase your tax deductions. You will have less taken from your check but make sure you reset your deductions as soon as possible or you will end up owing Uncle Sam.

Milking Method #6: Stop your 401k deductions. This is only in dire need. For every $165.65 I have deducted, my hospital matches me $82.83. So you may be putting money back into your pocket, but it will be taxed and you won't get the match.

Milking Method #7: Pick up an extra shift. I work four nights a week and the other three nights are covered by my friend Julie. Since she has worked at our hospital for about 15 years or more, she is more than happy to take a day or two off and let me cover her shift. This turns into overtime which is paid out at 1 1/2 times my hourly pay, as most overtime is paid.

Milking Method #8: I try to earn additional money while at work. Like blogging for example. If I am caught up on my work and can sit down and blog for a little bit, I'm hoping to eventually learn how to make money doing it. Another employee brings computers that he repairs for people and fixes them during down time. Other's pitch their merchandise from catalog sales like Mary Kay and Pampered Chef to other employees. I have also built websites from my laptop for additional income.

Milking Method #9: Offer to work on an additional project. Does the office need repainting? Is there a company project that is falling behind? Files which need to get thinned out and moved into storage? Make a list and approach the boss. Offer to do this stuff on your days off. It may make you look good to the boss and earn you some overtime.

Milking Method #10: Burn your PTO. Some companies will let you cash in your PTO but beware. Some don't allow full cash value. One hospital I worked at only allowed around 65% cash out. So for every $100 you cashed out, you only received $65 (and then got taxed.)

Milking Method #11: While burning your PTO (see MM #10), work at a different job. You can use two or three days PTO and use a Temporary Staffing Service to find a temp job at another facility. The trick is to notify the service that you are available. Once they notify you of an available gig, you book it and turn your PTO notice for those days.

Hope this helps someone make that little extra money they need.

Oringally written for Helium here.

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