Some Quick Updates

I know, I know, I've been promising to get back to the Bug In Bag contents and I will but a couple of quick mentions...

One. I was handing out flyers in a neighborhood the other day for my real job and I noticed quite a few people had their flags up on their letterboxes (for my non-US readers that is something you do here to indicate to the mailman that you have outgoing mail in the box. They collect it here thus saving you the trip to the post office). That, folks, is a big no no. Enterprising ID thieves drive around in the morning and look specifically for mail boxes thus flagged.

They take the outgoing mail and look for anything with names and account numbers on that they can use/sell for the false ID and or checks going to pay bills that they "wash" (a technique whereby they use certain chemicals to wash away the ink you've written in your details with and then re-write it with their name in the "pay to the order of" column and an amount they'd like to receive from you.)

DO NOT, EVER, leave your mail in the box for the postman to pick up. Take it yourself and drop it at the local post office. Half of all ID theft would stop tomorrow if people started doing that one simple step.

PS: I mentioned taxes. Let me just tell you I think I'm one of the only people I've ever met who enjoys paying them. Think about it for a minute though...we live in a society that is a goose that lays the golden egg. We have our trash picked up, sewer systems, running water, firemen that will come and take care of your burning house, policemen who'll be there when needed, roads and highways, and soldiers who are out in some god forsaken place dying so you can go about your day in peace. Just how much do you think a battleship or an F-16 costs? Most, if not all of the aforementioned, comes from money raised by taxes. If I'm contributing in any way shape or form to that then I'm happy to do so.