Some convincing forged emails coming in
I’ve been seeing some very convincing forged emails allegedly from Amazon.com.
If you didn’t order anything, and you get an email confirmation, chances are it’s the scam I’m seeing. Even if you did order something, it’s possible to get this scam email mixed in with your own legitimate Amazon.com correspondence.
The object is to get you to enter your password at the scammer’s forged site. Most people store their credit cards and billing info with Amazon. Hacking your Amazon account can allow others to buy things at your expense and possibly export your personal information. Also, if you use the same password for Amazon as for other things, responding to the scam can open up your accounts at other web sites.
Just receiving the email is no danger. Clicking on the links in the email is a danger to your information security.
It’s important to remember that clicking links in received emails, even when you think you know the sender is a dangerous proposition. Much better to type the name of the site into your browser.
Please be careful to practice safe computing.
Steve Forbert
This evening we saw Steve Forbert at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck in Houston.
What have I been smoking?
We were going to let the brisket cook till about 7, and eat at 7:30, which is candle-lighting time here in Livingston this week, but by 5:30 we couldn’t stand it any more. Neither of us had made any lunch today, plus the excitement had been building.
Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!
Today, we start smoking. No, I haven’t taken leave of my senses. Tobacco can kill, and illegal drugs are… well… illegal. What we’re going to smoke is… Brisket!
Return to Rainbow’s End
We ended our stay at the Conroe Condo, and thankfully returned to our trailer at Lake Conroe Thousand Trails. My folks installed themselves in a local West Bestern. We pretty much spent the weekend eating at local restaurants.
On Sunday night, we bid the Parental Units good bye, and on Tuesday Morning, we packed up and left Thousand Trails to go back to Livingston, and Rainbow’s End. This is the National Headquarters of Escapees, Inc., under whose auspices we get our mail, register to vote, and in general, make Texas our domicile.
We got in at around 11. By 11:30, we had disconnected the trailer, and gone to the Clubhouse for lunch. They had Meatball Hero for lunch, served with potato salad and chips. All that for $4.00.
We may be the youngest people here, except for the employees. The place is packed with activities each day. They serve several meals a week. They have something to do every day. The population here is a mix of transient members, owners of deeded lots, and lessees of leased lots. There are lots with trailers on them, lots with homes, both built and manufactured, and also the various spaces for traveling members.
Everybody here is a member of Escapees. We all have this commonality of purpose as either full-time travelers or former full-time travelers. Lots of conversation is about who we are, where we are from, how long we’ve been on the road, what sort of rig do we travel with, etc.
In order to fit in socially, you have to believe, at least a bit, in the Escapees customs, practices and values. On the other hand, you can rent a site and go about your own business, and not talk to anybody. There are all kinds of people here.
There are about 20 Escapee parks around the country. Some are owned by the club (company) and others are co-ops owned by their occupants. We’re really glad to be members, and we feel at home here.
The End of the Rainbow
When we left Van Nuys, our stated destination was Rainbow’s End, the headquarters park of the Escapees RV Club. Yesterday, we arrived at the end of the rainbow.
We’ve been here in Conroe, Texas, at the Conroe Condo, since last Friday, and after much preparation and work, had two Passover Seders. I did almost all the cooking, preparing, serving, and about half the cleanup, for our four person family, and I will tell you, I don’t know how my mom (and so many others that I know) did it. I was beat. It should be remembered that many families go through a much more intricate and intense Passover preparation including a stem-to-stern cleaning, changing all dishes, covering countertops and shelves, and, in general, making almost everything in the house new again. We aren’t that religious, and didn’t do that, but even so, I was exhausted.
I made Matzoh Balls, Gefilte Fish, a turkey, a pot-roast, Charoses, Maror, Passover cake mixes, and all the trimmings and trappings of the holiday. I did all the shopping and planning as well. I also conducted one of the two Seders. It was a labor of love and I’m very pleased with the result, but as I said, I was totally wiped out.
Yesterday, after all the hoopla was over, Roseann and I took all our carefully obtained and collected documents, and drove over to Livingston, Texas, county seat of Polk County. There we visited the office of Marion A “Bid” Smith, the assessor and tax collector for the county, where we registered the two vehicles, receiving license plates and stickers. We then went down to the driver’s license office at the state Department of Public Safety, and got our new Texas licenses and IDs. We have a booklet, How To Become A Real Texan to thank for being prepared, and being able to do this process in one try.
Once all this was accomplished, we drove down to Rainbow’s End, to get our mail. As I wrote above, this is the headquarters park for Escapees, and houses the mail service. Our address is here, one of many on Rainbow Drive. This is kind of symbolic. The name, Rainbow’s End, implies a destination, and we’ve been on the road heading here for the past month. (To be fair, it was only nine days of driving. The rest of the days were stay-over days.) Nonetheless, it’s only a stop along the line, as we are not going to stay here for more than a few weeks to a month.
We’ll be here in Conroe till Monday, then over to Livingston to stay at Rainbow’s End for a week or so. Roseann has a medical visit scheduled. I have work to do, so we’ll dwell here for a bit and then move on.
Future plans are made, but as I always say, Man plans and G-d laughs, so we’ll hold these plans until we’re ready to execute on them.
(There are few photos, and I’ve been separated from my CF card reader, so we’ll catch up on those in a few days.)
Arrived!
We have arrived in Conroe, Texas, met my parents, moved into the “Conroe Condo” and have taken a deep, deep breath. It’s almost anticlimactic.
We shunpiked again today, leaving Columbus, TX to the north, rather than to the east. First stop was Columbus Tire, where we got our trailer inspected. This completes the pre-work, and we are now good to go for our visit to the Polk County Clerk for vehicle registration.
The ride then took us north on FM 109 to Brenham, TX, then on Texas 105 through Navasota, and on to Conroe.
Brenham is a nice old town, the biggest we’ve seen since San Antonio. It’s also the home of Congregation B’nai Avraham, the oldest orthodox synagogue in Texas. We learned about this on a website of small synagogues. I went to photograph the building. I had no expectation of finding anybody to let me in, and so my lack of expectation was properly met. I was really saddened by this. The building stands empty, with occasional visitors. There may be High Holiday services, and there may not – it depends on which website you read. I was thinking that if I could get in, I would take my Tallis and Tefillin, and say the morning prayers. Perhaps G-d would appreciate hearing a “still small voice” coming from this old synagogue.
Moving on, we arrived at Conroe by about 12:30, went over to Thousand Trails and dropped off the trailer. By 4:00, we were ensconced in the “Conroe Condo” at Silverleaf Piney Shores.
We’ll be spending the next week making the Passover seders here, and during the week, we’ll try to get the vehicles registered.
There’s Many A River that Waters the Land
We chose to split the trip from Castroville to Livingston into two sections, and found that there is a Thousand Trails membership campground just at the midpoint, here in Columbus, Texas. It’s called “Colorado River” and indeed, it’s on the banks of that river. Note that this is not the Colorado River that carved the Grand Canyon and watered the west, but that’s OK. As the song says, “There’s Many a River that Waters the Land.”
We’re encamped with the back of our trailer facing the river, although we can’t see it. We just see a grassy field and trees. That’s fine. Beats seeing the trailer that would otherwise be behind us.
Downtown Columbus held surprises. The town has a bunch of 1880’s buildings, a neat old courthouse, and a water tower shaped like a crenelated castle. Photos are at http://edgreenberg.smugmug.com/Architecture/Columbus-Texas/
I also got the truck it’s Texas inspection sticker.
All in all, a good drive on Monday, and a good stay on Tuesday, hopefully reprised on Wednesday and Thursday. We depart Friday for Conroe, Texas, and Passover in the Conroe Condo.
Do you know the way to San … Antonio?
We spent three days camped in Castroville, near San Antonio. We enjoyed a few dinners out, got the mail and prescriptions, and went to see the Alamo.
The Alamo is interesting, not in what it is, but in what it means to those who count themselves as patriotic Texans. Newly entering the state, I find this a stretch. Certainly many men showed strength of character there, by choosing to fight to the end, rather than turn tail and run. I have great respect for that. As a rallying point for Texas Pride, the Alamo does the job quite well. We enjoyed seeing the Alamo and a bit of the surrounding city.
“Or maybe all the way to S.A. Who knows?”
[Note: Photos pending.]
Well, we know. We left Fort Stockton at 7 AM this morning, after breakfast at Burger King. I never eat breakfast at Burger King, but the McDonalds had two busloads waiting in a long line, and not wanting to wait, we visited the King. What a mistake. Rubbery eggs inside microwaved tortillas. Oh well. Read the rest of this entry »
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