PRINCESS CRUISERS: HOW ARE THINGS WHERE YOU ARE?!

[Thrak]

Wow. Really lame scammers. We have a land line (Vonage so it's cheap) that gets the political calls, most scam calls, etc. We keep it because we've had the number more than 40 years and my wife's family call on that line. Anyway...

 

I got a call purporting to be from Amazon reporting a "suspicious charge" of over $700 from Dayton, Ohio. (I guess they think including the name of a city gives them "authenticity".) Naturally, they want you to press one to find out about it at which point they would want to know what credit card is associated with the account and other personal info. Not a chance in hell I will press one. I hung up. They called back almost immediately and I let it go to the answering machine function. They left the same message. They are persistent but not too bright. So far, not only was there the call where I answered and hung up but they have left the same message on the machine NINE TIMES in the last hour. Sheesh... Mind bogglingly stupid and most annoying. I wonder how many more robo messages will be left before they give up. If they give up.

[LoriPhil]

The phone scammers are becoming overwhelming, more crafty/irritating and persistent, but we enjoy the ones that are “live” vs recorded because they provide great opportunities for improve theater.  We have kept our house phone which is my deceased mom’s number.   I answered a call this week, with a  strangers soft urgent voice claiming to be my/mom’s grandson, begging for money because he had a car accident and broke his nose.  Huge smile on Phil’s face while I’m chewing out the “grandson” for driving without a license and demanding whether he has confessed this to his mother (who in this little fantasy would be my sister, also deceased).  During my rant about it serving him right for doing such a stupid thing, he hung up.  Best call ever!  😎

Edited June 9, 2021 by LoriPhil

[1980dory]

32 minutes ago, LoriPhil said:

The phone scammers are becoming overwhelming, more crafty/irritating and persistent, but we enjoy the ones that are “live” vs recorded because they provide great opportunities for improve theater.  We have kept our house phone which is my deceased mom’s number.   I answered a call this week, with a  strangers soft urgent voice claiming to be my/mom’s grandson, begging for money because he had a car accident and broke his nose.  Huge smile on Phil’s face while I’m chewing out the “grandson” for driving without a license and demanding whether he has confessed this to his mother (who in this little fantasy would be my sister, also deceased).  During my rant about it serving him right for doing such a stupid thing, he hung up.  Best call ever!  😎

When I answer the phone and say "hello",  if I don't hear a live response within seconds, I hang up.  I also hang up if I start to get a recorded message.  I don't talk to machines.

That's not communication.

[Nebr.cruiser]

On 6/7/2021 at 7:00 PM, Thrak said:

Backyard sprinklers have obviously not been running and the yard is not looking good. Tried to run them manually and nothing happens. The timer unit looks like it's doing it's thing but there's no water. Pulled the lid off of the box that holds the valves and discovered it is completely full to to top with compacted mud and roots. Damn gophers...

 

I started trying to uncover the valves but it's a disaster of compacted mud and roots and I can't seem to make any headway. Looks like I'll need to try to get the box frame out of the ground and dig all around it with a shovel to get at the valves. I'm guessing I'll need to completely clear it out and replace the valves. Poop. It would have been so much easier to just buy a new control unit and put it on the wall.

 

This is a job that really calls for someone 40 lbs. lighter, 30 years younger, and 20 times stronger. (Of course 30 years ago I was 40 lbs. lighter and 20 times stronger.) I'm sure I could get my daughter's husband to do it - she would gladly volunteer him - but I don't really want to do that. He works hard enough as it is and this time of the year he's putting in a lot of overtime to boot. (He does AC install and repair and it's been in the 90's and 100's here lately.)

 

Bah. I guess whinging about it won't get the dang job done. Must be about time for "round 2". I'll likely be watering the yard by hand tonight. We used to do that back in the day anyway.

We feel the pain.  My husband has been working on and off all spring to get our sprinklers working again--and he's 75!  We always lose several due to tractor opening roads and misc. Dug one pipe up today that had huge toothmarks on it!

 

 

[taznremmy]

10 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

 Dug one pipe up today that had huge toothmarks on it!

😱  From what????

[Lucky TGO]

Hi to all my Cruise Critic friends,

Today it was in the 90’s and I loved it because I was out on The Rowboat off the coast of Hull Ma.

When ever I felt hot it was over the side and into the water 😁. I just wish all my grandkids were with Margie and I. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony 

[Loki S]

Will be watching game 1 of the State of Origin tonight, Queensland vs New South Wales. Can feel the atmosphere in the air. Should be great football (rugby league).

 

The first game being tonight has been moved from Melbourne due to numerous cases of COVID and those being out in the community. Believe they come out of lockdown at the end of this week, however with some restrictions in place.

 

Tonight’s State of Origin has been moved to Townsville in North Queensland. It’s great for a regional town.

 

Go Queensland!!!!

[1980dory]

9 hours ago, taznremmy said:

😱  From what????

Isn't it obvious?  There's a giant, zombie, prehistoric monster on the loose!  Obviously looking for a drink of water.

[Reader0108598]

13 hours ago, Thrak said:

Wow. Really lame scammers. We have a land line (Vonage so it's cheap) that gets the political calls, most scam calls, etc. We keep it because we've had the number more than 40 years and my wife's family call on that line. Anyway...

 

I got a call purporting to be from Amazon reporting a "suspicious charge" of over $700 from Dayton, Ohio. (I guess they think including the name of a city gives them "authenticity".) Naturally, they want you to press one to find out about it at which point they would want to know what credit card is associated with the account and other personal info. Not a chance in hell I will press one. I hung up. They called back almost immediately and I let it go to the answering machine function. They left the same message. They are persistent but not too bright. So far, not only was there the call where I answered and hung up but they have left the same message on the machine NINE TIMES in the last hour. Sheesh... Mind bogglingly stupid and most annoying. I wonder how many more robo messages will be left before they give up. If they give up.

Warn my husband daily not to talk to these people he does not use computers told him to call our son if he needs help I am not here. No I am not hurt our son is not hurt! My husbands daughter and my lovely stepdaughter is not hurt . Grand kids are fine Hang up!

Edited June 9, 2021 by Reader0108598

[billco]

17 hours ago, Thrak said:

Wow. Really lame scammers. We have a land line (Vonage so it's cheap) that gets the political calls, most scam calls, etc. We keep it because we've had the number more than 40 years and my wife's family call on that line. Anyway...

 

I got a call purporting to be from Amazon reporting a "suspicious charge" of over $700 from Dayton, Ohio. (I guess they think including the name of a city gives them "authenticity".) Naturally, they want you to press one to find out about it at which point they would want to know what credit card is associated with the account and other personal info. Not a chance in hell I will press one. I hung up. They called back almost immediately and I let it go to the answering machine function. They left the same message. They are persistent but not too bright. So far, not only was there the call where I answered and hung up but they have left the same message on the machine NINE TIMES in the last hour. Sheesh... Mind bogglingly stupid and most annoying. I wonder how many more robo messages will be left before they give up. If they give up.

My iPhone is my only phone. It has a setting "Silence Unknown Callers," which works really well. I'll turn it off if I'm expecting a call, but otherwise the only time my iphone rings if it shows caller ID. The unknown calls can leave a message.

[Croooser]

20 hours ago, Thrak said:

Wow. Really lame scammers. We have a land line (Vonage so it's cheap) that gets the political calls, most scam calls, etc. We keep it because we've had the number more than 40 years and my wife's family call on that line. Anyway...

 

I got a call purporting to be from Amazon reporting a "suspicious charge" of over $700 from Dayton, Ohio. (I guess they think including the name of a city gives them "authenticity".) Naturally, they want you to press one to find out about it at which point they would want to know what credit card is associated with the account and other personal info. Not a chance in hell I will press one. I hung up. They called back almost immediately and I let it go to the answering machine function. They left the same message. They are persistent but not too bright. So far, not only was there the call where I answered and hung up but they have left the same message on the machine NINE TIMES in the last hour. Sheesh... Mind bogglingly stupid and most annoying. I wonder how many more robo messages will be left before they give up. If they give up.

Disclaimer: Ignore this post if it does not sound interesting to you or if you already have your hands full with sprinklers. Warning - it will take some time to sort out.

 

We too have a land line number that we have had for 29 years and don't want to give up.

 

We have a solution that has completely (and I do mean completely) eliminated spam calls getting through on the land line. Sorry, have not found a similar solution for cell phones.

 

It is a DIY VOIP phone set up similar to a Vonage or Magic Jack but you have to set it up and configure yourself. It can be configured so that whenever a call comes through from an unknown number (known numbers are defined by flagging them in a phone book on the software), an auto attendant message announces "Please press one to speak with the "yourname" e.g. Smiths. The bots for the spam calls do not know what to do and the system is configured to drop the call after 10 seconds if one is not pressed before the phone ever rings. If it is a human, they can press one and the call rings through. Warning - it catches people by surprise and they sometimes need a couple of trys to understand and press one. We try to make sure we add persons and businesses (think family, friends, Doctors, etc.) to the known list and then they don't have to deal with the auto attendant. The software has many other capabilities that we don't use like call forwarding, voicemail, etc.

 

The bonus is that it is extremely low cost. There is a one time cost for hardware of about $50 and a monthly fee for a cloud provider. Our monthly bill is $2.80 with unlimited calling in and out of the lower 48. In 7 years we have had only two issues that we had to sort out with a help desk.

 

Here is the current version of the hardware that we use:

https://www.amazon.com/Obihai-OBi200-Adapter-Support-Service/dp/B07FCS1NGM

 

This is the cloud service that we use (there are others available but they may or may not have the ability to block spam calls):

https://www.anveo.com/enter.asp

 

If you have the time and willingness to take on a project, it might be worth a try. I recommend searching something like "DIY VOIP land line". Here is one to take a look at:

 

https://www.howtogeek.com/136959/how-to-switch-to-voip-and-ditch-your-home-phone-bill-forever/

 

HTH

 

P.S. Think about being able to go through election season without a single robocall or never again having the "microsoft help desk" call you or the auto warranty people, etc.

[Thrak]

6 minutes ago, Croooser said:

Disclaimer: Ignore this post if it does not sound interesting to you or if you already have your hands full with sprinklers. Warning - it will take some time to sort out.

 

Noted. Saved info in a Word doc for later. Will look into this. Maybe someday I'll even get the &#%! sprinklers fixed. Thanks.

[suzyed]

On 6/7/2021 at 1:05 AM, taznremmy said:

And lucky us, Pat Boone on 50's on 5.  Sorry, I love the singer, but IMO, he talks too much. 😁

I listen to 60's on 6 mostly for the Beatles!

 

[suzyed]

On 6/8/2021 at 10:10 PM, LoriPhil said:

The phone scammers are becoming overwhelming, more crafty/irritating and persistent, but we enjoy the ones that are “live” vs recorded because they provide great opportunities for improve theater.  We have kept our house phone which is my deceased mom’s number.   I answered a call this week, with a  strangers soft urgent voice claiming to be my/mom’s grandson, begging for money because he had a car accident and broke his nose.  Huge smile on Phil’s face while I’m chewing out the “grandson” for driving without a license and demanding whether he has confessed this to his mother (who in this little fantasy would be my sister, also deceased).  During my rant about it serving him right for doing such a stupid thing, he hung up.  Best call ever!  😎

I know a grandma who did get caught with that scam....gave them lots of money.  So despicable.!

 

[Lucky TGO]

20 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I know a grandma who did get caught with that scam....gave them lots of money.  So despicable.!

 

I blame the attorney general in your state for not stopping this. I just don’t answer the phone anymore 😳.

I let the answering machine answer all my calls. I have this one guy calling me often and he says dad answer the phone it’s me Mike your son. So I always answer him and say what do you want now. 😁😁.

Mike can I borrow some money on my inheritance. Answer No!!!  I used yours all up. I’m spending your brother’s now. 😁😁😁😁. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

[suzyed]

53 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

I blame the attorney general in your state for not stopping this. I just don’t answer the phone anymore 😳.

I let the answering machine answer all my calls. I have this one guy calling me often and he says dad answer the phone it’s me Mike your son. So I always answer him and say what do you want now. 😁😁.

Mike can I borrow some money on my inheritance. Answer No!!!  I used yours all up. I’m spending your brother’s now. 😁😁😁😁. 
The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

LOL!
The grandma who lost her money to the scammers was in NY.   Pretty common up there...at least it was a few years back.

 

[rabin1]

I know this probably doesn;t have anything to do with this thread but I didn;t know where to put it.

 

Th RCCL Odyssey of the Seas docked today in Port Everglades for their cruise next month. Getting staff etc on board.  They had on TV here locally...............what a beautiful site. Come on Princess let's get going

 

Kathy

[Doug R.]

Some mornings, like this one, the immunotherapy is really kicking my butt. While study participants will never be told if they got the drug or the placebo the doctor winked and said if you feel like I do {think I will play some Peter Frampton later) you can be pretty sure that you got the investigational drug.  Tuesday I will get immunotherapy shot number 2 and will begin daily radiation.  

 

Enough about my petty complaints. Both my wife and I are getting loads of scam calls and a lot of scam emails. Among those are the infamous car warranty reminders,  statements that our Social Security or Pay Pal accounts are suspended and police are on the way to arrest us unless.... (call cut at this point), then for  me because I am the only one on Medicare a variety of scams mostly involving back or knee braces, and finally calls in Chinese which I have come to learn are immigration scams. Sometimes these calls far outnumber legitimate calls. 

 

Our garden is doing fabulous and we are going to have a bumper crop of those famous Jersey tomatoes. A @#$##!! groundhog devoured my entire crop of broccoli and we have a deer that considers my wife flowers as her personal salad bar. DW doesn't like my suggestions for pest control.

 

The heatwave is due to break and I may feel more chipper.

 

Everyone have a great time until next time.

 

[Doug R.]

41 minutes ago, rabin1 said:

I know this probably doesn;t have anything to do with this thread but I didn;t know where to put it.

 

Th RCCL Odyssey of the Seas docked today in Port Everglades for their cruise next month. Getting staff etc on board.  They had on TV here locally...............what a beautiful site. Come on Princess let's get going

 

 

Hi Kathy- This is a general subject thread about our lives during Covid. Your information about RCCL is encouraging regardless of your  favorite line, it means that we are getting ever closer to a return to cruising.

[MustangGT]

5 hours ago, Doug R. said:

Some mornings, like this one, the immunotherapy is really kicking my butt. While study participants will never be told if they got the drug or the placebo the doctor winked and said if you feel like I do {think I will play some Peter Frampton later) you can be pretty sure that you got the investigational drug.  Tuesday I will get immunotherapy shot number 2 and will begin daily radiation.  

 

Enough about my petty complaints. Both my wife and I are getting loads of scam calls and a lot of scam emails. Among those are the infamous car warranty reminders,  statements that our Social Security or Pay Pal accounts are suspended and police are on the way to arrest us unless.... (call cut at this point), then for  me because I am the only one on Medicare a variety of scams mostly involving back or knee braces, and finally calls in Chinese which I have come to learn are immigration scams. Sometimes these calls far outnumber legitimate calls. 

 

Our garden is doing fabulous and we are going to have a bumper crop of those famous Jersey tomatoes. A @#$##!! groundhog devoured my entire crop of broccoli and we have a deer that considers my wife flowers as her personal salad bar. DW doesn't like my suggestions for pest control.

 

The heatwave is due to break and I may feel more chipper.

 

Everyone have a great time until next time.

 

Not sure if you have tried this pest deterrent - I have had some success with slices of Irish Spring soap.  Got tired of deer and bunnies eating my Asiatic Lillies and Hibiscus plants.

Edited June 10, 2021 by MustangGT

[Doug R.]

34 minutes ago, MustangGT said:

Not sure if you have tried this pest deterrent - I have had some success with slices of Irish Spring soap.  Got tired of deer and bunnies eating my Asiatic Lillies and Hibiscus plants.

Worth a try!

[LoriPhil]

Irish Spring?  Do you put shavings of soap by the plants, or make a soapy solution?  We have deer and bunnies galore, and have even given up on potted geraniums on the deck because they come up and graze there too.  

[MustangGT]

1 hour ago, LoriPhil said:

Irish Spring?  Do you put shavings of soap by the plants, or make a soapy solution?  We have deer and bunnies galore, and have even given up on potted geraniums on the deck because they come up and graze there too.  

I am lazy so I just put a few slices on the ground.  I have seen recommendations of grating the soap and putting it in small fabric bags and putting the bags on stakes.  Too much work if the slices work.  🤣😂 Just have to replace them when the scent subsides.

Good luck!! 🐰🐰🐰

[Reader0108598]

On 6/9/2021 at 10:17 PM, suzyed said:

I know a grandma who did get caught with that scam....gave them lots of money.  So despicable.!

 

So sad! 😞Hubby is 11 years older than I am does not use a computer ever in his life! I have been in the hospital lately three different times  told him to call our son the State Trooper never give out info period! These scammers are slick! I have fun playing with them lol 🙂 Campus Police Officer before I retired!

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by Reader0108598

[Reader0108598]

On 6/10/2021 at 12:11 PM, Doug R. said:

Some mornings, like this one, the immunotherapy is really kicking my butt. While study participants will never be told if they got the drug or the placebo the doctor winked and said if you feel like I do {think I will play some Peter Frampton later) you can be pretty sure that you got the investigational drug.  Tuesday I will get immunotherapy shot number 2 and will begin daily radiation.  

 

Enough about my petty complaints. Both my wife and I are getting loads of scam calls and a lot of scam emails. Among those are the infamous car warranty reminders,  statements that our Social Security or Pay Pal accounts are suspended and police are on the way to arrest us unless.... (call cut at this point), then for  me because I am the only one on Medicare a variety of scams mostly involving back or knee braces, and finally calls in Chinese which I have come to learn are immigration scams. Sometimes these calls far outnumber legitimate calls. 

 

Our garden is doing fabulous and we are going to have a bumper crop of those famous Jersey tomatoes. A @#$##!! groundhog devoured my entire crop of broccoli and we have a deer that considers my wife flowers as her personal salad bar. DW doesn't like my suggestions for pest control.

 

The heatwave is due to break and I may feel more chipper.

 

Everyone have a great time until next time.

 

Doug believe me I understandl  be well my friend!

🙂

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by Reader0108598