Fortress Update

Well, my highly unreliable contractor (Ruben Ponce) has done it again.

Earlier this week, through my own personal inspection and the help of a very experienced friend (Dick F.), I determined that the work done on the form and reinforcing steel for the roof was unacceptable. There were many problems. My contractor came out to my site, reviewed the list of discrepancies with me, and agreed to fix them – before the inspection scheduled for Wednesday.

Naturally, he never showed up on Monday afternoon, Tuesday, or Wednesday. But he did call me on Thursday morning to tell me that he had rescheduled the inspection for that same day (which was yesterday), and he was convinced that the work would pass inspection without any additional changes. He then said he'd still make the changes I'd requested, but I suspect that once the inspection was passed, he'd put all his efforts into convincing me to pour the roof as is.

Well, the inspector showed up yesterday, as scheduled. He did not approve the job. He found six specific discrepancies (five of which corresponded to one of the eight that I found, and one of which was a new one) that will have to be fixed before he will approve it. He also made quite a few additional criticisms of the job; things he said he'd still approve anyway, as they didn't violate any building code or regulation – but things that he would never allow on any job he was in charge of.

Sigh. So now I know that my own intuitions, and the judgment of my experienced friend, were closer to the mark than my contractor. And I still haven't been able to get my contractor out here.

Rope.
Tree.
Contractor.
Some assembly required…

If Your Wallet is Stolen…

One of my loyal readers (Chrys) passes along this email she received. I can't personally vouch for the contents (other than the phone numbers given, which do check out), but it all seems quite sensible to me:

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone.
If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.

Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, ha d a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online.

Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know :

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.)

3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations
immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen:

1. Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
2. Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
3. TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289
4. Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Vote for Hillary!

From Simi L., our morning political humor:

One day, the seven dwarfs left to go work in the mine. Snow White stayed home to prepare lunch. When she arrived at the mine with the lunch, she saw that there had been a terrible cave in. Tearfully, and fearing the worst, Snow White began calling out, hoping against hope that some of the dwarves had survived. "Hello, hello," she called. "Can anyone hear me? Hello!" For quite a while, there was no answer. Losing hope, Snow White called again, "Hello. Is anyone down there?"

Just as she was about to give up all hope, there came a faint voice from deep in the mine. The voice said, "Vote for Hillary. Vote for Hillary."

Snow White, somewhat relieved screamed out, "Oh, thank God. Dopey is still alive."

The 2008 Presidential elections are absolutely rife with opportunities for humor. Perhaps this will help offset the generally pathetic field of candidates…