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Vol. 27, No. 1 • January, 2009
Now you can find this newsletter on the web, at Freeman-Spicer.com
Mom Was Right . . . . . . . . when she said good grades were the key to success - just not necessarily a big bank account. According to the book The Millionaire Mind, the median grade point average for millionaires is 2.9, and the average SAT score is 1190 - hardly Harvard material. When asked to list the keys to success, millionaires rank hard work first, followed by education, determination and “treating others with respect.” They also say what they absorbed in class was less important than learning how to study and stay disciplined. Granted, 48% hold an advanced degree, but many millionaires squeaked thought school. (Smart Money)
“Better to keep your mouth shut and have everyone think you’re a fool, than to say something and erase any doubt.” Unknown - submitted by Emanuel
Are You Pfish Food? . . . . . . . . . . . Question - Phishers often try to lure potential victims to legitimate-looking websites. One way to tell if a site is kosher is by looking at the URL. Which of these are for real?
3. www.facebook.com.profile.php.id.371233.cn
Answers - “4” - However silly, Fart.com is the only stand-up site of the bunch. Micosoft.com is the easiest phony to spot: It’s misspelled. The other two are sneakier. A dash instead of a period before microsoft means (1) is a third-party site. (3) in fact directs you to 371233.cn, a site set up by Chinese phishers. Most Web browsers warn you if you’re going to a known phishing site. Still, avoid clicking on URLs in unsolicited e-mails. And be sure your antivirus software is up to date, as some e-mails and sites contain programs that can read your keystrokes when you are on legit sites. (Money Magazine)
Another Bailout Explanation . . . . . . . . . . Young Chuck in Montana bought a horse from a farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the horse the next day. The next day he drove up and said, “Sorry son, but I have some bad news, the horse died.” Chuck replied, “Well, then just give me my money back.” the farmer said, “Can’t do that. I went and spent it already.” Chuck said, “Ok, then, just bring me the dead horse.” The farmer asked, “what ya gonna do with him?” Chuck said, “I’m going to raffle him off.” The farmer said, “You can’t raffle off a dead horse!” Chuck said, “Sure I can, watch me. I just won’t tell anybody he’s dead.” A month later, the farmer met up with Chuck and asked, “What happened with that dead horse?” Chuck said, “I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $998.” The farmer said, “Didn’t anyone complain?” Chuck said, “Just the guy who won. So I gave him his two dollars back.” Chuck grew up and now works for the government. He was the one who figured out how to “bail us out”. (Gilbert)
Telecommuting . . . . . . . . . Telecommuting appears to be a win-win situation - for employers and their employees. Companies that offer their employees the option of telecommuting are reaping benefits in terms of productivity and cost savings, among other advantages. According to a Web-based survey, 67% of respondents say their companies have seen a boost in productivity. In addition, 39% say their organizations have access to better-qualified staff, and 37% say telecommuting helps improve employee retention. (CompTIA in PCToday.com)
According To A Study . . . . . . . In June, business travelers lost more than 12,000 laptops per week in U.S. airports. While some end up in the lost and found, others are victim to computer-napping. Sure, your laptop has passwords, encrypted logins and fingerprint readers, but what happens when the whole thing is swiped? That’s when it pays to have signed up with a tracking and control service. A new service, Adeona, is free and monitors a laptop’s location. But the 2 mainstays are LoJack ($39 to $59), which reportedly recovers 3 of 4 missing laptops, and PhoneHome ($29) - both have theft recovery teams that work with ISPs and law enforcement to recover computers. A nice feature: Tech-savvy thieves can’t uninstall the programs. (Entrepreneur)
A Married Couple . . . . . . . . . . Went to the hospital to have their baby delivered. Upon their arrival, the doctor said that the hospital was testing an amazing new high-tech machine that would transfer a portion of the mother’s labor pain to the baby’s father. He asked if they were interested. Both said they were very much in favor of it. The doctor set the pain transfer to 10 percent for starters, explaining that even 10 percent was probably more pain than the father had ever experienced before. But as the labor progressed, the husband felt fine and asked the doctor to go ahead and kick it up a notch. The doctor then adjusted the machine to 20 percent pain transfer. The husband was still feeling fine. The doctor then checked the husband’s blood pressure and was amazed at how well he was doing. At this point they decided to try for 50 percent. The husband continued to feel quite well. Since the pain transfer was obviously helping the wife considerably, the husband encouraged the doctor to transfer ALL the pain to him. The wife delivered a healthy baby with virtually no pain, and the husband had experienced none. She and her husband were ecstatic. When they got home, they found the UPS man dead on the porch. (Bishop)
My son sprayed our 42-inch LCD HDTV with indoor/outdoor paint. . . . . . . I've gotten most of it off. However, there are small specs of paint remaining. There are also a few larger spots. How can I get the remaining paint off of the screen? Answer: This is a bad situation, indeed. LCD screens are difficult to clean in general. Add paint to the mix, and things certainly aren't looking good. LCD screens have anti-reflective coatings to prevent glare and reflections. Unfortunately, these coatings can be damaged easily. One of the biggest risks you face is scratching the screen's coatings. Therefore, you should never use paper towels on your LCD. Nor should you use abrasive cleaners. Harsh chemicals can also damage the LCD's coatings. They may yellow or turn cloudy. Or, you may strip off all or part of the coatings. Ammonia is particularly bad. So, avoid Windex and similar cleaners. This doesn't leave many options for cleaning an LCD. Water is the safest way to clean an LCD. Just wet a cloth and wipe down the screen. Flannel, an old tee-shirt or a microfiber cloth are all ideal. Of course, you need to be smart when using water to clean an LCD. You don't want to drip water into the TV's internal components. You don't want to fry your set!
Will soap and water really remove paint? You can use a little soap on the screen. Regular soap shouldn't harm it. However, avoid dish soap and other detergents. Now, I doubt soap and water will help you much. It takes a little more to remove paint. But there are a couple of other things you can try. First, try isopropyl, or rubbing alcohol. Most isopropyl alcohol is 90 percent pure. So, mix this with roughly the same amount of water. Wet a soft cloth with the mixture and rub the screen gently. Rubbing hard could cause irreparable damage to the screen. If the rubbing alcohol doesn't work, try sandpaper. Yes, you read right! You can't use just any sandpaper, of course. You'll want to use a super-fine grit sandpaper. I recommend using 500 grit or higher sandpaper. This is generally used for final sanding of finishes. So, it shouldn't damage your screen. But, you will want to rub gently. I also recommend that you consult the manufacturer's Web site. It will likely have instructions for cleaning the screen. These instructions probably won't cover paint. However, they should list cleaners that are safe to use. Some cleaners may adversely affect some displays but not others. (Kim Komando)
Sincerely,
Edward C. Levy
President