Backup and upgrade time.

I am having problems with this blog. I will be tinkering with it through the weekend.  If you stop by and it is not here, you will know that:

(1) I blew it big time; or,

(2) I am working on it.

Wish me luck!  Prayers are good, too!

Posted by CyberCelt under Trouble | 2 Comments »

The Ice at Discovery Green Through January 19

Discovery Green features an outdoor ice skating rink with a season full of family-friendly activities. Due to unseasonably warm weather, the Ice Rink will open at 3PM on Friday, December 19 and 3PM on Saturday, December 20.  For weather updates call the Ice Rink hotline at 713-434-RINK (7465).  See the events calendar for more information.

Snow Box

Toddler-friendly rink, complete with fluffy snow and a visit from Santa.

Nights on The Ice

Even non-skaters may enjoy the performances from professional skaters, hot jazz music, outdoor films and Friday night skate tunes.

Monday at 6 pm, Houston Skating Stars

The region’s best figure skaters, coaches and precision teams performer for you.

Tuesdays 7-9 pm, All That Jazz…On Ice

Local jazz musicians perform on the Anheuser-Busch Stage

Thursdays 7-9 pm, Silver Blades on the Silver Screen

Glide-in for a collection of the best holiday and skating movies are shown on our super-sized screen on the Anheuser-Busch Stage, overlooking the rink.

Fridays 7-9 pm, Cool Tunes, Hot Ice!

Skate to the tunes spun by DJs from Hot 95.7.

Downtown Christmas Market

December 18 & 25

Ice Carving Competition

January 10

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The Ice at Discover Green is just one of the venues included in the Downtown District Holiday Spectacular. Highlights include an amazing line-up of shows in the Theater District, holiday decor at Main Street Square and shopping adventures like the Houston Pavilion.

Two Holiday Trolleys will connect all of the festive happenings in downtown, making it simple for visitors to park once and experience multiple downtown destinations during their visit. The trolleys are FREE and will run Friday evenings and all day Saturday and Sunday beginning Thanksgiving weekend through December.

Houston Holiday Spectacular - Click for a schedule of events.

Posted by CyberCelt under Animals & Camping & Day Trips & Famous Texans & Kayak/canoe/tube & Music & RV Parks & RV Reviews & RV Travel & Reviews & Skywatching & Trouble | No Comments »

Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you are out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number.

Locked Out of Car

Does your car have remote keyless entry? If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home from your cell to their cell. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button while holding the clicker close to their cell phone.  The car will unlock. Update 11/19/08: According to Snopes, this is impossible.  However, I have had people report they have unlocked their car. Try it before you need it.  Let me know if it works.

Battery Reserve Power

If your cell battery is very low, press the keys *3370#.  Your cell phone will restart in reserve power mode.

This was sent to me in an email from a friend.  I had heard of the remote unlock, but not the other two.  If it helps you in a pinch, I am glad.

Posted by CyberCelt under Alerts & Did You Know & Education & Trouble | 12 Comments »

I wrote a post back on April 29 about LifeLock. My husband and I plan to join the service. It costs about $10 per month and offers Identity Theft Protection, Reduced Junk Mail and Reduced Credit Card Offers, and is backed by a $1 Million Service Guarantee.

Experian is one of the major credit reporting bureaus in the USA and they do not like that LifeLock places fraud alerts for Lifelock members. Experian is now suing lifelock, alleging “credit laws do not provide for a third party to place fraud alerts on behalf of a consumer.” Placing fraud alerts, preventing fraud losses, issuing credit reports and investigating identity theft are among the corporate charges of the credit-reporting bureau. However, they do not like using their resources to set alerts on behalf of Lifelock’s clients.

Lifelock also provides opt-out services for pre-approved junk mail, which is cutting into the very lucrative practice of selling your credit history to lenders so that they may send you those new credit card and balance transfer offers.

While credit bureaus do very well with giving out consumer information so that lenders may up-sell, cross-sell customers while managing risk, they actually do little to help you straighten out your credit or identity when it is stolen.

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Product Reviews & Trouble | 5 Comments »

I know you have seen these commercials for lifelock: My name is Todd Davis. My social security number is 457-55-5462.

Did you know that identity theft is a $50 billion a year racket? Your identity could be stolen and used to open credit cards, bank accounts and to secure lines of credit! Worse, some terrorist could use your credit to make purchases to be used against our nation.

LifeLock offers all this for $10 per month:

• Identity Theft Protection
• Reduced Junk Mail
• Reduced Credit Card Offers
• $1 Million Service Guarantee

I have a girlfriend who had all her ID stolen with her purse. She remembered most of the items in her wallet, but she forgot one credit card. With that one credit card and her stolen driver’s license, the thief was able to rent a brand new car and disappear with it. It took months to clear up the stain on her credit.

So, skip a lunch and pay the $10 a month for your peace of mind.

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Product Reviews & Trouble | No Comments »

What did the girl oyster say to the boy oyster? You never open up to me. You act like there is a pearl inside that will fall out if you open your shell. Stupid joke, I know. However, it is my lead in to a story about a website Gulf oysters of which you should be aware.

Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative bacterium that occurs naturally in warm, unpolluted seawater. Transmission of Vibrio vulnificus to humans occurs through two methods: (1) the direct consumption of raw, undercooked or non-depurated seafood and (2) exposure of wounds to contaminated seawater.

Once infected, the bacterium rapidly expands within tissues. Healthy individuals will probably not fall ill, but a small number of individuals will fall prey to primary septicemia and septic shock. Without prompt medical attention, the health of the infected patients may rapidly decline. Once infected, there is a 50/50 chance the person will die.

Oysters eat by filtering plankton from waters in estuaries. Because Vibrio vulnificus occurs naturally in the same waters in which oysters feed, the bacteria may become concentrated in the tissues of the oysters. Then, when people eat oysters, there is a risk of ingesting Vibrio vulnificus.

So, eat your oysters cooked or choose oysters that have been post-harvest processed. Do not go into the gulf with open sores on your legs or feet.

Visit the website and get information so that you may protect yourself and your family.

Posted by CyberCelt under Beach & Trouble | No Comments »

Last July, I wrote a post on FEMA trailers and formaldehyde. In the article, which you may read here, I cited many sources stating that formaldehyde was a true problem.

From that July 2007 post:

Our Government at Work FEMA trailers are toxic to the people living in them. FEMA has known about the formaldehyde outgassing problem since 2006, but have not taken action except when people complained. FEMA is now the target of a class-action lawsuit, as they should be. Formaldehyde outgasses in high heat and humidity, so we put flood victims from the Gulf Coast in them? Why?

News Sources for July 2007 post:

June 4, 2007
ABC News: Embalmed in Your Own RV

May 16, 2007
Are FEMA Trailers Making Residents Sick?, CBS News: Homes For Those Displaced By Katrina Can Contain High Toxin Levels - CBS News

February 15, 2007
Mardi Gras Overshadowed by Toxic Trailers

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Today, well over a year later, Feds Deem FEMA Trailers Unsafe, Hand Out More - New Orleans News Story - WDSU New Orleans

From the article:

Meanwhile, in Little Rock, Ark. FEMA said it will continue with distribution of mobile homes to Arkansas and Tennessee tornado victims despite a CDC finding of high formaldehyde levels in other trailers.

 : : Shame on You, FEMA! : :

And God help all who are in the hands of the American  government.  If you are poor, you will be mistreated.  No doubt about it.

Posted by CyberCelt under Did You Know & Disaster & Politics & RV Reviews & Trouble | No Comments »