Texas RV Travel blog

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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.

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It would not be an RVing holiday trip without a disaster. On Thanksgiving, we drove to Lake Medina. This was our first trip with the Big Black Truck (BBT) pulling our trailer, Beauty.

Somehow, we burned the engine up on the way to the lake. From nice to nothing in one cracked block. I was a little stressed, so Michael left me at the lake for five days by myself to calm down. LOL. It was like spa vacation. I ate well, I rode my bike and I had a great time. Ducks and deer, sunshine and 70s, a full lake and fall color.

Thank goodness we kept the Beast, the van we purchased with Beauty. Michael grabbed a ride home and returned with the Beast. It only gets 8 mpg, but the Beast runs.

Tags: trouble, truck breakdown, lake medina, fall color

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