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Sawadee Khrap

We just had an earthquake – or at least I felt (and my neighbors) a real strong one.  Checking the USGS Earthquake Site – I see TWO  7.0 quakes happened in Myanmar.  I felt both of them – the first one real strong, the second just a slight movement.  But, I did feel both.  WOW, actually got up and started to go toward the door, it lasted for what seemed to be about 20 seconds – quite long.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Planning a trip to Thailand, hopefully Chiang Mai, and need or want to learn to speak some Thai while here – I just met a great guy who can teach you.  Narin – He has developed a “new and easy way of speaking the Thai Language”.  He offers a 20 hour class, at your home or hotel and will guide you through the Thai-language-culture, and history.  He is a professional teacher and it sounds like a great program.  You can reach him at:

 

Email: narinthaiteacher@hotmail.com

Mobile:  082 411 6199

I am going to do some photos and give him some pointers on setting up his web page and  he said he would help me with my Thai.  So, I will up-date this post later this month with more particulars about his services and costs.  Stay tuned.

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Jim just send me these great tips for protecting your Credit Cards whether at home or traveling from “Courtesy of the Lancasters”  apparently a group of Attorneys.  Excellent Advice.

1. Do not sign  the back of your credit cards. Instead, put ‘PHOTO ID REQUIR ED.’.

2. 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 won’t have access to it.

3. 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. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it.

4. 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.  I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We’ve all heard horror stories about fraud that’s committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

Unfortunately, I, an attorney, 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, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here’s some critical information to limit the damage  in case this happens to you or someone you know:

5. We have been told we should  cancel our  credit cards immediately. But 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.

6.  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).

But here’s what is perhaps  most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.) 

7. Call  the  3 national credit reporting organizations  immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line 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, if it has been stolen:

• Equifax:   800-525-6285
• Experian  (formerly TRW)   888-397-3742
• Trans Union:  800-680-7289
• Social Security Admin. (fraud line):  800-269-0271

Ciao

Sawadee Khrap

Just installed StatCounter and really pleased – does a great job of tracking the sites traffic – great detail – and IT’S FREE. It only allows a log for the last 100 guests max but that can be increased with a purchase plan and I think it’s reasonable (although I haven’t yet compared it to other pay counters). Now I can see how many countries the site is reaching and what pages they are stopping at – using this I should be able to adjust the site for better presentation.

Check it out for your site.