Bruce’s
Poor Man Survival Bulletin
A
digest of urban survival resources
In This Issue:
1. Scholarships for women
2. You
too can become a hacker
3. Mother
Nature Network – Cool Site
4. Free
Donuts, Dollar Store Nation
5. Free
backyard playhouse plans
6. Warning:
Chinese now counterfeiting US Morgan Coins
"If you put the federal government in charge of
the Sahara Desert, in five years there'd be a shortage of sand." ~ Milton Friedman
Women's Scholarship…getting
school money when unemployed
A friend of mine got laid off from his factory job not long
ago and started collecting unemployment.
He learned the government would pay for him to return to school to get
training in a better field, so he chose computers.
After several weeks he dropped out due to a lack of math skills so now he
has to repay the tuition from his unemployment funds…sad, but I have been after
him for months to finish some construction projects he started for me but not
completed. He’s got another job which
pays under the table so he’s making a lot more money and I’m no longer a
priority.
I didn’t realize how lucrative this program can be, especially for
community colleges. Through Pell Grants
and other federal programs one can get not only tuition, but a stipend to help
with your living expenses as well (ask any college for details or your
unemployment office).
There are many programs available to help with college costs. Here’s a terrific resource for finding
scholarships for women. Women over 40
have even more opportunities for funding especially in areas of nursing and
veterinary school.
AARP offers an annual scholarship grant to women
over age 40 who want to improve their job skills through training at a
technical or traditional school. Grants range
from $500 to $5,000 and are calculated based on need and the cost of tuition.
Preference is given to women who are raising grandchildren, women who do not
have the opportunity to excel in their careers and women who have been out of the work force for an extended time.
Application is made directly through the AARP Foundation.
AARP
601 E St. NW
Washington, DC 20049
888-687-2277 AARP.org
The AARP site offers many other programs and resources
as well, especially for unemployed people under 50 and includes a database of
featured employers.
Before calling an appliance repairman, unplug the
device (or use your circuit breaker) and wait 10 seconds, then plug it back
in. This is the first thing the
repairman will do.
PM’s
‘Betty Schocker’ Compendium of useful stuff…
Grab a Free Donut on Fri-June 3rd
I’m not sure if this applies to law enforcement!
That Friday is National Donut Day, started by the Salvation
Army during WWI to honor women who served in the military.
>Dunkin’ Donuts offers
your choice when you buy a beverage.
>Krispy Kreme - Any
donut is free, no purchase required!
ReplayGround
This site provides you practical, fun, and family friendly ways to recycle things that you might have in your house from everyday consumption (think pop bottles, mint tins, etc).
This site provides you practical, fun, and family friendly ways to recycle things that you might have in your house from everyday consumption (think pop bottles, mint tins, etc).
I’ve brought you here with the purpose of pointing you
directly to the D-I-Y section! So what are you waiting for head right there!
You’ll find a collection of fun projects to repurpose and thus recycle things
that are just sitting around your house.
They even offer
how-to videos, just scroll down to the bottom of the D-I-Y section to check
them out. You’ll find four projects: record album portfolio, mint tin puzzle,
glass bottle vase, and license plate memo board.
I think that this site offers a fun assortment of ways
to recycle things that can really get your kids or grandkids interested in
recycling
The mission of MOTHER NATURE NETWORK can be found
at the top of every page on our site: “Improve Your World
MNN content is divided among 8 different channels—each
offering in-depth news and information updated throughout the day: Earth
Matters, Lifestyle, Green Tech, Eco-Biz, Transportation, Your Home, Food, and
Family
3 secrets to growing the
best tomatoes-watch the video here
http:// <http://bit.ly/Tomato-Secrets-5-25-11>
http://bit.ly/Tomato-Secrets-5-25-11
http:// <http://bit.ly/Tomato-Secrets-5-25-11>
http://bit.ly/Tomato-Secrets-5-25-11
Shop America’s Biggest Yard Sale - from June 3-5
The Dixie Highway or North Georgia features a 90-mile
long sale. More at:
DixieHighway.org
Seven
traditional playhouse cottages and cabins. There are also five playground designs, four play
forts and club houses, four treehouses, and a bunch of other fun woodworking
projects. All of the plans and building guides are online or downloadable so
you can start planning right away.
http://www.todaysplans.net/find-free-play-projects.html
http://www.backroadhome.net/backyard-play.html
http://www.todaysplans.net/find-free-play-projects.html
http://www.backroadhome.net/backyard-play.html
Help for small plants with shallow roots…plant it in a
larger pot by placing a smaller flower pot upside down inside the larger pot,
fill with dirt and you’re set.
Dollar Store Nation: What
the success of the dollar store says about the American economy
Nearly a century and a half after the first dollar store opened in New York City, the sense of wonder that attends to how many different ways a few cents worth of raw materials can be processed, packaged, shipped, and sold for a buck, still beguiles us. And as Greg Beato notes, the appeal is not just limited to so-called downscale shoppers. In fact, according to Time, Dollar General's "fastest-growing customer segment is households making more than $70,000." As Beato explains, it is now obvious that consumers shop at these stores not just for utilitarian reasons but also because of how shrewdly they cater to current lifestyles and sensibilities.
http://reason.com/archives/2011/05/26/dollar-store-nation
Nearly a century and a half after the first dollar store opened in New York City, the sense of wonder that attends to how many different ways a few cents worth of raw materials can be processed, packaged, shipped, and sold for a buck, still beguiles us. And as Greg Beato notes, the appeal is not just limited to so-called downscale shoppers. In fact, according to Time, Dollar General's "fastest-growing customer segment is households making more than $70,000." As Beato explains, it is now obvious that consumers shop at these stores not just for utilitarian reasons but also because of how shrewdly they cater to current lifestyles and sensibilities.
http://reason.com/archives/2011/05/26/dollar-store-nation
WARNING:
There are entire
factories in China dedicated to
producing fake versions of everything from designer purses to rare U.S. coins.
"Made in China" U.S. Morgan silver dollars, for example, are
being sold over the Internet and are even making their way into U.S. coin
shops. They look authentic to the naked eye and are only revealed as fakes upon
close inspection by people who know the tell-tale signs.
Place broken pieces of terracotta in your garden soil
to make them thrive and to help with soild drainage…
The Nanny State Updates…
According to a recent analysis by the National
Employment Law Project (NELP), the biggest growth
in private-sector job creation in the past year occurred in positions in the
low-wage retail, administrative, and food service sectors of the economy. While
23% of the jobs lost in the Great Recession that followed the economic meltdown
of 2008 were “low-wage” (those paying $9-$13 an hour), 49% of new jobs added in
the sluggish “recovery” are in those same low-wage industries. On the other end
of the spectrum, 40% of the jobs lost paid high wages ($19-$31 an hour), while
a mere 14% of new jobs pay similarly high wages.
Tomdispatch.com.....
Why are so many Americans afraid to start businesses?
Maybe it is because the overregulation of business in
this country has now reached extreme levels. For example, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture recently slapped a fine of $90,000 on one
family from Missouri because they sold more than $500 worth of rabbits in a
single year. The $4,600 in rabbits that they sold ended up netting the family
only $200 in profits.
North Carolina Restaurants are no longer allowed to
serve medium-rare hamburgers. New state law states all ground beef must be cooked to an internal temp
of 155 degrees…guess no more steak tartare
.
The IRS has
assigned 35 agents full-time to Exxon-Mobile - they conduct a non-stop audit of their tax accounting. In 2009, Exxon paid no US income tax but did
get a $156 million credit…Exxon paid $15.2 billion in taxes to for other
countries!.
<<<>>>
The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.
The
Parting Shot…Avoiding hacker scams
You
too can become a hacker and pick up some extra
bucks. And, unfortunately, it isn't even that hard. With just a little
technical experience, a person can go online and find the necessary kits for
hacking personal computers for fun and profit. Do you want to steal some
sensitive government documents? There are kits for that, too.
Symantec, a top computer security company, released a report a few weeks ago, stating that attacks played a role in creating over 286 million varieties of malware last year, and HP, one of the leading computer hardware manufacturers, reports that because the kits are so easy to use and are so successful, they are extremely popular.
In addition, the quality of the online kits is getting better. "Attack kit developers are also improving the quality of their software", says Mike Dausin, who manages advanced security intelligence for HP's DVLabs division. "They put so much effort into streamlining it, just as a normal software development company might," he says. "They're very professional, very focused on making money." It's not an entirely unexpected development: last year, security researchers predicted the growth of the cybercrime service industry.
Symantec, a top computer security company, released a report a few weeks ago, stating that attacks played a role in creating over 286 million varieties of malware last year, and HP, one of the leading computer hardware manufacturers, reports that because the kits are so easy to use and are so successful, they are extremely popular.
In addition, the quality of the online kits is getting better. "Attack kit developers are also improving the quality of their software", says Mike Dausin, who manages advanced security intelligence for HP's DVLabs division. "They put so much effort into streamlining it, just as a normal software development company might," he says. "They're very professional, very focused on making money." It's not an entirely unexpected development: last year, security researchers predicted the growth of the cybercrime service industry.
The latest versions of attack kits are traded online
for anything from $500 to $4000 and sales have grown from two to seven percent
of the criminal online economy.
1: Keep all of your patches up to date. A patch is a piece of code inserted - or patched - into an executable file, such as AVS.exe. It is there to fix a program bug. If your patches are old, it's easier for an attacker to get in to your system; their kits probably aren't new enough to penetrate a new patch. At least you hope not. However, when downloading or installing patches, you must be careful to ensure that they are, in fact, patches that are actually needed on your computer. If a pop-up tells you that an update or patch needs to be installed, it's often best to go to the source and verify the truth of that assertion. For example, if you get a message that your security software needs to be updated, it might be best to open the program and check for updates there.
2: Don't click on a link unless you are 100 percent sure you know who it is! I can't stress this enough; I can't tell you how important this is! Just an FYI: I don't click on any links e-mail-wise anymore. Seriously. All of the new types of malware look so authentic; it's just not worth it. If the link looks real, then I'll go to the site that sent the e-mail and check out the sale or whatever it is that they sent me. Although I guess I am going to have to watch out for that too, thanks to these handy-dandy kits.
1: Keep all of your patches up to date. A patch is a piece of code inserted - or patched - into an executable file, such as AVS.exe. It is there to fix a program bug. If your patches are old, it's easier for an attacker to get in to your system; their kits probably aren't new enough to penetrate a new patch. At least you hope not. However, when downloading or installing patches, you must be careful to ensure that they are, in fact, patches that are actually needed on your computer. If a pop-up tells you that an update or patch needs to be installed, it's often best to go to the source and verify the truth of that assertion. For example, if you get a message that your security software needs to be updated, it might be best to open the program and check for updates there.
2: Don't click on a link unless you are 100 percent sure you know who it is! I can't stress this enough; I can't tell you how important this is! Just an FYI: I don't click on any links e-mail-wise anymore. Seriously. All of the new types of malware look so authentic; it's just not worth it. If the link looks real, then I'll go to the site that sent the e-mail and check out the sale or whatever it is that they sent me. Although I guess I am going to have to watch out for that too, thanks to these handy-dandy kits.
…Watch
this funny video and share with friends, they’ll thank you!
If you own or love dogs, you’ll love this funny
talking dog clip – our parting bit of humor!<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw&sns=em>
Yours for empowerment, the Poor Man!
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