Chain mail and hoaxes

I found the following message in my WhatsApp inbox, when I woke up this morning:

"Whatsapp is shutting down on 28th jan Message from Jim Balsamic (CEO of Whatsapp) we have had an over usage of user names on whatsapp Messenger. We are requesting all users to forward this message to their entire contact list. If you do not forward this message, we will take it as your account is invalid and it will be deleted within the next 48 hours. Please DO NOT ignore this message or whatsapp will no longer recognise your activation. If you wish to re-activate your account after it has been deleted, a charge of 25.00 will be added to your monthly bill. We are also aware of the issue involving the pictures updates not showing. We are working diligently at fixing this problem and it will be up and running as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation from the Whatsapp team"

I thought it sounded fishy, and it wasn't difficult to look them up and double check. As I had suspected:
“@WhatsApp: it is just a hoax: http://t.co/Go8KLqDi”

As is the case with email, our texting applications are targeted by hoaxers and scammers. It can be tough to keep a level head - but it is quite easy to check things out. Use your twitter or google search capabilities, if you are unsure. As unlikely as it is that Bill Gates is tracking the email in your mailbox, or that some Nigerian Bank executive has millions of dollars with your name on it - chances are equally unlikely that your chat-app usage is being monitored by the Giant Spaghetti Monster in the Sky.

Remember kids: If it smells fishy, it probably is. (Also consider washing your upper lip...)

Last night...

... it snowed! After driving home (ever so carefully), I tried parking the car in the carriage house. The angles are way too tight, though, and I'm nut sure about the car's width - so I stopped it in front of the house, as always. But at around 11PM, a city truck came down the street, honking at each intersection. It did this three times. Anticipating a Snow Route-plow (or Armageddon), I moved the car to the side street. Nobody else did anything. I'm such a sucker.

Anyhoo, come 3AM, Luscious decides to pull a Houdini, and opens the doggie-gate barring my room. I was too cold to shoo her back to their bedroom, but I did manage a peep outside. Nothing. That silly truck driver must've been drunk and joyriding.

This morning, all is covered in a thin layer of snow, and I can see my breath in my study. The wind is seriously affecting my sense of coziness...

I'm rambling, aren't I. Bugger.

Happy Thursday everyone!

And with all that editing...

I not only managed to mess up my time-line, but also forgot to take a new snap.

Snap.

Halting the project. Maybe next time?

Day 10

I'm beginning to think this was a stupid idea...

I just managed to put the dogs to sleep, and I'm not turning on any lights that could get them all excited again!

Day 9

When you leave everything to the last minute, a lot tries to slip through the cracks. Too much succeeds...

Day 8

Almost forgot!
(again)

Day 7

Day of the Epiphany ;0)
(it would appear that the time-zones are messing up the calendar correlation of my posts.)

Day 6

I honestly have no idea where the time went yesterday. Somewhere between moving boxes, unpacking, re-packing, and having tea... I totally forgot to take the daily self-snap.

How are your New Year's Resolutions or projects doing?

Bugger!

I missed a day, didn't I?

Day 4

It's getting rather cold. It seems I am going to have to bite the bullet, and acquire warmer wardrobe winners...
(Donations welcome.)

Day 3

I almost forgot... already!
Oi vey...

Day 2