Computer Virus and Trojan Stuff; Pension Decrease; Stuff we may have learned in 2016

Getting colder.

Computer Stuff

Quite a last few days!  Because I keep getting "virus alerts" and requests to dial 800 numbers, I figured that these "alerts" were scams, especially since the requests came from"Microsoft" one day, and "Google" another, and also when I read one of the popups that said: "You has a virus."

So, I purchased the old "tried and true" virus protection from McAFEE.  When I tried to install it, I was unable to do so.  I called "support" and after they did some fancy scanning work, they found what looked like thousands of virus and trojan files on my computer.  I gave them permission to fix my PC and get rid of these nuisances.  It took about 5 hours until Max and Sam (actually Indians) got every thing fixed up on my main PC... now I will do the same on my other computers.  It cost me $299, but it is supposed to get me protection "forever."  Actually, it is probably only for one year.  We'll see.

Even though things are supposed to be fixed, I just experienced another "Microsoft Virus Pop Up" when I tried to get to this site using Explorer.  Finally, I just used Chrome instead.  Oy!

Pension Increase?

Wow!  A .003% increase.  (that's not three %).. To offset that small increase, Medicare costs increased over $100 a month... and for January, the pension folks tagged me for almost $900 because I apparently didn't pay enough each month in 2016.  I wonder where the "poor house" is in Carroll County.  ..... But, seriously, what do poor people do?

Brain Expansion?

The New Years edition of the New York Times listed 45 things that you might have learned from them during 2016.  Here are the ones that "grabbed" me:

01.  "One minute of all-out exercise may provide the benefits of 45 minutes of moderate exertion."

(Will this revolutionize the way we keep in shape?)

02,  A new building on Manhattan's Upper West Side pipes a perfume called Ocean Mist through its ductwork.

(Now we have Musak for the nostrils.)

03. "Deep in our solar system's outer reaches, there could be a hidden planet."

(See, I told you so!)

04.   "Death from gun homicide in the U.S. is as common as dying in a car accident.  In Japan, it's as rare as a fatal lightning strike."

(Elaine says that the Government should ration and control ammunition.)

05.  "Meditation can change  your brain."

(Why do I want to change my brain?  I'm a Mensan, for goodness sakes..)

By the way, remember what fellow Mensan, Isaac Asimov said: "Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to us who do."

06.  Giraffes are four species, not one.

("How can you tell?" asks Paula Poundstone)

07.  "The Greenland shark lives at least 272 years, and it could live as long as 512 years."

What about Loan Sharks?


08.  The Bramble Cay melomys is the first mammal to go extinct because of human-caused climate change."

(Are you listening, Mr. Trump?)

09.  "No one really knows what's buried under the streets of New York until it's time to dig."

(I recently purchased two books about the hidden world under the streets of a couple of big cities.. namely New York and Boston.  The Boston book was wonderful.  It chronicled the Boston Subway.  The New York book was horrible.  It just showed pictures of graffiti painted on the walls of abandoned Subway tunnels.)

Now... are you smarter?
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