Techno Troubles, Credit Card Hack

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

3/11/23

 

Aloha, Familycicles ---

 

My week has been focused on overcoming modern dependence on technology.  As I mentioned in my last email,  I've had several encounters with the not-so-convenient side of tech.

 

I'll start with the most recent one.  A week ago last Thursday we got an email from our credit card company asking if we had made a specific charge that their system had flagged as suspicious.  We hadn't, and when I checked our account online I found a few others that we hadn't made, either.  I replied "no" to the email, which immediately froze the account. The company issued new cards with a different number, supposedly to arrive "2nd Day Air," (a joke here in Hawai'i, in the same category as Amazon's "Same Day Delivery." ) This is a rewards card we use frequently, and it's tied to a number of services that are charged automatically (like monthly renewals of our internet, tv channel subscriptions, cell phone service, etc.), so we were eager to get it replaced. We have other credit card accounts, so we weren't entirely thrown into the dark ages of cash and checks, but switching would be a major inconvenience.  Anyway, on Saturday we got another email about another suspicious charge -- this one using the new number, despite the fact we hadn't yet received the cards!  I had a long chat with the security folks about how this could happen.  At first they suggested somebody here had intercepted the new cards, but I finally convinced them that they hadn't even been delivered (in fact, the cards showed up on Monday afternoon).  The new numbers were cancelled and second set of cards were sent.  The agent was puzzled but then discovered the card info had been linked to a Google Wallet (which we don't have), allowing it to be used without being physically present and which is automatically updated if the account number or expiration date changes (!).  The agent was able to shut down the link, and presumably this should take care of the problem.  It isn't clear how and when the nefarious ne'er-do-well got our credit card info. We are usually very careful with it -- we even cover our security code on the back of our cards.  However, traveling involves many times when your credit card can be out of sight for a few minutes and give some bad actor easy access to the information. Making purchases online exposes it as well, unless you use something like PayPal or a digital wallet like Google's or Apple's.  Anyway, we got the 2nd replacement cards on Wednesday and so far so good.  Geez, what a pain, however.

The other two techno-problems have been with devices.  First, about a week ago my stereo receiver (less than two years old) suddenly stopped streaming content to our t.v..  I spent several hours trying to pinpoint the problem (different cables, different t.v.'s, different ways of connecting, etc.) before concluding the problem was definitely in the receiver.  The next step was to try to get warranty repair, which likely would have involved sending the unit to some facility off-island and waiting for it to get fixed.  My techno-savvy neighbor then suggested what I should have thought of myself --- REBOOT.  This is usually my go-to first step in solving most techno-problems, but this time the receiver programming seemed like a long shot.  Well, I did the reboot and voila! Problem solved.  It may have been that during all the stormy weather we've had lately an electric surge or some lightning-produced static electricity somehow zapped the firmware code.  Anyway, except for the hours of hassle and about a week of reduced quality sound, everything is now fine.

Finally, about the same time as the receiver problem, my 3+-year-old phone developed two issues in a row.  First, the charging port went kerflooey.  I was still able to charge it wirelessly, but not with a cord, a definite inconvenience while traveling, say while on a plane. I took it to a local cell phone repair shop and got the port replaced in just a couple of hours for less than $100.  All is good, right?  No.  A couple of days later I noticed problems with some of the sounds -- incoming text notifications were no longer triggering an audible signal, and sometimes an incoming call sound starting fairly loud but then quickly became very faint.  I checked all the settings, REBOOTED, and went into the geekosphere to look for solutions.  Nada.  I took it to the repair shop and the technician verified that according to the software settings it should be working.  She also insisted that replacing the charging port couldn't have caused the sound issue.  As a last gasp effort, I did a factory reset of the phone which is more than just a reboot because it resets the phone software completely.  Still didn't help.  My solution is to get a new phone --- well, not new-new.  I've ordered a certified refurbished one that should arrive in the next few days.  This was much cheaper than buying a new pristine phone, and since it is the same model as the old one, I don't have to relearn how to use it.  If this would have happened a year or two from now I would have welcomed the chance to upgrade to the latest and greatest, but it seemed hard to justify at the present time.  Anyway, I'll keep you posted on how this works out.

Ok after this long litany of techno-woes, I will close on a more positive note.  We've had some gorgeous

Spot the Ball

weather this week, the solar pv system is really cranking, the pool temperature has become comfortable enough for us to do our daily workouts, and we were able to get in 16 holes of golf on Thursday.  Alas, the weather was far better Thursday than my performance, but it was still an enjoyable outing.

Off to market and a beach breakfast picnic.  Take care.  Praise be to the center!

Dumper, Waikablowa, "Disaster!"

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

3/4/23

Aloha Muffled and Bundled Ones --

Our weather played a pretty big part of our week here, a rarity. It began as we were finishing our picnic breakfast at Kahilu'u Beach, a couple of miles from our house. A rather ominous looking bank of black clouds moved in from the ocean, and as we were packing up it started to rain. We ran for the car parked in the nearby lot and quickly put up the convertible top, though not before the inside got a bit wet. The rain then *really* came down, and it continued all day, through the night, and a good part of Sunday -- 2.5" total. Other parts of the island got even more. Wow, what a dumper.  

The next few days were pretty good, and we made up for our two crappy days over the weekend. Until Wednesday. We drove up the coast to Waikaloa Resort where we met our Ohio Friends for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants -- Tommy Bahama. Locals have nicknamed this area "Waikablowa" because of the

Glad it fell That Way!

strong winds that frequently blow through the gap between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa from the east. The gap acts as a venturi which makes the wind pick up speed, and it can sometimes be strong enough to be damaging. These are tradewinds on steroids. The same thing happens in the channel between Hawai'i and Maui, which is notorious among boaters for the strong wind and ocean currents. Before meeting our friends we stopped at a nearby beach to do some whale watching, but we gave up because the wind was so strong. In the parking lot the wind even uprooted a tree while we were there that fortunately fell away from the cars. It wasn't windy at home when we returned about 6 because we are sheltered by our local volcano. Around midnight, however, the wind somehow found its way to our part of the coast, and for a couple of hours it howled, bringing with it about .3" of rain. It was really kind of scary at times. Our poor lanai umbrella wound up in the pool again for the second time this winter. Fortunately that was about the only damage around our house. Some big limbs in the neighborhood came down, but overall the immediate area was ok. The next morning it was still raining, and even though the wind had died down, conditions weren't favorable for wimpy golfers -- we cancelled our Thursday outing at Makalei. Things just seem to get weirder and weirder.

 

Apropos of the weather, last night we went to our community theater production of the musical "Disaster." It was a fun, over-the-top parody of disaster films, borrowing heavily from The Poseidon Adventure.  The actors did a very credible job, and about five of them had very good singing voices.  It still impresses me with how much local talent we have.

In more mundane news, I managed to get my lanai bench re-stained during a lull in the wet weather, and we managed to work out at PF on Tuesday. We had a beach picnic afterward, and again on Thursday in lieu of golf. I've also been dealing with a couple of techno-troubles, but I think I'll wait until next week to fill you in on them.

Take care. Keep that frostbite kit handy. 

Twin Snow Cones, Snoozing Volcanoes, Medication Dilemmas

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

2/25/23

Aloha Snow Shovelers!

Well,  what can I say...mainland weather in many parts of the country has been a bit of a challenge this winter, right? This past week seemed like a doozy, with record snowfalls, millions of homes without power, and transportation grinding to a halt.  And this is still February!

Our wet weather of last week continued at a lower level this week, and although it was less that ideal for

Mauna Kea Summit

us, our "problems" pale in comparison to those of the mainland.  All the moisture brought more snow to the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa -- very picturesque when viewed from one of our beaches. Some winters we see only a brief dusting of snow on Mauna Kea and nothing at all for Mauna Loa, but this year we've had quite a bit of snow on both, and it has stayed put for a couple of months now.

Mauna Loa Summit

Speaking of volcanoes, Kilauea is currently taking a nap.  This started about a week ago, when the gushing at the summit slowed and now has stopped completely.  Not good for

tourists, but excellent for our air quality.  It isn't clear how long this pause will last, but it is almost certainly only temporary.  Kilauea has been erupting more or less continuously for tens of thousands of years.  In fact, the latest reports are that the volcano is "inflating," based on sensitive measurements that the volcanologists track. This indicates an intrusion of lava into the cracks and crannies of the volcano's structure that usually predicts eruptive activity, along with an increase in small earthquakes produced as the lava moves upward in the main channels.  Geez I love this volcanology stuff!

I started using the steroid cream for my leg thingy, but stopped when I read the package insert that warned of glaucoma and cataracts as possible side effects.  It turns out that steroids can raise eye pressure, something that is definitely bad, particularly for someone like me who already has glaucoma.  Hmmmm.  Let's consider this -- a choice between smooth skin or eyesight. My dermatologist hadn't known of my glaucoma when she prescribed the cream, and to be fair the amount I'm using is quite small and only for a short time, so even if she had known she might have still recommended it.  Anyway, I'm going to delay using the cream until next week, which will be closer to my next appointment with my Eye Guy.  That way if my pressures increase we'll know it fairly quickly and can either stop the cream or increase my eye drops.  Medication issues are definitely a geezer preoccupation.  Isn't this fun??!!

Karen and I worked out at PF on Tuesday and played golf on Thursday, though we got rained out after 11 holes.  A puzzle this week was the return of the Nenes.  We saw about 25 of them, including two sets of three large babies.  We had thought the Nenes had left after a couple of weeks without seeing any, but apparently they decided to return, and it isn't clear why.  Anyway, it was good to see them, and particularly to see more babies.

Unfortunately for our exercise routine, the pool temp is still recovering from last week's rain and cloudiness and has been below our acceptable level.  Hopefully it will climb back enough in a day or two to allow our daily water exercise.

Ok, that's it.  Off to market and to the beach.  Stay warm, keep shoveling, don't listen to the crazies.

Superbowl Road Trip, Valentine Tacos, Leg Slices

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

2/18/23

Aloha Snow Bunnies!

This was an "interesting" week.  It started with Super Bowl Sunday, of course -- the most mega, most lollapalooza-ish, hugest, most gargantuan, superduperist football game in the history of the universe.  I didn't watch a minute of it. Well, except for some of the commercials, which I saw on YouTube.  I really think this game is over-hyped in an already over-hyped sport, and I have very little interest in who wins.  Don't get me wrong -- I do like certain team sports and several individual sports, too.  But professional American football is just not for me.

Instead of being glued to our t.v., we drove up to Waimea and enjoyed a very nice late lunch with friends from Ohio (now living in Wisconsin) and their daughter, who is a teacher at the Hawai'i Preparatory Academy.  Her parents are visiting for most of the winter, staying in her apartment on campus.  One of the best things about driving to Waimea was that there was almost NO traffic. If we hadn't joined them for lunch, our usual SB Sunday activity is to go to Costco -- no lines at the checkout!

Next up was Valentine's Day.  I kept it low key this year by treating Karen to a session at Planet Fitness followed by a romantic lunch at .... Taco Bell.  Hey, do I know how to charm the ladies, or what?!

On Wednesday I went to my dermatologist for my yearly checkup. Overall things were good, except for the thing that is growing on my thigh.  It has been removed twice, and each time it's come back bigger and badder.  The second time it was removed the biopsy identified it as a squamous cell carcinoma. The treatment (removal, plus cauterizing and scraping) often takes care of this type of nasty, but it seemed like it came back again.  However, the dermatologist (actually, her PA) was puzzled this time because it didn't fit the usual characteristics of squamous cell carcinoma.  She took a sample and sent it for analysis.   She called yesterday afternoon with the biopsy results, which identified it as non-malignant (whew!) "somethingsomethingsomethingelse hypersensitive tissue" where the tumor was removed.  The treatment is to apply a special steroid cream and cover the spot for two weeks to get it to heal properly.  If that doesn't work we'll hit it with a steroid injection.  Hmmmm..... Then I suppose they'll amputate.  Remember, this all began just to remove a wart that was kind of a nuisance.

Caught in the Middle

 We were scheduled to play golf on Thursday at Makalei but we canceled at the last minute because of a big storm that dumped rain on most of the state.  This continued into Friday and even this morning, to the delight of the coqui frogs.  From the radar picture on Thursday we might have been able to get in a few holes before getting drenched, but it didn't seem worth it.  Of course,  wimping out certainly isn't in the original spirit of the game, which was invented in cold, wet, and windy Scotland!  Don't care.  I'm definitely a fair-weather golfer.

My intention of continuing some painting projects was partially realized before the rains came.  Paint on the concrete block foundation in the front had bubbled and blistered, so I scraped all the loose stuff off, then primed it with a high-quality undercoat that should help the paint adhere better, then repainted.  It certainly looks better and should last longer.  When the weather cooperates I've got a wooden bench that needs re-staining and some sections of our lanai railings that need repainting, plus it's time to recoat our driveway.  I do this every 3-5 years with a special concrete paint that not only makes the driveway look nice, it keeps down the mold and mildew that used to form on it.  This isn't as big a job as it sounds because I get my handyman to help and we use long rollers that makes it go fast.  The hardest part is pressure washing the driveway first, then getting the paint on before the birds poop on it.

Ok, that's the weekly report.  Take care.  Only a couple more months of this fun winter weather to go!

Painting Pau, Back to Splashing & Ball Whacking

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

2/11/23

Aloha Everyone!

As your mainland winter lurches on with its Atmospheric Rivers, Cyclone Bombs, and Polar Vortex's, the weather here has been sunnier and drier, so the pool solar heating system has been able to get the water back up to a reasonable temperature.  We've been able to do our daily workouts several times this week, and after the initial shock when you first get in, it hasn't been too bad. The vog has been much better, too.  The volcano is still spewing, but the trade winds have returned and strengthened enough so that the volcanic gasses are blown farther eastward before the wind turns to the north, and this extra distance keeps it from getting trapped along our coast.  If you want to see the peculiar pattern of our winds, here's a link to an interesting website: https://www.windy.com/19.642/-155.997?19.051,-155.997,8 . 

I finished re-staining the lanai around our upper guest quarters.  It looks much better, though it's one of those projects where the successful outcome is just the disappearance of a problem -- if you didn't see it before you wouldn't notice anything.  Anyway, the project is done and now I'm going to move on to some other painting that is due -- house maintenance never ends.  Oh, one problem that may have taken care of itself is the solar lighting on the umbrella that blew into the pool.  I thought I was going to have to buy a replacement solar panel/battery for it, but it suddenly has begun working again. This isn't a sure thing, though, because after an initial return the lights futzed out for a day, but then came back and so far have stayed ok.  I'm hoping it was simply a matter of drying out slowly and now it is back to normal. I sure like it when things fix themselves.

I may have mentioned that our house is adjacent on one side to an undeveloped strip of land.  This attracts a number of animals and birds, including the endangered Hawaiian owl (the Pueo), and

Picking Breakfast

the endangered Hawaiian Hawk (the Io).  Both are endemic to Hawai'i, and it is quite a treat to see them flying over our neighborhood.  There aren't too many small mammals for them to prey on (remember, there were no mice or rats here until humans arrived), and their primary source of food is other birds.  They've both become rather fond of the introduced doves that are abundant in the area.  The other morning we saw an Io perched on the street power line as we went on our daily walk around the neighborhood.  He was surveying a grand buffet of doves in a driveway where a woman feeds them.  She's managed to attract at least 100 daily freeloaders, much to the delight of the hawk, I'm sure.  In other environments there are natural controls on the numbers of doves, but not here.  The native hawk is actually serving to help control an introduced species in this case.

On Wednesday we attended a memorial service for the husband of a woman who is a member of a women's club that Karen also belongs to.  He was quite a guy, and we both liked him very much.  He was quiet and unassuming, yet he had a remarkable history.  He was a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War until his plane crashed and he spent a year in the hospital recovering from burns and other injuries. His flying career was over, of course, but he continued in the Navy as an intelligence officer in the NCIS.  Although he suffered from dementia at the end, he remained pleasant and upbeat.  Sure seems to be a lot of this dying stuff going on lately.......

Karen and I played 18 holes at Makalei on Thursday.  I did ok again, getting a couple of bogeys and a par, and once again I had some rather nice shots, though rarely on the same hole. We did manage to finish all 18 holes, but the last few were a real challenge --when you're a duffer, you work much harder and it takes longer.  My reward afterward was a dip in the pool, a nap, and a beer. We saw only peacocks this time.  The Nenes have migrated to someplace else on the island.  They don't do any long distance migrating like the mainland variety of geese -- they know a good thing when they see it. 

Ok, that's it for this week.  Take care.  Stay warm. Stay safe. Stay happy.

Big Blow, Eyeball, Painting

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

2/4/23

Aloha Peoplecicles!

Guarding against frostbite, I hope?  I seem to remember that's a condition where the skin freezes when exposed to below-zero temperatures, right?  Gosh, that sounds bad......

We did have a bit of inclement weather here that was kind of exciting for a short while.  Last Saturday afternoon we had thunder, lightning, and about an inch of rain.  By itself, this isn't that big a deal, but

Taking a Dip

this was all at once and was accompanied by some rather scary gusts of wind, one them lifting one of our pool lanai umbrellas and dropping it in the pool.  The rain overwhelmed the drain that runs along the front of our garage door and we almost had a second swimming pool in the garage for a while.  Fortunately it settled down to just light rain and then cloudy skies all day Sunday.  It took a little work to get everything cleaned up, and I'm afraid the dunk in the pool shorted out the solar light system on the umbrella.  And the cloudy weather dropped the pool temperature to near freezing, to the point that we've not been in much this week.

The storm did have one upside, though -- it temporarily got rid of our vog for a few days. It's starting to build back up now, but so far it isn't too bad. By the way, the eruption at the summit of Kilauea is continuing, with a short pause a couple of days ago.  There's a 25-acre lava lake inside the summit caldera, and one "fountain" that's more like a gusher.  You can see a live video of the action here:  https://www.youtube.com/usgs/live .

My eye exam last Saturday went very well.  The all-important scan showed no edema buildup at all -- nada, zip, zero.  Very good news indeed.  My next appointment will be in 6 weeks,  almost 4 months (!) since my last injection.  My eyeball is loving not being jabbed as often.

I did two PF workouts this week -- Karen and I went on Monday, and I went again on Thursday while she played golf.  My muscles seem to be getting resigned to the effort, because it seemed considerably easier on Thursday.

Also on Thursday I re-stained our breezeway lanai.  This is a wood surface that connects the main house with our separate guest quarters and the lanai that goes around the upper one.  It's been quite some time since I last did this, and it now looks *much* better.  I use a solid stain that is kind of a grey color.  It's sort of like paint but is easier to work with and lasts about the same.  Naturally, this will now lead to another project, because the new color is noticeably brighter and more grey and draws unfavorable attention to the rest of the lanai.  In other words, I'll be re-staining the whole thing so it all matches.  I admit, though, that I haven't had to do much painting lately, so I guess it's time to start it all over again.

The concert last Saturday night in Waimea was terrific. The choreography was inventive and mesmerizing, and the young dancers showed great finesse and athleticism.  As I said last week, the group (Giordano) is a well-known and highly respected troupe based in Chicago, and I'm sure they were very happy to be here rather than there for a while.  Plus, they were put up at the Hapuna Prince, one of the fancy resorts up north.  Not a bad gig!

Ok, that's about it for this week.  Off for the usual round of market, beach breakfast, and errands in town.  Take care, stay warm, be safe.

Sofa No Mo', Lava Golf, Sad News

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

1/28/23

Aloha Snow Bunnies!

I see on my weather reports that the mainland is continuing its wintertime fun.  Here, the storms far to our northwest have sent us a lot of high surf, much to the delight of the expert surfers who ride the really big waves on the north shore of Oahu during this season.  We call them "Eddy" waves in honor of  renown Hawaiian surfer Eddy Aikau who would fearlessly tackle the biggest of them. The popular phrase "Eddy Would Go" refers to surfing conditions that require both skill and courage.  Personally, I have neither when it comes to a giant 20-30 foot wave about to crash down on me.

On Monday we got rid of our old sofa downstairs that I talked about last week. This was no small feat because it was heavy and had to be wrestled up a narrow flight of outside stairs to the driveway. Two of our gardener's helpers managed it without any obvious injuries. We were glad to finally have this project done.  There are a few other pieces of furniture down there that we'd also like to replace, but they aren't as high priority as this one.  The new sofa looks great it is actually pretty comfy.  I haven't yet given it the nap test, though.

On Wednesday night we received news that yet another dear friend passed away.  He had recently retired from Miami and he and his wife had just moved to Seattle.  He had heart problems that ultimately led to complications from recent emergency surgery.  They had visited us a couple of times here, and we were good friends back in Ohio.  He was one of the brightest people I've ever known, and also was a very talented operatic singer. Truly a sad event.

Karen and I managed a workout on Tuesday and 14 holes of golf on Thursday.  The first 6-7 holes were

Seriously?!

very good for me, much better than my last outing.  Then it started to slip, and all those extra strokes on the next set of holes wore me out.  Still, I got a par, a bogie, and had some rather impressive shots and putts.  As long as I focus on the positive I can convince myself to keep playing.  We didn't see *any* baby Nenes or Peacocks, so it is definitely a low year.  Last season was very good, though, so maybe this is just temporary.  There has been a lot of maintenance along the edges of the course fairways this year,  and I wonder if that didn't disturb the usual nesting sites.

Yesterday Karen went to her foot doctor for an assessment of how her ankle is progressing.  The verdict is that she doesn't need to wear her foot brace all the time now.  She should continue to improve, though age will slow the process.  Ironic, isn't it that healing takes longer when your "longer" is in shorter supply.

Later this morning I'll be seeing my eye doctor again. It's been 2 1/2 months since my last injection, which is getting close to a record.  I can't really detect a big downturn, but if there is even a hint of edema building again, I'll opt for the shot.  If there isn't any new buildup, then I'll definitely be going for a new record between shots, because I'll probably have another exam in 4-6 weeks, which would make the interval between shots 3-3 1/2 months.  Whoopee!

This evening we're driving up to Waimea to see a performance by the Giordano Dance Company from Chicago.  This is modern jazz-ballet group that is excellent.  We've seen them before and we're looking forward to the performance.  The event is at the Kahilu Theater, a very nice venue in Waimea that holds about 250 people and has state-of-the-art equipment.  It takes about an hour to drive up there, though, and so we have a pretty high threshold for deciding when to go.  This performance should definitely be worth it.

Ok, off to market and our beach breakfast picnic.  Stay warm. Stay positive. Don't let the crazies get to you.