Microsoft Tech Support Scam

When someone calls with private, unavailable, and numbers that I don't recognize, I don't answer it. I let the caller to leave voicemail and contact info. I have seen "Unavailable" and "69616" on my phone a few times in the past, which I didn't answer. I've been kind of curious and answered this time.

The caller with very strong Indian accent and un-understandable English claims to be a Microsoft tech support technician. He states that my computer has been affected with deadly virus. I keep telling him that I can't understand you or he needs to say that again. He seems to agitated easily. He finally transfer to another associate. Once again, he also has strong Indian accent, but understandable. He introduces himself as "Taylor Reed." Stupid me, I allow him to remote access my computer. At the same time, I think to myself, "What kind of Indian guy would have an American/English first and last name?" He proceeds with showing what is wrong and the prices of fixing my computer. Then my second though, "Wait a minute. Windows 10 is about to be out soon. Why should I hand my $$ to him for an almost outdated operating system?" I tell associate, "This is a lot of $$. I can't afford that right now." He continues to push for the sale. I hang up the phone on him. Due to some certain safety concerns, I reset my laptop. After all these process, I think to myself, "When purchasing products like a computer, the warranty or the like should be offered at the point of sales by the store associates. Not a year after you purchase the product. It just doesn't make sense. I'm glad that I didn't bite into it."

Have I mentioned that both associates have been angrily pushy and easily angered this whole time? To me, this is another red flag. Being in the retail long enough, being this way to customers is a big no-no. They surely aren't that bright when it comes to customer services. I'm not sure why some people are not bright enough to figure this one out.

By the way, there are a lot information on Microsoft tech support scams. This is just my personal experience. If you get the call, stay calm, ask for their names, position with the company, phone number, and other contact information. After hanging up, please contact the local authority, FBI, and Microsoft.

Delete Facebook

I didn't feel comfortable of having/using my FaceBook account. I needed to deactivate it. I looked around and deactivated it. It didn't work because I accidentally logged in a couple times. One of the problems I had about deactivating was that "Deactivate" couldn't be found under Security after a couple times of deactivating. I realized that deleting the account had to be done.

Deactivating the account is easy, so I won't go into the detail about it. Through Google, here is the link to delete the account:
https://www.facebook.com/login.php?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Flogin%2Freauth.php%3Fnext%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.facebook.com%252Fhelp%252Fdelete_account

MacBook Air

I got a hand-me down Macbook Air about a month ago. I didn't have the time to use it. I just thought, "Eh, just another Apple product." I finally got some time and borrowed a book from the local library on MacBook.
My first impression was it was slim, compact, light weight, and easy to carry. The screen quality was pretty good for its compact size. The speakers were hidden underneath the keyboard, and delivered awesome sound. Wifi connection made this even easier to work with. The book from the library made the transition from PC to MacBook much easier.
After about two weeks of using the MacBook Air, I'm really impressed with the quality, ease of use, and the speed. The OS 10.10 Yosemite is reliable, unlike PC. On the top of that, the battery life is pretty good. The only thing I dislike is that the commands on the keyboard is bit complicated and confusing. I simply just the mouse keypad to navigate around, like many people would.

For this?

Generally speaking, Marshall is a good place to find household items, clothes, shoes, & cookwares. I have visited a local Marshall yester and found this cast iron cookware. It is not a brand name, but made in France. This sales red tag asks for $99, plus tax. I think to myself, "My new Le Creuset is exactly the same in different color, but I got it for about $40 with tax included. Why would I pay $99 for this, before tax?" And no, this particular cookware is NOT in my collection. I'll let someone else to take it home and baby it.

Let's cut though the chase. William-Sonoma has special sales on cookwares (especially Le Creuset) and certain merchandise after a period of time, depending on the company's decision. They replace the original price stickers to the new ones.The new sales sticker shows the original and sales prices. The special discount on the sale items are not always marketed. Ask for the price check wouldn't hurt. You just have to have patient for it, or are not in hurry to buy new cookwares.

Just a few things I would not buy from high end cookware stores at all. Anything from Lodge is top one, except a few specialty items. The quality is pretty much the same all across the board. Local grocery stores sell them way cheaper, but don't expect any sales on them though. Wok is number two. I've fallen for it, but I learned my lesson. At the same time, William-Sonoma wants $30 for it now, while I got my mine for $20. Woks from Asian markets are more authentic, with more options to choose from. You just have to pick your battles.

Don't or Do?

Do not boil water in the cast iron cookwares. Repeat. Do not boil water in cast iron. Boiling water in it would take away the seasoning. Unless it has some hard to remove food residues, is well seasoned, or enameled.

I"ve bought a new 10" Lodge cast iron skillet from Target about 9 months ago. It is my 2nd one. Why did I buy it? The finish is better, smoother, slightly rounder around the edges, and no grind marks by the "D" handle. At the time, that kind of quality was, still is, rare to find from Lodge lately in the past 4 1/2 years. I am still happy with the purchase. My first 10" is all the way in Taiwan with my dad. I simply want him to have a well seasoned cast iron skillet to show off his culinary skills.

I have visited a few stores that sell Lodge cast iron skillets in the past 4 years, in my area. Majority of them have machine grind marks by the "D" handles, on either side. The surface is also rougher. When I see that, it just means that the quality is not important. Lodge does not seem to care about keeping up with the quality anymore. More profit, the merrier. I, personally. dislike the grind marks and rough surfaces.

For those who read this post, the cast iron get better with age, with proper care. I do not possess the experience, nor the knowledge, to compare among the antique cast irons. I only compare my current Lodge cookwares to other Lodge cast irons from the stores. I only simply share my experience here, so that people can be better educated with their decisions.
Here is a picture of the grind mark