Archive for November, 2006
November 4, 2006 at 10:06 am · Filed under Uncategorized
The Disney park experience is different for everyone. For us, it was a nice day of riding and munching, with short lines and exotic foods.
After a few morning thrill rides, we wandered through the World Showcase sampling the treats available from each country, which run from $1.25 to $6.50 each (mostly $3). The little portions they serve at each food kiosk seem very small for the price, and I suppose they are, but after just a few we were all feeling full and thus the total expenditure was not bad. According to the express checkout invoice that appeared on our doorstep this morning, we spent about $78 for the day, to thoroughly stuff the three of us for lunch and dinner. By Disney standards, that’s a cheap day.
Today’s photos are by Brett.
Emma participates in a ceremony at the American pavilion
We didn’t get back until 10 pm, completely exhausted except for Brett (who never stops), and so this morning things will go more slowly. Brett and Lori are heading to Universal for the day, and we are going to Haines City where we will courtesy-park at the home of our friends Wendimere (The Health Chic) and Bill, who we last saw in Aurora CO and Yellowstone.
Yesterday was a splurge day financially, but not a problem for our budget given the savings afforded us by traveling in the Airstream. It really is cheaper than staying home. Thanks to the generosity of our friends who offer courtesy parking, and a little effort to seek out campground bargains, we are well below the budget we lived on last year. I’m hoping to keep it that way for the remainder of the winter.
November 4, 2006 at 9:40 am · Filed under The scam
Our scammer is squirming under the pressure of Ayre’s relentless Aunt Abel Avion:
——
From: richard williams
Subject: RE: PAYMENT CONFIRMATION AND SHIPPING ARRANGEMENTS
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2006 07:49:07 -0800 (PST)
hello,
what do you mean by that?i am richard williams and my
accounttant sent the check so why are you asking me
all those questions,pls let me hear from Ayer and let
him tell me whats going on.
——
And Aunt Abel replies:
WHERE IS THE CHECK? It has not arrived. Tell your accountant to track the UPS shipment. It is lost. Send another check or I’m calling off this deal.
Abel Avion
PS: Ayres is still in the hospital and not doing well. Dr. Valterra says he needs enzyme treatments, and Dr Byam says he may have to be caravanned over to the Blooberray Regional Medical Center.
November 3, 2006 at 8:25 am · Filed under Places to go
Yesterday we bid adieu to our new friends, Steve, Misty, and Brianna. We spent a lot of time with them in the past few days, and it was great. We had an enormous amount in common, just as we did when we met Bobby, Danine, and Elise in Virginia. We may see them again tonight if they drop in on Ft Wilderness, or maybe as we pass by their home on the Florida panhandle in December.
Ft Wilderness is one of the nicest commercial campgrounds you can visit — it’s Disney, after all. From check-in to check-out, the experience is superb and convenient. It’s not overly “Disnified” with little Mickeys hanging from every tree, but there are free movies and sing-alongs every night, along with a full page of other amenities and programs.
Our friend Brett, and his sister Lori, pulled in a few hours after we did. Lori flew in from Colorado and they are parked right next to us in Brett’s Argosy 28 motorhome. The plan is to spend all day together chowing down at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival (and riding plenty of rides, as Emma has reminded us).
Halloween dogs, from St Augustine. Click for larger
My latest bedside reading comes courtesy of Bobby (of Virginia), who gave me a couple of books he’d recently read. I just finished “The Professor and the Madman“, which is a fascinating account of the life of the major contributor to the original Oxford English Dictionary — who just happened to be insane and committed for life to a facility in England for having murdered someone. It’s also an interesting account of how the Oxford English Dictionary was made. It might sound like hearing about paint drying, but actually it is quite good. The creation of the OED (the first ever comprehensive English dictionary) was a massive project that took about 80 years and was done with 19th century technology. Reading it, I am reminded of how relatively easy it is to produce an 80 page magazine using computers …
November 3, 2006 at 8:09 am · Filed under The scam
Our scammer(s) are getting tangled up in their own web of lies. A couple of days ago I received another notice from another shipping company. The first one, as you may recall, was supposedly from Cosco Shipping Lines. Here’s the second one:
——
Hello Ayers Reem,
How are you doing today..this is calvary shipping kompany.we represent Dr williams in shipping of his goods he buy in abroad..we will like to confirm if this name is you real name and your contact address.writting below..
Ayres T Reem
[address deleted]
If this is your full info kindly email us back to let us no so will can come over to your location and have the items ship to his client.
Also Dr williams said you are the one that will send us our payment..so will we also like to comfirm that from you .so will can send you the information you will use in sending the money to us via..westernunion money transfer.
will be expecting your reply soon.
regards,
MANAGEMENT.
Low, Low, Low Rates! Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s cheap PC-to-Phone call rates.
——
Wow, that’s believable … NOT! (“shipping kompany”?)
However, we got an interesting break. UPS managed to lose the package with the second check! As of this morning it has not been delivered and UPS cannot account for it on their tracking page. It was last seen in Louisville three days ago. Plus, our scammer is getting nervy again by threatening the Feds. So Ayre’s aunt took the opportunity to push back a little:
This Ayres’ Aunt Abel again … I am very concerned. I just found out that the first check you sent him wasn’t good, and today checked UPS and found that the second check you keep promising is “missing”. That’s what UPS said when I tracked the number you sent. Are you going to send a check or not?
And Ayre’s cousin says someone has been sending him messages threatening to talk to the FBI and CIA about this. Who is Johnson Cole? Who is Velecia Farmer? Who is John Kinsey? You need to decide where the money is supposed to be sent because I can’t tell from all the names you have sent, and I am supposed to help Ayres sell his car while he is in the hospital.
But first tell me where the check is. It has not been delivered and if you don’t send a check right away I’m going to tell Ayres to sell his car to someone else.
Let’s see if we can get the scammer to send a third check at his expense!
November 2, 2006 at 8:57 am · Filed under Uncategorized
One of the perils of living in a Florida State Park: the dreaded affliction, “Lizard Butt”.
Another odd thing that roamed by today: the “Cruzin’ Cooler“. David Young, a dealer in these things, whipped by at about 13 MPH riding atop his electric cooler, towing a trailer with his dog!
I can’t think of a good reason I need to go 13 MPH in a campground on my cooler, but perhaps you can. If you do, a 500-watt battery powered Cruzin Cooler will cost you $349.
For our part, we will be pulling our cooler (a Dometic refrigerator installed in the Airstream) at about 65 MPH down to Kissimmee, where we have a reservation at Fort Wilderness.
November 2, 2006 at 8:44 am · Filed under The scam
I am getting the sense that the scammer is more than one person. The message always follows a certain format but the spelling and grammar vary dramatically. I wonder if there is a sort of team out there (similar to a customer service phone bank) handling these inquiries in a team fashion. If so, this would certainly be worthy of Federal investigation since it would cross state lines and involve large sums of money in aggregate.
Today the scammer threatens us with the FBI and CIA. We’ve also gotten another new name in the game, “Johnson Cole”.
—–
Hello,
AM johnson cole..am the remitter to issued out payment for the items you want to sell for Dr williams…i really want to confirmed if payment have been recieve..and i want to know the update of this payment…if you have cash it …and send the remaining balance to the mover….who are to handle the pickup of the items am paying for..kindly please get me updated of the following listed below
[usual blah blah blah deleted here]
I would be glad to read from you ….cuz there is something going on in which am asking this…and this have been in care of the FBI and the CIA…in hwihc they as me to confirm this first from you before they start there own personal investigation..kindly give and update about this..
Regards
JOHNSON COLE…
Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.
——
Note to scammers: It really doesn’t lend credibility (if you are pretending to be a shipping company) to have a Yahoo or Hotmail email address which puts a little ad line at the bottom of every email.
So much for Mr. Nice Guy of yesterday, who was so concerned about Ayres’ health. I think his bauxitis is about to take a massive turn for the worse. Our response:
This is Ayres’ aunt. My name is Abel Avion. Ayres is still in the hospital and very sick. We are worried about him. The doctors say he has more than Bauxitis, he has Monocoque too. They think he may be oxidizing. He will be in the hospital for a few more days at least while they treat him. He is on massive doses of nuvite but so far still feels dull and listless.
He told me he was expecting a check from you and asked me to watch for it, but I have not seen it yet. When it comes I will try to get it cashed for him and follow your instructions.
Abel Avion
November 1, 2006 at 12:35 pm · Filed under The scam
Our scammer is back, with a completely different attitude and some new information:
—–
hello,
how are you and your family?Hope cool?Sorry for the
long silence,it was due to my job type and i got a
message from my courier that the check was delayed for
security reasons.My accountant contacted me today with
the tracking number of the check sent via ups
(Tracking number#1Z224R840192210258)The check should
get to you today or tomorrow,so i urge that you get
check cash and send the overpayment of $2,000 via
western union money transfer as stated earlier to my
mover who will come for the shipping/moving of the
item as soon as he gets the money.This is the
information needed to send the money via western union
money transfer
John Kinsey
302 ash dr,
baxter,
TN 38544,
U.S.A .
Kindly get back to me with the senders full name and
address,MTCN#, and exact amount sent.
You are to send a Total sum of $1,800 and the $200
excess fund is to be used as western union charges
and you keep the change for the stress i mhave put you
through.
My mover/shipper will contact you as soon as
possible.Looking forward to doing more business with
you in the nearest future.
Thanks and have a wonderful day.
—–
“Have a wonderful day”? Concern for the family? “Keep the change for the stress …”? Wow, such a change from “I will invite the appropriate authorities” a couple of weeks ago. Is our scammer going soft on us?
But most interesting is that the latest UPS package is coming from Cookville, TN and the funds recipient has changed to John Kinsey, also of Tennessee. Unlike Velecia Farmer of Hampton, VA (our last funds recipient), Mr. John Kinsey appears to be a real person. He has a phone number in that name at that address. But I can’t say if he really sent this latest fake check or if he is just being used. I’m tempted to give him a call, but what would I say? “Are you a lying miserable scammer or just an innocent victim?”
Google Earth users can see his suburban location in Tennessee here, but unfortunately Google Earth doesn’t seem to have sufficient resolution in that area to actually see the house.
So we’ll wait for the latest fake check to show up, and scan it for your viewing pleasure. Then Ayres will have his chance to make mischief …
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