You wouldn’t know it by the number of fake phone calls I get, but I am on the “Do Not Call” list.
In the course of a day, I average a dozen bogus solicitations from ne’er-do-wells of every stripe; credit card flim-flam men to fake IRS agents. Because of caller ID, I usually avoid the interactions. Usually, but not always…
A heavily accented voice came through the speaker,
“Hello, this is tech support. We’re calling about problems we have noticed on your computer.”
I knew where this was headed but was suffering from writer’s block and needed a distraction.
Plus, I figured if they were going to waste my time, turnabout is fair play.
He continued, “Is this the owner of the computer we have on file?”
“I don’t know,” replied I, “Where would I find your records so I can tell you if I am that person?”
“You don’t have them. We do.”
“Oh, so how would I know if I’m the owner of the computer you have on file?”
Sighing, “Um, never mind. We are calling from vendor.”
I got that he was saying “vendor” but his accent was so think, it came across as “vindoer,” plus he omitted the word “the,” giving me my opening.
“Is Vindoer in Europe?” [Read more…]
There was a cosmic event this week. For the first time in about 400 years, there was a full lunar eclipse on the Winter Solstice. If you were crazy enough (like me), you went outside around midnight and stared up at the moon, which was glowing with a faint reddish tint. (What was really a cosmic event was that it was clear enough on the Northcoast to actually see the moon!)