MONDAY MAGIC - ANOTHER CYBER SECURITY TIP

Welcome back to Monday Magic. Today I'm offering some more Cyber Security Tips.

Previously, I posted CYBER SECURITY TIP a couple of weeks ago if you want to check it out which I advise you to do because you need to take the action it explains.

If you receive a phone call from an unknown number, do 1 of 2 things. 

1. Answer but saying nothing, and make sure there is no noise in the room, just total silence. The caller may say, "Hello, is anyone there?" Do NOT answer. Do not say, "Yes."

After a few attempts, scammers who repeatedly call your number—probably purchased from the dark web on a list of 1000's from data breaches—will assume your number is out of service or not assigned. They'll remove it from their list and move on to another potential victim.

2. Again, say nothing. Follow the silence scenario above because if you DO say something and the call is from scammers, they will record anything you say. 

If you say, "Hello, yes, I'm here or yes, I can hear you," they will use your recorded YES to "prove" you agreed to whatever scam they are trying to perpetrate.

If you follow the silence routine, you'll notice that most of these scammers ask, "Can you hear me?" They want you to say, "Yes, I can hear you." Don't be a victim. Be silent.

SCARIER SCENARIO

If you say anything—like telling them where to go or cursing or any cutting remarks—they will be recording everything you say. They end up with a recording of your voice which they can then sell to anyone or any group they want, and they'll get paid for it. Those who purchase voice recordings will then use AI to market your voice, possibly to duplicate your voice and get paid for selling it.

EVEN SCARIER SCENARIO

They may use your voice in an extortion scheme. Example? Your son receives a phone call, "Honey, don't panic, but I've been kidnapped. You've got to access our bank account and send $50,000 to this routing number. Please, if you don't, they will kill me."

The crooks have a 50-50 chance that one of your kids may have access to your bank account. (Please read my previous post with a Cyber Security Tip

How on earth do people think up these horrible things to victimize people? Don't answer any phone call if you don't recognize the number. If it's your doctor or something equally important, they will leave a message. If you choose to answer, be silent in a silent room, and listen. After a few weeks, you may notice these calls decrease enormously.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Don't be a victim. Be smart. Be safe. Contact the FBI if you receive any kind of extortion attempt.


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Time Keeps On Ticking Ticking

Lord Chesterfield famously said, "Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination: never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."

We all bemoan the lack of time to do everything we need to do and want to do, but ask yourself: how do I use my time?

Do you spend your allotted hours each day effectively or do you frivolously spend your hours in the purusit of entertainment?

 Everyone is given the same 24 hours a day. How do some people create success, prosperity, and happiness and others muddle along in a life full of discouragement?

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Success starts with attitude, desire to live full of joy, belief in oneself, and learning to use time effectively. There are a million books, classes, videos, and lectures that teach one how to harness the potential inside. Believe.


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Saturday Share - Chef Mama's Beef Stock

Who is Chef Mama? That would be my Mom who was an amazing home chef. She had family recipes, contemporary fad recipes, and cookbooks from churches as well as the most popular ones of her era.

She never watched a chef teach how to make something in a video or anything like that, but her food was amazing.

She made stock in her kitchen, and she didn't call it bone broth. It was called stock, and it smelled so good and tasted so good, you wanted to drink it.

Today, I want to tell you how she made beef stock to produce a liquid that would make gravies, sauces, and soups mouthwateringly delicious.

You'll need a roasting pan and a large stock pot or Dutch oven, and you'll need what were once called soup bones.

Mom used real beef trimmed from roasts as well as soup bones which could be bought for cents a pound. 

In today's world when short ribs cost $9.99 a pound, just look for the cheapest bone-in beef you can find. If you frequent a butcher shop, you can probably get soup bones from them.

You'll also need celery, onion, carrots, salt, and herbs. I do like my mother. When I cook with those vegetables, I wash and trim them then save the trimmings in a big container in the fridge for the sole purpose of making stock.

CHEF MAMA'S BEEF STOCK

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 pounds meaty beef bones
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 10 cups of cold tap water
  • the equivalent of 2 celery staoks, 2 carrots, 1 onion, all coarsely chopped
  • a bouquet garni which is usually a bundle of herbs placed in a cheesecloth square and tied together. Use 2 sprigs each of fresh thyme and marjoram, 6 black peppercorns, 6 sprigs fresh parsley, and  bay leaf.
  • 1 teaspoon of salt

  • Preheat oven to 350º F. (180º C.).
  •  Place the soup bones in a roasting pan and drizzle with the oil.
  • Bake for 1 hour or until the bones are well browned.
  • Remove from the oven and transfer everything to a Dutch oven or stock pot. Add the cold watr and all the other ingredients.
  • Turn the heat to high and bring everything to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered for 3-4 hours.
  • Skim any impurities that rise to the top of the simmering stock.
  • At the end of the cooking time, remove the soup bones. If there's any meat on them, reserve it for use later. Discard the bones.
  • Strain the stock throough cheesecloth or a fine sieve and discard the bouquet garni and veggies.
  • Chill at least 24 hours before using the stock.
  • Fat will accumulate on the top of the stock. You can scoop this fat off and use as you would use butter, shortening, or cooking oil. If the source of the bones was organic, this fat is very healthy. Saute vegetables in it, use to make roux, sauces, etc.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I make stock on a weekend. After it's chilled and I've removed the fat, I pour it into quart-sized freezer containers, mark the date, and stack the containers in the freezer so I'll always have this quality ingredient on hand.
 

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.


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Friday Facts About SlingWords

On April 12, 2005, I wrote and published the first post on SlingWords. It was a Japanese Proverb I learned when I lived in Japan.

Yes, I've been blogging for 21 years on SlingWords. Since that date 21 years ago, I've written and published 4,562 posts.

Wow! That even impresses me.

Once I blogged every day, but my life became so busy these last few years that I no longer had that luxury.

When I do blog, I put my best effort into the process. I do my own research, verify facts, select graphics to accompany each post, and try to make sure it's error-free.

Normally, I post this "birthday" blog on the anniversary date. This year, I've been inundated with too many projects which is why it's 2 weeks late.

Many people say blogs are dead, but I don't find that to be true. Blogging is alive and well and will continue to be so as far as I can see.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I'll keep writing and publishing SlingWords until it's no longer satisfying. That's always been my plan. Hopefully, all of you who read SlingWords will continue to do so. To me, that sounds like a win-win..


I literally wrote the book on blogging. Get BLOG OPS today on


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CYBER SECURITY TIP

In this world where Artificial Intelligence is capturing more and more of our time and attention, we are faced with puzzling questions and frightening scenarios.

How do we protect our family in a world where privacy seems to be declining?

FAMILY PASSWORD

This is something we've had in our family for a couple of decades. Create a secret password that each member of your family can remember.

If that password is ever used in what seems like ordinary conversation, it means: "I'm in trouble. Call 911. Send help."

If you receive a late night phone call from one of your kids: "Help. I've been arrested. Wire $5000.00 for an attorney to SOME WEBSITE." If the call is really from one of your kids, he would say the password to verify it's really your child.

WHY IS ALL THIS IMPORTANT?

Because we live in a world where people put their real birthdates and private information on social media. They have their phones set so they can take calls from social media followers. 

They post pictures and videos of spouses, siblings, children, and grandchildren. They log their daily movements and restaurants they frequent, vacations they take, and so much more.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

All of the above is fodder for scammers and crooks who can take those images and information and use Artificial Intellience to take advantage of you.


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Exciting New Book - Devil's Advocate - MJ Schiller

Looking for an exciting book full of passion and romance? Look no further—I've got a book for you, and it publishes today.

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE by MJ Schiller is Book #11 of the Devilish Desires Series, and it will thrill you.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The verdict’s in. He’s guilty of falling for opposing counsel.

Nick Adams doesn’t have time for the existential crisis he’s having. 

But when I wind up being charged with contempt of court and discover her at the shelter where I’m serving community service, she brings out a side of me I’ve never seen. Could this be the true Nick?

B.J. McCaffrey doesn’t form attachments with anyone. And playboy counselor Nick Adams would be the last person on the list if I did. But, then again, this isn’t exactly the Nick Adams that people have made him out to be.

Could he heal his broken heart by discovering that, despite outward appearances, she has one? One thing’s for sure. It’s hell being the DEVIL’S ADVOCATE!

LET'S READ AN EXCERPT
(Warning: Language!!! Nick's a bad boy.)

I have it all, and it means absolutely nothing to me.
I can still feel the punch to the gut that was Zack’s returning to claim Zoe, just as I was about to seal the deal and make her mine. I can still smell the exact fragrance of the air when I stepped out onto the balcony, still hear my voice as I told her, “I can be whoever you want me to be, Zoe.”

What the hell was I thinking? I wasted eight years of my life on one woman. 

A woman not unlike B.J. McCaffrey, who was sitting across from me now, acting as opposing counsel. I looked at her. As drop-dead gorgeous as she was, she was just another woman. 

“Mr. Adams? Are we boring you?”

I could hear him somewhere on the edges of my thought, but it didn’t matter to me. Change myself. For a woman. Where was my pride? Where is my pride?

“Earth to Mr. Adams.”

I turned my head slowly to face the judge. He was a prick.

“Does the accused need another lawyer? Or are you going to continue to sit there and let him destroy himself on the stand?”

I looked at my client. He didn’t even wear a tie. “Yeah. I think I am.” 

At first, I couldn’t believe the words came out of my mouth. But they felt good. Felt right, somehow. “I’m sick of working my ass off on cases and having my clients ignore everything I tell them about their demeanor on the stand.”

Judge Walters looked at my rival, B.J. McCaffrey. She shrugged. “Mr. Adams. Your job is to defend this man. Are you incapable of doing that?”

“I don’t know.”

Again, the judge and my opponent exchanged a look.

Pull it together, Nick. Find that damn pride of yours. “Wait.” My eyes ricochetted around the desk in front of me and finally fell on the yellow legal pad with my scribbled notes for the case. “I apologize, Your Honor. It’s been a rough—”

Eight years? Two months? Life?

“—day. My apologies to the court.”

“I repeat, your job is to defend this man. Are you capable of doing that?”

Damn. I just apologized. Can’t you let it go?

I didn’t have the time or patience for the existential crisis I was going through, but it would have none of it. It was bound to torture me all the same. 

Of course, the reason for it was undoubtedly her. The woman I loved—or thought I loved—was on her honeymoon with my best friend. And I was beginning to see how crazy it had been for me to wait around eight years for her. 

As a result, I was approaching thirty and still didn’t know who I was. I straightened my back. This is what Zoe had brought me to. 

“Yes, Your Honor. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not, Mr. Adams, or you won’t see the inside of my courtroom again.”

Yeah, yeah. You’re in charge, big boy. We all get it.

“Now I’m going to do you a solid, Mr. Adams. It’s late. I’m—”

He likes to use slang. He thinks it makes him look cool. I managed to roll my eyes inwardly this time.

“—going to adjourn this court until one. I suggest you take the time to pull yourself together.” He looked at my client. The rail-thin, gray-haired, unshaven man sat with his mouth hanging open like a guppy. “You can get down now.” 

The man nodded and Walters pounded his gavel. He glared at me. “The court is adjourned.”

I gathered my things, cursing quietly.

Can't wait to the end of this post to get DEVIL'S ADVOCATE? Okay, you can get it from these booksellers at Books2Read or from Amazon

But read on and let me tell you about the Author, MJ Schiller.

M.J. Schiller is a retired lunch lady/romance-romantic suspense writer. She enjoys writing novels whose characters include rock stars, desert princes, teachers, futuristic Knights, construction workers, cops, and a wide variety of others. In her mind everybody has a romance.

M.J. is the mother of a twenty-eight-year-old and three twenty-six-year-olds. That's right, triplets! So having recently taught four children to drive, she likes to escape from life on occasion by pretending to be a rock star at karaoke. However…you won’t be seeing her name on any record labels soon. 

Visit M.J. Schiller Online: 

Website: https://mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/m-j-schiller
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MJ-Schiller-Romance-Author/286382241460365
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mjschiller/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjschiller
Tumblr: http://mjschilz.tumblr.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mjschiller
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479377.M_J_Schiller
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/M-J-Schiller/e/B009JOQFQQ

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

If you're looking for a new book or a new author to you, grab a copy of DEVIL'S ADVOCATE by MJ Schiller. You'll be glad you did!
Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.


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Hang Tough

I've been coping with some challenges lately. Just thought I'd remind myself and my readers of this truth.

Sometimes, you have to look for something good when what you see and hear are bad.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Hang tough, baby. Life isn't for sissies.