Security

"The ultimate security is your understanding of reality." -H. Stanley Judd

With all of the technology that exists in this world, it has become a bit easier for those that wish to do us harm. There will be those that wish to take from us our money, the base reason that identify theft exists. It isn't about becoming you because they like your name or your life. It is the money that they want to extract from your life before moving on to their next victim.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that identity theft happens to nearly 10 million U.S. consumers annually. Nearly 4.6% of us report each year having been a victim of this crime. This happens either by new credit cards being opened under your name or thieves gaining access to existing accounts.

So how can you protect yourself? In a recent State Farm mailing, they reported that many experts agree the following tips will help you guard against identify theft.

- Promptly remove mail from your mailbox.
- Never leave receipts at bank machines, bank counters, public trash cans or unattended gasoline pumps.
- Shred pre-approved credit card offers before discarding them.
- When making an ATM transaction, block the screen and keyboard with your body.
- Memorize your Social Security number and all of your passwords. Do not record them on any cards or on items in your purse or wallet.
- When writing a check for a credit card payment, do not write the entire account number on the check. Instead, use just the last four numbers.
- Never have your Social Security number printed on your checks.
- If your credit cards are stolen, immediately call the three credit bureaus (listed below) and request that a "fraud alert" be placed on your name and Social Security number.

Equifax: 800-685-1111
Experian: 800-682-7654
Trans Union: 800-916-8800

- If your credit or bank cards are stolen or you believe they have been tampered with, contact your financial institution immediately (so know their number).
- Immediately file a police report in the jurisdiction where your credit and bank cards were stolen. Request a copy of the report in case you later need proof of the crime for your credit card company.

Technology is here and there are people out there that will try to use it to harm you. Just embrace the technology and learn how to protect yourself. Use technology to your advantage.

Celebrating Labor Day; Celebrating Life

"If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend." -Doug Larson

We just completed a three day weekend, which is an end to the summer holiday season here in the United States. Jerry Lewis and his 43rd Annual Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon raised $65 million dollars. A hurricane, Gustav made land fall just west of New Orleans along the United States Gulf Coast region.

So many people out travelling, visiting friends, attending weddings; a full three days for everyone. We move on now to fall activities with eager anticipation of Thanksgiving in November and of course the Christmas and New Years holidays.

The holidays come and go, but keeping in touch with those around you is very important. Family and friends can lift you higher then anything else. I have high spirits as my mother passed the six month mark of being diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. She is an inspiration to all of us and I can only hope that she celebrates so many more milestones.

As we celebrate the holiday, let us also celebrate life. Congratulations Mom and congratulations to everyone, we each deserve the kind thought.

No Easy Way To Cry

"I wish you sunshine on your path and storms to season your journey. I wish you peace in the world in which you live... More I cannot wish you except perhaps love to make all the rest worthwhile." -Robert A. Ward

We fill our daily existence with the things currently at hand. The bits of getting to work, working through the day and the little things we do to end the day. We tend to lose focus on family and friends at times. It is the immediate and near that capture our attention.

I am no different then each of you in that respect. I can get consumed by what is within my small area of existence. But once in a while you get a shock to that existence. Recently this happened to me and it reverberates in my mind still.

Having friends that were once very close, we drifted apart by distance and time. Donna and Lyle are the kind of truly great people that everyone should have as friends. I have kept loose contact with Lyle over the years, missing the nearer connection we once had.

So it was with heart break that I had learned that their daughter passed away in May of 2006. Two years ago, could it be possible that we let our friendship slip this far. To know that their beautiful and very talented daughter was taken from them so young in her life.

Shelley was 18 years old, a gifted student and athlete. I like to say that she obtained all beauty, grace and talents from her mother Donna. This mostly as a gentle ribbing to her father Lyle. Along with her brother Scott, this family is just wonderful, yet now with one missing piece.

The loss of a child hurts beyond anything I could possibly write or imagine. As Lyle said in a news article, "We loved her very much and we’re going to miss her like I can’t even describe.

David Gray put out a song a few years back entitled "Easy Way To Cry." The words he sings could speak into many different types of relationship loss. For me the lyric he sings which has the most meaning, the only thing that I could possibly so to my friends, "there ain't no easy way to cry."

Hold onto those around you and let them know you care and love them.

Visions Realized

"Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. If you could see them clearly, naturally you could do a great deal to get rid of them but you can't. You can only see one thing clearly and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin." -Kathleen Norris

What a world this could be if we arose each morning knowing exactly what would happen that day. The entire day's events would be laid out in front of us. We would know that traffic was going to be nightmarish and that first cup of coffee gets spilled on a report due later in the morning.

We could plan that lunch time meal is going to be great and that the afternoon will be filled with lots of bathroom breaks due to the salad dressing. The work day is going to end with your boss congratulating you on a great report despite the coffee stain. The evening sets up to be very relaxing before you will head off to sleep.

Having this type of vision would be great for planning where you are headed and how you will get there. You will be able to avoid the spilled coffee and that lunch time salad. But too bad to say, our life isn't that simple to foresee. All we can do is set our sight on a goal to achieve; for the day; for the week; for our life.

What happens many times is out of our control. What is in our control is how we react to it. If we hold onto the vision of what we want, then our path remains in focus. Now granted, the path is unlikely to be straight and easy. In fact, your vision may appear to be off in one direction while the road is leading in another.

Keep the vision in sight, correct your path towards that vision and you will eventually reach it. Overcome the daily obstacles that you know will come into your life. Accept that the path isn't necessarily easy. You will succeed at reaching your vision, believe in it.