FBI Director Robert Mueller was banned by his wife from doing online banking after he nearly fell for a phishing scam, he said on Wednesday during a talk at the Commonwealth Club of California.

He received an e-mail purporting to be from his bank that looked "perfectly legitimate" and which prompted him to verify some information. He started to follow the instructions but then realized that that "might not be such a good idea," he said.

"Just a few clicks away from falling into a classic Internet phishing scam," Mueller "barely caught himself in time" and admitted he "definitely should have known better."

He said he changed his passwords and tried to pass the incident off to his wife as a "teachable moment," but she was having none of it and told him, "It is our money. No more Internet banking for you!..."

Work is going to be a bit busier than usual as the end-of-fiscal-year rush hits, but I was able to distract myself by getting ready for the next batch of conventions.

Usually, I spend most of Capclave in the gaming room, but the programming (especially some of the new-media stuff) looks more interesting this time (and I definitely want to catch the Erfworld party). I'm planning to bring more of the travelling game collection than usual, though; somebody has to pick up the slack now that Hal Haag is no longer with us.

I also made final arrangements for OVFF* (found an excellent deal on Southwest flights in and out of BWI for a little over $200 for the two of us). I'll probably bring a few games along (one advantage of Southwest is that they haven't followed the lead of most airlines in nickel-and-diming passengers for checked baggage).

(*Their site has been hit by malware attacks over the last few weeks; it seems to be OK now but I thought it was prudent to warn people to have shields up just in case.)

First, I'd like to say thanks to everyone who gave me best wishes on my birthday Monday. I have some more reading and video watching (The Invention Of Air, which was one of the presents from starmalachite, looks particularly interesting.)

I also have a few more games to try out when I get a chance. I'm already a bit familiar with Kingsburg (obviously,starmalachite picked up the hint when I mentioned that it was on my to-get list while we were playing a game withthelongshot's copy). Between the Shore Leave dealers' room and online orders, I also picked up Collateral Damage, Colosseum, and The Bill of Rights, but haven't had a chance to try them out yet (partly because they look like they need 4-5 players to be really worthwhile).

Also, there was good news and bad news about the hard drive/DVD recorder combo unit I ordered forstarmalachite's birthday/anniversary. The good news was that the delivery-date estimates (mid to late August) were apparently prepared according to Montgomery Scott's Guide to Miracle-Working. The bad news is that the DVD part of the unit appears to be nonfuctional -- if the reboot recommended by tech support doesn't work, we'll have to return it (fortunately, Target's web page says that the return can be done at a brick-and-mortar store).
 

Prank Call Blamed for $50,000 in Damage to Conway Hotel

...Police say a person called the front desk and said they were an employee at a fire sprinkler service. Officer Sharen Carter says the caller told the clerk there was a problem with the sprinklers and the clerk needed to reset them by pulling the fire alarm. She complied, which caused the alarm go off.

Police say the caller then told her to pull the lever on the fire alarm down, but she was unable to do so. Carter says the caller then instructed the clerk that she needed to break the windows to keep the sprinklers from activating. The clerk and a hotel guest then started breaking the windows with a fire extinguisher.

His instructions didn't end there. The caller then told the clerk she needed to remove a portion of a sprinkler head to keep it from going off. Carter says the clerk broke off the sprinkler head, but that caused the hotel to start flooding....

REID: I'm saying that the United States Senate, Democrats and Republicans, do not want terrorists to be released in the United States. That’s very clear.
QUESTION: No one's talking about releasing them. We’re talking about putting them in prison somewhere in the United States.
REID: Can't put them in prison unless you release them.
QUESTION: Sir, are you going to clarify that a little bit?
 

How does the idea of flying a jumbo jet low over New York City for a photo op get through all the all the layers of proposal and discussion and operation planning without anybody saying, "Ah... maybe we should just Photoshop it instead? Or at least give people a heads-up?"

Yeesh....
 

thnidu

1. Reply to this post, and I will pick five of your icons that I want to hear about.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon glee...

Things accomplished over the last few days:

1. Install 8 GB microSD chips in our phones and transfer the files from the old chips. That ought to last a while, even with video clips.

2. Fix the furnace-closet door so that it closes properly (and stays closed when Basement Cat finds work for idle paws).

3. Rehab one of the old UPS/surge suppressor units I had lying around with new batteries. I thought I ordered batteries for both of them, but only one set showed up -- it could be a mixup in the order (two batteries vs two sets of batteries), or it could be two separate shipments (they packed the batteries I got like they were plutonium-powered and polished with anthrax dust).

Things to be finished:

4. Pack for Boskone. Figure out how to pack as light as possible to minimize the airline's opportunity to add nickle-and-dime luggage fees.

After that, things mostly settle down into a routine for a couple weeks; the only real event for the next month is the Coulton/Paul&Storm concert at the Birchmere.