@Coctaanatis Agreed. Banks especially should be sending fraud emails with instructions to call the number on the back of the card, and setting the standard for others to follow.

@Brisse I missed the Zelle scam, probably because I don't use things like Facebook Marketplace. I thought that if you get paid up front it's cool but turns out the scam is in the payment notification email - which I'd ignore in real life anyway, and log in directly.

WaPo has a "Can you spot the scam?" article. I missed 3 of 7. Two were legit and I hit "scam", but overcautious is good. I did miss a real scam though, which surprised me. Take the test: https://wapo.st/451wbV1

#fraud #phishing #scam #ITSecurity #security

I kinda feel bad for whoever had enough English to put DIY + AREA together as a brand name for their company, but not quite enough to realize it also parses as DI-YA-RE-A.

This supports my long-held theory that, in addition to the mandatory workplace violence training, all retail sales people should be trained in improv, and have to pass before staffing customer-facing positions. An example of an acceptable answer would be "Yes, and this baby right here receives all the socks that disappear from all the other dryers."

I'm looking at washer/dryer pairs in Lowe's and the sales guy walks up and asks what capacity do I need. I told him my current dryer will pack three sets of Queen sheets - flat, fitted, pillowcases, everything - into one corner of one of the fitted sheets. Does he have anything like that? He gives me a blank look for a couple of seconds, says "Let me know if you need anything," and then disappears toward the back of the store. I think he's watching from the break room waiting for me to leave.

@Brisse The Serendipity is a source of income? That's an investment in production capacity. Get that, then use it to earn upgrade bucks for the other one. My $0.02 worth, anyway.

My first time turning deer antler produced a nice looking Vesper click pen. The antler was incredibly hard and even sharp carbide cutters bogged down a bit. The biggest surprise was that it gave off a smell of over-crispy barbecue. Now I understand why people charge a lot for these - lots of work and now I need to air out the shop for a week!

#penturning #woodturning #CoSoPens

25+ years ago I had a root canal and the orthodontist said I had the longest roots he'd ever seen.

Last week I needed a repair on that tooth and went back. He showed no recognition on greeting me, but as soon as he opened my file he said "Oh, I remember you. I was hoping to retire before seeing you again."

I said "You do mouth surgery. You realize ALL of your patients feel the same way about you, right?"

He almost made it. Retired this week.

We are only two weeks away from closing on our house sale so I do a walkthrough every day or so, just to make sure no major issues develop to kill the deal.

Today it seems there's a serious leek under the kitchen sink. It's always something.

#realtor #humor #cosohumor

This dragon pen is in my Top-5 faves of all the pens I've made. The burnt bronze fittings and Poly-Ag stone barrel match so well. Plus, it's a hefty pen with good balance. Not for writing War and Peace longhand but great for signing the deed to your castle keep.

The camera meter likes the presentation case a LOT better than the black velvet background. I may have to start shooting all of them in a case.

#penturning #woodturning #CoSoPens

@thereal_renaissance_man Thanks! Fun project to build and a bit of a challenge to design the uprights and divider bits. Now all I need to do is build a miniature pool table to go with it.

That pool cue pen is devilishly hard to manage. At 8 inches, no pen box or display fits. Normal pen pots tend to tip over. Something had to be done so I figured why not manage it like any other pool cue and make a cue stand for it?

Voila! #HotOffTheLathe today are the two cue sticks used as the uprights for the stand divider. The rack is 3D printed. The base is #shapermade and the divider is laser cut. Used all the toys on this one!

#woodworking #woodturning #penturning #CoSoPens

@Eponine Not yet. Between the house sale eating up time and the commissions backed up in the queue the new fountain pens got pushed down on the priority list. Eventually. though. 🙂

I told my wife no fast food in the new truck, even when the grandson visits. "I will not have the new car smell replaced by the new fries smell," I warned.

"That's fine. But you will have to live with the consequences."

"What consequences?"

"Under your plan the new car smell will be replaced by farts. You can't ban those."

She's not wrong, and this is why I'm still in love with my wife after 40 years - she's consistently smart, funny, and sexy all at the same time.

#MarriedLife #Humor

My latest TV show pitch is about a young woman who goes to the crossroads and sells her soul to the devil in exchange for a successful music career.

The show is called "Daisy Jones and the 666".

#humor

#HotOffTheLathe tonight is a gold Vesper pen with black palm barrel. The wood is so dark I had to reduce the contrast drastically to show it against the gold.

I love the Vesper pens for their weight, balance, and solid click mechanism.

#penturning #woodturning #CoSoPens

Next completed item from the #woodworking / #woodturning queue is a cue.

Well, a pen made to look like a pool cue, anyway. Pen is 8.5 inches long with the cap on.

Although challenging to make, the hardest part turned out to be finding a gift box for it. Ended up using a bracelet gift box.

#penturning #CoSoPens