Searching for My Destiny

I received a email this morning from one of the email lists I maintain.  In it was a upcoming event of great interest to me personally because I knew this person’s family was from Paguate Village in Laguna Pueblo.

The email was about Dr Blue Spruce, Jr from Roxane Spruce Bly.  I was only aware of the family growing up in Paguate and was very surprised to learn more about this individual.

The email read:

Recognized as the first American Indian Dentist, Dr. Blue Spruce, Jr. founded the Society of American Indian Dentists and is currently an Assistant Dean at the Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health where he has motivated many Native students to attend dental school and return to their tribal communities to practice.

His recently published autobiography, Searching for My Destiny recounts his childhood growing up at the Santa Fe Indian School and his parents’ determination that their children obtain college degrees.  He describes the loneliness and challenges of leaving home and graduating from dental school at Creighton University as well as the excitement of a career that took him from Montana to New York City and South America.

Please join Dr. Blue Spruce Jr., his family, and friends to honor his contributions to Indian health and hear his personal memories of traveling between two cultures, facing prejudice, and conquering adversity to achieve the rank of Assistant Surgeon General of the United States.

Light refreshments will be served.

When:  Saturday, June 26, 2010 at 3pm
Where:  Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
2401 12th St. NW
Albuquerque, NM  87104

After reading this, I went about to find out what else more was on the internet, and here is what I uncovered for all the readers of my post here.

Here is the audio from the NPR event, the book review & interview start at about the 6 minute mark:

I have not read the book yet (it’s now on my list), but I’m sure there are some similarities in our paths dealing with mainstream culture vs native culture and learning away from home.  I’m really looking forward to the event honoring Dr Blue Spruce, Jr at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.  I’m sure there is plenty to learn from his journey.

– Dom

San Juan River Fly Box

I really love fishing the San Juan River in New Mexico, it’s one of my favorite places to fish because one can get into 20+ inch trout in the quality waters just below Navajo Dam.  The consistent flows and consistent water temperature create a rich food source for all the trout that live there.  It’s this rich food source that causes the trout to feed on very small bugs, and when fish feed on very small bugs you need very small flies.  In this video I detail my San Juan River Fly Box, what it is, how I made it, and how I use it.  Enjoy!

– Dom

* For better video & audio quality watch the 720p HD version.

700 MHz Wireless Microphones

The FCC recently reminded people (on 5/28) in the United States that there has been a change in spectrum allocation to avoid interference.  On June 12, 2010, wireless microphones and monitors will no longer be able to be used in the 700 MHz band (specifically698 to 806 MHz).  Here is the PDF on the FCC website.

What this means, is those individuals/groups who use wireless microphones for audio capture for video, screencapture, or podcasting, in the above bandwidth will start to receive noise and non-ideal audio as new 4G consumer devices are deployed in proximity to the wireless microphone.

The solution for the vodcasters/screencasters/podcasters is to either replace the wireless microphone or work with the equipment manufacturer to get the wireless radio inside the transmitter & receiver changed out to operate on a frequency outside the 700 MHz band.  Some manufacturers have a trade-in or rebate programs to help people with this change.

Here is another helpful link on the FCC website which lists known wireless microphones in the 700 MHz band.

Now, if by chance you live on a Indian reservation away from any mobile or cellular phone service, your wireless microphone should work just fine after June 12, 2010.  🙂

– Dom

The Receipt Conundrum

I’ve written about tracking personal expenses, and it really helps to have receipts when you pay in cash.  I use cash for most day to day purchases and I’ve discovered that most places will NOT give you a receipt when you pay in cash.  Which forces me to ASK for one so I can enter it into my expense tracker later.  I’m not quite sure why some businesses don’t give a receipt, maybe they are saving costs by not using the thermal receipt paper for cash paying customers.  A better answer may be this, what is being purchased is a consumable item and therefore a customer is not likely of returning said item, so no receipt.  Who knows.

Yet, when I go to a retailer that WANTS feedback (some really beg by giving longer and longer receipts), I get a receipt that is way longer than is needed.  Now, I do need the receipt for any potential item return purposes, but some of the length of these are crazy.  Who is really calling the 1-800 number or going to the website on these receipts?  I would guess that a very small fraction of people vs receipts given.  Another horrible practice is spreading the receipt vital data (stuff you need to keep for a return) among the survey/ads so you just can’t cut off the part you don’t need.

Also, some businesses sometimes think of receipts as advertising or up-selling (they likely get paid for it), then proceed to give you a receipt with a discount on a competitor item (never on the brand you purchased which can be annoying).  All this adds to the heft of the receipt or another piece of paper.

Lastly, when are the retailers ever going to get off the thermal paper receipt?  To me the thermal paper is delicate and any excessive heat or oil erases the information on the receipt (often I can’t find the date or amount when entering expenses after a week).  I don’t even know how bio-degradable the thermal paper is (something I need to learn).  Maybe it’s a strategy, if there is no receipt because the information disappeared (heat/oil/water), then retailers don’t have to worry about returns.

What happened to the days of a simple proof of purchase on regular paper?

– Dom

* Above photo is from herzogbr via Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/herzogbr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Credit Card Fraud

Yesterday was a day of two firsts for me.

  1. I welcomed into this world my 1st daughter, a new bundle of joy to go with my two sons.
  2. My Discover credit card account was deactivated in the afternoon shortly after using the credit card to buy lunch.

I’m writing this post to inform users that they are not immune to credit card fraud, it can happen at any time and any place if you use your credit card for both in store purchases or internet purchases.

I also want you to know there are some steps you can take to HELP the credit card company identify when fraud occurs.  Most fraud that occurs is not your responsibility IF you notify the credit card company within a number of days when you recognize the charge.  For me, Discover knew enough about my habits that it detected the fraud for me.

In my particular case, yesterday, I paid for lunch with the credit card, then went to pay for dinner with the same card and was informed my card was “not denied” but that the transaction was not approved.  I used another card to pay for dinner.

When I got back to my computer, I tried logging on to the credit card website.  I could not, my log in was deactivated and I was directed to call a telephone number.  I also received a email telling me to call the credit card company, but did not receive a phone call or text.

When I called the number, it was to the credit card fraud department.  After a number of identity confirming questions, I was informed my account was deactivated due to suspected fraudulent charges.

I was then asked if I made a $600+ purchase at a major department store in Irving, TX.  I said no, I’ve been in NM all day and did not purchase anything from said department store.  I was asked about a second charge, if I made a $500+ purchase from a major home improvement store, again in Irving, TX.  I said no.  I mentioned the last couple charges I did make and a dinner I tried to pay for yesterday.  All charges were confirmed with an apology about the dinner.

I was then told my credit card was deactivated because of the two purchases, and that I will be receiving a new credit card and account number in the next 7 days.  We re-verified my physical address.  I’m glad Discover caught the fraud, but it means I have NO access to that credit line until I receive the new card and setup a new computer account.  Being that I have a new baby now, this is a minor inconvenience, but not as bad if I had to pay for the fraudulent purchases.

I inquired more about the charges, in particular I asked if the charges were made using a “magnetic swipe” or just the account number, name, address, and security code.  I asked so I could try and figure out where the source of my information came from.  I was informed that a “magnetic swipe” was used to make the purchases, which means someone went through the effort to make a physical duplicate credit card and possible ID to make the purchases.

I also don’t recall receiving any letters in the mail from a internet merchant indicating their systems were compromised and credit card numbers (along with addresses) were stolen, but I suspect this may have happened.  Companies are required by law to inform you if this is the case, but I’m sure most companies would try keep this quiet if they can.

I’d like to point out several things which I did to enable Discover to be proactive in disabling the account after fraud occurred:

  1. I used the credit card frequently enough for them to detect that I could not have possibly been in Irving, TX and Albuquerque, NM near the same time.  In addition, the types of purchases were not consistent with the location if I had been in TX (meaning why was there a major purchase at a home improvement store when I was away from home?).
  2. I setup and access my account on the credit card company website and check it often.
  3. I took the further steps of setting additional notification options, I selected to be informed of major purchases beyond $400 and to be notified by email of those major purchases.
  4. I use Quicken to manage my finances, and I check all accounts two times a week, so I would have noticed the fraud charges if Discover did not.  I’m really glad Discover caught this before I did.

Now that I have experienced a situation of credit card fraud, I am going to look into the following:

  1. Some credit cards, from their website, have the option to generate one time use (disposable) credit card numbers for internet purchases, although this can be a bit of a hassle for recurring charges, I plan on using disposable credit card numbers for internet purchases if it’s an option.
  2. When I traveled internationally, I told the credit card companies my travel plans (where I would be) and to possibly expect charges from those locations so I could use my line of credit while on travel.  I am going to ask the credit card companies if this can be done on a state by state basis.  I don’t want to make things overly complicated, but if I only travel in-frequently, it makes sense that “magnetic swipe” purchases be allowed outside my home state unless I explicitly say so.
  3. It was mentioned during the call that the credit reporting agencies would be informed of the changes (closed account and new one opened), I’m not sure of the impact of this on credit scores, but I’m going to investigate what the impact is.

Hope this writeup was useful, please comment if you have other experiences to add.

– Dom

* Above photo is from Stuart Dootson via Flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart-dootson/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0