Writtenwyrdd

Travel to the United States: new requirement

Just learned about a new requirement for travelers from certain countries to the United States.  Affected are Visa Waiver treaty countries (list below.)  Travelers from those countries must now obtain advanced approval from the ESTA system OR (when the "informed compliance" stage is over on January 12th, 2010) they will not be allowed to board their flight to the United States.  At this time, travelers without ESTA approval prior to boarding will still be allowed to board the flights/vessels to the U.S., but that is for a limited time period. 

The application site is here.  And here's the blurb from the ESTA fact sheet:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the ESTA Interim Final Rule (IFR), which establishes a new online system that is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and is required by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.  Once ESTA is mandatory, all nationals or citizens of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries who plan to travel to the United States for temporary business or pleasure will require an approved ESTA prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP.  The rule does not apply to U.S. citizens traveling overseas.

To apply for authorization to travel to the United States under the VWP, travelers will log on to the ESTA web-based system and complete an application online providing the biographical and eligibility information currently required on the paper I-94W form.  The ESTA web-based system will be available for voluntary applications after Aug. 1, 2008.  ESTA will be implemented as a mandatory program 60 days after publication of a notice in the Federal Register.  DHS anticipates that the Secretary of Homeland Security will issue that notice in November 2008, for implementation of the mandatory ESTA requirements on Jan. 12, 2009.

ESTA applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States, and VWP travelers are encouraged to apply for authorization as soon as they begin to plan a trip to the United States.  If applicants’ destination addresses or itineraries should change after their authorization has been approved, they may easily update that information through the ESTA website. 

Once an ESTA application has been successfully completed and submitted online, the application will be queried against appropriate law enforcement databases.  ESTA application data will remain active for the period of time that the ESTA authorization is valid.  DHS will maintain this information for an additional year, and then will archive the information for twelve years to allow retrieval of the information for law enforcement and investigatory purposes.

In most cases, ESTA will provide an almost immediate determination of eligibility for travel under the VWP.  Possible responses include:  Authorization Approved, Travel Not Authorized, or Authorization Pending.

An approved ESTA travel authorization is:

• valid for up to two years or until the traveler’s passport expires, whichever comes first;
• valid for multiple entries into the U.S.; and
• not a guarantee of admissibility to the United States at a port of entry.  ESTA approval only authorizes a traveler to board a carrier for travel to the U.S. under the VWP.  In all cases, CBP officers make admissibility determinations at our ports of entry. (For additional information, please visit “Know Before You Go” at www.cbp.gov/travel.)

Once ESTA is mandatory, all travelers from VWP countries will be required to obtain an ESTA approval prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP. 

In the event that an ESTA applicant is denied authorization to travel to the United States under the VWP, he or she will be referred to www.travel.state.gov for information on how to apply for a visa to travel to the United States.  This process is similar to the current practice, in which VWP travelers who arrive at a United States port of entry and are determined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to be ineligible for admission under the VWP may be returned to their country of origin to apply for a visa to enter the United States.  It will be far more convenient for most travelers to receive this notification before commencing travel.

Accompanied and unaccompanied children, regardless of age, will be required to obtain an independent ESTA authorization and determination of eligibility.  VWP travelers who fail to obtain an ESTA travel authorization after ESTA becomes mandatory may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a U.S. port of entry.

ESTA implementation

On Aug. 1, 2008, DHS will begin to accept voluntary ESTA applications through the ESTA Web site: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Initially, the website will be operational in English only, but additional languages will be available no later than Oct. 15, 2008.

Travelers are not required to have specific plans to travel to the United States under the VWP before they apply for an ESTA authorization.  DHS recommends that an ESTA approval be obtained as soon as a VWP traveler begins to plan a trip to the United States, and no later than 72 hours before departure.  ESTA has, however, been designed to allow for the accommodation of last minute and emergency travelers. 

Once ESTA becomes mandatory, all travelers from Visa Waiver countries, regardless of their point of embarkation, will be required to obtain an electronic travel authorization prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States under the VWP.  Travelers who have not received ESTA approval after ESTA becomes mandatory may be denied boarding, experience delayed processing, or be denied admission at a U.S. port of entry.

Preservation and Enhancement of the VWP through ESTA

The VWP is administered by DHS and enables eligible nationals of member countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.  The Visa Waiver Program was authorized as a pilot 1986 and country participation began with Japan and the United Kingdom in 1988.  Additional information regarding the VWP is available at: http://www.customs.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/business_pleasure/vwp/vwp.xml.

More than 15 million visitors from VWP countries arrived in the U.S. during Fiscal Year 2007.  By addressing security issues related to the VWP, ESTA will strengthen and preserve the program and allow for future expansion. 

Under Section 711 of the “Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007” (9/11 Act), Roadmap countries must meet a number of security-related provisions prior to being admitted to the VWP.  DHS will continue to coordinate closely with the Roadmap countries to ensure that all 9/11 Act security provisions are met that will enable their admission into the program.

Additionally, for those Roadmap countries with a non-immigrant visa refusal rate greater than 3 percent, the 9/11 Act enables the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to waive the three percent requirement of the VWP statute, up to a maximum of ten percent, provided the secretary of Homeland Security certifies that:

• An air exit system is in place that can verify the departure of at least 97 percent of foreign nationals who exit through U.S. airports; and
• An electronic travel authorization system is in place and is fully operational.

After the Roadmap countries have met the 9/11 Act security provision requirements, and DHS has made the appropriate certifications, the U.S. government will formally announce which countries have been added to the VWP together with guidelines for their nationals and citizens to comply with ESTA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Affected Visa Waiver countries:

Andorra
Australia
Belgium
Brunei
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
San marino
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom

Those of you in Mexico and Canada don't appear to have any visa requirements and nothing has changed for you all.  Just bring your passports with you.

Protecting your credit & reducing junk mail

I'm not going to post the entire article, but I thought I'd remention a few tips on reducing annoying and intruding phone calls and junk mail.  Original article is here. 

Opting out of marketing lists:
Equifax lists the following information on their site: 

The Direct Marketing Association also tracks consumers who prefer not to receive mail or telephone solicitations. DMA members, including Experian, remove those consumers from their own mailing lists. The addresses are:

Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 1559
Carmel, NY 10512

Telephone Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 1559
Carmel, NY 10512

If you write the DMA, you’ll be removed from DMA-member lists for five years. Even though your request becomes effective with Experian within five days of your notifying us, it may take several months before you see a reduction in the amount of solicitations.

Opting out will not end solicitations from all local merchants, religious and charitable associations, professional and alumni associations, politicians, and companies with which you conduct business. To eliminate mail from these groups – as well as mail addressed to “occupant” or “resident” – write directly to each source. You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report.Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on.

Opting out by phone.
You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1 888 5OPTOUT (1 888 567 8688).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And don't forget that you are entitled to an annual free credit report.  (I haven't double checked the links.)

Equifax Information Services LLC (contact info page)
P.O. Box 105167
Atlanta, GA 30348
or call
1-877-SCORE-11

Experian (contact info page, including for opt-out of prescreened offers)
NCAC
P.O. Box 9556
Allen, TX 75013
800 493 1058

Transunion (contact info page)

MSNBC has a great article on fixing errors on your credit report here. 

I hope this works with the new computer

I'll have more hair and fewer curse words coming out my mouth!

Windows 7 Easy Transfer:
Migrate to Windows 7 the Easy Way

The Easy Transfer Cable was officially designed for the Microsoft Windows Easy Transfer utility, which is featured in Windows 7. All you need to do is connect the cable to USB ports on your old Windows XP or Vista computer to your new Windows 7 machine, and run the utility.

Easily Transfer User Accounts, PC Settings, Files, and More

Your user accounts, Windows settings, files and folders, pictures and photos, MP3s and other music, videos, program settings and program data, and e-mail messages, settings, and contacts will all be transferred over to your new computer without a fuss. Thanks to the "Map User Accounts" feature, the destination PC is not required to have matching User Accounts. Gone are the days of losing important email messages or having to reset all your user settings! 

Once the transfer done, a post migration report is generated, which gives you a comprehensive view of everything that was transferred. Because of possible incompatibility issues, programs and applications are not transferred to the new computer. Instead, the utility provides a list of all the programs and applications that were installed on the old PC along with links to the latest versions of the programs if they are provided by the software developer.

Best. Travel info. Evahr.

Every Australian I've ever met has had a wicked sense of humor.  I think this Q&A list is proof, as it's (purportedly) from an Australian Tourism web site and is (again, purportedly) actual answers to actual questions sent in by prospective visitors. (From a humorous email.)

Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
__________________________________________________
Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? ( USA )
A:Depends how much you've been drinking.
__________________________________________________
Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
__________________________________________________
Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia ? Can you send me a list of them in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay ? ( UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?
__________________________________________________
Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? ( USA )
A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe ...
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not
... Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
__________________________________________________
Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
_________________________________________________
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? ( UK )
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do...
__________________________________________________
Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is
Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
__________________________________________________
Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? ( UK )
A: You are a British politician, right?
__________________________________________________
Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers.
Milk is illegal.
__________________________________________________
Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can Dispense rattlesnake serum. ( USA )
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.  All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
__________________________________________________
Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia , but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA )
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.  You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
__________________________________________________
Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
__________________________________________________
Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? (France ) 
A: Only at Christmas.
__________________________________________________
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

By the way, if you are an American traveling abroad, you can register your trip with the Dept. of State.  At least then someone will know where you were supposed to be if you ever go missing or run into trouble (due to some untoward 'accident of fate' or 'being in the wrong place at the wrong time.'  Yeah.  But your country loves ya.  Really.)

Nothing on the internet is gone forever

Just so you know, there IS a "wayback machine" function on the internet.  You can google and find cached versions of web pages (to find removed info--there is generally a link marked "cache" below the "live" link, although you can set up web sites to prevent caching, I've done it myself!) or go to www.archive.org, click on "advanced" and input the dates plus the URL.

An example of a cache is this site, wikipedia's page on caches and caching.  And, for your reading and edification, here's a link to an article about the hows and whys of web caching.  A bit technical, but interesting.

Electrical power converters explained

Recently, I had an unpleasant surprise when I bought a power converter for my upcoming vacation overseas.  To explain, I bought a power converter for my electronics--but it wasn't high enough amperage.  Because the box only listed wattage, I had no clue it wouldn't do the job for higher input amperage requirements for items like hair dryers. 

What's a power converter for?
You should understand what the traveling and power conversion requirement is and how it works.  US/Canadian power is 110/120 volts, and Europe/The Rest of the Universe is 220/240 volts.  That's approximately twice what our US/Canadian devices can handle; so you have to get a power converter to step the voltage down to something your devices can handle without getting fried into expensive doorstops or paperweights...or burning your lodgings down with you in them!  So, you buy a power converter if your devices are not designed to handle both 110 and 220/240. (Check your device labels, these should tell you the acceptable range right on them or the power converter.  Failing that, there's the handbook that came with it.)

The simple solution to the problem is to buy a power converter.  But various converters are rated for different outputs.  The one I bought was rated for 200 WATTS maximum, or 1.6 AMPS.  This is barely sufficient for my laptop, which has an input power requirement of 1.5 amps.  (See your device's power supply for the INPUT AMP REQUIREMENT.) And you can forget a hair dryer - not enough power available! 

And because I did not know how the conversion of numbers (from watts to amps) worked, I got caught with my proverbial shorts down.

How the math works:
Watts are a measurement of consumption.  The wattage of a device tells you how much power it requires as raw consumption numbers (which incidentally allows you to figure how much you will pay for its use per month.)  

But your device almost always lists amperage requirements on the power supply...so how much wattage or voltage do you need in a converter to provide the needed amps?  

It's simple math, thank goodness.  Here are the formulae, which I wish I had earlier:   

• WATTS / VOLTS = AMPS. So, if you have a 200watt converter, you divide by the volatge (120) and get the result of 1.6 amps.
• VOLTS x AMPS = WATTS
• WATTS x AMPS = VOLTS (not particularly useful, as voltage should be constant)

So there ya go. 

Important news for blogging book reviewers!

"A book falls under “compensation” if it comes associated with an Amazon link or there is an advertisement for the book, or if the reviewer holds onto the book. " FTC's Richard Cleland, interviewed by Edward Champion. 

Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials is the FTC's new regulation, and they announced yesterday that it's been modified in regards to bloggers.  Summarizing the important bit:  If you blog about or review a free book you were sent for free, whether by a publisher or author, you are guilty of getting compensation and you must disclose.  Particularly noteworthy is that, apparently, paid reviewers (newspaper book reviewers, for example) don't have to disclose that they were given a free book because They Don't Keep Their Swag!!! (Yeah, right.  I believe in sparkly unicorns, too.)

So, if you review a book--doesn't matter if it's a postive review or not--and it was given to you for free by a  publisher or author, if you link to a sales site like B&N, Amazon or whatever, or if you have paid advertising (those blog-content-related google.ads suffice) you apparently must disclose the facts. 

Thanks to Ellen Datlow for the heads-up on this fiasco. 

FTC guidelines PDF

You can now sign up for NaNoWriMo

You might have fun starting something new and giving yourself a goal and permission to just write and not edit.

Me, I cheat.  I don't start a new story, just commit to attempting to add 50k to an extant work in progress.  In this case, it's Blood Shot, the novella that's been hanging fire for a couple of years now.  It's one of the pieces I committed to finishing this year, and, unless I go NaNo on it's heinie, I'm not going to make it!

You can be my friend.  I'm here at NaNo's site.  I don't do forums because they are larger time sucks than Facebook or Twitter; but we can check on each other's status and razz each other if we don't complete the challenge!

Research and protecting yourself from said research

What a quandry!  You can look up so much personal information on line these days (for a nominal fee, of course) that it's frightening.  I looked myself up on Intellius, only one of the available options, and there is information on me going back practically all my adult life!  What's even worse is how difficult it is to protect yourself from the data miners who post your information. 

Here's the quandry:  You can request you be removed from the databases, which is a temporary fix, because the next data mining sweep (whenever that occurs) will put your stuff right back!  They note, however, that "removing the data here does no prevent public records from sending us new information in the future. To permanently have your records sealed, you will need to contact your county’s records department."

So I tried to do exactly that in my county's records office.  And here's the inevidable Catch-22:  They have no process for "sealing" my records.  Anything is available if someone knows your name or other info and they can walk right in and request the records.  Which is fine for someone who specifically needs your info on a local level, but these folks have never heard of blocking data mining, nor do they know how these sites acquire their information.  Our records are, I was told, not on some big database that can be remotely accessed for inquiries.  She doesn't think the State does that, either (although I'm going to check). 

I'd really prefer not everyone knowing what I pay for my utilities, my addresses for the past thirty years and where I'm employed.  You never know what can be used to commit fraud in your name or to impersonate you with your existing accounts.

And I'd really like to understand how these sites get their information, too!

But, on the other hand, it is quite the useful tool for looking up information on people, especially reverse phone books.  There are even ones specifically for cellular phones.

You don't own your Kindle purchases.

An article I just found tells how the DRM (Digital Rights Management?) that Amazon plugs into your Kindle books basically ensures they own and control the goods you pay for.  One Amazon customer apparently returned too many items--none Kindle related--and they arbitrarily made his Kindle account null.  He could no longer access any of his Kindle subscriptions and couldn't download any of the Kindle items he'd already paid for.  (Upon appeal, Amazon relented.) 

How is that for ridiculous. 

HTML tidbits

Goodreads has the following html codes in a sidebar.  I thought I'd share as you might be interested in using them in your post comments.  Most of these should work either here (Typepad) or on Google/Blogger.

bold text: <b>...</b>

italic text: <i>...</i>

underline text: <u>...</u>

strike text: <s>...</s>

indent text: <pre>...</pre>

blockquote: <blockquote>...</blockquote>

paragraph: <p>...</p>

Note: tags must be properly nested, example:

OK <i><b>test</b></i>

Not OK <i><b>test</i></b>

AND, MOST SPECTACULARLY IMPORTANT TO MOI:

link: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com">my link text</a>

US Senate apologizes for slavery

Yesterday, the US Senate, in a unanimous voice vote, officially apologized for slavery and the Jim Crow era following the Emancipation Proclamation.  About time.  It took a black man becoming president, I guess, to rub the noses of the good ol' boys in the obvious fact that there actually was something to apologize for.

Landborder identification rules change!

Well folks, unless you live straddling the US/Mexico or US/Canadian border as I do, you may not be aware of the new identification requirements in effect tomorrow.  Yes, tomorrow, June 1.

Basically, you should have a valid passport or passport card (or other Western Hemisphere Traveler Initiative (WHTI) compliant document) when presenting yourself for entry into the United States on a landborder.  

But not to panic!  If you are a United States citizen, the Customs and Border Protection officers MUST let you back into your own country.  They will not keep you out.*    

IMPORTANT NOTE: Children under 16 can enter with just a birth certificate.  A copy is sufficient.  Picture identification is a bonus, but not that useful for babes in arms. 

US "Lawful Permanent Residents" (e.g. Green Card Holders) need to always present the permanent resident card when arriving at the border to enter the US.  I don't think they need a passport at the landborder.

Check applicable Canadian and Mexican laws for entry to those respective countries. 

* They didn't even keep out this upstanding US Citizen, Gregory Depressus, who arrived at Calais (say Callus) Maine a couple years back with a bloody machete** with which he'd just butchered two people.  (Let me just say it wasn't the officers' faults. They tried to find something to hold Depressus on; but he was a US citizen and was not at that time wanted for any crimes.)  

I mean, look at this guy; he looks like he's been up to no good, doesn't he?  Probably a tweaker strung out on meth to boot!  Anyone would have suspected him.  But, alas, cops' hands are tied without probable cause or a warrant, of which they had none at the time.

(**Yes, he had a machete with what may have been blood on it; but two things: Up here, lots of people have machetes in their trunks, used for butchering game, so the maybe-blood stains on the item could have been innocuous.  And second, the cops did not have any instant means of testing for human blood.  The machete, however, wasn't legal for some other reason and was seized at the border.  Once the murders were discovered the next day the manhunt was on; but the poor cops--Border Officers, State troopers, and the town cops-- who just knew this guy was dirty, could do nothing until they had the facts.  Depressus was caught, I believe, in NYC by an NYC cop in a day or so.) 

How to manage your credit rating, tips for handling junk mail & telemarketers, and do not call lists. (Long post warning!)

A friend sent me an email that both cracked me up and intrigued me.  Also, I figured it wouldn't hurt to share basic information on credit reports, your rights (as non-lawyer or bank officer me understands them) and where to go to find out more.  PLEASE FORWARD THIS ARTICLE TO EVERYONE YOU THINK CAN USE IT.  Just be aware this isn't the definitive list of info and that it's just a primer. 

Anyhow, according to the email:

Tips for handling telemarkers:
Three words that work!  Simply say, "Hold on, please," and set down the phone.  Saying this while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.  Then when you hear the phone company's beep-beep-beep tone you know it's time to hang up the handset, which has completed its task.

Tips for 'dead silence' phone calls:
Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?  This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when someone answers the phone.  This is used to determine the best time of day for a human sales person to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering if no one is there is to immediately start hitting your # button six or seven time as fast as possible.  This should confuse the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of the system. 

Tips for stopping junk mail:
When ads are enclosed with your bill, return the junk with your payments.  Let the senders throw their own junk away.

When you get preapproved letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to second mortgages or car warranty extension b.s., do not throw away the return envelope if it is post paid.  Instead, send back junk mail in them!  It costs them nothing if you throw the envelope away; but they pay by weight for the return postage, so stuff away.  And even if you return it empty, they still pay the base postal rate! (Just be certain you send nothing with your name or personal information on it.)

One of Andy Rooney's ideas (60 Minutes)* ideas is to send other people's junk mail to other junk mail initiators.  Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express in their post-paid return envelope.  Send a pizza coupon to Citibank.  If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them back their blank application!  [I'd remove identifying info so you don't open yourself up to identity theft. Also, I prefer to know my junk mail is being recycled, so I don't do this myself.]

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to overwhelm them.  Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...twice!!

AND NOW FOR MY OWN THOUGHTS & STUFF

How to get off the junk mail lists:
(I got this information some while back, partly via a post office handout and partly from articles and news bits here and there.  I'm having to recreate it from scratch, so it's not as clear as it might be.)  Basically, though, you are entitled annually to a free credit card report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies.  My state (Maine) required it before the federal regs went in some years ago, so I've been doing this periodically for the last decade.  These reports can be confusing as hell to read, but can prove invaluable.  You may see accounts you didn't know you had, which is when warning bells should be going off and you should be calling that company to discover whether you just forgot about it and never closed it properly, they failed to close it properly, or you were a victim of identity theft.

The "do not call registry" can be found here. List your mobile or home phone/fax number to reduce bad calls. A quick search can net you a state-run "do not call" list, as well, for many states. 

Placing your numbers on those lists will not stop non-profits or political calls, though.  What I do for those callers is be polite yet firm and state that I have a policy of refusing to give money to groups who pester me via phone, and please to send me something via mail (whereupon you can return the empty envelope, or, if you don't want them bothering you you can return a written request for the same thing.)  And tell them that if they call you ever again you will never ever donate.  It has worked rather well for me, at least.

How to protect your credit rating from being pinged all the time:
You may not know this, but your credit can be affected (especially if it isn't really great in the first place) by how many times it has been pinged lately.  These "pings" (I don't know the industry term, sorry) can be mere looks at your credit so that entities can decide if they want to send you a pre-approved credit card application or other trawling maneuvers by credit card companies accomplished without your knowledge.  But a bank loan officer told me when I bought my first house in 2001 that I'd been pinged myriad times and it had dropped my rating significantly.  So I blocked my credit rating from being pinged unless I gave permission.  You do that by writing the credit agencies and stating in writing that you want to be blocked from unauthorized (by you) visits.  It also serves to reduce the junk mail!!!  (I found the info for the first time in a "Real Simple" magazine issue in 2001 or 2002, and can't find it at the moment, but basically, start with requesting your annual credit report here.

The main three are Equifax, Transunion and Experian.  You can request a printed version by phone or in writing at the following addresses, which I obtained by going on line to request the information.  (I vastly prefer the written one; let them pay for my report, they make enough money off me already!)  NOTE:  Experian's online version is by far the most informative by way of being the easiest to actually read and comprehend.  NOTE2: If you, like myself, are constantly calling to reduce the automatically-raised credit limits on your accounts, it can look suspicious to lenders.  I, however, prefer that to having 12k-15k out there, available for hijacking, on several cards!  NOTE3:  You may opt-out of pre-screened junk mail with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1 888 5OPTOUT (1 888 567 8688) (see below).

Equifax Information Services LLC (contact info page)
P.O. Box 105167
Atlanta, GA 30348
or call
1-877-SCORE-11

Experian (contact info page, including for opt-out of prescreened offers)
NCAC
P.O. Box 9556
Allen, TX 75013
800 493 1058

Transunion (contact info page, including for opt-out of prescreened offers)

Your credit rights (lifted from Experian's site):
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records). Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit or write to: Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

• You must be told if information in your file has been used against you. Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment – or to take another adverse action against you – must tell you, and must give you the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.
• You have the right to know what is in your file. You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency (your "file disclosure"). You will be required to provide proper identification, which may include your Social Security number. In many cases, the disclosure will be free. You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
  
  • a person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report;
  • you are the victim of identify theft and place a fraud alert in your file;
  • your file contains inaccurate information as a result of fraud;
  • you are on public assistance;
  • you are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.

  All consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months upon request from each nationwide credit bureau and from nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies. See www.ftc.gov/credit for additional information.

• You have the right to ask for a credit score. Credit scores are numerical summaries of your credit-worthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request a credit score from consumer reporting agencies that create scores or distribute scores used in residential real property loans, but you will have to pay for it. In some mortgage transactions, you will receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, and report it to the consumer reporting agency, the agency must investigate unless your dispute is frivolous. See www.ftc.gov/credit for an explanation of dispute procedures.
• Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate.
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information. In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may not report negative information that is more than seven years old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
• Access to your file is limited. A consumer reporting agency may provide information about you only to people with a valid need -- usually to consider an application with a creditor, insurer, employer, landlord, or other business. The FCRA specifies those with a valid need for access.
• You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers. A consumer reporting agency may not give out information about you to your employer, or a potential employer, without your written consent given to the employer. Written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For more information, go to www.ftc.gov/credit.
• You may limit "prescreened" offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited "prescreened" offers for credit and insurance must include a toll-free phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1 888 5OPTOUT (1 888 567 8688).
• You may seek damages from violators. If a consumer reporting agency, or, in some cases, a user of consumer reports or a furnisher of information to a consumer reporting agency violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
• Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have additional rights. For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit.

Opting out of marketing lists:
Equifax lists the following information on their site: 

The Direct Marketing Association also tracks consumers who prefer not to receive mail or telephone solicitations. DMA members, including Experian, remove those consumers from their own mailing lists. The addresses are:
Mail Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 1559
Carmel, NY 10512

Telephone Preference Service
Direct Marketing Association
PO Box 1559
Carmel, NY 10512

If you write the DMA, you’ll be removed from DMA-member lists for five years. Even though your request becomes effective with Experian within five days of your notifying us, it may take several months before you see a reduction in the amount of solicitations.

Opting out will not end solicitations from all local merchants, religious and charitable associations, professional and alumni associations, politicians, and companies with which you conduct business. To eliminate mail from these groups – as well as mail addressed to “occupant” or “resident” – write directly to each source.

MSNBC has a great article on fixing errors on your credit report here. 

*I haven't researched this claim, it was part of the email.  Sounds like something Mr. Rooney would say, though.

One Blue Marble - informative and timely

Richard Levangie gave up his writing to work toward environmental change.  This is an excellent place to discover where and what we can do to change our world before we destroy it.  One Blue Marble was created as a result.  I discovered this site from Richard's comment on my post of Severn Suzuki's speech to the UN a week ago.  (If you do not see his comment, click on the 'see more comments' link at the bottom of the page.)

Check it out, if nothing else to be informed.  And you might just find some interesting ideas to use in your worldbuilding. 

Amazon's response to my complaint email

Amazonfail part deux.

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com.  

This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.  

It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles - in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon's main product search.  

Many books have now been fixed and we're in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.  

Thanks for contacting us. We hope to see you again soon.    

Sincerely,  
Customer Service Department

Amazon.com

Not that I believe them for a red hot second.  I believe this was totally deliberate, considering that they actually emailed that it was policy re adult content.  Lilith Saintcrow has some reasons to rebut it on her blog as well which might interest you, as well as one reported 'explanation' which is suspiciously specious if you ask me, especially since Craig Seymour had all sorts of issues getting his book relisted in FEBRUARY.  Read and decide for yourself.

But I am giving Amazon's response to me in the interest of letting you, the public, know their public response as to what occurred.  (It's all over the net in other blogs, too.)  Me, I am seriously considering taking my very expensive Amazon habit elsewhere.  And that will inconvenience me no end, seeing as we do not have a decent brick-and-mortar store for 120 miles, and I actually like Amazon's site and capabilities over any of the other online sources.

And, correct me if I am wrong, but the lack of ability to find books by any author who only had delisted books strikes me as rather oddly suspicious...

#Amazonfail

You may have heard about the recent change at Amazon.com regarding removing sales ranking for books deemed adult content?  Well, here's an update. 

The 'facts' are being merrily spun to a fare-thee-well at Amazon, so what was true and not true as of Saturday or Sunday is not necessarily the case now.  However, follow Betsy's link at her post (where I first heard about Amazonfail) to the petition.  Then perhaps read this and the #amazonfail link, which has some updates in the timeline order they occurred.

I think that the spin on this will not be a good thing for Amazon.  I for one will not buy from them if they do not put things back the way they were.  I am not for censorship, in particular censoship purportedly based (see the #amazonfail article) on 'customer complaints'. 

Must see video

I was given a link to a really moving video of a young girl, Severn Suzuki, speaking at a UN summit.  After searching for an original link (the first one was to Facebook, which requires a login) I discovered two things:  Her name, and this video was made in 1992.  But it is still well worth watching, as the girl's message is so moving and even more important now than before.  Which, I figure, is why it's circulating now.

Does this affect your work?

Regarding lawsuit for copyright infringement against Google Reader.  Thanks to Laughingwolf for the link.

Your privacy - something you should know about!

I'm posting this with a future date so it will be visible for a long time. This is important info for those of you ticked about  your privacy being violated. Please drop below for the most recent posts!!!

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If you belong to ANY Yahoo Groups - be aware that Yahoo is now using "Web Beacons" to track every Yahoo Group user. It's similar to cookies, but allows Yahoo to record every website and every group you visit, even when you're not connected to Yahoo.

Look at their updated privacy statement at http://privacy. yahoo.com/ privacy/us/ ...s/details. html

About half-way down the page, in the section on *cookies*, you will see a link that says *WEB BEACONS*.

Click on the phrase "Web Beacons." On the page that opens, on the left find a box entitled "Opt-Out."

In that section find "opt-out of interest-matched advertising" link that will let you "opt-out" of their snooping. Click it and then click the opt-out button on the next page.

*Note that Yahoo's invasion of your privacy - and your ability to opt-out of it - is not user-specific. It is MACHINE specific. That means you will have to opt-out on every computer (and browser) you use.*

Please forward this to your other groups. You might complain, too, but I'm not sure if anyone is listening. I remember when they signed all users up to get spam and we had to opt out of that a few years ago.

Click to Contribute - cool sites!

Many of you are probably aware of the combined awareness sites where you can go daily to click a button and have money donated by sponsors.  This is the link.  Note there are tabs on the top for Breast Cancer Research, Hunger, Rainforest, Animal Rescue (where you can pick a shelter of your choice in a contest to win 100K), Literacy.  You can click on one, all, or just some of these sites daily.  Please do if time and your inclination allows.

Getting appropriately political

I have found our future leader.  Seriously.  This guy will straighten us all out so we know exactly where we stand.  (Isn't that Reagan's neck in that first photo?)

Books for Soldiers

Found a worthy site to mention:  Books for soldiers, where you can donate books to armed forces members overseas.  Soldiers can request specific books, even, and have them sent.  The service seems like a good one, but is having financial difficulties and is requesting donations in order to keep their doors open. 

I am not affiliated with these folks, but their being a book-related site, I'm inclined to support them a wee bit.  :)

For those of you who travel

Living here on the Canadian border, I am aware of various trends and issues regarding travel in the Northern Hemisphere.

Specifically, U.S. citizens didn't used to need a passport to take a cruise to Bermuda or to travel to Mexico or to Canada.  Now you need a passport if you are flying and various approximations of proof of citizenship if you are crossing landborders.  (Although in this 'interim period' up until 6/1/2009 a copy of  your birth certificate and government issued picture i.d. is acceptable*.)

Effective next June 1st, however, a passport is required...unless (and here is the confusing exceptions list) you have another acceptable form of identification.  Most people do not know about these options, so I'm sharing.

What I am specifically touting here, for your travelling pleasure, is the US passport card, which you can get in addition to a passport for $20, or which you can get instead of a passport for something like $50.  Applications can be obtained online or you can pick them up at the post office.  The advantage of these is that the passport card is the size of a drivers license and fits in your wallet.  And if you have an expired passport that is less than fifteen years out of date, my understanding (from actually calling the Dept. of State) is that you can still get only the passport card at the $20 rate.  Any older and you will have to pay the full pop.

There are other acceptible documents which are only relevant to vetted persons who travel frequently across the landborders.  These are called Trusted Traveler Programs:  FAST for commercial operators; SENTRI for commuters across the Mexican border; NEXUS for the Canadian border crossers.  If any of these apply to you you can look them up via the acronym.  They all cost about $50 and may be obtained by US permanent residents and Canadian or Mexican citizens.  There are other benefits too such as special commuter lanes to expedite the cardholder's entry, and you can use SENTRI and NEXUS for flights as well, with certain additional requirements including, last I heard, an iris scan and other biometric data.  Oh, and to confuse you even more?  I just learned that the NEXUS card can be used for boaters on border lakes for remote entry, e.g. they call in and report their activities!  So confusing...

I know you are all excited by this stuff.  But I hear so much confusion around the "what identification to bring" question that I thought I'd muddy clarify the waters a little more.

* This does not apply to those who are required to carry immigration documentation or passports, such as those who are not either Mexican, Canadian or US citizens.  And I am sure some of those folks may require their passports.  Diplomatic types and crewmembers (ship or aircraft) come to mind, and I am sure there must be other categories of traveller that fall into this I-do-but-I-don't area. 

'Nuff said

http://storyofstuff.org/

SF Worldcon in Montreal in 2009 - Wanna go?

I want to go to this. If I can get the time off, I will.

There are numerous mentions of it on the internet. Anticipations SF appears to the be home site of the WorldCon for 2009, which is named "Anticipation."

From their site:
Anticipation, the WorldCon will be held at Palais des congrès de Montréal from August 6th - 10th, 2009.

Neil Gaiman - Guest of Honour
Elisabeth Vonarburg - Invitée d'honneur
Taral Wayne - Fan Guest of Honour
David Hartwell - Editor Guest of Honour
Tom Doherty - Publisher Guest of Honour
Julie Czerneda - Master of Ceremonies

Our new mailing address is:
C.P. 105, Succursale NDG
Montréal, Québec
Canada H4A 3P4

Robert J. Sawyer mentions reasons why it's great to have it in Montreal.
Keith Lynch's list of conventions (a good site for that sort of info.)

Non-writing stuff

No blog for a few days.
I've got a doctor appointment in Boston, so I'm going out of town for three days, leaving at o'dark thirty tomorrow morning.  Much as I prefer driving my SUV (because of my bad back), I'm using my mother's Mazda.  It's nice to have an option to be greener, even if I do have to pop a couple muscle relaxants. :) Besides, gas cracked three bucks a gallon again up here, so my eight-hundred-mile drive won't cost so much.

Samhain (Halloween):
The best part is that my doctor appointment in Boston allows me to stay for Samhain at my best buddy's house.  She's an 8-hour drive away, so I don't get to see her too often...usually just when I see my doc in Boston.  Just so happens this year it's for Samhain.  Booze, laughs and probably a ritual at another friend's house.

The cat:
Her Pissiness is still incredibly stoned on the reduced dose of Valium, so we're further reducing her dose.  It's working to mellow her out, but when I brought out the laser pen for her to chase, every time she swatted at it she fell over!  Funny, but probably bad for her long-term health. 

And a public service announcement:
Guys, if you haven't been getting your annual physicals, do so.  Every year.  Because a friend of mine hadn't been doing so and went to the doc (finally) for an injury.  The smart doctor insisted on his doing lab work, too.  Only to discover that my friend (who is 56) had the early stages of prostate cancer.

He's lucky: His prostate will be removed, but his cancer is still tiny and highly treatable.  He won't even need chemo or radiation.  And, he's saved his life.

Prostate cancer is one of the most treatable of cancers.  The only thing is, it is nearly always asymptomatic until it's too late to save your life.  Hence the need for checkups.

Spread the word, folks. 

Stop the silence - Be Bold, Be Red

This is a link to Tyhitia Green's post for today.  Topic?  Violence against women, particularly women of color.  As anyone with functioning hearing and sight knows, there has been a resurgence of violence against persons of color in the news; however, it's been a continual problem all along. 

Check out http://documentthesilence.wordpress.com/ for information on Be Bold Be Red.

Important information for US border crossers

This is important information.  Please read this and pass along the information to those whom you think might benefit.

You are probably aware that in 2008 a new passport requirement will be in effect on the US/Canada and US/Mexico borders.  With the cost of passports being around 120 each, this is a significant financial cost, especially to families.

Most people are unaware, however, of Trusted Traveler Programs that allow you to use a government-issued identification card instead of a passport.

These programs are NEXUS on the Northern Border and SENTRI on the Southern Border.  The cards may be applied for online at the link below, and they only cost $50 US dollars.  Even more important, CHILDREN UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE ARE FREE.  (You can see how this program is beneficial.) The card is valid for five years and can be applied for by residents of Canada and Mexico as well as US residents. 

Cardholders are also eligible to travel in an expedited lane, where they will still be inspected, but should experience much less of a delay as border wait times climb due to inspectional operations.  (The other benefit of this card is it fits in  your wallet, so you aren't likely to make a spur-of-the-moment trip to Canada and forget your passport.)

To apply online or for more information on eligibility, go to the Customs and Border PRotection website (www.cbp.gov).  The direct link is at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/trusted_traveler/goes/

I am passing this along so that more people will become aware of this program, as I live along the border and hadn't heard of it until this morning.  This is not meant to be a definitive explanation.