Back After a Long Hiatus

     First, I want to say hello to my six loyal fans. Did you miss me? I have been working on some other writing projects, thus neglecting my self-appointed Slayer duties. I am embarking on an artistic journey this coming Sunday called Script Frenzy. The goal is to write 100 pages of screen play, graphic novel, television show, or some other similar type of creative work. Screnzy (cute huh?) starts on April 1st and ends the 30th. The rules are that it must be a completely new piece of work written during the thirty days, but outlining prior to the start is okay.
     For my project, I have decided to write a screen play, the subject of which is the back story to the novel I am currently writing (23,060 words in so far). Just a taste of what to expect: Witches, both good and bad, a spell book, coven leaders with different ideals, murder, romance, and few other surprises that I don't want to give away yet. And yes, I do plan to work on both projects simultaneously.
     I hope I have wet your appetite, since I do plan to keep you updated as to my progress (or lack of) during the Script Frenzy. As the month goes by, I will reveal a little more of the plot, so you can be in the know. I have also included a link to the Script Frenzy site if you would like more information.

Thanks for your support,

~Slayer

http://www.scriptfrenzy.org

Postcards from the Dark Side

     The alarmists have struck again! The message: another cautionary note, fraught with elements of  both reality and creative writing, warning us of the danger from Internet postcards sent to our email boxes. Per the message, the digital postcards deliver a destructive  and catastrophic payload to the computer hard drive when opened. Lending credibility to this threat from the anonymous author, is the advice from the anonymous, very advanced, programmer from Microsoft, who does computer work for a living combined with a high status with the software giant. This unknown source is notorious for not sending email notifying recipients of a threat if they it is not for real, so lock down the hard drive and man the virtual battle stations, 'cuz this got to be real!

THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

FYI TO ALL.

Our friend is a very advanced programmer who does computer work for a living and has a high up status with Microsoft . He doesn't send these if they aren't real.  If he says this is for real, it for sure is.  Be aware..

VIRUS COMING !

Hi All,

I checked with Norton Anti-Virus, and they are gearing up for this virus!

I checked Snopes, and it is for real. Get this E-mail message sent around to your contacts ASAP.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS WARNING AMONG FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS!

You should be alert during the next few days. Do not open any message with an attachment entitled 'POSTCARD FROM HALLMARK,' regardless of who sent it to you. It is a virus which opens A POSTCARD IMAGE, which 'burns' the whole hard disc C of your computer.

This virus will be received from someone who has your e-mail address in his/her contact list. This is the reason why you need to send this e-mail to all your contacts. It is better to receive this message 25 times than to receive the virus and open it.

If you receive a mail called' POSTCARD,' even though sent to you by a friend, do not open it! Shut down your computer immediately. This is the worst virus announced by CNN .

It has been classified by Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever. This virus was discovered by McAfee yesterday, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus. This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept.

COPY THIS E-MAIL, AND SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS.

REMEMBER: IF YOU SEND IT TO THEM, YOU WILL BENEFIT ALL OF US

SLAYER'S RESPONSE:

     I know I rely heavily on Snopes for their investigation into the reliability of the messages written about in the RC Blog, so I decided to follow the footsteps of the author of this message for the slaying process. One would think that if CNN called this the "worst virus" ever, a simple keyword search on the CNN site would render some sort of result, but no such luck. A keyword search at Norton (which is, in reality Symantec) revealed some of the partial truth because there was a worm virus, called W32.Mixor.Q, that was sent through email in 2001. The final check, Snopes, where the author also verified the status, (which, if the anonymous, high up status computer dude doesn't forward hoaxes, then why did the author need to check Snopes?) revealed the truth that a virus did exist but it is old news now. I don't know, maybe the virus makers are slacking, so we need to replay old threats. The bottom line is that we are probably safe from this virus because it is likely saved on a floppy disc and who has disc drives anymore?



~Slayer



 http://www.cnn.com/search/?query=worst computer virus&primaryType=mixed&sortBy=date&intl=false


http://www.symantec.com/outbreak/happynewyear_worm.html

http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/postcard.asp

The Morning Before Christmas

     It has been some time since I have submitted anything to the RC Blog, so I apologize to my four faithful followers (yes, this comment is a hint for you to push the "follow" button at the top of the right column). Slayerland has been unusually busy with preparation for Christmas, dissertation proposal writing, and other things in life that clamor for attention. Now, on Christmas Eve, I finally got a chance to take a break and thought I would post The Soldiers Night Before Christmas as a tribute to the men and women of our Armed Forces who stand watch while we celebrate, lest they not be forgotten.

THE SOLDIERS NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

 

Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone,
In a one bedroom house made of plaster & stone.
I had come down the chimney with presents to give
And to see just who in this home did live.

I looked all about a strange sight I did see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.
No stocking by the fire, just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands.

With medals and badges, awards of all kind
A sober thought came through my mind.
For this house was different, so dark and dreary,
I knew I had found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly.

I heard stories about them, I had to see more
So I walked down the hall and pushed open the door.
And there he lay sleeping silent alone,
Curled up on the floor in his one bedroom home.

His face so gentle, his room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured a United States soldier.
Was this the hero of whom I'd just read?
Curled up in his poncho, a floor for his bed?

His head was clean shaven, his weathered face tan,
I soon understood this was more than a man.
For I realized the families that I saw that night
Owed their lives to these men who were willing to fight.

Soon `round the world, the children would play,
And grownups would celebrate on a bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom each month of the year,
Because of soldiers like this one lying here.

I couldn´t help wonder how many lay alone
On a cold Christmas Eve in a land far from home.
Just the very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.

The soldier awakened and I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don´t cry, this life is my choice;
I fight for freedom, I don´t ask for more,
my life is my God, my country, my Corps."

With that he rolled over and drifted off into sleep,
I couldn´t control it, I continued to weep.
I watched him for hours, so silent and still,
I noticed he shivered from the cold night´s chill.

So I took off my jacket, the one made of red,
And I covered this Soldier from his toes to his head.
And I put on his T-shirt of gray and black,
With an eagle and an Army patch embroidered on back.

And although it barely fit me, I began to swell with pride,
And for a shining moment, I was United States Army deep inside.
I didn´t want to leave him on that cold dark night,
This guardian of honor so willing to fight.

Then the soldier rolled over, whispered with a voice so clean and pure,
"Carry on Santa, it's Christmas Day, all is secure."
One look at my watch, and I knew he was right,
Merry Christmas my friend, and to all a good night!

     This poem was originally titled Merry Christmas, My Friend and written by LCpl James M. Schmidt in 1986. The poem was changed to the version posted here by LTC Bruce Lovley in 1993. LTC Lovely mainly changed Marine-specific references to more of generic feel toward all service members. The bottom line: I am thankful for ALL of our U.S. Military members and want them to know they are heroes every single day.

Thank you and Merry Christmas

~Slayer

http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/soldier.asp

Perilous Parking Lot Practice by Predators?

     The Mall and Target seem to be favorite places for ill-doers to hang out. Do not get me wrong, people of any gender should be aware of their surroundings at all times because bad people do exist. However, sensationalism of evil doings by posting accounts of fictional occurrences via email is akin to yelling "fire" in a theater. One might counter with a statement such as, "Well, it could happen." If that is the argument, then society has much ground to make up as far as warning the population about things that could happen, but have not actually ever occurred before. Besides, I thought that is what movies were for.

THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

Needs to be read!!
 A new way to abduct a female very scary

NEW RAPE SCAM!!!! PLEASE  READ!!!!!

Please pass on to all your girlfriends, wives, etc.  Just to be on the safe side. Please be aware and
pass it on to anyone you think this will help.

Sunday afternoon around 5 PM I headed into the Target.  It was still light outside and I parked fairly close to the entrance.  As I got out of my car and began walking towards Target, an older lady shouted to me
from the passenger seat of a car about 30 feet away from me.

"Ma'am you must help me, help me please, help me Ma'am!" I looked at her in the eyes and started to walk towards her when all of a sudden I remembered an email my Mom had sent me a week or two ago
about rapists and abductions using elderly people to lure women in.

I paused, memorized the license plate and immediately headed into Target to get a manager to come help this lady, just in case something was up. While the woman manager headed out there, I kept a close watch just
because I was curious what was wrong with the lady and wanted to be sure nothing happened.

As the Target lady walked up towards the car and got very close to the old woman in order to help her, the back door of the car flies open and a large man with a stocking cap on, jumps out and sticks a gun to the
lady's stomach as he shoves her into the back of the car. I yelled out "call 911" several times and just as I was saying that, a policeman who happened to be on the other side of the parking lot! And who, luckily had seen the entire thing happen, raced over to the car.

He was able to stop the car and arrest the male as well as the old lady, who was involved in the scheme… By God's grace everyone was all right, including myself, although I think we were both shaken up.

Like many of you, I would not in a million years have left an elderly person who was yelling for help if it weren't for the e-mail I had read last week. So, I wanted to pass this along so you all can be aware and remember that you really can't trust anyone these days.

You just never know when something like this could happen. I would have never dreamed it to happen to me especially on a Sunday afternoon at a Target in a safe area!

It definitely was not a coincidence that my Mom sent that email just a few days before this all happened. Please, be careful and always be aware of your surroundings. Just because you individually don't go over to help someone doesn't mean you have to leave them in trouble but don't go ALONE, you really don't know what might be going on.

This was checked with Snopes.com <http://snopes.com/>  http: //snopescom/ - this is true and they also use children to lure the victim !!

Please pass on to all your girlfriends, wives, etc. Just to be on the safe side. Please be aware and
pass it on to anyone you think this will help.


SLAYER'S RESPONSE:

     At the end of the message, the author urges the reader to validate the information via the Snopes website. Snopes' response to this claim was "Er--no, we don't say that. In fact, we say the exact opposite. The story is false." Since the source given in the email body refutes the claim, this is good enough for me. Using a reference in such a manner reminds me of using a sworn enemy as a job reference. I did find it particularly amusing that the alleged first person in the message had no issue with throwing the Target manager under the bus. She was also very helpful by yelling "call 911" several times. I don't know, but she almost sounds like an accomplice to me. Anyway, be aware of your surroundings but please do not stop helping older women and children who may be in need.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

~Slayer
    
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/wheaton.asp

Worth Fighting For?

     During my course of business last week, I spotted a bumper sticker that read "War is Terrorism" on two different cars while on I-5. Now this is understandable since I was in the Seattle area, but what baffles me is that one of the bumper stickers was on a woman's car. My first reaction to seeing this woman with that sticker on her car was that she should don a burka, burn any books she owns, and quit having opinions because women under Taliban rule were not permitted such things. In other words, the notion of this person believing war unjust under any circumstance was like a double negative. How could she protest war if she did not believe in conflict?
    
     As for the message on the bumper sticker, I thought war was war and terrorism was terrorism. Let's ask Webster. War is usually an open or stated state of conflict between states or nations, or it is a state of antagonism or hostility. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror as a means of coercion. It looks like Webster agrees with me that a difference exists between these two words.
    
     I don not want to give you the idea that I am a war monger, in fact, quite the contrary. My belief is that the conflict in Afghanistan has gone on long enough and I do not believe politicians know the desired end-state for that nation anymore. This is compounded with my very personal stake of my only child being currently deployed. Sure, I want the war over, but I also believe that U.S. actions have improved the standard of living for the people of Afghanistan, which is a wonderful ancillary benefit of our so called "terrorism" in that region of the world. So I ask the "War is Terrorism" lady, what good came from the terrorist actions that occurred on September 11, 2001? As I recall that day, there was nothing but destruction. I believe those actions and preservation of our way of life are things worth fighting for.

~Slayer

http://www.merriam-webster.com

Anatomy of a Slaying

     By now I am sure you are wondering how exactly I am able to determine the reliability level of the different messages that have made it to the Reality Check (RC) blog. I assure you I am not magic, nor am I a seer, nor do I have a leprechaun working for me who grants unlimited wishes. For this RC installment, I thought it might be fun to take you, the reader, with me as I slay another piece of scary yet bogus email. So fasten your seat belt and get your personal emergency alarm whistle at the ready as we check to see if this new technique is really being employed by savvy kidnappers in the modern world. For this journey, I will insert Slayer commentary in brackets [like these] to give you insight as to how the message is validated.

THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE [With embedded Slayer commentary]:

[No date for the original message, not a good start for the reliability meter]

I'm not an alarmist but this one hit home with me. You can really get yourself into trouble just by being "nice". We must all think first. Please read below [Really? It sounds like you are being an alarmist].

NEW FORM OF KIDNAPPING

Please take a minute to read this. This is very scary and could happen to any of us..[Double period, must be a serious point] Seems like every nice thing people do for one another can be perverted.

A new twist on kidnapping from a very smart survivor:

About a month ago [A month ago when? This is not a real date] there was a woman standing by the mall [Which mall?] entrance passing out flyers to all the women going in.The woman had written the flyer herself to tell about an experience she had, so that she might warn other women.

The previous day, this woman had finished shopping, went out to her car and discovered that she had a flat.

She got the jack out of the trunk and began to change the flat. A nice man dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase walked up to her and said, 'I noticed you're changing a flat tire. Would you like me to take care of it for you?'

The woman was grateful for his offer and accepted his help. They chatted amiably while the man changed the flat, and then put the flat tire and the jack in the trunk, shut it and dusted his hands off.

The woman thanked him profusely, and as she was about to get in her car, the man told her that he left his car around on the other side of the mall, and asked if she would mind giving him a lift to his car.

She was a little surprised and she asked him why his car was on other side.

He explained that he had seen an old friend in the mall that he hadn't seen for some time and they had a bite to eat, visited for a while, and he got turned around in the mall and left through the wrong exit, and now he was running late.

The woman hated to tell him 'no' because he had just rescued her from having to change her flat tire all by herself, but she felt un easy . (Trust that gut feeling!)

Then she remembered seeing the man put his briefcase in her trunk before shutting it and before he asked her for a ride to his car.

She told him that she'd be happy to drive him around to his car, But she just remembered one last thing she needed to buy. (Smart woman!!)
She said she would only be a few minutes; he could sit down in her car and wait for her; she would be as quick as she could be

She hurried into the mall, and told a security guard what had happened, the guard [Blart? Really?] came out to her car with her, but the man had left. They opened the trunk, took out his locked briefcase and took it down to the police station.

The police opened it (ostensibly to look for ID so they could return it to the man). What they found was rope, duct tape, and knives. When the police checked her 'flat' tire, there was nothing wrong with it; the air had simply been let out. It was obvious what the man's intention was, and obvious that he had carefully thought it out in advance. The woman was blessed to have escaped harm.

How much worse it would have been if she had children with her and had them wait in the car while the man fixed the tire, or if she had a baby strapped into a car seat? Or if she'd gone against her judgment and given him a lift?

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life.

A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only; but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc.., you may want to pass it on to them, as well.

Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that The world we live in has a lot of crazies in it. Better to be safe than sorry.

PLEASE BE SAFE AND NOT SORRY!

THE SLAYING:

1.      Found Snopes website via Bing. Typed “new form of kidnapping” in search box.

2.      Read article on Snopes reveling this story to be a variation of an urban legend. This particular version has been on the Internet since 2001.

3.      Double check CNN for any similar story since the news media loves this kind of s**t, it would likely turn up there if it were real, no such luck.

4.      And Presto, this piece is debunked!

SLAYER'S COMMENTS:

     Since you took the journey with me, you already know this piece is a total fabrication. In fact, it took longer to write about how it to slay it than it did to determine the message was a load of hooey. At this point, I believe it is safe to dry off and pocket the personal emergency whistle until another potential threat is uncovered via the magic of the Internet and email.

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/hairyarm.asp

http://www.ehow.com/how_4791758_personal-emergency-alarm-whistle.html

Onions: Friend or Foe?

     Many a dish has been spiced up with the help of our multi-layered friend, the onion, for as long as we can remember. But wait, the email in this piece points to the possibility that the food we once considered to be our friend could actually have dire consequences if we don't consume it within milliseconds of breaking through its protective exterior layer. On the flip side, the same thing that may make the onion dangerous could also be a breakthrough in the medical field and I would imagine onion wards will open in hospitals around the globe once medical doctors get wind of the healing power of the onion.

THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

ONIONS---POISONOUS ---???

Good Morning..just had to pass this one on with fall here & winer coming...would be nice if it did work...
If you ever come to my house and see a bowl of onions on the table, you'll understand why. Very interesting. Who would have thought a little old onion could do so much.
ONIONS - NOT JUST FOR EATING....VERY INTERESTING !!!!!!!
 

ONIONS
In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it and many died.
 

The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
 

Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work.. (And no, she is not in the onion business.)

The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu.
 

If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case.. Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!!!!
 

Now there is a P. S. To this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions:
 

Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmers story.. But, I do know that I contacted pneumonia and needless to say I was very ill.. I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put one end on a fork and then place the forked end into an empty jar...placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs.. Sure enough it happened just like that.. The onion was a mess and I began to feel better.
 

Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.

This is the other note.
Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu's and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open.
 

LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS
I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO.
 

Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist.
The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He's one of the brothers Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula. He's even developed sauce formula for McDonald's.
 

Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially- made Mayo is completely safe.
 

"It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the quaint essential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.
 

Ed says that! when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade Mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the onions, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES.
 

He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.
 

It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!)
 

Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'! ll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.
 

So, how's that for news? Take it for what you will. I (the author) am going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.
 

Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.
 

Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.
 

Please pass this on to all you love and care.

SLAYER'S RESPONSE:

     While I hoped that we could use onions to suck disease out of the sick and then shoot the disease-laden vegetables at our enemies through onion cannons as a new super-weapon, the reality is that the claims made in this email sound incredulous because they are not true. Mike Mullens of Mullens Food Products set the record straight in the Snopes article on the subject by writing that  the information in the email sounds as if it came from two separate tours of the plant and was (surprise, surprise) taken out of context. The real deal is that no amount of onions with anything stuck in them will suck the sick out of you and it is fine to save onions for a second use because they will not morph into a disease troll plotting its attack for the next recipe that calls for onion. Now the only question is what to do with all these onion necklaces and paperweights I made after first reading the email. Maybe some potato salad...

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/fooddrink/a/leftover_onions_are_poisonous.htm

http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/cutonions.asp