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I Received A Phishing Phone Call Today: Beware, My Friends

Carl Setzer

This afternoon my office received a phone call from “800”. I had just finished one project and was reviewing my notes when this popped up. In a good place to deal with random distraction, I opted to grab the call. As the tech-savviest of my office mates, I’m glad I got this one.

Female Robot Voice: “Your Windows license has expired and your account has been compromised…” at which point, I hung up. Now, a malicious part of me thought I should’ve played this up and trolled the phisher, but, no. I do have a ton of real work to do. Stuff that brings money into the company. But I really did want to disturb these creeps.

It’s not the first of these phishing phone calls I’ve received, just the first one like this one. Different verbiage, different delivery mechanism, but, in the end, the same deal.

So, no, this isn’t legit. No, Microsoft isn’t monitoring YOUR computer. Oh, and Windows licenses don’t “expire”. Last but not least, whether it’s a phone call or a pop-up on your browser, your machine probably isn’t compromised. Exception: if the antivirus software YOU installed is telling you this, it might be legit. In that case, along with anything repeatedly popping up on your computer, consult an expert.

I need to remember to “Sharpen My Saw”

Carl Setzer

I tweeted this earlier today:

So, here’s a bit more insight. I’ve known for years the importance of taking care of yourself. What’s called, in Franklin Covey parlanence, Sharpening Your Saw. This analogy states that the lumberjack who never sharpens his saw, doesn’t take care of his tools, slowly loses his effectiveness and, eventually, the tools, the saw in this case, fails.

It’s easy to get caught up in all the busyness of the world, of my modern life. My office is running pretty short-staffed right now. (If you’re interested in working with us, all our open positions have been posted on our Facebook page.) There’s so much to do, it seems indulgent to take some time for one’s self.

Yet, we…well, “I”…need to remember that not taking care of myself means decreasing effectiveness and eventual collapse. I’m not some strange superbeing who is exempt from all the rules that others are bound by.

I spent my morning journaling time considering this. Most of my refresh time has been reflexive. I want to shift to a more deliberate approach. The main reason is to avoid hitting the proverbial wall and THEN trying to figure out how I get more energy. No, I’m going to spend time daily doing things that feed my soul, that rejuvenate me and make me better. Substituting coffee (or worse) only creates a bigger problem down the road.

So, what do you do to recharge your soul? That gives you zip in the morning? I’d love to hear what works for you. I delight in hearing what inspires folks. So, drop me a note below.

As I Blink

Carl Setzer

I blink

A child’s born

Another blink

He stands

The next

He walks

Each moment

Gently changes

The world

Does she wait?

Carl Setzer

Staring thoughtfully

Waiting? Or contemplating? 

Summer passes by

Every so often, I’ll pop into Bing images and write a poem for the first image I see, or one that captivates me quickly. This is one of them. I find them fun to do.

Today’s Haiku: Forest Life

Carl Setzer

He knows how it feels

One tree within the forest 

Grasping for the light 

A Sunday Night Haiku

Carl Setzer



Another Sunday
The day’s faded to darkness
Summer’s heat waning

Train Tracks In The Wood

Carl Setzer

Away through the woods

I wonder about these tracks

Are they neglected?

Found this photo over at Pexels. I love to share great photography and support creative commons licensing.

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A Star Wars Mediation: Considering Grey Jedi

Carl Setzer

A couple of days ago I watched this Star Wars centric video: Why Everyone Is Wrong About Qui-Gon Jin. Thor Skywalker’s ideas about Qui-Gon and the notion of Grey Jedis really got my geek brain going.

The notions of the Grey Jedi certainly generates powerful debate within the Star Wars community. As for me, I would expect factionalism within the Force yielding community. So the existence of the Gray makes sense to me, along with other Force Yielders besides the Jedi and Sith.

Would the Gray simply be one’s “rejected” by the counsel, or folks having rejected the counsel’s edicts? I expect that the Gray Jedi maintain some sort of affiliation with the mainstream Jedi order. One rejecting the other, who rejects who?

Anyway, with this, I find it interesting that there are the gray Jedi along with other Force sensitives. Unique in this grouping. Perhaps not a complete rejection, then, by either party.

So, are the grey really just disconnected from the Jedi counsel and conventional wisdom? In terms of this video below, that seems to be the main element. I recognize that a greater comfort with the dark side is supposed to be a part of the gray theology (is theology the right word?). I think that the counsel was quite uncomfortable with any notion of acceptance of the dark side. Is this really about exclusion? And who decides orthodoxy? The counsel?

Anyway, this thought got quite convoluted. When I started writing this, I thought my idea about this was clear. And, in very short order, that, well, fell apart.

Let me know what you think via a comment or Twitter. I really would like to hear.

So, It’s Now Friday

Carl Setzer

Time drifting forwards

Relentlessness it’s main thing

It will always win