Letters to the editor with pictures since 0202. Published on Big Pine Key’s garbage days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
 [Crooks] Identity and credit thief occurring after Irma FEMA fraud. Hi folks! We want to alert our friends about the identity theft and FEMA fraud that we have just experienced.A letter arrived this past Friday from FEMA denying our claim on our former Cudjoe Gardens home — a home we did not own, about a claim we did not apply for, for hurricane season damage for the 2017 season for damage that did not occur. We received this letter from FEMA because whoever stole our identity reapplied for further hurricane assistance asking for reimbursement for a mega generator. It gets way more strange from there, but I’m not willing to go into it in this format. It appears we were accidentally notified!Since this incident we have been on a very fast and steep learning curve regarding credit and identity theft. They are not the same thing but overlap like a Venn diagram. To educate yourselves, as we are trying to do, we suggest you start with the Federal Trade Commission website. What has happened to us will not appear on your credit report or your ID theft report if you have that coverage too. Other stuff that does not appear includes Medicare, Medicaid billing, IRS data, SS benefit payouts (love this one: you all may have “multiple spouses” that you were not married to, billing your ss benefits). We now have to use a PIN to file our income taxes because folks are trying to override that too.We think we know where our data breach occurred and it’s the Lower Keys Medical system. Medical practices who have hospital admitting privileges are part of the system. Security is only as good as its weakest link. Next conversations occurring tomorrow are with various fraud government sites. There phone numbers were given to us because we called FEMA and reported that we did not apply for assistance. |
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| [Dead] What was the name of the 21 year-old from Big Pine who tragically died last Monday? |
Santa in the Park will be appearing this Wednesday, December 19th, at 6:00 p.m. in out Port Pine Heights Community Park. Hot dogs, chips and drinks will be served. Santa is scheduled to arrive on a fire truck at about 8 p.m. Come to share some holiday spirit! ~Bob Audette |
| [Why Do Gardeners Live Longer] In recent Dutch study, researchers asked participants to complete a stressful task, then split them into two groups. One group read indoors and the other gardened outdoors for 30 minutes. The group that read reported that their mood “further deteriorated”, while the gardeners not only had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol afterwards, they also felt “fully restored” to a good mood.
Australian researchers following men and women in their 60s found that those who regularly gardened had a 36% lower risk of dementia than their non-gardening counterparts. Preliminary studies among elderly people suffering from cognitive issues such as dementia and Alzheimer’s report benefits from garden settings and horticulture therapy. Sunlight and fresh air, for example, help agitated elders feel calmer, while the colors and textures of various plants and vegetables can improve visual and tactile ability. There is a lot of evidence, most anecdotal, some scientific, about how gardeners live up to 14 years longer than non-gardeners. That’s a pretty impressive life extension and it certainly warrants further research. Link |
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| [“Reset your circadian clock”] Have heart surgery in the afternoon. A 2017 study found that heart attacks were half as likely in patients who had valve replacements later in the day. |
Squirrels aren’t naturally in our parks and forests. In the mid-1800s the rodents were released in American cities to “create pockets of rural peace and calm”. The critters became nuisances instead. It’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature. |
| [To Wolfman’s brother] I tried to send you a text message. Your number was not working. I knew your brother. My name is Debby, feel free to call me at 305-509-1994. |
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Sticky keyboards can cause major errors if not replaced or cleaned regularly. Using a dirty keyboard has changed blood types, name spelling errors, Social Security payment cancellations, love letters to the wrong address, and bank record errors. Buy a new one, they’re cheap. |
| [Stamps] The first class mail letter (1 oz.) rate for postage purchased at the Post Office will increase by five cents to $.55 from $.50. Each additional ounce will cost $.15, a decrease from $.21. |
[Epiphany] Since Irma I’ve been in a fog. I didn’t think America was great any more because I could only see America through our divided politics, not the full shelves in all the supermarkets and stores, not the reliable power and water, gas stations everywhere, swell education, security, freedom of speech. I forgot all these gifts until I saw the Grizzwalds interviewed online yesterday about their lavish Christmas decorations. I always thought those electrical displays were so stupid until the guy said they did it as a “gift to the community”. I never thought like that. I feel such a fool. I’ve been missing the sleigh for too long. I might even try to smile more. Merry Christmas! |
| [Tools and Hurricanes] Almost all my electric tools have died since Irma, even though they didn’t get drowned (it must be from the wet air blowing around under our house). But not one of my many battery-operated tools stopped working. Batteries are where it’s at! |
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[Live Wells For Sale] 100 gallons. Approximately 48 inches tall, 32 diameter. Excellent condition. Only held water. $250 each. Phone 352-207-6492. Pick up on 20th Street, oceanside, in Marathon. |
| Greg Dalia, are you still out there? Terry from Little Palm Island needs kitchen cabinets. If you’re still here please call me at 305-395-0455. Thanks. |
Greeley Grizwalds light display is going to be on TV. Video |
| Why the Chinese kick our rears in mathematics. study the first photo very carefully. then look at the second one. it may take awhile, but eventually you will notice a slight difference between photographs. Link |
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[UBP] Deer Ed, As always, thank you for keeping the perspective here for our local community. Proud to be a Piner, because there is nothing finer. |
| [Keys Cost Too Much] Uh, everything you eat (including seafood) and drink in the Keys comes down US1. Even the breweries and distilleries as the water comes down a pipe from Miami. Keys life is expensive and so is a vacation in the former paradise. You won’t be missed, there’s flocks of sheep dying to see the 1% of the reef that’s left – and drink themselves into azzholeiness. For the record, sunshine doesn’t pay the bills and Florida is in high demand. ‘Cheap’ don’t live here no more. |
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| [Email Attachments] If you get an email attachment whose file name ends in: .bat, .exe, .vbs, and .js don’t open it! The files are potentially dangerous to your computer. Don’t just automatically open an attachment. Think first. Be careful in opening attachments, especially if it’s from someone that you don’t know or trust. Keep your computer antivirus software up to date |
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| [Holiday Delivery Scam] This is very clever. I would probably fall for it if not warned. Just when you thought you’d heard it all. Be very careful out there! Beware of people bearing gifts. Read this woman’s account: Wednesday a week ago, I had a phone call from someone saying that he was from some outfit called: “Express Couriers,” (The name could be any courier company). He asked if I was going to be home because there was a package for me that required a signature. The caller said that the delivery would arrive at my home in roughly an hour. Sure enough, about an hour later, a uniformed delivery man turned up with a beautiful basket of flowers and a bottle of wine. I asked him who the sender was. The courier replied, “I don’t know, I’m only delivering the package.” Apparently, a greeting card was being sent separately (the card has never arrived).He explained that because the gift contained alcohol, there was a $3.50 delivery/verification charge proving that he hand-delivered the package to an adult of legal drinking age. This sounded logical and I offered to pay him cash. He said that the delivery company required payment by credit or debit card only, “Couriers don’t carry cash to avoid loss or likely targets for robbery.”My husband pulled out his credit card, and the “delivery man,” asked him to swipe the card on a small mobile card machine with a small screen and keypad. My husband was then asked to enter his PIN number and a receipt was printed out. He was given a copy of the transaction. To our horrible surprise, between Thursday and the following Monday, $4,000 had been charged/withdrawn from our credit/debit account at various ATM machines. The mobile credit card machine, which the deliveryman carried had all the info necessary to create a dummy card with all our information including the PIN number. Be wary of accepting any gift or package if it involves any kind of payment as a condition of receiving the gift or package. |
What fresh hell is this? |
| Getting older is just one body part talking to another saying, “Ha ha, you think that’s bad? Watch this…” |
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| Trump visits Arlington Cemetery in the rain, viewing Christmas wreaths at grave sites. Link |
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| I will never play the Power Ball or any lottery again because I didn’t play it last night and my number came up, so I know for sure it is fixed! |
 [High Test or Regular] The strongest alcoholic drink in the world is Spirytus Delikatesowy, which is a 192-proof vodka that comes from Poland. At 192 proof, this vodka translates to 96 percent alcohol by volume, or ABV, which is higher than Everclear, which had long been the strongest alcoholic drink by alcohol volume at 190 proof. Everclear, which is a neutral grain spirit, is also bottled in a 151-proof version, which is 75.5 percent alcohol by volume, because some states do not allow the sale of high ABV spirits. Other high alcohol-volume spirits include Bruichladdich X4, which is a 184-proof single-malt scotch; Golden Grain, a 190-proof neutral grain spirit; and River Antoine Royale Grenadian Rum, which is a 180-proof rum. |
| [“Dog poop”] I found a pile of poop with corn in it in my yard. I guess dog owners have to ‘go’ too |
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| [Decorations] Our gift to the community. |
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| [To the Supervisor of Elections] 2020 is time for the census and an opportunity for re-districting. After hurricane Irma many residents in the lower Keys have been forced to leave, decreasing the number of voters. While District 2 was previously gerrymandered taking 534 voter units from the lower Keys and moving them to the City of Marathon, thereby giving Marathon two County Commissioners and the lower Keys got zero Commissioners. The City of Marathon has been expanding. It has been reported that the City has added 1000 more units since hurricane Irma. It’s time for a change, give the lower Keys back a voice on the County Commission. We have been under the control of Marathon long enough. It’s time for equal representation. |
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| [“Dog poop: return it to their doorstep, without the bag”] Living proof of the douch-baggery moving to what once was paradise. Let me guess, the dog pooper is too good to pick up poop because he’s too classy and knows the reef is 99% gone forever, so dog poop hurts nothing in his northern mind. The suggestion to dump the doo on his doorstep is exactly how they act in New Somewhere Else. |
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| [Video Help Forum] The best of the best links for video help. Link |
What will happen if women do take total control of Earth? By most standards, we men will be nothing but slaves. They don’t even need us for procreation even today. Video |
| [Vigilantes] Miami has very few liable cases for sex offences, but we do have lots of very fat alligators in the Everglades. |
 [Gale Force Winds] It’ll be a windy and stormy Thursday, with gale-force west winds Thursday night and Friday night. A disturbance in the jet stream out west is expected to grow rapidly as it pivots unusually far southward, to the southern Gulf of Mexico. This process will help form an intense and expansive low pressure system over the eastern United States later this week. Wind and weather will undergo faster-than-usual changes across the Florida Keys and adjacent coastal waters, from Wednesday night through Friday. The following marine weather threats should be a consideration for your planning, between Wednesday night and Friday night:
-Potential for a few severe thunderstorms late Wednesday night or Thursday. ‘Severe’ means thunderstorms capable of delivering wind gusts near or exceeding 50 knots or hail of one inch diameter or greater. -Likelihood for numerous, fast-moving, strong squalls with significant reductions in horizontal surface visibility in heavy downpours, late Wednesday night through Thursday night. -Increasing likelihood for sustained gale-force winds from the west Thursday night through Friday. -Potential for higher than average water levels and some minor coastal flooding. ~Chip Kasper and Chris Rothwell, NOAA Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team |
| [Bye Keys] After living in a building and having nothing more than an apartment I’m glad to be gone. Having green acreage and a fence is a wonderful feeling. I don’t miss my 60′ X 100′ lot on a pee green canal. |
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