Never leave home without carrying cash!

Here's one of the headlines today at CNN:

Baby shot dead in stroller; 2 Georgia teens charged with murder

Said Sherry West, the the mother of the dead baby:  ""A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn't have any money. And he said, 'Give me your money or I'm going to kill you and I'm going to shoot your baby and kill your baby,' and I said, 'I don't have any money,' and 'Don't kill my baby.... And then, all of a sudden, he walked over and he shot my baby in the face."

How many others have been shot and killed by muggers who were desperate for money? Perhaps some would have been killed anyway, but many other would have been saved. Some of these attackers are drug addicts desperate for a fix.  Just hand them the cash and they may be off and running!

Personally, I never leave home with less than $300 and neither does my wife, although we do not advertise that fact. I urge you to never to carry less than $50, and $100 is a much safer sum. Now, don't tell me you haven't even got $50 to your name.  (But if that is the case, then how about $2.99?  That's all it will cost you to download FLAT BROKE? How to Get Back on Your Feet Fast!

    

Why was Tom Clements killed at home?

Although I do not know who killed Tom Clements, nor what the killer's motive was, I think any reader of Dirty Tricks for Savvy Chicks knows exactly why he died at that moment in time.  He died because he opened the door to a stranger.

If there is one safety tip I preach ad nauseam, it is to never answer the door to anyone you do not recognize. Not to the FedEx man. Not to the UPS man, Not to some woman with blood on her face who asks to use you telephone. This applied in spades to Tom Clements, who was Colorado's top state prison official!

Read and put into practice what you learn from Dirty Tricks for Savvy Chicks.  It could save your life!

FLAT BROKE? Temporary price reduction!

FLAT BROKE? has, until now, been priced at $14 and sold only on my website. However, it is now available in Amazon's Kindle Store for just $2.99.  Contents:

The Story of Homer Croy
      Bad news may be good news in disguise
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
      This chapter alone may get you back on track!
How to Survive the Loss of Your Home
       The many advantages of renting rather than owning 5
How to Survive the Loss of Your Job  
        This may open to door to pursuing your dreams       
How to Raise Some Immediate Cash
         How the author raised cash when it seemed impossible, and how you can too

What Your Smart Phone Says About You

Today's is a guest blog by an anonymous friend:

          Smart phones are now pretty much electronic oxygen; everybody needs one every day. For more and more people, their whole lives are wrapped up in their Smart Phone – contacts, calendar, messages, web surfing.  It’s a device that also goes with you everywhere.
          Did you ever wonder what, exactly, your phone can tell about you? Most people don’t pay any attention to the little snitch that runs around in your pocket.  Perhaps it’s time you do.  A recent document release discloses exactly how much information your friendly phone accumulates.
          Some background is needed to put things in context. If you are stopped by the police, there is a chance that you and the contents of your pockets will be examined.  If you are actually arrested, you will be exposed to a “search incident to arrest” and you and the contents of your pockets are fair game. That includes your Smart phone.  Under current case law, your phone can be searched for evidence of whatever crime you committed, especially if the police obtain a warrant. Your phone will squeal if a warrant is obtained.
          So what do the police find on your phone?  A recently unsealed search warrant from Michigan reveals all:
·        Everything you could possibly want to know about the technical features of the phone, software and apps that the phone runs.
·        The carrier, account information and account names connected to the phone.
·        Your complete call log – incoming, outgoing and missed.
·        Your complete text message history.
·        Your complete chat history.
·        Your contacts lists.
·        All data stored on your phone – documents, photos, etc.
·        Your browser history.
·        Your browser bookmarks.
          Alarmed?  It gets better.  Your little snitch also discloses the cell towers and Wi-Fi networks it has been using to keep in touch with the larger world, neatly arranged by time and date.  In the seized phone, there were 659 such contacts, including 227 cell towers, 28 Wi-Fi hotspots connected to and 403 Wi-Fi hotspots contacted. In addition, there was a “media site” which was identified, probably Netflix or something similar.
          So what does all that mean?  It means with a little time and effort, by extrapolating cell tower locations and Wi-Fi locations and placing those locations on a map, your movements can be tracked without any outside assistance. Now granted, cell towers and Wi-Fi networks broadcast over a grid the size of a few city blocks, but still, your phone knows you were in the area.
          So maybe, if you really want to be sneaky, you should leave the little snitch at home.