Categories
It Happened to Me

Puppies at conferences are a great idea

On the second full day of Okta’s annual conference, Oktane, there was an area marked with this very promising sign…

…and not far behind that sign was this little corral, which had about eight or ten puppies:

An organization named PuppyLove, which bills itself as “The Ultimate Puppy Experience,” provided said puppies.

Here’s how PuppyLove describes itself:

At Puppy Love, we strive to boost mental health and connections among corporate teams while also benefiting adoptable puppies in the process. With corporate wellness sitting top of mind throughout the country, it can be difficult to determine which types of events will most benefit your team. Puppy Love provides a fun, safe, stress-relieving outlet for professionals to kick back and enjoy the company of adorable puppies!

They also say:

Spending time with animals has been shown to enhance productivity, reduce stress, promote interpersonal connection, foster self-expression and so much more.

I did without a lunch break to spend time with all the puppies, making sure to pet every one.

PuppyLove have set themselves up at a number of conferences, listed here, and it appears that they were as big a hit as they were at Oktane.

I’ll close this article with my favorite photos from the set I took in the puppy zone. They’re of the puppy who liked me the most:

More conferences should have this sort of thing!

Categories
Florida Stranger than Fiction

Florida Cat redefines the slang expression “banana hammock”

Orange cat resting on a bunch of bananas in a banana tree.
Categories
Stranger than Fiction

The picture tells you whose idea it was

News clipping titled “Alberta couple sells off ‘very impressive’ collection of John Deere memorabilia” with photo of couple standing among a collection of toy John Deere tractors. Dan looks dejected; Donna is beaming.

You can click here for the news story about the sale of this collection, but for the full story, just look at Dan and Donna Specht’s body language and facial expressions.

Categories
Accordion, Instrument of the Gods It Happened to Me Music Tampa Bay

Join me, Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons at JolliMons Island this Tuesday!

Tap to view at full size.

After a summer hiatus, Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons (of which I am a member) are playing gigs again — this time on the third Tuesday of the month at Jollimons Island in Clearwater from 6 to 9 p.m.

We’re part of their Tuesday “Raw Talent Nights,” where the stage is open to musicians who want to join in on the open mic fun.

If you’re down Clearwater way, join us, whether you want to hop onstage and play, or sit back and enjoy the music!

Categories
Stranger than Fiction

“A” for effort; “ת” for execution

At least they tried. The sad thing is that the picture in the “Happy Rosh Hashanah” sign shows the food that’s actually associated with the holiday.

Consider this a reminder that if you’re working with unfamiliar subject matter, consult a subject matter expert, or at least someone familiar with it!

(In case you were wondering, “ת” is “tav,” the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet.)

Categories
Accordion, Instrument of the Gods It Happened to Me Music

We’re getting the band back together this Tuesday!

“Raw Talent Night” poster announcing “Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons will host Trop ’N’ Rock Night every third Tuesday.”
JolliMons Island is in Clearwater — 301 S Belcher Road.

This Tuesday, September 19th at JolliMons Island in Clearwater, I’ll be onstage with the accordion and playing with Tom Hood and the Tropical Sons. Come on down and enjoy some good food, drink, and live music!

Joey deVilla and the Tropical Sons playing on the dock at Bayou Bistro.
Categories
It Happened to Me Money

I ’m a cryptocurrency scam magnet today

The postcard

This postcard appeared in our mailbox this morning — here’s the front…

…and here’s the back:

Note that there’s no postmark, which means that it was delivered by hand. How oddly and delightfully analog!

The link takes you to a simply but nicely designed page that makes the standard Bitcoin pitch that’s been around for years, with the usual talking points such as the expanding money supply and inflation, the fixed supply of Bitcoin, “it’s digital money and a computer network!”, and a couple of bits about how Bitcoin “isn’t volatile” and that “Bitcoin help stabilize the Texas energy grid through mining.” I’m not sure how that last one can possibly be true.

The “wrong number” text message

Later, just before 2:00 p.m., I got a text message from an unrecognized number: “When is your birthday?”

Just for kicks, I turned it into a conversation:

In case you were wondering, Nguyet Anh Duong is known in US defense circles as “The Bomb Lady” for her work on developing a thermobaric weapon.

Here’s the last bit of our conversation:

Blame my inner 14-year-old: the town name “Mianus” will always be funny to me.

Want to know more about “pig butchering” scams? ProPublica has a great article titled What’s a Pig Butchering Scam? Here’s How to Avoid Falling Victim to One.

This is most likely a “pig butchering” style scam. It takes its name from the fact that you fatten up a pig before killing it for its meat. The term comes from the land of delicious char siu pork, China, where it originated. It’s now practiced here in North America to great effect: recently, a woman who matched up with a scammer on Hinge ended up losing $300,000 and a man lost $1 million.

Sometimes it starts via a dating or social media app, but another common approach is the text from a stranger with an attractive profile picture. The initial text messages make it look like they’re texting a wrong number, and after some seemingly-embarrassed apologies, the scammer strikes up a conversation. Then, as they gain your confidence, they start steering you towards some kind of questionable online investment, preferably one that makes the money hard to track once it’s gone.

Chances are that whoever’s supervising the texter playing “Tina” saw my responses and said “Stop wasting your time; this guy’s just yanking your chain,” which is exactly the case.

There’s an episode of the Jordan Harbinger Show on the topic of pig butchering — you can either listen to it or watch it below: