Morals and More!

  Satire folks, remember!

The Bathtub Test

It doesn't hurt to take a hard look at yourself from time to time, and this should help get you started.

During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor asked the Director what the criterion was which defined whether or not a patient should be institutionalized. 

"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub, then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to the patient and ask him or her to empty the bathtub." 

"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's bigger than the spoon or the teacup."

Do you think he's right?

"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"

DID YOU PASS, OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE?

Ask The Wizard (PHISHING)

 Dear Wizard of 'OZ', 

I was wondering if you can tell me more about 'Phishing'? I have heard a lot about it but am confused about what it means. 

Signed, Not wanting to take the bait. 

Dear Bait,

"Phishing" is the name given to the kind of identity theft that attempts to persuade its victims to fill out an online form or respond to an email with details of their bank accounts, credit card numbers, passwords and other personal information. People can be fooled into doing this when they believe that they are reconfirming information needed by a reputable institution with which they are doing business. Banks will never send you unsolicited emails asking for confidential information, such as your password, PIN, credit card and account numbers. They will never ask you to validate or restore your account access through email. There are fraudulent emails that appear to have been sent by Canadian banks including Scotiabank and others. Please do not respond to emails asking you to verify confidential information by clicking on a link in the email. The link leads to a modified webpage that looks like a Scotiabank, or other banking webpage asking customers to validate personal information such as their bank card number, password and PIN. Report any suspicious requests to local your bank (BY PHONE) or call your local police. 

Do not respond to emails or web sites requesting personal information. 

Here are a few other practices that will assist you in avoiding these scams: 

Recognition Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information.

An unexpected web site, web page or email appearing to be from a legitimate company (such as Scotiabank) may try to entice you to provide your personal information by claiming to verify security information or account details, possibly to avoid interruption of a service. Phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately (ie. threatening to discontinue access, or close an account). They typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, social insurance numbers, etc. Phisher emails are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages generally are. In addition, many phisher emails contain spelling and grammatical mistakes. Ensure that you are on a legitimate web page, examine the name after "https://" or "http://" and make sure that it is a recognized domain name. For example, the Scotia OnLine Sign-on page always starts with: "www.scotiaonline.scotiabank.com/". Exact spelling is important - any slightest deviation from this would indicate a suspicious site. For example: To access Scotia OnLine, always type out the address "www.scotiaonline.scotiabank.com". 

Actions - Don't use the links in an email to get to any web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic. If you do have a relationship with the company mentioned in the email, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web address in your browser. Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information. You should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website. 

Please follow Safe Computing Practices to help protect your information.

It is important that you take steps to protect your information on your personal computer. Online Banking services follow strict Internet security standards. While they take strong measures to ensure the security of your financial transactions and the confidentiality of your information, it is extremely important that you also take precautions to ensure that your information remains safe and secure. We advise customers to read about these topics and follow the recommended safe computing practices: 

1. Protect Your Privacy 

Use caution before answering online and email requests for your personal information. Banks will never present you with unexpected webpages or send you unsolicited emails asking for your confidential information, such as your password, PIN, Access Code, credit card, account number, etc. We will never ask you to validate or restore your account access through unsolicited email. Protect your OnLine Password. Your OnLine password is confidential and must never be shared with any outside person or company. Pick a password that is difficult to guess by using a combination of letters and numbers (nothing obvious). 

Never send confidential information (such as account numbers of any type, bankcard, password, Access Code, etc.) via email. Avoid using software that records your passwords so that you don't need to enter them the next time you access a website from the same computer. This type of software could give other users of your computer access to your accounts. Avoid accidentally agreeing to have your Internet activity monitored by other parties by carefully reading the terms of any software you download and free services you accept online before you download them. Do not leave your computer unattended while logged on to your bank. Always log off when you're finished your online banking session. 

Clear your browser's cache after each OnLine session. Each time you access the Internet, your browser automatically saves a copy of the web pages you've visited. Diligently clearing your browser's cache after each session is an important step in safeguarding your account information. Keep your bankcard in sight at all times during transactions and never lend your card to anyone. Review your account statements and/or online account transaction details promptly and report any discrepancies immediately. With most online banks, you can review your up-to-date account transactions and therefore identify any discrepencies immediately. 

2. Use Anti-Virus Software

Whenever you use your personal computer and the Internet, there is a potential risk of contracting a computer virus or the possibility of infiltration by intrusion software commonly known as "Trojan Horses". Computer viruses can modify programs, delete files and erase the contents of hard drives. "Trojan Horses" can have similar effects and may be able to capture keystrokes, including passwords or other secret information. Spyware and other deceptive software can also conduct certain activities on your computer without your knowledge or consent. 

The potential consequences of any of these threats could include damage to your personal computer, compromise of your secret information and the inability to use online banking. For these reasons, You are advised to follow these practices: Install and frequently update a proven anti-virus product, such as McAfee VirusScan or Norton AntiVirus. Most popular anti-virus products include some spyware scanning capabilities. Only accept or download software from a source that you believe to be trusted. Never accept files or attachments when accessing websites, newsgroups and chat rooms unless you are very sure of their authenticity. 

Warning about 'free' services and software offering faster web surfing and email virus scanning: You are strongly advised to carefully read the terms of any free services you accept or software you download online before you accept them. They are known to sometimes include your consent to having all of your Internet browsing activity, including secure transactions monitored. In consenting to such terms, you may allow the service provider to collect highly personal information such as your bank account and credit card numbers and passwords. Your OnLine password is confidential and must never be shared with any outside person or company. In divulging your password, you may contravene the terms of your Bank Cardholder Agreement and you may be fully liable for any unauthorized access to your accounts and all associated losses arising from these disclosures. 

Ensure you are using a legally licensed operating system. 

3. Protect Your Internet Connection

There are additional vulnerabilities associated with having a computer directly connected to the Internet for an extended period of time. This applies to all users but it is extremely important for users with cable modem or digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet access. These methods of connection do not require 'dialing' into the Internet and thus are sometimes described as 'always on' connections. Unfortunately, as long as the computer remains 'on' and connected to the Internet, malicious parties have a continuous window of opportunity for attacks on the user's personal computer. If you use a cable modem or DSL connection for Internet access, you can limit this security risk by disconnecting from the Internet when your session is complete, or by turning off the cable or DSL modem. However, if you want to continue to take advantage of the 'always on' feature of cable and DSL connections or if you run extended dial-up sessions on the Internet, we recommend the following security measures be taken: Disable File Sharing on Your Personal Computer - File sharing is a feature of Windows that allows other computers to access your personal computer, even from across the Internet. 

Microsoft has provided instructions on how to disable file sharing in Windows Help (Click Start, Help, then choose the 'Index' tab and type "file sharing, disabling"). The recommendation is to disable file sharing. However, if you choose to retain this option for your particular environment, exercise due care and apply appropriate security measures. Install a Personal Firewall Install and frequently update a proven personal firewall product, such as Personal Firewall Plus Zone Alarm or Black Ice , that can be configured to prevent unauthorized access to your personal computer and keep it up-to-date. Get Computer Security Updates Ensure that you are using a legally licensed operating system. You may be able to improve the security of your system by getting updates to help correct issues that may make your computer vulnerable to virus or worm attacks. As such, you should diligently apply security patches as they become available. 

Find out more: Windows users: Microsoft Security 

Macintosh users: Apple Product Security 

If you have a wireless network, there are additional measures that should be taken to protect your Internet connection: Use encryption - Enable the highest level of encryption available for your router; newer wireless routers typically use Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and older versions use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). This will encrypt all data transferred between your personal computer and wireless router. In addition, devices without your encryption key cannot connect to your wireless router. Change your default password - All wireless routers are given a default administrator password by their manufacturers, so make sure to change this password to prevent unauthorized access to your wireless router. Change SSID (Service Set Identifier) - The SSID is the name of your wireless network. 

In order for a computer to connect to your wireless network, the SSID must be known. You should change the manufacturer's default SSID name to a unique name that will not be easily guessed, and has no direct connection to you or where you are located (e.g. don't use your last name or street address). Switch off SSID broadcasting - You can further secure your network by disabling SSID broadcasting, which will hide your network from outsiders. It would be very difficult for an outsider to access your network once you have changed your SSID and turned off broadcasting, as they would have to start guessing the name of your network to access it.

Hope this helps. Remember...

Yrs, The Wizard *With articles from Scotiabank

NRC uses IT to see secrets behind Mona Lisa's smile

(From 2006) 

Researchers use a specially-built laser scanner to create a digital model of Da Vinci's most famous painting. Find out what they learned, and where else the technology might be applied.

OTTAWA -- Formerly unknown details about how the Mona Lisa wore her hair and covered her dress have literally come to light, thanks to a high tech analysis by Canadian and French researchers working on Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. The light was generated by a 3D colour laser scanner that has been designed and built at the National Research Council’s Institute for Information Technology. This equipment uses triangulation to create three-dimensional images with a depth resolution of 10 microns, just a fraction of the width of a human hair. When the scanner is applied to a painting, the resulting digital model reveals visual details that can elude the sharpest eye, as well as information about the deposition of paint and the integrity of the underlying structure. The technical and aesthetic significance of such information highlighted an announcement held at NRC’s headquarters here Tuesday.

In the case of the Mona Lisa, the technique has revealed the fact that the model was wearing a bonnet on her head, a common style for the time but an adornment that could not be seen with the naked eye. Similarly invisible is a thin gauze veil over her dress, typically worn by women who had recently given birth, which historians know she had done. These subtle aspects of the 500-year-old portrait were obscured when a dark varnish was placed over its surface during the 19th century, likely the work of some well-intentioned conservator attempting to prevent the artwork’s deterioration. The scanner penetrated this layer to reveal the most intimate dimensions of the painting’s physical substrate, allowing these features to be viewed once again. NRC offers samples of these various “looks” for the Mona Lisa here, where visitors can witness the range of information about that painting that has now become available. “You can see details on this image that you cannot see if you were to go to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre today,” says John Taylor, one of the lead scientist in the NRC team that carried out the work. That team worked closely with members of the Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France, that country’s foremost art conservation authority. Working under high security during the course of two evenings when the Louvre was closed to the public, these experts were allowed to work directly with the priceless painting. 

Mounting the scanner on a high precision platform just a few centimetres from the surface, the laser acquired successive bands four centimetres wide, with a lateral resolution of 60 microns. NRC has been honing this technology for the past 20 years, working with museums and other heritage institutions around the world. In addition to domestic organizations like the Canadian Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery, such work has also been conducted with American and European Universities, the British Museum, and the Peabody Museum. More recent applications have extended to archeological sites, seeking to preserve information from deteriorating cave paintings found in Italy, as well as Chinese artifacts that are going to be lost due to flooding caused by the Three Gorges Dam. Taylor noted that the work on the Mona Lisa represented the most ambitious application yet for this technology. The findings have become the basis of a book, Mona Lisa: Inside the Painting, which has also been published in French and German.

*by Tim Lougheed ITBusiness.ca

Giggles, Guffaws and Groaners

My wife told me I was immature...

So I told her to get out of my pillow fort. 

Following a heavy-metal rock concert, one punk rocker stopped at the front desk of the hotel and asked if she had any messages. The desk clerk handed her an unsigned note, and she asked for a description of the person who had left it.

"That's easy," replied the clerk. "He wore tight orange-leather pants, high-heeled black boots and a T-shirt with strategically cut holes. I remember a row of colored safety pins through the outside edge of one ear, and he wore purple eyeshadow. And his hair was orange and spiked."

"Oh, man," she said, obviously disappointed, "that could be anybody."



I asked my wife if I am the only one she has ever been with.

She said, "Yes, all the others were nines and tens." 



This guy loved living in Staten Island, but he wasn't crazy about the ferry. If you missed a ferry late at night, you had to spend the next hour or so wandering the deserted streets of lower Manhattan.

So, when he spotted a ferry no more than fifteen feet from the dock, he decided he wouldn't subject himself to an hour's wait. He made a running leap and landed on his hands and knees, a little bruised maybe, but safe on deck.

He got up, brushed himself off, and announced proudly to a bystander, "Well, I made that one, didn't I?"

"Sure did," the bystander said. "But you should have waited a minute or two. The ferry is just about to dock."

A man with a nagging secret couldn't keep it any longer. In the confessional he admitted that for years he had been stealing building supplies from the lumberyard where he worked.

"What did you take?" his priest asked.

"Enough to build my own house and enough for my son's house. And houses for our two daughters and our cottage at the lake."

"This is very serious," the priest said. "I shall have to think of a far-reaching penance. Have you ever done a retreat?"

"No, Father, I haven't," the man replied. "But if you can get the plans, I can get the lumber."

At the weekly senior lunch, it came time for diners to share positive family stories. Grandpa was hard pressed and had to reach for a good one.

As he cleared his throat he said, "My grandson, in his first three little league games of the season, he has three no-hit games!"

"Wow!" Came of voice from the back. "Sounds like he's gonna be a great pitcher!"

After a pause, Grandpa stuttered, "Well, I meant as a batter..."

A North Korean soldier was asked to measure the height of a comrade's rifle.

"I can't," he replied. "My ruler is only 12 inches."

The friend looked at him, rather confused, and said, "I actually think Kim Jong-un is taller than that." 

Just once, I want a username and password prompt to say: "Close Enough." 

The 15 Foot Tall Penguin

 

ADHD Moods Explained so you understand what we go thru

 

 

 

Why does it feel "good" to hurt your gums and teeth?

Found on the Internet: Right now I'm idly sticking a toothpick between two of my molars, really jamming it in there so it squeezes against the gums and the flesh between the teeth. It hurts, but it's also quite pleasurable. I know I'm not alone in this either - other people have said they feel the same way.

When I was a kid and I'd get a loose tooth, I'd just keep wiggling and wiggling it until eventually it came out. Because I liked the sensation of it. It's hard to put into words. It's definitely pain. But I wouldn't just prick my arm with a toothpick for no reason. I don't get any pleasure out of that whatsoever, nor on any other part of my body. But for some reason, poking my gums with sharp objects makes me feel good.

Why is this?

And it's not so much the outer areas of the gums - it's really just the parts of the gums that are right between or around the teeth.


The Wizard's best guess: I would think it's similar to the endorphin release that some folks who are cutters, (I admit I am a cutter - though haven't cut in a long while), who deliberately cause pain to release endorphins, causing pleasure. For me it was because that was ALL I could feel, without the pain, I felt nothing. This is not uncommon for bi-polar folks like me... So, generally, on those people whose gums have receded, exposing more of the inside of the gum to the acids in the mouth, results in swollen gums. These then in turn hurt when massaged or poked with a toothpick, for example, creating pain, which then releases endorphins, to mask the pain. Kind of like your own built in pain killer. This also may happen when you get your teeth cleaned.

Well that's my 2 cents. Have a different opinion? Make a comment!

Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking...

'OZ' - The 'Other' Side of the Rainbow has passed 23,000 posts. Any way you look at that its a large number! 'OZ' started in 2003 so that's about 1200 posts per year 106 posts per month, 4 posts per day!

Thanks again to my loyal reader's (called OZlings) for supporting me over the last 18 years. Hopefully we can go 18 more!

Passwords

 

“Password123” may be easy to remember, but it’s a disaster when it comes to security. Hackers like to go for the low-hanging fruit and try the obvious options first.

And despite years of warnings from security experts, “password,” or a slightly modified version of it, remains one of the most common passwords out there.

Ideally, a password should be composed of a long string of characters. The more characters, the harder the password will be to break. Think of at least a dozen. Try stringing them together using an easy-to-remember phrase: Thequickbrownfoxjumpsoverthelazydog. (Though it’s better to choose a phrase only you know.) 

One common mistake many consumers make is using easy-to-guess words, says Tonia Dudley, strategic adviser at Cofense, which specializes in anti-phishing technology. While apps and sites are getting better at stopping people from using the passwords most frequently uncovered in data breaches, she says people still find ways to use variations of them.

And that warning now goes for your username, too. Many apps and websites no longer require you to use your email address. Picking something different makes things harder for attackers, she says. 

On the flip side, experts now say that you don’t need to change your passwords on a regular basis. You’re more likely to set a good long password if you know you're going to use it for a while.

Needless to say, if it’s exposed in a data breach, you still need to change it immediately.

Funny Stories

Flavours 

The Russian couple's sex life was terrible, so they were quite excited when Moscow's first sex store opened up across the street.

"Olga, why don't you go out and buy some of that feminine deodorant spray I've read about?" said Ivan.

She agreed.

An hour later, she returned, all excited.

"You should see all the flavors they have," she told her husband. "Strawberry, cherry, banana..."

"What kind did you get?" he interrupted.

"Tuna," she replied.  

Farmer and his wife

A farmer and his wife were laying in bed one night, the farmer feeling a little frisky, reaches over and gives his wife's breast a little feel and says, "Mother, if this could give milk, we could get rid of the cow."

His hand then travels down to her crotch, and he says, "Mother, if this could give eggs, we could get rid of the chickens."

His wife then reaches over and grabs his penis. "Father, if this could stay hard, we could get rid of your brother." 

Blond Waitress

A trucker came into a truck stop cafe and placed his order. He said, "I want three flat tires, a pair of headlights and a pair of running boards."

The brand new blonde waitress, not wanting to appear stupid, went to the kitchen and said to the cook, "This guy out there just ordered three flat tires, a pair of headlights and a pair of running Boards. What does he think this place is, an auto parts store?"

"No," the cook said, "Three flat tires mean three pancakes, a pair of headlights is two eggs sunny side up, and running boards are 2 slices of crisp bacon."

"Oh, OK!" said the blonde. She thought about it for a moment and then spooned up a bowl of beans and gave it to the customer.

The trucker asked, "What are the beans for, Blondie?"

She replied, "I thought while you were waiting for the flat tires, headlights and running boards, you might as well gas up!"   

Radical Feminist

A radical feminist is getting on a bus when, just in front of her, a man gets up from his seat.

She thinks to herself, "Here's another man trying to keep up the customs of a patriarchal society by offering a poor, defenseless woman his seat," so she pushes him back onto the seat.

A few minutes later, the man tries to get up again. She is still insulted so she refuses to let him up again.

Finally, the man says, "Look, lady, you've got to let me get up. I'm twelve blocks past my stop already."

The Wizard has a Crucifix

Whaaaaa? You thought that The Wizard was a Pagan, and actually a Wiccan? You bet he is. But you see, I was raised Roman Catholic and its mighty hard to rid oneself of that. So I am really a Catholic Egyptian Eclectic Wiccan. Say that 5 times fast. In Wicca there are 2 aspects of the One (God), One female and one male. I have Isis and Ra as my demi-gods. Together they make up the One or God. There ya go. It can be done. I go to Church every Saturday with my partner, and practice Wicca at home and in living all the time.

Here is my Crucifix (It's in the kitchen)

If you have any comments or questions make a comment!

The Wizard

10 Fun Facts

1. You can't see your ears without a mirror

2. You can't count your hair

3. You can't breathe through your nose with your tongue out

4. You just tried #3

6. When you did #3, you realized it is possible but you looked like a dog

7. You are smiling right now because you were fooled

8. You skipped #5

9. You just checked to see if there was a #5

10. Share this post by clicking on your favourite social media icon at the end of this post