You've Been Catfished: Hiring Fake Repairmen Off the Internet

When something breaks, you hire a repairman. However, repairman are expensive. No one wants to waste thousands of dollars by hiring a contractor, so individuals seek advice from friends and family. If friends and family don't have expertise, you take to the internet! The internet is a wonderful place, having many different sites. One site in particular allows you to buy and sell things for cheap, and find local persons in the area that are "qualified" as service repairmen. This site is craigslist. You browse around, and find a repairman that charges a decent price, and you call him up and hire him. You have complete faith and trust in this person, since they listed themselves as "Professional" and you have no doubt in your mind that they will do just as good a job  as the service companies that cost a fortune.

A group of men arrive at your house, you invite them in and have them take a look at the problem. They give you an estimation and a timeframe for it to be completed, for example two weeks, and you write them a check, and pat yourself on the back for being responsible and not getting "ripped off"...

Well, two weeks have gone by. A month has passed, and these workmen still say they are not finished with the job. You start to question their work, and also begin to question whether you have hired the right people for the task. Then, your worst nightmare happens: they stop showing up. You paid them for the job, yet the job is unfinished. You call the man that put the ad on craigslist, and the number has been disconnected. You call the police and file charges. You then hire a well-known company to come out and take a look at the job. They say the problem was exasperated by the previous workers, since they wanted you to pay more money or they just had no idea what they were doing. You accept this as reality, and realize that you should have hired the reputable company in the first place.

This is the LAST thing you want to happen to you, but it happened in the Orlando area, and happens frequently around the country. Not only do you need to protect your kids from the dangers of the internet, but you also have to protect yourself and take some safety precautions of your own. If something doesn't seem reputable, chances are it's not. This is not to dissuade you from using sites like this. just one thing you have to realize is that anyone can post anything on the internet.  This is what makes the show "Catfish" so entertaining to watch since it's about people posting pictures of other people that don't look like them on their online dating profiles. Recognize you've been catfished, and hire a reputable serviceman from a reputable company that won't take your money and run.

EDC Orlando

This past weekend, Orlando became home to people from all over the country that were attending the EDC concert two-day event downtown, at Tinker Field. For those of you unaware of the electric music rave scene, EDC stands for Electric Daisy Carnival. The concert event hosts many famous DJs, playing music in categories techno and house. According to the Orlando Sentinel, 43 individuals were hospitalized that attended the event. On the EDC website, they offer safety tips and advice for people going to the event with the title "Hang out, Don't Pass out". Here are a few tips taken from them:

• Don't drink Under 21
• You do not need to consume excessive amounts of alcohol to have fun
• Drunk people are not capable of being responsible for other individuals; therefore, if you think you or a friend are dehydrated or may have alcohol poisoning, head to the one of the health tables immediately.

For more tips, check out the link above, even if you're just attending a regular concert and not just a techno carnival. Having never been to a techno type concert, I found the pictures of the outfits that people wear are very entertaining. I thought wearing tutus and sparkly tops were something only little girls did for dress-up, but the outfits people concoct are beyond garish. It almost seems as if going to one of these concerts is to enter a world of its own, where you can wear anything you want, dance uncontrollably, and listen to the music.  Maybe I'll have to attend next year :)

October Networking Luncheon

This past Friday, the Safety Council hosted it's monthly Networking Luncheon, taking place at Mimi's Cafe in Orlando. The topic of interest at the event was I-4 construction, and all the changes that are being made to this major highway and it's effects on the greater Orlando area. Speaking at the luncheon were Mike Wacht and Dave Parks, both spokespersons for the I-4 Ultimate Improvement Project. The project is estimated to begin in early 2015, and have a total span of six and a half years. Because most of the construction will be occurring at night, there shouldn't be problems with traffic during the day. Thanks guys for the information, and we hope to catch up with you both this time next year to see how the project is going! Watch out for the video of the luncheon on our YouTube channel, coming soon.

Sunday Punday

Sunday is a gift to be cherished, which is why so many artists wrote songs about it. The Bangles sang, "wish it were Sunday, that's my fun day" in their song Manic Monday.  Maroon 5 sings, "driving slow on sunday morning, I never want to leave" in their song Sunday Morning. And my most favorite is Lionel Richie's Easy, "I'm easy like Sunday morning."  Sunday's perfect. It's slow, it's relaxed, and the day is filled with hardly any commitments.

As a kid, I had a Sunday morning routine. I would wake up, and my dad would always make me my Sunday sundae, which was a waffle ice cream sandwich. My mom would also prepare my coffee, which was either a glass of chocolate milk or hot cocoa depending on the season. I would eat while reading comics, and I felt just as important reading those as my dad must have while reading the other sections, keeping up on current events. 

Being an adult now, I still like to have a Sunday morning routine even in my hectic schedule. I wake up, take my dog for a walk, make myself a pot of coffee, and grab a bowl of my favorite cereal (wishing I could eat a delectable ice cream sundae for breakfast). Sunday morning is the time I allow myself to read my favorite websites BuzzFeed and Elite Daily. These websites scream the millennial generation, offering life advice, food tips, and more. While browsing this morning, I stumbled upon a list of puns, which had me laughing for a good 15 minutes. Below are a few examples, but take some time this Sunday or next to read them all, trust me you'll think they're punny. Here

Can You Really Taste the Difference?

Being a 21 year old girl, having gone to an all-girls high school, and attending a liberal arts college, I have heard of every diet under the sun. From the juice cleanse, to no carbs, to only carbs, to only eating fish, to suddenly becoming a vegetarian or a vegan, I have witnessed it all. In the cafeteria and at grocery stores, I see people looking heavily at nutrition contents, and asking workers if this lettuce, meat, poultry, etc. is "truly" organic. Having a minor in chemistry, I have more knowledge on the actual content and chemical structures in foods. Being a public relations major, I have learned that companies will say anything to persuade customers to buy their products, and that the FDA doesn't have a standard definition of the word "organic" and how it pertains to food. This being said, I have come to question all these yoyo-dieters, and health nuts. Most people, and in this video especially, refer to them as "food snobs."

This morning while checking for media news on safety issues around Florida, I stumbled upon a video on food snobs not being able to tell the difference between McDonald's and organic food.  I decided to check it out, and I was amazed by some of the things individuals said while trying the supposed "organic burgers."  Check it out here

Don't Forget, October is Fire Safety Month!

I will always remember fire drills. Whether they were in elementary school, high school, or even in college, they were all somewhat memorable. A few teachers regarded them as a nuisance for wasting class time, and students were unhappy if they had to quickly jump out of the dorm shower and go outside in a towel, but I always thought highly of them. I thought highly of them not because it gave me a chance to get out of class, but because the way everyone acted during them. Even when the ear-numbing alarm went off, everyone remained calm. This calmness is only achieved through safety education.

At a young age, children are taught what to do when the fire alarm goes off. They are taught to listen to their teacher and follow all instructions. When I was first learning to read, my favorite book was Smokey The Bear. Smokey is known for saying, "only YOU can prevent wildfires!"  Not only is it a heartwarming story, but it's also packed with tons of fire safety information. Fire safety education is key for children, and also extremely important for adults. In honor of it being Fire Safety Month, here are a few fire safety tips:

•  Don't leave food unattended on the stove or in the oven. If your oven catches on fire, keep the door closed and turn off the heat. When cooking on the stove, keep a lid nearby in order to cover grease fires quickly.

• Candles should be used in rooms only when people are present. Always blow out a candle if you are leaving the room. Remember that there are great alternatives to candles, such as flameless candles. Use a flashlight instead of candles during power outages.

• If you smoke cigarettes or cigars, always remember to put them out completely when finished. Never throw cigarette butts into shrubbery.

• Never try to do electrical work yourself, always have it done by a trained electrician. Only use light bulbs with the appropriate wattage.

• Have a planned exit route out of your home if a fire were to occur. When entering a new office or building, keep note of exits and fire safety precautions and drills.

More Pictures from the Sons of Anarchy Event!

Here are some of my favorite pictures that I took at the Sons of Anarchy event at Stormy Hill Harley Davidson in Clermont, FL (September 21, 2014).




Mark Boone Junior riding in!



He is just so sassy! I love it.

 

 



These fans were so happy :)

 



Checking out some price tags.