We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Content

 

Breaking News from the Buttercupland Department of Technology

 

In a triumph of customer service, Microsoft scrubbed clean my email account and restored my access. Thursday was a day of tears of joy and smiles when I opened the email from my contact at Microsoft, Chris, with the miraculous news. For the last forty-eight hours I have spent my computer time deleting and reading and there is still a boatload of email to go through. 

 

Lessons learned:

 

Print out anything that you absolutely don't want to lose. I know that we are supposedly in a paperless society, but actually we aren't.  

 

Have a second email account.

 

Update your information for your accounts. If you find yourself in this situation, in order to restore access your company will need to verify that you are the owner of the account. Make sure your cell phone number is up to date and the second email address is also current.

 

 

But there's always time for coffee and today's Blogging from A to Z Journey takes us to Gregorys, a chain of coffee shops in New York City, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. I discovered it during my first coffee A to Z, and in the last few years additional sites have been added in New York City. My favorite Gregory's is on the Upper East Side and I'm always happy to find myself close by.

I'm pleased to report that the coffee remains top-notch and the pastry collection even more enticing than I remembered. I chose a simple, but very tasty biscotti, which was just right for dunking in my iced coffee. However, there's a maple doughnut that has captured my imagination. I know one day it will call me like the Sirens of old and I will make a return trip to Gregory's.

Again, thanks to Microsoft, the week ends happily in Buttercupland. What made you happy this week?

As ever, thanks for visiting. Please join us tomorrow for a visit to Austin, TX and until then, enjoy your coffee and your weekend!  

An Important Message from the Buttercupland Department of Technology

You see before you what appears to be an average iPhone...

But any second it could descend into the Twilight Zone!

 

Dear Citizens of Buttercupland:

 

This is an important message from the Buttercupland Department of Technology. Yesterday at approximately 12:30 p.m. I was contentedly sitting in the waiting room at a major Manhattan medical center, where I had accompanied a friend to outpatient surgery. Suddenly my iPhone -- very similar to the phone pictured above -- went berserk. Unbeknownst to me some bug/hack had started sending protected messages to everyone in my address book. First I got notices that came from out of office responses and then people I knew wrote to me asking if I had sent a protected message. 

 

After I got home last night -- my friend's surgery happily went well -- I started to change passwords. I kept changing passwords and deleting and reporting anything that looked odd this morning. The crisis seemed over and I was no longer receiving email about the problem. 

 

But, as the Grateful Dead remind us, "When life looks like easy street there is danger at the door." A short while ago I decided to check my email. I find I'm locked out due to "suspicious activity." I've sent an appeal and received a cordial response letting me know it will take time to evaluate my appeal. The customer assistance phone lines are closed until tomorrow morning. I have officially fallen into the email Twilight Zone. 

 

Lessons learned from this incident/mess:

 

1) Never attempt to open a "protected" email that you are not expecting. I have received one protected email in my twenty years of email, and it was from my orthopedic surgeon. It was clearly marked and I knew the sender. The only exception may be if you are part of an undercover network, but I am making that assumption based on my extensive reading of mystery novels and spy thrillers.

 

2) Change your passwords regularly. I actually do this, but will be as conscientious as I was during my working years, when we had to change our password every month. It's easy to be forgetful about the need to do this.

 

3) Don't click on a faux link. If you're unsure whether it's a "real" email from a bank, for example, go to the website and check for messages.

 

4) Have several email accounts. In the future I will be forwarding anything I want to make sure to access to my second account. I hope this doesn't happen again any time soon, but I want to be prepared for email Twilight Zone.

 

I'm not sure how this mess occurred. I do change my passwords often. I don't click on anything I'm unfamiliar with and I report anything suspicious. I have virus protection software which runs scans on a regular schedule. 

 

I'm optimistic that I will be permitted to access my account soon.  I'm eager to return from the Twilight Zone.

 

Stay safe and be prudent where you click!

 

Where is "The Cloud?"...

...and other mystifying thoughts.

These clouds I can see, but "The Cloud" is a mystery to me. 

One of my major events this winter was getting a new cell phone. It was a totally spur of the moment decision. I walked into one of the phone stores at this corner just to get some information on prices. After a ten minute chat I realized I could save money with little or no downside. I had thousands of pictures on my old phone and the thought of sitting in the phone store while they were transferred seemed to be an endless process. I declined the transfer, because the pictures live in the Google Cloud.

This morning I was thinking about some pictures that I wanted to use and I was happy that they were in "The Cloud." Then it struck me that I really wasn't sure I knew what I was talking about. I'll make an admission that though I have some idea of technology, the details are very murky to me. I still am amazed that I can stand on this street corner and look at Facebook on my phone. I am more amazed that I can send a message to a friend in California or England or India and they can answer me a minute later, all without leaving this corner of my neighborhood. Of course I still find the details of electricity and modern plumbing mystifying, too, along with brain surgery and rocket science.

So much for my musings on technology. Tomorrow my post will return to earth.

 I enjoyed the sunshine today, though it was cold standing on the corner taking this picture. I continued my decluttering and went through several more drawers. I made it to the Salvation Army, the drugstore and the fruit and veggie store. Beautiful strawberries from California!

I hope you had a lovely St. Patrick's Day and a great evening. Thanks for visiting and take very good care.