Author: J

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Protect your Identity with 5 Simple Steps

You may have heard that Equifax accidentally leaked everyone’s names, addresses, and social security numbers. Darn.

Here are some really easy steps you can take to protect your identity from being stolen:

Step 1. Sign up for a my Social Security account at: https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. Signing up prevents hackers signing up for you, and getting access to more of your personal information. Unfortunately, signing up only works about 30% of the time, and you can only do it during the website’s business hours. If you fail more than twice, you get locked out forever. Sorry.

You can try calling for help, but they’ll hang up immediately for your safety.

Step 2. Set up an initial fraud alert with one of the three credit unions. I would recommend TransUnion, because they have the best web interface: http://transunion.com/fraud. It’s free and lasts 90 days (you can renew it as many times as you like). If you do this, banks will call you to confirm if someone tries to open an account in your name. They’ll probably open the account for the hacker anyway though. Can’t be helped…

Steps 3-5. These can only be addressed during the blog’s business hours, 2pm – 2:15pm on every Tuesday with a full moon.

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Waffle Iron!

We got an early 1950s waffle maker from a garage sale!

It looks like this.
And it looks like this when you close the lid. It has a light that turns red when it’s on (it’s actually just the glow from the heating element).
Here’s some info I dug up about the machine. It’s reputedly “as bulky as a Buick.”
It transforms into a grill if you fold it down and take off the waffle grates.
After seasoning the cast iron, we made waffles! 
It’s pretty nonstick!
The finished waffles, only slightly burnt.
For dinner we made monjayaki using the griddle mode. It’s was great!
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New Displays at the VTA Light Rail!

The old screens were pretty good. The times from around the world really gave the station a nice international feel. They didn’t show when the train was going to come, but at 87:59pm you shouldn’t be expecting the train to come anyway.
But the new screens are even better! Wow that high-resolution display looks great!
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How to refill your Clipper Card

The Bay Area has this great public transit card called Clipper. It’s really easy to use! In this post I’ll show you just how easy it is to refill.

First, find a machine that looks like this. Just move the screen protector off to the side.
Push some buttons and put your credit card in. When you see this screen, you’ll know you did it right.
Wait for a couple of trains to go by, and eventually the dialup modem in the machine will connect.
“To take one step forward, you must first take one step back.”
And we’re done! Super easy!