George Mindling Column 10-8-2004 - Groups Must Step Up

Groups Must Step Up

The first thing to catch my eye was a stack of bumper stickers stacked neatly on the corner of the reception desk. “I’m Pro-Business and I Vote!” the red, white and blue message proudly proclaimed at the office of the Oconee County Chamber of Commerce office in Watkinsville, Georgia.

I had stopped by for a local map, and ended up intrigued by this small, unassuming county just south of Athens, Georgia. I wanted to find their quaint old-fashioned covered bridge featured in their local brochures, and instead found an active, involved Chamber of Commerce (http://www.occoc.org). What a pleasant surprise to talk to the woman who put her purse back on her desk and chatted with me even though I had walked in to the office right at the closing hour.

The attitudes of the local merchants and Chamber members seem to reflect the commitment found in most Chambers of Commerce. What I saw as a major difference was the involvement of their economic development committee in the highway planning of a major artery in their area. They are actively engaged in the highway planning process, especially whether to adapt a policy encouraging a toll on the major four-lane divided highway between Atlanta and Athens. Its development is an important piece of future economic growth. Four different government agencies and committees attended a recent highway development forum held by the Committee. That kind of involvement will result in the community reaping benefits that might otherwise be lost.

The economic and business profile of Charlotte County will get a face lift following Hurricane Charley, but whether it gets a major overhaul is doubtful. The dependency on small, service-oriented businesses will not change. Our current workforce is generally stressed to make the financial obligations incurred as a result of Hurricane Charley. Many are on unemployment and will not find work in their old locations for months to come. Many cannot even afford the deductibles on their homeowners insurance.

The simple truths about home ownership here will dictate some changes. Not all retirees on fixed incomes will be able to afford the expected increases in home and hurricane insurance. The assessed values on homes will continue to increase, and many may find the cost of home ownership here beginning to feel like the rest of Florida. The areas devastated by Hurricane Charley will have more than a few homes subjected to the 50% rule, where the current structure must be demolished and rebuilt from scratch in accordance with current building laws. The new homes will reflect newer styles and facades and may entice new builders to the damaged neighborhoods. Unfortunately, many home sites will sit abandoned for extended periods while insurance and mortgage companies resolve issues with bankrupt owners who simply move away.

Hurricane Charley will be the catalyst that pries our community, like it or not, out of the past and into the current state of Florida. Now is the time for all business organizations, from the business alliances and the Chamber of Commerce to take real leadership roles in our rebuilding process. 

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 12-31-2004 - No Permanent Retirement Cruising

Permanent Retirement Cruising not Feasible

An “outside the box” idea about cruising is getting a lot of press these days. Permanent retirement cruising, a concept that would put retirees on cruise ships instead of assisted living facilities, is currently being touted by two Northwestern University professors. While there is a fanciful, Pollyanna air to the idea, no one seems to want to discuss the actual mechanics of living on a cruise ship.

Drs. Lee A. Lindquist and Robert M. Golub make their financial case for cruise ship living without mentioning the one item the U.S. government doesn’t cover outside the United States: Medicare. A retiree can have Social Security payments deposited anywhere, but Medicare requires additional insurance, called Medigap to cover medical services outside the U.S. Perhaps the doctors feel if you can afford to cruise, you should be able to afford your own medical coverage. Although the concept supposedly shows the financial advantage to being constantly at sea, it doesn’t mention the fact that most ships at sea have only dispensaries, not full medical facilities or staff. Ships doctors are not specialists in geriatrics, nor are they surgeons. They are the first line of medical care. Being at the mercy of some of the third world ports for emergency medical care is enough to scare a person back to health!

While we’re looking at costs, the thought of having visitors on a cruise ship that stays in any port less than 12 hours is interesting to say the least. The cost of visiting would be the cost of passage on the ship. Remember, no visitors in port! At a thousand or so bucks a pop, that’s not a great way to entice the kids to visit. They would have to stay a week at a time, too. Grandkids have a way of being cute from 9 to 5, then its time to give them back to Mom and Dad. Not on a cruise ship. Not many places to hide, and the kiddie areas tend to be stark, at best. Maybe they could play in the engine room.

Since the average stateroom is smaller than the proverbial breadbox, maybe guests could sleep in the closet with the life jackets. Since the mandatory cabin gratuity, not mentioned by the good doctors, is ten dollars a day per person, the kiddies would generate another cost left out of the concept.

The main cost the good doctors overlook is the constant need for new clothes. The average passenger gains between five and ten pounds each cruise. Clothes would have to be replaced at least twice a month! Even with the informal attire one wears while cruising, the cost of new formal wear for the weekly Captain’s dinners would offset any financial gain.

There is one advantage I like that the good doctors didn’t mention. If I die on a cruise, they can just toss me overboard with a flower or two and head for the next port. That is the only thing I see cheaper than on land.

George Mindling © 2004

George Mindling Column 12-24-2004 - It's That Time of the Year

It's That Time of the Year

The Christmas spirit is upon us, I can tell by the traffic jams and the long lines at the area malls. Santa must be getting a lot of help in loading his bags in preparation for his annual trip to children around the world. Maybe he's loading up for more than just children. After all, does the new GPS I want count toward the gift statistics the elves put together each year? I was a good little boy, comparatively speaking, and see no reason to get a lump of coal instead of an expensive new toy I would probably buy myself if it weren't for the ease of asking Santa.

Of course, I would have a harder time getting my official "gift request" through family channels during the rest of the year, but at Christmas, we all seem to get special dispensation for our normally difficult or nearly impossible acquisitions.

"Just how far out are we going in the boat?" would be the normal question if I asked any other time of the year. But at Christmas, a request for a world wide, handheld electronic navigational tool that can actually pinpoint your location to a few yards anywhere on the planet is met with a sweet, understanding smile. Even if it is a couple of hundred bucks that could be better spent on other things, like food or gas for the car.

Kitchen add-ons and new refrigerators just don't seem to fill the bill of Christmas giving, even if they are sorely needed. A new dishwasher for the wife will not get the same response as a bottle of Chanel No. 5. Of course, wives know Chanel is for the husband, but at least it beats a garbage disposal!

Husbands used to be resigned to the "new tie syndrome", but lately, men have been wising up as well. Kids have always understood the power of Santa. Requests for toys that would usually draw an immediate "NO!" are pondered with a wry smile by parents this time of year. Kids know they can cash in on their “Santa” leverage. It doesn't cost the kids a cent. Not even one extra chore or minute of household duty. In the spirit of the holidays, we cave in and give, give, give.

We adults, unfortunately, are still encumbered with the actual responsibility of paying the bills. I have heard of one family that has not paid off last year's charges for Christmas, and they are already shopping at a pace that will outspend last year. They have to spend more to give more than they did last year because things cost more this year. That must make sense to the elves who are pumping this stuff out as fast as it can get loaded on a boat, er, ahh, sleigh, bound for the U.S.

But what hey, it's Christmas! Even if I never get out of sight of land, I'll know I'm special to somebody special. Isn’t that’s what Santa’s sleigh is all about?

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 1-21-2005 - Phishing

"Phishing" The Newest of Internet Cons

The web scam I received today looked exactly like a real message from Microsoft Support. According to the official Microsoft Logo and header, I was to update my account within 3 days or lose my account with Microsoft. The error was apparently a server or data base failure within Microsoft, and with their apologies, all I had to do was click on the link marked “click on our link” and key in my credit card information. The link actually was a Russian web site I have never used. I know it was a scam because I don’t have an account with Microsoft.

The worst offender, however, is the one I have received three times in the last month. It was a scam perfectly modeled after SunTrust’s logo. The page had the logo from the supposed sender, in this case SunTrust. The message read: “We recently reviewed your account, and suspect that your SunTrust Internet Banking account may have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. Protecting the security of your account and of the SunTrust network is our primary concern.” Again, logging on to the supposed web site took you somewhere else, even though the name looked almost real. I forwarded the SunTrust scams to SunTrust security, as I am sure many others did also, and as of December 21st, the offending web site has been shut down. How did I know it was a scam? I don’t have an account with SunTrust, either!

Do not click on any link you receive in an E-mail unless you specifically requested the information. Even then, use a little common sense. Do not assume that any e-mail is real without checking first, even if it means calling your bank or financial institution by telephone. Remember, they already have ALL of your account information.

An official looking web site is easy to create. Stealing logos and web page layouts is done with a few keystrokes, and they are created with the idea of making you respond without questioning the message. The marvel of electronic communication will be exploited by those who operate without morals or ethics, and without the traditional boundaries of law and jurisdiction, it becomes increasing difficult to maintain control over who has access to your personal computer. Don’t make it easier for the bad guys and gals to get your information. Don’t give away your private information without knowing whom you are dealing with. And why! A request for account information should be a warning flag every time.

Real Internet commerce always uses secure encoding when dealing with a customer data. The key lock symbol or it’s equivalent will highlight on your system tray portion of your screen when working with a secure site. Sending credit card information to a real on line vendor is usually safe and secure. If you initiated the purchase, and you know the vendor, there is no problem.

You wouldn’t give your credit card to a stranger in a store. Don’t do it with your PC!

George Mindling

George Mindling Column 4-8-2005 - Not From Around Here

People Here Not From Around Here

My wife didn’t think much of my idea of hanging an old license plate from the bottom of our mailbox. She really isn’t used to having a mailbox out on the street as it is, having always had a mailbox mounted just outside our front door wherever we lived before.

“Perhaps you should get a hobby and meet people!” she cheerfully suggested, “Just leave the mailbox alone.”

Hanging on to old identities to create a comfort level in a strange, new land sometimes takes strange twists. Looking for commonality among strangers is reminiscent of being in the Armed Services stationed overseas. Every American is your immediate buddy simply because of the common bond of citizenship and language. Where in the states someone is from is immaterial, at least you have something in common with somebody! Listening for a familiar accent or someone who knows the history of your hometown is always a challenge in Port Charlotte. Every neighbor is from somewhere else, quite a melting pot of ethnic backgrounds and traditions.

Some newly retired couples seem to go through phases of adjustment before moving toward reality and away from the fantasy of constant partying. Not golfing is the one and only trait I share with H. Ross Perot. Tennis? I never seemed to have the time to learn. We do love to dance, though. We really miss the passing of the dance floor at the Best Western. It unfortunately died a strange, grotesque death well before Hurricane Charley, turning into a vast one-table pool hall while everyone wondered where the music went. Fishing? Well, with the price of gas headed toward the stratosphere, it looks like the old kayak is going to get a live well. Well, a bait bucket, anyway.

Staying busy isn’t hard to do here. Retirement takes on new meaning for many people after getting through the often-tumultuous first year. Volunteering or serving in service groups is what many people turn to once the initial culture shock of retirement wears off. If you join a volunteer group here, you soon notice the Boston accents mix with the mid-west chatter and Georgia cracker drawl as Port Charlotte evolves into a new kind of community.

It is also becoming a younger community. According to Sperling’s Bestplaces, the median age of our area here in Northwest Port Charlotte (zip code 33953) is 48.2. Obviously, not everyone here is a retiree, but many new younger families are from areas other than southwest Florida. Still, we long to carry on a conversation with people familiar with our hometown. There doesn’t seem to be any one, single focal point in our adopted little paradise.

Even though we seem to have more people rooting for New England Patriots or Pittsburgh Steelers than for the Tampa Bay Bucs or the Miami Dolphins, I’m glad we picked Port Charlotte as a place to live, not just retire.

Even if we do have a hard time finding anybody else from Florida.

George Mindling Column - 4-22-2005 - Top-Notch Identity Theft Program

Sheriff Has A Top-Notch Identity Theft Program

I won a neat little personal nail file kit because I knew the Federal Trade Commission is the one government agency that acts as a clearinghouse for acts of white-collar crime. Charlotte County Sheriff’s Deputy Gordon Baer gave his excellent presentation on Identity Theft to our homeowner’s association and had been tossing out semi-useful, mainly symbolic rewards for correct answers to his questions to the audience. Everyone enjoyed the interactive presentation that involved the audience in the actual exchange of information. When he got to the one question about which Federal agency acts as a clearinghouse for crime, the audience was stumped. Guesses from the FBI to the Treasury Department were met with a disappointing “Nope! Anybody else?”

I had been on the FTC web page earlier in the day, checking out the page on Identity Theft and what to do about it at: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/. I forward all of the e-mail “Phishing” attempts I get to uce@ftc.gov. Phishing is the fake e-mail that tries to get you to log on to an official looking website and enter your account information because your account is in dire need of immediate attention. The web site that looks very official is in fact a scam. When in doubt, pick up the telephone and call the financial institution to tell them about the e-mail.

The FTC page at the ID Theft page lists the four steps to take if you think you are a victim of identity theft: First, “Contact the fraud departments of any one of the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit file. The fraud alert requests creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. As soon as the credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the other two credit bureaus will be automatically notified to place fraud alerts, and all three credit reports will be sent to you free of charge.”

Second thing to do is “Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. Use the ID Theft Affidavit when disputing new unauthorized accounts.”

Next, “File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.” Finally, “File your complaint with the FTC!” The FTC web page actually has a link on step four that will take you through the process.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Department Identity Theft program is excellent and should be attended if you get the chance. It’s worth driving across town to attend the presentation. It shouldn’t be missed. Call the Sheriff’s Crime Prevention office at (941)-764-1533 for more information on their community programs.

Visit the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov/. Click on the box at the top that’s marked “consumer.” Put that page in your bookmarks or favorites folder. It is a nice page to have handy. We need all the help we can get.

Letter to the Editor - May 28th, 2005

Letter to the Editor

May 28^th, 2005

I always read the curmudgeons articles with great enthusiasm: they confirm my definition of CAVE people, Citizens Against Virtually Everything! With the exception of Frank Lukasik, who actually had something positive to say about Murdock Village, they are a waste of talent. They are, in my opinion, subversive. Look up subversive before you blast me with a letter or e-mail. I will send you a definition in case you don’t have, or do not know how to use, a dictionary.

Many of the Curmudgeons have written surreptitiously as supposed “letters to the editor” when in fact they are carefully publishing a political manifesto of a self appointed group of narrow minded right wing conservatives who want to drive the political bus in Charlotte County without paying for the bus or the gas! Certainly without being elected!

Curmudgeon Joe Dixon’s pro-phosphate mining column of October 20, 2003, really caught my attention. I have read all of their articles ever since, waiting to see if in fact they would contribute something to actually help the people of Charlotte County.

Where were these guys when the people of Charlotte County needed them? Were they serving food, or delivering ice? Or working with the emergency teams throughout the county? Did they work with the Sheriff’s Office, or even with the church groups, service clubs, homeowner’s associations, and myriad volunteers that came to the aid of residents of Charlotte County. Did they attend any of the FEMA meetings, or get involved with any aspect of the reconstruction of the damaged areas of our county? Or were they sitting around, pissing and moaning, trying to decide who should write the next letter to the editor?

Have they presented to the Commissioners any alternatives to any of the issues they have written about? I don’t remember seeing any one from the Curmudgeons at any of the commission meetings I’ve attended.

Tell me anything positive about the Curmudgeons. I would love to hear it.

I believe these guys would take away my freedom to express my views: they have in fact demanded that the newspapers only print articles that fit their beliefs! They want their freedoms, they just don’t want you or I to have any.

Time to shine the light on the Curmudgeons.

George Mindling

Port Charlotte, FL