Saturday Forecast/Credit Card Scam/Hurricane Paloma

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Paloma is a Category 2 hurricane and will hit Cuba late Saturday, then move through the Bahamas and out into the open waters of the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, the north-central and Great Lakes region of the country will be dealing with wintery conditions--snow and highs in the 20s and 30s. Much of the south will enjoy dry weather. The Pacific Northwest will also be showery.

Houston weather will be chilly in the mornings and warm and dry in the afternoons...Saturday will be especially nice.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
I spoke to a Mom's group at Prince of Peace Catholic church this morning. They had child care...so it was very peaceful. Ha! Ha!

So our word for the day is babysitter or canguro, pronounced cahn-GOO-row. It is wonderful sometimes to have a babysitter.

Doing some Christmas shopping this weekend. Don't forget to order our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I have to fly as I am involved in a very personal and important event tonight...I'll have more on this tomorrow.

In the meantime, I want to tell you about a terrible credit card scam. Here are the details:


Snopes.com says this is true. To verify see this site:
http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/creditcard.asp
This one is pretty slick since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want.Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.One of our employees was ca lled on Wednesday from 'VISA', and I was called on Thursday from 'Master Card'. The scam works like this: Caller: 'This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based inArizona ?'When you say 'No', the caller continues with, 'Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit wil l be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?'You say 'yes'. The caller continues - 'I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800 -VISA) and ask for Security.'You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. 'Do you need me to read it again?'Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, 'I need to verify you are in possession of your card'. He'll ask you to 'turn your card over and look for some numbers'. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, 'That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?' After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, 'Don't hesitate to call back if you do, and hangs up.You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.Long story - short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a 'Jas on Richardson of Master Card' with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instruc ted by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

Have a safe weekend everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Friday Forecast/Hurricane Paloma/Cheap Gas

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Well, now I actually am going to talk about a hurricane--we have a hurricane named Paloma in the western Caribbean. See forecast track to right...forecast to become Category 3 (major) by Saturday as it heads toward Cuba. Looks like Cuba will get a direct hit and then it will move through the Bahamas and out into the open waters of the Atlantic.

In the Dakotas and western Minnesota, Blizzard and Winter Weather Warnings are in effect. There is a line of thunderstorms that moving along the cold front that is now pushing through southeast Texas. Look for storms on Friday from the Tennessee Valley southward to the Gulf coast states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Houston, we were spared severe storms. The cold front has arrived and it will be a pleasantly cooler day on Friday. The weekend looks spectacular with sunshine, low humidity, cool morning and warm afternoons.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do poll or survey--encuesta, pronounced ehn-QUES-tah. Don't forget to answer my encuesta about whether you like Michelle Obama's election night dress.

On Friday morning, I am visiting a mom's group at Prince of Peace church. You see, I give talks about the benefits of early language learning and I also give a little information about weather. These moms know that they want what benefits their children most and they are interested in learning more about language learning benefits. There are so many to discuss like improved cognitive development. You can give your children this tool in a fun, entertaining form, our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I have a Southwest Rapids Reward credit card. I use it for everything possible. We usually get 2 free round trip tickets a year with it and considering Gordy's family is all up in Iowa, this really helps. This is such a great deal. And another neat thing is you can transfer a free ticket to anyone you want. We have used these to fly Megan different places.

What's the cheapest gas you've been able to find. I got some today at a Valero at Dulles and Lexington for 183.9. Let me know if you find it cheaper anywhere else.

I've got a lot of special extra activities in the works...more on that very soon.

Happy Friday!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Thursday Forecast/Michelle Obama's Dress

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Paloma--yes Virginia, looks like we will have a Paloma. Tropical Depression #17 is in the western Caribbean and will likely become Paloma in the next 24 hours. I put up the National Hurricane Center 5 day path forecast to the right. Notice that the cone of uncertainty does not ever include Florida. So it looks like Cuba and the Bahamas will have to deal with it--as a hurricane.

This evening there is a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm watch from Oklahoma up to Iowa (respectively). It is ahead of a cold front which will move through Houston in the early morning hours on Friday. Look for a very muggy day on Thursday. Houston will get some showers and thunderstorms around Midnight (Thursday night into Friday morning). Thursday will be showery in the northwest, stormy from the midwest into Texas and there will also be a few showers in New England. Highs will only be in the 30s and 40s in the northern plains and northwest.

For Houston, look for more rain on Monday and Thursday (especially Thursday with a strong dip of cold air) in the coming week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
It is dress or vestido, pronounced vehs-TEE-dough. Did you see Michelle Obama's vestido last night?

There is so much to remember as we get into this busier time of year. Hey, here's a reminder, you can improve memory of the youngsters you love (a benefit of early language learning) and get one thing off your busy list by buying our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
Okay...5 of the poll responders think we should think about getting rid of the electoral college. No one thought we should leave it. Now, it is time for a new poll. Did you like Michelle Obama's dress last night? I know you are dieing to voice your opinion.

Have a terrific Thursday everyone.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Wednesday Forecast/Matt Lavine gets publicity from Ken Hoffman

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Big upper trough will dig southward into the central plains and cause wintry weather in the higher elevations and thunderstorms from Oklahoma to Dallas. Many locations across the Rockies and Intermountain region will have highs in the 30s and 40s.

In Houston, it will be a warm and muggy Wednesday with highs in the 80s. Look for some storms in Houston on Thursday evening as the next front ushers in a pleasant weekend. Look for another round of rain and even storms on Monday.

Polo in the Pacific has petered out. Now say that 5 times fast...good for the mouth muscles. In the western Caribbean, however, I think we will have a Paloma in a day or two. But it will move northward and then northeastward crossing Cuba and the Bahamas before heading into the Atlantic.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Surprise, it's president or presidente, pronounced preh-see-DEHN-tay. Looks like we have elected Obama as the new presidente.

I remember reading months ago that Obama thinks that children should be encouraged to learn more than one language. Well, you can make your own executive decision now and give your favorite youngsters the gift of language--buy them our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
I've been watching the difference between the electoral vote count and the popular vote. Considering the disparity and what happened in 2000, I think a lot of folks are questioning the electoral college system of voting. Don't forget to voice your opinion by answering the poll at right.

Well, remember when we talked about Matt Lavine filling in at CW? He just concluded his last weekend there but not without getting the attention of Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman. I think it was the tights thing that grabbed him--see the article at
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/hoffman/6092611.html

Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Election Day Forecast/Electoral College versus Popular Vote

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Say Marco (we said when that tiny stormed was in the southern Gulf of Mexico). Well, now there is Polo in the eastern Pacific--not theatening any land area and giving me something silly to say.

Election Day weather--some trouble spots around the nation. To the right is the National Weather Service's warning map. The pink areas are one of the toughest locations because that is where there could be treacherous driving due to wintery weather. Here is just one of the warnings:

A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL BRING 8 TO 16 INCHES OF SNOW...WITHLOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE...TO THE SAN JUAN...WEST ELK ANDSAWATCH MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS THE GRAND MESA. EXPECT SOUTHWEST WINDSTO INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH CREATINGWIDESPREAD AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. WINDS WILL SHIFTTO THE WEST AND DECREASE WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

The winter weather advisories (shown in blue) are also important but not as critical as the pink (warned) areas. There will be also be some showers and thunderstorms from D.C. to Norfolk to Charlotte, NC. It will be chilly or the northwest and intermountain region with highs in the 30s and 40s.

Houston weather looks great for voting...lows in the 50s and highs in the 80s. Look for a line of storms late Thursday into early Friday. Weekend looks nice and dry.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Can you believe I want to do election or eleccíon, pronounced ay-leck-SIOWN. Tomorrow is a big day, the eleccíon of a new president and others.

You can elect to help your children reap the many benefits of early language learning. Buy them our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
We saw one today...one of those FEMA people. We were strolling down the path that runs along Oyster Creek and saw a man coming toward us with a safety vest on. When we got closer we asked him if he was inspecting the work which had been done to remove all the debris. He said very somberly but politely, "I'm with FEMA". And that was it and he passed us and kept on going. Maybe he was trying to say that he wasn't inspecting the debris removal. He is just some poor overworked FEMA guy who was taking a stroll to relax. I guess we'll never know. I had no idea that FEMA had anything to do with debris removal along a creek area.

The electoral college vs. the popular vote. Rarely does one not agree with the other. But as we all remember from the 2000 election...they can be at odds. In that election George W. Bush won with 271 electoral votes and a popular vote of 50,456,002 (47.9%). Al Gore had fewer electoral votes: 266 with a higher popular vote of 50,999,897 (48.4%).

Now, I'm a numbers kind of person and I like the idea of the popular vote deciding it. I think each vote should be exactly equal in value. The way it works now is that your state has so many electoral votes. Whatever way your state decides, the electors are "pledged" to represent the will of their state voters in December with their actual vote. Some states (not all) have laws which require the electors to do as the population of the state indicated through their vote.

The whole reason the electoral college came about was that during the early part of our country's history, states or areas with lean populations would not have enough to have any voice at all during an election. So, that is when the electoral votes were assigned. They didn't want the few largely populated areas deciding everything.

I personally think there is little need of this any more. But there are probably those from primarily agriculatural or lower populated starts who might disagree.

For more on the electoral college, see this link: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepoliticalsystem/a/electcollege.htm

So, I'm putting up a poll--do you think the election should be based on popular vote--yes or no.

Happy voting everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Monday Forecast/Extreme Ironing/Dia de los Muertos

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
There is a new area of disturbed weather that has potential to develop in the extreme southern Caribbean. Will keep you posted, especially if we get a Paloma.

40s and 50s will be the highs for the northwest and New England on Monday. There will be rain out west, over the Great Lakes states and in Florida.

In Houston, getting more and more muggy this week...like a sauna by Thursday with very high humidity and mild to warm temperatures. Look for some rain, maybe thunderstorms late Thursday into early Friday. Get those shorts back out...because you will be wearing them this week--including to the polls on Tuesday. No weather trouble in Houston for voting.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Since it's been all about the time change today, let's do time or tiempo, pronounced tee-M-poh. How did you use your extra tiempo--don't know about you but I got through that mountain of laundry.

This afternoon at the park, I met a couple from Ethiopia speaking their native language to their sons. The mother told me that she asked her son some questions to see if he could distinguish between the 2 languages. She was amazed to find out that he could quite easily--there was no confusing or mixing them. Well, that is because the brain of a child is perfectly wired to compartmentalize and organize language structure. Study after study shows this. In fact, they can learn many languages without confusion. The young brain identifies patterns and sorts accordingly. So, help those little ones learn language in a fun way---buy them our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
This information comes from an article provided by Adriana Gutierrez, Spanish teacher suprema. Today (November 2nd) is celebrated by Catholics in Mexico as Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos. It is a time of celebrating the memory of those who have died. Altars are set up with special cutout paper tablecloths--ofrendas. They make a special bread called pan de muerto (bread of the dead)...it is often laid in strips that look like bones and they eat sugar candy shaped like skulls. They make the favorite foods of the deceased and place them on the altar. Many believe that the dead will come that night and visit. They decorate sticks with marigolds--believed to be the flower of the dead and visit cemeteries singing songs and celebrating the memories of their loved ones. It is a time of rejoicing.

In the Catholic Church, November 2nd is known as All Soul's Day, a day to remember and pray for the dead--especially loved ones.

Well, I was reading one of Sarah's school take home magazines and they had a snippet (with a picture!) of farmers riding down a river in the shells of huge hollowed out pumpkins. Good grief, Charlie Brown, this is what happened to the Great Pumpkin and all of his buddies.

And this got me to thinking about other weird "sports" like extreme ironing. You are not seeing things...this is real! Check out this clip from youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olU947pcHeE

And there are organizations all over--here's one web site for you.
http://www.goextremeironing.com/

Now, you have a new hobby to take up.

Have a fun Monday! Don't get burned.

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Sunday Forecast/Time Change/Suggestion for that Extra Hour

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Well, it was balmy today...sweating as I took down the Halloween decorations. But although it was feeling somewhat tropical, the tropics are still quiet.

Cool spots in the nation--northwest and northeast with highs Sunday in the 50s northwest and 30s and 40s northeast. Look for rain for the northwest and the western Great Lakes states and southern Florida (where there will be thunderstorms). Houston will continue its pattern of 50s in the morning and 80s in the afternoon. It will get more mild by mid-week. Look for a line of showers and thunderstorms on Thursday.

Spanish word for the day is November or Noviembre, pronounced no-vee-M-bray. I just love the month of Noviembre!

So, now you are definitely thinking about holiday shopping. So make it easy and affordable with the kids--buy them our award winning DVD, Volume 1 of Let's Learn Spanish with Frank and Paco, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Educational Product for 2008. You can order it from www.frankandpaco.com, www.venturaes.com, www.dololanguages.com, www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com, www.amazon.com, www.bestbuy.com, and www.barnesandnoble.com.

AND MORE
Well, hopefully you know that Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 am Sunday November 2nd. Turn your clocks back (fall back) one hour. And since you now have an extra hour, make good use of it. Change the batteries in your smoke detectors. We did that today.

My Google Adwords is still not fixed. Now they are telling me they shut down both of my accounts as I am violating the Terms and Conditions. But they are not telling me how. They just gave me a link to go look at the Terms and Conditions, which I did. And, I can't figure it out. This is so frustrating. Does anyone have an adword account that works? Help!!!

Happy Sunday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman