13 January 2011

Our English is the goodest

From the IRD's page on spotting phishing scams:


Warning signs to watch for

If you receive an email asking for your tax information including your IRD number, password or user ID you should always check:

- is the sender's email address "@ird.govt.nz"?
- does the login page start with "https://"?
- does the website have "govt.nz/" in the address?
- does the text use poor spelling or grammar?

If you answered "No" to any of these question, delete the email permanently and also delete it from your trash

So in other words, if the text does use poor spelling or grammar then it must be from the IRD...

01 January 2011

Happy New Year!

2011 is upon us, and here's hoping this year's better than the last three months have been.

As most of you will know, 2010 saw the loss of Merlin, one of our beloved golden retrievers. A semi-routine trip to the vet ended with a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We tried chemo -- which only had a 20% remission rate -- but it only worked for a little bit, and Merlin was eventually sent to sleep on December 5, with me, Juliette and Summer with him at the last.

Of course, there have been happier moments this year. Logan turned one, and is almost walking. He got thoroughly spoiled on his birthday and Christmas, and had the undivided attention of his grandparents as his cousin Connor spent Christmas in Rotorua. This year, there should be four grandkids at the family Christmas: Connor, Logan, Hugo from Japan and Connor's brother or sister (who's due April/May).

New Year's resolutions include the perennial favourite, lose weight. I also want to spend some time getting a programming portfolio together, something I can point potential employers to. And I just want to be the best husband and father I can be.

Things to look forward to:
  • Logan turning two
  • Possibly trying for chickling #2
  • Buying our first house
  • The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in November (theoretically -- it's almost a given that it will be delated)

I'm sure there'll also be the usual ups and downs (that's called "life", folks) -- that's half the fun of a new year.

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