Holy crap. There’s such a thing as child-onset schizophrenia? And there’s my mental contraception for the next YEAR…

FREE pink and green granite
When we moved in, we noticed a big piece of what looked like marble in the garden out the back. It seemed like it was probably heavy, so we just left it there. Flash forward five years to NOW, when we’ve finally decided to fix up the outdoor space. So yesterday, we dug it all up. And we found HEAPS. It looks like it was someone’s countertop, and they put the pieces out there as a sort of a path. We’re offering it free to anybody that will come take it away! Here’s the ad on Gumtree.

CONSTANT VIGILANCE
I’ve been telling people for years that the safest payment method to use online is credit cards. There are plenty of advocates for PayPal and direct debit, but in both of those cases, if someone uses your account fraudulently you’re going to have a much harder time recovering the funds. And today, I’ve actually gotten to experience this MYSELF!

I am a personal finance nerd these days. I’ve blogged before about the software I use to track our expenses. Every few days I log into our Internet banking just to check the new charges that have come through. Yesterday I noticed a new transaction: “POS purchase at AMAZON MKTPLACE PMTS” for around $29. Hm. I didn’t order anything from Amazon. I logged into my account and verified there were no orders in there. I contacted the Snook and he confirmed he didn’t order anything either. We both checked our inboxes and spam folders for invoices but couldn’t find anything. I could tell from my exhaustive record-keeping that I had similar transactions in the past, but in each of those cases I was able to relate it to something I’d ordered from Amazon. This was looking dodgier and dodgier. I have to say, getting customer support at Amazon wasn’t easy. Eventually I figured out how to launch a live chat with a CSR, and a nice guy named Pradeep helped me out. I could tell Pradeep was working from a script, but even then it quickly became obvious that he recognised the seriousness of my issue. He referred me to an account specialist via email and suggested I call them as well. This morning I awoke to an email from the specialist confirming that the charges were fraudulent. Someone had used my credit card to set up a new Amazon account and make a purchase. (That’s why I didn’t get any invoice.) Amazon cancelled the account and the order; and they suggested I contact my bank immediately.

So that was the next step. I called up Heritage as soon as they opened this morning and they were very helpful. The CSR was able to email us all the forms we needed to cancel the old card, request a new one, and dispute the fraudulent transactions. He even looked through our recent transactions to see if anything else looked dodgy, but I told him that I’d already checked. It seems not everyone is as vigilant as I am. That’s why the charge was so small; the thieves were testing the waters to see if I’d notice the transaction. If I hadn’t, he said, they would’ve run up a lot more.

So ultimately this hasn’t cost me anything other than some hassle and phone calls. I’ve got to get a form notarised to post back to Heritage, and then it’s just a matter of waiting for my new card to arrive and for the charges to be reversed. Fortunately Rodd and I have separate cards, so we can use his in the meantime. I’ve also had to contact any services that bill my card on a recurring basis to change it over to his. Still, this whole situation could’ve been a LOT worse. I’ve got no idea how the thieves got my card details, but I’m guessing that some site I’ve ordered from in the past was hacked. The best thing you can do in these situations is to keep an eye on your account and report anything suspicious as soon as you see it!

“Bike haters parked in the Jurassic” – Sing it! Car drivers who are anti-cyclist are idiots. Every person cycling is one less car clogging up the road, one less parking space taken up at your destination, one less consumer to drive up the cost of petrol. It’s willful stupidity.

F**k You! Scarf – Heh. I do enjoy a bit of illusion knitting.

Oh man. We need this cat scratch turntable. Petey would make an AWESOME DJ!

Today I learned that the ACT actually has a separate bit on the sea: Jervis Bay Territory. I had no idea.

DIY Stainless Steel Cleaner(s) – Bookmarking for later use!

The Snook and I haven’t been eating well for the past few months. Winter arrived, and the best of intentions go out the window in the face of cold and stress. We were drinking too much wine, and we were eating too many carbs. Then my family arrived for a two week visit, and of course we went a little crazy with food then. Cookies, bread, ice cream, you name it. By the time August arrived, we both agreed we needed a change.

Enter the Whole30. The idea is that you commit to a month of clean, primal eating: no alcohol, no grains, no sugar, no dairy, no legumes. You eat good protein, good fats, and plenty of fruit and veg. If it sounds hardcore, that’s because it is. I actually like that part. I especially like the “tough love” section from the website:

It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Quitting heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard. You won’t get any coddling, and you won’t get any sympathy for your “struggles.” YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE not to complete the program as written. It’s only thirty days, and it’s for the most important health cause on earth – the only physical body you will ever have in this lifetime.

So the day after the family left, we started. It’s been two weeks now and we’re both staying strong. We’ve given up grains and sugar before, but never to this extreme. The biggest changes have been using ghee to scramble our eggs for breakfast, and switching to coconut milk in my coffee. Other than that we just build our meals around good protein and whatever vegetables are in season. This week we’re having stuffed chicken breasts, pork belly, prawns, steak, and lamb curry. It’s not hippie food and it’s not faked-up, pre-prepared “low-carb” crap either. It feels good. I don’t wake up hungry, and I don’t get the 3pm slump at work anymore. We both took a few days for our digestive system to adjust to the change, but I think we’re on track now. I even managed to make cookies for work last week and neither of us were tempted to have one!

Our only “cheat” has been in weighing ourselves. Yes, I know we’re not supposed to, but I was dying to quantify the results. We were definitely both looking and feeling less bloated. Turns out the Snook has dropped over 4kg, and I’ve lost about 3kg! (Granted, a lot of that was water we’d retained from the vacation carb-fest.) All without feeling hungry, and without doing any extra exercise either. You know, when this month is over I don’t think we’re going to change much. This is the kind of food that makes us both feel healthy.

Look at Notre Dame’s new helmet by Adidas – Fancy. But… does this mean the student managers don’t get to paint them gold anymore?