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From / Date: |
Question / Answer: |
| 6134. |
Jim
Orange, CA
Age: 71
Jul 9, 2009
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MOVED, LEFT NO ADDRESS
I thought Jack's use of a rubber stamp, (see his answer to post # 5982), "MOVED, LEFT NO ADDRESS" was an excellent idea. So I hurried down to the custom rubber stamp place to have one made. Then I thought, "Shouldn't it say "MOVED, NO FORWARDING ADDRESS"?
I decided to check it out. Jack is very thorough, so he's probably right - still . . .
I did a search on the net and found an article about auxiliary postal markings! I was surprised to find such an article! The title is "Return To Sender 2005: No Mail Receptacle" by Douglas B. Quine.
Here's the link if you want to read the article:
(website address)
It will contain much more information than you ever wanted to know on the subject but is, none the less, fascinating.
Now, I'm an old philatelist so was not too surprised that there are those interested enough to collect these auxiliary postal markings. But I was surprised to find an article, with color examples of these imprints.
Jack is right. The term as used is "MOVED, LEFT NO ADDRESS" however it is usually included as just one of several reasons to send mail back on a "multi choice" stamp.
The article states: " 'Return to Sender’ handstamps must number over a million!" That's good news for us. It would be very hard for anyone to tell a home grown one from an official post office one.
There's more: "The designs themselves also vary within this basic layout. This indicates that a standard rubber stamp has not been produced and distributed to local post offices." So, probably anything will work. But at least now we know why.
Here's another tidbit gleaned from the article that should be kept in mind when returning mail to sender.
"Applied labels are often used to direct mail back to the sender and have the advantage that they can cover the POSTNET barcode (typically lower right of the envelope) which directs the letter towards the destination by automation equipment. This is an important consideration; otherwise the USPS automation equipment will read the barcode and continue to redirect the mail to the original
addressee, creating “loop mail”.
So I also included a pack of 1 1/3" X 4" Avery labels on my shopping trip.
So the simple "MOVED, LEFT NO ADDRESS" works, and so should just about any configuration you can come up with.
But, in the interest of over-kill and my basic insecurities, I decided to go with the big 2" X 4" multi choice version, you know - with the hand outline at the top with the words "Return To Sender" written in it. Plus I now have a nice choice, as befits my purpose, of checking off a box for:
MOVED, LEFT NO ADDRESS
NOT DELIVERABLE AS ADDRESSED
UNABLE TO FORWARD
ATTEMPTED - NOT KNOWN
UNCLAIMED REFUSED
NO SUCH STREET - NUMBER ______________
INSUFFICIENT ADDRESS
NO MAIL RECEPTACLE
and my favorite
DECEASED
Also it looks so damned authentic - even to any postal employee.
All of these have a little square box in front of each choice for the mail carrier, (now me), to check. Another little tip in the article is that a black marker or grease pen is usually used to mark the chosen box. Wow, now we're really getting authentic!
I just figured that the whole thing would have more credibility if it looked exactly like the one many post offices used. And most of them do use a multi choice stamp.
If you choose to do as I did, brace yourself as this 2" X 4" stamp at $41.00 plus $10.00 for the red ink stamp pad is a bit pricey.
Jim
Submitted Link #1: http://www.postal-markings.org...
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| 6133. |
Ray
Los Angeles CA
Age: 50
Jul 9, 2009
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Cap & Trade
I would have expected the buzz in here to be all about the privacy which will no doubt be lost with the passing of
Cap & Trade. Anyone care to share on this subject. Home inspections, forms,
mandates, more inspections, etc. etc.
Being a property owner is losing its luster fast............
...
I haven't taken time to study this, Ray. In part, perhaps, because I am an optomist and assume it may not end up as gruesome as it looks at first glance. Readers, any comments or opinions about this?
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| 6132. |
George
Pomona, CA
Age: 26
Jul 9, 2009
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Student Loan Sinkhole: Case Example of Why to Skip College
The student loan industry has turned into one of the most predatory lending shams in history. What used to be a laughable "good debt" kept at low fixed interest rates has now become a monsterous burden without borrow protections and perhaps the most oppressive of its kind in U.S. history. If you know anyone who is even thinking about going to school, or if you know parents or students who are not convinced that what they borrow today may come back to haunt them for the rest of their lives, you need to let them see this video first!
Submitted Link #1: http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/525/index.html...
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| 6131. |
Randy
Johnston, IA
Age: 46
Jul 9, 2009
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SSN Can Now Be Accurately Guessed Using Date and Place of Birth
Another reason not to reveal your DOB and birthplace, including on social networking sites.
From the article referenced in the post at the link below:
"The accuracy of these algorithms is positively disturbing. Using a separate pool of data from the Death Master File, the authors were able to get the first five digits right for seven percent of those with an SSN assigned before 1988; after that, the success rate goes up to a staggering 44 percent. For a smaller state, like Vermont, they could get it right over 90 percent of the time."
Submitted Link #1: http://www.wisebread.com/your-ssn-can-now-be-accur...
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| 6130. |
Daniel
Minneapolis, MN
Age: 37
Jul 8, 2009
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RE: 6117, how to answer nosy boss
I think the fact that you used a P.O. Box as your home address that sparked his curiosity or suspicion. Anyone else I would tell it's none of their beeswax, however since it's your boss you have to be tactful. I would tell him a secondary ghost address you may use or can set up.
Even though I live with my girlfriend and I'm not on the lease. I always use ghost address's on applications usually a friends house or now presently an homeless drop in center (so homeless can give address's to potential employers). They even have a free voice mail and hold mail for you which I use in conjunction with goggle voice and a prepaid cell phone.
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| 6128. |
Eric
Orange County, CA
Age: 28
Jul 8, 2009
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social engineering
After I locked myself out of a friend's apartment, I went to see the building manager to see if he would call my friend and ask her to let me in. He couldn't find my friend's number in his files, so I just told him a number to call, claiming it was my friend's number. He called it, and the person on the other end claimed to be my friend, and asked him to let me into the apartment. He did.
No harm done this time, because the number really was for my friend, and it actually was my friend on the other end asking the building manager to let me in. But what if I was lying, just trying to sneak my way into the apartment? The building manager did not independently verify the information I gave him, so he had no way of knowing if it really was my friend asking him to let me in.
Could this happen to any of you? Is there an attendant somewhere with access to your house, apartment, storage unit, car, computer data, or anything else sensitive or valuable?
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| 6125. |
michael
trenton, NJ
Age: 40
Jul 6, 2009
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Why a passport?
After reading the passport application, it appears as though I will be giving up all inforamtion to the state department. Why distribute my info to them, when I could get a non-drivers ID from my DMV, and perhaps it would not have my drivers licesense number on it...?
...
The US government does not sell passport information. States often do sell such information. (If that includes mere ID cards, I cannot say.) I assume the ID card will also contain your address, whereas a passport never does.
But if you prefer not to obtain a passport, then don't do it. I give my opinions in my books and on this Web site, but you must make your own decisions.
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| 6122. |
Drake
LA, CA
Age: 34
Jul 5, 2009
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Facebook Folly - Britain
This story is hilarious.
Folks, we know better, but if your family or friends have social networking site accounts, make sure you talk to them about your views on privacy... then show them the story in the link below, and the one in #792, and research "Polar Rose" on Wikipedia, and other sites.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article66...
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| 6120. |
Dewey Link
N. Myrtle Beach, SC
Age: 71
Jul 5, 2009
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NM LLC
Can you put mortgaged real estate in a NM LLC?
...
Not without guaranteeing the loan yourself, so there is nothing to be gained. It's better to either pay cash or rent. Renting has many advantages!
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| 6119. |
Drake
LA, CA
Age: 34
Jul 4, 2009
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6117 'Answers for the boss'
Allen - That the question is coming from the BOSS doesn't matter at all. I don't care what uniform or badge type they show you - those are just colored (and pressed)clothes, shiny boots, and shaped pieces of metal. Nobody ever needs the correct answer to this question.
Tell him you're straight and married and busy so you don't have time for dinner or other entertainment after work. Look at him dumbly for extended periods of time. Pretend he asked a different question and answer that. Ask extremely detailed and private questions about him and his family, one after the other, rapid-fire. Tell him where he can send presents and bonus checks. He knows your schedule so if there are legal papers to be served he can put them in your Inbox.
Print out whatever is in the computer and hand him that. Better yet, in addition to your P.O. Box, add a Ghost Address to your To Do list, get one in the general area, update the computer files to which you have access, and show him that.
Where you spend time after work hours is none of his cotton-picking business. If he's older than a teenager, tell him you appreciate his understanding in the matter of your privacy and you're going to tell his mother what a fine southern gentleman she raised... Then look at him pointedly.
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| 6118. |
Jim
Orange, CA
Age: 71
Jul 4, 2009
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Agustin's Post #5976 Re. Moving home into a trust
I have copied Agustin's post with JJL's comment:
Post #5976.
Agustin.
Buena Park CA,
May 31, 2009
Holding Title --
I recently purchase a home and made the mistake to hold title in my name and it is public information, what can I do to erase this mistake and hold it as a revoable trust, can you help,thank you. Agustin
... Check with your real estate agent and/or title company to learn how to do this with the lowest possible cost.
Agustin, -- I found myself with the same problem except that I have lived in the same home over 35 years. It will be impossible to "get invisible" completely with that kind of record to hide if I stay here, and moving is not an option for me.
However I'm proceeding anyway to put as much distance between me and the 35 years of information as possible. Transferring the property into a trust was one of the first steps.
I know I can't really erase my history but I can make it look like I've moved and given enough time that should suffice.
A few months ago I created a trust and transferred my property into it. I belong to a very large attorney network and had their trust expert check everything out.
Of greatest concern to me was the possibility of it being re-assessed based on the current value which is many times what I paid for it almost 40 years ago. You don't have that problem as you just purchased your home so re-assessing it will be of no concern to you. In fact it may be beneficial if you bought before the real estate values plummeted in Southern California, (I'm assuming you posted your actual location.)
I'm happy to report that my house is now "in trust" and was not re-assessed. It will take about two years for the trust to reach its full potential as an asset protection - but I didn't know enough to have done it earlier.
It's very hard to find a competent attorney let alone a really good trust attorney. I think I found one.
I was so sick at the time I could barely get around but I did it all myself so I know you can too.
The best time to do this kind of stuff is NOW! If you don't yet have Jack's book "How to be Invisible" get it and don't just read it through - STUDY IT! It has the most competent information in print. I've read every thing out there I can get my hands on and he is by far the best.
Then take action, even if you can do only one thing. Do it. Then do the next thing. You don't have to eat this elephant all in one bite. I procrastinated and am now paying the price.
If you gave Jack your email address he has my permission to give you mine. I'll be glad to show you what I did.
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| 6117. |
Allen
Atlanta, Georgia
Age: 40
Jul 4, 2009
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how to answer to employer
I recently got a new job that I enjoy very much. Fortunately, I control all of the information entered into the employees' records/database, including name, address, ss#, etc. Therefore, I have used my PO Box as my home address without any problems. Unfortunately, one of my bosses has twice asked me where I live. I usually just answer "near the new strip mall", and so far this has worked. I wonder how much longer I can continue to do this without raising some type of suspiscion. I have absloutely NOTHING to hide, other than my privacy! Does anyone know of another good way to answer this question, which I'm sure I will be asked again, keeping in mind that it is the BOSS asking me? Thanks
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| 6114. |
Charles
Athens, Ga
Age: 42
Jul 3, 2009
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RE: Post 6113
I respectfully disagree about not going to law school. Address the real problem there: crooked Sallie Mae! Let's not get into the hatred of lawyers and believe the faux stories that blame all the troubles on lawyers. But for those that want to become an attorney with law school, I recommend the first edition of Planet Law School, and the site: How to Become a Lawyer With No Law School - Be a Lawyer With No Law School - No College. Attorney Ehline writes, "As far as I know, 7 U.S. states will still let you read the law in a law office with no law school degree are Virginia, Washington, Wymong, California, Wyoming, Maine, and New York."
Carolyn Strozier Seklii, who grew up in Savannah, passed the Virginia
State Bar exam last spring and was sworn in this summer as an attorney
at the Supreme Court in Richmond.
And what's so outstanding about that?
Carolyn, a 45-year-old divorced mom of two teenagers, did not attend
law school. Instead, she enrolled in Virginia's law-reader program, an
alternative to law school.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.ehlinelaw.com/pages/3226/How_to_Become_...
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| 6113. |
George
Pomona, CA
Age: 26
Jul 3, 2009
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Perfect Example of Why NOT to Go to Law School
This man was did wrong by the legal system and the presently corrupt student loan industry.
Who would think that you could borrow $270,000 to go to law school and watch it skyrocket to $435,000 in only four years?!
Yeah, he passed the bar, but he still gets denied a legal license to practice law. The ironic reason: his student loans are just too big.
I really don't see how the judges think barring him from making a living will help him in paying back that $435K.
Skip college altogether and avoid this kind of entanglement.
Submitted Link #1: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/business/02lawye...
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| 6112. |
Lewis
Frisco TX
Age: 62
Jul 2, 2009
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IRS leaning on foreign banks to spy
The British are reporting that the American IRS is trying to coerce them (and other banks around the world) into reporting on American financial transactions with them. If a bank refuses, it will be deemed "unqualified" and the IRS will assume that the American is guilty of "something."
Submitted Link #1: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/col...
...
As many of you readers know, I have never suggested offshore trusts or offshore banking accounts. Especially not in tax havens. (Canada, however, is still an excellent option.)
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| 6111. |
Dave
Eagan, MN.
Age: 44
Jul 1, 2009
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#6105 Try Alaska
[Drastically shortened] The best location in the U.S. to fit the offshore profile is the strip of Alaskan state land that borders Canada in the South of the mainland of Alaska along the Pacific. You can park a mobile home there and garden and take all the fresh fish you need out of the ocean and lakes and hunt and live off of the land. The temperatures along the coast there are mild since it is on the Pacific. You also get $1,000 from the Alaskan government because they are not in debt like some other states.
...
I am familiar with Ketchikan, Juneau, Petersburg and Sitka (in addition to Fairbanks, Anchorage, Kodiak Island and Dutch Harbor/Unalaska). Compared to the lower BC mainland, any place in southeast Alaska is cold and dark in winter.
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| 6110. |
Mary
Portland
Age: 44
Jul 1, 2009
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mobile home niche
This got me to thinking! I would buy the mobiles using my LLC and then sell them to survivalists who have bought
"junk land". My question is: How can I market the fact that the buyers privacy would be protected because of my LLC?
Show them how to get their own LLC?
Have my LLC sell directly to their LLC with out names mentioned?
I read survival blogs daily, just as this site, and believe me, survivalists are more interested in privacy than most other people. Don't want others to know what they have!
...
This would be similar to land sales. I buy, say, an acre along a river, and title it in an LLC. I bring in electricty, also in the name of the LLC. Then I sell the LLC to a buyer who wants total privacy.
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| 6108. |
Paul
Stafford, Tx
Age: 58
Jul 1, 2009
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Towns along Washington Canada Border
Hi Jack: Regarding your comments to Ian in the U.K. and towns along the Border: I visited Point Roberts a few years ago. A small penisula of a U.S. town with sole access through the Canadian Border. Are you familiar with it and would you include it in your list of favorable places to live? Security seems pretty good in that you have to pass through U.S. and Canadian Customs coming and going. I would like your thoughts as you are from that area. Thanks in advance. Best Regards
...
Although Point Roberts is unique, what you think is security, I think is a drawback if privacy is desired. Every time you leave Point Roberts to go to any other part of the U.S., you are checked by Canadian and then U.S. Customs, and they both get you again on the return.
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| 6107. |
Dorothy
Topeka, kS
Age: 40
Jun 30, 2009
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mobile home parks, Seth...
I have to say that Seth has some really pertinent points. Mobile home parks, even in my backwater region of the Midwest, are not popping up new. Old ones, however, still plug along in small towns and back-country areas. The one nearest me has deteriorated in the past 5 years, but is still functioning. I would recommend avoiding "city" areas and focusing on rural areas. On a slightly related note... While it is possible to buy a mobile home for CASH and own that mobile home in its entirety, most places that one can find to park that mobile home involve paying a monthly DEBT in the form of "lot rent." If I were personally in a position to look for FREEDOM, I'd be looking for a piece of land in a COUNTRY area that I could afford to pay cash for, and then pay yet more cash for a mobile home to set on that land. All titled in LLC's, "of course." Since the discussion here isn't about personal FREEDOM, but rather about money-making businesses.... I'd be looking to become a mobile home owner (privately of course) and then rent out trailers to good families as a steady stream of income. Again, this whole conversation is about finding one's niche. If this isn't your personal niche, then something else might be!
...
Currently, I recommend buying up cheap rural lots that can be used for RV parking. I'm in that field myself, constantly searching for land along a river where no building is allowed. RVs can still use such land since the RV can be driven off in the case of a flood. For semi-permanent living, add a used 8 x 20 cargo trailer to store all your stuff, or use it as an extra room.
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| 6106. |
Seth
collbran, co
Age: 50
Jun 30, 2009
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Buying and selling mobile homes
It seems to me that the saturation point on mobile homes is directly connected to the availability of spaces in mobile home parks, which are becoming increasingly rare. Many towns and cities view mobile home parks as "slums" and they regulate them out of existence where possible, even though they are the essence of "affordable housing." The trend seems to be for park owners to drive out the lower-class tenants with smaller mobile homes in favor of double and triple-wides whenever they don't simply close the park entirely and convert it to another use. Mobile home parks are high maintenance investments and are less and less favored, and I haven't heard of a single new mobile home park being built in the Denver Metro area in decades because the ROI won't support them based on land prices.
...
Excellent answer, Seth. Times have changed, and not for the better.
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