Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 23:22:07 -0400
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
Sender: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
Comments: Resent-From: crispen@netsquirrel.com
Comments: Originally-From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
From: Patrick Douglas Crispen
Subject: TOURBUS -- 25 OCT 01 -- SUSPICIOUS LETTERS AND PACKAGES
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TOURBUS Volume 7, Number 27 -- 25 Oct 2001
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\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
SIX YEARS of Searchable Archives at http://www.TOURBUS.com !!
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
Suspicious Letters and Packages
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://www.usps.com/news/2001/press/pr01_1010tips.htm
http://www.usps.com/news/_pdf/poster.pdf
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
http://www.usps.com/news/images/poster_large.jpg
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/mail3.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20011017_897.html
Howdy, y'all, and greetings one last time from beautiful Tuscaloosa,
Alabama. No, TOURBUS is *NOT* going away (and neither is Tuscaloosa,
for that matter). After spending 10 years in Tuscaloosa (and 15 in
Alabama), your fearless bus driver has decided to heed the words of
Horace Greeley/John Soule and "Go west, young man."
Weather and authorities permitting, starting next Thursday-ish and on
every Thursday-ish thereafter I'll be sending my TOURBUS posts from my
new place of residence: beautiful Irvine, California (which, oddly
enough, is ALSO at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela
rivers). :P
So, while TOURBUS' byline may be changing, yours truly will continue
to be behind the wheel -- late, as always, and still making up fake
facts about my new hometown (did you know that Irvine, California, is
the capital of Rwanda?). And don't fret too much about my leaving the
deep south. After all, I'll be living in *SOUTHERN* California.
TOURBUS is made possible by the kind support of our sponsors. PLEASE
take a moment to thank each of our sponsors for keeping our little bus
of Internet happiness on the road week after week.
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On with the show ...
-------------------------------
Suspicious Letters and Packages
-------------------------------
In light of the recent anthrax outbreaks in America, almost everyone
is on the lookout for suspicious letters and packages. But what,
exactly, does a suspicious package look like?
Our friends at the United States Postal Service recently created a
special "What To Do If You Receive An Anthrax Threat" page at
http://www.usps.com/news/2001/press/pr01_1010tips.htm
This page tells you what you should do if you receive an anthrax
threat by (snail) mail:
- Do not handle the mail piece or package suspected of
contamination.
- Make sure that damaged or suspicious packages are isolated and
the immediate area cordoned off.
- Ensure that all persons who have touched the mail piece wash
their hands with soap and water.
- Notify your local law enforcement authorities.
- List all persons who have touched the letter and/or envelope.
Include contact information and have this information available
for the authorities.
- Place all items worn when in contact with the suspected mail
piece in plastic bags and have them available for law
enforcement agents.
- As soon as practical, shower with soap and water.
- Notify the Center for Disease Control Emergency Response at
770-488-7100 for answers to any questions.
But, remember, the question I asked wasn't "what should I do if I
RECEIVE an anthrax threat by mail" but rather "what does a suspicious
letter or parcel LOOK like?" Well, the Postal Service's page also
offers
1. A list of what constitutes a suspicious letter or parcel; and
2. A free color poster that you can download and print showing
you exactly what to be looking for.
The poster is available in two formats. The first is a 126 Kb Adobe
Acrobat PDF file at
http://www.usps.com/news/_pdf/poster.pdf
You'll need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software to be able to read
this file. If you don't have Acrobat Reader yet (SHAME ON YOU!), you
can download it for free at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html .
The Postal Service also offers a 275 Kb JPEG version of the same
poster at
http://www.usps.com/news/images/poster_large.jpg .
Skip the JPEG and get the PDF instead. The PDF isn't lossy (in other
words, the JPEG is a little blurry and the PDF isn't).
Our friends at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation have also
created a free "what to look for" Adobe Acrobat PDF poster at
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/mail3.pdf .
Sadly, according to this poster, the FBI considers *EVERY* package I
have ever received from my Grandma Kelly to be suspicious. :P
By the way, If you have a color printer I strongly recommend that you
download and print *BOTH* the Postal Service's and the FBI's
"suspicious letter or package" posters. With all that has been
happening recently, you can NEVER have too much information.
Speaking of which, if you want to find out more about anthrax itself,
check out the US Center for Disease Control's anthrax page at
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm .
This page includes answers to questions such as
- How is anthrax transmitted?
- What are the symptoms of anthrax?
- Is there a way to prevent infection?
and many others. Don't forget to click on the purple tabs in the
middle of the page to find even more technical information about
anthrax including clinical features, risk groups, and so on.
And, finally, this week's "fneh!" award goes to the folks at
Publishers Clearinghouse. According to an October 17 Associated Press report,
With fears of anthrax in the mail running high, postal inspectors
in St. Paul [Minnesota] have given their colleagues a heads-up
that Publishers Clearinghouse is sending out packages of powdered
detergent.
"There's nothing to be alarmed about in that package," Inspector
Jeanne Graupman said. She added: "Just the timing of it wasn't
very good."
... The Oxyclean household cleanser is being sent out in 1-pound
packages with the return address 720 Winners Circle, St. Cloud,
Minn.
You can read the complete story at
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20011017_897.html .
That's it for today. Have a safe and happy weekend, and we'll talk
again next week.
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S):
Suspicious Letters and Packages
TODAY'S TOURBUS ADDRESS(ES):
http://www.usps.com/news/2001/press/pr01_1010tips.htm
http://www.usps.com/news/_pdf/poster.pdf
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
http://www.usps.com/news/images/poster_large.jpg
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/mail3.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/anthrax_g.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20011017_897.html
---------------------------------
TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE WEEK
---------------------------------
LECTRIC (verb). Past tense of the infinitive "to tell."
Usage: "I ain't payin' no $200 lectric bill!"
[Special thanks to a customer I overheard at Alabama Power for today's
wurd]
You can find all of the old Southern Words of the day at
http://netsquirrel.com/crispen/word.html
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(\__/) .' ) )) Patrick Douglas Crispen
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