« December 2023

Welcome to the AREA Newsletter for December 2023.

Table of Contents

Welcome	SurveyResults	ScamAlert
Treasurer's Report	DecemberQuiz	Recipes

Welcome

So, this is not a "usual" newsletter. Maybe that's a good thing. Please note that I've added a set of links above to function as a table of contents for the newsletter. Click on any of them to go to that part. How wonderful.

This newsletter will review the results of our technology survey and make some suggestions for technology use by senior citizens. The newsletter will also contain the regular features we are used to seeing.

Honoring our veterans at the November Meeting.

FACEBOOK - Remember.. we have a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group

MEA - FACEBOOK Page - MEA R - Facebook Page

AREA - FACEBOOK Group - Androscoggin Retired Educators

Please consider joining Facebook and the AREA Group. Facebook makes it so easy to stay in touch. We should move toward using these resources more effectively.

Volunteer Hours!

Please remember to submit your volunteer hours!!

Joyce has added this simple to use form. Download it here. Let's go team!!

Volunteer Hours Submission

Treasurer's Report

from Gina Fuller

Please click this link to read the OVERVIEW

Please click this link to read the STATEMENT

Results of Technology Survey

So, we did a survey. The link to the survey results is listed below.

Click this link to read the full survey results. SURVEY RESULTS

The survey is pretty interesting, and I was pleased to have 24 respondents, almost 20% of our group. The survey is hosted by a relatively new survey tool, All Counted. the survey tool is free, absolutely free. It provides several different ways to create questions and just as many ways to conduct responses. I always choose surveys that are easy to complete, and I always make surverys that are not too long. I have a saying, "If you can't get results in 10 questions, you are asking the wrong questions."

Here are a few findings.

1. Most of us use the cell phone for most things. The computer was next. (Remember, you can get this newsletter on the cellphone by using the link sent every month.)

2. We are all comfortable with our e-mail, but some of us - 26% - would like a more simple email system, and would be willing to pay $10.00 a year for this.

3. About half of us - 45% - are comfortable with our technology, but about 52% of us would like some help and have questions.

4. Exactly half of us feel safe at home because we have a device or live with another person - but 30% of us keep the cell phone handy in case of an emergency. Very few of us have or depend on Alexa.

5. Exactly 40% of us don't see a need for Alexa, and exactly 40% of us see Alexa as a resonable alternative for a safety device. I found this very interesting.

6. Many of us are comfortable using the internet to search for information or for shopping, but very few of us use Twitter. About half of us can and do read magazines and books with our technology devices. About 25% of us just have general questions about technology; however, most of us don't want classes per se, but want general help with computers.

Interesting.. always interesting. If there were "conclusions," I would conclude that we are all doing OK, but that many of us have specific questions, and that many of us could use "help and hints," but nothing too formal or didactic.

Feel free to check out the download of results and let me know your conclusions.

Scam Alert

from Crystal Ward

During this time of year, we often see a surge in impersonation scams. Stay safe by learning to identify and avoid them.

In impersonation scams, a scammer reaches out to you pretending to be someone you trust to get sensitive information like social security numbers, bank information, or Amazon account details. Scammers change tactics quickly making them hard to detect.

Scam Trend: Email attachment scams
Scammers send emails posing as Amazon and include pdf attachments stating that your account will be suspended or on hold. These attachments prompt you to click on a fraudulent link to “update your account.” These links lure you to provide personal information such as payment information or account login credentials.

Please do not click on any links or provide your information without authenticating the email or verifying the link. Visit the Message Center which displays a log of authentic communications sent from Amazon.

Prime membership scams
These are unexpected calls/texts/emails that refer to a costly membership fee or an issue with your membership and ask you to confirm or cancel the charge. These scammers try to convince you to provide payment or bank account information in order to reinstate a membership.

Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information for products or services over the phone. To verify your Prime Membership status or make payments, log into your Amazon account, and go to Your Account.

Here are some important tips to identify scams and keep your account and information safe:

1. Trust Amazon-owned channels.
Always go through the Amazon mobile app or website when seeking customer service, tech support, or when looking to make changes to your account.

2. Be wary of false urgency.
Scammers may try to create a sense of urgency to persuade you to do what they're asking. Be wary any time someone tries to convince you that you must act now.

3. Never pay over the phone.
Amazon will never ask you to provide payment information, including gift cards (or “verification cards,” as some scammers call them) for products or services over the phone.

4. Verify links first.
Review the link for misspellings or repeated characters. Legitimate Amazon websites contain "amazon.com" or "amazon.com/support." Go directly to our website when seeking help with Amazon devices/services, orders or to make changes to your account.

5. Verify email senders.
Legitimate Amazon emails contain “@amazon.com”. In your web browser, hover over the display name under “From” to see full sender address. Look for misspellings or added or substituted characters. Visit the Message Center to view authentic messages from Amazon.

For more information on how to stay safe online, visit Security & Privacy on the Amazon Customer Service page.

If you receive communication — a call, text, or email — that you think may not be from Amazon, please report it to us at, amazon.com/reportascam.

Quiz for December

from Mona Ervin

How well do you know the movies? Can you name the movie, the character and the actor/actress associated with the quote?

“May the Force be with you.”
“I'm the king of the world!”

3. “My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”

4. “You're gonna need a bigger boat.”

5. “Houston, we have a problem.”

6. “There's no crying in baseball!”

7. “Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"

8. “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

9. “You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.”

10. “I'll have what she's having.”

11. “To infinity and beyond!”

12."Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

13. "They call me Mister Tibbs!"

14."A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

15."Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."

Answers:

1. The statement was uttered in the first Star Wars movie by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to Luke Skywalker. Obi-Wan was portrayed by Ewan McGregor

2. This statement is from Titanic. This line is spoken by Jack Dawson, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

3.The statement is from the 1994 film Forrest Gump, when the lead character Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks, says “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates.

4. In the 1975 hit movie Jaws, Martin Brody, the Police Chief of a small summer resort town in the northeastern United States, utters one of the most quotable lines in film history when he gets his first up-close look at the Great White Shark. The actor who said the line was Roy Scheider.

5. Those words, uttered by Tom Hanks as Jim Lovell in Ron Howard's Oscar-winning ,Apollo 13.

6. Tom Hanks as Jimmy Dugan, the tobacco spitting manager of the Rockford Peaches, who gave moviegoers and baseball fans the iconic line: “There's no crying in baseball.” The movie is A League of Their Own.

7. Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?” This quote most of us recognize from story Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The mirror is owned by the Wicked Queen who asks this question every day. The Wicked Queen was voiced by Lucille La Verne.

8. This line from the movie, The Pride of the Yankees was delivered by Gary Cooper portraying the great Lou Gehrig.

9. This line is from On the Waterfront features Marlon Brando at the very top of his game, playing Terry Malloy,

10. Estelle Reiner, delivered the famous line "I'll have what she's having" after watching Meg Ryan fake an orgasm in the movie When Harry Met Sally. Ms Reiner portrayed an older customer in the restaurant.

11. This line is spoken by Buzz Lightyear in the movie Toy Story. Buzz was voiced by Tim Allen.

12. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" is a line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind starring Clark Gable. In the movie he portrayed Rhett Butler.

13. This line is spoken by Detective Virgil Tibbs, played by Sidney Poitier, in the film In the Heat of the Night.

14. Hannibal Lecter gave us arguably the world's most famous wine pairing early in Silence of the Lambs. The character off Lecter was played by Anthony Hopkins.

15. That iconic line is uttered by Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, when Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman) appears in Rick's Cafe inCasablanca.

Recipes - EEEZEE KWEEZEEN

Thank you to Donna Whelan for senidng this recipe along. This was one of Edith Savage's favorite recipes.

Edith Savage's Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

3 cups sugar

1 cup corn oil

4 eggs

1 can (15oz) pumpkin( one pie)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup water

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup coconut (optional)

Recipe

Blend together sugar, oil, eggs.

Add pumpkin, vanilla, and water.

Combine all dry ingredients and add to mixture.

Grease and flour 3 loaf pans. Fill pans with pumpkin mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. Enjoy

Our next meeting is in March. Look for a newsletter in February. Enjoy the holidays.