Just so you know what to look for, I checked the header information of the email and it originated from the Romania. When the IRS contracted/outsourced help from the Romania? This email was then processed by a server in the UK...

Received: from [81.144.221.34] (helo=threealbionplace.co.uk) by insmtp12
        with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1JwTYk-0007hP-J3; Thu, 15 May 2008 03:51:10 +0100
X-PMWin-Version: 3.0.1.0, Antivirus-Engine: 2.73.0, Antivirus-Data: 4.29E
Thread-Topic: 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund. [Scanned]
Received: from User ([193.227.227.37]) by threealbionplace.co.uk with
        Microsoft SMTPSVC(6.0.3790.3959); Thu, 15 May 2008 03:50:58 +0100

Later, in the body of the email, it states:

To access Economic Stimulus Refund, please click here : 
          http://210.11.88.209/_vti_rgl/www.irs.gov/0,,id=96596,00.html

That IP address (210.11.88.209) is owned and operated by the registry folks in Australia and running a Windows IIS Server Application.

UPDATE (2008-06-09):Thanks, Drew. Okay, so forward such phishing emails to phishing@irs.gov.

With the patch now installed, the game loaded without freezing issues. Let's see if anything new develops.

To be continued...

The patch seem to work just fine.

Deleting the game data and personal save data doesn't help the situation and only wastes your time.

The quick fix until Rockstar is able to come out with a quick patch to fix this problem is to disable the internet connection that you might have enabled on your PS3. I disabled the internet connection and game loads perfectly.

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69
By EMILY FREDRIX

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — A sad day for fans of role-playing games: The man who co-created Dungeons & Dragons is dead.

Gary Gygax died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva, Wis. His wife Gail says the 69-year-old had been suffering from health problems for several years.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

It's considered the grandfather of fantasy role-playing games and has inspired legions of adoring fans. Gygax's wife says he always enjoyed hearing from them

....a girl whose mother recently got diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctor told her: women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. The doctor said that the heat and the plastic of the bottle have certain chemicals that can lead to breast cancer.

So please be careful and do not drink that water bottle that has been left in a car and pass this on to all the men and women in your life. This information is the kind we need to know and be aware and just might save us!!!!

The heat causes toxins from the plastic to leak into the water and they have found these toxins in breast tissue. Use a stainless steel Canteen or a glass bottle or an approved type of plastic when you can!!!

Regardless, don't leave water in the car in the heat.

Source: http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/medical/a/bottled-water.htm

So, if you pay a monthly membership fee of 3 at-a-time (unlimited) plan, you pay $17.99 a month, and you have 18 hours of instant viewing time per month. This limit resets every month on the day your billing cycle starts for the month and presently they have about 3,000 movie and episode titles available for immediate viewing.

Here are some new numbers that you folks might want to know about, these phone calls originate from numbers that apparently have been disconnected when you tried calling back.

(417) 948-6969
06/27/2007 19:57EDT

Details of this number apparently comes from Spectra Communications Group, LLC in Vanzant, Missouri.

Okay, here's my/our Wii number:

0783 4794 9203 0316

Feel free to register this number and please take a moment and post your Wii number below.

For those wondering how to get their Wii Number, from the main Wii Menu screen click the Message Board icon (the envelope at the bottom-right of the screen), then click the New Message icon (second from the left at the bottom), then click Address Book. Your Wii Number is on the cover page (you may have to click the cover to close it if it opens automatically).

When you enter a friend’s Wii Number, you won’t be able to exchange messages with them until they’ve added your Wii Number to their console too. Obviously, you need to have your Wii online in order for this to be of any use at all. For the best results, make sure you have WiiConnect24 enabled in your settings, so you can receive messages etc even when your Wii is in standby mode. You’ll know if you’ve received a message since you last checked because your Wii’s optical drive will be glowing blue. You can set the brightness of the glow (or disable it entirely) on the settings screen.

Once you've registered my Wii Number, please post a comment here so that I can add your Wii Number to finalize the exchange. Remember, both have to register each other's Wii number for this process to work.

Here's was the original spoof (click on the media for full-size version):

... and here's the newest of the Apple spoof (click on the media for full-size version):

877-729-3974
Name Unknown
2:57PM 03/07/2006
3:25PM 03/07/2006
5:46PM 03/07/2006

Dialed back:
"You have reached customer service, you will be contacted..." [disconnect]
Redialed:
[busy signal]

At 5:46PM 03/07/2006 -- the phone rang again and this time I picked it up and got someone (he said his name was Tony) on the other end stating that I'm qualified for a Las Vegas Vacation Package in Las Vegas, Nevada. I told him that I'm not interested and basically disconnected him. A possible reason why you get a busy tone when you tried dialing that number, it's the only line he has and he's constantly making phone calls.

866-823-6836
Name Unknown
5:19PM 03/06/2006

Dialed Back:
[busy signal]

866-737-3913
Name Unknown
2:24PM 03/08/2006
5:03PM 03/08/2006

Dialed Back:
"The toll free number you have dialed has been disconnected. No further information is available on this number."

At 5:03PM 03/08/2006 -- this time, I got Lisa on the other end stating that I've been entered for a Las Vegas Vacation Package in Las Vegas, Nevada. I told her that I've already received such a phone before and said that I'm not interested and disconnected.

231-491-8865
Name Unknown
12:57PM 08/24/2006

Dialed Back:
"Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again. 078P"

773-698-8523
Name Unknown
10:22AM 08/14/2006

Dialed back:
"Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again. 078P"

Other numbers to be on the watch for:

281-481-0036
866-823-6832
877-258-0758
877-729-3970

Other related materials:

• Rip Off Report: Telesolutions International
• Do-Not-Call Service

Looks like the folks at Google had allocated one (or more) Google Mail account with a total storage size of 15+ Gb... I kid you not -- take a look at the screen shot above.

Friday, January 5th was pretty much unpacking and settling in at our hotel room. We were greeted by my wife's cousin, Sandy "Red Peach" at the San Jose International Airport and took a rental car to our hotel. Later that evening, we had gone to the Mills in Milpitas where my wife did some shopping After hitting all 6 neighborhoods, we decided to call it the evening and pretty much hit the hay.

Saturday, January 6th was jammed packed of events. Late morning, we had breakfast at Denny's on N. 1st Street, in front of a blazing fireplace. A little too romantic for breakfast. We then visited the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose. The wife and I love hitting the museums that offer interactivies. Working some of the puzzles and creating dolls using nothing but the discarded corn husks, that killed about and hour of our time. As we left the museum, we saw the largest Monopoly game board in the country.

In the afternoon, we had a wedding reception/tea and snack party to attend. My wife cousin, Jean (Sandy's older sister) and Nelson had the wedding in Vegas earlier and had the reception later for those that could not attend the reception in Taiwan. In the evening, the nine of us (Jean, Nelson, Sandy, Nelson's mom, Nelson's brother's girlfriend, my wife, two other friends and I) had dinner at Liou's Chinese Restaurant in Milpitas, CA. Let's just say that something I ate didn't agree with me.

Sunday, January 7th, we made plans to have a DimSum luncheon with Sandy. Jean and Nelson had to work that day so they couldn't join us. The luncheon wasn't bad and would have been better if they had the "chicken feet" delicacy available when we requested it. There was a big demand and I guess the kitchen couldn't keep up.

After lunch, we headed to the largest flea market ij the state of California. Again, we did some shopping just to take it in the experience of the local. This lasted for about anf hour ad we went to "The Tech" museum in San Jose, CA. We only had only an hour to do the interactive stuff before we had to venture to the IMAX theatre featuring "Happy Feet". While the feature was entertaining to watch on the BIG viewing screen, the movie was not t featured on such a large screen, 'ouch, my neck.'

Monday, January 8th, time to pack and say our last goodbyes. We had lunch with Sandy while Jean and Nelson had to work. Oh, in case you're wondering, Sandy was also visiting and on break from her studies in Albany, NY. After lunch, we say goodbye and headed off to the airport. I'm currently over Denver while I'm typing this and will be in Denver airport when this post is transmitted.

-- H

The flight from BWI to SJC was very much uneventful with the exception of having our connection flight delayed for about an hour for de-icing procedures and because our connection flight was only 40 some minutes apart from arriving and departing, we had one of our checked-in baggage come in a different flight. We arrived in San Jose, California on Friday, January 5th and the baggage didn't arrive until around midnight, pacific time.

Happy Holidays!

So, if you want a Google Mail account, send your request to:

googleinviteme@highwayman.org