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When geeks gave us the Internet and the means to use it, they also gave us a new segment of vocabulary ...

I've often thought it a shame that a few of them didn't make their way to a campus literature or marketing department and see if a student of poetry or sizzle could assist them in assigning names to their innovations. For example, did the manual cursor operator have to be called a 'mouse?'

Geeks have overtaken sports-speakers when it comes to coining bad phrases. I've never understood why basketball types say a player 'kicks out' a ball to a teammate on the perimeter when his feet never touch it. Worse yet, I've always wondered if a gridiron football player would really want to dive on the ball if the carrier truly 'coughed it up!' That bit of literal imagery is more revulsive than handling a mouse. Do these guys really think about what they're saying?

There is one instance, though, where the geeks thought it through and got it right. 'Phishing' is a perfect connotation for cyber-cons who troll for prey.

The word's spelling distinguishes this nefarious activity from a sporting endeavor, but it's still a game. The definition that's been developed for it is "a technique used to gain personal information for purposes of identity theft, using fraudulent e-mail messages that appear to come from legitimate businesses. These authentic-looking messages are designed to fool recipients into divulging personal data such as account numbers and passwords, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers."

Another term that alludes to the emotive consequences of cyberobbery is the perjorative sense of 'hacker.' That bit of etymology seems to be a work in progress. The accepted definition refers to "individuals who gain unauthorized access to computer systems for the purpose of stealing and corrupting data." However, the added qualifier is, "Hackers, themselves, maintain that the proper term for such individuals is cracker."

Being hacked or being cracked makes little difference to those on the receiving end. They just know they've been had. Understandably, their first impulses are to get mad and want to vent. My contention is that, most of the time, they're lashing out in the wrong direction. After all, crooks are crooks; that's their job and they're out there in numbers. That's not going to change anytime soon.

These victims need to take a hard look at themselves.

The economics of law enforcement --- in cyberspace or elsewhere --- limits what can be investigated and prosecuted. Thus, smart spoofers often keep their 'take' per scam campaign at levels sufficiently low that the cost of prosecuting them is not viable. Then, they change their coordinates, plus their identities, and do it again.

So, obviously, the most important factor in cyber-diligence is self-precaution. Most steps are basic, as evidenced by the checklist on the USA government's Federal Trade Commission website:

"If you get an email or pop-up message that asks for personal or financial information, do not reply. And dont click on the link in the message, either. Legitimate companies dont ask for this information via email. If you are concerned about your account, contact the organization mentioned in the email using a telephone number you know to be genuine, or open a new Internet browser session and type in the companys correct Web address yourself. In any case, dont cut and paste the link from the message into your Internet browser phishers can make links look like they go to one place, but that actually send you to a different site.

"Use anti-virus software and a firewall, and keep them up to date. Some phishing emails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the Internet without your knowledge.

"Anti-virus software and a firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files. Anti-virus software scans incoming communications for troublesome files. Look for anti-virus software that recognizes current viruses as well as older ones; that can effectively reverse the damage; and that updates automatically.

"A firewall helps make you invisible on the Internet and blocks all communications from unauthorized sources. Its especially important to run a firewall if you have a broadband connection. Operating systems (like Windows or Linux) or browsers (like Internet Explorer or Netscape) also may offer free software 'patches' to close holes in the system that hackers or phishers could exploit.

"Dont email personal or financial information. Email is not a secure method of transmitting personal information. If you initiate a transaction and want to provide your personal or financial information through an organizations website, look for indicators that the site is secure, like a lock icon on the browsers status bar or a URL for a website that begins 'https:' (the 's' stands for 'secure'). Unfortunately, no indicator is foolproof; some phishers have forged security icons.

"Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.

"Be cautious about opening any attachment or downloading any files from emails you receive, regardless of who sent them. These files can contain viruses or other software that can weaken your computers security.

"Forward spam that is phishing for information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank, or organization impersonated in the phishing email. Most organizations have information on their websites about where to report problems.

"If you believe youve been scammed, file your complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the FTCs Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft. Victims of phishing can become victims of identity theft. While you can't entirely control whether you will become a victim of identity theft, you can take some steps to minimize your risk. If an identity thief is opening credit accounts in your name, these new accounts are likely to show up on your credit report. You may catch an incident early if you order a free copy of your credit report periodically from any of the three major credit bureaus."

If you use e-currency or e-payment services, be aware that they are usually not liable for any of your losses if you've been hacked or cracked due to identity-theft issues. All reputable services have support divisions that investigate any complaints of spoofing --- for example, Paypal asks you to mail them at spoof@paypal.com if you receive a suspicious message using their name --- and if anyone is going to pursue, or at least keep on file, complaints of any amount, it will be them.

Virtually all e-currency services offer options of 'virtual' keyboards for logging in to accounts. They may be a bother, but they are very effective at adding a formidable obstacle for cyber-invasion. Then, whether or not you took this step to access your account, make sure you take the time to actually log out of your account, as opposed to merely clicking away to your next site.

I note that the Longer Life site has two very good preventive products as sponsors, Kaspersky Labs and Identity Guard. They are first-class products and well worth your while to consider.

This stuff doesn't take long to research or to implement and you don't have to be a geek to do it. You don't even have to know their their terminology. Instead, when you're done, you can confidently refer to a familiar term in both sports and banking:

Safe.

Some of the best beach parties can happen in the Midwest, with temperatures below freezing. Sounds crazy? It is, but it is a memorable and fun way to celebrate a birthday, retirement or special occasion. Beach parties can happen in the summer too, near a pool or a lake in any region.

A beach party needs radical invitations, man! You can follow a surfer theme and use surfboard shapes or any beach theme motif from the party supply store. Other supplies like paper products for food and decorations can match your beach party motif.

Decorating can be fun. Buy plastic beach balls and blow them up to toss around your party, whether its inside or out. Buy an old fishing net and hang from the corner of one room. Fill it with sea creatures and marine life, or use it to put in pictures of the guest of honor. If your party is outside, truck in some sand for beach volleyball.

Use the sand and have a sandcastle competition. Give away personalized party favors to all the winners. Besides volleyball, other sand activities can be horseshoes, Frisbee and football. If there are kids at the party, bury a treasure and create a map for them to follow. Depending on their ages you can make it difficult or easy to find. Use a treasure chest and bury candy or plastic trinkets for them.

If your beach party is inside in the winter, have guests bring their swimsuits and change into them. Turn your thermostat really hot to get them in the mood. Heat and swimsuits will make everyone in a better mood and look forward to spring and summer.

Serve finger food and anything with a beach theme. Make surfer sandwiches or tidal wave macaroni salad. Use regular dishes but jazz them up with a title.

One year after we moved into our new ranch-style home, the Merion Bluegrass lawn was growing well and the basic flower beds were mapped out. A new home doesn't need repairs, but a myriad of needs kept cropping up to soak up any available money. A trip to the local plant nursery put us in shock when we added up the cost of perennials, mulching and proper bricks for the borders. I would search the want ads for bargain lots of building materials, garden tools, mowers and fertilizer with much success. When people move, they don't want to weigh down the moving van with old tools and bags of fertilizer. They practically give them away.

The one thing people would never part with are their perennials. Plants and trees are quite visible to the new owners and they usually expect that they go with the house. My whole winter was spent browsing the catalogs for hosta, iris, roses, and especially day lilies. Available in mouth-watering shades, these new hybrid day lilies come in different heights and plant habit. Some are good for along a fence, other make good border plants, each clump doubling in size every year. Unlike the road side day lilies that grow to four feet tall, bloom only briefly, and send out root runners to take over the rest of the garden, the hybrids are garden friendly. Unfortunately, a grouping of three roots cost about eight dollars, sending the cost of the needed plants into the hundreds of dollars.

One day, in a conversation with a local nursery owner, he revealed the source of some of his day lilies. The farmer lived in a nearby town and grew day lilies for a living. Some intense research turned up his address and I paid him a visit. Presented with row upon row of cultivated day lilies in every imaginable shape and color, I drooled over owning just a few of them for our garden. I parted with all the money I had, fifteen dollars, and went home with three starter clumps. Before leaving, I took a few pictures of his fields and some individual blossoms he had self propagated. I later made a set for him to keep. One low growing beauty sported forty blooms on each stalk (opening one per day) in tones of deep ruby red. Another met the dawn in diamond dusted five-inch-wide flowers in ivory and shell pink, showing an apple green center. A third boasted four inch blooms in a true lemon yellow.

The following summer, I received a call from the farmer. He informed me that he had sold his farm land to a developer and had already bought ten acres twenty miles further west. He had removed all he needed to seed the new day lily farm but was forced to leave hundreds of mature plants. The bulldozers were slated to start preparing the land for the new development the following week and if I would like, I could help myself to any number of plants for my garden. I almost dropped the phone in excitement. Here was presented to me the most desirable flowering perennials I could dream of for our garden! Free!! I thanked him and spent the next three days digging, boxing, and transporting the day lilies. The next July Fourth we had a barbecue party in the back yard. Ringing the gentle curves of the brick borders bloomed forty varieties of hybrid day lilies, glorifying our new garden and warming our hearts.

One of the biggest established trends on the market front today, and still gathering momentum, is cocooning - the desire to perform the majority of social and cultural interactions (working, entertaining, relaxing, etc.) from home, rather than by going outside the home. This trend was strongly reinforced by the 9/11 tragedy, as many people began to review their lives and, sometimes for the first time, consciously decide how they wanted to live them rather than just letting life happen to them and going with the flow.

This poses an obstacle for many businesses who rely on brick and mortar style storefronts and foot traffic, as well as for those in the entertainment industries who rely on people "going out" for a large part of their income. The advent of home theaters, rec-room "bars" or "cafe corners" - sometimes better stocked and appointed than local business versions - and similar cocooning-based home improvements are becoming more and more popular as people are rediscovering the delights of having friends and family over for social time as opposed to meeting them outside the home in a third-party establishment. This trend is here to stay, according to all economic markers, so what are some of the ways in which your business can take advantage of this trend rather than being diminished by it? Here are some ideas:

1. Create a "house call" option for whatever you do. Now of course this doesn't work in all fields, but you'd be surprised how many it can be extended to, given a little creativity and thought. For example, a new car dealer might consider creating an exclusive "We bring it to you!" option for pre-qualified buyers, where interested parties can submit an application online, choose the model they're interested in from an on-screen "sales lot" and have a sales person drive it to their house for the test-drive and negotiations. Where can your business create a house-call option to encourage cocooners to purchase with you?

2. Reconfigure services and other offerings to allow for in-home variations of previously outside-only availability. For example, the recent boom of home-delivered DVD rentals does just this - you pay a consistent monthly fee and keep the movies as long as you want, sending them back when you're ready to trade them in for new titles. No longer do you need to leave the house to stay home for movie night - the ultimate expression of cocooning. How can you recreate your service or product to meet your customers' desires to stay in?

3. Consider adding "companion services" that make your service or product more attractive to cocooning customers. A pizza delivery service now offers free movie rentals with a qualified purchase as part of their "specials and sales" menu. These creative combinations save customers time and money, and offer strong incentives to remain loyal. How can you partner your offering to create this sort of option for your customers? Hint: what are your customers likely to be doing or needing during or near the time they are using your service/product?

The trend of cocooning offers many challenges to traditional businesses, especially those that rely heavily on showroom sales and foot traffic income. However, with a little creative thinking, you can turn this obstacle to your benefit and pull ahead of the pack where your competitors are concerned. My advice? Stay home one day and examine all the things you do that could be improved or eased by some version of your product or services. See where you hit snags or annoyances in your goal of living, working and having a good time at home. Imagine your ideal customer at home - then do your best to keep him there.