I don’t know anything about NLP or Milton Erickson, but it seems to pique my interest. I’ll have to read more about it. I’ve always just taken it for granted that I can form a mental image of an object that I am familiar with. Not an especially detailed image, like someone with a “photographic memory” could recall, but what I would consider to be a fairly accurate image.

Thank you for the reply, you have given me something to learn more about.

Not everyone naturally can see images in their head as well as others. Some people are more prone to thinking and remembering in tactile and sensory modes. Some people remember and think in sounds more readily. And some people focus more on images. The majority of people are able to combine these in some fashion. However, there are people who lean heavily in one direction or another. This is a concept often talked about in NLP literature which, admittedly, has had its own issues with abuses. it is derived from Milton Erickson’s work with hypnosis and I wouldn’t be shocked if Scientology had mined some of the concepts as it can be useful for manipulating people.

Yes, they are sneaky smart to just do things on the edge of legal, but immoral? Scams and high pressure tactics take a long time and many, to convict. I do hope you can somehow get some money returned. Thanks.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure that what they did was actually illegal. It certainly circumvented protections for the bank, probably broke a dozen of their rules and guidelines, and the loan officer should be fired on the spot. Did the loan officer defraud the bank by not getting an appraisal? I don’t know. But I got the money and they got a recorded lien on the property. I know little of the banking industry, but from what I read of the mortgage fiasco several years ago, I guess they can lend to whomever they want. There should be an internal crime somewhere in here, but I’m not sure they broke any laws.

I wish I had given the bank more information at the time, but I was newly in and protective of Scn. People, like Karen and Tony, with more clout and contacts than I, are aware of these financial irregularities. I would be more than happy to give any information I have, but I’m not the person to start anything. Maybe something is already being investigated, for all I know. Would be nice. I can’t go into detail because it might make me identifiable, but my account with Scn was also doctored in such a way that the money on account is not considered on account and therefore not refundable or even transferable to other orgs. Not that they’d refund, anyway.

You mean they still don’t have full body searches of those coming in? just wait now!!

I had just entered “middle age” and was editing some TV shows at a post house in Burbank. Made great use of that titling machine. “Child bride”, indeed!

That’s only how I see it, kind of. If there’s a bunch of negative comments to go along with the down votes, then usually, IMO, what was posted wasn’t a part of the group dynamic. If there’s no negative comments, and a few down votes, or if every time you post, or if everyone gets one, there are probably one or several P.O.’d trolls at work. That’s just my opinion.

On the other hand, if Tony chimes in and smacks you down, you’re probably very wrong on something or are creating a negative environment for everyone, especially newbies . If you indulge in an ad hominem attack and Tony warns you, you’re probably about to get banned. If you’ve attacked a long-time poster with an vicious ad hominem attack that gets very personal, you’re gone.

That is, of course, only what I think I’ve seen over the last several months. If you ain’t civil, bu-bye.

I believe that Tony is about civil discourse (he allows idiotic discourse that I sometimes engage in – which is, unfortunately often). Forgive me, I’m Swedish. 😉

Thanks for noticing the Avi. Yes, The internet changes things. The fast pace of video games, texting, and Facebook have changed the adolescent experience. At least those in my family know about “plagiarism.” I noticed what I called the video game kids when in the late 80’s I demonstrated a scanning electron microscope to the public. It had controls that I could teach interested people how to operate and only took a minute to explain. I would have these young 10 year old kids come by, grab the knobs and turn them quickly with no result and run off before I could utter a word. It seemed to me that they were expecting the rapid response of a video game….