You may recall that a while ago, I was curious to see whether spambots were noticing that Akismet was running and stopping bothering.

Well…Today I cracked 1,000 spams blocked at Blog #3, so obviously it wasn’t the little widget showing which was responsible for the initial slowdown in spammage.

After thinking about it for a while, I started staring at the log files and realized what had really been going on:

When I redid that site, I deleted all the old posts. Other sites that I changed also had their formats changed. So, what had been happening is that the spammers, who hadn’t updated their comment cannons, were getting nothing but 404s. Others tried to make some kind of quick-n-dirty workaround, by the looks of it (or they misconfigured their software from the start)–also getting them 404s. So, I got less spam!

Last night, someone figured out that the URLs had changed. I just logged in to find 207 more spams. But, while the spammer managed to spot 404s after a whole month of getting them (maybe the software clued him in)–he didn’t have the sense to take a look at the site and realize that ALL of it (except for 2 spams) was blocked from showing by Akismet! So, he wasted his coding efforts on getting spams into…NOWHERESVILLE! They’re held in the spam queue (invisible to the public) in case I want to check for any nonspam, and then to get fully rid of them I just click the button.

Haw haw.

It was wishful thinking on my part that spamware would get good enough to know when not to bother. But, Akismet itself is a GREAT plugin which automatically blocks the junk from ever showing up. So, Blog #3 itself remains beautifully spam-free as I “celebrate” over 1000 spams easily deleted.

The entire experience of employment is one demeaning outrage after another, blended together into a single mega-outrage.

Here’s the latest. In Canada, corporations are taking to censoring their employees’ blogs. This from the blog Weasely Reasonings:

One such MSM [MainStream Media], CBC, with Peter Mansbridge at the helm on election night, was issuing early predictions for the outcome yet blogs were not permitted to post because we’re considered “public”. The very same station is now attempting to stifle its employees through Draconian policies that apparently were only thought to exist in countries like Iran and China, where bloggers are expected to register with the state if they want to have an “opinion”.

And, the blog says that according to the CBS’s own site:

Further, the blog cannot advocate for a group or a cause, or express partisan political opinion. It should also avoid controversial subjects or contain material that could bring CBC/Radio-Canada into disrepute.

To start and maintain a blog of this kind, you need your supervisor’s approval.

(Bolding added by me)

Of course, my initial reaction is to shudder and cringe! They act like they own their employees! Like they’re a freaking government!

Then I remember that that’s what all employers really think. It’s just another piece of proof that employment is glorified slavery.

The whole gruesome spectacle of it, even from a distance, makes me glad that it’s not happening to me–and that it won’t, even if it spreads through all of employerdom. And, it motivates me to update all my revenue-producing sites.

War games have been popular since probably the dawn of time. Combining strategy, skill, and stamina, they are fun for civilians of all ages.

If you want more from a game than vegetating in front of the computer or even a board game, then something more physical is what you’re after: Paintball.

Paintball combines the physical activity of actual battle with a nonlethal way of being able to tell for sure who is “dead” and who did the “killing.” Unlucky targets end up splattered with paint, and the paint tells the whole story.

Of course, like with any game adults are into, players don’t just want whatever no-brand equipment they come across. No. They want specific, quality paintball gear. Gear made by brands like Tippmann, Spyder, Smart Parts, Dye, and Draxxus, among others.

If you’ve been bored with sedentary war games and would like to get started with paintball, you can get full-blown gear kits to start you off. Ultimate Paintball has several paintball gear packages by name brands which contain everything you need to get in the game.

If you already know about paintball and have most of your gear, you may still want to increase your lethality. Try a new paintball gun like the Tippmann A-5, Tippmann 98 Custom, Smart Parts Ion, or Spyder Pilot ACS!

Current Mood: Meh

The other day I was sooo energetic! So motivated!

Today seems to exist to balance that out.

That site I redesigned hasn’t had an update since the 20th…the last thing I want to do is any gardening…heck even playing Rome sounds like work (probably because I just HAD to go and decide to make a blog out of a game of Rome…yeah RPGs written out are interesting, but it slows the game down to about 2 mph due to having to stop after every event and then write about it in the character’s voice).

I need coffee. And maybe some sugar, too.

Current Mood: Playful

OK I guess some people would think this is nuts, but…

About 10 minutes ago, a tornado alert was broadcast over the “Emergency” service (whatevertheycallit). My first thoughts?

“They’re finally using that for something other than broadcasting that annoying elongated beep!”

And then…

“Uh oh…the power may go off! I’d better get this coupon up, quick!”

And that’s what I did, I quick typed that out and hit POST! And now I’m typing this.

What’s the weather actually doing, here? Right now there’s a decent thunderstorm going. A goodly bit of rain, nice temperature drop, thunder in the background. Not quite enough lightning for a show, but that could be just because it’s still light out. Oh, and now that I typed that, it’s lulling a bit

Personally I love storms, as long as they don’t knock out the lights and don’t wreck anything of note. As for a tornado? We’d end up spending half the summer downstairs if we paid attention to all the warnings this area gets. If I hear trees breaking, then I MAY unplant myself from this chair… otherwise I’ll put this in the “tornado warning = ‘We may finally get a decent storm’…and the power may go off” file, as always!

There is a new competitive-reality show out called “The Next Internet Millionaire.”

What’s different about this show? It’s actually being put out on the internet!

With 12 aspiring entrepreneurs and a $25,000 cash prize, you might think that would be enough motivation for those on the show. But it doesn’t stop there: They also get to be part of a joint venture with Joel Comm, one of the Internet’s biggest entrepreneurs!

So if you love competitive-reality shows, and you love doing business on the Internet, you’ll want to see The Next Internet Millionaire!

What IS it with some people and forums?!? Every forum I go on, there’s always some clod making a big deal out of nothing. Now on one of ‘em, somebody claimed to be being “moderated,” and didn’t retract the claim even though she now knows freakin’ well it’s just a software thing. So the only point of the big dramatic post was, well, drama. And she appears to have roped in another poster to costar in the bit of cheap acting, too.

When I was just 7 years younger, I would have gotten my blood pressure up, but now all I can think of is 2 things:

1) GET A LIFE, DRAMA QUEENS/KINGS!
and
2) The Admin should just ban those clods and be done with it.

Granted, BAN IT has always been my opinion of that kind of emo-manipulative bullrot. But my fuse is shorter now that I’m older. It’s times like this I wish I was the admin, because those self-righteous types would have been banned and their threads locked long ago. As in, years ago…

And if the friends of those types leave, this is undeniably a GOOD thing. Like cutting off a weed root and getting rid of all its stems at the same time, the garden is better off without ‘em!

Many people love to keep track of the time, and daily life is therefore inundated with clocks. Personally, I have 2 clocks within sight that I didn’t even ask for: There’s one on my computer taskbar, and one on my cell phone.

But, there are times when a wall clock is actually in order. If there’s a room without another clock in it that’s dedicated to productive activity, a prominent clock can help keep things moving.

Years ago, I got a wall clock made from a log round. This one ended up in my mother’s music-teaching room, and added a lot of class to the area. She needed a clock there because lessons are 1/2-hour, and students tend to talk beyond that if they get the chance. So a nice, unobtrusive-but-easily-readable clock helped to keep their lessons to the proper length.

Now, she’s moved her teaching out of the house, and into a studio. This studio doesn’t yet have a clock. But, sometimes she complains about having her breaks being talked through by students who don’t realize it’s time to go. So, I’m thinking of getting her one of the clocks at 1-800-4CLOCKS to put a stop to that.

This Howard Miller Wall Clock looks like it’d be a good fit. It’s different enough to not look grade-schoolish, but not too fancy for its purpose. And, the colors can pick up on both the white walls and the brown of the piano.

As for me, I’m free of the shackles of The Time. So if I ever were going to buy a clock, it’d have to be either a novelty one, or one that was so special in other ways that it overshadowed the fact that it’s a clock. Something like this Starburst Wall Clock, which is more sculpture than clock, is more like it for me.

1-800-4Clocks has tons of wall clocks. So whether you want a clock for its time-telling, for its looks, or both, they’re sure to have one for you. Check out all their new clocks and you’re sure to find one (or more!) that you like.

Blogs are really becoming popular among merchants. This merchant has a blog, too, where they talk about things like how wall clocks have personality and enhance the overall decor of a room.

After getting a tipoff from a thread on ABestWeb, I found a site (The Life and Times of The Forrester) listing the 100 oldest domains on the internet. So, I thought I’d pass it on.

I must say, the earliest adopters had almost NO creativity when it came to domains. The names are as dull as rocks: Company names, and cryptic initials. And that’s what some people (usually socialists who wish the net was still all free…groan) want to go back to? To me, those dull names are a sure sign that getting some fresh blood onto the Net HAD to be a good thing.

Oh by the way, that 100-oldest site uses the evil “nofollow” attribute, which deprives those who send trackbacks of any PR juice. So, a nofollow goes from me to them, too. :p

If diets have failed you, and you’re extremely overweight, what is there to do? Eventually the body will start to voice an ever-louder drumbeat of complaints: The aching knees, the stiff back and hips, sleep apnea…and that’s not even getting into what they call the serious risks. Yet, just another diet isn’t going to do anything much.

You may have considered bariatric surgery before, but thought the typical procedures practiced in the US were too major–most US clinics want to reroute intestines or even cut lengths out entirely and call *that* an acceptable alternative to obesity.

If, like me, you respond to the above with a resounding “I don’t THINK SO!” then it’s worthwhile to check out lap band surgery. This surgery does NOT entail a drastic redesign of your innards. All your guts stay right where they belong.

What Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding does is to put a literal band–like a watch band–around a section of your stomach, making the stomach into two pouches. This slows the processing of food and restricts the amount which can be consumed at one time. Also, the small top pouch allows you to feel full, so you can lose weight without that ravenousness that comes with plain dieting!

At Journey Lite, surgeons use laproscopic techniques to place the silicone band. Laproscopic surgery allows the procedure to be done through small incisions, rather than the big opening required for old-fashioned operations. The actual band is adjustable, and works like a watch band: First it’s placed around the stomach, then it’s cinched down to create a small pouch with a passageway to the rest of the stomach. You can read more about the surgery, and even watch a video, on their site here.

Journey Lite has facilities in California, Florida, and Texas, with other clinics planned for Maryland and more locations upcoming for their current states.