Insight @ *bux

This is on my coffee cup:

The Way I See It #148
Great teachers should be paid like doctors
or corporate attorneys. I worry about
what will happen to our economy and
our democracy if we don't start to take
teachers' jobs seriously.

--Ninive Clements Calegari

Hear hear!

All for now,
Kef...

Getting more creative?

No, not me. The spammers.

Like most workplaces, our email system at the Tire has a spam filter and it is usually really good. Lately however, it is being a bit more selective with what gets stopped on the way in. For instance, I regularly receive notes in my inbox with a tag after the subject line. I guess this is to make sure that the filter isn't deleting messages from friends or colleagues outside of the company but I would rather it just go ahead with the "BALETED" and let my friends complain once a month that I didn't respond to them.

Some messages now though, are starting to get through without even the tag attached. Today I got one with a "who" that was a name of a friend, even with the unusual spelling, so I opened it thinking it was from him. After the vaguely unrelated subject line of "next month" the note started like most spam messages:

Listen, time is now to purchase your health needs.

[next is a link that I wouldn't ever click, so therefore wouldn't ever re-link]
is having a end of summer sale that has sa vings over 67%. [sic]
Fast delivery. 1000's of goods, all ready 4u

[at this point, the message veered away from the sales pitch]
Seems to me the same way, said Billina, scornfully, if that beastly cat is one of them
So he set the indicator to that point and began gliding swiftly toward the southeast

So what, is this spammer trying their hand at creative writing? Normally I would just 76 it and move on, but I found it somewhat amusing so I printed it out and took it over to show Kinch. "Funny, I got one kinda like it."

[mostly same sales pitch for "discounted health needs", then:]
Jim hesitated, eyeing the beasts fearfully
Oh, if you don't want to go, began Rob, I can easily-- But I do! I do! I do! cried the little man, interrupting him

See, now I am intrigued. These two excerpts obviously go together! I want to know what happens next.
Will Jim go with Rob into the den of the beasts?
Will the cat lead Billina to the other two heroes?
Will he make it in time to help them?
What side is the cat on?

SOMEONE PLEASE SEND ME MORE SPAM SO I CAN CONTINUE THE STORY!!!

Oh wait, no, don't do that, please don't do that. Maybe I'll just have to try writing more of the story myself. Although, I think Billina will become a girl in my version. (By that I mean that Billina will be a girl, not somehow become one as PART of the story.) Like I have time for this. This may be a long running project. I'll try and keep you updated.

I wonder if there is copyright infringement on the original spam text?

All for now,

Kef...

100th Post!!

Yaay! 100th Post! How exciting!

Ok, now on to something more important.

Back to the beach

A quick update:

Been here for five days.
Been to the beach three times.
Read two books.
Competed in a triathlon.
Went to Universal.
Rode my bike from one end of Sunset to the other.

Some observations:
It's nice here. It has been sunny and warm the entire time I've been here.
I love the beach. I think I'll go again.
I'm glad I brought four books, (plus the one I was reading when I packed.)
There are a LOT of fit people in the LA area.
Universal Studios theme park is boring. I have been spoiled by Wonderland.
There are some big homes in the Hills.

Ok, I'm almost out of time here at the SMPL, so I have to go.

Which way to the beach!?

All for now,
Kef...

...or is it just me

No, it was hot! My office that is.

Tuesday was coming in after the long weekend, pretty refreshed, looking forward to my holiday, (more in a sec,) when I had a strange surprise as I got off the elevator on my floor. I was about to wave and give a smile and cheery "Hi! How's it going?!" to Jen and Delana at the reception desk, but what came out was, "What's going on?!" through a concerned grimace. It was unusually warm in the smallish lobby/elevator area and I remember thinking, "it must suck to be these ladies this morning." Jen looked up and replied, "Oh, wait until you go into the main office." I opened the door and it was like that first wave of heat when you open your oven that has been pre-heated to cookie/pizza baking temperature. Seriously, my cabinet was hot, my phone was hot, my chair was hot, it was gross, (and not gross like 144...sorry, awful.) The vents in the office that come up by the windows and down from around the lights were still kicking it out like a hair dryer, too. Those of us that were there didn't last long before we had to go down to the main building lobby and wait it out until they could get the air conditioner going.

But, work has not been my main concern this week. Well it is when I am AT work but I meant when I leave. No, this week it has been getting ready for my holiday! (And, Something Good...sit tight, it's soon I promise.) I decided I was going away for a week, somewhere I had to fly, and somewhere that is warm. I decided to go most of the way across the continent to spend a week in LA. I'll probably spend some time doing the touristy stuff like the walk of fame, Universal Studios, etc. but then I think I'll just spend a lot of time walking or riding around or hanging out at the beach. I just want to get away from my own city for a while. It's a good thing I'm not a star chaser though otherwise my timing couldn't be worse. This week is the start of the Toronto Film Festival. That's right, I am going to LA to bum around Hollywood for a week while all the stars are in my home town. Brilliant, I know. Maybe that will just mean that there will be less snooties in the coffee houses and restaurants that I want to go to. Not that I know what ones I want to go to. I haven't really planned anything.

Other than maybe learning to surf. I'll let you know how that goes.

All for now,
Kef...