Just got this caught in my spam trap. I'm including a couple of the headers, but not all of them for various reasons:

Return-Path:
Delivered-To: spamcop-net-bonni@spamcop.net

Dear user of spamcop.net,

Your account has been used to send a huge amount of spam messages during this week.
Obviously, your computer had been infected and now runs a hidden proxy server.

We recommend that you follow instruction in the attachment in order to keep your computer safe.

Best regards,
The spamcop.net team.

------=_NextPart_000_0003_D735371B.603C20E3
Content-Type: application/octet-stream;
name="kmc.zip"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment;
filename="kmc.zip"

Point 1: I keep my virus program very up to date (I check for updates two or three times a week).

Point 2: I run a very effective firewall that would notify me if anything like this was going on.

Point 3: Spamcop would never in a million years send me an unsolicited attachment and tell me to run it.

Point 4: Even if Spamcop admins were to suddenly totally and utterly lose their minds and send me an unsolicted attachment, I wouldn't run it anyway.

Point 5: Even if Spamcop admins were to suddenly totally and utterly lose their minds and send me an unsolicited attachment, why would they use a "noreply" address instead of one where I could easily write back to them to confirm or ask questions?

I can see how someone might fall for something like this, but please, folks, never, never, EVER run, click on, or otherwise mess with ANY attachment unless you specifically know what it is and -- this is important -- you were expecting it. If you weren't, email the supposed sender and ask them about it. If it came from any address that bounces or which has an obvious 'noreply' destination, trash it. It's a trick. This is probably some sort of virus, but obviously I didn't check it out (and it never got near my hard drive, so it's not an issue anyway).

Apparently, intellectual property does grow on trees.

A special day, once a year, to acknowledge the worthiness and appreciation of the person occupying the role, especially as it is often this person who really keeps the wheels of your company turning.

Hmmm.... I sleep with my sysadmin, is that appreciative enough? Somehow, though, I think most people wouldn't want to go quite that far to show their own appreciation...

the simple plan worked bert consensus
cargo bay lunatics
and smoke. Someone managed,
rerouting clement centipede
ersatz
accusative
I've had enough of your bullshit

I'm thinking maybe I should start keeping a journal of my physical symptoms/complaints. They're pretty erratic (which fits perfectly with the condition I strongly suspect this is and which my doctor thought was a good possibility). One day I feel physically fine, little pain, not noticibly tired, next day I'll be aching all over and exhausted... Sometimes I don't have pain but I'm really fatigued, sometimes I'm fatigued with no pain, etc. It doesn't seem to be related to anything I eat (not that I can tell, anyway) and it doesn't seem to be particularly related to my activities, although being more active is likely to result in less pain, overall (i.e., I really need to get regular exercise or I hurt all over).

I don't know if I'd keep it online. I kinda think it'd be damned boring reading, probably worse than a "weight loss journal". Eek. But then again, I usually have my web browser open at least once a day and it'd be easy to just update the journal thingy, rather than having to remember to open yet one more program or application and update.... Maybe I could do it online and just keep it more or less private (because who the heck wants to read about whether or not my shoulder hurts and whether or not I'm tired?)

Hmmmm. All I can say at the moment is that my right shoulder has been killing me all day, with that horrible, nagging, throbbing pain that radiates from just underneath the shoulderblade and resists all efforts to exercise it away. Arrgh. I've had to take some pretty strong codeine today, in addition to ibuprofen just to manage it.

This anime chick sculpture has got to be the most extensive and artistic computer case mod I've ever seen. Wow!

Funeral was yesterday. I cried some at the private service in the morning, but I'm feeling better now. I definitely will miss Grandad, but the acute shock and grief is easing now.

And, hey, if he hadn't died, he'd be in Europe now, anyway, so I wouldn't be able to see him anyway. I know it sounds odd, but it sort of helps (I'm a weird person and my mind works in wierd, symbolic ways, what can I say?).

Ah, well. It's all part of the cycles of life. He was at peace with it all, I'm at peace with it, and, as Grandad said himself, "We all have to go sometime."

Oh, one other rather strange comment.... The house is full of flowers. I love flowers, but it smells like a funeral parlour in here, and my hayfever is going wild from something (not sure which one, or I'd get rid of it!). When Grandad was a minister, he used to go to the church with his wife's hairspray and spritz all the Christmas lilies (Northern Hemispherans, those are Easter lilies) to keep the pollen from getting everywhere because it bothered him so much). Somehow I just think he'd get a bit of a chuckle from all the flowers here giving me hayfever....

Well, the funeral's been pretty much arranged. It's tomorrow. I had a bit of a hand in it, helping choose the flowers (Australian natives; both my sister-in-law and I thought it suited Grandad) and preparing a scanned photo of Grandad to be printed in the order of service for the memorial, and I supplied a few descriptive words about him to be used in a speech/eulogy.

For the moment, I feel reasonably okay, no fits of crying or anything. I do still have that thought, "Oh, I'll have to tell Grandad about..." and then suddenly realize that I can't, and I won't ever be able to again.

Tomorrow, though, I'm sure there will be plenty of crying on my part. I've got several packs of tissues ready. I cried at the funeral of Andrew's grandmother, and I wasn't even that close to her (I just didn't have the chance to get to know her very well; it's not that I didn't like her or anything). I can only imagine how much I'll be crying when reminded of what a really extraordinary person Grandad was and how much I'll miss him...

Andrew's grandfather (nearly 90) has just had a heart attack. At this time, it's too early to tell if he'll be all right or if he'll even survive.

Andrew, his brother Greg, and Greg's wife Robyn are on their way to the hospital now (I'm not going because I've got the kids and they wouldn't be able to see him, anyway, as he's in intensive care).

I just spoke to Grandad at about 9:40 this morning, and by 11:30 he was in the hospital. He gave Miranda a lolly and he looked fine when I saw him. Good color, didn't look tired, etc... It's just a bit of a shock, for me, I guess.... He went out to run some errands and had a heart attack and someone from the church saw him and saw he was unwell and called an ambulance.

So, if I seem a little scarce, that's why. Then again, I may just post stuff and babble on to distract myself. We'll see...

[EDIT]

Heard from Andrew. Grandad's not expected to survive. It was apparently a massive heart attack and after trying to revive him and get him stablized for quite a while, it became clear that they were going to have to let him go. Now Andrew, Greg, and Robyn are with Grandad and are just waiting.

I'm calm at the moment, although I've been crying off and on. I'm actually pretty philosophical about death (it comes to all of us), and Grandad was a minister, so I know for sure he'd made his peace with it. And he saw his little great-grandaughters before he went out to do his errands, he was helped by a lady from the church who not only called the ambulance but also got his car and his groceries home safely, and the heart attack was pretty quick. There are far worse ways to go. He even saw all of his friends and family recently, since he was planning a trip overseas (yes, at 89!) and everyone wanted to see him before he went.

[EDIT AGAIN]

Just got the call. He's gone. In total, it was about four hours from when he had the heart attack to when he passed away, and he was unconscious for almost all of it, although he did know he wasn't feeling well and that he should go to the hospital. He did know that his car and his groceries were taken care of and that the family would be notified that he'd gone to hospital. He saw his great-grandchildren before he went out, and he was independent until the very end. I can't say I won't miss him, because I absolutely will, but he had a long, rich, good life, and a merciful death, and you can't ask for much more than that, I think.

[FINAL EDIT]

It's evening now, and I've talked with Greg, Andrew, and Robyn, and with the minister from the church. The funeral home has been notified (that was pre-arranged many years ago), various things are being taken care of. Lyn, his daughter (my mother-in-law), is flying back from England to make the arrangements, even though he told her before she went that if he died while she was overseas, she shouldn't come back just on his account...

He was apparently conscious for some of the time he was in the hospital (although when I spoke to them, they told me he wasn't). He knew Andrew, Greg, and Robyn were with him. As he was being wheeled around on the guerney he said, "Well, this is a new experience," which is pretty typical of the way he approached life. He also said to one of the doctors, "Everyone's got to go sometime," so he probably knew it was his time.

The providence of the way this worked out has been amazing. Not only was the lady from the church on hand to get his keys and grocieries, another gentleman from the church was there and he just happened to have Greg's phone number programmed into his mobile phone, so he called to let Greg know. Greg called Robyn and Andrew, Andrew told his brother David via instant messaging on the net. Robyn took both Greg and Andrew from the city (where they both work) to the hospital (which is near where we live, but out in the suburbs, some distance from the city). They got to the hospital in time to really be with him as he died. Apparently, he actually fell asleep (literally) before he died and he was snoring, so he must have been comfortable.

All in all, about the only way that would have been better would be to have died in his sleep, but I think "while running errands in preparation for a trip overseas" really kind of suits him better.

I know that people always say this, but I really mean it (and I don't actually say things just because people say them and I certainly don't say things I don't mean). I am genuinely honored that I knew this man, and my life and the lives of hundreds or even thousands of people are better for having known him.

The 2004 Presidential election isn't about Democrats vs. Republicans, liberals vs. conservatives, or "blue states" vs. "red states." This election is about Americans coming together to restore the basic American values and principles that the Bush administration has neglected. Republican Congressman Dan Burton of Indiana put it best when he reminded President Bush that "this isn't a monarchy."

After launching two wars, President Bush said on Tuesday he wanted to be a "peace president" and took swipes at his Democratic rivals for being lawyers and weak on defense.

Spam subject:

Like an afterburner for your penis.

A man hit his girlfriend with a 3-foot alligator and threw beer bottles at her during an argument in the couple's mobile home, authorities said.
 
David Havenner, 41, was ordered held without bond Saturday on misdemeanor charges of battery and possession of an alligator.

President Bush on Wednesday failed in his attempt to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage when a divided U.S. Senate blocked the measure, virtually killing it for at least this election year.
 
On a vote of 48-to-50, proponents fell 12 short of the needed 60 in the 100-member Senate to clear a Democratic procedural hurdle. Sixty-seven votes would be needed for passage of a constitutional amendment.
 
Democrats accused Republicans of pushing the measure merely to rally their conservative base for the November presidential and congressional elections.
 
"We all know what this issue is about," declared Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat. "It's not about how to protect the sanctity of marriage. It's about politics -- an attempt to drive a wedge between one group of citizens and the rest of the country, solely for partisan advantage."

Can you make me want your love?
you cant be serious
message
I thought i should let you in on something
no, its not gonna happen
Sorry

WHY is it that people think that sending an email to someone who has a web page they don't agree with is going to do ANY good whatsoever? Like I'm going to read their babbling (after they've called me a nut, mind you) and go, "Oh, wow! You're so right! How STUPID was I to have an opinion that was contrary to yours?"

I dunno. I can't figure it out. I mean, I see web pages every single day that have stuff in them that I could argue with, but you know what? I don't. I don't sit down and write a long, rambling email to the person to "show them the error of their ways" or whatever it is that people are trying to do. I figure opinions are like arseholes, and everyone's got one, so what's it to me?

The most amazing thing to me is that the web page this particular person took exception to has a HUGE disclaimer at the top, stating that it's ONLY my personal opinion, food for thought, etc. It's not a dissertation, it's not a piece of journalism, it's MY OPINION, based on MY research and as applied to MY life. Other people are free to do whatever they wish, and my web page that so brazenly states my opinion that flies contrary to theirs won't affect their life at all. My holding counter opinions and daring to express them shouldn't negatively affect anyone's life.

Then again, perhaps the answer here is that some people just have no life....

Military payroll records that could more fully document President Bush's whereabouts during his service in the Texas Air National Guard were inadvertently destroyed, according to the Pentagon.

Following the release of a Senate report harshly criticizing U.S. intelligence gathering and analysis, the focus will soon shift to whether and how to make sweeping changes to the intelligence community.
 
After a yearlong investigation, the Senate Intelligence Committee released nearly 120 conclusions about the intelligence community's performance on estimating the threat from Iraq (news - web sites), found primarily in a 2002 assessment that served as the Bush administration's leading arguments for war.
 
Following release of the 511-page review Friday, the panel's top Democrat, West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, said three-quarters of senators would not have voted to authorize the invasion if they had known how weak the intelligence was.

Okay, how did this spammer find out that I have a thing for weddings?

Bonni fetishist 826 brides

Spam subject:

Remove all your computer traces lobotomy

Fans of the original Star Trek will remember that DeForest Kelly (Dr. Leonard 'Bones" McCoy) died in 1999 after significant illness (cancer, and, I believe, emphysema).

Well, now it's been confirmed that James Doohan has Altzheimer's Disease.

Bummer.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the floor in my pyjamas in front of the black and white television, watching Star Trek.

breakup
remember how you were?
I was up all night
aftermath
hazy
its the day
it will be better
Time for a change
closure

Dear friend
How are you?
long time no see
are you doing ok?
Need a helping hand?
here it is
friend

The New York Post trumpeted Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry's choice of running mate as a front-page exclusive on Tuesday. Trouble is, it named the wrong man.

(Note: I'm putting this in the "Links" category instead of the one for politics because I think it's more of a humorous thing than a political one, a bit like the classic "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline in the 1948. Oh, and I've heard that copies of this paper are already selling for $70 on eBay as collector's items...)

My brother-in-law, Greg, sent me an amusing link: Just F***ing Google It! (Note: the site uses the actual word, without the splats, so if you're inclined to be offended, don't go there, okay?)

Once upon a time. you rocked my world.
My legs went soft on our first kiss.
you looked so cute
I just couldnt stop. Once upon a time.

Check out some of the interior design of 1974 Europe.

For some of them I just thought, 'Well, it's not bad, really, just very, very seventies,' but some of them.... *strangled gurgling noise*

The 70s: The Decade That Style Forgot

(I refuse to admit that a couple of those hairstyles were frighteningly familiar, and by the way, I was living in Europe in 1974.)

Okay, I just need to vent.

I am getting SO damned fed up with so-called professional artists and/or designers who don't know the first thing about the basics of copyright law, who don't know the difference between trademark and copyright and patents, who have weird (and easily disproved) ideas about what can and cannot be copyrighted and how laws may or may not apply...

The thing is, no, you don't have to be a lawyer, but the basics are honestly NOT that hard to grasp. Really. Knowing this stuff should be part of your damned job. Not the piddly intricasies of case law, but the damned BASICS...

It just always, ALWAYS pisses me off when people call themselves "professional' and yet they barely understand what their "profession" involves, including all the boring, non-fun parts...

New pictures in my gallery. Look on the "What's New" page there for details.