I get a hell of a lot of spam.

Some make sense:

From: “Sondra”
Subject: Exclusive benefits

Dear Homeowner,

You have been pre-approved for a $402,000 Home Loan at a 3.45% Fixed Rate.

This offer is being extended to you unconditionally and your credit is in no way a factor.

To take Advantage of this Limited Time opportunity all we ask is that you visit our Website and complete the 1 minute post Approval Form.

Enter Here (*link removed… I’m not gonna help you one bit you smacktard!*)

Sincerely,

Esteban Tanner
Regional CEO

Yeah… I’m going to go to your website, fill in my social security number, credit card numbers, mothers maiden name, etc. I’ll get right on that.

Then there’s crap like this:

From: “Palma Amalia”
Subject: LEVlTRRA, \ /ALUUM, \ /llGRA, CAALlS, L0RAAZEPAM, AMBllEN, ALPRAZZ0LAM, XANA, MER1DllA, TRAMAD0OL affect dare besides spoke

nothing pie did gate come suddenly next taken disappoint burst. aunt know deal corner? dare difficult proceeded profession object within, science giving ate author seize” food familiar night tomorrow pay spot.

Hard to buy Meds
All countriies shiiping

150 hottest selling meds for you to choose from meantlikely

C1icck here to 0rder hat

knows usedto trees near convenient immediate young become how wrong. hopes love similar happened evening talking bread sooner moon, affect action keeping appear”

WTF does any of that mean?? There’s not even a link in the email to buy what ever the hell they’re trying sell. Why would I buy anyting from a company that uses \ / instead of the letter “v” and numbers instead of vowels (they even misspelled “click”). Does anyone fall for this kind of crap?

Well… I would guess they do… otherwise it wouldn’t exist.

I’ve been going through my stats again…. looking for people who hotlink to imags on my server.

Seriously people… this is a waaaaay bad idea. Do you actually want me to contol the content on your website?

Today’s featured site was using my ashtray wallpaper as their background. While that’s all spiffy and flattering and stuff… it’s my bandwidth (and my image too… I took the picture and made it into a seamless background).

If you’re the person who’s site has been affected and you’re here to whine about it… It’s not like I didn’t warn you that I do things like this on my site. And remember… it’s my picture… on my server. I can do anything I want with it (and this really does make me smile). 🙂

So… I replaced it with something more attractive. You be the judge (I’m not sure how long this will stay up, so get it while it’s hot!)

Update: 07/15/05
They changed their background to something that’s not on my server (now they’re hotlinking to an image at the University of Indiana). For those who missed it… here’s the pic I put up.

As previously posted, we suffered some damage to our roof from the 77mph (124kph) winds that a nasty storm produced 3 weeks ago.

I called, got multiple quotes, and finally settled on one company to re-do the south side of my roof for the price of $1,574.61

They came out, banged around for a while, and left.

After they were done, I noticed a few things: they forgot to trim the end-cap on one corner, my back yard and rain gutters were full of nails, and the exaust pipe for my gas fireplace was jutting out of the roof at a bizarre angle. So… I called and they came back out and finished up. The contractor I called said “Sorry about that… they’re roofers, and not the brightest bunch”.

I spent yesterday painting the house. The south side is now about 90% complete. This has been a huge project, as we own a big damn house and I have no idea WTF I’m doing. I’m hoping to get the last little bit done tonight so that we can start in the area where the deck is this weekend (I’d like to finish the upper half by Sunday).

Other news:
I washed my car yesterday and discovered that I’ve been the victim of every moron who’s ever parked next to me. Someplace on my car, there must be a sign that says “I don’t care about my car and you shouldn’t either. Please feel free to door ding the shit out of it”. This makes me a tad cranky. I always check to make sure I don’t hit the car next to me. Then again, I also use my turn signals and obey speed limits.

I am the exception.

There’s not much I guess I can do besides park at the far end of the lot (though when I do, some piece of shit always parks right next to me). I guess it’s time to take it in and get it detailed.

If you’ve read this blog at all over the last few years, you know I’ve had some issues with my back.

If you’re new to the dump, here’s the cliff notes:

20 years ago, I was run over while riding my motorcycle… twice in 9 months. Over the last few years, the injuries I recieved began to make themselves very evident. I suffered severe siatic pain in the left leg and had chronic back pain.

I’ve had 3 surgeries to correct the issue: a discectomy, a fusion of the L4-L5 vertebra, and one more to remove the screws and rods. Each time I’d get cut, I’d feel pretty good for a few months and then it would all start over again.

I guess my few months of repreive are over, because the leg pain is coming back. The idea of going under the knife again is less than apealing.

Not that any of it means anything. Feel free to ignore this and continue on your way of happy web browsing…. I just wanted to vent.

My sister was having a Star Wars themed birthday party for her son’s 10th birthday.

She and her husband, David, turned the basement of their home into the “Death Star Theatre”, complete with black and silver walls (black plastic table cloth material and aluminum foil) and a LCD projector hooked to his PC so they could play the Star Wars films for the kids.

David also wanted the kids to be able to play “Jedi vs. Sith” and set about looking for ecconomical ways to make lightsabers that were safe, affordable, and would look good. After a “jam session” in the sprinkler isle of Home Depot with the other shoppers, he came up with a cunning plan.

BIRTHDAY PARTY LIGHTSABERS (for just a few dollars each):

You’ll need the following:

           4″ popup sprinklers                Fun Noodles

            1/2″ x 24″ nipple that’s threaded on both ends

You get the popup sprinkler head and the nipples from the lawn sprinkler section of your favorite hardware store and the fun noodles from Kmart, WalMart, or pretty much anyplace. Pick colors that match the lightsabers in the films (or not, your choice).

Cut the fun noodle in half (they’re usually about 65″ long). Screw one end of the nipple into the popup sprinkler, then slide your noodle half onto the nipple until it reaches the sprinkler head (the hole in the center of the fun noodle should be 1/2, but they seem to vary by color. Some will go on easy, others will take some effort). You’ll notice that the last 10 inches or so of the fun noodle doesn’t have a tube in it (so there’s no chance of accidentally poking out an eye).

The sprinkler becomes a handle, the fun noodle becomes the blade, and the kids go nuts beating each other with them. They turned out to be pretty durable, with only one breaking.

David also made a “Darth Maul” style one by using a larger diamater TBE nipple (about 12″ long) and some adaptors for the 1/2″ inch x 24″ ones on each end. Cut a red fun noodle in half and slide half on each side.

I’ll see if David or Jen has a picture of the finished product for posting (the kids took them home when they left).