On and off, for weeks, I’ve been getting comment spam similar to this:

<h1>You may find it interesting to check out some helpful info in the field of- Tons of interesdting stuff!!! </h1>

There’s no URL associated with it, only an email address, usually from something like absinth968@hotmail.com, or absolut4806@freemail.com, though the numbers might change.

Although MT Blacklist will remove them, they have to be done individually, because there’s no common URL or IP address to key on (fortunately they only come a few at a time, never, so far, in a flood). And also since there’s no URL, there’s no way to blacklist them in the future.

I don’t understand what the purpose is. They’re not getting any google effect, or even link through, since there’s nowhere to link to. Are they just clueless comment spammers, who don’t get the concept, or is this harassment, or what?

[Update a little while later]

Well, here’s another one:

<h1>You may find it interesting to check out some helpful info about… </h1>

This one’s from a ” jane_doe7117@work.com.”

No URL, no idea what (s)he’s talking about, or why I’m being spammed with this stuff.

Had a good time in the Keys. I’d never been there before, and I liked it both more and less than I expected (in different ways, of course). It actually seemed the most like Hawai’i of any place that I’ve been in the continental US (if you can consider the Keys part of the continental US). Except without the spectacular scenery, of course. And the Hawai’ians.

And note, I can quit any time I want. I didn’t even go to a cybercafe, though there were plenty of opportunities.

More later.

Had a good time in the Keys. I’d never been there before, and I liked it both more and less than I expected (in different ways, of course). It actually seemed the most like Hawai’i of any place that I’ve been in the continental US (if you can consider the Keys part of the continental US). Except without the spectacular scenery, of course. And the Hawai’ians.

And note, I can quit any time I want. I didn’t even go to a cybercafe, though there were plenty of opportunities.

More later.

Had a good time in the Keys. I’d never been there before, and I liked it both more and less than I expected (in different ways, of course). It actually seemed the most like Hawai’i of any place that I’ve been in the continental US (if you can consider the Keys part of the continental US). Except without the spectacular scenery, of course. And the Hawai’ians.

And note, I can quit any time I want. I didn’t even go to a cybercafe, though there were plenty of opportunities.

More later.

Patricia’s taking me to Key West for my birthday. I’m not taking a computer. I offer my best wishes to Iraqis on their first taste of democracy, except those who would wantonly and cruelly murder to prevent it.

See you Sunday night or Monday.

In light of the Armstrong Williams and Kos controversies, and now this story about Maggie Gallagher, it occurs to me that I should disclose formally that I’ve been doing some consulting for one of the CEV/Exploration contractors (Boeing) for the past few months. I don’t think that it’s influenced my blogging at all (other than reducing the volume, because I’ve been busy), though it’s possible that I’ve been a little more reticent to rant at some things than I might if I weren’t in the middle of them.

I’ve hinted at this in the past, but I just wanted to make it clear. I certainly haven’t posted anything here with the intent of explicitly aiding Boeing’s strategic efforts, and I in fact continue to believe that CEV in anything resembling its current form (entry body on an expendable rocket) is a huge mistake (not a position that Boeing would ever publicly take, I suspect). But I did want to avoid any major payola scandals that might get reported by Howie Kurtz.

I’m in Houston for a workshop on exploration architectures all week, but I may give some thought to the implications of the CBS report, if I get time.

Well, I’m well on the road to recovery (fortunately, it never got much worse than a drippy schnoz and a slight cough–no sore throat, fever, aches or other debilitating symptoms), but I’m also on the road to Washington, DC on an early flight, and won’t be back until Friday night. I don’t know if I’ll be posting much from there, but the room I’ve rented claims to have broadband, so we’ll see.

That’s how I’m currently pronouncing my new ailment, which is a “head cold.” I feel like someone scooped all the gray stuff out of my noggin and replaced it with moldy cotton. Probably little blogging for the time being.

Do you sometimes have delays (in fact, timeouts) in reaching web pages (and your mail and newserver)?

I got Bellsouth DSL a couple months ago, and I’ve had this problem since day one. I’ve had several conversations on the phone with them. Until today, the only response (not including having to go through the whole rigamarole with a clueless tech-support person who had no knowledge other than a checklist and fault-tree chart) was for them to send me a new modem.

Over the past few days (having tried it with various computers, various routers) I’d finally come to the conclusion that their DNS was intermittently FUBAR.

I finally got through to a tech who had at least a dim understanding of TCP/IP (is there anything more infuriating than dealing with a supposed tech-support person who is clearly clueless, and much less knowledgable on the subject than you?) and who I managed to finally convince that it really wasn’t a problem with my OS, or network, but that it was their DNS system, by switching back and forth between their DNS servers and a public one, in which the latter worked, and the former continually flaked out.

He said that he’d pass it on to upper management, but that he couldn’t understand how I was having a problem that had gone unnoticed for so long if it were really a Bellsouth problem.

My hypothesis (which I expostulated to him, and which he reluctantly agreed was plausible):

Many Bellsouth DSL customers have been experiencing this problem for a long time but either:

a) since they’d never known any other DSL or broadband, they just assumed that occasional, or even frequent timeouts in visiting websites was Just The Way It Is, or

b) they got so frustrated in reporting the problem to ignorant first-line techs that they gave up before the issue was properly diagnosed.

He (to my surprise–apparently the company lawyers hadn’t gotten to him yet) agreed that this might actually be the case.

So. Are there other instances of this problem out there, or is it just me?