A Whole New Low

I've suffered another spam bot attack. This time, though, it's personal - for you.

How is it personal for you? Allow me to explain...

This time the spambot has a name. Her name is Nishant.

I had three comments from Nishant this morning. The comments included a link to something called "Work From Home India". I didn't really appreciate the link, but she also included a comment on my content, so I figured I'd let the link slide.

As I read the second and third of Nishant's comments, though, I realized they seemed oddly familiar, like I'd read them somewhere before.

Yes. Nishant had stolen parts of other people's comments and reposted them as her own, complete with a link to her business (or whatever).

It reminds me of those movies - you know the ones - technology has become self-aware and is now plotting to take down the human race. Yeah. Those movies.

I would call Nishant an evil genius, except for one thing:

If Nishant had pulled this stunt on just one post, I might not have noticed... but three comments identical to the comments left by other people? Does Nishant think I'm stupid? Does Nishant think I'm lying about reading my blog comments?

Nishant, honey, go look 'overkill' up in the dictionary. You can thank me later.

I'm deleting Nishant from my comments, but for posterity and proof I want to share them with you (minus the active link of course).


On my Comments Policy post:

Nishant said...

The rest of us just chop liva!

Work from home India

Does that look familiar to anyone? How about you, Daffy? Seen that before?

Daffy's comment on the same post:

Daffy said...

Come on! Who doesn't want a semi-nude pic of moi?!? I mean, really....


What I really want to know is why YOU get all the nude pics? The rest of us just chop liva!

Just stopping by to say HI!

Yes... Daffy is one funny lady and that chop liva thing makes much more sense in context, doesn't it?


On my Worst Gift Idea Ever post:

Nishant said...

I can't believe this is 4 realz. What are people thinking?

Work from home India

It's word for word from Erin's comment on the same post:

Erin M. said...

yes---it's a FAIL!
I can't believe this is 4 realz. What are people thinking?

Erin, if you were surprised by the time-out stool, what do you think of the cajones on this spambot?

On my This is Going to Make Me Paranoid post:

Nishant said...

The spambots like you. It's nice that you have friends


Work from home India

Which was stolen from a comment by Cairo Typ0 on the same post:

Cairo Typ0 said...

The spambots like you. It's nice that you have friends. :p

Yes, indeed. The spambots seem to like me. I think that the spambots like me a little bit too much...

So, Daffy, Erin and Cairo Typ0, how do you feel about the spambots stealing your words as part of their nefarious plot for world domination?

This is Going to Make Me Paranoid

Since I published my comments policy and notice, I've had roughly 700 anonymous comments advertising everything from sex toys to dishwashers.

I must have angered the annoying ad robots.

I think they're out to get me *looks around nervously*... They could be watching me RIGHT NOW.


In other, happier, news - my dishwasher is fixed. Yay!

What's new with you?


Edited to add: No I didn't actually have 700 comments... I'm exaggerating. I'm really, really exaggerating. It was closer to 6 or 7... which, to be fair, did feel like a lot all at once. Sorry if I mislead anyone with my tendency to hyperbolize.

Comments Policy

I've been getting some weird comments lately. They seem to be from some kind of robot that looks for posts about a certain subjects (for example, Christmas gifts or music) and posts comments with links to online stores or, in many cases lately, semi-nude profile picture pages. I delete these comments. Right away, without prejudice.

I've put together a needlessly long-winded comments notice to explain what type of comments will be deleted immediately and what type will stay. You'll find the notice below my quickly thrown together comments policy (which I put together so that I could link to this on my sidebar and call the link 'comments policy').


Comments Policy:

I love comments! I read every single one of them with great enjoyment. I often try to reply through email, which is why 'no-reply' bloggers frustrate me so much (please link an email address to your profile, if you don't want to use your regular one then create one in gmail or yahoomail or even hotmail (if you want to go old school) with your blog name and link that one). I try to visit the blogs of people who comment here and leave a comment on their most recent post. Sometimes, though, I don't get that done. Sorry.

But I do read, enjoy, appreciate and love your comments. So thank you and keep 'em comin'!


Comments Notice:

The following types of comments will be removed from my blog as soon as I become aware of them:

- comments selling weird stuff or almost any stuff, unless it's really cool stuff
- comments with links to your online semi-nude photo (seriously, people, wtf?)
- links to your online store, or your ebay or craigslist ad, or whatever
- anonymous comments slamming other commenters
- hateful ignorance
- comments I can't read because they're in another language & so I have no idea what they're saying, but when I put them into babblefish come out with something very odd like "Sister Moonfish likes dragon egg sandwiches". FYI: I read English and French and a bit of Spanish and German. Comments in those languages will be well-received.

The following comments will stay put:
- thoughtful comments on my content
- funny comments
- friendly comments
- lame comments that just say "Hi! Just stopping by!" and nothing else, even though they're lame. (I mean, come on! Did you even read the post?)
- criticism of me in any form, unless it's REALLY offensive. I reserve the right to reply, defend myself, ignore and/or make endless fun of them, though... especially if they're anonymous.
- anything else that doesn't fit into the above "will be deleted" categories (unless I don't like it).

Thank you again for your comments. Love ya all (except the robots and trolls).

heh. robots and trolls. ain't the internet grand?

Worst Gift Idea Ever

Yeah. Thanks for the suggestion, but a time out stool is a terrible Christmas gift.

"Here ya go, Sonny! Now you can be punished in STYLE! Whoo hoo!"

And "cherished forever"?

Really?

Surely you're joking.


On second thought, maybe this IS a good idea. I'll get my boys each a time out stool, a toilet brush and broom and some lumps of coal for their stockings.

Christmas shopping done!

Grade 9 Class Trip Journal

Anyway, I lost my other pad. So I'll use this one. When I arrived they gave us all a folder of suveneers and this was in it.

I like this guy and He's really nice and he's got the same sense of humor as me. He's from Stanton and last night he asked me to slow dance and I said "Yes" and he said "really" so I don't know but I'd be neat if he liked me too we could probably go out.

O.K. here's what I've done since I've been here. The first day was wednesday night. We had a party at municipal building upstairs. It was fun the people from Ethelville losed up all the tight-assed people from Stanton. The next day, thursday, we had a tour of Ethelville and then we went to visite the mair of Wellsborough. The mair of Wellsborough is also the president of Chedabucto. Then we went "Sampson pulp mill." and they took up in this little room with no windows where I felt down-right closed-in Then we went to the museum. By this time everybody was starving but we weren't eating for another 2 hours Then we crossed over into the U.S. and drove down to "fort something-or-another" and crossed bach over into the great, terrific, better than alote of other places, Canada. and ate lunch in a school somewhere in the middle of no where. Then we drove around and crossed into Quebec for five minutes and then we went to visite this fat old guy that talked alote about nothing. Then we went home. Then there was a party at Shyannne's house, thats where I started to like the guy I like, but only after Stacey Strong poured her coke over his head.

The next day was Friday, of coarce, we spent the day at school then we went home then we went to the "Gold Bar" a night club fore teen. I hated it. We got home at about 11:30. The next day was the best day of all. We went to "the red roof" a maple cyrop clube. It had a bar and they sold us beer. I'm not kidding they sold us nom-alchoholic beer. Big deal. Then we went to a zoo. They had wart hogs and a majestic elk and wolves. My new buddy, Samantha or Sam, loves wolves. I had to practicly drag her away and I din't want to lave myself. They had other neat animals but they were my favorites and then we went home and then to the banquet then to Roger's party then to Gold, I still hate Gold. And then at 12:30 home.

Now it's today there are two parties today.

The first partie wasn't very good. The partie that night was fun. I have alote of new friends from Stanton; they are: Samantha, Tim, and Laney, Bridget and Belle and more. Monday was great. We went skiing and then that night we had the last two parties. The guy I liked and I are friends now The first partie every body ran around getting everyone's signature at the end I read the mesages an nime and I started crying. About half of us were crying at the second partie. Stacey ran around throwing cleanex at everyone and Melissa ran around telling everyone to stop crying This morning we had a teary goodbye. Were never going to see theme again. Samantha sais she's going to have a beach partie at her camp and that were supposed to invite our twins. but I don't think alot of theme will come. We were in the paper an article called "Exchange changes students attitudes."

Ask The Reluctant Housewife - Parenting Edition

Here I sit, alone.

I am awaiting the arrival of my group project fellows. A meeting was foretold for this time and place.

But, alas! alack! I am the only one here. Alone...


But take heart! Let not my solitude be a cause of sorrow. Forsooth, it shall give me time to blog my answers to your questions about parenting:


Kimberly of Conservative Granola Mommies wants to know: I have two boys, too. They are 3 and 7 months. PLEASE tell me that it gets better as they get older and that they start to amuse themselves, safely, and don't need to be attached to me 24/7.

This is my favourite question. I have been where Kimberly is right now. You'll be happy to hear, Kimberly, that the answer to your question is yes. It does get easier. It gets much, much easier.

My boys can now do most things for themselves - they can get themselves dressed, they can amuse themselves, they can brush their own teeth, they can wash their own faces, they can clean themselves in the bath (my older boy takes showers now), they can wipe their own bums (this is huge! The only poop I deal with now is my own), they can put themselves to bed, and they sleep through the night.

I still supervise bedtime and read to them, tuck them in and give them kisses. I still make all their meals and snacks. I still need to hurry them along before school. And, of course, love them and play with them and talk to them and listen.

But it's all much easier than it was when they were 3 and 7 months. No contest.

For one thing, I can reason with them. I can explain why they can't do something, or why they can't have something and their usual response is, "Oh. Okay." Not "Waaaaaaaahn! Blaaaaaah! Snorfle! Scream!" stomp stomp stomp, kick, throw stuff; like it was when they were younger.

Monkey in particular threw terrible tantrums when he was two and three. Awful, brain bending, fear inducing, blood curdling tantrums. He never does that now. Now is so much better. So. Much.

And I get to sleep. Actually sleep... Most nights.

Parenting is never easy, but it's definitely easier right now. I'm told it will get harder again. They'll start to grow attitude problems and they'll discover girls and there will be peer pressure and decisions and worry and puberty and HORMONES.

But right now I have no complaints.


Mama Karebare of The Ramblings of a Crazy Mom asked: What's one of your embarrassing moments as a parent?

Luckily, as a mother to two boys, I don't embarrass all that easily. I don't have very many embarrassing moments to share. When they do happen, though, I blog about them. I'll link to a few and you can decide if you want to read more.

• Buddy once peed and pooped in a McDonald's playplace, that was pretty bad.
• I'm painfully awkward at parent-teacher meetings. That can certainly lead to embarrassment.
• Buddy once finished his entire (large) lunch early and had to go to the office at school to ask for a snack. I found that very embarrassing.

Yeah. I think that about covers it.



Mama-Face of Blog Ignoramus asked: Why is being a Mom both the best thing ever and the worst thing ever?

Being a mom is the best thing ever because of these guys:












Seriously, these are some great kids. I'm very lucky.

One of the worst parts of being a mom is the self-doubt and guilt. Am I doing a good enough job? Am I the mother these kids deserve? Am I doing this right? Am I screwing them up? When something goes wrong, I always blame myself. I know that all I can do is love them and try to do the best I can but I still constantly question if it's enough.

Another difficult thing about being a mom is the isolation and the loss of self. It's very isolating. Everyone else is at work and you're stuck at home, completely tied up in taking care of small, demanding people. You don't get to see other adults very often and when you do, they're often other parents and there's no guarantee you'll have anything in common with them. It can be very lonely. It's also easy to lose a sense of yourself. When you spend all your time tied up in caring for the needs and desires of someone else, you lose sight of your own. You forget who you are, outside of being a mom. The feeling of self-loss was, in large part, what gave me the push to start blogging again.


And now let's hear a bit about you - what do you think are the best and worst parts of being a parent? (Even if you're not a parent - what do you imagine the ups and downs might be?)

If you've got a question you want me to answer, just put it in the comments.

Coming soon - Ask The Reluctant Housewife - Favourites and Dreams Edition.

Geek girl out!

10 Reasons I'm a Geek

Are you a geek?

Me? I am definitely a geek. I've compiled 10 fun facts that prove it.

If you find yourself nodding your head in recognition of any of the following, you just might be a geek, too.


1. I know the words to many of Monty Python's songs, especially the naughty ones.

Short list of songs I can belt out with style, on demand: Sit on my face, Isn't it frightfully good to have a penis?, Philosopher's drinking song, The meaning of life, I've got two legs, I like traffic lights, Every sperm is sacred, Camelot, The lumberjack song... And the list goes on.


2. I've been learning how to catalog books. I've been struggling with it because, really, what is the point of all these details and rules (I don't like rules)? Then last night we learned how to code them into a database.

Sweet!

When you put code around the information, all questions fall away - we need all the details and rules so that the information can be read by a computer.

That I get.

And it's fun to write code.

I also really enjoy HTML.


3. I read a disgusting number of lolz blogs. I know they're a waste of my time, but I can't resist them, especially when they're a WIN and they really bring the lolz.

I mean, come on, where else are you going to find stuff like this:

Yes. That is a man sharing a motorbike with a cow.

Short list of lolz I read: i can haz cheeseburger, i has a hotdog, roflrazzi, fail blog, engrish funny, pundit kitchen, up next in sports, people of walmart, my first fail, this is why you're fat, photo bomb, and there, i fixed it.

They're quick and they make me laugh... They're like the mini chocolate bars of the internet - they always taste like more.


4. I like video games.


5. I like comic books.


6. I have been known, although it is rare and always coincides with a re-reading of the books, to read Harry Potter fan fic. Not the naughty stuff, but the 'the story continues' stuff. I recommend this story.


7. I read the books I love (Harry Potter, Jane Austen, Jen Lancaster, Shopaholic, Bill Bryson, Margaret Lawrence, etc...) over and over (and over) again.


8. I am oblivious to office politics. I am also oblivious to certain social cues and painfully over-sensitive to others.


9. When I'm interested in something, I obsessively find out everything I can about it.


10. I have a blog.