So I’ve spent some time digging around on various anti-spam tools available for my blog, and have decided to go ahead and activate Akismet. I’m hoping that this will significantly reduce not only the amount of spam messages I have to moderate, but the number of spam messages I even see. While I was at it, I upgraded my blog and gallery sites to the latest revisions, as well as the theme for my blog (which took a little tweaking, but wasn’t bad). So as of now, comments are allowed on this and the previous 11 (ours go to 11) posts I’ve made. This ought to provide a good testing ground to determine how well Akismet beats up the spammers. It’s not like I get a lot of readers or comments, but I hate having to turn off a feature just because a few assclowns are shitting in the middle of the playground.

Sadly, the sheer amount of comment spam generated by this blog demands action. Therefore, all comments will now be moderated. I’d initially turned off comments on specific, high-spam-count posts that had obvious keywords, and that worked for a while. Now, however, I get hundreds of emails a day consisting of fake trackbacks, comments awaiting moderation and the occasional moron who sneaks through the filters with a post about insurance or online gambling.

I find it incredibly idiotic that spammers would target a blog that as many as 3 people actually read, but spammers, by definition, are all about quantity and not quality. If moderating all comments doesn’t end up reducing the amount of spam, I’ll simply turn off commenting.

Update: Moderating did not cut back the amount of spam. I’m getting about 200 spam comments a day at this point, so I’m turning off commenting completely. I’ll work on tweaking my spam settings to help eliminate spam before it even comes to my attention so I can turn commenting back on in the future.

Sometimes, when something annoys/disturbs me enough, I find I have a tough time writing about it right away. I need to give it some time to simmer before I unleash any vitriol. That’s been the case with the recent “revelations” about the Bush administration, the NSA and the ridiculous amount of data collection that has been going on recently.

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Dear Representative Tierney:

I recently received an email from your office regarding a Gas Prices survey. I completed the survey, but wanted to share my opinions on the rising cost of gas with you.

In response to your survey: increased gas prices are not affecting other areas of my finances, as I budget appropriately and conserve as necessary.

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Not too long ago, several people left my current company for positions at another company (the same one, mind you). It was kind of a bummer, especially since both my manager and one of my best teammates jumped ship. Happily, the teammate has decided to return to the fold, which is an indication of how well the new VP (who’d started only shortly before so many people called it quits) has turned the ship around, and the former manager is very happy with his new responsibilities. Suffice it to say that those who left, for the most part, were driven to leave as they were ground to dust by too many hours and unreasonable demands (many of these people had their marriages threatened by the amount of hours they put in at work).

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I achieved my goal of finding a place to live come July 1 during my past few days off from work. I settled on one of the mill apartments in the city; I chose the one with the stairs that go nowhere. That weirdness of that feature appealed to me (as those who know me might consider me weird anyway).

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For the three of you who use public transportation or human-powered transportation to the exclusion of internal combustion vehicles, I just wanted to be the first to let you know that gas prices aren’t going to drop anytime soon. You don’t care, so you’re the least likely to flip out and start beating me about the neck and shoulders whilst screaming, “Why? Why? Whyyyyyyy?” The fact is that any increase in prices is eventually accepted by the American public because, simply put, what choice do we have? Do you really think the American people are going to organize a boycott of gasoline in order to force oil companies to reduce prices? Don’t hold your breath.

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The title of this post is an excerpt from the oath that each new President-elect of the United States takes before assuming the responsibilities of the office of the President. The oath is as follows: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Our current President has shat all over that oath more than most former Presidents. (more…)

Looming just on the edge of my brain is the fact that I’m going to need to find an apartment come summertime. Part of me loves to move to a new place; to re-arrange all my crap and try to fit myself into new surroundings. Another part of me loathes the hassle of uprooting said crap and trying to fit it all into a new place. (more…)