(no subject)
The spam blockers have won one. I love to see spam that has degenerated so much, in order to avoid spam blockers, that it is no longer legible. This happened a few years ago for text emails, where words like "viagra" became "v14-gr A". Eventually spammers realized that weaseling their spam through the filters didn't do them any good if humans could no longer figure out what they were trying to sell.
At least a year ago, my Junk folder began to show some new forms of spam. Rather than pushing pills and sex sites, they started hyping penny stocks. It got pretty bad until Tech's excellent spam filter began to recognize these stock spams and eliminate them. Then came the images. We fought back with basic OCR technology. Spammers retaliated by randomizing letter positions and creating noisy backgrounds. We honed our OCR skills. Finally, spammers have lapsed into retardation with this beauty:
Quick, buy lots of ... FRVVHG??
In lighter news, I stood in line with Liz on Sunday, waiting for Best Buy to open with a new shipment of Wii consoles. We arrived at 8am and stood outside with about a dozen other hopeful gamers. At about 8:30, the manager came to let us into the vestibule, where we sat in a neat line around the sides of the small area. He revealed that there were 30 Wiis to be purchased, and he had us count down the line until he reached the last person, who was number 16. He then returned to the employee revival meeting being held inside - this consisted of about 50 employees chanting, cheering, clapping, and healing the sick (okay, poetic license on that one).
By the time 10am rolled around, we had been given free bags of popcorn and were offered the ability to use the restrooms if necessary. The group held varied discussions about games, football, more games, and more football. At exactly 10 o'clock, the manager returned with handwritten tickets that reserved us each a Wii to purchase. He informed us that at 11am, store opening time, he would open the doors to the public and anyone with a ticket would be given priority to purchase a Wii until no more tickets were presented. Once the tickets ran dry, even if some had not been presented, the reserved Wiis would be open to any buyer, thus it was necessary for us to return at 11am to ensure that our tickets retained their usefulness.
After we got our tickets, we popped off to the neighboring Waffle House and struck up a conversation with two other future Wii owners, a couple consisting of a Tech student and an Emory student. We soon ordered but got our food around 10:40, after nervously wondering if we should just ask for the waffles to go. We scarfed them down and headed back to Best Buy with about 10 minutes to spare. As ticket holders, we joined the others as the doors opened and the crowd wandered to the customer service desk. Our Wiis were there waiting for us, and after a quick check for extra controllers (no dice), Liz and I proceeded directly to Go, and collected -250 dollars.
As of 11:05am, I owned a Wii! I made a commitment that if Jeremy (who'd been searching for a Wii since Christmas) hadn't found a Wii, I'd sell him mine at cost, otherwise I'd find another worthy soul. I gave him a call, and indeed he hadn't planned to stand in line, but rather would just be sauntering over to Best Buy. Of course, this meant he wasn't getting a Wii unless I sold him mine, so I did later that day ... but only after we got a good 5 hours of use :)
More details on the Wii experience to come!
At least a year ago, my Junk folder began to show some new forms of spam. Rather than pushing pills and sex sites, they started hyping penny stocks. It got pretty bad until Tech's excellent spam filter began to recognize these stock spams and eliminate them. Then came the images. We fought back with basic OCR technology. Spammers retaliated by randomizing letter positions and creating noisy backgrounds. We honed our OCR skills. Finally, spammers have lapsed into retardation with this beauty:
Quick, buy lots of ... FRVVHG??
In lighter news, I stood in line with Liz on Sunday, waiting for Best Buy to open with a new shipment of Wii consoles. We arrived at 8am and stood outside with about a dozen other hopeful gamers. At about 8:30, the manager came to let us into the vestibule, where we sat in a neat line around the sides of the small area. He revealed that there were 30 Wiis to be purchased, and he had us count down the line until he reached the last person, who was number 16. He then returned to the employee revival meeting being held inside - this consisted of about 50 employees chanting, cheering, clapping, and healing the sick (okay, poetic license on that one).
By the time 10am rolled around, we had been given free bags of popcorn and were offered the ability to use the restrooms if necessary. The group held varied discussions about games, football, more games, and more football. At exactly 10 o'clock, the manager returned with handwritten tickets that reserved us each a Wii to purchase. He informed us that at 11am, store opening time, he would open the doors to the public and anyone with a ticket would be given priority to purchase a Wii until no more tickets were presented. Once the tickets ran dry, even if some had not been presented, the reserved Wiis would be open to any buyer, thus it was necessary for us to return at 11am to ensure that our tickets retained their usefulness.
After we got our tickets, we popped off to the neighboring Waffle House and struck up a conversation with two other future Wii owners, a couple consisting of a Tech student and an Emory student. We soon ordered but got our food around 10:40, after nervously wondering if we should just ask for the waffles to go. We scarfed them down and headed back to Best Buy with about 10 minutes to spare. As ticket holders, we joined the others as the doors opened and the crowd wandered to the customer service desk. Our Wiis were there waiting for us, and after a quick check for extra controllers (no dice), Liz and I proceeded directly to Go, and collected -250 dollars.
As of 11:05am, I owned a Wii! I made a commitment that if Jeremy (who'd been searching for a Wii since Christmas) hadn't found a Wii, I'd sell him mine at cost, otherwise I'd find another worthy soul. I gave him a call, and indeed he hadn't planned to stand in line, but rather would just be sauntering over to Best Buy. Of course, this meant he wasn't getting a Wii unless I sold him mine, so I did later that day ... but only after we got a good 5 hours of use :)
More details on the Wii experience to come!