Web site spam takes a strange turn

The spam flooding my inbox via my Web site's contact form is no longer offering me Russian sex partners and impotency cures.  No, those days are behind me.  Now, all of the offers center on two drugs:  tromadol and estrogen.

I find this rather disappointing.

I'm not in pain, so I have no need or desire for the first.  Were I in pain, I still wouldn't want it.  I very much avoid drugs and do not want to become dependent on them.

As for the second, even after a few minutes of Googling, I can see no benefit to it. 

I now must hope for a new wave of interesting spam to wash over and eliminate this current rather sad set of offers.

Device transition blues

A while ago, multiple months ago in point of sad fact, I obtained the latest incarnation of a tablet I use regularly.  Tonight, I finally decided I could afford a little sleep time to move to the new tablet.  In the past, this process had been straightforward and quick, so I figured this change would not take long.

Wrong.

The operating system software on the tablet was old, so old that when I told my host system's software to move the contents of my old tablet to my new one, the software declared I could not make the move. 

That's annoying, but, okay, I figured, I'd update the software.  I did, and many minutes of sleep ticked away. 

When I finished, I told the host software to set up the new tablet from a backup of the old one.  It started the process, which took many minutes.

Ten seconds from the end, the host software declared failure and told me that my backup was corrupt or for some reason incompatible with my new tablet.

I manually backed up my old tablet.  More sleep time vanished.

I then told the host software to move the backup to the new tablet.  More sleep time evaporated.  This time, the process worked.

Next, the new tablet had to sync all its apps.  This was taking so long that I started checking to see how much of my old tablet had moved to the new one.

My telco account had not moved.  I fixed that.  More time passed.

My two email accounts had moved, but my PT account was not working.  After failing three times to get the tablet to connect to our email server, I'm giving up for a bit.  My personal account is downloading email as I write this, a small victory but a process that looks like it's going to take hours. 

The apps are still syncing.

I'm now giving up for the evening and going to let the device crank away.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to make it fully functional. 

This process really should be simpler.


Disclosure:  I'm not naming the devices involved because I work in tech, my company works with many vendors, and I try hard not to talk about tech-vendor products in this blog. 

Which 2014 Nicolas Cage movie would you most like to see?

Yes, Ol' Meltyface, the man who will appear in any movie, has three flicks due (or already out, depending on where you live) this year.  With so much Cage on offer, picking a favorite is tough--but we have to try.

Would it be the Chinese Cage, Outcast?



Or might it perhaps be the European Cage, Rage (aka Tokarev)?



Or will the big-budget American Cage, Left Behind, rule your desires?



Of course, the good news for us Meltees everywhere is that though we may each have our own favorite, we are united in our excitement at going to see all of them. 

Where I need to be right now

Oh, yeah, the beach.

I am so ready for my trip there.  I desperately need the break. 

Only a bit more than two weeks to go.




Thanks to Gina for the gorgeous sunrise photo.  Click on it to see a larger image.

This movie can't come soon enough for me

We've had some good action movies since Captain America launched the summer movie season back in early April, but Hollywood hasn't released nearly enough of of them for my taste.  Consider this coming weekend, for example; nothing of action consequence is opening.

That's why, as dumb as The Expendables 3 will inevitably be, it cannot come too soon for my taste.

Enjoy this new trailer for it.



Yeah, it's made of dumb awesome explosives and more steroids than Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva combined, but that's exactly what this summer needs.

Why can't I buy red bean ice cream at my local grocery store?

I love this Japanese treat, and I know I'm not alone in loving it, but it's not available at any major grocery store around here.  That's a shame.

If you know of any place that sells it by the pint, please drop me a note. 

All I think about Father's Day

Not having a father for most of my youth, this day was never big to me.  It still isn't.  Given all the press it gets, however, I can't help think about it from time to time.  My thoughts all boil down to these simple points.

I do wish I had had a father growing up, but I'm generally okay with the fact that I did not.

I tried hard to be a good father, but I fell far short of my ideal, and I see my failings way more than my successes.

Despite that, Sarah and Scott are amazing, and I am the luckiest father alive to have them as my kids.

Most of all, that last one:  Sarah and Scott are amazing, and I am the luckiest father alive to have them as my kids.