Spamalot
:: No, no, not the play currently running on Broadway, as much as I’d like to see it. (The web site is hilarious!) Maybe it will still be playing in the fall when I return to NYC (dates yet to be determined, trip yet to be confirmed.) I’ve been fighting a steady battle with blog spammers lately. The amount of spam targetting blogs is torrential. After Tony advised that my comment function wasn’t working, I upgraded to MT-Blacklist 2.04b a couple weeks back, and in the time it took to upload and install the necessary files, I was hit with over 100 comment and trackback spam. Even with 2.04b installed, I’ve been moderating and deleting hundreds of blogspam a week.
Until a few minutes ago, MT-Blacklist had blocked 34,932 spam on my site since its reinstallation, and for that, I bow in a southwest direction towards California and give thanks to Jay Allen for creating the program. Earlier today while checking my sites, I noticed the new link to “Introducing SpamLookup.” Desparate for anything to improve the situation, I read Jay’s entry, and immediately went to Brad Choate’s site, downloaded, unzipped and installed the gobbler, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work brilliantly. I have had NO spam since it was installed this morning. I bow for a second time in the same direction. Thank you, Brad, for writing this program, and thank you Jay, for letting us know.
BTW, ever notice that the plural of spam seems to be spam? Who made that decision? I’ve never seem a statement that read something like, “I’ve been receiving a lot of spams lately.”
:: I played guitar today at Amelia’s annual spring tea, including a few songs with her, and a few with her group, The Harvest Moon Fiddlers. Next Sunday we have a gig in Smoky Lake.
:: It took me half a century, but on the weekend, I bought my first one of these. I feel like such a guy’s guy now. What’s next, NASCAR? Meanwhile, the house renos continue. Floor screws were drilled into the floor by the front door entrance to help reduce floor squeeking. It seems to have helped somewhat. Next, the purchase of 70 feet of MDF baseboard.
April 11th, 2005 at 08:17
Switch to WordPress – not one spam with out of the box WP 1.5 in over 6 weeks. That run will no doubt end soon – but for the time being…
April 11th, 2005 at 10:25
This ought to encourage you, then:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4426949.stm
D
April 11th, 2005 at 15:14
was it hard to install? i am just a cavewoman… i do not understand your antispam ways… 🙂
April 11th, 2005 at 17:05
Cordless power tools!! Yee Haaaa!!
I love those things…for fathers day a couple of years ago, I bought myself a vinyl case full of them…a drill, a circular saw, a reciprocating saw, very bright flashlight, etc., and spend the next few months looking for things to cut down, drill holes into, or otherwise alter. Did my soul tremedous good.
On another cheery note, My Mother-in-Law, the Alberta Arts Council member, gifted me over the weekend with another few editions of On Spec. She receives them regularly as a member of the Council, and saves them for me. As frequently happens, I recognized some of the contributing writers names, (see Murph above) and was heartened to realize that not all the world has had the concept of artistry beaten out of them…..
April 11th, 2005 at 17:41
Woman: It was not hard to install. Man could show you how, but you are woman, I hear you roar, in numbers too big too ignore, plus, I hear that sisters are doin’ it for themselves. You have the power. R
April 11th, 2005 at 17:44
Thanks for the timely tip about Spamlookup. It is supposed to create log entries in the main activity log, which can also be checked from a window in the Spamlookup control window. I’ll see if it starts knocking down the spam before MTB has to process it. It seems to have the capability to hold work with a blacklist too so if I can copy and paste my blacklist (which is short) I can do it all in one program.
Congrats on your tool. It’s not the size that counts – it’s the time between recharges.