I got a spam last night (SpamAssassin score 3.1) and I can’t tell if it’s REAL spam, a spam “feeler” (an email to check if an address is valid before putting you on a list), or just a clueless reader. It was written in HTML-Mail on Outlook Express, by someone whose domain is northweb.com.
Thing is, I wrote a book on HTML for clueless newbies, so it’s possible this person found my site through that and is contacting me (note: the email address the spam was received at isn’t the one listed in the book, so they would have just searched and received my site which lists the book and HTML as a topic). I do not see any obvious spam IDs in the message headers (like a long alpha-numeric code that tells the spammer which spam messages got through).
I hesitate to answer because if it is spam, I don’t want to encourage them. I am considering it though, because if it’s a clueless newbie reader, I’d like to be all helpful and stuff and sell my book.
Subject: want to buy html
Hello, I happin to run accross your web page and found what I am looking =
for, HTML. I see that you have plugins but, are they the full plugins =
and not demos. Everytime I run into html they will give you html and =
charge for the rest, I want it all, everything I can get. I have a =
website with nothing in it, I no html, not much on java. My book gives =
me alittle on it, but I never realy got into it until latly. If you do =
give the full version, I will get it....Thanks Paul...
So. . . . what should I do?
Borrowed from
Five things that I really liked as a teenager but that I don’t care for much now:
Playing music (I like it, but not as much)
Spacing out to music
Camping/backpacking
Driving (some things lose their appeal)
Manipulating people
Five things I didn’t care for when I was a teenager but that I really like now:
Coffeeeeee
Writing nonfiction
Journaling
Sushi
Rap music
Five things I’ve always really liked and very likely always will:
Computers and science
Games (esp. RPGs)
Storytelling and writing
Reading
Eating
Five things I’ve never much cared for and very likely never will:
Art museums
My mother’s husband (sorry, Mom)
Cigarette Smoke (which has claimed the lives of two of my grandparents and has contributed to the five cases of pneumonia I’ve had in my lifetime– yeah, I have a grudge with R.J. Reynolds!)
Exercise
People who hit or kick dogs or think that hitting is an acceptable form of discipline for them
Requests like this one are the reason I do support. Here we have a user who is about to have a pretty big upheaval in her life. She is going to move. She is going to lose her Internet access. She is worried about losing her journal and wants to know how long her account can be inactive before we’ll delete it.
And the answer is wonderful. The answer tells her “Don’t worry– we will be here when you get back, and so will your journal.” The answer says “Don’t forget your password, because we want you to be able to login again when you return to us.”
I love it when what the user wants is not only possible, but easy for them to do. I love it when they ask about something that concerns them, and we tell them that there is no way it’s going to be a problem. I love it when my answer (or any support answer, but especially mine, to be honest) not only answers the question they had (how long before it gets deleted), but also lays to rest the underlying fear (that their journal will go away when they’re offline).
Sigh. 
Now I wish I’d also said “And when you get back, if you’ve kept a journal off-line, you can post your entries backdated to put them in on the appropriate days. . . .”
I am out of sports bras and cannot run today.
I am doing laundry now, but we do not put my bras in the dryer (they last longer this way).
I suppose I have 1 left, but it’s uncomfortable and doesn’t support very well.
John is coming home this afternoon. Laundry is his gig. I hope I didn’t run anything important through the washer (I never check pockets).
Sigh.
And my right knee hurts today. Usually it’s the left that’s more sensitive.
Chuckle. I bought running shoes today. I drove down to Aptos just so I could go to Fleet Feet, which caters only to runners and walkers. Tried on about 8 pairs of shoes. The salesman was very nice and helpful. They let me take the shoes out onto the street to try them out. I had thought about wearing a bra, but mine are all in need of washing, so testing the shoes was less than comfortable. I bought a pair of flat, cotton laces at the same time: the round nylon ones that are so popular keep getting untied with me.
When I tried them on, the salesman was interested in what marathon I was training for, what program I was on, etc. And he told me how to tie my shoes so that the heel will be less likely to slip.
The main thing is, these fit, fit nice, and don’t have any pressure points. I’m actually looking forward to running today, despite my soreness (my calves are sore and my left knee is sore from running in my walking shoes).