The Spam Thread!

[huckleberrypie]

Just added another antispam plugin to the boards; the Q&A CAPTCHA's already effective as it is, but I felt that it does need some more firepower. Problem, spammers?

[RAMChYLD]

I wouldn't taunt them if I were you Blake. I'd just keep quiet about it and let them find out about it themselves

[huckleberrypie]

I wouldn't taunt them if I were you Blake. I'd just keep quiet about it and let them find out about it themselves

Yeah, I guess so.

[Blackberry Bun]

Another weekend

[Stella Grapes]

In the first parts of my childhood, I had little to no sense of most dangers. The only danger I understood and feared was violent people. During a storm, I said I was bored. One of my brothers, which one I can't recall, told me to go to the top of a set of large rocks outside our old home and stand there with a metal baseball bat over my head. I did this, standing in a high altitude in a lightning storm holding metal over my head, not knowing why. Thankfully, nothing happened. It wasn't until years later that I realized what could have happened.

Another time, I was told by peers to stomp on a wasp nest. I did, and when I was stung, I thought I must be doing something wrong. I thought there was a right way to step on a wasp nest without getting hurt. Oddly enough, I felt next to nothing, even though I was in great pain from being stung by one wasp before and afterwards.

Yet another time, I was holding a glass jar in my lap. I didn't realize the jar was broken. People began to scream about blood. I looked down, seeing blood over my legs and also over my hands. Someone said, "Put that jar down!" I dumbly threw the jar, letting it shatter. Not once did I feel any pain from the cuts.

I probably would, without realizing the consequences, have jumped off a cliff if someone had asked me to.

Rose was what caused me to really understand danger. Rose was a sick dog I was conned into buying. She chose me, though, and we loved each other right away. She leaped into my arms, as if to say, "YOU! You're who I've been waiting for! " When my mother found out Rose was sick, she said I could keep her if I could pay for her as some sort of twisted lesson in responsibility. (I was only six years old when I bought Rose for very cheap. The person who sold her to me figured she would die in a day or two.) Rose had seizures, moments where she wouldn't recognize anyone, and very poor physical health.

Four years after her purchase, she was still living when a much larger dog attacked her. Rose herself was supposed to be a large dog. She was a Border Collie, at least mostly. Because she was both sickly and the runt of her litter, her frame was much smaller than it should have been. The larger dog nearly destroyed her. A veterinarian took pity on my dog and I, and managed to keep her alive albeit in an even more fragile state.

It was then that I noticed danger everywhere. Oh, people were so mean to my dog. Boys would poke her with sticks, saying, "We can see its meat!" On the bright side, Rose could defend herself in a snap from those sort of dangers. When it came to most dangers, alas, I felt my dog was powerless. I worried she would fall off a bridge and carried her across it. I worried and had nightmares about her being kidnapped. She was supposed to stay outside, and I hated that because I was sure something would attack her outside. I sneaked her inside under my blanket every night possible.

Rose lived between six and seven years. She died with one eye open and one eye closed, according to Ben and the same veterinarian who had saved her before. I never saw her body. I couldn't bear to see her dead, feeling like I had failed to keep her safe even though the cause of her death was a combined heart attack and seizure.

I still dream sometimes that Rose did not really die and has instead been searching the world over for me. Time alone would have taken her long ago even if that did make any sense, which it doesn't. No other dog has ever come close to Rose.

The spirit can remain strong, regardless of the body and mind. "She was definitely your dog," James said, when he first heard her story. I know what he was saying and I agree. Plus, I think she was right to choose me for another reason. I don't think anyone else around would have devotedly kept her alive for long.

Something else of note is this: it was caring for someone else that taught me about danger, something I should have known by instinct. I think my maternal intuition is the most... "sane" part of me, for lack of a better word. It has always been only when I am caring for others that I learn things most people figure out right away.

I... kinda don't understand.

My computer's weather gadget said it was storming in the capital of Indonesia. I thought you said you lived in the capital. Maybe that was someone else.

[Blackberry Bun]

The will to live is a strong power indeed.

I... kinda don't understand.

My computer's weather gadget said it was storming in the capital of Indonesia. I thought you said you lived in the capital. Maybe that was someone else.

Storm? The worst which happened lately was some drizzle. And that didn't make the heat any better.

I live about five miles outside the eastern edge of the capital, though my office is indeed located in the capital. By the way, which part of U.S. do you live in? You might have told me, but I forgot.

[Stella Grapes]

The will to live is a strong power indeed.

I... kinda don't understand.

My computer's weather gadget said it was storming in the capital of Indonesia. I thought you said you lived in the capital. Maybe that was someone else.

Storm? The worst which happened lately was some drizzle. And that didn't make the heat any better.

I live about five miles outside the eastern edge of the capital, though my office is indeed located in the capital. By the way, which part of U.S. do you live in? You might have told me, but I forgot.

Well, my weather tracker must have been acting ridiculous.

I live in the southeast region of the U.S., yet very close to the midwest region, which sounds silly until you see a map. I am in the mid-red area, bordering the dark tan area. Both the southeast and midwest are prominent parts of my life, and my husband and I operate on two time zones. One is eleven hours behind your time zone and the other is an exact twelve hours difference.

Update on my health: I have heart failure, on my heart's left side only. This means that part of my heart isn't pumping enough blood for my body. I am younger than most people with heart failure, I am underweight whereas most people with heart failure are overweight, and I am a non-smoker whereas several people with heart failure smoke! I don't understand this at all, unless it is related to the pregnancy. No one in my household smokes, nor does anyone outside of the house whom we are particularly close with. My best guess is that this is simply bad luck showing up during good luck. The pregnancy seems to be unaffected..... and it had better be unaffected...

I don't really understand my instructions. I'm supposed to be on bedrest, and I'm supposed to get exercise. All right, that makes lots of sense (I say sarcastically). :roll: When I said that didn't make sense, I was told to rest and then exercise while taking it easy. It still doesn't make sense. Besides, I already exercise.

[Stella Grapes]

Oh how depressing!

In an attempt to take stress off me, because stress worsens my heart problem, James bought food and drinks I'd like and asked the rest of the family to go with him on a weekend vacation to let me rest. What they're doing is spending the night in a hotel in another city, exploring the city today, and heading back in the evening.

It was very sweet of James, no doubt. I woke up on the jealous side and depressed side anyway. I woke up this afternoon after 1:00 PM, which reminded me of the old days [strike]when I was useless[/strike]. Fed animals. That's what I did then after waking up, too. I didn't feel less useless for it then or now.

Rest is boring. Yesterday, I watched Snapped (warning for graphic descriptions of episodes in the link) from about 2 PM, around three hours after my family left, until about 8:15 PM. The network that airs it was running episodes of nothing but that until midnight. I was really bored of it long before I turned it off. It's a rather bothersome show, even though the mystery elements are intriguing. Most of the episodes are about women who kill their husbands and/or ex-husbands, and the women very often have depression or bipolar disorder (manic-depression). Enough said as to why the show bothers me. I would never be like those women, of course. The problem is that people love to view "crazy" people as dangerous. I wonder how many people watch this show a lot and then distance themselves from me. Yuck.

I think I'm supposed to be sleeping or something... Ehhhhhh... I am very tired. Well, duh, I'm tired. I have good reasons for being tired. Still, I can't believe that I'll all I do today is eat and sleep. Oh déjà vu. One funny thing before I go...

Barb:
"Your heart's a winner, not a failure!"

:lol: That was the best remark.

[cpd2009]

Well, that was one Black Hills Vacation to remember. Here is what I got to do...

-Go inside Rushmore Cave and lose two pounds due to all the exercise involved in climbing steep stairs during the guided tour.

-Played mini golf at a place called "Putz N' Glo" where everything is lit by blacklights.

-Got to see an awesome laser light show at Crazy Horse Memorial

-Went to the Black Hills National Cemetery and saw Bear Butte up close (Bear Butte is a mountain that is considered sacred to many midwestern Native American tribes)

-Drove through Spearfish canyon and saw a great waterfall and a wild chipmunk.

-Went to the worlds famous tourist trap, Wall Drug, as well as a more obscure tourist trap called "the Ranch Store" where you can feed prairie dogs.

However, the best highlight of my trip was this....

Finally... by cpd2005, on Flickr

I have been wanting a Wii for two years, and I decided to buy it on our vacation so it can be like a souvenir from a trip that I will remember for years to come. The Wii is named "Elsie", after one of the characters from the Disney show "Stanley". I wasn't able to buy the Wii component video cables, so I have it hooked up to my trusty old RCA ColorTrak console TV, and even though my DVD/VCR is run through an RF converter box, the picture quality is still stunning, and the photos don't do justice to that. I am going to test it on my flat panel HDTV though after I get the component video cables.

As for games, Elsie came with "Mario Kart Wii" as well as the "Wii Wheel". I actually find it more comfortable to play "Mario Kart Wii" using the standard Wii Remote + Nunchuk setup. Steering seems to be more responsive than using the Wii Wheel. The only other game I bought was "Build a Bear Workshop: Friendship Valley" at GameStop. It was a used game, and only cost $20. The game I really wanted though, "New Super Mario Bros Wii" was too expensive. It's been out for nearly two years now, and it's still $49.99! Im going to try and buy the game used later this week.

A couple more photos of Elsie in action:

The New Wii and my Retron3 by cpd2005, on Flickr

Initial setup by cpd2005, on Flickr

Flickr Photostream on the Wii Internet Channel by cpd2005, on Flickr

[Blackberry Bun]

Quite interesting for post #666, Prudie.

After this week is over, I'll get my first salary. Now what should I do with it...