Spam A Lot

I don't know what's going on out there in the ether-net, but, ever since the new year hit, I have been inundated with spam e-mail.  No matter the time of day, I can sign onto my e-mail account and find at least five or six pieces of garbage in that folder.  Now I've always had my filter set at high.  Why the sudden glut?  Who knows?  But, as Sherlock Holmes might say, there is something afoot.

Indeed, one might argue that there really is no protection against such annoyance.  You all remember that much-heralded "Do Not Call" list designed to stop telemarketers from ringing you up?  Yeah, well, I signed up for that and get just as many calls as I ever did.  The only difference is that nowadays you don't get to yell at a live voice.  Companies have automated their pitches so you end up ranting against a recording.  As is typically the case in America when the government gets involved in some national initiative, the results are, of course, useless. 

And now it appears we are being attacked by the same cretins on-line.  One after one.  Ads personally crafted for me because I supposedly was looking for something on-line. 

Really?

Penis enlargement.

Breast enlargement.

Breast reduction. 

Penis reduction (just who is the one looking for this???)

A good used car.

Snap together furniture.

Electronic cigarettes.

Credit cards.

Personal loans so I can pay off excessive credit card debt.

Solar panels.

Air conditioner duct cleaning.

Credit checks.

Carpet cleaning. 

Vitamins to improve eyesight for those whose vision is challenged by having to read through all these spam ads.

Car insurance.

Home insurance.

Health insurance.

And, fittingly in my spam folder, a request to contribute money to the building of the proposed Barack Obama Presidential Library on the south side of Chicago. 

Er, was I looking for any of the other?

Body part enlargement or reduction?  Umm, I know what I need and don't need.

A good used car?  I lease and get a new car every three years.

Snap together furniture?   Er, just what I want to sit on at home...Legos.

Electronic cigarettes?  How long an extension cord do you need?

Credit cards?   I have two.  More than enough.

Personal loans so I can pay off excessive credit card debt?  Umm, I've seen this life before.  It was my mother's.

Solar panels?  I rent a condo.

Air conditioner duct cleaning?  I actually had this done when I moved into the rented condo.   And I don't dirty the air that quickly---with or without electronic cigarettes.

Credit checks?  My credit is just fine, thank you very much.

Carpet cleaning?  I have mostly hardwood floors.

Vitamins to improve eyesight for those whose vision is challenged by having to read through all these spam ads?  Yeah, I get the irony.  Next.

Car insurance?  I have.

Home insurance?  I have.

Health insurance?  I have.

And, as for donating cash to the building of the Barack Obama Presidential Library on the south side of Chicago?  This is the most absurd.  And am I the only one who loves how deliciously stupid this notion is?  Building a library in perhaps the worst neighborhood of the nation? 

The bottom line is that I looked for none of these products or services.  Yes, when I go to "unsubscribe," they are "all sorry to see me go."  And they regret that I have opted out of receiving their promotional notes after "all this time." 

"They will miss me."

Meanwhile, all this stepped-up activity has me now afraid of clicking on a Google search for anything.  It's bad enough that, when I went into EddieBauer.com to look for a shirt, their logo and banner now appears on my computer screen constantly.  And I do order from them regularly.

And back at Blog Central, the spam keeps on coming.  Because, every day, I wind up with "comments for my approval" that are not really comments on my blog.  No, they will focus on a word in an entry and then go into a pitch for some piece of crap.

For instance, say I mention in a Sunday Memory Drawer that my mother was smoking...

I will then receive about a dozen comments that start with how much they like my blog and, oh, here's a link to electronic cigarettes.  Or a stop smoking program.  Or ceramic classes that will help you make your own ash trays.

Over and over and over, these unwanted comments pop up.

So, tell me, gang, how are computers improving our lives?  Because, as technologically advanced as we have become, our worlds are now more cluttered than ever.

And let's not forget the real, honest-to-goodness spam e-mails.  From some guy in the Phillippines who's desperately trying to wire you money that his cancer-riddled wife on her deathbed will soon leave him.

So all of you who are loving and adoring your computers and Smartphones, please beware.  This is a price being paid every day and in every way. 

And it's one of the reasons why I have never monetized this blog.   I easily could.  I simply don't want you to get inundated by any more crap than we're all getting anyway.

Your on-line reading is safe here.

For the time being.  Because, thanks to technology, all of our days are numbered.

Dinner last night:  Teriyaki chicken meatballs, noodles, and broccoli.