Maybe it goes with being an editor, but I just love these things when we find them.
Jane was looking for spices for her Christmas cooking with the girls, and was surprised to get her hand on these Ground Gloves (left), or to bump into the Crashed Coriander (below).
For related amusement, take a look at the “product names” tag on this blog.
As promised yesterday, here’s a new variant on the ‘Nigerian 419′ scam. Some of these fraudulent emails are very short these days – I guess the guys have realised that the more words they put down, the more stupid and unbelievable they sound. So, instead, they’re setting out the merest hint of a plot and asking immediately for your contact details.
I should mention in passing that writing to these sly thieves, even for fun, becomes time consuming. There are some interesting websites run by people who tackle the scammers by scamming them in turn. The ones I’ve seen have language that gets far too rude for me to give the URLs, but you’ll find them if you look. They are often hilarious, and kudos especially to the Ebola Monkey Man, but some remind me that we have to be careful to make sure we remain utterly unlike the enemy we fight.
OK, here’s one that my colleague Paul received. (One of the many peculiarities of these emails is that I’ve not seen one that can spell ‘advise’ right when used as a verb.) Paul is still recovering his composure after being so roundly rebuked:
Attention,
I will like to start with reminding you that your unclaimed inheritance is still lurking around, up till now I am amazed at the way you have ignored all the notice I have sent out to you. This message will be the last notice that I will be sending out to you.
Upon the receipt of this mail I will want you to reconfirm to me your details and also tell me the reason why you have kept quiet all the while; I do believe you should have a logical answer to that. I also will like for you to know that I have some new developments on ground which I believe will be good news to you.
I will advice that you do not abandon this message and respond as a matter of urgency so that we can get done with your claim.
Best regards
Michael Graham
Associate Solicitor.
Tel: +447031997793
Tel: +447024053610
The global village, as represented by instant messaging, email and now computer-based teleconferencing, has sped up communications around the world and is reducing the amount of air travel we do. It is in my case, anyway.
What it’s also doing is making some of us nocturnal. This last week, thanks to the Myanmar cyclone catastrophe, and now the China earthquake, I’ve been working to East Asian and US timezones. It’s interesting, being able to act as a bridge between staff in Bangkok and the US, but you realise after several post-midnight bedtimes that you’ll have to start getting up later to compensate.
Eventually I’ll eschew the sunlight altogether and become one of the creatures of darkness. It won’t be long before my skin goes white and waxy and stare dolefully at the moon, my face lit only by the blue-white glow of the laptop screen.
