The strange thing was, when I signed onto the computer this morning, my blog would not appear. I kept getting the “Server Not Found” error message which later changed to “This Page Not Available.”
Meanwhile, in my email box, thirty spam comments waited to be moderated. How could “they” see my blog when I could not? Apparently, it was a case of my computer plotting against me! I scanned for spyware, rebooted the computer–twice–and agonized.
And the spam comments kept coming. Apparently, those who create comment spam do so in the hopes that the links they surreptitiously place in comments will raise their rank in search engines. I am not positive, but I think there is a special place in hell for people who do such dastardly and wicked things. I believe I have made my personal feelings about spammers clear. (I hope they get their hair caught in a bicycle chain and are dragged down the street and skin their faces on the road.)
In the early afternoon, I changed some settings, updated my browser, rebooted (again) and my problems vanished.
So, it was a frustrating morning.
Only two days of school left and it looks like we will actually finish all our work. My 8-year old son, who is enrolled in public school, will be going to the beach tomorrow, despite the fact that drizzly rain will likely fall. This has been the soggiest June I can remember. The English ivy threatens to take over my entire yard and the grass remains green, except under the swings where the children quickly wore bald spots.
I have to say that I am looking forward to seeing Britney Spears on NBC (Dateline?) tomorrow night. I keep seeing previews where poor Britney goes into what Oprah calls “the ugly cry” and her right eyelash begins to flop around on her eyelid. I feel sorry for her. Living in the glare of the media has to be rough.
With that random tidbit, I’m signing off. I washed, dried, folded and put away five or six loads of laundry today and believe me, when you spend all your time supervising geometry lessons and washing clothes and wiping noses, there’s not a lot to report.
Actual Unretouched Photo 
I’m hurtin’ for you, and am thus mentioning one of the good things that came out of my sister and I being left to raise my brother–who was born ten years after us at a time when my parents were massively broke and needed to work a lot. We taught him to do the laundry before he started kindergarten. There were a lot of times when he’d drop the entire heavy bottle of Tide into the machine…or worse on the floor…a lot of time when sweaters would shrink to the size of doll clothes…lots of missing sock matches because the guy couldn’t reach to the bottom fo the machine without hoisting himself half in.
However, he’s 18 now and he seriously folds t-shirts like he’s the manager of the Gap. At his graduation party, my mom said that she didn’t realize how crappy her washing machine was because she hadn’t even looked at the thing in over 10 years….seems like your 8-year-old might be looking for a summer project??
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Remind me never to take up spam-writing as a career… OUCH!
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There is an old episode of the Twilight Zone where Sonny Bono, who is a hippy, enters a room that looks like a 1940’s vintage livingroom. There is a nice grandparent type couple there. They try to feed Sonny, play their music for him, show him their vacation slides and family pictures, talk about their ailments, etc. Sonny tries desperately to escape the room but the door won’t open. It comes out at the end that this is his own personal room in hell. That it’s his eternity to live with all the things he mistreated and put down in life. Something like that would be fitting don’t you think? We could strap them to a chair facing a computer monitor, prop their eyes open (no napping…ever) and scroll through every mommy blog entry ever written on toilet training and housework.
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You’re on WordPress — have you installed Spam Karma? I haven’t had a single comment spam get through since I installed it on my dulcimer blog.
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I think your blog is hilariously honest. Thank you for sharing your daily thoughts with a total stranger! I don’t remember how I got to your blog but I check it everyday now 🙂
Blessings,
Christine
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I hate blogger problems, almost as much as I hate spammers!
I’m not sure I will watch Britney’s Dateline tonight–I’m curious, yes, but not sure I’ll watch it. There’s something innately wrong with 24/7 news coverage…….media prying into the lives of celebrities like their role models or something! Yes, sadly, they are role models to many people. If Britney was my daughter–I would resent the intrusion. I just feel we are “dumbing down America” by all the constant attention. I wish we would focus on heroes and heroines–people we could aspire to be–instead of people who allow us to water down our values and principles.
Didn’t expect a soap-box comment–sorry! Just feeling a little grumpy I suppose on this drizzley–rainy day in Minnesota!
Makes for good entertainment–just worried about the ramifications of so much less than average behavior on TV–24/7!
🙂 Diane
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Hey thanks for the dateline reminder. I had forgotten.
A pox be upon all they who spam!
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Thinking about poor Brittany last night helped me go to sleep. I shouldn’t care what the girl has to say, it is HER private life. So what if she married a guy all the mother’s in the world knew was a jerk. I feel sorry that she had to do it in front of the world.
and I am glad you delt with the spam problem.
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I don’t know if this is what Marcy was talking about, but you can get a script that will require typing in a verification code (like Blogger).
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Hey Mel!
I love your methods of torture fro spammers! I’d like to apply the same to all politicians all over the world. The bicycle one sounds very good.
And even if you write only about landry and snot (which go with each other quite well I think..they co-exist almost)..it would be a very interesting read indeed. I look forward to everything you write about 😀
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i recently became in awe of parents, when i FINALLY started cleaning my house like a real grown-up should.
i wake up at 6:15, take a shower, eat a pb&j sandwich, maybe check some emails, and wake the boyf up at 7:05. toss our clothes in the dryer to fluff, and we’re out the door at 7:30ish. we get home at 5:30ish, and then (as of this week especially), i make dinner for us (and sometimes for his friends), and clean up after us all. then i get a load of laundry done and next thing i know it’s time for bed if i want my 8 hours in. i don’t know how you parents manage doing all that, times (insert # of kids here), and still manage to function. not even including helping with homework and last minute school projects or demands.
do you ever get more than 4 hours of sleep a night?? Miracle Moms rock, just so you know.
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I love what Stacy said about spammers personal hell. GREAT IDEA! I think hell should be that way. Does anyone know if God is taking suggestions?
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I too have been fighting spam. I noticed one of your commenters mentioned Spam Karma. I’m not sure if I tried that one. I agree with you, I too feel sorry for Britney and I don’t even like her music. LOL
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