And, of course, the day after I upgrade everything sees the release of version 3.14 with built-in server load reduction fixes for spam problems. Feh. Upgrading AGAIN.
By the way, comments are apparently on moderation until I can find some time to look at switching that off. So you won't see your comments appear until I get to them to 'approve' them or something. I think that's what the default settings are, anyhow. Once MT-Blacklist is upgraded, things might get even weirder. Bear with me.
Running Spam Total: 5197
Just upgraded to the newest version of MT for the blog: I loathe websites that enforce registration for access to the latest upgrade. Still, it's in place and is supposedly much better at spam-stopping, with MT Blacklist 2.0.
Which reminds me: I need to get that.
Running Spam Total: 5071
I have had my comments switched off this morning by the machine admins: some stupid-ass spam bot was hitting it so hard that the entire server was screwed by it. I'd love to know where the hits were coming from so I could send them a little present. F@!kheads.
Looks like authenticated comments might be necessary, which would mean upgrading to MT3, which would mean paying. Ain't gonna happen.
Running Spam Total: 4516
Good God, it's cold. Two degrees Celsius in the morning and most of the day, falling towards zero and below if one leaves the centre of the city or is out walking after midnight. Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, no less.
The electronic code on my building's external door is broken. I suspect a yeti conspiracy. I spent over fifteen minutes standing outside at around midnight last night before someone happened to come down and leave the building. Of course, that person told me that a good, solid kick would have opened the door, which made me feel pretty dumb - especially since I had reached the point where I could no longer feel my body's extremities.
Even worse, the single radiator in my apartment is insufficient to keep the place warm. It keeps the chill off, but no more. The humidity in the building and the ice-cold wind blowing outside are winning that battle. I wear two jumpers. I sit with a duvet across my knees. I have called for reinforcements: a second radiator which arrives on Saturday.
Eat that, Jack Frost.
Running Spam Total: 4330
So, imagine the scenario: a female friend sees a jacket she would like for her birthday, as a present from you. Being male and not having been there when she saw it, you have three options: go and try to buy the correct one (with the result of almost guaranteed failure), go with her and buy it once she picks it out or give her the cash to buy it. You go for the third option, since she knows what she wants.
Later on in the day, you're talking on the phone and she says she's changed her mind and doesn't really want it any more. You ask why, to which she replies that it's really not practical, just a pretty thing. You ask why again and it turns out she went and blew the money you gave her for the birthday present on girlie stuff (creams, perfumes, shampoos, magazines, nick-knacks and so on). It is an unspoken truth that she will now expect you to fork over more money for her birthday present.
Am I the only one who finds that arrogant, selfish and completely beyond any sort of logical comprehension?
Today's Spam Count: 467
Running Spam Total: 3993
Have you ever noticed how everything always comes at once? This month's like that: every bill conceivable has arrived at the same time. My bank account is squealing in pain under the strain of multiple tax bills, rent bills, food bills and goodness only knows what else.
I've also just argued with Psycho for the second time this month about money, mostly because she acts like a freaking adolescent and doesn't realise that when a bank says "you have no money", they mean it and they want you to stop spending, not to go online and order another three batches of beauty products, then come whining to me because they're harassing you. *sigh*
Thankfully, I finally tracked down the stock options I sold last month: being an American company, the brokers put the money in some kind of weird holding account over there. Presumably this is a way for them to use my money to gain a little extra while I run around in circles worrying my arse off about when my blasted funds are going to arrive. They also detached the email address to which enquiries go, so I ended up only being able to contact them by phone. Arseholes. The money should be here today or tomorrow, which will make me breathe a very heavy sigh of relief.
Today's Spam Count: 135
Running Spam Total: 3526
You shouldn't be thinking that, sicko.
Last night, I reached the point in Evil Genius where, on the second island, I have started constructing my Doomsday Device. I had to go to bed afterwards, as it was getting pretty darned late (it's so addictive, that game), but I've converted the middle of the second island into a sort of warehouse thingy for launching rockets, like in all the good Bond movies.
I've also finally managed to build a base that deals almost automatically with any intruders below the veteran soldier or super agent level, which saves me all that manual surveillance work and tagging to keep them out. Half a dozen camouflaged security guns help, as do the four overly powerful henchmen standing in the entrance corridor! I think I only have a couple of traps set up, too, since I don't need them.
All I need to do now is kill the super agents, research everything so I can play with all the funky traps... and build my Doomsday Device, of course! I'll be sad when I finish this game: it's loads of fun. Then again, I can play it through on 'Hard' afterwards and see how different it is and I still have the Rome: Total War Total Realism mod to check out!
Today's Spam Count: 122
Running Spam Total: 3391
Tomorrow's a big day at work: huge boss is coming over from the US this week, so the whole day's filled up with meetings, presentations and even a dinner in the evening. Thankfully, I'm working from home today, so I can recover a little from the first two days of the week before being wiped out!
Today's Spam Count: 163
Running Spam Total: 3269
Finally, a good night's sleep. Since being hit by that cold last week, I hadn't had a decent snooze: sleeping four or five hours a night is fine until one has to survive on that for ten days and be productive at work. Of course, that's a personal thing - there are some folks who manage with less than seven or eight hours of kip.
I was, in fact, over at Psycho's place last night but I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open. Having fallen asleep three or four times in the space of ten minutes, she suggested I go home, eat and sleep... so I did. Thrilling, huh?
Today's Spam Count: 70
Running Spam Total: 3106