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Spamtards as a Source of Humor

By Andy, on February 9th, 2010

Anyone who has a blog deals with spam comments. Wiki says:

Spam in blogs (also called simply blog spam or comment spam; note blogspam has another, more common meaning, namely the post of a blogger who creates no-value added posts to submit them to other sites) is a form of spamdexing. It is done by automatically posting random comments or promoting commercial services to blogs, wikis, guestbooks, or other publicly accessible online discussion boards. Any web application that accepts and displays hyperlinks submitted by visitors may be a target.

Adding links that point to the spammer’s web site artificially increases the site’s search engine ranking. An increased ranking often results in the spammer’s commercial site being listed ahead of other sites for certain searches, increasing the number of potential visitors and paying customers.

So that explains why the spamtards (  Some of my Yankee friends us the word F@#$&tard to describe an incredibly inept, stupid “F”up. Spamtard is sorta like that)   do it.  Here is what happened recently.  I got what I thought was a spam comment about one of my Wilson Amplifier posts.  Since I wrote about 20,000 original words about my Extreme Internet Setup,  the Search Engines love me.  The comment was a seemingly innocuous statement that agreed with my post and it was posted by a Wilson Electronics dealer; it also had a URL  embedded in the comment.  That set off the alarms and I went to the dealer’s website and challenged him as to why he was a spamtard and spamming my blog. he might’ve been a Yankee ’cause he never even asked what a spamtard was.

I got a very gracious and well written email back from the owner of the company.  He said they had recently hired an individual off of one of those freelancer websites that promised to increase their exposure and their rankings in the search engines.   I had done my homework and here is what I sent back  to him ( I will refer to him as Wilson Guy):

Indian Sweatshop

  • The only way to increase your search engine results is through original content. You website is nothing but product info copied from the Wilson corporate site. Don’t expect miracles unless you put the work in. Writing original copy is tough work.
  • Your “expert” is located in India.  I got that because the ISP is listed in the comment.
  • Your “expert”  evidently Googled “Wilson cellular amplifiers”  and then  spammed the top 50 results that Google returned.
  • A search on your experts Gmail address showed he has done this many hundreds of times for a variety of  different subjects.  Gmail is the haven for scoundrels and thieves and always sets me on alert.

Wilson Guy sent me an email back and said the “expert” had been sent packing and he was very apologetic to the point of offering me a substantial discount on any future Wilson purchases.

All the spam comments listed below are actual ones I have received here.

Spam comments are usually very generic –Spamtards are stupid and smart at the same time.

I love this blog

I don’t usually comment on blog posts but I needed to drop in and say thanks for posting this, I fully agree and with some luck other people will see your argument.

See, very generic and they could apply to any post subject. The humor comes in when the English as a second language thing kicks in or they just don’t really understand WTF they are talking about.

Sometimes different people have assignments to perform the written essays about this good post. But a lot of them are not very good essays writers. Thence, what should they do in this case? I instantly propose to buy essay from the online writing services.

OR

Genial fill someone in on and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you for your information.

But the real corkers go like this:

Will it be alright to use on sensitive teeth?

OR

Nice website. Great read.-By the way, if you get a moment, check out my Cross Dressing Website

OR

Oh my god you will not belief this. Our stupid puppy simply just farted on my arm!? I mean what is the problem with this!? I give food to that thing and I get this in return. I still can not belief that. Anyway, you have quite a few useful facts there in your posting. I knew Yahoo are going to take me to some useful stuff today :) . Ok need to hunt this pet now! Have a good evening you all!

Which may or may not be related to a comment received the previous day…

This is a bit off topic. We as Dog owners, have we ever thought about how much dog waste is being sent to the landfills? Use flushable dog poop bags. EPA recommends flushing dog waste as the best method of disposal.

I can’t make this stuff up- Good thing I have a good spam filter catching this crap and I can deal with it when I want a laugh.

End Note: Barbie Doll by Jack Ingram from the Unleashed Live album. Back in the day when Jack was still doing the Texas dancehall circuit and hadn’t heard the siren song from Trashville.

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February 9th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Miscellaneous, soapbox | Leave a comment

Who's Gonna Stop the Rain?

By Andy, on February 8th, 2010


Sometimes I think of our projects as a battle- a battle against

The "fixed" water crossing

the elements and a battle against the terrain. Having access to earth moving equipment gives me an advantage of “fixing” things to make life easier. The drive way into this location was a mess when I first pulled the Old Girl into the property. An improper culvert installation had caused the driveway to be cut by a fast flowing creek. I applied a quick, temporary fix in short order with the Deere 750B dozer as seen in the first picture.

My "fix" is washed away in short order

It wasn’t a day or two later that Mother Nature trumped my “fix” and washed my improved driveway somewhere down the creek. We can control alot of things on these jobs but the weather is not one of these items.

Boondocking with no amenities is tough.  Boondocking when the weather precludes most outside activities is mentally tough.  Boondocking when you are stranded by high water and can’t even leave the property just sucks.

My bother and I had a timetable when we pulled out of the mostly completed job in Newton County, TX.  I always want to know how long I will have to do the extreme boondocking. The Old Girl does have her limits – and so do I.

The time line looked like this:

  • Septic install in 2-3 days.
  • Power ran into the RV parking area within 2 weeks.
  • Water — most likely never

Well, 2 weeks into the new project and nada.  The weather was not cooperating at all!  It was too wet to dig the holes and trenches necessary for the septic tank and leach line install.  It was too wet to clear additional right of way with the dozer for the power company.  3″ of rain earlier this week and additional rain forecast  forced me to re-assess my situation.  After 10 days in the Old Girl, the black tank is almost at capacity.  If I remained there, I would have to either use a portable tote to pump the tank or take the Old Girl off location to dump the tank.  Neither option appealed to me.  I have serious doubts as to whether I can even negotiate the low water crossing in the RV.  I am using 4 wheel drive to cross it in the Suburban. I am using $7 – $9 worth of propane per day and it is getting expensive with no  income to offset it.   The weather report says more rain forecast in the next 7 days.

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor and I decided I needed to retire from the field of battle for awhile.    Seriously, the stick house in South Dallas is only 130 miles away with home cooking and a big screen TV.   I am outta here!  Plans are to return in 4 days to check on everything and install some new tires on the Suburban at Discount Tire in College Station.  Navigating this mud with 2 year old, worn tires is just a little too much of an adrenaline rush.  I need to get some fresh tires on the Suburban ASAP.

End Note: The most played song on my Zune is Out of Control by Dave Alvin off the Ashgrove album.

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February 8th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , | Category: Boondocking | Leave a comment

Function trumps Aesthetics

By Andy, on February 7th, 2010


I have had several ask about what the inside of the Old Girl looks like. After my Tobacco Road post , the requests multiplied.  I guess my quips about a couch on the front porch and a car on blocks made them think maybe the interior of my RV looked like a bad episode of Hoarders.  So this is my tell all.  I will preface it by saying I am not a neat freak but I do like everything in its’ place where I can find it.  Sometimes when the GF and Ranger, the Wonder Dog come to visit, I feel like I need one of those PODS things delivered so I can store all of my stuff out of the way for their visit.

Because of the magic of the Internet I can give you a photo tour of the innards of the Fish Bus.

The forward view of the Old Girl

Looking forward,  The Buddy Heater is busy keeping me warm. The cooler in the front aisle is an 12v electric cooler which is handy for cold beverages, it manages to keep a Miller Lite just about right.  I can’t use it  hardcore boondocking  because it is a power hungry rascal.  And of course, just to the right in the pic is the dinette where all the thinking happens.

The other side of the Dinette with essentials at hand

The other side of the Dinette with essentials at hand

The off side of the Dinette serves as storage for essential items.  The OGIO backpack AKA Man Purse ready to be loaded with a change of drawers and socks at a moment’s notice. Other Man Purse essentials close at hand  — a carton of Marlboro Lights and a Colt Government Model.  Notice how my gun leather is mis-matched; one tan and one black?   Function folks, aesthetics be damned :) .  I always have a stack of hardback books on hand.   Those electronic readers don’t do much for me.

The Old Girl's Door

The  door of the Old Girl is a busy place.  Leather gloves peaking out from under the chair and another pair in the chair seat  – not namby-pamby effete thin lambskin gloves- no sir, big ol’ thick cowhide gloves that allow you to grab barb wire fences with impunity!  A 1952 Ithaca Model 37 12 gauge and a bandoleer of Ithaca food.   2 pairs of work  boots; the black boots are old and worn out and serve as “mud” boots now.  The tan Red Wings are the “good” boots but they actually look pretty muddy too.  I am glad they are different colors so I can tell them apart.

The coat locker.

Working outside, you have to have an assortment of coats and vests and insulated coveralls with names like Carhartt and Dickies.   Notice the Stack O’ Hats and the Stack O’ Coveralls all neatly arranged because I knew we were having company.  In the warm weather, these goods are stowed under the sofa.  I love the warm weather because this area is then transformed into my  trendy Media Room.  You don’t need a big screen when you are sitting that close so it works out nice.

Looking toward the rear of the Dolphin 32d

Old school recreational vehicle living.  No slides, marble floors or mirrored ceilings.  Just 200 sq ft +/- of utility space.  The shower is on the left and the WC on the right.

Fish Bus bedroom

Warm flannel sheets and a thick down comforter for those cold boondocking nights when the heat is minimal.  The quilt was handmade by my Mom back in the 70’s for the sleeper cab on my 18 wheeler.  I have used it ever since.  It is getting sorta tatty with age but I will use it until the last patchwork square deteriorates and blows away in a puff of cotton dust.

On that warm fuzzy, we will end the tour of the Old Girl.  Watch your step on the way out, the mud porch is pretty slick from the rain.

End Note: Tonight from the  Zune files we have a double header:

Brimstone Rock by 16 Horsepower from the Low Estate album

Let There Be Rock by the Drive-By Truckers from the Southern Rock Opera album

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February 7th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Miscellaneous | 3 comments

OCD Behaviour in the Boondocks

By Andy, on February 6th, 2010

Wednesday morning I woke up in my RV and the  gray light was just starting to seep in the windows. An insistent beeping had awakened me…  the Norcold refrigerator yet again!  WTF?  Deja Vu.  This sucked!  Shaking off the sleep, I  looked at the Trimetric and it showed 11.2 volts.  How could that be???  I had gone to bed the previous night with adequate ( I thought) amps banked in the batteries.  Obviously not!

Rain

Continue reading OCD Behaviour in the Boondocks


February 6th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Category: Boondocking, Electrical, Equipment, Upgrades | One comment

Non-specific Critter Control

By Andy, on February 5th, 2010

One of the common questions I get is ” Are you scared to be by yourself way out in the middle of nowhere when you boondock?” In a word, NO. I may offend some of my more liberal leaning readers, PETA advocates and other causes with acronyms in lieu of meaningful names but it just is what it is. I don’t even think about apologizing for my viewpoints any more.  I am

Continue reading Non-specific Critter Control


February 5th, 2010 | Tags: , , , | Category: Boondocking, Miscellaneous | 4 comments

Good Folks

By Andy, on February 5th, 2010

I don’t make a habit of endorsing things I do not believe in.  I am certainly not a trendy type guy. Lord help! 

The propane tank at Country RV north of Bryan,TX

Since I got to Calvert, my Generac propane generator has been swilling propane like a drunken sailor on leave. I needed a good source of propane to feed the beast.

I found it at  Country RV, just north of Bryan, TX on

Continue reading Good Folks


February 5th, 2010 | Tags: , , , , | Category: Miscellaneous | 7 comments
 
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