Some interesting links I encountered over the last few months, between the time I stopped importing Twitter digests and the time I started using them for linkblogging.
Call Your Mark a Sucker
My jaw just dropped at this advance fee fraud scam that showed up in the spamtraps this week. The whole thing is about how the reason you haven’t gotten your funds is because you’ve been dealing with fraudsters who have been impersonating Nigerian diplomats, police, etc., and how could you possibly be so naive?…oh, and if you’ll send me your personal information and bank details, I’ll make sure the real police clear things up so you can get your payment.
Seriously. Does this technique actually work?
Actual text of the email below the cut:
DC Comics Goes Digital
DC Comics has launched a digital comics program, starting with the iPad/iPhone and the Playstation network.
And by launched, I mean launched. As in, you can download the app and buy comics right now.
I’m really looking forward to the day when they expand this to more platforms (desktop PCs, Android and Windows–based tablets, etc) and start reaching into their back catalog. I’ve griped about the lack of Golden Age Flash reprints before, and the Bronze Age is also virtually invisible in reprints (though at least with comics from the 1970s and 1980s, you can usually find the back-issues at a reasonable price).
I haven’t had time to read all the interviews, but I’ll definitely be reading them tonight:
- Comics Alliance Interviews Jim Lee
- CBR interviews Jim Lee and John Rood
- Newsarama interviews Jim Lee and John Rood
With Jim Lee so heavily involved in this project, I can’t help but think of a moment at WonderCon this year. Saturday was the day of the iPad launch, and the Apple Store in San Francisco is just a few blocks from the convention center. Jim Lee was conspicuously missing from the DC Editorial panel. He showed up partway through the panel and stood in the Q&A line, where he planted a few questions…and then pulled out the brand-new iPad that he had stood in line for that morning!
Sadly, judging by ComiXology’s new releases, DC hasn’t brought Flash to the iPad just yet. But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.
Update: Comics Alliance has another article I won’t have time to read just yet, on why this is a big deal.
Spam template
I love seeing it when spam software doesn’t quite work. Sometimes it’s just schadenfreude, and sometimes it’s interesting to see how the templates are structured.
Here’s one that showed up in a comment spam on Speed Force:
{Hi|Hello|Hey there|Thanks}, {very|really|truly|genuinely} {cool|nice|good|interesting} {post|article|stuff}. Such {insighful|entertaining} writing is rare these days. I’ll {surely|certainly} be looking in on {this|your} {blog|site} again {soon|in the nea
It’s cut off because they managed to plug it in as the commenter name instead of the comment itself (oops!)
I haven’t decided whether to call this “flattery spam,” or “kiss-ass spam,” but my general reaction when I see these (and I’ve seen a lot of them) is, “Nice try.”
Marmaduke Killers
Movie marquee spotted a couple of weeks ago:
Quick, someone call the ASPCA!
Southern Lights…from SPAAACE!
Check this out:
It’s the aurora australis, or southern lights, seen from above! It was taken May 29, 2010 from the International Space Station. Bad Astronomy talks about what causes aurorae in the blog post where I found the picture.
Seriously: The aurora. From space. How cool is that?
Landscape Under Renovation
Irvine is dreadfully afraid you might think the dead grass is the result of poor maintenance.
Apparently, they’re also concerned that the old Grass Under Renovation signs might not be inclusive enough.