I guess that is pronounced "shpam"

An increasing amount of the spam I receive in my email is in German. It is very annoying that the spam filters on both of my usual email accounts do not recognize it as such. The spam filter at work is more effective. In fact, it also catches all the Russian spam I receive.

Not sure if this was intentional ....

The cubicles at work are such that I can hear every word my next door neighbor says.

He has two daughters, named Alison and Katherine.

Yesterday, I heard him call home. I guess he wasn't sure about which daughter answered the phone as I heard him ask, "Alli? Kat?"

(He does also have two cats, by the way. I am not sure if they are alley cats.)

Today's news

1) Robert Seamans, Jr. has passed away. Not only was he a former Secretary of the Air Force (or SecAF, as we say in Pentagon as a second language), but he was the dean of the engineering school at MIT during much of my time there.

2) Apparently, there will soon be laptop cases on the market which are designed so you won't have to take your laptop out of the bag at airport security. The catch is that TSA is not going to certify any of them as such. I predict a new source of: a) delays at checkpoints and b) airport rage.

Don't Sniff the Cork ...

As some of you know, I am fond of puns and often use them as a basis when selecting wines to buy. (Which mostly proves that I know nothing about wine, but that's besides the point.)

I once gave a friend a gift that included both Marilyn Merlot and Blockheadia Ringnosii.

Lately, I've been fond of 7 Deadly Zins.

In the store this evening, I ran across the best name yet. There is a wine for sale right at my local Safeway called Screw Kappa Napa.