Busy, cold

Winter is officially here: the first snowfall of the year is expected in Allgäu (north of Lake Constance) today, the snow-line will be down to 1000 metres above sea level in much of the South by the middle of the week. It's still well above freezing in all of Germany, currently about 14°C here in town.

It's 11:40 and I haven't yet had breakfast. I've been on the phone since 9am; every time one call nears its natural end, the other phone rings and I have to ask somebody to call back. Hopefully the next caller-back will be the last, and I can have my morning cereal while it is still technically morning. Bah.

In other news has anyone else noticed the extent to which spamming has become a family business? I have spam from Norma P. Stinston, Norma R. Stinston, Norma S. Stinston, Norma U. Stinston, Norma W. Stinston, and Norma Z. Stinston; not to mention Jackie A. Whaley and her sisters B., L., N., S., T., and W. The Velasquez family only had three kids, the Chloes E., L. and T.; presumably they have to work twice as hard as the Whaleys.

Do the spammers really think that a different middle initial will magically fool our filters, not to mention our common-sense? (Maybe they're right; spam would stop overnight if people would stop falling for it.)

But the best spam of the day is from that hard-working only child Jankat Kirchmar: "Yo Udge, get rid of that self-esteem once and for all." Damn right.