First of all I wanted to say to my blogging colleagues I haven’t had time this week to read my usuals. I feel bad about this; it was a strenuous work week. I plan to catch up this weekend. Spo.
Patience above! The bean-counters at WordPress shows for years Spo-reflections has a steady daily drop-by of ~ 200 readers, many well over four feet. On Thursday, this surged to 3,000 viewers and yesterday Friday saw 6,000. It turns out someone was sending the same rubbish comment consisting of word salad which was posting on every entry I’ve written for the past decade. I finally blocked the b-stard but the comments kept showing up in the trash. There were thousands of them. I played a morbid game of ping-pong deleting them in batches as soon as the villain posted them. It seems to have stopped, but I remain on guard for a counter-attack. Hanging out with The Board of Directors Here at Spo-reflections has taught me a thing or two about vigilance against invaders.
The Christmas tree is finally down and packed away. We had to slowly cut off the tightly-twined strands of lights and that was some job. We clipped away at it whenever we found time to do so. On the positive, next Christmas we can put up any type of lights we fancy and if they go kaput, they are easily replaced. I want colored lights after a decade of white ones.
Mr. R—-, the pool man, sent a bombshell of a text message informing us the pool pump has died, and the sand filter needs to be replaced as well. There are a few other matters to attend to, all to the tune of ~ 5K. Oh the pain. The usual mode of operation when something goes kaput at La Casa de Spo is to learn to live without, but this one can’t be ignored lest the cement pond grows stagnant to resemble the Orinoco. At least we have the funds, thanks to Father Spo’s Christmas check.
It was a hell of a week at work which included more insurance matters; every time I think this is done there is another glitch to imply it isn’t a go. I think the last of the impediments are cleared but I’ve thought that 4-5x so far. I feel quite drained.
That’s about all the news for now, other than I weighed in at 76.5 kilos today. On 1 January I was 78 kilos. Let’s hear it for non-living.
39 comments
January 22, 2022 at 4:41 AM
Dwight W.
I am sorry some person or thing finds pleasure in, Disrupting your blog. I’m not gonna say that a new pool pump isn’t a slight setback, but since you like to swim . That’s a good thing . I certainly hope the pool is heated. Interesting that a pool pump dies in the dead of winter. I’m not an optimist about other people telling me I need expensive repairs , but you do have more options than ten days ago.
January 22, 2022 at 7:09 AM
Urspo
the pool is not heated, which turns out to be bad in the summer months as it heats up and is no relief just when you want a cool dip. It seems every year the first dip is delayed later as the blood thins.
January 22, 2022 at 6:14 AM
David Godfrey
I had a client once, I have thousands of those stories, who drained the pool, filled it with sand and started hoarding cats. A new pump and filter are a better idea. I get spam comments, but usually a few, if you had thousands it was a bot.
January 22, 2022 at 7:09 AM
Urspo
oh the pain
January 22, 2022 at 6:52 AM
jenn
We have a pool which husband built. He is our pool man (no, it’s not his profession), and every few years something expensive has to be fixed or replaced. Do most people in your area have pools? -Jenn
January 22, 2022 at 7:10 AM
Urspo
Yes many do,
When we were looking for a house we were told not do you want a pool but what type (play or dive). The newer homes do not somewhat as they are larger things in smaller spaces no backyard for a pool.
January 22, 2022 at 7:32 AM
Robzilla, Native Of Slam Diego
I’m sorry to hear about the pool, but please get that fixed ASAP. If your homeowner’s insurance does an exterior inspection and it looks like the Everglades they’ll give you 30 days to fix that, and nothing more, before nonrenewing your policy. A “skeeter breeding ground” is a hazard.
I’m also sorry to hear about the spam comments. I get notifications of a spammer liking my comments on another WP blog. It’s creepy AF.
January 22, 2022 at 7:48 AM
Urspo
This morning I woke to find over a 1K comments in the trash. I wish there was a way to eliminate them en masse, but it looks like it can only be done 20/time – and it is continuing.
January 22, 2022 at 7:38 AM
Debra She Who Seeks
Put on your Viking helmet and repel the invading bots with fire and sword! Go full berserker if you have to!
January 22, 2022 at 7:48 AM
Urspo
I also turned on the option “no comments on anything over 7 days old”
I hope this helps
January 22, 2022 at 7:44 AM
Brian Dean Powers
I have two daily viewers, one in Iceland and one in Germany, who go directly to the same rather old post. They don’t “like” it or comment, they just go there once a day. Baffling.
January 22, 2022 at 7:48 AM
Urspo
Curious – and strange !
January 22, 2022 at 9:05 AM
Anne
Oh, the utter joy of seeing the scale move in the correct direction. It is such a struggle after 40.
And the spamming. Oh my. I am strictly a liberal arts type person and can barely do the very basics on my laptop. It’s so embarrassing when people give me the simplest of advice on what to do and I look at them blankly. So if I were suddenly forced to battle the spammer huns I believe I would throw the laptop forcibly out into the yard and take up pen and paper to communicate with ~200 of my favorite strangers.
January 22, 2022 at 9:23 AM
Urspo
I felt likewise these past three days. I hope by turning off comments for entries older than 7 days this stops the miscreant.
I think we made a mistake to come down from the trees and bang the rocks together.
January 22, 2022 at 10:42 AM
Ron
I felt the same way. For several years I was bombarded with spam on my blog. I tried several things to stop it. Nothing. Eventually I just gave up. Occasionally I get one of those spam bot replies but not much lately. Suspect they went on to greener pastures like a popular blog like Spo’s. I think it’s not so much they’re after you per say but after a blog where they can get a lot of exposure. That’s not my blog but it is Spo’s.
January 22, 2022 at 9:17 AM
Moving with Mitchell
Yay non-living! Years ago, our pool needed all of the above and more. We were already in a home-improvement hole. The estimate was 10K. We considered filling it in. The estimate was 10K! The hole got bigger. No check from Dad that time.
January 22, 2022 at 9:24 AM
Urspo
A testimony!
I know at least two people in the neighborhood who did just that, viz. filled in the pool as not used and too $$$. They are not passive things but need constant attention.
January 22, 2022 at 9:37 AM
Lori Hawkins
We had a pool when we lived in Florida and it was a money pit. I would not have another one. Luckily the aquatic center is just down the street so whenever I want to swim in the summer it’s 5.00 a trip. Much cheaper than a pool.
January 22, 2022 at 1:35 PM
Urspo
yes there are advantages having a pool elsewhere.
However there is one benefit of the home type: midnight dips just before bed, without care. (no moon better).
January 22, 2022 at 10:39 AM
Ron
WHAT? You’re not reading my blog posts? Actually no problem. I don’t think anybody reads them. I rarely get a comment. Either I’m boring as hell or I’m in the netherlands of the Blogosphere. Whatever, it feels very lonely over at my blog now. No matter though, my blog continues to fulfill it’s therapy value to me by writing about ME.
January 22, 2022 at 1:35 PM
Urspo
I am on my way today !
January 22, 2022 at 3:06 PM
Ron
You do KNOW I am kidding? Some people take me serious with my self involved rants. I don’t even take myself seriously these days. Times running out. No time for that foolishness. Enjoy each day. After eighty years, I’ve given up on trying to make EVERYONE like me. Just ain’t going to happen. Those who I care about seem to care about me, and in the end isn’t that all that matters?
January 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM
Parnassus
I’ve had those weird situations too with my blog of getting thousands of views in one day, all from some country where I don’t have any (at least not many) genuine readers. I have not checked my stats lately, but I just looked and there are several weird spikes in the last few months of over 1000 views, even though I have not posted in a long time. In fact, whether I post or not seems to have no measurable effect on viewing statistics.
–Jim
January 22, 2022 at 1:35 PM
Urspo
I drop by regularly hoping to see you post; I enjoy them so when you do.
January 22, 2022 at 12:38 PM
Will Jay
So sorry to hear of your bot infection. Hope it clears up in time.
Good luck fixing the cement pond. Much better to do this now so that when you and Someone decide to sell the house and move to Los Casas de Los Nature’s Bachelors (Mitchell, could you be a dear and please translate properly?) in Palm Springs, the house will be ready.
Good health to you and your family.
Will Jay
January 22, 2022 at 1:36 PM
Urspo
Mr. R is coming over today to tell us all the damage and the bill. I suppose we are lucky no major matters have occurred since 2005. I suppose it is a matter of time.
January 22, 2022 at 1:15 PM
Glenda
Land sakes! A cement pond in your backyard. We make do with a spray attachment on the garden hose. No striking oil here.
January 22, 2022 at 1:38 PM
Urspo
What comes out of the hose in summer is hot enough to steep tea; no fun that!
I remember setting up a lawn sprinkler that sort of resembled the fan of a dimetrodon and it waved back and forth. We would run around it; it was quite refreshing.
January 22, 2022 at 3:03 PM
Anne
I can outdo you and Glenda. When I was a kid we played in the water that was squirting out of a street side fire hydrant, that is until the fire department arrived to shut it off. And yes it was on the streets of New York.
January 22, 2022 at 4:47 PM
BadNoteB
I was so excited at the prospect of owning a swimming pool when I relocated from an alpine climate to an oasis in the Mojave over 20 years ago. I moved at the early stages of a housing shortage, however, when property selections in desirable neighborhoods were limited and none of the available homes during a 2-month search offered swimming pools. I remember my disappointment in “settling” for a nice house with backyard access and adequate lot size to eventually construct a dream cement pond of my own.
As I began sharing my excitement of the design phase with friends and business acquaintances in the area, I was stunned and disappointed to discover that those who owned pools generally wished they didn’t! Common wisdom indicated pools were a LOT of work to maintain, unless routine maintenance was hired, in which case they became a major monthly expense to fund. A significant number of owners mentioned utility/operating costs being higher than ever imagined and, without exception, everyone with a pool over 5 years old cursed continual repairs as budget-breaking. Most shocking was the admission that most owners didn’t use their pools daily (or even regularly), viewing them as little more than backyard decor to enhance an occasional patio get-together with friends.
So I abandoned the dream and have learned to satisfy myself with a few trips each year to Palm Springs where I can rent the fantasy of ownership and around the clock enjoyment at a fixed daily rate.
So sorry to read the report and estimate on your pond. And I’m stunned that anyone could be so bored with life as to spam someone’s blog. Good grief – I trust this will merit 5-slaps on Wednesday!
January 22, 2022 at 6:07 PM
Urspo
On the positive: the $$ repairs are being done on equipment over 20 years old. Mr. R was astounded they lasted as long as they had. What is being used is far more efficient for cleaning, maintenance, and electric- and the electric company will give a a $ break for doing this all. A better running pool will ? lead to more use. Let us hope so.
January 22, 2022 at 4:55 PM
Richard Portman
Only people who like you will follow and be interested in what you say. Friends. I am sorry about the numbers. I like visiting your blog. It is good. Sometimes i even wonder, what would Spo say about this?
I appreciate this blog. My ways are different and i disagree sometimes. But i enjoy visiting.
January 22, 2022 at 6:09 PM
Urspo
I am pleased as Punch Mr. Portman that you are there, reading. I am glad to see your comments. I hope never to always write stuff people are going to agree with! It is hoped though we don’t kiss each other off over a disagreement; there is far to much of that these days. Hugs.
January 22, 2022 at 5:16 PM
Pipistrello
The robots in the blogosphere are curious creatures and I do wonder what is the point of their existence if they don’t follow Asimov’s Laws of Robotics. Although he was not specific about whether being a nuisance breaches the First Law.
January 22, 2022 at 6:09 PM
Urspo
Nice reference, that. I remember Mr. A’s robot rules and they were good reads.
January 23, 2022 at 12:16 AM
Linda Practical Parsimony
Your weight is not bad. How tall are you?
January 23, 2022 at 6:52 AM
Urspo
well over four feet.
January 23, 2022 at 4:09 AM
Hugh W. Roberts
Please, never feel bad about not visiting other blogs. I don’t think any blogger frets over you not visiting. If they do, then maybe you need to think hard about why you’re following them. Life sometimes gets in the way, and, as far as I know, there are no rules about how often you should visit a blog. Visit when you can. That way, blogging will stay fun.
January 23, 2022 at 6:53 AM
Urspo
I am always glad to hear from you Hugh
I have to remind myself blogging/writing is my hobby. It’s one thing to put up with a fretful job but a fretful hobby makes now sense. hohoho