Spamorama!

I've been keeping el bloggo here for over five years, and in that time I have received the occasional spam email coming to the account I have set up for the blog. You fellow run-bloggers know the type: "Hi, I'm Miss So-and-So! Just visited Running into the Sun as I was looking through fitness and health blogs. Thanks for the motivation, inspiration and excellent reads, I enjoy your posts very much! I was wondering if you would post a link to my web site, Blah Blah Blah dot com..."

Et cetera.

Often the web site, product, or angle these emails want me to promote has NOTHING to do with running or anything else I have ever written about on el bloggo, like the guy who wanted me to plug his outdoor furniture web site, or the one I got for mental health treatment programs.

A few months ago I got this one:

I came across your site while researching information on the flu, and wanted to make sure I had the right email for you. My blog just released a really cool resource that has a lot of information about the aggregate cost of the flu and I wanted to send it along to you. Does this look like something you’d want to share on your site?

The only time I wrote about the flu was when I thought I had it in early 2009.

In early October I got a very creative one from a nice gentleman in Nigeria who wanted me to send him Bibles.

May this letter find you blessed in Christ. I am writing from West Africa and it is a blessing getting to you in the other part of the world. It is my prayer that you become a friend of me and the local church here.  I also want you to note that all I’m asking for from you is niether silver nor gold but God’s holy book. Meeting one through the internet especially now that all evil abounds in it can be very distrusting but mine is all about God and outside of it nothing.

After several hundred more words, he finally got to the point:  

The reason why I am writing is to appeal for your assistance in the area of a Study Bible which will be of help to me in my research and study of the bible as well as lesson preparation as a pastor. My request is for your help for 6 copies of Large print Dake Annotated Reference bibles. Thank you for considering this request. And as you help to meet this kingdom need the Lord will bless you finance abundantly. If you send the bibles through post office a registered postage the bibles will get to us safely.

Sure. I'll get right on that!

Although...at least he wasn't trying to give me millions of dollars from an orphaned Nigerian bank account. 

The one which hit my inbox yesterday is what prompted me to write this post and share the absurdity of unsolicited spam email. Perhaps by posting this crap it will serve as a warning to other people who would like to spam me. Note to spammers: I laugh in your general direction. I will never plug your web site or product on my blog. I don't do reviews or giveaways. I think you're all idiots. Leave me alone.

Damn, did I just dry up my well of potential targets of scorn? Wait...I take it back! You're all AWESOME!

Dear Colleague, 

It’s election season, and it’s time to let your voice be heard – not just about the candidates you support, but also about the doctors you most appreciate. Vote up the physicians you like best today in HealthTap’s Top Doctor Competition. Tens of thousands of doctors are also participating, by voting up one another. 

All U.S. doctors are listed, so our impartial voting and ranking system will help you and your readers find the right doctor anytime, anywhere, for free. As the votes tally up, you’ll discover which doctors other users and physicians vote as “best.” Log in to HealthTap today and vote for your favorite doctor and their bedside manner, related to procedures or conditions they’re best known for. And you can even vote on your favorite aspects of your doctor’s personality (like being “caring” or “inspiring”) to highlight to the world what you appreciate about them most. For the first time ever, doctors highly rated by other doctors and patients rise in visible rankings, so you can get a clear view of the quality of care they provide, and of their bedside manner.

Helping others and showing gratitude is easy –  vote for your favorite doctors today!

Best regards,
Jeffrey Pollard, MD
Double Board Certified Surgeon
Director, HealthTap Medical Expert Network

 "Dear Colleague"? Did I obtain an M.D. and not know it?

In other, non-spam news, I managed to slip out after work yesterday for my first run in a week. The sun was out for the first time in days and the temperature was an ideal 48. Come Sunday it will be dark an hour earlier and post-work runs will not be as enjoyable. We're heading into the toughest part of the year, my friends. Dark, cold, and depressing. Stay strong out there.