Gotterspammerung

I called the nation's largest Internet service providers to check what they plan to do just in case the German spam attack lasts longer than anticipated. Most of them haven't called back yet, but I will provide an update when we have more information.

On a side note: Press coverage is light so far on the outbreak because it happened over the weekend. There are several reports on some English-language sites, including "The Mystery of the Right-Wing German Spam." Several German-language sites have short reports wenn Sie Lust haben, Deutsch zu lesen . One is "You've Got Nazi Mail!" in Der Spiegel. Another is located at this Swiss site. Finally, here is one from Austria.

Cell Phone Explosion!

More than 6 percent of American households no longer contain a land-line phone but contain at least one mobile phone, the Associated Press reports. The survey, prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was based on in-person interviews with more than 37,000 people conducted in the second half of 2004. The AP noted that cell-phone-only adoption is happening more quickly among young adults, people living with unrelated roommates, and people who live alone.

One interesting note on this development: Public-opinion researchers are having trouble taking the nation's temperature because of the rising rate of people who ditch their old-timey telephones to go completely wireless. The AP quoted the CDC's Stephen Blumberg: "The polling community needs to come up with a strategy sooner rather than later." A version of the story carried in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram said radio-ratings company Arbitron is experimenting with cell phone surveys. And we thought we were finally safe.

The Kansas City Star, meanwhile, makes a persuasive argument against getting too cuddly with cell phones: "Government and cell phone experts [Friday] issued new consumer warnings to avoid injuries from exploding cell phone batteries. The warnings stem from about 83 reports of consumers who were injured from burns and explosions caused by defective and counterfeit cell phone batteries. Though the number of injuries remains low, in light of the fact there are 170 million cell phone users in the nation, government and industry experts say there was a need for warnings, said Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission."

The agency recommends that consumers avoid buying batteries or chargers from Web sites that might sell incompatible or counterfeit items, the Star reported.

'Dig' Your Own Grave

The Charlotte Observer's Dan Huntley found the Internet's ultimate expression of the do-it-yourself philosophy: "If you want to build your own casket, a good place to begin is with a set of plans. For $15 you can buy a "Wood Casket Plan" from the Rockler Woodworking Superstore, www.rockler.com (and click to plans) or call (800) 279-4491. Dozens of companies sell handmade wooden caskets, starting around $400. For more information, try www.thepinebox.com or www.newmelleray.org."

Huntley quotes someone named Max Craig without explaining who he is, but the quote is a beauty all the same: "Everyone prefers not to think about death, and that's natural. ... But you have to be buried in something, and you might as well be comfortable with it because you're gonna be spending a lot of time there."

Before the Backspace

You might think that the correction fluid industry would have been completely whited out by the widespread adoption of the computer, but products like Wite-Out and Liquid Paper still constitute the bedrock of a $120 million industry, the New York Times reported: "The bottle 'seems to bring a sense of comfort throughout the day as one is bombarded with endless electronic chaos and communication,' said Sonya Thompson, marketing coordinator at Thomas Nelson Inc., a publishing company in Nashville. Ms. Thompson said she didn't really use much correction fluid, but she added, 'I find it necessary to have in my desk drawer due to nostalgia.' At BIC USA in Milford, Conn., Ellen Iszczyszyn, the national product manager for Wite-Out, the closest competitor to Liquid Paper, said the more prosaic uses of correction fluid include covering mistakes on letters, memos and envelopes, and updating information on Rolodex cards."

If only they made a version that blotted out German spam.

Breaking News: Supreme Court Lets the Wine Flow

States may not pass laws that block wineries from shipping wines directly to customers in other states, the U.S. Supreme Court just ruled in a 5-4 decision. The court in its ruling called bans by New York and Michigan discriminatory and anti-competitive, the The Washington Post reported.