Deer are silent except for that warning cough they give, so when I want them to vamoose, I cough.

This is one of those Bud Light presents "Real Men of Genius" kind of things.   

I'll try to remember the coughing thing next time I have a deer encounter.   

The latest scam is a nebulous court order from the Chief of Police in New Delhi, India.  Apparently, I have "juvenile porn" on my computer featuring "women and minor children."  And, if I don't respond within 12 hours, they'll have no choice but to have the court do whatever they're going to do that I won't find out for 12 hours, I guess.

And their sophisticated computer systems make it impossible for people to "consciously or unconsciously" visit "juvenile porn" sites without them knowing.  Also, they are hard at work "24 hours a day, 5 days a week."

First, obviously, none of it's true.

Second, the first scam message came about two days ago, so the 12 hours has expired (unless the second eMail resets the clock?) and police from India have not come to America to arrest me.

Third, if the porn involves "women", um, wouldn't that indicate they are 18 or older? 

Fourth, if the porn involves "woman and minor children," are they looking for these women?  Because, you know, an adult doing porn stuff with minor children would be illegal.

Fifth, do a lot of people unconsciously visit child porn sites?  How does that happen?  You fall asleep and your fingers automatically know the URLs to such sites?  How did your fingers learn that?

Sixth, I mean, how serious are they if they work 24/5?  What's with that?  So, is it okay to watch child porn on the weekends because the Internet police in India take weekends off? 

Seventh, you have to respond in order to find out what the court order entails.  What kind of system is that?  I guess if the court order is to have you executed or castrated, you probably won't show up.  Then again, it's kind of like those ads that promise a price so low you have to show up to see it, which usually means it's more expensive than you want to pay and they want to be able to pressure you into buying.  So, one can assume the absence of information means bad things which would make people less likely to respond.

Seems like maybe they didn't think this scam through.

Stuff is blooming around here, but I've been sick, so I haven't been outside much.   

Hopefully I'll get well before the flowers fade so I can enjoy the spring a little.  The season arrived a week or two earlier than usual this year, but we also had some brutally cold and dry stretches during the winter, so I guess it averages out.

In the meantime, I'll just enjoy all the wonderful alien-looking plants Jan posts up.   

So sorry you haven't been able to get into the garden to enjoy the flowers. I hope you'll soon be up and about again. 

You do realize that no one wants pianos these days and mostly one has to pay to have them hauled away to the dump? The innards of a piano that is old have to be completely replaced, so the value of an antique piano is usually in its case only. Nice wood, special wood, interesting design, etc. We have one in the family: a grand piano, although thank god not a concert grand, which runs even larger nearly 100 years old. It takes up a lot of space in a modest living room in the kind of modest house that doesn't have a "great room" or a "family room." The problem is, the person it was willed to has such serious tinnitus that it is never played anymore. So it is rotting from the inside, and meanwhile there's too much sentimental value attached to it to let it go. We know someone who ended up chopping up a piano to get rid of it economically. It may come to that.

So, no, you do not want a piano. It is the modern equivalent of a white elephant--the original white elephant, that is.

They've been targeting retirement homes in SA. My friend's retirement home was scammed. They thought a piano would be a lovely addition to their entertainment. The committee even discussed where it would go. 

Thanks everyone.   

It's always good to know I can rely on members on WS for advice.