I planned to go big on the eve of my 10,000th spam message.

I wanted to post that message and celebrate with you. I was going to have colourful balloons, fortified wine and potato salad left over from last summer. Mmmmm.

But alas, I forgot. You know, stupid things like work, little typists, sleep. These things always get in the way.

Today I discovered that my milestone had come and gone. I’m now at 10,124 spam. Apparently a lot of Hamster Cage sites think my blog is “very interesting.” Naughty sites of every description, taste and orientation invite me to visit their sites for some “interesting information.”

And then there are the hair products sites, promising me more hair, better hair, interesting hair. Or just hair.

Occasionally, as Dick discovered, legitimate commentators end up in the digital junk heap.

But the real hero of this story is the modern spam filter, without which we’d all be doomed to the hamster cage heap of obscurity.