Bromosexuals

“Look man, we’re both dudes. I don’t want to hear about how you think I’m cool to hang out with or that you like my hair. Let’s not dwell on the little things and just hang out.”

Everyone knows the type of guy I wish I could say this to. I’m talking about the dude who wants to hang out with you just a bit too much for it to be considered normal. Through actions or comments you get the clear impression that someone has a man-crush on you. Next thing you know, you find yourself in awkward moments of harmless adoration. And it really should be considered a compliment. But guys aren’t chicks. The fact that we hang out is all the approval we need.

The other day a guy I was drinking with actually mentioned that I had a nice waistline, guessed the size, and then said he wished he was as lucky. That was about all the bromance I could handle for the night. Seriously, how was I supposed to respond to that?

And there are worse cases out there. I meet a guy from work out at bars once in a while and he works out and has a pretty stout physique. One time I was standing by the bar with him when a guy walked by on his way out and said, “Wow, what do you feed these things?” and grabbed his pecs!!! Where the hell did that come from? I wasn’t even involved in the incident and I was uncomfortable. My buddy tells me that type of thing happens all the time and I have personally witnessed as much on two other occasions to back up that claim.

Not cool, brother. You’re not being friendly, you’re being creepy. You’re not being funny, you’re being sad. And you are definitely behaving outside the acceptable norms.

So whether this is a call for all you bromosexuals to stop the madness, or simply just calling you out, please find a way to temper your affection or you might find yourself on the wrong end of a break up.

“Really, it’s not you, it’s me. No, no. Wait. It’s you.”

Comment Spam

Spam on the internet is a funny thing. It is brute-force marketing combined with con artist trickery designed for the sole purpose of getting a click-through. Sometimes the whole thing is a scam to try and get your money. Other times there is a computer virus in wait for you to open a security hole. And like it or not, in some cases it is just a low-budget (and sleazy) way for actual companies with actual products to get to you. The sad part is, if it wasn’t for the fact that spam messages are so numerous and annoying, they can actually be quite amusing.

What started out as simple email has gotten much more sophisticated. Email addresses get spidered off websites. Pop-up ads multiply. New MySpace friend requests turn out to just be porn in disguise. Forums get bombarded with fake posts. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, even blogs and web pages that accept user input can fall victim to spam. If you ever wonder why I require registration or approval to comment on this site (for the 3 people reading) then let me give you a basic example.

Comment: BUY VIAGGRA FOR DICK LONG!! LADIES SAY YES!!

Cute. But let’s face it people, no matter how much we may all want dick long, we’re pretty desensitized to this type of spam. What is a poor peddler of unsolicited junk to do? Well, first off, the poor English skills need to start getting fixed. But digging deeper into the spammer’s bag of tricks, one sees the need to blend in.

Comment: Thanks for the interesting information.

From: BUY VIAGRA NOW!!!

Ha ha! Well, it’s great to see them give it a try, anyway. What I absolutely love are the times the select few go the extra mile and give 110%, and other work-ethic metaphors. This is what a kind reader posted about my Barbeque Pizza observations.

Comment: Hi, Congratulations to the site owner for this marvelous work you’ve done. It has lots of useful and interesting data.

From: <insert spam link here>

Priceless.