We all get it and we all hate it. Some say it can actually make us sick. What is it and how do we cope?

Spam was the popular name given to a luncheon meat product made by Hormel Foods. But the term "spam" has today come to mean network abuse, especially junk E-mail. This use of "spam" comes from the Spam Skit by Monty Python's Flying Circus. In the sketch, a restaurant serves all its food with lots of spam, and the waitress repeats the word several times in describing how much spam is in the items. When she does this, a group of Vikings in the corner start singing a song: "Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam! Wonderful spam!" This goes on until they are told to shut up. Thus "spam" came to be known as something that keeps repeating and repeating itself. Today there is even a musical comedy play called Spamalot adapted from the classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail that is now playing at theaters in London and New York.

How do you deal with spam? DON'T RESPOND TO IT! That means don't click on any of the hyperlinks in it, ESPECIALLY the link that says "click here to be removed from our list". When you do that, you have just confirmed to the spammer that they reached a real person with a valid email address. This only results in one thing: MORE SPAM. Do not post your email address anywhere on the web unless it is absolutely necessary and try to use a 2nd generic email address like Hotmail or Gmail.

This includes forums, guest books, websites, newsgroups and so on. There are spam harvesters, robots that crawl the web looking for email address. The lists of email addresses are compiled and sold to companies who want to use them for only one thing: to send you SPAM.

This Month’S Puzzle

www.timtim.com/drawing.php?drawing=002053_Crossword-Puzzle-7

Print out and solve the picture crossword to find the hidden name after the arrow. The hidden name in this crossword puzzle is the name of a famous American tennis player who is also married to a famous German tennis player.

And much more available from the TimTim.com homepage

Tim Newlin
Creator of TimTim.com - Free Drawings for Classroom Use

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Spam! Spam! and More Spam!
Tim Newlin (October 2008 Gazette)

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