Skeptics' Circle 116

Yep, I'm in the Skeptics' Circle again, this time hosted at Beyond the Short Coat. Of course, if you're finding out about it here, you've probably already read my entries, but you should read all the other skeptic goodness, too.

Why Fighting Creationism is Important

Some people are far more eloquent than I, and they have also learned video editing.

Is this transparent or what?

How about another scam email? This one wants me to give away my email account password. Of course, the most obvious giveaway was that it didn't even have a Charter return address. The shoddy grammar and total lack of the usual Charter branding in the formatting of the email don't help.

This message is to inform all our CHARTER email account owners that we are currently upgrading our data base and e-mail account center.We are deleting all unused CHARTER email account to create more space for new accounts.

To prevent your CHARTER account from closing you will have to update it
below so that we will know that it's a present used account.

CONFIRM YOUR EMAIL IDENTITY BELOW
Email Address:...............
Password:..................
Date of Birth :.................

Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his or her account will lose his or her account permanently.

Thanks For your understanding.
Charter Communication

No, you may not have my email address, password, and date of birth for use in your identity theft schemes, moron.

Lim Yang: Parter in Crime

It's about time I made use of a scam email that's been sitting in my mailbox since March.

My proposition to you is to seek your consent, A deceased client of mine, that shares the same last name as yours, who died as the result of heart-related conditionin March 12th 2007. His heart condition was due to the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on the 26th December 2004 in Sumatra Indonesia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake.

I have contacted you to assist in distributing the money left behind by my client before it is confiscated or declared unserviceable by the bank where this deposit valued at Nineteen million dollars (US$19million dollars) is lodged. This bank has issued me a notice to contact the next of kin, or the account will be confiscated. I will like you to acknowledge the receipt of this e-mail as soon as possible via my private email [deleted].

Best regards,
Lim Yang
Attorney at Law

Yeah, right. A lawyer is going to be dumb enough to ask a stranger to help him embezzle money from a bank just because I happen to have the same last name as his client.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- people with millions of dollars in the bank have estate plans; any fortune they have in a bank account is not going to be left hanging with no one to claim it. The deceased in this particular scam had three years to figure out how to dispose of his millions upon his death.

People who send these emails count on the world being full of gullible morons to receive them.

Darth Hammer

Saw this first from Elwyn on his LiveJournal...


EMBED-MC Hammer Vader Busts a Move - Watch more free videos

My brain hurts, now.

Food Porn: Jamaican Escovitch

Sometimes I think I watch the Food Network too much. Earlier this week, I watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and the dish in question was Jamaican Escovitch. It just sounded so good that I had to make it, and I must say, it turned out really well. In fact, it may be the best fish dish I've ever eaten, let alone prepared myself.

So I looked it up on the internet to see how it's made. I have a few tweaks (using tips from the chef in the Throwdown episode), so here's what's in mine:

• 3 tilapia fillets (about 3/4 of a pound)
• 1 large onion
• 1 medium carrot
• half of a Scotch Bonnet pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoons canola oil
• half of a bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp Allspice berries (optional)
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/8 cup water
• 1-1/2 limes, sliced into wedges
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup peanut or corn oil
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns (optional)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 cup brown sugar

With the exception of adding the brown sugar when adding the water, vinegar, and lemon juice, the process is pretty much what you can read at GroupRecipes.com, so I'll let you follow the link for that part so they can get their hits.

And incidentally, Bobby lost.

UPDATE: As suggested at GroupRecipes.com, Escovitch does make a nice cold lunch.