That e-mail from me is not from me

Do not open any e-mail you receive from Fred Clark.

Someone or something, or something set loose by someone, has wormed its/their way into my hotmail e-mail account and is sending [No subject] messages to everyone in my contact list and to readers of this blog. I am not sending these and I do not know what they say, but they likely contain a virus so please, again, do not open them.

I really don't understand why anyone would waste their time and that of others creating a virus like this and inflicting it on the world.

Is it from boredom? Because that's just nuts. The world is a vast and glorious place. Your hometown, however small it may be, contains more secrets and mysteries and wonders than you will ever have time to explore. Your local library contains more life-changing, luminous books than you will ever have time to read. All five seasons of The Wire are out on DVD. You haven't seen even half of the AFI's 100 Greatest Movies. There's a Habitat work site within a short drive of wherever you are. And a food pantry, a farmer's market and all manner of shelters and clinics and tutoring programs in need of volunteers. There are streams, highways and creatures awaiting adoption. Your elderly neighbor could use a hand with a few chores. And if you're anywhere near my latitude, then there's garlic and kale and lettuce to be planted and weeded and tended.

What I'm saying is there's really no excuse for being bored.

Plus the world has enough problems already without people dedicating themselves to creating new ones.  So I just don't understand the impulse behind this sort of thing.

But anyway, that e-mail you just got or are about to get that says it's from Fred Clark is not from me. Don't open it.

I'm sorry for any inconvenience/headaches/crashes that may have resulted from this. Microsoft's customer service people are supposed to be addressing this problem, so we'll see how that goes, but if any IT-ish types have any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.

Meanwhile, it's September 11, so please go re-read John M. Ford's "110 Stories."