LOST in the Blogosphere

Last updated on: February 4, 2008 at 12:30 pm by James F. McGrath

LOST in the Blogosphere 2008-02-04T12:30:00-05:00 James F. McGrath

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Beliefnet had a recent entry on “spiritual moments” in LOST (HT The Lead and In the Open Space). For those eager to find the latest previews and spoilers from LOST, there is a whole blog devoted to them. It looks like this week’s episode will fill us in more on the finding of Oceanic 815 (or a plane that is claimed to be Oceanic Flight 815) in the ocean. But will that be in flashbacks or flash-forwards? One question I’m still pondering is whether the storyline of the series on the island will continue to a point that overlaps with the period we’re seeing in the current flash-forwards, in which six of the survivors have made it off the island. Perhaps at some point the story will be taking place mainly back in the U.S. with flash-forwards and flashbacks of things happening on the island.

Mystical Seeker has a discussion of what “Progressive Christianity” means. Also, thanks to JPS for pointing out Lark News, a sort of Christian equivalent of The Onion. The current issue features a pastor who sold his congregation on eBay…

The Panda’s Thumb offered a challenge to cdesign proponentsists to identify human design in particular genetic strands. They were unable to rise to it. The most natural conclusion? The methods that Intelligent Design has put forward for identifying design do not work. This does not mean that one cannot find design in the genome…if one has a sense of humor.

Nick Norelli has a caption contest. Here’s the picture:

What about “This is so not what I thought Christianity would turn out like”? Maybe (in light of my next topic) one possible caption would be “I praised people for their great faith, not for their gullibility…”

That leads us here: For those who need it, here’s another scam e-mail warning. It claims that Yahoo! is simply giving away money to people who happen to have sent e-mails. What makes such a claim seem plausible to anyone is beyond me. Here’s the text of the e-mail anyway. I continue to get loads of visitors reaching this blog searching for information about such hoax e-mails. I can only hope that some of them will read things I have said about critical thinking in the past. Just searching for information about each e-mail is like treating the symptoms. Learning to think critically and not be gullible is a vaccine that will protect you from most of these phishing attempts.

This one may turn out to be particularly nasty. It asks for name, address, and other less confidential information first. Presumably this is to lure in those who know to be wary of requests for more sensitive information. But it can be presumed that anyone who answers this e-mail will get a request for a bank account number or other such information. Don’t give that information to anyone via e-mail, ever! E-mails pass through multiple computers en route to their destination, and no bank, credit card, social security or other such numbers should ever be included in an e-mail.

Here’s the text of the e-mail

_______________________________________

Yahoo/Msn Lottery Incorporation
22 Garden Close, Stamford,Lincs,PE9 2YP,
London
United Kingdom.

Dear Winner,

We are pleased to inform you of the result of the just concluded draws held on the{29 Of Jan, 2008}by Yahoo/MSN in conjunction with Myway.com and Ipod Worldwide Promotion.Your email was among the 20 Lucky winners who won 1,000,000.00{One Million Great Britain Pounds} each in the Yahoo/MSN{Microsoft} 2008 Online Promo. This draw is being organized to create and improve a larger awareness record for internet users worldwide.

However the results were released on the {2nd Of Feb,2008} and your email was attached to ticket number (7PWYZ2007) and ballot number (BT:12052007/20) The online draws was conducted by a random selection of email addresses from an exclusive list of 29,031,643 E-mail addresses of individuals and corporate bodies picked by an advanced automated random computer search from the internet. However, no tickets were sold but all email addresses were assigned to different ticket numbers for representation and privacy.

The selection process was carried out through random selection in our computerized email selection machine (TOPAZ) . This Lottery is approved by the British Gaming Board and also licensed by the The International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR).This lottery
is the 3rd of its kind and we intend to sensitize the public.

To begin the claim processing of your prize you are to contact the Online Co-ordinator and provide him with the following informations as stated below, so we can proceed with the verification and clearance process of your file.

1. Full Names :
…………………………………….
2. Residential Address :
…………………………………….
3. Phone Number :Mobile&Home;
……………………………………
4. Fax Number :
……………………………………
5. Occupation :
……………………………………
6. Sex :
……………………………………
7. Age :
……………………………………
8. Nationality :…………………
9.Ballot No. :…………………..
10.Ticket No.:………………….

Dr Bryan Howard
Online Co-ordinator.
22 Garden Close, Stamford,
Lincs,PE9 2YP,London,
United Kingdom
Email:[email protected]

You are adviced to forward these informations as soon as possible to enable us attend to your file.

This email is registered and sent only to a certified Yahoo/MSN{Microsoft} promo winner.

Due to possible mix up of some numbers and email contacts, we ask that you keep this award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed and your money remitted. This is part of our security protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by some participants of this program.

Our special thanks and gratitude to Bill Gates and associates.We wish you the best of luck.Accept our hearty congratulations once again.

Yours Faithfully,
Mrs Roseline S. Rader
Head Of Council
Verifications Dept.

ANOTHER VERSION with the title “(Batch: R3/A312-59) Winner of £250,000: Congratulations”:

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY COMPANY
ONLINE SWEEPSTAKES
12 Bridge Street,
Staines Middlesex TW18 4TP
United Kingdom.
Ref: LSUK/2031/8161/04
Batch: R3/A312-59

Your email address has won you £250,000.00 GBP. in this month online
Uk National Lottery Promo Get back to us via return email with your
name,and addresscountry for more information on how you won and the
delivery of your won prize to you.NOTE:THAT THE FIDUCIARY AGENT WILL NEED
YOUR FULL NAME,AGE,SEX,ADDRESS,TELEPHONE/MOBILE AND OCCUPATION.

To file for the claiming of your winnings, please contact our fiduciary
agent in the Account Department.
Dr. Christopher Logan
[email protected]
Tel :(+44)7045764687,
(+44)7045723123
Fiduciary Agent,UKNL

Mrs. Randall Smith.
FOR UK NATIONAL LOTTERY BOARD.

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