Day: November 6, 2007

Six Pack: A Forgotten Classic

Six PackI haven’t seen this movie (Six Pack) since like 1984, I was 9-10 years old then. I loved movies like Smokey and the Bandit, Cannonball Run, Death Race 2000, and even Duel. So here was yet another “car” movie that I remember liking back then.

I haven’t seen that movie since the mid 1980’s and have completely forgotten about it, much like the rest of the world. Not that it’s a blockbuster movie, I mean you just couldn’t beat Smokey and the Bandit or Star Wars or the many other movies near it’s time.

But honestly, I think it deserves more credit than it gets. Sure, if I were to watch it today, I’m certain I could point out all sorts of things to justify it being a shelved movie. But that’s not really the point. The point is that when I was 9-10 years old, I totally liked this movie for at least a month or more.

Using Gmail as a Spam Filter

For those who are not familiar yet, Gmail can be used effectively as an anti-spam filter. You don’t need to use Gmail as your main source of email. Instead, you will use it as a filter of sorts – as a bonus, it will also act as an archive.

Using Gmail as a spam filter is an excellent solution for individuals who do not wish to pay for and maintain their own anti-spam server. Here’s how:

  1. Create a Gmail account
  2. Setup your email server to forward your messages to your newly created Gmail account
  3. Retrieve your filtered email by either IMAP, POP3, or by setting up a “Filter” in Gmail and forwarding to your main email account

For instance, I tell my email server: Any emails that are addressed to: me@mydomain.com
Send those emails to: me@gmail.com
I then setup a filter in Gmail to label the message (for easier identification and searching) and forward that message to: mymainemail@mydomain.com
There is no “loop” created and setting up a rule in my email client is common place. So now I receive free spam filtered email.

And trust me, it works great. Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself.