Okay, it's April Fools Day and the worm is supposed to turn. Is that somebody's joke? The Conficker worm, that is, although the term appears both as "Conflicker" and "Conficker." A colleague on one of the writers' lists calls it "Cornflicker."
According to the literature, and the web is full of it, this is for real. The nasty computer worm is supposed to start wiggling today in infected machines and do all sorts of nasty stuff. I wonder if it could switch chapter numbers or alter character descriptions in one of my novels? I can see it now:
"The old man shook his long blond curls and planted sensuous hands on his shapely hips."
Doesn't sound quite right, does it? I'm not worried, though. My virus program assures me it includes the latest worm medicine, and I've installed the Microsoft security updates. The worm isn't gonna turn me.
But I may be a bit conflicted on the basic subject of worms. When it rains a lot, the slimy reddish critters gather at the base of my garage's overhead door. I wasn't sure if they were trying to get to the water or had in mind getting away from it. Seems, according to one source I checked, they were just making out on the driveway. It's easier for them to squirm out of the ground when it's wet, and they don't worry about drying out (which would be fatal). So they gather on the concrete looking for mates.
Aren't you glad you stopped here for a little education on the mating habits of earthworms? One mystery solved. Now back to the books.
