Announcing an ezralevant.com contest with $1,000 in prize money!

See updates, below.

Tonight at 10:30 p.m. MT I received this comment posted to my blog:

ezra you will be killed by my hands

The IP address from which the comment was made is 72.137.199.43

I'm not a good Internet sleuth; I think that's a Rogers account. That's all I know. But I'd like to know more.

Who is he? Or she?

Is it a serious threat? It's anonymous. Is it the rant of a timid do-nothing? Or is it a warning from someone who is serious -- and would move from threats to actions?

What's his beef? Is it my opposition to human rights commissions -- maybe even written by someone who works for them? Is it my opposition to radical Islam -- written by some jihadi?

I'm not sure. But instead of being afraid, I think I'm going to turn it into a win-win situation for all of us.

Be the first to answer the above questions, and I'll give you $1,000 in prize money.

I think it will be an adventure -- I just hope it ends well!

P.S. For a moment, I thought the threat was an allusion to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal's order that McDonald's employees in Vancouver no longer have to wash their hands when preparing food. But I don't think that's what my correspondent meant by "killed by my hands". (That's an attempt at humour.)

UPDATE: Here are some more clues for you. I searched for the above IP address within my blog's statistics program, and I came up with the information here. The user is in Toronto, the host name is "CPE001217af1113-CM00195eebd328.cpe.net.cable.rogers.com" and the ISP is called "Rogers Cable Inc. Wlfdle" I don't know what Wlfdle means -- do you?

UPDATE 2: Thanks to everyone for your interesting comments! I've learned a little bit about how the Internet works. Fewer pipes and tubes than I had thought; more switches.

Seriously, though, I'm grateful for the information and advice. I have communicated with Rogers in some detail, as well as with two police forces -- one out there, and one over here. I think we've probably gleaned everything we can from the existing information. Everything else will have to come from Rogers itself.

I had thought that, perhaps, the perpetrator would have left other footprints -- namely, the same IP address in an e-mail to someone else, or in a comment to someone else's blog.

We'll have to wait to learn the final facts from Rogers and the police. You can be assured that I'll keep you posted.

I imagine the perp is one of two species: a foolish blowhard, who didn't think he could be traced; or a more serious activist from whom violence is more of a likelihood. Either species ought to be exposed. When I learn more, I'll make a proper decision about what to do -- as will, I'm sure, the police, and Rogers, too.