Humor
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The new Neal Stephenson book, Quicksilver, is out. I went to Amazon to check it out and noticed something that I’ve been wondering about for a while. Who is the #1 reviewer? I had seen those badges for Top 100, top 500, etc., but never #1.
Turns out it is Harriet Klausner.
She has 5616 reviews posted. Is she getting paid by Amazon? Can anyone read that many books? Why would anyone put up that many reviews? After quickly glancing through her reviews, I noticed that most are 5 stars with an occasional 4 star review thrown in there. Interestingly, they all follow the same three paragraph structure. Whether Amazon is compensating her or not, I know this, she is not much of a critic.
The paomnnehil pweor of the hmuan mnid
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter
by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
I ulausly try to aivod sndeaprig spiutd caihn eialms, but tihs one was alualcty knid of cool.
A carpet of crickets
The worst cricket infestation [LA Times, registration required] in 60 years is happening in Utah, Nevada, and other states in the West. When somebody says “infestation”, you think more of an annoyance. Lots of noise and something, well, icky. But this is a little different.
We’re talking of hordes that can measure a mile wide and three miles deep. Ones that can cover a house and make it look like it is “quivering”. That’s a lot of crickets.
Take this quote about the need to put signs up on the roads:
“Add a little water to cricket guts and it’s like an oil slick”
It reminds me those B-movies from the ’70s and ’80s. Swarm (bees) is the only one I remember. But I there were others about spiders, worms, snakes, etc. Why not one about crickets? Just think! The deafening noise and numbers so large that they can overwhelm you and smother you. Ok, maybe not. But I think I would be scared by an acre’s worth of crickets, nonetheless.
It is not easy being cheesy.
“We call it Seasoning Accumulation,” Cogan said. “If you love cheese, this is the Chee-to for you. It’s beyond dangerously cheesy.”
Need a gift receipt? Yes.
What will you regift this year?
Shooting fish in a barrel
This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Feeling down?
In the spirit of a true web log, here’s my first link to another site. Cheer yourself up using the Automatic flatterer.
