Someone pointed out an interesting phenomenon on the Digger forums
awhile back, and it still gives me a chuckle whenever I see it.

The Google ads that run across the top of the page, while fairly unobtrusive, are “smart” ads. They are attempting to offer a product that the keywords on the page indicate people would want. And this is a sensible thing for them to do, and certainly less disturbing than running random hardcore porn ads, and in theory would prevent the “Why are they running this HERE?” phenomenon that strikes whenever you see Christian rock anthologies or diaper ads run in the middle of Adult Swim and accident lawyers run in the middle of Spongebob. So while I have the standard distaste for advertising, I can certainly see what they were trying to do, and it’s sensible.

Unfortunately, the keyword in this case is “Digger.”

So running across the top of the page are ads for augers, ice augurs, dirt augers, post-hole diggers, and various other earth-moving equipment. And while my fan base is wild and eclectic and I love ’em, I doubt they’re buying too many ice augers, except for you guys up in Minnesota, of course.

Smart ads still have a way to go.

(Of course, having followed the link, I now see that they don’t show up. But trust me, click a few links and then click back, and they show up.)