Don Quichote

Today I received an email from Amazon... it contained its usual list of suggestions which in general are indeed very interesting. But they managed to amaze me today:

Suggested was:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
by J. K. Rowling
List Price: $34.99
Price: $18.89
You Save: $16.10 (46%)

It was recommended because I purchased or rated: 'The Malleus Maleficarum of Kramer and Sprenger'.

Riiiiiiight... wtf! I couldn't help replying to the feedback line:

Dear Amazon,

In general I appreciate your recommendations but to suggest I would like 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' because I own and rated 'The Malleus Maleficarum of Kramer and Sprenger' is ridiculous! The Malleus is a 15th century manual used by the inquisition in their quest against witchcraft. The Malleus is a historic work which I own because of my study in medieval religion. Harry Potter is fantasy literature and as such has absolutely nothing to do with the Malleus; not even when a majority of people rate HP as witchcraft instead of story. It is not witchcraft, never will be witchcraft and most certainly doesn't belong in the realm of scientific historic study.

Yours,
Gertjan Filarski
University of Leiden, The Netherlands

And yes I do feel a bit like Don Quichote...

So it goes.

"Space: It's huge. It's a lot of other things, but mostly huge. If you lose your keys in it, you're pretty much screwed... And, if we want to search for life, we need to stick to where we think it can flourish. Life as we know it is picky...

Earth might have won the galactic lottery being the right size, material and position to sustain life — or maybe it's as common as snot...

Kepler [NASA's new space telescope] will essentially be humanity's first scan of the cosmos' housing market...

'One of the most interesting things we could find is zero,' NASA scientist William Boruki said..."

Just some quotes from a very interesting and (also important) funny article I read this morning here at the Register.

I do hope they find Tralfamadore. It would be the right thing to do now that Kurt Vonnegut is dead. He was 84 years old and in my world one of the greatest modern writers.

"There isn’t any particular relationship between the messages, except that the author has chosen them carefully, so that, when seen all at once, they produce an image of life that is beautiful and surprising and deep. There is no beginning, no middle, no end, no suspense, no moral, no causes, no effects. What we love in our books are the depths of many marvelous moments seen all at one time." - Slaughterhouse Five

A modern myth fell and died.

So it goes.

Lesson number 1 of how *not* to hunt heads

Today is a busy day at the office. Hell, recently *every* day is a busy day at the office. Anyways, I was busy when I answered the phone in my usual grumpy tone. I am allowed to be grumpy on the phone since I am not phone-trained. Phone training is like nappy training, if successful nobody can tell if you are pissed. Anyways, I answered in dutch of course and the following conversation ensued. I transcribe it for your enjoyment. It helps me remember how stupid people are.

"BBSA met Gertjan Filarski"
"Hi, I am *insert unpronouncable name here* and I am looking for a junior accountmanager." the girl said in indian english.
"Sure, may I ask what for?"
"Hmmm... yes of course I am searching for a junior account-manager for a position at my customer's new company headquarters in Haarlem. So I am calling companies in the neighbourhood."
Dead silence... "Excuse me?"
"I am a headhunter."
"Just to get this straight... you want me to pass you through to someone here so you can offer him or her a new job?"
"Yes."
"Will you be really amazed if I tell you that we are not going to co-operate in this?"
"Well..."
"But I really *do* appreciate your frankness though! I wish all our calls would be so clear."
"I understand. But I am also looking for people to staff the helpdesk. Could you instead pass me through to your helpdesk?"
"Hm... will you be really disappointed if that answer was 'no' too?"
"I must say you are not really helpful..."
"I guess headhunters are not the most popular people around here... good bye."
"Good bye it was nice talking to you."

At least she scored cookie points for honesty.