Saturday 15 February 2014

Gmail is reading my mind

Lying in bed this morning, as I was wondering if we still had a roof*, Mr SDS suddenly asked, “Who did that song 'The Lone Ranger'? God knows why but I've got it going through my head”. I couldn't remember, all I could recall was a fuzzy memory of something with the name 'Kimosabi' in the lyrics, the rest of the song long lost to the vagaries of my ageing mind. Besides, I was more preoccupied with the thought of looking out of the window to find my shedio reduced to a pile of rubble.

I grunted and turned over.

“1970 something, '76? '77?” he prompted. Then it came to him, “Quantum Jump!”

It still didn't mean much to me.  So that was that.

After getting up to find that a) we still have a roof and b) the piles of sketches inside my shedio are not scattered across East Anglia, I was checking my email this morning. I've been using Gmail for the last year or so; are you familiar with Gmail's advertising in the side bar? I've had a few laughs from them. Your friend sends you an email that includes a phrase like, “...I was listening to Blondie's Parallel Lines...” and there on the right hand side are all those adverts automatically 'linked' to the message content, which in that instance would probably include something to do with hearing aids, hair bleach and how to improve your maths... Anyway I was reading a short email from a friend, thanking me for a book I'd sent him and passing on a phone number, nothing more. So why this advert:

What Is Quantum Jumping?
Discover Why Thousands of People
are “Jumping” to Change Their Life.
www.(&^$£(_)_.com

Spooky.

I'm not one of those people who believes there must be a deeply mystical reason for this odd coincidence and that someone somewhere is telling me something (presumably to try quantum jumping?) But it is weird, isn't it? I might have to check the bedroom for bugging devices.... hmm.

Later of course I had to look up Quantum Jump's Lone Ranger song on youtube. It came flooding back to me, especially that bloody 'taumatawhakatangihangakoayauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukypokaiwhenuakitanatahu' bit.
I don't think there can be many other songs which include such politically incorrect lines as this: “maybe masked man he a poofter” - it could only have been in the '70s!  Apparently it was banned by the BBC for its references to homosexuality and illegal substances too.  Having said all that, it was only a short step from hearing that to reminding myself of a song a friend introduced me to last year which I like a lot more... the association being a bit more relevant than I believe any Gmail linked advert would be, what with the thoughts of cowboys, drugs and stuff now so firmly in my head:



*hope you still have too.

10 comments:

  1. Oh the 70's - yes just watch those moments with any DJ with their arms around uncomfortable girls ... Different world.

    Adblocker stops all that nonsense.

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  2. Sometimes the ads that appear here and there on my journeys around the intraweb appear to be totally based on recent browsing, specific searches, recent purchases etc, which is just as you'd expect. On other occasions, however, ads for the most random stuff imaginable crop up. I'm not really interested in buying ladies slippers from M&S, attending a play opening soon in a city in the American midwest, switching to British Gas or saving money on pet insurance from Argos and furthermore have never browsed for any of these things. We don't even have any pets fer gawd's sake! I've never heard of Adblocker, as suggested by Furtheron, but I'm off to do a little research into it right now. Or perhaps, as a result of typing these words, an ad for Adblocker will magically appear before my very eyes.
    (Not heard of The Go before - good tune!)

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  3. Not being Gmail user, I'm not really plagued in quite the same way but I do know what you mean. In fact, 'the internet' probably can read your mind! Winston Smith was not so far wrong. Quantum Jump? I'm sure I 'won' a single of theirs in a Radio Bristol competition way back then. I think some muso called Rupert Hine may have had something to do with them. Terrible, of course. I will say this, though, I DO believe that there is weird synchronicity going on in the universe all the time but who knows what it means? People think I'm crazy when I say such things but Bob said, 'Take what you have gathered from coincidence', so it won't belong before a Quantum Leap album offers itself to you in a charity shop. The next move is up to you. The Go sounded like a nice band and well groomed by the looks of it.

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  4. Oops, I meant 'Quantum Jump' album - mixing them up with that great old sci-fi show when that fellow keeps turning up and meddling in history.

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  5. Okay, so this is a little weird. Last night Mrs S & I happened to watch the movie 'Behind the Candelabra' , which featured a small role played by an actor we recognised, but struggled to name. The actor turned out to be Scott Bakula - the star of 'Quantum Leap', as per Mr Bear's typo. 'Take what you have gathered from coincidence' indeed.

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  6. Thanks for comments.... oh so funny that the mention of something coincidental in itself became a bit of a coincidence, what IS going on?!
    Should we all sign up for some quantum leaping?!

    I like the Dylan quote - thanks, SB. Life does seem to be full of little coincidences and I've had my fair share of serendipitous things happen as I'm sure most have, I can never find reason/meaning to them as they're often so random, but occasionally, just occasionally, think "ah, that was meant to be"!

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    Replies
    1. PS I've decided I don't mind the Gmail ads really... I'm curious to see what totally ridiculous connections get made from the emails I send and receive...;-)

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  7. I kept seeing ads about infections yesterday...:(.

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