Wassat?

When I first started using Google ages ago after reading about it in a New Yorker article, long before it became the Miss Thing Zillionaire of the Internet, I was, and still am, most attracted by the clean simple look of its search page.  No bright lights, no flashing gifs, and brilliantly, no ads. Any violation of that sacred space has always come as a shock to me; even the occasion-al doodles get me kinda peeved if they're too distracting.

So when something changes, I'll notice it.... eventually, anyway. So it was this morning, when I saw my name, and a little geary looking thing, in the upper right corner. Wassat?, I asked nobody in particular, affecting Emily's toddler voice of curiosity.  It's options, is what, and apparently there's a new one, called "Analytics Opt-out."

This aspect of the Big G has always creeped me. As soon as I enter a B in the search dialog, it starts feeding me Buffalo this, Buffalo that. I do not like even well-intentioned guys like Larry and Serg knowing where I am and what I'm looking for. Sometimes, it can be matters of potential client confidentiality. So, yeah, let's see what this opt-out business is all about:

What this opt-out business is all about.

To provide website visitors more choice on how their data is collected by Google Analytics, we have developed the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js) to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics.   If you want to opt-out, download and install the add-on for your current web browser. The Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on is available for Internet Explorer (versions 7 and 8), Google Chrome (4.x and higher), and Mozilla Firefox (3.5 and higher).

Adjacent to it is a link to download the "opt-out browser (beta)."  Now let's process this: in order to prevent Google from tracking and (presumably) selling information about your browsing history, you need to download a piece of software into your browser to stop it.

Is it just me, or does that sound like the old schoolteacher attendance joke- "If you're not here, raise your hand."

I think I'll beta this beta on the XP machine, which still has Firefox on it.

Among other things....

I put staples in my coffee this morning.  (But managed not to drink them:)

At one point after that, the cat was so determined to raid the kitchen garbage can, I had to pull her entire body out of the trash bag. (I beat her to the wayward bone and nobody choked to death:)

My cell phone wound up in the recycling bin. (Fortunately, this was on its way back into the house, not the way out:)

Not to be outdone, Eleanor's mobile has shit the bed. (Hers isn't eligible for upgrade for awhile, but Em's phone can be upgraded on March 8 and then put on her line, and mine, apparently? Is eligible for an iPhone upgrade, like, now:)

A ridiculously overdue closing still did not close, through no fault of mine or my clients'. (Yet that freed up time today that was much needed for clearing crapola off my desk after being out much of the past three days:)

How's that for looking on the bright side of life? (::whistles::)