One of these things is not like the others

I checked my gmail this morning when I got into work. Lo and behold, I had a message from Amazon.ca telling me about the wonderful purchases that their computers had decided, in their wisdom, that I would be interested in. I usually delete these messages without really looking at them, but something about this morning's caught my eye.



What purchases have I made that would indicate that I would possibly be interested in buying Britney Spears' new album? Furthermore, how does that even fit into this list? Let's take a look at the others:

• Meddle: I do actually own a couple of Pink Floyd albums, so I can see where they're going with this.


• An album from The Killers. While I don't actually own anything from them, I believe I have an album or two on my wish list.


• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. I actually own this one, so it's time to let Amazon know that.


• Drastic Fantastic. I haven't decided, but I think I like KT Tunstall.


• In Rainbows. I downloaded this one back in October, and I have been happy with it. Definitely worth the three or four pounds I paid for it.


• Jane Eyre. I think I have this book as well, but it might be lost in the bookshelves (or boxes) at home.


• Cexcells by Blaqk Audio. I haven't heard of this, but it sounds interesting. Maybe I'll go preview (pre-hear?) it on iTunes. Whoa! It sounds like Depeche Mode ... if they sucked. I think I'll pass.

The point is, with the exception of the last item, these are things that I either own or would be interested in owning. And the last one does make some sense; I think that recommendations are best if they broaden your horizons to something new and interesting, that you may not have heard before. Unless you've been under a rock for the last year, Blackout does not meet those criteria. In fact, I have absolutely no idea why Amazon would even think that I would be interested in purchasing this digitized piece of garbage. I'm even less interested in purchasing her latest album.

I guess that everyone makes mistakes sometimes. Even computers.