172 - A Fun Game To Play With Bing!

We just came up with a great game to play with Microsoft's Bing Search Engine. It's a Family Feud type of game, where you start out with a very basic, unformatted search question such as "How Do I Sell My Used Board Games On BGG" (no quotations, though). You type that in to Google and the front page of results is links to wikipedia articles, forums, and all sorts of stuff that is actually about how to sell your used board games on the popular website BoardGameGeek.com (commonly abbreviated to "BGG"). But when you type that in to the Bing search engine...

So here's the game. FIRST, the contestant (aka "The Person Who Can't See The Computer Screen") guesses which numbered search result came up with a relevant topic - if they get this right, they automatically win. Unfortunately, they only have a one-in-20-or-so chance of getting this right, but at least an incorrect guess won't count against them - it just means they go on to the Showdown Round.

"Uhmmm... I'm gonna say that it's the number 3 link?" Ooooh, no, I'm sorry... it doesn't come till the FIFTH search result, with a link to the Board Game Geek wiki page! Let's move on to THE SHOWDOWN!

In The Showdown, all the contestant has to do is name/describe 5 of the actual front-page links before getting three "strikes" (incorrect answers). It starts with the MC (aka "The Person Looking At The Screen") describing the results. "Other than the aforementioned Wiki Page, there are 17 links on this page; two images and 4 videos are among those links. GO!"

Okay, uhm... a link to Ebay? "YES there is a link to a Yahoo Answers article about selling on Ebay!"

Cool! Okay then, how about... a link to a random, unrelated thread in the Board Game Geek forums? "Let me check... NO! All BGG Forum Links on the front page link to the thread about selling on BGG. FIRST STRIKE!"

On and on till the contestant either has five correct guesses (which gives them a point), or three strikes (which results in no point for that round).

Play till you realize just how terrible a search engine Bing really is :)

173 - A Conversation My Sister-In-Law In Ohio Will Identify With

(SCENE: I am in the kitchen preparing dinner while my Darling Wife sits at the kitchen table, looking at our banking account and paying bills)

DARLING WIFE: Oh, I see you went Grocery Shopping today!
ME: (trying to act calm and innocent) Really? Oh, yeah! We had a few things on our list, remember? So would you rather I do beef or pork in this? Because I can do either.
DARLING WIFE: (Staring sternly at the computer screen) Beef. Hmmmmm...
ME: (Desperate to get her distracted) ...Because this might be really good with the ground pork instead, and it would make it a leaner -
DARLING WIFE: (Still looking at computer screen) ...Milk at like three bucks... toilet paper was another ten...
ME: (Beginning to sweat) -Of course it wouldn't be as flavorful, but I think that -
DARLING WIFE: ...Salad for five... Onions can't be more than like, what, two dollars a pound?
ME: (Profusely sweating, plaintively whispering now) ...Please stop? I...
DARLING WIFE: Did you keep the receipt? Because I think -
ME: ALL RIGHT I GOT TWENTY DOLLARS CASH BACK! HERE! (taking twenty dollar bill from wallet and slamming it on to the table next to her) I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE! OH GOD I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT!!!
DARLING WIFE: (Sliding the twenty off the table with one hand and in to her pocket while never taking her eyes off the screen) ...
ME: (Breathing heavily, sweat pouring down my face, eyes bulging as I wait for some sort of response)
DARLING WIFE: ...
DARLING WIFE: ...And I see you stopped by McDonalds for an Iced Tea...
ME: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!