When targeted ads get it wrong

I'm sure you've seen this internet ad crap where you do a search for an item that you need, like shoes or car parts, and then for the next couple of weeks, most every internet pop-up ad that you get is for those items. The sellers and the search engines have entered into an unholy alliance to direct spam ads to you based on what they think that you're looking for.

And yes, I'd pay money to keep ANYONE'S ads off my computer, period. It's mine and I resent the intrusion into my space. I mean, it's like a door-to-door salesman just walking into your dining room with his case of Fuller brushes. Screw that. In fact I make it a point to avoid doing business with companies that do this sort of thing if I can, so pester me at your own peril, internet advertisers.

Making it worse is when you search for something that close to something that people are selling, meaning that you get a ton of ads for something that you weren't even looking for. That's usually really annoying, but I'm getting it now, and truth be told, I don't think that I mind as much as I probably should.

While researching my Australian Enfield rifle a few days ago, I did a search for Australia's Victoria Military District. Actually I did two, because I forgot to put "Australia" in the first one.

Guess what I'm getting bombed with now? That's right...Ads from that other Victoria.

This stuff's popping up all over my computer now. Free eye candy. And it's on every page! Maybe internet targeted ads aren't such a bad thing after all, at least not just this once.