The Informal Matriarchs

posted by Jennie C. (who else?)

You know those odd security checks that pop up here and there on the Internet?  The ones where you have to type in some random letters or words?  They are designed to prevent spammers from automating their spam – if they make the words barely legible to humans, hopefully a comuter program won’t be smart enough to recognize the words – computer programs can’t make the creative jumps that the human brain can.  Anyhoo – I’m sure there’s a wiki article that can explain this better than I can, so I’m not sure why I’m bothering. [break for research]

Of course there’s a wiki article.  It’s called CAPTCHA.  Read about it here and report back to me if you did as told.

My CAPTCHA

Well, look what showed up while I was spamming someone the other day with FarmVille gifts or some such thing!  Totally random.

Isn’t it just the cutest?  I think it might be what I title my autobiography, Oftenest Jennie.

I wouldn’t have thunk that oftenest was a word, but apparently it is.  And now that I’ve seen it, I’ve come to realize that it’s a good word.  It’s a word that you’d use to describe the frequency at which someone brings cheesecake to a potluck.  Or the comparative periodicity at which they give you Starbucks gift cards.

This little CAPTCHA made me happy all day long and continues to make me happy.  Likely, it speaks to the commonplace nature of my name, which I’ve never been that thrilled about.  I graduated high school with 8 Jennifers.  There’s 4 Jennifers in my office.  But not many abbreviate themselves with the spelling I use, Jennie.

My dad pointed out this spelling to me in grade 2 or 3.  He’d seen it on a cashier’s name badge and thought it was cute.  He told his little Jenny about it and she instantly became Jennie.  She probably dotted the i with a heart … but I don’t remember for sure.  Many of my family members still spell it the old way.

Where am I going with this?  Um, actually, I think I’m done.  I really just wanted to show you my CAPTCHA.

Adios.

And don’t forget to do your homework!