Does This Make Me Look Foolish?

I HATE April Fool's Day. I hate it. For many reasons, not the least of which is the idea that perhaps we shouldn't have a day that gives that kind of prankish license to people determined to take themselves out of the gene pool through sheer stupidity. It seems like those people are never content to play jokes on only THEMSELVES.

But I also hate it because it's like an entire day devoted to attempts to humiliate people and y'all, I already have that on accident most other days. I don't really need a special day. Plus, it's very stressful to be peering around corners and checking every chair for whoopee cushions --it's very stressful trying not to get caught. Trying not to be the fool. I guess that's the crux of the matter--no one wants to be caught out and embarrassed, especially me.

And also, I think it's enough of a joke on everyone that Spring has still not arrived.

Unfortunately, I have passed this general dislike of April Fool's Day to my children. Jane (8) wanted to stay home from school today and I swear, if she hadn't already missed so much school due to illness, I would have let her. She's STILL angry/traumatized over the way her older sister (Ana, 11) and a friend hid in her room last year and jumped out at her.

Having taken such a stand on April Fool's Day, I must now prove that I am a hypocrite in all things by confessing that the Google April Fool's Joke warmed my nerdy little heart. Especially the G-Mail "autopilot" thing which purported to be a new enhancement that will answer your e-mail for you. My favorite part of the FAQ said this:

What happens if a sender and recipient both have Autopilot on?

Two Gmail accounts can happily converse with each other for up to three messages each. Beyond that, our experiments have shown a significant decline in the quality ranking of Autopilot's responses and further messages may commit you to dinner parties or baby namings in which you have no interest.