Stardate 20020129.1728

(Ship's log): I get strange search hits, just like anyone with a site which has a lot of material on it. (At this point there's several megabytes of stuff that I've written available on this server.)

Many are funny, some are despicable (searches for child porn), and some are just plain weird. In the last couple of days I've gotten several based on the same phrase, and I'll be damned if I can figure out what they are looking for.

Why would anyone look for "Microsoft crenelation"?

"Crenelation" refers to the jagged structure which was placed on top of castle walls and other fortifications in the pre-gunpowder middle ages in Europe and the near East. The sawtooth pattern was intended to provide high sections, behind which defending archers could hide when taken under fire or while reloading their crossbows, and low sections through which they could themselves fire at a besieging enemy.

What the heck does that have to do with the largest software corporation on the planet? The only idea I've come up with that makes any sense at all is that someone is looking for help with a game that Microsoft published. I have not played the game, but this idea seems farfetched since I doubt that "crenelation" is anything that you actually have to directly research or build within the game. But every other theory I've come up with is even weirder.

Whatever the point of this search is, the strangest thing is that I got three hits from it within a couple of minutes, and they were all from different IPs. Two were American; one was from Benelux.