Ultrasonic Bug Repellers and Banner Ads

This isn’t really a comment on Cecil’s column on ultrasonic bug repellers column so maybe this isn’t the right place for it, but it’s either here or in an email to James Randi, and perhaps here is better.

Is it just me or is it a bit “off” for the Chicago Reader to accept banner ads for ultrasonic bug repellers on Cecil’s very own homepage when Cecil says they don’t work and are, essentially, a fraud?

The process is an automatic one. Goooooogle sees that the page is talking about ultrasonic bug repellers, and picks an ad that is relevant. At present, the process really cannot be automated without that risk.