[gbog]

This. And whimsical error pages, documentation, etc, are just showing the lack of writing skills behind. Google is full of those, and most of the time the allusion cannot be understood by those who are not sharing the same culture. That's utterly annoying. Did SICP writers feel the need to embellish their prose with eye winks?

[speednoise]

Did SICP writers feel the need to embellish their prose with eye winks?

Yes? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_and_Interpretation_of...

[gbog]

Well, maybe my understanding of "whimsical" is wrong but it do not feel the same way to me. "Alyssa P. Hacker" is a poor pun that do not try to look clever.