I means what I means
If you could hear me when I’m using Google Search lately, you might think I was doing a Popeye impression; I mumble a lot. Ever since Google changed its search algorithm in March, I’m having to reteach myself to surf. I go to Google and type something, say “”Monkees” like ice cream” and I’m half way down the results page when I realize that Google’s suggested a different search for me:
“showing results for Monkeys like ice cream
search instead for “Monkees” like ice cream“
“I means what I means,” I mutter and click on the link to search for what I originally typed.
I really do like change. Change is good. Change is necessary. Change is life, and all that hyperbole. But, come on! I’ve been searching this way since way back when AltaVista still existed. My head knows it’s time for a change, but my fingers still do the walking, er typing, and they want to put phrases within quotes.
It seems in Google’s attempt to assist us, they have started ignoring power users by over riding what we search for. Their own help files tell us that a phrase search works like this:
“Phrase search (“”)
By putting double quotes around a set of words, you are telling Google to consider the exact words in that exact order without any change. Google already uses the order and the fact that the words are together as a very strong signal and will stray from it only for a good reason, so quotes are usually unnecessary. By insisting on phrase search you might be missing good results accidentally. For example, a search for [ “Alexander Bell” ] (with quotes) will miss the pages that refer to Alexander G. Bell.”
However, they may need to update their help site as they is no longer an absolute. It used to be preferable to use the double quote boolean term to get exactly the phrase you were looking for within Google, but now its hit or miss.
According to About.com, “Boolean searching is built on a method of symbolic logic developed by George Boole, a 19th century English mathematician. Most online databases and search engines support Boolean searches. Boolean search techniques can be used to carry out effective searches, cutting out many unrelated documents. “
There are tons of search strings available, but here are the terms I find most useful when searching on Google:
- “Exact Phrase Here” — If it’s in quotes, Google is supposed to look for those words in the exact order.
- +Exact+Phrase+Here — The + before a word tells Google that each of these words must be in the results.
- +Word -other — Using the – sign, tells Google not to return any webpages with that word in it. In other words if you want to find Justin but not Timberlake you’d type +Justin -Timberlake
- word site:weburlgoeshere — If you want to find something within a specific website use this. For example, if I want to find singer Pink’s videos on Youtube I would type this: Pink site:youtube.com
Currently the results of my search seems to change by the hour. I’m guessing it all depends on how much Google likes me at the moment of the search.
It’s hard enough when Google’s autocomplete, Google Instant, starts filling in my words before I get to the fifth letter. I surf using my keyboard, hitting return after typing in my text, which most times means that Google Instant has replaced what I typed or filled in more than I typed milliseconds before I hit the return key sending me to ridiculous results. Type in “do m” and get:
- do midgets have night vision?
- do men like virgins
- do my thang lyrics
You can stop Google from using instant search. According to Google’s help files:
“If you don’t want to see results as you type, you can opt out by accessing your search settings under the gear icon on any search results page. When you opt out, we’ll save that preference on a cookie, so you’ll stayed opted out until the cookie is cleared. Note that the preference will only apply to that particular computer and Internet browser, and it is not tied to your Google Account.”
To turn it off, go to your Google preferences. At the bottom of the page is the Google Instant options. Simply click the button next to “Do Not use Google Instant”
I like Google Instant, but if you don’t use it, you get the added benefit of being able to increase the number of results given on each page of a search. With Google Instant turned on you only get 10 results per page. With it off, you can choose 20, 30, 50 or 100 results per page.
While you’re in your preferences, you might want to reset your SafeSearch filter. If children are using the computer, you can have it filter out adult content. The default is set to moderate filtering. For me, I don’t want to be filtered at all so I click “Do not filter my search results.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a perv, I just don’t want something computer program telling me what it thinks is appropriate for me to see. I can make my own decisions, thank you. I’m a big girl now.
INSTANT PREVIEW
On September 22nd, Google changed its Instant Preview feature so that you no longer have to click on the magnifying glass to view what a website looks like before you click its link. You can now simply hover your mouse over to the right side of one of the results. When you do, two arrows ” >> ” appear, hover over that and a a preview of the site appears. This is very handy if you’re looking for a specific site but can’t remember it by name. One glimpse tells you whether you’re in the right place or not. If it’s not the specific site you want, hit the down arrow key on your computer keyboard, to view a preview of the next result.
I’m not getting too attached to any of the new changes though, because Google made an announcement yesterday that they’ll be rolling out even more changes soon. In the meantime, I guess I’ll just cross my fingers while surfing.
Cheating is the symptom of educational woes
I’m saddened by the news today that five children paid someone to take the SATs for them and as a result they could face serious time.
“Colleges look for the best and brightest students, yet these six defendants tried to cheat the system and may have kept honest and qualified students from getting into their dream school,” DA Kathleen Rice said. “These arrests should serve as a warning to those taking the SAT this Saturday that if you cheat, you can face serious criminal consequences.
I’ve heard a lot of teachers complain how rampant cheating has gotten, but we need to start asking why. What’s going on that our students have thrown morality out the window? If you look at the very basics of our humanity, you will see that people cheat based upon our survival instinct. Let me explain with a scenario:
A man is caught stealing at a grocery store. He’s guilty of theft and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But, what if, you learn that this man stole a sandwich because he was starving? Or, what if he stole a loaf of bread to feed his children? You would be a monster if you ignored his reasoning and sent him to prison and left the starving family to fend for themselves.
When anything threatens a person’s livelihood, income or social status, they enter survival mode. I believe that the system itself lead the students to their moral breaking point.
During the economic downturn, the biggest losers have been our educators and students. Every time I turn around I read about another cut to funding in education.
Due to the drop in funding, colleges have increase their fees, limited enrollment, and increased their entrance requirements. The result is that students are doing what ever it takes to get what they feel they need to survive.
Children are told from day one, that the only way to make it in this world is to get a good education, to get into the best schools. In California, we took pride in guaranteeing a higher education for all, but now even community colleges are feeling the burn.
I am not condoning cheating. It’s wrong. But, I’m saying cheating is the symptom of a much bigger problem. We’ve got to take a look at what’s really going on. We’ve got to stop our politicians from taking money away from our schools.
The Best Things in Facebook Are Free (for six months, anyway)
“Abandon ship!”
“Hit the brakes!”
“I’d expand my farm before I’d pay that!”
Mind Over Mouse?
Are you in a browser rut?
All apologies to Irvine
I’m a pretty positive person and normally don’t post rants against anyone, so I apologize in advance for this one, but I just have to get this off my chest.
I was watching CNN during lunch and they announced that Irvine, California has been named, again, as one of the places people would most like to live. All apologies for the people who live there, but I don’t see it. Let me rephrase that, if want to live with the feeling that “big brother is watching” then OK, then I can understand why people voted that way.
Perhaps, the vote came from people who happened to drive through Irvine and thought how nice it looked. Sure, the city is clean, but all of the houses look the same…on purpose! Irvine is a planned city where everything, I mean everything, is controlled. If it’s fun, there’s a city ordinance banning it.
Sure, there are beautiful parks and swimming pools, but they’re all members-only.
Sure, they have a lower crime rate, but that’s because you’re too scared to piss off the home-owners association or get another ticket for going past the curfew or j-walking.
This photo shows a rare moment when the traffic isn’t too bad. |
Sure, its minutes from the beach and mountains, if you’re a bird and can fly, otherwise you’ll be stuck in traffic for hours in what would take minutes in other cities.
U-turns are illegal. Well not illegal, just non-existant. If you’ve missed your turn, you’re out of luck!
Like your neighbors? I hope so, you can reach out, literally, and hug them because houses are a foot apart.
Sure the crime rate is low. That’s because there’s nothing happening. Everything is closed by 10, some places much earlier. You have to go out of the city to do anything. If you want to drink you’ll have to leave the city. There are no bars.
You have to pay a fee just to “request” painting your own home and if the color isn’t some form of beige don’t bother filing the request.
Not that I have pets, but dogs over 50 pounds are not allowed.
I realize that the residents of Irvine pay a lot of money for the “right” to live there so its not my desire to bash their beloved home. I didn’t set out to bash the city, but I really question the results of the poll. I’m sure I’ll probably end up getting lots of nasty comments about this, but something’s just wrong here. I simply can’t believe that people voted for control over freedom. Are we so fed up with rising crime rates that we’re willing to let groups of people tell us what kind of flowers (the number of flowers, the position of flowers, etc.) we can plant in our gardens? If you want to live in Orange County, why not pick a place like LaJolla, Laguna, or Newport?
Is a quote still a quote if it is never quoted?
What do you use for your profile quote? Every time I join a new site, this question stumps me. It leaves me asking more questions:
- If its for my profile page, shouldn’t the quote be mine?
- What quote reflects who I am?
- Should it be funny, cause I appreciate a good laugh?
- Should it be a phrase I always say?
- Do I have to go back and change it every day to reflect my current mood?
- Are great quotes constructed or do they just happen?
- If I quote someone else, does that reflect that I’m a fan of the person who said it?
- Do I want to start browsing for websites that offer quotes for a good one or just fill it in with the first thing that crosses my mind?
- Are people actually going to read this?
- What kind of people are going to read this? My friends who already know me? Strangers who might want to follow me? Clients who might be bothered by a tasteless quote?
- Should the quote be a question?
- I don’t want to quote a person that everyone quotes, do I?
- Is the quote a real quote and not a misquoted quote?
- Is a quote still a quote if it is never quoted?
- Am I going to be able to change this in case I regret the quote?
- What did that one guy say that one time? That was great! Why can’t I remember that quote?
- Did Yogi Berri know he was creating Yogiisms?
- Can I just skip this part of the form?
- Do I understand the quote or am I just picking it cause it “sounds” clever?
- If I make up something clever will other people quote me?
Will a Major University Please Stand Up?
The dryer had stopped. iTunes was blaring. My coffee had gone cold. The phone rang. I was oblivious to it all. I was in “my happy place.” Others call it “being in the zone.” Do you ever get that? I get it when I’m engrossed in a design project. One that offers a bit of a challenge, a bit of creativity, a bit of fun, and a lot of brain power. When I get in this zone, the whole world fades away and it takes a lot to pull me out. Once, when I was in this zone my son came up to me at 11 at night asking if I was going to be cooking dinner that night or if he should just heat up something. I’m telling you, nothing, not even hunger distracts me. But this morning, while I was happily working away. I was yanked out of my happy place by a Sensa infomercial.
Great. That’s all I need! Don’t you find it frustrating that all these companies are making money off our desperate need to look like what other people have told us to look like? Maybe I’m angry because I was pulled out of my zone, but I really think I’m angry with my own weight. I’ve had a weight problem for most of my life. I’ve been on every diet from Jenny Craig, to Lindora, to Ultrametabolism. I have probably spent thousands on attempts to lose weight. Heck, I even tried some inane Celery Soup Diet until I nearly put myself in the hospital. In the end, it all comes down to me paying a lot of money to be told what I already know. Eat less, exercise more.
That’s the solution, easy enough. But nothing works and again I start some silly fad believing the ridiculous claims all over again. So I get mad. Mad at myself for being so stupid, mad at myself for not losing weight, mad at myself for not having the willpower to lose weight, then when I’m tired of being mad at myself I turn in outward. I get mad at Jack LaLane for starting the whole damn health craze; mad at the infomercials; mad at my friends for not telling me how bad I look. I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore! So, I quit. I decide there’s nothing I can do and forget about it. Until, someone takes a picture of me; my mother-in-law asks how my diet’s coming; I catch a glimpse of myself in a full-length mirror or reflection in a window; and the search for a solution begins all over again.
So there goes Sensa, blabbing on about having results from a “major university” to prove their claims. Have you every noticed that all of these programs say the results have been proven by a “major university” study?
Lipozene claims its been “clinically proven in a recent major university double-blind study.” OptiGen says it developed its program based on a “clinical study conducted by a major university.” Isagenix claims its shakes were part of a “major university study.” Zenadrine says “one major university study…” NuLean says its weight loss cleanse was “tested at a major university.” Sheesh, even Sublimal Music claims “clinical data from a major university” has proven that their tapes help weight loss.
Yet, no matter how I search on Google, I’ve never been able to actually find any university study, let alone a “major university” study using a specific product. Don’t you think that if a major university had discovered the cure for obesity they’d let everyone know?
In fact, the only published study I could find online was not published by a “major university.” It was in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) and, though fascinating, was conducted by nutritional centers in various countries. Which basically concluded that it didn’t matter how much a woman paid for a weight loss program, its effectiveness was the same.”
Shouldn’t these companies be held accountable for their claims? Uh, isn’t that the Food and Drug Administration’s job? Before you claim anything don’t you have to show where you got the info? Even if you put the information in 3-pt script font. At least there’d be something to actually name the “major university.” I have the Lipozene (yep, fell for that too) informational paper and no where in it is there a reference about the university or where we can see the study. Over at Diet Fraud, who has its fingers on the pulse of the diet industry, they have yet to identify the major university studies.
I refuse, I absolutely refuse to plop another dime down on any product that makes such a claim without giving me the documentation to back it up. I’m pleading with my fellow weight-challenged friends to join me and just stop buying this stuff.
For an alternative, you can find a lot of free weight loss advice online. Calorie Count is a completely free solution for developing a healthy lifestyle. Run by About.com it is a free solution with a lot of benefits: They have tons of articles about weight loss. Their program also includes an iphone app to record your calorie intake, exercise, and they have a support network program where you can enlist your friends’ help, either through Facebook or on their website.
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