Number 228 - May 2002

UPDATE
Have You Googled Yet?     Being an editor, each week we read wordsmith James J. Kilpatrick's column The Writer's Art in the Sunday paper. He comments on word use, and misuse, drawing upon various sources often making a point by citing "horrid examples" and the occasional "gem". In his April 13th, 2002 column, after citing several examples, good and bad, of noun-to-verb conversions he confessed a liking for the newly formed verb 'to google' as follows:     "On the other hand, there is much to be said for 'to google around' on a computer. The verb turned up in January in the San Francisco Chronicle. A columnist was using the Google search engine in a 21st-century sense, but for this reader the verb evoked fragrant memories of a sophomore year in 1938. Ah, Geraldine! Those goo-goo-googly eyes! What verbs, my dear, you inspired!"     The term "googly eyes" was, presumably, derived from the bulging opthalmic orbs of the then-current comic strip character Barney Google. Without such maudlin sentimentality, we can agree with Kilpatrick and the SF Chronicle. We rate Google as the best search engine going. It's only one we use these days. Annual Elections     Elections of TOG President. Vicepresident, Secretary/Treasurer and appointments of Web Master, Librarian, Newsletter editor and King County representative will be held at this month's meeting..	Recovering From Near Disaster, Interpreting Those Cryptic Web Addresses and More!     A problem resulting from unthinkingly following expert advice on potential machine speedup is described, and recovery steps outlined in an article Getting Rid of Junk in the Swap File. Even those who should know better still make mistakes. Read it and act accordingly.     Ever wonder about those odd looking web addresses that don't appear to make any sense? Look at Obscure any URL. There the various techniques used to disguise addresses are discussed. It is intended to be read while online so if you want to get more out of it, go online either directly or click on the address given and follow the addresses provided.     Now even you can take advantage of the formatting and special features of the ubiquitous Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Adobe has cleverly made the PDF file reader available for free. This has resulted in many websites carrying their newsletters, catalogs and technical papers in the PDF format. The article discusses programs other than Adobe acrobat that can convert word processor files into a format that can be read by Adobe Acrobat Reader. The only drawback is that you cannot edit it or change the format once it has been converted. Still... pretty slick!     Looking at digital cameras? Check out Some Thoughts About Digital Cameras before you buy.
Number 228 - May 2002