TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): Google Catalog Search

Howdy, y'all, and greetings once again from deep behind the Orange Curtain in the beautiful city of Irvine, California, birthplace of the Olympic curling revolution. :P

Your fearless bus driver wasn't so fearless last weekend. I tried to send out my Olympics post last Saturday and I got an error message from the mail server telling me that the TOURBUS list no longer existed. GASP! It turned out to be nothing more than a server error that was fixed a few days later, but the error made for a long and anxious weekend.

My biggest fear was that I wouldn't have a chance to thank you for making TOURBUS so successful. With the recent news of some very popular Internet newsletters shriveling up and dying (or swithing to pay-to-subscribe models), I am proud that our little bus of happiness not only remains but remains strong. And your support of both TOURBUS and our advertisers has made that possible.

In fact, because of your support, the couple of bucks each month that Bob and I make from our sponsors, and a constant and steady stream of cash from my parents, I never would have been able to move to California and, three months later, land my dream job at Cal State Fullerton.

And, unlike my parents, neither you nor our advertisers now expect me to pay you back! [My parents recently placed two curses on me: 1) May you have children just like you; and 2) May your mother and I live long enough to be a burden on you and your brother.]

Anyway, after TOURBUS' recent near-death experience, I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping make our little bus of Internet happiness the success that it is.

And, as I say each week, TOURBUS is supported by our wonderful sponsors. Please visit today's sponsors and say thanks for keeping the Bus rolling!

On with the show ...

Catalog Search

Today's intro was both heart-felt and also a way to butter you up. You see, today's first stop is evil. Pure evil. So evil that you will probably want to say many nasty things about me and possibly even question the legitimacy of my parent's marriage.

In other words, get ready to hate me.

Our first stop of the day is at

http://catalogs.google.com/

Google has created a free tool that lets you search through over 1,300 different mail order catalogs.

Wait. It gets worse.

The folks at Google didn't just compiled a list of 1,300 mail order catalogs, they scanned every single page in every one of those catalogs and placed those pages at google.com. For example, Google's entry for Lands End shows you all 112 pages from the most recent Land's End catalog. Free. Using *ANY* Web browser.

Do you hate me yet? There's more.

Try a keyword search. Since I am 6'6" tall (which, in metric, comes to roughly 157 megaliters, I think), it is pretty difficult for me to find clothes that fit me. A search for "big tall" (without the quotes) at catalogs.google.com shows me a little more than 1,760 catalog pages that contain the words "big" or "tall."

How does Google do this? I'm not sure. My guesses are that they:

1. Found a way for Google to read every word on the scanned pages
of each of the 1,300 catalogs;

2. Drew little boxes around the key words on every catalog page
so that Google's search engine could see them; or

3. Employed technology gained from the extra terrestrials that
work at Google's top secret development site in Roswell, New Mexico.

My guess is number three. :P

Of course, if you would rather browse than search, Google's catalog site also lets browse the catalogs by category -- Apparel & Accessories, Electonics, Toys & Games, and so on -- or even browse a complete list of all 1,300 catalogs in Google's database. That last feature -- "Browse complete list of catalogs" -- can be found in the bottom right corner of the Google catalogs page, or you can jump to that list directly by going to

http://catalogs.google.com/catalog_list .

See? I told you you'd hate me. :)

Technical Demerit

For those of you who have been following the Sale and Pelletier figure skating controversy, there's a SatireWire article you really should check out:

http://www.satirewire.com/news/feb02/judge.shtml .

On a more serious note, while Sale and Pelletier have become the darlings of the ball, so to speak, the Russian figure skating team of Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze deserve both our praise and our respect. In fact, if you would like to learn more about these two champions, check out both

http://www.olympics.com/x/f/frame.htm?u=/r/3/bio/FS_BEREZHNAYA_Elena.htm .

and

http://www.olympics.com/x/f/frame.htm?u=/r/3/bio/FS_SIKHARULIDZE_Anton.htm .

More 'Limpick Sites

In response to my recent post about Olympic sites, a BUNCH of people wrote in to suggest that y'all also visit the Canadian

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics http://www.cbc.ca/Olympics

An anonymous TOURBUS rider adds that

Assignment Editor is allowing free access during the Olympics.

http://www.assignmenteditor.com/ .

Sign-In: 2002@a.e Password: 2002

Click on the "2002 OLYMPICS RESOURCES" links to be taken to the sign-in page. [By the way, the free sign-in and password information are also displayed in a large banner ad at the top of AssignmentEditor's homepage.]

Finally, fellow TOURBUS rider Len writes

'Limpicks, 'limpicks, 'limpicks... I'm SICK AND TIRED of the $#&$#(#%^@ Olympics. Meanwhile, one of the premier events of the sporting world, the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, is being held, and 'nary a mention of it on the Tourbus.

I expect y'all to rectify that error next year.

You can find out about the Westminster Kennel Club at

http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/ .

That's it for today. Have a safe and happy week, and we'll talk again soon. :)

TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): Catalog Search

TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE WEEK

'LIMPICKS (noun). Relating to the Olympic Games.

Usage: "Them there 'limpicks sho do look COLD!"

[Special thanks to *me* for today's wurd]

http://www.nixonlibrary.org .

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