I Took the Bing Google Search Engine Challenge and … Dogpile Wins!

Tags

best search engine, Bing, Bing Google Challenge, Bing It On, Google, search engine review, search engines

 

When you’re not working, you have a lot of time on your hands, as I do now. So I decided to take the Bing Google Challenge. This is an online side-by-side comparison test that Bing is offering to get us to think of them more often – when googling.

For those of you with actual jobs, you may never even have heard of the “Bing It On” Bing Google Challenge until now. But I assure you that it exists, and that I took it.

Here’s how the Challenge works: Bing lets you enter your own search queries (it also provides samples you might use), and then lets you see the search engine results from both Bing and Google, right next to each other, without telling you which is which. All you have to do is select which search engine results you like best.

My Bing Google Challenge results?

(Please see end of article for important update.)

After coming up with what I thought were some pretty good test search questions, based on things that I care about,

Sleeping Girl Dreams of Barack!

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"Hillary Clinton" "Barack Obama"

So it turns out the girl who was in Hillary’s infamous 3 am phone call ad is all grown up (the commercial used stock footage) and she supports Barack Obama. And she’s letting everyone know. Not only that…but she wasn’t really asleep. (-;

Casey Knowles, now 18, absolutely hates that her image is being used for what she calls “fear mongering.” I couldn’t agree more. I’m not sure I want the same person (who thinks it’s ok to use the very same tactics Republican do) answering that phone AT ANY TIME and making decisions for us.

Will her decisions really be the best for US or will they be made to enhance her own political viability? And considering what we’ve seen so far, can we really expect anything new and different from a Hillary Clinton administration? We only have her willingness to follow the same old methods of campaigning as our answer. But for me, it’s troubling.

Handy-Dandy Barack Obama Widget

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"Barack Obama"

Found this on The Daily Kos. Pretty cool. According to the creator, KingOneEye:

It contains biographical information (about Barack Obama) as well as useful links for donations, voting registration, etc. In addition to that, when you install this widget you will have a handy rotating display of headlines from the Obama Blog. And all of these features will also be available to all of your site’s visitors.

[Sorry...video no longer exists now that the election is over. Pssst...he won.] posted with vodpod

Man I love technology like this. You can click on Menu to read about some of the things Barack has done and what he stands for. I think something like this should be a standard thing from now on for all candidates.

Thanks Marion for sending me the link!

My Pal the Semicolon is Famous at Last!

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grammar, subways

I’m a huge fan of the semicolon; I love it and use it whenever I can. But even I was amazed to see that today’s most popular e-mailed article from the New York Times is Celebrating the Semicolon in a Most Unlikely Location.

The story is about a transit employee who dared to insert a semicolon in a subway advisory placard: “Please put it in a trash can; that’s good news for everyone.”

Hah! I had to laugh. With all we have going on in the world – the economy, the U.S. presidential race, and even a new American Idol on the air – this humble punctuation mark is the real star, making it’s way from inbox to inbox all over the world on this very day.

Well, why not? It is a noble little fellow, able to double as a punctuation mark and a wink. How many of us can do that?

I used to work for a woman who was terrified by semicolons. Hated whenever I used one, and only relaxed after I edited them out. One day, a fellow employee who loves the art of language as much as I do, saw that I had managed to get some semicolons past our obsessively watchful boss.

“Did she see them?” he asked me in absolute amazement.

“Yup,” I smiled back, quite proud of myself. I had decided to dig in and play the grammatical guru card just for fun. And she finally went along with me. (Actually I’m not all that great at grammar; but she didn’t know that. And I do love a good challenge.)

I was worshiped for a while by co-workers who had tried the same and failed. But, as time went on, our boss loosened up and allowed others to follow suit and use the semicolon too – even in external e-mails! I’d like to tell you this experience also freed her up to accept occasional typos in those e-mails; but alas that is not the case.

Kudos to the New York City Transit writer who dared to go where no transit worker had gone before and breathe new life into my beloved semicolon; that IS good news for everyone!

OK. At least it’s good news for me. (-;

Yes, J, There is a Barack Obama!

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"Barack Obama"

My good pal, J, doesn’t think much of Barack Obama. Today she sent me a New York Daily News opinion piece by Charles Krauthammer, Time for a Rude Awakening, basically calling Obama a cult leader who is weaving a spell on poor, easily led, gullible Americans. (Hmmm…I think we’ve just been through seven years of that.)

I want to share what I wrote my pal (with a few edits):

Hi J!

I can certainly understand there are many questions about who Barack Obama really is and what he can do for us. We should absolutely ask these questions about any candidate who might be our president, no matter how long he or she has been in the public eye.

What bothers me about the Krauthammer piece is that it feels like he is playing what I’ll call the cult card. Turning passion and excitement and a feeling of hope that is drawing young people to vote in record numbers into a bad thing by giving it a scary label. That’s an old political trick.

I would guess that he and the Daily News have their own political agendas. They do back Hillary after all. Could they be playing the only card they’re comfortably allowed to play, the cult card?

Big Pharma Ad Nauseam

What is it with all the drug ads on TV, especially during the day? In one commercial break, you can sometimes get 2 or 3 ads in a row about some horrible illness or some condition that’s made to sound like a horrible illness.

Pills of all kinds to help you. And unlike those nasty drugs we’ve been told to “just say no” to for so many years, these pills are all perfectly legal and right there for the asking – with the help of your friendly doctor and pharmaceutical company.

But oh…those nasty side-effects. Long laundry lists of new conditions that scare me just thinking about them. And weirdest of all, sometimes the side-effect is almost the same as the condition you’re trying to cure!

As much as I know there are many people helped by these drugs, do we have to see ads for them in our face all day long? As far as I’m concerned, we’re being sold a lot of sick thinking.

Bring ‘Em Home! (Songs of Peace from Bruce, Merle, Neil, Joan, and of course Pete)

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"Bruce Springsteen", "Joan Baez", "Merle Haggard", "Neil Young", "pete seeger", Peace

I’ve been pre-occupied with local issues, but haven’t for one minute forgotten our men and women overseas. So I think it’s time to offer a few songs of support for them – and all of us!

These are songs about ending this dreadful, oh-so badly managed and barely-planned, politically-motivated war that has put our military in an almost impossible situation and lost much of the good will our country once had. In no way is it meant to negate the efforts of our military who are in Iraq trying their best to help a ravaged country and its people.

SNL and 30 Rock Take to the Stage to Support the Writers Strike!

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"30 Rock", "Writers Guild", SNL, strike, unions

Performers from striking Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock (both NBC) are putting their funny where their mouths are.

Although I’m sure they didn’t get the idea from my November 9th post Oh Ellen…You Could Find Another Way!, I am thrilled they coincidentally riffed on my idea suggesting Ellen do something similar.

Two Great Video Riffs on the Writers Strike

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"Tim Kazurinsky", "Writers Guild", SNL, strike

Look. I know a strike is no laughing matter to those feeling the pain. But thank god that doesn’t stop comedy writers from taking well-aimed pot shots at the whole thing!

I found these two vids on the Writers Guild East website and think they add some terrific perspective to even the most well-written, heart-wrenching corporate cries of outrage.

Some Thoughts About the Writers Strike

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"Writers Guild", strike

Since I was a little girl, I dreamed about being part of a creative writing team like Sally, Buddy and Rob on the mythical Alan Brady Show. I couldn’t imagine anything more exciting.

Sitting with bright, creative folks as ideas fly fast and furious, and bits, skits, and stories take shape. And getting paid for it yet!

I also think this kind of day-in-day-out writing that forces you to be funny or creative or inspiring no matter where your head is that day is one of the hardest writing jobs imaginable.

Oh Ellen…You Could Find Another Way!

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"Ellen Degeneres", "Writers Guild", strike, union

From the headline on AOL, I can see I’m not the only blogger saying “Tsk tsk tsk!” to Ellen DeGeneres. Seems, after showing initial one-day solidarity with her writers and the current writers’ strike by not taping on Monday, she went back to doing the show sans writers, with her sole concession being no monologue.

According to the article Bloggers Blast Strike-Breaking ‘Ellen‘:

“I want to say I love my writers,” DeGeneres said on Tuesday’s show. “I love them. In honor of them today, I’m not going to do a monologue. I support them and hope that they get everything they’re asking for.” DeGeneres goes on to say that she’s continuing her show because “people have traveled across the country” to attend and be guests on her show, and she wants to “do everything I can to make your trip enjoyable and give you a show.”

Now I’m a huge fan of Ellen and know she is not the only one crossing the picket line.

But What If the Mugger is Thirsty???

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crime, fashion, Japan

Seems the Japanese have a clever new way to elude muggers. Known to be at the forefront of product innovation, the Japanese have come up with some truly inspiring ideas to help average people protect themselves from nefarious hoodlums and ne’er-do-wells. Assuming the average person has the spare change to afford some of these pricey gimmicks. (And assuming a modicum of gullibility.)

Still, I have to admire the ingenuity – as well as the chutzpah – to even put these ideas out to the public!

Power of 10, Politics, Iraq, and Drew Carey

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"drew carey", "game shows", "power of 10", CBS

I just watched the CBS game show Power of 10 hosted by Drew Carey and was shocked by one of the poll results. For those of you who don’t know the show, basically the show polls people ahead of time and asks them how they feel about a certain question or issue. Then a contestant has to guess, within a range, how people responded.

The show makes a point of telling us that the polls are national and do not reflect any one area of the country or segment of the population. I cannot verify that of course, although the website does assure us the polls are conducted by a professional polling organization. (See note below.)

Tonight, the last question was about Iraq. The poll taken asked a supposedly national sample whether the U.S. should stay in Iraq to “finish the war.”

What’s in a Name?

The Tao says “The nameless is the beginning of heaven and Earth.” But when you’re coming up with new blog posts, I gotta say names sure can make a huge difference!

Sometimes I’ll post something with a title that I’m especially proud of. But then…no hits. More time passes…still no hits. Hmmm…maybe the title, although oh so meaningful and darn amusing to me, just doesn’t mean anything to anyone else. Hey…I grok that.

So I try to figure out something that might be better and try again. And if necessary again. And then…voila! People start coming.

Google Results: Putting Your Reputation Online

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Google, New York Times, search engines, Slate

Have you ever seen yourself at the top of a Google search? It’s pretty cool. Yet there’s a downside if you’ve ever had a negative story printed about you that makes it to the #1 spot on Google – especially if the information is just plain wrong!

Slate has an article by Jack Shafer that takes the New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt to task for suggesting that a newspaper or other news source take responsibility for archived articles that might be rising to the top and creating uninformed impressions when later corrections don’t also show up. Shafer thinks Hoyt is making too much out of the whole thing. But I don’t think so.