#internet research

[rachel-614]

Okay, let me tell you a story:

Once upon a time, there was a prose translation of the Pearl Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It was wonderfully charming and lyrical and perfect for use in a high school, and so a clever English teacher (as one did in the 70s) made a scan of the book for her students, saved it as a pdf, and printed copies off for her students every year. In true teacher tradition, she shared the file with her colleagues, and so for many years the students of the high school all studied Sir Gawain and the Green Knight from the same (very badly scanned) version of this wonderful prose translation.

In time, a new teacher became head of the English Department, and while he agreed that the prose translation was very wonderful he felt that the quality of the scan was much less so. Also in true teacher tradition, he then spent hours typing up the scan into a word processor, with a few typos here and there and a few places where he was genuinely just guessing wildly at what the scan actually said. This completed word document was much cleaner and easier for the students to read, and so of course he shared it with his colleagues, including his very new wide-eyed faculty member who was teaching British Literature for the first time (this was me).

As teachers sometimes do, he moved on for greener (ie, better paying) pastures, leaving behind the word document, but not the original pdf scan. This of course meant that as I was attempting to verify whether a weird word was a typo or a genuine artifact of the original translation, I had no other version to compare it to. Being a good card-holding gen zillenial I of course turned to google, making good use of the super secret plagiarism-checking teacher technique “Quotation Marks”, with an astonishing result:

By which I mean literally one result.

For my purposes, this was precisely what I needed: a very clean and crisp scan that allowed me to make corrections to my typed edition: a happily ever after, amen.

But beware, for deep within my soul a terrible Monster was stirring. Bane of procrastinators everywhere, my Curiosity had found a likely looking rabbit hole. See, this wonderfully clear and crisp scan was lacking in two rather important pieces of identifying information: the title of the book from which the scan was taken, and the name of the translator. The only identifying features were the section title “Precursors” (and no, that is not the title of the book, believe me I looked) and this little leaf-like motif by the page numbers:

(Remember the leaf. This will be important later.)

We shall not dwell at length on the hours of internet research that ensued—how the sun slowly dipped behind the horizon, grading abandoned in shadows half-lit by the the blue glow of the computer screen—how google search after search racked up, until an email warning of “unusual activity on your account” flashed into momentary existence before being consigned immediately and with some prejudice to the digital void—how one third of the way through a “comprehensive but not exhaustive” list of Sir Gawain translators despair crept in until I was left in utter darkness, screen black and eyes staring dully at the wall.

Above all, let us not admit to the fact that such an afternoon occurred not once, not twice, but three times.

Suffice to say, many hours had been spent in fruitless pursuit before a new thought crept in: if this book was so mysterious, so obscure as to defeat the modern search engine, perhaps the answer lay not in the technologies of today, but the wisdom of the past. Fingers trembling, I pulled up the last blast email that had been sent to current and former faculty and staff, and began to compose an email to the timeless and indomitable woman who had taught English to me when I was a student, and who had, after nearly fifty years, retired from teaching just before I returned to my alma mater.

After staring at the email for approximately five or so minutes, I winced, pressed send, and let my plea sail out into the void. I cannot adequately describe for you the instinctive reverence I possess towards this teacher; suffice to say that Ms English was and is a woman of remarkable character, as much a legend as an institution as a woman of flesh and blood whose enduring influence inspired countless students. There is not a student taught by Ms. English who does not have a story to tell about her, and her decline in her last years of teaching and eventual retirement in the face of COVID was the end of an era. She still remembers me, and every couple months one of her contemporaries and dear friends who still works as a guidance counsellor stops me in the hall to tell me that Ms. English says hello and that she is thrilled that I am teaching here—thrilled that I am teaching honors students—thrilled that I am now teaching the AP students. “Tell her I said hello back,” I always say, and smile.

Ms. English is a legend, and one does not expect legends to respond to you immediately. Who knows when a woman of her generation would next think to check her email? Who knows if she would remember?

The day after I sent the email I got this response:

My friends, I was shaken. I was stunned. Imagine asking God a question and he turns to you and says, “Hold on one moment, let me check with my predecessor.”

The idea that even Ms. English had inherited this mysterious translation had never even occurred to me as a possibility, not when Ms. English had been a faculty member since the early days of the school. How wonderful, I thought to myself. What a great thing, that this translation is so obscure and mysterious that it defeats even Ms. English.

A few days later, Ms. English emailed me again:

(I had, in fact searched through both the English office and the Annex—a dark, weirdly shaped concrete storage area containing a great deal of dust and many aging copies of various books—a few days prior. I had no luck, sadly.)

At last, though, I had a title and a description! I returned to my internet search, only to find to my dismay that there was no book that exactly matched the title. I found THE BRITISH TRADITION: POETRY, PROSE, AND DRAMA (which was not black and the table of contents I found did not include Sir Gawain) and THE ENGLISH TRADITION, a super early edition of the Prentice Hall textbooks we use today, which did have a black cover but there were absolutely zero images I could find of the table of contents or the interior and so I had no way of determining if it was the correct book short of laying out an unfortunate amount of cold hard cash for a potential dead end.

So I sighed, and relinquished my dreams of solving the mystery. Perhaps someday 30 years from now, I thought, I’ll be wandering through one of those mysterious bookshops filled with out of print books and I’ll pick up a book and there will be the translation, found out last!

So I sighed, and told the whole story to my colleagues for a laugh. I sent screenshots of Ms. English’s emails to my siblings who were also taught by her. I told the story to my Dad over dinner as my Great Adventure of the Week.

…my friends. I come by my rabbit-hole curiosity honestly, but my Dad is of a different generation of computer literacy and knows a few Deep Secrets that I have never learned. He asked me the title that Ms. English gave me, pulled up some mysterious catalogue site, and within ten minutes found a title card. There are apparently two copies available in libraries worldwide, one in Philadelphia and the other in British Columbia. I said, “sure, Dad,” and went upstairs. He texted me a link. Rolling my eyes, I opened it and looked at the description.

Huh, I thought. Four volumes, just like Ms. English said. I wonder…

Armed with a slightly different title and a publisher, I looked up “The English Tradition: Fiction macmillan” and the first entry is an eBay sale that had picture of the interior and LO AND BEHOLD:

THE LEAF. LOOK AT THE LEAF.

My dad found it! He found the book!!

Except for one teensy tiny problem which is that the cover of the book is uh a very bright green and not at all black like Ms. English said. Alas, it was a case of mistaken identity, because The English Tradition: Poetry does have a black cover, although it is the fiction volume which contains Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

And so having found the book at last, I have decided to purchase it for the sum of $8, that ever after the origins of this translation may once more be known.

In this year of 2022 this adventure took place, as this post bears witness, the end, amen.

(Edit: See here for part 2!)

[70sscifiart]

Hello hello :) can i ask you a question? I'm trying to find the source for this picture https://www.tumblr.com/70sscifiart/734740175685582848/over-the-aral-sea-by-andrei-sokolov-1978?source=share

its for an art project and i would be very happy to be able to trace it back to its origins. could you tell me where you found it? Thanks in advance!

Yeah, I think I first found that one back in 2015 or 2016, used in this Gizmodo article. The corporation that now owns Gizmodo took out most of its illustrations years ago, so it's gone now, but that article links to a NASA website. That webpage has also been removed, but it's very likely the original source. The same image might be available from NASA somewhere else. Either way, it used to be available in 2015 and that's when I first downloaded the image, if I recall correctly.

You may already know this, but you can try using the Wayback Machine on those two pages to see if anyone saved the original pages from 2015. Also, the TinEye website is a great resource for finding image sources - I used it just now to remind me about the Gizmodo page.

Good luck on your search!

[unwounding]

I do battle with demons everyday. Know that! Note to Self: See how I can measure this when performing content analysis.

[aofirs]

Elevate Your English Conversation Skills: A Guide for Research Specialists

Conversation skills are vital for research specialists to have. They need to communicate effectively with colleagues and, most importantly, with clients.

Furthermore, working in an international company requires not only being a professional but also having a high level of English as you would need to communicate with clients from all over the world. Here are some tips to help you elevate your English conversation skills as a research specialist.

But first, let's figure out the benefits of having excellent conversation skills.

Benefits of Improving Your English Conversation Skills

There are many benefits to improving your English conversation skills. Here are just a few:

Improving your ability to communicate in English with clients and colleagues will help you build trust, demonstrate your expertise, and make it easier to understand each other’s needs.

You'll understand more complex topics that might come up in conversation.

You'll be able to express yourself more clearly, which can help you make a better impression on your client.

You'll be able to understand and use more advanced English vocabulary.

You'll be able to have more meaningful conversations with native English speakers.

By boosting your English, you'll take your research to the next level and make a better impression on your colleagues and peers.

Identifying Your Learning Style

Before you can start improving your English conversation skills, it's essential to identify your learning style. This will help you determine which methods and resources will be most effective.

Read more about Elevate Your English Conversation Skills: A Guide for Research Specialists

[eclecticelectriceccentric]

Hey

I remember reading a thing that said something about moose and how they brought moose to a. Place like a hundred years ago. And they just disappeared because the last time someone saw a moose there was like 20 years ago

Anyways I forgot where this was do you know

okay I'll detail my research journey. I'm using ecosia when not otherwise stated

"moose brought to place" - no useful results

"where are moose found" -> Wikipedia page for moose. scrolling that brought me to Europe- variety, but probably not what you're talking about. It also brought me to New Zealand.

This is probably what you're talking about. Is it?

[intellibeanstechnologies]

How Many Ways a Virtual Assistant Benefits Your Business?

You may be wondering what a virtual assistant can do for your business.

Well, let me tell you. A virtual assistant can handle a whole range of tasks, from answering emails and managing your social media accounts to creating content and doing research. They can even take care of basic bookkeeping and customer service.There are many wonderful advantages to hiring a virtual assistant. They can help you take care of various tasks, which can lighten your load and allow you to focus on more important things. They are the perfect companions to help you take care of your everyday tasks. Virtual assistants have been around for decades, but they have recently been gaining traction in the workforce. While many people think that these assistants are just for personal use, they are becoming an integral part of many businesses and industries.

The Different Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Handle

Answering customer inquiries

Handling orders

Organizing your schedule

Assisting with social media marketing

Preparing presentations

Read More

[andrewleousa]

Uncover Insights and Knowledge With Advanced Data Research  Services

As one of the leading data research companies, Damco can help you accelerate your research endeavors. Businesses can access precise and thoroughly validated data from a variety of sources. Our experts retrieve the most pertinent and significant data points tailored to your primary objectives, all while adhering to data standards and governance protocols. Our data research services encompass data extraction, processing, cleansing, and formatting tailored to your specific needs.

[cytobi]

Lyrics, Languages & Luck

October 31, 2023

The Search

So a couple days ago I came across a nightcore song called How Do You Do. It might have been on tumblr, simply through my Spotify feed or maybe on TikTok, i don’t remember. Anyways, I listened to it on Spotify and the specific version on there is by Nightcore Fanatics. It’s different from most other versions that show up on Google & YouTube in one major way: it has a non-english part somewhere in the middle, sort of like a second chorus. The original song (well sort of, we’ll get into that) doesn’t have a part in another language. So i started looking for the lyrics.

First the obvious, the lyrics button in Spotify itself. Turns out the lyrics aren’t synced to the song and a major part, the part that I’m looking for, is missing and just represented with an ellipsis (…). Similar to how it still is here (as of October 31, 2023 ).

To Google we go, where I made a couple discoveries: - there’s a ton of different versions, both nightcore and not - it’s hard to find stuff because How Do You Do! - Roxette also exists - the two major non-nightcore versions are by Boom! and BeFour - neither has the non-english section - there’s lots of websites claiming to have the correct lyrics but they either have the standard english-only lyrics or the spotify-version with the ellipsis

The Surrender

At this point a was feeling like just leaving it be even though I had the song on repeat and really wanted to know what it says, but I decided to look a bit more. In the Wikipedia article about the BeFour song it said that the actual original song is a Russian song called Kanikuly by Bum, so I thought maybe it’s from that song. But no, it sounds completely different.

On Spotify it credits Kim Peter Göran Johansson Karlsson as the songwriter, which is an extremely Swedish name. Additionally it also sounded kind of Scandinavian to me (that’s probably just my bias due to the languages I’ve been exposed too and Caramelldansen) which led me to believe I was on the right track. However, my limited Swedish skills in conjunction with various translation and automatic speech recognition tools as well as conversations with multiple LLMs didn’t get me anywhere.

The credited record label is 1702219 Records DK which I thought might be Danish but it turns out DK just stands for DistroKid, a music distribution service. So no luck there.

I also found this version on SoundCloud which said it was Russian but I assumed that was wrong and probably just due to the original song mentioned earlier. It did not sound like Russian to me at all, probably because I’d never heard Russian in that high pitched nightcore voice.

So then I gave up.

The Resolution

Just today, three days after first looking into this I told a friend (who coincidentally knows a little Russian) about my search over lunch. He went on Spotify to listen to the song a few hours later and then sent me a text á la “Hey, it’s Russian, the lyrics are right here on Spotify”. At first I didn’t believe that because Spotify was obviously the first place I’d looked but it turns out they updated the lyrics very recently and they in fact now have the full (russian) lyrics. So know I present:

The Russian Lyrics to How Do You Do - Nightcore Fanatics

Превед медвед, Мы не виделись сто лет, Я везде тебя найду, How do you do you do

For those who can’t read Cyrillic:

Preved medved, My ne videlis' sto let, Ya vezde tebya naydu, How do you do you do

And in English:

Hello bear, We haven’t seen each other for a hundred years, I’ll find you everywhere, How do you do you do

The Backstory

The lyrics being updated exactly now sounds like a massive coincidence and a ton of luck for me of course but I’m not sure it is. I obviously somehow got to this song exactly now for some reason and i think that reason is an algorithm, maybe the Spotify recommendation system, maybe TikTok, maybe tumblr, maybe even YouTube, maybe multiple of them together. I’m pretty sure that song is going a bit viral somewhere right now and I’m just part of that wave which is why Spotify was getting much more traffic on that song and decided to prioritize the lyrics. Another example for how marvelous the internet really is.

I also found a reddit thread about exactly this today where the guy transcribing the lyrics asks for help which is kind of funny.

Finally, what does Hello bear actually mean? Well, it stems from a big Russian meme about a peculiar picture. In this slang words are purposefully misspelled (”Preved” instead of “Privet”) which then leads to the according to the “cringe af” lyrics. This is a good starting point if you want to read more.

[just-aro]

*sigh*

I'm seeing variations of this meme around again, so to today's (un)lucky 10000:

the "inside you there are two wolves" meme is racist. full stop. it was invented by a Christian pastor in the late 70s and attributed to the Cherokee nation, despite being completely made up. every native american / indigenous page I've ever followed denounces it as made up and racist, using their imagery to sound mystical and wise while ignoring the people themselves.

please consider using another format. try to use your guilt productively: I'm not calling you out, this is aimed at educating. You can't erase not knowing in the past, but you can elect to 1) not reblog these in the future, 2) delete any that are easy to delete, 3) help to spread education by following native people's accounts and news so that you hear this from them, not me.

[unwounding]

Is this an ad?

[aofirs]

How to use search engines to become an internet researcher

You'd like to learn the steps to becoming an online researcher, and it's already a reality. Although you may not consider yourself an internet-based researcher, you've likely been doing it since you've had internet access. But you need to get the money you deserve for it. Some Web Design London firms weigh your down, and bills pile up. You may like to work at your home. Being paid for doing what you already do would be a lucrative job. Of course, beginning the career of an online researcher is different from looking on Google (or any other search engine in general) to find answers to your questions. A variety of industries depend on the reliability of research, from the medical and academic fields to political, legal, and many more. Thus, online researchers are highly sought-after. Where and how do you begin? This is what we're going to discuss in this article.

Search Engines:

Search engines, often referred to as search services, enable users to search for contents of documents and pages via the World Wide Web. Web Development London agencies create search engines using programs and software. These programs, commonly referred to as spiders and robots, scan the contents of Web sites to build an index that contains Web pages.

Knowing about the top search engines is crucial for efficiently searching the Web. Knowing how to utilize all search engines can be an enormous task. Deciding which search engine to use for a specific search and being able to develop effective queries could significantly impact your outcomes. Many search engines offer search capabilities, including Boolean Operators, keyword, field searching, phrase search, and term proximity.

Search engines are classified similarly to print indexes in general multithreaded, subject mega search, parallel, or meta search engines. Read more about How to use search engines to become an internet researcher

[archivegeo]

trackpad painting of this man that took [redacted] hours

[sabujadnan]

I will do virtual assistant for data entry, web research, and copy paste

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[ruinsofathen]

digital immortality | virtual e-morality

1. blueskies-bluescreens on tumblr 2. death, virtual grief and your digital footprint 3. online status of a steam community user 4. my journal dot com 5. & 7. hacked-wtsdz on tumblr 6. STurner4077 on twitter 8. the new forms of mourning by julie alev dilmaç 9. all the ghosts in the machine: illusions of immortality in the digital age 10. unknown 11. fairycosmos on tumblr 12. researching death online

[markscherz]

do you like becoming tumblr famous or is it scary

So far, it's pretty good. I get an astonishing number of asks, and I feel bad that I cannot answer or address them all, but other than that, practically everyone has been lovely so far.

I have a bit of an odd relationship with fame. For much of my childhood, I idolised people who were famous, and dreamt of one day being famous, too. As I grew up, I met or interacted with more and more famous people, and later even got to know some very well. When you see it up close, it is often not desirable at all. It is in fact a huge strain on these people. And that's something I think we often forget; these are just people. Just apes wearing silly scraps of fabric and worrying about their families and their health, just like everyone else.

And so, I have no real interest in being famous, tumblr or otherwise. But I do enjoy having a wonderful, large, and continuously growing audience who revel in and enjoy the weird and wonderful creatures that I spend so much of my time thinking about, working on, and pursuing. I hope that it continues to grow! As I say, you have all been really lovely so far, and I could not find a better community on any other platform—of that I am sure! 🐸