29 July, 2009

Why the Search Engine Bing Sucks

I've noticed on my Internet Explorer here at work that the Bing search engine has been updated and stuck on my toolbar. Being a pod drone I don't have the admin authority to remove this eyesore. So if ya can't beat 'em join 'em. That is, if you can find them. Bing sucks.
Now that it is forefront on my screen I am compelled to use it rather than opening a new Google search (I don't have a Google toolbar or search engine on the work brain).
OK, maybe I shuoldn't use the word compelled. That makes it look like Bing has some power of persuasion. No, it just has the ability and Microsoct pirate muscle to be the easiest and shortest means of a search. But it is not the fastest. Half of all Bing searches have resulted in opening a Google search to find exactly what I am looking for on the first page. Fancy that.
If Bing is taking over the search world then it's doing it the only way Microsoft knows how: by dumping its product on every machine it can and strangling better working products.

Here's an example. Do an Bing search for the word: Walnart

What happens? Bing does the thinking for you and corrects your spelling and searches for "Walmart"
19,300,000 results for Walmart. Wow, that's a lot! But it's not what I'm looking for. Useless.
Oh but there's a feature to search for just for results for Walnart.
Results? 538 results for Walmart.

Now do a Google search for Walnart? What do you get?

Pretty cool 'eh?

15 July, 2009

Baseball Has Been Berry Goot to Me.


So last night was the All-Star game. That’s major League Baseball All-Star for those sports fans who only know All-Star as NFL and NBA.

I believe last night was the first time I sat and watched the All-Star game since I was in elementary school. I think I remember Mike Schmidt , Wade Boggs and George Brett as being my favorite All-Stars of the last game I sat all the way through. Oh and Lance Parrish because I was a die hard 7 yr old Tigers fan.

Well last night was the first time ever that I rooted more for the National League than the American. I’m a Tiger fan by birth and an Oriole fan by inheritance so why Nat League?

You can credit my Suesue for that. She is a St. Louis native and long time Cardinals fan and baseball fan in general. She still feels that childhood excitement whenever she walks through the coliseum-like entrance of a major league ball park. It’s something that takes her back. Being with her at a game brings it back for me as well. That kind of exuberance is electric.

She credits St. Louis and the Cardinal fans for this spirit. She has said it many times before and last night’s All-Star game at Busch Stadium illustrated it: St. Louis is a baseball town. The fans are loyal to their team through and through but are also true baseball fans at heart. Even the announcers stated that the fans were giving their hearts to all of the players and the game itself. Of course their beloved Cards All-Stars received almost as much of an ovation as our -cool as a cucumber- president who not only threw out the first pitch but was bold enough to do it in a White Sox jacket.

The crowd loved him. The crowd loved baseball. And I was there until the final out.