[Coco] (OT)Me, too, also, ...

[Dennis Bathory-Kitsz]

At 01:37 PM 2/25/04 -0800, Ray Watts wrote:
>I could also use some tips on how you 
>conjured up that magic.

Years ago (1967-70) I worked in the reference and government documents
departments of the Trenton (NJ) Free Library. I learned how to narrow down
questions so I could walk downstairs to rooms full of government documents
that went back a century -- and find the answer within a few minutes. (I
also learned a lot about naval navigation maps there, because they were
updated weekly. Old pages had to be pulled out and new ones inserted.)

To answer a question for myself, I figure out what it is I want first,
because I know that just entering "Krakatoa" would give me thousands of
hits. I wouldn't use "volcano" because that would, search-wise at least, be
redundant. Then what's wanted is a map, probably a topographic map (not
topographical, at least on a first try).

For the next searches, I tried the alternate spelling of Krakatoa, as well
as Sunda Strait (in quotes to get them as phrase), and the most likely
misspelling, Sundra Strait. I also added the word "ordering" because I know
many sites will sell you things that are more 'valuable' than a free site
might offer.

Then I 'zoomed out' by asking about world historical maps, including
"Indonesia" in the search, saw where my links were marked as visited, and
checked the others.

I also use the Opera browser. CTRL+SHIFT+CLICK opens a window behind the
current one. That lets me click a dozen links before having to look at them
using the tabs at the bottom of the screen. Very handy for fast access.

Compared with the days of card catalogs and govdoc indices, Google is
librarian heaven.

Dennis