University of South Carolina Libraries
Quigmans ♦ By Buddy Hick'erson rrMB J •''' i;!l* ' Cb ®04 TrXt** McJi'i Servicer C”*»'Vstg<r«re. < om “I can’t believe it. I buy her a drink and she doesn’t even make out with me. Frickin’ feminazis.” Buttercup Festival ♦ By Elliott G. Garbauskas Itvm£ ^ A-** -S****'^, CAPTAIN RIB WAN ln Olympic Golden Showers by Sprengelmeyer & Davis PAUL BY BILLY O'KEEflE www.wR8mv.coM V • ;r. v _ MAVBE SHE’S JUST TELLIN6 HEBSELF THAT I BECAUSE IT’S THE ONLV WAV FOB HEB TO CONTAIN HEB DES/fiE FOB ALL TWS. > J JELL IF THAT MAKES VOU FEEL BE-I | WAFT, VOU ACTUALLV 6QT A JOB?/1 How does Google, well, google? By Robert S. Boyd KRT CAMPUS If you’re considering investing in Google or you use this popular Internet searching system, you may wonder how in the world the amazing thing works. To answer users’ queries, the system founded six years ago by two Stanford University graduate students has scanned and stored nearly 4.3 billion Web pages. In computer jargon, Google’s “search engines” use robotic “spiders” — special software programs — that “crawl” continuously along the myriad trails of the World Wide Web, “harvesting” documents as they go. A separate piece of software builds an index of every word the spiders find. When a user submits a query — such as “Mount Everest” or “Bill Clinton” — the search engine checks the index, fetches each document that contains those words, sorts them by relevance and returns the most pertinent ones first. To improve the results, Google uses a patented method called “PageRank,” a sort of popularity contest that tries to determine which documents are likely to be most valuable to the user. For each page, the PageRank system counts the number of other pages that are linked, or connected, to it. In essence, Google interprets a link from Page A to Page B as a “vote” by Page A for Page B. In addition to the number of votes a page receives, the system analyzes the status of the pages that cast the votes. Popular pages weigh more heavily in the calculation. Google uses other tricks as well to determine a document’s ranking. Words in a special typeface, bold, underlined or all capitals, get extra credit. Words occurring close together — such as “George” and “Bush” — count for more than those that are far apart. Finally, Google returns the documents that match a user’s query, ranked in order of their relevance as determined by their page rank. CROSSWORD ACROSS 1 Thunder sound 5 Actress Lanchester 9 Address for a lady 14 Page 15 Floor pads 16 Fred’s first dance partner 17 Beings 19 Type of transit 20 Edgy 21 Sandra and Ruby 23 Cummerbund cousin 24 That girl 26 Powerfully emotional 29 Kind of pasture? 33 Streetcar in London 34 Passe 36 Be nervously irresolute 40 Craving 41 Capsule 43 Mexico’s gold 44 Maxims 46 Makes a reference to 48 Crafts’ partner 50 Canted sheds 51 European capital 55 Comic Caesar 56 Youngster 57 Computer fodder 59 “ER” character 63 Bestow 66 Astronomer’s device 68 Crime locale 69 Creature comforts 70 Satan’s realm 71 Evidence unit? 72 Blackthorn 73 Match components DOWN 1 Covenant 2 Emerald Isle 3 Yemen city 4 Tethered 5 Cassowary cousin 6 Fat © 2004Tribune Media Services, Inc. 08/25/04 All rights reserved. 7 Proud mount 8 Declare 9 Impair 10 Oklahoma town 11 Station 12 Defense focus 13 Doc 18 Adolescents 22 Pilchards 25 Gave a second chance to pass 27 Supports 28 Qty. 29 Spanish painter 30 Regretted 31 Sicilian volcano 32 Sub], for Billy Graham 35 Lake maker 37 Loud, raucous cry 38 Rubik with a cutx 39 Flag fabricator 42 Part of GTE 45 Matter form 47 Persuades 49 Lists of candidates Solutions sl1l3lsB3l°l1lsBql3ldlH~fi' 1 I A 'isBa SV3M3N30S 3 d O 0 shr 1 3 TBBm OQN 3 3 s y MMBo' i sMs i 3 s sin y a S O 1 N V 3 tBBT i y yp S 1 N 101 I IX1N 13 I^MlI S 3 I Ojv Q V ■£i£0 3_3 d 5 itMhi S_JN 3__i V 3 d 3 j_ a__j_ v_ ~T| V1 3 1 d > 51 Sanctify 52 Dressing selection 53 Milk dispenser? 54 Rip-off 58 Too 60 Wander 61 Roasting rod 62 Underwater shockers 64 Five before six 65 Get married 67 Wide shoe HOROSCOPES ARIES New assignments and responsibilities are rapidly coming your way. Don’t turn them down, but do make sure you spell out the terms. Minimize errors. TAURUS The urge to try new things and see new places becomes stronger the next several days. What can you schedule for fun? GEMINI A good coach will help you develop the skills you’re trying to acquire. You’ll have to listen and do as you’re told, however, which could be a challenge. CANCER A distinguished and sometimes serious person can be a big help. He or she can teach you ways to feel better about yourself. Relax, and soak it up. LEO A lot of work for the next two days, and it ought to pay well. Get your fun and games scheduled early. You’ll be too busy later. VIRGO Frustrations diminish over the next day or two, and you can relax. Schedule something you really enjoy doing, with one of your favorite people. LIBRA Watch out for unexpected changes in plans for the next few weeks. Be flexible, alert and patient with people who arrive late. SCORPIO A voice from the past could show up again, much to your surprise. You’ll also be amazed to see how much you both have changed. SAGITTARIUS Great wealth can be yours, without an awful lot more work. This is not the lottery; it’s someone paying an old debt. CAPRICORN Go over your resources one more time. You’ve overlooked something. If you come from a different point of view, the answer is obvious. AQUARIUS The list of things you have to do is growing, as you may have noticed. Delegate as much as you can, or you’ll never get it all done. PISCES You’ll naturally think more about the job you’re doing, and that’s good. You’ll figure out ways of fixing things with what you already have. Don’t be afraid to go backward. CALENDAR The Rosebuds BAA 1 With Perfect Sleeper, Cypress ABH& 1 fl Knees: 9 p.m. Thursday. New ** ® Brookland Tavern. $6. TODAY “The Breakfast Club”: Russell House Theater, 8 p.m. “Super Size Me”: 3, 7 and 9 p.m. Nickelodeon Theatre, 931 Main St. Dog Fashion Disco with Tubring, Bad Acid Trip, Little Baby Dynamite, Oddzar: 8 p.m. New Brookland Tavern, 122 State St. $7. Patti Rothberg with Django Haskins: 10 p.m. Art Bar, 1211 Park St. No cover. THURSDAY, AUG. 26 "The Breakfast Club”: Russell House Theater, 8 p.m. The Rosebuds with Perfect Sleeper, Cypress Knees: 9 p.m. New Brookland Tavern. $6. Allison Polans with Jennifer Moore: 9 p.m. Jammin’ Java, 1530 Main St. Pay-What-You Want show. “Super Size Me”: 3, 7 and 9 p.m. Nickelodeon Theatre, 931 Main St.