Poster: A snowHead
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The rescue of avalanche victims could be quickened by a new system of 'geolocation', linked to the EU's future Galileo satellite network, under development in Berchtesgaden, Germany.
A buried victim's mobile phone could be located - to within a few centimetres - by a network of antennae sited on nearby mountain peaks. Ski patrols would use this intelligence to find avalanche survivors more quickly, during the critical minutes following burial and before a victim suffocates.
Galileo is intended to rival the existing American 'GPS' network currently used for global positioning.
This report from physorg.com.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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As was pointed out when this was reported previously, by the time Ski Patrols get there, it is usually too late anyhow.
Successful avalanche rescues are usally carried out by the victims' party.
And that is even assuming the mobile phone signal can be picked up through possibly several feet of snow.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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It's one thing I'm not confident enough as a skiier to have to worry about but it's definitely a worry in general.
Im doing a similar piece of research in my masters - the use of mobile phone technology for GEO-Location and know it can be done so excellent its being implemented in such an important, time sensitive way!
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Great! so we will get our buddies mobile phone back, assuming it was not smashed when it was ripped out their pocket during the avalanche
Tux
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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It's interesting that neither of those threads - dated December 2007 and November 2009 - come up by searching with the keyword 'Galileo' (both threads include that word in their texts). All I got was this (from August 2008):
Masque wrote: |
Pissing off the Pope . . . "Galileo, Reconsidered"
Nice article, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/26878714.html?imw=Y . . . filled in a few gaps for me but would really like to get my hands on a copy of the biography.
I do remember trying to wade my way through bits of "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems" . . . To my shame I gave up |
Has something gone wrong with the snowHeads search function since I last used it?
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Or am I searching with the wrong technology?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The Abominable snowHead wrote: |
....Has something gone wrong with the snowHeads search function since I last used it? |
Yes. admin and the mods haven't bothered about thread discipline resulting in a forum which is virtually unsearchable with its own search engine. However entering avalanche search galileo site:snowheads.com into Goole, searched all the active sections bar the likes of Apres, Le Chaudron, and the Pisteurs Hut, and produced this list.
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achilles,
Quote: |
a forum which is virtually unsearchable
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Ah. I can scarcely ever find anything and thought it was just me being dim.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The Abominable snowHead wrote: |
Or am I searching with the wrong technology? |
Yes David, you wanna search, use a search engine as Achilles says.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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what's thread discipline and how does it help the search feature?
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Obviously, from my point of view, it's embarrassing to repeat a story which has already been covered on snowHeads. The new physorg.com piece - linked above - is good and seems to contain some new detail but an update of the previous items by elHen and stanton would have made more sense. Maybe stanton posted his thread this month because he was unaware of elHen's 2007 piece.
All in all, this is not a good situation. For three years I've been searching online archives going back nearly 200 years and finding thousands of items of remarkable material. This is the essence of research. There are all kinds of reasons why news reporting and journalism generally rely upon effective search techniques (which amounted to comprehensive cuttings files before the internet came along).
This site will become increasingly vulnerable to competition if it hasn't got its act together. Maybe time to look at subscription revenue to finance this sort of stuff, if cost is a factor.
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You know it makes sense.
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davidof wrote: |
The Abominable snowHead wrote: |
Or am I searching with the wrong technology? |
Yes David, you wanna search, use a search engine as Achilles says. |
It says "snowHeads Forum Index". In my stupidity I assumed this meant it was a search engine. It's an index ... but maybe it's not actually an index. Maybe it's 'Masque's Greatest Hits'.
snowHeads wrote: |
snowHeads Forum Index
Please Note - because of the impact on overall site performance of certain large queries, some search results will actually be a reduced sub-set. Try to set more definitive terms using AND or 'Search for all terms'. If you think the wrong results have appeared please PM admin with an accurate description of the search you made. |
I typed in the word "Galileo". Is that a "reduced sub-set"? Is it a "definitive term"?
Sometimes I think I'd rather be a goldfish
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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The Abominable snowHead, Was it you under a different name that introduced the concept of Avalanche cords to snowHeads?
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Poster: A snowHead
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The Abominable snowHead, What you missed was the radio button on teh right hanfd side of the Search Options, which has the choice of "Search topic title only" (the default), or "Search topic title and message text".
If you select the second option, it returns the previous threads on this subject. If you leave it to the first (default) option, it doesn't.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The Snowheads Search function is, I believe, doing a text search in the RDBMS that runs the site. This is is very heavy on resources as it has to be done in real time so certain short cuts are taken (as pointed out above). A search engine preindexes pages and has scope for applying a lot of other nice stuff like plural/singular matching, stop word removal on both queries and indexes etc. It is much faster to make searches so fuzzy matching of query terms can be applied.
Snowheads would possibly be better using Google Site Search rather than their own database search or even running a search engine like SOLR. However that is a question for the administrators of the site.
The Abominable snowHead wrote: |
This site will become increasingly vulnerable to competition if it hasn't got its act together. Maybe time to look at subscription revenue to finance this sort of stuff, if cost is a factor. |
Well any website is vulnerable to competition, they are only a click away after all but in the UK general ski space there is nothing to match it. However if you think it is vulnerable to competition set up your own forum and have a go.
The "funky" nature of forums like snowheads is often a large part of the appeal. It is not easy to duplicate that.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Boredsurfing wrote: |
The Abominable snowHead, Was it you under a different name that introduced the concept of Avalanche cords to snowHeads? |
Yes it was. I use this name to introduce (or rather not introduce) more advanced electronic concepts.
I still reckon that if I'm buried and there's a few feet of lightweight red cord sucessfully floating on the snow above me, then a bunch of confused and dazed people looking for me might find me very quickly. But I've found that the majority of geeks on this forum only believe in things that bleep or flash - things which cost substantially more than a few yards of red cord.
Wikipedia on avalanche cords:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche
Quote: |
Using an avalanche cord is the oldest form of equipment — mainly used before beacons became available. The principle is simple. An approximately 10 meter long red cord (similar to parachute cord) is attached to the person in question's belt. While skiing, snowboarding, or walking the cord is dragged along behind the person. If the person gets buried in an avalanche, the light cord stays on top of the snow. Due to the color the cord is easily visible for rescue personnel. Typically the cord has iron markings every one meter that indicate the direction and length to the victim. |
No, I didn't write that!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Boredsurfing, did you have a particular reason for winding him up?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Nice trolling - yep transceivers are an international conspiracy to put off piste skiing out of reach of the humble working man or yeti and designed to send red cord manufacturers into penury. We're all agreed on that shirley?
Helmets?
Snow chains?
Boots in hand luggage?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The Abominable snowHead, to clarify a little, any site not barred to Google may be searched by it thus: avalanche search galileo site:snowheads.com. For snowheads, though robots.txt allows all, I believe that some sections, such as Le Chaudron, and Apres are barred from such search. Even so, Google remains the best way of searching this forum.
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geeo wrote: |
what's thread discipline and how does it help the search feature? |
on some websites moderators will lock or merge duplicate threads. I think this is what is meant. It probably depends on resources available to the site.
On other websites they'll even delete stuff that conflicts with their commercial interests.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The things you have to suffer, Doc. I don't know how you cope.
Here's an update on the Lewes Avalanche, if you're after something searchable. The person who inhabits (stuffs) this yeti suit has been helping Viva Lewes with a little article on the subject for their December 09 edition:
http://www.vivalewes.com/handbook/hb_back_issues/39_dec.pdf
Scroll to pages 16+17 ... and maybe see you at the Snowdrop Inn (under spirited new ownership) on the 27 December. The three talks will probably be at 10am, approx 2/2.30 pm and about 6/6.30pm. Free entry, with a collection for the homeless persons' charity Shelter.
Merry Christmas!
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The Abominable snowHead, nice... Wasn't there going to be a full length book?
Odd place Lewes. Hampstead meets Hailsham .Had a very good Thai meal there after taking sprog no 1 to a guitar master class a few weeks ago.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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stoatsbrother wrote: |
The Abominable snowHead, nice... Wasn't there going to be a full length book? |
Patience (rhymes with patients). These things take time!
Admittedly, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in three weeks. Maybe he was prescribed something.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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You mean The Abominable snowHead reviewed it here?
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You know it makes sense.
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No need to seek logic and clarity. Just take things at face value.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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On that note (sic) can I offer you a fiver to stop inquiring about the relationship between these two individuals? The Abominable snowHead is a student at City University and is not to be confused with any other person, living or dead:
http://citynarratives.wordpress.com
For any lurking geeks, Peter Moore's blogroll may be of interest (see right of page)
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Poster: A snowHead
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stoatsbrother wrote: |
Odd place Lewes |
The same area of Lewes (Cliffe) that witnessed the 1836 avalanche experienced the UK's most serious flooding in the year 2000. Its bonfire society is probably the most formidable of the several rival bonfire societies which set the town ablaze every 5 November. Not bad for a sleepy little area of town next to a sluggish river.
Appearances can be deceptive!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The Abominable snowHead, The Cliffe mob always come over to our Bonfire (unless the 5th is a Saturday) but this year we had two of the others as well... Wonderfully pagan. Harveys is a decent brewery too.
Throw another Catholic on the fire old chap...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I think the Lewes local currency ...
... was inspired by the radicals of the Cliffe.
And the man pictured on the note is Tom Paine, one-time Lewesian whose pamphlet 'Rights of Man' (1791) is said to have inspired the American Revolution.
Not a lot of people snow that
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The Abominable snowHead wrote: |
On that note (sic) can I offer you a fiver to stop inquiring about the relationship between these two individuals? The Abominable snowHead is a student at City University and is not to be confused with any other person, living or dead:
http://citynarratives.wordpress.com
For any lurking geeks, Peter Moore's blogroll may be of interest (see right of page) |
Collecting the fiver might be a bit of a hassle.
So go help yourself a pint (or send it to admin) on my behave.
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