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stranger
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I'm a writer. A character in the book I'm writing now is a scientist who studies fossil fish - he studies paleoichthyology. I put that into Google and got the expected results - lots of stuff about fossil fish. Then for fun I put ichthyopaleontology into Google and got some really weird results. Most of the hits were for porn sites. Can somebody tell me what's going on here?
thanks
Phillip
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No, I can't tell you what's going on, Phillip, but I can and do wish you a hearty welcome aBoard. I've gotten some mystifying results on Google, too. My guess is that, of all of us, tsuwm may be your best bet for an explanation of how Google works.
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Phillip,
Hello and welcome. We've had discussions here about ichthyophallic, and, curiously enough, I've just started a thread about the threat of being cornobbled, but ichthyopaleontology makes me chuckle--the possibilities are endless. No surprise that you came upon the sites you did. I would expect that there would be a branch of paleontology that deals this topic... Now, Jackie's theories on pipestone ("Rocks in Our Heads" thread?) may provide a missing link.
Best regards,
WW
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There is more money in porn than in science, alas. Here is a link about Agassiz, the founder of study of fossils. http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/lefa/LAgassiz.html and links to other sites that might be of interest.
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We've had discussions here about ichthyophallic
dr. bill, do you want to correct Dub-Dub (purely in the interest of linguistic precision), or shall we quietly leave the matter untouched?
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Dear Keiva: I remember Fred Allen saying somebodys handshake was like taking hold of a frozen mackerel. But there aren't too many jokes about finny phalli. I assume you made the typo intentionally.
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Oh, c'mon, guys...make the bloody correction. My spelling's become dependably fishy these days!
Gone fishin',
WordWeir
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as a matter of fact, I can explain the reason for all of those seemingly unwarranted(!) search hits. as a web publisher you can put a list of words in your page headers which will show up on web searches; e.g., as a word site publisher you might use "vocabulary, word site, logophile, etc." then on a search for such a word your site would turn up.
now, there are lists of words available that are meant to be spelling lists or whatnot, which have a reasonable approach to exhaustivity. the OneLook spelling/lookup feature uses such a list. a site which just wants to get hits, not caring what folks are searching for at all, will use the whole spelling list as keywords. these hits will usually be at the very bottom of a google hit list, but for rare words that appear almost nowhere else, there you are.
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No Dub-dub, surely you realize the prefixual difference is of particular import here. For this root in particular, distinction between the ithy- and ichthy- configuations goes to the very root* of the matter. If unclear, Dub-Dub, discuss further with the Dub-Dub Hub-Hub.
Accordingly, a man would not so misspeak, for as has been previously well-noted, "men are so sensitive about their anatomies".
___
* in the Ozian sense
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Keiva: "*in the Ozian sense"--gotcha! Radical!
I realized my spelling error driving to school.
But back to paleontology and fish: Do we know the oldest fish, that is something that swam with fins? When did fins come about?
I read about a kind of eel called "the pride"--but it had another name that was by far more interesting and I've forgotten its more interesting name. Drat.
Hooked on this topic,
BubblingDub
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Dear WW: I had never heard about an eel called pride. But I searched and found this : 2. (Zoöl.) A small lamprey eel; the pride. The lampreys are also called cyclostomes because they have no jaws. Their mouth is a rigid circle, and they feed by attaching to fish, and a movable rasping plate grates away fish flesh. The lampreys got into the Great Lakes from the ocean via the Welland Canal, and have been a terrible predator on game fish. Millions of dollars have been spent controlling them. The has been rather good control by putting electic barriers in mouths of small streams where they go to breed. They are unredeemably ugly. I'll search for site about dontrol efforts. PS. http://biology.usgs.gov/s+t/SNT/noframe/gl129.htm
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old hand
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Dear Phillip, From a Newbie to a Stranger, welcome. In answer to your question, the character in your book would be more believable if you describe him as a "paleontologist specializing in ichthyology". Few paleontologists are funded to such a narrow degree. But if you insist, use "paleo-ichthyolgy" as hyphenized, "paleoichthyology" might qualify as one of the ugliest appearing words in the english language. Good-bye Philip, (or had you rather be called "pgwynne"). Best of luck with your book. Milum. PS: Do not confuse those porn sites you visited with this board. Even though threadlines like this one sometimes degenerate to the basest of comments, we have a devise called "Jackie, the gutter queen" who will quickly put things back in place. PPS: Speaking of porn sites...uh, did they have one about uh...oh well, forget it. 
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A man without a bicycle is like a woman without ...
Um, no, forget it.
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If I had the time and inclination, I would look for a porn site which specialised in the really wierd. Like one which caters to lovers of fossilised fish ...
Nah, forget it!
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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If I had the time and inclination...
You might try working on the porn sites reached by googling faldage and see what they have in common.
If you have the time and inclination.
And if you have a license.
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Time and inclination. Plus the money and no fear of STD.
Hi, Faldage!
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Hi Dr. Bill!
You needn't fear a Doctor of Sacred Theology (Sacrae Theologiae Doctor). You're doing the research for purely educational reasons.
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tsuwm says, as a matter of fact, I can explain the reason for all of those seemingly unwarranted(!) search hitsI am pleased to see that I was right on the money. No surprise, my friend. =========================================================== we have a devise called "Jackie, the gutter queen" who will quickly put things back in place.Glad to oblige, any old time! [shaking my tail feathers e] 
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old hand
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GUYS GUYS GUYS
We have a dead-set legend in our midst!!!
WELCOME ABOARD PHILLIP GWYNNE!!
Phillip - bit of trivia for you - both Bean and I have degrees in Marine Science as well! Mine from Sydney U, hers from Canada.
I hope AWAD continues to be of interest to you and look forward to the next book.
Have you thought of contacting Dr John Long at UWA to bounce ideas off? He is a palaeoicthyologist of some note - and also an author of non-fiction and popular fiction books.
stales
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I don't know if it's protocol - but bugger it if it is - but here's a profile of our latest member:
"Phillip Gwynne is an extrememly talented new writer, whose first novel Deadly, unna? won the 1999 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction. His remarkably fresh and original voice marks him as a major new talent.
Deadly, unna? is a rites of passage story about friendship, racism and Australian Rules Football. The superb writing and characterisation vividly captures the essence of small town life and the population of white and black people.
Themes include family relationships, independence, notions of masculinity, difference, prejudice and violence. As the style of the narrator is appealing, quirky and complex, teenagers easily relate to the story while the football aspect of the novel appeals particularly to young male readers.
Phillip was born in Melbourne but grew up in rural South Australia, one of eight children. He somehow acquired a degree in Marine Biology, but then ran away to see the world. He has worked at a number of jobs including computer programming in Europe and teaching in Thailand and counting fish in Brazil. Approaching the age of forty, and having tried just about everything else, he decided to start writing. He is currently working on a screenplay based on his novel (film option was taken up by Jane Scott of Shine fame) and a sequel to Deadly, unna? He lives in Sydney with his young son.
Feedback.
"The greatest strength of Deadly, Unna? is its portrayal of Australian family life written cleverly with a blend of old Aussieisms interspersed with teenage lingo. It is fast-moving, humorous, and intriguing, a fair dinkum page turner which will provide hours of enjoyment in addition to evoking admiration for this new writer’s skills with thoughts and words. Brilliant first book by new Aussie author"
- Margaret Clark, Geelong Advertiser"
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If I had the time and inclination, I would look for a porn site which specialised in the really wierd. Like one which caters to lovers of fossilised fish ...You mean like a Coelacanth fetish? Deep.  Oh, goody! I get to graduate, and dump that dreadful "addict," on a kinky paleontology thread! Who'd've thought? And is wierd weirder than weird, CapK?
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stranger
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mate,
I'm not sure about dead-set legend. Maybe in my own lunchtime.
Thanks for the info about paleoichthyology. Amongst the truly dreadful puns I got the answer I was looking for.
I know somebody is going to ask me about the title of my first book (I've actually written three now, almost four).
Deadly, unna? is actually Aboriginal slang. Aboriginal people all over Australia have adopted the term 'deadly'. Basically it means 'fantastic' or 'great'. 'Unna' is quite specific to the area where I grew up, to the Aborigines I used to play football with. It's equivalent to the Cockney 'innit'. A typical sentence would be 'Hot day, unna?' or 'That John Howard's a dickhead, unna?'
I might just blow my own trumpet here a bit. The book has just been made into a movie (I wrote the screenplay) which has just been selected for the Sundance Film festival. So instead of spending January in sunny Sydney I'll be in not-so-sunny Salt Lake City.
My own particular interest is slang, especially Australian slang. And my worry is that a lot of the great Aussie slang terms are dying so I'm on a one-man crusade to keep them alive!
Which is probably why I can't get an American publishing deal. They say my books are too 'parochial'.
I'd very much like to contact Dr Long. Even though us writers bend reality to suit our own purposes I'd like to get the science as correct as I can. Does anybody have his email?
thanks again for your help
Phillip
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old hand
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(1) I believe John Long's email address is long@museum.wa.gov.au (2) Did the City Fathers of Salt Lake City spring for your trip - like they did for the IOC? P-) (3) Look forward to your Ozslang contributions. It's a hobby of mine as well - and well supported by many on the AWAD board. Jackie or Helen ("oftroy") sent me a good URL of a site with heaps of good old Aussie slang - ladies can you repeat the favour? (My favourite was "as flash as a rat with a gold tooth")(4) (for anybody that's interested) WA claims the best 3D fish fossils in the world and we've adopted one as our state fossil emblem. John Long described the species from Gogo Station and named it for his colleague and fellow fish freak Ken McNamara. Full details at http://www.dpc.wa.gov.au/emblems/gogo.htmlcheers stales
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jmh: Many thanks for the site on King Henry I. So, it was the fat of the eel that did him in! Death by fat at one sitting. Incredible!
WW
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RE: So instead of spending January in sunny Sydney I'll be in not-so-sunny Salt Lake City.
Actually, it will be sunny. not warm, but sunny. that part of US often has clear, cold days.. I haven't checked the weather reports.. but its is a great area for skiing.. (a bit is going to be done round that way in February).
but isn't the Sundance Film festival in Jackson's Hole Wyoming? if it is, you'll love it. i haven't seen all of the US, but Wyoming is the most beautiful state i have seen! and Jackson's hole is spectaculary beautiful-- this coming from a cynical NY'er! great skiing there too..
if it is SLC, well worse then the weather is SLC is not a party town.. (and commentary at the Sydney games indicated Sydney was.. )you would be likely to find more exciting night life on a walkabout in the bush, than in SLC. But it will be sunny.
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In England they used to feed them to kings
Stories are told that the so-called First Thanksgiving feast, thrown by the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, featured no turkey but did have eel on the menu.
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Sweet WO'N, congratulations on losing your addiction! And, Phillip, congratulations to you, too. Oh my goodness--Sundance is operated by...[be still my heart e]... Robert Redford. Do you think you might get to meet him? If so, I am your new production assistant, whom you cannot do without. There oughta be a law against any man being that good-looking. swoon! And, my dear...if all you were referring to as 'dreadful puns' was what you have read in this thread--BOY, do you have a lot to learn! And, thanks for explaining 'unna'--that was Greek to me!
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There oughta be a law against any man being that good-looking.
Are women as bewildered by what men think good-looking as men are about what women do?
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Pooh-Bah
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>Stories are told that the so-called First Thanksgiving feast, thrown by the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, featured no turkey but did have eel on the menu. I understand that the eels went particularly well with the popcorn. It is such a shame that the tradition was dropped, it would be great going to buy some eels and popcorn on the way into the cinema. Of course, you still can in the East End of London http://www.pilot.co.uk/NewFiles/PFood_Eel.htmlBy the way, I thought that the Australians thought that we'd sent the wretched refuse of our teeming shore to them. Didn't the pilgims leave our ungodly isle of their own accord?
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Are women as bewildered by what men think good-looking as men are about what women do?
I've seen it "confuse" them... but I've seen them be wild about *it more often.
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Are women as bewildered
I've seen them be wild about *it
And what bit of etymological wisdom lies behind this seemingly innocent witticism?
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And what bit of etymological wisdom lies behind this seemingly innocent witticism?I can neither confirm the information nor deny the intent, however, yer not supposed to answer a question with a question. 
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