Saturday, May 05, 2007

The day Wikipedia let me down

Et tu Google? Then fall Stephen!

One of the more valuable lessons I learned at university was how little I know, compared with the vast bank of knowledge known to the human race. (I also learned that the vast bank of knowledge known to the human race is miniscule compared to the set of all knowledge that exists, a lesson that even some very smart academics could do with learning, but that's another rant.)

However, one of the tricks I know for always appearing more knowledgeable than I really am is the ability to research effectively. This has allowed me to work out such diverse things as the specifics of the Competition Act, the time when a particulr Welsh rubby club is on TV, and on which channel, and so forth.

Anyway, I am a firm believer in the notion that with Google available, every question is an easy question... so it was rather a shock yesterday when it failed me.

I had been invited to a birthday party, a party I had decided not to attend because I didn't actually know the person, nor she me, and I was pretty sure I was only invited out of politeness (since everyone else at the band was invited). However, on Thursday I was called by a guy at the band, who explained that they were trying to put together a mini-band for the event, and were really short on people - so could I possibly attend.

Foolishly, I neglected to ask where the "ICI club" was to be found. But no matter - with Google every question is an easy question, right?

Wrong. It turned out that the "ICI club" was more properly known by some other name, which meant the BT directory enquiries didn't get a hit. Google searches for "ICI club Falkirk" established that the club was, in fact, located in Grangemouth... but nothing more.

In the end, I did find the place, but without the assistance of the Internet. No, instead I was forced to resort to a Jedi mind-trick. I went to Grangemouth and drove around until I saw a likely sports centre, whereupon I went inside, smiled at the receptionist, and asked for directions. Problem solved.

As for the night itself... it wasn't a classic. I'm currently exhausted, having had to work long hours all week, and having had to work today and last Saturday (and, my holiday was cancelled this week :( ), so that didn't do me much good. And, as anticipated, I didn't really know anyone there, and they all knew each other, which proved something of a problem.

On the plus side, I was nominated as the Pipe Major for the evening, and did that bit of my job quite well. (My actual play was lousy though. Oh boy, was it bad.) Still, never mind.

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