When you are looking for something very specific online, the very last think you want is to use a search engine that returns hundreds or irrelevant results ahead of the results that will actually give you the information you wanted in the first place. All too often, that’s the case, though. Even the search engines that pride themselves in having advanced, complicated, cryptic algorithms and filtering criteria show bad results more often than not. How many times have you typed in a search term just to find that first 20 results are simply pages full of ads?

That’s why it’s exciting when a new method of searching comes online, especially if there is user input. Spock.com is a new, free people and info search that returns results based on how a topic or subject is “tagged”. Users and Spock staff assign the tags and then other users can vote on the tags, helping to further determine relevance. Consensus, which is basically what is used on sites like Wikipedia, helps keep the results honest and constantly fresh.

If Spock catches on the way I think it will, we should see the word Spock turn into a verb very soon, hence the title of my post: Spock, Spocking, Spocked.

– “Hey, what do you know about that old show Maude?”
– “Not much. Let me Spock it.”

Spock is not a social network, but pages on LinkedIn and MySpace (just to name a few social sites) can be returned as a result. That makes it easy to find friends on Spock. So, it really does feel like it has a social element, which makes the whole systems feel people-centric and real – Velveteen Rabbit kind of real, baby.

Here, let me show you what results can look like. I did a search for Terry Pratchett, an author I love and who has been on my mind since I watched Hogfather last week. Her results page pulls up a series of tags that show me different ways she is categorized, as well as internet links and so forth. I’m inserting a little widget that puts it into a graphic format.

I’ve been watching Tin Man on SciFi and it is really much more excellent that I assumed it would be. The nods and asides to the original story are clever and not heavy handed. The new details are intricate and impressive. The final episode has revealed that one of my theories about the timeline of the story is correct, so that feels pretty cool.

Even Alan Cumming, an actor who I have not much favored in the past, is great in Tin Man. His Glitch character is charming and wry and altogether approachable. Stream of consciousness thoughts began flowing and I started thinking about an ad I saw a while back about a fragrance marketed by Alan Cumming. I just have to put the commercial for it into my post. It’s odd and creepy and very well may have contributed to why I was unsure as to whether I liked the guy before.

Nope, we don’t ski here in Florida. Of course, that doesn’t means those who love to ski do not live here. We just have to make our way out of paradise periodically to go to the mountains and find the good trails. I have the opportunity when I go north to see my dad each year.

One of my best friends here in the Tampa area has a sister who lives in Paris with her husband. She sure struggled with learning the language, but she raved constantly about the skiing holidays her husband would whisk her away to luxury chalets in Courchevel, France – or sometimes Meribel.

Now, apparently you can find luxury ski chalets that are much like our bed & breakfasts here in the U.S., with breakfast, diner and often even wine provided by your hosts. Hello good life! A couple of luxury skiing holidays a year seems like a more than fair trade for learning the local language.

Most of us worry a little bit that personal conversation with a coworker may lead to gossip. Women especially tend to put a personal spin on chit-chat during breaks at work. We love to briefly discuss medical issues, dating, home life, and other interesting tidbits about out life. But, how often do you have to worry about a little girl talk getting you arrested?

Danny Boy’s Restaurant
Debra Lafave, Florida’s infamous former middle school teacher turned convicted having sex offender, was arrested Tuesday for “inappropriate but non-sexual contact” with a teenage coworker.

She is not allowed to have contact with anyone under 18, per the rules of her sentence.

Apparently, while still working at the Danny Boy’s restaurant in Sun City Center she fraternized with a 17-year-old female coworker, one-on-one and in group settings.

Lafave worked at the restaurant for almost two years and the store’s manager has had she was an excellent employee. He stated that they never had any problems with Lafave and that there were no issues with her interactions with other employees. The hostesses knew not to give her a table with minors.

The restaurant manager said the situation was “sprung up on us three weeks ago,” when he got a call from the probation office saying Lafave would not be working there anymore. No explanations were offered to the manager.

The 17-year-old is the only employee under 18 working at the restaurant.

Back Story
In 2004, LaFave was arrested at the home of a 14-year-old student, and accused of having sex with him at her apartment, her car, and her classroom. She was 23 at the time.

But, She’s Hot
Local Tampa bulletin boards are red hot right now. You may be surprised, or not, to hear how many people feel like the initial crime is a mute point because Lafave is “hot”. I would love to see what the same people might say if Lafave were older, or frumpy, or chubby, or wall-eyed.

Juicy Past
Remember that not so long ago, Backstreet Boys Nick Carter said on that Lafave was his first serious He said they met at church when they were teens living in Ruskin. According to Carter, he was 15 and she was 14 and he lost his virginity to her. He says, “I was head over heels for her and I loved the hell out of her.”

Carter claims that when he left to go on tour with the Backstreet Boys, Lafave cheated on him with a girl, prompting their breakup.

Now
She now works as a receptionist in her mother Joyce Beasley’s Plaza Barber Shop in Ruskin, FL. I’m assuming that’s the shop located at 12 Thriftway Plaza. Ruskin is just slightly southeast of Tampa, but still in Hillsborough County and on the Bay.

I think she might want to consider getting a job at a local shuffleboard facility.

One thing I have learned about making hotel reservations is that it rarely pays to go right to the source. If you call a particular hotel, you may be able to secure a good rate. But, if you use an online booking site that is able to buy in bulk, they can often offer a far more competitive rate. Plus, online reservation portals enable you to view side-by-side comparisons of scores of hotels in whichever area you wish to stay.

I’ve used the Hotel Reservations site on several occasions when I’ve been looking for a hotel in New York City, where I go regularly to see theater. I like being able to see all of the hotels available in the area and compare prices, quality and locations all in one glance. I’ve also used the site to shop for airlines tickets and car rentals. When it comes down to it, I just don’t have the time to go to tens of sites to comparison shop.

Bookmark their site and do a search when you have some time. More often than not, you’re going to find that their price for the same hotels offered on other travel sites is actually lower. The last time I was looking for a hotel in Orlando so we could take the kids to Disney, that is how I found the best rate on the hotel we wanted to use.

Or, more Florida Hijinks

Just recently I posted about how Debra Lafave has served two full years of house arrest successfully and was expected to ask for the remainder of her sentence to be converted to probation. My comment that she has served thus far without incident was spoken too soon. Lafave was arrested this morning for a probation violation.

You might remember Debra Lafave as the Hillsborough County English teacher who admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old student. She entered her guilty plea on November 22, 2005.

She was arrested today by the probation office, though details about her violation have not yet been made public. A local press conferences is expected in about an hour. I will try to update at that point.