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Our Virtual Accomplishments

caesar novus

Entry posted by caesar novus

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I rarely google myself, but tried it after recent news about false personal info spreading online. I was amazed to find Amazon and books.google sold publications authored by me. Actually out-of-stock, nondigitized bookLETS, but I never submitted these. Wow, does this mean fame ormoney, and how or why? Google yourself for lies, and they may even be charitable ones!

 

In one case, they had pruned off the name of my coauthor in an internal company publication. He had far superior credentials and apparently greater ambition to submit it commercially (requiring legal reviews too intimidating for me). I remember we had little meeting of minds, but worked on it in opposite time zones. Got his draft by email at dawn and I would spend next couple hours frozen with my head in my hands about how he botched most stuff I knew about. Rewrote it and email by sunset, where probably he held his head in his hands, facing the redo of my botch-alisms in his area of expertise. Round the clock activity, but doubtful progress.

 

There's another case where a respected researcher included me authoring a conference report where I only understood a smidgen. I only dared to correct his english, because if I got seriously involved it would be delayed by legal reviews. It turned out to be widely cited for a couple decades, and only seemed to drop off google in the last few days. Again I never received or deserved tangible credit, but got to enjoy virtual celebrity via search engine. Any actual accomplishments being more under the radar.

 

I have more genuine pride about a European magazine article depicting, but not naming, me at play. While reading about an extreme sport attempt on the worlds "highest" mountain (only if measured in a gimmicky way) it appeared to be me in their picture, based on helmet and equipment color. I contacted the author, who had been our guide on that expedition but who wrote it up as his solo accomplishment. I had no complaint, and now treasure his written confirmation that I was the pictured person who defied timidity in such an out-of-character folly. Something unknown, but at least real.

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caldrail

It's somewhat galling to note that every other person with the same name as me appears more often on the internet. So much for my publicity department...

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caldrail

Now I'm annoyed. The Clark family (if that's their real names) have opened Caldrail Ltd back in 2004 and done no business whatsoever since. Sounds a bit dodgy to me. Maybe they thought I was going to be famous? There's hope for me yet.

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Melvadius

I did a search for myself and most of the top-rated hits came up as UNRV or else related to some articles I wrote for another site several years ago. However I discovered that at least one article on Roman helmets has been lifted entirely and with some added illustrations placed onto another site. :suprise:

 

OK I did grant copyright for non-commercial use with the original posting, I have been cited as the author and the aditional illustrations separately credited but it is a bit of a suprise to find such material where I don't expect it.

 

Which leads on to complete confusion about precisely which quirk of sloppy programming has meant that a similarly sourced article about visiting Herculaneum is automatically tied into search results for things like 'Find a guitar teacher in Herculaneum, Missouri' :blink:

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