Did You Know

What does Google mean to me?

The title made me giggle…it should say “what does Google not mean to me?”

Google is my “go-to person” for EVERYTHING that I am looking for information about, be it something I already know, or want know, or need confirmation about, or to settle an argument, anything and everything, there is pretty much nothing that Google cannot help you with.

The above got me thinking, Google has always just been “there” and I have never really thought about how it got its name, how the information gets there (for me to find) and what it all means…hmmm…this means I get to do some research (on Google of course)….

How Google did gets its name?

Turns out Google was born from a spelling mistake! What? The Grammar-nerd firmly instilled in me was horrified, turns out that Google is a misspelling of a real-life mathematical term, googol.

Back in the late 90’s, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were working on a search engine and they had called it “Backrub”……thank goodness they were smart (they were grad students at Stanford after all) and went on a brainstorming session to rename their search engine and with the help of a fellow student Sean, came up with the name “Googolplex”.

Googolplex is the name for 10 to the power of googol. Googol is the name used by mathematicians to reference 10 to the power of 100 or the number 1 followed by 100 zeros. (The name googol and googolplex were originally coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of Edward Kasner, a famous American mathematician)
When Sean suggested googolplex, Larry thought that the term googol was better and thought that the definition of the word was a great fit for what they were trying to do which was to index an unfathomable number of Internet web pages.

Sean, not realizing googol was spelled with an ol at the end, searched the Internet to see if the domain google.com was available. Larry liked the new word Sean had accidentally come up with, and voila! Google was named.

How does Google find what I am looking for?
Google has several steps that they take in order to find and collate their information (so that you and I can find it easy-peasy)

1. Spiders/Crawling as much of the web as they can.
SPIDERS!!!! that is just creepy and I had an instant visual of an old movie from 1984 starring Tom Selleck called Runaway that had all these hundreds of little killer robots in the shape of spiders (shudder) running around but thank goodness my Arachnophobia is unfounded, it’s not that type of spider (cue nervous giggle) Google has millions of servers spread out across the globe and these are used to crawl, index and power Google’s search engines and are constantly trying to find new pages and check existing pages for updates. A search engine spider does the search engine’s grunt work: It scans Web pages and creates indexes of keywords. Once a spider has visited, scanned and categorised a page, it follows links from that page to other sites. The spider will continue to crawl from one site to the next, which means the search engine’s index becomes more comprehensive with endless amounts of information.

2. Indexing the information that has been sourced.
Google has an index of 100 000 000 gigabytes (might actually be more by now) and that a LOT of data. On the pages that are indexed, Google will select pages or words which are relevant to the site, this is automated and determined by all kinds of metrics including how often a website is updated, what is the theme of the website etc.

3. Determining how the information should be ranked
Google uses a trademarked algorithm called PageRank, which assigns each Web page a relevancy score. A Web Page’s “PageRank” depends on the following (a) the frequency and location of specific keywords e.g. if a keyword only appears once, this webpage will get a low score for that keyword. (b) How long the web page has existed e.g. hundreds of new web pages are created daily and sadly some of them have a very short lifespan, Google places more value on a page that is active and has an established history. (c) How many other web pages link to your webpage
Well!! It seems that Google is a very, very busy search engine that is constantly looking for new information just to please me….and I am very grateful. My life without Google would be ‘informationless’, boring and unfathomable.

Google Quotes that ‘spoke’ to me:
Google is arguably one of the greatest inventions. The search engines is one of the greatest human inventions – Franklin Foer (I hear you Frankie……Google is the best!)
People at different stages of their lives are doing different things, and they all using Google – Susan Wojcicki (So true Susie, I would be lost without Google)
If it isn’t on Google then it does not exist – Jimmy Wales (Jim, I believe it!)

I found a new love in Google. I’m a Googler now – Alan Mulally (Al, you and me both, been in love with Google for a while now, I’m a Googler too!)

Sources:

Skill Crush
Quora
How Stuff Works
Brainy Quote

About Debbie Wessels

I started at Leads 2 Business in April 2008 in the tenders Department and transferred to the Projects Department during the same year. I was appointed Head of Department for Projects from February 2011 to March 2022. April 2022 I started a new adventure as Content Regulator.

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Awesome Internet Facts

I’ve heard you love fun facts!

Well, here are some of the best! – I hope you will have as much fun reading through them and learning something new as I did while researching materials for this post.

1. A little over forty years ago the internet was invented in a beer garden. In fact, it was founded on August 27, 1976 on a picnic table at Rossotti’s (or Zott’s) Alpine Inn Bear Garden – who says the best ideas don’t come over a drink 😉

2. The name Google was created accidentally. A spelling error was made by the original founders who were under the impression they were going for Googol.

3. The first computer mouse was invented by Doug Engelbrecht and it was carved from wood First Computer Mouse

4. As of 1st January 2018, the total internet users across the world was 4,156,932,140 (that’s over 4 billion users). While the average internet speed across the globe is 5.6Mbps, in the USA it is 18.8Mbps.
The country with the fastest internet speed is South Korea with an average Internet speed of 26.7Mbps!

5. Google is the most popular website in the world. YouTube is second and Facebook is third.

6. The first tweet was sent on March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey:

7. Mark Zuckerberg’s original Facebook profile number ID is 4 – https://www.facebook.com/zuck – The first three Facebook accounts were for testing.

8. The first YouTube video was uploaded April 23, 2005. It’s called Me at the Zoo

9. The GIF format was invented by Steve Wilke, an engineer at Compuserve in 1987.

10. Today, the Internet is 10,753 days old. Check How old is the Internet

11. This is what Google looked like in 2004:

12. Google rents out Goats to help cut down the weeds and brush at Google HQ – Google Blogspot

13. The first smiley appeared in 1979, when Kevin McKenzie tried to express his emotions by electronic means. First it look like this -) Three years later, Scott Fahlman added a colon : -) and it took the form we are used to.

14. The first AOL Instant Message was sent by Ted Leonsis to his wife on Jan. 6, 1993. It read, “Don’t be scared … it is me. Love you and miss you.” His wife replied, “Wow … this is so cool!” Leonsis later became AOL’s Vice Chairman.

15. The first sentence uttered on Skype was in Estonian in April 2003 by a member of the development team. It was ‘Tere, kas sa kuuled mind?’ or “Hello, can you hear me?” in English.

16. The very first domain name registered was www.symbolics.com on the 15th March 1958.

17. Domain name registrations were free till 1995.

18. Anthony Greco was the first man ever arrested for sending spam messages in 2005.

19. The first picture ever uploaded on the web was posted by Tim Burners Lee (inventor of the World Wide Web) on behalf of a comedy band called Les Horrible Cernettes.

20. The world’s first website is still online – Info.cern

21. The first webcam was deployed at Cambridge University computer lab – its sole purpose to monitor a particular coffee maker and avoid wasted trips to an empty pot.

22. The Internet took just 4 years to reach its first 50 Million Users.

It’s amazing how little we know about something we use for more than 10 hours a day! – We’re just scraping the surface when it comes to incredible facts about the Internet, but now you can go and dazzle your friends with your new-found knowledge.

Do you know of any other fun and interesting facts about the Internet? If so, let us know about them in the comments!

Sources:
Life Hacks
Buzz Feed News
The Fact Site

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About Chantélle Naudé

I have been with Leads 2 Business for 9 years, working in the Leads 2 Quotes department. Mother to two beautiful daughters.

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All you need to know about Drone Surveying

SURVEYING
What is surveying?

Surveying refers to the detailed inspection of an object or area. It is commonly used to investigate infrastructure, developments or to assist with mining activities.
There are many different forms of surveying, infra-red, aerial photography and sensing tools just to name a few.
These methods can be very costly and time consuming and in today’s times we need to be fast and cost effective. Drones now allow us to save time and money.

DRONE SURVEYING
One of the more effective tools that allow you to obtain data a lot quicker and easier.

Today’s drone technology has many benefits.

• Lower operational costs
• Real-time reporting
• Reliable data collection
• A birds-eye-view of any terrain.

Here are a few ways drone surveying can save time and money, making any project more cost effective:

• STOCKPILE SURVEYS
• SLOPE MONITORING / DETECTION
• TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEYS

Now the question that everyone is asking…. What are the pros and cons of Drone Surveying??

THE PRO’s:

• EASE OF DEPLOYMENT: Drones are able to complete survey projects in half the time of any traditional surveying method. Traditional surveying that took several weeks can now be done in a few short days, allowing projects to be done in less time.
• REDUCED RISK: Drones are able to go into harsh and hazardous terrains, allowing better collection of any data in any environment.
• DETAILED DATA: Drones are able to capture high-resolution images as they are equipped with imaging software which makes it easy to turn images into a wide variety of geo-referenced 2D maps and 3D models.
• WILDLIFE: Leads 2 Business are very passionate about saving Rhinos. Drone surveying greatly assists in the fight against rhino poaching and the protection of the environment.

THE CONS:
There are some concerns when it comes to drone surveying.
Government can restrict drones to only fly in certain areas. There can be legal and financial implications for any persons that are found to be in violation.

Thus, in short, the Pros out way the Cons by far, as long as you have all your legalities in order!

Click here to watch Heart of a Ranger.

Sources
Airborne Drones
DC Geomatics
Planet In House
Grind Drone

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About Connie van Tonder

I started working at L2B in April 2017 as an Accounts Executive. Not knowing too much about the construction industry. Learning new things every day and enjoying every second of it. Loving what I do!

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Tips for Blasting

Firstly we need to know what blasting is. It is a technically controlled, effective and safe way to break rock for excavation. It is primarily used in Civil Engineering, Mining and Quarrying for roads and dam construction.

What explosives are used for blasting?

It is a common misconception that dynamite or gunpowder are used for most blasting activities but it is rather the engineered blasting agents that account for approximately 90% of explosive material used.
Ammonium Nitrate mixed with either sodium nitrate or calcium nitrate is the most common product and pound for pound the more effective explosive.

What is involved in Blasting?

• Holes are drilled into the rock and filled with explosives. The more solid the rock the more explosives will be needed.
• Proper ventilation is required to remove not only the dust but also the combustion gases from the explosion. This needs to be done before work can be resumed.
• The rock then collapses once detonation takes place.
• The debris is removed and if need be reinforcing is put in place before further work takes place.
• The entire blast lasts up to 1 second.

Steps to be considered before blasting takes place:

• Fragmentation desired – take into consideration size of digging equipment and crushing equipment needed on the project.
• Rock quality/character – state of the area being blasted, is the rock hard or soft and is the area dry or wet.
• Site limitations – is the area to be blasted near other structures or properties.
• Safety limitations – are there any electrical hazards
• Equipment limitations – are all equipment needed for the project available

Random facts about blasting

• Blasting is now considered routine work in the mining industry.
• Geological or Geotechnical knowledge is needed to ensure effectiveness and safety.
• Blasting involves design and patterns, not just “blowing” stuff up…
• The result of rock blasting is often called rock cut.
• Mining and Construction are the 2 most common uses for explosives.

Sources:
www.wikipedia.org/wiki
www.railsystem.net
www.miningandblasting.wordpress.com

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About Karen Garner-Savory

I started working at Leads 2 Business in May 2009, and have served as Head of Department of Telesales and Administration from 2010 until the present. I oversee both the Telesales department as well as the Administration of our Johannesburg Office.

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Unusual Finds During Demolition, Excavation and Renovation

1. An entire Mosque discovered in apartment during renovations: Palermo, Italy. When the owners of the apartment in Via Porta di Castro bought the apartment, they started with renovations. They intended to knock down a wall to open the area, but discovered that the plaster was wet and when they cleaned the wet area, they found Arabic writing. The writing covered all four walls and the inscriptions are in gold and silver. The couple have left the mosque as they found it, not wanting to destroy history.
2. £50k jackpot in rare tiles found by demolition man: Southbourne, Dorset. When Stephen Malton was contracted to tear down the home of Victorian artist, Arthur Bell, he never expected to find a fortune in Delft tiles. Due to the eagle eye of his foreman, the tiles were saved from destruction as he stopped the team while they were pulling down a wall behind the fireplace, where the tiles were hidden. Due to a clause in his contract, Stephen has the right to keep any treasure found during the demolition process. This find is estimated to bring him £50 000.
3. Letter To Santa Claus From 1943 Found In A Chimney: United Kingdom. A young boy’s letter to Santa was discovered during the demolition of the chimney of a 1930’s house. The letter asked simply for a Rupert Annual, slippers, a silk tie, a pencil box, chalk, soldiers and Indians. Lewis Shaw, the builder whose crew discovered the letter, decided to find the author of the letter and make his wishes come true. He connected with David Haylock (who wrote the letter when he was six), and David was very excited to receive his Christmas wish from 1943.
4. Bethel Church (1905) demolition leads to time capsule extraction: Chicago, Illinois. During the demolition of the Ingleside Community Church of the Nazarene, extra care was taken during the removal of a cornerstone column. A time capsule was extracted and opened – a Tetley tea tin, containing religious documentation in Danish (or possibly Norwegian) and two U.S. pennies from 1899 and 1901. It is believed the capsule was added to the cornerstone by L.A. Larson, the presiding elder and person who built the church.
5. A Mysterious Discovery halts Demolition of House: Middletown, Pennsylvania. A hidden room and tunnel were discovered after a crew knocked out a wall during the demolition of a home. The local historical society visited the site due to the age of the building. They advised that it might have been part of the Underground Railroad and used as a speakeasy during Prohibition.
6. Pictures taken of “Mannequin” by Demolition Crew, only to discover it is a dead body: Merriam, Kansas. The disturbing discovery of a dead body was made by a demolition crew when a load of trash was picked up to move. Initially they thought it was a mannequin and started taking photos, while laughing. Then, the stench got to them and they called 911. Demolition was halted while investigators determined whether it was a homicide.
7. Convent Rubble Yields Priceless Relic: Christchurch, New Zealand. A large antique safe concealed at the back of the altar of the under-deconstruction Nazareth House convent in Christchurch was found by Paul King, Graceworks Demolition and Recycling boss, while he was working in the chapel. The caretaker managed to find a key that fit the lock and when they opened the safe, they discovered a sacred ceremonial monstrance. Paul returned the monstrance to the nuns who had been living there at the time of the earthquake and they were overjoyed.
8. Stripping of Cottage Wall leads to Discovery of 400-year-old Mummified Cat: Devon, United Kingdom. A mummified cat was discovered when builders stripped a wall in the bathroom of a house in Ugborough. It is believed that years ago, cats were put behind walls to ward off evil spirits and witches. Richard Parson, the owner of the house, has indicated that the cat will be placed back in the wall after the renovations are complete.
9. Demolition of Abandoned home leads to Surprising Treasure: Saint Cloud, Florida. During the demolition of a dilapidated home that had been abandoned by the owner(s), silver coins started pouring out of the windows of the house. The coins were gathered up by the crew and they found that there were 202 dimes, a few nickels, over a thousand quarters and 861 half-dollars. These coins had been hidden in the walls of the house in jars and the oldest coin was dated to 1917. The coins were handed to the city of Saint Cloud.
10. Treasure Hidden in Cooler Box: Johannesburg, South Africa. While digging up a six meter trench for a drainage system near a building in 10th Avenue, Rodgers Nkuna discovered a mud-spattered blue and white cooler box. The police were notified and when they opened it, they discovered R20 and R50 notes, estimated to a value of R1.5 million. It is unknown how long the cooler box had been buried there.

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Sources:
HTTP://WWW.ANSAMED.INFO/ANSAMED/EN/NEWS/SECTIONS/CULTURE/2013/08/27/PALERMO-MOSQUE-DISCOVERED-DURING-HOME-RENOVATIONS_9205871.HTML
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3246619/Demolition-man-unearths-50-000-rare-tiles-hidden-fireplace-called-knock-artist-s-house.html
https://www.yahoo.com/news/letter-to-santa-found-in-chimney-wall-fulfilled-72-184511409.html
https://www.today.com/news/78-year-old-man-reunited-santa-letter-he-wrote-boy-t61511
HTTPS://WWW.URBANREMAINSCHICAGO.COM/NEWS-AND-EVENTS/2018/02/02/UNUSUAL-TIME-CAPSULE-EXTRACTED-FROM-BETHEL-CHURCH-DURING-BUILDINGS-DEMOLITION/
https://www.theblaze.com/news/2014/05/27/a-construction-crew-demolishing-a-home-was-forced-to-stop-after-a-very-mysterious-discovery

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch-earthquake-2011/8113672/Priceless-relic-found-in-convent-rubble
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5200089/400-year-old-mummified-cat-found-in-walls-of-cottage.html
http://yournationnews.com/construction-workers-find-surprising-treasure-during-demolition-of-abandoned-home/
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/mud-covered-treasure-box-found-in-edenvale-436810

Photo Credits:
Mosque, Palermo, Italy – Photo by Franco Lannino
Bethel Church, Chicago – Photo by Eric J. Nordstrom

About Cecile Van Deventer

I joined the L2Q Team in 2006, as a L2Q Support Assistant and have been the HOD since 2010. I supervise L2Q Bills, Daily Tender Bills, Control Lists and Directory.

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Demolition 101 – Facts & Misconceptions

Demolition for me has always sounded like one of the coolest jobs!!!
Being allowed to blow up things every day…that must be great for treating anxiety.
However, I have come to learn that it isn’t all excitement and explosions and is a rather intricate business. So, I thought I would find out what the biggest myths about demolition are:

1. Demolition is just blowing up buildings – In fact implosions only account for less than 1% of all demolitions

2. Demolition is bad for the environment – The truth is the contrary. Demolition contractors remove harmful materials and toxins from old buildings in order to dispose of them correctly i.e. Asbestos. They clean up hazardous substances and are in fact Environmental Superheroes.

4. Demolition contractors destroy historical buildings that should be protected – In fact demolition contractors can assist in restoring these buildings by removing the harmful materials and making way for energy efficient upgrades to these buildings.

5. Demolition overcrowds land fill sites with debris and waste products – Demolition has actually been one of the most “Green” practices before it was fashionable. Contractors will salvage as much as possible from an old building for reuse or recycling where possible.

6. Demolition is expensive – Demolition only accounts for a tiny fraction of an entire project. Averaging somewhere around 2% of replacing a building.

So, you will see that Demolition is in fact a vital, environmentally necessary and an extremely dangerous job which is often underrated by most. When they do get to implode buildings, it requires intense planning as the safety of their workers, the public in close proximity as well as the surrounding buildings are safe.

They often work in some of the least safe conditions in buildings that have been condemned yet some people might not initially see the point of hiring a demolition contractor…how hard can it be right? Its not as easy as some may perceive, get the experts in! This is a serious business, hiring the right people for the job can save you by having the job done right and taking the necessary precautions.

They can guide you at the beginning of the project of everything that is required before you start, you don’t want to be held liable for damage to others property or the surroundings.

Sources:
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-we-hire-a-demolition-contractor
http://www.demolition.com

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About Joanne Couto

I started with Leads 2 Business in April of 2013 as an Account Executive, was promoted in 2016 to Senior Account Executive, and then in March 2017, I became the Client Liaison Officer, where I now specialise in client retention and assisting the Sales Team in this regard. I believe whole heartedly in the service that we provide, knowledge is king!

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Fundamental Building Blocks to Building an Empire

So, when I hear empire, the first word that comes to mind is SUCCESS. Starting something successful from the ground up. I’ll list but a few steps on how to achieve this, but the power starts with YOU!

1. PLAN. You’ve had this revolutionary business concept in the back of your mind for 2 years, what do you do? You make it a reality! But now comes the tricky part, where do I start? Research and just a little more research, how many concepts are there like mine? Do I have any restrictions? What will be the biggest competition? Ask yourself all those questions. Weigh out the pros and cons. Create a detailed plan so that you know exactly what you need to do to achieve this empire.

2. WHY? If you don’t have a purpose or belief in yourself when you decide to start a business, then you should ask yourself, why you are really doing this? Your mind is a powerful thing and any great success story starts with somebody believing they can and also believing that what they are about to do, will make an impact or difference no matter how small.

3. BUILD. Now we all know so much can go wrong in a business due to way too many factors, but if you make a provision for the “what if” moments you might save yourself a lot of energy and disappointment. The aim is to build on top of the capital you already have for those moments, and yes it’s not easy, but make sure that you save on all the necessary things. Set a realistic budget in place and remember to start small. The greatest things are achieved from the smallest concepts.

4. BALANCE. We need to understand everything has to have a balance, between work and personal. Make sure to focus equally on both. We so easily lose focus on our personal lives because we are determined to come out on top, but what happens when you do face those difficult battles? You will have to face them on your own because you would have lost your support system. Regardless of who they are, they will be there when you feel you’ve got nowhere left to turn.

5. NEVER GIVE UP! Even when you feel like nothing has worked out according to plan and it might start failing. Think back to why you started this venture in the first place. An offer may come along that sounds appealing and would rescue you, but are you prepared to give up what you worked so hard to achieve?

Always remember to keep those values and reasons as to why you started this journey.

Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericwagner/2014/01/14/10-rules-to-build-a-wildly-successful-business/#2517388d1b96

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About Angelique De Freitas

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