| Finding flu vaccine information in one easy place |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|09:16 am] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/NbXmhSVlCIU/finding-flu-vaccine-information-in-one.html This year, it's especially important to have clear information on what you can do to prepare for the flu season. With this in mind, we are happy to share a new feature for the U.S. which allows you to more easily find locations near you for getting both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccine. After expanding Google Flu Trends to a total of 20 countries and 38 languages, allowing more people to see near real-time estimates of flu activity, we began brainstorming with the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services (HHS), their flu.gov collaborators and the American Lung Association on the flu shot finder and other ways Google can be helpful to people this flu season.
You can check out the flu shot finder at www.google.com/flushot. The same tool will also be available shortly on www.flu.gov and the American Lung Association websites. It's important to note that this project is just beginning and we have not yet received information about flu shot clinics for many locations. In addition, many locations that are shown are currently out of stock. We launched this service now in order to help disseminate information about locations where vaccines are available, and also to make more vaccine providers aware of the project so that they can contribute.
Especially given slower than expected vaccine production, we think it's important to bring together flu shot information in a coherent manner. We've been working with HHS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health agencies to gather information on flu vaccine locations across the country, particularly for the H1N1 flu vaccine (both the nasal-spray vaccine and the shot). At the moment we have data for locations of flu vaccine directly from 20 states and counting. We are also continuing to add information from chain pharmacies and other providers in all 50 states; today, you'll find results from chains such as Walgreens, CVS and PDX participants, such as Kmart, Duane Reade, WinnDixie and Giant Eagle.
Of course you should still call flu vaccine providers ahead of time to find out more about availability and eligibility for the two vaccines.
We hope to continue providing you with relevant information to help keep you and your loved ones healthy.
Posted by Roni Zeiger, M.D., Product Manager and Jennifer Haroon, Product Marketing Manager |
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| A WiFi wonderland in the sky... and on the ground! |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|08:09 am] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/yN3-mURn8mo/wi-fi-wonderland-in-sky-and-on-ground.html The holiday season is always about connecting with friends, family... and the web. During the holidays in particular, the web brings us closer to others through the email we send, YouTube videos we share, gifts we buy, holiday music we listen to and charitable donations we make. That's why a few weeks ago, Google announced that we're working with Virgin America to give free WiFi to all passengers on Virgin flights this holiday season.
If you're one of the millions of people who will be flying during this busy travel period, chances are you may spend more time in the airport than on the plane itself. So, starting today and lasting through January 15th, we're happy to announce that we will be offering free WiFi in 47 airports across the country. You can see the full list of airports here. This is one of our holiday gifts to our users, and, when you connect, we also hope that you'll take the opportunity to try some of the latest Google products. Our hope is that being connected for a few extra minutes (or hours, if you're delayed!) will help make things a bit easier. Be sure to look for the Google signs in an airport near you.
Here's to the beginning of a happy, healthy holiday season!
Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience |
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| Help fund viable MTR alternatives in Appalachia with 1.25 minutes of your time! |
[Nov. 10th, 2009|06:43 pm] |
http://brighterplanet.com/project_fund_projects/48
+++
i just voted three times for this awesome project which will help move Appalachia away from MTR mining and towards a sustainable, locally-owned, decentralized model [by utilizing timber industry byproducts.]
the project will entail "feedstock feasibility studies and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification to ensure sustainable forestry."
please vote today! signing up for brighterplanet.com only takes about 75 seconds. they are in second place and the prize is a $5000 grant!
other suggestions on how to win this thing:
- blog about it!
- send the link and description out to list serves
- make it a point of process at any meetings which might relate
- send a LTE [letter to the editor] in your local paper
- etc etc!!
xoxo and THANKS!
as follows is the full project description:
( click to read more about the project! )
The current voting period ends on SUNDAY the 15th of November, so please don't put this off!
Also, you do not have to be a U.S citizen to vote.
Thanks, and please do repost... :) |
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| Happy 40th birthday Sesame Street! |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|11:13 pm] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/SNq1RN9TSC4/happy-40th-birthday-sesame-street.html It's hard to believe, but today marks the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street! Over the past four decades, Sesame Street has been entertaining and educating children all across the world. To pay tribute to the colorful cast of characters, we've been delighted to feature some of your favorites on the Google homepage during the past week. With this effort, we're honored to help support Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street. It's always great to see the spotlight on children's education, and we hope you enjoyed the homepage doodles as much as we did.
And, we have an exciting birthday surprise — for this very special celebration, we're happy to share a high-resolution gallery that includes all of the Sesame Street doodles for you to download. Almost as fun as the doodles themselves, there's even a sneak peak into the photo shoot that yielded today's doodle. As an added bonus, you'll also find a few extra characters that spent some time in other countries.
From Oscar to Elmo, the whole gang had a ton of fun hanging out with Google this week. So, enjoy the full series again, change your desktop background, hang them around your desk, and join us in celebrating Sesame Street!
Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience |
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| Fifty states of Street View |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|05:10 pm] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/eeu43esgGD8/fifty-states-of-street-view.html In 1959 Hawaii became the 50th state admitted to the union. Today, 50 years later, we're including Hawaii as the 50th state in Street View on Google Maps. With our imagery of Oahu and Maui, you can now take a virtual vacation to white sandy beaches, revisit special places from your honeymoon, or plan your next getaway. We've worked with the Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau to create collections in our new Street View Gallery featuring Hawaii's best beaches and hometown favorites of President Obama.
Being born and raised on Oahu, I like to think we saved the best for last. I'll get you started with a tour around some of my favorite places from home.
Waimea Bay is famous for 30-foot winter waves. In the summer, as you can see in Street View, it transforms into a calm bay for snorkeling and swimming:
If you're a history buff, you can also visit Iolani Palace, a national historic landmark that was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s last two monarchs:
This is just a small taste of all the beautiful sights in the Aloha State. Check out the gallery to see even more stunning high-resolution imagery. And now that we have imagery from all 50 states in the U.S., we've created tours of the 50 state capitol buildings for the gallery.
One of the great things about Street View is that it lets you virtually wander the streets of a diverse range of cities around the world, whether you want to gaze up at the Tokyo Tower in Japan or explore ancient Roman ruins in Italy. In addition to expanding our coverage in the U.S., today we're also adding imagery from Mexico for the first time, covering Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel:
As we keep working to bring Street View to new countries and cities across the globe, we want to hear directly from you about the places that you want to see featured in Street View next. A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit your nominations for places that you want our Street View trike to visit. We combed through more than 25,000 submissions and today we're unveiling the finalists. You can read more about the competition and the finalists on the Lat Long blog, and head to www.google.com/trike to cast your votes for the special locations we should add to Google Maps next.
Posted by Laura Melahn, Product Marketing Manager |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|06:59 pm] |
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Looking for contacts in Phoenix and Flagstaff. Thanks! |
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| Voided words about voidness. III |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
I. On the un-way.
There are many spiritual teachings and ethical systems which offer many ways of perfection. But the deepest truth is that, there is no needing to go anywhere to find oneself. The man, who is loaded like a camel with all sorts of “spiritual knowledge”, only bears a heavy, strange load through the desert and nothing more. In this sense, there is no the straight and narrow. During long sea voyages, the ship's bottom is overgrown with algae, seashells, various marine animals and the speed of the ship slows down. The ship has to be cleaned from all the alien vegetation and living creatures, sometimes it has to do on the run. The same is with the human. Everyone, who is born, is gifted with a perception of positive voidness. That voidness is a true center of human heart. But the wrong upbringing and wrong way of life force human to forget this gift. And so, ultimately, a human forgets himself. It is only necessary to purify him from all the superficial, excess, and needless.
On cognition.
Since olden times the philosophers have been racking their brains over the question - whether a person is able to cognize things as they are, or all our knowledge about the world are illusive to some extent? |
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| Investing in a mobile future with AdMob |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|09:42 am] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/YvVR60I7VNo/investing-in-mobile-future-with-admob.html We're happy to announce today that we have signed an agreement to acquire AdMob, a mobile display advertising company based in San Mateo, CA. AdMob is a great Silicon Valley story — founded in 2006 by Omar Hamoui when he couldn't find good ways to generate traffic for his mobile site. Over the past few years, Omar and his talented team have built a thriving company with great mobile advertising products, and we are looking forward to having them join the Google team and work with us on the future of mobile advertising.
We've written in the past about how mobile phones are becoming an increasingly indispensable part of our daily lives, and we continue to see how great devices with full Internet browsers and vibrant app marketplaces are driving an explosion of usage. In fact:
- iPhone and Android users browse the Internet more often than anyone else [Morgan Stanley], contributing to Google's 5x mobile search growth over the past two years
- And a quarter of these same iPhone and Android users spend nearly 90 minutes per day using applications on their devices [AdMob]
Despite the tremendous growth in mobile usage and the substantial investment by many businesses in the space, the mobile web is still in its early stages. We believe that great mobile advertising products can encourage even more growth in the mobile ecosystem. That's what has us excited about this deal.
For publishers of mobile websites and applications, this deal will mean better products and tools and more effective monetization of their content — allowing them to focus more on their users and less on how to generate revenue.
For advertisers who want to reach users when they are engaged with mobile content, this deal will bring better, more relevant ads and greater reach. It will also mean more interesting, engaging ad formats.
Last, but certainly not least, we believe users will benefit from this deal — through more mobile content and through better mobile ads that deliver useful information. And that's good for all of us. For more information, check out this site that we've set up about the deal.
Posted by Susan Wojcicki, Vice President, Product Management and Vic Gundotra, Vice President, Engineering |
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| PLAYING GUITAR ON A SATURDAY AFTERNOON |
[Nov. 7th, 2009|04:30 pm] |
I'm still in my pajamas and I have a cold, so what better to do than video myself playing the guitar and singing. This is a song by Guided By Voices called "Quality of Armor." My voice is congested but a little scratchy, so take the good with the bad...
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| Google Apps highlights 11/6/2009 |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|07:08 pm] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/42eLmngns3g/google-apps-highlights-1162009.html This is part of a regular series of Google Apps updates that we post every couple of weeks. Look for the label "Google Apps highlights" and subscribe to the series. - Ed.
Individuals, businesses and schools are switching to Google Apps to communicate more efficiently from anywhere, collaborate without the hassle of attachments, save money, and get continuous innovation. Because you use Google Apps in your browser, improvements like new features in Google forms show up automatically. Starting today, we'll post a recap every couple of weeks highlighting significant improvements we've made in Google Apps, and major milestones in this area, similar to our weekly series on Search. We hope this helps you experience what's new for yourself!
More interface consistency across Google Docs
We heard your feedback about design inconsistencies in the user interfaces for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, and we agree; having a more consistent user interface is a better experience. Last week we rolled out a batch of changes making the links, title area, menus, menu terminology and toolbar more uniform. We think this will make it easier to find commonly used functions, speed up your experience with Google Docs and make you more productive in these browser-based applications.
Customizable options for Gmail offline
Gmail offline lets you work with your email from the browser even when you don't have an internet connection, but until now, you couldn't specify how much old mail you wanted to cache for offline access. On Wednesday we launched new options for Gmail offline, and now you can configure how much of your old email is available when you don't have a connection. Once you enable Offline Gmail from the Labs tab in Settings, go to the Offline settings tab to customize which labels are synchronized, how far back messages are included, and which attachments you'll be able to access offline in your browser.
Google Docs bulk export
We firmly believe it should be easy to move files saved on your computer into the cloud, and that you should be able to move your data out of Google Apps whenever you want. After all, it's your data, and you should be able to do what you want with it. In the spirit of Data Liberation, last week we made it even easier for you to pull your documents, spreadsheets, forms, presentations and PDFs out of Google Docs with "Convert, Zip and Download". Just select the files in Google Docs that you want to save, go to 'More Actions' > 'Export', then choose your preferred output file formats. Your items will be saved to your computer in a tidy zip file.
Visual indicators for edited and all-new items in Google Docs
The shared items in your Google Docs account evolve as the people you collaborate with make edits and share new items with you. This is fundamentally different from how it works with files saved on your computer. Last week we started showing visual indicators in Google Docs to make it easier to spot what's changed and what's been newly shared with you. The names of files that have been edited since you lasted opened them are in bold, and shared files that you haven't opened yet have a red 'New!' tag.
Administrator controls for Chat
Companies and schools using Google Apps sometimes want to limit how their users communicate with Google Talk and Gmail Chat. For example, some K12 schools don't want outsiders instant messaging with their students. To meet this need, we now let IT administrators select if their users should only be able to chat with each other, and not with external users. This new option is found in the Chat service settings area of the Premier and Education Edition control panels.
Over two million businesses have gone Google
Companies around the world are moving to the cloud with Google Apps, and we just crossed the two million customers milestone. To hear how Google Apps is bringing faster innovation to employees, eliminating major hassles for IT managers and saving companies big bucks, read some of their quotes or visit out our YouTube customer channel.
We hope these updates help you get even more from Google Apps. For details and the latest news in this area, check out the Google Apps Blog.
Posted by Bradley Horowitz, VP of Product Management and Dave Girouard, President of Google Enterprise |
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| capitalism and statistics - analysis help??? |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|07:49 pm] |
so unemployment in the US is now 'officially' 10% which means its actually significantly worse than that.
so here's my question....according to this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8346936.stm 10% unemployed = 15.7 million. that means the work force they're basing the % off of is 157 million people. the population of the US is 307 million.
who the fuck are the other 150 million people? obviously a large amount are children who cant work but does anyone know what the % of children are? also, how does the US determine who makes up the work force VS who makes up the population?
obviously it's all BS, i'm just wondering what the bs is based off of to help prove it's bs-ness to me |
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| Busan/Sasang-gu |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|07:38 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Wilco: I am Trying to Break Your Heart | ] |
Hey Folks,
I am planning on moving to Busan soon so long as my visa documents work out. I am going to be living in Sasang-gu in Busan. I can't find very much info on Sasang-gu and was wondering what people might know about it there. The things I have heard weren't the most encouraging. So if any of you have lived there, visited there, or know people who have then please tell me your thoughts on Sasang-gu. Also any websites that may help in this realm would be amazing.
Much Appreciated,
Brian |
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| This week in search 11/6/09 |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|01:40 pm] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/sS0Kck6BIO4/this-week-in-search-11609.html This week we brought out some new search tools for the phone and for the web. We also enhanced our universal search with a better interface for product results.
Multiple pictures of products in Universal Search
We've added multiple images to product results in Universal Search. On broader queries, this helps you get a sense of the range of products available to you for the query. Here's what it looks like:
Example searches: digital cameras, pin nailer, glider, bouncy house, outdoor dining set
Search Options panel now has page previews and is live in more languages
We have added a new tool to the Search Options panel called page previews, currently available in English, Japanese and Korean. Page previews allow you to see additional text as well as an image preview of the page. This is a new way to summarize web pages that show up in the search results list. In the interest of keeping the Search Options panel interface simple, we've combined page previews with the earlier tool for longer snippets — both serve a very similar purpose and, we feel, work well together. Here you can see a screenshot of the new feature at work:
The Search Options panel is also now available in 11 new languages: Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Turkish.
Google search by voice for Nokia S60 phones in English and Mandarin Chinese
On Monday we announced that Google search by voice is available for Nokia S60 phones in English and Mandarin Chinese. The new version of Google Mobile App places a shortcut to Google search on your Nokia phone's home screen, allowing you to search using your voice or by typing. You can search for anything — from "movie times" to "fish 'n chips" to "masala dosa." And Google Mobile App shows search results in the application, so you don't have to wait for a web browser to launch to get an answer. This feature is available in both English and Mandarin Chinese.
Sesame Street doodle
In honor of Sesame Street's 40th anniversary on November 10th, the Google homepage has had a daily sequence of doodles created in partnership with Sesame Street around the favorite characters on the show — starting, of course, with Big Bird.
Hope you enjoyed this week's new features. Stay tuned for next week!
Posted by Ben Gomes, Distinguished Engineer |
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| Even more music for you to find with Google search |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|10:45 am] |
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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/MKuf/~3/oQ11Ur5dH1g/even-more-music-for-you-to-find-with.html Last week, we launched a new music search feature, which helps you search and discover millions of songs with a simple Google search. When you search for an artist, song, album or even a few lyrics, you'll find links to our partner sites — putting you just one click away from listening to and purchasing the music you're looking for.
To celebrate our launch, MySpace and Lala are hosting exclusive, never-before-heard tracks from a variety of artists — and we're helping people to find those tracks through a simple Google search. So if you're a Lady Gaga fan looking for a new remix, in love with the Arctic Monkeys and looking for something extra or hunting for a new acoustic track from YouTube sensation Zee Avi, just search for it. You'll find links to these tracks right in your regular search results. And when you click the links, you'll be able to hear the songs directly from MySpace and Lala.
We know how much you care about music, and we're excited to partner with Lala and MySpace to help you discover more music from artists you love, using Google. To see the full list of tracks and read more, check out the blogposts on Lala and MySpace. We hope you enjoy the music.
Posted by R.J. Pittman, Director, Product Management |
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| Anti-Confederacy Pamphlet |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|10:06 am] |
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I've been working on a pamphlet to address the myths spouted off by pro-confederate revisionists. I was wondering if anyone had any resources that they would recommend, or if there are any existing pamphlets or zines that address this issue? |
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| Anarchists vs. Nazis at the Arizona Capitol? The "Phoenix Class War Council" Talks the Talk |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|02:13 am] |
Anarchists vs. Nazis at the Arizona Capitol? The "Phoenix Class War Council" Talks the Talk
Submitted by worker on Thu, 2009-11-05 00:06.
From Phoenix New Times - By Stephen Lemons
[via anarchistnews.org]
There's one group talking a big game about confronting the neo-Nazi scum at the state Capitol this Saturday: the anarchists, the traditional foes of goosesteppers going all the way back to the Spanish Civil War, and then some. They're often badmouthed in many activist circles here in town for being unruly and pigheaded, but I will give them points for at least demonstrating against Holocaust-denier David Irving when he spoke at a Phoenix diner back in July. The anarchists were the only ones there. And for ruining Irving's day at least, I'd label the demonstration a success.
They don't command large numbers, and I suspect that organizing them is a little like herding felines. But they are generally intelligent, and pro-immigrant to the point of being for open-borders. Plus they have no moral quandaries with confronting blackshirts in the streets.
Their class-based political theories are a bit nutty, though. In a recent post to the Phoenix Class War Council's blog, which describes itself as a "fanatical, revolutionary anarchist group," the writer invites the local libertarian community to join the anarchists on November 7 in protesting the Nazis. Um, sorry, but the Ron Paulites and teabaggers are a little too close to the swastika-lickers for comfort sometimes, "states rights" being the battle cry of neo-Confederates, and all that. Paul himself had no problem accepting a campaign contribution from Ron Black, proprietor of the white supremacist messageboard Stormfront.org. He even appeared in a photo op with Black and Black's son.
The rest of the post is pretty gratifying, however, even if it sounds like a schnauzer with a doberman complex.
"If
Americans can be counted on for anything," reads the post, "it's for
hating Nazis, and images of brownshirted fascists in full historical
reenactment regalia (or, alternately, dressing like SWAT team wannabes)
spouting their anti-immigrant nonsense will highlight the extreme
nature of what passes for the mainstream discussion in Arizona, and to
show that there is strong resistance to it. The NSM's traveling circus
affords us the opportunity to twist their spectacle to our ends."
The
poster also reminds readers that, "militancy does not necessarily have
to manifest itself in the obvious ways," and advises folks to "think
imaginatively" in dealing with the Hitler-worshippers, and "treat
the event as a stage." Ultimately, the blog's scribe hopes for "a
variety of creative and interesting tactics...employed by as broad a
collection of people as possible."
Crikey, he almost makes it
sound like fun. And well it should be. The National Socialist Movement
is a joke, populated by outright brigands, liars and cowards. Rather
than bricks and bats, the anarchists need a little sketch comedy, some
Dave Chappelle, or even Three Stooges to make their point with the
dunderheads swathed in black.
Kudos, too, for drawing upon
Quentin Tarantino for inspiration, and declaring themselves the
"Inglourious Basterds Bloc," though I'm hoping they're not a bloc of
one. I dig their slogan,"Doin' It Like Grandpa Did in France of
'44!" Now all we need is Brad Pitt in a white tux trying to speak
Italian with a Tennessee accent, and the Basterds are sure to prevail
in humor over their Doc Marten-shod foes. |
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