New website, same blog!

Given that I am now a Google employee, it seemed as though it would only make sense for me to continue to dogfood our own products and switch over to Blogger! Hopefully this will also incentivize me to update the blog more often since the huge hurdle of logging into a different program will now no longer exist.

Free Google Voice Phone Booths

The Googleplex in Mountain View won't be the only place to boast of a British-style, Google-themed phone booth. In celebration of the new Google voice call feature within Gmail, Google is planning on installing these phone booths high-traffic places (college campuses!). Calls made from these booths will be free.

Read the entire Fast Company article here.

Boomerang for Gmail--FINALLY!

Boomerang for Gmail is the Chrome extension that I have been waiting for for ages. I am personally a neat freak when it comes to keeping a clean inbox, and there are times when I wish that I could schedule an email to pop up in my inbox at a later time when I actually need to read it. Alternatively, I've also wanted to schedule emails to be sent at a later time, instead of keeping it in my draft box until it's time to send. In comes Boomerang! It's currently still in beta mode so it may be a little buggy, but it's about time something like this came along!

Read the full article on Lifehacker here. Thanks for the find, lil' bro!

Bike Sharing Program

After working at the Googleplex for almost a month now, I have come to greatly appreciate the bike sharing program we have on campus where you can take any Google bike and leave it anywhere on campus as long as it doesn't block an entrance. A new company called Social Bicycles, located in NY, seems to be doing something similar (also reminiscent of Zipcar). With the help of an iPhone app, members of the program can locate bikes around the city.

The Social Bicycle System from Ryan Rzepecki on Vimeo.

Read the full TechCrunch article here.

Who knew rats could be a good thing?

As featured in this Nicholas Kristof NYT op-ed, HeroRATS finally represent a case where you'd probably be happy to see rats. Trained by Dutch company Apopo, these rats are currently being used in Africa to detect landmines through using their keen sense of smell. Even better, they are too light to set off landmines. As an additional bonus, HeroRATS can also sniff sputum and detect TB much faster than lab technicians.

For more information on HeroRATS or how to donate to this cause, visit the Global Giving website.

Karma Cup: A novel way to reduce paper cup usage

Not that I'm a huge fan of Starbucks (Alterra will always reign #1), but I think it's pretty neat that they sponsored this competition to reduce waste produced from paper cups.The winner of the competition, Karma Cup, proposes to "chart each person who uses a reusable mug. The tenth person to order a drink with a reusable cup will receive his or her drink free. By turning a freebie program into a communal challenge, Karma Cup would create incentives for everyone to bring reusable mugs. (After all, the more people participate, the more free stuff is given away and the more likely you are to get something free.) That, in turn, would eliminate rather than simply redesign the nefarious disposable cup."


Find the full post here.

Honda's "People Mover"

Designed for people with debilitating injuries or for those with problems walking, this cool little motorized unicycle-like chair can help people move around!



Check out the CrunchGear article here. Thanks for the find, David!

DUKE Wins National NCAA Basketball Tournament!!!!!

I have waited four years for this moment. Four years after withstanding people's jeers of Duke's "demise" and lots of hoping and cheering later, we won both UNC games, shared the ACC regular season title, won the ACC Tourney, AND clinched the NCAA title last night. I'm so proud of our boys!



YES!!!!!!!!!!!

750 Words

Writing in diaries seems to be an old-fashioned notion in our digitized way, but 750 Words finds a way to bring it all to our computers. Here's some personal testimony from my brother:

"If you have around 20-25 minutes to spare a day, I recommend 750words.com, it's a pretty nifty site. Basically, it's a private online journal that you write 750 words in daily, or whenever you want to work stuff out.  I used it today, and it's so freaking cool - you can customize everything about it, and when you're done writing the 750, you get an awesome page of statistics: words per minute, distractions, what you felt, what you were concerned about, what your mindset was, what the primary tense was (past, present, future), what the primary sense was, a rating, frequently used words, etc. It's kinda awesome, and you can have a safeword so only you see it.  Just passing along the coolness :)"

Want more information on 750 Words? It's also featured in this Lifehacker article.

Light Blossoms

Philips has come up with a new aesthetically pleasing light fixture that uses both solar and wind energy. Check it out here.

Easter Egg Hunt for TIII

Can you find it? http://www.duke.edu/web/evp/index.html

(Hint: try mousing over the entire web page)

This is why I love Duke.

Thanks, Will!

Jon Stewart Rips on Scott Brown & Dem. Leadership

A year ago, Barack Obama was sworn in the 44th President of the United States. We were filled with hope for change and dreams of a better America.

Yesterday, we were disappointed with the election of Scott Brown in MA to fill the open Senate seat left by the Lion of the Senate. Ted Kennedy's legacy and goal of health care reform are now left in the hands of someone who supports waterboarding and opposes cap-and-trade programs to reduce carbon emissions, among other socially backwards ideas.

Who are we to blame for this aberrance? Thank God we have Jon Stewart to put things in perspective:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Mass Backwards
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Thanks for the find, Sarah!

Google's New Approach to China

Big news: Following an investigation into some Gmail and intellectual property security breaches from China, Google decided that they will no longer accept censorship as a condition for being permitted the use of their Chinese Google site (www.google.cn). A briefing on the events that led to their decision can be found on the Official Google Blog.

Highlights from the post:

• "We have taken the unusual step of sharing information about these attacks with a broad audience not just because of the security and human rights implications of what we have unearthed, but also because this information goes to the heart of a much bigger global debate about freedom of speech."

• "We launched Google.cn in January 2006 in the belief that the benefits of increased access to information for people in China and a more open Internet outweighed our discomfort in agreeing to censor some results."

• "We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China."

"Don't be evil," indeed. Read the full post here (highly recommended!). The NYTimes also has a writeup of the policy shift.

Thanks for the find, Sarah and Ryan!

The Children of Cyberspace

We already see the generational gaps between the ways we interface with technology as compared to our parents, but the ever-speeding technological change curve may be increasing at an even faster speed. Technology has changed our methods of communication, as well as our expectations of social norms.

Highlights from the NY Times article:

• "They [researchers] theorize that the ever-accelerating pace of technological change may be minting a series of mini-generation gaps, with each group of children uniquely influenced by the tech tools available in their formative stages of development."

• "... younger children tend to be ever more artful multitaskers. Studies performed by Dr. Rosen at Cal State show that 16- to 18-year-olds perform seven tasks, on average, in their free time — like texting on the phone, sending instant messages and checking Facebook while sitting in front of the television."

• "Children my daughter’s age are also more likely to have some relaxed notions about privacy. The idea of a phone or any other device that is persistently aware of its location and screams out its geographic coordinates, even if only to friends, might seem spooky to older age groups."

To read the entire article, click here.

Tech Support Cheat Sheet

For more nerd-tastic comics, check out www.xkcd.com.

Thanks for the find, David!

Colbert on Connecting the Dots & Exploding Underwear

In response to President Obama's recent assessment of the security flaws that led to the attempted 12/25/09 bombing, Stephen Colbert had some pointed words to say last night on the Colbert Report.

Watch, laugh, and then cry a little inside.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Failure to Connect the Dots
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

Homer v. Mickey

This article from moreintelligentlife.com examines the Simpson and Disney dichotomy throughout the years, as well as what they represent in society today.

Highlights from the article:

• "This is a world in which none of the Disney pieties are true... When you wish upon a star in “The Simpsons”, your dreams don’t come true–-you end up a loser like Ralph Wiggum, the police chief’s son, who eats glue and talks to leprechauns. Good does not triumph over evil, and being true to yourself often leads to terrible consequences."

• "In contrast to Disney, with its lush visuals and stark storylines, the sophistication of “The Simpsons” was all in the scripts, which are highly literate, gaily referring to everything from Susan Sontag to “Citizen Kane”."

• "When Al Gore was vice president, only 63% of American kids surveyed could identify him, whereas 93% could identify the cast of “The Simpsons”."

• "Because it is so satirical, it’s easy to assume that “The Simpsons” is darker than Disney. But in many ways, the opposite is true. Disney films are full of death, tragedy and cruel parenting–think of all the evil stepmothers and witches, as well as the killing of Bambi’s mother and the absence of Dumbo’s, both of which are enough to break anyone’s heart."

"We Did It!"

According to this Economist article, women are set to make up over 50% of the U.S. workforce in the next few months.

Highlights from the article:

• "Motherhood, not sexism, is the issue: in America, childless women earn almost as much as men, but mothers earn significantly less."

• "In America three out of four people thrown out of work since the “mancession” began have been male."

• "And, without going to Scandinavian lengths, America could invest more in its children: it spends a lower share of its GDP on public child-care than almost any other rich country, and is the only rich country that refuses to provide mothers with paid maternity leave. Barack Obama needs to measure up to his campaign rhetoric about “real family values”."

To read the entire article, click here.

If you're interested in reading more on the "Mommy Wars" and the "opting out" phenomenon, try Pamela Stone's book Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. (If you need extra convincing, Stone was a Duke grad!)

10 Ways to Cut Your Travel Costs This Year

Highlights from the article:

• "ITASoftware.com, which provides the technological backbone for many airfare shopping sites, allows users to scan an entire month’s fares for the least expensive rate."

• "Airlines have long offered to refund the difference in their fares (minus a change fee) in the form of a voucher to customers who ask. Using your confirmation number, Yapta.com will automatically track the price of your ticket, taking the airline’s fees into consideration, and send you, without charge, an e-mail message or Twitter alert notifying you of the lower price. You can then call the airline to claim the credit."

Read the entire NY Times article here.

Ommwriter: The zen way to write distraction-free

We all know what it's like to write papers in today's technology-intensive, multi-communication type of world. It's no wonder that it's so hard to "get into the zone" when we're constantly distracted by BlackBerry blinking lights, GChats, Facebook, and email notifications.

In enters Ommwriter, an immersive writing experience that helps us regain our ability to concentrate amidst a world of instant gratification. It's a simple text editor (with relaxing music and soothing backgrounds) that gets rid of all that formatting nonsense that often controls perfectionists like myself.

Unfortunately, it's currently only available for Macs, but if you happen to have one, it's worth trying out. Ommwriter might just save you from yourself.



Ommwriter from Herraiz Soto on Vimeo.

Duke Schedulator

The new Duke ACES program's absurd multiple-click scheme has prompted a few Duke students to come up with their own version of how ACES should be run. Duke Schedulator allows you to test out several different schedules graphically (and easily!), and also gives you price comparisons across multiple popular textbook sites for all textbooks listed for your courses. If only I had known about it before my last registration period was over...

Better Talking

Next time you need to prepare for a phone interview, try Better Talking, a free service that gives you a mock interview with standard interview questions.

[caption id="attachment_4" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Screen shot from www.bettertalking.com"][/caption]