CircleCount helps you better understand Google+

2013-05-01 19:04:48 (10 comments, 10 reshares, 34 +1s)

Tiny Toon: IBM Makes a Movie Out of Atoms
"IBM’s new cartoon — yes, IBM made a cartoon — is remarkable. It was produced at IBM Research’s Almaden Research Center in Northern California, by a bunch of scientists who used a scanning tunneling microscope as their animation tool. The pixels are individual atoms, nudged into place to form a picture. (The Guinness folks have certified this as the smallest movie ever made.)"

I worked at IBM Research’s Almaden Research Center for a year, and played with their scanning tunneling microscope to move a few atoms around. It's very fun to do such small work.

http://techland.time.com/2013/05/01/tiny-toon-ibm-makes-a-movie-out-of-atoms/

2013-04-29 16:26:46 (9 comments, 5 reshares, 11 +1s)

2013-04-07 23:21:45 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Thirty hours later, we are done our Photo Hack Day Hackathon! So we are introducing http://letsgo.io ... check it out :) The best way to find scenic routes from one destination to another in a smart intelligent way!

As usual, the hack is open sourced on github http://bit.ly/Z2dHOU

2013-04-01 20:53:01 (6 comments, 8 reshares, 14 +1s)

Bing takes a Swing at Google

Type "google" into bing.com 

2013-03-20 02:35:00 (4 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

This is Data Science at it's best!

Ads based on weather. Incase you can't read it, it says, "We noticed it's raining tonight in Mountain View. Our statistics show that more people sign in when there is bad weather. It's the perfect time to message that special someone!".

+OkCupid has a long history of data science. Their blog has many interesting observations and statistics : blog.okcupid.com

#datascience   #datascienceissexy   #weather   #mountainviewca  

2013-05-16 03:38:02 (1 comments, 28 reshares, 65 +1s)

Happy PI Day!

PI: The digits appear to be randomly distributed, although no proof of this has yet been discovered. π is a transcendental number – a number that is not the root of any nonzero polynomial having rational coefficients. 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pi

Here's the first 100,000 digits:3... more »

2013-03-08 19:55:04 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

TSA: Keeping the skies safe from cross wielding wheel chair bound nuns. Feeling safer already.

2013-03-02 02:15:46 (0 comments, 7 reshares, 14 +1s)

This has to be shared.
#harlemshake   #simpsons   

2013-02-18 20:22:05 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 9 +1s)

The Namaqua Rain Frog (Breviceps namaquensis) is a species of frog in the Microhylidae family. It is found in South Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and sandy shores and is threatened by habitat loss.

Also, it sounds like a squeaky toy.

2013-02-15 07:57:41 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 7 +1s)

A meteor shower has exploded over central Russia, injuring dozens and shattering windows.

"Brightly burning rocks could be seen for hundreds of kilometres as they crashed into the Ural region.

Chelyabinsk residents reported shaking ground, windows being shattered and car alarms being set off during the shower.

The traces from falling objects could be seen in Yekaterinburg, about 200km (125 miles) south-east of Chelyabinsk, a witness told the Reuters news agency.

At least 100 people - many injured by broken glass - have been taken to hospital for treatment, medical officials in the city have said."

bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21468116
businessinsider.com/a-huge-meteor-just-exploded-over-russia-2013-2

#science   #astroid   #russia  

2013-02-15 02:11:02 (6 comments, 41 reshares, 70 +1s)

Oppa Wolfram style!

This is a set of Parametric Equations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_equation) which when added together form a picture of PSY. Multiple Heaviside Step Functions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaviside_step_function) are used to provide the discrete jumps between curves.
The Heaviside functions are used to say, "from t=50..55, plot a certain curve"; every segment is created using this method. Any line drawing can be created with this method of piecewise definition.

Check it out: http://wolframalpha.com/input/?i=PSY+curve

If I were to make one of these, I'd use a normal spline vector drawing program like Adobe Illustrator and then convert all segments to this parametric format, which is rather easy.

For example the drawing program gives you one of the splines whose points go though [(1,1), (2,3),... more »

2013-02-15 02:10:46 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Oppa Wolfram style!

This is a set of Parametric Equations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_equation) which when added together form a picture of PSY. Multiple Heaviside Step Functions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaviside_step_function) are used to provide the discrete jumps between curves.
The Heaviside functions are used to say, "from t=50..55, plot a certain curve"; every segment is created using this method. Any line drawing can be created with this method of piecewise definition.

Check it out: http://wolframalpha.com/input/?i=PSY+curve

If I were to make one of these, I'd use a normal spline vector drawing program like Adobe Illustrator and then convert all segments to this parametric format, which is rather easy.

For example the drawing program gives you one of the splines whose points go though [(1,1), (2,3),... more »

2013-01-29 23:24:28 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

Rave ‘Reviews’ For North Korean Gulags On Google Maps
techcrunch.com/2013/01/29/rave-reviews-for-north-korean-gulags-on-google-maps/

“Fearless Leader has taught me the error of my ways!” – Nick Webster, Excellent Review for Chongjin Gulag

“I have to say, this is one killer place! Very great if you want to loose weight, and not spend any money! Just ask previous visitors! Everything is free, including food and shelter. Best place to take your family!” – Sunny Wu, Excellent review for Yodok

“A hidden gem situated in the mountains of North Korea, you’ll be enthralled by the view, but don’t be tempted to spend all day reflecting on the natural beauty, as you will have so many activities to do during the day you won’t know where to start!…Enrolling is as simple as speaking your mind, and the breathtaking sights will put a bounce in yourtrudge, because at the Hw... more »

2013-01-20 22:45:19 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

How Much Do They Know About Me In The 'Cloud'?
npr.org/blogs/krulwich/147497042

"What do Google's computers and Facebook's, and Amazon's, and Verizon's, and all the other Internet servers know about me?

They know a lot, says Mark Rigely of San Francisco. His strangely beautiful video shows how emails, ISP data, weblogs and voice data are being used to paint our portraits, and how, with time, those portraits become dense with detail, pattern and personality.

It's almost like there's an image of us accumulating in that Cloud that will become an ever more vivid copy, with information we wouldn't tell our best friends, our family or our spouse. But the Cloud knows."

Thoughts?

2013-01-19 20:04:57 (8 comments, 82 reshares, 32 +1s)

Oppa Wolfram style!

This is a set of Parametric Equations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_equation) which when added together form a picture of PSY. Multiple Heaviside Step Functions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaviside_step_function) are used to provide the discrete jumps between curves.
The Heaviside functions are used to say, "from t=50..55, plot a certain curve"; every segment is created using this method. Any line drawing can be created with this method of piecewise definition.

Check it out: http://wolframalpha.com/input/?i=PSY+curve

If I were to make one of these, I'd use a normal spline vector drawing program like Adobe Illustrator and then convert all segments to this parametric format, which is rather easy.

For example the drawing program gives you one of the splines whose points go though [(1,1), (2,3),... more »

2013-01-17 18:55:20 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 10 +1s)

Escher Cookies
Making some funny cookies with M.C.Escher drawings and a Makerbot.

Chocolate Cookies:
300g Flour, 30g Dark Chocolate
130g Sugar, 150g Cold butter
3 Egg yolks

Nut Cookies:
300g Flour, 200g Sugar
200g Nuts, 200g Cold butter
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
http://www.instructables.com/id/Escher-Cookies/ #math   #cooking   #cookies   #tessellation  

2012-12-30 22:38:44 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Moscow Plane Crash Caught on Dash Cam
Incredible to have footage from so close.
"Yesterday a Tupolev 204 (Russian-made aircraft equivalent to an Airbus 321 or a shortened 757) overran the runway at Moscow Vnukovo airport and crashed into a nearby highway. A plane crash is always bad, but what makes this seem different is how well it was recorded. It seems like everyone in Russia has a dashcam, here is footage. A driver who just happened to be driving by on the nearby M3 highway (right about here on the map) is pelted by flying nose wheels and a row of coach-class seats! An accident like this has probably never been filmed so up close. We are getting better and better at recording accidents and disasters (whether by coincidence due to overuse of surveillance or maybe on purpose). What does that say about our level of documentation and recording of people's everyday lives? And... more »

2012-12-13 01:55:17 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Do I have to say Rocket Science is hard? The North Korean satellite didn't achieve stable orbit.

The risk of a collision with another satellite is almost non-existant. To parallel this problem, assume there's only 3,000 cars in the USA and they aren't restricted to the roads. They are very unlikely to ever come anywhere close to another car within the next 50 years. 

The likelihood of two satellites colliding is vastly smaller than our car example. The surface area of low-earth orbit is about 100x larger, and has a height of around 2000 km (1200 mi). The satellites operate in this enormous volume.
#science #rocketscience #physics

2012-12-12 06:05:35 (7 comments, 10 reshares, 18 +1s)

Will this be your last repetitive date?

2012-11-30 06:04:53 (0 comments, 4 reshares, 11 +1s)

A project I started today: walkabout.js.  There's a larger concept behind it (for a later blog post), but the smaller concept is interesting too I think.

The library figures out what your client-side Javascript/jQuery application is waiting on, and does it, randomly.  Clicks on things, fires events, etc.

I seldom do framework-specific things (even jQuery-specific), but the core DOM simply can't be introspected in the necessary way, and jQuery leaves evidence of much of what the library needs to know.

I've yet to test it on a "real" application, at most I used it on the jQuery TodoMVC example, and the stuff in my tests.  Candidate application?  Ideally one that's deep, but has no setup, and doesn't use exotic stuff (maybe the exotic things could happen later).

2012-10-11 11:16:02 (6 comments, 6 reshares, 16 +1s)

Happy 10-11-12 everyone!

2012-10-02 20:51:56 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

A nun, a gardener, and a housepainter break in to a nuclear weapons facility....  man that sounds like the start of an awesome joke, but is real.

"Megan Rice, the now-famous 82-year-old nun and activist, and her accomplices -- Greg Boertje-Obed, a 57-year-old housepainter and veteran, and Michael Walli, a 63-year-old gardener -- broke into the Fort Knox of nuclear facilities: the Y-12 National Security Complex, which houses 300 to 400 metric tons of bomb-grade uranium. "

2012-09-25 20:53:30 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 4 +1s)

At least astrologically, this is where its at.

2012-09-21 22:13:03 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 8 +1s)

Congratulations to the Endeavour shuttle for arriving safely in Los Angeles moments ago.
via: msft on fb

2012-09-06 06:33:12 (19 comments, 77 reshares, 57 +1s)

The Global Brain Trade
"Which countries have the most foreign scientists, and which ones suffer from the worst brain drain? To answer these questions, researchers at the National Bureau of Economic Research, in Massachusetts, conducted a Web-based survey of over 17 000 published scientists in 16 countries. ... While the United States is, unsurprisingly, a popular destination for scientists from around the world, Switzerland actually has the highest percentage of immigrant scientists. On the other side of the coin, Japan is the most insular country surveyed, exchanging relatively little scientific talent with the rest of the world.
"

Via: spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/tech-careers/the-global-brain-trade #science   #research  

2012-09-05 17:53:18 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

Anyone else sick and tired of all the Adobe Updates and the continuous security flaws they are fixing? I finally removed flash. I suggest that everyone else also removes flash.
Windows: helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html
Mac: helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html

2012-09-03 06:44:18 (2 comments, 4 reshares, 20 +1s)

Being nerds, we aren't known for our skills on the dance floor. Luckily, this pocket guide will help.

2012-08-29 01:32:50 (17 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

What happened to Google? The home page used to be simple and clean. Now I have notifications of birthdays, ads for Google devices, Social notification counts, a share button, a list of other Google products, and a request to change my background image in the bottom left.

It's hard to balance the zen vs. information on the home page. I generally prefer zen. Many people will love it though.

2012-08-25 21:02:46 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Neil Armstrong, the 1st man on the moon, has died at age 82
"Neil was recovering from a heart-bypass surgery he had had a couple of weeks ago. Sad news, marking the end of a glorious and more optimistic era... RIP, Neil."
http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/25/13478643-astronaut-neil-armstrong-first-man-to-walk-on-moon-dies-at-age-82?chromedomain=usnews

2012-08-25 05:18:52 (0 comments, 9 reshares, 8 +1s)

Life Jackets Must Be Banned!

2012-08-17 18:02:43 (3 comments, 4 reshares, 24 +1s)

2012-08-10 17:29:18 (3 comments, 20 reshares, 6 +1s)

Man In Bikini Lip Synching “Call Me Maybe” Trolls Chatroulette Users
"Here’s a celebratory Friday feel-good video for you. Bikini-clad YouTube personality/comedian +Steve Kardynal has compiled a video of himself dancing joyously and lip synching to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” while Chatroulette users gawk in fascination. I like the people who enthusiastically sing along without batting an eyelash best."
via: thoughtcatalog.com/2012/man-in-bikini-lip-synching-call-me-maybe-trolls-chatroulette-users

2012-08-04 02:55:59 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Guess who I ran in to?! The president of Microsoft/Bing, +Qi Lu!  Slowly replacing my photos of Google brass.

2012-07-03 23:43:05 (1 comments, 3 reshares, 8 +1s)

Prepare for Tomorrow's Announcement of the Higgs Boson. 
Watch this Auto-Tuned intro to the topic.

Tomorrow, scientists at CERN are rumored to announce the discovery of a long sought after fundamental particle of nature called the Higgs Boson.  
#physics   #cern   #higgsboson   #godparticle  

2012-07-02 16:43:49 (5 comments, 3 reshares, 5 +1s)

Proof of 'God Particle' Found @ CERN

Likely the largest announcement in science this decade is speculated to be made on Wednesday. The God Particle, also known as the Higgs Boson, is a fundamental particle of the universe predicted by the Standard Model of physics. The Large Hadron Collider was built for $7.5 billion with the aim to test the prediction of physicists, particularly for the God Particle.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/scientists_may_announce_discovery_7fQicFrVk8CX3DJwbSETsL  #physics   #cern   #godparticle  

2012-06-23 07:44:32 (3 comments, 55 reshares, 15 +1s)

A slice of life! +1 and SHARE if you get this.

via: George Takei goo.gl/DHY1V

2012-06-18 11:51:48 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Couldn't remember the name of "Hello Kitty". Put "asian kitty" in to search engine. I most definitely wasn't expecting what I saw. Wonder if my safe filters were turned off before, or if that query auto-turns them off? #NSFW

2012-06-10 09:58:54 (2 comments, 3 reshares, 7 +1s)

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson Speech to the 2012 Senate Commerce Hearing on the Future of the U.S. Space Program
Very powerful video that takes the audio of words from Neil deGrasse Tyson, receiver of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, and meshes it with powerful images of the history and successful outcomes of NASA. 

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson delivers an impassioned plea to the U.S. Congress to hoist America from its economic lethargy by boldly reinvesting in a robust space program. Spread the word: #penny4nasa

Maybe it's time we start listening to scientists that have a track record of success instead of for instance, the North Carolina's legislature, who is circulating a bill telling people to ignore climate science. #science   #nasa  

2012-06-07 11:01:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Seltzer Oatmeal
Just a reminder... the 3rd button on the water dispenser is not HOT WATER. On the plus side, oatmeal tastes rather good w/ seltzer. Guess it is 4am in building 43.

2012-06-06 21:47:18 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

What is Fire
Winner of the 2012 Flame Challenge which challenges scientists to explain what is fire to an 11 yr old in the most in depth and fun way.

Explains atoms, flame colors, light, heat, and more!
#science   #funny   #learning  

2012-06-04 15:48:39 (4 comments, 2 reshares, 5 +1s)

Glass Potato Chips
Molecular gastronomy transparent potato chip recipe for crazy people with too much time on their hands...
instructables.com/id/Glass-Potato-Chips #foodie  

2012-06-04 04:50:37 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 19 +1s)

Tonight's Full Moon

2012-06-04 04:56:13 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Got stung on the bottom of my foot during lunch. Just a PSA...don't walk on bees.

2012-05-29 10:28:33 (8 comments, 2 reshares, 7 +1s)

Google Cat GIF Room
Google recently built a room which displays the first few image results for any given query. On any of the framed images, you can scan a QR code to get more info for that picture.

2012-05-28 18:10:34 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 14 +1s)

Start 'em early.
#physics #quantum #science via: goo.gl/MxuJ1

2012-05-28 17:57:18 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 3 +1s)

Hamster racing
Hamster racing is a sport in which hamsters are placed in hamster wheels or hamster balls – often fitted to miniature racing vehicles – and raced down a straight 9 meter (30 ft) course. The hamster crossing the finish line in the shortest amount of time wins.

In 2001, an epidemic of foot and mouth disease caused the cancellation of some British horse races and other sporting events. To boost their lagging bookmaking incomes, betting agencies introduced and promoted the concept of professional hamster racing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamster_racing #wtf #uk

2012-05-23 10:20:31 (0 comments, 2 reshares, 6 +1s)

K-Pop Concert
Girls’ Generation, TVXQ, Super Junior, B2ST, and more performed at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. The show was put on by Google.

2012-05-19 06:23:25 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Iran bans Gmail, registers replacement, Chmail, with a Gmail address
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andrew Couts
Last weekend, AFP reported some troublesome news for the people of Iran: The country’s oppressive government has officially banned all foreign email services, including Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and others. In fact, the only domains anyone is officially allowed to access must end in .ir.
The only email services that anyone in Iran may now use (unless they use Tor, or some other service that allows them to break around the country’s firewall) must now end in either Iran.ir, Post.ir, or Chmail.ir.
Interestingly, a quick look at the Who.is registration data for Chmail.ir shows that the domain was actually registered using a Gmail address. Now, this is not simply an example of dark irony. Because the Chmail.ir domain is registered using Gmail, Google could —techn... more »

2012-05-11 08:34:23 (0 comments, 3 reshares, 17 +1s)

Best error message....
"ReferenceError: success is not defined"

2012-05-10 00:29:40 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

Microsoft Silicon Valley is pretty cool!

I finally moved to Silicon Valley! My new years resolution that I planned with +Alida Brandenburg and +Natalie Villalobos is doing really well, there is just one more :)

I have a really sweet gig at Microsoft, I will be doing what I have been doing in my spare time for all these years :) I am given the freedom to hack on ideas that I think are cool that tie to social. I have most of the social networks at my finger tips to play with, which is extremely exciting! Finally, I can focus on creating cool stuff, instead of spending the time fixing stuff on unsupported/missing APIs.

Since I will be working on what I am most passionate about, some of my Google+ social projects will be on low priority. I am given the opportunity to work on supported APIs in Microsoft from many social networks, which finally I get to do lots of cool... more »