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Work to do

We've got work to do.

I just spent a week in the Palm Springs area attending the Indian Wells tennis tourney while using our products. It was good to get outside the bubble for while, but it was frustrating -- especially since I know we can do much better. Issues I encountered:

* Public Google+ shares are rare. This might be expected with the demographics of the area (>50 year old golfers) -- however looking at my G+ nearby view I was the only person to publicly post the winner of the Tennis final (and that stadium holds 16k people...) Nearby stream was depressingly too -- only a handful of posts. Also I think the nearby view should expand distance in "sprawl-like" areas like this. When I was in Palm Springs I didn't see any nearby posts in the nearby towns.

* During the rain delay you had to look at the Facebook Tournament page to find out when play resumed. On-site they had a big 'Check-in with Facebook' ad on the changeable displays. On the 'Follow Us' screen they did at least have Youtube next to FB/twitter.

* Maps is really borked in this area. I commented on this earlier, but there are many businesses that are not there, or are located in the wrong place. MapMaker edits in the area are in queue for weeks it appears too. Navigation worked fairly well, however I encountered areas where nav got really confused -- not sure if the root cause is Mountains blocking GPS, plain crappy samsung GPS or that road info is not accurate.

* There are some weird Business names that must have been collected by Street View. For example _Elmer's Breakfast-Lunch-Dinner_ which is a literal reading of the road sign.

https://plus.google.com/photos/107786897865850743842/albums/5722007384962904001/5722007386027464434

 

Federer wins it!

Federer wins it!

 

Paul Lindner had a hangout. {url}Paul Lindner

Paul Lindner had a hangout. {url}Paul Lindner

 

Paul Lindner had a hangout. {url}Paul Lindner

Paul Lindner had a hangout. {url}Paul Lindner

 

Paul Lindner had a hangout. {url}Paul Lindner

Paul Lindner had a hangout. {url}Paul Lindner

 

So the rain has let up enough for the Federer-Nadal match.

So the rain has let up enough for the Federer-Nadal match. Oh and Isner just petted our dog heading out of the stadium. That dude's super tall.

 

 

360 days of sun a year...

360 days of sun a year...

 

Federer just won his match. Nadal/Nalbandian up next.

Federer just won his match. Nadal/Nalbandian up next.

 

Paul Lindner hung out with 1 person.Julie Lindner

Paul Lindner hung out with 1 person.Julie Lindner

 

Sippingbirds

Sippingbirds

 

Beep beep!

Beep beep!

 

A panorama from Joshua Tree National Park.

A panorama from Joshua Tree National Park. The photo doesn't capture the crisp air nor the vast space you'll find there.

 

First time I've seen a "Bacon flight" on a menu.

First time I've seen a "Bacon flight" on a menu.

 

Paul Lindner hung out with 1 person.Julie Lindner

Paul Lindner hung out with 1 person.Julie Lindner

 

I'm seeing pink elephants.

I'm seeing pink elephants.

It's neon, will be interesting to see this after dark.

 

At "Northwest's Finest" desert outpost.

At "Northwest's Finest" desert outpost.

German pancakes the size of Crater Lake.

 

Cheese, wonderful cheese.

Cheese, wonderful cheese.

 

 

Little Monsters

Just invited to littlemonsters.com. Decided I'd sign up via Facebook Connect (since most people will)

Interesting things:
* popup affordances on the home page guide you to features
* Facebook connect used but only to bootstrap your account.
* Sets up an email forwarding address for you that uses your Facebook primary email.
* Has a link to mail.google.com on your profile to read your email (and a gmail logo)
* No public profiles (as of yet..)
* System posts supported (my profile creation has already gotten one "Like")
* Has +1 buttons!
* Very pinterest style for posts -- big page full of posts. None of this single-column vertical scroll.
* has up and down votes.
* "Fan" instead of following.
* Friend finder not there.
* Sorted list of "New" users.
* Chat rooms.
* "t" button for notifications.
* and holy smokes! -- actually they're provisioning a new mailbox for each user on the GA+ domain littlemonsters.com.

plenty more, happy to demo.

 

Hey Paul Wyatt - glad to see you here! I work at Google now so feel free to send me your questions...

Hey Paul Wyatt - glad to see you here! I work at Google now so feel free to send me your questions...

 

/private to you..

/private to you..

Daria plays Google+ well. You can learn from her, maybe try to make contact at SXSW... Hangouts are the new VIP lounge..

Originally shared by Daria Musk

PLAY WITH ME!

Hey G+niuses! Look at these killer guitar picks Moritz Tolxdorff made! Bump into either of us anywhere at SXSW and we'll give ya one! And Scheme to win new a Taylor Guitar to play with 'em!

SCHEME + PLAY

♥ Scheme for a guitar pick: http://bit.ly/zHbrKH

♥ Win a brand new Taylor Guitars to play with your pick: http://bit.ly/xpAIPj

♥ Need a Schemer invite?: http://bit.ly/wewPo7

Whether you'll be in Austin TX for SXSW or somewhere else in the world I'll be bringing you G+ys with us for the ride via Hangouts and these crazy give-aways! :)

Look Out For SXSW Round-Up Post

In the morning announcing our first HANGOUT CONCERT LIVE FROM SXSW! ((Ahem)) Thanks Samsung USA for making it possible!

Cannot wait to see HIP (Hangout In Person) and Hangout on G+ with everyone!

Your G+rl Fo'evs,

D

 

 

The only thing I'd add to this compendium of bad interview questions is having the pirates find the breaking point...

The only thing I'd add to this compendium of bad interview questions is having the pirates find the breaking point for the wine bottles by dropping two of them from a 20 story building. :)

Originally shared by Peter Norvig

Jeff Atwood's puzzle: "A hundred prisoners are each locked in a room with three pirates, one of whom will walk the plank in the morning. Each prisoner has 10 bottles of wine, one of which has been poisoned; and each pirate has 12 coins, one of which is counterfeit and weighs either more or less than a genuine coin. In the room is a single switch, which the prisoner may either leave as it is, or flip. Before being led into the rooms, the prisoners are all made to wear either a red hat or a blue hat; they can see all the other prisoners' hats, but not their own. Meanwhile, a six-digit prime number of monkeys multiply until their digits reverse, then all have to get across a river using a canoe that can hold at most two monkeys at a time. But half the monkeys always lie and the other half always tell the truth. Given that the Nth prisoner knows that one of the monkeys doesn't know that a pirate doesn't know the product of two numbers between 1 and 100 without knowing that the N+1th prisoner has flipped the switch in his room or not after having determined which bottle of wine was poisoned and what color his hat is, what is the solution to this puzzle?"

Good one, Jeff, but you forgot to say that the monkeys have a flashlight and they have to cross in 17 minutes...

 

One of these days I should find an east bay mechanic.

One of these days I should find an east bay mechanic. Phaedrus is hard to beat though... almost makes up for the bay bridge crossing...

 

 

whoa

whoa

-- edit: classified 4.3, not too bad.

-- re-edit: now 4.0.

 

Use the next time you see the fail whale.

Use the next time you see the fail whale.

 

Someday I hope to see Amanda Jones using G+ in addition to her Facebook and Twitter.

Someday I hope to see Amanda Jones using G+ in addition to her Facebook and Twitter. She did a photo shoot for us some years ago. She's a great animal photographer and I think she'd be a great part of the photography community over here.

 

A page of pictures of Marcel Breuer architecture.

Originally shared by DeWitt Clinton

A page of pictures of Marcel Breuer architecture.

Breuer designed several homes near where I grew up. Someday. Someday.

 

Can't wait to see the Lin-it button.

Can't wait to see the Lin-it button.

h/t Bill Strathearn

 

All is well with Roo. Plenty of hills to climb and interesting smells...

All is well with Roo. Plenty of hills to climb and interesting smells...

 

Anyone in my MN circle done this? If you haven't it'd be a good thing to add to your Schemer list..

Anyone in my MN circle done this? If you haven't it'd be a good thing to add to your Schemer list..

http://www.schemer.com/scheme/rsc8eis1m8fqc/2p436om9g4ghe

Originally shared by Maggie Koerth-Baker

On Saturday, my friend Danielle and I got to try something awesome. Minneapolis' Minnehaha Falls freezes during winter. There's a little splattering of water still falling over the ledge, but most of it turns into this wonderful array of temporary stalagmites and stalactites, hanging like a curtain in front of a shallow indent in the rock.

I'd heard about people who climbed behind the ice before, but I'd always assumed you'd need special equipment--ropes and crampons--to get back there safely. Turns out, that's not the case. The hollow in the cliff face is shallow, but it's wide enough that you can just saunter on in with little trouble.

I posted one of these shots from my phone yesterday. Here's the rest of the set.

 

 

Anyone want to help Danny?

Anyone want to help Danny?

Originally shared by Paul Lindner

I just claimed my Google Scholar profile. If you create one of these profiles you should consider doing the following:

- Add it to the Other profiles section of your profile (https://plus.google.com/me/about)

- Link back to your Google+ profile (edit Homepage and link back to your profile)

Also note that that really old paper was for Gopher+, not Google+.

 

I just claimed my Google Scholar profile.

I just claimed my Google Scholar profile. If you create one of these profiles you should consider doing the following:

- Add it to the Other profiles section of your profile (https://plus.google.com/me/about)

- Link back to your Google+ profile (edit Homepage and link back to your profile)

Also note that that really old paper was for Gopher+, not Google+.

 

Even dog sitting can't keep us away from farm fresh asparagus..

Even dog sitting can't keep us away from farm fresh asparagus..

 

 

So many things to do and I get sucked into doing map edits.

So many things to do and I get sucked into doing map edits. It's impressive -- edits go live extremely quickly. I added some trailhead parking lots and restrooms, reservoirs, and walking trails..

 

 

 

 

 

Please welcome Baron von Luxxury to Google+!

Please welcome Baron von Luxxury to Google+! Add him to your music or DJ circles today and check out his new album which you can snag for free for one week only. (though it's definitely worth paying for..)

Dubbed the "Post-Post-Synthpop King" by the LA Weekly, Baron Von Luxxury seeks to erase the lines between high and low art by merging elements of innovative dance music with the idiot immediacy of classic pop.

I had the good fortune to work with him at Red Hat before he became famous. Some day I'll tell some stories about hairnet banner ads and psychic web-sites trying to go legit by offering linux phone support. (yes! really!)

Originally shared by Baron von Luxxury

Happy Day After Valentines Day, My Darlings!

Please download my new album The Last Seduction. For Free. It just came out today. And for 1 week only you can download it for any price you want, including $0. I honestly don't care how much or even if you pay, I just want you to have the music! Please. Just take it.

http://baronvonluxxury.bandcamp.com

 

Google+ has made it all the way to the CS department of my alma mater.. Amazing.

Google+ has made it all the way to the CS department of my alma mater.. Amazing.

I wonder whatever happened the the Sequent that ran cs.umn.edu way back when?

 

 

Best post seen during the halftime show...

Best post seen during the halftime show...

Originally shared by Nate Long

Madonna + LMFAO: I'm sixty and I know it.

 

Second time I've seen this exact same car being washed at the same time as mine. Eerie...

Second time I've seen this exact same car being washed at the same time as mine. Eerie...

 

 

LMFAO and Redfoo now have geek cred...

LMFAO and Redfoo now have geek cred...

http://www.xkcd.com/1009/

Originally shared by Amar Gandhi

Damn it, xkcd! I was just grooving to Adele and now LMFAO is back in my head :)