I thought I just came up with a new phrase, “no ham, no fowl,” as an unfunny take-off of “no harm, no foul.” Sadly, as always, Google destroys any illusions of self-creativity that I might have. Thanks Google, don’t let my ego get too big.

Google celebrates Tom Lehrer’s 80th birthday.

Where you would rather live: Warp Drive, Picard Lane, Crusher Avenue, Federation Court, or Ryker Court?  I feel pretty confident in assuming that nobody ever chooses Ryker Court.

Why doesn’t Google Maps give me the option to see a foreign map labeled with latin-based characters? This map doesn’t help me (though it is good to know that I’m still able to find a nearby 7-Eleven).

Some people I know use the phrase “negative Nelly” (as in, “You don’t think I can jump across this acid filled chasm? Quit being a negative Nelly!”) and some use the phrase “negative Nancy.” This inconsistency came up in real life the other day, and today I saw one of the terms being used on South Park:

But Google apparently favors the other.

It’s possible that negative Nelly is really just a mis-remembering of nervous Nelly… or is it nervous Nancy?

Of the top 100 websites, there’s a surprising number (38) that I’ve never heard of:

• 8 – Hi5.com
• 14 – Fotolog.net
• 20 – Skyrock.com
• 23 – Megarotic.com
• 24 – Mail.ru
• 26 – Seznam.cz
• 27 – QQ.com
• 35 – Youporn.com
• 40 – Megavideo.com
• 41 – Wretch.cc
• 42 – Free.fr
• 43 – Sina.com.cn
• 44 – Yandex.ru
• 45 – ImageVenue.com
• 49 – Onet.pl
• 50 – Vkontakte.ru
• 51 – MetroFlog.com
• 52 – Uol.com.br
• 54 – Allegro.pl
• 65 – Odnoklassniki.ru
• 66 – FC2.com
• 68 – Netlog.com
• 71 – RedTube.com
• 75 – Rambler.ru
• 76 – WP.pl
• 77 – Nasza-Klasa.pl
• 78 – Lwiw.hu
• 81 – 163.com
• 83 – Taobao.com
• 84 – VNExpress.net
• 86 – Yourfilehost.com
• 89 – Fotka.pl
• 90 – Sendspace.com
• 94 – Badongo.com
• 96 – Badoo.com
• 97 – Terra.com.br
• 98 – 6.cn
• 100 – Globo.com

Various local versions of Google.com are in the list 22 times.   RumorsDaily is ranked 433,041.

Is it possible to be logged onto Google Talk through Pidgin (nee GAIM), yet prevent non-Google Talk Gmail users from being able to see my away message?

Google Reader’s “Trends” provides more information about my RSS reading habits than I want to have:

From your 80 subscriptions, over the last 30 days you read 6,358 items, starred 51 items, shared 0 items, and emailed 5 items.

That’s too many.

Without doing any additional research, I defy anybody to correctly identify this country using only Google Maps.

Ok, now that you’ve butted your head against Google, see if you can get any further using Microsoft or Yahoo.

Still stuck, eh? Answer after the break (and a scroll).

Read more »

Does it seem childish of me to be upset about the fact that I rank so low on a search for Where is Amy Pressman?

Google Maps recently added a feature to dynamically change a suggested route by dragging the route to where you’d like it to lie. It works great! This is a significant improvement. Go ahead, try dragging this national route. It works better on smaller routes, but it’s more impressive nationally.

A Google Maps version of downtown LA displays the locations of on-street filming. Filter by date or keyword; stalk your favorite celebrity.

Via Metroblogging.

The best available resolution on Google Maps for the Pitcairn Islands is disappointing. The satellite map even more so. On this point, Wikipedia trounces Google Maps.

Interesting Pitcairn Islands fact, they are located in the Pacific Time Zone, same as Los Angeles.