“Lily Sutton Sjogreen was born at 5:05pm on July 4th. She is 9 pounds 8 ounces and 21.5 inches long. She is of course the cutest little girl in the world. Pics to come!”
IMO, this is unusually harsh and unwarranted. Clearly the media likes being extreme... - Bindu Reddy
I don't know the rationales behind the actions, but a friend of mine at Google was brought to tears battling these changes before it ever made it to Valleywag or the NYT. There are Google parents who are very, very upset about this, no matter how badly the NYT article was written. - Kevin Fox
And for good reason, mostly self "inflicted", Google will always be held to a higher standard, - Deepak
IMHO, this is a case of a whole lot of wrongs. I'm not proud of the way this situation has been handled by EMG, I'm upset by the fact that some info was leaked from an internal meeting (TGIF) on Valleywag, and I've lost a bit more respect for the NY Times after reading that lopsidedly hysterical editorial. In the end, everybody's losing here, nothing to be happy about :-(. - Adam Lasnik
These stories about google as a company really bore me. - minus3
"... that he was tired of “Googlers” who felt entitled to perks like “bottled water and M&Ms,” according to several people in the meeting ..." So if the NYT has several sources on this as they say, and a Google spokesman denies this, then someone's lying (either Google, or the reporter, or the people in the meeting). To better judge how well this piece was written it seems important to know who lied here. - Philipp Lenssen
What we're seeing in the article is a paraphrased comment and exactly five quoted words. You could dispute whether he uttered the phrase "bottled water and M&Ms", or whether he said something that meant something like what the reporter is implying. If you want to argue about what a comment in a meeting means and whether that meaning is accurately reflected in a piece like this one, well, you can have quite an argument even if nobody is actually lying. - ⓞnor
Based on the obvious bias of the article, and all the times that I saw this kind of thing from the inside of Google, I'm inclined to believe that the quotes are false or out of context. - Paul Buchheit
I don't use Google day care, but I've heard about all the screw-ups secondhand at the lunch table. I found the article to be quite representative of what I have heard expressed by fellow Googlers. - Jon McAlister
The discrepancy is that even if IP addresses alone aren't personally identifiable, a list of videos watched correlated by that unique identifier may be. Consider AOL's problematic release of 'anonymized' search data. The unique ID had no personally identifiable meaning, but linking searches into a search history did, since some of those searches were for their own name, address, or even SSN. In YouTube's case, a watch-history that includes some very rarely-watched videos in addition to the more popular videos can give an accurate picture of who the user is, especially when they watch the personal videos that they themselves uploaded. - Kevin Fox
A problem with "owning" part of the Internet. Better would be millions of distributed video content sites, not owned by anyone. - nadim
I don't think anyone who simply watches needs to be worried. Youtube merely streams videos. Even if one were to stream copyrighted content, no copy is made by the viewer, unlike say, a VCR. Youtube may have exhibited without permission however I suspect any user lawsuit will be for uploading. On the other hand, Youtube's use of filtering technology gives them a defense against a contributory infringement claim, but their own content "standards" kill a DMCA safe harbor defense. IANAL, though. - Andrew Feinberg
Nadim, it's called Bittorrent, and it exposes your IP much more freely. What exactly constitutes "personally identifiable" is a very complex issue -- as Kevin points out, almost anything can be personally identifiable with enough data processing or in combination with other data sources. The judge and Viacom are the guilty parties here, trying to blame google only distracts from that fact. - Paul Buchheit
Google's choice in this matter is keeping those logs in the first place. They can't hand over information they don't have. If the information is useful to them in aggregate they can not log IP addresses/username information to begin with. That way they can't hand it over, period. Of course, I have no idea what value this data collection provides to Google, but the choice is still theirs. - nadim
This "don't store it" argument is silly. Should Google also not store my email in case Viacom decides that they want a copy of that as well? What we need is actual legal protection. Saying "don't store it" is just running away from the problem. Viacom will soon be getting access to your PC and government mandated ISP logs, and it won't matter what Google has saved. - Paul Buchheit
In this specific case, I believe not storing the information would have prevented the information from being disclosed to Viacom. They are going after the low hanging fruit, and Google has what they need readily available to hand over. Going to individual ISP's would be much more work, and currently I don't think ISP's are prepared for these kinds of requests (correct me if I'm wrong). You're right that in the future this may change, and we do need a legal solution either way. - nadim
Paul, there is a huge difference between storing my email and tying my IP and ID to views. And Google arguing with the EU that they had the right to do exactly that for things like ad targeting is what got them into this mess in the first place. - Cyndy
Also, I think Google could have put up more of a fight handing the data over, even appealing that decision. They definitely have the legal resources and clout. Their relationship with Viacom seems more important to them than protecting user data. Yes, I realize there is some speculation on my part here. - nadim
First, Google has a storied history of fighting orders to disclose user data. Second, people are conflating Google's desire to collect and associate user names and IP addresses (which LOTS of sites do) with Viacom's discovery request for the same information. Users voluntarily give such information to Google. They aren't voluntarily supplying it to Viacom. - mrshl
Cyndy, my email is much more private than my youtube viewing history. If Viacom can get whatever data they want, what's to stop them from taking my email too? - Paul Buchheit
And having a $3,000 a plate dinner doesn't mean that $3K dinners are the only way to meet Obama. You're not paying $3K to meet him. You're donating $3K to support the campaign. Last year Obama had a $2,300-per-person fundraiser in Los Altos the same day as a $50-per-person fundraiser in San Francisco. People go to the fundraiser that matches their support. It's not like people are bargain-hunting. - Kevin Fox
granted, but I thought the idea was to rely on the 1 million + base of small donors to limit the influence of the wealthy (excluding Oprah) on the Presidency? - Pokai
The idea, as with any campaign, is to raise as much money as possible. In Obama's case, the majority comes from smaller fundraisers, and the average contribution is much smaller than the other candidates. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't court $2300 donors as well. - ⓞnor
"“We have not been able to have much of the senator’s time during the primaries, so we have had to rely more on the Internet,” she explained as she and her team busily scheduled more than a dozen big-ticket events over the next few weeks at which the target price for quality time with the candidate is more than $30,000 per person." - Chris White
The maximum you can donate towards the general election is $2300 right? What is the rest of the $30,000 for? - Chris White
Democratic officials hope to raise $1 million through two separate fundraisers next Sunday in Republican heartland of Newport Beach, CA: A VIP reception at 2 p.m. that will run $28,500 per head and a general reception at 3:30 where each donor will be asked for $2,300 - Pokai
I was just thinking that July 4th is an awesome day to have as your birthday. 1) You don't have to ask for the day off 2) It isn't a holiday where gifts are given so you don't have the Christmas birthday issue and 3) It isn't a huge holiday where people would have other plans like New Years. - Benjamin Golub
actually Ben, you'd be surprised how often people have other plans. Its a three day weekend so people go away alot. But you get fireworks for your birthday so that is awesome! - Rachel L Fisher
Happy Birthday Kevin! Hope you guys are enjoying some dinosaur sauce. :) - Chris White
Ah, THAT'S what all the celebrations were for today! As I was standing around Charleston Park and watching the explosions in the air, I thought to myself... wow, this must be about someone important. Congrats, Kevin! :-) - Adam Lasnik
This dance was amazing!! I think Twitch may win this year. - Rachel L Fisher
Love the song pairing w/ Mia Michaels choregraph - Pokai
are the producers testing for HGH, steroids, or blood doping??? - eviltom
no, but like last season when somebody got a good reaction for no shirt, then it will be a no shirt fest for the rest of season...at least for guys... - Pokai
Any sleuths have any idea what this guy is? Cee Bee, you did a fantastic job identifying the clearwing butterfly http://friendfeed.com/e/7bf272.... Perhaps FriendFeed can offer services as a research unit (to make some money)? - Mitchell Tsai
Now this guy is Funny! Reminds me of me, when I am angry! LMAO - Igor The Troll
Real Genius, Princess Bride, Star Wars, and I have no idea for the last two. - Kevin Fox
Tootsie, Forrest Gump, La Vie En Rose, As Good As It Gets, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Weird Science, Tarnation, Out of Africa, Rainman, Cinema Paradiso, - Pokai
Shawshank Redemption, Tombstone, Forrest Gump, The Book of Love, A League of Their Own - Erica Baker
Raging bull, Cinema Paradiso, Bullit, Empire of the sun, The Wall - George The Writer
North by Northwest, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Husbands and Wives, The Unbearable Lightness, Raiders. I was surprised that I chose these. Only 2 of my 7 favorite directors make an appearance, and only 2 actors that I would count among my real favorites. But, you know, if you can only pick 5, you really start cutting muscle. - j1m
Casablanca,Lovestory,Ratattouile,Fight Club, Breakfast At Tiffany's - Giancarlo Angulo
Until the End of the World, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Days of Heaven. - DeWitt Clinton
Harold and Maude, Raising Arizona, The Blues Brothers, Empire Strikes Back, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. [The next five would be The Breakfast Club, Clerks, Swingers, Pulp Fiction, and Ghostbusters. Princess Bride, Office Space and Shaun of the Dead were under consideration as well.] - Keith Pelczarski
It's a Wonderful Life, Blazing Saddles, The Blues Brothers, Singin' in the Rain, Stage Door - Spidra Webster
It was my first flash flood. The lines for the exhibits were 1-3 hrs long for the popular ones (and it was 100-110 deg). A few of us were sitting outside at a circular restaurant table under a big umbrella to shield us from the sun. When the pouring rain started, we decided not to go inside. Then we started standing on our chairs, and when the water started overwhelming the chairs and we were thinking of climbing on the table, we were like "oh sh--!" - Mitchell Tsai
When the sun came out, the water drained into the ground with giant funnels (like the kind you seem in your bathtub) about 1-2 feet around. Best of all, the lines to the popular exhibits became very short. - Mitchell Tsai
I actually don't agree with this. There are countless concepts that, in order to be explained simply, rely on gross oversimplifications and generalizations that help the listener think they understand it, while actually giving them only enough understanding to explain it simply to someone else. - Kevin Fox
Wouldn't this statement then apply to the person who original explained it with the gross oversimplifications and generalizations? - John Worthington
Only sometimes. It may also be that you understand a complex completely but are unable to explain it simply because you're bad at gross oversimplifications, feel it's unethical, or feel that it's not really 'explaining' it. Interestingly, the opposite of Einstein's statement is true: It can be easy to explain something simply even if you don't understand it. - Kevin Fox
A similar adage I'm fond of: "We best understand how a something works by watching it fail". - Andrew Villeneuve
Perhaps a better statement would be: To pick the best oversimplification requires a deep understanding of the subject. :) - Brian
The LitterMaid sucked. The CatGenie is a pain to install (needs a water hookup). Is this the answer? Also available in the marketplace: Purrforma, ScoopFree. - ⓞnor
I would love to see Tiger get stuck in that. :-P - Jessie Norris
i concur that the littermaid sucked. it had this flimsy plastic liners for the poo that clipped into a holster. when you pulled it out to change it it would fling litter (and possible other stuff) at your face! - Karl Rosaen
Both Kevin and I are happy owners of Litter-Robots. Try it. it works. the cats took about 10 days to get used to it (there are some ideas on the website about how to get the cats to get used to it faster) but after that, there have probably been 2 "accidents" in the two years we've had it. - Tudor Bosman
egnor, I have a litter-robot that you can try for free. - Sanjeev Singh
How often do you empty the receptacle, and/or clean the whole thing? For cleaning the whole thing, what is the process like? For the LitterMaid, besides the problem Karl mentioned, I had to do this complicated disassembly and cleaning about every three weeks, and it took like an hour and involved screwdrivers, otherwise poop would build up between the rake tines, and oh, it was just all so gross. - ⓞnor
egnor, my cat never "took" to this :(, so I can't answer. - Sanjeev Singh
Empty the receptacle: once every 7-10 days (two cats). Clean the whole thing: once every 1-2 months. Process: lift the globe, wash it, pull out the drawer, wash it, put it back together; takes about 10 minutes, no tools are required. - Tudor Bosman
Ditto Tudor's comment. The nice thing is that gravity is the main tool, so there aren't tines that gunk gets stuck to. The design is very simple and elegant and we rarely have any problems with it. It's a bit noisy though. If I could make one change to it I would make it quieter or, failing that, put a timer on it so it would support 'quiet hours' at night and activate again in the morning. - Kevin Fox
I've found what works best is get the cheapest cat litter box available, and then throw out all the cat litter every 10-14 days. No screwdriver necessary. - Chris White
I'm surprised that a lolcat comment hasn't been submitted. - April Buchheit
Maggie's got one of these for her cats. I love the fact that I no longer have to smell the cat box. - Gabe Schaffer
I bought a "CITIKITTY" kit - see ads on Seesmic... supposedly now I can train my cat to use the toilet, NO more litter box crap! yeah! wonder if she'll hit the flush knob? - Susan Beebe
LOL a cat would crawl into that thing? - Harry Myhre
Our CatGenie has been completely awesome. After the initial setup work (a couple months ago), we basically have done zero work, except to flush the toilet every once in a while. I think the water hookup is the best thing ever, since there's no icky waste receptacle to deal with. I only wish we could hook it up to the laundry output, so we wouldn't even need to flush the toilet. - Jennifer Taylor
OMG-I just got one and it ate my cat...poor Felix... - Mark Forman
I adore our Litter Robot. Aside from the noise (as Kevin said) it is heaven. I pull out a drawer and dump it and then I'm done. It did take some time to train our older cat to use it. We just kept her old litter box beside the robot for a while and we didn't clean it. Over time she decided she preferred the clean robot to the dirty box. It took her some time to figure it out (had to tap her butt a couple time to get her to turn around so she didn't pee out the door) but once she got it was awesome. - Rachel L Fisher
"1. WALL-E records audio from his favorite movie, XXXXXXXXXXX, putting in onto his own digital recorder (bypassing the macrovision DRM on the tape). A COPYRIGHT CRIME UNDER C-61
2. WALL-E archives the audio, he doesn’t merely time-shift it. He listens repeatedly! A COPYRIGHT CRIME UNDER C-61
3. WALL-E shares his DRM-broken music with his friend, another robot named XXXXX. A COPYRIGHT CRIME UNDER C-61" - Benjamin Golub via Bookmarklet
I knew there was a reason I liked that little guy! - Nathan Henderson
actually, since it's hundreds of years later all of that stuff would be in the public domain :-) - mathew ingram
If history is any guide, Disney's copyrights will never expire. - Kevin Fox
+1 for Kevin. They don't call it the Mickey Mouse Protection Act for nothing. - Cyndy
Since Disney owns Wall•E and Wall•E is violating Disney's copyrights (which never expire as Kevin points out), I'm hoping Disney would end up in some sort of lawsuit infinite loop and implode, leaving Pixar to make good movies. - Scott Johnston
As long as Pixar continues to produce hits, Disney will leave Pixar alone. Even better, Pixar's influence will be felt stronger in Burbank and animation will improve there too. BOLT! this fall is the first to have Pixar's Story Method imposed upon it. Look for much better results than recent Disney animation. - John Frost
Someone censor that movie before it becomes a threat to the MPAA et al!!!! - Roberto Bonini
Wouldn't some sort of reverse Statute of Limitations apply since he doesn't do any of this until the year 2815? - Ken Sheppardson
From the page "On the radio: a look at the year ahead, Office 97 is here and so are the bugs, why Command & Conquer has conquered my heart, and why you shouldn't download Netscape Communicator..." http://web.archive.org/web/199... - Mark Krynsky
Wow Kevin...that site really takes me back in time. Very cool, I especially like "This page is intended for use with Netscape 1.1 Use it for full effect". - Mark Krynsky
It just didn't look right in Netscape 1.0. I don't think it supported gif transparency or the 'align' image attribute or something. Don't even get me started on NCSA Mosaic. - Kevin Fox
Not in Web Archive. First web site was 2/2005. - Cyndy
My first client site: thomas-york.com / 1996-08-08 / http://tinyurl.com/5g6uoh (Want to know how much things have changed? Molly Holzschlag contacted me in late '96 or early '97 to say how much she liked that monstrosity.) - Roger Benningfield
It was 3 years old when the first shot was taken, and please don't hold the content against me, I'm a reformed conservative :-) http://web.archive.org/web/199... (and it was christmas when the shot was taken, hence the logo) There was another site older than this but I cant remember the exact URL. - Duncan Riley
Mark, sorry, I decided pulling up random sites in wayback machine was better in a different thread... so I pulled my comment about cnet. - J. Phil
Wow Duncan, fan of the animated gif back then? Me too, actually.. - J. Phil
J. Phil, geocities address as well :-) Back in the days where a .com cost $200 and hosting was prohibitively expensive for most...well for me anyway at the time :-) - Duncan Riley
Duncan - I was lucky that one of my good friends got a portable class C domain back in 1990 before network solutions decided to start reserving them for bigger customers. That became (and still is) talisman.org, 255 fixed IPs of real estate. - J. Phil
I'd participate, but archive.org is borking for my domain right now. I know it was 1995 for my first blog like thing, 1997 for my first domain (rizzn.com). Thankfully, since I used Tripod, my first teen angsty blog posts are forever gone. - Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
The oldest Randomelements link on wayback is Feb 2004 but anyhting from there to June 06 just gives a SharePoint script error (obviously couldn't be archived properly). My first site on geocities (a long time ago) is lost in the ether - can't remember the url and there is no longer any record of it but that went back to about 96/97. - Colin Walker via fftogo
I started Safuto.com back in 2000. Here's the front page from late 2001. Notice the reference to Austin weather on the front page. I lived there from 1999 til Sept. 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/200... - Rob Safuto
OK... I'm gonna say it... I don't think any kind of swift boating of McCain is any better than what was done to Kerry. Do we really have to stoop to the GOP level? - Chris Reed
I'd be happy if he didn't release his full military records but did release his and his wife's full financial records. That seems more relevant. - Kevin Fox
For reals, Kevin...totally agree with you on financial records being way more important. - Elisa Camahort Page
I wish I could 'like' this per comment. Because Elisa saying 'for reals' cracks me up - Erin Kotecki Vest
Chris, it has nothing to do with either side stooping. I'm just waiting for one of them to simply stand upright. - Akiva Moskovitz
Kerry never signed the SF181 to release his full records to the press, just to one or two authors. - Jeff Quinton
WTF. Does anyone really believe McCain has anything to hide in his military records? And Gen. Wesley Clark. He cited his own military record in his bid for the Democratic Presidential Primary in 2003. His picture should be in the dictionary next to hypocrisy. - Michael Tefft
chris... that right there is swift-boating. The swiftboaters sold lies. But this year asking for truth is now labeled swift-boating. That's some Teflon, John McCain wears. - Michael Markman
No, Mr Markman, it is what is termed a 'fishing expedition'. I hope McCain does release his military records just to shut up people like you. - Michael Tefft
Isn't the SF181 a form for declaring your race and ethnicity? I'm not sure how that relates to military records... - Kevin Fox
@Kevin Great comment! @Michael Markman: One man's truth is another's witch hunt... The group that orchestrated the horrendous discrediting of Kerry's military career was called the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." - Chris Reed
ummm... didn't bush's military records show he kinda missed a bunch of stuff? I mean, because of THAT don't we now just like these things on public record? But I forget, we're not allowed to question mccain, because really we should just tip our hats and let him do whatever since he's proven his patriotism and all. - Erin Kotecki Vest
Good point, Erin. I've been on the fence about this, and I never thought about it like that. - Michelle Martinez
I look forward to the day when "swift boat" is no longer used as a verb - Kirk Kittell
On your point, Erin, the suspicion was already there that Bush had fibbed on his military record and got a way out of Vietnam. McCain has a distinguished record, just as Kerry did. I didn't like it when the witch hunt was done to Kerry and I can't be hypocritical and like it here just because it would aid the candidate I would support. - Chris Reed
Really great news, though I really hope that McCain, who is in Colombia, doesn't somehow take credit.... "Colombia's military announced Wednesday it rescued French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans who were held hostage for years" - Chris Reed via Bookmarklet
I even put ???? on my tweet, because it was like I nearly didn't believe it! Oh, such good news! - Erin Kotecki Vest
And sure enough, official government news agency (for now) Fox News gave McCain credit.... - Chris Reed
McCain link: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/... In other news, Fox claimed they would be more than willing to give Obama credit if his name had one less 'a' in it, noting that "nearly every letter in Obama's name comes from the name 'Colombia'. If not for the extra 'a' it would be clear that he played a pivotal role in Betancourt's rescue. So close." - Kevin Fox
Sorry, folks..... We need money for our schools.... But we'll keep the shrimp cocktail at 99 cents....:-) - Chris Reed
It'd be awesome if they built a hotel with slots and tables themed for different charities and causes. You could play blackjack at the Breast Cancer table and know that 10% of the take would go to breast cancer research. There could be a Las Vegas Schools table and a Rainforest table and Cardiac Slots and SETI craps tables... - Kevin Fox
I can't wait for the gambling charity wars. It's Catholic Church vs. Planned Parenthood. People throwing their empty glasses at people in the other isles. - Cyrus Lendvay
Yeah, I was thinking about RNC vs DNC. The two tables would, naturally, be on opposite sides of the aisle. - Kevin Fox
Vegas doesn't need money for schools. A large uneducated population is to the advantage of Las Vegas. The last thing they want are people that are good at math. - Kevin D. White
They're actually one of the last tourism destinations to do it. Local munis have been jumping on this all over the country. One problem. The economy. Numbers are way down .... except NY and FL - which are both drawing foreign visitors because of the decline in the dollar. - Charlie Anzman
@Kevin White: Come on... You don't want me to make stereotypes about Salt Lake City, do you? - Chris Reed
This cropped up in Google Apps a few days ago and Gmail this morning. I keep
wanting to click on it to expose a peel-away page full of candy and seekrit
features. - Kevin Fox via mail2ff
It reminds me of the artifact in the terrible Sandra Bullock movie, "The Net." Click on it while playing Wolfenstein 3D and pressing and holding control and shift, and you gain access to all the black ops secrets of the US Government. I sincerely hope that this is what's going on here. - Mark Trapp
@Kevin: Hao is just being silly as gmail has been in beta for 3+ years now. lol - Alan Le
It's been there for a while now, I believe it showed up when they started using that "loading" bar, which was around the same time they added labs to gmail. - cmiper
I didn't see it on my Mac in Fire Fox 3 until I reloaded. Clicking on the GMail logo just tells the app to check for new mail. - Cyrus Lendvay
I don't see it. But then I use gmail through Apple Mail. ;) - Chris White
yup, me too...firefox 3 on pc! it's everywhere! - Brian Ries
I broke out firebug. It's a 0px by 0px iframe to be used for fixing the back button, which breaks when you use AJAX. The reason it's visble is because it has borders, and because they didn't set it "hidden". =P - Daniel Bruce
Maybe they should hire a UX guy... oh wait - Roshan Vyas
Ah I do see it after a hard refresh, FF3/Mac - Aaron Brazell
sharp eyes.. this must be part of the skin able gmail themes - Peter Dawson
Mine's been like that since last Friday. Thought it was a Mac thing but apparently not (took a survey via Twitter) It's been bugging me and I even deb web'd it haha - Mona N
![lizard? with very unusual toes [willya, Pixdaus]](http://pixdaus.com/pics/1215144153uZRmd5R.jpg "lizard? with very unusual toes [willya, Pixdaus]")
![rainbow around tree [casaubon, Pixdaus]](http://pixdaus.com/pics/12151033233bNUdF2.jpg "rainbow around tree [casaubon, Pixdaus]")
