japan earthquake Tsunami Alert google homepage for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii 2011

japan earthquake Tsunami Alert on the google homepage for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii. 11-3-11.

this is what greeted me this morning when turning on the google search engine homepage, was a warning underneath the search box, basically after a major earthquake hit japan there is a tsunami alert warning for countries New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others for 11,3,2011.

this is what is printed on the google web search browser home page.

"Tsunami Alert for New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, and others. Waves expected over the next few hours, caused by 8.9 earthquake in Japan."

so basically is warning to people who live in those countries or surrounding areas to be prepared for possible tsunamis.

I've Got Pac-Man Fever

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Pac-Man.  A yellow circle eating white dots (an occasionally some fruit) while getting chased through a maze by colorful ghosts.

So to celebrate, here are ten cool things you can do today:

#1: Play Google Pac-Man

You know how Google changes its logo all the time for special events, holidays, etc.?  Well today, they've designed their logo to look like Pac-Man.

The best part?  If you go to Google and click the Insert Coin button (temporarily replacing the "feeling lucky" button) - you can actually play Pac-Man in the logo using your arrow keys!  If you click it twice there's a Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man to play with (although I haven't figured out how to make Ms. Pac-Man move yet).  Ahh, Google.  I know you're trying to run the world, but it's stuff like this makes me love you.

#2. Learn everything you ever wanted to know about Pac-Man.
Check out the official Pac-Man web site at www.pacman.com.  Learn all the history of Pac-Man, buy Pac-Man merch, check out the games, download screen savers and wallpapers for your computer, and more.

#3.  Play Free Pac-Man
Visit www.freepacman.org for a flash version of the game that uses the original board.  It's not official, but it's free.

#4.  Download Pac-Man for your iPod, iPhone, or iPad.
Take Pac-Man with you anywhere you want to go.  Click here to get the app in iTunes.

#5. Watch the old Pac-Man Saturday morning cartoon!
Tired of playing the game?  Then let the wondrous people at Hannah-Barbera work their magic.


#6. Eat some Pac-Man cereal.
All this video game playing and cartoon watching is making me hungry. I should have started my day with some sugar-coated cereal filled with marshmallows in the shapes of Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde.  It's deliciously 80's!


#7.  Eat some Pac-Man pasta.
Too late in the day for cereal? Never! But if you're looking for a warm Pac-meal, why not have Chef Boyardee help you out?

OK, I know they make this or the cereal anymore, and if you have any laying around your kitchen I'd be really concerned about expiration dates.

#8. Watch the "Square Pegs" episode, "Pac-Man Fever."
Long before Sarah Jessica Parker was considered anything close to sexy in Sex In The City, she starred as a super-nerd in the TV show Square Pegs.  Check out this episode where everyone is addicted to Pac-Man... or something.  I didn't bother to watch the whole thing.


#9. Spend some time with Ms. Pac-Man:
She's not just Pac-Man with a bow. And she eats pretzels.


#10. Get Pac-Man Fever 
Back at the height of the Pac-Man craze, a couple of guys named Buckner and Garcia recorded the song, "Pac-Man Fever."  The song is a terrible novelty track, yet it actually became a Top Ten hit single.  Apparently all the drugs everyone was taking in the 70's didn't wear off until well after 1982.  Click here to download the song for yourself. Interesting fact: Buckner and Garcia also wrote the theme song for WKRP in Cincinnati - so I guess they aren't all bad.

Chapter 81.1: I'd Underestimated the Creepiness

At first, I thought this was very interesting: Google.org has collected and analyzed flu search data that seems to identify trends faster than the experts, based primarily on how people are utilizing their search engine. Great! I thought, someone has finally been able to monitor how real people are being affected by life's various maladies.

The more I thought about it, though, the more it reminded me of that TV commercial with the baby who buys stocks. You know ... the one where he used his profits to hire a clown. "But I underestimated the creepiness factor," he says ... or words to that effect.

It's perfectly logical that a large search engine like Google can check this type of stuff. But it's still strange to think that our basic privacy might be rendered "marketable."

What's next? Can data on search tendencies be amassed and sold? Probably. I don't know that such things aren't already happening. So let's say the search keywords of the millions of people who live in New Jersey are collected. And maybe it turns out that various terms of a sexual nature are up toward the top, perhaps the usual celebrity names, numerous political issues, etc. What does that say about New Jersey? In my opinion, not much of anything unless it has context. But the more these things are examined, the more our privacy gets shaved. Slippery slope. Creepy.

Chapter 80.6: Google and Books

I meant to post something about Google's resolution about making the content of many books widely available, but life was simply too busy.

So I've decided to call attention to what Peter Osnos has to say about this matter. As he notes, this is a complicated matter and still has many moving parts.

What you think about Google's agreement? Leave a comment :-)

Chapter 70.4: Shoot the Moon

I would love to go to the moon. Ever since I was a little kid and NASA was sending guys up with the Saturn rockets, floating around the world in Skylab, and 'rendezvousing' with the Russians, I have been a space-ophile.

So the latest announcement from the X Prize Foundation that a team has registered for the $30 million Lunar X Prize is a cause for celebration. The goal of the Lunar X Prize isn't merely to return to the moon, it's to make it more accessible and commercially viable. I don't expect to have the cash to put a downpayment on a flight any time soon, but if these folks or others are able to succeed, perhaps it will be possible one day to venture off this wonderful planet and explore the neighborhood.

Good luck to the Odyssey Moon team. Ad luna!