Over the summer, I was talking to my uncle about this new search engine, Bing.  I thought I’d share a bit more about Bing with you all, and if you are an avid Bing user, some changes that you may have seen.

Bing (formerly Live Search, Windows Live Search, and MSN Search) is the current web search engine from Microsoft.  Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on May 28, 2009 showed it to the world at the All Things Digital Conference in San Diego, as replacement for Live Search.  It officially launched on June 3, 2009, (which would explain why it was new when I was talking to my uncle) with a preview version released on June 1, 2009.

Some changes include the listing of search suggestions in real time as queries are entered, and a list of related searches (called “Explorer pane” on the left side of search results) based on semantic technology from Powerset, which Microsoft purchased in 2008.  Bing also includes the ability to Save & Share search histories via Windows Live SkyDrive, Facebook and email.

Sounds interesting, read more about Bing on the Wikipedia by clicking here!

If you just want to try Bing, click here!

Google is boring now. A search engine? BLAH.

BUT there has been some recent websites that Google has created that have intrigued me. For example, if you type in www.googlegooglegooglegoogle.com, it gives you 4 independent Google browsers within your own internet page. I don’t know what’s the practical use of this, but it’s awesome!

Another cool Google site is www.mysterygoogle.com. You type a search query into this, and you get the results of the search before yours. So for example, you could search up “oranges” and you would get outt the results for “people who like cheese.”

Mystery Google now has missions. You ask for a mission, and something will come up like, call (this number) and ask for Melinda to get out of class. Complete your missions and have some fun!

Incredibox.

If you are a fan of beatboxing, you will love this site.  If you just like fun time-wasters on the Internet, you will love this site. 

Incredibox works like this: you start off with a bunch of animated beatboxers, and a bunch of beatboxing sounds that you can have each of them do, then you drag and drop the sounds into the men.  Once there are a few beatboxers with sounds lined up, a really funky song is produced for you to bop along to.  After, you can take some of the beatboxers out by double-clicking on them and replace them with different beatboxers with different sounds to create a whole new song.

It’s definitely one of the funnest websites I’ve come across in a while.  Check it out, and make sure to turn your speakers up

This is the second part of my search for John Green books.  This week I read Let It Snow, it is a collection of three Christmas love stories (these are love stories that guys will enjoy).  The stories are all slightly related and are all quite interesting and funny.  The book was written by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.  

The first story is about Jubilee, who, after her train gets stranded in a blizzard, makes a series of choices which leads to her disillusionment, and the discovery of a new love.

The second story is about a group of friends racing against time to deliver the boardgame Twister to the Waffle House – a restaurant currently fill with cheerleaders from a stranded train.  However, only a few guys will be allowed in (to keep a good guy-to-cheerleader ratio).

In the final story, Addie must face the effects of having a cheating boyfriend, while making sure that people don’t see her as self-centered.  This is a story shows that lost love can be rediscovered with the help from unlikely sources.  This story brings a conclusion to everything. 

Sparkling white snowdrifts… Beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you only see in movies…

This is not a cheesy romance novel.  I enjoyed this even though I’m a guy and I tend to be annoyed by love stories.

Tune in next week for Searching For Alaska.

By now I’m sure you may have heard about the Kindle, Amazon.com’s wireless reading device that lets you download a whole book in a minute and now can carry over 1,500 books in one device (on the Kindle 2).  Supposedly, the screen “reads like real paper” (check out the video below).  You can also get magazines and newspapers, and subscribe to blogs on the Kindle.

Today, I heard about the nook from the US store, Barnes & Noble.  The nook boasts a similar screen display as the Kindle (ie. it “reads like real paper”), plus you can change the font size, and you can store up to 1,500 books digitally, just like the Kindle 2.  You can also make notes and highlight right on the page itself.

All of this is really cool technology – I really like that you can carry hundreds of titles around with either device (it would definitely save your shoulders from carry around a ridiculously heavy backpack).  However, I still like to hold the real book in my hand while re-reading Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, despite its weight.

A lot of debate has come up over the last couple years about the death of print media, and the fact that the Kindle and nook are rising in popularity really reinforces this idea.

What do you think – would you rather have in your hand a real paperback to read, or is the new technology available too intriguing and fun?  Do you think that people will stop buying real books because of these technological advances?  Share your thoughts below in the comment section, or Facebook or tweet at us to let us know your opinion.

Now this is something totally awesome I know you’ll appreciate this weekend:

For many years, we’ve all searched the Internet for the perfect font for one project or another.  I’ve seen the ones that are based on famous fonts (like the font from “The Simpsons” title, etc.), and the super curly ones, and the gothic ones, and I always say to myself, “Wouldn’t it be cool to have a font of my own handwriting?”

Yes, I believe it would!  And so does FontCapture.  FontCapture is a website that lets you put your own writing into a font that you can use.  Cool, huh?

It’s done in four super easy steps:

1. Print out the FontCapture template.
2. Fill out each letter of the alphabet (plus all those crazy symbols and punctuation) in your own lovely printing.
3. Scan it into your computer and upload it to FontCapture.com.
4. Download and enjoy!

Try it out and feel free to comment below on how you are enjoying your newly-created and highly original font

In the past few days, some pretty awesome websites have been discovered.  How awesome?  Warm fuzzy feelings awesome.  Over the next week and a half, Alice and I will each shed some light on these websites.

So by now, I’m sure we all know about FMyLife (FML).  And thanks to this, we also know about MyLifeIsAverage (MLIA).  Now, not to hate or anything, but stories on FML can be rather depressing; we don’t like being downers all the time.  MLIA stories are more neutral, but it lacks…the warm fuzzy feeling.  Today, I bring you something that not only gives you this warm fuzzy feeling, but also completes this spectrum of stories: GivesMeHope.

It’s like Chicken Soup for the Soul – the 21st Century, Twitter-style version.

GivesMeHope (GMH) was founded in May 2009 (by Gaby Montero, founder of DailyCute.net, and by Emerson Spartz, founder of MuggleNet.com—yes one of the best known HP sites out there) as a response to FML.  The stories found on GMH are inspiring and moving.  These stories, shared by people all over the world, are stories about the most hopeful and uplifting moments in life that give strength and faith to others.  Whenever you’re down, one visit to this hearfelt site will bring you right back up.

My mother worked two jobs when I was growing up but still often there wasn’t enough money for food or heat.  A couple years ago she died of cancer.  I found out later that during the time she was sick she’d been saving money to make up for the years when we had nothing. It was over $20,000.  If only she knew that her love had been enough.  This GMH.

With Grey Cup Festival on its way, its time to decide how you are going to enjoy it!  Now for those of you who are not planning on attending the game, a game watching party or just sit by yourself at home watching, there is more to the Grey Cup than just the three hour game itself.  The fun begins Thursday, November 26th and lasts all weekend, until Sunday becomes Monday.

Some FREE events you’ll probably catch me at include the Enmax Street Festival on Stephen Avenue  and the Calgary Herald Olympic Plaza Family Fan Fest. Some stand out musical performances I would suggest checking out are:

Friday, November 27th:

The Dudes at 3:00pm at the Enmax Street Festival

Then make your way down Stephen Avenue to Olympic Plaza Family Fan Fest to check out Faber Drive at 5:00pm.

Saturday, November 28th:

Madcowboys at 4:00pm at the Enmax Street Festival

Then stick around for my favourite local musician Michael Bernard Fitzgerald at 5:00 pm at the Enmax Street Festival

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Remember that all the events I just mentioned are totally FREE! I can’t wait to see you there and let’s cross our fingers that the Stampeders will be there too!

“Sigh”… I was really expecting something different when I decided to read this novel.  You see, from what I had heard, it is a story that takes place in a world that has suffered a zombie apocalypse.  Groups of people built towns surrounded by fences to protect themselves from the zombies, and now, many generations later, a girl must leave the fence because her town was overrun by zombies.

I have also heard that humans found a way to defy death in the novel, which somehow caused the zombie apocalypse, and that the rulers of the towns tell the residents that they are the only survivors and do not permit people to leave the town. 

What I did not know was that the story was going to focus on a love triangle.  Well, it’s more like a love square – girl (A) likes guy (A) who is married to girl (B) who is girl (A)’s best friend and in love with guy (B) who is married to girl (A) the brother of guy (A), both guys have a crush on girl (A) and girl (B) is actually in love with guy (B). “Sigh”…

The ending of the book is not much of a conclusion, by that I mean it answers about half the questions.  This novel can be fast paced and impossible to put down at some points and excruciatingly slow at other times.

If you are looking for a love story that involves the supernatural (Twilight fans) yu should enjoy this. If you don’t like love stories (myself and most guys) you will probably not like this book. Love it or hate it.

Very few of us appreciate the homework we receive throughout our time in school.  While we’re trying to balance volunteering and sports and music and whatever other extra-curricular activities we may be involved in, homework just gets in the way of us having a life. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to just get rid of it?

Two Calgary students have achieved just that.  Their parents signed a contract with the school to free their children from homework completely.  Sounds really great, doesn’t it?  But what does this mean in the end?  Shouldn’t their kids get used to having homework?  It’s not going to disappear any time soon.  What happens when they move on to high school or even University?  And doesn’t it undermine the role of the teacher?  What about the other kids in the class?  As much as I hate the copious amounts of homework I have at times, this story as covered by Global makes me wonder if it isn’t so bad after all.  Would I really want to get rid of it all together?  I think it re-enforces my day-to-day learning – it helps me solidify what I’ve absorbed over the day.

The story is really more applicable to elementary students, and there are some very valid points raised. However, there is a trend within school boards to bow to the will of parents without standing their ground as professionals on education.  The article mentions that a committee has been established to review homework policies for next year, but I would have liked to see them review this before striking any agreement with one set of parents.  I’m sure there is plenty of research that has been conducted in the field of education with regards to the efficiency and effectiveness of homework.

What are your thoughts? Should teachers be in command of the homework load or should parents be able to customize school for their children?  What is the real value of homework, if any?

My whole life, I have been allergic to peanuts, and there have been many incidents where I have had to spend the night in emergency.  If there was something I could do about this issue, it would be to let more people know why they should be conscious of those with a peanut/nut allergy.  Here are some basic questions and answers about peanut allergies that may let you know more about their severity:

How is it deadly?
Life-threatening food allergies (most commonly peanuts) can kill children in two ways. The first is called laryngospasm. As the food is swallowed, it produces immediate swelling that spreads to the vocal cords. If the vocal cords swell shut, the child is unable to breathe and dies with terrifying speed. The second mechanism is called anaphylactic shock. The child swallows and digests the food and, as long as two hours later, goes into shock and dies.

How long does it last?
Children with life-threatening food allergies do not usually grow out of them.  Without treatment, they are considered lifelong conditions.

How is it triggered?
Peanut allergies can either be triggered by airborne means (smelling peanuts), touching surfaces or people who have contacted peanuts (shaking hands with someone eating roasted peanuts), or through direct indigestion (eating a peanut or a something that contains one).

How is it prevented/treated?
To absolutely avoid peanuts throughout your lifetime is the core way of prevention.  No matter how careful you are, it is almost inevitable that it will not happen.  You must be prepared to deal with the emergency when it happens.  However, in this case, we have an injection by the name of an Epi Pen. It is designed for self-administration of epinephrine in acute allergic emergencies (such as anaphylaxis).  It provides a rapid, convenient dose of epinephrine for individuals needing protection from potentially fatal allergic reactions.

Maybe now you might know more about peanut allergies. Hopefully, in the future you can do the little things like ask if there is anyone with an allergy in the room before eating peanuts to save them from a reaction.

Wires are great, they served us for centuries, bringing useful electricity to us everyday; however, imagine that you have a printer, an external hard drive, a lamp, a set of speaker, a cell phone charger and a computer system in your bedroom, and they are all connected via wires.  You know when you need to take out your external hard drive and you have to spend forever to separate all the wires so you can get to your external hard drive’s wire?

Life must be easier than this!!!  And it can be.  A century ago, a Nikola Tesla imagined a world without wire for electricity, but the technology at the time did not allow for his idea to thrive. However, just recently, MIT’s breakthrough technology, WiTricity, was born, allowing the possibility of charging devices and home electronics wirelessly.

Essentially, this technology works by producing a external magnetic field near the device at a specific frequency at which only that device will respond to. Then, through resonance, the electrons in the devices flow due to the external magnetic field at a alternating current pattern, consequently, producing electricity.

This idea is not only cool, but also very safe.  Magnetic fields do not penetrate materials like an electric field does; it can only arrange the domain of electrons inside an idea, and only works well with highly conductive metals.  A moderate degree of magnetic fields will not effect the health of people in anyway, and it is even safer than the power lines and radio waves which we live with everyday.

This technology is thoroughly explained and demoed by Eric Giler at a recent TEDtalk.

See for yourself this fantastic technology:

I would say that this has truly fulfilled the dream of Mr. Tesla.  In the near future, let’s hope we can all get rid off the annoying wires that had brought us happiness with tears.  It is time for a transformation!  To learn more, click on the cool picture on the right.

Would you get this technology for your portable devices like cellphones, mp3 players, laptops, or even your home television?  I know I certainly would.