Thought: The Google Chrome Phenomenon

So I was checking my blog stats, and I saw that 47% of the people that come check out the blog use Google Chrome. In fact, there are more people using that web browser versus the people that use Firefox and Internet Explorer combined! So that kind of got me thinking...When did everybody stop using the other web browsers and start using Google Chrome? At what point in our lives did we decide to make that change?


So I started digging up some information and I found this article from PC World in the Washington Post website called "Google Chrome Web Browser" from September 8, 2008, where they actually predict the overwhelming effect that Google's new product is going to have on everybody that goes online! Check out what the guy says at the beggining:


"Google takes aim squarely at Microsoft with the release of its new Web browser, Chrome. And Microsoft should be very afraid: Chrome lives up to its hype by rethinking the Web browser in clever and convenient ways that make using the Web a more organic experience than you'd get with eitherMicrosoft's Internet Explorer 8 or Mozilla's Firefox 3." - Nick Mediati


I just find it really cool that Google has really taken everything we do in our lives and simplified it thru the easy and simple access to information. They've done it with YouTube, the Google.com search engine, through Gmail and document sharing (Google Docs), and also with the way we navigate online with Google Chrome. 


After reading this, I obviously wanted to see Google Chrome's growth through the past couple of years compared to the main web browsers like IE, Firefox and Safari to see how they match up and whats going on. I found some stats online that had the usage of each of these applications. I took a look at it and tabulated it so I go ahead and make graphs to show you guys and, not so much to my surprise, IE has been loosing a lot of terrain since 2003 to 2010 where Firefox has been holding on but dropping near the endo of 2010. Google Chrome on the other hand (insert inspiring trumpet sound) has only been out for 2 years and have been growing so quickly that it is about to overtake IE as second most used web browser. Pretty cool, huh?

I'd like to close with Nicks's last phrase in the article:


"Google has produced an excellent browser that is friendly enough to handle average browsing activities without complicating the tasks, but at the same time is powerful enough to meet the needs of more-advanced users." - Nick Mediati


So...people of Google: we salute you!


Google Chrome Web Browser

Recommendation: devianArt.com

This website has it all. There's plenty of categories in the left hand bar and a search box on top. Put in an idea and watch how other people see that idea thru drawings, photography, animations, and computer graphics. It's really deep stuff. Enjoy ;)

Deviant Art

"deviantART was created to entertain, inspire, and empower the artist in all of us. Founded in August 2000, deviantART is the largest online social network for artists and art enthusiasts with over 13 million registered members, attracting 35 million unique visitors per month." - deviantArt.com

After the Love - R.I.O.

Damn it, doesn't it make you want to be on the beach chilling out? ;)

It is deeper sink

When we fall down

Into the river of love

One world, one heart

And one understanding yo.

No corruption

'Cause love a spread you know

As them duelling deep inside you

'Cause after the love

Come peace and harmony.

Wine Tasting Revealed

It's always good to know a little of everything. Here's some wine tasting tips for the next time you go out ;)

Stemware Awareness

Wine glasses with a tulip shape are nice for two reasons:

1. When you swirl the wine, the aromas you set free are better contained within the glass, and
2. The tapered rim makes it harder to splash wine all over yourself--an occupational hazard with wine tasting.

Incidentally, the "rule" that holding the bowl portion of the glass warms the wine is...mostly nonsense. The wine won't be in the glass long enough to experience temperature change.

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Don't Pour It On

If you fill your glass about one-third or so of the way, you'll leave plenty room for error in the swirling and tilting departments, and also make space for aromas to build.

A Quick Look-See

Taking a moment to gaze adoringly at the color and depth of your wine is a non-essential but still often worthwhile part of wine tasting. When you look at the wine, sometimes it helps to hold a white sheet of paper behind it to set off the color of the wine. Tilt the glass a little to get a good sense of the wine stretched across a longer plane. 

It is fun here to compare a few wines side by side. Some reds are darker than others. You'll notice how inky an Australian Shiraz is compared to an Oregon Pinot Noir. Observe the color of young wines with older wines of the same grape varietal. New reds are often more purple, older reds grow brownish or brick-colored. Some whites are a warm honey color, particularly if they've spent time in oak barrels; others are very light and bright, almost totally clear, or even greenish hued. You might also look to see if the color of the wine is consistent all the way across the surface, or does it lighten at the sides?

Here are a few appearance-related words you might keep in mind:

Bright, dull, clear, dense, hazy, luminous, flat, deep, opaque

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The Nose Knows

Next, give the glass a good swirl. This will help release aromas. A tulip-shaped glass will help capture the aromas and funnel them toward your nose. Go ahead and put your nose right in there. And breathe deeply. The first sniff is usually the most revealing.

Now it's really getting interesting. Smell is, of course, a critical part of taste, and as you get a sense of a wine's aroma it stimulates the palate. But take a moment to tease yourself a bit more before you sip. What do you smell? A wine's aromas can tell you a lot.

This is also where wine tastings can begin to feel intimidating. Most of us feel lucky if we can pick out a single overriding aroma. "Mmm, this Chianti smells like cherries!"

It is in identifying underlying flavors that folks often begin to sound like they're giving a poetry reading. But as with most things, with practice you can teach your nose and palate to identify more aromas and flavors.

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Tip and Sip

Go ahead, take a sip. Ah, now that's the stuff!  But before you swallow the wine, let it linger a bit in the mouth. At this point, you have many options, some more flamboyant than others. You can tighten the mouth and breathe in over the wine to send the aromas into the back of the nasal cavity--of course, this can also lead to breathing the wine into the wind pipe. Or you can "chew" on the wine a bit to move it around the tongue. However you do it, let the flavors wash over your palate.

Do you find that the first flavor sensation remains constant? Or does it change a bit?  Did other flavors move to the forefront?Were the flavors the same as the aromas you picked out?

Do you have a sense of the wine's acidity? Does it make your mouth water?

Is it pleasantly weighty? The alcohol will give it the "body"that is felt in the mouth as viscosity or weight.  (A highly alcoholic wine is often described as "hot.") 

Is there a drying sensation in the mouth? That indicates the presence of tannin. (Note that we tend to perceive tannins and alcohol as feelings, not flavors.)

There are classic flavors and aromas to look for:

• Pinot Noir and cherries or mushrooms
• Beaujolais and strawberries
• Merlot and plums
• Shiraz and leather (even barnyard smells)
• Nebbiolo and "roses and tar"
• Sauvignon Blanc and grass (even cat pee!)
• Riesling and petrol (again, in a good way), and so on.

What fruit flavors do you sense? How about vegetables?  Herbs and spices? Do you pick up mineral flavors?

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Going Beyond the Basics

Once you've tasted for a while, you might find yourself taking your aesthetic evaluations to (potentially insufferable) new levels. You can begin to evaluate such things as the wine's "balance." Do the wine's acidity, alcohol, tannins (if they're there) and flavors come together as a pleasurable whole without different parts sticking out unattractively?

As your knowledge and experience expand, you might even get to the point where you feel comfortable talking about the "typicality" of a wine as it relates to its place of origin and style of production: "Yes, this California Sauvignon Blanc is good, though I'm not detecting the tropical fruit flavors that I'd expect in a warm-weather Sauvignon Blanc. And the brisk acidity--it seems more typical of a wine from the Loire." Just don't blame us if your friends suddenly stop inviting you to their wine tastings.

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Tasting Tips

Something fun to do after you've tasted wine is to pay special attention to the aroma of foods as you're cooking with them. Go ahead and put the mushroom to your nose, give the lemon a sniff, breathe in the aromas of those freshly chopped herbs. The nose has a powerful memory, and taking care to notice aromas in the ingredients you prepare will help you pick out aromas in wines.

Also, if your white wines are poured too cold, you will have difficulty picking out aromas until they warm a bit and the tightly bundled odors reveal themselves.

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Tasting with Food

Certainly wines can be enjoyed on their own, but it is often much more pleasurable to taste them with food. After all, this is most likely how you'll be drinking them--in the real world of daily dinners. 

With that in mind, consider holding a wine-tasting party with food as an equally important player. Make it a potluck. Have your friends bring a bottle or two of wine and a food item. You can make it appetizers or casseroles; maybe focus on Italian food with Italian wines, or do a tour of Asian cuisines with world Rieslings, or regional American food with American wines. The combinations are endless.

Before you begin, take a few small sips of each wine to get a sense of the wine before you eat. Then pour a few more small sips from each bottle and compare with the food. See what you find out--the results may surprise you. A wine that tasted deep and delicious as a sipper by itself may turn out to overwhelm one dish. It might be perfect with the next.

This sort of tasting is fun, and it's also useful. Next time you're having, say, Eggplant Parmesan for dinner, you'll remember how well--perhaps to your surprise--the California Cabernet Sauvignon paired with it at your wine-tasting party.

Source: Allrecipes.com

Wine Tasting Tips

Earth Rotation Changes Zodiac Signs

I used to be a Leo...

If you're the type of person who relies on mysterious-sounding locations of stars to determine your personality and outcome in life, get ready to be shocked.

The field of astrology, which is concerned with horoscopes and the like, felt a major disruption from astronomers, who are concerned with actual stars and planets. The astronomers from the Minnesota Planetarium Society found that because of the moon's gravitational pull on Earth, the alignment of the stars was pushed by about a month.

"When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces," noted Parke Kunkle, a member of the group's board. Your astrological sign is determined by the position of the sun on the day you were born, so that means everything you thought you knew about your horoscope is wrong.

It turns out that astrology has had issues from its inception. (Aside from the fact that it tries to link personality traits with positions of the stars.) Ancient Babylonians had 13 constellations, but wanted only 12, so threw out Ophuchicus, the snake holder. Libra didn't even enter the picture until the era of Julius Caesar.

According to the Minnesota Planetarium Society, here is where the real signs of the Zodiac should fall. Get ready for your world to change forever.

Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16. 

Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11. 

Pisces: March 11-April 18. 

Aries: April 18-May 13. 

Taurus: May 13-June 21. 

Gemini: June 21-July 20. 

Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10. 

Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16.

Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30. 

Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23.

Scorpio: Nov. 23-29. 

Ophiuchus: Nov. 29-Dec. 17.  (Yep, this is the new one)

Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20.

Source: Time Magazine

Horoscope Hang-Up: Earth Rotation Changes Zodiac Signs

3D animations on 600 year old clock

Video mapping of the astronomical clock at the Old Town Square in Prague on the occasion of its 600 years anniversary on October 9, 2010.

How IKEA Seduces Its Customers: By Trapping Them

It's no revelation that IKEA drives you crazy, but now a scientist from University College London has worked out just how and why they do it.

According to Alan Penn, director of the Virtual Reality Centre for the Built Environment at University College London, it's all part of IKEA's plan to keep us in store and buying more. The theory is that while following a zig-zag path through the store, the IKEA customer becomes disorientated and is thus more likely to pick up strategically placed impulse purchases.

Using a strategy employed by out-of-town retail parks - "trapping" the customers in store for as long as they can - IKEA places as many distractions as possible between the customer and the item they may have come for.  The path is "effectively their catalog in physical form" says Penn. "You're directed through their marketplace area where a staggering amount of purchases are impulse buys, things like light bulbs or a cheap casserole that you weren't planning on getting ... Because the layout is so confusing you know you won't be able to go back and get it later, so you pop it in your [cart] as you go past."

But the Swedish giant denied that it's store layouts were intentionally designed to confuse customers: "Our furniture showrooms are designed to give our customers lots of ideas for every area of the home including your kitchen, bedroom and living room," said Carole Reddish, IKEA's deputy managing director for the UK and Ireland.

Source: Time Magazine
How IKEA Seduces Its Customers: By Trapping Them

Where's Waldo?

I am in no way responsible for the effect this site is going to have on you and your time, buuuuut, can you find Waldo?

Where's Waldo?

The Greatest Ad Placement Ever...NOT

Just for the record, anatidaephobia is the fear that your are being watched by a duck...and in the middle of this article...yep, it's a duck staring back at you. Smart move guys...

Source: Buzzfed.com
The Greatest Ad Placement Ever

Changing Education Paradigms

Something interesting to think about. It's time to change the way we learn...

Baby Yoga

Are you kidding me?!?!

Apparently, it's never too early to try to get your child ahead in the world.

Enter: the latest craze out of Russia, baby yoga. After a video of infant yogini Lena Fokina went viral, people are buzzing about the benefits of spinning newborn children around by their extremities.

That, or they're baffled by Fokina's seemingly fake, conceivably abusive practices, which supposedly lead to more courageous and physically adept children. Read the complete story on Healthland.

Decide for yourself after watching this clip of Fokina:

Source: Time Magazine

Baby Yoga: The Internet's Latest Petrifying Craze

20 Ways to Feel ALIVE!!!!!!

Unless you are the second coming of Jesus Christ (if you are, please comment!) it’s impossible not to feel a bit down sometimes. Here are 20 quick ways to revive yourself and get back that “on top of the world” feeling.

1. Stick your body out of a sunroof while the car is driving
   I can tell you first-hand this one is a lot of fun. If you don’t have a sunroof, a window works just as well. Speeds of 40 mph+ make the experience much more invigorating.
2. Go experience natureBeing outside just feels right.
3. Destroy something
   Take out some frustrations on an inanimate object like the printer in ‘Office Space’
4. Dance!Remember that one time you got a bit tipsy and ACTUALLY danced and didn’t care about everyone watching? Go do that again (being tipsy is optional).
5. Realize that you are ALIVE!
   You have years and years of potential ahead of you. If you feel dead today, consider what stupendous things you could be doing tomorrow.
6. Exercise
   Hormones are the best legal drugs out there. Pump some iron or go for a run and get that adrenaline pumping.
7. Watch the sun rise
   You can’t argue with this one. Wake up a bit early and remind yourself how refreshing this experience can be.
8. Scare yourself
   Are you deathly afraid of spiders? Go touch one. Pick a fear and go check and see if it still freaks you out ;)
9. Run around in the rain
   Haven’t you seen ‘Singing in the Rain’ or ‘The Sound of Music?’
10. Blast your favorite badass song
    My favorites are Bliss by Muse, You and Whose Army? by Radiohead and Without a Face by Rage Against the Machine.
11. Do something outside of your comfort zone
    Surely you can find something in this last but I wanted to keep your imagination going just in case.
12. Scream at the top of your lungs
    Like in all of those cliche movies where they yell in the rain on top of some mountain… except do in right where you are, right now.
13. MeditateGoogle “meditation techniques” if you’re unsure of the best way to do this.
14. Do something spontaneous
    It doesn’t have to be crazy or dangerous, just fine. Stepping outside your normal schedule and throwing responsibility to the wind feels great.
15. Practice an act of random kindnessGiving feels really good. Sometimes we forget exactly how good.
16. Get to know a strangerTruly connect with another human being. Skip the small talk and ask about their goals and ambitions.
17. Make love and/or have an outrageous make-out session
    The room/closet/dressing room you occupy should be FILLED with steam afterward or you’re not rocking it hard enough.
18. Do something illegal
    Oh my gosh, did I just tell you to break the law? Hell yes I did. Laws are made to be broken and it feels great to do it.
19. Drive fast…really fast
    Think ‘The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift.’ If you have a Prius, maybe you should just skip to the next one…
20. Get Mad!
    Anger is a gift. If something is getting you down, express your frustration about it! Just getting your feeling out can feel amazing.

Bonus Reader-Suggested Ways

21. Swim in a cold lake, beach or riverI never feel more alive than when I get out after a cold swim and my heart is pumping to keep my body warm. A cold shower is good too. I believe the word is: invigorating. — Elkano
22. Attend a funeralIt’s been said that nothing makes you feel more alive than death. — Ace

How Do You Make That Feeling Permanent?

Step 1: Figure out what it is that makes you feel dead and cut it out of your life.
Step 2: Find your bliss and go after it with every fiber of your being.

Source: High Existence.com
20 Way to Feel Alive!!!!!!!