Location sensitive
Google is going geographical. There is now an experimental Google Labs page that offers "search by location". Type in what you want and where you want it, and Google not only provides the usual list of hits, it puts the 10 best on a local map. Even at this early stage, it is very impressive, though the results are unlikely to be useful. Search for bridge clubs in Seattle, for example, and the second hit is for the Bridge Motel on Bridge Way North, where any card play is incidental. Also, you can't search for lakes in Oregon - it recognises streets, cities and post codes but not states - and it is US-specific, so you can't search for ski lodges in Vancouver, BC. Indeed, error messages like "unable to parse address brooklyn" show just how far the index has to go. It will be some time before Search by Location gets a beta test on the Google front page, but if you like playing with stuff that is still in the labs, this is more fun than most. http://labs.google.com/location
Self beardies
The World Beard and Moustache Championships will be held in Carson City, Nevada, on November 1. As well as the 17 main sections of the competition, there will be special prizes for the youngest contestant, and the contestant who has travelled the furthest. The Germans look unbeatable, but Ted Sedman, president of the Handlebar Club, could be among those representing the UK. Nevada may be a bit far for spectators to travel, but the competition will be held in Berlin in 2005 and in London in 2007. It's worth a visit to the web page for the stunning pictures, which include current world champion Willi Chevalier of the Swabian Beard Club in Singmaringen, Germany (Category: partial beard, freestyle). You have four years to beat that. www.worldbeardchampionships.com
www.handlebarclub.org.uk
Site saver
The British government has about 2,500 websites, and the National Archives has started a project to collect and preserve them. Well, not all of them. It has picked a representative sample of 50 sites, and will use its experiences with those to develop a general policy. The sites will be catalogued and stored in a format developed at Brewster Kahle's Internet Archive, so they can be accessed using the Wayback Machine. The Internet Archive holds 30bn pages. www.pro.gov.uk/webarchive
www.archive.org
Drug facts
How quickly can you become a drug addict? Ask Dr Nida - or, more accurately, Nora D Volkow, MD, director of America's National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr Nida appears on Nida for Teens, a lively site with such sections as Have Fun & Learn. The main focus is on anabolic steroids, ecstasy, marijuana and nicotine. However, if you want information on the most common drug, alcohol, you are sent in the direction of the relatively boring National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism site. www.teens.drugabuse.gov
www.niaaa.nih.gov
Liveable spaces
A big problem with architecture is that it has tended to focus on buildings while ignoring the spaces between. The non-profit Project for Public Spaces focuses on creating liveable spaces that encourage the formation of communities - especially parks, plazas and civic squares. It has been going since 1975 and is US based, but doesn't skimp on its European coverage, and pays particular attention to London's attempt to become more civilised. It has a subsite on Great Public Spaces, including a Hall of Shame that features the Tate Modern, the British Museum entrance and the new City Hall in London. www.pps.org/gps
Mini projects
Jeffrey Yamaguchi does projects, and one of his little projects has been to make a list of 52 little projects that you could do, say, one per week. Or perhaps you could think of a new one to add to his list. The website is even simpler: it's a plain text list. It is not pretty but is much less boring than waiting three minutes for a pointless bit of Flash to download. If you have a more serious project - a website, book, record or whatever - Yamaguchi also has a list of "25 simple things you can do to get the word out". www.stroboscope.com/projectlist.html
www.bookmouth.com/25simplethings.html
New & noted
Oxfam redesigned
www.oxfam.org.uk
Sexiest gamer competition
www.sexiestgamer.com
What's your duck type?
www.captainquack.com/quiz.php
Six of the best Free Windows software
Anti-virus
Malware remover
http://spybot.safer-networking.de
Spamblocker
Firewall
http://smb.sygate.com/productsspf_standard.htm
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