The Evolution of Internet Search

Google released a short video today highlighting some of its key milestones in search over the past decade. It’s both a fun blast from the past and a worthwhile reminder of how much things have changed over the years. 

Earth is AWESOME!

How can one not stare in absolute awe at the beauty of this little blue marble we live on?

Watch this in HD with full-screen ON!

Google Ngram Viewer

Google has been digitizing books. MILLIONS of books...  Well, the goal is pretty much to digitize ALL books printed by humankind since the invention of the printing press. (not very ambitious. heh?)
Realizing that they had a MASSIVE database of words, they put forth a search engine (because, after all, they are Google) that allows you to search the occurrence of a particular word or words through their ENTIRE books database.
You may ask "why the heck do I want to do that?!"... Elementary my dear: besides satisfying whatever geek drive you may have in you, the tool allows you to spot and compare cultural trends through time.
Google's database holds printed matter from the 1700's or earlier, so you can actually see how popular has the term "fame" (for instance) has been through centuries. By entering multiple terms separated by commas, you can compare them all in the same graph and infer some interesting cultural repercussions around that. 
Click HERE to go play with Google's Ngram Viewer.
Well, if you still think it's dumb, I apologize. You can go back to watching "Jersey Shore" now...

Digital Scrolls

The Israel Museum welcomes you to the Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Project, allowing users to examine and explore these most ancient manuscripts from Second Temple times at a level of detail never before possible. Developed in partnership with Google, the new website gives users access to searchable, fast-loading, high-resolution images of the scrolls, as well as short explanatory videos and background information on the texts and their history.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest known biblical manuscripts in existence, offer critical insight into Jewish society in the Land of Israel during the Second Temple Period, the time of the birth of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism.

Five complete scrolls from the Israel Museum have been digitized for the project at this stage and are now accessible online.

Siggraph Diary

Siggraph Vancouver is now over.
According to the conference's organization, it was a success, and we should look forward to the show coming back to Vancouver in the future.
CGSociety posted a day-by-day diary of the event for those who couldn't make it to Canada.
You can check it out HERE.

Story of Stuff

Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, with more than 20 years of experience investigating factories and dumps around the world.

She is also the coordinator of the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, which was founded in 2001 to directly address the harmful environmental and social impacts of current modes of producing, consuming and disposing of material goods.

Annie wrote and narrates "The Story of Stuff", a 20-minute film that takes viewers on a provocative and eye-opening tour of the real costs of our consumer driven culture, delivering a rapid-fire, often humorous and always engaging story about “all our stuff—where it comes from and where it goes when we throw it away.”

DO NOT miss the opportunity to watch this! The 20 minutes go really quickly, and it really helps you make some sense out of this messed-up system we live in!

Plus, I love Ruben DeLuna's simple but quite effective animation style which they chose to illustrate Annie's explanation as she goes on.

Autumn in Vancouver...

Yes, autumn has finally arrived in Vancouver...

I can never get used to the amazing shades of red, yellow and orange that slowly "burn away" the intense green of summer.
And Vancouver is already showing some particularly beautiful shades throughout downtown.

Check out some pictures I took while strolling around this weekend. I'll try to take some more at Stanley Park next weekend... stay tuned!

Celebrating Light in Vancouver

Since 1991, Vancouver has staged a famous fireworks event every summer.
Called "Symphony of Fire" until 2001 when the event changed to "Celebration of Light", under the sponsorship of HSBC, it draws crowds of over 1 million people around the shores of English Bay every year.

The world's leading fireworks manufacturers consider the HSBC Celebration of Light international fireworks competition to be the most prestigious events of its kind in the world and an exciting arena where they can unveil the latest pyro-musical techniques and the most innovative fireworks materials.

Each year, 3 countries compete by sponsoring its own fireworks show and then join together for a grand finale demonstration. The shows take place 3 days apart from each other between the last days of July and the first week of August.

The 3 days are no mere matter of choice. It takes 3 days through 12-hour work shifts to get each show set-up by a crew of at least 16 people.

The fireworks are shot from a 150-meter barge filled with 1000 tons of sand and anchored by six anchors weighing 4 tons each.
The sand is spread as an even 20cm-deep layer where the mortars are placed. Each competitor will fire anywhere from 2,000 to 4,500 bombs, depending on the show.

People can vote for the best show through their cell phones, and the elected judges cast their votes based on the following criteria:

• General Concept - presentation, structure and scale of display
• Colour - choice and variety of colours
• Originality - design and architecture
• Quality of Production - rhythm of fireworks, volume of effects and quality of construction
• Correlation of Music - choice of music, synchronization of effects, adaptaion of moods

This year's grand finale will take place Saturday, August 4, 2007 at 10:00 p.m.
I will update this post with pictures from the final event!

You can find out more about the Celebration of Light at the official website.

Think Canadian

After being through my first "Canada Day" here, I found this interesting article by Colleen Tully (canadianliving.com) with a quiz for the readers to acess how much they are "aligned" with the way most Canadians think nowadays.

I have edited the quiz by providing the questions as they were presented (with multiple answers) and the correct answer right below, showing - in most of them - some recent statistical data to back it up.

The questions were adapted themselves from the book "What Canadians Think" (Doubleday Canada, 2005) by Darrell Bricker and John Wright.

1. Where do most of us want Health Care money spent?
a) more doctors
b) a national homecare program
c) reducing waiting lists for diagnostic services
d) a national pharmacare program

Answer: c) Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Canadians believe that reducing waiting lists for diagnostic services like MRIs and CAT scans should be a top priority for more health care spending.

2. Whom do we trust the most?
a) doctors
b) firefighters
c) pilots
d) pharmacists

Answer: b) 94% of Canadians would put their trust in a firefighter. Pharmacists are close behind at 91%, with doctors at 85% and airline pilots at 81%.


3. What is our favourite thing to do online?
a) instant messaging
b) online banking
c) e-mail
d) do online quizzes about what Canadians think

Answer: c) 93% of everyone plugged into the net use it to send e-mail (what the other seven per cent is doing I'm not sure). The number two thing we do is check the weather (65%). Only half (50%) use instant messaging and 53% use the web for online banking.


4. What percentage of Canadians feel the world is changing too quickly?
a) 80%
b) 30%
c) 40%
d) 55%

Answer: c) 43% of Canadians feel the world is changing too quickly and this is a major cause of stress. Frighteningly, the percentage of Canadians who agree there has been a time when they've been under so much stress that they've wanted to commit suicide is 17.


5. In order of most to least, what would Canadians do if they won $10 million?
a) share it with family
b) pay off debt
c) donate to charity
d) travel

Answer: a - c - d - b: a) 50% would share with family, c) 39% would donate to charity, d) 35% would travel and b) only 23% of us would use it to pay off debt. Only 10% would quit their jobs!

6. In what province are parents most concerned about their kids' education costs?
a) Ontario
b) Atlantic Canada
c) Quebec
d) Saskatchewan/Manitoba

Answer: d) 95% of parents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are worried about funding their children's education. Atlantic Canada follows at 93%, with Ontario at 86% -- parents in Quebec are the least worried at 74%.

7. What percent of Canadians think barbecue season is "all year long"?
a) 40%
b) 65%
c) 25%
d) 50% -- all the men

Answer: a) 40% of Canadians will tromp through the snow to enjoy a juicy flame-broiled burger, and most of these brave souls hail from Alberta (in fact, 57% of all Albertans will barbecue all year round).

8. What are the top two extra-curricular activities our kids are doing after school?
a) hockey and piano
b) swimming and soccer
c) martial arts and piano
d) swimming and piano

Answer: d) Swimming and piano top the chart with 16% of all Canadian kids enrolled. Soccer is next at 15% with hockey close behind at 13%. Only 6% of kids are doing martial arts after school

9. What concerns us the most in the composition of what we eat?
a) fibre
b) saturated fats
c) vitamins
d) total fat
e) calories

Answer: a) 80% of Canadians look for how much fibre is in their food. Vitamins are close behind at 79%. Counting calories is important to 74%, and 67% look at total fat, while just 63% observe saturated fats.

10. In which province people is more likely to say we are different from the Americans?
a) Quebec
b) Saskatchewan
c) British Columbia
d) Nova Scotia
e) Alberta

Answer: c) British Columbians are most likely to say we are different from the Americans. The
province whose residents are least likely to think so is Alberta.


Apart from all the curiosities, the question that struck me the most about the mindset of the "average Canadian" is number 5.
After being here for not too long, I can look at the answer for that and really believe the majority of people here do think like that.
Well, "that's Canada for you!" ;)

First of All...

Vancouver has paved the way for innovation through the years.
Canada's first movie theater opened in Vancouver in 1898, and the city has embraced Hollywood ever since. It was the birthplace of stars like Carrie-Ann Moss, Molly Parker and Pamela Anderson.

In 1919 the first international airmail was flown between Vancouver and Seattle, and in 1954, the RCMP ship St. Roch returned to Vancouver after becoming the first to circumnavigate North America - the goal of explorers for 400 years before then.

Greenpeace was founded in a Vancouver basement in 1971 to protest against American missile testing in Alaska at the time. Since then, the group has influenced and shaped the environmental movement worldwide.

In 1928, a strange ritual was invented in the city as a tradition to usher in the New Year: The Polar Bear Swim. The annual sprint into the icy waters of English Bay has started similar events now held in countries as far away as Russia.
Though many may question its positive effects on the participants' health, another Vancouver innovation has definitely contributed to the youthful complexion of thousands all around the globe.

Injections of the "pretty poison" known as Botox, derived from the same toxin that causes deadly botulism, were first developed as a wrinkle treatment by Vancouver ophthalmologist Dr. Jean Carruthers.
It is now among the top cosmetic procedures on the planet.

Just as Botox has spread all over, so has the internet, bringing "cyberspace" to reality. "Cyberspace" is a term coined by the famous Vancouver writer William Gibson in his famous sci-fi novel Neuromancer.

Innovation finds its place in many ways around Vancouver. The Vancouver Public Library shows how a traditional institution can break with the "usual". The stunning design by Moshe Safdie & Associates Inc. was the overwhelming choice of Vancouverites, opening its doors in May 1995.

Vancouver, here we go!!...

Well, once again it has been a while since my last post...
These last two months were quite 'interesting', I must say!


I was contacted in the beginning of March by a visual effects company from Vancouver, Canada, and they offered me a position there - starting May!
After some deliberation, I promptly accepted the offer and saw myself swallowed by the vast amount of things I had to organize and prepare to make it there on time...
Needless say there wasn't much free time for anything else! Finalizing all projects and responsibilities at Vetor Zero, going after documents, new passport, trying to sell my apartment, my car, my stuff...

Now it is all coming to an end... In two or three weeks I will be in Vancouver.
It is hard to describe how I feel. I think I'll only realize what am I feeling when I finally get there, and reality sinks in.

In some ways, it is not sooo different from what I've been doing over the last 8 years: living away from my family and close relatives. The distance has increased significantly, true. But a friend told me once that distances in this day and age are a matter of being "one night away".
I must agree with him.

I need to focus on the positive side of the whole experience, trust in God's will and keep moving forward!
Surely I will enjoy Vancouver's beauty and more than the nature of the work I will do, I am drawn to the possibility of living a more balanced life, taking more time for myself - to learn, to rest, to enjoy the fruits of my labor and tend to other areas in my life much in need of attention.

So, we will be in touch. ;)
I will still be at the same "cyberplaces" and always accessible.
And through this blog, I might be able to bring you along this new wild adventure of my life!
Stay tuned!... There's more to come! ;D

Cheers to you all!