Some interesting facts about Google

Ran into this article this afternoon, about a lecture given by Marissa Mayer (Product Manager for Google). The author of the article[link] was invited to the lecture and as an ardent audience he summarized from the lecture a couple of interesting facts about google. Following quoted facts are the ones I find most interesting to me:

1. The prime reason the Google home page is so bare is due to the fact that the founders didn't know HTML and just wanted a quick interface. Infact it was noted that the submit button was a long time coming and hitting the RETURN key was the only way to burst Google into life.
2. One of the biggest leap in search usage came about when they introduced their much improved spell checker giving birth to the "Did you mean..." feature. This instantly doubled their traffic, but they had some interesting discussions on how best to place that information, as most people simply tuned that out. But they discovered the placement at the bottom of the results was the most effective area.
3. Google makes changes small-and-often. They will sometimes trial a particular feature with a set of users from a given network subnet; for example Excite@Home users often get to see new features. They aren't told of this, just presented with the new UI and observed how they use it.
4. Google has the largest network of translators in the world.
5. They use the 20% / 5% rules. If at least 20% of people use a feature, then it will be included. At least 5% of people need to use a particular search preference before it will make it into the 'Advanced Preferences'.
6. The name 'Google' was an accident. A spelling mistake made by the original founders who thought they were going for 'Googol'
7. Gmail was used internally for nearly 2 years prior to launch to the public. They discovered there was approximately 6 types of email users, and Gmail has been designed to accommodate these 6.

CV versus resume, what's the difference?

Have a look at: <http://www.dcardillo.com/articles/resvscv.html>

"Although many people use the terms “resume” and “CV” (curriculum vitae) interchangeably, they’re actually two different types of documents, each with its own distinct focus. [...]

A resume is the 1-2 page career summary that most of us are familiar with. It summarizes work experience, accomplishments, education and other pertinent topics such as professional associations and special skills. The resume is what is most universally used and expected by prospective employers. [...]

A curriculum vitae, or CV, on the other hand, is a longer, more comprehensive document. It’s usually multiple pages long and gets into much more detail, including a listing of publications, presentations, research projects, academic work, teaching experience, and so forth. A CV is generally used in PhD-driven environments, such as academia and higher level research. It attests to expertise and authority.
[...]

There are even two different styles of CV, the American and the International. Which style you use would depend on where the company you’re applying to is located. The International version includes personal information, such as marital and health status, which would be inappropriate on an American-style CV."

LYCE Winter Camp

李阳疯狂英语第23届冬令营教师全家福

非常怀恋那段日子!!

An Inconvenient Truth

Watched An Inconvenient Truth last night, I got really startled by the solid fact how badly we are ruining the earth atmosphere. Even worse, we know the temperature is keeping increasing, we know carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is going high year by year, and we know something bad, something vital is coming, we just sit there and let it come. Time to do something to save the atmosphere, for us, as well as for our future generations, even the most trivial things in one's daily life, when everyone on the earth does the same, it'll be huge. Following are ten simple suggestions the film gives to take action.

Ten things to do

Change a light

Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Drive less

Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often. You'll save on pound if carbon dioxide every mile you don't drive!

Recycle more

You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

Check your tires

Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%.

Every gallon of gasoline saved keep 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!

Use less hot water

It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead

Avoid products with a lot of packaging

You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

Adjust your thermostat

Moving your thermostat just 2 degress in winter and up 2 degrees in summer

You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a yeas with this simple adjustment.

Plant a tree

Asingle tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

Turn off electronic devices

Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you're not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

LYCE TAs

李冰洁,非常有意思的助教

阿蔡,室友,beatbox无敌高手

周主任,俺的头儿

汤主任,最最最感激的人(下同)

Five Years of Consequence

A chart by Ben Schott, published on September 7th, 2006

This chart chronologically records the most influential events that occurred in the past five years. Also it provides various statistical surveys(like the approval rating of Bush and Blair, U.S. troop fatalities in Irap, etc) that envision us with lucid and detailed information on most paramout and interesting occurrences after 911.

Following is the caption from the chart:

It’s been nearly five years since 9/11, but it seems like a lifetime. Certainly, a lifetime’s worth of events for America and the world — elections and insurgencies, hurricanes and tsunamis, attacks and threats of attack — have unfolded with such speed that it can be hard to sort through, or even recall, everything of consequence. The chart below is an attempt, admittedly selective and incomplete, to survey the first five years of our post-9/11 world — a world that is certainly new, though not always brave.

click the following link to get the chart:

Five Years of Consequence(pdf, 1.12mb)

The Banquet

Another Chinese commercial flick targeted at golden Oscar. A Chinese "Hemlet", more than just Chinese Kong Fu. Right at its birth, it was doomed to be compared, by the picky audiences and mass media, with Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Hero and House of Flying Daggers, which were all directed by Chinese big shots. Despite all the differences in background, expenditure, and influences, there is one thing in common, Ziyi Zhang in ancient Chinese costumes picturing us Chinese Kong Fu. Coincidence? Absolutely not. It's just that Ziyi Zhang is one of the few Chinese names that could make these western audiences voluntarily buy tickets.

Back to the movie itself. As I see it, it's pretty good. Comprehensible scenario, splendor scences and fabulous attires. And most importantly, the theme the director attempts to convey to audiences--craving for power. To seize the supreme power, everyone, from the emperor and empress to government officials, all have their way: usurpation, machination, betrayal, retalliation, propitiation, etc. It doesn't matter who kills the Empress in the end, actually, it has already aroused quite a lot of public disputation. A lust, a desperate lust for power stabs her on the back. Any one has this lust could be the murderer. In this sense, The Banquet has revealed a profound theme and ended a perfect conclusion. And by the way, I like the theme song, it's hard to describe my feelings but I do like it.

Toilet Etiquette

Ran into this very very interesting video clip on Youtube this afternoon. First, I think it's necessary to give "etiquette" a clear definition. Generally speaking, etiquette are rules about the behaviors generally accepted as correct or appropriate to do. So "Male Restroom Etiquette" mainly tells us about the things that male usually do in a toilet. The simple rules male follow within a bathroom. about "efficiency", "urinal selection", "not making eye-contact", "no single word within a loo", "flushing", etc.

see this video clip: