Endless distraction.

seriously.
http://www.google.com/reader/play

Monster Milktruck!

If you haven't seen this yet, you have to try it.
Google Earth's Browser Plugin, Monster Milktruck

SketchUp 7 Released

Elex and I have used SketchUp to model our main office-- it is fun and most features are free. The new release has dynamic components that preserver relationships that were a bitch to maintain in earlier versions (e.g. the regular spacing of objects stretched in the model). Cool.

Google Flexes Too

SearchMash Flash Interface
The Google-built experimental Flex interface for Google search.
(Warning: it crashed my browser)

Google and Prediction on Search

Google has a site devoted to displaying predicted flue occurrence in the US that outperforms the CDC:

We've found that certain search terms are good indicators of flu activity. Google Flu Trends uses aggregated Google search data to estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional systems.

This is a great application of prediction and trend analysis that is open to the benevolent(ish) dictators at Google. They have terabyte upon terabyte of our search data that analysts, marketers and many others put to less humane ends, so it nice to see something like this once and a while.

Helping Them Help Us Help You Help Them

Google knows too much.
Here's an article that lays out a picture of what Google might be able to know about you if they tried mining their data to find out.

We are helping them by drawing you here to this google-hosted site and then tracking you with Google Analytics.

There are some interesting points in the article, which includes a picture summary, in case you didn't feel like reading the whole article.

Google Visualization API

This is a bit of a re-release. Looking at it briefly, it is much more customizable (and thus demanding coding skillz) than Many Eyes, but the visualizations are more homely (see gauges).

Chrome or no Chrome

I was considering reinstallation of Google Chrome. I was using it for a while, and one day it stopped working. I think I'll wait until they tell me (via slashdot) a new release is out.

Google Chart API

Hat tip to Elex for pointing this out a while ago. Check out a few examples.

Update for Dani: