Google hires goats to cut grass

I'm not kidding -- Google really has hired a herd of goats to cut the grass at its Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Dan Hoffman, director of real estate and workplace services at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, has employed a company called California Grazing to provide a novel solution to grass maintenance.

The company has provided Google with a herd of 200 goats – and a well-trained border collie named Jen – to tame the weeds and scrublands around the “Googleplex” offices.

“Instead of using noisy mowers that run on gasoline and pollute the air, we’ve rented some goats,” wrote Hoffman on the Google blog. “A herder brings about 200 goats, and they spend roughly a week with us at Google, eating the grass and fertilising at the same time.”

The Googleplex at Mountain View is surrounded by scrubland that requires occasional mowing to clear weeds and brush to reduce the risk of fire, wrote Hoffman.

“It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawnmowers,” he joked.

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Google launches first TV ads

Google has launched its first TV advertising campaign across a range of US networks to promote Chrome, its web browser.

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Hot, hot, hot till September

Temperatures have been rising all over the country, with Klang Valley (Subang) recording 35.6°C last Friday. Outside the Klang Valley, Pahang (Batu Embun) experienced the hottest temperature last Thursday at 36.2°C.

The Meteorological Department said the hot and generally dry spell was expected to persist until September. Department chief assistant director (central forecast office) Ahmad Zaki Mohamad Saad said the weather pattern was a usual phenomenon in the country.

He said that April and May were the hottest months according to climatology studies. “The change of wind direction during the inter-monsoon season last month has caused the weather to be drier,’’ he said.

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Best Camera Ad Ever

Curious what the 10 megapixels girl would look like?

Happy Mother's Day, Mom

No matter how old we get, moms always tell you to comb your hair. Happy Mother's Day ;-)

Bad Ass Kid

At least he's checking his blind spot.

Snake's Head Found in TGI Friday's Dish

A diner at a T.G.I. Friday's in upstate New York says he got a little something extra with his broccoli — a severed snake head.

Jack Pendleton says he was at the restaurant in Clifton Park on Sunday when he spotted something gray mixed in with his vegetables. He realized it was a snake head the size of his thumb, with part of the spine still attached.

Pendleton says he snapped a photo with his cellphone camera and called the waiter over. He says he has no plans to sue.

A spokeswoman for the Carrollton, Texas, chain says it's investigating. It wasn't immediately known what kind of snake it was.

Pendleton and his girlfriend weren't charged for their meals.

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Weird Fish With Transparent Head

With a head like a fighter-plane cockpit, a Pacific barreleye fish shows off its highly sensitive, barrel-like eyes--topped by green, orblike lenses.

The fish, discovered alive in the deep water off California's central coast by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), is the first specimen of its kind to be found with its soft transparent dome intact.

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Caroline on France's Got Talent

12 year old Caroline Costa sings 'Hurt' by Christina Aguilera on France's Got Talent.

World's most photographed landmark according to Flickr

Showing off your holiday snaps is part and parcel of a trip away. Now scientists have revealed the world's most photographed landmarks by studying millions of images using a supercomputer. Experts at Cornell University analysed nearly 35million images posted by 300,000 users on the photo-sharing website Flickr.

They discovered that while the Eiffel Tower in Paris was the most popular landmark, four of the top seven were in London. Trafalgar Square, the Tate Modern and Big Ben managed second, third and fourth place, while the London Eye was sixth.

Most photographed landmarks according to Flickr:

1. Eiffel Tower, Paris

2. Trafalgar Square, London

3. The Tate Modern, London

4. Big Ben, London

5. Notre Dame, Paris

6. London Eye, London

7. Empire State Building, New York

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Toilet Sign

I've been doing it wrong all these years!!

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Artist creates invisible car

The 22-year-old student at the University of Central Lancashire spray painted a battered Skoda Fabia to match the car park and entrance to her art studio.

Her work, created as part of her drawing and image making course at the university, creates the illusion that the car is see through.

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The Weirdest Japanese Commercial Ever

I love you Japan. Don't ever change.

Daily Life

(click to enlarge)

That pretty much just gave a summary of my daily life =p

Nothing beats the Durex warranty

Now that's a return policy.

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Chewing Gum Makes You Smarter

Studies have suggested that something about chewing gum reduces stress, improves alertness and relieves anxiety. But most of this research has been found in a laboratory setting. Now, the first study in people also supports the idea that chewing gum boosts academic performance.

The study was conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and was sponsored by the Wrigley Science Institute. The study included 108 students, ages 13 to 16, who were assigned to either chew sugar-free gum during math class, while doing math homework and during math tests or to refrain from gum-chewing. After 14 weeks, the students' took a math test and their grades were assessed.

Those who chewed gum had a 3% increase in standardized math test scores and had final math grades that were significantly better than the other students. Teachers observed that those who chewed gum seemed to require fewer breaks, sustain attention longer and remain quieter.

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Google offers free music downloads in China

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

That's the idea behind Google's latest move to allow users to download free music in China. Google has partnered with a Chinese company, Top100.cn, to make it happen.

About 140 music labels have joined in, including the "Big Four" -- EMI Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music.

Most Chinese users get their music for free anyway, thanks to rampant online piracy. Google and its partners hope the new business model will generate revenue from advertising that all will share. More importantly, Google wants to increase traffic and catch up to its competitor Baidu.

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Gloomy weather boosts the brain, claim scientists

Psychologists have discovered that people performed better in memory tests when the weather was bad and they were feeling grumpy.

The research discovered that the worse the weather and the more depressed the individual, the sharper their brain.

The findings were made by the University of New South Wales School of Psychology. The team carried out the study by questioning shoppers at a Sydney store over two months.

They tested their memory and found that they recalled three times as much information when the weather was bad and they were feeling down.

Professor Joe Forgas, who led the research, said: "It seems counter-intuitive but a little bit of sadness is a good thing.

"People performed much better on our memory test when the weather was unpleasant and they were in a slightly negative mood.

"On bright sunny days, when they were more likely to be happy and carefree, they flunked it."

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US scientists to grow brussels sprouts on Moon

US scientists are planning to grow vegetables such as brussels sprouts on the Moon in an experiment to see if a future colony could produce its own food.

Paragon Space Development Corporation in Arizona unveiled plans to land mini-greenhouses on the Moon which would be capable to growing flowers and hardy vegetables from the brassica family, such as sprouts and cabbages. These could ultimately be used to feed livestock.

Paragon, which has worked with Nasa, describes its 1.5 ft tall space greenhouse as a "Lunar Oasis".

It is designed to safely land a laboratory plant on the lunar surface, and protect it while it grows.

The miniature greenhouse is to be launched into space no earlier than 2012 by Odyssey Moon Ltd, a participant in the Google Lunar X Prize, which will reward any project which can launch, land and operate a rover on the lunar surface.

Because brassica goes from seed to flower in just 14 days, it can complete its life cycle in a single lunar night.

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Pregnant mothers offered MP3 player for unborn babies

Pregnant mothers will soon be able to play their favourite songs to their unborn children with the invention of an MP3 players for babies.

Named the BLABY, the device consists of a contoured belt that wraps around a mother's waist with three inbuilt vibration speakers playing music into the womb.

Stitched into the fabric of the belt is a digital MP3 player and USB adapter which will allow prospective parents to upload music or even to record their own voices to play for their baby.

Designed to utilise the well-known Mozart effect – a theory which proposes that a baby will be born more intelligent if subjected to classical music during the course of pregnancy – the BLABY is the brainchild of Canadian design student Geof Ramsay.

Its inbuilt speakers transmit the vibrations of music and voice through to the baby in a safe manner, and the mother wearing it can also benefit from three tiny massage mechanisms.

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How a woman shops?

They should be experts in Map & Directions LoL

Paying online for your TGV Cinema tickets

You can now enjoy the convenience of paying online for your tickets and avoid the queues. Bookings, which have been paid online, can be collected anytime before the show starts. Oh great!