“Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one.” So began the “letter from the founders” penned by Sergey Brin and Larry Page in the company’s securities registration form in 2004. Despite ever-increasing commercial success since that date, Brin and Page have kept to their word.
Google is an unconventional company with a huge stake in our online lives. It is a source of fascination for many, including us, but what really happens in the Googleplex? And what cool factoids and stats exist from the company’s relatively short past?
Here we bring you 10 fun facts about Google to quench our own thirst for Google knowledge as well as hopefully offer you a distracting diversion from your daily life.
Google’s famous homepage “Doodles” (the changing Google logo graphics) are well known and enjoyed by millions around the world as a way to mark an event or anniversary. But did you know that the very first Google Doodle was designed as a kind of “out of office” message?
In 1998 Brin and Page took the weekend off to go the Burning Man festival in Nevada. The Burning Man doodle (shown above), was designed by the Google guys and added to the homepage to let their users know they were out of office and couldn’t fix technical issues like a server crash.
While the initial price for Google’s stock at its Initial Public Offering in August 2004 is an interesting stat in itself, there’s more to the story. The opening price for Google’s stock was $85 per share. At the time of writing, the stock price was $483 but has soared as high as $600 in the past year, making GOOG a rather nice investment for many.
A bonus factoid from Google’s IPO process is the value Google stated it hoped to raise on its S-1 form — as much as $2,718,281,828. It may just look like a string of numbers to non-mathletes, but 2,718,281,828 is actually the first ten digits of the mathematical constant ““e”,” showing that even as their company was planning to go public, the Google guys could still geek out with a bit of numerical humor.
As proud hosts to Google back when it was still a research project, and known as “BackRub,” here Stanford now showcases the original Google storage from way back in 1996. It’s made up of a whopping 40 GB (less than a modern iPod) and it’s made from, as fans of the building bricks will be delighted to see, LEGO. It even hash funny mini-figures on the top.
Legend has it that the reason for the LEGO construction was that the Google guys needed an easily expandable, and cheap way to house 10 4 GB hard drives, and LEGO fit the bill. Whether the primary colors of the bricks used were the hues that went on to inspire the Google logo’s design is up for debate, but we’d guess it wasn’t just a coincidence.
Google’s first ever Twitter post was as satisfyingly geeky as you could hope for. The message, sent in February 2009, reads “I’m 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101100 01110101 01100011 01101011 01111001 00001010.”
For anyone not fluent in binary, here’s a hint — it’s a well known phrase from the company’s homepage. Got it? Yep, it reads: “I’m feeling lucky.”
This one isn’t actually one of Google’s infamous April Fools’ Day jokes: Google rents out goats. Yes you read that right. It rents goats from a company called California Grazing to help cut down the amount of weeds and brush at Google HQ.
The operation of 200 goats (plus herder and a border collie) is kind to the environment, and as Google puts it: “A lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers.”
While you’d think the news that the Merriam-Webster and Oxford English Dictionary adding “google” as a verb to their lexicons in 2006 would thrill the search engine, Google was actually none too pleased with the development.
“We’d like to make clear that you should please only use ‘Google’ when you’re actually referring to Google Inc. and our services,” the company wrote in a blog post at the time.
The rationale behind the semantic displeasure was that Google had “a brand to protect,” and feared Google would “slip from trademarked status into common usage.” Now, four years later, we have to say Google was fighting a losing battle — just ‘google it.’
However, we’ve found some other Google-themed linguistic delights for you — a Google staffer is commonly referred to as a “Googler,” while a new team member joins as a “Noogler.” Nooglers also used to wear a colorful hat with a spinner on top. According to a former employee, those hats are now pretty scarce in some offices, instead: “Every Noogler gets a yellow smiley balloon and a nameplate.”
Google is a super dog-friendly company. It proudly names “company dogs,” like Yoshka (described as a “free-range Leonberger”) pictured above. Yoshka accompanies Urs Holzle, senior VP operations and Google Fellow to the Googleplex. Less senior staff are also allowed to bring their dogs to the office.
According to Google’s “Dog Policy”, one indiscretion too many on the Google carpets, or aggressive behavior, means Lassie will have to stay at home in the future. Strong bladdered and friendly canines are more than welcome across the campus.
Unfortunately, cats are not quite as welcome. Here’s an excerpt taken directly from Google’s Code of Conduct: “Google’s affection for our canine friends is an integral facet of our corporate culture. We like cats, but we’re a dog company, so as a general rule we feel cats visiting our offices would be fairly stressed out.”
Back in February, 1999, the chewy candy known as “Swedish Fish” became the first ever company snack (not counting beverages) that was ordered into the Google office.
Although a relatively small event, it has led to big things. Google is infamous in the industry for treating its employees to not just free drinks and snacks on tap, but full-on gourmet meals, three times a day at a plethora of on-site cafes and eateries, as well as regular BBQs during the summer.
Brin and Page have been quoted in the past as saying no Googler should have to go more than 100 feet for food, leading to snack-filled “microkitchens” that are liberally dotted around the Google offices.
In fact, the free food is said to be so tempting that Googlers risk the “Google 15,” similar to the “Freshman 15,” where they pile on weight soon after joining the company. Good thing they also have a Google gym.
Backing this up, here’s a stat from Google — “Bay Area Googlers consumed approximately 5,500 pounds of handmade chocolates from the snack bins in the microkitchens in 2007.” Wow.
Google’s famously sparse homepage is considered a classic design in the online world. The Google logo, however, wasn’t actually centered on the page until March 31, 2001. As early users will remember, the homepage had a bias to the left-hand side, and even earlier — back in 1998 — Google sported a Yahoo-style exclamation mark.
By all accounts, there are many wondrous sights to be seen at the Googleplex, but one of the most arresting is surely the gigantic T-Rex skeleton — nicknamed “Stan” after a “real” dino found nearby — that looms menacingly at Googlers in Mountain View.
Joining Stan in the unique campus decorations is a scale replica of the SpaceShipOne, enormous Android-themed models, pink flamingos, a large LEGO man, Google-colored phone boxes and grown-up size ball pits. One thing seems for sure — just like the company itself — life at the Googleplex must be far from dull.
By Amy-Mae Elliott
| After years of experience in job and feedbacks from friends in other industry led to following list of things that we should have known and should know when we start our career. Just add your thoughts on the same to make the list comprehensive guide for better Career.
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| 1. The career you think you’re going to have? This is not the career you’re going to end up with. The job you went to college for? That’s not the job you’re going to end up with. |
| 2. You will spend a good portion of your work day with nothing to do. |
| 3. Meetings almost never solve anything and never end on time. |
| 4. You will seriously embarrass yourself, and possibly endanger your career at at least one (and maybe more) of your office Christmas parties. |
| 5. Trusting co-workers can be bad for your career. |
| 6. The movie Office Space isn’t just a comedy. |
| 7. Pay is really about sitting or standing. The more you are sitting, the more you get paid. |
| 8. Having a passing knowledge of current sports events is a critical skill for office small talk. |
| 9. You’re probably way, way overeducated for the job you’re in. A good 30 thousand of those student loans you’re still paying off were wasted. |
| 10. There are plenty more important things in life than your career. |
| 11. You know that 401 k matching plan? It was really a pretty good idea. Grab a calculator. Calculate how much more money you’d have today if you had started contributing the day you were hired instead of 2 years ago when you finally broke down and did it. Now faint.
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| 12. Some workplaces function EXACTLY like high school. |
| 13. The company’s stock will not always go up. |
| 14. Learning to look busy is a valuable survival skill. |
| 15. You’re unlikely to ever meet a happy accountant. |
| 16. No one really takes the time to adequately train you. All new employees are inadequately trained. |
| 17. Upper management is more focused on improving their golf game than improving their company’s bottom line. |
| 18. The mistakes you make are sometimes more valuable than the things you did exactly right. |
| 19. When your career is the only good thing you’ve got going in your life, it’s time to reassess your life. |
| 20. That temporary job you settled for… is it really temporary if you’re still in it after all this time? |
| 21. Tuf wars and office politics exist in every office, no matter how small. |
| 22. Be nice to the administrative assistants; they are the key to everything because they keep the world turning. |
| 23. It’s rare that your colleagues are actually smarter than you; it’s all confidence. |
| 24. Old white guys are not old and wise guys. |
| 25. Dear lord, office bathrooms can be gross. |
| 26. You never really get to rest. A career is about always building, always moving forward. |
| 27. Your boss is a human being too. |
| 28. No one will believe in you more than you. |
| 29. And if you don’t believe in you, you’re not going anywhere. |
| 30. Office gossip can be positively deadly. |
| 31. Sometimes the game is rigged. |
| 32. Lunch – try to never skip it. You do not earn points for working through it and it helps you stay sane. |
| 33. It IS possible to one day wake up and realize you hate your dream job. |
| 34. You fear taking your eye off the ball, but sometimes that is really what you NEED to do. |
| 35. The car you drive to work is very important. Office workers put a lot of value judgments on fellow workers vehicles. |
| 36. Timing, like location, is literally EVERYTHING. |
| 37. Networking is not just a buzzword: it’s the most valuable thing you can do for your career. |
| 38. Take the lowest paying job with the best job description and title, rather than the best paying job with the worst job title. |
| 39. “Follow-through” is a great characteristic to be known for when you are first hired. |
| 40. Do what you love, even if it pays less than something you’re good at. |
| 41. Set personal goals. |
| 42. Stay away from those who say “You Can’t”. |
| 43. Plan and prepare for the long haul. |
| 44. To land a meaningful job, prepare for a really tough interview. |
| 45. Keep improving through the job search and beyond. |
| 46. Develop a personal board of advisors for support. |
| 47. Surround yourself with a diverse group of people with diverse thoughts. |
| 48. Develop a backbone. Even successful careers can have disappointments |
| 49. Think around, outside and under the box. The way forward may not necessarily be clear or straight ahead |
| 50. Don’t expect your career paths to be logical to everyone looking on. |
| 51. Don’t burn your bridges behind you. You may need a reference or two eventually |
| 52. Be mindful of what your associations can say about who you are. |
| 53. You don’t need to have all the experience in the job description to apply. |
| 54. Job descriptions get rewritten all the time. |
| 55. Be open to the fact that you might be underestimated. |
| 56. Some people will like you for the job and some will not. |
| 57. Some will laugh behind your back when they find out you are applying for a certain job. |
| 58. The real work begins after you land the job. |
| 59. Know your competition and do not underestimate them. |
| 60. Think transferable skills. |
| 61. You may have to say things during an interview to impress your future boss. |
| 62. You have to build consensus to move ideas forward. |
| 63. Keep track of your accomplishments; no one else is obligated to do that for you. |
| 64. You may find people want to hang around you, just because you are successful – not because they care. |
| 65. Education and training mean something. |
| 66. Hard work and discipline pays off eventually. |
| 67. It is not a shame to strategically plan your career. |
| 68. Many people are not working in their college majors. |
| 69. The more people who support you and your ideas, the more successful you will be.
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| 70. You are always preparing for your next career opportunity, regardless of what you are doing |
Tamil superstar Dhanush, who is married to Rajnikanth‘s daughter, says being the son-in-law of the iconic actor has not helped or affected him.
Dhanush got married to Rajnikanth’s daughter Aishwarya in 2004.
“Being his son-in-law doesn’t do anything to me actually. I have always done my own work. It (his name) neither helped me nor affected me,” Dhanush said in an interview in Mumbai.
He says it’s not worth comparing his work with his father-in-law as their styles of working are quite different.
“My choice of films are different. My method of acting is completely different from his. So there is no room for comparison. And comparing a 20-25 films-old guy with an icon is absolutely rubbish,” he said.
Dhanush is entering Bollywood with Raanjhanaa, but has not discussed about the film with his father-in-law. “To be very honest he has been very busy with his work while I’ve been with mine. We haven’t spoken about this film yet,” he said, adding he never discusses work with his dad-in-law.
When asked about Aishwarya’s reaction about him doing a Hindi film, Dhanush said she is yet to watch it, but right now they are quite thrilled that he is speaking in Hindi.
Dhanush will be seen romancing Sonam Kapoor in Raanjhanaa which also stars Abhay Deol, Swara Bhaskar and Suraj Singh and is set to hit the screens on June 21.
Even before his film releases, Dhanush has decided to do yet another Hindi movie with Raanjhana director Anand L Rai.
“Yes I am doing my next film here with Anand sir. We share a very good rapport. When we were shooting for Raanjhanaa, we came up with an idea and it was very fascinating. I thought we would do something later, but when we finished Raanjhanaa we got very close to each other and then I agreed for the film,” Dhanush said.
However, the actor refused to divulge details about the film, saying it was too early to say which genre it falls into. But he revealed that he would co-produce it.
Telegram was once upon a time the only means of mailing urgent news to the near and dear ones and is on the verge of extinction. It will finally end its long held era this July 15 with the dominance of information technology like mobile phones and internet, as reported by TOI.
It was in the year 1850 when the telegraphic service started its operations in India initially by cable and later wireless as it urged the Indian telecom to overtake it.
Telegraphy which was taken over by cash ridden BSNL from the postal department had increased charges two years ago, from Rs 4 for 50 words to Rs 50. The international telegrams were done away with two months ago and now, the domestic taar is set to come to an end.
BSNL took over the telegram services from the postal department in 1990’s. The BSNL can no longer meet the expenses of continuing the telegram service which has remained inactive with the rising trends of SMSs, emails, fax and smart phones for few years now so it has incurred a loss of over Rs 17,000 crore in the past two fiscals. Even with its losses, BSNL still held on to this 163 year old legacy and made two last-final attempts to keep it alive.
There was a price hiked of telegraph in 2011 after a span of six decades which was priced at Rs 50 for 50 words. This increase in price also failed to make the service possible for the loss-making PSU. Following all the mess, BSNL then seek the government’s help to support the commercially outdated product but the government asked them to find out if it is still in use in today’s world.
BSNL finally decided to stop this service after consulting the department of post in a circular issued by Shameem Akhtar, senior GM (telegraph services).
“The telegram had lost its relevance. The basic idea of a taar was to send a message fast. Now SMS, fax and emails do that job. With smart phones, people send and receive emails on the move. So when we sought government support to keep the telegram alive, we were asked to decide its fate on a commercial basis and hence will now be discontinuing the service,” said a senior BSNL official, reported TOI.
The employees of the telegraph department will now be shifted to mobile services, landline telephony and broadband services over the next few months.
The history of Indian telecom started with the first experimental electric telegraph line that was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbour. The following year, the British East India Company began to use it.
The telecom service was available to the masses from the year 1854. Till the year 1902, telegraphs were sent by wires after which it adopted the wireless method.
Fear is the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind, it is the basic instinct that is always been a part of us from the day we are born. Fear is sometimes unavoidable, and the best way to overcome the fear is to face it head on, and sometimes the best way is to avoid thinking the same, such as the fear of death.
Human nature is said to be very complex. From the time of Stone Age, people have learned to be strong, competitive and courageous in times of danger. However, they have also developed fear of something which has been passed on from generations. The percentage of fear may differ from person to person and whatever may be the root cause, every sane person in the world would have experienced fear.
Flip over the pages to find out the most common “fears” to humans as compiled by WondersList.
#10 Flying
It is often referred to as aerophobia, where a person is very scared of being in a flying vehicle, such as an airplane or a helicopter. In these cases, when a person is compelled to travel by air, the level of anxiety rises to such extent that it prevents a person from travelling by air.
In a move to keep them relaxed while taking a flight on an airplane, people go ahead and spend loads of money on prescription drugs or Self-help books and behavior modification audio CDs.
#9 Dogs
The man’s best friend may be someone’s worst enemy. Dogs do generate some amount of fear to humans who have experienced dog attacks in the past. However, it is a fact that dogs prone to attack the people who are panicked, if a dog senses any fear from the person’s behavior, it is most likely to attack that person. The unusual fear of dogs is called Cynophobia and is one of the most legitimate fears in this list.
#8 Spiders
Even though we see them very commonly in our houses and gardens, many people fear Spiders the most. The irrational fear of spiders is called Arachnophobia and is believed that millions around the globe are suffering from it. Psychology professor Jon May says that spider’s angular shaped legs, dark colors and the way they move unpredictably are some of the key elements which cause people to fear this insect.
#7 Rats
Even though rats are small and commonly found everywhere, the very sight makes people restless. Rats make humans to panic and are the cause to one of the most common specific phobias, named Musophobia. It is caused by the unconscious as a protective mechanism. This happens when a person had a traumatic experience with a mouse or rat in the past and the fear is triggered whenever the person encounters it or even seeing them on TV or in movies.
#6 Death
Death is unavoidable and if not all, many fear dying. The best way to avoid fear of death is to avoid thinking about it and enjoy the present life. However, in some cases the fear of death becomes so prevalent; it affects the daily routine of an individual. This fear is often termed as Thanatophobia or Necrophobia, a specific phobia which is the irrational fear of dead things as well as things associated with death.
#5 Blood
The life giving blood is also the factors to cause fear. Some people get paranoid at the sight of blood. The fear of blood is known as blood phobia or Hematophobi. It is an abnormal and persistent fear of blood. People suffering from this phobia dread the sight of their own blood. The fear is also triggered by the sight of blood of another person or an animal and even filmed image of blood. It may remind a person of their own vulnerability to injury.
#4 Heights
It is natural to humans to fear when exposed to heights and that too if there is minimal or no protection. Some people love heights, they adventure themselves to skydiving to thrill their spine. However, many people suffer from this legitimate fear of heights. The interesting fact is that a person who is suffering from fear of heights has no set limit for how high is too high, the person shows equal intense reactions when he is exposed to the height on top of a mountain or a ladder.
#3 Darkness
Many are scared of dark, the fear of darkness is usually not fear of darkness itself, but it is the fear of unknown, the possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. In most cases this fear is mixed with the fear of ghosts and other mystical figures. People suffering from excessive fear of dark is named Lygophobia, it is the intense fear of something that does not pose a real danger.
#2 Thunderstorms
This fear is called Astraphobia. Both humans and animals may develop a fear of thunder and lightning. Many children and even grownups are afraid of storms, sometimes they do not get over it and the fear remains ingrained when they grow older. This is an age old fear and from generations people have trembled at the sound of thunder and have placed a huge respect for this magnificent power of nature.
#1 Snakes
The graceful, long and slender nature, Snake tops the list of most feared things to humans. Snake is one of the most dangerous and deadliest animals in the world and the fear of snakes is one of the most common phobias, yet many have not encountered a snake. Generally, people fear snakes for their venom, and the possibility that their lives may be in danger. However, being afraid of the serpent is natural, which signifies a healthy respect towards them.
Computational fluid dynamics simulations have been carried out in-house for incremental effects on protrusion, overall aerodynamic load distribution and distribution on protrusions, according to ISRO.
European space consortium Arianespace would launch India’s INSAT-3D, an exclusive meteorological satellite, from its spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana on July 26.
INSAT-3D is configured with advanced meteorological payloads – a six Channel Imager, 19 Channel Sounder along with data relay transponder and satellite aided search and rescue payloads, an official of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told PTI here today.
“The spacecraft platform is adopted from the standard I-2K bus with a power handling capability of around 1100 W with a lift off mass of 2090 kg,” the official said.
India has also contracted Arianespace to launch (expected in August) GSAT-7, a multi-band satellite carrying payloads in UHF, S-band, C-band and Ku-band. The satellite employs the standard 2000 kg class bus (I-2K) platform with power handling capability of around 3000 W and lift-off mass of 2550 kg.
ISRO sources said preparations are on at the second launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota for the launch of GSLV-D5 (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Development flight 5) in August.
GSLV-D5 aerodynamic characterisation has been revisited following the back-to-back failure of GSLV flights — one with indigenous cryogenic engine and another with a Russian-made one in 2010.
Force measurements, steady and unsteady pressure measurements and aero elastic tests have already been conducted using wind tunnel models at National Aerospace Laboratory, Bangalore and Glavkosmos, Russia.
Computational fluid dynamics simulations have been carried out in-house for incremental effects on protrusion, overall aerodynamic load distribution and distribution on protrusions, according to ISRO.
GSLV-D5 would carry GSAT-14 satellite with six extended C band and six Ku band transponders, envisaged to enhance communication transponder capacity.
The satellite employs the standard 2000 Kg class bus (I-2K) with a power handling capability of around 2.5 KW and a lift-off mass of 1980 kg, the space agency added.
Dubai in the first week of June 2013 inaugurated the tallest twisted tower of the world called Cayan Tower at the cost of 272 million US dollar. Earlier it was called the Infinity Tower. It was inaugurated in Dubai Marina. With this, Dubai created yet another record of engineering marvels as well as skyscrapers.
About the Cayan Tower
• Cayan Tower is 310 metre or 1017 foot tall residential tower.
• It is 75 storeys building which is twisted at 90 degrees from the top most position to the bottom most position.
• The developer of this tower is Cayan Real Estate Investment and Development Company.
• 80 percent of the residential units have been sold already.
• Construction of this tower started in 2006, but then it was delayed.
• The Cayan Tower has been designed by the masterminds of Burj Khalifa- Chicago-based Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Burj Khalifa is the tallest tower of the world with a height of 2717 foot. It broke all architectural and engineering records when it was inaugurated in January 2010.
• The Guinness World Records in May 2012 declared Princess Tower (the 1356 foot tower) of Dubai as the tallest residential building of the world.
• Also, in 2012, the tallest hotel of the world- JW Marriott Marquis Dubai was inaugurated.
The Cauvery Supervisory Committee that met here on Wednesday did not find “feasible” the demand of the Tamil Nadu government for directions to Karnataka for release of Cauvery waters as per the award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
The panel, chaired by Union Water Resources Secretary S.K. Sarkar, agreed to the suggestion of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to modify its Rules of Business to decide that decisions shall ordinarily be taken by consensus. If no consensus is reached, then the decision may be left to the Chairperson. Noting that the situation was “very grim” for both the basin States as the storage levels in their respective reservoirs were deficient, the committee decided to review the position in its next meeting slated to be held in the first week of July.
The meeting observed that the southwest monsoon had arrived on time in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and has so far been in excess of normal in the first 10 days of June. It is expected to pick up in due course.
“Looking into the data such as deficit in inflows and very low storages in the reservoirs in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the request of Tamil Nadu for release of water by Karnataka was considered and found not feasible as of now. However, the position will be reviewed in the next meeting proposed to be held in the first week of July 2013,” said the six-page order signed by Mr. Sarkar.
The live storage in Karnataka reservoirs on June 10 was 3.716 tmcft, while it was 3.58 tmcft in Mettur dam as against 15.8 tmcft and 41.96 tmcft respectively in the previous year on the same date.
The outflow from Karnataka reservoirs is 0.83 tmcft and drawals, including evaporation, is 0.04 tmcft, while outflow at Mettur is 0.49 tmcft. “It is evident from the data that the situation in both Karnataka and Mettur (Tamil Nadu) is very grim,” the order said. Both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka raised objections to certain provisions in the Rules of Business, particularly the clauses pertaining to quorum and decision by majority vote. While Tamil Nadu sought early constitution of the Cauvery Management Board, Karnataka wanted that the panel should not adopt the guidelines of the Cauvery Management Board (as prescribed in the final award). The Supervisory Committee has been formed on the directions of the Supreme Court. Karnataka also suggested that water account be done at the end of December instead of from June to May. Besides, Tamil Nadu that sought 24 hours average water flows at Biligundlu for kuruvai crop and other needs.
Panel takes note of poor storage levels in the two States
It will review the position in the next meeting in July
Source : The Hindu
Image : Representation Only
