GoogleFact

Knoxville TN Blog

2007-03-06T12:11:00.000-08:00

The new http://KnoxvilleTennesseeBlog.com about Knoxville Tennessee.

Knoxville Tennessee Blog

2007-02-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine decided to create a new blog for the folks of Knoxville Tennessee. This blog will have contributors that have been recruited locally to write on various topics of politics, entertainment, along with a variety of other content.

The Knoxville Tennessee blog can be found at http://knoxvilletennesseeblog.com. It looks like it could turn out be a premier blog serving the Knoxville, Tennessee and surrounding areas. If you live in East Tennessee you might stop by and give it a visit.

Knoxville Real Estate

2007-01-31T13:36:00.000-08:00

The latest post about Knoxville Real Estate (Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate) can be found at http://knoxvilletennesseeblog.com/index.php/real-estate/knoxville-tennessee-real-estate/14/ This post outlines a few sites that can be used to locate Knoxville Real Estate and also a price heat map of the Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate area.

If you are looking for more information on Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate, you can read the summary here.

Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate

2007-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

While looking for this information I found a lot of helpful sites but one particularly useful site, mlse.org. An mls enhanced website that will help you find the right real estate agent and the right home or property. Knoxville Tennessee real estate is currently very affordable and has not seen inflation as some of the other real estate markets have experianced. If you are looking for real estate in Knoxville, TN, msle.org is a good place to start.

Links Of Love

2007-01-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

Here is some information for links and web sites I have been reading recently.

History Of Buck Knives

Buck knives are arguably the most famous American-made knives, known and respected worldwide for their high quality, for blades that hold an edge, and for the Lifetime Guarantee that backs them up.

Buck Knives is a strong corporate entity, with their manufacturing facility located in Post Falls, Idaho. But when the first Buck knife was made in 1902, it was a young Kansas blacksmith apprentice named Hoyt Buck who used his imagination to find a new, better way to temper steel so it would hold an edge much longer.

Read the full article here.

Pocket Case Knife

The Case Knife Company has been one of the most trusted names in pocket knives for over 100 years, offering old style craftsmanship with state of the art technology. Case knives, their history, and warranties are featured online here.

A Pocket Case knife is made from only the finest materials, with solid steel blades and all-natural handles made from mother of pearl, bone, and rosewood, among many other options. Each Case knife is manufactured using 160 steps and factory tested two times to assure the quality of each knife.

Read the full article here.

The Christian's Weapon

The Apostle John, Jesus’ beloved disciple, is writing with intensity. John, probably the last living disciple of Jesus at the time of writing this letter, knew it was important for him to write to the believers. Unlike the writers Luke, James, or Paul, John walked with, lived with, ate with, and talked intently with Jesus. The Apostle John is not writing to create a new religion. He is writing to say I have seen the Messiah, I have heard the Messiah, and I have even touched the Messiah. He is real!

Read the full article here.

Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate

While looking for this information I found a lot of helpful sites but one particularly useful site, mlse.org. An mls enhanced website that will help you find the right real estate agent and the right home or property. Knoxville Tennessee real estate is currently very affordable and has not seen inflation as some of the other real estate markets have experianced.

Read the full article here.

Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate

2007-01-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

Are you relocating to Knoxville Tennessee or buying a home for the first time in the Knoxville area? Are you looking for a better home or maybe you want to find commercial real estate? Knoxville Tennessee has many fine realtors qualified to help you with your real estate needs.

While looking for this information I found a lot of helpful sites but one particularly useful site, mlse.org. An mls enhanced website that will help you find the right real estate agent and the right home or property. Knoxville Tennessee real estate is currently very affordable and has not seen inflation as some of the other real estate markets have experianced.

Knoxville Tennessee is a beautiful place to live with a temperate climate. The summers in Knoxville are always warm but not too hot and the fall colors are truly magnificent. The winters can be cold but are short and spring arrives early in Knoxville.

If you are looking for more information on Knoxville Tennessee Real Estate, make your first stop mlse.org.

Dominos Anything Goes Deal

2007-01-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

oday is the second day of Dominos Anything Goes Deal. Today's prize is a 007 Lotus Elise, option package to be determined by Sponsor. MSRP = $50,000 (I think).

The clue will be given out between 1:00pm & 4:00pm ET. I will be posting the answer to clue #2 of Dominos Anything Goes Deal in this blog post as soon as I figure it out.

Feel free to post any comments, clues, or answers you may find along the way. Check back to see where the Lotos Elise was and find out the answer to today's Dominos Anything Goes Deal clue. As for what is being given away, check the official rules here.

For all of the answers to Dominos Anything Goes Deal visit the Dominos Anything Goes Deal Answers Blog.

Adult Diaper Information

2006-12-24T17:47:00.000-08:00

Part of Google Fact is about testing search engine rankings for terms. This article is going to be about a topic which would otherwise not appear on a blog about Google. The term that will be exercised is Adult Diaper.

A diaper (in North America) or nappy (in the British Isles and many Commonwealth countries) is an absorbent garment worn by individuals who are incontinent, that is, lack control over bladder or bowel movements, or who are unable to reach the toilet when needed.

The first disposable diaper was created in 1941. The "disposable diaper" is a a 2-piece product consisting of a disposable pad of cellulose wadding with gauze or knitted mesh cover and a reusable panty.

The following two things that will be discussed are the types of uses for Adult diapers and the comfortability of diapers. Adult Diapers are sometimes worn by astonauts in space. Adult Diapers have been worn by legislators during a filibuster. Adult Diapers have also been worn by death row inmates who are about to be executed.

The comfortability of Adult Diapers is also an important topic. Some of the most comfortable Adult Diapers can be found from this website. Since Adult Diapers are made in array of materials sizes and brands comfortability heavily depends on the type of material used to manufacture the diaper. Cloth diapers are typically the most comfortable Adult Diapers as well as the simple pull-up diapers.

If you are looking for the best adult diapers then you have found the right place.

King of the Bill

2006-12-21T21:46:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to make this quick post to be the first to tell you about the next million dollar homepage idea called King of the Bill. When this site takes off and makes millions of dollars you can say that I told ya so. There is nothing to see on the site except for advertisements so don't go expecting much.

TenHunt - Win Cool Prizes

2006-12-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to keep you all updated on the newest scavenger hunt on the net. The treasure hunt is called TenHunt. The rules are simple. Answer 10 questions the fastest and you win a prize. There is also a random drawing for prizes in case you are a little slow answering the questions. I've outlined more details in this post and the official site is tenhunt.com.

The part I really like about this game is you find out who is winning (and who won) in real time. So as soon as it ends you know who the winner is. The prizes that have been given away so far are listed below:

iPod Shuffle
30GB Video iPod
4GB iPod Nano
iPod Shuffle
Philips 10.2" Portable DVD Player
Philips 7" Portable DVD Player
iPod Shuffle
Xbox 360
30GB Video iPod

Answers to Yahoo! Movies Da Vinci Code Unlock The Code Challenge

2006-11-17T06:01:00.000-08:00

Solutions to the Da Vinci Code Unlock The Code Challenge can be found at Steeple Media, click here.

Starting November 14, head over to www.unlockthecodes.com for your chance to be the lucky winner of a DaVinci Code inspired trip to Europe plus other fabulous prizes!!! According to the game, this will be Phase 1.

To play, just log in & answer each days question relating to a hidden item in the movie.... tune in here each day for the correct answer! You must have a valid Yahoo! username to play.

AOL GOLD RUSH ANSWERS

2006-09-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, you can be my Gold Buddy. I know some of you are going to want to know what all the correct answers are to the first quiz from AOL Gold Rush. For those of you who do not wish to work on your Internet research skills, I thought I would save you some time by providing the solutions to you.

Here are the answers to the first AOL Gold Rush "challenge":

1. Which celebrity has not had a child in the past year?
2. What was the first single off Paris Hilton's new album?
3. What is the name of Ellen DeGeneres' prized French bulldog?
4. Who recently performed the song "Lose Control" at the Teen Choice Awards?
5. According to animal rights activists, what type of animal needs to be protected from Beyoncé?
6. Which actor has never been named Sexiest Man Alive by PEOPLE magazine?
7. Which term is not slang for someone's butt?
8. What television show never had a regular cast member featured in "The Breakfast Club" detention scene?
9. What celebrity grandpa accidentally sent his love out to "Shakira", revealing a certain confusion with his granddaughter's actual name?
10. Which actor has yet to be involved in a sex scandal?
For the answers to these questions and other Gold Rush clues, Gold Rush answers, and Gold Rush solutions see this post from Gold Rush.

AOL GOLD RUSH

2006-08-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

AOL GOLD RUSH is an online interactive experience produced by Mark Burnett in collaboration with AOL and CBS. Answers to AOL GOLD RUSH challenges and olutions to AOL GOLD RUSH challenges will be posted at http://www.aolgoldrush.org or http://steeplemedia.com/blogs/AOL_Gold_Rush

I will be posting walkthrough answers and solutions for AOL's GOLD RUSH and will also be hosting a live chat room for users to discuss the solutions. AOL GOLD RUSH is going to be a lot of fun with great prizes. Stop by and check it out. The official AOL GOLD RUSH website can be found at http://goldrush.aol.com.

Picasa Web Volvo Treasure Hunters

2006-06-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

More Eurostar Quest Winners

2006-06-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've created my latest post to reflect the new collection of Eurostar Quest Winners. You can read more about them here.

Darth Nuts - Eurostar Quest Winner

2006-06-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

So you are looking for the winners of the Eurostar quest? (a.ka. Eurostar Quest Winners Google)

Yes one of our very own, Darth Nuts is a winner of the Eurostar quest. See this post for additional details.

Congratulations Darth Nuts!

NBC Treasure Hunters

2006-06-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

The latest Google Fact posts can be found at http://www.googlefact.com

The Best Place on the Web to Talk About NBC's Show Treasure Hunters is at http://www.nbctreasurehunters.com

The masterminds behind Treasure Hunters
For the few of you interested in the makers of this new series here is the brief list with quoted text from their respective wikipedia articles (when available).

Online Treasure Hunting
On the official site there will be online puzzles and riddles similar to the ones on the actual show that you will complete. They'll be promoting http://www.ask.com/ as the search engine (but we all know you'll be Googling for the answers). Oh, and If you watch the show, you may be able to get additional clues that you can pay for via SMS/text message.

What is NBC Treasure Hunters?
I transcribed the following synopsis from the trailor video for NBC Treasure Hunters.
America has many treasures, some natural, some historic. But there’s one buried treasure worth millions, locked in time in a secret location. But if you’re clever enough, the clues to find it are all around you.

Treasure Hunter Challenge
I have created the following forum Guess the order in which the teams will leave the show. The idea is to play the psychic and put the teams in order that you think they will leave the show.

Wei-Hwa's Puzzle Challenge 3 - June 9th, 2006

2006-06-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

For the solution to this puzzle see the forum discussion on www.steeplemedia.com

June 9th, 2006: The Google US Puzzle Championship is next Saturday, June 16th. It's used to select the US Puzzle Team, but puzzle-lovers of all sorts should find something interesting in the puzzles. Let's have a big "G" (for Google):

Here's a puzzle based on Erich Friedman's "Distance," from the 2003 Google U.S. Puzzle Championship. Label 14 of the circles above with different numbers from 1 to 14, such that the distance between 1 and 2 is less than the distance between 2 and 3, and so on. Four circles should remain empty.
If the "±" sign is selected, you can click on the top part of a circle to increase it and click on the bottom to decrease it. Or, select a number in the palette and click on a circle to fill that number into the circle. Deselect the active selection to create a blank. You win if all the "distances" to the right turn green.

www.steeplemedia.com

2006-06-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone the new site is up, please head over and register at the site. It would also be a huge help if you could start testing the forums to make sure everything is up and operating. The site is at www.steeplemedia.com and you can get to the Google Fact blog from http://gf.steeplemedia.com or www.googlefact.com

When you register you will be sent an email with your password. I have been told the email may take up to 5 minutes to receive but you will get it. Thanks again for all your support and understanding during this transition.

I also am working on the new NBC Treasure Hunters blog at www.nbctreasurehunters.com

My Latest Post on Saving the Internet

2006-06-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

Check out my latest post on saving the Internet at http://www.googlefact.com. Please consider registering on the site. If you are reluctant to register because you have to submit an email address, leave me some comments in this post and I will change it. I want everyone to have an opportunity to participate in the forums and the other ideas that we have planned for the site, but you will need to be registered.

www.SteepleMedia.com Partial Change is Good

2006-06-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

Look the new site is done. You are looking at the newly redone, Google Fact blog!! Do you like it? Just joshin with ya.

Here is the quick and dirty. I was trying to import all of my blog posts and comments into the new site. As fate would have it, the process failed miserably. In the process I had to change some publishing settings and so I lost my template and all kinds of other joyous things.

Consequently, I am going to ask that you begin beta testing the new site. Please register on the site, hammer the forums, and help promote the site launch. I will be in the process of making some aesthetic changes as well as adding older content from the Google Fact blog. I was hoping to have more completed before I released the site, but because of the problems I felt it necessary to go ahead and start the migration.

New Site: www.googlefact.com , www.nbctreasurehunters.com

Description: I decided to expand my blog and write about more than just Google related topics. I needed a generic domain where I could host this content and I choose steeplemedia as the domain. I can now host the GF blog and the NBCTH blog from the same site. Additionally, I wanted a place where there would be more dialogue and less monologue, so now we have forums tied right into the site.

Status: The site is in its early stage and I need your help to register and test the forums as well as testing the blog comments. Please provide we with feedback and let me know what I can do to make the new site better. Additionally, I would like to have a blog in which every member of the GF community could be a contributor on. I think it would be fun to see all of the different topics that you would discuss.

Google Puzzles Blog

2006-06-06T18:28:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks. I'm happy to be here writing to you at this time. I am almost done developing the content for the new website. I have a few more tasks to finish up and then it will be ready. I am still shooting to have it released before the weekend, we'll see.

This post is to tell you about a great new blog out there created for the Wei Hwa Puzzle Challenges called Google Puzzles. The author not only gives tips and solutions but also provides additional insights into the puzzles which make the blog a great read. There are other puzzle related tidbits that you may also find interesting.

And that's not all, if you are like me and can't get enough Google related reading material, the author of the blog is also covering Google product releases like the new spreadsheet application.

Now if I can just bribe him into contributing for GF also....

On a side note, if you know of a graphic designer that could help me out with a new logo / banner for the new site, that would be a huge help. Have them email me at gfacts@gmail.com, thanks!!

Go Meg! MSN Conspiracy Game Solutions

2006-06-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I am getting closer to having the new website/blog up and running. But, in the mean time I have to admit that I have been a bit negligent in providing you with solutions to recent puzzles and also providing you with info on new Google content (like the spreadsheet signup). I promise that it will all be worth it in the end.

Thankfully GF readers always come through in the spirit of community to help one another. Meg, who has been a faithful GF reader has provided solutions and tips for the MSN Conspiracy Game on her blog which can be found here. Now what is really great is that on the new site (which I am tirelessly working on) each of you can have a blog and contribute content, all in one location and with a forum included. I am very excited about this and cannot wait to make it available to you.

Thanks again Meg, and thank you all for continuing to visit the GF blog on a daily basis.

General Status Update

2006-06-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I hope that you are all doing well. I am currently busy getting the new server up and ready for the new NBC reality show, Treasure Hunters. Fear not though, as I am not neglecting my faithful GF readers. I have a new blog and forum that will be coming online at the same time.

The new makeover is going to make the blog much more engaging. You will be able to register with a single username and make posts in the forum and comments in the blog. Additionally, I will be able to create multiple blogs and aggregate the posts onto the homepage which will make it much easier to follow. For instance, I'll create a new blog for the MSN game, one for the AWR, and one for general Google topics so that the content will be separated, but together.

I am very excited about this change and I think it will make the time you spend on this blog more enjoyable. The new server will also be much quicker and more reliable then blogspot and the iphorum forum. I am working hard on it and hope to have it finished before the weekend. I will still try and keep the content rolling with a few posts on the MSN game soon.

Thanks for your understanding through this transition.

Wei-Hwa's Puzzle Challenges Part 2

2006-06-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Man, somebody needs to send me an email when he randomly decides to release these puzzles. Here the second challenge has been out for a day already and I haven't had the opportunity to even look at it. I guess I didn't do much Googling today.

Anyways, I'll get to it in a little while here and let you know what I find. From a first glance it looks like a tough one.

June 2nd, 2006: If a tree falls in the woods because of a wound, then what little object will not hear the sound? Answer: a deaf leaf.

A Why Me Rhyme is a pair of words that look like they should rhyme (after all, only their first letter is different), but don't really. For example, depending on the colorist, Etrigan could be considered a lemon demon. See if you can figure out these twelve Why Me Rhymes from their descriptions:

I debated about posting the solutions in the blog content. I was going to wait until the next challenge is released before I provided the answers but now I'm not. For now I am going to post the solutions to these puzzles. If I get enough feedback telling me to just post hints and tips then I will revert back, otherwise solutions it is. So here they are.

What is heard when your little girl is having fun DAUGHTER LAUGHTER
A disgustingly dirty sticker FECAL DECAL
A siesta for weirdos FREAK BREAK
A friendly rejection GENIAL DENIAL
Lists of all sorts of animals to be eaten GENUS MENUS
An unrefined crucifix GROSS CROSS
A type of bar bet, maybe? LAGER WAGER
Makes a news agency irrelevant NEUTERS REUTERS
Stamps that someone refuses to return POSTAGE HOSTAGE
Makes contact with feminine hygiene products TOUCHES DOUCHES
A price reduction given only to certain noblemen VISCOUNT DISCOUNT
Newer style of patio furniture YOUNGER LOUNGER

How do I know these are right? I cheated, I looked in the source code for the answers. O.K. So this does take the fun out of doing the puzzles. But, I am here to provide you with the answers when you get stuck right? Cheers!

The MSN Conspiracy Game 2

2006-06-03T14:35:00.000-07:00

The second challenge in the MSN Conspiracy Game was related to Alice in Wonderland, England, and Scotland. We were asked to find "Which does the winner's destiny involve?" in reference to symbols.

First you'll need to know that pictured with Alice holding the plum-cake are a Lion and a Unicorn. Then you'll need to know that the answer to the next question, in regards to destiny, is a stone. After that you just find the red heart and you'll be on your way.

I am a big fan of the questions this game offers. Each question gives you the opportunity to learn a bit about English history, if you wish to engage in the game and do the research. Alternatively, you can always just read into the question, look around the puzzle screen, and find the answer with no research whatsoever. Either way it's a fun game for me.

------------------------------------------------

Many of you asked me to start a blog on the new reality TV show NBC Treasure Hunters that is set to premiere on June 18th. There is also supposed to be an online version of the game in which people watching the show will have an opportunity to win prizes.

I have been working hard on this for everyone and will be publishing the blog / forum / website for the show soon. Stay tuned for more details, I think it will be fun for everyone to watch the show (if you can) and discuss the challenges the players face. It should also be interesting to see what kind of challenges they present for the at home viewers.

The MSN Conspiracy Game

2006-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Now that I have successfully completed the first 10 levels of the AWR, I decided to look into The MSN Conspiracy Game (MSNCG) presented by Microsoft. In this post I'm not going to bore you with the rules or get you excited about the prizes, but I do want to talk about the first puzzle and the promotion of Windows Live Search. I decided to finally register a new gmail account that was more general and so you can now email at gfacts@gmail.com. For the MSNCG I am only going to give out hints / partial solutions. I will give the solutions to any who wants them via email, but you are welcome to post them in the comments or in the forum if you so choose.

First, I am extreamly excited about these puzzles. I think the quality of the flash development and general concept surpasses both The Google Da Vinci Code Quest and The Eurostar Quest. My only gripe is with the implementation of the Windows Live Search feature. So I just ignore it, open up a new browser, and fire up Google.

Be forewarned, the whole Guy Fawkes conspiracy is quite intriguing so you may get distracted reading wikipedia for a quick English history lesson if you aren't careful. This screen shot should help a little if you are confused on the first challenge.

"Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot. "

Alright, now my question is this. Why is it that some of the biggest search engines still have not learned that search is all about ranking results. It doesn't matter how many times you redesign the appearence of the search/results page, if you don't have a good ranking system, people are going to use your search engine. Yes, Microsoft and ASK, I'm talking to you. Improve your search results, and you won't have to spend so much money marketing your search engine.

Cheers!

The Amazing Web Race Leaderboard #122

2006-06-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the Amazing Web Race (AWR), and not without my fair share of hints and tips. I didn't make it on my own entirely, but I feel like I struggled enough to justify my placement on the leaderboard. For those of you who haven't quite made it that far, keep working at it and I'll try to help you out where and when I can. Here are the last four screen captures from the AWR, since I provided you with the first six earlier.

Good luck to those of you who have yet to finish and remember if you are really stuck on a question you can always email me at davincicodequest@gmail.com. For the 1 or 2 of you who can't view images on the web, the 10 questions from the first part of the AWR are as follows:

1. Can't talk here. Others will hear us. Listen for the taps. When we get out, meet me in (1,4) (1,5) (3,3) (5,1) (1,5) (4,2). If I can trust you, you will be rewarded.

2. Okay, we can talk now, but we've got to get out of here. Come find me. I'll either be with Angels or Devils, whichever comes first. Bring a map.

3. Since you brought the map, I'll buy you a hot dog and a beer. The street we're on reminds me of his first movie. Let's meet there.

4. Do you have a passport? Drop the new act and go to the CITY.

5. I'm glad you made it here. If you're feeling lucky in this country, you can find some import partners. Meet me at the capital city of the smallest partner.

6. That sushi made me sick. Now I'm in In a solid pain.

7. Be careful in the Amazon. Get out of "Harm's Way" and find out what class the Indianapolis was in.

8. I think we are being followed. Seek the truth and hurry to the capital of the United States.

9. Well done. I am confident I can trust you. Where I am, form follows finance. But once you find the city, you need to find a place to park.

10. Since you're in Chicago, you could have an Italian Beef. But I prefer this kind. Solve the puzzle and then study the 6 digits from top to bottom. I hope you have your cell phone.

(Fill in the puzzle with the numbers 1 through 9, ensuring the same number does not appear more than once in any given row, column, or 3x3 section.)

Translate the city name into German, and then unscramble it. That's your final clue. Put it in the right place and you should be able to picture the last city.

Random Blog Topic Generator

2006-05-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

This post is fresh off of the random blog topic generator (RBTG). The RBTG generates all sorts of random unrelated topics and compiles them into one blog post. Today's topics are as follows:

First, I said I was going to finish the Eurostar quest, I lied. I actually had every intention of finishing but I got distracted (not hard to do) by the Amazing Web Race (AWR). Sorry guys.

Second, I am now on riddle 10 of the AWR. Something about a phone number, German, and, scramble.

Next, I was reading GoogleBlogoscoped and ran across this post. I spent the next 5 minutes trying to figure out why digital TV channels aren't organized by topic. For instance, why is ESPN 2 on channel 51 while ESPN 1 is on channel 39, and what about VH1, MTV, the History channel and the International History channel. Thankfully I don't watch TV very often otherwise that might have bothered me.

For Developers if you haven't looked into Ruby on Rails, you need too. Likewise you should check out jQuery, as it's also a pretty slick javascript library.

For more puzzles, I am thinking about doing the WPC practice test just for the sake of doing it. I may also look into the Windows Live Conspiracy game. Additionaly, I'll continue to solve Wei-Hwa's puzzles as he releases them.

If the RBTG didn't generate a topic you wanted to see, I've been told that seeding the generator in the comments might help.

Wei-Hwa's Puzzle Challenges Part 1

2006-05-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

The first puzzle challenge was a simple math problem that required the use of fractions. The puzzle is described as follows:

Using the numbers 3, 3, 8, 8 (in any order), make a mathematical expression that equals 24. You can use only addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division (and parentheses), but in any order you wish. Note that you have to use all four numbers;

This problem in itself is not a difficult one, but you are required to "see" an idea. The idea you have to grasp is that the solution is 8 * 3 but you are required to use the additional 8 and 3. What you need to figure out is how to reduce the remaining 8 and 3 down to 1. Basically you want to get a fraction in the form of m / (1 / n). You can achieve this as follows.
Now here are a couple of tougher questions.

First, is this the only solution for 8,8,3,3? I think it is, but I'd like to see a proof.

Second, what set of numbers will this solution apply to? 10,10,3,3? 11,11,3,3? Consider 7,7,3,3

Finally, don't be discouraged if you expected more out of this first puzzle. I highly anticipate Google throwing some resources into this project, but in order to keep people interested they needed to get something together quick, and this was the result. Happy Memorial Day to those of you in the states, be safe and solve swiftly.

Congratulations to a blogging person who was the first to solve this challenge. In the future I hope they release these earlier in the day rather than after 4 P.M? I hope he is going to release one everyday, does anyone know?

If you want to join in on the fun, you can add the puzzle module to your Google PHP from this link.

Riddle of the Day

2006-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today is the 26th.

1 P.M. has come and gone, Now I'm left with boredom and yawns. How long will it take for him to end this painful wait?

Finishing What You've Started

2006-05-26T05:45:00.000-07:00

There is something to be said about finishing the things you start, you know not quiting in the middle when the hard times come. I've started two things that I plan on finishing. The first is the AWR and the other is the Eurostar quest. I'm running out of time on the latter so my concentration over the next few days will be on completing that quest.

I mentioned yesterday that I would add some pictures since it's been a lot of text only lately. So here is a collection of questions that I have completed from the AWR.

MistressRoninS, don't give up on the AWR, it's a fun quest and I promise the other questions aren't as hard as the first. If you still need the first answer just shoot me an email at davincicodequest@gmail.com (yes I know, I'll make a new one just for GF soon). I want to see your name on that leaderboard!!

I also changed my profile so that you can view the other blogs that I am working on. Currently this is the only blog I have had time to regularly update. As I mentioned previously, I will be working on the Eurostar quest so you may see some updates on that blog over the next couple days. If you have topic ideas / thoughts / suggestions / requests just let me know.

Also, I wanted to thank all of you for participating in the AWR with me. Sometimes it's more fun when things are accomplished collectively, and for me, that seems to be the case with these quests.

AWR and Eurostar

2006-05-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

The first riddle on the Amazing Web Race has turned out to be the most difficult one thus far, especially without knowing any context. There is an old substitution cipher that uses a similar technique as this question, but I forget what it's called (I remembered it from my cryptography class). Here is what I remember about it, and what should help you with the first question.


A     F     L     Q     V
B     G     M     R     W
C     H     N     S     X
D    I/J    O     T     Y
E     K     P     U     Z

TIP: To submit the answer to the riddle, simply appened it to the end of the original url. As an example, if the answer to the question was Miami, then to check to see if your answer is correct, go to the following url: http://riddle.nirajsanghvi.com/miami/

Oh, and the Eurostar quest. There are only 5 days left. I haven't had the time to update the Eurostar quest like I did with the Google quest. I am thinking that I will try to post tips to help you solve the timed end of stage puzzles in an effort to help you win something. I'm still thinking on that though...

The Amazing Web Race

2006-05-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

There are a number of web based quests / riddles / puzzles floating around the Internet. Some of them are better than others. The Amazing Web Race is a new challenge created by a couple of GF readers inspired by this blog and The Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge.

Here is some background information on the quest from the creators:

"In the Amazing Web Race, the user is cast into a original plot trying to keep up with a mysterious character who is leading them around the world. It is loosely based on the tv show Amazing Race, but that is more of an afterthough, and not inherent to the idea. We were inspired to create this race because we enjoyed the nature and thought behind the Google Da Vinci Quest, but were left unsatisfied and unchallenged. It is not the first web riddle, nor will it be the last. But it starts hard and doesn't let up. Only two people have finished the 10 levels that are currently live...but that's not the end."

I am personally going to attempt to complete the first 10 levels. I'll let you know how it goes and if you want to try it with me you can access the Amazing Web Race at http://riddle.nirajsanghvi.com/.

Your Music, Where You Want It

2006-05-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea for a while that I thought it would be fun to toss around. This idea came about for a couple reasons. Namely, I always want the CD I don't happen to have with me and if I do have the CD present, it's more than likely scratched in such a way that my favorite track won't play. I would also like to be able to find those CDs I bought 5 years ago, but alas after a number of residence changes, they too have passed on, as it is with all of the good and faithful CDs.

So here's how it works. First you upload your audio files to a server. Yes, bulk uploads will be available so that you can upload your whole 20 gig mp3 collection. Alternatively, for those of us with more reasonably sized collections, you could upload by CD or individual files. After you have your audio files uploaded you can download / email / listen to them at any time and from any location.

Additionally, you could organize your music into playlists. The playlists would allow you to pick and choose songs from any of the CDs that you have uploaded. You could create an unlimited number of playlists, which could then be classified as either protected or private. In order to listen to a private playlist you would be required to log into the server, while listening to a protected playlists would simply require a unique URL that only you would know.

If for some reason you lost or scratched a CD, or accidentally deleted your audio files, you could download the files again, or request that a CD be mailed to you.

To summarize, I want to be able to listen to all of my audio files as long as I have a computer and an internet connection. Additionally, I don't want to worry about losing my audio files. Anyways, just something I've been thinking about.

On the puzzles topic, I still haven't had a chance to get into the Eurostar quest. I've also been doing some research on the Treasure Hunters show from NBC, and I'm looking forward to Friday when the new puzzles start.

And the winner is...

2006-05-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

Who cares? With all the debate concerning cheating, taxes, and the general administration of the puzzles, combined with the movie's lackluster reviews, no one. I figure they'll look at the submission times, eliminate the sub 2 minute entries and put the next 15 lowest entries into a hat and draw a winner, who will promptly reject the prizes because of the taxes.

I think it would be quite humorous if Sony/Google tried to prosecute a player for cheating. Talk about another PR nightmare. I think I am going to start looking into the Eurostar quest before it ends, I've played a couple of the challenges but haven't made it much farther than that. I'm curious to find out what everyone is doing now that the quest is officially over. Let me know!

100,000 Hits Plus More

2006-05-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

This blog has received 106,283 visits as of yesterday. Congratulations to all of the GF readers who regularly visited, commented on the posts, and developed a community around the game. Here is a summary of the Da Vinci Code Quest aftermath.

From H-sizzle: A video of the moving puzzle can be found here. Thanks for all of your contributions throughout the game.

From Michael: An animated version of the splotches solution can be found here. And, a link to all of the images of the Jigsaw challenge here and the chess challenge here.

From David: The restoration puzzle solver I mentioned earlier on my blog can be found at his blog House of Yang. David, your blog is great, if you want to work on a web 2.0 application with me, I have a few ideas, let me know.

From Jennifer, Audrea, and Others: Thanks so much for helping spread the word to vote 10 for Rex through myspace and email. Because of your help, rex now has over 1,000 votes just a couple thousand shy of becoming a cutest pet finalist. With only 10 days left he has a good chance of winning because of your willingness to help.

Update From Dan: Here is a video of Dan solving the final challenge in ~5 minutes, using macro recording and accelerated playback. You can find the video on his blog. And now you understand why posting the solutions to the final challenge on this blog gave all those who didn't have two accounts to use an honest shot at winning. Impressive work Dan!!

From the Rules: The quest officially ended, "The Final Puzzle Challenge must be completed by 1:00 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 21, 2006". For those of you with very quick times (sub 7 minutes) get ready to wait by the phone on Friday. From the official rules, "Final Phase: Grand Prize winner will be notified by phone between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EDT on May 26, 2006, at the telephone number provided on his/her Official Contest Entry. "

Also From the Rules: "If the potential Grand Prize winner cannot be reached after a reasonable effort has been exerted (within three (3) phone call attempts for the Grand Prize winner), if he/she is found to be ineligible, and/or does not comply with these Official Rules, potential Grand Prize winner will be disqualified, and the participant with the next earliest time-stamp may be declared the potential Grand Prize winner."

Help Me Win 1000 Dollars

2006-05-20T00:25:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I've done my best to help you win the Grand Prize, please help me win $1000. Please vote 10 for Rex at http://www.1800petmeds.com/petcontest/vote/6006037436590614018 It will only take a moment to click on the link and vote for my dog rex, but if I win the contest it would be a huge a huge help for me. The contest winners are by the number of votes first and rating second. So while rex has a very high rating, he doesn't have enough votes yet (shy by about 6,000). Thanks to all of you who have already supported this blog by voting for Rex. Together you can make this happen for me, and for that I am grateful.

I've update the final challenge screen captures below and added descriptions to help clear up how to make it through all five final challenge puzzles quickly. For other images see http://www.imgplace.net/codefinal/ Hope this helps somebody win the Google Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge. Good Luck and Click Fast!

Da Vinci Code Final Challenge Final - Puzzle #5

2006-05-20T00:22:00.000-07:00

The last challenge is the Geography Challenge, or the Jigsaw Challenge. You have a puzzle broken into about 20 or 25 pieces. Put the peices together and you are finished.

From Pyro: it's a shifting image of several screens from the movie; I glimpsed Silas stalking toward [someone], hands holding a Cryptex, an old man cowering in terror (Sauniere?), and a close-up of a man's face. There were probably a couple more as well, though I didn't have enough of it together to tell what they were.

Hopefully we can get a screen shot of these different images. Possibly by leaving one peice undone until the puzzle rotates through all images? If not just do your best working from the outside in.

Da Vinci Code Final Challenge Final - Puzzle #4

2006-05-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

The fourth challenge is the chess challenge, except that you have no questions for help as you did in the original chess challenge. You must understand the game of chess. You will have to make 3 moves to complete the game and each move will have 4 possible choices each move.

Alternatively, choice 2, choice 2, and then choice 4 seem to work for everyone. If this is not the case please correct me in the comments section of this post.

Da Vinci Code Final Challenge Final - Puzzle #3

2006-05-20T00:02:00.000-07:00

The third puzzle is the curator challenge. The curator challenge you'll remember is where you hang paintings on a wall. You must hide all of the hooks to complete the challenge correctly.

The trick to this challenge is to flip through your choice of pictures and get the hand (or set) your pictures onto the wall first. There are only a few places that the biggest pictures can hang (or sit). Once you have the big boys out, follow your instincts and place the rest of the pictures on the wall. Alternatively, you can use the following screen capture from Patrick:

Da Vinci Code Final Challenge Final - Puzzle #2

2006-05-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

The second puzzle is the restoration challenge. You recall the challenge where you have to move the paint splotches around.

The trick to the restoration challenge is to work from the inside out leaving a few of the outer pieces to save you at the end since they are all clumped in the middle. David Yang created an algorithm to solve the restoration challenges using a depth first search, but he will not be posting the source until after the quest is complete. His blog can be found here. So your alternative is to use the following key provided by Nick (stonefry).

Da Vinci Code Final Challenge Final - Puzzle #1

2006-05-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

The first quest is a standard suduku puzzle with the 3x3 blocks. The only difference is that 9 symbols are used instead of the standard numbers 1-9.

Solution: Use a solver or a screen capture.

From Joel:

http://www.thepcmanwebsite.com/media/sudoku_solver/ http://www.puzzle.ro/en/sudoku_solver.htm http://www.foxfordservices.co.uk/Home/Free-Online-Sudoku-Solver.asp

From Patrick:

Vote for Rex / Solve the Restoration Puzzle

2006-05-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'll try to make this the last time I blatently spam link my own blog. Please vote 10 for Rex at http://www.1800petmeds.com/petcontest/vote/6006037436590614018

It will only take a moment to click on the link and vote for my dog rex, but if I win the contest it would be a huge benefit to me. Less than 10% of you have supported me in this endevour as of this moment and I will need full support in order to win. The contest winners are by the number of votes first and rating second. So while rex has a very high rating, he doesn't have enough votes yet (shy by about 6,000). Thanks to all of you who have already supported this blog by voting for Rex. Together you can make this happen for me, and for that I am grateful.

Hope everything is going well for the finalists. I am still waiting on H-sizzle's screenshots which should be coming in soon. For now that we have a great update for the restoration (splotches) puzzle, this alone may bring a grand champion from the GoogleFact blog. Much thanks goes to Nick (stonefry) for unselfishly sharing this image with the GoogleFact community.

Again, please vote 10 for Rex at http://www.1800petmeds.com/petcontest/vote/6006037436590614018 and thank Nick for taking the time to compile that image.

Final Screen Shots

2006-05-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

First, Don't forget to help me out (since I don't get to play) by visiting this link and voting 10 for my dog Rex http://www.1800petmeds.com/petcontest/vote/6006037436590614018.
You have to admit he is pretty cute.

Second, visit the forums for tips on how to solve the puzzles quickly. http://googlefact.iphorum.com (they may be a little slow but it is worth the wait)

Third, here is a slideshow of the screen captures we have receive thus far. Thank you Steven from http://www.imgplace.net for graciously putting this together. We will continue to update this as we receive more images.

Finally, please send me your screen shots (davincicodequest@gmail.com also send them to davinci@imgplace.net) rather than post them in the comments. We are going to create a slideshow of the final solutions, so make sure to email the screenshots to both email addresses. I will give you credit for the image and a link back if you want one.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From Patrick:

The Beginning of the End

2006-05-19T05:17:00.000-07:00

The 19th is here and you can now begin your final quest of The Da Vinci Code Challenge. Here is a screenshot [copied with permission from Micheal] of the final puzzle and a quote from the official rules. Here is Micheal's site also.

Once a Finalist logs into the Final Puzzle Challenge and clicks "Begin" the Finalist will be timed. Timing will stop when the Finalist correctly and sequentially completes all five puzzles and clicks "Submit."

DO NOT PAUSE, LOG OUT OR RESTART THE FINAL PUZZLE CHALLENGE.

Finalists who attempt to pause, log out or restart the Final Puzzle Challenge will be instantly disqualified and ineligible to continue playing. The Finalist who correctly and successfully solves the Final Puzzle Challenge in the least amount of time (as measured by the official computer determining timing) will be declared the Grand Prize Winner.

My advice is to wait for some of those group #1 people to finish and leave feedback before starting your quest. This is the post to leave comments on the final challenge. Additionaly, you can visit the googlefact forums at http://googlefact.iphorum.com (the first page load is a little slow sometimes but after that it runs well) to discuss the final challenge.

Also, while you're waiting, please help me win a contest rather than just getting the "hope this makes you feel better that you lost" email. You can help me by visiting this link and voting 10 for my dog Rex http://www.1800petmeds.com/petcontest/vote/6006037436590614018. You have to admit he is pretty cute.

I will post more details on the final quest as I receive them. If you have trouble with the forums or you want me to update this post with specific information, shoot me an email at davincicodequest@gmail.com

Good Luck Everyone!

GoogleFact Forum

2006-05-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

But I digress, I have a huge favor to ask of all of you. As you know I wasn't able to win a prized cryptex, and I know you all felt bad for me. My spouse felt bad for me too and found a contest that I can win with your help. It's a cutest dog contest!! O.K. so all you have to do is go to this link and vote 10 for our dog. You guys/gals are the best, thanks for helping a fellow blogger out. Now for the forum details.

I created a forum for everyone after the suggestion by MistressRoninS. You can find it at http://googlefact.iphorum.com/. I know, I'm sorry I couldn't host it myself but my servers are down because of the move and I wanted to put something out there to make it easy for the finalists to discuss the grand prize challenge.

I have also created a forum for the eurostarquest at the same location. H-sizzle has already volunteered to be one of the first to do the challenge and is going to inform me via email what she discovers after she completes the puzzles. It should benefit you to have at least some knowledge of the type of questions that will be asked before you start, so I will update the blog as soon as I hear from her.

Tekee has modified his cryptex to make all of the pins usable. His modded cryptex and tutorial can be found at his blog http://tekee.blogspot.com/. Good luck to everyone tomorrow.

Thanks again for everybody who has participated in this blog, you've made it a lot of fun for myself and others. Hopefully the forums will allow us to have more discussion as we continue to solve puzzles and examine Google's products and services. Cheers

More Puzzles ++

2006-05-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

As usual, GoogleFact readers are on top of the latest news. Here is a screenshot of the the updated Da Vinci Code Quest Module.

I am looking forward to these puzzles as they will certainly be more challenging then the original quest. Yes I will provide the solutions for the puzzles as I solve them. Hopefully people will be more open to this blog providing solutions since there is no prize associated with the new puzzles.

For those of you wondering how I know that I've had 97,387 hits since March 30th (the day I started tracking with analytics, which is the free version of Urchin), see this post. I suspect tomorrow I'll be making a 100,000 hits post!!

Good Luck tomorrow everyone, and hopefully this time it will take a little more than luck.

The Fickle Blogosphere

2006-05-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

I must thank legacy and allyson for bringing this comment by Wei-Hwa Huang to my attention. Before you read further visit that link and read his post for Tuesday May 16th. It will also help you better understand this post if you know that Mr. Huang helped create The Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge Puzzles. Additionally, X = Google, Y = Sony.

I personally would be interested to find out which blogs he's read to come to the conclusion that he arrived at. Have I said negative things about Sony? Sure, I haven't bought a Sony product since my Sony Walkman about 10 years ago. Have I said a lot of positive things about Google? Yep, I think Google is a great technology company that is developing a lot of interesting products and services. But, this quest hasn't changed my feelings toward these two companies so I can't see how that makes me fickle. The only negative thing I've said thus far is that someone (either Sony or Google or both) failed miserably with load balancing the server requests on the last day, and that’s a fact that can't be disputed.

So Mr. Huang's question is, "What can we learn from this story?"

First, we didn't just start talking about how cool Google is, we've been talking about that for a long time. Second, its going to take a lot more than The Da Vinci Code Quest to get people to start associating "cool company" with Sony. Third, it's no surprise Sony is doing strange things that make a lot of people unhappy... again. Finally, don't try to pass the blame when things go wrong. If your friend Joe Shmoe throws a rock through a window and your standing right next to him when he does it, chances are your going to get some backlash, even if you weren’t the one who broke the window.

So by logical reasoning we can safely say both Google and Sony were at fault in this here "Da Vinci Hoax". At the same time, is it really worth the time to sit around complaining about it? Those of you who finished at 2 minutes after 1:00 PM, but didn't make the finals, be thankful that you at least have braging rights, my puzzle didn't even finish loading until 20 minutes after 1. Here is something to chew on, why did Google/Sony make the final puzzle an observation challenge which has one unique answer. If they would have made the last puzzle a curator, restoration, or symbol challenge we wouldn't be having this discussion.

When it's all said and done though, I'm not mad at Google or anymore frustrated with Sony than I was before I started the quest. I am still delighted in the fact that they came up with idea for the quest in the first place. I know its frustrating having spent the time completing all of the puzzles only to find out your prize is a discount for Da Vinci Code merchandise, but hey things could be worse, right?

Honestly, the Eurostarquest is 1000 times better than the Google Quest in my opinion, even though the prizes may not be as grand, the puzzles are better.

Oh, and what is way better than tagging? Notebooking!!! Check out Google's new notebook service. This is what I've been waiting for and why I love Google. They just need to allow public comments on the notes. Here is a link to my public notebook.

Final Strategy Advice

2006-05-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

A lot of you have been asking what I am going to do for the finalists. I am more than happy to try and help someone win the Grand Prize, so let me know what you need me to do.

To make this managable, if you have information that is helpful and you would like it contained in a blog post, please email me the information directly to davincicodequest@gmail.com with a subject line finalinfo.

What would I do if I were in your shoes. Well first I would tell you that I can generalize the finalists into 3 categories, and they are:

1. Those who could care less if they win the grand prize.

2. Those who don't really care if they win the grand prize, but will try hard now that they have been given the opportunity.

3. Those who will do anything to win the grand prize.

Now, if someone from the blog wants to win I suggest the following. Order the finalists in each group ( IE. group 1. (1, 2, 3..., n) followed by group 2. (n+1, n+2, n+3, ..., m), followed by group 3. (m, m+1, m+2, m+3, ..., l). Each of you should play the puzzle one at a time according to your numbering and then report back your findings to the blog.

The first group, since they don't mind to sacarifice in order to benefit the whole, should take their time and take down as much detail (in the form of questions asked and screenshots) as possible.

The second group should work from the knowlege gained from the first group and play the puzzles as quick as possible, but if new information can be gathered that would be beneficial to the whole, the second group will stop and take the time to collect that data rather than just pushing through to try and finish quickly.

The final group of finalists should take the time to read through all of the material and information provided by the first two groups and then play the challenges as quickly as possible. It might also be beneficial the third group of finalists to start a chat room on an IRC server (or msn conference or something of that nature) and then schedule a time to meet. But how beneficial that would be depends on if the answers require research.

Here is how I see it. If the answers are such that there is an answer that can be provided from memory, everyone has lost to that one person, that Ken Jennings out there. If it is one that can be deduced by formula or must be acquired through research, then you might find it helpful to have more than one person working on the problem with you. If it is a simple chess game, you will probably lose to a Grand Master.

Good Luck Everyone! Let me know how I can help. Don't forget about the Eurostar quest, see http://eurostarquest.blogspot.com for more details.

NOT A FINALIST - The Da Vinci Code Quest on Google

2006-05-16T05:06:00.000-07:00

Late last night everyone received their emails. As expected, I of course got my NOT A FINALIST email. I am going to try to keep everyone up to date on the Final challenge. I can't post strategy details at this very moment, but I will do my best to get to it around noon today.

Also, for those of you sending me emails with information, thank you, please continue to do so at davincicodequest@gmail.com. I am working hard to try and get all of your comments and links onto the blog. Moving forward please use the subject line "readmenow" for emails that are time sensitive or emails that have content you want added into a post. Thanks!!!

This web page from Steven has great information on how to re-code your cryptex, that is if you are lucky enough to have a cryptex. I also got your Not a Finalist and Finalist emails. Thanks for sending them. More to come later. Thanks for all the input.

Summary of Finalists Comments

2006-05-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

First off, let clear up any confusion by saying, nobody has recieved the official email from Google. I personally think sending an email would have been a boring way to disclose the winners, and I am pleased that Google notified the 10,000 finalists via the U.S. Postal Service.

Let me digress for a moment to say, if you haven't read The Fred Factor, by Mark Sanborn with a forward by John C. Maxwell, pick up it from amazon for 9.72 cents. It is a true story about Fred, and his life and work as a U.S. Postal employee.

Here goes my synopsis of the 300+ posts we've had today:

Jayshree was the first GoogleFactor to notify us of the cryptex distribution via U.S. Mail.

Phi told us know that using a PO Box does not eliminate you, despite what the rules stated. You will still receive a cryptex if you are one of the 10,000 finalists.

tait2001 let us know that if you didn't finish it (The Da Vinci Code Quest), it's your own fault.

Net Man was the first to find a cryptex on ebay here currently selling for 55.95 with 1 bidder.

A number of GoogleFact readers have accused a number of other GoogleFact readers of lying, only to find out later they wern't actually lying, and consequently apologizing profusley.

I've hypothesized that no one will no how many of the mailed cryptex prizes mailed were lost (cough, cough, stolen ehhemm) in mailing.

We've all concluded that Google has sent absolutely zero emails confirming the finalists.

Idreamincode supplied us with some great images at his website. Here is one of them, copied without permission.

Now everyone go over and start the Eurostar quest with me. The url for the blog is http://eurostarquest.blogspot.com. Congratulations to everyone who received a cryptex. For those of you who didn't get one, feel comfort in the fact that at least one other person didn't get one, that person being myself. Cheers!

If Your a Real DVC Finalist, Please Stand Up

2006-05-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

For all of you finalist out there, today is the day you have all been waiting for, the release of your anxiety. I haven't had the luxery of feeling that way, since I already know I've been excluded from the list thanks to what I am calling the "Da Vinci Hoax" aka "Poor Load Balancing". But for the rest of ya's, go ahead and gloat in your glory and let everyone know you made it.

Also, someone forward me a copy of their email so I can post it for all to see. Email it to davincicodequest@gmail.com Thanks!!

And don't forget to check our the next quest we are all participating in called the Eurostar quest. You can find out more about the quest at this blog (yes, I am the publisher of that blog, so join up and let's do another quest together)

The Eurostar Quest

2006-05-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

I created the Eurostar Da Vinci Code Quest Blog at http://eurostarquest.blogspot.com/ Nothing much there but tell me what you think of the template and also post preliminary comments to the initial post. I will be back to comment more after I have finished moving. Thanks for understanding my absense. Look forward to hearing from everyone.

The First Email and The New Challenge

2006-05-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Everybody received the following email (including me):

Thank you for participating in "The Da Vinci Code" Quest on Google.This email is to confirm that you have completed all 24 puzzles within the quest and successfully registered for a chance to participate in the final challenge. Well done!We will be contacting the 10,000 finalists on Monday 5/15 via email regarding their cryptex shipment. Within that email the 10,000 finalists will also receive instructions on how to participate in the final challenge.All remaining players who finished the quest will also receive a surprise message via email.Thank you all for participating in "The Da Vinci Code" Quest on Google and making it such a success. We hope you enjoyed playing.The Da Vinci Code In Theaters 5/19
------------------------------------------------------------
You are receiving this email as part of your participation in THE DA VINCI CODE QUEST ON GOOGLE.

So we are all finalists’ right? Afraid not. You won't know if you’re a finalist until 5/15 as stated in the original rules and this new email.

If your in my dingy, you'll be receiving the oh so special "surprise message". Alternatively, if you’re on the other ship you'll be receiving instructions for phase 2. I am personally looking forward to my surprise message which will probably say something like "Great job, now visit this link from Sony's website" which will then redirect you to a page that says "go pay $9.00 to see the Da Vinci code".

In the mean time I am thinking we get started on the eurostar quest (thanks for the link arttxgirl). I am going to find out more details about the quest and fill ya'll in on it shortly. I am thinking that I will need to create a quest oriented blog for this rather than using this googlefact blog. I do also happen to have this davinci quest blog which I could use, but I was also thinking about using a different service as opposed to using blogger.

Also, I am going to be moving this weekend. If everything goes well I will only be out of Internet service for 1 day. But if for some reason you don't hear from me, you'll know what happened. So I need to know:

1. How many people want to do the eurostar quest together? (Respond Yes, No, Maybe)

2. If you respond yes, should I create a new blog (if so should I use blogger?) or should I use the other blog I have? If your response is no, what do you suggest we do instead?

Finally, keep submitting links to blogs or websites that you want to promote, but please also do me the following good turn. If the link you are promoting has any form of the word porn in it (ie pr0n p0rn porn pizzorn nrop) or any other form of the word you can fabricate, don't bother posting it. I don't want to have to waste my time deleting the comment. No offense to your good intentions, but the internet has enough junk on it without my blog adding to the chaos. Thanks!!

One last note: It might not be a bad idea to visit google analytics and sign up for an invitation. It will only take you a moment (since you have a Google Account now) and if you happen to get one fairly soon they are selling for $100+ on ebay. And the interesting part is that until Google opens up the tool to the general public, $100 is a small price to pay considering the tool's value to a webmaster.

Thanks for Everything

2006-05-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

The Da Vinci Code Quest is over for some of us (that blasted flash loading page is going to haunt me for weeks), and almost over for the rest of ya's, but it has been a fun ride for all. I am flattered by the dozens of emails and comments that you have sent and posted telling me how much you appreciate this blog.

This post is to thank everyone who participated in this blog over the past 24 days. This blog wouldn't have been much without your comments and thoughts along the way. This quest has brought together an extraordinary group of people in a quest to collectively conquerer a unique challenge. My only regret after these 24 days with all of you is that I have not been able to think of, or find, another quest for all of us to participate in as a community. How can we continue this fun? Any thoughts?

Also, send me your websites / blogs so that we can share them. I have already highlighted Krupo's Blog (accounting / photos / funnies) and Brotherj's Blog ( Da Vinci Controversy). I will filter the links so you don't have to. Thanks again for everything!

The Da Vinci Code Quest / Google Fact Stats

2006-05-10T18:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the GoogleFact blog stats for The Da Vinci Code Challenge (excluding today's 9,000+ hits) I know some of you were wondering about these numbers and others could care less.

I was asked to clarify the finalist status. Nobody has received any notice from Google. If they had, they would have posted the content of the email in one of the 400+ comments we had today or at least notified me via email. All we can do is wait right now, I imagine Google is trying to sort out the mess they are in with all of the problems they had today. I encountered 3 different error messages myself in the first 10 minutes after the puzzle's release today.

Here is what will probably happen, transparent to Da Vinci Quest players. Google will probably go back and look at logs and determine which 10,000 players were the fastest to finish the puzzles regardless of what messages were displayed. Whatever you do, don't let it bother you, it is only a game. Yes I know it's fun to win games, but there are a lot more important things to worry about in this life then this quest. So don't let the man (or in this case Google's lack of preparation) get you down.

Finally, I need to thank both WRfly10 and Kate for so kindly offering up their cryptex and also an opportunity to play phase 2 of the challenge. As I mentioned in a previous post, if I would have won the cryptex it probably would have ended up on Ebay, so go ahead and keep it guys, but I do appreciate the generousity and unselfish spirit. I would like to at least post the questions from the final challenge so do keep me informed as that process evolves.

This type of thoughtful unselfish giving is something that is rarely displayed in our modern day world. Everybody and everything is cut throat, take what you can get and get what you can take. We do not often consider others before ourselves or give gifts out of the kindness of our hearts, just for the sake of giving it (as opposed to giving a gift for a tax break or birthdays) So thank you for your example WRfly10 and Kate, I hope we can all learn something from your examples. Alright enough of the emotions, you were wanting some facts.

April 17th - May 9th  (Excluding the

final challenge day, May 10th)


Total Visits: 72,344
Avg Daily Visits: 3,145

Pageviews: 188,911
Avg Daily Pageviews: 8,213

Unique Visitors: 60,208
Avg Daily Unique Vistors: 2,617


Browsers  Visits
Internet Explorer 39009
Firefox   28393
Safari   3085
Opera   689
Netscape  555
Mozilla   377
Camino   174
gzip   34
Mozilla Compatible Agent13
Konqueror  6

Top Content      Uniq. Views Pageviews
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-8-of-24.html 5167  7573
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-10-of-24.html 4756  6545
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-7-of-24.html 3607  5148
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-3-of-24.html 3539  5412
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-2-of-24.html 3432  4484
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-12-of-24.html 3188  5216
da-vinci-code-quest-solution-1-of-24.html 3119  3696

Geo Location

Country/Region/City P/Visit
United States 51196
United Kingdom 8838
Australia 4129
Canada 1859
India 413
Netherlands 354
Israel 306
New Zealand 270
Brazil 241
Portugal 228
Singapore 220
Mexico 219
(not set) 212
Ireland 211
France 210
Hong Kong 204
Malaysia 200
Germany 168
Argentina 168
Italy 147
Turkey 147
Sweden 130
Belgium 125
Denmark 118
Spain 112
Philippines 111
Taiwan 111
Korea  Republic of 98
Russian Federation 90
Japan 82
Greece 78
Puerto Rico 67
Venezuela 65
Ukraine 63
Romania 63
Finland 62
Thailand 60
Switzerland 50
Chile 49
Czech Republic 49
Poland 45
United Arab Emirates 42
Egypt 35
Yugoslavia 35
Bulgaria 35
Peru 35
Lithuania 35
Colombia 32
Cyprus 29
Norway 29
Slovakia 27
Indonesia 25
Europe 24
Hungary 24
Satellite Provider 24
Jordan 20
South Africa 20
Slovenia 19
Bermuda 19
Macedonia 17
Dominican Republic 17
Austria 14
Costa Rica 14
Macau 12
Iceland 11
Bolivia 11
Malta 11
Guatemala 10
Bahrain 10
Croatia 9
Jamaica 9
Uruguay 9
Estonia 9
Virgin Islands  U.S. 7
Oman 7
Iran  Islamic Republic of 7
Azerbaijan 6
Bangladesh 5
El Salvador 5
Kuwait 5
Bosnia and Herzegovina 4
Latvia 4
Barbados 4
Sri Lanka 4
Fiji 3
Qatar 3
Syrian Arab Republic 3
Netherlands Antilles 3
Pakistan 3
Vietnam 3
Guam 3
Kenya 2
Andorra 2
Guyana 2
Anonymous Proxy 2
Saudi Arabia 2
Trinidad and Tobago 2
Palestinian Territory 2
Brunei Darussalam 1
Algeria 1
Luxembourg 1
Sierra Leone 1
Lebanon 1
Nigeria 1
Morocco 1
Cameroon 1
Cambodia 1
Panama 1
Nicaragua 1

Finalist Post

2006-05-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

If you made it as a finalist you can use this post to comment on phase 2.

By the way, I think we can all agree this contest came down to some manner of luck rather than knowledge or skill. Even though I didn't make it as a finalist, due to technical difficulties on Google's part, I still enjoyed playing and discussing the quest.

Good Luck to all of the finalists!!

I doub't this means anything at this point but here it is. I am sure they will go back and look at time submissions. And since my original submission errored, I am doubtful of actually being a finalist. But, keep trying to re-register if you didn't get the following screen. Maybe you'll get lucky.

If you want to play one of the puzzles again but noticed that you can't, try this link from Sagron (Thanks!!)

http://www.google.com/ig/davinci/puzzle.html?puzzle=1
(add 1-24 to the end)

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (24 of 24)

2006-05-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

Well thats it for me guys. I didn't make it thanks to my puzzle freezing half way 3 times during loading. The answers were

2

so dark the con of man

madonna of the rocks

Congrats to all who made it. Sorry for those who didn't, but hey it's just a game. If you are a finalist congrats. Email me if you want me to post something. (Oh and as a consolation price for me, help a brother out and click on a link)

Update: Based off of the findings from this post, I am going to assume the questions and answers are:

1. Cryptography is all about noticing numbers and patterns. Here's a simple one to start with: how many glass panes are visible on each of the doors to Sir Teabing's mansion? 9

2. Although it refers to words not spoken, we hear it spoken three times. What is that word? secret

3. This final question will really test your powers of observation. What is the name of the character shown holding a votive candle holder? Silas

If the questions are not the above (which is very possible). I will repost the actual answers as I discover or get word of them. If however those are the correct answers, type fast.

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Here it is guys, the 24th consecutive and final post for The Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge. I know that a few of the GoogleFact readers think that provided the last answer isn't fair, and that's O.K. I am hoping that Google and Sony are smart enough to make the last question completely random, which is the only way to make the challenge completely "fair", but if they don't, as Mr. Reichard always said, "Soooo Sorry". Don't worry about the other blogs doing the same thing, I check them everyday and they are always 30 minutes or more behind this blog. Enough about that though and we’re moving on to the next topics.

Procedure: Find Solution, Fill out completion form, Post Solution on GoogleFact (For more on that read my previous post)

Hint: We are thinking that this video will be the video used for today's final challenge. For those of you who are trying to be honest and fair, don't click on that link until after 1 P.M.

Comment: There is also a big hubbabaloo going around about the Christianity / Da Vinci Code theory. Even Tom Hanks has had to formally address this issue. While you are waiting for the final puzzle to release, have a look at this GoogleFact reader's thoughts on the subject. It's a quick read and worth the time.

Advice: Good Luck and Refresh this page repeatedly at 1 PM

Afterword: Visit again later today or tomorrow to find out who has qualified as a finalist and read my post detailing this blogs unique visits/page views statistics during the challenge.

Final Thought: Post your solution to the 24th challenge in the comments to this post.

How to be a Finalist and Win a Cryptex

2006-05-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we've all made it here, to the 24th and last day of puzzles. Everybody wants to know how to finish this series of challenges, qualify as a finalist, and have a chance at the Grand Prize. Heck, I want to be a finalist, not so much for the cryptex (which I may pawn on Ebay), but just to blog about the final challenge. So let's break it down.

Am I going to post the solution to the challenge? Yes, and before you go all Jackie Chan on me let me explain.

1. The final challenge is going to be an observation challenge. Each observation challenge thus far has been a series of 3 questions, each having a single correct response. Further these questions have been consistant for all of us, meaning my correct response was also your correct response. It would not surprise me if Google changes the question format for the final challenge, but assumming that they stay consistant, sharing the solution will benefit all (see 2. for why).

2. There has been an average of 4,500 readers per day for this blog with a peak of 7,500 in any one day. Both of those numbers are significantly less than 10,000 available finalist spots, especially considering that the total has to be distributed across US, UK, and AU. So assuming that we work together to solve the answer quickly, every GoogleFact reader would qualify as a finalist for the challenge. For those of you wondering how I know those statistics see Google Analytics

3. You have nothing to lose by sharing the solution. If you already have the solution, then you know sharing the solution won't diminsh your chance of being a finalist. On the other hand, if you don't have the answer, somebody sharing the solution on this blog may increase your chance of being a finalist. Consequently, working together collectively increases all of our chances of qualifying.

Now, what do you do once you have the solution?

1. If a participant correctly answers all 24 Daily Puzzles at any time before the Phase 1 Deadline, he/she will be immediately directed to the Daily Puzzle completion form ("Puzzle Completion Form"). The Puzzle Completion Form asks the participant to submit the Google ID the participant used to access the Daily Puzzles. ONCE PARTICIPANT FILLS IN HIS/HER GOOGLE ID AND CLICKS "SUBMIT" ON THE PUZZLE COMPLETION FORM, HIS/HER SUBMISSION WILL BE TIME-STAMPED AND WILL BE DEEMED PARTICIPANT'S OFFICIAL PUZZLE COMPLETION TIME ("PUZZLE COMPLETION TIME").

2. AFTER A PARTICIPANT HAS SUBMITTED HIS/HER PUZZLE COMPLETION FORM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES, THE PARTICIPANT WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DIRECTED TO A SEPARATE CONTEST ENTRY FORM ("CONTEST ENTRY FORM") WHICH THE PARTICIPANT MUST COMPLETE CORRECTLY AND IN FULL BY THE PHASE 1 DEADLINE IN ORDER TO BE DEEMED A POTENTIAL FINALIST. CONTEST ENTRY FORM WILL BE TIME-STAMPED AND WILL BE DEEMED PARTICIPANT'S OFFICIAL CONTEST ENTRY TIME ("CONTEST ENTRY TIME").

So tell me again, how do I win the cryptex and become a finalist?

THE DETERMINATION OF WHICH PARTICIPANTS ARE DEEMED POTENTIAL FINALISTS ELIGIBLE TO CONTINUE TO THE FINAL PHASE OF THE CONTEST DEPENDS ON HOW SOON EACH PARTICIPANT WHO HAS SOLVED ALL 24 DAILY PUZZLES CORRECTLY SUBMITS HIS/HER CORRECTLY FILLED OUT PUZZLE COMPLETION FORM AND THEREAFTER SUBMITS A CONTEST ENTRY FORM.

Click Here For The Official Rules (US) Click Here For The Prizes (US)
Click Here For The Official Rules (UK) Click Here For The Prizes (UK)
Click Here For The Official Rules (AU) Click Here For The Prizes (AU)

Good Luck Everyone! I will be creating the post for the final solution early in the day tomorrow. I will also recap what I have discussed in this post. See you tomorrow.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (23 of 24)

2006-05-09T09:43:00.000-07:00

Solutions. Congrats to Alice in some crazy land for being first in a super stunning time of 6 minutes. What is this observation challenge for the last puzzle? That to me is puzzling, any comments?

Surely you recognize the city of lights. Yea of course, I look at a satallite image of it every night before bed. Paris.

The sequence of numbers 0, 1, 4, 9. That's more up my alley. Sequence of Squares.

Here we are at the second to last challenge. I wreckon it has been a good journey for all. It has been a bit tedious at times, keeping up with these everyday, but I'm certian a lot of us will miss it when it's all said and done.

Please read over my earlier post and make a few suggestions for future topics for this blog. You can also check the archives to see previous posts I've made like this one about Google Video.

Post your solution to the 2nd to last phase I challenge in the comments below this post.If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

Tonight I will be making an additional post outlining everything you need to know to be one of the 10,000 finalists. Good Luck with today's observation (huh.. observation last how annoying) cancel geography challenge.

Having Withdraw From The Da Vinci Code Quest?

2006-05-09T00:10:00.000-07:00

I know that many of you are not going to know what to do with yourselves after The Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge is over, and that's O.K. I also know that many of you will never visit this blog again, and that's O.K. too. But, for those of you who want to know more about the company that helped make this quest possible (or who just want to read about a topic of your choice), listen up.

I will blog about any topic that you request in the comments to this post. If you have been wondering about one of those Google products or services but wern't sure exactly how to use it or why they even created it, I will answer any and all of those questions.

I have created a short list of Google's products and services for you to choose from, but feel free to suggest any topic even if it is not on the list below. It doesn't even need to be Google related for that matter, although it would be nice since this blog is titled GoogleFact. Let me know what you want to read about and I will write about it.

Google AdSense Google AdWords Google Analytics Google Answers Google Base Google Blog Search Google Bookmarks Google Books Search Google Calendar Google Catalogs Google Code Google Deskbar Google Desktop Google Directory Google Earth Google Finance Google Groups Google Images Google Labs Google Local Google Maps Google Mars Google Mobile Google Moon Google Movies Google News Google Pack Google Personalized HomePage Google Personalized Search Google Reader Google Scholar Google Search History Google SMS Google Suggest Google Talk Google Toolbar Google Transit Trip Planner Google Translate Google Web Accelerator Google Web API Google Web Search Gmail Okrut Writely Picasa Hello Google Video

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (22 of 24)

2006-05-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Annie who arrived at the solution first, and very quickly I might add. This chess challenge was again very simple. I will be making another post this evening detailing the topics of this blog for the days following The Da Vinci Code Quest.

The solution for today's puzzle is as follows:

"The leading member of the Priory of Sion is called:" The Nautonnier

"Which of these men was not rumored to be a Priory of Sion member?" Nicolas Poussin

"What is the name of the ancient Egyption goddess of fertility?" Isis

Post your solution to the 22nd challenge in the comments below this post.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (21 of 24)

2006-05-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

This was by far the easiest challenge to date. I will be making three posts over the next three days.

The first post will give you the statistics of this blog over the 24 days of the Da Vinci Code Quest. So if you are wondering how many people are in pursuit of one of those treasured prize items, you'll be interested in this post.

The next post will be about the last day of the puzzle. If your wondering if we will give or not give out the solution to the last puzzle, you'll want to read this one.

And finally, what are we to do after the quest is over. I will blog about any topic of your choosing. If it is related to Google that would be even better, but I won't put any restrictions on it. If there is something you have always been wondering about related to Google, you will want to read and comment on this post.

My question was about the Bishop of Cavaillon. What was the reason for the second present? dog See this link. Congratulations to David who solved this challenge in the quickest time.

Post your solution to the 21st challenge in the comments below this post.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (20 of 24)

2006-05-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

I hope everybody is alive and well after Cinco de Mayo. It has been extreamly busy and I haven't been able to put enough time into the last few posts. I am hoping that I will be able to conclude these final posts with as much vigor and energy as I had when this all started 20 days ago.

Thanks goes to all of you who have participated in the fun by sharing your comments and solutions throughout the challenges. We are getting closer as there only 4 more puzzles left after today. I am going to make some comments about the final days of this challenge that I think everyone will be interested to read, so visit again tomorrow to see how we are going to conclude these 24 days together.

The trick to today's restoration challenge is to work from the inside out leaving a few of the outer pieces to save you at the end since they are all clumped in the middle.

My question after I restored the painting was:

"Leonardo da Vinci's painting of The Adoration of the Magi hangs in the Royal Uffizi Gallery in Florence.What is the catalogue number in the 1890 catalogue of the museum?" 1252. The exact link for my answer was on this page. In general, you can try this link from zGerman (see comments) to find your answer.

Post your solution to the 20th challenge in the comments below this post.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (19 of 24)

2006-05-05T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today's puzzle is the first of the final level of difficulty. The symbol challenge increased from a 5 x 5 x 5 to a 6 x 6 x 6 which made the challenge no more difficult then prior challenges. The puzzle difficulty is completly dependent upon the starting pieces you are given. I have been able to work most of these puzzles without having to guess any of the symbol placements.

My solution to today's puzzle is below.

During his Italian Journeys William Dean Howelss enjoys a beefsteak and potatoes with a half-bottle of what kind of wine? Ligurian

Post your solution to today's challenge in the comments below this post.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (18 of 24)

2006-05-04T09:54:00.000-07:00

Today's challenge proved to be a difficult one for many. After the multi-multi-part solution, you were able to complete the quest and move on to the next puzzle. Here is a screenshot of the final solution (the fourth blade is at the very top of the puzzle, you can see I have circled it with a red line).

After compiling the pieces of the puzzle you are asked "Leonardo's reverse-handwriting manuscript on perpetual motion wheels can be found in this city. What is its name?(For another clue, Hyde in the north.)" The answer is London.

After finding the blades (see image above) you are asked, "You have found all four blades, and lo! they draw an X over a place just slightly north of the Victoria and Albert Museum, home of Leonardo's Codex Forster. What is its name?" Imperial College

The first GoogleFact reader to answer today's challenge was Ming Su, congratulations Ming.

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Now I will make two predictions. First, I won't be the quickest to finish today's challenge. Second, in the near future Google will annouce that they will have a new service http://magazines.google.com. Those are my predictions for this, the 4th day of May, in the year 2000 and 6.

Post your solution to today's Geography challenge in the comments below this post.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

GoogleFact SketchUp Challenge

2006-05-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

This is the official post for the GoogleFact SketchUp challenge. This challenge is for those of you that have said, or thought, that the Google Da Vinci Code Quest challenge has been to easy. Now I realize that this is not related to the Da Vinci Code, but it is related to Google and it is a bit of a challenge to create a model in SketchUp. For the rest of the details on the challenge see this post.

Here are the submissions that I have already received. You can email your solution to davincicodequest@gmail.com or you can leave a link in the comment to this post. I will add the images to this list as I receive them. Thanks for participating and I look forward to seeing a bunch more great models. If you wish to send a link with your images I will be happy to add a link back to your site. For more information on Google and SketchUp see Google's announcement here. (Click on the images below to see the full size images)

PHIL

GOOGLE FACT

ARTEMIY

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (17 of 24)

2006-05-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's comments were a little weak and I am guessing that was for 1 of 2 reasons. Either the challenge was simple and the solution was the same for everybody, or I scared you off with the whole SketchUp topic. Hopefully it was the first and not the second, so continute to submit your solutions for puzzle 17 in the comments to these posts. First I'll post the solution to today's challenge and then I have a comment for those of you who are timid about the SketchUp challenge.

I dislike the observation challenge because of the video you have to watch, but here is the link to the video that you may have to watch about Sir Leigh Teabing. O.K. I came in third!! (and I may or may not have looked at Artemiy's answers). Steve and Artemiy or super quick on the solutions everyday so if you don't have a lot of time some days (ehh hemmm cough cough) GoogleFact will always have the solutions quickly (Thanks Guys!!).

The questions and answers are as follows:

"Speaking of fascinating characters, there's only one letter in the entire video that is clearly written in lower-case. What is that letter?" f

"In just one word, the noble Sir Leigh describes the pursuit that both he and you are on. What is that word?" quest

"And to bring this back to the topic of movie spectacles, how many times is Sir Leigh shown wearing his? His spectacles, that is." 7

Now, continuing from above, if it was in fact the SketchUp challenge that scared everybody off from posting comments, have no fear. Check out this model from a GoogleFact reader. I was amazed by this 3D SketchUp, have a look for yourself.

See, it can be done! If you want help using sketchUp, I can post a short tutorial on it in the next few days. If you are already a SketchUp expert, let's see some of those images. I am also going to create a post just for SketchUp, so be on the lookout for that post as I will have more images (from differant angles) of the above model.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (16 of 24)

2006-05-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

Congrats to AC who solved the chess puzzle in lighting speed. My offer is still on the table for a free link to the website of your chosing (it could be a nonprofit link). Since today's puzzle, the 16th puzzle released for the Da Vinci Code Quest was so simple I am going to add my very own SketchUp challenge solution to this post. The SketchUp challenge is not a timed challenge and is a lot of fun so think about participating, see my last post for the details. First today's questions and answers. (bahh, sorry for the delay I am still having trouble uploading images to blogger POC so it is taking longer to get these posted)

"The Louvre's famous Pyramid was designed by:" I.M. Pei

"What French king built the the Louvre?" Phillip II Augustus

"Which of these people in history never set foot in Notre Dame?" Pope Leo IX

Now for my solution to the all original SketchUp challenge from yesterday. Here is my best rendition of my dream home in SketchUp. Send your solution to davincicodequest@gmail.com or post a link in the comment of this post. I'll make reference to it in future posts.

Do you like it? I thought it was pretty good myself, but of course I have a biased opinion. Also, did you know you can integrate these 3D objects right into Google Earth? I know, I love Google too. Until tomorrow, keep leaving those comments, completing those challenges, and clicking on those . Well, I'll let you finish that sentence.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.
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Submit your solution for puzzle 16 in the comments to this post. I look forward to seeing who can solve this challenge the fastest. I will be posting my solution to yesterday's side challenge for all of you today also, so keep an eye out for that.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (15 of 24)

2006-05-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

Another easy challenge from Google and Sony. For those of you wondering, yes I did finish some time ago, but blogger wouldn't let me upload an image right (among other problems I have been having with blogger). For some reason, especially around 1 PM, I have a lot of trouble making blogger work for me. So I just went ahead and hosted the image off of my webserver, what a pain.

Well I thought Google was going to make these challenges more difficult but apparently I was wrong. So, to make up for the lack of difficulty, I have another fun, but more difficult, challenge for everyone. First let me post my solution for today's puzzle.

My question after I created my masterpiece was, "Translate light to french". I used http://www.googlefact.com/examples/sms.html and typed in the search box "translate light from english to french" to get 'light' in English means 'lumiere' in French.

My side challenge that I mentioned above is the following. Back in March Google acquired Last Software and their flagship product SketchUp. SketchUp is a neat little 3D modeling tool that is very powerful, yet very simple to use. Google recently made a free version available to the general public (see this post for more details). My challenge is to see who can create the best 3D model of their current living quarters using SketchUp. So get your creative juices flowing, download this free software from Google (you won't regret it), and let's see some 3D buildings.

I will create a new post over the next few days where you can leave a link to your image. Or if you email them to davincicodequest@gmail.com I will host them for you (don't worry I won't give away any of your personal information or post your email address).

-----

Submit your solution for puzzle 15 in the comments to this post. I look forward to seeing who can solve this challenge the fastest. I also have another side challenge coming up for all of you today or tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (14 of 24)

2006-04-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

I finished second today. Congratulations Micheal for solving the challenge the quickest.

My question "Translate nzm from Atbash to English" 'nzm' in Atbash means 'man' in English.

How did I get that answer? Try GoogleFact SMS or see the comments for details on the Atbash cipher.

Syntax: translate nzm from Atbash to English

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (13 of 24)

2006-04-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

The symbol challenge did not increase in difficulty today as suspected. I was able to solve the puzzle with no mistakes. I hope the same was true for you.

Lets see how many differant screenshots we can collect today of solved puzzles. Before you place your last piece into the puzzle take a print screen of your puzzle and post a link to the image in the comments. If you need me to host the image file, just send it to me in an email davincicodequest@gmail.com. Here is mine.

My question was, "Translate aringhe from Italian to English." The answer was herrings.

I finished 2nd today after David. Congrats David, and send me a link if you want me to include one in this post. Look forward to seeing you all again for tomorrow's challenge. What are we all going to do when we don't have these puzzles to put together everyday?

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Today we will complete the 13th challenge, the 3rd symbol challenge, and the 1st challenge in the 3rd level of difficulty. I am still challenging everyone to see who can come up with the answer the quickest today. For the Grand Prize of today's competition, I will add a link to your website (or a website of your choosing) in my post. I know that is a weak Grand Prize but hey it is just for fun anyways right.

Also, I have a bonus question to answer. What do the numbers that are in bold (above) have in common? (Hint: related to the Da Vinci Code).

Good Luck Everyone!

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (12 of 24)

2006-04-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

Everyone did a great job with the puzzle today, and a few of you were able to solve the puzzle before I could. Congrats to Steve who was the first to officially post the solution including a screenshot! This geography challenge was a fun challenge today that included a game of Where’s is Waldo at the end. After you put the puzzle pieces together you will see a satellite view of ...? Rome

And for the Where’s Waldo (The Greek Cross) part check out the tip of that big red arrow. Well we are officially half way through the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge. For those of you who are concerned that you won't win a prize because we are giving away freebies, have no fears.

I anticipate everyone making it to the 23rd challenge without a problem. We have already discussed that the puzzles are not intended to be terribly difficult. Sony wants to keep people interested in the movie, remember this is ultimately a marketing technique. I will not post my answer to the 24th puzzle until after the contest is over.

See everyone tomorrow same time, same place, same game.

-----

Yesterday I did a little trash talking in a comment on my last post. I realized after reading the comment that some of you may have taken it the wrong way. If so, please accept my apology. My intention was simply to give you a little extra challenge.

The extra challenge is to see who can come up with the answer the quickest. Now if you can't get to the puzzle right at 1 PM you can still participate in this challenge (but no cheating). Just leave your solution and the time it took you to solve the puzzle in a comment and we'll see who was able to come up with the solution to the geography challenge the quickest.

Also, another Da Vinci Code related puzzle was brought to my attention yesterday (see the comments on my last post). But, unfortunately that puzzle has already been solved (see the comments on my last post).

If you find an interesting puzzle/challenge for GoogleFact readers, feel free to leave a comment to that accord. Also, if you need extra help on any of the puzzles or you have a question you can contact me at davincicodequest@gmail.com.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (11 of 24)

2006-04-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

Here we go again, 11 down 13 to go. Today's challenge, my favorite type, the chess challenge, was a bit knotty today, just kidding. Google Common!! People are going to stop visiting my blog for solutions if you make the questions so dang simple!! And then I won't have raised any money for my college tuition!! What is that about?

Chess is the greatest board game on earth, well after shoots and ladders, oh and Candy Land. So practice up on your chess with this challenge since the questions were so retardedly simple. It took me longer to type this up (way longer) than to answer those questions.

If you still need the answers, I won't let you down.

"A word that can be read the same backwards and forwards is called?" A palindrome

"Jacques Sauniere's body was found in which part of the Louvre? The Denon Wing

"The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog is an example of" A pangram

I wonder how many of Google's PhD's it took to come up with these questions? Maybe that will be tomorrows question. My answer would be zero for that question. These questions were probably created by 10 of Sony's smartest executives. Way to go guys!! Just Joking again...

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (10 of 24)

2006-04-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks, the 10th puzzle and solution. The difficulty of the puzzle definitely increased today. The questions were vague and the answers required some finesse to get them worded in the correct form. For instance, I am certain most of you saw the first answer in the video, but weren’t exactly sure what shape or word properly described the object. For the second question, more than likely your first guess was water which would have been wrong, and by the third question you were probably just stumped and irritated.

A seemingly-important stone object is extracted from the ground by Silas.
What is its shape? Octagon

An interesting viewpoint is that vantage point from which we last see Silas.
What is the last thing we see him touch? Holy Water

During the action in the video, we see many things shattered and destroyed, but what is it that will ultimately be broken? Silence

I apologize for not being able to actively participate in today's challenge due to the circumstances mentioned earlier. I also want to apologize for closing the comments down to registered users only. Please do consider registering to continue participating in the commentary and sharing your solutions with other readers (it only takes a few seconds to register).

I also need to thank the loyal visitors who promptly stepped up and kindly submitted the answers for the puzzles. Specifically I want to thank mcian for providing the first two answers, and Nicholas Ramey for providing the answer to the third question shortly after my original post. Thanks Guys!!

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (9 of 24)

2006-04-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ok. I know I am late today, I had another lunch meeting (Yes I do have a day job). So I'll make this short and sweet and possibly do an update with some more information in a few minutes. Is anybody bored with these puzzles?

Coming from Google I was expected a highly academic challenge. Looks like instead Sony has turned this into a big marketing campaign. Why am I even supporting something from sony? Aren't they the ones who installed rootkits on all of our computers? Alright, enough about that, here is what you came to see.

My question after I hung the paintings was, "What month was Jean Cocteau born in?" And my answer was July. See this link. Please share your questions and solutions in the comments for others.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (8 of 24)

2006-04-24T08:50:00.000-07:00

I thought these puzzles were supposed to be getting harder? Here we are on the 8th puzzle and I solved this one in the shortest time yet. Literally less than 2 minutes and that’s including flash loading/animation time. Of course I did get quite lucky and solved the debris puzzle on my first try.

My question was San [blank] and my hint was ISBN 0472113011. After a quick book search I had the answer in the title of the only search result. I personally don’t like this particular puzzle (the peg jump game revisited). Leave me a comment with your final questions and answers.

Sorry for the delay in posting Blogger has been Blogged down today and I could not publish any new content. See this post for more details on the status of blogger.

If you are looking for more information on the Da Vinci Code Quest Challenge visit Google's Official Blog for more details.

My Two Adsense

2006-04-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

The next time you visit a website or blog, think about visiting their advertising sponsors. Visit those sponsors websites with an open mind to the products or services they may be offering. You may find it to be an enlightening experience, or you may find nothing at all.

I know from experience however, that it takes less than a few min to determine if the advertiser’s content is of value or of interest. However, by visiting the advertisers content you will have created revenue that fuels the economy of the Internet, and for that all publishers are grateful.

One of Google’s greatest accomplishments thus far, is the development and promotion of Adwords and Adsense, which allows small website owners / bloggers to increase traffic to, and generate revenue from, their published content. The Internet’s economy is much like that of the U.S. economy in the sense that it is comprised primarily of small website (business) owners. The content that these small publishers create has proven to be a valuable part of the Internet and it is the advertising programs like Adsense that allow these small website owners to survive among bigger sites with deeper pockets.

So, the next time you see an unobtrusive advertisement on a website, don’t think of it as the enemy, as we did in the past when we were being bombarded with popup ads. Think of the ads as the currency of the Internet. The currency that makes the content that we freely enjoy on the Internet possible. Let’s work together to strengthen the Internet’s economy by taking a few moments out of our days to support the little guys (who may just be trying to raise a little money for college tuition).

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (7 of 24)

2006-04-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

One full week of puzzles will be completed today from the Google Da Vinci Code Quest. I have a meeting today from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m. and so I unfortunately will not have the solution until a little later in the day, but check in today around mid afternoon. Take a moment if you would like, to help spread the word by digging GoogleFact for the Da Vinci Code Quest Solutions, and thanks again for stopping by. If you need more information about the Code Quest visit Google's Official blog.

Update - O.K. I can see everybody is anxiously awaiting today's solution. Here it goes. Today's puzzle the 7th of 24 is another symbols/suduko puzzle, how disappointing. I was afraid that Google was going to think outside the box and create a different type of symbol challenge. But hey, if you need to generate a lot of puzzles in a short period of time, just change the dimensions of a suduko puzzle 4 times right? Enough about that though, lets get to the solution.

And the question after, "How many atmospheres are in are in 2175 psi?" 148. Today's challenge emphasizes the point that there are in fact 12,358 puzzle variations. So my puzzle will not necessarily be your puzzle, but it is great to see other folks commenting on these posts with their solutions.

Here is a tip for the suduko challenges if you are struggling with them. Don't guess if a particular symbol goes in a square until you absolutely have to (in my puzzle I never did). Use the restrictions that the starting pieces impose to fill in the surrounding squares and with each new piece that you fill, you will be left with fewer choices to make.

I also feel the need to comment on why I am publishing these solutions (again).

1. There are people who may not have flash and hence cannot do the challenges. I want them to still be able to learn from and enjoy the experience.

2. The information that I am giving out is freely available on the Internet already. Sure I am saving people time from having to dig through Google search results, but last time I checked people didn't mind saving time.

3. I am not actually giving out entire solutions. There are many variations to each day's puzzle and I am simply publishing my particular solution, which will probably be different from yours, unless of course you keep requesting a new puzzle until you get the same puzzle. By the way, I expect as the puzzles increase in difficulty, the number of variations in the puzzle will also increase.

4. For the simple purpose of historical documentation. Someday somebody will want to tell their kid about this great challenge Google made with 24 puzzles and how they one the Grand Prize. Their kid will ask, well what kind of puzzles were they, and now that person (which won't by the way be me) can look back and reflect on that experience.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (6 of 24)

2006-04-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today's challenge remained at a low level of difficulty, i.e. another five minute or less task. But at least it was a fun simple task, as opposed to a dumb simple task. The challenge required you to put some puzzle pieces together that formed a picture of a location and then surf around on Google Maps to find the name of the city (if you didn't recognize it from the picture).

Well the latter half was more fun then the former becuase you always run across wierd looking images or roads on Google Maps that you would have otherwise never known about. See MapsMania if you have no idea what I am referring to. My puzzle happened to be of the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, and so the answer to my particular question was New York.

But hey, don't take my word for it check it out for yourself here. If you had a differant puzzle, leave me a link to your Google Map image location in a comment. I am curious to visit all of the differant locations they used (if any). If this is your first visit you can find more information about the challenge here.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (5 of 24)

2006-04-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

I correctly assessed yesterday, that today's challenge would be more interesting than the previous 4 because the chess challenge actually requires mental effort. To complete this task you need to understand the game of chess (something all human beings should learn and enjoy before they leave this blessed or cursed as it may be planet). Or you have to know how to use an internet search engine, which admittedly only requires half a mental effort.

I decided to solve the puzzle by playing the game rather than researching the storyline. I love the game of chess, thanks Dad for teaching me early in life, and so it was a natural choice, but you may wish to play the game since the only official hint given in this quest was to do just that. If you need assistance with any of the challenges, or if you have questions about any of Google's products, services, or API's, you may leave your email in a comment and I will be happy to assist you.

Oh right, you wanted the answers to those questions so you don't have to play chess. Since you can't be persuaded otherwise, here they are.

"What is the spiked belt that Silas wears called?" A cilice

"What are the second, third, and fourth leading members of the Priory of Sion called?" Senechaux

"The engraved tablet that is supposed to reveal the hiding place of the Holy Grail is called the" Keystone

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (4 of 24)

2006-04-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Alas, Day 4 of 24 in the Da Vinci Code Challenge. I hope this is going to get more interesting quickly. I am starting to get bored with these grade school rearrange the pieces puzzles. If you haven't picked up on it yet Google and Sony have partnered up to market the new movie with Tom Hanks, "The Da Vinci Code".

“The symbol shown on Sophie Neveu (pictured at left) is called what?” The answer that appears after the pictures are correctly hung is Chalice.

I will more than likely regret asking for harder puzzles near the end of these 3+ weeks, but for right now I am just bored. Hopefully we can put our minds to work with tomorrow’s chess challenge.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (3 of 24)

2006-04-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the 3rd day of Google's 24 days of puzzles. The puzzle offered up today was much better than the first two days and even required math knowledge (sorta). For more information on the puzzles and Google visit the Official Google Blog.

The sony trailer video can be found here.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (2 of 24)

2006-04-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

Today is the 2nd of 24 days in which Google will release a new puzzle. The puzzle offered up today was another easy one that involved moving pieces of debris around on a map. You can liken it to a variation of the peg game that can be played at Cracker Barrel restaurants. (For more information on the puzzle and Google visit the Official Google Blog).

“Name the symbol on Manuel Aringarosa, pictured at left.” The answer to the question that appears after you have removed all but one debris is Greek Cross.

“Unlike the more commonly-known Latin cross, the Greek cross has arms of equal length, signifying perfection or balance. This symbol is also associated with the four points of the compass, the four alchemical elements, the positive sign and the symbol for addition. It appears on the Greek and Swiss flags, and a red version of the Greek Cross is the symbol for the Red Cross organization.”

Please understand I am not posting a screenshot of the solution. There are 12,358 different puzzles, or 515 different possible puzzle configurations each day (if evenly distributed). The screenshot is for those who aren’t participating but are curious as to how the puzzles look. However, the question that appears after you have solved the puzzle seems to be for marketing purposes, static for all puzzle variations.

The Da Vinci Code - Quest Solution (1 of 24)

2006-04-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Google annouced that it has partnered with Sony to create a series of puzzles to promote the upcoming movie, "The Da Vinci Code" set to release May 19th. One puzzle will be released everyday for the next 24 days. Be one of the first 10,000 to solve all of the puzzles and you will win a collectors item from the movie (valued at $30).

"What is the symbol on Robert Langdon's forehead?" The answer to the question that appears after the symbols are arranged correctly is Blade.

"The blade or pyramid is the alchemical symbol for fire. It also symbolizes masculinity and in combination with its complement shape the chalice, the blade forms the Star of David or Solomon's Seal. The blade is also an equilateral triangle, a symbol of the Christian trinity."

Linux (I know it's not Google)

2006-04-16T04:47:00.000-07:00

Every once it a while it is necessary to go off topic, and this is one of those times. Why? I am so glad you asked.

Because, there is no greater feeling than the one you get when you finally discover the workaround for an irritating bug in mysql-administrator on that one obscure webpage at 5:00 in the morning and spend another half hour repackaging the software for Ubuntu Linux so it works correctly out of the box. It's just really super fantabulous. Seriously. Nothing like it.

export DEBUG_DONT_SPAWN_FETCHES=1

Now why didn't I think of that? Why even bother repackaging it you ask? Because I can and because I am just cool that way. Incidently, this workaround allows you to use "User Administration" without mysql-administrator freezing up.

Template Change

2006-04-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

I changed the template! I didn't really care for the last template all that much, so I went in search of a new one. I found this one at http://blog-templates.ravasthi.name/ Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of it.

Gmap Reverse Phone Lookup

2006-04-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

I don't quite understand why Google hasn't incorporated reverse phone lookup in their maps via local.google.com or maps.google.com or whatever they want to call it. In any case they have all of the tools necessary to achieve such a simple task. If you didn't know, you can already search google.com for a phone number and retrieve a residential or business listing. See this search as an example.

With the new version of the Google Maps API coming about I am hoping maybe they will revist this idea and try incorporating a phone search into the lookup. It seems like a convenient feature for two reasons. First, it is just plain easier to type in 10 digits than to type in a complete address. Second, I can easily remember my friends phone numbers, but I have a lot more trouble trying to remember their addresses.

I created a little demo for personal and education use, but it also shows how this might work if it Google did incorporate a phone lookup into Maps. You can visit the demo here - http://www.googlefact.com/maps/PhoneMap.php

As a side note, I used the code I already had from my sms post to do the reverse phone lookup.

Gmap v2 - resizeMap()

2006-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Google announced their latest version of the Google Maps API on the API blog. The latest release is version 2.45 but the official v2 (2.44) release post announced that all API users would be forced to upgrade from v1 in approximately a month (5/03/2006).

I thought their might be some people out there who are using John Resig's Auto-Scaling Maps script. If you are one of those folks, you will need to modify the resizeMap function for version 2 of the Gmaps API. Consequently, I went ahead and re-wrote John's function so you don't have to. If you aren't familiar with his resizeMap function, it simply takes a collection of points representing the markers that are currently rendered on the map, and then centers the map to the middle of those points while adjusting the zoom level of the map to ensure all of the makers are plotted are visible. The zoom level is set to the finest zoom level that still contains all of the markers.

It would be quite convenient if Google provided this functionality inside of the API but it appears that they have no plans of working it in to the second version of the API. Thanks John for providing the original source code for this functionality. The Auto-Scaling code for v2 can be downloaded here.

Google Analytics - Incredible and Free

2006-04-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

Google Analytics has to be the most useful tool Google has offered to date, other than search of course. I waited 3 months for my invitation to finaly arrive in my inbox, but I would have waited 3 years to be able to use this great web utility free of charge. Analytics currently provides a comprehensive analysis of web traffic for up to 5 differant web sites. The free service is intended to give web site owners a taste of the functionality available in its pay for software product, Urchin. Analytics tells me who is visting my site, when they visited, where they came from, how long they stayed and a host of other statiscal data from my website (or blog).

Much of the data is also available in the form of flash based charts and graphs. These animated charts make analyzing data easy and user friendly. The data can also be exported to text, xml, and excel. I provided a partial screenshot of my homepage screen below. If you have a personal website or blog, you want Analytics. If you own a company that generates revenue from web traffic or advertising, you need Analytics.

Changing subjects, I was curious as to whether Google Base was worth a dime, or if it was just the newest playground for spammers. Analytics allowed me to determine that Google Base is a valuable place to publish content. You can see on the chart below that 50% of my visits have been from Google Base. Additionaly, after I added an entry into Base my blog was picked up by Google's search index and I started recieving hits directly from Google.com. Consequently, I'll be making a post in the next few weeks to discuss the benefits of publishing content on Google Base.

GF_Search History Module

2006-03-09T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is a place holder for the Module post.

National Archives Videos

2006-02-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

Google has partnered with the U.S. government and National Archives to bring American history to the Internet in the form of video content. This is in my opinion the coolest application of Google Video to date. Yes, it is better then the paid content, yes, it is better than the stupid commercials, and, yes, it is better then the free music videos.

The creation of the Boulder Dam is, by far, my favorite of the video clips that I have watched from the archives collection. It provides incredible video footage of the excavation of the Colorado River basin, detailed footage of the tools and machinery, which were designed specifically for the construction of the dam, and insightful commentary throughout the duration of the video.

I am impressed with Google’s desire to initiate partnerships and develop relationships with organizations that allow them to create projects like NARA and the library project. I believe these types of relationships bring valuable and relevant information to the Internet that might not have otherwise been available. I will admit that I am a bit disappointed in the marketing department. This type of content doesn’t seem to be promoted by Google or covered by the media like some of the other projects from the Googleplex. Overall, I think these kinds of projects will help transform the current state of the Internet (aka The Wild West) into a more organized and valuable information resource.

The link for the NARA videos is http://video.google.com/nara.html. Go check it out! You won’t be disappointed, I promise.

Libjingle - Google Talk

2006-02-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Last month Sean Egan announced the release of Libjingle 0.2.0 on the Google Talk blog. The most notable change to the source base was the inclusion of a visual studio .sln. Big thanks should be in order for Mr. Egan from all of those Windows developers who are not familiar with building and compiling Linux applications. Generating Libjingle.lib and pcp.exe (the two components in the solution) is simple if you follow the 5 step outline provided in the read me file. I have included those steps below in case you want to know what is involved before downloading the project files.

1. Install Visual C++ Express 2005. It is free from this link:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualc/

2. Install the platform SDK and integrate it into VC++ express
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/visualc/usingpsdk/

3. Download and install binary package for expat:
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10127&package_id=11277

4. Update the Visual C++ directories in the Projects and Solutions section in the Options dialog box
Library files: C:\expat-VERSION\StaticLibs
Include files: C:\expat-VERSION\Source\Lib
where VERSION is the version of expat you've downoaded

5. Unzip the libjingle files, open the solution and build.

Note: Only the pcp example application currently builds on Windows. There are no open souce media components integrated at this point so there is significant work before a call can be made on Windows. Review http://code.google.com/apis/talk/media_engine.html to interface your own media componentry with libjingle.

I built the project for Windows in just a few minutes using VS 2005. I have also collaborated with a friend on the linux version, which we have successfully built, but haven’t yet been able to get completely working. Next up, to implement the library in a solution, for which I am going to be enlisting Joe Hildebrand’s Jabber-Net.

Google Search History

2006-02-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Ever since Google introduced Search History I have wanted to export the list for my own personal use. There are a variety of things that I want to do with my search history, one of which is creating my own statistical data from the results. Google provides some statistical analysis (use the Trends link) but what if I want to find out my top 20 searches rather than my top 10? Uh oh.

I thought about page scraping but figured there must be a better way. I happen to be on one of my frequent visits to John Resig's blog (by the way John if you ever read this, you are my hero, email me and let's create a web 2.0 app and sell it to Google for 50 mil. I have a few ideas in mind and I know you are already working on a couple independently. Let me know if you need some help with those.) and found this article where John already implemented a page scraping solution to this problem. But, reading further I found this article by Mihai Parparita. Mihai found the magic url to export your search history in xml results, a technique used by the Google Search History Dashboard Widget for Mac's.

If you want to get the low down I recommend reading Mihai's article and then downloading the Mac Widget for yourself to view the source code. If you just want to get your search results in XML format visit the following link:

http://www.google.com/searchhistory/find?num=100&output=rss&client=google-mcsmhwidget&start=1&q=the&zx=MacT0H58Mws%22

You can change the num var in the query string (num=100) to num=n where n is greater than the total number of searches you have done to retrieve all of your search history results. I will warn you, if you have a large search history, as I do, this will take some time so be patient.

Mihai notes that the url is authenticated through the use of a cookie. This means that you will need to log in to authenticate yourself before you will be able to retrieve any results. No problems. Thanks Mihai for pointing out this clever hack. Now we can have our search history the way we want it.

Soon I will be writing a Google Module that uses this exploit to provide users with the ability to customize there Google Search History Module (if somebody doesn't beat me to it).

Google Page Creator

2006-02-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

What's the differance between Yahoo's geocities and Google's page creator? 15,000 lines of JavaScript.

In an attempt to keep up on all of Google’s products and services, I often find myself traversing a trail of links that drops me on to the blog of insert your name here. These blogs typically contain a rewrite of a recent post that was made on one of Google’s numerous Official Blogs.

I generally end up skimming the main content of the blog (unless it’s from one of the more interesting bloggers like Philipp Lenssen's or Nathan Weinberg's) so I can get on to reading the comments of other readers. Reading the comments usually provides me with some different perspectives people have on the beta services Google releases or is being rumored to release. All to often though, I am painfully reminded of the short sightedness and stupidity of the general public.

Consider this blog post by Matt Cutts. First though, visit the Google Page Creator tool. Ok, good, now you don’t need to bother reading the post, just keep scrolling until you get to the mostly worthless content (the comments). Take a look at some of these stupid comments:

“Wow, thanks for the heads up. Looks really good that Google is pushing new stuff out (though some might argue that they should be improving current products)! It would be interesting to see where they take this, and if this catches on.” - SL

According to this commentator, Google isn’t improving their current products which must be why they just added chat to Gmail right??

"How is this different from blogger?" - Ben

I want to find Ben so I can ask him how cars are different from trucks.

"No support for Opera! Shame on you, Google." - Asle Ommundsen

Asle, you should feel ashamed for even suggesting that a company waste money supporting a browser that less than 1% of people use. Here is my comment for you: Try Firefox.

"It’s cool but not worth gushing over. Anyone ever hear of Geocities?" - SeoRookie

What a Pudding head.

Google Mobile SMS

2006-02-23T21:44:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't noticed yet, the good people at Google are exceedingly interested in mobile technology. Maybe you suspected this when you were asked to give your cellphone number in order to signup for a Gmail account? You may have spotted even more evidence on Google’s official blog. As far as I’m concerned, John Battell’s 2006 predictions (see #13) is sufficient evidence that there is a stirring interest in mobile technologies.

In this post I’m going to provide a brief synopsis of the services Google is providing for the mobile marketplace. If you don’t find sufficient details in this post, and would like to dig deeper, mobile.google.com is a good starting place.

Several services Google has already developed for your mobile device:

Google Personalized Homepage – Create a homepage with the data you want to see. Then browse to that page from your mobile device. This can really save you some time and energy by assembling many different data sources into one central destination.
Gmail – Access your Google email account from your cellphone or mobile device.
Local – View maps and satellite imagery or get driving directions from mobile local.
SMS – Get short result data including: stock quotes, definitions, conversions, and more.
Web Formatted – View web pages optimized for your mobile device.
XHTML – Get full google search results formatted for your mobile device.

Of these services, I like the results that can be achieved with SMS and XHTML. I liked the results from SMS so much that I decided to do some page scraping as a means of providing a more convenient interface to test the SMS functionality. (Disclaimer: The purpose of this is strictly educational and is in no way an attempt to violate any of Google’s copywrite policies.) Unfortunately, I do not have a mobile device that is internet ready but I wanted to do some extensive querying to the SMS database to analyze the results and provide commentary on the quality and relevancy of different search phrases.

The demo that Google provided does not have a sufficient layout for this purpose, so I created a page to simplify the search process. The web page, which can be found here , allows you to search the SMS database, and returns the results in simple plain text output. Try a few different types of searches to get a feel for the wealth of data that is available. Keep your eyes peeled as Google is sure to release more great services for your mobile device.

Why Google Bought Measure Map

2006-02-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be wondering why Google bought this seemingly unheard of statistical logging software, specifically created with blogs in mind, and produced by the folks over at AdaptivePath. Does Google have any sort of method behind this madness of swallowing software packages and turning them into beta services that never open up for public use (Analytics)? Criticizing Google on their recent purchases is a trivial task, trying to determine the perspective of the executives making the decisions to acquire these products is much more difficult. Since we like a challenge, we’ll focus on the latter in this post.

Google already owns a powerful software package that does statistical analysis of web traffic logs. I’m guessing that the decision makers at Google saw some promise in the combination of the two software packages, Analytics which they already owned and this new product MeasureMap. There is also the possibly that Google won’t combine these packages, and that would be no surprise to me either.

Blogging has become a huge part of the market place on the internet. Blogging companies are selling for millions and sites like myspace.com, an extremely informal blogging tool that has risen to the 9th most popular destination on the internet, are thriving. Google owns Blogger.com a very popular and well known blogging tool and they may have bought this package specifically for integration with Blogger.com. A quick search on Google will reveal that there are many users who want to see who is visiting their blog, where they came from, and how long they stayed. Currently Blogger.com does not have this functionality built in to the software and many bloggers are using third party software to obtain this data. It would make sense for Google to buy this package and integrate it right into Blogger.com while keeping Analytics open for more extensive tracking, like what might be needed on eCommerce sites.

I’ll be curious to see how long it takes them to get MeasureMap out of beta status and make it available for the public to use. As a side note, Adaptive Path, the creators of MeasureMap, are also the same company that provided a facelift for Google’s Blogger.com. I’m curious if somebody at Google mentioned the need for this type of software to Adaptive Path back then or if those guys are just that creative to develop just the tool Google was looking for. They did after all give us the popular web 2.0 phrase “AJAX”. The only thing that really surprises me about Google’s purchase of the software is the lack of existing user base for MeasureMap. The software didn’t have time to develop and test the scalability of the software package.

Code.Google.Com - AJAXSLT

2006-02-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

The folks at Google have recently made available a number of new open source projects. These projects range from, general to specific, simple to complex, Google product/service related to no relation with any Google product or service. Additionally, these projects have all been used and developed inside the Googleplex and are being promoted by Google as part of an open source initiative. The code base is also expected to encourage software developers to create new applications that utilize Google’s technologies. Consequently, Google has also organized its API libraries under the code.google.com domain. The API libraries and open source code projects should provide you with more than enough source files to rummage through in your spare time.

Google has utilized its resources to develop an assortment of great services and they have spent additional time and money developing programming interfaces and open source software. The interfaces are simple but powerful and usually well documented, a combination that allows for cost effective implementations. Many businesses and individuals are using Google’s products and services but they have yet to realize Google as a service partner rather than just as a service provider. It is great to use Google’s AdWords to promote your company. There is an entirely different and greater benefit that is achieved by using the AdWords API in collaboration with AdWords.

Over the next few months I am going to be promoting some of these services that Google is offering. After reading through these posts I hope that you will develop enough familiarity with the tools to begin using them.

Currently, I am going to discuss an open source project named AJAXSLT. Google’s description of AJAXSLT is “An implementation of XSLT in JavaScript, intended for use in fat web pages, which are nowadays referred to as AJAX applications. Because XSLT uses XPath, it is also an implementation of XPath that can be used independently of XSLT.” I have compiled additional information regarding the project which you can access from googlefact.com. The project is a JavaScript implementation of XSLT that is abstracted to maximize cross browser compatibility.

I am going to be demonstrating the use of the XML parse functionality that is provided with this library. It can be implemented by including two files from the project: dom.js and misc.js. (note: you must include misc.js before dom.js) Additionally, I am going to use some of the AJAX functions from the primary JavaScript file used in Google’s Personalized home page. The functions outlined below are used to retrieve the xml data and to help assign the data to page elements. Click here to view the definitions of the functions listed below.

_esc(a) - to escape the parameters passed into the XMLHTTP query string

_gel(a) – to get an element by its ID

_trim(a) – to remove the spaces before and after a string

aP() – to get an XMLHTTP object used in the AJAX request

_sendx(a,aa) – to send an AJAX request to the server to get the xml data

The simple example retrieves an xml data set and populates a div tag from the data. The working example can be found here. You can also view the xml data document here. I intended to post the ViewNotes function, which is the main processing function in this example, but the WYSIWYG editor did not want to accept the syntax. Just take a moment to look over the source of the html document given in the link above.

Brief summary of the example code: The xml parse takes place in the _sendx function after we have retrieved the xml document from the server. We then loop through the elements in the xml object produced from the xmlParse function and assign them to a hash array that we can later refer to by name. That’s all there is to it. We have parsed and processed an AJAX request on the client side. Inspecting the working example should clear up any confusion that may have arisen from this post.

About Google Video

2006-02-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

If you haven't visited Google Video lately you might think about dropping by sometime for a peak. Google has revamped the home page to accommodate the new video store and has also added some convenient new features.

Unfortunately, the video stores content is still very limited, so If you are looking to buy a specific video you are probably out of luck. That is unless you are looking for a recently televised basketball game, like Kobe Bryant’s 81 point game . The NBA has published 350+ games for your digital video collection.

I don’t watch much TV and as a result, most of the content in the video store isn’t of much interest to me. However, there are some free videos available that I find quite interesting and educational. Let me share three of them with you.

Google Tech Talks – I am thankful Google is kind enough to share this collection of educational videos with us straight from the Googleplex. If you have a technical background and haven’t seen these yet, let me recommend them to you, they are quite a treat. The topics range from robotics to meteorites in Antarctica and are always intriguing.

John Battelle talk at Google NYC – This is another video from Google that doesn’t fall under the Tech Talks category. The speaker for this video was John Battelle who was a founding editor of Wired magazine, authored The Search, and has a very popular blog on search.

Phillip Leason’s future of Google – This is a humorous parody on the future of Google (and its use by a teenage user???). Phillip Leason has a very popular blog focused on Google.

Finally there are a few great features of Google Video that I want to highlight:

Google Video Player – You can now download the Google Video Player which is required for purchased videos, but can also be used with free videos that are enabled for download

Send Link – Google has made it easy to send a video link to your best friend or coworker if you find a video that is worth sharing.

More From This User Link – If you like a video and you want to see if the publisher has any other videos you can use this convenient link.

Put on site – This is my favorite. If you like a video and you want to host it on your own website, Google says, no problem (demonstrated below).