Thursday, April 21, 2005

Lance update

Today in the Tour de Georgia:

Armstrong finished a disappointing ninth in Thursday’s time trial at the Tour de Georgia, nearly two minutes behind the winner in a go-all-out style of cycling he usually dominates.

See also my post Enhanced Lance?

Google maps on TiVo

Cool. I’ll have to try it…

Jeff Foxworthy

He’s the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time. Who knew?

Jeff Foxworthy’s Web site highlights two noteworthy bits of trivia about the Atlanta-based comedian: His wit has been compared to that of Mark Twain, and he is the best-selling comedy recording artist of all time. The first point is debatable-there aren’t many one-liners about mudflaps in Pudd’nhead Wilson. But Foxworthy’s astounding album sales are undeniable. His 1993 debut You Might Be a Redneck If… went multiplatinum, and the release of last year’s Have Your Loved Ones Spayed or Neutered pushed his total album sales above 15 million. His greatest-hits disc is currently No. 3 on the comedy charts. Not bad for a performer whose eponymous sitcom flopped in 1997.

Search your searches

Another cool Google feature:

Whenever a user is logged in, Google will provide a detailed look at all their past search activity. The service also includes a “pause” feature that prevents it from being displayed in the index.

Users will be able to pinpoint a search conducted on a particular day, using a calendar that’s displayed on the history page. The service sometimes will point out a past search result related to a new search request.

“Privacy advocates” don’t like it:

But privacy rights expert Pam Dixon is worried the service will make it easier for mischief makers, snoops and perhaps even the government to get their hands on a user’s entire search history.

“It’s really a bad idea,” said Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum. “If you need to keep track of your past searches, I recommend using a notebook. It would be a lot more private and a lot less risky.”

I believe in privacy. And I like the feature. The remedy to privacy concerns is not to block the technology but to come up with rules, regulations and procedures to enable and protect appropriate use.

RELATED: Why Google is like Wal-Mart.