Scientific Google

Once again, Google lives up to its image as a company of bright minded people (a.k.a. geniuses, nerds and geeks).

Google search has long featured a built-in calculator function in its search engine but in one awesome update the Mountain View, California company has added a fully functional 34-button scientific calculator in its search page, mapped with all the mathematical functions the left brain won’t be able to handle alone.

You can now ask Google “what is sin (pi over 6) plus 5 to the 5th power divided by 25 minus 1/2 of ln(e)” and it will give out the correct answer in less time it takes to punch the keys on a real calculator. 

Try it now!

To top it up, this new calculator works in mobile browsers and desktop voice search, too!  You can now dictate your formulas to your computer and it will give you the results you want, not unlike Lieutenant Commander Scotty when he unsuccessfully attempted to talk to a 1990s computer in Star Trek IV.

Google. They’re really awesome.

If you’re perplexed with creating formulas using Google Calculator, just check out this Cheat Sheet.

There really isn’t any excuse for not being able to finish your math homework now.

~Florent Flora

Let the Games Begin!

Today is the day! 

One world, one big sports event.

No riots, no wars, just one world united in celebrating man's greatest achievements through sports - the 2012 Summer Olympics or commonly known as London 2012.

In the picture: With the Tower Bridge in the background, the Olympic torch is carried proudly by torch bearer Amber Charles on a floating pontoon along the River Thames. Amber Charles is a 22-year-old basketball player who played a key role in London's winning bid. (Photo credit: Reuters)

To date, the identity of the person who will take on the honor of the lighting of the cauldron during the opening ceremony remains a mystery. Will it be David Beckham doing the honors? Or will it be Sir Roger Bannister, the man who first broke the 1-mile four minute barrier?

The opening ceremony will start at 9:00PM UK time (or 4:00AM Manila time). Here are some links where you can watch the Olympics online:

BBC

London 2012 Official YouTube Channel

IOC Official YouTube Channel

NBC Channel (available in the US and US territories only)

~Florent Flora

Live Another Day

          I used to pride myself with my ability to use my text away on my cellphone while driving -- left hand on the steering wheel and right hand on the phone, my thumb having memorized the keypad and my eyes swiftly alternating between the road and the small cellphone screen to check on the message I have typed.  Sometimes I even take pictures with my cellphone camera while driving:

          Countless studies have been made trying to establish a link between cellphone use and cancer or brain tumor and yet, the real hazard of cellphones is that they kill far more people through automobile accidents. European researchers — in a study of more than 300,000 cellphones users — concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that using a cell phone increased the chance of developing a brain tumor. That was true even for people who had used cell phones for more than a decade, and the study is the biggest so far to look at cell phone radiation and cancer.

          On the other hand, a study by Monash University Accident Research Centre concludes that drivers who use hand-held devices are 4 times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. The US Department of Transportation also states that 3092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2010.

          I love math.

          And I believe in statistics.

          So heed my advice: Stay focused while driving.

          As for me, I will not allow the phone to distract me while driving.

          Leave the phone and live the day.

~Florent Flora