Fill in the blanks

Posted by Hiyan Alshawi, Research Scientist

Sometimes one wants to use a search engine to find a very specific piece of information rather than to learn about a topic. If search engines were truly intelligent, you could just pose a question the same way you would ask a person. An alternative is to get the search engine to 'fill in the blank.' So instead of asking [who invented the parachute?], you can enter the query [the parachute was invented by *]. (The blank, or wildcard, search is marked by * - an asterisk.)

There is so much text on the web that this method often works well, but to make it more effective, we've improved the way results are found in response to queries containing such blanks. This includes allowing softer pattern matching, if necessary, and promoting results in which the blank filler is relatively more frequent in the context of the query.

One nice thing about this approach to answering questions is that the same mechanism can be used in all languages, so the improved blank filling will work on google.com in your favorite language. It can also be used for exploratory queries rather than questions as such: try something like [Glasgow is the * capital of Europe].

Breaking story: Google News Feeds

Posted by Vijay Boyapati, Software Engineer

For some time now, the Google News team has noticed a steady uptick in feature requests for feed support. We're happy to announce that starting today you'll be able to get Google News results in two feed flavors, Atom and RSS. You can use either format in your favorite feed reader. And since feed reading can be addictive, don't forget to feed yourself after feeding your reader.

HK Cute Cookie Stephy Tang Lai Yun

One of the top entertainers in Hong Kong today is Stephy Tang. The 22 year-old made her debut as part of the ensemble group Cookies as a "rival" to their pop counterparts Twins.

After successfully releasing a CD, Cookies made their film debut in 2002 in Nine Girls and a Ghost. Stephy was one of the 9 girls while Edison Chen played the ghost.

In 2003, Stephy got her first lead role as Cherie in a new installment of the Feel 100% film series, costarring alongside fellow Cookies Miki Yeung and Theresa Fu.

In mid-2003, Cookies disbanded but a new group called Mini-Cookies formed. Stephy became one of the Mini-Cookies. Stephy recently appeared in the comedy Dragon Loaded 2003, the showcase for Ronald Cheng.

Her interest includes playing tennis, singing and dancing.

Guest Bloggers: those Freakonomics Guys

Posted by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

We didn't know quite what to expect at Google during our visit last week. A few months ago we'd been asked to give some kind of presentation to an undetermined number of Google employees. Were we interested? Sure, we said. This was still many weeks ago. When something is that far away, you'll generally agree to it without much thought.

Because we arrived at Google late -- we were coming from a meeting with some people who may want to turn Freakonomics into a board game (!) — our tour was cut a little short. Still, we did manage to see:

• Your Google-logo-colored pylons at the extremely low-key "security" post.
• Your very user-friendly name-tag-generating/sign-in computer
• Your very, very fancy toilets.
• Your rack of primordial servers with the thin layers of cork that used to make the fire department so nervous.
• Your roaming dogs, one friendlier than the next.
• Your scrolling query screens: Hillary Duff … pits puppies … Yenifer Lopez … Spanish Dictionary (we were a bit disappointed not to see a Freakonomics, but maybe it got caught in your filter; people sometimes give it some pretty deviant spellings.)
• Your quartz rug, robust cacti, fancy yurts, and ecologically sound staircase in the Africa building.

Then it was time for our "presentation." We left Africa and our host, Google product manager Hunter Walk, walked us over to the room where we were speaking...

Whomp! It wasn’t some little room, with a conference table and a couple dozen people, as we'd imagined. It was a big, big room, rows and rows of chairs, all of them filled with Googlers, and many, many more Googlers sitting on the floor and standing in the back and – well, not exactly hanging from the rafters but it felt like it. The walls were black, the stage lights white-hot, the room alive with chatter. This wasn’t a presentation; this was a presentation. It was a Sally Field moment: They like us! They really like us! (We realize, of course, that the average Googler is far too young to catch this reference. Don't worry; it's not very funny anyway.) As we picked our way through the floor-sitting Googlers, it felt like we should have been carrying a couple of Telecasters; it was likely the closest that either of us will ever get to having a rock-star moment (in truth, Dubner was a minor-league rock star, but that was in the late 80s, so it doesn't really count).

Google had passed around a few hundred copies of Freakonomics (we immediately wondered if the order would be counted as a bulk sale, and therefore underweighted on the N.Y. Times best-seller list), so now, looking across the long rows of chairs, you could see one Googler after the next with the open book in his/her lap, as if preparing to hear a speech from Chairman Mao. It was, well, freaky. A bit like happening upon your own funeral.

There was one podium and one microphone, so we decided to do a tag-team talk, discussing the book (e.g., why crack dealers still live with their moms) and telling a few stories based on research that’s happened since the book (e.g., monkey prostitution at Yale). We seemed to do okay, based on the fact that everyone laughed a lot. The biggest laugh came when Levitt mentioned that we spoke at Yahoo! a day earlier and got a much smaller crowd. That was true; Google’s turnout was about double Yahoo!'s. On the other hand, that means Google may have lost twice the productivity (unless you think that our talk may have somehow increased productivity). The best question of the day was, "What would you do with our data if we could give it to you?" We've thought about that quite a bit ever since; we'll keep you posted.

After our talk, we spent a few minutes hanging around with miscellaneous Googlers. This was the most impressive slice of the day; not only were they all smart and inquisitive and friendly, but they were so damn happy. For instance, there's surely no company in the world where so many employees wear t-shirts with their company logo, which we took to be a sign of deep pride (or perhaps simply a deep discount).

One person we talked with after our presentation was actually an old friend of Dubner's, a writer named Anya Kamenetz who is the fiancee of a Google employee. Dubner hadn't seen her in a couple of years and had no idea she was even in California. Even stranger, Levitt had seen her on PBS not long ago, just as the two of us were starting to do TV appearances, and called up Dubner to say, I just saw this young woman named Anya on TV, and she was so good and natural at it that it made me realize that that’s how we should try to be on TV. The reason Levitt remembered her name is that Dubner's daughter is also named Anya, a name he (Dubner) chose in some part because Anya Kamenetz was such a good name model. So here, a few thousand miles and a few months away, all these strange random elements got tied up in a neat bow, on the Google campus. Somehow it doesn’t seem as if it could have happened anywhere else.

Keyword: chefs

Posted by Susan Wojcicki, VP, Product Management (and long-time seeker of Google chefs)

One of the most fantastic perks at Google is free meals for employees. I've always loved having fresh food available, and today that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. As our Mountain View HQ grows, so does the need for people who know how to make good food, and plenty of it.

The search is now on for not one, but two, executive chefs to fuel Googlers. We already serve umpteen meals a day (not including snacks). We go through 55 gallons of olive oil a week. At our breakfast bar, the chefs turn out two fresh smoothies, or one custom omelet, each minute.

This is why we're looking for industrial-strength chefs who know how to cook with fresh and organic ingredients. People who will thrive on the accolades - and demands - of repeat customers who come to eat day in and day out.

There's a cook-off for the finalists - a team of Googlers will taste their dishes and vote for their favorites. And then we'll announce the winners with great fanfare. Till we do, check back here for updates, menus and a recipe or two.

Just to give you an idea of what our chefs turn out, here's the daily menu for one (admittedly the largest) of our 5 cafes.

SALADS
Ahi Tuna & Avocado Poke
Fresh line caught Ahi tuna diced with organic avocados and minced ginger, habanero chilies, cilantro, green onions and sesame seeds, tossed with a fresh dressing of orange juice, rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, lime juice, tangerine oil, sambal oeleck and garnished with black and white sesame seeds.

Calypso Rice Salad
Perfectly steamed wild rice with Valencia orange segments, currants, diced red bell peppers, cilantro, green and red onions, mint, coriander and cayenne, tossed with orange juice and extra virgin olive oil.

Tuna Melt Salad
Al dente elbow macaroni tossed with mayonnaise, cider vinegar, Dijon mustard and lemon juice, then topped with tuna salad, cheddar cheese and green onions.

VEGHEADS
Eggplant, Tomato & Onion Skewers
Organic eggplant, tomatoes and onions, skewered, baked, and topped with cilantro chutney and yogurt sauce.

Stir-fried Cauliflower
Organic cauliflower stir-fried with mustard seeds, turmeric, diced tomatoes and red onions.

Greek Spinach Salad
Organic baby spinach, Greek feta cheese, roasted tomatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives and toasted pistachio nuts, tossed to order with a dressing of fresh lemon juice, Dijon mustard, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and minced garlic.

CHARLIE’S GRILL
Pork Loin Steak
Berkshire Farms pork loin brined in marjoram, paprika, red wine vinegar and brown sugar, then seared to perfection. Served with a roasted red pepper sauce.

Eggplant Ratatouille
Organic eggplant roasted with Roma tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, white onions, bell peppers, garlic, basil, parsley, extra virgin olive oil and a splash of red wine.

Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Organic russet potatoes mashed with buttermilk, cream and butter.

BACK TO ALBUQUERQUE
Agua Fresca… Mora
Blackberry infused water.

Pollo en Huerto
Free range chicken with garden vegetables: organic zucchini, onions, fresh corn off the cob, tomatoes, green, red and yellow bell peppers, carrots, jalapeños, cilantro, garlic and oregano.

Vegetarian Tamale Casserole
A casserole of organic zucchini, carrots, onions, green and yellow bell peppers, corn off the cob, green peas and diced tomatoes, with chili powder, oregano, cumin and garlic.

Snap Peas
Organic snap peas sautéed with garlic and extra virgin olive oil.

EAST MEETS WEST

Seared Day Boat Scallops in Green Coconut Curry Sauce
Day Boat scallops seared to perfection and tossed in green curry coconut. Topped with a red bell pepper coulis and daikon sprouts.

Pad Thai Noodles
Pad Thai noodles stir-fried with yellow and red bell peppers, garlic, ginger, shiitake mushrooms, cilantro and Thai basil.

Broccoli, Cauliflower & Haricot Verts
Stir-fry of organic broccoli, cauliflower and haricot verts with garlic, ginger and Dave’s special brown sauce.

Jasmine Rice
Jasmine-scented rice steamed to perfection.

AL FORNO ROMANO
Roasted Pork Loin
Berkshire Farms pork loin with mozzarella and bell pepper sauce.

Roma & Green Onion
Organic Roma tomatoes, green onions, Gruyère and fontina cream.

I PIADINI
Arugula with Dried Apricots
Organic arugula with dried apricots, shaved Parmesan cheese, tossed with extra virgin olive oil and vinegar.

IL SECONDO PIATTO
Herb Roasted Chicken
Free range chicken legs and thighs roasted to perfection with extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs and herb salt.

Creamy Tomato Polenta
A lush blend of polenta, slow roasted tomatoes, cream and butter.

Sautéed Wild Mushrooms
Organic shiitake, cremini, button and oyster mushrooms sautéed in garlic and herb salt.

Capelin Pesto
Toasted pine nuts, basil, Parmesan cheese, garlic and herb salt.

SOUPS
Spinach Lentil Dahl
Tropical Shrimp Bisque
Wild Rice & Pork
Sweet Onion with Peas (chilled)

DESSERTS
Red Velvet Cake with Bright White Frosting
Hazelnut Shortcakes with Plum Compote
Chocolate Coconut Cheesecake
Creamy Lemon Macadamia Nut Cookies
Cherry Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Jay Chou's girlfriend Patty Hou

Early this year, pictures of popular Taiwanese singer Jay Chow (Initial D) and TV host Patty Hou, 27, behaving like a couple in Tokyo surfaced in Taiwan tabloids and with that, throwing Jay's denials that they are 'just friends' right out the window.

The pictures by Hong Kong's Sudden Weekly show the couple smiling and strolling, with Jay's arm around Patty's shoulder, holding her hand and whispering in her ear. News of their sighting in Tokyo first surfaced when tourists spotted them at the hip shopping district of Daikanyama.

Patty's manager spoke up. She had earlier told reporters that Patty 'bumped' into Jay by chance in Tokyo, and they didn't even have time for coffee... which was a lie. She claimed she had lied to protect Patty's privacy, and she hoped that fans would not blame Patty.

Jay met Patty last year on E-News@Asia, the daily entertainment news programme she hosts on Asia Plus cable channel. Following that, Patty showed up at his concert in Taipei last October, and the couple first shared the stage during a tsunami charity concert held in Taiwan. Patty sang, while Jay tickled the ivories.

The Jay-Patty pairing has come as a surprise to many because of the couple's seeming incompatibile. She graduated from University Of Southern California with a degree in communications and clinical psychology, while he completed only high school. Furthermore, she is poised, eloquent and hails from a well-to-do family, while he is shy, reticent and is a middle-class kid made good.

No wonder Patty's mum, Madam Lin Yue-yun, was angry at the news of her daughter's secret Tokyo date, reported by Taiwan's Liberty Times. Her mum said she was not informed of Patty's romantic getaway and that she does not approve of them dating. Jay's family, however, seems more than happy with Jay's choice. His mother and grandmother have both previously praised Patty's sweet TV personality.

Lights, camera, action

Posted by Robert Snedegar, Technical Solutions Engineer

Today marks the launch of Current TV, which will let television viewers (like you, for example) broadcast their own videos to the world. Amidst this content contributed by viewers, Current TV produces segments which use Google Zeitgeist data to highlight trends in what people search for using Google. Ever wonder what the most popular searches are for animals? The answers may surprise you (liger, anyone?) Jointly created by teams at both companies, these Zeitgeist segments are aptly named Google Current.

Congratulations to the Current TV team. We wish them the best of luck in their admirable effort to empower television viewers!