Interactive Logos!

Today, Google celebrated Pac-Man's 30th anniversary w/ a playable logo on its homepage. I've been at it for the last 15 minutes. Awesome and a half.

The doodle (Google's term for its event and holiday-specific logos) is accessible on its main page and is a full 255-level game complete with a 256th level "kill screen," just like the original coin-op.

The interactive doodle -- a first for Google -- is the brainchild of senior user experience designer Marcin Wichary, whose earliest exposure to Pac-Man came at age five while traveling across his native Poland with his father, a game technician, to repair arcade machines. Wichary worked with Google doodler (yes, it's a real job) Ryan Germick to create the finished design.

So, for today at least, you can tell your boss: "I may be browsing the web and playing a game, but I'm also being part of something historic."

UPDATE: Google has archived their fully functional Pac-Man game logo here. Play on, players!

Supporting environmentally-friendly transit AND seeing a great concert for free.

This great organization soooo needed to exist in Los Angeles.

The Tour Rider initiative addresses the chronic problem of traffic congestion and the subsequent environmental pollution that results from gridlock traffic at large venues for concerts, festivals, and other events

A Tour Rider is someone who carpools, uses Park & Ride programs, or takes public transportation to a Tour Rider sponsored event. Tour Riders receive an array of perks that may include access to VIP ticket lines, private music showcases in shuttle parking lots, and/or a Tour Rider gift bag with exclusive band merchandise, music, accessories, t-shirts, magazines, video games, tickets to local museums and venues, and other popular items.

Volunteer for the following concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and get the chance to watch the show from near the box seats:

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS: Sunday, May 30, 3:30-8:00 pm.
STING: Tuesday, June 15, 3:30 -8:00 pm

Click here to read the Craigslist post.

Addicting TV Shows.

I seriously can't wait to watch the series finale.

"LOST is more than just a show; it’s an experience, and to get the most out of it, it requires repeated viewing and some extra reading, whether it be Lostpedia, Doc Jensen’s wild theories or one of the books Sawyer was seen reading on the beach.

Most television shows are as simple as the viewer tuning in when the show starts, watching the episode until the credits roll, and then immediately moving on to something else. That is no way to watch LOST. Think of the show as an onion: its exterior consists of all the mysteries of the show, like the hatches and the numbers and Jacob’s cabin and Jacob’s list and Jacob himself and the smoke monster and the frozen donkey wheel and the time flashes that make the island skip like a broken record and the four-toed statue and the seemingly ageless Richard Alpert and room 23 and so on.

It’s easy to be distracted by all of those things, many of which are firmly rooted in science fiction, but peel that onion and you’ll find some of the most basic human struggles like good vs. evil, free will vs. destiny, faith vs. science, life and death, survival, rivalries, redemption, and how all the best cowboys have daddy issues. These are things we can all relate to, and once that onion is peeled, you’re probably going to find yourself crying. LOST is more than just a show, it’s the greatest television experience the world will ever see."

(via FYL)

Facebook Updates to Grandma Via Newsletters.

My grandma still has problems navigating the interwebs. This would be perfect for her. According to labnol.org:

You don’t want your sweet grandma to miss all the family updates because she is not on Facebook but how to keep her in the loop without the computer? Well, the good old way – print your status updates and any photos that you may have recently uploaded to Facebook on paper and send them to her via snail mail just like a newspaper...

There’s an interesting Facebook service called PostEgram that will automatically create full-colored printed newsletters of your status updates and your Facebook photos and it will send them to your loved ones via post.

It works something like this. You authorize the app with Facebook Connect so that it can access your pictures and status updates. Then select profiles of your Facebook contacts who you want to include in the newsletter. Finally, pay via PayPal and you are done.

Oh, the convenience of modern technology.

Tech-savvy Treasure Hunts.

Yes, I'll admit to activating the nerd alert. Can't wait to play this!

"Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment."

Nosara.

I just spent two days in this laid back Costa Rican surf town. Dirt roads. Awesome waves. Sleepy dogs that rule the streets. I wish I was still there.

The Asian Elephant.

This is Jungle Boy. I bumped into him while walking from my hut. We met at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand where I spent some time volunteering. I loved this place. It is an undeveloped 50 acre area in the Mae Taeng Valley, about 2 hours north of Chiang Mai. Lek, its founder, was recognized as Times' Asian Hero of the Year.

Asian elephants are smaller than their African relatives and are largely domesticated. Their numbers have dwindled from 100,000 a century ago to about 2,500 - 5,000 today. The elephants at the sanctuary were mostly rescued from abusive owners. (One elephant that sadly passed away a week after I left the sanctuary was run over by a speeding truck in Bangkok)

As a volunteer, I got to feed and bathe them in the river. Other chores included cutting stalks from corn fields, preparing meals, and - of course - shoveling elephant poop. To learn more, visit elephantnaturefoundation.org.