Being down here in Arizona, the alluring bubble of internet stocks and well, everything about the internet, seems a long way away. Despite that, I have been following the Google IPO hype for a while now. Is it something to jump on with the vigor of a hyena, or a complete wast of time?

Either way, it's fun to watch. People have even registered domains about the IPO (www.google-ipo.com). I wonder how much this guy is making in adwords?

Regardless of whether you regard brand domination with admiration or disdain, having a masterful understanding of the phenomenon is both useful and fun. Try this - "Guess the brand alphabet game".

I have just been introduced to Newman's Ginger O's and I do believe they are among the finest cookies ever made, combining gingersnaps and Oreos. I just ate about 20 of them. These things rule! Newman's Ginger O's - I highly recommend purchasing a bag today.

So I'm doing a report on permeable parking surfces, and turning to Google, I realized again how truly powerful the internet is. I havn't been in a library in ages, and I got almost everything I wanted in a matter of an hour or two.

Of course, getting loads of raw data is still difficult, and much of it is unavailable.

Today's challenge:

1) Find the average percentage of cities that is covered in pavement.
- I've found two - Toronto 40%, and L.A. 60%, but need something more general.
2) What percentage of that pavement is:
a) Roadways
b) Shoulders of roadways
c) Parking lots (broken down into heavy use and lightly used)
d) Walkways
e) Other.

I think I've finally pushed Google to its limits. Thing is, I doubt the library will have this info easily available either. Time to make some phone calls.

New website project launched - If you're into old-school golf humor, check out Fred Larsen. (I put the site together with a friend of mine, Fred's son Craig)

No one from San Francisco is unfamiliar with the mad genius known as Frank Chiu. We even let him use our bathroom once at the old office. As with all people with a cause, persistence pays off. This man's fame is slowly growing, his cause is being heard, and his fans are speaking. The revolution is well underway. Next time in town, the first place i'm going to check out is [12 Galaxies]

But does Frank even know it exists? Will the clientle be devoted followers of the cause, or blissfully unaware yuppies? Only time will tell. [more on Frank]

Everyone knows that Spanish is the second most popular language in the United States and is growning in importance year after year. As a result, signage, product labeling, and paperwork is often written in both English and Spanish, especially in the Southwest. This trend has been going on for years.

But, recently I keep coming across products that are labled in English and French! Over and over again I'm noticing French on my shampoo, razors, dental floss, cookie packages, everything. I'm not living in Canada either, I'm in Arizona for goodness' sake, and French is outshowing Spanish on products 2 to 1.

I'm totally confused. I don't know if Arizona shares the same supply chain as Quebec, or if mad francofiles are making a last ditch effort to reclaim the lingua franca.