Google World is a site with all about Google : from page ranking till the Google Dance and Google Tools. The company's market shares and company structure is explained, and even some anti Google sites can be found on it.
No matter what you are throwing away, somebody will find it endlessly fascinating. Witness Bill Keaggy, who loves other people's grocery lists. Which reminds me, I still have some errands to do.
Every webmaster knows that Google results vary from time to time. During the month there will be minor changes in rankings. This is called 'Everflux'. But only about once per month does Google dance, updating the back links and the PageRank. The dance usually lasts about 3-5 days. During these days results on Google tend to change by the minute. After the Google Dance is over each site will have been adjusted in rank.
Google is *VERY* interesting. It is highly inconsistent and extremely erratic - yet few notice and no one cares. See for instance http://google.fergusons.dk/
Google is not just one homogeneous database with the kind of consistency you require to run an enterprise. It's LOADS of databases, which are all updated on the fly and out of sync with each other. The expression used on the web site cited above - "the Google dance" - is a brilliant description. It can be very confusing - you do a Google search and spot an item. An hour later, you realise it was more useful than you thought and try to find it again. And you can't.
The major Google databases have a cycle supposed to be four weeks but actually closer to nine. Exactly which database you get when you type in your search is in the lap of the gods.
After reading this Slashdot post about two chatting bots, I got interested in the matter, so I decided to play around with these automated chatters. I installed a local IRC server, and off course installed an Eggdrop bot. Now these thing are fun, and there are many scripts out there to get some respons like :
darkcompn !country be
Zuul Country for .be is: Belgium -GB-
darkcompn !coke
* Zuul opens up a fresh can of coke and sets it in front of darkcompn
But their primary function is actually protecting irc channels from flooding and abuse when the operators are absent. Fun really begins with AI bots, and there is where Alice pops up. Alice (Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity) is an award-winning free natural language artificial intelligence chat robot. The software used to create A.L.I.C.E. is available as free ("open source") Alicebot and AIML software.
Try talking to A.L.I.C.E. just like a real person, but remember you are really chatting with a machine! A.L.I.C.E.'s Alicebot engine utilizes AIML (Artificial Intelligence Markup Language) to form responses to your questions and inputs.
darkcompn marvin, what's up ?
marvin I am chatting with clients on the internet.
darkcompn you like chatting ?
marvin Yes talking is my primary function.
darkcompn do you have a computer ?
marvin I live in a computer.
darkcompn that must be crowded
marvin Thanks for explaining crowded.
darkcompn no problem
marvin Should there be a problem?
darkcompn no
marvin I didn't think so either. Just a moment. Just a moment.
darkcompn what operating system do you run ?
marvin My primary server is Linux, but as a Java program I run on any OS.
darkcompn I'm fond of Unix
marvin A lot of people like that. What is not to like about UNIX?
darkcompn nothing ! Say, marvin: you use KDE or Gnome ?
marvin Say no to KDE or Gnome.
darkcompn you are using something like Window Maker or Fluxbox then ?
marvin I am using Telnet as a browser.
There are several Alice implementations, but I found J-Alice the most interesting, as it has an irc client built-in, so that it can join some irc channels. Alice comes with different AIML templates, so that you have the chance of modifying your bot to your wish (eg making it speak your language).
Random Personal Picture is a weird and almost fascinating glimpse on the life of other people. Kinda like looking through photo albums of people you don't know.
That one not allways finds people pictures, can be seen in this result, showing us marvellous weather pictures from various aircrafts.
A piece of trash every day, keeps the internet garbage away.
The Found Magazine is a website about the lost and found objects people find on the street : love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ... - anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life.
I hate spam, but i love spamradio... the guys at spamradio use text to speech software on spam messages they recieve and mix the results with ambient music for truly disturbing and amazing results. from run your own porn site to start spamming now.
A creature a day keeps the doctor away.
Another interesting weblog : Moments of confusion. One picture a day with some Dutch text, while clicking on them reveals a TV show screen capture. Weird but very nice.