Google Blog: Alalaô! Keep up with Carnaval 2020 on Google News. “Break out your costumes and strike a pose: Brazil’s Carnaval starts today and lasts through February 26th. The five-day festival, which traces its roots back to the early 1700s, is now one of the largest festivals in the world with thousands of parties and millions of people celebrating across Brazil’s biggest cities. Google News is here to help you keep up with the parades and stay safe.”
Holidays
The Next Web: Scientist trains AI to write messages of love on candy hearts
The Next Web: Scientist trains AI to write messages of love on candy hearts. “Janelle Shane, who in her day job creates computer-controlled holograms for studying the brain, collected genuine messages printed on the heart-shaped sweets to use as training data. She then fed them to a neural network so that it could learn the patterns behind the words.” I think “All Hover” was my favorite.
MakeUseOf: 5 Apps to Figure Out New Year’s Resolutions and Long-Term Goals
MakeUseOf: 5 Apps to Figure Out New Year’s Resolutions and Long-Term Goals. “Research on why goals fail shows it’s mainly because of two common errors. People tend to set a popular goal that others are choosing, rather than an objective that you want intrinsically. Once the goal is set, people don’t make a plan or actionable steps to achieve it, nor do they track their progress. These apps will help you set a goal that is meaningful for you, and break it down into achievable and measurable steps.”
BetaNews: You can track Santa Claus again this Christmas with Google
BetaNews: You can track Santa Claus again this Christmas with Google. “Yes, Google’s official Santa Tracker is an annual tradition, and in 2019, it continues. As usual, the search giant delivers activities beyond mere tracking, such as an interactive Santa Village.”
Bing Blogs: HO HO HO! Microsoft and Bing Maps help NORAD track Santa!
Bing Blogs: HO HO HO! Microsoft and Bing Maps help NORAD track Santa!. “The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is preparing for their annual tradition of tracking Santa around the globe. As NORAD conducts its primary mission of defending Canadian and United States airspace, they take on the supplementary mission of tracking Santa’s journey for the holidays. Much like Santa and his Elves, NORAD gets help from volunteers, partners and Microsoft Employees who will be joining the crew at the Peterson Airforce Base to ensure Santa’s safe travels around the globe!”
Mashable: Curl up in front of a cozy Lego yule log that’s streaming on YouTube 24/7
Mashable: Curl up in front of a cozy Lego yule log that’s streaming on YouTube 24/7. “Instead of watching one of the many yule log videos that feature real fireplaces, consider breaking tradition and watching Lego’s Festive Fireplace. It’s cute as hell, and streaming live on YouTube 24/7.”
StarTribune: Nearly 90 foolproof holiday cookie recipes just got easier to find
StarTribune: Nearly 90 foolproof holiday cookie recipes just got easier to find. “In conjunction with our 17th annual Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, we’ve reorganized and drastically improved our online recipe archive. Now when you go to [the Web site], you’ll find a complete digital source for all things cookies, including nearly 90 foolproof recipes, culled from the past 17 years of competition.”
