Google Gravity Chrome Experiment Now Live

Google Gravity by Hi-ReS is a fun Chrome experiment that lets you play around with the search engine page's elements. According to the developer, "type 'google gravity' then click 'I'm Feeling Lucky' -- this should come up." You may have heard or seen of this project before, but now the page is actually live for you to experiment with. Video demonstration after the break.


Facebook Privacy Hack?

10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know

1. Use Your Friend Lists

I can’t tell you how many people are not aware of their friend lists. For those not aware of what friend lists are, Facebook describes them as a feature which allows “you to create private groupings of friends based on your personal preferences. For example, you can create a Friend List for your friends that meet for weekly book club meetings. You can create Friend Lists for all of your organizational needs, allowing you to quickly view friends by type and send messages to your lists.”
There are a few very important things to remember about friend lists:

• You can add each friend to more than one friend group
• Friend groups should be used like “tags” as used elsewhere around the web
• Friend Lists can have specific privacy policies applied to them

I’ll touch on each of the things listed above in more detail later. A typical setup for groups would be “Friends”, “Family”, and “Professional”. These three groups can then be used to apply different privacy policies. For example, you may want your friends to see photos from the party you were at last night, but you don’t want your family or professional contacts to see those photos.
Using friend lists is also extremely useful for organizing your friends if you have a lot of them. For instance I have about 20 friend lists and I categorize people by city (New York, San Francisco, D.C., Tel Aviv, etc), where I met them (conferences, past co-workers, through this blog), and my relationship with them (professional, family, social, etc).
You can configure your friend lists by visiting the friends area of your Facebook.

2. Remove Yourself From Facebook Search Results

My mom is a teacher and one of the first things she asked me when she joined Facebook is how she could make sure her students couldn’t see that she was on the site. Understandably my mom doesn’t want her middle school students to know what she’s up to in her personal life. There are numerous reasons that individuals don’t want their information to show up in search results on Facebook, and it’s simple to turn off your public visibility.
How to Remove Yourself From Facebook Search Results
Now that you’ve decided that you would like to remove yourself from Facebook’s search results, here’s how to do it:

1. Visit your search privacy settings page
2. Under “Search Visibility” select “Only Friends” (Remember, doing so will remove you from Facebook search results, so make sure you want to be removed totally. Otherwise, you can select another group, such as “My Networks and Friends” which I believe is the default.)
3. Click “Save Changes”

By default, Facebook makes your presence visible to the network you are in. Frequently, people aren’t aware of their visibility, so this is one of the first settings that users wish to modify. By selecting “Customize” from the search visibility drop down you can make your settings even more granular.

3. Remove Yourself From Google

Facebook gets A TON of traffic from displaying user profiles in search engines. Not all of your profile is displayed though. Currently the information displayed in the search profile is limited to: your profile picture, a list of your friends, a link to add you as a friend, a link to send you a message, and a list of up to approximately 20 fan pages that you are a member of.
For some people, being displayed in the search engines is a great way to let people get in contact with you, especially if you don’t have an existing website. Facebook also tends to rank high in the search results, so if you want to be easy to find, making your search profile can be a great idea. Many people don’t want any of their information to be public though.
By visiting the same search privacy settings page listed in the previous step, you can control the visibility of your public search listing which is visible to Google and other search engines. You can turn off your public search listing by simply unchecking the box next to the phrase “Create a public search listing for me and submit it for search engine indexing” as pictured in the image below.

4. Avoid the Infamous Photo/Video Tag Mistake

This is the classic Facebook problem. You let loose for a few hours one night (or day) and photos (or videos) of the moment are suddenly posted for all to view, not just your close friends who shared the moment with you. The result can be devastating. Some have been fired from work after incriminating photos/videos were posted for the boss to see. For others, randomly tagged photos/videos have ended relationships.
At the least, a tagged photo/video can result in personal embarrassment. So how do you prevent the infamous tagged photo or video from showing up in all of your friends news feeds? It’s pretty simple. First visit your profile privacy page and modify the setting next to “Photos Tagged of You”. Select the option which says “Customize…” and a box like the one pictured below will pop up.
Select the option “Only Me” and then “None of My Networks” if you would like to keep all tagged photos private. If you’d like to make tagged photos visible to certain users you can choose to add them in the box under the “Some Friends” option. In the box that displays after you select “Some Friends” you can type either individual friends or friend lists.

5. Protect Your Albums

Just because you’ve uploaded photos doesn’t mean that you’ve accurately tagged every photo correctly. This setting is more of a reminder than anything else. Frequently people will turn of their tagged photo visibility to certain friend lists yet keep their photo albums public to the world. If you are trying to make all your photos invisible you must do so on an album by album basis.
There is a specific Photos Privacy page from which you can manually configure the visibility of each album (as pictured below). This is an extremely useful configuration option and I highly recommend that you take advantage of it. This way you can store your photos indefinitely on Facebook yet ensure that the only people that can view your photos are the ones who you really want to see them.

6. Prevent Stories From Showing Up in Your Friends’ News Feeds

Oh, did you really just break up with your girlfriend? I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure all of your friends and business contacts are also sorry to hear that. I can’t tell you how many awkward relationship status changes I’ve seen. The most regular one I’ve seen recently is when an attractive female ends their relationship and numerous guys hop on the opportunity to console her.
I’ve also seen the end of marriages, as well as weekly relationship status changes as individuals try to determine where their relationship stands with their significant other. My personal policy is to not display a relationship status, but many like to make a public statement out of their relationship. For those individuals, it can be a smart move to hedge against future disasters.
There are a number of ways to control how your relationship status is displayed. The first thing that most people should do is uncheck the box next to “Remove Relationship Status” in the News Feed and Wall Privacy page. In the rare instance that a relationship does uncomfortably end, you can avoid making things more uncomfortable by avoiding a friend notification about it.
Second, your relationship status falls within your “Basic Information” section of your profile. You can control who can see your basic information next to the “Basic Information” setting on the Profile Privacy page. Keep in mind that other relevant profile information like your gender, birth date, networks, and other settings are visible within your basic information section.
Making your basic information completely invisible to friends probably isn’t a good idea, but removing the news feed stories about relationship changes most likely is.

7. Protect Against Published Application Stories

This one is a little more tricky to manage but I’ll explain the issue at hand. Frequently when you add an application, a news feed item is immediately published to your profile. One way to get instantly embarrassed is to visit the “Have Sex!” application (found here). This application has no purpose besides telling your friends that you are interested in having sex with them. Without taking any action, the application will post a news feed story to your profile which says the equivalent of “Nick just published to the world that he is having sex!”
This is surely something that none of your professional contacts if any of your contacts are interested in seeing (honestly I’m a bit confused about that application, but that’s a different story). That’s why it’s important to monitor what takes place after you install an application on Facebook. Once you install an application you should visit your profile to ensure that no embarrassing notification has been posted to your profile.
More often then not, nothing will be posted but there are many applications on the platform unfortunately that publish stories without you knowing it. There are two ways to avoid having this happen: don’t visit applications or scan your profile every time that you do. Ultimately you shouldn’t be concerned about applications that you’ve built a trusted relationship with but any new applications could potentially post embarrassing notifications.

8. Make Your Contact Information Private

I personally use Facebook for professional and personal use and it can frequently become overwhelming. That’s why I’ve taken the time to outline these ten privacy protection steps. One of the first things I did when I started approving friend requests from people that I hadn’t built a strong relationship with, was make my contact information visible only to close contacts.
The contact information is my personal email and phone number. It’s a simple thing to set but many people forget to do it. Frequently people we don’t know end up contacting us and we have no idea how they got our contact information. Your contact privacy can be edited right from your profile. If you have chosen to enter this information, you should see a “Contact Information” area under the “Info” tab in your profile.
If it displays, you simply click “Edit” and then a screen like the one pictured below will show up.

For each contact item that you have in your profile you should set custom privacy settings (as pictured below) so that contacts that you aren’t close to don’t have access to your phone number and/or email. It’s a small change but it can save you the hassle of being pestered by people you don’t know well. Also, protecting your privacy is generally a good practice to get in the habit of doing.
As a side note, this is a great area to take advantage of friend lists. By getting in the habit of grouping your friends, you can ensure that you are navigating Facebook safely through privacy settings that are attached to your friend lists.

9. Avoid Embarrassing Wall Posts

Just because you use Facebook for business doesn’t mean your friends do. That’s why once in a while a friend of yours will come post something embarrassing or not necessarily “work friendly” and it can end up having adverse effects. That’s why Facebook has provided you with the ability to customize your wall postings visibility. You can also control which friends can post on your wall. There are two places you can control these things.
Adjust Wall Posting Visibility

Within your profile page you can control who can view wall postings made by your friends. To do so, click on the “Settings” icon on the wall in your profile page. Next, find the box pictured in the image above and adjust the setting which says “Who can see posts made by friends?” I’d suggest using a strategy similar to the one outlined in the previous step regarding contact information.
Control Who Can Post to Your Wall
In addition to controlling who can view wall postings published by your friends, you also want to control which friends can post on your wall. Not everybody needs to do this, but occasionally you simply want to prevent some people from posting on your page. If you visit the Profile Privacy settings page, there is a section labeled “Wall Posts”.
From this area you can completely disable your friends’ ability to post on your wall. You can also select specific friend lists that can post on your wall. Personally, I don’t really care who can post on my wall but I can understand the need to control who can see those wall postings. If you want to limit who can post wall posts on your profile, this is where you can do it.

10. Keep Your Friendships Private

While it’s fun to show off that you have hundreds or thousands of friends on Facebook, some of your friends don’t want to live public lives. That’s why it’s often a good policy to turn off your friends’ visibility to others. I’ve had a number of individuals visit my profile and then selectively pick off friends that are relevant to them for marketing purposes, or other reasons.
Whatever the reason they are doing it, just know that they are … it’s part of what makes Facebook so addictive: the voyeuristic nature. Also, your friends are frequently visible to the public through search engines and exposing this information can ultimately present a security risk. To modify the visibility of your friends, visit the Profile Privacy page.
Navigate down to the setting which says “Friends” and then modify the setting to whatever is right for you.

Conclusion

These are just ten ways that you can protect your privacy on Facebook. While there are a few other small things to keep in mind, these ten settings are most important. Keep in mind that while you may have turned off the visibility of many profile sections, there is no way to prevent all photos or videos from being visible if friends of yours make the images visible.
The best way to prevent embarrassing items from showing up on Facebook in the future is to not make bad judgements in your personal life. We’re all human though and being completely paranoid about every choice you make is probably not the best way to live your life. Be aware of what privacy settings are available and be conscious of what your friends may be publishing about you.
While you may not want to configure all of the privacy settings outlined, simply knowing how to do so is a great step in the right direction. By following the 10 settings listed above you are well on your way to an embarrassment free future on Facebook!

Manila Water crisis splits

Malacañang Wednesday assuaged fears of a worsening water shortage because of the low level of Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, the main source of water of Metro Manila.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda assured the public that the problem was limited to areas in the west zone being serviced by Maynilad Water Services Inc.

“It’s not even correct to say that there is a water crisis,” he told reporters.

In the House of Representatives, however, the water shortage has divided lawmakers.

Some are pushing for more drastic moves such as getting the President to put the area under a state of calamity or making him the “water czar,” and others saying Maynilad has the burden of resolving the crisis.

Maynilad has implemented rotating water interruptions over the past week, while Manila Water Co., concessionaire in the east zone, is considering rationing in the coming weeks.

Lacierda noted that at its current level, water in Angat would still be good for 60 days in time for September when the frequency of rainfall was expected to get back to normal.

Prolonged rain on Tuesday night increased the dam’s water level. But the increase will not yet change the amount of water being rationed in Metro Manila, an official said.

Calls to place Metro Manila under a state of calamity arose Wednesday after long lines of people at water pumps or tankers became a common site in certain cities.

Malacañang ruled out proposals to declare a state of calamity or emergency in affected areas, pointing out that those being supplied by Manila Water were experiencing “no problem.”

“We’re not even looking at it,” Lacierda said. “The solutions are in place so we have no problem on water shortage. The problem is easy to solve.”

Measures in place

Lacierda said measures were in place to mitigate the problem and ensure that it would not spill over to the rest of Maynilad’s concession areas—or even to the other half of Metro Manila under the jurisdiction of Manila Water.

“No, our solutions are in place so there’s no problem with the water shortage,” he said when asked if authorities were pushing the panic button. “It only affects areas serviced by Maynilad.”

Efforts not enough

In the House, Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro said efforts to deal with the scarcity of water from Maynilad were not enough. Manila Water has been helping service Maynilad’s other areas, he noted.

“It may be effective for some time but there is already a need for the President to declare a state of calamity to strengthen and empower the government agencies concerned,” Teodoro said in a statement.

Compostela Valley Rep. Carmen Apsay also backed the proposal, saying that a state of calamity declaration would allow the President to harness all available means to bring water to the parched areas in the metropolis.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said local government units could put their areas under a state of calamity, and the President’s intervention may not be necessary.

Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales, Aquino’s ally, also disagreed with the move to put Metro Manila under a state of calamity.

Gonzales said the problem stemmed not just from the low supply of water, but also from Maynilad’s lost water, 53 percent of its supply.

In a statement, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone pushed the idea of making Mr. Aquino the “water czar,” the ultimate chief when it comes to water problems.

Up 60 cm

The four-hour rain in Norzagaray, which lasted until Wednesday dawn, raised the reservoir level by 60 centimeters, providing more water than the amount of rain unleashed over the dam by Typhoon “Basyang” (international codename: Conson), according to Rodolfo German, general manager of the Angat River Hydroelectric Power Plant.

On Tuesday, the dam’s water level was 157.63 meters above sea level (masl). As of noon on Wednesday, the level rose to 158.26 masl, German said.

But the increase would not yet bring relief to areas in the west zone in Metro Manila under water rationing, he said.

Sustained rain of the same magnitude would still be needed before the normal water allocation to Metro Manila is resumed, German said. The dam’s normal elevation is between 210 and 212 masl.

“As long as we receive the same amount of rainfall, the dam can recover,” German said.

Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado visited the dam last week, and had concluded that heavy siltation, which was left unchecked for 40 years, could also be the reason for the supply problems.

“The water capacity of the dam is reduced because of the siltation,” he said.

Mendel Garcia, head of a team of foresters protecting the Angat watershed, said government must also relocate over a hundred squatters that have encroached into the forest protecting the Angat water sources.

In Nueva Ecija, irrigation officials advised farmers to use water judiciously as they announced that water release in the programmed service area would depend on the amount of rainfall it receives each week.

Rains have occurred at an average of three days each week in the province since July 1.

Carlito Gapasin, manager of the engineering and operations division of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems, said the Pantabangan Dam’s level was about 20 meters below the reservoir’s capacity to continue normal supply allocations.

Napocor protocol

On Wednesday, the water level at Pantabangan Dam was 182.63 masl. “Our rule curve is 200 [masl]. It is at this level in which it can effectively provide water for our programmed 100,000 hectares service area for the wet season cropping,” Gapasin said.

National Power Corp. president Froilan Tampinco denied overspilling in Angat Dam on Dec. 1-15, 2009, which is partly being blamed for the water shortage in Metro Manila.

“This is not a man-made crisis,” Tampinco stressed.

Tampinco said Napocor did not violate any rules because it strictly followed the water protocol. In fact, as of December, the water levels stood at 212.28 masl, higher than the so-called “high level” of 210 masl.

Without admitting that the old protocol was defective, Tampinco said a new water protocol had been drafted and implemented starting January. With reports from Amy R. Remo; Carmela Reyes-Estrope; and Anselmo Roque, Inquirer Central Luzon

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Typhoon Chanthu lashes flood-hit China

CHONGQING—Typhoon Chanthu lashed southern China on Thursday with punishing winds and heavy rain in the latest weather challenge for a country in which flooding has killed 700 people this year.

Chanthu made landfall in Guangdong province with winds of up to 126 kilometers an hour (78 mph), as the nation grapples with its worst flooding in 10 years, which is expected to continue as the typhoon season gains pace.

Chanthu's winds and rain were expected to rake Guangdong, the island province of Hainan and the Guangxi region with "ferocious precipitation," the China Meteorological Administration warned.

The typhoon made landfall near the city of Wuchuan. State-run television broadcast images of large waves crashing on to the Guangdong shore, trees flattened by wind and electric poles collapsed on to streets under pouring rain.

It said electricity, telecommunications and water services were cut in some areas.

Guangdong and Guangxi are among the areas already hit by torrential rains and flooding that has killed hundreds over the past several weeks and caused scores of rivers and lakes across the region to reach danger levels.

At least 701 people have died from the beginning of the year to July 20, while 347 people remain missing, vice minister of water resources Liu Ning told reporters Wednesday.

The Civil Affairs Ministry said three million people have been evacuated.

The flooding has intensified amid increasingly wet weather across several provinces since June. The ministry has said nearly 500 people have been killed or gone missing since July 1 alone.

Liu warned of more misery to come as the typhoon season gets into gear, saying six to eight major typhoons were expected in the coming months.

The weather administration warned people in Chanthu's westward-moving path to avoid unnecessary trips outdoors until the all-clear is given.

At least two dozen flights in and out of Hainan's Haikou city were cancelled Thursday, airport officials announced.

Elsewhere, the weather administration forecast light to moderate rain for the next three days across parts of China most affected by the recent flooding, including the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Anhui, and Yunnan.

Liu said Wednesday that more than 230 rivers in the country had seen water levels rise beyond warning points, with two dozen exceeding historic highs.

Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed in floods and landslides, and economic losses have hit at least 142 billion yuan ($21 billion), he said. The deaths and damage are China's worst in a decade.

The floods have dominated the country's attention for weeks, with state television each day broadcasting dramatic images of flood victims being rescued from raging rivers or plucked from rooftops in inundated villages.

The situation has triggered fears China could see a repeat of disastrous 1998 floods, when heavy rain swelled the Yangtze, China's longest river, and many tributaries, leading to a series of devastating levee collapses.

At least 4,150 people were believed killed, 18 million were evacuated and millions of homes destroyed in the country's worst floods in recent memory.

Liu and other officials said the 2006 completion of the Three Gorges Dam -- which was built partly for flood control -- and other flood-control projects since then would prevent such a recurrence.

And in a sign of slightly improving conditions, the dam, which was closed for more than three days amid heavy water flow, reopened to vessels on Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency said.


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