Monday, August 31, 2015
How Google may Identify How Related Different Entities Are
A patent granted to Google this week attempts to identify similarities between different types of entities, when it finds information about them on the Web. It refers to these types of similarities as commonalities, as in things they may have in common. Google may use these similarities in a number of ways, such as supplementing search results containing related information based upon results that might be in the same category or possibly located in the same region.
The things identified as common may be for things that are moderately unique, but not completely rare.
The patent say “entities,” but it seems to be focusing upon different businesses that might share some similarities. For example, they refer to a food critic writing about restaurants a few times and tell us that the things such a critic might write about different restaurants might be used to find similarities between those places.
For example, that critic might tell us about two different restaurants that both serve the same types of food, such as specializing in certain types of seafood, or that may be located near each other.
The patent is:
Identifying interesting commonalities between entities
Invented by Tamara I. Stern, Gregory J. Donaker, Jason Lee, Bernhard A. M. Seefeld
Assigned to Google
US Patent 9,116,982
Granted August 25, 2015
Filed: March 14, 2013
Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for generating descriptions of relationships between entities.
In one aspect, a method includes:
- Identifying one or more related entities for a particular entity based at least in part on commonalities between the particular entity and the one or more related entities
- sorting the commonalities according to a measure of uniqueness of each of the commonalities, and
- identifying a subset of the commonalities having a measure of uniqueness above a lower measure of uniqueness threshold.
The identified subset of commonalities can include one or more commonalities. One or more commonalities can be selected from the subset of commonalities as indicative of a relationship to the particular entity, and a description of the relationship can be identified based on the selected one or more commonalities.
Take Aways
We are told in the patent that sources such as reviews of places might be looked at while also identifying similarities or commonalities from sources like a food critic’s articles or blog posts.
At present, I’m not seeing the kinds of recommendations fo “similar” places in search results, then again, this patent was just granted a few days ago. It’s possible that Google may have developed a process like the one described in this patent, but hasn’t released it to the public yet.
They tell us that the things they might look for similarities about specific entities might be scored on a “uniqueness” score, based upon how frequently those features might show up in a body of information that the entities (or businesses) might be located in. So, a uniqueness score for (entities) like restaurants may be restaurants could be based upon both offer a rare and unique dish such as Spanakopita, or that they share a map location, or that they share the use of some unusual language
The purpose of this patent seems to be to enable Google to offer searchers “similar” places when they perform a search for a particular type of business.
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Sunday, August 30, 2015
2015 MTV Video Music Awards Workout Playlist
MTV will host the 2015 Music Video Awards from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles this Sunday night. With Miley Cyrus hosting and Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, and Kendrick Lamar among the nominees, we'll definitely be tuning in.
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But why wait until Sunday to enjoy these artists' best songs? We compiled this all-MTV VMA nominee playlist to amp up your weekend sweat sessions.
Taylor Swift - “Eyes Open”
Nominated for: Best Direction; Female Video; Pop Video; Video of the Year; Collaboration; Art Direction; Cinematography; Editing and Visual Effects (last five with Kendrick Lamar)
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Nicki Minaj - “Starships”
Nominated for: Best Female Video; Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Collaboration (with Ariana Grande and Jessie J)
Workout Playlist: 2014 Grammys Edition >>>
Beyonce - “7/11”
Nominated for: Video of the Year; Best Choreography; Best Pop Video; Best Female Video and Best Editing
Kendrick Lamar - “Rigamortis”
Nominated for: Video of the Year (twice); Best Choreography; Best Direction (twice); Best Male Video; Best Hip-Hop Video; Best Collaboration; Best Art Direction; Best Cinematography (twice); Best Editing and Best Visual Effects
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Ellie Goulding - “Lights”
Nominated for: Best Female Video
Ed Sheeran - “Sing”
Nominated for: Video of the Year; Best Choreography; Best Pop Video; Best Male Video; Best Cinematography and Best Editing
Childish Gambino - “Freaks and Geeks”
Nominated for: Best Direction and Best Visual Effects
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Bruno Mars - “Locked Out of Heaven”
Nominated for: Video of the Year; Best Pop Video; Best Direction; Best Male Video and Best Collaboration (all with Mark Ronson)
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Maroon 5 - “Harder to Breathe”
Nominated for: Best Pop Video
Hozier - “Take Me to Church”
Nominated for: Best Direction and Best Rock Video
Five Minutes with the Most Successful Tennis Duo of All Time
The US Open is heating up, and we were lucky enough to grab a couple minutes with the most successful tennis duo of all time: Bob and Mike Bryan. They served up the secrets to dominating with age, and talked about gluten-free diets, how exercise is critical to their game, and more.
Men's Fitness: You were born three minutes apart and have been in sync ever since, but you both have different philosophies when it comes to exercise. How would you describe how each of you gets a workout in?
Being 37-years-old our workouts have evolved a lot since we first started out on tour. For the most part Mike, because he is slightly more injury-prone, has modified his workouts to focus primarily on core, flexibility, and shoulder strength. Mike tends to do a lot of yoga as it checks a lot of boxes for what he’s trying to achieve during his workouts. I, Bob, have been fortunate in that I have managed to, for the most part, stay injury-free throughout my career. My workouts are a little more general run of the mill, full body workouts coupled with intense core and cardio sessions mixed in.
MF: Anything else (in general) that you guys agree-to-disagree on?
Being identical twins there is not much we disagree on. We play the game slightly differently and play different musical instruments. Mike tends to be a little more methodical about things while I like to get creative and enjoy taking pictures, making GoPro training/ travel videos, and generally spending a lot of time off court trying to create things for us as a team and for my family back home.
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MF: How important has it been to have off-court workouts for your tennis careers?
We definitely aren’t spring chickens anymore. There is a lot that hurts after long matches now that didn’t before, and therefore off court workouts have become some of the most important time we spend every day. Our goal is to maximize our potential and the only way to do that is to compete as much as possible, and give ourselves as many chances for success as we can. The more work we do off court the smaller the chances of us getting injured – so our off court workouts are everything.
MF: How about diet? Are you both different in that aspect as well? Do you guys eat anything special before workouts, or before tennis matches?
We found out a few years ago that Mike has an allergic reaction to gluten. Following that discovery, he of course switched to a fully gluten-free diet. Having seen the health benefits and the positive effects it was having on Mike firsthand, I decided to switch to a mostly gluten-free diet too. This happened about 6 or 7 years ago, we like to think we started the trend.
MF: You've both been so dominating for YEARS! How have your careers as players changed from your teens, twenties, and thirties? Have you gotten better as you've gotten older? Are there more challenges? Have other things gotten easier or more intuitive?
Things have definitely changed and evolved, and it has become a lot more difficult to win on pure power and athleticism alone. Being in our late thirties now, we feel we have so much experience on tour, and most importantly have played together for so many decades that we have a distinct, sometimes intangible, advantage over many of the other doubles teams out there. Sure we know where to stand, what our opponents strengths and weaknesses are etc, but more than anything we understand one another’s games and we understand what’s worth spending energy on during a match, and what is not. We know that if we focus on doing the things that we do well as often as possible in a match, statistically, we are going to break the other pair down, and win more often than we lose.
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MF: Do you have any mental tricks or routines to prepare for a match?
We don’t have any particular mental tricks outside of just trying to show as much positive energy as possible during the match (even if we may not be feeling it.) Regarding our pre-match routine, we like to discuss the games plan with our coach, grip our racquets, put sunscreen on, take Aleve, and warm up.
MF: We get it, athletes are particular with their gear. What are the most important features of the gear you use? That includes anything and everything; sunblock, shoes, shirts, hats, sunglasses, and of course, your rackets.
The most important features of all our gear is functionality and performance. We have our bag’s full of exercise bands, Tournagrip, Vega endurance gels & energy bars, white tape, wristbands, hats, protein powder, electrolyte hydrator, and of course our Prince rackets and an extra pair of KSWISS shoes.
Saturday, August 29, 2015
The Food That's as Healthy as Exercise and Quitting Smoking
We've told you all about how exercise is great for your heart while smoking is... not so much. You also probably know that too much sodium is a no-go and though certain types of alcohol are good for your heart, it's only in small amounts (too much has the opposite effect.) But, the findings of this new study was news to us: Eating plenty of protein-rich foods (packed with amino acids) might be just as good as taking up running, and ditching salt, booze, and cigs. 25 Reasons Running is Better Than the Gym >>>Researchers from the University of East Anglia looked at data from TwinsUK (a database of UK adult twins), and compared the impact of seven different amino acids (found in plant and animal protein) on heart health. The people who ate the most amino acids had lower blood pressure and "arterial stiffness" (a measure of the elasticity of your arteries which, when less stiff, makes it easier for your heart to get blood pumped throughout your body.) However, more research is needed to understand exactly why amino acids have this beneficial effect."Increasing intake from protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, dairy produce, beans, lentils, broccoli and spinach could be an important and readily achievable way to reduce people's risk of cardiovascular disease," lead researcher Dr. Amy Jennings said in a release. 20 Essential Superfoods for Every Man's Diet >>>Though all seven of the amino acids studied—arginine, cysteine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, leucine, and tyrosine—had a positive impact on blood pressure, plant-based sources had a particulalry strong effect, researchers say. Worried about losing the muscle building benefits of protein in exchange for the heart-healthy perks of vegetarian-protein? You don't have to. Check out these ten vegan recipes that make use of the healthiest, protein-packed vegan foods and get acquainted with the best vegan protein powders here.
Why We Should Say Goodbye to the Lazy Summer Fantasy
To click through the images of summertime on social media is to imagine three glorious months of summer love, summer vacation and summer jobs. But behind each smiling selfie and image of the family beach vacation lurks the harsh reality of summer childcare. Over the last 25 years, the cost of childcare has nearly doubled from $84 per week in 1983 to $143 in 2011, according to the U.S. Census. Forget summer fun -- for most parents, the summer months means scrambling to figure out: who is going to watch the kids?
The answer, along with help, often comes from family. Nearly one-third of working parents rely on relatives to tend to their children over the summer months. Approximately 13 percent of older school-aged to middle-school children, who have outgrown daycare camp, end up fending for themselves, otherwise known as "self care." Only 20 percent of parents send their kids to formal, paid childcare.
Working class families fare the worst in the summer, as their jobs often offer less flexibility, unpaid leave. Regardless of income status, children gain little while losing approximately one to two months of academic instruction over the summer, particularly in math and spelling, according to the National Education Association Summer Learning Resource.
Year-round school is one solution to compensate for the loss of reading and math skills over the summer months, while meeting the needs of our modern-day society. The Congressional Research Service, the in-house think tank for Congress, reports that some four percent of all U.S. public schools operate on a year-round schedule, which translates into just over 3,700 schools. The most popular year around plan is known as the 45-15 plan, according to the National Education Association. Under that model, students attend school for 45 days and then get three weeks off. Another option is the 60/20 calendar. Students attend 60 days of instruction followed by 20 days of vacation.
According to one study, parents found the three-week breaks, especially during holidays, easier to accommodate. The truth is, the parents of children currently enrolled in schools providing year round scheduling enjoy the flexibility of the shorter breaks and are able to take advantage of discounted travel cost.
Many older teens, at schools operating under the traditional academic calendar, already attend what amounts to year round school. In 2010,more than 45.6 percent 16-19 year olds attended summer school.
Recently, year-round school gained traction in America's heartland. At the end of the last school year, two North Kansas City schools transitioned to the year round calendar. Parents had the opportunity to transfer their children to a traditional school or participate in the year round 45-15 plan. Some 95 percent of parents opted to stay.
But year-round education is a polarizing subject that divides educators and parents alike. Critics argue that the loss of summer camp, summer jobs or unique educational summer internships isn't worth the extra associated costs of year-round education. For my part, I have weathered almost 15 years of finding summer solutions for three children though an accumulative of 14 hot, muggy summers in the suburbs of Houston.
What I haven't experienced with my own children, I've observed from my work as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in an underserved area, a few miles away from my home. Whether in my middle-class neighborhood or the working class community where I work, the need for year round education remains the same.
The truth is that the academic year as we know it is a relic from a bygone past. In the 1800's, Americans relied on extra hands to plow the fields in rural areas but urban schools often offered year round school.
Nowadays, ask parents and teenage kids about their summer plans and the response is more likely "nothing" than any mention of fieldwork. After a week or two of vacation, it's "hurry up and wait for school to start." Additionally, kids across the socio-economic spectrum often kill time and boredom with video game playing and television watching, leading to weight gain.
With harried parents and idle children all waiting for summer to end, we should reevaluate our archaic school calendar. The three empty summer months has become as outdated as the single-income household and easy-to-find summer jobs. After a summer of juggling family and work to meet today's families' challenges, it's time to let go of the summer dream.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Through the Google lens: Search Trends August 21-27
WDBJ tragedy
A small TV station in Roanoke, Va., is reeling after two of its journalists were shot and killed live on air Wednesday morning. Police identified the gunman as a former reporter for the station, and if his horrible crime was designed for maximum shock and attention, it worked. Searches for Bryce Williams—the on-air name former employee Vester Flanagan went by—ran into the tens of millions as people looked for information and video of what had happened.
Searches in the path of the storm
Thursday marked 10 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but searchers in the U.S. over the last 48 hours have been looking ahead to another storm. Today, news outlets are reporting that Tropical Storm Erika has already been responsible for deaths in the Caribbean island of Dominica. As Florida’s governor declared a state of emergency ahead of Erika’s predicted U.S. landfall Monday, the city of Hialeah in South Florida is the top of the list of cities searching for information on the storm. But whether the storm searches are coming from the U.S. or the Caribbean, “Erika path” and related terms are up more than 1000 percent this week.
Get out the popcorn. MTV’s annual Video Music Awards is coming up this Sunday, and all eyes will be on Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj following their much-buzzed about Twitter spat over nominations for Music Video of the Year. We turned to search to see if trends could show us whether people are leaning Team Swift or Team Minaj headed into the weekend. Tay-Tay’s music video “Blank Space” is in the lead in the Best Female Video category, followed by Minaj’s “Anaconda.” Though “Anaconda” was not nominated for Music Video of the Year—a category that Swift also leads for “Bad Blood,” according to Google searches—Minaj is top of the search pile in the Best Hip Hop Video category.
In other music news, a report that One Direction will be parting ways up brought a 200,000 search spike earlier in the week. “Are One Direction splitting up?” (perhaps we should make that “ARE ONE DIRECTION SPLITTING UP??!?! :(:(:(”) was the top search question, before the band clarified they are actually just taking a break. As former band member Zayn Malik has already decided to go solo, we read the search tea leaves to see what kind of popularity the current members have should the band, well, disband. Most likely to launch a successful solo career based on search buzz? Harry Styles is the resounding winner, taking a whopping 60 percent of the 1D searches. Our advice for Liam Payne: at 1 percent, don’t give up your day job.
6 Quick Tips to Prevent SEO Annotations from Becoming a Chore
When Is a Pivot the Right Thing to Do?
1. The Competitive Environment Changed.
We're living in a time where technology is fueling changes across many industries. Amazon is driving retail to speed up delivery, Uber is inviting consumers to expect car services to provide efficient and seamless service. No matter how forward-thinking you were when you began your enterprise, chances are technology is changing consumer expectations in your thriving enterprise. New technology is inevitably changing the competitive environment you're operating in. There may be downward pressure on pricing or a need to improve terms. For example, shipping is now something consumers expect to be free. The biggest mistake you can make is ignoring changes in your environment. If consumers expect free shipping and free returns, it's time to adjust your model.
2. The Customer Needs Have Changed.
Venture investor Chris Sacca tells a great story about getting an early look at Airbnb and telling the founder that there was no way it was going to work. Too much risk, not any customer demand. A terrible idea. He was right of course, looking in the rear-view mirror. But only the founder could know that there was an unmet need for low cost, human-scale, room sharing. Airbnb turned couch surfing into a business, and a very big business indeed. Brian Chesky saw the future, and he built it. With $2.3 billion in funding, Airbnb now has has over 1,500,000 listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries since its founding in 2008. So, how does the growth of Airbnb change the hospitality market? Does it impact your business? Does it open new opportunities? Customer needs are changing in many sectors -- staying in touch with those changes is critical to saying ahead.
3. The Barriers To Entry Have Dissolved.
Many years ago I owned a television production company. We owned expensive video cameras, costly editing gear, and the edit rooms and support services that our clients - mostly TV networks - expected when they came to edit a program or a series of promo spots. I remember the day I saw Apple's first edition of Final Cut Pro. It was an entire edit room on a laptop. I saw it in an instant. The barriers to entry in post production would vanish. Talented editors would no longer need my overhead. Networks would bring post in house. The hourly rate we charged would plummet and eventually vanish. It didn't happen overnight, but slowly we transitioned from expensive gear to low-cost software, and we lowered our hourly rates to meet the market. Today post production has declined for all but high-end effects. The business vanished as quality, low-cost production arrived and empowered new competitors.
4. Your Drive And Passion Has Changed.
We're all driven by different things. Some of us are driven by innovation. Some of us want to build big things. Some of us want to change the world. But as part of the magical entrepreneurial elixir, there's always an element of passion. Passion is what drives innovation, and gives entrepreneurs the confidence to take on big things and have the confidence, and some would say hubris, to believe that they can see the future and build that vision. As important as it is to have drive and passion, it's also important to know when you've run out. For some entrepreneurs, success can lead to boredom - and that means it's time to pivot. Either taking on new challenges or step aside. But understanding what drives you is critical to remain charged and striving for continued success.
5. New Opportunities Have Emerged.
One day - you may wake up and see that the path ahead of you has taken a turn. It may be an evolution - or it may be a revolution. If it's an organic and natural step in your path, then an adjustment or a pivot may be all it takes to stay focused on what lies ahead. Chances are, if you've already been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and built a business - it's going to happen again. Maybe you'll be lucky, and the new opportunities will be on the path ahead. But chances are you'll find your passion driven by something really new - brand new - and divergent. So, don't be afraid to make the pivot a big one, even a life-changing one. There's little to be gained by staying at any party too long.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Have More Sex (Here's Why!)
Talk about getting lucky: Have an orgasm daily (or nearly that) and you’ll lower your risk of prostate cancer by 33%.
That’s right: Men who ejaculate more than 21 times a month are one-third as likely to get prostate cancer as those who get off only four to seven times a month (and yes, doing it alone counts, too), according to prepublication reports of the 10-year follow-up of a Harvard study from 2004.
The study’s authors hypothesize that getting rid of all that baby batter releases beneficial hormones or that flushing out the old sperm regularly may purge precancerous cells. And though they can’t comment on the record about their research till the results are officially published, we’re going to take their word for it and get started ASAP.
And in related news: To make sure you can get it up when you need it, try to have two or three cups of coffee (or the caffeine equivalent) a day, say researchers at the U. of Texas. Their study found that men who consume 85 to 170 milligrams of caffeine daily are 42% less likely to report any kind of erectile dysfunction. Docs think the caffeine relaxes arteries and muscles leading to the penis, allowing for more—and better—boners.
