Google Maps now offers a nifty “hybrid” view.

For those of you, like me, who find Gmail to be faster and easier to use than a standard GUI mail client, don’t miss out on the keyboard shortcuts. Makes using Gmail practically mouse-free. Link

Someday, when I have an extra mountain of cash just sitting around, I’m going to buy a movie theater. A nice one, with just one screen. I’m going to keep everything clean and shiny and probably throw down some velvet. I’m going to show quality films that I think folks will enjoy. You’ll never see a single commercial and the films will always start on time. You’ll be able to buy popcorn and soda – cheap, because it really doesn’t cost $6.

You can see where the Apollo moon landings were by using the nifty Google Maps interface. Be sure to zoom all the way in. Link

I poked a little fun at font nerds here a week or two ago, but that doesn’t mean I don’t think this looks like fun

The Django project looks like a really nice framework with much of the same goodness inspired by Ruby on Rails. Unfortunately, my heart already belongs to Rails. I’m sure the Python folks will love it, though.

I subscribe to a number of del.icio.us tags via RSS as a great way to keep tabs on things I’m interested in. I also notice some interesting meta data can be found by watching the list of subscriptions over time. For example, here some recent changes in my list… In Flash Ruby Lifehacks Darcs Out PHP CVS

Au Hasard Balthazar is the finest film you’re likely to see this year – maybe ever. . When released in 1966, Jean-Luc Godard apparently called it “The world in an hour and a half” and I can’t think of a better review. It is a story of a donkey named Balthazar but it is not really about him at all. It can be frustrating, slow, unusual and cold, but it’s also beautiful, enigmatic, and deeply, deeply moving.

At dontclick.it, an attempt has been made to remove what is likely the most basic of computer-human interactions – the button click. I can’t even begin to describe how badly it fails. I understand what they tried to do, but… ah hell, go ahead and try yourself. You’ll see.

Google Master Plan (frame 2) Originally uploaded by jurvetson. Apparently, this Mind Map-like drawing was spotted on a white board in Google’s building #43, wherever that is.

Tony Buzan invented the concept of “Mind Mapping” in the 1970s after studying how we use our brains to learn, store and recall information. I’ve flirted with it a few times, with mixed results. Other areas of my life have benefited from an increasingly visual representation, so this weekend I finally got around to reading Buzan’s The Mind Map Book. The book is full of what appears to be science, but I doubt that’s what it is.

I love NASA.