Subscribe Via Email
How to Use Google to Count Calories in Everyday Foods
There are many websites out there that can tell you how many calories are in almost every type of food imaginable. However, the problem with many of these sites is that they’ve become too complex. With complexity comes difficulty — it’s hard to find the information that you want.
There is actually a very easy way to find out how many calories are in certain foods just by doing a Google search. In order for this to work though, you must have a Google account and be signed in.
In order to start counting calories with Google, just go to the Google homepage and click on the Preferences link to the right of the search box, as shown below.
You will then be taken to the Google’s Preferences page. You will need to scroll down to the last section on the page which is entitled Subscribed Links. If your page doesn’t look like the one in the screen shot below, be sure you are signed in. On a side note, all of Google’s preferences are stored as a cookie on your computer. However, Google doesn’t use a cookie to track the subscribed links, they use your account — hence the requirement that you be signed in.
Once your screen looks like the image above, click on the Subscribe button at the far left of the first entry which is provided by CalorieLab. The Subscribe button will then change to an Unsubscribe button, as shown below, indicating that you are now subscribed.
Be sure to click on the Save Preferences button at the bottom right. If you don’t do this, Google will not complete your subscription for CalorieLab, and you won’t be able to see the nutritional information in the Google search results.
After clicking on the Save Preferences button and clicking OK in the resulting box, Google will forward you to the main Google homepage. You can now enter the name of a food and click on the Search button. You should see results similar to the ones below for the particular foods I entered.
Searching for potato chips
Searching for turkey breast
After performing a few searches, I began wondering why the nutrition facts that I was seeking were showing up so far down in the search results. Although Google doesn’t state why, they do state the following on their Subscribed Links FAQ page:
Your Subscribed Links will appear in the fourth search result position. You can identify your Subscribed Link by the link that appears next to this result that reads “Manage my Subscribed Links.”
Good to know. The information will always appear fourth. Perhaps it is a magic number… any ideas?
Google also has many other useful subscribed links in their Subscribed Links Directory. Have fun!
How to Use Google to Expose Urban Legends
A couple of days ago, I was reading a blog that had a post commemorating the life of George Carlin. The author had attributed a short literary piece entitled The Paradox of Our Time to George Carlin. I vaguely remembered reading this exact same story in an email that had been forwarded to me from my mother some time ago. The only difference was that it had been written by a student from Columbine High School.
I found it interesting that this version of the story was prefaced with the following text:
Isn’t it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70’s and 80’s - could write something so very eloquent…and so very appropriate. Excerpts from A Message By George Carlin:
I immediately used Google to try to find out who had really written this vignette. A few moments later, I found myself at a reputable myth-debunking website, Snopes.com.
What I found out about this story was literally shocking! Not only had this story not been written by George Carlin, George actually had gotten quite upset about it. He said the following on his website (profanity removed):
One of the more embarrassing items making the internet/e-mail rounds is a sappy load of [crap] called “The Paradox of Our Time.” The main problem I have with it is that as true as some of the expressed sentiments may be, who really [cares]? Certainly not me.
So who was it that wrote The Paradox of Our Time? The credit goes to a pastor by the name of Dr. Bob Moorehead. Although you may want to consider the following that the Snopes.com site has to say about Pastor Bob:
Those intent upon taking inspiration from “Paradox” should consider the following: during Bob Moorehead’s tenure as pastor of Overlake Christian Church, seventeen members of his congregation reported that he had sexually assaulted them. These allegations, which surfaced in 1997, prompted his resignation in 1998. After a year of publicly supporting Moorehead the church elders withdrew their support, their own investigation into the charges having led them to conclude their pastor had indeed been guilty of molesting a number of male churchgoers.
The Moral of the Story
I want to get across the fact that you can’t always believe what you read in your inbox. Even if it was sent to you by someone as loving as your own mother.
Also, if you are proactive, you will be able to find out on your own whether or not that amazing story you just heard is true or not.
How to Use Google to Expose Urban Legends
In order to find out whether the Paradox of Our Time was really written by George Carlin, I performed a site search of some different hoax-busting sites that I’ve found to be credible over the years.
I want to make it easier for the many Googlers out there to expose hoaxes though, so that you don’t have to type the following into a Google search box every time you want to uncover an urban legend:
site:http://www.snopes.com/ site:http://urbanlegends.about.com/ site:http://www.truthorfiction.com/ site:http://www.breakthechain.org/ site:http://www.hoaxkill.com/ site:http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/ site:http://www.vmyths.com/ site:http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/ site:http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/ site:http://www.hoaxbusters.org/
site:http://www.urbanlegendsonline.com/ [Your Keywords Here]
Simple Search: Hoax Hunter
So I decided to create a custom Google search that will search all of those sites for you while only requiring you to enter your keywords. All you have to do is type in a few key words from the email or story you’ve received (such as the title), and let the Hoax Hunter go hunting for you.
You can go to the Hoax Hunter by clicking on the link here, or by going to the blue menu bar at the top of this page and hovering your mouse over Simple Search and then clicking on Hoax Hunter.
All you have to do then is type in a key word or name from the suspected hoax. For example, if you type in George Carlin, you will see the Paradox of Our Time hoax as the second and third search results, as shown below.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thanks for reading!
How to Use Google to Find Movie Showtimes, Find Theaters, and Reserve Your Tickets
Many internet users already know how to go to their movie theater’s website and see what movies they are currently showing and what the showtimes are. However, there is an easier way! Google has an index of pretty much every theater in the United States together with what movies they are currently showing and at what times.
One way to access this database is to type in the name of a movie that you want to see, then type in your location. For example, you can type in the name of the movie, and just the name of your city if you live in a large city. If your city is a little bit smaller, you may want to add a comma after the city name and type in the state.
You can also just type in the name of the movie and the ZIP code for your city. Google automatically finds theaters that are within a reasonable distance so that you can see the available alternatives.
Another method is to type in the name of the movie followed by your state. This only works for some of the smaller and less-populated states. As you can see below, it works for the smallest state by land area, Rhode Island.
Find All the Theaters Playing a Certain Movie
If you do a search for The Incredible Hulk, Seattle and then click on the name of the movie, you will be directed to a page similar to the one below:
From this screen, you can see all of the theaters that are playing The Incredible Hulk in the Seattle area.
How to Reserve Your Seat Without Standing In Line
You may notice that some of the showtimes are clickable (the ones that are blue and underlined). When you click on one of these links, it will transfer you to a website that allows you to purchase your movie tickets online.
This allows you to save your time by not having to go to the theater beforehand to get your tickets if you know the movie will be sold out.
Not Sure What Movie to See?
If all you know is that you want to spend approximately two hours of your time in a dark room full of strangers watching something on a screen, then simply type in movies [insert your city name, or ZIP code here]. You can see an example of this below.
For example, if I type in movies, traverse city, mi Google will show me a list of all of the movies that are playing in all of the theaters in Traverse City, MI.
You may notice that the title of the results, Showtimes for Traverse City, MI, is a clickable link. If you click on it, Google will show you all of the movies that are playing in Traverse City at any movie theater.
From this screen, Google makes it easy to hone in on any movie that sounds interesting. In the upper right hand corner, Google allows you to sort the listings by the following attributes:
- Theater Distance
- Movie Popularity
- Movie Rating
- Movie Title
Once you’ve done that, you can then click on the reviews to the left of the movie title to read what others think of the movie. Be careful though, they may contain spoilers that could potentially ruin the movie for you.
Google also tells you the running time of the movie, the rating, the genre, and allows you to view the movie trailer online. In addition, Google provides a link to the IMDb, which stands for the Internet Movie Database.
Getting to the Theater
After the title of the movie theater, Google displays the address. If you’re not sure where the address is located, Google provides a handy Map link that will allow you to view a map of where the theater is located. Optionally, you can enter your address and Google will give you driving directions.
Enjoy your movie!
Poll: Favorite Search Engine
Loading ...