Google!

Google was on campus today, handing out free stuff! I got a t-shirt that says "I'm feeling lucky!" on the back (with the Google logo on the front, natch), a Google pen, and a Google whitepad. I don't know what that last item has to do with search, but hey - it was free, and that makes me happy. Actually, it reminds me of the Google lightbulb gag over at OK/Cancel.

It looks like a pretty cool place to work. I don't think they have any centers close enough for a decent commute, though. Actually, the most interesting thing I learned (or possibly re-learned) this week about Google is that you can use your Google account to log in to Writely, the collaborative online word processor.
One of the engineers I talked with mentioned that the backend for Writely has been completely rewritten since the acquisition. That sounds like we could be seeing a "documents" link appear in the top-left hand corner of Gmail soon. Maybe once Writely gets out of beta . . . then again, when has that ever stopped someone from releasing software?

During the meeting today, I also learned that there's a special email alias for free food around campus. As someone present stated, "college kids are unparalleled scavengers." (And proud of it.)