Google announced their new AJAX Language API today. I thought a translator that worked as you type would be cool and I was able to put one together in just a few minutes:

Instant translation

Now I wonder how hard it would be to make an iPhone optimized version . . .

One of my recent work-out listens was Heidi. I grew up watching the Shirley Temple movie adaptation of this story, but never read the actual story. For a good while, the movie is a very straightforward retelling of the story, which is about a young girl who is sent to live with her gruff grandfather in the mountains of Switzerland and then sent to Frankfurt to be a companion to an invalid girl.

Written by Johanna Spyri, the novel is perfect for children, but can easily be enjoyed by an adult as well. Switzerland's beauty is declared throughout the whole story in such a way that I felt like taking another trip. At first we learn about life on the mountain, including the rearing of goats and the simple joys of food and admiring nature.

What I appreciated most about this book was that it teaches a great lesson to kids about how getting what one wants immediately isn't always a good thing. Heidi is unhappy in her life at Frankfurt and prays and prays for God to find a way to send her back to the mountain. When He doesn't send her there immediately, she stops praying. But later, when she does return, she realizes that He had many reasons for delaying her return. She reflects on these thoughts and almost gives mini-sermons, which sound a tiny bit too forced, but for a children's novel, I think it works. And it's a good message, one even I need to think about sometimes.

This little book was full of joy, beauty, and good old-fashioned morals. The characters are diverse, the telling is crisp but touching, and its simplicity is refreshing. I loved it.

Tina Fey & Christopher Guest Want In on Ricky Gervais' 'Truth'! - Cinematical

Who could that mean for casting? Well, there's a short little blip that says Tina Fey and Christopher Guest have signed on, along with Jeffrey Tambor and John Hodgman (The Daily Show). This flick sounded good, but now it's downright irresistible! While I would rather have Guest do more mockuwonders, I won't pass up the chance to see him reunite with Gervais, with a helping of Fey, Tambor, and Hodgman. And, we can't forget the already-cast players -- Louis CK, Rob Lowe, Jonah Hill, and Jennifer Garner.

I'll admit I let out a squee of delight when I found out Tina Fey and Christopher Guest will share the screen with Ricky Gervais. Not to mention Jeffrey Tambor, John Hodgman, Louis CK, and the rest of the already announced cast. Speaking of Gervais, if you haven't checked out the podcast he was doing with Stephen Merchant and their friend Kyle, you're missing out.