Main Street Insurance Agency is an Independent Insurance Agent located in Christiansburg, VA.

GTP Designs recently launched a new website for Main Street Insurance Agency. Main Street Insurance Agency is an Independent Insurance Agent locally-owned and operated in Christiansburg, VA.

The custom-designed site includes an animated Flash intro, use of Google Maps API, and a PHP-driven quote request form. You can visit the live site at christiansburginsurance.com.

The Unexplained Phenomenon that is the Google Doodle

Google seems to be having some fun with their “Google Doodle” today. Generally, the Google Doodle marks an anniversary of an event related to the image (a recent example would be Michael Jackson’s feet appearing in the Google logo on MJ’s birthday). However, the current doodle, which features a UFO beaming up the second letter “o” from the Google log, does not link to information about any particular individual or event. Instead, it simply gives you the search results for “unexplained phenomenon.”

Translated: All your o are belong to us

In addition to the Google Doodle, the code (A=1….Z=26) above appears on Google’s Twitter page. Using your Little Orphan Annie Decoder Ring (don’t worry it doesn’t say "Drink more Ovaltine."), you can translate it to read, "All your o are belong to us". This is apparently a reference to poor translation that dates back to the 1991 video game Zero Wing, which later caused an internet phenomenon/meme, according to Wikipedia.

So, is Google just going out of their way to create their own internet phenomenon with their cryptic Google Doodle and Twitter meme? I’d be willing to bet that by the end of the day, if not already, “Unexplained Phenomenon” will be the most highly searched term on the web, which just goes to show how much influence Google has on the online world.

Welcome to my new blog. My hope is to regularly update this blog with design-related information. Primarily, my focus will be on Adobe Creative Suite products (namely PhotoShop, Illustrator, and InDesign) and web related techniques, tips, and tricks.