Geoengineering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoengineering

The modern concept of Geoengineering (or Climate Engineering) is usually taken to mean proposals to deliberately manipulate the Earth's climate to counteract the effects of global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. The National Academy of Sciences defined geoengineering as "options that would involve large-scale engineering of our environment in order to combat or counteract the effects of changes in atmospheric chemistry."

Bill Gates's Hidden Dreams of Geoengineering Revealed --Popular Science
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-01/bill-gates-geoengineering-passion-revealed

Bill Gates has already proven his interest in geoengineering schemes with his earlier co-patent filing for reducing the intensity of killer hurricanes. So perhaps we're not too surprised that Science Insider has dug up the Microsoft chairman's past projects on altering the Earth's climate, ranging from filtering carbon dioxide to reflecting sunlight via brighter clouds.

Apple iPad related links

• http://www.apple.com/ipad/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad

1 GHz Apple A4, 9.7 inches display (1024×768 pixel), 16-64 GB memory, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, 10h battery, 0.68kg (no camera, no multitasking, no gps)

• Eye-Catching iPad No Revolution, But Shows Promise
  http://www.wired.com/video/latest-videos/latest/1815816633/eyecatching-ipad-no-revolution-but-shows-promise/63735511001
  

More info/links below:

Research funds not disbursed due to old mindsets: Dr M

Research funds not disbursed due to old mindsets: Dr M
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/27/nation/20100127143921&sec=nation

SHAH ALAM: The Government has funds for research but these have not been distributed because of the “conventional mindsets” of those in charge of them.

Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the people in charge of these funds look at research as an investment and expect returns.

“Research is not about making profits. This kind of thinking is not up to date,” he told journalists and guests during a visit to I-City at Section 7 here Wednesday.

Panduan ibadah dari website Zakat Selangor

http://www.e-zakat.com.my/baru/ibadah/carasolat.asp

Doa ketika duduk antara dua sujud:

"Ya Tuhanku ampunilah aku, rahmatilah aku, perbaikilah aku, angkatlah darjatku, berilah aku rezeki, pimpinlah aku, afiatkanlah aku dan maafkanlah aku."

Augmented reality (AR), Mixed reality (MR), Augmented virtuality (AV)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are merged with (or augmented by) virtual computer-generated imagery - creating a mixed reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixed_reality
Mixed reality (MR) (encompassing both augmented reality and augmented virtuality) refers to the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualisations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. A mix of reality, augmented reality, augmented virtuality and virtual reality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augmented_virtuality
Augmented virtuality (AV) (also referred to as Mixed reality) refers to the merging of real world objects into virtual worlds.

Sentient computing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentient_computing
Sentient computing is a form of ubiquitous computing which uses sensors to perceive its environment and react accordingly. A common use of the sensors is to construct a world model which allows location-aware or context-aware applications to be constructed.

Murphy's law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy's_law
Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong".

It is used as either a purely sarcastic musing that things always go wrong, or, less frequently, a reflection of the mathematical idea that, given a sufficiently long time, an event which is possible (non-zero probability) will almost surely take place. Although, in this case, emphasis is put on the possible bad occurrences.

http://www.murphys-laws.com/

Ingat waktu susah, terlupa waktu senang...

"Dan apabila manusia ditimpa bahaya dia berdoa kepada Kami dalam keadaan berbaring, duduk atau berdiri, tetapi setelah Kami hilangkan bahaya itu daripadanya, dia (kembali) melalui (jalannya yang sesat), seolah-olah dia tidak pernah berdoa kepada Kami untuk (menghilangkan) bahaya yang telah menimpanya. Begitulah orang-orang yang melampaui batas itu memandang baik apa yang selalu mereka kerjakan."  - Surah Yunus  (10:12)

RouterStats - monitor ADSL line stats (SNR, attenuation)

http://www.vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm

RouterStats monitors both the downstream and upstream Noise Margin and Connection Speed values and plots them on graphs. RouterStats also provides two additional user-defined graphs for monitoring any other two values that may be available on your router's "stats" page.

How Pair Programming Really Works

petikan dari "How Pair Programming Really Works" by Stuart Wray
http://www.computer.org/cms/Computer.org/ComputingNow/homepage/2010/0110/W_SW_PairProgramming.pdf

As a dictionary defnition, I’d say that pair programming is a technique in which two people sit down, literally side by side, and write a pro-gram at the same computer. When Kent Beck originally coined the term, he described two programmers working at different levels of abstraction Laurie Williams and Robert Kessler made this idea more concrete, using the metaphor of one programmer being the “driver” and the other the “navigator.” In this metaphor, the driver controls the keyboard and focuses on the immediate task of coding, and the navigator acts as a reviewer, observing and thinking about more strategic architectural issues.

Ayat al-Kursi (terjemahan)

"Allah, tiada Tuhan (yang berhak disembah) melainkan Dia, Yang Tetap hidup, Yang Kekal selama-lamanya mentadbirkan (sekalian makhlukNya). Yang tidak mengantuk usahkan tidur. Yang memiliki segala yang ada di langit dan yang ada di bumi. Tiada sesiapa yang dapat memberi syafaat (pertolongan) di sisiNya melainkan dengan izinNya. Yang Mengetahui apa yang ada di hadapan mereka dan apa yang ada di belakang mereka, sedang mereka tidak mengetahui sesuatu pun dari (kandungan) ilmu Allah melainkan apa yang Allah kehendaki (memberitahu kepadanya). Luasnya Kursi Allah (ilmuNya dan kekuasaanNya) meliputi langit dan bumi dan tiadalah menjadi keberatan kepada Allah menjaga serta memelihara keduanya. Dan Dialah Yang Maha Tinggi (darjat kemuliaanNya), lagi Maha Besar (kekuasaanNya)."

- Surah Al-Baqara (2:255)

Chain reaction buzzword

Ada pelbagai buzzword / teori yang berkaitan dengan "chain reaction" yang secara kasar bermaksud kesan rantaian yang terjadi dari satu kejadian lain. Buzzword ni penting untuk pelbagai pihak.. contohnya, ahli ekonomi atau businessman mungkin memerlukan pemahaman tentang teori "network effect" dan "bandwagon effect".. seorang policy maker seperti ahli fikir politik juga mungkin boleh mendapat idea daripada teori sociology; "Tipping Point". Manakala seorang saintis mungkin lebih berminat dengan "Chaos theory".

Jadi berikut disenaraikan beberapa teori yang boleh kita study untuk memahami cerita di sebalik kesan rantaian yang berlaku di sekitar kehidupan kita yang sering kali kita tidak sedari:

• Chaos theory  
• Butterfly effect
• Domino effect
• Tipping point
• Catastrophe theory 
• Network effect
• Bandwagon effect
• Hundredth Monkey Effect 

Berikut disenaraikan summary dan link reference dari wikipedia untuk teori di atas:

Perangai Bergantung Kepada Diri Sendiri, Za'ba

Petikan dari article "PENJAWAT AWAM BERWIBAWA" Oleh Dr. Hj. Malek Shah bin Hj. Mohd Yusoff, http://search.pmo.gov.my/i/cache?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpa.gov.my%2Fdocs%2Fpelbagai%2Fubulanan%2F2005%2FNov-INTAN.pdf&keyword=dbp&s=1148285788953

Pendita Za'ba di dalam bukunya Perangai Bergantung Kepada Diri Sendiri menyatakan:

"Sesuatu negeri dan bangsa menjadi naik atau turun, menjadi maju atau ketinggalan, ialah semua itu terikat sebabnya kepada sifat-sifat keadaan diri tiap-tiap seorang tunggalnya yang menjadikan bangsa itu atau yang menduduki negeri itu." (Za'ba, Perangai Bergantung Kepada Diri Sendiri. DBP, K.L. 1982)

Sesebuah organisasi itu ialah sebuah kumpulan yang terdiri daripada beberapa individu yang berada di dalamnya. Apabila setiap diri individu di dalam organisasi itu bekerja dengan usaha yang kuat dan cergas, serta kuat dari segi intelek, fizikal dan rohani, maka organisasi itu akan menjadi cemerlang, gemilang dan terbilang. Namun, sekiranya di dalam sesebuah organisasi itu ada individu-individu yang malap, lembap, lesu dan lemah usahanya, lebih-lebih lagi dalam bilangan yang banyak, maka organisasi tersebut akan turut menjadi lemah. Dalam konteks ini, Pendita Za'ba seterusnya menyatakan:

"Maka jika dicabut dihapuskan dari akar umbinya sifat-sifat perangai mereka yang menjadikan malap dan lemah ini, dan dibunuh buang habis segala kuman-kuman yang mencenderungkan mereka jadi lembap, lembik, lesu, dan mengantuk itu, nescaya tubuh bangsa itu akan tumbuh dengan subur dan sihat, tegap dan segar, kuat dan gagah. Dengan keadaan demikian dapatlah ia (bangsa itu) kelak terangkat naik kepada tingkat ketinggian dan kejayaan umum." (Za'ba, Perangai Bergantung Kepada Diri Sendiri. DBP, K.L. 1982)

Water intoxication

bahaya kalau minum terlalu banyak air tapi lagi bahaya kalau tak cukup air...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

Water intoxication (also known as hyper-hydration or water poisoning) is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water.[1] Normal, healthy (physically, nutritionally and mentally) individuals have little reason to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, in which individuals attempt to consume high amounts of water, or long bouts of intensive exercise during which electrolytes are not properly replenished, yet excessive amounts of fluid are still consumed.[2]

Water can be considered a poison when super-concentrated just like any other substance. The recommendation from the medical field is to drink about 1.5-3 litres per day depending upon body mass. Water intoxication would only occur at levels far higher than that. Most people drink too little water. Doctors who have analyzed recommendations based upon water intoxication have noted that water is so important to health that if people reduce their intake of water due to fear of water intoxication it could result indirectly in far more deaths than water intoxication itself.

• http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_drinking_too_much_water_be_bad_for_you
• http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_it_true_that_drinking_too_much_water_can_be_toxic 

Constructive dismissal

sekadar nak share info dari my colleague:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructive_dismissal
In employment law, constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge, occurs when employees resign because their employer's behaviour has become so heinous or made life so difficult that they may consider themselves to have been fired. The employee must prove that the behaviour was unlawful — that the employer's actions amounted to a fundamental breach of contract, also known as a repudiatory breach of contract.

The exact legal consequences differ between different countries, but generally a constructive dismissal leads to the employee's obligations ending and the employee acquiring the right to make claims against the employer.

Time waster website :)

untuk peringatan, list website di bawah bukan bermaksud keseluruhannya tidak berfaedah, cuma ianya adalah salah satu cara untuk mengisi "masa lapang".. heher, malahan ada di antaranya merupakan sumber knowledge yang amat penting:

Swarm Intelligence

Group Thinker: Researcher Gets $2.9 Million to Further Develop Swarm Intelligence
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=swarm-intelligence-research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarm_intelligence

Swarm intelligence (SI) describes the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized systems, natural or artificial. The concept is employed in work on artificial intelligence. The expression was introduced by Gerardo Beni and Jing Wang in 1989, in the context of cellular robotic systems.[1] 

SI systems are typically made up of a population of simple agents or boids interacting locally with one another and with their environment. The agents follow very simple rules, and although there is no centralized control structure dictating how individual agents should behave, local, and to a certain degree random, interactions between such agents lead to the emergence of "intelligent" global behavior, unknown to the individual agents. Natural examples of SI include ant colonies, bird flocking, animal herding, bacterial growth, and fish schooling. 

The application of swarm principles to robots is called swarm robotics, while 'swarm intelligence' refers to the more general set of algorithms. 'Swarm prediction' has been used in the context of forecasting problems.

Harvests electrical power from Wi-Fi signals...

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-01/rca-airenergy-pulls-power-thin-air-charging-your-phone-wi-fi

...RCA Airnergy, a small USB device that harvests electrical power from Wi-Fi signals. Anytime the device is in the vicinity of one or more Wi-Fi sources, the Airnergy is charging, converting the wireless antenna signal into DC current that can power myriad small electronics. The idea isn’t novel, but this is the first time anyone has created a commercial product efficient enough to be useful.

Istiqamah lebih baik dari karamah

Istiqamah, azam sempena tahun baharu 2010*
http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2010&dt=0101&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Rencana&pg=re_03.htm

Semua orang boleh berazam. Senarailah sebanyak mana sekalipun azam mereka. Satu hakikat yang pasti, semuanya bergantung kepada kekuatan diri mereka untuk terus istiqamah dalam melaksanakan sesuatu perkara.

Orang yang istiqamah adalah seorang yang mulia. Seperti kata Hamka, "Sebesar-besar karamah adalah memegang istiqamah".

*ralat: untuk makluman, ayat Al-Quran yang dinyatakan dalam article di atas berkenaan Istiqamah sepatutnya adalah Surah Hud ayat 112 (bukan ayat 12 seperti yang tertulis).

http://cahayamukmin.blogspot.com/2008/12/istiqamah-lebih-baik-dari-1000-karamah.html

OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays

http://www.oled-display.net/oled-television

Plasma, and LCD televisions will soon be a thing of the past, imagine a television screen as thin as a piece of paper that weighs no more than a few ounces. Or, so flexible it could be worn around your wrist and is virtually indestructible.

The primary benefit of OLED displays over traditional LCDs is that OLEDs do not require a backlight to function, and consume less power during operation. OLED displays are expected to be more efficiently manufactured than LCDs and plasma displays.

http://www.oled-display.net/flexible-oled

How much do you want what you want?

petikan daripada buku "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" by Joseph Murphy:

How much do you want what you want?,
How Your Subconscious Remove Mental Blocks 

The story is told that a young man asked Socrates how he could get wisdom.
   "Come with me," Socrates replied. He took the lad to a river and shoved his head underwater. He held it there until the boy strunggled for air. Then he let him go.
   Once the boy regained his composure, Socrates asked him, "What did you desire most when your head was underwater?"
   "I wanted air," the boy told him.
   Socrates nodded slowly. "When you want wisdom as much as you wanted air when you were immersed in the water," he said, "you will receive it."

Ants vs. worms: New computer security mimics nature

http://www.physorg.com/news173108776.html

In the never-ending battle to protect computer networks from intruders, security experts are deploying a new defense modeled after one of nature's hardiest creatures -- the ant.

Unlike traditional security devices, which are static, these "digital ants" wander through computer networks looking for threats, such as "computer worms" — self-replicating programs designed to steal information or facilitate unauthorized use of machines. When a digital ant detects a threat, it doesn't take long for an army of ants to converge at that location, drawing the attention of human operators who step in to investigate.

TinEye reverse image search

http://www.tineye.com/

TinEye is a reverse image search engine. You can submit an image to TinEye to find out where it came from, how it is being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TinEye

TinEye is a reverse image search engine developed and offered by Idée, Inc., a company based in Toronto, Canada. The use of the Web application is free of charge for customers. According to the company, TinEye is the first web-based image search engine to use image identification technology.

An image which a user uploads to the Web application search engine or provides a URL with an image will be looked up for other usage in the internet including their time of appearance and including modified images based upon that image.

Game-Changing Hardware Coming in 2010 --Wired

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/01/2010-gaming-hardware/

• Project Natal
• Wii Vitality Sensor
• Sony Motion Controller
• Apple Tablet
• Nintendo DSi XL 

You've got to find what you love

cerita daripada Steve Jobs about connecting the dots, love and loss and death....

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

p/s: Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Wireless HD

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/wireless-hd-hdtvs/

Wireless HD, a new wireless interface standard, could get rid of the wires connecting your TV to accessories such as Blu-ray players and portable music players. This week, several TV manufacturers, including Panasonic, LG and Vizio, announced plans to deliver Wireless HD-enabled sets in 2010. 

In addition to eliminating cable clutter, Wireless HD can offer fast data transfers, enabling high-definition audio and video streaming at a rate of more than 10 Gigabits per second. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WirelessHD

WirelessHD is an industry-led effort to define a specification for the next generation wireless digital network interface for wireless high-definition signal transmission for consumer electronics products. The consortium currently has over 40 adopters. Key members behind the specification. including Broadcom, Intel, LG, Panasonic, NEC, Samsung, SiBEAM, Sony, Philips and Toshiba, finalized it in January 2008.

Wireless tv - no video & power cable

http://gizmodo.com/5443037/haiers-completely-wireless-tv-hands-on-no-cables-for-video-or-power

Skiff Reader: The Largest Yet Thinnest eBook Reader to Date

http://gizmodo.com/5439734/skiff-reader-the-largest-yet-thinnest-ebook-reader-to-date

The Evolution of the Computer.. haha

http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2010/01/03/the-evolution-of-the-computer/

Nikmat dan ujian

Maka apabila manusia disentuh oleh sesuatu bahaya, dia segera berdoa kepada Kami; kemudian apabila Kami memberikannya sesuatu nikmat (sebagai kurnia) dari Kami, berkatalah dia (dengan sombongnya): Aku diberikan nikmat ini hanyalah disebabkan pengetahuan dan kepandaian yang ada padaku. (Tidaklah benar apa yang dikatakannya itu) bahkan pemberian nikmat yang tersebut adalah ujian (adakah dia bersyukur atau sebaliknya), akan tetapi kebanyakan mereka tidak mengetahui (hakikat itu).  - (Az-Zumar 39:49)

(Dalam pada itu manusia tidak menghiraukan balasan akhirat), oleh yang demikian, maka kebanyakan manusia apabila diuji oleh Tuhannya dengan dimuliakan dan dimewahkan hidupnya, (dia tidak mahu bersyukur tetapi terus bersikap takbur) serta berkata dengan sombongnya: Tuhanku telah memuliakan daku! -(Al-Fajr 89:15)

Dan sebaliknya apabila dia diuji oleh Tuhannya, dengan disempitkan rezekinya, (dia tidak bersabar bahkan dia resah gelisah) serta merepek dengan katanya: Tuhanku telah menghinakan daku!-(Al-Fajr 89:16)

Anaglyph images

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaglyph_image

Anaglyph images are used to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, when viewed with 2 color glasses (each lens a chromatically opposite color, usually red and cyan). Images are made up of two color layers, superimposed, but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect. Usually the main subject is in the center, while the foreground and background are shifted laterally in opposite directions. The picture contains two differently filtered colored images, one for each eye. When viewed through the "color coded" "anaglyph glasses", they reveal an integrated stereoscopic image. The visual cortex of the brain fuses this into perception of a three dimensional scene or composition.

Free Anaglyph Maker by Takashi Sekitani
http://www.stereoeye.jp/software/index_e.html

This program 'Anaglyph Maker' creates anaglyph image that is 3D image for reb-blue glasses, and creates interleave image that is 3D image for LC-shutter glasses, from your stereo photograph pair.

create a realistic picture from a sketch

Sketch2Photo: Internet Image Montage
http://cg.cs.tsinghua.edu.cn/montage/main.htm

...composes a realistic picture from a simple freehand sketch annotated with text labels

Berdoalah...

• Dan Tuhan kamu berfirman: Berdoalah kamu kepadaKu nescaya Aku perkenankan doa permohonan kamu. Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang sombong takbur daripada beribadat dan berdoa kepadaKu, akan masuk Neraka Jahanam dalam keadaan hina. (Al-Ghaafir: 60) 

• Berdoalah kepada Tuhan kamu dengan merendah diri dan (dengan suara) perlahan-lahan. Sesungguhnya Allah tidak suka kepada orang-orang yang melampaui batas. (Al-A'raaf: 55)

• Dan berdoalah (wahai Muhammad dengan berkata): Wahai Tuhanku, berikanlah ampun dan kurniakan rahmat dan sememangnya Engkaulah sahaja sebaik-baik Pemberi rahmat! (Al-Muminoon: 118)
  

Selamat tahun baru "dua ribu sepuluh" atau "dua puluh sepuluh" ?

tahun dua ribu sepuluh atau dua puluh sepuluh? hahha... memang persoalan yang menarik.. bagi aku buat masa sekarang lagi suka guna dua ribu sepuluh sebab sedap didengar, tapi mungkin satu hari nanti orang ramai mula menyebut dua puluh sepuluh sebab lagi ringkas. ikuti ulasan lanjut isu ini dalam article berikut: