There's the extremely interesting 50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn't Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition that includes
"Two previously unknown forms of ice - dubbed by researchers as ice XIII and XIV - were discovered frozen at temperatures of around minus 160 degrees Celsius, or minus 256 Fahrenheit."
And then there is PC World's The 20 Most Innovative Products of the Year .
Enjoy!
Friday, December 29, 2006
Lost Any Emails Lately?
Several Gmail users have lost e-mails according to GigaOM.
A statement from Google regarding the matter:
"Regretfully, a small number of our users — around 60 — lost some or all of their email received prior to December 18th. Once we found out about this issue, we worked day and night to confirm that only a few accounts were affected and to do whatever we could to restore as much of the users' accounts as we could. We've also reached out to the people who were affected to apologize and to work with them to restore the email from any personal backup they might have. We know how important Gmail is to our users – we use it ourselves for our corporate email. We have extensive safeguards in place to protect email stored with Gmail and we are confident that this is a small and isolated incident."
If you store a lot of important stuff in your Gmail account, my advice is to download all e-mails using a POP client. (I highly recommend Thunderbird.)
A statement from Google regarding the matter:
"Regretfully, a small number of our users — around 60 — lost some or all of their email received prior to December 18th. Once we found out about this issue, we worked day and night to confirm that only a few accounts were affected and to do whatever we could to restore as much of the users' accounts as we could. We've also reached out to the people who were affected to apologize and to work with them to restore the email from any personal backup they might have. We know how important Gmail is to our users – we use it ourselves for our corporate email. We have extensive safeguards in place to protect email stored with Gmail and we are confident that this is a small and isolated incident."
If you store a lot of important stuff in your Gmail account, my advice is to download all e-mails using a POP client. (I highly recommend Thunderbird.)
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Web Kid With Attitude Says Sucks to $1bn
Founder of Facebook, 22-year-old Mark Zuckerberg has told Yahoo that $1 billion is not enough to sell out and now leaked documents suggest that Yahoo! was willing to raise its bid to $1.6 billion.
Social networking is now such a lucrative business indeed ;-)
Social networking is now such a lucrative business indeed ;-)
So North is North and East is East
With effect from next year, Sri Lanka's North and East will be administered as separate provinces.
Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema, who is currently the governor for the merged Northeastern Province, said that he had been appointed as the governor of the eastern province and a separate governor for the northern province would soon be appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse. ( Link)
Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrema, who is currently the governor for the merged Northeastern Province, said that he had been appointed as the governor of the eastern province and a separate governor for the northern province would soon be appointed by President Mahinda Rajapakse. ( Link)
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Useful Sites
Extracts from "The new 100 most useful sites":
Music
Another new category: being able to find stuff that's similar to music you like is increasingly important, both to listeners and to record companies trying to profit from niches. Last.fm requires an application that runs on your machine, and shows what other people with the same music like. Pandora says you need a US postcode; so give it one, then enjoy its expert-chosen stations. Liveplasma can search relationships in films as well as music. Tuneglue is a relatively new venture between last.fm and EMI, using data from Amazon and last.fm. Goombah requires a small download and only works on music in an iTunes library, but has been at it for some time.
Reference
Science
Alphagalileo gives a view of public-facing science in Europe and is a counterpart to eurekalert, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's press announcements forum. Space.com remains fascinating for all things spacey. Nasa contains a wealth of information. The growing importance of climate change makes the RealClimate blog written by climate change scientists important. realclimate.org
Offbeat
Snopes checks out unbelievable tales, scams and urban legends and debunks (or confirms) them. Slightly less useful is the 100-strong webring of Unusual Museums of the Internet. These include the Virtual Toilet Paper Museum, the Old Calculators Web Museum and Signalfan's museum of traffic control signals. You can find links to lots of other offbeat sites via the Weird Site's Other Weird Links page. The Onion is the web's leading satire magazine, though with an American bias. Otherwise, for five minutes of fun, try browsing B3ta. This UK site sends out a weekly newsletter of cool links and runs a message board where people post amusingly manipulated pictures. But be warned: it's often offensive - that's part of the point - and most definitely rated NSFW (Not Safe For Work).
Music
Another new category: being able to find stuff that's similar to music you like is increasingly important, both to listeners and to record companies trying to profit from niches. Last.fm requires an application that runs on your machine, and shows what other people with the same music like. Pandora says you need a US postcode; so give it one, then enjoy its expert-chosen stations. Liveplasma can search relationships in films as well as music. Tuneglue is a relatively new venture between last.fm and EMI, using data from Amazon and last.fm. Goombah requires a small download and only works on music in an iTunes library, but has been at it for some time.
Reference
Wikipedia now dominates the reference side of the web, partly because its pages are ranked so highly in Google. User-written, it's not always reliable, but is usually a good place to start. It competes with the Encyclopedia Britannica, which isn't free. However, another traditional alternative is the HighBeam Encyclopedia, which searches more than 57,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia. Otherwise Jim Martindale's Reference Desk, started in 1994, provides an astonishing collection of links to reference sources. For words, try Onelook, which indexes more than 7.5m words in 931 dictionaries. It also has a reverse lookup to find words from their meanings. Finally, Teldir (on the infobel site) has links to the world's online phone books.
Science
Alphagalileo gives a view of public-facing science in Europe and is a counterpart to eurekalert, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's press announcements forum. Space.com remains fascinating for all things spacey. Nasa contains a wealth of information. The growing importance of climate change makes the RealClimate blog written by climate change scientists important. realclimate.org
Title of Harry Potter VII
J.K. Rowling has set up a test for Harry Potter fans who want to find out the title of the seventh (and final book in the series).
Go to her home page, click on the eraser and you will be taken to a room -- you'll see a window, a door and a mirror.
In the mirror, you'll see a hallway. Click on the farthest doorknob and look for the Christmas tree. Then click on the center of the door next to the mirror and a wreath appears. Then click on the top of the mirror and you'll see a garland.
Look for a cobweb next to the door. Click on it, and it will disappear. Now, look at the chimes in the window. Click on the second chime to the right, and hold it down. The chime will turn into the key, which opens the door. Click on the wrapped gift behind the door, then click on it again and figure out the title yourself by playing a game of hangman. (via CNN)
If you can't be bothered by all that, here it is as released by her publisher: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
Go to her home page, click on the eraser and you will be taken to a room -- you'll see a window, a door and a mirror.
In the mirror, you'll see a hallway. Click on the farthest doorknob and look for the Christmas tree. Then click on the center of the door next to the mirror and a wreath appears. Then click on the top of the mirror and you'll see a garland.
Look for a cobweb next to the door. Click on it, and it will disappear. Now, look at the chimes in the window. Click on the second chime to the right, and hold it down. The chime will turn into the key, which opens the door. Click on the wrapped gift behind the door, then click on it again and figure out the title yourself by playing a game of hangman. (via CNN)
If you can't be bothered by all that, here it is as released by her publisher: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
Flora the Virgin Dragon Knocks Herself Up
In an evolutionary twist, Flora the Komodo dragon has managed to become pregnant all on her own without any male help. She is carrying seven baby Komodo dragons. "We were blown away when we realized what she'd done," said Kevin Buley, a reptile expert at Flora's home at the Chester Zoo in this town in northern England. "But we certainly won't be naming any of the hatchlings Jesus."
Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis. But Flora's virginal conception, and that of another Komodo dragon earlier this year at the London Zoo, are the first time it has been documented in a Komodo dragon.
The reptiles, renowned for their intelligence, are native to Indonesia. They are the world's largest lizards and have no natural predators — making them on par with sharks and lions at the pinnacle of the animal kingdom.
UPDATE 1/25/2007: Flora gave birth to five baby dragons! Link
Talking Heads from Gizmoz
Want to send out a truly unique Christmas card? Gizmoz lets you create and send out e-cards that are out of this world!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Cover Letters and Resumes
Extracted from actual cover letters and resumes submitted for the post of curriculum writer at ESL (Engligh as a Second Language):
"I am interested in finding out more details about the position. You can contact me at this E-Mail address. After I hear from you, I will send my cover letter and my resume."
"I am interested in finding out more details about the position. You can contact me at this E-Mail address. After I hear from you, I will send my cover letter and my resume."
"I speak, read, and write in Spanish at a moderate level"
"I am a PE teacher but I can work in the classroom. Please contact me if you have a job for me."
"OBJECTIVE - A position where one or more of the following skills may be utilized: Teaching English As A Second Language, Desk Clerk, Customer Service, Interdisciplinary Visual Art, Cashier, Computer, Barrista"
"Truly committed to the service of humanity, I would like to join in your organization."
"If you are interested in my experiences please email me details about the job as well as a copy of the contract[just if you are serious and the position is a highly paid one]"
"I never dream to be a teacher and yet I found so much passion in this work coz I see souls and hearts of every student that they need a teacher for them to be guided well.."
"Tropics Hotel: Head of Maintenance/ Assistant Manager 2000-2002"
"Lead analyst providing analysis and research regarding the benefits of yoga on mental and physical health"
Yet Another New Study Reveals....
1) Fewer Lankans practice birth control (via Daily News)
"Fewer Sri Lankan males and females practise birth control raising the possibility of a population boom in the near future, the Health Care and Nutrition Ministry Family Planing Unit said. There is a significant drop among males and females who have practised family planning methods during the past six years, a Ministry spokesman said."
Why oh why do people breed, especially when they know they can't afford it? The result is highlighted in another news article which claims nearly 750-1000 illegal abortions are performed in Sri Lanka every day.
2) Kids with high IQs grow up to be vegetarians (via Yahoo)
"British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say."
Could be true in a way - cutting out red meat completely is a healthy option and would be voluntarily made by a person who is aware of the risks it poses to one's health. However, the decision to become a vegetarian (in my definition, that's a person who avoids meat, poultry and seafood) primarily is a personal one, regardless of IQ.
3) Happy people are less likely to catch colds (via Science News Online )
"The new study, which appears in the November/December Psychosomatic Medicine, replicates those results and rules out the possibility that psychological traits related to a positive emotional style, rather than the emotions themselves, guard against cold symptoms. Those traits include high self-esteem, extroversion, optimism, and a feeling of mastery over one's life."
Quite true, based on my life so far ;-)
4) Indian men have small penises (via Yahoo)
"The Indian Council of Medical Research, the country's top health research institute, found 60 percent of men in Mumbai had penises at least 2.4 centimeters (one inch) shorter than international condom sizes, The Times of India newspaper said Friday."
I bet the product development chaps at Durex are working on this right now....
"Fewer Sri Lankan males and females practise birth control raising the possibility of a population boom in the near future, the Health Care and Nutrition Ministry Family Planing Unit said. There is a significant drop among males and females who have practised family planning methods during the past six years, a Ministry spokesman said."
Why oh why do people breed, especially when they know they can't afford it? The result is highlighted in another news article which claims nearly 750-1000 illegal abortions are performed in Sri Lanka every day.
2) Kids with high IQs grow up to be vegetarians (via Yahoo)
"British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say."
Could be true in a way - cutting out red meat completely is a healthy option and would be voluntarily made by a person who is aware of the risks it poses to one's health. However, the decision to become a vegetarian (in my definition, that's a person who avoids meat, poultry and seafood) primarily is a personal one, regardless of IQ.
3) Happy people are less likely to catch colds (via Science News Online )
"The new study, which appears in the November/December Psychosomatic Medicine, replicates those results and rules out the possibility that psychological traits related to a positive emotional style, rather than the emotions themselves, guard against cold symptoms. Those traits include high self-esteem, extroversion, optimism, and a feeling of mastery over one's life."
Quite true, based on my life so far ;-)
4) Indian men have small penises (via Yahoo)
"The Indian Council of Medical Research, the country's top health research institute, found 60 percent of men in Mumbai had penises at least 2.4 centimeters (one inch) shorter than international condom sizes, The Times of India newspaper said Friday."
I bet the product development chaps at Durex are working on this right now....
LTTE Releases Students Who Were "Abducted by Mistake"
A group of students (figure varies from 23 to 24 in different news reports - Daily News/Lanka Newspapers ) and two teachers kidnapped by the LTTE on Monday were released on Tuesday after the incident was labeled a "mistake".
"It was a mistake by the field commanders, but we are taking strict disciplinary action against our own people involved in this," LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said when contacted by telephone.
And as always "Norwegian-led monitors said they had no immediate information about the incident while the UN children's fund UNICEF said they were also awaiting to hear from field officers in the abduction area."
I wish I could quit my increasingly dull and boring job and become a Norwegian monitor. That would require a very complicated series of events undoubtedly but damn, those people have the best job ever, so I am sure it will be worth it. Imagine being paid to live in a third world country just to issue vague statements like "no immediate information received" to the media on a regular basis?! Paradise found indeed!
"It was a mistake by the field commanders, but we are taking strict disciplinary action against our own people involved in this," LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan said when contacted by telephone.
And as always "Norwegian-led monitors said they had no immediate information about the incident while the UN children's fund UNICEF said they were also awaiting to hear from field officers in the abduction area."
I wish I could quit my increasingly dull and boring job and become a Norwegian monitor. That would require a very complicated series of events undoubtedly but damn, those people have the best job ever, so I am sure it will be worth it. Imagine being paid to live in a third world country just to issue vague statements like "no immediate information received" to the media on a regular basis?! Paradise found indeed!
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
10 Tech Concepts You Need to Know for 2007
Bendable Concrete
The nickname for Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) is self-explanatory: bendable concrete. Specially coated microscopic polymer fibers slide past each other instead of snapping under stress, so ECC bends without breaking. The material has been used to create stretchable expansion joints for a Michigan bridge, and to allow the coupling beams in a 41-story tower in Yokohama to flex during Japan's frequent earthquakes.
Short-term impact: low. It could take years for ECC to be commonly used in construction, unless a major earthquake puts it in the spotlight.
PRAM (Phase-Change Random Access Memory)
Flash memory, with no moving parts to break or wear down, is the data storage technology of choice for devices such as iPods and digital cameras. But phase-change RAM is set to overtake flash entirely—it uses a chemical found in rewritable discs, which is alternately heated and cooled to store data. The result is memory that's 30 times faster than flash, with more than 10 times the life span.
Short-term impact: high. Samsung demonstrated a PRAM prototype in September and expects PRAM-enabled devices to be available in 2008.
Printed Solar Panels
Tomorrow's solar panels may not need to be produced in high-vacuum conditions in billion-dollar fabrication facilities. If California-based Nanosolar has its way, plants will use a nanostructured "ink" to form semiconductors, which would be printed on flexible sheets. Nanosolar is currently building a plant that will print 430 megawatts' worth of solar cells annually—more than triple the current solar output of the entire country.
Short-term impact: low. Solar power still isn't in wide use, so even a tech breakthrough will take time to have an effect. But the long-term outlook is brighter.
Passport Hacking
Starting this year, all new U.S. passports will include a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that stores a digital photo of the owner, as well as biographic data (name, date of birth and so on). The goal is to prevent passport counterfeiting, but hackers already have flexed their muscles: A German security researcher publicly cloned an e-passport at a Las Vegas conference last summer. The State Department promises additional encryption, which hackers will no doubt put to the test.
Short-term impact: low. Most people won't need a new passport for years. And even if counterfeiters are able to swipe data to make forged documents, these RFID chips won't hold financial information or Social Security numbers.
Vehicle Infrastructure Integration
Your car may have GPS navigation and radar blind-spot monitoring, but it still doesn't stand a chance against traffic. The Department of Transportation's Vehicle Infrastructure Integration program, which faces its final testing in 2007, might even the odds. The program involves installing a 5.9-GHz short-range wireless link in your car that can talk with other cars, as well as with control units at intersections and along the side of the road. Pool all the information being beamed from cars—speed, location, whether the wipers are on—and you have a map of traffic and weather conditions, so that drivers can be directed away from trouble spots.
Short-term impact: low. This is only the latest — albeit the smartest — in a long history of federal initiatives to win the war on traffic. Next year, lawmakers will decide whether to wire up hundreds of thousands of intersections and roads, but getting automakers to install standardized transmitters might prove even trickier.
Body Area Network
Picture this: The cellphone in your pocket sends a tiny electrical current—a fraction of an amp—along your skin, so your car door springs open at your touch and your PC logs in when you grab the mouse. That's what German startup ImCoSys says its new smartphone will be capable of, thanks to body area network (BAN) technology. Of course, proving those claims would require partner companies to build BAN-compatible devices, and no such deals have been announced since the phone was released last summer.
Short-term impact: low. Using your body as a secure network is smarter than sticking finger- print scanners everywhere, but there's no guarantee that BAN products will ever materialize.
Plasma Arc Gasification
Garbage can be a gold mine—when it's heated to 10,000 F. A plant being built in Florida will use a plasma arc jet (like the one shown at left) to turn 3000 tons of garbage a day into steam for nearby factories, sludge for road construction and 120 megawatts of electricity—all with promise of minimal emissions.
Short-term impact: low. The Florida plant will go on line in 2009, at the earliest.
VoN (Video on the Net)
The first Video on the Net (VoN) conference was in 1998, but the concept of watching videos on your PC is only now reaching maturity. Products like Apple's iTV video-streaming box, due to launch this year, promise to simplify the sometimes geeky process of finding and playing video files. And Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube last fall is evidence that VoN is big business, though exactly what kind of business is anyone's guess.
Short-term impact: high. TiVo, DVRs and iTunes have already changed the way many people watch TV, and VoN is likely to make shows and movies more accessible than ever.
Smart Pills
These swallowable, vitamin-size sensors won't make you smarter, but anything that lets you avoid an endoscopy is a pretty good idea. The FDA-approved sensor, from Buffalo-based SmartPill, transmits data about pressure, acidity and temperature to a 5 x 4-in. receiver that patients carry around with them during the pill's trip through their gastrointestinal tract. SmartPill already has competition—the Israeli company Given Imaging has developed a similar sensor called PillCam.
Short-term impact: high. While you won't be popping them on a daily basis, these sensors — which at press time were on the verge of being shipped—could make a wide range of invasive procedures obsolete.
Data Cloud
Ferrying data from one hard drive to another via e-mail, flash memory thumb drives or rewritable discs is no way to live. What if every one of your files, from skimpy documents to gigabyte-hogging music collections, were accessible from any Internet connection, forming a vast data cloud that follows you wherever you go? A host of products and services let you create a data cloud right now, from Maxtor's networked hard drives to Google's rumored Gdrive, with "unlimited" storage on the search giant's servers. Add a synchronization service such as Microsoft's FolderShare, which applies a change you've made on your PDA to that same file on your laptop and PC, and you're one step closer to retiring the original data storage device—the one in your head.
Short-term impact: high. For better or worse, data clouds are here to stay. With improved file sharing as well as new security concerns, they're already changing the face of computing.
Link
The nickname for Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) is self-explanatory: bendable concrete. Specially coated microscopic polymer fibers slide past each other instead of snapping under stress, so ECC bends without breaking. The material has been used to create stretchable expansion joints for a Michigan bridge, and to allow the coupling beams in a 41-story tower in Yokohama to flex during Japan's frequent earthquakes.
Short-term impact: low. It could take years for ECC to be commonly used in construction, unless a major earthquake puts it in the spotlight.
PRAM (Phase-Change Random Access Memory)
Flash memory, with no moving parts to break or wear down, is the data storage technology of choice for devices such as iPods and digital cameras. But phase-change RAM is set to overtake flash entirely—it uses a chemical found in rewritable discs, which is alternately heated and cooled to store data. The result is memory that's 30 times faster than flash, with more than 10 times the life span.
Short-term impact: high. Samsung demonstrated a PRAM prototype in September and expects PRAM-enabled devices to be available in 2008.
Printed Solar Panels
Tomorrow's solar panels may not need to be produced in high-vacuum conditions in billion-dollar fabrication facilities. If California-based Nanosolar has its way, plants will use a nanostructured "ink" to form semiconductors, which would be printed on flexible sheets. Nanosolar is currently building a plant that will print 430 megawatts' worth of solar cells annually—more than triple the current solar output of the entire country.
Short-term impact: low. Solar power still isn't in wide use, so even a tech breakthrough will take time to have an effect. But the long-term outlook is brighter.
Passport Hacking
Starting this year, all new U.S. passports will include a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that stores a digital photo of the owner, as well as biographic data (name, date of birth and so on). The goal is to prevent passport counterfeiting, but hackers already have flexed their muscles: A German security researcher publicly cloned an e-passport at a Las Vegas conference last summer. The State Department promises additional encryption, which hackers will no doubt put to the test.
Short-term impact: low. Most people won't need a new passport for years. And even if counterfeiters are able to swipe data to make forged documents, these RFID chips won't hold financial information or Social Security numbers.
Vehicle Infrastructure Integration
Your car may have GPS navigation and radar blind-spot monitoring, but it still doesn't stand a chance against traffic. The Department of Transportation's Vehicle Infrastructure Integration program, which faces its final testing in 2007, might even the odds. The program involves installing a 5.9-GHz short-range wireless link in your car that can talk with other cars, as well as with control units at intersections and along the side of the road. Pool all the information being beamed from cars—speed, location, whether the wipers are on—and you have a map of traffic and weather conditions, so that drivers can be directed away from trouble spots.
Short-term impact: low. This is only the latest — albeit the smartest — in a long history of federal initiatives to win the war on traffic. Next year, lawmakers will decide whether to wire up hundreds of thousands of intersections and roads, but getting automakers to install standardized transmitters might prove even trickier.
Body Area Network
Picture this: The cellphone in your pocket sends a tiny electrical current—a fraction of an amp—along your skin, so your car door springs open at your touch and your PC logs in when you grab the mouse. That's what German startup ImCoSys says its new smartphone will be capable of, thanks to body area network (BAN) technology. Of course, proving those claims would require partner companies to build BAN-compatible devices, and no such deals have been announced since the phone was released last summer.
Short-term impact: low. Using your body as a secure network is smarter than sticking finger- print scanners everywhere, but there's no guarantee that BAN products will ever materialize.
Plasma Arc Gasification
Garbage can be a gold mine—when it's heated to 10,000 F. A plant being built in Florida will use a plasma arc jet (like the one shown at left) to turn 3000 tons of garbage a day into steam for nearby factories, sludge for road construction and 120 megawatts of electricity—all with promise of minimal emissions.
Short-term impact: low. The Florida plant will go on line in 2009, at the earliest.
VoN (Video on the Net)
The first Video on the Net (VoN) conference was in 1998, but the concept of watching videos on your PC is only now reaching maturity. Products like Apple's iTV video-streaming box, due to launch this year, promise to simplify the sometimes geeky process of finding and playing video files. And Google's $1.65 billion acquisition of YouTube last fall is evidence that VoN is big business, though exactly what kind of business is anyone's guess.
Short-term impact: high. TiVo, DVRs and iTunes have already changed the way many people watch TV, and VoN is likely to make shows and movies more accessible than ever.
Smart Pills
These swallowable, vitamin-size sensors won't make you smarter, but anything that lets you avoid an endoscopy is a pretty good idea. The FDA-approved sensor, from Buffalo-based SmartPill, transmits data about pressure, acidity and temperature to a 5 x 4-in. receiver that patients carry around with them during the pill's trip through their gastrointestinal tract. SmartPill already has competition—the Israeli company Given Imaging has developed a similar sensor called PillCam.
Short-term impact: high. While you won't be popping them on a daily basis, these sensors — which at press time were on the verge of being shipped—could make a wide range of invasive procedures obsolete.
Data Cloud
Ferrying data from one hard drive to another via e-mail, flash memory thumb drives or rewritable discs is no way to live. What if every one of your files, from skimpy documents to gigabyte-hogging music collections, were accessible from any Internet connection, forming a vast data cloud that follows you wherever you go? A host of products and services let you create a data cloud right now, from Maxtor's networked hard drives to Google's rumored Gdrive, with "unlimited" storage on the search giant's servers. Add a synchronization service such as Microsoft's FolderShare, which applies a change you've made on your PDA to that same file on your laptop and PC, and you're one step closer to retiring the original data storage device—the one in your head.
Short-term impact: high. For better or worse, data clouds are here to stay. With improved file sharing as well as new security concerns, they're already changing the face of computing.
Link
Indian Runner Fails Gender Test, Stripped of Medal
An Indian runner - Shanti Sounderajan - silver medalist in the womens' 800m at the 2006 Asian Games failed a gender test and was subsequently disqualified.
"The test reports sent to the Indian Olympic Association on Sunday said Soudarajan "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman," The Times of India reported. The test was administered by a medical commission set up by the games' organizers.
"The test reports sent to the Indian Olympic Association on Sunday said Soudarajan "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman," The Times of India reported. The test was administered by a medical commission set up by the games' organizers.
There are no compulsory gender tests during events sanctioned by track and field's international ruling body, but athletes may be asked to take a gender test. The medical evaluation panel usually includes a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist and internal medicine specialist.
An Indian athletics official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said Sounderajan almost certainly never had sex-change surgery.
Instead, the official said Sounderajan appeared to have "abnormal chromosomes." The official also said the test revealed more Y chromosomes than allowed."
LinkSaturday Night Live 12/16/06 - Justin Timberlake
SNL skits featuring Justin Timberlake:
"Dick in a Box"
Elf Audition
"Dick in a Box"
Elf Audition
Monday, December 18, 2006
Friday, December 15, 2006
StumbleVideo
StumbleVideo - a service that automatically finds videos matching your interests. The site doesn’t require the StumbleUpon toolbar - you can simply watch videos pulled from MySpace Video, Google Video and YouTube, clicking on the “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” to show whether you liked the clip. Once you’ve rated, click “Stumble!” to move to the next video; think of it as Hot or Not for videos.
Link
Link
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Steven Colbert - Islam vs Christianity
Steven Colbert and Steve Carell face off to debate rights and wrongs of Islam and Christianity.
Human Vultures Sentenced to Death
Remember that gold chain snatching incident during the tsunami? It was shown several times during the tv coverage on local channels - one of the most vile scenes ever. The following day, pictures of the poor woman being left to drown after two men stole her gold chain were published in the newspapers. The police acted promptly and arrested the men (if they can be called that).
Thanks to the video footage and photographs, the two accused in the murder of Desika Kalyani were found guilty and sentenced to death by Galle High Court Judge Chandrasena Rajapakse yesterday.
Thanks to the video footage and photographs, the two accused in the murder of Desika Kalyani were found guilty and sentenced to death by Galle High Court Judge Chandrasena Rajapakse yesterday.
Asian Cities Face Environmental Crises
As more and more rural people migrate to the cities for work, traffic congestion and pollution will get worse, urban quality of life will deteriorate and poverty will increase, according to the book "Urbanization and Sustainability in Asia", jointly published by the Asian Development Bank.
"Overcrowding has become endemic in many cities," the book, edited by two University of Canberra professors Brian Roberts and Trevor Kanaley, said.
"Urban poverty, associated with unemployment and lack of access to adequate housing and services, is an increasing social problem," it added.
With the exception of Singapore no country in Asia has solved its urban housing problem, the book said.
"The most challenging problem facing Asian cities is meeting the demand for and maintaining urban infrastructure to provide access to good quality, affordable and reliable services.
Colombo is one such "population center" and it gets worse every day. So many books published on the subject, so many discussions held and so many committees appointed - why isn't anything done yet?!
"Overcrowding has become endemic in many cities," the book, edited by two University of Canberra professors Brian Roberts and Trevor Kanaley, said.
"Urban poverty, associated with unemployment and lack of access to adequate housing and services, is an increasing social problem," it added.
With the exception of Singapore no country in Asia has solved its urban housing problem, the book said.
"The most challenging problem facing Asian cities is meeting the demand for and maintaining urban infrastructure to provide access to good quality, affordable and reliable services.
The continuation of present practices and levels of investments could well see the sustainability of many Asian cities undermined," said the book, co-published by a group called Cities Alliance.
These population centers could face "periodic urban environmental crises, and gradual erosion of quality of life for the majority of urban populations," it added.
LinkColombo is one such "population center" and it gets worse every day. So many books published on the subject, so many discussions held and so many committees appointed - why isn't anything done yet?!
Peter Boyle (1935 - 2006)
Peter Boyle was outstanding as Clyde Bruckman - a guest role in the X Files episode Clyde Buckman's Final Repose. It remains my third favorite XF episode ever. Though he gained fame as the grumpy dad on Everybody Loves Raymond, I will always remember him for two roles - Clyde Bruckman and the Monster in Young Frankenstein, where he performed "Putting on the Ritz":Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Junk E-mail - Stop the Madness!
I hate checking my e-mail account(s) just to delete the most ridiculous junk e-mails ever. No matter how much I ask people not to send me sob stories about starving orphans, amputees and how I can get a brand new Nokia by forwarding an e-mail a dozen people, I still have to wade through an ocean of this junk on a daily basis, clicking the delete key like a maniac.
Every time I receive such a message, I used promptly reply the sender with "Please visit www.breakthechain.org before forwarding such e-mails to everyone in your address book" but it just doesn't work.
The latest such e-mail was about entering a PIN in reverse should I ever be robbed at an ATM. Get real, this isn't going to happen anytime soon. Neither will some lost kid in Nebraska be found nor will the Israeli/Palestinian conflict come to an end by sending out e-mails with loads of pictures attached.
Think before you hit the forward key. If you can't think, then please visit Break the Chain and find out the truth. You owe it to yourself. Seriously.
Every time I receive such a message, I used promptly reply the sender with "Please visit www.breakthechain.org before forwarding such e-mails to everyone in your address book" but it just doesn't work.
The latest such e-mail was about entering a PIN in reverse should I ever be robbed at an ATM. Get real, this isn't going to happen anytime soon. Neither will some lost kid in Nebraska be found nor will the Israeli/Palestinian conflict come to an end by sending out e-mails with loads of pictures attached.
Think before you hit the forward key. If you can't think, then please visit Break the Chain and find out the truth. You owe it to yourself. Seriously.
10 Minute Mail - Free Disposable E-mail Addresses
If you ever need a disposable e-mail address, go to 10 Minute Mail - it's fast, free and very convenient. There's no registration form to fill out and a useful reminder at the top of the page tells you "this e-mail address will self destruct in 10 minutes" in case you forget.
I used Bugmenot previously when I needed an e-mail address/password to access certain websites but sometimes the login details provided are no longer valid.
I used Bugmenot previously when I needed an e-mail address/password to access certain websites but sometimes the login details provided are no longer valid.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Outsourcing Growing Beyond India
"One of the most controversial aspects of the global economy has been the newfound enthusiasm of companies, freed from the constraints of physical location, to outsource jobs. No country had embraced tech outsourcing with more passion than India.
Of late, problems are beginning to arise in Indian outsourcing: engineers will start a project, get a few months' experience, and then bolt for greener pastures. The level of attrition can cause the turnover of a project's entire staff within the course of a year.
Combine this with salaries in Bangalore that are rising at 12% to 14% per year and it is no surprise that companies are looking beyond India to a slew of emerging hotspots for IT, such as Brazil, China, and Vietnam.
Will Ho Chi Minh City be the new Bangalore?"
Link
Of late, problems are beginning to arise in Indian outsourcing: engineers will start a project, get a few months' experience, and then bolt for greener pastures. The level of attrition can cause the turnover of a project's entire staff within the course of a year.
Combine this with salaries in Bangalore that are rising at 12% to 14% per year and it is no surprise that companies are looking beyond India to a slew of emerging hotspots for IT, such as Brazil, China, and Vietnam.
Will Ho Chi Minh City be the new Bangalore?"
Link
Monday, December 11, 2006
Truthiness' - Word of the Year
The word — if one can call it that — best summed up 2006, according to an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
"Truthiness" was credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
"We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs," said Merriam-Webster president John Morse. "`Truthiness' is a playful way for us to think about a very important issue."
Other Top 10 finishers included "war," "insurgent," "sectarian" and "corruption." But "truthiness" won 5-to-1, Morse said.
Colbert, who once derided the folks at Springfield-based Merriam-Webster as the "word police" and a bunch of "wordinistas," was pleased.
LinkYouTube: Sirasa Super Star Season 2/And Company episodes
You can now watch episodes of Sirasa Super Star Season 2 and And Company without annoying advertisements at YouTube - thanks to Sandun for uploading them.
Each Time You Drink Coke
According to an article at Healthbolt:
- In The First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.) You don't immediately vomit from the overwhelming sweetness because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor allowing you to keep it down.
- 20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat. (There's plenty of that at this particular moment)
- 40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dialate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are now blocked preventing drowsiness.
- 45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain. This is physically the same way heroin works, by the way.
- >60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, providing a further boost in metabolism. This is compounded by high doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners also increasing the urinary excretion of calcium.
- >60 Minutes: The caffeine's diuretic properties come into play. (It makes you have to pee.) It is now assured that you'll evacuate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was headed to your bones as well as sodium, electrolyte and water.
- >60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you'll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You've also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.
This will all be followed by a caffeine crash in the next few hours. (As little as two if you're a smoker.) But, hey, have another Coke, it'll make you feel better.
33 Names of Things You Never Knew had Names
Did you know that otter dung is called "spraints"? Or that "zarf" is a holder for a handleless coffee cup?
Here's the complete list !
Here's the complete list !
Friday, December 08, 2006
Why Fight When We Can Drink?
Apparently Sri Lankans have consumed more than 76 million litres of liquor during the first 10 months of this year, breaking last year's record - that's probably as surprising as finding out the LTTE isn't going to be banned in SL.
Yesterday's LBO article further elaborates:
"Sri Lankans had consumed more than 37 million litters of hard liquor & 39 million litters of soft liquor during the first 10 months this year and last year's total consumption of both the hard & soft liquor was around 62 million liters."
To top it off, a new study now reports that approximately 25% out of 19.5 million population earn less than a dollar a day, but they consume alcohol because it's a sign of strength, status and almost heroic. The study also mentions some people who earn less than 500 rupees per week spend more than 100 rupees per day on alcohol which exceeds their reported income.
How the **** do they manage to do that?! I don't drink and I'm always broke...WTF??!!
Yesterday's LBO article further elaborates:
"Sri Lankans had consumed more than 37 million litters of hard liquor & 39 million litters of soft liquor during the first 10 months this year and last year's total consumption of both the hard & soft liquor was around 62 million liters."
To top it off, a new study now reports that approximately 25% out of 19.5 million population earn less than a dollar a day, but they consume alcohol because it's a sign of strength, status and almost heroic. The study also mentions some people who earn less than 500 rupees per week spend more than 100 rupees per day on alcohol which exceeds their reported income.
How the **** do they manage to do that?! I don't drink and I'm always broke...WTF??!!
Dual Citizenship - A Three Year Fixed Deposit?
"The Budget proposal to give dual citizenship to expatriate Sri Lankans, who have citizenship in other countries, on condition they deposit 50,000 US Dollars in a bank in Sri Lanka for a period of three years, has drawn the ire and protest of a majority of expatriate Sri Lankans, a number of travel trade persons and some Sri Lankans currently holidaying here.
Official sources said dual citizenship to Sri Lankans was given earlier on a charge of 200,000 rupees to the head of a family and an additional charge of 50,000 rupees for other members, including the spouse and children not over the age of 21." (via Lanka Newspapers)
$ 50,000?? If anyone has that amount of cash in hand, why would they want to part with it for three years to get a Sri Lankan passport/citizenship?! I thought charging SLR 200,000 from an individual who wanted to call himself/herself a Sri Lankan was bad enough but this is just ridiculous!
Official sources said dual citizenship to Sri Lankans was given earlier on a charge of 200,000 rupees to the head of a family and an additional charge of 50,000 rupees for other members, including the spouse and children not over the age of 21." (via Lanka Newspapers)
$ 50,000?? If anyone has that amount of cash in hand, why would they want to part with it for three years to get a Sri Lankan passport/citizenship?! I thought charging SLR 200,000 from an individual who wanted to call himself/herself a Sri Lankan was bad enough but this is just ridiculous!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Movie Trailer - Rocky Balboa
"Rocky" remains one of my favorite movies ever - the sequels were pretty bad, BUT that is not going to stop me.....
imgoingtowatchthisimgoingtowatchthisimgoingtowatchthis
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Seinfeld - Kramer's Reaction To Mary Hart's Voice
Kramer goes into convulsions when he hears Mary Hart's voice on TV.
How to Make a 3D Paper Snowflake
I was bored today (as usual) and decided to make a 3D snowflake, which is quite a challenge since I am prone to paper cuts all the time....The instructions seemed simple enough but I got stuck somewhere around steps 7-8 and nothing I did worked out well. I made only one part of snowflake - and promptly hid it inside a drawer. Why? It looked nothing like the photo on the web site!
This requires a great deal of patience - I am going to try again during the weekend. There's something addictive about it!
Best Blogs of 2006 that You (Maybe) Aren't Reading
December is that time of the year when you read all the "Best" or "Top Ten" lists when it comes to movies, music, news stories etc.
Fimoculous has a list of the best blogs that you may not be reading. I whole heartedly agree with its choice of No.1 - Indexed is pure genius!
Fimoculous has a list of the best blogs that you may not be reading. I whole heartedly agree with its choice of No.1 - Indexed is pure genius!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Dialog Telekom Acquires CBN Sat
"Dialog Telekom Ltd has announced that its subsidiary Asset Media (Pvt.) Ltd., had completed the acquisition of Communiq Broadband Networks (Private) Limited and CBN Sat (Private) Limited (CBN SAT).
Following the completion of the acquisition of CBN SAT by Asset Media, the Direct to Home Satellite TV operations of CBN SAT will commence under the management of Asset Media, the Television Broadcasting subsidiary of Dialog Telekom Ltd.
Asset Media sources confirmed that transmission of CBN SAT services would commence in test transmission mode on or around the December 2 and would be uplifted to full commercial operations within a few days. "
Link
Following the completion of the acquisition of CBN SAT by Asset Media, the Direct to Home Satellite TV operations of CBN SAT will commence under the management of Asset Media, the Television Broadcasting subsidiary of Dialog Telekom Ltd.
Asset Media sources confirmed that transmission of CBN SAT services would commence in test transmission mode on or around the December 2 and would be uplifted to full commercial operations within a few days. "
Link
TRC Imposes Maximum Limit on SMS Charges
Now that Sirasa Super Star Season Two has commenced, the TRC has decreed the maximum price per SMS is to be no more than SLR 5.00 - this is a 50% reduction from the previous amount charged during Season 1.
Rohan Samarajiva (LBO) shares his thoughts on the new SMS charges:
"The SMSes used in voting for the Super Stars in the inaugural season cost LKR 10; many irisiyakarayas (those jealous of the success of another, commemorated memorably on the backs of three wheelers) objected to the "high price" of these SMSes, among other things; the JVP actually put up posters on the streets asking people to boycott Sirasa.
Game shows (as the current programs on Derana) are a different scenario, as are e-services. Both categories are entitled to make a profit and the TRC may have hindered the progress of such businesses by imposing a limit on the maximum amount that could be charged on a text message. A revision of the maximum SMS charge may be inevitable in the future.
Rohan Samarajiva (LBO) shares his thoughts on the new SMS charges:
"The SMSes used in voting for the Super Stars in the inaugural season cost LKR 10; many irisiyakarayas (those jealous of the success of another, commemorated memorably on the backs of three wheelers) objected to the "high price" of these SMSes, among other things; the JVP actually put up posters on the streets asking people to boycott Sirasa.
They no longer enforce their boycotts with guns or by chopping off fingers, luckily.
The people ignored them and watched Super Star like it was religion. It appears that the TRC is pandering the irisiyakarayas and kowtowing to the JVP.
In playing these cheap political games, the TRC is doing serious damage to the emergence of innovative InfoServices in Sri Lanka. This is not what one expects from the independent regulatory agency in charge of the most dynamic sector of the economy.
Given that its Chairman is the current prime mover behind e-Sri Lanka and it comes under the President who has taken a personal interest in e Sri Lanka, this retrograde behavior is somewhat surprising.
This silly decision was driven by ignorance and desire for cheap approbation, not vindictiveness or jealousy, one hopes. It will be reversed by sane counsel and sober reflection, one believes." Link
Well, Rohan - let's not get carried away here. SSS is not a game show that offers rewards for the voters - it's a contest conducted via viewer votes. The organisers of the program should finance its operations through lucrative sponsorship deals and not by charging the viewers. Since SSS has taken so much from American Idol, why not follow its principle of charging "standard text messaging rates" as well?Game shows (as the current programs on Derana) are a different scenario, as are e-services. Both categories are entitled to make a profit and the TRC may have hindered the progress of such businesses by imposing a limit on the maximum amount that could be charged on a text message. A revision of the maximum SMS charge may be inevitable in the future.
Top 10 Bad Things That Are Good For You
This list truly made my day ;-) The top 3 was no surprise, nor was No 8 - but No 5 was unexpected...
10. Beer
9. Anger
8. Coffee
7. LSD
6. Sunlight
5. Maggots
4. Marijuana
3. Red Wine
2. Chocolate
1. Sex
Link
10. Beer
9. Anger
8. Coffee
7. LSD
6. Sunlight
5. Maggots
4. Marijuana
3. Red Wine
2. Chocolate
1. Sex
Link
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Undelete Plus
Undelete Plus is a quick and effective way to retrieve accidentally deleted files, files removed from the Recycle Bin, in a DOS window, from a network drive, from Windows Explorer with the SHIFT key held down.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
100 Greatest TV Catchphrases
Here are some of my favourites:
"Here it is, your moment of Zen" (Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show")
"Just one more thing" (Columbo, "Columbo")
"Welcome to the O.C., bitch" (Luke, "The O.C.")
"Live long and prosper" (Spock, "Star Trek")
"Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld")
"You're fired!" (Donald Trump, "The Apprentice")
Read the rest
"Here it is, your moment of Zen" (Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show")
"Just one more thing" (Columbo, "Columbo")
"Welcome to the O.C., bitch" (Luke, "The O.C.")
"Live long and prosper" (Spock, "Star Trek")
"Yada, yada, yada" ("Seinfeld")
"You're fired!" (Donald Trump, "The Apprentice")
Read the rest
Ant Breeding Project Nets $379 Million
This story sounds rather familiar:
"BEIJING (Reuters) - A company in northeast China raised $379 million from gullible members of the public by promising big profits from a project to breed ants, Xinhua news agency said Friday.
The Donghua Ecological Breeding Company, in Liaoning province, offered returns of 35 to 60 percent on investment in the bogus project, Xinhua said. The state agency cited the Public Security Ministry which had detailed the case as an example of how fraudsters were becoming more imaginative.
The report did not explain why the public would want to invest in ants but, in the southern region of Guangxi, black ants are sold by the bagful to be steeped in tea or soaked in liquor as a natural remedy for ailments such as arthritis." (via Yahoo)
So maybe the word "ants" needs to be replaced with " slots" but people involved are the same - the world is full of suckers.
"BEIJING (Reuters) - A company in northeast China raised $379 million from gullible members of the public by promising big profits from a project to breed ants, Xinhua news agency said Friday.
The Donghua Ecological Breeding Company, in Liaoning province, offered returns of 35 to 60 percent on investment in the bogus project, Xinhua said. The state agency cited the Public Security Ministry which had detailed the case as an example of how fraudsters were becoming more imaginative.
The report did not explain why the public would want to invest in ants but, in the southern region of Guangxi, black ants are sold by the bagful to be steeped in tea or soaked in liquor as a natural remedy for ailments such as arthritis." (via Yahoo)
So maybe the word "ants" needs to be replaced with " slots" but people involved are the same - the world is full of suckers.
McDavid
This great picture is one of the entries at the Worth1000 photoshopping contest. Others include Last Supper, Coffee and Picasso Crayola.(via Boing Boing)
Monday, November 27, 2006
"Choura Rajina" Not Too Happy
Ex-prez CBK wants a book banned - and surprisingly, it's one that was written about her. Ravaya editor Victor Ivan's book "Choura Rajina" levels "serious allegations of corruption, political assassinations and gross abuse of power against her regime."
If I were CBK, I wouldn't want a book like that written about myself either, but that's what you get for being a power hungry fruitcake.
If I were CBK, I wouldn't want a book like that written about myself either, but that's what you get for being a power hungry fruitcake.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Money Laundering Label Hard to Shake
Foreign investors in Singapore who attended a road show by the Colombo Stock Exchange have raised questions about Sri Lanka's growing infamy as a money laundering hub, and the inability of authorities to counter such activities, participants said.
One foreign investor asked the head table what action the authorities planned to take against recent share acquisitions in Sri Lanka by companies with questionable backgrounds.
Sri Lankan officials had replied that the country has signed international conventions against money laundering and a Financial Intelligence Unit had been set up, a participant said.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Google Book Search Can Reveal Plagiarism
"For any plagiarist living in an age of search engines, waving a loaded book in front of reviewers has become the literary equivalent of suicide by cop.
As it turns out, even authors not living in this online age are in trouble. My fellow literary sleuth Alex MacBride recently revealed to me that he'd uncovered an old crime in a new way. MacBride, a linguist employed by Google, idly ran a phrase from England Howlett's 1899 essay Sacrificial Foundations through Google Book Search, his employer's massive digitization of millions of volumes from university libraries. The search had nothing to do with his job—like the rest of us, sometimes Alex just kills time by plugging stuff into Google—and rather than go to the trouble of digging out Howlett's book by name, he'd decided to call it up with a phrase. To his surprise, he got more back than just Howlett: The search also revealed a suspiciously similar passage in Sabine Baring-Gould's 1892 book Strange Survivals. A lot of suspiciously similar passages."
LinkFlickr Camera Finder
Flickr has launched a new service - Camera Finder - which provides stats on popular cameras/camera phones.Link 1 - Boing Boing
Link 2 - Mashable!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Taxi Drivers Major Source of HIV AIDS
So it's official then:
"Taxi drivers have been found to be the primary source in the spread of HIV-AIDS according to an extensive survey conducted by the Sexually Transmitted Disease Unit (STD), Health Ministry sources yesterday.
STD Unit Director Dr. Nimal Edirisinghe said that it had been found that taxi drivers took their clients to secretly operated brothels and the brothel operators would repay them with the services of prostitutes."
(via Lanka Newspapers)
"Taxi drivers have been found to be the primary source in the spread of HIV-AIDS according to an extensive survey conducted by the Sexually Transmitted Disease Unit (STD), Health Ministry sources yesterday.
STD Unit Director Dr. Nimal Edirisinghe said that it had been found that taxi drivers took their clients to secretly operated brothels and the brothel operators would repay them with the services of prostitutes."
(via Lanka Newspapers)
President's Son to Join the Navy
Yoshitha Rajapakshe (second son of President Rajapakshe) is to join the SLN shortly, according to "well informed sources".Talk about leading by example....
(via Lanka Newspapers and Divaina)
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
"Kramer" Loses It - For Real
Monday, November 20, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Budget '07 - At a Glance
"Insurance companies set off their losses from life insurance from the profits from general insurance and these two operations are to be treated as separate entities for taxation purposes
*Companies are urged to pay dividends of 50 percent from their profit and any company which pays out a dividend of less than 1/3 will be taxed 15 percent for the differences between such 1/3 and the dividend paid out.
*Passport fee has been reduced to Rs.3,500 to Rs.2500 and the fee charged for Sri Lankans living abroad applying for dual citizenship is reduced from Rs.400,000 per family to Rs.200,000, provided a fixed deposit in foreign currency of 25,000 US dollars is made at a local bank.
*Tourists Visiting the country will have to pay a Visa fee of 10 US Dollars at the time of purchasing the air ticket and penalties for violation of Visa regulations will be increased/
*Small and Medium entrepreneurs in the business sector who face difficulties and had defaulted tax for the past 5 years will be given a waiver of all penalties and given a period of 3 years to pay the arrears of tax.
*Motor vehicles ' a tax of 2.5 percent levy inclusive of all taxes and duties paid at the point of Customs.
*Income earned on interests is taxed at 10 percent from such earnings above Rs.108,000 it is to be raised to amount above Rs.300,000 and the withholding tax is reduced to 5 percent as an incentive for savings. Only if the earnings from interests is above 600,000 the tax will be 10 percent.
*Retiring employees who had completed 20 years of service will be given the benefit of an exemption of tax up to Rs.2 million for terminal benefits.
*The tax for shares of employees of companies
*Import of buses exempted from VAT
*VAT exempted for projects to build houses for shanty dwellers.
*Tax reduction to 5 percent for imports of high tech medical equipment.
*Environmentally harmful polythene 5 percent Excise tax.
*Construction industry to receive depreciation on machinery allowance up to 25 percent. Now it stands at 12.5 percent.
*Tax exempted on heavy fuel, furnace oil and electricity and machinery imported by the CEB will be also be exempted from tax.
*Local film industry given a reduced VAT of 5 percent for imports of items needed for film production.
*Ten year tax holiday for newly constructed cinemas.
*Economic service charge for tea, rubber and coconut processing industries reduced to 0.25 percent and VAT and customs duty exemption for machinery imported for these industries.
*Prawn farming, livestock, SME sector given duty exemption for imports of machinery. These include the jewellery export industry."
(Via Lankanewspapers)
More at LBO
*Companies are urged to pay dividends of 50 percent from their profit and any company which pays out a dividend of less than 1/3 will be taxed 15 percent for the differences between such 1/3 and the dividend paid out.
*Passport fee has been reduced to Rs.3,500 to Rs.2500 and the fee charged for Sri Lankans living abroad applying for dual citizenship is reduced from Rs.400,000 per family to Rs.200,000, provided a fixed deposit in foreign currency of 25,000 US dollars is made at a local bank.
*Tourists Visiting the country will have to pay a Visa fee of 10 US Dollars at the time of purchasing the air ticket and penalties for violation of Visa regulations will be increased/
*Small and Medium entrepreneurs in the business sector who face difficulties and had defaulted tax for the past 5 years will be given a waiver of all penalties and given a period of 3 years to pay the arrears of tax.
*Motor vehicles ' a tax of 2.5 percent levy inclusive of all taxes and duties paid at the point of Customs.
*Income earned on interests is taxed at 10 percent from such earnings above Rs.108,000 it is to be raised to amount above Rs.300,000 and the withholding tax is reduced to 5 percent as an incentive for savings. Only if the earnings from interests is above 600,000 the tax will be 10 percent.
*Retiring employees who had completed 20 years of service will be given the benefit of an exemption of tax up to Rs.2 million for terminal benefits.
*The tax for shares of employees of companies
*Import of buses exempted from VAT
*VAT exempted for projects to build houses for shanty dwellers.
*Tax reduction to 5 percent for imports of high tech medical equipment.
*Environmentally harmful polythene 5 percent Excise tax.
*Construction industry to receive depreciation on machinery allowance up to 25 percent. Now it stands at 12.5 percent.
*Tax exempted on heavy fuel, furnace oil and electricity and machinery imported by the CEB will be also be exempted from tax.
*Local film industry given a reduced VAT of 5 percent for imports of items needed for film production.
*Ten year tax holiday for newly constructed cinemas.
*Economic service charge for tea, rubber and coconut processing industries reduced to 0.25 percent and VAT and customs duty exemption for machinery imported for these industries.
*Prawn farming, livestock, SME sector given duty exemption for imports of machinery. These include the jewellery export industry."
(Via Lankanewspapers)
More at LBO
Jedi Knights Demand Recognition
Sure I'm a Star Wars fan, but I would never even dream of doing this:"Self-proclaimed Jedis Umada and Yunyun, better known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law, have adopted a more conventional approach in their pursuit of recognition – delivering a protest letter.
The unconventional pair are calling for the UN to acknowlegde what has become Britain's fourth largest 'religion' with 390,000 followers.
The UN International Day of Tolerance, which takes place annually on November 16, is aimed at emphasising the dangers of intolerance and promoting integration and cohesion across the globe.
In the 2001 UK Census 390,000 people listed their religion as Jedi Knight making it the fourth biggest belief in the country.
There are also an estimated 70,000 Jedi knights in Australia, 53,000 in New Zealand and 20,000 in Canada."
Link
Ninjawords
Ninjawords is a super fast online dictionary. Also available as "Ninjabox" - a desktop application. ( Link)
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Lightening Crashes
SL was blacked out on Wednesday night for about one and a half hours (7.45pm to 9pm - varies according to various parts of Colombo).
During the news telecast later, an official from the CEB stated the black out was due to lightening.
Surprisingly Jaffna and Trincomalee were not affected.
During the news telecast later, an official from the CEB stated the black out was due to lightening.
Surprisingly Jaffna and Trincomalee were not affected.
Classic Faux Pas
As Bush Goes To Vietnam, White House Website Displays The Wrong Flag
Yesterday, the White House website featured a graphic with the flags of the three countries he’s visiting on his trip — Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. One problem: instead of displaying the Vietnamese flag, the White House graphic featured the old flag of South Vietnam. That flag hasn’t been the official flag of Vietnam since South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam in 1975.
The display of the old flag is highly incendiary to the current Vietnamese government. NPR reported last year the display of the old flag anywhere in the United States — much less on the White House website — “could create tension amid warming relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Link
Yesterday, the White House website featured a graphic with the flags of the three countries he’s visiting on his trip — Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia. One problem: instead of displaying the Vietnamese flag, the White House graphic featured the old flag of South Vietnam. That flag hasn’t been the official flag of Vietnam since South Vietnam surrendered to North Vietnam in 1975.
The display of the old flag is highly incendiary to the current Vietnamese government. NPR reported last year the display of the old flag anywhere in the United States — much less on the White House website — “could create tension amid warming relations between the United States and Vietnam.
Link
Awesome Hotel Rooms
This is an actual hotel room:
"A characteristic touch is that every corner and angle is outlined with a thin, hand-drawn, black line – whether on the ceiling, on the bed, or around a plug. The result is a dollhouse-like, comic book room with papaya green walls, a sunny yellow rug, a lilac bed and a pink cupboard. Graphics and decorations by the artist complete the design."
So is this:
(Via Boing Boing)
"A characteristic touch is that every corner and angle is outlined with a thin, hand-drawn, black line – whether on the ceiling, on the bed, or around a plug. The result is a dollhouse-like, comic book room with papaya green walls, a sunny yellow rug, a lilac bed and a pink cupboard. Graphics and decorations by the artist complete the design."
So is this:
(Via Boing Boing)
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Polish Exchange Student in US: My Half-Year of Hell With Christian Fundamentalists
When 19 year old Polish student Michael Gromek went to America on a student exchange, he was placed with a host family of Christian fundamentalists for six months.
"When I got out of the plane in Greensboro in the US state of North Carolina, I would never have expected my host family to welcome me at the airport, wielding a Bible, and saying, 'Child, our Lord sent you half-way around the world to bring you to us.' At that moment I just wanted to turn round and run back to the plane."
Read the rest
"When I got out of the plane in Greensboro in the US state of North Carolina, I would never have expected my host family to welcome me at the airport, wielding a Bible, and saying, 'Child, our Lord sent you half-way around the world to bring you to us.' At that moment I just wanted to turn round and run back to the plane."
Read the rest
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Borat Wins Again, Offends More People
Staying atop the box office for two weeks in a row proved quite easy for Borat - very nice!
Now in addition to earning $67 million dollars in ticket sales, Borat has somehow managed to offend his unsuspecting co-stars, some of whom have lost their jobs:
"Cohen's behavior also wasn't funny to former TV producer Dharma Arthur, who claims she was duped into giving Cohen airtime on a morning show segment in Jackson, Mississippi. Cohen's live appearance, in which he said he had to go "urine" and hugged a bemused weatherman, led her life into a downward spiral, she told the AP. She is seeking an apology.
(Link to CNN article)
There's more - Sacha Baron Cohen aka Borat managed to get his ass kicked by a passer-by who didn't get this joke:
Now in addition to earning $67 million dollars in ticket sales, Borat has somehow managed to offend his unsuspecting co-stars, some of whom have lost their jobs:
"Cohen's behavior also wasn't funny to former TV producer Dharma Arthur, who claims she was duped into giving Cohen airtime on a morning show segment in Jackson, Mississippi. Cohen's live appearance, in which he said he had to go "urine" and hugged a bemused weatherman, led her life into a downward spiral, she told the AP. She is seeking an apology.
Although Arthur has said she was fired from the show, she told the AP that she left the station.
Kathie Martin, who runs an etiquette school in Birmingham, Alabama, was also left out of the joke. Even though she was gracious and calm when Borat showed her nude photos of his son, Martin admitted she was "taken aback" by his schtick during their on-camera meeting.
"Unless you can figure it out for yourself, you have no way of knowing you have been tricked into being part of a childish prank with an R rating attached," she told the AP in an e-mail."(Link to CNN article)
There's more - Sacha Baron Cohen aka Borat managed to get his ass kicked by a passer-by who didn't get this joke:
"He approached the man and said: “I like your clothings. Are nice! Please may I buying? I want have sex with it.”
But the bystander didn’t see the joke. He took one look at Cohen and punched him in the face."
(Link to Sun article)Polythene Out, Banana Leaves In
Dr. Sujatha Weerasinghe (Agricultural Research Institute) has invented a method by which banana leaves and other natural leaves can be processed to be used as food wrappers.
The use/manufacture/sale of polythene (less than 20 microns) will be banned from January 1, 2007 and the Ministry intends to use banana leaves as substitutes.
The use/manufacture/sale of polythene (less than 20 microns) will be banned from January 1, 2007 and the Ministry intends to use banana leaves as substitutes.
Monday, November 13, 2006
List of Faux Pas from Wiki
Bangladesh
Closing one's eyes during a meal is said to invite demonic possession of the hosts.
India
India has had a complicated history with its neighbors (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), and confusing an Indian with any of these (or vice versa) is seriously offensive. This rule extends especially to Westerners.
For a man to comment to another person about the appearance of the latter's adult female relative (wife, sister, daughter, etc) is considered inappropriate behavior. However, it is acceptable for a woman to do so
Turkey
Placing a phone call to somebody after 22:00.
Greece
"No" is sometimes conveyed by a slight raise of the eyebrows, often accompanied by a "tsk" sound.
France
Biting into the piece of bread directly (unless you have something on it -butter, pâté,...). One should break a small piece off, and put it into one's mouth.
(Link to Wiki)
Closing one's eyes during a meal is said to invite demonic possession of the hosts.
India
India has had a complicated history with its neighbors (Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), and confusing an Indian with any of these (or vice versa) is seriously offensive. This rule extends especially to Westerners.
For a man to comment to another person about the appearance of the latter's adult female relative (wife, sister, daughter, etc) is considered inappropriate behavior. However, it is acceptable for a woman to do so
Turkey
Placing a phone call to somebody after 22:00.
Greece
"No" is sometimes conveyed by a slight raise of the eyebrows, often accompanied by a "tsk" sound.
France
Biting into the piece of bread directly (unless you have something on it -butter, pâté,...). One should break a small piece off, and put it into one's mouth.
(Link to Wiki)
Friday, November 10, 2006
Raja FM Suspended
Raja FM has been shut down by the GOSL for airing sexually explicit content on its program "Three hours with Sumali".
I have not tuned in to this program but listened to a few clips (can be found at Wiki). Some of the stories are a little bizarre, to say the least. It doesn't sound outrageously explicit - just crude. However the *doctor*'s (Prasanna Jayatilleke) advice isn't inappropriate and it's high time sex education is made more available to the youth of SL Does the GOSL expect school teachers and parents to provide the necessary answers to the questions asked?
UPDATE 11/12: The Wiki article has been edited and the links are no longer available.
UPDATE 11/13: Links
I have not tuned in to this program but listened to a few clips (can be found at Wiki). Some of the stories are a little bizarre, to say the least. It doesn't sound outrageously explicit - just crude. However the *doctor*'s (Prasanna Jayatilleke) advice isn't inappropriate and it's high time sex education is made more available to the youth of SL Does the GOSL expect school teachers and parents to provide the necessary answers to the questions asked?
UPDATE 11/12: The Wiki article has been edited and the links are no longer available.
UPDATE 11/13: Links
How to be Interesting
Here are 10 ways to be "interesting" - good suggestions, all of them. It's strange that while I have always been described as "an interesting individual" during the occasional job evaluation (occasional=once or twice a year) here in SL, it never came up during the interview process. In fact, I once asked an interview what he expected of an employee and he rambled on a list of the usual "what-makes-a-good-team-player" crap but never once said he wanted a person who was "interested" in working for the company or an "interesting" person in general.
Internerd
If you ever need to know 248 ways to annoy people (#107 - As people talk, smell their shoulders.), this is the site for you. It also includes a wonderful list of sarcastic remarks (#68 - And which dwarf are you? ) and a very easy-to-follow cookie recipe ;)
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
YouTube - Invention of the Year
TIME Magazine has named YouTube Invention of the Year - and with good reason too. It has completely changed the concept of video-sharing and tell me, where else can we find five minute clips of old TV shows with such ease?!
Desperate Measures
"Security forces have stepped up their red alert in the city following information that the LTTE, having failed in their bid to enter Colombo in the recent past, could use an ambulance with the siren on or even come dressed as a newly married couple in a decorated limousine.
Following this information orders have gone out to all check points not to spare ambulances, couples on honeymoon and even hearses."
That ought to make life more interesting for everyone, dead or alive...............
(Via Lanka Newspapers)
Following this information orders have gone out to all check points not to spare ambulances, couples on honeymoon and even hearses."
That ought to make life more interesting for everyone, dead or alive...............
(Via Lanka Newspapers)
Faith Hill is a BAD Loser
First - I am not a country music fan. I was watching CNN yesterday and caught a glimpse of Faith Hill's reaction when the winner of the female Country Vocalist of the Year award was announced at the annual CMA awards. It was hilarious!!
Just watch it in slow motion - I bet she actually new the camera was on her the entire time, too.
Ms Hill has been quick to deny she lost her temper and claims it was a joke. Right.
Just watch it in slow motion - I bet she actually new the camera was on her the entire time, too.
Ms Hill has been quick to deny she lost her temper and claims it was a joke. Right.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Protecting Our Own
The plan to charge royalties for each song performed at musical shows and other commercial use of local artistes' creations has resulted in an actual fee structure.
Annually 100 rupees per song for broadcast on TV and 20 rupees for radio
Night clubs, karaoke bars, restaurants and musical shows are charged 5,000 rupees per song per year
Organizations such as banks, conference halls using local music for an event need to pay 15,000 rupees for a license
National Lotteries Board, Development Lotteries will pay an annual license fee of 100,000 rupees each
Copyright music is free for educational purposes, talent performances, welfare and non-profit events
"Under the Intellectual Property Act 2003 of Sri Lanka, organizers of musical shows and electronic media institutions, will now have to get prior written permission from artists, NIPO Office said Monday.
Director of Sri Lanka Performing Rights Society, Bobby Boteju says those who violate the law face a six months jail sentence or a fine of 500,000 rupees, with penalties doubled for repeated misuse."
(Via LBO)
Annually 100 rupees per song for broadcast on TV and 20 rupees for radio
Night clubs, karaoke bars, restaurants and musical shows are charged 5,000 rupees per song per year
Organizations such as banks, conference halls using local music for an event need to pay 15,000 rupees for a license
National Lotteries Board, Development Lotteries will pay an annual license fee of 100,000 rupees each
Copyright music is free for educational purposes, talent performances, welfare and non-profit events
"Under the Intellectual Property Act 2003 of Sri Lanka, organizers of musical shows and electronic media institutions, will now have to get prior written permission from artists, NIPO Office said Monday.
Director of Sri Lanka Performing Rights Society, Bobby Boteju says those who violate the law face a six months jail sentence or a fine of 500,000 rupees, with penalties doubled for repeated misuse."
(Via LBO)
"Rajatha Rashmi" - Gone for Good?!
So it appears "Rajatha Rashmi" - the state-funded Rupavahini's response to the insatiable appetite for talent shows prevalent these days - has been suspended since last weekend. The reason? Misappropriation of funds - around 30 million rupees, according to this report!
I have yet to read an official statement by Rupavahini on the subject - what's with the silence, I wonder. The program is aired on Sunday night and last Sunday (Poya) a message indicated the program will be shown again next weekend.
Prior to the start of Season 2 of its extremely popular Sirasa Super Star series, Sirasa was very quiet and three other channels (Rupavahini, ITN and Swarnavahini) immediately started their own talent contests - some of them mind-numbingly boring and the others barely watchable. "Rajatha Rashmi" was the better program by far.
I watched a few episodes of the singers' auditions in Rajatha Rashmi (it also includes acting and dancing) and was very impressed with some of the talent from outstation areas. I must mention this guy called Saman Lenin, was quite outstanding - I haven't seen him on TV much since he was selected for the finals. He has a really good voice and so do at least three others whose names I can't remember, unfortunately.
What's going to happen to these guys if the program is permanently canceled? Or is the e-news article just another pro-Sirasa creation?!
I have yet to read an official statement by Rupavahini on the subject - what's with the silence, I wonder. The program is aired on Sunday night and last Sunday (Poya) a message indicated the program will be shown again next weekend.
Prior to the start of Season 2 of its extremely popular Sirasa Super Star series, Sirasa was very quiet and three other channels (Rupavahini, ITN and Swarnavahini) immediately started their own talent contests - some of them mind-numbingly boring and the others barely watchable. "Rajatha Rashmi" was the better program by far.
I watched a few episodes of the singers' auditions in Rajatha Rashmi (it also includes acting and dancing) and was very impressed with some of the talent from outstation areas. I must mention this guy called Saman Lenin, was quite outstanding - I haven't seen him on TV much since he was selected for the finals. He has a really good voice and so do at least three others whose names I can't remember, unfortunately.
What's going to happen to these guys if the program is permanently canceled? Or is the e-news article just another pro-Sirasa creation?!
The Search for Black Gold
Nov 06 (LBO) - The Maharaja Group on Monday signed a deal with Norwegian based oil drilling firm Aker Kvaerner, for future involvment in oil and gas exploration in Sri Lanka. (Link to LBO article)
Hmmm..as diversified as The Maharaja Group is, the idea of them dealing with a Norwegian oil drilling firm is just plain freaky....
Hmmm..as diversified as The Maharaja Group is, the idea of them dealing with a Norwegian oil drilling firm is just plain freaky....
Download Episodes of LOST 3 and Prison Break 2
Garret the Great has created two separate pages for LOST 3 and Prison Break 2, where each new episode is added weekly.
By the way, if you have not watched the complete first season of Prison Break, please don't bother watching the second - it won't make any sense!
By the way, if you have not watched the complete first season of Prison Break, please don't bother watching the second - it won't make any sense!
Four-finned Dolphin Stuns Scientists
"Experts believe that the dolphin's ancestor was a dog-like creature which roamed the earth many millions of years ago. And now the extraordinary discovery of a bottlenosed dolphin with an extra set of flippers has provided living proof of the theory.Scientists have so far been unable to tell whether the four-finned dolphin, caught in fishermen's nets off Japan's Wakayama province a week ago, uses its extra set of fins when swimming."
(Image from Daily Mail)
Pronto - the Best Way to Get It On
Condoms which can be put on in just a few seconds are going on sale in South Africa this week. Appropriately named "pronto", the condoms are sold with a small plastic applicator packed inside each foil pouch
Seeing is believing, so watch the demo - oh yes, there really is a demo.
Unfortunately pronto condoms are not for available outside South Africa - yet.
Seeing is believing, so watch the demo - oh yes, there really is a demo.
Unfortunately pronto condoms are not for available outside South Africa - yet.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Indian Cities Head List of Best Off-shoring Sites
New Delhi headed the seven Indian cities that topped the list of 24 from around the world vying for the tag of favorite offshore sites, said neoIT in a report entitled: "Offshore Insights: Global City Competitiveness."
New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata were the seven most favoured sites worldwide to locate offshore, said the report assembled from feedback from over 60 clients.
Read the rest at LBO
More at Reuters
New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata were the seven most favoured sites worldwide to locate offshore, said the report assembled from feedback from over 60 clients.
Read the rest at LBO
More at Reuters
Chocolate Sushi
KookiSushi: fetishistically accurate replicas of sushi, executed in fine chocolate, including green-tea "wasabi" and chocolate soy sauce.(Via Boing Boing)
Borat: Box Office King
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" turned out to be the number 1 movie at the US box office this weekend.
Here's a clip of a TV interview about the movie:
Here's a clip of a TV interview about the movie:
Friday, November 03, 2006
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