Software Reviews

Lee lo que ningun experto te dirá al desarrollar un portal web

2010-08-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

El SEO o Search engine optimization puede ser dificil y confuso Por lo general SEO se refiere a la Optimizacion para Motores de Busqueda de sitios web. Ello tiene, la estructura de la web, el análisis de los temario, optimizacion de palabras claves. Por esto les damos algunos pocos tips para aumentar el SEO de vuestros paginas y a través de eso la posicion en Google y los demás buscadores que en la actualidad ocupas.

El SEO no tiene por qué ser necesariamente el webmaster o el responsable de la pagina web, sino que éste último puede contratar sus servicios. Por otra parte cada vez mayor cantidad de sociedades que se han especializado en el posicionamiento en buscadores, y ofrecen ayuda a otros sitios web

La optimización de sitios web orientada al SEO es ahora una obsesión para todos los que deseen estar presente en internet, sea una pyme o sea una empresa que quiera vender sus bienes en la web

La optimización SEO se compone de distintos aspectos que se entrelazan entre sí, con técnicas basados en buenas prácticas permitiendo que el sitio web sea amigable a los principales motores de búsqueda. Conocer como funcionan los motores de búsquedas es relevante.

Una de las mayores confusiones, que yo he provocado en parte hasta hace poco, es que los responsables de SEO dicen: ‘el SEM es el pago por posicionarse, el SEO es el posicionamiento orgánico’. Es una definición cotidiana de los enlaces patrocinados, el SEM se aplica a todo por lo que se paga a los buscadores con el fin de aparecer destacado (arriba, muy arriba). Los lectores que ya estén calentitos con el comentario, que esperen un minuto a la explicación.

Se recomienda que al menos cada página contenga de 200 a 400 palabras en contenido. Las maquinas no leen” código, así que un sitio basado en imágenes o aplicaciones programadas no ayudará mucho a dar un 100% de visibilidad.

Winter storm at April end

2010-04-29T02:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is April 29, 2010, and we still have winter in Calgary with ‘Winter Storm Warning’ is still in effect. Wasn't it supposed to be the warmest year for some time? When you go out, it seems, the reported ‘Wind Chill’ is a bit on the higher side. Some photos of the spring buds follow:

Steve Wozniak entertaining the crowd waiting in line for iPad

2010-04-28T03:42:00.000-07:00

Steve Wozniak is a complete opposite to Steve Jobs with whom he established Apple company. Woz, brain behind the Apple computer, is a fun loving and person with down-to-the-earth attitude but, Jobs is serious and ruthless entrepreneur.

youtube.com/watch?v=obW80HDtNE4

iPad clones available in China

2010-04-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

The high demand of the iPad tablet in the United States forced Apple to delay its international launch. Reuters reported that Chinese counterfeiters have already launched their own version of iPad at a much lower price. The device is told to be power by Intel Atom N450 – the processor designed for Netbook and runs Windows operating system. Vista is pre-installed which can also be upgraded to Windows7. The Atom processor clocked at 1.66GHz with memory to 2GB and the hard drive is 250MB does even look superior in configuration when compared the original iPad’s Apple A4 processor, clocked at 1GHz. Good things: it has 3 USB ports, costs 2,800 yuan ($410), less than the $499-699 price-tag of the original. Reuters quoted one crew-cut agent Lin saying: "This is just the first rough version. Eventually, the factories will be able to make a much better copy."

Lost iPhone prototype issue getting complicated

2010-04-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

The issue of lost iPhone and Apple's formal letter to get it back was stretched beyond the lost-and-found case to criminal offense. On Friday, members of the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team, or REACT task force executed a warrant to search the home of a Gizmodo.com blogger, Jason Chen, who had published information about a lost Apple Inc. iPhone prototype, seizing computers and other equipment. Chen he returned home Friday to find police searching through his possessions, having broken down the front door.

REACT, the California police task force steering committee is reported to have included members of several large Silicon Valley firms -- including Apple, Google, Adobe, and others.
In a recent twist in the story, Gawker Media, the owner company of Gizmodo blog, claimed that the warrant used by police to search an editor's home was invalid.
In another statement, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, told that the engineer who showed Woz an iPad on the morning of the iPad launch was fired. Woz told, he was not aware that the iPad was unreleased 3G version.
The iPad in question could be the following twitter photo of Woz holding iPad.

Stupid laws of Alabama

2010-04-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

Stupid Laws of the US state of Alabama It is illegal to play dominoes on Sunday.It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.In a 1991 issue of Radiance Magazine, author Robert Pelton writes that, “a full-bodied woman should never eat peanuts while attending church in Ryan Crossroads, Alabama. The pastor has the legal right to make offenders stand in a corner or leave the church until the service is finished.”It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death.It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.You may not drive barefooted.It is illegal to maim oneself to escape duty.It is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy.Women are able to retain all property they owned prior to marriage in the case of divorce. However, this provision does not apply to men.Masks may not be worn in public.Putting salt on a railroad track may be punishable by death.Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.Bear wrestling matches are prohibited.It is legal to drive the wrong way down a one-way street if you have a lantern attached to the front of your automobile.Men may not spit in front of the opposite sex.Incestuous marriages are legal.It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.You must have windshield wipers on your car.You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

Alabama stupid / dumb or outdated laws by county Anniston You may not wear blue jeans down Noble Street. Jasper It is illegal for a husband to beat his wife with a stick larger in diameter than his thumb. Lee County It is illegal to sell peanuts in Lee County after sundown on Wednesday. Mobile It is unlawful to wear women’s pumps with sharp, high heels.It is unlawful to howl at ladies inside the city limits. Montgomery It is considered an offense to open an umbrella on a street, for fear of it spooking horses.

Lost and Found iPhone 4G, Apple wants it back

2010-04-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

Next version of iPhone is expected to be released in June. But, this is the the first time an Apple device reached in somebody else’s hand (unauthorized) before being unveiled by Steve Jobs. It was so unlikely event that almost everybody suspected the authenticity of the device when TechCrunch published the photo of the iDevice. Then, by some means TechCruch’s rival blog Gizmodo got hold of the device. Gizmodo said it obtained the prototype a company engineer had left at a bar. The device, disguised as the current 3GS model, was found in a bar in Redwood City, California. Today, Gizmodo has reportedly told that it paid $5,000 to get hold of the device. Gizmodo said Monday evening that it is making arrangements to return the errant device, following a request from Apple's legal department. Gizmodo in a post posted the letter and says that the letter is a proof of the authencity of of the device: This phone was lost, and then found. But from Apple's perspective, it could have been considered stolen. I told them, all they have to do to get it back is to claim it—on record. This formal request from Apple's legal department is that claim. It proves—if there was any doubt in your mind—that this thing is real. It is still a mystery how an unreleased Apple product could be left at a most unlikely location, a bar. Apple is notoriously popular for closely guarding access to new products. According to some people familiar with a more than 10-page non-disclosure document for iPad, told that the testers had to promise to keep it quarantined in a room with blacked-out windows and key-card locks. According to Gizmodo, the new device features: Front-facing video chat camera Improved back-camera (larger lens) Camera flash Micro-SIM instead of standard SIM (like the iPad) Improved display. What looks to be a secondary mic for noise cancellation, at the top, next to the headphone jack Split buttons for volume Power, mute, and volume buttons are all metallic

Obama pointing fingers at Harper

2010-04-15T05:59:00.000-07:00

Does the photo say anything? In the photo above, U.S. President Barack Obama (R) greets Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington April 12, 2010. Some are questioning the ‘greeting’ gestures of world’s most powerful man, Barack Obama and Canadian Stephen Harper. (Photo credits: Reuters) Have your say in comment!

iPhone to be updated in June

2010-04-15T04:34:00.000-07:00

Rumor of forthcoming iPhone update in June is in line with the iPHone 3GS release last year, June 8. According to Regina Leader-Post SaskTel, a Saskatchewan-based wireless provider, will start offering the next-generation iPhone on June 1. "The good news is that (Apple) is coming out with a new version of the iPhone in the June time-frame and they're going to put us on that," Watson was quoted as saying. "So we're quite excited about that." New version of iPhone is expected to feature camera flash to improve photo quality in dark and dimly lit locations. Presence of iChatAgent process in the prerelease version of iPhone OS 4 also suggest a forward facing camera for video chat.

Non-US iPad launch delayed by one month

2010-04-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

If you were waiting for the iPad to launch in your country (other than the US), you have to wait one more month, according to reports. In Canada, the iPad will launch at the end of May and Rogers will: … offer iPad price plans for all models from the end of May in Canada. With more than 500,000 tablets sold in the first week of availability in the US, the tablet’s popularity should have taken Apple by surprise, as the availability of device in Non-US market is shifted from ‘late April’ to ‘late May’. Apple will unveil the availability and pricing for the international audience on May 10.

Opera Mini - new browser in iPhone OS

2010-04-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Everybody knows how control freak Apple is. That was the reason why Opera developers held their breadth until the App Store approved the Safari compitator.

I wanted to try how this blog looks on the Mini. Here are some screenshots.

First screenshot: Doesn't look that good

I disabled the "Load Image" - for faster load time.

The I switch on the 'Mobile View'. This is the best view - without any plugins in server side the feature works great and the Google ads are all gone. For a webmaster, this might be a missed monetizing opportunity, but for a site visitor it sure is a best browsing experience. I wish it also remove Kontera ads.

This is the settings page: The output above is the result of the settings show below:

Tabbed Browsing

Settings

iPad sales – 450,000 in 5 days

2010-04-08T05:08:00.000-07:00

600,000 ebooks and 3.5 million app downloads on the 450,000 iPads sold in 5 days of its release. There are 3,500 apps designed for the new device. There are 185,000 applications being offered through the App Store for 50 million iPhones, 35 million iPod touches and the iPads. That sums up to 85.5 million devices running iPhone OS and capable of accessing the App Store. The Apple’s Safari web browser shipped with these devices has helped the iPhone OS grab more than 65% of the mobile browser market.

iPad reviews: Best computer ever

2010-04-01T03:41:00.000-07:00

Apple's iPad multimedia tablet goes on sale on Saturday, April 3, bundled with Winnie the Pooh iBook. Steve Jobs told the bundling the kid’s book in an interview featured in the latest issue of Time magazine. The the interview the Apple co-founder discusses the iPad, his career and his life. Reviews are pouring in and the reviewers obviously had high expectations on the Apple’s latest creation. As far as the expectations go – many reviewers think that the iPad has met or exceeded most of them. The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg thinks iPad's interface and design is great: The iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it's a real challenger to the laptop and netbook. New York Time's David Pogue thinks everybody, who is not thinking of replacing the laptop, is going to enjoy the device. PCMagazine's Tim Gideon points out the iPad's limitations, but praises it nonetheless: BoingBoing's Xeni Jardin can imagine traveling with iPad instead of a netbook: I like it a lot. But it's the things I never knew it made possible - to be revealed or not in the coming months - that will determine whether I love it. The Houston Chronicle's Bob "Dr. Mac" LeVitus thinks that Apple's iPad is better than expected Think of the iPad as a new arrow in your technology quiver, an arrow that will often be the best tool for a given task. The Chicago Sun-Times' Andy Ihnatko says the iPad is pure innovation and one of best computers ever

April Fools 2010: Google Jail

2010-03-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

It is April first and Google, for some time, has been playing prank on its visitors.
A website has claimed that this year's prank is called "Google Jail". The site has a screen-shot of the so-called Google Jail page.

I checked the page, but it showed a 404 Not Found Error message to me.

I hope it is not a prank on prank!

Anyways, that was a nice joke.
Happy April Fool's Day!

Burlington tops Canadian and Seattle tops US cybercrime risk list

2010-03-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Are you more vulnerable to cybercrime than the others?
In an attempt to answer the question, Symantec in conjunction with Sperling's Best
Places released a study, "The Norton Top 10 Riskiest Online Cities Report." The report lists 10 riskiest cities in the US and Canada.
In Canada, topping the list are the cities of Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta. Burlington, Ontario topped the list with major cities like Vancouver (no. 4), Calgary (no. 5), and Toronto (no. 8 ) in the top 10 list.
The complete list:

Burlington
Port Coquitlam
Langley
Vancouver
Calgary
Oakville
Markham
Toronto
Kelowna
Kitchener

In the study of 50 Canadian cities Quebec's Longueuil ranked the lowest.
cybercrime, Internet use, consumer expenditures on computer equipment and Wi-Fi access.
In the United States, Seattle topped the list of cities of highest cybercrime. America's top 10 list:

Seattle
Boston
Washington, D.C.
San Francisco
Raleigh, N.C.
Atlanta
Minneapolis
Denver
Austin, Tex.
Portland, Ore.

While making the list factors considered were :

Number of malicious attacks
Number of potential malware infections

Number of spam zombies
Number of bot infected computers

Level of Internet Access
Expenditures on computer hardware and software
Wireless hotspots
Broadband connectivity
Internet usage
Online purchase

With increase in cybercrime everybody should be aware of safety measures while online. The Cybercrime Exposed Booklet (PDF) says that "Every 3 second an identity is stolen." To safeguard against such threats, Family Online Safety Guide would certainly guide in the right direction. Browse safe and enjoy!
Resource materials:Canada: Executive Summary PDF report
Cybercrime Executive Summary - Canada
USA: Cybercrime Risk Executive Summary PDF report
Cybercrime Executive Summary

Desktop Computer - Google says it is at the end of its life

2010-03-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Google Europe sales chief John Herlihy says that the Desktop computer will reach its end of life in 3 years. Herlihy was speaking at the Digital Landscapes conference at UCD. “In three years time, desktops will be irrelevant. In Japan, most research is done today on smart phones, not PCs.” The view reflects Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s view at the recent GSM Association Mobile World Congress 2010. Schmidt told that Google is looking everything through mobile lens, centering on the cloud, computing and connectivity. The fear is the next Sergey and Larry will come up with a disruptive technology or service that will eliminate the need for Google… … The digital world is fundamentally different to the traditional business world. Things happen much faster, websites spring up from nowhere, a video could be a YouTube hit in hours. When big names like Google say that some version of computer is going to be extinct in near future one can take it for granted. Even if it does not become obsolete by itself, they have the might and resources to kill it. With rapid development of smart phones, iPads, Microsoft Courier and similar device and operating system like iPhone OS, Crome OS, the future seems to be going mobile for sure. But, will the desktop become extinct in 3 years? We would certainly see signs in near future. sources- 1 | 2 |

Future Laptops - Rolltop

2010-03-01T03:49:00.000-08:00

The tablet computer was supposed to replace laptop. Apple's tablet, iPad, unveiled last month however is not a laptop killer. Apple has tried to position the iPad in a totally new category rather than a laptop replacement. It is to be seen weather such an attempt will succeed.
Orkin Design, a design firm in Germany, has designed a concept tablet computer that can be rolled up and carried like a shoulder handbag. The large multi-touch screen can be unrolled and used as laptop and tablet computer. The computer features USB ports, webcam, stylus and everything today’s computers have.

I am not sure if the concept laptop is only a design concept or if some company has already considered it for production. The concept is good but I doubt it can capture the market unless the price is competitive. The Rolltop is more like a fashion accessory than a technology product.

Apple’s attempt to position iPad as a different computing category might be a strategic move to continue profiting from its more lucrative laptop (Macbook and Macbook Pro) business. It might also be a move to capture the Kindle and other ebook reader market. I don’t think Apple can stop the development of similar laptop replacement in near future.
Here is the video of the concept laptop.

Olympics Women’s Ice Hockey - Cigar beer and gold medal

2010-02-26T03:10:00.000-08:00

Some time after they beat the United States 2-0 on Thursday, the Canadian women’s ice hockey team came back from the locker room and staged a party on ice. The party involved bottles of champagne, beer cans and cigars. Among others was 18-year-old superstar Marie-Philip Poulin, who was also drinking alcohol on the ice. The legal drinking age in British Columbia however is 19. The IOC has frowned on the action and has said that it would look into the matter. The winning team should have acted in a bit more responsive manner on the celebration of their winning -- drinking and smoking on the ice was a bit more than expected. (photo – AP)

5-months pregnant athlete in Olympics

2010-02-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

Five and half months pregnant, 30 year-old, Kristie Moore, is one of the Team Canada curling team members competing in the Winter Olympics being held in Vancouver, Canada. She is the third pregnant athlete ever to compete in Olympic games. Ninety years ago, Swedish figure skater Magda Julin won a gold medal at the Antwerp Games while in her first trimester and Germany’s Diana Sartor took fourth in the skeleton in 2006. Moore is an alternative player and there is vey little chance she will actually play in the game. She is a backup player and will be called in only if she is needed. Even if she didn’t play, she will receive the medal Canada wins, if her team wins. Good luck with the team. For the unborn child, it would certainly be an honor to be born with an Olympic medal! (Kristie in Yahoo)

Global warming mystery

2010-02-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

For the first time, a senior scientist working with the U.N. report on climate change has admitted that there is no real global warming in current time. The scientist behind the so-called "climate-gate" e-mail scandal admitted that there is no statistically significant global warming since 1995. The scientist believe that the time between 800 and 1300 A.D. could actually had been warmer than present temperatures. Such a news will be a blow to global warming advocates and it makes a easy for a layman not to believe in global warming. A recent BBC poll found that there is already a decrease in global warming believers. The Populus poll of 1,001 adults found 25% did not think global warming was happening, an increase of 10% since a similar poll was conducted in November. The pdf version of the poll report can be downloaded here. Believe or not earth has warmed-up as compared to a near past. But it has warmed and cooled a number of times (at least twice) in the past 1000 years. It might be an interesting read to understand: "If global warming real why is it cold?"

15 year old Sleeping Beauty - Louisa Ball (video)

2010-02-09T10:42:00.000-08:00

Louisa Ball is a normal teen except for the 'sleeping beauty sickness'. The 15-year-old girl sleeps for days at a time and cannot be woken.
It is told that Louisa suffers from Kleine-Levin Syndrome, a disease with no cure that clears itself up after 8-12 years of suffering from it. The
Once Louisa slept for 13 days and that was the longest one.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

iPad

2010-01-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

No mention of GPS, web camera, multi-tasking capability but the price of the new iPad device from Apple, announced today is half the rumored $1000 mark. Pricewise the 16 GB iPad, for $499, is sure to succeed when you compare it with Kindle or Nook. But, it is to be seen weather the ‘zoomed-in iPod Touch’ will appeal the public. Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiling iPad, a new Apple tablet device:

Apple's 'latest creation' – iPad, iBooks (UPDATE)

2010-01-27T03:04:00.000-08:00

Today we will know whether Apple has created a new ground breaking device and changed the world again. Apple has scheduled a press conference for 1 p.m. Eastern time today. I will add the details here, as they unfold. Apple’s latest creation, "way better than a laptop, way better than a phone," as mentioned by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, is finally unveiled after a long speculation and rumors. The 1.5 pounds touch tablet sports 9.7 inch display and includes 1 GHz Apple-built ARM A4 processor. The processor includes CPU and graphics in a single chip and the device will come in capacities of 16GB to 64GB of flash storage. The device is told to have 10 hours of battery life while watching video and one-month of standby charge. In addition to the iPad, Apple’s e-book reading application, iBooks, was also revealed in the event. iPad Specifications 9.7 inch IPS display 0.5 inches thin 1.5 pounds Full capacitive multi-touch interface 16-64GB of Flash memory storage 1 GHz Apple-branded A4 chip (developed in-house) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR 802.11n WiFi Built-in Speaker Built-in Microphone Accelerometer & Compass 30-pin Dock connector (same as iPod and iPhone) 10-hours of battery life (Over one month standby time) Runs all iPhone apps App Store application included Default iPad Apps Safari Mail Photos iPod Calendar Contacts Notes Maps Movies YouTube iTunes Store App Store

Apple dream - Tablet on every home…

2010-01-21T18:56:00.000-08:00

The apple tablet is gearing towards reality with the confirmation of the rumored January 27 special event. The invitation only event will featuring Apple’s “latest creation" will start Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10am Pacific Time. With recent development of events and news quoting “unnamed sources” it is an open secret that the event will release an Apple tablet. In addition to the tablet, Apple most probably will release iPhone OS4 and iLife 2010 to make them compatible with the tablet. Apple with its much hyped tablet will seek to change the way television, news and books are delivered to consumers. Amazon Kindle seems to be feeling the heat: it has adopted the 70-30 share of revenue on books it sells online - identical to the business model employed by Apple with its App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch. The iPad, iSlate, iTablet or whatever name Steve Jobs will find most suitable, will be more like an all-round device unlike Amazon Kindle. The tablet can be a book reader, a TV, video player, a computer, personal notepad, and a cell phone. The subscription based text book also sound exciting for the students who line up to sell their used book at the end of each semester for a fraction of the price they had paid. In the last, post I talked about five basic features Apple tablet needs to succeed in the market. I will go through the list again on January 27th keeping in mind that Apple has a track record of going against the tide and succeed. Most of the time it is not only the features that sell, cost also can play a great role. A recent survey found that most of the people are reluctant to pay more that $700 for the device.

5 Features an Apple Tablet needs to succeed

2009-12-29T08:32:00.000-08:00

The Apple Tablet rumor refuses to diminish. In fact, every major newspaper (For example: The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post) are fueling the rumor. Now, when it seems ‘sure’ that Apple will release something this January. Another rumor about Apple ordering 10-inch displays fuel the likelihood of releasing it soon. If the Tablet is to be released, it would need something special to succeed in the market flooded with smartphones like Droid, iPhone, and Palm Pre. iPod Touch, Kindle, and Amazon Nook might be a distant competitor but they can’t be ignored either. The desktop computer, laptop and netbook are also plying in the same market. With this crowed market a tablet, if any, would need certain features to succeed. 1. Easy to carry and easy to use: We have had enough of bulky, heavy portable electronics. People need thin, light device that can be carried around easily. May be a large iPod Touch, or better than that. 2. Connectivity and portability You would need to share stuffs with your existing devices like phones, laptops, desktops. Bluetooth might be considered granted as it is available in iPod Touch and iPhone. A couple of USB ports, DVI output can be the basic necessity. Memory card slots should also be available by default. 3. Multitasking When Palm or Anaroid entered the iPhone’s market the soft spot they kicked was the lack of multitasking ability in iPhone. The tablet can’t live with single task ability. 4. Speed, aesthetics, battery life Speed and aesthetics need to go together to succeed in the tablet arena. Aesthetics forces skeptics to try on the new device and when it doesn’t come with speed the sustainability will be hampered. One can take for aesthetics for granted based on the superior design record of Apple. A powerful processer however can be battery hog. Proper choice of processer, the brain, of the tablet to bring the right balance of speed and battery life would be critical in success of a tablet. A 12 hours of battery life can be considered a bare minimum. 5. Keyboard, responsive display It is sure that the tablet won’t come with a keyboard. There however should be an option of Bluetooth keyboard or stylus for note taking. Responsiveness of the display on a touch screen is critical too. With the experience with iPhone, we can count on Apple on bringing out a truly responsive display to start with. It doesn’t matter weather the Apple Tablet is called iSlate, or iGuide or something else. A cool Apple Logo on the outside would certainly boost the sales in the initial days of the release – sustainability of which would depend on the five requirement I mentioned above.

Fastest train in the world

2009-12-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

The fastest commercial train in the world is now operational in China running at a maximum speed of 394 kilometers per hour (km/hr) in a trail run. The train link connects two cities, Guangzhou in South to Wuhan in central China, and will travel at an average speed of 350km/hr (217mph). The 1,068 km distance between the two cities can now be covered by the high-speed train in two hours and forty five minutes ? that is, a saving of about six hours of travel time. The high-speed train line uses technology developed in co-operation with firms such as Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom. The Guangzhou - Wuhan train line is a part of the government plan to build 42 high-speed train lines by 2012. In the biggest rail development program in the world, China government plans to build 34,000 km of new train tracks in addition to its existing 86,000 km railway lines. According to China's railways ministry, the average speed of the high-speed railways in other countries in the world is less than 300 km/hr; way less than the Guangzhou - Wuhan train line (in Japan it is 243 km/hr, in Germany 232 km/hr, and 277 km/hr in France). First high-speed railway network in China was unveiled at the time of Beijing Olympics in 2008 to connect the capital city Beijing with the port city of Tianjin. The train could travel at a speed of 250 km/hr.

Water on the Moon

2009-11-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

It is confirmed. The Moon has water and plenty of it. The NASA LCROSS mission has successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus crater near the moon?s south pole. Here is the CBS video:

CEO of the decade: Steve Jobs

2009-11-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

Steve Jobs did a great job in the past decade to be ranked Fortune Magazine?s CEO of the decade. It is not the first time that Fortune recognized Jobs as a business genius. On November 27, 2007 Fortune Magazine named Jobs the most powerful person in business (CNN). I like the way Jobs is portrayed in the article titled The decade of Steve. Youthful founder gets booted from his company in the 1980s, returns in the 1990s, and in the following decade survives two brushes with death, one securities-law scandal, an also-ran product lineup, and his own often unpleasant demeanor to become the dominant personality in four distinct industries, a billionaire many times over, and CEO of the most valuable company in Silicon Valley. Some of the notable contributions that Jobs was instrumental in are: One of the first commercially successful personal computers (Apple II in 1977). First mouse driven graphical interface (Macintosh computer in 1984). ?Desktop publishing? Laser printer Personal computer network Successful computer animated feature films (Pixar) Highly successful digital music player (iPod in 2001) Online music store (iTunes in 2003) Highly successful smart-phone (iPhone in 2007) Congratulation to the magician of the digital world, Steve Jobs!

Will Google Maps Navigation replace standalone GPS?

2009-10-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

Newly announced Google Maps Navigation caused shares of satellite navigation device companies to fall substantially amidst fears of the death of standalone GPS. Is it really the death or the rumors of the death have been greatly exaggerated? In the Navigation Application, Google uses search engine to find addresses, Google Street View for photos of locations, and live traffic data in its turn-by-turn GPS software. The application is available in the new Droid phone. Let?s see some advantages and disadvantage of Google GPS attached to mobile phone. Advantages of Google Maps Nav.: It is a free service Comes with phone and doesn?t need an extra gadget, easy to carry and you are less likely to forget it at home. Real-time updating Linked to the HUGE Google search database Disadvantages: It is device specific ? only phone it supports now is Motorola Droid. More may be (are) coming but it will take time. Multi-tasking ? using GPS and calling somebody would be difficult. It would certainly add concern to the traffic safety. Dedicated data connection is required ? there are many places where Google service might not be available. Mobile phones usually have smaller screen as compared to dedicated GPS. More the screen are better the details on the map. Mobile phones' smaller form factors usually don?t allow for extra battery (like iPhone). Constant use for long period of time might not be practical in some situations. Google will certainly add advertisement in future. Would like smaller screen and ads in it? GPS manufacturers knew it was coming. Sometime back, TomTom started offering its own mobile GPS application for iPhone for $100. But free application is lot more cheaper! It is to be seen if Apple will beg Google to make one for iPhone. Official video on Google Maps Navigation: Professionals would certainly go for standalone GPS but causal users like myself would certainly be happy with the new device and new application. Death is a harsh word; but it is sure that they wouldn?t sell like hot cakes anymore. GPS manufacturers need to step forward in innovating their products, cutting the prices, and offer better value to the customers. It sure is not a dead end!

Google wave to wash email ?

2009-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Google, aiming to revolutionize the way people communicate online, has recently introduced an online application named Google Wave. The online tool will store a thread of data, document the history of a conversation and keep it on a server that runs on a Wave Protocol. The wave protocol is related to cloud computing in which the users save, retrieve and work on data and applications on remote computers rather than the local hard drives. It is widely believed that future is for cloud computing in which users don't need to download anything and everything can be done online. The operating system Google is planning to release, Chrome OS, is also based on the similar conceptual framework. The widely used and most popular online communication tool 'email' was first introduced more than 40 years ago and it has little changed in the four decades. Emails are stored in server and are transferred to the users' computer on request. However, Google Wave allows users to collaborate in real time. Users can see how and when things change and respond as required. Email didn't replace snail-mail but it sure did reduce the mail-box load. Now, it might be Email's turn to shed some weight in the inbox. Google Australia first proposed Google Wave in 2007. It is told that 100,000 beta users are testing the service currently. The service currently is invitation only. If you want to test it, you can also request an invite by visiting wave.google.com.

Go Norway, UN index rates best life in the western Scandinavia

2009-10-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the quality of life, Norway enjoys the world's highest ranking country according to a United Nations agency. The annual Human Development Index prepared by the UN Development Program found that the country with the worst quality of life is Niger with life expectancy of just over 50 years. The Index was prepared by taking life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and per capita gross domestic product in 182 countries. The second best in the list was Australia followed by Iceland. Canada ranked fourth (not bad!) and the United States was in 13th place. Trends in the index since 1980 showed an average improvement of 15 per cent in countries' scores. The greatest long-term improvements have been shown by China, Iran and Nepal, but progress has been concentrated in education and health rather than income, said the UN agency. (source)

Funniest Baby Laugh

2009-10-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Today on the Yahoo's homepage page a picture of a child was posted with link to the video in Yahoo Video. The caption: "The best laugh? Funny giggle a must-watch hit ... This spotlight-loving toddler is guaranteed to have you smiling big in mere seconds." I watched the video and didn?t find it that impressive. The baby is cute but is it a front page matter for the most visited portal? (Mine was Canadian version.) That reminded me of a funny kiddy laugh in YouTube that I watched long time back. I am posting both of them for you to compare. Which one do you think is the funniest? First, from YouTube. Second, the one Yahoo think is funniest, featured on Yahoo front page.

Happy Birthday Googlle

2009-09-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

When I saw the misspelled Google logo, first thing I did was check the address bar. Yes it was the same old google.com. The same colorful logo of Google had an extra ?l? today. A mouse over the logo for a while revealed the secret of the misspelling. Google is celebrating its 11th birthday today and everybody is invited to click its? misspelled logo! Happy Birthday Google! Wish, you will prove to be even more innovating and user-friendly, respect our privacy, and wouldn?t meddle with our personal life in the coming year.

Heaviest baby born in Indonesia

2009-09-23T15:36:00.000-07:00

Normally babies are born in a range of 2 to 4 kgs. But according to the 2008 edition of Guinness World Records, the heaviest newborn ever recorded was a baby born in 1879 that weighed nearly 23 pounds. It might not be a world record, but a 8.7 kg(19.2-pound) baby made an a record of heaviest baby ever born in Indonisia. The 41 years old mother, Ani, is diabetic. When a diabetic mother's glucose level gets high during pregnancy, the baby can receive too much glucose and grow too large. The un-named baby beat the Indonesia's previous heaviest baby record, weighing 6.9 kgs born in 2007 on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta. (news source)

Camera on New iPod Nano doesn’t take photos. Why?

2009-09-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

It was surprising that that the iPod Nano got a new video camera while the iPod Touch did not. Many people assumed that the camera equipped device could take still photos along with videos. After all, a sequence of still photos make video clips. But, the mighty Apple doesn?t think so! The Nano can take video but taking still photos is not its cup of cake. David Pogue of the NY Times asked Steve Jobs about it. Here is what he has to say: The sensors for doing video are fairly thin. The sensors for doing a still camera, at much higher pixel resolution ? and we?d really like to have autofocus ? they are just way too thick to ever fit inside the Nano. Are you working on making them thinner? Why wasn?t the iPod Touch thick enough?

Steve Jobs back on spotlight

2009-09-09T04:09:00.000-07:00

After lot of speculations, Steve Jobs, CEO Apple Computers, has finally appeared on stage at Apple?s ?It?s only rock and roll? event in San Francisco. This appearance is his first public appearance after a lengthy pause on such appearances due to his health reasons.
Welcome back Steve!
He has announced the release of iPhone OS 3.1 and iTunes 9.
Later today, Apple is expected to announce a new lineup of iPod media players at the event.
Rumors on camera on iPod Nano are confirmed. iPod Nano will now have a video camera, microphone - speaker built in, voice recorder, and a pedometer. FM is another surprise addition to the little device.
It seems, Apple thought that camera or built-in microphones on iPod Touch would be ?too good? and will eat-up the market of other iPod cousins. There was no iPads/tablets or whatever they were supposed to be called in the event.

Luxury of living rat-free

2009-09-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last month a rat was found in Calgary. The poor little creature created huge outcry. Ill fated varmint probably came into its graveyard by hitching a ride on a recreational vehicle from Saskatchewan. ?A rat? What a big deal?? you might say. Yes, rats are everywhere and for many people, it is a luxury to live rat-free. But it is a big deal for the province after being rat-free for the last 50 years. Hey, how can a little thing challenge such a big status issue. Albertans pride themselves on being the only place on earth that is livable and is rat free. The only two other places that are rat-free are Arctic and Antarctica. Rat control costs the provincial government about $500,000 a year but the effort is said to save tens of millions of dollars in potential crop damage, disease, food contamination and damaged buildings. (news source) If you love rats and keep rats as pet ? Alberta is not a place for you to live. Pet shop owners, herpetologists and other persons interested in keeping rats as pets are not allowed to do so in Alberta. Only hospitals, universities and other related institutes of education, authorized by the government are allowed to possess live rattus species of any kind. (source) Pied pipers: keep out, you have no jobs here in Alberta!

Aprendiendo lo más simple en relación al SEO

2009-08-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

El SEO o Search engine optimization puede ser dificil y confuso Normalmente SEO se refiere a la Optimizacion para Motores de Busqueda de sitios web. Ello considera, la estructura de la web, el análisis de los contenidos, optimizacion de palabras claves. Por esto les mostramos algunos pocos tips para mejorar el posicionamiento de sus sitios y con eso la posicion en Google y los demás buscadores que actualmente ocupas.

SEO es el acto de mejorar la estructura y la apariencia del Sitio Web, asímismo del texto que se muestra en la misma (títulos, etiquetas, códigos, etc.) con el fin de facilitar la navegación de los buscadores en la página web

Una Consultoría de SEO se lleva a cabo por empresas, grupos o personas. Estos son profesionales o empresas propiamente tales, cuentan con especialistas en los lugares que una organización necesita mejorar o que considera que no son suficientemente efectivos con el fin de cumplir sus logros

Diversas compañías saben que aparecer en las primeras posiciones dentro de estos resultados puede reportarles excelentes beneficios. Existen ocasiones en los que el usuario busca un determinado servicio, y estar en la primera o segunda posición puede significar un cliente casi seguro. Por este motivo, la inversión realizada en los servicios de un SEO profesional puede ser recuperada en pocas semanas o meses.

De esta forma sabrá lo que Google sabe de su sitio web (textual). Sabrá que necesita modificar para decirles a los motores de búsqueda de que se trata su sitio, lo que vende u ofrece. Sus palabras claves necesitan aparecer en su página web mas veces, en el título , la descripción y las etiquetas de cabecera, pero no debe olvidar mantener al usuario en mente cuando incluya sus palabras claves (keywords). Si mucha gente encuentra su sitio web, pero la mayoría éstos se van en menos de un segundo, razón de una pésima redacción o mal diseño, su esfuerzo de posicionamiento web será una perdida de tiempo y efectivo. O sea, no habrá nadie que compre su producto o servicio.

Se define como verdad que con el fin de obtener buenas posiciones en los resultados de búsqueda, existen técnicas que son penalizadas por los buscadores, y éstos son capaces de llegar incluso a eliminar su sitio web (aunque las infracciones las haya cometido el SEO). Eche un vistazo a las penalizaciones que son tenidas en en mente, y desconfíe de cualquier SEO que le proponga hacer estas técnicas con su sitio web.

Microsoft’s Photoshop (or, is it a MS Paint?) blunder

2009-08-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Microsoft?s Photshop blunder on a Polish website caused uproar on racism and carelessness costing them an apology. The black man had his head removed and replaced by a white man. The designer forgot to replace the hand of the black man. The Asian on the left was lucky enough not to be doctored.
Microsoft realized its mistake and corrected it by replacing the photo with the original. But some people were quick enough to notice the haste by which they changed the photo ? the text spilled out of the text box ? which was corrected afterward.
Do you think the photo looks good enough?
Well, the monitor doesn?t have a power or video chord connecting it to the CPU. May be MS has come up with wireless technology for power supply.
The laptop looks more like a Mac minus a logo than a PC. Yes, Photoshop can do wonders with a logo.
Why on earth they couldn?t have an actual keyboard while doing the photo session? At least that would help the lady to position her hand properly on the keyboard.
Somebody came with another photo in which Microsoft changed a Macbook to a PC Laptop, back in 2005.
Original Photo with a Macbook:

MS changed the photo with a grey laptop:

Well, Microsoft is not alone in such Photoshop blunders. Many advertisements have such blunders and there is a nice site featuring 100s of such blunders.

No more a 'do-call' list ?

2009-08-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission started its do-not-call list last September. I was so happy about it and registered in it right away. But the unwanted marketing calls kept on coming. I warned some of them and ignored many. I did complain about some callers. But nothing happened. We started calling it a do-call list and life went on as usual. I was not alone and everybody was receiving such calls. A consumer watchdog report even warned that registering in the list would invite more such calls.

Better late than never, it was a relief to hear that CRTC has woken up and started nabbing the violators. In the news release, the CRTC has said that it has fined Rob Sugar $4,000 and that it has also issued $10,000 fines to Roofing by Peerless Mason Ltd. and Waterproofing by Peerless Mason Inc.

Watch out telemarketers! CRTC is after you. Companies that call persons registered on the do-not-call list can be fined up to $15,000 per call while individuals can be charged $1,500 per call.

Cell phone still a luxury to Canadians?

2009-08-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Canada made Blackberry may be the world?s most-popular or next-to-the-most-popular high-end smart phone but that doesn?t mean Canadians love cell phones to the ancient land-lines. In a latest report, Canada has the lowest mobile penetration followed by Mexico. Among 30 member countries surveyed by a Paris-based organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), consumers in the U.S., Canada and Spain pay the highest mobile phone bills. I posted about the previous report of OECD in 2007 and nothing has changed in the last two years ? rates in Canada are still the highest and it is still the country with the lowest mobile penetration. Yes $85K mobile phone bill do make sense sometimes. In the same report, it is told that Italians have 150 mobile phone subscribers for every 100 residents.

Told Ya!

2009-08-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

I took this photo on the parking lot nearby. Somebody didn't see the sign posted on the back!

What is your National Flower – 9 (H)

2009-08-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Holland (The Netherlands) ? There is no official national flower of Holland. But Tulip (Tulipa) is often considered flower of national importance. Tulip bulbs are also used as substitute for onions in cooking. Honduras - Orchid (Brassavola digbiana) During 1946-1969 rose used to be the National flower of Honduras but due to the fact that rose is not native to the country it was replaced by Orchid in 1969. Hong Kong - Orchid (Bauhinia Blakeana) The five petal deep purple flower is native to Hong Kong and is featured on the National Flag too. Hungary ? Don?t know for sure, but it might be tulip (Tulipa) as mentioned in some websites.

What is your National Flower – 8 (G)

2009-07-28T05:47:00.000-07:00

Germany ? No national flower but oak leaf is considered a national symbol.

Greenland - Niviarsiaq
Greenland?s national flower Niviarsiaq means ?young woman?. This flower is commonly available in North America.
Guam? Puti Tai Nobiu, Great bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis)
Guatemala - White Nun Orchid (Lycaste skinneri alba)
Guyana - Water Lily (Victoria regia)

What is your National flower – 7 (F)

2009-04-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

France ? Iris Finland - Lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis) Beautiful flower!

What is you National Flower - 6 (E)

2009-04-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

Egypt - Lotus (Nymphaea lotus)

England - Rose (Rosa) Beautiful red rose

Ecuador - White Nun Orchid

Estonia - Corn-flower or Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus) adopted on June 23, 1988

Ethiopia - Calla Lily

What is your national flower 5 (D)

2009-04-10T03:35:00.000-07:00

Denmark - Marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum frutescens)
(from)
Marguerites daisy is a large, single, daisy-like flower. It blossoms in the the summer.

Dominican Republic - Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) tree?s blossom

What is your national flower - 4

2009-04-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

This is the continuation of National flowers series that I started sometimes last year. I was too busy to continue posting remaining flowers. The countries are selected in alphabetical order and I have to continue after Canada. China - doesn't have an ?official? national flower but tree peony (mudan) is considered national favorite. Chile - Copihue, Lapageria Rosea Colombia - Christmas orchid (Cattleya trianae) Costa Rica - Guaria Morada (purple orchid) Croatia - Iris Croatica (Hrvatska Perunika) Cuba - Butterfly Jasmine (Mariposa) Cyprus - Rose (Rosa) Czech Republic - Rose (Rosa) I will update this post later with photos of remaining flowers later.

Historical April Fool Video

2009-04-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Looks like the Conficker computer worm will turn out to be the largest hoax in April Fool?s Day history. Let's see the first television hoax on April 1st of 1957.

The BBC?s report on the spaghetti harvest in Switzerland, on April 1, 1957.
This is believed to be one of the first times the medium of television has been used to stage an April Fools Day hoax.

The origins of April Fools Day are not clear but it is known that the tradition of practical joking and mischief-making dates back to Ancient Roman times. It appears that the festival is closely related to the coming of Spring. Ancient Romans and Celts celebrated a festival of practical joking at about the time of the Vernal Equinox, as do millions of India's Hindus.

The French also mark 1 April but instead of April Fools they call it Poisson d'Avril (April Fish). Source -BBC

Largest flag in the world

2009-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

In November 2007 Filipina Grace Galindez-Gupana made a big flag covering an area of 13 football fields, that is, 660 meters (2,165 feet) long and 100meters (330 feet) wide. The 18,847 m2 flag weighted 5.2 metric tons.

And that of course was a Guinness World Records.
However, the largest flag that is regularly hoisted is the Brazilian national flag flown in the Square of the Three Powers in Brasilia, Brazilian capital. This flag weights about 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) and has 7,000 square meters (70×100 m = 230×330 feet).

Divorce Settlement - Cut the house in two

2008-10-14T09:04:00.000-07:00

Looks like in a divorce settlement a Cambodian couple want everything to be divided into half - even the house. The guy found some of his relatives and saws to cut the wooden house in half. The ex-wife is reported to be living in the standing half of the house they once shared.

The 42-year-old Cambodian man, Moeun Sarim, found himself not getting along well with his 35-year-old wife, Vat Navy, in their 18-year wedlock.
Vat said that the divorce was prompted by her husband's jealousy about her alleged relationship with a policeman in the village. She denied having an extramarital affair. (source)

World's shortest guy with leggiest lady

2008-09-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last year it was the tallest man with whom he posed for photograph. Recently he met a long-legged Svetlana Pankratova in London's Trafalger Square to pose for for the launch of the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records book, which is published on Wednesday.

The world's smallest man, He Pingping, is 20 years old and just 74.61 centimeters tall. It is told that the shortness resulted from being born with a condition known as primordial dwarfism. Pingpin is told to be a keen poker player and smokes two packets of cigarettes a day.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the long-legged Russian woman, Svetlana Pankratova, has the world?s longest legs. Pankratova, 36, an estate agent from Volvograd, Russia, is 1.96 meters tall. Her legs alone measure 132 centimeters.

Pingping posed for a photograph showing him standing up comfortably between her legs. (Photo Source : WENN)

Si tiene la pretensión de ganar dinero en Internet, debes aprender de posicionamiento en Google

2008-08-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

SEO son en verdad las siglas en inglés de "optimización de motores de búsqueda" (Search Engine Optimization) o de optimizador de motores de búsqueda(Search Engine Optimizer). Contratar a un SEO es una decisión relevante que debe mejorar su sitio y ahorrarle tiempo, y del mismo modo se arriesga a dañar su funcionamiento y reputación. Asegúrese de averiguar ya sea las posibles ventajas como los daños que un SEO poco solvente puede provocar en su sitio. Muchísimos SEO y otras agencias y consultorías pueden ofrecer servicios útiles para los propietarios de portales de internet.

El posicionamiento en Google no tiene por qué ser necesariamente el webmaster o el responsable , sino que éste último podrá contratar sus servicios. Por otro lado cada vez más sociedades que se han especializado en el posicionamiento en buscadores, y dan ayuda a otros portales de internet

Una de las técnicas básicas es posicionamiento para google y otros buscadores. Dicha técnica consiste en lograr de forma, natural, las mejores posiciones en los buscadores con los criterios de busqueda más importantes del nicho

La optimización SEO se compone de diversos detalles que se entrelazan entre sí, con técnicas que cumplen con buenas prácticas permitiendo que el sitio web sea amigable a los principales motores de búsqueda. Conocer de que forma funcionan los motores de búsquedas es relevante.

Imagine una enorme cantidad de sujetos que buscan a través de los buscadores los servicios y/o artículos que usted tiene listo para vender, ha confeccionado un sitio web con una inversión considerable y los resultados no son los esperados. Más aún, usted sabe que su sitio web podrá hacer retornar su inversión o pagarse sólo con tan sólo la venta de sus productos o servicios a través de él y ve que no es así..

En la actualidad la mayoría de las personas buscan información a través de Internet en donde la mayor medida del tráfico lo impulsan los motores búsqueda, por lo tanto si su sitio web no puede ser encontrado por los motores de búsqueda está perdiendo increíbles oportunidades comerciales para su negocio o empresa.

What is your national flower - 3 - Canada

2008-08-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

National Flowers of Canada

The Leaf of Maple is an official symbol of Canada. The maple leaf was first used as a Canadian symbol in early 18th century and till now is depicted on its current and previous flags, the penny, and on the coat of arms.

Each provinces however have their own floral emblems (I don't have knowledge about floral emblem of Nunavut). Floral emblems of Canadian provinces and territories are given below:

Alberta - Wild Rose

Wild rose was chosen the provincial flower of Alberta in 1930.

British Columbia - Pacific Dogwood

The Pacific dogwood (Cornus nuttallii) was adopted in 1956 as British Columbia's floral emblem. It is a native plant that grows wild in coastal areas of southern B.C. all the way to northern California. Its showy flowers also make it a highly prized ornamental but the species is protected by law and it is illegal to pick or remove it. The Pacific dogwood is a tree that grows six to eight metres high and flowers in April and May. In the autumn it is conspicuous for its cluster of bright red berries and brilliant foliage.

Manitoba - Prairie Crocus

The floral emblem of Manitoba and the state flower of South Dakota, Prairie Crocus, is also called Pasque Flower and Prairie Anemone.

New Brunswick - Purple Violet

Newfoundland/Labrador - Pitcher Plant

Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea). Queen Victoria, more than a hundred years ago, chose the Pitcher Plant to be engraved on a newly minted Newfoundland penny. In 1954, the Newfoundland Cabinet designated this unusual and interesting plant as the official flower of the province. It gets its nourishment from insects that get trapped and drown in a pool of water at the base of the tubular leaves. The flower is wine and green in colour and can be found on bogs and marshes in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Northwest Territories - Mountain Avens

Nova Scotia - Mayflower

Nunavut - None

Ontario - Trillium

Red Trillium

White Trillium

Prince Edward Island - Pink Lady's Slipper
Pink Lady's Slippers (Cypripedium acaule)

Québec - Blue Flag Iris

Saskatchewan - Western Red Lily

Lilium philadelphicum

Yukon - Fireweed

What is your National Flower - 2

2008-07-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

The Bahamas

The national flower of The Bahamas is the Yellow Elder (Tecoma stans)
The flowers have an odd but pleasing fragrance and also provide nectar for bees. The Indians made bows from its wood, and in Mexico a beer was prepared from its roots; it has also been used for a variety of medicines. Also known as: Yellow Bells, Hardy Yellow Trumpet, Trumpet-flower, Yellow Elder.

Belize

The national flower of Belize is the Black Orchid (Prosthechea cochleata)

Bolivia

Bolivia gets two of everything, because the east and the west never get along. Bolivian national flowers are cantuta (Catua buxifolia) and patujú (Heliconia rostrata).

cantuta

patujú

Brazil

Tabebuia alba flower (Tecoma alba)

Bangladesh

The national flower and national emblem of Bangladesh is the shapla (Nymphaea nouchali)

Bhutan

Bhutan - Blue poppy (Meconopsis grandis)

Brunei

Brunei ? Simpor (Dillenia suffruticosa)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Lilium bosniacum

Bulgaria

Rose

What is your National Flower -Albania, Argentina, Australia, and Austria

2008-07-26T03:29:00.000-07:00

I am going to post a series of posts about National flowers (floral emblem) of different countries starting with countries with first letter A.

The National Flower of Albania

The floral emblem of Albania is the red and black poppy. The poppy can be found everywhere in this Mediterranean country, and are recognized for their beauty, medicinal value, and seeds.

The National Flower of Argentina

Erythrina Cristina Galli was adopted as the National flower of Argentina on December 2, 1942. Erythrina is found naturally along water courses, in swamps and wetlands. Because of the red beauty of this flower it is also grown in urban settings such as parks and gardens. Basically the Erythrina is a South American tree, with carmine red flowers and a crooked trunk which locally is known as Ceibo, Sebo or Bucar.

The National Flower of Australia

Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia's national flower. The Golden Wattle blooms in spring, - beginning September - in Australia, with large fluffy, yellow, sweet smelling flower heads. Each Golden Wattle flower head is a bunch of many tiny flowers. Acacias are popularly called Wattle.

The National Flower of Austria

Edelweiss (Leontopodium Alpinum), the Nationnal flower of Austria, is one of the best-known European mountain flowers. Belonging to the sunflower family, these star-like flowers are short lived perennials. Apart from being Pictured on Austrian euro coins, the flower has been used traditionally in folk medicine as a remedy against abdominal and respiratory diseases. The flower is also called Floarea Reginei (Queen flower).

Could not find any official National Flowers of Afghanistan,

In a 101-list aboriginal Canadians voted 102

2008-07-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

A government sponsored list of 101 things that most define Canada missed the most Canadian thing -- aboriginals.

The list was commissioned by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Dominion Institute.

Number one in the list is the maple leaf followed by Vimy Ridge and Queen Elizabeth. The Canadian Flag made it to #4.
Over 2,000 Canadians as well as educators and Order of Canada recipients from coast to coast participated. The result is a ranked list of 101 people, places, symbols, events and innovations that respondents believe define our country.
Well, looks like none of the 2000 participants realized that the aboriginal Canadians were important enough to be included in the list. They have set up a site to to ask people "What is missing?" in which general public can cast a vote for #102. That was how aboriginal Canadians were voted 102. People also want Canada "Eh?" in the list. More recommendation are listed here.

Stephen Hawking may relocate to Canada

2008-07-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

After almost 50 years at Cambridge University the leading physicist Stephen Hawking, 66, is considering leaving Britain and move to Canada. He attacked the British government for carrying out "disastrous" cuts in science funding totalling $160 million.
Last month, Hawking said the funding cuts would "cause enormous damage both to British science and to our international reputation." He is now said to be contemplating an offer to join a fellow academic who is leaving Cambridge this autumn to lead a well-funded Canadian science institute. Neil Turok, an authority on mathematical physics, said "the door is open" for Hawking to join him permanently at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ont., which has received $600 million in funding.
Turok decided to leave Cambridge after failing to persuade university authorities, research councils and sponsors to spend $40 million expanding the university's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, which he heads, into a Hawking Institute.

That was the rumor; but Hawking's office said that Hawking had no plans to leave Britain permanently.

A spokesman was quoted as saying that hawking "is not joining the brain drain".

UPDATE:
The University of Cambridge has poured cold water on reports its most famous physicist might be coming to Canada to work, saying Wednesday Stephen Hawking "has no plans" to leave. (CBC)

Are we giving too much attention to Google?

2008-07-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

It made news when Google 'forgot' to change its logo to give a wink to Canucks on the Canada Day. Although the internet giant has a history of recognizing the Canada Day in the past (except for 2003) July 1st of 2008 brought a bit of hollowness for the Canadians when the same old primary-coloured letters appeared on the Google website. Here is the history and corresponding logos: 2007 - the L in Google was transformed into an image of the Peace Tower, complete with fireworks.
2006 - there was a Canadian flag2005, a simple Maple Leaf did duty as the first O (although Google's list of holiday logos for that year lists Canada Day as July 2.)
2004, the second G was a loon and its reflection with a Canadian flag hanging off the L.
2003, forgot the Canadians2002, a moose lurked behind the word Google with a Canadian flag again suspended from the L.
2001, the first year the company marked the holiday, there was a beaver, a Canadian flag and even text saying: ?Happy Canada Day.?

Do you really care if Google forgets or recognizes the Canada Day!

iPhone launch in Canada - nothing much to celebrate

2008-06-29T17:57:00.000-07:00

When Rogers revealed specifics for the services plans for the upcoming iPhone 3G this Friday many Canadians were not happy.

But why?
Rogers has set a mandatory three-year contract. O2 offers an 18-month contract and throws in the iPhone for free and AT&T has a two-year contract. In the U.S., AT&T offers 450 minutes of voice, unlimited data and 200 SMS messages. But Rogers thinks Canadian don't even deserve that.
$60: 150 minutes of calls, with unlimited evenings and weekends; 400 MB of data; 75 sent SMS messages, with unlimited incoming text messages and visual voicemail messages.$75: 300 minutes of calls, 750 MB data and 100 sent SMS messages.$100: 600 minutes of calls with 1 GB of data and 200 sent SMS messages.$115: 800 minutes of calls, 2 GB of data and 300 sent SMS messages.There is nothing like "unlimited data" to Canadians for whatever amount they pay!

People are really angry and James Hallen has started a petition at RuinediPhone.com. James is planning to send the online petition to Rogers on July 11th, the day the iPhone 3G is available, and also to send a letter to Steve Jobs. The letter was drafted when there were nearly 6,000 petitions which is a fraction of the current 15,664 number at the time of writing this post.

Grandma gave birth to triplet

2008-06-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is not a scientific achievement as was in this case when a grandmother gave birth to her own grandchild.

An Australian grandmother has given birth to naturally conceived triplets. Janelle Perry, a week short of turning 47 years, gave brith to three boys by caesarian section at Mater Mothers' Hospital in the east coast city of Brisbane on 19th June 2008.

Newcomers Cooper, Kyle and Jordan join the five more brothers and sisters including four children in their 20s from an earlier marriage and a four-year-old daughter, Rebecca, with her husband Robert.
"Rebecca kept telling me in November, 'You've got three babies in your tummy, Mummy -- one for me, one for Dad and one for you'," Perry said.

"I thought, 'No way' and told her, 'There's no babies in there'. Then, in December, I found out I was pregnant."

David Molloy from the Queensland Fertility group said the chance of having identical triplets at the age of 46 was "probably the same as winning Gold Lotto." (Yahoo news)

Do the Screensavers save your screen these days?

2008-06-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

Gone are the days when screensavers save your monitors when old CRTs are replaced by flat panel screens!
In an effort to save environment an Australian company, Telstra, has decided to remove all animated logo screesavers from the company laptops and computers and replaced with a black, power-saving screensaver.
By removing 36,000 screensavers, they claim to cut 646 tons of CO2, which would be like removing 140 cars from Australian roads for one full year. (source)
Well, it sure is another simple method to make your PC greener if you haven't already done so.
Happy earth-saving!

Movie-Viewing World Record

2008-06-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

People have crazy ideas to make records!!

You might have heard of records of movie making, movie in theater, or movie sales but movie-viewing record is something new to me.

A German lady continuously watched movies for 117 hours 4 minutes for a record. But this guy from India, Ashish Sharma, watched various movies for 120 hours to make a new record.

Sharma started the marathon movie-watching on June 11 and finished 48 movies in almost five days.

Sharma is known in Mathura, India, as memory master. He is planning a book on improving one's memory for the youth. (source)

Monkey god chairs a technology and managemnt school

2008-06-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

Do you do business in the name of god? I used to hear a businessperson considers clients as a God. But this school is teaching something else to its students!

A god that too a monkey god is named a chairman in a 'Techonology and Management' school in India.

Hanuman, the popular god known for his strength and valor, has been named official chairman of the recently opened Sardar Bhagat Singh College of Technology and Management in northern India, a school official said Saturday.

The position comes with an incense-filled office, a desk and a laptop computer. Four chairs will be placed facing the empty seat reserved for the chairman and all visitors must enter the office barefoot, said Vivek Kangdi, the school's vice chairman. (yahoo)

The god run school, Sardar Bhagat Singh College, is located in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, awards bachelor's degrees in engineering and management.

I don't know how technology, engineering, and management go together with mythology. I hope the school knows it better in its one year of existence.

143-page love letter -- to an imaginary lover

2008-06-06T11:57:00.000-07:00

A bachelor, Harish Kondakkuli (30), of South India has written a 143-page long love letter. The problem is he is not in love so he had to write it to an imaginary lover to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

The letter, in Kannada (local language), begins with ?Preethiya Abhisarika? (Dear Abhisarika) and ends with ?Mathe ninna nireeksheyalli kanasu marida huduga? (Awaiting you...).

Harish, an employee of BSNL, claims he penned his ?masterpiece? in leisure to popularize letter writing. He started writing on Valentine?s Day this year and stopped on May 25.

"I used to write one or two pages daily after 7 pm. I am used to writing as I had written stories when I was in college and later wrote to several newspapers and magazines,?? said Harish.

Since the common code word of lovers is 143 (I Love You), this love letter contains 143 pages, its length is 143 feet (papers are in 12X10 size). The total lines are 4,136 and total words 33,100.

Whether he enters Guinness or not, this eligible bachelor is hoping this love letter will find him a bride.

Got the look?

2008-06-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

These ladies are competing in a TV show "She's Got The Look". You won't believe, all of them are 35 or older.

Looking at these ladies I feel like humming the Roxette song "She's got the look"

Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer, she's a juvenile scam.
Never was a quitter, tasty like a raindrop,
she's got the look.

Heavenly bound cause heaven's got a number when she's spinning me around,
kissing is a colour. Her loving is a wild dog,
she's got the look.

She's got the look.
She's got the look.
What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue.
When everything I'll ever do I'll do for you
and I go: la la la la la she's got the look.

Fire in the ice naked to the t-bone is a lover's disguise.
Banging on the head drum, shaking like a mad bull,
she's got the look.

Swaying to the band, moving like a hammer she's a miracle man.
Loving is the ocean, kissing is the wet sand,
she's got the look.

And she goes: na na na na na na na na.

28 yr. old twin sue for mix-up

2008-06-01T14:33:00.000-07:00

A Spanish twin, separated from her family for 28 years, discovered that she was living with the wrong mother because of a mix-up at the maternity hospital.

She discovered her identical twin sister in 2001when she was mistaken for someone else in a shop. The sisters confirmed that they were born in 1973 on the same day in the same hospital. The DNA test also showed that they were identical twins.
The woman is suing the Canary Island health services for 3 million euros ($4.7 million) for emotional trauma, El Pais newspaper reported. "I wish I'd never found out about it," her lawyer quoted her as saying. (yahoo news)
It is told that her sister was brought up alongside another girl, believing they were twins. Looks like another suing is on the way from the assumed twin sister.

19 years old mayor of Oklahoma town

2008-05-28T18:43:00.000-07:00

A University of Oklahoma freshman trounced 70 year-old Hershel McBride to become the mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma, making it the first city in the nation to be governed by a self-admitted gamer. Like most of the teenagers John Tyler Hammons, 19, digs rock music, fast cars, video games and rock 'n' roll.

Hammons is moving out of a dorm and back in with his parents as he prepares to be sworn in next week as mayor of this 38,000-person eastern Oklahoma city Muskogee.

"Politics stop at the door," Hammons said. "If someone wants to talk politics, I will literally leave the office and leave the building if I have to. In this office, it needs to be Muskogee-oriented."

He is aiming to become the governor of Oklahoma one day. (News and photo)

Mp3 player behind student's death?

2008-05-21T03:33:00.000-07:00

A 23-year-old student killed when a helicopter crash-landed on him in the middle of the street and the blame goes to the technology.
Isaiah Otieno, from Kenya, was crossing a street in a quiet Cranbrook, B.C. neighbourhood last week when a helicopter struggling to stay airborne suddenly dropped on top of him. It is reported that Otiena was wearing ear or headphones and may not have heard the downward spiralling chopper.
This was not a sole incident of accidents of people listening music on street. (Canada press)Is banning mp3 players in street a solution?

Mac Notebook Theft: Happy Ending

2008-05-12T05:53:00.000-07:00

In what appears like a sci-fi movie scene a woman could catch her laptop thieves with the help of a webcam and remote access software.

It is reported that the victim logged on to her computerremotely using the Back to My Mac program and discovered that someone was shopping online with her computer. She activated the Webcam and waited for the guys to appear in front of the monitor. When the suspected thieves appear infront of the laptop she took photos of them and turned them over to the White Plains Police Department. Police arrested to two men, Edmon Shahikian of Katonah and Ian Frias of the Bronx. Police said they retrieved about $5,000 worth of electronics, including two laptops, two flat-screen televisions, two iPods, gaming equipment, and DVDs taken from the victim's home. (news source)
The laptop owner played spy on the thief and was able to assemble a full profile of information on the stolen laptop user as he signed into a hookup sites, read his Gmail messages and shopped in eBay. She discovered his birth date, mother?s maiden name, email address, Comcast IP address, and were able to use Photo Booth to take a snapshot that was clear enough to read the lettering of his tattoos.

Mother of 17 Celebrate Mothers Day

2008-05-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

41-year-old Arkansas woman, Michelle Duggar, had a special Mothers Day lunch at the Peabody hotel, Sunday, May 11, 2008 in Little Rock, Ark. along with her husband and 17 children. Photo(AP/Mike Wintroath)

Good news is she is expecting her 18th child in the New Year day. Duggars' oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old. She has been pregnant for more than 11 years to give birth to her seven daughters and 10 sons, all of whose names start with the letter J.

The 17 children in the Duggar family are: Josh, 20; Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 16; Jessa, 15; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 7; James, 6; Justin, 5; Jackson, 3; and Johannah, 2; Jennifer, 9 months.

Funny Hairstyles

2008-05-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

People like to care for their hair and search for hairstyle ideas too. Some people don't search for them but create their styles themselves. I came across these creative and funny hairstyles and want to share with you. I don't think you would like to go for any of these styles but looking at them is fun for sure.

Tiniest bodybuilder

2008-05-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Looking at the photo above, can you guess who is the most popular bodybuilder?

No, it is not a photoshoped picture, it is a real photo of people like you and me. And the kid-like person with yellow hair and mustache is Mr. Aditya ?Romeo? Dev from India, the world's smallest bodybuilder. (photo)

Pint-sized Romeo is just just 2 ft 9in and is well-known in his hometown of Phagwara, India; for his ability to lift 1.5kg dumbbells - despite his overall 9.07kg body weight. See his mighty strength! And he also love to pose to show off his body.

Geek Love

2008-05-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

Geeks love or true geek art?
Only a geek can follow from the start to end :)

Ambulance sent to wrong city, thanks to VoIP

2008-05-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

An ill-fated toddler's aunt in Calgary, Canada called 911 because the kid was having trouble breathing, an ambulance was dispatched to a suburb of Toronto some 3500km away causing Elijah Luck, only 18 months old, to die.
Reason: They were using their Internet-based phone, and were connected with the phone company's contracted call centre in Ontario. The call centre did contact emergency services but not in the right location.
The Calgary EMS had an ambulance at the Luck family home in under six minutes when a neighbour eventually called 911 from a land-based line but it was already too late.
Calgary EMS and Comwave, the VoIP service provider, arestill investigating but the family says what happened to them should be a lesson for anyone that uses Internet phone services, called voice-over-Internet-protocol technology (or VoIP). (CTV)

Nobody fails to praise the recent development in communication. It is one of the major factor for the journey towards the Global Village. VoIP has taken over every aspects of our life. But will this unfortunate incident teach the service providers some lesson? Only the future will tell.

Hundreds of ducks die in oilsands pond

2008-04-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

Environmentalists have managed to rescue five mallard ducks while their ten-folds sunk to deaths in a tailings pond filled with toxic byproduct of oilsand giant Syncrude Canada Ltd.

Tailings ponds are formed during the oilsands extraction process. These ponds are filled with mixture of clay, sand water and hydrocarbons and are toxic by nature. To protect wild lives and waterfowl from entering the ponds they are supposed to have protective measures in place. Authorities are blaming the winter for the delay in the deployment of these devices.

This sure is one more issue for environmentalists to attack the oilsand industry reputed for causing other major environmental problems. You can read the details in the issue in this CTV news report.

World Record - ironing underwater

2008-04-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

People do crazy thing for the sake of making records and these Australian scuba divers are doing one of such crazy things at the sea bed.

A group of 72 Australian scuba divers has created the world record for ironing under water, taking the plunge off a pier near the southern city of Melbourne with ironing boards and irons, and their linen. Read more in this reuters report.

Washing underwater does make sense but ironing underwater doesn't make sense to me. What do you think? Tags: strange, ironing underwater

Simple Tips - how to zzz...zzz

2008-04-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

Tension, competition and day to day hassles have caused people to loose sleep and wake up early. Have you tried and tried to sleep all night and woke up the next day tired, cranky and unproductive? If that is you, you have to know that studies suggest - not getting adequate sleep can increase your risk for heart disease and depression, and can even cause weight gain.

You might say "I can't help it!"

But 'where there is will there is way' too. Why don't you try these simple tips:

No mobile phones before sleep

Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit not to talk in your cell phone before bed. They found that people who were exposed to the slight radiation that emanates from cell phones took longer to fall asleep and spent less time in the deep stages of slumber.

Sleep prepared, get cozy

Make it dark - draw the blinds.
Block out distracting sounds - turn on a fan or a soothing CD of nature noises.
Swapping ordinary bedroom bulbs for yellow ones can help you feel more tranquil as you're getting ready to nod off.
Treat yourself to a cozy new comforter or put flowers on your nightstand - things that motivate you to go to bedroom.

Say Thanks

I am not that religious and even an atheist can take two minutes to reflect on the things one is grateful for. Practicing grateful thinking makes people more optimistic and going to sleep with happy thoughts help in sleeping more soundly.

That's it!
GOOD NIGHT!

Net neutrality in danger?

2008-04-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

Looks like a its a conspiracy against Net neutrality! Big service providers are are predicting Internet will essentially run out of bandwidth by 2010 without substantial investment in network infrastructure.
Decades of dealing with the trickle of bandwidth consumed by voice and dialup modems left AT&T twiddling its thumbs. The massive rise of DSL and cable modem service in the 2000s has had AT&T facing a monstrous increase in the volume of data transmissions. And that's set to increase another 50 times between now and 2015.
AT&T says that video alone will eat up 80 percent of traffic in two years which is just 30 percent now. The BBC has come under fire from service providers like Tiscali, which claim that its iPlayer online-TV service is becoming a major drain on network bandwidth.

Publishers and content creators have argued that Net neutrality should be legislated in order to protect consumers. ISPs reject the neutrality concept itself citing services like voip requires priority by default.

Is it going to cost more to watch videos in YouTube in future?

Oldest person turns 115

2008-04-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

In the adjacent photo, Edna Parker is seen holding a rose that she was given during a birthday party for her in Shelbyville, Ind., Friday, April 18, 2008. Parker, who was born April 20, 1893, is the oldest known human. She will turn 115 on Sunday, April 20, 2008. She was recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest person living last August after the death of a Japanese woman four months her senior.(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Scientists are analyzing DNA samples from people crossing 110 years to find the clue for the causes of longivity. DNA samples of more than 100 supercentenarians is already in the research database. It is believed that the secret to a long life is a mix of genetics and environmental factors such as health habits. A research on about 1,500 centenarians also show that they appear not to dwell on stressful events.

Only 75 living people ? 64 women and 11 men ? are 110 or older, according to the Gerontology Research Group of Inglewood, Calif., which verifies reports of extreme ages.Tags: oldage, oldest living

Jailed for Staring

2008-04-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

Staring too intensely at a woman, his mother's age, sitting in front of him on a train was enough to take the man to the court and sentenced for 10 days.

It was told that they met on a commuter train going from Lecco, a town in northern Italy, to Milan in 2005. A judge sentenced the man in his 30s to 10 days in prison and a 40 euro ($63) fine after the 55-year old woman filed a complaint for sexual harassment. (Reuters)
Tags: staring

'April Fool' T-shirt on sale for real

2008-04-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

It was an April Fools prank but thanks to numerous calls to make the joke a reality, a technology company has been forced to make it a reality.

First, look the prank video ThinkGeek made about the T-shirt that was 'on sale' on the website for $39.99 and offered wearers the chance to play a soundtrack to their lives using an integrated speaker on the front of the shirt.Embedded Video And now the company has decided to put the joke into production following what it calls "overwhelming positive response and hundreds of e-mails screaming to 'make the damn shirt already'". It says it will be looking to unleash the product on the world "asap" but warns that its "army of robotic factory monkeys are a bit slow, and it might take them some time to make the real version of this nifty product". ThinkGeek also admits that the "final version might deviate slightly in appearance, features or price" from the April Fool product but urges interested buyers to get in touch. (metro)
Tags: aprilfool, t-shirt, video

Biggest BBQ in Uruguay

2008-04-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

To set a new Guinness world record and to promote the country's succulent top export more than a thousand barbecue fanatics in Uruguay grilled up 12 metric tonnes (26,400 lbs) of beef on April 13, 2008.

A grill of nearly 1 mile long was set up and firefighters had to lit six tonnes of charcoal to start the grand ceremony.

Some 1,250 people grilled the beef and about 20,000 spectators cried with joy when a Guinness judge confirmed the barbecue record had been broken. (Reuters)
Tags: Urugay, BBQ, record

Texan entrepreneur crowned Miss USA

2008-04-12T03:24:00.000-07:00

A 26-year-old entrepreneur from Texas was named Miss USA on Friday, besting 50 other beauty queens for the coveted crown. Crystle Stewart completed her degree in Consumer Science and Merchandising at the University of Houston. She won the Miss Texas USA 2008 title in a state pageant held in Laredo, Texas on July 1, 2007, after competing against 121 contestants.

She founded and runs her business "Inside/Out" which aids young women in building self-esteem and volunteers with many organizations in the community

Details in the official Miss USA 2008 site.
Tags: missUSA

Site Review: Web 2.0 Directory

2008-04-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

Been blogging for some time but Web 2.0 has been a bit elusive to me and I always resisted to know more about it.

The excuse: I am not a webmaster!

Well, knowing a bit of the balls and bearings of new web phenomenon doesn't hurt you. So I am trying to see if I can know what Web 2.0 actually means. I am going through a blog that gives directory of nice Web 2.0 sites. I wish there were how-tos and tutorials too. But as it is a review site I think the design and contents justify the theme of the blog. Nice work!

Fun with Maths

2008-04-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

These are the maths we used to share with our friends in school. If you like playing with maths you will love them (well.... if you don't know 'em already).

1 x 9 + 2 = 11

12 x 9 + 3 = 111

123 x 9 + 4 = 1111

1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111

12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111

123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111

1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111

12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111

123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

------------
1 x 8 + 1 = 9

12 x 8 + 2 = 98

123 x 8 + 3 = 987

1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876

12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765

123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654

1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543

12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432

123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
-----------
9 x 9 + 7 = 88

98 x 9 + 6 = 888

987 x 9 + 5 = 8888

9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888

98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888

987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888

9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888

98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

987654321 x 9 - 1 = 8888888888

9876543210 x 9 - 2 = 88888888888
----------

Nice symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1

11 x 11 = 121

111 x 111 = 12321

1111 x 1111 = 1234321

11111 x 11111 = 123454321

111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321

11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321
Tags: mathsfun, digits

Google's April Fools 2008

2008-04-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

Happy April Fools' Day!

Google has a tradition of releasing April fool hoaxes since 2000. With dominance in many web platforms, the scope of hoax has broaden in 2008. Some of the hoaxes for 2008 are listed below:
Google releases Adsense for conversations
Google's Orkut displays its name as Yogurt
Google announces a joint project with the Virgin Group that aims to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. This operation has been named Project Virgle. it also includes videos of Richard Branson as well as Larry Page & Sergey Brin (The Founders of Google) on YouTube , talking about Virgle.

Google launches Dajare in Japan (google.co.jp), with the mission of "organizing the world?s laughter."
Google announces gDay in Australia, a new beta search technology that will search web pages 24 hours before they are created.
Gmail's sign-in page announced a new feature, called Gmail Custom Time, that would allow its users to "pre-date" their messages and choose to have the message appear as "read" or "unread".
Around 11:00 p.m. EST March 31, 2008, on the newer and older version of Gmail, but not in the basic HTML version, in the upper right corner, next to Settings, a link appeared labeled, "New! Gmail Custom Time". The link led to a 404 error until April 1when it led to the full Gmail Custom Time hoax page. Clicking any of the three links at the bottom of the page brought the user to a page stating that Gmail Custom time was, in fact, their April Fool's day joke.
Google Books has a new section allowing users to 'scratch and sniff' certain books. Users are asked to "...please place your nose near the monitor and click 'Go'" which then 'loads odours'. When clicking on 'Help' users are redirected to a Google Book page entitled "Belgravia: A London Magazine"
Google launches Manpower Search (??????) in China (google.cn). This new feature is powered by 25 million volunteers who do the searching around the clock. When the user entered a keyword, volunteers will search any possible answers from a mass of paper documents as well as online resources. The user is expected to get the search result within 32 seconds.
A little easter egg was added, where a user can click the file menu and directly under new document is "New Airplane" which immediately opens a copy of a Google branded paper airplane. To reach the file menu, click the new menu, then "Document" then a new window opens.
Google launched their "Wake Up Kit" as a calendar notification option. The option sends a series of increasingly aggressive alerts, starting with an SMS message to your cellphone, and ending with a bucket of water dumped into your bed, which would then flip over, tossing you out (all using apparently-free equipment). Google also added the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button to its calendar feature. When you tried to create a new event, you were given the regular option of entering the correct details and hitting "Create Event," and also the new option of "I'm Feeling Lucky" which would set you up with an evening date with, among others, Matt Damon, Eric Cartman, Tom Cruise, Jessica Alba, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Britney Spears, Anna Kournikova, Johnny Depp, George W. Bush, or Lois Griffin.
If you want to know about previous april fool hoaxes from Google you can visit this wikipedia listing.
Tags: google, hoax, april fool

3rbsmag.txt

2008-03-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Interviewed in "Expelled" and Expelled from Screening

2008-03-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

An associate professor at the University of Minnesota was expelled from a free screening of the movie "Expelled." P.Z. Meyers was interviewed in "Expelled," and even thanked in the movie's credits but was not allowed to see the first screening.

Well, if you want to hear the story from Mr. Meyers himself, you can read this post. His follow-up post:
Still straining to find an excuse is also a nice read. Got Meyers' photo from Greg Laden's blog.

I was expelled

2008-03-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

P.Z. Meyers

Baby Born, Fell off a Moving Train, and Survived

2008-03-03T14:09:00.006-08:00

Bhuri Kalbi, 33, was seven month pregnant and she wanted to use toilet in a moving train in India. The lady however unexpectedly gave birth to a baby that slipped down the toilet bowl onto the tracks. "My delivery was so sudden," said the Bhuri Kalbi, the mother of the infant, born two months prematurely. "I did not even realize that my child had slipped from the hole in the toilet." Kalbi fainted on the toilet seat after the birth for a few minutes before waking up and alerting her family. They stopped the train and ran along the train to find the newborn girl lying uninjured on pebbles by the track. The photos of the baby taken inside a hospital in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad, India February 28, 2008 are borrowed from Reuters.

newborn-train-toilet-3-thumb.jpg

2008-03-03T14:09:00.005-08:00

newborn-train-toilet-2-thumb.jpg

2008-03-03T14:09:00.004-08:00

newborn-train-toilet-2.jpg

2008-03-03T14:09:00.003-08:00

newborn-train-toilet-3.jpg

2008-03-03T14:09:00.002-08:00

newborn-train-toilet-1-thumb.jpg

2008-03-03T14:09:00.001-08:00

newborn-train-toilet-1.jpg

2008-03-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

Application for the post in your vacant heart

2008-02-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

Oh what a love letter. I got this letter in my inbox from somebody I don't know.

Date: 14th February, 2008
To My Beloved
Subject: Application for the post in your vacant heart

Sweetheart ? ? ? ?,
According to some of my reliable sources, I came to know that there is a vacancy for the post in the central core of your heart and I would like apply for the same.

I?m not as handsome as Brand Pitt. And not as popular as Paul Mccarthy. I even don?t have blue eyes like Hritiq Roshan, but above all, I?ve a soft and creamy heart which only knows to express these words for you, ?I love you?.

As for my experience I?ve loved you since my embryonic stage. You are not only my heart, but all the pacemaker of my heart . I love you, do care from all the four chambers of my heart. When I see you or hear your voice, my voluntary and in voluntary muscles get relaxed, specially my cilliary and cardiac muscles. We are like the symbiotic association between algae and fungi because we both need each other and cannot survive without each other. Our love is the perfect example of the third law of Newton. You act as a catalyst in my life. Little bit of your voice, your sight, and your love and happiness in my life. You are a beautiful phenotype with a perfect genotype.

I know I can bring stars from heaven to you. But if you ask for it, then I wouldn?t because I?ve a great fear of losing you while I?m on my way. I can die for you but if you ask me to die, then I will not because if I die then who will love you?

I hope all my experiences and qualifications will be enough to achieve the post. I?m the right and most qualified person to hold that post. I assure you that I will do my best to satisfy all you expectations.

I look forward to hearing soon from you.
Sincerely your
Vanished Horizon

I wish it were a real love letter to me. :)

What rose and other flowers say about you

2008-02-14T08:45:00.002-08:00

Not everybody but some might be preety choosy in receiving the flower in this Valentine Day. If your special someone is literate about "meaning of flowers," you might be surprised in the way you receive the reaction. Here are some of the meanings of different flowers you might stumble upon.
1. Roses - Love
2. Orchids - A belle
3. Iris - My compliments
4. Daisies - Innocence
5. Tulips - Declaration of love
6. Calla Lily - Beauty
7. Amaryllis - Splendid beauty
8. Hydrangea - Heartfelt
9. Anthurium - Hospitality
10. Daffodils - Chivalry
11. Chrysanthemums - Fidelity
12. Carnations - Pride and beauty
13. Lilacs - Youthful innocence
14. Birds of Paradise - Joyfulness
15. Tiger Lily - Wealth, pride
16. Peony - Bashful
17. Anemone - Anticipation
18. Sunflowers - Pure thoughts
19. Aster - Patience
20. Gladiolus - Strength of character
Rose is the king (or is it queen?) of flower. Picking any rose doesn't always mean you are conveying the right message. Here are some of the secret meanings of different types of roses:
1. Red Roses - Love and romance
2. Black Roses - Vengeance
3. Blue Roses - Mystery and intrigue
4. Pink Roses - Gratitude and appreciation
5. Purple Roses - Love at first sight
6. White Roses - Innocence and purity
7. Green Roses - Fertility
8. Yellow Roses - Joy and friendship
9. Lavender Roses - Enchantment
10. Orange Roses - Enthusiasm, passion

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2008-02-14T08:45:00.001-08:00