Part of this year's Sydney Festival, Dawn Chorus is a series of concerts played at sunrise on some of Sydney's iconic beaches. Having missed the concerts at Balmoral Beach, Nielsen Park and Clifton Gardens, I don't want to miss out the last one at Bondi Beach. Concert starts at 5:30am, so that meant that I had to wake up around 4:30am, pick up WHQ at 5am, and got to site at 5:30am. At least that's the plan. By the time we turned to Bondi Road, the whole street is bumper-to-bumper. At Bondi Beach, not a single parking spot left. We had to drive like a few kilometers aways before we found a spot on the street. By the time we got to Bondi Beach, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is on its last few songs. Still it's good exercise and the beach sunrise is just wonderful.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Dawn Chorus at Bondi Beach
Part of this year's Sydney Festival, Dawn Chorus is a series of concerts played at sunrise on some of Sydney's iconic beaches. Having missed the concerts at Balmoral Beach, Nielsen Park and Clifton Gardens, I don't want to miss out the last one at Bondi Beach. Concert starts at 5:30am, so that meant that I had to wake up around 4:30am, pick up WHQ at 5am, and got to site at 5:30am. At least that's the plan. By the time we turned to Bondi Road, the whole street is bumper-to-bumper. At Bondi Beach, not a single parking spot left. We had to drive like a few kilometers aways before we found a spot on the street. By the time we got to Bondi Beach, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs is on its last few songs. Still it's good exercise and the beach sunrise is just wonderful.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Movie 2009.01.29 - Revolutionary Road
I was afraid this is going to be another romantic movie between Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet, just like Titanic. Actually, it's the reverse. Most of the time, the couple are arguing and screaming at each other. You see, the couple met in a party and it was love at first sight. Later on, reality sets in. April realizes she's not going to be the actress that she wants to be. Frank works for the same company his dad worked for, doing the same boring job his dad did. When the couple moved to Revolutionary Road, they thought they could be different, that they could rise above the banality of it all. Day by day, they're finding out that they're just like the rest.One day, April suddenly got this crazy idea that Frank could quit his numbing job, they'll sell the house, skip town and move to Paris. Frank won't even have to work (for six months). April will take on a high-paying secretarial job at one of the government offices, while Frank can contemplate what he wants to do with his life.
Just when preparations are going well, comes the bad news. Frank's big boss is offering him a big fat promotion, which Frank keeps a secret from April. April is 8 weeks pregnant, which puts their Paris trip seriously in doubt. The couple argue and fight some more. I guess April got tired of it all so one day, after preparing a very nice breakfast for Frank, she goes up to the bathroom and aborts the baby. The operation didn't go down well, and she dies at the hospital. As for Frank, he loses the plot and never came back to Revolutionary Road.It's kinda sad because in the end, no one is at fault for all the tragedies that happened. That's just life. You just need to learn to deal with the hand that life gives you.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Australia Day 2009
Isn't that something. Today also happened to be Chinese New Year. Not only did my parents give me red packets with good luck money, WHQ's mom also gave me one. Not that I'm expecting one when I greeted her "Gong xi."
WHQ and I went to the city to join in the celebration. Passed through Martin Place on our way to Hyde Park. I was ready to start taking her pictures, but she declined my offer. We had a quick tour of the food stalls around Hyde Park and the vintage cars on display at the NRMA Motorfest, then walked down Macquarie Street. Entrance to Hyde Park Barracks used to be free on past Australia Days. Now, they're going half-price. Checked out The Mint, but nothing much to be seen. No wonder it's free entrance. Didn't join the Sydney Hospital tours anymore. Slipped into the Parliament House just in time. They close at 4pm, and the guys standing in line behind us were not allowed entry any more. Thought of going to St. Stephen's Uniting Church and catching one of the music performances, but they're also closed for the day.
Around 4:30pm we decided to head for Darling Harbour. Bought a couple of cupcakes from The Cupcake Bakery along the way. Started drizzling, so we got wet a bit. Took cover under the Pyrmont Bridge. A few brave souls at the Cockle Bay steps decided to sit out the rain. Spent the time by talking about some serious stuff. By 7pm, the SES boats and some government boats started coming in through the open bridge. That's our cue to go for dinner if we are to catch the fireworks on time.
Long queue at Pancake on the Rocks. I reckon the patrons inside are just sitting pretty and waiting for the rain to stop. Anyway, we got our seats about half an hour later. We were just finishing our chicken Caesar salad and Aussie breakfast (with extra sausages!) when we saw lights flashing and hear loud noises going off. Man, the fireworks spectacular has started without us. By the time we finished our dinner and paid our bill and ran out of the restaurant into the rains, the fireworks is finished. Caught about 10 seconds worth of the finale. Turns out the fireworks display is supposed to start around 8:50pm instead of 9pm as I originally thought. Ah, next year.
WHQ and I went to the city to join in the celebration. Passed through Martin Place on our way to Hyde Park. I was ready to start taking her pictures, but she declined my offer. We had a quick tour of the food stalls around Hyde Park and the vintage cars on display at the NRMA Motorfest, then walked down Macquarie Street. Entrance to Hyde Park Barracks used to be free on past Australia Days. Now, they're going half-price. Checked out The Mint, but nothing much to be seen. No wonder it's free entrance. Didn't join the Sydney Hospital tours anymore. Slipped into the Parliament House just in time. They close at 4pm, and the guys standing in line behind us were not allowed entry any more. Thought of going to St. Stephen's Uniting Church and catching one of the music performances, but they're also closed for the day.
Around 4:30pm we decided to head for Darling Harbour. Bought a couple of cupcakes from The Cupcake Bakery along the way. Started drizzling, so we got wet a bit. Took cover under the Pyrmont Bridge. A few brave souls at the Cockle Bay steps decided to sit out the rain. Spent the time by talking about some serious stuff. By 7pm, the SES boats and some government boats started coming in through the open bridge. That's our cue to go for dinner if we are to catch the fireworks on time.
Long queue at Pancake on the Rocks. I reckon the patrons inside are just sitting pretty and waiting for the rain to stop. Anyway, we got our seats about half an hour later. We were just finishing our chicken Caesar salad and Aussie breakfast (with extra sausages!) when we saw lights flashing and hear loud noises going off. Man, the fireworks spectacular has started without us. By the time we finished our dinner and paid our bill and ran out of the restaurant into the rains, the fireworks is finished. Caught about 10 seconds worth of the finale. Turns out the fireworks display is supposed to start around 8:50pm instead of 9pm as I originally thought. Ah, next year.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Pre-CNY Lunch at Rhodes
At WHQ's mom's suggestion, both families met up at Rhodes Phoenix for a pre-CNY yum cha. As usual, I got to the restaurant late. Had to drop by Beamish Street to buy some fruits and siopao as gifts. Good thing I was not the last to arrive.
Walked around the mall for a while to digest the food what we ate. Back at WHQ's house, we spent a quiet afternoon checking out some online album printers. Then it's back home for CNY eve dinner with the family.
Walked around the mall for a while to digest the food what we ate. Back at WHQ's house, we spent a quiet afternoon checking out some online album printers. Then it's back home for CNY eve dinner with the family.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Fotoexpression
Went to Gladesville to visit Fotoexpression. Don't want to spend too much time checking out all available wedding photographers out there, so we're sort of going with Wiki and Ilona. Based on their works that we've seen so far, they're not too bad. Either their camera work is really good, or their Photoshop skills is. Hopefully both. Fotoexpression's basic package starts at $2,150. For that amount, you can a free engagement session a couple of months prior to the wedding date, so the photographer can get to know the couple. Then, you get a day's worth of photography service. From the bride's (or groom's) house to the church wedding to the location shoot to the reception. 
They'll assign you a photographer and an assistant from their photography team. If you insist on using their principal photographer, that'll cost you extra. You get digital copies of all pictures taken, in web resolution (700x450). If you want the full resolution, that'll cost $650 extra. If you want a hand-crafted wedding album with the photos nicely formatted and laid out, that'll cost $800 extra. Ah, nothing comes for free anymore.After lunch, we went to Campsie for the unit's final inspection. Everything is pretty much the same. The owners remembered to put in the smoke detector we requested. Aside from a broken tile and a few dead cockroaches, nothing else seems out of place. Back at WHQ's place, we spent the rest of the day watching The Other Boleyn Girl.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Nybble Issue No. 207
N Y B B L E M O N T H L Y N E W S L E T T E R
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2009.01.20 Issue No. 207
Back from China, WHQ's sister tells me that 512GB USB sticks are
already out on the market. That's GB and not MB! Imagine that, my
Lenovo T61 has only 100GB. The highest-capacity USB sticks I've
seen/heard so far is only 32GB. Quite hard to believe capacities can
jump that fast.
So how do they do it? Stack the flash chips on top of each other? Make
the USB sticks 16x as long? Built-in extreme compression? Wrong. It's
simple - just fake it. Get some cheapo low-capacity thumbdrives, and
hack the controller such that it thinks it has a high-capacity memory
chip, hence the OS will report a higher value. When the user tries to
fill up the USB key beyond its real capacity, some of it just
disappears into the void. As a consequence, the user ends up with
either missing or corrupted files.
Remember, boys and girls, if something sounds too good to be true,
then it probably is.
Have an answer, comment, suggestion, or violent reaction? Send them my
way by clicking on Reply or join nybbletalk@yahoogroups.com to discuss
a topic. If you think Nybble is good enough, do tell the napping
drivers about it. Thanks.
_________TABLE OF CONTENTS_________
* Injectable Liquid Bone
* Computer Font with Holes
* Graphite-Based Memory
* Random Numbers from Lasers
* Coffee Grounds as Biodiesel Fuel
* Jamming Cellphones while Driving
* Likeable Links
* Questionable Question
* Quotable Quote
* Trivial Trivia
* Laughable Laugh
_________INJECTABLE LIQUID BONE_________
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/injectable-liquid-bone-developed/
British scientists have invented artificial 'injectable bone' that
flows like toothpaste, and hardens in the body. This new regenerative
medicine technology provides a scaffold for the formation of blood
vessels and bone tissue, and can also deliver stem cells directly to
the site of bone repair. Not only does the technique reduce the need
for dangerous surgery, it also avoids damaging neighbouring areas.
While other older alternatives heat up as they harden, killing
surrounding cells, this new 'injectable bone' hardens at body
temperature – without generating heat – making a very porous,
biodegradable structure.
The invention emerged from a combination of research into implant able
scaffolds that encourage new bone to grow and new techniques to
deliver stem cells and drugs to specific sites. These studies spawned
the new concept of an injectable matrix as the building block for
tissue regeneration. The next generation of technologies based on this
method will focus more on the therapeutic drugs and growth factors
that can be delivered alongside the injectable bone to stimulate
tissue repair.
The British team behind the injectable bone won the Medical Futures
Innovation Award recently and are now working towards clinical trials.
They expect the product to be available in the U.S. within 18 months.
_________COMPUTER FONT WITH HOLES_________
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/91392,new-font-uses-holes-to-cut-ink-use.aspx
Dutch marketing and communications company Spranq has come up with a
novel and free way of slashing printer ink costs by developing a font
with holes in it. The creators of Ecofont took their inspiration from
the holes in Dutch cheese, and aim to cut down on the amount of ink
used when printing documents for daily use.
The font is based on the standard Sans Serif typeface, but has a
number of small circles removed from each letter. The company spent a
long time experimenting with different shapes and sizes to cut down on
the amount of ink used while still maintaining readability. Spranq
eckons that the result is still perfectly readable, but can cut the
amount of ink used by up to 20 per cent.
The Ecofont can be downloaded free
(http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html) although donations are
requested.
_________GRAPHITE-BASED MEMORY________
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9123838/Researchers_create_graphite_memory_only_10_atoms_thick
Researchers at Rice University have demonstrated a new data storage
medium made out of a layer of graphite only 10 atoms thick. The
technology could potentially provide many times the capacity of
current flash memory and withstand temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius
and radiation that would make solid-state disk memory disintegrate.
The researchers were able to grow graphene, which technically is 10 or
fewer layers of graphite, atop silicon and use it to store a bit of
data. The sheets were roughly 5 nanometers in diameter. The new
solid-state memory is one of many next-generation technologies that
could someday replace NAND flash memory at the 20 nanometer (nm) node
size. Others include race track memory and phase-change memory.
Currently, NAND flash memory can be as small as 45nm in size, but
projections show the technology will reach its limit of 20nm by around
2012. By using graphene, bits could be made smaller than 10nm in size.
Unlike NAND flash memory, which is controlled by three terminals or
wires, the graphene memory requires two terminals, making it more
viable for three-dimensional or stacked graphene arrays -- multiplying
a chip's capacity with every layer, according to Tour. But like flash
memory, chips made with graphene will consume virtually no power while
keeping data intact. Graphene generates little heat, making it more
suitable to three-dimensional or stacked memory.
_________RANDOM NUMBERS FROM LASERS_________
http://www.physorg.com/news148660964.html
Scientists from Takushoku University, Saitama University, and NTT
Corporation have discovered a way to generate good-quality random
number sequences at very high rates. Random numbers -- numbers without
any pattern -- are vital to many applications, such as computer
simulations, statistics, and cryptography. There are many ways to
generate them using unpredictable physical processes, including
electric-signal noise and radioactive decay, but these methods cannot
produce the quantities of numbers needed to keep up with the high
data-processing rates of today's computers. By taking advantage of the
physical chaos present in semiconductor lasers, the researchers
achieved random number rates of up to 1.7 gigabits per second (Gbps),
which is about 10 times higher than the second-best rate, produced
using a physical phenomenon.
The scientists reflected part of the laser light back into the laser
using an external reflector. This induces chaos, causing the light
intensity to oscillate wildly. As a result, the light's
electromagnetic signals are highly complex and cover a wide frequency
range. Then, by using a photodetector connected to an
analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the light signals are converted
into random binary numbers suitable for computing and other high-speed
data manipulation.
The group achieved a bit rate of 1.7 Gbps, although future work may
center on devising laser schemes that can achieving rates as high as
10 Gbps.
_________COFFEE GROUNDS AS BIODIESEL FUEL_________
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/acs-wcg121008.php
Researchers in Nevada have discovered that waste coffee grounds can
provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of
biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks.
Growers produce more than 16 billion pounds of coffee around the world
each year. The used or "spent" grounds remaining from production of
espresso, cappuccino, and plain old-fashioned cups of java, often wind
up in the trash or find use as soil conditioner. The scientists
estimated, however, that spent coffee grounds can potentially add 340
million gallons of biodiesel to the world's fuel supply. Spent coffee
grounds contain between 11 and 20 percent oil by weight. That's about
as much as traditional biodiesel feedstocks such as rapeseed, palm,
and soybean oil.
In their experiment, the scientists collected spent coffee grounds
from a multinational coffeehouse chain and separated the oil. They
then used an inexpensive process to convert 100 percent of the oil
into biodiesel. The resulting coffee-based fuel — which actually
smells like java — had a major advantage in being more stable than
traditional biodiesel due to coffee's high antioxidant content. Solids
left over from the conversion can be converted to ethanol or used as
compost. The scientists estimate that the process could make a profit
of more than $8 million a year in the U.S. alone. They plan to develop
a small pilot plant to produce and test the experimental fuel within
the next six to eight months.
_________JAMMING CELLPHONES WHILE DRIVING_________
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/36272
Xuesong Zhou and Wally Curry at the University of Utah have invented
technology that aims to prevent teenagers from using their mobile
while driving. Called Key2SafeDriving, it uses RFID or Bluetooth
wireless capabilities to issue signals from car keys to cell phones to
prevent drivers from talking on their phones or texting while behind
the wheel. Research shows that as many as 1 in 10 teen drivers are
talking on cell phones or texting while driving at any time, and the
possible consequences of such ill-advised multitasking have grabbed
many a headline in recent years.
The system involves a device that envelops a car key and that signals
the cell phone to prevent calls and texting when the key is removed
from it. The cell phone would automatically steer callers into a voice
mail system alerting them that the intended call recipient is driving
and will return the call later (the system does enable 911 calling).
A company called Accendo LC of Kaysville, Utah has licensed the
technology and is working to build it into commercial devices that
could be on the market this year. The company is sorting out how to
bring the technology to market, but one possibility is that it would
be made available through cell phone service companies and could also
be tied in with insurance companies, which might offer discounts for
users.
_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
Small Basic
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/devlabs/cc950524.aspx
NoDevice.com
http://www.nodevice.com/
Drivers and manuals for download.
Foxtel TV Guide
https://www.foxtel.com.au/EPG/EPG.aspx
RadioBeta
http://www.radiobeta.com/
_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
With all the rivers running into the ocean, why doesn't it get any fuller?
_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
Marriage is a school in which the pupil learns too late.
_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
Where did the name 'Revlon' come from?
Nail polish distributors Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along
with nail polish supplier Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in
the Revlon name, gave birth to the Revlon cosmetics company in 1932.
Starting with just one nail product a nail enamel unlike any before it
the three men pooled their paltry resources and developed a unique
manufacturing process. Using pigments instead of dyes, Revlon was able
to offer to women rich-looking, opaque nail enamel in a wide variety
of shades never before available. In only six years, the company
became a multimillion dollar organization, launching one of the most
recognized cosmetics names in the world.
Source: Arcamax Trivia
_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
A southern belle was looking to buy a house. The seller said, "This
house hasn't got a flaw in it!"
The southern belle replied, "My lands! What do y'all walk on?"
_________DOWNLOADABLE DOWNLOAD_________
ZScreen
http://www.brandonz.net/projects/zscreen/
Open-source screen capture program
WinWorkBar PIM
http://vetch.magot.pl/
Q-Dir
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir&language=english
Ecofont
http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html
That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in
progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to
improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.
A Free Ezine about Anything Tech and Everything Else
2009.01.20 Issue No. 207
Back from China, WHQ's sister tells me that 512GB USB sticks are
already out on the market. That's GB and not MB! Imagine that, my
Lenovo T61 has only 100GB. The highest-capacity USB sticks I've
seen/heard so far is only 32GB. Quite hard to believe capacities can
jump that fast.
So how do they do it? Stack the flash chips on top of each other? Make
the USB sticks 16x as long? Built-in extreme compression? Wrong. It's
simple - just fake it. Get some cheapo low-capacity thumbdrives, and
hack the controller such that it thinks it has a high-capacity memory
chip, hence the OS will report a higher value. When the user tries to
fill up the USB key beyond its real capacity, some of it just
disappears into the void. As a consequence, the user ends up with
either missing or corrupted files.
Remember, boys and girls, if something sounds too good to be true,
then it probably is.
Have an answer, comment, suggestion, or violent reaction? Send them my
way by clicking on Reply or join nybbletalk@yahoogroups.com to discuss
a topic. If you think Nybble is good enough, do tell the napping
drivers about it. Thanks.
_________TABLE OF CONTENTS_________
* Injectable Liquid Bone
* Computer Font with Holes
* Graphite-Based Memory
* Random Numbers from Lasers
* Coffee Grounds as Biodiesel Fuel
* Jamming Cellphones while Driving
* Likeable Links
* Questionable Question
* Quotable Quote
* Trivial Trivia
* Laughable Laugh
_________INJECTABLE LIQUID BONE_________
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/injectable-liquid-bone-developed/
British scientists have invented artificial 'injectable bone' that
flows like toothpaste, and hardens in the body. This new regenerative
medicine technology provides a scaffold for the formation of blood
vessels and bone tissue, and can also deliver stem cells directly to
the site of bone repair. Not only does the technique reduce the need
for dangerous surgery, it also avoids damaging neighbouring areas.
While other older alternatives heat up as they harden, killing
surrounding cells, this new 'injectable bone' hardens at body
temperature – without generating heat – making a very porous,
biodegradable structure.
The invention emerged from a combination of research into implant able
scaffolds that encourage new bone to grow and new techniques to
deliver stem cells and drugs to specific sites. These studies spawned
the new concept of an injectable matrix as the building block for
tissue regeneration. The next generation of technologies based on this
method will focus more on the therapeutic drugs and growth factors
that can be delivered alongside the injectable bone to stimulate
tissue repair.
The British team behind the injectable bone won the Medical Futures
Innovation Award recently and are now working towards clinical trials.
They expect the product to be available in the U.S. within 18 months.
_________COMPUTER FONT WITH HOLES_________
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/91392,new-font-uses-holes-to-cut-ink-use.aspx
Dutch marketing and communications company Spranq has come up with a
novel and free way of slashing printer ink costs by developing a font
with holes in it. The creators of Ecofont took their inspiration from
the holes in Dutch cheese, and aim to cut down on the amount of ink
used when printing documents for daily use.
The font is based on the standard Sans Serif typeface, but has a
number of small circles removed from each letter. The company spent a
long time experimenting with different shapes and sizes to cut down on
the amount of ink used while still maintaining readability. Spranq
eckons that the result is still perfectly readable, but can cut the
amount of ink used by up to 20 per cent.
The Ecofont can be downloaded free
(http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html) although donations are
requested.
_________GRAPHITE-BASED MEMORY________
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9123838/Researchers_create_graphite_memory_only_10_atoms_thick
Researchers at Rice University have demonstrated a new data storage
medium made out of a layer of graphite only 10 atoms thick. The
technology could potentially provide many times the capacity of
current flash memory and withstand temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius
and radiation that would make solid-state disk memory disintegrate.
The researchers were able to grow graphene, which technically is 10 or
fewer layers of graphite, atop silicon and use it to store a bit of
data. The sheets were roughly 5 nanometers in diameter. The new
solid-state memory is one of many next-generation technologies that
could someday replace NAND flash memory at the 20 nanometer (nm) node
size. Others include race track memory and phase-change memory.
Currently, NAND flash memory can be as small as 45nm in size, but
projections show the technology will reach its limit of 20nm by around
2012. By using graphene, bits could be made smaller than 10nm in size.
Unlike NAND flash memory, which is controlled by three terminals or
wires, the graphene memory requires two terminals, making it more
viable for three-dimensional or stacked graphene arrays -- multiplying
a chip's capacity with every layer, according to Tour. But like flash
memory, chips made with graphene will consume virtually no power while
keeping data intact. Graphene generates little heat, making it more
suitable to three-dimensional or stacked memory.
_________RANDOM NUMBERS FROM LASERS_________
http://www.physorg.com/news148660964.html
Scientists from Takushoku University, Saitama University, and NTT
Corporation have discovered a way to generate good-quality random
number sequences at very high rates. Random numbers -- numbers without
any pattern -- are vital to many applications, such as computer
simulations, statistics, and cryptography. There are many ways to
generate them using unpredictable physical processes, including
electric-signal noise and radioactive decay, but these methods cannot
produce the quantities of numbers needed to keep up with the high
data-processing rates of today's computers. By taking advantage of the
physical chaos present in semiconductor lasers, the researchers
achieved random number rates of up to 1.7 gigabits per second (Gbps),
which is about 10 times higher than the second-best rate, produced
using a physical phenomenon.
The scientists reflected part of the laser light back into the laser
using an external reflector. This induces chaos, causing the light
intensity to oscillate wildly. As a result, the light's
electromagnetic signals are highly complex and cover a wide frequency
range. Then, by using a photodetector connected to an
analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the light signals are converted
into random binary numbers suitable for computing and other high-speed
data manipulation.
The group achieved a bit rate of 1.7 Gbps, although future work may
center on devising laser schemes that can achieving rates as high as
10 Gbps.
_________COFFEE GROUNDS AS BIODIESEL FUEL_________
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/acs-wcg121008.php
Researchers in Nevada have discovered that waste coffee grounds can
provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of
biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks.
Growers produce more than 16 billion pounds of coffee around the world
each year. The used or "spent" grounds remaining from production of
espresso, cappuccino, and plain old-fashioned cups of java, often wind
up in the trash or find use as soil conditioner. The scientists
estimated, however, that spent coffee grounds can potentially add 340
million gallons of biodiesel to the world's fuel supply. Spent coffee
grounds contain between 11 and 20 percent oil by weight. That's about
as much as traditional biodiesel feedstocks such as rapeseed, palm,
and soybean oil.
In their experiment, the scientists collected spent coffee grounds
from a multinational coffeehouse chain and separated the oil. They
then used an inexpensive process to convert 100 percent of the oil
into biodiesel. The resulting coffee-based fuel — which actually
smells like java — had a major advantage in being more stable than
traditional biodiesel due to coffee's high antioxidant content. Solids
left over from the conversion can be converted to ethanol or used as
compost. The scientists estimate that the process could make a profit
of more than $8 million a year in the U.S. alone. They plan to develop
a small pilot plant to produce and test the experimental fuel within
the next six to eight months.
_________JAMMING CELLPHONES WHILE DRIVING_________
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/36272
Xuesong Zhou and Wally Curry at the University of Utah have invented
technology that aims to prevent teenagers from using their mobile
while driving. Called Key2SafeDriving, it uses RFID or Bluetooth
wireless capabilities to issue signals from car keys to cell phones to
prevent drivers from talking on their phones or texting while behind
the wheel. Research shows that as many as 1 in 10 teen drivers are
talking on cell phones or texting while driving at any time, and the
possible consequences of such ill-advised multitasking have grabbed
many a headline in recent years.
The system involves a device that envelops a car key and that signals
the cell phone to prevent calls and texting when the key is removed
from it. The cell phone would automatically steer callers into a voice
mail system alerting them that the intended call recipient is driving
and will return the call later (the system does enable 911 calling).
A company called Accendo LC of Kaysville, Utah has licensed the
technology and is working to build it into commercial devices that
could be on the market this year. The company is sorting out how to
bring the technology to market, but one possibility is that it would
be made available through cell phone service companies and could also
be tied in with insurance companies, which might offer discounts for
users.
_________LIKEABLE LINKS_________
Small Basic
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/devlabs/cc950524.aspx
NoDevice.com
http://www.nodevice.com/
Drivers and manuals for download.
Foxtel TV Guide
https://www.foxtel.com.au/EPG/EPG.aspx
RadioBeta
http://www.radiobeta.com/
_________QUESTIONABLE QUESTION_________
With all the rivers running into the ocean, why doesn't it get any fuller?
_________QUOTABLE QUOTE_________
Marriage is a school in which the pupil learns too late.
_________TRIVIAL TRIVIA_________
Where did the name 'Revlon' come from?
Nail polish distributors Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along
with nail polish supplier Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in
the Revlon name, gave birth to the Revlon cosmetics company in 1932.
Starting with just one nail product a nail enamel unlike any before it
the three men pooled their paltry resources and developed a unique
manufacturing process. Using pigments instead of dyes, Revlon was able
to offer to women rich-looking, opaque nail enamel in a wide variety
of shades never before available. In only six years, the company
became a multimillion dollar organization, launching one of the most
recognized cosmetics names in the world.
Source: Arcamax Trivia
_________LAUGHABLE LAUGH_________
A southern belle was looking to buy a house. The seller said, "This
house hasn't got a flaw in it!"
The southern belle replied, "My lands! What do y'all walk on?"
_________DOWNLOADABLE DOWNLOAD_________
ZScreen
http://www.brandonz.net/projects/zscreen/
Open-source screen capture program
WinWorkBar PIM
http://vetch.magot.pl/
Q-Dir
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir&language=english
Ecofont
http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html
That's all for this week. Nybble is and will always be a work in
progress. Please do send me your comments and suggestions on how to
improve Nybble. Just hit the reply button to you know, reply.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Movie 2009.01.17 - Kung Fu Panda
I've already watched Kung Fu Panda on TV, but it's so good we have to watch it again. This time on outdoor cinema at The Overflow. WHQ and I got to Olympic Park half an hour before the movie starts. Guess what? The whole place if filled with cars. The 2-hour parking areas are full. The 1-hour parking areas are full. The nearby carparks are full. The Barinas and Echos and Yarises and Minis had it good because they were able to park in places where they're not supposed to park. And the Overflow area is overflowing with people. We didn't see this with The Spiderwick Chronicles.I was really tempted to give this a pass. My brother called and convinced us to come along, saying that they've already reserved a good spot. On second thought, I also wanted to meet my sister's friend, so we stayed. In the end, it was worth it. The movie is as funny as the first time I watched it. Even my brother was laughing out loud.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Movie 2009.01.16 - The Spiderwick Chronicles
Another not-so-good movie. I like my movies to stick to one theme - fantasy, family, feel-good, drama, suspense; not all of them at the same time. And that is what this movie is trying to be.The Spiderwick Chronicles is about a bunch of kids who discovered a field guide to fairies, compiled by their great-grandfather or something. Soon after, they start seeing magical creatures who try to protect them and the book. They are also being constantly harassed by monsters and goblins, who want the book so that their ogre boss can take over the fairies.
At one critical junction, when the kids where being chased by Mulgarath inside their home, one of the kids threw away the book out into the lawn. Mulgarath changed into a raven and chased after the book, where he is promptly eaten by Hogsqueal, a good hobgoblin.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Movie 2009.01.14 - 2001: Space Odyssey
I have to admit that watching 2001: Space Odyssey was a unique experience. But "greatest movie of all time"? I don't think so. For one, it's trying too hard to be an art film. When the movie first started, you have like 3 minutes of nothing. (Insert picture of Earth rising over Moon, and cue the Thus Spake Zarathustra theme.) Then pictures and pictures of landscapes and vistas of Africa. 
The sequence showing the human-like apes discovering the jet-black monolith and learning how to use tools is awesome though. I had a hard time figuring out whether the apes are real or not. Magnificent acting.Considering the film was made in 1968, the special effects and outer space sequences are very good. You've got a spaceship on a Jupiter mission, astronauts doing space walks, space pod chasing space pod. Really nicely done, unlike the new Star Wars episodes. I didn't get the last scene though - a baby fetus inside a glowing bubble, floating in outer space, looking at Earth.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Get Me to the Church on Time
WHQ is attending Mass from 9am to 10am, and we're supposed to have a chat with Father John afterward. I got delayed a bit. By the time I got to the church at 10:10am, WHQ and her mom has just about finished talking to him. Anyway, Father John took note of the wedding date, and said he'll talk to us soon. Went to Westfield Burwood to buy some dishes for lunch, then spent most of the day working on the layout and design and the text of the invitation. Afternoon, we went to Officeworks to buy a Canon Pixma MX310 to replace the defective Epson printer. (Print, scan, copy, and fax - what more can you ask for?) By the end of the day, we have a proper working invitation, complete with envelope.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The Pamanhikan
WHQ and I have been engaged for nearly a month now. When her Mom came back from overseas, she "suggested" that me and my parents drop by for a visit. Uh-oh, I've been to WHQ's house lots of times, so I guess the visit is more for the parents. Do I hear "pamanhikan"?
Don't bother looking the word up in the dictionary because it's in Tagalog. It's a Filipino tradition (from the Spanish?) where the groom's family visits the bride's family to officially ask for her hand (and the person that goes with it) in marriage. I was really surprised when this was first mentioned because all along I thought just the engagement is enough. It's not like we had a formal engagement, but I did pop the question, and she said yes, and all the parents knew about this. On second thought, it's not a bad idea since the parent's haven't really met each other.
So what happens during a pamanhikan? Do I have to make the marriage proposal again? Should my dad talk to her parents? Should we bring along chickens and cows and offer them as gifts? Should I stay behind afterwards and mow their lawn? I really have no idea, but this is what we did. I, my parents and my brother (even number) set out to WHQ's house with a Michel's cake and some fruits. There, introductions were made and everybody sat down in the living room. There were some initial confusion as to who is supposed to serve the cake and tea to whom, but eventually, everybody had a share. The parents talked about "normal" topics about adjusting to life in Sydney, the weather, etc. Slowly, (or was it suddenly?), the topic shifted to the wedding date, church arrangements, where to have the reception, color motifs, etc. As it is already nearing lunchtime, we decided to continue the discussion over yum cha at the Crystal Seafood Restaurant.
And so ended the pamanhikan. Whew!
Not one to waste time, we pressed on to Parklea Markets after lunch to buy envelopes and stationery for the wedding invitation. Not an easy job, considering there are so many types and colors of envelopes and papers. Worse, WHQ can't decide whether to go for gold or green or purple or cream. Took her about an hour or so, but she managed to buy something.
Don't bother looking the word up in the dictionary because it's in Tagalog. It's a Filipino tradition (from the Spanish?) where the groom's family visits the bride's family to officially ask for her hand (and the person that goes with it) in marriage. I was really surprised when this was first mentioned because all along I thought just the engagement is enough. It's not like we had a formal engagement, but I did pop the question, and she said yes, and all the parents knew about this. On second thought, it's not a bad idea since the parent's haven't really met each other.
So what happens during a pamanhikan? Do I have to make the marriage proposal again? Should my dad talk to her parents? Should we bring along chickens and cows and offer them as gifts? Should I stay behind afterwards and mow their lawn? I really have no idea, but this is what we did. I, my parents and my brother (even number) set out to WHQ's house with a Michel's cake and some fruits. There, introductions were made and everybody sat down in the living room. There were some initial confusion as to who is supposed to serve the cake and tea to whom, but eventually, everybody had a share. The parents talked about "normal" topics about adjusting to life in Sydney, the weather, etc. Slowly, (or was it suddenly?), the topic shifted to the wedding date, church arrangements, where to have the reception, color motifs, etc. As it is already nearing lunchtime, we decided to continue the discussion over yum cha at the Crystal Seafood Restaurant.
And so ended the pamanhikan. Whew!
Not one to waste time, we pressed on to Parklea Markets after lunch to buy envelopes and stationery for the wedding invitation. Not an easy job, considering there are so many types and colors of envelopes and papers. Worse, WHQ can't decide whether to go for gold or green or purple or cream. Took her about an hour or so, but she managed to buy something.
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