Linkopia

Undersea cable

2010-02-14T01:25:00.002-05:00

Link:
Wired

Depth of Ocean

2010-02-14T01:21:00.003-05:00

Technical Service Bulletin for Mazda 3

2010-02-03T21:37:00.003-05:00

Usually when your car does not start, it means dead battery. But even if after you had tried to jump start the car, and the engine does not "crank" (ie. no crank sound), it means the battery is still fine.

One possible solution is to shift your transmission to neutral (if you have automatic transmission), and try to start the engine from "N". This is because even if you had the car in "P" park mode, the transmission might still get stuck at "D", so the vehicle is not allowing you to start.

By shifting the transmission around and finally to "N" neutral, you might be able to unstuck the transmission and get your car started.

Link:
Car no start troubleshooting
Mazda Forum
Mazda3 FAQ

Dalacin T

2010-01-31T23:18:00.001-05:00

Dalacin-T is a calming antibiotic gel really help you in the war against bacteria. Apply Dalacin-T gel morning and night all over your face not just on affected areas to prevent the spread.

Link:
Acne Treatment

Disable USB Autorun to prevent USB Viruses

2010-01-31T23:06:00.005-05:00

To keep USB viruses from injecting themselves to your PC or laptop is to Disable the USB Autorun feature:

Click the Start button, then Run and enter "gpedit.msc" without the quotes
Go to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System
Scroll down to "Turn off Autoplay" and double click on it
Click on the "Enabled" radio button, then for "Turn off Autoplay on" select "All drives"

OR

just keep holding Shift when you insert a USB disk. It cancels the autorun.

Delete autorun.inf file in the usb drive if you suspect it is infected with virus.

Link:
Sizlopedia
Stop windows from executing AUTORUN.INF

Dunning–Kruger effect

2010-01-31T23:03:00.001-05:00

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which "people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it".^[1] The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average, much higher than in actuality; by contrast the highly skilled underrate their abilities, suffering from illusory inferiority.

Link:
Wikipedia

4th dimension (4d): A simple explanation that you can understand

2009-07-31T08:15:00.005-04:00

I came across this video from a Reddit post. This video is less than 10 minutes long and the explanation on 4th dimension given by Carl Sagan is very simple and easy to understand.

Link:

Youtube: Carl Sagan 4th Dimension Explanation
Carl Sagan Biography

At the same sea level, which latitude on earth do you weight lower?

2009-07-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

I came across this question from the bonus question section of Jeopardy show.

The is question is:
At the same sea level, which latitude on earth will give you a lower weight?

To find out the answer, highlight this post either by dragging the mouse over the whole page or press "ctrl" and "a" at the same time.

At equator, or zero degree.

If your curious mind want to know why, go to "Ask an Astronomer" to find out!

Link:

Ask an Astronomer

Vision simulator- How do things look to people with colorblindness or cataracts?

2009-07-29T09:00:00.006-04:00

Have you ever wondered how do things look to those with colorblindness? There is a flash program that allows a person without colorblind defect to view things through the eyes of those with colorblind.

And if you are colorblind, two pictures will look similar to you, but not the same. This is due to the fact that in order to simulate colorblindness for the normal vision people, certain colors from the normal photo has to be digitally altered to the effect.

In other words, for normal vision people, "normal" photo is the full color photo. Each "colorblind" photo is associated with color deficiency as associated with the colorblind people. To stimulate the deficiency effect for normal vision people, the corresponding color has to be altered from the "normal" photo.

For colorblind people, you will get a much vibrant "normal" photo when compared to the one that is associated with your color deficiency. This is because the color deficiency photo loses some of the color that you cannot associate with, rendering it less vibrant.

Vision simulator

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Colorblindness Testing

To test if you have colorblind, you can use this simple test available on the same website. It is very effective, and you can know the results right away. If you suspect yourself as colorblind, you might want to get medically proven by going to the doctor.

Philosophy, Physics, Mathematics - Dangerous Knowledge (BBC Documentary)

2009-07-28T08:00:00.002-04:00

Here is a very interesting documentary by BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) on the lifework/achievement of four famous philosophers, physicians, and mathematicians:

Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philip Cantor
Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann
Kurt Godel
Alan Turing

Link:

Google Video

JPL Nasa - Climate Time Machine (interactive)

2009-07-27T14:20:00.002-04:00

If you are interested to know what are the changes to the Artic Sea Ice level since 1979 to 2007, Global CO2 (carbon dioxide) Emissions from 1980 to 2004, Average Global Temperature since 1885 to 2007 or what will happen to your country/city if the Sea Level rises from 0m to 6m, head over to the interactive Climate Time Machine by JPL (Jet Propulsion Lab) to learn about it.

You will realize that global warming is indeed happening and not a hoax!

Climate Time Machine

YouTube URL tricks - Bypass YouTube Regional Filter

2009-07-26T12:25:00.007-04:00

I came across this useful tricks from MakeUseOf.com to help you to fully utilize YouTube features on your website/blogs etc

The most important tips is probably the trick to bypass the restriction on watching certain clips on YouTube due to regional copyright issues. Fortunately there is a way to bypass the regional filtering! Check out trick 6!

=======================================
As from MakeUseOf article on 10 Youtube URL Tricks:

1. Embed Higher Quality Videos

To embed high quality Youtube videos, append “&ap=%2526fmt%3D18″ or “&ap=%2526fmt%3D22″ to the embed url where (fmt 18 = stereo, 480x270 resolution, fmt 22 = stereo, 1280x720 resolution)

2. Cut the chase and link to the interesting part

To link a Youtube video to the exciting part when action starts at XX mins and YY secs, you need to add #t=XXmYYs to the end of the URL.

3. Hide the search box

To hide the search box which appears when your mouse hovers over the embedded video, add "&showsearch=0" to the embed url.

4. Embed only a part of Video

If you want to skip the first YY secs of a Youtube video, you can just append &start=YY. For example, to skip first 10 secs of a clip, add &start=10 to the url.

5. Autoplay an embedded video

To add autoplay function to the embedded Youtube video so that it starts automatically, just append "&autoplay=1" to the embed url.

6. Bypass Youtube Regional Filtering

Due to copyright issues, Youtube detects your location from your IP Address and then determines if you have the rights to access to the video. If you are denied access to certain Youtube videos due the restriction, you can just change the url from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= to http://www.youtube.com/v/ to bypass it.

7. Download Video

If you want to download a video from Youtube but don't want to install softwares to do it, you can just replace the URL of the video from Youtube to KickYoutube to get to kickyoutube.com. It has all the options that you can choose from to download the video.

=======================================

Head over to MakeUseOf comment section to learn more about the tips!

A2DP (Stereo Bluetooth) on Win XP/Vista -2

2009-07-26T00:26:00.004-04:00

From my previous post on getting A2DP (Stereo Bluetooth) on Win XP/Vista, there is another popular software called BlueSoleil that you can use.

However, I prefer the Toshiba bluetooth stack due to the fact that BlueSoleil does not seem to have the option to change A2DP streaming quality.

However, BlueSoleil is very user-friendly in terms of getting your Bluetooth equipment paired up. However, BlueSoleil is not free. The trial version of the software has plenty of limitations. If you are very good in web searching, there are copies of full version floating around for you to download for free. *Hint: torrent sites

As an example, sometimes your built-in laptop Bluetooth adapter or Bluetooth USB dongle does not have the capability to support the high bandwidth required for high quality stereo bluetooth (A2DP). When it happens, the sound will be "cut-off" for a moment every few seconds/minutes to the point of my frustration.

With the Toshiba bluetooth stack, you have the option to change audio quality. To do so, you must have paired the A2DP-capable headphone. Then.

1) Go to Bluetooth Settings
2) Right click the icon of your paired A2DP headphone and choose Detail
3) Under Setting, you can choose a four options (Auto, High Quality, Standard, Low Quality) for Sound Quality

The default setting is Auto. If your A2DP audio skips, you can try changing the quality level to Standard and the skipping should go away.

Link:

Download BlueSoleil

[2008] 百万円と苦虫女 (Hyakuman-en to nigamushi onna)/One million yen and the nigamushi woman movie review

2009-07-25T18:15:00.006-04:00

百万円と苦虫女 (Hyakuman-en to nigamushi onna) or also known as One million yen and the nigamushi woman was released in 2008 in Japan. If you want to convert Yen to USD, the easiest conversion would be to assume 100 Yen to 1 USD. In other words, the title of this movie would be "Ten thousand USD and the nigamushi woman".

Why 1 million yen? You have to watch the movie to know, but it is of nothing special. This is a well done movie with nice scenery (including beach and rural mountain in Japan).

This is a story about a young lady who tries to escape her life by continuing to move on the road to new places where she is virtually unknown to the local people. If you have knowledge about the Japanese society, you will realize that criminal is stigmatized by the society. Even the family of the criminal bears the same responsibility. Neighbors will talk behind your back, avoid having any relationship with you, and even gang up and bully you.

The moral of the story is that you should not be coward and avoiding life. You should bravely face the consequences of your actions, and live life meaningfully.

I hope you will enjoy the movie!

IMDB link

Screenshots:

[2007] 龍が如く (Ryu ga Gotoku)/Like a Dragon movie review

2009-07-25T15:32:00.014-04:00

龍が如く (Ryu ga gotoku) also known as "Like a Dragon" was released in 2007 in Japan. It is a video game to cinema adaptation and surprisingly, it is very good. I have not played the game on PS2/PS3, so I can't say if the plot follows the game exactly. But the actions are not overly done to the extent of wanting to cry out "FAKE".

However, if you haven't played the game like me, some of the story do not make sense. Within the movie, it seems too many subplots occur at the same and many characters appear out of nowhere without introduction/character building. So you will probably end up asking a lot of questions who is who.

Obviously, if you had played the game, you'll know who are they. It is the typical disadvantage of adapting a popular video game to cinema. Just like the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Many characters suddenly pop-out of nowhere in the fight against a summoned beast in the city center.

End of rant.

IMDB link

Screenshots:

[2006] ただ、君を愛してる (Tada, kimi wo aishiteru)/Heavenly Forest movie review

2009-07-23T15:36:00.010-04:00

ただ、君を愛してる (Tada, kimi wo aishiteru) or also known as Heavenly Forest was released in October 28, 2006 in Japan. I would highly recommend you to watch it if you have get a copy of the movie. It is a decent love story movie.

One thing I would like to point out is that film photography is still pretty much alive in Japan as compared to the rest of the world. In this movie, the main characters are still shooting film SLR in black/white. In fact, many universities in Japan have student photography clubs with its own dark room to develop those films. However in the United States, no such thing exists.

IMDB link

Screenshots:

Wikipedia Picture of the Year

2009-07-22T21:27:00.007-04:00

Wikipedia "Picture of the Year" award was started back in 2006 and the pictures there are just stunning!

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2008 winning picture is below of the horses on Bianditz mountain, in Navarre, Spain. Behind them Aiako mountains can be seen.
===============================

2007 winning picture is of the Broadway Tower, Cotswolds, England.
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2006 winning picture is of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake, Alaska.
===============================

Link:
Wikimedia: Picture of the Year

A poor bear's cub

2009-07-13T15:50:00.005-04:00

This is a controversial video. A bear's cub is frightened by a tiger's cub and monkey (& shadow) and it is considered funny. The clip is from Korea. Before you start complaining about animal abuse, this is the description of the clip.

"He scared at a tiger's cub & even monkey .... The zoo keeper are trying to help the bear to find animal instinct and wild nature. ^________^ But see his scared look T_T it is so pity"

I do not know what happen to the bear's cub after this, hopefully we can get a full video of the show to conclude if the cub has gotten it animal instinct.

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1st video:

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2nd video:

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Barefoot running (3) - Are running shoes a waste of money?

2009-07-10T18:06:00.005-04:00

This is the 3rd article on barefoot running movement. I talked about this increasingly popular movement in a Barefoot Running article from May 2009 and Nike "Free" brand for barefoot running movement from June 2009.

I came across this from a Lifehacker post about an article by Christopher McDougall on Daily Mail Online. The title of the article is "The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?"

I am not advocating completely running barefoot as our world is literally full of danger like broken glasses, stool, etc But we should strive to reduce the amount of padding we have for the shoes to improve/strengthen our feet.

=========================================================

As quoted from the Daily Mail Online:
"
At Stanford University, California, two sales representatives from Nike were watching the athletics team practise. Part of their job was to gather feedback from the company's sponsored runners about which shoes they preferred.

Unfortunately, it was proving difficult that day as the runners all seemed to prefer... nothing.

'Didn't we send you enough shoes?' they asked head coach Vin Lananna. They had, he was just refusing to use them.

'I can't prove this,' the well-respected coach told them.

'But I believe that when my runners train barefoot they run faster and suffer fewer injuries.'

Nike sponsored the Stanford team as they were the best of the very best. Needless to say, the reps were a little disturbed to hear that Lananna felt the best shoes they had to offer them were not as good as no shoes at all.

When I was told this anecdote it came as no surprise. I'd spent years struggling with a variety of running-related injuries, each time trading up to more expensive shoes, which seemed to make no difference. I'd lost count of the amount of money I'd handed over at shops and sports-injury clinics - eventually ending with advice from my doctor to give it up and 'buy a bike'.

And I wasn't on my own. Every year, anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of all runners suffer an injury. No matter who you are, no matter how much you run, your odds of getting hurt are the same. It doesn't matter if you're male or female, fast or slow, pudgy or taut as a racehorse, your feet are still in the danger zone.

But why? How come Roger Bannister could charge out of his Oxford lab every day, pound around a hard cinder track in thin leather slippers, not only getting faster but never getting hurt, and set a record before lunch?

Tarahumara runner Arnulfo Quimare runs alongside ultra-runner Scott Jurek in Mexico's Copper Canyons

Then there's the secretive Tarahumara tribe, the best long-distance runners in the world. These are a people who live in basic conditions in Mexico, often in caves without running water, and run with only strips of old tyre or leather thongs strapped to the bottom of their feet. They are virtually barefoot.

Come race day, the Tarahumara don't train. They don't stretch or warm up. They just stroll to the starting line, laughing and bantering, and then go for it, ultra-running for two full days, sometimes covering over 300 miles, non-stop. For the fun of it. One of them recently came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing nothing but a toga and sandals. He was 57 years old.

When it comes to preparation, the Tarahumara prefer more of a Mardi Gras approach. In terms of diet, lifestyle and training technique, they're a track coach's nightmare. They drink like New Year's Eve is a weekly event, tossing back enough corn-based beer and homemade tequila brewed from rattlesnake corpses to floor an army.

Unlike their Western counterparts, the Tarahumara don't replenish their bodies with electrolyte-rich sports drinks. They don't rebuild between workouts with protein bars; in fact, they barely eat any protein at all, living on little more than ground corn spiced up by their favourite delicacy, barbecued mouse.

How come they're not crippled?

Modern running shoes on sale

I've watched them climb sheer cliffs with no visible support on nothing more than an hour's sleep and a stomach full of pinto beans. It's as if a clerical error entered the stats in the wrong columns. Shouldn't we, the ones with state-of-the-art running shoes and custom-made orthotics, have the zero casualty rate, and the Tarahumara, who run far more, on far rockier terrain, in shoes that barely qualify as shoes, be constantly hospitalised?

The answer, I discovered, will make for unpalatable reading for the $20 billion trainer-manufacturing industry. It could also change runners' lives forever.

Dr Daniel Lieberman, professor of biological anthropology at Harvard University, has been studying the growing injury crisis in the developed world for some time and has come to a startling conclusion: 'A lot of foot and knee injuries currently plaguing us are caused by people running with shoes that actually make our feet weak, cause us to over-pronate (ankle rotation) and give us knee problems.

'Until 1972, when the modern athletic shoe was invented, people ran in very thin-soled shoes, had strong feet and had a much lower incidence of knee injuries.'

Lieberman also believes that if modern trainers never existed more people would be running. And if more people ran, fewer would be suffering from heart disease, hypertension, blocked arteries, diabetes, and most other deadly ailments of the Western world.

'Humans need aerobic exercise in order to stay healthy,' says Lieberman. 'If there's any magic bullet to make human beings healthy, it's to run.'

The modern running shoe was essentially invented by Nike. The company was founded in the Seventies by Phil Knight, a University of Oregon runner, and Bill Bowerman, the University of Oregon coach.

Before these two men got together, the modern running shoe as we know it didn't exist. Runners from Jesse Owens through to Roger Bannister all ran with backs straight, knees bent, feet scratching back under their hips. They had no choice: their only shock absorption came from the compression of their legs and their thick pad of midfoot fat. Thumping down on their heels was not an option.

Despite all their marketing suggestions to the contrary, no manufacturer has ever invented a shoe that is any help at all in injury prevention

Bowerman didn't actually do much running. He only started to jog a little at the age of 50, after spending time in New Zealand with Arthur Lydiard, the father of fitness running and the most influential distance-running coach of all time. Bowerman came home a convert, and in 1966 wrote a best-selling book whose title introduced a new word and obsession to the fitness-aware public: Jogging.

In between writing and coaching, Bowerman came up with the idea of sticking a hunk of rubber under the heel of his pumps. It was, he said, to stop the feet tiring and give them an edge. With the heel raised, he reasoned, gravity would push them forward ahead of the next man. Bowerman called Nike's first shoe the Cortez - after the conquistador who plundered the New World for gold and unleashed a horrific smallpox epidemic.

It is an irony not wasted on his detractors. In essence, he had created a market for a product and then created the product itself.

'It's genius, the kind of stuff they study in business schools,' one commentator said.

Bowerman's partner, Knight, set up a manufacturing deal in Japan and was soon selling shoes faster than they could come off the assembly line.

'With the Cortez's cushioning, we were in a monopoly position probably into the Olympic year, 1972,' Knight said.

The rest is history.

The company's annual turnover is now in excess of $17 billion and it has a major market share in over 160 countries.

Since then, running-shoe companies have had more than 30 years to perfect their designs so, logically, the injury rate must be in freefall by now.

After all, Adidas has come up with a $250 shoe with a microprocessor in the sole that instantly adjusts cushioning for every stride. Asics spent $3 million and eight years (three more years than it took to create the first atomic bomb) to invent the Kinsei, a shoe that boasts 'multi-angled forefoot gel pods', and a 'midfoot thrust enhancer'. Each season brings an expensive new purchase for the average runner.

But at least you know you'll never limp again. Or so the leading companies would have you believe. Despite all their marketing suggestions to the contrary, no manufacturer has ever invented a shoe that is any help at all in injury prevention.

If anything, the injury rates have actually ebbed up since the Seventies - Achilles tendon blowouts have seen a ten per cent increase. (It's not only shoes that can create the problem: research in Hawaii found runners who stretched before exercise were 33 per cent more likely to get hurt.)

OXFORD, 1954: Roger Bannister crosses the finish line, running a mile in 3:59.4, in thin leather slippers

In a paper for the British Journal Of Sports Medicine last year, Dr Craig Richards, a researcher at the University of Newcastle in Australia, revealed there are no evidence-based studies that demonstrate running shoes make you less prone to injury. Not one.

It was an astonishing revelation that had been hidden for over 35 years. Dr Richards was so stunned that a $20 billion industry seemed to be based on nothing but empty promises and wishful thinking that he issued the following challenge: 'Is any running-shoe company prepared to claim that wearing their distance running shoes will decrease your risk of suffering musculoskeletal running injuries? Is any shoe manufacturer prepared to claim that wearing their running shoes will improve your distance running performance? If you are prepared to make these claims, where is your peer-reviewed data to back it up?'

Dr Richards waited and even tried contacting the major shoe companies for their data. In response, he got silence.

So, if running shoes don't make you go faster and don't stop you from getting hurt, then what, exactly, are you paying for? What are the benefits of all those microchips, thrust enhancers, air cushions, torsion devices and roll bars?

The answer is still a mystery. And for Bowerman's old mentor, Arthur Lydiard, it all makes sense.

'We used to run in canvas shoes,' he said.

'We didn't get plantar fasciitis (pain under the heel); we didn't pronate or supinate (land on the edge of the foot); we might have lost a bit of skin from the rough canvas when we were running marathons, but generally we didn't have foot problems.

'Paying several hundred dollars for the latest in hi-tech running shoes is no guarantee you'll avoid any of these injuries and can even guarantee that you will suffer from them in one form or another. Shoes that let your foot function like you're barefoot - they're the shoes for me.'

Soon after those two Nike sales reps reported back from Stanford, the marketing team set to work to see if it could make money from the lessons it had learned. Jeff Pisciotta, the senior researcher at Nike Sports Research Lab, assembled 20 runners on a grassy field and filmed them running barefoot.

When he zoomed in, he was startled by what he found. Instead of each foot clomping down as it would in a shoe, it behaved like an animal with a mind of its own - stretching, grasping, seeking the ground with splayed toes, gliding in for a landing like a lake-bound swan.

'It's beautiful to watch,' Pisciotta later told me. 'That made us start thinking that when you put a shoe on, it starts to take over some of the control.'

Pisciotta immediately deployed his team to gather film of every existing barefoot culture they could find.

'We found pockets of people all over the globe who are still running barefoot, and what you find is that, during propulsion and landing, they have far more range of motion in the foot and engage more of the toe. Their feet flex, spread, splay and grip the surface, meaning you have less pronation and more distribution of pressure.'

Nike's response was to find a way to make money off a naked foot. It took two years of work before Pisciotta was ready to unveil his masterpiece. It was presented in TV ads that showed Kenyan runners padding
along a dirt trail, swimmers curling their toes around a starting block, gymnasts, Brazilian capoeira dancers, rock climbers, wrestlers, karate masters and beach soccer players.

And then comes the grand finale: we cut back to the Kenyans, whose bare feet are now sporting some kind of thin shoe. It's the new Nike Free, a shoe thinner than the old Cortez dreamt up by Bowerman in the Seventies. And its slogan?

'Run Barefoot.'

The price of this return to nature?

A conservative £65. But, unlike the real thing, experts may still advise you to change them every three months.

Edited extract from 'Born To Run' by Christopher McDougall, £16.99, on sale from April 23

"

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[2009] 新宿事件 (San Suk Si Gin)/Shinjuku Incident movie review

2009-07-10T16:05:00.013-04:00

I recently watched the movie Shinjuku Incident (San Suk Si Gin) [imdb, wikipedia] casted by Jackie Chan. If you have never heard of this movie, you'll be surprise that this is not his usual action/kung fu movie. In fact, he did not show any of his superhuman fighting skills at all! However, I must say that I did enjoy the movie.

The plot as explained in wikipedia:

"In the early 1990s, a tractor mechanic from a northen countryside in China nicknamed Steelhead, portrayed by Jackie Chan, enters Japan illegally in search of his girlfriend Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei). Steelhead and his friend, Jie (Daniel Wu) meet in the busy Shinjuku district of Tokyo and take manual labor jobs to earn money. When Steelhead finds out that Xiu Xiu has married a Japanese yakuza leader named Mr. Eguchi (Masaya Kato), he decides to remain in Japan. When Eguchi was targeted to be murdered, Steelhead saves his life. To consolidate power, Eguchi forms an alliance with Steelhead to carry out his revenge. Soon, Steelhead has become embroiled so deeply in the ways of the yakuza that there is no turning back."

It showed the dark side of the Chinese illegal immigrants in Japan during the 90s. You are probably going to be disgusted by the actions portrayed in the movies (illegal acts). There is no doubt that some, if not all did happen back in those days. But I personally believe that the same apply to not just the Chinese illegal immigrants in Japan, but generally to any illegal immigrants throughout the world. They got to do what they have to do in order to survive in the harsh new environment.

The theme of the movie is that power corrupts. When you are powerless, everyone will stick together to support each other. When you are in power, it is often the survival of the strongest. Backstabbing among friends happen due to greed; be it power, money, women.

There is one ancient Chinese saying which loosely translate to mean "together we stand, separate we fall".

====================================
This might be a spoiler, but here is some background information about the location etc

Yakuza- Japanese gangster, equivalent to triads of Hong Kong, or mafia.

Kabuki-cho, Tokyo- (歌舞伎町) Entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Hence the title of the film Shinjuku Incident. Kabukichō is the location of many hostess bars, host bars, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town" (眠らない街). The district's name comes from late-1940s plans to build a kabuki theater: although the theater was never built, the name stuck. (Spoiler: You can find many East European women (ex-Soviet states) working there as hostess. Hence you will see that Jackie Chan and Daneil Wu had xxx with blonde girls in one scene.)

Pachinko- Pachinko (パチンコ) is a Japanese gaming device used for amusement and prizes. It is a cross between a pinball machine and a video slot machine. It is the machine where you earn silver balls as you win and exchange them for prizes. Pachinko parlor is very common in Japan!

Chinese gangster- Even though typical Westerners (American/European) might consider Chinese people as one single entity, it is wrong! In this movie, you can see that Jackie Chan's hangout buddies are called Hong-Kong-chai (香港仔-Hong Kong "Kids"). Daniel Wu's bad luck with the Pachinko's parlor boss is from southern part of Taiwan. Hence they are known as Tainan-bang (台南帮-South Taiwan Gang). As for those from China, they also have separate groups for people from different parts of China. Example: Shanghai group is known as (小白脸 - xiao bai lian, little white face) probably due to their fair complexion. Another group from China's Fujian province (福建) and Vietnamese.

Chestnut (Japanese: クリの実-kurinomi, Chinese: 栗子-li zi) - The food sold by Daniel Wu in the movie.

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IMDB link Screenshots:

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I hope you will enjoy the movie!

4 Useful Tips for Shy People

2009-06-23T21:53:00.003-04:00

I came across dating tips for shy guys by Toni Nova on Squidoo.com. I find it interesting partly because the tips are pretty much relevant not just for dating, but generally for you to succeed in your daily activities, especially if you are a shy guy. The examples that I am showing are in orange color.

Quote:
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"Quick dating tip #1... Get the skill, not the girl.
--->The most important thing when getting to know new people is to be sincere!!!

Most guys I know approach attractive women with a definite agenda in their mind.

They look at how hot she is and think to themselves, "Damn, that chick is fine... Look at those big melons. I'd sure like to get her digits, take her out on a date and then hopefully stick my head in between those things by the end of the night"

Or they think, "Jeez, she is hot, it's been months since I've had sex with someone else besides my right palm. She could end this miserable dry spell and maybe I could start spending my money on condoms instead of lotion and paper towels."

All joking aside, when a guy is too emotionally invested in getting a girl's number, taking her out or having sex with her, the woman he's talking to can smell his neediness from a mile away.

So here's my advice to you:

Since your trying to build your skills with approaching and talking to attractive women you should have only one agenda...

The next time you see a woman you're attracted to I don't want you to think about phone numbers, dates or sex.

Detach from all that for now.

Just think about her as an opportunity to gain a little experience and build up your skills with women.

And guess what?

She'll be able to pick up on your lack of neediness and it will make you much more attractive.

Plus, you'll be much more likely to go up to her in the first place because you're not putting any pressure on yourself.

And the more you approach women the more you WILL build your skills with them.

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Quick dating tip #2... Change the meaning of "rejection"
--->Very important. It will totally change your mindset. When you are rejected for something (friendship, job etc ), treat it not as if you are not good enough, but as your lack of marketing/presentation skills. Example, if you failed to get a job after interview, it does not mean you are not qualified, but your might not have successfully "wow" the interviewer. Improve on your self-marketing skills.

Back in the dfoays when I would attempt to talk to a hot woman and she acted cold, indifferent, rude or bitchy, it almost always made me feel like dirt.

I would take it personally.

I would start to draw some very disempowering conclusions from her response to me, like maybe I'm not tall enough, or maybe I'm not good looking enough.

And I know a ton of guys who do the same thing.

Are you one of them by any chance?

Here's why that is SO bad...

Your brain is a very sophisticated piece of machinery and it will always look to protect you from danger.

So if your self-worth is at risk every time you try to approach a woman then your brain will automatically look to protect you by coming up with rationalizations, excuses, delay tactics or anything else it can do to prevent you from talking to that woman.

So then what's the answer?

The solution to this problem is to "reframe" or change the way you look at rejection.

Keep this fact in mind:

When you approach a woman who doesn't know you from Adam and she "rejects" you, it's not YOU she's rejecting at all.

How could it be? She doesn't even know you, does she?

The only thing she is rejecting is the approach you made.

And so the only conclusion you should draw is that your approach is flawed and needs some work but YOU are not flawed at all.

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Quick dating tip #3... Make sure to warm up.
--->When going for job interview, make sure you warm up first either by striking a conversation with the reception desk person. You might get some helpful tips from him/her!

This is what I see a lot of guys do when they go out...

They walk into a club, bar, lounge or other type of social venue. They stand around with a serious look on their face looking like they're not having such a great time. Then when they see an attractive woman they try to quickly psyche themselves up to go up to her and say something.

This almost never works. Why?

Two reasons...

1. The odds are that almost every woman in the place has already noticed you. They saw you standing around, scanning the room to see where the party is instead of having a good time and being the party yourself.

2. You've been standing around quiet and in a state of low energy for an extended period of time. It's very difficult to just snap your fingers and go from zero to sixty in a couple of seconds and be social, upbeat and talkative.

So here's what to do instead...

Before you attempt to talk to any attractive women make it a point to talk to at least 5 or 10 other people in what ever venue you're in.

What do you say to them?

It really doesn't matter as long as it's light and up beat.

You can make funny comments about your surroundings or ask them questions then start little mini conversations with them and share a few laughs.

The bartender, waiter, busboy, bouncer, the couple standing by your right, the two dudes drinking a beer on your left, and the fat chick in front of you can all be used to warm yourself up and get in a talkative, fun and social mood.

Then when you do see a hottie in your proximity it won't seem like such a big leap to talk to her. You'll already be in a positive and talkative state and because women are highly intuitive she's most likely to pick up on that and find it all the more attractive.

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Quick dating tip #4... Choose the right arena
--->If you are a shy guy, best way to meet new people is through online (Facebook etc). You can easily expand your network of friends for hang out activities by getting to know friend's friends.

The first 3 dating tips I've given you so far, can be used in just about any kind of social venue like a club, a lounge or a bar.

But do you want to know what I think?

Of course you do. You wouldn't be reading this if you didn't.

I think those places aren't all that great for meeting women.

Sure, with the lights, the booze, the music and the sexy clothes women wear when they're out, you would certainly assume that you can meet a bunch of women, take them home and do naughty things together but how often does that really happen?

The truth is that there are much better ways to meet women. So do you want to know my all time favorite?

My favorite way to meet women is MySpace and Facebook.

In fact, if you know what you're doing you, me or any other guy can meet more women, on either one of these sites, any night of the week, then we could in a whole weekend of club and bar hopping.

There are hundreds of millions of women on these sites and the majority of them are single.

Because they are in the comfort of their own home, because dozens of other dudes aren't approaching them to hit on them, and because their nosy friends are there watching, these women are SO much more receptive to a guy who says the right things.

But here's the best part and why I have this listed as a dating tip for a shy guy.

MySpace and Facebook can be used as your own personal "flight simulator" for building your skills with women.

Let me explain...

You can shoot out messages to dozens of beautiful, young and single women in just minutes. And you can immediately start working on building your skills with starting conversations, building attraction, flirting back and forth, getting phone numbers and setting up "dates".

And you can do all of this without ever having to risk one single face-to-face rejection.

These sites are like a shy guys best friend. They give you a totally safe arena to work on your skills and meet a whole bunch of women in the process.

I definitely urge you to use them to your advantage.

One last thing...

I hope you found these dating tips for shy guys helpful and I think if you apply them you'll see some definite improvement but... we both know that reading one article isn't really going to be enough to help you have all the options with women you really want and deserve.

So to help you on your journey I'd like to offer you my totally FREE 7 part eCourse.

This eCourse is filled some of my best ideas for everything from meeting women onlineto... building attraction over the phone and of course to... several of my best seduction techniques for picking up women in person."

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via:
Squidoo.com (4 Quick Dating Tips for Shy Guys)

Barefoot running (2) - Nike "Free" running shoes

2009-06-22T02:03:00.005-04:00

This is a follow-up post from the Barefoot Running article from May 2009. If you want to learn more about barefoot running movement and why it is gaining popularity/good for your feet, go back and read the previous article.

In the previous article, major shoe brands were not involved in the barefoot running culture. However, Nike has picked up the slack and introduced its "Free" brand to cater to those who are into barefoot running.

So far, Nike has introduced Free 3.0, Free 5.0 and Free 7.0 with the scale 0 = barefoot and 10 = fully padded. There is no way Nike will introduce a Free 0.0 as it means shoeless, which equals to zero profit for Nike.

There is an article from The Science of Sport regarding the direction that the running shoe industry is moving into.

========================================================================

There is also a review from Today's Complex on Nike Free 3.0 II running shoe. Quote:
"If you are looking for a shoe that is so light you barely know it’s there, the Nike Free 3.0 II is the shoe for you.

Nike has developed a line of shoes that are aimed at long distance runners who are looking for a high performance, light-weight running apparatus.

The version number (i.e. 5.0, 3.0) designates how close you are to running barefoot. The Nike Free 5.0 is closer to a full shoe than the Nike 3.0. The version scale runs from 10.0 (full shoe) to 0 (no shoe). The lower the version number, the closer you are to running without a shoe at all. This particular shoe is the second incarnation of the ever popular Nike Free 3.0.

I have read several articles recently that support evidence that runners that run without a shoe are less prone to injury long term. The study purports that running with typical running shoes can cause more injury due to the fact that the heel is touching the ground before the ball of the foot, and this can cause a disruption to various leg muscles.

After watching this video I was sold on the actual design of the shoe. I can appreciate the fact that the designers at Nike really got the sole of the shoe right. The sole is divided so that the actual shoe can flex with the foot during running, and the entire upper is made of a super lightweight mesh.

When I first took the shoes out of the box, I was literally amazed at how light they are. I held them up beside my New Balance 992(s) and they feel like half the weight. I then compared them to a pair of flip flops and felt this was a more accurate weight comparison.

The shoes feel advanced; I feel high tech wearing them because I can tell that these shoes are much more evolved. The sole itself fits the bottom of my foot better, and is much more natural. The shoe feels weightless on my foot, and is more like an advanced foot coating than a typical shoe.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a shoe that compliments the barefoot running experience and enhances your natural ability to run further without injury, then I would advise that you pick up the Nike Free 3.0 II. It is incredibly lightweight, very stylish and allows the foot to breathe properly. I can really appreciate the attention to detail in this design and highly recommend it for running, or even just walking in general."

========================================================================

There is also another review from Urban Semiotic Nike Free 5.0 running shoe. Quote:
"I ordered a pair of Nike Free 5.0 shoes the other day and from the moment I put them on I realized

The whole idea behind the "Free 5.0" Nike's is that, even though you are wearing shoes, it feels like you are going barefoot. Nike pulls off that idea in a grand and incredible way.

Here's how: The 5.0 shoes come with two inserts: 5.0 and 4.5. You are supposed to use the 5.0 insert first because it has more padding for the balls and heels of your feet.

Then, when your feet are stronger, you put in the 4.5 soles that have no extra padding and then it really feels like you are walking barefoot.

I went right for the 4.5 innersoles because the 5.0 inserts felt like I was wearing regular shoes. I'm already big on barefoot so I felt my feet were strong enough for the 4.5s.

The 4.5s do make you feel as if you are walking barefoot.

Amazing!
how much better technology not only makes our minds, but our feet as well!

The Nike Free shoes are super lightweight.

There is no rigid heel cup to stabilize your ankle. In fact, the entire heel cup is feathery mesh that offers 100% no support and you wouldn't want it any other way. The key to the "barefoot" feel of the shoes is the special tread.

The tread has deep cuts in it and the sole is divided into lots of squares like a raw slab of tiny bathroom tiles without the grout, so any direction your foot wants to flex, the sole will bend to the will of your foot instead of your foot bending inside the rigid hull of the shoe. The feeling you have wearing these shoes is magical!

I was walking around Manhattan all day yesterday and I could feel the sidewalk beneath me as if I were walking barefoot. I could feel pebbles and stones and tar.

When I went up the stairs my toes could grab the edge of each step if I wished. I was stable. I was secure. I was, indeed, giddy!

The real magic seeps out when you're just walking around the house. Bye-bye flip-flops. Bye-bye filthy barefoot feel in a dirty apartment house garbage room. Hello Nike Free 5.0! Your feet don't sweat because the entire shoe is covered in ventilation. It doesn't feel like you are even wearing shoes. Nike Free 5.0 are made to be worn sockless.

I find that idea entirely gross because it is easier to wash your socks than to wash your shoes on a regular basis, so I always use socks. I think the fit and feel of the Nike Frees is better with socks.

Beware there are a lot of different "Free" styles out there from Nike. There are cross-training "Frees" that have an extra strap across the top of your foot. The women's version is frillier than the men's version I present here.

Remember, when you buy Nike shoes you go up a size from your regular shoe size. So if you normally take a size 10 shoe, the size 11 will fit you in the Nike realm. I like my Nike Free 5.0s so much I bought a second pair with mainly grey and a little bit of blue and I'll never go barefoot without shoes again!"

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via:
The Science of Sport (sportsscientists.com)
Today's Complex.com
Urban Semiotic.com

Paradox of Choice

2009-06-21T21:52:00.009-04:00

I came across this topic on reddit.com and there is another similar interesting talk on TED.com titled Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice. Barry Schwartz is an American psychologist and he has written a book with the title The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less) and you can find it on Amazon or any bookstore.

There is a similar study by Sheena S. Iyenga from Columbia University and Mark R. Lepper from Stamford University titled When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing? The results of the study can be summarized by the article Customers given too many choices are 10x less likely to buy.

There is funny comic strip that talks about choices at Daisy Owl.

========================================================================

Example anecdote on this issue from reddit.
From user HardwareLust:
"I think it depends on what type of person you are. My gf and I are polar opposites on this subject.

She's not bothered by choices at all. If she needs something, she goes to a store, and chooses from what they have. So, for example, if we need a toaster, she'll go to Target and just buy whichever one has the prettiest box, or whatever and she's happy.

Me? Ha. First thing I would do is read all the reviews on every toaster ever made. Then, I would join a forum for toaster fans, and read about all the cool toasters, and what mods they have made to their toasters, what's the best bread to toast, etc. Then, I would endlessly search the internet for the best deal on whatever toaster it was that I wanted (assuming I've been able to pick one to begin with.) Then, after I buy it and get home, I endlessly ruminate over whether I made the right choice or not.

So, she needs a toaster, it takes her an hour, max. Me, it takes 6 months.

EDIT: Like take buying a car, for example. I've wanted a new car for the last 3 years, but I'm fucking paralyzed by all the data that must be taken into account on purchasing a car. Thank god my old one hasn't died yet. My gf's been through two cars already in the amount of time I've tried to decide on one!"

========================================================================

From user combuchan also from Reddit:
"I was in the grocery store the other day to pick up some various cleaning supplies to finish the job in my place.

There was a special on Lysol toilet bowl cleaner. I have no brand preference and go by the cheapest per unit volume, so Lysol's buy-one-get-one-free special was a tantalizing prospect.

W T F

are there fucking five different varieties of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner?

I shit you not ... not yet at least, for I dare not ruin my work ... I must have spent 10 minutes trying to figure out which one to buy.

One clings more. One is super penetrating. One has bleach. One seems for hypochondriacs judging by the fact that it declared its murderous intents on two more pathogens than the other ones. How much time do they spend figuring this out? Will the other varities ultimately rule out my eating off it when I'm done because I killed rotavirus and not E Coli?

Would it be that hard for them to just make one that does all of the above so I don't have to stand there like a dumbass and figure out which one is best and why, incidentally, one of them costs 30 cents more than the others? The equal or lesser value proposition becomes ever more difficult in this case.

I was so angry and dejected.

Ultimately, I picked two of the bleach variety.

I picked outright chemical friendliness over something that might offer more cling action or make me less susceptible to reverse anal transmission of a fantastic variety of bacteria.

I'll never know.

Fuck you Lysol. You thought you were being consumer friendly with your specials and your variety, but my decision haunts me to this day. You almost made me spend 50c more a bottle on the one that was good for the environment.

For shame."

========================================================================

Another talk by Barry Schwartz for Google.

via:
TED.com
Wikipedia.org (Barry Schwartz)
Amazon.com (The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less)
DaisyOwl.com (Daisy Owl - Cheese)

Apple Mac product cycle list/buyer's guide

2009-06-21T00:21:00.002-04:00

A very good website that provides history and analysis on Apple's release cycles for its products such as Macbook, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic, iPod touch, iPhone etc

You wouldn't want to buy a product when the line-up is going to be refreshed in another week. So go to MacRumors: Buyer's Guide to check out!

If you happened to have bought Apple's old line-up product, Apple has a price protection for 14 days after the purchase. So you can bring it back to Apple Store for upgrade or change for pretty much free (unless the new line-up is more expensive that the one that you have bought). Terms and conditions might vary with different countries.

via:
MacRumors: Buyer's Guide

Neurology talk: VS Ramachandran on your mind

2009-06-21T00:05:00.010-04:00

A very interesting talk on the neurology by VS Ramachandran. If you have ever wondered how your brain works or curious about neurology research, you should spend 23 minutes to watch this video hosted by TED.

If you want to learn more about his research, there is a book by him- Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind.

via:
TED.com

100+ Sites to Download All Sorts of Things

2009-06-06T16:51:00.006-04:00

I came across this website and I think it is very good to keep as a bookmark.

=========================================================
Quote:

"These days you can find all sorts of things online, from audio books to flash files, from sound effects to CSS templates. Below we compiled a list with over 100 download sites that serve that purpose.

We will also try to keep the list updated, so if your favorite download site is not here, let us know about it with a comment.

Audio Books

Librivox: One of the most popular audio libraries on the web. The LibriVox volunteers record books that are in the public domain and release them for free.

Podiobooks: Similar to podcast, Podiobooks are serialized audiobooks that are distributed through RSS feeds. You can receive book episodes or download directly from the site.

Oculture (Audio & Podcast): Offers a rich array of educational and cultural media. The site editor scours through the web to find the best cultural and educational media available.

Learn Out Loud: A one-stop destination for video and audio learning resources. You can browse through over 15,000 educational audio books MP3 downloads, podcasts, and videos. The site also contains various free resources.

BitTorrent

The Pirate Bay: The web’s largest collection of bit torrent trackers. The Pirate Bay banks on its member file sharers to cull the web’s torrent files and make these available to users.

Mininova.org : What started as an alternative to the now defunct Supernova that went offline in 2004, Mininova has become the biggest torrent search engine and directory on the web. The site provides easy-to-use directory and search for all types of torrent files.

Torrent Portal : This P2P and file sharing site works like Google by linking only to .torrent metafiles and captures the caches of those files. It does not store files nor transfer data which are content linked to by .torrent files.

Now Torrents: The site scans torrent websites on the internet to provide the best results to users. Now Torrents provides an advanced real-time search engine for bit-torrents while at the same detecting and removing fake or dead torrent sites.

Torrentz: This Sweden-based torrent meta-search engine also indexes various major torrents sites including Mininova, The Pirate Bay and Demonoid. It provides various trackers per torrent that would work when another tracker is not working.

Books and Documents

Scribd: A virtual place where you can publish, discover, discuss, and share original writings and document. With 50 million unique page views per month, Scribd is a great place to learn new things.

Sheet Music Archive: The web’s most popular music web site. The site contains more than 22,000 classical music pieces and more than 100,000 sheet of music. It offers hundreds of free music downloads and more for subscriptions.

Computer Books.us: The site offers high quality computer related books for free download. These computer books are all legally distributed and their authors have granted permissions for the site to distribute their works.

Docstoc: This is your ultimate resource for free legal and business documents. Docstoc does not only allow you to download documents for free but it also lets you upload and share your own documents.

Tech Books for Free Download: If you’re looking for free books on Java, Perl/Phyton or other computer programming related books, this site might be of help. It offers books covering technology subjects for free download.

Project Gutenberg: The most comprehensive repository of ebooks on the web. Project Gutenberg was built by volunteers and now houses more than 27,000 titles of ebooks in its catalog.

Free eMagazine Download - covers a comprehensive collection of free emagazines for free download.

eBooks

KnowFree: The site offers a virtual place to exchange ebooks freely., video training, and other educational materials . Know Free features a very nice search engine which enables users to search for a particular materias fast.

Spotbit: Providing a paperless solution to publishing and for selling e-books, Spotbit makes e-book available in a different digital format than what is available on the web lately. Spotbit offers a simple Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology for E-books format.

Ebookshare: Provides link to either an e-books torrent files or direct download to the file itself. E-books are categorized into broader subject and the site has a nice search engine to aid you in finding the e-book you want.

Ebookee: A free book search engine. Ebookee helps you in finding e-book titles that you are particularly looking for. The E-books listed on the site are organized in general subject categories.

Wowio: The site lets you access legally available high-quality e-books. Wowio lets you read complete books online for free. If you want to download the PDF versions, Wowio charges a minimal fee.

Internet Archive - With the aim of building an Internet Library, this site features texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in its collections.

Clipart

Open Clip Art Library: The site is an ongoing project to create an archive of user contributed database of clip art that can used freely. Open Clip Art Library upholds the Creative Commons and encourages users to participate in generating contents.

WP Clipart: Offers more than 29000 public domain clip art images which were designed specifically for use with Word Processors. WP Clipart provides thousands of color graphic clips, illustrations, photographs and black and white line art in lossless, PNG format.

Clker: The site offers royalty free clip art in SVG, ODG and PNG format which are in public domain. It lets you easily embed these images in openoffice documents.

Clipart.com: The web’s largest collection of royalty-free clipart, vinyl-ready images, photos, web graphics, fonts, illustrations, and sounds. Clipart offers paid subscription to its database containing 10 million+ professional-quality images in various formats including .EPS, .JPG, .PNG, and .WMF.

Download Hubs

Softpedia: The site contains more than 500,000 sofware programs Windows, Unix/Linux, Mac, Mobile Phones, Games and Drivers. Some of software programs in Softpedia are freeware while some are shareware.

Download.com: Cnet’s most comprehensive library of freeware offers free download. Download.com contains tons of Windows software ranging from security software, digital photo software, educational software and more.

Open Source Mac: A handy reference and useful tools that encourages users to utilize free and open-source software.. Open Source Mac offers a simple list of the best and free software for the Mac OS X.

Free Downloads Center: Hosts a collection of free software, games and other desktop goodies which you can download for free. Free Downloads Center also offers a Give Away of the Day licensed software which you can download during the day only.

Tucows: The web’s original software download site. Tucows contains more than 40,000 software titles which are freeware or shareware.

Phazeddl: Hosts download warez, games, torrents, movies, software, apps, scripts, TV shows, ebooks, templates as well as key-gen of crack softwares.

Freeware

A+Freeware: The site offers choice applications or “A+Freeware” which become useful only when combined with a valid operating system. A+Freeware lets you get copies of software for free.

Best Freeware Download: A free wares site which allows you to register and save links on the site’s member account areas. Best Freeware Download is categorized into communication desktop and games. Gamers would definitely want to check this site from time to time to check on new freewares to be added.

Free Ware Box: The site offers categorized summary of freeware software. Freeware Box contains open source software, public domain and other types of free software, all available for free download.

Freeware Zoom: This site offers freeware for free download. Freeware Zoom is updated daily and it contains no adware or spyware.

File Hippo: The site has considerable number of freeware, demo and shareware programs which are of high quality. File Hippo puts a premium on quality software rather than quantity. Hence the site offers only the best software.

Windows Downloads: Download.com’s Windows-only software download site offers softwre which were tested to be 100% free of malware.

Major Geeks: Offers only the serious software meant for the serious geeks. It hosts the most comprehensive collection of computer utilities available on the web.

Brothersoft: The site offers more than 100,000 software for free download. Brothersoft does not only offer free software download but also thoroughly evaluate all the software submitted to them.

Flash Files

Ffiles: The web’s richest repository of free Flash Files. Ffiles contains Flash files which you can download freely. It also allows you to upload your own Flash files that you want to share with other users.

Flash Kit: If you’re a flash developer, Flash Kit is the site for you. It’s the ultimate online resource for Macromedia Flash development.

Flash Den: This site contains everything that you need for your Adobe lash project. You can buy preloaders, templates and other things you need to finish your project. And most of these Flash components sell for as low as $1.

Fonts

Dafont: If you’re looking for some cool fonts to use for whatever purposes, you could probably pick up one or two font style at this site. Dafont offers freely downloadable fonts. You can browse fonts by author, by style or by popularity.

1001 Free Fonts: This site has a big collection of TrueType fonts which are either freeware or shareware. 1001 Free Fonts offers free fonts for both Windows and Mac platforms.

Download Free Fonts: A simply designed online resource for thousands of free fonts. Download Free Fonts contains free fonts for Windows and Mac. You can use the site’s search box to find the font you are specifically looking for or browse through the font categories.

Show Font: The site lets you download fonts for free. Show Font contains TrueType fonts for both PC and MAC. It also provides font editor and font management tools.

FontStruct: Aside from offering freely downloadable fonts, Fonstruct also has a font editor and font management applications available online. FontStruct lets you build fonts, share it with others and download fonts made by other people as well.

Games

Liberated Games: This is a simple listing site offering free downloads of legally available games. It’s a straight-out listing of these different games including their download links.

NDS-ROMS: This is a heaven sent site for NDS gamers. NDS-ROMs offer free downloads of publicly available ROMs.

Iwin: The Internet’s largest selection of free game downloads. You can choose to play games in the popular categories.

Donwload Full Version PC Games: This is a blog site containing 100 best legal, free, and full version of games. The site covers free action games, free action games and 3rd person games.

Abandonia: If you’re up for some good old DOS-based gaming experience, Abandonia may have those games. Abandonia offers DOS games which have been abandoned for so long.

Best of Games: The site offers various old games and certainly has many of them on the site. Best of all, Best of games offers these games for free download.

Free Games - A search engine for free games that can be played online or downloaded to your machine. It also covers cheat codes.

Movies

ZML: One of the Internet’s most useful download service. ZML offers update subscriptions and lets you find out about current movies by subscribing to ZML.

Free Documentaries: offer free Streaming Independent Documentary Films, Environment Documentary, Israel, Palestine, War, George Bush, Afghanistan, Iraq, 9/11, Globalization, Media, and more.

Moving Image Archive: A comprehensive library of free movies, films, and videos uploaded by the site users. Moving images include full-length films, news broadcasts, cartoons and concerts. Not all of the videos are free to download though.

MP3

eMusic: The world’s biggest online retailer of independent music and audio books. eMusic holds more than 40,000 independent labels and almost 5,000 titles of audio books from top publishers.

Jazz on Line: The web’s most comprehensive online resources of digitalized Jazz music. Jazz on Line hosts only songs which are in public domain.

Jimmyr: A search engine for mp3 music and other digital files. Jimmyr crawls through the various mp3 resources available on the web using Google Custom Search Engine.

Music Download: The ultimate source for legally available and freely downloadable digital music on the Internet. It’s from Cnet.com, so you are pretty sure that most of the files are safe to download.

beeMP3: A music search engine useful for finding mp3-audio files available on the web. BeeMP3 currently indexes around 800,000 mp3 files.

Download Any Stuff: A digital file search engine that provides download links to free stuff over the Internet. Download Any Stuff lets you search for MP3 files, softwares, drivers, games, movies, ebooks, even Torrents and more.

Skreemr: Another music search engine that you can use to locate audio files available on the web. Skreemr currently indexes and crawls more than 6 million mp3 files from 100,000 web sites.

iLike: A social music discover site that allows you not only to discover music playlists available on the web but also to share your own playlists to the world. iLike also links to iTunes and Amazon music stores.

eMP3 World: A free mp3 download site. eMP3 World currently holds around 85,000 mp3 download links on its database.

Jamendo/: An online community of free, legal and unlimited digital music content. Jamendo offers only those music which have been licensed under Creative Commons. The site lets you share your own music and create your own widget playlists which you can embed to your site or social networking profiles.

Online Video

Vixy:An online video converter that you can use to convert a Flash video / FLV file or YouTube videos to MPEG4 format. Vixy uses a compressed domain transcoder technology. You can enter a YouTube link to have it converted into MPEG4 online.

Keepvid: The site lets you download streaming videos from YouTube, Putfile, Metacafe and other video streaming sites. After downloading you need to convert it into another format depending on what media player you are using. Or you can use FLV’s own media player instead.

Javimoya: Another good video downloader site. Javimoya supports many video streaming sites including YouTube, Metacafe, MySpace Music, and more.
VideoDownloadx: The site allows you to download videos from YouTube and save these videos to your PC. You also need to download an FLV player to view the videos from your local hard drive or convert the file into other formats that can be read by your media player software.

Download YouTube Videos as mp4 Files: This blog post gives a detailed instruction on how to download videos directly from YouTube in mp4 format. No need to use a third-party site to scrape the video off from YouTube.

Kiss YouTube: Offers an easy and simple way of downloading and saving YouTube video directly to your computer. You can enter the URL of the video on the Kiss You Tube site, or add the word “kiss” on the URL of the YouTube video to download the file. Either way, you will still download the file from the Kiss You Tube site itself.

Download YouTube Videos: This site lets you download YouTube videos faster and easier. You just nee to enter the YouTube URL of the videos that you want to download

keepHD - lets you download HD videos off Youtube. It also lets download the mobile 3GP version for your mobile devices plus the standard MP4 and FLV format.

Photoshop and Design

Deviant Art Photoshop Brushes: A collection of artsy paintshop brushes used by Deviant Art members. You can download the paint brushes or share it to other people.

Adobe Market Place and Exchange: Adobe’s online resource containing tools, services, and innovations relating to Adobe’s various products. The site also let you discover Adobe AIR runtime applications.

Pixel Chick: Offers both free and paid Photoshop brushes that are compatible with CS2 and CS3.

Vecteezy: Serves as an index of free vector graphics that are available for download from the web. Vecteezy’s vector graphics were created by famous designers.

Busheezy: A huge collection of free Photoshop brushes and patterns. Busheezy is updated daily and also accepts submission of Photoshop brushes from online users.

Vector 4 Free: A free vector graphics site for Adobe Illustrator AI, EPS, PDF, SVG, and Corel Draw CDR. All the vector graphics are free for personal and commercial use.

Get Brushes: A directory of brushes personally handpicked by the site owners. Get Brushes contains various brushes including over abstract and text, gothic, coffee pills and more.

Q Vectors: The site offers free high-quality vector images and graphics. Q Vector also accepts user submissions.

Archive 3D: Host more than 17,000 3D graphics model. Archive 3D models ranges from Beds,Shkaps, Chairs,Tables,Sofa, Sanitary Ware, Decoration, NVAC, Tools, and more.

Vectormix - This site has a good collection of vector graphics submitted by users and arre free to download.

Sound Effects

Soundsnap: A library of more than 100, 000 high-quality sound effect and music loops. Soundsnap offers 5 free downloads per month, after which you need to pay a Pro membership to download more files.

FindSounds: A useful sound and sound effects search engine. FindSounds offers sound directory, keyword search and sonic similarity search functions.

Partners in Rhyme: The site offers royalty free music featured in Films, TV, Video and Websites. Partners in Rhyme also offers free music loops, midi files and audio software.

Stone Washed: An online resource for free sound effects, loops, button sounds and other multimedia files. Stone Washed offers various categories including sound effects, animal sounds, buy out music and more.

Stock Photos

Stock.Xchng: One of the web’s leading stock photography site. Stock.xchng offers a full gallery of high-quality stock photos available for free download or for sharing on blogs, social networks and other sites.

Free Digital Photos: Contains thousands of royalty free photos available for download and can be used for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Free Digial Photos does not require registration to download stock photos from their site.

Morgue File: The site provides high-resolution stock photography images for free regardless of whether the photos will be used for corporate or private use. Morgue File is the place to keep post production materials.

123RF - The site offers a daily dose of free high-quality images aside from the paid stock images that it sells.

System utilities

Open Drivers: A free driver download service. Open Drivers is categorized by device category and driver manufacturer. It also includes step-by-step process to install and uninstall the drivers.

DLL Files: A very useful site for users who keeps on getting the missing DLL prompt from the machine. DLL Files contains a comprehensive databased of dll-files that you could possibly need.

Download 3K: A huge archive of free and free-to-try software programs and games for Windows. Download 3K is categorize into 15 main categories and the site is updated with around 300 software everyday.

Free Codecs: The ultimate resource for all types of codecs available online. Free Codecs offers video codecs, audio codecs, codec packs, codec tools and more.

Open Office: Home of the free open-source office software suite. Open Office contains word processing, spreadsheets, database, presentations, graphics, and more.

Web Design

Open Source Web Design: A collection of web designs submitted by the community members. Open Source Web Design offers free web design for download that can be used for personal blogs to a full-featured content management systems for businesses.

Free CSS Templates:The site offers standards compliant CSS templates for free. Users are free to use the templates for personal or business purposes.

Template World: Offers top quality, creative and unique web site templates created by certified web professionals.

Iconspedia: The site offers free icons download. Iconspedia are arranged in various categories including animals, food and phones.

Free Icons Web: The site contains 15000 high quality icons for free downloads. Free Icons Web contains icons for Windows XP, Vista, Macintosh, and Linux. Icons are for personal use only. Commercial users have to pay a certain amount of royalty.

1000+ Classic Icons for Free Download: Probably the best collection of free icons available online. Icons are in png, icns, ico-formats as well as .EPS vector files.

Spotbit: The site allows you to publish and sell e-books using a fast, easy and free method. Spotbit lets you create your e-books and published it on Spotbit.

Smashing Magazine’s 40 Professional Icon Sets for Free Download: A list of 40 high-quality professional icons for desktops and web design which are all free for download. The icons can be used for private and commercial purposes."

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via:
DailyBits

How to: Cannot play haoting.com on firefox and mac

2009-06-03T02:15:00.005-04:00

If you have used haoting.com to play asian (Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, English) music, you would realize that haoting.com only works fine with Internet Explorer (and Windows). If you are using Firefox on Windows, you will realize that the song will play, but it will not move down the list. Also if you are on Mac, you are in a tough luck since haoting.com uses Windows Media Player (WMP) to stream the music, and Microsoft no longer supports WMP for Mac.

So the only solution to keep enjoying asian music on your Firefox / Mac is to find a website that streams through flash. And I have found one such website!

九九音乐(99.cn)

99.cn is one of the many asian music streaming websites from China. It uses flash, so it will definitely work on any web browser that has Adobe Flash plugin!

Based on my observations, all those streaming websites have the same musc catalogs, if not almost the same.

Go ahead and enjoy your favorite asian music from 99.cn

Note: These music streaming websites from China might not have the proper licenses from artists to broadcast music. Please listen at your own risk.

Shutdown Timer to turn off your XP and Vista

2009-06-01T01:17:00.002-04:00

If you hate to install another application/software just for the purpose to shut down your PC at a scheduled time, you can use a quick and easy command line function to do so. And it is free!

1) Go to Command Prompt from either
a) Start->All Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt
b) Start->Run where a new "Run" window will pop-up. Type in the following and press OK:
cmd

2) Another window with black background will appear. Type the following and press enter to schedule your shutdown time (where xx:xx is the time in 24-hour notation):
at xx:xx shutdown -s

For example if I want my PC to shutdown at 6am:
at 06:00 shutdown -s

Another example if I want to shutdown at 10pm
at 22:00 shutdown -s

3) If somehow you want to cancel the scheduled shutdown. Just type the following and press enter (where "a" means abort):
shutdown -a

A2DP (Stereo bluetooth) on Win XP (Boot Camp on Mac)

2009-05-28T14:30:00.006-04:00

To follow up on the A2DP (stereo bluetooth) post on Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) here, here and here, I would like to introduce the method to get A2DP to run on your Windows XP via Boot Camp on Mac computers.

If you are still using Windows XP and refused to upgrade to Vista (and probably waiting for Windows 7 to release later this year), you would realize that Win XP does not allow you to use headset profile (mono or stereo). It is because Microsoft did not include those profile stacks in Win XP and never bothered to include them in the subsequent Service Packs!

As a result of that, you cannot enjoy neither mono nor stereo sound on your computer even though your laptop/pc comes with built-in bluetooth (especially true for Macbook/Macbook Pro/Macbook Air).

The solution is first proposed by U.C. and further explained by reesd at InsanelyMac forum. I decided to combine their solutions to make an easy-to-understand step-by-step guide.

Also, this guide deals primarily with getting those profile stacks installed on Mac computer running boot camp in Windows XP. However, it also works with any laptop that has built-in bluetooth.

1) Download the Toshiba bluetooth stack profile and driver from http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/bluetooth/?page=download

*Please know that the Toshiba Bluetooth Stack only valid for 30 days. After that, you would probably have to purchase the software in order to continue to use it. HOWEVER, if you are savvy enough, you can search and download it from torrent site.

2) Install the Toshiba Bluetooth Stack. It will reach a point where it tries to find for a compatible hardware, but cannot find it. Click "cancel".

3) Go to Device Manager and look up your built-in bluetooth device info under Bluetooth (the device is probably called Apple Bluetooth). Look for DeviceID and copy the info down.

For example, my DeviceID is USB\VID_05AC&PID_8205

4) Browse to the folder "Program Files\Toshiba\Bluetooth Toshiba Stack\Drivers\tosrfusb"

5) Open tosrfusb.inf file using notepad or any text editor.

6) Scroll down the file to the middle until you reach [Standard] section. You will need to assign a new number that has not been taken by other items in the [Standard] section.

For example if the list has up to 140 items, I will type in the following line after the line %TosrfUsb.DevicDesc140%=TosrfUsb_Device, .....

%TosrfUsb.DeviceDesc144%=TosrfUsb_Device, USB\VID_05AC&PID_8205

7) Scroll down the file until you reach [Strings] section.
Type in the following line after line
TosrfUsb.DeviceDesc140 = "xxxxxx"

TosrfUsb.DeviceDesc144 = "Apple Built-In Bluetooth Toshiba"

8) Save the tosrfusb.inf file and reboot your computer.

9) Return to Device Manager. Select the first Bluetooth device and choose to Update Driver. Don't let Windows search for the driver, but choose the option that you want to search for the driver on your own.

You will reach a point where there is an option "Have Disk". Click it and select Program Files\Toshiba\Bluetooth Toshiba Stack\Drivers\tosrfusb as the directory.

It will prompt you about unsigned driver. This is because you have edited the .inf file. Proceed with the driver update.

10) With the update, you can click on the toshiba bluetooth icon on your taskbar. Enable the bluetooth and choose new connection to search for your bluetooth device.

**The usual default passkey for pairing bluetooth devices is 0000 (as in four zeroes)

***I assume you know how to set your bluetooth device to pairing mode. If not, read your user manual. It is usually by holding the power button on your device for a certain amount of time (a couple of seconds) until both LEDs blink continuosly (usually red and blue)

****Handsfree (hf) is a newer mono bluetooth profile than Headset profile. Both are mono audio, but handsfree seems to support more options.

11) After you have paired the device to your built-in bluetooth, you can go to Bluetooth Settings (or double click on the icon on taskbar), double click on the selected bluetooth stereo device.

*****If you are using A2DP and the audio skips, go to Bluetooth Settings->Right click on your paired device name->choose a lower Quality setting such as Standard to see if there is any improvement.

12) Enjoy your full headset/A2DP/AVCRP support on Windows XP! (for up to 30 days or unlimited if you decided to torrent)

13) To disconnect, go back to Bluetooth Settings and right click on the bluetooth stereo device, choose Disconnect.

Note: Another software that enables A2DP on Windows XP and Vista (non-mac) is covered here.

A2DP (Stereo bluetooth) on Mac OS Tiger (10.4) - (2b)

2009-05-28T12:07:00.009-04:00

If you have read the Tim Hewett's method to implement A2DP on your Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) - (2a) and have problems with the sudo kext command, this post will try to assist you to get things going.

Again, the errors and solutions stated below are obtained from the the user comments at David Connolly's blog. This post is to summarize the most common problems mentioned and how to solve them. (and save you from going through 200 comments)

Common errors
1) kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext is not authentic (check ownership and permissions)
Type the following command in Terminal (each sentence is in one line):
sudo chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext

sudo chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext

2) If you have problems with the choppiness of the sound and adjusting the value in /usr/local/bin/a2dpcast aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff 20 did not help, you can try to unload kext and reload it.

However, according to Tim, a2dpcast-0.3 shouldn't give you this problem. So you should not try this solution unless you have tried all other options.

Type in the following:
sudo kextunload /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext (you may need to do this twice)

sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext

3) a2dpcast does not work with Motorola S9! If you have S9, you best bet would be to use Softick Audio Gateway for Mac OS which is mentioned here.

You will see the following message in Terminal when you run /usr/local/bin/a2dpcast aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff with Motorola S9.

Found audio device "Motorola S9"
No such audio device 'Stereo Bluetooth Headset'. Using System Default.

Using audio device "Motorola S9"

sample rate is 8000, channels is 2
discover : received
SEID = 2
SEID 2 : MPEG codec
SEID = 1
Sent set configurations command
set_config : accepted
open : stream channnel
open_stream : ok
start_stream : ok
mtu = 672

frm_len = 2
6000 bytes/sec, hdr.sampling_frequency is 0
Transmitting A2DP, press RETURN to stop.
Bus error

Notice the bus error. If for any reason when you use your bluetooth stereo headset (other than Motorola S9) with a2dpcast and Terminal gives Bus error, it probably means your headset cannot use method (2).

4) Here is a list of supported and unsupported bluetooth stereo headset available from another post on David Connolly's blog .
Working (intel mac):
Motorola HT820
Griffin Bluetrip
Plantronics Pulsar 260
Plantronics Pulsar 590A
Jabra BT 620s (1 report of performance problem, Other reports of success)
iMuffs
Sony CMT-HX5BT
Sony DR-BT22A

Not working (intel mac):
Sony Ericsson's HBH-DS970
Omiz Combo BT headphone
Motorola S9
Motorola DC800
Jensen WBT212

Enjoy A2DP on your Mac!

A2DP (Stereo bluetooth) on Mac OS Tiger (10.4) - (2a)

2009-05-28T02:44:00.009-04:00

From the previous post on getting stereo bluetooth to work on Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) at here, there is actually two more methods available. One is first proposed by David Connolly at his blog and another by Tim Hewett in David's blog comment section. Both methods are almost similar, but the one by Tim Hewett is more elegant and easier to use (but harder to set it up).

David's blog has a lot of useful information in the comments section, but I am writing this comprehensive guide to save you the trouble from searching through the all the comments.

I will describe Tim's method on this post since I think it is easier to use after you have successfully setting it up.

However, Tim's method requires a bit of Terminal knowledge. If you don't know what Terminal is, don't worry. This post will have a step-by-step guide to help you to enjoy A2DP on your Mac.

==========================================================

*I suggest you download the following 2 items onto your Desktop

1) Download a2dpcastAudioDevice.tgz file from http://www.coolatoola.com/a2dpcastAudioDevice.tgz

2) Download a2dpcast from http://www.coolatoola.com/a2dpcast-0.3.zip

3) Turn on your built-in bluetooth on Mac OS and allow your bluetooth stereo headset to pair with it. The usual default passkey for bluetooth equipment is 0000 (as in four zeroes).

4) After pairing, go to Preference->Bluetooth->Devices. Click on the name of your device and copy down the Device Address. It will be in aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff format (12 characters).

5) Launch Terminal. What is Terminal? It is similar to the "command prompt" in Windows or the "Terminal" in Linux. You can access Terminal by:
Click on your Mac HD -> Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal

6) A new window will pop up with the word "Welcome to Darwin!".
Type the following and press enter:
cd /

7) Type the following and press enter:
sudo tar xfzp DOWNLOAD_DIR/a2dpcastAudioDevice.tgz --same-owner
where DOWNLOAD_DIR is the directory where you have downloaded/saved the file

For example, my Mac OS user account name is linkopia and I have saved my files on desktop. So I will type the following:
sudo tar xfzp users/linkopia/Desktop/a2dpcastAudioDevice.tgz --same-owner

Terminal will ask for your password. Type in your password and press enter.

8) Type the following and press enter:
sudo kextload /System/Library/Extensions/AudioReflectorDriver.kext

9) Double click on the a2dpcast-0.3.zip to extract the zip file. A new folder called a2dpcast-0.3 will appear.

10) Click Finder. You will then see "Finder", "File", "Edit", "View", "Go" ... on the menubar on top of your screen.

11) Click "Go" and choose "Go to Folder".
Type in the following:
/usr/local/bin
and click Go

12) Copy the file "a2dpcast" from the a2dpcast-0.3 folder to bin folder. Mac OS might prompt for login name and password or confirmation to copy the file. Allow the file to be copied to bin folder.

13) You are almost there. Now go to Terminal again. Type in the following and press enter:
/usr/local/bin/a2dpcast aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff
where aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff is the Device Address of your Stereo Bluetooth Headset.

**If your music skips, you can try to lower the sound quality. I think the default value is 32 (You can change the value anything from 0 to 32, the lower the value, the sound quality gets worse). So you can type the following:
/usr/local/bin/a2dpcast aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff 20

14) Launch iTunes and enjoy your music wirelessly!

15) Leave the Terminal open while you are using A2DP. You can minimize it, but don't close it! Go to Terminal and press "Enter" to stop A2DP when you don't want the stereo bluetooth anymore. You can close the Terminal now.

***When you want to use A2DP again, enable your Bluetooth on Mac OS. Launch terminal, and type the following again:
/usr/local/bin/a2dpcast aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff
or
/usr/local/bin/a2dpcast aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff 20

==========================================================

Enjoy A2DP on your Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger)!

If you encountered errors while going through the steps above, click here to read about some workarounds that might help you to get a2dp fully running.

A2DP (Stereo bluetooth) on Mac OS Tiger (10.4) - (2b)

A2DP (Stereo bluetooth) on Mac OS Tiger (10.4) - (1)

2009-05-26T12:17:00.009-04:00

If you are still using Mac OS Tiger (10.4) and haven't upgraded to Leopard (10.5), there are two workaround solutions to get A2DP (stereo bluetooth).

1) Softick Audio Gateway for Mac OS X
This is the easiest to use solution to get your a2dp fix on your Mac. You can download the beta version for free (unlimited duration, but only works on Intel Mac). It installed easily and
has no problem detecting my stereo bluetooth headset (Sony DB-BT22).

A final version is also available for purchase at 19.95 USD. However, it seems that the development for this software has died along with the support of A2DP in Leopard. There is scarce information about the difference between the beta and final version. I would assume that you get more control with the purchased version.

Compared with solution (2), the beta version do skip when playing music on my iTunes. You'll get about a second of no sound every once in a while. The final version might have solved this problem, but I believe the skip is mainly due to the bluetooth bandwidth problem (older bluetooth specification, especially version 1.0+).

Lastly, solution (2) seems to have a better sound quality than the softick audio gateway.

Solution (2) will follow shortly after this piece. Stay tuned.

Download Softick Audio Gateway for Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger)

Click here to read about Solution 2

Useful Mac OS X software (1)

2009-05-26T09:41:00.007-04:00

If you are a heavy internet user, and your ISP has a cap on your download/upload limit per month, SurplusMeter is the software that I would recommend you to use (Note: only if you are using Mac OS).

============================================================
Quote from the website:

"If you have a broadband internet service with a monthly download limit, you may find SurplusMeter comes in handy. It measures the download and upload traffic on your Internet connection and keeps a record of your traffic volume. It gives you all kinds of useful output statistics, like daily allowance, average daily usage, accumulated surplus, and more.

Statistics are presented in three ways: simple bytes in/out; summaries of megabytes used and remaining, and graphic meters which display at a glance when you're getting close to exceeding your limit.

Privacy Note: SurplusMeter measures only the volume of traffic on your connection. It does not look at the content of data in/out or record where it comes from. Also, SurplusMeter is completely passive; it does not send any information to anyone.

SurplusMeter is freeware. It's open-source, released under the GNU General Public Licence. You can download the source code from our Downloads page.

Current Version: 2.0.2

What's New:

Today's Usage figure only turns red if it exceeds daily allowance and surplus combined.
Archive gives data in GB as well as MB and bytes.
Slovak localization (courtesy Rudolf Gavlas).
Universal Binary (now supports only 10.4 or later)."

============================================================

via:
SkoobySoft - SurplusMeter

Japan Podcast to improve your Japanese listening skills

2009-05-26T02:31:00.007-04:00

While searching for Japanese language podcast (note: not your typical how-to-learn-Japanese podcast, but rather podcast in Japanese language for Japanese people), I have came across a very good website that catalogs all the podcast websites from Japan. So if you are interested to improve your Japanese listening skills or just to learn more about latest news and issues in Japan, go straight to the link!

Click here: Podcast Juice

お楽しみに！

Flash-based game

2009-05-18T13:12:00.006-04:00

Samgine.com is a relatively new website that strives to provide next generation puzzles for all generations. If you looked carefully, Samgine is the reverse for Enigmas :) The website has a lot of free online puzzles available that will certainly entertain you for hours.

Quote from website:
"Samgine (enigmas backwards) regularly adds free online puzzles and logic games. We also create original puzzles and provide a fun family-friendly experience you cannot get elsewhere."

Check it out at Samgine.com!

Have fun playing the puzzles.

Are humans cruel to be kind?

2009-05-17T13:10:00.004-04:00

An interesting article from NewScientist, which touches the rationality of human being. If you have taken economic classes, you would know that one of the basic assumption for the field is we act rational in order to improve our lives. We seek to increase the limited resources that we have and as everyone starts to do so, we indirectly promotes market efficiency.

Quote verbatim:

===============================================

AROUND the time of the G20 summit in London on 2 April, the streets of cities across the world were filled with people protesting against the excesses of the banking bosses, among other things. Chances are you agreed with the sentiment. Chances are too that if you had been asked to put your hand in your pocket to fund a campaign to seize their bonuses, even if you wouldn't see any of the money, you'd have been sorely tempted.

If so, congratulations: you have just confounded classical economics, which says that no rational person should ever reduce their own income just to slash someone else's. And yet that's exactly what we do. Classical economics, it turns out, is a pretty terrible predictor of how we actually behave.

But why do we inflict pain for no gain? On the face of it, it is rather a perverse way of going about things. Does spitefulness stem from an affronted sense of fairness? Or something altogether darker: envy, lust for revenge - or perhaps even pure sadism?

It might be all those things. Economists, anthropologists and evolutionary biologists have been teasing out how, used judiciously, spiteful behaviour can be one of our best weapons in maintaining a fair and ordered society. But intentions that are noble in one situation can be malicious in another - making spite a weapon that can all too easily backfire.

Human spite is a complex affair. It is not pure selfishness in the Darwinian sense, like a stag that picks a fight with another. Though it might be gored in the process, the stag is actually acting in its own best interests. If it ends up with more mates, then the chances of passing on its genes are increased, an evolutionary prize worth fighting for.

Nor is spite as we practise it true spite in the biologist's sense. That would involve diminishing our own evolutionary fitness just so we can lower that of some unrelated individual. That behaviour exists, but it is hard to come by, says Stuart West, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford. There is a particular type of parasitic wasp, for example, some of whose larvae do not develop into adults capable of reproduction, but instead kill unrelated larvae of the same species, freeing up resources for their siblings. And in several types of bacteria, spiteful cells produce chemicals that kill both themselves and other members of their kind, unless they carry a genetic marker of relatedness to the suicidal individual. That makes microbes the kings of true spite, says West.

Human spite is something altogether subtler. Psychological motivations and social contexts influence our course of action. That requires a very special set of circumstances and skills, says Marc Hauser, a biologist at Harvard University. First, it needs a stable social grouping in which unrelated individuals interact regularly, and in which costs incurred retain relevance. What's more, you must also be able to spot when you're getting a raw deal, identify the guilty party, and be willing to do something about it.

That requires what Hauser has dubbed "floodlight" intelligence - the ability to see the big picture and combine many cognitive inputs over time. That, he suggests, might make both spite and reciprocity - the doing and returning of favours - uniquely human qualities. The "laser-beam" intelligence of most animals might be superb at solving individual problems, but it is simply not good enough at generalising experience to develop such complex behaviours (see "Is spite uniquely human?").

Naughty but nice

If that's true, the floodlight is switched on at an early age. At a meeting of London's Royal Society in January, Hauser reported preliminary results from experiments in which children between 4 and 8 years old were offered varying numbers of sweets for themselves and another child unknown to them. They had to pull either a lever delivering the sweets, or another that tipped the sweets out of reach. Infants of all ages almost always rejected one sweet for themselves if the other child was set to receive more. The older children often also rejected sweets if they got more than the other child. Where that kind of concern about inequality disappears to is unclear, because we adults certainly don't have it. "Imagine you have four dollars on your side, and there's one on the other side," says Hauser. "It's highly unlikely that you'll dump your four dollars." But the negative, spiteful version persists: most of us would be quite prepared to sacrifice a dollar to stop someone else getting four. "Spite is the ugly sister of altruism," says Hauser.

What motivates this ignoble behaviour? A clue is provided by laboratory experiments known as public goods games. In a standard public goods game, each participant is given the same amount of money, some or all of which they can pay into a common pot. What's in the pot is then multiplied by the experimenters and divided equally between the players, so that even those who put in nothing get a share of its contents. The best outcome for all is if everyone puts their cash into the pot. But that does not naturally happen. In repeated rounds of the game, some individuals hold on to their own cash and hope to leech off other people.

Deterred by these freeloaders, the players who at first cooperate start to hold onto their cash. Cooperation breaks down entirely, and the whole group misses out on the bonus - society as a whole suffers (see diagram). But allow participants to pay for the privilege of punishing defectors, and it is a very different game. Cooperative players eagerly part with still more of their cash to punish cheats - who soon learn that cooperation is the cheaper option (Nature, vol 415, p 137).

Simply, it seems that niceness needs nastiness. Our sense of fairness and our willingness to inflict damage on one another combine to encourage contributions to the common good and deter people from cheating. Researchers call this altruistic punishment. "But at the end of the day, it's still spite," says economist Benedikt Herrmann of the University of Nottingham, UK. The benefits of this constructive spite might not be immediate, but they are real - in the long run, we all benefit more if we can ensure others in society toe the line.

Our brains are certainly wired to respond positively to this constructive form of spite. Although we might lose out financially, scans show that a region called the striatum, which responds to rewarding experiences, lights up during altruistic punishment (Science, vol 305, p 1254). So, problem solved. Spite is in our own best interests and our brains reward us for it, so we should welcome it, right?

Not quite. The problem is that it's not only doing bad things to bad people that makes us feel good. Recent studies have shown how the striatum responds in the same way to schadenfreude, when we take a morally dubious pleasure in others' misfortunes (Science, vol 323, p 937). Adolescent boys with aggressive conduct disorder show similar brain activity when they watch a video of someone hurting another person (Biological Psychology, vol 80, p 203).

The problem with spite is that it's not just doing bad things to bad people that makes us feel good

Sadism aside, it is easy to imagine why evolution might have wired us up like this, according to Hidehiko Takahashi of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, Japan, leader of the schadenfreude study. "Altruistic punishment might bring an indirect benefit to us from society, and schadenfreude a direct benefit from a rival." But it also suggests that the line between the cooperative and competitive prompts for spiteful behaviour is blurry and subjective. If the prospect of bankrupting a few fat cats gives us a twinge of pleasure, it is hard to say whether that is because we believe they have robbed society, or because we are envious of their wealth and success and happy to see them toppled.

Daniel Zizzo, an economist at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, points out that we shouldn't necessarily feel too bad about being bad - as long as we don't take it too far. "Envy has a stigma attached to it," he says, "but it's a powerful motivation towards egalitarianism and entrepreneurship." But it can also be used to cut down anyone who seems too clever or successful, possibly stunting innovation to the detriment of society. Accusations of witchcraft, which are often levelled against the successful, are a classic case in point, he says. If we can't raise ourselves up, we might find dragging someone else down just as good.

And there is evidence that, in some parts of the world, the rewards of spite can lead to just that kind of counterproductive behaviour. Last year Karla Hoff, an economist at the World Bank who is currently working at Princeton University, and her colleagues reported the results of experiments conducted in villages in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (American Economic Review, vol 98, p 494). In these tests, two players started out with 50 rupees each. The first could choose to give his to the second, in which case the experimenters added a further 100 rupees, giving the second player 200 rupees in total. The second player could decide to keep the money for himself, or share it equally with the first player. A third player then entered the game, who could punish the second player - for each 2 rupees he was willing to spend, the second player was docked 10 rupees.

The results were startling. Even when the second player shared the money fairly, two-thirds of the time the newcomer decided to punish him anyway - a spiteful act with seemingly no altruistic payoff. "We asked one guy why," says Hoff. "He said he thought it was fun."

Hoff found that high-caste players were more likely to punish their fellow gamers spitefully than low-caste players, leading her to suggest that context is everything. It is not that people in Uttar Pradesh are nastier than elsewhere, but rather that the structure of their society makes them acutely conscious of status. The sensitivity of higher castes to their position makes them tend not to support any changes that threaten to level the social hierarchy, such as development projects. But higher castes can also put others down, safe in the knowledge that "untouchables" are unlikely to strike back. "If you're low caste it's dangerous to rise in status," says Hoff. "You'll get beaten up or worse."

The moral seems to be that, while spiteful behaviour can be a powerful force for keeping a society functioning smoothly, the structure of that society must be able to contain and channel those spiteful urges. "Social norms are a moral scaffold that keeps aggression and spite under control," says Herrmann. Societies that have strong laws tend to be those where individuals have a strong sense that they should treat strangers fairly - and are willing to punish cheats informally through gossip and ostracism.

So if you want to squeeze the bankers till their pips squeak, it might indeed be the case that spite is right. But it pays to examine your motives carefully. Woe betide a society in which altruistic punishment gives way to an envy-driven contest where everyone stands to lose. Hoff likes to illustrate the dangers with a Russian joke. A genie appears to a man and says: "You can have anything you want. The only catch is that I'll give your neighbour double." The man says: "Take out one of my eyes."

Is spite uniquely human?

Are we humans really alone in our spitefulness? It makes sense to take a peek at our nearest relatives to find out. "Chimpanzees are very competitive," says primatologist Keith Jensen of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. "They're good candidates for spiteful motivations."

To test that, Jensen set up an experiment with two chimps, the first of which could pull a rope to deprive both it and the other of a food reward (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 104, p 13046). If the second chimp stole its food, the first chimp was quick to pull the rope. But if Jensen took the first chimp's food and gave it to the second, they pulled far less often. On that evidence, chimps don't do envy. "Just having another chimp better off than they are doesn't affect them," says Jensen.

Frans de Waal, a primatologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, thinks the results are inconclusive - the chimps sometimes pulled the rope when no food was available, so might simply have not understood the experiment. Given what we know about chimpanzees' intellectual and social skills, he says, a sense of fairness - and so a capacity for spite - would not be a surprise.

De Waal's own experiments suggest that capuchin monkeys are sensitive to fairness. If another monkey gets a tasty grape, they will not cooperate with an experimenter who offers a piece of cucumber (Nature, vol 425, p 297). A similar aversion has been spotted in dogs (New Scientist, 13 December 2008, p 12), and even rabbits seem affected by inequality, leading de Waal to believe that an ability to detect and react to injustice is common to all social animals. "Getting taken advantage of by others is a major concern in any cooperative system," he says.

But do social animals lash out against inequality in the same way as humans do? Marc Hauser and his colleagues Katharine McAuliffe and Kyle Foreman of Harvard University are experimenting with cotton-top tamarins, another species of monkey, to find out. Preliminary results show that some monkeys would forfeit a piece of food if it stopped an unrelated monkey getting more. That looks a lot like spite - but the monkeys' true motivations remain unclear. Until we understand more, says Hauser, we remain the lone champions of spite.

John Whitfield is a freelance writer based in London

===============================================

via:

NewScientist

Useful menubar application for Mac OS X (2)

2009-05-14T18:30:00.006-04:00

There are another a few more interesting menubar applications for Mac OS X which improves your desktop experience! Let's get to the list-->

Note: All the apps below work with Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) except for Menubar Countdown which only works with Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard).

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1) Caffeine
Caffeine is especially useful when you are watching long YouTube clips or movies on your computer. If you have enabled screen dim or screen saver, they will pop-up and annoy you during the middle of you videos and basically you have to either nudge the mouse or keyboard to resume. Here comes Caffeine! You can set the time duration (1 hour to indefinite) that you want your screen to remain active and keep the screen dimmer/saver settings out of sight. Furthermore, it is a freeware!

Quote from the website:
"Caffeine is a tiny program that puts an icon in the right side of your menu bar. Click it to prevent your Mac from automatically going to sleep, dimming the screen or starting screen savers. Click it again to go back. Hold down the Command key while clicking to show the menu."

Download Caffeine

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2) Menubar Countdown
Menubar Countdown is a useful tool if you need some sort of a countdown for your work. For example, you want to remind yourself to get the brewing coffee after 5 minutes. Instead of having to keep reminding yourself that the coffee is done in 5 minutes, you can go back to your work and use this application to pop-up when the time is up! And it is a freeware too!

Quote from the website
"Menubar Countdown is a simple countdown timer that displays itself on the right side of the Mac OS X menu bar.

To set the timer, click the display and select the Start... menu item. A dialog will appear that allows you to specify the countdown time in hours, minutes, and seconds. The dialog also allows you to specify which of the following forms of notification you want when the timer gets down to 00:00:00:

Play the system alert sound
Display an alert window
Make a spoken announcement. You can specify the text to be spoken."

Note: It works with Mac OS 10.5 only!

Download Menubar Countdown

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3) Countdown
Countdown serves the same function as Menubar Countdown. Both will appear on the menubar. Another mentioned feature of Countdown is the support for Growl notification. Growl is a notification system for Mac OS available for free. It will be covered in the next posting.

Quote from the website:
"Waiting, it's a fact of life. Whether you're cooking or waiting for a train, you don't want to miss your deadline. Countdown helps you keep track of these deadlines. All you do is enter how long you want to wait or enter the date that you're waiting for and Countdown will take care of the rest. Include a message and you won't wonder what you were waiting for. With Countdown, you won't miss a train or burn a cake again."

Download Countdown

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Enjoy the post!

Remote access application

2009-05-13T02:05:00.008-04:00

I came across three easy-to-use cross-platform remote access software that could save you all the headache if you are using Windows Remote Assistance. Since they are cross-platform, you could it any of them on Windows machine to control Mac, or on Mac to control Windows machine.

Remote access is very useful if you are good in computers and your friend needs your help but he is at another location. Just ask him to launch the remote access application, give you some info generated by that application on his computer, and voila, you can connect to his desktop and help him to solve his computer problems remotely!

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1) LogMeIn
Not as powerful as the pro version, but at least it supports voice. The other two software do not have voice support.

Download LogMeIn

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2) TeamViewer
For TeamViewer, the main selling point is that the person requesting for remote access or help from you do not have to install anything on his computer. He/she just needs to download and run an executable file either for Windows or Mac version. The app will generate the code and once he/she gives you that code, that app can be deleted from the his/her computer.

Another good feature of this app is that it has a portable version for Windows machine. So you can just download it into your flash drive and bring it wherever you go. Unfortunately, no portable version for Mac yet.

Download TeamViewer

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3) CrossLoop
CrossLoop has just recently introduced the Mac version. As with TeamViewer, you don't have to register to use this software.

Download CrossLoop

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Happy remote accessing!

Useful menubar application for Mac OS X (1)

2009-05-10T16:50:00.009-04:00

Ever wondered if you could check the current bandwidth that you are using straight from your menubar on Mac OS X? Here are two cool apps that could just do that: iStat menus and MenuMeters.

iStat menus

It is a freeware, so download it at http://islayer.com/apps/istatmenus/. Do remember to donate if you have a spare change!

MenuMeters

MenuMeters is released under GNU GPL which means it is a completely free software. Unfortunately, the last update for this software was in January 25, 2006, a little over 3 years as of today's writing (2009).

However, if you are a proponent of open source and free software, you can download it at
http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/menumeters/index.html

Again, if you have a spare change, consider donating to the author of this software.

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On to the next topic, the maker of iStat menus also has 2 different widgets for your Mac OS X dashboard.

i) iStat pro

Download it here at http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

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ii) iStat nano

Download it here at http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatnano/

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Happy tweaking your Mac OS X!!

Dr. Albert A. Bartlett's presentation on "Arithmetic, Population, and Energy."

2009-05-09T23:11:00.006-04:00

This is a 80-minute lecture on Arithmetic, Population, and Energy by Dr. Albert A. Bartlett. It is uploaded into eight 10-minute long video in Youtube. Even though the lecture was made in around 1999/2000, you should definitely take your time to watch through all the presentation as it is very fascinating and still relevant to today (as of 2009)!

The opening statement for the lecture is "The Greatest Shortcoming of the Human Race is our Inability to Understand The Exponential Function".

A couple of fascinating quote from the professor.
1) To calculate the doubling time for exponential function
Time = 70 / % growth per unit time

For example, a town population of 100,000 people with a growth rate of 7% per year, will take 10 years to grow to 200,000 people, another 10 years to grow to 400,000 people, and another 10 years to grow to 800,000 people.

T = 70/7 = 10 years

2) An analogy of the bacteria in a bottle (from part 3/8 of the video)
Imagine bacteria growing steadily in a bottle. They double in number every minute. At 11:00 am there in one bacteria in the bottle. At 12:00 noon the bottle is full.
Question 1: At what time was the bottle half full?

Suppose that at 11:58 am some of the bacteria realize that they are running out of space. So, they launch a great search for new bottles. They search offshore on the outer continental shelf, in the overthrust belt and in the arctic, and they find THREE NEW BOTTLES.
Question 2: How long can the growth continue as a result of the discovery of three new bottles; this quadrupling of the proven resource?

Highlight this page to see the answer. (or press both the CTRL and A on your keyboard)

Answer 1: 11:59 am
Calculation:
11:54 am 1/64=1.6%full 63/64empty
11:55 am 1/32=3.1%full 31/32empty
11:56 am 1/16=6.3%full 15/16empty
11:57 am 1/8=12.5%full 7/8empty
11:58 am 1/4=25%full 3/4empty
11:59 am 1/2=50%full 1/2empty
12:00 noon 100%full

Answer 2: 12:02 pm
Calculation:
11:59 Bottle 1 is half full
12:00 Bottle 1 is full
12:01 Bottle 1 & 2 full
12:02 Bottle 1, 2, 3 & 4 are full

3) The First Law of Sustainability
Population growth and/or growth in the rates of consumption of resources CANNOT BE SUSTAINED!

Watch this interesting video! It will stimulate your mind and definitely one of the best 80 minutes in your life!!!

Barefoot running (1) - Mid- to fore-foot stride

2009-05-08T14:24:00.015-04:00

When you run, which part of your foot touches the ground first?
A) the heel?
B) mid-foot?
C) fore-foot?

Recently, there is a movement that calls for "barefoot-style running" which promotes landing your feet on mid- to fore-foot. It is said this is the most natural way human runs before all those Nike, Adidas, Puma running shoes were invented.

When the running shoes were invented, we were told that landing on the heel was the correct way. Many "gimmick" running technologies were introduced to the market, such as air, shox, cell, etc to further lead us into using our heels as the first point of contact with the ground.

However, if you have ever run barefoot or on sandal, you would have realized that landing on your heel first hurts a lot! Unconsciously, you would change your way of running and land mid- to fore-foot. This further shows that evolution has made our feet to adapt to mid- to fore-foot stride running style.

==================================================================

From Popular Science: The Sole of a Winner

First of all, let's set the record straight. Man is a natural long distance runner. Despite impressions to the contrary foisted on us daily from our predominantly sedentary and "well-fed" modern lifestyle, it is interesting to note that for long enough distances a well-trained human can outrun just about any other creature on the planet.

Of course, recognizing the health benefits of exercise, not all of us live a sedentary life, and running has become a popular form of physical activity. In addition to the exercise aspects, however, those of us with a competitive or goal-oriented nature, from the elite athlete to the recreational runner, might be interested in running faster. Obviously accomplishing a 5K personal best or qualifying for the Boston Marathon requires a solid training program and a substantial amount of hard work. But what about those incidentals that might enhance our ability to train and thus augment our performance on race day? (We're not talking about performance-enhancing drugs here.)

That's where the video comes in. Running is a complex biomechanical phenomenon and this advertisement caught our attention because the design of these innovative shoes appears to seriously take some of the science into account. We are not endorsing a product here (especially since we haven't actually tested the shoes yet), however, let's analyze some of the issues presented in the video.

The major feature that separates these shoes from most other standard running footwear is that they force the runner into a mid-foot to fore-foot landing on each stride. Most running shoes have a large well-cushioned "heel counter" that makes it possible to strike the ground heel first without damaging the foot. While we do naturally walk heel first, it is true that heel striking is an inefficient way to run. Apropos of the video, let's apply Newton's third law. In order to land heel first, the foot must make impact in front of the center of gravity of the runner. This requires that the heel is going to push into the ground with a component of that force in the forward direction. The ground will then exert an equal and opposite reaction force, which means that there will be a braking effect on each stride. A mid- to fore-foot landing is going to take place more directly underneath the runners center of gravity alleviating this undesirable hindrance to forward motion.

In fact, consider the following: Man evolved to run barefoot, and shoes arrived on the scene only in the last few tens of thousands of years or so. Try running barefoot some time (preferably on a softer surface like grass) and pay attention to your foot strikes. You might find that it's almost impossible to land heel first. Your command central (your brain) just won't let you do it. Too much jarring. Your bare heel isn't designed to handle that pounding. The evidence supports that landing nearer the middle to front of the foot is the most efficient way to go. However, heel strikers should be advised that it might take some time to retrain your gait so that this feels at all natural. Trying to reform too quickly from a lifetime of heel striking could be a recipe for injury.

Finally what about those "actuator" thingies on the bottom of the shoe? The claim (put in more specific physics terms) is that they store elastic potential energy upon compression which is transformed back into kinetic energy upon push-off. While it is undoubtedly true that this must be happening to some extent, just like with a bouncy ball, the question remains as to what magnitude of an overall effect this could actually have. Let's do a rough estimate:

Exhibit A: The kinetic energy of a 75 kg runner moving at a speed of 4.0 m/s = ½ mv² = 600 Joules.

Exhibit B: The amount of energy stored in a highly energy efficient spring (spring constant k = 1000 N/m) compressed a distance x = 1.0 cm (.01m) = ½ kx² = 0.05 J.

Based on this calculation, it shouldn't surprise us that most of the elastic energy stored and released during the running motion takes place within the muscles of the body itself. The elastic properties of the shoes appear to be incidental and probably aren't going to make a lot of difference!

Nevertheless, one out of two ain't bad, and these shoes do represent one of the more interesting innovations in running shoe technology to come around in a long time.

=================================================================

From Popular Science: Tested - The Sole of a Winner

A few weeks back we analyzed some of the features of the innovative Newton Running shoe in terms of the relevant physics principles. While at the time the point was to assess the theory behind the shoes, it was suggested that I put them to the test in my "lab." In other words, out on the roads and trails where, being of the distance-runner species, I generally spend at least an hour per day. While this is in no way any kind of systematic scientific experiment (which is beyond the scope of my resources), based on my personal experience with the shoes, I'll make an informal attempt to further address the claims made by the two Newtons (Running and Isaac!).

Let's address the two major issues from our previous article.

1) As we discussed last time, a mid- to fore-foot strike is a more efficient way of running than heel striking. Does running in the Newton shoes force you into a mid- to fore-foot strike?

That's easy. They sure do. It's those "actuator lugs" on the sole of the shoe, which make it very awkward to strike with the heel. You have to land mid-foot on the lugs or it feels like your foot is unnaturally tilting backwards. Running in the shoes does feel a bit odd at first, even for a mid-foot striker like myself, so if you try them, be aware they do take some getting used to. Because the lugs come down several millimeters below the rest of the sole, it feels like there's a small but perceptible mound under the ball of your foot, upon which you are balanced while running. As with barefoot running, you feel most comfortable in the Newtons when you run "light on your feet," landing mid- to fore-foot. However the feel is really rather different from barefoot running, due to that ridge of lugs underneath the ball of your foot.

2) As per the claim, do the actuator lugs really have superior elastic properties that conserve and return energy more effectively than "regular" running shoes?

This is a very interesting question, it turns out. According to the analysis from the previous article, physically it appears quite unlikely that the actuator lugs can store an amount of elastic energy significant enough to improve running economy. While the elasticity of the lugs may well be greater than in the sole of a traditional shoe, the amount of potential energy stored in the shoe itself will be negligibly small when compared to the total energy of the runner's stride. Does this mean that the claim of greater energy efficiency is bogus? Not necessarily! One thing that stands out for me while running in these shoes on a smooth hard surface (asphalt) is that during the time between foot strike and push-off -- that is, when my foot is in contact with the ground -- the lugs grip really well. There is no slipping.

If so, then it's possible that these shoes actually might improve running economy. My (highly subjective) experience during my test runs was one of less effort than usual at a given pace. This, of course, could be a purely psychological artifact -- maybe I was just excited to try out a new pair of fancy shoes. To really determine if this is true would require a controlled experiment with multiple runners over a long period of time. (Well worth the effort, I think, by the way!)

However, if there is an improvement in running economy compared to standard shoes, I hypothesize that it's not the elastic properties of the lugs that makes the difference. Rather, it's the friction between the lugs and the road that does the trick. Interestingly, while browsing the Newton website, I was interested to find that one of the features they advertise is low friction. I think that they're getting that one sort of backwards. A large amount of static friction between a running shoe and the running surface is a good thing. We're not talking about getting stuck to the pavement like a fly on some half-dried puddle of grape juice. We're talking about a no-slip foot strike.

With my current non-Newton shoes, I can often feel a small but perceptible slide during contact with the ground. The muscles have to work harder to make small adjustments every time this happens, which results in a decrease in stride efficiency. So with the Newtons, although the energy stored in the lugs themselves may not be a major factor in improving economy, the energy saved in the body due to less slipping -- the result of a large amount of static friction between the shoes and the road -- may well be.

Newton Running represents a relatively new innovation in the design of running shoes: an attempt to create shoes that facilitate a more natural and energy-efficient stride, an attempt to return us to our barefoot running roots without having to cut up our feet. Despite all of the cushioning and stability features of most "traditional" contemporary running shoes, the incidence of running injury is actually greater now than in the days of those primitive Pumas and Adidas. Is this because cushioned shoes with thick heel counters have taken us away from a more natural running stride? How well Newton Running shoes are able to resolve this and take us back to that ideal stride is not yet certain, but it's a worthwhile endeavor and a thought-provoking new option in the world of running shoes.

Finally, what of barefoot running itself, the true au-naturel version of the sport? Its devotees swear by it. Look for an investigation into this controversial topic a few weeks down the road!

=================================================================
Shoe brand:

Newton Running

Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot

Vibram Five Fingers

Wetsuits Reef Walker

via:
Popular Science: The Sole of a Winner
Popular Science: Tested - The Sole of a Winner
Society for Barefoot Living

Another interesting read about "The running shoe debate: how barefoot runners are shaping the shoe industry" from Popular Mechanics.

Image resizer on Windows

2009-05-07T22:32:00.004-04:00

From Microsoft website:

PowerToys add fun and functionality to the Windows experience. What are they? PowerToys are additional programs that developers work on after a product has been released.

Note: We take great care to ensure that PowerToys work as they should, but they are not part of Windows and are not supported by Microsoft. For this reason, Microsoft Technical Support is unable to answer questions about PowerToys. PowerToys are for Windows XP only and will not work with Windows Vista.

Recommended tools:

RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer - Allows you to edit RAW format files right from windows explorer!

HTML Slide Show Wizard - This wizard helps you create an HTML slide show of your digital pictures, ready to place on your Web site.

Alt-Tab Replacement - With this PowerToy, in addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open. This cool function is already built-in in Windows Vista.

Image Resizer -This PowerToy enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click. If you are using Windows Vista, you can download Image Resizer Clone.

Virtual Desktop Manager - Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy. Similar function as the desktop manager for Linux!

Check out the website for more cool add-ons for Windows XP.

via:
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP

How to: Load btchina.net on firefox

2009-05-07T13:46:00.008-04:00

If you have used btchina.net, you would have noticed that firefox could not display the list on the website. It seems that the website on works fine on Internet Explorer. However, there is a solution to use btchina.net on firefox without ever launching Internet Explorer anymore. Here is the simple 2 step:

1) Install Greasemonkey add-on for Firefox
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/downloads/latest/748/addon-748-latest.xpi

or you can read more about this add-on at here
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/748

What greatmonkey does is allow user to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript.

2) Install this user script
http://userscripts.org/scripts/source/33286.user.js

or you can read about this script at here
http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/33286

via (chinese language website)
Linuxtoy.org
Mozest
Userscripts.org

10 Futuristic Materials

2008-04-03T23:29:00.002-04:00

From acceleratingfuture.com,

1. Aerogel

Aerogel holds 15 entries in the Guinness Book of Records, more than any other material. Sometimes called “frozen smoke”, aerogel is made by the supercritical drying of liquid gels of alumina, chromia, tin oxide, or carbon. It’s 99.8% empty space, which makes it look semi-transparent. Aerogel is a fantastic insulator — if you had a shield of aerogel, you could easily defend yourself from a flamethrower. It stops cold, it stops heat. You could build a warm dome on the Moon. (Why do people keep going on about Mars..?) Aerogels have unbelievable surface area in their internal fractal structures — cubes of aerogel just an inch on a side may have a surface area equivalent to a football field. Despite its low density, aerogel has been looked into as a component of military armor because of its insulating properties.

2. Carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes are long chains of carbon held together by the strongest bond in all chemistry, the sacred sp₂ bond, even stronger than the sp₃ bonds that hold together diamond. Carbon nanotubes have numerous remarkable physical properties, including ballistic electron transport (making them ideal for electronics) and so much tensile strength that they are the only substance that could be used to build a space elevator. The specific strength of carbon nanotubes is 48,000 kN·m/kg, the best of known materials, compared to high-carbon steel’s 154 kN·m/kg. That’s 300 times stronger than steel. You could build towers hundreds of kilometers high with it.

3. Metamaterials

“Metamaterial” refers to any material that gains its properties from structure rather than composition. Metamaterials have been used to create microwave invisibility cloaks, 2D invisibility cloaks, and materials with other unusual optical properties. Mother-of-pearl gets its rainbow color from metamaterials of biological origin. Some metamaterials have a negative refractive index, an optical property that may be used to create “superlenses” which resolve features smaller than the wavelength of light used to image them! This technology is called subwavelength imaging. Metamaterials would used in phased array optics, a technology that could render perfect holograms on a 2D display. These holograms would be so perfect that you could be standing 6 inches from the screen, looking into the “distance” with binoculars, and not even notice it’s a hologram.

4. Bulk diamond

We’re starting to lay down thick layers of diamond in CVD machines, hinting towards a future of bulk diamond machinery. Diamond is an ideal construction material — it’s immensely strong, light, made out of the widely available element carbon, nearly complete thermal conductivity, and has among the highest melting and boiling points of all materials. By introducing trace impurities, you can make a diamond practically any color you want. Imagine a jet, with hundreds of thousands of moving parts made of fine-tuned diamond machinery. Such a craft would be more powerful than today’s best fighter planes in the way an F-22 is better than the Red Baron’s Fokker Dr.I.

5. Bulk fullerenes

Diamonds may be strong, but aggregated diamond nanorods (what I call amorphous fullerene) are stronger. Amorphous fullerene has a isothermal bulk modulus of 491 gigapascals (GPa), compared to diamond’s 442 GPa. As we see in the image, the nanoscale structure of the fullerene gives it a beautiful iridescent appearance. Fullerenes can be made substantially stronger than diamond, but for greater energy cost. After a “Diamond Age”, we may eventually transition to a “Fullerene Age” as our technology gets even more sophisticated.

6. Amorphous metal

Amorphous metals, also called metallic glasses, consist of metal with a disordered atomic structure. They can be twice as strong as steel. Because of their disordered structure, they can disperse impact energy more effectively than a metal crystal, which has points of weakness. Amorphous metals are made by quickly cooling molten metal before it has a chance to align itself in a crystal pattern. Amorphous metals may the military’s next generation of armor, before they adopt diamondoid armor in mid-century. On the green side of things, amorphous metals have electronic properties that improve the efficiency of power grids by as much as 40%, saving us thousands of tons of fossil fuel emissions.

7. Superalloys

A superalloy is a generic term for a metal that can operate at very high temperatures, up to about 2000 °F (1100 °C). They are popular for use in the superhot turbine areas of jet engines. They are used for more advanced oxygen-breathing designs, such as the ramjet and scramjet. When we’re flying through the sky in hypersonic craft, we’ll have superalloys to thank for it.

8. Metal foam

Metal foam is what you get when you add a foaming agent, powdered titanium hydride, to molten aluminum, then let it cool. The result is a very strong substance that is relatively light, with 75-95% empty space. Because of its favorable strength-to-weight ratio, metal foams have been proposed as a construction material for space colonies. Some metal forms are so light that they float on water, which would make them excellent for building floating cities, like those analyzed by Marshall T. Savage in one of my favorite books, The Millennial Project.

9. Transparent alumina

Transparent alumina is three times stronger than steel and transparent. The number of applications for this are huge. Imagine an entire skyscraper or arcology made largely of transparent steel. The skylines of the future could look more like a series of floating black dots (opaque private rooms) rather than the monoliths of today. A huge space station made of transparent alumina could cruise in low Earth orbit without being a creepy black dot when it passes overhead. And hey… transparent swords!

10. E-textiles

If you meet up and talk to me in 2020, I’ll likely be covered in electronic textiles. Why carry some electronic gadget you can easily lose when we can just wear our computers? We’ll develop clothing that can constantly project the video of our choosing (unless it turns out being so annoying that we ban it). Imagine wearing a robe covered in a display that actually projects the night sky in realtime. Imagine talking to people over the “phone” just by making a hand gesture and activating electronics in your lapel, then merely thinking about what you want to say (thought-to-speech interfaces). The possibilities of e-textiles are limitless.

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tudou and other Chinese Video sites

2008-04-02T19:04:00.002-04:00

From sangtea.blogspot.com,
You might not know this great sites that can hosts videos. I've come across this sites from searching around a Small sized videos which can be downloaded easily. Tudou.com, youku.com, 56.com are some of the popular sites that can host videos just like youtube. The main advantage of using this video hosts sites is that it is great for hosting new Full length movie cause the admin there dont mind much about it and they are rarely deleted from the sites. So unlike veoh,google video, youtube,stage6,etc New movies and uploaded and are not ( or rarely ) deleted so it makes downloading easy and resuming very easy. The other advantage is that the size are very small. A full length movie is around 200 MB and as resuming is supported its very helpful for a slow connection like myself to download the movies.
There are a good websites that gives out the movie links like www.quicksilverscreen.com , http://movielinkshare.com/blog , movieforumz.com. If you want to download a movies from this sites, I've found a great site that gives out the direct links for the download sites. Goto www.kisstudou.com and paste the video links there and you will get the direct video download links from it. You can use download manager like flashget to download it. Enjoy!!

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China's iClone

2008-03-28T23:03:00.002-04:00

From popsci.com,
Cellphones, microchips, cars, even iPhones—there's virtually no high-tech Western product that China's cloners can't copy. Pretty soon, you might even prefer their work

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A Tedious Explanation of the f/stop

2008-03-26T01:23:00.003-04:00

From uscoles.com,
Photographers set their exposure using a combination of shutter speeds and f/stops to get the correct amount of light on the film (or sensor--this all works for digital too). The shutter speed regulates how long the film is exposed to light coming through the lens. The f/stop regulates how much light is allowed through the lens by varying the area of the hole the light comes through. For any given film speed and lighting combination there is one correct amount of light to properly expose the film. This amount of light can be achieved with many different combinations of f/stops and shutter speeds. This page goes over the f/stop and especially its initially-confusing numbering at some length.

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Depth-of-field explained

2008-03-26T01:20:00.004-04:00

From photoanswers.co.uk

Depth-of-field refers to the amount of the scene that appears to be sharp in your shot. Unlike our eyesight, which compensates for limited depth-of-field by quickly scanning different areas of the scene and focusing on near and distant points, camera lenses must obey some simple physical laws. Chiefly, depth-of-field extends in front of and behind the point you’ve focused the lens on. This zone of sharpness is not distributed evenly, however: it extends twice as far behind the focus point as it does in front of it.

The amount of depth-of-field in your shot is determined by three factors – the focal length of the lens, the aperture used and the distance from the subject.

1. Focal length. The shorter the focal length of the lens the greater the depth-of-field, and the longer the focal length, the smaller it will be. In general, using wide-angle lenses you’ll find that most of the scene is in sharp focus, while telephoto lenses are better for giving shallow depth-of-field, allowing you to throw distracting background elements out of focus, beyond depth-of-field.

2. Aperture. The wider the aperture you use the less depth-of-field you’ll get. So, using a wide aperture of f/4 or f/2.8 will mean that less of the scene will be in sharp focus than if you use a small aperture, such as f/16 or f/22.

3. Distance. The closer you are to the subject the less depth-of-field you’ll have to work with. You’ll find it easier to get greater depth-of-field if you focus on subjects further away from the camera. Conversely, if you want shallow depth-of-field, move closer. This is most apparent when shooting close-ups, where you’ll get very shallow depth-of-field.

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Spaghetti stir-fry and hambagoo: Japan looks West

2008-03-26T00:59:00.001-04:00

From IHT,
TOKYO: In New York or Los Angeles, fans of Japanese cuisine can rattle off orders for uni and o-toro, or urbanely express a preference for soba over udon. But what about "Napolitan," cooked spaghetti that is rinsed in cold water, then stir-fried with vegetables in ketchup? Or "menchi katsu," hamburger covered in bread crumbs and deep-fried? Or "omu rice," an omelet lying over a mound of ketchup-flavored rice?

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Photocritic blog

2008-03-25T19:40:00.003-04:00

From Photocritic blog,

History of the website

The idea of Photocritic started in the late 90s: I had a grand idea of starting a photo criticism site, based on the Norwegian foto.no photo critique site, but aimed at an international audience, and on a far greater scale. I started looking into hiring a programmer to do the work, and started learning how to code myself as well. Soon, it turned out that the idea was a bit optimistic, and eventually I stumbled over a site called PhotoSIG, which had all the functionality I wanted from a photo criticism site.

By then, however, I had bought the Photocritic.org domain, and I figured it was too good a domain to just ignore. I used it as my photography portfolio for a while. In 2002, I started out as a freelance photographer, and as it turned out, Photocritic was not used as a company name by anyone, and soon, Photocritic Ltd was born:

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For a new generation, land of opportunity may lie in China, not the US

2008-03-23T18:27:00.002-04:00

From IHT,

TAIPEI, Taiwan: When Marvin Ho co-founded a Chinese language school in Taiwan in 1957, his only students were a handful of Western missionaries.

Five decades later, it is a different story. Ho's classrooms are packed with scores of people clamoring to learn what they believe is the next global language: Mandarin Chinese.

China, having traded socialism for capitalism, is emerging as an economic power, perhaps the only one that could rival U.S. dominance in the 21st century. For a new generation of students, business people and even artists, the land of opportunity now lies to the East, not the West.

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How To Read The Wall Street Journal For Free

2008-03-23T18:23:00.004-04:00

From Consumerist.com,

Here's how it works:

Search Google News: Pop the headline you want into the Google News and enjoy the link straight to the full and free content. You can alternatively build a Firefox keyword shortcut using this string:
http://news.google.com/news?q=%s+source%3Awall_street_journal
Use The Firefox Extension Refspoof: Step 1: Download the extension here.
Step 2: In the refspoof toolbar's "spoof:" field, type "digg.com.
Step 3: Also in the refspoof toolbar, click the R icon, and select "static referrer."
That's it. Click around the site; the WSJ thinks each click is coming from Digg. The WSJ is now yours for free!

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Where angels no longer fear to tread

2008-03-23T18:19:00.002-04:00

From The Economist print edition,
Scientists try to explain religion
BY THE standards of European scientific collaboration, €2m ($3.1m) is not a huge sum. But it might be the start of something that will challenge human perceptions of reality at least as much as the billions being spent by the European particle-physics laboratory (CERN) at Geneva. The first task of CERN's new machine, the Large Hadron Collider, which is due to open later this year, will be to search for the Higgs boson—an object that has been dubbed, with a certain amount of hyperbole, the God particle. The €2m, by contrast, will be spent on the search for God Himself—or, rather, for the biological reasons why so many people believe in God, gods and religion in general.

“Explaining Religion”, as the project is known, is the largest-ever scientific study of the subject. It began last September, will run for three years, and involves scholars from 14 universities and a range of disciplines from psychology to economics. And it is merely the latest manifestation of a growing tendency for science to poke its nose into the God business.

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A carbon-neutral Norway: Fine print in the plan

2008-03-21T12:10:00.002-04:00

From Wikipedia,
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country and constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bordered by Sweden, Finland, and Russia. The distance between the northern and southern parts of Norway is considerable compared to east-west distances. The country's extensive coastline along the North Atlantic Ocean is home to its famous fjords.

The Kingdom of Norway also includes the Arctic island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Norwegian sovereignty over Svalbard is based upon the Svalbard Treaty, but that treaty does not apply to Jan Mayen. Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean and Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land in Antarctica are external dependencies, but those three entities do not form part of the kingdom.

Since World War II, Norway has experienced rapid economic growth, and is now amongst the wealthiest countries in the world,[6][7][8] with a fully developed welfare system. This economic progress is caused in part by the development of oil and gas reserves off its coast. Norway was ranked highest of all countries in human development from 2001 to 2006.[9] It also rated the most peaceful country in the world in a 2007 survey by Global Peace Index.[10] It is a founding member of NATO.

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Blue Lagoon

2008-03-19T09:36:00.002-04:00

From Wikipedia,
Tenorio Volcano National Park is a National Park in the central part of Costa Rica, which forms part of the Arenal Tilaran Conservation Area. The jewel of the National Park (Spanish Volcán Turrialba Parque Nacional) is the volcano, from which it receives it's name. The Tenorio Volcano was made part of the National Park in 1995 and is located about 26 miles northeast from the town of in the Guanacaste Province.

Tenorio Volcano consists of four volcanic peaks and two craters. One of the craters is sometimes referred to as the Montezuma Volcano. Tenorio attains a maximum height of 6,287 feet (1,913 m). The awe inspiring Rio Celeste (Light Blue River) is turned literally blue due to the emanation of sulfur from the volcano and precipitation of calcium carbonate. Thermal springs and small geysers dot the area as do rivers, waterfalls, lagoons and panoramic views. The upper area of the park is dominated by primary cloud forest, while the lower regions are carpeted with rain forest. The Tapir and the rarely seen Puma reside in the area.

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The Week That Shook Wall Street: Inside the Demise of Bear Stearns

2008-03-19T00:11:00.004-04:00

From The Wall Street Journal,
Abstract (Summary)

Between Tuesday, when financial markets began turning against Bear Stearns Cos., and Sunday night, when the bank disappeared into the arms of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Washington policy makers, federal regulators and Wall Street bankers struggled to keep the trouble from tanking financial markets and exacerbating the country's deep economic uncertainty. Cutting interest rates -- which the Fed is expected to do again today, by between a half percentage point and a full point -- hasn't yet done much to loosen capital markets gummed up by piles of bad debt.

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JPMorgan to buy Bear Stearns for $2 a share

2008-03-17T00:47:00.006-04:00

From Wikipedia,
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is one of the oldest financial services firms in the world. The company, headquartered in New York City, is one of the leaders in investment banking, financial services, asset and wealth management and private equity. With assets of $1.6 trillion, JPMorgan Chase is currently the third largest banking institution in the United States,[1] behind Bank of America and Citigroup. The hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase is the largest hedge fund in the United States with $34 billion in assets as of 2007.[2] Formed in 2000 when Chase Manhattan Corporation acquired J.P. Morgan & Co., the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and governmental clients.

In 2004, the company acquired Bank One of Chicago, bringing on board Bank One CEO Jamie Dimon as president and COO of the merged firm and designating him as CEO William B. Harrison, Jr.'s future successor. Dimon quickly made his influence felt by embarking on a cost-cutting strategy and placing some former Bank One executives in key ranks at the new company. Dimon became CEO in January 2006, and also became chairman in December 2006.

JPMorgan Chase operates as the brand for the holding company. Chase is used as the brand for credit card services in the United States and Canada and the bank's retail banking activities in the United States.

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Bear Stearns gets a lifeline from Fed and a rival

2008-03-15T20:55:00.005-04:00

From Wikipedia:
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. (NYSE: BSC) is the parent company of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., one of the largest global investment banks and securities trading and brokerage firms in the world. The main business areas, based on 2006 net revenue contribution, are: capital markets (equities, fixed income, investment banking; just under 80%), wealth management (under 10%) and global clearing services (12%). Bear Stearns' future remains highly ambiguous.

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