Picture this: A camera that is powered by its own photos

It's interesting and perhaps hard to imagine that this is actually true. The clip below was shot using a self-powered camera and yes, the quality is somewhat 'stone age'. But hey, no battery's included.


Researchers at Columbia University captured a video of a person using the self-powered camera.

No battery or power: How did they do it?

It works on the principle of turning light into electricity. Remember solar PV? They make use of photodiodes, which are common in both cameras and solar panels, that are permanently set to collect energy, not simply conduct it.

"The camera uses a supercap rather than an external source as its power supply. For a scene that is around 300 lux in brightness, the voltage across the supercap remains well above the minimum needed for the camera to indefinitely produce an image per second." - Columbia University 

Will it replace your energy-hungry DSLR? It's a long shot.

As you can see from the blurry animation above, the existing technology won't compete with the camera in your phone, let alone a pro DSLR. Columbia's prototype captures just 1,200 black-and-white pixels, and it needs a lot of light just to keep running.

Even so, it's promising. If scientists can refine the technology to work at multi-megapixel levels, you could see cameras that last a long time on battery, and might not need a battery at all.

How long before this prototype enters the mainstream photography industry is left to be known.

- Source: Dept. of Computer Science, Columbia University 

GST rates of other countries and Malaysia's compared

IThe final countdown is on. By April 1, 2015 we will join the 90% of the world's population to 'enjoy' the much debated Good and Services Tax.

The concept of GST (Goods and Services Tax) - not to be mistaken for the current Government Sales and Service Tax, GST - was invented by a French tax official in the 1950s. In some countries it is known as VAT, or Value-Added Tax.

Today, more than 160 nations, including the European Union and Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Singapore and China practice this form of taxation. Roughly 90% of the world's population live in countries with VAT or GST.

Here are some of the tax rates of countries around the world who have implement GST or VAT:

Table 1: Selected nations around Malaysia and other Commonwealth countries.

Do I agree with implementation of GST in Malaysia?

It doesn't matter. Really. What I agree or disagree is not important; it is going to happen regardless.

I have this to say though:-

To the people who manage the tax money we pay: Just be prudent, transparent with the expenses. Put the money to good use. 

To fellow consumers: If you think tax is bad, then you should also be against the current taxation system, especially individual tax. No one want to pay tax, right. Me included.

But since it is legal requirement, we might as well share the burden. All of us

Five charging myths & One fact

As I travel quite a lot these days, battery life of my mobile devices become a bit of a concern. This is more so as I don't carry with me backup battery or power bank. Sure, there are some power socket outlets there at major airports, but they are limited and you find most of the time that, someone is already sitting near that corner doing the obvious.


Iimage: Sporacle

Do these captions sound familiar to you?:

• "Don't use your phone while it's charging,"
• "Don't leave it plugged in overnight"
• "Always let it die completely"

WRT battery life, there are many little rules for what you can and can't do with your smartphone. While plenty of real rules exist, there are several rumored ones you can simply ignore. Let's look at the 5 phone charging myths (as debunked by mashable) I read this while sitting at the airport waiting to board the plane:


Myth 1: Using off-brand chargers destroys batteries.

The truth: Off-brand chargers, while not optimal, are fine.

It's knockoffs you should avoid. Don't go for cheap brand knockoff chargers when you can at least purchase inexpensive, off-brand chargers (as long as they're made by legitimate retailers. Some experiment to of comparison: knockoffs and off-brand models.


Myth 2: You shouldn't use your phone while it charges.

The truth: Use it all you want, as long as you're not using a disreputable third-party charger.

There are scary reasons behind this myth. People believe that using a phone while charging will make the phone explode, or electrocute the user. That actually happened to a Chinese flight attendant named Ma Ailun in July 2013, when she used her iPhone 4 while it was charging.

However, reports say it's because Ailun was using a third-party charger, not an original Apple charger. If you're using the manufacturer-approved charger and battery, you should be fine.


Myth 3: Charging your phone overnight kills the battery.

The truth: Your phone is smarter than you think. Once it's fully juiced up, it knows to stop charging. That means the battery isn't even in use at all.

However, that doesn't mean you should be charging your phone all night, every night. You wouldn't fill a cup with water if it was already full, would you? Your battery life will last longer if you keep your phone charged between 40% and 80%.


Myth 4: You don't need to turn your phone off - ever.

The truth: Your phone may be a machine, but it still needs to take a few breaks. An Apple Genius said that in order to maximize battery life, you should turn off your phone from time to time, especially when you go to bed at night.

At the very least, Apple experts recommend turning your phone off once a week in order to preserve battery life.Turning off your phone is important for Android devices as well. A simple reboot can help restore battery life.


Myth 5: Don't charge your phone until it's completely dead.

The truth: It's better to charge your phone every day than to do a "deep charge" from time to time.

Lithium-ion batteries, like the kind used in Samsung and Apple products fare better when they're charged. If you constantly let them drain to 0%, they become unstable. Your battery has a finite number of charge cycles, and every time it fully dies, that's another cycle out the window.


Alright, okay, at lease we have one fact about phone charging:-

Fact: Heat will ruin a battery.

The truth: This is absolutely true. Heat and tech don't generally go hand-in-hand, and that's no different with phone batteries. Lithium-ion batteries heat themselves, and get hotter while they're being charged. Cold weather can also have a negative impact on a phone's life, and a cold battery will die faster than usual in low temperatures.

Your phone will be safe if you keep it within its recommended temperatures; Apple says 32^o F (0^o C)is the lowest recommended temperature for an iPhone's environment. Samsung, on the other hand, guarantees its phones can function anywhere between -4 (-20^o C) and 122^o F (50^o C).

____________________________________________________________________________
Note: Phone batteries have evolved so much over the years, becoming smarter and easier to manage. Most lithium-ion batteries, used by major retailers, should last between three and five years, if you take proper care of it.

Samsung brings in mobile printers for mobile Malaysian enterprise

Samsung has recently introduced the NFC-enabled colour laser printer and multi-function printers (MFP) Xpress C410W series, pioneering the mobile printing solution and NFC printer market in Malaysia.

[NFC: Near Field Communication; devices can only communicate if placed close together]


"Print directly from your smartphone" - Launching of the Xpress series printers.


With the innovation in Samsung's mobile printing solution, users are able to print high quality photos and documents from their smart devices (smartphones, tablets, etc) with ease.

The new printer Xpress C410W series consists of the C410W colour laser printer, the C460W colour laser MFPs with print, copy and scan functionality and the C460FW colour laser MFP with print, copy, scan and fax capabilities.

These three models are able to print up to 18 pages per minute (ppm) in black and white and four ppm in colour.


The Xpress C410W series printer is easy to set up with just three quick steps without the need for a USB connection between printer and computer.


The Xpress C410W series connects wirelessly with mobile devices via WiFi-Direct, allowing users to effortlessly and securely print pictures, documents, e-mails and web content by simply tapping their smart devices on the printer.

With Samsung Mobile Print app, users are able to print everything from PDF files to Microsoft Office documents such as Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations directly from their smart devices.


Who will use them

Samsung Malaysia Electronics said these printers are intended mainly for mobile enterprises, SMEs, and entrepreneurs.

"Our latest printing solutions are grounded in business owners' desire to print photos and documents directly from their smart devices. As enterprises rapidly expand their businesses, we want to empower them with innovative technology that helps them to evolve and grow their business with a competitive edge." - Samsung Malaysia Electronics president Lee Dong Yong.

Printing from smartphones?

The Xpress C410W series connects wirelessly with mobile devices for fast, integrated and convenient printing on the go. Users can effortlessly and securely print pictures, documents, e-mails and web content by simply tapping their smart devices on the printer. Scanning and faxing documents is also made easy as users are able to sync the contacts on their smart devices with the printers.

With Samsung Mobile Print App users are now able to print everything from PDF files to Microsoft Office documents such as Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations directly from their smart devices.

Owners of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy Tab series will be able to print images from the gallery app, documents, email and web browser pages.


Price and availability

Available from June onwards, the recommended retail prices for these Xpress printers are:

C410W   : RM665
C460W   : RM1,095
C460FW : RM1,250


TheGreenMechanics: Pretty competitive pricing for laser printers, but I've read somewhere that NFC printing on the Xpress printers is confined to Samsung smart devices only and Apple smartphones are not supported. This should not be too big an issue though, as WiFi direct printing is supported by Samsung Mobile App for Android, iOS and Windows.

One downside is the costly toner. At the time of posting, colour toners (3 toner per set) costs $54.99 (about RM178) and black toner costs $63.99 (about RM207).

Windows XP end-of-life: how do you survive

I am one of those who still cling on to the old trusty Windows XP operating system. I still have this in my old desktop PC which is now mostly resting on the side of the table, but otherwise is still functioning.

I may not be using this as my working computer anymore but there could be slight chance it will come into service should my personal laptop, and the other working laptop go kaput.


If you are XP user like me, you'd have already noticed by now that Microsoft's support of Windows XP has ended on April 8, 2014.


What does this mean to users

Windows XP users will no longer receive new security updates, non-security hotfixes, free or paid assisted support options or online technical content updates.

This means that any new vulnerabilities discovered in Windows XP after its "end of life" will not be addressed by new security updates from Microsoft, leaving users vulnerable to malware attacks and countless security risks


What now?

Many of us would now be either scrambling to figure out what to do with it, or in some state of blissful denial, determined to continue riding out the storm. PCworld recommend you to upgrade. But whichever fate you choose, you'll need some key information to survive the event unscathed.


Okay, I'll upgrade. Help me!

If you choose to upgrade, you still need to choose between buying an entirely new PC or just upgrading the operating system (OS) on your current machine. Buying a new PC is by far the easiest route, because the OS will be pre-installed and the hardware will be up to current standards.

Microsoft Malaysia, in conjunction with several vendors and telcos, is wooing consumers with a trade-in campaign called 'Good Bye XP, Good Buy Windows 8' which offers small and medium enterprises in the country up to RM600 (US$185) savings when they buy a new Windows 8.1 device from 1 April - 30 June 2014. View story link here.

Here is a quick rundown of the 5 things you should consider as you prepare to shop for a new Windows system. Also, find out this handy checklist for setting up your PC the way you like it.

It is also possible to keep your PC and just upgrade the OS, should you prefer to, but your OS upgrade choices maybe limited by insufficient CPU power, RAM, or storage capacity.


No, I will stay with XP!

If you decide to stay put with Windows XP, your main concern is online security. You can take precautions to keep your XP system secure after Microsoft stops issuing security patches, but there are no guarantees.

There were warnings that as soon as the XP is no more supported, hackers will start their 'adventures' of hacking into people's computers. This is just caution but it could prove to be a catastrophic truth.


TheGreenMechanics: This is PCworld's verdict: Upgrade from Windows XP, it is not a ploy to get you to buy a new system. Ok, with a pinch of salt, I say I'd rather upgrade than face the music of the ever increasing cyber threats.

My personal laptop is running on Windows 7 and it works fine with support still available from Microsoft. This could be a cheaper upgrade compared  with Windosw 8.


Source: pcworld

Top 10 longest living animals

All this while I thought tortoise is the longest living animal in the world. Apparently I'm ignorant to the scientific facts, but maybe that's the beauty of being human. Learning never stop until the very last breath that we take.

Okay, the first two doesn't make sense, their lifespans span from 2,300 years to immortal. Are you kidding me?

1. Turritopsis nutricula jellyfish


Image: mother nature network
Lifespan: immortal
Location: temperate to tropical regions of oceans

2. Giant barrel sponge

Lifespan: up to 2,300 years
Location: Garibbean waters

3. Ocean quahog

Lifespan: up to 507 years
Location: North Atlantic

4. Tortiose


Image: de engineur
Lifespan: up to 255 years
Location: worldwide

5. Tube worm

Lifespan: 250 years
Location: near hydrocarbon vents on the ocean floor

6. Koi (fish)

Lifespan: up to 226 years
Location: captivity

7. Bowhead whale

Lifespan: up to 211 years
Location: Arctic waters

8. Red sea urchin

Lifespan: over 200 years
Location: Pecific Ocean

9. Tuatara
Not to be confused with iguana.


Image: wikipedia/tuatara
Lifespan: up to 200 years
Location: New Zealand

10. Geoduck

Lifespan: up to 168 years
Location: off the west coast of North America


Source: Daily Express' Sunlife, October 6, 2013 - pp 14.

The cost of healthcare in Malaysia

For those employed in the civil services, and those in the established privately owned companies, employee healthcare would normally be taken cared of - to certain extent/amount - by their employers. For those self-employed, they would have to fork out healthcare expenses from their own pocket.

Being 'pampered' by your employer during your working life, chances are you know little about, or choose not to pay much attention to how much it costs you to get medical treatment.

While spending your weekend, and probably still in holiday mood, let's look at some figures that may be of help one day:






Sourced from: Astro Awani

Memorable quotes from WMS Malaysia 2013

World Marketing Summit (WMS) is an initiative of world's most influential marketer Professor Philip Kotler with the objective of "Creating a Better World through Marketing".

The primary purpose of the summit is to showcase the strengths of marketing in approaching global problems that humanity has been striving hard to resolve for centuries. This year the World Marketing Summit is held in Malaysia and is currently on-going at Putrajaya International Convention Centre right now.

The followings are some quotable quotes by the speakers:

Source: Astro Awani

Google launches Android version of ‘Find my Phone'

Losing your precious phone to thief or by your own doing of misplacing it is a painful experience. I lost my iPhone 3GS (my first Apple gadget) in a conference hall of a hotel in Kota Kinabalu a couple of years back.

I was foolish and naive, I never thought of installing the 'Find my Phone' app until it was too late then. All attempts to recover the lost phone proved futile. The 'golden one hour' was wasted because the phone was not set to 'discoverable' mode.

Screenshot of Find my Phone on my iPad, viewing its location in real time.


If you are using Android phone, there is now a similar app for it. Google has recently launched an Android equivalent to Apple's Find my Phone app in order to help consumers track down missing or stolen handsets and tablets.

The app is called Android Device Manager and it offers much of the same functionality that is available for iPhone and iPad.

Phone manufacturers like HTC, Sony and Samsung all have proprietary security tools on their Android smartphones, but this is the first time Google has released such a feature.


Availability and features

It is scheduled to be officially roll out this month.

The service will allow users to call their phone and make it ring at maximum volume - even if it is in silent mode - in case it has been misplaced around the home, or view its location in real time on a map if it was left at a restaurant or somewhere else further.





If the Android device is missing because it was stolen, the owner can quickly and securely remote wipe all information on it.

Google says that the app supports about 98.7% of all active Android devices and the service is compatible with devices running version 2.2 (Froyo) or higher of the operating system. Like Apple's Find my Phone app, it will come with a supporting app for managing multiple devices.


TheGreenMechanics: You've got nothing to lose. Install it once it becomes available and avoid my painful experience.


Source: Tech News

5 ways the Google Translate mobile app can help you big time

If you are traveling to foreign lands on your own, the mobile app called Google Translate would come handy and it could prove to be the little app that save the day.

 Especially true with some languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean; it becomes trickier because you might not know how to enter those foreign characters into your device for Google Translate.


Google Translate app can help you in 5 cool ways:

1. Translation offline
2. Speak into your phone
3. Handwrite
4. Camera input
5. Save favourite phrases

1) Offline Translation

Once enabled, you can instantly perform translations offline. While the smaller size of the offline models has more limitations than their online equivalents, on the latest update of the app, you can now carry the world’s languages right in your pocket anywhere you go.

 Just select the [Offline Languages] setting in the app menu, then download offline language packs for whichever languages you will need for your next trip away from home.


2) Speak into your phone

Simply pull out Google Translate, change the setting to Conversation mode, and speak into your phone. The app will read the translation out loud. You’ll be chatting away with your interlocutor in no time.


3) Handwrite

When you don’t know how to say what you want translated, and you don't know how to type it, just to write it. Use the Handwriting Icon and draw in the black space.

APAC languages supported: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino, Vietnamese.


4) Camera input

When everything else fails, try the app's camera-input support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Just tap the camera icon, snap a picture of the text, and brush your finger over the part you want translated. It also works for vertical text for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Brush your finger over the text you want translated.


5) Save favourite phrases

Save commonly used phrases into Favorites in your Translate app, simply click the star by the top of the translated text to save the translation in your Favorites for easy access next time.



Further reading here

Eye medication helps to regrow hair of balding men

This would definitely be a good piece of news to many balding persons out there. And it coud be on its way to the pharmacies sooner than we thought.

New research in the FASEB Journal shows how a commonly prescribed glaucoma drug may be effective in treating male pattern baldness and other forms of alopecia.

If you're balding and want your hair to grow back, then here is some good news. A new research report appearing online in The FASEB Journal (www.fasebj.org) shows how the FDA-approved glaucoma drug, bimatoprost, causes human hair to regrow. It's been commercially available as a way to lengthen eyelashes, but these data are the first to show that it can actually grow human hair from the scalp.

"We hope this study will lead to the development of a new therapy for balding which should improve the quality of life for many people with hair loss," said Valerie Randall, a researcher involved in the work from the University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.

"Further research should increase our understanding of how hair follicles work and thereby allow new therapeutic approaches for many hair growth disorders."

To make this discovery, Randall and colleagues conducted three sets of experiments. Two involved human cells and the other involved mice. The tests on human cells involved using hair follicles growing in organ culture as well as those take directly from the human scalp.

In both of these experiments, the scientists found that bimatoprost led to hair growth. The third set of experiments involved applying bimatoprost to the skin of bald spots on mice. As was the case with human cells, the drug caused hair to regrow.

"This discovery could be the long-awaited follow up to Viagra that middle-aged men have been waiting for," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal.

"Given that the drug is already approved for human use and its safety profile is generally understood, this looks like a promising discovery that has been right in front of our eyes the whole time. On to the front of our scalp!"


Further reading at The FASEB Journal

Which is better: Green tea or your breakfast tea?

The other day myself and few colleagues of mine were having our afternoon break when the idea of drinking our tea without sugar popped up. I tried a cup and it was totally okay with me while one colleague felt it is 'incomplete' and few sips was more than enough.

It appeared that he and another are okay with the sugar-less green tea and Chinese tea but not the breakfast tea. The breakfast tea is more acidic than green and Chinese tea, and the guys' low tolerance to it is understandable.

Tea minus the sugar is definitely good.

Let's leave the sugar out of the equation and ask which one is better for our body - green tea or breakfast tea?

According to ScienceFocus magazine, all tea contains antioxidant compounds called catechins (a type of natural phenol and antioxidant). Black tea involves oxidising the leaves more so than green, and so black tea is slightly less antioxidant.

Studies have shown health benefits for both kinds of tea, including reduced blood cholesterol and lower rates of cardiovascular disease, but green tea seems to have the edge. This may be partly because it’s drunk without milk. Black tea with milk has no cardiovascular benefit, according to a 2006 study at Berlin University.

In addition, a 2012 study in China found that green tea also repairs age-related damage to brain cells.

It seems both are beneficial but green tea looks like having the edge. You can google to find out more but here is a good start.

Create or print out multiple addresses on the same form letter

Let’s say you want to send invitation letters to multiple recipients, or you want to send 100 letters to different organisations soliciting for some event sponsorship. You are wondering if there are ways in Excel or Word to make a database of 100 addresses, and then print out all of the 100 form letters with each letter having one of the addresses at the top.

One of the ways is to type them manually at the top of each letter. But that would be time and energy consuming.

Why don’t you use the Mail Merge feature in Word 2007? The feature can be found in the Tools->Letters and Mailings menu item in early versions of Word, or on the Mailings tab on the ribbon in Word 2007. I am using the later version, the Word 2007.

For Word 2007, follow the simple step-by-step guide below:

Note: There are many other ways of doing this but this is the route that I chose for a simple, fast multiple addresses letters.

1. Open the document (the letter) that you intend to send to 100 recipients.


2. Click Start Mail Merge on the Mailings ribbon and select the type of document you’d like to create. For example, you can select letters, envelopes, or labels. Or, select Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard for more help creating your document. 


3. Click Step by Step Mail Merge Wizard. A small column appear on the right side titled "Mail Merge". In my case, under Select document type, I selected Letters.
   Then click Next at the bottom of that column. 


4. Under Select starting document, I selected Use the current document. Click Next 


5. Under Select recipients, I selected Type a new list. Click Create… 


6. In the New Address List box, begin entering your contacts. To add additional recipients, click the New Entry button. To delete an entry, select it and click Delete Entry. Click Yes to confirm the deletion. Continue adding New Entry until you have all 100 recipients’ addresses in the Address List.


7. Adding and Deleting Mail Merge Field:.If you wish to delete or add field types to your mail merge document, click the Customize Columns button. Then, click Add, Delete or Rename to alter the field types. Click OK when done. I did not do anything to mine. 


8. Once done with Recipient List, click OK and you will be prompted to save the list. Save it and click OK. 


9. Click “Next: Write your letter”. Follow the instruction and place your cursor (in your document/letter) where you want the Address to appear. This is normally where you would manually type the address of the recipient. Then click “Address block…”. A dialog box appear. 


10. In the Insert Address Block box, you can specify the address elements and you can see the address Preview changes as you tick and un-tick the elements. 


11. Click OK. You will see «AddressBlock» at the specified block location you chose earlier. 


12. Click “Next: Preview your letters”.
    When you have finished previewing your letters, click “Next: Complete the merge” 


13. You can now Print your letters. But to avoid wasting papers, try printing one page first to make sure the setting and placement of the address block is correct. 
Once you are satisfied with the placement, you can print your letters all the way!


14. You are done!

Page Rank 2

I advocate green technology and renewable energy. And I know I'm still green.

But by green, I'm talking about being new to blogging (a green horn) rather than Green Technology itself. So, early afternoon today I found out that the green portion of the horizontal histogram has grown longer. My PageRank has increased to 2. For many, it certainly is not a cause for celebration but personally it does give some sort of satisfaction for all the 'works that you've done'.

PR-2

So, what is PageRank?

PageRank is what Google uses to determine the importance of a web page. It's one of many factors used to determine which pages appear in search results. - google.about.com

It was developed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. The idea behind it is that information on the web could be ordered in a hierarchy by link popularity, i.e. the more links to a page, the higher the page ranking is.

There are ways and means to increase the PageRank of your site but we are not discussing that here. Besides, I am yet to start implementing them myself.


The Pull factor

I noticed that this blog started pulling more visitors when I posted an article about this year's Unduk Ngadau Kaamatan held at KDCA, Penampang in May 2012. Since then, page hit has been on increasing trend albeit on a relatively slow pace. It was a pictorial post and the title was timely, so, the increased traffic was understandable.

Photography is my passion but Renewable Energy is the focus of this blog and it will stay that way for the foreseeable future.

Personal data theft: Magnetic hotel room cards

When you travel, often or occassionlly, chances are you'll be staying in a hotel and you'll be familiar with the magnetic hotel room cards. They're about the size of your credit card.

Room access card.

I received this piece of information recently from friends circulating it through email. I found it quite credible, especially the suggestion to use magnet to erase the information in the card. I recall that vendors usually use magnet to RESET (read: erase) data in the magnetic flowmeters used to measure volume of treated water produced by the state water department.

As long as it is 'magnetic', you can use magnet to erase stored data in the card. The stronger the magnet, the better. But magnets used by kids to experiment at school will do just fine.

That said, if you ask me if I believe everything in this article, I'd say I'll take it with a pinch of salt. While it is true that each of these can possibly happen as mentioned, truth is that most hotels will swipe/erase the card key in your presence during check out.


With this in mind, I leave you with what I found in my inbox (no editing done):

Always take a small fridge magnet on your holiday, they come in handy at the end of it. Never even thought about key cards containing anything other than an access code for the room?

Ever wonder what is on your magnetic Hotel room key card?
Answer:
a. Customer's name
b. Customer's partial home address
c. Hotel room number
d. Check-in date and out dates
e. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!

When you hand them back to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense.

Simply put, hotels don't erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is electronically 'overwritten' on the card and the previous guest's information is thus erased. But until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

The bottom line: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them into the front desk when you check out of a room.

For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip!

OR,

If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything on the card.

USM invented slimming noodle

Fancy enjoying your favorite noodle while losing weight at the same time? You can, now. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) researchers have created dry yellow noodles to help consumers lose weight.

USM's Prof Azhar and Li Ling Yun showing the layered noodles. Photo: The Star Online.

The capsaicin-enriched layered noodles invented by researchers headed by Prof Azhar Mat Easa is believed to be the first of its kind in the world and it has won them a Malaysian Invention and Design Society 2012 gold medal.

"Capsaicin is an active hot substance found in plants like chili and not many can consume it in large amounts," he told a press conference.

He said in developed countries, like the United States, capsaicin was taken in the form of capsules and had a side effect on users as it contained chemicals, and also required a considerable expenditure. Azhar said the product was the first of its kind in the world because it offered a supply of capsaicin without irritation or a sting in the mouth.

He said layered noodle could help reduce up to a kilogramme in weight a week if 50 grammes were consistently taken daily.

"The layered noodle is cross-blended and capsaicin is flanked by two layers of flour making it more elastic and dense.

"These characteristics allow the noodle to stay longer in the system and enable the substance to burn calories in the body," he said.

Other than being nutritious and filling, the product could be enjoyed just like any other typical noodles. USM was discussing with several companies to commercialise the product which was expected to hit the market soon.

How much: RM7 per 100 grammes (two servings)
Availability: Soon to be announced. Stay tuned!


The Green Mechanics: Less chemicals and more natural ingredients in a food. Eat and still lose weight, that's a bonus. I like it (although I don't see myself being overweight).

Source: The Star Online, June 7, 2012

Tips: How to..

Image: Blogger.com


WE

Donkey and the Dirt Story

Credit to Glenn's Space. This motivational story is shared from his blog.



Have a fruitful weekend.

The air you breath in a Plane - Stale or Fresh?

Do you travel a lot? If yes then you might be interested to know if the oxygen level in the plane is sufficient for you, and for everyone in it.

Or most importantly, is the air that we breath in a plane 'clean'? Can you pick up a bug while in a plane cabin?

Opsss! That's not the runway.

First of all, the air in the cabin is not sealed in. Fresh air is continuously introduced during the flight. A plane’s jets are already sucking in and compressing huge volumes of air to burn with the aviation fuel. Some of this is diverted for the passengers to breathe. Because the compression heats up the air, it must first be ducted around the wings to be cooled down.

The air already in the cabin is passed through high-efficiency hospital-grade HEPA filters to remove bacteria and viruses and then mixed 50:50 with the fresh air from outside. The excess cabin air is vented through valves to the rear of the plane to keep the cabin pressure constant.

So, not as bad as I thought?

The air in the plane’s cabin is completely replaced around 15  to 20 times an hour, compared to about 12 times an hour in an office building. But the most important thing is controlling the temperature and removing contaminants.

The oxygen that all the passengers breathe is lesser by 1% compared with the fresh oxygen entering the cabin. So, yes, not as bad as you think.

Further readings:
1) How is aircraft cabin air recycled during flights?
2) Airplane air
3) Science focus.

Unique code: 4VF4BCX5XUBE

Not just great advertisements

These are good teamwork illustrations. Obviously this is coming from a transportation industry and yet there is nothing that suggest they (advertiser and the characters) are intended to be connected.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the clips.
(By the way, don't be fooled by the captions on each clip. You have to see them to dispute them)

"Mr. Crab, here is your $1 million!"

Mr. Penguin - 'is as cool as ever'. Remember Madagascar

Check out if "As hardworking as ant" is even relevant here.

Note: You can view the high-definition versions on Youtube.