Even Slashdot makes a mistake

Bummer... slashdot's losing it a bit. One of their editors just put up a piece of artcile without checking it properly. The news is about Google and Nasa's collaboration. The article's all wrong cause it used an old article to point to a 'new' news. Worst still, the article also contain a link to a blatant internet squatting, GoogleNasa, which was registered to a certain Chris Kemp who seemed to have registered that domain on 29 September 2005, one day after that announcement by NASA. But, it seems that the site's been slashdotted already:)) as can be seen in this screenshot:


Better buck up, slashdot or you'll be losing more readers to digg.

Testing Your Vs and Ws

Here's a tongue-twister I thought of. It was caused by one of my cell member in Edinburgh always making fun of people who cant pronounce Vs and Ws properly:P

Vincent and Wilson and are best of buddies,
Vincent wants to buy a Volvo,
Wilson wants to buy a Volkswagen,
And so on their birthdays,
Wilson buys Vincent a Volvo,
Vincent buys Wilson a Volkswagen.


See if you can read this fast and clear enough:) There's actually a subtle twist within a twist in it, it's for people with problems with Vs and Bs:)

75.5kg

Wow...cant believe I've lost almost 10kg in less than 9 months. When I left Open Source Systems in March 2006, I was like 84-85kg (which sort of qualified me as overweight with a BMI (weight in kg divided by height squared) of 85/(1.82 x 1.82) = 25.7). I started going to the gym in Shell twice a week and after 5 months of consistent attendance, my weight dropped to 80-81kg (BMI 24.5.. still a bit borderline). Then I sort of got side-tracked with that singing competition and so, reduced my sessions to once a week. After coming to Edinburgh, I've mostly walked to places I need to go and guess what, my weight's now 76 kg (BMI 22.8). Hopefully, it's due to healthy living (eating mostly home-cooked food with very little oil and salt and MSG) and consistent exercise:) and the cold temperature probably:) This is so cool:)

Stig, a Mclaren Test Driver??

Is this true? Is Top Gear's tame racing driver, Stig testing for Vodafone Mclaren-Mercedes F1?? Don't believe me, look at these photos:






Well, not really, it's actually Alonso getting a surprise Christmas gift from Flavio in allowing him to test for Mclaren for a day despite still being contracted to Renault till end of Dec 2006. Because of the contract, he cannot have any other sponsorship associated with him now and so even his car's decals were removed.

Although, I think Alonso probably got his overall colors idea from Renault's previous publicity stunt with Top Gear when Stig did drive the Renault F1 car around the Top Gear track.

BMW Sauber F1's new Supercomputer, Albert2

Should have seen this coming:)) Sauber Petronas's first supercomputer, Albert was based on AMD Opteron architecture. With Intel now sponsoring BMW Sauber, Albert must have been quite an eye sore in the sponsorship:)) Having worked in a company that was selling small supercomputers (oxymoron here:P), I've realised that it's all just about marketing and exposure. They're not really passionate about technologies and the amazing stuff they can do. It's just about selling more processors. At least that's the case in Malaysia as most of reps here are just marketing people. Gets a bit frustrating dealing with them. Anyway, here's the press release from BMW Sauber:

Albert2, presented on Thursday to international media representatives in Hinwil, is Europe's fastest machine used in industry according to the current Top-500 list. Albert2 is based on Intel processors and employed by the team for computational fluid dynamics (CFD). On average, it is about three times faster than its predecessor.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen: "Aerodynamics has a crucial influence on the performance of modern Formula 1 cars, with experimental work in the wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamics complementing each other. The launch of Albert2 means a decisive reinforcement of our CFD capacity. Unlike other teams, we are not planning to build a second wind tunnel but will continue to bank on the consistently expanding potential in this area. For the new season, we have set the goal of further reducing the gap to the top. Our new Supercomputer based on Intel technology is an important tool supporting us in this effort."

"The powerful Dual-Core Xeon processors perfectly match the high demand on computing power of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The cluster based on these processors is one of the fastest in the world running computational fluid dynamic applications,” said Christian Morales, Vice President & General Manager of Intel Europe, Middle East and Africa.“With the move to Multi-Core we are able to meet the future demand on computing power of the BMW Sauber F1 Team for computational fluid dynamics."

Albert2 is based on Intel technology. It has 256 nodes with two Intel Xeon 5160 processors each, and each of these has two cores. This results in a total of 1024 cores. The capacity of the main memory is 2,048 Gbyte, the maximum computing power is 12,288 GFlops.

To illustrate the point for non-computer-experts, this means that Albert2 is capable of performing 12,288,000,000,000 floating-point arithmetic operations per second. To equal this computing power, all the inhabitants of the city of Munich (1.3 million) would have to multiply two eight-digit numbers every three and a half seconds for an entire year.

According to the criteria defined for acceptance in the Top-500 list of Supercomputers, this data makes Albert2 5.5 times faster than its predecessor, Albert. In the field, though - as with any computer - the software used plays a crucial part when it comes to speed. But even when running the complex programs for CFD calculations the increase is immense: when using the Fluent application, the average performance improvement amounts to a factor of three.

The architecture of the Supercomputer was developed by the Swiss company DALCO. A key objective was the achievement of high levels of efficiency as well as very good scalability, meaning that operations can be split among many processors without any significant loss of performance. The software for the CFD calculations is supplied by the German subsidiary of the American company Fluent, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ANSYS, Inc. since May 2006. Their specialists have been working together with the CFD engineers in Hinwil for several years, optimising the software step by step.

The Intel processors operate inside High Density Racks from American Power Conversion (APC). These combine power supply, cooling and environmental monitoring in an optimised rack construction. The Supercomputer consists of a total of ten racks, each having a width of one metre, a depth of 1.20 metres and a height of 2.30 metres. This results in a total length of nine metres and a total weight of 21 tons.

Albert2's enormous technological potential is used for analyses in the area of aerodynamics. By means of CFD aerodynamics components for Formula 1 cars are calculated on the computer, using numerical grid models that often consist of more than 100 million cells. CFD plays an important part in the development of front, rear and auxiliary wings as well as engine and brake cooling as another key area.

For the CFD specialists, the computing power provided by Albert2 means that they can perform their calculations either at higher speed or greater accuracy. Willem Toet, Head of Aerodynamics for the BMW Sauber F1 Team, says: "Thanks to Albert2 we can calculate more variants and more complex models which, in the end, results in an advantage on the stop watch. Of particular benefit is the system’s good scalability which gives us a very high level of flexibility.” Computational fluid dynamics does not compete with the work in the wind tunnel but complements it. During the development of the front wing, for example, numerous variants are calculated using CFD before the most promising of them are tested on the 60-percent model in the wind tunnel."

"A major advantage of CFD is the ability to simulate the air flow, which enables us to understand why one part is better than another. Consequently, there is a cross-fertilization between simulation and experimental aerodynamics," Toet added.

Linkin Park + Jay Z

This was out last year, I think. Didnt like Linkin Park nor Jay Z individually but somehow when they combined, it's pretty cool:)







Even Sir Paul likes them apparently...

Poor Asimo

Poor fella took quite a fall:P

MacSaber

This is so so cool, if you got a mac laptop, you gotta try the MacSaber. It's a prog that uses Mac's in-built Sudden Motion Sensor to generate light saber sound every time you move the laptop. Not sure about the longevity of your machine after excessive use but what a way to start a conversation in a party:P

Best F1 Overtaking Moves

This is obviously very debatable but just enjoy it...

Daniel Chan (陈晓东）-Xin You Du Zhong 心有独钟

Finally finished my first semester. And it snowed for the first time this year! So thought I'll do what I've been wanting to do in the blog:) Ignore the pathetic attempt at music-video-ing (I'm a bit kaku(frozen), i know) ..concentrate on the song;)



这种感觉从来不曾有
左右每天思绪
每一次呼吸 心被占据
却苦无厌
是你让我着了迷
给了甜蜜又保持距离
而你潇洒来去玩爱情游戏
我一天天失去勇气
偏偏难又难忘记
等等为你心有独钟
因为爱过才知情多浓
浓得发痛在心中 痛全是感动
我是真的真的与众不同
真正为你心有独钟
因为有你世界变不同
笑我太傻太蒙懂 或爱得太重
只为相信我自己
能永远对你心有独钟

Zhe zhong gan jue chong lai bu cheng you
Zhuo you mei tian si
xu mei yi chi hu xi
Xin bei zhan ju que ku bu yi
Shi ni
rang wo zhao le mi
* Gei le tian mi you bao chi ju li
Er
ni siao sha lai qu wan ai qing you xi
Wo yi tian tian shi qu
yong qi
Pian pian nan liao nan wang ji
** Dan dan wei ni
xin you du zhong
Yin wei ai guo cai zhi qing duo
nong
Nong de fa dong zai xin zhong
Tong cuan shi gan
dong
Wo shi zhen de zhen de yu zhong bu tong
Zhen zhen
wei ni xin you du zhong
Yin wei you ni shi jie bian bu
tong
Siao wo tai sha tai mong dong
Huo ai de tai
zhong
Zhi wei xiang xin wo zhi ji
Neng yong yuan dui ni
xin du zhong

FIR-天天夜夜

Quite an interesting way to mix in Leann Rimes's How Do I Live..



[天天夜夜] 正確歌詞
黎安萊姆絲：How do I live without you
Faye：I want to know
黎安萊姆絲：How do I breathe without you
Faye：If you ever go
黎安萊姆絲：How do I ever
合：Ever survive　How do I　How do I　How do I live

阿沁：當你的淚在微笑中滑落 回憶的風 吹著我走 我卻情願停留
Faye： 等一顆心到時間的盡頭 呼吸也會痛
合：可是我記得 你給我的夢

Faye：每一天在你的懷裡等待
阿沁：每一夜我感覺妳的存在　走過傷害
Faye：我回頭看
合：是永遠都燦爛的愛

Faye：這一次我決定勇敢去愛
阿沁：這一次我陪妳看到未來
Faye：So, how do I live
阿沁：How do I live
合：How do I live without you

Faye：How do I live

阿沁：當世界都遺忘我的時候 妳的一切 對我來說 緊握才能擁有
Faye：我明白一份真愛的背後 藏著苦和憂
合：心痛的時候 更深刻感受

Faye：每一天在你的懷裡等待
阿沁：每一夜我感覺妳的存在　走過傷害
Faye：我回頭看
合：是永遠都燦爛的愛

Faye：這一次我決定勇敢去愛
阿沁：這一次我陪妳看到未來
Faye：So, how do I live
阿沁：How do I live
合：How do I live without you

黎安萊姆絲：And tell me now

Faye：每一天在你的懷裡等待
阿沁：每一夜我感覺妳的存在　走過傷害
Faye：我回頭看
合：是永遠都燦爛的愛

Faye：這一次我決定勇敢去愛
阿沁：這一次我陪妳看到未來
Faye：So, how do I live
阿沁：How do I live
合：How do I live without you
阿沁：without you

合：是永遠都燦爛的愛

Faye：這一次我決定勇敢去愛
阿沁：這一次我陪妳看到未來
Faye：So, how do I live
阿沁：How do I live
合：How do I live without you

黎安萊姆絲：How do I live without you
　　　　　　How do I breathe without you

N Sync - It's Gonna Be Me (Live)

I know most wont agree with me but this is a really cool song. I think I tried to learn the dance steps when it first came out quite a while ago;)

Firefox Crop Circle

Wow, some cool farmer has created a Firefox Crop Circle and it's now on Google Maps:) Check it out at Google Sightseeing. They've even arranged their vehicles to say FX2:))

Cool BMW Advert

So delightfully cheeky:P

Proof That Dogs are Rear-Wheel Drive

..or more like two-legged run.

12 Days of Christmas (Hindi Style)

Got this from coolcat. This is guaranteed to crack you up:

The 90/10 Principle

Common sense, this but it's a useful reminder, that our actions or rather reactions do make a difference:

Author: Stephen Covey

Discover the 90/10 Principle.

It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations).

What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is
decided by how you react.

What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.

We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which
throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic.

We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the
other 90%.

How? ..........By your reaction.

You cannot control a red light. but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool
you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example.

You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee
onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened.

What happens next will be determined by how you react.

You curse.

You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in
tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup
too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs
and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy
crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus.

Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your
daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph
speed limit.

After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your
daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20
minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it
continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home.

When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse
and daughter.

Why? .... Because of how you reacted in the morning.

Why did you have a bad day?

A) Did the coffee cause it?

B) Did your daughter cause it?

C) Did the policeman cause it?

D) Did you cause it?

The answer is “D".

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5
seconds is what caused your bad day.

Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "Its ok
honey, you just need to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush
upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time
to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and
waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss
comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.

Why?

Because of how you REACTED.

You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was
determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle. If someone says something
negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You
don't have to let the negative comment affect you!

React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a
friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.



How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound
on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off) Do you
curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them?

WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your
drive?

Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job.

Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time
into finding another job.

The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take outpour
frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on.

Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It
will just make things worse.

Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results.
You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and
apply this principle.

The result?

Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and
heartache. We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle.

It CAN change your life!!!


Enjoy....

MMU Pre-University 1998's Theme Song

Aaaahh...belaian jiwa (we always call it belakang kira, trying to be funny). When I was doing my Pre-University studies in MMU Malacca, this song played on the radio at least 10 times a day. Those were fun times. Studies werent as tough as the days to come. We could go bowling in Mahkota Parade in between classes though we were at Bukit Beruang. After exams, can go to Pantai Klebang, all the plays we did, all the concerts we organized and made a mess of:)) We could even go see meteor shower for the whole night and next day went for classes without sleeping. Though until today, I think I missed all the meteor that went across the sky that night:)) Not very good eyesight, I have. So thankful that the bunch of us still meet up for movies and mamak even after graduation and repeat all the stories we had again and again and again... Though some of us are now in UK, some will be going to Australia, some probably gonna get married and will be going nowhere:P, we can still look forward to fruitful friendships ahead!

p.s. I was also incidentally banned from driving my car into campus for a week then, thanks to a certain fella who is now CTO/CEO/CFO of his own startup company and he even hires a well-known car blogger as his employee:P

Mungkin Nanti by Peter Pan

Nice Malay song that I heard one of the band's in Shell IT performed during the finals of CBJ Idol. Couldnt forget it after hearing it. Here are the lyrics and chords (the original song is in A key):

G Bm
Saatnya tuk berkata
C G
Mungkin yang terakhir kalinya
G Bm
Sudahlah lepaskan semua
C G
Kuyakin inilah waktunya

D C
Chorus : Mungkin saja kau bukan yang dulu lagi
D C
Mungkin saja rasa itu telah pergi..

G
Reff : Dan mungkin bila nanti
Bm
Kita kan bertemu lagi
C
Satu pintaku jangan
C G
Kau coba tanyakan kembali
Bm
Rasa yang ku tinggal mati
C
Seperti hari kemarin
D
Saat semua disini......

INTRO : G-Bm-C-D

G Bm
Dan bila hatimu terbangun
C G
Bangun dari mimpi-mimpimu
G Bm
Membuka hatimu yg dulu
C G
Cerita saat bersamaku

back to chorus
back to reff 1x

G
Tak usah kau tanyakan lagi
Bm
Simpan untuk sendiri
C
Semua sesal yang kau cari
D
Semua rasa yang kau beri......

INTRO : G-Bm-C-D

European Masters In Informatics (scholarship provided)

For those who are interested in doing their masters in IT in Europe, the program I'm currently enrolled in is open for application again. Dateline is January 15 2007. Program is two years and you get 21,000 euros each year for living costs and tuition fees. If IT isnt your cup of tea, just go see the Erasmus Mundus program for other masters program;)