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Randy Pausch's last lecture
2008-03-09 09:26:00
Randy Pausch is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. You might remember him as one of the developers of Alice, a free open-source object oriented educational programming language developed in Java. He's dying from metastatic pancreatic cancer; he has a few more months to live, and presented a 'last lecture' at Carnegie Melon a few months back. Prof Pausch's lecture was also aired on Oprah, which you can see here. It's astonishing. Take ten minutes off your life and see it. It might just make you think of your life differently.
More About: Randy

20 sci-fi novels that will change your life
2008-03-01 02:54:00
Very interesting list from io9.com, although it doesn't include anything from Asimov's famous Foundation series, Arthur C. Clarke or even Ray Bradbury. Incidentally, guess what the title of the Arabic translation of Foundation was? Al-Qaeda... honestly!!
More About: Life , Novels , Change

Blogger down
2008-03-01 01:33:00
Blogger was unexpectedly down for roughly half an hour till just now. Couldn't access my blog (i.e. techqi.blogspot.com produced a "502 Server Error"). I didn't see any maintenance notice on Blogger in this regard, and worse, the 502 error message asks you to come back in 30 seconds, which didn't work (yes, I did clean my browser cache).I checked out a couple of other blogs and they all seem to have shared the same fate. Wondering what happened to the great Google 's blogging arm: hackers, viruses, human errors, aliens? With a lazy brain and fertile imagination the possibilities are endless :D*
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New Iron Man trailer
2008-03-01 01:04:00
I'm not really a big fan of Iron Man but this trailer blew me over. The poster, as you can see, is pretty cool too.
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Street Fighter 4 Ryu vs Ken trailer
2008-02-29 02:49:00
I found a pretty cool trailer of the upcoming Street Fighter game that features Ryu vs Ken in action, so it's only natural I'm sharing the link with you. Pure nostalgic stuff for anybody who grew up playing the 2D versions! I actually remember performing a 21-hit combo playing with Ryu in the final stage of SF Alpha. Now let's see what happens with SF4... B-)
More About: Trailer , Street Fighter , Street Fighter 4

Blogging
2008-02-26 03:10:00
I'm really indebted to the regular visitors at my blog, who account for almost one-fourth of my blog traffic and are from all over the world. Techqi has done small wonders: I initially planned to have 1000 page visits within a month, and ended up achieving it in a week!I've learned a lot about blogging and have realized that there are just as many things to be excited about this (still) unconventional new medium, as to be disillusioned. It's terrific to see thousands of new bloggers starting out with original content; on the other hand many established sites end up 'lifting' material.I don't post as frequently, largely to do with the amount of time I have at my leisure, but part of it also has to do with the way I perceive blogging itself. I think I'll try to redistribute my posts and spread out content in a more organized fashion. All my years as a journalist can certainly help me handle that! (Speaking of being a journalist, sometimes I miss the old days. But perhaps that'...
More About: Blogging

The shortest story ever written
2008-02-26 03:09:00
"I..."
More About: Story , Written

Grade calculator for university students
2008-02-22 00:40:00
Here's a grade calculator that you can use for your grade projections, especially if you want to check out how you're doing at this time of the term. Here's a grade calculator that you can use for grade projections, especially if you want to find out how you're doing at this time of the term. (I made this with ENGL 110 at UBC in mind; if this doesn't match the grade breakdown for your course -- no pun intended! -- leave a comment if you want a grade calculator custom-tailored for your course. Yes, for free.)Scroll down this page to use the grade calculator. Note: only numerical scores allowed in this version.Update: Just search for "grade calculator for UBC" or "grade calculator for university" in Google and this page is listed in second place or third place right now. Comments not working, drop me an email if you need help.
More About: University , Students , Calculator

Techqi update
2008-02-19 00:49:00
Update update: the "*" isn't quite working, but I still try.Sorry for having vanished. I'm trying to create a philosopher's stone, which is indeed time consuming.Stuff I've been trying to do for Techqi include:a take on Vancouver's eateries (right now I have lots of yummy photos, have to sit down and write), complete the Optimizing Broadband... series (it should be a blast; the Antivirus reviews are already a hit on Google), a write-up on a recent translation of the Quran published by Penguin,shuffle the layout of this blog and throw in some ads (apparently I'm destined to be both poor and brilliant, which is kinda cool and sucks at the same time). Plus, from now on I'll end my posts with a "*", so you don't have to feel cheated by very short posts. Here's the first one: *
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie trailer!
2008-02-15 05:03:00
Click on the link to check it out :)
More About: Movie , Kingdom , Indiana , Indiana Jones , Trailer

Reading "Othello" detrimental to relationship, study finds
2008-02-15 04:33:00
Something that only an idle mind can produce.People who have seen or read William Shakespeare's "Othello" and have told their partners are almost certain to break up.William Sanders, a freshman in poli-sci at UCLA, told his girlfriend that he was studying the play for an English course. They broke up within a month for no apparent reason. Julie Styles, a North Vancouver native and second-year UBC student, saw her 6-year relationship being ended in a matter of days after she had told her boyfriend she was reading "Othello". Alison Cooper from Sydney tearfully recalls that her 40-year-old marriage was over after her husband, Bill Dawson, a plumber, went to see a local production of the play. "My Bill was so loving and sweet," she said, "But that goddamn Shakespearean play made him lose his mind. He was always ranting about how to murder a wife, and I simply couldn't take it anymore." Ms Cooper is currently under psychiatric treatment and facing mortgage issues.The tragic play seems ...
More About: Reading , Study , Relationship

Study: baby products, cosmetics could be linked to reproductive problems
2008-02-07 09:20:00
According to a study baby shampoos, lotions and powders, as well as cosmetics and toys could expose infants to chemicals that have been linked to reproductive problems, the Toronto Star reports.According to a study baby shampoos, lotions and powders, as well as cosmetics and toys could expose infants to chemicals that have been linked to reproductive problems, the Toronto Star reports.The chemicals, called phthalates, are found in many ordinary products, including cosmetics, toys, vinyl flooring and medical supplies. They are used to stabilize fragrances and make plastics flexible.They were found in elevated levels in the urine of all the babies who'd been recently shampooed, powdered or lotioned with baby products.Animal studies have suggested that phthalates can cause reproductive birth defects and some activists believe they may cause reproductive problems in boys and early puberty in girls.Phthalates (pronounced "thowl-ates") usage is limited in California and some countries. E...
More About: Baby , Products , Study , Cosmetics , Problems

Stress during pregnancy linked with schizophrenia in children
2008-02-06 04:12:00
Researchers from the University of Manchester have concluded that women who go through extreme stress during the first three months of pregnancy are more likely to give birth to babies who will have schizophrenia later on in life.The findings were published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, Science Blog reports. Ali Khashan and his colleagues used data from a staggering 1.38 million Danish births occurring between 1973 and 1995.Women were linked to close family members using a national registry, and the same registry was used to determine if any of these relatives died or received a diagnosis of cancer, heart attack or stroke during each mother?s pregnancy. Their children were followed from the 10th birthday through June 30, 2005 or until they died, moved out of the country, or developed schizophrenia.The risk of schizophrenia and related disorders was approximately 67 percent greater among the offspring of women who were exposed to the death of a relative dur...
More About: Children , Pregnancy , Stress , Schizophrenia

Rescued seal pup video from Vancouver Aquarium
2008-02-05 02:48:00
Here's a video of the arrival of a seal pup at the Vancouver Aquarium 's Marine Mammal Rescue Centre. It's very cute, and towards the end you can see it dreaming!Hats off to the Aquarium -- they've reportedly rescued and rehabilitated almost 2000 marine mammals over the last 45 years. What a feat!
More About: Video , Canada , Seal

Metro newspaper goof-up
2008-02-04 21:11:00
The mother an innocent young man murdered in a gang shooting is lobbying for a website that identifies known gangsters to the community.Published today in Metro Vancouver. It's the first page lead news, titled 'Mom wants gangsters ID'd online'.
More About: Newspaper

Eee II PC with Windows launches in Japan
2008-02-04 08:14:00
My predictions did come true! Well, more or less -- it's not Vista. The 4G-X will cost ¥50,000 ($468/£239/?320).Asus finally launched the first Windows version of the Eee II PC in Japan on Thursday, CNet reports.The Taiwanese company was originally set to launch Windows-running versions of the hit sub-notebook in December, and has now declared US shipments in late February or early March.Dubbed the Eee PC 4G-X, it will come (like its Japanese counterpart) pre-loaded with Windows XP Home Edition. It has the same hardware specs as the original Eee PC 701, aka the 4G, introduced last fall: 4GB of storage, Intel Celeron 900MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, etc. In addition to 4GB of storage, the 0.92kg 4G-X has 512MB of DDR 2 memory, a 7in, 800 x 480 display, three USB 2.0 ports, SDHC memory card reader, 10/100Mb/s Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a 0.3-megapixel webcam. According to RegHardware.co.uk Asus is, however, bundling the Eee with a 4GB SDHC card, which makes the 4G...

[beta]
2008-02-03 08:03:00
Solved! Thanks to the guys from the Google forums. Here's the link: http://techqi.blogspot.com/2008/02/grade- calculator-for-university.htmlUpdated Feb 20 3:13 PSTHere's the code that I'm actually interested in. I intend to use it in a Blogger widget, so that my students can just visit the webpage and calculate their grades.I've tested it on my system and it works fine. However, the W3C Markup Validation Service and JSLint and still finds errors, a lot of which doesn't seem to make sense (e.g. assumes ">" missing in cases perfectly okay). Why does it work on my system, then?I'm actually an interested novice in HTML/JavaScript/blogging, and haven't ever used Firebug or similar plugins. Help, please!
More About: Beta

Time stops at NY Grand Central
2008-02-03 00:53:00
Updated: Feb 05 2008This is so cool! The world's largest train station in the world came to a halt for 5 minutes, and I'm sure nobody was offended. The event was organized by a group called Improv Everwhere (we desperately need them at the state universities).
More About: Time , Stops , Central , Grand

Microsoft bids record $42b for Yahoo! : inside news
2008-02-02 04:54:00
[Updated] It's true: Microsoft announced today that it has bid $31 a share to acquire Yahoo !, representing a 62% premium over the former search engine giant's recent market value. All about the deal -- and the tricks of fate that make it a popcorn event.Update: Microsoft hasn't managed to buy Yahoo! yet, which was kinda expected. Hey, imagine the truckload of pride Yahoo! has to swallow. I hope this even keeps me interested. (Do you think MS buying Yahoo! would be a good thing for internet users? Drop a comment.)It's true: Microsoft announced today that it has bid $31 a share to acquire Yahoo!, representing a 62% premium over the former search engine giant's recent market value. The total value of the offer is $44.5 billion in cash and stock, making it the largest bid ever in the hi-tech industry.Pundits are claiming that it's an incredibly expensive deal, even for a company the size of Microsoft. Michael Liedtke of AP describes the situation brilliantly:Unable to topple Goog...
More About: News , Inside , Record

The art of poetry
2008-02-01 08:36:00
...To feel that waking is another dreamthat dreams of not dreaming and that the deathwe fear in our bones is the deaththat every night we call a dream....To gaze at a river made of time and waterAnd remember Time is another river.To know we stray like a riverand our faces vanish like water.To feel that waking is another dreamthat dreams of not dreaming and that the deathwe fear in our bones is the deaththat every night we call a dream.To see in every day and year a symbolof all the days of man and his years,and convert the outrage of the yearsinto a music, a sound, and a symbol.To see in death a dream, in the sunseta golden sadness--such is poetry,humble and immortal, poetry,returning, like dawn and the sunset.Sometimes at evening there's a facethat sees us from the deeps of a mirror.Art must be that sort of mirror,disclosing to each of us his face.They say Ulysses, wearied of wonders,wept with love on seeing Ithaca,humble and green. Art is that Ithaca,a green eternity, not wonders...
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3-year-old found frozen to death in Saskatchewan
2008-01-30 07:40:00
It's precisely the kind of news you don't want to see. A three-year-old girl has been found frozen to death on the Yellowquill First Nation east of Saskatoon, the Globe and Mail just reported. Her one-year-old sister is still missing, and her fatherA three-year-old girl has been found frozen to death on the Yellowquill First Nation east of Saskatoon, the Globe and Mail just reported. Her one-year-old sister is still missing, and her father, who is suffering from frostbite and hypothermia, was rescued.
More About: Saskatchewan , Death , Year , Frozen

Changes to come: if Obama wins
2008-01-28 05:50:00
Something I got from a forwarded email :)
More About: Obama , Wins

Miscellaneous security software (part 2)
2008-01-27 03:49:00
This is part 10 in my Optimizing Broadband|Windows|Firefox series and part 2 of my reviews of miscellaneous security software. Covers firewalls and Windows updates, and wraps up this segment.[If you just landed here: this is part of a series. Click here for a table of contents]Firewall reviewsI'll try to keep this one short. I had a real hard time choosing my firewall, and had to try all the available options (I've never used one I had to pay for). The reasons for having a firewall is obvious: the one that comes built-in with Windows isn't competent, and according to a study, someone tries to hack your computer within 7 seconds of online time (I can't remember the sources, but it was possibly a UK security firm that conducted the research). I've used Comodo, Kerio and ZoneAlarm; I've also used the firewalls that come as part of the security suites every antivirus company has to offer (except NOD32 and BitDefender).Among the latter category, Kaspersky's firewall is perhaps bes...
More About: Software , Security , Part

US spy satellite dies, will crash to earth
2008-01-26 23:09:00
[Updated] A large US spy satellite has lost power and is headed for a crash in late February or March.Update: They're planning to shoot down the 5,000-pound satellite from a Navy ship, according to Bloomberg. The shoot-down has been delayed due to poor weather.A large US spy satellite has lost power and is headed for a crash in late February or March, government officials requesting anonymity revealed to the Washington Post. The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it's unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The information is reportedly classified as secret.
More About: Earth , Satellite , Crash , Dies