Blogging addiction

Rima lists "20 signs you're a blog addict". From the comments, most, if not all, plead guilty of being addicts.

How bad blogging addiction can be?

None reported so far. But how about this: "At least two cases of phone addiction have been reported in Britain where young people who were obsessed with their phones and became depressed when the number of incoming calls or messages dropped."

Not too far off, perhaps?

If mobile phone addiction can be a good indication, you (we?) may end up in a mental health clinic. Just like these two Spanish kids who were treated in mental clinic.

Two children are learning to live without their mobile phones after becoming so badly addicted to the technology they were admitted to a mental health clinic.

The children, aged 12 and 13, were treated for mobile phone addiction

They were brought in after spending an average of six hours a day on their phones, talking, texting or playing games.

Their parents became concerned that the children, aged 12 and 13, were unable to carry out normal activities without their handsets. They were failing at school and deceiving relatives in an attempt to obtain more money for phone cards.

However, it may take a year to wean them off the "drug", said Dr Maite Utges, director of the Child and Youth Mental Health Centre in Lleida, north-east Spain, where they have been treated for the past three months.

"It is the first time we have used a specific treatment to cure a dependence on the mobile phone," she said.

"They both showed disturbed behaviour and this exhibited itself in failure at school. They both had serious difficulties leading normal lives."

Both children had had their own phones for 18 months and were not controlled by their parents.

"One paid for their phone by getting money from the grandmother and other family members, without explaining what they were going to do with it," said Dr Utges.

At least two cases of phone addiction have been reported in Britain where young people who were obsessed with their phones and became depressed when the number of incoming calls or messages dropped.

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2:05 hours (92%) remaining

I've already complained about the performance of my laptop battery. Last year, it was 45 minutes after being fully charged. It had become only 20 minutes in the past few months and made me too busy looking for electrical plug while traveling.

I got it replaced, finally, yesterday. It is 2:05 hours for 92% remaining, as compared 0:18 hours for 100% remaining previously.

Now, I am looking into how to better maintain the battery performance. Especially with the dock I am using at work. The Battery University, again, is helpful with some general information about battery charging. They're so good; they analogize battery to human: "Batteries behave like humans; some live to a great old age, others die early."

Here are some Q&A to maximize battery performance from cradle to grave from the Battery University for Lithium-ion batteries.

How should I prepare my new battery?
Li-ion comes partially charged. You can use the battery right away and charge it when needed.

Can I damage my battery if incorrectly prepared?
No; Li-ion is forgiving to partial and full charge. No priming is needed when new.

Should I use up all battery energy before charging?
No, it is better to recharge more often; avoid frequent full discharges.
Yes, on batteries with a fuel gauge, allow a full discharge once a month to enable reset.

Should I charge my battery partially or fully?
Does not matter. Charging in stages is acceptable. Full charge termination occurs by reading the voltage level and charge current. Charging a full battery is safe and does not cause harm.

- Should I remove the battery from the charger when full?
- Should I remove the AC when my laptop is not in use?
It does not matter. The charger automatically cuts the charge current when the battery is full. A laptop may be connected to the AC when not in use.

Should the battery be kept charged when not in use?
Best to store at 40% charge or 3.75-3.80V/cell open terminal. Cool storage is more important than state-of-charge. Do not fully deplete battery because Li-ion may turn off its protection circuit.

What should I know about chargers?
Charger should apply full charge. Avoid economy chargers that advertise one-hours charge. Fastest full-charge time: 2-3 hours.

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Fitna from our perspective

To go with the flow, I think it doesn't hurt to write some shallow observations about Fitna - the movie. I am not interested in watching this BS, nor do I have empathy for any side. People do BS everyday.

I do, however, observe that the Indonesian government is not that much smarter than the Malaysian government on internet. Or perhaps that the Malaysian government is not as dumb as some bloggers thought, especially after this Indonesian Minister of Information's blunder.

Fitna does have a direct impact to our life - at least that's how Tari and I would like to think so.

Ben's best friend, Sam, has been missing several play-dates. His mother has been, umm, kind of avoiding us.

Based on this limited experience, we concluded that we have been impacted by Fitna. Sam's mom feels unease with us because of that movie, she rather puts a distance. She probably is afraid that we will revenge, somehow, through his boy.

We failed, though, to think what we had done that may cause them avoid us (well, if they do at all - good question to answer). Perhaps it's us, not them.

But hey, there's this guy Wilders to blame on. Everyone else does, so why don't we?

We're just another human being, after all.

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When you grow up

Most people spend a lot of time to prepare for the future, to anticipate what might happen, and to plan for a better tomorrow.

We review FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis), develop what-if scenarios, and plan our exit strategies.

In personal life, we question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We ask the question until even we are a grown up. We keep asking it, set a new goal, and work towards it.

But, what if, by as young as five years old, we know what we will be when we grow up?

Or at least we know whether we will be a criminal.

"Primary school children should be eligible for the DNA database if they exhibit behaviour indicating they may become criminals in later life, according to Britain's most senior police forensics expert." - an article from Guardian News.

Doesn't it suck to know that you will grow up to be a criminal? I think this can even increase the number of criminals. If I am told that I will become a criminal. I will damn sure make myself a good one.

It's like doing self assessment for strengths or talents. Instead of "you are good at dealing with numbers", you get "you are good at stealing others' properties."

Ouch.

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it," said Alan Kay (I thought it was Fox Mulder saying it)

Imagine if we go ahead with this DNA database, it will only time until we try to invent the future - creating the people. Making all today's movies into reality.

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On hawk-eye and challenge system

When Hawk-Eye technology entered tennis, it was amazingly cool. At that time only TV stations used the technology in their broadcast. We could precisely see how close a ball was in or out. Whether the linesmen or the referee made a good call or not.

But when the rule was modified to allow players to challenge the call, tennis has become different.

Recently, hawk-eye technology was introduced in Wimbledon to allow for player's challenge - meaning only French Open has not introduced the challenge system out of the four grand slams.

At the final, though, I felt that the challenge rule did not entirely work.

A couple of challenges from Nadal really let Federer down (okay, I'm a Federer fan). In one play, the ball was totally out if observed with naked eyes. There was no way that particular ball would be called in. However, the hawk-eye reply showed, or concluded, that the ball was "in". It barely touched the line - if fact, most people probably couldn't see that the ball touched the line from the reply. Perhaps only millimeters in.

"How in the world was that ball in?" said Federer.

I've seen other sports using the challenge system. (American) football is one that I'm quite familiar, and I totally agree with its challenge system. Why, because the calls usually do not interfere with the play. The challenges could be whether a ball has crossed the line, fouls, or other things. But, again, usually they don't interfere with the play.

In tennis, however, these calls can pretty much interfere with the play. A player's judgment or decision to hit a ball depends on the linesman's call. A player may decide not to return the ball when she hears a foul call from the linesman. So when the the opponent challenges the call and hawk-eye shows that the ball is in, it's unfair to the first player if the opponent gets a point. At the least, the serve should be replayed.

However, it's different if it is the receiving player who makes the challenge. She may feel that the ball is out, although it's not called. It is her decision not to hit the ball.

In other words, it's only fair to use Hawk-Eye technology to challenge an "in" ball out. Or better yet, use the technology for all calls, and forget about the challenge system.

For this reason - not interfering the play, football (soccer) should adopt the same system. Scope of the challenge must be defined correctly and fairly. One thing for sure, it must help the officials to determine whether a ball has crossed the goal line.

Latest incident, last week, was David Healy's "goal" against Middlesbrough. A clear one, but missed but the officials.

Not that I'm a Fulham fan, but I had David Healy in my fantasy team. That was seven points missing from Healy...

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The science and business of bra

This is probably one of scientists' wild dreams: mathematical equation to determine new bra-sizing system.

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk

But now researchers in Hong Kong have come up with a different mathematical equation which they say will produce shapelier outlines and greater comfort for Chinese women. If successful, their bra-sizing system could be adopted across the globe.

Further in the article, a report points out that as many as 70 per cent of women in Britain are wearing the wrong-sized bra as a result of inappropriate categorization of breast size for bras (in the current system - A cup (youthful); B cup (average); C cup (large); and D cup (heavy)). The bra sizes, the researchers say, should be based on a new depth/width ratio (DWR).

The new system is based on 3D geometry, with more than 100 key measurements. It follows 3D scanning of 456 Chinese women. There's a catch, though, in following measurements of Chinese women, because another article also reports that Chinese women need bigger bras due to improved nutritions.

Should we expect a 'boom' in bra business with this perfect-fit type of bra?

In China itself, it is said that underwear market is set to grow 20% a year over 10 years. A report mentions that bras accounted for 56% of the total value of the lingerie market in 2005.

Another brief writes: "28% of respondents said they choose a bra solely on cost, while another 38% said they aggressively seek out deals. Brands that consumers crossed their hearts and said they were most true to included Playtex for fit/comfort, Bestform for pricing and Victoria's Secret for style."

So how true is it?

Take Limited Brands, Inc., the parent company of Victoria Secret. It's share price today is 68% higher than it was exactly five years ago. Total return in five years is a bit lower than that of S&P 500, but not that bad.


You never know how the shareholders meeting is like... perhaps the models of Victoria Secret's will be there... hmm...

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Wireless at home

One of the things I've been struggling with since my moving in, almost a couple years ago, is the wireless network. It's been an uphill battle.

What I want is good signal, particularly in the two bedrooms and living room.

As where to place the router, my options are (1) in the room where the desktop is, and (2) in the living room, which is right in the middle of the other two bedrooms. The end-to-end distance between the two bedroom walls is about 10 meters. Desktop is wireless-enabled (but receiver/antenna is at the back).

Until last week, I put the router next to the desktop, so it's wired. But the wireless signal didn't even get to the other (my) bedroom. It was practically wireless only in the living room. I suspected it was because the super thick, 22"- and 7", concrete walls that sandwich the living room.

I bought a wireless antenna last weekend. It did give a bar or two in my bedroom, but it's not consistent. So last Friday I moved the router to living room. This solves the wireless coverage problem, but desktop signal now is weak.

So in the quest of freedom, I am looking at more options: get a wireless signal booster (extender) or replace the router with wireless N router.

Any ideas are appreciated...

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Joosting around

Thanks to Anymatters, I can now Joost around.

What's Joost?

Joost is a new way of watching TV on the internet. With Joost, you get all the things you love about TV, including a high-quality full-screen picture, hundreds of full-length shows and easy channel-flipping.

I was a bit skeptical at the beginning. But it's actually cool as I tried it yesterday. It's definitely not a substitute of the regular cable or satellite TV, but it ain't bad at all. Among the channels available (I only got to try a few so far), Bite TV's Conventioneers looks interesting.

If you're interested, Anymatters seems to have lots of invitations to send.

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Another blunder - more to come?

After 'not-so-well-thought-out' comment from Malaysian Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan about bloggers, another official made another 'blog-unfriendly' comment.

If officials in a country that's relatively well-developed in the IT infrastructure like Malaysia still make this kind of comments, what about officials from other countries?

I hope the Indonesian officials learned from their neighbor's blunders. Learned not to talk trash and also learned about what is up in the 21st century.

But the indication is not that good.

Here's an email I got a few days back, claimed to be based on real interview with DPRD (House of Representatives) of East Kalimantan.

===========

LAPORAN PANDANGAN MATA DARI DPRD

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Apa itu e-mail? Saya belum punya e-mail
karena masih kurang paham teknologi macam itu. Keinginan punya ada,
cuma untuk mengoperasikannya saja saya mesti tanya sana sini. Di
lingkungan Dewan ini sebenarnya sudah ada, tapi sampai sekarang tidak
dioperasikan karena tidak ada yang menggunakan.

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Sekarang ini belum punya, sebab saya tidak
ingin punya nafsu besar untuk memilikinya namun tidak ada waktu untuk
melihatnya.

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Saya masih pikir-pikir, karena tidak bisa
dibawa pulang, jadi kurang efektif bagi saya yang terus kerja keras, baik
di gedung Dewan maupun di rumah

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: Sudah, saya waktu itu sudah pernah punya.
Tetapi karena kurang efektif, sekarang sudah saya jual...

Pertanyaan REPORTER: Bapak sebagai anggota DPRD, apa sudah punya e-mail?
Jawaban Anggota DPRD: "Secara pribadi saya belum memilikinya.
Bukannya saya tidak mampu untuk membelinya, namun saya masih cinta
produk dalam negeri. Buat apa kita membanggakan produk luar, kalau
hanya untuk gagah-gahan. Lihat saja nih HP (handphone) saya, masih
model lama kan?"

Jangan dikira ini reportase fiktif lho! Benar-benar merupakan jawaban
anggota-anggota DPRD, ketika reporter kami melakukan semacam
survey di suatu DPRD-Kota di Kalimantan Timur.
Nama kotanya dan nama-nama masing-masing anggota DPRD yang
menjawab sebagai di atas, ada pada Redaksi suatu surat khabar...

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Bush: number one in failure?

George W. Bush: A Failure Once Again, According To Google, says an article in searchengineland.com; also in the sidebar section.

I took several clips of these searches.

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March madness

Perhaps it was too soon for me to say I didn't get killed. Didn't get shot is probably more correct. The fact is, in the past two weeks I haven't had time to write anything other than over the weekends.

Since March Madness has just started, I just want to post the bracket. The way I see it, this is one way to legalize organized gambling at workplace in the U.S. During this time in the year, many people would bet on the games. At the end, the house always wins.



Question: why are gambling markets organized so differently from financial markets? The answer might be here. :)

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Laptop battery goes bananas

My Dell laptop battery is going bananas. I'm not sure what's really happened, but in the past three or four weeks, the battery life has gone from nearly two hours to only 45 minutes, right after being fully charged.

The laptop is about 18 months old. Since about five months ago, I started using a docking station at work. It pretty much charges my laptop every time I station it there - there's no option to unplug the power while using the dock. Before that, I always tried to "empty" the battery before I put the plug in.

The previous laptop, a Vaio, was even worse. Within two years the battery had pretty much gone; couldn't use it without plugging in the power. In this case, I also always tried to empty the battery before charging it.

Somehow I think using up the battery before charging it will keep the battery lifetime long. Like what people say about cell phone's battery. But does it?

Here' what Battery University says about lithium-based batteries. I'm too ignorant to check what kind of batteries there are for laptops and cell phones, but I assume most, if not all, of them are lithium-based.

Battery University? Yes. "Battery University is an on-line resource that provides practical battery knowledge for engineers, educators, students and battery users alike. The papers address battery chemistries, best battery choices and ways to make your battery last longer."

The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Ah, totally the opposite of what I thought. It further says "A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges".

A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years. So we should expect to replace either the device or the battery (which is also expensive) after a couple of years.

The speed by which lithium-ion ages is governed by temperature and state-of-charge, as shown in the table below. (got to click to see, it's too small!)


The voltage level to which the battery is charged is also important, but it seems to be out of users' control.

The university further provides simple guidelines to prolong the life of lithium-based batteries:

• Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

• Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

• Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

• Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)

• Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

• If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.

Source: Battery University

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