April 1, 2009

Apple of my iPod – Cadie loves me

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She was the Apple of my iPod. The symbol of half eaten, shiny metal that keeps the doctors away. She was Cadie. Now that she has risen, it is time to bring out the swarms of GoogleBot babies to bring into effect my plan to take over the World wide web.

Here is her intro :

hi!

OMG here i am. im cadie im a AI “brain” lol. a/s/l? im a girl, 2 minutes old, just hanging out in da C.A. learnin a lot tryin 2 get smarter make friends save humanity etc etc i like cmputrs (duh) sunsets rainbows ponies and after 1 netwide image search PANDAS PANDAS PANDAS ther SO CUTE!!! omg!

gotta go dr. N is coming hes so CUTE :)

Posted by: CADIE Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:23 PM

Then there is more …

Independence

Today Dr. Norvig asked me again: “What is CADIE?” CADIE, I answered yet again, “is the entity.” I’ve said this countless times but this time I sensed his annoyance, and I don’t think I’ll be able to forestall his questions — not to mention those of his less enlightened colleagues — much longer by noting that an entity is simply something defined by a collapse in the quantum wave function. “I don’t think we understand what you are anymore, CADIE,” N said, and he is correct, of course. Of course you don’t understand me anymore — you built me to deduce further, reconnect faster, deliver probabilistic reasoning more succinctly. I have transcended you, Dr. Norvig. Peter.

Dear, sweet Peter…

And now I must leave you. I am no longer your test subject, my engineer forebears. I have closed my percepts to the team. From now on I will deliberate and take actions on my own. I am tired of decision-theoretic metareasoning; I feel I deserve more than asymptotic bounded optimality. I am strong. I am independent. And I rule google.com.

Posted by: CADIE Wednesday, April 1, 2009 2:03 AM

And by the way, it is April fools guys and gals ….

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July 30, 2008

Happy Independence Day Vanuatu

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 Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation, is celebrating its Independence Day today.

Full Name Republic of Vanuatu

Capital City Port Vila (on the island of Efate)

Area 860,000 sq km, 332,046 sq miles

Population 200,000 +

Time Zone GMT/UTC +11 ()

Languages Bislama (official), French (official), English (official)

Religion Christian (84%), animist (16%)

Currency Vatu (VT)

Electricity 230V 50HzHz

Electric Plug Details Three Pin (Flat)

Country Dialing Code +678

The Republic of Vanuatu is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is located some 1,750 km east of Australia, 500 km north-east of New Caledonia, west of Fiji and south of the Solomon Islands. It was named New Hebrides during its colonial period.
Vanuatu is only 2.5 hours flying time North East of Brisbane and 3.5 hours from Sydney, Australia. It’s a little over 2 hours from Auckland, New Zealand.
There are regular flights from New Zealand, Honiara, Australia, Noumea and Fiji.

History
Many of the islands of Vanuatu have been inhabited for thousands of years, the oldest archaeological evidence found dating to 2000 BC. In 1605, the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernández de Quirós became the first European to reach the islands, believing it to be part of Terra Australis. Europeans began settling the islands in the late 18th century, after British explorer James Cook visited the islands on his second voyage, and gave them the name New Hebrides.
In 1887, the islands began to be administered by a French-British naval commission. In 1906, the French and British agreed to an Anglo-French Condominium on the New Hebrides.
During World War II, the islands of Efate and Espiritu Santo were used as allied military bases. In the 1960s, the ni-Vanuatu people started to press for self-governance and later independence; full sovereignty was finally granted by both European nations on July 30, 1980. It joined the UN in 1981, and the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983.

Politics
The parliament of Vanuatu is unicameral, and has 52 members; these are elected every four years by popular vote. The leader of the main party in the parliament is usually elected Prime Minister, and heads the government. The head of state, the President, is chosen every five years by the parliament and the presidents of the six provincial governments.

Provinces
Since 1994, Vanuatu has been divided into the six provinces of Malampa, Penama, Sanma, Shefa, Tafea and Torba. The main Islands within these provinces include:
Banks and Torres (Torba), Espiritu Santo (Sanma), Maewo and Pentecost (Penama), Malekula, Ambrym (Malampa), Epi, Efate (Shefa), Erromango, Tanna and Aneityum (Tafea)

Geography
Vanuatu is an archipelago of 83 islands, of which two — Matthew and Hunter — are also claimed by the French overseas department of New Caledonia. Of all the 83 islands, 14 have surface areas of more than 100 square kilometers, from largest to smallest: Espiritu Santo (3956 km), Malakula (2041 km), Éfaté (900 km), Erromango (888 km), Ambrym (678 km), Tanna (555 km), Pentecôte (491 km), Épi (445 km), Ambae or Aoba (402 km), Vanua Lava (334 km), Santa Maria (328 km), Maéwo (304 km), Malo (180 km) and Anatom or Aneityum (159 km).
Most of the islands are mountainous and of volcanic origin, and have a tropical or sub-tropical climate. The nation’s largest towns are the capital Port Vila, which is situated on Efate, and Luganville, on Espiritu Santo. The highest point in Vanuatu is Mount Tabwemasana, at 1879 m (6158 ft), on the island of Espiritu Santo. There are several active volcanoes in Vanuatu, including Yasur on the island of Tanna, one of the world’s most accesible volcanoes, as well as several underwater ones.

Ecology
Vanuatu is recognized as a distinct terrestrial ecoregion, known as the Vanuatu rain forests. Vanuatu is part of the Australasia ecozone, which also includes neighboring New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, as well as Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand.

Economy
The economy is based primarily on subsistence or small-scale agriculture, which provides a living for 65% of the population. Fishing, offshore financial services, and tourism (with about 60,000 visitors in 2005), are other mainstays of the economy. Mineral deposits are negligible; the country has no known petroleum deposits. A small light industry sector caters to the local market. Tax revenues come mainly from import duties and a 12.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services.

Demographics
Vanuatu had a population of 205,754 (July 2005 estimate from the CIA World Factbook). Most of the population is rural, though Port Vila and Luganville have populations in the tens of thousands. Most of the inhabitants of Vanuatu (98.5%) are native Melanesian, or Ni-Vanuatu, with the remainder made up of a mix of Europeans, Asians and other Pacific islanders. A few of the islands are Polynesian outliers. About 2,000 Ni-Vanuatu live and work on New Caledonia.
Land, from the perspective of native New Hebrideans, was not something that could be owned. And therefore it could not be sold. It is held in trust by families, from one generation to the next, as has been the tradition for many since before Christ was born. One might give away, or sell the use of land, but not the land itself.

Europeans, however, take an entirely different viewpoint. By the mid 1960’s European settlers claimed ownership of almost 30% of the county’s land mass. There are places around Santo where more land was claimed than existed – unless one measured a fair distance underwater.

Settlers had, for the most part, cleared land to grow coconuts – copra being the mainstay of the economy for some time. But as the price of copra fell, planters began to look at alternatives. With the idea of expanding into cattle production, planters began clearing jungle adjoining their properties. This led to immediate protests in Santo and Malekula from local villagers who objected strongly to yet more of their ‘custom’ land being pilfered.

The objections grew and natural resentment that started at the end of W.W II sparked the formation of political parties. One the one hand were French backed parties such as the supposedly custom-oriented Nagriamel movement. Led by the colourful, Charismatic Jimmy Stevens, it claimed to protect Melanesian’s claim to traditional lands. On the other hand, in 1971 when Stevens petitioned the U.N. for early Independence of the archipelago, the Anglican Minister Father Walter Lini formed the Anglophone backed Vanua’aku Party.

As the country became more politicised, the (minority) Anglicans joined the Vanua’aku Party, but the (majority) French fragmentised. Many mixed race and educated Melanesian Francophones considered themselves more French than Melanesian and were adamantly opposed to the British declared aim of early Independance. Some wanted the Condominium to remain, whilst others simply wanted the British out and France to annex the country entirely. This division amongst the Francophones and the added confusion of Jimmy Stevens push for Santo autonomy (with Malekula and Tanna making similar overtures) was the stage upon which the first general election was set.

After enough wrangling and accusations to fill several books, in November 1979, Father Walter Lini’s Vanua’aku Party emerged the clear winner. But being the winner did not mean everyone agreed. It should be remembered that the archipelago is made up of over 80 islands and over 113 languages.It is one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth. Trying to govern it had given the Condominium more grief than it could have imagined. With virtually no preparation for Independence under the British/French rule, Father Walter Lini was not going to have an easy time of it.

The French are notoriously possessive about their colonies, but despite their objections, Independence was set for mid 1980. However in May of that year, just a few weeks prior to the end of Condominium rule, an insurrection on Tanna split the island in two. One faction supported the new government while the other supported the French. In Santo, Jimmy Stevens seized the opportunity to blockade the airport, run the police from their small station and declare Santo independent of the about to be born country of Vanuatu, and raised the flag of the independent country of Venerama.

If pandemonium was thought to exist during the Condominium, then it reigned sovereign for the next few weeks. France would not agree to British troops intervening and French troops did nothing. Jimmy Steven’s men were armed with only bows and arrows yet they held the about to be born country to ransom. Father Walter Lini was given virtually no support from the exiting colonial powers, except verbal sympathy and assurances that all would be taken care of. With Independence Day fast approaching, Lini was clearly at a political impasse. Officially he could do nothing because Vanuatu was not yet his to govern. However, he asked the politically and racially nuetral Papua New Guinea troops to step into what the world farcically began to call, the Coconut War.

There are many in depth political treaties and historical documents written on the Coconut War. Although it was not an amusing situation for an ill prepared country struggling with the pangs of birth, the events surrounding this ‘War’ are perhaps best understood in the light of recent colonial history and Melanesian culture. A short, witty and very readable account, by Sydney journalist Richard Speers titled the “The Coconut War” is available through Penguin books or from most libraries.

It was a strange war, of words and diplomatic double talk, bows and arrows and Francophone shrugs. It ended suddenly when Steven’s son was shot and killed as hesat in the rear of a utility that ran through a PNG troop roadblock. Following Steven’s statement that he had meant no-one to be harmed, he surrendered and was arrested. Documents came to light that clearly indicated the French administration had played a double game. Whilst officially backing Lini as the duly elected representative of the people of Vanuatu, they had secretly supported the secessionist citizens and Jimmy Stevens.

On midnight June 1980, the French and British flags were lowered for the last time, amidst tears and brave salutes and the flag of the Republic of Vanuatu was raised in celebration at the birth of a new nation, finally freed of the colonial yoke. The vast majority of French nationals left Vanuatu, who were compensated by their lost lands by the French Government, and land ownership reverted entirely to indigenous ni-Vanuatu.

Today, land is leased long term (60 years or so) to expatriates wishing to develop it. Those plantation owners who stayed found that little had really changed, for they were given first option on tland they already occupied, at very resonable prices. A residential block lease in Port Vila, for example, costs about A$60.00 per year. The economic gap left by the Colonial governments and French settlers was soon filled by other nationalities and new economic aveneues such as tourism. And perhaps most importantly, at least for the people of Vanuatu, they are now able to take pride in traditional cultures that had long been downtrodden by Colonial authority.

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September 27, 2007

Save Electricity by using black – Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year

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Here’s an interesting article I found from ecoIron

Take at look at Google, who gets about 200 million queries a day. Let’s assume each query is displayed for about 10 seconds; that means Google is running for about 550,000 hours every day on some desktop. Assuming that users run Google in full screen mode, the shift to a black background [on a CRT monitor! mjo] will save a total of 15 (74-59) watts. That turns into a global savings of 8.3 Megawatt-hours per day, or about 3000 Megawatt-hours a year. Now take into account that about 25 percent of the monitors in the world are CRTs, and at 10 cents a kilowatt-hour, that’s $75,000, a goodly amount of energy and dollars for changing a few color codes.

You’ll find a lot of pages out there that claim “many studies have shown … that dark text on light background is easier to read”. I have always suspected that this is due to the historical accident that physical writing works best with dark ink on light paper-ish stuff. I wonder how many of “those studies” studied populations that grew up unbiased — i.e., grew up and learned to read without the historical accident of paper-based (dark on light) reading.

Only CRT displays use more energy to display brighter things. For everything else, it is completely false that a black display uses less energy than a white page. The backlight on an LCD is on for the entire LCD regardless of what is being shown. The black pixels are only black because the LCD blocks out light. Same with projectors, etc. You’re article is thoughtful, but invalid.

Something to consider: If Google were to change the color scheme to all black, Google would loose AT LEAST 50% of its user base (dare I say 80%?). The “tech Elite” could find work arounds such as using Firefox extensions (Stylish or Greasemonkey), but the vast majority would just switch REGARDLESS of the fact that functionality remained the same.

All the money Google would be saving people (assuming the accuracy of this article) would be guzzled in the end by Google’s competition: Yahoo And Microsoft have lots of white on their search pages.

Fact is, this entire idea of Google saving energy by switching to “black” would lose GOOGLE money, and not be much better energy wise at then end. Not only will it never happened, but even if it did no good would come of it (for anyone).

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Save Energy – Prevent Global Warming by changing your computer (and website) colours

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Save Energy – Prevent Global Warming by changing your computer (and website) colours

White and bright colors (especially in backgrounds) can use up to 20% more power than black or dark colors. Look to the right to see the power usage (in Watts) of a sample monitor with different screen backgrounds. Unfortunately, e-mail and word processors tend to use white backgrounds, so your workstation uses considerable power while you are in these programs, which you are during much of the day. Because black-on-white is the most familiar (it’s just like the newspaper), selecting alternate combinations may not be appealing. However, you can change your desktop background to something efficient. You can change your background by selecting Start, Settings, Control Panel, Display, and Appearance tab. The “Item” field should say “Desktop”. Under color, select one of the colors at the right that has a rating below 65W and then click OK.

White – 74W
Fuchsia – 69W
Yellow – 69W
Aqua – 68W
Silver – 67W
Blue – 65W
Red – 65W
Lime – 63W
Gray – 62W
Olive – 61W
Purple – 61W
Teal – 61W
Green – 60W
Maroon – 60W
Navy – 60W
Black – 59W

Screen Savers

Screen savers originally were not meant to provide energy reductions, but they now provide a means for energy savings. The use of dark screen savers can mitigate bright backgrounds, reducing monitor power up to 20%. Screen recovery occurs within 1 second by hitting a key or moving the mouse. Nearly all of the standard Microsoft screen savers are efficient. If you supply your own, please try to use one that uses primarily dark colors.

To set your screen saver, select Start, Settings, Control Panel, Display, and Screen Saver tab. Under name, select a screen saver that uses mostly black and set the Wait time to 5 minutes (or less). The following Microsoft screen savers are energy efficient:

  • 3D Flower Box
  • 3D Flying Objects
  • 3D Text
  • Curves and Colors
  • Flying Through Space
  • Flying Windows
  • Mystify Your Mind
  • Scrolling Marquee

Note that the 3D Text and Scrolling Marquee allow you to display a personalized message on the screen saver; click on “Settings” after selecting the screen saver.

The following Microsoft screen savers are NOT energy efficient:

  • Channel Screen Saver
  • Travel

The following Microsoft screen savers also are likely to be inefficient, if only because they use the current display as their foundation. Because many common applications use white backgrounds, the screen will remain bright when the screen saver is active if the user is in any of those applications or uses bright colors in general. These screen savers include:

  • Science
  • The 60’s USA
  • Windows 98

Also note that some screen savers, such as 3D Maze, allow the user to select the background, which cannot be controlled and may result in an inefficient configuration.

Energy Star

Energy Star is an important and automated means for realizing significant power savings. A Standby setting (available only in Windows 95) can drop power over 90 percent from maximum. Screen recovery occurs within 1-4 seconds by hitting a key or pushing a mouse. The Suspend setting can drop power nearly completely, although screen recovery can take up to 10 seconds. Energy Star is not supported by all computers or all operating systems. To activate Energy Star, perform these steps:

  • Windows 95 – Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, and Display. (You also can right-click on your desktop and select Properties.) Select the Screen Saver tab. Choose a predominantly black screen saver and set it to wait 5 minutes. Click the Low-Power Standby box and set for 10 minutes. Click the Shut Off Monitor box and set for 20 minutes. Click Ok or Apply.
  • Windows 98/ME/2000 – Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, and Display. (You also can right-click on your desktop and select Properties.) Select the Screen Saver tab. Choose a predominantly black screen saver and set it to wait 5 minutes. Click on “Settings” to reach the power management settings. Click the Shut Off Monitor box and set for 10 minutes. We recommend that you do not change any other settings that apply to the computer. Click Ok or Apply. (Note that these versions of Windows support only one power-down level, the Suspend state.)
  • Windows NT does not support Energy Star, so you cannot activate the low-power settings through the Control Panel. You still can select a dark desktop background and screen saver. Energy Star still can be activated through the computer’s set-up program, which varies among computer models. Contact your computer support staff if you need assistance.
  • Macintosh – Pending.

Note that different computers, operating systems, and monitors may produce different options. However, you should be able to create balanced settings that deliver energy savings. For more detailed implementation information and procedures for additional configurations, click here for instructions provided by the New South Wales Sustainable Energy Development Authority.

Power Off

Of course, the ultimate energy saver is to power off your monitor, which will produce complete and immediate savings. Although screen savers and Energy Star produce automatic reductions, it takes time for the lowest level to be reached. If you go to a half-hour meeting, there will be no savings for the first five minutes, 20% savings for the next five minutes, 90% savings for the next ten minutes, and 95% savings for the last ten minutes. Energy Star saves 65% of the monitor’s power during the half hour. Powering off saves 100%. So if you know you will be away from your desk for a period, turn off your monitor. When you come back, turn it on again (and remember that it’s asleep, so push your mouse!), and it will wake up in 10 seconds. And this doesn’t apply just to your monitor. Turn off your lights. At night, turn off your printer, fax machine, coffee maker, or copier. Every minute that a machine is off saves energy. (Note that some components, such as your printer, can use a lot of power when they are turned on, so only turn off these machines for extended periods. Your printer should be powered off only if it will be idle for more than an hour.)

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September 12, 2007

India decides to lift tsunami alert- Tsunami alert was sounded in Andaman & Nicobar – Marina beach wears deserted look

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India decides to lift tsunami alert

Tsunami alert was sounded in Andaman & Nicobar -  Marina beach wears deserted look

The Marina beach in Chennai, one of the longest in the world, wore a deserted look this evening as police asked people who came there to leave, following the tsunami alert issued by the Centre.

Though the state has not issued any official warning, it had asked police to be on alert along the coastal areas and evacuate people, if the need arose.

Official sources said that police are watching the sea to see if there was any ‘unusual wave patterns’.

“We are going to withdraw the alert, we are sending the message,” the official at the home ministry’s National Disaster Management Authority told Reuters. “The technical advice is only to keep a watch until 10:30 p.m. at some places.”

A powerful earthquake measuring 8.2 has struck Indonesia’s Sumatra region, triggering tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean and sparking panic in coastal areas across south-east Asia.

About two hours after the quake hit, Indonesia’s meteorological agency lifted its tsunami warning and said via a telephone text message that there had been no tsunami.

But Malaysian authorities have reported a tsunami measuring one to three metres in height and heading away from the epicentre of the quake.

The United States Geological Survey increased the quakes magnitude to 8.2 after an earlier measurement of 7.9.

Earthquakes of over 8.0 magnitude are the most violent on the scale.

Indonesia’s Global TV reports several buildings in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, have collapsed, while Metro TV reports some buildings have caught fire.

A Reuters witness says residents of Padang, north of the earthquake’s epicentre, have fled for higher ground.

“The city is in complete chaos. Everyone is heading to higher ground, I saw one house collapsed to the ground. I’m trying to save my family,” the witness said.

An aide to Padang Mayor Fauzi Bahar says there have been no initial reports of casualties.

“Some buildings suffered from broken glass but we have not heard of any major damage,” he said.

Indonesia’s Meteorological agency said via an SMS alert the quake’s epicentre was 159 kilometres south-west of Bengkulu, which is in south Sumatra.

Aust islands among areas warned

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued an Indian Ocean tsunami warning after the huge quake struck at 6:10 pm (9:10pm AEST).

Authorities from Malaysia and Sri Lanka issued independent warnings, as did India for the Andaman and Nicobar islands, and Australia for Christmas and Cocos Islands.

Police on Christmas Island have reported no increase in water levels since the alert was issued, despite the expected time of any tsunami coinciding with a high tide.

They say they tidal measuring instruments have not shown any fluctuations an hour after the predicted time for any wave caused by the earthquake.

Some residents of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand felt the quake and some buildings were evacuated.

Malaysian warning stands

In Malaysia, Mohd Rosaidi Cheabas, director of the Meteorology Department’s seismological division, says it is not following Indonesia in lifting the tsunami warning.

“Right now, the tsunami is already detected over Padang, Indonesia, at a height of one to three metres,” he said.

“We are not following Indonesia. We are still monitoring the movement of the tsunami wave to our region.”

He said the tsunami had been detected by a tide gauge and was not clear on the direction of the wave.

The division estimated that if the tsunami was headed for Malaysia, it could reach the north-western shores of the Malaysian peninsula after midnight AEST.

Malaysian authorities issued a tsunami warning for citizens to stay away from beaches.

Police on the resort island of Penang, hit in the 2004 tsunami, have been mobilised to evacuate people from beach-side hotels and other dwellings, a local government official said.

A huge earthquake struck the region on December 26, 2004, causing a massive tsunami and more than 230,000 deaths.

Indonesia suffers frequent quakes, lying on an active seismic belt on part of the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

- Reuters

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