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Friday, 28 March, 2008

Sustainable Towers in Malaysia

From inhabitat. (photos)

8)

A stunning new residential development is planned for the Putrajaya waterfront known as Precinct 4, just 30km south of Kuala Lumpur. The design, however, is a refreshing and original with unique, marine-inspired structures - which also draw from traditional Islamic designs - arranged in a permeable, radiating block of bioclimatic architecture.

The winner of a recent contest, the design for Precinct 4 comes from Studio Nicoletti Associati and Malaysian architects Hijjas Kasturi Associates, who provided the masterplan of Putrajaya. The goal of the designers was to provide a model for sustainable residential design that was inspired by the city’s unique landscape which includes an expansive artificial lake. The biggest inspiration came from the sea and the entire development resembles a fleet of ships.

The architect’s goal was to design buildings that tell “of its place of origin which is culturally modern, Islamic and tropical in nature.”

Tags: Malaysia, architecture, Photos, design


Posted in World , Photos


Posted by skyleecm at 00:21 AM 1 comments

Tuesday, 25 March, 2008

Photos Taken by Elephant

View at Daily Mail.

A camera is attached to an elephant's trunk to capture those amazing jungle views.

Downer said he came up with the idea three years ago when his team started filming the tigers.

He noticed how gently the forest elephants carried firewood to their camp and wondered if they'd be as delicate with a camera.

"And they were," he enthused. "Elephants do not see tigers as a threat, and tigers are comfortable with elephants. So we had the perfect team."

Along the way, images of other animals were captured by chance - or when the otherwise camera-shy creatures investigated the equipment.

Somewhat related:

New Caledonian Crows Find Two Tools Better Than One (Comment: Tiny “Crow-Cams” Capture Tool Use in Wild Birds).

Tags: nature, wildlife, Photos


Posted in Photos , Animals


Posted by skyleecm at 23:23 PM 2 comments

Monday, 24 March, 2008

Internet Explorer Flash 8 ExternalInterface Bug

In IE6, ExternalInterface.call method will result in a Javascript error when the flash object is within a html form! (an undefined error)

Steve Kamerman had produced a fix for the bug. (Check his blog)

IE's implementation of Javascript seems to want to look for "window.yourObject" and not "document.form[x].yourObject", so his script figures out which form you are in and makes an alias.

window["yourmoviename"] = document.getElementById("yourmoviename");

An example of the fix is (assume we are using swfobject also): 

<script type="text/javascript" src="swfobject.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="swfformfix.js"></script>

<div id="swfdiv">

This is replaced by the Flash movie.

</div>

<script type="text/javascript">

  var so = new SWFObject("myMovie.swf", "myMovieObjectName", 

      "200", "100", "6.0.0", "#ffffff");

  so.addParam("quality", "high");

  so.write("swfdiv");

  SWFFormFix("myMovieObjectName");

</script>

Tags: Javascript, Flash


Posted in Open-Source , Technology


Posted by skyleecm at 22:58 PM 1 comments

Friday, 21 March, 2008

Upgrade Ubuntu 6.10 Edgy to 7.04 Feisty

I have just upgraded my home pc from Ubuntu Edgy to Feisty. There are some problems along the way.

I am unable to use the Update Manager UI to upgrade the system. The Update Manager cannot proceed to upgrade if any available updates are not first installed, but it will just say that there is some network problem. Then, there is some authentication errors. (refer Upgrade Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft) to Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn))

After that is fixed, I have this error on fetching Sources.gz, Sub-process gzip returned an error code.

I then use the command line method to upgrade the system.

Edit /etc/apt/sources.list as root. Change every occurrence of edgy to feisty.

apt-get update

apt-get dist-upgrade

After the system is successfully upgraded and rebooted, however the system has problem mounting one of the partition, which requires manual intervention.

The new kernel doesn't use hda device, all the hda partitions become sda partitions, and the original sda partitions become sdb partitions. Somehow, one of the original mounted partition is misidentified, and this is fixed by removing the file /etc/blkid.tab .

Restart the system once more, and now it can boot up successfully.

Despite the troubles, it's good to know that the system can always be updated and upgraded.

Tags: installation, Linux, Ubuntu


Posted in Linux , Open-Source


Posted by skyleecm at 22:09 PM 5 comments

Thursday, 13 March, 2008

The Rocketburg and Gettysburg Address

From chron.com by Fran Blinebury.

One score (wins) and six weeks ago, our Rockets brought forth on this continent, a new team, conceived in Intensity, and dedicated to the proposition that all NBA teams are not created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great winning streak, testing whether that team, or any team so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great hardwood floor of that winning streak. We have come to dedicate a portion of that hardwood floor as a final resting place for all of the previous losses and playoff failures of T-Mac, for the broken bones of Yao Ming, and for those who gave their careers in Rockets' red uniforms so that one day this streak might live. It is fitting and proper that we do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we can not consecrate, we can not hallow - this floor of basketball dreams. The hustling men (Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry), living and of dead shooting percentages (Rafer Alston), have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what Dikembe Mutombo and teammates did here. It is for us the watching - and them, still playing - rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who have made clutch jump shots and played tough defense and made the unsung Shane Battier plays thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for the players to be dedicated to the great task remaining before them on the regular season schedule - that from these once-dead Rockets (15-17 on Jan. 2) we take increased devotion to the cause for which they have given their last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these once-dead Rockets shall not have died in Toronto and Philadelphia in vain - that this streaking, winning, white-hot team, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom from playoff failure - and that championship basketball of the people, by the people, for the people of Houston, shall not perish from the earth.

----- Abraham Dunkin, March 12, 2008

:)

and the most famous speech of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Tags: history, nba, basketball, Abraham-Lincoln


Posted in World , Sports


Posted by skyleecm at 23:19 PM 9 comments