Mobile phones allow deaf people to communicate anytime, anywhere!

Cell phones has largely been limited to text messaging for deaf people. Technology is catching up - as it always does - to enable the disabled to visually communicate in real time.

Cornell University has come up with a technology (which they have been working for over 4 years, led by Professor Sheila Hemami) to over come this. She says that this technology would allow deaf people "untethered communication in their native language"

This project called Mobile ASL (American Sign Language) has created the first phone prototypes last year which are now used by 25 deaf people in Seattle. Still in the early stages of development, it wouldn't take long for this technology to be available worldwide, embedded on all mobile phones.

These researches designed a video compression software which is very much lightweight and streamlined to efficiently deliver clear, understandable video over existing limited bandwidth networks (perfectly compatible with, both, 2G and 3G networks).

Technology would enable just about everything. We just need to wait a little longer ;)

Cheers!

Sources: (ACM, Cornell University)
Picture: Rober Berker, University Photography

Bicycle Thief

.

It’s cooler than four-wheels, easier to get around;
Enjoying sun and the cold, everything that’s around;
It’s pleasant activity, an exercise, panting and paddling;
Goodbye to motion-sickness, I would rather prefer biking.

Needed to chill out tonight, steering about in London;
Stunned outside the garage, indecisive of my vision;
Rub my eyes and looked again, oh man, forever it’s gone;
Observed for a while, certainly stolen by a disturbed spawn.
*******************************************************

Damn, I had it locked securely to the frame, and it was there three days back. The garage “was” very much protected. Gates are always securely locked and accessible only with keyless remote-control entry fobs which are provided to tenants only. The 24/7 guard, CCTV cameras, were there and I can’t wait for Monday to call them and inquire about it. In fact, with so much useless security, the garage isn’t safe anymore!!!

Who would want to steal that ugly bicycle dressed in mild rust? Apparently, some sssh0le did. Nevertheless, I hope it does him some good. The worst thing is that I haven’t ridden it in more than a week. Now that it’s gone, I want to ride it even more. I’m glad I didn’t put more money to decorate my lost friend. Goodbye bikey!

Image taken from here.

Why do moths fly towards bright light?

.Sitting at my study table, focusing on comprehensive reading;

Surrounded by utter silence, only noise was the keys stroking;
Something caught my attention, so unexpected and surprising;
Sensing a touch on my neck, the reflex was a bit alarming.

It happened so fast, I jolted forward and fingertips observing;
I jumped out of the chair, little moth went for the light hanging;
It crashes on the bulb and falls, not conscious to avoid hurting;
Doing that for a lifetime, lights off, I showed it out for light-hunting.
************************************************************

One any given night, you would see many flies and other insects continuously crashing in or making endless circles around lights in your living room or even on the streets. The little disturbance caused by a moth tonight, I wanted to find out why they fly towards or around bright lights and surprisingly found many theories. However, none of them seems to be based on concrete scientific evidence.

Insects that attract to light, and that doesn’t are described by a phenomenon called ‘phototaxis’. Earthworms and cockroaches are repelled by exposure to too much light and are known to have negative ‘phototaxis’ while insects like flies and moths are naturally attracted to light and have positive ‘phototaxis’. One theory states that certain insects use light from the moon as a navigational beacon and flies, keeping the moon on its right side. This would work well because the moon is very much distant from the insect. But, if the insect takes artificial light as a beacon, such as a bulb which is much closer than moon, it would be flying around the bulb in an endless circle trying to keep the light on its side.
Another theory about the same so-called light-compass states that, as the light coming from distant is a straight line, the insect flies towards the moon, and speed of its wings is based on the strength of light on each eye. But, when it flies towards an artificial light, the strength of light on one eye differs from the other causing one wing to beat stronger. As a result, the moth flight becomes unbalanced causing it to crash into the light.

The other theory is the idea that flies are attracted to darkness and are nocturnal. Lights at short distance, they see the immediate area around it as the darkest space. They fly in to this ‘darkness’, and as the light is so close they get confused and end up flying around the light. There is debate going on about why insects are attracted to artificial light while natural light is still there. Some believe that it is, because of this dark space they see around artificial lights.

Unfortunately, there is no right answer to this question leaving us to make personal preferences on the most debated theories.

Which theory do you believe in?


Cheers!
Hammett

Image taken from here

A stubborn mind's invasion

.

Twisting and turning, on my warm and comfy bed;
Wandering and wondering, in vague thoughts, outspread;
Wanting and needing, in desperate wait for its return;
Sleepless and helpless, in invasion of a mind so stubborn.

Tired and exhausted, yet troubled with a slight headache;
Worried and scared, uncertain of what’s keeping me awake;
Reading and writing, lot to be done in just two weeks;
Sleeping and resting, without which I can’t reach the peak.
******************************************************

Cheers!
Hammett

Image taken from here

MALDIVES – Highest divorce rate throughout the world

It’s a fact that Maldives has the highest divorce rate in the world, and lot of Maldivians talk about as well. Alarmingly, the figure is way higher than the rate of any other country. The figure speaks for itself. But, what could be the factors “contributing” to this world record?

Actually, I’m rather new to the concept of marriage/divorce :S. Maybe you guys could help me understand what could causing this. Few things that come to mind are:

1- Lack of awareness and higher education in the country.

2- Marriage to please parents
It happens a quite a lot in Maldives, and usually doesn’t last long.

3- Women are underrepresented in the workforce.

Maldives has a long history of women growing up to be just only housewives. Though it has changed a bit over the years, it is still seen and practice that way – maybe not as much in Male’, but definitely in the outer islands.

4- Ease of getting a divorce.

In Islamic Sharia pronouncement of a few words can settle a divorce. In a community where “divorce” is no different from quitting a job – the way it is seen socially – in many instances these words might be used unwisely. I believe the regulation of divorce has changed a bit.

5- Trust, respect and loyalty are unvalued.
Hoo-ha… this is a huge topic!

6- Marriage at YOUNG AGE

Don't get me started. Look around you; friends, family, co-workers - its true! Few guys in mid 20s are mature and/or grown up to be heading a family. It usually ends with a pregnant lady or a little kid or two - whom, most of the time, have to find a way to bringing up a family on her own while the proud dad flies around looking for "exposed nectar". Is that outrageous? :|

7- …and etc!! Don’t hunt me down

There’s a lot more, but I got to run. Interesting topic, isn’t it?


What have you got to say?


Cheers!

If you have never failed, you have never lived!

Hiya,

Today, somehow, I ended up digging up about failures. Maybe I was looking for something inspirational. I'm like a random crawler jumping from subject to subject and never focus on one thing :P

We are social animals. We aren't perfect, but we are very intelligent. Every single moment in your life has an effect on the point in life where you are today. We all make mistakes, not one, but too many. Don't let the bad experiences, embarrassment, guilt or whatever get in the way of becoming the person whom you dream to be; to succeed in life.

A failure is a man who has blundered but is not capable of cashing in on the experience. -Elbert Hubbard-

Don't take failure as a negative thing. Learn from it, and think it a a stepping stone to success. Who hasn't failed? I have failed, but that doesn't stop me from trying again and again. :)

Success is failure turned inside out.

Thought I'd share these interesting clips. Get inspired and start turning your failures inside out. Who knows what you might discover.

FAMOUS FAILURES

GREAT FAILURES OF THE EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL

THE DON'T QUIT POEM!

Cheers!
-Hammett-

Attorney General’s Office Website – Do Not Visit / Browse

The Attorney General's Office website has been listed as a suspicious website, which might infect your computer with malicious software. This malicious software includes 45 scripting exploits and 5 Trojans. When you enter the website, malicious software might be downloaded and installed without your knowledge.

I was searching for some information and happened to go to this website. But, luckily, I got warned by the antivirus software.

Although malicious software is not hosted on this website itself, it is hosted on 47 other domains and 6 domains are functioning as intermediaries for distributing these malware to visitors of AG Office Website. Successful infection might result in an average of 3 more processes on your computer. Here is the link from Google Safe Browsing Tool which gives more detail of the activity.

The rather strange thing is, the website has been listed as suspicious for 90 days (3 months) and still contains malicious code. Most of the desktop antivirus applications would show some kind of warning. I wonder why the website still contains these codes. It is possible that the IT staffs are not aware of the problem.

Government websites are virtual gateways for netizens to access the government. While establishment of e-Government is taking place in Maldives, incidents like these are setbacks which will have an effect on netizens accepting and/or trusting the e-services.

Hope to see the site cleaned soon. I really need to get some data from there. :)

-Hammett-

A Study - Potential E-crime Threats on e-Government of Maldives

ABSTRACT

E-Government initiative of Maldives has undoubtedly invited new forms of crimes against the government agencies. The legal system which does not cover electronic crimes is a major bottleneck in circumventing these crimes. This paper would discuss current and future potential e-crimes on the e-government of Maldives, and highlight on technical and legislative countermeasures.

1- Introduction

Maldives, as any other Nation, has been working hard to close gaps in emerging technology and to engage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in providing fast, reliable, and resilient government services. The rapid growth of ICT was boosted by the government’s commitment to achieve the targets of United National Millennium Declaration (United Nations Resident Coordinator, 2006).

In the UN Global E-Government Survey 2003, Maldives scored highest in the South-central Asian countries, with an E-Government readiness index of 0.410, taking 79^th place worldwide (United Nations, 2003). In the following years, this development has taken fast pace and some E-Government services have been further improved.

Although, advancement of ICT in the country is moving forward, this change is not seen in the legal system yet. There are no legislations for computer crime or electronic data protection. The current level of e-crime in the country is significantly low. However, it could be a bottleneck in the legal system, if such crimes are to emerge heavily and increase unexpectedly.

The following sections in this paper would highlight on the E-Government initiative in Maldives, including its structure, current and future potential e-crime threats, and would recommend technical and legislative measures to reduce and circumvent the discussed problems.

READ THE FULL DOCUMENT HERE

Awards & Recognition for the poem 'Caught in Loneliness'

How long has it been since my last post. Hehe. I'm lagging behind. Don't worry about that, as I am here with some good news today.

Some of you might have read a poem I wrote last year titled 'Caught in Loneliness'. Well, a few days after posting it here, I submitted it to a contest on poetry.com. I did not anticipate anything. I didn't get any feedback for that for a long time.

They took their time and surprised me last week. I got few impressive e-mails, and to add on to that, few mails waiting at my previous address which I didn't care to pick up till last week. Yeah! Keep in mind that I'm careless. I still haven't given my new address to the phone company and some other places... Hehe..

Anyway, I got a few awards and some more recognitions for that poem.

Editor's Choice Award - Presented by Poetry.com and International Library of Poets.

Immortal Verses - It's to be featured on this anthology, deluxe hardbound edition, coming out soon! You could order it online at poetry.com Hehe..

The Sound of Poetry - It has been selected to be recorded in this 33 track, three-CD set, with 1 track for each poem. These 33 poems are selected from all the poems that had won Editor's Choice Award.

Noble House Poet Fellowship Award 2007 - Not only a certificate; includes a gold pin (24-karat) wow!

The best poems and poets of 2007 - It's a new book, to be published soon, with 1 page for each of the selected 200 poets. I've been asked to write a new poem for that ;)

Distinguished Member - Nominated by the Board of directors and advisory committee of the International Society of Poets.


By the way, that poem is in 'Poets Choice - Rate my Poem' contest now. You could go and vote here.

I don't find that poem so great and it's been a while since I lost interest in writing poems. What the heck! Maybe I should give another try.

Cheers!
Hammett

P.S. Hope you wouldn't mind typos and grammatical errors. I'm in a rush :)

Reincarnation - possible?

Hello guys........

I apoligise for disappearing from my e-life. I know it's been a while. Battling through an arcade of stress and puzzles about life, I landed in Male' about a month back. As much as I wanted to surprise friends and family, some how to 'my surprise' most of them were expecting me. Information disclosure; that won't happen next time... Hehe..

I had a great time there. It was so good to be back home though it wasn't after that long. You know how it feels like, don't you? I was on vacation and didn't get much time to get to work (updating blog and all). You know what! Actually, my timing was great as if I was planning to attend Rockstorm Chapter 2, which I wasn't. Hehe... It was an amazing show performed by selected few bands from last year and the stunning Malaysian band, not to mention Fasylive.

After 2 weeks of homely food, coffee hopping and teasing close friends (;P) I'm back here again and got busy and then got busy with other things. Now that I've figured out most part of the 'Puzzle of Life', I'm reconstructing it wisely. I have been through reincarnation. Is that scary?

I would try to keep updating this space as much as I could and would be back soon with more stuff. Actually, I got a lot of things to write here. However, I don't want to write too much today and bore you guys. Keep coming back for more. :)

Cheers!