The Mighty Jungle

When I say our home in Brantford has an untended garden, I don't mean that as a bad thing. We have some beautiful rose bushes at the hidden side of our house that should be blossoming in a few months.

But having been left alone for the first three weeks of spring, our backyard has gone from a lawn flattened by a Canadian winter to a small jungle.

I found these flowers interesting.

With orange petals and a purple interior, it would seem that our backyard was once a maintained garden. Who wouldn't want these colourful buds popping up year after year?

I'm probably wrong, and I plan to investigate this when flowershops are open on Monday, but I believe that this is a Thistle - yes, those common prickly weeds - in full bloom.

I've seen pictures of flowering thistles, and these look almost nothing like them. Yet the inner purple part (the stigma?) and lower prickly weed part seem similar, the large orange petals are unique.

If anyone knows what this plant is, post a comment!

I'll post updates if I learn more.


--
D. Phillips

How we should drive a LED?

LED works with a linear current control or Constant current control because of the following reasons:

The Current has a non-linear relationship with the Relative intensity of the LED.
The variation of the Current will change the dominant wavelength of a LED.
So it is necessary to maintain a constant current thus to ensure constant LED colour.
The current control supply can be all SMT components; this high power resistor is eliminated. This reduces the assembly complexity. Again this will give a cost saving.
Reduce power dissipation at high temperature, high supply voltage, and lower LED forward voltage condition. (as compared to a resistor drive)

Constant current source will give better, more uniform appearance, and allow it to meet a tighter tolerance specification.

Two technologies can be considered in designing the LED driver: the first one is linear current control driver; the second is switch mode current control driver.
The Linear current control or constant current source is commonly used due to lower cost than the Switch mode current control driver.

LED Constant Current Source
A constant current source for LED is usually consisting of a small integrated circuit and several external components, the constant current configuration serves as a relatively inexpensive LED driver solution. The drive current is typically set during design by the use of an external resistor connected between ground and a single pin of the IC chip package. The circuitry is compact enough to fit directly on the circuit board along with the LED lights in the array. As the voltage fluctuates during operation, the constant current source will do the job to compensate and to maintain a steady current output for each of the LEDs within the array. Lighting systems equipped with multiple LEDs may operate from several redundant constant current sources. In such a case, the components are located upon the same circuit board and share a common power supply. Individual sub-circuits will appear to operate as one.

Junction Voltage Drop Variations
Another common cause of voltage fluctuation is the result of varying junction temperatures within the LED. As current passes through the LED, the junction temperature will begin to increase. This increase in temperature causes the forward voltage drop across the junction to decrease. Reductions in forward voltage lead to an increase of total current flowing through the LED light. The increase in current causes an increase in temperature. This continuous cycle can lead to catastrophic failure unless the current is limited. High power LEDs are extremely susceptible to variations in forward voltage. The constant current source provides an ideal solution in order to achieve a reliable circuit and prevent risk of thermal run away.

Manufacturing deviation
Imperfections during the LED manufacturing process can cause individual LED characteristics to vary somewhat drastically. The binning process relieves this dilemma by categorizing LEDs according to key characteristics including luminous intensity, spectral wavelength, and forward voltage drops. However, LEDs common to a voltage bin typically do not present identical forward voltage drops. Furthermore, the difference between the forward voltages of dissimilar bins may be dramatic. Some light emitting diode manufactures may not even offer binning according to forward voltage. As forward voltage differentials will cause drive current differentials. The solution is to apply the constant current source in order to compensate for such deviations caused by the LED manufacturing process.

Simplified Circuitry

Some engineers consider using simple resistor driven circuitry as a bad practice. This is mainly because forward currents can vary as the forward voltage across the LED and junction temperature changes. Deviations during LED manufacturing cause forward voltage drops to vary, which results in dissimilar drive currents. Varying source voltages often associated with automotive applications can also lead to current fluctuations. Although never recommended in lighting systems equipped with high power LEDs, simple resistor driven circuitry does not present such a negative impact when utilized within circuits containing traditional LEDs. However, one should be very cautions employing this technique! Typically the lower power devices such as a 100 mW LED, to not require advanced drive circuitry.

Although advanced circuitry may present numerous advantages when used in conjunction with lower power LEDs, the overall cost efficiency is typically not one of them. Heat dissipation is much less and forward currents only vary slightly in a properly designed circuit.

Considering the benefits cost efficiency are up to one hundred times greater with simplified drive circuitry, it is clear why such small variations in forward current become insignificant.

Selection of appropriate resistors and proper circuit architecture, help assure operation over a minimal current range even as the voltage variables are applied. It is very important to perform resistor calculations using the typical forward voltage drop as specified in the LED datasheets, but also while considering the minimum and maximum specified voltage drops. By doing so, it becomes easy to see how much or how little the forward current may vary between LED lots.

LED TV will be main Stream of TV?

The Q109 World TV shipment drop 6% comparing with last quarter Q308.
Revenue of Q109 World TV slashes 12%
LCD TV shipment comparing with last quarter rose 27% But the sales Revenues of LCD TV slash for the first time.

The major reason behind is the World Economy Tsunami causes the supplier to reduce the ASP in order to stimulant the consumers

Electronic Times analyses amongst all sizes of TV, 32” is the most popular model partly due the consumer spending limitation and the price drop is most significant for this size 32” TV drop 38% in price whereas 40/42 “only drops trivial 0.5%! Comparing with last Quarter.

Samsung has been sales No. 1 for Consecutive 13 Quarters. With amazing market share 22% and LGI is the 2nd runner up of market share of 13% which had surpassed Sony by 2%.

Sony, then Sharp and Panasonic will be the 3rd, 4th and 5th position.

From DisplayResearch, World shipment of Q1 was 4,330 Million sets.
Drop 25% as Q4 08.
Drop 6% as comparing with Q108. Total revenues are USD22.1B! Slash 12%.

LCD TV shipment 2,670 M sets that is 61.6% of the total TV sets produced.
This is the only one growth.

Another sign is that LED TV is becoming a real production unit, TV and papers ads can be found earlier for LED TV... it is no longer a prototype but is more or less a product hit!

It has various advantages such as power saving of 40%, Local dimming possible and huge contrast 200,000:1 can be made, topped with 200 Hz scanning method. Thanks fro the LCD and LED technology… A vivid movie can be seen at Home now.

Summary
LED TV is around HKD5,000 more expensive than CCFL or HCFL backlight LED TV with the same size 42”, later on Samsung may be able to bring down the price gap to less than 2,000 dollar with their production ramp up using our machine. (1 dollar one LED with a smaller difference such that by Quality/price ratio as a sales gadget) Samsung can eat up more market share eventually!

Will The LED backlight TV will be major trend, all we can see is LED has unique feature in the quality of the display, and is supported by EU and advance countries for no toxic material in it. The matter is Cost!

If someone who can drive it down to the cost of a normal CCFL TV with paying extra 10-20%, I think that it will be a success. And the demand will be huge for LED at that time. As So far only less than 1% TV is of LED backlight. The Market is Huge!

Humans Vs. Machines: A Terminator Salvation Movie Review

This is judgement day. In contrast to the three previous Terminator movies which was first set in the 1980's, Terminator Salvation is set in the time when machines ruled the world and the humans struggle for survival.Here, the viewers were given a peek of how John Connor played his part at the onset stage of the resistance and how his influence can actually lead the human resistance against

Life Haven Holds "Live Free" Concert

Life Haven will be holding a fundraising concert tomorrow, 8pm-May 30, entitled “Live Free” at Crossroad 77. The project will showcase talents of persons with disabilities in the performing arts. The main performer is the Beautiful Gate Foundation for the Disabled Performance Art Troupe which will be joined by Filipinos with disabilities as well as mainstream bands that support their cause.Other

Friendster Yesterday, Facebook Today, Sandbox Tomorrow?

The online space called the Internet saw a deluge of social networking sites ever since MySpace and Friendster dominated the industry a few years ago. Big social networking names such as Hi5 and Multiply followed suit. Today, we have Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, and the newest talk of the town - Sandbox.Many other social networking sites tried to replicate the successful business models but not

Amber Alert is not a crayon

Because of the recent Tori Stafford murder, Amber Alerts have ended up under a spotlight. Thousands of citizens have signed an online petition demanding that the Ontario government change the criteria for an Amber Alert so that they are issued "any time a parent finds it out of character for their child to be missing". Aside from the fact that the Ontario government has no jurisdiction over Amber Alerts, I'm here to inform you that this proposal would actually make the Alerts less helpful at finding missing children.

I'm not insensitive to the Stafford tragedy, or to the similar events experienced by far too many parents. I understand that losing a young child can be one of the most harrowing and nerve-wracking experiences of one's life, and that anything which could shorten or avert that experience must seem like a no-brainer good idea. But that's not the case here.

As the news media have been telling us (in their incessant desire to report that Woodstock police are drawing criticism for following the rules), there are certain criteria that must be met for an Amber Alert to be issued. These criteria include that the child has been abducted, and that there is reason to believe the child is facing the possibility of harm.

Now, think back to the day Tori was first pronounced missing. That's right, 'missing'. Not abducted. At this point, the news coverage was simply that a nine-year-old girl had gone missing in Woodstock. We didn't have reason to think it was an abduction; we didn't have the now-infamous security cam footage. So it didn't fit the criteria for an Amber Alert, and the Woodstock police were 100% correct in not issuing one. In fact, getting the story out as much as it was is something that should be commended.

To some extent, the heart-tuggers have realized this, and that's why their efforts have been redirected to getting the Amber Alert criteria changed. However, there are two massive flaws in their plan:

1) It wouldn't have made a difference in this case. Let's say an Amber Alert went out at 4 PM on the Wednesday - roughly the time Tori was reported missing. If I had seen the alert, be I in Kitchener or Brantford, I would not have suddenly started viewing every nine-year-old I came in contact with as a potential kidnapping victim. I'd have thought that the girl ran away from home, or maybe was abducted, but Woodstock's far enough away that I'd need to see something really out of the ordinary to make any sort of connection.

So far out of the ordinary, in fact, that it would have had to be the sort of thing that would pique my interest even if there hadn't been an alert. More to the point, the one specific I've heard where an Amber Alert might have saved Tori was that they were in the parking lot of a Home Depot store in Guelph. If I were living in Guelph, going to Home Depot to pick up a lightbulb or a scroll saw or something, and saw a couple of people with a nine-year-old in the parking lot? I'd have thought it was maybe a little unusual, but not enough to warrant any further thought. This wouldn't have changed had I known that a nine-year-old was missing in Woodstock. There'd have had to be something rather overt - something that would have caught my attention whether there was an Amber Alert or not.

2) In a more general sense, overexposure leads to indifference. According to CBC (stop the presses, Ryan did actual research for a blog), at least 50,000 Canadian children were reported missing each year between 1993 and 2005. The actual lowest number was 51,973, and the last few years were all above 65,000, but we'll use the lowball number of 50,000 anyhow.

Let's further say that, for whatever reason, the parents found it completely "in character" for half of these children to go missing. (I don't understand that, I don't know how many kids would go missing often enough for it to be part of their character but rarely enough that you'd report them missing.) That leaves 25,000 cases in Canada each year where parents believe it is out of character for their child to be missing.

That works out to an average of about 68.5 children reported uncharacteristically missing each day. If an Amber Alert is issued for each of these kids - which seems to be what the petitioners want - we'd be seeing a new Amber Alert every 25 minutes or so. Admittedly, they'd be spread out across the country - but that still leaves one every few hours for Southern Ontario. With that many Amber Alerts going out, nobody would pay attention to them. The less often something happens, the more attention it gets.

Amber Alerts are an extremely useful tool for getting out information about abducted children. They are used when enough information is known about the abductor and abductee that they are actually worth the time spent broadcasting them.

Losing a child is a horrible ordeal, and nobody wishes to see Tori Stafford-type situations play out. However, jeopardizing the potential safety of children who could be helped by Amber Alerts to make a virtually nil improvement on the safety of other missing children is not the way to prevent these tragedies.

--Ryan

Philippine Fashion Week 2009 Holiday Day 1

Six designers dominated the night at the first day of the Philippine Fashion Week 2009. Premier Collection A featured Angelo Estera, Jerome Salaya Ang, Joel Escober, Randall Solomon, Raoul Ramirez, and of course, Yako Reyes.It was held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City and started at 9:30pm. Function rooms 2 & 3 were filled to the brim with a lot more spectators in standing accommodation

Blue Water Day Spa uncovers Karylle, Akihiro & 4 New Treatments

Blue Water Day Spa unveiled tonight their newest endorsers Karylle and Akihiro Sato, a part Brazilian, part Japanese model.Karylle and Akihiro’s entry into the Blue Water Spa family concides with the spa's introduction of four new services as well: the Athlete's Massage, Tibetan Meridian Fire Therapy, Comfort Zone Monticelli Mud Treatment, and Biovegetal Enzyme Skin Peeling.The Athlete’s Massage

My free lunch

They say there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Obviously 'they' weren't at Harvey's today.

For the (third? fourth?) year in a row, Harvey's offered free hamburgers to anybody who could make it to one of their locations for a few hours today.

I went in expecting one free hamburger per customer. Evidently that wasn't the case - one guy ahead of me ordered eight (that's Numberwang!!!), and most other orders were two or four or somesuch. Cheese, fries, drinks - that stuff all still cost you, but the burgers were as free as Sesame Street's air.

I often forget about Harvey's in the realm of fast food - unfortunately, as it's one of the least unhealthy burgers - because it's generally the farthest chain from wherever I'm living (debatable in one case, but only if I make a turn I would otherwise almost never make). I'm betting most people fall into the same pack, and this is why they try such unorthodox marketing methods as free hamburgers - to get people to remember them, and then hook them in with admittedly delicious food.

I went through the drive-thru (take that, environment!) on my way home from work, and noticed that the parking lot wasn't designed for anywhere near that amount of traffic (take that, urban planners!).

Two hamburgers - ketchup, mayo, pickle. One very happy blogger. (Take that, arteries!)

Karl Marx was right - the best things in life are free.

---------------------

And two mostly-rhetorical questions: why do I read my horoscope every day (at least every day I read the newspaper); and why, on the rare occasions that it gives me useful/pertinent advice, do I perhaps-intentionally go against it?

--Ryan

Red Mobile now accessible in both 2G & 3G

The first time I heard of Red Mobile last year when it was launched, I detested the idea of having yet another mobile service provider added to our long list of wireless telco service companies. But then again, I guess more players mean better services, tighter competition and lower rates.Now Available in 2GAnd I was not mistaken. Just recently, Red Mobile expanded their 3G network coverage to

TV5’s "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" Starts Today

Does the Slumdog Millionaire movie come to mind when you hear "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Well, now you can enjoy the unrivaled international top-rating game show franchise every week as TV5 makes their Saturday 6pm primetime viewing more exciting with the launching of the - Who Wants to be a Millionaire?Hosted by the celebrity Vic Sotto, the show once again takes hold of Philippine TV

You gotta admire his persistence

Over this past weekend, a drama played itself out in my Gmail inbox.

(Another, far more interesting drama played itself out in my Gmail spam folder over the same time period. This one involved e-mails from the likes of Skaff Oliva, Sodawasser Steven, and Dick Stratton [...seriously?], "massive gains of 3-4 inches", "exposed Gaga", and "scientists' mass suicide".)

Saturday night, I got an e-mail with the subject 'Facebook Registration Confirmation'. My curiosity got the better of me, and a quick perusal revealed both that it was legitimate, and that it had been sent to an old e-mail address of mine that I have forwarded to the current one.

That was weird. Somebody tried to sign up for Facebook using one of my old e-mail addresses.

An hour or so later, my inbox received another message - this one auto-forwarded from an even older address, giving me a link to change my password to the first old address.

So after signing up for Facebook with my e-mail address, this guy realized he couldn't get into my account and used the 'forgot your password?' function.

The next morning, I wake up to two more Google Password Recovery Assistance e-mails.

Later Sunday, I get an e-mail - again sent to the first old address - with an invitation to Facebook from somebody I've never heard of.

I no longer think that somebody was trying to sign me up to Facebook using a long-dormant and seldom-used e-mail address.

I think somebody genuinely thought that percussionist@gmail.com (hey spammers, have a free shot!) was their e-mail address, and are still stuck trying to figure out how they managed to forget their password AND not have the e-mails properly sent to their old address.

But boy, they sure tried every trick in the book.

This might also explain the e-mails that address occasionally gets as part of an e-mail distribution list for the Libertyville, Illinois high school band.

---------------------

Expect fewer updates over the next while. I just started a new job, and the working life seems to leave me a lot more drained than the student life. I'm still going to aim for posting twice a week - once mid-week, once on the weekend - but we'll see how that plays out.

I can only imagine flawlessly.

--Ryan

First Case of A(H1N1) - Swine Flu in the Philippines

Weeks after the A(H1N1) virus broke out and spread in at least 38 countries and 791 current cases worldwide, the Philippines remained free from any case of the influenza virus infection. That is, until yesterday.Also known as the 'Swine Flu', the first case of A(H1N1) flu virus infection in the Philippines was confirmed yesterday by local authorities.A 10-yr old child from a trip in the United

American Idol Winner Kris Allen Emerges

Just a few minutes ago, Kris Allen was declared winner of American Idol 2009 - season 8. His performance in the finale with "Ain't No Sunshine" might have paved his victory to which America showed their approval.Although Adam Lambert was the early favorite of the audience in general and attributed as the "chosen one", Kris got the votes of the viewing public. Judges, particularly Simon Cowell,

Erratum: Earlier Post on American Idol Winner

My apologies for the erroneous post half an hour ago about the winner for American Idol season 8. Let it be made clear that Kris Allen won the American Idol season 8.The earlier post has been corrected.See this post: American Idol Kris Allen Emerges

The SAMMI Shakers at Tech-Ed

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Microsoft Tech-Ed conference as a drum circle facilitator with a team from Samsung Mobile Innovator (SAMMI), to showcase a new application they developed for the Samsung Omnia phone. When I told my drum students at U.C. Santa Cruz that I had to be absent from class, there were groans of disappointment. But when I let them play drums on the Omnia phone, they gave me their full support. In fact, I had to practically pry their curious fingers from the phones so we could get on with our lessons!

When it comes to instruments, I love acoustic ones that tremble and move the air. I don’t like electronics or synthesized drum pads, so I wasn’t really expecting to enjoy playing music on a cell phone. But this application produces the sounds of twenty-seven percussion instruments, triggered by an accelerometer. This makes it possible for people to easily play drum circle music.

My interest is in how different cultures create and drive states of consciousness in groups of people through music toward certain goals. And my practice reaches from teaching traditional music of the African Diaspora to leading large groups of players in rhythmic learning experiences and celebration drum circles. Through drumming, I seek out paths toward learning, healing, and elevating the spirit in myself and others.

Something came full circle for me while preparing for the event. Twenty years ago, I entered the corporate culture of Silicon Valley as a drum circle facilitator. In a task-oriented industry full of technical thinkers from around the world, companies realized that their outcomes were hindered by a lack of relational skills, and teambuilding was the answer. I witnessed that a community gathered in a circle, playing rhythmic parts joined around a common pulse could synchronously engage each member toward a common outcome of creating something expressive.

I was much moved working with the group from Samsung Mobile Innovator, who for our musical purposes, were named the SAMMI Shakers. In the time I spent with them practicing our music for our performance at the conference, I saw that they are working hard and doing wonderful things with a fiery and elevated sense of purpose. They embody the genius and technical savvy of engineers but also the relational skills to navigate across multiple maps of the world. Samsung Mobile Innovator supports developers in writing, testing, marketing, and selling new applications for Samsung smartphones. At the Tech-Ed conference booth, I watched them meet with everyone from old-school engineers to high-level architects and executives. They listened, assessed the language, knowledge, and skill levels, and joined with them in thinking together. Samsung Mobile Innovator creates a world you want to belong to. And when we played music together on the Omnia, they were competent and creative. They had rhythmic expertise and they found joy in it.

And far from feeling my work was archaic, I felt quite inspired. There are many things you can do in an ensemble setting if you have a group of people with Samsung Omnias running this application. I had a vision of being up in the Sierras or on an island, all alone and wanting to connect with somebody. And I imagined dialing up some satellite and connecting with a stranger in Korea and weaving drum beats. I imagined dialing up my siblings, playing some beats while we sang Happy Birthday to my folks and even sending pictures of ourselves standing on the moon while we did it. And I thought maybe I could hook up with Yo-Yo Ma and collaborate on a new ringtone that makes Brian Eno jealous.

Samsung Mobile Innovator has built these tools and is putting out these examples of things you can do. They are motivating and supporting people to do anything they can imagine and helping them code it. This is how a drum circle works! I’ve held in my hand a new tool for learning, healing and elevating the spirit. So now I am right along with them deeply curious to see how the larger community expands the Omnia, this little handheld incarnation of their brainchild.

Most Respectfully and Yours in Rhythm,
Don Davidson

American Idol Winner to be Known!

After three months of performances and eliminations in American Idol season 8, the contenders are now down to the final two: Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.I have to say that the first time I heard Adam Lambert sing "Mad World" way early in the competition, I already concluded that the "American Idol" for this season was found. The competition went on and Adam's performance proved me right as weeks

AyosDito.ph, Philippines' Newest Online Marketplace

About two weeks ago, I first saw the AyosDito.ph booth as one of iBlog 5's sponsors. The domain name was catchy enough to elicit an inquiry. It turns out to be a new comer in the Philippines' online marketplace.“Ayos Dito” is a local term meaning "It's good here." The portal is a Filipino web site for buying and selling products and services online. I've used a couple of online classified ads

Techno-babble

Remember The Jetsons? The space-age 60s/80s cartoon which followed the adventures of an ordinary family in a future where ha ha everything has space- and technology-based names? And advanced technology has made day-to-day life so much easier?

I do. And guess what? It's now the future. And we don't have any of that technology. Where are the hovercars, the buildings on stilts, the robot maids, the Orbities?

Instead, technology's greatest triumphs include a website from which we can utter every non sequitur that pops into our head - and read similar entires from celebrities, friends, or whomever we wish. Why, just a quick glance over my Twitter homepage at the moment reveals that Rainn Wilson considers Lionel Ritchie the strangest celebrity he's ever sat next to on an airplane!

We also have cars that can map every street in the known universe; thus ensuring that you never need to use your brain to remember directions again, and a website that lets you look at the top of your house as it appeared at one particular moment.

Rather than coming up with useful, practical inventions to improve our day-to-day lives, technology is evolving in a different direction - one which creates distractions from said lives, and doesn't actually aid us whatsoever.

Do you agree with that?

If you do, you're wrong.

Here's why.

We're getting plenty of practical applications of technology in addition to the pointless sideshows. Technology is at its best when it's finding a way to eliminate some of the tedious processes of everyday life. Rolling coins used to be one of those tedious processes - loose change piled up over time, eventually you'd have to count out a certain amount of each coin, slip them individually into little paper sleeves, and take them to the bank, where you could exchange it for same-value bills.

Now, you can essentially skip all but that last stip - many bank branches have CoinStar or similar machines. All you do is dump your coins out of the Tupperware/jar/sock you keep them in and into the machine, and navigate them into a small slot - the machine divides them by type, counts them, and prints out a receipt, which you can then take to a teller to get the bills.

Okay Ryan, you're saying, but that's just one case - the exception, not the rule. The Jetsons had a machine that would instantaneously deliver food at the press of a button! How can anything match up to that?

To which I say: online ordering.

(What, you were expecting microwave ovens?)

Online ordering. Swiss Chalet, pizza places - any chains that deliver have already got this system in place, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more pick it up over the next few years. No, it's not instantaneous, and yes, you have to pay a fair bit more than you would if you were making the meal yourself - but you get decent-quality food sent to you without having to do any real work for it. How is that not the same idea?

(Well, okay, the Jetsons had to press a serious of buttons, we use a mouse. Graphical user interfaces were one thing nobody ever predicted about the future. Social networking being another.)

What about videophones? Well, what about videophones? There's very little practical advantage to them relative to the cost - most telephone conversations wouldn't be the least bit enhanced by being able to see the other person, aside from not being able to look at other things while talking - and for the few where it would be advantageous, we do have the technology...certain cell phones have videocalling capabilities - and, more obviously, webcams and Skype.

The thing is, we don't notice this stuff because it's so often such an insignificant part of our lives. It's the meaningless stuff - the Facebooks and Twitters, the GPS systems in cars - that we use the most, thus it's that stuff that seems like the greatest achievement.

But that's not the case. Just taking a brief glance around my room, I can spy all sorts of things which would have been fantasies even twenty years ago - something that can play essentially as much music as you want, with you dictating for how long and with no interruptions. A telephone that you can take with you wherever you go, and can fit in your pocket. A piece of plastic that has essentially made cash obsolete. A piece of metal that can secure your belongings from all intruders.

...actually, they probably had combination locks in the eighties, didn't they?

Still, my point stands. Today's technology isn't completely useless. We just like the useless stuff best.

--Ryan

1st Annual Dodgeball Tournament to Raise Funds

The First Annual Dodgeball Tournament organized by Playboy Philippines for the benefit of Gives Back Foundation will be held on May 30, 2009, Saturday, at Club 650 in Libis, Quezon CityThe fund-raising activity aims to raise at least Php 200,000 for the chemotherapy treatment of nine (9) cancer patient kids at the Veterans Hospital in Quezon City.The tournament will benefit the GivesBack

Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2009 Schedule Out

Thousands of spectators, more than a hundred designers, 30 shows, 9 days, and one big event. This year's Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2009 will be held on May 26 to June 3, 2009 at the grounds of SM Mall of Asia and SMX Convention Center.UPDATE May 26: Day 1 Photos of Philippine Fashion WeekIt would be participated by the top names in the Philippine Fashion industry including Frederick Peralta

My problem with politics

Over at Macleans.ca, Aaron Wherry (who I constantly forget about next to more prominent Macleans bloggers; a habit I really need to get out of) has spent the last couple of days on some sort of unapologetic quest.

It all started when the Conservatives released a series of attack ads on Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, at least one of which opined that Canadians shouldn't vote for Ignatieff because he has spent a sizable portion of his life outside of Canada.

Weird logic? Sure. Irrelevant? Depends who you ask.

A letter sent to Conservative Party supporters along those lines was signed by the party's national campaign directory, Doug Finley. Mr. Finley was, in Wherry's words, "born in England, raised in Scotland, first entered politics as a Scottish Nationalist and appears to have come to Canada at the age of 22".

Wherry didn't stop after his first blow, though. He proceeded to name twenty current Conservative MPs who have studied, lived, or worked in another country - not counting the dozen or so that were born outside Canada. Then he gave a timespan of Lester B. Pearson's pre-political life - the former PM seems to have spent even more time abroad than Ignatieff.

Conservative supporters have defended themselves from these arguments with claims like "but Doug Finley's not running for anything!" and "yeah, but Pearson was working for the government of Canada when he was out of the country, that's different!".

And therein lies my problem with politics. Nobody who is either involved with or interested in politics, save for a fictional President (first quote), can ever admit the least bit of wrongdoing, poor judgement, or making a mistake - and not only on their part, but on the part of anybody they agree with.

Rather than "Opponent X did whatchamacalit!" "Half your caucus did whatchamacalit as well!" "okay maybe that's not as valid as I thought then", we get a third line of "But that doesn't count because they wore Canadian flags on their backs!", and a cycle that repeats ad nauseum, to the point where neither side actually cares about the argument anymore, they just want to win it.

It's not just Conservatives who do it - they just seem to be the ones doing more of it at the moment. Every politician is afraid that changing their mind on anything will be a sign of "flip-flopping", of weakness.

Naturally, I blame journalists. They want to keep this stuff going because it's easier to write a story about than one that requires original thought. Not sure I have any suggestions. In fact, this wasn't even the post I wanted to write today - but it was a little more topical, so the other thing gets held off for a bit.

--Ryan

Adult Flu Vaccination at Mercury Drug Today

With the onset of the early rainy season and change of weather, flu season is also in the horizon. Today, Adult Flu Vaccination will be available at a number of Mercury Drug branches at Metro Manila, Luzon and VisMin.Participating branches include, but is not limited to, Fairview Commonwealth, Quezon Ave - Sct. Borromeo, Marikina Shoe Ave., Harrison Plaza Malate, Greenhills Shopesville, Sta Rosa

Shake, snap, up, down, start and stop...

This isn't the voiceover to an 80s aerobics video, but the six pre-defined events that make up the Samsung Motion UI.

The latest i8910 HD DevPack (v0.2) that we published today incorporates all six of these into the enulator together with a GSensor control that allows developers to feed X,Y,Z axis data through the emulator and view the results on screen. See below:



We think that this makes it the most impressive S60 5th Edition device emulator around.

Beating the Samsung drum!

One of the most popular videos on our YouTube Channel is the G-Sensor Drumkit example which shows an i7710 and the i8910 both running our Percussion example application. The example uses the Samsung S60 GSensor API on supported devices to play sound samples when the phone is shaken.

Well someone asked for a copy of this neat app on the YouTube comment wall, and we thought, why not! (If you’re out there DannitPictures Hello!).

We’ve provided a SIS file signed by Samsung that should install on recent Samsung S60 3.2 and 5th Edition devices.

Look the code, install the file, and get playing now.

SM Hypermart Mandaluyong Opens

SM Hypermart Mandaluyong opened yesterday, May 14, 2009, near Kalentong-Shaw Boulevard across Jose Rizal University (JRU).Located along the busy corner of E.Magalona and Shaw Boulevard, the two-floor building houses the Hypermarket on the whole of second floor.The opening started with a mass at 3pm followed by a short program at 4pm.And of course, festivities will not be complete without eating.

How do you solve a problem like Sri Lanka?

Most of you are probably vaguely aware that Toronto and other major cities have recently been ground zero for Tamil protests. If you've been paying particular attention to the story, you might know that the Tamils are a group of people in Sri Lanka, engaged in a civil war with the government.

The reaction I've seen to these events is primarily indifference mixed with apathy - it's something going on halfway around the world in a country most people have never heard of, so why should they bother themselves to learn the details? And why are they bringing the problems of their old country over here in the form of these protests?

Others look past this, but can't look past the Tamil Tigers (the main organized group fighting on behalf of the Tamils) being on a Canadian government list of known terrorist groups. Why are we allowing these people to voice support for terrorists, they ask, and would we be as tolerant if it was a more well-known group like Hamas being promoted?

Admittedly, I used to be part of the first group. I used to not really understand what was going on, and thus not really care about it. Then I was watching a news report which include a line similar to "journalists and aid workers have been barred from the war zone by the Sri Lankan government".

Guess what tipped me off.

(Hint: it's not the journalists.)

Humanitarian workers, sponsored by international NGOs such as the Red Cross. Not allowed into the area.

Al-Qaeda doesn't always respect the rights of Red Cross workers as non-combatants. Not all terrorist groups do. But it's not exactly a list you'd want yourself to be on, especially if you're a government.

There are only two reasons to justify keeping aid workers out - either you don't want them to get hurt, in which case they know the risks and they'll go in anyhow, or you don't want them to see what's really going on.

Where else in recent history did the Western world only start to understand the true magnitude of a humanitarian crisis after it was far too late? Rwanda. Darfur. Maybe the Holocaust.

After each of these, we say "never again" and vow to fight for humanitarian causes from then on.

So why is it that when people try to call our attention to it, we dismiss them and get mad at them for blocking a highway?

--Ryan

I'm a zombie-punching pen pal

Dear Pen Pal,

Today Candice got bit by a rabid car.

She was crossing the road when it leaped out from the opposing turning lane. From what I understand, she slid up and down the hood before landing on the ground in front of the car.

The particularly scary part: He almost kept driving.

We met some nice people after that... A city worker who could only have been more awesome if he looked like Kurt Vonnegut (oh wait, he did!), and a cop with more character in his moustache than I have in my smile (if it were possible).

So, dear pen pal, the moral of this story is to wear a bicycle helmet when crossing at Darling and Clarance.


In other news, I'm still unemployed. (Very unfortunate, since Candice won't be able to work for a few days...)

And congrats on your new gig! And I'm sorry to hear of the lack of waffles at your brunch... Who has a brunch buffet without waffles?





Your partner in ink... less the ink,


--
D. Phillips

Shining a Spotlight on our nomadic members

This month's Spotlight on Samsung Mobile Innovator is GyPSii.

In a relatively short space of time they have become a major player in the mobile value-chain. Apart from having a really neat product which allows you to stay connected with your friends and generate contentt while you're on the go, their success can also be attributed to their open and collaborative approach to the eco-system, particularly through OpenExperience (OEx), GyPSii’s recently announced Application Programming Interface Service.

The decision to have an open API is definitely paying dividends. Indeed, since this Spotlight was authored, they have announced a further innovation with the launch of GyPSii CONNECT. This web-based service allows GyPSii users to automatically update and share their status, newly-created places and friends in real time across other social networks. Currently they have SNS players Twitter and Facebook on board, but something tells us at SAMMI this list will continue to grow.

LED for Exhaust Pipe

This is Pyle LED for Car Exhaust Pipe. I believe that it can convert the heating energy to Electricity for lighting up the LEDs.

Feverip

Seoul Semi Low Profile SMD LED

Seoul Semiconductor (CEO: Lee Chung Hoon, www.acriche.com), a world-leading LED manufacturer, announced on May 12 the launch of its 120lm/W high-efficiency and SMD type LED (Part No: LCW100Z1) for general purpose lighting.

The new patented product shows remarkable superiority in price as it raises brightness of the same chip by over two times by flowing more than double the current. As an ultra-thin LED with dimensions of 3.5mm x 2.8mm x 1.6mm, the LCW100Z1 is a high efficiency product that delivers up to 7.8lm (@0.06W) at the low current of 20mA and 14.3lm at the current of 40mA, and its viewing angle is 120 degrees.

Another strength of the LCW100Z1 is that its reliability is improved by adopting an optimized thermal design to maximize luminous efficiency needed for lighting. The new LCW100Z1 product comes in three ranges of correlated color temperature’s (CCT); including pure white, warm white and natural white. Samples of the LCW100Z1 were already received favorably by leading lighting appliance manufacturers around the world.

As it can immediately replace the existing Top View LED, the LCW100Z1 is expected to be widely adopted for tube-type fluorescent lamps and surface light source lamps. While the expansion of power LED market is retarded due to high price, the LCW100Z1 is also anticipated to serve as a catalyst for expanding the LED lighting market as it allows lighting manufacturers to produce a variety of applied lighting devices.

We believe that more and more similar package size 3mm x3mm range is going to launch into this illumination market. The price will make some difference for people to get an earlier train on Green Illumination. Not a question at all they are using the best LED bonder in the industry for the World Class manufacturing of such kind of LED.

feverip

World Largest LED Display

The largest LED screen in the world was installed in Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing, close to where the 2008 Olympics are to take place.

This display is comprised of “2,292 color (RGB) LED light points comparable to a 24,000 sq. ft. (2.200 m2) monitor screen for dynamic content display”.

Created by the GreenPix project, this display uses the sun’s energy only. It collects power during the day to be used during the nightly showing, which are of different artists’ performances and videos.

Visitors to the Olympics in Beijing this summer will also be able to glimpse the world's largest color LED display combined with China's first photovoltaic system to be integrated into a glass curtain wall.

The GreenPix Zero Energy Media Wall, designed by New York-based architect Simone Giostra with solar technology by China's solar powerhouse Suntech, will form the curtain wall of the Xicui Entertainment Complex in Beijing, harvesting solar energy by day and using it to illuminate the screen after dark, mirroring a day’s climatic cycle.

Unlike the typical high resolution screens that increasingly plaster Beijing's facades with ads, starchy local news programs and corny animations, this screen will keep the resolution low -- catering to arty abstract visuals -- while keeping the carbon footprint low too.

When it opens to the public in June, the facade will play host to a specially commissioned program of video installations and live performances by artists including Xu Wenkai, Michael Bell Smith, Takeshi Murata, Shih Chieh Huang, Feng Mengbo and Varvara Shavrova.

feverip

Rock the vote

There's an election going on in British Columbia today.

But more importantly, there's a referendum - for the second time this decade, BC residents are voting on whether they should switch from the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system used in the rest of the country to a system called 'single tranferrable vote', or STV.

Last time this proposal was put forward to BC's electorate, 58% of them supported it - just shy of the 60% needed to put it through. It's been argued that if this referendum fails today, Canada might never see any true proportional representation in its electoral method.

Andrew Coyne explains very eloquently and succinctly why STV is much, much better than FPTP - but for those of you who find pieces of that length on electoral reform a tad too tl;dr, I give you a quick summary.

Under FPTP, you mark an 'x' beside the name of the candidate you want to represent your riding. If the vote is split among enough candidates, you can easily end up with the entire riding represented by somebody who was backed by only 35% or so of those who voted.

Under STV, each riding is given multiple representatives in Parliament - let's say five. Some parties - mainly the larger ones - would run five candidates, smaller parties might only run one or two.

Your ballot might have 20 names on it. Out of those twenty, you pick your top five, in order - you write a '1' beside your favourite candidate, your '2' beside your second-favourite, and so on, down to five.

After the polls close, the first-place votes are counted. If anybody passes the threshold of electability on first-place votes (i.e. if they get 20% plus one in this scenario), they are elected, and surplus votes for that candidate are given to the second-placer on each ballot. Whichever candidate receives the fewest first-place votes is dropped from the ballot, their votes are redistributed among second choices, and another round of counting ensues. And so on, until there are only five candidates left.

Sound complicated? Well, maybe a little bit. But unless you plan on working for Elections Canada, you don't need to worry about any of that - you just need to know the names of your five preferred candidates. You mark them down, and they'll take care of the rest.

It should be noted that STV is not an ideological issue - it's not the sort of thing where liberals are for it and conservatives against. (However, Liberals *and* Conservatives are both against it, the difference being that capital letters mean we're talking about political parties who would likely lose some of their influence under STV.) People of all political stripes - as long as they're not actually involved in politics - are in favour of STV, and lazy people of all political stripes are against it.

The first argument against STV is that it would increase the number of politicians, if we're electing five for each riding. This isn't the case - ridings would be amalgamated, so five people would combine to represent the interests of Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the surrounding area - the same number as now, only now they're each looking after their own slice of that space.

But wouldn't that make politicians less accountable to their constituents, if they have to represent that many more? This argument assumes that politicans already are accountable to those who elect them, which in practice today they are not - yes, your MP can advocate for something on your behalf, but when it comes time to vote, he has to do whatever his party leader tells him.

Wouldn't STV lead to a lot more minority governments, which are inherently unstable? Yes to the first part, no to the second. If there's that many more parties in Parliament, which there likely would be under STV, then yes, it would lead to regular minority or - *gasp* - coalition governments. But remember, people didn't vote for the party as much here - they voted for the individual candidates. If an individual is looking to bring the government down and force the country into an election, voters will remember that at the ballot box, and vote for the members of that party who were more willing to work with the government.

Hopefully STV passes tonight. If it doesn't, I'm not sure what chance the rest of the country ever has at such a system.

--Ryan

The Waterloo Coyotes?

Jim Balsillie (pictured) is offering $212.5 million to purchase the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and move them to a location in Southern Ontario which is technically undisclosed but even more technically Hamilton.

(I thought I'd blogged about Balsille's previous efforts to buy Nashville/Pittsburgh, but a trip through the archives reveals that to be false. However, I must commend myself and Dan on our excellent ability to see the future, especially as it pertains to the Brantford Commons.)

Realistically, Copps Coliseum in Hamilton would be nothing more than a temporary home - something to hold the new team for a couple of years while Balsillie builds a brand new arena just off the 401 on whatever parcel of land he thinks is best.

Obviously, every city seems convinced that they're going to be the long-term home of the Coyotes - whether it's Hamilton, Kitchener, Cambridge, Brantford, London, or what have you. James Bow had one of the more interesting proposals I've seen - don't give the team a home city, move them around a bit. Maybe (and this is his generality, my specifics) ten games each in Hamilton, London, Toronto, and Kitchener, with the remaining home game being in a different southern Ontario small town each year.

The benefits to this plan? It's a team for the whole region, not just a city - which could be useful in getting people to switch their allegiance from the Leafs. Season ticket packages are affordable for the average person, since it's only ten games in your city. People wouldn't have to travel as far to go to games, they'd just wait until the team came to the closest city.

The drawbacks? London and Kitchener have good-sized junior arenas, but they're pretty small for an NHL team, which means less money in ticket sales. Some players might not want to play for the Wanderers, on the grounds that they wouldn't have a true 'hometown' during the season. Along the same lines, lack of the intimate familiarty most players have with the arena they play 41 games a year in.

Overall, it's a pipe dream. The scenario I suggested above - a few years at Copps until a new arena is ready - is far more likely. But it doesn't really matter, as the Coyotes are staying in Phoenix.

I know, I know. Canadians are outraged that Gary Bettman, the man who was so eager to sell Canadian teams south of the border, is blocking Balsillie from purchasing and moving the Coyotes. But would you believe that he's actually following the precedent he set?

When the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix, it was only after it was determined that nobody was willing to buy the team and keep them in Winnipeg. Same for the Quebec Nordiques, who wound up in Denver.

There is an offer to buy the Phoenix Coyotes from a potential owner who would keep the team in Phoenix. Believe it or not, Bettman's not in the wrong here. If you want to blame somebody for the Jets and Nordiques flying the coop, blame the Canadian businessmen who refused to step in and help - obviously Americans are a little more willing to do just that.

--Ryan

Everything you ever wanted to know about Samsung Home Update

Firmware is one of the BIG topics on our discussion boards. In response our writer Ben Morris has prepared a Technical note which goes through the Samsung Home Update service.

The Technical note includes:

• An Introduction to the Samsung Home Update service
• List of countries and regions supported (this list also includes the links)
• Instructions on how to use the service

Technical note: Home Update service for i8510

Expo Mom on Mother's Day

This Mother's Day, Rockwell hosts once again the Expo Mom - A Day in the Life of a Mom this May 9 & 10, 2009 at the Rockwell Tent.It's a day of program and activities for moms and their kids. There would be interactive exhibits, business related exhibitions, talks, and a special sale from retailers. A minimal entrance fee of P25 would be collected.The program is as follows:MAY 9, SATURDAY10:00

The summer music project

No, that's not the name of a band. Although it wouldn't be a horrible one - at least you'd know it's a band, and not a song.

(Which reminds me...best band name I've heard in the last while? Hands down, The Samuel L. Jackson Five.)

As you might have gathered from reading this blog over the years, I like music. Unfortunately, I primarily like music that I already know I like, and am extremely hesitant to try anything new.

Thus, I have developed a plan.

I own two MP3 players - an iPod where the battery is virtually useless, and a Sony MP3 player where the battery is still good.

I've loaded up the Sony with only music by bands I've either never or barely ever listened to, most of which I'm not sure I'll like.

So if I'm out walking, or doing yardwork, or just wanting to listen to my music and not conveniently near a socket, I'll have no choice but to listen to one of these albums. Thereafter, I'll know whether I like them or not.

Here's the list:

illScarlett - All Day With It
Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary
The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubles
Swan Lake - Enemy Mine
Handsome Furs - Face Control
Freezepop - Fancy Ultra-Flesh
Metric - Fantasies
Arcade Fire - Funeral
A.C. Newman - Get Guilty
Colin Hay - Going Somewhere
Black Mountain - In The Future
Hey Rosetta! - Into Your Lungs
Constantines - Kensington Heights
Serge Gainsbourg - Love On The Beat
Human Highway - Moody Motorcycle
Dog Day - Night Group
The Stills - Oceans Will Rise
Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover
Islands - Return To The Sea
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound
Frog Eyes - The Golden River
The Libertines - The Libertines
Destroyer - Trouble In Dreams
The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?

...wow, that's a lot longer than I expected.

Nonetheless, I can persevere. I'll keep you posted on what I think of all this, since a lot of it is the normal Internet music geek's usual playlist.

-----------------------

Yesterday, for no particular reason, I sat down in front of the TV and watched some soccer.

For those of you unfamiliar with European soccer (which I assume to be pretty much everyone reading this), every country has its own league. However, the top few teams from each of those leagues meet in something called the Champions League to determine the best team in Europe.

Manchester United (UK) are through to the final, and the game I was watching yesterday was the other semi-final - Chelsea (UK) against Barcelona (Spain).

Because of the way the rules work, Chelsea had to score more goals than Barcelona to advance to the final. A tie (unless it was 0-0, in which case it would go into overtime) would see Barcelona move on.

Chelsea is basically the New York Yankees of English soccer, in that they win a lot and everybody hates them. So I was cheering for Barcelona.

I tuned in with about 30 minutes left to play, Chelsea up 1-0, and Barcelona with only 10 players because of a red card. It looked for all the world like Chelsea was going to hold on and pull out the victory, but Barcelona scored a goal seemingly out of nowhere in the last few minutes.

It's tradition in soccer to get very confrontational over these things - the more important, the more boisterous. Here's one of the tamer, believe it or not, Chelsea players' reactions:



It was good fun to watch. I should really watch more soccer.

Oh, and the Scrubs finale was unexpectedly awesome.

--Ryan

Accolades for i8910

If you haven’t already seen it, check out the review from Phone Arena for the i8910. These guys are thorough reviewers, covering every aspect of the phone’s hardware, software and UI. Fortunately (and if modesty permits, not that surprisingly) they love our first S60 touch-enabled device giving it a resounding yes vote with a score of 9.0 out of ten.

In addition to detailed explanations of the i8910’s features and specifications, they also have some great pictures, screenshots, and even a 360 degree view of our latest Symbian device.

iBlog5 Philippine Blogging Summit Soon

Three days to go and it's iBlog5- The 5th Philippine Blogging Summit. On its fifth year, this year's iBlog will be held on May 9, 2009 at the Malcolm Theater of the UP Law Center at the UP Diliman College of Law near the Sunken Garden. Check venue and map link here.Registration is still free and starts as early as 8am. Surprise freebies for first 150 registrants to arrive. Program proper starts

Osram New 1W Oslon LED

This is the new ultra-white Oslon SSL. LED from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. Its package measures just 3 x 3 mm, 1 Watt class, a typical value of 100 lm/W. A beam angle of 80°. Its low thermal resistance of 7K/W. In addition to ultra-white (5700 to 6500 K), the LED will be available this summer in neutral white and warm white. Its color temperature will range from 2700 to 4500 K.

The Oslon SSL is manufactured using the latest chip technology, ensuring a high luminous efficacy. At an operating current of 350 mA this light source achieve a typical brightness of 110 lm in ultra-white (5700 and 6500 K), with a maximum possible luminous flux of 130 lm at present.

At an operating current of 350 mA and a color temperature of 3000 K it achieves a typical efficiency of 75 lm/W and a brightness of 85 lm. And brightness is an impressive 155 lm at an operating current of 700 mA (warm white). The advantage here is that applications that demand high lighting levels can be completed with fewer Leds.

An Extract from Osram Web site 6 May 2009

Personal comment.
I think it is small, the standard Form factor as XRE, XP, advanced Simplified LED packaging process is used. With Osram world class manufacturing capability, I think likely will be a good price performer! Good news for there will be one good selection for general illumination and a green light source for Tomorrow.

So long, Scrubs?

In the "that sure came up quick" department, the end is nigh.

The end of Scrubs, that is.

There's an episode tonight at 8, followed by the possible (more on that later) series finale tomorrow at 8 (it's an hour long).

The most recent episode - you're forgiven if you've forgotten due to all the times Obama has pre-empted the show - ended with JD deciding he wanted to move to Seattle so he could be around his kid.

Of course, JD has conveniently forgotten that he only knows two people in Seattle, doesn't particularly like either of them, would be moving away from everybody he does know, and would have no job. And yet, we're supposed to like him because of his motivation - which, really, is out of jealousy over the amount of time Sean spends with the kid.

One of the great mysteries of Scrubs, at least to me, is how JD has remained so lovable to the show's fans despite the fact that he is petty, jealous, annoying, controlling, insecure, and selfish all at once. I don't expect this mystery to be unraveled by tomorrow night.

One mystery which will be solved, however, is reportedly that of the Janitor's real name. Yet again, I'm not happy. The Janitor's entire character - at least up until the introduction of his now-wife - was that he'd show up, mock people, and you'd never really have any idea if whatever he was telling you was true or not. The only way I would be satisfied with Janitor revealing his real name would be if it turned out to be John Dorian, and there was still that sizable doubt as to whether this time he's telling the truth.

Plus Elliot will have to decide if she wants to go to Seattle with JD, Carla and Turk will become the hospital's new power couple, Ted will look like a loser, Cox will show that he has a heart, Kelso won't. Yadda yadda yadda.

The interesting part is that this might not be the end of the line for Scrubs. There's been rumours off-and-on over the last year that ABC will bring the show back for another season, even if Zach Braff and more of the main cast don't want to come back. A lot of people are opposed to this move, but I think it could work, and here's how:

(I've run this idea by Dan and he disagrees. So maybe I'm out to lunch.)

Obviously the show won't be the same without JD. Every episode starts and ends with him monologuing. Eliminating the monologue, or handing it off to different characters based on the episode, would seem hokey.

Instead, introduce a new character. A new intern, just starting off at Sacred Heart. Make the guy a lot like JD (it's okay for viewers to see him as a poor excuse for a replacement JD), at least in that he cares about his patients and has that off-the-wall sense of humour. But at the same time, make him not like JD - make him the genuinely good person everybody seems to see JD as even though he's nowhere close. Don't give us a single reason to dislike the new guy.

Whatever main actors want to stick around, can, as frequently or infrequently as they wish. The show can survive with some main characters gone completely, and otheres barely around. I wouldn't have said that even a year ago, but there's one significant change now - a cast of interns who have actually had their characters fleshed out beyond one-joke stereotypes. Can Unemotional Female Intern (I'm bad with the names) summon the compassion to deal with New Guy and his class? Would Always Happy Intern be able to maintain her smile through deaths and other trials? Would Cocky Black Intern have any desire at all to be a mentor? Would Kid From Little Giants Intern...well, you get the point.

It will be a little unsettling at first, seeing the show in something closer to its first couple of seasons - actually dealing with life inside a hospital, rather than being about a group of main characters who happen to work in a hospital - but I think it can work. There can be plenty of callbacks to JD's first year as well - does Cox give the same sunny speech to first-day interns that Kelso always did?, that sort of thing.

It won't be the same, obviously, It won't be as good. But I have faith that the Scrubs production team can pull off a good show with new characters, and occasional reappearances by the main cast will keep the diehard fans satisfied.

--Ryan

eCommerista 101: The eCommerista One Peso Workshop

PesoPay invites us to learn and increase our company’s Internet Sales for only One Peso (Php 1) in the upcoming eCommerista 101 workshop on May 7, 2009.It shall be held at 32-C, 32th Flr. Rufino Pacific Tower, 6784 Ayala Ave., Makati City on May 7, 2009 Thursday @ 2 to 5pmNo frills, just sign up here and call 8870088 or 8872288.For more information please email doreen.malbas@asiapay.com4 more

Review: Frost/Nixon

(Why is it that when I finally have the time to blog regularly, I don't have the motivation?)

As a journalism student-slash-detractor, it was inevitable that I would at some point see Frost/Nixon, the 2008 mostly-true-to-life movie about a series of interviews television host David Frost did with former American President Richard Nixon.

The basic gist of the movie is that Nixon is looking to rehabilitate his public image, and expects Frost - a Ben Mulroney-type who normally interviews actresses and musicians - to gift him a nice easy time of things. Frost, meanwhile, is looking to use the interviews to get back on American television - Australia and Britain not being enough for him.

The early interviews go very well for Nixon - he is able to deflect any hard questions, controls the interview, and just generally seems like a decent guy who got a bad deal.

The night before the last day of interviews, Frost has a sort of epiphany and spends hours researching - leading to him being extremely well-prepared for the interview and able to get Nixon to admit that his behaviour may have been criminal.

From a cinematic standpoint, this was a good movie. Strong characters with clear goals, you could respect the characters you weren't supposed to like, and little time was spent on pointless filler.

From a journalistic standpoint, I found it amusing to see things that have been drilled into my head year after year (controlling the interview, leaning forward is more intimidating, make sure the subject actually answers the question) come out over the course of this movie - had there been a few gratuitous references to John Sawatsky sprinkled in, I'd have probably thought I was back sitting in JN310, albeit in a more comfortable seat.

Obviously, not being American hinders my enjoyment of the movie in that Watergate didn't happen to my country, but overall it wasn't as much of a detraction as I would have thought.

Overall grade: A-.

--Ryan

LoungeLight LED Candles

The LoungeLight LED Candles combine the fascination of candlelight with up-to-date LED technology. These LoungeLight Ball candles consist of a traditional, burnable candle with a computer chip and colour-programmable LED at its heart which gently fades from one rainbow colour to the next. With the simple click of a button, a particular colour can be maintained to complement your mood, develop a theme or enhance the surrounding decor.Each candle comes with an exclusive 100-150 hour 4.5 volt battery lasting 10x longer than the standard 9 Volt. While the LoungeLight LED colour-changing chip with on/off switch and colour-hold button also included with each candle, has an approximate life span of 100,000 hours.These candles provide a beautiful, atmospheric and entirely new way to illuminate your surroundings and enhance your mood. Each candle comes in a velvet box making it a perfect gift.

To purchase: http://www.coldspark.co.uk/storefrontprofiles/DeluxeSFItemDetail.aspx?sid=1&sfid=87786&c=105267&i=193499006

LivingColour From Philips

This is the LED product from Philips for Domestic home application.

Essentially it is a very simply lighting device but is one of those gadgets that reaches a wide audience.

The idea behind this device is that it allows you to pick from a host of colours that compliments your mood creating a custom ambiance in which ever room you have it in. The Colour generation is immaginative and there can have many colour that you have never seen can be generated by a hand held remote control.

I beleive that is lit up by Luxeons LED from Lumileds

feverip

Pacquiao Wins, Hatton Hit in 2nd Round

Pacquiao wins, Hatton knocked out in round two. I'm not surprised.What was unusual was how fast Pacquiao finished the fight. Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton was done so early on with blood on his face. He was able to recover after the first knock down but was too shocked to get up again from the second.Although many boxing experts predicted a knock out by the 8th to 10th round, Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao

Pacquiao Hatton Live Stream Links

I was immediately excited upon learning that PLDT will provide MyDSL subscribers a live streaming service for the Pacquiao vs Hatton fight which would enable us to view live video streams on my computer at home here.However, while I was trying to register, I came across the phrase "...I agree to be charged the amount of PhP 300 on my PLDT account." And I was immediately brought back to my senses

Pacquiao and Hatton Measured

As Manny Pacquiao faces another big ticket ring fight tomorrow at the Pacquiao-vs-Hatton, this time with the non-mexican Ricky Hatton, compare their physical measurements detail by detail. Let us see how their tapes match (or mismatch).Manny "Pacman "PacquiaoHeight: 5ft 6 1/2"Reach: 67" AdvantageChest-Normal: 38" AdvantageChest-Expanded: 40 1/2" AdvantageBiceps: 13"

Zombie Plan: The Time is Now!

Everyone has a zombie plan - I know Ryan has given it at least some thought - but not everyone knows when to implement it.

The answer is now.

Swine Flu may not be a "zombie outbreak", per se, but the same strategies can apply to this pandemic.

Basic zombie plans implement isolation and avoiding infected areas. These are also effective tactics for dealing with an epidemic. The majority of the world is afraid of pork right now, so pork prices are probably plummeting. Egypt has recently begun slaughtering their pigs despite having no cases of Swine Flu there.

If Swine Flu has already effected your area, you can use http://doihaveswineflu.org/ to help with your self diagnosis.

--
D. Phillips

(It started in Mexico and spread North, infecting regions as far as Spain, the UK, and New Zealand. Wait, this fits my simulation... Did I create this virus?)

i8910 DevPack and go for the weekend

The Symbian team at Samsung Mobile Innovator have even more reason than usual to celebrate the arrival of the UK long weekend…

Today after months of planning, coding and testing the first ever Samsung DevPack is is available to download, in Alpha version, from our website. The pack features everything you need to target our flagship Symbian device - the i8910 HD. This is also the first S60 based touch enabled device from Samsung.

We will be adding more functionality to this pack in the coming weeks, but for now the DevPack contains:

• Emulator for testing and debugging applications. The Emulator includes Samsung i8910 bitmaps (skins), key mappings, and customisations required to reproduce the i8910 look and feel and device behaviour on the Emulator (this version - alpha only)
• Example programs (this version - alpha only)
• Documentation (this version - alpha only)

It's only been up for the afternoon and already we’ve had 65 visits so it's great to see that there's interest out there. Please post your feedback below.

True Power Saver LED ligthing

This is a LED lamp made up of 24 LED of 150millwatts Vertical LED lamps, built with a Motion sensor to detect an turn on, after say a few minute of no more motion, the LED lampo will turn of automatically

Made in Foshan, about 3W in power consumption , HKD130,00 each.

Since the soruce fo LED is unknown we need to test on it performance and effectiveness of the motion sensor.

Attached is X-rate picture of the inner ocnstruction of the Lamp, it consists of two coil, one 14 Lead chip, one capacitors and some wires.

Feverip