Monday, December 31, 2007

"Happy New Year" In 88 Languages

Afgani >> Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans >> Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian >> Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian >> Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic >> Antum salimoun
Assyrian >> Sheta Brikhta
Azeri >> Yeni Iliniz Mubarek!
Bengali >>Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Bulgarian >> Chestita Nova Godina
Cambodian >> Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Catalan >> FELIÇ ANY NOU
Chinese >> Xin Nian Kuai Le
Corsican >> Pace e Salute
Croatian >> Sretna Nova godina!
Cymraeg >> Blwyddyn Newydd Dda
Czechoslovakia >> Scastny Novy Rok
Denish >> Godt Nytår
Dhivehi >> Ufaaveri Aa Aharakah Edhen
Dutch >> GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
Eskimo >> Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto >> Felican Novan Jaron
Estonians >> Head uut aastat!
Finnish >> Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French >> Bonne Année
Gaelic >> Bliadhna mhath ur
Galician >> Bo Nadal e Feliz Aninovo
German >> Prosit Neujahr
Greek >> Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati >> Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hawaiian >> Hauoli Makahiki Hou
Hebrew >> L'Shannah Tovah
Hindi >> Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong Kong >> (Cantonese) Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian >> Boldog Ooy Ayvet
Indonesian >> Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian >> Saleh now mobarak
Iraqi >> Sanah Jadidah
Irish >> Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian >> Felice anno nuovo
Japan >> Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kabyle >> Asegwas Amegaz
Kannada >> Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Kisii >> Somwaka Omoyia Omuya
Khmer >> Sua Sdei tfnam tmei
Korea >> Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Kurdish >> Newroz Pirozbe
Lithuanian >> Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Laotian >> Sabai dee pee mai
Macedonian >> Srekjna Nova Godina
Malay >> Selamat Tahun Baru
Marathi >> Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam >> Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Maltese >> Is-Sena t- Tajba
Nepal >> Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Norwegian >> Godt Nyttår
Papua New Guinea >> Nupela yia i go long yu
Pampango >> Masaganang Bayung Banua
persian >> Saleh now ra tabrik migouyam
Philippines >> Manigong Bagong Taon
Polish >> Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Portuguese >> Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi >> Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian >> An nou fericit
Russian >> S Novim Godom
Samoa >> Manuia le Tausaga Fou
Serbo-Croatian >> Sretna nova godina
Sindhi >> Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese >> Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
siraiki >> Nawan Saal Shala Mubarak Theevay
Slovak >> A stastlivy Novy Rok
Slovenian >> sreèno novo leto
Somali >> Iyo Sanad Cusub Oo Fiican!
Spanish >> Feliz Ano ~Nuevo
Swahili >> Heri Za Mwaka Mpyaº
Swedish >> GOTT NYTT ÅR! /Gott nytt år!
Sudanese >> Warsa Enggal
Tamil >> Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Telugu >> Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai >> Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish >> Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Ukrainian >> Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku
Urdu >> Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Uzbek >> Yangi Yil Bilan
Vietnamese >> Chuc Mung Tan Nien
Welsh >> Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Touch Screen Table

I was really impressed with the new technology coming into the screen domain: multipoint touchscreen.
Though touchscreen technology is available since some decades and is now very present in today's common devices such as smart phone and PDAs, this improvement allows more than one finger or pointing devices to interact on the screen and can allow more than one user to interact with the touchscreen simultaneously.

First: a video of Jeff Han when he demonstrates for the first time publicly, his intuitive, "interface-free", multi-touch screen.




A second video with Jeff Han at Siggraph 2006:




Microsoft has developed their own multi-touch device called Microsoft Surface™.
Excerpt from their website: Microsoft Surface™, the first commercially available surface computer from Microsoft Corp., turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant, interactive surface. The product provides effortless interaction with digital content through natural gestures, touch and physical objects. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that's easy for individuals or small groups to interact with in a way that feels familiar, just like in the real world.



Finally, you can learn a bit how touch-screen monitors know where you're touching!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Top 100 Reasons it's Great to be a Guy

Top 100 Reasons it's Great to be a Guy:
  1. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
  2. Movie nudity is virtually always female.
  3. You know stuff about tanks.
  4. A five day vacation requires only one suitcase.
  5. Monday Night Football.
  6. You don't have to monitor your friends sex lives.
  7. Your bathroom lines are 80% shorter.
  8. You can open all your own jars.
  9. Old friends don't give you crap if you've lost or gained weight.
  10. Dry cleaners and haircutter's don't rob you blind.
  11. When clicking through the channel, you don't have to stall on every shot of someone crying.
  12. Your ass is never a factor in a job interview.
  13. All your orgasms are real.
  14. A beer gut does not make you invisible to the opposite sex.
  15. Guys in hockey masks don't attack you.
  16. You don't have to lug a bag of useful stuff around everywhere you go.
  17. You understand why Stripes is funny.
  18. You can go to the bathroom with out a support group.
  19. Your last name stays put.
  20. You can leave a hotel bed unmade.
  21. When your work is criticized, you don't have to panic that everyone secretly hates you.
  22. You can kill your own food.
  23. The garage is all yours.
  24. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
  25. You see the humor in Terms of Endearment.
  26. Nobody secretly wonders if you swallow.
  27. You never have to clean the toilet.
  28. You can be showered and ready in 10 minutes.
  29. Sex means never worrying about your reputation.
  30. Wedding plans take care of themselves.
  31. If someone forgets to invite you to something, he or she can still be your friend.
  32. Your underwear is $10 for a three pack.
  33. The National College Cheerleading Championship
  34. None of your co-workers have the power to make you cry.
  35. You don't have to shave below your neck.
  36. You don't have to curl up next to a hairy ass every nite.
  37. If you're 34 and single nobody notices.
  38. You can write your name in the snow.
  39. You can get into a nontrivial pissing contest.
  40. Everything on your face stays its original colour.
  41. Chocolate is just another snack.
  42. You can be president.
  43. You can quietly enjoy a car ride from the passenger seat.
  44. Flowers fix everything.
  45. You never have to worry about other people's feelings.
  46. You get to think about sex 90% of your waking hours.
  47. You can wear a white shirt to a water park.
  48. Three pair of shoes are more than enough.
  49. You can eat a banana in a hardware store.
  50. You can say anything and not worry about what people think.
  51. Foreplay is optional.
  52. Michael Bolton doesn't live in your universe.
  53. Nobody stops telling a good dirty joke when you walk into the room.
  54. You can whip your shirt off on a hot day.
  55. You don't have to clean your apartment if the meter reader is coming by.
  56. You never feel compelled to stop a pal from getting laid.
  57. Car mechanics tell you the truth.
  58. You don't give a rat's ass if someone notices your new haircut.
  59. You can watch a game in silence with your buddy for hours without even thinking (He must be mad at me)
  60. The world is your urinal.
  61. You never misconstrue innocuous statements to mean your lover is about to leave you.
  62. You get to jump up and slap stuff.
  63. Hot wax never comes near your pubic area.
  64. One mood, all the time.
  65. You can admire Clint Eastwood without starving yourself to look like him.
  66. You never have to drive to another gas station because this one's just too skeevy.
  67. You know at least 20 ways to open a beer bottle.
  68. You can sit with your knees apart no matter what you are wearing.
  69. Same work....more pay.
  70. Gray hair and wrinkles add character.
  71. You don't have to leave the room to make an emergency crotch adjustment.
  72. Wedding Dress $2000; Tux rental $100.
  73. You don't care if someone is talking about you behind your back.
  74. With 400 million sperm per shot, you could double the earth's population in 15 tries, at least in theory.
  75. You don't mooch off others' desserts.
  76. If you retain water, it's in a canteen.
  77. The remote is yours and yours alone.
  78. People never glance at your chest when you're talking to them.
  79. ESPN's sports center.
  80. You can drop by to see a friend without bringing a little gift.
  81. Bachelor parties whomp ass over bridal showers.
  82. You have a normal and healthy relationship with your mother.
  83. You can buy condoms without the shopkeeper imagining you naked.
  84. You needn't pretend you're "freshening up" to go to the bathroom.
  85. If you don't call your buddy when you say you will, he won't tell you friends you've changed.
  86. Someday you'll be a dirty old man.
  87. You can rationalize any behavior with the handy phrase "F*#k it!"
  88. If an other guy shows up at the party in the same outfit, you might become lifelong buddies.
  89. Princess Di's death was almost just another obituary.
  90. The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
  91. You never have to miss a sexual opportunity because you're not in the mood.
  92. You think the idea of punting a small dog is funny.
  93. If something mechanical didn't work, you can bash it with a hammer and throw it across the room.
  94. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
  95. Porn movies are designed with your mind in mind.
  96. You don't have to remember everyone's birthdays and anniversaries.
  97. Not liking a person does not preclude having great sex with them.
  98. Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with: "So...notice anything different?"
  99. Baywatch
  100. There is always a game on somewhere.


Saturday, July 28, 2007

Well Done Commercial Ads



Cadburys Dairy Milk Advert




Epuron




"My Mom said I could"




Ameriquest



Sunday, April 29, 2007

An Overview of the Heart

I have found a pretty interesting online interactive presentation of the heart.

It shows the interior and exterior features of the organ in 3D, so you can rotate, move and zoom.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

6 Myths about Sleep Disorders

Doctors and specialists who study sleep have identified more than one hundred different types of sleep disorders. Sleep disorders are broken down into four categories as delineated by the International Classification of Sleep Disorders. These categories are dyssomnias, parasomnias, medical/psychiatric disorders and proposed sleep disorders.

Examples of dyssomnias include a variety of subcategories of insomnia, narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea and restless legs syndrome.

Examples of parasomnias include sleepwalking, bruxism (teeth grinding), bedwetting, and primary snoring.

Medical/ psychiatric sleep disorders include asthma, peptic ulcers, dementia and degenerative brain disorders.

Proposed sleep disorders are disorders that don’t fit in any of the other three categories such as short sleepers, long sleepers, subwakefulness syndrome and sleep choking syndrome.

Many myths revolve around sleep and sleep disorders that need to be dispelled. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common myths and bust them!

1) It is a myth that health problems such as diabetes, depression, hypertension, obesity, etc. have no connection whatsoever to how much sleep a person gets on a regular basis and the quality of sleep the person in question receives. Research has proven time and time again that there is a very real connection between a bad quality of sleep and/or inadequate sleep due to any number of diseases. To use an example, a lack of sleep can inhibit the ability of the body to properly manufacture insulin, thereby bringing on diabetes.

2) It is a common myth that as you age you require less sleep to function properly. This is not exactly the case. As a general recommendation, seven to nine hours sleep a night is best for most adults, whether they be twenty or fifty although the sleep patterns of people can become different as they get older. However older individuals may actually get less shuteye per night than younger adults because they wake up more often during the night.

3) On the heels of this myth is the myth that you can somehow “cheat” on the quantity of sleep you are getting. It can be adverse to your health and well being both physically and mentally (for a whole host of reasons) to skimp on your hours of sleep. As well you cannot “save up” your sleep for days when you have more time to sleep in. An average of seven to nine hours a night is advisable.

4) It is a common myth that insomnia is simply a problem with falling asleep. This is not so. Insomnia is more complex than that and is associated with four specific symptoms which are, as previously mentioned, a difficulty getting to sleep, but also waking up too early in the morning and not being able to fall back to sleep, frequent moments of waking up during the night and a feeling of being tired or somehow “not refreshed” from a night’s sleep.

5) Many people believe that their brain is at rest while they are sleeping. This is not so. The human body rests during sleep while the brain is very much active. During sleep the brain is recharging its batteries and still very much in control of the majority of bodily functions, including breathing. As we sleep we go back and forth between two “sleep states”, these being Rapid Eye Movement sleep (abbreviated to REM and the period in which we dream) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (or NREM).

6) It is a myth that sleep deprivation will not affect one’s ability to operate a motor vehicle. This is a myth that could prove deadly. It is estimated that approximately 567,000 car accidents that result in 980 highway deaths every year in the United States are related to sleep deprivation. Doing such things as opening the window, turning on the air conditioner or turning up the radio are only stopgap measures to help keep you awake and alert at the wheel. If you refuse to stop and rest your body eventually your mind will block out the things you have done to stay awake and you will fall asleep at the wheel. This could cost you your life and others as well.

The definition of a sleep disorder from a clinical point of view is, “a disruptive pattern of sleep that may include difficulty falling or staying asleep, falling asleep at inappropriate times, excessive total sleep time, or abnormal behaviors associated with sleep.”

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Is it Better to Buy or Rent?

Compare the cost of buying and renting equivalent homes on this New York Times tool.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Americans are NOT stupid [YouTube]

Who said that Americans are not stupid!? {joke}

Jackie Chan in Street Fighter Parody [YouTube]

This is actually a sequence from the movie City Hunter.

"Dieting does not work", researchers report

Will you lose weight and keep it off if you diet? No, probably not, UCLA researchers report in the April issue of American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association.

Why is a minute divided into 60 seconds, an hour into 60 minutes, yet there are only 24 hours in a day?

In today's world, the most widely used numeral system is decimal (base 10), a system that probably originated because it made it easy for humans to count using their fingers. The civilizations that first divided the day into smaller parts, however, used different numeral systems, specifically duodecimal (base 12) and sexagesimal (base 60).


Scientific American explains the case.

All the Glory of the Universe, in a single Flash app

Nikon's Universcale Web app puts the entire universe into proportion, from the smallest particle to the largest measurements of space.

From the femtometer to the light year, Universcale spans 40 magnitudes of measurement into a single cosmic Web application. It's really amazing when you zoom all the way out into stars and galaxies and then realize that every time you go a magnitude higher, everything you saw before, from the flea to Mount Everest, is contained in this tiny little grid in the lower-left side of the screen.