Tuesday, March 22, 2011

"That Crazy Bitch Stole My _____!"

This actually made me really LOL at the office! I don't want to spoil the ending as some of you guys might not have watched it yet.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Ubuntu 10.10 GUI Updated


Overlay Scrollbars in Unity - implementation from Canonical Design on Vimeo.


Ubuntu has just gotten a nice tweak - yep it's just some scroll bars but still a nice tweak nevertheless. One must also see if the graphic adapters are supported by Ubuntu 10.10. Your's truly has been having issues with the Panasonic CF-29 Toughbook since it has an embarrassingly mundane graphic adapter - one of those older Intel Graphics ones.

I still love my Toughbook anyway! 

David Letterman gives you 10 reasons why you should get the iPad 2




This was really cute! And actually very apt seeing how the way the world is caught in a downward spiral. I like David Letterman than whatshisname guy with the big chin. He's actually funny just being himself - he is the funny - in person!

So have you decided to get an iPad 2 yet? We'll be coming back with some stuff you should consider before deciding on that purchase!

CIA Contractor in Pakistan Saved by Syariah Law!



Subtitled: CIA Kisses The Camel For Contractor Boo-boo in Pakistan




This is rather ironic. Where the people against Syariah laws are generally speaking from the Western stance school of thought. This is a situation where Qisas and Diyat; portions under Islamic law have actually benefited a party which in the majority has been at best a vested opponent. I say vested since it depends on the current interests involved - alliances change all the time. Machiavellian as it seems, that's the way and rule of the jungle. Wars after all have for the longest time been fought on proxy.

The Islamic law on murder or Diyat, which has been invoked in this situation bears semblance to ancient laws of Arabia where the warring tribes were always squabbling and wresting for power an influence in between the many clans and families. It was to resolve a potential much bigger war between tribes; which things can easily escalate towards and can span over centuries in terms of family or clan feuds.

Excuse me for my limited knowledge on the matter, it wasn't a very complete course back in law school (in comparison for double degree courses for Islamic law practice). But what I can remember is that it isn't actually easy for people to make such payments - even in practice today it's not so commonly heard. Which gives rise to some thoughts:

1. That this is only happening because the contractor is worthy enough for the CIA to take responsibility off; probably to avoid potentially bigger embarrassment or risks to security.

2. CIA has the budget. Well that's just too obvious I suppose.

3. CIA is a name that a lot of people would fear if they had to deal with it. Duress might be a factor here.

Why in the world has this grabbed the worlds attention? Probably because the CIA is involved but its also because Diyat has been rarely been invoked to relieve such situations. Why you ask? In most cases, in today's context, you don't see to many settlements done this one since people will lack the bucks to compensate for the murder act.

The equation after all, has to do with the value of say (if memory serves) 20 camels for a life; of course it has to be mutually agreed by both families or clans so they don't go out to full scale war over the death.

That's a LOT of camels and camels, trust me, don't come cheap even by today's standards they are actually more expensive! The compensationary system in Diyat has rates right down to the broken tooth. It's of course a tooth for a tooth - as the Qisas portion of Islamic law would perpetuate, the recourse however would be a suitable amount of gold Dinars. I mean who wants to get a broken tooth anyway? It doesn't keep well and it isn't worth much and you can't use it to replace the one you just lost.

So all things considered, the CIA contractor is one very, very, lucky guy to get off a murder rap thanks to a rather obscurely used piece of Islamic legislation in Pakistan. Good for you and whomever that gets the money though. In honesty however, since taking into consideration no one would want to risk a feud with the CIA, the families involved probably did not have much choice. It's actually pretty nice that the CIA actually stepped up to plate instead of denying knowledge or something else equalling to that shit.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Angry Birds on Wood!

Read it at Pocket Lint news

WOW! Why in the world did this happen? Or more importantly why didn't I think of doing this? This is just too screwyly and funnily kewl - to have Angry Birds in a board game genre.

Maybe if we ever get one here we can do a review! The novelty factor is evidently there and I can just think of other spin-offs like a Lego version with catapults and an educational one to teach physics in school; muahahaha!

You get 3 birds, 5 pigs, a catapult and blocks for the level settings. I expect that there should be an expansion pack somewhere in the works.

To be made by Mattel, the game will be out in about 2 to 3 months time.

Read more - click the link up thar'

This is really good Auta-stuff!

iPad 2 Launch - All the juicy details | t-break: Tech @ Its Fastest

iPad 2 Launch - All the juicy details | t-break: Tech @ Its Fastest

It's finally here! The iPad 2. But is it too little to be bothered with? Starting with the dual-cored A5 processor is an expected step up for tablet evolution. I have to say that I was prepared to be disappointed with minimal improvements over the last iPad. However Mr. Steve Jobs has managed to dazzle us once more on the stage after a 6 week hiatus from his Apple related duties.

The specs in short: dual cameras for snapping pictures and video calls, dual-core processor, a one-third the thickness, lighter and a newer version of the OS. But wait what's this? Still no card slot??? Hmm, the way Apple wants to have control over things. This could be a good thing though in the long term considering the 55 malware apps found on the Android Market - which subsequently have been removed by Google.

The USD$100 price slash which seems to have been made official in Malaysia as well for the iPad 1 is welcomed of course; lest the Apple stores want to be stuck with the inventory after the newer version arrives. But is that enough? At about RM400 cheaper, would one opt for the newer and faster version instead? Of course the wait will be agonizing for some people.

Oh how the fruit makes the world run wild: Apple stocks went up 2 points when Jobs got on stage and then it fell 2 points after he made the announcement for the iPad 2. Strange? Not really. He has this effect on most people - some sort of dis-illusionary spectrum field thingy.

Whatever it is, click on the link to read on the specs up thar' and contemplate whether there's an iPad 2 in your future.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Eminem surpasses Lady Gaga as the most like living artist on Facebook | Pinoy Ambisyoso

Eminem surpasses Lady Gaga as the most like living artist on Facebook

Wow. I didn't know that Justin Bieber has over 1.3 billion views on YouTube! Lady Gaga comes in second with Eminem just crossing over the 1 billionth mark. This is seriously ridiculously silly that it makes one wonder; what is the world coming to? What do we want to watch?

Of course there are some things to consider:

1. Justin Bieber probably gets a lot of eyeballs watching over and over again - screaming female teenagers with the Bieber fever. Maybe that's why the bandwidth has been a bit unstable these days. The influx of views upsetting the balance of the Internet microcosm kinda thing.

2. Lady Gaga? People get curious the first time but I doubt that people would watch the second or third time. So the views can be relied upon a bit more as being more reliable.

3. Eminem has gone up steadily surpassing Michael Jackson. Steady growth could make for better staying power on the YouTube chart so to speak; but on the Internet nothing's really that lasting is it?