Are you gonna finish strong?

I would like everyone who is going to watch this.
Pause for a while, stop whatever that you are doing, sit back and click the play button.

Are you ready for this?

Korea to get 1Gbps downloading by 2012

If you are looking for high speed internet. Then Korea is the place where you need to be.

Gizmodo – the Korea Communications Commission is spending $24 billion to secure 1Gbps access by 2012. 1Gbps allows you to download a 120-minute film in 12 seconds.There’s one small catch to the commission’s plan, which is that only large cities in Korea will have access to the top tier broadband. But surrounding smaller areas will still have access to 50 to 100 Mbps speeds.

When i was in Japan, i was enjoying 50 Mbps broadband for 10 months. Can you imagine my life when i back to Malaysia where our broadband service can only go as high as 1Mbps? Yes 1 Mbps?

We are behind East Asian Nations like Japan and Korea 50 to 100 times in terms of internet speed and in 2012, we will be far behind like what…500 times perhaps?

Yes Malaysia boleh.

What is your broadband speed?

Where economics failed – An enlightening article by Rex Weyler

How well do you understand about relationship between the economy and the environment?

This month’s Deep Green explores what happens when the laws of nature collide with the laws of economics.

“We may build bigger ships, but no new technology can catch fish that aren’t there.”

Click here to read the deep green column by Rex Weyler.

The Life Straw makes dirty water drinkable

I came across with a new invention (2006)  known as life straw. Basically it is a water filters designed by the Swiss-based Vestergaard Frandsen for the people living in developing nations.

life straw

Half of the world’s poor suffer from waterborne disease, and each day nearly 6,000 people mainly children die due to consuming unsafe drinking water. This invention simply help them to stay alive. 

The entire process is powered by regular sucking, similar to using a conventional drinking straw, and filters up to 700 liters of water, equivalent to one year supply of water.

Althought it does not solve the root cause but it is a big help to give time for developing countries to build and develope their drinkable water supply  sytem and the sanitary systems. A round of applause please.

But, one of the biggest hindrance is the price of life straw which is unaffordable for the people who need it.

So What is your opinion on this so call brilliant  invention?

How well do you know about worm casts?

Worm cast or vermicast is the end-product of the breakdown of organic matter by earthworms. Worm cast contains thousands of bacteria, enzymes, remnants of plant materials that were not fully digested.  The final casts may have been digested many times by the worms. During this process, it cleans up the matter by promoting useful microbes and adding more mucilaginous substance.

Do you know? – The bacterial population of a worm cast is much higher than the bacterial population of either worm’s gut or ingested soils.

One of the important components of worm cast is the humus, a complicated material formed during the breakdown of organic matter. The humic acid in humus provides many binding site for plant nutrients, such as iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur. These slow release nutrients are stored in the humic acid molecule in a form readily available to plants, and are released when they are needed by the plants.

Worm cast also contain worm mucus which will keeps the nutrients from washing away. These mucus acts as glue to agglomerate soil particles.  It holds moisture better than plain soil. Worm cast can hold 2-3 times their weight in water. It will improve the water holding capacity of the soil. In other words, your soils will remain dampen for a longer period of time.

Worm cast are rich in microbial life which helps break down nutrient already present in the soil into plant available forms. It also enriching soil in micro-organisms, adding plant hormones such as auxins and gibberellic and adding enzymes such as phosphatase and cellulase.

Worm cast improve soil structure, porosity, aeration and water retention capabilities. The product can insulate plant roots from extreme temperatures, reduce erosion and control weeds. It is odorless and consists of 100% recycled materials.

Worm casting contains 5 times the available nitrogen, 7 times the available potassium and 1.5 times more calcium than found in 15cm of good top soil. It will contains all the necessary nutrients when the wastes fed is well balanced (e.g., fruit peels, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, garden wastes, grains, breads, small amount of egg shells and bones, shredded newspapers and cardboards.)

Do you know? Worm casts and worm composts are different terminology. Worm compost contains worm castings and other organic matter that has been partially or fully composted.  Worm casts are purely manure or feces of the worms.

If you would ask me whether it is competitive with chemical fertilizers. I think the answers are pretty obvious. Isn’it?

Research and compilation by Mervin Low

You can locate my business plan Nescafe Kickstart by clicking here.

Real Photoshop!

I’ve been working with photoshop for quite some time and never seen anything like this before.

Can you imagine your photoshop look like this? If my photoshop skin can look like this maybe i will be more patient using it hehe… This is way too cool and impressive. 

Do you know? 

This was made in a studio with real size brushes and tools. Dont believe it? Click here. 

Check out the hand tool - it is a rubber hand glove. lol

Two thumbs up to Art Snob Solutions.

British English vs Malaysian English (part II)

A briton arrives at a posh London restaurant and had just been seated by the waiter. after a few minutes, he beckons to the waiter and asks him, “I say, my good man, would you happen to know the name of the chap over at that table by the window? I should dearly like to make his acquaintance if you would be so kind to introduce us.”

The waiter replies. “I’m terribly sorry to inform you, sir, that i am not familiar with that distinguished gentleman.”

“Well, thank you very much, anyway.”

the briton sits for a few more minutes, then with an obvious effort gets up and approaches the gentleman in question. he quietly clears his throat behind the gentleman then says, “i’m terribly sorry to impose on you, seeing that we haven’t been properly introduced yet. but under the present circumstances, i feel obliged to make an exception. your sleeve’s caught fire from the candle!”

Manglish: Eh…Eh! EH! Fire-lah! FIRE!!