T.V. : Ghost Whisperer Season 5 Episode 12

Title : Blessing in disguise

A very angry Ghost haunting the whole family and chasing them where ever they go. As Ned fall in love with the daughter of this haunted family. This family buy a new house and lot from Delia. Ned shows concern with regards to every time he gets involve with a girls it always turn out the girl is haunted or involved on a haunting.

Initially Melinda suspects the son was the one who is haunted by the ghost as Melinda sees premonition involving the son. But it turns out to be a misleading information. As Aiden was a sensitive he can sense all the feelings around him and pass it through his mother Melinda.

As I've mentioned from my last review from the previous episodes. A help from detective Blair will come in handy on solving Melinda's cases. As the family has no other records or background. Melinda and Delia got concern when they learned that this family might be hiding from the authorities. Ned decided to help by getting more closer to the daughter and getting her real identity. This information helps a lot on pin pointing the real identity of this family.

As the ghost was helping them to escape on time whenever authorities are about to help them, this is his way of making the whole family suffer. At the end when the family got pursued by an officer. A very intense scene by having the father sacrifice himself to be caught and have his whole family runaway. But the mother and daughter got tired of running away and decided to end their suffering by surrendering to the authorities.

When the ghost finally got a chance to confront the father of the family the truth about his death was known. For years of haunting the family the ghost believed that he was left for dead by the father of the family. But that was not the real story behind his death.

Very few intense scenes on this episode which will make you glued to your seats. The involvement of detective Blair is another key on revealing the truth.

Fine episode, but some dull moments here and there.

Technology : SANYO Eneloop bike

This is a very cool bike. But I don't think this would sell in the Philippines. For the price tag of $2,300 equivalent to pesos is roughly Php. 100,000. This amount is enough to buy a good second hand car or a 2 brand new 100cc motorbike. But what you're buying really here is the technology of a Hybrid Bicycle. Also it is eco-friendly. I would suggest they would produce an alternative which costless than this. This technology can help preserve our environment.

Photography : Night Photography

Night photography refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light or using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds or even minutes, in order to give the film enough time to capture a usable image, and to compensate for reciprocity failure. With the progress of high-speed films, higher-sensitivity digital image sensors, wide-aperture lenses, and the ever-greater power of urban lights, night photography is increasingly possible using available light.

The following techniques and equipment are generally used in night photography.

* A tripod is usually necessary due to the long exposure times. Alternatively, the camera may be placed on a steady, flat object e.g. a table or chair, low wall, window sill, etc.
* A shutter release cable or self timer is almost always used to prevent camera shake when the shutter is released.
* Manual focus, since autofocus systems usually operate poorly in low light conditions. Newer digital cameras incorporate a Live View mode which often allows very accurate manual focusing.
* A stopwatch or remote timer, to time very long exposures where the camera's bulb setting is used.

Long exposure multiple flash photographic technique

The long exposure multiple flash technique is a method of night or low light photography which use a mobile flash unit to expose various parts of a building or interior using a long exposure time.

Long exposure means that the shutter of the camera is kept open for longer, allowing more light to be exposed to the images sensor or film of the camera. This causes the photograph to be lighter, and is good for night and dark photos.

This technique is often combined with using coloured gels in front of the flash unit to provide different colours in order to illuminate the subject in different ways. It is also common to flash the unit several times during the exposure while swapping the colours of the gels around to mix colours on the final photo. This requires some skill and a lot of imagination since it is not possible to see how the effects will turn out until the exposure is complete. By using this technique, the photographer can illuminate specific parts of the subject in different colours creating shadows in ways which would not normally be possible.

Light painting

The camera shutter is opened. A person carries a torch around the scene using it to illuminate all the desired objects in the scene, then the shutter is closed. The result is a lit scene featuring lots of visible light trails. The person working the light is not visible in the photograph.

Sports : Airsoft (Gun Ban)

As Philippine Presidential Election is coming. The Commission of Election has ordered the Gun Ban to take effect last week. This order also covers the Airsoft Guns on this case.

As an alternative solution on this case is that some of the Game Sites has offered Gun storage at site. This is to avoid Airsofters to be apprehended by possession of an Airsoft Gun during Gun Ban. You may check out the list of Game sites that offer this kind of service at www.acmairsoft.org or www.filairsoft.com. This service is a very good idea for the Airsoft hobbyist. Kudos to those gamesites who offor this type of service.

If you are new to Airsoft hobby and want to buy an Airsoft Gun and worried about the Gun Ban. There is a amendment released Comelec Resolution 8742 which states that purchase can still be done.

Qouting the paragraph 3 added:
"In the case of sale of firearms, the transport or delivery of
the same shall be done by the authorized dealer itself on a oneway
basis directly to the address of the buyer within twenty four
(24) hours. Likewise, the transport or delivery of firearms and
spare parts for export to seaports on a one-way basis; or the
transport or delivery of imported parts, spare parts and other raw
materials used in the manufacturing of firearms directly to the
manufacturing facility of licensed manufacturer, with prior notice
to the Commission, shall be authorized."

It is clear says that purchasing firearms can still be done but it need to be transported by the authorized dealer itself within 24 hours. This is another good news to all Airsoft hobbyist. So verify with your local Airsoft distributor about this matter and if they are not aware of this give them a copy of the Resolution 8742.

Copy of this can be downloaded on: http://comelec.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/com_res_8742.pdf

Enjoy!

T.V. : Ghost Whisperer Season 5 Episode 11

Title : Dead Air

A very interesting episode, a lot of casts were involve on the storyline. But the most important aspect of this episode is the moral lesson of the story. It involves family relations and friends relationship. It also tackles importance of TRUST in a relationship.

Story starts with Ned having an On the Job training at a local radio station as a DJ. This is where the haunting begins after Ned and his friend pulled out staged prank call live on the radio. The radio station both goes haywire and Ned suspected a haunting on the radio station.

After Ned informed Melinda on the incident on the radio station booth, they have started investigating on who's the ghost haunting Ned. Delia, Ned's mother got very concerned due to his son got involved again on a angry ghost. Melinda and her son Aiden discovered another way communicating to each other, that is by sharing the same dream. As they are closing to identify the ghost haunting the station a lot of twist and turns happened due to the uncooperative of the parties involved on the incident. Melinda decided to observe on the both to check out if she can see the ghost but during the haunting. Ned got busted when the ghost gave a message on the booth about his current girlfriend and her roommate. This is where the moral of the story begins and it's all about TRUST in a relationship. The ghost got killed due to a previous prank call on the same radio station where Ned is having his On the job training. Two couples were involve and it got ugly when one couple was involved on the radio station prank call.

It's pretty long story on how it got ugly after the prank call. But to make the story short distrust to your partner will break the relationship in pieces.

Also as I've mentioned family relationship is also tackled on this episode with Delia and her son Ned. As Delia is not happy about what's Ned is going through regarding relationship with women. But after all the crazy weird stuffs happened Ned finally realized the consequence of his wrong doing. And Delia immediately acknowledged her son by admitting his faults.

To rate this 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest. I'll give an 8 to this episode due to the moral lessons viewers can learn on this episode.

Movies : Avatar (Recommended in 3D)

I've been a movie goer ever since. I like to watch any type of movies but it is my first time to watch a movie in 3D and it amaze me very much on how fun to watch a 3d movie.

The movie title is "Avatar" as the title of this article and I really really really recommend you watch it in 3D. It will add more fun on watching this great film. It has a very simple plot, but on how they have present it is very marvelous. If I were ask to rate this film 1 is the lowest and 10 is the highest. I'll give it a 10 or more than that.

The film was on both CG and real life casts. Very smooth CG effects I can say. And the setting on the planet called "Pandora" is very nice. Very much futuristic feel as the story is on the year 2154. You can expect some very futuristic weapons and machines.

Some says the storyline is like the 1990 movie "Dances with Wolves". To me its more than the 1990 movie. Somewhat a combination of several movies like 2001 film "Final Fantasy (The Spirits within)", 2003 film "The Last Samurai" and "Dances with wolves". Combine all this three movies an you'll get the "AVATAR".

As we all know or may Internet savvy people know an Avatar is a representation of yourself to the World Wide Web. We tend to make our Avatars as closest as we want it to be more like us. On this film it pretty much the same concept but on a very different approach. To blend and survive with the environment on planet Pandora scientist have created a vessel for humans to control and they called it "AVATAR". The AVATAR is almost the same as the inhabitants of Pandora called the "Na'vi", but its controlled by humans. Genetically created from the DNA of the Na'vi and humans as well.

No dull moments from the beginning till the end. It will make you glued to your seats. A very very fun and exciting film to watch. A highly recommended movie for the whole family. Too bad I watched it alone I've got no one to talk too on how amazing the 3D effects was. But it's fine and I'm looking forward to watch another 3D movie in the near future.

Sports : Pacquiao vs Mayweather off — Arum By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

January 7, 2010, 6:08pm

Manny Pacquiao's promoters say his prospective bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. is off after mediation failed to resolve differences over drug testing, scrapping what was likely to have been the richest fight in boxing history.

The bout was slated for March 13 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, but Top Rank said it couldn't reach an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions, which represented Mayweather in the negotiations, after nine hours of mediation Tuesday and more discussions Wednesday.

Although neither side was allowed to publicly discuss the specifics of their dispute, Mayweather apparently balked at a compromise over the stringent drug-testing requirement his camp insisted upon.

"I knew this was going to happen,'' said a weary Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter. "You had to play it out.'' Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer and Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe didn't immediately return phone messages.

The promoters went into the lengthy mediation Tuesday. Both sides claimed every other detail for the fight had been decided, but Mayweather had demanded random blood testing in addition to unlimited urine testing, with Pacquiao unwilling.

The fighters' representatives apparently thought they had a compromise after the mediation. The promoters were widely expected to formally announce the bout Wednesday – but subsequent discussions with Mayweather during the day led Top Rank to declare the fight cancelled.

Arum was left fuming by Mayweather, who fought under Top Rank promotion for several years.

“I've been saying this for years: He's a psychological coward who doesn't want to fight anybody who has a chance of beating him,” Arum said. “He walked away from a rematch with Oscar (De La Hoya) that would have paid him a fortune because De La Hoya held him close in the first fight (in May 2007).”

After stellar pay-per-view numbers from their previous fights, both Pacquiao and Mayweather likely stood to make more than $25 million from the welterweight bout. Mayweather returned to the ring after a 21-month absence in September with a victory over Juan Manuel Marquez, while Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) pounded Miguel Cotto in November for his 13th straight victory since 2005.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) initially appeared eager to fight Pacquiao in a bout between two contenders for the title of pound-for-pound champion of the world. Both fighters quickly agreed to the initial points of a deal, with the fight scheduled for March so it wouldn't interfere with Pacquiao's run for political office in the Philippines.

But Schaefer then infuriated Top Rank by refusing to travel to a meeting with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who offered to pay lavishly to hold the fight in the NFL team's opulent new stadium.

Schaefer's actions, apparently at Mayweather's behest, meant the fight went to the MGM Grand in Mayweather's adopted hometown with no real competition.

After Mayweather went public with his requests for drug testing that went beyond the standards of the Nevada Athletic Commission, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit last week alleging Mayweather and his camp defamed him by accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs.

That led to mediation, which apparently produced a solution acceptable to everybody except Mayweather, according to Arum.


My Opinion:

I think Arum is correct that Mayweather camp is trying all the possible alibi to make the fight canceled and they have succeeded.

Technology : Google Smartphone (Nexus One)

The Nexus One is a smartphone from Google, which uses the Android mobile operating system. The device is manufactured by HTC Corporation, and became available on January 5, 2010. Features of the phone include the ability to transcribe voice to text, a native Gmail application, and voice directions while driving.

The phone comes unlocked, and is currently offered for use on the T-Mobile network in the United States; a version for use on the Verizon (US) and Vodafone (European) networks is expected in the second calendar quarter of 2010. It can be used on any GSM network worldwide, although 3G speeds will only function on certain networks.


Hardware

The Nexus One features a 3.7in AMOLED display, with a resolution 800x480. The screen has a 100,000:1 contrast ratio and a response time of 1ms. It has an illuminated trackball which can emit different colors of light based on the type of notification being received. The phone has two microphones, one on the front and one on the back, to enable noise cancellation to reduce background noise during phone conversations. A standard 3.5mm headphone jack is also provided.

The phone features a 1GHz Qualcomm 8250 processor, 512MB of RAM, a 4GB microSD card, 512MB of internal Flash storage, a 5MP auto-focus camera with LED flash and digital zoom, GPS receiver, light and proximity sensors, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and 802.11b/g/n Wifi capabilities. It provides hardware decoding for H.263, H.264 and MPEG-4 video, and is capable of playing MP3, AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, WAV and MIDI audio, and displaying the JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP image formats. It has a standard micro USB port rather than the proprietary HTC connector, and the microSD card slot allows expansion up to 32 gigabytes of card storage. Initially applications from the Android store will be limited to the 512MB of internal flash memory, although application storage on removable SD cards will be enabled once security and piracy concerns have been addressed.

The phone weighs 130 grams (4.6 oz), with a height of 119 millimetres (4.7 in), a width of 59.8 millimetres (2.35 in), and a depth of 11.5 millimetres (0.45 in). It is powered by a removable 1400mAh battery, expected to last up to 290 hours on standby, 10 hours talk time, or 5 hours while browsing the internet.

The phone's antenna covers most major GSM providers worldwide, with the notable exception of the 850MHz and 1900MHz UMTS 3G bands used by AT&T and Rogers (of Canada). The GSM radio frequencies covered are 850, 900, 1800, and 1900 along with UMTS frequency bands 1 (2100MHz), 4 (1700MHz), and 8 (900MHz).

Software

The Nexus One runs the Google Android 2.1 operating system, codenamed 'Eclair'. The 2.1 firmware version of the Android operating system adds a few aesthetic changes such as "Live Wallpapers" which are animated in the background and react to different user inputs. It also replaces the "Application Drawer" with a simple button which can be pressed to access the list of applications installed on the phone. This thumbnail list can be scrolled up and down and as it's scrolled, the applications roll up into a 3D cube instead of disappearing from the screen. Once the bottom of the application thumbnail list is hit, the screen bounces off similar to the iPhone functionality.

Pinch-zooming is still not available on the 2.1 firmware of Android. However, double-tapping will zoom in. Additionally, the "Gallery" application allows the use of finger swiping to switch pictures rather than before where you had to press a "Right" or "Left" arrow key.

Photography : Orton Photography

Orton imagery, also called an Orton slide sandwich, is a photography technique which blends two completely different photos of the same scene, resulting in a distinctive mix of high and low detail areas within the same photo. It was originated by photographer Michael Orton.

The original technique invented by Michael Orton was to overlay two or more images of an identical scene with very different exposures on slide film. One image is sharply focused and the others are very out of focus. Orton has also experimented with similar techniques, substituting one of the images in the composition for one of a different subject, such as a texture layer, or combining a multi-colored image and a monotone one.

News : Burj Dubia to Open Today

Burj Dubai (Arabic: برج دبي‎ "Dubai Tower") is a supertall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at 818 m (2,684 ft). Construction began on 21 September 2004, with the exterior of the structure completed on 1 October 2009 and the building officially opened on 4 January 2010.

The building is part of the 2 km2 (0.8 sq mi) flagship development called "Downtown Burj Dubai" at the "First Interchange" along Sheikh Zayed Road, near Dubai's main business district. The tower's architect is Adrian Smith, who worked with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) until 2006. The Chicago-based architecture and engineering firm SOM was in charge of the project design. The primary builder is a joint venture of South Korean Samsung C&T, who also built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers, Besix and Arabtec. Turner Construction Company was chosen as the construction project manager. Under UAE law, the Contractor and the Engineer of Record are jointly and severally liable for the performance of Burj Dubai. Therefore, by adoption of SOM’s design and by being appointed as Architect and Engineer of Record, Hyder Consulting is legally the Design Consultant for the tower.

The total budget for the Burj Dubai project is about US $4.1 billion; and for the entire new "Downtown Dubai", US $20 billion. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the CEO of Emaar Properties, speaking at the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat 8th World Congress, said that the price of office space at Burj Dubai had reached US $4,000 per sq ft (over US $43,000 per m2) and that the Armani Residences, also in Burj Dubai, were selling for US $3,500 per sq ft (over US $37,500 per m2).

Photography : 4 Practice Techniques to Develop Photographic Observation by Christina N. Dickson

Note:
This is a re-post, I came across this article and I think its good to share it by re-posting it.


The greatest skill of a talented photographer is not how accurate he or she can be with exposure; it’s not being spot on with all of the tech details, or putting out thousands of images a week.

The greatest skill any photographer can hope to possess is that of observation.

Observation will define your work. It will give life and breath to the stories you capture and the beauty you create. Observation will be the difference between an average photo and a captivating photo; between an image that is a visual picture, and one that speaks to it’s audience in the most audible ways.

Developing observation – specifically in your photography – takes deliberate and practical efforts. It takes time and effort, and an unwillingness to take what is at face value.

Practice with some of the following techniques, adapted specifically for photographers:
1. Analyze

Take one inanimate object and place in on a table in front of you. Look at it for five minutes and take note of everything You notice about it. If it is an apple, notice the shape; is it round, is it bumpy, does it have many grooves? Notice the size; is it large, small, medium – and in comparison to what? Notice texture, color, shine and polish. Does it look old? Why? Does it look freshly picked? Why? Is it mouthwatering? Then what makes it so? Ask every question you can about your object until you can think of absolutely nothing else. What kind of stories were you making up in your head about this object? Why?
2. Exhaust Perspective

Take another inanimate object and set it in a window. Take your camera, and with one lens, take as many pictures with as many different perspectives and focal distances as you can over 15 minutes. What are you trying to communicate? What makes different angles express different moods or feelings? Use the light in as many ways possible. Does the overall look and feeling of your communication change based on the way you use your techniques and combine your options? This stretching exercise will challenge your capacity and cause you to begin looking outside your box for perspectives you have never seen before.

3. Evaluate your Locations

When you go on a shoot, take a few minutes prior to evaluate the location. Ask yourself which location communicates different feelings and emotions. Then, ask yourself why. Is the lighting streaming through the trees above, creating soft and diffused sun rays that give warmth and drama. Is the placement of the flowers asymmetrical, creating a feeling of artistic dynamic? Don’t take anything you see at face value.
4. Take pictures in Your Mind

The first few months of dedicating photography often cause individuals to “see” frames everywhere – even when there is no camera in hand. This joy and wonder in photography causes a heightened sense of observation. Force yourself to create images in your mind before they happen; notice the pieces of images all around you and develop your mental sharpness for visual elements.

The skills of observation will enable you to combine all elements that are at your disposal, and arrange them to reinforce the storytelling strength of your image. And that is a powerful thing.

About the Photo Above: I noticed this young married Indian girl walking in the middle of the others. She looked up at me with a shy wonder, and her eyes were filled with expectation. As she walked, I noticed that she didn’t assert herself as many of the others did. She rather hung back. The rough texture of her skin, the cut on her lip, the dirtiness of her hair all spoke to me – that her life had not been easy. And yet her eyes spoke something else entirely. Her eyes spoke with a soft and quiet confidence, almost as though she didn’t have to have the easiest life to know that she was beautiful. When I asked if I could take her picture, I discovered my intuitions were correct. For a brief moment she didn’t meet my eyes, but when she looked up, she nodded a permission and met the gaze of the camera unflinchingly.