twelvekeyz’s blog

Leap day and leap year.

nobody@vox.com(twelvekeyz) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:59:39 +0800

Today is February 29th, 2008. If we look at the calendar, we will see that this month has five Fridays. In fact, February 2008 begins and ends on a Friday.

Today is the date that occurs only once in every four years. It is called a leap day.
With this additional day, 2008 will have 366 days. A leap year always consists of 366 days, whereas other years, called common years, have 365 days.

Why are leap years important? Leap years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the earth's revolutions around the sun. It is believed that the Egyptians were the first to come up with the idea of adding a leap day once every four years in order to keep the calendar in sync with the solar year. Later, the Romans adopted this solution for their calendar, and they became the first to designate February 29th as the leap day. There is an exception, though. Century years are NOT leap years, unless they can be evenly divided by 400.

The next leap year will be 2012.

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Convection microwave.

nobody@vox.com(twelvekeyz) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:15:33 +0800

The microwave oven is a great invention. Like many of today's great inventions, the microwave oven was a by-product of another technology. The history of the microwave oven dates back to 1946, when Dr. Percy Spencer was doing a radar-related research project. He noticed that the peanut chocolate bar in his pocket had melted. He was so intrigued by this, that he experimented with popcorn.

Microwave ovens work by sending non-ionizing microwave radiation, usually at a frequency of 2.45 GHz (a wavelength of 12.24 cm), through the food. Today, most kitchens have a microwave oven.
A higher wattage oven will cook foods faster. Most microwave ovens have power ranging from 600 to 1200 watts.

Convection ovens blow hot air around the food. By moving fast hot air past the food, convection ovens can operate at a lower temperature than a standard conventional oven and yet cook food more quickly. A convection microwave is a combination of a standard microwave oven and a convection oven.
The Dual Cook feature on this kind of oven can be used to cook and reheat food using both, microwaves and hot air simultaneously.

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Remember and forget.

nobody@vox.com(twelvekeyz) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:57:16 +0800

Some individuals have the unique ability to remember things - even down to the most smallest things in detail. This is why these special individuals are able to recite manuscripts and books word for word, from cover to cover.

Memory is a part of our daily lives and without it, we will tend to make ourselves lose and forget things.
It has been said that a healthy diet contributes to a healthy brain. In view of this, it is good to eat correctly.

'Photographic memory' can be a wonderful thing, either as a blessing or as a curse.
As a blessing, we remember the good.
As a curse? Well, we could always try to put all of the sad and painful thoughts out of our minds, but somehow, our brains won't allow us to forget.
We try to forget the hurt, but those memories keep coming back to haunt us. Even in our sleep, we may dream of them. And we cannot control our dreams, no matter how much we try.

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The Disk Defragmenter.

nobody@vox.com(twelvekeyz) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:05:13 +0800

The Disk Defragmenter on any computer is a necessity. Because files become fragmented whenever you save them to your disk drive, the Disk Deframenter will rearrange and reassemble the fragmented files on your disk drive. Much like a jigsaw puzzle which takes extra time finding all of the pieces, it would now be easier for the computer to find them much faster than if the files were scattered all over the place.

A Disk Defragmenter isn't a miracle cure, but it does take care of some nagging little problems that sometimes slip through the cracks. It's a minor bit of maintenance which can make a real difference to the speed and efficiency of a computer's operating system.

I don't know about other computers, but on this one which runs on Windows XP and Internet Explorer 7, the entire process takes approximately 1 hour and 6 minutes.

The correct method to run the Disk Defragmenter, is to first, disconnect from the internet and make sure no other programs are running. Then, click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Depending on the usage of a computer, the Disk Defragmenter should be used once a month.

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Maxis Hotlink Prepaid.

nobody@vox.com(twelvekeyz) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:17:49 +0800

Maxis Hotlink Prepaid now comes in a card form of ten Ringgit and thirty Ringgit cards.
In the center portion of each card is a strip which needs to be scratched out, in order to reveal the hidden fourteen digit number.

The process to "top up" (or "recharge" as it is sometimes called) seems simple enough.
First, scratch out the strip on the card. Then, to input this number into the cellular phone, press the star key *, dial 111, then the star key * once again, followed by the fourteen digit number and the hash # key.

The alternative method is to dial 122 and listen to the prerecorded message saying: "Hello._Welcome to Hotlink. _Main Menu._To check your balance, please press one._To top up, please press two._To change your Hotlink options..."
Press 2 and follow the instructions: "Please enter your top up code, followed by the hash key."
The top up code would be the fourteen digit number found on the card.

These two methods described above are much more convenient than asking the people at the phone shop to top up your number using their technology, as you can always top up at any time of the day or night.

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The videocam.

nobody@vox.com(twelvekeyz) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:45:34 +0800

Thanks to the concept of the internet, the world of the exhibitionist has become widely known.

Because the internet has hotspots such as Google Video, Yahoo Video and YouTube, almost anyone with a videocam can now publish videos of themselves to the entire world.

There are some sites on the internet, which are dedicated to the life of amateur porn and the world of exhibitionism. These individuals bring their sexual desires to the world.

Exhibitionists are usually known to be fairly normal and rational. But despite this, they seek out an audience because they want to see what their reactions are. In fact, when they get that audience, it becomes more of a compulsion to see just how much they can do.

Although what some may think, not every individual with a videocam is interested in showing himself / herself off to a particular group of people. Some just want to show their videos to anyone. Therefore, they go to places where they can do just what they want. In the future, it wouldn't be uncommon to see more and more people walking down the streets, carrying a videocam.

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