Click opera - She comes in colours

Click opera - She comes in colours: "In just nine months, Pantone has completely changed its meaning in Japan. Once a fistful of numbered swatch cards that pernickety designers would menace printers with, it's now become a trendy consumer buzzword in Japan, and, some might say, a byword for the newly-acceptable face of colour in a nation which dips in and out of chromophobia."

The Secrets of Oracle Bitmap Indexes

The Secrets of Oracle Bitmap Indexes

"Characteristic of Bitmap Indexes

• For columns with very few unique values (low cardinality)

Columns that have low cardinality are good candidates (if the cardinality of a column is <= 0.1 % that the column is ideal candidate, consider also 0.2% – 1%)

• Tables that have no or little insert/update are good candidates (static data in warehouse)
  
• Stream of bits: each bit relates to a column value in a single row of table

create bitmap index person_region on person (region);

Row Region North East West South
1 North 1 0 0 0
2 East 0 1 0 0
3 West 0 0 1 0
4 West 0 0 1 0
5 South 0 0 0 1
6 North 1 0 0 0

Advantage of Bitmap Indexes

The advantages of them are that they have a highly compressed structure, making them fast to read and their structure makes it possible for the system to combine multiple indexes together for fast access to the underlying table."

Disgraceland, PRC

Disgraceland, PRC: "Once upon a time in a land called Xi Pu, just west of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in the People's Republic of China, there was a tourist theme park... The World Landscape Park. As a business venture it failed, and today the park lies abandoned and decaying. Personally, I think it's a lot more interesting this way than it could ever possibly have been when it was open."

Returning Rows Through a Table Function in Oracle

Returning Rows Through a Table Function in Oracle: "In Oracle9i, we are now able to call a table function within the FROM clause of a SQL statement and have it return a result set that mimics what we would normally expect from a traditional SQL SELECT statement."

OraFAQ Forum: PL/SQL Experts => can function return multiple rows

OraFAQ Forum: PL/SQL Experts => can function return multiple rows: "Simply replace num_tab with a type of your choice, change the code in the package body, and you're go for launch."

ASPN : Python Cookbook : Timing out function

ASPN : Python Cookbook : Timing out function: "This recipe presents two ways to time out the execution of a callable."

Weight Training

Weight Training: "Better performances can be the product of a number of factors. This product is primarily the outcome of efficient technique, the progression of speed and the maturing competitive attitude on a sound basis of general endurance, all round strength and general mobility. The development of all round strength is best achieved via circuit training and then progressing this through weight training."

Why Every Man Should Lift Weights � Self Improvement Blog - BrianKim.net

Why Every Man Should Lift Weights � Self Improvement Blog - BrianKim.net: "When you start lifting weights and begin to see all the positive benefits, there’s no going back. The benefits will drive you to keep on doing it, which continues the cycle, which then inevitably installs a great habit. You’ll feel more happy, energetic, focused, tough, accomplished and you won’t want to let go of the cause. "

Weight training: Are you using good technique? - MayoClinic.com

Weight training: Are you using good technique? - MayoClinic.com: "You don't have to be a bodybuilder or professional athlete to reap the benefits of a weight training program. Weight training — a form of strength training — can improve your strength, increase your muscle tone, help you lose fat and gain muscle mass, and improve your bone density. But if done incorrectly, weight training won't give you these benefits and can lead to injury."

The $72 PC - Popular Science

The $72 PC - Popular Science: "Luis Bruno
The Cereal PC
Sporting a metal ductwork shell, a Wi-Fi card and a touchscreen, this morning companion will automatically serve up the day’s weather and news headlines for breakfast reading.

With antiquated components flooding the surplus-parts market and free operating systems only a click away, building a fully functional computer has never been such a bargain. No, the $72 PC won’t replace your new dual-core, Vista-shredding laptop. But with its compact size and solid-state components (no hard drive or CD drive), it’s perfect for building into custom enclosures and for specific tasks like Web surfing or playing games. The computer boots from a USB flash drive running an operating system called Damn Small Linux that can handle just about any job. Got any grand ideas for a sub-C-note PC? Send them to us at h20@time4.com."

XML-RPC for C and C : Useful XML-RPC Hacks

XML-RPC for C and C : Useful XML-RPC Hacks:


"Python XML-RPC Debugger (by Graham Dumpleton)
This includes a Python Tk GUI."

Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing

Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing: - by Charles Dodgson

The New York Times > Magazine > Slide Show >

The New York Times > Magazine > Slide Show >: "People and their Avatars"

Video Games - China - Money - Online Games - New York Times

Video Games - China - Money - Online Games - New York Times: "It was an hour before midnight, three hours into the night shift with nine more to go. At his workstation in a small, fluorescent-lighted office space in Nanjing, China, Li Qiwen sat shirtless and chain-smoking, gazing purposefully at the online computer game in front of him. The screen showed a lightly wooded mountain terrain, studded with castle ruins and grazing deer, in which warrior monks milled about. Li, or rather his staff-wielding wizard character, had been slaying the enemy monks since 8 p.m., mouse-clicking on one corpse after another, each time gathering a few dozen virtual coins — and maybe a magic weapon or two — into an increasingly laden backpack."

SVS Animation 3433 - Rise of the Three Gorges Dam

SVS Animation 3433 - Rise of the Three Gorges Dam: "Some call it the eighth wonder of world; others say it's the next Great Wall of China. Upon completion in 2009, the Three Gorges Dam will be the world's largest hydroelectric power generator. One of the few man-made structures so enormous that it's actually visible to the naked eye from space, NASA's Landsat satellite has had a closer look, providing detailed, vivid views of the dam since its inception in 1994."

CanMag- Ratatouille Concept Art and Fun Facts!

CanMag- Ratatouille Concept Art and Fun Facts!: "Disney/Pixar has sent over a batch of concept art for Ratatouille along with an intensive list of fun facts from the film's production. "

Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Ratatouille

Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Ratatouille: "With Ratatouille (a new animated movie from Pixar) coming out in a couple weeks, I thought it would be fitting for me to present a recipe for Ratatouille (a dish from Provence). This is a wonderfully flavorful vegetable dish that can be served as either a side or as a main entree.

There are a variety of recipes for Ratatouille and the ingredients often change from cook to cook, but most contain eggplant (aubergine), garlic, onions, zucchini (Italian squash or marrows), and bell peppers. Usually the recipe is seasoned with Herbes de Provence, but (as in this recipe) it can be as simple as parsley and basil. Often the individual vegetable components are cooked separately in olive oil, but I like this recipe that cooks the vegetables together. "

Test your musical skills in 6 minutes!

Test your musical skills in 6 minutes!: "While working at the music and neuroimaging lab at Beth Israel/Harvard Medical School in Boston, I developed a quick online way to screen for the tonedeafness. It actually turned out to be a pretty good test to check for overall pitch perception ability. The test is purposefully made very hard, so excellent musicians rarely score above 80% correct. Give it a try!"

blog.pmarca.com

blog.pmarca.com: "From an interview in Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, in 2005:

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem."

blog.pmarca.com: Analyzing the Facebook Platform, three weeks in

blog.pmarca.com: Analyzing the Facebook Platform, three weeks in: "In this post, I provide an overview and analysis of the Facebook Plaform and what we have learned about it in the three weeks since it launched.

To start, my personal opinion is that the new Facebook Platform is a dramatic leap forward for the Internet industry.

Here's why:

Veterans of the software industry have, hardcoded into their DNA, the assumption that in any fight between a platform and an application, the platform will always win."

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity

blog.pmarca.com: The Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity: "One of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures is indulging in productivity porn.

Productivity porn (or, for those really in the know, 'productivity pr0n') consists of techniques, tactics, and tricks for maximizing personal productivity -- or, as they say, 'getting things done'.

Having enjoyed such fine purveyors of prodporn as Merlin Mann, Danny O'Brien, Gina Trapani, David Allen, and Tim Ferriss, I'd like to return the favor with the following: the Pmarca Guide to Personal Productivity."

C R Y P T O N O M I C O N

C R Y P T O N O M I C O N:

"In the Beginning was
the Command Line
by Neal Stephenson"

Mac OSX: Burn an ISO image to cdrom from command line - Tech-Recipes.com

Mac OSX: Burn an ISO image to cdrom from command line - Tech-Recipes.com:

hdiutil burn image.iso

How victim snared ID thief / She chased down woman who had given her 6 months of hell

How victim snared ID thief / She chased down woman who had given her 6 months of hell: "How victim snared ID thief
She chased down woman who had given her 6 months of hell"

How To Tie A Sarong (Root category: Made By You)

How To Tie A Sarong (Root category: Made By You): "How To Tie A Sarong"

Untitled Document

Untitled Document: "How to Tie a Pareau
A pareau is a traditional Polynesian garment that can be worn as several dress styles, a wrap, or as a skirt. It is one dress, in one size that gives you many unique ways to wear it. They're the perfect casual wear or cover-up, anywhere... just tie it and GO!"

RaidenX.net - RAIDENX

RaidenX.net - RAIDENX: "Use your ARROW KEYS to navigate through menu. In game navigate your ship, using ARROW KEYS, over the enemy base destroying everything as you proceed further. Use 'Z' KEY to shoot and 'X' key to throw bomb. Collect the weapon upgrades to strengthen your armor before you fight the bosses. Have Fun! Bookmark Raiden X Now"

Overlearning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Overlearning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Overlearning is a pedagogical concept according to which newly acquired skills should be practiced well beyond the point of initial mastery, leading to automaticity."

ASCII Generator

ASCII Generator
" ASCII Generator is a wrapper written in php for a nice program called FIGlet (see questions about FIGlet)."

PLY

PLY: "PLY (Python Lex-Yacc)

Welcome to the PLY homepage. PLY is an implementation of lex and yacc parsing tools for Python. If you don't have the slightest idea what that means, you're probably in the wrong place."

Linux.com | It is can be LOLCODE time plz?

Linux.com | It is can be LOLCODE time plz?: "
HAI
I HAS A CHEEZBURGER ITZ 1
IM IN YR LOOP
VISIBLE 'I has dis many: ' N CHEEZBURGER
IZ CHEEZBURGER BIGGER THAN 11 O RLY?
YA RLY
GTFO
NO WAI
UP CHEEZBURGER!!1
KTHX
KTHX
KTHXBYE
"

Innovation | Lessons from Apple | Economist.com

Innovation | Lessons from Apple | Economist.com:
"The first is that innovation can come from without as well as within. [...] This approach, known as “network innovation”
[...]
Second, Apple illustrates the importance of designing new products around the needs of the user, not the demands of the technology.
[...]
a third lesson from Apple is that smart companies should sometimes ignore what the market says it wants today.
[...]
The fourth lesson from Apple is to “fail wisely”.
[...]
None of these things, of course, guarantees success: you can buy in clever ideas, pursue simplicity, ignore focus groups and fail wisely—and still go bust."

Flash Pacman

Flash Pacman: "Flash Pacman"

The real origin of Laugh-Out-Loud Cats on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The real origin of Laugh-Out-Loud Cats on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "The strip was entitled 'the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats' and featured the exploits of one Meowlin Q. Kitteh (a sort of cat hobo-raconteur) and his young hapless kitten friend, Pip."

A better soda can stove - YGingras.net

A better soda can stove - YGingras.net: "When the coolness of hi-tech settles down, backpackers agree that it pays to keep it simple. The stove that packs the most bang per gram, that will never fail, is so simple that no one wants to sell it. It's the soda can stove."

Neatorama � Blog Archive � The Strangest Disaster of the 20th Century.

Neatorama � Blog Archive � The Strangest Disaster of the 20th Century.: "The disaster at Lake Nyos was only the second such incident in the recorded history—the 1984 incident at Lake Monoun was the first. To date, scientists believe that only three lakes in the entire world, Nyos, Monoun, and a third lake called Lake Kivu on the border of Congo and Rwanda, accumulate deadly amounts of dissolved CO2 at great depths."

South Fork American River Rafting > 2 Day Trips

South Fork American River Rafting > 2 Day Trips: "Select from the following 2-Day Trips:
We offer two different options:
South Fork 2-Day 'Car Access' Camp Trips
2 days on the South Fork
Upper section 1st day, Lower section 2nd day
30 hours, 21 miles
Lunch, dinner, breakfast, lunch "