London 2012 Football Olympic Qualification - Round 2

 

First Leg: 29.June 2011

Second Leg: 3 July 2011

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Update: OMG! LOL! FYI the Oxford English Dictionary Added New Words!

According to the OED‘s site, the newest edition of the dictionary revises more than 1,900 entries and includes a ton of new words, including LOL, OMG and FYI. These words often uses in online form, as a shortform of Laughing Out Loud, Oh My God and For Your Information.

According to the OED’s blog post - “The intention is usually to signal an informal, gossipy mode of expression, and perhaps parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse, while at the same time marking oneself as an ‘insider’ au fait with the forms of expression associated with the latest technology.” These three will be joined with other entries such as IMHO, TMI and BFF which also carries some meaning which can be found online or in informal discussion.

The heart sign (read: <3), however, is perhaps the most interesting addition. This update may be the first English usage to develop via the medium of T-shirts and bumper-stickers. Personally, I'm looking forward for the next edition, which hopefully can include some more of internet lingo such as tl;dr, TITS OR GTFO, STFU, nufags useful shortform in the language.

Update: OED added the word 'hentai' too in their latest update. Oxford's online entry for hentai is as follows;

Pronunciation: /hɛnˈtʌɪ/
noun
[mass noun]
a subgenre of the Japanese genres of manga and anime, characterized by overtly sexualized characters and sexually explicit images and plots.
Origin:
1990s: Japanese, literally 'abnormal, perverted'

 This is the new Japanese/anime terms addition after otaku in 2004 and hikikomori in 2010

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How to Start Right in Astronomy

This article is written by Alan MacRobert from astronomy magazine Sky & Telescope. It is well worth a read if you are thinking of getting into the hobby. This good piece on the web worth sharing with others who are interested and would like to make the first step into astronomy.

  "DEAR SKY & TELESCOPE," the letter began. "I am 20 years old and new to astronomy. I have always been fascinated with the stars and universe. What would you suggest my first step be to get into the hobby, so that I might get the most enjoyment out of it?" 

  It's a good question, one that deserves better answers than most beginners find. Many newcomers to astronomy call us in exasperation after blundering down some wrong trail that leaves them lost and frustrated. Such experiences, widely shared, create a general public impression that astronomy is a tough hobby to get into. But this impression is altogether wrong and unnecessary.

  Many other hobbies that have magazines, conventions, and vigorous club scenes have developed effective ways to welcome and orient beginners. Why can't we? For starters, novice astronomers would have more success if a few simple, well-chosen direction signs were posted for them at the beginning of the trail.

  What advice would help beginners the most? Sky & Telescope editors brainstormed this question. Pooling thoughts from more than 200 years of collective experience answering the phone and mail, we came up with a number of pointers to help newcomers past the pitfalls and onto the straightest route to success.

1. Ransack your public library. Astronomy is a learning hobby. Its joys come from intellectual discovery and knowledge of the cryptic night sky. But unless you live near an especially large and active astronomy club, you have to make these discoveries, and gain this knowledge, by yourself. In other words, you need to become self-taught.

  The public library is the beginner's most important astronomical tool. Maybe you found Sky & Telescope there. Comb through the astronomy shelf for beginner's guides. Look for aids to learning the stars you see in the evening sky. One of the best is the big two-page sky map that appears near the center of every month's Sky & Telescope, which the library should have. When a topic interests you, follow it up in further books.

  Many people's first impulse, judging from the phone calls, is to look for someone else to handle their education -- an evening course offering, a planetarium, or some other third party. These can be stimulating and helpful. But almost never do they present what you need to know right now, and you waste an enormous amount of time commuting when you should be observing. Self-education is something you do yourself, with books, using the library.

2. Learn the sky with the naked eye. Astronomy is an outdoor nature hobby. Go into the night and learn the starry names and patterns overhead. Sky & Telescope will always have its big, round all-sky map for evening star-finding. Other books and materials will fill in the lore and mythology of the constellations the map shows, and how the stars change through the night and the seasons. Even if you go no further, the ability to look up and say "There's Arcturus!" will provide pleasure, and perhaps a sense of place in the cosmos, for the rest of your life.

3. Don't rush to buy a telescope. Many hobbies require a big cash outlay up front. But astronomy, being a learning hobby, has no such entrance fee. Conversely, paying a fee will not buy your way in.
Thinking otherwise is the most common beginner's mistake. Half the people who call for help ask, "How do I see anything with this %@&*# telescope?!" They assumed that making a big purchase was the essential first step.

  It doesn't work that way. To put a telescope to rewarding use, you first need to know the constellations as seen with the naked eye, be able to find things among them with sky charts, know something of what a telescope will and will not do, and know enough about the objects you're seeking to recognize and appreciate them.

  The most successful, lifelong amateur astronomers are often the ones who began with the least equipment. What they lacked in gear they had to make up for in study, sky knowledge, map use, and fine-tuning their observing eyes. These skills stood them in good stead when the gear came later.

  Is there a shortcut? In recent years computerized, robotic scopes have come on the market that point at astronomical objects automatically. They represent an enormous change. No longer do you need to know the sky.

  Once fully set up, a computerized scope is a lot faster than the old way of learning the sky and using a map -- assuming you know what's worth telling the computer to point at. But they're expensive, and opinions about them are divided. For beginners, at least, there's some consensus that a computerized scope can be a crutch that prevents you from learning to get around by yourself and will leave you helpless if anything goes wrong. Moreover, you miss out on the pleasures of making your own journeys through the heavens.

  At star parties beneath gorgeous black, star-sprinkled skies, we have seen beginners struggling for hours with electronics when they should have been sweeping the heavens overhead. Is this just the carping of old fogeys? The jury is still out.

4. Start with binoculars. A pair of binoculars is the ideal "first telescope," for several reasons. Binoculars show you a wide field, making it easy to find your way around; a higher-power telescope magnifies only a tiny, hard-to-locate spot of sky. Binoculars give you a view that's right-side up and straight in front of you, making it easy to see where you're pointing. An astronomical telescope's view is upside down, sometimes mirror-imaged, and usually presented at right angles to the line of sight. Binoculars are also fairly inexpensive, widely available, and a breeze to carry and store.

  And their performance is surprisingly respectable. Ordinary 7- to 10-power binoculars improve on the naked-eye view about as much as a good amateur telescope improves on the binoculars. In other words they get you halfway there for something like a tenth to a quarter of the price -- an excellent cost-benefit ratio.

  For astronomy, the larger the front lenses are the better. High optical quality is important too. But any binocular that's already knocking around the back of your closet is enough to launch an amateur-astronomy career.

5. Get serious about maps and guidebooks. Once you have the binoculars, what do you do with them? You can have fun looking at the Moon and sweeping the star fields of the Milky Way, but that will wear thin after a while. However, if you've learned the constellations and obtained detailed sky maps, binoculars can keep you busy for a lifetime.

  They'll reveal most of the 109 "M objects," the star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae cataloged by Charles Messier in the late 18th century. Binoculars will show the ever-changing positions of Jupiter's satellites and the crescent phase of Venus. On the Moon you can learn dozens of craters, plains, and mountain ranges by name. You can split scores of colorful double stars and spend years following the fadings and brightenings of variable stars. If you know what to look for.

  A sailor of the seas needs top-notch charts, and so does a sailor of the stars. Fine maps bring the fascination of hunting out faint secrets in hidden sky realms. Many reference books describe what's to be hunted and the nature of the objects you find. Moreover, the skills you'll develop using maps and reference books with binoculars are exactly the skills you'll need to put a telescope to good use.

6. Find other amateurs. Self-education is fine as far as it goes, but there's nothing like sharing an interest with others. There are more than 400 astronomy clubs in North America alone; see the directory on Sky & Telescope's Web site. Call the clubs near you. Maybe you'll get invited to monthly meetings or nighttime star parties and make a lot of new friends. Clubs range from tiny to huge, from moribund to vital. But none would have published a phone number unless they hoped you would call.

  Computer networks offer another way to contact other amateurs. CompuServe, America Online, and the Internet all have active astronomy areas. These present a constant flow of interesting news and chatter by amateurs who are quick to offer help, opinions, and advice.

7. When it's time for a telescope, plunge in deep. Eventually you'll know you're ready. You'll have spent hours poring over books and ad brochures. You'll know the different kinds of telescopes, what you can expect of them, and what you'll do with the one you pick.

  This is no time to scrimp on quality; shun the flimsy, semi-toy "department store" scopes that may have caught your eye. The telescope you want has two essentials. One is a solid, steady, smoothly working mount. The other is high-quality optics -- "diffraction-limited" or better. You may also want large aperture (size), but don't forget portability and convenience. The telescope shouldn't be so heavy that you can't tote it outdoors, set it up, and take it down reasonably easily. The old saying is true: "The best telescope for you is the one you'll use the most.

  Can't afford it? Save up until you can. Another year of using binoculars while building a savings account will be time you'll never regret. It's foolish to blow half-accumulated telescope money on something second rate that will disappoint. Or consider building the scope yourself, an activity that many clubs support.

8. Lose your ego. Astronomy teaches patience and humility -- and you'd better be prepared to learn them. There's nothing you can do about the clouds blocking your view, the extreme distance and faintness of the objects you desire most, or the timing of the long-anticipated event for which you got all set up one minute late. The universe will not bend to your wishes; you must take it on its own terms.

  Most of the objects within reach of any telescope, no matter how large or small it is, are barely within its reach. Most of the time you'll be hunting for things that appear very dim, small, or both. If flashy visuals are what you're after, go watch TV.

  "Worthiness" is the term entering the amateur language for the humble perseverance that brings the rewards in this hobby. The term was coined by Ken Fulton, author of The Light-Hearted Astronomer (1984) -- a book describing the hobby as a jungle full of snares, quicksand, and wild beasts that only those with the spiritual skills of a martial artist can traverse unmauled. It's really not that bad -- but there are definitely times when a Zen calmness will help you through.

9. Relax and have fun. Part of losing your ego is not getting upset at your telescope because it's less than perfect. Perfection doesn't exist, no matter what you paid. Don't be compulsive about things like cleaning lenses and mirrors or the organization of your observing notebook.

  And don't feel compelled to do "useful work" right away. Ultimately, the most rewarding branches of amateur astronomy involve scientific data collecting -- venturing into the nightly wilderness to bring home a few bits of data that will advance humanity's knowledge of the universe in some tiny but real way. Such a project often marks the transformation from "beginner" to "advanced amateur," from casual sightseer to cosmic fanatic. But it only works for some people, and only when they're good and ready.

  Amateur astronomy should be calming and fun. If you find yourself getting wound up over your eyepiece's aberrations or Pluto's invisibility, take a deep breath and remember that you're doing this because you enjoy it. Take it only as fast or as slow, as intense or as easy, as is right for you. 

Alan MacRobert is an associate editor of Sky & Telescope magazine and an avid backyard astronomer.

Well you certainly have your own way to start, why don't you share with us?

Free sources that you might interested:

• Skymap
• Stellarium
• more to add

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Longest Video on Youtube

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'Sakit hati' boleh lapor pada SKMM

Penulis blog Mohd Nur Hanief Abdul Jalil mendakwa beliau disiasat tiga jam oleh Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM) kerana ada yang "sakit hati" tentang kandungan blognya.

"Mereka (SKMM) kata ada orang yang laporkan saya sebab 'sakit hati'.

"Kalau orang ada sakit hati tentang gambar atau kandungan blog mereka kata boleh laporkan pada SKMM untuk disiasat," kata Hanief.

Dalam soal-siasat pagi jam 10 pagi tadi di ibu pejabat SKMM di Cyberjaya, Hanief hadir berseorangan kerana peguamnya N Surendran tidak dapat hadir.

Katanya, walaupun bapanya dibenarkan hadir sama tetapi beliau memilih menjalani sesi itu berseorangan.

SKMM menolak permohonan Surendran supaya siasatan itu ditunda ke masa lain supaya beliau dapat turut serta.

Hanief, 27, bagaimanapun berpendapat cara SKMM menangani kes itu seperti mahu menakut-nakutkan penulis blog. - mkini

Mampus kalau ada orang tak puas hati dengan blog gua. Masuk lokap la nampaknya gua nanti.

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Supermoon Rising Tonight

In astrology, a supermoon is a full or new moon that coincides with a close approach by the Moon to the Earth. The Moon's distance varies each month between approximately 354,000 km (220,000 mi) and 410,000 km (254,000 mi) due to its elliptical orbit around Earth, says Wikipedia. In other words, supermoon is the phenomenon when the moon is in its position closest to the earth and this phenomenon occured once for almost 20 years.

The last supermoon, or its official name perigee moon, occured on March 1993. Perigee moons are also known to cause higher tides but nothing to worry about, there are not known natural disaster causes by the moon. For best view, take a look at the moon when the moon is near the horizon at the early evening. “That is, it turns out, a distance of rare beauty,” wrote NASA scientiest Tony Philips.

19 March 2011 is the day when you can see again the beauty of celestial object around the sky. Of course, supermoon is waiting for you tonight. Keep your windows open and feels the awesomeness and perfection of this nature.

"The moon looks upon many night flowers; the night flowers see but one moon." ~Jean Ingelow

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Mengapa Tenaga Nuklear Bagus Digunakan

Kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia memandang negatif tentang perkara ini terutamanya apabila mendengar desas-desus bahawa kerajaan kita mahu membina loji nuklear dan seumpamanya jadi saya mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menulis entri dalam Bahasa Malaysia. Sikap rakyat Malaysia yang terlalu sensitif membawa kepada kemunduran negara. Pergi saja ke papan-papan forum dan jaringan komuniti, apabila seseorang atau satu pihak berkata tentang pembinaan loji nuklear dan perkara yang berkaitan dengannya, pasti ada komen-komen yang memandang rendah perkara ini. Mari lihat contoh yang saya jumpa di satu jaringan komuniti terkenal 'Facebook'.

Anda lihat sendiri betapa mudahnya rakyat Malaysia menilai kepentingan tenaga nuklear di Malaysia. Pemikiran seperti inilah yang menyebabkan kita takut untuk mengambil langkah walaupun setapak kehadapan.


Mengapa Tenaga Nuklear Bagus Digunakan?

Secara umumnya, manusia memerlukan sumber tenaga untuk hidup. Kita memerlukan tenaga untuk cahaya, haba, kenderaan dan seumpamanya. Pada masa sekarang, tenaga yang paling banyak digunakan ialah apa yang dikenali sebagai gas asli atau fossil fuel yang kita bakar untuk mendapatkan tenaga. Malangnya, penggunaan fossil fuel ini membawa kepada pencemaran dan pemanasan global.

Oleh itu kita perlu bertindak bijak menukar tabiat kita dengan menukar sumber tenaga kepada sesuatu yang kurang merosakkan alam sekitar. Ada juga yang mencadangkan kita menggunapakai sumber tenaga seperti solar dan angin tetapi sumber itu terlalu mahal, tidak konsisten dan menggunakan ruang yang besar untuk dibina. Tiada yang sempurna, tetapi kita perlu bijak membuat keputusan dengan akal dan bukan perasaan.

Tenaga nuklear mungkin merupakan satu idea yang tidak ideal tetapi terbaik yang wujud di muka bumi ini. Tenaga nuklear selalunya dipandang rendah sebagai membawa kepada kemusnahan jangka panjang tetapi kemalangan melibatkan letupan janakuasa tenaga nuklear berlaku hanya beberapa kali, dan kita boleh mengklasifikasikannya sebagai kes terpencil. Bahkan, apabila kita menggunakan tenaga ini dengan baik, tenaga nuklear boleh menjadi tenaga yang sangat bagus dan tidak menyebabkan pencemaran udara.

Mari kita lihat mengapa secara umumnya tenaga nuklear dikatakan bagus digunakan berbanding tenaga lain.

• Tenaga nuklear sangat bersih dibandingkan dengan tenaga lain.
• Tenaga nuklear boleh dihasilkan dengan selamat dan semakin selamat.
• Tenaga nuklear boleh dihasilkan dengan murah. Kos pembinaannya menelan belanja yang sangat tinggi, tetapi sangat menjimatkan dalam jangka masa panjang berbanding gas asli.
• Ia juga merupakan cara terbaik untuk menyimpan tenaga radioaktif yang dihasilkan.
• Ia juga dikatakan lebih konsisten daripada sumber tenaga seperti matahari dan angin.
• Tenaga nuklear juga lebih mesra alam.

Mungkin para pembaca sekalian mahu membaca sumber yang lebih menarik dan spesifik lagi berkenaan dengan sumber tenaga nuklear ini. Rajin-rajinkanlah mencari artikel yang berkaitan seperti ini, ini, ini, ini, ini dan ini. Setiap perkara di dunia ini mempunyai kelebihan dan keburukan, cuma apa yang diperlukan ialah keberanian dan tekad.

Some persons are very decisive when it comes to avoiding decisions.  

~Brendan Francis

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