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Sunday, November 13, 2016

Morphic Field

"if rats of a particular breed learn a new trick in Harvard, then rats of that breed should be able to learn the same trick faster all over the world, say in Edinburgh and Melbourne"

"Habits are subject to natural selection; and the more often they are repeated, the more probable they become, other things being equal."

http://www.sheldrake.org/research/morphic-resonance/introduction

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Umlauts with Auto Hotkey

Auto Hotkey, besides being a great help for redefining keyboard shortcuts when using Dvorak keyboard, comes in very handy when using German umlauts.

Here is a script that defines CapsLock + letter to produce an umlaut version of the letter pressed.

A modification might be used if using Dvorak layout but wanting to use the Qwerty keys for umlauts just because they're easier to locate on the keyboard.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Mental Models

https://medium.com/@yegg/mental-models-i-find-repeatedly-useful-936f1cc405d#.yfh9gqwsr

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Bosnian Statistics

From the last census.
http://www.slobodna-bosna.ba/vijest/33991/koliko_nas_je_ostalo_srba_manje_280_hiljada_hrvata_217_hiljada_a_bosnjaka_142_hiljade.html#.V3UOYcNf21I.facebook

Monday, June 27, 2016

One foot in, one foot out

Probably the best summary of Brexit and the future.

"The prospect of a long, drawn-out and inconclusive farewell prompted French political scientist Jean-Louis Bourlanges, a former European Parliament member, to quip that the outcome of last week's British referendum would make little difference.

"Before, the UK had one foot in and one foot out of the EU. Afterwards, it will be exactly the opposite," he said.

"Analysis - UK's friends seek EU third way as Johnson wants all the cake" - http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN0ZD278

Monday, June 20, 2016

Country codes (ISO & UN standards)

The link below contains a list of countries with their 2-letter ISO, and 3-letter UN codes:

Complete List of Country & Dialing Codes (link)


Let the kids eat dirt

Source: Why your kids should eat dirt (link)


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

VR Technology Demos

Demonstrations of first Virtual Reality (VR) devices are starting and I assume they would only become more frequent as the time goes on.The technology and the experience is pretty cool and new. Not sure how it will play out in the long-term. I still feel a bit dizzy after today's demo.



The demonstration today was a movie from CTBTO, filmed in the Australian outback. Being able to watch all around you certainly beats any 2D experience the TV brings, no matter how many pixels they get to cram in there. Even without the interaction the experience was great. This depends on how picturesque the scenery is. And I can imagine how easy it would be to miss the important details should this way of watching become a standard for movies, the way they are created today.

The technology in this case was Oculus. It is a pretty light device into which one simply plugs in the mobile phone and there is the full sourround video and audio.



Earlier this month I saw another demo, made by 3. They showcased another device, I think from Microsoft, which was connected to a PC but also had two hand controllers that allowed for a host of interaction with the environment. There was an ocean-underwater scene, mostly for watching. Then there was an interaction with 3D drawing in space. Painting rings around planets or putting them on fire was quite fun, I must admit. There was a more earthly experience of in-office interaction with copy machine, monitor, throwing balls and mugs around, and so on.



In summary, the experience of trying these things out was the best part. The technology is new and will allow for some amazing appliances but the experience is the best thing you get out of it.

Monday, June 13, 2016

1936 all over again

"We are under existential threat. Our leaders have betrayed us. Everyone is laughing at us. With my superior wisdom and unbending will, I'll resolve the Islamic question and save the nation."

Bloomberg - Trump Is Not a Loose Cannon http://bv.ms/1sCQxkI

Friday, May 27, 2016

Link found between cell phones and cancer

Cellphone-cancer link found in rats
A major U.S. government study on
rats has found a link between cellphones and cancer. It's a potentially
huge development in the space, but will something like this actually
decrease our massive use of mobile phones?
Source: Yahoo

Monday, May 23, 2016

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

A Milestone for Renewables in Germany

Germany, world's industrial super-power, has generated almost all of its electricity needs on a Sunday afternoon from renewable sources. Definitely a milestone for renewables.



Source: Bloomberg


Friday, May 13, 2016

World Population

Interesting data about the world population and a chart with population density.


Source: world of meters

Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Clipboard hotkeys with Dvorak keyboard

As a long-time user of Dvorak keyboard, I was always struggling to use the benefits of the keyboard shortcuts, or hotkeys, for common operations of cut/copy/paste and undo operations on Windows.

A very simple solution is to use AutoHotkey application (link), along with a simple script that redirects

the keys so that Ctrl+C, for example, is still at the same place where it is on a QWERTY keyboard.

Below is an example of a script that does this:

^q::^x
^j::^c
^k::^v
return
If using the keys that are overwritten this way, you can also remap those to their Qwerty locations, too. The contents of the script are to be saved in a simple text file with .ahk extension and run by the AutoHotkey application. The good thing is that there is a portable version so no installation is required.


Wednesday, April 27, 2016

The Death Clock

" Your Personal Day of Death is...
  Sunday, October 17, 2049 "



There, 33 more years to go, apparently.



Visit The Death Clock to find out the exact day you are going to move to Akhirah.


eCars infrastructure is coming

"German government confirms plan to invest 1 billion euro to promote e-cars" - http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN0XO0XI

Monday, April 18, 2016

Opposing view on the meat carcinogen report, from Reuters

"Processed meat, such as bacon, ranks alongside plutonium as a carcinogen, according to an arm of the WHO."

The article below debates the validity of these conclusions. Make up your own mind because you are the ones accepting the risk in the first place.



Source: Who says bacon is bad? (link)

Thursday, March 17, 2016

To Bratislava for a coffee, anyone?

Hyperloop could be first built to connect Vienna-Bratislava-Budapest.



Source: Mashable


Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Snowshoes

After the first snowshoes hike, I can heartily recommend the Tubbs Flex Alp model if you're doing any climbing in the snow.






Model

Current Prices


Thursday, March 10, 2016

Such a "safe" technology

"Fukushima's ground zero - No place for man or robot" - http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN0WC03U

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Foods before GMO

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-foods-looked-like-before-genetic-modification-2016-1/?r=AU&IR=T

Friday, February 26, 2016

Andalucia

Here is (or rather, will be) a collection of links that might help someone visiting Andalucia.

What to see?

What to do?

Transport

Costs: Google Sheets
Trip: Trip It

More to come.

Thursday, February 25, 2016

History Videos

Future with robots? Perhaps

Easy come, easy go might be a more appropriate:

Mercedes Boots Robots From the Production Line


Free games make all the money

What a paradox of modern economy:

"Global revenue from free games advanced 6 percent last year to $16.5
billion, accounting for almost a third of the entire digital games
market ..."
Source: World of Tanks Video Game Mints a New Billionaire From Belarus


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Guitar Software and Materials

Software:

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Be a better listener

There is always something new to learn. One interesting thing is that, in conversations, there is no need to give advice. Just listening is usually enough.





6 Ways to Be a Better Listener


Sunday, February 21, 2016

Batteries edging over fuel cells

"Daimler says batteries have edge over fuel cells - Euro am Sonntag" - http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKKCN0VT0JW

Friday, February 19, 2016

Movie comparison & recommendations

A few sites that will find the movies you might like. Movielens looks really good so far.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Skype Chat

Just had a great conversation on Skype:


[12:44:59] *** Gen Douglas M.Fraser would like to add you on Skype ***
[12:45:08] *** Alen Siljak (UN) has shared contact details with Gen Douglas M.Fraser. ***
[13:54:35] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: hello
[13:54:58] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: how are you doing?
[14:03:50] Alen Siljak (UN): Hi. Great. How about yourself?
[14:44:39] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: hey my friend am sorry for keeping you waiting,just received a call from the UN
[14:45:17] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: anyway am general Douglas Fraser of the united state army currently in Syria
[14:45:23] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: and you?
[14:45:56] Alen Siljak (UN): I'm Luke Skywalker.
[14:45:59] Alen Siljak (UN): Nice to meet you.
[14:46:19] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: yes my friend
[14:46:28] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so how is the family doing?
[14:47:02] Alen Siljak (UN): Not bad, not bad. You can actually see here: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Luke_Skywalker
[14:47:27] Alen Siljak (UN): Dad's fine. Says hi.
[14:48:05] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: ok tell him i say hi as well
[14:48:14] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so how old are you now?
[14:49:24] Alen Siljak (UN): That's hard to say. Here are the birthdates for my family: http://www.yodasdatapad.com/ages.html
[14:50:07] Alen Siljak (UN): Thanks, dad will be happy to hear that. He's Darth Vader.
[14:50:13] Alen Siljak (UN): or so he says.
[14:50:59] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: ok that is good

[14:51:05] Alen Siljak (UN): That's his latest photo.
 [14:52:04] Alen Siljak (UN): This is two of us playing around.
[14:52:30] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: wow that is nice
[14:52:40] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: but he is no more right?
[14:52:44] Alen Siljak (UN): If you want, we can send you the Death Star battleship to Syria and sort the problems out.
[14:53:09] Alen Siljak (UN): Oh, he's still around. Doing movies lately at the old age.
[14:53:15] Alen Siljak (UN): Very popular, too.
[14:53:18] Alen Siljak (UN): Having fun.
[14:53:36] Alen Siljak (UN): So happy for him.
[14:53:47] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: ok that is cool
[14:53:55] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so where are you from?
[14:54:39] Alen Siljak (UN): That's a good question.
[14:54:41] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so how long has your father been do movies?
[14:55:35] Alen Siljak (UN): Oh, for a while now. He's been pretty active since he retired from the imperial service.
[14:56:23] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: ok so what do you do now my friend?
[14:56:49] Alen Siljak (UN): I write some books and travel the world.
[14:56:52] Alen Siljak (UN): How about you?
[14:56:58] Alen Siljak (UN): Where are you originally from?
[14:57:35] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: as you know am a surgeon general of the united state army currently in Syria
[14:57:46] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: am from the united state
[14:57:51] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: phoenix
[14:57:51] Alen Siljak (UN): What are you doing there? It must be dangerous.
[14:58:06] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so are you married?
[14:58:12] Alen Siljak (UN): No, I don't think so.
[14:58:39] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: am here for a peace keeping mission
[14:58:53] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so why are you not married now my friend?
[14:59:01] Alen Siljak (UN): That's a bit early. Are the Russians giving you trouble?
[14:59:38] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: with the help of God we will handle all issues
[14:59:51] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: we will get them down
[15:00:03] Alen Siljak (UN): That's good to hear.
[15:00:10] Alen Siljak (UN): Sorry, I gotta go now,
[15:00:15] Alen Siljak (UN): the girls are waiting
[15:00:19] Alen Siljak (UN): and the beer is getting warm.
[15:00:21] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: so are you really 53 years old?
[15:00:22] Alen Siljak (UN): Talk to you later
[15:00:27] Alen Siljak (UN): Have fun in sunny Syria.
[15:00:57] Gen Douglas M.Fraser: ok take care my friend

Friday, February 05, 2016

The Illyrians, book

Here is the link to The Illyrians on Scribd

Monoliths, Ilyrians

Fascinating episode of The Edge of Science about monoliths, including the pre-historic Ilyrian cities (link).

Wednesday, February 03, 2016

Mapcodes - finally an easy way to share a location

Mapcodes are (finally) an easy way to share a location. I've just learned about them in Here Maps, which provide mapcodes for search result locations.

A mapcode looks like this: "AUT HR.Q1"

It is all text and quite short. Actually, it is a letter version of the geographic coordinates. However, much easier to send to someone over chat, for example.

The best thing is that you can paste a mapcode into Here Maps and it will show you the location instantly.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Personality Test

Free personality test at 16 Personalities.

My personality type is, apparently, ISTJ-t.


Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Historical map overlays

Historical maps from David Rumsey Map Collection are available as a .kmz file that can be opened in Google Earth and will overlay the areas they cover. (link)

Here are some additional links:
  • List of overlays from About.com (link
  • Austro-Hungary, 1914 (link
  • Maps Mania: Mapping the Austro-Hungarian Empire (link)
Mapire (link), on the other hand, is a project of mapping the Austro-Hungarian empire. It contains overlays on top of Open Street Map.



Monday, January 25, 2016

Germany - the best country in the world

Germany declared the best country in the world at the World Economic Forum. (link)


Friday, January 22, 2016

Salzburg - Indien

A presentation about an interesting road trip I saw last weekend: Salzburg-Indien, 27.145km


Thursday, January 21, 2016

Some great nighttime tips from the successful

9 Nighttime Routines of the Mega-Successful

The tips are pretty cool. I really like the one about reading. Just 6 minutes of reading reduces stress by 68%.
 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Sendeanlage Bisamberg

Finally, I have found out what is the meaning of the funny building with antennas on top of Bisamberg, and the strangely-shaped field nearby. This used to be a radio transmission center for the ORS, built in 1933 and destroyed just a few years ago.

Had it still be standing on Bisamberg, it would be visible from most of Vienna.

Source: Wikipedia. More info in German version and Radiogeschichte Österreichs.


Photo: link

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Old Games

Here's a fantastic site which hosts downloadable old games. The link leads to Axis & Allies but other games can be searched or browsed through.

Old Games


Saturday, January 09, 2016

And some benefits of cucumber

https://plus.google.com/+AlexP/posts/5EDWFe91Jyi?_utm_source=1-2-2

More on benefits of ginger

https://plus.google.com/+AlexP/posts/DoBd7zHJuVM?_utm_source=1-2-2

Friday, January 08, 2016

Urgency/Importance Matrix

Here's a brief summary of the Urgency/Importance matrix, also known as Eisenhower's Urgent/Important Principle.This is mentioned in Covey's highly popular book 7 Habits...
The important point to remember is to focus on the Important issues first and only then on the Urgent ones.

The Eisenhower's Principle is summarized in the following statement: "I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent."


The following image summarizes the actions:
Note that this matrix's axes are in the opposite direction to the first one, which may be confusing at first.

References:

More arguments against alcohol

"Cut Alcohol to Less Than One Drink a Day, Britons Are Warned"
Considering the cancer risk, the maximum recommended amount of alcohol in UK is six regular drinks per week. Another recommendation is to have several alcohol-free days a week.
The previously-recommended benefit of alcohol "for heart health only apply for women aged 55 and older".
Drinkers are recommended "not to concentrate alcohol consumption" in heavy drinking sessions.
"Even an alcohol intake of less than 1.5 units a day increases the risk of mouth and throat cancer, the panel found, while an intake of more than about 6 units a day raises the risk of liver and pancreatic cancer."

Source: Bloomberg

Wednesday, January 06, 2016

Holidays for the religious (only)

Einstein was absolutely right in that the human stupidity has no limits. In Bosnia, they just adopted a law that awards 5 days of holidays for the religious citizens (only).
Unfortunately, those who don't believe in the supernatural are supposed to work one week a year longer than their coleagues who find that there is something more out there.
Well, the Pascal's Wager just got one more argument. At least in Bosnia.

Source: Al Jazeera