Your Shit Is Not Worthless Anymore

Yeah, the title as above will be true once your shit (the one that you dispose of at the toilet) is proved to be usable commercially by the motor industry. Human waste is the alternate description if you can't stand the rude word of "shit".

Wessex Water plc in England is testing shit ....... oops I mean human waste that was extracted from the sewerage.

A Volkswagen Beetle car was fitted with an improvised engine system that could propel its engine with just gas produced from human waste.

How does it work?

GENeco, a subsidiary of Wessex Water plc, used specialty equipment that could turn methane gas during sewage treatment works, a natural by-product of our human waste, into a type of gas useful for motor vehicles. This treated gas is then pumped into the motor vehicle to run its engine.

But I like the following statistic - "waste flushed down toilets of just 70 homes in Bristol is enough to power the Bio-Bug for a year, based on an annual mileage of 10,000 miles."

In order to have more motor vehicles running in this manner, we have to shit more? The more shit produced, the more environment friendly in this case. On the other hand, our country's national sewerage company can earn some extra money by selling our shit to them or we start producing the same type of gas too.

This is really a good sustainability programme. It does help the environment by reducing carbon dioxide produced by petrol / diesel motor vehicles' engines.

Reading: YTL UK unit tests sewage as alternative energy source - ytlcommunity
Tags: Shit, Human Waste, Volkswagen Beetle, GENeco, Wessex Water plc, Methane Gas, Bio-Bug, Sewerage, Sewage Treatment

Outer Space Eyeview

A friend's friend's granddaughter who works for NASA sent these pictures that were from past missions. The last picture was taken during Hurricane Dean.

Tags: NASA, Space, Hurricane Dean

Successful Launch of Soyuz TMA-11

This post is dedicated to Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia's first astronaut.

Malaysia's flag is flying high in the background of the trio's photo session. Malaysia has created history in having an astronaut amongst its citizens. I have to give our Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, an orthopaedic surgeon, a standing ovation for the tremendous efforts put up by him.

It was not easy in spite of the Ramadan month where he as a Muslim need to fast from dawn till dusk and yet, he went through those tough trainings and passed his final tests before take-off in order to enter the spacecraft.

The successful launch for the Expedition 16 team in the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft on 10 Oct 2007 Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was greeted with fanfare in Malaysia. Almost everyone was glued to their TVs in watching Dr Sheikh boarding the spacecraft with Commander Peggy Whitson and Flight Engineer Yuri Malenchenko till the launching into space.

I wonder what's the feeling like when you are up there. This Dr Sheikh has a dream and his dream was really BIG. His dream was there when he signed up for the selection of an astronaut back in Malaysia (around 11,000 plus did so).




Dr Sheikh's astronaut mates at the International Space Station has prepared a space for him at the Zvezda service module to conduct his experiments in the next 9 days of stay and he will depart for earth on 21 Oct.

Picked this up from NASA's website:-
With Whitson and Malenchenko is spaceflight participant Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. He is a Malaysian flying under contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will return to Earth with Expedition 15 crew members, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov, Oct. 21. Expedition 15 launched to the station last April 7.

Reading: Space Station Awaits Crew With 2 Firsts - New York Times
Reading: Doctor to honor Ramadan rituals in space - Yahoo News! via AP
(All pictures taken from Nasa's website)
Tags: Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysia, Space, Spacecraft, Soyuz TMA-11, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, NASA, Zvezda Service Module, Peggy Whitson, Flight Engineer, Yuri Malenchenko, International Space Station, Russian Federal Space Agency

Malaysia's Space Programme

Malaysia is about to have their have first astronaut, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (1st choice) or Dr Faiz Khaleed (2nd choice), being shot up into space together with an American and a Russian tonight (Malaysian time around 2122 hours). Their Expedition 16's spaceship, Soyuz TMA-11, will arrive at the International Space Station in 2 days' time.

What I like best is when a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department proudly announced the publication of the world’s first concise and comprehensive guidebook of 18 pages for Muslims in space, which is entitled "Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites at the International Space Station". Not only that, the Malaysian government would like to translate the guidelines into English, Russian, Arabic and possibly more languages, for the benefit of future Muslim astronauts.

Not ridiculing their intention but can't they refer to those previous Muslim astronauts that have flown up to space before this. Ain't it a waste of money as our Malaysian astronaut is not the first Muslim astronaut. I think the Auditor-General ought to audit the cost associated to this publication.

And our astronaut is still listed as a Spaceflight Participant .......... hehehehe
Tags: Space, Spaceflight, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Faiz Khaleed, Astronaut, International Space Station, Angkasawan, Spaceflight Participant, First Astronaut, Muslim Astronaut, Islamic Rites, Soyuz TMA-11, Expedition 16

Outer Space Meteor Hit Peru

Scientists had long time ago predicted that a large meteor may hit the earth on 1 Feb 2019 and wipe out everything, making earth lifeless.

How big or how small should a meteor be in order for it to cause major damage to the earth or environment.

Few days back, a large piece of 'meteor' gave a good landing at Carancas, a town in Peru near the Andes mountain range. This will give scientists a good chance to conduct further studies.

Whether the scientists get to conduct a research, it depends on how dangerous can it be first in approaching such a 'meteor'. Residents living nearby the 'meteor' and those who had went nearer to have a closer look have been reported sick. Was the meteor toxic? Non-environmentally friendly?

Earlier investigations have prompted the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute to state no radiation had been detected and that it could not be a satellite part. The 'meteor' landing left a 30m (98ft) wide and 6m (20ft) deep crater. That's really huge!
Tags: Meteor, Carancas, Peru, Scientist, Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute, Toxic

Spiderman Abilities Being Developed

Ever thought how does a lizard or gecko (as known in certain countries) and spiders have the abilities to hang on to the ceiling but does not fall off easily?

It's not easy to understand as involves science and quite complicated for me too. Both the lizards and spiders have tiny hairs which act as an adhesive agent. As seen, a lizard may not be that light but yet it was able to have the strength to hold its body up at the ceiling, upside down.

The Spiderman, in cartoon or movie format, displayed the same abilities for sticking onto walls up high in the buildings.


The scientists have done a research under "Structural properties of a scaled gecko foot-hair" under the Bioinspiration and Biomimetics which has been published in the Journal of Physics.

The scientists are doing a research on a potential spiderman suit which has the same capabilities as shown in the Spiderman movie.

The following criterias must be met first:-
1. most obviously, it must be able to demonstrate strong adhesive properties

2. the suit must be able to detach easily from a surface after it has stuck

3. the suit must, to some degree, be able to clean itself as dirt may interfere with the adhesive properties of the suit


And all the above involves such scientific terms:-
* intermolecular forces
* "van der Waals" forces
* carbon nanotubes
* geometrical properties or topology
* superhydrophobic

In the end, the scientists did mention this - that human beings' muscles were not developed to hang upside down like the lizards or geckos as the muscles will have its fatigue after a long hang. So, please go back to being a human ....... don't dream that you could a be superhero. That's only a comic book story.
Tags: Lizard, Gecko, Spider, Spiderman, Journal of Physics, Bioinspiration, Biomimetics, Intermolecular Forces, Van der Waals Forces, Carbon Nanotubes, Geometrical Properties, Topology, Superhydrophobic, Comic Book

Chinese Mathematics

In order to gain entry into universities as a science undergraduate, UK universities will be having entrance mathematics examination based on China's national test on advanced mathematics. How hard is it? (source: BBC News)

The UK's Royal Society of Chemistry has offered a £500 prize to one lucky but bright person who can answer the questions below correctly:-

As for Engineering undergraduates, you could see Logarithmic on sinusoidal motion:-

Tags: Mathematics, Advanced Mathematics, UK, United Kingdom, Univeristy, Exam, Royal Society of Chemistry, Engineering, Sinusoidal Motion, China

Kryptonite Found!

When I first read this word, "Kryptonite", it brought the old memories of Superman and its sequels. This is the piece of mineral where it will maim Superman's power and where you would have seen the bad character in Superman movies, Lex Luther, ensuring that he gets the mineral in preparation of Superman's retaliation for his bad deeds.

I do not know whether the movie producers knew about the existence of the Kryptonite mineral during their script writing but it sure does exist now.

It seems that the real Kryptonite mineral has been discovered in Serbia. Geologists and mineralogists from mining group Rio Tinto which discovered the mineral passed the mineral to National History Museum, UK ("NHS") for further research.

This piece of Kryptonite will be known as Jadarite when it is described in the European Journal of Mineralogy. Together with NHS, Canada’s National Research Council, scientists from Natural Resources Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Nature have collaborated to ensure that the new mineral is recognized by the international scientific community.

Tags: Kryptonite, Jadarite, National History Museum, Serbia, Superman, Mineral, Rio Tinto, Geological, Geologist, Mineralogist, National Research Council, Natural Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Canadian Museum of Nature, Science

Most Gratifying Jobs

Dont' know which job to choose or apply for?? A survery was conducted with randomly selected people who collectively represent a cross section of Americans. In the current study, interviewers asked more than 27,000 people questions about job satisfaction and general happiness. Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:-
1) Clergy— 87%
2) Firefighters—80 %
3) Physical therapists—78 %
4) Authors—74 %
5) Special education teachers—70 %
6) Teachers—69 %
7) Education administrators—68 %
8) Painters and sculptors—67 %
8) Psychologists—67 %
9) Security and financial services salespersons—65 %
10) Operating engineers—64 %

And everything has its opposite. Here are the 10 least gratifying jobs, where few participants reported being very satisfied:-
1) Laborers, except construction—21 %
2) Apparel clothing salespersons—24 %
3) Handpackers and packagers—24 %
4) Food preparers—24 %
5) Roofers—25 %
6) Cashiers—25 %
7) Furniture and home-furnishing salespersons—25 %
8) Bartenders—26 %
9) Freight, stock and material handlers—26 %
10) Waiters and servers—27 %
(source: Livescience)
Tags: Jobs, Gratifying, Livescience, Job Satisfaction, Happiness

China's Space Range Missiles

China at long last developed a new type of long range missiles. The target area? Space!

China was quiet in this area of missiles development and out of a sudden, with the last such missile being used by another nation was 20 years ago, China shot a missle up to the space to destroy one of its own weather satellite. It shocked many other nations such as USA, UK, Australia, Canada, South Korea and Japan.

China's explanation for the launching of such missile is to force USA into talks in doing away with space weapons. The missile was launched from Xichang Space Centre in Sichuan province at a speed of 76,000km/h (47,000mph) slammed straight at the weather satellite.

Reading:
* Missile test knocks out satellite - The Age
* Space attack will force US to rethink tactics with spy in the sky satellites - Times Online
* Canada expresses 'strong concerns' over China's satellite destruction - Canada Post
* Britain Concerned By Chinese Satellite Shoot-Down - AP via Space War
Tags: China, Weather Satellite, Missiles, Space War, Arnament, Military Force, Defence, Xichang Space Centre, Sichuan, USA

Blue Origin

Recently I have blogged about a company called Space Adventure Ltd that commercialised the space travel for people who can afford it and see the space at the same time. Another company is in the making as well. Known as the Blue Origin and owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon.com.

This small spacecraft built by Blue Origin was able to shoot up to a height of 90m and landed safely. The intention was to launch the Goddard, yeah they gave this name to the spacecraft, so that humans can travel to the space commercially and explore the space system at a lower cost.

The US Federal Aviation Administration was also monitoring Blue Origin's space technology and suggested that it could be possible as early as 2010. Blue Origin is now hiring experienced propulsion engineers / aerospace engineer / engineering leader. Any takers?
Tags: Space Travel, Space, Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, Amazon, Goddard, Spacecraft, Engineering

Space Travel

Space Adventures Ltd is the only company in the world currently operating commercial orbital spaceflight and will be the first to launch clients using a new breed of lower cost suborbital spacecraft currently under development worldwide.

Whether your desire is to conduct science experiments, achieve what few have done before or simply enjoy the feeling of weightlessness while taking in the spectacular view, Space Adventures is your opportunity to discover one of life’s greatest secrets: the wonders of space.

Keen on travelling up to the space? Well, it's opened to the public and so far, 4 customers have taken the ride.

Program highlights:-
* Space Flight Training at the legendary Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia
* Launch from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz-FG launch vehicle
* Eight days in space and live aboard the International Space Station (in collaboration with Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos) and Rocket Space Corporation Energia (RSC Energia)
* Approximately 120 orbits of the Earth (over 3 million miles traveled)
* Become one of the first 500 people ever to have flown in space
* Experience the vast untamed universe beyond Earth

Prior to cruising to space, you will be trained under their Spaceflight Training (Cosmonaut Training Overview):-
* One day Mini-Medical testing in Star City
* Centrifuge (launch to orbit insertion) Simulator Training
* Space Navigation using Star City’s one-of-a kind Planetarium and Simulator
* Sokol Space Suit Training
* Soyuz spacecraft simulator training under the guidance of actual spacecraft pilot trainers
* Spacewalk mission simulation in the neutral buoyancy tank.
* Land-Survival Training
* International Space Station Simulator Training
* MiG-25 Flight to the “Edge of Space” with one of Russia’s most experienced pilots
* MiG-29 “Space Shuttle Flight Profile” with one of Russia’s most experienced pilots
* Zero Gravity Flight (Optional)
Tags: Space Adventure, Space, Spacecraft, Suborbital, International Space Station, Science, Technology, Soyuz, Russia, Rosaviakosmos, RSC Energia

Innovation, Research & New Technologies

Six of Univesiti Sains Malaysia's professors did the country proud by winning in their respective categories in the recent 55th World Exhibition of Innovation, Research & New Technologies held in Brussels, Belgium from 25 to 27 Nov 2006.

Following are the winners:-
* School of Biological Sciences lecturer, Prof Darah Ibrahim, beat 350 scientists to win the Jury’s Best Award and a gold medal for her invention called Fermsostat
* Prof Rahmah Noordin (who won the World International Property Organisation Special Award and gold medal)
* Prof Chan Lai Keng (gold)
* Associate Prof R. Sureswaran (gold)
* Azlan Osman (gold)
* Dr Mohd Rizal Arshad (silver)
* Dr Kamal Zuhairi Zamli (silver)

Brussels-Eureka's public exhibition drew more than 500 participants from more than 30 countries which presented about 600 innovations.

I wonder why the Malaysian newspaper only highlighted USM's achievements but not other Malaysians who have obtained top prizes in the same Brussels Eureka. The following Malaysian participants also gained Awards for their efforts:-

* Gold medal with mention given by the Jury to Malaysia
Invention: Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection Passenger Vehicle
Inventor: Barkawi Sahari, Fakhru'l Razi Ahmadun, Yusoff Ali, Shahrir Abdullah, Ishak Aris (all UKM), Masjuki Hj. Hassan (UM), Muhd. Adlan Abdullah (PRSS), V. Chelliah (Petronas), Mohd. Fauzy Ahmad (Proton), Norman Mariun (UPM), Chuah Teong Guan

* Price of Christian DUPONT, Belgian Minister of the Public Function and Social Integration
Invention: Low Cost Solid Propellant Rocket
Inventor: Wan Mazlina Wan Mohamed, Mohd Izmir Yamin & Mohd Nizar Zainaldin

* Prize of COMINTERN (I wonder why this word was used as this word is related to COMmunist INTERNational. Even by doin a search via Google / Webster / Wikipedia, it's all related to communism)
Invention: Non-Destructive Microwave Technique for Characterization of Transdermal Patch
Inventor: Wong Tin Wui, Mohd Nasir Tai, Nor Khaizan Anuar & Deepak K. Ghodgaonka

* Price of Polish Association of Inventors given by the Vice President Adam Rylski
Invention: Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection Passenger Vehicle
Inventor: Barkawi Sahari, Fakhru'l Razi Ahmadun, Yusoff Ali, Shahrir Abdullah, Ishak Aris (all UKM), Masjuki Hj. Hassan (UM), Muhd. Adlan Abdullah (PRSS), V. Chelliah (Petronas), Mohd. Fauzy Ahmad (Proton), Norman Mariun (UPM), Chuah Teong Gua
Tags: Innovation, Research, New Technologies, Science, Brussels Eureka, Belgium, Exhibition, Awards, Technology

Nuclear Scientist Wins World Award

Nuclear scientist Chantara Thevy Ratnam slogged for 10 years to help Malaysia score a first in the international innovation arena. She became the first Malaysian to receive the prestigious Grand Prix award at the 34th International Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this year.

The senior research officer at the Malaysia Nuclear Agency (Nuklear Malaysia, formerly known as Malaysia Institute of Nuclear Technology) submitted a winning innovation — a radiation sterilisable PVC compound for medical products. The winner was decided by a 78-member jury, was bestowed on the best among 1,000 inventions displayed by 750 researchers from 45 countries.

Chantara’s contribution to science and technology is reflected in her body of published work, which numbers 78 and include 32 manuscripts in international journals. As a result of her success, she is featured in the 7th Edition of Who’s Who in Science & Engineering (2003) published in the United States. She was also named “International Scientist of The Year 2004” by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, UK.
Tags: Nuclear, Scientist, Science, Engineering, Technology, Invention, Technique, Research

Worldwide Holiday on 1 Feb 2019

ENJOY YOUR EACH MOMENT MAXIMUM YOU CAN..... MIT astronomers predicts Worldwide Holiday on Feb 1, 2019 as the world is scheduled to end

The Bible says that only the Father knows the hour. The world and all that is in it are reserved for fire. Revelation talks about a huge blazing mountain being thrown to the earth etc..I believe that this blazing mountain is an asteroid that upon impact, massive earthquakes and volcanic type fire will destroy everthing in its path.

We must not speculate on the date...because only the Father knows. Jesus second coming will be in an hour unknown to man ..like a thief whose coming is not known. Let us just be reminded of the grim reality of how the world is going to end and live for Jesus and the glory of God.

That is why it is even more pressing for us to share with the lost and just continue to keep on sharing and leaving the result to God.

Anyway, NASA has eliminated the chances of that asteroid crashing into planet earth via their report on 2 Aug 2002.

Tags: NASA, MIT, Asteroid, Space, Science, Bible, God, Christianity

Coke with Mentos

Have seen enough pictures and video clips showing how Coke will react when mixed together with Mentos sweet.

This phenomenon is also found in the following websites with video clips:-

- Eepybird
- Steve Spangler Science (in this, you'll see it shooting more than 10 feet high)
- Google video (few videos on such experiment)
- Mentos Geyser contest (to such an extent too!)

You decide whether to take both in your mouth at the same time!!

Tags: Coke, Coca Cola, Mentos, Geyser

Malaysia Space Centre

The Malaysian Government was committed to enhancing the country’s capacity in space science research and innovation. Thus, the setting up of a Malaysia Space Centre and was officially opened on 4 Oct 2006. The RM100m (US$27.4m) space centre is located on a 161.8ha plot of land in Kampung Sungai Lalang, Banting of the Selangor state and equipped with state-of-the-art laboratories to assist in work relating to satellite systems.

Click the linked website and you will enjoy the special effects in this website.
Tags: Malaysia Space Centre, Space, Science, Research, Innovation, Malaysia, Selangor, Banting Satellite

Male Pregnancy

RYT Hospital-Dwayne Medical Center is synonymous with the world's most innovative and extraordinary healthcare. Through its affiliation with Dwayne University Medical College, RYT Hospital is responsible for the cutting-edge research that leads to the clinical treatments of the future. At RYT, medical possibilities become medical breakthroughs.

One of the breakthroughs is Male Pregnancy. Shocked? Haven't heard of it lately?

Mr. Lee Ming Wei, as an artist who has had solo exhibitions at The Whitney Museum of American Art and The Cleveland Museum of Art, explores the evanescent and diurnal cycles of living. His work is based on such basic human activities as cooking, letterwriting, and now child-bearing. There is a dedicated website for his pregnancy todate - Male Pregnancy.

Where is the world heading to? You agree with this medical breakthrough?
Tags: Male Pregnancy, TIME Magazine, Lee Ming Wei, RYT Hospital-Dwayne Medical Center, Dwayne University Medical College, Pregnant Man, Pregnant, Pregnancy

BIG Astronomical Announcement!!

The International Astronomical Union has voted on a resolution to de-list PLUTO from the list of known planets in our Solar System in their 26th General Assembly being held in Prague, Czech Republic. The General Assembly was attended by more than 2,500 astronomers.

Educationists all over the world have to revise their teaching materials now to reflect the Solar System having only 8 planets.

Pluto has been re-classified into a new distinct class of dwarf planets.
Tags: Science, Astronomy, Pluto, Planet, Dwarf Planet, Solar System, International Astronomical Union