Metro TV "Big Radiation Wave" hoax

It's debunking tiiime! ='D

I'm back! and I consider it a good returning, since I'm a skeptic, and "claim investigations" are among my favorite things :')

I came home from setting up a neighbor's computer, and my mother told me she forwarded me a message (I left my cellphone at home). This was the message I received (unedited):

Pass... Pls switch OFF all ur handphone 2NITE.According to Metro TV,an international news,there will be a BIG RADIATION WAVE circulating thru the handphone towers at 11PM 2nite which is very DANGEROUS to human. Pls inform ur friends NOT 2 keep their phone with them.

Pls FORWARD.(confirmed s radio knina*)

*confirmed sa radio kanina = confirmed on the radio [news] earlier

I Googled some words together: "Metro" "TV" "radiation"

http://www.google.com.ph/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=Metro+TV+radiation&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

and I was surprised to discover that it's been around as early as May 2008. The message wording and details are almost unchanged.

click image to enlarge

I also found Metro TV on Wikipedia. It's not international. It's a local 24-hour news channel, and the only "internationality"(?) it has (based on the website) is Indonesia Now, their internationally broadcast program about Indonesia.

[Used without permission, but for illustration and identification purposes only. No copyright infringement intended. This link refers to the image details on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Metrotv.jpg]

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One good thing about this is that I started blogging again. Another is that I discovered that Conan O'Brien has come back to life! ='D

(headline with that nice pink arrow)

I can't turn off my cellphone at 11pm when I can help it. Someone might call me up.

~LAI†

Mozilla Thunberbird ver3

I just installed Mozilla Thunderbird again after about 2-3 months of not using it. What I found was a more beautiful interface, seemingly faster response, and easier setup (at least for Gmail).

The latest is at 3.0.1 and it's excellent. I believe Thunderbird is reason enough for getting a Gmail account if you don't have one yet. I also believe that if you use e-mails regularly, you should have Gmail as the main service ;') then install Thunderbird to make e-mailing a breeze. What got me into this is the IMAP setup that I think only Gmail implements beautifully.

I almost switched to Outlook as my e-mailing client, but here comes Thunderbird with an improved version. So, congratulations again, you Mozilla people you, and thank you very much!

Immovable vs. Unstoppable

"Pare, just a little question: Who will win, unstoppable force or immovable object?"
17.10.19
12-06-2009

I received this three days ago from my friend, the awesome Raymond Lazaro :'D, and I was already in bed when I read this.
I answered in my (tired) head :'p : no one will win. Or, if someone has to win, then either or both.

First: Why no one? Because it is the clashing of two contradictory forces that has (for the simplification of this discussion) no other reason for it existence than to be one thing: in this case, either an unstoppable force or an immovable object. If both meet, then they will simply cease to exist. The unstoppable force did not stop, because its non-existence means there is nothing to move anyway; the immovable object died as well, as such, it did not go anywhere than where it was. (It's like asking the question: If God can do anything, can He make a rock that is so heavy that He cannot lift it? The question sort of negates itself.) Which brings us to the second scenario: either or both will win.

In this win-lose-or-win-win scenario, if the "success" in this "struggle" depends on the purpose of either, then either or both will win. How? If the will or purpose of the unstoppable force is to vanquish the immovable object, regardless of its own existence, then the unstoppable force wins; and vice versa.

This is just my take. I wonder what else it could be?
(Sorry, I don't any deep life lesson in this... contemplation. Nachts!)

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EDIT: 12-09-2009, 22:35 -- eureka!


I have some amazingly deep philosophically spiritual unforgettable life lesson about this:

If an absolutely stubborn guy clashes against an absolutely persistent girl about, for example, what shirt color the guy should wear, a blue or a red one, neither the blue shirt nor the red one would exist. :'D Easy. Neither won. But in this case, i.e., a social phenomena, both lost.

[In philosophy no feelings are hurt (they--feelings and philosophy--are merely concepts). But in the real world, people believe in feelings. People have feelings.]


... darn, does this make sense? ;'DDD

Image Fade Test on Blogger

Learn How To Add Image Pop-Up And Opacity Effect To Blogger Images – MBT Church Theme Style!

An example of an Image expanding to its original size

Image Description here

Fadein test


Fadein code

Image Description here

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Create Popup Image Viewer Using CSS in Blogger

CSS popup Image viewer in blogger
http://bloganol.blogspot.com/2008/07/create-popup-image-viewer-using-css-in.html

My links now open in new window

Today I implemented this code in my Shadouness blog so that clicking any links in my posts will open a new window:

Make All Links Open In A New Window 
http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2008/02/make-all-links-open-in-new-window.html

Instead of coding each individual link to a blog, picture, or web site, you can make all links within your blog open in a new window. Simply add a "<base target='_blank' />" to your blog, in the header.

Find
<head>

And change that to:
<head>
<base target='_blank' />

Thanks to the wonderful blog The Real Blogger Status.
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EDIT 12-05-2009, 15:05: I reverted to the old link behavior. This new one gets somewhat annoying :'p It's OK if you use shortcut keys to navigate while browsing, but few people do that.
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EDIT 12-08-2010, 22:09: Okay... I'm using the "open in new window" behavior in everything. Heh. I don't want people to go "backing" and "forwarding" with my site and the links that I provide ='p