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Corsair Power Supply Unit

February 25th, 2010 . Posted in General | No Comments »

My new Corsair HX650 650w Professional Series arrived a couple of days ago. It’s working well so far. This is a new replacement as my old power supply unit (PSU), Corsair HX620 620w stopped functioning two and a half months ago.

The Corsair HX620 620w unit stopped functioning on 13 December 2009. One morning I pushed the power button to boot my computer and nothing happened. At first I thought there was a loss of electric power; however, I was wrong. I investigated the internal computer components and found no signs of damage. I removed the Corsair unit and installed an old PSU that originally came with my computer, and my computer was functioning again. The Corsair HX620w unit was only one year old and already faulty.

Professionals say Corsair produces high quality PSUs that will function for many years. There is no doubt Corsair is confident with its products as it offers a somewhat long warranty period. Perhaps my unit was a “lemon”?

I returned the Corsair HX620w unit to the seller, ShoppingSquare.com.au. Two and a half months later, the seller sent a new replacement, the Corsair HX650 650w. I guess Corsair could not fix my old one (the unit must have been in a state beyond repair?). The seller also wrapped the product using a “crap load” of bubble wrap. I don’t think this was neccessary. Nonetheless, I considered the excessive packaging material as a “free gift”.

I hope my new unit doesn’t die again as it is still warranted until the end of the original warranty period.

Happy Spam II

February 20th, 2010 . Posted in General | No Comments »

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Happy Spam

January 26th, 2010 . Posted in General | 1 Comment »

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Review: Roman Palm IV / 4 Sleeping Bag

January 16th, 2010 . Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

This is a lightweight sleeping bag. It is about 30 centimetres (cm) and 15 cm in diameter.

This sleeping bag kept me warm if only my body was producing heat. I felt cold when my body was producing little heat and at nights when the temperature was around six degree Celsius / 42.8 to degree Fahrenheit. I was sleeping in a (cold) desert region, indoors without any objects emitting heat (heater or fireplace). I highly recommend that the user wears thermal clothing including long johns (also called long underwear), top, socks and a beanie hat.  I also recommend bringing a (portable) blanket just in case you are not warm enough. Be wise and bring warm clothing and a blanket as backup.

If you wish to use this sleeping bag in cool to warm regions, then this is the sleeping bag for you.

Overall, this is a good lightweight sleeping bag. I recommend this product. Just a note (not related to my experience, but a courtesy warning): do not purchase this product if you are taller than 180 cm / 5.9 feet.

Review: Wenger Swiss Army Knife: Evolution 14.600

January 16th, 2010 . Posted in Reviews | No Comments »
  • Name: Evolution 14.600
  • Code: 1 14 09 400
  • Maker: Wenger
  • Color: transparent red
  • Material: stainless steel

This is a great pocket tool. It is lightweight (weighs about 70 grams). It is 8.5 centimetres (cm) long, 2.5 cm high and 2 cm wide. It has a very sharp blade. When all the tools are closed, there are no sharp tools sticking out, so it is very safe to carry this pocket tool close to your body. The tools lock and snap well into its closing and opening positions. The tools will not fall back into its closing position when in use. This is a well designed product. I recommend this tool if you are going into the outdoor field. It is also an important tool for outdoor first aiders.

This tool has 14 functions. They are: tool 1: can Opener; tool 2: corkScrew; tool 3: flat Screwdiver – cap Lifter – wire binder; tool 4: large blade; tool 5: nail file – nail cleaner – small screwdriver; tool 6: reamer; tool 7: key ring; tool 8: toothpick; tool 9: tweezers; tool 10: serrated-edge scissors and lever

Review: Howsar / How Sar Portable Quick Lock

January 16th, 2010 . Posted in Reviews | No Comments »

Product Description

Introducing a portable and universal door lock with a difference – a simple lock for use by all, be it at home, the workplace or on holiday. Whenever a degree of privacy or security is required, e.g. hostels, offices and student accommodation; you are not likely to find a more user-friendly lock to suit your purpose.

The Howsar Lock is made of two simple parts connected by a flexible tie – a slotted receiver and a curved wedge. The receiver fits into the recess in the door frame, where the latch fits. This locates between the door and frame when the door is closed. The curved wedge then slides into the slot in the receiver thus locking the receiver in position and preventing the door from opening.

To open the door simply slide the curved hook out of the hole in the plate and open the door.

This is an excellent security product. It won awards at the International Inventions Show in Geneva (2006) and at the British Inventions Show in London (2005). It is lightweight, small, compact, and sturdy. It weighs about 13 grams / 0.458 ounces. I can lock a door within a matter of seconds without the need of any tools.

I was sleeping in a room with no door locks (in a desert region). I used this product to jam the door and it worked well. I did not want people quietly entering into my room and stealing things, or setting up practical jokes (for example, putting a snake or spider onto my bed). Overall, this is an excellent product, and I highly recommend it if you are travelling.

This product is also great for domestic use. If you want privacy in your room without the hassle of a lock installation or permanent drill holes on the door, then get yourself one of these! To my knowledge, this product only works with inward opening doors. I don’t see how this product can jam outward opening and sliding doors.

What is the difference between odd, weird, and awkward?

January 11th, 2010 . Posted in Linguistics | No Comments »

Post from Effortless English.

A dictionary will help you answer your question. I will be using the Macquarie (Australian) Dictionary to answer this question. Some of these words are interchangable. A couple of these words have more than one meaning. I will choose the meaning that relates to strange (because it was requested).

Odd is defined as: differing in character from what is ordinary or usual. If something is normal or expected and it changes unexpectedly; you are surprised; it does not happen everyday, it is odd. Example: It is odd to see two postmen (British English) / mailmen (U.S. English) delivering letters to our mailbox today. Meaning: Everyday we see one postman delivering our letters. Why were there two postmen delivering our letters today? This does not happen everyday; therefore, it is odd.

Weird is defined as: involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny. Something that is being above or beyond what is natural. Example: It is weird to see birds flying in circles for six hours. Meaning: Birds do not fly in circles for a long time; therefore, it is weird.

Awkward is defined as: lacking dexterity or skill; ungraceful; ungainly; uncouth. If a person does something strange using its hands or body, it is awkward. Example: It is awkward to see David accidentally dropping things onto the floor. Meaning: David does not usually drop things. Why is he dropping so many things today? It is awkward.

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December 18th, 2009 . Posted in General | No Comments »

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Website issues

December 14th, 2009 . Posted in General | No Comments »

The website has recently moved to a new server. I noticed some things are missing. I assume the hosting provider did not make the latest backup.

During this week, the website had difficulties connecting to the server. This was my fault as  I was experimenting with server names and settings. Nonetheless, the website is online. However, it may be down again as I configure the settings.

Biodiversity: Its Importance and the Global Conservation Resource Allocation Problem

October 25th, 2009 . Posted in Academic, Linguistics, Writing | 7 Comments »

Can We Save the Natural Environment?

Published on 25 October 2009 for educational purposes. By David M. Tran. All references removed. Email me to request for complete references: david@personal.davtra.net

Realisation of biodiversity importance prompted calls for an increase in conservation efforts and the reverse erosion of biodiversity. The hotspots strategy identifies regions that are high in species endemism and habitat destruction, and directs conservation efforts and resources towards these regions. However, this strategy provides a static assessment for resource allocation and distribution. Wilson and his research team developed a new framework that addresses this issue. This paper discusses the importance of biodiversity, how biodiversity contributes to the well-being of humanity, and the resource allocation problem.

Biodiversity is the variety of organisms living within an area. It is the variety of life including its ecosystems, species, populations and genes. The primary driver of the decline in biodiversity is habitat loss and fragmentation of natural ecosystems. Human activities towards the land and waters have already caused a loss of biodiversity. Even greater losses will occur if humanity continues its unsustainable uses of natural resources.

Urbanisation is arguably affecting biodiversity to decline. In 2007, 88.6 per cent of Australia’s population resided in urban areas. According to environmental experts, human activities have driven species to extinction at rates perhaps 1,000 times the natural rate. In 2006, 639 threatened and endangered species were recorded in Australia, and in 2008, an additional 149 endangered species, totalling 788, were recorded. Conservation of biodiversity is necessary as its ecosystems provide the continuum of free, essential services that maintain life on Earth.

An ecosystem is the complex of living organisms, along with their physical environment and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space. An ecosystem can be categorised into biotic constituents including all living members, and abiotic constituents consisting of sunlight, minerals, climate, soil, water, and all other non-living elements. Examples of ecosystems include forests, deserts, woodlands, heathlands, the ocean, and grasslands.

Ecosystem services are benefits that people obtain from ecosystems. This includes: providing goods such as foods and medicines; regulating services such as flood, purification of air and waters, and disease control; cultural services such as recreational and spiritual; and supporting services such as nutrient recycling. The disruption of healthy ecosystems can have catastrophic effects. For example, if natural pest control ceased, there could be major crop failures. If the carbon cycle was disrupted, rapid climate change could threaten whole societies.

Ecosystems purify air and waters. Forest canopies function as filters that help regulate compositions of the atmosphere and purify the air. Pollution particles from coal and oil, cement production, lime-kiln operation and agriculture activities are captured by forest canopies. Wetlands absorb and recycle nutrients from human settlements. Plants, microbe and the sediment process intake nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Wetlands function as filters that help remove nutrients and toxins from water.

Ecosystems are complex and large. Ecologists and taxonomists find it practically impossible to record every single species. With respect to complexity, we often do not know which species are required for the ecosystem services to work, the numbers they must be present in, and whether there are ‘keystone’ species. Australia contains around 70 per cent of global species. Many of Australia’s diverse environments do not occur anywhere else in the world; they are endemic. Australian ecologists do not know the quantity of plants and animals; however, recent estimates suppose around 0.5 million species, from a global total of, perhaps, ten to fifteen million. The Australian environment is comprised of 47 per cent invertebrates (30 per cent have been named), 42 per cent fungi (highly uncertain; ten per cent named), nine per cent plants (70 per cent named), and one per cent vertebrates (90 per cent named). These figures demonstrate the highly uneven knowledge and the impracticability of recording every biota.

Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) was an American ecologist. He argued forcefully for wilderness preservation. His work and efforts resulted in the establishment of the first wilderness area. He recognised that large protected areas are to be kept free from human activities, but realised that relying solely on acquiring protected lands is not sufficient for conservation. Today, ecologists have arrived at the same conclusion.

A region that is high in species endemism and comprises of habitat destruction is termed a ‘hotspot’. The term and hotspot identification strategy was introduced by the British ecologist Norman Myers. Myers and his team describe the benefits of the expanded hotspots strategy. Identifying hotspots can assist the global conservation community to identify priorities in supporting all species under threat at the least cost. The identification of hotspots enables the global community to distribute resources, such as funding, and improve global conservation efforts. However, Wilson and his scientific team argues that, with few exceptions, establishing biodiversity hotspots on a global scale neglects economic costs and provides a static assessment of conservation priorities; hence, this cannot provide information on how funding should be distributed between regions, nor can it inform decision makers of when the funding should be spent. Wilson and his team in 2006 coined it as the ‘conservation resource allocation problem’.

J. R. Miller, a scientific author, states that even though strategies to reverse the erosion of biodiversity are increasing, meaningful methods are still lacking. Effective conservation is based on information from well designed studies. Wilson and his team in 2007 developed a framework that offers an improvement over approaches that only focus on land acquisition or species richness and do not account for threats. They discovered that one could protect many more plant and vertebrate species by addressing specific threats, such as invasive species control, than by relying solely on the acquisition of land for protected areas.

Refining and developing strategy models will improve conservation efforts. Refinements and improvements of models are expected to be released in the coming years. Knowledge and understanding are the key to effective conservation. However, the impracticability of gaining ultimate knowledge and understanding of natural functionality processes restricts humanity from developing absolute meaningful strategies to reverse the overall erosion of biodiversity.

Busy

October 25th, 2009 . Posted in General | No Comments »

Just a quick update. I have been busy preparing for two presentations over the weekend. I usually get things done well before the due date, but in this case, I’m working in a group. Sometimes I cannot proceed further until team member completed his or her work. In project management, this is called a critical path.

University is almost over.

Learn English Quickly and Easily

October 4th, 2009 . Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Advertising, Linguistics | No Comments »

Hi everyone. Today I am going to do a bit of advertising. I should like to introduce Effortless English. Effortless English is a programme developed by a very enthusiastic (and I mean it!) English teacher, AJ Hoge. AJ has helped many people around the world to speak English fluently and automatically.

AJ’s first rule to speaking success is not to learn grammar. Learning only grammar will ‘kill’ your English speaking. Grammar itself is not logical and it is a complex system. One cannot completely rely on grammar to help it speak English fluently and automatically. Grammar is just a tool; therefore, it should be used as only a guide to help get your message across clearly and effectively. Using grammar is for advanced English speakers (for example, native speakers of English).

If you want to learn how to speak English fluently and automatically (this is my guide), I suggest you follow AJ’s method. Understand the very basics of English. After that, listen to English speaking, and read English literature (writing). Listening and reading are the key to success. Many resources are available to help you speak English fluently and automatically. I recommend Effortless English.

Click here to visit Effortless English.