The Last Supper

One of the best paintings we have in this world is the "Last Supper" by Leonardo Da Vinci. The painting is about Jesus's last meal with his 12 apostles before his death. It depicts the bread and the wine and when Jesus tells his disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me", (1 Corinthians 11:23–25).

What is interesting is that Leonardo Da Vinci was a member of a hidden society called Prior of Scion (which is also related to the "Illuminati" ), and the painting has more to it than just it's religious theme.

I'm not claiming that what I'm saying here is true. (So don't judge me) It maybe just a conspiracy theory. But If you look at the painting there's actually no grail in it.

The theory explains that the grail (the holy cup) holds the blood of Jesus is the same cup that supposedly contains the blood of his crucifixion; This is seen by many as a Christian metaphor. However, many people actually believe that the grail is more than just an idea - it represents a human being that holds the child of Jesus (and possibly the merovingian blood line).

To some, the latter theory is considered blasphemy - a made up story to destroy Christianity. Whatever the real story is, we may never know. In the end, it all boils down to your beliefs and convictions.

Here's a link to a 16-billion pixel image of the last supper (worlds highest resolution). This is the only image that the Italian government allowed (and there will never be another one )

The Last Supper Painting (click me)

Watch TV anywhere, anytime

I came across this device by Sling Media. Its called "Slingbox". SlingBox is device that you connect your cable/satellite and your internet connection, and it streams the signal to your computer or mobile phone. So technically, you can watch your favorite TV show to your computer anytime, anywhere and its live!

What do you need?

1) Broadband cable or DSL high-speed Internet connection (Minimum Upstream Network Speed of 256 kbps);
2) Home Network Router;
3) If your TV cable connection is located in a different place than your Internet connection, you will also need a SlingLink or Ethernet bridge, which brings network connectivity to any electrical outlet;
4) Windows or Mac based PC and/or a Windows Mobile or Palm OS Powered PDA or phone with a 3G Data Connection or WiFi for your remote TV viewing.

What solution can it provide you? Well, for example, I can setup my slingbox in Japan, then if I'm abroad I can watch my favorite show live as it is broadcasted live. Another advantage of Slingbox is that, it has no monthly fee.

So, if you are subscribing to some cable company like TFC (The Filipino Channel), you can save a lot of money if you use Slingbox, that is assuming that you have internet connection and computer.

Slingbox site:
http://www.slingmedia.com/go/slingbox-pro

Javascript using Prototype.js framework

Prototype is a JavaScript Framework that aims to ease development of dynamic web applications. One of the objects they provided is the class object. Class is object for class-based OOP. (You can learn more about Prototype.js in Prototype.org )

In my last post, I explained the difference between javascript object and java object. Now, I will explain how to define a class with the use of Prototype.js.

To use Prototype, first you must include the framework. You can either download the prototype.js file or reference from it directly, like this:

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.prototypejs.org/assets/2007/6/20/prototype.js"></script>

Prototype’s Class object contains a single useful helper method which is create(), that allows us to move the body of the constructor into the prototype definition. (No need to specify the prototype directly, like what I did in prev post.)

The create() method does this for us by defining a constructor automatically that delegates to an initialize() method, which we then define manually.

var AnimalObj = Class.create();

AnimalObj.prototype = {

  initialize:function() {
       this.sound = "grr!";
  },
 playSound: function() {
     alert(this.sound);
 }
}

With prototype, you don't need a constructor (which in javascript a public global function ). You can define everything in the initialize method it provided.

Another cool feature about Prototype.js is the Object.extend() functionality. Object.extend() copies all properties from the source to the destination object. Used by Prototype to simulate inheritance (rather statically) by copying to prototypes.

The inheritance with Object.extend() works differently if you are used to java. For example, if we want to create Horse that extends Animal. It would be like this:

      
var Horse = Class.create();

Object.extend(Horse.prototype,AnimalObj.prototype);

Object.extend(Horse.prototype, {
      initialize:function() {
          this.sound = "neigh!!";
       }      
});

Looks weird huh? Well, first you create a class. Then you extend the methods in Animal to your Horse object. Then you define your initialization. Take note that you have to use Object.extend() in defining the initialize() method, otherwise it will override your previous object.

Phishing: beware

5 of my friends have been victimized by phishing in their yahoo! instant messenger. But what is phishing really? According to wikipedia, phishing is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant messaging, and often directs users to enter details at a website, although phone contact has also been used. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to fool users. Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical measures.

What damage can it do to you? Well, first is that you lose your account (in this example you lose your yahoo email ). Your private information get exposed to the hacker and your friends account can potentially be hacked as well, because the hacker will use your account to continue the phishing process. Unfortunately, this time, the hacker have trust factor, because the hacker is pretending to be you.

How to detect and prevent this?


1) Make sure never to login or put your account to any URL link that they gave. No matter how real it is. Take note, that sometimes, you will receive a fake email stating that you need to renew your password. If this happens, make sure to contact the website itself. (This actually happened to me. I received a fake Amazon email ).

2) If a friend tries to chat with you, make sure to ask your friend's information to know if its really your friend. Hacker doesn't know you, so he/she will rely on your email for information regarding you, to victimize others.

3) Always make a habit to sign-out everything you're done with your account.

Flex & Java

Flex (particularly Flex 2 and Flex 3 ) is a development language for RIA (Rich internet application) that run cross-platform in a ubiquitous Flash Player 9. You write code using Actionscript 3.0 and XML-based language called MXML that supports the declarative programming of GUI component targeting designers.

Flex (2 and 3 ) = Actionscript 3.0 + MXML

If you are a web developer, and experienced in javascript, you will not find it hard to study FLEX.

I just started learning FLEX this year, and the application I develop are cool and easier to write.

I will post some cool examples in here once I finalize them.

The book that recommend you to read, if you want to learn FLEX are:

1) Rich Internet Application with Adobe FLEX & JAVA
2) Oreilly Essential Actionscript 3.0

The ringnig cedar

There's this movie (based on a book) entitled As far as my feet will carry me that I watched recently that is really intriguing. The story is about a Nazi soldier POW who were sent to Russian prison camp in east Siberia, who escaped and was able to return home in Germany after 3 years.

What struck me most is the part when he was saved by a young yakuts girl, which later on he was given a ringing cedar pendant.

Actually, I never heard about ringing cedar at all, until my brother-in-law told me about it.

In Siberia, if a cedar tree is about to die ( because of old age - 300-500 years old ), the tree emits a ringing sound. The shamans believe that once you cut that tree, and take a part of it with you. The energy and oil of that wood can make you feel stronger, makes your aura colorful, than any person you meet will like you.

The ringing cedar idea is actually in the book of Vladimir Migre called "The ringing cedar series". Book 1 is called Anastasia (click the link for details). This a must read book.