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07 January 2008

Top 5 "Be Your Own Boss" Careers

Top 5 "Be Your Own Boss" Careers

by Joe Taylor Jr.
Top 5 Be Your Own Boss Careers
A growing number of Americans have discovered the joys of working for themselves. By developing a marketable skill, you can work directly for customers and clients without having to worry about middle managers or boring company presentations. In today's increasingly flexible job market, medical careers no longer require working in hospitals, and technology degree holders can find lucrative work from their home offices.
According to government data, these five careers offer some of the easiest ways to get started with self-employment. In many cases, you can usually start earning money while completing your formal training.

1. Home Health Aide

While most home health aides spend their time working from clients' homes, this fast-growing profession combines many of the benefits of a nursing career with the flexibility of self-employment. Earning $20,000 per year or more by working part-time, a typical home health aide assists clients when he or she is not caring for family members or completing a nursing degree program.
Many states require a prospective home health aide to hold an associate medical degree, as well as a personal bond. Though some home health aids are truly self-employed, the vast majority of professionals book clients through a professional agency. Agencies provide tax withholding, bookkeeping, and business support for home health aides. Some larger agencies even provide tuition reimbursement for online health degrees.

2. Private Investigator

A criminal justice degree and a love for working unusual hours are two of the most important ingredients for a job as a private investigator. Private eyes often transition to this career during or after a similar career in law enforcement. Retired or injured police officers who cannot return to active duty often take on P.I. work to supplement pension or insurance payments.
Hard work in the field pays very well, since skip tracing and other collection activities frequently offer larger, immediate bonuses. Many private investigators earn over $32,000 per year working full-time. However, the flexibility of P.I. work allows many professionals to spend time attending law school or completing other degree programs.

3. Freelance Database Administrator

Nearly every business in America relies on a database, yet few small businesses can afford to hire a full time staff member with a technology degree. Therefore, the market for freelance database administrators has blossomed over the past ten years.
Many online technical degree programs now offer elective courses on business management and marketing for freelance professionals. Meanwhile, online technology courses help freelancers earn and maintain industry certifications. Working full time from home, some freelance database administrators earn $60,000 or more per year.

4. Personal Chef

Don't confuse today's personal chef with a nanny or housekeeper. Professional personal chefs spend their afternoons bouncing between two, three, or four home kitchens, putting their culinary degrees to work for clients. Many personal chefs earn $33,000 or more per year, without the long hours or the stress of working in a commercial kitchen.
Personal chefs are also part of another interesting trend in larger cities: personal dinner preparation centers. Customers can book time at these open, professional kitchens where chefs help prepare ingredients that can be completed quickly at home. Personal chefs often round out their schedules by teaching group culinary courses at the homes of clients or at catering facilities.

5. Graphic Designer

Thanks to new technology, a growing number of graphic designers prefer to work from home studios and keep their own hours. Some modern graphic design degree training is done on software that can run on home computers. Working from home allows many creative people the chance to complete online graphic design degrees while still earning an income of $38,000 per year or more.
Although working from home requires more discipline than working at an agency, many graphic design schools offer time management and business courses that help students prepare for the freelance life. Local graphic design colleges also sponsor exhibitions, seminars, and other social events that help professionals make valuable, personal connections.

Transitioning to Self-Employment

Many career experts recommend testing the waters before making a major career change that involves being your own boss. For example, taking a few culinary courses can help you decide whether you really have the patience and the skill to become a personal chef. Likewise, an introductory online technology course can determine whether you've got the passion to make databases your full time job.
While working independently can hold tremendous personal rewards, self-employment carries some burdens and risks. Experts encourage self-employed professionals to save at least a third of their income in a high-interest savings fund to cover emergency expenses, unexpected sick days, and income tax withholding. On the flip side, small business owners can often take tax deductions on work-related equipment and professional development programs. Enrolling in online career training courses today can help you start your own career transition.




Taken from : http://education.yahoo.net/degrees/articles...

28 December 2007

Akaun email GMail yang digodam dan domain yang ditukar


Sesiapa yang ada email GMail pastikan di bahagian 'settings' dan kemudian --> di bahagian 'Filters' dan 'Forwarding and POP/IMAP' tidak terdapat sebarang penambahan yang tidak anda pernah lakukan. Jika tidak terjadi seperti pengguna di bawah ini yang domainnya telah dihijack.



Jika terdapat sebarang perubahan sila pastikan anda menukar semua password atau apa sahaja dokumen penting yang perlu dilakukan. Walau bagaimanapun masalah ini telah dibaiki oleh pihak Google. Cuma pastikan email anda telah betul-betul bebas.

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Gmail Hacked! Check your Gmail filters now!

David Airey has lost his domain after his Gmail account was hacked by a hacker. But how did the criminal can take down David’s domain? You can read the full story here but if you want to know how the attacker did it, please read on.

First, the victim login to his Gmail account as normal. Then he visit to a website which contains a script that exploiting the vulnerability in Gmail. This script will create a new filter in the victim’s email. Like in the example above, the script creates a filter that will forward any email that has attachment to collect@evil.com.
But how about if the filter is set to forward all incoming emails to the attacker email? Do you will happy losing all your secret and passwords to the attacker? Of course you are not.
I have checked my filter settings in Gmail. Know what? There is a filter that forward incoming emails to *@colmac.com. I was shocked and removed it immediately. I do not know since when the filter was added and how many emails the guy at colmac.com had read. I hope they are happy what they are doing.
If you using Gmail, check your Gmail filters now. Who knows, maybe you are lucky and get strange filters in your Gmail settings. However, Google has fixed this problem but you are still be advised to check your filter settings.
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WARNING: Google’s GMail security failure leaves my business sabotaged


GMail hacked
What would you do if a criminal stole something very personal, and very valuable from you?
What if they were able to target your business and criple your income?
You wouldn’t be too happy now, would you?
What if you also discovered that this was happening because of a Google security infection that can affect every GMail user on the planet?
That’s what has just happened to me, and here I’m going to tell you my story. I will detail everything I know about the web pirates who are threatening my livelihood, and tell you what you need to know in order to avoid the same thing happening to you.
On November 20th 2007 I left the UK to spend a month’s holiday in India. I’d been planning this break for over a year, and was looking forward to taking my girlfriend away on our first foreign trip together. Prior to leaving, I published a blog post to let my readers know I’d be away for a while, and that my blog would be a quiet place in my absence.
All my clients were informed, bills paid, loose ends tied up, and off I went on a new adventure.
I arrived in Mumbai on November 21st, and on the journey from the airport to the Colaba district, was punched in the face by an Indian youth, but that’s another story.

During the month ahead, I knew I’d be irregularly checking my emails, but only to let my loved ones know everything was fine. This holiday was to be a break from work, and a break from computers.
Indeed everything was fine for a few weeks, until December 15th (five days before I was due to return from holiday). I called into an internet caf� in Goa, and read some worrying emails from good friends of mine. I was informed that my website had disappeared, and that my domain name (www.davidairey.com) was now redirecting to some random website - bebu.net.
I was confused, and anxious. How could this happen? I hadn’t received any notification of my domain name expiry, and I never divulge any passwords to anyone. The only possible explanation for me was that somehow, the domain name had expired without me receiving any notice, and that some domain poacher had snapped it up before I got a chance to renew.
My website had been pulling in over 2,000 unique daily visits. Not a massive amount by any stretch of the imagination, but for a one-man operation, 700,000+ annual visitors can generate a nice amount of new logo design business.
So I ran a WHOIS check on davidairey.com, hoping to find an email address for the new owner. The search yielded this email address: DAVIDAIREY.COM@domainsbyproxy.com and here’s the email I sent:
Hello,
Please can I purchase my old domain name from you. It seems it expired without my knowledge.
www.davidairey.com
Kind regards,
David
I found it hard to believe that I’d let my domain name expire, but thought it a good idea to send an email nonetheless.
On the very same day, I received a reply. It came from one supposed Peyam Irvani, telling me the following:
Hello,
Please send me your high offer !
Regards
By this stage, I’d already had some back and forth email discussions with close friends, wondering what exactly could have happened. I also contacted my web host company, ICDSoft, asking them to help. They were the ones who sold me the domain name after all. Shouldn’t they have informed me?
This is when I found a disturbing support ticket, posted in my web host support panel. It was supposedly from me, addressed to ICDSoft’s support team, and was created on November 20th, the exact date of my departure from the UK. It read the following:
Subject: Davidairey.com Transfer
Hello,
I want to transfer davidairey.com to another registrar please unlock it and send me the EPP transfer code.
Kind regards,
David
Within just one minute (ICDSoft’s support team are very fast) the following response had been supplied:
Hello,
We unlocked your domain name as requested. Here is its EPP code:
Domain name: davidairey.com
Auth/EPP key: 6835892AE0087D66
Best Regards,
Support
I immediately typed a reply to this ticket, asking for help, and wanting to know what I could do to resolve the situation. Here’s what I was told by the support team:
Unfortunately, the domain name has been transferred successfully, and it cannot be reverted. The current registrar may be able to give you more information.
The original ticket message was sent from this IP address: 207.36.162.100
The person who posted it must have had access to your email, too, because transfers have to be approved by the administrative contact in order to be successful.
What? Not only did the hacker gain access to my web host control panel, but they also squirmed their way into my email account? This is when I began to get very worried. I kept a lot of personal emails behind my username and password, and this was a real invasion of privacy. For a few minutes I sat in the net caf�, my girlfriend beside me, and I didn’t know what to think.
I sent an email to GoDaddy, where my domain had been illegally transferred to, and asked them to prevent any further transfers. I wanted the domain in one place whilst I investigated. Here’s what GoDaddy said:
Unfortunately if a transfer request is made and completed we will not be able to prevent this unless we receive the notice from a court or arbitration forum… I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Okay, so GoDaddy can’t help until the matter is taken to court.
This whole process ran over a few days of my holiday, as GoDaddy took over 48 hours to respond. At this point, and on December 19th (four days after my first email to the web pirate, ‘Peyam’), I thought I’d send a reply, and here’s what I said:
Hello Peyam,
Well, congrats on your hack. I’d love to know how you did it.
Before this moves through the courts, in order to settle the dispute, I don’t suppose you’d be so kind to give me my domain back? It’d really save me a lot of hassle, but if that’s what it takes, so be it.
I saw no point in being aggressive, wishing to keep them ‘on-side’ as much as possible.
Again, that same day, I received a response:
:))
Im sorry to say but its not possible to have it or it take about 1 month if you try hard to have it again :)) and you lose your visitor ….hahaha
You can purchase it for 650 $ And we will use escrow sevices ;) that will done in less than 2 days !
Now my domain name was being held to ransom, and the hacker was taunting me. What I had spent more than a year building into a sound marketing plan had been severed at the knees.
I’m not the type of person who will hand any money over to a criminal, so I didn’t reply, instead focusing on stopping this hacker from stealing any more of my property.

How was I being hacked?

After a little research, I found this expos� into Google’s GMail defficiences: Google GMail E-mail Hijack Technique
It details the exact GMail hijack that I have just found applied to my account (right whilst writing this blog post).
Here’s an excerpt:
The victim visits a page while being logged into GMail. Upon execution, the page performs a multipart/form-data POST to one of the GMail interfaces and injects a filter into the victim�s filter list. In the example above, the attacker writes a filter, which simply looks for emails with attachments and forwards them to an email of their choice. This filter will automatically transfer all emails matching the rule. Keep in mind that future emails will be forwarded as well. The attack will remain present for as long as the victim has the filter within their filter list, even if the initial vulnerability, which was the cause of the injection, is fixed by Google.
And here’s a three step illustration of just how this threat works (click each image for a larger version):
GMail security threat
GMail security threat
GMail security threat
Images courtesy of GNUCITIZEN
I took a look at the ‘Filter’ option in my own GMail settings, and it turns out that you can easily set incoming emails containing specific words to be forwarded automatically. For example, if you want any emails containing the word password to be sent to another address, no problem. It also appears that the Filter can delete the email from your GMail inbox as soon as it has been forwarded, so you’d be none the wiser if a hacker was playing havoc with your incoming mail.
IMPORTANT: If you use GMail, it’s absolutely vital that you check your account settings now.
Here’s what to do:
When logged into GMail, click on the ’settings’ tab in the upper right of the screen. Then check both the ‘Filters’ and the ‘Forwarding and POP’ sections. This is what I only just found in my ‘Filters’ tab:
The following filters are applied to all incoming mail:
Matches: transfer-approval.com
Do this: Forward to ba_marame_pooli@yahoo.com, Skip Inbox, Delete it
Matches: from:(transfer-approval.com)
Do this: Forward to ba_marame_pooli@yahoo.com, Skip Inbox, Delete it
I have absolutely no idea who’s email address that is, but it seems to me that some of my personal emails were bypassing my inbox entirely, instead being forwarded to the yahoo.com address.
It appears that the GMail security issue is fixed, but that won’t remove any previously installed Filters from your GMail account.

What do I know about the hacker stealing my property?

I have a GMail address, pay.irv@gmail.com, and what’s possibly some fictitious name, Peyam Irvani.
There’s also the Yahoo email address, ba_marame_pooli@yahoo.com, where my emails were being forwarded to through the malicious Filter.
ICDSoft provided me with the IP address from where the fraudulent support ticket originated (207.36.162.100), and it’s possible to search for it’s physical location using a free online IP address locator. I’d never used one before, but gave it a shot…
According to IP Global Positioning, the IP is in the United States. Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to be more precise, and the Internet Service Provider is known as Cybergate INC (based in Mississippi, USA).
I’m not entirely sure just how much this information can help me, if at all, but I thought it might be useful.
A little unexpectedly, I received a third email from ‘Peyam’ on December 21st, saying:
Helli David,
We can use escrow and you can have your domain name again :)
Only for 250 $ !
Do you want it ?!
Its special christmas offer ! haha
I like to see you have that domain name again :)
I don’t care if it costs $0.02. I won’t give my money to a criminal.
You might be wondering what I did to ressurect my website from oblivion. You’re reading this post after all. Before the theft, I had both davidairey.com and davidairey.co.uk, with the .co.uk permanently redirecting to the .com (I felt it would make more business sense to use the .com as my main address due to its ease of memorability.
I’m now using www.davidairey.co.uk domain as my main address. What does this mean? It means that all my organic search results are reset to zero. Whereas once I was on the first page of search results for logo designer, I’m now nowhere to be found.
It also means that my business cards are now incorrect, and my email addresses too. Quite an expense, but I’d rather fight in the courts than give one penny to the person who did this.
During the site move, I found to my detriment that I was linking to my blog images entirely the wrong way. I had been uploading my picture files to a subdomain (blog.davidairey.com/images) then placing them inside my blog posts from there. This meant that whenever the domain name changed to davidairey.co.uk, so did that subdomain. It now became blog.davidairey.co.uk/images. Therefore, my site was missing every single image I’d ever added.
In order to fix this, I moved all the picture files to a new folder, in the root directory at davidairey.co.uk/images. Now, when I insert an image into a blog post, I don’t use the full URI, but cut the address to it’s bare minimum, like so: img src=”/images/example_filename.jpg”
This means that should I ever re-change my domain name, back to the .com for instance, the images will automatically pull whatever domain name I’m using, without the need for a change.
I’m now also using this technique for internal hyperlinks. Rather than linking to my contact page like so: “http://www.davidairey.co.uk/contact”, I’ll simply use “/contact”.
Much better, and uses less code too.

Where can I get help with domain name disputes?

This is the stage I’m at now, weighing up my options before it comes to paying legal fees. This is also where I’m calling on your valued help. I know that many of you are much more clued up on this than I am, and if you can spare some advice in the comments here I’d be very appreciative.
In my email communications with GoDaddy (the company where my .com domain name is now registered), a representative had this to say:
Should we receive notice of a pending dispute from a court or arbitration forum, we will lock the domain name so it cannot be transferred or have the registrant information modified. Likewise, when we receive a decision from the legal body, we will update the domain name accordingly.
They then directed me to the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization, domain.disputes@wipo.int).
So I looked into this organisation’s website, and in particular, the section on domain name dispute resolution resources.
There’s a FAQ section which provides information on a number of items, including the following:
To cut a long story short, it seems I have to pay a minimum of $1500 for the pleasure of initiating a court case. All fees are listed here.
As for how long the process lasts, this information isn’t very obvious on the WIPO website, so at present I’m unsure.

What should I do?

From what I understand, the only option is to proceed with legal action (again, I’m not paying the thief one penny).
  • Do you know any different?
  • Do I have a good case to proceed with?
  • Is there any other information available online about the pirate who is blackmailing me?
If you can provide any of these answers, it would mean a lot.

Thank you

Thank you so much to those of you who kindly emailed me at the start of this situation: Vivien, Ben, Tammy, Armen, Dawud, Ed and Jamie. I know that more of you tried, but that I didn’t receive your emails because my accounts no longer existed.
Thank you also, to everyone who is lending their support in the comments of my previous blog post, David Airey.com hacked. Many of you have also published my news on your own blogs, and this really lifts my spirits, showing just how great the people in the blog world are:
Here’s a sampling of your kind help:
It truly is fantastic that you’d go to this effort, and if there’s anything I can do in return, do let me
know.
UPDATE: My domain name has been returned! You can read how in this follow-up blog article, posted here on my site on December 27th.


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Google Vulnerability

Yesterday, I found a new Google.com XSS vulnerability that can be abused to steal information from Gmail accounts, I've done responsible disclosure of at least 3 vulns to Google, but since I haven't got enough 'motivation', I'll go full disclosure now.
The vulnerability exists in Blogspot polls feature, I had already disclosed a vulnerability on this system. The 'font' parameter was not being sanitized before being used inside an STYLE tag, so you could inject IE's expression() and Mozilla's -moz-binding. They fixed it, however they didn't check enough the rest of the code, the new XSS is:
Simple XSS POC
Since its Sunday and there is nothing else to do, I've created 2 more pocs, one of them, shows a your contacts, the second one will make Gmail forward all new received emails to another email account, no user interaction required, well you just need to open a website while still logged to Gmail.
POC1: http://beford.org/stuff/contacts.htm
POC2: http://beford.org/stuff/gmail.htm

I have tested them under IE, Konqueror, Opera and Firefox, it should work on all of them. If
you want to be protected against this kind of attacks, I'd highly recommend Firefox +
NoScript.

Update: Google fixed this issue, I'd like to ask the people that looked at the second poc to disable forwarding if you have not done so, I'm still getting ton of email. This screenshot shows how to disable forwarding.
gmail.png




Rujukan:
http://www.davidairey.co.uk/google-gmail-security-hijack/
http://blog.beford.org/?p=3
http://www.gnucitizen.org/blog/google-gmail-e-mail-hijack-technique/
http://www.flairpair.com/blog/security-privacy/gmail-xss-exploit

26 December 2007

Pembelian Pesawat Su-30MKM Oleh Iran Sebanyak 250 Buah

Berita dari Israel ttg pesawat SU-30MKM juga bakal dibeli oleh Iran untuk angkatan udaranya. Lingkungan 250 buah pesawat bakal ditempah..... (banyaknya tu.. tentu ada negara yang takut dgn pembelian ni).

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DEBKAfile - We start where the media stop

DEBKA Reports: Iran buys 250 long-distance Sukhoi fighter-bombers, 20 fuel tankers, from Russia
August 1, 2007, 2:52 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tehran and the Russian Rosoboronexport arms group are about to sign a mammoth arms deal running into tens of billions of dollars for the sale to Tehran of 250 Su-30MKM warplanes and 20 IL-78 MKI fuel tankers. DEBKAfile’s military sources report Iran has stipulated delivery of the first aircraft before the end of 2007.
The transaction, Russia’s largest arms deal in 30 years, will endow Iran with a long-range aerial assault capability. The Sukhoi can sustain a four-and-a-half hour raid at its maximum range of 3,000 km against long-distance, marine and low-lying ground targets across the Persian Gulf and Middle East, including Israel and Lebanon.
The fuel tankers extends the Su-30MKM’s assault sustainability to 10 hours and its range to 8,000 km at altitudes of 11-13 km. The closest comparable plane in the West is the American F-15E fighter bomber. Iran’s acquisition of an exceptionally large fleet of the Russian fighter-bomber will elevate its air force to one of the two largest and most advanced in the region, alongside the Israeli Air Force.
Iranian air crews are already training on the new Sukhoi aircraft, ready to start flying them early next year with only a short delay after delivery. DEBKAfile’s sources report that Moscow is selling Tehran the same Sukhoi model as India received earlier this year. The Iranians leaned hard on New Delhi to let them have the Israeli avionics and electronics the Indian Air Force had installed in the Russian craft. India refused.
Russia began delivering the same craft in June to Malaysia, which also sought Israeli avionics without success. The Su-30MKM has won the nickname of “Islamic Version of Sukhoi.”
Its two-member crew shares the workload. The first pilot flies the aircraft, controls weapons and maneuvers the plane in a dogfight. The co-pilot employs BVR air-to-air and air-to-ground guided weapons in long-range engagements, sweeps the arena for enemy craft or missiles and performs as command-and-control in group missions.
Some of the plane’s systems are products of the French Thales Airborne Systems company. Moscow’s contract with Tehran for the sale of the Su-30MKM must therefore be cleared with Paris.
There is no decision in Jerusalem about asking Paris to withhold its consent to a deal which would substantially upgrade the long-range air assault capabilities of the Islamic Republic whose leaders want to wipe Israel off the map. However, President Nicolas Sarkozy is in mid-momentum of a diplomatic drive in the Arab and Muslim world and unlikely to be receptive to an Israeli approach. The only chance of aborting the Russian sale would be to route the approach through Washington.




Rujukan:
http://www.debka.com/
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/photos

23 December 2007

Kereta Knight Rider KITT terbaru

Masih ingat lagi cerita drama bersiri Knight Rider lakonan David Hasselhoff dan kereta paling canggih KITT.


Sekarang dgn kereta Knight Rider versi baru.... dgn kereta Ford Mustang (nampak tough) ... tapi bila kita pikir2 kan ... larat ke kereta tu nak bawa bermacam2 jenis equipment dlm kereta tu... Makan minyak nih.... alahai minyak mahal laa!!



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Under the Hood With Knight Rider 2.0: Trans Am vs. Ford Mustang (Featuring Exclusive New KITT Specs—and Classic Hasselhoff!)




Published on: December 20, 2007
If you were a child of the 1980s, or are just a fan of very-late-night cable television, then you've most likely seen Michael Knight (played by a pre-Baywatch David Hasselhoff) and his chatty supercar sidekick, KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand), do battle with bad guys on the small-screen action-adventure show Knight Rider.

At first glance, KITT appeared to be a sporty 1982 Pontiac Trans Am, fresh off the assembly line. But thanks to a little Hollywood razzle-dazzle, the car transformed into a virtually indestructible machine—possessed with advanced artificial intelligence that allowed it to accept voice control commands, interact with "The Hoff" and make decisions on its own. In fact, the car's AI was so advanced that KITT formed a kind of personality, which is what has endeared the "car" to millions of auto geeks in a way the Batmobile never could be. But when the show was shelved in 1986, so was KITT.

Last week, NBC unveiled an all-new, controversial KITT, which is set to star in the made-for-TV Knight Rider movie in February. Based on the still-to-be-released Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR (click here for engine-revving video), this virtual Stang comes tricked out with a supercomputer that can hack almost any system; a very capable weapons system; and a body—thanks to nanotechnology—that's able to shape-shift and change color at will. Like its predecessor, the 21st century KITT gets AI from digital effects wizards that makes it an ideal crime-fighting partner: logical, precise and infinitely smart.

Designer Harald Belker, who has created the Batmobile for Batman and Robin and a next-gen space shuttle for Armageddon, came onboard to give the new KITT. a unique look. "The goal was to make it look more aggressive without being hokey or garish," Belker says. "Maintaining as much of the original beauty of the Shelby as possible was important—and not just because of the Ford connection. It had to be simple yet believable as a superhero." Once his vision was set, Belker turned to Ted Moser from Picture Car Warehouse to make his drawings come to life. But there was one big hurdle: The GT500KR doesn't technically exist quite yet. "So we had to finish their design first," Moser says. "Then we brought in a prop maker to create side skirts and spoilers out of wood, smooth them out, and sent them to a fiberglass shop to make molds. Once the parts are formed from those molds, we finish them and attach them to the car."

One of the cooler features of the Mustang KITT is air-ride suspension, which allows its driver to lower the car's ride height when the vehicle morphs from Hero to Attack mode. "When it goes on the offensive, it gets slammed to the ground," Moser chuckles. Very aggressive, indeed. There will be three models used in filming: Hero (essentially a stock GT500KR); Attack (the tricked-out model); and Remote Control (operated via RC, obviously). "All of the ‘transforming' will be done through CGI animation like in the Transformers movie," Moser admits. (Click here for behind-the-scenes digital wizardry from this summer's blockbuster flick.)

For all you Trans Am holdouts, Mustang droolers and Hasselhoff haters, here's the very first look at all of the new KITT's gee-whiz specs and functionality, matched up to the original to determine which is better equipped for Hollywood crime-fighting.

KITT vs. KITT Spec Breakdown!

KNIGHT INDUSTRIES TWO THOUSAND: 1982 Pontiac Trans Am

KNIGHT INDUSTRIES THREE THOUSAND: 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR

KNIGHT INDUSTRIES TWO THOUSAND 1982 Pontiac Trans Am KNIGHT INDUSTRIES THREE THOUSAND 2008 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR
Vehicle Type: Front engine, rear-wheel drive, two-door coupe
Engine Type: Knight Industries turbojet with modified afterburners
Transmission: Eight-speed microprocessor turbodrive with autopilot
Price New: $11,400,000 (est.)
Acceleration: 0 to 60 mph: 0.2 seconds with power boosters. Standing quarter mile: 4.286 seconds
Braking (70 to 0 mph): 14 ft.
Fuel Economy: Classified, but thought to be 200 mpg
Vehicle Type: Front engine, on-demand all-wheel drive, two-door coupe
Engine Type: Aluminum block/titanium heads 5.4-liter V8 internal combustion with Whipple supercharger and Knight Industries liquid air cycle auxiliary turbine engine. 540 hp in Hero mode. Power output can’t be measured in Attack mode.
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission with infinite power band
Price New: $45.6 million, as tested
Acceleration: 0 to 60 mph: 1.77 seconds. Standing quarter mile: 3.87 seconds
Braking (300 to 0 mph): 12 ft.
Fuel Economy: Not testable

SPECIAL FEATURES COMPARISON

Trans-Am

Feature

Mustang

Version 1.0 Knight Industries 2000 microprocessor Version 2.3
Yes Auto Cruise Yes
Yes Auto Pursuit Yes
Yes Auto Collision Avoidance Yes
Yes Voice Interaction Yes
Yes Emergency Eject Yes
No Audio/Video In-Dash Functions Yes
No Radar Yes
No Sonar Yes
Yes X-Ray Yes
Yes Autopilot Yes
Yes Voice Analyzer Yes
Yes Infrared Tracking Scope Yes
10 miles Range 20 miles
Yes Pyroclastic Lamination Yes
Yes Blood Analyzer Yes
Yes Microwave Jammer Yes
Yes Interior Oxygenator Yes
Yes Rocket Boosters Yes
Yes Smokescreen Yes
Yes Olfactory Detector Yes
Yes Spectrograph Yes
Yes Electromagnetic Field Generator Yes
Yes Microwave Ignition Sensor Yes
Yes Aquatic Synthesizer Yes
Yes Electronic Field Disrupter Yes
Yes Ultra Magnesium Charges Yes
Yes Ultraphonic Chemical Analyzer Yes
Yes Graphic Translator Yes
Yes Anamorphic Equalizer Yes
No DNA Analysis Equipment Yes
No Mass Spectrometer Yes
No Targeted Electromagnetic Pulse Yes
No Military-Grade GPS Yes
No Heated Seats Yes
Yes Grappling Hook No
Yes Oil Jets No
Yes Flame Thrower No
No 3D Heads-Up Display Yes
No Laser Weapons System Yes
No Holographic Projection Yes
No Keyless Entry and Ignition Yes
No Personal Safety System Yes
No Nanotech Cloaking Yes
No 360-Degree Video Surveillance Yes
No Laser-Guided Missile Defense Yes
No Mini-KITT Reconnaissance Drone Yes
No 24-Hour Roadside Assistance Yes
No 1000-Watt Quadraphonic Stereo System Yes
No In-Seat Medical Diagnosis Yes
No Biometric Analysis Yes


Rujukan: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive ........

19 December 2007

Berjalan pantas 30 minit untuk kempis perut

Bagi mereka yang inginkan perut kempis tanpa perlu habiskan duit beratus atau beribu menjalani aktiviti di pusat kecantikan.


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NEW YORK 18 Dis. – Berjalan pantas selama 30 minit enam kali seminggu didapati sudah cukup untuk mengempiskan perut dan mengurangkan risiko sindrom metabolik yang dikaitkan dengan gaya hidup kurang sihat.

“Kajian menunjukkan anda akan menerima faedah walaupun tidak membuat apa-apa perubahan pada pengambilan makanan,” kata Ketua Penyelidik di Pusat Perubatan Universiti Duke di North Carolina, Johanna L. Johnson.

Dianggarkan kira-kira satu perempat penduduk dewasa Amerika Syarikat mempunyai sindrom metabolik.

“Ini bermakna anda tidak perlu keluar berlari empat kali seminggu malah boleh berjalan di kawasan rumah selepas makan malam,” katanya.

Bagaimanapun kajian itu mendapati, mereka yang bersenam 30 minit dengan kekerapan enam hari seminggu atau lebih kurang 17.6 kilometer seminggu memperolehi lebih banyak faedah.

– Reuters

Malah orang yang berlari 27.2 kilometer dalam seminggu memperolehi lebih sedikit manfaat dalam terma merendahkan sindrom metabolik.

– Reuters

18 December 2007

Kucing Bercahaya Merah

Kucing sudah blh kuar tukar warna merah..... apa sudah jadi dengan karenah manusia nie..... melanggar hukum kejadian alam.


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South Korean scientists clone cat that glows red

Cloning is a topic of much debate that has uses for good and uses that aren’t so good. Being able to clone animals with specific disease states could make it easier for researchers to tackle genetic diseases that affect animals and humans alike.

In 2005 the infamous Hwang Woo Suk, South Korean cloning scientist, admitted to falsifying stem cell cloning research. Even when it was later found that Suk had actually made a possibly larger breakthrough than the faked research suggested, the damage was already done and Suk was fired and faces legal ramifications for his falsified work.

Another group of South Korean scientists has cloned cats with a florescent protein gene that makes them glow red in ultra violet light. Similar techniques have been used in everything from roundworms to goldfish to pigs. The procedure used in the cloning process is hoped to be able to help develop treatments for genetic diseases.

The lead scientist on the project, Kong Il-keun from the Gyeongsang National University was able to produce a trio of cats with the altered glowing gene. The cats were born in January and February, two grew to adult and one cat was still born.

The South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement, “It marked the first time in the world that cats with [altered fluorescence protein genes] RFP genes have been cloned.”

09 December 2007

Area 51 lokasi paling rahsia AS


Kawasan ini lah yang banyak menghasilkan propaganda A.S dan juga eksperimen rahsia mereka. Antara seperti mana projek Skunk Works untuk ujian Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs. Penerbangan ujian bagi U-2, SR-71, F-117, dan F-22.

Ia juga merupakan dipercayai tempat pengambaran krew Appolo 11 dalam misi menjejak di bulan.

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Area 51 lokasi paling rahsia AS

Oleh Nasron Sira Rahim
nasron@bharian.com.my


KAWASAN di luar Area 51 yang terletak di Nevada, Amerika Syarikat.

Setakat ini tiada bukti untuk menyokong dakwaan kawasan berkenaan dijadikan pusat kajian mengenai UFO, ujian senjata canggih

PADA 1989, Bob Lazar dalam satu temuramah televisyen yang disiarkan Stesen Penyiaran Las Vegas, mendakwa yang dia pernah menjalankan satu tugasan berkaitan 'kapal angkasa makhluk asing' atau UFO yang ditempatkan di Tasik Papoose, Selatan Area 51, Nevada, Amerika Syarikat (AS).

Sejak dakwaan Lazer itu, Area 51 mula menjadi lokasi misteri yang terkenal di kalangan ramai pihak terutama pengkaji makhluk asing dan UFO.


Mereka percaya kononnya di situlah wujudnya satu markas makmal penyelidikan milik Kerajaan AS bagi mengkaji kapal angkasa dan makhluk asing yang terhempas ke bumi.

Teori konspirasi itu berlarutan sehingga kini berikutan tiada siapa yang dapat mengesahkan dakwaan Lazer itu selain tiada siapa yang mampu tampil bersama bukti mengenai aktiviti misteri yang dilakukan di lokasi rahsia itu.

Area 51 sebelum itu lebih dikenali sebagai Pusat Penyelidikan dan Ujian Penerbangan Tentera Udara AS dan digunakan sebagai pusat pembangunan dan ujian bagi menghasilkan pesawat tempur canggih untuk negara terbabit.

Landsat pseudocolor satellite photo of Groom Lake, taken around 2000

Foto satelit Groom Lake di Area 51, di ambil semasa tahun 2000


Ia adalah antara lokasi paling rahsia di AS dan terletak di sebuah daerah terasing di selatan Nevada di mana penduduk tidak dibenarkan memasuki, menghampiri malah mengambil gambar di kawasan berkenaan atau mereka akan didakwa mengikut Seksyen 21, Akta Rahsia Rasmi 1950 (50 USC 797).

Bagaimanapun, aktiviti rahsia serta penyelidikan sulit berhubung pembinaan pesawat tempur selain beberapa laporan kononnya berlaku pelbagai fenomena aneh dan luar biasa di kawasan itu semakin menimbulkan curiga di kalangan ramai pihak.

Ia sekali gus mencetuskan prasangka di kalangan penyelidik ‘UFOlogy’ mengenai kemungkinan Kerajaan AS sudah berjaya menangkap makhluk asing dan merampas kapal angkasa mereka yang terhempas.

Mengikut teori konspirasi itu lagi, pihak kerajaan terbabit kini sedang melakukan pelbagai uji kaji terhadap makhluk itu serta mengkaji teknologi kapal angkasa mereka di Area 51, akan tetapi, Kerajaan AS didakwa cuba merahsiakan penemuan penting itu daripada semua pihak.

Penyelidik juga percaya yang makhluk asing serta UFO yang terhempas di Roswell, New Mexico, pada Julai 1947 juga ditempatkan di Area 51 untuk kajian lanjut.

Misteri mengenai kegiatan rahsia di lokasi sulit itu semakin menarik minat ramai pihak sehingga timbul pelbagai khabar angin antaranya:

Di lokasi itulah kerajaan AS didakwa menyimpan, menyelidik dan melakukan proses ‘keterbalikan kejuruteraan’ terhadap kapal angkasa makhluk asing bagi membolehkan mereka membina pesawat tempur canggih berasaskan teknologi UFO yang mereka temui.

Antara teknologi yang didakwa berjaya dibangun saintis dan penyelidik AS berasaskan penyelidikan terhadap kapal angkasa itu ialah penghasilan pesawat luar biasa dalam Program Aurora.

Kerajaan AS juga didakwa mengadakan kaji selidik dalam pelbagai bidang sains dan sosial terhadap makhluk asing yang ditemui sama ada hidup atau sudah mati malah mereka mungkin sudah mengadakan perhubungan dengan tamadun makhluk asing di angkasa.

Di lokasi Area 51 itu, penyelidik dan saintis didakwa sedang melakukan penyelidikan dan pembangunan senjata berasaskan tenaga alam seperti kawalan cuaca terhadap ribut, puting beliung atau gempa bumi.

Dakwaan yang lebih menggemparkan kononnya di lokasi rahsia itu saintis dan penyelidik sedang membina teknologi mesin merentas masa.

Segala penyelidikan dan aktiviti sulit di Area 51 didakwa berkait rapat dengan satu pertubuhan rahsia dikenali ‘Majestic 12’ yang ditubuhkan pada 1947 untuk menyiasat segala aktiviti berkaitan dengan UFO dan makhluk asing.

Pertubuhan rahsia yang anggotanya terdiri daripada sekumpulan saintis, ketua tentera, pegawai tinggi kerajaan AS itu ditubuhkan atas arahan eksekutif daripada Presiden AS ketika itu, Harry S Truman.

Mengenai lokasi makmal rahsia di Area 51 pula, ada khabar angin kononnya ia dibina di bawah tanah dan di dalam Tasik Papoose.

Kononnya di bawah permukaan muka bumi kawasan gurun itu, ada satu kompleks teramat besar yang dihubungkan dengan jalinan jalan raya bawah tanah selain wujudnya lapangan terbang khas yang hanya muncul apabila tasik berkenaan terbelah.

Bagaimanapun, pihak Tentera Udara AS menafikan kewujudan ‘Area 51’ sebagai satu daripada tapak operasi yang berada di bawah kawalan mereka.

Bagaimanapun, misteri berhubung lokasi itu semakin membingungkan apabila pada Julai 1996, seorang pemanggil rancangan radio ‘Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM’ yang menggelarkan dirinya sebagai ‘Victor’ mendakwa dia memiliki pita video yang menyiarkan proses soal siasat pegawai tentera dan saintis terhadap makhluk asing yang dilakukan di Area 51. Makhluk asing itu dipercayai berkomunikasi menggunakan telipati.

Victor mendakwa yang dia berjaya membuat salinan daripada rakaman asal milik pihak berkuasa Area 51 dan menyeludup keluar pita video berkenaan dari lokasi sulit terbabit.

Bagaimanapun, sehingga kini, tiada bukti kukuh yang mampu membongkar apa sebenarnya yang terdapat di sebalik lokasi rahsia Area 51.

Mungkin di situ terdapat pesawat angkasa lepas dan jasad makhluk asing; mungkin juga di situ terdapat makmal yang melakukan pelbagai penyelidikan bagi menghasilkan teknologi luar biasa; mungkin di situ juga disembunyikan pelbagai projek rahsia Kerajaan AS atau mungkin di situ hanya terdapat bangunan pejabat bagi operasi biasa tentera AS.

Sehingga kini, aktiviti sebenar di lokasi rahsia Area 51, kekal menjadi misteri. sumber: www.wikipedia.com

INFO: Area 51

  • Terletak di Nevada, Amerika Syarikat.

  • Turut dikenali sebagai Dreamland, Watertown Strip, Paradise Ranch, The Farm, The Box, Groom Lake dan juga The Directorate for Development Plans Area.

  • Menjadi pusat penyelidikan dan ujian penerbangan bagi Tentera Udara AS.

  • Menjadi popular berikutan dakwaan kononnya makhluk asing dan UFO yang terhempas di bumi disembunyikan untuk dikaji di lokasi itu.

  • Misteri berhubung lokasi itu banyak disebut dan dijadikan babak dalam filem dan rancangan televisyen antaranya The X-files, CSI, Stargate dan Eureka.


  • Rujukan:
    http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/Sunday/Misteri/20071202103240/Article
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_51
    http://www.ufomind.com/area51/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_works
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_accusations
    http://www.lockheedmartin.com/products/adp/index.html