Sky of Umbrellas in Agueda, Portugal

If you come to Águeda, a municipality in Portugal, during the month of July, you may see hundreds of colorful umbrellas floating above some streets. They are hung over promenades giving pedestrians a nice shade and something cool to look at.

Spotted by My Modern Met, these photos were taken by Patricia Almeida and Diana Tavares. Although these photographers were not directly involved with the creation of the installation, without them, most of us wouldn’t even know about it. So thanks to them for sharing these beautiful photos!

Flickr photographer Patrícia Almeida recently shot these great photos of a wonderfully whimsical umbrella art installation in Portugal. Like something out of a fairy tale, the umbrellas look almost like they're magically floating in mid-air. As she writes, "In July, in Águeda (a Portuguese town), some streets are decorated with colorful umbrellas. I felt like a kid, amazed by all that color!" She calls it Umbrella Sky.

“I felt like a kid, amazed by all that color!” – says Patricia who titled her photos “Umbrella Roof” and the “Sky of Umbrellas”.

The street looks amazing, doesn’t it?

Update: According to the Daily Mail, this installation is an initiative by the council in Agueda, Portugal and is a part of an art festival called Agitagueda.

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The 23 Openly Gay Athletes Of The 2012 Olympics

1. Matthew Mitcham — Diving — Australia

Age: 24
Twitter: @Matthew_Mitcham
Bio: Mitcham won gold at the 2008 Olympics. When fellow Australian Olympians Russell and Lauryn Mark of the shooting team complained that they couldn't stay together in the Olympic village, saying it was anti-heterosexual descrimination and that gay couples could stay together, Mitcham spoke out against them on Twitter. "Since there were only 11 out gays across all nations [in 2008], I’d hardly consider that a ton. Known couples are split anyway." He followed it up with, "The last thing I need is a sexually frustrated breeder with a shotgun being cross with me. No comment, thank you very much!!" So he's pretty funny. Also he loves memes.

Image by Chris Hyde / Getty Images

2. Judith Arndt — Cycling — Germany

Age: 35 (turns 36 next week)
Twitter: N/A
Bio: Arndt is a two-time Olympic medalist (Bronze in 2000 and Silver in 2004) and has won multiple international cycling championships as well as national championships in Germany. Her and her partner, fellow cyclist Petra Rossner, have been together for over fifteen years.

Image by KARIM JAAFAR / Getty Images

3. Marilyn Agliotti — Field Hockey — Netherlands

Age: 33
Twitter: @MarilynAngliotti
Bio: The field hockey star is a South African native, who began representing the Netherlands after a move to Holland. Agliotti was a member of the 2008 Olympic gold medal team, and is an outspoken advocate for more openness about the homosexuality in her sport.

Image by Eduardo Di Baia / AP

4. Carole Péon — Triathlon — France

Age: 33
Twitter:N/A
Bio: Péon is an accomplished triathlete, who will be competing in her second Olympics in London. She is dating fellow French Olympian Jessica Harrison.

Image by ARNOLD LIM / AP

5. Lisa Raymond — Tennis — USA

Age: 38
Twitter: @lisaraymond73
Bio: Lisa Raymond is one of the best doubles tennis players in the world. She's won 6 Doubles Grand Slams and 5 Mixed Doubles Grand Slams, and is currently a part of the number one ranked pair in the world. She's been romantically connected to fellow Tennis star and former doubles partner Rennae Stubbs in the past, but the two are no longer together.

Image by Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP

6. Imke Duplitzer— Fencing — Germany

(Steffen Andritzke/The Epoch Times)
Age: 36 (turns 37 next week)
Twitter: @ImkeDuplitzer
Bio: Duplitzer was a part of the German Women's Epeé fencing team that won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. She has the best official website ever.

7. Edward Gal — Dressage — Netherlands

Age: 42
Twitter: @Edward_Gal
Bio: Gal and his current horse, Moorlands Totilas, are dominant in the international dressage world. At the 2010 World Championships they won three gold medals and are expected to fare well in London. Gal is in a long term relationship with Hans Peter Minderhoud, another equestrian from the Netherlands.

Image by ROBIN UTRECHT / Getty Images

8. Jessica Harrison — Triathlon — France

Age: 35
Twitter:@JessMako
Bio: Born and raised in England, Harrison became a naturalized French citizen to help her realize her dream of making the Olympics. In 2008 she did, coming in 12th at the Beijing Olympics. She's dating fellow French Olympian, Carole Péon.

Image by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / Getty Images

9. Maartje Paumen — Field Hockey — Netherlands

Age: 33
Twitter: @MaartjePaumen
Bio: Paumen is among the best field hockey players in the world. Along with Marilyn Agliotti, she was on the 2008 Netherlands team that won gold at the Olympics. Paumen was named the 2011 Player of the Year at the Champions Trophy field hockey tournament in Argentina.

Image by JUAN MABROMATA / Getty Images

10. Seimone Augustus — Basketball — USA

Age: 28
Twitter: @SeimoneAugustus
Bio: Augustus is a WNBA Champion, Finals MVP, three-time All Star, and former Rookie of the year. She played her college ball at LSU, where she led the Tigers to three straight Final Fours. She is currently engaged to marry her girlfriend, LaTaya Varner.

Image by Nick Wass / AP

11. Natalie Cook — Beach Volleyball — Australia

Age: 37
Twitter: N/A
Bio: Cook has long been one of the most accomplished beach volleyball players in the world. She won a bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics and a gold at the 2000 games. She's married to Canadian beach volleyball player, Sarah Maxwell.

Image by Ryan Pierse / Getty Images

12. Jessica Landström — Soccer — Sweden

Age: 27
Twitter: @Landstrom_
Bio: Landström scored a decisive goal in the 2011 Women's World Cup against Columbia, but spent most of the team's run to third place coming off the bench. The London Olympics will be her first.

Image by Friedemann Vogel / Getty Images

13. Alexandra Lacrabére — Handball — France

Age: 25
Twitter:N/A
Bio: London will mark Lecrabére's second Olympics, she was on the French team in China that failed to medal. She came out in Hand Action magazine last November.

Image by RICARDO MORAES / Reuters

14. Megan Rapinoe — Soccer — USA

Age: 27
Twitter: @mPinoe
Bio: A member of the 2011 US Women's Soccer Team that nearly won the World Cup, Rapinoe created one of the team's signature highlights when she set Abby Wambach up with a beautiful desperation cross that led to the US's 122nd minute goal against Brazil to keep the US's World Cup hopes alive. Rapinoe came out of the closet earlier this month and revealed that she's been in a three-year relationship with an Australian soccer player.

Image by Harry How / Getty Images

UPDATED: We missed a few in the initial version of this list. We've since added those that have been brought to our attention If you know of anyone else who is missing, please let us know in the comments.

15. Carl Hester — Dressage — Great Britain

Age: 45
Twitter: @HesterDressage
Bio: Hester rode for the British dressage team that won the gold at the 2011 European Dressage Championship. He is one of the top riders in the world.

Image by Clive Mason / Getty Images

16. Mayssa Pessoa — Handball — Brazil

Age: 28
Twitter: @MayssaPessoa
Bio: Pessoa is a top goalkeeper in the world of handball. She plays professionally in France.

17. Hedvig Lindahl — Soccer — Sweden

Age: 29
Twitter: @Hedvig_Lindahl
Bio: Lindahl is a tok goalkeeper in Sweden's professional women's soccer league. She's played internationally for almost 10 years. She was on the Swedish team that won Silver at the World Championships in 2003.

Image by JOHANNES EISELE / Getty Images

18. Carlien Dirkse van den Heuvel — Field Hockey — Netherlands

Age: 25
Twitter: N/A
Bio: Dirkse van den Heuvel is an up and coming field hockey star in the Netherlands. London will mark her first Olympics as she teams up with fellow out bringing a second straight gold medal to the Netherlands.

Image by ENRIQUE MARCARIAN / Reuters

19. Rikke Skov — Handball — Denmark

Age: 31
Twitter: N/A
Bio: Rikke Skov was a member of the 2004 Olympic handball team that won gold for Denmark. She's won many awards for her play on both the international and club levels. In 2009 she retired from the sport, before changing her mind, and returning to the national team.

Image by Bela Szandelszky / AP

20. Lisa Dahlkvist — Soccer — Sweden

Age: 25
Twitter: @LisaDahlkvist
Bio: Dahlkvist is a young midfielder for Sweden. She played on their 2011 World Cup team. She's been out since 2008.

Image by THOMAS KIENZLE / Getty Images

21. UPDATE: Karen Hultzer — Archery — South Africa

Age: 46
Twitter:@karenhultzer
Bio: Hultzer came out publicly during the 2012 London Olympics. She told OutSports:

I am an archer, middle aged and a lesbian. I am also cranky before my first cup of coffee. None of these aspects define who I am, they are simply part of me. I am fortunate that my sexual identity is not an issue, and I don’t suffer the level of discrimination and violence that black lesbians in South Africa do. I look forward to the day when this is a non-issue and as relevant as my eye color or favorite sushi.

Image by Paul Gilham / Getty Images

22. Kim Lammers — Field Hockey — Netherlands

Age: 31
Twitter: @Lammerskim
Bio: Plays for the Dutch club, Laren. 2012 marked her first Olympics.

Image by CHRIS HELGREN / Reuters

23. Ina-Yoko Teutenberg — Cycling — Germany

Age: 37
Twitter: @Yokoteute
Bio: Competed for Germany at both the 2000 and 2012 Olympics.

Image by Bryn Lennon / Getty Images

Bonus: Pia Sundhage — Soccer Coach — USA

Image by Colin E. Braley / AP

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Water in Selangor: A Crisis of Corruption and Cronyism

by Nathaniel Tan(07-21-12)@http://www.malaysiakini.com
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

COMMENT: Have you ever been made to buy something you didn’t need? Or worse, have you been deceived, intimidated and bullied into making an entirely unnecessary, overpriced purchase?

It would appear that this is what we are facing with Syabas, this “water crisis” it keeps getting excited about. However, if we examine the hard facts closely, we will see that the only crisis we are facing is an all too familiar crisis of corruption and cronyism – centred tightly around the RM8.65 billion Langat 2 Water Treatment Plant.

Do we really need the Langat 2 plant?

We all know politicians use taxpayer-funded mega projects to make money. The bigger the mega project, the bigger the kickbacks – and RM8.65 billion is plenty big.

With that much money at stake, the last thing ‘well-connected’ individuals care about is whether the project is actually needed, or whether it truly benefits the rakyat or not.

The Selangor government is all for preventing this RM8.65 billion gravy train from riding out, and its position is simple: there is plenty of water in Selangor, and if there is any shortage at all, it is due to failure, or worse, failure on the part of Syabas.

Here’s what Syabas doesn’t want you to know about this water “crisis”: it’s not about how much raw water there is (since the dams in Selangor are all clearly full); it’s about how Syabas is failing dramatically to efficiently convert enough of that raw water into potable water.

(Technically speaking, the main company responsible for treatment of water is Puncak Niaga Bhd, which in turn owns 70 percent of Syabas. Both companies are in essence run by the same people. For the purpose of this article, ‘Syabas’ refers to both Puncak Niaga and Syabas.)

Not all the raw water that goes into a water treatment plant becomes potable water – that is, water deemed fit to run in our taps at home. The technical term for the amount of raw water that is wasted due to inefficiencies in the water treatment plant is called “non-revenue water” or NRW.

32pct of water produced by Syabas is wasted

Syabas’ level of NRW is 32 percent. This means that a whopping one-third of the raw water that enters a Syabas water treatment plant goes entirely to waste.

Syabas must be congratulated here, for succeeding in wasting more water than Dhaka, Bangladesh, where the NRW is only 29 percent. Eastern Manila managed to bring down its NRW from 63 percent in 1997 to 11 percent in 2010.

More developed nations have even lower levels of NRW – Germany’s NRW is only seven percent, while the Netherlands and Denmark have achieved NRW levels of six percent.

Perhaps this can be attributed to the fact that they are advanced, developed Western democracies? Oh, wait a minute, Singapore’s NRW is five percent.

It looks like under Syabas’ brilliant management, we have managed to waste six times more water than our neighbour to the south whom we like so much to make fun of. Thank you, Syabas!

There is also talk that Syabas is not given enough money to improve its services. However, the question is, would you give more money to a company that demonstrates zero ability to put that money to good use, and in fact has wasted away all the money that has already been given to it?

Quite simply put, all we need to do to ensure a sufficient water supply for the Klang Valley is to drastically reduce the amount of NRW. For that, we don’t need a RM8.65 billion water treatment plant, or to throw money at the problem – we just need cleaner, better managers.

Is Syabas turning off the taps?

It’s little wonder that Syabas has never had much incentive to improve its efficiency or quality of its service – for it does not have any competition. This simple fact has rendered many an industry in Malaysia completely defunct. Automobiles, airlines, telecommunications and power generation are all industries where cronies get rich, and Malaysians pay high prices for crap quality.

A monopoly like Syabas is able to take this game one step further. When you have complete monopoly over the water industry, you don’t have to wait for an actual water crisis to justify an RM8.65 billion white elephant mega project. Even in the midst of heavy rain every single day, all you need to do is turn off the taps, and voila – “water crisis”.

I think we’ve all noticed the increased frequency of water cuts in the Klang Valley recently. A simple question remains: are the taps turned off because of a water shortage? Or because some people want you to think there’s a water shortage?

Is this all to justify a RM8.65 billion water treatment plant that no one needs – a plant that might make a few lucky people extremely rich, while impoverishing the rest of the nation?

Is Syabas threatening us?

One of the ‘best’ quotes I have read throughout this saga comes from Syabas Technical Services Executive Director V Subramaniam, perhaps a minor pawn sent forth to spew such brilliant statements as:

“The water crisis at present is the result of a shortfall in treated water for distribution caused by the refusal of the state government to issue the development order for construction of the Langat 2 treatment plant.”

Does Syabas take us for dummies?

According to this logic, if the Selangor government approves the construction of Langat 2 today (a project that will take years to complete), then the water crisis will disappear tomorrow.

Sounds a little suspicious? Perhaps Subramaniam’s statement is technically correct, in that the state government’s refusal has indeed precipitated a ‘water shortage’ – except that he is silent on whether the said water shortage is natural – or manufactured by unscrupulous people to achieve even more unscrupulous ends.

Who is politicising the water problem? There should be a law against this sort of thing. Oh, wait. There is this thing called the Water Services Industry Act (WSIA), which was passed by the BN-dominated Parliament in 2006.

This law provided for the de-privatisation of the water industry and its return to the respective state governments, for privatisation had clearly proven to be a disastrous failure across the board.

The water industries of BN-led (for now) Malacca and Johor were successfully deprivatised following the gazetting of the WSIA. But what happened to Selangor post-2008?

Both sides like to accuse each other of ‘politicising’ the water problem, but when the facts show that the federal government had allowed deprivatisation in BN-held states while preventing it in Selangor, the truth becomes clear to all.

Let’s not forget that Syabas is run by Rozali Ismail, the ready-to-run-for-Parliament Selangor UMNO treasurer who, despite creating a spectacular failure of Syabas and being accused of using millions of Syabas’ funds to buy pipes from his own company in Indonesia, is still paid a salary of RM425,000 a month as CEO.

The Selangor government has openly stated that it plans to slash the monthly salary for this post by 90 percent. While Syabas is dead set on exponential increases of up to 75 percent on water tariffs, Selangor has pledged to cap any tariff increases to 12 percent. So, who is looking out for the rakyat, and who is looking out for themselves?

BN plundering before an inevitable defeat?

Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim is the man most keen on the de-privatisation of the Selangor water industry and the takeover of Syabas by the state government.

This is the man who increased the cash reserves of the Selangor government five-fold from RM400 million in 2008 to RM2.1 billion in 2012.

Under UMNO and Najib Abdul Razak, the federal debt – a debt our children and grandchildren will have to pay – has since the year 2007 nearly doubled to RM421 billion this year.

Who do you think is better suited to run our water industry? Are we going to allow people who are bringing the nation to the edge of a real – not manufactured – economic crisis to bully us into footing the bill for a RM8.65 billion megaproject that nobody needs?

Are these high jinks the latest attempt – along with FGV, George Kent and the innumerable new spending initiatives the Prime Minister has recently announced – to bleed the nation’s coffers completely dry for personal gain before finishing a full term in office in 2013?

It seems the BN has serious fears of losing power, and is trying to take out as much as it can before having to face an angry electorate next year. If the BN was confident of a victory, surely the general election would have been held by now.In any case, the unscrupulous among us are welcome to play their games.

Turning off the taps and replacing the flow of water with the flow of painfully illogical arguments is less likely to pressure the state government to forsake the interests of the rakyat, and more likely to point the finger back at those truly responsible for scaremongering and criminal mismanagement.

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38 things you must know about Malaysia

This list covers a period of about 49 years since Independence Day in Malaysia (1957)

1. Out of all the 5 major banks in Malaysia, only one bank is owned by multi-racial, the rest are controlled by Malays.
   
2. 99% of PETRONAS (the only one petroleum company) directors are Malays, and the former Prime Minister work as Consultant in PETRONAS.
   
3. 3% of PETRONAS employees are Chinese.
   
4. 99% of 2000 PETRONAS gasoline stations are owned by Malays.
   
5. 100% all contractors working under PETRONAS projects must be “bumi’s status” (Malay).
   
6. 0% of non-Malays staffs are legally required in Malay’s companies. But there must be 30% Malays staffs in Chinese companies. And big companies in Malaysia require a Malays hold as director status with51% shareholder. Which this mean non-Malays own company needs to give their property to Malays. And non-Malays citizen can’t really own their business.
   
7. 5% of all new intake for government police, nurses, army, is non-Malays.
   
8. 2% is the present Chinese staff in Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), drop from 40% in 1960…
   
9. 2% is the percentage of non-Malays government servants in Putrajaya (Malaysia main government office). But Malays make up 98 %.
   
10. 7% is the percentage of Chinese government servants in the whole government (in 2004), drop from 30% in 1960. Only 2 position for non-Malays in political status.
    
11. 95% of government contracts are given to Malays; even it is an open tender. Non-Malays contractors tender the lower price and use better materials can’t get the contract that government given.
    
12. 100% all Business licensees are controlled by Malay government e.g. Taxi permits, Approved permits, etc. and all the license are given to government officer families.
    
13. 80% of the Chinese rice millers in Kedah (north of peninsular Malaysia) had to be sold to Malay and controlled by Bernas (Government Org.) since 1980s. Otherwise, life is make difficult for Chinese rice millers.
    
14. 100 big companies set up, owned and managed by Chinese Malaysians were taken over by government, and later managed by Malays since 1970′se.g. UTC, UMBC, MISC, etc. This company now is the sole company.
    
15. At least 10 Chinese owned bus companies (throughout Malaysia, throughout 40 years) had to be sold to MARA or other Malay transport companies due to rejection by Malay authority to Chinese application for bus routes and rejection for their application for new buses.
    
16. 2 Chinese taxi drivers were barred from driving in Johor (South of Peninsular Malaysia) Larkin bus station. There are about 30 taxi drivers and 3 are Chinese in October 2004. Spoiling taxi club properties was the reason given.
    
17. 0 non-Malays are allowed to get shop lots in the new Muar (city in south peninsular Malaysia) bus station (November 2004).
    
18. 8000 billions ringgit is the total amount the government channeled to Malays pockets through ASB, ASN, MARA, privatization of government  agencies like Tabung Haji etc, through NEP over 34 years periods.
    
19. 48 Chinese primary schools closed down since 1968-2000
    
20. 144 Indian primary schools closed down since 1968- 2000
    
21. 2637 Malay primary schools built since 1968-2000
    
22. 2.5% is government budget for Chinese primary schools. Indian schools got only 1%, Malay schools got 96.5%
    
23. While a Chinese parent with RM1000 salary (monthly) cannot get school-text-book-loan, and a Malay parent with RM2000 salary is eligible.
    
24. 10 all public universities vice chancellors are Malays. And politics in universities are held by Malays. If non-Malays want to form a Politics parties, there is no way to get approved.
    
25. 5% – the government universities lecturers of non-Malay origins had been reduced from about 70% in 1965 to only 5% in 2004 with the reason Malaysia Education Ministry give full support for Malays only.
    
26. Only 5% is given to non-Malays for government scholarships over 40years.
    
27. 0 Chinese or Indians were sent to Japan and Korea under “Look East Policy”.
    
28. 128 STPM (High Study / A Level) Chinese top students could not get into the course that they aspired i.e. Medicine and doctors (in 2004). Malays with not qualify result can get into the course.
    
29. 10% place for non-bumi students for MARA science schools beginning from year 2003, but only 7% are filled. Before that it was 100% Malays.
    
30. 50 cases whereby Chinese and Indian Malaysians, are beaten up in the National Service program since 2003.
    
31. 25% is Malaysian Chinese population in 2004, drop from 45% since1957 because government are not support non-Malays like government support Malays.
    
32. 7% is the present Malaysian Indians population (2004), a drop from 12% since 1957.
    
33. 2 millions Chinese Malaysians had emigrated to overseas since 40years ago due to unfair politics.
    
34. 0.5 million Indians Malaysians had emigrated to overseas.
    
35. 3 millions Indonesians had migrated into Malaysia and became Malaysian citizens with bumi’s status.
    
36. 600000 are the Chinese and Indians Malaysians with “red I/C” (a temporary identity card) and were rejected repeatedly when applying for citizenship for 40 years. Perhaps 60% of them had already passed away due to old age. This shows racism of how easily Indonesians got their citizenships compare with the Chinese and  Indians
    
37. 5% – 15% discount for a Malay to buy a house, regardless whether the Malay is rich or poor
    
38. 2% is what Chinese new villages get compare with 98% of what Malays villages got for rural development budget.

Few More extra fact:

• Our politician will never admit that they are wrong, they will always blame on the media for listen it wrongly.
• Police is worst than gangster in the country.

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臉書玩上癮？ 日網友歸納12種類型中毒症狀

智慧型手機普遍後，許多人都加入「低頭族」行列，其中不少人手指滑來滑去全在看臉書，相較於中臉書毒已久的台灣人，日本網友也開始加入熱衷臉書行列，甚至把臉書使用者歸納出12種類型。

（一）公雞君（The Rooster）
喜歡每天一早就打開臉書，留下「早啊 !」「早安」等問候語的人

（二）潛水君（The “Lurker”）
這類型的人只看狀態但不發言也不按讚，但哪天突然見面時又問起你某天的臉書狀態，令人不免心驚驚。

（三）土狼君（The Hyena）
土狼君類型的人發言幾乎無內容可言，只會「哈哈」、「呵呵」、「ㄎㄎ」笑的人。

（四）名人君（Mr／Ms Popular）
基本上這類型的人不管認不認識，只要看順眼就可以加好友，朋友數莫名其妙上千的素人。

（五）遊戲君（The Gamer）
大家的臉書朋友內，總有這種不發動態、不關心朋友近況，登入臉書主要目的就是玩遊戲者，且常會讓朋友們收到大量遊戲邀請，不免令人有點無奈。

（六）感性君（The Emo）
有些人遇到人生不順時，感性的情緒總會一擁而上，常在臉書張貼一些消極留言，覺得人生是黑白的，將朋友情緒搞得十分低靡。

（七）蒐集君（The Collector）
這類型的網友不愛發動態，但會主動加入很多粉絲團或社團，讓人納悶他上臉書目的該不會只想蒐集情報。

（八）邀請君（The Promoter）
平時在臉書上沒什麼互動，但卻不斷寄一些和你八竿子打不著的活動或粉絲團邀請，令人匪夷所思。

（九）按讚君（The Liker）
這類型網友十分好心，不管朋友發任何無聊狀態或照片，只要有動態出現就會瘋狂按讚，就算是出差、旅遊回來後，也會把這段時間沒按到的讚通通補上，十分力挺朋友。

（十）連續劇女王／陛下（Drama Queen／King）
總是會發一些需要人家去問他們「你怎麼了？」、「還好嗎？」、「我們都很需要你」等動態者，只要你回覆他，就會掏心掏肺和你說心事。

（十一）新聞君（The News）
可別以為「新聞君」指的是愛轉貼新聞的人，這裡歸納的類型是那種無論人在何處、和誰在一起，都會打卡更新在臉書狀態上者。

（十二）小偷君（The Thief）
常將臉書朋友的照片、名言未經過同意就轉貼到自己的狀態上，令被竊取者相當傻眼。

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Penang. Armenian Street 天真灿烂小姐弟

原来姐姐叫陈一，弟弟叫陈肯。爸爸是道地槟城人。除了墙画强烈的吸引我，要亲自去看看之外，读了《光明》采访的文，我更欣赏这个家庭的教育。

大概从对孩子的取名，就能感受到父母的用心。父亲说，他想让孩子了解本身的民族文化，所以除了英语和华语，也跟孩子讲海南话。他们家没有电视，都让孩子近距离接触山水、文化，大多时候，他们一家拿着画笔和纸张，走走画画，自由发挥。

有时候用心教育，不一定要花费金钱去学这个，学那个，让小孩的童年，充斥无法喘息的课程，或者无止境的满足物质享受。是不是父母应该先让孩子懂得，从心出发呢？



转载光明报道
这幅牆画，吸引许多人的瞩目，原因是一对天真灿烂的小姐弟骑着脚车快乐驰聘的样子，让人们感受快乐原是如此简单。

原来这对小姐弟并非画者虚拟出来的人物，壁画上的快乐是真有其景，姐姐名叫陈一，今年5岁，小弟弟名叫陈肯，今年3岁，他们是室内设计师陈景元的孩子，一家4口目前定居槟城。

陈景元是非政府组织“素写.槟城”的活跃成员，姐弟俩常跟随父亲出外参与户外素描活动，这张照片就是在3月份的一次写生活动中，壁画作者也就是25岁的国际艺术家尔纳斯(Ernest Zacharevic)在椰脚街观音亭前，用镜头捕捉两姐弟在脚车上玩乐的瞬间。

38岁的陈景元週三接受《光明日报》独家访问时，坦言对壁画的受欢迎程度感到意外，因为这样的情景是不经过安排的，完全是孩子快乐情感的自然流露。

“其实孩子们不是在骑脚车，那时他们看到我们的成员之一尔纳斯带来了一辆红色日本旧款脚车，一时贪玩而双双爬上脚车玩。那是成人脚车，小孩子根本骑不动，他们只是在已立起脚架的脚车上自娱自乐，姐姐在前，弟弟在后紧抓着姐姐，玩得不亦乐乎，这些画面都被尔纳斯用相机拍了下来。”

陈景元说，户外素描结束后几天，尔纳斯便向他出示这张照片，询问是否能把画中人的动作与表情画成壁画，同样热爱画画的陈景元一口就答应了，这对小姐弟的笑貌，就这样活现在本头公巷的牆壁上。

两名小姐弟在壁画中的表情非常自然活泼，尤其是陈肯从后抱紧姐姐，张大嘴巴闭起眼睛嘶喊的样子，彷彿在享受脚车奔驰的刺激快感，画面非常生动。

两姐弟当时是否在“不能跑的脚车”上想像脚车奔驰的感觉，才会做出如此趣致的表情，陈景元说他也不晓得孩子们当时在想什麽，只知道他们当时玩得很开心，这就是小孩子原本应有的快乐。

陈景元是道地的槟城人，原本与太太齐齐在新加坡工作，但自从生了陈一与陈肯后，两人为了让孩子在更自然及舒服的环境成长，2年多前决定全家搬回槟城定居，陈景元在回来槟城之后，透过面子书认识并加入了“素写.槟城”组织。

如今，陈景元经常带着妻儿参与户外素描活动，让孩子拿着画笔及纸张，走走画画，自由发挥，是陈景元坚持给孩子的自然教育，也因此造就了本头公巷壁画上的两名小主角。

“让他们近距离接触山水、文化，总好过一直窝在家裡看电视，玩平板电脑。我们家到现在都没有电视机，因为我不想孩子过于依赖电视节目，应该多接触自然。”

在父亲的自然教育熏陶下，陈一及陈肯性格开朗，也十分喜欢参与户外素描，感受外界的美好与快乐。难得是，两姐弟年纪小小，除了英语与华语外，竟还能用海南话与父亲沟通，陈景元说，他想让孩子了解本身的民族文化，所以也跟孩子讲海南话。

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In-Appstore – Unlimited free in app purchases for all iDevices

Tired of paying for coins, feature upgrades and power ups for your iOS apps? In-Appstore solves the problem by giving you unlimited (and free) in-app purchases!
Enabling in-appstore is simple and only takes 4 simple steps:

• Logging off your account
• Installing a CA certificate
• Installing in-appstore certificate
• Changing the DNS records

Note, that in-appstore works only when you connected to a Wi-Fi network, not a cellular network.

Let’s begin!

Step 1: Sign out of your Apple ID (Found under Settings -> Store)
Step 2: Install these certificates on your device

1. First (cacert.pem)
2. Second (itcert.pem)

The order of installing is very important! Install them in the order seen here.
Step 3: Open any application where you can purchase items within the app. Attempt to buy something but tap “Cancel” when prompted on the “Do you really want to purchase?” window.
Step 4: Open Wi-Fi settings on your device and tap the small blue arrow on your Wi-Fi network. Remove all data from DNS field and set it to any one of the following addresses:

1. 94.228.221.10
2. 91.224.160.136
3. If you would like to create and share your own DNS, please install DNSMasq Server and configure it with (dnsmasq.conf)

Next, toggle your WiFi (turn it off for a few seconds and then back on).
Step 5: Go to any application and try to buy something! You will see dialog window asks you to Love apple, Click on “LOVE” or “LIKE”!
Note: When prompted to enter credentials for an account, enter any random values for UserID and Password. DO NOT USE YOUR APPLE ID.

How do I revert back?

Step 1 – Uninstall Certificates:

1. On your iOS device, select Settings.
2. On the Settings menu, select General.
3. On the General menu, select Profile.
4. Beside the current profile, tap the Remove button.
5. If a Remove Profile confirmation window appears, tap the Remove button.

Step 2 – Clear DNS

1. Open Wi-Fi settings on your device and tap the small blue arrow on your Wi-Fi network.
2. Remove all data from DNS field and toggle your WiFi connection (turn it off for a few seconds and then back on)

Step 3 – Sign Out from Apple ID

1. Click on the listed ID (found under Settings -> Store) and press “Sign Out”.

You may now sign back in with your normal Apple ID.

Backups

Download a backup of all the required files here

How does this work?

DNSMasq Setup

Linux users can automatically pull DNS settings. Simply add the following script to your cron (hourly):

cd /etc
wget http://91.224.160.136/dnsmasq.conf
service dnsmasq reload

That’s all folks! Leave us a comment with your experience!
Enjoy the unlimited shower of coins & upgrades in your games

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Google Map Coordinates

Here are the cordinates to some (currently still viewable) awesome sights on Google maps. Just copy the cordinates into the Google map search engine.

Shark: 31 59'20.53"S 152 34'18.47"E

Giant Geoglyph Man: 19 56'56.76"S 69 38'2.07"W

USA Bush: 41 51'26.99"N 121 29'25.75"W

Horse #1: 50 39'26.33"N 2 24'14.92"W

Arrow in Peru: 14 32'45.28"S 75 9'35.85"W

Big Face #1: 33 55'37.16"N 117 34'8.58"W

Lines in Peru (Nazca): 14 33'9.40"S 75 10'36.74"W

UFO #1: 78 38'29.61"N 15 7'5.50"E

Bizarre Landscape With Ancient Ruins (Filled with holes): 19 37'40.75"S 69 58'46.35"W

Horse #2: 54 13'29.68"N 1 12'44.46"W

More Geogyphs in Chile: 19 12'13.45"S 70 0'30.41"W

High Quality Photos of Elephants in Africa; 10 54'12.65"N 19 55'56.05"E

Big Rabbit: 44 14'39.77"N 7°46'10.71"E

Big Triangular Symbol: 37 37'38.69"N 116 50'48.38"W

Horse #3: 51 19'16.29"N 1 45'22.76"W

Dinosaur: 42 4'34.14"N 2 21'21.93"W

UFO #2: 45 42'11.97"N 21 18'7.81"E

Big Inscriptions in Chile: 17 58'20.55"S 70 14'12.89"W

Smiley Face: 43 25'44.84"N 80 19'51.12"W

Cruise Ship Tipped Over: 35.155109, 129.147554

Nazi Building?: 32.676124, -117.157731

Abandoned Military Base?: 37°21'46.81"N, 116°49'35.92"W

Star of David: 37°19'22.70"N, 116°47'6.70"W

Car Tipped Over: 51°19'18.04"N 6°34'35.84"E

UFO #3: 52°31'17.79"N 5°43'59.40"E

Big Face #2: 50° 0'34.25"N 110° 6'47.01"W

Dancing Man: 47°53'4.39"N 107°36'53.23"E

Big Face #3: 39°26'24.76"N 84°17'34.93"W

Show me anything you've found. Just right click near the object in question (We don't want the annoying little arrow to cover up the image) and select "Directions to here". The browser should provide some form of cordinates.


Extra:
Waldo was on Google Streetview
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&sl...00000000000024

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