The Last Bowl of Milk - Sheikh Sajid Umar

Online Electric Vehicle System (OLEV)

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology has established an Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) system. It is an electric vehicle which is provided energy by the road while stationary or moving. The power is supplied to such electric vehicles by the cables fixed in the road. A permanent direct connection is not needed by these cables in order to charge the vehicle. As an alternative, a magnetic field is created which is converted into electrical energy by the devices carried on the bus.  Lots of components that are present in almost every electric vehicle currently, for instance, heavy batteries, overhead trolley lines are left out due to this particular feature. In addition to this, these busses are not required to stop for recharging. The limited range is a drawback of these vehicles as they cannot ride on the side of the road that supports them.

The bus will be given 20 kHz and 100 kW (136 horsepower) electricity at an 85% maximum power transmission efficiency while keeping a distance of 17cm (6.7 inch) between the bus floor and the asphalt. 5% to 15% of the entire road surface needs to be rebuilt with the embedded cables. Formerly, this technology was successfully tested in a tramcar at an amusement park in Seoul.  Now, two OLEV buses are being tested which run between the train station and In-dong district in the city of Gumi, South Korea. This network entails 24km (15 miles) of road. The cables in the road only turn on when they sense an OLEV approaching and the intensity of electromagnetic field is well within limits enforced by international EMF standards. These features have been anticipated to lessen the exposure of pedestrians and other vehicles to the magnetic fields and will also look after the wastage of energy.

Anger Management

Understanding Anger

The emotion of anger is neither good nor bad. It’s perfectly healthy and normal to feel angry when you’ve been mistreated or wronged. The feeling isn't the problem—it's what you do with it that makes a difference. Anger becomes a problem when it harms you or others.

Why learning to control your anger is important

You might think that venting your anger is healthy, that the people around you are too sensitive, that your anger is justified, or that you need to show your fury to get respect. But the truth is that anger is much more likely to damage your relationships, impair your judgment, get in the way of success, and have a negative impact on the way people see you.

• Out-of-control anger hurts your physical health. Constantly operating at high levels of stress and tension is bad for your health. Chronic anger makes you more susceptible to heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol levels, a weakened immune system, insomnia, and high blood pressure.
• Out-of-control anger hurts your mental health. Chronic anger consumes huge amounts of mental energy and clouds your thinking, making it harder to concentrate, see the bigger picture, and enjoy life. It can also lead to stress, depression, and other mental health problems.
• Out-of-control anger hurts your career. Constructive criticism, creative differences, and heated debate can be healthy. But lashing out only alienates your colleagues, supervisors, or clients and erodes their respect. What’s more, a bad reputation can follow you wherever you go, making it harder and harder to get ahead.
• Out-of-control anger hurts your relationships with others. It causes lasting scars in the people you love most and gets in the way of your friendships and work relationships. Chronic, intense anger makes it hard for others to trust you, speak honestly, or feel comfortable—they never know what is going to set you off or what you will do. Explosive anger is especially damaging to children.

When to seek help for anger management

If your anger is still spiraling out of control, despite putting the previous anger management techniques into practice, or if you’re getting into trouble with the law or hurting others—you need more help. There are many therapists, classes, and programs for people with anger management problems. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. You’ll often find others in the same shoes, and getting direct feedback on techniques for controlling anger can be tremendously helpful.

• Therapy for anger problems. Therapy can be a great way to explore the reasons behind your anger. If you don’t know why you are getting angry, it’s very hard to control. Therapy provides a safe environment to learn more about your reasons and identify triggers for your anger. It’s also a safe place to practice new skills in expressing your anger.
• Anger management classes or groups.Anger management classes or groups allow you to see others coping with the same struggles. You will also learn tips and techniques for managing your anger and hear other people’s stories. For domestic violence issues, traditional anger management is usually not recommended. There are special classes that go to the issue of power and control that are at the heart of domestic violence.

If your loved one has an anger management problem

If your loved one has an anger problem, you probably feel like you’re walking on eggshells all the time. But always remember that you are not to blame for your loved one’s anger. There is never an excuse for physically or verbally abusive behavior. You have a right to be treated with respect and to live without fear of an angry outburst or a violent rage.

The Value of Dunya (World)

Post by Spreading Islam.

10 Sentences That Can Change Your Perspective.

15 Tonne Volvo Truck Driven by A Hamster

To exhibit the lightness of its new Volvo Dynamic Steering system, Volvo Trucks has set up a publicity stunt that uses a carrot-hungry, cute and cuddly hamster. As a sequel to its previous video featuring its president Claes Nilsson performing a stunt, Volvo released another video as component of the marketing campaign for its FMX trucks, showing that its newest steering system is so simple and effortless to handle that you can steer it with just the tip of your finger!

After training little hamster Charlie for weeks, the team placed the pint-sized rodent inside a a hamster cage/wheel mounted on top of the steering wheel, making the hamster, efficiently ‘steer’ the truck as it ran. The hamster was directed by the stunt driver Seon Rogers who handled the pedals and with a carrot as bait, guided Charlie to turn truck in necessary direction.

 

Volvo set out to show that the new 15-ton FMX truck could climb to the top of a dangerously steep and narrow rough quarry in Los Tres Cunados, in northwest Spain. It was a crazy experiment, as one mistake could have proven very costly for both the driver and the hamster Charlie; not to mention the damage to the awesome truck. Without a doubt, the test wasn’t as easy as shown in the edited commercial video, but it’s still highly impressive seeing a 175-gram hamster steering a 15-tonne truck up the road.

There were a few tense moments, like when the truck hit a big rock boulder sending it crashing down into the water below, but in the end Charlie managed to steer the large vehicle across the finish line. For Volvo to release the video, you know beforehand the driver and the hamster made it alive, but it still accounts for an attention-grabbing watch. It’s definitely an inspiring commercial.

 

History of The World's Most Favorite Game, FOOTBALL

The Game.

 

The contemporary history of the world's favorite game spans more than 100 years. It all began in 1863 in England, when rugby football and association football branched off on their different courses and the Football Association in England was formed - becoming the sport's first governing body. Both codes stemmed from a common root and both have a long and intricately branched ancestral tree. A search down the centuries reveals at least half a dozen different games, varying to different degrees, and to which the historical development of football has been traced back. Whether this can be justified in some instances is disputable. Nevertheless, the fact remains that people have enjoyed kicking a ball about for thousands of years and there is absolutely no reason to consider it an aberration of the more 'natural' form of playing a ball with the hands. On the contrary, apart from the need to employ the legs and feet in tough tussles for the ball, often without any laws for protection, it was recognised right at the outset that the art of controlling the ball with the feet was not easy and, as such, required no small measure of skill. The very earliest form of the game for which there is scientific evidence was an exercise from a military manual dating back to the second and third centuries BC in China.

This Han Dynasty forebear of football was called Tsu' Chu and it consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers and hair through an opening, measuring only 30-40cm in width, into a small net fixed onto long bamboo canes. According to one variation of this exercise, the player was not permitted to aim at his target unimpeded, but had to use his feet, chest, back and shoulders while trying to withstand the attacks of his opponents. Use of the hands was not permitted. 

Another form of the game, also originating from the Far East, was the Japanese Kemari, which began some 500-600 years later and is still played today. This is a sport lacking the competitive element of Tsu' Chu with no struggle for possession involved. Standing in a circle, the players had to pass the ball to each other, in a relatively small space, trying not to let it touch the ground. The Greek 'Episkyros' - of which few concrete details survive - was much livelier, as was the Roman 'Harpastum'. The latter was played out with a smaller ball by two teams on a rectangular field marked by boundary lines and a centre line. The objective was to get the ball over the opposition's boundary lines and as players passed it between themselves, trickery was the order of the day. The game remained popular for 700-800 years, but, although the Romans took it to Britain with them, the use of feet was so small as to scarcely be of consequence.

The Laws.

Football has come a long way since its first laws were drawn up in London in 1863. That historic meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern led not only to the foundation of the Football Association but, moreover, to the game's inaugural set of common rules.

Although undergraduates at Cambridge had made an earlier attempt to achieve a uniform standard in the late 1840s - albeit still allowing the ball to be caught - it was not until 1863 that football, a sport played down the centuries in often-violent village contests and then embraced in the early 1800s by the English public schools, had a fixed rulebook.

One club represented at the Freemasons' Tavern, Blackheath, refused to accept the non-inclusion of hacking (kicking below the knee) and subsequently became a founder of the Rugby Football Union. However, the 11 others reached an agreement and, under the charge of one Ebenezer Cobb Morley, 14 laws were soon penned for a game that would, in the following century, become the most played, watched and talked about activity on the planet.

1. Original offside rule The offside rule formed part of the original rules in 1863 but it was a far remove from the law as we know it today. Any attacking player ahead of the ball was deemed to be offside  meaning early tactical systems featured as many as eight forwards, as the only means of advancing the ball was by dribbling or scrimmaging as in rugby. In the late 1860s, the FA made the momentous decision to adopt the three-player rule, where an attacker would be called offside if positioned in front of the third-last defender. Now the passing game could develop.
Despite the unification of the rules and the creation of the FA in 1863, disputes, largely involving Sheffield clubs who had announced their own set of ideas in 1857, persisted into the late 1870s. However, the creation of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) finally put an end to all arguments. Made up of two representatives from each of the four associations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland), the IFAB met for the first time on 2 June 1886 to guard the Laws of the Game. Then, as today, a three-quarters majority was needed for a proposal to be passed.

2. Gradual changes
In those early years, the game gradually assumed the features we take for granted today. Goal-kicks were introduced in 1869 and corner-kicks in 1872. In 1878 a referee used a whistle for the first time. Yet there was no such thing as a penalty up until 1891. In the public schools where modern football originated, there was an assumption that a gentleman would never deliberately commit a foul. Amid the increased competitiveness, however, the penalty, or as it was originally called 'the kick of death', was introduced as one of a number of dramatic changes to the Laws of the Game in 1891.

Penalties, of course, had to be awarded by someone and following a proposal from the Irish Association, the referee was allowed on to the field of play. True to its gentlemanly beginnings, disputes were originally settled by the two team captains, but, as the stakes grew, so did the number of complaints. By the time the first FA Cup and international fixture took place, two umpires, one per team, were being employed to whom each side could appeal. But it was not the ideal solution as decisions were often only reached following lengthy delays. The referee, at first, stood on the touchline keeping time and was 'referred' to if the umpires could not agree but that all changed in 1891.

2. Referees introduced From that date a single person with powers to send players off as well as give penalties and free-kicks without listening to appeals became a permanent fixture in the game. The two umpires became linesmen, or 'assistant referees' as they are called today. Also during that meeting in Scotland, the goal net was accepted into the laws, completing the make-up of the goal after the introduction of the crossbar to replace tape 16 years previously.

With the introduction of rules, the features of the football pitch as we know it slowly began to appear. The kick-off required a centre spot; keeping players ten yards from the ball at kick-off, brought the centre circle. It is interesting to note that when the penalty came in 1891, it was not taken from a spot but anywhere along a 12-yard line before 1902.

The 1902 decision to award penalties for fouls committed in an area 18 yards from the goal line and 44 yards wide, created both the penalty box and penalty spot. Another box 'goal area', commonly called the 'six-yard-box', six yards long and 20 wide, replaced a semi circle in the goalmouth. However it was not for another 35 years that the final piece of the jigsaw, the 'D' shape at the edge of the penalty area.

3. Back-pass rule changed Despite these changes, tactics during the 1990 FIFA World Cup™ suggested something more needed to be done. The IFAB responded in 1992 by banning goalkeepers from handling deliberate back-passes. Although the new rule was greeted with scepticism by some at first, in the fullness of time it would become widely appreciated. The game's Law-makers then struck another blow against cynicism in 1998 when the fierce tackle from behind became a red-card offence. With a new century approaching, the commitment to forward-thinking football could not have been clearer.

FIFA joins IFAB

 Football fast became as popular elsewhere as it had been in Britain and in May 1904, FIFA was founded in Paris with seven original members: France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain (represented by Madrid FC), Sweden and Switzerland. There was some initial disquiet in the United Kingdom to the idea of a world body governing the sport it had created rules for, but this uncertainty was soon brushed aside. Former FA board member Daniel Burley Woolfall replaced Frenchman Robert Guérin as FIFA President in 1906 - the year the FA joined - and in 1913 FIFA became a member of the IFAB.

In the restructured decision-making body, FIFA was given the same voting powers as the four British associations put together. There remained eight votes and the same 75 per cent majority needed for a proposal to be passed, but instead of two each, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland now had one, while FIFA was given four. On the field of play, the number of goals increased aided by the 1912 rule preventing goalkeepers from handling the ball outside the penalty area and another in 1920 banning offsides from throw-ins. In 1925, the three-player offside rule became a two-player one, representing another radical change that propelled the game further forward.

Rous rewrites the Laws

 By the late 1930s it was felt that the Laws of the Game, now totalling 17, required a makeover. The original Laws had been penned in the language of Victorian England and since then, there had been more than half a century of changes and amendments. Hence the task given to Stanley Rous, a member of the IFAB and the official who first employed the diagonal system of refereeing, to clean the cobwebs and draft the Laws in a rational order. The Englishman, who would become FIFA President in 1961, did such a good job that not until 1997 were the Laws revised for as second time. Despite football's phenomenal popularity, there was a general agreement in the late 1980s that the Laws of the Game should be fine-tuned in the face of defensive tactics. If fan violence was a serious off-the-pitch problem during that period, then on it the increasingly high stakes meant a real risk of defensive tactics gaining the upper hand.

Hence a series of amendments, often referred to as for the 'Good of the Game', which were designed to help promote attacking football. They began with the offside law in 1990. The advantage was now given to the attacking team. If the attacker was in line with the penultimate defender, he was now onside. In the same year, the 'professional foul' - denying an opponent a clear goal-scoring opportunity - became a sending-off offence.

World's Largest Pilgrimage - HAJJ Documentary

Eiduladha is around the corner. Please feel free to watch this short video about the world's largest pilgrimage.

Source: Vice Channel on YouTube.

Smart Glasses Demo by EPSON

Today, let me share to you about this technology.

It does seem clunky, that’s a given. However, one of these clunky looking Epson Moverio has been tweaked.  The improvement comes in the form of a camera, microphone and a 9-axis motion sensor setup. It was kind of okay as long as they were adding camera and mic but this 9-axis motion sensor setup seems like they’ve gone overboard, do you think? Well, this setup has been added to provide with some brilliant Augmented Reality experience for the user. The gadget has some awesome voice and gesture controls. That’s not all that this gadget has to offer. This gadget has what the developers like to call the Northstar. What is Northstar? Northstar is a collection of field of viewpoints. One may call them a series and one need only turn their head toward it to access the Augmented Reality content that is associated with them. A few examples of AR content include but are in no way limited to traffic patterns and directions to a particular location. Okay, that’s cool, yes? Well this one will really amaze you then; using the Northstar you can ‘jack’ into other person’s live video feed.  This feature is available for your friends who are included in your social network and using this amazing feature one can enjoy the view of mountains while he sits in his lounge on the comfy couch.

We have talked about wearable tech, science sure is getting us things we used to fantasize about or saw in fancy Bond series. The idea of wearing head gear like Iron Man or using glasses that give you the feel as if you’re from future is something all of us want. Anyhow, what we have for you right now is somewhat similar to Google Glass but there are some added features which you might not be able to find in Google Glass. Epson Moverio was supposedly meant to be used as a video reviewing device for personal use. However, as we all have heard, criss-crossing is the talk of the day, remember the flying car? The developers at APX Labs, it seems, are fan of making crosses too. So when this Epson Moverio got into their hands they saw an opportunity and seized it.

10 Makanan yang dikatakan tidak sihat sebenarnya SIHAT?

Bagaimanakah anda menilai sesuatu hidangan itu dikatakan makanan yang sihat dan berkualiti atau kurang sihat? Masih ramai lagi yang sukar untuk mengenalpasti dan menentukan samada adakah makanan yang anda nikmati sihat atau tidak. Ianya adalah subjektif untuk dikatakan kerana nutrisi sesuatu hidangan itu tidak bergantung kepada satu bahan semata-mata dan cara hidangan tersebut.

1. Keju
Keju tinggi dengan kalori dan lemak? Benar.. akan tetapi, terdapat juga kelebihan yang terdapat disebaliknya. Pastikan kita membicarakan tentang keju yang berkualiti tinggi dan bukannya yang terdapat di dalam pizza dan sebagainya. Pengambilan produk tenusu dalam pemakanan harian anda dapat membantu mengurangkan risiko penyakit jantung dan kencing manis. Selain daripada itu, kajian juga mendapati ia dapat membantu dalam proses mengurangkan berat badan. Keju adalah tinggi dalam protein dan merupakan sumber kalsium yang terbaik.

2. Kopi
Minuman yang membuatkan hampir ramai yang ketagih dengan sifat semulajadi bahan kopi ini memberikan kesan negatif kepada sesetengah individu seperti menyebabkan kebimbangan, kegelisahan, keresahan, insomnia, sakit kepala, berdebar-debar jantung dan sebagainya. Harus ditekankan disini, kopi adalah sumber tenaga yang baik. Akan tetapi, hadkan pengambilan dan menjaga kualiti minuman tersebut dimana elakkan meletakkan gula berlebihan dan tidak mencampurkannya ia dengan susu pekat manis. Amalkan meminum kopi kosong yang sebenarnya mempunyai beberapa kelebihan yang tidak kita ketahui. Kopi dapat meningkatkan mood, masa reaksi, ingatan, kewaspadaan dan fungsi kognitif umum. Selain daripada itu, ia boleh membantu anda membakar lemak dengan merangsang sistem saraf pusat anda, dan meningkatkan metabolisme anda. Akhir sekali, ia juga dapat meningkatkan jangka hayat anda.

"Kopi adalah sumber tenaga yang baik. Akan tetapi, hadkan pengambilan dan menjaga kualiti minuman tersebut dimana elakkan meletakkan gula berlebihan dan tidak mencampurkannya ia dengan susu pekat manis."

3. Durian
Pasti ramai yang kurang gemar dengan bau yang kurang menyenangkan dari Raja Buah ini. Akan tetapi, ada juga yang gilakan rasa lemak yang dirasai ketika makan buah ini. Buah yang tinggi lemak dan tinggi dengan kalori? Benar akan tetapi pengambilan yang tidak melebihi kalori harian bukanlah penyebab untuk kita terlepas dari mendapatkan kebaikan dari Raja Buah ini. Durian adalah tinggi dengan nilai seratnya. Ia juga mengandungi vitamin C, Vitamin B6, dan folat. Ia juga tinggi dengan potassium dimana ia dapat membantu mengawal kadar jantung dan tekanan darah.

4. Tiram
Bau yang kurang enak serta rasa yang kurang menyenangkan dari hasil laut ini membuatkan sesetengah orang kurang gemar untuk menikmatinya. Akan tetapi, hasil laut ini juga tidak kurang hebatnya dari segi kelebihan dan sumbangan vitaminnya. Tiram tinggi dengan sumber zinc dimana ia merupakan sumber mineral penting untuk pengeluaran sperma dan kesihatan seksual lelaki dan meningkatkan hormon seks. Selain daripada itu, ia tinggi dengan sumber protein tanpa lemak serta tinggi dengan Omega-3, magnesium dan vitamin-E dimana dapat mengurangkan risiko serangan jantung dan keradangan. Seterusnya, ia mengandungi antiviral yang didapati menghalang tumor daripada membentuk dalam tempoh masa yang panjang.

5. Daging Merah
Sesetengah orang ada yang kurang gemar makanan ini. Ada yang mengatakan ianya makanan yang menggemukkan dan berkolesterol tinggi. Sebenarnya, samada ianya memudaratkan atau tidak adalah bergantung kepada jumlah makanan yang diambil. 

"Daging merah adalah sumber vitamin D yang terbaik. Kajian di Jepun mendapati bahawa lemak yang lebih tepu mereka makan, lebih rendah risiko strok. Selain daripada itu, daging merah juga terdapat zinc yang penting untuk fungsi-fungsi fisiologi dan merupakan sebahagian daripada struktur bagi banyak protein dan enzim."

6. Ghee
Penggunaan ghee dalam masakan amat popular lagi-lagi dikalangan masyarakat kaum India. Sesetangah kajian mengatakan penggunaan ghee yang berlebihan dapat meningkatkan risiko penyakit jantung. Akan tetapi, untuk mendapatkan khasiat dari penggunaan tersebut, elakkanlah menggunakan ghee ini secara berlebihan. Dari segi Ayurveda, minyak ghee ini dapat menggalakkan pembelajaran dan meningkatkan ingatan seseorang. Ia juga penuh dengan vitamin larut lemak A, D, E dan K. Kandungan yang terdapat didalam minyak ghee ini mengandungi asid linoleik conjugated (PTK). Ia adalah asid lemak antioksidan yang boleh mengurangkan risiko beberapa jenis kanser dan membantu dalam penurunan berat badan.

7. Hati Lembu
Organ dalaman sememangnya tidak digalakkan untuk diamalkan. Akan tetapi, bagi penggemar hati lembu, terdapat juga kelebihan yang dapat diperolehi dari hidangan yang diberikan. Walaubagaimanapun, hadkan pengambilan anda agar tidak berlebihan.  Hati lembu mengandungi pelbagai nutrient tambahan seperti zinc, vitamin B12, dan vitamin A. Sumber ini dapat membantu mengurangkan penyakit yang berbahaya Ia adalah sumber protein yang baik. Ia juga dapat melindungi daripada kanser, keletihan, dan mengoptimumkan sistem imun anda.

8. Kentang
Sumber karbohidrat ini selalunya dielakkan pengambilannya oleh individu yang sedang mengurangkan berat badan. Benar, kentang tinggi dengan kandungan karbohidratnya. Akan tetapi, lagi sekali, jika anda sudah mengira jumlah pengambilan karbohidrat harian anda, anda harus mengambil sumber tersebut dari kentang. 
Jika anda ingin mengurangkan berat badan, makan makanan yang rendah Indeks glisemik (GI).Kentang telah dikenalpasti sebagai tinggi dalam GI. Akan tetapi, kajian yg telah dijalankan, tahap GI kentang berbeza dari segi penyediaannya. GI kentang adalah lebih rendah apabila mereka dimakan sedikit sejuk daripada panas, dan apabila direbus dan dimakan keseluruhan dan bukannya dilenyekkan.

"Kentang dapat menggantikan keinginan anda untuk gula-gula dan roti apabila pada diet rendah karbohidrat. "

Selain daripada itu, kentang juga amat sesuai untuk individu yang menghadapi plateu ketika mengurangkan berat badan dimana ia dapat mengembalikan tahap leptin anda. Ia dipanggil teknik refeeding dan dapat mengembalikan semula proses pengurangan berat badan.

9. Sos tomato
Sememangnya pasti ramai yang mengetahui bahawa sos adalah bahan proses yang tinggi dengan kandungan gula dan garam. Pastikan anda menggunakan sos tomato yang berkualiti tinggi jika ingin menikmatinya agar dapat mengelakkan dari penambilan sos tomato yang kurang berkualiti dan sebagainya. Bahan utama penyediaan sos adalah dari sirap jagung tinggi fruktosa (HFCS). Ia merupakan pemanis yang murah dan senang didapati yang boleh menyebabkan peningkatan gula dalam darah dan akhirnya menyebabkan obesiti. Oleh itu, untuk mendapatkan dan mengelakkan dari pengambilan HFCS yang tinggi, sos tomato Heinz adalah sos yang kurang menggunakan HFCS. Selain daripada itu, terdapat juga kelebihan memakan sos ini dimana ia mengandungi kandungan lycopene. Lycopene merupakan antioksidan yang kira-kira 100 kali lebih berkuasa daripada vitamin E. Ia adalah berguna untuk merawat penyakit kardiovaskular, strok, kencing manis, osteoporosis dan kemandulan lelaki.

10. Daun Gandum
Selain bau yang kurang menyenangkan, daun gandum ini amat pahit dan kurang enak. Akan tetapi, khasiat yang terdapat pada daun ini sangat berguna seperti ia mengandungi klorofil. Klorofil dapat mengurangkan kadar kanser kolon, dan ia boleh menjadi terapeutik untuk ulser kolitis.


Source: http://kevinzahri.com/blog/

Finding Jennah by Yasmin Mogahed

I have spent a lot of my life trying to reconcile between hardship and ease. On the one hand, we are told again and again that the straight path is not easy and requires struggle and sacrifice. But on the other hand, as humans we always desire ease. What I have come to realize is that the path will always have challenges, tests and trials. There will be hardships and there will be storms. But, if Allah wills, you can be given ease *within* the hardship. The one who finds refuge in Allah, remains dry—even during the most powerful storm. Outside, it may be raining, but inside the refuge of Allah, it’s dry. Outside, it may be storming, but inside yourself, there is calm. Even the flames of your life can be made ‘bardan wa salama’ (coolness and safety), as they were on Ibraheem (AS). So my focus was wrong. I was trying to create a jennah, a perfect, storm-free, fireless world, outside. But this doesn’t exist in dunya. I needed to shift the focus. Jennah—a calm, peaceful world—can exist inside. Your sanctuary is inside yourself. No one can take that sanctuary away from you. No storm can affect it. No rain can reach it. Work on building *that* jennah. Work on entering *that* jennah.
And you will have jennah in this life, and the next.


************************************************************

Yasmin Mogahed received her B.S. Degree in Psychology and her Masters in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After completing her graduate work, she taught Islamic Studies and worked as a writing instructor for Cardinal Stritch University, and a staff columnist for the Islam section of InFocus News. Currently she’s a freelance writer and international speaker. She also hosts Serenity, her show on One Legacy Radio and maintains her website, yasminmogahed.com.

Source: http://www.yasminmogahed.com

Electricity In Vietnam

 

In 1894 Prince Henri d’Orléans published a book of his journey through France’s then-sprawling empire. His florid account was largely upbeat. Yet it soured along the northern coastline of Vietnam, where he lamented the “dilatory attitude of a red-tape administration” when it came to exploiting the area’s coal reserves.

Now red tape is again impeding foreign investment in Vietnam’s energy sector. The country’s electricity supply is fairly reliable—if compared with Myanmar and Pakistan. But daily life is punctuated by brownouts which analysts say will intensify unless officials reform a state-dominated power market and entice foreign companies to build more power plants. That also has sobering implications for the ruling Communist Party, which is trying to revive a slow economy and boost its sagging legitimacy.

In July an amendment to Vietnam’s 2004 electricity law reaffirmed a long-stated plan to create a competitive electricity market. But the government is scrambling to raise the roughly $5 billion in investment it needs each year to meet the soaring energy demands of Vietnam’s 90m people. The chief problem is the stranglehold that Electricity Vietnam (EVN) and other state-owned companies have over the power grid.

Vietnamese law requires EVN to sell much of its electricity at an unprofitable average of seven cents per kilowatt-hour. It means the company racks up debts with fellow state behemoths supplying coal and gas. A senior EVN executive recently told a state-run newspaper that losses between 2009 and 2011 exceeded $940m and that a 5% price rise in August will hardly improve things.

With energy demand growing by up to 14% a year, the situation cannot hold. The country is running down its easily exploitable reserves of coal and gas and by 2015 will become a net energy importer. Vietnamese investors do not have the money to bankroll the building of the sophisticated thermal plants needed to boost power output and replace Vietnam’s fleet of clunkers. (A plan to develop from scratch about 10,700 megawatts of nuclear capacity by 2030 is a pipe dream.) Yet given low electricity prices, few foreign investors see any profit in financing new plants.

Prices need to rise sharply, but cheap power is an essential component of the party’s social contract. Leaders worry that steep increases could spark unrest. The country’s poorest are increasingly sensitive to cost-of-living increases.

And so it remains unclear quite how far Vietnam will go with its plan to create a competitive and more transparent power market, one in which the state is supposed to play a less dominant role. Officials at EVN and other state-owned power producers benefit from state regulation, sometimes through corrupt practices, even as the companies they work for lose money. They have a vested interest in blocking structural reform. What is more, the government is wary of international financial exposure. It has not forgotten the fiasco at Vinashin, a huge state-owned shipbuilder. It ran up debt and in 2010 missed its repayment of a $600m loan arranged by Credit Suisse. The default forced a downgrade of the country’s sovereign debt.

Vietnam has so far been wary of giving generous incentives to foreign investors for power-grid development, says Oliver Massmann, a lawyer in Hanoi who specialises in energy. However, he warns, the lack of foreign investment in Vietnam’s energy future may mean that brownouts ultimately become rolling blackouts. That would compel international factory owners to consider migrating to Thailand, Indonesia and other countries in South-East Asia with more reliable supplies of power.

Meanwhile, an increasingly stressed electricity grid threatens to act as a brake on the economy at a time when many Vietnamese already blame the government for economic mismanagement. The last thing it wants is people taking to the streets in frustration over power cuts.

Source: The Economist | Aug 2013

The Authenticity Of Quran by SHEIKH MUHAMMAD NURUDDEEN LEMU

Diabetes, what actually is...

Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood glucose, commonly called blood sugar. Glucose is vital to your health because it's an important source of energy for the cells that make up your muscles and tissues. It's also your brain's main source of fuel.If you have diabetes, no matter what type, it means you have too much glucose in your blood, although the reasons may differ. Too much glucose can lead to serious health problems.Chronic diabetes conditions include type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Potentially reversible diabetes conditions include prediabetes — when your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes — and gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy but may resolve after the baby is delivered. 

Diabetes symptoms vary depending on how much your blood sugar is elevated. Some people, especially those with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, may not experience symptoms initially. In type 1 diabetes, symptoms tend to come on quickly and be more severe. Some of the signs and symptoms of type 1 and type 2 diabetes include:

• Increased thirst
• Frequent urination
• Extreme hunger
• Unexplained weight loss
• Presence of ketones in the urine
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing sores
• High blood pressure
• Frequent infections, such as gums or skin infections and vaginal or bladder infections

Although type 1 diabetes can develop at any age, it typically appears during childhood or adolescence. Type 2 diabetes, the more common type, can develop at any age and is often preventable. To understand diabetes, first you must understand how glucose is normally processed in the body.

How insulin works
Insulin is a hormone that comes from the pancreas, a gland situated behind and below the stomach.

• The pancreas secretes insulin into the bloodstream.
• The insulin circulates, enabling sugar to enter your cells.
• Insulin lowers the amount of sugar in your bloodstream.
• As your blood sugar level drops, so does the secretion of insulin from your pancreas.

The role of glucose
Glucose — a sugar — is a main source of energy for the cells that make up muscles and other tissues.

• Glucose comes from two major sources: food and your liver.
• Sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, where it enters cells with the help of insulin.
• Your liver stores and makes glucose.
• When your insulin levels are low, such as when you haven't eaten in a while, the liver metabolizes stored glycogen into glucose to keep your glucose level within a normal range.

Causes of type 1 diabetes
In type 1 diabetes, your immune system — which normally fights harmful bacteria or viruses — attacks and destroys your insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This leaves you with little or no insulin. Instead of being transported into your cells, sugar builds up in your bloodstream. Type 1 is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental factors, though exactly what many of those factors are is still unclear. 

Causes of pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes
In pre-diabetes — which can lead to type 2 diabetes — and in type 2 diabetes, your cells become resistant to the action of insulin, and your pancreas is unable to make enough insulin to overcome this resistance. Instead of moving into your cells where it's needed for energy, sugar builds up in your bloodstream. Exactly why this happens is uncertain, although as in type 1 diabetes, it's believed that genetic and environmental factors play a role in the development of type 2. Being overweight is strongly linked to the development of type 2 diabetes, but not everyone with type 2 is overweight.

 

Causes of gestational diabetes
During pregnancy, the placenta produces hormones to sustain your pregnancy. These hormones make your cells more resistant to insulin. As your placenta grows larger in the second and third trimesters, it secretes more of these hormones — making it even harder for insulin to do its job.

Normally, your pancreas responds by producing enough extra insulin to overcome this resistance. But sometimes your pancreas can't keep up. When this happens, too little glucose gets into your cells and too much stays in your blood. This is gestational diabetes. 

Risk factors for type 1 diabetes
Although the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, genetic factors likely play a role. Your risk of developing type 1 diabetes increases if you have a parent or sibling who has type 1 diabetes. Environmental factors, such as exposure to a viral illness, also likely play some role in type 1 diabetes. Other factors that may increase your risk include:

• The presence of damaging immune system cells that make autoantibodies. Sometimes family members of people with type 1 diabetes are tested for the presence of diabetes autoantibodies. If you have these autoantibodies, you have an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. But, not everyone who has these autoantibodies develops type 1.
• Dietary factors. A number of dietary factors have been linked to an increased risk of type 1 diabetes, such as low vitamin D consumption; early exposure to cow's milk or cow's milk formula; or exposure to cereals before 4 months of age. However, none of these factors has been shown to cause type 1 diabetes.
• Race. Type 1 diabetes is more common in whites than in other races.
• Geography. Certain countries, such as Finland and Sweden, have higher rates of type 1 diabetes.

Risk factors for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes
Researchers don't fully understand why some people develop prediabetes and type 2 diabetes and others don't. It's clear that certain factors increase the risk, however, including:

• Weight. The more fatty tissue you have, the more resistant your cells become to insulin.
• Inactivity. The less active you are, the greater your risk. Physical activity helps you control your weight, uses up glucose as energy and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin. Exercising less than three times a week may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Family history. Your risk increases if a parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
• Race. Although it's unclear why, people of certain races — including blacks, Hispanics, American Indians and Asians — are at higher risk.
• Age. Your risk increases as you get older. This may be because you tend to exercise less, lose muscle mass and gain weight as you age. But type 2 diabetes is also increasing dramatically among children, adolescents and younger adults.
• Gestational diabetes. If you developed gestational diabetes when you were pregnant, your risk of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes later increases. If you gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds (4 kilograms), you're also at risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome. For women, having polycystic ovary syndrome — a common condition characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth and obesity — increases the risk of diabetes.
• High blood pressure. Having blood pressure over 140/90mm Hg is linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Abnormal cholesterol levels. If you have low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol, your risk of type 2 diabetes is higher. Low levels of HDL are defined as below 35 mg/dL.
• High levels of triglycerides. Triglycerides are a fat carried in the blood. If your triglyceride levels are above 250 mg/dL, your risk of diabetes increases.

Risk factors for gestational diabetes
Any pregnant woman can develop gestational diabetes, but some women are at greater risk than are others. Risk factors for gestational diabetes include:

• Age. Women older than age 25 are at increased risk.
• Family or personal history. Your risk increases if you have prediabetes — a precursor to type 2 diabetes — or if a close family member, such as a parent or sibling, has type 2 diabetes. You're also at greater risk if you had gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy, if you delivered a very large baby or if you had an unexplained stillbirth.
• Weight. Being overweight before pregnancy increases your risk.
• Race. For reasons that aren't clear, women who are black, Hispanic, American Indian or Asian are more likely to develop gestational diabetes.

Depending on what type of diabetes you have, blood sugar monitoring, insulin and oral medications may play a role in your treatment. But no matter what type of diabetes you have, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and monitoring your blood sugar levels are key to managing your diabetes.

 

Treatments for all types of diabetes
An important part of managing all types of diabetes is maintaining a healthy weight through a healthy diet and exercise plan:

• Healthy eating. Contrary to popular perception, there's no diabetes diet. You'll need to center your diet on more fruits, vegetables and whole grains — foods that are high in nutrition and fiber and low in fat and calories — and cut down on animal products, refined carbohydrates and sweets. In fact, it's the best eating plan for the entire family. Sugary foods are OK once in a while, as long as they're included in your meal plan.
  Yet understanding what and how much to eat can be a challenge. A registered dietitian can help you create a meal plan that fits your health goals, food preferences and lifestyle. This may include carbohydrate counting, especially if you have type 1 diabetes.
  
• Physical activity. Everyone needs regular aerobic exercise, and people who have diabetes are no exception. Exercise lowers your blood sugar level by transporting sugar to your cells, where it's used for energy. Exercise also increases your sensitivity to insulin, which means your body needs less insulin to transport sugar to your cells. Get your doctor's OK to exercise. Then choose activities you enjoy, such as walking, swimming or biking. What's most important is making physical activity part of your daily routine. Aim for at least 30 minutes or more of aerobic exercise most days of the week. If you haven't been active for a while, start slowly and build up gradually.

Treatments for type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Treatment for type 1 diabetes involves insulin injections or the use of an insulin pump, frequent blood sugar checks and carbohydrate counting. Treatment of type 2 diabetes primarily involves monitoring of your blood sugar, along with diabetes medications, insulin or both.

• Monitoring your blood sugar. Depending on your treatment plan, you may check and record your blood sugar level several times a week to three or more times a day. Careful monitoring is the only way to make sure that your blood sugar level remains within your target range. People who receive insulin therapy may also choose to monitor their blood sugar levels with a continuous glucose monitor. Although this technology doesn't yet replace the glucose meter, it can provide important information about trends in blood sugar levels.
  
• Insulin. Most people with type 1 diabetes need insulin therapy to survive. Some people with type 2 diabetes also need insulin therapy. Often insulin is injected using a fine needle and syringe or an insulin pen — a device that looks like an ink pen, except the cartridge is filled with insulin. Many types of insulin are available, including rapid-acting insulin, long-acting insulin and intermediate options. Depending on your needs, your doctor may prescribe a mixture of insulin types to use throughout the day and night. 
  
  
• Oral or other medications. Sometimes other oral or injected medications are prescribed as well. Some diabetes medications stimulate your pancreas to produce and release more insulin. Others inhibit the production and release of glucose from your liver, which means you need less insulin to transport sugar into your cells. Still others block the action of stomach or intestinal enzymes that break down carbohydrates or make your tissues more sensitive to insulin.
• Transplantation. In some people who have type 1 diabetes, a pancreas transplant may be an option. Islet transplants are being studied as well. With a successful pancreas transplant, you would no longer need insulin therapy. But transplants aren't always successful — and these procedures pose serious risks. You need a lifetime of immune-suppressing drugs to prevent organ rejection. These drugs can have serious side effects, including a high risk of infection, organ injury and cancer. Because the side effects can be more dangerous than the diabetes, transplants are usually reserved for people whose diabetes can't be controlled or those who have serious complications.
• Bariatric surgery. Although it is not specifically considered a treatment for type 2 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes who also have a body mass index higher than 35 may benefit from this type of surgery. People who've undergone gastric bypass have seen significant improvements in their blood sugar levels. However, this procedure's long-term risks and benefits for type 2 diabetes aren't yet known.

Treatment for gestational diabetes
Controlling your blood sugar level is essential to keeping your baby healthy and avoiding complications during delivery. In addition to maintaining a healthy diet and exercising, your treatment plan may include monitoring your blood sugar and, in some cases, using insulin.

Your health care provider will also monitor your blood sugar level during labor. If your blood sugar rises, your baby may release high levels of insulin — which can lead to low blood sugar right after birth.

Treatment for pre-diabetes
If you have pre-diabetes, healthy lifestyle choices can help you bring your blood sugar level back to normal or at least keep it from rising toward the levels seen in type 2 diabetes. Maintaining a healthy weight through exercise and healthy eating can help. Exercising at least 150 minutes a week and losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight may prevent or delay type 2 diabetes.

Sometimes medications — such as metformin (Glucophage, Glumetza, others) — also are an option if you're at high risk of diabetes, including when your prediabetes is worsening or if you have cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease or polycystic ovary syndrome.

In other cases, medications to control cholesterol — statins, in particular — and high blood pressure medications are needed. Your doctor might prescribe low-dose aspirin therapy to help prevent cardiovascular disease if you're at high risk. 

Type 1 diabetes can't be prevented. However, the same healthy lifestyle choices that help treat pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes can help prevent them.

• Eat healthy foods. Choose foods low in fat and calories. Focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Strive for variety to prevent boredom.
• Get more physical activity. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day. Take a brisk daily walk. Ride your bike. Swim laps. If you can't fit in a long workout, break it up into smaller sessions spread throughout the day.
• Lose excess pounds. If you're overweight, losing even 5 percent of your body weight — for example, 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) if you weigh 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) — can reduce the risk of diabetes. To keep your weight in a healthy range, focus on permanent changes to your eating and exercise habits. Motivate yourself by remembering the benefits of losing weight, such as a healthier heart, more energy and improved self-esteem.

Sometimes medication is an option as well. Oral diabetes drugs such as metformin (Glucophage, Glumetza, others) may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes — but healthy lifestyle choices remain essential.

Petikan Ustaz Don Daniyal - Kenapa Hati Menjadi Keras

Maintain Human Relationship

      

Formula for maintaining good human relationship. Every human is a divine being. 

I treat everyone with utmost respect and be a good finder, not a fault finder.

•     When you meet someone imagine that it is your first and last time to meet  the person. Make others like themselves a little bit more and they will like us forever. 
•     Say good things to everyone you meet, remember their names and call them  their names even if they are general worker. 
•     Be genuinely interested in everyone you meet. Be an interactive listener. Let them talk about themselves. Let your friends excel you do not excel your friend. 
•    Always appreciate, acknowledge and do not criticism when you meet a person. 
•    Whenever you meet someone always find something nice about them to compliment. Treat others better than you want to be treated. Smile genuinely. Smile with your eyes and your body.  
•      Find something good about others and say it out.

Swansea (2) vs (2) Liverpool

Hi everyone...as a Liverpool fan, i just want to highlight about last night's BPL game between Swansea vs Liverpool. Jonjo Shelvey went from hero to villain and back again against his former club as Swansea ended Liverpool's 100% start to the Premier League season in a frenetic 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium. Shelvey, who left the Reds for south Wales in the summer, fired the Swans into the lead after just 87 seconds.

However, two terrible errors from the midfielder allowed the in-form Daniel Sturridge and Liverpool debutant Victor Moses to put the visitors ahead. However, Shelvey redeemed himself as he laid on an equaliser for Michu. Brendan Rodgers has brought the Merseysiders to his former club with three wins from three on the board, but they were given a rude awakening when Shelvey rounded £18million signing Mamadou Sakho with ease before curling left-footed into the net. 

The England international initially celebrated with gusto but reined himself in in front of the away end. But he had few reasons to smile just 99 seconds later as a horrible backpass ended with Sturridge scoring his 12th goal in 10 games. He then compounded the mistake by hitting a pass straight to Moses, who raced away to steer beyond Michel Vorm. But, with his temper beginning to fray, Shelvey's clever header set Michu up for his first league goal of the season to cap a remarkable night for the former Charlton man.

So much of the build-up had centred on Shelvey's first meeting with his former employers, and he made a dream start. The midfielder initially scuffed an attempted volley from Jordan Henderson's poor header, but regained control to ghost pass Sakho and produce a lovely left-footed finish at the second attempt.

But his joy was brief as, still full of adrenaline, he played a blind backpass and failed to spot Sturridge lurking; the striker needed no second invitation. Shelvey, perhaps understandably, took a few minutes to regain his composure but was guilty of being too eager to make amends, as he scythed down Philippe Coutinho before blazing well over the bar.

Liverpool took a stranglehold on possession and the pace of Moses was proving a real problem for the Swansea defence. Ben Davies had to block from Henderson after one rangy run from the Nigerian, before he gave Sturridge a simple finish after outfoxing Angel Rangel and Nathan Dyer, but the striker headed straight at Vorm, who deflected the ball wide. 

Swansea responded with a lovely exchange of passes between Michu and Wilfried Bony, but the Ivory Coast striker's shot did not have enough power to trouble Simon Mignolet. Shelvey then took centre stage again, his risky pass went straight to Moses, who drove at a retreating Swans' rearguard to beat Vorm.  Swansea could have levelled inside a minute, but Martin Skrtel pulled off a magnificent last-gasp challenge to deny Bony a tap-in after Mignolet had parried a Dyer shot he should have held.

Liverpool almost extended their lead seven minutes into the second half. Swansea were caught sleeping at a free-kick as Henderson crept in at the back post, but Vorm saved from Andre Wisdom after the midfielder had pushed the ball across goal. Shelvey's night almost plumbed new depths moments later as he squared up to Lucas after Swansea refused to return the ball after Coutinho limped off with an injury. But referee Michael Oliver opted to book the pair rather than take more severe action.

And Shelvey's topsy-turvy evening soon turned on its head once more as he surged forward to cushion a header into the path of Michu, who finished low to Mignolet's right. Swansea had renewed vigour and took the game to their visitors during a frantic final quarter, with Jonathan de Guzman forcing a fingertip save from Mignolet, but an engrossing contest ended level.