Author: Mohamed Marwen Meddah

Mohamed Marwen Meddah is a Tunisian-Canadian, web aficionado, software engineering leader, blogger, and amateur photographer.

Fly Eating Robot

Scientists at the University of the West of England (UWE) have designed a robot that does not require batteries or electricity to power itself.
Instead, it generates energy by catching and eating houseflies.

Dr Chris Melhuish and his Bristol-based team hope the robot, called EcoBot II, will one day be sent into zones too dangerous for humans, potentially proving invaluable in military, security and industrial areas.

The EcoBot II powers itself in much the same way as animals feed themselves to get their energy, he said.

The EcoBot II uses human sewage as bait to catch the insects. It then digests the flies, before their exoskeletons are turned into electricity, which enables the robot to function.

Bacteria in the sewage eats the flies’ soft tissues, which releases enzymes that break down the hardened shell.

Sugar molecules released from the broken-down shell are then absorbed and used as energy by the bacteria.

Wow. That’s so cool.
Not the digestion part of course. I mean the whole idea and concept of a self powered robot.

Flash-forward: Terminator will be back!

[Source: CNN]

Israeli Racism

“The Arabs are worms. You find them everywhere like worms, underground as well as above.”

— Yehiel Hazan, parliamentary leader of the biggest lobby group for Jewish colonists illegally settling in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

and…

“What is it about Islam as a whole and the Palestinians in particular? Is it some form of cultural deprivation? Is it some genetic defect?”

— Ze’ev Boim, Deputy Defense Minister

This is extremely sickening and dangerous racism!
Only an animal would think and talk like that in the first place. But with animals like that in the Israeli government, it totally explains their racist and sickening approach to the Palestinian people and how they’re totally against a real peace process.

[Via: Yenayer]

New Year Resolutions 2005

So, just a couple of days before we’re out of 2004 (phew!!) and into 2005. That means it’s about that time of year when we weird humans put together lists of unreachable goals that we call our new year’s resolutions.

Of course, I didn’t accomplish most of my goals from last year, so I’ll be carrying some of them with me to the new year.

And so my list of new year resolutions for 2005 goes as follows, in no particular order:

  • Join a gym and get back in shape.
  • Organize my time better and allocate more time for fun and leisure.
  • Try to cut down on the number of movies I watch.
  • Get started on some of the projects lying around in my head.
  • Advance my career and take steps to be happier with my job.
  • Get more into photography.
  • Start praying and stick to it.

The theme of the year 2005 for me is “Life Decisions & Change”.
I want to work on setting a great path for my whole life, take the right decisions even if they’re hard and change a lot of things I’m not satisfied with.
I want to do more of the stuff I love and waste less of my time on the stuff I hate.

I hope I get to realize these goals. Even though I need to put some effort into it, I think I’ve been pretty realistic with my list for this year.

Oh well, only time will tell…

New Tsunami Alert

Indian authorities have warned people in coastal areas to head for higher ground, four days after giant waves triggered by the massive earthquake killed at least 10,000 Indians.

India’s central alert said there was evidence from foreign experts that a powerful earthquake could occur Thursday afternoon near Australia, triggering another tsunami in the Indian Ocean, according to a report from state-run Press Trust of India.

The U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors earthquake activity around the world, said it had not recorded any major activity that would spawn a tsunami.

There have been more than 70 aftershocks recorded on the Web site from Sunday’s quake. The strongest measured 7.1, but most have been between 5 and 6 in magnitude.
None have produced any more tsunamis.

[More: CNN]

Asian Tsunami Help

The latest death toll from the Asian tsunami has risen dramatically to more than 56,000 [Update 29/12/04: Now it’s over 80,000] [Update 31/12/04: Now it’s over 120,000].

More countries are reporting casualties from the killer waves, spawned by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off the western-most portion of the northern Indonesian island of Sumatra early on Sunday.

The devastation stretches from Thailand to East Africa, where the United Nations reports that entire villages have been washed away.

Islamic Relief has launched an appeal to raise

25 Rules That Guys Wish Women Knew

1. Crying is blackmail.
2. Ask for what you want. Subtle hints don’t work.
3. Don’t cut your hair. Ever.
4. Sometimes, we’re not thinking about you. Live with it.
5. Get rid of your cat.
6. Anything we said six or eight months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
7. Anything you wear is fine. Really.
8. Christopher Columbus didn’t need directions, and neither do we.
9. You have too manyshoes.
10. If you think you’re fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us.

Continue reading 25 Rules That Guys Wish Women Knew

ONE TV: Ongoing Entertainment

This past weekend while zapping through satellite channels, we found an ad on Dubai TV about a new TV channel called One TV. The ad was really cool that it got me doing a channel search right away.

So, it turns out, starting from December 24th, Dubai’s once boring CH33 was shut down and replaced by this new channel bearing a new name, a new look and a new line-up of the best in American and British programming.

Branded “One TV”, the station is aimed at modern Arabs who enjoy western-style programming, as well as English speaking expatriates.

Blockbuster movies dominate prime time with television’s most popular series, sitcoms, reality shows and kid’s programs rounding up the rest of the grid to offer a unique variety of choices for all tastes and ages.

We’re already hooked on this channel and it’s great programming. I’m truly enjoying the movies and the sitcoms. They’ve already pushed back my bedtime an hour or so already.

Something else worth mentioning is that the movies are censored, so no nudity or sex on the screen. I think even french kisses are cut out. And even though it’s a bit annoying, especially when you’ve already seen the movie before, I think they totally have the right to do this so that it can be a true Arabic family entertainment channel.

For more information on the channel and it’s programming, visit their really cool website: One TV.

Douz International Saharan Festival 2004

The city of Douz , in the Tunisian south, will host the 37th edition of its international festival, December 25-29, 2004.

The desert-city Douz, known as the gateway to the Saharan desert, is a small town in the country’s South, located some 450 kilometers south of the capital city, Tunis. The city’s exotic charm, rich fauna and flora, and typical bedouin lifestyle make it a great destination for desert lovers.

As it is the case each year, during the period from December 25-29, Douz will host the 2004 edition of its international festival. The 5-day festival, which was originally created in 1910, represents an important cultural and touristic event. It attracts annually a total of more than 100,000 visitors.

The Douz festival promotes the rich civilizational heritage of the people of the desert as well as their typical customs and traditions. During the festival, visitors attend camel and arab horse races as well as hunting scenes featuring the local hunting dog or ‘slougui’. Various colourful scenes of desert life are enacted

Many international dance and music bands perform during the festival . Poetry readings are also held . This year, an international conference on the theme: ” Creation and the Sahara” will be organized by Gabes University.

A friend of mine from Douz has a portal dedicated to the city which also provides real-time coverage of the festival (in French and Arabic). To check it out, go to Douz.org.

I’ve visited Douz twice and gone for great camel rides in it’s desert. It’s so beautiful and I can’t wait to visit it again.

Opera’s Talking Web Browser

Opera Software released a test version of a major update to its Web browser software.

The new software adds stronger support for RSS and technology that allows users to navigate through voice commands and have Web pages read to them.

The new Opera beta version also includes user interface improvements such as bigger browsing space, cleaner menus, and better printing support, the company says. The browser also now works with Google’s Gmail, correcting a problem that had led some Opera users to switch to Firefox.

The voice support is powered by IBM’s Embedded ViaVoice technology, which Opera licensed early in the year.

This is really cool.
Before moving to Firefox, Opera was my browser of choice.
And even though I’m really happy with Firefox, I still think Opera is faster.

It’s great to see Opera coming up with these new ideas and features. If only Opera had the extensions Firefox had, I think I’d certainly move back to it.

South Asia Earthquake And Tsunamis

The toll of the earthquake and tsunamis that hit South Asia yesterday has risen to over 14,000 dead, thousands injured, thousands missing and hundreds of thousands homeless in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and other neighbouring countries.

The earthquake was the strongest in 40 years, and the 4th largest ever. The 9.0 magnitude quake originated 160 kilometers off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island at a depth of about 10 kilometers.

Watching the news yesterday and seeing all the destruction that followed this, hearing about all the loss of lives and homes was really sad.

Having visited and loved some of the places that were hit the worst in Thailand, Phuket and Phi Phi Island, and knowing the great and friendly Thai people, it truly saddens me to even imagine how much damage must have happened to these beautiful places and how many innocent lives were lost.

A dear friend of mine was also in the region just a couple of weeks ago. Thank God she and her family weren’t there when this happened, even though Malaysia wasn’t hit as bad as other places.

Our hearts and minds are with the people of these South Asian countries who lost their homes, their loved one, their jobs and more.
God help them all.