i.justrealized

My brother just left for Batam this morning and it is least comforting to know that an earthquake occurred in Indonesia early this morning.

Indonesia quake kills two, tsunami warning lifted

(CNN) — A 7.5-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia early Monday, leaving two people dead and 37 injured, health authorities said, but warnings of a possible tsunami were soon lifted.

The quake struck about 1:02 a.m. Monday (12:02 p.m. ET Sunday), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was nearly 1,900 kilometers east-northeast of Jakarta, the capital.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake had “the potential to generate a destructive regional tsunami along coasts located within 1,000 km of the earthquake epicenter,” and Indonesia’s National Meteorology and Geophysics Agency warned of a possible tsunami.

No tsunami formed, and Indonesia dropped its warning. But before it was dropped, local TV reports in Gorontalo described panicked residents outside their homes. (Source: CNN)

He arrived at the hotel already. I hope things would be fine there. He’s going for some trip to help build schools or something. He said he was forced.

I was browsing through some Java books at the Choa Chu Kang library yesterday. Yes it’s boring I know. One of the top I was intending to read up on was Java Swing. I have to implement some Java Swing stuff at school and I, for the 217067th time, do not like Java.

My complaints aside. I chance upon this really thick book – you know what they all say about thick books – The Definitive Guide to Java Swing.

And I flipped to the first few pages, probably the introduction. And yes, I always read prefaces and introduction. I felt that understanding the author’s background and intent for writing a book is important. It helps you deciding on book purchases too.

Here’s what The Definitive Guide to Java Swing has to say about Java:

About Java

Java is one of 13,000 islands that makes up Indonesia, whose capital is Jakarta. It is home to about 120 million people with an area about 50,000 square miles (132,000 square kilometers). While on the island, you can hear traditional music such as gamelan or angklung and enjoy Java’s main export, a coffee that is considered spicy and full-bodied, with a strong, slightly acidic flavor. The island also has a dangerous volcano named Merapi, which makes up part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” In 1891, on the island, Eugene Dubois discovered fossils from Pithecanthropus erectus, better known as Java man (homo javanensis).

(The Definitive Guide to Java Swing about java.)

Pretty funny way of writing an introduction. Since most people who is going to read a non-beginner Java book, there’s no need to include an introduction on Java anyway.

Unfortunately the book’s learning curve is too steep – I am a beginner.

Indonesia’s YouTube ban has been removed. And the government of Indonesia is doing things right this time (see bold text).

Indonesia Removes YouTube Ban, Brazil Bans WordPress.com

As it usually goes, it only took a couple of days for Indonesia to remove the countrywide YouTube and MySpace ban, enforced because of the controversial movie Fitna.

Instead of blocking the biggest sites on the net, the Indonesian government now plans to focus on banning the individual pages on YouTube and MySpace which contain the offensive video. (more…)

Indonesian ISP to block YouTube and MySpace? Banning the whole portal just for one video is just like barring our Indonesians from entering Singapore just because one guy is a terrorist.

Indonesian ISPs Block YouTube And MySpace

Another day, another country blocks YouTube (and MySpace, for good measure). According to Gulfnews, five Indonesian ISPs have blocked, on government’s request, YouTube and MySpace because of an anti-Islam film Fitna, created by Dutch filmmaker Geert Wilders. Official ban reason: the movie ‘could disturb relations between faiths.‘

This is not the first time that Fitna has caused controversy; after being rejected by all Dutch TV stations, Wilders simply uploaded the file via LiveLeak. (more…)