Taufiq Zainal

He has done wonderful things and everyone totally likes him.

My Medical Choice∞

Angelina Jolie, for The New York Times:

We often speak of “Mommy’s mommy,” and I find myself trying to explain the illness that took her away from us. They have asked if the same could happen to me. I have always told them not to worry, but the truth is I carry a “faulty” gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

I commend Angelina Jolie for being frank, and opening a conversation on women’s health, especially on a subject that’s very close to my heart, breast cancer.

Co.Create: Earlier this month, Disney debuted a new look for the heroine Merida from the movie Brave to mark her introduction into their “princess” line of products. Known for her pluck and self-sufficiency (she doesn’t need a stinking prince to save her), the original animation of Merida was slimmed down, glammed up, and her trademark bow and arrow were removed in favor of a sassy, low slung belt. Thanks Disney, for sending the wrong message to young girls, that they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty to be a “princess”. This goes completely against what the character stood for in the movie. Merida was a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready. She was a princess who looked like a real girl, complete with the imperfections that all people have. I am truly disappointed at you, Disney.

Co.Create:

Earlier this month, Disney debuted a new look for the heroine Merida from the movie Brave to mark her introduction into their “princess” line of products. Known for her pluck and self-sufficiency (she doesn’t need a stinking prince to save her), the original animation of Merida was slimmed down, glammed up, and her trademark bow and arrow were removed in favor of a sassy, low slung belt.

Thanks Disney, for sending the wrong message to young girls, that they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty to be a “princess”. This goes completely against what the character stood for in the movie. Merida was a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready. She was a princess who looked like a real girl, complete with the imperfections that all people have. I am truly disappointed at you, Disney.

Why you should scrap that ladder climbing plan and go backpacking around the world, instead∞

Fast Company:

My point in telling you these stories is this: Anything is possible. You can create the life you’ve always wanted to, if you believe it to be true. Your twenties will be the best years of your life. Your thirties will be the best years of your life. Your forties will be the best years of your life. All of your years will be the best years of your life if you decide they will and design your life accordingly.

Screw all of the triangulated data of what is and is not possible for your life. Instead, get out there and figure out the life that resonates most with you.

It’s your choice. So choose wisely.

I have friends who’ve taken a year or two off uni to travel, and I’m always fascinated by the stories and experiences they’ve shared with me. They say travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer. My mum went backpacking all over Europe after graduating from university, and it’s something I’m looking forward to do in the near future.

My thoughts on Google’s I/O Keynote

There was a lot covered today at Google’s three-hour long I/O developers conference keynote, but here are some of my thoughts on just some of the products and services announced:

Google Play Music All Access - Google’s new music subscription service. Not interested, as I’m already subscribed to Spotify. It’s also US and Android only for now.

Google Play Game Services - Google’s answer to Apple’s Game Center. It works across platforms, so developers can implement it on iOS and the web, so that’s a plus.

Google Play for Education - Google’s take on Apple’s domination in education. Malaysia has already jumped in on the bandwagon, adopting it for 10 million students, teachers and parents, and deploying Chromebooks to primary and secondary schools nationwide.

Galaxy S4 with stock Andriod - The one thing that’s been steering me away from buying an Andriod phone is all the crap, bloatware and custom skins that every OEM seem to love to clog into their devices. Google has had it’s own Nexus range of devices for a while now, but the S4 finally brings LTE and “cutting-edge specs”, with good software and timely updates, into the mix.

Hangouts - Previously under the Google+ banner, it’s now a dedicated messaging app for iOS, Android, Chrome, and Gmail (combining Google’s various messaging solutions like Google Talk and Google+ Messenger into one). Group video chats (the “old” Hangouts) is also built in. Add standard text and voice calls in the future, and I think it could easily become the one messaging app to rule them all.

Google+ - The stream got a makeover, which (to me) looks a hell of a lot like Pinterest. Its photo galleries now have Auto Enhance features, and a new tool called “Auto Awesome”, which creates new images from the kinds of photos you take, and “Auto Highlight”, which chooses the best photos to show off, out of everything you’ve uploaded. Pretty cool, but I don’t have a Google+ account (this may change very soon though - See Hangouts).

Voice Search in Chrome - Just say “Ok Google”, and your question to search. No keystrokes or screen taps. Cool feature, but I don’t use Chrome.

Google Maps - Redesigned from the ground up for both desktops and mobile applications. It’s full-screen and vector based, and integrates information layers from Google Earth, to 3D imagery and indoor maps, right down to Street View. Directions, street navigation and personalised POIs have also been improved. I use Google Maps on a daily basis, and the preview looks amazing.

Of course this isn’t everything that was covered during the keynote, just some of the things that I picked up on and thought were interesting.

The Verge:

Dances with atoms: IBM researchers create a short film using only microscopic particles

A group of IBM researchers took a break from studying atomic data storage to work on something a bit more lighthearted: a stop motion movie made entirely out of atoms. The film, aptly named A Boy and His Atom, was created by arranging atoms with a scanning tunneling microscope and then capturing the arrangement as an image, magnified to over 100 million times its actual size. The final result is a brief 242-frame film that shows a charming story of a boy dancing and playing with an atom. Before its debut today, IBM even had the Guinness World Records verify the short as the “world’s smallest movie.”

They’re moving individual atoms to create an animation. Mind blown.

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