Blogging in Dhivehi using Thaana

I am posting this article in response to an email that I received from a visitor enquiring about blogging in Thaana. I did a little bit of searching and found these two articles written by Moyameeha and Ja very helpful.

Moyameeha gives detailed instructions on how Thaana can be used on Blogger while Ja shows how it could be done on WordPress.

• Link to Ja’s guide on Thaana blogging on WordPress: http://www.jawish.org/blog/archives/312-Guide-to-blogging-in-Dhivehi-using-WordPress.html
• Link to Moyameeha’s instructions on Thaana blogging on Blogger: http://moyameehaa.blogspot.com/2008/02/thaana-blogging.html

Hope these two links are helpful for my visitor and any others looking to find ways to blog in Thaana.

Much ado about nothing (0)

Learn about the history of ZERO from the very beginning. Here is a good read about how, when and by whom the idea or concept of zero came to be realized by mankind as we know it today.

Kindly follow this link: http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/about/zero.jsp

People of power

People chosen to positions of so called power are often seen to forget that they do not have absolute power. Merely because subordinates execute their orders, it doesn’t mean that’s the way it has to be all the time. They are simply placed in those positions of power as a result of the trust and respect of the wider population they have gained along with many other aspects that must have steered them to these higher positions. That’s what gives them the authority to command and why we follow those commands without any questions.

The moment that trust is lost for any reason their authority is compromised. They must be removed from their positions immediately. It then becomes the utmost duty of the subordinates to relieve/replace him/her from the position with another trusted person as soon as possible.

This is just my opinion and view on this kind of situations which have now become quite common here in Maldives.

Some exam questions & a student’s answers

Q1. In which battle did Napoleon die? ** his last battle*

Q2. Where was the Declaration of Independence signed? ** at the bottom of
the page*

Q3. River Ravi flows in which state? ** liquid*

Q4. What is the main reason for divorce? ** marriage*

Q5. What is the main reason for failure? ** exams*

Q6. What can you never eat for breakfast? ** Lunch & dinner*

Q7. What looks like half an apple? * *The other half*

Q8. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what will it become?** It
will simply become wet*

Q9. How can a man go eight days without sleeping ? * *No problem, he sleeps
at night.*

Q10. How can you lift an elephant with one hand? * *You will never find an
elephant that has only one hand..*

Q11. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples
and three oranges in other hand, what would you have ? * *Very large hands*

Q12. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take
four men to build it? ** No time at all, the wall is already built.*

Q13. How can u drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it? * *Any
way you want to, concrete floors are very hard to crack.

Cambridge GCE O Level Physics (5054) May/June 2013 Exam Papers

Download from here: http://goo.gl/CiukF3

All papers are provided for students and teachers for review only!

Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) May/June 2013 Exam Papers

Get them here: http://goo.gl/ujuVTL

All papers are provided for students and teachers for review only!

Good luck!

The Honeybee Conjecture

Solved! A bee-buzzing, honey-licking 2,000-year-old mystery that begins here, with this beehive. Look at the honeycomb in the photo and ask yourself: (I know you've been wondering this all your life, but have been too shy to ask out loud ... ) Why is every cell in this honeycomb a hexagon?

Picture courtesy http://www.quick-good-fortune.com 

Read this interesting article in full at Krulwich Wonders

The Accidents of Youth (1819)

Through a series of short stories and wonderful engravings, this book is aimed at keeping young people out of trouble and “calculated to improve [their] moral conduct”. As the author declares in his/her brilliantly earnest preface addressed to the child reader of the book:

My Dear Children, The inexperience and thoughtlessness natural at your age exposes you to many dangers : I have therefore pointed out some of them in this book, which contains several instructive little histories, in which you will behold the misfortunes that arise from disobedience and want of thought. When your parents desire you not to climb upon the chairs, or touch the fire, or play with knives, or pins, it is not because they wish to prevent you amusing yourselves ; they are only anxious to keep you from harm. If you were allowed to do whatever you pleased, many accidents would happen through your own indiscretion : for instance, when climbing on the furniture you might fall, and break a leg or an arm; and might burn yourselves, by playing with fire ; or cut your fingers, by playing with knives ; or might swallow pins, in putting them into your mouth. Thus, you see you might often lame or kill yourselves, if your good mamma or papa did not guard most of your actions. Do not suppose, my dear children, that I wish to prevent your playing and taking proper exercise. On the contrary, I am very much amused by your games, though they are sometimes noisy; and I admire your harmless mirth. I wish you to be gay and to amuse yourselves at proper times ; but you should never be rash or disobedient. You can play very well without climbing up to the window, on the furniture, or other improper places. If you see guns, pistols, or other dangerous weapons, you should never touch them, as you may always find play-things more agreeable, and free from danger. Why should you play with a knife or with the fire? and why put things into your mouth, at the risk of poisoning yourselves? These things are forbidden you; and yet your amusement is the wish of your parents. They desire only to see you happy, and guard you against accidents which your own discretion would not avoid. If you are good children, you will pay attention to the advice of your friends, and receive it as a proof of their love.

The book is housed at the Internet Archive, contributed by the California Digital Library.

Why Leaders Succeed and Bosses Fail

We all know that every leader is a boss, but not every boss is a leader.  We can break down the fundamental differences between a boss and a true leader in terms of opposites. Do you talk, or listen? Do you demand, or motivate? If you are a boss, you are followed because of authority. If you are a leader, you are followed because of respect and admiration.

Exceptional leadership begins with a positive view of people and ends with remarkable accomplishments. Consider the differences between a boss and a leader in the following areas.

A boss demands, a leader consults.

A boss says, in a very loud and demanding voice, “I need you to get this done now!” In most cases, such a command is probably met with disdain and frustration. Did this approach cause the employees to deliver a sloppy and sub-par an outcome? It most likely did. We should all be wary of barking out orders to workers who hope to be treated with respect and kindness. When a boss demands results and places stringent expectations upon an employee without asking for perspective, his or her credibility suffers.

Read full article @ Forbes

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor

“I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible; Jew, Gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another.

Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone, and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

Lecture on Income Inequality

Lecture by Prof. Emmanuel Saez.

College Degree Required. But Why?

A bachelor's degree is now required for jobs that used to be held by high school grads. Could this actually hurt your business?

There's an idea that the person with a degree is "better" than a person without one. Indeed, The New York Times recently reported on the relatively new phenomenon of companies hiring people with college degrees for jobs that historically didn't require college degrees. Are you doing this in your business?

If so, I have to ask, better for what? Yes, having a four year degree does show a degree of dedication. You have to pick a major, take class after class, write paper after paper and work on dreaded group projects. (Which, in my humble opinion, should be banished off the face of the educational earth unless the professor is willing to act as a proper manager, which most are not.) But, anyway, in theory you learn some things and you demonstrate that you have stick-to-itiveness. This is worth something.

But what? You also have to assume that no one enrolled in college, shelled out fantastic amounts of tuition and studied for hours to memorize the philosophies of 40 different dead people with ambitions of becoming an administrative assistant. No, they had other goals.

Visit Inc. to read full article by Suzanne Lucas..