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action / cool places / software — Comments Off on jakarta.apache.org commons configuration
07
May 07

jakarta.apache.org commons configuration

Apache released version 1.4 of the Jakarta Commons configuration library!

A very useful library that unifies the way all the configuration parameters are handled and lead to much more clear layout in especially big projects with a lot of packages, components and frameworks.

Commons Configuration provides a generic configuration interface which enables an application to read configuration data from a variety of sources. Commons Configuration provides typed access to single, and multi-valued configuration parameters as demonstrated by the following code:

    Double double = config.getDouble("number");
    Integer integer = config.getInteger("number");

Configuration parameters may be loaded from the following sources:

  • Properties files
  • XML documents
  • Property list files (.plist)
  • JNDI
  • JDBC Datasource
  • System properties
  • Applet parameters
  • Servlet parameters

Different configuration sources can be mixed using a ConfigurationFactory and a CompositeConfiguration. Additional sources of configuration parameters can be created by using custom configuration objects. This customization can be achieved by extending Abstract Configuration or AbstractFileConfiguration.

The full Javadoc API documentation is available here.

action / art / music — Comments Off on Natalie Portman’s Gangsta Rap on Saturday Night Live
06
May 07

Natalie Portman’s Gangsta Rap on Saturday Night Live

Natalie Portman placed a priority on her education, and pursued tertiary studies at Harvard University as a psychology major, despite the chance it might conflict with her acting career:

Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2006, hosting the show with musical guest Fall Out Boy and special guest star Dennis Haysbert

hookah — Comments Off on Hookah Review: “Mini Night Light” from Hookah Town
05
May 07

Hookah Review: “Mini Night Light” from Hookah Town

Not that long after I published my hookah tips, I received an e-mail from Hookah Town guys asking me to review one of their hookahs on my blog. They offered to ship me a hookah to keep in exchange for this very review. So here it goes..

 a "mini night light" hookah kit I received

here is a "mini night light" hookah kit

    It was very well packed and arrived the next day, after I agreed to review it. As it is seen from the picture, this is a "double hosed", small, travel hookah. It is very light and easily fits on my small kitchen table, while me and my guests are drinking tea.

    First thing I noticed when I unpacked everything was that, compare to some other vendors I dealt with in a past, all the "nuts and bolts" of this hookah were in brand new condition. It is also very neatly done, having no slipshod spots – all the parts match and are screwed to each other, which provides a good seal. The only part that has no threading (to screw in) is the glass base which is sealed through a rubber around the pipe.

    What I found interesting about this hookah is that both inputs for hoses are enhanced with bearing balls.hookah filter bearing ball    These balls work as valves and filters at the same time, and here is how. Firstly, when two people are smoking there is no need to cover a "non-smoking" hose with a finger, because it is always closed by this bearing ball unless smoke is inhaled. Secondly, when there is no inhalation, it keeps smoke from going out of the glass base, which helps to maintain the amount of smoke during session, and also it keeps the hose cleaner. 

smoke through bearing ball filter

     The other obvious use of a "valve-ball" is forcing the smoke out of glass base when needed. When there is a taste problem, or just too much smoke than desired, blowing into the hose will result in a pressure within a glass base that will open up a "ball-valve" and let the smoke out.

     This hookah is very easy to clean since practically everything is "unscrewable" and washable. Here is what it looks like completely disassembled:

hookah disassembled

    The overall smoking experience was nice. One thing to notice is, however, since this is a small-travel hookah, the pipe is short and it does not filter necotine and tar as it would in full-blown hookahs. The hoses are short as well making "lying on a sofa" smoking impossible – but it can be easily fixed by buying longer hoses.

    The bowl for tobacco, that was shipped with the hookah is large and deep which allows to pack a lot of tobacco in to enjoy the richer taste and amount of smoke.

    There is also a switch that turns on a blue light around the pipe that is a part of that "new chill" that Hookah Town guys are talking about. :)

hookah setup

The above is my final "mini night light" setup

action / cool places / me — Comments Off on Windows XP Screensaver on Time Square, NYC
03
May 07

Windows XP Screensaver on Time Square, NYC

Times Square is a major intersection in Manhattan, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets.
    Like Red Square in Moscow, Champs-Elysées in Paris, Trafalgar Square in London, or Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Times Square has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and has become a symbol of its home city. Times Square is principally defined by its lighted and animated advertisements. Here is one of such advertisements :) :

Windows XP Screensaver on Time Square, NYC

Windows XP Screensaver on Time Square, NYC

action / sex — Comments Off on The Most Common Place to Have Sex Outside the Bedroom
02
May 07

The Most Common Place to Have Sex Outside the Bedroom

More than 317,000 people from 41 countries took part in the world’s largest ever survey by Durex on sexual attitudes and behaviour. The research confirmed that Greece is officially the sexiest country with the Greeks having sex 138 times a year – well above the global average of 103. Croatia (134) and Serbia and Montenegro (128) come a close second and third.

Here is a piece of the survey that reveals most frequent places we have sex outside our bedrooms:

  • The most common place for adults to have sex outside their bedroom is in the car (50%), followed by toilets (39%), parent’s bedroom (36%) and the park (31%)

  • 15% of people have had sex at work, with one in ten saying they’ve had sex at school – and 2% have joined the mile high club

  • Just over a third (34%) of 16-20 year olds favour the car compared to 69% of 45-55 year olds

  • More than eight in ten Italians (82%) have had sex in the car, while the Australians top the league for having sex in the park (54%)

  • The Americans and Canadians lead the way for favouring sex in front of a camera (both 21%) while 22% of Turks have indulged in extra curricular activity at school

    All results by country:

    Almost half of all adults surveyed said they were happy with their sex lives although men are the least satisfied with how often they have sex. The survey also revealed the global average age for first time sex is 17.3 and the trend is for people to lose their virginity earlier, with 16 to 20 year olds becoming sexually active by 16.3 years.

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