- David Archuleta Lyrics
~xoxo~
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
It's me again!
There are 10 letters in your name.
Those 10 letters total to 29
There are 5 vowels and 5 consonants in your name.
What your first name means:
Those 10 letters total to 29
There are 5 vowels and 5 consonants in your name.
What your first name means:
| Latin | Female | God is gracious. Feminine form of John (from the Latin Johanna). |
| Hebrew | Female | Gift from God. |
| French | Female | God's gift. |
| English | Female | Variant of Joan. Feminine of John. |
| Biblical | Female | Grace or gift of the Lord |
Your number is: 11
The characteristics of #11 are: High spiritual plane, intuitive, illumination, idealist, a dreamer.
The expression or destiny for #11:
Your Expression number is 11. The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts and rather spiritual issues. Accordingly, it is a number with potentials that are somewhat more difficult to live up to. You have the capacity to be inspirational, and the ability to lead merely by your own example. An inborn inner strength and awareness can make you an excellent teacher, social worker, philosopher, or advisor. No matter what area of work you pursue, you are very aware and sensitive to the highest sense of your environment. Your intuition is very strong; in fact, many psychic people and those involved in occult studies have the number 11 expression. You possess a good mind with keen analytical ability. Because of this you can probably succeed in most lines of work, however, you will do better and be happier outside of the business world. Oddly enough, even here you generally succeed, owing to your often original and unusual approach. Nonetheless, you are more content working with your ideals, rather than dollars and cents.
Your Expression number is 11. The number 11 is the first of the master numbers. It is associated with idealistic concepts and rather spiritual issues. Accordingly, it is a number with potentials that are somewhat more difficult to live up to. You have the capacity to be inspirational, and the ability to lead merely by your own example. An inborn inner strength and awareness can make you an excellent teacher, social worker, philosopher, or advisor. No matter what area of work you pursue, you are very aware and sensitive to the highest sense of your environment. Your intuition is very strong; in fact, many psychic people and those involved in occult studies have the number 11 expression. You possess a good mind with keen analytical ability. Because of this you can probably succeed in most lines of work, however, you will do better and be happier outside of the business world. Oddly enough, even here you generally succeed, owing to your often original and unusual approach. Nonetheless, you are more content working with your ideals, rather than dollars and cents.
The positive aspect of the number 11 expression is an always idealistic attitude. Your thinking is long term, and you are able to grasp the far-reaching effects of actions and plans. You are disappointed by the shortsighted views of many of your contemporaries. You are deeply concerned and supportive of art, music, or of beauty in any form.
The negative attitudes associated with the number 11 expression include a continuous sense of nervous tension; you may be too sensitive and temperamental. You tend to dream a lot and may be more of a dreamer than a doer. Fantasy and reality sometimes become intermingled and you are sometimes very impractical. You tend to want to spread the illumination of your knowledge to others irrespective of their desire or need.
Your Soul Urge number is: 1
A Soul Urge number of 1 means:
Your Soul Urge is the number 1. With a Soul Urge number of 1, you want to lead and direct, to work independent of supervision, by yourself or with subordinates. You take pride in your abilities and want to be recognized for them. You may seek opportunities to display your strength and usefulness, wanting to create and originate. In your desire to manage the big picture and the main issues, you may often leave the details to others.
Your Soul Urge is the number 1. With a Soul Urge number of 1, you want to lead and direct, to work independent of supervision, by yourself or with subordinates. You take pride in your abilities and want to be recognized for them. You may seek opportunities to display your strength and usefulness, wanting to create and originate. In your desire to manage the big picture and the main issues, you may often leave the details to others.
The positive 1 Soul Urge is Ambitious and determined, a leader seeking opportunities. There is a great deal of honesty and loyalty in this character. If you possess positive 1 Soul Urge qualities, you are very attainment oriented and driven to success. You are a loyal friend and strictly fair in your business dealings.
The negative side of the 1 Soul Urge must be avoided. A negative 1 is apt to dominate situations and people; the home, the spouse, the family and the business. Emotions aren't strong in this nature. If you possess an excess of 1 energy, you may, at times, be boastful and egotistic. You must avoid being too critical and impatient of trifles. The great need of the 1 Soul Urge is the development of friendliness, and a sincere interest in people.
Your Inner Dream number is: 1
An Inner Dream number of 1 means:
You dream of being a leader and one who is in charge. You want to be known for your courage, daring, and original ideas. You seek unconquered heights. People may get a first impression that you are very aggressive and sure of yourself.
You dream of being a leader and one who is in charge. You want to be known for your courage, daring, and original ideas. You seek unconquered heights. People may get a first impression that you are very aggressive and sure of yourself.
~xoxo~
It's me...
A friend of mine shared this link...and so here is the description about me...according to paulsadowski.com
31 July 1985
Your date of conception was on or about 7 November 1984 which was a Wednesday.
You were born on a Wednesday
under the astrological sign Leo.
Your Life path number is 7.
Your fortune cookie reads:
The smart thing is to prepare for the unexpected.
Life Path Compatibility:
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 4 & 22.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 9.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 3, 6, 8 & 11.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2446277.5.
The golden number for 1985 is 10.
The epact number for 1985 is 8.
The year 1985 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/20/1985 and ending 2/8/1986.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Ox.
Your Native American Zodiac sign is Salmon; your plant is Raspberry.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Paopy, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 13 Av 5745.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 14 Av 5745.
You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.
You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 4 & 22.
You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 9.
You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 3, 6, 8 & 11.
The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2446277.5.
The golden number for 1985 is 10.
The epact number for 1985 is 8.
The year 1985 was not a leap year.
Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/20/1985 and ending 2/8/1986.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Ox.
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Your Native American Zodiac sign is Salmon; your plant is Raspberry.
You were born in the Egyptian month of Paopy, the second month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).
Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 13 Av 5745.
Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 14 Av 5745.
The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.18.12.3.13 which is
12 baktun 18 katun 12 tun 3 uinal 13 kin
The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Wednsday, 13 Dhi'l-Qa'dih 1405 (1405-11-13).
The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 7 April 1985.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 14 April 1985.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 20 February 1985.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 26 May 1985.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 2 June 1985.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Monday, 16 September 1985.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Saturday, 6 April 1985.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 19 February 1985.
As of 12/15/2009 9:11:43 PM EST
You are 24 years old.
You are 293 months old.
You are 1,272 weeks old.
You are 8,903 days old.
You are 213,693 hours old.
You are 12,821,591 minutes old.
You are 769,295,503 seconds old.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 14 April 1985.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 20 February 1985.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 26 May 1985.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 2 June 1985.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Monday, 16 September 1985.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Saturday, 6 April 1985.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 19 February 1985.
As of 12/15/2009 9:11:43 PM EST
You are 24 years old.
You are 293 months old.
You are 1,272 weeks old.
You are 8,903 days old.
You are 213,693 hours old.
You are 12,821,591 minutes old.
You are 769,295,503 seconds old.
Celebrities who share your birthday:
| Eric Lively (1981) | Dean Cain (1966) | J.K. Rowling (1965) |
| Jim Corr (1964) | Wesley Snipes (1962) | Bill Berry (1958) |
| Barry Van Dyke (1951) | Geraldine Chaplin (1944) | Curt Gowdy (1919) |
| Milton Friedman (1912) |
Top songs of 1985
Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 3.48454011741683 years old. (Life's just a big chewy bone for you!)
Your lucky day is Sunday.
Your lucky number is 1 & 4.
Your ruling planet(s) is Sun.
Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.
Your opposition sign is Aquarius.
Your opposition number(s) is 8.
Today is not one of your lucky days!
There are 228 days till your next birthday
on which your cake will have 25 candles.
Those 25 candles produce 25 BTUs,
or 6,300 calories of heat (that's only 6.3000 food Calories!) .
You can boil 2.86 US ounces of water with that many candles. 
In 1985 there were approximately 3.7 million births in the US.
In 1985 the US population was approximately 226,545,805 people, 64.0 persons per square mile.
In 1985 in the US there were 2,425,000 marriages (10.2%) and 1,187,000 divorces (5%)
In 1985 in the US there were approximately 1,990,000 deaths (8.8 per 1000)
In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.
In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.
In 1985 the population of Australia was approximately 15,900,566.
In 1985 there were approximately 247,348 births in Australia.
In 1985 in Australia there were approximately 115,493 marriages and 39,830 divorces.
In 1985 in Australia there were approximately 118,808 deaths.
Your birth flower is DELPHINIUM
Your birthstone is Ruby
The Mystical properties of Ruby
Ruby is said to open one's heart to love.
Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)
Carnelian
Your birth tree is
Cypress, the FaithfulnessStrong, muscular, adaptable, takes what life has to give, happy,content,optimistic, needs enough money and acknowledgment, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered,unruly, pedantic and careless.
There are 10 days till Christmas 2009!
There are 23 days till Orthodox Christmas!
The moon's phase on the day you were
born was waxing gibbous.
Click on the picture for more information. |
~xoxo~
Friday, December 11, 2009
Beautiful December
DECEMBER!!! It's my favorite month!!!
Christmas Celebration is just around the corner... we can see Christmas trees everywhere...with presents, ornaments, santa clause and snowman..even though we don't have snow in this country..haha..
December for me is beautiful...
Beginning from the end of November, people start setting up the trees, decorating malls and streets..so beautiful... it is the last month of every year, grown-ups start planning things for the next coming year... kids are having fun on their school holiday, looking for santa clause everywhere to get candies and presents... wow! it's the time when I always wish I can become a kid again..on December. It's like living in a world full of fantasies ~ a world with golden lights, sparkling silver snow flakes, red wrapped presents, little fairies, happiness, joys .. and everything beautiful, i just can't describe it... *batting my eyes dreamily~hoohhh*
Christmas Celebration is just around the corner... we can see Christmas trees everywhere...with presents, ornaments, santa clause and snowman..even though we don't have snow in this country..haha..
December for me is beautiful...
Beginning from the end of November, people start setting up the trees, decorating malls and streets..so beautiful... it is the last month of every year, grown-ups start planning things for the next coming year... kids are having fun on their school holiday, looking for santa clause everywhere to get candies and presents... wow! it's the time when I always wish I can become a kid again..on December. It's like living in a world full of fantasies ~ a world with golden lights, sparkling silver snow flakes, red wrapped presents, little fairies, happiness, joys .. and everything beautiful, i just can't describe it... *batting my eyes dreamily~hoohhh*
Ok! It's 2 weeks to go before Christmas...and by this time people always talks about their wishlists for Christmas... when I was a kid, I always wish for pretty dresses, dolls and teddy bears.. while my grownup wish is simple... Money! just give me lots-a money and I will buy my own gift..haha *lol* (dasar mata duitan :p)...hehe don't get me wrong... I just don't know what to wish for...It's too many to be listed... I want everything (astaga! tamak nya ~.~') :p haha...
I know I'm a grown up now... and I'm aware that santa clause is a tale... those fake santa clause exist for kids only.. hehe.. hey! December is still my dreamy month..so I'm free to live with my own fantasy on this month... Anyway, Christmas gift are most welcome for those who wants to give me presents *hopefully a big one :p* hhaha...
Ok then, Merry Christmas everyone! :)
I know I'm a grown up now... and I'm aware that santa clause is a tale... those fake santa clause exist for kids only.. hehe.. hey! December is still my dreamy month..so I'm free to live with my own fantasy on this month... Anyway, Christmas gift are most welcome for those who wants to give me presents *hopefully a big one :p* hhaha...
Ok then, Merry Christmas everyone! :)
~xoxo~
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
This Is It - 'RUAI ANA'
Ladies and Gentlemen...I am proud to present my new blog 'RUAI ANA' *clapping hand :p*
In my previous post, I did mentioned about my desire to have another blog which is written in my mother tongue, Iban language.... and so, here it is http://joannamada.blogspot.com/
Here's the screen capture of my blog.Ruai means a public corridor, that runs the open space along the length of a Borneo longhouse. It is a place where the villagers can gather for meetings or having activities during celebrations. You can read more about long house here.
Ana is me... short form of Joanna. Some people, normally my close relatives would called me Ana. Even though sometimes my dad would call me Jo *normally when he's on 'sporting' mood*. Most people would call me Joanna, maybe because Ana seem to be general and lots of other people being called by 'ana' or 'na'.
So, basically... Ruai Ana means Ana's corridor..but I prefer it define as Ana's place to hang out :D
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This is ruai of my long house.
This is some of activity that we do at ruai
That is me..and my grandma sitting at ruai...long time didn't see her..really miss herAll pics here is original. I just don't have time to edit it :p. The pics are taken during Gawai celebration year 2006.
Ok then, that's all for now... For all my Iban readers & friends, see ya at http://joannamada.blogspot.com/. Aram ngerindang diri ba blog aku..yea..bela ngirup depan pc kena masu blog aku..hihi
~xoxo~
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
"Unfriend" - word of the year 2009
Here's the news...
This news is said to have been spread by media for a week already... On my way to work this morning, the topics on Hitz.fm is about new phase/word you want to add to the dictionary, and mention "unfriend". Then at the office, I asked from my Uncle Google and get this link (lots more actually, I just pick a few):"Unfriend" has been named the word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091117/lf_nm_life/us_words_unfriend
Next, I refer to my Granpa Dictionary online, and get this:
The word "unfriend" does not exist in some dictionary including online Oxford itself [whom declare the word of the year...or maybe they just added the words, that's why i couldn't find it].
The news ralate the word "unfriend" with social networking site such as facebook. Perhaps we can come with new definition for general social networking sites...
The news ralate the word "unfriend" with social networking site such as facebook. Perhaps we can come with new definition for general social networking sites...
Social Network Sites... the place where you can friend and unfriend any people :p
Seems like our dictionary is getting thicker and flooded with words as the world&technology evolve. Some new words like twitter, twittering, sexting, intexticated, obamaian, freemium and funemployed.
Maybe if tomorrow I create new social site called Joethel it will be added to dictionary in future...then I would hear people say... "hey, let's joetheling! Joethel is fun!".... *wooing with big eyes and grin*...hahaha! *interesting* - hey I can sit next to Mark Zuckerberg and talks about business...oh, by then I'll say 'bye bye programming' haha...*yikes!...I'm daydreaming..!*
Maybe if tomorrow I create new social site called Joethel it will be added to dictionary in future...then I would hear people say... "hey, let's joetheling! Joethel is fun!".... *wooing with big eyes and grin*...hahaha! *interesting* - hey I can sit next to Mark Zuckerberg and talks about business...oh, by then I'll say 'bye bye programming' haha...*yikes!...I'm daydreaming..!*
OK...I'll stop my day dream here. Need to continue my work.. :p
~xoxo~
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fact of Life
"When life encounters troubles/difficulties...selfishness is the way to survive" - J.
Human life is always about problems... quotes by Nando Parrado, Survivor of Andes, is a great inspiration and motivation. During Youth Engagement Summit 2009 (YES2009) in PICC he says:
"When there's something wrong with your life, the universe doesn't stop. It continues, and so should you."-Nando Parrado
~xoxo~
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Momy and Dadi coming to town....!
waa...wieee...yippiee...yieee...!!!
Finally it's November the 11th... my beloved parents and my brother are coming from Bintulu this evening at 6p.m... I can't wait to see them...!
It has been 1 and half years *or probably more* since i last met them... and now they are coming to KL to see their daughters (my sista n i ofcoz)...wiiieeeee... and~huh!what kind or working daughter am i?? erkk.... feel bad duhh...
Finally it's November the 11th... my beloved parents and my brother are coming from Bintulu this evening at 6p.m... I can't wait to see them...!
It has been 1 and half years *or probably more* since i last met them... and now they are coming to KL to see their daughters (my sista n i ofcoz)...wiiieeeee... and~huh!what kind or working daughter am i?? erkk.... feel bad duhh...
No worries, mommy~daddi... by hook or by crook i will be back home to Bintulu this coming Christmas!
My sister will pick them up this evening and I will bring them all around KL-Selangor tomorrow and the day after...o yeah, I'm on leave for 2days...hehe...but I'm still not finish listing the Should-Go-Places in KL-S'gor...
errr.......suggestion....pleasee..pleassee..pleeaasseee.....???
My sister will pick them up this evening and I will bring them all around KL-Selangor tomorrow and the day after...o yeah, I'm on leave for 2days...hehe...but I'm still not finish listing the Should-Go-Places in KL-S'gor...
errr.......suggestion....pleasee..pleassee..pleeaasseee.....???
The most precious gift to our loved ones is...TIME. show our love to them while they're still by our side
~xoxo~
Sunday, November 1, 2009
All Saints' Day Prayer...
All Saints Day is when the Church commemorates all saints, known and unknown. The eve of All Saints is known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. All Saints Day is on November.
A Catholic Prayer in Praise of the Saints
How shining and splendid are your gifts, O Lordwhich you give us for our eternal well-being
Your glory shines radiantly in your saints, O God
In the honour and noble victory of the martyrs.
The white-robed company follow you,
bright with their abundant faith;
They scorned the wicked words of those with this world's power.
For you they sustained fierce beatings, chains, and torments,
they were drained by cruel punishments.
They bore their holy witness to you
who were grounded deep within their hearts;
they were sustained by patience and constancy.
Endowed with your everlasting grace,
may we rejoice forever
with the martyrs in our bright fatherland.
O Christ, in your goodness,
grant to us the gracious heavenly realms of eternal life.
Unknown author, 10th century
Taken from http://www.churchyear.net/allsaintsprayers.html
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~xoxo~
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween's Christian History
What is All Hallow's Eve, Why Halloween is October 31, and More
© Melissa Roberts
Halloween, a popular holiday, comes from All Hallow's Eve, an early Christian holy day, and has Christian roots in a celebration to honor the saints, living and dead.
Today’s popular Halloween holiday takes it’s name from All Hallow’s Eve, the vigil of the Feast of All Hallows, known today as All Saints Day. A series of decisions by Catholic popes in the early and late Middle Ages gave Halloween the name and date.
What is All Hallow’s Eve?
All Hallow’s Eve literally means the eve, or day before, all hallows, or "holy ones." The Lord’s Prayer, used by many Christians, contains the phrase, “hallowed be thy name.” Medieval Christians hallowed, or honored, not only God, but also all the saints who worked for God’s work in the world and glorified the Church with their prayers and service.
For centuries, Christians celebrated the eve before a major feast or holiday, also known as a vigil, with prayers, candles, and offerings to the saints. Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas, is an example still relevant today. All Hallow’s Eve was the vigil for Hallowmas during that time.
Hallowmas, also known as All Hallows, is literally translated as “Mass of the Holy Ones.” All Hallows is celebrated as All Saints Day today by Roman Catholics and several Protestant sects.
Christian History of All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween
Skeletons decorate walls and scenes for Halloween today, but the original Halloween skeletons were bodies of holy Christian men and women.
Early Christians gathered bones and remains of their dead and honored them with special prayers and devotions. Christians began celebrating the Feast of All Martyrs and its vigil during the fourth century to honor all Christian who had died for their faith (martyrs).
Pope St. Boniface IV (608-615) dedicated pagan Rome’s Pantheon temple as a church in 610. He had the bones of many Christian martyrs buried there and dedicated the church to the Mother of God and all the Holy Martyrs. Pope Boniface IV declared that all Christians celebrate the lives of the saints on the date he dedicated the church, May 13, and the vigil the night before, on May 12.
About a hundred years later, Pope Gregory III (731-741) dedicated a new chapel in St. Peter’s, Rome and moved the Feast of the Holy Martyrs to that date, November 1. Regionally, Christians still celebrated their own local saints on specific days, however.
Why Halloween is October 31?
It took another hundred years for the entire Catholic Church to celebrate the saints on one single day. Pope Gregory IV (827-834) declared November 1 as the new date to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Martyrs and expanded it to include all saints, not just those who died for their faith. All Hallow’s Eve, the vigil, was celebrated on October 31.
Pope Gregory changed the date of Holy Martyrs and expanded it to include all Christendom at the suggestion of King Louis the Pious of France.The timing of November 1 for a major Christian feast is no coincidence.
Louis the Pious worked to eradicate local religious diversity and bring a pure, uniform Christianity to his kingdom and all of Christendom. The end of October and beginning of November is the pagan festival of Samhain, known today as the Pagan New Year, and it's possible Louis hoped to eliminate pagan festivities during this time of year with a huge Christian celebration.
Halloween Today
Despite King Louis and Pope Gregory IV’s intentions, Samhain traditions such as trick-or-treating, dressing in costumes, and pranks continue to be a part of Halloween celebrations.
Catholics and other Christians observe All Saints Day on November 1, and some honor the vigil of this feast, All Hallow’s Eve, with prayer and reflection for the saints.
Articles taken from http://catholic-mass-holy-days.suite101.com/article.cfm/halloween_all_hallows_eve_and_the_saints
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~xoxo~
Monday, October 26, 2009
All About JoEtheL
sharing is caring... hehe...
First of all let me introduce my new page that i just tried out. Visit my page : http://www.netvibes.com/joethel
I tried my best to simplify my browsing activity... also to keep track on my bookmarks... and to get as many latest updates from the net as possible... Atlast, after searching and comparing all top personal homepage available on the net... I choose Netvibes. Netvibes allows me to customize and publicize my page besides giving variety options to bookmark my favorite websites.
PageFlake, I rated as second best personalized homepage... I almost signup to this in the first place though... but then, I don't choose this just because I'm not sure whether it allows me to publicize my page...
First of all let me introduce my new page that i just tried out. Visit my page : http://www.netvibes.com/joethel
I tried my best to simplify my browsing activity... also to keep track on my bookmarks... and to get as many latest updates from the net as possible... Atlast, after searching and comparing all top personal homepage available on the net... I choose Netvibes. Netvibes allows me to customize and publicize my page besides giving variety options to bookmark my favorite websites.
PageFlake, I rated as second best personalized homepage... I almost signup to this in the first place though... but then, I don't choose this just because I'm not sure whether it allows me to publicize my page...
My Yahoo!... My first homepage... Everyone who signed up for Yahoo have this.. I guess.....
Others like iGoogle, Microsoft Live and Alot.com are also good...
Here are some of the images of my homepage:
I share my page... I share my bookmarks... means I care for you...yes, YOU!! you read this.. muahx... *wink wink*
~xoxo~
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hardware hacking a cat and mouse game
By JO TIMBUONG
TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Grand showing some of the tools hardware hackers use, which are available at affordable prices. He was one of the speakers at this year's Hack in The Box Security Conference.IF YOU ask Joe Grand, president of Grand Idea Studio — an R&D and product design company, he’ll tell you that no piece of hardware can ever be safe enough from hackers.
“If something has electronics running inside, it can easily be tampered with, and many such products are susceptible to being compromised by even simple attacks,” he said.
According to him, hardware hacking has recently reappeared on hackers’ radars because of the plethora of easily available tips and tools available on the Internet.
He said the tools of the trade are very affordable and for a paltry sum experienced hardware hackers can have a die made of the circuit board they wish to hack.
This form of outsourcing is something new in the hardware hacking world, Grand said in his keynote address at the recent Hack in The Box Security Conference (HITBSecConf) here.
“Things that used to be difficult to do for hardware engineers and hackers have become so easy that there really isn’t any excuse now for hackers not to hack into hardware,” he said.
A mix of new and old methods can also help with the process of hacking hardware.
Citing an incident where he hacked into parking meters in San Francisco, Grand applied social engineering techniques to learn how the meters worked. “and the officials were only too happy to tell me everything.”
With that information and some software tools, he managed to confound the system running the parking meters into granting him US$999.99 (about RM3,600) worth of parking time.
“I didn’t use it, of course. I informed the city council about it and they are currently doing something to fix (the loophole in the) system,” he said.
Another trend that is making the job of a hardware hacker even easier is product enthusiasts disassembling a product and then posting detailed pictures of its components on the Internet.
“This shows hardware hackers what kind of components are used to build the product, which can clue them in to its vulnerabilities,” he said.
Good and bad
Just like with any other hacking activity, hardware hacking can lead to detrimental consequences, such as service theft or having your product cloned by unscrupulous parties.
But there is a silver lining, Grand said. If product developers make an effort to understand the skills of hardware hacking, they will be able to build a more secure product.
He said hardware designers usually leave a lot of clues on how to hack into a product because they are always in a hurry to put the devices on the market and place little emphasis on security.
Grand said hacked hardware is probably a more costly problem to solve than hacked software.
“In the software world all it takes is an inexpensive patch but it’s not that simple when it comes to hardware. A lot of times, it requires the companies to issue a new version of the hardware which can be a costly fix,” he said.
Having said that, Grand believes that it is impossible to devise a totally secure hardware product, no matter how much a company chooses to spend on this. The trick is for the company to keep staying ahead of the hackers.
“It’s a cat and mouse game. Hardware developers will try to make their products secure but there’ll always be an unplugged hole somewhere,” he said. This keeps everyone on their toes.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
How Safe are Facebook Applications?
How Safe are Facebook Applications?
Written by Sarah Perez / October 16, 2009 7:21 AM / 4 Comments
Recently, Roger Thompson, chief research officer at security firm AVG, discovered over half a dozen Facebook applications that had been compromised by malicious hackers. Although the apps' reach was small with relatively few users being affected, Thompson was concerned because it was the first time he had seen apps themselves hacked as opposed to something like Facebook profile pages, a common target for the still-spreading Koobface worm.
While this incident alone wouldn't generate much excitement given the low-profile nature of the applications affected, it's not the only example of unsafe applications on Facebook. Another researcher just spent an entire month scouring Facebook apps for security vulnerabilities and what he found is disturbing: six of the hacked apps were in the top ten, 9700 applications were affected, and the potential victims totaled 218 million users.
Hacked Apps Found Forcing Malicious Software on Users
In the case of the hacked Facebook apps found by AVG, the apps had been compromised by the use of "iframes," which are bits of code embedded in the applications themselves. The iframes were able to load content from malicious websites into the applications' pages on Facebook.com, directing app users to install software on their computers by purporting to be an update for an out-of-date Adobe Reader product.
At first, Thompson thought the apps had been hacked by the developers, but as it turned out, it was the developers who were the victims. After looking at the source code for the apps in question, Thompson found that the iframes had been injected into the apps' code due to infected software on the developers' PCs.
Facebook quickly reacted to the situation and took down the compromised apps while also contacted the developers to warn them of the issue.
Thousands of Apps Vulnerable to Attacks
While hacked Facebook apps may still be a bit of a rarity today on the popular social network, security vulnerabilities that could lead to malicious attacks are not. After spending a month on Facebook looking for application bugs, another security researcher made some disturbing findings.
Specifically, the researcher, who goes only by the handle "theharmonyguy" online, was looking for a specific vulnerability he referred to as a "FAXX Hack." FAXX stands for "Facebook Application + XSS + XSRF" or, in other words, a cross-site scripting vulnerability - a certain type of security hole that could allow a hacker to access profile information, including personal details, status updates, and photos of a victimized user and their friends.
The findings showed that many Facebook applications, even those that were widely used and considered trustworthy, lacked basic security precautions. There were some 9700 Facebook applications which were affected by vulnerabilities and over half of the applications in question had passed through Facebook's "Verified Application" program, a sort of "stamp of approval" designed to assure Facebook users of an app's general trustworthiness. Among the apps, six were ranked in the top ten by monthly active users including FarmVille, Causes, LivingSocial, Movies, Farm Town, and YoVille. The collective monthly active users counts for all the hacked apps totaled 218 million. However, that previous figure does include overlaps. Also, seven of the top ten application developers on Facebook were found to host at least one vulnerable app.
While discovering the bugs, the researcher contacted each application developer to make him or her aware of the hole. For the most part, developers responded quickly and took the situation seriously. However, several developers took a while longer to respond. Nine took over a week to patch their application and one even took two weeks. And those delays were not due to the complexity of the required patches - these were, in terms of coding, simple fixes.
What's most concerning about these findings is how widespread the problem was. Unlike the apps AVG discovered, this wasn't a minor, isolated incident affecting a small handful of users. Although the apps in question here were just vulnerable to attacks as opposed to being comprised themselves, it shows how risky it is to use any application, Facebook Verified or not.
Is Any App Safe?
On top of all these security issues, in August many Facebook users were surprised to discover the vast amounts of personal information they were revealing by their use of Facebook quizzes. Even if you limit access to your profile through privacy settings, Facebook quiz applications can see everything on your profile page when you take a quiz...or even when your friend takes one. To make matters worse, Facebook does not screen developers for trustworthiness nor do they require developers to comply with a privacy policy.
With hacked apps, security vulnerabilities, lack of privacy policies, and apps that can read your private profile information, one has to wonder if using any Facebook application is appropriate and safe these days.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Photos of Ladies Gathering
YuUhhoo... Ladies Gathering was awesome... beautiful... and white...
Simple... our edibles... happened to had theme too~GREEN
Angels... all the gurls in white except Jenn aka carldeana~she missed out the theme info :)
October Baby... the birthday gurls ~ Mona and Mavis
Yummy... eating time..
Fun... a cruise passes by... and guess what.. the tourists from inside the cruise waved at us... and of course we waved back.. haha
Hello world, I love you... aiya... some didn't do the love sign...
Photogenic... picture-taking-time..!!
ME & ME... edited via facebook apps~buddypoke
Simple... our edibles... happened to had theme too~GREEN
Angels... all the gurls in white except Jenn aka carldeana~she missed out the theme info :)
October Baby... the birthday gurls ~ Mona and Mavis
Yummy... eating time..
Fun... a cruise passes by... and guess what.. the tourists from inside the cruise waved at us... and of course we waved back.. haha
Hello world, I love you... aiya... some didn't do the love sign...
Photogenic... picture-taking-time..!!
ME & ME... edited via facebook apps~buddypoke~xoxo~
JoEtheL
JoEtheL
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