Molecular cloning

Molecular cloning

Main article: Molecular cloning

Molecular cloning refers to the process of making multiple molecules. Cloning is commonly used to amplify DNA fragments containing whole genes, but it can also be used to amplify any DNA sequence such as promoters, non-coding sequences and randomly fragmented DNA. It is used in a wide array of biological experiments and practical applications ranging from genetic fingerprinting to large scale protein production. Occasionally, the term cloning is misleadingly used to refer to the identification of the chromosomal location of a gene associated with a particular phenotype of interest, such as in positional cloning. In practice, localization of the gene to a chromosome or genomic region does not necessarily enable one to isolate or amplify the relevant genomic sequence. To amplify any DNA sequence in a living organism, that sequence must be linked to an origin of replication, which is a sequence of DNA capable of directing the propagation of itself and any linked sequence. However, a number of other features are needed and a variety of specialised cloning vectors (small piece of DNA into which a foreign DNA fragment can be inserted) exist that allow protein expression, tagging, single stranded RNA and DNA production and a host of other manipulations.
Cloning of any DNA fragment essentially involves four steps^[3]

1. fragmentation - breaking apart a strand of DNA
2. ligation - gluing together pieces of DNA in a desired sequence
3. transfection - inserting the newly formed pieces of DNA into cells
4. screening/selection - selecting out the cells that were successfully transfected with the new DNA

Although these steps are invariable among cloning procedures a number of alternative routes can be selected, these are summarized as a 'cloning strategy'.
Initially, the DNA of interest needs to be isolated to provide a DNA segment of suitable size. Subsequently, a ligation procedure is used where the amplified fragment is inserted into a vector (piece of DNA). The vector (which is frequently circular) is linearised using restriction enzymes, and incubated with the fragment of interest under appropriate conditions with an enzyme called DNA ligase. Following ligation the vector with the

History of technology

The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques, and is similar in many ways to the history of humanity. Background knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and conversely, many scientific endeavors have become possible through technologies which assist humans to travel to places we could not otherwise go, and probe the nature of the universe in more detail than our natural senses allow.
Technological artifacts are products of an economy, a force for economic growth, and a large part of everyday life. Technological innovations affect, and are affected by, a society's cultural traditions. They also are a means to develop and project military power.

Measuring technological progress

Many sociologists and anthropologists have created social theories dealing with social and cultural evolution. Some, like Lewis H. Morgan, Leslie White, and Gerhard Lenski, declare technological progress to be the primary factor driving the development of human civilization. Morgan's concept of three major stages of social evolution (savagery, barbarism, and civilization) can be divided by technological milestones, like fire, the bow, and pottery in the savage era, domestication of animals, agriculture, and metalworking in the barbarian era and the alphabet and writing in the civilization era.
Instead of specific inventions, White decided that the measure by which to judge the evolution of culture was energy. For White "the primary function of culture" is to "harness and control energy." White differentiates between five stages of human development: In the first, people use energy of their own muscles. In the second, they use energy of domesticated animals. In the third, they use the energy of plants (agricultural revolution). In the fourth, they learn to use the energy of natural resources: coal, oil, gas. In the fifth, they harness nuclear energy. White introduced a formula P=E*T, where E is a measure of energy consumed, and T is the measure of efficiency of technical factors utilizing the energy. In his own words, "culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is increased". Russian astronomer, Nikolai Kardashev, extrapolated his theory creating the Kardashev scale, which categorizes the energy use of advanced civilizations.
Lenski takes a more modern approach and focuses on information. The more information

Top 10 World’s Rarest Animals

Top 10 World’s Rarest Animals

In our ever expanding society increasing pollution, torn down forests, and changing terrain are causing serious problems with the environment. But it isn’t just out Ozone that is suffering, and as the years pass more and more animals are being put on the endangered species list, just a few hundred (and sometimes less) away from being completely extinct.
But what about those animals that were rare to begin with? Do they have a chance? Will out children even know what they are? Do we ever know now? Here is a list of the top 10 rarest animals in the world, and some of them you may have never heard of.
The Pinta Island Tortoise – This hard shelled turtle is more then just rare, he is unique. Being the only one remaining alive, he remains the sole survivor of the even diminishing species of Great Galapagos tortoises. Researchers are so desperate to find a female of the species that they are offering $10,000 to anyone who comes forward to offer a chance at saving the Pinta Island tortoise.
The Yangtze River Dolphin – This species of dolphin is found exclusively in China, and given the record expansion of China’s economic and social system, it has caused the Yangtze to become all but extinct as it has to compete for it’s habitat and limited resources of food with an enormous population.
The Vancouver Island Marmot – With only 75 currently listed as surviving in the wild, this little furry resident of the Vancouver mountains is getting some help from local conservationists to try to boost the numbers back up before it’s too late. Luckily, the little guys born raised in captivity are producing great numbers, and so look as though the species will be saved after all
The Seychelles Sheath-tailed Bat – No one is completely sure what is killing off the Sheath-tailed bat, and actually so little is known about their general patterns and behavior that no one knows what to do to increase their numbers either. But with fewer then 100 being reported in their native home of Madagascar, it’s clean something has to be done soon.
The Javan Rhino – The Javan isn’t the only species of Rhino that is quickly dying out, but it is the one that has the fastest reducing numbers, with less then 60 remaining in their native habitats across Indonesia and Vietnam.
The Hispid Hare – Being one of the only hares of it’s kind, the Hispid is a rabbit covered in bristly fur that lives in the Himalayan foothills around Nepal. There are now well under 100 in existence, and the numbers are continuing to decrease, even as conservationists attempt to breed them in captivity, an action that has so far proven unsuccessful.
The Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat – Located in Australia in the more tropical areas of the continent, the Hairy-nosed Wombat’s habitat has been decreasing, and so with it has it’s numbers. With less then 100 counted in the most recent environmental studies, massive funding by the local government has led to a huge conservation effort.
The Dwarf Water Buffalo – This bovine indigenous to the Philippines has seen a shocking reduction in the last hundred years. In the early 1900’s there was an estimated 10,000 alive in the region of Mindoro, and yet in 2002 they had found there to be somewhere between 50 – 200 alive. Illegal poaching still continues as the species dies out.
The Iberian Lynx – This tiny wildcat lives in the Andalusia region of

Mount Everest

Mount Everest (Mount Sagarmāthā (Nepali: सगरमाथा), Tibetan: ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ; Chinese Zhumulangma Peak simplified Chinese: 珠穆朗玛峰; pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng), Chajamlangma (Limbu), or Mount Chomolungma) is the world's highest mountain above sea level at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft). It is located in the Himalayas in Asia.
In 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of British India established the first published height of Everest, then known as Peak XV, at 29,002 ft (8,840 m). In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time, who named it after his predecessor in the post, and former chief, Sir George Everest.^[4] Chomolungma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries, but Waugh was unable to propose an established local name because Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreigners.
The highest mountain in

Blood Rain in India

The whole world because in India splashy rain blood. Really raining red. The answer is true. This natural phenomenon, actually since the date of July 25 and September 23, 2001, the rain falls down with a wide red. Just cash it makes the world community was shocked. There was what was like this. Moreover, the rain fell in southern India's Kerala region overwhelmingly believe in the greatness of god. It was raining heavily and colored merahdan other colors are yellow, pink and green. Actually, the black rain in Kerala pernahterjadi also concentrated around the beginning of 1896 and several times since then.



At first, the experts argued that it was caused by the impact of venomena hypothetical meteor burst, but from the research conducted by the Indian government knows and they concluded that the rain which fell dikerala air caused by spores from local terrestrial algae productive.

Especially the year 2006 the blood-colored rain came down in southern Kerala India, this is massively covered by media both locally and worldwide. Furthermore, the Indian State governments continued to conduct research on a rare natural phenomenon, the next Godfrey Louis and Santhosh Kumar of Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam proposed research on the controversial hypothesis that the colored particles extraterrestrial cells.

The first rain fell in Kottayam and Idukki districts in the southern region of India. Not only red rain, the first 10 days of rain were reported yellow, green and even black. After 10 days, rainfall intensity subsided until September.

The rain fell only on a limited region and usually only lasts about 20 minutes per rain. The local residents find the clothes dried in the sun turns red like blood. Local residents also reported the sound of explosions and light rain that preceded the explosion is believed to be a meteor.

Rain water samples are taken soon to be investigated by the Indian government and scientists. One of the independent scientists who examined them was Godfrey Louis and Santosh Kumara from the University of Mahatma Gandhi.

They collected more than 120 reports from local residents and collect samples of red rain water from areas along 100 km. The first time they thought that the red particles are particles in the water-borne sand of the desert Arabs.

This never happened in July 1968 where the sand from the Sahara carried by the wind to cause red rain in England. But they found that the red elements in the water is not a grain of sand, but the living cells.

The composition of these cells consisted of 50% Carbon, 45% oxygen and 5% other elements such as iron and sodium, consistent with the other components of biological cells, and cells were also dividing. The cell was between 30-10 micrometers in diameter with a thick cell wall and has a variation in membrane nanostructure.

But there is no identifiable nucleus. Each cubic meter of samples taken, there are 100 grams of red elements. So when summed, then from July to September there were 50 tons of spilled red particles to Earth.

At the University of Sheffield, UK, an expert named Milton Wainwright microbiologically confirmed that the red elements are living cells. This is stated because Wainwright had found the DNA of the cell elements, although he has not managed to extract it.

Because of the red particles are living cells, the scientists theorized that particles that are blood red. According to them, possibly meteorite exploded in the air had been massacred a group of bats in the air. But this theory was rejected because of lack of evidence that supports such as bat wings who fell to earth.

By linking between the sound of explosions and light rain that preceded it, Louis put forward the theory that the red cells are extra-terrestrial beings. Louis concluded that the red material came from a comet entering the earth's atmosphere and exploded over the skies of India.

A study conducted by doctoral students from Queen's University, Ireland named Patrick McCafferty find a record of history linking colored rain with meteor explosion.

McCafferty analyzed 80 reports of colored rains, 20 reports of water turned into blood, and 68 examples of similar phenomena like black rain, milk or honey rain that falls from the sky.

36 percent of those samples was connected with the

Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation is a public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions. Established on April 4, 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, Microsoft rose to dominate the home computer operating system (OS) market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of OSs. The ensuing rise of stock in the company's 1986 initial public offering (IPO) made an estimated four billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Microsoft would come to dominate other markets as well, notably the office suite market with Microsoft Office.
Primarily in the 1990s, critics contend the company used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies including refusal to deal and tying, put unreasonable restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics; both the U.S. Department of Justice and European Commission found the company in violation of antitrust laws.

Rafflesia Flower

Rafflesia is a genus of parasitic flowering plants. It contains approximately 27 species (including four incompletely characterized species as recognized by Willem Meijer in 1997), all found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.
Rafflesia was found in the Indonesian rain forest by an Indonesian guide working for Dr. Joseph Arnold in 1818, and named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the leader of the expedition. It was discovered even earlier by Louis Deschamps in Java between 1791 and 1794, but his notes and illustrations, seized by the British in 1803, were not available to western science until 1861.^{[citation needed]}
The plant has no stems, leaves or true roots. It is an endoparasite of vines in the genus Tetrastigma (Vitaceae), spreading its absorptive organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the five-petaled flower. In some species, such as Rafflesia arnoldii, the flower may be over 100 centimetres (39 in) in diameter, and weigh up to 10 kilograms (22 lb). Even the smallest species, R. baletei, has 12 cm diameter flowers. The flowers look and smell like rotting flesh, hence its local names which translate to "corpse flower" or "meat flower" (but see below). The vile smell that the flower gives off attracts insects such as flies, which transport pollen from male to female flowers. Most species have separate male and female flowers, but a few have bisexual flowers. Little is known about seed dispersal. However, tree shrews and other forest mammals apparently eat the fruits and disperse the seeds. Rafflesia is an official state flower of Indonesia, also Sabah state in Malaysia, as well as for the Surat Thani Province, Thailand.
The name "corpse flower" applied to Rafflesia is confusing because this common name also refers to the Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum) of the family Araceae. Moreover, because Amorphophallus has the world's largest unbranched inflorescence, it is sometimes mistakenly credited as having the world's largest flower. Both Rafflesia and Amorphophallus are flowering plants, but they are still distantly related. Rafflesia arnoldii has the largest single flower of any flowering plant, at least when one judges this by weight. Amorphophallus titanum has the largest unbranched inflorescence, while the Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) forms the largest branched inflorescence, containing thousands of flowers; this plant is monocarpic, meaning that individuals die after flowering.

corruption

The word corrupt (Middle English, from Latin corruptus, past participle of corrumpere, to destroy : com-, intensive pref. and rumpere, to break) when used as an adjective literally means "utterly broken".^[1] In modern English usage the words corruption and corrupt have many meanings:

• Political corruption: the abuse of public power, office, or resources by government officials or employees for personal gain, e.g. by extortion, soliciting or offering bribes.^[2]
• Police corruption
• Corporate corruption: corporate criminality and the abuse of power by corporation officials, either internally or externally.
• Putrefaction: the natural process of decomposition in the human and animal body following death.
• Data corruption: an unintended change to data in storage or in transit.
• Linguistic corruption: the change in meaning to a language or a text introduced by cumulative errors in transcription as changes in the language speakers' comprehension.
• Bribery in politics, business, or sport (including match fixing).
• Rule of law Governmental corruption of judiciary includes governmental spending on the courts, which is completely financially controlled by the executive in many transitional and developing countries. This undermines the principle of checks and balances and creates a critical financial dependence on the judiciary. It covers latent governmental spending on the judiciary in the form of privileges – cars, country houses,expenses. Such a system is completely outside the realm of transparency and creates a precedent for the corruption of the judiciary by executive authorities.
• In Christian theology,corruption is an aspect of original sin

Institutions dealing with political corruption

• Transparency International
• Global Witness
• Group of States Against Corruption (French: Groupe d'Etats contre la Corruption), a body established under the Council of Europe to monitor the implementation of instruments adopted by member states to combat political corruption.
• Independent Commission Against Corruption (disambiguation)
• Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa (ACT-Southern Africa)

Air pollution

An air pollutant is known as a substance in the air that can cause harm to humans and the environment. Pollutants can be in the form of solid particles, liquid droplets, or gases. In addition, they may be natural or man-made.^[2]
Pollutants can be classified as either primary or secondary. Usually, primary pollutants are substances directly emitted from a process, such as ash from a volcanic eruption, the carbon monoxide gas from a motor vehicle exhaust or sulfur dioxide released from factories.
Secondary pollutants are not emitted directly. Rather, they form in the air when primary pollutants react or interact. An important example of a secondary pollutant is ground level ozone — one of the many secondary pollutants that make up photochemical smog.
Note that some pollutants may be both primary and secondary: that is, they are both emitted directly and formed from other primary pollutants.
About 4 percent of deaths in the United States can be attributed to air pollution, according to the Environmental Science Engineering Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Major primary pollutants produced by human activity include:

• Sulfur oxides (SO_x) - especially sulfur dioxide, a chemical compound with the formula SO₂. SO₂ is produced by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide. Further oxidation of SO₂, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as NO₂, forms H₂SO₄, and thus acid rain.[2] This is one of the causes for concern over the environmental impact of the use of these fuels as power sources.
• Nitrogen oxides (NO_x) - especially nitrogen dioxide are emitted from high temperature combustion. Can be seen as the brown haze dome above or plume downwind of cities. Nitrogen dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula NO₂. It is one of the several nitrogen oxides. This reddish-brown toxic gas has a characteristic sharp, biting odor. NO₂ is one of the most prominent air pollutants.
• Carbon monoxide - is a colourless, odourless, non-irritating but very poisonous gas. It is a product by incomplete combustion of fuel such as natural gas, coal or wood. Vehicular exhaust is a major source of carbon monoxide.
• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) - a greenhouse gas emitted from combustion but is also a gas vital to living organisms. It is a natural gas in the atmosphere.
• Volatile organic compounds - VOCs are an important outdoor air pollutant. In this field they are often divided into the separate categories of methane (CH₄) and non-methane (NMVOCs). Methane is an extremely efficient greenhouse gas which contributes to enhanced global warming. Other hydrocarbon VOCs are also significant greenhouse gases via their role in creating ozone and in prolonging the life of methane in the atmosphere, although the effect varies depending on local air quality. Within the NMVOCs, the aromatic compounds benzene, toluene and xylene are suspected carcinogens and may lead to leukemia through prolonged exposure. 1,3-butadiene is another dangerous compound which is often associated with industrial uses.

• Particulate matter - Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM) or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. In contrast, aerosol refers to particles and the gas together. Sources of particulate matter can be man made or natural. Some particulates occur naturally, originating from volcanoes, dust storms, forest and grassland fires, living vegetation, and sea spray. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, power plants and various industrial processes also generate significant amounts of aerosols. Averaged over the globe, anthropogenic aerosols—those made by human activities—currently account for about 10 percent of the total amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Increased levels of fine particles in the air are linked to health hazards such as heart disease,^[3]

Michael Joseph Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and philanthropist. Referred to as the King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs including "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B and rock artists.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the

Bill Gates

William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955)^[2] is an American business magnate, philanthropist, author and chairman^[3] of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people^[4] and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third.^[5] During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder with more than 8 percent of the common stock.^[6] He has also authored or co-authored several books.
Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Although he is admired by many, a number of industry insiders criticize his business tactics, which they consider anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts (see Criticism of Microsoft).^[7][8] In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
Bill Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates' last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as non-executive chairman.

Management Information System

Management Information System

Management Information System
Overall information system not only contained in management information systems, because not all information in the organization can be incorporated into a fully automated system. Key aspects of information systems will always exist outside the computer system.
In the business development of sophisticated management information system with computer-based needs of people who have high skill and long experience and requires the participation of the managers of the organization. Since many organizations fail to develop management information systems due to:
First, the lack of proper organization
Second, the lack of adequate planning
Third, the lack of skilled personnel
Fourth, lack of management participation in the form of participation of managers in designing the system, control system development efforts and motivate all personnel involved.
Good management information system is a management information system capable of balancing costs and benefits to be gained means that the SIM will save costs, increase revenue and immeasurable arising from the information very useful.
Organizations need to realize when they are quite realistic in their desires, meticulous in designing and implementing the SIM and the natural desire to fit in determining the cost limit from the point of the potential benefits, then the resulting SIM will provide benefits and money.
In a computer management information systems is not an absolute prerequisite in theory, but in practice good manajemenyang information system would not exist without the help of computer processing capability. The main principle of the design of management information systems: Information systems are carefully woven manajemenharus to be able to serve the primary task.
Management information system aims to meet the needs of the general information of all managers in the company or within organizational subunits company.Manajemenmenyediakan information system for user information in the form of reports and output from various simulation models of mathematics.

Batik, Traditional Fabric of Indonesia

Batik, Traditional Fabric of Indonesia

It would be impossible to visit or live in Indonesia and not be exposed to one of the country's most highly developed art forms, batik. On your first visit to a batik store or factory you will undoubtedly experience an overwhelming stimulation of the senses - due to the many colors, patterns and the actual smell of batik. Only through repeated visits and a bit of study will the types of designs and their origins become apparent.

The word batik is thought to be derived from the word 'ambatik' which translated means 'a cloth with little dots'. The suffix 'tik' means little dot, drop, point or to make dots. Batik may also originate from the Javanese word 'tritik' which describes a resist process for dying where the patterns are reserved on the textiles by tying and sewing areas prior to dying, similar to tie dye techniques. Another Javanese phase for the mystical experience of making batik is “mbatik manah” which means “drawing a batik design on the heart”.
A Brief History

Although experts disagree as to the precise origins of batik, samples of dye resistance patterns on cloth can be traced back 1,500 years ago to Egypt and the Middle East. Samples have also been found in Turkey, India, China, Japan and West Africa from past centuries. Although in these countries people were using the technique of dye resisting decoration, within the textile realm, none have developed batik to its present day art form as the highly developed intricate batik found on the island of Java in Indonesia.

King Kertajasa East Java 1294-1309Although there is mention of 'fabrics highly decorated' in Dutch transcripts from the 17th century, most scholars believe that the intricate Javanese batik designs would only have been possible after the importation of finely woven imported cloth, which was first imported to Indonesia from India around the 1800s and afterwards from Europe beginning in 1815. Textile patterns can be seen on stone statues that are carved on the walls of ancient Javanese temples such as Prambanan (AD 800), however there is no conclusive evidence that the cloth is batik. It could possibly be a pattern that was produced with weaving techniques and not dying. What is clear is that in the 19th century batik became highly developed and was well ingrained in Javanese cultural life.

Some experts feel that batik was originally reserved as an art form for Javanese royalty. Certainly it's royal nature was clear as certain patterns were reserved to be worn only by royalty from the Sultan's palace. Princesses and noble women may have provided the inspiration for the highly refined design sense evident in traditional patterns. It is highly unlikely though that they would be involved in any more than the first wax application. Most likely, the messy work of dyeing and subsequent waxings was left to court artisans who would work under their supervision.

Javanese royalty were known to be great patrons of the arts and provided the support necessary to develop many art forms, such as silver ornamentation, wayang kulit (leather puppets) and gamelan orchestras. In some cases the art forms overlap. The Javanese dalang (puppeteer) not only was responsible for the wayang puppets but was also Tambil Miring Designan important source of batik patterns. Wayang puppets are usually made of goat skin, which is then perforated and painted to create the illusion of clothing on the puppet. Used puppets were often sold to eager ladies who used the puppets as guides for their batik patterns. They would blow charcoal through the holes that define the patterns of clothing on the puppets, in order to copy the intricate designs onto the cloth.

Other scholars disagree that batik was only reserved as an art form for royalty, as they also feel its use was prevalent with the rakyat, the people. It was regarded an important part of a young ladies accomplishment that she be capable of handling a canting (the pen-like instrument used to apply wax to the cloth) with a reasonable amount of skill, certainly as important as cookery and other housewifery arts to Central Javanese women.

Jakarta City

Jakarta

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This article is about the capital city of Indonesia. For other uses, see Jakarta (disambiguation).

Jakarta Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta
Special Capital Territory of Jakarta
(From top, left to right): Jakarta Skyline, Jakarta Old Town, Hotel Indonesia Roundabout, Monumen Nasional, Jakarta traffic, Istiqlal Mosque
Seal
Nickname(s): The Big Durian[1]
Motto: Jaya Raya (Indonesian) (Victorious and Great)
Jakarta Location of Jakarta in Indonesia
Coordinates: 6°12′S 106°48′E / 6.2°S 106.8°E / -6.2; 106.8Coordinates: 6°12′S 106°48′E / 6.2°S 106.8°E / -6.2; 106.8
Country	Indonesia
Province	Jakarta
Government
- Type	Special administrative area
- Governor	Fauzi Bowo
Area
- City	740.28 km2 (285.8 sq mi)
- Land	662.33 km2 (255.7 sq mi)
- Water	6,977.5 km2 (2,694 sq mi)
Elevation	7 m (23 ft)
Population (2010)	9,580,000
- City	9,580,000
- Density	14,464.08/km2 (37,461.8/sq mi)
- Metro	24,094,000
	[2]
Time zone	WIB (UTC+7)
Area code(s)	+62 21
Website	www.jakarta.go.id (official site) Enjoy Jakarta (tourism site)

Jakarta (English pronunciation: /dʒəˈkɑrtə/;^[3] Indonesian: /dʒakarta/), officially the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi) and a 2010 census count population of 9,580,000.^[2] Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre. It is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The metropolitan area, Jabodetabek, is the second largest in the world. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research.^[4] The city's name is derived from the Old Javanese word "Jayakarta" which translates as "victorious deed", "complete act", or "complete victory".
Established in the fourth century, the city became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda. It grew as the capital of the colonial Dutch East Indies. It was made capital of Indonesia when the country became independent after World War II. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa (397–1527), Jayakarta (1527–1619), Batavia (1619–1942), and Djakarta (1942–1972).
Landmarks include the National Monument and Istiqlal Mosque. The city is the seat of the ASEAN Secretariat. Jakarta is served by the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, and Tanjung Priok Harbour; it is connected by several intercity and commuter railways, and served by several bus lines running on reserved busways.

Earthquake

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured with a seismometer; a device which also records is known as a seismograph. The moment magnitude (or the related and mostly obsolete Richter magnitude) of an earthquake is conventionally reported, with magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes being mostly imperceptible and magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas. Intensity of shaking is measured on the modified Mercalli scale.
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacing the ground. When a large earthquake epicenter is located offshore, the seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a tsunami. The shaking in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity.
In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event—whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans—that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The term epicenter refers to the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

Environmental pollution

Environmental pollution is contamination of air, water and land from man-made waste. Pollution leads to depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and climate change. Air pollution is the release of chemicals and particles into the atmosphere. Water pollution includes surface runoff, leakage into groundwater, liquid spills, wastewater discharge and littering. If toxins are spilled on the ground or if an underground storage tank leaks, soil can become contaminated. Well known contaminants include herbicides and pesticides. Toxic waste is waste material, often in chemical form, which pollutes the natural environment and contaminates groundwater.

Other types of pollution include ocean pollution and noise pollution.

OIL DRILLING

Oil or petroleum (also known as crude oil) is a fossil fuel found largely in vast underground deposits. Oil and its byproducts (natural gas, gasoline, kerosene, asphalt, and fuel oil, among others) did not have any real economic value until the middle of the nineteenth century when drilling was first used as a method to obtain it. Today, oil is produced on every continent but Antarctica. Despite increasingly sophisticated methods of locating possible deposits and improved removal techniques, oil is still obtained by drilling.

History

Oil was known in the ancient world and had several uses. Usually found bubbling up to Earth's surface at what are called oil seeps, oil was used primarily for lighting, as a lubricant, for caulking ships (making them watertight), and for jointing masonry (for building). The Chinese knew and used oil as far back as the fourth century B.C.
By the 1850s, crude oil was still obtained by skimming it off the tops of ponds. Since oil from whales was becoming scarce as the giant mammals were hunted almost to extinction, oil producers began to look elsewhere to extract oil. In 1859, while working for the Seneca Oil Company in Titusville, Pennsylvania, Edwin L. Drake and his crew drilled the first modern oil well. They struck oil almost 70 feet (21 meters) down. America's oil boom, and the world's oil industry, was launched.

Blood on our hands

Blood on our hands
Shulamit Aloni amazed by public’s ability to get caught up in wave of patriotic zeal over Gaza op
Shulamit Aloni
Hamas men and their leaders belong to the evil camp, and their hatred for us made them cast away the rational inhibitions required of a leadership that is concerned for the wellbeing of its citizens. Indeed, Hamas’ conduct ever since the Gaza withdrawal and subsequent election victory does not merit any praise. However, Strip residents who are captives of Hamas’ leadership – women, the elderly, children, students, lecturers, hospitals, doctors, and patients – do not have to be punished with destruction, death, and bereavement because of the despicable acts of their leaders.
It is doubtful whether the method of punishment adopted by the State of Israel for some years now, in the form of targeting populated areas, dropping one-ton bombs on civilian neighborhoods, and using cluster bombs, has any effect or wisdom.
The defense minister declared that the time for war has arrived, in order to put an end to the criminal harassment in the form of murderous rockets fired from Gaza at our communities. Well, the IDF embarked on war with much force, knowledge, and advanced planning in order to sow fear and horror on Gaza civilians and leaders. And it worked for him! There, the defense minister already gained five Knesset seats in pre-election polls. The defense minister is happy, and the people - proud of their glorious army - are already resorting to exaggerated passion and are vowing to elect the hero and his party.
Yet why did he abandon Gilad Shalit? Why didn’t he secure his release before embarking on the operation? Hamas demanded the release of prisoners, and we argued that many of them have blood on their hands, yet when it comes to killing and assassinations we are much more capable than them. Within the first 24 hours of the operation we killed more than 300 people, including two innocent girls, not to mention the victims we killed between this operation and previous ones.
Why did our well organized army, with its excellent intelligence capabilities, object to the release of Palestinian prisoners, when we could send them back home and later assassinate them in the heat of the battle? After all, we are already used to assassinations from the air, sea, at hideouts, or in populated neighborhoods. Assassinate – that is, to kill and murder.
Moreover, the people who drop our bombs do not get stained with blood. Our system is simple: There is no need for evidence or for a trial. Once we decide that a certain someone is wanted, one bang and he’s gone. Recently, the army was also granted permission to kill civilians who happen to be near a wanted person; this was published in the press about two weeks ago next to a photo of a smiling army chief.
There is no doubt that had the defense minister first secured the release of our captive soldier, he would have gained more than five Knesset seats. He may have even been crowned as the king of Israel.

History of the Internet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Commemorative plaque listing some of the early Internet pioneers

The concept of data communication - transmitting data between two different places, connected via some kind of electromagnetic medium, such as radio or an electrical wire - actually predates the introduction of the first computers. Such communication systems were typically limited to point to point communication between two end devices. Telegraph systems and telex machines can be considered early precursors of this kind of communication. The earlier computers used the technology available at the time to allow communication between the central processing unit and remote terminals. As the technology evolved new systems were devised to allow communication over longer distances (for terminals) or with higher speed (for interconnection of local devices) that were necessary for the mainframe computer model. Using these technologies it was possible to exchange data (such as files) between remote computers. However, the point to point communication model was limited, as it did not allow for direct communication between any two arbitrary systems; a physical link was necessary. The technology was also deemed as inherently unsafe for strategic and military use, because there were no alternative paths for the communication in case of an enemy attack.
As a response, several research programs started to explore and articulate principles of communications between physically separate systems, leading to the development of the packet switching model of digital networking. These research efforts included those of the laboratories of Vinton G. Cerf at Stanford University, Donald Davies (NPL), Paul Baran (RAND Corporation), and Leonard Kleinrock at MIT and at UCLA. The research led to the development of several packet-switched networking solutions in the late 1960s and 1970s, including ARPANET, Telenet, and the X.25 protocols. Additionally, public access and hobbyist networking systems grew in popularity, including unix-to-unix copy (UUCP) and FidoNet. They were however still disjointed separate networks, served only by limited gateways between networks. This led to the application of packet switching to develop a protocol for internetworking, where multiple different networks could be joined together into a super-framework of networks. By defining a simple common network system, the Internet Protocol Suite, the concept of the network could be separated from its physical implementation. This spread of internetworking began to form into the idea of a global network that would be called the Internet, based on standardized protocols officially implemented in 1982. Adoption and interconnection occurred quickly across the advanced telecommunication networks of the western world, and then began to penetrate into the rest of the world as it became the de-facto international standard for the global network. However, the disparity of growth between advanced nations and the third-world countries led to a digital divide that is still a concern today.

Komputer

Pengertian & Komponen-komponen Komputer

Pengertian Komputer

Kata komputer berasal dari bahasa Latin yaitu Computare yang artinya menghitung. Dalam bahasa Inggris disebut to compute. Secara definisi komputer diterjemahkan sebagai sekumpulan alat elektronik yang saling bekerja sama, dapat menerima data (input), mengolah data (proses) dan memberikan informasi (output) serta terkoordinasi dibawah kontrol program yang tersimpan di memorinya. Jadi cara kerja komputer dapat kita gambarkan sebagai berikut

1. Input Device, adalah perangkat-perangkat keras komputer yang berfungsi untuk memasukkan data ke dalam memori komputer, seperti keyboard, mouse, joystick dan lain-lain.

2. Prosesor, adalah perangkat utama komputer yang   mengelola seluruh aktifitas komputer itu sendiri. Prosesor terdiri dari dua bagian utama, yaitu ;

• Control Unit (CU), merupakan komponen utama prosesor yang mengontrol semua perangkat yang terpasang pada komputer, mulai dari input device sampai output device.
• Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU), merupakan bagian dari prosesor yang khusus mengolah data aritmatika (menambah, mengurang dll) serta data logika (perbandingan).

3. Memori adalah media penyimpan data pada komputer.

Memori terbagi atas dua macam, yaitu ;

• Read Only Memory (ROM), yaitu memori yang hanya bisa dibaca saja, tidak dapat dirubah dan dihapus dan sudah diisi oleh pabrik pembuat komputer. Isi ROM diperlukan pada saat komputer dihidupkan. Perintah yang ada pada ROM sebagian akan dipindahkan ke RAM. Perintah yang ada di ROM antara lain adalah perintah untuk membaca sistem operasi dari disk, perintah untuk mencek semua peralatan yang ada di unit sistem dan perintah untuk menampilkan pesan di layar. Isi ROM tidak akan hilang meskipun tidak ada aliran listrik. Tapi pada saat sekarang ini ROM telah mengalami perkembangan dan banyak macamnya, diantaranya :

· PROM (Programable ROM), yaitu ROM yang bisa kita program kembali dengan catatan hanya boleh satu kali perubahan setelah itu tidak dapat lagi diprogram.

· RPROM (Re-Programable ROM), merupakan perkembangan dari versi PROM dimana kita dapat melakukan perubahan berulangkali sesuai dengan yang diinginkan.

· EPROM (Erasable Program ROM), merupakan ROM yangdapat kita hapus dan program kembali, tapi cara penghapusannya dengan menggunakan sinar ultraviolet.

· EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Program ROM), perkembangan mutakhir dari ROM dimana kita dapat mengubahdan menghapus program ROM dengan menggunakan teknikelektrik. EEPROM ini merupakan jenis yang paling banyak digunakan saat ini.

Bisnis Online

Prinsip pemasaran adalah bagaimana kita menganalisa kebutuhan pelanggan dan membuat keputusan yang bisa memuaskan pelanggan kita lebih dari para pesaing dan berujung kepada terjadinya transaksi penjualan yang lebih baik pula.
Mengelola sebuah warnet dibutuhkan konsentrasi dan kiat kiat manajemen agar usaha kita dapat bersaing dan memperoleh keuntungan yang optimal.  4P adalah sebuah istilah dalam ilmu manajemen yang juga dikenal dengan istilah Marketing Mix. 4P yang dimaksud di sini adalah:

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

Setiap pengusaha warnet harus mampu mengelola secara optimal unsur unsur dalam 4P tersebut.
Product
di Warnet, produk utama kita tentunya adalah layanan koneksi internet.  Dalam memasarkan produk ini tentunya kita dituntut untuk bisa memberikan warna yang berbeda dari saingan saingan kita yang notabene punya produk yang sama.  Kita sebenarnya bisa mencontoh persaingan di operator seluler.  Operator seluler boleh dibilang cuma punya sedikit produk yang utama: komunikasi suara dan teks.  Namun coba perhatikan,  begitu kreatifnya operator seluler membuat derivatif produk sehingga masyarakat bisa memilih berbagai jenis produk hanya dari satu operator saja.
Apa yang membedakan produk kita dengan warnet tetangga? Jika tidak ada usaha untuk membuat variasi produk, maka jelaslah jualan kita tidak punya keunggulan sama sekali.  Kita harus berusaha menganalisa kebutuhan pelanggan, pasar yang belum tergarap untuk membuat sebuah varian produk yang pada akhirnya menyasar pasar tertentu.
Price
Setelah kita memiliki produk, maka konsentrasi berikutnya adalah mengelola harga jual.  Maaf saja kalau saya katakan pengusaha pengusaha warnet umumnya adalah pengusaha miskin inovasi dan cuma berkutat di perang harga.  Kemiskinan inovasi ini bisa kita lihat dari model pentarifan yang statis dan hampir tidak pernah berubah.  Padahal harga adalah variabel yang bisa kita mainkan.
Memainkan variabel harga akan menunjang varian produk.  Katakanlah: ada harga khusus buat member/anggota, harga khusus pelajar, harga khusus bagi mereka yang mengakses lebih dari sekian jam, harga khusus buat mereka yang datang berkelompok .

Harga khusus tidak selalu berarti pemotongan harga. Pernahkah anda mengeksplorasi kemungkinan kemungkinan ini?   Apakah anda membedakan harga antara jam ramai dan jam sepi? antara hari ramai dan hari sepi? antara bulan ramai dan bulan sepi?

Masakan Khas Padang

Rendang, Kuliner Khas Padang Sago

Maret 27, 2010 oleh Radio Komunitas Padang Sago

Padang Sago terletak di bagian Selatan Kabupaten Padang Pariaman Sumatera Barat. Di Padang Sago terkenal dengan masakan rendangnya. Apalagi pada saat lebaran Idul Adha dan Lebaran Idul Fitri. Jika pada lebaran maka kita akan menemukan rendang. Dan jika berkunjung di kedai nasi yang ada di Padang Sago maka kita akan menemukan rendang.
Rendang daging adalah masakan tradisional bersantan dengan daging sapi sebagai bahan utamanya. Masakan khas dari Sumatera Barat, Indonesia ini sangat digemari di semua kalangan masyarakat baik itu di Indonesia sendiri ataupun di luar negeri.
Selain daging sapi, rendang juga menggunakan Kelapa (karambia), dan campuran dari berbagai bumbu khas Minangkabau diantaranya cabai (lado), lengkuas, serai, bawang dan aneka bumbu lainnya yang biasanya disebut sebagai (Pemasak).
Rendang memiliki posisi terhormat dalam budaya masyarakat Minangkabau. Rendang memiliki filosofi tersendiri bagi masyarakat Minang Sumatra Barat yaitu musyawarah, yang berangkat dari 4 bahan pokok, yaitu:

1. Dagiang (Daging Sapi), merupakan lambang dari Niniak Mamak (para pemimpin Suku adat)
2. Karambia (Kelapa), merupakan lambang Cadiak Panda (Kaum Intelektual)
3. Lado (Cabai), merupakan lambang Alim Ulama yang pedas, tegas untuk mengajarkan syarak (agama)
4. Pemasak (Bumbu), merupakan lambang dari keseluruhan masyarakat Minang.