Heart and Soul: Reconnecting with an old love
Rummaging through my long-forgotten dusty books stacked in dark corners of cabinets, caused me to have an epiphany about reconnecting with an old love. Having reached a stage of dearth of spiritual resources for shoring me up against the restrictive pandemic situation, I opted to resort to my old love of reading again. Once again, I reconnected with my old love. Immersing oneself in a good book (like any other activity of choice) is a good way to stay grounded. Thank you, my dear “old love”.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 05:26 UTC
Walking backwards offers more benefits than walking forwards
Today, on a reader’s request, I’m going to discuss the effects of walking backwards, also known as retro walking or reverse walking. Apparently, 100 steps of backward walking is equivalent to roughly 1,000 steps of conventional walking, which explains why you can burn calories quicker. Walking backwards also heightens your sense of balance and hearing, as you cannot depend on vision alone to steer you. In all scenarios, the backwards group or those who imagined walking backwards got the most answers right. You don’t need to spend a whole lot of time walking backwards to reap its benefits.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 04:52 UTC
Twitter, Facebook struggle to control racist use of emojis
A wave of online racism aimed at some of England’s Black football players has highlighted how social media companies’ content moderation systems are failing to monitor the use of emojis. In the aftermath, a wave of racist abuse was levelled at three Black England players – Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka – and messages on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram included monkey and banana emojis. Social media companies such as Facebook Inc, Twitter and Google, which owns YouTube, have spent years developing algorithms to detect offensive speech so that it can be removed. “Using emojis, like monkey or banana emojis, to racially abuse someone is completely against our rules,” said a Facebook company spokesperson. Players and officials also spoke out, including Rashford in a widely shared statement on social media.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 03:46 UTC
My Say: Malaysia’s journey to a carbon-neutral future
Without a crystal ball to see into the future, the question of how society will make this transition can be difficult to answer. Unlike traditional economic forecasting, which is usually constructed on the assumption that tomorrow’s world will be much like today’s, Shell’s scenarios embrace uncertainty, trying to understand it and making it a part of our reasoning. Shell Malaysia’s development of The Tree, The Sky, The Sun is an aspirational scenario of how Malaysia could reach for the sky (a carbon-neutral state) with its unique advantages of tree and sun. At the start of Malaysia’s journey, a national communication campaign and an extensive discourse throughout the country are critical to encourage a consensus for working together. Please download 'The Tree, The Sky, The Sun' (www.shell.com.my/treeskysun) to explore the challenging, yet technically possible, pathway for Malaysia to achieve a carbon-neutral future by 2065.
Source:The Edge Markets
July 16, 2021 03:22 UTC
Netflix’s plan to jump into video games puzzles Wall Street
By experimenting with games, Netflix hopes to give customers one more reason to sign up for its service – and to hang on instead of leaving. Netflix doesn’t currently plan to charge for the games, according to a person familiar with the matter. The executive tasked with leading the effort, Mike Verdu, has changed jobs four times in the past 10 years, before moving to Netflix, Pachter noted. Mobile gamesNetflix may be able to more effectively compete in mobile games, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Matthew Kanterman. Interactive showsWhat would make more sense is for Netflix to develop additional interactive TV shows, which fall somewhere in between traditional TV and video games, Ward said.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 03:00 UTC
Don't challenge govt directives, DPM warns factories and business premises
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) on Thursday (July 15) issued a stern warning to factories and business premises that continue to violate standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the National Recovery Plan (NRP). In a Facebook post, he said 180 factories and business premises were ordered to close Wednesday (July 14) for failing to comply with the directives and SOPs. "Don’t challenge the government's directives, this is my warning to factories and business premises that are still defiant by violating SOPs. If the rakyat can be patient, why are there still parties still being stubborn and who keep being the main contributors? - BernamaArticle type: metered User Type: anonymous web User Status: Campaign ID: 46 Cxense type: free User access status: 3Join our Telegram channel to get our Evening Alerts and breaking news highlights
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 01:18 UTC
Google wants people in office, despite productivity gains at home
“Google and Apple have some of the best offices,” said Evan Hock, a co-founder of MakeMyMove.com, an online directory for remote work. Hölzle, Google’s eighth employee, is known internally for building the teams managing its sprawling datacentres and server farms. In internal messages about Hölzle’s move, some frustrated Google staff resurfaced an email from an ex-colleague native to New Zealand. In recent years, Google employees have gone to war with management over a number of issues. Google isn’t sharing how many employee remote work requests have been approved so far.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 01:00 UTC
Get ad-free premium plan for uninterrupted access to news
PETALING JAYA: Star Media Group (SMG) is launching an advertisement-free premium plan for The Star Digital Access membership. The premium plan provides an ad-free reading experience and full access to TheStar.com.my and its mobile app for only RM13.90 per month, or RM148 for a year-long subscription. A free trial of the digital membership plan will be available to new customers for 30 days. Digital Access members will get daily access to news, features, videos, interactive graphics and more. “The new premium plan will provide members with uninterrupted access to all the latest news and updates, without advertisements,” she added.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 00:45 UTC
Nexus achieves world-beating IBDP Results, two learners recognised as Top in the World
NEXUS International School Malaysia, a top IB school in Malaysia, once again achieved world-beating results in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). With a high average score of 38 points this year, Nexus learners substantially outperformed the world average of 33 points. Nexus’ learners also once again achieved a 100% pass rate, above the global pass rate of 89%. “Nexus teachers were accommodating and engaging, making it less daunting to speak during online sessions,” Chan concurs. Your child can be inspired by these success stories and learn more about the Nexus IB Diploma Programme.
Source:The Star
July 16, 2021 00:40 UTC
Vaccine drive from door to door
“When the appointment date is reflected on their smartphones, the personnel and officers will contact the MPKK members,” he said. Kapt Muhammad Aizat said the door-to-door registration initiative held recently also enabled those not yet registered to finally get registered for vaccination. Abdul Aziz said prior to the initiative, the MPKK had conducted an on-site registration drive for vaccines but the response was not that good. Zaiton, who suffers from chronic diabetes, said she had been asking MPKK members at the flats about the availability of vaccination for her. “I am thankful to the Kampung Melayu MPKK and APM for coming to the flats and making sure no one is left behind,” she said.
Source:The Star
July 15, 2021 23:48 UTC
Tertiary education results out today
PETALING JAYA: Those with Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) qualification or its equivalent who have applied to study in public universities, polytechnics, community colleges and Public Skills Training Institution (ILKA) can check their status from noon today. Successful candidates are required to accept or decline their offer and may print their offer letter by browsing the admissions page of their respective university websites from tomorrow until July 26. The official offer letter will be issued by the institutions within 10 days after the offer is accepted. Those who do not get their chosen course can appeal through UPUOnline for entry to public universities and polytechnics. Appeals can be done at https://upu.mohe.gov.my until July 26, and appeals to Community Colleges and ILKA can be forwarded directly to the institution.
Source:The Star
July 15, 2021 23:26 UTC
Soniia vows to fight fearlessly as Thai threat looms
PETALING JAYA: When Soniia Cheah (pic) competes in her maiden Olympics next week, it’s another box ticked for her. The 28-year-old independent singles shuttler believes she has done the ‘Cheah’ family proud by becoming an Olympian. With sheer perseverance, Soniia was able to come back strongly and regain her status as the country’s top women’s singles player. On paper, Soniia is expected to find it hard to overcome former world champion Ratchanok having lost to her in five previous meetings. Their last match in the first round of the All-England last year saw Soniia lose tamely, 9-21, 11-21.
Source:The Star
July 15, 2021 23:22 UTC
Go numb on durians harvested with 5G tech
At the popular Bao Sheng durian farm, owner Chang Teik Seng, 60, said he was able to collect the King of Fruit easily with the help of 5G technology, which was installed at his farm last year. “It’s crucial for us to identify the fallen fruit as soon as possible,” he said at his orchard here. Teik Seng’s son Zhi Vooi, 27, who helps manage the orchard, said they would get better network coverage by using 5G. “Last year, we set up fishnets to catch the fallen durians, using 5G technology, which notified us of the location of the fallen fruit at the farm,” he said. On the 5G system, Zhi Vooi explained that sensors were placed along each durian tree net, enabling them to detect changes to net tension and weight when a fruit drops.
Source:The Star
July 15, 2021 23:15 UTC
Pikas helps boost vaccination numbers
PUTRAJAYA: Over 100,000 workers in the manufacturing sector have received their first Covid-19 vaccination dose under the Public-Private Partnership Covid-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (Pikas). Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Lim Ban Hong said the response towards the programme was very encouraging and it had helped to boost Malaysia’s Covid-19 vaccination rate. “Pikas plays a very important role in making workers in the manufacturing sector feel safe in the workplace. Launched on June 16, Pikas is a strategic collaboration between the public and private sectors that focuses on vaccinating workers in the manufacturing sector. The government via Pikas will provide vaccines for free while the private sector will fund and manage the PPV in order to reduce the government’s administrative cost.
Source:The Star
July 15, 2021 23:03 UTC
Be patient, rakyat urged
PUTRAJAYA: Fully vaccinated individuals may soon enjoy less stricter lockdown restrictions, including travelling, as the country gears itself towards a return to normalcy. With Malaysia’s Covid-19 immunisation programme advancing well, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has asked for patience as the government works out its National Recovery Plan. “I’ve asked for relaxation to be considered for those who have received two vaccine doses. “The National Recovery Plan is ongoing until the end of the year, so let’s be patient. However, they feel that such a move should only be done after the majority of the Malaysian population is fully vaccinated.
Source:The Star
July 15, 2021 22:52 UTC