Sunday, January 25, 2009

Final Draft of My Book is Ready!

My new book:

"Qmaths! Mathematical Methods for Speed and Accuracy for Malaysian Schools" is almost out, hopefully in February.

I have solely used the Vedas and the Puranas to show the mathematical methodology, using the works of the Shankaracharya himself, Jagadguru Sri Bharati Krishna Tirtaji. I've also included some of my own formulas which are again based on the Vedas and the Puranas.

I also have a trained group of students (aged 10 to 15) who are math whizzes! A year ago they were just regular students struggling with numbers. Now they have super powers! :) Soon I shall be taking them on a nation wide tour.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Evolution of the presentation for Oct. 24, 2008

24th October, 2008 was the date for our softlaunch, presided over by YB Dr. Halimah Ali. These sequence of photos explain some of the processes that went into the creation of the "Spinning Exploding Globe for MyTM" presentation and launch sequence.

The entire presentation was created using White Dune. Entirely written in VRML and not embedded into HTML. I used a VRML client to view the material which was then projected onto the large screen using a LCD projector.

The main guiding words for the presentation was:

1. Global
2. Local
3. Technology
4. Education


The first part of the sequence is the entry into the MYTM education Museum. The Museum shows all the education material, past and present, that had been or being developed by MYTM.

The museum's doors open out to a vast lawn, with trees in a row, leading to a podium where a spinning globe has been placed. The background is the Gunung Kinabalu! Cool eh?

The door itself is actually a indexed face set, which I created in CorelDraw and exported out as a 2D vector image. It was a simple oval shape.


(The scene outside, as viewed through White Dune)

This oval shape vector object was then imported into Truespace and I subjected it to a "Sweep", which created a swept 3D object from a 2D vector through a single axis.

This was then exported to VRML using the builtin exporter.

The image on the right shows the door (strange rendering by White Dune, because it shows only part of opening of the door). The actual oval door was then transformed by changing the transparency of the object, making it translucent.

I then added a script to make the door open by pulling the door down with the mouse. The actual door looks like the next image captured from the VRML viewer client.

The image also shows the objects beyond the door, which I placed simply by following the axes direction, seen in the image to the right (the axes are X, Y and Z).

The process of placing the objects is simple in White Dune.

(The door seen through the VRML viewer client). Note the translucency of the door and the object beyond it.

YB then proceeds to open the door, at which point she is presented with a stunning vista!

Trees lining her path, a red carpet, the vast Gunung Kinabalu ahead of her, she moves to the podium, where a spinning globe awaits. This is the point of impact, or start sequence.

The fact is there a 2 main timers in the VRML script which I wrote. The first timer is the spinning globe timer, which is connected to a orientation interpolator and connected to the transform group of the globe.

The second timer governs two main things, the explosion of the globe and the banner rising sequence.

At the push of the impact or start sequence, the first timer stops (I sent a "Stop Time" tick to the timer). Furthermore, I also created a Proximity Sensor to ensure that she is at the right spot for the Impact Sequence.

You can observe the Touch Sensor being enabled in the picture at right (I have enlarged a section of the "finger" and placed at lower left of the image). This is important since I didn't want the YB to launch the impact sequence from afar. I wanted her to stand as close as possible, creating a nice frame effect with the podium, spinning globe and the Kinabalu in the background. And the view we have is shown at right.

As soon as the Impact Sequence starts, the spinning globe explodes and various banners and boxes appear. The image at left shows at T+2 seconds after Impact Sequence start.

The entire Impact Sequence lasts 40 seconds, synced to music (Europe's Final Countdown). And at the end of the 40 seconds, the image is as shown at right.

Several tricks of the trade:

1. The trees along the path are not 3D! They are basically 2D images (PNG-Portable Network Graphics), with transparencies. This image is then mapped on a cube, approximately the ratio of the height and width of the image. This cube is then scripted to a "Billboard" function, which basically rotates the cube to face the avatar, creating an illusion of a rounded shape!


The cubes I used to place map the PNG image can be clearly seen in the image at right. These are invisible in the VRML viewer client. Also notice that Kinabalu ends abruptly in the background!

Thats the second trick I used to create an illusion of a wide vista. I mapped a plain JPEG image of Kinabalu onto a cube, which I placed at the background.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Attack on Yoga

Sanatan dharma has been attacked again and again, yet it has persisted for thousands of years! The gifts of the dharma to the world are numerous, if not complete. Yet we see more attacks on our philosophy and religion.

It looks particularly menacing now, using threats of violence and persecution as a means of achieving their goal. But I hope the people of the dharma remain truthful to the basic philosophy - ahimsa (peace).

For those who wish harm on our philosophy and religion, I tell you, it won't be me to hang the sword of karma over you! It will be shakti herself! And that force won't stop to take names! Remember that....

The truth is yoga works! But because its a derivative of the dharma philosophy, you can sense the hatred. The hatred is like stabbing, straight to the bone. The need to see anguish in our eyes is blatant. Their desire is to see us hide ourselves in sadness and shame. Why? Because we believe in something that really, truly works!

Well, I know yoga works because I can show you the results:

If I were asked to define the Hindu creed, I should simply say: search the Truth through non-violent means. A man many not believe in God and still call himself a Hindu. Hinduism is a relentless pursuit after truth. - Mahatma Gandhi on Hinduism.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Looking for the Silver-eared Mesia....

The Silver-eared Mesia (Leiothrix argentauris), one of the most beautiful babblers that I have ever seen. Thought I would spend next weekend looking for it.

Saw a whole group at the Boh Tea Plantation at Cameron Highlands some time ago. Hmmmm...

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Multiplications using bases other than 10, 100, 1000 etc.

I have shown how easy and fast it is to multiply numbers using a base number. However, these bases tend to be factors of 10 or 100, etc. And if the numbers we are dealing with are not close to these factors, using bases such 20, 30 or 40 is desirable.

HINT: Using any number is possible as a base! Wait for the next streaming.

NOTE: These methods are derived from the Hindu scriptures, particularly the Vedas. For further info, check out Swami Bharati Krishna Tirtha's Vedic mathematics.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

J'accuse...!