Once again it is that time of the year again where Muslims all over the world begin fasting during the blessed month of Ramadan. As exciting of a period it is for Muslims, it seems that every year there seem to be some controversy as to when the new month should begin. Even though the past few years had gone well, it is back to business as usual this year with not only Canada and the United States differing on opinion but various states with the US observing it on two different days as well.
Islamic months follow the moon to determine when the new month will begin but it should not be confused or mislabeled as a lunar calendar. The Islamic calendar has months which either have 29 or 30 days and the length of each month vary from year to year. Traditionally, the first day of each month is the day (beginning at sunset) of the first sighting of the new crescent moon (or hilal as it is called) shortly after sunset.
If the hilal is not immediately visible after the 29th day of a month which could be because either the sky was too bright or the night was far too cloudy when the moon sets, then the following day is the 30th month. Whenever such a sighting is claimed, it is usually verified by a couple of reliable eyewitnesses before being generally accepted by the entire community. Determining the most likely day that the hilal could be observed was a motivation for Muslim interest in astronomy, which put Islam in the forefront of that science for many centuries.
In Microsoft Excel, if you ever needed to graph some data but then attach a data label with it that wasn’t necessarily the data value of that point, there is a way to do that. This also a good way to attach notes to the graphs and can be easily customized.
Let us assume this is your data:
You want to plot the first half of that data like normal:
Next you can right click on each of three bars and select Format Data Series. Now select the Data Labels tab and select Values and press OK.
You should now see the graph like this:
Now since you want to associate the second half of the data values with this bar graph, you select each data value individually – you can do this by click the value once, to select all the values associated with that color:
Then click again to select that point individually:
Now press the “=” key and select the cell the new data value that you would like to show. Repeat this last process for each data point and you will be set to go:
I am pretty sure you can write up a VB script for it and I probably will in due time if necessary, but hopefully this helps for now.
Popularity: 14%
My cousin over at Chill Yo Islam Yo raised a very important question last week when he asked whether the Nabsico products sold in North America were halal because they are self-proclaimed NOT halal-certified in Europe.
“Before you start throwing Oreo cookies at me,” as Saad said, I contacted the Nabisco Customer Service regarding the issue and have enclosed the entire conversation below for your consumption (get it?).
If the pictures below seems too long for you and you don’t want to read it (tl;dr), Nabisco basically stated that “to the best of their knowledge” as long as the Oreo product is not “Reduced Fat” or of the “Sugar Free” variety, you are good to go. Their answer is the first thing you read in the image and my initial question is found below the dotted line in each picture.
Below is the FAQ from Nabisco’s European website that Saad pulled up:
Popularity: 22%
I donated blood today for the first time in a few years and the process this time seemed to be much faster and definitely less painful with the needle poking. I went in well prepared with a meal before hand and no liquids immediately prior to the donation. I found out today that one can donate blood every 56 days and although that seems rather frequent in everyone’s busy schedule, I will definitely try to go at least once a year.
No one needs a special reason to give blood. Some of us give blood because we were asked by a friend, others because they know that a family member or a friend might need blood some day and some just believe it is the right thing to do. Whatever your reason, the need is constant and your contribution is important for a healthy and reliable blood supply. And you’ll feel good knowing you’ve helped change a life.
Some health benefits that you receive from donating are you actually get a mini physical while you’re there as they check your pulse, blood pressure, body temperature and hemoglobin.
In terms of preparation of what to bring when donating, you should have a meal and something to drink. In terms of documentations, bring a donor card if you have it and driver’s license or some other form of government issued ID. Also they ask about where you have traveled recently and what types of medication you may be taking so a list of those are always useful.
Blood Donors Must:
- Be healthy*
- Be at least 17 years old in most states, or 16 years old with parental consent if allowed by state law
- Weigh at least 110 lbs.
- Additional weight requirements apply for donors 18 years old and younger and all high school donors.
