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2009-07-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

The story of chocolates

2009-06-21T22:32:00.001-07:00

Chocolate was drink and was a favorite of Montezuma, Emperor of the Aztecs. Hernando Cortez, the Spanish conquistador, brought the drink to Spain in 1529. It remained as a favorite of the Spanish royalty for several years before becoming consumed extensively all over Europe. Three centuries afterward in England chocolate was first used as a non-liquid confection.

In 1847, Joseph Fry & Son -- under the leadership of the original Joseph Fry's great-grandson -- discovered a way to mix some of the melted cacao butter back into defatted, or "Dutched," cocoa powder (mixed with sugar) to make a paste that could be pressed into a shape. The resulting bar was such a big hit that people soon began to think of eating chocolate as much as drinking it. Many people credit this as the very first chocolate bar for eating.

John Cadbury made a similar product to his range in 1849, and today's original chocolate bars would not be considered very tasty. The early eating bars of chocolate were made of bittersweet chocolate. Milk chocolate was introduced in 1875 when Henry Nestle, a maker of evaporated milk and Daniel Peter, a chocolate maker, got together and invented milk chocolate.

Latha Jishnu: Hope is a patent troll for IIT-Bombay

2009-03-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

There is an air of celebration emanating from IIT-Bombay. Reports in the local papers suggest that the senior faculty is delighted with a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that IIT-B signed last Monday with Intellectual Ventures (IV), a Washington-based company that specialises in buying patents and leveraging them for optimum gain.

IIT-B is clearly expecting great things from this agreement. It hopes that IV will be able to monetise its intellectual property (IP) in a more systematic way and help it to reap the rewards of global commercialisation. For academic institutions in India, even IITs which are regarded as top-flight hubs of innovation, the path to commercial success is strewn with problems. Not only are patents costly, but institutes have to struggle to create a prototype or take their idea to a level where the technology can be proven, as those in charge of IIT-B’s research and development moaned at the MoU-signing function. IIT-B has about 130 patents under its belt, but these have not generated any revenues for the institution.

So for these academics, the partnership with IV brims with hope and promise. IV will pay IIT-B a licensing fee for these patents and will also bear the patenting costs. The partnership is not exclusive and IIT-B is free to engage with others for IP-related matters. IV is offering its global network to help IIT-B to make the most of its innovation and will also bring a sharper focus to its R&D by identifying the demand-areas in the coming decade.

On the face of it, the open-ended licensing agreement is the best kind of deal for the institute since it allows IIT-B the option to pursue other ways of capitalising its IP. IV enjoys a fearsome reputation globally of being a patent troll, that is, a company which specialises in buying up patents and licensing it to others. As a result, it engages in a vast amount of litigation to pursue other companies that it believes might have incorporated any part of the IP in the patents that it owns without due permission. The patent troll’s main activity is seen as litigation and thus the reason for its unsavoury reputation.

IV’s founder is Nathan Myhrvold, earlier the chief strategist and chief technology officer of Microsoft, who describes himself as an ‘intellectual capitalist’ — akin to, but superior to a venture capitalist. IV has built up a formidable war chest of patents and, according to reports in the US, has more than 20,000 patents and patent applications “related to everything from lasers to computer chips.” It has also set up a fund (estimated to be $500 million) with a limited number of strategic partners who are investors as well as customers in IV’s patent portfolio.

Why would a company of this kind be interested in India which is a notorious laggard in innovation? One explanation is that IV is intent on mopping up potentially-promising technologies that are being thrown up in the IITs and the public research institutions in India. Reports suggest that IV is also seeking an agreement with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the vast network of the country’s public research institutes, which is sitting on some 3,000 patents.

But not everyone is enamoured of IV. Critics predict that IIT-B is unlikely to benefit from this agreement because there is no evidence yet that the US firm’s hybrid business model has worked. They say there is need for transparency in such MoUs, especially on the valuation of the patents. For IIT-B, however, the comfort with IV comes from Ashok Misra, who heads its India operations. Misra is an IIT veteran who has been in Delhi and Mumbai for decades. He was the director of IIT-B when he left his assignment mid-way last July to join IV. So when Misra claims that IV’s unique business model will “enhance the creation, dissemination and use of technological inventions coming out of premier institutes such as IIT- Bombay”, his peers will believe him. Misra says his goal is to find “excellent collaborators to help develop the best solutions for the global marketplace of the near future”, a tantalising prospect for IITs which have made little impact in even the domestic market.

But that, according to one view, is not the solution. Scientists point out that Indian institutes have been unable to make the most of their IP because there is no portfolio management of their patents. As a result, they end up with bits and pieces of interesting IP which do not add up to much. It’s a bit like owning small pieces of property; only a significant chunk of real estate helps one to reap the true value of property. It remains to be seen whether the patent troll can help IITs to increase their IP holdings.

source : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/latha-jishnu-hope-ispatent-troll-for-iit-bombay/352118/

Asus Launches M4 Series Motherboards

2009-02-25T00:49:00.000-08:00

Asus has added new M4 series motherboards to its motherboard line up for India. Based on AMD and Nvidia chipsets, Asus has introduced M4A series and M4N series respectively. All new M4 series motherboards support AMD Phenom II Socket AM3 processors. Asus M4 series motherboards will be available through Rashi Peripherals.

The new M4A series motherboards include AMD 790FX chipset based M4A79T Deluxe and M4A79 Deluxe motherboards. We've already reviewed M4A79 Deluxe recently and found it to be a good performer with decent features. Apart from that, the M4A series include AMD 790GX chipset based M4A78T-E and M4A78-E as well as 780G chipset based M4A78 PRO. Out of these, only M4A79T Deluxe and M4A78T-E support DDR3 memory, while the rest M4A motherboards support DDR2 memory with up to 1066MHz frequencies.

Of these M4A series motherboards, M4A78T-E and M4A78-E carry integrated ATI Radeon HD 3300 graphics, while M4A78 Pro has ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics. All four new M4A series motherboards, except M4A78 PRO, include FireWire 400 (1394a) support.
The M4N series motherboards include Nvidia nForce 980a SLI chipset based M4N82 Deluxe, nForce 750a based M4N72-E and GeForce 8300 based M4N78 PRO. Asus has equipped GeForce 8 series GPU with Hybrid SLI support in M4N82 Deluxe and M4N72-E motherboards. All Nvidia chipset based M4N series boards support DDR2 1066MHz RAM. The M4N82 Deluxe and M4N72-E motherboards offer support for FireWire 400.

All M4 series motherboards feature 8 channel HD audio and 8-phase power design for better power efficiency. Equipped with Asus TurbV overclocking utility for voltage adjustments and Turbo Key, overclocking for enthusiasts will be easier. Turbo Key acts as physical overclocking button like PC's power button.

Asus might show these M4 series motherboards at the CeBIT conference starting March 3 at Hannover, Germany.

source:http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Asus_Launches_M4_Series_Motherboards/551-99265-581.html

ZTE comes up with two NGN data cards

2009-02-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

Chinese vendor, ZTE announced that launch of two new data cards namely the MF662 and the MF645.

The MF662 data card with dimensions of 93 x 28.8 x 12.9mm is designed for HSPA networks, says ZTE and promises to provide users with a much faster broadband experience. The data card can support Download and Upload rates of up to 21.6 Mbps (up from 14.4Mbps on HSPA) and 5.76M, respectively.

ZTE claims that the MF645 with dimensions of 69 x 27 x 12mm is the world’s smallest data card and also believed to be world’s first plug-and-play data card which enables users to watch digital video content on a laptop or PC over a 3G connection. ZTE promises that the data card with 7.2mbps download rate will offer similar experience as that offered by traditional TV.

“HSPA+ is an important step in network evolution as it will lead to lower connection cost, giving consumers access to innovative and effective services. More importantly, it will help carriers test out the business case for next-generation networks, opening the doors for LTE,” said Zhang Yadong, general manager of data cards, ZTE Corporation. “ZTE is reinforcing its leadership position in the HSPA market by announcing two innovative data cards that will provide consumers with a superior user experience.”

source:http://www.telecomtiger.com/Broadband_fullstory.aspx?passfrom=Broadband&storyid=5388§ion=S212

IBM Helps Indian Firm Go Green

2009-02-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Big Blue is implementing energy-saving technologies for Religare Enterprise.

IBM said Tuesday that it has signed a $3.1 million deal to implement green technologies for Indian financial services company Religare Enterprises Limited.
Under the contract, IBM will design, build, and maintain energy-efficient data centers in Delhi, Noida, and Mumbai for REL. It will also deploy networking gear and disaster-recovery systems for the company. The setup, which combines high-density computing with precision air conditioning controls, will cut REL's energy costs by up to 35% by reducing annual power consumption by 3,600 kilowatt-hours, according to IBM.

"We have ambitious growth plans," said Religare chief operating officer Shachindra Nath, in a statement. "We are confident that our partnership with IBM will provide us with a distinct competitive edge in the market."

Nath added: "IBM's unmatched expertise to design and build a globally benchmarked, standardized, scalable and energy-efficient facility will certainly support our dynamic growth plans effectively."

IBM officials said there is increasing demand for systems that support green operations and help businesses reduce energy bills. "In these economically difficult times, companies across the board want solutions that can help them achieve greater operational efficiency and save costs," said Nipun Mehrotra, IBM's VP and general manager for Global Technology Services in India.

"IBM's consultative approach helped Religare with the process of design finalization and product selection, and ensured the final solution was miles ahead of those offered by other large competitors in India," Mehrotra said.

IBM to date has built more than 300,000 square feet of raised data center space in India. The company has more than 50,000 employees in the country.

sources:http://networkcomputing.in/Server-Storage-005Feb009-IBM-Helps-Indian-Firm-Go-Green.aspx

Is Apple Building A Better iPhone?

2009-01-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

Less than a year after the Apple iPhone 3G won the hearts of Mac-heads everywhere, there's reason to suspect a new iPhone may be in the making.

Sounds like crazy talk, right? But Apple has long been known for fast refresh cycles and updates, so another iPhone wouldn't be too much of a pipe dream. Evidence of a new iPhone appearing in late January could mean Apple is readying it for launch in June, which would fall in line with previous iPhone launches.

According to Apple watchers, MacRumors.com, Apple's iPhone 2.2.1 firmware update for iPhone and iPod Touch users hints of a next generation of iPhone dubbed iPhone 2.1.

MacRumors indicated that Apple uses a specific numbering scheme in firmware to distinguish between iPhone models. For example, the firstgeneration iPhone 2G is labeled as iPhone 1.1, while the 3G is iPhone 1.2. The numbers don't change for storage increases but represent functionality of different devices.

MacRumors said the new model number can be found in the USBDeviceConfuguration.plist in an unencrypted firmware.

In addition, MacRumors indicated that an iPhone application developer suggested someone is already using a new iPhone model to load ads in the application, based on an ad report from metrics firm PinchMedia. That could mean an Apple insider is testing new hardware.

Word is a next-generation iPhone could have more processing cores and advanced graphics processing.

source:http://www.crn.com/mobile/212903454

DepEd set to bare 2008 achievement report today

2009-01-24T02:12:00.000-08:00

Roxas City -- Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Jesli Lapus is set to present the agency's achievements for 2008 today at Bulwagan ng Karunungan, DepEd Complex, Meralco Avenue Pasig City.

"There will also be a ceremonial signing of the bilateral assistance agreement for education programs between DepEd and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)," said a flash announcement over the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) website, pia.gov.ph.

The activity will be graced by US Ambassador Kristie Kenney DepEd and USAID key officials.

The DepEd, under Sec. Lapus watch, has registered record achievements including the highest public approval rating among national government agencies, top performing cabinet secretary, big advances in students test ratings, and peak resource mobilization, said a DepEd website.

The portal added that the World Bank (WB) pronounced that the DepEd reforms instituted to be at par with international best practices.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares hit 6-wk low; confidence takes hit

2009-01-15T00:45:00.000-08:00

* Asian shares sink 5 pct; biggest fall since Nov.

* Japanese bond futures soar to four-month highs

* Oil prices fall $1 a barrel

* Focus on ECB; magnitude of expected rate cut questioned (Updates with latest prices, European shares outlook)

By Rafael Nam

HONG KONG, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Asian shares hit a six-week low on Thursday and safe-haven Japanese bond futures rose to their highest since Lehman Brothers collapsed in September as the U.S. banking crisis deepened, sparking fears of prolonged financial turmoil.

Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Citigroup Inc (C.N) shares plunged on Wednesday as investors questioned whether the firms have enough capital to cover losses from toxic assets. [nCRISIS]

The market turbulence -- with European shares also set to fall at the open -- is another blow to major economies and many consumers who are facing the toughest conditions in decades, as evidenced by more gloomy data out of the United States, Germany and Japan.

The European Central Bank is expected to slash interest rates later in the day in a bid to stimulate growth, though uncertainty about how deep the cut will be helped send the euro to multi-week lows on Wednesday.

for more information log into:http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKT23409520090115

Illovo, SABMiller, Sasol, Tongaat: South Africa Equity Preview

2009-01-13T00:57:00.000-08:00

Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in South Africa. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names and prices are from the last close.

South Africa’s FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index fell for a fourth day, sliding 37.6, or 0.2 percent, to 22,183.09.

Freeworld Coatings Ltd. (FWD SJ): The paint manufacturer said it’s still in talks that may affect its shares. Freeworld rose 79 cents, or 11 percent, to 7.80 rand.

Illovo Sugar Ltd. (ILV SJ): Investec upgraded its recommendation on Africa’s biggest sugar producer to “buy” from “sell.” Investec also raised its fiscal 2010 earnings per share estimate for Illovo by 9 percent to 2.51 rand. Illovo slid 20 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 24 rand.

SABMiller Plc (SAB SJ): Investec raised its share-price estimate on the world’s third-largest brewer to 185 rand, from 180 rand. SABMiller climbed 1.24 rand, or 0.8 percent, to 165.99.

Sasol Ltd. (SOL SJ): Crude oil fell for a sixth day in New York, extending yesterday’s 7.9 percent slump on speculation oil inventories last week increased as demand declined. Sasol, the world’s biggest maker of motor fuel from coal, advanced 2.90 rand, or 0.9 percent, to 315.

Shoprite Holdings Ltd. (SHP SJ): South Africa’s largest grocery chain by market value may publish a trading update. Marketing Director Brian Weyers said Jan. 9 that holiday sales were “better than forecast.” Shoprite added 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 55.22 rand.

Tongaat-Hulett Group Ltd. (TON SJ): Investec raised its earnings per share estimate on South Africa’s second-biggest sugar producer by 6 percent to 5.57 rand. Tongaat dropped 3.90 rand, or 5.4 percent, to 68 rand.

Shares or American depositary receipts of the following South African companies closed as follows:

Anglo American Plc (AAUK US) fell 5.4 percent to $10.64. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU US) dropped 4.7 percent to $24.20. BHP Billiton Ltd. (BBL US) declined 6.4 percent to $36.54. DRDGold Ltd. (DROOY US) retreated 8 percent to $5.28. Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI US) lost 7.4 percent to $8.14. Harmony Gold Mining Co. (HMY US) slid 5.9 percent to $9.49. Impala Platinum Holdings Co. (IMPUY US) fell 8.4 percent to $14.10. Sappi Ltd. (SPP US) rose 1 percent to $4.08. Sasol Ltd. (SSL US) decreased 4.1 percent to $30.46. Telkom South Africa Ltd. (TKG US) fell 5.5 percent to $44.07.

more details log onto :http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aHUCG89uljsE&refer=africa

And Now, the Return of Winnie-The-Pooh

2009-01-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

Hide the honey pots: Winnie-the-Pooh will return in the first authorized sequel to A. A. Milne’s children’s books, The Associated Press reported. The maladroit bear, whose realist philosophy was immortalized in two books by Milne (and later a series of Walt Disney cartoons), had his last official print adventure in 1928 in “The House at Pooh Corner,” which ended with his human companion, Christopher Robin, leaving for boarding school. The new book, “Return to the Hundred Acre Wood,” may pick up there, though its author, David Benedictus, said only that his work would “both complement and maintain Milne’s idea that whatever happens, a little boy and his bear will always be playing,” according to The A.P. Dutton Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, is scheduled to publish “Return to the Hundred Acre Wood” on Oct. 5.

source:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/arts/10arts-ANDNOWTHERET_BRF.html?ref=arts

Topics: * Software / Services * Office Hardware * Security * Servers / Storage * Cell Phones / VoIP * Operating Systems

2009-01-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

The Windows operating system had been sitting pretty with a 90 percent or more market share for ... well ... forever. Then November and December 2008 came along.

According to Web metrics tracking company Net Applications, Windows market share declined 1.8 percentage points in November and December, its biggest two-month dip ever and double the previous record of .92 percent, which took place a year ago.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, in the same two-month time period, Mac OS X set a record for increased market share, jumping above 9 percent for the first time, according to Net Applications, which bases its numbers on Internet usage and not sales.

Results from holiday months like November and December are deceptive. More people were away from the office using home Macs to cruise the Internet with Firefox and/or Safari. I would argue that most of the Windows and Internet Explorer market share reductions will be reversed in January and February when more people will be at work, sitting at PCs using IE.

Nevertheless, the numbers are unprecedented and provide proof that the smaller guys are gaining on the software giant.

Lately though, I see more and more of a division brewing: PCs/Windows are for the workplace, Macs are for the living room. I say this despite Mac retail sales actually dropping 1 percent in November while PCs sales grew 7 percent. I think that was a reaction to Apple not cutting MacBook prices. The home/office division idea is mostly my own anecdotal observation: I'm currently without a personal laptop, standing at the PC or Mac crossroads, and all I hear from friends and colleagues is: "Buy a Mac."

But they're nearly twice the price!

So what, they say. "It's a good investment. It's worth it. Buy a Mac."

Buy a Mac. As if it's a quick fix for all of life's ills. As if it will make me smarter, cooler and more creative. That's the illusion Apple has been successfully shilling for years.

But I digress. Yes, Windows usage is slipping but I don’t put all my faith in Net Applications' stats because they are based on the number of people using Windows who browsed the Web sites that Net Applications monitors. Operating systems are hard to measure and I would not take Net Applications' numbers at face value.

With that said, I will be surprised if Windows market share slips further in the next two or three months. I actually expect it to go back to October levels. But if it does continue to dip, then the whole "people were home more with their Macs in November and December" argument loses validity, and Microsoft will have something to worry about.

source:http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/156482/dip_in_windows_is_just_a_blip_on_the_radar.html

Muharram

2008-12-23T00:55:00.001-08:00

Muharram, the forbidden month, is the opening month of the Hejira year. The 10th day of the month is celebrated by the Sunnies as well as the Shias all over the world. It was on this day that God is believed to have created Adam and Eve and that the Pharoah of Egypt and his countrymen were drowned in the Red Sea by the will of the Almighty. Again it was on this day that the most lamentable carnage at Kerbala took place in 680 AD when Imman Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet and his men met with their end in an agonising manner. On this day the Jews observe fast. The Prophet enjoined on the Muslims to observe fast on the ninth and tenth of Muharram. It was to commemorate the victory of the Jews over Pharoah that fasting was enjoined upon Muslims on these days. For the Shia Muslims, Muharram is an important occasion for religious ceremony. The Sunni Muslims do not celebrate Muharram, but the devout Muslims among them observe fast.

`Pulikali' or `Tiger-dance' is part of this celebration in Kerala. Some Muslims assume the guise of tiger by painting their whole body to bring out the appearance of tiger, wear masks and parade through streets, playing, dancing and mimicking a tiger. This is done to idealize the valour of Hussain.

Risks of Venture capital

2008-12-18T02:53:00.000-08:00

A limited secondary market for shares – this may make them hard to sell. To partially address this issue, some VCT managers offer a Buy Back facility, normally at a discount to the net asset value.
Type of company the VCT invests in – VCTs are designed to provide capital for small companies and each VCT will invest in a number of companies. There is a risk that these companies may not perform as hoped and in some circumstances may fail completely.
Where the 30% non-qualifying investments are invested – typically, VCTs have invested the 30% non-qualifying investments in money market securities/gilts/cash deposits etc. Some, however, invest part of this in more risky investment vehicles which may raise the overall risk profile of the fund still further.
Withdrawal of tax breaks – if certain criteria are not met, for example, if the investment is not held for five years or if the VCT does not invest 70% of its funds in qualifying investments, the initial tax breaks can be withdrawn.
Charges – the levels of charges for VCTs may be greater than for other investments, and you may also be charged performance fees.
Security of capital – as with any asset-backed investment, the value of a VCT depends on the performance of the underlying assets, so you may get back less than you originally invested, even taking into account the tax breaks.

DHUNA Shri Gorakh Nath Ji

2008-12-10T21:39:00.001-08:00

Cause of Establishment:There have been nine Siddhas in the Nath cult, the foremost of them is Shri Gorakh Nath who was an accomplished yogi. This place is said to be the site of ascetism of Shri Gorakh Nath where his fire place (Dhuna) is even today present. It is also believed that Shri Gogaji met Shri Gorakh Nathji here and became his principal disciple. Gorakh Nathji gave him spiritual education and instructions. The temple of Gogaji is only 3 Kms. Away towards the west from this place.
Brief of the Diety: The idol of Bhairuji and Devi along with Lord Shiva and his family are worshiped in this temple. The Dhuna of Gorkh Nathji is also an object of worship. In this temple there is a stone image of Goddess Kalika which is made of stone and is in standing posture having the size of 3 ft. Side by side is the black stone idol of Bhairuji of the equal size. By them is the Shiva family and other Samadhis (entombments) of the yogis.

Important Architectural Characteristics:The Dhuna Guru Gorakhnath is on a mound, hence it is called Gorakh teela.Dhuna of Gorkh Nathji is also an object of worship. In this temple there is a stone image of Goddess Kalika which is made of stone and is in standing posture having the size of 3 ft. Side by side is the black stone idol of Bhairuji of the equal size. By them is the Shiva family and other Samadhis (entombments) of the yogis.

Hematite

2008-12-02T21:58:00.001-08:00

Hematite is a metallic mineral with a high specific gravity of 4.9 to 5.3. It is in the hexagonal crystal system, though it is usually found massive or in granular masses. Hematite has a hardness of 5.5 to 6.5 and a dark reddish-brown streak; streak is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of this mineral (it is easily confused with magnetite). When polished, it has a beautiful shiny metallic luster over a dark steel-gray color; before polishing, it can be red, reddish brown, black. The name "hematite" is from the Greek word "haimatites", meaning "blood like," because of the red color of the powder. In the United States, it is found at Lake Superior.

Dola Purnima (Holi)

2008-11-18T03:02:00.001-08:00

Dolapwnima or Holi is the most famous spring festival of India. Usually celebrated in March It has special properties in its celebration in Orissa where it is a five day affair, especially in the rural areas. The images of Krishna are worshipped form Dashami (10th day of the bright fortnight) to the full moon day. The images are taken in decorated vimans, small wooden temples, carried on the shoulders of bearers from house to house where offerings are made to them. After the tour of the village the vimanas from different villages are assembled in an open field and the time is spent in bhajana and kirtan. Jatras and palas are also held in the area. The day after the full moon day people throw coloured water on one another and smear each others faces with coloured powder (3bir). The festival is specially important for cattle owing to their association with the cowherd boy Krisllna. They are bathed, anointed with vermillion, garlanded and fed sumptuously. The festival is connected with the destruction of the demon Holikasura or the she-demon Holika by making a bonfire, for which the festival is called Holi.

Such Melanas or Fairs continue till the month of Chaitra in different places of the district of Cuttack, Puri and Ganjam.

Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple

2008-11-11T03:42:00.000-08:00

Located at TrIpunithura, 10 km from Cochin city. The deity here is Maha Vishnu and is one among three Vishnu Temples in Kerala . Arjuna (one of the Pancha Pandavas ) is believed to have established this temple., The Major festival of this temple is held during November-December. The Other cultural festival, Athachamayam during harvest festival of Onam is also celebrated with procession of float, Tableau and dances like Pulikkali, This deity is Kula Daivam of Cochin Royal family.

CBC

2008-11-05T03:27:00.001-08:00

Christmas Bird Count. This survey is performed in one calendar day any time from mid-December to early January by volunteers. Birds are counted in an area with a 15 mile radius. Data from this survey is used to generate the CBC maps.

Odissi Dance

2008-10-30T22:20:00.001-07:00

Odissi is the classical dance form that originated in the ambience of the temples. It is a lyrical form of dance with its subtelety as its keynote. The intimate relationship experienced between the poetry and music in Odissi is a feature on which the aesthetics of the style is built. It is a "sculpturesque" style of dance with a harmony of line and movement, all its own.

The history of Odissi dates back to somewhere between the 8th and the 11th century, when the kings took great pride in excelling in the arts of dance and music. It is during these centuries that inscriptions referring to "Devdasis", the women who were conseciated to the worship of the deity, were carved at the Brahmeshwar temple. "Devdasis" apparently played an important part in the temple ritual and were required to perform from early evening to the bedtime of Lord Jagannath, the temple deity of Puri.

Weight regulation in children

2008-10-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

Children need enough food for proper growth. To promote growth and development and prevent overweight, teach children to eat grain products; vegetables and fruits; lowfat milk products or other calcium-rich foods; beans, lean meat, poultry, fish or other protein-rich foods; and to participate in vigorous activity. Limiting television time and encouraging children to play actively in a safe environment are helpful steps. Although limiting fat intake may help to prevent excess weight gain in children, fat should not be restricted for children younger than 2 years of age. Helping overweight children to achieve a healthy weight along with normal growth requires more caution. Modest reductions in dietary fat, such as the use of lowfat milk rather than whole milk, are not hazardous. However, major efforts to change a child's diet should be accompanied by monitoring of growth by a health professional at regular intervals.

Light, Volatile Oils

2008-10-13T21:15:00.001-07:00

These oils are highly fluid, often clear, spread rapidly on solid or water surfaces, have a strong odor, a high evaporation rate, and are usually flammable. They penetrate porous surfaces such as dirt and sand, and may be persistent in such a matrix. They do not tend to adhere to surfaces; flushing with water generally removes them. Class A oils may be highly toxic to humans, fish, and other biota. Most refined products and many of the highest quality light crudes can be included in this class.

Whole Foods or Supplements?

2008-09-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

Nutrients should come primarily from foods. Foods such as fruits and vegetables contain not only the vitamins and minerals that are often found in supplements, but also other naturally occurring substances that may help protect you from chronic diseases.

For some people, fortified foods or supplements can be helpful in getting the nutrients their bodies need. A fortified food contains a nutrient in an amount greater than what is typically found in that food.

Siamese Fighting Fish

2008-09-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

This fish can safely be kept in a community tank, although not with another male of their own species, and also, not usually with a female lest they start protecting (or hating) her and causing trouble all round.

In gorgeous color sheens; pure or mixed, with red, blue, green and albino predominating; but by no means being exhaustive. Growing to a sturdy 3 in., these dominating males are short-lived, thirty months or les, and ride roughshod over their terrified females who are shorter finned, paler, smaller, and no match whatsoever for their vigorous partners.

Papaya

2008-09-16T04:37:00.000-07:00

The papaya is sometimes called papaw or pawpaw, but in the United States these names are generally restricted to Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal (see "Papaw"). Papayas are grown to a limited extent in continental United States. They have been tried in Texas and in California, have never exceeded a few hundred acres even in Florida (Harkness 1967), but are more common in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The 1964 United States Census of Agriculture showed that 32 farms in Florida produced almost 1.5 million pounds of fruit, while 266 farms in Hawaii produced almost 22 million pounds.

Papayas grow from about 32 deg N. to 32 deg S. latitude, from sea level to 5,000 feet altitude. They are killed by frost but do well in full sun or under irrigation. They do not occur in the wild, probably originated in Mexico or Costa Rica, and now consist of many cultivars (Purseglove 1968*).

The ripe fresh fruit (90 percent water, 4 to 10 percent sugar) (Wolfe and Lynch 1940) is eaten throughout the tropics for breakfast, dessert, in salads, jams, ice creams, and soft drinks. The dried latex or "milk" of immature fruit yields papain, a proteolytic enzyme similar in action to pepsin, which is used as a meat tenderizer (Becker 1958). It also creates shrink-resistance in wool.

Southern Regional Research Center

2008-09-10T21:41:00.000-07:00

General research objectives include achieving maximum use of agricultural products for domestic markets and export, developing new uses and processes for farm products and means for promoting optimum human health and well-being through improved nutrition, promoting product safety and quality, and developing effective control technologies for the Formosan subterranean termite. [Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agriculture Research Service (ARS)]

Battery

2008-09-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

Two or more electrochemical cells enclosed in a container and electrically interconnected in an appropriate series/parallel arrangement to provide the required operating voltage and current levels. Under common usage, the term battery also applies to a single cell if it constitutes the entire electrochemical storage system.

Mineral based industry

2008-08-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

The State being a rich reserve of mineral resources, it has an immense potential for the growth of mining and mineral based industries. The important minerals available in the State are coal, iron ore, limestone, copper ore, bauxite, pyrite, china clay, kyanite, fine clay, dolomite, graphite, bentonite, soap stone, quartz sand and silica sand. Given this, there are numerable opportunities for the investors, in the following areas:-

Iron ore (export potential); Steel production; Sponge iron plant; Cement plant; Graphite electrodes and graphite powder; Granite (export Potential); Chemicals and fertilizers; Bleaching powder, calcium carbide and lime related chemicals; Ground mica, mica bricks and electrical appliances; etc.

The State Government has been making all efforts to attract investment into this industry. These include, simplification of the procedures with respect to grant of mining leases; provision of certain relief to make mining activities easier; suitable steps for adoption of state of art technology in mining; etc.

Teaching

2008-08-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

Teachers need the capacity to understand a subject well enough to convey its spirit to a new generation of students. The goal is to set up a sound knowledge base on which students will be talented to build as they are bare to different life experiences. The passing of knowledge from generation to generation allows students to grow into useful members of society. Good teachers can interpret information, experience, good decision, and wisdom into relevant knowledge that a student can understand, retain and pass to others. Studies from the US suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most significant factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score extremely on international tests have multiple policies in place to make sure that the teachers they employ are as successful as possible.

Subsoil

2008-08-13T01:56:00.001-07:00

It is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. The subsoil may include substances such as clay and has only been partly broken down by air, sunlight, water etc., to create true soil. Below the subsoil is the substratum, which can be residual bedrock, sediments, or Aeolian deposits, largely unchanged by soil-forming factors active in the subsoil? It contains partially weathered particles.

Air parcel

2008-08-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

An air parcel is fantasy volumes of air used by meteorologists to conceptualize the thermodynamic fluid motions of the atmosphere for make use of in weather forecasting. For mathematical simplicity, an air parcel is usually measured a rigid cube which has limited connecting with surrounding environmental air. The dimensions of this parcel are resolute by the atmospheric scale under study.

The significance of the concept of air parcels in meteorology fabrication in its ability to assist meteorologists in conceptualizing how areas of an atmosphere will feature rising and sinking motions, the magnitude of those motions, and the opportunity of ensuing clouds and precipitation. Many older numerical weather forecast models used the conceptual models of air parcels.

Major Wildlife Attractions - Sundarbans

2008-07-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

The Sundarbans forest is dwelling to more than 400 tigers. The Bengal Tigers have modified themselves very well to the saline and aqua environs and are extremely good swimmers. As you enter the daring wild land of the Sundarbans you'll be thrilled to see the Chital Dear and Rhesus Monkey.

The aqua fauna of Sundarbans include diversity of fishes, red Fiddler Crabs and Hermit Crabs. There are crocodiles, which can be often seen along the mud banks. Sundarbans national park is also noted for its conservation of the Ridley Sea Turtle. There's is an incredible variety of reptiles also found in Sundarbans, which includes King Cobra, Rock Python and Water Monitor. The endangered river Terrapin, Batagur Baska is found on the Mechua Beach, while the Barkind Deer is found only in Holiday Island in Sunderbans.

Television advertisement

2008-07-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

A television advertisement or television commercial (often just commercial or advert) is a length of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a significance. Advertisement revenue provides a significant portion of the funding for most privately own television networks. The vast majority of television advertisements today consist of brief promotion spots, ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes (as well as program-length infomercials). Advertisements of this sort have been used to sell every product conceivable over the years, from household products to goods and services, to political campaigns. The effect of television advertisements upon the viewing public has been so successful and so all-encompassing that it is considered impossible for a politician to wage a successful election campaign, in the United States, without use of television advertising. In certain countries, France for instance, political advertisement is forbidden on television

Seven Blunders of the World

2008-07-15T04:53:00.000-07:00

The Seven Blunders of the World is a list that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi gave to his grandson Arun Gandhi, written on a piece of paper, on their final day together, not too long before his assassination. The seven blunders are:

Prosperity without work
Pleasure without sense of right and wrong
Knowledge without nature
Commerce without principles
Science without humankind
Worship without sacrifice
Politics without principle
This list grew from Gandhi's search for the ancestry of violence. He called these acts of inactive violence. Preventing these is the best way to prevent oneself or one's society from reaching a point of violence.

Lacrosse

2008-07-08T02:21:00.000-07:00

It was first started to play in finland and it full of team spirit. this game is played using a small solid rubber ball and long handled racket called a crosse or lacross stick.The head of the crosse has a loose net strung into it that allows the player to hold the lacrosse ball. Particularly the object of the game is to use the stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by ultimately hurling the ball into an opponent's goal. Defensively the object is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to dispossess them of the ball through the use of stick checking and body contact. There are three distinct versions of the sport; men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and box lacrosse.

Electronic commerce

2008-07-02T01:56:00.000-07:00

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of goods or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extremely since the spread of the Internet. A wide diversity of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at slightest at some point in the transaction's lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted completely electronically for virtual items such as right of entry to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of physical items in some way. Online retailers are from time to time known as e-tailers and online retail is sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all large retailers have electronic commerce attendance on the World Wide Web.

Electronic commerce is normally considered to be the sales aspect of e-business. It also consists of the exchange of data to make easy the financing and payment aspects of the business transactions.

Professional Development

2008-06-20T03:20:00.000-07:00

Teachers should be fully aware of the school's Internet access arrangements so that they know whether access to the web and to newsgroups is filtered or blocked at all.
Senior management should ensure that appropriate time and resources for professional development are made available so that staff can keep themselves up to date with Internet issues and use.All staff should be able to engage in a professional development programme which covers at least the following basic objectives:
Using and understanding the Internet;
Appreciating the strengths and weaknesses of the Internet;
Understanding the potential role of the Internet across the curriculum;
Recognizing how Internet use and Personal Safety Programmes can reinforce each other;
Developing Internet-related policies with ethically-sound foundations; and,
Responding to queries from other professionals and from the wider community regarding the Internet arrangements and policies within their own establishment, and the underlying rationale.

Schools are likely to benefit from having their own small group, which keeps up to date with Internet and Child Safety issues and shares new experience with colleagues.

Body painting

2008-06-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

Body painting, or sometimes body painting, is a form of body art, considered by some as the earliest form of art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most in the case of Mehndi or "henna tattoo" a couple of weeks. Body painting that is partial to the face is known as face painting.

Volvo Cars

2008-06-03T21:43:00.001-07:00

Volvo Cars, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile maker founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. It is at present own by American Ford Motor Company.

The name Volvo, derived from the Latin for "I roll," was thought to be a good trademark for a ball bearing as well as for an automobile.

Volvo was originally formed as a auxiliary company to the ball bearing maker SKF. It was not until 1935 when Volvo AB was introduced on the Swedish stock exchange that SKF sold most of the shares in the company. Volvo Cars was owned by AB Volvo until 1999, when it was acquired by the Ford Motor Company as part of its Premier Automotive Group along with Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin.

Volvo produces models ranging from SUVs, wagons, and sedans to compact executive sedans and coupes. It competes directly with luxury car manufacturers such as Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti, Lancia, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Saab. With 2,500 dealerships worldwide in 100 markets; 60 percent of sales come from Europe, 30 percent from North America, and the other 10 percent is from the rest of the world.

Colossus of Rhodes

2008-05-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

This drawing of Colossus of Rhodes, which illustrated The Grolier Society's 1911 Book of Knowledge, is probably fanciful, as it is unlikely that the statue stood straddling the harbour mouth.
Colossus of Rhodes imagined in a 16th-century engraving by Martin Heemskerck, part of his series of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Colossus of Rhodes was a colossus of the Greek god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It is measured one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before its destruction, the Colossus of Rhodes stood over 30 meters (107 ft) high, making it one of the tallest statues of the ancient world.

Web design

2008-05-19T22:11:00.001-07:00

Website designing is not just on the subject of creating designs, but as well about generally user experience. While a visual appeal is necessary, optimization and navigation are important aspects and a good website is one that supports everything. A good looking website need not unavoidably be a high quality website.
A high-quality website is a logical blend of Interface Design and Layout, Wise content planning, Navigation and Comprehending user’s needs and behavior.

Electrostatic Printing Process

2008-05-13T00:40:00.001-07:00

Electrostatic printing is a printing technique done without any plate, ink or type form. The paper is covered with a thin layer of zinc oxide, making it an insulator in the dark and simultaneously a conductor of electricity when bare to light.

These machines are used for printing of geographic maps with the advancement in technology and higher speed; the machines are also being used to print small books. Electrostatic printers are used for short run printing as they are faster and also done not cost much.

Fitness boot camp

2008-05-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

A fitness boot camp is a kind of physical training program conduct by gyms, personal trainers, and former military personnel. These programs have been increasing in popularity for more than a few years. The training frequently combines running, interval training, and many other exercise using weights and/or body weight to lose body fat, boost to cardiovascular efficiency, increase strength, and help people get into a practice of regular exercise. Many programs offer nourishment advice as well. Called "boot camp" because it trains groups of people, typically outdoors, and may or may not be similar to military basic training.

Internet Marketing

2008-04-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

It is the make use of the Internet to make public and sell goods and services. It includes pay per click advertising, banner ads, e-mail marketing, relate marketing, interactive advertising, search engine marketing (together with search engine optimization), blog marketing, article marketing, and blogging.

The Internet marketing is a factor of electronic commerce and it can comprise information management, public relations, customer service, and sales. Electronic commerce and Internet marketing have become well-liked as Internet access is becoming more widely existing and used. Well over one third of consumers who have Internet access in their homes report by means of the Internet to make purchases. Internet marketing first began in the early 1990s as effortless, text-based websites that obtainable product information. Over time Internet marketing evolved into more than just selling information products, there are people at present selling advertising space, software programs, business models, and numerous other products and services

Forex swap

2008-04-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

In finance, a forex swap (or FX swap) is an over-the-counter short term interest rate derivative instrument. In up-and-coming money markets, forex swaps are usually the first derivative instrument to be traded, ahead of forward rate agreements.
Structure
A forex swap consists of two legs:
A spot foreign exchange transaction, and
A forward foreign exchange transaction. These two legs are executing simultaneously for the same quantity, and therefore offset each other.

Music

2008-04-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

Music is an art structure that has organized sounds and silence. It is communicated in terms of and the value of sound.

Music may also engage generative forms in time through the creation of patterns and combinations of standard stimulus sound. Music possibly will be used for artistic, expansive, entertainment, traditional purposes.

In the Romantic era, music became more communicative and touching, increasing to include literature, and philosophy. Later on Romantic composers created multifaceted and frequently much longer musical works. The 20th Century saw a revolution in music listening as the broadcasting gained fame worldwide and new media and technologies were developed to record, capture, and replicate and distribute music. The 20th Century music brought a new liberty and broad testing with new musical styles and forms that challenged the accepted rules of music of previous periods.

Letterpress Printing

2008-03-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Letterpress Printing is one of the oldest printing techniques in use since the 13th century. Johann Guttenberg is known to have introduced printing from individually-cast, movable type-reusable letters set together in a frame in the 14th century.

Also known as Typographic Printing, this commercial printing technique, includes production of many copies of an image by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper.

Primary storage

2008-03-25T00:21:00.000-07:00

Primary storage, presently known as memory, is the only one directly reachable to the CPU. The CPU continuously reads commands stored there and executes them. Any data actively operate on is also stored there in uniform manner.

Historically, early computers used delay lines, Williams’s tubes, or revolving magnetic drums as primary storage. By 1954, those unreliable methods were frequently replaced by magnetic core memory, which was still rather cumbersome. Undoubtedly, a revolution was started with the invention of a transistor that soon enables then-unbelievable neatness of electronic memory via solid-state silicon chip technology.

This led to a modern random access memory (RAM). It is small-sized, light, but quite expensive at the same time. (The particular types of RAM used for primary storage are also volatile, i.e. loses the information when not powered).

Screen Printing

2008-03-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

Screen Printing is a special technique that creates a sharp-edged image using a spongy fabric and a stencil. The printing technique can trace back to the beginning of the 19th century and gained popularity all through in First World War for making banners and printing flags.

Screen Printing Technique

A screen made of a piece of porous, finely woven fabric including silk, polyester or nylon is prolonged over a wooden or aluminum frame. Areas of the screen are blocked off with a non-permeable material (a stencil) which in twist is a negative of the image to be printed.

The screen is placed on top of a piece of paper or fabric. Ink is placed on top of the screen, and a rubber blade is used to spread the ink regularly across the screen. The ink passes through the open spaces in the screen onto the paper or fabric below; follow by lifting of the screen. The screen can be again being re-used after cleaning. For multiple color screens printing on the same surface, the ink is allowed to dry and then the entire process is repeated with another screen and different color of ink.

Chocolate

2008-03-10T23:20:00.001-07:00

Chocolate comprises a number of raw and process foods that are formed from the seed of the tropical cacao tree. Native to lowland tropical South America, cacao has been superior for three millennia in Central America and Mexico, with its earliest recognized use around 1100 BC. All of the Mesoamerican peoples made chocolate beverages, as well as the Maya and Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl, a Nahuatl word significance "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have a powerful bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavor. After being roast and ground, the resulting products are known as chocolate or cocoa.

Much of the chocolate enthused today is made into bars that merge with cocoa solids, fats like cocoa butter, and sugar. Chocolate has twist into one of the most popular flavors in the world. A chocolate lover is also known as "chocoholics." Gifts of frustrated wrapped chocolate molded into different shapes has become traditional on convinced holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and further holiday symbols on Christmas, and hearts on Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to make chocolate milk and cocoa.

Cricket bat and Shape

2008-03-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

A cricket bat is worn by batsmen in the sport of cricket. It is typically made of willow wood. This specialized bat is shaped something like a paddle, consisting of a padded handle similar to - but sturdier than - that of a tennis racquet, which is typically cylindrical in shape. This widens into the blade of the bat, a wider wooden block flat on one side and with a V-shaped edge on the other to provide greater air flow in the follow through and greater strength to the over-all bat. The flat side (the front of the bat) is used to punch the ball. The point at which the handle widens into the blade is known as the shoulder of the bat, and the base of the blade is known as the toe of the bat.

Liquid crystal

2008-02-25T02:20:00.000-08:00

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of color or monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector. It is often utilized in battery-powered electronic devices because it uses very small amounts of electric power.

Psycho-Cybernetics

2008-02-18T22:45:00.000-08:00

Psycho-Cybernetics is a book on self-improvement, written by Maxwell Maltz in 1960 which combines the cognitive therapy of Prescott Lecky with the cybernetics of Norbert Wiener and John von Neumann.

The concept of self-programming has been carried forward by others as Power of Positive Thinking and many other titles, but Dr. Maxwell Maltz found that his plastic surgery patients often had expectations that were not satisfied by the surgery, and he pursued a means to prepare them for the transition.

A general view on Supercomputer

2007-11-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

The supercomputer is the fastest type of computer. Supercomputers are very costly and are employed for specific applications that require immense amounts of mathematical calculations. For instance, weather forecasting necessitates a supercomputer. Other uses of supercomputers contain animated graphics, nuclear energy research, fluid dynamic calculations, and petroleum exploration.

The chief differentiation between a supercomputer and a mainframe is that a supercomputer channels all its power into executing some programs as fast as possible, whereas a mainframe uses its power to carry out many programs concurrently.

Supercomputers are used for exceedingly calculation-intensive tasks like problems connecting weather forecasting, quantum mechanical physics, climate research (together with research into global warming), molecular modeling (computing the structures and properties of chemical compounds, polymers, biological macromolecules, and crystals), physical simulations (like simulation of airplanes in wind tunnels, imitation of the detonation of nuclear weapons, and research into nuclear fusion), cryptanalysis, and the like.

Supercomputers using tradition CPUs custom gained their speed over conventional computers through the employ of ground-breaking designs that allow them to carry out many tasks in parallel, as well as complex detail engineering. They are inclined to be specialized for definite types of computation, generally arithmetical calculations, and carry out poorly at more general computing tasks. Their memory hierarchy is very cautiously designed to make sure the processor is kept fed with data and instructions at all times— in actual fact, much of the performance difference between slower computers and because of the memory hierarchy of Supercomputers the I/O systems tend to be designed to support high bandwidth, with latency less of an issue, because it is not used for transaction processing.

Shoebox

2007-11-04T22:20:00.000-08:00

A shoebox is, exactly as its name implies, a cardboard box which holds a double of shoes. It is usually acquired when one purchases a pair of shoes. Shoeboxes have long been cherished for their versatility and are usually used for many tasks around the house, such as holding trading cards, photos, and just about anything else.

It can also be used as an adjective to describe being unfairly treated. An example would be "Don't you shoebox me!" It is also used to describe someone with a closed minded to way of thinking who prefers to generalize others unfavorably.

The real Existence of God:

2007-10-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

There are numerous arguments for and against the reality and existence of God have been proposed and cast off by philosophers, theologians, and added thinkers. In philosophical terminology, such arguments concern schools of thought on the epistemology of the ontology of God.

There are lots of philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. Some definitions of God are so unclear that it is certain that something exists that meets the definition; while other definitions are it seems that self-contradictory. Arguments for the existence of God characteristically include empirical, inductive, metaphysical, and subjective types. Arguments next to the existence of God normally contain empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Conclusions reached contain: "God exists and this can be confirmed"; "God exists, but this cannot be confirmed or disproven" (theism in both cases); "God does not survive" (strong atheism); "God roughly certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); and "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism). There are many variations on these positions.

A current argument for the existence of God is called clever or intelligent design, which asserts that "certain features of the world and of living things are best explained by a clever cause, not an undirected procedure for instance natural selection". It is a modern form of the traditional argument from design, modified to keep away from specifying the nature or identity of the designer. Its main proponents, all of whom are connected with the Discovery Institute, just believe the designer to be the Abrahamic God.

China wall

2007-10-16T20:43:00.001-07:00

The Great Wall is the world's longest human-made arrangement, stretching over about 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhai Pass in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. It is also the biggest human-made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass. A number of walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC, the most famous being the one built between 220 BC and 200 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. That wall was much farther north than the current wall, built through the Ming Dynasty, and little of it remains.

Traffic Claming

2007-10-08T23:05:00.000-07:00

Traffic calming is a set of strategies used by urban planners and traffic engineers which aims to slow down traffic and get better safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, although some of these features can also be hazardous to cyclists. It is now comparatively common in Europe, especially Northern Europe; less so in North America.Traffic calming has conventionally been justified on the grounds of pedestrian safety and reduction of noise and local air pollution which are side effects of the traffic. However, it has become more and more apparent that streets have many social and recreational functions which are severely impaired by fast car traffic. For much of the twentieth century, streets were designed by engineers who were charged only with ensuring traffic flow and not with development other functions of streets. The rationale for traffic reassuring is now broadening to include designing for these functions.

Fruit

2007-09-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Fruit tree spread is usually carried out through asexual reproduction by grafting or budding the beloved diversity onto a suitable rootstock.

Perennial plants can be propagated moreover by sexual or vegetative means. Sexual reproduction occurs when male pollen starting one tree fertilizes the ovules (incipient seeds) of the flower of a different, stimulating the increase of fruit. In twirl this fruit contains a seed or seeds which, when germinated, resolve become a fresh specimen. However, the new tree will come into many of the characteristics of together its parents, and it will not produce 'true' to the selection from which it came. That is, it will be a fresh individual with many unpredictable characteristics of its own. Although this is desirable in terms of growing biodiversity and the wealth of the gene pool (such sexual recombination is the foundation of most new cultivars), only hardly ever will such fruit trees be honestly useful or attractive to the tastes of humankind. A tendency to relapse to a wild-like condition is common.

Peafowl

2007-09-13T22:30:00.001-07:00

The peafowl are the three type of bird in the genera Pavo and Afropavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are mainly notable for the male's profligate tail, a result of sexual selection, which it displays as part of courtship. The male is called a peacock, the female a peahen. In common English usage, however, "peacock" is used to mean any peafowl.

Overview
The typical Asiatic peafowl belonging to the genus Pavo contain the familiar Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus and the weakly known Dragonbirds or Green Peafowl Pavo muticus. Some biologists consider that there are at least five idiosyncratic and gravely scarce species of Green Peafowl while others classify them into a single species with three subspecies.

The Arakan Dragonbird Pavo spicifer was once inhabitant to Northern Western Myanmar, Southern Tibet and Assam. The Indo-Chinese or Siamese Dragonbird Pavo imperator was once inhabitant to South East Myanmar and Thailand. The Annametic Dragonbird Pavo annamensis occupied the broadlieaf evergreen forests of Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Southern Yunnan China.

The Javanese Green Peafowl, Pavo javanensis is inhabitant only to the island of Java. The destroyed Malay or Pahang Peafowl Pavo muticus was thought by early naturalists to least the Pliocene rules out an opening by humans. Northern Yunnan is the home of one of the most interesting forms of Green Peafowl. The Yunnan Dragonbird, Pavo yunnanensis is most individual.

Lighthouse of Alexandria

2007-09-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Pharos of Alexandria was a big tower built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to give out as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse.

With a height variously estimated at between 115 and 150 meters (383 - 450 ft) it was among the tallest man-made structures on Earth for many centuries, and was recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the World by Antipater of Sidon. It was the third tallest building after the two Great Pyramids (of Khufu and Khafra) for its whole life. Some scientists approximate a much taller height exceeding 180 metres that would make the tower the tallest building up to the 14th century.

Sandstones

2007-08-21T23:34:00.001-07:00

Sandstone is an arenaceous sedimentary rock composed mostly of feldspar and quartz and varies in colour (in a similar way to sand), through grey, yellow, red, and white. Since sandstones often form extremely visible cliffs and other rock formations, certain colors of sandstone may be strongly identified with certain regions. For instance, much of the North American West is familiar for its red sandstones.

Apple Computer

2007-08-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Apple Computer, Inc. NASDAQ: AAPL is a Silicon Valley company based in Cupertino, California, whose nucleus business is computer technologies. Apple helped originate the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II microcomputer and has since further shaped it with the Macintosh. Apple is known for its original, well-designed hardware, such as the iPod and iMac, as well as software offerings exemplified through iTunes as part of the iLife suite and Mac OS X, its flagship operating system.

Minicomputer

2007-07-30T01:45:00.001-07:00

Minicomputer is a largely outmoded term for a class of multi-user computers which create the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems (traditionally, mainframe computers) and the smallest single-user systems (microcomputers or personal computers). More modern terms for such machines consist of midrange systems (common in IBM parlance), workstations (common in Sun Microsystems and general UNIX/Linux parlance), and servers.

Accumulator

2007-07-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

In a computer CPU, an accumulator is a register in which intermediary arithmetic and logic results are stored. Without a register like an accumulator, it would be necessary to write the result of each calculation (addition, multiplication, shift, etc.) to main memory, possibly only to be read right back again for use in the next operation. Access to main memory is slower than access to a register like the accumulator because the technology used for the huge main memory is slower (but cheaper) than that used for a register.

The canonical example for accumulator use is adding a list of numbers. The accumulator is initially set to zero, then each number in spin is added to the value in the accumulator. Only when all numbers have been added is the result seized in the accumulator written to main memory or to another, non-accumulator, CPU register.

Butter chicken

2007-07-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

Butter chicken or murgh makhani is an Indian dish accepted in countries all over the world that have a tradition of Indian restaurants. While the dish's general recipe is well known, the actual flavour can differ from restaurant to restaurant even within Delhi. Butter chicken is usually served with naan, roti, parathas or steamed rice.

It is a dish prepared by marinating a chicken overnight in a yoghurt and spice mixture usually together with garam masala, ginger, lemon or lime, pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric, chilli, methi and garlic. It is in various ways like to chicken tikka masala. The chicken is then roasted or dry as a bone.

A Personal portal

2007-07-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

A Personal portal is a site on the World Wide Web that characteristically provides personalized capabilities to its visitors, given that a pathway to other content. It is intended to use distributed applications, different numbers and types of middleware and hardware to provide services from a number of different sources. In addition, business portals are intended to share collaboration in workplaces. A further business-driven requirement of portals is that the content be able to work on multiple platforms such as personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cell phones.

Web proxy

2007-07-05T22:36:00.001-07:00

Proxies that hub on WWW traffic are called web proxies. Many web proxies try to block offensive web content. Other web proxies reformat web pages for an exact purpose or audience (e.g., cell phones and PDAs or persons with disabilities). Network operators can also set up proxies to intercept computer viruses and other hostile content served from remote web pages.

Many organizations — including schools, corporations, and countries — use proxy servers to implement acceptable network use policies or to provide security, anti-malware and/or caching services. A traditional web proxy is not translucent to the client application, which must be configured to use the proxy (manually or with a configuration script). In some cases, where substitute means of connection to the Internet are available ,the user may be able to avoid policy control by simply resetting the client configuration and bypassing the proxy. Furthermore administration of browser configuration can be a load for network administrators.

Butterfly Koi

2007-07-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Koi, Longfin Koi, or Dragon Carp are a type of ornamental fish notable for their elongated finnage. The fish are a breed of the common carp, Cyprinus carpio, (which includes numerous wild carp races as well as domesticated koi ("Nishikigoi").

Butterfly Koi originated in the mid 20th century as a result of an effort to increase the hardiness of traditional koi. Japanese breeders interbred wild Indonesian Longfin river carp with traditional koi. The resulting fish had longer fins, long barbells, pompom nostrils, and were hardier than koi. These were known in Japan as “onagaoi” or "hire naga koi", or translated in English “long tail koi”. Randy LeFever, the son of Wyatt LeFever, a noted breeder of koi, is credited with suggesting they looked like butterflies, a trait for which the breed is named. They are also sometimes referred to as Dragon Koi.

ARM

2007-06-27T21:54:00.001-07:00

The ARM architecture (Advanced RISC Machine or Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. Due to their power saving features, ARM CPUs are dominant in the mobile electronics market, where low power consumption is a critical design goal.

Today, the ARM family accounts for over 75% of all 32-bit embedded CPUs, making it one of the most prolific 32-bit architectures in the world. ARM CPUs are found in all corners of consumer electronics, from portable devices to computer peripherals. Important branches in this family include Marvell's XScale and the Texas Instruments OMAP series.

Pollarding

2007-06-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Pollarding is a woodland management method of hopeful lateral branches by cutting off a tree stem or minor branches two metres or so above ground level. The tree is given a year to regrow, after the first cutting, but once begun, pollarding requires annual maintenance by pruning. This will ultimately result in somewhat expanded (or swollen) nodes topping the tree trunk with multiple new side and top shoots growing from it.
A tree that has been pollarded is known as a pollard. A tree which has not been pollarded is called a maiden or maiden tree; which also refers to the fact that pollarding is usually first undertaken when the tree is quite young. Pollarding older trees typically result in the death of the tree. Pollarding is sometimes abused in attempts to curb the growth of older or taller trees. However, when performed properly it is useful in the practice of arboriculture for tree management.

Shrimp fishery

2007-06-19T22:15:00.001-07:00

A shrimp fishery is a fishery directed toward harvesting either shrimp or prawns. Fisheries do not usually differentiate between the two taxa, and the terms are used interchangeably. This article therefore refers to the catching of either shrimp or prawns.

A number of the larger species, including the Atlantic white shrimp (Penaeus setiferus), are caught commercially and used for food. Recipes utilizing shrimp form part of the cuisine of many cultures: examples include jambalaya, okonomiyaki, poon choi, bagoong, Kerala and scampi.
Preparing shrimp for consumption usually involves removing the shell, tail, and "sand vein". As with other seafood, shrimp is high in calcium, protein and low in food energy.
Shrimp and prawns are versatile ingredients, and are often used as an accompaniment to fried rice. Common methods of preparation comprise baking, boiling and frying. As stated in the movie Forrest Gump

Dry foods

2007-06-15T22:36:00.001-07:00

Flake food is a type of proprietary or artificially manufactured fish food inspired by a wide variety of tropical and saltwater fish and invertebrates. It is ideally suited to top dwellers and mid-water fish though numerous bottom dwelling species consume flake food once it has settled on the bottom. Flake food is baked to remove moisture and create the flaking, thus allowing for a longer shelf life. Generally the more moisture a particular example of fish food contains, the more readily it will deteriorate in quality.Dry foods is also available as pellets, sticks, tablets, granules, and wafers, manufactured to float or sink, depending on the species they are designed to feed.

Shark

2007-06-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sharks are fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a streamlined body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles to protect their skin from injure and parasites and to improve fluid dynamics; they also have replaceable teeth.Sharks include species ranging from the hand-sized pygmy shark, Euprotomicrus bispinatus, a deep sea class of only 22 centimetres (9 in) in length, to the whale shark, Rhincodon typus, the largest fish, which grows to a length of about 12 metres (39 ft) and which, like the great whales, feeds only on plankton through filter feeding. The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, is the best known of several species to swim in both salt and fresh water and in deltas.

Blue rose

2007-06-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

Since roses lack a gene to create delphinidin, the primary plant pigment that produces true blue flowers, blue roses were usually created by dyeing white roses. So-called "blue roses" have been breed by conventional hybridization methods, but the results, such as "Blue Moon" are more precisely described as lilac in color. However, after 13 years of joint research by an Australian company Florigene, and Japanese company Suntory, a blue rose was formed in 2004 by genetic engineering. The delphinidin gene was cloned from the petunia and inserted into a mauve-blend rose, the Old Garden Rose 'Cardinal de Richelieu.' (a Rosa gallica) However, since the pigment cyanidin was still present, the rose was more dark burgundy than true blue. Further work on the rose using RNAi technology to depress the production of cyanidin produced a very dark mauve plant, with only trace amounts of cyanidin.

Blue roses conventionally signify mystery or attaining the impossible. They are supposed to be able to grant the owner youth or grant wishes. This symbolism derives from the rose's meaning in the language of plants common in Victorian times.

Prevention

2007-06-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

In medicine, prevention is any action which reduces the burden of mortality or morbidity from disease. This takes place at primary, secondary and tertiary prevention levels.

Primary prevention avoids the development of a disease. Most population-based health support activities are primary preventive measures.
Secondary prevention activities are aimed at early disease detection, thereby increasing opportunities for interventions to prevent progression of the disease and emergence of symptoms.
Tertiary prevention reduces the negative impact of an already recognized disease by restoring function and reducing disease-related complications.

Water abstraction

2007-05-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

Water abstraction, or water extraction, is the process of taking water from any source, either temporarily or permanently. Most water is used for irrigation or treatment to produce drinking water.
Depending on the environmental legislation in the relevant country, controls may be located on abstraction to limit the amount of water that can be removed. Over abstraction can lead to rivers drying up or the level of groundwater aquifers reducing unacceptably.
The science of hydrogeology is used to assess safe abstraction levels.

Nutrients in food

2007-05-24T22:30:00.001-07:00

Between the extremes of optimal health and death from starvation or malnutrition, there is an array of disease states that can be caused or alleviated by changes in diet. Deficiencies, excesses and imbalances in diet can produce negative impacts on health, which may lead to diseases such as scurvy, obesity or osteoporosis, as well as psychological and behavioral problems. The science of nutrition attempts to understand how and why specific dietary aspects influence health.

Nutrients in food are grouped into several categories. Macronutrients means fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Micronutrients are the minerals and vitamins. Additionally food contains water and dietary fiber.

Historical and Stylistic Clock face

2007-05-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Before progress the late 15th century, a fixed hand indicated the hour by pointing to revolving numbers. Minute hands only came into use in the late 17th century after the creation of the pendulum allowable for amplified precision in time telling. Until the last quarter of the 17th century hour markings were imprinted into metal faces and the recesses filled with black wax. Subsequently, higher contrast and enhanced readability was achieved with white enamel plaques painted with black numbers. Initially, the numbers were printed on small, individual plaques mounted on a brass substructure. This was not a stylistic decision; rather enamel production technology had not yet achieved the ability to create large pieces of enamel. The "13 piece face" was an early attempt to create an entirely white enamel face. As the name suggests, it was composed of 13 enamel plaques: 12 numbered wedges fitted around a circle. The first single portion enamel faces, not unlike those in production today, began to appear c. 1735.

Postal Marking

2007-05-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

Less ordinary types include forwarding addresses, routing annotations, warnings, postage due
notices and explanations, such as for damaged or delayed mail. A key part of postal history is
the recognition of postal markings, their purpose, and period of use.Service marks give information to the sender, recipient, or another post office. Advice marks notify about forwarding, misspending, and letters received in bad condition, letters received too late for
delivery by a certain time, or the reason for a delay in mail delivery. Dead letter offices would use various markings to keep track of their progress in finding the addressee, such as a document that the letter had been advertised in the local newspaper. The tracking procedure for registered mail may entail multiple marks and notations.Auxiliary marks are functional by an organization other than the postal administration. For instance, 19th century mail delivery often relied on a mix of private ships, steamboats, stagecoaches, railroads, and other transportation organizations to transfer mail. Many of these organizations applied their own markings to each item, occasionally saying simply "STEAMSHIP" or some such, while others had elaborate designs. Similar direction-finding notations were also used in the early days of airmail.The traditional way to be valid a postal marking is with the use of a rubber or metal hand stamp; handwritten notations are sometimes seen for unusual situations or in very small post offices. In the United States, modern postal markings may appear in the form of yellow paste labels with the text printed on them. Many postal administrations now have the ability to print inkjet observations directly onto a cover, either as a barcode for reading by other equipment, or as text.

Puppy

2007-05-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

A puppy is a juvenile dog, usually less than one year of age. The term is sometimes abbreviated to pup, a term which is also used for the offspring of wolves.
Puppies are very playful and active. A lethargic or listless puppy is unusual, and often times a precursor to illness.

Types
Some breeds traditionally have their tails docked or ears cropped, or both. Many countries now ban cropping and docking for cosmetic purposes, but other countries have no such prohibitions. Some breeders favor to remove a dog's dewclaws to prevent future injuries. These procedures are usually performed within the first few days after birth, by a veterinarian, or by an experienced breeder.
Size varies among breeds, some puppies are 1-3lbs, while others are 15-20lbs. Coats can change color as the puppy grows older, this is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier.

Rhizome

2007-05-07T23:24:00.001-07:00

In botany, a rhizome is a classically underground, horizontal stem of a plant that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Though a number species of plants have above ground rhizomes or rhizomes that sit at the soil surface with some Iris species. Rhizomes may also be referred to as creeping rootstalks, or rootstocks. A stolon is like to a rhizome, sprouting from an existing stem with long internodes and generating new shoots at the end. Rhizomes have short internodes noramly with papery leaves at the nodes, they root at the underside and form green shoots at the apex.
Many plants have rhizomes that serve to spread the plant by vegetative reproduction. Examples of plants that do this are asparagus, ginger, irises, Lily of the Valley, Cannas and sympodial orchids. The spreading stems of ferns are also called rhizomes.
A tuber is a thickened part of a stolon or root that has been enlarged for use as a storage organ.They are classically high in starch. An example of a tuber is the common potatoa modified stolon. Thought the term tuber is frequently used impresicly and some times applied to plants with rhizomes.

Door

2007-05-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

A door is a makeup in a wall that allows easy transformation between an opening and a closed wall. It is establish in many houses and other buildings: internal ones, doors giving access to the street/external world, and doors to private outdoor areas such as a garden or balcony. In an apartment building, an midway kind is the outer door of an apartment, inside the building.
History
The first records are those represented in the paintings of the Egyptian tombs, in which they are shown as single or double doors, each in a single piece of wood. In Egypt, where the climate is intensely dry, there would be no fear of their warping, but in other countries it would be necessary to frame them, which according to Vitruvius was done with stiles and rails: the spaces enclosed being filled with panels let into grooves made in the stiles and rails. The stiles were the vertical boards, one of which, tenoned or hinged, is known as the hanging stile, the other as the middle or meeting stile. The horizontal cross pieces are the top rail, bottom rail, and middle or intermediate rails. The most ancient doors were in timber, those made for King Solomon's temple being in olive wood, which were fixed and overlaid with gold. The doors dwelt upon in Homer would appear to have been cased in silver or brass. Besides Olive wood, elm, cedar, oak and cypress were used.

All ancient doors were hung by pivots at the top and bottom of the hanging stile which worked in sockets in the lintel and cill, the final being always in some hard stone such as basalt or granite. Those found at Nippur by Dr. Hilprecht, dating from 2000 B.C. were in dolorite. The tenons of the gates at Balawat were covered with bronze. These doors or gates were hung in two leaves, each about 8 ft.4 in. wide and 27 ft. high; they were enclosed with bronze bands or strips, 10 in. high, covered with repouss embellishment of figures, etc. The wood doors would seem to have been about 3 in. thick, but the hanging stile was over 14 inches diameter. Other sheathings of various sizes in bust have been found, which proves this to have been the universal method adopted to protect the wood pivots. In the Hauran in Syria, where timber is scarce the doors were made in stone, and one measuring 5 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft. 7 in. is in the British Museum; the band on the meeting stile shows that it was one of the leaves of a double door. At Kuffeir near Bostra in Syria, Burckhardt found stone doors, 9 to 10 ft. high, being the entrance doors of the town. In Etruria many stone doors are referred to by Dennis.

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

2007-04-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Asian Paradise Flycatcher, also known as the Common Paradise Flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird. It was before classified with the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, but the paradise flycatchers, monarch flycatchers and Australasian fantails are now usually grouped with the drongos in the family Dicruridae, which has most of its members in Australasia and steamy southern Asia.

The Asian Paradise Flycatcher breeds from Turkistan to Manchuria. It is migratory, wintering in steamy Asia. There are occupant populations further south, for example in southern India and Sri Lanka, so both visiting migrants and the locally breeding subspecies occur in these areas in winter.

This species is usually found in thick forests and other well-wooded habitats. Three or four eggs are laid in a cup nest in a tree.

The adult male Asian Paradise Flycatcher is about 20 cm long, but the long tail bunting double this. It has a black crested head, chestnut upperparts and pale grey underpants.

By their second year, the males of the migratory Indian race T. p. paradise begin to obtain white feathers. By the third year, the male plumage is completely white, other than the black head. Males of the sedentary Sri Lankan race T. p. Ceylonese’s are always chestnut.

The female of all races resembles the old joke male, but has a grey throat, smaller crest and lacks the tail streamers.

Brown Thrasher

2007-04-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Brown Thrasher is a common type of thrasher, part of a family of New World birds that includes New World catbirds and mockingbirds.The Brown Thrasher is, as the name suggests, mostly brown or reddish-brown on top of, with a white breast and throat streaked with brown, and two white bars on each wing. It has a long tail, and its beak is also relatively large and somewhat curved. Adults average about 29 cm (11.5 in) in length.It is difficult to see all this however, as the bird is a retiring type that prefers thickets and heavy brush, often searching for food in dry leaves on the ground. In fact, it is more probable to be heard than seen, not only because of the rattling of leaves, but also because of its call, a sharp lip-smacking type sound. This bird is omnivorous, eating insects, berries, nuts and seeds, as well as earthworms, snails and sometimes lizards.Its breeding variety includes the United States and Canada east of the Rocky Mountains. It is a partial migrant, with northern birds wintering in the southern USA, where it occurs all through the year. There is a single British record of this unlikely transatlantic vagrant.The female lays 3 to 5 eggs in a twiggy nest lined with grass. The nest is built in a dense shrub or low in a tree. Both parents incubate and feed the young. These birds raise two, rarely three, broods in a year. The male sings a series of short recurring melodious phrases from an open perch to defend his territory and is also very aggressive in defending the nest.
Although this bird is widespread and still common, it has declined in numbers in some areas due to loss of suitable habitat.The Brown Thrasher is the official state bird of Georgia, and the inspiration for the name of Atlanta's National Hockey League team, the Atlanta Thrashers.

Street racing

2007-04-18T22:06:00.001-07:00

Street racing is a form of auto racing that takes place on public roads, either through normal traffic or during empty hours of traffic, often inside the industrial areas of cities. It is illegal, as such driving is prohibited by many traffic regulations. Law enforcement officers attempt to stop these races, but because of the frequency of them, most of the time, the racers also are not caught or they get away. Speeds in an illegal street race can reach over 180 miles per hour and crashes can and do occur.

Transistor

2007-04-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

The transistor is a solid state semiconductor device which can be used for amplification, switching, voltage stabilization, signal modulation and many other functions. It acts as a variable valve which, based on its input current (BJT) or input voltage (FET), allows a precise amount of current to flow through it from the circuit's voltage supply.
In essence, a transistor have three terminals. A current or voltage applied through/across two terminals controls a larger current through the other terminal and the common terminal. In analog circuits, transistors are used in amplifiers. Analog circuits comprise audio amplifiers, stabilised power supplies and radio frequency amplifiers. In digital circuits, transistors function basically as electrical switches. Digital circuits include logic gates, RAM (random access memory) and microprocessors.
Transistor was also the common name in the sixties for a transistor radio, a portable radio that used transistors (rather than vacuum tubes) as its active electronic components. This is still one of the dictionary definitions of transistor.

Artistamp

2007-04-05T22:49:00.000-07:00

Artistamp refers to a postage stamp-like artform. It is like to a Cinderella stamp, in that it is not valid for postage, but it differs from a forgery or a bogus stamp in that (typically) no intention is made to fool any post office or collector of stamps. The artistamp is intended to be a miniature artform which can depict or commemorate any subject its creator chooses.
Techniques for the creation of artistamps may or may not comprise perforating the boundaries of the piece to more resemble a (water-activated) stamp, as well as applying gum to the reverse side of the paper. (Self-adhesive artistamps have also been made, however, and indeed artistamps have been issued in practically every format in which postage stamps have been—including souvenir sheets, and perhaps more.) Whole sheets of such stamps are often made at one time. The artwork can be hand-drawn or painted, lithographed or offset-printed, photographed, xeroxed, rubber stamped, or even output by computer-driven printer.

Rail transport

2007-04-01T21:56:00.001-07:00

A railroad or railway is a guided means of land transport, intended to be used by trains, for transporting both passengers and freight. It consists of two parallel rails, usually made of steel, and wooden or concrete sleepers or ties that hold the rails precisely at the proper distance from each other. See Rail tracks
Rail transport is one of the most energy well-organized means of mechanised land transport known. The rails give very smooth and hard surfaces on which the wheels of the train may roll with a minimum of friction. This is more comfortable and saves energy. Trains also have a small frontal area in relation to the load they are carrying, which cuts down on air resistance and thus energy usage. In all, under the right circumstances, a train needs 50-70% less energy to transport a given tonnage of freight, than by road. Furthermore, together with the sleepers the rails share out the weight of the train evenly, allowing significantly greater loads per axle/wheel than in road transport.
Rail transport is also one of the safest modes of transport, and also makes a very efficient use of space: a double tracked rail line can carry more passengers or freight in a given amount of time, than a four-laned road.

Croydon Airport

2007-03-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

Croydon Airport is in south London on the borders of the London Boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was once the main airport for London, before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport.
It originated as two adjacent World War I airfields. Beddington Aerodrome, one of a number of small airfields around London which had been formed for protection against the Zeppelin raids in about May 1915, and Waddon Aerodrome of 1918, a test-flight aerodrome adjoining National Aircraft Factory No1.
At the end of that war, the two airfields were joint into London's official airport as the gateway for all international flights to and from the capital. Croydon Aerodrome opened on 29 March 1920.
It stimulated a increase in regular scheduled flights carrying passengers, mail and freight, the first destinations being Paris, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In 1923 Berlin flights were added. It was the operating base for Imperial Airways - remembered in the road name Imperial Way on the site today.
In the mid 1920s, the airfield was extended, some adjacent roads being permanently closed to allow heavier airliners to land and depart safely. A new complex of buildings was constructed adjoining Purley Way, including the first purpose-designed air terminal in the world, the Aerodrome Hotel and extensive hangars, all opening on 2 May 1928.
The terminal building, the booking hall inside it with its gallery balustraded in the geometrical design typical of the period, and the Aerodrome hotel were all built in the Art Deco style of the 1920s and 1930s. A further item that caught the eye of visitor and traveller alike was the time zone tower in the booking hall with its dials depicting the times in different parts of the world.
The aerodrome was known the world over, its fame being spread by the many aviators and pioneers who touched down at Croydon.

Longships

2007-03-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

Longships, langskip or drakkar were boats used by the Scandinavians and Saxons for their raids on costal and inland settelments. They were the epitome of Scandinavian military power and ranked extremely as precious material possessions.
The longship was a long, narrow, light boat with shallow draft, with oars along approximately the entire length of the boat. Later versions sported a rectangular sail on a single mast to augment the rowers particularly during longer journeys. In combat the variabilily of wind power made rowers the chief means of propulsion. virtually all longships were clinker built and waterproofed by moss drenched in tar. The ship's low mass and shallow keel permitted navigation in waters just 1 meter deep, rapid beaching when landing on beaches, and portage over land.
Construction
Our best evidence for longship building comes from ship-burials. It was common in Viking society for kings to be buried under a long burial mound in a ship with rich possessions. The Oseberg ship burial in Norway and the Anglo Saxon longship of Sutton Hoo in England are both good examples.
Longships were extraordinarily narrow for their length compared to modern standards The main discovered longship (at Roskilde harbor) is 35m in length, and the longship from Hedeby harbour has the largest length/width proportion: 11.4 to 1. However, later longships, optimized for sailing, had lower ratios, often 1 to 7 or even 1 to 5.
In contrast, Scandinavian trade ships or knarrs were built deeper and broader to accommodate bulkier cargo, and were more reliant on sails. A similar relationship may be seen in Mediterranean galleys, which are now and then called longships as well, and their merchant vessels, which were roundships.
Rectangular sails made of wool strengthened by leather were introduced later. Under sail, longships were very fast, achieving speeds of 14 knots. They were also extremely seaworthy, but, being essentially open boats, not very habitable. However, this did not stop early Scandinavian explorers from discovering and settling in Iceland, Greenland, and Canada, all well before Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas in 1492.

Bell Telephone Company

2007-03-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

Bell and others formed the Bell Telephone Company in July 1877. In 1879, it merged with the New England Telephone Company forming the National Telephone Company, which was renamed the American Bell Telephone Company in 1880. Along with Thomas Edison, Bell formed the Oriental Telephone Company on January 25, 1881. On March 3, 1885, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) was formed to supervise the expanding long-distance business of the American Bell Telephone Company. AT&T became the overall investment company for all the Bell ventures, and remains active today.

Lake effect snow

2007-03-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

Lake effect snow, which can be a kind of snowsquall, is produced in the winter when cold, arctic dry winds move across long expanses of warmer lake water, picking up water vapor which freezes and is deposited on the lee shores. This effect is improved when the moving air mass is uplifted by the orographic effect of higher elevations on the downwind shores. This uplifting can produce narrow, but very intense bands of precipitation, which deposit at a rate of many inches of snow each hour and often bringing copious snowfall totals. The areas affected by lake effect snow are called snowbelts. This effect occurs in many locations throughout the world, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere, but is best known in the populated areas of the Great Lakes of North America. The lake effect from the Great Salt Lake in Utah helps to create "The Greatest Snow on Earth". Since the Great Salt Lake never freezes, the lake effect can affect the weather along the Wasatch front year around.

If the air temperature is not low enough to keep the precipitation frozen, it falls as lake effect rain. In order for lake effect rain or snow to form, the moving air must be cooler and also less humid than the surface air. specially, the air temperature should be 15 to 25°C cooler than the water, and the dew point at the altitude where the air pressure is 850 mb should be 13°C lower than the dew point of the air at the surface. Lake effect of very cold air over still warm water in early winter can produce thundersnow, snow showers accompanied by lightning and thunder.

Chamundi Hills

2007-03-07T21:34:00.001-08:00

The Chamundi Hills are situated in India, close to the palace city of Mysore. Its average elevation is 1,000 meters.
Legend has it that that the demon Mahishasura, the king of the area that is currently Mysore, was killed by the Goddess Chamundeswari (also Chamundi) after a fierce battle. The hills therefore got their name and a temple of the Goddess was built on the top. The temple has a very beautiful Idol of the Goddess tiring a garland of skulls. The temple has always been patronised by the rulers of Mysore. In earlier days, the Maharajas of Mysore would ride the ceremonial Dasara elephant during the annual Dasara festival, but after India gained independence, the Idol of Goddess Chamundi is taken on an elephant.
A panoramic view of the city is seen from the top of the hills. Among other landmarks, you can see the Race Course, the Lalitha Mahal palace, the Mysore Palace, the Karanji and Kukkarahalli lakes. At dusk, the view of the city is particularly beautiful, and on Sunday evenings and during the Dasara festival, the illuminated Mysore Palace glitters like gold.
There are steps important to the top of the hill. There are around 1,000 steps in all, and climbing the first 400 or so steps takes some effort. Enroute to the top, the steps pass the large monolithic statue of Nandi the Bull. Nandi is the vahana (Vehicle) of Lord Shiva. Climbing gets easier soon afterwards.
There are regular buses plying to the Chamundi hills from the central bus stand.
The top of the hill has a few attractions - the Mahishasura Statue, the Chamundeswari Temple, and a few other temples nearby. The Rajendra Vilas palace used to be a popular hotel earlier, but is now closed to the public. The palace is now being redone and provides a panaromic view of the Hill, Chamundi Temple and Mysore City.
Mysore got its name from the demon Mahishasura. It was earlier known as 'Mahisuru,' meaning Mahisha's city. slowly it came to be called Mysooru and later anglicised to Mysore. There is a demand and proposal of late that the name of city be changed from Mysore to Mysooru the original Indian form.

Classification of Integrated circuits

2007-03-02T21:30:00.001-08:00

Integrated circuits can be classified into analog, digital and mixed signal (both analog and digital on the same chip).
Digital integrated circuits can have anything from a few thousand to millions of logic gates, flip-flops, multiplexers, and other circuits in a few square millimeters. The small size of these circuits allows high speed, low power dissipation, and reduced manufacturing cost compared with board-level integration. These digital ICs, classically microprocessors, DSPs, and micro controllers work using binary mathematics to process "one" and "zero" signals.
Analog ICs, such as sensors, power management circuits, and operational amplifiers, work by giving out continuous signals. They carry out functions like amplification, active filtering, demodulation, mixing, etc. Analog ICs ease the burden on circuit designers by having expertly designed analog circuits available instead of designing a hard analog circuit from scratch.
ICs can also combine analog and digital circuits on a single chip to generate functions such as A/D converters and D/A converters. Such circuits offer smaller size and lower cost, but must carefully account for signal interference

lollipop

2007-02-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

A lollipop, or lolly, is a type of confectionery consisting mostly of hardened, flavoured sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. In many regions of the United States, the term "sucker" is used interchangeably with or instead of "lollipop". In these areas, the term "lollipop" is frequently applied to candy that is disc-shaped, while "sucker" is applied to candy that is spherical. Lollipops come in a variety of flavors from cherry, grape and orange to watermelon and green apple. In Europe, particularly the Nordic countries, Germany and the Netherlands, salmiakki-flavoured lollipops are also available, but these are largely unknown to the USA. With numerous companies producing lollipops, the candy now comes in dozens of flavors.
They were first commercially manufactured on a large scale in the 1920s. Some lollipops contain fillings, such as bubble gum or Tootsie Rolls. Notable brand names include Chupa Chups and DumDums.
The origin of the lollipop has yet to be determined. Both Racine, Wisconsin and San Francisco, California, claim that they made the first automatic lollipop maker

Bone

2007-02-21T21:05:00.000-08:00

Bones are rigid organs that figure out the part of the endoskeleton of vertebrates. Bones job to move, support, and protect the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bones come in a variety of shapes and have a complex internal and external structure, allowing them to be lightweight yet strong and hard, while fulfilling their many other functions. One of the types of tissues that makes up bones is the mineralized osseous tissue, also called bone tissue, that gives bones their rigidity and honeycomb-like three-dimensional inside structure. Other tissue types found in bones include marrow, the periosteum, nerves, blood vessels and cartilage.
There are five main functions of bones.
* Protection — Bones can serve to protect internal organs, such as the skull protecting the brain or the ribs protecting the abdomen.
* Shape — Bones provide a frame to keep the body supported.
* Blood production — The marrow, located within the medullary cavity of long bones and the interstices of cancellous bone, produces blood cells in a process called haematopoiesis.
* Mineral storage — Bones act as reserves of minerals important for the body, most notably calcium and phosphorus.
* Movement — Bones, skeletal muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints function together to generate and transfer forces so that individual body parts or the whole body can be manipulated in three-dimensional space. The interaction between bone and muscle is studied in biomechanics.

Udhagamandalam-Tourism

2007-02-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

Udhagamandalam Located in the mountainous range called the Blue Mountains or Nilgiris, Ooty draws a very large number of tourists every year. The weather is quite pleasurable at a mean of 15 to 20 °C (59 to 68 °F) year round, reducing to lows of 0 °C (32 °F) during winter. The hill town suffers from rampant commercialization and erosion of natural resources. The tourism industry has located an enormous strain on the natural resources resulting in pollution, a water shortage, and bad roads. The number of visitors was 1,681,000 in 2001, 1,834,000 in 2003, and h 1,725,000 in 2005.
The landscape is relatively unlike the rest of India, marked by continuing hills and plateaus covered with dense vegetation, tea gardens, and eucalyptus trees. Many portions of the hills are conserved as natural reserve forests, and special permits are needed to camp outside of campgrounds. Ooty is not the destination in itself, as much as it is the main point of attraction. Auto touring the neighboring countryside is a favourite activity.
The hilly region also houses smaller town like Coonoor and Kotagiri. These towns are less than an hour's drive away from Ooty and have the same climate, but have fewer tourists and cheaper prices.

Software

2007-02-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Software basically is the distinct image or representation of physical or material position that constitute configuration to or functional identity of a machine, usually a computer. As a substance of memory, software in principle can be changed without the alteration to the static paradigm of the hardware thus without the remanufacturing thereof. generally software is of an algorithmic form which translates into being to a progression of machine instructions. Some software, however, is of a relational form which translate into being the map of a recognition network.
Software is a program that enables a computer to achieve a specific task, as contrasting to the physical components of the system (hardware). This include application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to achieve a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run suitably, by interfacing with hardware and with other software.
The term "software" was first used in this intellect by John W. Tukey in 1957. In computer science and software engineering, computer software is all computer program. The perception of reading different sequences of instructions into the memory of a apparatus to control computations was invented by Charles Babbage as part of his difference engine. The theory that is the source for most modern software was first projected by Alan Turing in his 1935 essay Computable numbers with an application to the Entscheidungs problem.
TypesPractical computer systems partition software into three major classes: system software, programming software and application software, although the division is subjective, and often blurred.
* System software is one of the major class helps run the computer hardware and computer system. It includes working systems, device drivers, analytical tools, servers, windowing systems, utilities and more. The intention of systems software is to protect the applications programmer as much as possible from the details of theexacting computer complex being use, especially memory and other hardware features, and such accessory procedure as communications, printers, readers, displays, keyboards, etc.
* Programming software usually provide tools to support a programmer in writing computer programs and software with different programming languages in a more suitable way.The tools comprise text editors, compilers, interpreters, linkers, debuggers, and so on, An incorporated development environment (IDE) merge those tools into a software bundle, and a programmer may not need to type various command for compiling, interpreter, debugging, tracing, and etc., because the IDE typically has an sophisticated graphical user interface, or GUI.
* Application software allows humans to complete one or more explicit (non-computer related) tasks. typical applications include manufacturingautomation, business software, educational software, medical software, databases and computer games. Businesses are possibly the biggest users of application software, but approximately every field of human action now uses some form of application software. It is used tocomputerizeall sorts of functions.

The Real Miracle

2007-02-04T20:43:00.001-08:00

As far as Miracles is concern, turning salty seawater in to sweet water is quite amazing. Regardless of the scientific clarification being doled out—surplus freshwater flowing from the Mahim River into the sea—the thousand mass to Mahim Creek near the beachfront in Mumbai will pretty see the ‘transubstantiation’ as the deed of the late Haji Maqdoom Baba, whose shrine is in the area. Mass hysteria, of course, is only a term to clarify the hordes of believers filling plastic bottles and drinking the water. But the real miracle would be if those glugging the ‘miraculous’ water manages to flee succumbing to serious gastric illness.
The water of Mahim Creek, sweetened or otherwise, is dirty and would scandalize not only the likes of Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and officials of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai have already request to people not to drink the water. Industrial waste is not the finest ingredient for a miracle. But telling this to goggle-eyed people facing even more goggle-eyed TV cameras is as worthwhile as persuasive people that a Ganesh idol sipping milk is caused by suction and not godly lactose tolerance.
Fortunately, rumors of the sweetened water turning back to its original brackish form might stop a future surge. Now we only wait for the real miracle of no one complaining of sickness.