black ice zone

Most Popular Websites in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 05:47:00 +0000

Been out of this blog for quite a long time due to my exams. But I am back now, and this time I have something informative and which may be useful to some.

No doubt that the 'most' popular website in the world is Google, considering its traffic share and page views. Google recently published list of top 1000 most visited websites on the web. But surprisingly, Google didnot feature in the list.

The top website(according to Google, but Google itself!) is Facebook, with a reach of 39.2% and page views of 680,000,000,000!! It is followed by Youtube which has a reach of 31.8% and page views of 76,000,000,000.

Some interesting websites on the list:

baidu.com, is the eighth most viewed website in the world. It is a search engine and has page views counting to 14,000,000,000.
wikipedia.com is the only website in the top 10 list which has no advertisements in it. It runs solely on charity.(If you think wiki is good and you want it to keep running, then go and donate some money)

google.co.in(Google's Indian portal) holds the #14 in the most viewed list. This is the top country domain website(other than yahoo.co.jp at #12) in the world.

List of most popular websites(links):

http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/
http://mostpopularwebsites.net/

Doggy Style.....

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:54:00 +0000

Please ignore the title, THAT was not what I meant to blog here.

What is in here is the something which I love to do in most of my time.......Guessed already!!??NO...

"Spend time with dogs!!"

It sounds crazy, but yes, I love to do that. Not me, I think that’s why Dogs are the first 'ever' friend of man from the animal kingdom (That dates back to the Stone Age, Thousands of years!!).

As you like something, you grow an urge to know more and more about it. So, I have this blog that will be useful to the ‘Dog Lovers’ out there.

There is no question about the popularity of Dogs, whether be it as utility animals or simply as pets. US has the largest population of dogs in the world(I thought India holds the top rank as you can see dogs crawling around each and every corner of every street you go). 1 out of three families in the US own at least one dog!

There are 157 different dog breeds around the world. So if you are planning to adopt one, there are lots of options to choose from, be is their shape, size, what they do….

Some of the facts that will help you choose your breed:

Irish Wolfhounds rank as the largest dog, and Chihuahuas as the smallest dog. The St. Bernard is the heaviest dog and other breeds range in size between these extremes.

The basenji, an African wolf dog, is the only dog that cannot bark(If you wish a peaceful creature on your couch).

Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born and develop

their spots as they mature and grow older.

German Shepherd Dogs love to herd. Although this dog's name

sounds like 'SHEPARD', the correct spelling is 'SHEPHERD'.

Notice the word 'herd' in his name.

A greyhound can run as fast as 45 miles an hour(A good one to take out jogging with if you want a serious competitor).

Small dogs live the longest. Toy breeds live up to 16 years or more. Larger dogs average is 7 - 12 years. Veterinary medicine have extended this estimate by about three years. However, some breeds, such as Tibetan terrier live as long as twenty years.

Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible(For all those holy people who hate dogs).

Some interesting factoids about Dogs:

An adult dog has 42 teeth.

If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could produce over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!

The only sweat glands a dog has are between the paw pads.

Dogs’ sense of hearing is more than ten times more acute than a human’s

Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill(Please don’t feed chocolate to dogs).

A dog’s whiskers are touch-sensitive hairs called vibrissae. They are found on the muzzle, above the eyes and below the jaws, and can actually sense tiny changes in airflow.

Dogs can smell about 1,000 times better than humans. While humans have 5 million smell-detecting cells, dogs have more than 220 million. The part of the brain that interprets smell is also four times larger in dogs than in humans.

Dogs can get jealous. They may try and interrupt a hugging couple or bark for attention when you are on the telephone!

Dogs communicate with their tail. A wag can mean many things - an aggressive dog may wag their tail, but it will be held high and moving rapidly. A playful dog will also hold his tail high, but it will be wagging in big arches from side to side. Meanwhile a dog that is afraid will hold his tail low and may wag it stiffly back and forth

Did you know that dogs have three eyelids? They have an upper

and lower eyelid and a third one inside of the other two. It helps

protect the eye from dirt and dust. It is also called a "haw".

Some dogs have coats with two layers: the beautiful hair you can see,

and a hidden, second coat called an undercoat. This undercoat helps

a dog stay warm and dry in cold weather and it protects his skin from the hot sun, too.

Most dogs don't like their own poop and will intentionally avoid it. Hey, dogs aren’t dumb!

There’s more! It has been established that people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks. So, don’t just sit and hate that Dog, go on and adopt one! (If you wish to live longer….).

Love Story of Lobsters

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 18:49:00 +0000

Pretty interesting....love story of lobsters

[Source:Today I Found Out]

Ground Zero

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:29:00 +0000

I am trying to keep up the 'unusual' tag alive for my blog, let it be its name or the contents.A little add-up to my archive which can be informational.

Recently while reading an article, I came across the term 'Ground Zero'. I had heard about some PC Games being named as Ground Zero, but never knew what it actually means.
So, I did a 'little research' and found out what it actually is!

Ground Zero is a geographical term since it is related to 'ground'. Ground Zero is the point on the ground where an explosion occurs. So, I can round it off as "a point on the ground where a bomb zeros in"? This term is not only associated with explosions from bombs(not crackers but nuclear bombs and large bombs) but also natural
disasters like earthquakes,epidemics,etc. It is the point of origin of the disaster on the ground. The term was originated during the bombing of Japan in 1946.

So next time you hear someone whispering 'Ground Zero' near you, run out of the place!!

CWG 2010- Casually Wasted Games

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 02:47:00 +0000

- Seventh largest country in the world.
- Fastest growing economy after China.
- Hosting the third biggest sporting event in the world.
- Seven years of preparation.
- Rs. 77,000 crore(770 billion) expenditure(so far).

Yes, dont be amazed, it is Rs. 77,000 crore and counting. And the facts that we are talking about is Delhi hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

When Delhi won the bid to host the games for the first time, it was a moment of pride and joy among the people."We will be hosting the Commonwealth Games,can you believe it?",was the reaction in many of us. Yes,we are.Being one of the fastest growing economy,we have the guts and power to host such a big event.Even Beijing has already hosted the Olympics successfully,why cannot we host the Commonwealth?We had a long seven years to prepare for the games.7 years!I have to agree that we had to start right from the scratch because we entirely lacked in infrastructure and equipments.

Now, these seven years have passed and we got a mere 8 days for the mega event to start.And I guess, what is the level of satisfaction over the preparedness of the event among the people and the authority?Each day,several new disturbing issues are emerging about the way the preparations have been so far.

Few days ago, a new row of corruption was busted on the misuse of the money allotted for the games.And the way the bills were stated were horrifying but equally amazing. For example, a general first-aid kit which would have cost some Rs.50 in the market, was bought for Rs.150. Some equipments which costs in thousands, were imported in the terms of lacs(not lakh)!! I guess, this is why, this edition of CWG is the costliest in the history of the games.

Recently a foot bridge(which was mean for top officials and athletes,but denied by CM Shiela Dixit) crashed down unexpectedly injuring some 27 workers. The next day, a false ceiling fell off in the weight-lifting arena(thankfully not injuring anybody). The point is that, Rs.77,000 crore already spent, but why these faulty, low quality infrastructures?

The security is also being questioned again and again resulting in many top athletes withdrawing from the event. The security is so thin that an Australian news crew walked into the main arena with a bomb detonation kit without being noticed. They filmed the whole footage, and now the world knows our potential in upholding security.

The biggest attraction, according to many, is the 'Games Village' that is being built for the athletes and officials for their accommodation. Again, most of the allotted amount is being spent on this village(or 'villas'). But still, participating nations like New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Ireland are not satisfied with the facilities there. Especially, bathrooms and toilets are either dirty or not functioning properly. In some unlocked flats, even laborers had defecated. They are "unlivable" and "literally crappy". The work is still going on and it will take weeks to complete with only 8 days to go. And you call this 'village' your 'showpiece', Mr. Kalmadi??

These events have shrunk the entire nation with the ocean of shame. And with the entire world keenly watching us(Even France, a non-Commonwealth nation, has published articles about India's situation in its newspapers), thing have become more and more worse.

If we were not prepared for organizing such a big event, then why did we bid for it in the very first place? We could have waited for some more years to host it rather than being blamed and being shamed for such irresponsibility. Moreover, Rs.77,000 crore have been spent. The amount could have been used building thousands of miles of road,could have been used in the education,food,etc,etc for lacs of poor people in the country.

It is now just a matter of time that we will be able to know the real consequences, and that will be only after the end of the games. Till then, lets hope that India will hold up to its pride and dignity among its fellow nations and work out the situation.

Black Ice...What?

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:13:00 +0000

Blogging is entirely new to me. I love writing something and I even love more when someone reads what I write and comments on it....whether good or bad.So I started this blog with a hope that my wish works out.

Since I have already stated my desire so far, lets not leave it here this way...like its just a comment or so. I want to share here a short story(not a story exactly), but the story behind how I found out this unusual name to my blog,"Black Ice Zone"!

While registering for my blog recently, i thought to name it very unusual. So, I thought of it and came up with some like 'Green desert','Flying submarine','white blood',etc,etc. But there are guys out there who will always outsmart you, these names were already registered! Then it struck my mind,"how about black ice?".And it worked!(although 'blackice' was registered,i got it done as 'blackicezone'. Again been outsmarted).

So,this was the 'story' behind the knighthood of my blog. Interesting,huh?Not really. Yesterday, while I was updating the design of my blog, I came across the name 'Black ice' and wondered "what on hell is black ice by the way?" .I always see ice and the color is always white,no,there is no color of ice,its transparent.Black ice??Thought if anything really existed called Black ice.

I turned up to the web and googled 'Black Ice'.And believe me,what I like about google(and the reason why most of you like it) is that you type anything and it will never let you down. I got 85,800,000 results to it!

We have come up so far, so let me briefly tell you what black ice really is. There is no ice which is ever black in color(unless you paint it up). Black ice is actually a thin layer of ice which is formed on surfaces like roads especially.This happens in colder regions where snowing is quite common. And it is dangerous for motorists and pedestrians even since chances are there to slip off(Nobody can drive or walk on ice!!).

This piece of info is useful to those who live in colder places and also to those who are planning to spend their vacation at such places.

Count on me,this is very useful. So, remember my little story and be safe!

Engineering Life – A Case Study

noreply@blogger.com (Prateek Senapati) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Since I am an Engineering student and am in my final year, I am going to present here my very own life experience,i.e, a life of an Engineering student.
Let me tell you first that ‘how an Engineering student is born’. Believe me, almost all of them(to be specific, most of them) are designated as ‘Engineers’ even before they are actually introduced to the world. But this does not really make sense because it is good to be an engineer and I am proud that I will soon be tagged as an ‘Er.’,
Coming up to the life story of an Engineering student. It is mainly being classified into three stages(although there are four years that courses generally offer).

The First Year
Best time of Life(2nd and 3rd year)
The Climax(Final year)

The First Year:

A student takes admission in an Engineering college, excited but equally tensed(about how badly he is going to be ragged) and starts with a new and exciting life. Mixing with different persons from all around the country and making new friends. Its like starting a new life in a completely different world. But what makes the 1st year so special is that, this is the only year(or probably the one out of two) during which a student actually is serious about his/her academics(And this applies to most of us, but not ‘all’). Studying hard late night with innumerable cups of tea/coffee,assignments, fear for seniors, respect for staffs, exams, seminars and the list goes on…

Best time of Life(2nd and 3rd year):
Second year, and you would have already selected your best gang of buddies, hanging around with them, bunk classes, party hard at friend’s birthday, arrears, girlfriend(or boyfriend) and again, the list goes on…
Its like you live on for the moment and no worries about your future(again this is with ‘most of us’, but not ‘all of us’). And the worst part of it all is that even these two year passes on like it was yesterday!

The Climax(The Final Year):
Final year, believe me, is the longest period in engineering, like it will never end. This is the time that a student actually understands that why ‘he/she is here for?’ and ‘what is he going to do next?’. This is the period in which he/she feels that real pressure from peers, parents and teachers. Pressure to finish the degree with a good percentile, get placed in a reputed company and get settled in life. And then after the final degree gets completed, there are a lot of emotional scenes which takes place like parting from your best friends, saying goodbye your best teacher(or mentor), leaving the campus forever where you have spent the best four years of your life.
The point that I want to convey in this case study(not exactly a case study) is that what an engineering student ultimately experiences. The first three years enjoying, partying etc,etc and then ultimately in the final year(and even after that) worrying for his/her future. This is what should not happen with us. We should ‘live and enjoy’ and ‘worry about our future’ equally at the same time. What is the point in “we will enjoy three years and work hard in the final year”. But the truth is that when the final year comes, the pressure is so much that some of us could not even handle it(I have seen my friends catch up Hypertension worrying about his ‘future’). ‘Live Life but Work Hard‘ is the mantra that an Engineering student must follow right from the start.

Life! Live It! Love It! But Work for It!