Fact of anything

Gaddafi’s death raises questions of human rights violations

2011-11-01T23:02:00.001+05:30

On Oct. 20, Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi was captured alive by rebel forces, ending a civil uprising that began on Feb. 17 2011.
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minya al-Gaddafi was born in June 1942 in Libya, which was then a colony under the control of Italy. He rose to power in 1969 when he and other officers of Libya's army launched a military coup d'état against the Libyan monarch, King Idris, and his nephew and heir apparent, Crown Prince HayyidHasanar-Rida Al-Mahdi- as-Sanussi.
While King Idris was away for medical treatment, the officers moved in and took control of the government, arrested the Crown Prince, and declared Libya a republic. Though the coup was carried out by the military, there was no bloodshed in the overthrow.
The Libyan Revolution began with protests in Benghazi, where Libyan security forces opened fire into the protesting crowds. The protests spread across the country, despite extensive efforts by the Libyan government to halt them, and the revolutionaries formed the National Transitional Council (NTC) to serve as a governing body in place ofGaddafi's government.
Soon after the formation of the NTC and in response to Gaddafi'sstatement that he would "show no mercy" to the rebels of Benghazi, the UN began enforcing a no-fly zone order over Libya. According to an article by the Associated Press, on Jun. 27 2011 the international Criminal Court (ICC) called for the arrest of Colonel Gaddafi and his son, Saif al-Islam, for crimes against humanity. Gaddafi and other officials loyal to him ignored the arrest warrants on the belief that the ICC has "no legitimacy whatsoever" and that "all of its activities are directed at African leaders."
An NTC official announced on Oct. 20 2011 that Muammar Gaddafiwas captured by Libyan rebel forces. Shortly after his death, he was shot dead by the same forces. There are as many as four cellphonevideos taken of revolutionaries beating Gaddafi before his death. His body, along with the bodies of his son, Moatassem Gaddafi, and Defense Minister, Abu-Bakr YunisJabr, were put on display to the Libyan public. Citizens from across the country came to view the bodies.
Gaddafi's death is currently under investigation by the United Nations' Human Rights Office under suspicion that he was killed both as a war crime and without a trial. There are claims that the videos showing his treatment before his death show enough violence and disregard that it is highly likely his death was also given such treatment.
Some worry that if the circumstances surrounding his death were taken out through violence, it serves as a sign that the government taking over Gaddafi's will also be run through violence.
Michael Solberg, a Physics Major and History Minor Sophomore, was "pleased" that the rebel forces were able to "get the job done." When asked about the effect Gaddafi's death will have on Libya, Michael said, "As a former history major, I believe I can safely say that history has shown that sometimes you become the beast you kill. Let's hope that doesn't happen."

Facebook Timeline

2011-09-24T17:11:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Facebook Timeline, a new feature that's coming to users of the social network very soon.
Due to Facebook's history of not being so forthcoming with users regarding new features and privacy concerns about those features, I put my hands on the new Timeline to learn as much as I could about it. Here's a summary of what I learned, and you can take a tour of Timeline in the slideshow below.
Remember, Timeline is still in beta, so answers to these questions could change by the time the feature is made public. Here are 10 of the most important questions and answers about Facebook Timeline:

Q: What is Facebook Timeline?
A: Timeline is a new feature in Facebook (although it was accidentally released very briefly to the public back in December 2010 as Facebook Memories, and promptly removed) that shows the story of your life, as you choose to tell it or as Facebook has recorded it, in a visual, scrolling, ordered timeline. It's a cross between visual blog and online scrapbook.
Q: How can I get Facebook Timeline?
A: Two ways: 1) Sign up as a Facebook developer (which takes less than five minutes, is free, and doesn't require anything more than a mobile phone or credit card number for verification), create a phony app, go back to your homepage and wait for an option to enable Timline to appear; or 2) wait until September 30, 2011, when the feature is scheduled to become live.

Q: What appears on my Timeline?
A: Status updates, photos, friendships made, as well as job history, marital status changes, and other information that you've recorded in your profile.
Q: Is the Timeline replacing my Facebook wall?
A: Yes and no. Timeline will replace your profile page and wall, only after you opt into it and publish it.
When you log into Facebook and go to Facebook.com, that feed page of Recent Stories will still be the same. But, when you or visitors go to your unique Facebook URL, such as http://www.facebook.com/jillduffyNYC, they'll be able to see your Timeline instead of your old profile information and wall. If you are a developer, you should be able to see the Timeline on that link; if you are not signed up as a developer, you will only see the old profile and wall, as the permissions allow.
Q: I'm worry about privacy! Who can see my Facebook Timeline?
A: At present, only other developers can see your Timeline. After the service goes live to all users, everyone will be able to see it.
Q: Can I restrict which people who can see certain pieces of information, photos, and other details of my Timeline?
A: Yes! In the same way that you can manage who can see a status update or photo, you can limit who sees all the entries of your Timeline. Each entry has a drop-down menu next to it that lets you filter who can see the item.
Q: Can I delete status updates, images, and other content from my Timeline?
A: Yes!
Q: When is Facebook Timeline coming?
A: September 30 is the date it's schedule to roll out to all users, although if you sign up as a Facebook developer (free), you can try out the beta immediately.
Q: It sounds like you've tried out Facebook Timeline. How is it?
A: I must admit that I liked playing with it a lot more than I liked filling in standard profile information. I set up Timeline on a Facebook account that doesn't have too much data in it, so it didn't feel overwhelming, but I could see how an active Facebook user would feel totally bowled over the first time he or she opened the Timeline. Luckily, the Timeline has a "publish" button (much like a blog), so you have an opportunity to spend some time teasing it into shape, adding the permissions you want, deleting or marking private images you don't want everyone to see, and so forth. Most Facebook users, I think, will want to dedicate some time to combing through their information before hitting publish, but it's by and large a one-time setup process. After the one-time setup, new Timeline entries will come from your Facebook activity, and you'll be adding permissions and making other adjustments as you go.
I also like how you can add life events, either current or back-dated. Some of the life events are pre-set in Facebook, like getting a new job and buying a home, but you can also create a custom life event or milestone.
Q: What are some of the cons?
A: The dimensions for display images is unconventional, and I found that I didn't like how most of my images looked when I uploaded them without manipulating their size and dimensions. You can drag an image around the viewer space, but you can't crop or resize from directly within Facebook. (I'm taking bets now on how soon Facebook will build an image editor, or acquire a company that already makes one.)
Another not-so-great element: When you add back-dated information, you associate the date using a nice interactive calendar, but you can only jump back one month at a time (not a year at a time), which means a dozen clicks per year. It takes a long time to get back to 2004!

iPhone 5 News

2011-09-24T17:04:00.000+05:30

On Tuesday, October 4th 2011 could be a historic day for Apple and even for iPhone’s enthusiastic. According to the Wall Street Journal’s technology blog AllThingsD, that’s the date when Apple is expected to hold their next big media event, citing sources – “close to the situation”.
Possibly, it’s also will be the same day where newly appointed CEO Tim Cook will unveil Apple’s big product, the iPhone 5. Cook is expected to be the presenter for the media event after Steve Jobs resigned last month and this will be his first appearance to introduce new Apple’s products as CEO.
We are expecting iPhone 5 will be the key product to launch on the date, there are also reports says; analysts believe a revamped version of existing iPhone 4 (low-cost version), the “iPhone 4S” might be revealed along with the iPhone 5 during the day, or possibly just an iPhone 4S.

In addition from ATD, the new device will be available for purchase after a few weeks from the announcement date. This rumor could be accurate if you are still aware of what France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard has said earlier.

What is next for NASA !!

2011-09-24T17:00:00.000+05:30

"As a former astronaut and the current NASA Administrator, I'm here to tell you that American leadership in space will continue for at least the next half-century because we have laid the foundation for success -- and failure is not an option."
Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator
National Press Club, July 1, 2011

The end of the space shuttle program does not mean the end of NASA, or even of NASA sending humans into space. NASA has a robust program of exploration, technology development and scientific research that will last for years to come. Here is what's next for NASA:

Artist's concept of the new Space Launch System rocket launching with the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Credit: NASA

The International Space Station in May 2011. Credit: NASA

The Research Flight Deck is being used to develop safer and more efficient cockpit technologies. Credit: NASA
The Juno mission will arrive at Jupiter in 2016. Credit: NASA
Exploration
NASA is designing and building the capabilities to send humans to explore the solar system, working toward a goal of landing humans on Mars. We will build the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, based on the design for the Orion capsule, with a capacity to take four astronauts on 21-day missions.

NASA is also moving forward with the development of the Space Launch System -- an advanced heavy-lift launch vehicle that will provide an entirely new national capability for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit. The SLS rocket will use a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propulsion system, which will include shuttle enginesfor the core stage and the J-2X engine for the upper stage.

We are developing the technologies we will need for human exploration of the solar system, including solar electric propulsion, refueling depots in orbit, radiation protection and high-reliability life support systems.

International Space Station
The International Space Station is the centerpiece of our human spaceflight activities in low Earth orbit. The ISS is fully staffed with a crew of six, and American astronauts will continue to live and work there in space 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Part of the U.S. portion of the station has been designated as a national laboratory, and NASA is committed to using this unique resource for scientific research.

The ISS is a test bed for exploration technologies such as autonomous refueling of spacecraft, advanced life support systems and human/robotic interfaces. Commercial companies are well on their way to providing cargo and crew flights to the ISS, allowing NASA to focus its attention on the next steps into our solar system.

Aeronautics
NASA is researching ways to design and build aircraft that are safer, more fuel-efficient, quieter, and environmentally responsible. We are also working to create traffic management systems that are safer, more efficient and more flexible. We are developing technologies that improve routing during flights and enable aircraft to climb to and descend from their cruising altitude without interruption.

We believe it is possible to build an aircraft that uses less fuel, gives off fewer emissions, and is quieter, and we are working on the technologies to create that aircraft. NASA is also part of the government team that is working to develop the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, to be in place by the year 2025. We will continue to validate new, complex aircraft and air traffic control systems to ensure that they meet extremely high safety levels.

Science
NASA is conducting an unprecedented array of missions that will seek new knowledge and understanding of Earth, the solar system and the universe. NASA has observatories in Earth orbit and deep space, spacecraft visiting the moon and other planetary bodies, and robotic landers, rovers, and sample return missions. NASA's science vision encompasses questions as practical as hurricane formation, as enticing as the prospect of lunar resources, and as profound as the origin of the Universe.

Fact: top five expensive jewelry in the world !!!

2011-09-20T09:13:00.000+05:30

Here’s the most expensive jewelry in the world. As We all know, jewelry is a women thing. By wearing any jewelry beautiful women looks more beautiful. But wearing these jewelry is different case. These jewelry is a symbol of wealthy and success. Let’s take a look at these most expensive jewelry in the world

5. Flawless Blue Diamond, Sold in Sotheby’s : $ 7.98 Millions

This Sotheby’s blue diamond has 6.04 carats and it is mounted in a superb rings that was sold in a Hong Kong exhibition at the amazing price of $7.98 million.

Flawless Blue Diamond

4. Diamond Drop Earrings by House Of Harry Winston: $8.5 millions

These Diamond drop earrings are the creation of Harry Winston. The 60 carat diamonds are mounted in platinum. The drop shaped earrings are suitable for any outfit.

Diamond Drop Earrings by House Of Harry Winston

3. Heart-shaped Burma Ruby Necklace: $14 millions

The romantic shaped ruby necklace that has as a centerpiece a 40.63 carat Burma ruby belongs to an English jeweler. It is mounted also with 155 carat worth of diamonds.

Heart shaped Burma Ruby Necklace

2. White Diamond by Sotheby’s: $23 millions

The white diamond belonged to the Sotheby’s auction house and had 100.1 carat. It was initially sold for $16 million but the current value reaches $23million.

White Diamond by Sothebys

1. Diamond Bikini by Susan Rosen And Steinmetz: $30 million

The diamond bikini is created by Susan Rosen with Steinmetz Diamonds and has more then 150 carats of D Flawless diamonds. The item is at the same time the most expensive diamond jewelry and the most expensive bathing suit.

Diamond Bikini by Susan Rosen And Steinmetz

Facebook Browser RockMelt Beta !!!

2011-09-12T21:51:00.000+05:30

RockMelt has announced itself to the world with an official blog entry declaring that “the rumors are true” regarding the company’s social browser. The company’s application purports to be available in beta format.

To grab a copy of it, go to the RockMelt home page and click on the Facebook Connect button. After you give permission to access your data, you see a page saying that you’ll receive an email invitation to begin using the application. Then you’re encouraged to watch a video about RockMelt, which we’ve pasted in below.
Call me a nitpicker for asking, but why does RockMelt say the beta is available today and then not let me use it right away? I mean, are would-be users being screened first? Is the application doing some kind of preliminary web search with my email address and loading social data about my connections before I ever log on to the new tool?
People certainly have high expectations for RockMelt, which has been under development for two years. The company’s major investor is former Netscape Chief Executive Officer and founder Marc Andreessen, and the Principal Engineer for Netscape Navigator, Robert John Churchill, acts in that capacity for RockMelt too.
The company’s blog states that the technology leverages cloud computing to come up with search results based on social connections. The blog also states that RockMelt promises to deliver faster search results than other browsers already available. That’s a nice claim, but until we can get our mitts on the actual beta, how are we supposed to believe this will really be the fastest? Of course, the involvement of the original browser pioneers, Andreesen and Churchill, do make one want to believe that this new browser will blow away all others.

Fact about Amazon Rainforest !!!

2011-09-12T21:45:00.000+05:30

The Amazon rainforest, world's largest remaining natural resource, represents 54% of the total rainforests left on Earth.

It covers an area of 2,5 million square miles, embracing nine South America countries: Brazil, Colombia, Peru,Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and the Guianas - Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname, or two thirds of the South America continent.

Its live force is the Amazon river, born in the Andean mountains of Peru, flows for more than 4,000 miles to discharge its waters in the Atlantic ocean near Belem, Brazil. Along the way, it is fed by about 1,100 tributaries.

See a map of the Amazon basin river network.

When you are paddling the Amazon river, or any of its tributaries for that matter, taking an Amazon river cruise, or jungle trekking in Peru, Colombia or Ecuador for instance, you will know you are visiting the most powerful and diverse natural phenomenon on Earth, not to mention the awe-inspiring experience you will have in front of its timelesness, indescribable beauty...

The following list of Amazon rainforest facts doesn't pretend to be exhaustive or scientifically elaborated, it only aspires to give you some background info for your next adventure travel in South America.

Amazon Rainforest Facts:

• More than 20% of Earth's oxygen is produced in this area, thus the name "Lungs of the Planet"

• With 2,5 million square miles, the Amazon rainforest represents 54% of the total rainforests left of the planet

• Amazon rainforest birds account for for at least one third of the world's bird species, being toucanthe most popular icon

• More than half of the world's estimated ten million species of plants, animals and insects live in the tropical forest. Read more at Amazon rainforest animals

• 70% of plants found to have anticancer properites are found only in the rainforest

• The number of edible fruits found in the rainforest is estimated in 3,000. Amazon natives consume more than 1,500, but only 200 are cultivated for use today

• An estimated 90% of Amazon rainforest plants used by Amazon natives have not been studied by modern science

• In 1500 there were an estimated 6 to 9 million Amazon natives. By 1900 the number has gone down to one million lelf in Brazil.

Today, the number is believed to be of around 250,000 Amazon natives, comprising 215 ethnic groups with 170 different languages

• There may also be fifty or so Amazon tribes living in the depths of the Amazon rainforest that have never had contact with the outside world

• An estimated number of 2,700 million acres of the rainforest are burned each year

Fact about Red Sea !!!

2011-09-10T22:46:00.000+05:30

Thee Red Sea is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden. In the north is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal). The sea is roughly 1900 km long and at its widest is over 300 km. The sea floor has a maximum depth of 2,500 m in the central median trench and an average depth of 500 m, but it also has extensive shallow shelves, noted for their marine life and corals. The sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 or 450,000 km².

The sea is the habitat of over 1000 invertebrate species and 200 soft and hard corals. The sea occupies a part of the Great Rift Valley. The Red Sea is the world´s most northern tropical sea.

Name
The sea was called the "Arabian Gulf" in most European sources up to the 20th century. This was derived from older Greek sources. Herodotus, Straban and Ptolemy all call the waterway "Arabicus Sinus", while reserving the term "Sea of Erythrias" (Red Sea) for the waters around the southern Arabian Peninsula, now known as Indian Ocean. The name of the sea does not indicate the colour of the water. It may signify the seasonal blooms of the red-coloured cyanobacteria Trichodesmium erythraeum near the water surface. Some suggest that it refers to the mineral-rich red mountains nearby which are called "äøé àãåí" (harei edom). Edom, meaning "ruddy complexion", is also an alternative Hebrew name for the red-faced biblical character Esau (brother of Jacob), and the nation descended from him, the Edomites, which in turn provides yet another possible origin for Red Sea. There is also speculation that the name Red Sea came from a mistranslation of what should have been the Reed Sea in the Biblical story of the Exodus.
Physical properties
Dust storm over the Red SeaSurface water temperatures remain relatively constant at 21-25°C and temperature and visibility remain good to around 200 m, but the sea is known for its strong winds and tricky local currents. The sea was created by the division of Africa from the Arabian peninsula, a movement which began around 30 million years ago. The sea is still widening and there are small volcanic features in the deeper parts, it is considered that the sea will become an ocean in time (as proposed in the model of Tuzo Wilson). Sometimes during the Tertiary period the Bab el Mandeb was closed and the Red Sea was an empty hot dry salt-floored sink.
Tourism
The sea is known for its spectacular dive sites such as Ras Mohammed, Elphinstone, The Brothers and Rocky Island in Egypt, and less known sites in Sudan such as Sanganeb, Abington, Angarosh and Shaab Rumi (see photo above). The Red Sea was "discovered" as a diving destination by Hans Hass in the 1950s, and by Jacques-Yves Cousteau later. Bordering countries Bordering countries are: Northern shore: Egypt Israel Jordan Western shore: Sudan Egypt Eastern shore: Saudi Arabia Yemen Southern shore: Djibouti Eritrea Somalia Towns and cities Towns and cities on the Red Sea coast include: Assab, Massawa, Hala'ib, Port Sudan, Port Safaga, Hurghada, El Suweis, Sharm el Sheikh, Eilat, Aqaba, Dahab, Jeddah, Al Hudaydah, Marsa Alam.

Fact about Early Bombay Newspaper !!!

2011-09-10T22:24:00.000+05:30

Bombay Herald was the first English newspaper in Bombay. It was started in 1789. Bombay Courier was started in the following year 1790. In 1791, the name of Bombay Herald was changed to Bombay Gazette. Bombay Courier was published on Saturdays and Gazette on Wednesdays.

Bombay Courier continued to exist for fifty-six years, after which it was merged with Bombay Telegraph. Bombay Gazette stopped its operation in 1842.

Both these papers contained almost entirely parts from English papers and occasional law reports. The first native newspaper in Bombay was Bombay Samachar in 1822. This paper was started as a weekly. It became a bi-weekly in 1833 and daily in 1860. Mumbai Karkman was started in 1830.

In 1822, the Government prohibited officers in East India Company from writing any personal matters related to their posts. In 1826, they were prevented from having any relationship with the editors, proprietors, or contributors with any newspaper. Inland postal delivery charges were also exorbitant. Post office controlled by the British government was charging half a Rupee for any inland delivery regardless of the distance. Inspite of this, the press in Bombay continued to grow powerful and influential.

Photos of mumbai terror attack !!!

2011-09-10T22:18:00.000+05:30

Fact of Daud Ibrahim !!!

2011-09-10T22:10:00.000+05:30

India has asked Pakistan to surrender Dawood Ibrahim. He is one of the suspects in 1993 bombing as well as in the current Mumbai attacks. Officials in India belive that Dawood is under protection from Pakistan's ISI agency which has been engaging in shadow war with the much mightier neighbour. Here's his US Fact sheet.

Dawood Ibrahim, the son of a police constable, has reigned as one of the pre-eminent criminals in the Indian underworld for most of the past two decades.

Ibrahim's syndicate is involved in large-scale shipments of narcotics in the U.K. and Western Europe. The syndicate's smuggling routes from South Asia, the Middle East and Africa are shared with Usama bin Laden and his terrorist network. Successful routes established over recent years by Ibrahim's syndicate have been subsequently utilized by bin Laden. A financial arrangement was reportedly brokered to facilitate the latter's usage of these routes. In the late 1990's, Ibrahim traveled in Afghanistan under the protection of the Taliban.

Ibrahim's syndicate has consistently aimed to destabilize the Indian government through inciting riots, acts of terrorism, and civil disobedience. He is currently wanted by India for the March 12, 1993 Bombay Exchange bombings, which killed hundreds of Indians and injured over a thousand more.

Information, from as recent as Fall 2002, indicates that Ibrahim has financially supported Islamic militant groups working against India, such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT). For example, this information indicates that Ibrahim has been helping finance increasing attacks in Gujarat by LeT. Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (Army of the Righteous) is the armed wing of Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irsha (MDI) – a Sunni anti-US missionary organization formed in 1989. The United States added LeT to the list of designated terrorists in October 2001. The group was banned by the Pakistani government, and its assets frozen, in January 2002.

fact about Osama Bin Laden !!!

2011-09-10T21:43:00.003+05:30

Hey Readers,
All of you must be aware with the name of the most wanted person ever in the world’s history Osama Bin Laden, so here we have a post about the top 10 facts you didn’t know about Osama Bin Laden. Osama Bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the man was responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the US, as the founder of the jihadist terrorist organization al-Qaeda, he seemed to be in the spotlights for so long. He was responsible for the 1998 US embassy bombings, War in Afghanistan and in North-West Pakistan. Obama declared the death of Osama bin Laden on 1st May, 2011 in Abottabad, Pakistan. The body is in US Custody, so people let me go on with today’s post

10.

Osama Bin Laden was born in a billionaire family, his father had a lot of wives and he was a father of 50 children and Osama was the 17th son.

9.

His father was known by the name Mohammad Bin Laden, but it isn’t family name and all of his fifty children adopted that name

8.

From 1979 he started working for Jihad and setup many schools for Afghan people. He started an organization who recruited Islamic soldiers. In the mean time in 1989 there formed the most fundamentalist group of Afghanistan called Taliban and it captured the whole Afghanistan.

7.

In 1991 he was no more a Saudi citizen as he was doing stuff against the government. He helped the veterans of the Afghan war and those people fought in Bosnia, Chechnya and Somalia.

6.

After the 9/11 attack he became the most wanted person of the world

5.

In the last year 2010, it was announced by the NATO officials that Osama is hiding in Pakistan, but Pakistani government took this as a threat against Pakistan.

4.

United States considered him to be the responsible person of the death of millions of people around the world.

3.

One of the major things that Osama said that he left Sudan just to spare the government and his family. But actually in 1996 he was actually expelled from Sudan due to certain incidents.

2.

Osama bin Laden used his family fortune to setup training camps in Afghanistan , which was later used as a base from which attacks were planned

1.

The US President Obama, declared his death on 1st May, 2011. But mostly reporters and experts say that he has been with the US custody for more than a week and all they wanted was to check the DNA reports and after the clearing, he is declared dead by the US President.

Fact about Barack Obama !!!

2011-09-09T03:16:00.000+05:30

Barack Obama has become the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009. He becomes the first African-American to adorn the throne of the White House.

Well, here are some facts about President Barack Obama that may be of interest to you. Obama was born to a kenyan father and white american mother on August 4, 1961. But his father and mother separated when Obama was two years old.

It is also of great interest to know about Barack Obama’s childhood. After Barack Obama sr, his father left for Kenya, his mother Ann Dunham married Lolo Soetor, an Indonesian man. They then moved on to Indonesia, where Obama lived until he was ten years. He then moved on to Hawaii and spent the days with his grandparents. Graduating from Punahou School, he left for Los Angeles and joined the Occidental College and then went to Columbia University where he did his majors in Political science.

Coming to the facts about Obama post college life, he moved on to Chicago to work as director in the Developing Communities Project. He later studied at the Law School, Harvard, where he rose to become the first black president of the journal – “Harvard Law Review”. After his college life, Obama went to Chicago, where he involved himself with the civil rights and taught constitutional law.

Well, taking on the Barack Obama’s career, he went to work with a financial consultancy in New York and also a consumer organisation soon after his college life. He was also a summer associate at the Law Firm, Sidley Austin. An interesting fact about Obama to be mentioned here is that he met his wife, Michelle Robinson Obama.

The most interesting fact about President Barack Obama before he joined the Illinois Senate in 1996 is that he got involved in many activities like teaching, practising and also had actively participated in politics. An important fact of Barack’s tenure as a senator is that he was involved in the welfare/ ethics legislation. He also supported the video tapping of homicide investigations. Well, while talking on the facts about Obama, it should be noted that he rose to fame after the keynote speech at the 2004 democrat convention.

Fact About Diamond !!!

2011-09-09T02:40:00.002+05:30

Diamonds were first formed billions of years ago some 100 miles beneath the earth's surface through a process of tremendous pressure and temperatures of 2000 - 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. Volcanic activity brings diamond crystals much closer to the earth's surface.

To produce a single one-carat diamond, 250 tons of earth will be mined.

Gem-quality diamonds are made up from less than 20 percent of the diamonds mined worldwide.

The first written notation of precious diamonds dates back to around 500 B.C.

In their purest state, diamonds are brilliant and entirely colorless.

Diamonds are found in a variety of colors. Blue and pink diamonds are among the rarest, and yellow and brown as among the most common.

The diamond is the hardest natural substance found on the earth.

The diamond is rock hard and virtually fireproof. In order for a diamond to burn, it must be heated to one-thousand, two-hundred, and ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit.

In one-thousand polished diamonds, only one will weigh more than one carat.

Although the U.S. accounts for less than one-percent of total global gemstone productions, America buys more than half of the world's total gem quality diamonds - accounting for the world's largest diamond market.

Australia accounts for producing the most diamonds in volume.

The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is the worlds only diamond mine open to the public - this is a dig-for-fee operation for tourists and rock enthusiasts.

Since as far back as 1906, there have been more than 70,000 diamonds discovered in The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas - this includes the 40.23 carat "Uncle Sam Diamond" - the largest diamond of its kind ever found in the U.S discovered in 1924.

TYPES OF DIAMONDS:

Pink Diamonds
The pink diamond is the world's most rare and valuable diamond.The Argyle mine is the world's foremost source of unrivalled intense pink diamonds, producing 95% of the world's supply. However, an extremely small proportion of Argyle Diamonds production is Pink colour, in fact less than one tenth of 1% is classified Pink.

White Diamonds
White diamonds are produced by mines all over the world in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.The white diamonds recovered from the Argyle mine are particularly brilliant and of high quality.

Champagne Diamonds

Champagne diamonds are naturally coloured diamonds that are produced in a wide range of colours from light straw to rich cognac.
The 4C's of colour, cut, clarity and carat weight apply to coloured diamonds just as they do to colourless diamonds except the intensity of colour, not lack of it, plays a greater part in the valuation.

Pink Champagne Diamonds
Attractive champagne diamonds with secondary pink colour are also available and command a higher price per carat than champagne diamonds. These stones display slight to bold flashes of pink in their fire.

Fact About Google !!!

2011-09-09T02:27:00.000+05:30

Everyone knows the name Google. Whether young or old, computer smart or not this name will pop up in any conversation about computers. Google has created some very impressive milestones of its time and continues to grow rapidly every day. It all started when Larry Page and Sergey Brin met in Stanford. Larry was 22 and a graduate of University of Michigan was there considering attending the school. And low and behold Sergey, who was 21, was there to show him around. Talk about a match made in heaven!

However, according to some they disagreed on just about everything during their first meeting. In 1996, now firm friends and both of them computer science grad students, began developing a search engine called BackRub. This search engine had operated on Stanford servers for just a little over a year when it started taking up to much bandwidth to suite Stanford. So they decided to switch servers and renamed the search engine in 1997, calling it Google. The name comes from a mathematical term for the number 1 followed by 100 zero’s. The use of the term reflects their mission to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web.

In august of 2008, Sun co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim writes them a check for $100,000 to a company that didn’t even exist yet. It was at this very moment that they realized what they had and went and incorporated the name Google Inc. Their knowledge was great, but not great enough to impress the money boys or the major internet portals. Oh how they wish they invested in them now! So they began struggling for financial support. Andy was one of the few to see true potential of what these boys had created. During their presentation to him, Andy said he had to duck out for another meeting and offered to write them a check. The check was for $100,000 and that indeed had got things moving for them.

In September the boys moved into the their workspace in Susan Wojcicki’s garage at 232 Santa Margarita, Menlo Park, CA. They then went on to file for incorporation in California on September 4 1998. Shortly after completing this important task, the boys went an opened a bank account in the name of Google Inc., their newly established company, and deposited the $100,000 dollar check Andy Bechtolsheim had given them. Shortly after they have established there new business they began hiring employees. There first one was Craig Silverstein, a fellow grad student from Stanford as well.

In December of 1998 PC Magazine wrote: “The 25 million pages currently catalogued seem to be good choices. The site has uncanny knack for returning extremely relevant results. There’s much more to come from Google, but even in its prototype form it’s a great search engine.” . They went on to say that Google had made its mark as one off the Top 100 websites for 1998. Even at the very beginning they received only the best reviews.

They then went on to become the most successful internet company ever. Early in 1999 they struck a deal with Sequoia Capitaland Kleiner Perkins for $25 million. In November 1999 Charlie Ayers joined Google as the company’s first chef. In April of 2000. Google announced the MentalPlex program, which envisages the software’s ability to read your mind as you visualize the search results you want. In June of 2000, Google partnered with Yahoo! to become their default search provider. Also in June they announced the first billion URL index, making Google become the world’s largest search engine. In September of 2000 they started offering searches in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean , bringing their total number of supported languages to 15. In December 2000 Google toolbar was released.

They have been going strong ever since, making them the largest and best search engine site today, with multiple enhancements. They will continue to be at the top of their game for years to come.

Fact of Anna Hazare !!!

2011-09-08T22:17:00.001+05:30

From a tenacious soldier to a social reformer, and a right to information crusader, Anna Hazare’s journey of four decades has been unprecedented in terms of a non-violent yet effective campaign of resurrecting a barren village into an `ideal village’ model and empowering the faceless citizen through pioneering work on Right to Information. His efforts to empower grampanchayats, protect efficient government officers from frequent transfers and fight against the red tapism in government offices have also received accolades.
His tryst with the army came when many Indian soldiers became martyrs in the Indo-China War of 1962 and the Government of India had appealed to young Indians to join the Indian army. Being passionate about patriotism, he promptly responded to the appeal and joined the Indian Army in 1963. During his 15-year tenure as a soldier, he was posted to several states like Sikkim, Bhutan, Jammu-Kashmir, Assam, Mizoram, Leh and Ladakh and braved challenging weathers.

At times, Hazare used to be frustrated with life and wondered about the very existence of human life. His mind yearned to look out for a solution to this simple and basic question. His frustration reached the peak level and at one particular moment, he also contemplated suicide. For this, he had also penned a two page essay on why he wants to live no more. Fortunately for him, inspiration came from the most unexpected quarters – at the book stall of the railway station of New Delhi, where he was located then. He came across a book of Swami Vivekananda and immediately bought it.

He was inspired by Vivekananda’s photograph on the cover. As he started reading the book, he found answers to all his questions, he says. The book revealed to him that the ultimate motive of human life should be service to humanity. Striving for the betterment of common people is equivalent to offering a prayer to the God, he realized.

In the year 1965, Pakistan attacked India and at that time, Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border. On November 12, 1965, Pakistan launched air attacks on Indian base and all of Hazare’s comrades became martyrs, It was a close shave for Hazare as one bullet had passed by his head. Hazare believes this was the turning point of his life as it meant he had a purpose to life. Anna was greatly influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s teachings. It was at that particular moment that Hazare took an oath to dedicate his life in the service of humanity, at the age of 26. He decided not not to let go of a life time by being involved merely in earning the daily bread for the family. That’s the reason why he pledged to be a bachelor. By then he had completed only three years in the army and so would not be eligible for the pension scheme. In order to be self-sufficient, he continued to be in the army for 12 more years. After that, he opted for voluntary retirement and returned to his native place in Ralegan Siddhi, in the Parner tehsil of Ahmednagar district.

While in the army, Hazare used to visit Ralegan Siddhi for two months every year and used to see the miserable condition of farmers due to water scarcity. Ralegan Siddhi falls in the drought-prone area with a mere 400 to 500 mm of annual rainfall. There were no weirs to retain rainwater. During the month of April and May, water tankers were the only means of drinking water. Almost 80 per cent of the villagers were dependent on other villages for food grains. Residents used to walk for more than four to six kilometers in search of work and some of them had opted to open country liquor dens as a source of income.
More than 30-35 such dens located in and around the village had tarnished the dignity of the village and marred the social peace. Small scuffles, thefts and physical brawls resulted in loss of civic sense. Morality had reached such a nadir that some of the residents stole wooden logs of the temple of the village deity Yadavbaba to burn the choolah of one of the country liquor outfits.

Hazare came across the work of one Vilasrao Salunke, a resident of Saswad near Pune who had started a novel project of water management through watershed development in a joint venture with the Gram Panchyat. Hazare visited the project and decided to implement it in Ralegan Siddhi. By keeping an eye on conserving every drop of water and preventing erosion of the fertile soil, he steered the villagers to begin working towards water conservation. At the outset, they completed 48 Nala Bunding work, contour trenches, staggered trenches, gully plugs, meadows development and of forestation of 500 hectares of land. Thereafter, they constructed five RCC weirs and 16 Gabion Weirs.

This resulted in increase in the ground water level. After that, Hazare along with his team worked out the cropping pattern suitable to the quality of soil and the water volume available for farming. This led to increase in the water table by making water available for 1,500 acres of land instead of 300 acres. As a natural sequel, this effort led to yielding of food-grains and the villagers became self-sufficient in terms of food. The table turned turtle – earlier there was no work available for the villagers, now manpower was required to be imported from neighbouring villages.

The changes in the economics brought all the villagers under one roof of unity and people voluntarily contributed in terms of labour and money to build a school, a hostel, a temple and other buildings. Mass marriages, grains bank, dairy, cooperative society, self-help groups for women and youth mandals helped develop the village in all aspects and gave a new face to it.

Hazare opines that proper planning of natural and human resources can result in the betterment of a person, area, village instead of exploiting such resources. He says, ``Today we all are exploiting the earthen resources like petrol, diesel, kerosene, coal and water. This can never be termed as perennial development as it is going to lead a state of destruction one day. The sources of energy are limited and hence I am concerned about the next generations. Today many of the villages of almost every state are feeling the brunt of water shortage. Building concrete jungles does not mean development as Gandhiji had rightly said.
Creation of a human idol should be the main objective rather than creating towering buildings. Surely, one needs to live for oneself and the family but simultaneously one owes something to your neighbour, your village and your nation too. For this, you need an idol who could lead to this goal. Such leadership is not created by power or money but only by virtues like pure thinking, matching action and willingness to sacrifice. It is the thumb rule of farming that – When a seed buries itself, it leads to a better yield. in order to get better yield of grains, one single grain needs to burry itself.

The society needs such volunteers who are ready to get buried in selfless service for the better future of the society.’’
Hazare’s Ralegan Siddhi became the first role model of an ideal village and has become a tourist spot for many visitors across the nation, since it shows the metamorphoses from the worst village to an ideal village. Visitors include politicians, researchers, social workers and students. Four postgraduate students have completed Ph. D. thesis on Ralegan Siddhi.
Social Life
Anna rightly thought that Development is marred by corruption and started a new venture in 1991 called Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Aandolan (BVJA) or public movement against corruption. It was found that some 42 forest officers had duped the state government for crores of rupees through corruption in confederacy. Hazare submitted the evidences to the government but the latter was reluctant to take action against all these officers as one of the ministers of the ruling party was involved in the scam. A distressed Hazare returned the Padmashree Award to the President of India and also returned the Vriksha Mitra Award given by then prime minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

He further went on an indefinite hunger strike in Alandi on the same issue. Finally, the government woke up from deep slumber and took action against the culprits. Hazare’s sustained campaign on this issue had a great effect - six of the ministers were forced to resign and more than 400 officers from different government offices were sent back to home.

Hazare realized that it was not enough to merely take action against fraudulent ministers or officers but to change the entire system that was studded with loopholes. Hence, he campaigned for the Right to Information Act. The state government turned a blind eye towards the pleas in this regard and so he first agitated in the historical Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the year 1997. To create mass public awareness about RTI amongst the youth, Hazare traveled extensively throughout the state. The government kept promising that RTI Act would be made but never raised this issue in the house or the state assembly. Hazare did not relent – he agitated at least ten times.
.
Finally, again he went on an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan in the last week of July 2003. At last, the President of India signed the draft of the Right to Information Act after his 12-day-long hunger strike and ordered the state government to implement it with effect from 2002. The same draft was considered as the base document for the making of the National Right to Information Act-2005.

After the implementation of the RTI Act-2005, Hazare travelled for more than 12,000 Kms across the state creating awareness about the Act. In the second phase, he interacted with more than one lakh college students and also conducted mass public meetings across 24 districts of the state. The third phase included daily 2-3 public meetings in more than 155 tehsil places. In this massive campaign, posters, banners were displayed and more than one lakh booklets of the provisions of the Act were distributed at a nominal price.

This created enough of awareness and people were educated on the issue of rights of citizens.

Hazare deservedly won the coveted Padmashree and then Padmabhushan. Care International of the USA, Transparency International, Seoul (South Korea) also felicitated him. Apart from this, he received awards worth Rs 25 lakh and donated the entire amount for the Swami Vivekananda Kritadnyata Nidhi (social gratitude fund). Out of the two lakh rupees received from the above amount, mass marriages are carried of at least 25-30 poor couples every year.

That Hazare has given his life for social betterment is reflected thus: ``I do have my home in the village but I have not entered it for the past 35 years. I have implemented schemes costing more than several crores of rupees but I do not have bank balance. Last 12 years I have been working in the field of eradication of corruption. This movement is run entirely by public support without and grants or sponsorships. I appeal for money wherever I go for a public meeting and urge them to contribute generously. The same money I use to carry out my campaigns. The money collected at such public meetings is counted in front of the villagers and my volunteers issue a receipt of the same on the spot.’’

He further states that, ``The movement that we started many years back without a penny in wallet, has spread its wings in all the 33 districts and 252 tehsils of the state. Hence we have been instrumental in offering rights to local bodies like Gramsabha, preventing red-tapism and initiating the law of transfers. This has prevented corruption on a large scale. This has also resulted in offering social justice to the economically backward class. The Union Government keeps on making various schemes for poor people in availing kerosene, LPG and pulses on ration card but the middlemen keep on gulping the subsidies of the same. Our efforts made these necessities available to the poor.’’

The state government promoted opening of cooperative societies, credit societies & urban banks. Believing in the principles of cooperative sector, the utmost lower class of the society invested their savings with such cooperative societies. However, the directors of such societies devoured the money and failed to pay back the basic amount to the members of the societies. This created havoc and people were duped for crores of rupees and did not have money for the marriages of their daughters or for medical treatment. Hazare agitated for over eight months. The result was that more than Rs 125 crore was recovered from defaulters and the members of such societies heaved a sigh of relief. Recovery of around Rs. 400 crores is in the pipeline.

In the future, the BVJA will work for the decentralisation of power and laws related to the same. Says Hazare, ``we have decided to develop centers to create awareness amongst people about govt. schemes and train activists to know the modus operandi of corruption in each sector. As the state government has decided to set up committees at almost every nodal point like state, district, tehsil, and village level with one member on such committee represented by our organisation. We have trained more than 400 volunteers to work on such committees.’’

Actually the government should train the members of NGOs who can work in the sector of prevention of corruption. Then and then only we can dream of corruption-free state, concludes Hazare.

Sustainable development of any village by making it a “Model Village” and eradication of corruption are two sides of the same coin. If both are adopted, only then there will be an established welfare state.

The unlucky number 13 !!!!

2011-01-13T17:39:00.001+05:30

•It is estimated that the fear of Friday the 13th afflicts between 17-21 million people in the USA alone. Has anyone done the same research for Australia, the UK, Europe, Africa or Asia? It could be interesting to compare the differences.

• The state lotteries of France and Italy in particular, never sell tickets with that number printed on it.

• It is very unlucky to have a dinner table set for 13 people. It is believed that the first person to leave the table will die within a year. Some people believe the death of Jesus proves this.

• In Scotland, the number 13 is known as the Devil’s dozen.

• The registration of Princess Mary’s birth on that particular day was delayed on purpose so she would not be entered as number 13.

• All around the world, there are a certain major hospitals who will go out of their way not to label any of their operating theaters with the dreaded number 13. This is interesting as the health industry is supposed to be based upon the practicalities of science and not upon religious superstitions.

• You may remember the disaster that befell NASA’s space shuttle, Apollo 13. Did you know that Apollo 13 left our planet on the 13th hour? An explosion in the fuel cells of the service module severely crippled the spacecraft. The number 13 may have brought good luck for the 3 Astronauts who returned safety to earth on Friday 17 April 1970.

• Staying with NASA for the moment – this multimillion dollar corporation was forced to cancel a space launch scheduled to lift off on Friday 13 November 1981, due to a problem with fuel cells.

• Numerologists consider the number 12 as being a complete number, as there are 12 months in a year, 12 signs of both the eastern and western zodiacs, 12 Gods of Olympus, the 12 Labours of Hercules, the 12 Apostles and the 12 Tribes of Israel. To exceed this number by one is to go beyond completeness and perfection.

• Have you ever wondered why at school as young children, we were never allowed to learn our multiplication tables beyond the number 12?

• In regards to Friday, this too had a reputation of being a bad day. Here is just a small smattering of well known biblical events that all happened on a Friday – Jesus was crucified and Eve tempted Adam with an apple on a Friday. Today however, if you are an employee, you hang out and crave for Friday being the last working day of the week for most people.

Haji Mastan Mirza Biography (Sultan Mirza)

2011-01-09T13:23:00.000+05:30

Haji Mastan Mirza popularly known as Haji Mastan OR bawa; was a Bombay (Mumbai) gangster and smuggler in the 1960s and 70s. He was born in the coastal town of Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. Mastan became the first celebrity gangster of the city, expanding his clout in the Bollywood. As Mastan’s influence in Bollywood grew, he began to produce films. He was also known for his links with the legendary actor Dilip Kumar.During the Indian Emergency (1975 – 77) he was imprisoned, in prison he learned Hindi. Haji Mastan became a Muslim leader in 1984. He formed Dalit Muslim Surakhsha Maha Sangh in 1985-86. Aslam Kiratpuri a well known journalist, gave him ideas how to speak in public meetings after which he became a good speaker. In the year 1994 he died in Mumbai. Haji Mastan is a Tamilian who migrated to Mumbai from Madras at the age of 17 , in 1955. In fact, Tamil was the only language that he could read comfortably. He imported daily issues of Tamil newspapers in his Bombay home. Haji Mastan at first started working on docks of Bombay as a Cooli (porter) later became so powerful as to become indispensable to the political leadership of Maharashtra. After joining politics he had a long list of fan followers.

Haji Mastan planned his own foray into films with a project titled Mere Garib Nawaz and followed by other movies. He was a successful distributor and he excelled in cinema business. Deewar (1975 film) – a well recognized film in Bollywood’s crime genre – is based on the life of Haji Mastan. The protagonist in the film, played by Amitabh Bachchan survives as long as he wears a plate with the number 786, dies at the hands of his honest brother.

To give the role authenticity, Amitabh Bachchan reportedly (by whom?) met Haji Mastan to study his mannerisms.

Contrary to general belief, Haji Mastan Mirza was never an underworld don or even a goon for that matter. He was a smuggler and a shrewd man who rubbed shoulders with the high and mighty of his era. Be it Karim Lala or Varadarajan Mudaliar, Dilip Kumar or Shashi Kapoor, he had friends from the world of politics. To an extent, he was a simple man at home, with bare minimum needs and facilities. Though he possessed a huge mansion in a posh locality off Peddar Road, opposite Sophia College, he virtually lived his life in a small room built on the terrace of his bungalow. He worshipped the sea and had a clear view of the ocean from his terrace abode.

fact of hitler's love!!!!!!!

2011-01-08T17:48:00.000+05:30

HITLER'S NIECE

By Ron Hansen.

310 pp. New York:

HarperCollins Publishers. $25.

In her poem ''Hitler's First Photograph,'' Wislawa Szymborska, the Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, asks: ''And who's this little fellow in his itty-bitty robe? / That's tiny baby Adolf, the Hitlers' little boy! . . . / Where will those tootsy-wootsies finally wander? / To a garden, to a school, to an office, to a bride?''

In ''Hitler's Niece,'' Ron Hansen, the author of ''Mariette in Ecstasy'' and ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,'' among other books, seeks to answer those questions, which in the end boil down to -- how human are the inhuman? Dictators are most difficult to portray when they are at the height of their power, for by then they have sacrificed the conscience, compassion and humor that make us human. Tyrants are their own first victim. For that reason -- and in this there is a form of justice -- Anne Frank is more real to us than Hitler.

The very title of this work invites us to consider Hitler in a new light, not as Fhrer but as Onkel. But Hitler was no ordinary uncle -- his relationship with his niece Geli Raubal, the daughter of his half sister, is said to have been a noxious brew of avuncular solicitude and erotic obsession that led to the young woman's death at 23. Officially her death was labeled a suicide, though Hansen prefers homicide by Hitler himself as an explanation. Clearly it's the more dramatic solution, but since Uncle Adolf no doubt drove his niece to her death, there is at the very least a symbolic truth to this version. Ultimately, it does not matter greatly just how she died. What counts here is the depiction of Hitler, of his niece and of their relationship, perhaps the most grotesque of all concepts -- Hitler in love.

Geli is filled with the anarchic mischief of youth, and at her most winning when puncturing the pomposities of her uncle and his cronies. Rescued from poverty by Hitler, she is exhilarated and corrupted by her realization that her uncle's infatuation with her gives her power over him. At first she enjoys that power merrily as her uncle spoils her: ''Geli was new to luxuries and having money, and with a flirtatious tyranny forced her uncle to wait like a forbearing husband as she tried on 20 hats then settled on a beret, or dotted her wrists with French perfumes and held them to his fussy and defenseless nose.''

Fact about Dreams!!!

2011-01-07T18:52:00.000+05:30

Dreams

1. One third of our lives is spent sleeping.

2. In your lifetime, you would've spent about 6 years of it dreaming. That is more than 2,100 days spent in a different world.

3. Dreams have been here as long as mankind. Back in the Roman Era, striking and significant dreams were submitted to the Senate for analysis and interpretation.

4. Everybody dreams. EVERYBODY! Simply because you do not remember your dream does not mean that you did not dream.

5. Dreams are indispensable. A lack of dream activity can mean protein deficiency or a personality disorder.

6. We dream on average of one or two hours every night. And we often even have 4-7 dreams in one night.

7. Blind people do dream. Whether visual images will appear in their dream depends on whether they where blind at birth or became blind later in life. But vision is not the only sense that constitutes a dream. Sounds, tactility, and smell become hypersensitive for the blind and their dreams are based on these senses.

8. Five minutes after the end of the dream, half the content is forgotten. After ten minutes, 90% is lost.

9. The word dream stems from the Middle English word, dreme which means "joy" and "music".

10. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women dream equally about men and women.

11. Studies have shown that our brain waves are more active when we are dreaming than when we are awake.

12. Dreamers who are awakened right after REM sleep, are able to recall their dreams more vividly than those who slept through the night until morning.

13. Physiologically speaking, researchers found that during dreaming REM sleep, males experience erections and females experience increased vaginal blood flow - no matter what the content of the dream. In fact, "wet dreams" may not necessarily coincide with overtly sexual dream content.

14. People who are giving up smoking have longer and more intense dreams.

15. Toddlers do not dream about themselves. They do not appear in their own dreams until the age of 3 or 4.

16. If you are snoring, then you cannot be dreaming.

17. Nightmares are common in children, typically beginning at around age 3 and occurring up to age 7-8.

18. In a poll, 67% of Americans have experienced Deja Vu in their dreams, occurring more often in females than males.

History and Fact about Mona Lisa!!!!

2011-01-07T18:46:00.001+05:30

The Mona Lisa is possibly the most famous painting. Known by many because of the model represented, it is shrouded in mystery. Painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in a span of nearly 16 years during the Italian Renaissance, the portrait appears to ask questions of the viewer. Long debated is the question as to who Da Vinci was painting.
One of the first theories is that the Mona Lisa portrait is actually a self portrait of Da Vinci. Using talent and skill, DaVinci simply applied the necessary qualities to depict a female as opposed to his male self. For a time this idea was embraced by many and comparisons were made between his features as those of the Mona Lisa. Most recently this theory has since been considered to be false and replaced by several others.

To study the portrait one can see the similarities between the Mona Lisa and DaVinci’s self portrait. Theorists who have since denied that the people depicted are one and the same point to the conclusion that DaVinci was responsible for both his self portrait and the Mona Lisa. Therefore, the similarities would be apparent as artists tend to present signature qualities in their work regardless of the subject.

Many historians have pointed to numerous possible individuals who DaVinci could have painted. These include those subjects closest to him such as his mother or grandmother. In addition, DaVinci could have painted a random individual that presented some quality he wanted to capture. In this instance the subject could possibly remain nameless forever.

Facts Egypt Mummy !!!!!!!!

2011-01-04T19:42:00.000+05:30

Mummification was not limited to Egyptians. Greeks
and Romans who resided in Egypt were also
mummified in Egyptian fashion.
The process of mummification continued in Egypt as late as the fifth century c.e., then slowly tapered off when Christianity took hold.
From 400 to 1400 c.e. there was a common belief that mummia was a potent medicine with curative powers. This mummia was obtained by grinding up actual mummies.
Many travelers who visited Egypt from Europe in the 1600s and 1700s took mummies home and displayed them as centerpieces or in curio cabinets.
The study of Egyptian antiquities, known as Egyptology, became a popular academic discipline in the 1800s. The event of "unwrapping a mummy" became a most popular attraction and draw to European museums.
In 1896, British archaeologist William Flinders Petrie began using X-ray techniques to examine mummies without unwrapping them.
In the early 1970s, scientists began using computed tomography, or CAT scans, to create images of the insides of mummies. This aided them in determining information about the embalming and wrapping processes the Egyptians used.
During the 1980s and 1990s, scientists extracted DNA from mummies in hopes of gathering information about ancient Egyptian patterns of settlement and migration, as well as information on diseases and genetic characteristics.
Recent approaches to studying mummies involve the interdisciplinary cooperation of Egyptologists, physicians, radiologists, physical anthropologists, and specialists in ancient languages.
Recent discoveries of mummies in the Sinai Peninsula, the desert oases, and the eastern delta of the Nile River are providing abundant information about the regional mummification styles

Facebook – The Complete Biography

2011-01-04T19:28:00.000+05:30

Facebook is the second largest social network on the web!!!!!!!!

Primarily focused on high school to college students, Facebook has been gaining market share, and more significantly a supportive user base. Since their launch in February 2004, they’ve been able to obtain over 8 million users in the U.S. alone and expand worldwide to 7 other English-speaking countries, with more to follow. A growing phenomenon, let’s discover Facebook.

History

Originally called thefacebook, Facebook was founded by former-Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (while at Harvard) who ran it as one of his hobby projects with some financial help from Eduardo Saverin. Within months, Facebook and its core idea spread across the dorm rooms of Harvard where it was very well received. Soon enough, it was extended to Stanford and Yale where, like Harvard, it was widely endorsed.

Before he knew it, Mark Zuckerberg was joined by two other fellow Harvard-students – Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes – to help him grow the site to the next level. Only months later when it was officially a national student network phenomenon, Zuckerberg and Moskovitz dropped out of Harvard to pursue their dreams and run Facebook full time. In August 2005, thefacebook was officially called Facebook and the domain facebook.com was purchased for a reported $200,000.

Surveys & Studies

A large number of surveys and studies have been conducted around Facebook – some with interesting results. For instance, according to an internal September 2005 survey, approximately 85% of the students in the supported colleges had a Facebook account, with 60% of them logging in daily. A survey conducted by Student Monitor revealed Facebook was the most “in” thing after the iPod and tying with beer, and comScore Media Metrix discovered users spend approximately 20 minutes everyday on Facebook.Another 2005 survey said 90% of all undergraduates in the U.S. use either Facebook or MySpace regularly, and a detailed questionnaire analysis by Chris Roberts revealed that 76.2% never click on its ads. Perhaps the most amazing statistic of all may be that Facebook is the 7th most trafficked site in the U.S.

sharks - fact or fiction

2011-01-02T16:08:00.001+05:30

Sharks have been around for over 400 million years
Sharks live in every ocean of the world from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
The average life span of a shark is around 25 years, but some have been known to live to 100
The biggest shark is the Whale Shark, it can be up to 50 feet (15 m) in length. It is what is called a filter feeder, it sieves plankton in huge amounts to eat through its gills as it swims along
The dwarf lantern shark is the smallest shark at a size of around 15cm
The Shortfin Mako shark is probably the fastest fish in the ocean
The Whale Sharks has approximately 300 rows of teeth, each with hundreds of tiny teeth
The Whale Shark has the biggest mouth of all the sharks
The Great White Shark can grow to to 21 feet (6.4m) long. It is the largest meat eating member of the shark family
Probably the most dangerous sharks in the world include the Great White, Tiger shark, Bull shark and the oceanic whitetip shark.
The Great White Sharks can go for up to three months without eating
Sharks have very sensitive hearing. A shark can identify much lower sounds than the human ear can. Sharks can hear sounds up to 700 feet away
There are over some 330 species of sharks
Sharks have an extremely acute sense of smell. Some sharks are thought to be able to track their prey by smell from over a mile away
Sharks do not have bones their skeleton is made up of cartilage
Sharks attack fewer than 100 people annually. More people are killed by dogs, pigs and deer each year than by sharks
Fishermen kill an estimated 30 million to 100 million sharks every year
A Shark has around six and a half tons per square inch of biting force
The Dogfish shark is so called because of it's tendency to attack it's prey like a pack of wild dogs
Fishermen are estimated to kill around 30 million to 100 million sharks each year
Sharks don't chew - they use their teeth to bite and tear food
Some people believe a shark will often mistake a surfer in the water for a seal or sea lion, both of which are among it's favourite snacks
The White Shark is at the very top of the food chain
About 35 species of shark are known to attack man
Apparently bees, wasps and snakes kill more people each year than sharks
To put it all into perspective in the USA alone you are 30 times more likely to get kill by lightening than from a shark.

fact about computer mouse!!

2010-12-31T17:59:00.000+05:30

First Mouse

A computer mouse is a useful device that allows a person to easily navigate through software without remembering keyboard shortcuts. Not many people search about information about mice since most people consider these devices as insignificant parts of the computer but if you are interested in learning about the mouse then listed below are a few interesting facts about a mouse.

The term "mouse" was first used in Bill English's publication released in the year 1965 and the Third edition of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary states that acceptable plural terms include computer mice and computer mouses.

Douglas Engalbart created the first prototype mouse in the year 1963 and his friend Bill English helped him create this mouse. The Royal Canadian Navy created the second mouse eleven years later and a five pin bowling ball was used in this tracking mouse. All these devices used the concept of a ball but the actual ball mouse was created in the year 1972 by Bill English.

Optical Mouse

Ball mouse devices were first manufactured for the company Xerox by Jack Hawley and these computer devices were marketed in 1975. The second type of mechanical mouse introduced to consumers was the wheel mouse and this mouse has two wheels that would rotate at the axis.

Roller Ball Mouse

Gyroscopic Mouse

Optical devices were invented by Steve Kirsch and an infrared LED along with infrared sensors were used to create this computer mouse. Richard F Lyon created the 16 pixel light visible image sensor and this mouse was marketed by the company Xerox. An x y coordinate system was embedded in the pad that Steve Kirsch created and this mouse would not work properly when the mouse pad was rotated.