Pratap Singh

How to Stop Abusing Drugs and Start Recovery

2017-11-26T20:18:00.002+05:30

When you’re struggling with drug addiction, sobriety can seem like an impossible goal. But recovery is never out of reach, no matter how hopeless your situation seems. Change is possible with the right treatment and support, and by addressing the root cause of your addiction. Don’t give up—even if you’ve tried and failed before. The road to recovery often involves bumps, pitfalls, and setbacks. But by examining the problem and thinking about change, you’re already on your way.

Overcoming drug addiction: Decide to make a change
For many people struggling with addiction, the toughest step toward recovery is the very first one: deciding to make a change. It’s normal to feel uncertain about whether you’re ready to make a change, or if you have what it takes to quit. It’s okay if you’re torn. Committing to sobriety involves changing many things, including:

the way you deal with stress
who you allow in your life
what you do in your free time
how you think about yourself

It’s also normal to feel conflicted about giving up your drug of choice, even when you know it’s causing problems in your life. Recovery requires time, motivation, and support, and it’s okay to consider your situation before you make the commitment to change.

Thinking about change

Keep track of your drug use, including when and how much you use. This will give you a better sense of the role the addiction is playing in your life.
List the pros and cons of quitting, as well as the costs and benefits of continuing your drug abuse.
Consider the things that are important to you, such as your partner, your kids, your pets, your career, or your health. How does your drug use affect those things?
Ask someone you trust about their feelings on your drug use.
Ask yourself if there’s anything preventing you from changing. What could help you make the change?
Preparing for change: 5 key steps to addiction recovery

Remind yourself of the reasons you want to change.

Think about your past attempts at recovery, if any. What worked? What didn’t?
Set specific, measurable goals, such as a start date or limits on your drug use.
Remove reminders of your addiction from your home, workplace, and other places you frequent.
Tell friends and family that you’re committing to recovery, and ask for their support.
Explore your treatment options
Once you’ve committed to recovery, it’s time to explore your treatment choices. As you consider the options, keep in mind:

2. No treatment works for everyone. Everyone’s needs are different. Drug addiction treatment should be customized to your unique situation. It’s important that you find a program that feels right.

Treatment should address more than just your drug abuse. Addiction affects your whole life, including relationships, career, health, and psychological well-being. Treatment success depends on developing a new way of living and addressing the reasons why you turned to drugs in the first place. For example, your drug dependency may have developed from an inability to manage stress, in which case you’ll need to find healthy ways to handle stressful situations.

Commitment and follow-through are key. Drug addiction treatment is not a quick and easy process. In general, the longer and more intense the drug use, the longer and more intense the treatment you’ll need. And in all cases, long-term follow-up care is crucial to recovery.

There are many places to turn for help. Not everybody requires medically supervised detox or an extended stint in rehab. The care you need depends on a variety of factors, including your age, drug-use history, medical or psychiatric conditions. In addition to doctors and psychologists, many clergy members, social workers, and counselors offer addiction treatment services.

As you seek help for drug addiction, it’s also important to get treatment for any other medical or psychological issues you’re experiencing. Your best chance of recovery is through integrated treatment. This means getting combined mental health and addiction treatment from the same treatment provider or team.

3. Reach out for support
Drug support group
Don’t try to go it alone. Whatever treatment approach you choose, having positive influences and a solid support system is essential. The more people you can turn to for encouragement, guidance, and a listening ear, the better your chances for recovery.

Lean on close friends and family. Having the support of friends and family members is an invaluable asset in recovery. If you’re reluctant to turn to your loved ones because you’ve let them down before, consider going to relationship counseling or family therapy.

Build a sober social network. If your previous social life revolved around drugs, you may need to make some new connections. It’s important to have sober friends who will support your recovery. Try taking a class, joining a church or a civic group, volunteering, or attending events in your community.

Consider moving into a sober living home. Sober living homes provide a safe, supportive place to live while you’re recovering from drug addiction. They are a good option if you don’t have a stable home or a drug-free living environment.

Make meetings a priority. Join a recovery support group and attend meetings regularly. Spending time with people who understand exactly what you’re going through can be very healing. You can also benefit from the shared experiences of the group members and learn what others have done to stay sober.

4. Learn healthy ways to cope with stress
After addressing your immediate problems with addiction and starting treatment, you’ll still have to face the problems that led to your drug abuse. Did you start using to numb painful emotions, calm yourself after an argument, unwind after a bad day, or forget about your problems? Once you’re sober, the negative feelings that you dampened with drugs will resurface. For treatment to be successful, you’ll first need to resolve your underlying issues.

Once you have resolved your underlying issues, you will, at times, continue to experience stress, loneliness, frustration, anger, shame, anxiety, and hopelessness. These emotions are all a normal part of life. Finding ways to address these feelings as they arise is an essential component to your treatment and recovery.

5. Relieving stress without drugs

Drug abuse often stems from misguided attempts to manage stress. Many people turn to alcohol or drugs to unwind and relax after a stressful event, or to cover up painful memories and emotions, but there are healthier ways to keep your stress level in check. You can learn to manage your problems without falling back on your addiction. Different quick stress relief strategies work better for some people than others. The key is to find the one that works best for you. When you’re confident in your ability to quickly de-stress, facing strong feelings isn’t as intimidating or overwhelming.

Exercise. A brisk walk around the block can be enough to make a difference. Yoga and meditation are also excellent ways to bust stress and find balance.

Step outside and savor the warm sun and fresh air. Enjoy a beautiful view or landscape.

Play with your dog or cat. Enjoy the relaxing touch of your pet’s fur.

Experiment with your sense of smell. Breathe in the scent of fresh flowers or coffee beans, or savor a scent that reminds you of a favorite vacation, such as sunscreen or a seashell.

Close your eyes and picture a peaceful place. Think of a sandy beach, or a fond memory, such as your child’s first steps or time spent with friends.

Pamper yourself. Make yourself a steaming cup of tea, give yourself a neck or shoulder massage. Soak in a hot bath or shower.

Keep triggers and cravings in check
Your recovery doesn’t end at getting sober. Your brain still needs time to recover and rebuild connections that changed while you were addicted. During this rebuild, drug cravings can be intense. You can support your continued recovery by avoiding people, places, and situations that trigger your urge to use:

Step away from your friends who use. Don’t hang out with friends who are still doing drugs. Surround yourself with people who support your sobriety, not those who tempt you to slip back into old, destructive habits.

Avoid bars and clubs. Even if you don’t have a problem with alcohol, drinking lowers inhibitions and impairs judgment, which can easily lead to a relapse. Drugs are often readily available and the temptation to use can be overpowering. Also avoid any other environments and situations that you associate with drug use.

Be upfront about your history of drug use when seeking medical treatment. If you need a medical or dental procedure done, be upfront and find a provider who will work with you in either prescribing alternatives or the absolute minimum medication necessary. You should never feel ashamed or humiliated about previous drug use or be denied medication for pain; if that happens, find another provider.

Use caution with prescription drugs. Stay away from prescription drugs with the potential for abuse or use only when necessary and with extreme caution. Drugs with a high abuse potential include painkillers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety medication.

Coping with drug cravings

Sometimes craving cannot be avoided, and it is necessary to find a way to cope:

Get involved in a distracting activity. Read, see friends, go to a movie, immerse yourself in a hobby, hike, or exercise. Once you’re interested in something else, you’ll find the urges go away.

Talk it through. Talk to friends or family members about craving when it occurs. Talking can be very helpful in pinpointing the source of the craving. Also, talking about craving often helps to discharge and relieve the feeling and will help restore honesty in your relationship. Craving is nothing to feel bad about.

Urge surf. Many people try to cope with their urges by toughing it out. But some cravings are too strong to ignore. When this happens, it can be useful to stay with the urge until it passes. This technique is called urge surfing. Imagine yourself as a surfer who will ride the wave of your drug craving, staying on top of it until it crests, breaks, and turns into less powerful, foamy surf.

Challenge and change your thoughts. When experiencing a craving, many people have a tendency to remember only the positive effects of the drug and forget the negative consequences. Therefore, you may find it helpful to remind yourself that you really won’t feel better if you use and that you stand to lose a lot. Sometimes it is helpful to have these consequences listed on a small card that you keep with you.

Adapted from: The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Build a meaningful drug-free life
You can support your drug treatment and protect yourself from relapse by having activities and interests that provide meaning to your life. It’s important to be involved in things that you enjoy and make you feel needed. When your life is filled with rewarding activities and a sense of purpose, your addiction will lose its appeal.

Pick up a new hobby. Do things that challenge your creativity and spark your imagination—something you’ve always wanted to try.

Adopt a pet. Yes, pets are a responsibility, but caring for an animal makes you feel loved and needed. Pets can also get you out of the house for exercise.

Get involved in your community. Replace your addiction with drug-free groups and activities. Volunteer, become active in your church or faith community, or join a local club or neighborhood group.

Set meaningful goals. Having goals to work toward and something to look forward to can be powerful antidotes to drug addiction. It doesn’t matter what the goals are, just that they are important to you.

Definition of abuse?

2011-09-17T11:58:00.000+05:30

हिंदी की कक्षा में एक विद्यार्थी ने दूसरे से पूछा: गाली की परिभाषा बताओ?
तो दूसरे विद्यार्थी ने जवाब दिया: . . . अत्यधिक क्रोध आने पर शारिरिक रुप से हिंसा न करते हुये , मौखिक रुप से की गई हिंसात्मक कार्यवाही के लिए चयनित शब्दों का वह समूह जिसके उच्चारण के पश्चात मन को गहन शांति का अनुभव होता है , उसे हम गाली कहते हैं।

The Google+ Cheat Sheet

2011-07-13T13:01:00.001+05:30

Google to FTS Syntax Cheat Sheet

2011-06-24T11:58:00.001+05:30

OPERATOR EXAMPLE	DESCRIPTION
nut	Searches for inflectional forms of the word nut
crank arm crank AND arm	Searches for documents containing inflectional forms of the words crank AND arm crank and ann. The keyword AND is optional.
tire OR air	Searches for documents containing inflectional forms of the words tire or air,
“reflector bracket”	Performs a phrase search for the phrase "reflector bracket".
hardware -bracket	Searches for documents containing inflectional forms of the word hardware but not the word bracket.
+clamp	Searches for the word darn') without generating inflectional forms.
~seat	Searches for thesaurus forms of the word seat
Assemb*	Searches for words that begin with the prefix assemb
. <washer nut>	Searches for documents that contain the words washer in close proximity to the word nut

Amazing Brick Machine Rolls Out Roads Like Carpet

2011-04-26T08:59:00.001+05:30

Tiger-Stone is a Dutch paver laying machine that can produce brick roads. Paving bricks are put onto the angled plain.

As the electric crawler moves forward along a sand base layer, all the stones are packed together by gravity

UNIQUE PIN-UP CALENDAR.

2011-04-26T08:51:00.001+05:30

If you are used to see those calendars with nude photos then this one will be huge surprise for you. This calendar features women bodies, indeed, but some wouldn't be so happy when they see that all photos on this calendar are actually x-ray photos. This calendar was made by EIZO company which is manufacturing equipment related to medical examination. That is pretty unique way to advertise the company for sure and it seems that they found models with perfect bones and skeleton structure for this calendar.

'Character Dheela' Ready Ft. Salman Khan - EXCLUSIVE

2011-04-25T22:32:00.004+05:30

'Character Dheela' Ready Ft. Salman Khan - EXCLUSIVE

Top 10 Most Poisonous Animals in the World

2011-04-25T09:07:00.001+05:30

Here are ten of the most poisonous animals in the world! From the Box Jellyfish to the Puffer Fish! Look really closely at each photo, cause next time you meet them can be the last thing you ever see!

1. Box Jellyfish

The top prize for "The World Most Venomous Animal," would go to the Box Jellyfish. It has caused at least 5,567 recorded deaths since 1954. Their venom is among the most deadly in the world. It's toxins attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. And the worst part of it is that jelly box venom is so overpoweringly painful, that human victims go in shock, drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors experience pain weeks after the contact with box jellies. You have virtually no chance to survive the venomous sting, unless treated immediately. After a sting, vinegar should be applied for a minimum of 30 seconds. Vinegar has acetic acid, which disables the box jelly's nematocysts that have not yet discharged into the bloodstream (though it will not alleviate the pain). Wearing panty hose while swimming is also a good prevention measure since it can prevent jellies from being able to harm your legs. Jelly box can be found in the waters around Asia and Australia.

2. King Cobra

The King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake – growing up to 5.6 m (18.5 ft) in length. Ophiophagus, literally means "snake-eater" as it eats other snakes. One single bite of this deadly snake can easily kill a human. This snake is even capable of killing a full-grown Asian Elephant within 3 hours if the larger animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk. It's venom is not as toxic as other venomous snakes, but King Cobra is capable of injecting 5 times more venom than black mamba and can result in mortality up to 5 times faster than that of the black mamba. It is quite widespread, ranging across South and South-east Asia, living in dense highland forests.

3. Marbled Cone Snail

This little beautiful looking Marbled Cone snail can be as deadly as any other animal on this list. One drop of its venom is so powerful that it can kill more than 20 humans. If you ever happen to be in warm salt water environment (where these snails are often found) and see it, don't even think of picking it up. Of course, the true purpose of its venom is to catch its prey. Symptoms of a cone snail sting can start immediately or can be delayed in onset for days. It results in intense pain, swelling, numbness and tingling. Severe cases involve muscle paralysis, vision changes and breathing failure. There is no antivenom. However, only about 30 human deaths have been recorded from cone snail envenomation.

4. Blue-Ringed Octopus

The Blue-Ringed Octopus is very small, only the size of a golf ball, but its venom is so powerful that can kill a human. Actually it carries enough poison to kill 26 adult humans within minutes, and there is no antidote. They are currently recognized as one of the world's most venomous animals. Its painless bite may seem harmless, but the deadly neurotoxins begin working immediately resulting in muscular weakness, numbness, followed by a cessation and breathing and ultimately death. They can be found in tide pools in the Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Australia.

5. Death Stalker Scorpion

Contrarily to the popular belief most of the scorpions are relatively harmless to humans as stings produce only local effects (pain, numbness or swelling). However, the Death Starker Scorpion is highly dangerous species because its venom is a powerful cocktail of neurotoxins which causes an intense and unbearable pain, then fever, followed by coma, convulsions, paralysis and death. Fortunately, while a sting from this scorpion is extremely painful, it would be unlikely to kill a healthy, adult human. Young children, the old, or infirm (with a heart condition) are at the biggest risk. Death stalker scorpions are spread in North Africa and Middle East.

6. Stonefish

Maybe Stonefish would never win a beauty contest, but it would definitely win the top prize for being "The World Most Venomous Fish". Its venom causes such a severe pain that the victims of its sting want the affected limb to be amputated. It is described as the worst pain known to man. It is accompanied with possible shock, paralysis, and tissue death. If not given medical attention within a couple of hours It can be fatal to humans. Stonefish stores its toxins in gruesome-looking spines that are designed to hurt would-be predators. Stonefish mostly live above the tropic of Capricorn, often found in the shallow tropical marine waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, ranging from the Red Sea to the Queensland Great Barrier Reef.

7. The Brazilian wandering spider

The Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria) or banana spider appears in the Guinness Book of World Records 2007 for the most venomous spider and is the spider responsible for most human deaths. This spider is believed to have the most potent neurotoxic venom of any living spider. Only 0.006mg (0.00000021oz) is sufficient to kill a mouse. They are also so dangerous because of their wandering nature. They often hide during daytime in highly populated areas inside houses, clothes, boots, and cars. Its venomous bite causes not only intense pain, the venom of the spider can also cause priapism – uncomfortable erections lasting for many hours that lead to impotence.

8. Inland Taipan

The prize for "The World's Most Venomous Snake" goes to the Inland Taipan of Australia. Just a single bite from this snake contains enough venom to kill 100 human adults or an army of 250,000 mice. Its venom is at least 200 – 400 times more toxic than a common cobra. The Inland Taiwan's extremely neurotoxic venom can kill an adult human in as little as 45 minutes. Fortunately this snake is very shy and there have been no documented human fatalities (all known bites were treated with antivenin).

9. Poison Dart Frog

If you ever happen to be running through the rain forests somewhere in Central or South America, do not ever pick up beautiful and colorful frogs – it can be the Poison Dart Frog. This frog is probably the most poisonous animal on earth.The 2 inch long (5cm) golden poison dart frog has enough venom to kill 10 adult humans or 20,000 mice. Only 2 micrograms of this lethal toxin (the amount that fits on the head of a pin) is capable of killing a human or other large mammal. They are called "dart frogs" because indigenous Amerindians' use of their toxic secretions to poison the tips of their blow-darts. Poison dart frogs keep their poison in their skins and will sicken or kill anybody who touches or eats it.

10. Puffer Fish

Puffer Fish are the second most poisonous vertebrate on earth (the first one is golden dart Frog). The meat of some species is a delicacy in both Japan (as fugu) and Korea (as bok-uh) but the problem is that the skin and certain organs of many puffer fish are very poisonous to humans. This puffy fish produce rapid and violent death..Puffer's poisoning causes deadening of the tongue and lips, dizziness, vomiting, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, and muscle paralysis. Victims die from suffocation as diaphragm muscles are paralyzed. Most of the victims die after four to 24 hours. There is no known antidote, Most deaths from fugu happen when untrained people catch and prepare the fish.

Spring again in Netherlands Unbelievably beautiful

2011-04-20T23:05:00.001+05:30

At first glance, it looks like a giant child armed with a box of crayons has been set loose upon the landscape. Yet far from being a child's sketchbook, this is, in fact, the northern Netherlands in the middle of tulip season. The Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of color as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs are planted in late October and early November. More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany

Gangotri – Char Dham...!!!!!

2011-04-20T22:47:00.002+05:30

Gangotri (Hindi: गंगोत्री) is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirathi. It is on the Greater Himalayan Range, at a height of 3,042 m. The picturesque pilgrimage in the hinterlands of the Himalayas is the most sacred spot where Ganga , the stream of life, touched earth for the first time.According to mythology, Goddess Ganga – the daughter of heaven, manifested herself in the form of a river to absolve the sins of King Bhagirath's predecessors, following his severe penance of several centuries. Lord Shiva received her into his matted locks to minimise the immense impact of her fall. She came to be called Bhagirathi at her legendary source.

Alyssa Miller | Intimissimi Spring Collection 2011

2011-04-20T22:21:00.002+05:30

Asteroid stronger than '15 atomic bombs' passed earth

2011-04-19T09:31:00.000+05:30

Cigar-shaped asteroid stronger than '15 atomic bombs' whizzes by earth

An asteroid as strong as 15 atomic bombs whizzed past earth last night at just ten times the distance of the moon.

Astronomers first spotted the cigar-shaped rock spinning through space on Monday evening and tracked it.

The star-gazers were baffled by why the asteroid 'blinked' at them until they realised that due to is long shape, the darkness came when it rotated slightly out of view.

Close: Astronomers spotted the asteroid, circled, on Monday and tracked it through space until it passed earth last night

Thankfully, the 50m long rock that could have destroyed a small country went barely noticed as it passed earth at a distance of some 2,085,321 miles.

'Usually, when we see an asteroid strobe on and off like that, it means that the body is elongated and we are viewing it broadside along its long axis first, and then on its narrow end as it rotates,' Don Yeomans from Nasa told news.com.au.

Thankfully, the 50m long rock that could have destroyed a small country went barely noticed as it passed earth at a distance of some 2,085,321 miles.

'Usually, when we see an asteroid strobe on and off like that, it means that the body is elongated and we are viewing it broadside along its long axis first, and then on its narrow end as it rotates,' Don Yeomans from Nasa told news.com.au.

Cosmic: Star-gazers have logged around 3,000 asteroids

'GP59 is approximately 50m long, and we think its period of rotation is about seven-and-a-half minutes. This makes the object's brightness change every four minutes or so.'

Nick James, from Chelmsford, Essex, recorded the newly discovered 'Asteroid 2011 GP59' on Monday night showing the object hurtling across the screen and blinking on and off.

The asteroid, which was recorded with an 11-inch telescope, was around 2,085,321-miles away from Earth - ten times the distance of the moon which is 238,857 miles away.

It was picked up by astronomers at the Observatorio Astronomico de Mallorca in Andalusia, Spain, who've since determined that it's heading towards us.

Last night, the cosmic rock passed earth at a distance of more than two million miles.

But space experts said there was no need to be concerned as direct hit on earth would be highly unlikely.

'There is no possibility of the small space rock entering Earth's atmosphere during this pass or for the foreseeable future,' Yeoman added.

He said that the orbit of the 'Asteroid 2011 GP59' could be accurately plotted.

Astronomers have so far recorded around 3,000 asteroids.

The most recent asteroid is five times bigger than one that exploded over Indonesia in October 2009.

According to the New Scientist magazine, the Indonesian asteroid was as powerful as three atomic bombs, roughly making the new Asteroid 2011 GP59 the same strength as 15 bombs.

Create HTML Signatures Right Inside Gmail

2011-04-18T23:01:00.001+05:30

Gmail Signatures Step-by-Step

Step 1: Go to Gmail Settings –> Labs and enable “Canned Responses” as well as “Inserting Images.”

Step 2: Compose a new message in Gmail and create a signature just like you would compose any other email message. Be creative!

You can either upload logos and icons* from the computer or use images that are already on the web. I suggest the former style as that will permanently embed the image into your email signature.

[*] You can find images of icons through Google Image Search. Go to Advanced options under image search and type 12 for height and width (use 16px if you are looking to add slightly bigger icons). While optional, you may also select the filetype as PNG or GIF for transparent backgrounds - see example.

Step 3: Once your happy with the formatting and layout of your new “HTML signature,” go to the Canned Response menu and Save – give some logical name like “Personal” for a signature that you want to attach to your personal emails

How To Add A Background Image In Gmail ?

2011-04-18T22:58:00.001+05:30

You mean to add image in your email.if yes then you need to
1)Go to settings
2)Select Labs
3)Enable “Inserting images”
4)Save changes.

Now if you wish to add image in signature.follow these steps
1)Go to settings
2)under the general tab find Signature
3)For inserting an Image in the signature.first you have to upload the image in free image hosting sites.

for eg:go to imageshack.us. browse for the image you want to upload.and click upload.after its uploaded,copy the direct link

4)There is an image icon in the signature box.click on that and paste the direct link you copied from imageshack.us

That it. have a nice day

MISS INDIA...Kanishtha Dhankhar

2011-04-18T22:45:00.001+05:30

PFMI Earth 2011: Hasleen Kaur

PFMI International 2011: Ankita Shorey

Miss India winners with Marc Robinson and Vineet Jain, MD Timesgroup

Cool Living: Loft With 16 Feet Ceilings

2011-04-18T22:37:00.000+05:30

This amazing loft is located on the top floor of a very attractive building on one of the most desired addresses in Stockholm. The building was built in 1885 so the 300 square meter loft features 16 feet ceilings. Besides the loft exposures in all four directions and is blasted in sun from glorious windows. The living space features only exclusive and high quality materials and appliances. There is also an open and very spacious living area with a fantastic wood burning fire place, a custom built bookshelf that emphasizes the height and shape of the ceiling and separate dining area from where you can enjoy the wonderful views over Östermalmstorg.

GOOGLE IME - Type anywhere in your language

2011-04-14T09:11:00.002+05:30

Google Input Method: Type anywhere in your language

Smart, easy to use and intuitive!
Google Transliteration IME is an input method editor which allows users to enter text in one of the supported languages using a roman keyboard. Users can type a word the way it sounds using Latin characters and Google Transliteration IME will convert the word to its native script. Note that this is not the same as translation -- it is the sound of the words that is converted from one alphabet to the other, not their meaning. Converted content will always be in Unicode.
Google Transliteration IME is currently available for 22 different languages - Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi (Persian), Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya and Urdu.

Features

Offline Support
No dependency on internet connection.
Word Completions
Dictionary based word completions for prefixes.
Personalized Choices
Remember user corrections along with macro and canonical support.
Easy Keyboard
Dictionary enabled keyboard to enter rare and complex words.
Quick Search
Single click web search for highlighted word.
Cool Customization
Customize suggestions page size, display font and more

Overview
Google Transliteration IME is an input method editor which allows users to enter text in one of the supported languages using a roman keyboard. Users can type a word the way it sounds using Latin characters and Google Transliteration IME will convert the word to its native script. Note that this is not the same as translation -- it is the sound of the words that is converted from one alphabet to the other, not their meaning. Converted content will always be in Unicode. For example, typing "hamesha" transliterates into Hindi as: and typing "salaam" transliterates into Persian as:
Google Transliteration IME is available for 22 different languages - Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi (Persian), Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Russian, Sanskrit, Serbian, Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Tigrinya and Urdu.
Sample status window and the edit window for Hindi IME are shown below. For simplicity, Hindi IME is used as an example at most places in this help page.
Installation
Install To install, download (If you are on a 64-bit Windows, make sure you have selected the 64-bit radio button in the download page) and run the installer and follow the instructions on screen.

More than one language IME can be installed on the same client machine.
Requirements are Windows 7/Vista/XP 32-bit/64-bit operating systems.
Only one instance of IME will be installed per machine but the configuration is done for each user using IME.

Uninstall To uninstall, follow these steps:

Click on the "Start" menu.
Select "Control Panel" and then go to "Add or Remove Programs".
In the program list, select the "Google <Language> Input", click on "Change/Remove" button.
By default, "Retain my personal data with settings" option will be checked, which will not clean your personal customizations like display font, user correction cache etc., as part of uninstall. Uncheck the option, if you want to clean all your personal settings information.
In the "Uninstall Google <Language> Input" dialog box, click "Yes".

Configuration
If you want to use IME with any application like notepad, you must first open the application and then open our IME. IME can be opened by clicking on the language bar on the desktop and then selecting the IME language icon or through a shortcut key if it's already configured. To close IME, you can change the language in language bar or try right clicking on the current application to see whether it supports 'Close IME' popup menu option or by closing the current application. Displaying Language Bar

In desktop, right click on tool bar and select Toolbars -> Language bar

Enabling Language Bar If the 'Language bar' option is not visible in 'Toolbars', then it needs to be enabled through control panel: Windows 7/Vista

Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Keyboard and Languages tab
Click on Change keyboards... button to open Text services and input languages dialog
Navigate to Language Bar tab
Enable the radio button Docked in the taskbar under Language Bar section
Apply all settings and try to display language bar as mentioned in previous section.

Windows XP

Go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages tab -> Text services and input languages (Details) -> Advanced Tab
Make sure that under System configuration, option Turn off advanced text services is NOT checked.
Go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages tab -> Text services and input languages (Details) -> Settings Tab
Click Language Bar
Select Show the Language bar on the desktop. Click OK.
If you are installing the IME for East Asian language or Right-To-Left language, go to Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages Tab
Make sure that options Install files for complex scripts and right to left languages and Install files for East Asian languages are checked in the checkboxes. This requires installation of system files and the system will prompt to insert the Operating System Disc.
Apply all settings and try to display language bar as mentioned in previous section.

IME Shortcut A shortcut key sequence can be applied to the IME as follows which can be used to quickly enable IME for any in-focus application: Windows 7/Vista

Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Keyboard and Languages tab
Click on Change keyboards... button to open Text services and input languages dialog
Navigate to Advanced Key Settings tab
If Google <Language> Input is not listed in Installed Services box, then click Add and in Add Input language dialog box, go to the language for which you want to enable IME in the languages tree and expand the node. Check the checkbox next to Google <Language> Input in the list.
In Hot keys for input languages Select To <Language> - Google <Language> Input
Press Change Key Sequence
Select Enable Key Sequence
Select option like Left ALT + SHIFT + Key 1
Apply all changes
Now opening an application like notepad and pressing Left ALT + SHIFT + Key 1 should open the IME.

Windows XP

Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Languages tab -> Text services and input languages (Details) -> Settings Tab
If either <Language> or Google <Language> Input not listed in Installed Services box, then click Add and in Add Input language dialog box, select <Language> in Input language and Google <Language> Input in Keyboard layout/IME. Click OK
Press Key Settings
In Hot keys for input languages, Select Switch to <Language>-Google <Language> Input
Press Change Key Sequence
Select Enable Key Sequence
Select option like Left ALT + SHIFT + Key 1
Apply all changes
Now opening an application like notepad and pressing Left ALT + SHIFT + Key 1 should open the IME.

Features
Status Window Whenever you enable our IME for an application either through a shortcut or through language bar, its status window will be visible on the screen. By default it will be placed at the bottom right corner of your desktop which can also be moved around. It is used for more configuration and controlling various features of our IME. It has three to five icons (depending on the language and features available) with leftmost being the application icon. Next to it are IME language indicator button, keyboard button (not present for Amharic and Tigrinya), canonical mode button (This button will be present if you have any canonical schemes associated with the IME) and menu button in that order.

Edit Window When the IME is enabled for an application like notepad and you start typing, IME displays the edit window with the typed text and the corresponding word choices in IME language. In the below example, user has typed 'googl' and the IME has displayed five choices numbered 1 to 5.

Navigation and Selection By default the leftmost choice will be highlighted indicating active choice. Active choice can be changed by navigating other choices through BOTTOM-ARROW or TAB key - which moves the selection to the right; or through UP-ARROW or SHIFT+TAB keys - which moves the selection to left. To select one of the choices as the new word for your application, use ENTER key which inserts the active choice to the application at its current cursor position. Using SPACE or any other PUNCTUATION CHARACTER also inserts the active choice to the application along with the typed punctuation character. Exception will be when IME thinks that there is a better choice of word containing the punctuation character as part of the word itself. All the above controls only insert the active choice (highlighted) into the application. Another way to insert any choice even if it is not active is using its position number as: CTRL+<choice_number>.

Word Completions When you type a word, the choices displayed in edit window will be either in BLACK or BLUE color. Intuitive partial word choices for the typed content are displayed in BLACK color which will always be grouped on the left side. If there are any better dictionary-based word completions for the typed content, they are displayed in BLUE color and grouped on the right side.
Paging In the example being discussed, IME displays only 5 choices in the edit window which is the page size setting of the edit window. It can be configured through the menu button of the status window. If there are more choices than the page size set, then it will be displayed in the next page. Page navigation can be done through the small arrow buttons at the right bottom corner of the edit window or through PageUP and PageDown keys. Even when you navigate the choices with arrow or tab keys, the control moves to the next or previous page from either end of the edit window.

Search At anytime while typing in edit window, if you click the Google image on top right corner of the edit window, it triggers a web search for the active/highlighted choice in google.com. Search can also be triggered for non-active choice by right-clicking on any choice and then clicking the Search... drop-down button.

User Cache There will be scenarios where the leftmost choice is not the one you are looking for and you select some other choice (second choice in the below example for typed word 'program') which will be inserted into the application. IME remembers this selection for the current user and when the user next types 'program' again, the last selected choice will now be displayed as the leftmost choice. To share this information across all applications for a user, this is persisted at user level even after closing the application. But this persisting behavior can be disabled through the 'Disable User Cache' option from menu button of status window. Note that caching doesn't apply if you select word completions. It is only for word choices shown in BLACK color.

Switch to English If you want to add both roman alphabet (typically English) content and IME language content to any application, there is an easy way to switch between the two. In one mode IME gives you choices in its language and in another mode it just emits what you have typed. Toggling can be done by clicking the IME language button in status window or through shortcuts: CTRL+G or F12.

Keyboard When you don't get some words as expected choices for any rare complex words; you can use the flexible keyboard to input any possible word. You can open the keyboard by clicking the keyboard button on status window or through the shortcut CTRL+K. Mouse is used to enter characters from the IME keyboard which also triggers word completions in the edit window. Keyboard can be closed by clicking the keyboard button again on status window or through shortcut keys: CTRL+K or ESC. There is also option to enter Zero Width Joiner (ZWJ) and Zero Width Non Joiner (ZWNJ) characters.

Customization You can customize many features through IME's menu. Options available through the menu popup in status window are:

Change or activate one of the available canonical schemes (Option available only if there is atleast one scheme in the Schemes directory).
Select the font and size to be used to display the choices in IME language inside edit window (Suggestion Font).
Select the font and size to be used to display the English/Roman characters inside edit window.
Set the page size for edit window to restrict its size through number of choices.
Enable or disable the persistence of user cache.
Add/Edit or Delete macros using Manage Macros option.
Information about the IME like version.
Help, linking to this page.

Special Cases There are some special cases in how IME behaves for some characters in some languages:

Example in Arabic for special case of SPACE where it is part of the typed word.
Example in Arabic for special case of PUNCTUATION where it is part of the typed word.
Example in Greek for special case of CAPITALIZATION where only first character being in uppercase in input retains its casing.
Example in Greek for special case of CAPITALIZATION where all uppercase word in input retains its casing.
Example in Greek for special case of DIGITS where number is converted digit wise instead of its whole value.

User Defined Macros
IME supports adding custom user defined macros. Macros are short character sequences mapped to a word of your choice. When you type a character sequence, if there is a word corresponding to that sequence in the user-defined macros collection then it will be shown as the first choice in the Edit Window. You can manage the macros by choosing the 'Manage Macros...' option from the IME's menu.

When you select this option the 'Manage Macros' dialog opens, allowing you to add, modify and delete the set of macros.
Adding a Macro entry Click on the 'Add' button. This will add an empty row to the Macros List. You can double click (or select the cell and press F2) on the cell to add the new Macro entry.

Macro Text should consist of only alpha-numeric characters and the length should not exceed 100 characters. Macro Text is case-sensitive.
Macro Target should not contain any spaces and the length should not exceed 50 characters.

Removing a Macro entry Select the cells you want to delete (Use Shift+Click to select a range or Ctrl+Click to select multiple disconnnected cells) and click on the 'Delete' button. Note that you cannot delete single cells. If you delete a cell, the full row will be deleted. Modifying and Saving Macro Entries

You can edit any cell by double clicking it (or selecting the cell and pressing F2 key).
You can cancel the edit anytime by pressing the 'Esc' key or clicking outside the cell. Press the 'Enter' key to complete the edit.
After all edits are completed you need to click on the 'Save' button to save your changes.
You can click on the 'Discard' button anytime to discard all the changes made so far (after the previous save action).

Once you have the Macros in place you can use them while typing. For example if 'Mon' is mapped to in the Macros, then when you type 'Mon' you will see as the first option.

Custom Canonical Transliteration Schemes
Transliteration IME supports adding custom transliteration schemes. Defining a scheme is done in a text file with a .scm extension. Once the scheme file is created you need to place it in the Schemes directory and when you start the IME the next time, it will automatically pick up the scheme files and provide you a menu option to choose one of the available schemes.

list of Ping Servers

2011-04-14T00:37:00.002+05:30

Even the world’s best blog is nothing if no one can find it. Making sure your pages are indexed by search engines (and optimized for that purpose) is a good start, but you need to let some other guys know, too. Those guys are known as ping servers.
Basically, when you post a new article you “ping” these servers with the address (permalink) of your new post, they then schedule a crawl to include your new post in their database, which is then spidered by others, including search engines.
So, how do you do this? You can do it manually, or you can add a list of ping servers to your blogging engine (most engines support this).
Here’s my list:

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/
http://ping.blo.gs/
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/
http://rpc.newsgator.com/
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://ping.weblogs.se/
http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
http://coreblog.org/ping/
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php
http://ping.myblog.jp
http://ping.bitacoras.com
http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/
http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc/
http://xmlrpc.blogg.de
http://1470.net/api/ping
http://bblog.com/ping.php
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC
http://api.feedster.com/ping.php
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://bitacoras.net/ping
http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc
http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt
https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast
http://ping.amagle.com/
http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc
http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc/
http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc
http://pingqueue.com/rpc/
http://ping.blogg.de/
http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/
http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2
http://rpc.britblog.com/
http://rpc.tailrank.com/feedburner/RPC2
http://rpc.wpkeys.com/
http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/xmlrpcping.aspx
http://signup.alerts.msn.com/alerts-PREP/submitPingExtended.doz
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php
http://www.blogoole.com/ping/
http://www.blogoon.net/ping/
http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.holycowdude.com/rpc/ping/
http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
http://www.imblogs.net/ping/
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php
http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2
http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/
http://bulkfeeds.net
http://thingamablog.sourceforge.net/ping.php
http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
http://xmlrpc.blogg.de/
http://zing.zingfast.com
http://blogbot.dk/io/xml-rpc.php
http://www.catapings.com/ping.php
http://effbot.org/rpc/ping.cgi
http://rpc.wpkeys.com
http://rpc.britblog.com
http://ping.fakapster.com/rpc
http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080
http://rpc.pingomatic.com
http://blogupdate.org/ping/
http://www.feedsky.com/api/RPC2
http://bitacoras.net/ping/
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2
http://euro.weblogs.com
http://www.bitacoles.net/notificacio.php
http://ping.blogoon.net/
http://www.weblogues.com/ping/
http://blo.gs/ping.php
http://www.weblogalot.com/Ping/
http://www.packetmonster.net/xmlrpc.php
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping
http://www.blogupdate.org/ping/
http://blogupdate.org/sverige/ping/
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2
http://ping.feeds.yahoo.com/RPC2/
http://www.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://pingoat.com/
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/ping.php
http://www.weblogues.com/RPC
http://rpc.odiogo.com/ping/
http://www.bloglines.com/ping/
http://api.feedset.com/ping
http://rpc.pingomatic.com/RPC2

A wild monkey has adopted an abandoned kitten

2011-04-14T00:19:00.002+05:30

A wild monkey has adopted an abandoned kitten and is caring for it as his own. The long-tailed macaque monkey was spotted in a forest in the Ubud region of Bali, Indonesia, protectively nuzzling and grooming the kitten.

Indian Girl And Her Cobras

2011-04-14T00:17:00.002+05:30

What a little charmer: Indian girl, 8, eats sleeps and plays with King Cobras
This little charmer calls these King Cobras her best friends - even though she has survived three venom-filled bites from them.
Villagers in Ghatampur, Uttar Pradesh, India, run in fear when they see eight-year-old Kajol Khan wandering the dusty streets with her deadly friends wrapped around her neck.
She said: 'I have a lot of fun with the cobras. It hurts when they bite me but sometimes itâ€™s my own fault because I tease them. Itâ€™s quite funny.'

Look into me eyesssss: Little Kajol comes from a long line of snake catchers, and hopes one day to join the family business
Kajol's father, Taj Mohammad, 55, has worked as Ghatampur's snake catcher for the past 45 years.
He has already passed on his skills to his son Gulab, 28. But now it seems Kajol, the youngest nine, is keen to join the family business.
'I donâ€™t like school,' she said. 'I much prefer working with the snakes.'
Her bond with the creatures - which stems from crawling around them as a baby - now means they are her favourite companions.
Since her friendship with the killers began she has been bitten on her stomach, her cheeks and most recently her arm. She was seriously ill but made a full recovery.
'It hurts when they bite me but they donâ€™t mean it,' she said. 'I get a little frightened when I see the blood but my father sorts me out. He rushes into the forest and comes back with the medicine.'

Expelled: Kajol spends all day with her slippery friends - after she was kicked out of school for taking them to class in her backpack
Kajol's father is now famous in his region and is nicknamed Bhura (the snake-catcher). But he earns a measly Â£14 a job for catching the snakes from houses and shops in the area.
'We help people in the area and catch the snakes that have slipped into their homes,' Taj said.
'My father is a snake catcher, his father was a snake catcher. Itâ€™s our family business and weâ€™re very proud of what we do.'
The medicine comes from the leaves of a wild plant, which remains top secret.
It gets mashed to a pulp and mixed with butter and black pepper. It is then eaten and rubbed on the wound.

Keep your distance! But Kajol's parents worry that her friendship with the snakes is stopping her from making friends with other local children
'If the medicine is administered quickly enough it will save you,' Taj said. 'It has saved my life many times and it seems to work for Kajol too.'
But Kajol's mother, Salma Bano, 45, wishes her daughter would grow out of the snake-phase - especially since the youngster was expelled from school for taking her pets to class in her backpack.
'I want her to go to school like other children. If I had my own way Iâ€™d get rid of the snakes but she loves them and so I donâ€™t want to break her heart,' said Salma.
'She now refuses to study and will play with the snakes all day.
'I try to make her study at home but she keeps the snakes with her and gets distracted.'
Taj said: 'We donâ€™t have many visitors. People donâ€™t like our pet snakes so they stay away.
'We donâ€™t mind so much, but itâ€™s sad for Kajol. Children are too scared to come round and play with her. Sheâ€™s just not like other children.'
Her worried mother added: 'Sheâ€™ll find it hard to find a husband in the future if she doesnâ€™t stop playing with the snakes.'

What a little charmer: Kajol Khan, eight, plays with one of her snakes near her home in Ghatampur, Uttar Pradesh

Private And Family Life Of Gorillas

2011-04-14T00:13:00.002+05:30

Meet the relatives! The all-too familiar family life of gorillas During all the years I have spent photographing mountain gorillas, perhaps the most memorable moment was when a mother turned to me and proudly showed off her newborn baby. It was the deliberate act of a loving mother delighted with her offspring, and as the baby nestled into the thick fur on her back, I was moved to tears.
Equally gripping was when a young silverback charged at me, showing off his muscles.

Monkeying around: These incredible images come from the book Gorillas:
Living On The Edge by wildlife expert and photographer Andy Rose

Bad hair day: This little gorilla sports quite a fringe after getting wet in the Virunga mountains of northern Rwanda, a 790,000-hectare forest home to 350 or so gorillas, including this unimpressed adult, right Every muscle in my body was willing me to run, but I had to stand tall â€” I didnâ€™t want to encourage a 300lb gorilla to chase me. There have also been moments of hilarity, such as when a group of gorillas gorged themselves on alcoholic bamboo sap (in which the sugar has naturally fermented). Some ended up staggering around, others went mad swinging from trees, and a few â€” including a 30st silverback called Kwitonda â€” just lay on the ground utterly inebriated. I could barely hold my camera for laughing. So far, I have spent seven years photographing the apes in the Virunga mountains of northern Rwanda, a forested area of 790,000 hectares which is home to about 350 gorillas. I have been on some 45 treks, often taking fellow photographers with me, and have mainly visited three gorilla groups â€” known as Susa, Kwitonda and Hirwa â€” who live at between 6,000 and 13,000ft.
So human! Andy Rose saw gorillas staggering around after gorging themselves on alcoholic bamboo sap, in which the sugar naturally ferments

This is how I hang out: Gorillas like the company of other gorillas, and live in groups of between five and 30, although some, like Kwitonda, the silverback pictured right, are a little less friendly than others I feel incredibly at peace in their presence and never tire of watching them. Perhaps it is because they are so like humans, sharing about 98 per cent of our DNA. We have similar mannerisms, expressions and emotions. We play, fight and love in the same way. They like the company of other gorillas, and live in groups of between five and 30, under the control of one dominant male. I only ever spend an hour with gorillas at a time â€” a rule the Virunga park has imposed to limit the contact gorillas have with humans â€” but even in that short period you can get a real sense of who they are and their differing characters. I sometimes feel they observe me as much as I do them.

Hitching a lift: This new-born rides on the back of its mother, and gorillas can show amazing pride in their young It is extraordinary and appalling to think these creatures are so threatened. Worldwide, it is estimated there are just 786 left in the wild â€” mostly in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda â€” an area made famous by American zoologist Dian Fosseyâ€™s conservation work, documented in the 1988 film Gorillas In The Mist. But, recently, things have got better as tourism has taught locals that gorillas are worth more alive than dead. There is still much work to do, which is why Iâ€™m donating 25 per cent of the profits of my book Gorillas: Living On The Edge to conserve these magnificent beasts.
â€¢ Gorillas: Living On The Edge is published by Electric Squirrel Publishing, at Â£25 and is available from www.andyrouse.co.uk

FIFA World Cup Facts

2011-03-29T22:58:00.001+05:30

FIFA World Cup Facts

Check out some very interesting facts and figures about FIFA world cup.

For the 2010 FIFA World Cup more than 5, 70,000 people are expected to watch the matches live.
Three million tickets will be available for the 64 matches to be held in South Africa's stadiums.
Italy won the 2006 tournament, beating France in Berlin, Germany and claiming their fourth World Cup title.
Germany is the only country which has lost the most finals- in 1966, 1982 and 1986. Fortunately it has also won three 1954, 1974, 1990.
Brazil, Italy, Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, England and France are the seven countries to be the proud winners of World Cup.
Brazil has been the only country with most appearances- all 19 from 1930 to 2010 and also winning 5, making it the most wins of the World Cup.
Bafana Bafana, the South African national football team, which means "the boys, the boys" in isiZulu, was nicknamed by the fans during the 1996 African Nations Cup. Bafana Bafana is coached by Brazilian, Joel Santana. Aaron Mokena is the Captain.
Pelé from Brazil is the only player who has won the most World Cups: 1958, 1962 and 1970.
Till date no European team has ever won a World Cup outside of Europe.
Uruguay was host to the first World Cup and also the winner of the tournament in 1930. At that time only 13 teams participated in the event.
Roger Milla of Cameroon has been the oldest player to have participated in the World Cup game. He was 42 years and 39 days old when he played against Russia in World Cup USA 1994.
Erick Nilsson of Sweden and Alfred Bickel of Switzerland are the only two players who are known to have played the World Cup before and after World War II.

Film legend Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79 in LA

2011-03-26T22:20:00.001+05:30

Film legend Elizabeth Taylor dies at 79 in LA

By DAVID GERMAIN and HILLEL ITALIE Associated Press The Associated Press

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 10:29 AM EDT

FILE - This Sept. 1946 file photo shows Elizabeth Taylor. Publicist Sally Morrison... (AP Photo/File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elizabeth Taylor, the violet-eyed film goddess whose sultry screen persona, stormy personal life and enduring fame and glamour made her one of the last of the old-fashioned movie stars and a template for the modern celebrity, died Wednesday at age 79.
She was surrounded by her four children when she died of congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized for about six weeks, said publicist Sally Morrison.
"My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love," her son, Michael Wilding, said in a statement.
"We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts."
Taylor was the most blessed and cursed of actresses, the toughest and the most vulnerable. She had extraordinary grace, wealth and voluptuous beauty, and won three Academy Awards, including a special one for her humanitarian work. She was the most loyal of friends and a defender of gays in Hollywood when AIDS was still a stigma in the industry and beyond. But she was afflicted by ill health, failed romances (eight marriages, seven husbands) and personal tragedy.
"I think I'm becoming fatalistic," she said in 1989. "Too much has happened in my life for me not to be fatalistic."
Her more than 50 movies included unforgettable portraits of innocence and of decadence, from the children's classic "National Velvet" and the sentimental family comedy "Father of the Bride" to Oscar-winning transgressions in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Butterfield 8." The historical epic "Cleopatra" is among Hollywood's greatest on-screen fiascos and a landmark of off-screen monkey business, the meeting ground of Taylor and Richard Burton, the "Brangelina" of their day.
She played enough bawdy women on film for critic Pauline Kael to deem her "Chaucerian Beverly Hills."
But her defining role, one that lasted long past her moviemaking days, was "Elizabeth Taylor," ever marrying and divorcing, in and out of hospitals, gaining and losing weight, standing by Michael Jackson, Rock Hudson and other troubled friends, acquiring a jewelry collection that seemed to rival Tiffany'

What Gender is Computer?

2010-09-16T08:32:00.000+05:30

What Gender is Computer?

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."

"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora" ), because:

No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval.
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ("el computador") , because:

In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.
They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.
They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem.
As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

ENERGY ECONOMICAL EXISTENCE

2010-09-16T08:08:00.000+05:30

[1] HOTEL SPA

Hotel offers free meal to guests who are willing to generate electricity

The Crown Plaza Hotel in Copenhagen , Denmark , is offering a free meal to any guest who is able to produce electricity for the hotel on an exercise bike attached to a generator. Guests will have to produce at least 10 watt hours of electricity - roughly 15 minutes of cycling for someone of average fitness. They will then be given meal vouchers worth $36 (26 euros).

[2]ENERGY SAVING CHARGER

Designer creates an iPhone charger powered by a hand grip

A green idea that gives you a great hand workout as well. Charge your iPhone by a hand grip! This concept is called You can work it out, designed by Mac Funamizu.

[3] DISCO ELECTRICITY

DISCO Pub gets electricity produced by people dancing at specially modified dance floor

All the flashing strobes and pounding speakers at the dance club are massive consumers of electrical power. So Bar Surya, in London, re-outfitted its floor with springs that, when compressed by dancers, could produce electrical current that would be stored in batteries and used to offset some of the club's electrical burden. The club's owner, Andrew Charalambous, said the dance floor can now power 60 percent of the club's energy needs.

[4] PLANT WATERING SINK

Designer creates a sink that uses wasted water to grow a plant

Made of polished stained concrete, the Zen Garden Sink has a channel that allows the water used while washing your hands to water a plant. Created by young Montreal designer Jean-Michel Gauvreau the sink comes in single or double basin model. The sink is designed in a way you won't get your plants all soapy. There is a main drain at the bottom of the basin for soapy grime. Your little plant friend just gets whatever you choose to dole out.

[5] GREEN PRINTER

Company creates a desktop printer that doesn't use ink nor paper

Who says printers only use paper to print documents? It's time for you to meet the PrePeat Printer then. Different from conventional printers, PrePeat adopts a thermal head to print on specially-made plastic sheets. These plastic sheets are not merely water-proof, but could be easily erased, just feed the sheets through the printer again, and a different temperature will erase everything or just write over it. Also claimed by the manufacturer, such one sheet could be used up to 1,000 times so that you'll reduce your expenses on paper for sure.

[6]EDUCATING LIGHT SWITCH

Designer creates light-switch that changes colors to teach children how to save energy

Teaching the importance of energy conservation is the goal of this design from Tim Holley. He calls it Tio, and it's a ghost-shaped light switch that gives kids a visual reminder of how much energy they've used by leaving lights on. Tio starts out green and smiling. If the light is left on for more than four hours, he turns yellow and looks shocked. And if you dare to leave that light on for more than eight hours, sweet little Tio turns into a raging red hulk, complete with frowny mouth and angry eyes. But he won't just visually remind your kids about their energy habits; information from the light switch is sent to Tio's computer program so the entire family can see how they're doing. In a brilliant piece of visual positive reinforcement, Holley's program lets kids grow a â€œvirtual treeâ€ which gets bigger and healthier the more energy they save.

[7]STAPLE FREE STAPLER

Environmental company creates a staple-free stapler to avoid staple pollution

Staples are supposed to be so bad to the environment that a company decided to create a staple-free stapler. This product promises to make collation eco-friendly. Instead of using those thin metal planet-killers, the staple-free stapler "cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to five pieces of paper together." You can even order them customized with your corporate logo so you can, you know, brag about what your company is doing to stop the staple epidemic. (Link)

[8]SELF CLOSING SHOWER
Designer creates a shower that forces you to leave when you've wasted too much water

20% of our total domestic energy usage is from hot water for showering and bathing. That's over 6 times the energy usage of domestic lighting. So designer Tommaso Colia came up with his eco-friendly shower design that will force you to get out when you take too long and waste much water. The eco_drop shower features beautiful concentric circles that will rise to force you to stop showering when you take too long, and accordingly save water.