In today’s unexpected comedy star news of the day, Bill Gates turns in a solid comedic performance opposite Jerry Seinfeld in this new commercial for Microsoft. And it only cost Gates about $10 million to convince Seinfeld to pretend to be his friend. Oh, they also co-star with a couple of churros.

One of the biggest names in the Indian film industry Salman Khan is planning a fund-raising concert with other Bollywood stars, and they’ve already donated about a quarter of a million dollars to the Bihar flood victims.

The relief effort is expected to go on for many months. Rescue workers in the flooded state say they have ferried 800-thousand people to makeshift camps but tens of thousands of others are still stranded.

Survivors and aid agencies say conditions in the camps are poor. Bihar’s Disaster Minister Nitish Mishra says the scale of the crisis is unprecedented in India and urgent international help is needed.

About 100 people are confirmed dead and many more are missing.

CNet Asia’s representatives, which attended that event, even dare to say that the image quality of INNOV8 is comparable to that from a semi-professional photographer. However, they also added that it would even better if Samsung enhance its INNOV8 camera quality so that it can reach a better result than this.

8MP Mobile Carnival Aside from this Guinness Record creation, I’ve also found something interesting here; the 8MP camera mobile phone carnival is just about to come. The first 8MP camera that has been officially launched in this year is C905 series from Sony Ericsson. Later, Samsung respond its Japanese-Sweden rival by unveiling its INNOV8 not long after that. And of course, yesterday I’ve just published a preview on LG’s 8MP camera, KC910 series.

Actually, other manufacturer like Motorola has also been rumored to launch its own 8MP camera. The giant Motorola itself has a leaked image in blogosphere on its 8MP series, Moto Alexander! BGR got its images on August 5th this year.

Sadly, Aditya is no more. Unfortunately this cute baby of just 4.5 months died on 17 June 2008 in a Jet Airways Plane during its landing at IGI Airport Delhi. The baby was being breast-fed by his mother during the landing and he suddenly stopped sucking. His parents alerted the plane crew and sought help from others. A fellow passenger who was a doctor checked the baby but could not help much. When the plane landed at the Airport, a doctor examined him and declared the baby dead on arrival.

The autopsy of the baby states the cause of death as “asphyxiation due to chocking.” The parents have been told that this is a rarest of rare case. However, the parents and many other people (including me) feel  that the fact that the baby suddenly died in the aircraft during descent, warrants an investigation into circumstances inside the aircraft that may results into his death.

Aditya’s parents, who are in state of deep grief, have raised many questions relating to the conditions of the plane that might have lead to their baby’s death. They have started a blog where this entire issue has been explained in detail. They want that the points raised by them should be investigated thoroughly by the Jet Airways so as to ensure that no parents of an infant ever undergoes such an ordeal. An online petition has also been made so as to ensure that Jet Airways’ safety and security practices can be investigated by the authorities.

I know that this sad incident has shattered the life of Aditya’s parents. No amount of further investigations can ever bring Aditya back to them. However, I am deeply moved by their relentless pursuit to ensure that in future no other infant died in the same way as their lovely child.

Regarding the death of Aditya, I searched the internet to find any similar incident where a child had died during landing of the plane. However, I could not find any similar case. It is possible that the overall condition on the plane were not congenial for an infant like Aditya. When a plane lands or take off, it makes too much noise. These audible sounds are not considered suitable for very small infants and may affect their ears. However, only in very rare cases they may prove fatal to a child.

One more theory which I found that it is also a possibility that the child might have suffocated while feeding his mother’s milk owing to the wrong posture of Brest feeding of his mother. The infants are very small and delicate and they can’t bear the pressure of the breasts of their mother. Therefore, all women are advised to be extra careful while breast-feeding their baby. However, in the instant case of Aditya this theory does not appear to be convincing. Aditya’s mother is a educated woman who lives in Canada and it can be assumed that she must have known about the basic techniques of breast feeding.

I can only say that it was the bad luck of Aditya’s parents that they lost him in such an unfortunate way.

The law of natural justice says that nobody should be declared guilty unless giving him a reasonable opportunity to defend himself. In this case, it will to too early to play the blame game and accusing Jet Airways straightaway. However, given their brand image as an excellent service provider, it would be befitting for the Jet Airways to initiate a suo moto inquiry in the matter. I think that will be the best way to ensure justice to the bereaved parents of Aditya Mohan.

Being the father of a one year old kid, I can understand how much affection we develop with our children and how painful it is for the parents when their children face any difficulty.

May God give Aditya’s parents courage to bear his loss. May Aditya’s soul rest in peace.

You can sign the online petition to help Aditya’s parents here.

A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered. Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself, “Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself.”

The above story is similar with the journey of our Life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health , time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love.

One day when we look back , we will realize that we don’t really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed.

Life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition . Life is definitely not about work! Work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of Work and
Play, Family and Personal time. You have to decide how you want to balance your Life. Define your priorities, realize what you are able to compromise but always let some of your decisions be based on your instincts. Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of Life, the whole aim of human existence.

So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate nature. Life is fragile, Life is short. Do not take Life for granted. Live a balanced lifestyle and enjoy Life!

Watch your thoughts ; they become words.
Watch your words ; they become actions.
Watch your actions ; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character .
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny .

1. Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. ~

2. Make the best of your circumstances. No one has everything, and everyone has something of sorrow intermingled with gladness of life. The trick is to make the laughter outweigh the tears. ~

3. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortune that befalls other people. ~

4. You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you. ~

5. Don’t let your neighbor set your standards. Be yourself. ~

6. Do the things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt. ~

7. Never borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than real ones. ~

8. Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish jealousy, enmity, grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy. ~

9. Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places. ~

10. Don’t hold post-mortems. Don’t spend your time brooding over sorrows or mistakes. Don’t be one who never gets over things. ~

11. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself. ~

12. Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy. ~

- Robert Louis Stevenson

( Courtesy: http://members.tripod.com/~blueladycat/how2bhappy.html )

This is just the beginning — Google Chrome is far from done. We’re releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We’re hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust - he said.

Google was apparently looking to keep news of Chrome under wraps until after the holiday weekend. A 38-page, online comic book that provided details about Chrome hit the blogosphere Monday morning, but Pichai and Upson said in their blog post that Google had “hit ’send’ a bit early” on the web comic.

The comic depicts various Google engineers describing Chrome’s features, including the isolated tab idea.

Following are some of the features of Chrome

* An address bar with auto-completion features called “omnibox.”
* The V8 JavaScript virtual machine, advertised as significantly faster than existing JavaScript engine implementations.
* A privacy mode, called “Incognito”.
* Web applications can be launched in their own browser window without an address bar and toolbar.
* Chrome includes an automatically updated phishing and malware blacklist using the Google Safe Browsing API.
* Uses the WebKit Rendering Engine.
* Puts individual tabs and plug-ins into separate processes, for security and accountability.
* Integration of Gears.

No intrusive download manager; you see your download’s status at the bottom of your current window.

Lets hope Chrome rocks the world as other products from google. Download Chrome browser tomorrow.

Update : Download Google Chrome browser from the following link

http://www.google.com/chrome

Just installed and ran Chrome, by the first look of it, it looks super cool, more review coming later.

Here are some meanings which I found while surfing on net.

Paryushan means that in these good days we look at ourselves, try to find our mistakes and correct them. We try to do jeevdaya by not eating fruits and green vegetables and fasting. We try and do dharma like pooja, going to the temple, giving donation to poor, fasting and controlling our mood, anger, jealousy, lying, greed and hate. We also do Samayik. We celebrate Lord Mahavir’s birth and Trishlamata’s 14 dreams. Also, holy books are read during these days. On the last day of Paryushan, we do Pratikraman where we ask for forgiveness for all our mistakes done by mind, speech or action. Pratikraman is done in the evening for 4 hours and we cannot eat or drink anything till the next day. At the end of Pratikraman we say “Michchhami Dukkadam” to all which means forgive me for all my faults and mistakes. this is the real purpose for doing Paryushan.

~ Ruhi

We celebrate Paryushan to purify our soul by not making any mistakes, ask for forgiveness, control ourselves and recite religious prayers. During this time we celebrate the auspicious 14 dreams that Trishlamata had. the last day of Paryushan is called Samvatsari. we do Pratikraman. It means to return from the sins. We ask for forgiveness if knowingly or unknowingly we hurt someone by mind, speech or action.

~ Naman

Paryushan is the festival of forgiveness where you burn all types of karmas. therefore, the real purpose of Paryushan is to purify our soul by staying closer to our own soul. We should look at our own deeds and ask for forgiveness for the mistakes we have committed. We take vows to minimize our faults and passions. we try to forget about the needs of our body like food and our business so that we can concentrate on our self.

~ Prianka

Paryushan is the most important festival of Jain religion. This event occurs sometime in August and September. While Shwetambar Jains (one sect of Jainism) observe Paryushan for eight days, Digambar Jains (another sect) observe it for ten days. Paryushan is a time to test yourself.

During Paryushan we must check our activities of the past year and then make them clean for the future. this is the real purpose of Paryushan. In Paryushan we Jains, observe the vows of non-violence, truth, no-stealing a little bit more than during the rest of the year. We also do religious studies, self-discipline, fasting, and Pratikraman. Many Jains don’t eat after sunset so we don’t harm the insects. Jains don’t eat green vegetables and also, of course, the ones that grow underground. some Jains do eight-days fast called Athaai. Others do Ekaashaa - eating once a day or Beasana - eating twice a day. During these fasts our thoughts and feelings should be pure and free from anger, pride and greed.

The first three days of Paryushan are devoted to three jewels of Jainism. The 5th is day of 14 dreams of Trishladevi. the 6th day is the day of self control and the 7th day is the day of purifying your soul. On the last day we do Pratikraman - this is Samvatsarik Pratikraman. At the end of Paryushan we Jains, request forgiveness from each other and from all living beings of the universe for our thoughts, speech, and actions by which we might have hurt others ‘ feelings. We say the forgiving prayer know as Kshmapana Sutra.

Paryushan means to come close to ourselves, that is, our Atma.

~ Rushil

Paryushan means dissolving or burning all our karmas. In olden days our elders made these eight days very special so that the monks rested in these rainy days and fasted for longer periods. We all also fast and go to temple everyday. The real purpose of celebrating this auspicious days is to know ourselves, to know our soul, and clean our soul with remembering our misdeeds and ask forgiveness from God and purify ourselves. The thought itself makes us do good deeds.

~ Ayushi

Paryushan is a way of reflection on past actions. During the 8 days of Paryushan, one observes the 10 cardinal virtues like forgiveness, charity, fasting, truthfulness, contentment, simplicity, self restrain, etc.. One reads the Kalpa Sutra. Everyone fasts and does Pratikramana on the last day. We do Samvatsari Pratikramana which asks for forgiveness for all bad actions. We say “Micchami Dukkadam” to everyone.

~ Nirali

The major anchor is Reliance Mega Mart which is spread across 165,000 square feet of shopping area. Brands like Arrow, Van Huesen, Espirit, Weekender, Ritu Kumars, Gini and jony, Lilliput, Metro, Kittens, Zapp, Sia Jewellery, Ruf & Tuf, Liberty, Biba, Samsonite, Body Shop, Espirit, Remanika, United Colors of Benetton etc. Freedom Basics, Hobby Ideas, Archies all have their shops at Iskon mall. You also have Star and Sitara parlour for men and women (Future group owned Venture). You can visit the Westside store in Iscon mall.

For kids you have Orama Kids zone which has rides and games for all age groups. Bungee jumping is also available in the central atrium for kids.

Not to miss, no place in Ahmedabad can be complete without good eating joints. For Chinese you have Yo China, For Panipuri, chole bhatura etc - Kailash Parbat, chole bhatura, Icecreams etc - Havmor, for Pani puri, Kachori, Dahi puri etc – Gwalia sweets, Yellow Chilli Sanjeev kapoor owned express serves variety of curry and kebab combos and Rolls, Pizza n Pastas owned by Tomatos serves variety of pasta and pizzas, fresh juice shops, pavbhaji, etc of Honest, Murugan express for South Indian, Diet food at Trim for health conscious and many more. My personal favourites are dahi Kachori at Gwalia, Idlis at Murugan Express and a glass of fresh juice.

Sundays can be very crowded and one should avoid going on a Sunday.

Dog with a death wish?