Nishant's cyber space

2009-06-03T01:12:00.001-04:00

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Rajnikanth - Unbelievable (Impossible but Hilarious) Stunts!!!

2005-12-12T23:27:00.000-03:00

Indiatimes has this nice write up summarizing the Baba's stunts till date. Each one is better (more hilarious) than the other.
Anyway, its the superstar's 56th birthday... so guys, wish the only Indian who defied Newton countless times in his film career.
Do drop in your comments :)

Pros, you can have only one: either job or sex!

2005-12-05T12:32:00.000-03:00

Economic Times has a nice article discussing the sex life of married professionals. It seems like the working couples get aroused more by their work rather than with each other.
So, may be you have a SEXY JOB... but not Job and Sex!!!. Check it out.
Do drop in your comments!!

Varanasi - An Excellent Video

2005-12-01T22:26:00.000-03:00

Animesh's Blog took me to an excellent video on Varanasi. The video expresses so much shock and surprise of the author; but for me the things shown on the video were a pretty normal daily affair foe me wen I was there for 4 years of my study life in Varanasi.
As Animesh also pointed out, the author should have thrown some light on the wonderful sweets you get in Varanasi (specially launglata.... YUMMY....)

Heated Eco-Friendly Bras!!!

2005-11-11T11:07:00.000-03:00

Animesh's blog linked to me page which shows a really interesting story.
According to this story at the BBC, Triumph has announced a bra with in-built gel pads that can be easily heated in a microwave or a hot water bottle.
People say this will reduce air conditioning costs, thus saving the environment.

Excerpts from the article:
-------
The fluffy creation contains special pads filled with an eco-friendly gel that can be easily heated in a microwave or with a hot water bottle.

Being padded, the new bra packs a little more bulk than most regular designs, but the Japanese arm of Triumph insisted the look was more chic than sheep.

The drive to reduce air-conditioning use and thus greenhouse gas emissions was estimated to have saved enough power to supply 240,000 homes for a month.
----------

Looks like this product is going to make all the HOT girls cool ;)....

Do drop in your comments for the same :)

Rice and Curry Girl

2005-10-13T10:09:00.000-03:00

Animesh's blog points out a very hilarious comedy clip. It looks like a tribute to all the Indian guys who are tiered of pleasing their parents to get a girl which they like!!!!
A must watch I must say :)

Bangalored !!

2005-08-31T21:38:00.000-04:00

My friend Parul sent me this interesting link for the new word - "Bangalored !!

Did u know ?

"Bangalored" is a verb which recently got added in the dictionary. A person is said to be bangalored if he lost his job because the work got outsourced to bangalore or any other city in India.
"He got bangalored last week" is an example of its usage.
U can also type this word "bangalored" in google search n see.(See the link below)
Lot of people in US got bangalored that it became an issue during the US presidential election. Thats exactly when this word was coined.
One such similar verb is "shanghaied" which means kidnapped.
Follow the link for more information http://www.worldwidewords.org/turnsofphrase/tp-ban1.htm

Now, I don't know, whether to be happy about it or sad?????

Now - GOOGLE TALK!!!

2005-08-25T14:07:00.000-04:00

Google has launched its IM called Google Talk which has both text and voice chat facilities and the first impression is quite satisfying in terms of both speed and hardware requirements.
And now the best feature; it works over my office firewaal also!!!!!!! So now I can call any friend of mine in any country free. Do try it out and if you wish add me also in your buddy list.

-Nishant

Look, Ma, No Schoolbooks!

2005-08-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

VAIL, Arizona -- Students at Empire High School here started class this year with no textbooks -- but it wasn't because of a funding crisis. Instead, the school issued iBooks -- laptop computers by Apple Computer -- to each of its 340 students, becoming one of the first U.S. public schools to shun printed textbooks.

School officials believe the electronic materials will get students more engaged in learning. Empire High, which opened for the first time this year, was designed specifically to have a textbook-free environment.

Read on....

Erotic images can turn you blind!

2005-08-14T12:31:00.000-04:00

Researchers have finally found evidence for what good Catholic boys have known all along – erotic images make you go blind. The effect is temporary and lasts just a moment, but the research has added to road-safety campaigners’ calls to ban sexy billboard-advertising near busy roads, in the hope of preventing accidents.
David Zald, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and Marvin Chun and colleagues from Yale University in Connecticut, showed hundreds of images to volunteers and asked them to pick a specific image from the rapid sequence. Most of the images were landscape or architectural scenes, but the psychologists included a few emotionally charged images, portraying violent or sexually provocative scenes.
Read on...

LOOKING UP LADIES SKIRTS LEGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-08-09T17:30:00.000-04:00

ADDING to its reputation as the most sexually liberal nation in the world, Sweden has just legalized looking up ladies' skirts!

In a nearly unanimous vote in the Swedish Parliament, the motion was carried 332 to 17. To celebrate the new law, the Parliament's second floor was replaced with a see-through glass floor, and women were invited to stand on the floor, wearing their loosest, widest skirts, with or without underwear. Men were invited to bring their cameras, stand on the floor below and look up.

Now, this is THE MOST wierdest story I have ever posted.... My Gosh........
Read on and do pur in your comments...

"Aankho dekha haal" of Mumbai from Varun....

2005-08-03T16:15:00.000-04:00

This a very nice and descriptive account of Mumbai rain and its effect on normal life from the eyes of my college friend Varun who struggled his way back home and jotted down each moment of his journey beautifully.
Read on...

Strip Show in Museum!!!

2005-07-29T17:00:00.000-04:00

Vienna's prestigious Leopold Museum is usually a pretty buttoned-down place, but on Friday, some of the nudes in its marble galleries were for real.
Scores of naked or scantily clad people wandered the museum, lured by an offer of free entry to "The Naked Truth," a new exhibition of early 1900s erotic art, if they showed up wearing just a swimsuit -- or nothing at all.
"We wanted to give people a chance to cool off, and bring nakedness into the open," he said. "It's a bit of an experiment. Egon Schiele was a young and wild person in his day. He'd want to be here."

Read on...

Oracle in talks to buy Citi stake in i-Flex

2005-07-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

The likely acquisition to give Oracle access to core banking solutions business.

Oracle is in talks with the Citi group to buy out its majority 44 per cent stake in software products and services company i-Flex solutions.

If the talks materialise, the acquisition will give Oracle an instant access to core banking solutions and services business. i-Flex's main product Flexcube is the largest selling core banking solutions product.

Read on...

Laptops Are Hot; Maybe Too Hot

2005-07-15T10:45:00.000-04:00

It may be hard to fry an egg on a new laptop today, but notebook surface temperatures remain too hot for many users -- and the situation could get worse.

Contemporary laptops are generally cooler than their predecessors. In IBM's case, what it calls the maximum "skin temperature," or surface temperature, is 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit), which is considered an optimal threshold in the industry. However, laptop makers increasingly struggle to accommodate components that are more powerful and, consequently, hotter.
Read on...

MP3 Sunglasses

2005-07-15T10:44:00.000-04:00

Oakley's Thump MP3 sunglasses, now available in 256MB and 512MB versions, ably serve the dual purpose of keeping sun out of your eyes while putting music into your ears. And they do have a sort of Riddick-like appeal. But are they cool enough to justify spending $400-500 on an undersized MP3 player and a pair of sunglasses?
Read on...

B Sc at 14, M Sc at 16

2005-07-04T17:33:00.000-04:00

Aarti Jajoo of Jaipur has earned the distinction of being the youngest post-graduate in Mathematics in India, her family claimed on Monday.

The achievement has found the 16-year-old girl, who passed M.Sc with 77.5 per cent from the University of Rajasthan, a place in the Limca Book of Records, which informed sent them a communication on July 1, the family told PTI.

The communication said Aarti's achievement would feature in the 2006 edition of the book of records, they said.

She also holds the record of being the youngest graduate in the country at the age of 14, they said.

Read on...

Indian Govt opens doors to bloggers!!!

2005-06-19T11:58:00.000-04:00

If you are a serious blogger, the Indian government may just open its doors to you.
India is in the process of framing rules for granting accreditation to Internet journalists and bloggers for the first time, taking a reality check on an evolving world of net writers who could shape opinion and who have already been granted access to official corridors in countries such as the US.

Read on...

I wonder when will I get the pass the same way other journalists get ;)
-Nishant

A big quake in Chile...

2005-06-14T14:33:00.000-04:00

A powerful earthquake rattled Chile's remote northern Andes near the Bolivian border Monday, killing at least eight people and causing widespread damage at several mountain villages.
The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9, according to both the US Geological Survey and Chilean officials, making it the world's third strongest temblor since a mammoth quake set off an Asian tsunami in December.
The quake struck at 6:44 p.m. and was centered in a remote, sparsely populated area in the Andes mountains, about 1,800 kilometers miles north of Santiago, the capital. (AP). Read on...

In another news there were mild tremors in Bombay too. Read on...

I myself did not experience any tremors being in Santiago which is quite at a distance form the epicentre!!!!

Teenager gives birth at 140 kph

2005-06-12T15:32:00.000-04:00

An 18-year-old Thai gave birth in the passenger seat of a Mercedes Benz which was doing 140 km per hour (85 mph) to try to get her to hospital in time, The Nation newspaper reported on Thursday.
Juthamas Srimongkol, who was only seven months pregnant when she went into labour on Wednesday, was rushed to hospital in her father-in-law's luxury saloon, but delivered a son 19 km (12 miles) short of their destination, the newspaper said.
Doctors said both mother and baby, who weighed in at 1.8 kg (4 lb), were safe although they would be kept in hospital for around two weeks.

Read on...

Humans talking to animals - Possible!

2005-06-10T14:23:00.000-04:00

Imagine a device that would let you "talk" with your dog or cat. One that could help you ask a cow a question or converse with a dolphin. Two Arizona scientists say computers may someday bridge the language gap between humans and other animals.

"You could have this little thing hooked to your belt and you could speak and it could be translated into animal language," says John Placer, a computer scientist at Northern Arizona University.
It sounds like pure science fiction, and at this point it is. "We're a long way off from that," says Placer. But he and biologist Con Slobodchikoff, also of NAU, are working toward this very goal. The two are applying principles of artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic to animal language systems in the hope of cracking the code.

Read on...

Online gamer murders for cyber-sabre stabbing!

2005-06-09T13:53:00.000-04:00

This one is another article which I came across surfing Animesh's blog...

A Shanghai online game player who stabbed a competitor to death for selling his cyber-sword has been given a suspended death sentence, which in effect means life imprisonment, state media said Wednesday.

The case had created a dilemma in China where no law exists for the ownership of virtual weapons.

Qiu Chengwei, 41, stabbed competitor Zhu Caoyuan in the chest after he was told Zhu had sold his "dragon saber," used in the popular online game, "Legend of Mir 3," the China Daily said.

Read on...

Honey, I Shrunk the PC!

2005-06-09T09:56:00.000-04:00

Scientists at the University of Arizona have discovered how to use quantum mechanics to turn molecules into working transistors in the lab, a breakthrough that might one day lead to high-powered computers the size of a postage stamp.

Results of the as-yet-unpublished study came together just weeks before Canadian researchers performed a similar feat using chemical means. That experiment appeared in the journal Nature last week. Together, the two studies could bring the final frontier in nanocomputing -- a single-molecule transistor -- considerably closer to reality.

Read on...

Anti-aging gel, blue cheese from IIT!

2005-06-08T15:59:00.000-04:00

Question: What is common to the following?

A chemical to prolong shelf life of fruits.
A gel that reducing the process of aging.
Sweet tea for diabetics.
Blue cheese.

Answer: Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Yes, IIT-Delhi has decided to monetise the research undertaken at its laboratories by taking it to the market for the benefit of consumers.

Henceforth the research at IIT-Delhi will not end up as mere articles in journals. Instead, the findings of these research projects will be converted into market-friendly products.

Read on...

Rs 24 lakh for a bottle of whisky!

2005-06-07T12:27:00.000-04:00

Yes, you read that right. A bottle of whisky for Rs 24 lakh.

Wine major Whyte and Mackay Ltd on Tuesday announced the sale of the final bottle available from the world's most expensive limited-edition bottling of The Dalmore 62 Years Old single highland malt scotch whisky for £30,000 (approx Rs 23.80 lakh).

The bottle, dubbed 'The Matheson', was the last in a limited- edition bottling to be sold. The company also sold two bottles of The Dalmore 50 Years Old.

Read on..

I just hope that the normal cost whisky doesn't reach this high ;) A lot of us including me will be deeply hurt :D

- Nishant

Blond Lalu!

2005-06-06T15:03:00.000-04:00

Lalu... As soon as this name rings in my ears, a lot emotions dwell up in my heart and one of them is Laughter also...

To add to the long list of wiered news attached with the India's most controversial politician, rediff is reporting a sale of a doll with blond hair named Laluji!!!

Read on and do post some comments...

Another huge cyber criminal act

2005-06-03T08:59:00.000-04:00

This morning I read this post at Animesh's blog and it really gave me shivers about the amount of damage our perfunctory behaviour or laziness can do... Thanks Animesh....

Shamelessly copying the article here :)

Business Week is reporting on a crackdown by the feds on a group of hackers called the ShadowCrew.

I strongly recommend that all of you read this article till the end and realize that installing a firewall and antivirus is not an optional thing anymore.Also, please update your software timely.

Please do not ignore the flashing windows update icon on your desktop.
Interestingly, most of these things are free.Windows Update - Please update your windows machines regularly. Turn on that auto update.
or better
Install Linux

Also, Install Firefox to surf the web instead of Internet Explorer.

Install Thunderbird to check your mail instead of outlook.

Remember to use Ad-Aware and Spybot periodically to check your system for spyware.Install Sygate Firewall.
The Free version [linked here] is also very easy to useInstall AVG anti-virus. The linked version is also free.So you see, you can secure your system for free.. it is easy and simple.. just like you can secure your home with a few simple practices [like locking your main door]Please post a comment if you think this blurb from me was helpful.. or if you think something was missing.

I am going to follow all the precautions suggested by Animesh in my new laptop which will be with me soon, hope you guys also do the same :).

- Nishant

Too SeXXXy for Dot-Com!!!

2005-06-02T11:39:00.000-04:00

The internet's primary oversight body approved a plan Wednesday to create a virtual red-light district, setting the stage for pornographic websites to use new addresses ending in "xxx."
Adult-oriented sites, a $12 billion industry, probably could begin buying "xxx" addresses as early as fall or winter depending on ICM's plans, ICANN spokesman Kieran Baker said. The new pornography suffix was among 10 under consideration by the regulatory group, which also recently approved addresses ending in "jobs" and "travel."
"It will further help to protect kids," said John Morris, staff counsel at the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology. Morris predicted some adult sites will choose to buy "xxx" web addresses but others will continue to use dot-com.
Read on...

'Mermaid' baby to begin 15 years of surgery.

2005-05-31T16:08:00.000-04:00

Peru's "little mermaid," a baby born with legs fused from her thighs to her ankles, will undergo delicate surgery Tuesday night to begin repairing her rare birth defect, her doctors said Monday in a statement.
Doctors say it could take 15 years of operations to correct the child's birth defects.
Milagros Cerron, who celebrated her first birthday on April 27, was born with a rare congenital defect known as sirenomelia, or "mermaid syndrome," which occurs in one out of every 70,000 births.
Read on...

$3,000 in garage-sale chair...

2005-05-30T12:30:00.000-04:00

Linda Stafford has been going to garage sales for 30 years, and taking good-natured ribbing from her family all the while.
Stafford has found more than $3,000 in bills dating from 1928 to 1953 in the bottom of a high-backed chair she bought at a garage sale -- for two bucks.
When we found the money, they could probably hear us screaming all over the neighborhood," said Stafford, 57.
But, Stafford was not sure how she would spend the money.
"Who knows?" she said. "I might spend it all at garage sales."

Read on...

Screeners that see through clothes!!!!

2005-05-27T16:03:00.000-04:00

This report is shamelessly being copied from Animesh's blog :). Thanks Animesh....

Now we have airport screeners would soon be seeing though clothes!!
Interesting... the deptt of homeland security did this after their passengers complained on being patted down.So, what do you think? Given that terrorists are using means of concealing weapons that cannot be discovered from a distance.. would you like to be "touched" or "seen" ??

The Slashdot comments are here

So, are we going to see a rise in the applications for airport scanning personnel??

I love you, but I can't work with you!

2005-05-26T12:23:00.000-04:00

Love conquers all, they say. For Sampriti Patra, love has not been able to get the better of her professional zeal. Apart from sharing an apartment with T Madhav, the copy writer also shares office space with her boyfriend of two years. And although 'the arrangement' happened by accident, she insists that there has been no repercussions.
There are many young professionals who feel that matters of the heart are best dealt with outside the office space. Reason? It is difficult to fall in love with someone with whom you are competing in the boardroom.

Read on...

The last interview of Sunil Datt!

2005-05-25T11:58:00.000-04:00

Actor-politician Sunil Dutt touched many people's lives in his 74 years (he would have been 75 on June 6). And journalist Lata Khubchandani is one of those who remembers Mr Dutt very fondly.
She recalls her last interview with Mr Dutt, just a few weeks before his death. He was in a very reminiscent mood:
Read on...

Copying BRAIN from Human to Computer.... 10 seconds remaining.

2005-05-24T14:17:00.000-04:00

By the middle of the 21st century it will be possible to download your brain to a supercomputer, according to a leading thinker on the future.
Pearson said the launch last week of Sony's PlayStation 3, a machine 35 times more powerful than the model it replaced, was a sign of things to come.
"The new PlayStation is one percent as powerful as the human brain," Pearson told the Observer. "It is into supercomputer status compared to 10 years ago. PlayStation 5 will probably be as powerful as the human brain."
"If you're rich enough then by 2050 it's feasible. If you're poor you'll probably have to wait until 2075 or 2080 when it's routine," he said.
Read on...

The new terrorism - e-Hostage!!!

2005-05-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

Computer users already anxious about viruses and identity theft have new reason to worry: Hackers have found a way to lock up the electronic documents on your computer and then demand $200 over the Internet to get them back.
"This is equivalent to someone coming into your home, putting your valuables in a safe and not telling you the combination," said Oliver Friedrichs, a security manager for Symantec Corp.
Read on...

World's Costliest Ad!!

2005-05-19T11:06:00.000-04:00

This is one of the many forwards which I recieved today. But, for a change this was wonderful ;).
This one is winner of this years best Ad of the world .
Everything is real with no graphics used costing some 6.2 billion US Dollars and thosands of take and retake.
Team members were fecilitated with lots of rewards.
Enjoy this... it is very creative

- Nishant

Hey Google, Map This!

2005-05-18T14:27:00.000-04:00

Inventive web developers are taking Google's online map service to a new level, layering in house sales and apartment rentals, real-time traffic stats and Flickr photo tags.
When David Yang recently looked for a new apartment in Chicago, he took an aerial tour of the city.
As a 22-year-old on a limited budget, Yang couldn't afford to hire a helicopter for his visual inspection of Chicago. Instead, he turned to HousingMaps, a hack that combines craigslist real estate listings with city maps from Google Maps. It lets users pinpoint locations, along with one-click access to photos and descriptions, of dozens of available apartments in more than 20 North American cities.
Read on...

Interesting!!!

2005-05-12T17:19:00.000-04:00

Blogshares has ranked my blog 12th among list of the most valuable incoming links at the time OTHER blogs are indexed. Thanks a lot!!!
The page also displays statistics about my blog and even some virtual share prices!!!!

Thanks a lot man! I am flattered... :)
- Nishant

Now the latest... e-Prasad!!!! huh!!!

2005-05-12T16:11:00.000-04:00

The Badrinath Temple is preparing for the annual pilgrimage. For many it's usually an arduous trek to the sanctum sanctorum in the heart of the Himalayas. However, devotees from India as well as those from abroad will now be able to receive Prasad from the sacred Badrinath Temple without making the tough journey to the shrine.For just Rs 501, a devotee can get 50 grams of prasad in a specially designed box containing 'tulsi', 'chandan', a silver coin, copper jar with gangajal and a CD containing details of the four holy shrines or char dhaams.

Read on....

I really cannot digest this fact that even GOD is being commercialized. I am firm believer that the importance of any thing only comes to mind when one has to strive and work for it. For me the e-prasad is just a very costly peice of sweet... nothing else. What do you say?

8 year girl 'abused for being witch!!

2005-05-11T15:40:00.000-04:00

An 8-year-old schoolgirl was starved, cut with a knife, beaten with a high-heeled shoe and had chili pepper rubbed in her eyes by a woman who accused her of being a witch, a British court heard on Wednesday.
Prosecuting lawyer Patricia May told the jury: "You would think that in Britain in 2005 such a notion would be incredible and no adult would believe it."
Read on...

Dog cared for abandoned baby

2005-05-09T15:15:00.000-04:00

A newborn baby abandoned in a Kenyan forest was saved by a stray dog who apparently carried her across a busy road and through a barbed wire fence to a shed where the infant was discovered nestled with a litter of puppies, witnesses said Monday.
CNN has this report...

Your Identity, Open to All!!!

2005-05-06T11:06:00.000-04:00

ZabaSearch is a new search engine for finding the unlisted numbers of celebrities, as well as their addresses and satellite pictures of their homes. Trouble is, you're in there too. Is ZabaSearch an invasion of privacy? Xeni Jardin quizzes the site's founders.
A search for personal data on ZabaSearch.com -- one of the most comprehensive personal-data search engines on the net -- tends to elicit one of two reactions from first-timers: terror or curiosity. Which reaction often depends on whether you are searching for someone else's data, or your own. ZabaSearch queries return a wealth of info sometimes dating back more than 10 years: residential addresses, phone numbers both listed and unlisted, birth year, even satellite photos of people's homes.

Read on...

Augmenting the Animal Kingdom

2005-05-03T12:17:00.000-04:00

Natural evolution has produced the eye, butterfly wings and other wonders that would put any inventor to shame. But who's to say evolution couldn't be improved with the help of a little technology?
So argues James Auger in his controversial and sometimes unsettling book, Augmented Animals. A designer and former research associate with MIT Media Lab Europe, Auger envisions animals, birds, reptiles and even fish becoming appreciative techno-geeks, using specially engineered gadgets to help them overcome their evolutionary shortcomings, promote their chances of survival or just simply lead easier and more comfortable lives.
Lakshmi Sandhana has this report on wired news.

CNN on the Spam Attack?

2005-05-02T14:53:00.000-04:00

The blogosphere is buzzing with rumors about a strange viral marketing campaign concerning CNN, that may be promoting the cable channel or squelching criticism of it -- or perhaps both at the same time.
Earlier this month, blogger Nick Lewis noticed a strange post about CNN on his blog. The comment was critical of some new shows on CNN, but also included detail about the shows, their show times and the anchors hosting them. The same terms were repeated over and over, making it appear like spam. Something was not right
Suspicious, Lewis checked other blogs and soon noticed a pattern: He found a lot of similar comments about CNN on sites like DesperateHousewives, CrankyGreg and BradBlog. All the comments were posted by someone called Joseph or Thoth, and used the same language. Lewis came across roughly three new spam comments a day.
Read on...

IIT MBA, competition for IIMs?

2005-05-01T19:55:00.000-04:00

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) may soon give the IIMs a run for their money in the management education space. Last week, IIT Kharagpur announced the launch of its five-year dual degree programme leading to a BTech (honours) in any branch of engineering and an MBA.
So, what does this mean for the IIMs , which draw at least 40-50% of their MBA batch from the IITs. Not much, says Prof Chakravarti, who feels that there is a dearth of quality institutions and enough students to go around. In contrast to the IIMs, just four students out of a batch of over 80 students at VGSoM were ex-IITians this year.
Read on...

I saw Adolf Hitler dying

2005-04-29T15:03:00.000-04:00

Rochus Misch still remembers the sight as if it were yesterday: 60 years ago on Saturday he looked through a doorway and saw Adolf Hitler had committed suicide. Misch, 88, is the only person still alive today to have seen the Nazi leader and his wife Eva Braun dead in their bunker deep under the shattered city of Berlin. "Hitler was sitting at the table, slumped forward, and Eva Braun was lying next to him. I saw that with my own eyes," Misch said on Thursday from his home in the German capital.
Read on...

$11 million for just 1 meter of wire!

2005-04-28T14:23:00.000-04:00

NASA will pay Rice University $11 million over the next four years to develop an experimental power cable made from carbon nanotubes, the agency announced Tuesday.
The cable, also known as a quantum wire, would theoretically conduct electricity up to 10 times better than traditional copper wire and weigh one-sixth as much.
Scientists believe quantum wires could make spacecraft much lighter and more powerful, and may lead to faster computers and other commercial applications.
Under the agreement with NASA, Rice's Carbon Nanotechnology Laboratory is to produce a 1-meter-long prototype of quantum wire by 2010. To date, scientists have been able to produce wires no longer than several centimeters.
Read on...

A380 - World's Largest pasenger plane

2005-04-27T13:47:00.000-04:00

The world's largest passenger plane has made its maiden flight in an aviation milestone that Europe's jetliner maker hopes will give it a boost in its battle with American rival Boeing. The Airbus A380 "superjumbo" touched down in the southern French city of Toulouse at 2:22 p.m. (1222 GMT) Wednesday after a flight of nearly four hours.
Read on...

India's re-designing the whole world

2005-04-26T13:51:00.000-04:00

What is common between a 400-unit housing scheme in Maryland, US and a 200-block residential complex in The Netherlands? Both schemes are among the several housing and commercial complexes for which the basic land development and designing has being carried out by Indian architects and civil engineers in India.
Read on...

Mom frozen for years!!!

2005-04-26T13:40:00.000-04:00

Philip Schuth of Wisconsin (AP) told police he kept his mother's corpse in a basement freezer for more than four years while he collected her Social Security checks, authorities said Monday. A body was found encased in ice, in a sitting position.
I still dont believe that some one can be that barbaric to do such an awful thing to his/her own mom!!!!! Really very sad :(
Read on...

Far Apart but Intensely Connected

2005-04-21T16:40:00.000-04:00

Julia Steinmetz and Michael Mandiberg live on opposite sides of the United States, but are in constant contact -- courtesy of their unlimited cell-phone plan.
The couple spends hours "together" each day, talking, messaging and, yes, even sleeping on the phone.
They even have a blog in whcih they post their conversations.
Read on...
People find it amazing, but seriously I dont find it surprising. My friend Deba and his GF Bidisha talked more number hours that what is stated. They did it at the time when mobile calls were whooping high and "love" engulfed them so much that the cellphone bill came Rs. 32000[$800] for a month!!!

Some see Virgin Mary in underpass stain

2005-04-20T18:09:00.000-04:00

A steady stream of the faithful and the curious, many carrying flowers and candles, have flocked to an expressway underpass for a view of a yellow and white stain on a concrete wall that some believe is an image of the Virgin Mary.
Read on...

BFU - Black fat and Ugly!!!

2005-04-20T11:50:00.000-04:00

Live Science has a competition for the world's most ugliest animals. Well, to be frank I feel that none of the GOD's creation should be called "ugly".
Anyway, read on...

Testing Blood to Track History

2005-04-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

An ambitious and controversial genetics project that uses blood to trace the migration patterns of ancient humans faces a possible boycott as it launches this week.
The Genographic Project will collect 100,000 blood samples from indigenous populations and analyze their DNA. Through this project, researchers hope to answer questions about where the aborigines of Australia came from, or whether it's true that Alexander the Great fathered the blue-eyed blonds who have been in Afghanistan for more than 2,000 years.
Read on...

U.S. Military's Elite Hacker Crew!

2005-04-18T16:15:00.000-04:00

The U.S. military has assembled the world's most formidable hacker posse: a super-secret, multimillion-dollar weapons program that may be ready to launch bloodless cyberwar against enemy networks -- from electric grids to telephone nets.
The group's existence was revealed during a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last month. Military leaders from U.S. Strategic Command, or Stratcom, disclosed the existence of a unit called the Joint Functional Component Command for Network Warfare, or JFCCNW
Wired news has this story....

A whole planet made of diamond!!!

2005-04-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

Planets orbiting other suns could be made partly of pure diamond, US researchers have claimed.They think that some 'extrasolar' planets - of which more than 100 have now been discovered - may have condensed from gas and dust that is rich in carbon. This could produce worlds made largely of hard carbon compounds such as silicon carbide, otherwise known as the industrial abrasive carborundum.
Nature has this report....

Lijjat Papad - The incredible story!

2005-04-15T23:17:00.000-04:00

Everyone enjoys 'rags to riches' stories and everyone likes tales of stupendous success achieved through sheer determination. The story of Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad is all that and much more.
Today, Lijjat is more than just a household name for 'papad' (India's most popular crispy bread). Started with a modest loan of Rs 80, the cooperative now has annual sales exceeding Rs 301 crore (Rs 3.1 billion). What's more stunning than its stupendous success is its striking simplicity.
Read on...

You must be above 21 to drink in this Living Room!

2005-04-14T14:40:00.000-04:00

Officials in Stratford, Conn., convened a group of middle and high school students last year to quiz them on their attitudes toward alcohol. The officials were dismayed, if not surprised, when the teens reported that they thought alcohol, unlike tobacco and other drugs, was largely harmless, that binge drinking among their peers was habitual, and that drinking enough to pass out was funny. But the officials were perhaps most displeased to hear that the place kids most often got drunk was their own or their friends' homes and that some parents either provided alcohol or looked the other way if teens brought it to drink in the backyard or basement.
Time has this story...

IIT-JEE spins off a Rs 3,000 cr biz

2005-04-12T12:24:00.000-04:00

In one of Mumbai’s old gloomy buildings , grim parents are walking through a dark corridor with the somewhat melancholic resolve of converting their children into engineering graduates, if not engineers.
Over three dozen of them are squeezed into a 150 sq ft classroom along with other adolescents — boys who have just grown taller than their fathers and studious girls who do not yet have the domestic right to shape their own eyebrows; potentially talented singers, writers and athletes, all consumed by the great native obsession to enter the Indian Institute of Technology .
Read on...

Although there might be social debates on the blind run to clear IIT-JEE, but reading this article makes me feel really proud to clear this fancy exam in 1998 :)
- Nishant

Behind the Great Wall: life of desi expats in China

2005-04-12T12:20:00.000-04:00

Prakash Menon had moved to the land of Confucius much before India-China analysts and pundits went gung-ho about the camaraderie that existed between the two Asian nations.
"Earlier no one thought of setting up shop in China. However, with the changing scenario, more and more people are looking at this Asian hub. As the government is supportive of most endeavours in IT-related areas, it is a smooth sail for software companies and pros,” Menon, GM, NIIT, China, says.
Read on...

Reliance bigger than Coke, Nike

2005-04-08T14:49:00.000-04:00

Just now Ravi adviced me to incorporate some business news also on my blog. I really liked this idea and hence now here goes my first business news; thanks to Ravi....

India is shining and how? Forbes magazine in its latest survey says India, Inc. has beaten some of the legendary corporates and MNCs. Reliance has come out to be bigger than Coke and Nike

Read on...

Olive oil + wine = Immortality

2005-04-08T14:03:00.000-04:00

A large-scale study published on Friday adds statistical evidence to the perceived benefits of the Mediterranean diet, a regimen rich in fish, olive oil, fruits, vegetables and cereals and supplemented by a modest intake of red wine.
Wow!!! This list is just same as my diet!!
Read on...

Is Terri Schiavo = Kanchan Devi ??

2005-04-08T13:56:00.000-04:00

Citing the case of brain-dead Florida resident Terri Schiavo, the husband and son of a woman in coma for five years in Bihar(India) have filed a fresh court appeal here that she be similarly allowed to die.
I just hope that Kanchan Devi also gets the same amount of attention as Terri; but the fact remains that decision as to whether Mercy Killiing should be allowed or not still remains a debatable issue!!!
Times of India has this report....

Compare Web Searching!

2005-04-07T14:28:00.000-04:00

Web searchers - some like Google and some like Yahoo search. Which one is better should be left on the searcher's discretion.
But if one really wants to compare the search results of Google and Yahoo then my friend Swapnil has a new solution. He pointed me a this interesting site which compares the search results of these search engines. Just check it out....
I just wonder whether any of you guys have checked the clustering engine vivisimo!!

Which breed is this boy of??

2005-04-06T14:12:00.000-04:00

An 11-year-old boy in Bihar (India) bites and kills dogs according to an unbelievable, but true, stomach-churning report.
Mohammed Hashib, a resident of Nawada, too has been bitten by dogs. But nothing ever happens to him.
Times of India has this obnoxious report...

Pope's First Girl Friend!!!

2005-04-06T13:54:00.000-04:00

Pope John Paul II passed away and left millions of people who loved him.
But, Halina Kwiatkowska claims that she is Pope's first girl friend!! Halina and Karol (the Pope) are said to have a "sweet relationship" since the time they were 12 and 13 respectively.
Times of India has this sweet little story....

Google Maps - Now a Satellite link!!

2005-04-05T14:10:00.000-04:00

Online search engine leader Google Inc. has unveiled a new feature that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images.
Try Google Maps for the same. You can search any address in US and also know the route to commute from one address to another!!!!
This may cause a lot of Privacy issues but its cooooooool :-)

Seawater offers air conditioning for the tropics

2005-04-05T14:03:00.000-04:00

The turquoise blue waters surrounding Hawaii's emerald green isles have long been a source of food and recreation. Now the chilly waters deep below the ocean's surface are being eyed as a source of cool relief from the tropical heat.

CNN has this report....

Genetic patch treats 'bubble-boy' disease

2005-04-04T17:20:00.000-04:00

A technique that can correct the genetic errors behind human disease has recently been demonstrated by US scientists. If the method proves to be reliable, it could be used to make astonishingly specific repairs anywhere in the genome.

Nature has this report…

Your sleeping habits, revealed!

2005-04-04T11:44:00.000-04:00

Researchers at the National Sleep Foundation, USA, have found five distinct sleep profiles based on people's sleeping habits.
Read on....

Google - Quench your thirst for knowledge

2005-04-01T10:50:00.000-04:00

Google released a drink which is said to be designed to maximize your surfing efficiency by making you more intelligent, and less thirsty.
A reallllllllly interesting concept though.... :)
Read on and do post your comments......

Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'

2005-03-31T15:53:00.000-04:00

The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.
Read on...

Black holes 'do not exist'

2005-03-31T14:19:00.000-04:00

Black holes are staples of science fiction and many think astronomers have observed them indirectly. But according to a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, these awesome breaches in space-time do not and indeed cannot exist.

I read the book "A brief History of Time" some 10 times to understand the concept and now someone denies the very exsistence......
Well, Nature has this report.

How [not] to handle a crashed PC!!!

2005-03-31T10:05:00.000-04:00

This report has been shamelessly taken from Animesh's blog :).
MSNBC News takes a look into - Frustrated consumers make things worse after computer crash. There are nice incidents quoted. I also felt that the frying pan was the best example but the worst part was that the frying pan got spolied!!
Read on...
Here are the slashdot comments.

B'lore + Beijing > US

2005-03-30T10:13:00.001-04:00

That's what the world will see if the largest hardware maker and biggest software brains join together.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabo will go straight to Bangalore on April 9, 2005 and spend the weekend before he arrives in New Delhi in what is being seen as a landmark visit and later what would transpire in the Capital bound to bring bonhomie in the Sino-India relations.
Times of India has this news.

New twist to Netaji death mystery

2005-03-29T15:54:00.000-04:00

A third inquiry set up by the Indian government to probe the mysterious death of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose may be preparing to say that the legendary hero probably never died in a 1945 plane crash.
Well according to me people like Netaji never die :).
Times of India has this report.

Future Computing

2005-03-29T14:11:00.000-04:00

Exploiting the quirks of the quantum world could revolutionize computing, allowing information processing at speeds beyond the wildest electric dreams of your humble PC. Quantum bits will use the most fundamental characteristic of atoms and light to store information and perform calculations. Meanwhile, new materials will improve conventional computers by helping to miniaturize components and handle data with laser beams instead of electrical circuits .
Nature magazine has a full section on this happening phenomenon.

How Kids Set the (Ring) Tone

2005-03-29T12:22:00.000-04:00

In a wireless world, teenagers are driving the hottest new technologies since the dotcom era.
Now the big shot fathers are coming to thier kids for expert advice about innovation.
Time has this nice article.

World's tallest building to come up near Delhi?

2005-03-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

The world's tallest 135-storey building may soon come up in Noida satellite township on the outskirts of Delhi if all goes according to plan.
Rediff has this story.

Doctors reattach boy's foot, hands!!

2005-03-28T17:13:00.000-04:00

An operation to simultaneously reattach an Australian boy's foot and both his hands after a freak basketball accident was a success with the boy's fingers and toes alive and pink, surgeons said on Monday
CNN has this news of this first of its kind surgery.

Another Tsunami!!!

2005-03-28T14:30:00.000-04:00

A 8.2 quake off Sumatra's coast has shook tremors in hearts for another Tsunami. Although the Science and Tech secy says that there is no threat to India, evacuation has started on TN coast, A&N and Sri Lanka.
Rediff has the full story....

Elephants do impressions

2005-03-28T12:06:00.000-04:00

They say that elephants never forget. Now the creatures have shown that, when it comes to the fine art of vocal mimicry, they're not averse to learning new tricks either.
Nature reports this interesting fact about Elephants doing excellent mimickery. Read on...
Click here to hear a recording of Mlaika's truck-like calls.

A five acre land plot just for $140!!!

2005-03-27T12:45:00.000-04:00

An entrepreneur in Hyderabad seems over the moon.
"If it is not possible [to live on the moon] during my life time, may be in the next generation," says Rajeev V Bagdi, who bought the plot of land on the moon through an Internet transaction for $ 140.
Rediff has this interesting article. Read on...
I am also planning to make a house once I return back from Chile;)

Make peace. End the drama of death in Kashmir!!!

2005-03-25T18:32:00.000-04:00

Mohammad Maqbool Wani has assisted on more than 18,000 autopsies during the 15 years of separatist violence in Kashmir
"I have answered my gory call of duty for years. I would wait for the news of dead bodies. It was traumatic. So many human beings dying due to the sensless violence. I thought I had nerves of steel; but slowly it was getting tougher to handle," Wani told rediff.com.
Read on.

Was Taj Mahal a Shiv temple?

2005-03-24T09:28:00.000-04:00

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vinay Katiyar on Wednesday claimed that the Taj Mahal in Agra was actually a Shiva temple built by Raja Jai Singh and was named 'Tejo Mai Mahal'.

I believe Indian Politicians have a habit of raising controversies in the country.
Rediff has this story.

Time slots for adult movies on TV soon

2005-03-23T17:16:00.000-04:00

India's I&B ministry considering time slots for adult movies on TV.
Rediff has this story.
Well, this can be debatable in terms of as to whether this is good or bad for society. What do you say???

IITian cracks UP urban legend

2005-03-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

The 'muhnochwa' (face-scratcher) that rocked the state two years back, was nothing but the 'ball lightning' phenomenon, says an IITian who did a research on the menace.
Times Of India has this story.

When Bad Bugs Go Good!!

2005-03-23T11:43:00.000-04:00

In the ultimate inside job, cancer doctors are now recruiting—and rejiggering—microbes to destroy malignant cells from within.
Time has this story.

Another prey(or predator) of Racism!!!

2005-03-22T14:49:00.000-04:00

A student who authorities said killed nine people Monday before turning the gun on himself apparently disliked interracial mixing, according to postings on a neo-Nazi Web site.
CNN has this report.

India Changes Patent Law!!!

2005-03-21T14:44:00.000-04:00

My friend Parul Dhagat gave me the pointer to this debatable news.....
India changed its pharmaceutical patent law to conform to the U.S.-European system, just ahead of a Jan. 1 World Trade Organization deadline -- meaning that most new medicines (patentable in 1995 or later) will be priced out of reach of the great majority of people in India -- and in Africa and other poor regions as well.
Read on and do post a comment writing as to what do you think for the same?

NASA plans for the unthinkable

2005-03-21T11:09:00.000-04:00

When Discovery is launched in a few months, a four-man rescue squad will be standing by.
It's a plan for the unthinkable.
The plan may need president's approval too!!!

CNN reports this mission.

Hollywood is in love with Indian Animation!!!

2005-03-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

India's animation sector is witnessing a major boom. Overseas entertainment giants like Walt Disney, Imax and Sony are increasingly outsourcing cartoon characters and special effects to India.
Other companies are outsourcing animation from India for commercials and computer games. So what makes India a hub for animation? Why is the sector experiencing exponential growth?
In this special series, rediff takes a look at what makes India shine in the world of animation.

Part I: If it's animation, it must be India!
Part II: Few can match India!
Part III: Animation in India: Some woes too

One more kudo for India.... :)

Story of a classmate!

2005-03-19T18:50:00.000-04:00

For long-time SAS user Linda Adams it meant an end to more than a year of unemployment; for Prakash Gurumurthy it meant a job right out of school. As these users found out, in today's competitive job market, becoming professionally certified can help you stand out from the crowd. Read this story.
Prakash Gurumurthy(GP as we call him) happens to be my classmate and a very good friend from college. We were among the toppers from the bottom ;).

Lost and found

2005-03-18T14:34:00.000-04:00

For a few minutes, after the water had receded far from the shore and before it came raging back as a tsunami, the fishermen stood along the beach and stared at the reality of generations of legends.
CNN has this report.
I miss Chennai now :-(. Hope to see this magnificent scene once I get back...

Murder or Help??? [Part I]

2005-03-18T13:43:00.000-04:00

Members of Congress on Friday stepped up their efforts to keep a severely brain-damaged Florida woman alive, as a deadline neared to have the woman's feeding tube removed.
CNN has this report.
What do you think? Do post your comments.

Inzamam-ul-Haq - The Bengal Tiger!!!

2005-03-18T11:25:00.000-04:00

Strange it may sound to Inzamam-ul-Haq, a West Bengal family has claimed that the Pakistani skipper is its descendant and is even preparing to hand him his "rightful share of the family property".
Times of India has this wierd news.

Roti, Kapda, Makan..... aur CAR!!!

2005-03-18T11:10:00.000-04:00

Tata has announced the venture of a car which will cost only Rs 1 lakh!!
Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata says, does indeed lie at the bottom of the pyramid and discusses his group's plans to get to it, including a fundamental re-look at how products/services are produced.
Rediff has a nice interview with Ratan Tata on the same.

A Vacuum In Space

2005-03-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

The world's biggest radio telescope near Pune is on the job. But do we have enough young scientists to use it?
Outlook magazine has a nice report.

Look Ma, I'm An Idol

2005-03-17T10:29:00.000-04:00

They came, they sang, they conquered. This is what Sony's Indian Idol did to a bunch of very ordinary people.
Outlook magazine has a nice article.

Resetting The Brain!

2005-03-17T09:37:00.000-04:00

Can a pulsing magnet really change a personality? Doctors--and patients--are cheered by early tests.
CHRISTINE GORMAN has a report.