See this amazingly amazing ad...................
The world's costliest Ad, Honda Accord. Perfection doesn't get better than this....
This is the world's costliest Advertisement and the winner of this year's best Ad of the world.
Everything is real with no graphics used costing some 6.2 million US Dollars and 606 takes and retakes.
Team members of this Ad were facilitated with lots of rewards. Just click....
http://www.steelcitysfinest.com/HondaAccordAd.htm
Friday, November 25, 2005
Bacteria Can Take Pictures of Themselves
Check out this latest advancement in Synthentic Biology.....
SAN FRANCISCO - The notorious E. coli bug made its film debut Wednesday. That's when researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Texas announced in the journal Nature that they had created photographs of themselves by programming the bacteria — best known for outbreaks of food poisoning — to make pictures in much the same way Kodak film produces images.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/ap_on_sc/bacterial_film-
SAN FRANCISCO - The notorious E. coli bug made its film debut Wednesday. That's when researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Texas announced in the journal Nature that they had created photographs of themselves by programming the bacteria — best known for outbreaks of food poisoning — to make pictures in much the same way Kodak film produces images.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051123/ap_on_sc/bacterial_film-
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Biotic Machines
An Article from Today's Times of India.....
Biotic Machines
By MUKUL SHARMA
SPECULATIVE fiction often talks about a time when our bodies will routinely be reinforced by non-organic materials technology so that physiological processes can be aided or controlled by electromechanical or electronic devices. Neural implants and electrodes are mentioned for heightening sensory reflexes, as are prosthetic and performance enhancing add-ons for amplified motor activity. As a result we tend to imagine the future belongs to a class of beings of which our biological bodies will only be part of, with the other part(s) being machine-like, computer controlled and silicon dominated. In fact, the reverse may come to pass sooner, when things like microprocessor circuitry will possess components that are organic in nature. One reason for this is, as electronic devices keep getting ever smaller, there may be a limit to what demands can be made on silicon. Therefore, researchers are now thinking of trying to move computing beyond silicon, using biology. Some are utilising DNA or proteins built by viruses to form the basis of electronic parts. Others are trying to compute with DNA itself and applying molecular biology techniques for making materials like semiconductors. Actually, organic living systems have at least three advantages that inanimate matter doesn’t. Firstly, they’re incredibly complex — both in structure and function — which allows them to be hybridised into existing technologies with a fair degree of ease. For example, German scientists in 2001 were able to grow a network of brain cells from a snail onto a semiconductor chip and electricity was then successfully made to travel through the neuron net and back out again. Secondly, they’re already configured to perform tasks that could augment predefined parameters. Researchers have been able to isolate photosynthetic reaction centres from living plants that change their state when exposed to light, and such states can be measured. Thirdly, they’re capable of growth; meaning biology can be directed towards self-assembly of circuits, metals and other materials. A fourth added advantage is, of course, truly futuristic: living things evolve — and that too, spontaneously. It’s not discussed too openly right now but some people think that system upgradations could in future be automatic if living components are allowed to evolve as they perform.
Biotic Machines
By MUKUL SHARMA
SPECULATIVE fiction often talks about a time when our bodies will routinely be reinforced by non-organic materials technology so that physiological processes can be aided or controlled by electromechanical or electronic devices. Neural implants and electrodes are mentioned for heightening sensory reflexes, as are prosthetic and performance enhancing add-ons for amplified motor activity. As a result we tend to imagine the future belongs to a class of beings of which our biological bodies will only be part of, with the other part(s) being machine-like, computer controlled and silicon dominated. In fact, the reverse may come to pass sooner, when things like microprocessor circuitry will possess components that are organic in nature. One reason for this is, as electronic devices keep getting ever smaller, there may be a limit to what demands can be made on silicon. Therefore, researchers are now thinking of trying to move computing beyond silicon, using biology. Some are utilising DNA or proteins built by viruses to form the basis of electronic parts. Others are trying to compute with DNA itself and applying molecular biology techniques for making materials like semiconductors. Actually, organic living systems have at least three advantages that inanimate matter doesn’t. Firstly, they’re incredibly complex — both in structure and function — which allows them to be hybridised into existing technologies with a fair degree of ease. For example, German scientists in 2001 were able to grow a network of brain cells from a snail onto a semiconductor chip and electricity was then successfully made to travel through the neuron net and back out again. Secondly, they’re already configured to perform tasks that could augment predefined parameters. Researchers have been able to isolate photosynthetic reaction centres from living plants that change their state when exposed to light, and such states can be measured. Thirdly, they’re capable of growth; meaning biology can be directed towards self-assembly of circuits, metals and other materials. A fourth added advantage is, of course, truly futuristic: living things evolve — and that too, spontaneously. It’s not discussed too openly right now but some people think that system upgradations could in future be automatic if living components are allowed to evolve as they perform.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Inject Sea Water to Raise Venice
Check out this news!
People in Italy are trying their best to save Venice.
How good it would be if the Indian governments takes some action to save major cities in India(Mumbai,Chennai etc) from floods?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051121/ap_on_re_eu/italy_sinking_venice
People in Italy are trying their best to save Venice.
How good it would be if the Indian governments takes some action to save major cities in India(Mumbai,Chennai etc) from floods?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051121/ap_on_re_eu/italy_sinking_venice
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Liquid Sculptures
Liquid Sculpture is the process of creating shapes by dropping and splashing water, or other liquids. These sculptures are then photographed, since they last only a few thousandths of a second. Creating and capturing these engaging forms requires careful manipulation of the materials and precise control of the lighting and timing.
Few samples here:
Few samples here:
Check out more about this excellent photography in www.liquidsculpture.com under galleries section (or) click on http://www.liquidsculpture.com/galleries.htm
Monday, November 14, 2005
Dancing in the Rain
Good Thought. An article from today's Times of India.
Future Father's think over!....
Dancing in the rain
One often hears of the high prevalence of child labour in our country. Of the many reports I have read, perhaps the most disturbing was a report on the condition of children employed by zari factories in Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of India. It grieves me to imagine children exposed to such inhumanity.
Robbing children of their childhood is a criminal act, and our society must weed this malaise out from the root. But where does the root lie? Before you attempt an answer, let me give you an anecdote from the other end of the social spectrum.
A colleague in Wipro has a child studying in Standard IX in a reputed school in Bangalore. This child wakes up at 5 a.m. and studies for an hour before going to school. She returns from school at 4 p.m. and rushes for her IIT entrance exam coaching class. At 6 p.m., she has tuitions for two hours. After dinner, she spends an hour or more on homework. I asked her when she gets time to play. She replied that she did not play. She gets half an hour of free time each day, which she spends watching her favourite serial on television. She also added that board exams and entrance exams are very important, and that you only get one chance.
Is the condition of this child different from the child in the zari factory?
When I look at children, I wonder whether they have time to play with friends, to meet interesting people, to explore the world, and follow their curiosity. When the first monsoon showers begin, I would think that the streets would be full of children rushing headlong into the rain, dancing and playing. However, I think today, the rains fall on empty streets.
This, my friends, is the new Indian reality in our villages, slums and metropolitan high-rises. Whatever the reasons — poverty, societal aspiration, apathetic individuals and organisations, or just the burden of circumstances — the reality is that our children are straitjacketed.
The final indicator of a country’s independence is the way its children live. Are children free from the malaise of poverty and hunger? Are they free from the burden of parental aspiration? Are they free from social conditioning? Are we ensuring the curiosity of our children continues to burn and is not stamped out? Are they free to realise their unique potential, and thereby, help discover the true potential of the society itself ?
Gandhiji said that the greatest lessons in life are learnt from children, not from learned men. A child will fearlessly try before giving up. As adults, fearing failure, we give up before we try.
A child is inherently curious about the world, about relationships, about wanting to understand how things work. As adults, our blinkered and conditioned self prevents us from truly exploring without prejudice. For a child, what she does is meaningful in its own right. As an adult, we usually link every action to an external reward of money or recognition.
I did not learn how to be a father from manuals. Whatever little I learnt about being a parent, I learnt by observing my children and letting them teach me. Similarly, I think our teachers could grow enormously by learning from their students.
We will then refrain from pushing our knowledge down their young minds, and begin the democratic process of being joint learners as we discover and understand our world. I believe a powerful force for empowerment is to have motivated teachers who are learners first, teachers second. Only then will we stop trying to mould children into our “adult” likeness. Only then will we let them blossom.
If India has to develop economically, socially, intellectually, and culturally, we must empower those most vulnerable to social diktat: Our children. Let us resolve to give our children the freedom of childhood; let us change our schools from being textbook prisons to laboratories of exploration; let us change homes from being tuition centres to playgrounds of art and sport.
India will be radiant when our children are free to dance in the rain.
By AZIM H PREMJI, chairman, Wipro Ltd.
Future Father's think over!....
Dancing in the rain
One often hears of the high prevalence of child labour in our country. Of the many reports I have read, perhaps the most disturbing was a report on the condition of children employed by zari factories in Delhi, Mumbai and other parts of India. It grieves me to imagine children exposed to such inhumanity.
Robbing children of their childhood is a criminal act, and our society must weed this malaise out from the root. But where does the root lie? Before you attempt an answer, let me give you an anecdote from the other end of the social spectrum.
A colleague in Wipro has a child studying in Standard IX in a reputed school in Bangalore. This child wakes up at 5 a.m. and studies for an hour before going to school. She returns from school at 4 p.m. and rushes for her IIT entrance exam coaching class. At 6 p.m., she has tuitions for two hours. After dinner, she spends an hour or more on homework. I asked her when she gets time to play. She replied that she did not play. She gets half an hour of free time each day, which she spends watching her favourite serial on television. She also added that board exams and entrance exams are very important, and that you only get one chance.
Is the condition of this child different from the child in the zari factory?
When I look at children, I wonder whether they have time to play with friends, to meet interesting people, to explore the world, and follow their curiosity. When the first monsoon showers begin, I would think that the streets would be full of children rushing headlong into the rain, dancing and playing. However, I think today, the rains fall on empty streets.
This, my friends, is the new Indian reality in our villages, slums and metropolitan high-rises. Whatever the reasons — poverty, societal aspiration, apathetic individuals and organisations, or just the burden of circumstances — the reality is that our children are straitjacketed.
The final indicator of a country’s independence is the way its children live. Are children free from the malaise of poverty and hunger? Are they free from the burden of parental aspiration? Are they free from social conditioning? Are we ensuring the curiosity of our children continues to burn and is not stamped out? Are they free to realise their unique potential, and thereby, help discover the true potential of the society itself ?
Gandhiji said that the greatest lessons in life are learnt from children, not from learned men. A child will fearlessly try before giving up. As adults, fearing failure, we give up before we try.
A child is inherently curious about the world, about relationships, about wanting to understand how things work. As adults, our blinkered and conditioned self prevents us from truly exploring without prejudice. For a child, what she does is meaningful in its own right. As an adult, we usually link every action to an external reward of money or recognition.
I did not learn how to be a father from manuals. Whatever little I learnt about being a parent, I learnt by observing my children and letting them teach me. Similarly, I think our teachers could grow enormously by learning from their students.
We will then refrain from pushing our knowledge down their young minds, and begin the democratic process of being joint learners as we discover and understand our world. I believe a powerful force for empowerment is to have motivated teachers who are learners first, teachers second. Only then will we stop trying to mould children into our “adult” likeness. Only then will we let them blossom.
If India has to develop economically, socially, intellectually, and culturally, we must empower those most vulnerable to social diktat: Our children. Let us resolve to give our children the freedom of childhood; let us change our schools from being textbook prisons to laboratories of exploration; let us change homes from being tuition centres to playgrounds of art and sport.
India will be radiant when our children are free to dance in the rain.
By AZIM H PREMJI, chairman, Wipro Ltd.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
How your brain sleeps
Scientists out there are researching how our brain sleeps (without sleep).
Check this out....
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050929_brain_sleep.html
Check this out....
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050929_brain_sleep.html
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Country Studies
Check this Country study page from Library of Congress website to learn about a country before visiting.
The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
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