My new Huawei Ascend G600 phablet ..

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/huawei-ascend-g600-review-50009044/

1.2 Ghz dual core ( upto 1.7 GHz) Qualcomm snapdragon ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapdragon_%28system_on_chip%29 ) ARMv7 CPU chipset, working on 45 nm technology, this is the best in town at a great price of 15K on flipkart.

4.5" screen, 768MB RAM, 16GB memory, 2000 mAh battery, 8 MP rear camera and a .3 MP secondary front camera and Near field comm chip inbuilt, this is one of the best and cost effective smart phones around.

Even the iPhone 5 priced at Rs 43,000 in India has only 1.2 GHz dual core and 1 GB RAM with a 4" screen ..

Huawei is the world largest telecom eqpt manufacturer, having overtaken Ericsson in 2012. ..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei .. Huawei's treatment of its workforce has received negative comments. Like how Apple phones being made in China by Foxconn had HR problems with its huge workforce in China.


A note for all fence sitters.

Why I went for this product is

1. Huawei is the world No. 1 company in Networking eqpt, having beaten the likes of Ericsson, Alcatel etc who are all history.. They would not stake their repute on this product.

2. The trend these days is to go for Chinese products, like 100% of Apple products is manufactured in China with Samsung Korea display and baseboard components. Be part of the Great China resurgence story ( as all Americans do..) !!

3. Huawei and Samsung are leading the race to ascertain Asia's dominance in the world electronics and networking eqpt esp mobile phones scene.

4. It is always a good feeling and exciting confidence to be with the leader ..

5. Cost innovation Huawei has brought about at just one third the cost of an equally comparable iPhone 5.

6. Value for money is what I would say finally..

Tennis ball game, a good lean continuous improvement exercise..

http://leaninsider.productivitypress.com/2008/12/tennis-ball-exercise.html

When I played this game for the first time in the class, it generated interest and a group of students who were really ingenious, came up with the rolling of the tennis ball making use of gravity to teach the minimum time of 1.3 seconds..

Was useful in spreading the idea of Kaizen or continuous improvement to the students. I just had to tell them what needed to be done and they did it in the shortest time..

Good work, students !!

Remnants of an army, by Elizabeth Butler ..

The painting of the sole survivor of the British army of 1842 AD consisting of 700 European soldiers, 3800 Indian sepoys and 14,000 civilian staff who fled Kabul, entering Jalalabad in Eastern Afghanistan was a grim scene to be captured by the artist Elizabeth Butler. 

The British occupation of Afghanistan which started with great promise but ended in total disgrace is a grim reminder to the forces of the world that even though Afghanistan does offer feeble opposition to its occupation by the different powers of the world, the dogged resistance to foreign authority amongst the disaggregated small groups within Afghanistan has been famed, giving credence to the famous saying yet again : Empires go to Afghanistan to die ....

3 D Printing ...

A National Geographic video ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_KUDbWXeo 

This is the future of manufacturing.. Being able to manufacture custom made parts from the comfort of our homes with infinite variety ..

African proverb on ecscaping being outrun ..

"Every morning in Africa, a Gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a Lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest Gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a Lion or a Gazelle... when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

           - African Proverb  quoted by Thomas Friedman in his book - The World is FLAT ..

This is the crude reality of the present day world.

If a country is not agile enough, it runs the risk of being overrun by its competitors. Not only the mild and meek Gazelle has competitors, even the mighty Lion too has competitors. ie. if the gazelle is to survive it should run faster than the fastest lion to avoid being eaten by it.. For the Lion too, in order to prevent being starved it has to outrun the slowest gazelle.

US, the largest of these Lions is finding the competition tough with China and India following it making it work still harder for its prey and outrun the smaller countries like in Europe Africa etc..

The Indian and Chinese forays into Africa and Antartica to capture colonies to supply raw materials and demand to fuel its vast Industrial machinery back home is indeed just a repeat of the scenario when the European colonialists of the 18 th and 19 th century went around the world colonising countries.

The smaller Europen and African countries is also finding the going tough as it has to compete with these giants and outrun them to prevent being eaten by them.

The cruel reality and predicament of these countries.

Will the same fate befall India and China when in the next and third wave of revival, two to three hundred years from now, African countries will start colonising India, China, Europe and the Americas ??


Wishing every country the best in this race for survival ..

$ 1 million bionic man ..

Artificial limbs, head, brain, heart, lungs , pancreas etc..etc..

watch the video here ..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQn6ioXUpDk&feature=player_embedded

http://www.medgadget.com/2013/02/uk-roboticists-build-rex-the-bionic-man-with-video.html

Can we reveal assets and educational qualifications of our Sabha Managing committee.. ?

Some true and uncomfortable questions ..

Are we having the right people to lead the Malankara Orthodox Church into the new century ?? This is a very pertinent question being raised by all sensible and concerned people in the church today, across ages, geographies and timezones. With the goings on in our sister churches, it is all the more important that we choose the right educated people to lead us into the future, lest we fall into the same morass which befell them.

I know I will be cold shouldered here because of many vested interests .. But still I should not have the guilt when my grandchildren ask me, why I never tried my level best to save the Malankara Orthodox church from the vultures .. We cannot forget the simple fact that the Malankara Orthodox church has a great following of 35 lakh believers from the middle class and upper middle class of Indian society.

To increase the level of confidence of the believers in the church, we need to do some basic exercises aimed at improving the transparency of administration.

The first point is : Will the Sabha Managing committee or the church take the initiative to come out with the assets and educational qualifications of the Malankara Sabha Managing Commmittee members ?

It will be a great service to the believers of the Malankara Orthodox church and will be a bold exercise in openness of the church and its laity..

There are a lot of questions being asked whether private vested interests are ruling over common societal interests. Among the youngsters this is a bit muted now but will morph into a roar at the right time, by when things may go out of control.

We need to introspect, are we really going after building the church in its purest sense, serving the poor or as is the rest of the world, swimming with the tide and make as much physical assets and bank deposits, make hay while the sun shines, black or white, as time permits.

There are many instances where church money has been squandered away by some smart contractors / priests, putting up a pious face with the High priests and buttering them. Do we have enough of checks and balances to ensure that such events do not recur and church funds are not misused ..?

Are we after real estate as the Catholic church did and is now facing charges of paedophile priests and what not .. ?

When we go back for the final appraisal of our acts of commission and omission in front of God, will these acts of acquiring real estate and bank deposits find a special mention as do acts of kindness and piety at helping the less-fortunate members of our society, irrespective of caste, colour, creed or belief ?

There are believers and a small minority of priests who are pained at these recent developments, but they have been silenced or prefer silence to action as the vested interests are a strong mafia which even the Priests cannot fathom or act against.

It is highly possible that no action will come out of this concern expressed by a small believer sitting in some part of the country, because the rot is so deep. But if this can stir the conscience and minds of some of the believers and permit a level of decency, self-discipline, spirit of questioning and self control in the church and its leaders, that will be a great success indeed ...

---------------------------

It is a matter of great pride that our Treasurer from Laity, Muthootu George is  the new entrant to the billionnaire club of the world of 2012, 55 th from India and the second from Kerala after Kris Gopalakrishnan of Infosys. In God's  presence what matters ??

The aim of this exercise is to understand whether we have the right leaders from laity, honest and pious, not practicing politics in the committee, willing to put up with dissent and questioning, with real intention to see that we remain the same spiritual church our forefathers for generations toiled for and not a materialistic one..

Though I am not optimistic that this will find a common chord with the people who matter, I am reminded of this quote .. " It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed " _ Theodore Roosevelt.

Let us not squander a great cultural and spiritual heritage which we have inherited over twenty centuries ..

Whoa ... Big Change!

Did you hear? Our company name changed! We're now called "The Penny Paper Co." and "Penny People Designs" has retired. So this means, new name, new products, and .... a new blog! It's a little sad because I've been blogging on this site since March 2007. CRAZY!

I really appreciate the amazing following that this design blog has, so I hope that you will follow me over at our new and improved blog hereThis blog will be where I showcase new products, show you insights into the design process. 

Win a dinner date with Miss Singapore World 2013

Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore/Singapore-Flyer-20/137115480503
Closing date: 9th August 2013
Contest type: Online - Be a Fan!
Prizes: A dinner date with Miss Singapore World 2013!
Registration required: Facebook
Others:

Recieved this in the mailbox:


Visit our Singapore Flyer 2.0 Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore/Singapore-Flyer-20/137115480503, become a fan and stand a chance to win an exclusive dinner date with the newly crowned Miss Singapore World 2013 in the "World's First Full Butler Sky Dining" capsule at the Singapore Flyer.

While sharing the panoramic view of the Singapore skyline with Miss Singapore 2013, enjoy VIP treatment with a personalised butler who will be present throughout the dining experience.
Clsoing date is 9th August 2013.


Wow, seriously how many people can have a dinner date with Miss Singapore World 2013? Not a contest that you want to miss!

Earn a little extra income with your facebook account and a minute everyday! No harm giving it a try!

It's been 8 months since the last entry at CornFlict.

Well, I'm not going to revive this blog, since I'm going to start a new baby blog!

It's going to be all about Photography, my latest passion, and it serves as my portfolio as well. See you at: http://dallaseye.blogspot.com

Or, if you are a contest junkie craving for contest, I am still blogging at http://contestjunkie.blogspot.com

Enjoy the blogs!

Get to Know Your Teacher

Like to send Teacher Gifts? Wish you knew your child's teachers favorite things? Here are some forms found on Pinterest that you can print to help find out!

Forget someone you love

" Trying to forget someone you love, is like to remember someone you never met " 

Monophony

    In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of melody without accompanying harmony. This may be realized as just one note at a time, or with the same note duplicated at the octave (such as often when men and women sing together). If an entire melody is played by two or more instruments or sung by a choir with a fixed interval between the voices or in unison, it is also said to be in monophony. Music in which all the notes sung are in unison is called monophonic. Musical texture is determined in song and music by varying components. Songs intersperse monophony, heterophony, polyphony, homophony, or monody elements throughout the melody to create atmosphere and style. Monophony may not have underlying rhythmic textures, and must consist of only a melodic line. The musics of some cultures where there is a melodic line with rhythmic accompaniment must be considered homophony.
According to Ardis Butterfield (1997), monophony "is the dominant mode of the European vernacular genres as well as of Latin song ... in polyphonic works, it remains a central compositional principle."[2] Polyphony has two or more independent melodic voices. Monophony is one voice in music rather like a soliloquy.

Wikipedia

Best in Travel 2013

1. San Francisco
Darling of America's west coast
Best for: Culture, events, food


Famous for hills, earthquakes and a penchant for liberal politics, San Francisco continues to attract kindred spirits, eagerly embracing all newcomers to the bosom of its cultural mélange. If you need an extra incentive to get yourself to San Francisco, the city has an ace up its sleeve – the 34th America’s Cup is coming to fog city in 2013, and big changes and upgrades are afoot all along San Francisco’s heaving waterfront.
2. Amsterdam
Golden Age charmer prepares to party
Best for: Culture, events, food
 
Amsterdam always cast a spell on travellers, but the party ramps up big-time in 2013, when more anniversaries than you can shake a herring at coincide. The famed canal ring turns 400 years old. It’s Vincent van Gogh’s 160th birthday and the 40th for his colour-swirled museum. The Rijksmuseum re-opens after a 10-year renovation. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra – often considered the world’s best – blows out 125 candles. Plus the Artis Royal Zoo and Felix Meritis cultural centre mark 175 years and 225 years, respectively. It all adds up to a slew of celebratory concerts, exhibits and street fests grooving throughout 2013.
3. Hyderabad
Old City recapturing past glories
Best for: Culture, food, value for money
 
Hyderabad was once the capital of a filthy-rich princely state. After India’s independence, the palaces and pleasure gardens were sold off, built over and looted, and you had to be really sharp to see the city’s beauty. But several palaces in Hyderabad’s Old City have recently been refurbished, including Falaknuma Palace, a seven-star hotel that was skilfully restored by the Taj Group and is now an exceedingly plush time capsule. Other monuments and buildings are being fixed up, but the city, and many of its architectural gems, are still off the radar – which keeps the masses at bay. Elegant and blossoming, but also weathered and undiscovered, Hyderabad’s Old City is ripe for exploration.
4. Londonderry/Derry
Packed calendar for UK City of Culture
Best for: Culture, events, family

  You Are Now Entering Free Derry by mkairishstudies. Creative Commons Attribution Licence
Londonderry/Derry is the UK City of Culture 2013, which means this vibrant, historic walled city is undergoing a renaissance. The year will see a wealth of cultural events, including the 10-day All Ireland Fleadh, the world’s biggest Irish festival and it also plays host to the always-controversial Turner Prize. The city will buzz throughout the year with hundreds of other events, from pageants to music to contemporary dance. Derry also hosts lots of regular festivals, such as the Jazz Festival and Earhart Festival (in 2013 celebrating 80 years since American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart landed here), celebrations for which will all be cranked up a notch.
5. Běijīng
Capital on cusp of greatness
Best for: Culture, value for money, food
 
Běijīng remains as the cultural and artistic centre of China. While the 2008 Olympics may now seem like a distant memory, their effect is enduring – there are English street signs and a multitude of architectural gems such as the Bird’s Nest studded across the sprawling city. More recently, the Běijīng–Shanghai high-speed rail now connects the two cities in under five hours. Today, Běijīng tentatively balances a multitude of (growing) populations and subcultures. There’s a palpable sense of change in the air, though no-one quite knows what to expect. China is on the cusp of true greatness and one day, people will look back and say it all started here.
6. Christchurch
Rising from the rubble with flair
Best for: Culture, events, family
 
New Zealand’s ‘Garden City’ is rising from the rubble created by devastating earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 with a breathtaking mix of spirit, determination and flair. With a unique opportunity to rethink urban form, Christchurch is bouncing back with a new energy and inventiveness. Foodies will be surprised by the variety of what is on offer, from Burmese to Turkish to local specialities, live-music venues have popped up all over the place, and innovative artworks fill empty demolition sites. 2013 will be an intriguing year to join the rebirth.
7. Hobart
Harbour town becomes hip
Best for: Events, culture, food
 
The sleepy harbour town reputation attracts a solid ‘outdoorsy’ set, but the recent arrival of the world-class MONA museum has the waters rippling, hip tourists flocking and Hobart rousing from its slumber. 2013 will see the new kid on the block team up with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) for the Theatre of the World exhibition curated by Jean-Hubert Martin, former director of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. This year will also prove exciting for Hobart’s already burgeoning gastronomic scene as the city’s culinary credentials continue to rise.
8. Montréal
Mélange of cultures marries brains and beauty
Best for: Culture, events, value for money

  Le Vieux-Montréal by abdallahh. Creative Commons Attribution Licence
Having recently gained a high rank on city lists including the world’s happiest (Lonely Planet, 2010) and hippest (New York Times, 2011), this year Montréal’s angling for a top spot, showing off in Stephen Spielberg’s summer release Robopocalypse, and inviting everyone for drinks at the new urban beach. But Montréal’s got brains as well as beauty. Spring 2013 marks the launch of the new Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, rounding out the ambitious ‘Space for Life’ project. And Montréal’s social calendar is also bubbling over with the unveiling of the Grévin wax museum at the Eaton Centre, the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the Place des Arts, and the new Point Zero hotel, owned by the eponymous fashion label.
9. Addis Ababa
Ethiopian metropolis evolving at pace
Best for: Culture, food, value for money
 
Like the Ethiopian marathon runners, Addis Ababa (often shortened to plain ‘Addis’) is evolving at a fast pace. The fact that the country’s economic growth should reach almost 5% in 2013 helps create a feeling of confidence and stamina. Founded little more than a century ago, Addis Ababa, which in Amharic means ‘New Flower’, is not only the diplomatic capital of Africa and a thriving metropolis, but also a groovy city that takes pride in its multifaceted assets.
10. Puerto Iguazú
Much more than just a waterfall
Best for: Family, activities, adventure

  Iguazú Falls by Phillie Casablanca. Creative Commons Attribution Licence
It’s official: votes are in, and the Foz de Iguazú has won its place among the prestigious new seven wonders of nature, following a worldwide 2011 poll. That this phenomenal waterfall, spread-eagled along the Argentine–Brazil border, should make the final reckoning is no great shock. So tourism to these falls is set to morph: good news for Puerto Iguazú, the main tourist base hereabouts. ‘Iguazú’ – as locals call it – doesn’t just want to be the fall guy, though. After all, it offers some of the best hostels, top-end hotels and spas in the country, not to mention some stunning side trips.


Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/themes/best-in-travel-2013/top-10-cities/#ixzz2Kjah8vuz

African drums

 
      African drums hold a special place in the history of Africa. In Western Culture the idea of drumming is nearly always associated with entertainment or just to add to the musical quality of a song. In Africa, drums hold a deeper symbolic and historical meaning.

Drums are almost always an accompaniment for any manner of ceremony – births, deaths, marriages – together with a ritual dance. The vicious sound of many drums pounding together is also a necessary installment to stir up emotions in a battle or war to inspire excitement and passion.

The Djembe drum is possibly the most influential and basic of all the African drums, originally. It dates back to 500 A.D. The Djembe was originally created as a sacred drum to be used in healing ceremonies, rites of passage, ancestral worship, warrior rituals, as well as social dances. The drum rhythm of the djembe is performed in the evening for most celebrations, especially during full moon, spring, summer and winter harvesting time, weddings, baptisms, honoring of mothers, immediately after Ramadaan (the month of fast for all Muslims) or countless other celebrations.

In much of Africa, certain drums symbolize and protect royalty and are often housed in sacred dwellings. In fact you could say the drum was actually the first form of telephone…
Tribes, with use of the drum would communicate with other tribes often miles away. Drums were often used to signal meetings, dangers, etc….

The talking drums of Africa imitate the pitch patterns of language and transmit messages over many miles.

The Anorexia

      Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by immoderate food restriction and irrational fear of gaining weight, as well as a distorted body self-perception. It typically involves excessive weight loss and is usually found more in females than in males.[1] Due to the fear of gaining weight, people with this disorder restrict the amount of food they consume. This restriction of food intake causes metabolic and hormonal disorders.[2] Outside of medical literature, the terms anorexia nervosa and anorexia are often used interchangeably; however, anorexia is simply a medical term for lack of appetite, and people with anorexia nervosa do not in fact, lose their appetites.[3] Anorexia nervosa has many complicated implications and may be thought of as a lifelong illness that may never be truly cured,[citation needed] but only managed over time. Patients suffering from Anorexia nervosa may experience dizziness, headaches, drowsiness and a lack of energy.
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by low body weight, inappropriate eating habits, obsession with having a thin figure, and the fear of gaining weight. It is often coupled with a distorted self image[4][5] which may be maintained by various cognitive biases[6] that alter how the affected individual evaluates and thinks about her or his body, food and eating.[7] Those suffering from anorexia often view themselves as "too fat" even if they are already underweight.[8] They may practice repetitive weighing, measuring, and mirror gazing, alongside other obsessive actions to make sure they are still thin, a common practice known as "body checking".[9]
Anorexia nervosa most often has its onset in adolescence and is more prevalent among adolescent females than adolescent males.[10] However, more recent studies show the onset age has decreased from an average of 13 to 17 years of age to 9 to 12.[11] While it can affect men and women of any age, race, and socioeconomic and cultural background,[12] anorexia nervosa occurs in ten times more females than males.

Wikipedia

Anti-gravity

      Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift. Anti-gravity is a recurring concept in science fiction, particularly in the context of spacecraft propulsion. An early example is the gravity blocking substance "Cavorite" in H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon.
In Newton's law of universal gravitation, gravity was an external force transmitted by unknown means. In the 20th century, Newton's model was replaced by general relativity where gravity is not a force but the result of the geometry of spacetime. Under general relativity, anti-gravity is impossible except under contrived circumstances.[1][2][3] Quantum physicists have postulated the existence of gravitons, a set of massless elementary particles that transmit the force, and the possibility of creating or destroying these is unclear.
"Anti-gravity" is often used colloquially to refer to devices that look as if they reverse gravity even though they operate through other means, such as lifters, which fly in the air by using electromagnetic fields.

Wikipedia

The Wright brothers

      The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were two American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers who were credited[1][2][3] with inventing and building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight, on December 17, 1903. In the two years afterward, the brothers developed their flying machine into the first practical fixed-wing aircraft. Although not the first to build and fly experimental aircraft, the Wright brothers were the first to invent aircraft controls that made fixed-wing powered flight possible.
The brothers' fundamental breakthrough was their invention of three-axis control, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium.[4] This method became standard and remains standard on fixed-wing aircraft of all kinds.[5][6] From the beginning of their aeronautical work, the Wright brothers focused on developing a reliable method of pilot control as the key to solving "the flying problem". This approach differed significantly from other experimenters of the time who put more emphasis on developing powerful engines.[7] Using a small homebuilt wind tunnel, the Wrights also collected more accurate data than any before, enabling them to design and build wings and propellers that were more efficient than any before.[8][9] Their first U.S. patent, 821,393, did not claim invention of a flying machine, but rather, the invention of a system of aerodynamic control that manipulated a flying machine's surfaces.[10]
They gained the mechanical skills essential for their success by working for years in their shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles in particular influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle like a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice.[11] From 1900 until their first powered flights in late 1903, they conducted extensive glider tests that also developed their skills as pilots. Their bicycle shop employee Charlie Taylor became an important part of the team, building their first aircraft engine in close collaboration with the brothers.

Wikipedia

SIDE EFFECTS OF NOT EATING BREAKFAST

Obesity
Obesity and its ensuing complications -- such as diabetes, infertility and heart disease -- are some of the biggest concerns of the 21st century. Mayo Clinic registered dietician, Katherine Zeratsky, provides reasons why not eating breakfast may lead to weight gain and obesity. She notes that breakfast helps to control excess hunger throughout the day. Since you fast overnight while sleeping, forgoing breakfast adds to this fasting period and may disrupt blood sugar balance and insulin output. Skipping breakfast also triggers bad eating habits throughout the day, as cravings ensue and quick-fix fast foods are often sought out. Furthermore, eating breakfast boosts your metabolism and increases your energy throughout the day. When you do not eat breakfast, your energy is reduced and physical activity levels decline.
Menstrual Irregularities
Skipping breakfast is often a common occurrence in the lives of college students running late for class. An August 2010 survey study, published in the journal "Appetite," notes that female college students who consistently skipped breakfast had more menstrual irregularities. These dysfunctions included the severity of painful menses and irregular menstrual bleeds. No difference was found in premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, symptoms, but the breakfast skippers also suffered more consistently from constipation. Women of college age are still undergoing what the article called "post-adolescent maturation," and skipping breakfast negatively impacts this growing stage.
Lowered Cognition
Healthy eating initiatives across the nation have advocated for children eating breakfast before school. In fact, many schools open early to serve breakfast for children who may not be served this important meal at home for whatever reason. A Centers for Disease Control report on guidelines for school health programs states that skipping breakfast negatively impacts a school-aged child's ability to effectively problem-solve. Students who consumed breakfast tested higher in standardized test scores, were absent less from school and were more on time to class.
Bad Mood
A large percentage of the population is self-categorized as "moody morning people." A moody temperament is noted to improve when breakfast is consumed, according to a 2002 BBC News World Edition article. The article survey noted that 26 percent of people experienced large improvements in mood when changes were made in diet, such as consuming breakfast regularly. Mood swings involving irritability often result from having low blood sugar -- a side effect noted by Katherine Zeratsky to be from prolonged fasting.


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/292033-side-effects-of-not-eating-
breakfast/#ixzz2KjWRQKin

George Lucas

    George Walton Lucas, Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American film producer, screenwriter, director, and entrepreneur. He founded Lucasfilm Limited and led the company as chairman and chief executive before selling it to The Walt Disney Company on October 30, 2012.He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. Lucas is one of the American film industry's most financially successful filmmakers.George Lucas was born in Modesto, California, the son of Dorothy Ellinore (née Bomberger)(1913-1989) and George Walton Lucas, Sr. (1913–1991), who owned a stationery store.
Lucas grew up in the Central Valley town of Modesto, and his early passion for cars and motor racing would eventually serve as inspiration for his USC student film 1:42.08, as well as his Oscar-nominated low-budget phenomenon, American Graffiti. Long before Lucas became obsessed with film making, he wanted to be a race-car driver, and he spent most of his high school years racing on the underground circuit at fairgrounds and hanging out at garages. On June 12, 1962, while driving his souped-up Autobianchi Bianchina, another driver broadsided him, flipping over his car, nearly killing him, causing him to lose interest in racing as a career.He attended Modesto Junior College, where he studied, amongst other subjects, anthropology, sociology and literature.He also began filming with an 8 mm camera, including filming car races.

Wikipedia

   

The NATO

         The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international alliance that consists of 28 member states from North America and Europe. It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949. Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it should be considered an attack against all members, and other members shall assist the attacked member, with armed forces if necessary.[1]
Of the 28 member countries, two are located in North America (Canada and the United States) and 25 are European countries while Turkey is in Eurasia. All members have militias, although Iceland does not have a typical army (it does, however, have a military coast guard and a small unit of soldiers for NATO operations). Three of NATO's members are nuclear weapons states: France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. NATO has 12 original founding member nation states and through April 2009 it has added 16 more member nations.

Nintendo DS or PSP?

     The Nintendo DS has a foldable clamshell design and features two separate LCD screens (hence the DS--dual screen--name). The top screen is a normal 256x192-pixel display, but the bottom display has touch-screen technology that lets you use a plastic stylus or even your fingertips to control games just by touching the screen. You'll also be able to interact with games using the system's built-in microphone port.

The system has the familiar directional pad and input buttons found on all controllers, but the touch-screen input device and new microphone-control capabilities provide remarkable new gameplay experiences only possible on the DS. One of the most popular DS games, Nintendogs, makes extensive use of both the microphone and the touch screen. The addictive puppy game lets you use the touch screen to pet your dog or toss a ball around, and you can use the microphone to call your dog or teach it commands like "sit".

Nintendo has also recently launched its Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service that lets DS owners play multiplayer games against each other over the Internet. Many DS games already let you play multiplayer games with other DS owners within the same physical proximity, but the new Nintendo Wi-Fi service lets you play against other people online anywhere in the world (but you'll want to stay in the same region to keep latencies low). You can race against friends online in Mario Kart DS or steal all of your friend's fruit in Animal Crossing: Wild World.

    While you can't mistake the Nintendo DS for anything except a game system, you could easily confuse the Sony PSP with a flashy new electronics convergence device--in fact, that's exactly what it is. The PSP is primarily a game device, but it's also a video player, digital music player, and now an Internet Web browser thanks to a recent firmware update.

Holding the PSP is like holding a little movie theater in your hands--the screen dominates the entire system, and all the buttons are black or translucent as to not draw attention away from the screen. You'll understand why as soon as you see the system's supersharp 480x272 widescreen display playing a Universal Media Disc movie. The image quality is outstanding, and it's no wonder why many PSP owners spend more time watching videos than playing games on the system.

UMD is a new optical media disc format that Sony uses for the PSP. All PSP games use the new disc format, and you can also get UMD versions of several major movie releases including Clerks and Napoleon Dynamite. The system can also play video and music from Memory Stick media. Just encode your videos in a PSP-compatible format and transfer it to a Memory Stick for PSP playback. Same goes for music, too--just transfer your MP3s onto a Memory Stick and let the PSP handle the rest.

Gamespot.com

How to make your boss happy

1- Find out what is important to your boss and make it important to you. If your boss is fanatic when it comes to deadlines, then do your best to get everything in ahead of schedule.
2- Make note of anything that you and your boss have in common. From non-work related points of interest like pets, golf and ,jogging, to professional ideals. In general conversation, find an opportunity to make your boss aware of your similar interest.
3- Agree with your boss, more often than not, without compromising your own values. This way, when the two of you do disagree, your boss won't view it as "disagreeing" but rather, a "different outlook."
4- Look for opportunities to "make something happen". For example, there are always projects and assignments that others don't have "time" to do. Find one that you can do and volunteer to Do It! Your boss will appreciate it and remember it in the future.
5- Do not throw the racial or the gender card when your boss picks on you for not doing what you were told to do.
6- Be as supportive as you can in controversial situations, even if you really don't like your boss' behavior. This puts you in a position to be honest with your boss without seeming confrontational.
7- Respect your boss' time; do not stand at his or her desk chattering away when clearly they are busy.
8- Make your boss look good. Realize that their success is your success.
9- Help your boss. Every boss has that one project that they never have time for and it stresses them out. This is where you come in. Find out what project it is and complete on your spare time, such as a day off. Since your boss hadn’t completed it, it is probably a somewhat insignificant project so it won’t take much time for you to complete it and your boss will love you for doing that.

Remote villages

   They come together each morning from the sloping forests. Some walk for more than an hour along muddy footpaths past terraced farms stacked like soft green steps. Some race their new motorbikes down narrow, cracked roads cut into the hillsides.
The team of young men and women wear ID cards on lanyards around their necks and have that rarest of commodities in rural India, a company job.
They work mainly in data processing for a 3-year-old business called B2R that is using the spread of the Internet to transport India's outsourcing boom from metropolitan Bangalore and the suburbs of New Delhi to this speck of a farming village in the Himalayan foothills.
Before B2R arrived, Simayal was being drained of its bright young men as they left for cities to search for work. Its women had little option but to wed right out of school. Nearly everyone's survival was tied to the whim of the rains and prayers for a strong harvest.
Now, men are staying. Some who left have returned. Many women have put off marriage to work and are helping to support their families. Other new businesses are opening up.
The 50 new jobs B2R created brought a "glimmer of hope" to the 110 families in this cluster of farming hamlets barely touched by India's economic transformation over the past two decades, said V.K. Madhavan, who has spent the past eight years running Chirag, a local development organization.
Deepa Nayal's two sons persuaded the 47-year-old widow to retire from her 1,890 rupee ($38) a month teaching job after they got hired. Mohan Singh Bisht, 20, helped his family build a six-room house. Khasti Fartiyal, 22, started paying for one of her sisters to go to college and bought an essential, expensive piece of gold jewelry for another sister's wedding. Many bought refrigerators, new clothes and motorbikes. Many are proud just to help buy food.
"There's a buzz around the place that didn't exist before," Madhavan said.
The B2R staff in Simayal work above an old flour mill in a maze of rooms that had been intended as cramped housing for poor families. In the narrow, long central office, staffers sitting at small computer desks lining the walls work on a project for a legal publisher turning scans of court cases into searchable databases. In another room, women take calls on behalf of a family planning group. In another, staffers collect sales data for cellphone companies. The kitchen has been turned into the server room.
Outside, a steady procession of women looking aged beyond their years and dressed in threadbare clothes walk by carrying on their heads immense stacks of firewood and animal fodder they collected during hours of foraging in the forest. Their husbands and fathers tend to the apple and pear orchards.
B2R and a handful of similar firms are trying to offer an alternative road map for Indian economic growth. With nearly 70 percent of the population — 833 million people — living in rural areas and its cities already overburdened, there is a limit to how quickly the nation can urbanize.
In the meantime, rural youth need jobs and poor infrastructure makes it difficult for manufacturers to deliver them. But with an Internet connection, outsourcing companies can work anywhere.
"You get work over the Internet, you work it over the Internet, you send it back over the Internet," said Dhiraj Dolwani, CEO of B2R. "It's a window to the world."
Less than 5 percent of rural Indians have ever used the Internet and many have never even heard of it, according to a recent study by the IMRB market research firm. Half the staff in B2R's office here said they had never seen a computer before this job.
The government is trying to change that, spending $6.5 billion to lay fiber optic cable to each of the country's 250,000 towns. India's innovation czar, Sam Pitroda, says it will open up a flood of rural development. It can bring telemedicine to villages without doctors, better teaching tools to remote schools and jobs in banking, insurance and other information fields to towns currently dependent on agriculture.
Yahoo

Monody

        In music, monody has two meanings: 1) it is sometimes used as a synonym for monophony, a single solo line, in opposition to homophony and polyphony; and 2) in music history, it is a solo vocal style distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment. Although such music is found in various cultures throughout history, the term is specifically applied to Italian song of the early 17th century, particularly the period from about 1600 to 1640. The term is used both for the style and for individual songs (so one can speak both of monody as a whole as well as a particular monody). The term itself is a recent invention of scholars: no composer of the 17th century ever called a piece a monody. Compositions in monodic form might be called madrigals, motets, or even concertos (in the earlier sense of "concertato", meaning "with instruments").
In monody, which developed out of an attempt by the Florentine Camerata in the 1580s to restore ancient Greek ideas of melody and declamation (probably with little historical accuracy), one solo voice sings a melodic part, usually with considerable ornamentation, over a rhythmically independent bass line. Accompanying instruments could be lute, chitarrone, theorbo, harpsichord, organ, and even on occasion guitar. While some monodies were arrangements for smaller forces of the music for large ensembles which was common at the end of the 16th century, especially in the Venetian School, most monodies were composed independently. The development of monody was one of the defining characteristics of early Baroque practice, as opposed to late Renaissance style, in which groups of voices sang independently and with a greater balance between parts.
Other musical streams which came together in the monody were the madrigal and the motet, both of which developed into solo forms after 1600 and borrowed ideas from the monody.
Contrasting passages in monodies could be more melodic or more declamatory: these two styles of presentation eventually developed into the aria and the recitative, and the overall form merged with the cantata by about 1635.
The parallel development of solo song with accompaniment in France was called the air de cour: the term monody is not normally applied to these more conservative songs, however, which retained many musical characteristics of the Renaissance chanson.
Wikipedia

Old Chinese Art

   The name "china" is sometimes used for porcelain because China was, for a while, the only source for porcelain in the West. Porcelain was made, perhaps as early as the Eastern Han period, from kaolin clay covered with petuntse glaze, fired together in high heat so the glaze is fused and doesn't chip off.
Chinese art goes back to the neolithic period from which time we have painted pottery. By the Shang Dynasty, China was producing jade carvings and cast bronze found among grave goods.

Sources:
"Chinese art" World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 
Chinese pottery and porcelain : an account of the potter's art in China from primitive times to the present day (Volume 1), by R.L. Hobson, 1872-1941. Internet Archive online.