Don't Forget you are a Shining Star

"Happy New Year!" That greeting will be sai "Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America was not always January 1.

ANCIENT NEW YEARS

The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.

NEW YEAR TRADITIONS

Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR

Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

* India has never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history.

* India invented the number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

* India established the world's first University at Takshasila in 700 B.C.

* Sanskrit is the mother of all European languages. It is the best suited language for computer software (Forbes magazine, July 1987).

* Ayurveda is the earliest system of medicine known to humans.

* The art of navigation originated in the river Sindh 6000 years ago. Navigation comes from the Sanskrit word "Nav Gatih".

* Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by earth to orbit the sun as 365.258756484 days (in 5th century A.D).

* In the 6th century A.D Budhayana calculated the value of pi . Quadratic equations were propunded by Sridharacharya in the 11th century.

* According to the Gemological Institute of America , upto 1896, India was the only source for diamonds.

* IEEE has proved an age old suspicion that the pioneer of wireless communication is Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.

* The earliest reservoir and dam was built in Saurashtra, India during Chandragupta Maurya's time (300 B.C)

* Chess originated in India.

* Susruta is known as the father of surgery, performing complex surgeries as many as 2600 years ago

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pains of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people around the world.

If you can express your beliefs without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all

Jobless man applied for the position of "office boy" at Microsoft.

The HR manager interviewed him then watched him cleaning the floor as a test.

"You are employed." He said." Give me your e-mail address and I'll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start."

The man replied "But I don't have a computer, neither an email."

I'm sorry", said the HR manager, "If you don't have an email, that means you do not exist. And who doesn't exist, cannot have the job."

The man left with no hope at all. He didn't know what to do, with only $10 in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy a 10Kg tomato
crate. He then sold the tomatoes in a door to door round. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the Operation three times,
and returned home with $60.

The man realized that he can survive by this Way, and started to go everyday earlier, and return late Thus, his money doubled or tripled every day. Shortly,
he bought a cart, then a truck, then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles.

5 years later , the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US .

He started to plan his family's future, and decided to have a life insurance.

He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan. When the conversation was concluded, the broker asked him his email. The man replied, "I don't
have an email". The broker answered curiously, "You don't have an email, and yet have succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have
been if you had an
email?!!"

The man thought for a while and replied, "Yes, I'd be an office boy at Microsoft!"

Moral of the story:

- Internet is not the solution to your life.

- If you don't have internet, and work hard, you can be a millionaire.

- If you received this message by email, you are closer to being an office boy, than a millionaire.

• Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?
• Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed?
• Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
• Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
• Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
• Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"?
• Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
• Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
• Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
• Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?
• When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
• Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
• You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?
• Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
• Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
• If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
• If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?
• Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?
• Ever wonder how many people you can make laugh?
• Try it!!

A speech from Great Scientist and X-President Abdul Kalam




Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our
achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success
stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?

We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.

Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a
self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements
but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I
was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the
day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The
Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a
Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid
and a granary.

It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The
gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the
newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so
NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign
things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign
technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that
self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this
lecture,when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal
in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her,
you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India
is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation. Do you
have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is
yours.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a
face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International
best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in
the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay
$5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim
Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking
lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or
a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you
don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during
Ramadan, in Dubai . YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered
in Jeddah . YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange
in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD
calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph
(88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop,
'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son.
Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell
anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New
Zealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use
examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still
talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system
in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and
cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an
involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the
same here in India ?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr.
Tinaikar , had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the
streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And
then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the
authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the
officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure
in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.
Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to
the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do
everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the
government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all
over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper
and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms
but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and
toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to
the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to
women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room
protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the
whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my
sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our
neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually
making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with
our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far
away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a
majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their
glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to
England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out
to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and
brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape
the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is
mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great
deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F.
Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

Cool cell phone info! Very useful information!!

Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile; network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

Have you locked your keys in the car?

Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).
Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!"


Hidden Battery Power

Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.

How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?

To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. When your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it.

As I sat there in English class, I stared at the girl next to me.
She was my so-called "best friend". I stared at her long, silky
hair. I wished she were mine, but she didn't notice me like
that. And I knew it.

After class she walked up to me and asked me
for the notes she had missed the day before, and I handed them to
her.

She said "thanks" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to
tell her. I wanted her to know that I don't want to be just
friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't know
why.

11th Grade

The phone rang. It was her on the other end. She was in tears,
mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She
asked me to come over because she didn't want to be alone, so I
did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft
eyes,wishing she was mine. After 2 hours, a Drew Barrymore movie,
and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep.

She looked at me, said "thanks," and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell
her. I want her to know that I don't want to be just
friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't know why.

12th Grade

The day before prom she walked to my locker. "My date is sick,"
she said. He's not going to go. Well, I didn't have a date and
in 7th grade we made a promise that if neither of
us had dates we would go together just as "best friends," so we did. Prom
night after everything was over I was standing at her front door
step.

I stared at her. She smiled at me and stared at me with her
crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she doesn't think of me like
that, and I know it. Then she said, "I had the best time,
thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her. I want her
to know that I don't want to be just friends. I love her, but I'm
just too shy. And I don't know
why...

Graduation Day

A day passed. A week passed. A month passed. Before I could
blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated
like an angel up on stage to get her diploma. I wanted her to be
mine, but she didn't notice me like that, and I knew it. Before
everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and she cried
as I hugged her.

Then, she lifted her head from my shoulder and said,"You're my best friend, thanks!" and gave me a kiss on the cheek.I want to tell her. I want her to
know that I don't want to be just friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't know
why…

A Few Years Later

Now, I sit in the pews of the church. She is getting married,
now. I watched her say, "I do" and drive off to her new
life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine but she didn't see me
like that, and I knew it.

But before she drove away, she came to me and said, "You came!" She said, "thanks!" and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her. I want her to know that I don't want to be just friends. I love her, but I'm just too shy. And I don't
know
why...

Funeral

yrs passed, and I looked down at the coffin of the girl who
used to be my best friend." At the service they read a diary entry
she had wrote in her high school years.

This is what it read: I
stare at him wishing he were mine. But he doesn't notice me like
that, and I know it. I want to tell him. I want him to know that I
don't want to be just friends. I love him, but I'm just too shy, and

I don't know why. I wish he would
tell me he loved me…

I wish I did too…
I thought to myself, and I cried.

So "NEVER BE SHY TO SAY UR LOVE THAT U LOVE HER/HIM"

He met her on a party. She was so outstanding, many
guys chasing after her, while he was so normal, nobody
paid attention to him. At the end of the party, he
invited her to have coffee with him, she was
surprised, but due to being polite, she promised. They
sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say
anything, she felt uncomfortable, she thought,
please,let me go home.. suddenly he asked the waiter:
would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it
in my coffee."

Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned
red, but, still, he put the salt in his coffee and
drank it. She asked him curiously, why you have this
hobby?

He replied: "when I was a little boy, I was living
near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel
the taste of the sea , just like the taste of the
salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee,
I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown,
I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are
still living there".

While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was
deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the
bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his
homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares
about home,has responsibility of home.. Then she also
started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown,
her childhood, her family. That was a really nice
talk,
also a beautiful beginning of their story. They
continued to date.

She found that actually he was a man who meets all her
demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm,
careful. He was such a good person but she almost
missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee!Then the story
was just like every beautiful love story, the princess
married to the prince, then they were living the happy
life... And, every time she made coffee for him, she
put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the
way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter
which said:

"My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life
lie. This was the
only lie I said to you---the salty coffee. Remember
the first time we
dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I
wanted some sugar, but I
said salt It was hard for me to change so I just went
ahead. I never
thought that could be the start of our communication!
I tried to tell you
the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid
to do that, as I have
promised not to lie to you for anything.. Now I'm
dying, I afraid of
nothing so I wanna tell you the truth: I don't like
the salty coffee, what
a strange bad taste.. But I have had the salty coffee
for my whole life!
Since Idon't wanna miss U, I never feel sorry for
anything I do for you.
Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my
whole life. If I can live
for the second time, still want to know you and have
you for my whole life.
Even though I have to drink the salty coffee again ,I
don't mind taking
that for you".

Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday,
someone asked her: what's
the taste of salty coffee? It's sweet. She replied.