Don't Forget you are a Shining Star

Wish you a Happy Diwali & Prosperous New Year

Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden moon spacecraft, was on Wednesday put into Transfer Orbit around the earth by the Polar Launch Vehicle PSLV-C11 about 19 minutes after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.

The 1,380 kg Chandrayaan-1, carrying 11 payloads, was released into a Tansfer Orbit at a perigee
(nearest point to earth) of about 250 km and apogee (farthest point from the earth) of about 23,000 km, 18.2 minutes after the PSLV-C11 blasted off as the scientists broke into jubilation at the mission control centre.

After a series of procedures over the next two weeks, the spacecraft would reach its desired Lunar orbit and placed at a height of 100 km from the Lunar surface, marking the operational phase of the mission which would put India in the elite lunar club.

Earlier, at the end of the 49-hour countdown, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-11 lifted off from the second launch pad into a cloudy sky.

This is the 14th flight of ISRO's workhorse PSLV, which had launched 29 satellites into a variety of orbits since 1993, and 13th successive one in a row.

Chandrayaan-1 is carrying 11 payloads, five entirely designed and developed in India, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and two from US, which would explore the Moon over the next two years.

Hi, friends I am hereby posting a speech forwarded to me by one of my friends. It's an "Inaugural Speech by Chetan Bhagat for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program 2008".

There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement.

But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday?

They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.


I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you.

But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.

Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release.

Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts , having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you.

In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

Hi, all I am hereby posting a nice post from times of india. Hope you will consider it seriously for your health.

While we all use the computer with absolute abandon, very few of us actually stop to consider the health hazards this all-powerful machine possesses.

They are the lifeline for every individual today. Ultra-sleek, very light, designer colours with fancy brand names, and some of the species being portable; most of us cannot begin to comprehend life without the personal computer (PC).

Though it is now an established norm that we need to spend at least 8-10 hours on the computer everyday to earn our daily bread, very few of us consider the health hazards which are omnipresent when it comes to using either a PC or a laptop.

While the common and banal danger of eyestrain exists, there is also the ever-increasing spate of orthopedic problems and all of a sudden, an entire stream of undocumented psychological problems that have started creeping into the lives of computer users.

Mind over matter

Mental problems are the latest in the range of health hazards we can attribute to the computer. From addictions to suicide bids, the simple lack of a PC can be the signal for pure desperation.

It seems our productivity, number of friends and indeed existence is directly proportional to the number of hours we spend glued to the workstation, staring at the screen and pecking away at the keyboard.

Dr Laura Vaz, clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst, cites the example of a young girl who attempted suicide twice when her parents took away the modem of her computer. “The basic problem is that people do not really see the computer for what it is -- a tool. They see it as a crutch to solve all their difficulties and also as a means of escaping reality,” opines Dr Vaz.

However, there is no real solution to the above problems. It is more a question of inculcating the correct habits early on. “When children just begin to use the computer, they should be taught to see it as nothing more than a tool, and should be taught the correct attitude towards using a computer,” advises Dr Vaz.

For adults who are addicted to the computer, there is no other solution save for psychological therapy and treatment for their addiction. The treatment is similar to the treatment given to drug and alcohol addicts.

Watchout your back

While this piece of advice is generally doled out to those who are in the line of fire, it would not go amiss for anyone who’s using a computer either. And while you’re watching your back, you might consider watching your neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, thighs and even feet as well.

Other common orthopaedic problems seen in computer users are wrist pain, elbow pain, and shoulder pain. “These injuries are caused due to incorrect support to the joints,” elaborates Dr Shreedhar Archik, joint replacement specialist, Lilavati and Shushrusha hospitals Archik.

“A good posture for computer use contains three 90-degree angles. The torso is perpendicular to the thighs, which are perpendicular to the legs, which are perpendicular to the feet,” explains Dr Archik.

In order to avoid an RSI of the wrist (Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome), consider getting an attachable wrist board for your keyboard, and use a mouse pad that contains a wrist support. This will ensure proper padding for your wrists, which will provide it with the correct support.

Keep an eye out

Viewing data on a computer screen is different than viewing a typewritten or printed page. The letters on a computer screen are not as precise or sharply defined, the level of contrast is reduced and the presence of glare and reflections on the screen may make viewing more difficult.

This results in eye problems, the most common hazard of using a computer. “All problems of the eyes associated with using the computer can be clubbed under the Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS),” says Dr Cyres K Mehta, consultant ophthalmic surgeon and director, Masina Hospital. Symptoms of CVS include headaches, blurred vision, neck pain, fatigue, eye strain, dry, irritated eyes, and difficulty refocusing the eyes. CVS generally occurs because we don’t give our eyes enough rest while staring at the screen, and also do not blink at regular intervals, to lubricate the eye.

According to Dr Mehta, there is a simple five point programme you should follow in order to make sure you don’t suffer from CVS.

The monitor should be kept below the eye level, more than 14 inches away from the eye, with the brightness adjusted to a tolerable level. It is also better to use an LCD rather than a CRT monitor. You should blink frequently to lubricate your eyes.

You should also use artificial tears to supplement the lubricating effect of blinking. The monitor should be positioned in such a way that there is minimal fluorescent lighting (from tube lights) reflecting off the screen. This reflection of fluorescent light causes difficulty in focussing and therefore eyestrain.

Exercising helps!

Fitness expert and back pain specialist, Mehernaaz Damania recommends the following exercises to avoid being plagued by back and neck pain while using the computer. This set of exercises should be repeated at half-hourly intervals.

Turn your neck from side to side at moderate speed 4-5 times. Tilt your head to one side till your ear touches your shoulder, straighten, and repeat on the other side. Do this at moderate speed 4-5 times. Roll your shoulders first clockwise and then anticlockwise 4-5 times at moderate speed. To loosen your lower back, sit on a chair, bend forwards and let your body and neck hang loose.

If possible, sit on a Swiss ball and bounce gently every few minutes. Sit upright with your elbow at a 90 degree angle and your forearms touching each other in front of your face. Open your arms to expand the chest and stretch the chest and shoulders. Repeat 5-6 times.

Stand up and bend sideways from the waist left and right. Repeat 5-6 times. Damania also recommends getting up every 15-20 minutes and taking a short walk to loosen the body.

Reference : Times of India

• Avoid negative sources, people, things and habits.
• Believe in yourself.
• Consider things from every angle.
• Don't give up and don't give in.
• Enjoy life today, yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come.
• Family and Friends are hidden treasures. Seek them and enjoy their riches.
• Give more than you planned to give.
• Hang on to your dreams.
• Ignore those who try to discourage you.
• Just do it!
• Keep on trying, no matter how hard it seems. It will get better.
• Love yourself first and foremost.
• Make it happen.
• Never lie, cheat or steal. Always strike a fair deal.
• Open your eyes and see things as they really are.
• Practice makes perfect.
• Quitters never win and winners never quit.
• Read, study and learn about everything important in life.
• Stop Procrastination.
• Take control of your own destiny.
• Understand yourself in order to understand others.
• Visualize it.
• Want it more than anything.
• Xccelerate your efforts.
• You are unique, nothing can replace you.
• Zero in on your target, and go for it!!

1. The story began when I was a child;
I was born as a son of a poor family.
Even for eating, we often got lack of food.
Whenever the time for eating, mother often gave me her portion of rice.
While she was removing her rice into my bowl,
she would say "Eat this rice, son. I'm not hungry".
That was Mother's First Lie

2. When I was getting to grow up,
the persevering mother gave her spare time for fishing in a river near our house,
she hoped that from the fishes she got,
she could gave me a little bit nutritious food for my growth.
After fishing, she would cook the fishes to be a fresh fish soup,
which raised my appetite. While I was eating the soup,
mother would sit beside me and eat the rest meat of fish,
which was still on the bone of the fish I ate.
My heart was touched when I saw it.
I then used my chopstick and gave the other fish to her.
But she immediately refused it and said "Eat this fish, son.
I don't really like fish."
That was Mother's Second Lie.

3. Then, when I was in Junior High School,
to fund my study,
mother went to an economic enterprise to bring some used-matches boxes that would be stuck in.
It gave her some money for covering our needs.
As the winter came,
I woke up from my sleep and looked at my mother who was still awoke,
supported by a little candlelight and within her perseverance she continued
the work of sticking some used-matches box.
I said, "Mother, go to sleep, it's late,
tomorrow morning you still have to go for work.
" Mother smiled and said "Go to sleep,
dear. I'm not tired."
That was Mother's Third Lie.

4. At the time of final term,
mother asked for a leave from her work in order to accompany me.
While the daytime was coming and the heat of the sun was starting to shine,
the strong and persevering mother
waited for me under the heat of the sun's shine for several hours.
As the bell rang, which indicated that the final exam had finished,
mother immediately welcomed me and poured me a glass of tea
that she had prepared before in a cold bottle.
The very thick tea was not as thick as my mother's love,
which was much thicker. Seeing my mother covering with perspiration,
I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too.
Mother said "Drink, son. I'm not thirsty!".
That was Mother's Fourth Lie.

5. After the death of my father because of illness,
my poor mother had to play her role as a single parent.
By held on her former job, she had to fund our needs alone.
Our family's life was more complicated. No days without sufferance.
Seeing our family's condition that was getting worse,
there was a nice uncle who lived near my house came to help us,
either in a big problem and a small problem.
Our other neighbors who lived next to us saw that our family's life was so unfortunate,
they often advised my mother to marry again. But mother,
who was stubborn, didn't care to their advice,
she said "I don't need love."
That was Mother's Fifth Lie.

6. After I had finished my study and then got a job,
it was the time for my old mother to retire.
But she didn't want to; she was sincere to go to the marketplace every morning,
just to sell some vegetable for fulfilling her needs.
I, who worked in the other city, often sent her some money to help her in fulfilling her needs,
but she was stubborn for not accepting the money.
She even sent the money back to me.
She said "I have enough money."
That was Mother's Sixth Lie.

7. After graduated from Bachelor Degree,
I then continued my study to Master Degree.
I took the degree, which was funded by a company through a scholarship program,
from a famous University in America .
I finally worked in the company. Within a quite high salary,
I intended to take my mother to enjoy her life in America .
But my lovely mother didn't want to bother her son,
she said to me "I'm not used to."
That was Mother's Seventh Lie.

8. After entering her old age,
mother got a flank cancer and had to be hospitalized.
I, who lived in miles away and across the ocean,
directly went home to visit my dearest mother.
She lied down in weakness on her bed after having an operation.
Mother, who looked so old, was staring at me in deep yearn.
She tried to spread her smile on her face;
even it looked so stiff because of the disease she held out.
It was clear enough to see how the disease broke my mother's body,
thus she looked so weak and thin.
I stared at my mother within tears flowing on my face.
My heart was hurt, so hurt, seeing my mother on that condition.
But mother, with her strength, said "Don't cry, my dear.
I'm not in pain."
That was Mother's Eight Lie.

After saying her eighth lie, She closed her eyes forever!

Banking has never been easier. Type in one simple Web address and you have access to your bank for almost anything, from viewing the latest balance to transferring money to your friend to paying for that online purchase.

However, this convenience has its set of risks too. The stepping of financial institutions into the virtual realm has lead to a new breed of financial criminals. Criminals, who largely thrive on the innocuousness of netizens and technology loopholes.

Recently, a group was arrested in Mumbai that had allegedly phished at least 25 HDFC bank accounts.

Here's how cyber crooks operate and make merry with your bank accounts online.

You receive an email from an unknown address with an enticing subject line, like 'Pakistan missiles attack India' with an attachment that supposedly includes a news story. You open the file. Instead of a news story, a piece of malicious software gets secretly installed itself on your computer.

Another category of mails can be those that may tell you that your account is about to get closed, or ironically warn you that someone appears to have stolen your identity, or even say that someone has opened a fraudulent account using your name.

And to get immediate redressal, you are supposed to click on the link attached / pasted in the mail and provide some basic account information to verify your identity and then give further details to get everything cleared up.

And remember, these messages can follow any route: email, instant messaging, SMS or social networking sites (the latest platform). The emails may actually look like a genuine message from your bank, financial institution or a popular online portal.

The software absorbs the PC into a botnet, a network of infected computers doing the bidding of a cyber criminal, begins sending spam; you don't notice, other than thinking that PC is slowing. But that is only the smallest part of the game.

The software also logs your keystrokes without your knowledge. This means they save your passwords and other personal information.

So, next time when you visit your bank's website and type your username and password, the software sends them to cyber criminals. The criminal uses this stolen account, username and password to log into your online banking account and makes merry.

Also, always check the URL of your bank's website. Fraudsters can lure you to enter your user ID and password at a fake website that resembles your bank. If you see anything other than the bank's genuine URL, it has to be fake.

Remember genuine websites use encryption technologies. Any website using encryption will have https instead of http.

So, never select the option on browser that stores or retains username and password. As it can easily be cracked by cyber criminals. Also, never paste your password, always type it in. This little amount of `finger exercise' will go a long way in safety.

Money is transferred from your account to the account of 'assistants' who work for companies that could be fronts from the criminals. The assistant, a so called money mule, gets an email saying the money has been credited in his or her bank account.

The mule withdraws the cash and wires the money and takes out his commission. After this money is sent back to the 'employer'. The criminal, often on the other side of the globe, picks up the cash. Remember, the `famous' Nigerian scam.

A small number of malicious "toolkits" -- bundles of exploits allow criminals to customise their own scams and attacks. Crooks use phishing messages to try and steal personal and financial information by tricking people into entering private information into bogus websites that look like the sites of legitimate brands such as banks or popular retailers. Such toolkits cost between $300 to $800.

A widely available toolkit in 2007 -- called MPack -- sold online for $1,000 and allowed users to launch attacks in Web browsers against people who surf on malicious or compromised sites.

Courtesy: Indiatimes News Network

Often heard/read horror stories about credit card frauds. How people end up footing huge shopping bills of items they actually never purchase. And now, with ecom taking off in the country, the realm of credit card criminals has expanded further.

Here we bring you a few tips that can help you guard against fraudsters.

Every credit card carries its expiry date, but we love to hoard them anyway. Some of us have multiple cards, multiple versions. It is but natural for a bulging wallet to beg for disposal of the dated beauties.

Before tossing them away swiftly, ensure that you have cut them up into four. Make sure the magnetic strip (the black strip) behind the card is not left intact since it holds key information that can be misused. The rule to remember is to lighten the wallet of credit cards, only in the presence of an obliging pair of scissors. Cut them up and only then throw them away.

There is a critical 3-digit number on the back of the card called CVV (card verification value). If you have detached the card from the fat mailer that came with it, and generally flung away the accompanying literature, read on.

The 16-digit card number, expiry date and CVV together, are enough to complete an Internet transaction. Modern card thieves are computer-savvy. Memorise, note-down (elsewhere please, not on the card itself) and blacken the CVV. Better still, hang around when your card is being swiped.

A card's magnetic strip has the basic details of the cardholder. But the card also comes with a blank space for you to sign in. The authentication of the card is done by you. Take a minute and sign in. Else anyone who may get your blank card, can sign in and use it. Needless to add, the bills will come in your name to your address.

PINs are 4-digit numbers that have to be used to draw money at the ATM. It is so difficult to remember them all, given the 8 different cards that you have. So you decided to simplify matters by noting that number on the card itself. The thief who got your card hit a double whammy - the card and the PIN, both in one piece - so money can be drawn with ease. Think before you ink that PIN.

Always browse through your billing statement. Yes, it is sad re-living all the impulsive spends, but identify each line there, all the same. If you are the organised kind, you will keep all charge slips with you and compare them with the bill. If you find that there is some spend that you cannot account for, call your issuing bank and complain.

If you own a card, take the trouble of noting down its number, expiry date, and customer care number in one place. If you lose your card, you can at least inform customer care, while hoping (or praying if you are a believer) that the card thief has not swiped away.

So, you worry that your card will be lost, have nightmares that someone will swipe away gleefully, and need help for insomnia. Ask your bank to send you an SMS, a mail, or to call you and alert you every time your card is used. You don't have to wait for the billing statement. Don't let it be known that this facility also lets you in on all the shopping that your better half has been doing with the supplementary card!

Reference: Indiatimes Infotech

April the 1st

The first of April, some do say, April The 1st
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
-- Poor Robin's Almanac (1790)

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
Shakespeare - As You Like It (Act V, Scene I)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Origins Of April Fool's Day - April 1

What is April Fools Day and how did it begin?
Well, that is a very good question. The origin of this holiday is rather uncertain.
However, the common belief holds that during the reformation of the calendar
the date for the New Year was moved from April 1st to January 1st.
During that time in history there was no television or radio so word spread slowly.
There were also those who chose to simply ignore the change and those who
merely forgot.
These people were considered "fools" and invitations to non-existent parties and
other practical jokes were played on them.
"All Fools' Day" is practiced in many parts of the world with practical jokes and
sending people on a fool's errand.
Others believe that the origin began with celebrations at the Spring Equinox.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April Fools Days History

ANCIENT ROME
The custom of playing practical jokes on friends was part of the celebrations
in ancient Rome on March 25 (Hilaria)
The timing seems related to the vernal equinox and the coming of spring
a time when nature fools us with sudden changes between showers.
and sunshine.

ENGLAND
In England, tricks can be played only in the morning.
If a trick is played on you, you are a "noodle".
Widespread observance in England began in the 18th century.

SCOTLAND
In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long and you are called an
"April Gowk", which is another name for a cuckoo bird.
In Scotland, April Fools Day is 48 hours long.
The second day is called Taily Day and is dedicated to pranks
involving the buttocks.
Taily Day's gift to posterior posterity is the still-hilarious
"Kick Me" sign.

FRANCE
In France, the April Fool's is called "April Fish" (Poisson d'Avril).
The French fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs
and when someone discovers this trick, they yell "Poisson d'Avril!"

SPAIN
Dia de los Santos Inocentes is held in Spain on December 28th.
This is The Feast of the Holy Innocents.
It is celebrated similarily to April Fool's Day, with practical jokes.

AMERICA
The English, Scotch and French introduced the custom to their
colonies in America.
One of our forefathers' favorite jokes was to send someone
on a "fool's errand."
For example, one might have been asked to go out and obtain a copy
of "The History of Adam's Grandfather," or bring back some
"sweet vinegar."

MEXICO
The "foolish" tradition is celebrated in Mexico, too, but on a different
day and for different reasons.
"El Dia de los Inocentes," which is December 28, was set aside as a day
for Christians to mourn Herod's slaughter of innocent children.
Over time, the tone of that "unluckiest of days" has evolved from
sadness to good-natured trickery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

April Fools Day Pranks

Typical April Fools' pranks include putting salt in sugar bowls and sugar in salt
shakers, balancing a pan of water atop a partially opened door so that whoever
walks into the room next gets soaked, and putting toothpaste between the sides
of an Oreo cookie.

Get up in during the night on April Fool's day, set every clock in the house
ahead one hour.
Also the clock in the car, and wristwatch! (This takes some talent!)

The family will be up and ready for work an hour early, then with no
trouble with traffic or parking, they begin to wonder why others are
also late to work.
After other people arrive and say, no *I'm not late* they soon catch on!

Google, which was started in a garage by two students, became a 100 billion pounds giant relied upon by 60 per cent of Internet users due to a secret success recipe -- free beer, barbecues and rum.

One of the men at the heart of the Google empire has revealed the secrets behind the world's most popular search engine, which rose from almost nothing 10 years ago to the fifth-largest company on the New York Stock Exchange and a global brand worth twice as much as Coca-Cola.

Charlie Ayers has disclosed that Google was not just started using a groundbreaking technology, but on a revolutionary approach to food in the staff canteen.

Ayers was hired by Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Google's founders, in the belief that like a Napoleonic army, an Internet giant marches on its stomach.

As Google's first chef, his mission was to seduce an unruly gaggle of brilliant but wayward computer engineers into wanting to stay at the office. His success, he said, meant Google's rise to the top was fuelled by free beer, barbecues and rum.

It began in 1998, when Page and Brin started Google in a friend's garage near Stanford University in California.

A few months later, they recruited Ayers. "They said, 'We are not going to charge for food here, ever'," the Telegraph quoted Ayers, as remembering.

"I said 'That's crazy.' They explained my job was to create this ambience, to build this captivated audience where people wanted to come in super-early and stay super-late. They interviewed me above a bicycle shop.

"They thought they were going to go global. I thought 'Good luck'. The way they were playing with children's toys, riding around on scooters, I had no idea they were doing any work," he added.

He signed up, however, and started easing the computer engineers into the long hours culture with innovations including free beer and fortnightly "big ass" barbecues and breakfast specials. He converted the "googlers" to a diet that ensured they kept working after lunch and weaned them off pizzas.

As explained in his new book, Eat Yourself Smart, his faith in the profit-making power of raw food extended to generous offerings of sushi – “the fat found in fish helps make the cell membranes round the brain more elastic and more able to absorb nutrients easily.”

His empire grew to 150 cooks, serving up to 7,000 meals a day for 5,000 at the thee million square foot "Googleplex", the HQ in Mountain View, California.

- Reference Indiatimes Infotech

* HIV (virus) requires *ONLY* *Blood or Semen* as medium to transmit from one body to another.

* HIV *can not* transmit even through *Saliva*(mucous) i.e . even if HIV-infected patient coughs or smooches and another person is exposed to his sputum (cough) or saliva, the virus still can not transmit because concentration of virus particles in sputum is almost NIL & exposure to air anyway kills virus in fraction of seconds.

* In case an HIV-infected person gets an injury (like the cut in below mentioned story) and he is bleeding, the virus can transmit to another person only if another person has a cut/wound in his body & that too when blood from both person comes in contact with each other* (this is also very very rare unless bleeding is very high) and not otherwise.

* HIV can *never survive in any other liquid * medium also other than blood or semen (& please for God sake ... never in Pani Puri wala pani)

* Even if one drinks an HIV infected blood (or semen) of someone (ingest through Gastro Intestinal track), the virus can not survive in the acidic pH of stomach*. Highest extent of acidity is 0 (practically not possible) so imagine 1 as pH which is in our stomach. (This pH can burn your own finger in less than a second if you dip in that acid).


* Exposure of less than 1 second in AIR KILLS the HIV virus*( hence story of needle pricks in Cinema theatres is a crap). Even if blood from a wound (of infected person) dries up (*blood clot*), *the virus dies*and can not infect anyone else

* HIV transmission is *ONLY* an *INFECTION* i.e.entrance of virus in one's body. It *DOES NOT MEAN AIDS*.

* An HIV-infected person (after entrance of virus) can progress to a condition of AIDS only after *8 to 10 YEARS *(not in 15 days as in the Pani Puri story)

* It is *not HIV (virus) that kills a human* .....the virus attacks immune cells (cells that fight against foreign pathogens/antigens) and hence a person's ability to fight against infections & diseases slowly diminishes and person ultimately dies of a disease which could be as simple as TB

* Most importantly, HIV is no longer a dreadful disease ... it is "*CHRONIC MANAGEABLE DISEASE*" just like Diabetes or Hypertension.

* If there is anything you need to be careful from to prevent HIV is Unsafe sex*, *Blood transfusion* (check before taking) /Blood donation (use sterilized needles only) and any *blood contact during an accident *or so where amount of bleeding is very high.

Microsoft chairman says Google is only firm with ‘critical mass’; terms bid for Yahoo as ‘very fair’ and MS is ready to invest heavily in Web even if the bid doesn’t work

The man in your life...very well expressed...
Tomorrow you may get a working man, but you should marry him with
these facts as well.

Here is a boy, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as you have because he is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in his life just like you
or your brother haven't, as he was busy in studies and competing in a
system that gives no special concession to boys for their culinary
achievements

One, who has lived and loved his parents & brothers & sisters, almost as
much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to accept all that, her home, people
who love her, to adopt his home, his family, his ways and even
your family .

One, who is somehow expected to be a masterf from day #1, while
you sleep oblivious to his predicament in his new circumstances,
environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning
and cook food at the end of the day, even if he is as tired as you are,
maybe more, and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook,
a father, a husband, even if he doesn't want to; and is learning just like
you are as to what you want from him; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and
knows that you won't like it if he is too demanding, or if he
learns faster than you;

One, who has his own set of friends, and that includes girls and
even women at his workplace too, those, who he knows from school
days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to
avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your
inherent insecurities;

Yes, he can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't,
simply Because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines,
just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing his level best and wants to make this most
important, relationship in his entire life a grand success, if you just help
him some and trust him;

One, who just wants one thing from you, - your unstinted support,
your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or
love, if you may call it.

But not many girls understand this......

Please appreciate "HIM"