environment – Page 85 – Take off with Natarajan

” It’s easy to get carried away… but stay grounded…”

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Pranav Dhanawade getting ready to start his innings on Tuesday. He went to make an unbeaten 1009. – PHOTO: PRASHANT NAKWE

Amol Muzumdar was part of Mumbai’s eight Ranji Trophy titles. Having retired as the second-highest scorer in Ranji Trophy, he is now a television expert

Let me start on a light note. Even in book cricket, you will find it virtually impossible to score a thousand runs. It is just unthinkable.

To put things into perspective, not many times are you left speechless. And it is something that would put you in that position. Any form of the game. To not commit a mistake for that amount of time and to keep connecting the ball for that long is something incredible, to say the least.

Mumbai school circuit has always been robust, especially when it comes to batsmen. I have seen two outstanding schoolboys (Kambli and Tendulkar) plunder tons of runs against hapless bowling attacks since my schooldays.

But over the last decade, there has been more than one instance of a run-machine in schools finding it difficult to elevate to the next level. The world has evolved and so has the media. I am sure he would have given dozens of interviews and would have been approached by numerous talent scouts by now.

But he has to realise that it’s too early for him. It’s imperative for him to keep his head on his shoulders. It’s very important for his parents, for his coaches, for his senior players to keep him grounded. Of course, what he has done has never been achieved but there are many other things which have not been achieved.

Just look around, and you will get a good perspective. It’s important for him to keep looking. I know it’s easy to say for us but you have to do it. He needs to be proud of what he has achieved but at the same time he has to keep looking around, and just take this as a stepping stone. He has laid the foundation for building a career and now it’s up to him how to shape it up.

Many would feel that coming from a humble background, it’s easier for him to get carried away. But I wouldn’t say that. It’s entirely up to the individual and the environment that he grows up in. There will be successes, there will be failures. I hope he is a humble guy and I am sure he would settle down. At the moment, he is bound to be high and he would enjoy the wave but I hope he enjoys the lull later on as well.

It is often said that after a huge knock, the next innings differentiates the ordinary from the exceptional. But I would say forget about the next knock, each of his innings over the next five years would be important. Everyone will be watching what this kid is doing. But the fact that he has made international news at the age of 15 means there is something to be tapped. You need to keep an eye on him. And he needs to stay grounded.

(Amol Muzumdar was part of Mumbai’s eight Ranji Trophy titles. Having retired as the second-highest scorer in Ranji Trophy, he is now a television expert)

source…….

AMOL MUZUMDAR in www. thehindu.com
Natarajan

The Alphabets From Space…!!!

January 6, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

In July 2012, while working on a story about wildfires, NASA’s science writer and social media manager Adam P. Voiland spotted a V-shaped plume of smoke caused by a wildfire in the Caribou Mountains in northern Alberta, Canada. That image made him wonder if there are other alphabets hidden among the millions of photos of earth’s surface taken by NASA’s satellites. It was a mammoth task, so he enlisted the internet in the ambitious project. With the help of readers and colleagues, Voiland started collecting images of ephemeral features like clouds, phytoplankton blooms, and dust clouds that formed shapes reminiscent of letters. Now, over three years later, his search is completed and the results are exceedingly beautiful and educational.

Some letters, like O and C, were easy to find,” said Voiland. “Others—A, B, and R—were maddeningly difficult.”

After he had tracked down all the letters, he wrote playful captions for each photos inspired by Dr. Seuss which he was reading to his son.

Here is a selection of alphabets from the gallery.

Bonjour B, what begins with B? Biomass and boreal forests. Beirut, Barcelona, and Brasília. A bunch of babbling birds bunched up along Holla Bend.

On August 4, 2014, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired this image of the Arkansas River and the Holla Bend Wildlife Refuge. In the winter, it is common for the refuge to host 100,000 ducks and geese at once.

Big C, little C, what begins with C? This curving crescent of carbonate and quartz clinging to the coast. There is CloudSat and CALIPSO. Contrails from jets cruising over cumulus clouds. The Corolis force, chlorofluorocarbons, and crafty coccolithophores!

An astronaut captured this photograph of an artificial island at the southern end of Bahrain Island on January 23, 2011. The beach sand on tropical islands is mostly made up of calcium carbonate from the shells and skeletons of marine organisms.

What begins with E? Earth, of course. Evaporation and the exosphere. Egypt and Eyjafjallajökull. Eskers, erratics, El Niño, and EO-1. This ephemeral entourage of algae off the east coast of an island where English is spoken!

On October 25, 2009, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of a phytoplankton bloom off the coast of New Zealand.

Big F, little f. What begins with F? Firn-filled fjords and frozen forms on folded, fossil-filled facies of rock! Fog, fossil fuels, and faults. France, Fort Collins, and don’t forget Fiji.

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 acquired this false-color image of valleys and snow-covered mountain ranges in southeastern Tibet on August 4, 2014. Firn is a granular type of snow often found on the surface of a glacier before it has been compressed into ice

What begins with I? In situ measurements and infrared radiation. Ice sheets and isthmuses. Istanbul and Ilopango. This intriguing image of India’s Andaman Island after an intimidating incident involving an earthquake.

On February 10, 2007, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the Andaman Islands. The thin, bright rings surrounding several of the islands are coral reefs that were lifted up by a massive earthquake near Sumatra in 2004

What begins with J? Jason-1 and the jet stream. Jerusalem, Jakarta, and Johnson Space Center. This jade-colored coral reef juxtaposed against the jumble of the sea.

On July 17, 2015, the Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8 captured this image of the Trunk Reef near Townsville, Australia

What begins with M? The meandering Mississippi. MODIS and MISR. Mumbai, Miami, and Moscow. These medial moraines merging muck and minerals for millennia!

On August 14, 2015, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this image of glaciers in the Tian Shan mountains in northeastern Kyrgyzstan. The trail of brown sediment in the middle of the uppermost glacier is a medial moraine, a term glaciologists use to describe sediment that accumulates in the middle of merging glaciers

What begins with N? Numerous cloud condensation nuclei in the North Pacific! Nefarious nitrogen dioxide and NOx. The near infrared and NDVI and the Nimbus satellite. Nor’easters and the Nile at night.

On March 4, 2009, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite captured this image of ship tracks over the Pacific. Ship emissions contain small particles that cause the clouds to form

What begins with T? Taal and Tolbachik. Taiga, typhoons, tornadoes, and thunderstorms. The trove of trees and towns tucked into this terrain in the United Arab Emirates.

On March 9, 2015, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this image of development along two roads in the United Arab Emirates

What begins with X? There are xenoliths, the xylem in xeric woodlands, and the cities of Xian and Xalapa. Not much else begins with X, so relaX and enjoy this eXcellent icy X!

On August 7, 2012, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this false-color image of the northwest corner of Leidy Glacier in Greenland.

Z, what begins with Z? Zambia and Zimbabwe. Zenith and zooplankton. Zillions of smoke particles zipping, zooming, and zigzagging above Canada!

On July 11, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of wildfire smoke over Canada.

See more of the gallery on NASA’s website.

Source…..www.amusingplanet.com

Natarajan

Asia’s Largest Man-Made Waterfall Opens in China…

January 6, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

The largest man-made waterfall in Asia has opened to the public in Kunming in China’s Yunnan Province. The waterfalls is 12.5 meters high and 400 meters wide, and was created as part of a project designed to divert water from the Niulan River into Dianchi Lake, the biggest freshwater lake in Yunnan. The diversion will not only help reduce flooding in the Niulan River but will also function as a water supply for emergencies. The project took two years to finish at a cost of 1.1 billion yuan (roughly 170 million US dollars). A park was created around the waterfalls for public viewing free of charge.

Source….www.amusingplanet.com

natarajan

NASA Research Could Save Commercial Airlines Billions in New Era of Aviation….

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Researchers with NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation project coordinated wind-tunnel tests of an Active Flow Control system — tiny jets installed on a full-size aircraft vertical tail that blow air — to prove they would provide enough side force and stability that it might someday be possible to design smaller vertical tails that would reduce drag and save fuel.

Credits: NASA/Dominic Hart

The nation’s airlines could realize more than $250 billion dollars in savings in the near future thanks to green-related technologies developed and refined by NASA’s aeronautics researchers during the past six years.

These new technologies, developed under the purview of NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation (ERA) project, could cut airline fuel use in half, pollution by 75 percent and noise to nearly one-eighth of today’s levels.

“If these technologies start finding their way into the airline fleet, our computer models show the economic impact could amount to $255 billion in operational savings between 2025 and 2050,” said Jaiwon Shin, NASA’s associate administrator for aeronautics research.

Created in 2009 and completed in 2015, ERA’s mission was to explore and document the feasibility, benefits and technical risk of inventive vehicle concepts and enabling technologies that would reduce aviation’s impact on the environment. Project researchers focused on eight major integrated technology demonstrations falling into three categories – airframe technology, propulsion technology and vehicle systems integration.

By the time ERA officially concluded its six-year run, NASA had invested more than $400 million, with another $250 million in-kind resources invested by industry partners who were involved in ERA from the start.

“It was challenging because we had a fixed window, a fixed budget, and all eight demonstrations needed to finish at the same time,” said Fayette Collier, ERA project manager. “We then had to synthesize all the results and complete our analysis so we could tell the world what the impact would be. We really did quite well.”

Here is a brief summary of each of the eight integrated technology demonstrations completed by the ERA researchers:

Tiny embedded nozzles blowing air over the surface of an airplane’s vertical tail fin showed that future aircraft could safely be designed with smaller tails, reducing weight and drag. This technology was tested using Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 757 flying laboratory. Also flown was a test of surface coatings designed to minimize drag caused by bug residue building up on the wing’s leading edge.
NASA developed a new process for stitching together large sections of lightweight composite materials to create damage-tolerant structures that could be used in building uniquely shaped future aircraft that weighed as much as 20 percent less than a similar all-metal aircraft.
Teaming with the Air Force Research Laboratory and FlexSys Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, NASA successfully tested a radical new morphing wing technology that allows an aircraft to seamlessly extend its flaps, leaving no drag-inducing, noise-enhancing gaps for air to flow through. FlexSys and Aviation Partners of Seattle already have announced plans to commercialize this technology.
NASA worked with General Electric to refine the design of the compressor stage of a turbine engine to improve its aerodynamic efficiency and, after testing, realized that future engines employing this technology could save 2.5 percent in fuel burn.
The agency worked with Pratt & Whitney on the company’s geared turbofan jet engine to mature an advanced fan design to improve propulsion efficiency and reduce noise. If introduced on the next-generation engine, the technology could reduce fuel burn by 15 percent and significantly reduce noise.
NASA also worked with Pratt & Whitney on an improved design for a jet engine combustor, the chamber in which fuel is burned, in an attempt to reduce the amount of nitrogen oxides produced. While the goal was to reduce generated pollution by 75 percent, tests of the new design showed reductions closer to 80 percent.
New design tools were developed to aid engineers in reducing noise from deployed wing flaps and landing gear during takeoffs and landings. Information from a successful wind-tunnel campaign, combined with baseline flight tests, were joined together for the first time to create computer-based simulations that could help mature future designs.
Significant studies were performed on a hybrid wing body concept in which the wings join the fuselage in a continuous, seamless line and the jet engines are mounted on top of the airplane in the rear. Research included wind-tunnel runs to test how well the aircraft would operate at low speeds and to find the optimal engine placement, while also minimizing fuel burn and reducing noise.

As part of the closeout work for the ERA project, information and results regarding each of these technology demonstrations were categorized and stored for future access and use by the aerospace industry, and will be discussed at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Sci-Tech Conference in San Diego this week.

For more information about NASA aeronautics research, go to:

http://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

Source……….www.nasa.gov

natarajan

” Never underestimate your Mother …” !!!

January 5, 2016January 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Never underestimate Moms!

Things were going exactly as Srinivasan had feared, his Mother would come in from India and crush his American way of life under her strong South Indian influence. For a genetic scientist like Vasu, as Srinivasan was called by his friends, the only kind of order was disorder. So consumed he was by his research that the world and it’s affairs mattered little to him. When his last girlfriend walked out on him, “Find a girl on planet Srinivasan,” she had screamed as she stomped out.

Now Vasu’s Mother had taken over the administration of the planet. It irritated him, this milk at night and chyawanprash every morning. “Have you been wearing the same pair of Jeans for the past three days?” Mother was beginning her morning interrogation.

Vasu stared at the hot idlis in front of him, the chywanprash to follow and the wardrobe interrogation that had begun. Something snapped in his mind. “Mom I love you and I love that you come all the way from India to take care of me but please don’t fuss over me! It irritates me! And then I cannot work!”

His Mother did not really care if Vasu was upset, “The idlis are getting cold,” was her matter of fact response.

“You don’t really care, do you Mom?”

“I care about you Vasu. The work you do is alright. If you don’t do it, someone else will do it.”
“Mom, I am a genetic scientist. I am working on the evolution of man. Theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, have you heard of him? ” Vasu was exasperated with her unwillingness to understand.

His Mother sat down next to him and smiled, “I know Darwin, Vasu. I also know that what you think he discovered, was old news in India.”

“Yeah sure Mom!” Vasu said with sarcasm.

“Well if you are too smart then listen to this,” his Mother countered.” Have you heard of the Dashavatara ? The ten avataras of Vishnu ?” Vasu nodded. “Then let me tell you what you and Mr. Darwin don’t know.

The first avatara was the Matsya avatara, it means the fish. That is because life began in the water. Is that not right ?” Vasu began to listen with a little more attention..

“Then came the Kurma avatara, which means the tortoise, because life moved from the water to the land. The amphibian. So the Tortoise denoted the evolution from sea to land.

Third was the Varaha avatara, the wild boar, which meant wild animals with not much intellect, you call them the Dinosaurs, correct ?” Vasu nodded wide eyed.

“The fourth avatara was the Narasimha avatars, half man and half animal, the evolution from wild animals to intelligent beings.

Fifth was the Vamana avatara, the midget or the dwarf, who could grow really tall. Do you know why that is so ? Because there were two kinds of humans, Homo Erectus and the Homo Sapiens and Homo Sapiens won that battle.” Vasu could see that his Mother was in full flow and he was stupefied.

“The Sixth avatara was Parshurama, the man who wielded the axe, the man who was a cave and forest dweller. Angry, and not social but the seventh avatara was Ram, the first thinking social being, who laid out the laws of society and the basis of all relationships.

The eighth avatara was Krishna, the statesman, the politician, the lover who played the game of the society and taught how to live and thrive in the social structure.

The Ninth avatara,was Balarama the man who rose from Narasimha and found man’s true nature.

And finally, my boy, will come Kalki, the man you are working on. The man who will be genetically supreme.”

The last Avatar is yet to appear, and in many versions of the mythology, the ninth incarnation is mentioned as Lord Buddha. But this is a much later addition done at a time when the concept of Dashavatara was already fully developed.

Vasu looked at his Mother speechless. “This is amazing Mom, how did you.. This makes sense !”

“Yes it does Vasu ! Now have your chyawanaprash ! ”

source……input from a friend of mine

Natarajan

joke of the Day….” Who is the Oldest Professional …’ !

January 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

A physician, an engineer, and a politician were discussing who among them belonged to the oldest of the three professions. Each one of them thought they had this in the bag.

The physician said, “Remember, on the sixth day God took a rib from Adam and fashioned Eve, making him the first surgeon. Therefore, medicine is the oldest profession.”

3 men

The engineer replied, “But, before that, God created the heavens and earth from chaos and confusion, and thus he was the first engineer. Therefore, engineering is an older profession than medicine.”

Then, the politician spoke up. “Yes yes, this is all well and true.” he said,“But who do you think created all of the chaos and confusion?”

Source……..www.ba-bamail.com

natarajan

” மஹா விஷ்ணுவும் , கொசுவும் ஒண்ணு …..” !!!

January 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

ஒரு நாள் மடத்தில் உள்ளவர்களிடம்,” மகா விஷ்ணுவும்

கொசுவும் ஒண்ணு, உனக்குத் தெரியுமா?” என்றார் பெரியவா.

வழக்கம்போல் தானே அந்தப் புதிரையும் விடுவிக்கிறார்.

“விஷ்ணுவின் கையில் சக்கரம் சுற்றிக்கொண்டிருக்கு,கொசுவும்

சக்கரமாய் சுற்றிக்கொண்டுதான் இருக்கு.

கெட்டவர்கள் விஷ்ணுவைப் பார்க்க முடியாமல் ஒதுங்கிக் கொள்வார்கள்.

கண் வலிக்காரர்கள் கொசுவைப் பார்க்க முடியாமல் ஒதுங்கி விடுவார்கள். ச்ருதியிடம் விளையாடுபவர்

விஷ்ணு. [ச்ருதி=வேதம்] ச்ருதி முனையில் ஙொய் என்று கத்திக்கொண்டு விளையாடும் கொசு [ச்ருதி=காது]!”

இந்த சிலேடை சொன்னதுக்குக் காரணம் மடத்தோடு

அவர்கள் இருந்த முகாமில் கொசுத்தொல்லை தாங்க முடியாது.

“அனந்தசயனம் பண்ணும் பெருமாள்தான் கொசுன்னு

நினைச்சுண்டேன்னா, பகவத் ஸ்மரணையோடு தூங்கலாம்!” என்று எல்லோரையும் சமாதானம் செய்வாராம்.

இப்படி எந்தக் கஷ்டத்தையும் நகைச்சுவை ததும்ப சரி செய்துவிடும் அழகையும் பெரியவாளிடம் அனுபவிக்க முடியும்.

ஒரு நீண்ட உபன்யாசம் நடந்து கொண்டிருந்தது. பெரியவாளும் கேட்டார். ஒரு வழியாக உபன்யாசம் முடிந்தது.உடனே பெரியவா”சாக்கு கிடைச்சுதுன்னு நன்னா ரொம்ப நேரம் சொன்னயா?”என்றார்: “நீ ஒக்காந்துண்டிருந்தது ஒரு சாக்குமேலே…அந்த சாக்கைச் சொன்னேன்!” என்று தமாஷ் பண்ணினாராம்

Source ……..www.perivaproboards.com

Natarajan

“தாளமிடும் யானை ….கோலமிடும் மாடு ….’ !!!

January 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

தாளமிடும் யானை! கோலமிடும் மாடு!

பார்க்க அழைக்கிறார் காஞ்சிப்பெரியவர்

கஜகர்ணம்-கோகர்ணம்-விளக்கம்

(உண்மையான அர்த்தம்)

நவம்பர் 24,2015,.தினமலர்

ஒரு செயலைச் செய்வது மிகவும் கடினம் என்றால், “கஜகர்ணம் போட்டாலும் நடக்காது’, “கோகர்ணம் போட்டாலும் நடக்காது’ என்று சொல்வார்கள். “யானை மாதிரி குட்டிக் கர்ணம் போட்டாலும் நடக்காது’ என்ற கருத்தில் இதைச் சொல்வதாக பலர் நினைக்கிறார்கள்.

ஆனால், காஞ்சிப் பெரியவர் அதன் உண்மையான அர்த்தம் சொல்கிறார் கேளுங்கள்.

விலங்குகளில் யானை மட்டுமே காதை விசிறி மாதிரி இயல்பாகவே ஆட்டிக் கொண்டிருக்கும் ஆற்றல் படைத்தது. இதற்கு “கஜ தாலம்’ என்று பெயர். “தாலம்’ என்பதற்கு “பனையோலை விசிறி’ என்று பொருள். விசிறி போன்ற காதை, ஒரே சீராக தாளம் போடும் விதத்தில் அசைப்பது அதன் இயல்பு.

மனிதர்களால் அப்படி காதை ஆட்ட முடியுமா! அது மிகவும் சிரமமான வித்தை. அதையே “கஜ கர்ணம் போட்டாலும் நடக்காது’ என்பார்கள். அதுவே நாளடைவில், “கஜ கரணம்’ என்ற பொருளில்” யானை மாதிரி குட்டிக் கரணம் போட்டாலும் நடக்காதாக்கும் ‘என்று அர்த்தம் உண்டாகி விட்டது.

அதே போல, கோகர்ணம்’ என்பதற்கும் பொருளைப் புரிந்து கொள்ளுங்கள். “கோ’ என்றால் “பசு’. இங்கு “கர்ணம்’ என்பது பசுவின் காதைக் குறிப்பதில்லை. இங்கு வினைச் சொல்லாக வரும் “கர்ணம்’ என்ற சொல்லிற்கு “குத்துவது, துளைப்பது’ என்பது பொருள்.

மாட்டின் உடம்பில் விரல் அல்லது தார்க்குச்சி மூலம் குத்தினால், கோலமிட்டது போல அலை, அலையாக உடம்பெங்கும் சலனம் பரவும். இதை மாதிரி மனிதர்களால் செய்து காட்ட முடியாது. இதுவும் ஒரு அபூர்வ வித்தையே.

இதனால் தான் நடத்த முடியாத செயல்களை, கஜகர்ணம், கோகர்ணம் என்ற வார்த்தைகளால் குறித்தனர்.

மகாபெரியவர் தந்துள்ள அற்புதமான விளக்கத்தைப் பார்த்தீர்களா!

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Natarajan

Message for the Day…” Only one who has so filled themselves with love and who lives in the light of that love deserves to be called human.”

January 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Humans are full of love (prema). Their hearts are springs of mercy. They are endowed with true speech. Peace is the characteristic of the mind of humans. It is the innate quality of the mind. Do not search for peace outside. Just as gold and silver lie hidden under the earth, and pearl and coral under the sea, peace and joy lie hidden in the activities of the mind. If you desire to acquire these hidden treasures, dive deep and turn your mental activities inward, you will become full of love. Only one who has so filled themselves with love and who lives in the light of that love deserves to be called human. Those devoid of love are demons and monsters. Within every man, the holy quality of love is ever present, without change. It is one and indivisible. Those saturated with love are incapable of spite, selfishness, injustice, wrong, and misconduc

Sathya Sai Baba