Education – Page 119 – Take off with Natarajan

Image of the Day…. ISS astronauts’ Space Walk Today… Feb 25…

February 25, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Today’s spacewalk – the 2nd of 3 planned – began at 7:10 a.m. EST (1210 UTC) and will last 6.5 hours. This post has links to today’s live coverage, plus spectacular images from Saturday’s spacewalk.

$NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore works outside the International Space Station on the first of three spacewalks preparing the station for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft, Saturday, February 21, 2015. Fellow spacewalker Terry Virts, seen reflected in the visor, shared this photograph on social media. View larger. \ Image credit; NASA$

NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore works outside the International Space Station on the first of three spacewalks preparing the station for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft, Saturday, February 21, 2015. Fellow spacewalker Terry Virts, seen reflected in the visor, shared this photograph on social media.
View larger. | Image credit: NASA

Today – February 25, 2015 – beginning at 7:10 a.m. EST (1210 UTC), International Space Station (ISS) astronauts are performing the second of three spacewalks to prepare the orbiting laboratory for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. NASA TV coverage has begun and will go until 2 p.m. EST (1900 UTC) Wednesday. Watch here

NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts completed the first spacewalk on February 21 and the third is scheduled for Sunday, March 1.

The spacewalks are designed to lay cables along the forward end of the U.S. segment to bring power and communication to two International Docking Adapters slated to arrive later this year. The new docking ports will welcome U.S. commercial spacecraft launching from Florida beginning in 2017, permitting the standard station crew size to grow from six to seven and potentially double the amount of crew time devoted to research.

Ground controllers have maneuvered the space station’s large robotic arm Canadarm2 in place for work planned for Wednesday’s spacewalk. Spacewalkers Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts will start their spacewalk at 7:10 a.m. EST to lay more cables and lubricate one of Canadarm2’s two latching end effectors, which serve as tip or base for the robotic arm. They will also prepare the Tranquility module for the relocation of the Permanent Multipurpose Module and the new Bigelow Expanded Activity Module later this year.

All three spacewalks are in support of the long-planned ISS reconfiguration from its current configuration, which was designed to support visiting Space Shuttles, to its new configuration optimived for future visiting commercial crew and cargo vehicles.

While cargo vehicles attach to the ISS using the process of berthing, whereby they are captured with the station’s robotic arm and positioned below a berthing port prior to being bolted into place, commercial crew vehicles will not use this method.

This is because the process of un-berthing takes a long time to complete, since cables and ducting between the visiting spacecraft and the ISS must first be manually disconnected, control boxes installed, hatches closed, and then the visiting spacecraft must be maneuvered away from the station with the robotic arm.

This means that berthing ports cannot support a rapid evacuation of crew from the ISS should it ever be necessary, which will be one of the primary roles of the commercial crew vehicles as they serve as “lifeboats” during their crew’s stay at the ISS.

Instead, crewed vehicles will attach to the ISS via a process of docking, whereby the visiting spacecraft flies itself all the way into its docking port and attaches via a capture ring striking a corresponding attachment mechanism.

Bottom line: NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts aboard the International Space Station completed the first of three spacewalk on February 21, 2105. The second is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25 and the third for Sunday, March 1. The astronauts are securing cables to prepare the orbiting laboratory for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew.

SOURCE::::: http://www.earthskynews.org

Natarajan

” You are Doing A Mistake …” Your Pen Will Tell Now … !!!

February 25, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The tiny computer inside the pen points out errors in penmanship as well as spelling mistakes

VibeWrite

VibeWrite vibrates once to indicate
spelling errors, and twice to indicate
errors in grammar.

VibeWrite vibrates once to indicate spelling errors, and twice to indicate errors in grammar.

Writing is now gradually becoming a lost art, especially with everybody using a computer to type out whatever they would have otherwise written down. Although computers make our lives easier, they come with the downside of taking away from our ability to understand grammar and spelling mistakes.

But, there is still place for some good penmanship and correct spelling. And this belief is shared by Falk Wolsky and Daniel Kaesmacher, the makers of VibeWrite. The duo has turned to Kickstarter, a website where entrepreneurs can raise money for creating unique and innovative products, to raise money for making VibeWrite, which vibrates when the user makes a mistake – either in grammar or in spelling.

The company revealed a prototype in February 2013, and thus started their journey of looking for investors. During the time, the idea received a large amount of media attention, and a number of individuals and corporate backers helped them raise the required capital.

How it began

The idea for such a pen was unwittingly given by Wolsky’s wife when, one day, while helping their son do his homework, she wished out loud about having a pen that would point out errors the moment their son made them. The idea latched on, and Wolsky set about making such a pen. The result – a pen that vibrates the moment it detects an error.

It looks like a bulky pen that is made for the hands of children. However, on the inside, it hides a tiny computer! The system uses embedded Linux, and the board contains vibration module, a motion sensor, memory, processor, and a Wi – fi module. The pen works in two modes – the Orthography mode, and the Calligraphy mode. The Calligraphy mode vibrates when there is a mistake in either the form of writing or the legibility of the handwriting. In short, it points out the errors in penmanship. The Orthography mode, on the other hand, detects spelling mistakes, and lets the user know of the same. VibeWrite vibrates once to indicate spelling errors, and twice to indicate errors in grammar. With the help of the sensors, the pen can recognize anything written in the air!

Who can use it

The pen has been created for children aged five to eight, but can be beneficial for anybody who wishes to improve their grammar and writing skills. As of now, the pen is able to detect only two languages – English and German, but more languages will be added soon. VibeWrite has an inbuilt Wi-fi that can help it connect to various devices connected via the internet. Thus, apps can play an important part in the whole experience, with the company’s plans for coming up with software for individuals and schools.

This pen is a great way understanding any mistake you make immediately, without the help of a computer.

Know more about the pen by visiting http://vibewrite.com

SOURCE::::: Ayyappa Nagubandhi in http://www.the hindu.com

Natarajan

The Gift of Maria Montessori….

February 25, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Maria Montessori

From a humble beginning, a great movement was born

As I write about one of the greatest educators of our times, Maria Montessori, my first question to myself is: “Why is a Waldorf teacher writing about Montessori”. Then I ask myself – why not? I think the first question comes from my conventional education and dogmatic beliefs. The second – from my unlearning over the years and becoming a free human being. To belong in one ideology or school of thought does not mean you can not see beauty in the other. So here is a Waldorf teacher from a completely different tradition, writing about Maria Montessori, not as a Montessorian but as someone deeply interested in learning how different educators used different lenses to view children and in doing so, how each one had a gift to give to them.

In early 1900, there existed in Rome a slum known as the San Lorenzo Quarter. Two buildings there housed the poorest class. During the day, the adults living at San Lorenzo would go off to work, the older children would be sent to school and the younger children between the ages of three and six began to vandalise the buildings, with no one to care for them. The governing body decided it would be less expensive to set aside one room for these kids and an adult as a caregiver than to continue to repair and repaint the whole building being damaged by these children. And, as history would have it, that caregiver was Dr. Maria Montessori. It was here in this Roman slum with those 60 children where she made discoveries that would direct her life’s work.

The news of her unprecedented success in Casa Dei Bambini or House of Children in San Lorenzo soon spread. Soon, Montessori was invited by several countries to set up centres for children. Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison invited her to USA to give talks about her methods that gained immense popularity all over the world.

So what was it that was so special about her methods? Maria Montessori strongly believed that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. She writes about it: “Supposing I said there was a planet without schools or teachers, study was unknown, and yet the inhabitants – doing nothing but living and walking about – came to know all things, to carry in their minds the whole of learning , would you not think I was romancing? Well, just this, which seems so fanciful, is a reality. It is the child’s way of learning. This is the path he follows. He learns everything without knowing he is learning it, and in doing so passes little from the unconscious to the conscious, treading always in the paths of joy and love.’

Maria Montessori received a doctor of Medicine degree in 1896, the first woman in Italy to achieve this status. She campaigned vigorously on women’s rights. She wrote and spoke on the need for greater opportunities for women and was recognised in Italy and beyond as a leading feminist voice. It was this outspokenness and leadership in thinking that landed her in trouble. She was also vociferous about her anti-fascist views and was forced to go into exile.

And, the country that became her home in exile was India. The Theosophical Society invited her to in 1939 and she made Adyar, Chennai her home for eight years. It was here that she developed her work ‘Education for peace’. And she was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Today, most Montessori teachers use the materials used in Montessori classrooms – called the Didactic Apparatus, which was her discovery. But it would be a shame to reduce Montessori and her teachings to the mere apparatus. She and the children whom she crusaded for are much larger than that.

(Santhya is an educator and founder of Yellow Train)

SOURCE::::: Santhya Vikram in http://www.the hindu.com

Natarajan

Message For the day…” Search for the faults and weakness within yourself First…”

February 23, 2015Natarajan1 Comment

If your minds revel in external objects and in purposeless observation and criticism of the outside world, how then can it be trained to be steadfast? Ask yourself this question: ‘Great souls (mahatmas) and sages were also people like me. If they could attain perfection, so can I if I follow their method. What profit do I get spending my time in discovering the faults and weakness of others?’ Thus the first spiritual practice (sadhana) is to search for the faults and weaknesses within yourself, and to strive to correct them and become perfect. The unceasing toil of each succeeding day has as its aim and justification this consummation: to make one’s last days sweet and pleasant. But each day also has its evening. If the day is spent in good deeds, then the evening blesses us with deep sleep, invigorating refreshing sleep, the sleep which is said to be akin to samadhi.

Sathya Sai Baba

Interpersonal Communication Between Parents and Children…An Eye opener !!!

February 20, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Phrases You Shouldn’t Say to Your Child

Raising a child puts parents in complex situations and presents them with many challenges. Nowadays there is a greater awareness of the importance of interpersonal communication within the family unit. It often feels like many of the old barriers between parents and their offspring have been torn down, especially when compared to the previous generation.

The tone parents use with their kids, as well as what they say requires ongoing sensitivity and awareness. There are times when you think that what you tell your child is exactly what they need to hear, but end up causing damage rather than encouraging them. The following are the ten most commonly used sentences parents say to their kids but shouldn’t.

1. “Hurry up!”Your son finally learned to tie his shoelaces on his own, but it takes a very long time, your daughter is playing with her breakfast instead of eating it, and both of them are going to be late for school. Being a good parent, you want to make sure they’re not late for school, so you blurt out a “hurry up!”. Instead of getting them to speed up, you’re actually causing them stress. Soften your tone and say “let’s hurry” instead. This tells your child that you’re on the same team rather than making them feel like you’re blaming them. An even better option would be to turn it into a game (“Let’s see who finishes their breakfast fastest!”).

2. “You’re okay.”

When your child is in distress and crying, your parental instinct will tell you to reassure them by telling them that it’s okay. The only problem is, that when you tell them they’re okay, the message they get is that you are ignoring their distress. The reason your kid is crying is because they are not ok. What you should do instead is give them a hug and acknowledge their situation (“That was a scary moment”), and then ask them if they want a kiss or a Band-Aid to make it better.

3. “Practice makes perfect.”The core of the saying is true – the more time you devote to learning a skill, the better you will become at it. However, the message your child is hearing is “what you’re doing is not perfect”. It puts pressure on your child to excel out of fear of disappointing you. Children beat themselves up feeling like they keep practicing, yet they’re still not good enough. The way to encourage your child to improve is by showing them how great improving feels, giving them a sense of pride in their own advancement.

4. “I’m on a diet.”

It’s great to stay healthy, but your kid doesn’t need to hear about it. Whether you’re checking your weight every day, calling yourself “fat” or repeating the “I’m on a diet” mantra – your child hears it, and it may lead to them developing an unhealthy body image. You can lead by example and say “I’m eating healthy because I like how it feels” or “It’s a lovely day, I think I’ll go for a run.” Using this type of phrasing will encourage your child to join you in a positive way.

5. “Great job.”

You may think that using such generic affirmation phrases helps build your child’s confidence, but research has shown that it actually makes them dependent on your affirmation instead of their own motivation. Congratulate your kid when they earned it and be more specific (“You were really good at sharing today” or “Nice pass, I like how you looked for your teammates”).

6. “Let me help.”How many times have you seen your kid struggling with a task or a game and rushed to their aid? Even though the intention is good, doing it too soon can undermine your child’s independence and cause them to always look at others for answers. Your best way to help them is to ask guiding questions such as “Do you think that piece should go there? Why do you think that? Okay, let’s try it.”

7. “We can’t afford that.”

Every parent had to endure their child begging for something at the store, and often the easiest way out is to state money trouble. The only problem is that your child interprets that as you not being responsible, or that the family unit is in financial danger, which leads to stress. It will also cause anger if you then buy something expensive for the house, making them feel like their needs are unimportant to you. You can tell them that you won’t buy them the toy or candy that they want because you’re “saving money for more important things”. If your child persists in the matter, it can be a great doorway into a conversation about finance and saving.

8. “No dessert until you finish your meal.”

This phrase teaches the kid the value of the dessert rather than the meal. It makes the child want the dessert more and feel like the meal is nothing but an obstruction. The correct phrasing is similar but subtly different: “First we eat our meal, then we eat the dessert”. It may sound the same, but it doesn’t make the meal feel like punishment, but rather like a natural step.

9. “Don’t talk to strangers.”While this is sound advice, it’s difficult for a young child to understand. Children associate “stranger” with a scary or unpleasant person, and might be encouraged to talk to someone who is nice to them. You may also drive your kid away from policemen and other civil servants they don’t know who may be able to help them. Add to that the fact that many child abductions occur by someone the child has previously known, and you have a rule of thumb that isn’t effective. The correct way to protect them, is to ask them “What do you do if a person you don’t know offers you candy and a ride home?” and let them explain to you the proper course of action and correct them if needed. It is also recommended to repeat this safety mantra: “If anyone makes you feel scared, confused, or sad, you need to tell me straight away.”

10. “Be careful.”

Using this phrase when you see your child doing something potentially dangerous can distract them and actively cause an accident. The correct course of action is to move quietly and calmly closer to them while keeping an eye on what they’re doing.

H/T: parents.com SOURCE:::: http://www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

This Date in Science…. Feb 20…1962…. John Glenn First American To orbit Earth !!!

February 20, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

This date in science: John Glenn first American to orbit Earth

John Glenn and Friendship 7
On February 20, 1962, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He made three turns around the planet before returning safely.

February 20, 1962. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on this date. He made three turns around the planet before returning safely in his space capsule, which was called Friendship 7. He followed two Russian cosmonauts in making this early orbit of our planet: Yuri Gagarin ( April 1961) and Gherman Titov (August 1961).

While Glenn was in orbit, NASA controllers received an indication that the heat shield on his craft had come loose. They instructed Glenn not to jettison the rockets underneath the heat shield during re-entry, because the rockets might be able to hold the shield in place. Fortunately, the indication turned out to be a false alarm.

Glenn returned to space at age 77 aboard the space shuttle Discovery in 1995, making him the oldest person to fly in space. His mission’s primary scientific aim at that time was to study the effects of spaceflight on seniors.

John Glenn climbs into the Friendship 7 spacecraft just before making his first trip into space on February 20, 1962. Photo via NASA

John Glenn and Friendship 7

Here’s What John Glenn saw on February 20, 1962. Just 5 minutes and 44 seconds after launch, Glenn offered his first words about the view from his porthole: “This is Friendship 7. Can see clear back; a big cloud pattern way back across towards the Cape. Beautiful sight.” Three hours later, at the beginning of his third orbit, Glenn photographed this panoramic view of Florida from the Georgia border (right, under clouds) to just north of Cape Canaveral. His American homeland was 162 miles (260 kilometers) below. “I have the Cape in sight down there,” he noted to mission controllers. “It looks real fine from up here. I can see the whole state of Florida just laid out like on a map. Beautiful.” Image via NASA
Here’s what John Glenn saw on February 20, 1962. Just 5 minutes and 44 seconds after launch, Glenn offered his first words about the view from his porthole: “This is Friendship 7. Can see clear back; a big cloud pattern way back across towards the Cape. Beautiful sight.” Three hours later, at the beginning of his third orbit, Glenn photographed this panoramic view of Florida from the Georgia border (right, under clouds) to just north of Cape Canaveral. His American homeland was 162 miles (260 kilometers) below. “I have the Cape in sight down there,” he noted to mission controllers. “It looks real fine from up here. I can see the whole state of Florida just laid out like on a map. Beautiful.” Image via NASA
Bottom line: John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. His space capsule was called Friendship 7.

Bottom line: John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth on February 20, 1962. His space capsule was called Friendship 7.

SOURCE:::: www. earthskynews.org

Natarajan

Do you Know That the Largest Air Evacuation in History was done by India …?

February 20, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

When thousands of Indians were stuck in Kuwait during Gulf war, the Indian government executed the world’s largest air evacuation mission ever. The operation continued for almost two months and managed to airlift over 1,70,000 Indians. Here is all you need to know about the amazing effort!

Air India might be largely known today for delayed flights and poor service. But did you know that the largest air evacuation in the history of mankind was executed by the much aligned national airline of India? In 1990, the Indian government airlifted over 1,70,000 Indians from Kuwait with help of 488 flights in just 59 days. Air India entered into Guinness Book of World Records for the civil airline that had evacuated the most people till date.

Why the evacuation?

During the Gulf war in 1990, when Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait, the Iraqis took over the city in a few hours leaving the entire country in a state of terror. This included the fairly significant Indian community there as well. While the Kuwaiti royal family escaped to Saudi Arabia, the general population suffered great tragedies and loss. The responsibility came on the Indian government to safely evacuate the Indian community from Kuwait and hence, the largest air evacuation mission took shape.

“We did not use the word ‘condemn’ in our statement [about the Iraqi attack], for two reasons: one, we were concerned about our nationals there; second, we still believed that there was some scope for a negotiated solution to the problem. We were keen to play a role. If we condemned the development openly, it would have been difficult for us to deal with Iraq,” said K.P. Fabian, former Ambassador of India who was head of the Gulf Division of the Ministry of External Affairs during the First Gulf War.

What made it difficult?

Evacuating the Indian community from Kuwait was not an easy task. People were not ready to leave behind everything they had spent their entire lives earning in Kuwait. They underestimated the gravity of the situation and were reluctant to leave their well-settled lives.

Also, many people living there did not have valid travel papers as they had handed them over to their employers who were either missing or dead.

“Meanwhile, another problem was brewing. One set of Air India crew was stranded in Kuwait, having flown in a flight earlier. The Air India pilots and staff threatened that unless we got this crew out, they would ground the flights. The threat was indeed serious. As per Ministry of Overseas Indians (MOIA) annual report 2012-13, there are over 25 million overseas Indians across the globe and whenever need arises, it is the government’s responsibility to bring back the country’s citizens safely. Not only just the evacuation during Gulf war, Indian government has successfully executed many such missions. It was decided that the Foreign Minister should go to Baghdad and Kuwaitand urgently arrange repatriation of our nationals” said Fabian.

Also, Indian people took shelter in various schools and other buildings in various parts of Amman. They had to travel from various places to the Amman airport. It could not be predicted when these people would arrive and due to this, flights got delayed a lot. The crew had to stay on duty for a much longer time than the stipulated duty hours which created a lot of tiffs.

How did they do it?

Indian government officials went to Kuwait to meet Saddam Hussain and get him on board the arranged repatriation of Indian nationals.

“We conveyed our official viewpoint and also our plans to evacuate our nationals. He listened to our views and repeated his known position, and agreed to facilitate the repatriation of our nationals,” said Fabian.

As the help reached on August 14 (12 days after the invasion had taken place), Indian citizens were angry as they were expecting a quicker intervention by the Indian government. But, the then Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral quickly brought the crowd under control and in no time had them shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

Initially, a few military aircrafts were arranged to evacuate the elderly, women and children. But due to a lengthy air space clearance procedure, this did not seem like a feasible solution. So the government turned to Air India for assistance.

“You should have seen us. We were operating out of a hotel room in Amman with very little space and carrying out all our operations from there,” MP Mascarenhas, who organised the operation as the airline’s regional director in the Gulf & Middle East, told Scroll.

The Indian Air Force deployed its IL 76 aircraft for a steady communication link between Kuwait and Delhi government officials. The situation was severe and required immediate help and attention. The Kerala government came forward and dispatched food items for the Indian nationals in Kuwait.

“My suggestion was that we needed to first pick up mothers with babies, other children, women, sick and old people. And also, on the basis of some kind of distributive justice, we needed to select people from every region,” said Fabian.

There were far more people to be evacuated than expected. But, the coordination and team work of the people on the mission managed to evacuate all the Indian nationals out of the country. There was also a Pakistani Airline crew stranded in Kuwait and they wished to be evacuated by Indian aircrafts. On humanitarian grounds, the Indian officials agreed.

The successful operation that started on August 14 1990, continued for almost 2 months and created history, finally coming to an end on October 11.

Other notable achievements

This was not the only successful evacuation and heroic act by the Indian government. “Operation Sukoon” in 2006 by the Indian Navy was another great operation to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals, as well as Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses, from the conflict zone during the 2006 Lebanon War. Four naval ships – INS Mumbai, INS Betwa and INS Brahmaputra and oil tanker INS Shakti – executed the successful operation.

Another successful evacuation “Operation Blossom” took place in 2011 when mass protests against the military broke out in Libya. Around 8,000 Indians were evacuated with help from Indian Navy’s INS Jalashwa (an amphibious transport dock ship) and a destroyer INS Mysore – both these ships together could carry around 1,200 people at one go – and the fleet tanker the INS Aditya.

The Indian government has time and again proved that it leaves no stone unturned in bringing back its people safely to the country in times of distress anywhere in the world. Kudos to all the heroes who have showed immense courage and humanity in the toughest of times.

– See more at: http://www.thebetterindia.com/15179/heres-need-know-largest-air-evacuation-history-india/#sthash.53OtJbOP.dpuf

SOURCE:::: http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

How an 11 Year old Girl got to Name the Planet Pluto … !!!

February 19, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

An 11-year-old British girl is responsible naming the planet Pluto, the once ninth planet of our solar system, after her grandfather read about the dwarf planet’s discovery at the family breakfast table.

The girl, Venetia Burney, recalled the event in an interview with NASA in 2006,

“I think it was on March the 14th, 1930 and I was having breakfast with my mother and my grandfather. And my grandfather read out at breakfast the great news and said he wondered what it would be called. And for some reason, I after a short pause, said, “Why not call it Pluto?” I did know, I was fairly familiar with Greek and Roman legends from various children’s books that I had read, and of course I did know about the solar system and the names the other planets have. And so I suppose I just thought that this was a name that hadn’t’t been used. And there it was. The rest was entirely my grandfather’s work.”

Burney’s grandfather, Falconer Madan, the ex-head librarian at the Bodleian at Oxford, was so pleased by his granddaughter’s proposed name that he suggested it to Herbert Hall Turner, a retired astronomer who held the title of Astronomer Royal.

Turner immediately wired the idea to American astronomers at Lowell Observatory. The planet was officially named a in May 1930.

Despite many rumors that Burney named the planet Pluto after the Greek god of the underworld or that the first two letter “PL” are in honor of Percival Lowell, the founder of Lowell Observatory, Burney seems to have named the planet Pluto because it sounded good to her. “I just thought it was a name that hadn’t been used so far, and might be an obvious one to have,” Burney told NASA.

There was also a rumor that the planet was named after Pluto the dog because both, the cartoon and the planet, came out in 1930. However, Pluto the dog was originally named Rover in 1930. It wasn’t until 1931 that the beloved cartoon dog took the name Pluto, meaning that the dog took the name of the planet.
This article originally appeared at Modern Notion. Copyright 2015. Follow Modern Notion on Twitter
Read more: http://modernnotion.com/little-girl-named-pluto/#ixzz3SELJkgOQ

SOURCE::::

JOSH HRALA, MODERN NOTION

http://www.businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Message For the Day…” Read Good Books and Practice What You Read…”

February 19, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Books and facilities for mind-training are available in plenty, and at very cheap prices. The heaps of books that lie around cannot succeed in penetrating the heavy binding and emerge as light in you. For, just as God is hidden by the mountain ranges of lust, anger, envy, and selfishness within, the sun of wisdom is also hidden in the books. Though books and reading habits have spread to all corners of the earth, we can’t say that culture or wisdom has increased; the human is still not far from the ape. An attractive binding, title and beautiful pictures are what the reader seeks; these are transitory pleasures which give momentary contentment. Aimless reading of all and sundry books will confuse you and confer no peace. Hence discriminate, select and read books that contain life histories of saints and sages, and those that aid in the contemplation of the Divine. Practice what you read. Then you will realise truth and enjoy everlasting bliss.

Sathya Sai Baba

3 Indians among 100 Shortlisted For Oneway Trip to MARS…

February 17, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Reuters

The Red Planet’s surface. File photo.

Three Indians, two women and one man, have made it to the list of 100 applicants who will move on to the next round of an ambitious private mission that aims to send four people on a one-way trip to Mars in 2024.

From the initial 202,586 applicants, only 100 hopefuls have been selected to proceed to the next round of the Mars One Astronaut Selection Process, The Netherlands-based non-profit organisation Mars One has announced.

The project aims to set up a human colony on Mars and eventually around 40 people will be sent to the red planet on a permanent basis. The finalists will train for seven years and Mars One will begin sending out four at a time from 2024.

The Mars 100 Round Three candidates include 50 men and 50 women with 39 from the Americas, 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, 7 from Africa, and 7 from Oceania.

The Indian candidates include 29-year-old Taranjeet Singh Bhatia, who is studying Doctorate in Computer Science at the University of Central Florida.

The other two are Ritika Singh, 29, who lives in Dubai, and Shradha Prasad, 19, from Kerala.

The second round of the application process last year had shortlisted 44 Indians, of whom 27 were men and 17 were women.

The third round has selected 100 candidates from a pool of 660 after they participated in personal online interviews with Norbert Kraft, Chief Medical Officer.

During the interviews the candidates had a chance to show their understanding of the risks involved, team spirit and their motivation to be part of the life changing expedition.

“We were impressed with how many strong candidates participated in the interview round, which made it a very difficult selection,” said Norbert Kraft.

The next selection rounds will focus on composing teams that can endure all the hardships of a permanent settlement on Mars.

The candidates will receive their first shot at training in the copy of the Mars Outpost on Earth and will demonstrate their suitability to perform well in a team.

Keywords: Mars One, Space Mission

SOURCE:::: http://www.the hindu.com

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