Interesting read

Story Behind the Background Photograph of Windows XP !!!

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One serene image has been viewed by over one billion eyes, has been seen in videos of the White House and even the Russian government–the default Windows XP computer background.

Even though Microsoft killed off support for Windows XP this week after 13 years, they decided to pay homage to the nostalgic scene.

With many wondering where the image of green grass and blue skies named ‘Bliss’ really came from, the tech company Microsoft released a video in which they interview the photographer Charles O’Rear.

Video Link :

This photo called 'Bliss' was taken by former National Geographic photographer Charles O'Rear on 1996 and was made famous by being Microsoft XP's default desktop photo

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This photo called ‘Bliss’ was taken by former National Geographic photographer Charles O’Rear on 1996 and was made famous by being Microsoft XP’s default desktop photo

This is the same scene where O'Rear took his famed desktop background photo in 1996

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This is the same scene where O’Rear took his famed desktop background photo in 1996

 

O'Rear drove from Napa Valley to Sacramento on an extremely busy and dangerous road

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O’Rear drove from Napa Valley to Sacramento on an extremely busy and dangerous road

O’Rear, a former National Geographic photographer said he was driving through the Napa Valley on his way to visit his girlfriend in San Francisco when he came across a beautiful landscape with perfect grass and an almost clear sky.

In a video about the photo, O’Rear says that even though the photo appears to be taken in a calm environment, the road there is one of the most dangerous and busy roads he’s driven on.

Despite the dangerous road, the image couldn’t be more placid. He took his old film camera and snapped the famous photo in 1996.

O’Rear says by the time he took the picture there were a few clouds in the sky but when he first saw the photo worthy setting the sky was completely clear.

Several years later, Microsoft commissioned the photo for Windows XP, reports Time. They flew O’Rear out to their offices to personally deliver the photo.

‘I had no idea where it was going to go,’ ‘O’Rear said in the video.

‘Anybody now from age 15 to the rest of their life will remember this photograph.’ he said.

‘I’m thrilled to know that people have had pleasure from looking at that, from looking that a photograph that I made.’

O'Rear stopped to snap the photo as he was driving along this busy road from Napa Valley to Sacramento

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O’Rear stopped to snap the photo as he was driving along this busy road from Napa Valley to Sacramento

Charles O'Rear took the photo with an old film camera back in 1996 and never knew that the picture he took on a whim would be seen by over one billion eyes

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Charles O’Rear took the photo with an old film camera back in 1996 and never knew that the picture he took on a whim would be seen by over one billion eyes !!!

source:::: ALEXANDRA KLAUSNER  in  mailonline.com UK

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Message For the Day… “Give up Ego and Enjoy Bliss…”

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Suppose you dream that you are being bitten by a snake, and are struggling with pain, shouting and frantically searching for medicines. Now even though you are bitten by a snake, do you take medicine to remove the poison? No, you don’t do that, because this happened in your dream. You perhaps will even forget the pain, as soon as you wake up, isn’t it? Similarly today you are in deep slumber of ignorance and worldly attachments and hence undergo a lot of suffering. The world is ephemeral and full of misery. You suffer only because of ignorance and body attachment. The moment you are awakened from the slumber, your problems will be solved. Anyone and everyone who aspires to lead a happy life must reduce body attachment. You develop ego because of your position, associations, physical strength or wealth. If you want to enjoy bliss, never give any scope for ego.   

 

Sathya Sai Baba

 

Laughter is The Best Medicine …. For Doctors Too !!!

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Eight men have been at a mental hospital for a period of time and are being tested to find out how they are progressing in order for them to leave the institution. The doctor in charge takes them all into a room and with a ball pen draws a door on the wall and asks each one of the patients to try and open the door for him as part of the test. Seven of them rushed out and attempted to open the door on the wall. The doctor was disappointed with the results but never the less call on the last one who was still sitting down and asked him why didn’t he stand up and try to open the door with the others. The eighth man replied: “because I was holding the key to the door”  

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Five doctors went to on a duck hunt: a GP, a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, a surgeon, and a pathologist. After a while a bird came winging overhead, the GP raised his shogun but didn’t shoot because he wasn’t sure if it was a duck or not. The pediatrician also raised his gun, but then he wasn’t sure if it was a male or female duck, so he didn’t shoot. The psychiatrist raised his gun and then thought, I know that’s a duck, but does the duck know it’s a duck?” The surgeon was the only one who shot. Boom!! He blew it away. Then he turned to the pathologist and said, “Go see if that was a duck.”
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Doctor: I’m sorry to have to tell you that you may have rabies, and it could prove fatal.
Patient: Well, doctor, please give me pencil and paper.
Doctor: To make your will?
Patient: No, to make a list of people I want to bite.
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A guy tells his psychiatrist, “I always have this weird dream at night. I am locked in a room with a door on which there is a sign. I try to push it with all my strength, but no matter how hard I try, it won’t budge.” The psychiatrist muses, “Interesting.” But tell me what does the sign on the door say? The guy replies, “It says ‘Pull’”!!!
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A guy thought he was dead, but in reality he was very much alive.
His hallucination became a real problem for his family and they finally took him to see a psychiatrist. After spending many laborious sessions trying to convince the guy he was still alive, the psychiatrist tried one last approach. He opened his medical book and proceeded to show the man that dead men don’t bleed. After a mind-numbing study, the man seemed convince that dead men don’t bleed, and the psychiatrist asked: “Do you now agree that dead men don’t bleed?” “Yes I do” the man replied. “Very well, then,” the psychiatrist said. He took out a pin and pricked the man’s finger. Out came a drop of blood. The doctor asked. “What does that tell you?” “Oh my goodness!” The patient exclaimed as he stared doubtfully at his finger…. “Dead men do bleed!!”
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Looking down at his patient, the doctor decided to tell him the truth. “I fell that I must tell you: You are a very sick man. I’m sure you would want to know the facts. I don’t think you have much time left. Now, is there anyone you would like to see?”
Bending down toward the sick man, the doctor heard him softly answer, “Yes.”
“Who is it?”
In a little stronger tone, the patient said, “Another doctor.”
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source:::::joke a day.com
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Try This Trick for Password Management !!!

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If you’re  scrambling to change your password following the Heartbleed bug and don’t know where to start, this trick may be one of the simplest solutions yet.

Not only does it generate a password that’s random enough to keep intruders away, but it also ensures that you’ll be able to remember it.

Yuriy Guts, a research and development software engineer at Eleks Labs, detailed a comprehensive password creation method on the company’s R&D blog.

The first step in Guts’ process involves thinking of a movie or television show, a line from a song, or any other reference that you associate with that website.

For example, you might want to think of a movie that reminds you of one of your best friends to help you create a strong Facebook password. Grab the most memorable line from that movie.

Once you’ve come up with your quote or phrase, add a few transformations to make it more difficult to guess. For example, Guts suggests replacing each space with an underscore, capitalizing the second letter of each word, adding a number at the end of the phrase that denotes the number of words in it, or any similar method.

If you’re using the line “I’m king of the world!” from the movie “Titanic,” your password may look something like this:

Im_kIng_oF_tHe-wOrld5

The trick works even better if you’ve got inside jokes or phrases that only you would know or remember. After you’ve created this password, store it in some type of management system in case you forget it. Guts advises that you change your passwords every 12 months by repeating those steps.

The idea of using a phrase to help you remember your password isn’t particularly new. But what makes Guts’ approach more interesting is that each phrase is specifically tailored to an individual website or app— meaning you’re creating a password that’s easy to remember while also guaranteeing all of your passwords are different from one another.

Since the password method requires you to generate a phrase or sentence, it’s much easier and more natural to type it quickly when logging in rather than pecking at the keyboard to input some obscure string of characters.

More From Business Insider 

NASA Has An Answer to ” Mysterious Light On MARS …” !!!

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Sorry, mysterious glow on Mars is not life !!!

KINDLY SEE MY EARLIER POST  ” Mysterious Light On Mars ….Will Somebody Throw Some ” Light ” on This !!! ”  before reading this post…
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Washington, April 12 (IANS) The strange “glow” spotted on the Red Planet by Curiosity is not a sign of life. It is either a shiny rock or a glitch in the rover’s camera, NASA has said.

UFO blogger Scott Waring had claimed that the new photograph taken by the rover suggests there are intelligent creatures living underground.

However, NASA said it has now investigated the image, and found it is simply a trick of light.

“One possibility is that the light is the glint from a rock surface reflecting the sun,” a NASA spokesperson was quoted as saying by mailonline.uk.

“When these images were taken each day, the sun was in the same direction as the bright spot, west-northwest from the rover, and relatively low in the sky.

“The rover science team is also looking at the possibility that the bright spots could be caused by cosmic rays striking the camera’s detector.”

NASA’s engineers believe the glow may have been caused by sunlight reaching the camera’s sensors through a vent hole in the camera housing.

The agency said this has happened previously on other cameras on Curiosity and other Mars rovers when the geometry of the incoming sunlight relative to the camera is precisely aligned.

NASA also revealed that such glitches are commonplace.

“Among the thousands of images received from Curiosity, ones with bright spots show up nearly every week.”

Curiosity takes images using two cameras, one in its right eye and the other in its left.

source:::: Techno Storm from Yahoo

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While the image from the right eye shows this bright spot, the same image from the left eye does not.

Message For the Day…” Ensure Your Kids are on The Right Path at All Times…”

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Young students are innocent. Their hearts and minds are pure, and they are selfless. In the primary school, you will find that many of them observe perfect discipline and are well behaved. By the time they are in secondary school, the purity and discipline slowly decreases. When they reach a college or university, everything becomes topsy-turvy! What really happens in between? As they grow in years, their mental balance is upset; they lose the steadiness of mind and self-control. They are exposed to undesirable influences. At this stage, teachers and parents must practice exemplary behavior and ensure that the children are on the right path at all times. Students also must bear in mind that all the regulations and discipline that are prescribed are for their highest good and in their own interests.   

 

Sathya Sai Baba

 

 

” Think Differently “… That is What Kids Do !!!

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Kids Just Think Differently
I’m a huge fan of Bill Cosby’s old show: “Kids say the darndest things”. Because nothing can beat the innocence and inexperience of a child when it comes to funny lines. They sometimes say things that adult comedians would just never think of saying, and it’s all the more hilarious for it!

“Close the curtains,” requested our 2 year old granddaughter, sitting in a pool of bright light. “The sun’s looking at me too hard.”

My friend asked our grandson when he would turn 6. He refreplied, “When I’m tired of being 5.”

Seeing her first hailstorm, Mary Sue, age 3, exclaimed, “Mommy, it’s raining dumplings!”

As I frantically waved away a pesky fly with a white dishtowel, my granddaughter observed, “Maybe he thinks you’re surrendering.”

A friend’s grandson, 4, was reading with his granddad about Adam and Eve. He asked, “Is this where God took out the man’s brain and made a woman?”

Announcing to daughter Lori that her aunt just had a baby and it looked like her uncle, she said, “You mean he has a mustache?”

When I asked our grandson if he could name the capital of Florida, he fired right back, “Capital F!”

While shampooing our son, 4, I noted his hair was growing so fast he’d soon need it cut. He replied, “Maybe we shouldn’t water it so much.”

My daughter told her 5-year-old that their van was going to be fixed. Instantly, the small fry assumed, “Oh, it’s going to the tire-o-practor?”

Impressed by her 5-year-old’s vocabulary, my friend complimented the young scholar, who nonchalantly responded, ” I have words in my head I haven’t even used yet.”

His Mom informed her son, Brian, that she was going outside to get a little sun. “But Mommy, he gulped, “You already have a son. Me!”

When our son asked about two look-alike classmates at school, we told him they were probably twins. The next day, he came home from school all bubbly and said, “Guess what! They are not only twins….they’re brothers!!”

 

source::::ba-ba mail site

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Message For the Day…”With Self Confidence, You Can Achieve Anything…”

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People today depend on their intelligence, physical strength and money, but do not have as much confidence in their own Self. When you have Self-Confidence, you can achieve anything. You may have wealth or money (Dhana Bala), but how long will it last? It is like a passing cloud; it comes and goes. How long will this wealth called people (Jan Bala) – family and friends, last? As long as you have power, position and wealth, people will surround you. Hence all of these are transitory. You will receive true respect in this world, when you have the strength of the Soul. Therefore, lead your lives with the strength of the Divine to attain the Divine. With faith in God, you must resort to good activities. As is the action, so is the result. Every step you take, must lead you to His proximity. Make every effort to get close to God. Then, you will be triumphant in life.  

Sathya Sai Baba

 

Jokes For the Day…” I am above the Law Now … ” !!!

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 A truck driver is driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads “Low Bridge Ahead.” Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under it. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks around to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, “Got stuck, huh?” The truck driver says, “No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas.”  

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A man traveling over 125 miles per hour on the interstate was stopped by a highway patrol. “Sorry, officer,” said the driver, “was I driving too fast?
“No, sir. Our were flying too low.” 

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The prison officer tells the warden, “Sir, I have to report that ten prisoners have broken out.”
The alarmed warden says, “Blow the whistles, sound the alarms, alert the police.
With a surprised look the officer says, “Shouldn’t we call the doctor first – it looks as if it might be measles.   

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A crook rented an apartment over a police station.
He feels he is “above the law, now!”

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A speeding driver was pulled over by a policeman. He asked, “Why was I pulled over when I wasn’t the only one speeding.” The police replied, “Have you ever been fishing?” The man then said, “yes”. “Have you ever caught all the fish?” asked the policeman  

 

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source:::::joke a day.com

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Message For the Day…” Happiness Has No Value Unless There Is also Sorrow …”

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Rama chose to go to the forest to fulfill the pledge of His father. It may be asked: Did He go to the forest under any compulsion or out of His own resolve, or with a sense of dissatisfaction? No. Rama set out for the forest with the same sense of serenity and joy with which He looked forward to His coronation. Rama demonstrated the spirit of equanimity. He showed that pain or pleasure, profit or loss, victory or defeat, were the same to Him. In human life, pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow alternate all the time. It is not a good quality to welcome pleasure and turn away pain. You must welcome sorrow in the same joyous spirit in which you greet happiness. Happiness has no value unless there is also sorrow. That is why it is said, “Pleasure is not secured from pleasure.” Pain is needed to secure pleasure. Rama demonstrated to the world the truth of this concept.

 

Sathya Sai Baba