Jokes for the Day….

Two men were out golfing. As one was ready to take his shot, a funeral procession drove by the golf course. The man stopped what he was doing, put down his club, and took off his hat and placed it over his heart. His partner was moved by this and said, “That’s the nicest thing I’ve even seen you do!” The man looked back at him and said, “Well, that’s the least I could do after 20 years of marriage…”    

……………………………

There were two buddies, one with a Doberman Pinscher and the other with a Chihuahua. The guy with the Doberman Pinscher says to his friend, “Let’s go over to that restaurant and get something to eat.”
The guy with the Chihuahua says, “We can’t go in there. We’ve got dogs with us.”
The buddy with the Doberman Pinscher says, “Just follow my lead.”
They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pinscher puts on a pair of dark glasses and he starts to walk in. The bouncer at the door says, “Sorry, mac, no pets allowed.”
The man with the Doberman Pinscher says, “You don’t understand. This is my seeing-eye-dog.”
The bouncer says, “A Doberman Pinscher?”
He answers, “Yes, they’re using them now; they’re very good and protect me from robbers, too.”
The man at the door says, “Come on in.”
The buddy with the Chihuahua figures, “What the heck,” so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.
Once again the bouncer says, “Sorry, pal, no pets allowed.”
The guy with the Chihuahua says, “You don’t understand. This is my seeing-eye dog.”
The bouncer at the door says, “A Chihuahua?”
The man with the Chihuahua says, “A Chihuahua?????? They gave me a Chihuahua?!”

……………………….

Two women, who are dog owners, are arguing which dog is smarter.
First woman: My dog is so smart. Every morning he waits for the paperboy to come around and then he takes a newspaper and brings it to me.
Second woman: I know.
First one: How?
Second one: My dog told me.

source::::joke a day.com

natarajan

 

 

Maps That Helps You Understand the World…

 This map shows the world divided into 7 sections (each with a distinct color) with each section containing 1 billion people.

  This map shows (in white) where 98 percent of Australia’s population lives.


 


It may not come as a surprise but more people live inside the circle than outside of it.


Apparently you can’t get Big Macs everywhere. This map shows (in red) the countries that have McDonalds.


 

 This map shows countries (in white) that England has never invaded. There are only 22 of them.


 

This map shows (in red) countries that were all Communist at one point in time.


This map shows (in red) the countries that don’t use the metric system.



This map shows (in blue) places where Google street view is available.

 This map shows (in navy blue) every country that has ever operated an aircraft carrier.

This map highlights the countries (in red and orange) with the most skyscrapers. 

source:::: acm outpost .com

natarajan

 ________________________________________________

Message For the Day…” You are who you are…”

Undertake any work and perform it such that there is no untruth, unfairness or evil motive in the way you execute it. See to it that the work you do, not only enables you to earn a living, but also benefits the nation and the community you live in. Everyone must observe this purity in their lives. If you thus engage yourselves in right action, you will not be bound by the consequences of action (Karma). You are who you are, based on the past Karmas. Through your present actions you can ensure freedom from birth. Through love, develop faith and earnestness. Through faith and earnestness, you acquire knowledge, and from knowledge you develop Sadhana (spiritual practices) through which you achieve your goal. Hence to strengthen your Sadhana, all these – wisdom, earnestness, faith and love – are quintessential. Love is the most powerful means to acquire control over your senses.

Sathya Sai Baba

Facebook “Likes” ‘WhatsApp’ !!!

The frenzy to acquire fast-growing technology start-ups reached new heights on Thursday as Facebook announced its largest acquisition ever, saying it would pay at least $16 billion for WhatsApp, a text messaging application with 450 million users around the world who pay little or no money for it.

The hefty price signals the lengths to which Facebook’s co-founder & chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, will go to protect his company’s turf as the dominant social network on the web, and is sure to fuel the debate on whether consumer internet companies are overvalued.

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, will pay $4 billion in cash and $12 billion worth of shares for WhatsApp. But the ultimate cost of the deal could rise to $19 billion, with WhatsApp employees and founders receiving an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units, which would vest over the next four years.

By any measure, Facebook is paying a steep price for a service that is widely used internationally but is less known in the US. WhatsApp does not sell advertising and has very little revenue. It charges users a flat fee of $1 a year to use the service, and the first year is free.

The purchase price dwarfs the $1 billion Facebook paid for photo-sharing service Instagram. At the time of that deal in 2012, critics assailed Facebook for overpaying, and this megadeal is sure to attract similar scrutiny. And, the price is also much higher than the $3 billion Facebook unsuccessfully offered to acquire Snapchat, another messaging service, late last year.

But Zuckerberg is clearly willing to spend big to acquire hot messaging technologies, which typically attract younger people more than Facebook does.

“Facebook is constantly working to not lose anybody,” said Nate Elliott, an analyst with Forrester Research. “Sometimes that’s them innovating on their own, sometimes mimicking competitors, and sometimes buying competitors.”

The acquisition also reflects a new strategy at Facebook: The company intends to acquire or build a family of applications instead of simply buttressing its core social network.

Now a 10-year-old social network with 1.2 billion users globally, Facebook has become so ubiquitous in many countries that it risks losing some of the attention of users.

In buying WhatsApp, which is growing faster than its rival Twitter and other social services, Facebook gains access to customers who prefer communicating one-on-one or with very small groups rather than sharing information more widely.

source::::Business Standard

natarajan

Message For the Day…” Lord Krishna is Everything to us … “

Lord Krishna’s friend Uddhava, was adept in the Path of Knowledge. He approached Krishna so that he can teach it to the cowherds. Krishna smiled and said, “Devotion and purity are fundamental to Gopikas – they are in Me, I am always enshrined in their hearts, you may not understand it!” Uddhava wasn’t convinced, so Lord Krishna sent him to Gokul. Uddhava said to them, “Let me teach you the path of wisdom to realize the Divine”. The Gopikas admonished Uddhava, “We don’t want to waste time on Yogas and Scriptures. Krishna is everything to us, give us one simple means.” Confused, Uddhava, now asked the Gopikas, “How would you become one with Krishna?” The innocent Gopikas responded, “If Krishna were a flower, I would be a bee whirling around Him. If Krishna were the mountain, I will become a river. If He is the deep ocean, I will be a small stream, joining Him”. Uddhava then understood that Gopikas always tuned themselves to adore the Lord, anywhere and everywhere.

 Sathya Sai Baba

” ராம நாமம் கேட்கும் இடம் எல்லாம் ஹனுமான் நான் இருப்பேன் …”

  

   
பொதுவாக ஸ்ரீ ராமாயண சொற்பொழிவு நடைபெறும் இடங்களில் எல்லாம் அனுமன் நேரில் வந்துஅடியார்களுள் அடியாராய் பக்தருள் பக்தராய் அமர்ந்து உபந்நியாசத்தை பேரானந்தத்துடன் ரசித்து கேட்பதாக ஒரு ஐதீகம்.
இதனால்தான் துளசிதாசர் ஸ்ரீ ராமாயண பிரவசனம்(சொற்பொழிவு) தொடங்கும் முன்னர் பக்தர்களை பிரதட்சனமாக சுற்றி வருவாராம் .அங்கு பக்தர்களுடன் பக்தராக மாருதியும் எழுந்தருளிருப்பார் என்பதாலேயே அனுமனை வணங்கும் விதமாக துளசிதாசர் பக்தர்களை வலம் வந்து வணங்கியபிறகேதனது சொற்பொழிவை துவக்குவாராம்.
அதனாலேயேராமநாமத்தை சொல்லும் முன்பாக அந்த இடத்தில் ஒரு சிறிய மனையைப்போட்டு அதன்மீது ஒரு சுத்தமான துணியை போர்த்தி ஒரு இருக்கை தயார்செய்துவைத்துவிட்டுத்தான் ராமாயண உபன்யாசம் துவக்கப்படுவது வழக்கம்.
நிச்சயம் அங்கு அனுமன் வந்து அந்த மனையில் அமர்ந்து ராமகாதையை மனம்குளிர்ந்து கேட்பார் என்பது இதுநாள் வரை பலரும் சொல்லக்கேட்டிருப்போம்.
ஆனால்நிஜத்தில் அப்படி ஒருக்காட்சியே அரங்கேறி பார்ப்பவர்களை சிலிர்க்கவைத்திருக்கிறது.
 
இந்தியாவில் மத்தியபிரதேசத்தில் இருக்கும் ஒரு முக்கியமான நகரம்தான் ரட்லம்(Ratlam).    இங்கு காளிகாமாதா எனும் மிகவும் பிரபலமானதொரு கோவில் நகரின்மையப்பகுதியில் அமைந்துள்ளது 

இங்கு சமீபத்தில் ஸ்ரீராமாயண சரித்தித்தை உபன்யாசம் செய்ய ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தது.
 
ராமா..ராமா..என உபன்யாசகர் பாட ஆரம்பித்ததும்…அங்கே அழகான ஒரு வெண்குரங்கு வந்து அதை ரசிக்கத்தொடங்கிய அழகை நீங்களே பாருங்கள் 

 
நன்மையும் செல்வமும் நாளும் நல்குமே
தின்மையும் பாவமும் சிதைந்து தேயுமே
சென்ம மும் மரணமும் இன்றித்தீருமே
இம்மையே இராம என்றிரண் டெழுத்தினால்…..!
 
ஓராயிரம் மகப்புரி பயனை உய்க்குமே
சுராதிபர் செல்வமும் புகழும் நல்குமே
வீராய் எனும் பாவங்களை வேரறுக்குமே
இராம என் றொரு மொழி இயம்பும் காலையே…!
 
மும்மை சால் உலகுக்கு எல்லாம் 
மூல மந்திரத்தைமுற்றும்
தம்மையே தமர்க்கு நல்கும்
தனிப்பெரும் பதத்தைதானே
இம்மையே எழுமை நோய்க்கும்
மருந்தினை, ‘இராமன்‘ என்னும்
செம்மைசேர் நாமம் தன்னைக்
கண்களின் தெரியக் கண்டான்…!

இப்படி ராமநாமத்தின் சிறப்புகளை கம்பர் பாடியதன் சுவையை இந்த வானரமும் அனுமனாகவே வந்து
 ரசிக்கிறதோ ….

 

source::::input from a friend of mine

natarajan

 

 

London”s New Solar Bridge… Largest in the World …

solar brdige
Network Rail

Network Rail, which is responsible for Britain’s rail infrastructure, just opened the “world’s largest solar-powered bridge” — which stretches across the Thames, has 4,400 solar panels on it, and will provide half the energy to central London’s Blackfriars train station.

BusinessGreen reports:

The project was one of the most complex to date for Solarcentury, which installed the panels in a series of phases over the past two years, pausing to minimise the impact on the station during the 2012 Olympic Games.

“We had different sections of roof available at different times to fit in with this complicated jigsaw of getting everything up and going,” explained Gavin Roberts, Solarcentury’s senior project manager, adding that the company had even considered shipping some of the components in via the Thames.

This is exactly the sort of project, though, that gets easier the more times a company’s done similar work — the more big, urban solar projects go up, the faster and cheaper the next one will be. Looking forward to an all-solar London Bridge

source:::: Sarah Laskow in grist.org

Sarah Laskow is a reporter based in New York City who covers environment, energy, and sustainability issues, among other things. Follow her on Twitter.

natarajan

Strong Social Bonds of Elephants !!!

 

Elephants get distressed when they see others in distress, reaching out to calm them down.

Photo credit:

Elephants have strong social bonds. It’s not surprising they show concern for others, scientists say.

Asian elephants console other elephants who are in distress, using physical touches and vocalizations, finds a study to be published in the journal PeerJ.

Consolation behavior is rare in the animal kingdom, with empirical evidence previously provided only for the great apes, canines and certain corvids. The findings are the first empirical evidence of consolation in elephants, says lead author Joshua Plotnik.

Frans de Waal, an Emory professor of psychology and director of Living Links at Emory’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center is the study’s co-author. He said:

With their strong social bonds, it’s not surprising that elephants show concern for others.This study demonstrates that elephants get distressed when they see others in distress, reaching out to calm them down, not unlike the way chimpanzees or humans embrace someone who is upset.

The study focused on a group of 26 captive Asian elephants spread over about 30 acres at an elephant camp in northern Thailand. For nearly a year, the researchers observed and recorded incidences when an elephant displayed a stress reaction, and the responses from other nearby elephants.

Read more from Emory University

Photo credit: Emory University

An elephant hug: One elephant puts its trunk in another’s mouth. Photo via Emory University

source::::earth sky news

natarajan

Telling the Time Now !!!…It is Robo Clock !!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2563133/Now-thats-telling-time-RoboCLOCK-continuously-writes-rubs-hour-real-time.html

Pl click the above link and read the full story ….

The Plotclock, pictured, was designed by Thingiverse member Joo, also known as Johannes from Nuremburg. It writes the time, in hours and minutes, on a white board using a dry wipe pen, before erasing it and starting again

The traditional clock has had its day.

A German creator has designed a robot that writes the time using a dry wipe pen on a miniature white board.

Its mechanical arms then erase the time from this board, before starting again – and each time the robot writes, the numbers correspond to the real-world time as its being written.

Read more:

source::::mailonline.com UK

natarajan