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Most Beautiful Bookshop in the World….

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This Must Be the Most Beautiful Book Shop in the World!

Completed in 2007 by Merkx + Girod Architecten, the Selexyz Dominicanen Bookstore in Maastricht in the Netherlands is an incredible church conversion that was originally consecrated in 1294. Located between Maastricht’s two major squares (the Markt and the Vrijthof), the bookstore is run by a large Dutch chain in collaboration with the city council of Maastricht.

beautiful book store

The location has not been used as a church for over 200 years. Before becoming a bookstore it served as a bicycle storage, exam hall for students, a Christmas market and venue for various shows and events. While some may find this usage peculiar, there are actually a significant number of abandoned churches in the Netherlands, many of them hundreds of years old.

beautiful book store

With land being a premium in the country, local governments have opted to convert and restore (just look at those ceilings!) rather than demolish these historic abandoned buildings. For those interested in more information, there’s a great write-up on this building at Crossroads Magazine.

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

beautiful book store

source….www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

What SOS Distress Signal Stands For ….?

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SOS Distress Signal Stands For….

It is commonly held that “SOS” is an acronym for “Save Our Ship” and thus often written “S.O.S.”  In truth, SOS is not an acronym for anything.

So why was SOS chosen to signify a distress signal?  The thought was that SOS- in Morse code signified by three dots, three dashes, then three dots- could not be misinterpreted as being a message for anything else.  Further, being sent together as one string (with no stops), it could be sent very quickly and needed very little power to transmit.

So, despite what you might have read elsewhere, as the 1918 Marconi Yearbook of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony notes, “This signal [SOS] was adopted simply on account of its easy radiation and its unmistakable character.  There is no special significance in the letters themselves…”

Bonus Facts:

  • In 1909, T.D. Haubner of the SS Arapahoe became the first person to use the SOS distress signal call.  The ship he worked on had lost its screw near the Diamond Shoals which are also known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”.  Interestingly, a few months later Haubner, still working on the SS Arapahoe, received the world’s second official SOS call; this one sent from the SS Iroquois.
  • The creator of the S.O.S pads wife thought that the SOS signal stood for “Save Our Ships,” which inspired her to name her husband’s cleaning pads S.O.S, standing for “Save Our Saucepans“.
  • Contrary to popular belief, the last period in the “S.O.S” brand was not left off due to an error in the trademark submission.  In fact, they meant to leave it off because “S.O.S.” could not be trademarked thanks to the SOS distress signal often being written as “S.O.S.”, even though it’s not an acronym.  By leaving the last period off, it made the name unique enough for the U.S. Patent and Trademark office to accept it.
  • The SOS standard signal for distress was preceded by the standard “CQD” signal which meant literally: CQ: general call or “all stations”; D: Distress.
    • The Titanic’s radio officer Jack Phillips used the old standard “CQD”  to call for help.  He transmitted “CQD” six times followed by the Titanic’s call letters “MGY”.  He later interspersed “SOS” in with the “CQD” messages at the suggestion of junior radio officer Harold Bride. Interestingly Marconi, of the Marconi Company who had originally suggested “CQD” for a distress signal, was waiting in New York to return to England on the Titanic.
  •  Source….www.today i foundout.com
  • Natarajan

” கபிலாரண்யம் ….இப்போ கலிபோர்னியா …” !!!

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கட்டுரையாளர்-கணேச சர்மா

தட்டச்சு-வரகூரான் நாராயணன்.

30-03-2012ல் போஸ்ட் ஆனது.

கபில முனிவர் இருந்த இடம் அது. இவர் தவம் பண்ணிக்

கொண்டிருக்கையில் இக்ஷ்வாகு வம்சத்து சகரர் என்னும் அரசர்

அச்வமேத யாகம் செய்தார்.

இந்த யாகத்தைச் செய்ய வேண்டுமென்றால்,

முதலில் ஒரு குதிரையை எல்லா தேசங்களுக்கும் அனுப்புவார்கள்.

அதை எந்த அரசனாவது பிடித்துக் கட்டிப் போட்டால் அவனுடன்

யுத்தம் செய்து வென்று, பிறகு எல்லோரும் பாராட்ட இந்த யாகம் செய்யப்படும். பொதுவாக எல்லா அரசர்களும் வம்பு செய்யாமல் அந்தக் குதிரைக்குரிய கப்பம் செலுத்திவிட்டு அரசனைச் சக்ரவர்த்திஎன்று ஒப்புக்கொண்டு விடுவார்கள்.. ஆனால் இந்த யாகத்துக்கு முதலில் இந்திரன்தான் தடங்கல் செய்வான்.

ஏனெனில் நூறு அஸ்வமேத யாகம் செய்து விட்டால் இந்திர பதவி ஒருவனுக்குக் கிடைத்துவிடும்.

தனது பதவி பறி போகாமல் இருக்கும்படிப்

பார்த்துக் கொள்வது இந்திரன் வழக்கம். எனவே அவன் சகரர் விட்டகுதிரையைப் பிடித்துக் கொண்டு போய் பாதாள உலகில்

கபிலர் தவம் செய்யும் ஆஸ்ரமத்தில் கொண்டு யாருக்கும் தெரியாமல்கட்டிவிட்டான். அதைத் தேடிக்கொண்டு வர சகரன் தன் நூறுபிள்ளைகளையும் அனுப்பவே, அவர்களும் எப்படியோ கபிலாச்ரமம்வந்து சேர்ந்து, கபிலர்தான் பிடித்துக் கட்டிவிட்டதாக நினைத்துஅவரிடம் சண்டைக்குப் போனார்கள். அதனால் கோபங்கொண்ட கபிலர் ஒரு முறை முறைத்தார். அவ்வளவுதான்! அங்கு வந்தநூறு பேரும் சாம்பலாகிப் போனார்கள். இது சகரனுக்குத் தெரிந்துஅவன் சென்று கபிலரிடம் மன்னிப்பு கேட்டுக்கொண்டு அசுவமேத யாகம் செய்து முடித்தானென்பது ராமாயண முன்கதையில்

தெரிகிறது.

அந்தக் கபிலாரண்யம்தான் “கலிஃபோர்னியா” என்று திரிந்து விட்டது.

சாட்சியாக அந்தக் குதிரை கட்டின இடம் இன்றும் HORSE ISLANDஎன்று அழைக்கப்படுகிறது. நூறுபேரும் சாம்பலான இடம் ASH ISLANDஎனப்படுகிறது. இப்படியாகப் பெயர் காரணங்ளை அலசி ஆராய்ந்து

பெரியவா சொன்னால் திகைப்பு அடங்கவே அடங்காது

Read more: http://periva.proboards.com/thread/9584/horse-island-ash#ixzz3eiUQzJd7

Source…www.periva.proboards.com

Natarajan

” It is Better Late than Never….” For Financial Planning too.. !!!

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Let us take a look at some of the steps that are involved in getting your finances in order.

It is better late than never! This holds true for financial planning as well. You can start at anytime. Of course, it is always better to get your finances in order early, so that you can reap in the benefit for longer period.

Nevertheless, here’s how to go about it.

The first and foremost thing you need to do is prepare a budget.

This is a very simple process that involves noting down all your expenses (and proposed expenses) on one side of a sheet of paper and your income on the other side. The income should always be more than the sum of all the expenses; if this is not the case, then it is time to tighten your purse strings and reduce costs.

Next, start tracking your income and expenses for a couple of months to ensure that you are sticking to your budget. This budget needs to be realistic taking into account your lifestyle and spending patterns.

Following a strict budget will assist you in achieving your financial goals.

You should then decide the time period for the financial goals (e.g. education of a child, retirement, etc.) and whether these are short term, medium term or long term goals. A good financial plan lists down the long term and short term goals of a person, and this differentiation helps one to understand and predict future expenditures better.

For each time frame has different instruments and asset classes that must be invested in. Apart from the time horizon, one should also understand one’s own risk appetite and invest accordingly, that is, the lower the risk taking appetite, the more gilt or debt instruments should be used and vice versa.

It is highly advisable to start saving as early as possible as it will give you the advantage of additional years of investing and you can benefit from the magic of compounding.

For example, if a 25 year old saves Rs 5,000 per month at 10 per cent interest, your corpus will be around Rs 1 crore when you are in your mid-fifties. On the other hand, if you start savings Rs 5,000 a month at 30 years (with the same 10 per cent interest), the corpus after 30 years will be only Rs 60 lakh.

One should also make investments via the ECS route thereby making the whole process automatic, and ensuring that no surplus expenditure gets in the way of your investments and savings. It is advisable to invest in mutual funds through systematic investment plans (SIP). A SIP route ensures that one doesn’t need to time the market; the investment in SIP takes place each month irrespective of the market condition. Thus individuals can benefits from both an up market as well as a down market.

Life and medical cover are two very important investments that one has to make.

Ideally, one should ensure that there is adequate cover to take care of any debts, and provide for their spouse and children, apart from other dependents such as one’s parents.

It is advisable to go in for this cover early on in life, as the premiums will be lower, giving the maximum cover for the minimum premium.

An important aspect of building wealth is tax planning. One should consult with a tax expert to see the best investment and savings avenues through which one can save on taxes. One should also always ensure that the financial plan does not remain stagnant and is up to date.

Summary:

  • Make a budget and stick to it
  • Financial plans must be broken up into goals: short, medium and long term goals
  • Tax planning is important
  • Invest from as early as possible, and via ECS and SIP route

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

 

Anil Rego is the founder and CEO of Right Horizons, an investment advisory and wealth management firm that focuses on providing financial solutions that are specific to customer needs.

Anil Rego in http://www.rediff.com

Natarajan

 

” Confessions of a confused Indian engineer… !!!

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A guy who loved English literature but settled for electrical engineering and later, an MBA, pours his heart out…

When I started writing this article, I felt that such a topic might sound enormously blasphemous. I mean, it almost seems like a deliberate attempt to malign the second favourite national profession in our country (the first one is being a doctor). So, before you ask for my address, so that you can come over to beat me up, let me assure you it’s only mypersonal story. No coincidences whatsoever!

The first time I actually felt that it was high time to decide what to do with my life, I was in Class 8. Belonging to the ICSE board, we had to state our choices of stream in Class 9 itself. ‘Good people study commerce, great people study science, losers study humanities,’ everyone around said.

Except my father… he is a chartered accountant. J

I can still remember the heartbroken look on my father’s face, when I showed him the form with ‘Science’ written against ‘Stream of Choice’. Obviously, he would have loved his son to be in the same field as he was. But to think of it, had my father followed the footsteps of my grandfather, we would all be farmers today! Literally, ploughing in the ‘field’!

The first confusion started here.

I took up science because I loved physics and maths. But I equally loved English literature and history. This did raise some eyebrows. How could a sane person possibly love Science and Humanities at the same time?

Years passed and school was over. I went along with the herd mentality, sitting for every single engineering entrance exam I could find.  Medical was never an option (I could never see blood, so no confusion here!). I managed a decent rank and now it was time to decide a branch. This was relatively easy: I hated IT or computer science, the hot-selling electronics was houseful, and so I settled with electrical engineering.

But, it was fun. There were some amazing subjects like maths, mechanical engineering, power systems; and some horrible subjects too, whose names I don’t even remember. Being the President of the Tech Club at my college, I got lot of opportunities to conduct events, arrange activities and hone my technical and leadership skills. People looked up to me. Life was good, and it looked settled.

And one day it happened. It was third year and companies flooded in for placements. It was time to decide what to do next. M Tech? Nah! IT job? Never! Core Company? Err. May be!

And then I asked myself: ‘Dude, are you ready to spend the next 40 years of your life with motors, generators, transformers, transmission lines, substations and power systems?’

My inner voice replied: ‘No’.

I was stuck. What was I going to do with my career? What would happen to the electrical engineering learnt (rather digested) in four years? More importantly, what else could I get into, that I would love doing?

The immediate crazy answer was — Bollywood. But then the reality set in and my mind showed me three beautiful letters — M B A. To cut a long story short, I took a shot at CAT, made it to a premier B-School in Mumbai, and switched to marketing!

Now, when I sit back and retrospect, I feel that instead of engineering, I could have done an Honours course in economics or maybe a BBA, rather than looking like one of the ‘Gadhas’ Aamir Khan spoke about in 3 Idiots. But then I realise that I need to look ahead and forget.

Forget the injustice done to the learning of those four years. Forget the hurdles faced during job searches while switching from one field to another. Because after 40 years, no one in this world will be even bothered about why you did, what you did.

At that stage, you will be answerable to only one person.

And that person will be YOU.

And that person will ask you whether you gave in to peer pressure or did what you loved.

Please follow your heart, it’s never too late. Cheers!

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

A sufficiently confused corporate professional, Pramit has been working as a Sales & Marketing Professional in the Software Product Industry for the last three years. A trained singer, Toastmaster, and theatre actor at Bengaluru, he seizes every opportunity to gain cheap publicity and limelight, whenever he is not working, eating and sleeping.

Source….www.rediff.com

Natarajan

An Australian Baby with 100,000 FaceBook Fans…!!!

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Letitia Rowlands

 in http://www.essentialbaby.com.au

Writer

View more articles from Letitia Rowlands

Egypt with her parents, Shana Evers and Fortafy (real name Sam Ratumaitavuki).

Egypt with her parents, Shana Evers and Fortafy (real name Sam Ratumaitavuki). Photo: Instagram

She may be only eight months old, but baby Egypt has already amassed more than 100,000 Facebook fans and received a letter and gift from royalty – Hollywood royalty, that is.

The adorable Australian girl has attracted international attention after a photograph of her wearing a Kardashian Kids beanie was shared on the clothing label’s Instagram account.

The picture has received almost 30,000 likes since it was posted on June 4, with people around the world falling in love with the baby’s big eyes and chubby cheeks.

The photograph’s popularity prompted reality star sisters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian to send Egypt and her parents a handwritten note along with some pieces from their clothing range.

The Little Miss Egypt Facebook page has since attracted more than 106,000 “likers”, with fans describing her as “the most beautiful baby ever”.

Egypt is the daughter of Australian rapper Fortafy and his partner Shana Evers.

Fortafy, whose real name is Sam Ratumaitavuki, told Daily Mail he was thrilled with his daughter’s new found fame.

“It was awesome to be acknowledged and really made me proud as a parent,” he said of the attention his daughter’s picture attracted on the Kardashian Kids Instagram feed.

The proud dad said it was exciting for the family received a personal letter from the Kardashian family as his partner is often told she resembles Kim Kardashian.

“Shana’s been getting that for years. People have always said she looks like [Kim],” he said.

The letter from the Kardashians reads: “Dear Shana, Fortafy and your beautiful daughter. Hope you love these new pieces from our Kardashian Kids collection. Xo Kourtney, Kim and Khloe.”

Interest in the baby girl’s Facebook page continues to grow with the number of fans from around the world increasing every day

Good morning little miss Egypt. I’m a big fan from the Philippines, your morning posts really compliments my day,” one new fan wrote.

“She is just too cute!! One million likes won’t be enough!!” said another. “Little Miss Egypt is breaking the internet … in the cutest way possible.”

Egypt’s popularity has even prompted people to create their own memes featuring her picture and commenting on her gorgeous eyes.

The family is no stranger to fame, as Fortafy has 3.9 million fans on his own Facebook page.

Fortafy told Yahoo7 he and Ms Evers had been approached about Egypt doing modelling work.

“We’ve been approached by a lot of companies but we want to make sure it makes sense,” he said.

“It’s not about the money, but the right fit.”

Source….www.essentialbaby.com.au

Natarajan

Chinese Farmers Turn Rice Paddies Into Stunning Works Of Art….

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Farmers in Shenyang, China, created these dazzling rice paddy images to pray for blessings, according to Imagine China. The locals inLiaoning province, members of the Xibo ethnic group, create a 3D effect with different varieties of rice saplings. The finished works span about 25 acres.

Imaginechina / Corbis
A 3D rice paddy painting is displayed at a paddy field in Shenyang city, in northeast China’s Liaoning province, on June 22.
Source…www. huffingtonpost.com
Natarajan

How Fast the World has Changed …!!!

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The World Has Been Through Some Changes…

It’s amazing how fast the world has changed in the last 20 years. It seems that we just need to blink and something new comes up, and the children we once taught now teach us. But are all these changes for the best? I’m not so sure. Instead of crying about it, though, I’d rather have a good laugh!funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

 

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

 

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

funny cartoons world changes

Source…www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan