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” Serene Saturn….”

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Saturn

From a distance Saturn seems to exude an aura of serenity and peace.

In spite of this appearance, Saturn is an active and dynamic world.  Its atmosphere is a fast-moving and turbulent place with wind speeds in excess of 1,100 miles per hour (1,800 km per hour) in places. The lack of a solid surface to create drag means that there are fewer features to slow down the wind than on a planet like Earth.

Mimas, to the upper-right of Saturn, has been brightened by a factor of 2 for visibility.

In this view, Cassini was at a subspacecraft latitude of 19 degrees North. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Feb. 4, 2015 using a spectral filter centered at 752 nanometers, in the near-infrared portion of the spectrum.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.6 million miles (2.5 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is 96 miles (150 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Source….www.nasa.gov

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Image of the Day…” Sunset on Mars…” !!!

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You are there! Sunset on Mars

A beautiful new timelapse showing sunset on Mars in mid-April, 2015, from the Mars Curiosity rover.

View larger. | Mars sunset in Gale Crater, Sol 956, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. Image via 34mm MastCam on Mars Curiosity rover. Image via NASA / JPL / Malin Space Science Systems.

This new timelapse lets you experience a sunset on our neighboring planet, Mars. NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover captured the images to make this animated gif from the Gale Crater on Mars during Sol 956 – the 956th day of the rover’s activity on the Martian surface. By earthly calendars, it was Wednesday, April 15, 2015.

At the time, the planet Mercury was transiting the sun as seen from Mars. These observations were an attempt to observe Mercury passing in front of the sun, as well as to obtain a Martian sunset with Curiosity’s Mast Cameras.

NASA wrote:

The four images shown in sequence here were taken over a span of 6 minutes, 51 seconds.

This was the first sunset observed in color by Curiosity. The images come from the left-eye camera of the rover’s Mast Camera (Mastcam). The color has been calibrated and white-balanced to remove camera artifacts. Mastcam sees color very similarly to what human eyes see, although it is actually a little less sensitive to blue than people are.

Bottom line: Animated gif of a Martian sunset, April 15, 2015, acquired by the Mars Curiosity rover’s Mast Camera.

Via NASA.

Source….www.earthskynews.org

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” A Mother is a Single Strongest Force in Nature and in Family…”

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Happy Mother’s Day!
A mother is not just a word, it is, perhaps, the single strongest force in nature, and in family. There is always something special about the bond between a mother and child, the effortless love without condition, the interest they always show, the softness they get in their eyes sometimes as they look at their kids.Even in nature, few animals would survive without their mothers. As human we have so much to say in thanks to our mothers, these great quotes hardly do them justice.

mother's day quotes and animals

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
– Abraham Lincoln

mother's day quotes and animals

When your mother asks, ‘Do you want a piece of advice?’ it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway.
– Erma Bombeck

mother's day quotes and animals

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.
– Sophia Loren

mother's day quotes and animals

It is not until you become a mother that your judgment slowly turns to compassion and understanding.
– Erma Bombeck

mother's day quotes and animals

A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.
– Victor Hugo

mother's day quotes and animals

My mother’s love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.
– Michelle Obama

mother's day quotes and animals

Yes, Mother. I can see you are flawed. You have not hidden it. That is your greatest gift to me.
– Alice Walker

mother's day quotes and animals

For me, nothing has ever taken precedence over being a mother and having a family and a home.
– Jessica Lange

mother's day quotes and animals

Children are the anchors of a mother’s life.
– Sophocles

mother's day quotes and animals

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.
– Honore de Balzac

mother's day quotes and animals

Biology is the least of what makes someone a mother.
– Oprah Winfrey

mother's day quotes and animals

An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy.
– Rudyard Kipling

mother's day quotes and animals

There is nothing in the world of art like the songs mother used to sing.
– Billy Sunday

mother's day quotes and animals

My mother gave lots of good advice and had a lot to say. As you get older, you realize everything she said was true.
– Lenny Kravitz

mother's day quotes and animals

My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.
– Wilma Rudolph

mother's day quotes and animals

My mother protected me from the world and my father threatened me with it.
– Quentin Crisp

mother's day quotes and animals

Happy is the son whose faith in his mother remains unchallenged.
– Louisa May Alcott

mother's day quotes and animals

A mother is a mother still, The holiest thing alive.
– Samuel Taylor Coleridge

mother's day quotes and animals

Be able to confide your innermost secrets to your mother and your innermost fears to your father.
– Marilyn vos Savant

mother's day quotes and animals

Proving I’m a good mother is the one achievement I’m most proud of. It’s brought out the best in me.
– Sheena Easton

mother's day quotes and animals

Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother’s love is not.
– James Joyce

mother's day quotes and animals

Because I am a mother, I am capable of being shocked: as I never was when I was not one.
– Margaret Atwood

mother's day quotes and animals

What a mother sings to the cradle goes all the way down to the coffin.
– Henry Ward Beecher

mother's day quotes and animals

The babe at first feeds upon the mother’s bosom, but it is always on her heart.
– Henry Ward Beecher

mother's day quotes and animals

For when a child is born the mother also is born again.
– Gilbert Parker

mother's day quotes and animals

As a mother, you have that impulse to wish that no child should ever be hurt, or abused, or go hungry, or not have opportunities in life.
–  Annie Lennox

mother's day quotes and animals

Career is important, but nothing really supersedes my roles as a mother.
– Halle Berry

Source….www.ba-bamail.com

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Jokes For the Weekend… !!!

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Teacher: Now, you must not say, “I ain’t goin’.” You should say, “I am not going, he is not going; we are not going; they are not going.”
Student: Wow! Ain’t nobody goin’ then?

……………..

A guy walking down a street one afternoon passes an old man sitting on the side of the road with a large sack.
The younger guy says to the old man, “Watcha got in the sack?”
The old man responds, “I got some monkeys in that there sack.”
The younger man asks, “If I guess how many monkeys you got in the sack, can I keep one?”
The old man replies, “Son, if you guess how many monkeys I got in this sack, I’ll give you both of ’em!”

……………..

“I’ve never flown before, said the nervous old lady to the pilot. “You will bring me down safely, won’t you?
“All I can say ma’am,” said the pilot, “is that I’ve never left anyone up there yet!”
…………………..
Building Security has notified us that there have been 5 suspected terrorists working at our office. Four of the five have been apprehended. Bin Sleeping, Bin Loafing, Bin Gossiping, and Bin Surfing have been taken into custody. Security advised us that they could find no one fitting the description of the fifth cell member, Bin Working, in the office. Police are confident that anyone who looks like Bin Working will be very easy to spot. They thought they had apprehended Bin Working sitting at a desk, but it was actually Bin Surfing trying to impersonate Bin Working.

……………………..

Little Johnny wasn’t very good at spelling. During an oral
spelling exam, the teacher wrote the word “new” on the
blackboard. “Now,” she asked Johnny, “what word would we
have if we placed a “K” in the front?”

After a moment’s reflection, Johnny said, “Canoe?”

………………….

Source………www.joka a day.com
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Power of One Rupee…

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Students get the accumulated amount at the end of the year. Photo: Special Arrangement

Students get the accumulated amount at the end of the year. Photo: Special Arrangement

Lions Club of Central Chennai has been giving Re. 1 to every student at Brinda Primary School to reduce the dropout rate and absenteeism, reports K. Sarumathi.

What is the value of a rupee? A lot, if you ask Hari Narayanan, project coordinator of the Lions Club of Central Chennai.

When he read an article on how the Municipal Corporation of Thane checked the dropout rate in municipal schools in the region by distributing Re. 1 to every student every day, Narayanan was immediately attracted to the idea. He thought of replicating the method in Chennai Schools.

“The Thane Municipality was my inspiration and when I put forth the idea to other members of Lions Club of Central Chennai, they were more than happy to start the project,” he says. However, getting the go-ahead from the Corporation, they knew, would be almost impossible. Therefore, they selected a primary school run by the Gopalapuram Educational Society for poor children. At the Brinda Primary School, this initiative has been going on for seven years now.

“Most of these children are sons and daughters of maids, daily wage earners and others engaged in menial jobs. Through this small incentive, it has been ensured that these children attend school regularly,” says Malarvalli, the school principal, who is is going to retire this year, after 32 years in service. To start with, the programme was aimed at only girl students. “Though these children were given free uniforms and book and nourishing meals, they were hardly interested in coming to school. Also girls were held back for taking care of chores at home on most days. When we announced the project, parents ensured they sent their daughters to school every day. We have a fall in the dropout rate as well as absenteeism,” says Narayanan.

Though intake of students has been quite low in this school in Class 1, the management is happy that it is able to carry on with minimum dropouts.

“We want the school to survive for those who can’t afford English education and we want students to continue finishing their primary schooling here. That is the idea behind the initiative,” he says.

Regular attendance has also meant improvement in studies for these children. “Under the ABL method, they are assessed every day. Since they take fewer days off they are able to score better and learn more. Our teachers are totally dedicated as well. They have gone from door to door asking parents to send their wards to this school and benefit from the initiative,” says Malarvalli.

Seeing the popularity of the initiative, parents of boys also approached the Lions Club asking them to give their sons a similar incentive. “For four years now, even boys in the school are getting the amount for attendance,” says Narayanan.

Depending on the number of days they come to school, the accumulated amount is presented to the students at the end of the year in a grand function where parents are also invited. The club has also invested in some infrastructural development of the school such as laying new pavements, creating toilets and installing an RO plant for safe drinking water.

Source….K.Sarumathi in http://www.the hindu.com

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Joke For the Day…” Where should we go for our Birthday…” ?

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Four women share a birthday and always celebrate it together.

For their 40th birthday they go to the Lakeview restaurant because the waiters are cute and wear tight pants.

For their 50th birthday they go to the Lakeview restaurant because the prices are reasonable and it has a good wine list.

restaurant

For their 60th birthday they go to the Lakeview restaurant because its quiet and has a nice view.

For their 70th birthday they go to the Lakeview restaurant because its wheelchair accessible.

For their 80th birthday they go to the Lakeview restaurant because they’ve never been there before.!!!

Source……www.ba-bamail.com

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Mongolia”s Reindeer People…. Amazing !!!

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reindeer people rolling hills

Mongolia is twice the size of Texas, but home to only 2.6 million people. The sparse, desolate lands are difficult to live on and the frigid winters are harsh and overbearing, which is why the country’s Dukha people have relied heavily on reindeer in nearly every facet of their lives for thousands of years.

reindeer people frightened deer

Living in northern Mongolia, the Dukha use the completely domesticated reindeer for primarily for transport, as the nomadic tribe changes camp locations between five and eight times per year.

They also use the reindeer for clothing, tools and increasingly trade. Dukha sell reindeer antlers and penises to Chinese traders, who pay a high price for the incredibly rare items. The Dukha use the money to purchase items that they are unable to acquire out in the vast countryside, including electronics.

reindeer people sleeping child

Given the fact that the Dukhas’ very survival is inextricably linked to the animals, it’s no wonder that they treat them with such reverence (which perhaps also explains why they refrain from eating the reindeer meat). Their relationship is mutually beneficial: where the reindeer provide the Dukha with many basic needs, the Dukha provide the reindeer with protection from natural predators. Without each other, their continued existence is questionable.

reindeer people riding man
Winter temperatures in the tiga reach 60 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, making food scarce and conditions dangerous. A nomadic tribe and traveling caravan which uses teepees (known as ortz) for shelters, the Dukha are a strong and tenacious people with a heritage as long as it is rich.

reindeer people elderly woman
reindeer people herd leader

However, their lifestyles–and understanding of them–are in a state of transition. Regional forests and reindeer populations are diminishing, and since Mongolia’s democratization no governmental programs have been established to bring in any more reindeer from Siberia, which threatens the basic fabric of Dukha livelihoods.

The Dukha have also started to use reindeer revenues (increasingly from tourism) to purchase solar panels, satellite antennas and cell phones, gradually abandoning their “traditional” devices for more modern sources of heat and entertainment.

Increased mining activities are encroaching upon the areas the Dukha call home, leaving some–primarily elder members of the tribe–grasping for their nomadic identity as it is slowly vanishes amid an urbanizing Mongolia and nearby China.

reindeer people huge smile

reindeer people young girl
Currently only 44 Dukha families remain in the region, with an estimated population of between 200 and 400 people. Perhaps hoping to eternalize the Dukha before they disappear, Dr. Hamid Sardar-Afkhami, who holds a Ph. D. in Sanskrit and Tibetan Studies from Harvard, ventured out to their homes to snap these amazing shots. Sardar-Afkhami has since created a documentary film about the Dukha called The Reindeer People.

reindeer people large antlers
reindeer people deer milking
reindeer people frozen tundra
reindeer people hill top
reindeer people mongolian drummer
Source…bored panda and  www.all that is interesting.com
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” Maa ka Pyaar and Ghar ka Khaana …” !!!

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This Ad Will Make You Miss Your Maa Ke Haath Ka Khaana. And Cry

Screengrab taken from YouTube video uploaded by @FortuneFoods

The video below isn’t just about a simple recipe swap. It’s also an exchange of stories, and with the happiest of endings.

Those who have left home to study or work in other cities will know that this always involves leaving behind a part of their soul. For most, home is anywhere there is maa ka pyaar and ghar ka khaana. And just how wonderful would it be if you could have that familiar love and food away from home too?

This video, posted by Best Ads on Facebook and already shared over 18,000 times in two days, will not only show that this is possible but also warm your heart and bring a huge smile to your face.

The ad shows two mothers, one in Chennai and the other in Jodhpur, talking about their sons and how much they miss them. “I always ask him whether he ate well and what he ate,” says one mother in Tamil.

Their sons have travelled across the country to study – Chennai resident Santosh in IIT Jodhpur and Jodhpur’s Vivek in IIT Chennai. Santosh and Vivek talk about their exciting new lives away from home. “But still I miss my home,” says Santosh, adding that he misses his mum’s food the most.
What happens next is nothing short of brilliant. The mothers, through a ‘Mothers Exchange Programme,’ get in touch with each other, discuss their sons’ favourite dishes, share recipes and teach each other how to make them.

After many phone calls, ingredient-hunting and video chats, both mothers manage to almost-perfect each other’s dishes for their ‘new’ sons.

Watch the sons reacting to their maa ke haath ka swaad in the video below. And don’t be surprised if you tear up a little, or a lot.

Source……..www.ndtv.com and http://www.you tube.com

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