Images of Asteroid 2004 BL86, which swept about 3 times the moon’s distance from Earth on Monday, January 26.
A large asteroid, called 2004 BL86 by astronomers, swept just outside 3 lunar distances of Earth on January 26, 2014. It’s the closest asteroid of its size known to pass Earth between now and 2027. It was close enough that observers on Earth could see it fleeing in front of the fixed star background. It was close enough that observers noticed a moon orbiting the asteroid!
Bottom line: Images and video of asteroid 2004 BL86, which swept about 3 times the moon’s distance from Earth on Monday, January 26……
It was dinner time on a British Airways flight from London to New York. As the flight attendant moved down the plane, she asked one of the passengers: “Would you like dinner?” “What are my choices?” asked the passenger. “Yes or No,” replied the attendant
A statue of ‘The Common Man’ at Worli Sea Face, Mumbai
R. K. Laxman
Remembering R. K. Laxman, the compulsive doodler, who built a rapport with the common man through his works
R. K. Laxman, whose uncannily pertinent picture-statements brought a bit of cheer to our troubled lives, has left behind volumes of compressed complaints that will continue to speak for the common man.
For decades, R. K. Laxman kicked off a daily morning conversation with and among his readers through his delectable cartoons on the news of the day. Each was no more than a simple drawing telling a familiar story, but came infused with RKL’s wonderfully sad irony.
He gave the ever-suffering poor and the middle-classes — whose angst he understood very well — a representative, a witness, in the form of a caricatured “common-man”, whose presence made the accusations genuine and incontestable. “We know what is happening,” he said on our collective behalf. An exhibition, last year, of his 97 unpublished doodles at the Forum Art Gallery, Adyar, gave a glimpse of RKL’s genius at work.
Finding a compulsive doodler in him, his brother R. K. Srinivasan had handed him a large scrapbook when RKL visited him in Delhi in 1975. RKL doodled — on whatever they happened to be talking about. This went on till 1991. Restored with great care by techie G. S. Krishnan, they showed how these “spontaneous outpourings” — pictures and accompanying words — sparkled with Laxman’s calming wit. I saw in them his spot-on punch, his play on words (one had a large foot on an egg for ‘stand on one’s own egg’, another the phrase ‘female dear’), his sharp reading of news, his tongue-in-cheek scuttlebutt on politicos.
These were critiques without malice, carrying a child-like quality. “Not to be taken seriously” he said in one of them. A wacky set of inventions (a cyanide-infested banana and a knife) offered us help to get rid of “unwanted-but-important” people, a mechanical umbrella lifted a hapless office-goer above traffic jams. And there was the “nice, good, non-violent, pleasant-to-look-at crow” he loved to draw.
RKL was prolific and fortunately for us, had a long innings.
Among his gems, however, the ones on political figures carried the most telling lines and remain ageless in their relevance and topicality. You could fit them easily in the day’s context. Cartoons or doodles, RKL’s quizzical look invited you to laugh with him and share the funny angle he discovered in the human situation. His works form an enchanting potpourri, one that makes you look up and wonder: “OMG, how did he know what I was thinking?”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi created quite a buzz on Sunday when he greeted US President Barack Obama at the airport.
PM Modi’s warm welcome was captured in photo and then put up on his official Facebook page. Within minutes of its upload, the image got a lot of love from other users and one of the likes was from none other than the founder of Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg.
Around 11 am, the photograph had received 11.38 lakh and 29,497 comments.
In the background is sea smoke – formed when very cold air moves over warmer water – and the rocky Isles of Shoals.
Josh Blash captured this shot early on a mid-January, 2015 morning – at the harbor in Rye, New Hampshire. Doesn’t that owl look chilly? Josh wrote:
I went out to see a cold sunrise this morning at the harbor. While I was out, I saw this snowy owl enjoying the cold, but it wasn’t long before it spread its wings and launched into flight. In the background is sea smoke over the ocean and the Isles of Shoals.
So you know how sometimes you refuse to give in to pressure and stick to what you believe in? Lola, this 15-month-old toddler believes in standing on a table too high for her while her daddy tried to get her to come down.
He expressed his disapproval, while she expressed her disapproval of his disapproval. So basically if you are still confused, they both argue relentlessly and stand their ground, with the baby standing a little higher than she ought to.
Like lawyers hot on a case, each try to argue their side of the story with volumes and pitches rising by the minute till the toddler becomes SO frustrated that she resigns herself to muted mumbling and dejected hand-waving. The video ends with daddy bodily picking Lola off the table, as we well knew it might.
This video posted by Gareth Roe on his YouTube channel has received over a million views, and counting, since January 17, 2015.
First-class airline tickets are expensive. Prices can easily reach $US15,000 a flight, and that’s not even for the really opulent first-class suites that have become more prevalent on the most prestigious carriers.
Those go for as much as $US30,000.
Just for the sake of comparison, Mercedes-Benz is offering its CLA sedan — an entire car — for $US29,995.
For that kind of money, passengers in first class expect a fine glass of champagne, in-flight entertainment, and an environment free from … dried-on stains and thick layers of dust.
That’s why a YouTube video posted by British journalist Owen Thomas last weekend was so shocking. (CNN originally reported Thomas’ experience.)
In the 29-second video — which has garnered more than 1 million views — Thomas documented his “filthy” first-class experience on board a British Airways jet from London to St. Lucia.
Thomas grows increasingly annoyed as he shows off the “cheap, motel-esque” dried stains and deep layers of dust that encrust his very expensive seat.
“This is British Airways first class and it is absolutely filthy,” the enraged journalist says in the video. “You see the marks on here you can just scrape off with you finger.”
“It’s when you open your seat, the real horror begins. This is first class. This is British Airways first class. It’s disgusting,” Thomas added.
British Airways didn’t let the video pass without comment.
“We have contacted our customer to apologise. We are very sorry that on this occasion we have fallen short of our usual high standards,” a representative for the airline told the Telegraph.
“We pride ourselves on delivering a relaxing and pleasant experience in first class, and are taking immediate action to address this issue.”
Thomas’ encounter with what looks like a fairly offensive level of filth is alarming, given that BA has built a solid reputation in recent years for quality service, especially in the first class cabins. After all, the airline’s motto is “To Fly, To Serve.”
But this incident seems to be the exception rather than the rule. British Airways is a Skytrax four-star airline, and reviews for the carrier’s service are generally positive.
And besides, it’s not as if YouTube is jammed with videos about poorly cleaned first-class seats — on BA’s planes or anyone else’s.
SOURCE::::: BENJAMIN ZHANG in www.businessinsider.com .au and YOU TUBE
Your password may not be as safe as you think. Source: ThinkStock
PASSWORDS offer a sense of security for your personal data, although it appears some people just can’t grasp the concept.
In what is fast becoming one of the most entertaining annual reports, SplashData has released the worst passwords of 2014.
Compiled from more than 3.3 million leaked passwords held by users in North America and Western Europe, the company has listed the 25 most common passwords found on the internet.
Despite constant warnings that common passwords make it easier to be hacked, “123456”and “password” continue to hold the top two spots that they have held since the list first emerged in 2011.
Number combinations dominated the top 25 with “12345,” “12345678,” “123456789” and “1234” all landing in the top 10.
Favourite sports also ranked highly with “baseball” and “football” appearing in top 10, while “hockey,” “soccer” and “golfer” were listed in the top 100.
The password management application provider offered three simple tips for those wanting to remain safe from hackers.
They recommend using passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of characters, avoiding using the same username/password combination for multiple websites and using a password manager to protect passwords.
Portlanders REALLY love their airport carpet.Source: Facebook
THE carpet at the Portland Airport has a cult-like following and has become a social media superstar.
That’s right. The people of Portland love the kitsch pattern that lines the flooring of their provincial airport so much that it has its own Facebook, Instagram and Twitteraccounts.
The carpet’s celebrity has spread through the internet as a growing number of travellers partake in a ritual of photographing themselves on the famed flooring. Currently there are nearly 30,000 photos on Instagram with the hashtag #PDXcarpet.
This is what you’re supposed to do at Portland Airport. Picture: adamdachis.Source: Flickr
The popularity of the carpet’s pattern has spawned an online store where one can pick up shirts, mugs, bags and even posters designed in the carpet’s likeness.
But such is the adoration and dedication to the carpet that those not content with a bag have even gone as far as getting the renowned pattern tattooed on them.
If you’re a tad perplexed, you’re not alone.
A spokesperson for PDX, Kama Simonds, seems equally baffled by the carpet’s stardom.
“Yes, other airports have carpets, but right now people seem to think we have a masterpiece of a welcome mat,” she told USA Today.
It seems the affection felt for the carpet lies in the nostalgic sentiment it holds for Portland residents returning to their beloved city.
When it was announced that the carpet would be getting replaced this month (albeit with a somewhat similar pattern) people’s reaction on social media was closer to disappointment than despair. But only just.
In an effort to comfort travellers and commemorate the beloved carpet, the airport has installed an artistic display which hangs on the wall over one of the gates entitled “Carpet Diem!”
The 3 metre by 5 metre collage is made of — you guessed it — pieces of that sacred carpet from throughout the terminal.
Public demand for the old carpet is likely to be high with an airport spokesperson telling the LA Times they are “offering a very limited number of 1,000-square-yard (304.8 metres) increments of the carpet to interested parties through a formal public advertisement.”
By all accounts, it will be a very competitive sale. !!!
Take off with Natarajan 