Ctrl-C in Command Lines -- some history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control-C

/A

'dhunuris' feel chill

Few handmade quilts sell in Shillong, 'dhunuris' feel chill
2010-11-23 11:30:00

Shillong, Nov 23 (IANS) The twangs of the 'dhanush' fill the air as
winter arrives. The tool is used by expert hands, called 'dhunuris', to
fluff up cotton for quilts and pillows. But the cotton carders, mostly
from Bihar, who have descended on the city, say business is poor this
time.

Lighter, washable blankets and quilts from Punjab or even from China and
South Korea are giving tough competition to the handmade quilts churned
out by the dhunuris.

'I arrived here Oct 20 but am yet to get a customer to make or mend
quilts and pillows. Our livelihood from this trade has become
difficult,' said 47-year-old Ish Mohammad of Bihar's Chapra district.

A good dhunuri can stitch a mattress or a quilt in intrinsic designs, an
art handed down from generation to generation. Every dhunuri has his own
style of stitching, with motifs like flowers and birds.

Mohammad Yakub, who owns a cotton bedding shop in Shillong, said:
'Around 100 dhunuris from Bihar, mostly from Chapra district, have come
to Shillong this year, but some are getting little work.'

A dhunuri takes about five to six hours to make a quilt. While some
practise the profession throughout the year, others take to it in winter
and are farmers or labourers at other times.

Ish, who has been a regular visitor to the hills for over two decades in
the winter, lamented that he would not teach his two sons the art of
handling the dhanush. 'It is not like before, there is nothing in it as
people prefer blankets, readymade pillows and mattresses,' Ish told
IANS.

The broad surface of a dhanush is made of sal wood, while the neck is
made of wood from the kharia tree. The dhanush is manufactured in Bihar
- the string is made of camel or buffalo vein and manufactured in
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The total cost of a dhanush is around Rs.3,000.

Ish said after all the hard work he can't even think of earning Rs.600
per quilt these days. 'Earlier it wasn't like this, but now, on many
days, we don't get any work,' Ish said.

Echoing him, Id Mohammad said, 'I remember around 10 years ago we used
to get orders for quilts from mid-October but gradually our business is
going down.'

Most dhunuris attribute the downfall in their trade to the advent of
readymade blankets from outside, some cheaper varieties from Ludhiana in
Punjab and more expensive ones from China and South Korea.

They also say it is not cold enough for people to opt for the warmth of
handmade quilts.

'Traditional quilts are no longer the first choice because of readymade
blankets and mattresses. People are opting for these items because the
weather is never cold enough for traditional cotton quilts. Moreover,
woollen blankets and comforters are washable,' Id said.

Nana Mordrani, a customer, said he preferred readymade blankets as these
were much more comfortable.

Climatologists say increasing population, mushrooming concrete buildings
and too many vehicles are gradually warming up the city.

And, ironically, the dhunuris are feeling the chill.

The digits on Id's feet have become crooked from the pressure endured
over the years cleaning cotton. He said balancing the dhanush for hours
and then meticulously stitching the mattresses and quilts is no easy
work.

'I would not teach my children this profession. There is nothing in it,
only dirt and hardship,' Id said.

(Raymond Raplang Kharmujai can be contacted at rrkharmujai@gmail.com)

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - A no graphics, no pop-ups email service

Elephant madness, Aana Premis and stuff.

Safety from Elephants -- http://www.muraleethummarukudy.com/blog/?p=135

Check out Muralee Thummarukudy's articles -- http://www.muraleethummarukudy.com/

/A

Gluonpilot -- DIY auto piloted unmanned aircraft

Interesting, see http://gluonpilot.com/wiki/Main_Page

What is an IMU ? http://tom.pycke.be/mav/67/what-is-an-imu

/A

Command the power of the command line...

<a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-unix-commandline/index.html?ca=dgr-lnxw16UX-Shell-CMDline1DTH-AIX">
Command the power of the command line </a>

<a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-speakingunix3.html?ca=dgr-lnxw16UX-Shell-CMDline2DTH-AIX">
Do everything right from the command line </a>

<a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-speakingunix7.html?ca=dgr-lnxw16UX-Shell-CMDline3DTH-AIX">
Command-line locution - Expand your UNIX vocabulary </a>

<a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-speakingunix13/index.html?ca=dgr-lnxw16UX-Shell-CMDline4DTH-AIX">
Ten more command-line concoctions </a>

Enjoy your Linux Cartoon .... http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/cautionary.png

Learn some tricks from Unix Tutor ... http://www.nixtutor.com/

/A

High Voltage - Arcing Lightnings Sparks

High Voltage Live Downed Wire Arcing (video)
==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLlOjWmFaS4

Jacob's Ladder: 500 kV Switch Opening
==> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXiOQCRiSp0

Captured Lightning
==> http://www.capturedlightning.com/

/A

South Asian Fonts, Malayalam short story

** From Univ of Chicago's South Asian Language Resource Center,
FONTS: http://salrc.uchicago.edu/resources/fonts/available/

** A Malayalam Short Story:
http://malabar-express.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-post_22.html

/A

The Significance of the Chariot with Krishna and Arjuna

http://www.indianweekender.co.nz/Pages/ArticleDetails/47/350/Heritage/The-Significance-of-the-Chariot-with-Krishna-and-Arjuna

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - The way an email service should be

Bio-dynamic farming

Link ==>
http://psenthilraja.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/bio-dynamic-farming-revival-of-traditional-indian-farming/

SG Learning resource website + India - Hindu Wisdom site

**** Learning Resources SG websites
** SciberDiver -- portal with lots of links to Science Info, suitable
for Primary 3 and above.
==> http://www.sciberdiver.edu.sg/

**** India -- Hindu Wisdom:
Lots of info, links, pictures:
==> http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Glimpses_XVII.htm

/A

Malayalam KuttiKkatha -- Game Pisaas

http://vettamashi.blogspot.com/2007/11/blog-post_20.html

Site full of poems and stories for children:
http://vettamashi.blogspot.com/

/A

Geogebra, Kojo etc...

Geogebra
http://www.geogebra.org/

* Interactive graphics, algebra and spreadsheet
* From elementary school to university level
* Free learning materials

Kojo -- a bit like Logo, visual IDE and play with Math/Art/Animation

* http://www.kogics.net/sf:kojo

MathPiper IDE

* http://www.mathpiper.org/screenshots

/A

Medicine: Physical examination

* Physician Revives a Dying Art: The Physical
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/health/12profile.html?src=me&ref=general

* A "map" of the Stanford 25 -- Physical examination of the patient
http://stanford25.wordpress.com/

/A

Gender of French nouns... French tips

In French, nouns (such as table and spoon) are masculine or feminine based on the Spelling.

* Rule 1: Words that end with E: usually feminine
6 exceptions: (i)~phone, (ii) ~scope, (iii) ~isme, (iii) age, (iv) ~ède,
~ège,~ème, (vi) é

* Rule 2: Words that end with A, I, O, U: usually masculine

* Rule 3: Words that end with consonants: usually masculine

An example re: the use of avoir or etre for Passe Compose.

Remember -- ADVENT.

Arriver - Partir
Descendre - Monter
Venir - Aller
Entrer - Sortir
Naitre - Mourir
Tomber - Rester, Retourner, Passer

/A

Wayanad -- Visit Wayanad!

Key attractions in Wayanad....

Wayanad: http://alagappan.co.in/2010/03/wayanad/

A Weekend At Wayanad: http://blog.a4arvind.in/a-weekend-at-wayanad

/A

Python script to automate your GTalk Status Message

Want to make your GTalk status show customized text, automatically ?
(Or make it display different random quotations, or anything)...

Simple python script using python "xmpp" package:

http://sathyaphoenix.wordpress.com/2010/08/03/finding-invisible-friends-and-dynamically-updating-your-status-in-google-chat-using-xmpp-scripts-linux-python-ubuntu/

/A

समय लाभ सम लाभ नहिं, समय
चूक सम चूक।

चतुरन चित रहिमन लगी, समय
चूक की हूक।।

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Same, same, but different...

Every Rubik's solution found

Every Rubik's solution found

WASHINGTON - AN INTERNATIONAL team of researchers using computer time
lent to them by Google has found every way the popular Rubik's Cube
puzzle can be solved, and showed it can always be solved in 20 moves or
less.

The study is just the latest attempt by Rubik's enthusiasts to figure
out the secrets of the cube, which has proven to be altogether far more
complicated that its jaunty colours might suggest.

At the crux of the quest has been a bid to determine the lowest number
of moves required to get the cube from any given muddled configuration
to the colour-aligned solution.

'Every solver of the Cube uses an algorithm, which is a sequence of
steps for solving the Cube,' said the team of mathematicians, who
include Morley Davidson of Ohio's Kent State University, Google engineer
John Dethridge, German math teacher Herbert Kociemba and Tomas Rokicki,
a California programmer. 'There are many different algorithms, varying
in complexity and number of moves required, but those that can be
memorized by a mortal typically require more than forty moves.' 'One may
suppose God would use a much more efficient algorithm, one that always
uses the shortest sequence of moves; this is known as God's Algorithm.

The number of moves this algorithm would take in the worst case is
called God's Number. At long last, God's Number has been shown to be
20.' The research, published online, ends a 30-year search for the most
efficient way to correctly align the 26 coloured cubes that make up Erno
Rubrik's 1974 invention.

'It took fifteen years after the introduction of the Cube to find the
first position that provably requires 20 moves to solve,' the team said.
'It is appropriate that fifteen years after that, we prove that twenty
moves suffice for all position.' Using computers lent to them by Google
- the company won't disclose how many or how powerful they are - the
team crunched through billions of Cube positions, solving each one over
a period of 'just a few weeks.' The study builds on the work of a
veritable pantheon of Rubik's researchers, starting with Morwen
Thistlethwaite who in 1981 showed 52 moves were sufficient to reach the
solution from any given Cube position. -- AFP

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Accessible with your email software
or over the web

nice stories and articles....
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles09/egypt-26.shtml

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Choose from over 50 domains or use your own

Delhi IIT-JEE topper is just 14 & homeschooled

Delhi IIT-JEE topper is just 14 & homeschooled
Neha Pushkarna, TNN, May 27, 2010, 12.47am IST
NEW DELHI: The boy sat hunched, his eyes on the floor and his hands held
in a twisted clasp below his knees, clearly uncomfortable with all the
attention.

On Wednesday, 14-year-old Sahal Kaushik left everyone gasping in
disbelief by not only becoming the youngest ever to crack the tough
IIT-JEE test but also topping it in Delhi and notching an all-India rank
of 33.

Sahal, schooled at home by his mother, Ruchi Kaushik, a
doctor-turned-homemaker, replied after what seemed an eternity to the
barrage of questions ^ which IIT would he join? Would he study
electronics engineering? He looked up: "I want to study pure science,
physics or mathematics, not engineering." He looked down again. "I took
the JEE because I could also get science courses through it."

He looks like any other 14-year-old, but is clearly very special. Sahal
could spell out long words when he was just two, he recited tables till
100 at the age of four, and by the time he was six, he had finished
reading H G Well's 'Time Machine'. The child's brain is obviously wired
differently.

He muttered something to the effect that topping JEE in Delhi wasn't a
"big deal". Then a long pause. Was he doing some complex mental maths,
someone asked. "No," he smiled, "not today." He said he attributed his
success to his mother and his "physics sir" but his all-time idol was
Albert Einstein. He also wanted to do research in astrophysics. His
mother added Sahal may go for a five-year integrated MSc in physics at
IIT-Kanpur.

There is no age bar for entering IIT, but a candidate is required to
clear class XII. So, Sahal enrolled with Vandana International School,
Dwarka, for two years. He scored 78% in PCM ^ marks that might not be
enough to get him into a half-decent Delhi University college. Asked
about his lacklustre class XII results, Sahal said, "That's because I
studied for only four days for each paper."

"This boy doesn't need a pen and paper. He solved JEE orally before
selecting the answers. He speaks less, thinks more," said U P Singh,
Sahal's mentor at Narayan IIT Academy. In the last two years, Sahal was
given a separate group of teachers who taught him exclusively for six
hours, six days a week.

"When he came to us at the age of 12 or 13, he said he was interested in
electrostatics and also answered complex mathematical problems by just
calculating them in the mind. I had never seen anyone like him before,"
Singh said. "But he is what he is thanks to his mother who sacrificed
her career to mentor him so well," he added.

Sahal joined school only in 2006 and cleared class X in 2008. Before he
was introduced to classroom teaching, his mother taught him "like it
should be". He never took any exam, even through NIOS. "I realised very
early that my child was different. I didn't send him to a school as I
thought it would make him dull. I faced a lot of social pressure when I
quit my practice and started teaching him at home 12 years ago. But it
has paid off," said Ruchi Kaushik.

She remembered that she never taught Sahal according to any set pattern.
"Sometimes, we would study geography for days together. On some days, he
only read novels. When he read Charles Dickens, I told him about society
in London back then, and its history too. That's how he learnt," she
explained.
Sahal's father, who is in the Army, is posted in Assam. His sister, who
is two years younger to him, also studies at home. "My daughter was
initially slightly dyslexic but she has overcome it now. She is more
into arts and more outgoing than Sahal," Ruchi said.

Sahal has many "older" friends from the coaching centre. His mother has
invested Rs 15 lakh to put together a library at home. "All our salary
goes into this. We now have more than 2,000 books and Sahal has already
read them all," Ruchi said.

Does Sahal have any hobbies? Any special interests? "He knows all about
Indian mythology," said Ruchi. "He loves reading about Egyptian history
and anthropology." Her daughter, Saras, reminds her, "He also knows
horse-riding and swimming."

Little Saras said her brother has won the Olympiads in maths, physics,
chemistry, biology and has also worked with Dr Ratnashree, head of Nehru
Planetarium, on calibrations in Jantar Mantar. So did Ruchi ever try
finding the reason for her son's gifts? "Not really. That's the way he
is."

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - The way an email service should be

MathsNet.Net

Just go to ==> http://mathsnet.net/

/A

must see

http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/2010/impossible-motion-magnet-like-slopes/

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Send your email first class

The internet could re-wire your brain -- from WSJ

* The cognitive effects are measurable: We're turning into shallow thinkers, says Nicholas Carr.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704025304575284981644790098.html
The title is "Does the Internet Make You Dumber?" but that is just
the catchy title.

By NICHOLAS CARR

The Roman philosopher Seneca may have put it best 2,000 years ago: "To
be everywhere is to be nowhere." Today, the Internet grants us easy
access to unprecedented amounts of information. But a growing body of
scientific evidence suggests that the Net, with its constant
distractions and interruptions, is also turning us into scattered and
superficial thinkers.

The picture emerging from the research is deeply troubling, at least to
anyone who values the depth, rather than just the velocity, of human
thought. People who read text studded with links, the studies show,
comprehend less than those who read traditional linear text. People who
watch busy multimedia presentations remember less than those who take in
information in a more sedate and focused manner. People who are
continually distracted by emails, alerts and other messages understand
less than those who are able to concentrate. And people who juggle many
tasks are less creative and less productive than those who do one thing
at a time.

The common thread in these disabilities is the division of attention.
The richness of our thoughts, our memories and even our personalities
hinges on our ability to focus the mind and sustain concentration. Only
when we pay deep attention to a new piece of information are we able to
associate it "meaningfully and systematically with knowledge already
well established in memory," writes the Nobel Prize-winning
neuroscientist Eric Kandel. Such associations are essential to mastering
complex concepts.

When we're constantly distracted and interrupted, as we tend to be
online, our brains are unable to forge the strong and expansive neural
connections that give depth and distinctiveness to our thinking. We
become mere signal-processing units, quickly shepherding disjointed bits
of information into and then out of short-term memory.

In an article published in Science last year, Patricia Greenfield, a
leading developmental psychologist, reviewed dozens of studies on how
different media technologies influence our cognitive abilities. Some of
the studies indicated that certain computer tasks, like playing video
games, can enhance "visual literacy skills," increasing the speed at
which people can shift their focus among icons and other images on
screens. Other studies, however, found that such rapid shifts in focus,
even if performed adeptly, result in less rigorous and "more automatic"
thinking.

56 Seconds
Average time an American spends looking at a Web page.
Source: Nielsen

In one experiment conducted at Cornell University, for example, half a
class of students was allowed to use Internet-connected laptops during a
lecture, while the other had to keep their computers shut. Those who
browsed the Web performed much worse on a subsequent test of how well
they retained the lecture's content. While it's hardly surprising that
Web surfing would distract students, it should be a note of caution to
schools that are wiring their classrooms in hopes of improving learning.

Ms. Greenfield concluded that "every medium develops some cognitive
skills at the expense of others." Our growing use of screen-based media,
she said, has strengthened visual-spatial intelligence, which can
improve the ability to do jobs that involve keeping track of lots of
simultaneous signals, like air traffic control. But that has been
accompanied by "new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes,"
including "abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive
problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination." We're becoming, in
a word, shallower.

In another experiment, recently conducted at Stanford University's
Communication Between Humans and Interactive Media Lab, a team of
researchers gave various cognitive tests to 49 people who do a lot of
media multitasking and 52 people who multitask much less frequently. The
heavy multitaskers performed poorly on all the tests. They were more
easily distracted, had less control over their attention, and were much
less able to distinguish important information from trivia.

The researchers were surprised by the results. They had expected that
the intensive multitaskers would have gained some unique mental
advantages from all their on-screen juggling. But that wasn't the case.
In fact, the heavy multitaskers weren't even good at multitasking. They
were considerably less adept at switching between tasks than the more
infrequent multitaskers. "Everything distracts them," observed Clifford
Nass, the professor who heads the Stanford lab.

It would be one thing if the ill effects went away as soon as we turned
off our computers and cellphones. But they don't. The cellular structure
of the human brain, scientists have discovered, adapts readily to the
tools we use, including those for finding, storing and sharing
information. By changing our habits of mind, each new technology
strengthens certain neural pathways and weakens others. The cellular
alterations continue to shape the way we think even when we're not using
the technology.

The pioneering neuroscientist Michael Merzenich believes our brains are
being "massively remodeled" by our ever-intensifying use of the Web and
related media. In the 1970s and 1980s, Mr. Merzenich, now a professor
emeritus at the University of California in San Francisco, conducted a
famous series of experiments on primate brains that revealed how
extensively and quickly neural circuits change in response to
experience. When, for example, Mr. Merzenich rearranged the nerves in a
monkey's hand, the nerve cells in the animal's sensory cortex quickly
reorganized themselves to create a new "mental map" of the hand. In a
conversation late last year, he said that he was profoundly worried
about the cognitive consequences of the constant distractions and
interruptions the Internet bombards us with. The long-term effect on the
quality of our intellectual lives, he said, could be "deadly."

What we seem to be sacrificing in all our surfing and searching is our
capacity to engage in the quieter, attentive modes of thought that
underpin contemplation, reflection and introspection. The Web never
encourages us to slow down. It keeps us in a state of perpetual mental
locomotion.

It is revealing, and distressing, to compare the cognitive effects of
the Internet with those of an earlier information technology, the
printed book. Whereas the Internet scatters our attention, the book
focuses it. Unlike the screen, the page promotes contemplativeness.

Reading a long sequence of pages helps us develop a rare kind of mental
discipline. The innate bias of the human brain, after all, is to be
distracted. Our predisposition is to be aware of as much of what's going
on around us as possible. Our fast-paced, reflexive shifts in focus were
once crucial to our survival. They reduced the odds that a predator
would take us by surprise or that we'd overlook a nearby source of food.

To read a book is to practice an unnatural process of thought. It
requires us to place ourselves at what T. S. Eliot, in his poem "Four
Quartets," called "the still point of the turning world." We have to
forge or strengthen the neural links needed to counter our instinctive
distractedness, thereby gaining greater control over our attention and
our mind.

It is this control, this mental discipline, that we are at risk of
losing as we spend ever more time scanning and skimming online. If the
slow progression of words across printed pages damped our craving to be
inundated by mental stimulation, the Internet indulges it. It returns us
to our native state of distractedness, while presenting us with far more
distractions than our ancestors ever had to contend with.
—Nicholas Carr is the author, most recently, of "The Shallows: What the
Internet Is Doing to Our Brains."

================

Physics Engines, 3D Engine...

** Physics Engines
==> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics_engine

** A 3D engine that runs on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and soon on Xbox, PlayStation Portable, SymbianOS, and iPhone:

==> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrlicht_Engine

/A

" WAQT NAHI "

" WAQT NAHI "

Har khushi Hai Logon Ke Daman Mein,

Par Ek Hansi Ke Liye Waqt Nahi...

Din Raat Daudti Duniya Mein,

Zindagi Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Maa Ki Loree Ka Ehsaas To Hai,

Par Maa Ko Maa Kehne Ka Waqt Nahi.

Saare Rishton Ko To Hum Maar Chuke,

Ab Unhe Dafnane Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.

Saare Naam Mobile Mein Hain,

Par Dosti Ke Lye Waqt Nahi.

Gairon Ki Kya Baat Karen,

Jab Apno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Aankhon Me Hai Neend Badee,

Par Sone Ka Waqt Nahi.

Dil Hai Ghamon Se Bhara Hua,

Par Rone Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi .

Paison ki Daud Me Aise Daude,

Ki Thakne ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.

Paraye Ehsason Ki Kya Kadr Karein,

Jab Apane Sapno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi..

Tu Hi Bata E Zindagi,

Iss Zindagi Ka Kya Hoga,

Ki Har Pal Marne Walon Ko,

Jeene Ke Liye Bhi Waqt Nahi..

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - The way an email service should be

for HTML Coders

Zen Coding...

==>
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/30/if-you-code-html-zen-coding-will-change-your-life/

==>
http://code.google.com/p/zen-coding/

==>
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/11/21/zen-coding-a-new-way-to-write-html-code/

----

PhET Circuit Construction (AC+DC) Simulation Kit

Build circuits virtually....
==>
http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Circuit_Construction_Kit_ACDC

/A

CMU ETC, PANDA-3D Animation (scriptable using python)

--> http://www.etc.cmu.edu/ CMU Entertainment Technology Center

--> http://www.panda3d.org/ PANDA-3D for Animation (use Python Scripting)

/A

GCSE All in One site... Very useful

GCSE site ====> http://www.s-cool.co.uk/index.html

/A

Google Buzzzz and stuff, what it does with your GMail contacts list

http://www.cauce.org/2010/02/a-dangerous-buzz-and-optin-isnt-just-for-email.html

/A

Interesting...

Very interesting: Bob Cromwell
http://www.cromwell-intl.com/
DIY projects, Linux, Tinkering... stuff that works.

----

Electronics...DIY, soldering, EAGLE pcb design...

Start with: http://tangentsoft.net/elec/
(See Tangent Tutorials for intro DIY electronics videos:
http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/ )

....

No black holes ?

MALAPPURAM: A Kerala college student, who had disputed the famous black
hole theory of noted scientist Stephen Hawking, has become part of the
Large Hadron Collider (LHC) experiment. The LHC, a gigantic instrument
placed near Geneva, is studying the impact of particle collision.

C.V. Midhun, a second semester B.Sc. Physics student of the Majlis Arts
and Science College at Puramannur in Valanchery, is taking part in the
LHC experiment online from his home at Naduvattom.

Midhun was given online access to the experiment by the European
Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world's largest particle
physics laboratory, following the "relativity theories" put forth by
him. He had claimed that there would be no black hole when protons
collide. He made his point by measuring the energy generated by the
cosmic rays coming out of particle collision and comparing it with that
of the cosmic rays from the sun.

"The energy of the sun's cosmic rays has been found much more than that
of the cosmic rays from particle collision," he says. "As there is no
black hole in the sun, it is unlikely that there will be a black hole
when subatomic particle beams collide at very high energy inside the
circular accelerator."

Midhun, son of Vallabhan Namboothiri, a temple priest, and Sreedevi, a
teacher, first sent his theory to the Indian Institute of Sciences
(IISc) in Bangalore. The IISc scientists, realising the significance of
his theories, directed him to the CERN.

Impressed by his theories, the CERN authorities inducted him into the
LHC experiment. They made him part of the ATLAS collaboration, one of
the six particle detector experiments of the LHC.

On Saturday, the Malappuram District Panchayat felicitated Midhun at a
function. Union Minister of State for Railways E. Ahamed presented him
with a memento and he was congratulated by a host of political leaders
and people's representatives.

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Or how I learned to stop worrying and
love email again

Phy. student says no black hole and joins Geneva LHC expt

"...He had claimed that there would be no black hole when protons collide. He made his point by measuring the energy generated by the cosmic rays coming out of particle collision and comparing it with that of the cosmic rays from the sun.

``The energy of the sun's cosmic rays has been found much more than that
of the cosmic rays from particle collision,'' he says. ``As there is no
black hole in the sun, it is unlikely that there will be a black hole
when subatomic particle beams collide at very high energy inside the
circular accelerator.''

... more at
http://www.hindu.com/2010/03/23/stories/2010032364002000.htm
(Thanks Charu)

Puzzle, Fallacies, Logic, Children's Storybooks.....

------------------------------------------------------
PUZZLES

Puzzle Page from Japan...
http://math.josai.ac.jp/fun/index.html
------------------------------------------------------
FALLACIES
Appealing to Fear, Guilt by association, Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc, Red
Herring...
==> http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/
------------------------------------------------------
CHILDREN's LITT.

* Best Online Classic Children's Books: (all titles)
==> http://www.mainlesson.com/displaybooksbytitle.php

* Jataka tales (Ellen C. Babbitt)
==> http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=babbitt&book=jataka&story=_contents

------------------------------------------------------
BASTIAT on.... TAXES and the ARTS etc

* How much taxes is right ? Should the State fund the arts ?

Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) has, not the ready answers, but the
questions.

That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen
==> http://bastiat.org/en/twisatwins.html

------------------------------------------------------

Learning links

http://www.learner.org/resources/browse.html

http://www.cosmolearning.com/

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - The professional email service

Society of Robots (non LEGOtist !)
http://www.societyofrobots.com/?gclid=CPvfpN69oKACFUpB6wodYiOmag

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Access all of your messages and folders
wherever you are

Emmy: Software creates beautiful music

UC Santa Cruz emeritus professor David Cope's software, nicknamed Emmy, creates beautiful original music.

==> http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/triumph-of-the-cyborg-composer-8507/

Quote: "Cope attracted praise from musicians and computer scientists, but his creation raised troubling questions: If a machine could write a Mozart sonata every bit as good as the originals, then what was so special about Mozart? And was there really any soul behind the great works, or were Beethoven and his ilk
just clever mathematical manipulators of notes?'"

==> http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/02/24/2315204

/A

IIT Madras NPTel video courses

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NPTel video course: http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sripad Karmarkar on Solid State Devices:
http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/showVideo.php?v=Kp-jS6NHsB8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GITA links + Audio + a quote

BHAGAVAD GITA LINKS

(PDF) Chinmaya intro to GIta
==> http://www.journeytothetruth.com/journey/holyGita/toc.pdf

(AUDIO) Swami Paramarthananda -- Commentary on GITA Chapt 3
==> http://www.archive.org/details/BhagavadGitaCommentary_Chapter03_by_Swami_Parmarthananda

---------------------------------------------
A QUOTE

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/A

French Lessons -- Audio

* The Best -- College of DuPage French Lessons (Audio streams)
http://www.cod.edu/IT/STREAMINGMEDIA/academicaudio/French01/french_01.html
-----------------------------------------------------------
* French Lessons online (with audio): 8 basic lessons
http://www.bonjour.com/

* Beginners' French Vocabulary
http://french.about.com/od/begvocab/Beginning_French_Vocabulary_French_Vocabulary_for_Beginners.htm

* French -- Listen and Learn
http://french.about.com/od/listening/French_Listening_Links_and_Resources_Listen_to_French.htm

>>> French Audio Dictionary
>>> http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/audiodictionary.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------

Nudging yourself into action, Game!, Math.. Evolution Conspiracy etc

--------------------------------------------------------------
* Nudging yourself into action:
http://blog.raamdev.com/2009/12/07/10-ways-to-nudge-yourself-into-action
--------------------------------------------------------------
* My dad has more money than yours!
http://borcherds.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/my-dad-has-more-money-than-yours/
--------------------------------------------------------------
* Advances in Indian Mathematics -- Roddam Narasimha article
http://www.asiasociety.org/countries-history/traditions/math-science-and-technology-india-ancient-recent
--------------------------------------------------------------
Spray-on-Glass: Liquid Glass coming your way...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/7125556/Liquid-glass-the-spray-on-scientific-revelation.html
--------------------------------------------------------------

**** POST-DARWIN studies, EVOLUTION Conspiracy *****

The Altenberg-16 is a "secret" meeting of sixteen scientists, that occurred at the Konrad Lorenz Institute in Austria.

The Altenberg 16 may rewrite the history of evolution. Search for
Lynn Margulis, Suzan Mazur, Mary Leakey

==> http://darwiniana.com/index.php?s=altenberg

==> http://evolutionconspiracy.com/

Read sample chapters of book:
==> http://evolutionconspiracy.com/about-the-book/free-sample-chapters/

--------------------------------------------------------------

* LINUX and MALWARE
Malware found on Gnome screensaver:
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/12/09/2215253/Malware-Found-Hidden-In-Screensaver-On-Gnome-Look

/A

Want a degree for your pet cat/dog ?

No problem, Thunderwood College will help you.
==> http://thunderwoodcollege.com/degrees.php
and it's free :)

Another is Preston University, a "degree mill" where students can get doctorates for 18,000 (and no learning).

==> http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_275807.html
==> http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20080905-86027.html
==> http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20080829-84946.html
==> http://chronicle.com/article/Diploma-Mill-Crackdown-in-W/38369/
(Preston University went from Wyoming to Alabama due to a crackdown)

.................................
/A

In Hindu mythology, there are three worlds, three goddesses and three
gods.

The three gods are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, who create, sustain and
destroy, respectively. What is most baffling about this triad is that
the sustainer and destroyer are worshipped, never the creator.

Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint

Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint
The root of this perplexity lies in a template that spellbinds the
modern mind. It is the Western template, informed greatly by the Bible,
where god is the creator, making the devil the destroyer. To understand
the Hindu trinity, one needs to break free from this Western template.

The world Brahma creates is not the objective world. Hindu seers had
scant regard for the objective, measurable reality. They believed that
the human mind is so prejudiced that it can never ever truly break free
from the fetters of bias. They focused their explorations on subjective
reality, the virtual image of the world that every individual constructs
in his or her mind.

Data for this mental image of the world comes from the five senses. It
is then shaped by prejudices, both positive and negative, which in turn
is informed by memories and dreams, both pleasurable and painful. This
is Brahmanda, Brahma's world. This makes each and every breathing person
a Brahma. Hence the Vedic maxim: aham brahmasmi, I am Brahma.

We are creators of our subjective world. Our behaviour is a function of
this constructed world of ours. While most of us construct a finite
prejudiced world view, it is theoretically possible to construct an
infinite unprejudiced world view. He who does that becomes one with the
brahman, divinity itself. Until then, we remain Brahmas, unworshipped
creators. Life is a journey from construction of Brahmanda to its
deconstruction, from creation to destruction, from Brahma to Shiva.

Our constructed world has three components, visualized as the three
goddesses: the material component or Lakshmi; the intellectual component
or Saraswati; the emotional component or Durga. LSD, in short! As we
seek to make sense of our lives, we chase LSD. Though the goddesses
belong to no one, we seek to possess them, control their flow, make them
predictable and dependable, though to our dismay they remain independent
and whimsical.

Lakshmi matters, because she is wealth, health and fortune. She is
critical to our survival. But survival alone is not motivation enough.
Besides "L" we seek Durga, emotional gratification. We yearn for
significance; we yearn to feel good about ourselves, we want to believe
we matter. That is why we are not content acquiring and securing food,
clothing and shelter. We want to feel important in the social order of
things, in our family, among friends and peers. Hence, the desire to
enhance our careers, increase our influence in society and expand our
business empires.

The pursuit of material and emotional gratification becomes an
addiction. Growth is never enough to guarantee survival or satiate
significance. One feels as if one is running on a treadmill of
unpredictable speed. If you don't keep up, you will fall. Fear of the
fall keeps us running. As Brahmanda expands, it splits into three. This
is Tripura, the three worlds, comprised of who we are, what we possess
and what we do not possess. In other words: me, mine and others'.
Invariably, "me and mine" matters more than "others'". In our myopic
vision of the world, we delude ourselves that "others" exist only to
ensure the survival and significance of "me and mine". This delusion is
rooted in our scant regard for Saraswati, the "S" of LSD, who constantly
draws attention to the other Vedic maxim: tat tvam asi, you are Brahma
too.

In delusion, we forget that others around us are also constructing their
own subjective realities, harbouring similar ambitions of survival and
significance, and having their very own Tripura. In other peoples'
Brahmanda, our "me and mine" is relegated to the world they address as
"others".

When my Brahmanda expands at the cost of your Brahmanda, conflict is
inevitable. We end up as beasts fighting over territory. We end up
playing the game "dog and bone" and find glory in being the alpha male.
At the core of this game is human fear of insignificance. This fear
fuels our cupidity. This fear makes us go to war.

With his third eye, Shiva destroys Kama or cupidity, burns the three
worlds and smears his forehead with three horizontal lines of ash. That
he holds in his hand a trident, three blades united at the staff, is a
reminder that the Tripura is a manmade construct born of human fear and
imagination, and not a natural construction. That he demands offerings
of Bilva sprigs, constituted of three leaves joined at the base, is a
reminder that true happiness comes when we balance our craving for
survival and significance with sensitivity for others. Lakshmi and Durga
without Saraswati will not work.

Vishnu facilitates this journey from Brahma to Shiva. Peace will come
only when we empathize with others, when we realize that everyone is in
the same boat, fearful Brahmas grappling with existential angst. From
empathy comes dharma, elaborated in the epics, the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata, where—as Ram and Krishna—Vishnu demonstrates the human
ability to overpower the animal instinct to dominate, and make room for
the helpless and the unfit. Only when we care for the other, will we
stop being territorial beasts. Only then will LSD be shared rather than
hoarded. Only then will we achieve what is aspired for in the triple
chant that concludes all Hindu rituals: shanti, shanti, shanti-hi.

--
http://www.fastmail.fm - Faster than the air-speed velocity of an
unladen european swallow

Study in Italy -- information

* Undergraduate studies: Corsi di Laurea (CL = First degree courses)
* Graduate studies: Corsi di Laurea Specialistics (CLS = Specialized
Degree Courses)

* Post Graduate studies: Corsi di Dottorato di Ricerca (CDR = Research
Doctorate Pgms)
..etc

Courses are mainly in Italian, a few in English.

Italian Higher Education: www.study-in-italy.it
Ministry of Univs & Research: www.miur.it
Ministry of Edu: www.istruzione.it

Opportunities:
www.esteri.it/MAE/EN/Ministero/Servizi/Stranieri/Opportunita
www.iicsingapore.esteri.it

~~~~~~~~