Don't worry, it will not happen for atleast a billion years.. now read on ...
Astronomers calculate there is a tiny chance that Mars or Venus could collide with Earth - though it would not happen for at least a billion years.
The finding comes from simulations to show how orbits of planets might evolve billions of years into the future.
But the calculated chances of such events occurring are tiny.
Writing in the journal Nature, a team led by Jacques Laskar shows there is also a chance Mercury could strike Venus and merge into a larger planet.
Professor Laskar of the Paris Observatory and his colleagues also report that Mars might experience a close encounter with Jupiter - whose massive gravity could hurl the Red Planet out of our Solar System.
Astronomers had thought that the orbits of the planets were predictable. But 20 years ago, researchers showed that there were slight fluctuations in their paths.
Now, the team has shown how in a small proportion of cases these fluctuations can grow until after several million years, the orbits of the inner planets begin to overlap.
The researchers carried out more than 2,500 simulations. They found that in some, Mars and Venus collided with the Earth.
"It will be complete devastation," said Professor Laskar.
"The planet is coming in at 10km per second - 10 times the speed of a bullet - and of course Mars is much more massive than a bullet."
Professor Laskar's calculations also show that there is a possibility of Mercury crashing into Venus. But in that scenario, the Earth would not be significantly affected.
"If there is anyone around billions of years from now, they'd see a burst of light in the sky and the two planets would be merged," he said.
"The new planet would be a little bit bigger than Venus, and the Solar System would be a little more regular after the collision, but the Earth's orbit would not be affected."
The incredible story of ''Christian" the pet lion
Have you read or heard of the play by George Bernard Shaw "Androcles and the Lion" and wondered if it could ever happen? Could a carnivore, lion ever love a human being for the kindness he showed to it and display mercy in return ? Uh ! Hard to believe right ?
Androcles, who is a slave puts off pain from an ailing lion by removing a thorn stuck to its paw. He is captured and when was thrown into the gladiator to be killed by the lion, the lion happens to be the same lion which he had helped when he was hiding in the woods before being captured by the Roman soldiers.
It is a great story of human sport ever since and it had never been heard of to happen in real life ever until I read this story of a pet lion cub, Christian who was raised as a cub in a Chelsea London flat by John Rendall and Ace Berg. The cub was bought in 1969 at London's Harrod Store and was raised as if it was a pet dog. Later as Christian grew bigger, the owners happened to meet the stars of the movie Born free and inspired by the movie, they considered rehabilitating Christian back to the wild and introduced him back to the woods in Nairobi Kenya's Kora national park. Year after year, the owners go to visit Christian at his newfound natural home, not expecting him to remember them, but to their heartknotting surprise, Christian unfailingly recognizes them and shows how much he misses them by hugging them around the shoulders lovingly the way he always did. Watch this video to see this touching story of Christian. After seeing this story, all I did was just cried !
To see the whole amazing story, buy the full dvd at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/shop/acatalog/Videos_and_DVDs.html and help The Born Free Foundation save more wildlife.
Androcles, who is a slave puts off pain from an ailing lion by removing a thorn stuck to its paw. He is captured and when was thrown into the gladiator to be killed by the lion, the lion happens to be the same lion which he had helped when he was hiding in the woods before being captured by the Roman soldiers.
It is a great story of human sport ever since and it had never been heard of to happen in real life ever until I read this story of a pet lion cub, Christian who was raised as a cub in a Chelsea London flat by John Rendall and Ace Berg. The cub was bought in 1969 at London's Harrod Store and was raised as if it was a pet dog. Later as Christian grew bigger, the owners happened to meet the stars of the movie Born free and inspired by the movie, they considered rehabilitating Christian back to the wild and introduced him back to the woods in Nairobi Kenya's Kora national park. Year after year, the owners go to visit Christian at his newfound natural home, not expecting him to remember them, but to their heartknotting surprise, Christian unfailingly recognizes them and shows how much he misses them by hugging them around the shoulders lovingly the way he always did. Watch this video to see this touching story of Christian. After seeing this story, all I did was just cried !
To see the whole amazing story, buy the full dvd at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/shop/acatalog/Videos_and_DVDs.html and help The Born Free Foundation save more wildlife.
The Cricket game was invented in Belgium !
The German academic Heiner Gillmeister and his Australian colleague, John Campbell uncovered an apparent reference to cricket in the 16th Century work, "The Image of Ipocrisie", attributed to the English poet John Skelton, which refers to Flemish weavers who settled in southern and eastern England. They are described as "kings of crekettes"; "wickettes" are mentioned too. It is thought the weavers brought the game to England and played it close to where they looked after theirsheep, using shepherd’s crooks as bats. The discovery challenges the long established theory thatthe sport evolved from English children’s games.
He points to a 1533 poem attributed to John Skelton, a poet and playwright, named The Image of Ipocrisie
O ! lodre of Ipocrites,
Nowe shut vpp your wickettes,
And clappe to your clickettes!
A! Farewell, kings of crekettes!
Mr Campbell’s research was based on earlier investigations by Mr Gillmeister, a linguist from the University of Bonn. He is certain cricket cannot have started in England. "There is no way to relate the term to any existing English word," he told the BBC. "I was brought up with Flemish children and I know the language well.
I immediately thought of the Flemish phrase ’met de krik ketsen’which means to ’chase a ball with a curved stick’." In response, cricket historian David Frith said: "It is hard to deny that this is a breakthrough. This discovery points to an addition to the great historyof cricket." He added: "It does make you wonder why Belgium isn’t playing test cricket though,doesn’t it?"
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk
Super Brain Yoga
Superbrain Yoga® is a simple and effective technique to energize and recharge the brain.
It is based on the principles of subtle energy and ear acupuncture. This powerful technique is explained in Master Choa Kok Sui's latest book Superbrain Yoga®.Pilot studies on the effects of Superbrain Yoga® on school children include children with disabilities such as ADHD/ADD, developmental and cognitive delays, Down syndrome and specific learning disabilities. Children studied showed significant increase in academic and behavioral performance, greater class participation and improved social skills. In one study, the result of an electroencephalograph showed increased amplitude in the parieto-occipital region of the brain following the Superbrain Yoga®. This indicates increased brain electrical activity following the exercise. More studies on the effects of Superbrain Yoga® are being conducted.
It is based on the principles of subtle energy and ear acupuncture. This powerful technique is explained in Master Choa Kok Sui's latest book Superbrain Yoga®.Pilot studies on the effects of Superbrain Yoga® on school children include children with disabilities such as ADHD/ADD, developmental and cognitive delays, Down syndrome and specific learning disabilities. Children studied showed significant increase in academic and behavioral performance, greater class participation and improved social skills. In one study, the result of an electroencephalograph showed increased amplitude in the parieto-occipital region of the brain following the Superbrain Yoga®. This indicates increased brain electrical activity following the exercise. More studies on the effects of Superbrain Yoga® are being conducted.
Convert your iTouch into an iPhone using Skype
From a distance, you cannot make out the difference between an iTouch and an iPhone. Your budget may not let you buy the iPhone for its expensive data features and the recurring, yet again expensive monthly dataplan. But you are not far from making inexpensive calls using your iTouch and almost pay nothing for making inexpensive calls whatever the destination is !
Well, how can you get your iTouch upgrade to an iPhone ? can you really make calls using the iPhone ? ...Well, Yes !
What does it cost ?...Nothing much.
All you need is the hands free cable that is available for the iPhone. This is the cable that has the earbuds and the tiny microphone alongside. This is the way you are gonna be able to talk through the iTouch. Without this headset, iTouch is designed only for outputting music.
Just note that the iTouch can act as your phone only where you can access Wi-fi. Do not expect the itouch to be able to allow you make a call when you are hiking in the desert.
Yes, I understand is what you say !. Ok, move on !
Using the Wi-fi connection on your itouch, download Skype for iPhone/Itouch from the iTunes store. Once you install this, attach the headset cord (microphone with speakers) like the ones you use for iPhone to connect to your iTouch. You can login to your skype account or create one to get started. Also consider getting a suitable subscription to make local calls and international calls over skype. An itouch at home can double up as your music player ond your home phone by using skype.
What is the Yamaha Education Suite Y.E.S.5 (YES5)
Yamaha Education Suite 5 (Y.E.S. 5)The Yamaha Education Suite—a set of learning tools that utilize the latest technology to make studying and practicing music on Yamaha Electronic Keyboards more fun and fulfilling than ever before!
The Yamaha Education Suite includes:
1. Lesson
The convenient and easy-to-use Lesson feature, guides you through the parts of a song—just like a patient teacher! Select from any one of many songs , and learn the left- and right hand parts independently at first, then together. Lesson features three easy steps that help you master each song: Listen and Learn, Timing and Waiting.
Lesson 1 (Listen & Learn) ....... Listen and learn the melody or rhythm of a selected Song.
Lesson 2 (Timing) .........Learn to play the notes at the correct timing along with the Song.
Lesson 3 (Waiting) .................... Learn to play the correct notes.
2. Built-in lighted Key Guide
When you are using the Lesson feature or the Dictionary, the key indicators tell you which keys
to play. Also, during song playback, they show the keys that are playing. When Light Guide is on, each key (of the notes in the Song) lights in succession showing you which keys to play and when.
3. Fingering Guide
The Fingering guide is shown on the display and shows you how to play the keyboard. When the Song is started, the fingering guide appears on the display and shows you which fingers you should use while playing.
4. Dictionary
Dictionary is a built-in “chord encyclopedia” that teaches you how to play specific chords by
showing lighting keyboards—perfect for when you know the name of a chord and want to quickly learn how to play it! The Dictionary function is essentially a built-in “chord dictionary” that shows you the individual notes of chords. It is ideal when you know the name of a certain chord and want to quickly learn how to play it.
5. Notice your Grade
The keyboards also has the Grade feature. Grade is a virtual “teacher,” evaluating your practice sessions and rating your performance over four levels. When the lesson Song has played all the way through in Lesson 2 or 3, your performance will be evaluated in four levels: OK, Good, Very Good, or Excellent.
Mind map through online Visual Thesaurus
I have often wondered how we think and innovate. How incredible human mind is for its capacity and capability which can cut through barriers of learning and knowledge. As fascinated as we are with the workings of the brain, so have there been efforts to replicate the innards of the human mind through artificial intelligence. We definitely have achieved some progress on this front. For the common folk, one may not have the benefit of twiddling with technologies or use artificial intelligence or gadgets, but some are available at hand to just explore how one's thought processes work. One such interesting tool I found on the net was the Visual Thesaurus.
Just as an example, I have the images here of what was in my mind when I was thinking of a title and a punchline for my blog. I just keyed in these words into the visual thesaurus and to my surprise I found that this is exactly the words that were going through my mind. The analogy of the human mind map is well represented through the Visual Thesaurus.
Give it a try to check what your visual thinking is upto!
Choosing Piano Keyboard for a child beginner
Not until recently did my little son had the craze for music until he found a Grand piano at his friend's home. He started playing on it and got hooked on to it so fast that he came back home with his newest demand - A Piano!
Well, while I was considering his request, his friend's dad happened to chat up with me and commended about my little son that he had a natural ability for the keyboard. So, with double confirmation, I started looking for a piano. Now was the question, Should I buy a real piano, or an electronic keyboard. After various considerations, I realised that keyboard was what I wanted. OK. now, which keyboard.
Look around and there are quite a couple of keyboards. With rapidly improvin technology, keyboards have become much sophisticated than ever is what I realised comparing to a 48 key Casio keyboard I had a couple of years ago..
So what are the considerations for buying this keyboard and how should I search it ? This was my shortlist.
1. The instrument should be able to teach a child all the chords in a friendly, phased manner.
2. Teaching alone is not sufficient, it should be able to analyse whether the child is learning.
3. The keyboard should have great features that would be good for years to come.
4. It should be close to a real piano.
5. Maximum budget of 200$
I didn't have much choices other than Casio and Yamaha. Both have a great number of choices and fabulous keyboards but I didn't need convincing that the lighted keyboards are the most appropriate ones for faster learning.
The lighted keyboards actually light up the keys that are to be pressed next to get the tune going.
Two great, most advanced keyboards I found were the Casio LK100 and Yamaha EZ200.
Both these are 61 Key Keyboards and after reading several blogs, articles, I realized that a minimum 61 key keyboard is required to start learning a piano although an 88 Key board is great. I didn't want too big a board either. Looked like these were great keyboards to start with.
There began my hunt for comparing the products.
Both these keyboards are perfect keyboards and are priced right for the great features they are offering. Casio LK 100 costs a third less than the EZ200 at the time of this article.
Great common features about Casio LK 100 and Yamaha EZ200
My son's already learning !
Well, while I was considering his request, his friend's dad happened to chat up with me and commended about my little son that he had a natural ability for the keyboard. So, with double confirmation, I started looking for a piano. Now was the question, Should I buy a real piano, or an electronic keyboard. After various considerations, I realised that keyboard was what I wanted. OK. now, which keyboard.
Look around and there are quite a couple of keyboards. With rapidly improvin technology, keyboards have become much sophisticated than ever is what I realised comparing to a 48 key Casio keyboard I had a couple of years ago..
So what are the considerations for buying this keyboard and how should I search it ? This was my shortlist.
1. The instrument should be able to teach a child all the chords in a friendly, phased manner.
2. Teaching alone is not sufficient, it should be able to analyse whether the child is learning.
3. The keyboard should have great features that would be good for years to come.
4. It should be close to a real piano.
5. Maximum budget of 200$
I didn't have much choices other than Casio and Yamaha. Both have a great number of choices and fabulous keyboards but I didn't need convincing that the lighted keyboards are the most appropriate ones for faster learning.
The lighted keyboards actually light up the keys that are to be pressed next to get the tune going.
Two great, most advanced keyboards I found were the Casio LK100 and Yamaha EZ200.
Both these are 61 Key Keyboards and after reading several blogs, articles, I realized that a minimum 61 key keyboard is required to start learning a piano although an 88 Key board is great. I didn't want too big a board either. Looked like these were great keyboards to start with.
There began my hunt for comparing the products.
Both these keyboards are perfect keyboards and are priced right for the great features they are offering. Casio LK 100 costs a third less than the EZ200 at the time of this article.
Great common features about Casio LK 100 and Yamaha EZ200
- 61 Keys, Over 100 songs, 100 instument types.
- 3 Step Lessons, Lighted keys..
- Headphone Compatible, so that learner can learn without disturbing others.
- MIDI compatible, can connect to a comuter to store any compositions etc.
Additional features that Yamaha keyboard has for the additional price you pay:
- Has a Chord Dictionary , Has a Grading system to provide feedback to the learner
- 32 note Polyphony ( Casio has 16). This means one can have
- Metronome ( produces beats at intervals for timing)
- Grand Piano Sound ( at a press of a button, the keyboard transforms to a Grand Piano)
- Real Stereo ( not just 2 speakers)
- Connects to a pedal so that learner can practice as if on a Real Piano.
- More Voices ( 367 in total)
My son's already learning !
Lightning from Clouds : Answer for our energy needs ?
Aaah the storm ! strike.. thunder.. what was that i missed ? A tera million volts of electricity just zipped through and I just saw it disappear right in front of my own eyes.. and I didn't see it coming. and another one just a few miles across.. they are just all over.. so much charge, just gone in a moment ? well how much was lost ? a tera million volts or more ? What did we even lose ? what we lost was what we didn't capture.. wel how could I .. It is so immense and momentary and how could I reach to it and where could I store that all ? i just don't know. This is exactly whats going on every scientist's mind when the lightning strikes.. Alas I wished an idea flashed as well to bring this dream to fruition..
All that we need is a reservoir that could store this energy or an energy in converted form. Some of the ideas are to use the energy to create a hydrolysis of water and separate hydrogen and oxygen , store them for use later. Another possibility is to store this energy in large capacitors.
If that cant be done, use the energy to melt a metal resorvoir with hi specifc latent heat and use the hot molten metal to produce steam; in a way thermal power..
Whatever the solution, the chances of beign able to use the power for a cleaner energy is definitely tue.
The cost of travelling through time
Is traveling through time a possibility ? Given the technologies and understanding of the limitations, how can we even get through the wrappers of time, experience it and come back to tell the tale ?
If it were possible, how would we estimate the cost to get there ? Is travelling farther in time going to cost more ? If travelling back by a day same going to cost the same to travel back several years ?
Is a Paperless economy really 'Green' ?
With Global warming fears increasing, 'save-the-earth' proponents are rapidly embracing e-mail storage as the 'go-green' option in place of using paper.
I sometimes wonder if this affinity for e-storage really amounts to saving trees and is an environment friendly step. Give it a serious thought and it looks like it is not really true.
Besides the benefit of being able to search for the information we need from these archives of data, they are causing more harm than benefit sitting there in the massive servers of corporates and the free e-mail service providers and your own personal PCs and Macs.
Well lets see how. More than 90% of the data we accumulate and stash away is never used. Think about it. All your e-mails are just lying there from several years. Is there a reason why you should continue to store it when you are sure that you wont need it again ?
Most of the electricity that we use comes from thermal power plants. It requires over a tonne of coal to provide enough electricity for 10 homes a day. Server farms where the data is housed have huge electricity requirements to be able to run the servers adn continue to store the data, run the air conditioners etc. And again these servers are doing nothing much but guarding the trash of e-mails and fies that would never be required by us. Statistics show that to store an MB of data for an year, an lb of coal is required. and all this leads to burning more coal and more greenhouse gases being let into the environment.
As much as we reduce the consumption of paper, one must make an honest effort to clean up all the trash email and just delete them all.
If you truly care for the environment, do it today, do it now.
Clean up those trash emails from your mail box !
I sometimes wonder if this affinity for e-storage really amounts to saving trees and is an environment friendly step. Give it a serious thought and it looks like it is not really true.
Besides the benefit of being able to search for the information we need from these archives of data, they are causing more harm than benefit sitting there in the massive servers of corporates and the free e-mail service providers and your own personal PCs and Macs.
Well lets see how. More than 90% of the data we accumulate and stash away is never used. Think about it. All your e-mails are just lying there from several years. Is there a reason why you should continue to store it when you are sure that you wont need it again ?
Most of the electricity that we use comes from thermal power plants. It requires over a tonne of coal to provide enough electricity for 10 homes a day. Server farms where the data is housed have huge electricity requirements to be able to run the servers adn continue to store the data, run the air conditioners etc. And again these servers are doing nothing much but guarding the trash of e-mails and fies that would never be required by us. Statistics show that to store an MB of data for an year, an lb of coal is required. and all this leads to burning more coal and more greenhouse gases being let into the environment.
As much as we reduce the consumption of paper, one must make an honest effort to clean up all the trash email and just delete them all.
If you truly care for the environment, do it today, do it now.
Clean up those trash emails from your mail box !
Economic ways to call families abroad
So.. you are hooked on to that calling card.. It never seems to last for enough time. With the minute rounding, call set up charges, the card expires faster than you recharge and you raise a brow when you get your credit statement at the end f the month !
You are always on the look out for the best quality ccallign card for the lowest rate. The hunt goes on.. and you wished calling abroad home or your loved ones whom you call so frequently would be free !
Well yes, it is free or atleast can be economical.
Here are a few ways you could cut costs.
I am not gonna tell you about the facilities available for computer savvy people. they have the google chat, yahoo messenger, skype , Ja-Ja and the like. Your folks out there are not that tech savvy. They are content with the plain old telephone or utmost the mobile phone and they would never touch a computer no matter what incentive you offer them. !
Let me cut the crap and go for it:
These are based on the assumptions that you have broadband internet connection at atleast either or both ends of the communicating parties.
1. Magic Jack. Here is how it works.
Lets say you have a computer. You just need to turn it on so that the Internet is running. Plug in the Magic Jack to the USB and plug in the telephone to this Magic Jack. Every Magic Jack comes with a pre-determined US Phone number. So, buy one of those and send it to your folks and help them set it up with a computer. All they need to learn is to turn the computer on. Irrespective of its configured US number, make a call to this number and the phone rings whichever part of the planet it is now at.
2. Invest in a Skype Phone. Configure the skype phone to have the users dial your name. Send it abroat to your family. All they have to do is to connect it to the router once an internet connection is set up at home. Make sure that the skype phone that they are using iss asociated with a Skype id for them. Whenever you make a call from your skype out, you should be able to reach them on the skype phone. When they make a call to your id, you can receive the call on your computer if you are online or your mobile phone if you have configured it for receiving Skype in Calls. All this will cost you nothing for international calling except for the investment in the Skype Phone.
You are always on the look out for the best quality ccallign card for the lowest rate. The hunt goes on.. and you wished calling abroad home or your loved ones whom you call so frequently would be free !
Well yes, it is free or atleast can be economical.
Here are a few ways you could cut costs.
I am not gonna tell you about the facilities available for computer savvy people. they have the google chat, yahoo messenger, skype , Ja-Ja and the like. Your folks out there are not that tech savvy. They are content with the plain old telephone or utmost the mobile phone and they would never touch a computer no matter what incentive you offer them. !
Let me cut the crap and go for it:
These are based on the assumptions that you have broadband internet connection at atleast either or both ends of the communicating parties.
1. Magic Jack. Here is how it works.
Lets say you have a computer. You just need to turn it on so that the Internet is running. Plug in the Magic Jack to the USB and plug in the telephone to this Magic Jack. Every Magic Jack comes with a pre-determined US Phone number. So, buy one of those and send it to your folks and help them set it up with a computer. All they need to learn is to turn the computer on. Irrespective of its configured US number, make a call to this number and the phone rings whichever part of the planet it is now at.
2. Invest in a Skype Phone. Configure the skype phone to have the users dial your name. Send it abroat to your family. All they have to do is to connect it to the router once an internet connection is set up at home. Make sure that the skype phone that they are using iss asociated with a Skype id for them. Whenever you make a call from your skype out, you should be able to reach them on the skype phone. When they make a call to your id, you can receive the call on your computer if you are online or your mobile phone if you have configured it for receiving Skype in Calls. All this will cost you nothing for international calling except for the investment in the Skype Phone.
How true is the Doomsday of Dec 21 2012 ?
We survived the millenium's dooms day but a few didn't who just fell for it. Now that we realize it was a hoax, what made people that the world was going to come to an end in the year 2000 ! ?
With that behind our backs, we seem to be approaching another one, this time, probably for real,with more certainty the fact being that it has been supported not just by prophecies,, but also by science and astronomy. And the Date is set 122112.
Well, the questions you may ask is :
With that behind our backs, we seem to be approaching another one, this time, probably for real,with more certainty the fact being that it has been supported not just by prophecies,, but also by science and astronomy. And the Date is set 122112.
Well, the questions you may ask is :
- Why would the world come to an end ?
- What does it mean to us, humanity and all life on this planet ?
- Why is no one talking about it though it is only three years away?
- If it is were to happen, how can we plan to survive ?
These days, I am glued to the history channel during days and nights absorbing every bit of information that points to the Dooms day. Many of you could be doing the same as well !
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