Hopefully not deserted for long!!! :'(

one thing that has always hovered my mind has been music. Be it marriage, funeral, exams, interviews, tough day at the office some music has always haunted. I always found myself humming some tune all the time. Even during my twelfth board exams, i was warned by the invigilator on all days of the exams.....

Yes...even when i had to travel for 120 mins on a 20min long stretch inside the city, the music was always there in my mind which brought peace.....the reason behind such a beautiful asset in me has a good history. My mom is the first critical incident in that beautiful history. She sings well till date. Sadly she never took it seriously. The next good thing that happened in my life was having two sisters :):)....people of my tribe always thought the fairer sex must have a good knowledge of the carnatic music. So be it!! and a master visited our abode to train my sisters vocals....This was the phase and i was really inclined to think there was no good thing other than this glorious music and i hope my thoughts are still the same today, HOPEFULLY!!!!!:(

My dad too contributed his share of music in me. he was an avid lover of music. "Rock to ragaas" that was the first carnatic cassette given to me by dad. It was awesome. That was the time when A R Rahman had become a sensation and i was thinking more about him as the icon of music.....Yes he is indeed. But my tribe though they never opposed cini music, gave more preference to the carnatic.....

The cover had the great saint tyagaraja sporting a guitar in a traditional panjagajam:):). That really struck a chord in me. "Swagatham krishna", "paluke bangara", "provabharama", "raghuvamsa ", "pibare rama rasam" those were the first set of songs that i heard and kept blabbering all the time. With no formal classes and no idea of the fundamental tala, raga and laya found it really hard to reproduce the song the way they arrived at my ears. With occasional guidance from mom, soon i learnt to control my pitch and understood what it would be to sing soothingly :):) but unfortunately i never was able to deliver the same consistently...lets not talk consistency when i cannot sing the same verse the same way twice :):)

People always applauded me whenever i sang something....Ya coz i was a kid then...and i was singing with no coaching.....slowly as i grew, the feeling of inferiority of no formal training started encroaching my mind. As time went by, i sang less....though i always knew i had a better calibre, a voice that was gifted by the almighty which many craved for, i never really bothered to put them to use.... The big thing along this journey has been the entry of a great singer's audio collection in my shelf. Maharajapuram Santhanam, the voice always brought great smile and peace. oothukadu collection, tyagarja krithis the lists are endless...Be it any song, he always fascinated me. At the same time the calls of, "please sing that song" made me feel embarrassed and really pissed me off.....

For me music was divine and to commit a mistake deliberately in the world of divinity is unforgivable. Yup. I knew, i lacked the clarity on alpana, raga, thala and laya, the basic things of a sweet music. I never wanted to sing in front of a crowd (remember more than two is a crowd) even though the crowd had no knowledge. But my denial was always perceived as me being hypocrite :'( :'( sadly did people realise what i went through on those circumstances....

Slowly i started singing when i was alone. I sang for a peace of mind, for a beautiful solitude, an enlightened mind and above all to check if i can re-produce atleast a part of the song like the masters :):)...it always ended in vain.....

May be the feeling of embarrassment and being a villian in front of others made me more distanced from the clan. And today i find myself more distanced from the beautiful music that has always been with me during the tough and best times....

Will i ever get back that tunes running through my souls? Will i be able to bridge the distance between the loved ones i dug a long time back? Only time alone holds the answer.....

After all to be down and low, and to come out stronger has been every human's history and i guess i will be no different....

Surya flying to moon... Can Vijay displace Surya???

In an amazing news to TamilNadu, Indian Space and Research Organization has planned to send actor Surya to moon without any space launchers. This was decided after cheif Scientist Madhavan Nair watched the movie Adhavan in which the actor managed to jump from the ground to catch a helicopter. Cheif Scientist Madhavan Nair was quoted as “We think it will be wise solution as it reduces all the cost involved due to fuel and construction of space craft. It will also mark India as the first country to produce three living super heros if the mission is successful one. The main mission will be to bring water to Chennai from the moon”.

Surya was very excited about the prospect of flying till the moon. “I dedicate this trip to my daughter Diya” said Surya who is still recovering from his award winning syndrome. Jyothika was also excited.”I thought only I can overact but my husband has proved that he can overact even more than me. This over action by flying till helicopter has won him a trip to moon without space craft which is exciting”.

Kingfisher has decided to sponsor the event. Dr Vijay Mallya was quoted as “I am really excited about this thing. Kingfisher feels immensely proud to sponsor a trip to moon by a man. Surya will be wearing a dress sponsored by Kingfisher. It is same as the Banglore Royal Challengers dress. He will get water from the moon using the Kingfisher mineral water bottle which we provide him”.

Director K.S.Ravikumar was equally excited about the trip. K.S Ravikumar said that “I am pleased ISRO has seen my film when whole TamilNadu including my family are not willing to see the film. It shows the credibility of the movie. I am excited that Surya is travelling to moon without any space shuttle based on a scene from my movie. I would also recommend scientist all over the world to watch my other movies like Padayappa in which I tell the concept of differentiating granite hill from normal hill and Minsara Khanna in which I proved birds react on hearing cycle bell sound”.

Sarath Kumar, the head of Tamil film association said “It is a proud moment for Tamil Film Industry. K.S.Ravikumar should be given noble prize for identifying the talents in Surya. No scientist can find a suitable error free shuttle to moon. A Tamilian has solved all those problem. I am proud to be a Tamilian”.

Vijay TV has acquired the rights to telecast the event live on TV. The show will be hosted by Divyadharshini and judged by fellow super heros Vijayakanth and Arjun who have equally excelled in saving our country from foreign intervention. Marks will be given after Surya returns back to earth and based on amount of water he fetches from the moon. If the amount of water that Surya brings is less than the expected level he will not be given the super hero status which both the judges hold currently. Meanwhile Lalit Modi has told that IPL will share the profit with Surya, as Surya will be wearing the dress worn by Banglore Royal Challengers.

Meanwhile S.A. Chandrashekar was of his own idea to send his son Vijay to Mars without any sponsor. When asked for the reason he was quoted as “ISRO was totally unfair to my son. He has shown his flying ability in the movie Kuruvi. But they have totally ignored that. It is our turn to prove ISRO that my son also deserve the super hero status. We will take this mission on our own without any sponsors” ,Don't forget Vettaikaran has a lot to offer, even NASA is so keen on this project quips S.A Chandrasekar .

Unable to attract even a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe

New Delhi. In what could prove to be a major marketing and legal embarrassment for Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a 26-year-old man has filed a case against the FMCG company, which owns the Axe brand of men grooming products, for ‘cheating’ and causing him ‘mental suffering’. The plaintiff has cited his failure to attract any girl at all even though he’s been using Axe products for over seven years now. Axe advertisements suggest that the products help men in instantly attracting women.

Vaibhav Bedi, the petitioner, also surrendered all his used, unused and half-used deodorant sprays, perfume sticks and roll-ons, anti-perspirants, aftershaves, body washes, shampoos, and hair gels to the court, and demanded a laboratory test of the products and narcotics test of the brand managers of Axe. Vaibhav was pushed to take this step when his bai (maid) beat him with a broom when he tried to impress her by appearing naked in front of her after applying all the Axe products.

No girl ever asked Vaibhav to call her
“Where the fuck is the Axe effect? I’ve been waiting for it for over seven years. Right from my college to now in my office, no girl ever agreed to even go out for a tea or coffee with me, even though I’m sure they could smell my perfumes, deodorants and aftershaves. I always applied them in abundance to make sure the girls get turned on as they show in the television. Finally I thought I’d try to impress my lonely bai who had an ugly fight with her husband and was living alone for over a year. Axe effect my foot!” Vaibhav expressed his unhappiness.
Vaibhav claims that he had been using all the Axe products as per the company’s instructions even since he first bought them. He argued that if he couldn’t experience the Axe effect despite using the products as directed, either the company was making false claims or selling fake products.

“I had always stored them in cool and dry place, and kept them away from direct light or heat. I’d always use a ruler before applying the spray and make sure that the distance between the nozzle and my armpit was at least 15 centimeters. I’d do everything they told. I even beat up my 5-year-old nephew for coming near my closet, as they had instructed it to keep away from children’s reach. And yet, all I get is a broom beating from my ugly bai.” Vaibhav expressed his frustration.

Vaibhav claims that he had to do go a lot of mental suffering and public humiliation due to the lack of Axe effect and wants HUL to compensate him for this agony. An advocate in Karkardooma court, who happened to mistake Vaibhav for some deodorant vendor when he entered the court premises with all the bottles, has now offered to take up his case in the court. HUL has been served a legal notice in this regard.

HUL has officially declined to comment on the case citing the subject to be sub judice, but our sources inform that the company was worried over the possible outcomes of the case. The company might argue that Vaibhav was hopelessly unattractive and unintelligent and didn’t possess the bare minimum requirements for the Axe effect to take place. Officially HUL has not issued any statement, but legal experts believe that HUL could have tough time convincing the court.

“HUL might be tempted to take that line of argument, but it is very risky. There is no data to substantiate the supposition that unattractive and unintelligent men don’t attract women. In fact some of the best looking women have been known to marry and date absolutely ghoulish guys. I’d suggest that the company settles this issue out of court.” noted lawyer Ram Jhoothmalani said.

Lolz!!!!!!!

Oh Shit, Not Again! - Mandar Kokate - shitty all the way

Mokkai lent me the book few days back. A book for roughly 200 pages. It had five main characters and story revolved around them. As i flipped through first few pages, a strong feeling of already reading similar sentences engulfed me. Nevertheless, i went through the book till the end. Since the lead characters were portrayed as being youths, the humor and all comic stuff revolved around sex, sex & sex.

the way the story unfolded, it was predictable. The language was kept simple and it has to be appreciated. Though i enjoyed the book, i must say, the story is a deep shit. As i finished the book, i got the feeling that someone has tried to imitate chetan bhagat and has failed :(:(

Verdict: try at your risk.

Nothing else

could be a better sunday evening with ARR performing live that too on a remote place along the East Coast!!!! Yup that was yesterday. ARR concert in MAARG Swarnabhoommi!!!! One in the series of JAI HO!!! concerts.

We drove all the way from chennai in our vehicle. We reached the place in time. The place was huge in terms of area. The place was easily able to accommodate 17000 odd people and never looked as though runnning out of space....YUP HUGE AND REALLY HUGE.

filling the tank and checking the level of pressure in the tyres, we drove our vehicle in high spirits :D:D. We reached the place sharp 545pm. The show was supposed to begin at 6pm. Whatever place the ticket we bought commanded, we were directed there. We roamed the place. Easily the place streched for few hundred meters. We went around the arena where our ticket permitted us to in search of the right place, to enjoy a nice view of the stage and a good screen!!!! Little did we realise we will never be able to fulfil our likes :(:(. The seating was so pathetic that no matter where we sit, we will not be able to have a good view of the stage or a screen :(:(

To top it all, people piled up chairs and sat on top of it while many stood over them. WOW!!! What a comedy, we came 90 odd km to witness all these priceless scenes. We waited patiently for the show to begin.

As we sat there, we realised, ARR is indeed a phenomenon. I have seen people of 60+ generation shun away from today's film music. BUT OILA!!!!! Many people who couldn't even walk had gathered to witnees ARR perform live!!!

It was around 730 when the proceedings began. We were treated well by some mortal on the stage!!! "On behalf of myself..." that is how words came out from his mouth and we were already laughing. Then came our ARR!!!! The much awaited concert started :):)

Kandhal Roajave was the first song to be rendered by Sadhana sargama and Hariharan. I was surprised why SPB was not singing it. And as i was thinking, hariharan forgot the lyrics and stareted moaning the tune...ya he didn't even give a decent hum!!! That let us all disappointed. Next came in ARR with athriadi from SIVAJI-The boss. True to its lyrics the song started off with a bang with the crowd joining with ARR. Strangely, the bgm failed to keep up with ARR or vice-versa i couldn't remember now. the lady rendation was another let down of the song!!!! By now we realised the Sound system was already screwed up!!!! YUP the main ingredients for the live concert were already missing and yet we stood there just coz of one man-ARR!!!!

PHEW!!!! the song ended. Then came JIYA SE JIYA. This was a perfectly sync by all. Except that many were not even aware of the existence of one such song!!! YUP they cannot be blamed for it, for the album was never advertised in this part of INDIA!!!!! That was immediately followed by a track from BLUE and the crowd turned BLUE hearing the tune for the first time. ARR failed to realise that he was in singara chennai and folks rarely cared to listen to hindi tracks.

This was followed by a track from Slum dog!!!! GOSH!!!! Though people never failed to applaud at the end of each performance, they had no idea what they were listening to and became a bit restless. By now an hour has passed by. ARR then performed with his piano on stage. This was well received by the masses and it was again a track from Slumdog. As soon as we neared the end of the track, ARR was joined by hariharan on stage. A few tracks in tamil language like tamizha tamizha and uyirea from Bombay were performed. Here too hariharan exhibited his talent by devaiting form the original masses to the dismay of the listeners.

Hariharan in continuation to the romantic mood, performed a famous track from Jodha akbar along with sadhana sargam. People became too tired of too much hind tracks as this was not expected in this part of INDIA!!!! just like an intermission, came the interruption by MAARG properties. They took centre stage to hand over the keys to the blessed mortals who had booked houses at this vey swarna bhoomi!!!! MAN, i must tell u, these people are either out of their mind or have too much money with which they could do nothing. This palce swarna bhoomi has its nearest city either 90 km away in chennai or 70km away in pondicherry. Even if u want to visit a cinema, u need to travel a good 50km!!!! WOW!!! What a place to live in!!!!

The president who initially started as "on my behalf.." took the centre stage. This time too, he didn't spare us. For given a chance the following were his lines, "ARR has put chennai on the map of INIDA, Chennai has been put in the map of INDIA by ARR". BOSS!!!!! The sentences meant same and we were enlightened when we heard this. For as far as we knew, chennai was in INIDA map for a long time now....he then went on " ARR has put INDIA on the world map." We could no longer contain our selves!!!!!

I dont know what were the intentions of calling the religious leaders of islam, christian and the hindu!!!! These people showered their blessings on our ARR. Well fine. But the master of the ceremony kept announcing that holy water from ganges, mecca and jerusalem was to be handed over to ARR. He kept announcing the same for nearly ten mins. I guess, it took that long to bring water from these palces!!! Finally when the water from these places was handed over, the MOC ended his sentence "the holy water is handed to ARR representing oneness".

A frustrated fan of the evening from behind us quipped "ya ya, ARR will pee into it and it will represent oneness". Soon some other great mind was given an opportunityvto vent his feelings. The following are the exact words," our sweat has no religion, our spirit has no religion, our blodd has no swaet"...YA YA even a kid knows, there is sweat in blood!!!!:):):) Soon he places a beautiful reqeuest that paved way for many males to take a chance. Yup here are his words,"now i place a request to u. irrespective of religion, please shake hands with all th eneighbours around u and them i love u". WOW!!!! We could see Romeos running behind probable Juliets and We were all in splits!!!!!

As these people took leave, chitra took centre stage and performed nenjinile (uyire) and kannalane (bombay). They were really good and crowd enjoyed it. Followed by it ARR in his usual style sang khwaja mere khwaja (jodha akbar) and maula maula (delhi-6). i dont know if ARR was disinterested yesterday!!! His voice did not have any soul and the songs were pathetic!!!!!

then came a respite in the form of maiya maiya from GURU. Though it was good, the crew did miss a few notes in between. People were really let down. Somewhere during the show before the break, kabhi kabhi (jtjn) was performed and was well received by everyone. Towards the end, ARR took centre stage and performed anda arabic(bombay) and followed by it was mustafa. Mustafa really took the crowd by storm. All the 15k odd people stood on their toes and threw their hands up in the air and swayed....WOW!!!! Even imagining it sends a shiver down my spine. That was one true moment we felt we were there, we enjoyed the concert....as mustafa came to an end, jai ho from slum dog was performed leaving no gap between the two tracks and carrying the same momentum and it ended with tai manne vanakkam the famous ARR track. All the while, crackers lit the sky in red, green blue gold and silver. Truly a beautiful moment...

All said and done, was the concert best!!!! NOPE if ARR plans to do the same he can terminate the series of concert now and here!!!! YUP with lack of singers and imperfect bgm synch and no spirit in his voice, seems ARR is too tired for a world tour now!!!! Atleast he should have realised people here like tamil tracks rather than showcasing his music prowess in hindi!!!

What did you pray???

I must

confess. People have always told me IITians will be in some extreme and it is a rare occasion when u find a normal guy who does his (some) degree in IIT or graduate with some degree from this great place. I never believed it until recently when vasudevan returned from IIT for Dussehra. The nite we met after his arrival, was phenomenal. We met at satyam cinemas. The first thing i noticed about him was his level of childish idiotic dialogues. we were discussing something and following was the reply given by him, with his hands pedalling something in air ????!!!!

"இப்படிதான் டா செய்யணும்"

"செய்யணும் இப்படிதான் டா"

WOW!!! what a man. Though he was already qualified to be an eccentric, now IIT has added more bloody things to his mind. We then found our way to ID inside satyam....the place was jam packed and we had to wait. Waiting on any other day wouldn't have irked me. But along with his new cranky head, i had to wait....wait and nothing more to do. The minute we knew, we had to wait, out came the words form his mouth

"நம்பலாம் எதுக்குடா வெயிட் பண்ணனும்? எதுக்குடா வெயிட் பண்ணனும் நம்ப? வா எவன் தலைலயவடு தட்டிட்டு நம்ப சபுடுவோம். சபுடுவோம் நம்ப எவன் தலைலயவடு தட்டிட்டு".

Fortunately soon we found ourselves seated in a chair. We ordered what ever we felt like ordering. I thought that was the end of his tantrums. Soon, we found a waiter walking along with a dosa in hand. And i felt somehting uneasy about to happen. YUP!!! and vasudevan didn't disappoint me. He called the waiter and told him "The way u carry the dosa in the plate will not have a good thermal efficiency. The dosa cannot be maintained hot if u carry it in this position"....The waiter had no idea and b4 he could burst in rage, i had to converse with vasudevan as though we were talking. The waiter walked away with a cynical face. Soon we finished our dinner and we entered the cinema hall.

Happily we sat to watch the movie. Soon we were half way thorugh the movie and the so called intermission came on. To my surprise vasudevan was hungry!!! I have never seen him eat like that, for that matter i have never seen him eat...I bought a large popcorn and a large coke...ofcourse at his expense :):)...The minute we got back to our seat, the popcorns began to disappear in a jiffy :):)....mind u, i did not even take one!!!! :'( ....When i tried to pick one, the intellectual in him awoke...."machan, the angle of inclination of your hand is not right to pick up the optimum amount of popcorn from the baggage".

BOSS!!!!!!!! this was too mcuh for me...instead of telling me this, he could have rather told me a STRICT NO NO for the popcorns...i was not sure, whether he was really mad or he was trying to be mad :( :'(....

Soon after the movie was over, i took him to my room. Since it was too late to travel all the distance to drop him and come back. Though the lights were turned off immediately after we entered my room, it was really difficult for vasudevan to sleep. All through night, there were only two words that went past the tunnel between my ears if one existed!!!!!! Yes the words were HUNGRY and TOILET. Indeed his food habits has changed as a result his other system too has collapsed. :D:D

The next day morning i dropped him in his home. Though we share a great interest in music and share few common strings in music, this time his intensity in debating was more than usual...it was way high and i couldn't match up with him. Seems all the time, he spends in IIT alone, he had been missing illayaraja, rahman, our legends MSS, DKP, Maharajapuram etc....Every night when he was online, we used to discuss about music.

He just sent me a lot of youtube clippings and we used to debate on it...They were all yesteryear songs of illayaraja. It was 12:00 in the night when he sent me the final link. It was the famous song machana pathingala, and it is indeed a great song till date. From the previous discussion i was a bit frustrated coz i didn't like the song and at 12:00 in the night, u dont expect me to enjoy this song. Following is our chat conversation :):)

Vasudevan: Hear this da
Ya wait a min d a

11:58 PM vasudevan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy-eSv-gA4o&feature=relate
Watch this
Three layers of the instruments
The talam changes and then changes instru
12:00 AM Dei u there ?

me: irruken da
ada keka try pannitu irruken
12:03 AM that is a good one da

Vasudevan: Hear it a million times da

me: dei evalo vatti ketalum adu appadiye dan da irrukum
million time ketta illayaraja nerala varuvara?

vasudevan: No da

me: darisanam tharuvara?
12:04 AM apparam edukuda million times keka sonna?

12:09 AM Vasudevan: Chumma than da

12:11 AM me: dei

hearing it a million times is by no means an ordinary feat...even illayaraja would not have heard it a million times in his life time :'( and this crack pot wanted me to hear it a million times at midnight and for no good reason :'( :'(...

Only IITs can produce such great minds :):)

LONG LIVE IITs. Hopefully vasudevan returns to his normal eccentric self soon :( :'(
<>

Change to story of humankind - We didn't evolve from apes!

The story of humankind is reaching back another million years with the discovery of "Ardi," a hominid who lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia.

The 110-pound, 4-foot female roamed forests a million years before the famous Lucy, long studied as the earliest skeleton of a human ancestor.

This older skeleton reverses the common wisdom of human evolution, said anthropologist C. Owen Lovejoy of Kent State University.

Rather than humans evolving from an ancient chimp-like creature, the new find provides evidence that chimps and humans evolved from some long-ago common ancestor - but each evolved and changed separately along the way.

"This is not that common ancestor, but it's the closest we have ever been able to come," said Tim White, director of the Human Evolution Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

The lines that evolved into modern humans and living apes probably shared an ancestor 6 million to 7 million years ago, White said in a telephone interview.

But Ardi has many traits that do not appear in modern-day African apes, leading to the conclusion that the apes evolved extensively since we shared that last common ancestor.

A study of Ardi, under way since the first bones were discovered in 1994, indicates the species lived in the woodlands and could climb on all fours along tree branches, but the development of their arms and legs indicates they didn't spend much time in the trees. And they could walk upright, on two legs, when on the ground.

Formally dubbed Ardipithecus ramidus - which means root of the ground ape - the find is detailed in 11 research papers published Thursday by the journal Science.

"This is one of the most important discoveries for the study of human evolution," said David Pilbeam, curator of paleoanthropology at Harvard's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

"It is relatively complete in that it preserves head, hands, feet and some critical parts in between. It represents a genus plausibly ancestral to Australopithecus - itself ancestral to our genus Homo," said Pilbeam, who was not part of the research teams.

Scientists assembled the skeleton from 125 pieces.

Lucy, also found in Africa, thrived a million years after Ardi and was of the more human-like genus Australopithecus.

"In Ardipithecus we have an unspecialized form that hasn't evolved very far in the direction of Australopithecus. So when you go from head to toe, you're seeing a mosaic creature that is neither chimpanzee, nor is it human. It is Ardipithecus," said White.

White noted that Charles Darwin, whose research in the 19th century paved the way for the science of evolution, was cautious about the last common ancestor between humans and apes.

"Darwin said we have to be really careful. The only way we're really going to know what this last common ancestor looked like is to go and find it. Well, at 4.4 million years ago we found something pretty close to it," White said. "And, just like Darwin appreciated, evolution of the ape lineages and the human lineage has been going on independently since the time those lines split, since that last common ancestor we shared."

Some details about Ardi in the collection of papers:

-Ardi was found in Ethiopia's Afar Rift, where many fossils of ancient plants and animals have been discovered. Findings near the skeleton indicate that at the time it was a wooded environment. Fossils of 29 species of birds and 20 species of small mammals were found at the site.

-Geologist Giday WoldeGabriel of Los Alamos National Laboratory was able to use volcanic layers above and below the fossil to date it to 4.4 million years ago.

-Ardi's upper canine teeth are more like the stubby ones of modern humans than the long, sharp, pointed ones of male chimpanzees and most other primates. An analysis of the tooth enamel suggests a diverse diet, including fruit and other woodland-based foods such as nuts and leaves.

-Paleoanthropologist Gen Suwa of the University of Tokyo reported that Ardi's face had a projecting muzzle, giving her an ape-like appearance. But it didn't thrust forward quite as much as the lower faces of modern African apes do. Some features of her skull, such as the ridge above the eye socket, are quite different from those of chimpanzees. The details of the bottom of the skull, where nerves and blood vessels enter the brain, indicate that Ardi's brain was positioned in a way similar to modern humans, possibly suggesting that the hominid brain may have been already poised to expand areas involving aspects of visual and spatial perception.

-Ardi's hand and wrist were a mix of primitive traits and a few new ones, but they don't include the hallmark traits of the modern tree-hanging, knuckle-walking chimps and gorillas. She had relatively short palms and fingers which were flexible, allowing her to support her body weight on her palms while moving along tree branches, but she had to be a careful climber because she lacked the anatomical features that allow modern-day African apes to swing, hang and easily move through the trees.

-The pelvis and hip show the gluteal muscles were positioned so she could walk upright.

-Her feet were rigid enough for walking but still had a grasping big toe for use in climbing.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics of the University of California, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and others.

World Without Oil

World Without Oil

by Lise Maring

When most of us think about oil, we tend to think about heating oil for the furnace and about the gasoline and diesel fuel that keeps our cars and trucks on the road. What most of us don't realize, however, is that oil does more than just fuel our vehicles and keep us warm in winter. It has become the foundation upon which our entire modern civilization has been built. Recently, that foundation has begun to develop some cracks and has become a little shakier than it used to be, as cheap oil and natural gas become harder to find and acquire. Even if we were to develop a new source of energy and a more fuel-efficient car today, without oil, modern civilization as we have come to know it is still in deep trouble.

To start with the basics, armies aren't the only organizations that run on their stomachs. So do civilizations. Agribusiness is totally dependent upon large machines and artificial fertilizers and pesticides in order to raise, harvest, and transport the vast quantities of grain, fruit, and vegetables we enjoy today. Fertilizers and pesticides require oil and natural gas, not only in their distribution, but in their manufacture as well. Also, feed for beef cattle, chickens, and turkeys depends very heavily on these same fertilizers and pesticides. When cheap sources of oil and gas are not readily available, the chemical industry passes the increased costs on to agriculture. The increasing prices for fertilizers and pesticides then results in increased food prices for the rest of us.

We may find ourselves eating farther down the food chain in the near future. In other words, we eat the grain instead of feeding it to something else first, since each link added in the food chain results in energy loss. In the future, the turkey and chicken "factories" we have now may not exist. The vast feedlots where cattle are fattened on grain before being slaughtered and made into hamburger patties for the nation's fast food restaurants may no longer be economical. Thus, wastes from such industries may no longer be available to those who believe it could serve as a viable large-scale energy source for the future.

The world is now consuming roughly 77 million barrels of oil a day. And the demand grows every year as other countries aspire to our style of living and level of consumption. What's really interesting is that out of that 77 million barrels, the U.S. consumes most of it. In 2002, the U.S. consumed 19.66 million barrels a day on the average--more than one-quarter of the entire world's oil consumption--and the demand in this country continues to grow every year. You can check this out for yourself on this US Department of

Today, much of our food travels an average of 1200 to 1500 miles before it gets to our tables. Most of the vegetables consumed in the East were transported overland by truck from California. The roads the trucks roll on are made of asphalt. Where does asphalt come from? You guessed it--from petroleum. When the supplies of asphalt become more restricted, our entire transportation system may very well begin to deteriorate. There are some substitutes, but certainly not in the quantities required to maintain a national road system. And the substitutes also require energy to manufacture and transport. Which roads will be sacrificed first? Will it be the interstate system on the edge of town, or the street in front of your home?

And, oh, by the way, those tires on the trucks and on your family car? They also required petroleum in their manufacture and distribution. Along with the machinery that mined the iron ore, converted it into steel, and formed it into the frame for your car.

So, okay, what else is oil used for? Well, plastics for one thing! Look around you. How much of your world is made up of plastic? The keyboard you type on is most likely plastic, as are the casings for your monitor and your printer. Much of our food comes in plastic containers, even our eggs these days, and the spouts on our plastic-coated juice and milk cartons are themselves plastic as well. The hospitals depend on disposable plastic supplies, such as syringes and oxygen tubing. Bottom line: it would take a book to document all the uses of plastic, and plastic depends on the rich chemical soup called petroleum. Oh, and have you looked at what ink is made of? Or that pen in your hands?

But it doesn't stop there. The roofing tiles and tar paper used in home construction require petroleum for their manufacture and distribution; the lubricants in our engines and machinery--even "synthetic" oils--are currently oil-derived. Many medications require petroleum for their manufacture. Our synthetic textiles, such as nylon and rayon, depend on the chemicals derived from petroleum. Petroleum, in other words, touches every industry…every technology…every business…every home…and each and every one of us in one vital way or another, every single day of every single week.

Many people have suggested all we have to do is begin manufacturing oil and plastics from organic sources such as corn or soybeans or other such crops. Unfortunately, there is only so much land available, and most of the arable land is currently being used to grow food--or is being developed into more homes and shopping centers. The nice thing about oil is that it is underground and takes up relatively little space to extract. So, do we give up food production for energy substitutes and plastics instead? And who is it that will go hungry while perfectly good farmland is used to grow plastic for all those McDonald's Happy Meal toys?

It may be that in the not too distant future, we end up with several different schemes for energy production that will indeed keep us warm and allow us to keep driving our cars while the tires hold out. But one thing's for sure: no single method will be able to replace petroleum and everything we use it for.

Also, ask yourselves this: Do we really want to find something that will totally replace oil so our civilization can continue as it is right now? Even if we were to find a substitute, and energy doesn't become a limiting factor, then food and water are sure to be. While the corporate fishing fleets are busily mining the oceans and destroying the world's fisheries, similar corporate agricultural interests are busily mining our topsoil and groundwater. Personally, I'm beginning to think it might actually be better if our civilization were brought up short--so our planet doesn't end up becoming a giant, uninhabitable dust ball.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lise Maring worked for several years at NASA's Langley Research Center and briefly at the Goddard Space Flight Center as a contractor employee. She is currently working as a technical editor/writer but has also been a systems analyst, a database administrator in NASA's technology commercialization program, an operations lead for a remote sensing data processing center, and chair of an interagency user services team for NASA's remote sensing-oriented Earth Observing System (which was part of the Mission to Planet Earth program.) She also runs several online groups that are community and/or environmentally-oriented and is the newsletter editor/writer for the York River Group of the Sierra Club.

Kilo Bytes Per Second vs. Kilo Bits Per Second (KBps vs. kbps)

Well this post tries to clarify the confusion that many have regarding KBps and kbps (I was one too). If you read through this post it will make a lot of things clear.

Measure of file size: KBps

File size i.e. how big the file or how much space a file occupies in the hard disk measured in terms of KiloBytes (KB upper case “K” and upper case “B”). In computing terms the upper case “K” stands for 1024. 1024 is computed from 210. (2 power 10). 2 denote the number of characters in the binary system which is used to store data in the disc (ones and zeroes).

Other abbreviations like mega, giga and terra also use the base as 1024,

1KB (KiloByte) = 1024 Bytes (approximately 1000 Bytes)

1MB (MegaByte) = 1024 KB (approximately 1000 KiloBytes or 1 million Bytes)

1GB (GigaByte) = 1024 MB (approximately 1000 MegaBytes or 1 billion Bytes)

1TB (TerraByte) = 1024 GB (approximately 1000 GigaBytes or 1 trillion Bytes)

Measure of data transfer speeds: kbps

Data transfer speed over the networks (including the internet) is calculated in terms of bits per second: kilobits (kb small case “k” and small case “b”). The higher the kbps i.e. more the bits transferred per second, more the speed, faster the network/connection. Here k stands for 1000 (103 )

1 kbps (kilo bits per second) = 1000 bits per second

1 Mbps (mega bits per second) = 1000 kilo bits per second.

1 Gbps (giga bits per second) = 1,000 mega bits per second.

ISP bandwidth and download speeds

The most common confusion caused by the similarity of KBps and kbps is when it comes to internet bandwidth and download speeds. People often complain that their ISP promised 512kbps connectivity but they are seldom able to download any file at 512 KBps. They fail to notice the difference in cases of the units and hence think their ISP is cheating them or offering them poor quality service. As mentioned earlier data transfer speeds are always calculated in terms of kilo bits per second (kbps) so an ISP connectivity of 512 kbps promises of transfer of at the max 512 kilo bits per second.

On the other hand, file size measure is always in Kilo Bytes and thus download speeds are always calculated based on how many Bytes per second are downloaded and hence Kilo Bytes per second (KBps). KBps and kbps are not interchangeable.

So an internet connectivity of say 512kbps can never achieve a download speed of 512 KBps. To calculate the maximum download speed of a “X kbps” connection, we need to use a simple formula as below.

Download KBPS speed = (Kbps value*1000) /8)) / 1024.

I.e. For a connectivity of 512 kbps

kbps value * 1000 = 512 * 1000 = 512000

512000 / 8 = 64000

64000 / 1024 = 62.5 KBps

Therefore theoretically an internet connection of 512kbps bandwidth can download at a speed of 62.5 KBps

If you don’t want to go through all the hassles of the above formula, just multiply the kbps value with 0.1220703125 to get the KBps value.

512 kbps * 0.1220703125 = 62.5 KBps. Simple!

Internet connectivity Download speed (approx)

256 kbps 31.3 KBps

384 kbps 46.9 KBps

512 kbps 62.5 KBps

768 kbps 93.8 KBps

1 mbps ~ 1000kbps 122.1 KBps

I have mentioned download speed as approximate because they will vary (always reduce) by 15 – 20% due to network signal loss, computer hardware overheads etc. So for realistic, real world figures always reduce 15 – 20% from the computed KBPS download speeds

Now I guess the confusion of kbps and KBps has cleared away. Just remember when you talk in terms of network it’s always bites per second (bps) and when you talk in terms of storage and files its always Bytes per second (Bps). And next time you won’t complain when your 512 kbps connection does not give you download speeds of 512KBps because now you know why

Why did the chicken cross the road?????

KINDERGARTEN BOY

To get to the other side.

PLATO

For the greater good.

ARISTOTLE

It is the nature of chickens to cross roads.

KARL MARX

It was a historical inevitability.

HIPPOCRATES

Because of an excess of phlegm in its pancreas.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

MOSES

And God came down from the Heavens, and He said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing.

MACHIAVELLI

The point is that the chicken crossed the road. Who cares why? The end of crossing the road justifies whatever motive there was.

BILL GATES

The newly released Chicken 2003, will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook..

DARWIN

Chickens, over great periods of time, have been naturally selected in such a way that they are now genetically disposed to cross roads.

EINSTEIN

Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken depends upon your frame of reference and relativity.

GEORGE BUSH

We are committed to establishing a democracy where chickens freely cross roads without oppression from terrorist organizations.

Mulayam Singh Yadav

I demand a 50% reservation of the road for the chicken class, so that they can cross the road freely without their motives being questioned

ARJUN SINGH

Our policy will ensure the development of socially underprivileged chickens so that they can also cross roads.

Vatal Nagaraj

No Tamil or outside chickens will be allowed to cross our roads, our roads are meant only for Kanadiga chickens!.

Bal Thackarey

Chickens crossing the roads is against our culture, my followers will stone all such chickens which cross the road.

Amitabh Bachhan

The chicken has crossed the road?.. are you sure.. very sure ... really sure...

Venkaiah Naidu

"We are very sure of the fact that the chicken did not cross the road. It's a conspiracy by the congress. The poor chicken has been made a scapegoat in this whole issue"

Prakash Karat

We are adopting a wait and watch policy. We have convened a meeting of the third front today. We will decide the future course of action after the chicken comes back..

Maneka Gandhi

Chicken crossed the road alone...!! If a vehicle had passed over it, we would have lost one of our dearest creatures. Ban all vehicles from using the road. Protect our chickens...

Capital suggestion

By Dr Farrukh Saleem

12/9/2007

Twenty-five thousand years ago, haplogroup R2 characterized by genetic marker M124 arose in southern Central Asia. Then began a major wave of human migration whereby members migrated southward to present-day India and Pakistan (Genographic Project by the National Geographic Society). Indians and Pakistanis have the same ancestry and share the same DNA sequence.Here's what is happening in India.

The two Ambani brothers can buy 100 percent of every company listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and would still be left with $30 billion to spare. The four richest Indians can buy up all goods and services produced over a year by 169 million Pakistanis and still be left with $60 billion to spare. The four richest Indians are now richer than the forty richest

Chinese.

In November, Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensex flirted with 20,000 points. As a consequence, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries became a $100 billion company (the entire KSE is capitalized at $65 billion). Mukesh owns 48 percent of Reliance.

In November, comes Neeta's birthday. Neeta turned forty-four three weeks ago. Look what she got from her husband as her birthday present: A sixty-million dollar jet with a custom fitted master bedroom, bathroom with mood lighting, a sky bar, entertainment cabins, satellite television,wireless communication and a separate cabin with game consoles. Neeta is Mukesh Ambani's wife, and Mukesh is not India's richest but the second richest.

Mukesh is now building his new home, Residence Antillia (after a mythical, phantom island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean). At a cost of $1 billion this would be the most expensive home on the face of the planet. At 173 meters tall Mukesh's new family residence, for a family of six, will be the equivalent of a 60-storeyed building. The first six floors are reserved for parking. The seventh floor is for car servicing and maintenance. The eighth floor houses a mini-theatre. Then there's a health club, a gym and a swimming pool. Two floors are reserved for Ambani family's guests. Four floors above the guest floors are family floors all with a superb view of the Arabian Sea. On top of everything are three helipads. A staff of 600 is expected to care for the family and their family home.

In 2004,India became the 3rd most attractive foreign direct investment destination.Pakistan wasn't even in the top 25 countries.In 2004,the UN, the representative body of 192 sovereign member states, had requested the Election Commission of India to assist the UN in the holding elections in Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah and Dowlat-e Eslami-ye Afghanestan.Why the Election Commission of India and not the Election Commission of Pakistan? After all, Islamabad is closer to Kabul than is Delhi.

Imagine, 12 percent of all American scientists are of Indian origin; 38 percent of doctors in America are Indian; 36 percent of NASA scientists are Indians; 34 percent of Microsoft employees are Indians; and 28 percent of IBM employees are Indians.

For the record: Sabeer Bhatia created and founded Hotmail.SunMicrosystems was founded by Vinod Khosla. The Intel Pentium processor, that runs 90 percent of all computers, was fathered by Vinod Dham. Rajiv Gupta co-invented Hewlett Packard's E-speak project. Four out of ten Silicon Valley start-ups are run by Indians. Bollywood produces 800 movies per year and six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years.

For the record: Azim Premji, the richest Muslim entrepreneur on the face of the planet, was born in Bombay and now lives in Bangalore.India now has more than three dozen billionaires; Pakistan has none (not a single dollar billionaire).

The other amazing aspect is the rapid pace at which India is creating wealth. In 2002, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh and Anil Ambani's father, left his two sons a fortune worth $2.8 billion. In 2007, their combined wealth stood at $94 billion. On 29 October 2007, as a result of the stock market rally and the appreciation of the Indian rupee, Mukesh became the richest person in the world, with net worth climbing to US$63.2 billion (Bill Gates, the richest American, stands at around $56 billion).

Indians and Pakistanis have the same Y-chromosome haplogroup. We have the same genetic sequence and the same genetic marker (namely: M124). We have the same DNA molecule, the same DNA sequence. Our culture, our traditions and our cuisine are all the same. We watch the same movies and sing the same songs. What is it that Indians have and we don't?

Indians elect their leaders.

......The writer is an Islamabad-based freelance columnist.