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Saturday, May 31, 2008

Indians develop car that goes 250 km per litre?

Ever heard of a car that gives a mileage of up to 250 km per litre? However, it may soon be a reality if a group of techies from Ropar are to be believed.
Seven engineering students from Rayat Institute of Engineering and Information Technology, Ropar, on Thursday claimed to have developed a concept car with an amazing mileage of 250 km per litre after putting in five months of hard work.
The seven-member team is led by Gaurav Aggarwal. The other members of the team are Mayank Tyagi, Bhavuk Makkar, Arun Salaria, Rahul Kumar, Ramandeep Singh and Navneet Kumar. Prof Juhar Singh and Prof Rajesh Chaudhary guided the students as faculty advisors.
Presenting this car for the first time before the media in Chandigarh, the elated students said they would put it on display at the World Super Mileage competition being held at Michigan in the United States on June 5, 6 where contestants from 35 countries -- including the United States, the United Kingdom and Bahrain -- will display their exhibits.
Throwing light on the features of the car, Aggarwal revealed that the car has a 92-cc engine with TCI ignition system. The frame of the 65 kg car has been developed by using special grade aluminum 6063 T6.
Equipped with hydraulic disc brakes, a modified carburettor and fuel supply system, the car has a light weight outer body shell made up of kevlar and fibre, with a highly aerodynamic structure, he said.
"The car was run on an open track for 25 minutes and the mileage of 250 km per litre was achieved," he said.
Replying to a question he said that they had to alter the ignition time by 20 degrees and reduce the rolling and frictional resistance to achieve the extraordinary mileage.

The waiter who will be an IAS officer

Inspired by the spider, the Scottish king Robert the Bruce told his men, 'If you don't succeed the first time, try, try and try again'
K Jayaganesh's story is similar. He failed the civil service examination six times but never lost heart. The seventh time -- his last chance -- he passed with a rank of 156 and has been selected for the Indian Administrative Service.
Jayaganesh's story is inspiring not because he did not lose heart but also because he comes from a very poor background in a village called Vinavamangalam in Vellore district in Tamil Nadu, and though he studied to be an engineer, He got a job as a billing clerk for computer billing in the canteen at Sathyam Cinemas. He also worked as the server during the interval. He is a mechanical engineer, preparing for the civil services, had to work as a server. He had only one aim -- to stay on in Chennai to pass the examination., to realise his dream of becoming an IAS officer.




Friday, May 9, 2008

A small touching story mainly for professionals. ..

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make Rs.100 an hour."
SON: "Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow Rs.50?"

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so youcan borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, thenyou march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with thatRs.50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.
"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.
"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier" said the man.
"It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you...

Here's theRs.50 you asked for.

"The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked upat his father.

"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the fathergrumbled.
"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have Rs.100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.Do remember to share that Rs.100 worth of your time with someone you love.If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easilyreplace us in a matter of days.

But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for therest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves moreinto work than to our family.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

SAPPORO DOME STADIUM, JAPAN

The Sapporo Dome, on the island of Hokkaido, Japan is the city’s most futuristic stadium to date. Nicknamed "Hiroba" (Plaza), the gigantic structure was completed in May 2001 on the edge of the Sapporo city centre. what's unique about this Stadium is that, in a single stadium there are two field one is Baseball and other is Football. In this football field is build both indoor as well as outdoor stadium with a single playing field. When required, the field will move inside or else outside on the stadium... and not only that, the field will be rotate within its axis to ensure the spectators will get a all round view of the game being played...

DESIGN

Sapporo opted for an all-weather covered stadium mainly due to its local climate, particularly with heavy snow in winter. The facility makes it possible to play at any time of year regardless of the weather, having combined an indoor and outdoor arena. The main feature of the stadium is the hovering football pitch.The all-weather covered stadium, designed by architect Hiroshi Hara, Atrie Phi Architectural Research Office and Atrie Bunku, sets out to provide an atmosphere similar to that of a traditional football stadium, with a sense of intimacy between players and spectators. This is achieved by introducing single slope conical-shaped stands with an inclination of 27º, which enables those spectators in the back seats to feel close to the field. The Dome, with a capacity of 42,122 when used for football, has two basement levels, four levels above ground - including ideal viewing positions for VIPs and media - and a two-level penthouse, with the football field on the second basement level. Along with the playing area, the second basement provides entrances for players, referees and game officials, changing rooms for players and technical officials, a FIFA office and a press room for photographers.The first level facilitates the entrance for general spectators, a media centre, a concourse with an 18m high atrium and toilets.An air conditioner and a natural ventilation system is employed in summer, while a comfortable degree of heating is applied to the spectators’ seats in winter. The VIP zones on the fourth level cater for distinguished guests with access through separate entrances.An "Aerial Escalator" gives access to the observatory over the closed dome. This spot commands an almost complete view of Sapporo as well as unobstructed vistas of the dome. The Bow Bridge Café is a huge 230-seat restaurant, which overlooks the dome stadium and the open arena.

2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1: Revealed, Officially!

This is the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, officially revealed for all the world to see. Powered by a supercharged LS9 6.2L small-block engine, the ZR1 hasn't even received an official horsepower number from the engineers toiling away at the General. All Harlan Charles, project manager for the Corvette team was able to tell us last week was the new high-powered 'Vette engine is "capable of producing at least 100 horsepower per liter. That's at least 620 horsepower, and approximately 595 lb.-ft. of torque." Chevrolet wasn't even able to give us a time on the 0-60. Charles was only willing to say "it's in the low three seconds." The small-block engine under the hood is only able to hit those massive numbers due to the addition of the positive-displacement Roots-type supercharger with a new, four-lobe rotor design plus an integrated charge cooling system that reduces inlet air temperature for increased performance. That's the "go" end, but the "whoa" end is just as impressive. The ZR1 gets some simply huge carbon-ceramic, drilled disc brake rotors. They're so big and are required to be so powerful they're using the same 15-inch-diameter discs found on the front of a Ferrari 599. Except on the ZR1, they go on the 20" tires in the rear. In the front, they'll be getting even larger 15.5-inch-diameter rotors.

A doodle is a type simple drawings which can have a meaning, a shape or just irregular forms or else Scribblings.....


Architects sacked over designs for huge mosque

Trustess behind plans to build Europe's largest place of worship have sacked their architects.

The Tablighi Jamaat sect took the decision after the proposals for the mosque were criticised by residents, Christian groups and even Muslim leaders.

The trustees, who have appointed world-class architects Allies and Morrison to design the scheme, are proposing to develop their 18 acre site with some of the following facilities

  • Mosque capable of accommodating 12,000 people, but with a normal weekly attendance of about half that figure.
  • Visitor and Conference centre, with facilities that will be available for the public
  • A new entrance to West Ham tube station
  • A school
  • Extensive decontamination of the site (from its former Chemical Factory days), retention of some of the natural habitat and landscaping
The pair drew up the plans for a £100 million mosque on 18 acres of derelict land at Abbey Mills, next to West Ham Underground station. The site is 1km in length and sits on the banks of the Channelsea River and in proximity of the London 2012 Olympic sites. The form of the Mosque is determined by the axis of prayer towards Mecca and the contours of our new Islamic Garden. The Islamic Garden is a serene space for contemplation transposed onto multi-ethnic modern-day London. The project can be seen Islamic Calligraphy on an urban scale. The project adopts the idea of ‘Dawat’ or Invitation to Islam. Dawat space is an interstitial public space between the sanctum of the Mosque and the World outside. It is a place for Muslims and Non Muslims can meet and promote a greater understanding between ideology, faith and humanity. The scheme considers fluctuations in visitors and usage. Spaces can be extended in peak periods by inflatable structures which temporarily cover courtyards. The building, adopts the language of nomadic structures or tented cities.

How Muslims Deal with Death

Muslims accept death as part of life. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) overturned many pagan practices and advised that Muslims acknolwedge death in a positive light.
Muslims accept death as part of life believing that death is an essential part of surrendership to Allah Ta'ala. Allah Ta'ala is the Arabic word for God, the Creator. It is God, who gives life and He who dictates when it is time for a life to end.


Muslims therefore accept an end of a life with calmness and happiness that the deceased is returning to his or her Creator. They acknowledge death by first saying "inna lillahi wa inna illahi rajioon." This short sentence is understood as "from Allah we come and to Allah we return."


Muslims and the Afterlife
Muslims live their lives with the repercussions of the afterlife in mind. The afterlife includes a duration spent in the grave followed by the ressurection on judgement day and the assignment to either heaven or hell - in accordance to which deeds, good or bad, outweigh the other.


Pagan Practices Surrounding a Death
During pagan times, pre-Islam, Arabs found death difficult to accept. Many would wail and condemn their idols for allowing a loved one to pass on. They also threw elaborate ceremonies to commemorate the deceased. Women would cry out loud and thump their chests. Many would stay in mourning for a long time period. In some cases, widows were disallowed to remarry.
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) overturned these pagan practices. He did allow crying though, as he too wept over the grave of his infant son, Ibrahim, when he died. He explained that it was in his humanness that he cried (Bukhari). He did not allow wailing or any sort of clamours as noise as he said, were practices of the ignorant whereas tears and sorrow from the heart were elements of grief exhibited by a Muslim (Bukhari & Muslim).


Other Practices Overturned by the Prophet
Besides overturning such practices, the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) warned that mourning over the dead was only to be limited to three days. Mourning beyond this duration was a reflection of disobedience towards Allah's will (Dawud).


As for women who lost their husbands, they were to observe a longer time period of mourning - four months and 10 days - this allowed them to confirm a pregnancy. Furthermore, it allowed them to recuperate from their loss. The mourning period protects women during a difficult and vulnerable time and provides space and time to regain confidence and solid-footing before considering new marriage proposals, should she wish to remarry.


Traditionally, family and friends gather in the house of the deceased for many days and nights. This was a disliked practice as it placed a burden on the deceased's family to prepare food, drink and sometimes accomodation for those who came to offer their condolences. Instead, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) urged his followers to prepare meals and run errands for families who had lost a love one. He recommended that the community chip in to alleviate the family's burden or grief and help them resume their daily lives as soon as possible (Ibn Majah).


Praying for the Deceased
The deceased should always be remembered during prayers and Muslims are required to invoke forgiveness from Allah for their well-being in the hereafter. Muslims pray that their brother and sister in faith has had their sins forgiven by God. A congregational prayer for the deceased is therefore, performed at the time of death. It is obligatory for the Muslim community to perform such a prayer before proceeding to personal prayers for the deceased.


Death, Grief and Moving On
Muslims therefore are allowed to grieve for those who have passed away. However, they accept death as the end of one's life that leads to the other, and it is by Allah's will who He wishes to have return to him at that point in time.


Muslims are required to resume their normal lives as soon as possible with close rememberance of the deceased in mind, especially during prayers. The passing on of a fellow Muslim brother or sister reminds Muslims that death is inevitable. It is therefore a duty for every Muslim to work towards cultivating good deeds and eliminating evil ones for the sake of Allah.

Why Western Women Choose Islam

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today, and Western women make up the largest number of converts, out-numbering male converts by a ratio of almost 4:1. While this may seem strange to people who regard Muslim women as weak and oppressed, the fact is that Islam gives enormous respect and dignity to women and demands that society treat them with justice and honor. Volumes have been written about the Muslim woman and her rights, but no one can explain why women are attracted to Islam better than Muslim women themselves.

India's old currency

The first set of British India notes were the 'Victoria Portrait' Series issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. These were unifaced, carried two language panels and were printed on hand-moulded paper manufactured at the Laverstock Paper Mills (Portals).The security features incorporated the watermark (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, RUPEES, two signatures and wavy lines), the printed signature and the registration of the notes.
Regular issues of this Series carrying the portrait of George V were introduced in May, 1923 on a Ten Rupee Note. The King's Portrait Motif continued as an integral feature of all Paper Money issues of British India. Government of India continued to issue currency notes till 1935 when the Reserve Bank of India took over the functions of the Controller of Currency. These notes were issued in denominations of Rs 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 10,000.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Dubai boasts world's tallest building

A new tower in the booming Gulf emirate of Dubai has become the tallest building in the world.

Developers say Burj Dubai is 512.1 metres tall, surpassing Taiwan's Taipei 101, which is 508 metres tall.

Eemar Properties says Burj Dubai, or Dubai Tower, now has 141 storeys, more than any other building in the world.

Eemar says the skyscraper will be more than 700 metres tall and have more than 160 storeys, but its exact projected height is a secret.

The tower, scheduled for completion in 2008, is one of a string of grandiose projects taking shape in Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates.

It will have cost $1.14 billion by the time it is completed.
Eemar says the tower "became the tallest building in the world in just 1,276 days," leaving behind other skyscrapers such as Malaysia's Petronas Towers, Chicago's Sears Tower and New York's Empire State Building,

It is the centrepiece of a $22.7 billion venture featuring the construction of a new district, Downtown Burj Dubai, that will house 30,000 apartments and the world's largest shopping mall.

The Burj Dubai will join other architectural feats in the city, including three palm tree-shaped man-made islands and "The World", a cluster of 300 islands looking like a blurred vision of the planet's nations being built off Dubai's coast.