Prehistoric Giant Tsunami - Killed EVERYTHING!

(Courtesy NatGeo & Newswise)

Scientists have found traces of an asteroid-collision event that they say would have created a giant tsunami that swept around the Earth several times, inundating everything except the mountains. The coastline of the continents was changed drastically and almost all life on land was exterminated.

This cataclysm some 3.5 billion years ago is the earliest known meteor strike to hit the Earth, and one of at least four that have been identified in a geologically brief 300-million-year period. The strike is the subject of an article published in the current issue of the journal Science by Louisiana State University geologist Gary Byerly and others.

Byerly and Xiaogang Xie, also of LSU, and Donald Lowe and Joseph Wooden of Stanford, identified traces of the event in some of the oldest known rocks on Earth—in South Africa and northwest Australia.

When the asteroid hit, it was vaporized by the extreme energy of the impact. Condensation of this vapor produced droplets of melt, called spherules, which dropped into the roiling sea over the next few days and were deposited in layers on the sea floor.

Byerly said it was not known where the meteor hit, but it was probably some distance from where they found the spherules and probably in water rather than on land. He deduced this because the composition of the spherules lacked the mineral composition that would have been expected from vaporization of the continental crust, and because there was even more water covering the surface of the Earth then than there is today.

Byerly illustrated with a slab of grayish rock about the size of a large hand. In it could be seen layers of spherules interlaced with layers of finer sand or silt. "It would take about 30 hours from impact for the tsunami to travel all the way around the world. Then, of course, it wouldn't stop, but bounce all the way back till it met itself 30 hours later, then bounce the other way again, setting up a harmonic." Several thin layers of mud within the spherule layer represent periods of quiet sedimentation between the arrival of tsunami waves.

The water would likely have inundated everything but the mountains, Byerly said, and drastically eroded the continental land masses, changing their coastlines dramatically. The heat of the impact would have evaporated the upper 30 to 300 feet of water in the oceans. It would also have killed everything, or almost everything, that was alive at that time on land or near the ocean surface.

"There was almost certainly life at this time. Primitive, bacterial life, and if the impacts were made by a meteor 20 miles in diameter, they would have killed everything on the surface of the Earth," he said. First a hot steam of molten rock and water would have withered most life, then the massively destructive tsunamis would have destroyed even more. After that, years of incredibly cold winters, caused by particles in the atmosphere blocking out the sun, would have conspired to kill nearly everything else.

"Anything that survived would have been in deep rocks or below the surface of the Earth," he said.

Byerly first came upon evidence of these impacts by chance in 1984 while he was studying ancient volcanism in Australia and South Africa. He published his first paper on them in 1986. This year alone he and his team will have four papers published on the subject. It is now generally accepted that the inner solar system was battered twice by massive meteor impacts of mysterious origin.

"It is assumed that the solar system was created by a cloud of dust and rocks that condensed into the sun and planets, with larger and larger chunks falling in near the end. This process would have finished about 4.5 billion years ago.

"But about 3.8 billion years ago the inner solar system was torn up by some cataclysmic event. The evidence is found in the crater basins on the moon and Mars and Venus." The Earth was probably heavily battered at that time too, but since the oldest known surface rocks on Earth are about 3.5 billion years old, no evidence of that exists, Byerly said.

A second battering took place 3.5 billion years ago, and it is this event that left the record in the rocks Byerly is studying. This was a smaller series of impacts with a gradual dropoff rate, he said. That the 3.8 billion-year-old event occurred is accepted by most scientists, and Byerly's work is substantiating the existence of the second, which, up to now, has not been as well accepted.

Byerly and his team have been able to date the event very accurately using an instrument at Stanford that measures the decay of uranium into lead. The uranium was found in zircons at both the Australian and South African sites and was dated to within 2 million years of 3.47 billion years ago. The fact that zircons of identical ages were found in impact strata on two continents shows the worldwide effects of the impact, Byerly said.

The zircons were not created by the impact but probably by volcanic action and deposited in the impact layers when the tsunami washed over the land.

These massive, early impacts were similar to the one that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. But, they were hundreds to thousands of times more powerful. Probabilities for a similar impact today are predicted to be about one such strike every 100 million years.

"What that means is, eventually there will be another such event. We know that large asteroids get disturbed by interactions with Jupiter and fall into Earth's orbit. When that happens they will strike the Earth. We can't say when it will happen but we can say for certain that it will happen," Byerly said.

The evidence is on a small, grayish slab of rock on his desk.

Copyright 2002 Newswise

ASTEROID ASSETS

Why India should not win the World Cup

The Cup that Counts. Cricket World Cup 2011, being played in India. And yeah, Bangladesh plays some games in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka plays a few in Sri Lanka.
So, it's more like a World Cup played in the Indian Subcontinent and the hosts each trying to make sure that they get their fair share of home-advantage - to see their team advance in the Cup and more so to suck up all the advertising revenue that can be generated by invoking patriotic fervor in the fans of the game. Correction, fans of the cricketers belonging from their part of the world. Cricket is a lowly second priority.

Yes, Cricket is not important. Home team winning the games is important. And the organizers (ICC and the boards working for the corporations which paid millions of dollars) know that. Curators stick to the formula too. So, we have a bunch of grounds with dead-flat sponge mats disguised as cricket pitches. That's nothing new to cricket, specially the shorter versions. But this is ridiculous. Hoping to win the 'World' cup through home advantage.

One of my favorite experiences watching an ODI is to see fast bowlers let it rip in the first few overs and the openers battling it out with sheer talent or just plain luck: scoring runs maniacally in boundaries like Jayasuirya, Sehwag, Matt Hayden or scoring runs cleverly by manipulating the field and taking advantage of fielding restrictions like Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla or Inzamam ul Haq or consolidating if wickets were lost like The Wall Rahul Dravid, Younis Khan or Steve Waugh. And the batting teams which would come out of this phase unscathed or as victors would be best placed to dictate the remainder of the innings. And then enter spinners, to slow the things down and use their vile to tie the batsmen down - good batsmen milk the spinners, bad ones wilt and mediocre ones meander towards the slog overs.

And the rubbish pitches for the games played till now in the world cup, have prompted the teams to open bowling with their spinners. West Indies, once an evergreen factory of fast bowlers - opened bowling with their spinner Benn. So did South Africa, opening with Johan Botha when they had players like Steyn and Morkel, arguably the best pace-bowling pair in the world cricket now.

For the last decade, ever since India started taking over as the leading revenue-generator for the World Cricket and thus the financial Power House of cricket, cricket has been gravitating towards being a game featuring batsmen-vs-bowling-machines. And the least useful of those bowling machines are the type called fast bowlers. The grounds have been made artificially smaller by bringing the ropes in, fielding restrictions have been extended, mandatory ball change has been introduced - to ensure teams have a newer cricket ball after 34 overs to prepare for the final assault on the already demoralized bowlers.

This fundamental shift towards a batting-only cricket is due to the way cricket is enjoyed in India. Everybody wants to bat. Bowling is not so important. Fielding is a waste of time. This mindset is alike in Gully cricket (alley cricket), School and College-level cricket, Club cricket and Ranji Trophy - and carries over to the Indian Cricket team. And the same mindset is cultivated by the fans of the game. I mean fans of a few cricketers from their respective parts of the country. No wonder India has so many batting sensations/legends and just about a handful of world-class bowlers, much less legends.

India is a high-quality test team - if the pitch offers some swing and bounce or if the pitch deteriorates so much by the end of the 3rd/4th day that the spinners run through the opposition. It has great batters who can handle spin of any kind and on most surfaces. Otherwise, they are only a decent bowling team. And in the shorter formats where the opposition attack the bowlers, they degrade to a mediocre team. They're a team of great batsmen and one good fast bowler, one spinner and a bunch of sloppy amateurs. And the one good fast bowler, is known to blow hot and cold. More cold than hot in crunch situations.

And so, the groundsmen will try their best to prepare ugly, flat, spongy surfaces to somehow make sure bowling is out of the equation altogether. Home teams trying to maximize on their advantage is nothing new. But a side so hopelessly short on bowling resources, a fan-base so carelessly ignorant about the one-sidedness of the team they support and administration trying to convert a world-stage to an exhibition of batting skills by the host team, is a shame.

Not that the Indian supporters care. I feel it's a misconception that there is huge following for cricket in India. No, we're not bothered about cricket. Cricket is one way of supplying 'stars'. Like movies. Sachin is God. Ganguly "Dada" is the prince of Kolkata (and we boo other players from his team, if required). Harbhajan is a star not because he's a good bowler, but because he's aggressive and arrogant at times. Sreesanth is famous for being Appam Chutiya and the slap-gate and less for his rare bowling-exploits. Dhoni and Yuvraj are famous more for their fashions and the women they date than the cricketing value they contribute.

Sure, there is always a patriotic feeling attached to wanting your country to win. But more so, the idea is to see these 'Batting legends' and 'Stars' win. We can care less about the cricket.

We don't have quality fast bowlers!?
OK - lets have a few spinners in the team and a LOT of Star batsmen and let us prepare flat wickets.
Hmmm - but our players are slow and can't field well.
OK - don't worry. Our Star batsmen will score a few more runs and the stars can win.
Well, other teams have good bowlers and great fielders.
OK - don't worry. We'll bring the ropes in and our Star batsmen will hit out of the ground, so that they cant field.
But, the other teams have good batters too and what if they take advantage of the flat pitches and small grounds?
..... SH*T


Cricket world cup should be about cricket. Leave patriotism to espionage and wars.
Cricket world cup should be about batting, bowling and fielding.
Cricket world cup should be about good all-rounded teams and not about Stars, even if they're Gods or fading legends.

Two last pieces of evidence before I end this:
1. During the game between England and India, Sachin hit a SIX against Swan and even before the ball landed beyond the boundary, the camera landed on Deepika Padukone, a Bollywood actor. And later at different points during the game, the camera focused on Business Tycoons, random movie actors, Politicians and a lot of Unknown Importants.
2. After the game was over, one great Indian Cricket Fan commented on his twitter feed:
'Between Rahul Bose and Siddharth Malya, someone shoud F*ck Deepika tonight. India deserves this'

It's not about cricket. It's about Stars. Some Sachin, some Dhoni, some Deepika and some Kingfisher.

This India doesn't bother cricket. If the team doesn't win, they'll pelt stones at the cricketers houses and sling the proverbial mud and then get back to following their 'stars'. After all, IPL starts within a week after the World Cup.

But, it might at least enlighten a smaller percentage of the followers of the game in the country, if the team doesn't win the World Cup. In fact, the team doesnt deserve to reach Semi Finals - surely, they aren't among the top 4 sides in the world cricket. At least the team they selected for this event. They don't deserve to win.

Letter to the Cup that Counts

All I wanna watch is a game of cricket

Turns out I couldn't get one ticket

We're told The Cup is all about the masses

But all who can watch Live are the ones with passes

Sponsors, boards make bucks off us 'fans'

But when it comes to treating well, we dont figure in their plans

Ohh wait there are a thousand tix for us you know

On that zoonga boonga site, I don't know

Crash they say they had, it was unforeseen

Ohh is it? I say 'Forget You' à la Cee Lo Green

Had enuf of you ICC and you Pawar clown,

If I could, I'ld boot you and your jokers out of town

But I'm just a faceless powerless fan

Puking stuff on the Net is all I can

I'll get back to the 'coverage' on TV

With fancy voices of Sunny and Raavi

And Russel Aawrnowld or Tony Grieg

Or Rameeez, EM Bang Wa or some other fag

And spare us the torture with that "De Ghuma Ke"

Dude, Shankar, drop those shades you look so gay

This shit's no Waka-Waka no Un Dos Tres

Somebody please tell the editors and the DJ's

The last I checked it's 'World' Cup of cricket

Dont blow this hot air every shot, every wicket

Come on you sponsors, we're all here

Yes, your stuff's great - we can all hear

Please don't smear the ground with all those logos

Common leave us some cricket, you MoFos

You know what I do, I mute you all

And follow cricinfo's Ball-by-Ball

I feel for you, you guys who been insulted, ill-treated lathi-charged at the grounds...

But please know that we have it no better,

And that's why this love letter,

from a faceless Fan to the Cup that Counts...

Time and Perception of Time

How do you define movement? Moving from one point to the other.
"Point" in space. A 3-dimensional space. The way we feel it is through sense - perception - vision. Light reaches us 'in time' from different 'Points' and we make a mental image of the characteristics of the light we received to construct things and associate that image with the enormous knowledge we have gathered over 'time' . Also note that whatever we might be 'holding' from the point of origin, say A, will probably be with us at the point of end of travel, say B - unless someone snatches it, of course.

Now what's important is not if someone will snatch stuff from us during our travels, we all need to be careful about that though. What's imporant is that for this movement, there needs to be a force. Muscles, Engine, Wind or Gravity (well, surely you wont probably be carrying stuff till the end in the last 2 scenarios). So some force, moves us from A to B - that is, the force makes us take a lot of different positions over space from A to B. 'How many?' depends on the distance from A to B and how small our perception of 'position' or 'point' is. But somehow, magically, we end up at point B. And we all know that process very well. We know the forces very well. We know the dimensions very well.

How about Time? We pass time. We kill time. We spend time. We measure time, well, kinda. We think we 'feel' time. But we don't know how it happens. How we pass through time. In our example, while moving from A to B, we actually have 'spent' time. We moved from time T1 to time T2. How short the difference, t, is - determines how strong the force was that moved us from A to B. But the force that moved from T1 to T2 is, as always, constant. At least that's how we feel it. But if you see through the elaborate and boring prologue, you can understand what I'm getting to. We pass a lot of points of time. We may call them moments, vaguely. Precisely? We think - Seconds. Hours. Days. We express - Hours that 'feel' like days and days that 'feel' like hours.

But we don't know time.

Does time exist? That is - is this experience of time real? The answer depends directly on how you define the other 3 dimensions. How you define your perception of objects and world around you in those 3 dimensions.

If you feel 'that'world is real, then time is real too. But - time is Past, Present and Future. Past is gone, and doesnt exist anymore. Present, we feel, exists. Future has yet to be created, so never exists. But Present is what once was Future and would in a 'space' of time become Past. So, if Past and Future do not exist, then Present cannot exist. Or it must be created out of nowhere and disappear to nowhere. Or probably Past, Present and Future all exist. We just move from one time to the other, through different points of time. What we call moments. May be smaller points. Planck Time? Maybe, maybe smaller.

More like frames in a video. We just see all the frames. There is some force that pushes us through the frames in a specific direction so that we see frames in some order. How is it any different from the points we observe when traveling from A to B? Time can be the 4th of the many dimensions that can exist. We feel or can perceive the 4. We can act upon the 'matter' or properties of 'space' in the 3 dimensions. Not so much about the 'space' in the 4th dimension. We are constantly moving along this dimension. Time. Goes on.

Could there be beings who live where time is a dimension they can control the space in? Could they be able to control more than 1 (time) dimension? And if so could they share one or more dimensions as we do? Those are natural questions that we may not be able to answer till we find another being that can perceive properties of objects that we can affect and be able to affect those properties of objects that we can perceive. That's the only way one 'being', however observant it may be, can perceive another.

This brings 2 very odd possibilities.

1. There can be more beings sharing the same space. So, we may notice them as points if we share 1 dimension. But as long as we can not impact any property of space in those other dimensions, we may not be able interact with or perceive those beings. And we may not know if such beings exist unless such beings have the capability of affecting properties that we can perceive. Imagine a One-Dimensional monster creature that can change or alter time dimension. God?

2. Free-Will is only an illusion. Brain/Mind is probably a being extended in time long enough to understand connection between each frames. Understand Why. That's probably what we call consciousness. The explanation, to some extent, of why. To find reason. Not to take decisions.

More musings in a later post, if Time permits!

Of Nations and Patriotism

What people often call patriotism is in my opinion, a wasted feeling. It's probably as wasted as religious fanaticism. Patriotism is based no boundaries, rules, books (read constitution) written over decades or centuries ago. Rules, you had no control upon. Rules most people of the country know nothing about and worse yet understand nothing of. Rules that were made for the year and day they were written and are obsolete. Borders that were drawn based on loose political ideas.

When you say 'Great India' do you refer to the India that's drawn by India? Or by China? (which doesn’t represent some areas of India that India call's its states) Or that based on the International LOC? (which chops off portions of India/Pakistan on however you see it, and confused represents it as a shaded area – PoK)

Why is Alaska a part of United States of America? Why isn’t the rest of Canada? And why is no other country/state from South 'America' not a part of 'United States' of America? Doesn’t all that sound like one big mess? How about Common Wealth? Why would a country like Fiji, so far away in the Pacific – be ruled-over by the 'Royal' family in Northern Europe?

The answer is – that was what was politically 'acquired' or logically concluded by a few people who were supposed to be 'ruling'. Don’t get me wrong. There were thousands upon thousands of lives lost, still many more lives dedicated to establish/retain those lands – but all at the whims and fancies of the 'ruling'.

One's nationality is a throw of dice. It's not a choice, but something one is born into. And at one point, a few made it up. Then onwards others were born 'into' it. There never was a U.S.A till the late 1700s. Natives living in the Americas were never fond of NFL or NBA, nor did they play Ice Hockey. But, there still were tribes. Algonquin, Cherokee, Hopi etc. India had tribes too. USA calls those who still remain as 'aboriginals' or 'Natives'. India calls them 'Adivasis' (read Original People). So, most those who are 'Proud of America' never belonged to 'America'. Most of those who say 'I Love India' never belonged to 'India'.

People have been moving across the land and overseas for ever. All animals do so. That is nature's way of ensuring dispersion. Plants have dispersion mechanisms too. It's nature's way of 'experimenting' the mutations/variations. Some who migrate to a new place, may not survive because they cannot adapt. Most of the seeds that land from a plant in water would not survive. But, some do. Like probably the first few of the monkeys who wandered into colder areas of what we now call 'China'. Only those that were 'awkward' and were 'hairy' survived the cold. And eventually became this:

And anyway all the terrestrial life, plants and animals, evolved from once marine life that was 'awkward' or 'unique' and whose ancestors decided to live on the land and were actually capable of doing so.

The point is that migration is a very natural thing. Picking up some specific traits always helps in adapting to the new circumstances. Those are the natural traits of individual species.

And then there is culture. Culture is an artificial trait, unique to humans (and some other social creatures like ants and bees) but mostly all other animals are individualistic. Social behavior was evolved by different species at different phases of evolution. First primitive components like cell nucleus, mitochondria, RNA all decided to live under one other component – the cell membrane. And then cells decided to group together to perform different functions, like stinging cells in Hydra – one of the most primitive known multi cellular organisms. Yet more evolved species, specially mammal and birds, have the tendency to live in packs or herds or flocks or parliament or whatever we may call it. Bees and Ants in tightly regulated social communities – so much so that they're sometimes considered super-organisms, as in the entire community behaves as if it's one single 'being'.

The same behavior extended to humans. Tribes, Kingdoms, Czardoms were formed. Ideas were the same – regulation, division of labor, one point of control. But humans had also evolved more analytical abilities. They wanted more 'territory' than they had. More than what was sufficient or sometimes more territory as their community was growing in numbers. Wars ensued – actually they were always there, between herds, between tribes and between empires. Nations.

Some individuals tended to identify themselves as being unique and not part of the 'empire'. They were called rebels. They were outcast or executed - they were a threat to the 'community'. And then there were those who were 'rulers'. Soon, the community was no longer about the members of the community and was more about the ruler. Some rebels became 'leaders' themselves and dethroned the 'Kings' – and became 'Kings' themselves. And at some point people tended to think 'we don’t need kings, we can rule us ourselves' – then came democracy. But surprisingly, there is still a 'ruler' – a 'govern'ment.

So Nations still remained, only in a different flavor. In the dynastic era, the ruler were chosen by the family he was born into, even if many in a nation would not approve of him as their ruler. Rebels. In the Age of Conquerors, people had new ruler if their old 'ruler' and their 'army' were ineffective. They still had no say on who 'ruled' over them. In the Age of democracies, even if, say, 40% of the nation do not approve of a person to 'rule' over them – he could yet be their 'ruler'. One still doesn’t have a choice.

And these rulers and their team of generals decide what a country is. Some 'elders' at some point decided to adopt some 'traditions'. Which are now considered a part of a "Nation"'s heritage.

So, what's expected of individuals is to be photocopies of those 'elders'; to be photocopies of each other; to lose their individuality. If you insist on not being a photocopy, you're a rebel. You're 'not one of us'. One of the responsibilities of being a photocopy is that you 'respect' and 'love' the otherwise non-existent being called a Nation. And you have to 'hate' some other such 'Nations'. You have to keep the secrets of your 'Nation', however lame and pointless they may be. Nobody is allowed to ask why. Some Nations have stricter rules. Some are more lenient. Yet, effectively, you are supposed to belong to some Nation. Have some Nationality. Otherwise, you have no identity. Nobody knows where his/her ancestors originally came from and why. Nobody knows why the rules were framed thus, in the part of the world they live in. Yet, they are supposed to obey those rules. Yet, you are supposed to love your Nation.

If there is any entity that truly represents all humanity, it is the Planet – Earth. Mother India? Don’t know. Uncle Sam? Who's that? Mother Earth – please drop the word 'Mother' and yeah look around.

If there is one tradition that binds all the humans, that is life. Actually it binds all the living beings together - the struggle to survive. Our commitment, our ultimate purpose is to let life prosper. If ever there was God, it couldn't be much different from the living force. The sole urge of even simple DNA to replicate itself. Virus? Life!

Imagine if there were no nations, no countries. Imagine if all the energy we spend on 'arms and ammunition', on 'guns and missiles', on 'nuclear technology' – on all sorts of new ways of 'taking life' – imagine if all that energy were spent on letting life prosper. To let live and to live better. Imagine if we were in a compassionate world where life was valuable. Not just a human. Not just a kid. Every life. No wars. If there is suffering, the community would suffer as a whole. If there were prosperity, the community would prosper as a whole. A global community. That's what my loyalty is towards. I don’t love India, I don’t love the USA, neither do I subscribe to Hitler nor do I consider myself a part of Commonwealth. I am an individual, a human, a living being - on one thriving planet Earth.

Any association of me to a country/nation, religion, culture – is false and not an accurate representation of whom I am.

Halloween 2010

Halloween is my favorite time of the year. When I can live by the kid inside me.
Dress-up like crazy and like a fool and that'll still be Kool! :-)

This year, though, I wanted to be a Ninja, Harry Potter, Michael Jackson, a Spartan warrior among others (including a Snake-charmer without the snake popping out the pants :-o)

Finally, I settled to this wierd looking wig-plus-hat that dint look anything like a halloween wig. But I was surprised that people still recognized me as MJ. Kool enuf.

And since it happened to be the day I was leaving St Louis, it was kinda heavy on me. I liked that my friends showed-up at CWE. CWE - Central West End, by the way, is the best place to be in St Louis during Halloween, and mostly during any night. And Coffee Cartel, unlike the Cartels of Mexico, serves only Fair-Trade Organic stuff and has amazing variety of Teas, Coffees and Ice Creams. Missing St Louis and Coffee Cartel. Missing the friends from there. Missing my neighbors and neighborhood. Missing my wifey and the silly black cat. Life is tough!

UN to Take Up Measure Suppressing Religious Criticism

Read the article below:

http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blogs/entry/un_to_take_up_measure_suppressing_religious_criticism_votes_against_sexual_/

"Readers might pause to contemplate this horrific irony. The Organization of the Islamic Conference supports protecting religious ideas and symbols from desecration, yet balks at protecting human beings from hate-motivated violence and death.
"

"Racism, sexism, homophobia amongst many other horrible prejudices are fueled by theism. Our world is almost always at war because of differing religious beliefs! Tens upon millions have died in the name of one theistic fairy tale or another.
"

Doesn't sound like people are going to learn to be liberal in their opinions anytime soon...

New Layout!

Old Wine in a stinky new bottle!
Same crappy stuff, but a new look. Hope you like.
Well, can't help if you dont like unless you leave me a comment saying what needs to change.

Cheers :)

Story of a planet

This is the story of a planet.






A small globe spinning about itself and running around a larger sphere, a hot ball of predominantly gas.

The Planet, had Life - extravagant in its numbers and variety. There were jumping spiders at the Chilly tops of the highest moutains and sulfur-eating worms in the hot vents gushing up through ridges on the ocean floors. There were beings that could live only in concentrated sulfuric acid, and beings that were destroyed by concentrated sulfuric acid; organisms that were poisoned by oxygen, and oranisms that could survive only in oxygen, that actually breathed the stuff.

A particular form, a lifeform with a modicum of intelligence, had recently spread across the planet. They had outposts on the ocean floors and in low-altitude orbit around the planet. They had swarmed to every nook and cranny of their small 'word'. The boundary that marked transition of night into day was sweeping westward, and following its motion millions of these beings ritually performed their morning ablutions. They donned greatcoats and dhotis' drank brews of coffee, tee, or dandelion; drove bicycles, automobiles, or oxen; and briefly contemplated school assignments, prospects for spring planting, and the fate of the world.

This world is beautiful, life is precious and the whole period of 'living' beings much less the one dominated by these intelligent forms is but a tick of a minute hand in the clock that is the evolution of the planet.

---

Earth, is the planet. We dont know of any other that's anything like it. It's our home and it's our responsibility to try to keep it they it was intended to be, at least as much as we can, for the future generations - not just the future generations of humans but those of the jumping spiders and the sulfur-eating worms and the like; at least those that survive in the nature and that are spared by us.





(Heavily inspired by Carl Sagan, and then muddled it with my thoughts)

Wordplay

In the bus this morning, saw this store named 'Stop & Shop'. Just yesterday had see one of those 'Save A Lots's. This got my brains working on my brains' favorite pastime – wordplay. When I'm not busy, I'm usually busy working word combinations and finding patterns and stuff. 'The voices'. They don’t speak to me, they're just me, just about a more confused me.
Well, so there's this famous chain in India – Shoppers' Stop.
And then there is Stop & Shop.
St Louis had a lot of Shop & Save stores.
And of course, Save-A-lot.

Combining em all – Shoppers Stop & Shop & Save-A-Lot. Not bad at all…

---

Wanted to add Lotto too, but thought it'ld be stretching it too much...
Shoppers Stop & Shop & Save-A-Lotto - Probably a 'thrift' store where you waste your savings playin Lottery... :D


Talking of wordplay, unscrambling is another fun thing to do. The best-known one:
Impossible says I'm Possible

Trying to find a few other, similar cases of funscrambling:
Woman is incomplete without a MAN!
During these days of hi-tech, everybody wants to be mobile. Even Immobile says I'm Mobile!
Can a LADY be IntelliGENT?
Do you still COMPUTE with a COMPUTEr?
Can't think of any more at this moment… later gators!

Rajnikant Jokes (mostly abridged Chuck Norris ones, but what the heck I think they're funny)

OK, so ever since that copy-cat 'Robot' 'Endhiran' was out, there have been Rajnikant jokes all over facebook/twitter.

So, thought I'll get them all together for 'future reference' :D

• On the 7th day Rajnikanth rested.
• Evolution is a myth. We exist because Rajnikanth has allowed us to.

• Rajnikanth doesnt wear a watch. He decides what time it is.
• Rajnikanth doesnt move at the speed of light. Light moves at the speed of Rajnikanth.
• Rajnikant is so fast he always comes yesterday.

• The fat lady asks Rajnikanth if its over (THIS IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE)
• Rajnikanth can unscramble an egg!
• When Rajnikant plays cricket he doesn't hit the ball for a six. He hits it for a century!
• Rajnikanth does not mow the lawn. He just stares at the grass and dares it to grow!
• James Bond to M: Can we borrow Rajnikanth for this mission
• The Bermuda triangle was the Bermuda square till Rajnikanth kicked one of the corners off.

• Rajnikant does do headstands. He carries the Earth on his head.
• When Rajnikanth stares at the sun, it hides behind the clouds & it rains.
• Rajinikanth has already been to Mars, that's why there are no signs of life there.
• Rajnikant can moonwalk on the sun.

• Rajnikanth has counted to infinity - twice!
• Rajnikanth can factorise a prime number. In more than one way !
• Rajnikanth can divide 22/7 to a whole number.

• Rajinikanth once kicked a horse in the chin. Its descendants are today called giraffes.
• Rajinikanth's calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd. No one fools Rajnikanth!
• When Rajinikanth does push-ups, he isn't lifting himself up. He is pushing the earth down.

• When Rajnikanth hits you even Google won't be able to find you.
• Even if Google fails to find you, Rajnikanth will!
• Why doesnt Rajnikanth show up on Google? You dont find Rajnikanth. Rajnikanth finds you.
• Rajnikanth's email id. gmail@rajnikanth.com
• Twitter gets its account verified by Rajnikanth.

• Only a blind man sees Rajnikanth as bald. Even the sightless love his locks.
• When Rajnikanth is asked to kill someone he doesnt know he pulls the trigger and tells the bullet to go find the target.
• Rajnikanth doesnt own a microwave because revenge is a dish best served cold.
• Rajnikanth is so fast, he can run around the world and tap himself on the shoulder.
• Rajnikanth doesnt breathe air. Air hides in his lungs for protection.
• Rajnikanth never wet his bed as a child. The bed wet itself in fear.
• Rajnikanth doesnt need an iPhone. He can talk to himself.
• Rajnikanth once got into a knife fight. The knife lost.

• Rajjnikanth knows Victoris's secret. (This deserves special mention :D)
• Rajnikanth can make onions cry.
• Rajnikanth can leave an entire message before the beep.
• Rajnikanth can judge a book by its cover.
• Rajnikanth can divide by zero and add zero to zero to make a billion.
• In an average living room there are 1242 objects Rajnikanth could use to kill you, including the room itself.
• When you say No One is Perfect, Rajnikanth takes it as a personal insult.
• Rajnikanth can checkmate Vishwanathan Anand with his first move.

Nobody blogs Rajni jokes. Rajni blogs them himself!!

(Feel free to add more in the comments - 'for future reference' ;))

Religion!!

Well, as I understand people increasingly expect the next World War to not be fought over Oil or resources, but it would rather be a war of Religions.

What I heck dont understand is this - why are people so hell-bent on spreading their religion? It is not their's to start with.

I am termed a Hindu, for the records. But who decided it? Not me for sure... Hinduism is not my Idea... what is written in the so-called religious scriptures is not my creativity, neither did I witness those incidents nor was told about those by 'The God'.
Similar is the case with Christianity - the Christ is a 1000 year old story and you know how things get distorted over a couple of decades. Why would one have believe what is written in Bible is from 'The God's Son'??
Same is the case with Islam - who knows what the prophet meant to tell the people. Who knows if ever there was a prophet and he was 'in touch' with the God? It is all a collection of books and hear-say.
Other religions too - Budhism, Taoism and all the shit-load of religions all over the world.

WHY? Why would you lose your identity to believe in something that you never thought of on your own- why would you be led into believing some ideas (I am careful not to say stupid or idotic ideas, because I am trying hard to not be judgemental) that were surely 'created' at some point by someone and have since been 'abridged' 'tweaked' 'fiddled' or whatever.

Self-check makes me question myself why I am using English, afterall it is not invented by me. And why follow the english grammar and Syntax. Yes, given - it is not my own invention. Nor do I like having to communicate in this language.
But I can understand why one needs to try to stick to the language - because it is easier for me to communicate to the people around me and have the things I require or get what I wanted done. But again, I dont want to spread English - I dont force people to learn english and I dont think that people who do not learn English are traitors or sinners and I dont preach them the goods and bads of English. Nor do I do that with the other languages that I know, Hindi/Telugu. I am least bothered if someone thinks that English is shit - so be it, how does that matter to me? Its just my means of communication.
If someone thinks that Telugu is loud or Hindi is rude, so be it.
If someone calls me names and writes, say in the comments, that I am an SOB or an MFer, it doesnt matter to me much - afterall, those are just letters to form words. They cant and wont change the truth that I know, truth that is not in English nor in Hindi nor Telugu nor any other language. Language is just a means - and since everyone around me follows the same, it is easier for me to follow the same than to invent my own.

Not the justification you can give for religion. Why do I have to believe in One 'GOD' and deride and despise other 'GOD's. Why do I believe when someone wearing a saffron cloth or green attire and white poros cap or wearing a white robe and white chef-like cap tells me the 'Truth' and wants me to spread it?
Why am I bothered if someone around me believes in a 'GOD' that I donot believe in or vice versa? ya - I am not bothered, I dont hate Hindus, I dont hate Muslims, I dont hate Christians, I dont hate Atheists either. I dont judge anyone on their religion. It doesnt define one.

So this is not a hate speech, but I am just confused why one has to go to the extent of killing others or protesting against someone 'converting' people of 'MY' religion to 'THEIR' religion. Why does one frikking care?

These religions, these scriptures are mostly creations of some dumb idiots compared to the extent of knowledge we possess now - the practices must have been great and requisite to 'bind' the people together for collective survival at the time they were formed, much like the false boundaries of a 'community' or a 'province' or a 'Country' - but now the boundaries are seamless, I am not patriotic - make no mistake I love the Indian culture, tradition, but I dont hate Pakistan or America or any other country for that matter. Because again for me, Country, India, are just words. They carry no meaning. The people make sense to me - and I know there are good people in India, good people in Pakistan, good ones in America, good ones in Antarctica. And again, good is just a word and the definition that I apply to 'Good' may not be applicable to others - and thats understandable. And thats what I dont understand, why one needs to go by the set definition of 'Good'!?
My definition of 'Good' is something that I built over the span of over 25 years and I cant define it because it is a truth within me that cant be put in words - not in English, not in Hindi, not in Telugu. When I look at a person and interact with one or when I read about people I FEEL someone is good and may be someone isnt. So, for me there is no problem with a MUSLIM, or a PAKISTANI, or a BLACK or a WHITE or a CHINESE or an INDIAN or a HINDU as such. I might try to not be around any of these based on what they are personally, but not because of what they believe in. Because, again, it frikking doesnt matter to me.


So, back to my point - why does one have to spread their religion - why does one have to believe in some 'GOD' and the 'GOD' that others have 'told' them? Personally I wont believe in a 'GOD' unless the 'GOD' comes to me and shows up, but then I might write-off that interaction as just a perception and an imagination, because that is what life is anyway - just a speck of imagination. Not much of a meaning. And for such a thing why destroy other's imagination (life) just because he doesnt believe in someone else's imagination(God) the way you do?

Compassion is not told or taught - what I feel for animals was not taught - I used to kick puppies (sick kid) or stomp spiders (Damn it!) when I was kid, and I was never told that I shouldn't. Never told that I need to be compassionate towards the fellow living creatures. I do not eat meat, not because I was told not to - but because I don't want to. I don't want to be called a Vegetarian/Vegan because thats just a word. I know what I feel and what I want to and no one can change that. That is what I understand. And what I don't understand is the incompatibility, forceful spreading of thoughts own or others'; more so of others'.

Stop the killing - stop the preaching - keep believing if you have to - Eat, make merry and sleep - if you like to.

But why did I write this post and share it with you? Am I trying to make you believe in what I do? Up to you to decide, but I dont WANT to, and surely I wont come killig you or banish you for not agreeing with me.

RRR!

Its getting more and more critical everyday that we check out acts and start doing what would save our future!!!
For, you might not have realized, but it's no longer an option! Its the emergent need of the day, of the hour, of the moment - to encourage and be eco-friendly.

Here is something I found really good:
The Internet Consumer Recycling Guide http://www.obviously.com/recycle/

Guys in the US, check this out:
http://www.obviously.com/junkmail/

Junk mail on the email Inbox is a menace, but junk mail in the postboxes is an even bigger menace and is a major waste of paper/plastics. STOP IT!

This website details Recycling ways to stay Earth-easy:
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_recycling.htm



Its easy and less expensive to go green and stay green.
You don't need to be obsessed with being eco-friendly - just need to be AWARE of your options!

Rock on!

Earth Day!!!!!

[Courtesy Wikipedia]
Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere, and autumn in the southern hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day, which was founded by John McConnell in 1969, each year on the March equinox, while a global observance originated by Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, and since January 1970 also called Earth Day, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22, including the U.S.

http://ww2.earthday.net/

http://www.epa.gov/

[More]
The 3 Rs of recycling:
http://dnr.missouri.gov/env/swmp/pubs-reports/threers.htm
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0775891.html
http://www.epa.gov/msw/reduce.htm

All you ever wanted to know about recycling!
http://www.earthodyssey.com/symbols.html

Great Funny Irish Quote... On Life...

Here's to a long life and a merry one
A quick death and an easy one
A pretty girl and an honest one
A cold beer and another one!
Irish Saying

NicePoem- My Sordid Life

move quickly from man to man,
Often going from hand to hand.
Some men hide me from their wives,
They say I tend to upset their lives.

They love taking me to fancy restaurants,
While in there I'm often in their pants.
Men take me to dances, you know,
One even played with me in a casino.

I was once taken on a Caribbean Cruise,
While there, I suffered some abuse.
I hated the way I was taken for granted,
Some very serious issues were being planted.

This man traded me for some drugs,
Then I was fought over by some thugs.
I must admit, it made me feel wanted,
Knowing that I have them all taunted

I seldom see the inside of a church,
No matter how far and wide I search.
In spite of all this, I enjoy it still,
I love being me...a hundred dollar bill!!

:>)

I Am

I am Strange and Strong
I wonder What the world is all about
I hear Someone calling
I see Some bright place
I want All the fun in the world
I am Strange and Strong

I pretend That I am funny and happy
I feel I am lying
I touch My heart every day
I worry I lose it to this hectic life!
I cry that I cant help myself
I am Strange and Strong

I understand Life is short
I say Live life the way you like it
I dream of a day when everyone knows me
I try to know me first
I hope I will succeed
I am Strange and Strong

60 acres lost a minute - Rain forests fall at 'alarming' rate

ABO EBAM, Nigeria - In the gloomy shade deep in Africa's rain forest, the noontime silence was pierced by the whine of a far-off chain saw. It was the sound of destruction, echoed from wood to wood, continent to continent, in the tropical belt that circles the globe.
ADVERTISEMENT

From Brazil to central Africa to once-lush islands in Asia's archipelagos, human encroachment is shrinking the world's rain forests.

The alarm was sounded decades ago by environmentalists — and was little heeded. The picture, meanwhile, has changed: Africa is now a leader in destructiveness. The numbers have changed: U.N. specialists estimate 60 acres of tropical forest are felled worldwide every minute, up from 50 a generation back. And the fears have changed.

Experts still warn of extinction of animal and plant life, of the loss of forest peoples' livelihoods, of soil erosion and other damage. But scientists today worry urgently about something else: the fateful feedback link of trees and climate.

Global warming is expected to dry up and kill off vast tracts of rain forest, and dying forests will feed global warming.

"If we lose forests, we lose the fight against climate change," declared more than 300 scientists, conservation groups, religious leaders and others in an appeal for action at December's climate conference in Bali, Indonesia.

The burning or rotting of trees that comes with deforestation — at the hands of ranchers, farmers, timbermen — sends more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than all the world's planes, trains, trucks and automobiles. Forest destruction accounts for about 20 percent of manmade emissions, second only to burning of fossil fuels for electricity and heat. Conversely, healthy forests absorb carbon dioxide and store carbon.

"The stakes are so dire that if we don't start turning this around in the next 10 years, the extinction crisis and the climate crisis will begin to spiral out of control," said Roman Paul Czebiniak, a forest expert with Greenpeace International. "It's a very big deal."

The December U.N. session in Bali may have been a turning point, endorsing negotiations in which nations may fashion the first global financial plan for compensating developing countries for preserving their forests.

The latest data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) helped spur delegates to action.

"Deforestation continues at an alarming rate of about 13 million hectares (32 million acres) a year," the U.N. body said in its latest "State of the World's Forests" report.

Because northern forests remain essentially stable, that means 50,000 square miles of tropical forest are being cleared every 12 months — equivalent to one Mississippi or more than half a Britain. The lumber and fuelwood removed in the tropics alone would fill more than 1,000 Empire State Buildings, FAO figures show.

Although South America loses slightly more acreage than Africa, the rate of loss is higher here — almost 1 percent of African forests gone each year. In 2000-2005, the continent lost 10 million acres a year, including big chunks of forest in Sudan, Zambia and Tanzania, up from 9 million a decade earlier, the FAO reports.

Across the tropics the causes can be starkly different.

The Amazon and other South American forests are usually burned for cattle grazing or industrial-scale soybean farming. In Indonesia and elsewhere in southeast Asia, island forests are being cut or burned to make way for giant plantations of palm, whose oil is used in food processing, cosmetics and other products.

In Africa, by contrast, it's individuals hacking out plots for small-scale farming.

Here in Nigeria's southeastern Cross Rivers State, home to one of the largest remaining tropical forests in Africa, people from surrounding villages of huts and cement-block homes go to the forest each day to work their pineapple and cocoa farms. They see no other way of earning money to feed their families.

"The developed countries want us to keep the forests, since the air we breathe is for all of us, rich countries and poor countries," said Ogar Assam Effa, 54, a tree plantation director and member of the state conservation board.

"But we breathe the air, and our bellies are empty. Can air give you protein? Can air give you carbohydrates?" he asked. "It would be easy to convince people to stop clearing the forest if there was an alternative."

The state, which long ago banned industrial logging, is trying to offer alternatives.

Working with communities like Abo Ebam, near Nigeria's border with Cameroon, the Cross Rivers government seeks to help would-be farmers learn other trades, such as beekeeping or raising fist-sized land snails, a regional delicacy.

The state also has imposed a new licensing system. Anyone who wants to cut down one of the forest's massive, valuable mahogany trees or other hardwoods must obtain a license and negotiate which tree to fell with the nearby community, which shares in the income. The logs can't be taken away whole, but must be cut into planks in the forest, by people like David Anfor.

He's a 35-year-old father of one who earns the equivalent of 75 U.S. cents per board he cuts with a whizzing chain saw. "The forest is our natural resource. We're trying to conserve," he said. "But I'm also working for my daily eating."

A community benefiting from such small-scale forestry is likely to keep out those engaged in illegal, uncontrolled logging. But enforcement is difficult in a state with about 3,500 square miles of pristine rain forest — and few forest rangers.

On one recent day deep in the forest, where the luxuriant green canopy allows only rare shards of sunlight to reach the floor, the trilling of a hornbill bird and the distant chain saw were the only sounds heard. As forestry officials rushed to investigate, the saw operator fled deeper into the forest, sign of an illegal operation.

Environmentalists say such a conservation approach may work for rural, agrarian people in Nigeria, which lost an estimated 15 million acres between 1990 and 2005, or about one-third of its entire forest area, and has one of the world's highest deforestation rates — more than 3 percent per year.

But lessons learned in one place aren't necessarily applicable elsewhere, they say. A global strategy is needed, mobilizing all rain-forest governments.

That's the goal of the post-Bali talks, looking for ways to integrate forest preservation into the world's emerging "carbon trading" system. A government earning carbon credits for "avoided deforestation" could then sell them to a European power plant, for example, to meet its emission-reduction quota.

"These forests are the greatest global public utility," Britain's conservationist Prince Charles said in the lead-up to Bali. "As a matter of urgency we have to find ways to make them more valuable alive than dead."

Observed the World Wildlife Fund's Duncan Pollard, "Suddenly you have the whole world looking at deforestation."

But in many ways rain forests are still a world of unknowns, a place with more scientific questions than answers.

How much carbon dioxide are forests absorbing? How much carbon is stored there? How might the death of the Amazon forest affect the climate in, say, the American Midwest? Hundreds of researchers are putting in thousands of hours of work to try to answer such questions before it is too late.

___ courtesy Yahoo! News:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_re_af/60_acres_a_minute_i

How to Stay Online, Even in Your Sleep

Jan. 31, 2008 -- The next thing in your life to go wired could be your bedroom.

Meet the Starry Night Bed: It has sensors, temperature controls, Internet connectivity, and a home theater option.

"No one in the bedding industry has ever put so much technology into a bed or sleep system. It's a first for us, and a first for the industry," said Mark Quinn, group executive vice president of sales and marketing at Leggett and Platt in Carthage, Mo.

Vibration sensors in the mattress are designed to pick up a number of things, including snoring, tossing and turning, and breathing patterns. If it catches you snoring, the bed will automatically elevate your head seven degrees to open airwaves. When the snoring stops, the bed returns to its original position.

For the first 30 days, the bed tracks a sleeper's habits, learning the sleep pattern. If it senses unusual restlessness on a given night, it will flag the event and in the morning, offer recommendations for a better night's sleep. For example, it may suggest using the bed's massage unit to get the body in a more relaxed state before sleep.

Water circulating through small channels in the mattress can also be warmed or cooled to a sleeper's preference.

The bed's computer, Internet connection, and sound system can be used for Web surfing, music, or downloading and watching movies (a projector displays them on the wall).

The electronics can also be programmed with individual preferences. For example, if a person typically goes to bed at 11 p.m. and reads for 30 or 40 minutes, the mattress can be programmed to rise to the desired angle for reading.

"I think it's a phenomenal step forward combing the best technology with some in-depth psychological principals," said Rubin Naiman, author and sleep specialist as well as a clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona's program in integrative medicine.

"As the technology becomes more refined and economical, it can set a new standard for bringing sleep monitoring into the home," he said.

But too much technology can be a bad thing, too.

"One concern is that people would overdo the entertainment piece," said Naiman. Watching news or over stimulating action or horror films right before bed can disrupt the sleep, as can the light emanating from television or computer displays.

"It's the blue end of the spectrum that suppresses melatonin," said Naiman, referring to a natural hormone closely associated with sleep patterns.

Cost may also be a problem, initially hindering the bed from making its way into the average home. The company hopes to bring the bed to market by 2009 and plans to sell it for between $20,000 and $50,000.


Courtesy: Discovery News (http://dsc.discovery.com)

Testing Google Spreadsheet-charts functionality