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Saturday, September 27, 2008
Two Headed Turtle
They say two heads are better than one, but this rare turtle doesn't seem to know whether it's coming or going - slowly, either way.
The two-headed red slider turtle has turned up at a reptile centre in Pennsylvania, where owners are amazed by its freak appearance. The unnamed curiosity has two heads on opposite sides of a single shell, as well as six legs and a combined tail.
A collector in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, passed the freak of nature to Big Al's Aquarium Supercenter in East Norriton. Jay Jacobi, the shop's exotic reptile manager, said: "The two heads seem to have their own thoughts, operating independently. "But sometimes they seem to put their two heads together and move in the same direction, feed together, walk together." Three names are in the running for the turtle.
These include Gemini, after the Zodian twins symbol, and Blinky, the name of a three-eyed, radioactive fish in an episode of The Simpsons. The store is also pondering calling the turtle Limerick, after a nuclear plant in the region, or Them. A two-headed tortoise was found in South Africa in 2003, with another turning in Dorset the following year.
Gibson - World's Tallest Dog
There's a monster lurking around.
No, it isn't Godzilla. His name is Gibson.
When he stands on his hind legs, the 170-pound "Harlequin" Great Dane is more than 7 feet tall, and has a shoulder height of 42.6 inches (topping Harvey's old record of 41.5 inches). Thankfully for everyone, Gibson is just a big, friendly puppy dog.
Actually, he's the tallest dog in the world. Gibson holds several world records, including the world's tallest dog, tallest therapy dog and tallest Great Dane. And he's been turning quite a few heads outside of his native Grass Valley.
In fact, Gibson has appeared on these television, magazines and radio shows:
Oprah Winfrey Show | Harpo Productions
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | NBC
Good Morning America | ABC News
Inside Edition
Montel Williams Show
Guinness World Record Amazing Animals | Animal Planet
Mark & Brian Radio Show | ABC Disney
Larry King Live | CNN
Parade Magazine
Ladies Home Journal
Life Magazine | photos by Pulitzer Winning Photographers David Hume Kennerly & Deanne Fitzmaurice
Gibson's owner, Sandy Hall, says that even though her dog is a giant and has been receiving some giant publicity, there's more to the dog than just his size. "He just puts a smile on people's faces," Hall said. "In one split second, people forget their cares and worries."
Amazing Truth
The Most Selfish " 1 " letter word
" I " ---> Avoid It
The Most Satisfying " 2 " letter word
" We " ---> Use It
The Most Poisonous " 3 " letter word
" Ego" ---> Kill It
The Most Used " 4 " letter word
" LOVE " --> Value It
The Pleasing " 5 " letter word
" SMILE " --> Keep It
The Fastest Spreading " 6 " letter word
" RUMOUR " --> Ignore It
The Hardest working " 7 " Letter word
"SUCCESS " --> Achieve It
The Most enviable " 8 " letter word
" JEALOUSY " --> Distance It
The Most Powerful " 9 " word letter word
" KNOWLEDGE " --> Acquire It
The Most essential " 10 " letter word
" CONFIDENCE " -- > Trutst It
" I " ---> Avoid It
The Most Satisfying " 2 " letter word
" We " ---> Use It
The Most Poisonous " 3 " letter word
" Ego" ---> Kill It
The Most Used " 4 " letter word
" LOVE " --> Value It
The Pleasing " 5 " letter word
" SMILE " --> Keep It
The Fastest Spreading " 6 " letter word
" RUMOUR " --> Ignore It
The Hardest working " 7 " Letter word
"SUCCESS " --> Achieve It
The Most enviable " 8 " letter word
" JEALOUSY " --> Distance It
The Most Powerful " 9 " word letter word
" KNOWLEDGE " --> Acquire It
The Most essential " 10 " letter word
" CONFIDENCE " -- > Trutst It
Friday, September 26, 2008
The world's most expensive Indian Saree
How often have you come across a Rs. 40 lakh ($100,000) ? Silk Saree? Chennai Silksof its kind and it is seeking an unmistakable entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for being the most unique and expensive saree.
The exceptionally stunning saree is meticulously woven with 12 precious stones and metals to depict 11 of Raja Ravi Verma's popular paintings. Explicitly projected is 'Lady Musicians.'Besides, the border of the saree pictures 10 other paintings of the artist that pays tribute to 20th century artist.
The best part of the saree being that the women in the paintings are intricately hand-woven and beautified with jewels of gold, diamond, platinum, silver, ruby, emerald, yellow sapphire, sapphire, cat's eye, topaz, pearl and corals.
Already in the Limca Book of Records, this 40 lakh saree will be the first silk saree that required the use of 7,440 jacquard hooks and 66,794 cards during the weaving process. Moreover, a group of consummate workers took nearly 4,680 hours.
Malabar 2007
A multilateral naval drill involving India, the US and three other nations begins in the Bay of Bengal Tuesday, an event that India says is a pointer to the country's growing importance on the world stage.
This is the first time a joint exercise on this scale involving 25 vessels is being conducted off India's eastern seaboard and New Delhi has repeatedly sought to allay apprehensions that the drill had military overtones.
'There is no military alignment. It's only an exercise,' Defence Minister A.K. Antony has said of Malabar-2007 that runs Sep 4-9 and involves the navies of India, the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore.
'Our armed forces exercise with most of the important countries. Every year this is expanding...India's importance is growing. Almost all countries want to engage with us. It's a good thing. It's a recognition of India's prestige and reliability,' the minister maintains.
China, which has not officially commented on the drill, is known to be unhappy over the event as it is being conducted in the Bay of Bengal for the first time. China has been cultivating naval cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar to gain access to the Bay of Bengal. China has also been strengthening military cooperation with Sri Lanka.
India's Left parties that have been giving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government a hard time on the India-US civilian nuclear deal, have vehemently protested the joint drill, seeing it as yet another sign of the growing closeness between New Delhi and Washington.
The Left parties have also planned demonstrations at various places along the east coast while the exercise is on. Yet another example of Communist Party's loyalties to Beijing rather than New Delhi.
In June, China had issued a 'demarche' to India, the US, Japan and Australia seeking details about their four-nation meeting, termed a Quadrilateral Initiative. India and Australia had quickly assured Beijing that security and defence issues did not form part of the meeting's agenda.
At one time, the Indian government was known to have considered postponing or even canceling the drill but the Indian Navy put its foot down, saying the logistics involved made any delay impossible.
The operational area of Malabar-2007 will stretch from Vizag on the eastern seaboard to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that guard the approaches to the Strait of Malacca, considered the world's busiest waterway.
The Malabar series is now in its 13th year. The drill has previously been a bilateral India-US engagement and has been expanded for the first time.
The US Navy will have the largest representation during Malabar-2007 with 13 warships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz that generated much heat when it dropped anchor off Chennai in July.
The other vessels include the conventionally powered carrier USS Kitty Hawk, the nuclear submarine USS Chicago, two guided-missile cruisers, and six guided-missile destroyers.
Seven warships, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, will represent the Indian Navy. Viraat's Sea Harrier jets and Sea King helicopters, and the Indian Air Force's Jaguar deep-penetration strike aircraft will also be seen in action.
Australia will be represented by a frigate and a tanker, Japan by two destroyers and Singapore by a frigate.
The Malabar series has slowly evolved over the years.
In 2002, the exercises comprised basic passing maneuvers among naval vessels, anti-submarine exercises and replenishment-at-sea drills. In 2003 and 2004, Malabar participants included advanced assets like the USS Alexandria, a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, and US Navy P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. This enabled both navies to engage in submarine familiarization exercises, a key capability for anti-submarine warfare collaboration.
In 2005, Malabar featured the participation of the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and INS Viraat. During a month of operations, US and Indian forces collaborated on a wide variety of tasks ranging from a joint diving salvage operation to a 24-hour 'war at sea' simulation that saw the two forces engage in mock combat.
In 2006, a US expeditionary strike group comprising amphibious ships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines participated in the exercise for the first time.
Malabar-2007, besides interception and dissimilar air combat exercises, will also feature surface and anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction and VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) operations to counter piracy and terrorist acts at sea.
This is the first time a joint exercise on this scale involving 25 vessels is being conducted off India's eastern seaboard and New Delhi has repeatedly sought to allay apprehensions that the drill had military overtones.
'There is no military alignment. It's only an exercise,' Defence Minister A.K. Antony has said of Malabar-2007 that runs Sep 4-9 and involves the navies of India, the US, Japan, Australia and Singapore.
'Our armed forces exercise with most of the important countries. Every year this is expanding...India's importance is growing. Almost all countries want to engage with us. It's a good thing. It's a recognition of India's prestige and reliability,' the minister maintains.
China, which has not officially commented on the drill, is known to be unhappy over the event as it is being conducted in the Bay of Bengal for the first time. China has been cultivating naval cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar to gain access to the Bay of Bengal. China has also been strengthening military cooperation with Sri Lanka.
India's Left parties that have been giving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government a hard time on the India-US civilian nuclear deal, have vehemently protested the joint drill, seeing it as yet another sign of the growing closeness between New Delhi and Washington.
The Left parties have also planned demonstrations at various places along the east coast while the exercise is on. Yet another example of Communist Party's loyalties to Beijing rather than New Delhi.
In June, China had issued a 'demarche' to India, the US, Japan and Australia seeking details about their four-nation meeting, termed a Quadrilateral Initiative. India and Australia had quickly assured Beijing that security and defence issues did not form part of the meeting's agenda.
At one time, the Indian government was known to have considered postponing or even canceling the drill but the Indian Navy put its foot down, saying the logistics involved made any delay impossible.
The operational area of Malabar-2007 will stretch from Vizag on the eastern seaboard to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands that guard the approaches to the Strait of Malacca, considered the world's busiest waterway.
The Malabar series is now in its 13th year. The drill has previously been a bilateral India-US engagement and has been expanded for the first time.
The US Navy will have the largest representation during Malabar-2007 with 13 warships, including the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz that generated much heat when it dropped anchor off Chennai in July.
The other vessels include the conventionally powered carrier USS Kitty Hawk, the nuclear submarine USS Chicago, two guided-missile cruisers, and six guided-missile destroyers.
Seven warships, including the aircraft carrier INS Viraat, will represent the Indian Navy. Viraat's Sea Harrier jets and Sea King helicopters, and the Indian Air Force's Jaguar deep-penetration strike aircraft will also be seen in action.
Australia will be represented by a frigate and a tanker, Japan by two destroyers and Singapore by a frigate.
The Malabar series has slowly evolved over the years.
In 2002, the exercises comprised basic passing maneuvers among naval vessels, anti-submarine exercises and replenishment-at-sea drills. In 2003 and 2004, Malabar participants included advanced assets like the USS Alexandria, a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, and US Navy P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. This enabled both navies to engage in submarine familiarization exercises, a key capability for anti-submarine warfare collaboration.
In 2005, Malabar featured the participation of the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and INS Viraat. During a month of operations, US and Indian forces collaborated on a wide variety of tasks ranging from a joint diving salvage operation to a 24-hour 'war at sea' simulation that saw the two forces engage in mock combat.
In 2006, a US expeditionary strike group comprising amphibious ships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines participated in the exercise for the first time.
Malabar-2007, besides interception and dissimilar air combat exercises, will also feature surface and anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction and VBSS (visit, board, search and seizure) operations to counter piracy and terrorist acts at sea.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
New Noodles
New noodles to delay feeling of hunger
North Korea, facing its worst food shortage in nearly a decade, has come up with a culinary innovation aimed at delaying the feeling of hunger-- noodles made from soybean.
A research institute at the country's education ministry has succeeded in making the food by mixing soybean with corn, chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan said.
Soybean has never been consumed as a staple food in North Korea and it has been used only for side dishes such as fermented bean curd and bean sprouts.
"When you sonsume ordinary noodles (made from wheat or corn), you may soon feel your stomach empty, But this soybean noodle delays such a feeling of hunger,". The new noodle has almost twice the protein and five times more fat than the normal noodles consumed by North Koreans. It represents a technological breakthrough as soybean has previously proved difficult to turn into noodles as it lacks starch.
Workers from food processing plants, companies and government agencies as well as housewives have been visiting the research institute to learn about the noodle. A recent survey found up to half the people in North Korea were having to forage for foods and some were resorting to eating edible grasses and roots.
North Korea, facing its worst food shortage in nearly a decade, has come up with a culinary innovation aimed at delaying the feeling of hunger-- noodles made from soybean.
A research institute at the country's education ministry has succeeded in making the food by mixing soybean with corn, chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan said.
Soybean has never been consumed as a staple food in North Korea and it has been used only for side dishes such as fermented bean curd and bean sprouts.
"When you sonsume ordinary noodles (made from wheat or corn), you may soon feel your stomach empty, But this soybean noodle delays such a feeling of hunger,". The new noodle has almost twice the protein and five times more fat than the normal noodles consumed by North Koreans. It represents a technological breakthrough as soybean has previously proved difficult to turn into noodles as it lacks starch.
Workers from food processing plants, companies and government agencies as well as housewives have been visiting the research institute to learn about the noodle. A recent survey found up to half the people in North Korea were having to forage for foods and some were resorting to eating edible grasses and roots.
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