Stunning Images of Dubai

Dh250m Great Dubai Wheel spins into action

Dubai: Dubai Municipality has approved the master plan of the Dh250 million Great Dubai Wheel project.Developers say the wheel will be the tallest observation wheel in the world, and will be larger than the London Eye, which was recently voted the world's best tourist attraction. Work will begin shortly on the 185-metre Observation Wheel, one of Dubailand's key tourist attractions, which will welcome its first visitors in early 2009 and provide a panoramic view of Dubai.

It will have 30 orbiter capsules with a total capacity of 7.5 million guests per year. The project also includes a restaurant and condominiums.During the journey on the wheel, the visitor will be able to view distances of up to 50 kilometres. The master plan was presented to Dubailand and Dubai Municipality by Great Wheel Corporation, a company that develops, finances, builds and operates Great Wheels.

Currently, the group is working on various sites around the world. "Gaining the approval of Dubailand and Dubai Municipality is crucial to the development of the Great Dubai Wheel, and we are grateful to both for their unstinted support through every phase of the project to date," said Leon Heijkoop, representative of the Great Wheel Corporation in Dubai. The master plan was prepared by a team of experts with the support of Dubailand's project consultants. [...]

South Indian version of MJ's "Thriller"

Folks, this is absolutely hilarious! This is a South Indian version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video. For comparison purposes, I've posted both videos in this post. Enjoy!

South Indian Version:



MJ's Original Version:

Little Superstar

This video was played on Jay Leno's show a couple of weeks ago. n00p had linked to it about a week before it was aired on Leno's show, so I was shocked to see it on Tv! It's hilarious!

Karachi 2006

A pretty cool video on Karachi, the city of lights!

Stunning video of the Peekskill Meteorite

Take a look at this video.

A house I'd like to own someday

Scientists develop more powerful nuclear fuel

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have designed a reactor fuel that they believe can make nuclear power plants 50 percent more powerful and safer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.

Researchers say their new technology should be ready for commercial use in existing reactors in about 10 years.

In a nuclear reactor, the fission of uranium atoms provides heat used to produce steam for generating electricity.

Already, one pickup truck full of uranium fuel in a nuclear reactor can supply a city with enough electricity for a year. The MIT scientists believe they have found a way to make the fuel go even further, boosting output by about 50 percent.

Uranium fuel typically is formed into cylindrical ceramic pellets about half-inch in diameter. The pellets look like a smooth, black version of food pellets for small animals. [...]

White House turns away "Kazakh reporter" Borat

Image Courtesy: Reuters

Jagshemash! Sasha Baron Cohen, the star behind the characters Ali G, Borat and Bruno, was turned away when he tried to enter the White House dressed up as his character, Borat, pretending to be a Kazakh reporter. Read about it here.

Satellite Images as Wallpapers

This is fascinating. Check it out here.

President Musharraf on the Daily Show

President Musharraf on CBS's 60 minutes

Truth about Pakistan

A lovely video on what Pakistan really is about. Perhaps this will educate people who think Pakistan is a 'terrorist state', etc. Pakistan is a powerful, swiftly developing, sovreign nation. Pakistan Zindabad. Enjoy!

A Ramadan Message

A Ramadan message from the chairman of the Fiqh Council of North American on the calcuation of the full-moon and consequentially the declaration of the beginning of Ramadan on the 23rd of September, 2006.

Ramadan Kareem

I'd like to wish everyone a warm Ramadan greeting. Ramadan is an austere time, the purpose of which is to help an individual learn discipline, tolerance and strength, both of the mond and the body. A muslim is to fast from sunrise until sunset during which time he/she may not eat or drink, apart from a few other prohibitions. During the fast, one must learn to restrain one's anger, eating habits, and increase tolerance for others. After 30 days of living through this daily cycle of restraint and order, one's mind and body become strong. Hence, this is a time for accomplishing many personal goals. Once again, Ramadan Kareem to all the Muslim brothers and sisters. Before I leave, I'd like to share this important Ayat with you all.

"O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-" (2:183) - The Holy Qur'an.

Hadiqa - Mehr Ma

Hadiqa Kiani's new song, Mehr Ma. The video isn't extraoordinary, but Hadiqa looks stunning in the video. The beats are pretty catchy as well. Enjoy!

Stunning nature discovery in Indonesia

An Epaulette Shark

Discoveries of hugely diverse fish and coral species in the Indonesian archipelago have amazed researchers.

The Bird's Head region in Papua may be the most biologically diverse in all the oceans, say scientists from Conservation International (CI). Among 50 species believed to be new are bottom-dwelling "walking" sharks and "flasher" wrasse, which feature colourful male courting displays. CI is working with the Indonesian government to protect the ecosystem.

"Five years ago we ran our first expedition to Raja Ampat [islands off the Bird's Head], and this revealed what we felt to be the epicentre of marine biodiversity on the planet," said Mark Erdmann, a CI scientist on the project. [...]

Nissan Anuncio 4x4 - The Mechanical Creature

This commercial is amazing. It's a must see! Thanks to Jason for this.

First Woman Space Tourist takes off

Anousheh Ansari
Image Courtesy: BBC

The first woman space tourist has taken off abroad a Russian designed "Soyuz" rocket. The rocket took off from the launching pad in Kazakhstan located in the city of Baikonur. The woman, Anousheh Ansari, is a 40-year old Iranian-born US citizen. The rocket was also carrying additional crew members for the International Space Station (ISS). Ms. Ansari is reported to have paid an amount around $20 million for the space tour.

For more information, click here.

Quote of the Day

Baha'u'llah - born Mírzá
Ḥusayn-`Alí (1817 - 1892)

"... man's glory lieth in his knowledge, his upright conduct, his praiseworthy character, his wisdom, and not in his nationality or rank."

--- Baha'u'llah

Matt Damon's outburst on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Matt Damon gets extremely upset on Jimmy Kimmel's show when he is invited on stage Kimmel runs out of time without saying a word to Matt. Previously, in several shows, Kimmel had invited Matt on the show, but had always run out of time before he could get Matt on stage. This was the last straw when Matt was finally invited on stage, but didn't get a chance to say a single word! Check it out.

Politically Savvy girl

This little girl is six years old, and she knows more about politics than I would know in my entire life. She may become the first female US president someday!


Genius Girl - video powered by Metacafe

India's 'monster eater'

Restaurant owners in the town of Trissur in the Indian state of Kerala can breathe a huge sigh of relief - the "monster eater" is retiring. They can now think again about launching "eat as much as you like" lunches and buffets. That is because Rappai - the man with the giant appetite - has been warned by medics to curb his food intake. In his prime it would have been an under-statement to describe Rappai's appetite as voracious.

'Unlimited meals'

This was a man who quite easily could plough his way through two buckets of rice and accompanying chicken and vegetable dishes. For breakfast it was said he could devour 75 idlies (rice cakes) and still have room for more. On one famous occasion, the man who locally became known as Theeta (monster eater) took advantage of a local restaurant's "unlimited meals" coupon. He reputedly scoffed three bucketfuls of rice, one bucket of fish curry and 10 kgs of cooked meat. [...]

Woman wins $1 million lotto twice!

What are the odds of winning a lottery twice? The number I would assume, is too minute to be worth mentioning. Read on...

Wilson, 56, beat some long odds to pull off her double victory.

In 2002, her winning ticket in the Cool Million scratch-off game, which has since been discontinued, was a shot of 1 in 5.2 million, according to the New York State Lottery. Last month, she beat odds of 1 in 705,600 when she got the $1 million prize in the New York lottery’s Jubilee scratch-off game.[...]

Assassin's Creed

I saw this video on Metacafe of this new PS3 game, and I thought it'd be worth sharing with everyone. The graphics are simply mindblowing! Enjoy!


Assassin's Creed - video powered by Metacafe

A Very Happy Independence Day!

Firstly, I would like to wish every Pakistani around the globe, a very happy and safe independence day! On this day, all Pakistanis should hold hands and rejoice the freedom that we have today, which our forefathers ensured for us through immense struggle. Liberty was not granted to us, nor did anyone help us achieve it. Just as the European settlers in America, and the natives of many nations around the world fought the British colonialists, the freedom fighters in India led a war of independence against their occupiers too. In 1857, the war of independence was the battle of the final frontier, which paved the path for a more political and diplomatic process that would lead towards an independent India.

However, during the late 1930s, the Muslim League party feared the likely prospect of being under-represented in Indian politics due to the extremely polarized ratio of Muslims to Hindus. At the time, the Hindus were a majority by far, and even today, if one were to combine the entire Muslim population of India and Pakistan on one side and the Hindu population of both nations on the other, the gap is still enormous.

The idea of an Independent Muslim state owes its origin to two major events. The first such event was the presedential address held by Allama Iqbal, on the 29th of December, 1930, which called for an independent nation for the Muslims of India. The second call for such an act was the adoption of the "Lahore Resolution" in 1940, which used the "Two Nation Theory" as its foundation.

The Lahore Resolution, a significant factor in the independence of Pakistan, is a little-known event. Essentially, it was this day that founded the grounds for the creation of a new state for the Muslims of India. Here, Jinnah addressed the All-India Muslim league and rebuked the Congress and the nationalistic Muslims of India. He questioned and examined the defeat of the All-India Muslim league in the general elections of 1937, even in areas that were populated with a Muslim majority. It was becoming apparent that over the course of time, the Muslims of India would slowly be repressed and their fate would be that of any other minority.

The Lahore Resolution was quickly amended by the subject committe of the All-India Muslim League, and drafted in on the 23rd of March, 1940. This day is of extreme significance to the Pakistanis today, as it was possibly the first major movement that forged the idea of the existence of Pakistan as we have it today, in the depths of history. The resolution read as follows:

"No constitutional plan would be workable or acceptable to the Muslims unless geographical contiguous units are demarcated into regions which should be so constituted with such territorial readjustments as may be necessary. That the areas in which the Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-Western and Eastern zones of India should be grouped to constitute independent states in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign.That adequate, effective and mandatory safeguards shall be specifically provided in the constitution for minorities in the units and in the regions for the protection of their religious, cultural, economic, political, administrative and other rights of the minorities, with their consultation. Arrangements thus should be made for the security of Muslims where they were in a minority".

On August 14th, 1947, a sovreign nation was carved out of the historic subcontinental India. Mohammad Ali Jinnah had a dream, and we are the children of this dream. It is incumbent upon us, to fulfill this dream through hard work, unity, education, tolerance, and most of all, remember that we are all related to each other by the bonds of nationalism. We shall never break this bond, rather, seek to reinforce it by not only celebrating our freedom, but by acting upon it. I wish all the Pakistani brothers and sisters, sons and daugthers, a very Happy Independence day! Pakistan, Pa'indabad.

Funny baseball trick

Baseball Players - video powered by Metacafe

Friend or Foe?

Image Source: Aish.com

The following is an excellent resource for details on the nature of the ties between the Middle East nations. There is also an interactive chart called the Middle East Buddy List that you can click and cross-reference the details of the relationships between two nations. Thanks to Npr for submitting this. Click here for "The Middle East Buddy List".

Israel-Palestine timeline

Image Source: Ungido

Here's a timeline of the Israel-Palestine history in a chronological order. It talks about the events that occurred from the birth of a Jewish state till the current chaos that has crippled Lebanon down to rubble. It also mentions a detailed timeline of the history of the people who lived in that region during the 1300 B.C. era. I've mentioned some of the most noteworthy events in the history of Israel's existence. You may view the entire chronology of events by following the link at the end of post.

Nov 2, 1917 British issued the Balfour Declaration, viewed by Jews and Arabs as promising a “National Home” for the Jews in Palestine

May 15, 1948 Israel War of Independence (1948 War). Declaration of Israel as the Jewish State; British leave Palestine; Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia declared war on Israel. Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian invasion began.

May, 1964 PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) founded with the aim of destroying Israel. The Palestinian National Charter (1968) officially called for liquidation of Israel.

June 5-10,1967 6-day war . Israel destroys the Egyptian air force on the ground, conquers and occupies Sinai and Gaza, then conquers the West Bank from Jordan, and Golan Heights from Syria. UN resolution 242 called for Israeli withdrawal, establishment of peace.

Oct. 6, 1973 Yom Kippur War (October War). In a surprise attack on the Jewish day of atonement, Egypt retook the Suez canal and a narrow zone on the other side. Syria reconquered the Golan Heights. Following massive US and Soviet resupplying of the sides, Israel succeeded in pushing back the Syrians and threatening Damascus. In Sinai, the IDF crossed the Suez Canal and cut off the Egyptian Third Army.

March 26, 1979 Peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel.
June 7, 1981 Israel destroys Iraqi nuclear reactor in daring raid.

Oct. 6, 1981 Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated while on the reviewing stand of a victory parade.

Dec 8, 1987 First Intifadeh - Stone-throwing Palestinian teens led by local groups took on the Israeli occupation, attacking Israeli soldiers relentlessly. The triggering incident may have been the death of four Palestinian workers in a road accident with an Israeli vehicle.

Jan. 1988 Foundation of the Hamas Islamic Brotherhood. Hamas published their Charter in August 1988, based on the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and advocating destruction of Israel.

Nov. 4, 1995 Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin assassinated by right-wing Israeli fanatic Yigal Amir. Rabin is replaced by Shimon Peres

Sept. 11, 2001 Terror attacks on World Trade Center in NYC and the Pentagon carried out by fanatic Islamic Al-Qaida group headed by Osama Bin Laden initiate US war on terror. Israel and Palestinians agree to a cease fire, but it is not implemented.

March-April 2002 Israel conducts operation Defensive Wall in the West Bank, following a large number of Palestinian suicide attacks on civilian targets. Saudi peace initiative adopted at Beirut summit.

Nov 11, 2004 Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat dies.

Feb 14, 2005 Assassination of Rafik Hariri, former PM and architect of Lebanese reconstruction. Hariri resigned in protest over continued Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs and occupation of Lebanon. (Commentary More More)

Jan 26, 2006 On January 26, the radical Islamist Hamas movement won an upset victory in Palestinian Legislative Council elections, threatening to end about 40 years of Fateh-PLO leadership of the Palestinians and to completely ruin hopes for peace with Israel. Hamas spokesmen sent mixed signals, but vowed never to recognize Israel and never to give up their claim to all of Palestine. Donor countries suspend direct aid to the Hamas until they are willing to recognize Israel and participate in peace process. Subsequently, a mechanism is agreed upon to pay salaries to PNA employees and give emergency humanitarian aid, but it is not implemented. Hamas smuggles in cash through the Rafah crossing with the connivance of European monitors in order to pay salaries.

July 12 Hezbollah terrorists cross the blue line border with Lebanon, attack an Israeli patrol, killing 3 and capturing 2 soldiers. Additional soldier dies the following day and several are killed when a tank hits a mine, pursuing the captors. At the same time, Hezbollah began a series of rocket attacks on northern Israel. In subsequent days, Israel carried out massive but selective bombing and artillery shelling of Lebanon, hitting rocket stores, Hezbollah headquarters in Dahya quarter of Beirut (see Beirut Map) and al-Manara television in Beirut, and killing over two hundred persons, many civilians. Hezbollah responds with several hundred rocket attacks on Haifa, Tiberias, Safed and other towns deep in northern Israel, killing 13 civilians to July 18 (See Map of Hezbollah Rocket Attacks) , and a Hezbollah Iranian supplied C-802 missile hits an Israeli missile cruiser off the cost of Beirut, killing 4. Hezbollah rocket also sinks at least one foreign neutral ship and damages an Egyptian one. G-8 meeting calls for cessation of violence, return of Israeli soldier and disarmament of Hezbolla in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1559 and UN Security Council Resolution 1680.

Source: Mideastweb.org

How to Speed up Applications in Windows XP

Increase the speed at which your applications are accessed and run by following the guide below, taken from Digg.com. Enjoy!

The tweak I am going to describe below increases system stability by instructing the operating system to separate processes for each instance of an application. In other words if you have three Internet Explorer windows open and one of them crashes it will allow you to close out that crashed instance of Internet Explorer without affecting the other two. I consider this to be a life saver because I run multiple instances of Internet Explorer a lot of the time as well as a performance boost that you gain from this tweak. Below you will find the steps necessary to accomplish this. As always comments/suggestions are welcome.

Note: This tweak is only recommended for users with more than 512MB of RAM, the reason for this is the extra use of memory due to separate processes. [...]

Anarkali Music video

I thought this music video was beautiful and wanted to share it with everyone. The song is lovely too. The title of the song is Supreme Ishq and sung by Shabnam Majeed. The theme of the song is based on the character of Anarkali, a woman who loved a prince, but was caged behind a stone wall by the prince's parents because they disapproved of their son's choice of love.

A little bit about Anarkali from Wikipedia.org

"According to legend, Muġal Prince Salīm, later to become Emperor Jahāngīr, fell in love with a girl named Anārkalī as a young prince. As she was a dancing girl, not of noble birth, the romance was forbidden by the prince's father, Muġal Emperor Akbar. Anārkalī, whose title means "pomegranate blossom" (bestowed for her beauty), was buried alive in a wall said to be located within the bazaar, by the order of Emperor Akbar. It is believed that her original name was Nādira or Sharf-un-Nisā.

Whether or not Anārkalī existed is controversial as there is no evidence that Prince Salīm ever fell in love with the courtesan, including no reference to her in Salīm's autobiography."

Source: Wikipedia.org

Enjoy!

Polish diplomat ‘feels like a Karachiite’

KARACHI: A western diplomat extolling the virtues of Karachi — considered by many of its own citizens a city of turmoil — should be music to many an ear. But Polish envoy does exactly that.

Serving as Poland’s consul general in Karachi since 2004, Ireneusz Makles has come to appreciate Pakistani food, especially the barbecued chicken at Karachi’s Lal Qila and BBQ Tonight. “Karachi is a very safe city despite western media’s illustration of it as a dangerous city.”

“I like Karachi very much,” said a very friendly envoy representing the European Union’s sixth largest member country in Pakistan’s commercial capital. “I am impressed with Karachiites. They are very generous, friendly, open-hearted, reliable and very hospitable.” [...]

Microsoft's "Zune" Set to Compete with iPod

Image Source: Gizmodo.com

Without giving out details, Microsoft has announce that they will be launching their own mp3 player to rival Apple's iPod. A leading research company, Jupiter Research has said Microsoft's mp3 player will have to be able to tranfer data wirelessly in order to compete with Apple's iPod. For more information, click here.

Hard Disks to become a thing of the past

A new type of media, known as "Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory", or MRam for short is expected to replace the current forms of data storage devices such as Hard Disks and Flash Drives some time in the future. A company called "Freescale" announced that they had created an MRam chip which could store about half a megabyte of data. Although it is a small amount of space, it is only in it's infancy, and it will most likely replace hard disks and USB drives in the future due to it's speed and its ability to retain data even without a power supply. For more information, click here.

US Senate approves Stem Cell Research Bill

Stem Cell Research could open the gates
for medical breakthroughs.
Image Courtesy: Sanfranciscosentinel.com

The United States Senate has approved a Bill that would allow scientists inside the United States to commence their research on Stem Cells. President Bush is staunchly opposed to the idea of stem cell research and is expected to veto the bill because he believes the methods that would be employed in the initial stages would be unethical. If he does veto, which he most likely will according to the White House Spokesperson, Tony Snow, it will be President Bush's first veto in both his terms.

The methods involved in the initial stages of the reserach include "therapeutic cloning" and the destruction of a human embryo. The specifics of the controversy are outlined clearly in the following extract from Wikipedia:

"There exists a widespread controversy over stem cell research that emanates from the techniques used in the creation and usage of stem cells. Embryonic stem cell research is particularly controversial because, with the present state of technology, starting a stem cell 'line' human embryo and/or therapeutic cloning. Opponents of the research argue that this practice is a slippery slope to reproductive cloning and tantamount to the instrumentalization of a potential human being. Contrarily, medical researchers in the field argue that it is necessary to pursue embryonic stem cell research because the resultant technologies are expected to have significant medical potential. The ensuing debate has prompted national and international authorities to seek suitable regulatory frameworks and highlighted the fact that stem cell research represents a moral, social and ethical challenge."

My political stance is skewed towards the conservative side, however, in this case, I also understand that the outcome of such research could be staggering and revolutionary. Hence, I believe that as long as the human embryo is given a painless death, and that therapeutic cloning does not lead to reproductive cloning, the research should go ahead. It may seem unethical at first, but at the same time, the outcome of this research may extraordinarily benefit humanity and potentially save thousands, possibly millions of lives. Therefore, in conclusion, allowing the research to go ahead would be the more ethical thing to do. For more information, click here.

Athens' Muslims get a Masjid

The first ever Masjid since the Turkish Ottoman rule of Athens will be constructed. It is suprising to know that the idea was sanctioned by the nation's parliment, which would mean that in order to construct a religious structure or place of worship, the approval of the parliment would be necessary. Currently, Greece is a religious state that comprised mainly of intolerant, Greek Orthodox Christians. For more information, please click here.

Shopgoodwill: A Good will alternative to eBay

Folks, this place is possibly the best online auction store around. Good will industry receives a plethora of miscellaneous donations from around the nation, which they have decided to auction off at unbelivably low prices. Most of their items are used, but each item has a detailed description and they cost nearly a fraction of their original values. Visit ShopGoodWill.com and start shopping!

Immaturity Level in Adults on the Rise

Much to no one's surprise, a new research shows that the level of immaturity amongst the new generation adults is rising. In my personal opinion, it is mainly because of the sub-standard programming telecasted on television today. For instance, anyone who has watched the cartoon, "Family Guy" should know it is strictly intended for an adult audience. However, the maturity level of the show is extremely poor, and in addition, it instills sex, violence and hatred through it's poor level of comedy in the minds of its viewers. The same can be said about the cartoon shows, "American Dad", and "Futurama". The following is an article published on Slashdot on the topic:

Ant writes to tell us that a Discovery News article is exploring the old adage, "like a kid at heart", which may be closer to the truth than we would like to admit. New research is showing that grown-ups are more immature than ever. From the article: "Specifically, it seems a growing number of people are retaining the behaviors and attitudes associated with youth. As a consequence, many older people simply never achieve mental adulthood, according to a leading expert on evolutionary psychiatry."

Source: Slashdot.org

Live birth webcasts

Believe it or not, there is a website where you can view live births online, at this website:

http://www.or-live.com/search.cfm

I believe they have replays of conception as well. In addition, I believe they have webcasts of various other surgeries, operations, etc available too. It may be helpful to medical students who have yet to perform operations on human bodies, or it may serve helpful for delivering a child at home. I'm kidding.

Ancient Roman Port Discovered in India

The lost ruins of an ancient Roman port, called the "Muziris" have been recently discovered in the southern Indian city of Kerala.

"Archaeologists working on India's south-west coast believe they may have solved the mystery of the location of a major port which was key to trade between India and the Roman Empire - Muziris, in the modern-day state of Kerala.

For many years, people have been in search of the almost mythical port, known as Vanchi to locals.

Much-recorded in Roman times, Muziris was a major centre for trade between Rome and southern India - but appeared to have simply disappeared.

Now, however, an investigation by two archaeologists - KP Shajan and V Selvakumar - has placed the ancient port as having existed where the small town of Pattanam now stands, on India's south-west Malabar coast. [...]

Zarqawi killed

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi
Image Courtesy: BBC

The suspected key leader of the current Iraqi insurgency, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has been killed. His death has been confirmed by the US military, as well as by Al-Qaeda. For more information, click here.

The MIT Blackjack Team

This is the story of the rise and fall of an empire created by a group of highly intellectual MIT students who used their brains' prowess to exploit the subtle loophole in gambling. Theoritically, this loophole exists only in the game of Blackjack which, according to experts, has independent outcomes, and most importantly, does not depend on luck, rather, is a game of mathematics. Using a technique labeled "counting", these brilliant MIT students employed this method so effectively, that it ultimately prompted a casino employer to say to one of the MIT Blackjack team pioneers: "You're are too good for us" and subsequently banned all members of the group.

According to the law, the technique that these people used in order to "beat the House" was legal, however, it is considered unethical according to the Casino code. It is considerably ironic of a Casino to speak of morals and ethics, but apparently they do abide by a certain conduct. Read more about the achievements and eventual downfall of the notorious MIT Blackjack team which crumbled due to internal and external conflict. Read more about it here.

A Rant from a Cop

Hey folks, a friend sent me this little article where a cop rants about the difficulties he/she faces in doing their job because of a small number of people who complain about inifinitesimal and irrelevant things. It's pretty interesting, so I recommend reading all the way till the end.

Folks,

I actually took this career path because it disturbed me to see so many victims and I was sure I was the one who would make a difference.

During my career, I have employed compassion, empathy, negotiating skills, and decency in an effort to be someone who people would actually be left with the feeling that you mater after we leave. I could write a book, no, ten books about the things I've seen in your living rooms, bedrooms, streets and alleys. But I won't because I am not talented enough and most of it would be in poor taste.

I see that this forum has a variety of genre. I see the intelligent people trying to provoke thought and engage other people’s minds. I see the sick, disturbed people who have found an audience for which they can share their disturbing thoughts. I see those in between who are just passing through musing at the fodder of all the rest. And of course we now know that Kim Jong lives in the Salt Lake Valley. So, perhaps this is to fall upon deaf ears. But what the hell, I can't send it to the paper because they sell entertainment and this isn't very entertaining. But at the risk of boring, pissing off, maligning, inadvertently offended, or maybe even causing someone to think a little, here goes.

1. Complaints from citizens

People, for the love of everything holly, why do you call us for some of this absolute shit? People are always saying "don't you guys have anything better to do?" when we show up at their home for some moronic reason. Well guess hat? They are right! We have so much more to do. Why do you use us as swords to wield at your neighbor? Why do you use us as leverage mechanisms in you’re screwed up personal relationships? You say we are all fat, lazy, or no good. So why is it every time you want to threaten, scare or piss off an ex, a neighbor, a family member etc. the first statement that rolls off of your lips is "I'm gonna call the cops on you if,,,,,,

Let me use yesterday as an example. Noon, its 59 degrees and I get a call from a guy whose neighbor’s dog has been left in a car. I get there, the windows are cracked, and the dog has only been in there 20 minutes. It’s 59 Degrees! It’s not summer and if it were the dead of winter I'd say the car is a $20,000 dog house. But it turns out this guy has a running dispute with his neighbor so guess who he calls to irritate the guy a little more? Me. When I go to leave, the asshole that called this in yells, "hey, aren't you gonna do anything?" I explain why I am not and he says "great, I'm writing a letter to the paper" Holly shit. Now I'm the bad guy because I didn't embarrass your target enough for you? Grow the hell up.

1:30 PM. Mom calls in a child abuse report on the ex. Turns out the only abuse was that he is a half hour late returning from his turn with the girl. The poor guy has two of us at his door and all his neighbors watching. But we have to respond and gladly respond to every call because of the fact that every now and then, it’s real. So we can't pick and choose and no, I don't have a crystal ball installed next to my MDC so I can see into the future. Another 90 minutes wasted on a revenge complaint. And yes, the ex got what she wanted. All the neighbors are now murmuring that this guy might be a psycho because after all, there were police officers in his home. Now his neighbors have a hard on for him and they are going to start calling us everything a bike gets stolen or a potted plant comes up missing. 3:15 PM. Car just stolen from the parking lot of a grocery store. The RP left the car running for just a minute while she went inside. Dispatch gives us a description of the car. The first thing we do is spread out into a grid of sorts hitting the main routes people would use to leave the area and we actually look for the victim’s car. Believe it or not, a great many times we actually locate the car and return it to the victim. But after 30 minutes, if we haven't found it, it's either in someone's garage in the hood, or it's out of the area. So the next thing I do is respond to where the woman is to take a report. Guess what? I get out of my car and this irate woman comes rolling over and yells at me right there in front of the super market "Where the hell have you guys been!!" She goes on a tirade about how she'll never get her car back now because we didn't respond fast enough and we could give a shit about here because she's just another dumb ass taxpayer. So I try in my most composed voice to explain "maam, when your car is stolen, the one place you won't find us is the place we are sure the car is NOT" Now I'm being a smart ass and she wants my supervisors name.

People, most of you are decent, hard working, family loving, flag waving contributors to your society. And it’s because of this that I approach everyone with dignity and respect. But to that loud minority that tries to use us to get even with the neighbor down the street, or the ex, or the boss. You are the ones that are doing everyone a huge disservice. You are the ones that take us away from the people we should be watching. You are the pathetic, bored, angry, insecure misfits of society. So the next time one of you is sitting at your barstool lamenting about how "the cops are never there when you need them" there's a reason.

To the rest of you, I'm truly sorry if it takes us a little longer than it should to get there. I know who the gang bangers are. I know most of the tweekers. I know where to go and look for your property when you've been ripped off. I know where to go and look for the guy that that just jacked your wife’s purse because as soon as I heard the physical description I recognized him and a repeat offender trying to get together some cash for his habit. But I cannot tend to these real emergencies if you are going to call us because you think someone stole your paper or the neighbor is watering his lawn on an even rather than an odd day or because the kids down the street are on the damn skateboards again. Hell, we were kids once. Leave the kids to be kids. Oh, and to the guy who called us during the busiest time of night to complain that your neighbor across the street was parked too close to the corner, real funny. He's a cop and you don't like cops so you try and use other cops to harass him? Get a life.

Live like decent people and yes, absolutely call us when you see something real happening. I'll do everything in within my ability to help you. Disclaimer. I know there are asshole cops just like there are assholes in any and every profession. I know some of the guys where like me, idealists who wanted to make a difference but now suffer from a thing we call “compassion fatigue” Most of us really do give a damn about you and when you are in trouble, we haul ass to get there before it’s too late. Even then someone will always call in to complain that I was driving to fast and ‘must have been late for dinner” But I’ll tell you what, when we get a 911 call at 2:00 AM and all the call taker can hear on the other end is a woman screaming, it still gives us chills and yes, we’re gonna drive like hell to get there as quick as possible because whoever is doing whatever to her needs to be stopped and we’re the only ones that are going in. So cut us a break. It could be your wife, or mom, or girlfriend or daughter

this is in or around your neighborhood

no -- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Source: Craigslist

An "Intellegence Test "

This is one of the fascinating, and informative tests I've ever taken. Contrary to the title, I believe this is more of an analytical/general knowledge test. Your general knowledge must be very good, and you must know your numbers well. If you can get 19+ answers out of 33, your general knowledge is quite commendable. Take this test here.

How Indian People Drive - Hilarious!

An Indian friend of mine sent this to me, and I HAD to share this with everyone. The traffic system works exactly like that in the rest of South Asia. God Bless those people who have to drive around in that part of the world all day long.

Salman Khan sentenced to five years imprisonment

I don't usually follow Bollywood (Indian Film Industry) events, but I couldn't stop myself from posting this news because this guy is an extremely famous actor. Read on...

Bollywood star Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in prison for poaching rare antelope.

The judge in Jodhpur in India's western Rajasthan state also fined Khan 25,000 rupees ($550). An accomplice was given one year in jail. Khan, who was in court to hear the verdict, has always denied wrong-doing. He was sentenced to a year in prison in February in an earlier poaching case, but had remained out of custody while appealing against that verdict.

As camera flashbulbs went off, a visibly shaken Khan was bundled into a police van and taken to Jodphur Central Jail. His lawyers say he will appeal against the verdict. "We will file an appeal on Wednesday," Khan's lawyer, Hastimal Saraswat, said. "I believe our case is strong on merit," he added. [...]

Evolution's Missing Link Discovered

Scientists have made one of the most important fossil finds in history: a missing link between fish and land animals, showing how creatures first walked out of the water and on to dry land more than 375m years ago. Palaeontologists have said that the find, a crocodile-like animal called the Tiktaalik roseae and described today in the journal Nature, could become an icon of evolution in action - like Archaeopteryx, the famous fossil that bridged the gap between reptiles and birds.

As such, it will be a blow to proponents of intelligent design, who claim that the many gaps in the fossil record show evidence of some higher power. Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary biologist, said: "Our emergence on to the land is one of the more significant rites of passage in our evolutionary history, and Tiktaalik is an important link in the story." Tiktaalik - the name means "a large, shallow-water fish" in the Inuit language Inuktikuk - shows that the evolution of animals from living in water to living on land happened gradually, with fish first living in shallow water.

The animal lived in the Devonian era lasting from 417m to 354m years ago, and had a skull, neck, and ribs similar to early limbed animals (known as tetrapods), as well as a more primitive jaw, fins, and scales akin to fish. The scientists who discovered it say the animal was a predator with sharp teeth, a crocodile-like head, and a body that grew up to 2.75 metres (9ft) long. "It's very important for a number of reasons, one of which is simply the fact that it's so well-preserved and complete," said Jennifer Clack, a paleontologist at Cambridge University and author of an accompanying article in Nature.

Scientists have previously been able to trace the transition of fish into limbed animals only crudely over the millions of years they anticipate the process took place. They suspected that an animal which bridged the gap between fish and land-based tetrapods must have existed - but, until now, there had been scant evidence of one. "Tiktaalik blurs the boundary between fish and land-living animal both in terms of its anatomy and its way of life," said Neil Shubin, a biologist at the University of Chicago, and a leader of the expedition which found Tiktaalik.

The near-pristine fossil was found on Ellesmere Island, Canada, which is 600 miles from the north pole in the Arctic Circle. Scientists from the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, the University of Chicago, and Harvard University led several expeditions into the inhospitable icy desert to search for the fossils. The find is the first complete evidence of an animal that was on the verge of the transition from water to land. "The find is a dream come true," said Ted Daeschler of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

"We knew that the rocks on Ellesmere Island offered a glimpse into the right time period and were formed in the right kinds of environments to provide the potential for finding fossils documenting this important evolutionary transition." When Tiktaalik lived, the Canadian Arctic region was part of a land mass which straddled the equator. Like the Amazon basin today, it had a subtropical climate and the animal lived in small streams. The skeleton indicates that it could support its body under the force of gravity.

Farish Jenkins, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University said: "This represents a critical early phase in the evolution of all limbed animals, including humans - albeit a very ancient step." Tiktaalik also gives biologists a new understanding of how fins turned into limbs. Its fin contains bones that compare to the upper arm, forearm and primitive parts of the hand of land-living animals. "Most of the major joints of the fin are functional in this fish," Professor Shubin said.

"The shoulder, elbow and even parts of the wrist are already there and working in ways similar to the earliest land-living animals." Dr Clack said that, judging from the fossil, the first evolutionary transition from sea to land probably involved learning how to breathe air. "Tiktaalik has lost a series of bones that, in fishes, covers the gill region and helps to operate the gill-breathing mechanism," she said. "The air-breathing mechanism it had would have been elaborated and having lost the series of bones that lies between the head and the shoulder girdle means it's got a neck, it can raise its head more easily in order to gulp the air.

"The flexible robust limbs appear to be connected with pushing the head out of the water to breathe the air." H Richard Lane, director of sedimentary geology and palaeobiology at the US National Science Foundation, said: "These exciting discoveries are providing fossil Rosetta stones for a deeper understanding of this evolutionary milestone - fish to land-roaming tetrapods." A cast of the fossil goes on display at the Science Museum in South Kensington central London today.

Source: The Guardian

US Economy continues to produce jobs

I think a lot of jobs may be being created in the defense industry. Whenever a Republican government is in power, you can observe an emphasis on recruiting in the armed forces. You can see their advertisements on TV, in the newspapers and even on the streets where army recruiters roam the streets of the neighborhoods where the less fortunate reside.

The armed forces are constantly looking to strengthen their defenses by hiring skilled mechanical, aeronautical, electrical, and civil engineers. Of course, the list does not end there, but those are some of the most obvious professions in high demand. In addition, they are always on the lookout for doctors and nurses to assist with their medical staff. Here is an article that featured on BBC where they talk about the increase in job production.

The US economy created 211,000 jobs in March as the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7%, the Labor Department said. The rate at which employers added jobs surprised analysts, who had forecast 190,000 new posts. However, the Labor Department revised down the number of jobs created in January and February by 34,000. March wage growth was below forecasts at 0.2%, but fears remain that current high levels of employment could boost consumption levels and raise inflation.

The markets are also worried that current hiring levels could lead to inflationary pay rises, which might then encourage the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in an effort to contain them. "I think the Fed wants the unemployment rate to stop going down pretty much immediately, and if it doesn't the Fed will keep tightening," said economist Jim O'Sullivan of UBS Securities in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The Fed has raised its key short-term interest rate 15 times since mid-2004, and many analysts believe the current rate of 4.75% marks the latter stages of its rate-rising cycle. Not all industry sectors created jobs in March. Manufacturing employment fell by 5,000 after a 10,000 drop in February, while transportation firms shed 7,600 posts.

Service sector businesses led the hiring, recruiting 202,000 new staff in March, following on from the 194,000 in February.

Source: BBC

Firefox Themes

Check out these sylish themes for Firefox! They have hundreds of different themes (skins) that you can add on to your Firefox browser. These themes are universal skins, meaning, they apply to each window, scrollbar and title bar to not only the external portion of the browser, but even inside a webpage! That's right, even the scrollbards inside a particular webpage will be implemented with the selected theme! Download Firefox themes here.