Parallel Universes

The idea of parallel universes provides a possible resolution to the 'grandfather paradox' that might otherwise cause problems for time travellers. If we travel back in time and change history, we launch ourselves into a new future in a parallel universe - but we have no effect on the present one from which we started out.

Scientists of the future may well pursue a new form of futuristic technology based on quantum effects. Such applications could include quantum teleportation, by which a quantum particle can be teleported from one point in space to another; and quantum computation, where calculations can be carried out which would take many years on a conventional computer. Although we now know how to measure time very accurately, have we come any nearer to answering the basic question 'What is time?'. A BBC science report..read more..

Static electricity generated Argument! or the great Indian JUGAAD!

It is not the power of Gandhi or Gandhigiri ! Neither the currency converter in the Nokia phones! Today I noticed this news item in The Statesman supplement of North Bengal and Sikkim.Read and give a thought..is it possible?


KOLKATA, Nov 27: The next time you need to charge your mobile phone and there’s no electrical plug or electricity at hand, you may want to try and recharge it using a currency note instead. Just make sure you use a Nokia mobile phone.
Weird though it may sound, but that’s how it is. One just needs to switch-off the cellular device and take out the battery. Now the special identification magnetic strip (silver coloured) on a Rs 10 or Rs 100 currency note is inserted between the charging points on the battery (brass) and the connecting points in the phone and the battery are put in place. Thereafter one only needs to switch-on the mobile and pull the currency note back.
Phew! The phone is fully charged again in seconds without using electricity.
Neither scientists and teachers nor those Nokia officials however, were able to explain the phenomenon. A senior teacher from Netaji Nagar College, Mr Surojit Mullick said sometimes when the battery is taken out, some of the charge is restored. But he could not account for the fact that the charge remained there for a long time. Senior scientist, Mr Dipankar Home, also said a detailed study is needed to analyse the phenomenon. “Sometimes it depends on the material. If the material is of high conductivity, it may recharge the lead cells. But to explain any such things one needs to test the material used in the battery as well as those in the notes,” he said.
A spokesperson company only said that it was just not possible. “Even senior scientists have rejected any such possibility,” she said. President of the
India Cellular Association, Mr Pankaj Mohindroo, however trashed the claim. “Don't even believe the claims. It's all rubbish. Sometimes when rubbed against electrostatic substances a battery gets charged due to the high amount of static electricity produced,” he said.

'Shah Rukh is a reincarnation of a Bengali dancer'

For some dreams, one lifetime is not enough. So says Shah Rukh Khan in the movie, Om Shanti Om, in which he dies as a struggling junior artiste but reincarnates as a successful Bollywood superstar. In real life too, it may be a similar story, if an American doctor, who specialises in reincarnation research is to be believed.

Walter Semkiw, an occupational medicine physician practising in San Francisco, believes that Shah Rukh Khan is the reincarnation of a dancer and actress called Sadhona Bose - who starred in a few films of the 1930s and ’40s. Bose’s most successful film was Raj Nartaki, released in 1941. But after that, her career flagged and she was eventually reduced to begging.

Sounds bizarre? There’s more. Semkiw’s book, ‘Born Again’ features reincarnation case studies of a number of international celebrities, including numerous Indian personalities, ranging from Amitabh Bachchan to Jawaharlal Nehru. For instance, according to Semkiw, Bachchan is the reincarnation of American actor Edwin Booth, who was considered one of the finest Shakespearean actors of Victorian times, while Bahadurshah Zafar, the last Mughal king, was reincarnated as Jawaharlal Nehru.

Semkiw’s book, which was released last year, has evinced considerable interest, with even Shah Rukh reportedly saying that while his religion did not permit him to believe in a past or future life, he still wanted to see Sadhona Bose’s pictures.

But how did Semkiw come to his conclusions about the past lives of so many people? He says that it was through a combination of psychic sessions as well as a lot of background research. “It all started when I consulted Kevin Ryerson, a famous trance medium. I found that Kevin was able to channel an Egyptian spirit guide named Athun Re, who, I realised over the course of multiple sessions, had the ability to make accurate past life identifications. However, since my background is in science, I needed evidence to be convinced that whatever matches were being told to me were 100% correct,” he says.

One does wonder, however, if the good doctor, though well-intentioned, might have been led on by say, the medium that he was consulting? “Such skepticism is understandable,” says Semkiw, “since I also started out as a hard-core skeptic. But during the course of the sessions, the matches involved individuals in history that were so obscure and so hard to get information on, that there was no way that the spirit guide or the medium, for that matter, could have made the matches without accessing some spiritual source,” he says.

What finally convinced him, says Semkiw was when the name he received as an answer was researched and facial features, personality traits, talents etc matched, there were invariably striking similarities. Amitabh Bachchan, for example, says Semkiw, not only shares a love for acting with his supposed past life persona of Edwin Booth, but also has similar personality traits, which have been passed on from one lifetime to another.

Incidentally, Edwin Booth was the brother of John Wilkins Booth, who is infamous in history as the man who shot Lincoln, although Edwin himself, was determinedly apolitical, saying that politics simply did not suit him - a feeling Bachchan might sympathise with.

Not just that, Edwin Booth’s family has also been reincarnated as people who are close to Bachchan in this lifetime, claims Semkiw. Jaya Bachchan, for instance, has been identified as Mary Mc Vickers, Edwin Booth’s second wife, while Rekha is believed to be Edwin Booth’s first wife, Mary Devlin.

In researching cases, says Semkiw, he found many instances where ambitions that were not fulfilled in a previous lifetime were being completed in the next. “The best example is that of Hollywood actress Halle Berry, who has been identified as the reincarnation of 1950s actress Dorothy Dandridge,” he says.

Besides having a strong facial resemblance, the two had other similarities too. Both were born to black parents in Ohio - Dorothy died in 1965, while Berry was born in 1968. Berry, in fact, also went on to make a movie on Dorothy. During the course of the movie, she became best friends with Geri Branton, who was also Dorothy’s close friend and who claimed that she was taken aback when she first saw Berry, “because she was so much like Dorothy.”

One of Dorothy’s dearest wishes was to win an Oscar, which she never did, because a certain amount of prejudice existed against blacks in Hollywood at that time. However, years later, in 2002, Halle Berry became the first black woman to win an Oscar. “Finally, as Halle Berry in this lifetime, Dorothy Dandridge fulfilled her goal,” says Semkiw.

Having researched these cases, what does he now feel reincarnation is all about? “I believe that the knowledge of reincarnation is necessary for all of us,” says Semkiw. “Knowing that we will reincarnate will help people realise that they can be Christian in one lifetime or Muslim in another. Once that happens, then hatred and warfare will cease to exist and we can come to understand that from lifetime to lifetime, our purpose is mainly to experience various life situations that keep on evolving our souls.”

Rationalists will, no doubt, scoff. But believers will probably take comfort from Semkiw’s contention that an unfulfilled life needn’t be a tragic waste. As the line goes, picture abhi baaki hai.

atul.sethi@timesgroup.com

Safety Pin

It all started one afternoon.. Walter Hunt had to think of a way on how to pay back a fifteen dollar debt. He was sitting at his desk just twisting a piece of wire while trying to think of how to pay back his debt. He sat twisting wire for three full hours and realized what he had created. He called it the safety pin. He although did not invent the safety pin he just improved it.The man whom Hunt had borrowed the money from was the one who gave him the piece of wire and told him he would pay him four hundred dollars for all the rights to whatever Walter Hunt created. In exchange Walter Hunt sold him the safety pin and all the rights to the device for four hundred dollars. The reason this man wanted Walter Hunt to create something was because Walter Hunt was a inventor. This safety pin wasn't the first pin, but it was the first one with a clasp to keep from poking.

The first safety pin was invented by the ancient Greeks, Italians, and Sicilians. It had two things wrong with it one it had no clasp and second it had no spring at the end to help put it in place. The safety pin was designed to help pin things together. The safety pin is used for many things kind of like a temporary button, zipper, or it can hold a rip or babies diapers. The safety pin was very useful to all people. It will continue to be useful in every day life. Walter Hunt's improvement was very helpful to all. All it took to create this device was a piece of wire, imagination, and a little time.

Death of a Sperm whale

It was one of my winter visit to my home(Andaman-Panchavati).One day (feb-2002)I heard that a sperm whale was spotted nearby by the morning walkers,I took the cycle and rushed to the stony beach were the sperm whale was washed away by the tide.I found it dead but not stinking,and no evidence of any injury in its body.


I returned to my home to take my camera to click some snaps.When I returned the lower teeth of the whale is missing and the blood from its body was all around.Poachers and smugglers know about these things better.Now while surfing the net I found about the uses of these teeth .They make scrimshaws out of this.The tooth extracted from this whale may be sitting in the showcase in some corner of the world.No dignity even in Death of these mammals!

Hitler received up to 1,000 fan mails every month: Report

LONDON: Believe it or not, the amount of fan mails sent to Adolf Hitler rivalled that of The Beatles.

This inference can be drawn from the contents of many of the upto 1,000 letters a month written to the Nazi ruler -- the mails have been unearthed by German historian Henrik Eberle who published them in his new book.

The book, titled Letters to Hitler -- People Writes to its Leader , contains contents of the letters which included not only fawning pledges of allegiance but bizarre requests from ordinary Germans for permission to bake cakes named after the Nazi leader, The Independent reported on Tuesday.

Although they were written only early in Hitler's career, shortly after he was released from jail in 1923, they show that he was already being deluged with fan mail.

The daily cited a telegram written by one Walter Zickler, dated June 1925. It pledges "unalterable allegiance and unshakeable faith in "Adolf Hitler", on behalf of the "College of German Farmers".

"How does HE stand regarding the question of alcohol?" asks Alfred Barg, in a letter written to Hitler in May 1925.

To Barg's letter, the dictator's deputy Hess replies nine days later: "Herr Hitler does not drink any alcohol, except for a few drops on very special occasions. He does not smoke at all."

Another letter written by a loyal National Socialist baker asks for permission to bake a new variety of cake which would in future be honoured with the name "Hitler Cake". Hess refused because Hitler's strategy was to strictly avoid ‘kitsch’ publicity gimmicks.

The most obsequious mail came from Nazi Party members. One letter from a Nazi official says, "We don't want anyone else in government, we want only Adolf Hitler." (PTI)

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MAN in MANHOLE

Man goes to sleep in manhole

Kolkata: A deranged man on Thursday went down a manhole and slept there before being lured with the promise of bread to come out.


The man, who later gave his name as Keshav, was spotted by people entering the manhole naked at around 3:00 pm.

The police and fire brigade arrived after being alerted, but they could not find him as he had crept into a sewer connecting two manholes and had fallen asleep.

"The manhole, where the man entered, is connected through a sewer with another manhole 30 metres away. The man was sleeping in the sewer and so we could not find him," officer-in-charge, Hastings police station, Ashoke Banerjee said.

Keshav, who first refused to come out, later agreed after being given bread to eat, Banerjee said.

He was immediately rushed to hospital.

He said that he was very ‘annoyed’ with the police for having ‘disturbed’ his sleep.

Tea vendor paid Rs 8 lakh as income tax

JODHPUR: A vendor who sells tea and snacks in Rajasthan's Pali district has paid Rs eight lakh as income tax after officials found his undeclared assets worth Rs 25 lakh.

The vendor, who has his stall at Rohit village on Jodhpur-Pali road, paid the amount on Wednesday after income tax department sleuths found the undeclared assets.

Meanwhile, the IT sleuths recovered Rs one crore cash during raids from a Gutkha manufacturer here.

The raids were conducted at the premises of the businessman located in Jodhpur, Mumbai, Udaipur, Kota, Bikaner and Ajmer

During the raids, jewellery worth several lakh rupees were also found from four lockers owned by the businessman.

Import Indian bridegrooms for Russian brides

New Russian magic mantra to reverse alarming fall in the country’s birth rate
-Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Desperate to reverse a steep decline in their numbers, Russians are coming up with some bold ideas on how to overcome Russia’s demographic crisis.

A Russian feminist has proposed a radical solution to the falling birth rate — importing Indian bridegrooms for Russian girls. Maria Arbatova, writer and TV moderator, who married an Indian businessman a few years ago “after 25 years of keeping marrying Russians”, thinks Indian men make ideal husbands.

“They are crazy about their family and children,” she said presenting her new book, ‘Tasting India’, here. “What is more, Indians, like Russians, are Indo-Europeans, and many Sanskrit and Russian words have the same roots.”

Indian bridegrooms can help ward off a Chinese demographic invasion in Russia, says the feminist: “If we do not balance off the Chinese with Indians, Africans or aliens, by 2050 China will annex Russia’s Siberia up to the Ural Mountains.”

Russia has a population of 142 million spread across a territory five times the size of India. Its population is shrinking at one-third of a million a year. Under a federal programme launched this year, women who give birth to a second or subsequent child are given certificates worth $10,000, which can be used for education, mortgage or pensions. Monthly support payments to young mothers have been raised from $28 to $60. Afraid that the Government measures are not enough, the Governor of Ulyanovsk has suggested his own way of getting Russian couples to have more babies.

This Wednesday, Ulyanovsk residents will enjoy an extra day off work that the Governor decreed to give them more time to produce babies. The holiday, officially called “Family Contact Day”, was quickly renamed by locals as “Day of Conception”. That day the people will be invited to join a festival, “I Love You”, while teams of gynaecologists, midwives and psychologists will fan out to all parts of the region to advise women on having babies.

September 12 has been chosen for the new holiday so that babies conceived that day may be born on June 12, Russia’s National Day. Couples who hit the target date win prizes, including refrigerators, TV sets and washing machines. The main prize is an Ulyanovsk-built all-terrain vehicle called Patriot.(The Hindu)

THE MAN WHO INVENTED THE FUTURE: JULES VERNE

The above cover art suggests various predictions of the author Jules Verne. Among these was spaceflight which is suggested by the sketch of the astronaut at the upper left. JOURNEY FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON was published in 1863. Some call it the "first believable novel of the future ever written" because of its attention to scientific accuracy. Consider the following amazing predictions by Verne in his novel which came to pass:

The United States would launch the first vehicle to go to the moon.

The shape and size of the vehicle would closely resemble the Apollo command/service module spacecraft.

The number of men in the crew would be three.

The vehicle would launch from Florida near the present location of Kennedy Space Center.

A competition for the launch site would ensue between Florida and Texas which actually was resolved in Congress in the 1960s with KSC as the Flordia launch site and Houston, Texas as the Mission Control Center.

A telescope would be able to view the progress of the journey. When Apollo 13 exploded, a telescope at Johnson Space Center witnessed the event which happened more than 200,000 miles from Earth.

The Verne spacecraft would use retro-rockets which became a technology assisting Neil Armstrong and his crewmates in their journey to the Moon.

Verne predicted weightlessness although his concept was slightly flawed in thinking it only was experienced at the gravitational midpoint of the journey (when the Moon and Earth gravity balanced).

The first men to journey to the Moon would return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean just where Apollo 11 splashed down in July of 1969 one hundred and six years after the initial publishing of Jules Verne's FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON.

DEAD PEOPLES ASSOCIATION

"I'm here. I'm alive," Lal Bihari told revenue officials after discovering he was listed as deceased in 1976. "That may be so," an unruffled clerk replied, "but according to my books you're dead." It took Lal Bihari 18 years to get his life and his land back. During that time, he added the word Mritak, or Dead, to his name and to prove that he was living sought arrest, tried to run for parliament, kidnapped the son of the uncle who had stolen his property, threatened murder, insulted judges, threw leaflets listing his complaints at legislators in the state assembly and demanded a widow's pension for his wife. Each time he was either beaten up by police or rebuked for wasting officials' time. Unable to make headway, Lal Bihari The Dead sought the company of other ghosts in Uttar Pradesh and found an entire underworld of the deceased and dispossessed. A dozen of them demonstrated outside the Uttar Pradesh assembly to publicize their fate, demanding an official investigation into land registry transactions to prevent others from being robbed. Lal Bihari is not sure how many members there are in his Association of Dead People. He's vague about its constitution, it has no funds and no one of importance is paying any attention--at least for now. But in his home district of Azamgarh, 220 km southeast of the state capital, Lucknow, Lal Bihari and his association have become a magnet for the dead souls of the region. He receives letters and secret visits from victims or their relatives hoping he can restore their property. "I've heard about you from friends," wrote a young man late last month. "Exactly the same thing happened to my aunt when her husband died. Can you help?"

Like other eastern districts in Uttar Pradesh, Azamgarh is overcrowded. Land, the only source of income and status for most residents, is scarce. Holdings are getting smaller, divided and subdivided as families grow larger. Rich and poor find it difficult to resist stealing land from an absentee uncle, cousin, nephew, widow or any weak and vulnerable relative. The quickest and simplest way is to bribe land records officials--it costs between $1 and $50, depending on the size of the plot and the wealth of the farmer--declare a person dead and grab his share of the property. "It is a clever ploy," says Lal Bihari. "You don't get your hands dirty by committing murder, and yet the person is as good as dead."

This teacher hasn't taken leave for 34 years

A Government school teacher in Himachal Pradesh has been doing his job so seriously that he has taken no leave in the past 34 years.

As a reward, the State Government has decided to give Todar Ram, 57, a two-year extension in service after he retires later this year from the Government Secondary School Gurkhota in Mandi district, some 160 km from here.

"We have also decided to approach the Guinness Book of World Records to verify our records and consider his achievement (for inclusion)," said Nirmala Sharma, deputy director in the primary education department at Mandi.

Ram, who won a national teacher award a few years ago, belongs to Andretta in the Balh valley of Mandi district. He has taken no leave other than the Sunday weekly offs, school vacations and Government holidays.

"I served for around 28 years in the hard mountainous region of Kullu Valley and had to often walk long distances in the hilly terrain to reach school but I didn't ever take leave," says Ram.

Himachal Pradesh has one of the highest literacy rates in the country at around 80 percent.

NOKIA-IMPORTANT -FAULTY BATTERY ALERT

NOKIA FAULTY BATTERIES

Dear Nokia Customer,

This is a product advisory for the Nokia-branded BL-5C battery manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006. This product advisory does not apply to any other Nokia battery.

Nokia has identified that in very rare cases the affected batteries could potentially experience over heating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge. Nokia is working closely with relevant local authorities to investigate this situation.

Nokia has several suppliers for BL-5C batteries that have collectively produced more than 300 million BL-5C batteries. This advisory applies only to the 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. There have been approximately 100 incidents of over heating reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported.

Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery. According to Nokia's knowledge this issue does not affect any other use of the mobile device. Concerned consumers may want to monitor a mobile device while charging that contains a BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory.

While the occurrence in the BL-5C batteries produced by Matsushita in the time-period specified is very rare, for consumers wishing to do so, Nokia and Matsushita offer to replace any BL-5C battery subject to this product advisory.

The BL-5C batteries which are subject to the product advisory were used with the following Nokia models or separately as accessories:

Nokia 1100, Nokia 1100c, Nokia 1101, Nokia 1108, Nokia 1110, Nokia 1112, Nokia 1255, Nokia 1315, Nokia 1600, Nokia 2112, Nokia 2118, Nokia 2255, Nokia 2272, Nokia 2275, Nokia 2300, Nokia 2300c, Nokia 2310, Nokia 2355, Nokia 2600, Nokia 2610, Nokia 2610b, Nokia 2626, Nokia 3100, Nokia 3105, Nokia 3120, Nokia 3125, Nokia 6030, Nokia 6085, Nokia 6086, Nokia 6108, Nokia 6175i, Nokia 6178i, Nokia 6230, Nokia 6230i, Nokia 6270, Nokia 6600, Nokia 6620, Nokia 6630, Nokia 6631, Nokia 6670, Nokia 6680, Nokia 6681, Nokia 6682, Nokia 6820, Nokia 6822, Nokia 7610, Nokia N70, Nokia N71, Nokia N72, Nokia N91, Nokia E50, Nokia E60

“Nokia” and “BL-5C” are printed on the front of the battery. On the back of the battery, the Nokia mark appears at the top, and the battery identification number (consisting of 26 characters) is found at the bottom.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK..

PRAYER PIN HEADS

Convicted forger A. Schiller was serving his time in Sing Sing prison in the late 1800s when guards found him dead in his cell. On his body they found seven regular straight pins whose heads measured the typical 47/1000ths of an inch or1.17 millimeters in diameter. Under 500 magnification it was found that the tiny etchings seen on the heads of the pins were the words to The Lord's Prayer, which is 65 words and 254 letters long. Of the seven pins, six were silver and one was gold - the gold pin's prayer was flawless and a true masterpiece. Schiller had spent the last 25 years of his life creating the pins, using a tool too small to be seen by the naked eye. It is estimated that it took 1,863 sepatate carving strokes to make it. Schiller went blind because of his artwork.

INTERESTING

1.Starfish don't have brains. (its a star!)

2.If coloring weren't added to Coca-Cola, it would be green .(not a green cola!)

3.There are more chickens than people in the world(millions and millions!)

4.No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, or purple.(so, what!)

5.In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is
used in place of the milk.(when they finish the preparation for the shoot, it is curd!,thats why!)

ULLU MATH BANANA !

When the bananas failed to produce the desired effect, police fed Sheikh Mohsin rice, chicken and local bread.

Finally the necklace, which appeared on an X-ray taken on the suspect, was excreted and retrieved.

Mr Mohsin will appear in court on Monday in the eastern city of Calcutta, and could face a prison sentence.

Police say he snatched a gold necklace worth £550 ($1,100) from a woman as she shopped for toys on Saturday.

When cornered by police, he swallowed the necklace.

The suspect was fed 50 bananas on doctor's advice, after the X-ray dealt a blow to his denials.

But only after a further meal did he yield the necklace, Calcutta police deputy commissioner Gyanwant Singh told AFP news agency.

A sweeper was paid to retrieve the exhibit from the toilet. Mr Mohsin was asked to wash it.

source: BBC South Asia

HOW OUR BRAIN READS.

PASHUPATINATH TEMPLES

There are TWO Pashupatinath temples in the world.One is in Nepal-everyone know this,another,Ashtamukhi Pashupatinath Temple in Madhya Pradesh(Mandsuar District).The Priests of Nepal Pashupatinath Temple were traditionally appointed from the South of Vindhyachal.

The unique feature of this temple is that only four priests can touch the idol. The priests are always from south India. This tradition is supposed to have started by Sage Shankaracharya in sixth century, ostensibly to stop human sacrifice which was prevalent in that temple.

The more official view of Indian priests being stationed at Pashupatinath is because when the King passes away, the entire Nepali people are supposed to stop religious services and enter a year long period of mourning. As the Pashupatinath needs to be eternally worshipped, Indians were brought to make sure that the Pashupatinath is worshipped even at the time of official mourning.

Brahamanism is strictly practiced by them.Eastern Indian Brahmins take Fish/egg in their meals,Nepali Brahmins(not all brahmins) take fish/eggs/mutton for granted.Tamil Nadu Brahmins adher to the Vedas and never shed their sweat to earn.Most of them are educators, priests,engineers and scientists.

As Brahmanism spread to South from the North,purity is maintained now only in the Southern part of India.Flexibility of Hinduism entered into the practice in the North & Eastern parts.

Tamil Language traveled to Sri lanka and Singapore from TamilNadu,now it exists there in its pure original form.

Buddhism originated from India and now retain its charm in the South-Eastern and North-Eastern Asian Countries.

I think you got the moral of this post.Everything looses its charm in its locality!

ANACONDA JOB

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