Being brave

My morning started off with an incredible thought process. What triggered that was my leg pain and the national anthem. Huh? Not something you come up daily with, is it? As it is I was just wondering about brave jawans today. I saw my anthem being played and I saw this guy standing up with one leg and a very cute and incredible smile on his face. It made me wonder what might have made this guy go out to the battle field. I mean he should have very obviously known the dangers that go with it. It could have been anything for him, a horrible death or a bullet in the wrong place or some thing as murderous. But knowing all that he still he went ahead. And I just thought ain’t he brave. Its not just him. So many other jawans. So so many people the world around. They barge in aware of all its dangers and all the pain it might bring through. And here I am with a small pain in my leg thinking that the world is over for me. I felt very tiny. But I felt a huge realize too. Because i have learned to ignore petty things. What were boulders became little stones too me. Now everything is possible. And it has made my day brighter. I walked to my office with the same smile I saw on that brave man. I felt lighter. I salute all the brave souls the world over.

Popular Superstitions

Call them funny or call them weird, these popular superstitions or old wives' tales are still heeded and can make the most logical person behave in the most illogical ways!

These colourful beliefs just refuse to die and have been passed down from generation to generation.

Broken mirror Long long ago when there were no mirrors, people looked at their reflections in water. One's reflection was considered to be like one's soul and as such if the reflection appeared contorted then the soul was considered broken. Even after the advent of mirrors the practice continues. A broken mirror distorts your reflection and is thus considered inauspicious.

Black cat crossing your path One of the most popular and oldest beliefs, this one is attributed to various sources. One version goes that black cats forebode doom; another goes that black cats are demons in disguise; and yet another goes that they were once pets of witches that turned into witches and hence they are witches in disguise. Contrary to worldwide beliefs about the black cat, the Japanese consider a black cat lucky. So the next time you see a black cat you decide whether you want turn back or walk ahead.

Walking under a slanting ladder This age-old belief is believed to have originated from those days when convicts were hung from the seventh rung of ladders. The belief those days was that if one walked under such a ladder, there was every likelihood of coming into contact with the ghost of the man who was hung.

13 and Friday the 13th The number 13 has always been and is still considered to be sinister by many. For some, going to office or carrying out any auspicious task is out of the question on the 13th day of a month. Many others consider only Friday the 13th to be inauspicious. Friday the 13th's bad reputation goes back to the days when under pressure from King Philip IV of France, Pope Clement V had ordered his men to capture and burn all the Templar knights, a brigade of powerful crusaders who the king felt were a threat to him.

The samurai were roughly the equivalent of feudal knights. Employed by the shogun or daimyo, they were members of hereditary warrior class that followed a strict "code" that defined their clothes, armor and behavior on the battlefield. But unlike most medieval knights, samurai warriors could read and they were well versed in Japanese art, literature and poetry.

The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushido. While they numbered less than 10% of Japan's population samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendo, meaning the way of the sword.

Kato Kiyomasa was one of the most powerful and well-known lords of the Sengoku Era. He commanded most of Japan's major clans during the invasion of Korea (1592–1598). In a handbook he addressed to "all samurai, regardless of rank" he told his followers that a warrior's only duty in life was to "grasp the long and the short swords and to die". He also ordered his followers to put forth great effort in studying the military classics, especially those related to loyalty and filial piety. He is best known for his quote:

The point of a samurai sword is called a Kissaki. This is the hardest part of the sword to polish and forge and to hand create a quality one would require an extremely skilful artisan. The value of a sword is determined largely by the quality of the point. The samurai would give names to their swords as they believe in the sword lived their warrior spirit.

"If a man does not investigate into the matter of Bushido daily, it will be difficult for him to die a brave and manly death. Thus it is essential to engrave this business of the warrior into one's mind well."

Most samurai were bound by a code of honor and were expected to set an example for those below them. From the earliest times, the Samurai felt that the path of the warrior was one of honor, emphasizing duty to one's master, and loyalty unto death.

World Travel

In this article ill bring to you some exotic places that i admire.

Queenstown, New Zealand

Staggering beauty and heart-pumping thrilss await in the resort town of Queenstown, which is also known for its Hobbits -- much of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in the area. Outdoor enthusiasts flock to Queenstown for kayaking, bungee jumping, jetboating, white-water rafting, hiking and skiing. More mild-mannered adventurers can take a quiet cruise through nearby Milford Sound, part of the Fjordland National Park World Heritage area or sample South Island pinot noir from one of the region's 75 wineries.

Sedona, Arizona

Anyplace can have an amazing pool and spa, but an amazing pool and spa in the middle of a gorgeous desert? That's what you'll find at Sedona's resorts. If you do feel like taking a break from lounging poolside and sampling different kinds of massages, you'll find miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback tours. Afterward, of course, you'll need another massage. It's the good kind of vicious cycle.

Rock Hard

Rocks are so common that most of us take them for granted—cursing when we hit them with the garden hoe or taking advantage of them to drive in tent pegs on summer camping trips.

But what exactly is a rock?

To geologists, a rock is a natural substance composed of solid crystals of different minerals that have been fused together into a solid lump. The minerals may or may not have been formed at the same time. What matters is that natural processes glued them all together.

There are three basic types of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic.

Extremely common in the Earth's crust, igneous rocks are volcanic and form from molten material. They include not only lava spewed from volcanoes, but also rocks like granite, which are formed by magma that solidifies far underground.

Typically, granite makes up large parts of all the continents. The seafloor is formed of a dark lava called basalt, the most common volcanic rock.

Granite rocks can be very old. Some granite, in Australia, is believed to be more than four billion years old, although when rocks get that old, they've been altered enough by geological forces that it's hard to classify them. Fossils are most frequently found in sedimentary rock, which comes in layers, called strata.

Metamorphic rocks are sedimentary or igneous rocks that have been transformed by pressure, heat, or the intrusion of fluids.

Snooping the net

News is out that criminals can spy on Internet users even if they're using secure connections to banks, online retailers or other sensitive Web sites.

The attacks demonstrated at the Black Hat conference here show how determined hackers can sniff around the edges of encrypted Internet traffic to pick up clues about what their targets are up to.

It's like tapping a telephone conversation and hearing muffled voices that hint at the tone of the conversation. The problem lies in the way Web browsers handle Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL, encryption technology. SSL is widely used on sites trafficking in sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, and its presence is shown as a padlock in the browser's address bar.

For the average Internet user, the research reinforces the importance of being careful on public Wi-Fi networks, where an attacker could plant himself in a position to look at your traffic. For the attacks to work, the attacker must first have access to the victim's network.

Rival for iPad ?

Here is the rival for Apple Inc’s iPad.

Research In Motion Ltd, maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, is planning to introduce a tablet computer in November to compete with Apple Inc’s iPad.

The device will have roughly the same dimensions as the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch diagonal screen. The device will include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology that will allow people to connect to the Internet through their BlackBerry smartphones.

Be cautious when Filing Tax Online

The advantages of filing your income tax returns online are plentiful. For instance, you can file your returns anytime, anywhere, away from the prying eyes of others and within the confines of your own home.

However, you do need to ensure you protect your personal information online. It is no coincidence that identity theft rate related to tax return filing rises in keeping with the increasing popularity of online tax filing.

Be skeptical of emails that feature Web links. Those links can be part of a phishing scam that takes you to look-alike Web pages designed to steal your sensitive personal information, from PAN numbers to credit card account information. If you need to log in, do so independently and through the log-in Web page – not by clicking on a link.

When you go to file your taxes, make sure you've reached the correct site. One easy way is to look for a green address bar that indicates that the Web site is authentic.

Make sure you're entering your personal information in a secured session by looking for https://

Do not respond to any tax issues or requests using fax. You might receive a email scam requesting for a fax with personal information to be sent back to “The Income Tax Department.” The Income Tax Department will never request personal information via fax.

100 days of oil spill

A 100 days have passed since the April 20 explosion on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 men and caused millions of gallon of crude to spill into the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama described it as the "worst environmental disaster America has ever faced", and environmental groups spoke in almost biblical terms of "dark shadows" and the "black hand of tar".

One of the first species to face risk could be the brown pelican, which has just entered its breeding season on Louisiana's coastal islands. The brown pelican was just removed from the endangered species list last year.

BP has been estimating the leak was flowing at a rate of 5,000 barrels per day, but scientists and the government have questioned that figure. Scientists analyzing video of the oil gushing from the seabed have pegged the spill's volume at about 70,000 barrels (11 million liters) per day.

In a statement President Obama said his administration will use "every single available resource at our disposal" to respond to the massive oil spill expected to reach the Gulf coastline within a day. He said the oil company BP ultimately will pay the cost of the cleanup.