A Peom by Nikhil Gurg ----- कुछ "अच्छा" ..

कुछ "अच्छा" ..

कुछ अच्छा हो जाने दो ,
मेरे ख्वाब सज जाने दो ,
इन आंसुओं को यूँ अंदर ही न घुट जाने दो ,
बस जरा सा ....
कुछ अच्छा हो जाने दो .

वो दिन न कटे ,
वो रात न कटी ,
तेरे होतो पे आई ,
वो बात न बीती
मुझे वो बात सुन लेने दो ,
वो रात जी लेने दो ,
बस जरा सा ....
कुछ अच्छा हो जाने दो .

साहिल को दूर , कश्ती से देख
देखो कितना मुस्कुराता हूँ मैं ,
कभी आगे बढता हूँ , तो
कभी शंका से लौट जाता हूँ मैं .
मुझे तुम में समां जाने दो
मेरा साहिल मुझे पा जाने दो ,
बस जरा सा ....
कुछ अच्छा हो जाने दो .

Google Presents Vote India via Internet

Internet giant Google has created an online tool to track the 2009 elections
in India via the web in detail.

The website is filled with valuable information, and features topics such as the latest election news, quotes from candidates, locations of polling booths, statisctics, profiles and more. What's more is that all of this information can be personalised to a specific location.

Using the "Personalise election page" tool on the homepage, a user can search for detailed information on a specific location such as a city or a region.

According to Wikipedia, a total of 1,368,430 Electronic voting machines will be used in 828,804 polling stations around the country.

Users will be able to track India election news at
http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/landing/loksabha2009/

Hydrogen Cars

Researchers at Purdue University have developed a new fuel storage system for hydrogen cars of the future. This new system will allow the car to take on enough hydrogen in only 5 minutes to be able to drive 300 miles.

The system uses a fine powder called metal hydride to absorb hydrogen gas. Researchers have created a heat exchanger to remove heat generated as the hydrogen is absorbed by the powder. It works by circluating coolant through tubes and also utilizes fins to remove generated heat.

Leading the research, Issam Mudawar, a professor of mechanical engineering, said that the heat exchanger is critical because the system stops absorbing hydrogen effectively if it overheats.

"The hydride produces an enormous amount of heat," Mudawar said. "It would take a minimum of 40 minutes to fill the tank without cooling, and that would be entirely impractical."

Artificial IntelliGence

Artificial Intelligence - the word is synonymous with science fiction movies and books, and the whole concept was probably born in the mind of a writer at some point in time.

It's a subject that has - since around the 20th century - enjoyed more and more attention - even if most of it was in the minds of those who dreamed it up, and those who had fairly active imaginations.

That is for the most part - however - where it remained. It was a concept, a far flung idea that bordered on the edge of imagination and possibility. Personally, I believe Artificial Intelligence will largely remain that - artificial - no matter how advanced it may become.

What separates human beings from computers - from machines - is the human spirit. Having said that, one cannot help but wonder how far A.I. will develop, and what will be it's limitations? Will it even have limitations?

Glaciers effect on Deers Evolution...

A 10-year study of mule and black-tailed deer has found unique subspecies created by the animals' responses to climate change thousands of years ago.

Gene Rhodes, Purdue University professor of forestry and natural resources, said DNA analysis of more than 1,700 deer throughout North America shows how the movement of glaciers segregated certain groups of deer and how that affected their genetic makeup.

Glacial movement about 18,000 years ago isolated mule deer and black-tailed deer to areas that were suitable for their survival, sometimes cutting them off from each other. Those groups -- located in Alaska and Canada, and south along the U.S. West Coast to Mexico -- evolved genetically to deal with those conditions, creating several subspecies.

Quantum paradox directly observed

In quantum mechanics, a vanguard of physics where science often merges into philosophy, much of our understanding is based on conjecture and probabilities, but a group of researchers in Japan has moved one of the fundamental paradoxes in quantum mechanics into the lab for experimentation and observed some of the ‘spooky action of quantum mechanics’ directly.

Hardy’s Paradox, the axiom that we cannot make inferences about past events that haven’t been directly observed while also acknowledging that the very act of observation affects the reality we seek to unearth, poses a conundrum that quantum physicists have sought to overcome for decades.

Enery Saviour, Electric trycycle

An electricity expert at Purdue University has taken an average tricycle and made it into an electrically powered, energy-testing machine that could help develop new technologies for greener vehicles.

Athula Kulatunga, associate professor of electrical engineering technology, received support from General Motors to build a plug-in electric bicycle as a learning platform for power electronics and applied research on controllers, charging devices, battery configurations and motor drives. The result is a tricycle that features a reclining seat, pedals in the front and handlebars on the side for steering.

"The purpose of the tricycle is to conduct research, not to produce or design these for commercial use," said Kulatunga, who directs research in the International Rectifier Power Electronics Development and Applications Laboratory in the College of Technology.

CO2 emissions map on Google Earth

A new high-resolution, interactive map of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels is now available on Google Earth.

Athula Kulatunga, associate professor of electrical engineering technology, received support from General Motors to build a plug-in electric bicycle as a learning platform for power electronics and applied research on controllers, charging devices, battery configurations and motor drives.

With a few clicks on Google Earth, anyone can now view pollution from factories, power plants, roadways, and residential and commercial areas for their state, county or per capita. Individuals also can easily see how their county compares to others across the nation.

Top 5 Powerful Billionare..1

Michael Bloomberg

Source of power: mayor, New York City; Bloomberg LP

New York City's chief executive. Former Salomon Brothers trader founded financial information and services firm Innovative Market Systems; renamed Bloomberg LP in 1987. Firm now has news service, cable TV stations, radio and magazine. Today, he owns 88% of company after buying cash-strapped Merrill Lynch's 20% stake last summer. Spent $74 million becoming New York City mayor in 2001 and $85 million in 2005. Law passed in October letting Bloomberg run for third term.

Top 5 Powerful Billionare..2

Silvio Berlusconi

Source of power: prime minister, Italy; Fininvest

Currently serving his third term as prime minister of Italy. Leads a nation of 58 million people, an industrial economy with a GDP of $2.4 trillion and a military budget of roughly $43 billion. As prime minister, he lords over Italy's public TV; his diversified conglomerate Fininvest dominates Italy's private TV channels.

Top 5 Powerful Billionare..3

Lakshmi Mittal

Source of power: ArcelorMittal

Controls world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal; company accounts for 10% of crude steel production. Born in India but lives in London, where his political clout often incites controversy. In 2002, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair reportedly wrote a letter to the Romanian prime minister hinting a sale of the country's steel company to Mittal would facilitate its entrance into the European Union.

Top 5 Powerful Billionare..4

Warren Buffett

Source of power: Berkshire Hathaway

Even the faintest hint of interest from Buffett can send a stock soaring. When Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway injected billions into Goldman Sachs in September, the investment bank's shares jumped by nearly 6%. Backed Barack Obama with advice and money during last year's campaign; Obama often touted the endorsement in a campaign where the economy eventually took center stage.

Top 5 Powerful Billionare..5

Vagit Alekperov

Source of power: Lukoil

Former Caspian Sea oil rig worker, now president of Lukoil, Russia's largest independent energy company. The firm's reserves are second only to ExxonMobil. Alekperov owns more than 19% of the company. Friend of Vladimir Putin who lobbies Kremlin for tax breaks for Russian oil companies

Wall Street tumbled with the Dow and S&P 500 falling to a 12 year low after insurance giant American International Group reported the biggest quarterly loss in corporate history.

The Dow Jones industrial average Monday lost almost 300 points, or 4.2 percent to end at 6763.29, its lowest point since April 25, 1997. The S&P 500 index lost 34 points, or 4.7 percent, ending at 700.82, its lowest close since Oct 28, 1996.

The Nasdaq composite lost 55 points, or 4 percent to end at 1322.85. The tech-fuelled Nasdaq has held up better than the other major averages this year and remains above its close of 1316.12 from Nov 20, 2008.

Home At Moon

It seems alot has been happening at NASA lately with regards to planning and implementation of new space missions. One such mission, is the proposal to build an outpost on the moon. The outpost is expected to begin operations in 2020, but some challenges need to be overcome in order to build the outpost landing site.

Due to the fact that there is no atmosphere on the lunar surface, it means that rockets landing and taking off from the lunar surface will blast lunar grit outwards and away from the landing/launch pad. The outpost's crew quarters and laboratories need to be in close proximity to the landing site, which means a solution needs to be found so these are not sandblasted everytime a rocket lands or takes off.

Asus Touchscreen PC ready by '09

Asus has just revealed their new 15.6-inch Eee Top touchscreen PC. It is powered by an Intel Atom processor N270 (1.60GHz) and Intel 945 GSE core-logic with built-in graphics core. System features include a 160GB hard drive, 4-in-1 card reader, 1GB of RAM, an integrated camera, Wi-Fi 802.11n controller, and also features the Windows XP Home operating system. The system comes in two versions: The ET1602 and the ET1603. The Asus Eee Top ET1603 features an ATI Mobility Radeon HD3450 which gives it more graphics power, and enables the system to run intensive 3D applications and games better. It features a touch-sensitive screen, but still comes with a keyboard and mouse. Setup is easy as taking it out and plugging in.

With a brilliant, sharp widescreen (16:9) LCD, the Eee Top is a perfect Media Entertainment Center, and features Asus´s patient Splendid Video Intelligence Technology, which gives the video display a clear image in any lighting condition. The touchscreen PC will be first be shipped to Taiwan, Hong Kong and the UK, and Asus will in 2009 also add larger screen models with 20- and 22-inch Asus Eee Top PCs.

Magic of Google Earth 5.0

The latest version of Google Earth 5.0 was released 02 February 2009, and as may be expected, this version has a few new features for users to explore.

Earlier versions were impressive enough, but there was something missing - almost two thirds of the earth's surface - the ocean - was not mapped. This has now all changed with the latest version. Google Earth 5.0 now has a detailed bathymetric map (a map of the ocean floor).

You can now 'dive' into the ocean and explore mapped 3D environments of the earth's ocean floor. You can select "Ocean" on the left of the screen, under the "Layers" section. While below the surface, you can also explore thousands of data points. These include ocean life images and videos, best surf spots, and even logs of true ocean expeditions. But this is not the only new feature that has been added.

The new version now also includes "Historical Imagery". What this basically means is that you can now look at a geographical area over a period of time, move it back and forth, and see the geographical changes that may have taken place in that area.

What's Mechatronics

Mechatronics is the merging of mechanics, electronics and electronic computer control into an incorporated design, which could result in elementary products that cause the technical wonders of yesterday to wither in comparison. 'Nicole' comprises an animated, voice-activated virtual PA who reacts to requests including playing calming music, switching on the lights, giving the time, saying news headlines and seeking data files on the computer.

A boost of nanotech in Blu-ray's

A new nanotechnology manufacturing technique promises to boost storage capacity of Blu-ray discs by as much as twenty-fold and thus enable smaller, more powerful microprocessors.

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley have invented the 'flying plasmonic head'. This is an array of metal lenses that focus light through excited electrons with a moving head that resembles the stylus on the arm of an old-fashioned LP turntable.

The head's ability to create nano-scale line patterns at high speed should revolutionise the field of optical lithography, a process that determines how small chips can be made, and how much information can be crammed on optical and hard discs.

Cancer Treatment

New Technology for cancer treatments

New technology has made radiation treatment faster and more accurate. Syracuse Radiation Oncology is the first in the state of New York to use 'Rapid Arc'.

It is an addition to a radiation machine that uses a beam to target tumors quickly and accurately.

The image guided therapy is said to be 2 to 8 times faster than traditional radiation treatment. However, this isn't for everyone. Doctors say it is ideal for patients required to have radiation, and it can treat both head and neck tumors.

"This is a major breakthrough in cancer treatment. Because of its precision we're able to to give higher doses of radiation to the tumor and spare normal tissue structure," said radiation oncologist Neil Mariados.

There are only 40 places worldwide that have this technology and doctors expect it to become the standard for radiation treatments.

Future Car Technology

It is interesting to see how much the car industry is starting to catch up to industries such as avaition and automation in recent years. One could actually be forgiven for being of the opinion that car manufacturers have not really been on the forefrunt of technological innovation as pehaps the aviation industry has been.

But the tide does seem to be turning with many car manufacturers now starting to incorporate innovative safety features and designs into their fleets. But one cannot help but wonder: where will technology ultimately lead the car manufacturing industry? Are we moving towards a car of the future that would be able to automatically take us to our destination by simply providing the location of where we want to go, or will the car still be a tool - an interactive tool - in human hands.

Well, the possibilites do not seem to be set in stone. It is one of those rare cases where people have conflicting idealogies when it comes to moving from point A to point B. Some of us would like to maintain a sense of control while driving - sort of using it as a tool to enjoy freedom and the ability to move around at will. Some would prefer to just have a driver taking them to their desired destination.