Seventy Apply for 2009 Baldrige Award

Seventy organizations have taken the first step toward the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for innovation and performance excellence. Applicants include two manufacturers, four service companies, five small businesses, nine educational organizations, 42 health care organizations and eight nonprofits/governmental organizations.

The 70 applicants will be evaluated rigorously by an independent board of examiners in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer focus; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce focus; process management; and results. Examiners provide each applicant with 300 to 1,000 hours of review and a detailed report on the organization’s strengths and opportunities for improvement.

The 2009 Baldrige Award recipients are expected to be announced in late November.

Advanced Technologies & Oceanic Procedures (ATOP)

Advanced Technologies & Oceanic Procedures (ATOP) replaces the current oceanic air traffic control systems

• Fully integrates flight and radar data processing
• Detects conflicts between aircraft
• Provides satellite data link communication and surveillance capabilities
• Removes the need for paper flight strips
• Automates the manual processes used today

ATOP provides a fully modernized oceanic air traffic control automation system that allows our customers to take further advantage of investments made in cockpit digital communications.

With ATOP, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) significantly reduces the intensive manual processes that today limit the ability of controllers to safely handle airline requests for more efficient tracks or altitudes over long oceanic routes. It allows the FAA to meet international commitments of reducing aircraft separation standards thereby dramatically increasing capacity and efficiency for our customers.

Towel Animals

Fantastic Future

The Tallest Tree

The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park is the largest (by volume) tree in the world.

Computing the volume of a standing tree is the practical equivalent of calculating the volume of an irregular cone. For purposes of volume comparison, only the trunk of a giant sequoia is measured, including the restored volume of basal fire scars. Using these accepted standards and actual field measurements taken in 1975, the volume of the Sherman Tree was calculated to be slightly over 52.500 cubic feet (1486.6 meters).

	Feet	Meters
Height above Base	274.9	83.8
Circumference at Ground	102.6	31.1
Maximum Diameter at Base	36.5	11.1
Diameter 60' (18.3 m) above base	17.5	5.3
Diameter 180' (54.9 m) above base	14.0	4.3
Diameter of Largest Branch	6.8	2.1
Height of First Large Branch above the Base	130.0	39.6
Average Crown Spread	106.5	32.5

The Phoenix Police Department Bomb Squad

The Phoenix Police Department Bomb Squad was created in 1972. The impetus for its creation was a bombing that occurred in the Camelback Corridor in 1970. At the time, the Police Department did not have any bomb technicians, so investigators from the General Investigations Bureau responded to the scene. They immediately recognized that they couldn’t establish the corpus of the crime so they sought assistance from two Patrol officers who had prior explosive ordnance disposal training from the military. The two officers, Bob Horath and George LaBash, assisted the GIB detectives with the investigation and determined that pipe bombs containing black powder were used in this bombing. Approximately two months later, the officers were transferred to the General Investigations Bureau and worked bombing cases, bomb threats, burglary cases and related property crimes. In 1972, the Bomb Squad was officially created and increased to six detectives. The squad investigated bombings, bomb threats, and malicious mischief/criminal damage offenses.

The makeup of the squad has remained virtually the same for the past 30 years. The only exception occurred back in 1996, when the squad anticipated several retirements of senior technicians and the Police Department allowed the squad to be overfilled, pending these retirements. The overfilling was requested due to the delay in getting the new detectives certified through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hazardous Devices School . The FBI certifies all law enforcement bomb technicians in the United States and they have determined that it takes approximately three years for a new technician to become proficient in this highly specialized field. A selection process was conducted for new technicians and a list was created. Five new bomb technicians were transferred to the squad, drawing from various work units at the South Resource Bureau, and the technicians applied to HDS and began a training program with a senior bomb technician.

Currently the squad is staffed with eight detectives and a sergeant. The job responsibilities of the Bomb Squad detectives have changed significantly since the squad’s inception. The Bomb Squad investigates all bomb-related investigations; actual bombings, suspicious devices, bomb threats and performs the necessary render-safe procedure on any found device to make the scene safe. This responsibility includes providing safe storage for explosives that are held for evidence, found and safekeeping. Additionally, the squad provides technical support to special operations, such as assisting the Special Assignments Unit on a barricaded suspect incident or conducting a bomb search for dignitaries. The squad also conducts training on bomb threat procedures for various businesses in the City, in an effort to use proactive measures to reduce future calls for service.

Packing and sealing of diamonds for export

(1)The packing and sealing of diamonds for export in accordance with sections
20 and 21 of the Act shall be in the following manner—

(a)The diamonds shall be placed in a box, which box shall be wrapped in two coverings of linen-lined paper;

(b)In the presence of the Mining Commissioner or his designated representative,the inner cover shall be sealed with the seal of the exporter at two or more places and the address of the consignee shall be inscribed thereon; and

(c)The outer cover shall be tied over the box with tape and sealed in four places
with the seal of the exporter, the end of the tape to bear the seal or other identification of the Mining Commissioner, and shall bear thereon the address of the consignee, the signature of the Mining Commissioner or his designated representative and the date of the sealing.

(2) For the purposes of this regulation "diamonds" means a cut or an unpolished diamond.

Coins Gallery

The National Museum, New Delhi is delighted to announce the inauguration of Coins Gallery entitled "From Cowries to Credit Card" and launch of an Audio Tour of the National Museum on October 21, 2005. Shri Jaipal Reddy, Hon'ble Union Minister for I & B and Culture will inaugurate the Gallery and launch the Audio Tour.

National Museum, one of the leading Museums of India, has in its possession a very rich collection of coins ranging from c. 6th Century B.C. to modern period. Out of thousands of coins, certain rarest and choicest coins covering the length and breadth of the country have been selected and displayed in the Coins Gallery entitled "From Cowries to Credit Card" at the 1st floor of the Museum.

The process of second urbanization in terms of archaeological evidence, which started in c. 1000 BC, gave birth to a more sturdy and sound medium of transaction in the form of metallic currency known as coins. It replaced the age-old barter system, and other primitive practices under which commodities were exchanged to meet various needs. The story of birth, growth and development of metallic currency, the shape and weight bearing symbols and legends, is interwoven with the political, social and cultural history of India. The study of Indian coinage, therefore, provides a peep into the pages of history. It remains to this day the only authentic document in unfolding dark periods of our history and giving us the dynastic chronology of many tribes, clans and kingdoms - big and small.

The introduction of coinage is rightly considered to be a landmark in the history of human civilization. As a portable piece of antiquity and because of its intrinsic value, collection of coins has always been an instinctive habit all over the world. Issued in various metals as Gold, Silver, Copper, Billon, Lead, Potin etc., coins are the best indicators of economic prosperity, socio-political strength and stability. Bearing portraits, legends, symbols, and at times dates, coins provide complementary evidence for the study of religious beliefs, and development of art and chronology.

The representative coin collection of the Museum is displayed in 35 showcases in chronological order from the earliest till the modern period. Major techniques of minting coins have been shown through dioramas. Distribution of coinage is indicated in the maps, and historical background of the displayed coins has been described in brief bilingual write-ups. To facilitate the visitor, touch-screen, other supplementary material and aids have been provided.

An activity corner has also been set-up by installing a die-machine in the Gallery to educate the children. One can strike a metal blank (coin), bearing the logo of the Gallery on the obverse and the name of the Museum and Gallery on the reverse.

A total number of 1669 coins and 5 replicas of coins are on display in the showcases. At the end of the Gallery, a translite with currency notes and credit cards along with bricks made by the Reserve Bank of India, after destroying old currency notes, are exhibited.

The details of the Gallery are available in one CD, four sets of picture post-cards and book-markers at the Sales Counter.

The National Museum, is also launching an Audio Tour of the National Museum in five languages - Hindi, English, French, German and Japanese. It covers 55 stops of the Museums' great collection of artifacts. The visitors will carry small, lightweight digital ivtP-3 audio players. The visitor can go anywhere they want and see the exhibits in any sequence.

The Audio Tour is developed in association with Narrowcasters, India. A free map is also included with the Audio Tour.

Costly Things

Gold – The word gold, used by itself, means all gold or 24 karat (24K) gold. Because 24K gold is soft, it's usually mixed with other metals to increase its hardness and durability. But there's a big difference between 14K karat gold and gold-plated jewelry. A piece of 14K jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. Gold-plated describes jewelry with a layer of at least 10K gold bonded to a base metal. Gold plating eventually wears away; how quickly depends on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

Watches – Consider more than the price tag when you shop for a watch. Ask if a warranty or guarantee is included, how long it lasts, and what parts and repair problems it covers. Ask how and where you can get the watch serviced and repaired under the warranty.

Gemstones – There’s a difference between laboratory-created gemstones and natural stones. Stones created in the lab are practically identical (visually, physically, and chemically) to stones mined from the earth. The big difference is in the cost: laboratory-created stones are less expensive than mined stones. Because they look just like natural stones, they must be identified as lab-created. Imitation stones, on the other hand, look like natural stones, but may be glass, plastic, or less costly stones. If you want a natural stone, ask if it has been treated. Gemstone treatments, such as heating, dyeing, or bleaching, can improve a stone's appearance or durability. Some treatments are permanent; some may create special care requirements. Treatments also may affect the stone's value.

Pearls – Ask whether pearls are natural, cultured, or imitation. Both natural and cultured pearls are made by oysters or other mollusks; imitation pearls are man-made. Naturally-occurring pearls are fairly rare and expensive, so most pearls you’ll see are cultured pearls — pearls made by mollusks with human intervention. An irritant introduced into the shell of the mollusk causes a pearl to grow. A pearl’s cost depends on the size, usually stated in millimeters, and the coating or "nacre", which gives natural and cultured pearls their luster. Imitation pearls are man-made with glass, plastic, or organic materials.

Diamonds – When you buy a diamond, consider four criteria: cut, color, clarity, and weight, which is usually stated as carats. Each factor affects the price. Color and clarity typically are "graded" on a scale. The most common scales are those established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). On the GIA scales, color is rated from D to Z, with D at the top, and clarity is rated from flawless to I3. Make sure you know how a particular scale and grade represent the color and clarity of the diamond you're considering. A diamond can be described as "flawless" only if it has no visible surface cracks or other imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled diamond grader.

Deal will create joint venture to mine elements essential for high-tech industry

The Vietnamese government says it will ensure a stable supply of rare earth minerals to Japan, which are needed for manufacturing high-tech products, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

The trading companies Toyota Tsusho Corp. and Sojitz Corp., and a Vietnamese government-run resource development company will launch a joint venture to start developing a major earth mineral site in Vietnam in the next fiscal year.

More than 90 percent of these rare minerals are imported from China. Japan hopes that obtaining Vietnam's cooperation will secure a more stable supply.

The two countries plan to develop the Dong Pao deposits, about 280 kilometers northwest of Hanoi.

The joint venture will begin commercial mining operations as early as 2011, supplying about 5,000 tons of the minerals, or about a quarter of Japan's annual consumption, for about 20 years.

Toyota Tsusho and Sojitz plan to acquire 49 percent of the deposit rights, but an Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry official said, "The majority of the unearthed minerals are highly likely to be exported to Japan."

Rare earth minerals, such as the elements lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, are indispensable in the manufacture of permanent magnets for products such as hybrid vehicle motors and computer hard disks. Demand for the minerals is expected to continue growing.

At a meeting held in mid-January in Ha Long, Vietnam, Vietnamese government officials informed Senior Vice Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takamori Yoshikawa that it would ensure that Japan received a stable supply of rare minerals.

The Japanese government plans to support the resources development project by having Japan Oil, Gas and Metal National Corporation conduct geological surveys of the planned area and have official development assistance used to build roads and bridges.

Industry and Minerals in Tamil Nadu

Major Industries in Tamil Nadu are cotton, heavy commercial vehicles, auto components, railway coaches, power pumps, leather tanning industries, cement, sugar, paper, automobiles and safety matches.

Knowledge based industries like I.T. and Biotechnology have become the thrust area in the industrial scene in Tamil Nadu. TIDEL, a software technology park, has been established in Tharamani, Chennai. Chennai has currently about 50,000 software professionals employed in 900 IT companies.

Global auto majors Hyundai Motors, Ford, Hindustan Motors and Mitsubishi have commenced production plants. Ashok Leyland and TAFE have set up expansion plants in Chennai.

Main mineral wealth of the state is granite, lignite and limestone. The state is an important exporter of tanned skin and leather goods, yarn, tea, coffee, spices, engineering goods, tobacco, handicrafts and black granite. Tamil Nadu contributes 60 per cent of the tannery industry in India. Chennai Refinery Limited has given rise to several petro-based units. Major chemical and fertilizer plants have been established at Cuddalore and Tuticorin.

Treat your trash and mail carefully

To thwart an identity thief who may pick through your trash or recycling bins to capture your personal information, always shred your charge receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, physician statements, checks and bank statements, expired charge cards that you're discarding, and credit offers you get in the mail.

To opt out of receiving prescreened offers of credit in the mail, call: 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). Note: You will be asked to provide your Social Security number which the consumer reporting companies need to match you with your file.

Deposit your outgoing mail containing personally identifying information in post office collection boxes or at your local post office, rather than in an unsecured mailbox. Promptly remove mail from your mailbox. If you're planning to be away from home and can't pick up your mail, contact the U.S. Postal Service at 1-800-275-8777 or online at www.usps.gov, to request a vacation hold. The Postal Service will hold your mail at your local post office until you can pick it up or are home to receive it.

Largest Snake

Sixty million years ago, the world's biggest snake slithered around northern South America. STRI staff scientist Carlos Jaramillo and Jonathan Bloch, from Florida Museum of Natural History, unearthed fossil remains of a new snake species named Titanoboa cerrejonensis in Cerrejón, Colombia, one of the world's largest open-pit mines.

John Head, lead author of the paper “Giant boid snake from the Paleocene Neotropics reveals hotter past equatorial temperatures” and colleagues including Jaramillo and Bloch, described the species in Nature (February 5) after the discovery of the remains of the super-sized snake and their prey, crocodiles and turtles, along with fossilized plant material from the oldest known rainforest in America, which flourished at the site 58-60 million years ago. The researchers used the ratio between vertebral size and the length of existing snakes to estimate that this boa-like snake that must have reached 13 meters (42 feet) in length and weighed more than a ton. Titanoboa is the largest snake ever known, and was the largest non-marine vertebrate from the epoch immediately following the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Titanoboa's size indicates that it lived in an environment where the average yearly temperature was 30-34 degrees Celsius. This estimate coincides with paleoclimatic models predicting greenhouse conditions."This temperature estimate is much hotter than modern temperatures in tropical rainforests anywhere in the world. The fossil floras that the Smithsonian has been collecting in Cerrejón for many years indicate that the area was a tropical rainforest. That means that tropical rainforests could exist at temperatures 3-4 degrees Celsius hotter than modern tropical rainforests experience," said Jaramillo.

Current Cattle Population

The world cattle population is estimated to be about 995,838,000 head. India is the nation with the largest number of cattle, about 281,700,000 or 28.29% of the world cattle population, followed by Brazil: 187,087,000, 18.79%; China: 139,721,000, 14.03%; the United States: 96,669,000, 9.71%; EU-27: at 87,650,000, 8.80%; Argentina: 51,062,000, 5.13%; Australia: 29,202,000, 2.93%; South Africa: 14,187,000, 1.42%; Canada: 13,945,000, 1.40% and other countries: 49,756,000 5.00%. Africa has about 20,000,000 head of cattle, many of which are raised in traditional ways and serve partly as tokens of their owner's wealth.

Cattle today are the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. The international trade in beef for 2000 was over $30 billion and represented only 23 percent of world beef production. (Clay 2004). The production of milk, which is also made into cheese, butter, yogurt, and other dairy products, is comparable in economic size to beef production and provides an important part of the food supply for many of the world's people. Cattle hides, used for leather to make shoes, couches and clothing, are another widespread product. Cattle remain broadly used as draft animals in many developing countries, such as India.

Books for Boys in Secondary Schools in England

Every maintained secondary school in England will have the chance to choose 20 free books for their library as part of a £600,000 initiative to encourage more teenage boys to read for pleasure. Schools will be able to select the books from a new “Boys Into Books” list commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills and created by the School Library Association (SLA). The initiative is designed to encourage 11 to 14 year old boys to re-ignite their passion for reading. It follows research indicating that while many boys read for pleasure at primary school this good habit tends to fade after the age of 11, resulting in a significant “reading gap” between boys and girls in their early teens.

Acid Rain

Depending on where you live, maybe you've heard of acid rain. Now, acid rain is not pure acid falling from the sky, but rather it is rainfall or atmospheric moisture that has been mixed with elements and gases that have caused the moisture to become more acidic than normal. Pure water has a pH of 7, and, generally, rainfall is somewhat on the acidic side (a bit less than 6). But, acid rain can have a pH of about 5.0-5.5, and can even be in the 4 range in the northeastern United States, where there are a lot of industries and cars.

Acid rain is a uniquely human-related phenomenon. The burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) by power-production companies and industries releases sulfur into the air that combines with oxygen to form sulfur dioxide (SO₂). Exhausts from cars cause the formation of nitrogen oxides in the air. From these gases, airborne sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and nitric acid (HNO₃) can be formed and be dissolved in the water vapor in the air. Although acid-rain gases may originate in urban areas, they are often carried for hundreds of miles in the atmosphere by winds into rural areas. That is why forests and lakes in the countryside can be harmed by acid rain that originates in cities.

The environment can generally adapt to a certain amount of acid rain. Often soil is slightly basic (due to naturally occurring limestone, which has a pH of greater than 7). Because bases counteract acids, these soils tend to balance out some of the acid rain's acidity. But in areas, such as some of the Rocky Mountains and parts of the northwestern and southeastern United States, where limestone does not naturally occur in the soil, acid rain can harm the environment.

Some fish and animals, such as frogs, have a hard time adapting to and reproducing in an acidic environment. Many plants, such as evergreen trees, are damaged by acid rain and acid fog. I've seen some of the acid-rain damage to the evergreen forests in the Black Forest of Germany. Much of the Black Forest was indeed black because so much of the green pine needles had been destroyed, leaving only the black trunks and limbs! You also might notice how acid rain has eaten away the stone in some cities' buildings and stone artwork.

Acidity in rain is measured by collecting samples of rain and measuring its pH. To find the distribution of rain acidity, weather conditions are monitored and rain samples are collected at sites all over the country. The areas of greatest acidity (lowest pH values) are located in the Northeastern United States. This pattern of high acidity is caused by the large number of cities, the dense population, and the concentration of power and industrial plants in the Northeast. In addition, the prevailing wind direction brings storms and pollution to the Northeast from the Midwest, and dust from the soil and rocks in the Northeastern United States is less likely to neutralize acidity in the rain.

When you hear or read in the media about the effects of acid rain, you are usually told about the lakes, fish, and trees in New England and Canada. However, we are becoming aware of an additional concern: many of our historic buildings and monuments are located in the areas of highest acidity. In Europe, where buildings are much older and pollution levels have been ten times greater than in the United States, there is a growing awareness that pollution and acid rain are accelerating the deterioration of buildings and monuments.

Stone weathers (deteriorates) as part of the normal geologic cycle through natural chemical, physical, and biological processes when it is exposed to the environment. This weathering process, over hundreds of millions of years, turned the Appalachian Mountains from towering peaks as high as the Rockies to the rounded knobs we see today. Our concern is that air pollution, particularly in urban areas, may be accelerating the normal, natural rate of stone deterioration, so that we may prematurely lose buildings and sculptures of historic or cultural value.

Teddy bear History

The name Teddy Bear comes from the November 1902 American President Theodore Roosevelt's hunting trip to Mississippi, to which he was invited by Mississippi Governor Andrew H. Longino. There were several other hunters competing, and most of them had already shot something. A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by Holt Collier, cornered, clubbed, and tied an American Black Bear to a willow tree after a long exhausting chase with hounds. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested that he should shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery, and it became the topic of a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. While the initial cartoon of an adult black bear lassoed by a white handler and a disgusted Roosevelt had symbolic overtones, later issues of that and other Berryman cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.

Morris Michtom saw the drawing of Roosevelt and the bear cub and was inspired to create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and put it in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear," after sending the bear to Roosevelt and receiving permission to sell the bears. The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co., which still exists today.

At the same time, in Germany the Steiff firm, unaware of Michtom's bear, produced a stuffed bear from Richard Steiff's designs. They exhibited the toy at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903 and exported 3000 to the United States.

By 1906 manufacturers other than Michtom and Steiff had joined in and the craze for Teddy Bears was such that ladies carried them everywhere, children were photographed with them, and Roosevelt used one as a mascot in his bid for re-election.

American educator Seymour Eaton wrote the children's book series The Roosevelt Bears, while composer John Bratton wrote "The Teddy Bear Two Step" which, with the addition of Jimmy Kennedy's lyrics, became the song "The Teddy Bears' Picnic".

APJ Abdul Kalam

APJ Abdul Kalam
Born - 15 October 1931
Achievements - This eminent scientist and engineer has also served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. APJ Abdul Kalam is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country. He firmly believes that India needs to play a more assertive role in international relations.

Apart from being a notable scientist and engineer, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam served as the 11th President of India from the period 2002 to 2007. He is a man of vision, who is always full of ideas aimed at the development of the country and is also often also referred to as the Missile Man of India. People loved and respected Dr APJ Abdul Kalam so much during his tenure as President that was popularly called the People's President. Read more about the biography of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam here.

APJ Abdul Kalam APJ Abdul Kalam was born on 15 October 1931 at the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and received honorary doctorates from about 30 universities globally. In the year 1981, the Government of India presented him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Padma Bhushan and then again, the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 and the Bharat Ratna in 1997. Before Kalam, there have been only two presidents - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain - to have received the Bharat Ratna before bring appointed to the highest office in India.

Latest Space Shuttle News

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:19:28 GMT Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:24:17 GMT Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:35:10 GMT Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:21:08 GMT Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:54:48 GMT Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:06:12 GMT Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:12:08 GMT Wed, 15 Apr 2009 13:44:38 GMT Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:04:45 GMT Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:59:24 GMT

Space Shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis on Neighboring Launch Pads
Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:49:28 AM GMT+0530

Friday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour completed its 4.2-mile trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. With Atlantis on nearby Launch Pad 39A, this marks the final time that two shuttles will be on the launch pads at the same time, as the shuttle program draws to a close next year.

Atlantis is targeted for liftoff May 12 at 1:31 p.m. EDT, when the crew will begin the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis' mission payload is set to arrive at the launch pad Saturday evening.

Prior to its STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, Endeavour will remain on standby at the launch pad in the unlikely event that a rescue mission for the Atlantis crew members would be necessary during their mission. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, workers will move it to Launch Pad 39A in preparation for a targeted June 13 liftoff at 7:19 a.m. EDT.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-125 astronauts continue training for their servicing mission, which will include five spacewalks.

Mouser Stocks Link's Products

Mouser's stock from Link includes RF modules, ICs and interface modules, antennas, development kits, and OEM products.

Friday, April 17, 2009: Mouser Electronics has signed a global distribution agreement with Link Technologies, a provider of versatile radio frequency (RF) products. Mouser's stock from Link includes RF modules, ICs and interface modules, antennas, development kits, and OEM products.

Mike Scott, vice president, active products, states, "We're excited to be able to offer Link Technologies' products to our engineering customers. Link makes the complex process of applying RF simpler for design engineers, as well as being strategically positioned to address the needs of the exploding RF marketplace."

"We at Lind Technologies are delighted to be adding Mouser Electronics to our distribution roster," commented Mike Edmonton, director, worldwide sales, Lind Technologies. "We are convinced that Mouser's positioning as a leading catalogue and online distributor, coupled with their focus on customer centric worldwide service, will provide increased availability and enhanced service to our customers."

election in india

India will hold general elections - the biggest, largest political, democratic show in the world - to the 15th Lok Sabha in 5 phases on April 16, April 22, April 23, April 30, May 7 and May 13, 2009. The results of the election will be announced in single phase on May 16, 2009.

According to the Indian Constitution, elections in India for the Lok Sabha (the lower house) must be held at least every five years under normal circumstances. With the last elections held in 2004, the term of the 14th Lok Sabha expires on June 1, 2009.

The election is conducted by the Election Commission of India, which estimates an electorate of 714 million voters, an increase of 43 million over the 2004 election. During the budget presented in February 2009, Rupees 1,120 Crores (176 Million €) was budgeted for election expenses.

Three Indian states Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim will also conduct elections to their respective legislative assemblies.

Varun Gandhi's speech on ReligiousTolerance

Bugs cause Indian PMO to dump MS Outlook

The office of the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has reportedly dumped Microsoft Outlook Express for open-source email SquirrelMail following a computer virus that caused a massive breakdown in communications, said media reports on Tuesday.

According to a report in www.theregister.co.uk, the decision to go for open source was taken following an outage that saw emails go missing and unanswered during a three-month period last year. Among the lost emails sent to India's PM were those of a retired air commodore, it said.

"Many mails reportedly sent were not received in the Outlook Express and subsequently the Outlook Express was discontinued and the SquirrelMail was used," the report quoted the PMO as admitting in a hearing of the Indian Central Information Commission.

SquirrelMail is an email application written in the PHP scripting language and is licensed under the GNU General Public License.

source : http://www.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/Bugs-cause-Indian-PMO-to-dump-MS-Outlook-report/18309117391/0/

After Chak De, Congress tries Slumdog Millionaire’s Jai Ho

The Congress party has decided to adopt the song ‘Jai Ho’ from the movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as it’s theme song for the coming Lok Sabha elections. The party has bought the rights to A.R. Rahman’s song from Danny Boyle’s film and the tune from music company T-Series, said a senior Congress leader. The Congress plans to use the song to convey the message that the Congress-led government has been a saga of hope for the common man.

• Cong hopes for a ‘Jai ho’, to use Rahman’s song for campaign, Press Trust of India, Mar 4 2009
• Congress gets “Jai Ho”, The Hindu, Mar 4 2009
• From Oscars to LS polls: Jai ho to be Cong tune now, Hindustan Times, Mar 4, 2009

BJP leader, Narendra Modi, reacted to this news with expected sarcasm.

• Congress deserves Oscar for mushrooming slums: Modi, Sify, Mar 3 2009
• Congress should get ‘credit’ for Slumdog’s Oscar glory: Modi, Hindustan Times, Mar 3 2009

Previously, Congress had used the song from Shah Rukh Khan’s movie Chak De! for it’s campaign in Gujarat. Hopefully A.R. Rahman’s song will prove to be luckier for the party.

We wonder what BJP’s theme song will be ? How about “Aa dekhe zaraa, kismey kitna hai dum” . Any other suggestions ?

Cement stocks up on excise duty cut

Cement stocks, led by India Cements, on Wednesday surged in morning trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange, a day after the government announced excise duty cut on bulk cement by two per cent.

Shares for cement companies surged in the range of 1 to 3 per cent, buoyed by the government reducing excise duty on bulk cement by two per cent, or Rs 60 per tonne, whichever is higher.

India Cements opened up 3.06 per cent to touch an intra-day high of Rs 101. It was later trading at Rs 100, up 2.04 per cent on the BSE.

A similar movement was witnessed in Ambuja Cements, which touched an intra-day high of Rs 70.25, up 1.44 per cent. It was later trading at Rs 69.80, up 0.79 per cent.

Marketmen said yesterday's development has given support to the cement counter.

Other major cement stocks that buzzed on the BSE were JK Lakshmi Cement (1.94 per cent) and Mangalam Cement (1.33 per cent).

source:http://www.financialexpress.com/news/cement-stocks-up-on-excise-duty-cut/427899/