Insects In Rain


Amazing pictures show how microscopic insects cope in a downpour

They say its a bugs life, but a collection of new photos sheds a new light on the secret life of an insect. 
The images make them look more like aliens than insects.
Ondrej Pakan, from Myjava, Slovakia, captured the stunning series of microscopic insects following a downpour.
Secret life of a bug: Water droplets make this inset look twice the sizeSecret life of a bug: Water droplets make this inset look twice the size

Discipline, Mummy Bear-style


Discipline, Mummy Bear-style: Cub given roar of disapproval.... before finally getting a hug  

Quite what the little chap had done to incur his mother’s wrath remains a mystery.
But the chances are that he won’t do it again.
This astonishing series of pictures illustrates how, in the world of the brown bear, there are no agonised disputes over corporal punishment of children.
Perhaps THIS will teach you a lesson: She picks him up by the scruff of the neck and swings him aroundPerhaps THIS will teach you a lesson: She picks him up by the scruff of the neck and swings him around

TWO DIFFICULT THINGS TO ACHIEVE


1. To plant your ideas in someone else's head.
 2. To put someone else's money in your own pocket.
  
The one who succeeds in the first one is called a TEACHER.
  
And the second is called a BUSINESSMAN.
 
  indian bride
The one who succeeds in both is called a WIFE
The one who fails in both is called a HUSBAND!!!

Honey can be Used for a Variety of Medicinal Purposes


honey can be used for a variety of medicinal purposes.

You may be skeptical about this due to the fact that many such “natural” alternatives to medicine put forth are not backed by any scientifically executed research. These types of claims are often based primarily on anecdotal evidence, which can be misleading.  (I personally was extremely skeptical about honey’s medicinal value, as you can read at the bottom of this article.)  However, it turns out there are clear scientific reasons behind why honey works so well as a treatment for a variety of maladies and there have been numerous studies showing just how effective it is compared to certain synthetic pharmaceuticals.
From ancient Greece to current underdeveloped countries in Africa, honey has been a sought after healing agent to treat a wide range of afflictions. Aristotle in 350BC recommended the use of several different types of honey to treat different ailments. Despite being used throughout recorded history, only recently has honey’s medicinal effects been studied in a scientific manner.
One of the most important attributes of raw honey in this context is that it possesses inherent antibacterial properties. This makes it particularly useful in treating burns, peptic ulcers, gastroenteritis, and infections.  This latter usefulness in treating infections is particularly important given the growing resistance to current antibiotics many microbes are developing.
The properties that make honey such a potent antibacterial agent are high viscosity; low pH; high osmolarity with low availability of free water; and its natural ability to produce hydrogen peroxide.  It should be noted that certain types of honey have been shown to work better than others. For instance, Manuka honey (honey made from bees pollinating the Manuka tree) has been shown to inhibit the growth of more types of bacteria than many other types of honey. Since it is known that different types of honey have different antibacterial capabilities, honey is now being classified with what is known as its “Inhibine factor”, rating its antimicrobial efficacy.
Honey inhibits bacterial growth by stopping it at the cellular level. Staphylococcal forms of bacteria are some of the most common present in wounds. They are also proving to be some of the hardest to kill. Many types of this bacteria have grown resistant to Methicillin, one of the most common classes of antibiotics. When these bacteria clump together, they form a barrier known as a biofilm. Current antibiotics have a very difficult time penetrating these biofilms. Honey, on the other hand, seems to prevent these biofilms from forming. In addition, when already present, it has been shown to still be able to kill up to 85% of the microbes, despite the biofilm. The reason for this seems to be that it prevents the bacteria from clinging on to human fibronectin. Fibronectin is a protein that is on the surface of any damaged cell, such as a burned or ulcerated cell.
Honey also generally has a pH value between 3.2- 4.5, making it a very acidic agent. Most bacteria need a less acidic environment to propagate and thrive. For example, E. coli, Salmonella, and Streptococci all need a pH environment of 4 – 4.5 to flourish. Thus, most types of honey will inhibit growth of these common pathogens.
In addition to that, honey has a low availability of water for bacteria to use, being about 84% fructose and glucose. The 15-21% of water by weight in honey strongly interacts with the sugar molecules and, thus, there is very little left available for anything else (like bacteria). This free water, known as the water activity or “aw“, is measured between 5.6-6.2 for most types of honey. For reference, bacteria can have their growth completely inhibited with an aw of 9.4-9.9.
Honey also has an enzyme, glucose-oxidase, that produces hydrogen peroxide, particularly during its ripening stages with the production stopping once the pH drops low enough. That being said, fully ripened honey has a pretty low level of hydrogen peroxide. However, should you dilute the honey in water, this enzyme’s activity increases by a factor of up to 50,000, making it a very effective slow release antiseptic. This “slow release” effect is particularly helpful as it does not damage healthy tissue, which a high dose of hydrogen peroxide will do (even able to destroy newly formed skin cells, which is the opposite of helpful).  Rather, these slow release, low does only kills the germs, while leaving the healthy tissue unharmed.  Properly prepared , this makes a honey/water solution ideal for treating eye infections.
In the general case, though, diluting honey and taking advantage of its hydrogen peroxide production will get rid of many of the other antibacterial properties; so usually it’s better to use pure honey, rather than diluted.  Specifically, diluting honey will change its pH and it’s aw values. If you choose to dilute the honey, with say…water, then its pH and free-water levels will rise to the point that they won’t inhibit microbial growth and you’ll have to rely more on the increased hydrogen peroxide production to prevent infection.
Finally, honey also generally has the effect of reducing pain on burns and open wounds due to the fact that it prevents air from reaching the wounded area.  Further, it has been shown to reduce scarring due to stimulating skin re-growth.  Another great side-benefit to using honey to treat burns and cuts is that a bandage used after honey is fully applied to a wounded area won’t stick to the wound when removed.
Honey works so well as an antimicrobial agent, that it has been beating its synthetic counterparts quite handedly in recent scientific studies. For instance, one study comparing the application of honey over common burn treatment agent (silver-sulphadiazine) showed the following: of the burn patients treated with topical honey, 90% of them were microbe free on the burn after 7 days. Of the patients treated with silver-sulphadiazine, 84% of them not only had positive signs of bacteria, but they also all showed persistent signs of infection. The study concluded that honey made wounds sterile in less time, reduced the chance of scars and post-burn contractures, and drastically enhanced healing overall, compared to the silver-sulpha.
Honey’s many healing properties haven’t been lost on one Dr. Peter Molan who has created a synthetic rubber-like material that supposedly mimics all the benefits of Manuka honey, but without the main drawback of the initial stickiness. The $6 billion global market on wound care treatment, combined with the ever increasing resistance various microbial strains are developing against common Methicillin based drugs, no doubt has been a powerful motivator in the development of a synthetic alternative to honey for pharmaceutical companies to sell. Time and further studies will show whether Dr. Molan’s new material will be just as effective (and as cheap.)
One place honey is beginning to be used in the professional medical field is in the cancer ward of Bonn University Children’s Clinic in Germany.  What they use there is something called medihoney, which is basically just raw honey that is subjected to regular quality control tests. Cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to infection and other complications due to many of the treatments for cancer inhibiting the body’s natural wound healing ability.  As Dr. Simon who works there stated, “Normally a skin injury heals in a week, with our children it often takes a month or more.”  What they’ve found is that the use of honey causes “dead tissue [to be] rejected faster, and the wounds heal more rapidly…  What is more, changing dressings is less painful, since the poultices are easier to remove without damaging the newly formed layers of skin.  Even wounds which consistently refused to heal for years can, in our experience, be brought under control with medihoney – and this frequently happens within a few weeks.”  Honey also reduces the foul odor that some wounds can produce.
*Note: Store bought honey is typically highly processed and as a result loses much of its effectiveness for medicinal purposes.  As such, when using honey as a medicinal agent, you should always use raw, unprocessed honey, which can usually be found at farmers markets, fruit stands, and the like.
*This article is dedicated to my dad who has whiled away many years in one of the poorest regions of Africa where honey has proven to be extremely effective in treating a variety of ailments.  As such, he has continually argued with me over the benefits of honey in the treatment of various afflictions, particularly burns. The crow that I will surely eat for taking an opposing opinion, I can only hope will be lessened by the fact that writing this article is a complete acknowledgment that I with all my medical training  and experience was incorrect, while he was not! (This time.)
*Legal Disclaimer: While I am a paramedic, I am not a doctor and more importantly I am not your doctor.  This article contains general information about medical conditions and treatments. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information in this article…. There, I’ve covered myself.

जहां एक साथ तीन पीढियां सुनाती हैं भगवान को 'गालियां'!

जैसलमेर/जोधपुर.उत्साह, उमंग व हर्षोल्लास का त्यौहार स्वर्णनगरी में अपने आप में अनूठे अंदाज में मनाया जाता है। आज भी ऐसी कई परंपराएं है जिनका निर्वाह लंबे समय से किया जा रहा है। स्वर्णनगरी में अभी भी होली के दिनों में श्लील ख्याल गाए जाते है। जिनका शहरवासी विरोध नहीं स्वागत करते हैं।

यहां तक की होली के दिनों में भगवान को भी श्लील ख्याल सुनाए जाते हैं। आमजन से लेकर पूर्व महारावल भी इनका लुत्फ उठाते है। पुष्करणा समाज की ओर से निकाली जाने वाली गेरों में गाई जाने वाली इन श्लील गालियों के चलन का ठीक से पता नहीं चल पाता लेकिन यह परंपरा कई वर्षो से निरंतर चली आ रही है। जिसका आज भी निर्वाह हो रहा है। ब्रज की तर्ज पर बनी यह गालियां स्थानीय लोक गीतों पर आधारित है।


ग्यारस से प्रारंभ होती है गेरें: 

पुष्करणा समाज की ओर से ग्यारस के दिन दुर्ग स्थित नगर अराध्य श्रीलक्ष्मीनाथ मंदिर से गेर प्रारंभ की जाती है। इसे गेरियों की ग्यारस कहा जाता है। इस बार गेरियों की ग्यारस 4 मार्च को है। दुर्ग से रवाना होकर गोपा चौक, जिंदानी चौक, गांधी चौक होते हुए महारावल के निवास पर पहुंचती है। 

महारावल के निवास पर यहां के पुष्करणा ब्राह्मणों द्वारा महारावल को भी श्लील ख्याल सुनाए जाते है। महारावल के निवास से यह गेरे अपने-अपने धड़ों के अनुसार बंट जाती है। होलीका दहन से एक दिन पहले गड़सीसर स्थित बगेचियों में गोठ होती है।जिसकी रात्रि को फिर से समाज के समस्त धड़ों द्वार गेर निकाली जाती है।जो गड़सीसर गेट से प्रारंभ होकर चैनपुरा में समाप्त होती है।

भगवान भी सुनते है गेरियों की:
 
गेरियों की श्लील ख्यालों से कोई भी अछूता नहीं रहता। आमजन से लेकर भगवान को भी सुनाए जाते है। होली के उल्लास व उमंग में भावविभोर होकर गेरिये भगवान को भी ख्याल सुनाते है। आसनी स्थित मिलाप मंदिर में ठाकुरजी को भी ख्याल सुनाए जाते है। 

वयोवृद्ध मुकुनलाल जगाणी ने बताया कि हमारे जमाने में जब होली की गेर निकलती थी तब अन्य समाजों की महिलाएं एवं पुरुष गोपा चौक में एकत्र होकर इनका लुत्फ उठाते थे। प्रमुख रूप से सगे संबंधियों को गालियों से संबोधित किया जाता था। जहां पर भायप होती है वहां श्लील गालियां नहीं गाई जाती। 

 
कई नियमों का रखा जाता है ध्यान
 
भंवरलाल गोपा ने बताया कि ग्यारस से प्रारंभ होने वाली इन गेरों में कई चीजों का विशेष ध्यान रखा जाता है। दुर्ग की अखे प्रोल से प्रारंभ होती है तथा जिंदानी चौक तथा गांधी चौक में श्लील ख्याल नहीं गाए जाते है। साथ ही उन मौहल्लों में भी गालियां नहीं गाई जाती है जहां संबंधित धड़ों की भायप होती है। जैसे ही गेरे जिंदानी चौक पहुंचती है तो फाग के गीत प्रारंभ होते है वहीं गांधी चौक में भी गेरियों द्वारा फाग गाई जाती है।
 
तीन पीढ़ियां एक साथ गाती हैं गालियां 

चंग की थाप व झांझ की झनक पर गुलाल उड़ाते गेरियों का अलग ही अंदाज है। होली के त्यौहार पर श्लील ख्याल गाने की छूट होने के कारण सभी एक साथ मिलकर इसका लुत्फ उठाते हैं। बड़ों से लेकर छोटे तक गीत गाते है वह भी अदब में। 

किसी के साथ भी छेड़खानी नहीं की जाती और न ही किसी व्यक्ति विशेष को सुनाए जाते हैं। गेरों में पांच साल के बच्चों से लेकर 70 साल तक के वृद्ध भी उल्लास के साथ भाग लेते हैं। इन गेरों में दादा-अपने पोते के साथ तो चाचा अपने भतीजे के साथ गालियां गाते दिखाई देते हैं।

11 Habits That Will Help You Live 100 Years

One of the biggest factors that determines how well you age is not your genes but how well you live. Not convinced? A study published in 2009 in the British Medical Journal of 20,000 British folks shows that you can cut your risk of having a stroke in half by doing the following things: being active for 30 minutes a day, eating five daily servings of fruit and vegetables, and avoiding cigarettes and excess alcohol.

While those are some of the obvious steps you can take to age well, researchers have discovered that centenarians tend to share certain traits in how they eat, move about, and deal with stress—the sorts of things we can emulate to improve our own aging process. Of course, getting to age 100 is enormously more likely if your parents did. Still, Thomas Perls, who studies the century-plus set at Boston 
University School of Medicine, believes that assuming you've sidestepped genes for truly fatal diseases like Huntington's, "there's nothing stopping you from living independently well into your 90s." Heck, if your parents and grandparents were heavy smokers, they might have died prematurely without ever reaching their true potential lifespan, so go ahead and shoot for those triple digits. Follow these 12 habits and check out Perls' lifetime risk calculator to see how long you can expect to live.

1. Don't Retire

11 Habits That Will Help You Live 100 Years

"Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the incidence of obesity and chronic disease skyrockets after retirement," says Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The Chianti region of Italy, which has a high percentage of centenarians, has a different take on leisure time. "After people retire from their jobs, they spend most of the day working on their little farm, cultivating grapes orvegetables," he says. "They're never really inactive." Farming isn't for you? Volunteer as a docent at your local art museum or join the Experience Corps, a program offered in 19 cities that places senior volunteers in urban public elementary schools for about 15 hours a week.




जापानी रजनीकांत

एक तलवार चलाने वाला समुराई 200 मील (321.86 किलोमीटर) की रफ्तार से चल रही मटर के साइज की गोली को कुछ यूं काट देता है, जैसे ये कोई मज़ाक हो। अभी तक ऐसे दृश्य आपने हॉलीवुड की फ़िल्मों में ही देखे होंगे, लेकिन असल ज़िंदगी में इस समुराई को ऐसा अविश्वसनीय करतब करते देख आपको हैरत हो सकती है। 

इसाओ माची नाम के इस समुराई ने तलवार चलाने का अभ्यास बचपन से ही शुरू कर दिया था, जिससे आज तलवार चलाने के अद्बुत हुनर में माहिर हो चुके हैं। पांच साल की उम्र में उन्होंने यह कला अपने गुरू से सीखना शुरू की थी और अब माची समुराई स्कूल से स्नातक कर चुके हैं।  

बीबी गन से दागी गई गोली को माची अपनी तलवार से इतनी फुर्ती से काट देते हैं कि आम इंसान के लिए इस करतब को सामान्य आंखों से देखना लगभग असंभव है। उनकी फुर्ती को परखने के लिए फिल्म निर्माता दुनिया के सबसे हाई स्पीड स्लोमोशन कैमरा का उपयोग करते हैं। माची के तलवार चलाने के करतब को कैमरे के जरिए 250 गुना कम स्पीड में रिकार्ड किया जाता है। माची अपना नाम गिनीज बुक ऑफ वर्ल्ड रिकॉर्ड में भी दर्ज करवा चुके हैं।

5 Mammals With Odd Defenses

5 Mammals With Odd Defenses



5. Opossum
Everyone knows that “playing possum” means playing dead. The American opossum (Didelphis virginianus), found from Canada to Costa Rica, usually reacts to danger as many other mammals do; by hissing, growling and baring its teeth. It can also bite viciously if pushed too far. However, if this all fails and the situation becomes too dangerous, plan B is to feign death; the opossum collapses to the ground, drools as if it was very ill, and then remains motionless, with its mouth open and its teeth bared. It even produces a putrid, corpse-like smell from its anal glands – move over beaver ass juice.
Many predators prefer to kill their own prey and most will soon lose interest on an apparently dead animal, leaving the opossum alone. The most amazing thing about the opossum’s defensive method, is that it is not a conscious act; it is rather a physiological response to a highly stressful situation, and the animal does fall into a comatose state that can last for hours; usually, the opossum regains consciousness only after the enemy has left. Exactly how it’s body knows this, is still a mystery.

Dreamy Miami Castle


Who here never dreamed of living their perfect life in a castle? Owned by architect Charles Sieger of Sieger Suarez, the extraordinary property Charles Sieger is a renowned architect who has designed over ten billion dollars in real estate properties. Now his own residence, the “Sieger Residence” expresses his work and seems to be a constant reminder of his success. Surrounded by a large, lake-like moat, the exceptional construction has a balanced symmetry that guides the design lines. Upon entering the property, elegant black gates welcome the guests and take them to a beautiful pathway towards the residence, flanked by trimmed hedges and trees. Crossing the bridge, the view opens to the magnificent castle. A river runs right at the edge of the property, making the aerial view even more spectacular.
Dreamy Miami Castle   awesome 2

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