National Trust releases land for allotments
March 4, 2009
The National Trust in cooperation with Landshare has announced recently the release of land at many of their sites in the UK for people who want to grow their own fruit and vegetables. Landshare is a website set up by TV chef and personality Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall that enables people with land to offer it to people who want to grow their own veg. The idea started because of the lack of allotments in many of the UKs cities, and the growing trend for people to want to grow their own produce. The size of the land is equivalent to around 1000 allotment sites and will be available to individuals as well as communities.
The concept of ‘grow your own’ has taken mighty strides over the last few years with the governments push to eat 5 portions of fruit or vegetables a day. Many people have already converted part of their garden to growing veg and can tell the massive difference between the mass produced tasteless items the supermarkets sell and the taste of just picked home grown produce.
One of the key elements of growing your own is being able to do it on a budget so many things can be bought cheaply or obtained for free using promotional merchandise. Whatever the case, this form of gardening is growing in popularity and has many followers.
Women with large jaws also have more affairs
February 7, 2009
Researchers studying women’s jaws have found that those with strong jaw lines tend to have more affairs. Those that have larger chins, they are actually more sexually active than those with softer chins as per the latest issue of the Personality and Individual differences journal report.
According to the researchers, a large chin is often the byproduct of a high level of the male growth hormone, testosterone. High level of the hormone increases sexual assertiveness in women. One thing is clear, it is difficult to conceal physical features, such as facial characteristics, that are partly governed by testosterone and reliably correlate that with one’s sexual activities and attitudes.
Lorne Campbell, one of the researchers, was quoted by the Daily Mail:
“This research is the first to our knowledge to suggest that a more masculine facial appearance in women might convey their sexual promiscuity and perhaps their long-term mate quality.”
The study was conducted involving a group of young women who were questioned on their sexual histories and fantasies. The men were unaware about the sex questionnaires. The results showed that women with larger chins were more sexually active than those with softer chins and men found these women unattractive.
Passenger complaint to Virgin about meal served on Mumbai-London flight
January 31, 2009
We have all had or heard about the quality of meals you get when travelling on board an aeroplane, with flight operators using the excuse of inadequate catering equipment available when aboard a plane. One person has had enough and written a letter of complaint that was picked up due to the nature of it’s content.
Sir Richard Branson has thanked the author of a tirade slating food on board as a ‘culinary journey of hell’. The Telegraph described the anonymous email, which has whipped around the internet, saying, opening the lid of the main meal was like being given a ‘dead hamster as a Christmas present’, as one of the best airline complaints in the world.
The disgruntled passenger, after a flight from Mumbai to Heathrow on December 7 last year, without mincing the words, said via email:
“Imagine being a 12-year old boy Richard. Now imagine it’s Christmas morning and you are set with your final present to open. It’s a big one, and you know what it is. Only you open the present and it is not in there. It’s your hamster, Richard. It’s hamster in the box and it’s not breathing. That’s how I felt when I peeled back the foil.”
The complaint went on…
‘It’s mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers and on the right side the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird.”
About the desert, the complaint noted:
“The cookie appeared as some sort of backstreet underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast. The custard was like a sour gel with clear oil on top.”
Sir Richard Branson telephoned the author of the letter and thanked him for his ‘constructive if tongue-in-cheek email’, reported The Telegraph.
The complainant has been invited by Sir Richard Branson to select the food and wines for future Virgin flights. The passenger has not yet confirmed whether he would take up the opportunity.
Keep the cow happy to get more milk
January 30, 2009
According to the researchers at New Castle University, happy cows give better milk yield. Researchers believe that cattle that are treated with extra personal touch can lead to increased milk yields – up to 500 pints a year. The study conducted by the university’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development involved 516 farmers across the country.
Results of the study also indicate that farmers who named their cows gained a higher yield than the ones who did not give their cattle names. Almost 54 percent of the farmers did not bother to name their cattle.
Dairy farmer Dennis Gibb, who co-owns Eachwick Red House Farm outside New-castle with his brother Richard, believes in treating every cow as an individual as it is 1 vitally important’. He said:
“They are not just our livelihood; they are part of the family. We love our cows here at Eachwick and every one of them has a name; collectively we refer to them as ‘our ladies’. We know every one of them and each one has her own personality.”
Catherine Douglas, who led the research, said:
“Our study shows what many good, caring farmers have long since believed. Our data suggests that, on the whole, UK farmers regard their cows as intelligent beings capable of experiencing range of emotions. Placing more importance on knowing the individual animals and calling them by name can, at no extra cost to the farmer, also significantly increase milk production.”
There is a possibility of active world on Saturn’s moon
December 24, 2008
Closer scrutiny from scientists of Saturn’s small moon Enceladus points to the evidence of an active world. It may seem absurd, but American space agency NASA’s Cassini spacecraft recently conducted a voyage and provided new signs of ongoing changes on and around the moon.
The latest high-resolution images of Enceladus provide proof of the fact that the polar surface changes over a period. NASA said:
“Close views of the southern polar region, where jets of water vapour and icy particles spew from vents within the moon’s distinctive` tiger stripe` fractures, provide surprising evidence of Earth like tectonics.”
Panel member Corolyn Porco, Cassini image team leader, said:
“Of all the geologic provinces in the Saturn system that Cassini has explored, none has been more thrilling or carries greater implications than the region at the southernmost portion of Enceladus.”
Paul Helfenstein, Cassini imaging associate at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, opined;
“Enceladus has Earth-like spreading of the crust, but with an exotic difference the spreading is almost all in one direction, like a conveyer belt.”
Beware! Browser flaw could eventually get your PC hijacked!
December 21, 2008
A serious unfixed security hole in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is yet to be rectified and hence your computer might be vulnerable to being hijacked. According to antivirus software maker, Trend Micro Inc,
“the flow lets criminals commandeer victims’ machines merely by tricking them into visiting websites tainted with malicious programming code. As many as 10,000 websites have been compromised since last week to exploit the browser flaw.”
Paul Ferguson, a Trend Micro security expert, informed that
“the websites are mostly Chinese and have been serving up programs that steal passwords for computer games, which can be sold for money on the black market. However, the hole is such that it could be `adopted by more financially motivated criminals for more serious mayhem-` that is a big fear right now.”
Even though Microsoft has detected attacks only against version 7 of Internet Explorer, which perhaps is the most widely used edition, the company warned that other versions are also potentially vulnerable. “Zero-day” security holes are yet to be repaired by the software makers. No doubt soon corrective measures will be taken; till then keep your fingers crossed, hoping that you are not the next victim.
Pakistan may be subjected to more US drone attacks.
December 18, 2008
According to indications from US President George Bush, drone attacks on suspected terrorist targets inside Pakistan trial areas would continue and Washington will not consult other governments before ordering such strikes.
When President Bush was asked whether Afghan President Hamid Kazai and he were on the same page on drone attacks, his response was:
“You know very well that when it comes to certain matters, the US government doesn’t discuss operations.”
President Bush was talking to the White House Press corps on his plane said he believes the Pakistani government, particularly President Asif Ali Zardari, had the determination to fight terrorists.
Dawn quoted Bush as saying,
“He’s said so publicly and he’s said so to me privately. He looked at me in the eye and said` you don’t need to talk to me about extremist violence; after all, my wife got killed by extremists.”
According to Bush, if Pakistan continued to be a place from which terrorists felt comfortable attacking infrastructure, citizens and troops, it’s going to make it difficult to succeed in Afghanistan. Incidentally, Pakistan government turned down British PM’s request that investigators from his country be allowed to interrogate those detained in connection with 26/11 attacks.
New Broadband connectivity plans
December 14, 2008
Broadband projects up and down the country are increasingly targeting the people in the most deprived localities. A case in point is a new ‘fibre optic test bed’ (in Manchester) that is aimed at some of its poorest neighbourhoods.
With almost 50% of people in the area not even using a landline, there is hardly any chance that present broadband will link them, stated Manchester Digital Development Agency head Dave Carter.
Some experts also argue for the next-generation broadband to cover such areas first. The super fast services can be delivered via fibre optics and can offer speeds up to 100Mbps (megabits per second). The consumer panel of Ofcom has warned the digital divide will become a ‘chasm’ if superfast broadband fails to reach the areas badly needing connectivity. A new housing development in West Whitlawburn, one of the highly deprived Glasgow areas, is utilising a new community plan to connect 112 homes. It will provide TV, phone as well as faster internet services at speeds of up to 100Mbps at cheaper costs to residents.
The projects officer Chris Rothnie said,
“Digital exclusion compounds social exclusion. This plan will provide access to education, jobs and health. A community portal will bring the community together.”
Your computer companion `The Mouse` turns forty
December 8, 2008
The most touched computer device is the Mouse. The friendly mouse celebrated its 40th birthday. The first computer mouse invented some 40 years ago was a wooden box structure with a single red button on top and a wire hung from the back. This is the reason for linking it to a rodent.
With times we saw computers transformed from large white boxes to flat screens and lap tops and so also the mouse has undergone many changes. The 83-year-old American is a designer who worked on the mouse at California’s Stanford Research Institute. Sadly he is not a rich man because he never got any royalties as the patent expired before it became a must have necessity.
Only in 1981, Xerox included a mouse with their Star computer system and the trend was followed by Apple, which offered one mouse with their Macintosh system though a few years later. Microsoft made it a standard device for navigating Window system and now mouse is considered as integral part of a computer.
The present mouse replaced the rubber trackball by more accurate infra-red technology. Even cordless mouse are freely available in the market today .But the name `Mouse` stuck. The mouse may be sent into oblivion with the advent of Apple’s innovative touch screen technology on its iPhone Touch gadgets.
The race for the ‘fastest slimmer’ title is on the way
November 30, 2008
It will be a 100-day contest where one fat cat and seven heavy hounds will compete for the UK’s “fastest slimmer” title for the pets. The 13-year-old feline, who lives in Gillingham in southeast England, weighs around 9.8 kilograms which makes him almost 95 percent overweight.
The feline is also one of Britain’s most obese pets, eight of which are to undertake a 100-day diet and fitness regime in a kind of animal version of the TV show The Biggest Loser. Globe and Mail reported the winner will be crowned this year’s feline or canine weight-loss champion.
The veterinary charity PDSA, which is running the slimming contest, picked “Tinks” and
Seven dogs, who incidentally are severely overweight and together, weigh a total of 191 kg,
The animals, to reach their ideal weights, need to lose a total of 74 kg- equivalent to the weight of soccer star David Beckham. The fete is to be achieved over the next three months. During this period, they will under go a specially tailored diet and exercise programmes.
The winner will be the pet who achieves the biggest percentage of weight loss and will be judged the best contestant and then crowned champion thereby winning its owner a pet friendly holiday.
Deryck Wilson, spokesperson of PDSA, in a telephone interview told Globe and Mail:
“The competition does have a serious veterinary basis. As well as providing free treatment for those that come through the doors of our pet hospitals, we also have a mission to improve pet health in more general terms.”
Saying that the competition is in its fourth year, he added,
“More and more people are becoming aware that by feeding scraps to their pets and giving them chocolates, although they’re doing it as an expression of their affection towards their pet, in reality they’re killing with kindness.”
