Over The Moon With The Mission

Evidence of water not an invitation to colonise


India’s first moon mission has achieved a historic first by discovering water on the lunar surface. This is being hailed not only as a landmark breakthrough in space science but also as a vindication of the mission itself, since the two-year project got terminated after just 10 months. The water divining was done by a probe sent by the US National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA) as part of the many payloads carried by Chandrayaan-I. The probe’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper or M3 collected data on the presence of water on the moon. Carle Pieters, a planetary geologist with Brown University who is leading the probe’s study team in the US, gives all credit to the Indian Space Research Organisation for making such a discovery possible.
Scientists confirming the presence of water on the moon are doing so on the basis of scientific findings that have been arrived at after a rigorous process of deduction and analysis – and not by actually finding lakes, pools or puddles of water that we’re familiar with on earth. And the probe has barely skimmed the lunar surface to find evidence of water molecules and hydroxyl that interact with molecules of rock and dust. It had access to only the top few millimetres of lunar soil, on the bright side of the moon. The water so discerned might be the equivalent of one litre, say researchers, enough to fuel hopes of finding more water as ice in the darker, unexplored parts of the moon.
Unsurprisingly, popular reaction to the NASA probe finding that there are signs of water on the lunar surface is that, one day, human colonies might be established on the moon – and, indeed, on other heavenly bodies which also might turn out to have a combination of hydrogen and oxygen molecules. We see the cosmos – or those parts of the cosmos that promise water – as an extension of the earth’s real estate, for us to do with it as we think fit. In other words, discoveries that open up windows of knowledge and reveal new truths are often reduced to how useful they are in catering to human needs.
True, it is the search for survival options that propels humankind to strive for more sophisticated technology, effective medicine and state-of-the-art rocket science as well as to explore space for water and earth-like planets. However, we ought to remind ourselves that there’s more to the discovery than the science of it. The mysteries of the cosmos are far more profound than to be revealed merely to fulfil human needs. To circumscribe the scope of scientific inquiry to realms that focus only on survival of the human species would amount to limiting our own horizons of knowledge.

Source: Article from TOI Dated 26/09/2009

KIKUJIRO - Drama,Comedy

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro hardly seems the ideal companion for little Masao who is determined to travel long distances to see the mother he has never met. Their excursion to the cycle races is the first of a series of adventures for the unlikely pair which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and odd ball characters to meet along the way.

25th Birthday celebration in Hamamatsu,Japan

12th Sept,2009

"tik tik tik"
suddenly surprised to hear the sound from the knocking of door at 11:55PM.I was watching a romantic scene from the movie "Transporter-3".Was paused the movie and ran towards the door to open the lock from inside.As soon as i open the door,a group of my friends came inside the room with birthday cake with 2 candlelight dig inside the chocolate flavored cake.Gulshan was with wooden stick in his hand with a deceiving smile on his face gave a feeling that "aaja beta...dekhlunga aaj tere ko..." I wasn't that much surprised as this was anticipated well before that this will be going to take place.But since i was involved in watching movie with a headphone,this sudden entry of friends into the room gave me surprised shock.
Took some group photos with birthday cake and also took some individual photos too.some of the glimpses of the birthday celebration is attached here..
As soon as the hour hand showed 12:00AM in the clock,i started turning off the candle lights and people started singing birthday song,"happy birthday to you,...."
As soon as i started cutting the cake,everyone started helping me to cut the cake.hahaha...then my predecessor Babu san made a honor to me by crowning the plastic cover of the cake over my head and then everyone started applying the cake all over to my face,head and t-shirts.After having eaten cake,everyone was very ready to give bumps (who knows some people are waiting for this chance from very long time).This is culture in Indian people that on special occasion like birthday,placement party etc where 2 people will lift the birthday boy with other people hitting his ass with their leg feet.so today i was the victim for this so called concept of GPL...!!!! People started hitting one after the other continuously for about 5min....ohhh god...it was too much paining in the back..the pain was there for next 2 days or so..but whatever is the pain,it still gave a great enjoyment.
On next day i started feeling the effect of GPL when i sat on the bicycle...
On next day we all went to an Italian restaurant to celebrate my birthday with a small party.We,a group of 9 people departed from the hostel at around 7:30PM.there was heavy rain on that day.Riding the bicycle in rain gives different type of excitement.After around 15min of ride,reached the Italian restaurant "Saizeria".There we ordered Italian mushroom pizza for 400yen,tandoori chicken(4 pieces) for 200yen and then butter chicken for 400yen with unlimited cold drinks,tea,coffee on each.The food was delicious.Some people ate the food reluctantly and some people like the food (like me).and the rain was still waiting for us outside and was continued till we reached back to the hostel at around 10:00PM in the night.Overall the birthday celebration full of masti,masti and masti...

Earthquake resistant houses in Japan- good article

Base isolated structure fends off violent shaking s of quakes while‘ earthquake-resistant housing uses the building itself to resist such tremors. Its isolation mechanism absorbs the earthquake force to convert severe vibrations into much smaller and slower ones. Thus it can protect your loved ones and property by preventing secondary damage caused by falling or dropping of the furniture or breakage of window glasses.

'Base isolated house' absorbs the earthquake energy and changes it to slower swaying.

The technology called 'seismic isolation structure' which turns destructive seismic shakings into slower and softer ones prevents possible damage. This structure can evade the tremors, taking them in stride and safeguarding the building, not mention the human lives and property inside.

'Earthquake-resistant house' secures your safety by holding out the tremors leveraging its own strength and resilience.

'Earthquake-resistant' technology enables the building to counter quakes by making its strength and resilience great enough to resist shakings. Although it can protect the building safely, it is ac-companied by a risk that the fur-niture inside could fall or drop.

Hybrid seismic isolation system,the first of its kind for houses in japan

The hybrid seismic isolation system that incorporates ultra-low elastic multi-rubber with a specially-coated slider is the first of its kind for houses in Japan.. Our efforts to untiringly and repeatedly conduct experiments have come to fruition at last, allowing us to provide quake-proof houses of outstanding performance at low cost.

Kannada Movie "ACCIDENT"

Superb movie with suspense till the end.

Accident is all about the repercussion and aftermath of a fatal and gruesome incident.

The tumultuous journey taken by the protagonist in search of the truth, the haze surrounding the victim, the act of love remembrance, days gone by, betrayal and finally redemption and honor for a soul forms the key pieces of the complex puzzle.

The movie is a contemporary take on the life of a couple and their journey through time and how they have to fight and eternal battle of good over evil and how they win with support from a set of dear friends.

There are more curves and spins in this movie than a roller coaster and this will keep the audience guessing every second and at the edge of their seats.

Japanese Movie "Nada sô sô"(Tears for you)

Yesterday i watched a Japanese movie named "Nada sô sô" meaning "Tears for you" in english.The movie was focused on the love between so called sister and brother.The scenes were shot in the beautiful south most island of japan called Okinawa.The brief story of the movie is as follows..
8-year old Yotaro gains a 3-year old step-sister, Kaoru, when his mother marries a jazz musician who plays in a club in Naha, Okinawa where they live. Before long Kaoru's father deserts them, and not long afterward Yota's mother becomes terminally ill. Her dying wish is for him to watch out for Kaoru at his grandmother's place on a small island off the coast of Okinawa. He fulfills her wish and becomes very protective of his younger sister who calls him "nee-nee." Thirteen years later Kaoru returns to Naha and comes to live with him as she starts high school. Yota works hard making deliveries of vegetables from an open-air market by day, and in a restaurant (he is a licensed chef) by night to save money to fulfill his dream of having his own restaurant. He also assumes the role of pushing for Kaoru's entrance to a university. This allows less time for his beautiful girlfriend Keiko, the daughter of a doctor and a medical student at Ryukyu University. It seems that Yota's dreams start to come together when Mr. Kameoka sells him a place for a restaurant. Yota works hard constructing the place, but just as he is to open, the real owner appears. Being swindled, Yota is left with a large outstanding loan. Keiko's father's plans do not include a working class son-in-law as he explains when he offers to pay Yota's debt. Although he refuses, Yota concludes he is not best for Keiko's future. Years later he continues to overwork even after the debt is paid and Kaoru starts university study. With her feelings of love for Yota growing deeper, they mutually decide to live apart.

"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs"- Animation,Action,Adventure

After the events of "Ice Age: The Meltdown", life begins to change for Manny and his friends: Scrat is still on the hunt to hold onto his beloved acorn, while finding a possible romance in a female sabre-toothed squirrel named Scratte. Manny and Ellie, having since become an item, are expecting a baby, which leaves Manny anxious to ensure that everything is perfect for when his baby arrives. Diego is fed up with being treated like a house-cat and ponders the notion that he is becoming too laid-back. Sid begins to wish for a family of his own, and so steals some dinosaur eggs which leads to Sid ending up in a strange underground world where his herd must rescue him, while dodging dinosaurs and facing danger left and right, and meeting up with a one-eyed weasel known as Buck who hunts dinosaurs intently.
Source:http://www.imdb.com

"Land of the Lost" - Adventure,Comedy ,Sci-Fi movie

This movie is more of comedy rather than adventure.But still its a good movie...The short synopsis of the movie is as follows,
Three years after being kicked out of the science department for his theory of Time warps, and his attempt on Matt Lauer's life, Rick Marshall is reduced to working as a teacher at the George C. Page Museum until he meets Holly Cantrell whose finding urges him to create a tachyon amplifier to enable time warp travel. They go to the Devils Cave attraction where the finding was found, hiring its tour guide Will Stanton. But once they've activated the tachyon amplifier, losing it in the process, the three end up in a parallel universe where all timelines converge. They soon meet some ape men, Pakuni, two of whom were going to kill the younger one, when Stanton unintentionally gives the other two the secret of fire as they run off. The gang then proceed to help the other one, named Cha-Ka, until he runs off with them in pursuit.

Once catching up to Cha-Ka, they are trapped by a tree which turns out to be a dinosaur feeding site, being attacked by a Tyrannosaurus. The T. rex chases them until they come to a small land bridge. Marshall is convinced they are safe as he explains how a T. rex has a walnut-sized brain, and is incapable of judging depth and distance. Hearing this as he stalks away, the T. rex stops in his tracks, turns, and runs full speed to jump across the chasm. Chasing them until they reach a crevice in a cave, it gives up, though still wanting to eat Marshall. Holly, knowing the dinosaur's attitude, gives him the name "Grumpy". Though Marshall didn't believe it to be possible, Grumpy's vendetta becomes more apparent when he leaves a gify, beach-ball sized walnut, gift-wrapped.

The next day, Cha-Ka brings fruit full of spiders. Rick pours dinosaur urine all over himself as a way to masks his scent from "Grumpy" he then has visions about a strange creature begging for his help, running out into the Lost City. The others follow as Cha-Ka gets agitated and attempts to tell them they should leave as they are attacked by the slow yet deadly Sleestaks. But when the Pylon opens, Marshall and company enter, meeting the creature who contacted them, Enik. Enik tells them that the evil Zarn is out to control the universe and needs the tachyon amplifier.

In spite of Will's feelings, Marshall offers his aid as Cha-Ka takes the group through the jungle and onto a salt flat landscape that is a feeding site for Compsognathus and Velociraptors, who proceed to tear an ice cream man to pieces until Grumpy comes and scares them off. However, a female Allosaurus arrives as well. The two territorial predators prepare to fight when the both of them catch Marshall's urine-drenched scent and chase after him. Though managing to outsmart Grumpy, Marshall runs from "Big Alice", the Allosaurus, until he reaches Holly and Will, using the tank of liquid nitrogen to freeze the Allosaur before she explodes with the tachyon amplifier among her remains. After that, a Pteranodon steals their time machine.

Though down in the dumps, Marshall regains his confidence as he attempts to apologize to his friends in song (The theme song to the original TV series) while unknowingly attacked by a giant mosquito. After managing to get the tachyon amplifier back from a nest of pterosaurs, they return to a motel back in the salt flat. While Marshall, Will and Cha-Ka laze in the pool, Holly goes, finding a Pylon. Inside, she finds dinosaur eggs lodged in dinosaur feces, taking one out before she find a holographic message from the Zarn, learning that Enik is the real villain and being taken by a Sleestak to stand trial for aiding him.

Meanwhile, after eating a Giant Crab, which killed itself by stepping on a geyser while advancing on them, the three realize Holly's missing and go find her. They meet two mating Sleestaks, that shed their skin, which Marshall and Will use to disguise themselves while Cha-Ka goes to get Enik. Arriving to Holly's aid as she is condemned to death by the Library of Skulls, Marshall and Will learn that Enik was the one who wiped out the Altrusians while confirming Will's feelings about the villain's tunic. After saving Holly, the gang confront Enik and his Sleestak slaves, taking the tachyon amplifier while revealing his plans on using the Sleestaks to overpopulate the worlds. He then leaves Marshall and company to their fate as Grumpy arrives to get his revenge.

Seeing no other way, Marshall takes on Grumpy one-on-one, ending with Marshall vaulting into the dinosaur's mouth. Though Holly chides him for it, Grumpy shrugs her off and leaves as she and Will attempt to fight off the numerous Sleestaks. However, after being excreted out while taking out some intestinal trouble, Marshall and a "less grumpy" Grumpy make their peace as they arrive to kill most of the Sleestaks. Entering the Pylon, Marshall and company manage to destroy the crystal shard that powers it, with Will choosing to stay with Cha-Ka in the Land of the Lost while holding Enik off so Marshall and Holly can return home. Will takes advantage of his new life by meeting Cha-Ka's harem which he was told earlier by Cha-Ka that they were ugly only to find them to be very hot Caribbean tanned women wearing only a loincloth. He almost immediately get surrounded by half a dozen women who start rubbing him all over. He responds to this by saying " I made the right choice."

Back on Earth, Matt Lauer reluctantly gives a second interview with Marshall this time proven right and proceeds to rub it in Matt Lauer's face by bringing a dinosaur egg back and giving him a signed copy of his new book. But after being forced to show off the title of Marshall's new book, ''Matt Lauer Can Suck It'', history repeats itself with Matt trying to kill Marshall. Soon after the show ended, unaware of what Marshall and she left behind on the set, the dinosaur egg Holly found hatches into a baby Sleestak.
Source : http://www.imdb.com