Hershey's Chocolates

Hershey, who is the biggest maker of chocolate in North America, like all great corporations started at that time, had humble beginnings. Its founder was Milton S. Hershey. Hershey was raised in rural central Pennsylvania. He was nearly bankrupt by the time he was 30. However, a lack of formal education did not deter him and he went on to become not only one of America’s wealthiest individuals, but also a successful entrepreneur whose products are known the world over. He also built a town which bears his name and his legacy lives on.

Hershey started out learning about chocolate in a four-year apprenticeship as a teenager to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, candy maker. In 1876, he attempted to start his own candy business in Philadelphia. Despite six years of hard work, it failed. So he moved to Denver and found work with a confectioner who taught him how to make caramels using fresh milk. He then started up a second candy business in New York City. It also failed. Undaunted, he returned to Lancaster and once again tried making a go of the caramel business. This time, it worked. Soon, his Lancaster Caramel Company was shipping all over the U.S. and Europe, employing 1400 people and turning him into one of the area’s leading citizens.

It was at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago that Hershey first became fascinated with the art of chocolate making. While there, he purchased some German machinery, had it shipped to Lancaster and began producing chocolate coatings for his caramels. But aware of the growing demand for chocolate itself, he soon started the Hershey Chocolate Company. For years, he worked at perfecting a viable recipe for making milk chocolate -- a process which up to then had been kept a closely guarded secret by the Swiss. Finally, through trial and error, he hit upon the right formula of milk, sugar and cocoa that enabled him to realize his dream of mass producing and distributing milk chocolate candy. What had once been a luxury for the rich was to become an enjoyment that anyone could afford...the Hershey bar. Till this date, Hershey’s is synonymous with quality chocolate. After all, anyone that has had Hershey kisses will say, “Give me more.”

India's greatest Test match victory goes unnoticed

Last Sunday, on 27th May 2007 was a day of triumph for Rahul Dravid led Indian team. Just before stumps on the third day of the test match, they recorded their greatest ever test victory by an innings and 239 runs with two days of play remaining. Sachin Tendulkar was declared the 'man of the series' for his back to back centuries which took his tally of centuries to 37. This victory beats the earlier record of victory by an innings and 219 runs against Mark Taylor led Australian team in 1998. But, has all this gone unnoticed? Is the World Cup debacle still pinching the Indian Cricket loving fraternity? Where has the spirit vanished? Grow up guys! Its time we make a new beginning. Lets all come together in boosting the morale of Indian cricket team.

img source: apweekly

LARGEST ICE CREAM FLOAT!!!!

With the help of a tanker truck, the world's largest beverage maker created a 10-ton ice cream float to break a world record set by the company nearly a decade ago.An official from Guinness World Records was on hand Friday to confirm that the 3,000-gallon (11,355-liter) float, made from Vanilla Coke and ice cream, had indeed set the new world record.The Coca-Cola Co. had also held the previous world record for largest ice cream float _ 2,085 gallons (7,890 liters) _ that was set in 1998 in Atlanta.A tanker truck from the Atlanta-based company's syrup plant pumped a non-carbonated mixture into a specially made 15-foot-(4.5-meter-)high glass containing a device that carbonated the beverage. Workers then dropped buckets full of ice cream into the top of the glass by hand.The event commemorated the soft drink giant's relaunch of Vanilla Coke, said Coke spokesman Scott Williamson. It was held next to the new World of Coca-Cola museum, which opened Thursday.Although Guinness World Records officials required the float to be certified as drinkable by health inspectors, the 10-ton float was not served to the estimated 300 people who witnessed the event, Williamson said.Instead, it was to be removed and disposed of by a garbage company. Coke provided separate, free ice cream float samples from a nearby kiosk.A float is a cold carbonated beverage with ice cream floating on top.

(source:NDTV)

Facts about 'Pirates of the Carribean'.

Interesting facts and figures about the shooting during the making of Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End:-

The production's travel coordinator had booked over 10,000 one way tickets, not including charter flights.·
475 cell phones were distributed in Dominica.
550 barrels had been built by set dressing.· 178 barrels of smoke had been used by the special effects department.
Over 6,000 batteries were used by the sound department.
At one time there were over 200 walkie-talkies being used on set by various departments.
Between ship rigging, marine, set decoration and props, production used over 463,000 feet of rope…which translates into 87 miles!
Between the first, second and element units, 335 miles of film had been shot…enough to stretch from Los Angeles to Sacramento.
Catering served over 200,000 meals.
The movie is inspired from one the more popular rides at Disneyland, one of the last ones which Walt Disney was closely involved in designing.
The name of the pirate boat in the ride is ‘The Wicked Wench’, not the Black Pearl.
The kraken is originally said to have lived in the seas of Norway and Iceland, not in the Caribbean as is shown in the movie.

source: Writing Studio

Google notebook access from anywhere

Inveterate note takers cum net browsers can now make use of a new product available online Google notebook.

It accompanies you unobtrusively when you browse the Net and is at hand when you want to note down, clip or paste anything.

You can do it without leaving the site you are browsing.

The notebook may prove to be useful for students, researchers and those diligent types who like to scribble. The content can be organised in terms of subjects. It all looks very neat and tidy.

You can also decide to share it online with your friends or publish it as a webpage after a while.

And there is no need to worry about losing the notebook, since it is kept secure in a Google server.

Renault, the French auto-giant, now in India

French automobile giant has entered the Indian market in partnership with Mahindra & Mahindra. a leading Indian utility and commercial vehicles manufacturer . The Logan will be marketed under the "Mahindra" brand name. For Renault, this is their first venture into a Right Hand drive market. It is also being touted as India's first wide body car. Comes in two variants in petrol 1.4 ltr and 1.6 ltr engines, and a 1.5 ltr diesel variant. Price starts at Rs. 4.27 lakhs (ex-showroom, Navi Mumbai)

Riding doubles on a 2-wheeler seems to be banned in the Old city.

Breaking News!! Flash News!!

Riding doubles on a 2-wheeler seems to be banned in the Old city. Since we stare at work so much, I had wondered if I had read it correct. Yes I had read it right, much to one’s disbelief but then it could have also been a typo error (a big one it would have been) but then it was THE NEWS everywhere.
This new law has an immediate effect and by the words of the City commissioner Mr. Balwinder Singh you can expect more such laws to ‘protect citizens’ (no it isn’t the typical Sardarji joke, it’s for real). This has come in effect due to a recent incident, where a pillion rider had been responsible for a stabbing incident.

These rules are becoming ridiculous with every passing day and hampering normal existence.

We had the Fire department disprove many high-rise projects (higher than a 5 storey building) due to lack on fire safety equipment. This was least expected for a bloating city population supported by a floating suburban population.
Recently we also had the Karnataka government ban woman working in night shifts, this to prevent reduce the chances of assaults on women. So women it’s time you give we men more opportunities.

Moving forward I wouldn’t be surprised if more ridiculous rules came into existence.

* Open top cars, No helmets or head scarves – this would help the Police identify the moving population
* Sex only in hospitals, that too under PG – this might help in birth control
* No slow moving vehicles in the city – this is to avoid traffic snarls. Well, actually this seems to be a pretty good idea.

This only proves that you don’t have to be an IAS or IPS officer to take such decisions.

Father of the Mouse

Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart (born January 30, 1925 in Oregon) is an American inventor of Swedish and Norwegian descent.^[1] He is best known for inventing the computer mouse (in a joint effort with Bill English); as a pioneer of human-computer interaction whose team developed hypertext, networked computers, and precursors to GUIs; and as a committed and vocal proponent of the development and use of computers and networks to help cope with the world's increasingly more urgent and complex problems. In 1967, Engelbart applied for, and in 1970 he received a patent for the wooden shell with two metal wheels. describing it in the patent application as an "X-Y position indicator for a display system". Engelbart later revealed that it was nicknamed the "mouse" because the tail came out the end. His group also called the on-screen cursor a "bug," but this term was not widely adopted. He never received any royalties for his mouse invention, partly because his patent expired in 1987, before the personal computer revolution made the mouse an indispensable input device, and also because subsequent mice used different mechanisms that did not infringe upon the original patent. During an interview, he says "SRI patented the mouse, but they really had no idea of its value. Some years later I learned that they had licensed it to Apple for something like $40,000."

What if you start liking your kidnapper?

What if you start liking poeple/person who has kidnapped you? Yes, there is a phrase in English which describes this type of psychological response. It is called 'Stockholm Syndrome'. Stockholm syndrome is a response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. This phrase owes its origin to a ban robbery in Stockholm, Sweden in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from Aug. 23 to Aug. 28 in 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their victimizers, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term Stockholm Syndrome was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast.

image source: quizislife.blogspot.com

Only time TIME changed its colors.

World's most respected magazine, TIME was started by Bryce Hadden and Henry Luce in 1923. Time is known for its signature red border, introduced in 1927, which only changed once since then – the issue released shortly after the 9/11 attacks on the United States, which featured a black border to symbolize mourning. However, this edition was a special "extra" edition published quickly for the breaking news of the event; the next "regular" issue featured the red border.

img. source: abqjournal

"Brothers Of the Mafia"

The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta (from the Greek word andragathía for heroism and virtue), is one of the most powerful and ruthless Mafia organizations in Italy. It is not as famous as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra and has remained more rural compared to the Neapolitan Camorra and the ApulianSacra corona unita. Though commonly lumped together with the Sicilian Mafia, the 'Ndrangheta operate completely independently from the Sicilians, though there is contact between the two due to the geographical closeness of Calabria and Sicily. One group of 'ndranghetistas to have been discovered outside of Italy was in Ontario, Canada several decades ago. They were dubbed the Siderno Group by Canadian judges as most of its members hailed from Siderno.^[1] Italian anti-organized crime agencies estimate that the 'Ndrangheta rakes in about $30 billion annually, mostly from illegal narcotics, but also from ostensibly legal businesses such as construction, restaurants and supermarkets. There are believed to be about 100 'Ndrangheta families in Calabria, who have become more successful than their Sicilian counterparts because their family ties are closer, their vows of silence are more strictly observed, and unlike the Sicilian Mafia in the early 1990s, they have scrupulously avoided a head-on confrontation with the Italian state.Though members of Italian organized crime are loosely referred to as mafiosi, a member of any 'ndrangheta clan is more specifically known as an 'ndrinu, and the clan itself an 'ndrina. In addition to having the advantage of blood ties, 'ndranghetistas blend well into their surroundings as they maintain humble outward appearances by not flaunting their wealth.

The brain behind Orkut.

Orkut Büyükkökten is a software engineer originally from Turkey who developed the social networking service called Orkut while working at Google. He developed Orkut as an independent project while working at Google, the outgrowth of a company policy whereby engineers can spend 20% of their time working on personal interests.
Orkut is an old Turkish word that means "city of happiness, pleasure, joy, luck,".
Originally from the Turkish city of Konya, Büyükkökten obtained a B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering and Information Science from Bilkent University in Ankara, and earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University. His research at Stanford focused on search and efficient PDA usage.

Origin of the phrase 'Peeping Tom'

Godiva (or Godgifu) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry, England in order to gain a remission of the oppressive toll imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "peeping Tom" for a voyeur comes from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was stricken blind.

FAST BIKES!!!!

The Suzuki GSX1300R, also known as the Hayabusa, is a hypersport motorcycle introduced by Suzuki in 1999. It has a 1299 cc inline-4 engine rated 175 bhp (129 kW),[1] and was consistently tested as the fastest production motorcycle in the world before the 2001, The name Hayabusa is the Japanese term for the Peregrine Falcon, known for its speed, and perhaps a joke at the expense of the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird which was the fastest production motorcycle prior to the Hayabusa: the Peregrine Falcon is a predator of the common blackbird. After its introduction, the major Japanese motorcycle manufacturers realized that the power and speed wars among flagship sport bikes would not end and would eventually lead to increased government regulation, an unfavorable public image due to more fatal accidents and higher insurance premiums. In model years 2001 and later an electronic speed limiter to 300 km/h (186 mph) was added.

Fountain Pens...dead or alive?

Fountain pens were one of the most popular writing instruments of the modern era. Although its origin is traced back to the 10th Century, M. Klein and Henry W. Wynne were awarded the US patent #68445 in 1867 for an ink chamber and delivery system in the handle of the fountain pen. Despite the perceived heightened prices in the modern niche, good quality steel and gold pens are available inexpensively today, particularly in Europe and China, and there are even some "disposable" fountain pens available. There are many fountain pen users around the world, even today. The main reasons people seek fountain pens in recent times are for: effortless writing and comfort (some sufferers of arthritis are unable to use ballpoint pens, but can use fountain pens), expressive calligraphy, longevity (fountain pens are known to last several lifetimes, whereas ballpoints are disposable), professional art/design, wide range of ink colours available, recreational collecting (history and heritage), and academic benefits. All said and done, Fountain Pens still have their beauty and elegance in place!

CUBAN CIGARS

Cigars manufactured in Cuba are widely considered to be without peer, although many experts believe that the best offerings from Honduras and Nicaragua rival those from Cuba. The Cuban reputation is thought to arise from both the unique characteristics of the Vuelta Abajo district in the Pinar del Río Province at the west of the island, where the microclimate allows high-quality tobacco to be grown. Cuban cigars are rolled from tobacco leaves found throughout the country of Cuba. The filler, binder, and wrapper may come from different portions of the island. All cigar production in Cuba is controlled by the Cuban government, and each brand may be rolled in several different factories in Cuba. Cuban cigar rollers are claimed to be the most skilled rollers in the world. Habanos SA and Cubatabaco do all the work relating to Cuban cigars, including quality control, promoting and distributing and exportation. Cuban cigars are either hand made, or machine made. All bear the statement Hecho en Cuba, on the box or label, regardless of method of production. Hand-finished cigars previously bunched by machine add Hecho a mano, while fully hand-made cigars say Totalmente a mano in stylized text. Some cigars show a TC or Tripa Corta - meaning short filler and cuttings were used in the hand-rolling process.

The Angrez trio back with 'Hungama in Dubai'

After the astounding success of The Angrez, the trio of Ismail Bhai, Saleem Pheku and Jahangir will hit the silver screen again with 'Hungama in Dubai'. The Angrez was a movie based on the lifestyle of Hyderabad and its people. It was a super hit with not just Hyderabadis, but also with other people in India. Its VCD sales have skyrocketed ever since the movie was taken off the theatres (It ran for over 100 days though). Hyderabadis got so passionate about the movie that there are people who have watched the movie over a 100 times and still continue to watch it. The most interesting part according to the movie's fans is the dialect of Hindi/Urdu language that was used to write the dialogues. Though there was some criticism (as there always will be), the movie is a super hit and everyone in Hyderabad knows about it!

image source: fullhyd.com

Narrow Escape

Novel without the letter 'e'

Gadsby, a novel written by Earnest Vincent Wright, in 1939 does not contain the letter 'e'!. This makes Gadsby a lipogram, (constrainedly written). What makes this even more of a feat is that the story contains over 50,000 words. The story tells how the main character, John Gadsby, transforms his home town of Branton Hills into a bustling city by tapping the vigour and original thought of youth. Wright never saw his work in print—he died at the age of 66 on the day it was published.

Now, robots with human feelings!

Its not an extract from a science fiction novel. Kim Jong-Hwan is busy creating a robot with human emotions. Though the technology for artificial intelligence to have emotions already exists, Kim is claiming a breakthrough in this technology. He is designing a truly intelligent robot - one that can think and feel on its own. Motivated by the Darwin's theory of evolution, he had thought of artificial genomes for robots. Kim calls it a 'sobot' or 'software robot. Rity is programmed with artificial chromosomes to create human personality traits and like a genie in a lamp; he springs to life when stimulated.

He has already designed Rity - a cute puppy avatar who's a lot more complex than he appears. Kim calls it a 'sobot' or 'software robot. Rity is programmed with artificial chromosomes to create human personality traits and like a genie in a lamp; he springs to life when stimulated.

source: technovelgy