Truth of Life!

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said:'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in that hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped that into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving the money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how the things were. The boy recognized his foot steps and asked,

'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said,' I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way'.

What he had written was: ' Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it'. Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told the people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so blessed that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of The Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

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Really Worth it!

Horror gripped the heart of a World War-I soldier, as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. The soldier asked his captain if he could go out to bring his fallen associate back.

"You can go", said the Captain, "but don't think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away."

The Captain's words didn't matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously, he managed to reach his friend, hoisted him on his shoulder and brought him back to their company's trench.

The Officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. "I told you it won't be worth it"' he said. "Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded".

"It was worth it, Sir", said the soldier.

"What do you mean by worth it?" responded the Captain. "Your friend is dead".

"Yes Sir", the soldier answered,"but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say........"

"Man....I knew you would come!"


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Why Organic Palm Sugar is the next big thing in Natural Sweeteners?

Palm sugar is a nutrient-rich, low-glycemic crystalline sweetener that looks, tastes, dissolves and melts almost exactly like sugar, but it's completely natural and unrefined. It's acquired from the flowers growing high on coconut tress, which are opened to collect their liquid flower nectar. This nectar is then air dried to form a crystalline sugar that's naturally brown in colour and naturally rich in a number of key vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients including Potassium, Zinc, Iron, and Vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6.

It is never refined or bleached like white sugar. So the nutrients it was made with are still there. That's rare for sweeteners, most of which are highly refined. Even Stevia is highly refined n its white powder form (real Stevia is a green herb).

Two Suns in the sky on 21st Jun 2010

21st Jun 2010 - the whole world is waiting for......

Star Aderoid will be the brightest in the sky starting 10 Jun. It will look as large as sun with the naked sky. This will culminate on 21st Jun when the star comes within 34.65 M miles of earth. Be sure to watch the sky on 21 Jun at 12:30 PM. It will look like earth has two suns.

The next time Aderoid may come this close is in 2287.

The Short List: 11 Items No traveler Should Be Without

Before going for a Travel, it is important that adequate preparation is done for the same. Given below is the list of 11 important items a traveler must have:

1. Swiss Army Knife. Indispensable, Depending upon the model you choose, you'll get scissors, tweezers, a toothpick, a corkscrew, a bottle opener, a can opener, a screwdriver, a ruler, a file, a magnifier and a knife.

2. Copies of medication and eye glasses prescriptions.

3. Spare eyeglasses or contact lenses.

4. Sunglasses, Even in winters.

5. Shower sandals. For icky shower stalls and to prevent athlete's foot.

6. Address book.

7. A personal music player or a book.

8. A deck of cards. For rainy days or extended layovers.

9. Rain Gear.

10. Important phone numbers. Be sure to include numbers to call if your credit cards or traveler's checks are lost or stolen.

11. A sewing kit with safety pins. don't forget to bring the right color thread; four mini spools of white aren't any good if your entire wardrobe is navy blue. Safety pins come in handy for torn hems, broken luggage straps, popped buttons, snapped swimsuit straps and curtains that won't stay closed.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Fresh flowers are one of the greatest joys of summer - but not if they wilt as soon as you put them in the Vase. Here are five ways to make your bouquets last longer:

1. Start Early. Flowers cut first thing in the morning have a higher moisture content than those plucked in the afternoon, so they'll hold up longer.

2. Cut Again. If you are working with flowers from the florist, give them a fresh cut on an angle before putting them into a vase of tap water. The stems will probably have dried out, and the fresh cut will help them take up the water in the Vase.

3. Mix things Up. Cut flowers will stay fresh longer if you spike the water in their vase with a little sugar and bleach. try a solution of 2 drops bleach, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 quart water. or give them a little lemon-flavoured soft drink. A mixture of 1/4 cup soft drink and 1 quart of warm water should do the trick. The sugar in the soda will help to replenish the flowers' lost glucose, the lemon will lower the pH, and the carbonation will inhibit the growth of bacteria.

4. Keep It Cool. Heat and Sunlight will quickly wilt cut flowers. To hold on to your bouquets longer, keep vases of flowers away from TV sets, CD players, computers and windowsills.

5. Allow The Change. Keep vases of flowers filled with water and change the water every two days. Give the flower stems a fresh cut every time you change the water. This helps them drink in the water they need to stay fresh.

The Top 5 Odor-Eaters That You Already Have On Hand

There is no need to run out and buy fancy room deodorizers to cover up that stale fish or spilled perfume. Most likely, you already have everything you need to keep your house smelling fresh. Some of the things you are likely to have at home are:

1. Baking Soda freshens everything from diaper pails to bath-water. It's especially effective on acidic smells such as body odor and stale food and in small spaces that collect odors - the freezer, the microwave, or a closed-up suitcase.

2. Fresh Air is the cheapest and most effective air freshener. Open windows work magic on everything from stuffy rooms to cars that reek of cigarettes. To treat stale-smelling carpets and closets, get out the window fan, aim it towards the offensive area and turn it on. the best part is that fresh air doesn't cost a thing.

3. Ground Coffee takes the sting out of pungent odors such as fish, soiled leather, and stale food in freezer. You can deodorize your whole kitchen by making a pot of coffee, then using the grounds to freshen your garbage can.

4. Hydrogen peroxide and Water form the basis for many commercial eliminators. Use the combination to get rid of organic smells such as perspiration and garbage can odors.

5. Vinegar neutralizes the sulfur smell that baking soda can't. It works especially well on fabric and on bathroom surfaces.

Uses for Empty Yogurt Containers

Stop! Don't throw out that collection of empty yogurt containers. You say need a reason to hold on to them? Here area a dozen.

1. To hold nails and screws in your home workshop.
2. As mold for home made popsicles.
3. To carry your powdered laundry detergent to the Laundromat.
4. To organize needles and pins in your sewing kit.
5. To organize paper clips and thumbtacks in your home office.
6. As chillers for your picnic lunch (freeze water in them, replace the lids, then put them in plastic breezer bags).
7. As containers for pocket change ( an effective alternative to one big pile on top of the bureau)
8. As seed starters.
9. To hold baking soda or potpourri in the back of your closet.
10. To hold leftovers (you can heat them in the microwave, too)
11. As sand castle molds for the beach.
12. To hold water to clean your brushes while you paint pictures.

How to stay happily married?

Pnpoint the common elements that characterize them. these would include the ability of the husband and wife:

• To communicate with each other.

• To be close and mutually interdependent.

• To meet each others' practical and emotional needs.

• To work and play together, and to plan, meet and solve their problems cooperatively.

• To share the duties and pleasures of parenthood.

• To take pride and pleasure in each others' accomplishments and sense of self-esteem.

• Not to be self-centered as a couple, but to be productive members of their community as individuals and a s a couple.

• To respect each others' view not to look upon a difference in opinion as criticism or loss of love.

• To argue without quarreling and to settle arrangements without prolonged periods of hostility or estrangement. (A happy marriage does not necessarily mean one that is altogether devoid of any problems or conflicts.)
  

• To cultivate a sense of humour.
  

Preserving Flowers in Vases

Tips for Preserving Flowers in vases are:

• To preserve the freshness of cut flowers such as roses, burn the ends of the stalks before arranging them in a Vases.

• Just before your guest arrive for dinner, sprinkle a little water on a rose bouquet and blow dry air over the bouquet for 8-10 minutes. The room will be as fragrant as a garden when your guests arrive.

• Flowers remain fresher, if crushed coconut is added to the water in the flower vase.

• If flowers look droopy when you get them home, revive them by wrapping them completely in a wet newspaper and standing them in a bucket of water overnight.

• When making flower arrangements with rosebuds, remember that the blooms do not open all at the same time. To remedy this, cut the roses at bud stage and keep them in a refrigerator. Leave the buds in the fridge until you have enough for an arrangement, so that all the buds will open at about the same time when you take them out from the fridge.

• The thick stem of a flower should be slightly slit at the end before placing it in a vase containing water. this will help better absorption of moisture.Carnations last longer if placed in water containing a little boric acid.

• Powdered aspirin, copper coins and ice cubes lengthen the lives of freshly cut flowers. The best tonic, however, is two tablespoons each of white vinegar and cane sugar in a quart of water. Vinegar eliminates organisms and sugar is food.
  

Adulteration in Chilli powder

Adulteration

• Saw dust and colour may be added

Detection Test

• Sprinkle on the surface of a glass of water. Wood shavings float and added colour will colour the water.
  

Adulteration in Cardamom

Adulteration

• The essential oil is removed and the pods are faced with talcum powder.

Test for Detection

• On rubbing, the talcum will stick to finger.
• On tasting if hardly any aromatic taste is present, it indicates removal of essential oil.
  

Be your own weatherman!

Forecast your own weather as the villagers and shepherds do. They are natural weather prophets sometimes better than our city reporters. Here are some hints on how to predict the weather, which may be useful. Test them and discover how accurate their predictions are.

1. Dew indicates fine weather.

2. An echo at sea is a sign of bad weather.

3. A cold February is followed by a warm summer.

4. Rain before seven, fine before eleven.

5. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight; Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning.

6. Evening red and morning grey. That's the sign of a beautiful day. But evening grey and morning red, brings down rain upon your head.

7. Swallows fly high. Sun is in the sky. Swallows fly low, rain you should know.

8. If the cock crows as you're going to bed, the sun will rise with a watery head.

9. Rain from east, wet two days at least.

10. Look out for rain when:

• Dogs dig holes or bury bones.
• Flies gather in houses.
• Fish swim near the surface.
• Bees stay at home and fly only a little.
• Spiders strengthen their cobwebs.
• Horses and cattle stretch their necks and sniff in air.
• When distant objects such as hills are uns
  

How to cook the fish?

There are some specific rules which should be followed if you want to get the best results. These are:

1. Steaming: If you want to steam the fish, you can suspend it on a wire rack over boiling liquid.

2. Poaching: To poach the fish, you should either use either milk, fish stock or salted water as medium.

3. Grilling: You should grill the fish only after marinating it. Cover the fish with white sauce, oil or butter to prevent it from drying.

4. Baking: You should marinate the fish before baking it. Coat the fish with oil or butter while baking.

5. Pan Frying: Tou can try the fish plain or after coating it with flour. Fry it in oil or butter to which some oil has been added to prevent the butter from burning.

6. Deep Frying: You can deep fry the fish after rolling it in bread crumps, dipping in egge batter or in flour.

Tips on storing fish

Here are the tips on storing fish:-

1. In the refrigerator: Place the whole cleaned fish in a pan and cover it with crushed ice and a plastic wrap. Put more ice, whenever needed, after pouring of water. The fish will remain fresh for two days.

2. In the freezer: Wrap the cleaned fish tightly in the freezer paper or heavily duty foil and keep on - 5 deg C till it is frozen. Again change the temperature to zero degree. fatty fish will keep upto three month and lean fish can be kept till six months. You can cook directly from the freezer.

How to make frothy omelette?

Ever wondered why you are unable to make frothy omelettes?

Here are some tips.

1. Beat the whites and yolks separately and thoroughly. Add a pinch of soda bicarb to the whites and then stir in the yolks. You will get a real tasty and frothy omelette.

2. Make a frothy omelette which will not collapse when removed from the frying pan on to a plate by adding a pinch of corn starch and a pinch of powdered sugar to the yolks before beating them, and you will find your omelette full-blown on the plate.

3. Add a table spoon of water to the eggs while beating, for a soft and fluffy omelette.

4. For a tasty and fluffy omelette, add one tsp breadcrumps to the beaten egg.

5. To make bigger, fluffier omelette, add a teaspoon of flour for each egg. this will also help the omelette keep its shape.

Flavonoid quercetin fights viral infections, protects against chronic lung diseases

Asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are serious and even life-threatening conditions. However, these health problems share something with a usually minor infection -- the common cold. The connection? Rhinovirus (RV), a single-stranded RNA virus from the picornaviridae family, causes the majority of colds and RV is also known to trigger exacerbations of CF, asthma and COPD.

But now University of Michigan at Ann Arbor scientists have found that a natural substance, the flavonoid quercetin, puts the brakes on the ability of RV to replicate. It also fights inflammation. According to their research just presented at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2010 International Conference held in New Orleans, quercetin could be a treatment for rhinovirus-caused infections and could be particularly beneficial for people with serious underlying chronic lung diseases.

That's great news not just for people looking for a possible cure for the common cold but especially for those suffering from conditions like COPD and CF that rob them of the ability to breathe. For example, COPD (which includes emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis) causes coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms. According the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, COPD is a major cause of disability and the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the US. It causes the body to produce a thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and can lead to life-threatening lung infections.

For their study, the University of Michigan research team decided to test quercetin on cells infected with RV. A phytochemical found in the skins of apples, red onions and other foods, quercetin is known to be a powerful antioxidant with antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties. So the scientists hypothesized that quercetin might reduce the ability of RV to spark an inflammatory response. That's important because inflammation causes oxidative stress which can disrupt the function of epithelial cells (cells that line cavities and structures) inside airways, negatively impacting the ability to breathe.

Their lab experiments with RV infected cells showed that the researchers were right. The results suggested that quercetin actually inhibited the ability of the virus to replicate. The flavonoid also appeared to reduce the RV-triggered immune system response that can cause cytokines (proteins that are secreted by specific cells of the immune system) to induce excess inflammation. "Therefore, quercetin may be beneficial in the treatment of viral infections, particularly in patients with underlying chronic lung disease," the researchers stated.