Nutrition can help prevent these diseases

Some may wonder why it is so vital to eat well. What are the advantages of eating a well-balanced diet that includes nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories? One of the key health benefits is illness prevention. Here are a few reasons why your health may be affected by your diet.

OBESITY

Obesity has been connected to an underlying factor in many other health disorders, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and is directly tied to food. High-calorie meals and sedentary lifestyles are primarily to blame for these figures. Obesity is a big concern among seniors, who tend to become less active as they get older. Getting to and maintaining a healthy weight, on the other hand, is simple with the appropriate nutrition. Weight gain can be avoided by avoiding foods heavy in saturated and trans fats, as well as dishes with a lot of sugar. Instead of processed foods, people should eat whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

More than 33% of people in the United States are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DIABETES

Type 2 diabetes is on the rise worldwide, according to the WHO, which may contribute to the development of other illnesses such as renal and heart disease. Type 2 diabetes is primarily caused by consuming too much sugar, which can cause a person’s glucose levels to become erratic. People can reduce their risk of diabetes by avoiding processed baked goods, desserts, and sugary beverages like soda and fruit juice, according to Helpguide.org. Choose fruits, healthy grain cereals with low sugar content, and dark, leafy greens instead.

CANCER

Certain forms of cancer can be avoided by following a healthy diet. Keeping your body at a healthy weight will help you avoid malignancies of the breast, kidney, oesophagus, uterus, colon, and rectum. According to the American Cancer Society, 1,658,370 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2015. Including a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet can help reduce your risk of developing cancer. Focus on foods like soy beans, which, according to Helpguide.org, have been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

Cardiovascular disease kills more people than all forms of cancer combined, according to The Heart Foundation. There are many different types of cardiovascular diseases, but the most common is coronary heart disease. Fortunately, according to the World Health Organization, appropriate nutrition can minimise a person’s risk of acquiring this disease. Unbalanced diets or diets heavy in lipids and cholesterol can increase a person’s risk significantly. People can avoid heart disease by avoiding diets heavy in saturated and trans fats, as well as cholesterol, and instead opting for meals high in polyunsaturated fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also a good idea to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, healthy grains, and low-sodium dishes. A person’s blood pressure can be reduced by avoiding salt, which is a key factor in cardiovascular disease.

OSTEOPOROSIS

One of the leading causes of bone and fragility fractures is osteoporosis, a condition in which the bones become porous. This illness causes 8.9 million fractures each year, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. Fortunately, eating well can help you maintain good bone health and lower your chance of fracture. Vitamin D and calcium, two minerals that contribute to the formation of healthy bones, should be consumed at the recommended daily levels by older people. The National Institutes of Health recommends that you have at least 500 milligrammes of calcium and 600 international units of vitamin D every day. Regular physical exercise, in addition to a balanced diet, can help with bone health.

What is Visa Provisioning?

In today’s fast changing and developing world, technology has taken over. Technology has dominated the world in many aspects. One such sector is the payment sector. The world is leaning towards the method of online payment. The drift towards it has been increasing rapidly with time. Now focusing on this area of online payments, we have an excellent system. It is Visa Provisioning.

Visa Provisioning is the system of online payment on a mobile phone. It helps in effortlessly downloading the payment account details on your mobile phone. This service is mainly convenient for mobile operating systems along with some other systems. Visa Provisioning is a service based on a technology called NFC. NFC stands for Near Field Communication. Come on, let’s have a look at this.

What is NFC?

NFC is wireless communication technology. It allows the users to exchange data between two devices in a short-range. It is considered to be expanding at a great pace for a newly launched technology. In some ways, it is better than Bluetooth too.

Features of Visa Provisioning

  1. Visa Provisioning works only with the NFC technology installed on mobile phones. This is the reason why it doesn’t work on some of the new mobile systems.
  2. It is known to be efficient for both Visa and Non-Visa transactions.
  3. It does an excellent job in transit applications as well.
  4. Payments can be effectively completed by this system over a distance too.

Working of Visa Provisioning

It can not be stressed enough that this only works with the NFC technology. Now let’s find out how this amazing system works. You just need to follow these simple steps and you are good to go.

  1. Firstly you have to activate the mobile payment system on your mobile.
  2. Now, just enter the correct password in order to proceed with the payment process. Make sure you don’t enter the wrong password because it will lead to the cancellation of the payment.
  3. Once you authenticate, the NFC technology will begin its work. It will exchange some payment account details and some credentials keys among its network.
  4. After completion of this process, you can download the details on your phone easily.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Benefits of Visa Provisioning Service

Visa Provisioning is a very beneficial system for online payments. Below are some benefits of the same. Let’s have a look.

  1. Smooth payment options – Contact less payments are done using NFC. Visa Provisioning system eases the process for the customers and as well as for the bankers and the transit operators.
  • Easy connectivity – This has great connectivity and can be used anywhere, anytime. The Visa Provisioning system has made this easy for all.
  • Advanced payments – Advanced mobile payments are being carried out by this system for years now. It has evolved and grew around the world. By this you can also link your mobile phone with you Visa account.
  • User friendly – This is a very user friendly network. It is easy to use. It provides quick payment options. It can also operate from a distance.
  • Secured network – Yes, Visa provisioning is a safe and secured way of mobile payments. It only requires an e-mail address for registration. This type of facility provides you the advantage of carrying out your payments in a much more easy and effective way. It also features many security measures like PIN authentication and stores all your data safely in a third party service provider.

How does Visa Provisioning Service Differ from Other Types of Mobile Payment Methods ?

Other mobile payment services also use the near field communication (NFC). Visa Provisioning services can be used for any type of cards whereas other methods are confined to their company.

The bank issuing your card can choose to allow Visa Provisioning service for your payment account as long as they meet the requirements. This will also allow their customers to take advantage of the card less payment options just by using mobile.

Another advantage of the Visa Provisioning Services is that they are instant transactions without needing any information.

The Future for Mobile Payments

As we all know, the future of the world lies in technology advancements over the coming years. Online and card less payments are just another addition to the perks of living in an advanced world. It makes the payments easier and safer as compared to the old methods.

The future of cash less payment methods is expected to grow continuously. Major online payment companies like PayPal and Apple Wallet are beginning to make a place for themselves in the market. It is due to their convenience factor and user friendly environment.

The Visa Provisioning Service only requires a single tap on your mobile screen and your money will be transferred or transacted in no time. The NFC technology ensures the safety of your personal details as well as takes care of the whole process of online payment.

How Does Visa Provisioning Service Work with Mobile Payments ?

Mobile payments are apparently considered different from the contact less payments. Contact less payments require both the card and the terminal to support this capability. They are referred to as NFC payments.

Mobile payments require that the device should be connected to Blue Tooth or Near Field Communication Technology so that the transactions can be made without having to swipe the card.

Using NFC technology creates an authorization for payments. You just have to tap on the eligible device name shown on their screen, for the transactions. It can be a store or any other appropriate location. You can use your fingerprint or your PIN number to complete the process of online payment.

How to Maintain Visa Provisioning Services ?

To maintain the Visa Provisioning Service, you need to visit your Visa account by either downloading the Visa Token Service or linking it with your mobile number for receiving a code. Then you can easily maintain your account.

For organizations, they have their own different processes for maintain the Visa Provisioning Services for their consumers.

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

Disadvantages of Visa Provisioning Services

  1. Can not make purchases from mobile apps.
  2. It is a third party payment method so additional fees may be required.
  3. Have to give up your privacy of the Visa account.
  4. Transactions may be declined in case of insufficient funds or incorrect account details.
  5. There is a higher risk of identity theft.
  6. There may be cases of credit card frauds.
  7. Unauthorized purchases can also be done by this method.

Some Companies that use Visa Provisioning Services

  • Amazon
  • Starbucks
  • Google (Google Pay)
  • Netflix
  • Samsung
  • Sony PlayStation Store
  • Apple
  • Dell Financial Services

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why is Visa Provisioning Service important ?
  2. Visa Provisioning Services is important because it links your credit card to your mobile for easy online payments. It ensures safe transaction successfully.
  • How can you deactivate Visa Provisioning Services ?
  • To deactivate Visa Provisioning from your device, follow these steps :
  • Go to your mobile settings.
  • Tap on the ‘apps’ or ‘applications’ option.
  • Select Visa Provisioning Service from the list of your apps.
  • Click on the ‘uninstall’ button to deactivate your Visa Provisioning Service account.
  • What is Visa Provisioning Service 0$ ?
  • Zero dollar charge is a one time payment that requires validation of your mobile phone number and your address for a Visa card.
  • Where are Visa Provisioning Services currently available ?
  • It is currently available in the United States. It is not currently operating internationally. But other NFC transaction methods are in use over the world.

Why is Dowry Still Popular in India?

Dowry is basically the transfer of parental property, gifts, money or anything else of monetary value, usually by the wife’s family to the husband and his family upon marriage. Hence, dowry serves as a gift from the bride’s family to the groom’s family in consideration of their marriage and accepting the bride into the groom’s home. This practice of dowry is an old, obsolete and discriminatory practice. It has its roots in ancient Indian culture that placed women at an inferior position to men, such that women had to pay a price through dowry just to be with them. In older times, women had no individual identity and their identity was tied to their husbands through marriage. Dowry is a practice which took advantage of this convention and exploited women due to their inferior social position. With the change in times and beliefs, the payment of dowry has been prohibited under specific Indian laws such as the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and subsequently by Sections 304B and 498A of the Indian Penal Code. However, the practice is still prevalent to a high degree in India today despite its prohibition, leading to things like harassment, domestic violence and even dowry deaths. There are many reasons for this.

Reasons for Dowry till existing

  • Firstly, dowry still exists in India because it is perceived as a source of easy income by the groom’s family. This is why we see the practice of dowry today predominantly in the rural areas and among the households of the poor. Without any of their own effort or hard work, and by simply relying on this social convention, the groom’s family can ask for dowry and gain wealth for free. Yet, research suggests that dowry is highly prevalent even among urban households and households of the rich and educated. This is unusual and it raises the question as to why someone who is educated and aware of laws indulge in the practice of dowry. Even recently in 2019, there was CCTV footage released of a retired Madras High Court judge Nooty Rama Mohana Rao harassing and beating his daughter in law for the payment of dowry. Hence, there are other factors that cause the practice of dowry to continue.
  • In most cases, due to patriarchy and preference of a boy child over a girl, the sex ratio in many states of India is disparate. This leads to a greater number of men compared to women. It could be argued that due to a greater number of men, dowry might hardly exist. However, this isn’t practically true, because the men having characteristics desired by the bride and her family are few. These characteristics include physical features, income, family status, etc. Thus, the bid for these highly demanded men leads to the existence of dowry. This is a typical market approach focusing on the demand and supply of desired partners which still exists in India today. Dowry is essentially the price to be paid to gain a husband or son-in-law, called the ‘groom price’.
  • Another reason for the prevalence of dowry is the notion of security. Research suggests that in-laws show more preference towards the daughter-in-law that brings a large dowry, giving her more autonomy and say in households matters and giving her fewer chores to do. In some cases, the bride herself encourages the payment of dowry as she sees it as a transfer of wealth from her paternal side to her husband’s side, leading to a rise in the financial position and status of her new family. Hence, the play of power and autonomy has led dowry to still exist.

Conclusion

Hence, we can see that despite its abolishment, dowry is still practiced to a large extent in India. This is because of the reasons stated above, and also generally because we are in a modern era with new requirements. We have an open economy which fosters free trade and globalization, which in turn has nurtured a consumerist attitude in us. The growing consumerism has affected the way dowry is perceived in India, and it is now being encouraged as it helps satisfy the consumerist needs of people. Furthermore, any attempt by a woman to file a complaint or report a case of domestic violence/harassment with regard to dowry is often silenced by the husband or his family by threat or coercion. Therefore, India must try its best to create some sort of support system for women and work to abolish the practice of dowry at all levels so as to remove this discriminatory practice from Indian society.

TREE WALKS !!!!

TWO WALKING PALMS

Socratea exorrhiza is a palm native to rainforests in tropical Central and South America. This plant is nicknamed as the walking palm.

The tree supposedly “walks” from shade to sunlight by growing roots in the direction it wants to travel and then allowing the old roots to lift into the air and die.

Some say the process takes a couple of years while one paleo biologist suggests the tree moves two or three centimeters per day.

In a journal of The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Dr. Bodley reported that the palm uses its roots to “walk away” from its germination point if another tree falls on the seedling and knocks it over.

This way, the tree can move away from obstacles that are major hazards for immature palms. 

The walking palm remains a strange “miracle” from nature !

Want to be a CYBORG….?

Cyborg can be defined as an organism that has enhanced ability due to the integrated of some artificial components or technology. The concept of a man-machine mixture was widespread in science fiction before World War II. As early as 1843, Edgar Allan Poe described a man with extensive prostheses in the short story “The Man That Was Used Up”. In 1911, Jean de La Hire introduced the Nyctalope, a science fiction hero who was perhaps the first literary cyborg.

Actual cyborgization attempts :
Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said- “ Humans may upgrade themselves to become cyber within the next 200 years merging man and machine to potentially live”. Although many technology companies have announced the plans to fuse machines and humans. The fact is the transformation has already begun. Here are some fascinating example from mankind who are already famous for being part human, part cyborg.

Jens Neumann
He’s the first person to have a completely artificial vision system, Neumann’s electronic eye is connected directly to visual cortex through brain implants enabling him to see lines and shapes. Latest reports say his vision has since then been restored.

Neil Harbisson
The world’s first ‘eye-borg’ to perceive colour as a sound on a musical scale, has an antenna attach it to his skull that converts light waves into sound waves, making it possible for the otherwise colour-blind cyborg artiste to conduct colour concerts, among other things. Also he co-founded the Cyborg foundation to help humans become cyborgs and different cyborg rights.  

Oscar Pistorius
Often called ‘The blade runner’ Pistorius created history as the first double amputee to compete against able body runner at international level in 2007. Since ‘the fastest man on no legs’ has competed at World Championships in Athletics 2011, which he won; Summer Olympics 2012 for able-bodied and won a gold medal at the Summer Para Olympics 2012.

Kevin Warwick
A cybernetics professor at University of Reading (UK ), he is one of the world’s foremost aspiring cyborgs, famous for experimenting with implants, including installing a microchip in his arm which allows him to operate select electrical gadgets.

Jesse Sullivan & Claudia Mitchell
Sullivan is equipped with bionic arm, which is connected through nerve-muscle grafting. But that’s not the real achievement. Sullivan can control the limb with his mind and experience warmth, coolness and the pressure of his grip. Claudia, the world’s first woman cyborg after getting outfitted with bionic limb.

Animal cyborgs

The US-based company Backyard Brains released what they refer to as the “world’s first commercially available cyborg” called the RoboRoach. The project started as a senior design project for a University of Michigan biomedical engineering student in 2010, and was launched as an available beta product on 25 February 2011.

The RoboRoach was officially released into production via a TED talk at the TED Global Conference; and via the crowdsourcing website Kickstarter in 2013, the kit allows students to use micro stimulation to momentarily control the movements of a walking cockroach (left and right) using a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone as the controller. Several animal welfare organizations including the RSPCA and PETA have expressed concerns about the ethics and welfare of animals in this project. In the late 2010s, scientists created cyborg jellyfish using a microelectronic prosthetic that propels the animal to swim almost three times faster while using just twice the metabolic energy of their unmodified peers. The prosthetics can be removed without harming the jellyfish.

BULLYING (Part-2)

How To Deal With Bullying At School?

The psychological damage bullying can cause is immeasurable. Having to go through the same thing again and again really breaks you down. According to statistics, ever seven minutes a child is bullied and 85% of the time there is no intervention (adult intervention-11% and peer intervention-4%). These statistics of adult involvement are dangerously low. In some of the cases parents are unaware that their kid is being bullied and in other, they just don’t interfere. Bullying, in all its forms is equally risky. People, especially kids in school who are susceptible to bullying need to know how they can deal with their bullies. This should be of utmost priority because we cannot let primitive years of a child to be shape up on the basis of someone else’s opinion.

How to handle bullying?

Ignorance is a bliss. Anytime anyone makes you feel uncomfortable or unwanted, it is smart to ignore or just retract yourself from the situation. Don’t dignify the bully with a response. Walk towards a group of people or towards a teacher or someone who would not put up with their act.
Communication is the key. It is always better to let your feelings out especially in case of bullying. Talk to an adult and let them know what you are going through. Kids could either stand up for themselves or they could get an adult involved if the situation gets out of hand. You can also talk to a teacher directly or can report it through an anonymous note. The important thing is to talk it out and report it.
Keep calm and just breathe. Anytime you find yourself loosing your calm over a slur or a comment, just take a deep breath. The bully’s goal is to get into your head and mess with your emotions. Don’t give them that satisfaction. Take few deep breaths and go to your happy place. However, while doing this make sure that you maintain proper eye contact with the bully. This will show them how strong you are and that you are unfazed by their little comments.
Stand up for yourself. After a certain point the situation just gets out of hand and you have a ball of white hot rage inside you. The best idea would be to suppress it and avoid lashing out. Instead, you must firmly make your point without losing your cool. Don’t insult the bully or use physical force, it will only make things worse. Try to handle the situation with maturity. And if you can’t, just talk to someone and let it all out.

As much as it is a child’s duty to inform their parents about their situation, the parents must also look out for signs to see if their child is being harassed at school. Some of the common signs are:
– not wanting to go to school
– having limited or no friends at all
– constantly bad grades
– nightmares
– change in behavior
These are some of the common symptoms parents must look out for in their kids especially if they start a new school or move to a new city.

In order to stop bullying it is necessary that all parties work together. The school, the teachers, the parents and the kids as well. Kids must be made so independent and strong that they are capable enough to fight for themselves and for those who face it. The school must create an open environment where the kids can talk about what they are dealing with. Bullies must be made aware of the impact their statements have on the other person and the receiver must report it so no one else has to deal with it in the future. Teach the kids to act in a calm manner. Don’t fight violence with violence. Being aggressive is not the answer. Make smart decisions and foster a positive environment for those around you.

General knowledge

General knowledge is very important in everyone’s life. The person without the knowledge is like the bird without the wings. It is very important to know what is happening across the world. So, it is very important to attain the general knowledge. To grab general knowlede, an individual must follow some of the techniques like reading books, articles, magazines, newspapers etc.

The newspaper consists of all the important things like the business purposes, sports, entertainment, some interesting puzzles, Hindi habits, food recipes, Current affairs etc.

Reading newspaper is an important thing because whenever an individual comes across a motivational thing, he or she will be motivated and focuses on the particular aspect. The individual will get to know the current affairs. The person will get a good grip on the general knowledge. solving puzzles improves the skills of the person. Reading about the healthy habits in the newspaper makes the individual to go for good and healthier meals.

Reading newspaper is very important because gives the chance to know what is happening around us. Early in the morning or evening whatever the time maybe, sparing at least 10 to 15 minutes of time on newspaper is a very good habit that an individual can develop.

The newspaper consists of all the important things like the business purposes, sports, entertainment, some interesting puzzles, Hindi habits, food recipes, Current affairs etc.

In one of the other way the individual develops good habits and focuses more on what they are trying to do.

Individual Differences :

Intelligence :

High scores on tests of general knowledge tend to also score highly on intelligence tests. IQ has been found to robustly predict general knowledge scores even after accounting for difference in age, and five factor model personality tarits. However, many general knowledge tests are designed to create a normal distribution of answers, creating a bell shaped curve.

General knowledge is also moderately associated with verbal ability, though only weakly or not at all with numerical and spatial ability. As with crystallized intelligence, general knowledge has been found to increase with age.

Long term semantic memory :

General knowledge is stored as semantic memory. Most semantic memory is preserved through old age, though there are deficts in retrieval of certain specific words correlated with aging. In addition, stress or various emotional levels can negatively affect semantic nemory retrieval.

Personality :

People high in general knowledge tend to highly open to new experiences and in typical intellectual engagement. The relationship between openness to experieñce and general knowledge remains robust even when IQ is taken into account. People high in openness may be more motivated to engage in intellectual pursuits that increase their knowledge. Relationships between general knowledge and other five factor model traits tend to be weak and inconsistent. Though one study found that extraversion and neutroticism were negatively correlated with general knowledge, others found that they were unrelated.

Predictor of achievement :

A number of studies have assesses whether performance on a general knowledge test can predict achievement in particular areas, namely in academics, proofreading and creativity.

Academic achievement :

General knowledge has been found to predict exam results in a study of Britush schoolchildren. The study examined congnitive ability and personality predictors of exam performance and found that general knowledge was positively correlated with GCSE english, mathematics, and overall exam results. General knowledge test scores presicted exam results, even after controlling for IQ, five factor model personality traits, and learning styles.

Proofreading :

General knowledge has been found to robustly predict proofreading skills in univeristy students. A study found that proofreading had a larger correlation with general knowledge than with general intelligence, verbal reasoning, or openness to experience. In a multiple regression analysis using general knowledge, general intelligence, verbal reasoning, five factor personality traits, amd learning styles as predictors, only general knowledge was a significant predictor.

Creativity

General knowledge has been found to have weak associations with measures of creativity. In a study examining contributions of personality and intelligence to creativity, general knowledge was positively correlated with tests of divergent thinking, but was unrelated to a bigraphical measure of creative achievemnet, self- rated creativity, or a composite measure of creativity. The realtionship between general knowledge and divergent thinking became non- significant when controlling for fluid intelleigence.

Game shows and Quizzes :

Many game shows use general knowledge questions for entertainment purpose. Game shows such as who wants to be a Millionarie? and fiteen to one centre their questions on general knowledge, while other shows focus questions more on specific subjects. Some show ask questions both on specific subjects and on general knowledge .

REINVENT YOURSELF: A chance to improve…

“IF YOU THINK YOU ARE BETTER NOW, DON’T FORGET THERE IS SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE BEST THAN YOU.”

In life we always have reasons and excuses to hide our mistakes and weakness but, when it comes to our personality and lifestyles we always had new ideas to be best. Reinventing does’nt mean to change your life for society or people but, to change your weakness and to improve your life, habits and living for yourself.

IT’s NEVER LATE TO BE BETTER THAN WHAT YOU ARE…

There are people with a reason that ‘we are happy for what we are, we don’t have to change ourself for others.’ Yes, I admire their thoughts and confidence and I am one of them only. With time i realised it’s wrong to change yourself for others but, there is nothing wrong in improving ourself to be a better personality. There is difference between changing and improving and everyone has to know and realise it sooner or later. You don’t have to be one of ‘them’, you have to better own self and choose your way to be better. Just like a fis moving out of crowd to another pond for own survival and betterment.

AN EMPTY START IS BETTER THAN STICKING TO CROWD…

I am not asking you to leave your society and move alone but, to start a step to improve your bad habits, weakness, persona and life to be better and trust me you will find new ‘You’ and there will people wanting to be like you. If improving yourself is better than changing yourself so do not hesitate to take a step. Explore now and start a day with one thought to improve yourself so that, you can reinvent the hidden better ‘You’.

A STEP FORWARD IS KEY TO YOUR BETTER SELF…

“IT’S NEVER LATE TO BE BETTER”…

THANK YOU :]

The Concept of Karma and Re-birth in Hindu Philosophy

Karma and Reincarnation are one of the central concepts of Hinduism. Although it is also a concept that is explored by many Western Philosophies. This article however is restricted to the concept that is discussed in the Indian Scriptures and Indian Philosophies. Karma and re-birth also comprise the core of Indian Philosophies as it is through this that the difficulties in overcoming suffering is measured. The path that needs to be followed in order to attain liberation or freedom from bondage is often by annihilating Karma thereby annihilating Re-birth. 

The knowledge about laws of Karma and reincarnation is believed to be first revealed by God to sages who underwent deep and focused meditations. Thus they are considered to be direct revelations by God made to the sages (rishis) 

The concept of Karma is simple. Action and Reaction. According to Karma every action we do will have an equal reaction. Therefore if we do good things we may get good in return and if we do bad things then we may get bad returns. However, this Karma is not limited to present human life but also extends itself to upcoming lives of humans. If the deeds that we did in this life were full of evil then our next life will also be full of suffering. 

Reincarnation comes as a concept that mainly concerns soul. According to Hinduism soul is immortal. It never dies. It just jumps from one body to another. And this cycle of human birth, death and rebirth (jumping from body to body) is called samsara or reincarnation. 

The reason why reincarnation happens is because our soul is on a journey to maturation. In order to evolve to its maturity and finally become one with God, the soul has to go through this cycle of reincarnation until a certain number of times. It is said that when a person dies, the soul moves to a Second Realm where it temporarily stays in some other kind of body and when the time comes for rebirth, the soul moves to earthland and again possess a physical body/form. How the next life will be and how many times one will reincarnate majorly depends on our Karmic Deeds done in this life. It is also said that when a soul completes its number of physical rebirths and reaches maturation it further undergoes a cycle of inner development which eventually makes the soul to dissolve and become one with God.

All of these concepts are deeply explored in the Vedas and Upanishads. Most of the orthodox schools that has Vedas as their foundations also expound upon this concept with their own twists and philosophies. In some philosophy the concept of Karma and Re-birth is accepted however none of them accept God as the being who is responsible for Re-birth or Karma in any way. Philosophies such as Buddhism and Jainism do not accept the existence of God however they do believe in birth and re-birth. 

Hence, the concept is widely explored in almost every Indian Philosophy whether they agree with it or disagree with it. 

Is the internet software or hardware ?

To come to some conclusion first we need to know about how the internet originally came into the existence, how it works, how we people are evolved with it, and then we are able to decide/answer the very question – is internet software hardware or what??

ARPANET ‘s initial logical map

The need…

Way Before the internet we know today there was a precursor ARPANET. ARPANET was funded by the US defence department to connect all research institutions and colleges through a big wire. by using this they can transfer or interact with each of these institutions very easily and fast. it was a really big breakthrough in computer or world history! later this tech was shared with many big companies later this network becomes so big that we now call it the internet! but in 1990 ARPANET stopped and the internet was unaffected by it ( tells how big internet became).
With time we have seen many advancements in tech too with lay down the path to normal users and made all this infrastructure so feasible that even a normal household can have a connection with the network, thanks to the introduction of WIFI and win98 in the 90s.

we and our peripherals all connected with internet today

Internet and us: today

When we entered the 21st-century internet started becoming a big deal started using in many sectors and helped professionals even students! with tech it impacted on our lifestyle too, from space exploration department to personal AI in our phones …all this developed with help of the internet! millions of developers/contributors around the world contributed to making it in reach of every human! In the 2000s nearly 6.5 % of earth’s population was using the internet ( which is HUGE ngl) but this number became 50.8%! in 2018 and still growing at a faster rate than before too! when we talk about the internet and its working we think of few things like phone or pc which connected with WIFI/broadband network then that WIFI connected with some wire (ex.- fibre wire) coming from ISP(in case of broadband, it connected with some tower initially then ISP) …yeah that’s it, until which we able to visualize .. let us see this and understand in more detail.

world shares one big network

It’s all connected …

Internet is very much the same as it was in ARPANET days. different system(ex- computer) connected with one common server which acts as a message counter aka help connect each other . back then all this connection used to happen only through wires but now we have wireless modems/routers which help us connect with the same network at on close range ( so no need to connect each of them with different wire !) . so communicate with others we need to identify each other by something unique name to all here comes IP addresses and make it happen some rules introduced called TCP. When ARPANET decommissioned and the internet growing rapidly to different nations connected through the big wire ( all way from oceans ) WorldWideWeb was introduced at the same time. through the browser, we can connect with all these IP addresses and request for things ( like this blog itself!) but as you noticed IP address look very different and numeric but what we use is are in more readable. this is because of DNS protocol all IP addresses have some word associated with them like http://www.facebook.com is associated with 69.63. 181.15 IP  address


From the user side( called client ) when we enter some URL / website our HTTP request for that website goes to ISP(Internet Service Provider) then DNS servers identify the IP address and where that website is stored, yes you heard it right! websites are files just like your word or excel ones and similarly, it stored somewhere someplace ( called data centers ) . so this HTTP request rhea there and all this info comes to you all the way from there in packets and tada! Each and every website works like these even video ones where the same packets come… in the case of live interaction it comes continuously. These data centres/web servers are a bit different they are not connected with the internet as your client one is through isp but they are connected with the internet network directly!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

SO… is it ?..

Now the big answer time! The answer is as you already figured out reading all this.. Internet is a mix of both!

The Internet consists of many interconnected networks. Those networks are composed of hardware and software. The systems connected to the network must have hardware network interfaces, which are either wired or wireless. Software is required to regulate those interfaces, to compose, send, receive, and decode packets of knowledge using several standard protocols. Routers, switches, firewalls, and other devices are required to attach systems and networks together. a number of these devices are purely hardware, but many perform some level of processing, which needs that they contain an embedded computer running software. The systems connected to the network also typically have some type of package running on them, and a software system is a software. Web servers, management systems, web browsers, web-enabled applications, etc. are all required likewise, and people are all samples of software.

So, the net consists of both hardware and software

Pls, comment down below tell me if you want me to cover something techy ! or have some suggestions! until then 🙂 sayonara!

McLaren F1: The Ultimate Road Car Ever

McLaren F1 was the fastest production car for 12 straight years from 1993 to 2005. At the time of its unveiling, McLaren F1 was an engineering marvel with numerous pioneering technological innovations. It was designed by the legendary designer and engineer Gordon Murray.

McLaren F1 Rear

It was the first road production car to be fully built carbon fiber. The entire Carbon fiber monocoque weighs just fewer than 220 pounds and 5000 pieces of carbon fiber pieces were used to mold the final frame.  This gives it double the strength of steel but it makes it five times lighter than traditional frames.

The car has a central seating position which is unique to this car. While developing McLaren F1, Gordon Murray drove and tested all the contemporary supercars of that time and he realized that their three-pedal boxes were somewhat offset. So He wanted to eliminate that. To solve this problem he placed the seat in the central driving position similar to a traditional F1 racing car. The central position also helps in increasing the visibility of the driver.

It has a naturally aspirated 6.1-liter V12 engine, but initially, McLaren has asked Honda to supply an engine for them as they were also the supplier for their F1 racing team at that time. But Honda didn’t follow the specification stated by Gordon Murray. Later they asked BMW to supply them with the engine of their car. BMW had to make a new engine as per the specification and the final results were incredible. The Engine is called BMW Motorsport S70/2

 The engine possesses extremely efficient heads. It also has continuous variable inlet valve timing and an emission-control system and four catalytic converters with ‘Lambda’ exhaust gas analysis control. Even with a 6064 CC displacement and a power output excess of 550bhp, the engine is quite efficient. The engine created so much heat that it had to be covered with a good heat deflecting material and to solve that problem the engine bay was covered with 16 grams of gold foil.

On 31 March 1998, Andy Wallace drove the McLaren F1 XP5 prototype at Volkswagen’s test track in Ehra-Lessen, Germany, and broke the record created by McLaren F1 itself in 1993. The car reached the top speed of 391 kilometers per hour or 243 Miles per hour. As of today, the F1 remains the fastest naturally aspirated production car in the world.

https://www.autozine.org/Archive/McLaren/old/F1.html

The car had a limited production of 106. Of those only 64 of them were road-going cars and 28 of them were racecars and the remaining of them were prototypes and special editions like the LM and longtail version. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) was for one period the owner of McLaren F1 as well.

Back in 1993, a brand-new McLaren F1 cost £540,000. In today’s money it would be approximately 1.1 million pounds but due to the rarity and the special status and engineering feat of the car. McLaren F1 has steadily climbed in value since then. As of today a McLaren F1 costs around £16 million and special versions can fetch even more. This car has also stood the test of time in its design, engineering, and craftsmanship.

References:

The Little Prince and why all love him

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a all time classic in children’s literature. And yet, after reading it, a part of me felt that there could seldom be books as beautiful as this one for any age group. It starts with the buildup of a character of a narrator who loves childhood and treats their intellect superior to those of adult. From the very first page, a reader will laugh with the author and commend him for his though process. And suddenly switches to the backdrop of a war – the second world war to be specific. There he meets a young boy – a boy not more than 12 and clad in his own idiosyncratic behaviour – childish behaviour. This boy is our little prince.

The story deals with love, life, friendship, knowledge, curiosity and death – all as the prince sees them. And it is exactly this part of the story where the reader is lost with the author. Admiration, adoration, love and tears – all move with the prince, a character so beautiful that he cannot die in the heart if the one who has read that that book.

It is a small book and in that small novella is a plethora of beautiful and innocent lines that are bound to steal your heart away or to quote the book,

“What makes the desert beautiful,’ said the little prince, ‘is that somewhere it hides a well…”

Make friends with the little prince and whenever you shall see a star, that one meaningless star will have a laugh or a smile for you each time.

Amazon.com: The Little Prince (8580001044842): Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,  Richard Howard: Books

PATRIOTISM

“The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.” ― Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot

Patriotism means love of one’s motherland. The attachment to one’s motherland is as innate as one’s affection for one’s parents. Man’s first loyalty is to himself, then to his family and then to his own country. India is a land of many cultures, traditions, and languages. But Indians stand as one whenever there is a threat to the integrity of India. They stood up unitedly at the time of the Chinese aggression. Recently it has been proved during the Kargil war in Kashmir. Thus, patriotism brings out the qualities of unity, service and sacrifice. Patriotism encourages the noble quality of self- sacrifice for the cause of one’s country.

Gitanjali 35

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
   Where knowledge is free;
   Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
   Where words come out from the depth of truth;
   Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
   Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
   Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
   Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake…………BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Patriotism, however, sometimes develops a false national pride. The people of a particular geographical area have intolerance for the people of other areas. They even nurse evil feelings and enmity and go to war. This is not real patriotism. We know the horrors of war due to aggressive patriotism.

We have to shed mutual bickering, shed the difference of being high or low and develop the sense of equality and banish untouchability. We have to restore the conditions of Swaraj prevalent prior to British rule. We have to live like the children of the same father.- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Patriotism is a noble virtue when love of one’s country does not lead to the hatred against other nations. One’s love of one’s country should expand itself into a love for all world. Narrow patriotism reeds passions and prejudices and so it is despicable. It brings hatred and wars. True patriotism must seek peace and prosperity of e world. It must be free from narrowness and meanness. It is Possible to combine patriotism with love for the people of the world. Thus, patriotism may least to international brotherhood.

Men, money and material cannot by themselves bring victory or freedom. We must have the motive-power that will inspire us to brave deeds and heroic exploits. -Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

How to Add Your Business to Google & Google Maps

When a query performed on Google implies local results should be shown, the search engine populates a map pack of 3 local results. The map pack has many other names, including “local pack,” or the “Google 3-pack.” 

If you own or operate a business that caters to your local community, chances are you qualify to get a Google My Business listing. A quality Google My Business listing can get you one step closer to being added to a local pack. 

In this guide, we’ll explore the best way to add your business on Google My Business and offer some tips to increase your local rankings.

Why is Google My Business important?

Back in March 2021, Google noted that there are more than 2 billion visits to local websites each month. That’s a lot of website traffic. 

If you’re a small business owner, your driver of new business is likely going to be referrals. 

Referrals are great! 

But, even with a referral, most people will still Google your business name to learn more about your business, read reviews, etc — before even contacting you. 

What happens when I perform a search on Google for “Cowboy Dinner Tree?”

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The right-panel is generated by Google’s Knowledge Graph, but most of the data being populated here is sourced from Google My Business.

Now, what’s interesting about Cowboy Dinner Tree’s GMB listening is they don’t even have ownership of it. It isn’t owned by anyone.

Same with their Yelp, Facebook, etc. Even their website is very web 1.0. 

How do they have a Google My Business listing if it isn’t claimed? 

Google will automatically create one based on data they collect about businesses (entities). Keep this in mind as we get into the process of creating your own Google My Business listing. 

Back to the benefits of owning your Google My Business listing. 

You, the owner of your business, can provide the most accurate information about your business and have it displayed when someone does a search for your business on Google. 

One of the other major benefits to claiming your Google My Business listing is that some simple optimizations and ongoing activities can help your chances of getting new business from organic search for free.Increase Your Visibilitywith the Listing Management ToolTry for Free →

How to add your business to Google My Business

You’ll have about 3 different scenarios to choose from:

  1. Brand new business: Select Scenario 1 if your business is less than 6 months old.
  2. Listing exists, unclaimed: If your business has been around longer than 6 months, start with Scenario 2 (but you may end up back at Scenario 1). 
  3. Listing exists, claimed: If you claimed your listing some time ago but don’t remember the login, the email is no longer active, or another person owns your listing, go with Scenario 3.

Scenario 1: Brand new business

Congratulations! Let’s get you on the path to getting you a Google My Business listing.

Step 1: Go to the Google My Business homepage and click on the Manage now button

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Step 2: Sign in to a gmail account that you own. This is important: remember what email address you are using here. This gmail account will be the Primary owner of the listing. Write it down on a post-it or take a screenshot if you need to.

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Step 3: Once you have signed in, you’ll get taken to a page like the one below. Click on the Get Started button.

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Step 4: Start typing in the name of your business. Google My Business will attempt to locate a listing but since your business is new, you likely don’t have one yet. When you spot the option to “create a business with this name,” click it, then click on Next.

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Step 5: Now we need to choose a Business category that best matches your business. For our example, coffee shops are the best matching category. If there are multiple categories that match your business, you’ll be able to add additional categories after your listing has been verified. Once you’ve chosen your category, click Next.

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Step 6: Your next move depends on what type of business you operate. If your business is a brick and mortar, then the answer is yes. If you are a service provider (you go to your customers) and don’t have a physical storefront with signage then you will select no. If you are a service provider AND have a physical storefront with signage, then choose yes. Once you’ve made your choice, click Next.

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Step 7: Enter your address, then click Next if you answered yes in the previous step. If you chose no in the previous step, you will be asked to enter your service area. Once finished, click Next.

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Step 8: If you are displaying your address, you might be asked to point to the exact spot where your business is located. Once finished, click Next. If you are not showing your address, you will be asked to provide your business phone number and website. 

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Step 9: If you’re showing your address, you’ll be asked if you also serve customers outside of your location. If you are not showing your address, you’ll be asked if you want to get updates and recommendations from Google. Choose your answer, then click Next.

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Step 10: If you’re showing your address, you’ll be asked to add your phone number and website. If you are not showing your address, skip to Step 10. Once you’ve added your website address and phone number, click Next.

Step 11: Time to finish and start the verification process! Select “Finish.”

Step 12: If you are showing your address, you’ll be prompted to verify by postcard with an option to add a contact name. If you are hiding your address, you’ll be prompted to add an address for verification purposes. Your address will not be shown but is needed to verify your business. 

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Step 13: Once you receive the postcard (usually within 5 business days), log back into your listing to verify your listing. 

Scenario 2: Listing exists, unclaimed

If your business has been around for at least 6 months, you might already have a Google My Business listing that was automatically created.

Go to Google Maps and perform a search for your business name. If a listing shows up and you see “Claim this business,” then claim it! If you see your listing and there’s a label that says ‘Manage this listing,” then head to Scenario 3.

If you have the option to claim the listing, you’re going to be asked to make sure the information is up to date, then you’ll go through the verification process. 

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Scenario 3: Listing exists, claimed

Maybe a former employee, an email address you don’t have access to anymore, or a former agency that claimed the listing on your behalf. Whatever the reason is, you don’t have access to your Google My Business listing.

Go to Google and perform a search for your business. Within the panel, you’ll see ‘Suggest an edit • Own this business?’ Select “own this business.” 

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Google will show the first 2 characters of the email address that owns the listing. Sometimes, this may spark your memory with the email address that you used years ago to claim the listing.

If you don’t know the email address, click on the Request Access button. 

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More often than not, you’re going to check the box to share your info with the current owners and managers of the listing.

For level of access, choose Ownership.

Your relationship to the business is likely going to be owner since you’re requesting ownership of the listing.

Provide your name and phone number, then submit. 

After you submit the form, the current owner of the listing will get an email that asks them if the request is valid. You’ll also receive a confirmation email. Keep the confirmation email.

The current owner of the listing has 3 days to respond to your request. You can check the status of your request by clicking on the link within the confirmation email.

If your request is approved, you’ll get an email confirmation and can then start managing the profile.

If your request is denied, you’re going to need to contact Google My Business support via the Help Center.

Alternatively, you can get in touch with GMB Support on Twitter. It might take them a few days to respond, but they’ve been helpful in the past. 

If the current listing owner does not respond within 3 days, you’ll get the option to claim the listing. Sign into g oogle.com/business and you should see an option to verify the listing.

Once you get access to the listing, the first thing you will want to do is make sure that anyone who should have access to the listing does. Since you are now the primary owner of the listing, you can add or remove users from having access. 

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Next Steps

Once you’ve created or updated your listing, be sure to stay on top of it! Listing management is an important part of ensuring the information around your business is useful and accurate.

Set a predetermined time to check in on your listing, try a few marketing strategies to connect with your audience, and keep an eye out for any user interactions with your listing. You can also use listing management tools to take the guesswork out of managing your listing.

BULLYING (Part-1 of 2)

Why People Bully?

Sometimes a single comment from a friend, a colleague or a stranger can go a long way into shaping who you are as a person. This statement might sound a little far fetched but it is really not. There are thousands (maybe more) of kids who are at the receiving end of such statements everyday. Repeatedly making fun of people, using force to dominate them, making people feel like they don’t belong, all these come under the purview of bullying.

Bullying starts with making unwanted comments on people and making them feel less. Overtime these comments turn harsh and unbearable for the receiver. There are times when people don’t even realize that they are in fact bullying the other person because in their minds it’s all in fun especially when the receiver is just eating it all up. Bullying is often confused with some old fashioned hazing but it is actually more extreme. Hazing is done for fun and to make the receiver a part of the group. On the other hand bullying is done with the sole motive of making a person feel left out, like they don’t fit in. American sitcoms have given us a good picture on how bullying occurs at schools and colleges. We have seen the “cool kids” being mean to a group of friends just because they are intelligent or because they are of a different race or maybe because they are new to that school/college. We also know that this is how those kids establish their power. And if their so called “power” to make others feel small makes them “cool”, then we need to think long and hard about where the kids are headed.

What are the reasons for the occurrence of bullying?

There are several reasons as to why people feel it is okay to bully others. Even though none of them are justified, people just say it to make themselves feel better about themselves. One of the major reasons is to gain power and popularity. There was a time when popularity came from being a good person but now it’s all about who people are more afraid of. Bullies use force to assert their power over those who can’t. A more complicated reason is that the bully has no power at home so he/she establishes it at school to compensate and feel good. In what world is that balancing it out? Another more complicated reason would be the fact that the bully was once at the receiving end of those hurtful comments and now wishes to transfer that hate onto others. In addition to this, people who are generally unhappy in life tend to take their anger out on others in form of unwanted slurs. Lastly, peer pressure also plays an important role in turning a person into a bully. Sometimes people are so eager to fit in, they pick up the habits of their fellow mates without realizing if they are good or bad. And soon it becomes habit.

The above mentioned reasons are not the end of a long list of causes of why bullying occurs. There are many psychological and mental issues that push a person to become a bully. It must be noted that, as against the common notion bullying does not occur at school or college levels only. People of all age groups face bullying in one form or the other. The bullying could be verbal (teasing, taunting, etc), social (spreading rumors, embarrassing on purpose, etc) and physical (stripping, pushing, punching, etc). These acts have the capacity to put a dent in the personality of the receiver and thus needs to be stopped. How many innocent lives must be lost before it is too late!!

(Stay tuned for Part-2)