BRINGING THE INSIDE...OUTSIDE Photos and Picss

Remember back in the day when most outdoor areas consisted of a basic outdoor setting and some pots...and you were considered going all out if you forked out the money to build a pagola...well havent things changed in a major way since then...now we have everything and anything goes...from outdoor fire places...to chandeliers...to sofas and built in kitchenettes...amazing ....here are some images to feast your eyes on...all so lovely!!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

Popcorn - Facts Photos

Know 20 Facts About Popcorn -
(source: via mail)

1. Popcorn's scientific name is zea mays everta, and it is the only type of corn that will pop.
2. People have been enjoying popcorn for thousands of years. In 1948, popped kernels around 5,000 years old were discovered in caves in New Mexico.
3. It is believed that the Wampanoag Native American tribe brought popcorn to the colonists for the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
4. Traditionally, Native American tribes flavored popcorn with dried herbs and spices, possibly even chili. They also made popcorn into soup and beer and made popcorn headdresses and corsages.
5. Some Native American tribes believed that a spirit lived inside each kernel of popcorn. The spirits wouldn't usually bother humans, but if their home was heated, they would jump around, getting angrier and angrier, until eventually they would burst out with a pop.
6. Christopher Columbus allegedly introduced popcorn to the Europeans in the late 15th century.
7. The first commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in Chicago in 1885. The business he founded still manufactures popcorn machines and other specialty equipment.
8. American vendors began selling popcorn at carnivals in the late 19th century. When they began to sell outside movie theaters, theater owners were initially annoyed, fearing that popcorn would distract their patrons from the movies. It took a few years for them to realize that popcorn could be a way to increase revenues, and popcorn has been served in movie theaters since 1912.
9. Nowadays, many movie theaters make a greater profit from popcorn than they do from ticket sales, since for every dollar spent on popcorn, around ninety cents is pure profit. Popcorn also makes moviegoers thirsty and more likely to buy expensive sodas.
10. What makes popcorn pop? Each kernel contains a small amount of moisture. As the kernel is heated, this water turns to steam. Popcorn differs from other grains in that the kernel's shell is not water-permeable, so the steam cannot escape and pressure builds up until the kernel finally explodes, turning inside out.
11. On average, a kernel will pop when it reaches a temperature of 347 degress Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius).
12. Unpopped kernels are called "old maids" or "spinsters."
13. There are two possible explanations for old maids. The first is that they didn't contain sufficient moisture to create an explosion; the second is that their outer coating (the hull) was damaged, so that steam escaped gradually, rather than with a pop. Good popcorn should produce less than 2 percent old maids.
14. Ideally, the moisture content of popcorn should be around 13.5 percent, as this results in the fewest old maids.
15. Popcorn is naturally high in fiber; low in calories; and sodium-, sugar-, and fat-free, although oil is often added during preparation and butter, sugar, and salt are all popular toppings.
16. Americans consume 17 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year. That's enough to fill the Empire State Building 18 times!
17. Nebraska produces more popcorn than any other state in the country -- around 250 million pounds per year. That's about a quarter of all the popcorn produced annually in the United States.
18. There are at least five contenders claiming to be the "Popcorn Capital of the World" due to the importance of popcorn to their local economies, and only one of them is in Nebraska. They are Van Buren, Indiana; Marion, Ohio; Ridgway, Illinois; Schaller, Iowa; and North Loup, Nebraska.
19. Popped popcorn comes in two basic shapes: snowflake and mushroom. Movie theaters prefer snowflake because it's bigger. Confections such as caramel corn use mushroom because it won't crumble.
20. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's largest popcorn ball measured 12 feet in diameter and required 2,000 pounds of corn, 40,000 pounds of sugar, 280 gallons of corn syrup, and 400 gallons of water to create.

Intelligence [short story] Photos

An old man lived alone in a village. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation.

Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison. Love, Dad

Shortly, the old man received this Telegram -

"For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden. That's where I buried the GUNS" at 4a.m.

The next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns.

Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asked him what to do next.

His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It's the best I could do for you from here ."

- Moral of the Story - No matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from you heart, you can do it.

A Wonderful Message Photos

- A wonderful Message -

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

• We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.
• We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.
• We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
• We dr!nk too much, sm0ke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
• We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
• We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
• We've added years to life not life to years.
  
• We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.
• We conquered outer space but not inner space.
• We've done larger things, but not better things.
• We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
• We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
  
• We write more, but learn less.
• We plan more, but accomplish less.
• We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
• We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
  
• These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.
• These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.
• These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.
• It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
• A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.
  
• Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
• Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
• Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
• Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it.
• A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
• Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Amazing Matchstick Car Photos

Man Builds Full Scale Mercedes F1 From 956,000 Matchsticks -

Man Builds Full Scale Mercedes F1 From 956,000 Matchsticks Michael Arndt is a man of matchsticks. Over the course of six years, using 956,000 matchsticks, 1686 tubes of glue, and at least three different varieties of mustache, he built a full-scale replica of a McLaren 4/14 F1 car, at a cost of around 6000 Euros. The giant model takes up Arndt's entire kitchen and probably his social life. It can be broken down into 45 parts for easy transport to various matchstick-builders conventions.

- 11 images shows how to spend 6 years building a Matchstick Car -

Poaching in India Wallpapers

10 tigers, 57 elephants poached in three years4 Dec 2008, Times of India

NEW DELHI: At least 10 tigers and 57 elephants have been poached in India during last three years, the environment and forests ministry said on Wednesday but said the government was doing its best to protect wildlife.While poachers in Rajasthan killed four tigers, two tigers each in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Kerala fell victims to wildlife criminals, according to a ministry reportOf the 57 jumbos killed, 22 were poached in Orissa alone. While eight elephants were killed each in Karnataka, Assam and Kerala, Uttarakhand accounted for the death of four of them. Meghalaya and Mizoram accounted for two deaths each.What is intriguing is that elephant poaching has shown an increase with 23 elephants being killed during 2006-07 against 16 the previous fiscal year.
However, the report said there was no definite trend in the poaching activity."Anti-poaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon patrolling, have been strengthen by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States," the ministry report added.The ministry said it had given assistance to the states for deployment of anti-poaching squads involving ex-army personnel and Home Guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people.
"Seventeen Tiger Reserves received 100% central assistance for the deployment of Tiger Protection Force, comprising of ex-army personnel and local workforce," it added.The ministry said a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau ('Wildlife Crime Control Bureau') was put in place from June 2007 comprising of officers from police, forest, customs and other law enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal trade in wildlife.The number of tigers in the wild has been fast dwindling in India. According to the latest tiger census released by the government on Feb 12, 2008, their number stands at 1,411, a dramatic fall from 3,642 in the 2001-02 census.

stories of poaching in India.-

( from internet )

Police show leopard skins that were confiscated from smugglers in New Delhi, India, on April 7, 2005.

September 2007: Poachers killed a rhino and escaped with its horn from Kaziranga National Park(KNP); this is the 17th Rhino killed by poachers in Kaziranga in the year 2007.

At these juncture what should we do???

may be first of all ask for better authorities to look after the wildlife in india.

the forest guards to be given somthing more then a" lathi " to protect the wild animals and even themselves from the well armed poachers equipped with ak-47.

"lets stop looking and start talking "

every single person can make a difference.

lets join hands to save our wild heritage.