Unlimited international calls by Skype


 Skype, is introducing its first plan for unlimited calls to overseas phones. For $9.95 per month the plan will allow unlimited calls to land-line phones in 34 countries. The countries encompassed include most of Europe, plus Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. Skype is a subsidiary of eBay. Inc. Skype is available in 27 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. According to Skype,subscribers called phones for 1.7 billion minutes in the first three months of the year.

Da Vinci a Slave’s son?

Leonardo da vinci According to compelling new evidence unveiled in Florence, Italy, Leonardo Da Vinci, regarded by many as the greatest genius of the Renaissance, was the son of a humble slave girl and had at least 21 half-siblings. It was common in Renaissance Florence to own slaves from the Middle East and the Balkans. At the time of Leonardo’s birth there were more than 550 slaves in Florence.

(Photo Source:flickr.com/photos/mr_g_travels)

Facebook,National Security Threat:Israel

Facebook Israeli security officials are not allowed anymore to publish confidential information on Facebook because it may become available to all the people who surf the Internet. A new list of rules announced by Defense Ministry on Israel aims to prevent soldiers and employees from revealing classified information on social networking sites. The officials say some soldiers have uploaded pictures of themselves with classified equipment, inadvertently revealing sensitive information.

Computer viruses reached one million

Anti Virus Internet security firm Symantec, reported in the latest edition of its bi-annual Internet Security Threat Report, that number of malicious programs has passed the 1 million mark for the first time. Almost two thirds of all malicious code threats currently detected were created during 2007 and the vast majority of them are aimed at PCs running Microsoft Windows.

Soyuz Landed 400km Off-target because of women?

rocket_launch.png The Russian Soyuz re-entry capsule, carrying the first South Korean astronaut back to Earth, suffered a “ballistic re-entry”, putting the capsule 400 km (250 miles) off-target. Russian Federal Space Agency chief Anatoly Perminov placed some of the blame on an old naval superstition.

“.. in the future, we will work somehow to ensure that the number of women will not surpass [the number of men].”

Related : South Korea’s first woman astronaout

420 : National Pot Smokers day.

Marijuana April 20th is National Pot Smokers day. Do you know, “four twenty”(420) is a term used in North America as a discreet way to refer to the consumption of Marijuana. Although many diverse theories exist to explain the origin of the term one central root of the phrase stems from a group of guys (Waldo’s) in the 1970’s made 4:20 their official meeting time to smoke marijuana after school. Phrases such as “420 friendly” sometimes appear in roommate advertisements, indicating that the current occupants are tolerant of cannabis users.

Scientology is a destructive rip off,Former spokesperson

Jason Beghe Film actor Jason Beghe, former Scientologist spokesperson says that he is lucky to be out of it now. He had a new segment of an interview up on YouTube but its been removed later. Beghe says that being brainwashed to be happy is worse than being depressed. He also mentioned that it’s not true that anyone in Scientology has achieved enlightenment and that the further up you get in the organization the worse it is for your mental health.

Vertical farm in NY

Vertical Farm New York magazine asked four architects to come up with ideas for the plot at Canal and Varick Streets, in New York city. Work AC came up with building a farm in the lot; a vertical farm. Work AC’s co-principal Dan Wood said “We are interested in urban farming and the notion of trying to make our cities more sustainable by cutting the miles [food travels]. Underneath the farm there will be a farmers market, selling what grows above.

(Photo Source:www.treehugger.com)

New Madrid Fault Lines Shaking: Illinois earthquake

Illionois Seismic activity along the New Madrid Fault lines on April 18 caused a massive earthquake in the Midwest states of Illinois and Indiana,United States. The earth quake did not result in major structural damage. The earthquake reached 5.2 on the Richter scale. The New Madrid Fault lines, also known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone or the Reelfoot Rift, runs across Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee. A group of scientists recently has been touting a theory that gauges the risks posed by the New Madrid fault as minimal.

Earth quake severity and Richter scale:
Under 6.0 At most slight damage to well-designed buildings. Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions.
6.1-6.9 Can be destructive in areas up to about 100 kilometers across where people live.
7.0-7.9 Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage over larger areas.
8 or greater Great earthquake. Can cause serious damage in areas several
hundred kilometers across.


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Good Rhythm And Intelligence

Ring Tone Researchers at the medical university Karolinska Institutet and Umeå University of Sweden, demonstrated a correlation between general intelligence and the ability to tap out a simple regular rhythm. But the task subjects performed had nothing to do with any musical rhythmic sense but simply measured the capacity for rhythmic accuracy. The study also revealed a correlation between high intelligence, a good ability to keep time, and a high volume of white matter in the parts of the brain’s frontal lobes involved in problem solving, planning and managing time.

Aztec used more advanced math

Aztec Stone Calendar The Aztec Empire of 1519 was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time, which stretched for more than 80,000 square miles through many parts of what is now central and southern Mexico. The civilization has long been recognized for its sophistication in architecture, engineering and astronomy. A recent research revealed the ancient Aztecs maintained an arithmetic system that was far more complex than previously understood.

Omega-3 boosts infant’s cognitive development

Omega 3 Omega-3 intake during the last months of pregnancy boosts an infant’s sensory, cognitive, and motor development, a new study by Université Laval revealed. Tests conducted on infants at 6 and 11 months revealed that their visual acuity as well as their cognitive and motor development were closely linked to a type of omega-3 fatty acid concentration in the umbilical cord blood at the time of their birth. Members of the research team believe, that all pregnant women should be encouraged to get sufficient amounts of omega-3s. The best sources for omega-3 fatty acids are oily fish, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, canola oil and soy.