Did you happen to look up the sky yesterday evening? If no, then you missed witnessing God's smile bestowed on us. Venus, Jupiter and crescent Moon formed a perfect smiley, in the sky.
I was completely unaware of this astronomical symmetry until I looked up by chance. Were there any previous occurences of the similar happening?
Click here for more Lines - Joined & Otherwise toons
Got this below article as a mail forward. I'm not sure of the authenticity.
Beginning --
I don't know what you guys are paying for petrol.... but here in Durban we are also paying higher, up to R7.35 per litre. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every litre.
Here at the Marian Hill Pipeline where I work in Durban , we deliver about 4 million litres in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline.
One day is diesel the next day is jet fuel, and petrol, LRP and Unleaded. We have 34-storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 litres.
Only buy or fill up your car or bakkie in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the fuel, when it gets warmer petrol expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your litre is not exactly a litre. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the petrol, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
When you're filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapours that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapour return. If you are pumping at a fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes
vapour. Those vapours are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you're getting less worth for your money.
One of the most important tips is to fill up when your tank is HALF FULL. The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space. Petrol evaporates faster than you can imagine. Petroleum storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact
amount.
Another reminder, if there is a fuel truck pumping into the storage
tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT fill up--most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred up as the fuel is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.
End.
Imagine this situation. You are born, grown up and lived for a long time in one country. And then you have to move to a different country for higher studies. In addition to this, having a blog to scribble down the daily happenings and a part time job to make a living. It sounds exciting if it's just for a day or two. But it's not an easy task for a longer period.
Elliot, a senior student at the University of the Philippines, who is in South Korea as an exchange student for one year in Daejeon University writes down his experiences in Korea and much more. Elliot wonderfully puts down the life in South Korea - he talks about his college life, friends, family, about culture & people of Korea, wonderful electronics gadgets. The list goes on and on. Before I continue wrting about his blog, go there yourself and have look in to his blog world.
Came across this on a public forum.
Join the Human Chain on Sunday, 22nd June 2008, 11.00 am at Agara Lake (Kormangala).
This is to protect and save the lakes of our city, which are being handed over to private developers.
Most people think "There'll be thousands of people there, it does not matter if I don't go". Unfortunately, most people's protest does not extend beyond their armchair, and you'll find that your presence does make a huge difference.
So please do take part yourself, bring kids, friends, relatives, and forward this email to as many people as you can.
Every person counts.
Brief Note on the issue: (Details are on www.esgindia.org/campaigns/Hebbal/Hebbal.html)
The Lake Development Authority plans to 'develop' lakes in Bangalore, by handing it over to private parties. Already, four prime water bodies - Agara Lake, Hebbal Lake, Vengaiah Kere and Nagawara Lakes have been leased out to commerical entities for a period of 15 years.
There is deep concern over the ongoing privatization as such development involves introduction of restaurants, kiosks, boating, water sports, jetty etc, as it has already been seen in the case of the Nagawara Lake by Lumbini Gardens Pvt Ltd, and by M/s Par C Systems in the case of Vengaih Kere. We are deeply distressed by this development as we find this unethical and counter to the objective of environment conservation and maintenance of lakes as our public commons. The kind of activities that have been allowed distance visitors from nature, and feed into a consumerist culture that we could well do without.
Incidentally, these lakes were comprehensively de-silted, restored and rehabilitated by grants from the Norwegian Government under the Indo-Norwegian Project and the National Lake Conservation Programme of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. As a result these lakes are fantastic water bodies and excellent habitats for birds - both migrating and local. In addition they support a wide diversity of flora and fauna, and support the livelihoods of tens of fishing families.
Over time, these lakes have been intensively used by all local residents and the general public for various purposes. While Agara is being used for walking, jogging and recreational purposes, Hebbal Lake has been used for customary and traditional occupations like fishing, grazing and irrigation. In addition, birdwatchers have been visiting these wetland habitats regularly documenting the excellent diversity of migratroy waterfowl. All these lakes, and Hebbal in particular, have been the subject of numerous scholars and researchers studying wetlands, birds, aquatic life and so on. Hebbal Lake has in fact, been repeatedly proposed for conservation as a bird refuge, and its watershed as a Regional Park (per the Lakshman Rau Committee Report 1988).
These water bodies are also critical open spaces for children of surrounding neighbourhoods whose sensibilities towards nature and its dynamics are also awakened by the easy access to such open spaces.
We sincerely believe that it is an unnecessary and damaging investment to now lease out these very lakes for advancing commercial interests. Besides being illegal this will take away our public commons and our natural heritage and will only benefit a few commercial entities. This loss will be dear and felt by present and future generations.
Keeping all this in view, we urge the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka-- which is hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by Environment Support Group (ESG) against privatisation of lakes-- that the programme of lake privatization must be abandoned. We strongly feel that lakes must be maintained as our common heritage, their maintenance undertaken with the cooperation of local communities and no activity inconsistent with the traditional and specific use of the water bodies should be allowed now or in the future.
As concerned individuals, we are keen to assist the Government of Karnataka and its agencies in any intervention that will ensure the protection and sustenance of our lakes systems.
Do join us in a symbolic event to be held on 22nd June 2008 at Agara Lake, Kormangala. Through the Human Chain we will symbolically express that we want to preserve and conserve our lakes for the current and the future generations.
