Broken/Crushed Rice Ladoos

INGREDIENTS:

• 250 gm. Broken/Crushed Rice
• 100 gm. Puffed Paddy(Lai / Khai in Oriya)
  

                                                                       Puffed Paddy

• 250 gm. Jaggery
• 100 gm. Curd
• 500 ml. Oil
• 500 ml. Water

PROCEDURE:

• Keep the broken rice in a bowl. Heat 100 ml. oil in a Pan and add that hot oil in the broken rice and mix it well.
• Heat a Pan in a medium  flame with 250 ml water and put the Jaggery and stir it continuously. Cook it until it becomes thick. Pour it in a bowl and keep aside.
• Soak the puffed paddy with little water to make it soft.
• Add the broken rice, soft puffed paddy and curd all together in a bowl little by little and mix well.
• Make small balls(ladoos) out of it and keep them aside.
• Heat rest of the oil(400 ml.) in a Pan in high flame. Once it becomes hot, lowers the flame. Now add the ladoos into the oil and fry it until they become little brown.
• Take out all the ladoos and add them into the above prepared thick Jaggery juice and mix slowly.
• After 15 minutes,take out all the ladoos from the Jaggery and keep for cooling in plate.
• Broken Rice ladoos are ready to eat. It can be used by keeping in an  air-tight container in refrigerator for  10 to 15 days.                                                                   

                                                                    
                                                           Broken Rice Ladoos

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iOS 7 – The New Version of Operating System From Apple

Introduction:
Since the day iPhone first launched in 2007, the look and feel of Apple's mobile operating system has remained largely unaltered. Although iOS has seen significant functional expansion and iterative design updates over the last six years, the user interface has been a constant.

But now, in face of increasing intense competition and leadership changes, Apple is making its first substantial leap into a new, more modern design with iOS 7. Yes, the iOS 7 has finally arrived. As announced last week, Apple on Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at the company's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) released a major update of the operating system that runs on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.

Apple's iOS 7 has been heralded by most as a flat design due to the lack of texture on app icons, the bare-bones fonts and the minimalistic menus. However, we don't think that's the right word to describe it, as Apple's new color palette, swooshy transitions and live wallpapers make iOS more vibrant and exciting than ever.

The new UI is a dramatic reimagining of the core of Apple’s mobile operating system for iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. The most obvious superficial change is a completely new visual appearance with a new emphasis on minimalism and simplicity. At the same time, iOS 7 is always in motion, with transitions and other effects almost everywhere you look in the OS.

What’s New in iOS 7:
The design of iOS 7's new elements was led by Jonathan "Jony" Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of Design, which comes up with the following new & interesting features:

• Camera: the iOS 7 comes up with a new Camera interface that supports the three previous photo modes (video, photo, and panoramic photo) as well as a new square photo mode. iOS 7 also offers live photo filter previewing with nine filters to choose from.

While the iPhone 5S will be the only device to offer Apple's new slow-motion video and burst photography features, older devices will be getting other upgrades to the camera app. With iOS 7, the viewfinder UI has been simplified.

Now with a simple swipe to the left or right anywhere on the screen, users can switch between the photo, video, and panorama modes. The rise of Instagram has influenced iOS 7, prompting Apple to add a new square photo mode and live photo filters. Overall, the camera app is not just easier to use, but faster to operate.

• Control Centre: One novel new addition to iOS in this iteration is the always-accessible Control Center, which allows for easy access and control of a number of the device settings and a few other thoughtful features like a flashlight.

If you swipe up from the bottom of any screen, including the lock screen, you'll see the Control Center. In the Control Center, you'll be able to quickly access the flashlight, alarms, calculator and camera. You'll also be able to adjust your device's brightness to save battery life; pause, play, or skip a song you're listening to; adjust your Wi-Fi and more.

Similar to the Notification Center, Control Center is available by scrolling up from the bottom of the screen and provides access to settings such as airplane mode and brightness, media controls, AirPlay and AirDrop, and shortcuts to several apps including a built-in flashlight, compass, calculator, and camera.
Control Center makes it effortless to manage. I often like to change tracks on the fly when listening to music, and while there was already quick access with a double tap of the home button or from the lock screen, Control Center provides a more consolidated view.

• Notification Centre: in the new iOS 7 it’s the most interesting feature. Where upwards swipes bring up Control Center, downwards ones give you the new Notification area.

Notification Centre lets you know about new mail, missed calls, to-dos that need doing and more. And a new feature called Today gives you a convenient summary of, well, today. One glance at your iPhone and you’ll know if it’s a certain someone’s birthday or if you’ll need an umbrella. You’ll even get a heads-up on tomorrow. You can access Notification Centre from any screen, including the Lock screen. Just swipe down. And get up to speed.

This is divided into three (swipeable) sections: Today, which summarises your calendar and tells you what the weather's doing; All, which records background app updates, push notifications and so on; and Missed, which as you might expect details any alerts you haven't acknowledged.

• AirDrop: A feature in iOS 7 that may prove to be very popular is AirDrop. It allows users who are near each other to quickly send one another pictures, videos and other items using either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. It's Apple's answer to a similar feature on Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. On top of that, transfers through AirDrop are encrypted, so you don't have to worry about the NSA or others spying.

With AirDrop, users only need to be concerned with the top two rows. Since we selected a video from the Photos app, other images and clips appear alongside as scrollable thumbnails. Users can choose from other photos in a library and send multiple files in a single AirDrop session. Each selected picture is ticked with a blue checkmark.
It lets you quickly and easily share photos, videos, contacts and anything else from any app with a Share button. Just tap Share, then select the person you want to share with. AirDrop does the rest using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. No setup required. And transfers are encrypted, so what you share is highly secure.

• Multitasking: Multitasking first appeared in iOS 4, but at the time it was limited: Only certain types of apps could run in the background, using Apple-approved frameworks for tasks such as audio, location, and uploading. In iOS 7, Apple has loosened the restrictions for multitasking and added a whole new user interface for switching between apps.

A double tap of the home button brings up a redesigned app switching view. In the past, the interface was limited to a small, expanded row of icons on the bottom of the screen. Now, the multitasking view takes over the entire screen and presents not only the icon, but a snapshot of the app's interface.

The change makes for not only a more appealing visual experience, but actually allows for quick reference. For example, if you're drafting an email and need to refer to information on a website, you can make quick reference of the Safari window from within the multitasking view. It may seem like a small change, but the impact on day-to-day efficiency is significant.

• Photos: Gallery app innovation has been at a standstill for years. Until now, the iPhone has just shown a grid of photos that you must endlessly scroll through. Now, in the iOS 7 the Photo app intelligently organizes your photos in some new ways. The default “Moments” view shows you your photos organized by day (and labeled by location).

If you back out a level into the “Collections” view, the app bundles them more broadly, again by date taken and location. Finally, a new “Years” view shows you every picture you took in an entire year. Cooler still, you can hold your thumb over the collection of pictures to preview individual photos and jump right to them. This app is great and we hope other phones follow Apple’s lead.
Tap “Years" and all your shots fill the screen. Each year holds Collections, like your trip to California. And in that Collection are distinct Moments — photos of Hollywood Boulevard, videos of San Francisco Bay. So you can find a shot from whenever, wherever, in no time.

• Safari: Now you can do browsing in a bigger, better and faster way through Safari in iOS7.

The first thing you'll likely encounter that's different is the address bar. As you can see there are no longer two different text fields, one for entering a URL and one for search. Instead Apple has combined the two fields into one Smart Search field.
Another new screen in Safari—on both the iPhone and the iPad—is the Shared Links section. You can access it by first tapping on the bookmarks button, and then on the @ button. The resulting screen lists any Twitter posts, tweeted by people you follow, that contain a URL.

• iTunes Radio: in the iOS 7 along with new UI, the new music interface also integrates Apple's iTunes Radio service, which initially launched in the United States. Launch in Europe will follow later. iTunes Radio is a Pandora-like service that streams music similar to a selected artist or song. iTunes Radio is ad-supported.

The new Music app handles creating Genius playlists differently. Where once you went to a track’s Now Playing screen on an iPhone or iPod touch and tapped a Genius button to create a playlist of related tracks, you now go to the Now Playing screen and tap a Create entry on the bottom of the screen.
A menu appears with three options—Genius Playlist, New Station From Artist, and New Station From Song. Tap Genius Playlist and the app will create a playlist of 25 related tracks. This playlist appears when you tap the Playlists button, not the Genius button. You can’t create Genius Playlists from tracks playing through iTunes Radio.

PROS of iOS 7: iOS 7 is bundled with hidden features and tricks that let iPhone and iPad users get more out of their device with the newest software. Following are some examples of those:

• Better Do Not Disturb Options:If you haven’t already started using Do Not Disturb, iOS 7 is the perfect time to turn on this sanity saving feature.

• A unified screen to quickly access toggles and controls for system settings and services, and for using AirDrop and AirPlay.

• Block Calls and Text in iOS 7: if you want to block calls or texts on the iPhone you need something more. In iOS 7 there is an option to block calls, texts and FaceTime from a specific contact.

• Providing iOS control to in-car control systems on some car models by selected vendors from 2014.
• Shoot Multiple Photos in semi-Burst Mode: Holding down the shutter button on the iPhone 5 with IOS 7 will shoot about three photos per second, a far cry from the 10 per second on the iPhone 5s.
• Includes Siri integration (eyes-free/hands-free modes), satellite navigation, telephony, music, and iMessage integration.

• Smarter Updating of Apps: With Background App Refresh in iOS 7 your apps can be updated smarter based on the connection you have and it should eventually learn when is the best time to update information.

• Apple boosts iTunes Radio's ability to learn from users' actions and hone in on their musical tastes — stations "evolve based on the music you play and download.

• Zoom While Shooting Video: the most interesting one. Users can zoom in while taking video on the iPhone 5 with a pinch to zoom gesture. To do this just pinch on the video while recording or when setting up your shot.

• Accessible on every page of the Home screen by swiping downward from anywhere.

• Swipe Up To Dismiss Notifications: To dismiss a notification just push up on it and it will slide away. You can also pull down to go straight to the Notification Center in iOS 7.

CONS of iOS 7: despite having some very good highlights and new updates, but still iOS7 has no. of loopholes, which need to be optimized. Following are some of them.

• No Home Button Swipe: everything about the iOS 7 experience is gesture-based, but when you want to go back to the main screen, you have to press the home button.
• AirDrop support too fragmented: Great feature but only works with the iPhone 5 and newer, the iPad (fourth-generation and later) and iPad Mini, and the iPod touch (fifth generation and later).
• Charger & Battery issues: iOS 7 has the ability to both refresh app data and update apps automatically in the background, but my limited testing suggests this is very heavy on the battery. Also with the new iOS, this note pops up on screen: "This is not an authorized Apple product and may not be reliable.
• Folder views only show nine icons: While the number of icons that a folder can hold has been increased, only nine icons are shown at any one time. This is a poor use of screen real estate and forces users to swipe unnecessarily.
• Notifications panel is too big: It's too big and doesn't present enough at-a-glance data.
• Poor response to touch: Finding myself having to tap and then retap often. More of a problem on the iPad.

Conclusion:
Though having few drawbacks, Apple says there are 200 new features in iOS 7, so there plenty more to explore and enjoy. It’s easy to think that the software is simply iOS 6 with a fresh coat of flat paint but I think that’s a short-sighted observation. The more you’ll use iOS7, the more you’ll get impressed by its updates & exciting,new features.

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The Most Basic Skincare Routine

Everyone wants healthy and glowing skin. While some people are blessed with flawless skin, most of us do different trials to  get that natural glow. Before trying some expensive new cream or revolutionary procedure, you should consider your basic skincare routine. To keep your face looking as youthful as possible, you need  proper skin care. 

Basic skincare routine

Any skincare expert will stress on first getting the basics right. So simple as it may sound, we thought we’d give you a step-by-step breakdown of what your basic skincare routine should be. These days, high-quality skincare products are available at any drugstore, formulated for oily, normal or dry skin types. While the individual ingredients of each product may differ depending on what your skin needs, a basic skin care regime involves four simple steps: cleansing,exfoliating, toning, moisturizing.

Cleansing

The most basic  skincare routine is cleansing. It removes excess oil and impurities from your skin and helps improve its health and radiance. Proper cleansing to remove dirt, makeup and pollution should be the core of every skin care routine. The biggest mistake most of us make in this step is that we either under-cleanse or over-cleanse. Experts suggest that for those with normal skin, cleansing your face twice a day is optimum – once in the morning and once at night, before going to bed. The latter is especially important, as you want to get rid of the day’s grime and any make up or lotions that you may have had on.
Remember to find a good soap-free cleanser for your skin and avoid very cold or very hot water to wash your face.

Exfoliating

Exfoliation refers to the removal of dead skin cells from the top of the skin. If you start properly exfoliating your skin, you will notice an almost immediate difference. While some skin experts believe that too much exfoliation is bad for the skin, as it can strip away essential oils, most believe that exfoliating once a week is a good practice.
Varieties of scrubs are available in the market according to skin type. Find a scrub that suits your skin and use just a little bit once a week to clear dead cells and hidden impurities. If you prefer to go natural, you could even try making some home made scrubs and gently exfoliate for natural, glowing skin. 
 
Toning
 
Toning is an important second step that completes the cleansing process, yet many people choose to leave this step out. A toner is a liquid that helps to close the pores on your skin, to avoid attracting dirt, remove any remaining bits of oil and to give your skin a tighter, firmer look. Toning should be considered an important part of the cleansing process. Many women swear by this step and almost every major cosmetic brand makes a toner.
However, there are experts who believe that toners should be strictly optional. Try using a toner for a few days and decide for yourself if you want to add it to your skincare routine or not.

Moisturising 

Moisturising your skin is an absolutely essential step of your skincare regimen.The job of a moisturizer is to attract moisture and to protect the skin on your face by forming a barrier that holds in the water that's already there. By using a moisturizer, you can stop your skin from losing its hydration and allow it to put the moisture it does have to good use. Depending on your skin type(dry, normal or oily), find a moisturiser that works for you. Typically, people with very dry skin should go in for a creamy moisturiser and those with oily skin could get a water-based one. For your day needs, get a moisturiser with an SPF(Sun Protection Factor), as that can double up as a  sunscreen as well.

Also remember to moisturise at night, after you’ve thoroughly cleansed your face.

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Navratri – The Festival of Nine Divine Nights and its Significance

What is Navratri Festival:
"Nava-ratri" literally means "nine nights." This festival is basically observed twice a year, once in the beginning of summer and again at the onset of winter though it comes five times in a year but we generally celebrate the above said two times. 

Navratri is the sacred and joyous festival of the Hindu community of India. Observed over a period of nine nights, the festival is famous almost throughout the country for its religious and social importance. It is devoted to the worship of the divine Mother in various forms under different names by different people.

Like any other Hindu festival, Navratri has a spiritual message for its observers. This nine-day festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil and exhorts mankind to wake up from the slumber of ignorance, remove all negativities, purify the mind and cultivate positive virtues. This alone can help one gain the necessary spiritual knowledge to transcend all earthly limitations and achieve salvation - the highest goal of human life. This in fact, is the underlying theme of the whole of the Vedas (the ancient Hindu religious texts).

'Nav' means 'nine' and 'ratri' means 'night'. Thus, 'Navratri' means 'nine nights'. There are many legends attached to the conception of Navratri like all Indian festivals. All of them are related to Goddess Shakti (Hindu Mother Goddess) and her various forms. It is one of the most celebrated festivals of Hindu calendar, it holds special significance for Gujratis and Bengalis and one can see it in the zeal and fervor of the people with which they indulge in the festive activities of the season. Dandiya and Garba Rass are the highlights of the festival in Gujarat, while farmer sow seeds and thank the Goddess for her blessings and pray for better yield. In older times, Navratri was associated with the fertility of Mother Earth who feed us as her children.

There are different pujas and ceremonies performed on each of the nine days, most notably is fasting on the eighth day and then the immersion of Goddess Durga’s image in holy rivers on Dusshera, which falls on the day right after Navratri ends (the 10th day).

Indian tradition is one of the few traditions in which the Feminine aspect of the divine is worshipped with as much reverence as the Masculine aspect. Throughout India you will see thousands of temples dedicated to various manifestations of the Divine Mother. You will find hundreds of thousands of people who are “Shakti worshippers.”


Significance of Navratri:
During Navaratri, we invoke the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, commonly referred to as "Durga," which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction.

In other words, you can say that God is motionless, absolutely changeless, and the Divine Mother Durga, does everything. Truly speaking, our worship of Shakti re-confirms the scientific theory that energy is imperishable. It cannot be created or destroyed. It is always there.


The festival signifies the nine glorious aspects of the Divine Mother and is celebrated not only in India but in many parts of the world. Mother Goddess is also called Shakti, the energy of God. She is the energy of the trinity, as the creative aspect of Lord Brahma, sustaining aspect of Lord Vishnu and destructive aspect of Lord Shiva are all encompassed within Her.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess:
We think this energy is only a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. "Why mother; why not father?", you may ask. Let me just say that we believe that God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, all of us look upon God as mother.

In fact, Hinduism is the only religion in the world, which gives so much importance to the mother aspect of God because we believe that mother is the creative aspect of the absolute.

According to one story, Goddess Parvati went to her father's house to stay there for few days. On this occasion, to express love to her, King Himachal the father of Parvatiji announced celebration of her welcome as a festival. She started her journey on 1st day of full moon of Ashwin month, and she stayed at father's house for 3 days, i.e. 7th, 8th and 9th day of full moon of Ashwin month. And then she returned back. That's why last three days of Navratri are most important days for her worship.

Navratri Festival According to Devi Puran :
According to Devi Puran, during the battle of Lord Ram and Demon King Ravana, Lord Brahma as a Guru of Lord Ram awakened the Mother Goddess during her time of sleeping. It was 8th day of waning moon of Ashwin month. Goddess Durga wake up and stated the procedure of her worship during Navratri. She said that a devotee should awake her on 8th day (or ninth day with combination of Ardra Nakshatra) of waning moon of Ashwin month. He has to perform all general worship daily.

When Navratri starts from 1st day of waxing moon of Ashwin month, then he should do special worship for nine days, i.e. upto 9th day of waxing moon of Ashwin month. A devotee who perform this special worship during nine days of Navratri, and celebrated it as a festival, he becomes free from all bondages and gets all prosperity. In Navratri, Lord Ram worshipped her and successfully killed the Demon King Ravana on 10th day.

Navratri Festival According to Durga Saptashati :
Navratri Festival celebration is described by Goddess Durga in Durga Saptashati Granth. After killing Demon Kings Shumbh and Nishumbh, all deities praised Goddess Durga. Goddess Durga pleased and asked Deities to get a boon. Deities said, "O Mother Goddess! Please always remove our all obstacles and enemies like this to establish peace everywhere." Mother Goddess gave them this boon and said about her worship during Navratri Festival. She said that, a devotee must do her annual worship during Navratri, i.e. from 1st day of waxing moon of Ashwin month to 9th day of waxing moon of Ashwin month.

By doing so, She please as much as she please with worship for continuous one year, perfectly following methodology of her worship. By Celebrating Navratri Festival, she is so pleased that she removes all obstacles in life, protects everywhere, all enemies give up their enmity, a devotee doesn't has to suffer separation of his/her loved ones, gets all kinds of prosperity and finally goes to her adobe after leaving body.

One more scientific reason behind Navratri Festival is that it the new harvesting season. So farmers pray Earth as Mother Goddess to give good crop for the whole year.

When Navratri is Celebrated:
Navratri and Navratri Festival, these are two different things. According to Hindu Calendar, Navratri comes 5 times in a year, while two out of those five Navratris are celebrated as festivals, which comes in Ashwin month and Chaitra month. Five Navratris are as follows :

• Chaitra Navratri : Chaitra Navratri comes in Chaitra month according to Hindu Calendar. This Navratri is also known as Vasanti Navratri because of the season Vasant (Spring, in month March-April). Chaitra Navratri is celebrated from 1st day of waxing moon to 9th day of waxing moon of Chaitra Month. This Navratri is celebrated as Navratri Festival. On it's 9th day, birthday of Lord Ram is celebrated. This Navratri is also known as Bodhan Navratri, because Goddess is awakened at this time.
• Ashadi Gupta (Secret) Navratri : Ashadi Navratri is Gupta or Secret Navratri in which saadhak (devotee) perform very special rituals to attain some siddhi. Generally, this Navratri is not for all common people. Ashadi Navratri starts from 1st day of waxing moon of Ashad month and ends on 9th day of waxing moon of Ashad month (June-July month).
• Shardiya Navratri : Shardiya Navratri is celebrated as annual festival. Shrdiya Navratri comes in Ashwin month, Sharad Ritu (Autumn season). This Navratri starts from 1st day of waxing moon of Ashwin month and ends on 9th day of waxing moon of Ashwin Month. It is also known as Shayan Navratri, because this the time of sleeping of Mother Goddess.
• Paush Navratri : Paush navratri is also known as Shakambhari Navratri, dedicated to Goddess Shakambhari. This Navratri starts from 8th day of waxing moon of Paush month and ends on 15th day of waxing moon (poornima) of Paush month.
• Magha Gupta Navratri : Magha Navratri is Gupta Navratri. This Navratri starts from 1st day of waxing moon of Magha month and ends on 9th day of waxing moon of Magha month. Similar to Ahsadi Navratri it is for all. Sadhak do special worship to attain Siddhis.

Why Celebrated Twice in A Year:
Every year the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter are two very important junctures of climatic change and solar influence. These two junctions have been chosen as the sacred opportunities for the worship of the divine power because:

1. We believe that it is the divine power that provides energy for the earth to move around the sun, causing the changes in the outer nature and that this divine power must be thanked for maintaining the correct balance of the universe.
2. Due to the changes in the nature, the bodies and minds of people undergo a considerable change, and hence, we worship the divine power to bestow upon all of us enough potent powers to maintain our physical and mental balance. 

 Why Nine Nights and Days :
Navaratri is divided into sets of three days to adore different aspects of the supreme goddess. On the first three days, the Mother is invoked as powerful force called Durga in order to destroy all our impurities, vices and defects.

The next three days, the Mother is adored as a giver of spiritual wealth, Lakshmi, who is considered to have the power of bestowing on her devotees the inexhaustible wealth.

The final set of three days is spent in worshipping the mother as the goddess of wisdom, Saraswati. In order have all-round success in life, we need the blessings of all three aspects of the divine mother; hence, the worship for nine nights.

How is Navratri Festival Celebrated:
Navaratri festival celebration begins with the rituals of “Ghata Sthapana or installing Kalash of Holy Water”. On Navratri, all Durga (forms of Durga) temples are decorated beautifully with flowers, petals, leaves etc and kalash is installed near idol of Goddess Durga. Idols of Goddess Durga are decorated with beautiful ornaments, flowers etc.

Special Aartis and other devotional songs with love and devotion are sung by groups of devotees. On Navratri, all people at their home, worship Goddess Durga. All people start the Navratri festival with Ghat Sthapna at thier homes. Then devotees offers flowers, lamp, sweets, sacred water etc. to please Goddess Durga. Devotees keep fast during Navratri. They eat only one time for nine days.

There are Nine forms of Goddess Durga, that a devotee worships during Navratri. According to Hindu Mythology the Nine forms are:

• First Day            : Shailputri
• Second Day       : Brahmcharini
• Third Day          : Chandraghanta
• Fourth Day        : Kushmanda
• Fifth Day            : Skandhmata
• Sixth Day           : Katyayani
• Seventh Day     : Kalratri
• Eighth Day        : Mahagauri
• Ninth Day          : Siddhidatri

Nine forms of Goddess Durga

The nine days of the festival also represent the three stages through which one passes on the spiritual path. During the first three days, the Goddess Dugra is worshipped in her powerful, destructive, terrifying aspect. Many people, when beginning the spiritual path, have an inherent fear of God; therefore this first phase of Navaratri represents the first stage of a spiritual path. 

During these three days, the devotee prays to the Mother to use Her destructive power to destroy his imperfections and his faults. He prays for Her to make him pure enough to receive the divine energy. Additionally, this terrifying aspect of the Divine is the one who protects the new spiritual seeker on his path. Thus, the first three days of Navratri are devoted to annihilating the negative tendencies of our minds and hearts.

The second three days of Navaratri are days in which the Mother is worshipped in Her prosperity-bestowing form.  Once the negative tendencies have been annihilated, one is ready to begin developing a positive, spiritual personality. These are the days that positive attributes replace the negative attributes which were removed. 

These days are the worship of Goddess Maha Lakshmi, the bestower of prosperity.  On the spiritual path, after people overcome the fear of God, they frequently pray for material wealth or external prosperity. They pray for success in their ventures and for the removal of obstructions in their path. The prosperity Maha Laxmi bestows is not merely material prosperity, but it is also all of the qualities which a sincere spiritual seeker craves - calmness, peace, equanimity, compassion, love.

During the last three days, Goddess Saraswati is worshipped as the bestower of true wisdom and understanding. Once the devotee has been purified by Goddess Durga and has had his vices annihilated, and once he has had the spiritual wealth of inner peace, calmness, compassion and love bestowed upon him by Maha Laxmi, then he is ready to receive the true light of understanding. This wisdom can not come unless the devotee has passed through the first two stages. Just as one would not pour divine nectar into an unclean, broken and impure cup, one can similarly not expect to have divine wisdom granted unless the vessel has been purified and made divine.

During Navratri, the Rasa (dance of joy) of Shree Krishna and the Gopis is also enacted. This dance symbolizes the dance of Realisation which represents the joy and happiness of the mind that becomes purer and calmer due to a greater understanding of the nature of the Inner Self.

The Ninth day of Navaratri is celebrated as Ayudha pooja which has a special significance. It is held to be the time when the Pandava brothers retrieved their weapons that they had stashed in a Shami tree during the last year of their 13 year exile. On this day, all articles that are used for progress and prosperity of mankind are worshipped. People worship their work-tools, household appliances and their vehicles on this day.

The festival concludes in Dusshera or Vijayadasami. According to popular belief, Dussehra celebrates the victory of Goddess Durga over the wicked demon Mahishasura who, according to legend, belonged to Mysore. It is also believed that the festival actually commemorates the killing of the great demon king of Lanka, Ravan, by Lord Rama. Both Mahishasura and Ravan are demons and their execution is a symbol of the destruction of the evil that resides within our mind. Navaratri represents the triumph of good over evil.

                                                 Goddess Durga Killing The Demon Mahishasura

Conclusion:
Navarati should be a time of not only celebrating Goddess Durga’s triumph over the evil demon, but rather it should also be a time of praying to Goddess Durga to remove the evil from within us, not only the evil in the external world. We must pray to her to annihilate our inner enemies — our ego, our greed, our anger — just as she vanquished the evil demon.  These traits inside us are just as powerful, just as insidious, and just as deadly as any of the asuras or demons.

Let us note also that Goddess Durga wears red, which symbolizes divine action. The Goddess is never idle. She is always busy in the destruction of evil in the world. As we vow to remove the evil from our own hearts and our own lives, we must be just as vigilant, just as active and just as conscientious.   We must never become complacent; for anger, greed, ego, and lust are always present, always lurking, and always ready to make home in welcoming hearts.

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Dual Piezoelectric Cooling Jets(DCJ) - The Cooling Technology From General Electric (GE)

As electronics get smaller, faster, and more powerful, the devices we count on in our everyday connected lives tend to get hotter, requiring some kind of cooling device. Laptops have enough room for a fan to extract heat from the CPU and memory modules, but sometimes these can become noisy.

Additionally, fans take up a lot of space, which means that the thickness of a laptop can be limited. This also means that fans are unlikely to be found in the latest in mobile computing solutions, Smartphones and tablet computers. Still, these devices also tend to heat up during use.

For years, there have been scads of applications and gizmos based on piezoelectric materials. What has most recently grabbed the attention of all is a new technology based ventilating system developed by GE Global Research.

The new cooling technology developed by General Electric based on electric cooling elements originally developed for use in jet engines promises to provide extremely compact, efficient cooling for future electronic devices.

Dubbed Dual Piezoelectric Cooling Jets, or DCJ, the system works as a system of of bellows providing high-velocity jets of air to cool components down far more efficiently than just convection alone. So far, so like the high-tech wizardry known as a 'fan' - but DCJ coolers are half the thickness and use half the energy while operating in almost complete silence.

What is a Piezoelectric Fan:
Piezoelectric, as derived from Greek root words, means pressure and electricity. There are certain substances, both naturally occurring and man-made, which will produce an electric charge from a change in dimension and vice-versa. Such a device is known as a piezoelectric transducer (PZT), which is the prime mover of a piezoelectric fan. When electric power, such as AC voltage at 60 Hz is applied, it causes the PZT to flex back and forth, also at 60 Hz.

The magnitude of this motion is very tiny, so to amplify it, a flexible shim or cantilever, such as a sheet of Mylar, is attached and tuned to resonate at the electrical input frequency. Since piezoelectric fans must vibrate, they must use a pulsating or alternating current (AC) power source. Standard 120 V, 60 Hz electricity, just as it is delivered from the power company, is ideal for this application, since it requires no conversion.

Driving the fan at resonance minimizes the power consumption of the fan while providing maximum tip deflection. The cantilever is tuned to resonate at a particular frequency by adjusting its length or thickness. The PZT itself also has a resonant frequency, so the simplistic concept of adjusting only the cantilever dimensions to suit any frequency may still not yield optimum performance. (Conceivably, tuning the electrical input frequency to match existing cantilever dimensions may work, though with the same caveat, that the resonant frequencies of all the components must match, within reason.

The Piezoelectric fans are gaining in popularity as low-power-consumption and low-noise devices for the removal of heat in confined spaces.

What is a DCJ:
The Dual Piezoelectric Cooling Jets, or DCJ consist of two pieces of metal disc with piezo elements on either size. The piezo is actuated with an AC signal, making the device pump air, much like how bellows work. Using a higher frequency, for example a few hundred Hertz, yields a substantial airflow.
The device can be scaled and modified according to application needs. The researchers tested the technology on an ultrabook laptop, replacing the cooling fan with their dual piezoelectric cooling jet.


GE touts its cooling solution as measuring just 4mm (less than a quarter of an inch), half that of existing coolers. It also runs more quietly without fan blades. These characteristics make such a system very desirable for ultraslim devices such as ultraportable laptops and tablets. The technology was originally conceived to cool jet engines (CNET got an early look at piezoelectric technology two years ago at GE Research) but it seems the company has made much progress adapting it since.

When an alternating current is passed through the ceramic component, it expands and contracts at up to 150 times per second so that the nickel discs act like a bellows. When the piezoelectric material constricts, the edges of the two nickel discs are pushed together so that they bend away from each other and suck in hot air from the surrounding area. Then, when the piezoelectric material expands, the nickel discs come together and the air is expelled from the center at high velocity.

The DCJ is running at 200hz, moves more air than a standard fan, while using less electricity, increasing battery life. The cooling jet is also quiet, which will make laptop users happy. Finally, and probably most impressive, the new cooling jet is thin enough that it could find its way into even thinner laptops or tablet computers, enhancing cooling without sacrificing weight, thickness, or silence.

Advantages of Piezoelectric DCJ:

• Low Cost: It is developed from a inexpensive ceramic type material. It also doesn’t require any bearing as there is no rotary parts. So the operating cost is low as of Simple Circuitry.
• Low Power & Low Noise: Power consumption is very less around 10 times less than the conventional fan. It gives a high efficiency conversion of greater than 99%. Also Operating frequency is less than 100 Hz, there by produces low noise.
• Performance & Reliability: Can cool low power components and accommodate to low z-height. Highly reliable in performance.
• Low Operating Voltage
• Small in Size
• Small Form Factor

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Amla - Its Uses And Medicinal Benefits

The Indian Gooseberry Amla is a fruit and its juice have immense nutritional value and many health benefits. Botanically, this extremely sour little fruit is known as Emblica Officinalis. Though you may not find its taste appealing, don't be quick to dismiss it. It is abundant in nutrients and packed with the power of Vitamin C.

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                         Amla


Amla is a deciduous medium sized tree with edible fruit. The fruits are hard and spherical in shape with six vertical stripes or furrows. Amla fruit is fibrous and tastes slightly bitter, astringent and very sour. Amla can be consumed either as raw or its juice, powder, pickle and candy etc. The powder of the dried amla fruit is an efficient remedy of hyperacidity, ulcers and blood impurities.
 
Use And Benefits of Amla:

• Amla strengthens the body, removes toxin from the body and improves defence mechanism of the body.
• Amla is enriched in vitamins which helps in improving better eye sight. It also counters diseases like itching and watering of eyes.
• By taking fresh amla juice in between meals, dispells the weakness of the body, spirit and mind.
• Massaging the head with amla oil, induces sound sleep. Amla is a great option to relieve stress and therefore useful in treating sleeping disorders like Insomnia.
• Amla works as a hair tonic and is an essential ingredient for hair care. It not just helps in strengthening the roots of hair, but also enriches hair growth. It also prevents dandruff and premature graying of hair.
• Insert 2-4 amla juice drops into every nostril to cure bleeding for nose.
• Amla helps in regulation of Blood Sugar.
• Amla is a wonderful antioxidant and a useful Source of Vitamin C. People suffering from Vitamin C deficiency can get benefit by eating amlas. On the other hand, Vitamin C, taken in the form of supplements, is not easily absorbed by the body, unlike when taken in a natural form.
• Amla is a powerful fruit for the brain.
• Studies show that amla helps in inferior cholesterol.
• Amla upholds the functioning of the liver.
• Amla increases Hemoglobin, Red blood cell(RBC) count.
• Amla can be useful in Cough, Bronchitis, Asthma. Winter brings along its share of Cold and Cough. To cure this, prepare a mixture of two tablespoons of amla with an equal amount of honey and have this three to four times a day.
• Amla strengthens  both teeth and jaw. Also daily intake of amla juice helps in fighting bad breath. To seek relief from painful mouth ulcers, simply gargle with a mixture of water and amla juice.
• Amla juice is helpful in relieving constipation and  piles.
• Consuming Gooseberry or amla powder with butter and honey before meal helps a lot in improving appetite.
• Drinking amla juice with honey in the morning to get that perfect glow on your face and blemish free skin.
• Amla strengthens heart muscles and is a remedy for heart problems.
• Intaking Amla frequently prevents cancer, because they are also rich in antioxidants, which protects against the formation of free radicals in the body.
• Amla contains an anti-inflammatory properties, which helps in reducing the swelling in the joints caused by arthritis.

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How to Hard Reset Different Smartphones

Now a days people are using different types of Smartphones, whether it may works on Google's Android OS or Apple's iOS or Nokia's Symbian or Blackberry Ltd's BlackBerry OS or Samsung's Bada or Microsoft's Windows Phone.

While using these phones, sometimes you need to get your phone back to its factory settings. This would typically happen when your Smartphone gets slow, freezing, not responsive, responding incorrectly, or you can’t remember the phones password? You’re in luck! There is still a pretty powerful option available, and that is to perform a hard reset, also known as an alternate reset, on the device.

Following are the instructions for various types of phone to do Hard Reset.
Before doing Hard Reset, please keep in mind the following two things.

• Before doing Hard Reset, you must’ve taken the backup of your phone data, as hard reset removes all data from the device.
• Make sure that the device is powered off.

Hard Reset for Windows Smartphone:


First Method:

• Go to “Start Screen > Applications list > Settings”.
• Scroll to the bottom and choose “About”.
• Press “Reset your phone” and then tap on “Yes”.

Second method:

• Press and hold the “Camera + Volume Down + Power” buttons simultaneously.
• Release the “Power” button when the phone vibrates, but continue to hold down the “Camera” and “Volume Down” buttons.
• Release the “Camera” and “Volume Down” button when the “Format prompt” is displayed on screen.
• Press the “Windows” button twice to confirm.

Hard Reset for Android Smartphone:


First Method:

• Select "Settings" from your Application menu.
• Scroll to the bottom and choose “Factory Data Reset”. If not getting directly, then go to “Backup and Reset”, and then choose “Factory Data Reset”.
• Select “Reset phone” or “Reset device”.
• Select "Erase Everything" when shown the warning that a reset will erase all personal data from your device. Your Android cell phone make take up to 5 minutes to completely restore.

Second method:

• Be ensure that the phone is powered off.
• Press hold the Vol + button and keep it pressed while additionally press the Power button. Keep both pressed until a text-menu appears.
• Press the Volume Down key to navigate down through the options until it highlights FACTORY RESET then press the Power key to select it.

Hard Reset for iPhone:
 
First Method:

• Back up and save your personal data.
• Tap on "Settings" from the home screen of your iPhone.
• Tap "General Settings" from the list of options provided.
• Tap on "Reset."
• Select "Erase All Content and Settings".

Second method:

• Begin by holding the “sleep/wake” button at the top right of the device and the “Home button” at the bottom center of the face at the same time.
• Hold them both until you see the screen go black. In some cases, you may need to keep holding them even after the red power-off slider appears. If it appears, just keep holding it.
• Wait until the silver Apple logo appears.
• When this happens, you can let go - the iPhone is rebooting.
• Don't be alarmed that it takes quite a while to load from the Apple logo to the main screen. This is normal.

Hard Reset for Blackberry Smartphone:
If you are using a BlackBerry Smartphone that does not contain a QWERTY keyboard such as the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 Smartphone, you can only perform a hard reset as a soft reset isn’t possible. The Hard Reset method of resetting a BlackBerry Smartphone applies to every BlackBerry Smartphone.


To perform a Hard reset, complete the following steps.

• Remove the battery cover from the back of the BlackBerry Smartphone.
• Remove the battery, wait up to 30 seconds and then reinsert it after a few seconds
• Replace the battery cover.

To perform a Soft reset, complete the following steps.

• Press and hold the Alt key.
• While holding down the Alt key, press and hold the Right Shift key.
• With both of those buttons still pressed, press the Backspace/Delete key.
• When the screen turns off to indicate that the BlackBerry Smartphone is restarting, you can then release the keys you have been holding.
• Now Check it is functioning.

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Digital Autopsy – Soon Scanners will Replace Scalpels

There has been considerable publicity generated regarding the analysis of the “Virtual Mummy” at the British Museum in year 2004. The technique which was used to visualize and analyze the mummified remains of people who died thousands of years ago and it is only a small leap of faith to envisage these and similar techniques being utilized to answer questions about the bodies of people who died only hours or days ago. This is the concept behind Digital visualization technology or commercially promoted as Digital Autopsy by INFOVALLEY.

Digital Autopsy – an innovative technique designed to replace the century-old post-mortem examination – has been introduced in Kuala Lumpur and will arrive to the UK within months.

Connecting a conventional CT or MRI scanner to a 3D imaging software tool developed by Malaysian company iGene, pathologists can display and examine cadavers in a much cleaner fashion than conventional scalpel-based methods allow.
Using a large touchscreen to display the body's 3D image, they can zoom into areas of the corpse they want to study in greater detail and remove layers of clothes and tissues without having to cut them.

Concept of Digital Autopsy:
Digital autopsy software exploits the power of existing 2D and 3D imaging and visualization equipment to observe and investigate the human body using high definition imagery.

The man behind this project’s concept, Malaysian entrepreneur Matt Chandran, CEO of iGene, a subsidiary of the InfoValley Group, believes Digital Autopsy will prove cheaper, faster, more efficient and more respectful to emotions of relatives of the deceased.

He believes his so-called digital autopsy could largely displace the centuries-old traditional knife-bound one, speeding up investigations, reducing the stress on grieving families and placating religious sensibilities. He is confident there’s money in what he calls his Autopsy as a Service, and hopes to launch the first of at least 18 digital autopsy facilities in Britain in October, working closely with local authorities.

As per chandran, reducing family trauma and “placating religious sensibilities” are key driving factors in move toward minimally invasive autopsies. Other benefits include secure retrieval of data, both binary and 3D imaging, from central servers as well as the ability for law courts, forensic centers and hospitals to easily access that data. There is also the capacity to gear the digital autopsy platform to educating medical professionals and students in simulated diagnostics.

Whilst autopsy rates have drastically fallen since the 1950’s when 60 percent of deaths were investigated on the slab, there are still autopsies carried out in 10-20 percent of deaths. In America alone, there are over 100,000 malpractice suits filed every year that require investigation. Autopsies are carried out, usually by pathologists, for either legal or medical reasons. A forensic autopsy is undertaken if the cause of death indicates a possible crime has been committed. Clinical or academic autopsies are authorized to ascertain the medical cause of death and used in cases when the cause of death is unknown or for research purposes.

Additional non-invasive diagnostic tools such as angiography and toxicology are also integrated into the digital autopsy facility which uses existing medical scanners from the likes of Siemens, General Electric, Toshiba and Philips. Chandran plans to open 18 facilities in England starting in October 2013, positioning them close to UK mortuaries. He plans to charge $780 (£500) for the service which would be optional over a state paid traditional autopsy.

A typical up-to-date MSCT scanner either Computerized Tomography (CT/CAT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) costs in the region of $80,000 to $300,000 and can go up in price to $1.2 million depending on features. iGene has indicated that it will invest up to $77 million in the project and has received funding from Agensi Inovasi Malaysia (AIM) to the tune of $22.7 million.

There are skeptics to the digital autopsy but Chandran has big dreams including the possibility of scanning every living soul that goes in for a medical checkup. Waiting six weeks to get a MRI scan from the National Health Service (NHS) in UK and another month for the results is not unheard of, giving rise to potential spinoffs beyond the scope of the digital autopsy.

Benefits of Digital Autopsy:
There are loads of benefits in Digital Autopsy. Those includes following:

• The visualization techniques to autopsy enable Forensic Pathologists or Forensic Experts to observe conditions that may be difficult or impossible to detect by classical means.
• Digital Autopsy produce detailed records that show conclusively the cause or manner of death. These records can be kept intact and free of human intervention.
• Digital Autopsy can ease the burden of determining identity and cause of death in victims of mass natural disasters, particularly in cases where large number of bodies are badly decomposed.
• Digital bodies can be sent to forensic pathologists who can conduct autopsies remotely.
• In the wake of a biological contamination or biological terrorist attack, Digital Autopsy can be extremely valuable in determining further investigation that are necessary to identify the pathogenesis while at the same time protecting forensic pathologist from accidental exposure to the biological contaminant.
• Digital Autopsy streamlines communication between forensic pathologists as well as allowing forensic pathologist to seek professional second opinion with experts abroad through a secured channel, digitally.
• Interactive visualizations are often easier for juries, lawyers and other court officers with a clearer understanding of the autopsy process, which can be vital when the manner of death must be established in a court case.
• From the religious point of view, Digital Autopsy provides an option to treat the deceased with dignity while at the same time achieve the medico-legal requirement.

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