The Rolls Royce barber

Mr.Ramesh – The Rolls Royce barber

Once what had been looked down as odd jobs are acquiring respectability. For example, hair-cutting and shoe-making were considered as unskilled professions only to be performed by poor and uneducated persons. But handled with some professionalism and artistic touch by educated people, these odd jobs have become not only respectable, but also money-making professions.  Fashion business has given fillip to these professions.

If you want a “good haircut”, Ramesh Babu can give you one for Rs. 65. That is, if he hasn’t already driven off in his Rs. 3-crore Rolls Royce Ghost.

Babu, after all, is no ordinary barber. He is a billionaire barber, who owns a rent-a-car fleet of 60 cars. He is also the subject of an upcoming film, likely to be released in three languages. “Somehow, things have clicked for me,” says the 41-year-old. Thirty-two years ago, everything seemed to be going wrong. His father had just died, leaving the family his barber shop. His mother leased the shop for Rs. 5 a day and took up work as a domestic help to make ends meet. His mother made the decision for him. He completed his schooling at St Patrick’s High School and then finished his high secondary in St Joseph’s College of Commerce. In 1991, he decided to run his father’s salon. The salon, named Inner Space, was in a shopping complex by the school where he studied. It soon became a trendy styling outlet for youngsters.

Within three years, Babu had enough spare cash to buy a Maruti Omni people carrier for personal use. Then someone gave him the tip that changed his life. One of his mother’s employers advised him to lease the Omni to Intel, the company she worked with. “It all began from there and, by 2004, I had six cars all engaged in the same business,” Babu says. After he lost the Intel assignment in 2004, Babu floated Ramesh Tours and Travels and scouted for clients.

To tap high-end clients, he invested in a Mercedes E Class luxury sedan that cost him Rs. 38 lakh. Three more Mercedes cars and four BMWs were added to the fleet, which is, however, dominated by 48 Toyota Innovas. His clients have included actors Salman Khan, Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai.

The Rolls Royce, a recent addition, came with a bank loan for which he is paying Rs. 7 lakh every month. When not leased out, Babu drives the white beauty to work. At Rs. 50,000 a day, his Rolls Royce is rarely hired, but Babu is a contented man. “I can at least drive this dream car and take my mother and family out on drives,” he says. Babu owes his success to doing what he thought was best. “Whatever I did, I did well, that’s all I can say,” he smiles.

His bank balance and social status have changed for good, but Babu – now married with three children, two girls and a boy – has stuck to working at the salon without fail. “That’s my bread and butter,” he says about Inner Space. An early riser, he checks his fleet before reaching the salon at 8 in the morning. “Whatever I have achieved, there’s nothing like giving a good haircut,” he says.

An avid football fan, who counts former India and Mohun Bagan player Babu Mani among his friends, Babu can’t hide his disbelief that a film is being made on him. “Now someone wants to make a movie on me,” he says.Director Suresh Reddy is likely to cast southern actor Ramesh Arvind, who has an uncanny resemblance to Babu. The film is titled as Kshourika Ninentha Sadhaka.

Thanks : Indiatribune

Funniest Quotes of Albert Einstein

1. Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT’S relativity.

2. Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the the universe.

3. The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

4. The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.

5. I never think of the future. It comes soon enough.

6. The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

7. I am a deeply religious nonbeliever – This is a somewhat new kind of religion.

8. If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.

9. I don’t know, I don’t care, and it doesn’t make any difference!

10. You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.

Science Facts – I

1.     Did you know that there are 206 bones in the adult human body and there are 300 in children (as they grow some of the bones fuse together)

2.     Flea’s can jump 130 times higher than their own height. In human terms this is equal to a 6ft. person jumping 780 ft. into the air.
3.     The most dangerous animal in the world is the common housefly. Because of their habits of visiting animal waste, they transmit more diseases than any other animal.
4.     Snakes are true carnivorous because they eat nothing but other animals. They do not eat any type of plant material.
5.     The world’s largest amphibian is the giant salamander. It can grow up to 5 ft. in length.
6.     100 years ago: The first virus was found in both plants and animals.
7.     90 years ago: The Grand Canyon became a national monument & Cellophane is invented.
8.     80 years ago: The food mixer and the domestic refrigerator were invented.
9.     70 years ago: The teletype and PVC (polyvinyl-chloride) were invented.
10.     60 years ago: Otto Hahn discovered nuclear fission by splitting uranium, Teflon was invented.
11.     50 years ago: Velcro was invented.
12.     40 years ago: An all-female population of lizards was discovered in Armenia.
13.     30 years ago: The computer mouse was invented.
14.     20 years ago: First test-tube baby born in England, Pluto’s moon, Charon, discovered.
15.     10 years ago: First patent for a genetically-engineered mouse was issued to Harvard Medical School.

More fun facts coming on their way………Keep Watching…! 😀 🙂 😀 🙂

11 REMARKABLE FACTS ABOUT 9/11

1) The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center Building 7

It is commonly known that the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, but did you know that a third World Trade Center high-rise building also fell that day? WTC Building 7, a 47-story steel-framed skyscraper located one block from the Twin Towers was not hit by any plane, but collapsed at 5:20 that evening, imploding in the exact manner of a professionally engineered demolition. It fell suddenly, straight down, at near freefall speed, and landed in a compact pile of rubble, barely damaging any of the surrounding buildings. These are but a few of eleven characteristics of Building 7’s collapse that are consistent only with controlled demolitions. Further, the leaseholder of the three buildings, Larry Silverstein, said in 2002 on PBS that on the afternoon of 9/11 he suggested to the NYC fire department commander that they “pull” WTC 7. “Pull” is an industry term that means “demolish,” but it normally takes a team of skilled people many weeks to design and implement large demolitions. Astonishingly, there is no mention of WTC Building 7’s remarkable collapse in the 571-page 9/11 Commission Report.

2) Fire has never — prior to or after 9/11 — caused any steel frame building to collapse. The sudden, vertical, explosive, and total collapse of the Twin Towers at near freefall speed can only be explained by controlled demolition.

3) The WTC steel, which if fully examined could have relvealed the effects of explosives, was quickly shipped overseas and melted down. This was an unprecedented violation of federal crime scene laws.

4) Whenever contact is lost with any airplane, fighter jets routinely take to the air to investigate. This commonly occurs about 100 times per year in well under 20 minutes. But on 9/11 nearly two hours passed without any interception.

5) The Secret Service broke established protocols by allowing President Bush to remain in a well-publicized classroom “photo op” long after it was known that the U.S. was under attack and he might well have been a target.

6) Unidentified insiders made millions on the stocks of American and United Airlines and those of other corporations that were likewise impacted by the attacks. These “put option” bets were made just prior to 9/11.

7) There were warnings of the impending attacks from at least eleven other countries. Also prior to 9/11, insiders such as John Ashcroft, top military officers, and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown were warned not to fly.

8 ) In September of 2000, a group of neocon hawks, many of whom would become key officials in the Bush administration, wrote that their proposed massive military buildup would proceed slowly “absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor.”

9) Some of the alleged 9/11 “suicide hijackers” are still alive and well, according to the BBC and The Guardian. At least five of the alleged hijackers may have trained at U.S. military bases, as reported in Newsweek and other sources.

10) The Bush administration resisted the formation of the 9/11 Commission for 441 days. Similar investigations, such as those for Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, and the space shuttle disasters, all started in about one week.

11) “The Jersey Girls” — four courageous 9/11 widows — finally forced the 9/11 Commission into existence and presented many questions, most of which were ignored. Under the leadership of Bush administration insider Philip Zelikow, the final report failed to address any of the evidence pointing to official complicity.

Thanks AE911Truth.

Facts about Google

Here are some Interesting Facts about Google….

#1

The prime reason the Google home page is so bare is due to the fact that the founders didn’t know HTML and just wanted a quick interface. In fact it was noted that the submit button was a long time coming and hitting the RETURN key was the only way to burst Google into life.

#2

Due to the sparseness of the homepage, in early user tests they noted people just sitting looking at the screen. After a minute of nothingness, the tester intervened and asked ‘Whats up?’ to which they replied “We are waiting for the rest of it”. To solve that particular problem the Google Copyright message was inserted to act as a crude end of page marker.

#3

One of the biggest leap in search usage came about when they introduced their much improved spell checker giving birth to the “Did you mean…” feature. This instantly doubled their traffic, but they had some interesting discussions on how best to place that information, as most people simply tuned that out. But they discovered the placement at the bottom of the results was the most effective area.

#4

The infamous “I feel lucky” is nearly never used. However, in trials it was found that removing it would somehow reduce the Google experience. Users wanted it kept. It was a comfort button.

#5

Orkut is very popular in Brazil. Orkut was the brainchild of a very intelligent Google engineer who was pretty much given free reign to run with it, without having to go through the normal Google UI procedures, hence the reason it doesn’t look or feel like a Google application. They are looking at improving Orkut to cope with the loads it places on the system.

#6

Google makes changes small-and-often. They will sometimes trial a particular feature with a set of users from a given network subnet; for example Excite@Home users often get to see new features. They aren’t told of this, just presented with the new UI and observed how they use it.

#7

Google has the largest network of translators in the world

#8

They use the 20% / 5% rules. If at least 20% of people use a feature, then it will be included. At least 5% of people need to use a particular search preference before it will make it into the ‘Advanced Preferences’.

#9

They have found in user testing, that a small number of people are very typical of the larger user base. They run labs continually and always monitoring how people use a page of results.

#10

The name ‘Google’ was an accident. A spelling mistake made by the original founders who thought they were going for ‘Googol’

#11

Gmail was used internally for nearly 2years prior to launch to the public. They discovered there was approximately 6 types of email users, and Gmail has been designed to accommodate these 6.

#12

They listen to feedback actively. Emailing Google isn’t emailing a blackhole.

#13

Employees are encouraged to use 20% of their time working on their own projects. Google News, Orkut are both examples of projects that grew from this working model.

#14

This wasn’t a technical talk so no information regarding any infrastructure was presented however they did note that they have a mantra of aiming to give back each page with in 500ms, rendered.

#15

Google logs each search queries into its systems. More ever Google got patents for hardware designing too.

Thanks : GTRICKS.

World’s Smallest Animals – I

So after writing about World’s Biggest Animals ( Part I & Part II ) now I have collected details on World’s Smallest Animals. Lets have a look about them.

Smallest Monkey

Smallest monkey pygmy marmoset can be seen in Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador and some places of Peru. This monkey grows to a height of 11 to 15 cm and has a 17-22 cm long tail. It weighs only 120 grams; and weighs only 15 grams at the time of birth. The lifespan of these monkeys is 11 to 16 years. They usually give birth to fraternal twins.

Smallest Rabbit

The Pygmy Rabbit is found in North America. It is the smallest leporid. The adult pygmy rabbit weighs about 400 grams having a body length of 24 cm to 29cm.

Smallest Dog

Smallest dog is Chihuahua that was first observed in 1850 in Mexico. The dog took its name from the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. The dog has a height of 6 to 9 inches. It weighs 2 to 12 pounds. The lifespan is 15 years.

Smallest Horse

Thumbelina, the world’s smallest horse weighs 27 kilograms. Thumbelina was born May 1, 2001 at Goose Creek Farms near St. Louis, where Thumbelina’s parents breed miniature horses.She stands 43 centimetres (17 in) tall and weighs 26 kilograms (57 lb), and officially received the title of world’s smallest from the Guinness Book of World Records.

Smallest Fish

Paedocypris progenetica is the scientific name for these tiny creatures and they are believed to be the smallest known species of fish and vertebrate in the world. The tiny fish below was measured at just 7.9 mm in length.

Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud (Italian: Sindone di Torino, Sacra Sindone) is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is commonly associated with Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and burial. The origins of the shroud and its image are the subject of intense debate among scientists, theologians, historians and researchers. The Catholic Church has neither formally endorsed nor rejected the shroud, but in 1958 Pope Pius XII approved of the image in association with the Roman Catholic devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus.

The image on the shroud is much clearer in black-and-white negative than in its natural sepia color. The negative image was first observed in 1898, on the reverse photographic plate of amateur photographer Secondo Pia, who was allowed to photograph it while it was being exhibited in the Turin Cathedral. In 1978 a detailed examination was carried out by a team of American scientists called STURP. They found no reliable evidence of forgery, and called the question of how the image was formed “a mystery”.

In 1988, a controversial radiocarbon dating test was performed on small samples of the shroud. The laboratories at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, concurred that the samples they tested dated from the Middle Ages, between 1260 and 1390.Three peer-reviewed articles have since been published contending that the samples used for the dating test may not have been representative of the whole shroud.

Scientific and popular publications have presented diverse arguments for both authenticity and possible methods of forgery. A variety of scientific theories regarding the shroud have since been proposed, based on disciplines ranging from chemistry to biology and medical forensics to optical image analysis. According to former Nature editor Philip Ball, “it’s fair to say that, despite the seemingly definitive tests in 1988, the status of the Shroud of Turin is murkier than ever. Not least, the nature of the image and how it was fixed on the cloth remain deeply puzzling”. The shroud is one of the most studied artifacts in human history, and one of the most controversial.

The historical records for the shroud can be separated into two time periods: before 1390 and from 1390 to the present. The period until 1390 is subject to debate and controversy among historians. Prior to the 14th century there are some congruent references such as the Pray Codex. It is often mentioned that the first certain historical record dates from 1353 or 1357. However the presence of the Turin Shroud in Lirey, France, is only undoubtedly attested in 1390 when Bishop Pierre d’Arcis wrote a memorandum to Antipope Clement VII, stating that the shroud was a forgery and that the artist had confessed. The history from the 15th century to the present is well understood. In 1453 Margaret de Charny deeded the Shroud to the House of Savoy. In 1578 the shroud was transferred in Turin. As of the 17th century the shroud has been displayed (e.g. in the chapel built for that purpose by Guarino Guarini) and in the 19th century it was first photographed during a public exhibition.

There are no definite historical records concerning the shroud prior to the 14th century. Although there are numerous reports of Jesus’ burial shroud, or an image of his head, of unknown origin, being venerated in various locations before the 14th century, there is no historical evidence that these refer to the shroud currently at Turin Cathedral. A burial cloth, which some historians maintain was the Shroud, was owned by the Byzantine emperors but disappeared during the Sack of Constantinople in 1204.

Historical records seem to indicate that a shroud bearing an image of a crucified man existed in the small town of Lirey around the years 1353 to 1357 in the possession of a French Knight, Geoffroi de Charny, who died at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. However the correspondence of this shroud with the shroud in Turin, and its very origin has been debated by scholars and lay authors, with claims of forgery attributed to artists born a century apart. Some contend that the Lirey shroud was the work of a confessed forger and murderer or forged by Leonardo da Vinci.

The history of the shroud from the 15th century is well recorded. In 1532, the shroud suffered damage from a fire in a chapel of Chambéry, capital of the Savoy region, where it was stored. A drop of molten silver from the reliquary produced a symmetrically placed mark through the layers of the folded cloth. Poor Clare Nuns attempted to repair this damage with patches. In 1578 Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy ordered the cloth to be brought from Chambéry to Turin and it has remained at Turin ever since.

Repairs were made to the shroud in 1694 by Sebastian Valfrè to improve the repairs of the Poor Clare nuns. Further repairs were made in 1868 by Clotilde of Savoy. The shroud remained the property of the House of Savoy until 1983, when it was given to the Holy See, the rule of the House of Savoy having ended in 1946.

A fire, possibly caused by arson, threatened the shroud on 11 April 1997.In 2002, the Holy See had the shroud restored. The cloth backing and thirty patches were removed, making it possible to photograph and scan the reverse side of the cloth, which had been hidden from view. A ghostly part-image of the body was found on the back of the shroud in 2004. The most recent public exhibition of the Shroud was in 2010.

Thanks : wikipedia.

Car names and their meaning

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose! By any other name would smell as sweet” said the lines from Shakespeare’s quotes. Exactly, it’s actually all in the name! Imagine you without a name? Similarly, imagine a car without a name? Naming a car is akin to naming a child and a car name with a meaning is equally important. Here are a few auto aliases that have a meaning behind their names. Take a look!

Toyota Corolla: The name Corolla is part of Toyota’s naming tradition of using the name Crown for primary models: the Corona, for example, gets its name from the Latin word crown; Corolla in Latin means small crown; and Camry is an Anglicized pronunciation of the Japanese for crown, kanmuri.

Hyundai Elantra: The Hyundai Elantra or Hyundai Avante in South Korea, is a compact car from Hyundai of South Korea launched in October 1990 for the 1991 model year, and now is in its fifth generation. The Elantra was formerly marketed as the Lantra in Australia and some European markets. In Australia, this was due to the similarly named Mitsubishi Magna Elante model. This gave rise to disagreement from other motor manufacturers, and the name was standardized as ‘Elantra’ worldwide in 2001 (with the exception being Korea and Malaysia still selling under the name ‘Avante’).

Toyota Etios: The Etios nameplate comes from the Greek ‘Ethos’, meaning spirit, character, and ideas and this is exactly what the car echoes too. With apt space, refinement, comfort, price and interior plastics, the Toyota Etios is a product at a killer price.

Hyundai Santa Fe: The Hyundai Santa Fe is a mid-size crossover SUV based on the Hyundai Sonata platform. Named after the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, it was introduced for the 2001 model year as Hyundai’s first SUV, released at the same time as the Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute and Pontiac Aztek. The SUV was so popular that at times, Hyundai had trouble supplying the demand. The Santa Fe quickly became Hyundai’s best seller and contributed to Hyundai’s success in the United States. The Santa Fe came to India later in the year 2010.

Skoda Superb: The Skoda Superb is a large family car primarily built by the Czech car manufacturer Skoda Auto as its flagship car. The versions produced from 2001 to 2008 are based on the platform of the Volkswagen Passat, but are elongated by 10 centimetres (3.9 in), and shares its major mechanicals and powertrain with the Passat. It is currently the largest and most luxurious model in Škoda’s model range. The Superb name is a resurrection, originally used by Škoda for similar large models, between 1934 and 1942.

 Mercedes-Benz E-Class: The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive-size cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. The E initially stood for Einspritzmotor, (German for fuel injection engine); a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the engine nomenclature (e.g. 230E) in the 1950s. It was not until the launch of the facelifted W124 that the E was used as a prefix (i.e. E220) and the model referred to officially as the E-Class (or E-Klasse).

 Honda Jazz: The Honda Jazz nameplate has been used by Honda of Japan to denote several different motorized vehicles since 1982:
•    A 50 cc motorcycle introduced in 1986. Such a scooter (CHF50) still exists, and is currently on sale in Canada.
•    The Japanese-market name for the badge-engineered version of the Isuzu Mu ( Isuzu Amigo ) short-wheelbase version, known elsewhere as the Opel Frontera, Holden Frontera, or Vauxhall Frontera.
•    The European-market name for the Honda City Mk I from 1982 to 1986, as City was already trademarked by Opel.
•    Honda Fit – A five-door hatchback automobile introduced in June 2001. The vehicle is known as the Fit in Japan, China, as well as in Americas. It is called the Jazz in Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, South East Asia, India and Africa.

The other names which we think denote strong meanings are that of Mahindra Logan now renamed as Verito in which Verito is derived from the Latin word ‘Veritas’, meaning ‘truth’. On the other hand, the new Ford Fiesta with its sharp and sleek lines gives a feeling of partying hard, really hard.

Source: ZIGWHEELS

Interesting Facts about India – 3

So here comes the next part in Interesting Facts about India line up….

• Until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds in the world(Source: Gemological Institute of America).
• The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
• Sushruta is regarded as the Father of Surgery. Over2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones, plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
• Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient Indian medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism,physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
• India exports software to 90 countries.
• The four religions born in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world’s population.
• Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
• Islam is India’s and the world’s second largest religion.
• There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
• The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
• Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively
• The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
• The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world’s largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
• Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
• Varanasi, also known as Benaras, was called “the Ancient City” when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C., and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
• His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
• Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
• Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.

Take a look at World’s First Photo

One summer day in France in 1826, Joseph Niepce took the world’s first photograph. It’s a photo of some farm buildings and the sky. It took an exposure time of 8 hours. Voila! It had to feel pretty incredible, like magic.

No one’s exactly sure how he did this or what chemicals were used. All that’s known for sure is that the photo is on an 8″x 6.5″ pewter plate. It’s so faint it has to be tilted in order for the light to catch it just right, to see it. The Getty Museum in California did two weeks of tests in 2003 in a joint project involving the Rochester Institute of Technology and France’s Centre de Recherches sur la Conservation des Documents Graphiques (try saying thatthree times fast). Then it went back on display at the University of Texas in a new air tight case, where it’s been on display since 1964. I’m not sure why we have it and the French don’t, but “hah”.

The current theory about how the photograph was taken is that Niepce coated the pewter plate with bitumen, a petroleum derivative sensitive to light. After it spent those 8 hours hardening, he washed the plate with a mixture of oil of lavender and white petroleum. This dissolved the portions of the bitumen that didn’t ‘see’ direct light, so didn’t harden. Pretty damn clever. Niepce called his work a “heliograph,” in a tribute to the power of the sun.