amazing-facts

Google

Monday, February 27, 2006

Information about VOIP

VOIP is an acronym for Voice Over IP, or in more common terms phone service over the Internet. If you have a reasonable quality Internet connection you can get phone service delivered through your Internet connection instead of from your local phone company.
Some people use VOIP in addition to their traditional phone service, since VOIP service providers usually offer lower rates than traditional phone companies, but sometimes doesn't offer 911 service, phone directory listings, 411 service, or other common phone services. While many VoIP providers offer these services, consistent industry-wide means of offering these are still developing.


A way is required to turn analog phone signals into digital signals that can be sent over the Internet. This function can either be included into the phone itself or in a separate box like an ATA.


VOIP Using an ATA..
Ordinary Phone ---- ATA ---- Ethernet ---- Router ---- Internet ---- VOIP Service Provider


VOIP using an IP Phone
IP Phone----- Ethernet ----- Router ---- Internet ---- VOIP Service Provider


VOIP connecting directly
IP Phone ----- Ethernet ----- Router ---- Internet ---- Router ---- Ethernet ---- IP Phone

VOIP is useful in folllwing.
VoIP can turn a standard Internet connection into a way to place free phone calls. The practical upshot of this is that by using some of the free VoIP software that is available to make Internet phone calls, you are bypassing the phone company entirely.


Lower Cost
In general phone service via VOIP costs less than equivalent service from traditional sources. This is largely a function of traditional phone services either being monopolies or government entities. There are also some cost savings due to using a single network to carry voice and data. This is especially true when users have existing under-utilized network capacity that they can use for VOIP without any additional costs. In the most extreme case, users see VOIP phone calls (even international) as FREE. While there is a cost for their Internet service, using VOIP over this service may not involve any extra charges, so the users view the calls as free. There are a number of services that have sprung up to facilitate this type of "free" VOIP call. Examples are: Free World Dialup and Skype



Increased Functionality
VOIP makes easy some things that are difficult to impossible with traditional phone networks.
Incoming phone calls are automatically routed to your VOIP phone where ever you plug it into the network. Take your VOIP phone with you on a trip, and anywhere you connect it to the Internet, you can receive your incoming calls.
Call center agents using VOIP phones can easily work from anywhere with a good Internet connection.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Todays' fact...
Consuming chocolate was considered sin during the 16th and 17th century as during that time chocolate was providedin the form of drink and since drinking wine was considered sin,so was drinking chocolate.


Famous birthdays for this day ..
1304 - Muhammad ibn Battutah, Arab traveler & travel writer
1463 - Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian scholar & Platonist
1500 - Emperor Charles V, king of Spain (1516-56)
1786 - Wilhelm Karl Grimm, story teller
1836 - Winslow Homer, painter
1874 - Honus Wagner, HOF shortstop for Pittsburgh Pirates (1900-17)
1885 - Admiral Chester Nimitz, in charge of Pacific Fleet in WWII
1890 - Marjorie Main,
1921 - Abe Vigoda, actor (Fish on Barney Miller)
1930 - Barbara Lawrence,
1934 - Bettino Craxi, Italy's 1st Socialist premier
1938 - James Farentino, actor
1944 - Sheila Larkin, in NYC
1955 - Steven Jobs, Apple co-founder
1957 - Phil McConkey, NY Giant wide receiver

Tuesday, February 21, 2006


Sunil Gavaskar.. the Greatest Batsman in test cricket from India had scored amazing 34 centuries until 2005 when Sachin Tendulkar broke that record, but what amazing is his only one-day century in the 1987 World Cup, when he hit a blistering 103 not out against New Zealand in his penultimate ODI innings
His tremendous record speaks for himself...what a gr88 player!

Batting style Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling type Right-arm medium

He made a spectacular Test debut in 1971 scoring 774 runs in his first Test series against the West Indies helping India to become one of the few teams to defeat the West Indies at home in the Caribbean. Gavaskar went on to average a mammoth 70.20

Gavaskar was captain of the Indian team on several occasions in the late '70s and early '80s, though here his record is more mixed. Often equipped with weak bowling attacks he tended to use conservative tactics which resulted in a large number of draws. Still he had several successes as captain especially a 2-0 victory over Pakistan in 1979-80 and a victory in the World Championship of Cricket held in Australia in early 1985. As a matter of fact, it was during his tenure that Kapil Dev emerged as a leading pace bowler for the country. On the downside there was a heavy defeat against Pakistan in 1982-83 which cost him the captaincy until the 1984/85 home series against England.

Matches played 125 in Test and 108 in ODIs

He was a very good slip fielder with 108 and 22 catches in Test and ODIs.

His Top score was 236* in tests and 103* in ODIs.

Batting average 51.46 in tests and 36.17 in ODIs

He famously scored an ignominous 36 not out carrying his bat through the full 60 overs against England in the 1975 World Cup.

Gavaskar was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1980 and has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan. In December 1994 he was appointed the Sheriff of Mumbai.

After retirement, he has been a popular commentator, both on TV and in print. He has written four books on cricket – Sunny days (autobiography), Idols, Runs n' Ruins and One day wonders. He also served as an advisor to the Indian cricket team during the home series against Australia in 2004 and currently serves as the Chairman of the ICC cricket committee.

Friday, February 17, 2006

The Controversy About Taj Mahal

Real History of "Taj Mahal"

"The Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal built the Taj Mahal.

It was built in 22 years (1631 to 1653) by 20,000 artisans brought to India from all over the world! . Many people believe Ustad Isa of Iran designed it."This is what your guide probably told you if you ever visited the Taj Mahal.

This is the same story I read in my history book as a student.

NOW READ THIS.......

No one has ever challenged it except Prof. P. N.Oak, who believes the whole world has been duped. In his book Taj Mahal: The True Story, Oak says the Taj Mahal is not Queen Mumtaz's tomb but an ancient Hindu temple palace of Lord Shiva (then known as Tejo Mahalaya).

In the course of his research Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace was usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh.

In his own court chronicle, Badshahnama, Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai SIngh for Mumtaz's burial.

The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur still retains in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for surrendering the Taj building. Using captured temples and mansions, as a burial place ! for dead courtiers and royalty was a common practice among Muslim rulers.

For example, Humayun,Akbar, Etmud-ud-Daula and Safdarjung are all buried in such mansions. Oak's inquiries began with the name of Taj Mahal. He says the term "Mahal" has never been used for a building in any Muslim countries from Afghanisthan to Algeria. "The unusual explanation that the term Taj Mahal derives from Mumtaz Mahal was illogical in atleast two respects .

Firstly, her name was never Mumtaz Mahal but "Mumtaz-ul-Zamani," he writes. Secondly, one cannot omit the first three letters 'Mum' from a woman's name to derive the remainder as the name for the building."Taj Mahal", he claims, is a corrupt version of Tejo Mahalaya, or Lord Shiva's Palace.

Oak also says the love story of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan is a fairy tale created by court sycophants, blundering historians and sloppy archaeologists.

Not a single royal chronicle of Shah Jahan's time corroborates the love story. Furthermore, Oak cites several documents suggesting the Taj Mahal predates Shah Jahan's era, and was a temple dedicated to Shiva, worshipped by Rajputs of Agra city.

Prof. Marvin Miller of NewYork revealed that the door was 300 years older than Shah Jahan. European traveler Johan Albert Mandelslo,who visited Agra in 1638 (only seven years after Mumtaz's death), describes the life of the city in his memoirs.

But he makes no reference to the Taj Mahal being built. The writings of Peter Mundy, an English visitor to Agra within a year of Mumtaz's death, also suggest the Taj was a noteworthy building well before Shah Jahan's time.

Prof. Oak points out a number of design and architectural inconsistencies that support the belief of the Taj Mahal being a typical Hindu temple rather than a mausoleum.Many rooms in the Taj Mahal have remained sealed since Shah Jahan's time and are still inaccessible to the public. Oak asserts they contain a headless statue of Lord Shiva and other objects commonly used for worship rituals in Hindu temples.


Fearing political backlash, Indira Gandhi's government tried to have Prof. Oak's book withdrawn from the bookstores, and threatened the Indian publisher of the first edition dire consequences. There is only one way to discredit or validate Oak's research.


The current government should open the sealed rooms of the Taj Mahal under U.N. supervision, and let international experts investigate.

This link ........it adds as a visual proof to what is described above.

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm

Thursday, February 16, 2006


Today's Fact
The blue whale is the loudest animal on the earth. Its whistle can reach up to 188 decibels.


On this day in history ...
1600 - Giordano Bruno - advocate of Copernican theory & plurality of worlds - is burned at the stake by the Inquisition in Rome
1862 - Ft. Donelson captured by Gen. Grant
1883 - Ladies Home Journal begins publication
1914 - 1st airplane flight to LA from SF
1918 - Lithuania declares independence from Germany
1923 - Howard Carter finds the Pharoah Tutankhamun
1937 - Nylon patented - WH Carothers
1938 - US Federal Crop Insurance program authorized
1945 - US forces land on Corregidor - complete conquest on March 3
1946 - 1st commercially designed helicopter tested - Bridgeport Ct
1951 - SF City Hall dome fire
1961 - 1st all solid propellant rocket put in orbit-Wallops Island - Va
1964 - Beatles second appearance on Ed Sullivan

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Today's fact
It is possible to get high by licking a toad. The Cane Toad produces a toxin called bufotenine to ward off predators. When licked, this toxin acts as a hallucinogen.

On this day in history ...
583 - Lupercalia
1764 - St. Louis founded
1845 - William Parsons - the Earl of Rosse - 1st uses 72-inch reflector
1861 - Ft Point completed & garrisoned (but has never fired cannon in anger)
1876 - Historic Elm at Boston blown down
1898 - USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor - cause unknown
1917 - SF Public Library (Main Branch at Civic center) dedicated
1933 - Pres-elect Franklin Roosevelt survives assassination attempt
1950 - Walt Disney's "Cinderella" released
1954 - 1st bevatron in operation - Berkeley - California
1955 - Production announced-1st pilot plant to produce man-made diamonds
1972 - Bill Torrey becomes 1st Islander General Manager

Monday, February 13, 2006

Today's fact
Frog-eating bats identify edible frogs from poisonous ones by listening to the mating calls of male frogs. Frogs counter this by hiding and using short, difficult to locate calls.


On this day in history ...
1678 - Tycho Brahe 1st sketches "Tychonic system" idea of solar system
1741 - 1st magazine published in America (The American Magazine)
1867 - Blue Danube" waltz premiers in Vienna
1937 - Prince Valiant comic strip appears; known for historical detail
1937 - Los Angeles Rams formed (then in Cleveland)
1945 - Fire-bombing of Dresden begins; c. 50 -000 killed
1955 - Israel acquires 4 of the 7 dead sea scrolls
1960 - France explodes its 1st atomic bomb - in Algerian desert
1982 - Islander's Bryan Trottier scores five goals against the Fly

Sunday, February 12, 2006


Today's fact
Offered a new pen to write with, 97% of all people will write their own name.


On this day in history ...
1541 - Santiago - Chile founded
1733 - Georgia founded by James Oglethorpe
1908 - Anna Jeanes bequests $1 -000 -000 to Swarthmore to become all girl
1915 - Cornerstone laid for Lincoln Memorial in Washington - DC
1924 - Rhapsody In Blue" premiers in Carnegie Hall
1934 - Export-Import Bank incorporated
1945 - SF selected for site of UN Conference
1947 - A daytime fireball & meteorite fall is seen in eastern Siberia
1955 - Pres Eisenhower sends 1st US advisors to S Vietnam
1961 - USSR launches Venera 1 toward Venus
1980 - 2nd Islander scoreless tie - Jets at Nassau

Saturday, February 11, 2006


Today's fact
Hair covers the whole body, with the exception of soles of feet, palms of hands, mucous membranes, and lips.
The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years in the average.



On this day in history ...
0660 - Traditional founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu Tenno
1575 - King Frederick of Denmark offers island of Hveen to Tycho Brahe
1650 - Rene Descartes - "I think therefore I am" - dies
1854 - Major streets lit by coal gas for 1st time
1868 - Leon Foucault discovers 1st physical proof of earth's rotation - dies
1929 - Vatican City (world's Smallest Country) is made an enclave of Rome
1936 - Pumping begins to build Treasure Island
1937 - 44-day sit-down strike at General Motors in Flint - Mich. ends
1958 - 1st flight with Negro stewardess - RC Taylor - Ithaca NY
1960 - Jack Paar walks off his show
1968 - Madison Square Garden III closes MSG IV opens
1970 - Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite (Osumi) in orbit
1978 - 25th hat trick in Islander history - Denis Potvin
1984 - Tenth Space Shuttle Mission - Challenger 4 returns to Earth

Friday, February 10, 2006


Today's fact
Babies' eyes do not produce tears until the baby is approximately six to eight weeks old.

More detailed info...

Although babies are often born expressing their opinion of such a hasty entrance into the world, all you're really going to see is waving limbs and a red face. Because while they can howl their little lungs out, they can't yet "cry".
That's not to say that an infant's eyes are in danger of drying out. They do produce enough moisture to keep the eyes coated. But not enough to cause a waterfall when they wail.
It takes anywhere from three to six weeks for a baby's tear ducts to develop to the point where crying will produce any significant amount of moisture, so the eyes overflow.
A tiny opening from the tear duct into the top of the nasal canal, allows tears to run down inside and disperse. Sometimes this opening has not developed enough by the time the tear ducts start producing excess moisture, and they can become clogged.
Tear ducts that are plugged, often show as discharge gathering in the corner of the eye. This can be resolved with gentle and frequent massage of the tear duct area.




On this day in history ..
1720 - Edmund Halley is appointed 2nd Astronomer Royal of England
1763 - Treaty of Paris ends French & Indian War
1840 - Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert
1870 - City of Anaheim incorporated (1st time)
1879 - 1st electric arc light used (in California Theater)
1942 - Glenn Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo goes gold
1967 - 25th Amendment (Presidential Disability & Succession) in effect
1973 - 2nd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0

Thursday, February 09, 2006


Today's fact
The largest diamond that was ever found was 3106 carats.



On this day in history ...
1811 - Nevill Maskelyne - 5th Astronomer Royal of England dies
1877 - US Weather Service is founded
1885 - 1st Japanese arrive in Hawaii
1891 - 1st shipment of asparagus arrives in SF from Sacramento
1893 - Canal builder De Lesseps & others sentenced to prision for fraud.
1922 - Snow on Mauna Loa
1943 - Japanese evacuated Guadalcanal - ending epic battle
1953 - Superman TV series premiers
1964 - 1st appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan
1969 - Boeing 747 makes its 1st coml flight
1971 - Apollo 14 returns to Earth
1975 - Soyuz 17 returns to Earth
1986 - Halley's Comet reaches perihelion (closest approach to sun)

Wednesday, February 08, 2006


Today's fact
The reason why tattoos do not vanish even though we shed our skin is because the dye is injected deeper into the dermis part of the skin. It is only the epidermis that we shed.



On this day in history ...
1587 - Mary - Queen of Scots beheaded
1672 - Isaac Newton reads 1st optics paper before Royal Society in London
1693 - Charter granted for College of William & Mary - 2nd college in US
1861 - Confederate States of America organized in Montgomery - Ala
1883 - Louis Waterman begins experiments that invent the fountain pen
1910 - Boy Scouts of America founded
1911 - US helps to overthrow Miguel D vila - president of Honduras
1922 - Radio arrives in the White House
1926 - Walt Disney Studios formed
1957 - SF Public Library's bookmobile initiated in front of City Hall
1969 - Meteorite weighing over one ton is recovered in Chihuahua - Mexico
1974 - Skylab 4's astronauts land
1975 - Caps only got one shot in a period against the Islanders
1977 - Earthquake in SF - at 5.0 - strongest since 1966
1984 - Soyuz T-10 is launched

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Today's fact
The Aphid's reproductive cycle is so fast that females are born pregnant.


On this day in history ..
1882 - Last bare knuckle champion John L Sullivan KOs Paddy Ryan in Miss
1889 - Astronomical Society of Pacific holds 1st meeting in SF
1905 - Dominican Rep. signs treaty turning over customs collection to U.S
1914 - Steel work completed on Exposition (Civic) Auditorium
1940 - Walt Disney's "Pinocchio" released
1965 - US begins regular bombing & strafing of N Vietnam
1973 - 1st time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
1974 - Grenada gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1976 - World's largest telescope (600 cm) begins operation in USSR
1977 - Soyuz 24 launched
1984 - Bruce McCandless makes 1st untethered space walk
1986 - Haitians overthrow dictator - "Baby Doc" Duvalier

Monday, February 06, 2006

Today's Fact
Romans used to believe that walnuts could cure head ailments during the Renaissance, since their shape was similar to that of a brain.

On this day in history ..
1693 - College of William & Mary chartered in Williamsburg - Va
1788 - Mass becomes 6th state to ratify constitution
1840 - Waitangi Day; treaty signed between European & Natives of N Zealand
1900 - Spanish-American War ends
1919 - 1st day of 5-day Seattle general strike
1922 - US - UK - France - Italy & Japan sign Washington naval arms limitation
1933 - 20th amendment changes date of presidential inaugurations
1952 - Elizabeth II becomes queen of Great Britain
1959 - Fidel Castro is interviewed by Edward R Murrow
1968 - Former President Dwight Eisenhower shot a hole in one
1974 - 3rd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
1977 - 4th time Rangers shut-out Islanders 4-0

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Today's Fact The word alligator comes from El Lagarto which is Spanish for The Lizard.


On this day in history ..
1663 - Earthquake in Canada
1887 - Snow falls on SF
1917 - Present Mexican constitution adopted
1921 - Yankees purchase 20 acres in the Bronx for Yankee Stadium
1937 - FDR proposes enlarging Supreme Court - plan failed "court packing"
1953 - Walt Disney's "Peter Pan" released
1963 - Maarten Schmidt discovers enormous red shifts in quasars
1971 - US Apollo 14 - 3rd manned expedition to moon - lands near Fra Mauro
1974 - US Mariner 10 returns 1st close-up photos of Venus's cloud structure
1979 - According to Census Bureau - US population reaches 200 million