EARLY FIRE-CRACKERS !

It's not really known when and where firecrackers originated. Although both the Ramayana & the Mahabharata mention the bursting of firecrackers to celebrate victories, the common consensus is that to the use of firecrackers originated in the human province of China in 200 BC when the Han dynasty was in power .

         A villager from Human threw chunks of green bamboo into the fire because he did not have sufficient dry fuel. The bamboo chunks sizzled, blackened & then exploded with a deafening sound, startling the man but giving him the idea of getting rid of evil spirits by exploding bamboos. It wasn't  long before most people in China began to burn bamboo to keep evil spirits away.
         In 600 AD, alchemist Sun Si Miao developed a gun-powder like mixture by mixing saltpetre, honey, sulphur and arsenic disulphide, which produced a hot, bright flame when heated over fire.
         However, the first to use the mixture as firecracker was a chinese monk named Li Tian. When Prime -minister Wei Zhou of the Tang dynasty was plagued by the ghost of an evil dragon he had killed, Li Tian filled a bamboo with the gun powder like mixture and set it on fire. The loud explosion is said to have so frightened the ghost that it stopped haunting him. Li Tian came to be known as the 'father of the firecracker' in China and during the song dynasty, a temple was built to honor him. On 18 April every year, people offer sacrifices at the temple to commemorate the invention of the firecracker.
         The bamboo was replaced by paper rolls after paper was invented. The firecracker or baozhu was made by rolling sheets of paper into small tube, stuffing it with gun powder and fixing it with a fuse.
         Since the 18th century, the Human province has been the center of firecracker production in China. The world's largest manufacturer of fireworks today is China.

         Fire crackers were so popular in Britain that Queen Elizabeth I is said to have created a position for a fire master. King James II was so fascinated with the display of fireworks at his coronation that he knighted his fie master.

     
         

How does a 'four-stroke' automobile engine work ?

In an automobile, the engine's task is to burn fuel so that fuel energy is converted into motion . A for-stroke engine gets its name because it does this conversion in four stages called strokes- the intake stroke, the compression stroke, the combustion stroke and the exhaust stroke .

    To understand the strokes, we must first know the structure of the engine. The engine consists of a hallow metal cylinder inside which fuel (petrol or diesel) is burned. The cylinder is fitted with a piston - a piece of metal that slides in and out of the cylinder like a plunger. The piston is attached to a rotating rod called the crankshaft which powers gears that turn the wheels of the automobile.
     The cylinder is sealed except for two openings (called valves) at the top. One is the 'inlet valve' and the other is called 'outlet/exhaust valve'. At the top of the cylinder, there is an electrical device called spark plug that sets fire to the fuel.

      The four strokes work in the following manner :-
1.Intake : The crankshaft rotates as the piston pushes downwards inside the cylinder. The inlet valve opens and lets in a mixture of air fuel.
2.Compression : The inlet valve closes and seals the cylinder, trapping the fuel and air mixture.As the piston is move upwards, the crankshaft and it squeezes(compresses) the mixture, making it more inflammable. As soon as the piston reaches the top of the cylinder, the spark plug fires.
3.Combustion : The spark ignites the fuel-air mixture causing it to burn rapidly. This creates hot gases that push the piston downwards with force & turn the crankshaft, causing the wheels(and the car, of course) to move.
4.Exhaust : The outlet valve opens. As the crankshaft continues its rotation, the piston moves upwards again, driving out the gases as exhaust. 

Speed Up !! world facts ; edition (1)

Suzuki Hayabusa. The fastest motorcycle in the world. A machine that captivates the gaze.  I've long been fascinated by the the Suzuki Hayabusa.  To those of us who saw the sportbike evolve over the last 15 years.  From the '86 GSXR750 to where we stand today, this bike is by far the pinnacle of progress.

One of the most interesting things I ever read about the Hayabusa is instead of pulling wheelies when you grab a fistful of throttle, instead the bike will rocket forward and slowly pull the front tire off the ground. When you sit upon this bike, it has a wondrous feel that occurs when your hands contact the handlebars.  It's a tingle that flows through your wrists, arms, shoulders and causes a sensation of warmth to flow across your chest. Torque is a wonderful thing. Horsepower,  is a very wonderful thing.

Top 5 Fastest Bikes in the World

Here is the brand new list of the top 5 fastest bikes in the world! Includes the BMW K1200S, Ducati 1098s, Aprilia RSV 1000R Mille, Yamaha YZF R1 and the Honda CBR 1100XX!

 

5. BMW K1200S 167 mhh (268 km/h)

With enough raw power to shock even the most seasoned adrenaline junky, the K 1200 S hurls you from a dead stop to sixty mph in just 2.8 seconds. Once you're over the whiplash, you'll keep climbing, topping out at speeds that run neck-and-neck with the fastest production motorcycles in the world. 

 

  

 

4. Ducati 1098s 169 mph (271 km/h)

 

 

The Ducati 1098 is a 1099 cc L-twin sport bike manufactured by Ducati. It was announced on November 8, 2006 for the 2007 model year and replaces the 999. The 1098 makes a manufacturer claimed 160 horsepower, 90.4 ft-lb torque, and weighs 173kg. These figures gives the 1098 the highest torque-to-weight ratio of any production sport bike ever made. 

 

 

3. Aprilia RSV 1000R Mille 175mph (281 km/h)

 

The RSV Mille and limited-edition RSV Mille Factory are high performance V-twin powered motorcycles made by Aprilia with a 143 HP 998 cc engine built by the Austrian company Rotax. For 2006. the RSV Mille Factory won the Maxisport category for Masterbike 2006 and overall Masterbike of the year.

 

2. Yamaha YZF R1 176mph (283 km/h)

 

The Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle, introduced in 1998, was the first significant motorcycle in the true litre class (1,000 cc) "handling arms race" between the Japanese Big Four motorcycle manufacturers (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha). When introduced, it took the class closer to a true racing motorcycle, and increased the handling capabilities.

 

1. Honda CBR 1100XX Super Blackbird 178mph (286 km/h)

 

Honda CBR 1100 XX Super Blackbird is a sport-touring motorcycle built by Honda. It combines big engine power, Easy operational error-tolerance with touring comfort. The Blackbird production started in 1997 and the last year of production was 2006. The Blackbird was the result of Honda's attempt to build the world's fastest production motorcycle, stealing the crown from Kawasaki.

 

 

Walt Disney

Real name: Walter Elias Disney

Date of Birth (location): 5 December 1901, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Date of Death : 15 December 1966

. . . Try to imagine a world without Walt Disney. A world without his magic, whimsy, and optimism. Walt Disney transformed the entertainment industry, into what we know today. He pioneered the fields of animation, and found new ways to teach, and educate.

       During a 43-year Hollywood career, which spanned the development of the motion picture medium as a modern American art, Walter Elias Disney, a modern Aesop, established himself and his product as a genuine part of Americana. David Low, the late British political cartoonist, called Disney "the most significant figure in graphic arts since Leonardo DaVinci." A pioneer and innovator, and the possessor of one of the most fertile imaginations the world has ever known, Walt Disney, along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors and citations from every nation in the world, including 48 Academy Awards and 7 Emmys in his lifetime. Walt Disney's personal awards included honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, the University of Southern California and UCLA; the Presidential Medal of Freedom; France's Legion of Honor and Officer d'Academie decorations; Thailand's Order of the Crown; Brazil's Order of the Southern Cross; Mexico's Order of the Aztec Eagle; and the Showman of the World Award from the National Association of Theatre Owners.

The creator of Mickey Mouse and founder of Disneyland and Walt Disney World was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 5, 1901. His father, Elias Disney, was an Irish-Canadian. His mother, Flora Call Disney, was of German-American descent. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.

Raised on a farm near Marceline, Missouri, Walt became interested in drawing at an early age, selling his first sketches to neighbors when he was only seven years old. At McKinley High School in Chicago, Disney divided his attention between drawing and photography, contributing both to the school paper. At night he attended the Academy of Fine Arts.
During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was only 16 years of age, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stem, not with stock camouflage, but with drawings and cartoons.
After the war, Walt returned to Kansas City, where he began his career as an advertising cartoonist. Here, in 1920, he created and marketed his first original animated cartoons, and later perfected a new method for combining live-action and animation.

In August of 1923, Walt Disney left Kansas City for Hollywood with nothing but a few drawing materials, $40 in his pocket and a completed animated and live-action film. Walt's brother, Roy 0. Disney, was already in California, with an immense amount of sympathy and encouragement, and $250. Pooling their resources, they borrowed an additional $500, and constructed a camera stand in their uncle's garage. Soon, they received an order from New York for the first "Alice Comedy" featurette, and the brothers began their production operation in the rear of a Hollywood real estate office two blocks away.

On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. They were blessed with two daughters: Diane, married to Ron Miller, former president and chief executive officer of Walt Disney Productions; and Sharon Disney Lund, who served as a member of Disney's Board of Directors and passed away in 1993. The Millers have seven children and Mrs. Lund had three.

Mickey Mouse was created in 1928, and his talents were first used in a silent cartoon entitled "Plane Crazy." However, before the cartoon could be released, sound burst upon the motion picture screen. Thus Mickey made his screen debut in "Steamboat Willie," the world's first fully-synchronized sound cartoon, which premiered at the Colony Theatre in New York on November 18, 1928.

Walt's drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of his "Silly Symphonies." In 1932, the film entitled "Flowers and Trees" won Walt the first of his 32 personal Academy Awards. In 1937, he released "The Old Mill," the first short subject to utilize the multiplane camera technique.
On December 21 of that same year, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," the first full-length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles. Produced at the unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still accounted as one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. During the next five years, Walt completed such other full-length animated classics as "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Dumbo," and "Bambi."
In 1940, construction was completed on Disney's Burbank studio. The staff swelled to more than 1,000 artists, animators, story men and technicians. During World War II, 94 percent of the Disney facilities were engaged in special government work, including the production of training and propaganda films for the armed services, as well as health films which are still shown throughout the world by the U.S. State Department. The remainder of his efforts were devoted to the production of comedy short subjects, deemed highly essential to civilian and military morale.
Disney's 1945 feature, the musical "The Three Caballeros," combined live action with the cartoon medium, a process he used successfully in such other features as "Song of the South" and the highly acclaimed "Mary Poppins." In all, 81 features were released by the studio during his lifetime.

Walt's inquisitive mind and keen sense for education through entertainment resulted in the award-winning "True-Life Adventure" series. Through such films as "The Living Desert," "The Vanishing Prairie," "The African Lion," and "White Wilderness," Disney brought fascinating insights into the world of wild animals and taught the importance of conserving our nation's outdoor heritage.
Disneyland, launched in 1955 as a fabulous $17 million Magic Kingdom, soon increased its investment tenfold. By its third decade, more than 250 million people were entertained, including presidents, kings and queens, and royalty from all over the globe.
A pioneer in the field of television programming, Disney began production in 1954, and was among the first to present full-color programming with his "Wonderful World of Color" in 1961. "The Mickey Mouse Club" and "Zorro" were popular favorites in the 1950s.
But that was only the beginning. In 1965, Walt Disney turned his attention toward the problem of improving the quality of urban life in America. He personally directed the design on an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT, planned as a living showcase for the creativity of American industry.
Said Disney, "I don't believe there is a challenge anywhere in the world that is more important to people everywhere than finding the solution to the problems of our cities. But where do we begin? Well, we're convinced we must start with the public need. And the need is not just for curing the old ills of old cities. We think the need is for starting from scratch on virgin land and building a community that will become a prototype for the future."
Thus, Disney directed the purchase of 43 square miles of virgin land -- twice the size of Manhattan Island -- in the center of the state of Florida. Here, he master planned a whole new Disney world of entertainment to include a new amusement theme park, motel-hotel resort vacation center and his Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. After more than seven years of master planning and preparation, including 52 months of actual construction, Walt Disney World opened to the public as scheduled on October 1, 1971. Epcot Center opened on October 1, 1982.

Prior to his death on December 15, 1966, Walt Disney took a deep interest in the establishment of California Institute of the Arts, a college level, professional school of all the creative and performing arts. Of Cal Arts, Walt once said, "It's the principal thing I hope to leave when I move on to greener pastures. If I can help provide a place to develop the talent of the future, I think I will have accomplished something."

California Institute of the Arts was founded in 1961 with the amalgamation of two schools, the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music and Chouinard Art Institute. The campus is located in the city of Valencia, 32 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Walt Disney conceived the new school as a place where all the performing and creative arts would be taught under one roof in a "community of the arts" as a completely new approach to professional arts training.

Walt Disney is a legend and a folk hero of the 20th century. His worldwide popularity was based upon the ideas which his name represents: imagination, optimism and self-made success in the American tradition. Walt Disney did more to touch the hearts, minds, and emotions of millions of Americans than any other man in the past century. Through his work, he brought joy, happiness and a universal means of communication to the people of every nation. Certainly, our world shall know but one Walt Disney.

            

lots of effort+love=chocolate @ candy shop

Chocolate comes from the seeds of the cacao plant, which is native to South America''s tropical rain forest. At least 3000 years ago,the Mesoamericans discovered how to process the beans to release the distinctive chocolate flavor, and drank it as a sacred beverage. Cacao is now grown all over the world, which annually consumes more than a million tons of processed chocolate. But cacao yields around the world are falling, because the pollination rate of commercially cultivated cacao plants is extremely low. Plantations are also plagued by diseases, expensive to run, and consume precious rain forest. Scientists have recently learned that cacao flowers are pollinated exclusively by midges--small, gnat-like flies--which prefer moist rain forest to sunny plantations. Eager to cultivate cacao more efficiently, farmers are now starting to grow cacao in small patches within the forest ecosystem, as the original Meso-americans did.

Chocolate invented 3,100 years ago by the Aztecs - but they were trying to make beer

Scientists have discovered that chocolate was invented at least 3,100 years ago in Central America and not as the sweet treat people now crave, but as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol.

Researchers identified residue of a chemical compound that comes exclusively from the cacao plant - the source of chocolate - in pottery vessels dating from about 1100 BC in Puerto Escondido, Honduras.

Chocolate was originally invented as a celebratory beer-like beverage and status symbol for the Aztecs and the Maya

This pushed back by at least 500 years the earliest documented use of cacao, an important luxury commodity in Mesoamerica before European invaders arrived and now the basis of the modern chocolate industry.

Cacao (pronounced cah-COW) seeds were used to make ceremonial beverages consumed by elites of the Aztecs and other civilizations, while also being used as a form of currency.

The Spanish conquistadors who shattered the Aztec empire in the 16th century were smitten with a chocolate beverage made from cacao seeds served in the palace of the emperor.

However, this was not the form in which cacao had its beginnings.

"The earliest cacao beverages consumed at Puerto Escondido were likely produced by fermenting the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds," the scientists wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

One of the researchers, anthropologist John Henderson of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, said cacao beverages were being concocted far earlier than previously believed - and it was a beer-like drink that started the chocolate craze.

"What we're seeing in this early village is a very early stage in which serving cacao at fancy occasions is one of the strategies that upwardly mobile families are using to establish themselves, to accumulate social prestige.

"I think this is part of the process by which you eventually get stratified societies," Henderson said.

Steps involved  in preparing this marvelous & tasty chocolate :


Making chocolate from the bean isn't easy. Chocolate companies invest millions of dollars into tools and machinery to turn bitter cacao beans into delicious chocolate bars. But with many hours -- or possibly days -- of hard work and dedication to detail, along with some equipment of your own, you can turn your kitchen into a miniature chocolate factory! By following these instructions and techniques, you'll be able to make your very own brand of chocolate.

1. Roast the cocoa beans. The process is similar to roasting coffee beans, except with gentler requirements: 5-35 minutes at temperatures between 120-160 degrees C(250-325 degrees F). You must generally expose the beans to an initial high temperature, lower the temperature gradually, and stop roasting when the beans start to crack (but not burn). The first image shows the cocoa beans before roasting, and the second image shows the after-result. You can accomplish this in your oven or by using a store-bought roaster.

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• If roasting in your oven, you will need to do a bit of experimenting because roasting times depend on the type of bean you're using. Lay the beans in a single layer across a cookie sheet. Start off with an 18 minute roast in a preheated oven at 120 degrees C (250 F). They'll be ready when they start to crack and when they actually taste like chocolate (let them cool before tasting!).
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   For roasting larger quantities of cocoa beans, you may want to invest in a drum, which is rotated over a gas grill.
  For roasting larger quantities of cocoa beans, you may want to invest in a drum, which is rotated over a gas grill.

• 2. Crack and winnow the beans.
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• You can crack the beans with a hammer and remove the husks (which should be loose after proper roasting) by hand if you are working with a small batch.For larger batches, you can use a very coarse, Corona type mill or purchase .a specialized mill (shown here, also see Citations below) to crack the beans into nibs. (In case you were wondering, a meat grinder doesn't work.
• 3. Grind the nibs into a cocoa liqueur. 
• You will need equipment strong enough to liquefy the nibs and separate the remaining husks. General food processors, Vita-Mix, coffee grinders (burr and blade), meat grinders (manual and electric) mortar and pestles, and most juicers will not work. You may need to experiment to find equipment that gets the job done. Many home chocolatiers find success with a "Champion Juicer"^[(see Citations below). Feed the nibs into the juicer one handful at a time, being sure to push them in gently (not forcefully) or else the motor may overheat. Cocoa liqueur will come through the screen and a mixture of husks and liqueur will find its way through the spout. Feed this mixture through the juicer again until only the husk comes through the spout.
• 4. Conch and refine the chocolate.
• By definition, conching affects the characteristic taste, smell and texture of the chocolate, while refiningreduces the size of the cocoa solids and sugar crystals. Both processes can be applied at the same time with a powerful wet grinder (success has been reported with a Spectra 10 melanger, also called the "Stone Chocolate Melanger"^[ see Citations below). How you conch and refine the chocolate will depend on what equipment you use, but here are guidelines for the Spectra 10 melanger:
  
  • Melt the chocolate and the cocoa butter in the oven to about 120 degrees F.
  • Combine with non-fat dry milk powder, sugar, lecithin and a vanilla pod (split and soaked in the cocoa butter 1 hour; this is an optional flavoring).
  • Pour the chocolate mixture in the grinder, periodically pointing a hair dryer at it for 2-3 minutes to keep the chocolate melted during the first hour (until the friction created by grinding keeps the chocolate liquid without additional heat being needed).
  • Continue refining for at least 10 hours and no more than 36 hours, until the chocolate tastes smooth and balanced, but be sure not to over-refine (or it will get gummy).

To take a break from refining (e.g. at night while you're sleeping, see Warnings), turn off the grinder, put the covered bowl into an oven that's preheated to 150 degrees F but turned off, and leave it there overnight. It shouldn't solidify but if it does, take the cover off and turn the oven on to about 150-175 degrees F until the chocolate melts (be careful not to let the bowl itself melt, though).

5. Temper the chocolate.
 This is likely the most difficult part of the process, but it ensures that the chocolate will be shiny and have a "snap" to it, rather than being matte and soft enough to melt in your hands. However, the great thing about tempering is you can do it as many times as you like and the chocolate won't be ruined. Alternatively, you can purchase a tempering machine on the Internet for $300-400 (US). The most important thing is that you do not let any moisture in the chocolate, or it will be ruined.

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   Melt your chocolate carefully.
  Melt your chocolate carefully. You can accomplish this in the oven if you are using larger quantities of chocolate, or you can use a double broiler on the stove. It's your choice, just make sure that the chocolate does not burn (keep stirring) and you melt more than 1.5 pounds of chocolate. Any less and tempering could prove difficult. When the chocolate is melted to a temperature of around 110 or 120 degrees F, transfer it to a dry, cool bowl and stir until the chocolate temperature drops to about 100 degrees F. Use a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature. The chocolate in the bowl should remain at the same temperature while you work with chocolate outside of the bowl.
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   Pour about one third of the contents of the bowl onto a hard, non-porous counter top or other surface (granite or marble works best).
  Pour about one third of the contents of the bowl onto a hard, non-porous counter top or other surface (granite or marble works best). Spread the chocolate out with the spatula, and then bring it all back together.
• 
  

   Continue doing this (for about 10-15 minutes) until the chocolate is about 85 degrees F.
  Continue doing this (for about 10-15 minutes) until the chocolate is about 85 degrees F. By the time the chocolate cools down to that point, the chocolate should be a thick, gooey mass.
• 
  

   Add some of the 100 degree F chocolate from the bowl to get the chocolate workable again.
  Add some of the 100 degree F chocolate from the bowl to get the chocolate workable again. Gently work the chocolate around.
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   Return the chocolate back into the bowl with the 100 degree chocolate.
  Return the chocolate back into the bowl with the 100 degree chocolate. Stir it gently, and try not to create bubbles.
• Check the chocolate's temperature. You want it around 90 degrees F, but never over 92 degrees F. Anything higher than this and you may need to temper the chocolate again.

       6.  Mold the chocolate while it is still at about 90 degrees F. Pour the chocolate into the molds, careful not to spill. Some people find it effective to use a large syringe to place chocolate in the mold, but it is all about personal preference. When all of the chocolate has been added to the molds, you may either freeze, refrigerate, or let them harden at room temperature. Again, it's all about personal preference, and there is no right way to do it. 

7. Remove the chocolate from the molds when the chocolate is hardened. The molded chocolate should have a glossy appearance and should snap cleanly in two. If you are unsatisfied with your chocolate, you may re-temper the chocolate as long as the chocolate remains dry and you haven't burned it.