number facts

Have you ever thought why........ 1 means "one", and 2 means "two"?

The roman numerals are easy to understand but what was the logic behind the phonecian numbers?

It's all about angles !

It's the number of angles.

If one writes the numbers down (see below) on a piece of paper in their older forms, one quickly sees why.

I have marked the angles with "o"s.



No 1 has one angle.
No 2 has two angles.
No 3 has three angles.
etc.

and "O" has no angles

Interesting, isn't it?
An ancient phonecian manuscript explains this and I thought it to be fascinating.

BillGates to retire from Microsoft

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was set Friday for his last day of full-time work at Microsoft - the company he founded 33 years ago on a hunch that personal computers would become an integral part of everyday life. The world’s largest software company said that it was not planning any public events to observe the transition, though the change would be marked by internal events. Gates, 52, will continue to hold the title of non-executive chairman and work about one day a week at Microsoft. He intends to devote the rest of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the wealthiest charity in the world, which is aimed at improving healthcare around the world and reducing extreme poverty. Founded with the vast fortune he made as Microsoft prospered, the foundation has an endowment of some 38.7 billion dollars with billions more expected to roll in as Gates transfers his massive personal wealth. Legendary investor Warren Buffet, currently the world’s richest man, has also pledged to transfer the vast majority of his wealth to the foundation.

Gates handed over his role as Microsoft chief executive to his long-time partner Steve Ballmer in 2000, when Gates became the company’s chief software architect. Under a carefully planned succession programme, Gate’s duties will be taken over by two top Microsoft executives. Ray Ozzie will be in charge of day-to-day management issues, while Craig Mundie will be in charge of long-term planning. The company, whose Windows operating system powers some 90 per cent of the world’s personal computers, has a market capitalization of about 260 billion dollars and employs more than 78,000 people in 103 countries. But even as its cash cow products of Windows and the Office productivity suite look set to continue their stellar earnings, Microsoft faces tough competition as Google’s online dominance threatens to cut into Microsoft’s core businesses.

HAKKA NOODLES

INGREDIENTS

Chow noodles	4 packets	Soya sauce	6 tsp.
Onion (big) and Capsicum	2 each	Worcestershire	3-4 tsp.
Carrot	2	Corn flour	2 tsp.
Cabbage (small)	1	Vinegar	4 tbsp.
French beans	10-12	Chilly sauce	6 tsp.
Red chilly (sabut)	3-4	Oil	6 tbsp.
Ajinomoto	1 tsp.	Salt	3 tsp.
Red chilly powder	tsp.	Sugar	tsp.
Black pepper	2 tsp.	Garlic paste	1 tsp.

METHOD FOR BOILING NOODLES

Take 6-7 cups of water in a pateela and boil it. When it starts boiling put noodles in it. Without covering boil it for two three minutes. Switch off the gas and strain it through a strainer. Wash it with cold water for 5-7 times and simultaneously strain it. Keep it in strainer for 20 minutes. When noodles become dry then put 4 tsp. of oil. Mix it and separate it with help of fingertips. Keep it again for 5-7 minutes.

METHOD FOR MAKING HAKKA NOODLES

Mix chilly sauce, soya sauce, vinegar, salt, black pepper, ajinomoto, sugar and Worcestershire sauce in a bowl. Mix corn-flour with water and make a paste. Keep aside. Heat oil in a kadahi. Put red chilly powder and dry whole red chilly. Put boiled noodles. Mix well and keep aside. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in a kadahi. Simmer flame and add garlic paste. Cook it for 1/2 a minute. Add onion and fry it for one minute. Put carrot and capsicum and fry it for 1 minute. Add French beans and cabbage and fry it for 2 minute. Add aji-no-moto, black pepper and salt. Add the prepared sauce. Cook it for 1/2 a minute. Add 1cup of water and boil. Put the corn flour paste while stirring it. When it becomes thick turn off the gas. For serving spread fried noodles in a plate. Put hot vegetable on fried noodles. Serve hot.

Serves: 4-5 adults

Question Croner...

What is the difference between disc brake and drum brake? How do they work?

A brake is used to apply frictional resistance to a moving machine member to retard the machine's motion. Early automotive systems used a drum design on all four wheels.
They were called drum brakes because the components were housed in a round drum that rotated along with the wheel. inside was a set of shoes that, when the brake pedal was pressed, would force the shoe against the drum and slow the wheel.
Fluid was used to transfer the movement of the brake pedal into the movement of the brake shoes, while the shoes themselves were made of heat-resistant friction material similar to that used on clutch plates.
This basic design had one major flaw. Under high braking conditions, like descending a steep hill with a heavy load or repeated high-speed slowdowns, drum brakes would often fade and lose effectiveness.
Usually this fading was the result of too much heat build-up within the drums. For this reason, drum brakes can only operate as long as they can absorb the heat generated by slowing a vehicle's wheel. Thought disc brakes rely on the same basic principles. Their design is far superior to that of drum brakes.
Disc brakes use a slim rotor and small caliper to halt wheel movement.
Within the caliper are two break pads, one on each side of the rotor, that clamp together when the brake pedal is pressed. Once again fluid is used to transfer the movement of the brake pedal into the movement of the brake pads.
But,unlike drum brakes, which allow heat to build up inside the drum during heavy braking, the rotor used in disc brakes is fully exposed. This exposure works to constantly cool the rotor, greatly reducing its tendency to overheat or cause fading.