The Difference

By

Behram Merchant

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. 'What?!' the owners exclaimed. 'He hardly did anything!' So they wrote the old man a note saying, 'Please send us an itemized bill.' The man sent a bill that read: Tapping with a hammer $ 2.00 Knowing where to tap $ 9, 998.00

Moral: Effort is important, but knowing where to use it makes the difference!

Are you missing those days? Sometimes I do

From

Brihaspati patel (Surat)

Doordarshan Logo


Doordarshan' s Screensaver




Dekh Bhai Dekh



 

Ramayan


Mile Sur Mera Tumhara



Turning Point



Bharath Ek Khoj




Alif Laila



Byomkesh Bakshi

 

He Man




Salma Sultana DD News Reader





Vicco turmeric,
Nahin cosmetic
Vicco turmeric ayurvedic cream


 

Twaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiinggggggg Washin powder Nirma, Washing powder Nirma
Doodh si safedi, Nirma se aayi
Rangeen kapde bhi khil khil jaaye

 

I'm a Complan Boy (Shahid Kapoor) and I'm a Complan Girl (Ayesha Takia)

 

Surabhi: Renuka Sahane and Siddharth

Then were 'Mungerilal ke hasin sapane' and 'karamchand' ...'Vikram Betal', etc.

 How did one survive growing up in the 70's, 80's and 90's?
We had no seatbelts, no airbags and sitting in the back of a truck was a treat…
Our baby prams had the most gorgeous lead based colors…
No such thing as tamper proof bottle tops…

 
Opening kitchen cupboards was a breeze… as safety locks were unheard off…
Cycling was like a breath of fresh air…
No safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads, with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike…

When thirsty we only drank tap water, bottled water was still a mystery…
We kept busy collecting bits & pieces so we could build all sort of things … and we were fearless on our bikes even when the brakes failed going downhill…
We were showing off how tough we are, by how high we could climb trees & then jumping down….It was great fun….

We could stay out to play for hours, as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner…
We walked to school, or sometimes we even rode our bike.
We had no mobile phones, but we always managed to find each other…. How? No one knows…
We lost teeth, broke arms & legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses…. nobody complained as we had so much fun, it wasn't anybody's fault, only ours
We ate everything in sight, cakes, bread, chocolate, ice-cream, sweet sugary drinks, yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around.

And if one of us was lucky to find a 1 litre coca cola bottle we all had a swag from it & guess what? Nobody picked up any germs....
We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo's, I-Pods, Video games, 99 Cable TV channels, DVD's, Home Cinema, Mobile phones, Home Computers, Laptops, Chat-rooms, Internet, etc ... BUT, we had REAL FRIENDS!!!!
We called on friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the back…
We loved being let loose in the big bad world…without bodyguards…
We played with sticks and stones, played cowboys and Indians, doctors and nurses, hide and seek, soccer games, over and over again…
When we failed our exams we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same grade…without visiting psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors…
Such were the days…

George Carlin on age

Contributed by

Deepak Bhagde (Jamnagar)

 

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them."
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop" And the   devil's name is   Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh    often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen.   Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, and hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge!
8. Cherish your health:   If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9 Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

 

How exactly does a caterpillar morph into a butterfly? From Shirish Daftary (Mumbai)

There's a question that's been plaguing me for some time. So, we've all known the stages of metamorphosis for butterflies and moths since we were children, but I can't seem to find a decent description as to exactly how the caterpillar in its chrysalis stage morphs into a butterfly or moth. All I find is vague phrasings such as "hormonal changes" and "magical happenings". Simply asked, how exactly does a caterpillar, in the chrysalis stage of metamorphosis, morph its physical structure into that of a butterfly or moth? —Mark Anderson

S D STAFF Doug replies:

The transformation that results in a butterfly – or fly, or beetle, or wasp, or any other insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis, from larva to pupa to adult – is one of the most remarkable stunts pulled in the animal kingdom. Saying it involves "magical happenings" isn't so far off: it's an astounding trick, even when you know how it's done. And, as with most magic tricks, the secret behind it involves some specialized apparatus – a gimmick that's hidden away from the audience, up the proverbial sleeve.

The first part of the explanation lies in understanding how insects are put together. As is the case with other arthropods, the "skin" of insects is a single layer of cells on top of which they produce a tough covering called the exoskeleton. Some parts of the exoskeleton are harder than others: forming solid plates called sclerites, and in between these plates the exoskeleton is soft and flexible. In some life stages, like a caterpillar, most of the exoskeleton is soft and flexible. If you read some of the more popularized stuff about insects, you'll see reference to the "chitinous exoskeleton", implying that "chitinous" means "hard." That's not true: chitin is one of the main proteins that make up the insect exoskeleton, but chitin is not hard. In fact, those grocery-store white mushrooms - the most ubiquitous edible mushrooms of all - are a far better example of what true chitin is like: pale and soft. The trick here is that the skin cells of insects release chemicals into the exoskeleton above them that cause modifications of the molecules and the links between them, making some parts of the exoskeleton darker and harder than others.

The second part is how insects and other arthropods grow larger; the soft parts of the exoskeleton can be stretched as an insect grows, but not the hardened parts. So, what happens is that when a certain limit is reached, the skin cells essentially detach from the exoskeleton above them, and manufacture a new exoskeleton underneath the old one - but the new exoskeleton is kept in a soft, flexible condition. When the new exoskeleton is ready to go, the insect ruptures the old exoskeleton, and either crawls out of that shell, or shucks it off like a pair of pajamas, and then expands its new exoskeleton. Only then will it release the chemicals that cause parts of the new exoskeleton to get darker and harder. It's this brief vulnerable stage which we can thank for the culinary wonder known as soft-shell crab. Mmm soft-shell crab! But I digress.

If you love someone,

By

Beenu Tripathi

(Gandhinagar)

If you love someone,

Set her free,

If she comes back, she's yours,

If she doesn't, she never was...

The New Versions....

Playful:-

If you love someone,

Set her free...

*If she comes back, and if you love her still, Set her free again, repeat*

C++ Programmer:-

if(you-love(m_she))

m_she.free()

if(m_she == NULL)

m_she= new CShe;

Bill Gates:-

If you love someone,

Set her free,

If she comes back, I think we can charge her for

re-installation fees but tell her that she's also

going to get an upgrade.

Animal-Rights Activist:-

If you love someone,

Set her free,

In fact, all living creatures deserve to be free!!

Pessimist:-

If you love someone,

Set her free...

If she ever comes back, she's yours,

If she doesn't, as expected, she never was.

Shakespeare:-

If you love someone,

Set her free...

If she ever comes back, she's yours,

If she doesn't, here's the poison, suicide yourself for her.

Optimist:-

If you love someone,

Set her free...

Don't worry, she will come back.

Suspicious:-

If you love someone,

Set her free....

If she ever comes back, ask her why.

Impatient:-

If you love someone,

Set her free...

If she doesn't comes back within some time forget her.

Patient:-

IF you love someone,

Set her free...

If she doesn't come back,

Continue to wait until she comes back...

Lawyers:-

If you love someone,

Set her free,

Clause 1a of Paragraph 13a-1 in the second

amendment of the Matrimonial Freedom Act

clearly states that....

Statisticians:-

If you love someone,

Set her free,

If she loves you, the pro****lity of her coming back is high,

If she doesn't, the Weibull distribution and your relation was improbable anyway.

Salesman:-

If you love someone,

Set her free...

If she ever comes back, deal!

If she doesn't, so what! "NEXT".

Insurance agent:-

If you love someone,

Show her the plan...

If she ever comes back, sign her up,

If she doesn't, keep follow up with her and never give up!

Nowadays' style:-

If You Love Someone,

Set it free,

If It Comes Back, It is Yours

If It Doesn't, Hunt Down and Kill It...!!!

Or perhaps report to immigration

Some Old Words with new Meanings

From

Deepak Dave

(Mumbai)

ADULT:
A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.

BEAUTY PARLOR:
A place where women curl up and dye.

CHICKENS:
The only animals you eat before they are born and after they are dead.

COMMITTEE:
A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.

DUST:
Mud with the juice squeezed out.

EGOTIST:
Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.


HANDKERCHIEF:
Cold Storage.

INFLATION:
Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.


MOSQUITO:
An insect that makes you like flies better.


RAISIN:
Grape with a sunburn.


SECRET:
Something you tell to one person at a time.

SKELETON:
A bunch of bones with the person scraped off.


TOOTHACHE:
The pain that drives you to extraction.


TOMORROW:
One of the greatest labor saving devices of today.


YAWN:
An honest opinion openly expressed.

What would you do? You make the choice

By

Ajit Mopkar

(Goa)

Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other chi ldren do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?'  Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt . His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing t hat the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to fi rst! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide- eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third ! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude , vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often supp ressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.