Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Experts say a loophole in the Act allows rackets like the one on kidney trade unearthed last week to thrive. They have called for stricter laws. THE ACT: According to the Act, close relatives of recipient like parents, children, brothers, sisters and spouse can donate the organ without government clearance. But all other relatives who wish to donate the organ need to appear before the authorization committee for clearance and, only after its approval and clearance, can get the organ transplanted. The Authorization Committee set up for the purpose ensures all the documents required under the Act have boon supplied. The Act does not allow exchange of money between the donor and the recipient. According to the Act, organ sales are banned and, therefore, no foreigner can get a local donor. If it is found money has been exchanged in the process, then both the recipient as well as the donor is considered as prime offenders under the law. FINES AND PENALTIES Any person who renders his service...

Producers have revealed some of the secrets about the latest James Bond film, due for release later this year, including the inner turmoil that drives its suave super agent hero and its title: ' Quantum of Solace .' As titles go, it's not as mellifluous as 'From Russia With Love' or 'Goldfinger.' But Daniel Craig, returning as Bond after 2006's 'Casino Royale,' says he likes it. "It has grown on me," Craig told reporters on the film's set at Pinewood Studios near London on Thursday. "It doesn't trip off the tongue. But why should it?" Producer Michael G. Wilson said the title, chosen only a few days ago, was taken from a story by Bond creator Ian Fleming that appears in the collection 'For Your Eyes Only.' Craig said Fleming defined a quantum of solace — it means, roughly, a measure of comfort — as "that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have, you might as well give up." Filmin...

Hollywood actor Heath Ledger, who made headlines with his controversial film Brokeback Mountain , was found dead in a Manhattan apartment on Tuesday. The talented 28-year-old Hollywood actor who gravitated toward dark, brooding roles that defied his leading-man looks, was found dead on Tuesday in a Manhattan apartment, face-down and naked at the foot of his bed with prescription sleeping pills nearby, police said. There was no obvious indication that the Australian-born Ledger had committed suicide, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the SoHo apartment that is believed to be the home of the Brokeback Mountain actor, Browne said. The massage therapist and a housekeeper found his naked body in the bed at about 3:30 pm. They tried to revive him, but he was already dead. "We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident," Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement Tuesday night. "This is an extremely difficult ...

San Francisco: Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs took the wraps off a super-slim new laptop at the Macworld trade show on 15th Jan, unveiling a personal computer less than an inch thick that turns on the moment it's opened. Jobs also confirmed the consumer electronics company's foray into online movie rentals, revealing an alliance with all six major movie studios to offer films over high-speed Internet connections within 30 days after they're released on DVD. Always a showman, Jobs unwound the string on a standard-sized manila office envelope and slid out the ultra-thin MacBookAir notebook computer to coos and peals of laughter from fans at the conference. Apple Macbook Air At its beefiest, the new computer is .76 inches thick; at its thinnest, it's .16 inches. It comes standard with an 80-gigabyte hard drive, with the option of a 64GB flash-based solid state drive as an upgrade. The machine doesn't come with a built-in optical drive for reading CDs an...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Tata Motors unveiled the world's cheapest new car on Thursday, bringing car ownership closer for millions of poorer consumers in emerging markets but raising environmental concerns. The 4 seater Nano, with an engine around 625cc, will have a dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500) , about half the cost of the cheapest car on today's market, a 25-year old model from Maruti Suzuki, Tata's great rival. The Nano will go on sale later this year, the company said. "Let me assure you and our critics the car we have designed will meet all safety norms and all foreign environmental criteria," Chairman Ratan Tata said as he proudly unveiled what had been dubbed the " People's Car " at the Auto Expo in New Delhi. The compact but curvy Nano stands in sharp contrast to the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands that Tata is negotiating to acquire from Ford Motor Co. Hundreds of people crowded into the pavilion to see the ...

Eye-Fi Wireless Photo Sharing SD Memory Card Wins “The Last Gadget Standing” Award at CES Winning the Last Gadget Standing Award is a prestigious honor, because it's voted on by the attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The 2008 winner of the award is the Eye-Fi wireless photo transfer SD memory card. This device looks like a regular SD memory card, but it's able to transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer/laptop) instantly and wirelessly. It can be a hassle sometimes to transfer photos from your digital camera to your computer, because you usually have to either take out the SD card and put it into the computer's SD card slot, or mess around with USB cables. The Eye-Fi, on the other hand, eliminates the need for cables or the need to remove your SD card. The Eye-Fi is basically just a 2 GB SD memory card with built-in WiFi capabilities that allow you to wirelessly transfer photos from any digital camera to any computer (with the included so...

The Encyclopedia of Life by SethPlattner With 1.8 million named species out there, it's nearly impossible to categorize them all into one neat catalogue. Nevertheless, that's not stopping the guys over at The Field Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, and Biodiversity Heritage Library who have all banned together to launch the Encyclopedia of Life , which hopes to document all 1.8 million species on their state of the art website. A $10 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. Mac Arthur Foundation and $2.5 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation got the project off the ground, and scientists and conservationists alike hope that the Encyclopedia of Life will ultimately serve as a global beacon for biodiversity and conservation. With an intense development that will take place over the next 10 years, the website will not only catalogue what we already know to exist in the natural world, but hopefully e...

The New Motorola ROKR E8 is a cell phone like no other. With its innovative design, music player, web browser, camera, and Bluetooth support, it's sure to start 2008 off with a bang. Motorola has definitely spent some time in the R&D department when creating the concept for the newly redesigned ROKR. This cell phone features an innovative ModeShift technology which basically allows the phone to display the controls that you need depending upon what mode you are in (music, camera, web, etc.). The front panel of the phone is pretty much a blank slate which changes according to the function that the phone is in, and the controls provide a nice tactile vibration when you touch them. The Motorola ROKR E8 is expected to be released in the U.S. within the next few months - so be patient! This phone is really cool - especially the innovative new design of the control panel. Keep your eyes peeled for this device in the coming months, because you have to see it to really appreciate i...

There are some things we just don't want to talk about, and condoms are one of them. Instead of looking at this as a problem, some condom companies are taking advantage of our discomfort with condoms and using this to create some very entertaining advertising. Here are ten of the most creative and entertaining condom ads from recent advertising campaigns. 1. The Perfect Opportunity These Durex condom ads were strategically placed in toll gates so that people would have to push into images of strategically placed women's rear ends to enter the subway station. 2. Cover Yourself Why use traditional print advertising when you can just walk in the streets with condom shaped umbrellas and grab attention? Jontex Condoms does this brilliantly. 3. Any Place, Any Time In Brazil, these Jontex floor stickers for condoms were used in public restrooms. The copy reads: You don't know when it can be necessary. 4. Tell the Truth! The copy on this hilarious ad from Durex Condoms r...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In the secretive world of movie spy James Bond, the "Bond girl" for the new installment in the movie series had been top secret, but on Monday Bond's backers said Ukrainian bombshell Olga Kurylenko is the actress. Columbia Pictures, the film studio behind the popular movies about the British secret agent, said the 28 year old Kurylenko has been cast in one of the most coveted roles in the movies - 007's sidekick for the still untitled Bond flick. The film, which is the 22nd in the series that dates back to 1962's "Dr. No," is due in theaters in November and stars Daniel Craig as the dashing British spy who regularly saves the world from a destructive evil villain. Early reports had actress Gemma Arterton as the new Bond girl, but even though Arterton has a role in the new film it is not as large as Kurylenko's, said a source close to the film. The Ukrainian actress joins a long list of leading ladies to be cast alongside the s...

Greg Chappell, Cricketer- The 'guru' who learnt a bitter lesson! Appointed as India coach in May 2005, Greg Chappell was instrumental in leading India to a memorable 17 wins chasing in the ODI, and his tenure hit a peak with a Test series win in the West Indies. Despite which he will be remembered as the one man who ensured Sourav Ganguly's farewell to Team India. After his team's poor Caribbean show, a disheartened Chappell tendered his resignation as coach, citing family and personal reasons. However the decision came as no shock as he was supposed to have criticised senior players and their attitudes in his report to the BCCI. Paris Hilton, Socialite- The loss of inheritance! Tabloid favourite Paris Hilton might have inherited the family surname, but when it comes to the family fortune, her grandfather, hotelier Barron Hilton had other plans. According to Jerry Oppenheimer, who wrote a biography of the Hilton House of Hilton Barron Hilton is embarrassed by the beh...

There was finally some good news for the Indian team Down Under with the ICC clearing Harbhajan Singh, who was slapped with a three-match ban for allegedly racially abusing Andrew Symonds, to play until a decision is made on the BCCI appeal against the ban. The ICC also announced that umpire Steve Bucknor will also not stand in the third Test to be played at Perth.

Parents, who want others to know that their beloved child is simply a genius, can now breathe a sign of relief as help is at hand. A British researcher has devised a list of certain characteristics that parents should look out for to spot hidden talents in their son or daughter, the Daily Mail reported here. Bernadette Tynan, a former lecturer at the Research Centre for Able Pupils in Oxford, believes the potential of many bright youngsters is not being developed in schools and fails to show up in tests. " Not all abilities can be captured in simple pen and paper tests. A child may be good at building things, or have great imagination, or be a great leader - gifts like these cannot be measured," Tynan was quoted as saying. She has identified six types of pupils whose talents may not be recognised. They are who earned the nickname when they rearranged the goldfish bowls and their classmates' seating arrangements in reception - this could be a very strong indication o...

As the parable goes, after creating human beings, God was very much in trouble because every human being would go on and on asking for His favours, day in and day out. No other creature would ever ask Him for so many favours, they were thankful for their existence and for the bounteous earth and did not bother God at all. Therefore God called a meeting of His entire high-level ministerial group. In this meeting all His ministers, old and young, were present. The agenda was that the God was fedup with the frequent demands of all the men and women (and especially children!) and wanted to find a place where he could actually go hide Himself. One young minister suggested Mount Everest as the best place but that was ruled out by God. Very soon, He said, two men called Hilary and Tenzing would get there. Another minister suggested the moon as the ideal place but that was also ruled out, for, said God, with a weary air, very soon a human called Neil Armstrong would land there. Finally a very ...

Indian call centre workers are falling sick because of verbal abuse by infuriated British callers. According to research by Glasgow's Strathclyde University for the Union of IT Enabled Services, which informally represents call centre workers, 1.6 million people who work in the industry in India , mostly in their twenties, are plagued by ailments like heart attacks, ulcers and insomnia which are caused by the stress of dealing with irate customers. The Strathclyde University study found that 77 per cent of Indian call centre workers felt "very" pressurized and 45 per cent identified difficult customers as the main source of their stress, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. The study will be published later in January. A recent health survey by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations has revealed that the outsourcing industry was most at risk from diseases that would hit productivity. It estimated that heart disease, strokes a...

Jan. 6: India's off spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for three Tests for calling Andrew Symonds a "monkey" which was intended to offend the Australian all rounder on the basis of race and ethnic origin, according to ICC match referee Mike Procter. Explaining the ban imposed on Harbhajan at Sydney on Sunday night, the ICC said in a statement that the ban would apply with immediate effect but the player could lodge an appeal with the ICC's legal counsel within 24 hours. While the appeal is under consideration, Harbhajan could continue playing for India. The BCCI said it would lodge an appeal. The Indians also made a formal complaint against Australian spinner Brad Hogg for using abusive language during the ill-tempered second Test, giving a new twist to the simmering feud between the two sides. The hearing into the charge will be held on Monday. "I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Harbhajan Singh directed that word at Andrew Symonds and also that he me...

SURYAVEER SINGH, a geography teacher at SD Public School, was at his wit's end trying to get his students excited about his subject. But ever since he started his blog ( http://mygeographylearningblogspot.com ) in April 2007, not only are students enjoying his classes, they are also performing better. "I was not doing well in Geography But after sir started his blog, I'm coping with it well. The video links are most interesting," says Chirag Singal, a class XI student. From videos on whalewatching in Kaikoura, New Zealand, to slide-shows on volcanoes and natural wonders, the blog is full of interesting visual tours. Singh says: "Students can talk to me by simply posting their queries or comments on the blog." About 36 teachers from six schools including Darbari Lal DAV Model School, Pitampura, Kulachi Hansraj Model School and Ved Vyasa DAV Public School, Vikaspuri- have started such blogs. The idea and technical training came from a voluntary group CII-Shik...

Los Angeles (Reuters) - SanDisk Corp introduced a new flash storage drive on Wednesday that also automatically backs up data to the Internet. When consumers store documents, photos and music onto SanDisk's new Cruzer Titanium Plus USB flash drive , it will back up that digital information to a Web service offered by a start-up company called BeInSync , which stores data onto Amazon.com Inc's computers. The new storage drive, which SanDisk believes is the first of its kind, is the latest in a wave of devices that link up with the Internet to offer new features to products that were previously considered stand-alone, or offline, devices. For example, Amazon's new electronic book reader, Kindle, comes with wireless access, allowing users to directly download books, newspapers and blogs. Sony Corp's competing reader does not have a wireless connection and requires users to link to a computer to upload books onto the device. The Cruzer, which retails for $59.99 and goes on s...

Despite an improved economy, Japan is suffering a crisis of confidence these days about its ability to compete with its emerging Asian rivals, China and India. One result has been a growing craze for Indian education in this fad obsessed nation. The Indian boomlet reflects the insecurity of many Japanese in their schools, which once turned out students who consistently ranked at the top of international tests. But now many people here are looking for lessons from India, the country many see as the world's ascendant education superpower. Bookstores are filled with titles like Extreme Indian Arithmetic Drills and The Unknown Secrets of the Indians . Newspapers carry reports of Indian children memorizing multiplication tables upto 99 times 99, compared to Japan's relatively lax elementary school requirement of knowing nine times nine. And Japan's few Indian international schools are reporting a surge in applications from Japanese families. At the Little Angels English Academ...