Real Flow still holds ground in Fluid Simulation!

Realflow Vs Maya N-Particles system! Realflow outscores!

Auutodesk Galileo! Creating New Talk in Arch Viz!

Not a realistic output- but super cool tools to builds mammoths of cities, buildings, pathways, roads, sidewalks, lawns... and what not! #3D Technology!

Technology preview- Fluids in Maya

We are heading towards Heaven Guys!

Easy Animation Techniques/ Tweaks in Autodesk Maya

 

Autodesk says, results may differ, but who cares- this is good!

Details of Tim Burton's 'Frankenweenie' unveiled

 Disney release plot points for black and white movie

Plot details for Tim Burton’s new film Frankenweenie have been released by Disney. The full-length feature will be based on Burton’s short film of the same name from 1984. Scroll down and click below to watch it.

According to the synopsis details released, Frankenweenie tells the story of young Victor, who attempts to bring his dog Sparky back to life through scientific experimentation. Succeeding, the dog is revealed to the world – with disastrous results.

The film will be shot in black and white then rendered in 3D. Disney chiefs said in a statement: "This will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience." Over 200 puppets and sets have been crafted for the stop-motion film.

Winona Ryder , Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short and Martin Landau will all be lending their voices to the production.

Cant wait to see Disney create another "whole new experience in classic style!"

The Man Who Made War on a Mountain- built a valley of LOVE!

“My wife, Phalguni Devi, was seriously injured while crossing the hill to bring me water; I worked then on a farm across the hills. That was the day I decided to carve out a proper road through this hill,” he told us.
“My love for my wife was the initial spark that ignited in me the desire to carve out a road. But what kept me working without fear or worry all those years was the desire to see thousands of villagers crossing the hill with ease whenever they wanted,” Manjhi said.

Dashrath Manjhi

He was ridiculed in 1959 when he started hewing a way through the Gahlaur Ghati hills of Bihar’s Gaya district, some 150 km from Patna. It would take 22 years for Dashrath Manjhi to finish his 360ft-long, 30ft-wide road — little wonder, for he worked alone, his sole tools his chisel, hammer and shovel. What was once a precarious passage just a foot wide is now an avenue that can accommodate cyclists and motorcyclists and is used by the people of nearly 60 villages with great ease. The road has also reduced the distance between Gaya’s Atri and Wazirganj subdivisions from 50km to just 10km. Children from Manjhi’s own Gahlaur and other nearby villages no longer have to walk eight kilometers one way to attend school — they can now study at a school just three km away.

We met Manjhi a few weeks before the cancer that finally ended his life on August 17 forced him to take to his bed. The 73- year-old was frail, but his energy was undiminished as he relived his work on the road. “I knew if I did not do it myself, neither would the government do it nor would the villagers have the will and determination. This hill had given us trouble and grief for centuries. The people had asked the government many times to make a proper road through the hill, but nobody paid any attention. So I just decided I would do it all by myself.”

Manjhi and his wife Phalguni Devi were a peace loving, simple, poor yet happy couple who lived in Gahlaur with their only Son (name unknown) just beside the mountain. “He is poor. I am Poor. All that keeps us alive is love” Phalguni would remark!

Each day the people of the village of Gahlaur Ghat had to make an arduous and dangerous trek just to reach the nearest market town, or even their own fields at Wazirganj where they had to work to earn the day’s bread!

The Manjhi couple also had to do this task of climbing the impossible hill everyday as Manjhi’s farm was on the other side of the hill. One day, while bringing water to her thirsty husband, Phalguni slipped from the slope of the hill and fell. She was seriously injured. Dashrath Manjhi did not have the money or transportation to save his wife. The hill stood between them and the town. She died.

Manjhi’s only hope for staying alive was gone with his wife’s death. He couldn’t cry; he couldn’t digest the fact. He retired to his bed. Manjhi’s brother came to take care of his Son. But none of this made any impact on Manjhi. His love-his wife was dead! And nothing in this world, nothing, would replace her. He wept in silence. He stopped speaking to people. He was seen speaking to thin air many times by the villagers. Many believed Manjhi had gone mad.
But Manjhi wouldn’t heed to the reactions of the world. Children made fun of him calling him a lunatic. Elders followed the kids. But Manjhi’s eyes were filled with his wife’s face. A year passed.

All of a sudden, one day, Manjhi felt a shiver running down his spine- not out of fear, but out of anger and rage! It was the hill that had killed his wife. “This mountain didn’t let her be happy when she alive, and now it has killed her! I can’t let this hill claim any more lives- any more loves!”

Manjhi got out of his bed and headed to the market. He sold his only sheep to buy a Chisel, a Hammer and a Shovel. He came to the foot of the hill and looked at the merciless piece of earth that had ruined his life. He steadied the chisel and lowered the hammer over it. He dug and dug and dug. For 22 years he dug.

Nothing stopped him.

Every time the hammer met the chisel head, Manjhi reminded- “My wife will not be able to see the fruits of my labor, but no husband will ever lose his wife again because of this mountain!”

The villagers, who were taunting him before, now started offering him tools as an aid to what he was doing. Yet, no one would’ve imagined that Dashrath Manjhi would actually accomplish his task of MOVING THE MONUTAIN!

It took him 22 years (1966-1982) to cut the hill into two and make a 360 ft long, 25 meter high, and 20Ft wide pass through the hill!

Today, the villagers have nothing but gratitude for Gaya’s “Mountain Man”, known almost universally now as Sadhuji.

Dashrath Manjhi belonged to Bihar’s Musahar community, regarded as the lowest among the state’s Scheduled Castes. While other Dalits in Bihar had at least some land rights under the erstwhile Zamindari system, the Musahars never enjoyed any such. Nearly 98 percent of the state’s 1.3 million Musahars are landless today. Not even one percent of them are literate, which makes them the community with the country’s lowest literacy rate. For many of them, the day’s main meal still comprises roots, snails or rats, from which the community’s name is derived.

After Manjhi completed his road, he worked tirelessly for the betterment of his community. Among his other efforts, he managed to persuade nearly 50 Musahar families of his village to settle on government- granted land, although most of them were unwilling to leave their old homes. But when Manjhi started living on the allotted land, the rest followed suit. This new settlement is now known as Dashrath Nagar. Manjhi’s other efforts have been less successful. Despite his herculean feat, the Bihar government has given him only token appreciation and insincere help.

Himself landless, he made a petition once for property on which to build a hospital. Then chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav allotted him a five-acre plot in a village called Karzania — the people of the village never allowed him to take possession as they were using the land as a grazing ground. More recently, the Bihar government recommended Manjhi’s name for the Padma Bhushan. This never materialized, nor did Nitish Kumar’s promised support for a road Manjhi wanted from Wazirganj to Gahlaur. Government sources say the forest department had refused permission for the road, claiming that Manjhi had violated regulations by cutting away at the hill without the department’s permission. The Padma Bhushan was reportedly denied to Manjhi because of claims made by certain quarters in the bureaucracy that he did not actually carve out the hill road single-handedly. The villagers who benefited from his labor were outraged at these reports.

“Where was the forest department sleeping all these years when Sadhuji was creating history to help thousands of poor villagers? We have seen him from our childhood, hacking at the hill day and night as if he were possessed,” said Raj Kumar, a 30- year-old Gahlaur resident. But Manjhi was unfazed. “What I did is there for everyone to see. When God is with you, nothing can stop you,” he told us as we left. “I will keep working for the development of the villages here so long I am alive. I am neither afraid of any punishment from any government department for my work nor am I interested in any honor from the government.” Brave words, but perhaps only what one would have expected from the man.

Dashrath Manjhi's last days in Hospital

 

The government attempted amends by giving him a state funeral last week — but, as he well knew, it is his work for the love of his life- Phalguni that will live on longer than any honor.

Dashrath Manjhi's Road- Manjhi Road

Brad Bird moving away from the Animation Industry into Live action Movies! We'll all miss you!

LOL!

Know all that's just about Facebook in a less than 9 mins! Great for Starters!

Letter from Jim Carrey- A better U is a better universe...

 

"When I was a small child I brought relief to my family by taking their painful concerns and turning them into comedy. They enjoyed watching me play. Later, my career in show business blossomed after I made the conscious decision to serve the audience what I thought they really needed to see, someone who is carefree in the world and treats it all with a healthy dose of irreverence.
 Since very early in my memory the real thrill in life for me was..... Read on

Pixar Chief John Lasseter to Cameo in 'Cars 2'

In this publicity image released by Disney, a hefty yellow pick-up truck named John Lassetire, named after Disney and Pixar animation chief John Lasseter, is shown. The character will be introduced in the upcoming animated feature, "Cars 2." 

The producers of "Cars 2" surprised the Disney and Pixar animation chief in honor of Pixar's 25th anniversary by introducing a hefty yellow pick-up truck named John Lassetire — get it? — in the upcoming sequel. Lasseter said they registered the character's name to celebrate the animation studio behind such films as "Toy Story," ''WALL-E" and "Up."

"It was news to me," said Lasseter, who is also serving as a director on the animated film. "I did not know about that, so I was a little surprised. I ended up voicing this character. It was just one line, but now I have a 'Cars' character. I'm very excited about that. He's a good ol' American pick-up truck, which I think is very appropriate for John Lassetire."

Lasseter's character serves as the pit crew chief for a high-profile race car. In the sequel, slick race car Lightning McQueen and his tow truck friend Mater set off on an around-the-world adventure. "Cars 2" producer Denise Ream said she was inspired to inject Lasseter in the film by George Lucas' brief cameo in "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith."

Read on: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12894587

Bad a$$ Beetle!

That's one "fast" beetle you don't want to mess with especially when it's "ON the GO!"

Volkswagen does it again. Awesome 3D, Compositing, Tracking- What not!

Junk is Junk! Whether you like it or not!

What is a Junk Food? 

Any food that has poor nutritional value is considered unhealthy and may be called a junk food. A food that is high in fat, sodium, and/or sugar is known as a junk food. Junk food is easy to carry, purchase and consume. Generally, a junk food is given a very attractive appearance by adding food additives and colors to enhance flavor, texture, appearance, and increasing long shelf life.

A junk food has little enzyme producing vitamins & minerals and contains high level of calories. When we eat these empty calorie foods, the body is required to produce its own enzymes to convert these empty calories into usable energy. This is not desired as these enzyme producing functions in our body should be reserved for the performance of vital metabolic reactions.

Remember, junk foods are empty calories. An empty calorie lacks in micro- nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, or amino acids, and fiber but has high energy (calories).

Since junk food is high in fats and sugars, it is responsible for obesity, dental cavities, Type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.

List of Junk Foods

Given below is a list of junk food (empty calorie) items that you should avoid. It is now up to you how you can keep your four trillion cells happy.

Sugars, Refined foods, like sugar and plain flour (maida) based items like white bread and most packaged goods, like Twinkies and sugar donuts, etc. (Sugar Substitutes)Our body eventually turns sugars into fat. If you consume just 3 tsp of sugar daily, imagine how much sugar you would have consumed by the time you are 50 years of age; it will be about 275 kg !, about 5 time your weight !!

Fats & Hydrogenated oils: They are found in cookies, chips, candy bars, fried foods, muffins, bologna, etc. etc. Many snacks, such as potato chips, cheeseburgers and fries, have high levels of fat, sugar or salt-ingredients that are usually best limited to a small portion of your diet. The saturated fat mainly comes from animal products. Remember there is nothing that is useful for our body in foods with hydrogenated or trans fat. The excessive fats stick to our arteries and cause the blockages leading to heart disease and strokes. They can also aid to cancer, arthritis, PMS and sexual dysfunction. Some fats like Omega-3 fatty acids are good for our bodies.

Salt: Excessive salt is not good for our body (Daily Salt Recommendation). However, sodium in moderate amount, along with potassium, maintains the water balance in our body. But too much sodium can cause high blood pressure. Pretzels, chips and many canned food items contain excessive salt. (a href="/nutrition/high-sodium.html">High sodium food list)

Children and Junk Food 

Children find themselves amidst a complex society that is undergoing breathtaking changes. Concepts, relationships, lifestyles are metamorphosised to accommodate the new jet-setting age. Food is no exception. Healthy nutritious foods have been replaced by the new food mantra - JUNK FOOD! Junk food comprises of anything that is quick, tasty, convenient and fashionable. It seems to have engulfed every age; every race and the newest entrants are children. Wafers, colas, pizzas and burgers are suddenly the most important thing. The commonest scenario is a child who returns from school and plunks himself in front of the television, faithfully accompanied by a bowl of wafers and a can of cola. Children suddenly seem to have stepped into a world of fast foods and vending machines, totally unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves.

The years between 6-12 are a time of steady growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects how they grow, feel and behave. Changes our society have intensified the need for food skills, to the extent that they need to become a part of the child's basic education for good health and survival. The vast majority of working mothers with school age children are labored with exhausting commutes, upswings in the households, and stress, leading to a situation where parents get to spend limited time with their children. Traditional food skills are not passed on automatically from parent to child. Most people have forgotten that the primary reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so distant past, food was treated with reverence because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal was sharing experience with the others. Today family dinners are rare. In many ways, our culture is structured to foster poor eating habits. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of enticing junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting sop. We should be constructing an environment that protects our children. Instead we have a highly seductive environment that undermines eating habits. For children who have less vision of the heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or diabetes that might befall them decades later, the tentacles of a junk food environment are virtually inescapable. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could beginning clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. What children eat from puberty affects their risks of prostate and breast cancer. Osteoporosis and hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially vulnerable.

Poor diets can slow growth, decay new teeth, promote obesity and sow the seeds of infirmity and debilitating disease that ultimately lead to incurable disease and death or worse make life insufferable. Most of the times these junk foods contain colors that are laced with colors, those are often inedible, carcinogenic and harmful to the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, the effects of it emerging after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause hyperactivity and lapses of concentration in children. Children suffering from Learning Disabilities are often advised against eating food with artificial coloring. Chocolates, colas, flavored drinks and snack tit bits are full of artificial coloring. Not surprisingly, junk food not only has physiological repercussions, but also psychological ones - far reaching ones that affect the child's intellect and personalities. Coping intelligently with their dietary needs increases their self-esteem, and encourages further discovery. School days are full of educational challenges that require long attention spans and stamina. Poor nutritional habits can undermine these pre-requisites of learning, as well as sap the strength that children need for making friends, interacting with family, participating in sports and games or simply feeling god about themselves. Junk foods are often eaten in instead of regular food, an essential Indian diet that consists of wholesome chapatis and vegetables or snacks like upmas and idlis. Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satiation and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. There is simply no substitute for the feeling that descends, when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world and this primarily stems from GOOD HEALTH! There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for nurturing our children and endowing them with a legacy of good health.

Teenagers comprise the higher bulk of junk food fanatics with a lifestyle of munching in chips, fries, pizzas, burgers, samosas, kachoris, ice cream, chocolates, shakes and other snack foods.

Here are some facts about our food habits that you probably were not aware of.

1.       According to the latest NSSO survey released by the Delhi government, Delhiites spend Rs 371, on an average, processed food and beverages per month. They spend Rs 290 on vegetables and around one-third of it on fruits.

2.       The rest of urban India spends Rs 384 per month on processed food and Rs 290 on vegetables.

3.       Rural India spends Rs 264 on junk and processed food and Rs 284 on vegetables.

Doctors say:

The earlier you start a regular diet of wholegrains, fruits and vegetables, the better it is for your health. It has been proved that these things protect against multiple diseases, like cancer, heart attack and blood pressure.

The per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables in India remains as low as 130 grams per day. Even the Chinese consume 300 grams to 350 grams of fruits and vegetables per day.

Research shows the main inhibiting factor is the high costs.

American Junk Food List
There is a huge ado about the American fast food joints, which have remarkably spread their branches all over the world. As a result, it becomes obvious to make a special list of the American junk food. Well, here is a list of junk foods, which are high in trans fats and calories, which make them unhealthy if consumed on a regular basis.

• Arby's Apple Turnover
• Arby's Cherry Turnover
• Arby's Cinnamon Twist
• A&W Papa Burger
• A&W Original Bacon Double Cheeseburger
• A&W Original Double Cheeseburger
• A&W Fries (Chili Cheese, Cheese, Chili, Kids Fries, Large Fries, etc.)
• A&W Crispy Chicken Sandwich
• Boston Market Chocolate Cake
• Boston Market Pastry Top Chicken Pot Pie
• Burger King Hash Browns
• Burger King French Fries
• Burger King Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
• Burger King Ham, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
• Burger King Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
• Burger King BK Chicken Fries
• Burger King Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich
• Burger King Cini-minis
• Dairy Queen Chicken Strip
• Dairy Queen Onion Rings
• Dairy Queen Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard
• Dairy Queen Flamethrower Grillburger
• Domino's Garlic Dipping Sauce
• Jack in the Box Fish & Chips
• Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges
• Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries
• Jack in the Box Onion Rings
• Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries
• Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Biscuit
• Jack in the Box Sampler Trio
• Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Bites
• Jack in the Box Plain Chicken Biscuit
• Jack in the Box Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
• Jack in the Box Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
• Jack in the Box Original French Toast Sticks
• Jack in the Box Sausage Biscuit
• Jack in the Box Sourdough Ultimate Cheeseburger
• Jack in the Box Stuffed Jalapeños
• Jack in the Box Blueberry French Toast Sticks
• Jack in the Box Sausage Croissant
• KFC Chicken and Biscuit Bowl
• KFC Chicken Pot Pie
• McDonald's French Fries
• McDonald's Baked Apple Pie
• McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips
• McDonald's Hotcakes (2 pats margarine & syrup)
• Sonic French Toast Sticks
• White Castle French Fries
• White Castle Onion Chips
• White Castle Clam Strips
• White Castle Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
• White Castle Fish Nibblers
• White Castle Chicken Rings
• White Castle Hot Chocolate
• White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings
• White Castle Fish Nibblers

Does this mean that the foods which are not in the list of junk food are healthy and safe for us? Well, no. As a part of a healthy diet, one must always make sure to stay away from these things and purposefully make some healthy choices. What are these healthy choices? Well, at first, get out of the misconception that there is no such thing as a 'healthy fast food'! There are a few 'junk' food items, which are healthy and tasty!

Earn Rs. 5,000,000 in 2 years without investing a pie!

• A tree in its life of 55 years
• Generates oxygen worth of Rs. 530,000
• Recycle soil fertility worth of Rs. 640,000
• Facilitates soil erosion control worth of Rs. 640,000
• Conditions air worth of Rs. 1,050,000
• Provides shelter worth of Rs. 550,000
• And provides flowers,fruits and pleasure to eyes.
• A large oak tree can transpire 40,000 gallons (151,000 liters) per year and help us get rain! (source: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html)
• A mature tree can hold up to 50-300 gallons of water everyday, thus preventing soil erosion, landslides and aiding in underground water storage and climatic balance!
• The cost of sandalwood found abundantly in India as per 2008 figures was Rs. 2,000,000 per tonne and there are costlier trees too!
• 
  
  So when one tree falls, the loss is more than

Rs. 3,300,000 to Rs. 5,000,000.

Think before you cut the tree. 

Today, more than 4-6 billion trees are cut every year!

This is a 5 years old statistics!

 

Please understand what financial loss we incur by cutting down such precious trees!

"There's certainly a range in some of the larger estimates, but the net return from conservation is higher when you protect these resources than when you exploit them economically," says Jeff Wise, director the Alliance for Global Conservation, a consortium of U.S. conservation groups. This means that humanity is benefited more by saving a tree rather than utilizing it as timber or chop sticks or match sticks or furniture!

Trees are not the beings that are really being endangered! It's us- humans!!!!

WHERE WILL WE RUN TO BREATHE FRESH AIR OR TO DRINK DRINKABLE WATER WHEN THE LAST TREE ON THE PLANET IS CUT??

 We are so strict while buying something that costs us a fortune and once bought, we will never let the commodities go waste! Then, how can we overlook such a fact that the very breath we take, the very water we drink, the very food we eat, the very warmth we feel, the very bed we sleep, the very home we live in is all but a gift given to us freely- by a tree!

Have we recognized the economic importance of a tree?

 Finally, like I mentioned in my heading, if you want to earn Rs. 5,000,000 within two years, then please, please go home and plant a tree! Be sure, that having a small garden with green plants in your yard or  3-4 trees around your house will prove to more valuable than platinum in the near future!

Again, TREES are not going extinct! We are!

Thanks for your valuable time! Spread the word!