Exclusive HQ 2011 Kingfisher Calendar Girls It's that time of year again. Ace photographer Atul Kasbekar is in the process of conceptualising the eighth edition of the eagerly-awaited Kingfisher Calendar for 2011 and once again, he's offering a newbie to feature alongside seasoned models in sizzling bikinis at exotic beach locales. Toward this end Kasbekar has held three auditions in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai to find the next Kingfisher bikini bombshell and the response has been overwhelming. Why? Because celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Yana Gupta and supermodel Ujjwala Raut have all graced the calendar's pages in recent years. As Kasbekar himself put it in an interview last year, "Perceptions are changing. Today, all models and those who want to join the modelling industry are seasoned about baring their bodies."           |
Sunday, January 16, 2011
2011 Kingfisher Calendar Girls
Leatherback Sea Turtles
How turtles can conquer Atlantic by swimming thousands of miles in a perfectly straight line
By David Derbyshire
Last updated at 11:27 AM on 5th January 2011
Last updated at 11:27 AM on 5th January 2011
They are famed for their epic voyages across the world's roughest oceans.
But until now, nobody quite appreciated just how good leatherback turtles were at navigation.
In a new study, British scientists have discovered that the gigantic females can swim for thousands of miles in a perfectly straight line.
Following a course that would be the envy of a state-of-the-art cruise liner, the turtles make the transatlantic journey from Central Africa to South America using the shortest possible route.
Exactly how turtles can swim in a straight line remains a mystery to biologists.
However, they are thought to use a combination of vision - relying on the position of the stars and sun - and a sense of the Earth's magnetic field, to steer their way.
The findings come from a study led by the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter University.
Over five years, the researchers tagged 25 females with satellite tracking devices strapped or drilled to their shells as they left their hatching grounds in Africa to seek food across the Atlantic.
They discovered three migratory routes - including one 4,699 mile journey straight across the Atlantic from Gabon to the coastal waters off southern Brazil and Uruguay that took 150 days.
Scientists from Exeter University have now discovered that these amazing creatures are able to make their long journeys traveling the shortest possible route - often swimming in a perfectly straight line
A map of the three routes taken by migrating turtles. Group 2, made up of leatherback turtles, travelled in a straight line
Fancy a dip? Leatherbacks spend almost their entire lives in the water. The only time they leave their watery sanctuary is when they are nesting or when hatchlings, like this little fella, emerge from their nests
LEATHERBACK FACT FILE
- Leatherbacks can live up to 60 years.
- They grow up to 6.5ft and weigh more than half a ton.
- It's shell is made from thick leathery skin and has the texture of rubber.
- On migrations, they swim 30 miles a day - reaching speeds of 22mph.
- Their main source of food is jellyfish, although they also eat squid and sea urchins.
- They mistake shopping bags for jellyfish and more than half of dead turtles have plastic in their stomachs.
- They can stop their blood flowing into their flippers to keep their bodies warm.
- After spending their childhood at sea, the females return to the same beaches where they hatched to lay eggs.
- Turtle eggs are used in traditional Asian medicine and in the tropics for food. In Latin America they are regarded as an aphrodisiac.
- They are hunted for food, for their shells and to be rendered into oil..
- They only time they are on land is when they lay eggs - and when hatchlings emerge from the nest.
Success Principles
Success Principles
Here are some Success Principles to help you achieve your goals in life. Very simple and easy to apply in day to day life. Wishing everyone lots of success in their lives!
Droste Effect Pictures
Droste Effect Pictures
Josh Sommers from Petaluma, California, USA, has mastered the art of creating Escheresque photographs and has decided to reveal the secret mathematical formula behind these incredible hypnotic 'droste effect' images
Sommers, who has decided to scrap tradition and share the code with other artists all over the world, said "I saw my first droste effect picture in late 2006 and it blew my mind - I wanted to learn how to create images like that"
"...So I contacted the artist who had created the one I saw and while he refused to share the actual formula he used, he pointed out the tools I needed to use and a few articles to help me"
The 32 year old software engineer spent months of practice and hard work but could still not quite master the technique...
...But one day another artist saw how close he was and gave him the final piece of the puzzle. "With this guy's help", explains Josh "I was able to develop my own formula for the effect and started creating droste images immediately"
"Once I had it working I decided to make the formula publicly available on the Internet. It was something I swore to do when that first artist wouldn't share his technique with me. I created a step-by-step tutorial on how to create your own and to date it has been viewed about 50,000 times and reproduced on other sites countless times."
Soon after his tutorial started attracting hits from all over the world a software developer contacted Josh and ported his formula into a Photoshop PixelBender plugin. This gave people who could not figure out the formula the ability to use and animate the filter
Since his first droste effect creation Josh has made more than 160 images. He added: "My personal favourite is probably The Eternal Scream - I have done several variations on it but the original has around 200,000 views to date and around 100 reproductions online in various collections, blogs and other sites"
Monday, December 27, 2010
Top 10 Prehistoric Fish Alive Today
Top 10 Prehistoric Fish Alive Today
10
Hagfish
According to the fossil record, hagfish have existed for over 300 million years, which means they were already old when dinosaurs took over the world! Found in relatively deep waters, these animals are sometimes called slime eels, but they are not really eels, and actually, they may not even be fish at all,
according to some scientists. They are very bizarre animals in all regards; they have a skull but lack a spine, and they have two brains. Almost blind, they feed at night on the carcasses of large animals (fish, cetaceans etc) which fall to the sea bottom. They owe their “slime eel†nickname to the fact that they produce a slimey substance to damage the gills of predatory fish; as a result, they have virtually no natural enemies.
9
Lancetfish
The lancetfish has a very obvious “prehistoric†appearance, with those fierce-looking, sharp teeth on its jaws and the sail on its back, reminiscent of that of some dinosaurs (although, in the lancetfish the sail is actually an enlarged dorsal fin). Even its scientific name has a dinosaurian sound to it (Alepisaurus ferox). Up to two meters (6′ 6″) in length, this predator is found in all the oceans except for polar regions; very voracious, it feeds on smaller fish and squid, and has known to feed on members of its own species sometimes.
8
Arowana
Belonging to the ancient group of the Osteoglossids, these fish already existed in the Jurassic period. Today, they are found in the Amazon, and in parts of Africa, Asia and Australia. Sometimes kept as exotic pets, arowanas are voracious predators that feed on any small animal they can catch, including birds and bats which they catch in mid flight (they are able to leap up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) into the air). In China, arowanas are known as “dragon-fish†due to their appearance, and they are thought to be harbingers of good luck.
7
Frilled Shark
This deep sea predator, one of the most primitive sharks alive today, is a relic from the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Seldom seen alive, and only recently filmed for the first time, the frilled shark can grow up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) (with females being larger than males) and they live in deep waters, where they feed mostly on squid. They are not dangerous to humans, and as a matter of fact, most frilled sharks spend their whole lives without seeing a human being. Only dead or dying specimens are usually seen and recorded by fishermen or scientists.
6
Sturgeon
Another survivor from the age of dinosaurs (they were already around in the early Jurassic), the sturgeon is well known for being one of the main sources of caviar (which is made out of their roe or egg masses); due to overfishing, these magnificent, armored fish are sadly endangered nowadays. The largest sturgeon species can grow up to 6 meters (19′ 7″) long, being as large as most great white sharks; they feed on small animals from the sea bottom and pose no danger to humans, unless provoked (although they are so big that they have hurt, and even killed, people unintentionally by leaping out of the water and landing on boats!)
5
Arapaima
A close relative to the arowana (see #8), the Amazonian arapaima is sometimes considered to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. According to early descriptions, it could grow up to 4.5 meters (14′ 8″) long, but today, enormous individuals like these are seldom found and most adult arapaimas average 2 meters (6′ 6″) long. These slow moving predators feed on smaller fish, crustaceans and whatever small animal they can fit in their mouth. An interesting trait of this fish is that it needs to breath oxygen from the air, like a cetacean, in order to survive. Arapaimas pose no danger to humans and are often hunted for their meat; unfortunately, they are very scarce nowadays. Although the arapaima seemingly appeared in the Miocene period, it belongs to a much older family, the Osteoglossidae, and therefore its origins can be traced back to the age of dinosaurs.
4
Sawfish
This critically endangered animal is a survivor from the Cretaceous period, and can be found both in saltwater or in rivers and creeks, and has been found up to 100 kms inland. Up to 7 meters (23′) in length, sawfish may look like sharks but are actually more closely related to rays. Their “saw†is both a weapon and a sensory organ, covered on electro-sensitive pores which allow it to sense prey despite its terrible eyesight. Although usually peaceful, the sawfish can become extremely dangerous if provoked. Due to an extraordinary fossil, we know that gigantic, prehistoric sawfish were probably a staple food for the largest carnivorous dinosaur, Spinosaurus, as a vertebra from the fish was found stuck between the dinosaur’s teeth.
3
Alligator Gar
This formidable, thick scaled predator is found in the southern US and northern and eastern Mexico, being the largest freshwater fish in North America (although it sometimes wanders into the sea). It can grow up to 4 meters (13′) long and weigh up to 200 kgs (440lbs). Gator gars are so called because of their reptilian appearance and long jaws, armed with a double row of sharp teeth. They are voracious ambush predators and have been known to bite humans on occasion, although no confirmed deaths due to alligator gars have been recorded to date. Gars are among the oldest fish alive today; their origins can be traced back to the Cretaceous period.
2
Polypterus Senegalus
These african fish are often called “dinosaur eels†, due to their reptilian appearance and serrated dorsal fin, reminiscent of some dinosaurs’ spiked backs. They are not really eels, but members of the bichir family. Bichirs were already around in the Cretaceous, so the “dinosaur†part of their name is actually fitting in a way. Although often sold as exotic pets, dinosaur eels are prone to escaping their fish tanks. They can survive out of the water for long periods of time as long as their skin remains wet, which enables them to wander far away from their tank.
1
Coelacanth
The Coelacanth is the most famous of all “living fossils†and deserves to be #1 in this list, because it is the best example of a “Lazarus taxon†, this is, animals that were supposed to be long extinct and are unexpectedly found to be alive. Coelacanths were supposed to have become extinct in the Cretaceous period, along with the dinosaurs, but in 1938, a live specimen was caught in South Africa. Since then, more specimens have been seen and photographed, and a second coelacanth species was even found in Indonesia in 1999. Coelacanths are large predators, up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) long; they feed on smaller fish, including small sharks, and are usually found in deep, dark waters. Although rarely captured and consumed due to their horrible taste, coelacanths are critically endangered nowadays.
Hagfish
According to the fossil record, hagfish have existed for over 300 million years, which means they were already old when dinosaurs took over the world! Found in relatively deep waters, these animals are sometimes called slime eels, but they are not really eels, and actually, they may not even be fish at all,
according to some scientists. They are very bizarre animals in all regards; they have a skull but lack a spine, and they have two brains. Almost blind, they feed at night on the carcasses of large animals (fish, cetaceans etc) which fall to the sea bottom. They owe their “slime eel†nickname to the fact that they produce a slimey substance to damage the gills of predatory fish; as a result, they have virtually no natural enemies.
9
Lancetfish
The lancetfish has a very obvious “prehistoric†appearance, with those fierce-looking, sharp teeth on its jaws and the sail on its back, reminiscent of that of some dinosaurs (although, in the lancetfish the sail is actually an enlarged dorsal fin). Even its scientific name has a dinosaurian sound to it (Alepisaurus ferox). Up to two meters (6′ 6″) in length, this predator is found in all the oceans except for polar regions; very voracious, it feeds on smaller fish and squid, and has known to feed on members of its own species sometimes.
8
Arowana
Belonging to the ancient group of the Osteoglossids, these fish already existed in the Jurassic period. Today, they are found in the Amazon, and in parts of Africa, Asia and Australia. Sometimes kept as exotic pets, arowanas are voracious predators that feed on any small animal they can catch, including birds and bats which they catch in mid flight (they are able to leap up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) into the air). In China, arowanas are known as “dragon-fish†due to their appearance, and they are thought to be harbingers of good luck.
7
Frilled Shark
This deep sea predator, one of the most primitive sharks alive today, is a relic from the Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Seldom seen alive, and only recently filmed for the first time, the frilled shark can grow up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) (with females being larger than males) and they live in deep waters, where they feed mostly on squid. They are not dangerous to humans, and as a matter of fact, most frilled sharks spend their whole lives without seeing a human being. Only dead or dying specimens are usually seen and recorded by fishermen or scientists.
6
Sturgeon
Another survivor from the age of dinosaurs (they were already around in the early Jurassic), the sturgeon is well known for being one of the main sources of caviar (which is made out of their roe or egg masses); due to overfishing, these magnificent, armored fish are sadly endangered nowadays. The largest sturgeon species can grow up to 6 meters (19′ 7″) long, being as large as most great white sharks; they feed on small animals from the sea bottom and pose no danger to humans, unless provoked (although they are so big that they have hurt, and even killed, people unintentionally by leaping out of the water and landing on boats!)
5
Arapaima
A close relative to the arowana (see #8), the Amazonian arapaima is sometimes considered to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. According to early descriptions, it could grow up to 4.5 meters (14′ 8″) long, but today, enormous individuals like these are seldom found and most adult arapaimas average 2 meters (6′ 6″) long. These slow moving predators feed on smaller fish, crustaceans and whatever small animal they can fit in their mouth. An interesting trait of this fish is that it needs to breath oxygen from the air, like a cetacean, in order to survive. Arapaimas pose no danger to humans and are often hunted for their meat; unfortunately, they are very scarce nowadays. Although the arapaima seemingly appeared in the Miocene period, it belongs to a much older family, the Osteoglossidae, and therefore its origins can be traced back to the age of dinosaurs.
4
Sawfish
This critically endangered animal is a survivor from the Cretaceous period, and can be found both in saltwater or in rivers and creeks, and has been found up to 100 kms inland. Up to 7 meters (23′) in length, sawfish may look like sharks but are actually more closely related to rays. Their “saw†is both a weapon and a sensory organ, covered on electro-sensitive pores which allow it to sense prey despite its terrible eyesight. Although usually peaceful, the sawfish can become extremely dangerous if provoked. Due to an extraordinary fossil, we know that gigantic, prehistoric sawfish were probably a staple food for the largest carnivorous dinosaur, Spinosaurus, as a vertebra from the fish was found stuck between the dinosaur’s teeth.
3
Alligator Gar
This formidable, thick scaled predator is found in the southern US and northern and eastern Mexico, being the largest freshwater fish in North America (although it sometimes wanders into the sea). It can grow up to 4 meters (13′) long and weigh up to 200 kgs (440lbs). Gator gars are so called because of their reptilian appearance and long jaws, armed with a double row of sharp teeth. They are voracious ambush predators and have been known to bite humans on occasion, although no confirmed deaths due to alligator gars have been recorded to date. Gars are among the oldest fish alive today; their origins can be traced back to the Cretaceous period.
2
Polypterus Senegalus
These african fish are often called “dinosaur eels†, due to their reptilian appearance and serrated dorsal fin, reminiscent of some dinosaurs’ spiked backs. They are not really eels, but members of the bichir family. Bichirs were already around in the Cretaceous, so the “dinosaur†part of their name is actually fitting in a way. Although often sold as exotic pets, dinosaur eels are prone to escaping their fish tanks. They can survive out of the water for long periods of time as long as their skin remains wet, which enables them to wander far away from their tank.
1
Coelacanth
The Coelacanth is the most famous of all “living fossils†and deserves to be #1 in this list, because it is the best example of a “Lazarus taxon†, this is, animals that were supposed to be long extinct and are unexpectedly found to be alive. Coelacanths were supposed to have become extinct in the Cretaceous period, along with the dinosaurs, but in 1938, a live specimen was caught in South Africa. Since then, more specimens have been seen and photographed, and a second coelacanth species was even found in Indonesia in 1999. Coelacanths are large predators, up to 2 meters (6′ 6″) long; they feed on smaller fish, including small sharks, and are usually found in deep, dark waters. Although rarely captured and consumed due to their horrible taste, coelacanths are critically endangered nowadays.
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