Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Ice age
An ice age is a period of long-term downturn in the temperature of Earth's climate, resulting in an expansion of the continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers. Glaciologically, ice age is often used to mean a period of ice sheets in the northern and southern hemispheres; by this definition we are still in an ice. More colloquially, when speaking of the last few million years, ice age is used to refer to colder periods with extensive ice sheets over the North American and Eurasian continents: in this sense, the last ice age ended about 10,000 years ago. This article will use the term ice age in the former, glaciological, sense; and use the term glacial periods for colder periods during ice ages and interglacial for the warmer periods.

Many glacial periods have occurred during the last few million years, initially at 40,000-year frequency but more recently at 100,000-year frequencies. These are the best studied. There have been four major ice ages in the further past.

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

History of India
Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in the state of Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared over 9,000 years ago and gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization, dating back to 3300 BCE in western India. It was followed by the Vedic Civilization which laid the foundations of Hinduism and other cultural aspects of early Indian society. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadas were established across the country laying the foundations of ancient India.

The empire built by the Maurya dynasty under Emperor Ashoka the Great united most of modern Southern Asia except the Dravidian kingdoms in the south. From 180 BCE, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed including the Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythians, Indo-Parthians and Kushans in the north-western Indian Subcontinent. From the third century CE, the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age." While the north had larger, fewer kingdoms, in the south there were several dynasties such as the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Cheras, Cholas, Pallavas and Pandyas in different times and regions.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Marginalism
In marginalist economic theory, the price level is determined by the marginal cost and marginal utility. The price of all goods will be the cost of making the last one that people will purchase, and the price of all the employees in a company will be the cost of hiring the last one the business needs. Marginalism looks at decisions based on "the margins", what the cost to produce the next unit is, versus how much it is expected to return in profit. When the marginal return of an action reaches zero, the action stops. Marginal utility is how much more happiness or use a person receives from a purchase in contrast with buying less. Marginal rewards are often subject to diminishing returns: Less reward is obtained from more production or consumption. For example, the 10th bar of chocolate that a person consumes does not taste as good as the first, and so brings less marginal utility.

Marginalism became increasingly important in economic theory in the late 19th century, and is a tool which is used to analyze how economic systems will react. Marginal cost of production divides costs into "fixed" costs which must be paid regardless of how many of a commodity are produced, and "variable costs". The marginal cost is the variable cost of the last unit. Marginalism states that when the profit from the next unit will be zero, that unit will not be produced. This is often termed the marginal revolution in economic thought.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Charlie Chaplin
Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. KBE, April 16, 1889 – December 25, 1977, better known as Charlie Chaplin, was an English comedy actor, becoming the most famous actor in the untimely to mid Hollywood cinema era, and also a notable director.

Chaplin was one of the most imaginative and influential personalities in the silent film era: he acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually even scored his own films. His working life in entertainment span over 70 years, from the British Victorian stage and music hall in England as a child actor, almost until his death at the age of 88. He led one of the most remarkable and colorful lives of the 20th century, from a Dickens-like London childhood to the pinnacle of world fame in the film industry and as a cultural icon.

His principal character was "The Tramp": a vagrant with the superior manners and dignity of a gentleman who wears a tight coat, oversized trousers and shoes, a bowler hat, a bamboo cane, and his autograph toothbrush moustache. Chaplin's high-profile public and private life encompassed highs and lows of both adulation and controversy.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Flat shading

Flat shading is lighting technique used in 3D computer graphics. It shades each polygon of an object based on the angle between the polygon's surface normal and the direction of the light source, their respective colors and the intensity of the light source. It is usually used for high speed rendering where more advanced shading techniques are too computationally expensive.

The disadvantage of flat shading is that it gives low-polygon models a faceted look. Sometimes this look can be beneficial though, such as in modeling boxy objects. Artists sometimes use flat shading to look at the polygons of a solid model they are creating. More complex and realistic lighting and shading techniques include Gouraud shading and Phong shading.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Economics and business competition
Merriam-Webster defines competition in business as "the effort of two or more parties acting separately to secure the business of a third party by offering the most favorable terms." Seen as the pillar of capitalism in that it may stimulate innovation, hearten efficiency, or drive down prices, competition is touted as the foundation upon which capitalism is justified. According to microeconomic theory, no system of resource allocation is more capable than pure competition. Competition, according to the theory, causes commercial firms to develop new products, services, and technologies. This gives consumers greater selection and better products. The greater selection typically causes lower prices for the products compared to what the price would be if there was no contest or little competition .

However, competition may also lead to wasted effort and to increased costs in some circumstances. Similarly, the sychological effects of competition may result in harm to those involved.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Sun
The Sun is the star of our solar system. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for more than 99% of the solar system's mass. Energy from the Sun—in the form of insolation from sunlight—supports almost all life on Earth via photosynthesis, and drives the Earth's climate and weather.

The Sun is sometimes referred to by its Latin name Sol or by its Greek name Helios. Its astrological and astronomical symbol is a circle with a point at its center: . Some ancient peoples of the world considered it a planet.The Sun is about 4.6 billion years old and is about halfway through its main-sequence evolution, during which nuclear fusion reactions in its core fuse hydrogen into helium. Each second, more than 4 million tonnes of matter are converted into energy within the Sun's core, producing neutrinos and solar radiation.In about 5 billion years, the Sun will evolve into a red giant and then a white dwarf, creating a planetary nebula in the process.The Sun is a magnetically active star; it supports a strong, changing magnetic field that varies year-to-year and reverses direction about every eleven years.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Improvisational comedy

Improvisational comedy also called improv or impro is comedy that is performing with a little to no predetermination of subject topic and structure. The performers discover their lines and actions spontaneously, typically following a general theme and format, often in response to audience suggestions. Improvisational comedy is a form of improvisational theater.

Improvised performance is as old as performance itself. From the 16th to the 18th century, Commedia dell'arte performers improvised in the streets of Italy. Many silent filmmakers such as Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton used this approach in the creation of their films, developing their gags while filming and altering the plot to fit. The Marx Brothers were notorious for deviating from the script they were given, their ad libs often becoming part of the normal routine and making their way into their films.

Monday, October 30, 2006

GYM
GYM is a sound format for the Sega Mega Drive/Sega Genesis.The name stands for Genesis YM2612, since the file contains the data sent to the Yamaha YM2612 sound chip in the console. The data is logged to a file through the use of emulators running a ROM image.The GYM format first appeared on the emulator Genecyst as a simple raw sound data log. This means the format does not present a proper heading or any kind of sample storage, that usually creates very large files for a complete song.

Also, the GYM format is designed around the NTSC video framerate, and thus has a time accuracy of 16 ms, which makes it improper for logging audio in any frequency other than 60 Hz such as the 50 Hz found in European or other PAL-based systems. Some new emulators and players had implemented headers, frequency compatibility and even some compression, but they do not follow any standard, which decreases the compatibility of the format.GYM files can be played using Winamp with the proper plugins or with special players.The new file format VGM also supports Yamaha YM2612 logging and is already supported by many popular emulators. It includes a complete header with tagging and looping support that renders GYM files obsolete for this kind of music storaging.


Friday, October 20, 2006

Naturalism
Naturalism is any of several philosophical stances, typically those descended from materialism and pragmatism, that do not distinguish the supernatural from nature. Naturalism does not necessarily claim that phenomena or hypotheses commonly labeled as supernatural do not exist or are wrong, but insists that all phenomena and hypotheses can be studied by the same methods and therefore anything considered supernatural is either nonexistent, unknowable, or not inherently different from natural phenomena or hypotheses.

Any method of inquiry or investigation or any procedure for gaining knowledge that limits itself to natural, physical, and material approaches and explanations can be described as naturalistic.Many modern philosophers of science use the terms methodological naturalism or scientific naturalism to refer to the long standing convention in science of the scientific method, which makes the methodological assumption that observable events in nature are explained only by natural causes, without assuming the existence or non-existence of the supernatural, and so considers supernatural explanations for such events to be outside science. They contrast this with the approach known as ontological naturalism or etaphysical naturalism, which refers to the metaphysical belief that the natural world is all that exists, and therefore nothing supernatural exists.

This distinction between approaches to the philosophy of naturalism is made by philosophers supporting science and evolution in the creation–evolution controversy to counter the tendency of some proponents of Creationism or intelligent design to refer to methodological naturalism as scientific materialism or as methodological materialism and conflate it with metaphysical naturalism to support their claim that modern science is atheistic. They contrast this with their preferred approach of a revived natural philosophy which welcomes supernatural explanations for natural phenomena and supports theistic science or pseudoscience.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Cell biology
Cell biology also called cellular biology or cytology, from the Greek kytos,container is an academic discipline that studies cells. This includes their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level. Cell biology research extends to both the great diversity of single-celled organisms like bacteria and the many specialized cells in multicellular organisms like humans.

Knowing the composition of cells and how cells work is fundamental to all of the biological sciences. Appreciating the similarities and differences between cell types is particularly important to the fields of cell and molecular biology. These fundamental similarities and differences provide a unifying theme, allowing the principles learned from studying one cell type to be extrapolated and generalized to other cell types. Research in cell biology is closely related to genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology and developmental biology.

Every cell typically contains hundreds of different kinds of macromolecules that function together to generate the behavior of the cell. Each type of protein is usually sent to a particular part of the cell. An important part of cell biology is investigation of molecular mechanisms by which proteins are moved to different places inside cells or secreted from cells.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Foreign exchange
The foreign exchange market will exists wherever one currency is traded for another currency in the particular country. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded, and includes trading between large banks, central banks, currency speculators, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial markets and institutions. Retail traders are a small part of this market. They may only participate indirectly through brokers or banks and may be targets of forex scams.

There is no single unified foreign exchange market. Due to the over-the-counter (OTC) nature of currency markets, there are rather a number of interconnected marketplaces, where different currency instruments are traded. This implies that there is no such thing as a single dollar rate rather than a number of different rates , depending upon what bank or market maker is trading. In practice the rates are often very close, otherwise they could be exploited by arbitrageurs.The interbank market for both the majority of commercial turnover and large amounts of speculative trading every day. A large bank may trade billions of dollars daily. Some of this trading is undertaken on behalf of customers, but much is conducted by proprietary
desks, trading for the bank's own account.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Nurpur Noon is a historical village in Sargodha District, Punjab, Pakistan. It was settled in the nineteenth century by the noon family, who moved here from Mitha Tiwana, along with their staff and people to cutivate the lands. Nurpur noon, which is one of the fifteen villages belonging to the Noon family, was resided by the family chief. Nurpur Noon is inhabited by over 8,000 people. It is a self sustained community, having schools, medical clinics, ironmongers, carpenters, traditional craftsmen in leather arts, clay arts, etc. The village is surrounded by citrus, mango, lychee, Guava and date orchards. The date and Mango orchards are over a hundred years old. It also has a very successful stud farm which is owned by Malik Adnan Hayat Khan Noon. Nurpur Noon is also a historic political seat, which has produced some great leaders for over a century. Before the independence, Nawab Malik Mohammad Hayat Noon served as a Provincial Darbari. His son, Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon served in the Viceroy's council of India, the War Cabinet of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and served on other posts before independence. He also played a pivotal role in the independence movement for Pakistan. After the creation of Pakistan, he eventually elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1958. The political legacy was carried on by Malik Nur Hayat Noon, who served as Federal Minister in several successive governments. Malik Adnan Hayat Noon has also been active in the political arena and was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. The youngest members of this distinguished family, Malik Saif Ullah Khan Noon and Malik Taimur Hayat Khan Noon, are the sons of Malik Adnan Hayat Noon

Friday, August 18, 2006

Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe and etc. Nature refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The term generally does not include manufactured objects and human interaction unless qualified in ways such as, human nature or the whole of nature. Nature is also generally distinguished from the spiritual or supernatural. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the galactic.

The word nature derives from the Latin word natura, or the course of things,natural character.Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis which originally related to the innate way in which plants and animals grow of their own accord, and to the Greek word for plants generally.The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is a more recent development that gained increasingly wide use with the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries.

Friday, August 04, 2006

Cosmetics
Cosmetics or make-up are substances used to enhance the beauty of the human body. Cosmetics include lotions, powders, lipstick and many other types of products. Their use is widespread through the world, especially among women in Western countries. The manufacture of cosmetics is currently dominated by a small number of multinational corporations that originated in the early 20th century, but the distribution and sale of cosmetics is spread among a wide range of different businesses.

The first archaeological evidence of cosmetics usage is found in Ancient Egypt around 4000 BC. The Ancient Greeks and Romans also used cosmetics. The Romans and Ancient Egyptians used cosmetics containing mercury and often lead. In the western world, cosmetics were used throughout the medieval period, although their use was typically restricted to the upper classes. Cosmetics were also used in Persia and what is today the Middle East. After the rise of Islam, cosmetics were sometimes restricted, although Islam has no set prohibition against the use of cosmetics.but nowadays cosmetics are used widely.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Technologies

Technology can be most broadly defined as the material entities created by the application of mental and physical effort of the people to nature in order to achieve some value. In this use of technology is the current state of our knowledge of how to combine resources to produce desired products, to solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy wants. Technology in this sense includes technical methods, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw materials .

The history of technology is at least as old as humanity. Some primitive forms of tools have been discovered with almost every find of ancient human remains dating from the time of homo habilis.Nevertheless, other animals have been found to use tools—and to learn to use and refine tools so as to incorrect to distinguish humans as the only tool-using or tool-making animal. The history of technology follows a progression from simple tools and simple energy sources to complex high-technology tools and energy sources.The earliest way of technologies converted readily to occure natural resources such as rock, wood and other vegetation, bone and other animal byproducts into simple tools.