Know All About World's First Flying Car

The First Flying car of the world might not have crashed during its test flight but, it crashed the common man’s imagination of smoothly taking off of the traffic on a busy road.

Transition, World’s first flying car designed by Aviation Company Terrafugia took a successful test flight of 8 minutes at a height of 1400 feet on March 23 2012. While the four-seater can just fold its wings to be driven on roads safely, it needs a runway to take off and land and cannot just hover off from the road while you are stuck in the traffic. The company envisions designing flying cars in future that would be able to take off, fly and land by themselves to make flying safer and more accessible.







Sounds all Fancy, But what’s in store for us?

 More than 100 people have already booked the Transition paying $10,000 a piece. The on road/in air price of the vehicle is about $279,000 and it gives an economy of 5 gallons per hour in air and 35miles per gallon on road at a speed of 100 miles per hour. The owner of Transition would need to pass a 20 hours flying test to be able to take-off or land the vehicle on any of the 5,200 public airports in the United States.





Where is Transition's Future heading?

Further improvements are being implemented on transition to make it a safer vehicle to train sports pilot for some real commercial flying. The system of the car takes over the pilot’s control under bad condition, which is much safer than risking a crash or aborting the flight in mid-air."The evolution in the Transition is going to come in the capability of the electronics and autopilot. Everybody has heard of the Google (driverless) car. The technology is there to make an airplane that can virtually fly itself” as said by Cliff Allen, VP of Terrafugia to MSNBC. This implies that Allen and team have decided to rather produce a ‘Street Legal Airplane ‘than follow the laymen’s imagination of a sci-fi hover-craft.


Terrafugia’s achievements are coming handy for the U.S Military projects as well, who are planning to develop “Flying Humvees”. The Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) is already working on the project that would allow soldiers to take off from the land, fly to their battle fields and land on any kind of terrain to continue driving the Humvee like any SUV.


It all sums up to hell of a compromise but you can fly your own car with pride.

Too much stress at work

One standard mantra of many workplaces: out of every five employees, one works too much, the remaining four play it smart. Presenting, the case study of the hardworking one...

Is giving our lives to the workplace a great idea? And, what sort of impact does it have on our personal lives? Workaholics - those who smile only when they dream of work at night - are of the view that nothing else matters. A workaholic's personal life being his/her professional life, life goes on smoothly till the person falls ill or retires.

But there is this second kind, one that works incredibly hard because s/he is extremely sincere, but who could do with a break and generally do nothing or watch the TV. This is the kind that suffers, if s/he is unlucky enough to belong to a team or place where people have a habit of taking it easy. Such a person takes on responsibilities because that is the right thing to do; but, at the end of the day, feels completely stressed out.

What happens then?
For one, dreams intrude. But, unlike workaholics who enjoy such dreams, such visions are absolute nightmares. 'What will I do tomorrow?' 'Shall I be able to complete my colleague's work and mine?' 'Will I be able to meet the deadline?' Depressing thoughts that show how, for some unlucky people, workplace is synonymous with home for all practical purposes.

Two, fatigue. A burnout-like situation is not a great feeling at all. It starts with fatigue and, before you know, all kinds of feelings - right from tiredness to lack of desire to think to generally not feeling like going to work - can play the tormenting trespasser. Some people deal with it. Many cannot. Either way, getting trapped in such a situation is highly unnecessary.

Three, lifestyle diseases. Irregular eating, habits like smoking and drinking endless cups of tea and coffee, tend to enter our lives when we get used to maddening schedules. The fact is: we are the ones who invite the lifestyle diseases thereafter. And hence, we have no one else to blame.

Four, no time for one's own self. A little time to do things we want is important. When we tend to overwork, the desire to enjoy whatever little personal space we have flies out of the window. Not good at all, considering the fact that the little time we can enjoy can refresh and rejuvenate us.

Managing life at the workplace is a tricky affair: and more so, if we touch such levels of preoccupation that we carry the baggage back home. Workaholics are solely responsible for the consequences. But the other kind that looks for breathing space without getting it suffers even more, and much earlier. When we work, in other words, we need to understand the importance of time: and not only because deadlines need to be met.

Spitting is inherent in Indians: B’bay HC

Bombay HC has 'observed' that spitting is inherent in Indians. Not that we needed it to tell us that, but a lot has been said about us that's not always pretty. If you can swallow your pride and read it all at one go, here's a recap.

Spit-full Lending some legalese to what is perhaps the first thing people notice in our country (red-stained walls adorn many a traveller's online albums), the Bombay High Court said last week that "Spitting is an inherent character of our people", while hearing a petition about people being fined for spitting in Mumbai. A few days later, it was revealed that in just six months in 2011, Mumbaikars had paid around `2.24 crore in fines for spitting in the city.

For Katju, fool's gold Press Council of India chairman justice (retired) Markandey Katju said some days ago, "90% of people in India are fools. Their minds are full of superstitions, communalism and casteism." The 'fool' comment seems to be a favourite with Katju, who, in 2011, had expressed similar feelings towards his brainless brethren, "(people say) that the media must provide the customer what it wants. Unfortunately, most people in India are of a very low intellectual level, steeped in casteism, communalism, superstitions, and all kinds of feudal and backward ideas."

Mammas' boys In March, Greg Chappell elicited sniggers in private but collective outrage in public. "The Indian culture is very different. They lack leaders because they are not trained to be leaders. From an early age, their parents make all the decisions. They learn to not take responsibility," said the former Team India coach.

Bastards! In documents declassified in 2005, former US prez Richard Nixon was found to have said in a meeting, in the run-up to the Indo-Pak 1971 war, that Indians are 'a slippery, treacherous people'. His assistant for national security affairs, Henry Kissinger, was quick to add, "Indians are bastards anyway.

They're the most aggressive goddamn people around." Only if they had Wikileaks then to get hold of more such, err, 'gems'.

More TV, less sex A few years ago, then-union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad made an interesting connection, "If there is electricity in every village, people will watch TV till late night and then fall asleep. They won't get a chance to produce children." But what if there's Sunny Leone on TV, eh?

They have small... Hearts! What were you thinking? April last year, Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi said Indians "will never have hearts like Pakistanis. I don't think they have the large and clean hearts that Allah has given us. It is a very difficult thing for us to live with them." Who says cricket is just a game?

Dirty little #%@& Last August, US vice-consul, Maureen Chao, while talking to some students in Chennai could have made a great case for fairness creams, if the comments hadn't exploded in controversy. "I was on a 24-hour train trip from Delhi to Orissa. But, after 72 hours, the train still did not reach the destination... and my skin became dirty and dark like the Tamilians'," she 'joked'. The US Consulate later issued an apology.

Corruption status India's outgoing chief vigilance commissioner, Pratyush Sinha, gave an unenviable description of his job in 2010, when he said, "One-third of Indians are corrupt, half are borderline," and that his job had been a "thankless" one. "When we were growing up, there was at least social stigma attached to corruption," Sinha said, angering law minister Veerappa Moily because saying such things "hurt national pride." We can only wonder what Moily would have to say about Anna Hazare if he were still law minister.

Aishwaryaa miffed over Dhanush-Shruti closeness

Everyone was eagerly looking forward to "3" that saw the Superstar's elder daughter, Aishwaryaa, debut as a director. With Dhanush and Shruti Haasan as the romantic lead, the expectations were high but the film opened to mixed reviews. But behind the scenes of the team's happy faces, Kollywood says there's a completely different yet similar love story.

The buzz in the industry is that Dhanush and Shruti's mindblowing chemistry on-screen is as a result of their reported closeness off screen - which has now supposedly caused a rift in his marriage. And it looks like it was the promotions of 3 that split their relationship wide open.

"Numerous instances in the public forum over the last few weeks have lent credence to the fact that there are issues between the couple," says an industry source, "Dhanush, Shruti and Anirudh were on a radio show chatting away happily but the minute Aishwaryaa joined them, Dhanush feigned a headache and walked off the show."

Some of the comments he has made about his director-wife in public have also allegedly not gone down well with her and fights have erupted as a result.

At the premiere of "3" too, it looked like all was indeed not well with the couple. According to people present, Dhanush came in first followed by Shruti with whom he spent considerable time alone.

When Aishwaryaa came in and the team stood for pictures, the two ladies, say witnesses, made it a point to look in opposite directions.

Adds the source, "Dhanush is apparently doing his best at avoiding his wife in public and his closeness with Shruti has now become more evident for all to see. Aishwaryaa is said to be upset about the way Dhanush has been treating her."

Meanwhile, we hear that Rajinikanth, who returned early Monday morning, is also apparently upset with the domestic situation.

Despite repeated attempts to contact Aishwaryaa and Dhanush, both of them remained unavailable for comment.

Sachin Tendulkar passes Mumbai Indians captaincy to Harbhajan Singh

 Sachin Tendulkar won't captain Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League this season. The team management has handed over the reign to Harbhajan Singh, who had successfully led the team to Champions League Twenty20 triumph last year. Indian middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma has been named Harbhajan's deputy.

Watch: IPL 2012 opening ceremony 

Tendulkar's decision to quit captaincy two days before the start of the IPL is a surprise and the team management has not given any reason for it.

"Sachin bhai spoke to me a few days back and told me about his decision. It's a great honour for me to lead Mumbai Indians in such a big tournament," said Harbhajan. "I would like to thank Nita (Ambani) bhabi and Sachin paaji for giving me this responsibility and showing faith in me. It was a difficult moment when Sachin expressed his desire to quit captaincy. But we all believe that he is the best person to take the final call on such matters."

The new captain said he would do his best to take Mumbai Indians to new heights. "We have had a fantastic campaign in the Champions League last year and naturally expectations will be higher this time. We have a very good side and my responsibility will be bigger now. I have always received great support from my teammates and hope to get it during the IPL," Harbhajan said on Monday.

It was a difficult decision for Tendulkar, who has led the team for four years.

"The Mumbai Indians is like a family to me. At this point in time, I feel, I need a break from the responsibility of captaincy. After due consideration, I discussed my intention to hand over the charge to Harbhajan," Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar also added that he took the decision after consulting owners Nita and Mukesh Ambani.

"I was touched by the graciousness and wholehearted support they offered me while emphasising that they would accept any decision that would enable me to enjoy the game," the master blaster added.

Tendulkar's decision to quit captaincy won't make much difference for the team as he will continue to be the main guiding force for Mumbai Indians, according to Harbhajan.

"Sachin paaji is the biggest player in the side and his presence makes us one of the strongest sides in the competition. He is the biggest factor without any doubt. We won the CLT20 title with immense support from him. Sachin did not play the matches but was part of the team and always helped us keep our morale high throughout the championship.

"He wanted to take it easy and we all respect his decision. He has gone through a tough phase and wanted to take the pressure off himself. He has done so many things for us and I'll be more than happy if I can fulfill his wish and lead the side to a successful IPL campaign," Harbhajan explained.

Data Leak Threat for Visa MasterCard Holders

Giant card-payment processors namely Visa, MasterCard, AmEx (American Express) and Discover Financial Services were hit by a data-security breach. A third-party service provider, Global Payments, an Atlanta based company, discovered that its systems were compromised by unauthorized access.

In this credit card heist, more than 1.5 million MasterCard and Visa accounts are believed to be hacked. As per logical terms, the Consumers aren't accountable for unauthorized purchases made on their cards.


WSJ report suggests that the breach took place between January 21 to February 25, 2012. MasterCard reported that it is investigating the breach, but its core network is not hacked.


“MasterCard is currently investigating a potential account data compromise event of a U.S.-based entity. As a result, we have alerted payment card issuers regarding certain MasterCard accounts that are potentially at risk. It is important to note that MasterCard’s own systems have not been compromised in any manner. MasterCard is concerned whenever there is any possibility that cardholders could be inconvenienced and we continue to both monitor this event and take steps to safeguard account information”, MasterCard said in a statement, as quoted by Mashable.com.

“Visa also confirmed a “data compromise” of an outside company, but said there was no breach of Visa’s own network. Visa Inc. is aware of a potential data compromise incident at a third party entity affecting card account information from all major card brands. There has been no breach of Visa systems, including its core processing network VisaNet. Visa has provided payment card issuers with the affected account numbers so they can take steps to protect consumers through independent fraud monitoring and, if needed, reissuing cards”, Visa says in a statement to Mashable.com.


“Less than 1,500,000 card numbers may have been exported, by hackers who had access to the firm's payment processing system. Cardholder names, addresses and social security numbers were not obtained by the criminals”, Global Payments said in a statement to Dailymailco.uk.



Mashable.com states, “neither Visa nor MasterCard issue their own credit cards. Instead, they process transactions made on cards issued by banks and other financial institutions”.

Is Salary a Marriage Catalyst?

Are you planning to settle down? If yes, then do you earn enough? If the answer to this question is ‘no,’ then buckle up. Marriage chances increase significantly if your pay package is attractive enough. Constantine von Hoffman, of CBCMoneyWatch.Com, gives an insightful review of how moolah affects marriage.

Marriage and Salary – The Connection?

A blissful married life requires 2 loving and devoted people. But, in these changing times, marriage needs something extra. With the Union Budget turning out to be a downer for most of us, we need all the help we can get from other areas. If you and your spouse both work, then the impact of the Budget won’t be that bitter. Plus, there are a couple of advantages. First – as you both are salaried, you can divide your earnings wisely on various expenses. Second – both of you can share your knowledge about the markets. This way you can invest sensibly. Third – filing a joint income tax return will be a breeze. Still, don’t chuck the emotional connect between spouses out the window. Without this, not even a trillion dollars can spell out marital happiness.

Marriage, Education and Women

Elders say that a good pay package depends upon our college degree. But there are so many people who have earned billions without getting proper college degrees. Since, this is not an option for regular Joes like us; we have to strive for higher education. It is often drilled into our heads that if we do not get a decent degree, we will not get married. It is even observed in India that girls are compelled to get a college degree only to get a suitable husband, preferably rich. It might sound cruel but this is a cold fact.




Marriage, Education and Men

Even the male gender is not spared from this agony. Even young men are coached to earn good salaries so that they become independent. Being independent is a very desirable trait but only a few know the hidden motive behind it. Young men are trained to become the sole breadwinners, even if their wives earn. It is an unwritten rule for most Indian men to consider their wives’ incomes as off-limits. Taking even a paisa from one’s wife is treated as a taboo by many men. So, if guys want to get married, then they better have very good salaries.




Working Couples and Happy Married Life

TOI quotes David Brooks, a writer for The New York Times, sheds light on some hidden facts of marital bliss. He says that married couples are “significantly more content” than those who are unmarried. According to Brooks, working couples tend to be more content with their financial health than unmarried ones. Even selected statistics denote the same finding. The Daily Mail quoted him as telling BBC, "Marriage is tremendously important. We have a tendency to think of ourselves as rational individuals who are driven by economic motives but in fact we are social individuals, driven by the need for relationships."


Brooks also mentions in his book, 'Social Animals' that people should give weightage to relationships and not money. He even advises eligible single people to take up courses for finding their future partners.