The Z3 computer is presented by German engineer Konrad Zuse in May 1941 to an audience of scientists in Berlin. The Z3 is credited as the world's first electronic programmable calculator and is used by the German aircraft industry to solve complex systems of simultaneous equations. The original Z3 computer is destroyed during bombing raids of World War II. Read more
Something for your smile this morning!! ============ A battle weary American soldier boarded a crowded train in in London during the early days of post-WWII, only to discover he was unable to find a place to sit. As he walked the length of the train, he noticed a small white dog curled up on one of the seats. A large, well dressed woman sat in the seat next to the dog. The man hovered near the seat, hoping the woman would take the hint, but she pointedly ignored him. "Excuse me, Ma'am," the soldier finally spoke, "Is this your dog? Would you mind holding it on your lap so that I may sit down?" Read more
I had heard of getting technicians and scientists to help for various projects, but hiring foreign air-hostesses (or Flight Attendants as they call in the US) is indeed unheard of. This is ostensibly because the Pakistani National carrier wanted to have someone who could interact with the foreigners... never mind that the number of "foreigners" using PIA may be miniscule!! And this is when Pakistan's ministers want a piece of the Outsourcing Pie.. and the President is on record to have said that Pakistanis have a better spoken English than Indians have. Hmmm... not enough for the foreigners on PIA it seems?! Read more
Immigration is in the news.. and how people from poor countries and societies move to richer countries to make a better life.. I come from India where many folks do dream of the same - although the educated may as well stay back and earn well - I have not been able to understand the rush and the passion to escape. Why are humans so prone to escaping difficulties as opposed to facing.. fighting and trouncing them!! This one difference - escaping vs fighting - may as well be the most distinguishing characteristic that makes someone rich and someone poor! If you want to take your destiny in your hands and fight to change the environment however bad it is! Read more
Herman Hollerith invents the Tabulating Machine in the late 1880s. Inspired by railway ticket punchers, Hollerith develops a process where punched cards are read to produce an electric circuit of individual results for tabulation. Using the new machines, the 1890 U.S. Census data is processed in a little over three months as compared to two years for the previous census count. The Hollerith computer cards are used by computers up until the 1980s. Read more
Behind every argument is somebody's ignorance. Read more
Saudi Arabia's Internet Service Unit runs the country's web-censoring system that is set up to defend Saudi citizens from "pages of an offensive or harmful nature to the society, and which violate Islamic religion or societal norms." All Internet Service Providers in Saudi Arabia must, by law, route through the Internet Service Unit. The Unit is also the registrar for the country's .sa domain, and is the agency for any Internet-related matter in Saudi Arabia. Read more
I--like an elephant in battle, enduring an arrow shot from a bow-- will endure a false accusation, for the mass of people have no principles. The tamed is the one they take into assemblies. The tamed is the one the king mounts. The tamed who endures a false accusation is, among human beings, the best. Read more
Nobody outside of a baby carriage or a judge's chamber believes in an unprejudiced point of view. Read more
This is a hillarious take on the absurdities of the caste reservations.... ====== Check the status of india in 2056 due to some internal issues Ahmedabad, 30 April 2056: I attended the bash at the IIM-OBC Alumni Association to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the reservation of seats for OBCs (Other Backward Castes) in IIMs. Since I'm not an OBC, I was not supposed to attend, but at present, we MBFCs (Moderately Backward Forward Castes) together with the Non-Scheduled Tribes have a political alliance with the OBCs. We sipped champagne and talked about how so many of us had progressed from reserved seats in the IIMs to reserved jobs to reserved promotions. Unfortunately, the party broke up when a Non-scheduled Tribes faculty member objected to the OBCs dancing with all the pretty girls - he wanted equal opportunities for every caste at each dance. I pointed out that the Non-scheduled Tribes had exceeded the quota of champagne reserved for them. The party ended in a pitched caste battle. Read more
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