The Happy Blog

Saturday, January 17, 2009

A 90-year-old who's been pregnant for 60 years!

This is a happy story alright. From certain angles...

London, January 17: Doctors treating an elderly Chinese woman for stomach ache were stunned when they found that she had been carrying an unborn child for 60 years.

Ninety-two-year-old Huang Yijun, of Huangjiaotan, revealed that her child had died in the womb way back in 1948, and that she had not got it removed because doctors would have charged 100 pounds for the job.

"It was a huge sum at the time - more than the whole family earned in several years. So I did nothing and ignored it," the Sun quoted her as saying.

The secret surfaced after Huang hurt her stomach, and went to hospital for a scan.

Dr. Liu Anbin, at Qingshen hospital, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I discovered she had a baby in her belly. I've been a doctor for more than 40 years, and it's the first time I have seen something like this."

The doctors are presently carrying out further tests to determine whether or not Huang would require an operation to remove the baby.

Consultant Xu Xianming, director of the Obstetrics and Gynecology department at the hospital, said: "Normally a dead foetus would decay. It's very rare for someone to be so healthy."

Obama and his beloved Blackberry!

Apparently, he might be the first US prez to use e-mail... We'll soon know!

Washington, January 17: Barack Obama is reportedly desperate to continue using his BlackBerry even after assuming office as the 44th President of the United States.

If Obama retains his hand-held electronic device, he will become the first sitting president to use e-mail.

However, no final decision has been made as yet on whether or not Obama will continue using his Blackberry.

Previous presidents did not use e-mail because it can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws.

"The president-elect would like to keep his Blackberry to maintain contact with his friends outside the bubble of the White House, but no decision has been made as yet," Fox News quoted transition spokeswoman Jen Psaki as saying.

Senior adviser David Axelrod, however, told ABC News: "He's pretty determined."

It is also unclear whether or not Obama's personal communications will be public under the Presidential Records Act, which requires the National Archives to preserve presidential records.

"If the president were using a BlackBerry, the requirement would be that we be able to store those messages and retain them for future use," said Sharon Fawcett, director of presidential libraries at the National Archives.

She, however, added: "If the president is e-mailing his wife about what time he'll be home for dinner or checking on when the girls' play is at Sidwell Friends and whether or not he's going to be going, those are not constitutional and statutory business of the president. Those are personal messages, so we wouldn't have that."

Father-son duo reach South Pole

Not bad for the father, I must say...

London, January 18: A father and son from England have entered the record books by successfully completing an unsupported trip to the South Pole.

According to a report in the Telegraph, Kevin Gaskell, 50, and his son Matt Gaskell, 18, are believed to be the first father-and-son team ever to have completed the treacherous journey to the coldest place on earth, while the teenager is thought to be the youngest person ever to do so.

The pair set off from their home in Newbury, Berkshire, on Boxing Day (December 26) and, travelling as part of a seven-man team, had given themselves a month to cross the frozen wastes of the Antarctic, either on foot or on skis.

They reached the South Pole on January 14 - just nine days after setting off from the Patriot Hills base in Antarctica.

In his website message posted after their arrival, team member Alan Chambers said, "We have all arrived at the South Pole safe, fit and very, very happy, and are now looking forward to the journey home."

"We are getting checked over by a doctor. We are going to have a look/walk/tour around the South Pole Station, then we will get some food and a cup of tea, then rest for the night," he added.

Later, as the team waited to be picked up to be taken back to Chile for their flight home, Chambers said, "Everybody is in good spirits, and together as a team, we all had difficult days and good days and we all managed to get to the South Pole. We are now looking forward to getting home to our families."

Unsupported, with no dogs, helicopters, kites or skidoos, the Gaskells and their teammates hauled 80-kg sledges further than 200 miles, climbing 10,000 ft across the coldest, highest, windiest and driest continent on Earth.

They faced temperatures as low as -58 Fahrenheit (-50 degree Celsius) and battled winds in excess of 30 mph.

According to Gaskell, he undertook the expedition in memory of his younger sister Jayne, who died from leukaemia in 2004, and aims to raise 40,000 pounds from it.

The amazing Indian mirror-writing story

At last an amazing story from back home...

Moradabad, January 17: Eleven-year-old child prodigy Roshni is stunning people in Moradabad with her fluent writings in English, Hindi and Sanskrit in the mirror-image format.

Roshni is writing against the norm from right to left reversing each letter so that when seen in a mirror the script appears normal.

Talking about her extraordinary writing skills to reporters here Saturday, Roshni said that once when watching TV, she saw a girl reading a script in its mirror image, which appeared in reverse, and that inspired her.

"Once, I saw a girl on TV reading a script in its mirror image which appeared in reverse easily. So I don't know exactly when I got expertise in it," she said.

Besides writing, she is also capable of reading mirror images of various texts easily.

Her proud father hopes Roshni will find a a place in the records book.

"I want her name to be entered in the Limca Book of World Records, as it is a God-gifted thing. This extraordinary talent of our child makes us feel proud," said Kaku, Roshni's father.

He added that Roshni was equally comfortable writing in English and Hindi, and could also write numbers in the reverse.

While her parents await her to be famous, Roshni is envied by her classmates, who enjoy watching her as she experiments with new forms of reverse-writing.

Many historical personalities, including Leonardo da Vinci, were experts in mirror-writing.

Meet Microsoft's youngest Sys Admin

I love stories like this one. Child prodigies. Sigh, wish I had been one... :-)

London, January 17: An eight-year-old boy in Skopje, Macedonia, has become the world's youngest certified Microsoft System Administrator.

Unlike other students who like to skim through comics in the break, Marko Calasan likes to read about computer-related books.

He was deemed the Mozart of Computers by the press after passing exams for IT professionals with the computer giant Microsoft.

The certificate means that, in theory, Marko is eligible to get a job maintaining complex office computer networks, even though he has not completed the third grade as yet.

"The Microsoft officials gave me computer games and DVDs with cartoons when I passed the exams because I am a child. That was nice, but I'm not really interested in those things," Times Online quoted young Marko as saying.

"I'd like to be a computer scientist when I grow up and create a new operational system," added the little boy.

Marko's parents, who are IT experts and run a computer school for children, have revealed that he had learnt to read and write at the tender age of 2, and started working on computers immediately thereafter.

Following the little boy's success, Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski met him and presented him with an IT lab with 15 computers to practise on.

His parents are considering sending him abroad to a specialised institute of learning for gifted children, as none exists in Macedonia.

"Marko displayed exceptional learning abilities at a very early age. He was able to replicate a computer operation after only reading about it on the Internet. Now we ask him for help when we have some IT-related problem at work," Marko's mother Radica Calasan, 38, said.

She and her husband Milan, 37, also have plans to publish a book on computer education for small children based on their son's development, which, they believe, could at least in part be replicated by other children of his age.

"He is obviously extraordinary gifted, but children above the age of 6 could learn much more about computers than generally assumed," Calasan said.

Marko browses Internet forums for IT professionals in his spare time, and participates in debates about complex computer-engineering problems.

Mathematics is his favourite subject, but he also likes physics and astronomy.

Committed Christian refuses to drive 'atheist' bus

I love this guy mentioned in the story below. He makes me very happy... :-)

London, January 17: A bus driver, who is a committed Christian, has refused to drive a bus bearing the atheist poster that reads: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and go and enjoy your life."

Ron Heather, 62, who is a churchgoer, went on strike for three days in protest at his bus company employers putting the controversial advertising slogan on the side of their vehicles.

Of the 800 buses that carry the adverts, designed by writer Ariane Sherine to combat aggressive religious posters on public transport, Heather's company First Buses has 20 of the vehicles carrying the slogans.

"I had already heard about them in London and I was hoping they were not coming to Southampton because I did not want to have to make a stand," the Sun quoted Heather, who has worked for the company since 2004, as saying.

"I was just about to board the bus and there it was staring me in the face. My first reaction was shock and horror.

"I felt that I could not drive that bus. I told my managers about my decision, and when they said they had not got another one, I thought I had better go home, so I did.

"I think it was the starkness of the advert that implied there was no God," he stated.

He was next called into a meeting with senior managers, and agreed to get back to work provided they ensured he would only have to drive the buses if there were no others available.

"As a company we understand Mr Heather's views regarding this atheist bus advert and we are doing what we can to accommodate his request not to drive the bus concerned," a spokeswoman for the bus service said.

"Mr Heather accepts though that he may need to drive one of these buses if no other vehicle is available for him.

"As an organisation we do not endorse any of the products or sentiments advertised on our buses.

"The content of this advert has been approved by the Advertising Standards Agency and therefore it is capable of being posted on static sites or anywhere else.

"We advise anyone who has an issue regarding the content of the advert to contact the ASA directly," she added.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2008: Good year for Indian sports

Here's another sports article to end the year. These are some of India's extraordinary sports achievements of 2008. Enjoy...

Wed, Dec 31 03:25 AM

The year began with uncertainty. But by the end of it, Indian sports sauntered into a golden sunset. Abhinav Bindra took us to an unseen territory, Viswanathan Anand once again proved his supremacy in the world of chess, and the Mahi-way has stamped its authority in cricket. The year also saw Diego Maradona paying a visit to Kolkata and enthrall capacity crowds with his skills. The city also hosted German great Oliver Kahn's farewell match. The Indian Express congratulates the country's sporting heroes who set the stands on fire. Here's looking back at some of the defining moments of 2008.

A for Abhinav: The 'man with the golden gun' laid his hands on the most coveted piece of metal in the world of sports. Every other achievement paled in comparison to Abhinav Bindra's gold medal in the Beijing Olympics.

B for Baichung: He led India to the AFC Challenge Cup triumph thus earning a place among the Asian elites. After 24 years, India have qualified for the Asian Cup. The year has seen Baichung Bhutia's escalation from a great player to the icon of Indian football. Little wonder that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) chose him as the 'footballer of the year'.

C for Chowrasia: Son of a greenskeeper, SSP Chowrasia beat the likes of Ernie Els to win the Indian Masters. The boy next door has definitely come a long way.

D for Dhoni: Cricket, as usual kept the entire nation engaged and the Indian team reached dizzy heights under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. India's captain fantastic guided the team to ODI series wins in Australia and Sri Lanka, tamed the Aussies at home to bring back the Gavaskar Border Trophy, then taught the Poms a few cricketing lessons.

E for England cricket team: Kevin Pietersen's boys showed enormous courage and spirit to return for the Test series after the Mumbai attack. They stood by us in our fight to return to normalcy. We must doff our hats to them.

F for Fans: The fans continued to be the force to drive the teams and the players. Someone like Sanjib Jana paid the ultimate price for being a fanatic. Still, his death speaks volumes of love for the sports and sportspersons we have here.

G for Gambhir: The Delhi lad continues to impress. With more than 1000 Test runs in this calendar year he is simply the man of the moment as far as Indian batting is concerned.

H for Houghton: The English coach has helped break the fetters. Under Bob Houghton, India's football has come of age. It's a real shot in the arm that he will stay at least till 2011, the year India will play in the Asian Cup at Doha. We now have the license to rub shoulders with the biggies.

I for IPL: Cricket in a new avatar. The Indian Premier League redefined the game and ushered in a Twenty20 mania that swept the country.

J for Jeev: The nomadic won the Bank Austria Open in Europe and the Nagashia Shigeo Invitational Sega Sammy Cup and the Golf Nippon Series JT Cup and secured the Asian Order of Merit by winning the Singapore Open.

K for Kumars: It has been the year of Kumars as Indian boxing and wrestling made their presence felt at the world stage. Vijender, looking more a chiselled model than a boxer, returned from Beijing with the bronze medal. Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar fell tantalisingly short of the feat but both played their role to put India in the global boxing map. Another Kumar, Sushil demonstrated his full range of wrestling manouevres to bag bronze medal in Beijing.

L for Leander: On the wrong side of the 30s, the tennis ace from Kolkata was still good enough to win a Grand Slam title. Some of his colleagues in the Indian Davis Cup team went on to openly revolt against him. The Olympic doubles medal remains elusive. But Leander Paes marched on to a mixed doubles triumph at the prestigious US Open this year. And this year has also seen Leander's debut as a sports administrator as joined the Bengal Tennis Association ranks.

M for MC Mary Kom: The mother of two returned from a two-year sabbatical to become women's world boxing champion for an unprecedented fourth time.

N for Nehwal: Shuttler Saina Nehwal missed an Olympic medal but managed to break into the top 10. Then the 18-year-old from Hyderabad reached new heights by qualifying for the Super Series semifinal.

O for Olympics: At the Beijing Olympics, the Indians finally managed to break a few myths. For a change, Indian sports fans had several things to cheer for at the 2008 Games - from Abhinav Bindra's golden gun exploits to the boxers powerful performances to the wrestlers impressive show.

P for Pankaj: Cueist Pankaj Advani claimed as many as eight national and international titles, including the prestigious IBSF World Billiards Championships in September. Pity that such a phenomenal streak went almost unnoticed compared to the spotlight that cricket gets day in and day out in our country.

Q for Quote: Among many memorable one-liners this year, Anil Kumble's remark after the eventful Sydney Test stood out as the most valuable one. "Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game," thundered Kumble after a day that included a horrible decision for Rahul Dravid and a claimed low, slip catch by Michael Clarke against Sourav Ganguly. The statement rekindled memories of Aussie skipper Bill Woodful, who told England manager Sir Pelham Warner that only one team was playing cricket during the Bodyline series.

R for Ronjan: After ace sharpshooter Abhinav Bindra's Olympic gold his achievements took a backseat. But Ronjan Sodhi did something similar by winning the gold at the ISSF World Cup in Belgrade, having equalled two world records in double trap.

S for Sehwag: He was the only Indian to score a triple century in Test. The Nawab of Najafhgarh bettered his record by scoring another one against South Africa in Chennai. Virender Sehwag joined the elite company of Sir Don Bradman and Brian Lara with his second triple hundred.

T for Tendulkar: Like old wines he seems to be getting better with age. Be it his two unforgettable knocks against Australia in the tri-series final earlier this year, which fashioned India's triumph, or his ton helped India achieve an improbable fourth innings target against England at Bangalore, Sachin Tendulkar continues to inspire. During the process, the little master eclipsed Brian Lara as Test cricket's most prolific run getter and became the first player to score 12,000 Test runs.

U for Umpires' referral system: In an audacious experiment, world cricket bosses started the umpires' referral system, drawing flak and kudos alike for introducing it at the highest level. Many feared the new rule will slow down the pace of the game and undermine the role of umpires. Others welcomed it as move to flush out faults in the umpiring system. The rule finally survived the test.

V for Vishy Anand: The emissary of Indian sports ensured that he finished the year with his World Championship title safe and intact. Viswanathan Anand's 6.5-4.5 win against Vladimir Kramnik made him the first person to win the title in three different formats - knockout (2000), tournament (2007) and matchplay (2008).

W for whiz-kids: Kolkata young guns Sayantan Das and Diptayan Ghosh conquered the world in the junior chess circuit. Sayantan won the prestigious Under-12 title in the World Youth Chess Championship in Vietnam, while Diptayan finished a creditable fourth in the U-10 world category, apart from bagging the gold in the Asian Youth Chess Championship.

X for x-factor: Shooter Gagan Narang clocked up two perfect scores - 600/600 in Germany and 400/400 in Bangkok - against his name in the same year. Probably he lacked that x-factor needed to win an Olympic medal.

Y for Gen Y: The Gen Y of Indian sports are ready and raring to go. MS Dhoni is contemplating building an empire around them. The Ishants and the Rainas and the Sharmas are the future of Indian cricket. Outside the loop is a man who threatened almost all domestic cricketing records this season, Saurashtra's Cheteswar Pujara. In chess, Abhijeet Gupta and Dronavalli Harika became the Under-20 boys' and girls' world champions respectively in Turkey.

Z for Zaheer: A shorter run-up and Zaheer Khan is back in his elements. A complete bowler now, people are comparing him with great Wasim Akram. The Indian pace attack now has a zing with the southpaw leading the charge and lanky Ishant Sharma accompanying him.

Courtesy: www.yahoo.co.in; Article link here.