1O0 things about Photography

1. Just because someone has an expensive camera doesn't mean that they’re a good photographer.
2. Always shoot in RAW. Always.
3. Prime lenses help you learn to be a better photographer.
4. Photo editing is an art in itself
5. The rule of thirds works 99% of the time.
6. Macro photography isn’t for everybody.
7. UV filters work just as well as lens caps.
8. Go outside and shoot photos rather than spending hours a day on photography forums.
9. Capture the beauty in the mundane and you have a winning photograph.
10. Film isn’t better than digital.
11. Digital isn’t better than film.
12. There is no “magic” camera or lens.
13. Better lenses don’t give you better photos.
14. Spend less time looking at other people’s work and more time shooting your own.
15. Don’t take your DSLR to parties.
16. Being a photographer is sexy.
17. Making your photos b/w doesn’t automatically make them “artsy”
18. People will always discredit your work if you tell them you “photoshop” your images. Rather, tell them that you process them in the “digital darkroom”.
19. You don’t need to take a photo of everything.
20. Have at least 2 backups of all your images. Like they say in war, two is one, one is none.
21. Ditch the neck strap and get a handstrap.
22. Get closer when taking your photos, they often turn out better.
23. Be a part of a scene while taking a photo; not a voyeur.
24. Taking a photo crouched often make your photos look more interesting.
25. Worry less about technical aspects and focus more on compositional aspects of photography.
26. Tape up any logos on your camera with black gaffers tape- it brings a lot less attention to you.
27. Always underexposed by 2/3rd of a stop when shooting in broad daylight.
28. The more photos you take, the better you get.
29. Don’t be afraid to take several photos of the same scene at different exposures, angles, or apertures.
30. Only show your best photos.
31. A point-and-shoot is still a camera.
32. Join an online photography forum.
33. Critique the works of others.
34. Think before you shoot.
35. A good photo shouldn’t require explanation (although background information often adds to an image). *
36. Alcohol and photography do not mix well.
37. Draw inspiration from other photographers but never worship them.
38. Grain is beautiful.
39. Ditch the photo backpack and get a messenger bag. It makes getting your lenses and camera a whole lot easier.
40. Simplicity is key.
41. The definition of photography is: “painting with light.” Use light in your favor.
42. Find your style of photography and stick with it.
43. Having a second monitor is the best thing ever for photo processing.
44. Silver EFEX pro is the best b/w converter.
45. Carry your camera with you everywhere. Everywhere.
46. Never let photography get in the way of enjoying life.
47. Don’t pamper your camera. Use and abuse it.
48. Take straight photos.
49. Shoot with confidence.
50. Photography and juxtaposition are best friends.
51. Print out your photos big. They will make you happy.
52. Give your photos to friends.
53. Give them to strangers.
54. Don’t forget to frame them.
55. Costco prints are cheap and look great.
56. Go out and take photos with (a) friend(s).
57. Join a photo club or start one for yourself.
58. Photos make great presents.
59. Taking photos of strangers is thrilling.
60. Candid>Posed.
61. Natural light is the best light.
62. 35mm (on full frame) is the best “walk-around” focal length.
63. Don’t be afraid to bump up your ISO when necessary.
64. You don’t need to always bring a tripod with you everywhere you go (hell, I don’t even own one).
65. It is always better to underexpose than overexpose.
66. Shooting photos of homeless people in an attempt to be “artsy” is exploitation.
67. You will find the best photo opportunities in the least likely situations.
68. Photos are always more interesting with the human element included.
69. You can’t “photoshop” bad images into good ones.
70. Nowadays everybody is a photographer.
71. You don’t need to fly to Paris to get good photos; the best photo opportunities are in your backyard.
72. People with DSLRS who shoot portraits with their grip pointed downwards look like morons.
73. Cameras as tools, not toys.
74. In terms of composition, photography and painting aren’t much different.
75. Photography isn’t a hobby it’s a lifestyle.
76. Make photos, not excuses.
77. Be original in your photography. Don’t try to copy the style of others.
78. The best photographs tell stories that begs the viewer for more.
79. Any cameras but black ones draw too much attention.
80. The more gear you carry around with you the less you will enjoy photography.
81. Good self-portraits are harder to take than they seem.
82. Laughter always draws out peoples’ true character in a photograph.
83. Don’t look suspicious when taking photos- blend in with the environment.
84. Landscape photography can become dull after a while.
85. Have fun while taking photos.
86. Never delete any of your photos.
87. Be respectful when taking photos of people or places.
88. When taking candid photos of people in the street, it is easier to use a wide-angle than a telephoto lens.
89. Travel and photography are the perfect pair.
90. Learn how to read a histogram.
91. A noisy photo is better than a blurry one.
92. Don’t be afraid to take photos in the rain.
93. Learn how to enjoy the moment, rather than relentlessly trying to capture the perfect picture of it.
94. Never take photos on an empty stomach.
95. You will discover a lot about yourself through your photography.
96. Never hoard your photographic insight- share it with the world.
97. Never stop taking photos
98. Photography is more than simply taking photos, it is a philosophy of life
99. Capture the decisive moment
1OO. Upgrade your skills before you upgrade your camera.

Top 10 reasons software testing is a cool profession

10. No software testing…no software! 
Without testing, software is worthless - software testing does not make software, it makes software usable.

9. You save your company’s face and money (The bottom line). 
You catch bugs so that the customers don’t have to deal with them-when the customers have to deal with bugs, it will cost your company a lot more (i.e., money, reputation, time, etc.).

8. You help people sleep better at night (The confidence). 
Nowadays, software is everywhere. When software testing is done well, it gives your company or clients confidence in the software-everyone can sleep better at night. You provide the critical information for the entire team to have confidence in the product. 

7. You make a lot of people happy (The joy).Well tested software leads to consistent quality products that meet customer needs in a user-friendly manner-your customers and sales staff will be happy; you live up to your marketing claims; you deliver products to sales channel and customers timely; you eliminate embarrassments. You provide information without getting political.

6. Software testing offers you opportunities to constantly be exposed with the latest and the greatest. 
Software testing is a continued changing and learning discipline-you constantly have to keep up with new ways of doing testing to keep up with development methods, new platform technologies, new product innovations and new ways of how software products are used. It gives you exposure to more than software alone. It has a business analysis component. To be a good tester you will have to learn about the business of the customers. And for each project that can be something different, from financial industry to oil companies, to cell phones, games, etc.

5. Software testing is highly intellectually, analytically and creatively demanding. 
Software testing offers you opportunity to fully utilize your critical thinking and creativity to discover or see things that others do not see. It can be interesting, and intellectually challenging. You have to think out of the box- think of things and situations that others have overlooked. If those elusive bugs were easy to find, they probably wouldn't be there. It is less technological focused than software development, but it does not mean inferiority. You don't have to be a programming enthusiast to be a good software test engineer. But you have to have good analytical and creative skills, which you can also develop further in this profession.

4. Many can do it, but few can do it well.
There are still relatively few people specialized in software testing. In particular there are relatively few people who are good at it.

3. Software testing will always be a much needed profession.
Certainties in life: Death, taxes and bugs in code! Testing is around 30% up to 40% of all software development efforts. There is always a need.

2. Software testing is a challenging and rewarding profession.
While software developers often work with one or more parts of the software but not in whole, software test engineers have opportunities to work with the product as from end-to-end (the product is more than software), as well as at a very deep level of details. To do testing well, it requires a good mix of software testing skills, IT technical skills, domain expertise, project management and communication skills. Software testing requires a lot of communication and language skills (e.g., English if you work with an US-based development team). The better communication language skills you possess, the higher your compensation will be. Testing is the bridge from development to customers, user advocates, so you learn more about the business needs and customers. Good testing is about business modeling, user analysis, understanding the market.

1. Software testing is a well compensated profession with ample opportunity for fast-paced career advancement.
It has been an under-studied discipline and an industry that still offers a lot of room to learn, pioneer and innovate. Therefore, it offers plenty of opportunities to quickly advance in your career, be well compensated and/or become thought-leaders. In software testing profession, there are many opportunities for growth. You can become senior engineer, project lead, project manager, line manager, director, etc.

A candid photograph is a photograph captured through motion mostly, without creating a posed appearance. This is achieved by avoiding prior preparation of the subject and by either surprising the subject or by not distracting the subject during the process of taking photos. Thus, the candid character of a photo is regardless of the subject's knowledge or consent as to the fact that photos are being taken, and regardless of the subject's permission for subsequent usage such as distribution, but related to the apparent absence of posing. It is distinguished from making secret photography by the photographer usually remaining discernible to the public and not wearing cover.

Some professional photographers develop candid photography into an art form. Henri Cartier-Bresson might be considered the master of the art of candid photography, capturing the "decisive moment" in everyday life over a span of several decades. Arthur Fellig, better known as Weegee, was one of the great photographers to document life in the streets of New York to often capture life — and death — at their rawest edges.

Almost all successful photographers in the field of candid photography master the art of making people relax and feel at ease around the camera, they master the art of blending in at parties, of finding acceptance despite an obvious intrusive element - the camera. This is certainly true for most celebrity photographers.

What is Candid Photography?

Let’s start at the beginning. Some of you may have heard people talk about candid photography, but have no idea what they mean. The answer to what is candid photography is simple: if you’ve ever watched “America’s Funniest Videos” or “Candid Camera” you already know.

Candid photography means taking pictures of people when they are acting naturally. The dictionary defines Candid as meaning: “Informal; Unposed.” So essentially, it means taking a picture of someone just being themselves. The answer to what is candid photography is that simple.

There are many types of photography, and it may be helpful to consider them in defining what is candid photography. The clearest contrast is between a portrait and a candid photo. For example, with portrait photography, someone is posing, they are aware of the camera, and the photographer may be asking them to make a specific face. In contrast, with a candid photograph, the subject may not even be aware of the camera, or they may not have a chance to compose themselves.

Types of Candid Photography

Now that we know what c0andid photography is, it’s time to learn about the different sub-types of candid photography. Yes, even among candid photography there are still sub-categories. I believe there are 2 main types of candid photography:

1. Street Photography
2. Reaction Photography

Defining Street Photography

Street photography involves going out on the street and observing people in their natural habitat. This could be a homeless man begging on the street, a runner sweating in the heat, or even a couple walking hand in hand. The point of this type of photo is to document external human life in its most natural environment.

Defining Reaction Photography

Reaction photography involves photographing someone’s natural reactions. They may be aware of the camera, but in the exact moment of the photo, they are being themselves instead of posing.

A great example would be a surprise engagement. Surprise engagement photo ideas are wonderful, because even if she sees the camera, she will be so over come with emotion that the photographer will be able to capture her natural reaction. In a sense though the answer to “what is candid photography?” is up to you the photography. At the end of the day, the point of this type of photo is to document internal human life in its most natural environment.

Mastering Candid Photography

Once you decide that you want to take candid photographs, you need to figure out how to do so. Don’t worry – it’s easy!

My number 1 piece of advice is to simply get out there and take lots of photos! And by take lots of photos, I mean LOTS of photos. The best part of digital photography is that you don’t have to pay for film. Review your photos shortly after taking them and give yourself an honest critique. This fast feedback loop will help you pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses.

Even after you’ve mastered how to be a candid photographer, you need to continue to find interesting subjects. So keep learning cool photography ideas to keep yourself interested and your skills constantly evolving. I hope you continue to learn more about what is candid photography!

Becoming a Candid Photographer

Candid photography can be an incredibly enjoyable hobby. It gives you an excuse to get out in your city and explore corners you’ve never seen. When you go on a vacation, you have a lot more options than just photographing the same old landmarks that everyone else photographs. And being a skilled candid photographer comes especially in handy for capturing life’s special moments.

I hope you found this guide and this website helpful in improving your candid photography skills and answering the question “what is candid photography.” Please let me know if you have any questions that I can help you with. And if you enjoyed this site, please share it with your friends!

Bermuda Triangle Mystery

The U. S. Board of Geographic Names does not recognize the Bermuda Triangle as an official name and does not maintain an official file on the area.

The "Bermuda or Devil's Triangle" is an imaginary area located off the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States, which is noted for a high incidence of unexplained losses of ships, small boats, and aircraft. The apexes of the triangle are generally accepted to be Bermuda, Miami, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In the past, extensive, but futile Coast Guard searches prompted by search and rescue cases such as the disappearances of an entire squadron of TBM Avengers shortly after take off from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., or the traceless sinking of USS Cyclops and Marine Sulphur Queen have lent credence to the popular belief in the mystery and the supernatural qualities of the "Bermuda Triangle."

Countless theories attempting to explain the many disappearances have been offered throughout the history of the area. The most practical seem to be environmental and those citing human error. The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble.

An area called the "Devil's Sea" by Japanese and Filipino seamen, located off the east coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics. It is also known for its mysterious disappearances.

Another environmental factor is the character of the Gulf Stream. It is extremely swift and turbulent and can quickly erase any evidence of a disaster. The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic weather pattern also plays its role. Sudden local thunder storms and water spouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners.

Finally, the topography of the ocean floor varies from extensive shoals around the islands to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the interaction of the strong currents over the many reefs the topography is in a state of constant flux and development of new navigational hazards is swift.Not to be under estimated is the human error factor. A large number of pleasure boats travel the waters between Florida's Gold Coast and the Bahamas. All too often, crossings are attempted with too small a boat, insufficient knowledge of the area's hazards, and a lack of good seamanship.

The Coast Guard, and most other official sources are not impressed with supernatural explanations of disasters at sea. It has been their experience that the combined forces of nature and unpredictability of mankind outdo even the most far fetched science fiction many times each year.

Brain–computer interface

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a collaboration between a brain and a device that enables signals from the brain to direct some external activity, such as control of a cursor or a prosthetic limb. The interface enables a direct communications pathway between the brain and the object to be controlled. In the case of cursor control, for example, the signal is transmitted directly from the brain to the mechanism directing the cursor, rather than taking the normal route through the body's neuromuscular system from the brain to the finger on a mouse.

By reading signals from an array of neurons and using computer chips and programs to translate the signals into action, BCI can enable a person suffering from paralysis to write a book or control a motorized wheelchair or prosthetic limb through thought alone. Current brain-interface devices require deliberate conscious thought; some future applications, such as prosthetic control, are likely to work effortlessly. One of the biggest challenges in developing BCI technology has been the development of electrode devices and/or surgical methods that are minimally invasive. In the traditional BCI model, the brain accepts an implanted mechanical device and controls the device as a natural part of its representation of the body. Much current research is focused on the potential on non-invasive BCI.

At the European Research and Innovation Exhibition in Paris in June 2006, American scientist Peter Brunner composed a message simply by concentrating on a display. Brunner wore a close-fitting (but completely external) cap fitted with a number of electrodes. Electroencephalographic (EEG) activity from Brunner's brain was picked up by the cap's electrodes and the information used, along with software, to identify specific letters or characters for the message.

The BCI Brunner demonstrated is based on a method called the Wadsworth system. Like other EEG-based BCI technologies, the Wadsworth system uses adaptive algorithm s and pattern-matching techniques to facilitate communication. Both user and software are expected to adapt and learn, making the process more efficient with practice.

During the presentation, a message was displayed from an American neurobiologist who uses the system to continue working, despite suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease). Although the scientist can no longer move even his eyes, he was able to send the following e-mail message: "I am a neuroscientist wHo (sic) couldn't work without BCI. I am writing this with my EEG courtesy of the Wadsworth Center Brain-Computer Interface Research Program."

DARPA , the independent research branch of the U.S. Department of Defense that helped fund the Internet, is among the organizations funding research into BCI.

College Attendance Management System

Overview

College Attendance Management System (CAMS) is biometric and RFID based comprehensive attendance management system for Colleges. CAMS provide robust, secure and automatic attendance management system for both Students and Staff. CAMS has an inbuilt facility of sending automatic SMS and Email alerts to the Guardians of the students.

The Need

Compliance – All colleges in the U.K. offering courses to non-EU nationals are required to maintain records of student’s attendance, in compliance with the Home Office regulations.
More efficient student attendance – CAMS automates the student and staff attendance hence; reducing irregularities in the attendance process arising due to human error.
Saving Time – Important administrative and educational resources could be freed up by utilizing CAMS
Environment Friendly – Reduces paper and other resource requirements. CAMS with its extremely small carbon footprint is a greener option.
Better Guardian information system – Guardians are better informed about their wards whereabouts with automatic SMS, Bulk SMS and Email facilities in CAMS.
Improved Guardian – College Relationship – CAMS brings the two principal stakeholders in a student’s education closer, considerably improving the Guardian – College rapport, leading to an atmosphere of comfort and trust.


CAMS is built on cutting edge modern technology and designed to help Colleges and Guardians to deal with problems of truancy/absenteeism.

CAMS is built on robust client-server architecture and supports multiple simultaneous clients which enable admin staff to perform their function with utmost ease.

The system consists of the following technology elements as shown in the figure.
Biometric Attendance Devices
Biometric Mobile Devices
Radio Frequency ID (RFID) Tags
CAMS Local Server (CLS)
CAMS Online Server (COS)
CAMS Web Interface
CAMS Software
Bulk SMS facility
Automatic Email Alerts

In a typical CAMS setup there is a biometric device setup outside each class room. These devices are connected with the CAMS local server housed in the College.

Each day the students will register their attendance with the biometric device. The CAMS local server will download the attendance data in real time. The collected data will then be securely synchronized with the CAMS Online Server (COS). COS will process the attendance and send a set SMS message to the Guardians of the absentee student via CAMS SMS gateway server if required and activated. Once the attendance is processed all attendance related reports will be available on COS for print and download.

The reports will be available in PDF, CSV, HTML, Word, Excel, RTF, Text and XML formats. Authorized users can login into CAMS online via web to retrieve the records and reports as required.

Student Registration

Every student has to be registered and activated with the CAMS. While registering the student following information is required

Personal Details
Course Details
Course Duration
Scanned Visa Copy
College Details
Biometric Data

Registration can be done via the web interface provided to the college along with the biometric fingerprint reader. Once activated with the college all devices in the college will accept the biometric identification from the student and his attendance will be marked accordingly against the course his is taking. Once a student has been activated on CAMS the college will be sent a student ID smart card via CAMS card printing service. The Student ID card will feature the following:

Student ID number
College Name and Logo
Student Personal Details
Student Photograph
Course
Validity period

The design and information on student ID cards can be set by the college based on the templates provide by CAMS to the college administration.

Email and SMS

The system also allows the College authorities to send SMS alerts to guardians regarding special events and emergencies.

Automatic Emails can also be enabled where attendance reports can be emailed to the concerned person in a set cycle.

In-built SMS and Email templates are provided to the college. Custom templates can further be created within CAMS according the college’s needs.

Staff Attendance

CAMS also has fully integrated Time Manager Software which provides various employee attendance and HR related functionalities e.g. Shift Scheduling, Shift Rota, Attendance Summary, Leave Management etc. CAMS Time Manager Module can also be integrated with leading payroll processing software.

Secure Login

CAMS considers data security of paramount importance. A secure state-of-the-art biometric login system ‘VAJRA’ is employed to login to the CAMS system.

Users are required to authenticate themselves using biometric fingerprint data before they are granted access to CAMS.

Once logged in, the system maintains an automatic log of all activities carried out by the user within the system.

Features
Accurate Student Attendance
Automatic Attendance Collection
Daily Absentee Report
Automatic SMS alert to guardian of absentee student
Daily attendance Register
Monthly attendance Register
Yearly attendance Report
Attendance Summary Report
Bulk SMS facility for special events and announcements
RFID option
Mobile attendance data collection and reporting
Robust employee attendance system

Benefits


Ensure better compliance to Home Office regulations for attendance monitoring of Foreign Students.

Better student attendance management

Less administrative work

Better accounting of student’s whereabouts during College hours

More parental involvement in ascertaining student presence in College

Improves student attendance ratio

Better College staff attendance management

Data Protection Safeguards

The user’s fingerprints are never stored on the device or the software, only a uniquely identifiable digital data called minutiae is extracted encrypted and securely stored. Hence, there is no personally identifiable data which is stored on the system.

Encrypted data is stored using FIPS 250 compliant encryption.

High quality US FBI approved sensors are used to capture data; these sensors are capable of hardware encryption at source.

All data is stored in a 128 bit encrypted data packet within the system.

Application performs a secured encrypted verification match; this ensures that digital biometric data is never exposed to any environment.

Car stereo Mp3 Player with 2GB Inbuilt Memory

Incredible Car MP3 Music Player FM Transmitter ISO 9001 CERTIFIED

Just arrived, limited quantities of Car MP4 WMA Wireless FM Transmitter. This model works like any normal FM Modulator but offers you the choice of over 206 FM channels to choose from. It is compatible with USB sticks/ MP3 players and SD Cards. The adjustable neck allows you to adjust the LCD display to the best viewing angle. Just insert a USB Flash Drive or a USB Card Reader with Flash Card with MP3 files into this transmitter, Or connect with your MP3, iPod, CD, DVD, Computer player or other audio device via the audio cable, then tune your radio to the appropriate frequency and press play, you could enjoy wonderful music from the car stereo at once.

Liven up your choice of audio in the car: get all that downloaded music off your hard drive and pump it through your car stereo instead!

Manufacturer Specification
FM Frequency Range: 87.5MHz~108MHz
USB: USB 2.0
Power Source: Directly from car cigarette lighter
Built-in FM transmitter with remote control
Reads MP3s from most USB flash MP3 / MP4 Players
2.5 to 3.5 Line In cord to connect the FM transmitter to a 3.5mm Jack audio source

Features:
Car cigar socket power supply
24 Volt Powered Wireless FM Transmission
206 FM Channels
USB Port
SD/MMC Card Reader
Adjustable Angle Control
Compatible with CD/DVD/Flash devices/SD Card
Memory Card -3000 Songs of your choice.
Volume Control
LCD –Show the volume and number of songs.

Accessories:
Remote Control
2.5mm to 3.5mm Audio Cable
or USB cable (depends on Model
)
Car USB-MP3 Transmitter

Performance:
For Flash Memory/Memory stick (USB Only)
1, Plug the MP3 Player FM Modulator into car smoke light jack.
2, Plug your Flash Memory into FM Modulator's USB Port.
3, Using the audio cable, plug your MP3, CD, DVD Player or other audio device into the FM Modulator's stereo jack.
4, Select any FM Modulator channels that a local radio station is not broadcasting on.
5, Tune your car stereo to the same FM Frequency as the FM Modulator.
6, Press the Play Button on the FM Modulator.
7, Music/Audio transmits to vehicle's stereo system.

NEW MODEL
Just arrived, new model with ff features below:

*2gb built in memory - up to 500 Songs
*Expandable up to 4gb with SD memory card
*Can be use also as a flash for files storage

Lazy males made to work

The best known insect societies are those of ants, bees and wasps all of which belong to the order Hymenoptera. Individuals in these species organize themselves into colonies consisting of tens to millions of individuals. Each colony is headed by one or a small numbers of fertile queens while the rest of the individuals serve as sterile or nearly sterile workers. The spectacular ecological success of the social insects, their caste differentiation, division of labour and highly developed communication systems are well known. A less studied but equally intriguing aspect of these hymenopteran societies is that they are feminine monarchies – there are queens but no kings and all workers are females. Males do little more than transferring their sperm to virgin queens while all the work involved in nest building, brood care and, finding and processing food is done by the females.

Why don’t males work, at least during the period that they stay on the nests of their birth? Using the Indian primitively eusocial wasp Ropalidia marginata and the important task of feeding larvae as an example of work, we have recently made a novel attempt to understand the secret behind the well-known laziness of the males. We considered three hypotheses:
males are incapable of feeding larvae,
males never get access to enough food to satisfy themselves and have something left over to offer to the larvae (males do not forage on their own and depend on the females for access to food), and
females are so much more efficient at feeding larvae that they leave no opportunities for the relatively inefficient males to do so.

To test these hypotheses, my graduate student Ms. Ruchira Sen offered experimental colonies excess food. This resulted in a marginal amount of feeding of the larvae by males thus disproving the hypothesis that males are incapable of feeding larvae. Then she removed all the females from some colonies and left the males alone with hungry larvae. This experiment was a non-starter because males cannot forage and find food in the absence of females. Ruchira overcame this problem by mastering the art of tenderly and patiently hand-feeding the males. And she gave them more food than they could themselves consume so that they might feed larvae if they could. Her efforts were rewarded when males under these conditions fed larvae at rates nearly comparable to those of the females. Thus males can feed larvae and will do so if they are given an opportunity. It therefore appears that males do not feed larvae under natural circumstances because they do not have access to enough food and/or because females leave them few opportunities to do so. There are several lines of evidence to suggest that the males were not merely dumping unwanted food but that they were actively seeking out the most appropriate larvae and feeding them “deliberately”. But it must be emphasized that from the point of view of the larvae, males were quite inefficient compared to the females. Apart from the fact that males fed only the oldest larvae and ignored all the young larvae, it turned out that many of the larvae under allmale care died.

In addition to their obvious interest, these studies open up a major evolutionary puzzle: why has natural selection not made the males more efficient and made feeding larvae by males a routine matter? Answering one question raises at least one more – and that’s how it should be.

Hard rocks can have long memories

One of the best ways to understand the geological history of our 4500 million year old planet is to study rocks formed under a wide variety of geological conditions. Geologists, equipped with their vast experience and advanced analytical instruments, can identify and interrogate those rocks that best preserve evidence of past geological events. One such instrument is the sensitive high resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP), a large specialized mass spectrometer that measures the ages of rocks, their precursors and major thermal events by firing a 10,000 volt ion beam at crystals as small as 0.05 mm diameter and measuring the isotopic abundances of the lead, uranium and thorium that are released.

The reconstruction of the continents that existed in the past is an important part of understanding the dynamic evolution of earth. The ancient supercontinent of Gondwana once consisted of what are now the smaller continents of South America, Africa, Madagascar, southern India, Sri Lanka, Antarctica and Australia. Determining the timing of the geological events involving rock formation and modification (deformation, metamorphism etc.) in these continental fragments is vital in piecing together the evolution of the earth's crust during any period of geological time. Most rocks 'forget' their history if exposed to extreme geological conditions, but there are some rare cases where particular rocks derived from the earth's lower crust have preserved, in their distinctive mineralogy, convincing evidence of the very high temperatures that can be present at depth.
The rocks of the central Highland Complex in Sri Lanka, and some parts of Antarctica and southern India, have been subject to some of the highest peak temperatures of crustal metamorphism known, over 1100°C. At such temperatures most rocks would turn into molten magma, but in the November issue of Geology, Sajeev and others report rocks from near Kandy (Sri Lanka) that not only survived the high temperatures, but contain crystals of zircon in which a uranium-lead isotopic record of their provenance and thermal history have survived. Such survival is contrary to all predictions from experimental studies of the rate that lead should be lost from zircon by thermal diffusion.

From a study of the metamorphic minerals and thermodynamic modelling, and SHRIMP uranium-lead isotopic analyses of zircon and monazite (cerium phosphate), the authors have shown that the rocks near Kandy were originally sediments derived from sources ranging in age from 2500 to 830 million years. The sediments were heated to over 1100°C at a depth of about 25 km about 570 million years ago, and then rapidly lifted towards the surface, while still hot, about 550 million years ago. These Sri Lankan rocks were probably trapped and buried in the violent collision between the two halves of the Gondwana supercontinent about 600 million years ago, superheated by basalt magmas rising from the earth's interior, then forced to the near surface again as the tectonic pressures relaxed. The preservation of the isotopic record of these events is remarkable, and still remains to be fully explained.

The 15 Most Promising Inventions of 2010

15. nPower Personal Energy Generator

14. Flying Car: Terrafugia

13. Sony 3D-360 Hologram

12. Xeros Waterless Washing Machine

11. Recompute: The Cardboard Computer

10. Powermat Wireless Battery Charger

09. Samsung Water-Powered Battery

08. 2010 Brabus Mercedes-Benz Viano Lounge

07. V12 Dual-Touchscreen Notebook

06. MyKey by Ford

05. Tri-Specs

04. Google Wave

03. The KS810 Keyboard Scan

02. Apple Tablet

01. Software that Captures Sports Games Robotically