Just when I entered the United States of America I realized how different a lot measuring units were. Lets talk about the weather today. It is 71 deg Fahrenheit. Well I am used to Celsius. Then I found the following:
Fahrenheit minus 32 divide by 2 equals to Celsius &
Celsius multiply by 2 and add 32 gives Fahrenheit
Life was much simpler since. Fahrenheit was discovered in 1724 and Celsius in 1742 [wow! look at the years 24 interchanged to 42]. The entire world is now following Celsius except for Bahamas, Belize, Cayman islands, Palau and USA with its territories.Probably these countries find the conversion very costly in terms of change in every machine, vehicles etc.
On the Fahrenheit scale the water freezing point 32 deg F and water boiling point 212 deg F is exactly 180 deg apart. On Celsius the water melting point 0 deg C and the boiling point 100 deg C is 100 deg apart. Both F and C scales coincide at – 40 deg.
Currently the unit degree Celsius by an international agreement is defined by two different points – Absolute zero and the Triple point of specially prepared water. This is where the new scale Kelvin comes into picture. Absolute zero is the temperature where nothing can get colder 0 deg K or -273.15 deg C and Triple point of water is 273.16 deg K or 0.01 deg C.
A point to be noted is though the Celsius as discovered in 1742 the formal adoption of the symbol was in 1948 not to forget the usage in weather telecasts was done by BBC not until 1985. Kelvin however has not been well adopted.
nisha manoj
Monday, March 3, 2014
Time Zones - USA and India
The different times of USA and India set me to find out about the time zones of the world. So let me share a bit of my knowledge.
UTC is the Co-ordinated Universal Time used as a benchmark. I would skip some of the history behind time which is easily available in various learning websites. UTC is a primary standard time by which the world regulates clocks. The term GMT Greenwich Mean Time already has a successor in UTC and no longer has a precise definition.
USA uses 9 standard time zones .From east to west they are Atlantic Standard Time (AST), Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), Pacific Standard Time (PST), Alaskan Standard Time (AKST), Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST), Samoa standard time (UTC-11) and Chamorro Standard Time (UTC+10).
Each zone has a daylight saving time …so what is daylight saving? Daylight saving has been a subject of debate for a long time. However DST is a change from the standard time to utilize the daylight better by having the sun rise 1 hour later in the morning and set 1 hour later in the evening …It begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. On the first Sunday in November areas on Daylight Saving Time return to Standard Time at 2:00 a.m.
The names in each time zone change along with Daylight Saving Time. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and so forth. Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Florida lies in the Eastern time zone with a standard time of UTC-5hrs and daylight time of UTC-4hrs.
India follows an Indian standard time (IST) which is UTC+5:30 and does not observe DST. IST is calculated on the basis of 82.5 deg longitude in Shankargarh Fort, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
DST was briefly used during the Sino-Indian and the Indo-Pak wars. Though after independence IST was officially adopted, Kolkata and Mumbai had their own times till 1948 and 1955 respectively.
India’s East-West distance covers over 28 deg of longitude resulting in the sun rising and setting almost 2 hrs earlier in the eastern border.
The Indian government is not ready to split the nation into multiple time zones though there is pressure from the Northeastern states of the country. Since the Plantations Labour act 1951 allows Central and state governments to set a local time in an industrial estate, Assam tea gardens follow a separate time zone known as – Tea garden time or Bagantime which is 1 hr ahead of IST.
UTC is the Co-ordinated Universal Time used as a benchmark. I would skip some of the history behind time which is easily available in various learning websites. UTC is a primary standard time by which the world regulates clocks. The term GMT Greenwich Mean Time already has a successor in UTC and no longer has a precise definition.
USA uses 9 standard time zones .From east to west they are Atlantic Standard Time (AST), Eastern Standard Time (EST), Central Standard Time (CST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), Pacific Standard Time (PST), Alaskan Standard Time (AKST), Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST), Samoa standard time (UTC-11) and Chamorro Standard Time (UTC+10).
Each zone has a daylight saving time …so what is daylight saving? Daylight saving has been a subject of debate for a long time. However DST is a change from the standard time to utilize the daylight better by having the sun rise 1 hour later in the morning and set 1 hour later in the evening …It begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March. On the first Sunday in November areas on Daylight Saving Time return to Standard Time at 2:00 a.m.
The names in each time zone change along with Daylight Saving Time. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and so forth. Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Florida lies in the Eastern time zone with a standard time of UTC-5hrs and daylight time of UTC-4hrs.
India follows an Indian standard time (IST) which is UTC+5:30 and does not observe DST. IST is calculated on the basis of 82.5 deg longitude in Shankargarh Fort, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
DST was briefly used during the Sino-Indian and the Indo-Pak wars. Though after independence IST was officially adopted, Kolkata and Mumbai had their own times till 1948 and 1955 respectively.
India’s East-West distance covers over 28 deg of longitude resulting in the sun rising and setting almost 2 hrs earlier in the eastern border.
The Indian government is not ready to split the nation into multiple time zones though there is pressure from the Northeastern states of the country. Since the Plantations Labour act 1951 allows Central and state governments to set a local time in an industrial estate, Assam tea gardens follow a separate time zone known as – Tea garden time or Bagantime which is 1 hr ahead of IST.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Recycled T shirt rug
I had been eyeing my hubby's old T shirts since i came across this recylced rug on pinterest. However i have to warn my viewers that the T shirts that i speak of are really years old and cannot be used else it would have been donated.
Just make strips of T shirt , attach the strips by sewing them at the ends , braid and stitch along by taking the braid in circles to get a round shape or any shape that your would like to have.
Its simple, esay and very satisfying.
Just make strips of T shirt , attach the strips by sewing them at the ends , braid and stitch along by taking the braid in circles to get a round shape or any shape that your would like to have.
Its simple, esay and very satisfying.
Welcome to Florida
Beautiful place ....reminds me of Goa ...quiet, calm and lovely compared to the hustle and bustle of Mumbai ...even people are so similar to goans ..friendly and helpful ..
my love for photography has increased and hence i have uploaded some of the flora and fauna i found while walking around my apartment. Ducks were very friendly since the residents feed them bread.
my cooking has gone completely out of control [i mean the taste] since all i did the first few days is mix up some ready-to-eats and heat the mix. I am so used to cooking from scratch and fresh produce that i donot like the taste of anything packed and canned.But have to survive.
This is the second week and slight improvement is noticed. e.g my veggie moong dal curry - mix a pack of paneer makhawala gravy packet in water, add beans, mushrooms and carrots and cook. Later add moong dal vadis [bought from an Indian store] and cook till vadis almost melt. We also made pancakes - i guess i am allowed to call them pancakes. I mixed wheat flour [the flour tastes really good], custard powder, salt, little sugar, yogurt and milk. Fry them like dosas. This is lunch today.
Dinner has to have a non-vegetarian item - i have bought fish [even the frozen fish here is so well frozen that it tastes fresh once cooked]. Dinner has to be the same gravy curry, fried fish and chapathis ..well chapathis are going to be of various forms and sizes since i forgot to bring my rolling pin. There is a thrift store i identified that we shall visit later to find any useful household items.I have even forgotten my comb in India.
I met a lovely, energetic, and matured young man [a boy probably 8yrs old] who was very helpful when i went to the supercentre "Winn-Dixie" for the first time. He advised me to be careful not to jump around in my apartment lest the police takes me away as neighbours may call them. I need to remember that super centres have lot of criminals and hence have to be cautious. Milk has to bought in gallons not packets and not to forget there are variety of chocolates and chips to choose from. By the way dumplings are yummy - pork dumplings. Thanks Aaryan. He was a darling.
It was a lovely sunny morning - probably i said that a bit too soon ..its has gone dark, i can hear thundering, see lightening and is raining heavily...ok so the weather keeps changing within minutes- i heard about some storm coming this way - by the way its just 12:30 p.m. [afternoon] - its 11 p.m. [night] in India now.
Alachua county Libarary www.aclib.us – this dear friends is my library. My library allows me renewals online and I can 100 books at a time if I can read them in 4 weeks-coool isn’t it. They have DVDs, CDs and even downloadable free material.
my love for photography has increased and hence i have uploaded some of the flora and fauna i found while walking around my apartment. Ducks were very friendly since the residents feed them bread.
my cooking has gone completely out of control [i mean the taste] since all i did the first few days is mix up some ready-to-eats and heat the mix. I am so used to cooking from scratch and fresh produce that i donot like the taste of anything packed and canned.But have to survive.
This is the second week and slight improvement is noticed. e.g my veggie moong dal curry - mix a pack of paneer makhawala gravy packet in water, add beans, mushrooms and carrots and cook. Later add moong dal vadis [bought from an Indian store] and cook till vadis almost melt. We also made pancakes - i guess i am allowed to call them pancakes. I mixed wheat flour [the flour tastes really good], custard powder, salt, little sugar, yogurt and milk. Fry them like dosas. This is lunch today.
Dinner has to have a non-vegetarian item - i have bought fish [even the frozen fish here is so well frozen that it tastes fresh once cooked]. Dinner has to be the same gravy curry, fried fish and chapathis ..well chapathis are going to be of various forms and sizes since i forgot to bring my rolling pin. There is a thrift store i identified that we shall visit later to find any useful household items.I have even forgotten my comb in India.
I met a lovely, energetic, and matured young man [a boy probably 8yrs old] who was very helpful when i went to the supercentre "Winn-Dixie" for the first time. He advised me to be careful not to jump around in my apartment lest the police takes me away as neighbours may call them. I need to remember that super centres have lot of criminals and hence have to be cautious. Milk has to bought in gallons not packets and not to forget there are variety of chocolates and chips to choose from. By the way dumplings are yummy - pork dumplings. Thanks Aaryan. He was a darling.
It was a lovely sunny morning - probably i said that a bit too soon ..its has gone dark, i can hear thundering, see lightening and is raining heavily...ok so the weather keeps changing within minutes- i heard about some storm coming this way - by the way its just 12:30 p.m. [afternoon] - its 11 p.m. [night] in India now.
Alachua county Libarary www.aclib.us – this dear friends is my library. My library allows me renewals online and I can 100 books at a time if I can read them in 4 weeks-coool isn’t it. They have DVDs, CDs and even downloadable free material.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Diwali - the festival of lights
Traditions and rituals in my family is quite rare. We belong to the new generation family that doesnot follow any tradition blindly. Personally i love a few of them though :). having lived in the north of India for few years of my childhood i love the diwali celebrations at preparatory stage, especially the ritual bath andthe evening pooja.
Diwali reminds me of a kind of marriage preparation in the family and the excitement that is associated with it is extremely good for health. Each year brings a renewed, fresh new diwali adventure.
The diwali bath is a wonderful beauty regime. Getting up early morning to apply coconut oil and lemon juice all over the body and scalp. Then bathe half an hour later using gramflour and water paste [ no soap no shampoo allowed]. This year i added turmeric in my paste and a little castor oil on my scalp too.The aftereffect of this bath is smooth glowing skin and soft silky hair. I like to mix rosewater to fullers earth and leave a layer on my face and neck for 15mins before my bath.
The selection of a pretty salwar/saree is secondary to my shopping for glass bangles, jazzy earrings, designer bindis and payals which are worn only on festive occassions.I have to mention the henna designs that is applied on hands and feet.
After the bath is the turn to decorate the home with a lovely rangoli. I had already googled my designs for this year and practised it once. Hanging flower and mango leaf garland on top of the front door adorned with colourful rangoli and lit diyas is a sight worth to watch.One can literally see the gods entering the house.
Crackers are strictly prohibited - no noise and air pollution allowed , not to forget the respect towards all creatures [animals & humans ] who hide to avoid commotion. Evening walks turn into late evening walks to see houses lit with lamps on this dark new moon night.
Exchange of sweets and fruits with neighbours is a lovely gesture. With dreams in my eyes i look forward to this years lovely night.
Happy deepavali to all. May the lord light up all our lives and minds :)
Diwali reminds me of a kind of marriage preparation in the family and the excitement that is associated with it is extremely good for health. Each year brings a renewed, fresh new diwali adventure.
The diwali bath is a wonderful beauty regime. Getting up early morning to apply coconut oil and lemon juice all over the body and scalp. Then bathe half an hour later using gramflour and water paste [ no soap no shampoo allowed]. This year i added turmeric in my paste and a little castor oil on my scalp too.The aftereffect of this bath is smooth glowing skin and soft silky hair. I like to mix rosewater to fullers earth and leave a layer on my face and neck for 15mins before my bath.
Exchange of sweets and fruits with neighbours is a lovely gesture. With dreams in my eyes i look forward to this years lovely night.
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Simple prawn fry
This is the most simple and fast prawn fry i have ever made.
Take few clean, deveined prawns and add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, garlic pods, lemon juice and rava / cornflour.
Mix all and fry for 10 mins tossing in between.
Take few clean, deveined prawns and add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, garlic pods, lemon juice and rava / cornflour.
Mix all and fry for 10 mins tossing in between.
Apple Peel Chutney
The other day i made apple sauce and had a lot of peels left which i just didn't have the heart to discard. I tried to find any apple peel recipes of my liking. I finally decided to make a chutney.
Simple cooking is my style and hence i decided to make a small batch first.
# Apple peels - 5 nos. apples
# Oil - 1 tsp
# Jaggery - 2 tbsp
# Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
# Jeera seeds - 1/2 tsp
# Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
# Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
# Water - 3 tbsp
# Salt - as per taste
Place the oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds. Once the spluttering of the seeds stop add jeera, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and the peels. Then add 3 tbsp of water, cover the pan with a lid and cook till the peels are soft. Add jaggery at this stage and salt. Cook till the water evaporates completely leaving behind a sweet and pungent chutney. Please add few drops of lemon juice.
I love this recipe mainly because it is cooking without wasting.
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