Vidyasagar

BANGALORE: The word sparrows makes one nostalgic. But due to rapid urbanisation, the depletion in their population is very apparent. In order to spread awareness about the decreasing number of sparrows in the city and to find possible solution, the Bio-diversity Conservation India Limited (BCIL) organised a cyclothon from Cubbon Park to St Joseph’s College on Sunday.

Over 50 participants enthusiastically participated in the event and placed nests on trees. Dr Harish Narayan, general manager of BCIL, said, “We have conducted a study on the habitat of sparrows and the reason for their extinction in the city. Through this initiative we are trying to spread awareness among the students, corporates and others.”

He also said that the organisation is planning to hold a conference titled ‘International Conference on Sparrows’ on March 20 at St Joseph’s College Auditorium, Langford Road. In this conference, ornithologists such as Dr Sudhira, Ashwin Mahesh and Mohan will speak on the topics like impact of urbanisation on birds, landscape designs to attract birds and also sparrow mapping.

Roshan Rao, a participant said, “This is a good initiative by the organisation in order to retrieve the birds. We support the success of the project undertaken by the organisation.” Considering the possible causes of the fast extinction of the bird in the city he said that urbanisation and mobile towers can be a possible cause. He added, “Nesting space for birds are disturbed due to chopping of the trees in the process of development.”

There are many who miss the chirp of these tiny birds in their surroundings, as the trees are cut down. One such student is Ayman Tahoor. He said, “It was like a rhythm in the morning. But today, these birds are no where to be seen in the city. Through this initiative, we not only spread awareness about the sparrows but also speak about environment.”

Canon (Seiki Kogaku) rangefinder camera HANSA,1935/6 Model

Brief Summary: Source: Canon Museum
Year Introduced: 1939

Background: Shutter speeds (slow settings) from 1 sec. to 1/20 sec. Besides the Nikkor f/3.5 lens which came with the camera, three other lenses were available: the Nikkor f/2 (Sonnar type with 6 elements in 3 groups), Nikkor f/2.8 (Tessar type with 4 elements in 3 groups), and Nikkor f/4.5 (Tessar type with 4 elements in 3 groups). It was a fine lens line-up for Japan’s only high-end 35mm camera. The frame counter was on the camera top at the base of the film advance knob. On the Hansa Canon, it was on the camera front. This was to make room for the slow shutter speed governor. Due to internal mechanism changes, the top cover consisted of two parts with one part covering the protruding viewfinder portion. This was unlike the single-piece top cover of the Hansa Canon. The slow shutter speed dial was lever-controlled for easier operation.

Spec:

Type:- 35mm focal-plane shutter camera
Film Format:- 24 x 36 mm
Standard lenses: Nikkor 50mm f/3.5, 50mm f/2.8, 50mm f/2, 50mm f/4.5 (all lenses provided)
Lens Mount:- Dedicated bayonet mount with three inner lugs for interchangeable lenses
Shutter:- Two-axis, horizontal-travel focal-plane shutter with cloth curtains. Lever-controlled dial for 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 sec., and single-axis rotating dial for Z, 1/20, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200, and 1/500 sec.
Viewfinder system :- Coincidence rangefinder and separate reversed Galilean pop-up viewfinder. Focusing enabled with rotating gear (with stopper released).
Film Loading & Advance:- After baseplate removal, drop-in bottom loading. Advances with camera-top knob.
Frame Counter:- Manually set from 0 to 39 at base of camera-top rewind knob. Film Rewind via Camera-top knob
Dimensions & Weight: Approx. 136 x 69 x 30.5 mm, 700 g (with Nikkor 50mm f/3.5)

Source: Canon Museum

Too many corrupt or criminal candidates are taking office. But a massive surge of public support from across India can push the Election Commission to give us the right to reject them. Sign the petition now!

Watch-out for this dangerous plant

If you have a plant like the one in the picture below, get rid of it.

This plant is very common at our houses, gardens, parks and offices (popular as indoor & outdoor plant). The plant (Dumb Cane or Dieffenbachia) is now proven to be dangerous, so, please take care!

I know that the leaf of this plant causes itching if its sap (milk) touches your skin. But there are more dangerous facts! Read the details below.

May be useful for you. You better believe it.
Please read below.
One of my friends almost lost her daughter who put a piece of the leaf of this plant in her mouth and her tongue swelled to the point of suffocation. This is one plant but there are others with the same characteristics of coloring. Those are also poisonous and we should get rid of them. Please watch out for our children. As we all leave our children at home in the hands of a nanny, we should give them a safe environment where they can play .

Name: Dumb Cane or Dieffenbachia
“This plant that we have in our homes and offices is extremely dangerous!
This plant is common in Rwanda. It is a deadly poison, most specially for the children. It can kill a kid in less than a minute and an adult in 15 minutes. It should be uprooted from gardens and taken out of offices. If touched, one should never touch his/her eyes; it can cause partial or permanent blindness. Please alert your friends

In days, a multi-billion dollar Swiss pharma company may get the Indian Supreme Court to shut down our supply of affordable medicines.Only we can stop this outrage.

Novartis is suing our government so it can squeeze more profits from the sick and needy. If Novartis wins, it will threaten Indian companies’ ability to produce low-cost medicines for malaria, AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening diseases, depriving millions around the world of the treatments they desperately need and threatening thousands of Indian jobs. But people power can push Novartis to drop the suit before the final ruling.

One man is masterminding this stealthy attack on the health of millions — Ranjit Shahani, who heads Novartis India and India’s massively powerful pharmaceutical lobby group. When 100,000 people have signed the petition we’ll stage hard hitting actions targeting Shahani by name and push him to drop the case!

A new global treaty could allow corporations to police what we do on the Internet. Last week we successfully pushed back the US censorship bills — if we act now, we can get the EU Parliament to bury this new threat — add your voice now!

(Source: tumblr.com)

Today we could save the free Internet and stop the US Congress passing a law that gives them the power to censor the world’s Internet. Public pressure is at boiling point and we are turning the tide. Let’s stop the bill now — sign the petition!