Divorce - A Short Film

और आज ..

इक दौर था वो भी...
हर घर के किसी एक ही कमरे में पड़ा
एक ही टी.वी.
सबका सांझा हुआ करता था 
शाम ढलते ही उमड़ पड़ता 
देखने वालों का जमावड़ा 
सब के सब एक ही जगह ...
सब... इक साथ...पास-पास 
सबकी सांझी ख़ुशी, सांझी सोच, सांझी मर्ज़ी 
तब ......
घर में सब जन एक थे... सब इक साथ ...
इक दूजे के पास-पास, इक दूजे के साथ-साथ 

इक दौर है ये भी ... 
प्रगति का दौर ....
अब.... सब के पास... सब अपना है 
सब.... अलग-अलग अपना 
अपना अलग कमरा... अपना अलग टी.वी. 
अलग ख़ुशी, अलग सोच, अलग मर्ज़ी ...
हाँ , सब... अलग-अलग अपना 

और आज .......

अपने अपने सामान के साथ 
हर कोई अकेला है ...... 

(daanish)

Mr. Traas - A very interesting Short Film

मुहावरे.....

बेकार चीज़ फेंक देना होता है सही...
ऐसा सुनते आए अब तक...

पर जब शब्द अर्थ खोने लगें तो क्या करें ...
ज़ाहिर है फेंक दो उन्हें अंधी खाई में...

ऐसे कुछ शब्दों से बने मुहावरे खो चुके हैं अर्थ...
पर कुछ लकीर के फकीर करते हैं उनका उपयोग गाहे-बगाहे...
उदाहरणार्थ वो कहते हैं 
झूठ के पाँव नहीं होते...
पर अक़्सर नज़र आते  हैं कई झूठ, कई तरह की दौड़ों में अव्वल आते हुए..
सांच को आंच नहीं... 
पर सच जला-बुझा सा कोने में पड़ा मिलता है अदालतों में...
भगवान के घर देर है...अंधेर नहीं..
पर भगवान ख़ुद अमीरों की इमारतों में उजाला करने में है व्यस्त
सौ सुनार की, एक लोहार की...
पर आज के बाज़ार ने लोहार को गायब कर दिया बाज़ार से...
न नौ मन तेल होगा...न राधा नाचेगी..
पर राधा मीरा नाच रहीं चवन्नी-अठन्नी पर किसी सस्ते बार में...
चैन की नींद सोना...
पर मेरे बूढ़े पिता रिटायर होने के बाद जागते हैं उल्लुओं की तरह... 
अनिष्ट की आशंका में...
ये मुहावरे मिटा डालो 
फाड़ो वो पन्ने जो इनका बोझ ढो के बोझिल हो चुके.. 
निष्कासित करो उन लकीर के  फकीरों को..
जो इनके सच होने की उम्मीद लगाए बैठे हैं...

(अश्विनी)

kyu na bole mose mohan.wmv

"I Just Called to Say I Love You" with saxaphone

Yeh Shyam Mastani by Manohari Singh

मैं कविता में.... मुझ में कविता ....

मैं , अक्सर ही
अपनी इक बेसुध-सी धुन में
कुछ लम्हों को साथ लिए, जब
अलबेली अनजानी ख़्वाबों की दुनिया में
ख़ुद अपनी ही खोज-ख़बर लेने जाता हूँ
तब, कुछ जानी-पहचानी यादों का जादू
मुझको अपने साथ बहा कर ले जाता है ...
लाख जतन कर लेने पर भी
कुछ पुरसोज़ ख़यालों को, जब,
लफ़्ज़ों से लबरेज़ लिबास नहीं मिल पाता
ज़हन में, पल-पल चुभते, तल्ख़ सवालों का जब
मरहम-सा माकूल, जवाब नहीं मिल पाता
ऐसे में मैं,,
ऐसे में मैं भूल के ख़ुद को
उसको याद किया करता हूँ
अनजानी आहट की राह तका करता हूँ
और अचानक
इक आमद होने लगती है
आड़े-तिरछे लफ़्ज़, लक़ीरें,
ख़ुशख़त-सी तहरीरों में ढलने लगते हैं 
कुछ क़तरे, कुछ मुस्कानें, सब,
'इक कविता-सी' हो जाते हैं ...
फिर मैं, और मेरी ये कविता
इक दूजे से, देर तलक बातें करते हैं
काग़ज़ के टुकड़े पर फ़ैली...
वो, मेरे सीने पे सर रख, सो जाती है
मैं भी देर तलक उसको पढता रहता हूँ
हम दोनों ही खो जाते हैं...
मैं कविता में...
मुझ में कविता ....

Bus itna to hai hi.....बस इतना तो है ही

यूं ही कहीं
yun hi kahin

तनहाई के किन्हीं खाली पलों में
tanhaayi ke kinhin khaali palon mein

ख़यालात के कोरे पन्नों पर
khayaalaat ke korey pannon per

जब
jab

खिंचने लगें
khinchne lagein

कुछ आड़ी-तिरछी सी लक़ीरें
kuch aadhi tirchi si lakeerein

बुन-सा जाए
buun sa jaaye

यादों का इक ताना-बाना
yaadon ka ekk taana baana

रचने लगे
rachne lage

इक अपनी-सी दुनिया 
ekk apni si duniya 

फिर वह सब ...
phir veh sab...

कोई कविता , गीत , ग़ज़ल
koi kavita, geet, ghazal

हो न हो...
ho na ho...

बस इतना तो है ही
bus itna to hai hi

ख़ुद से मुलाक़ात का
khud se mulaaqaat ka

इक बहाना तो हो ही जाता है ...............
ekk bahaana sa to ho hi jaata hai............

(दानिश)

इबादत....

माना , 
कि मुश्किल है 
बहुत मुश्किल 

इस तेज़ रौ ज़िन्दगी की 
हर ज़रुरत में 
हर पल किसी के काम आ पाना 

इस भागते-दौड़ते वक्त में 
हर क़दम 
किसी का साथ दे पाना 

इस अपने आप तक सिमटे दौर के 
हर दुःख में 
किसी का सहारा बन पाना 

हाँ ! बहुत मुश्किल है 

लेकिन 
कुछ ऐसा भी मुश्किल तो नहीं 

ख़ुदा से 
अपने लिए की गयी बंदगी के नेक पलों में 
किसी और के लिए भी दुआएं करते रहना 
अपना भला चाहते-चाहते 
दूसरों का भी भला मांगते रहना .... 

सच्ची इबादत.... 
अब इसके सिवा 
और... 
हो भी तो क्या !!


(दानिश)

Increase your blog traffic

Tags are very important , try to give commonly used tags which suits your blog post. This helps the visitors to find similar posts when they search for that word in any search engine or in your blog itself. Try putting as many tags as possible. Blogger although allows only 200 words including space. Tags (like links) are easily noticed by search engines. They're also key to helping readers find your blog when they perform searches on popular blog search engines such as Technorati. 

BLOG Communities on Facebook can also be very useful to increase traffic.  . It’s one place where I can meet other bloggers who share their blog posts too. If you are a part of such a community and you have a pool of bloggers , the best way to get your blog read is to read theirs. YES that works!!. Simply make sure you visit at least 10 new blog every day, read them sincerely and comment on their posts. Don’t forget to leave a link to your blog too and ask them to visit your blogs too , they would be more than happy to do that. But be specific when replying to their post and inviting them to your blog , mention “please do visit and comment on my post” , “ you can follow my blog too, here is the link” etc. I am a part of many communities and I do visit other blogs as an when I get time. 

Here are few blogging communities I know

Indiblogger (for Indian Bloggers)

Blog Farm

Blogger (on facebook, has around 53 million members) 

Xanga

The category of your blog falls in might not be interesting to certain audience. For e.g. I like blogs which are photo blogs or technology related. So if your blog is a personal blog, recipe blog or a pet blog I might not be interested. So once you have categories on your blogs and its been put up on the right tab I will select the appropriate blog category which interests me and read out to myself. Also if you specialize in any particular category make sure you attract the right audience to your blog. As I previously mentioned about Blog communities go and make friends with bloggers who share your interests rather than those who might not interest you. Remember if they you are not interested on a Blog, that Blogger would not be interested in your blog either chose wisely 

Submitting to Search Engines :  This is very important, you have to make your blog searchable and the best way is to submit it to search engines. Although all major search engines like Google, Yahoo &  MSN include your sites automatically. CLICK HERE to add your site to some of the search engines people use commonly 

Pinging your website is the online equivalent of waving a flag and yelling, “Hey! Over here – check this out!” to search engines and directories whenever you add or make major updates to the content on your site. Using a Ping tool can speed up indexing because it essentially sends search portals and other services a message from your website telling them that there is new content and to come crawl it. Keep pinging every time you update your blog. 

Here are few pinging sites for you 

Ping-o-matic

Auto Pinger

Ping My Blog

Ping Blog

Feed Shark

French roast, short animation movie

Asha Bhosle

Date of Birth: 8 September 1933,

Birth Place: Satara, Maharashtra, India

Birth Name: Asha Mangeshkar

Nickname: The Queen of Indipop

Mini Biography

A very well known Bollywood playback singer, she is as popular as her elder sister, who is also a renowned singer. Well, we are talking about Asha Bhosle, who has mesmerized the entire country with her amazing voice. She has dominated the Indian music industry for a period more than six decades. Even now, she is constantly enhancing her music collection and entertaining the people.

Asha Bhosle is a very versatile singer, who has put her heart and soul in modulating her voice to come up with something original and creative. Her voice is very adaptative. She is very well able to sing the songs for romantic situation. When naughtiness is required, she can change her voice and sing according to the situation. In this article, we will present you with the biography of Asha Bhosle.

Life

Asha was born on September 8, 1933 in a small village of Goar in Sangli, Maharashtra to the Marathi family. She is the daughter of Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar, who was a theater artist as well as a classical singer. She lost her father, when she only nine years old. The family kept moving from one place to another. They went from Pune to Kolhapur and then to Bombay (now Mumbai). To support the family, she and her elder sister Lata started singing in the films. To know the complete life history of Asha Bhonsle, read on.

She got her first break when she signed the agreement to sing the song “Chala Chala Nav Bala” for the Marathi movie Majha Bal (1943). Her first Hindi song was “Saawan aaya”, which was recorded for Hansraj Behl’s film Chunariya (194. When she was sixteen, she fell in love with a 31-year old man Ganpatrao Bhosle and she was firm about marrying him. She eloped with him and tied her wedding knots with him against the wishes of her family. She did not derive happiness in this relationship and after a few years, she shifted to her mother’s home along with her kids.

She is one of the most skilled and talented singers. Her music repertoire consists of film music, ghazals, pop, traditional Indian Classical music, folk songs, qawwalis, bhajans, and Rabindra Sangeet. She has sung songs in fourteen languages including Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, English, Russian and Malay. She has sung nearly 12,000 songs.

Though, she has made a vast collection of music, but she is most famous for the Bollywood songs. She headed her first step towards establishing her career in the year 1943. She has been the most prominent personality of the Indian music industry since the last six decades. She has done playback singing for more than 950 Bollywood movies.

Career

Initially, Asha had to struggle a lot to get assignments to sing for the lead roles. However, during the 1950s, she sang a large number of songs. Infact, period she sung more than any other playback singer. Her initial songs were mainly composed by Sajjad Hussain, A R Qureshi and Ghulam Mohammed. Thereafter, she got plenty of singing assignments.

Apart from Hindi songs, she also sang for many Marathi movies such as Khedyamadhle ghar kaularu, Majha hoshil Kaa? Bugadi mazi and Nach re mora. Her Marathi bhajans, natyageet and bhav-geet are liked by people even today. O.P. Nayyar gave a boost to her career by giving her a major break in C.I.D. (1956). Asha’s performance in the film Teesri Manzil was well acclaimed. In the film, she worked along with R.D.Burman. Thereafter, they worked together in quite a number of films and also decided to tie wedding knots with each other. Their collaboration earned them name and fame.

During 1960s and 1970s, she became the voice of the most famous dancer of Bollywood Helen. Popular Asha Bhosle-Helen numbers include Piya tu ab to aaja (Caravan), O Haseena Zulfon Wali (Teesri Manzil) and Yeh Mera Dil (Don). She took up the challenge of showing her versatility by taking up the challenge of singing Ghazals in the films Umrao Jaan (1981) and Ijazat (1987). Her work was widely applauded.

During the 1990s Asha experimented with the remixed versions of R.D. Burman songs. Her efforts were criticized by many people, accusing her for tampering with the golden melodies of the past. Nevertheless, there were albums like “Rahul And I”, which were appreciated by people. In the year 1997, Asha came out with her private Indipop album Janam Samjha Karo, which was a major hit. The album brought her great honor and recognition. She even received the 1997 MTV Award.

Awards Won

Filmfare Awards (1967, 1968, 1971, 1972,1973,1974,1977, 2000)

Indian National Awards (1981 and 1986)

Other Awards

1987 – Nightingale of Asia Award

1989 – Lata Mangeshkar Award (Government of Madhya Pradesh)

1997 – Screen Videocon Award

1997 – MTV Award

1997 – Channel V Award

1998 – Dayawati Modi Award

1999 – Lata Mangeshkar Award (Government of Maharashtra)

2000 – Singer of the Millennium

2000 – Zee Gold Bollywood Award

2001 – MTV Award

2002 – BBC Lifetime Achievement Award

2002 – Zee Cine Award

2002 – Screen Videocon Award

2002 – Sansui Movie Award

2002 – Swaralaya Yesudas Award

2004 – Living Legend Award by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce

Brain Teasers (Answers are in dropdown menu)

 Brainteaser Test

First Question:You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position do you finish?
AnswerIf you said "first", you are wrong!You arrive second! If you overtake the second personand you take his place, you arrive second!
Second Question:If you overtake the last person, then you arrive...?
AnswerIf you answer that you arrived second to last, then you are wrong again.Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST person?(except on a closed track in a long race, and we aren't assuming that!)You're not very good at this are you?
Third Question:Very Tricky math! Note: This riddle must be done in your head only -- do NOT write it down.

• Take 1000 and add:
  • 40;
  • 1000;
  • 30;
  • 1000;
  • 20;
  • 1000;
  • and 10.
• What is the new total?

AnswerDid you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100.Don't believe it? Check with your calculator!The decimal sequence confuses our brain, which always jumpsto the highest decimals (100s instead of 10s).You ARE the weakest link. Goodbye!

******************************************************
Brainteaser Quiz- 1

Here's a quick test of intelligence. There are no tricks to the test, and it looks pretty simple. But let's see how YOU do!

Read this sentence:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT
OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC
STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.
Now count aloud the F's in that sentence. Count them ONLY ONCE. Do not go back and count them again. What is your answer? Now, check the correct answer below.
AnswerThere are six F's in the sentence.There is no catch. Many people forget theF in "OF", and that word appears three times in the sentence.The human brain tends tosee them as V's and not F's!If you spotted four, five, or even all six,well you beat the average!

*******************************************************************************

Brainteaser Quiz -2

1. One day Kerry celebrated her birthday. Two days later her older twin brother, Terry, celebrated his birthday. How could this be?
   
   --- Answer ---================================At the time she went into labor,the mother of the twins was travelling by boat.The older twin, Terry, was born first, early on March 1st.The boat then crossed the International Date lineand Kerry, the younger twin,was born on February the 28th.In a leap year the younger twin celebratesher birthday two days before her older brother.Another option suggested by one of our visitorsis that although he was her "twin" brother,he could have been the twin of another sibling.
2. Manhole Covers: Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?
   
   --- Answer ---================================A square manhole cover can be turned and droppeddown the diagonal of the manhole.A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole.So for safety and practicality,all manhole covers should be round.
3. The Deadly Party: A man went to a party and drank some of the punch. He then left early. Everyone else at the party who drank the same punch were poisoned and became very sick. Why did the man not get sick?
   
   --- Answer ---================================The poison in the punch came from the ice cubes.When the man drank the punch the ice was fully frozen.Gradually it melted, poisoning the punch.Alternative solution: He could havepoisoned the punch after drinking some of it.
4. Trouble with Sons: A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins. How could this be so?
   
   --- Answer ---================================They were two of a set of triplets(or quadruplets etc.)Note: Another visitor added that one soncould be adopted.

********************************************************************************

Great Brainteaser Quiz -3

1. Do they have a 4th of July in England?
   --- Answer ---================================Yes, they have a 4th of July, but they don't celebrate that day!
2. How many birthdays does the average man have?
   --- Answer ---================================One birthday -- the day he was born; but he celebrates it yearly.
3. Some months have 31 days; how many have 28?
   --- Answer ---================================All of them (12) have AT LEAST 28 days.
4. Why can't a man living in the USA be buried in Canada?
   --- Answer ---================================Because he isn't dead if he's LIVING in the U.S.
5. How many outs are there in an inning?
   --- Answer ---================================Six (three for each team per inning)EXCEPT that the LAST inning may have 3, 4, 5, or 6 outs depending on the score.a. If the home team is ahead after 3 outs, the game is over.b. If the home team is behind after 6 outs, the game is over.c. The home team may after 3, 4, or 5 outs score enough runs to win the game.d. If the game is tied after 6 outs, then they play another inning.
6. Is it legal for a man in California to marry his widow's sister? Why?
   --- Answer ---================================No, because he is DEAD, since his wife is his WIDOW!
7. Two men play five games of checkers. Each man wins the same number of games. There are no ties. Explain this.
   --- Answer ---================================The two men were NOT PLAYING EACH OTHER!
8. Divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10. What is the answer?
   --- Answer ---================================70-- thirty dividedby 2 would have made the total 25but thirty divided by 1/2 = 60, plus 10 = 70
9. A man builds a house rectangular in shape. All sides have southern exposure. A big bear walks by, what color is the bear? Why?
   --- Answer ---================================White -- because a house with southern exposures on all 4 sidesmust be at the North Pole, where they only have Polar Bears.
10. If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?
    --- Answer ---================================You have two, because YOU took away two!
11. I have two US coins totaling 55 cents. One is not a nickel. What are the coins?
    --- Answer ---================================A fifty cent piece and a nickel -- it said ONE wasn't a nickel, but the OTHER ONE WAS!
12. If you have only one match and you walked into a room where there was an oil burner, a kerosene lamp, and a wood burning stove, which one would you light first?
    --- Answer ---================================The match has to be lit first!
13. How far can a dog run into the woods?
    --- Answer ---================================To the middle of the woods (the halfway point),because after that, he's running OUT.(i.e., "Into" represents the distance fromany edge to the middle, and after that point,he is running "OUT OF" the woods.)
14. A doctor gives you three pills telling you to take one every half hour. How long would the pills last?
    --- Answer ---================================One hour -- you take one at the start of the hourone after 30 minutes, and one at the end of the hour
15. A farmer has 17 sheep, and all but 9 die. How many are left?
    --- Answer ---================================Nine are left -- because it said all BUT nine died!
16. How many animals of each sex did Moses take on the ark?
    --- Answer ---================================None -- You're thinking of Noah, not Moses.
17. A clerk in the butcher shop is 5' 10'' tall. What does he weigh?
    --- Answer ---================================He weighs MEAT!
18. How many two cent stamps are there in a dozen?
    --- Answer ---================================12! A dozen of anything is still 12.

*****************************************************

How did you do?

Scoring Ranges for the Last Quiz!
Based on number of correct answers,YOU ARE: Â	Teens and Adults	8 to 12 Years	Ages 7 and Under
An EXPERT at this!	All correct	15 or more correct	8 or more correct
Better than the average bear!	15 and up	8 and up	6 and up
In need of a little practice!	8 and up	4 and up	2 and up
Under the weather today!	7 or less	3 or less	1 or less

*****************************************************

Brainteaser Quiz -4

Quiz for people who know everything:

1. There's one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends. What is it? --- Answer ---================================Boxing
2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward? --- Answer ---================================Niagara Falls. The rim is worn down about 2 anda half feet each year because of the millions of gallons ofwater that rush over it every minute.
3. Of all vegetables, typically only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. Most other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the two vegetables that are most commonly considered perennials? --- Answer ---================================Asparagus and rhubarb
4. Name the only sport traditionally played in America which the ball is always in possession of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without touching the ball. --- Answer ---================================Baseball(in some other countries, the answer could also be cricket)
5. What fruit has its seeds on the outside? --- Answer ---================================Strawberry
6. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle? --- Answer ---================================The pear grew inside the bottle. The bottles are placedover pear buds when they are small, and are wired in placeon the tree. The bottle is left in place for the whole growingseason. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.
7. Only four words in Standard English begin with the letters "dw". They are all common. Name two of them. --- Answer ---================================"Dwarf", "dwell", "dwindle", and "dweeb"
8. There are fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name half of them? --- Answer ---================================Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen,apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point,quotation marks, brackets parenthesis, braces,and ellipses.
9. Where are the lakes that are referred to in the "Los Angeles Lakers"? --- Answer ---================================In Minnesota. The team was originally known asthe Minneapolis Lakers and kept the name whenthey moved west.
10. There are seven ways a baseball player can legally reach first base without getting a hit. Name them. --- Answer ---================================1. walk, 2. hit-by-pitch, 3. defensive interference,4. fielders choice, 5. dropped third strike,6. being designated as a pinch runner, and 7. error.
11. It's the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh. What is it? --- Answer ---================================Lettuce.
12. Name ten or more things that you can wear on your feet that begin with the letter "s". --- Answer ---================================Shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilettos, and stilts!

Wash your hairs like a professional

1. Brush Your Hair Before You Shampoo
Brushing your hair before you shower might seem pointless, but makes a huge difference in the effect of your shampoo and conditioner. Brushing will detangle your hair and loosen some of the product build-up to allow your hair to really soak up the beneficial ingredients of your shampoo and conditioner.
2. Use Warm then Cold Water
Using warm water at first opens up the cuticle of your hair allowing the products to really soak in and efficiently clean your hair. Then,

Some Hairstyles For you

Intersting Mailboxes

Beautiful Quotes

यूँ ही नहीं खिल आता फूल

उसने 
खाद से जीवन लिया,
हवा, पानी और प्रकाश
ग्रहण किया परिवेश से,
अन्यान्य सुखद परिवर्तनों की
नींव पड़ी भीतर
और अस्तित्व में आ गया फूल

खाद की सदाशयता
त्याग, तपस्या और अनुराग
हवा, पानी एवं प्रकाश का
सहर्ष उत्कट सहभाग
है सौन्दर्य के प्राकट्य का मूल

यूँ ही नहीं खिल आता है फूल

आंशिक रूप से
ग्रहण किया गया
हर तत्व,
खिलखिलाहट में उसकी
मुस्काता है!
कितने ही अव्यव
रूप अपना
त्यागते हैं,
तब जाकर एक फूल
अस्तित्व में आता है!

(अनुपमा पाठक )

अवधि

हर बार छीन ले जाता है कोई,

मेरी तकदीर, मेरे ही हाथों से,

सुना था, गिर गिर कर उठना,

उठ कर चलना ही जिंदगी है..

यूँ,
गिरते उठते,

आत्मा तक लहुलुहान हो गयी है,

क्या नाकामियों की,

कोई तयशुदा अवधि नहीं होती...........

अनु 

Kasheeda-kaar-e-azal tujh ko....

Kasheeda-kaar-e-azal tujh ko aitraaz na ho..
Kaheen-kaheen se agar ZINDAGI rafoo kar loon . . ?

Google Tricks...

These search tricks can save you time when researching online for your next project or just to find out what time it is across the world, so start using these right away.

1. Convert units. Whether you want to convert currency, American and metric units, or any other unit, try typing in the known unit and the unknown unit to find your answer (like “how many teaspoons in a tablespoon” or “10 US dollars in Euros”).
2. Do a timeline search. Use “view:timeline” followed by whatever you are researching to get a timeline for that topic.
3. Get around blocked sites. If you are having problems getting around a blocked site, just type “cache:website address” with website address being the address of the blocked site to use Google’s cached copy to get where you are going.
4. Use a tilde. Using a tilde (~) with a search term will bring you results with related search terms.
5. Use the image search. Type in your search word, then select Images to use the image search when trying to put a picture to your term.
6. Get a definition. If you want a definition without having to track down an online (or a physical) dictionary, just type “definition:word” to find the definition of the word in your results (i.e.: “definition: serendipity” will track down the definition of the word “serendipity”).
7. Search within a specific website. If you know you want to look up Babe Ruth in Wikipedia, type in “site:wikipedia.org Babe Ruth” to go directly to the Wikipedia page about Babe Ruth. It works for any site, not just Wikipedia.
8. Search within a specific kind of site. If you know you only want results from an educational site, try “site:edu” or for a government site, try “site:gov” and your search term to get results only from sites with those web addresses.
9. Search for a specific file type. If you know you want a PDF (or maybe an MP3), just type in “filetype:pdf” and your search term to find results that are only in that file type.
10. Calculate with Google. Type in any normal mathematical expressions to get the answer immediately. For example, “2*4″ will get you the answer “8.”
11. Time. Enter “what time is it” and any location to find out the local time.
12. Find a term in a URL. This handy trick is especially useful when searching blogs, where dates are frequently used in the URL. If you want to know about a topic for that year only and not any other year, type “inurl:2009″ and your keyword to find results with your keyword in URLs with 2009 in them.
13. Use Show Options to refine your search. Click “Show Options” on your search result page to have access to tools that will help you filter and refine your results.
14. Search for a face. If you are looking for a person and not just their name, type “&imgtype=face” after the search results to narrow your results to those with images of faces.

Google Specifically for Education

From Google Scholar that returns only results from scholarly literature to learning more about computer science, these Google items will help you at school.

1. Google Scholar. Use this specialized Google search to get results from scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, and academic publishers.
2. Use Google Earth’s Sky feature. Take a look at the night sky straight from your computer when you use this feature.
3. Open your browser with iGoogle. Set up an iGoogle page and make it your homepage to have ready access to news stories, your Google calendar, blogs you follow in Google Reader, and much more.
4. Stay current with Google News. Like an electronic clearinghouse for news, Google News brings headlines from news sources around the world to help you stay current without much effort.
5. Create a Google Custom Search Engine. On your own or in collaboration with other students, put together an awesome project like one of the examples provided that can be used by many.
6. Collect research notes with Google Notebook. Use this simple note-taking tool to collect your research for a paper or project.
7. Make a study group with Google Groups. Google Groups allows you to communicate and collaborate in groups, so take this option to set up a study group that doesn’t have to meet face-to-face.
8. Google Code University. Visit this Google site to have access to Creative Commons-licensed content to help you learn more about computer science.
9. Study the oceans with Google Earth 5. Google Earth 5 provides information on the ocean floor and surface with data from marine experts, including shipwrecks in 3D.
10. Learn what experts have to say. Explore Knol to find out what experts have to say on a wide range of topics. If you are an expert, write your own Knol, too.

Google Docs

Google Docs is a great replacement for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, so learn how to use this product even more efficiently.

1. Use premade templates. Use these 50 pre-made templates to track spending, keep up with your health, and much more.
2. Collaborate on group projects. Google Docs allows for real-time collaboration, so make easy work for everyone next time you have a group project due.
3. Use keyboard shortcuts. Use this handy list of keyboard shortcuts to save lots of time while using Google Docs.
4. Create online surveys for research projects. Quickly and easily create online surveys for any research project that requires feedback from others. The answers are saved to your Google Docs account.
5. Add video to your presentation. Learn how to seamlessly add video to your Google Docs page to really give your presentation or project a boost.
6. Use the school year calendar template. Have an easy to use school year calendar through Google Docs by following these instructions.
7. Create graphs from spreadsheets. Once you have populated a spreadsheet with data, you can easily create a graph. Google Docs allows for pie, bar, line, and scatter graphs.
8. Create a new document with shortcuts. Learn two ways to open a new Google Docs page with these tricks.
9. Right click to use save-as. Use the right click save-as option to save a Google Docs document on your computer.
10. Send invitations. School shouldn’t be all about work. Find out how to send party invitations using Google Docs.

Gmail

The super-popular Gmail is full of fun and fast ways to make your life and communications easier.

1. Use the Tasks as a to-do list. Use the Tasks available in Gmail as a way to stay on top of assignments, exams, and project due dates.
2. Use the Archive feature. One of the great features of Gmail is that it allows you to archive emails to get them out of your inbox, then you can use the search feature to find them if you need them again.
3. Highlight mail with labels. Use labels to mark your messages. You can find them easily while in your inbox and do a search for all the messages with that label after you archive them.
4. Never forget to attach a file. By signing up for the Labs, you can select to have the Forgotten Attachment Detector. This feature notices if you have typed something about an attachment in the body, but are sending without actually attaching anything–a great tool to save time and embarrassment.
5. Use keyboard shortcuts. Go to Settings and enable keyboard shortcuts so you can perform common tasks at the touch of just one or two keys.
6. Add multiple attachments. Use the Control (or Cmd on Macs) and Shift keys to select more than one file to attach to your email at one time.
7. Use the https option. Google recommends using this option if you use your Gmail in public places like a dorm or coffee shop to add an extra bit of protection to your Internet activities.
8. Incorporate Google Calendar and Docs on your Gmail page. Have access to recent documents used in Google Docs and get an agenda of upcoming activities you have on Google Calendar with small boxes added to your Gmail page. Go to Labs to select this option.
9. Add a “Waiting for Response” label. If you have emails in your inbox that you are holding until someone gets back to you, creating this label keeps you from forgetting to follow up on it later.
10. Use Canned Responses. If you find yourself writing the same type of email over and over, use the Canned Responses feature in the Labs to create a template that you you can use without having to type out the entire email every time.
11. Consolidate email accounts. If you have a Gmail account, an account through school, and any other account you are juggling separately, combine them all into Gmail to cut down on time spent checking all those accounts.
12. Use AIM in Gmail. If you use AIM to IM friends or partners on projects, add it to the chat feature already in Gmail to have access to both.

Google Calendar

Save yourself some time by keeping track of appointments, assignments, and more with Google Calendar.

1. Sync up with others using iCal or Sunbird. Google lets you sync your calendar with others using Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird.
2. Customize reminders. Set reminders in your Google Calendar so that you never forget an appointment again. Choose from email, pop-up, or SMS reminders and even set when the reminder comes.
3. Learn some basic keyboard shortcuts. Change from daily to weekly to monthly view, compose a new event, and more with these simple shortcuts.
4. Use Quick Add. Click on Quick Add and type the day and time and what you are doing to have the calendar create the event with the correct time and date.
5. Use multiple calendars. Create separate calendars for school work, personal information, important due dates, and more to stay ultra-organized.
6. Get a text message with your daily agenda. Keep up with all that you need to do for the day without ever having to log on to your Google Calendar.
7. Set weekly repeats for any day. The drop-down menu only offers M/W/F or T/Th options for repeating events. Go to “Every Week” and customize which days you want the event to repeat.
8. Get upcoming events while away from the computer. Check out #8 in this list to learn how to access your upcoming events via your phone.
9. Add events from Gmail. If you receive an email with event time and date information, you can easily add this event to your calendar by clicking “Add to calendar.”
10. Invite others. If you have events on your calendar that you want to invite others to join, just add their email address under Add Guests within the event.

Google Mobile

Whether riding the bus or walking to class, use Google Mobile to stay productive while away from your computer.

1. Sync your calendar. Never be far from your Google Calendar when you sync it to your phone.
2. Check your email. Keep your email right at your fingertips with Gmail for mobile.
3. Access your blog subscriptions. Keep up with your blogs and news feeds that you subscribe to through Reader right on your phone.
4. Use Google Voice to consolidate phone numbers. If you have a phone in your dorm or apartment, a cell phone, and any other phone numbers, consolidate them into one number with Google Voice.
5. Easily find friends. Find out where your friends are and even get a map with directions for how to get there with Google Latitudes.
6. Find out information easily while on the go. Whether you are looking for a great place to eat dinner, wondering what the weather is like, or want to know what the Spanish word for “bathroom” is, just text your information to Google (466453–spells Google on your phone) to get the answer texted back right away.
7. Access iGoogle. Get your iGoogle page formatted just for the smaller screen size of your phone.
8. Read your Google Docs. Have access to all your Google Docs items right on your phone.
9. Keep a to-do list on your phone. Use Google Tasks for mobile so you can access your to-do list any time–and check off what you’ve finished, too.
10. Never get lost again. Google Maps is an interactive program for most smart phones that offers tons of features so you will never have to be lost again.
11. Do a quick search anywhere. Find information with a Google search from your phone to impress your professors and your friends.
12. Access Google Books. Android and iPhone users can access Google Books on their phones.
13. Post to your blog. Use your mobile to post to your Blogger blog.

Google Chrome Tips and Extensions

If you are using the Google Chrome browser, then you will love these time-saving tips and extensions.

1. Use a “Pin Tab”. If you have multiple tabs open, use a “Pin Tab” to make the tabs the size of the little icon on the left side.
2. Don’t overlook Paste and Search and Paste and Go. These two features are available when you right-click to add a word or URL to Chrome and will save you an extra step.
3. Reopen a closed tab. Oops! If you didn’t mean to close that tab, just press Ctrl+Shift+T to reopen it.
4. Use the Chrome shortcuts. Open a new tab, see your history, maximize your window, and much more with these shortcuts.
5. Take advantage of the address bar. With Google Chrome, you can use the address bar to perform a Google search, quickly access pages you’ve already visited, and get recommendations for places to go.
6. Go incognito. If you don’t want to leave traces of where you were browsing, use incognito mode instead of having to go back and delete your history and cookies.
7. Use the bookmarks manager. Stay organized, rearrange bookmarks, search for bookmarks, add folders, and much more with the bookmark manager.
8. ChromePass. This tool will give you a list of all the password information stored in Google Chrome.
9. Save as PDF. Save any page as a PDF with this bookmarklet.
10. ChromeMailer. If you’ve lost valuable time when having to manually enter email information from a website because Google Chrome doesn’t support the mailto: function, then you will love this extension.
11. Google Chrome Backup. Back up your personal data, bookmarks, and more with this simple tool.

Google Books

Learn how Google Books can save you time and trips to the library with these tricks.

1. Search full text. Google Books offers full text for over 10,000 books, so look here the next time you are researching something at the last minute.
2. Use “About this book”. At the top left of the page of a book, clicking this link will give you helpful information such as the table of contents, related books, and a map of places mentioned in the book.
3. Create a personalized library. Click on “Add to my shared library” to start your own personalized library where you can label books to keep them organized for each class or project.
4. Find books in your college library. Each book in Google Books has a link to find the book in a library. It can tell you exactly where to look at your own school.
5. Use the Advanced Book Search. If you can’t find the book you are looking for, try the advanced search, which provides you with many more detailed options.
6. Access text books. Many text books are available on Google Books, so see if you can save a trip to the bookstore next semester.
7. Search for magazine content. Select Magazines in the Advanced Book Search to locate information from magazines.
8. Read the blog. Google Books is constantly evolving, so stay on top of all the latest news with the Inside Google Books blog.
9. Find books to supplement your assigned texts. Search by subject to see what books you may be able to read to get the extra leg up in your classes.

Handy Google Services and Apps

These other Google products will help you save time by offering you everything from alerts to online collaboration to help working with data sets.

1. Google Alerts. Sign up to get email notifications any time a topic you designate shows up in Google search results. This is a great way to stay current with a project or news story.
2. Google Desktop. Keep a clock, weather, news stories, Google search box, and more all within easy reach when you use Google Desktop.
3. Google SketchUp. If you need to draw 3D figures for class, use Google SketchUp to do so easily and free of charge.
4. Google Talk. This versatile app is more than just for IMs. You can switch to voice, do a video chat, and send texts, too.
5. Google Images. Google has an incredible image search feature that will provide you with tons of high-quality images you can use in presentations.
6. Google Translate. Don’t spend time looking up stuff in books, use Google Translate to get foreign words translated right away.
7. Google Wave. This brand new Google product shows great promise for anyone collaborating, but especially for those in school. Communicate, create documents, and more–all in real-time.
8. Google Finance. Business students can keep track of markets, news, portfolios, and more in one place.
9. Google Toolbar. Have easy access to Gmail, Google search, bookmarks, and more with this toolbar available for Internet Explorer and Firefox.
10. Picasa. Manage your photos and even incorporate them into your blogs and emails with Google’s streamlines photo manager.
11. Google Squared. Find facts and organize them with this search feature from Google Labs.
12. Google Fusion Tables. If you are working with data sets, then you will love this program that will allow you to upload data, create visual representations, and take part in discussions about the data.
13. Blogger. Create a blog as a part of a project or just to stay in touch with friends and family in an easy way.