All that Glitter
God knows what got into Seneca, a Roman philosopher from the mid-1st century to say that we live not according to reason, but according to fashion! You bet we don't want to give a second thought, for we so know that the statement is true to the hilt. As of now though, we are concerned about those who swear by the word fashion-more precisely fashionable jewellery. Heavy chunks, glittering pieces, ravishing designs and cuts - the word sure has a magical effect on the ladies. And it also takes their mind of wrinkles. Raise your hands if you have objections to it! Well, even if you don't, we know, jewellery is magical piece of art. The good part is that the art has acquired newer, interesting and admirable forms, which also change according to the season. Sometimes it entices with a golden shimmer, and sometimes game play of rich colours embedded in designs so make you want to flaunt them.

SHOOTing star
Walking alone with his Nikon camera on the Mall Road, Shimla, we happened to meet a pleasant personality, the man behind some successful television series like Gul Gulshan Gulfam (Doordarshan), Heena and Gaatha - Parikshit Sahni. Dressed in a black sweater, jeans and sporting a pee cap, Parikshit had no airs about his Bollywood connection (read, son of noted actor Balraj Sahni) and a career span of more than 25 years; he was in Shimla shooting for an untitled Yash Raj Production number forty.

Beauty amid thorns
Major General CS Bewli’s collection of cacti and succulents exceeds 400
Cactus is a beautiful plant that stays green throughout the year and who says they are flowerless? Some of the varieties bear beautiful flowers
The Bewlis' house in Sector 36 is the place that breathes life even into woods, courtesy Major General CS Bewli (Additional Survey General, Northern Zone, Survey Of India) who is more than interested in flora. Unusual than the usual concrete homes, this house is different in a way that it is replete with greens. Not the flowering greens, but the thorny beauty called the cactus and green leafy ones named bonsai.

Spade work
It’s sow time folks!
Are you thinking of relaxing a bit now? You cannot afford to. Every gardener knows this is the busiest time and  the time to relax will come in the spring when you will be enjoying every bit of the fruit of  your labour. Now, when you are over with planting seedlings, keep an eye for mortality. A gap in a bed is not tolerable and filling the gap with a different kind is deplorable. And if you are preparing for participating in a competition, then be sure on this point. We hope you have some spare seedlings or else, get them from the same source.

Bits about Bytes
Keep data portable
Data portability is certainly not on most users' priority list. It should be. We all routinely use devices and services from many different vendors. Different devices tend to use distinctive, and competing, operating systems. In computers it could be Windows, Mac or Linux. As for cell phones, besides the basic ones like Apple OS, Symbian, BlackBerry and Android, there are hundreds of variations, since each vendor tries to put his or her own flavour atop the OS. One way to escape the narrow confines of devices is to go to the Net. For example, if you use Hotmail, no matter which computer you access it from, it will function just as well.

Lyrical notes
In addition to the nitty-gritty of banking industry, RD Kailey is well-known for his passion for music. Endowed with a gifted voice, Kailey has proficiency in singing diverse genres, including ghazal, geet, thumri and poems of Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Maintaining a credible balance between his passion and profession, he feels that while the former is decided by nature and the latter is determined by choice.

Game on
Farmville, Frontierville, Solitaire…more and more mums are getting hooked on to online games
By any chance if you are worried about what your mom is doing back home, hang on. Chances are she might not be in the kitchen planning your dinner, not even watching Ekta Kapoor girls and boys sobbing it out! There is a fair chance she isn't sleeping. In that case you need to peep in at your colleague's workstation too. For as per Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, the new-age mothers are giving a tough competition to teenage boys as gamers!

Geek SPEAK
Fourth Gear
4G technology is set to speed up surfing experience
Technology is always out to improve our lives - whether making it more convenient, entertaining or ensuring that individuals are more connected to one another. And with the 4G wireless Internet connections, people will be able to access the World Wide Web and its vast resources from anywhere through smart phones or laptops. Earlier, the 3G wireless Internet networks provided smart phone users with a reliable, though slower, Internet connection. However, 4G networks will enable users to access high-speed wireless data from virtually anywhere. Now, in addition to checking mails, you can watch entire television shows and movies without a single slip or skip, download large files, play online games, or even video chat. All this was not possible with the 3G wireless Internet connections.

Beyond bathroom
Grohe from Germany, a leading brand in sanitary fittings, adds a new line, BauClassic, to its Baulines collection in India. This collection personifies the most influential style of Bauhaus, a cultural movement that led to modernism in the famous German architectures and designs.

Through the lens
An out the box thought by a researcher made him use webcams for the purpose of improving fluency in children. Tmothy Frey assistant professor of special education, counselling and student affairs along with two students of Kansas State University undertook the project, which aimed at improving fluency and comprehension.

Win-some
The Rotary Chandigarh Shivalik has conferred community service and vocational awards at an impressive function on Sunday evening. Those honoured included Prakash Chand Jain, in-charge of the Chandigarh branch of Pingalwara; Shamsher Singh and his wife Rajinder Kaur, who are running a home for the mentally and physically challenged, orphans and destitutes at village Padiala; Gulzar Singh, a postman in Sector 21; Mani Bahadur and Murari Lal, who have rendered excellent service in the fields in which they are involved.

Haute pick
Behind the camera
The Fuji FinePix X100 is a retro rangefinder like digital camera. The X100 shoots 12.3 mega pixels images with advance photo system- classic sensor with a Fujinon 23mm, f/2 prime lens, permanently mounted on the X100. This is not an interchangeable lens camera. Aside from the new design, Fujifilm have come up with a new hybrid viewfinder on the FinePix X100 that combines the window-type bright frame optical viewfinder found in high-end film cameras.

Happily settled
Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan says he has no plans to uproot himself to go and work in Hollywood movies. "Not really. I think they are very serious about how they make movies. You have to go and set up a base, start from the scratch about how to speak, how to act. You have to struggle and start all over again," Saif said. "I am quite happy where I am today and not try to uproot myself by working in Hollywood. I would rather concentrate more and more on being successful in my own field," he added.

Too busy for Oscar
Hollywood hunk Hugh Jackman has turned down the opportunity to host next year's Oscar ceremony as he is too busy shooting. The X-Men star hosted the Oscars in 2009 and was asked to anchor the 2010 edition, but could not. The Australian actor is currently working for X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2, making him unavailable for the gala event.

Prez-tigious
An invite to the Prime Minister's private dinner for the US first couple was an honour enough, but when President Barack Obama praised his work, Aamir Khan was on cloud nine. The star, who was invited to the dinner by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his 7, Race Course Road residence, was cornered by the waiting media persons as soon as the do got over at around 10 pm on Sunday.

Learning experience
Grammy winner Paula Abdul (American Idol) did not know till November four what was Diwali, most popular festival of one billion Hindus of the world and also of Sikhs and Jains. One follower tweeted her on November four: "Tomorrow is Indian Festival Diwali". Abdul re-tweeted: "what's Diwali? sounds cool....." Her followers replied: "Festival of Lights", to which she sent the re-tweet-"thank you! sending you love & *hugs* for that!"

What a Girl  Doesn't Want
Pop star Christina Aguilera, who filed for divorce from her husband last month, seems to have moved onto a new relationship.The What a Girl Wants hitmaker was spotted leaving a double dinner date hiding a male friend under a blanket in the car.The 29-year-old singer was at the SoHo House in Hollywood on Friday with the mystery man and her close friend Nicole Richie, who was with her rocker fiance Joel Madden.

Dance trauma
Hollywood beauty Nicole Kidman spent two years recovering from a knee injury after overdoing a dance scene in her romantic musical Moulin Rouge. The star got exhausted during an early morning dance sequence routine for the film and tore a cartilage due to which she had to limp throughout the rest of the movie and beyond. "It was that dancing mentality, where you keep dancing.