Introduction   

The BbyB Beacon is an electronic publication to keep the members of Bit by Bit informed about the current affairs of the company. It contains announcements of important events like training programmes, Management Review Meetings, etc.

Contact Information
Any contribution to the newsletter in the form of technical articles, or items of general interest, are welcome. Please send them to Vatsala@bbyb.com

Editorial                                                                                                                    (top)

April Fool's Day

I remember playing pranks on my classmates and fooling them or getting fooled rather on the 1st of April every year but I have always wondered about the origin of this day in particular. Given below are a few interesting trivia about fools’ day.

April Fool's Day is one of the most light hearted days of the year, yet it stems from a serious subject—the adoption of a new calendar.

Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1564, the date was observed as New Year's Day by cultures as varied as the Roman and the Hindu. The holiday is considered to be related to the festival of the vernal equinox, which occurs on Mar. 21. The English gave April Fool's Day its first widespread celebration during the 18th century.

In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is actually celebrated for two days. The second day is devoted to pranks involving the posterior region of the body. It is called Taily Day. The origin of the "kick me" sign can be traced to this observance.
Mexico's counterpart of April Fool's Day is actually observed on December 28. Originally, the day was a sad remembrance of the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod. It eventually evolved into a lighter commemoration involving pranks and trickery.

Pranks performed on April Fool's Day range from the simple, (such as saying, "Your shoe's untied!), to the elaborate. Whatever the prank, the trickster usually ends it by yelling to his victim, "April Fool!"

Practical jokes are a common practice on April Fool's Day. Sometimes, elaborate practical jokes are played on friends or relatives that last the entire day. The news media even gets involved. For instance, a British short film once shown on April Fool's Day was a fairly detailed documentary about "spaghetti farmers" and how they harvest their crop from the spaghetti trees.
April Fool's Day is a "for-fun-only" observance. Nobody is expected to buy gifts or to take their "significant other" out to eat in a fancy restaurant. Nobody gets off work or school. It's simply a fun little holiday, but a holiday on which one must remain forever vigilant, for he may be the next April Fool!

So friends go on to hunt the fools of the year and mind you Do not Get Fooled.

Other News                                                                                                           (top)

Farewell to,
Manjunath Basrur, a Software Engineer who resigned on 31st March.

Let us wish him all the best in his future endeavor.

Parties:
A party was thrown on 2nd March on account of Chris Reed’s arrival and grand success of MESals.

News From Abroad                                                                                                (top)

Chris Reed - Senior Partner of Baum Hart & Partners was in Bangalore between 1st March and 3rd March. The primary objective of his visit was to touch base with the team working on MESaLs.

New Recruits                                                                                                        (top)

A new member has joined the BbyB family this month.

K Sukanya, MSc in Information Systems has been recruited as the Domain member of ASP.Net.

Birthdays                                                                                                              (top)

Four members of Bit by Bit are celebrating their birthdays in the month of April.

Here's wishing both of them a very Happy Birthday and many more in the coming years!! Everyone, be sure to make it to the cake-cutting that will take place at 1pm on both days!!