Monday, August 31, 2009

Which Wolf Wins?

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson
about a battle that goes on inside people. He said,
"My son, the battle is between two wolves."

"One is Evil......

It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed,
arrogance, self-pity, resentment, inferiority,
lies, false pride, superiority and ego."

"The other is Good.....

It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity,
humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy,
generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for
a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied,

"The one you feed."

Things We Can learn From A Dog........


  • Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
  • Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
  • When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
  • When it's in your best interest, always practice obedience.
  • Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
  • Take naps and always stretch before rising.
  • Run, romp, and play daily.
  • Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
  • Be loyal.
  • Never pretend to be something you're not.
  • If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
  • When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
  • Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
  • Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
  • Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
  • On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
  • When you are happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
  • No matter how often you are criticized, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.

Want to have a great weekend? Try acting like a dog for once!!!

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Dogs->Cats->Dogs



While young children are dogs ...
loyal and affectionate ...
teenagers are cats.

It's so easy to be a dog owner. You feed it, train it, boss it
around. It puts its head on your knee and gazes at you as if 
you were a Rembrandt painting. It bounds indoors with 
enthusiasm when you call it.

Then around age 13, your adoring little puppy turns into a big
 old cat.When you tell it to come inside, it looks amazed, as if 
wondering who died and made you emperor. Instead of 
dogging your doorstep, it disappears. You won't see it again
 until it gets hungry ... then it pauses on its sprint through the
 kitchen long enough to turn its nose up at whatever you're 
serving. When you reach out to ruffle its head, in that old 
affectionate gesture, it twists away from you then gives you a 
blank stare, as if trying to remember where it has seen you 
before.You, not realizing that the dog is now a cat, think 
something must be desperately wrong with it. It seems so 
antisocial, so distant, sort of depressed. It won't go on family 
outings. Since you're the one who raised  it, taught it to fetch and 
stay and sit on command, you assume that you

did something wrong. Flooded with guilt and fear, you
redouble your efforts to make your pet behave.

Only now you're dealing with a cat, so everything that worked 
before now produces the opposite of the desired result. Call it
and it runs away. Tell it to sit and it jumps on the counter. The
 more you go toward it, wringing your hands, the more it moves 
Instead of continuing to act like a dog owner, you must learn to behave 
like a cat owner. 
Put a dish of food near the door and let it come to you. But remember 
that a cat needs your help and your affection too. Sit still and it will 
come, seeking that warm, comforting lap it has not entirely forgotten. 
Be there to open the door for it.One day your grown-up child will walk 
into the kitchen, give you a big kiss and say,
"You've been on your feet all day. 
Let me get those dishes for you."

Then you'll realize your cat is a dog again!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Mobile-Mania !



Some Natural Highs !

* Falling in love.
* Laughing so hard your face hurts.
* A special glance.
* Getting mail.
* Taking a drive on a pretty road.
* Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
* Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
* Hot towels out of the dryer.
* Walking out of your last final.
* A long distance phone call.
* A good conversation.
* A care package.
* The beach.
* Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter.
* Laughing at yourself.
* Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
* Running through sprinklers.
* Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
* Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
* Laughing at an inside joke.
* Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
* Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
* Your first kiss.
* Being part of a team.
* Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
* Sweet dreams.
* Hot chocolate.
* Road trips with friends.
* Swinging on swings.
* Watching a good movie cuddled up on a couch with someone you love.
* Song lyrics printed inside your new CD so you can sing along without feeling stupid.
* Going to a really good concert.
* Getting butterflies in your stomach every time you see that one person.
* Winning a really competitive game.
* Making chocolate chip cookies!
* Having your friends send you homemade cookies!
* Running through the fountains with your friends.
* Riding a bike downhill.
* The feeling after running a few mile - an accomplishment!
* Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends...
* Holding hands with someone you care about.
* Running into an old friend and realizing that some things never change.
* Discovering that love is unconditional and stronger than time.
* Riding the best roller coasters over and over.
* Hugging the person you love.
* Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much-desired
present from you.
* Watching the sunrise.
* Getting out of bed every morning and thanking God for another beautiful day.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Mice vs Lawyers !

At a convention of biological scientists, one researcher remarks to another, "Did you know that in our lab we have switched from mice to lawyers for our experiments?"

"Really?" the other replied, "Why did you switch?"

"Well, for five reasons..........

  • First, we found that lawyers are far more plentiful.......
  • Second, the lab assistants don't get so attached to them.
  • Third, lawyers multiply faster in numbers......,
  • Fourth, animal rights groups will not object to their torture.............
  • And fifth, there are some things even a rat won't do.......

There is a drawback however; sometimes it's very hard to extrapolate the test results to human beings!"


Friday, August 28, 2009

My Snap...
















Sun- set at the Abu Dhabi corniche.......


Repeated Knocks !

There is a knock on St. Peter's door. He looks out and a man is standing there. St. Peter is about to begin his interview when the man disappears.

A short time later there's another knock. St. Peter gets the door, sees the man, opens his mouth to speak, and the man disappears once again.

A few minutes later, another knock. Once again St. Peter opens the door and sees the same man.

"Hey, are you playing games with me?" St. Peter calls after him.

"No," the man's distant voice replies anxiously. "They're trying to resuscitate me."

If The Wright Brothers Lived Today...!


We can but wonder whether, just over a century ago, Orville Wright would ever have gotten the Flyer off the ground (and where would air transportation be today?) if, on December 17 1903:

  • Wilbur Wright had called in sick.
  • And so had all the members of the Gas Can Carriers Union, in furtherance of a contract dispute.
  • Light rain had been falling, requiring a weather cancellation.
  • Orville and Wilbur's toolbag had been mistakenly routed to Cleveland.
  • Orville's slide-rule had crashed, due to over-programming combined with bad weather, preventing him for several hours from making essential wind speed and direction computations.
  • A by-stander had been spotted striking a match on his shoe to light his pipe, leading to an on-site inspection of all shoes and pipes in the area.
  • A lady by-stander wearing a head scarf against the cold wind, had been mistakenly profiled as a suspicious Mideasterner of interest instead of a Midwesterner; and wrestled to the ground by federal air marshals, causing further weather-related delays.
  • Hordes of federal officials had gathered to declare the flight unsafe and unapproved.
  • Orville had been detained, the field cleared, and the aircraft grounded, upon discovery that he was attempting to carry a canvas repair kit containing a sharp implement aboard the machine.
  • Creditors had gathered to seize the Flyer - nailing a writ to its mast, so to speak - declaring the venture bankrupt.

..................Happy flying in 2009!

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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Which Gender are they ?

  • FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

  • PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm them up again. They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong ones.

  • TYRES: Tyres are male, because they go bald easily and are often over-inflated.

  • HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under them.

  • SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

  • WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

  • TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

  • EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female, because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.

  • HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

  • THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying.

Days of the Week

Without God, our week would be:


Sinday,

Mournday,

Tearsday,

Wasteday,

Thirstday,

Fightday &

Shatterday.


Remember seven days WITHOUT GOD

makes one WEAK!!

Cartoons






Vegetarianism increasing ?

Argentina's meaty diet

Bife de lomo, or bean sprouts?
Aug 6th 2009 | BUENOS AIRES
From The Economist print edition


The discreet rise of vegetarianism in the carnivorous capital of the world
Illustration by Claudio Munoz
Illustration by Claudio Munoz

VISITORS to Palermo, a well-heeled neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, are used to having their hair primped to perfection and their body fat measured. That goes both for the humans who frequent the trendy boutiques and spas and for the prize Aberdeen Angus cows that arrive at the agricultural show held there every July. This year, the visiting ranchers are preoccupied by the beef industry’s informal pessimism index—the share of young cows that farmers slaughter for meat rather than keep for breeding. It has recently hit a three-decade high, owing to recession, drought and government price-controls. To add culinary insult to economic injury, vegetarianism is spreading in Argentina.

In the world’s most carnivorous country, vegetarians used to be a tiny band of masochists. But when the economy collapsed in 2002, a recently formed Argentine Vegetarian Union gained members, and veggie restaurants sprouted. The main reason is cost. Vegetarian restaurants have lower overheads since they don’t need freezers, says Marisa Ledesma, one of the owners of Bio Restaurante, a smart eatery.

Now the economy is in recession once again. That seems to have led more omnivores to abandon meat, says Roberto Moyano, the manager of La Esquina de las Flores, the capital’s oldest vegetarian restaurant. And as they munch soya steaks, diners relish new evidence of the health benefits of eating less red meat.

This year, the industry reckons, the average Argentine will get through 57 kilos of beef. That is down from 68 kilos last year, but it still means many more asados than the 41 kilos scoffed by Uruguayans, the world’s second-biggest beef-eaters. Barrel-bellied carnivores are still the norm, and vegetarianism remains an isolated gesture of gastronomic defiance. Your correspondent recently came across a note scribbled on a paper napkin in a Palermo café which read: “In Argentina vegetarians are for eating.”



Copyright © 2009 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Guilty Dog , isn't he ?

ATT0001113.jpg

Obit : Gayatri Devi (Economist)

Gayatri Devi

Aug 20th 2009
From The Economist print edition


Gayatri Devi, Maharani of Jaipur, died on July 29th, aged 90

Rex Features
Rex Features


THOUGH India has not been ruled by princes for many decades, it is not hard to find princesses about the place. Bollywood stars, for example, in sheaths, shades and bling, whose every move and change of wardrobe is recorded in flashy magazines; fashionistas, aping Kareena’s T-shirt or Priyanka’s bobbed hair, who spend their afternoons eating ice cream in Delhi’s malls; and the VIPs, or VVIPs, who force their cars through the traffic with horns blaring, and who refuse the indignity of being searched at airports.

In contrast to these one may sometimes find, at high tea at the Delhi Polo Club or in the lounge of the Taj hotel, the genuine article. Gayatri Devi was among the most famous of these. Her beauty was astonishing, praised by Clark Gable, Cecil Beaton and Vogue, but liner or lipstick had nothing to do with it. She had a maharani’s natural poise and restraint. From her grandmother, she had learned that emeralds looked better with pink saris rather than green. From her mother, she knew not to wear diamond-drop earrings at cocktail parties. A simple strand of pearls, a sari in pastel chiffon and dainty silk slippers were all that was required. The fact that she looked equally good in slacks, posing by one of the 27 tigers she personally eliminated, or perched, smoking, on an elephant, merely underlined the point. She was a princess, and a princess could make Jackie Kennedy appear almost a frump.

Money was never lacking in her life. As the daughter of Prince Narayan of Cooch Behar, in West Bengal, she grew up with dozens of staff and governesses recommended by Queen Mary. Thirty horses, six butlers and four lorryloads of luggage accompanied the family to their holiday cottage. “Broomstick”, as the family called her—other members were “Bubbles” and “Diggers”—was polished up in Lausanne and Knightsbridge, where she rather redundantly took a secretarial course. Her future husband, the Maharajah of Jaipur (“Jai” to her) first appeared at Woodlands, the family home in Kolkata, resplendent in an open-top green Rolls Royce. When she married him in 1940 her presents included a Bentley, a hill-station house and a trousseau that was left for collection at the Ritz in Paris. Their life came to revolve round the polo seasons in which he starred: winter and spring in India, summer in Windsor or Surrey, the thundering chukkas interspersed with plentiful champagne.

Yet there was an oddity about Gayatri Devi. She was a tomboy who liked to keep company with the servants, worrying about their wages, and with the mahouts, learning their songs and stories of elephants. After meeting Jai at the age of 12 she began to wish she could be his groom, fortuitously brushing his beautiful hand as she handed him his polo stick. Distinctions between raja and praja, prince and people, did not bother her, and she could be as cavalier about the yawning social divide between women and men. As Jai’s third wife, she should have been in purdah in a “city” of 400 other lounging and sewing women, watching the world through filigree screens. Instead she kept him company in the palace, riding and big-game hunting, or flying to Delhi in her private plane to shop. And she set up a girls’ school in Jaipur through which, she hoped, other daughters of the nobility might eventually learn to stick up for themselves.


Independence in 1947 brought a democratised India and the replacement of the 562 princely states with centralised, socialist government, but her attachment to “my people” did not change. Command, like style, came naturally to her. In both Cooch Behar and Jaipur, arriving becomingly wind-blown at the wheel of her Buick or her Ferrari, she would be greeted with flowers and incense and with deep prostrations in the dust. The villagers trusted her to help them, so she tried. That intimate understanding between ruler and ruled, she often said later, was sadly missing from modern India. It went with the crumbling of modern Jaipur which, under the maharajahs, had been a glorious desert city of wide avenues, palaces, peacocks and pink walls. She always saw it that way.

In 1960, having asked Jai’s permission and summoned the party secretary to the palace, she joined the liberal Swatantra party to oppose Jawaharlal Nehru’s left-wing Congress. She did not like socialism or five-year plans. A run for parliament two years later for the Rajasthan constituency gave her the world’s largest landslide, 192,909 votes. But this was hardly surprising. The people were voting for “Ma”, their princess, an exquisite figure in pearls and pale chiffon enthroned on a palanquin of carpets, who nevertheless called them her sisters and her brothers.

She continued to field their problems to the end of her life, though her political career as such did not long outlast a spell in Delhi’s Tihar prison in 1975, under Indira Gandhi. The charge was currency offences, based on a few Swiss francs found in her bungalow among the jade, rose-quartz, Lalique and Rosenthal. The prime minister seemed mostly to object to her aristocracy. Gayatri Devi softened the blow by pouring French perfume into the open sewer in her cell. As it ran through the building, Asia’s largest prison and one of its worst, other prisoners gathered to inhale the wafting vapours, the true scent of royalty.


Editor-the dog

Vinod Mehta, editor of Outlook, writes the diary page every once in a while....... and he adds a para on his dog named Editor who he picked up as a puppy from the road ........ lots of readers give Vinod Mehta a mouthful every time he gives coverage to Editor , the dog and Vinod has great fun doing it again and again ! His latest post on Editor.....

Anyone Missing Editor?

Time for another bulletin on Editor.

He is steadily growing middle-aged, lazy and grumpy.

His eating preferences, unfortunately, remain a problem.

Not only does he insist on Parmesan (cheese) but currently he has developed another passion: chocolate chip cookies.

For a dog found in a ditch, he has upmarket tastes.

Problems and Solutions !


After every flight, pilots fill out a form called a
gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics problems
encountered with the aircraft during the flight that
needs repair or correction. The mechanics read and
correct the problem, and then respond in writing on
the lower half of the form what remedial action was
taken and the pilot reviews the gripe sheets before
the next flight.

Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers
lack a sense of humor.Here are some actual logged maintenance
complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the
solution recorded by maintenance engineers. BTW, Quantas is
the only major airline with a no-accidents record.



(P = The problem logged by the pilot.)
(S = The solution and action taken by the engineers.)


P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet
per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be
serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

An Old Favourite !

Einstein dies and goes to heaven only to be informed that
his room is not yet ready. "I hope you will not mind waiting in 
a dormitory.We are very sorry, but it's the best we can do and 
you will have to share the room with others" he is told by the doorman. 

Einstein says that this is no problem at all and that
there is no need to make such a great fuss. So the doorman leads 
him to the dorm. They enter and Albert is introduced to all of the present inhabitants. 

"See, Here is your first room mate. He has an IQ of 180!"
"Why that's wonderful!" Says Albert. "We can discuss 
mathematics!"

"And here is your second room mate. His IQ is 150!" "Why 
that's wonderful!" Says Albert. "We can discuss physics!"

"And here is your third room mate. His IQ is 100!" "That
Wonderful! We can discuss the latest plays at the theater!" 

Just then another man moves out to capture Albert's hand
and shakes it. "I'm your last room mate and I'm sorry, but my IQ 
is only 80." Albert smiles back at him and says, 
"So, where do you think  interest rates are headed?"

Beauty Tip.....


"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness."

Audrey Hepburn, when asked about her beauty secrets..........

10 Laws of Modern Times

TEN LAWS OF THE MODERN WORLD

Rich Karlgaard – in Forbes

Moore's Law. Listen to a billionaire explain why an understanding of Moore's Law is a key to unlocking business riches. Don Valentine founded Sequoia Capital in 1972 and presided over early investments in Apple Computer, Electronic Arts, Cisco Systems, Yahoo! and Google. He once told me the secret to his success: "That's easy. I just follow Moore's Law and make a few guesses about its consequences." This April marked the 40th anniversary of Gordon Moore's famous dictum. In 1965 Moore (he co-founded Intel three years later) noted that components on silicon chips were doubling every year. In 1975 he amended that to every two years. Today Moore's Law has transcended silicon chips. It has become a way of saying that all digital stuff, from PCs to cell phones to music players, get twice as good every 18 to 24 months--at the same price point. Projecting from Moore's Law, venture capitalist Valentine saw a future of personal computers, games, routers and search engines. Now, go project!

The Back Side of Moore's Law. This one says that digital stuff gets 30% to 40% cheaper every year--at the same performance point. The back side of Moore's Law is why your $299 Treo 650 is as powerful as a $3,500 Compaq PC was in 1988. It's why hundreds of millions of Chinese and Indians now own their personal portals to the global economy.

Andy and Bill's Law. The origin of this was a funny one-liner told at computer conferences in the 1990s. It went like this: "What Andy giveth, Bill taketh away." It meant that every time Andy Grove--then chief executive of Intel -brought a new chip to market, Bill Gates--then CEO of Microsoft --would upgrade his software and soak up the new chip's power. But beyond the laugh, there's deep truth. Moore's Law constantly enables new software. Often the new software is just an incremental improvement. But every few years the world gets a wild breakthrough--graphic computing in the 1980s, Web browsers in the 1990s, fast search engines today. Next? Surely something amazing.

Metcalfe's Law. This one's named after Robert Metcalfe, the inventor of the computer networking protocol Ethernet. Metcalfe said the usefulness of a network improves by the square of the number of nodes on the network. Translation: The Internet, like telephones, grows more valuable as more join in. This is how eBay grew so profitable so fast.

Gilder's Law: Winner's Waste. The futurist George Gilder wrote about this a few years ago in a Forbes publication. The best business models, he said, waste the era's cheapest resources in order to conserve the era's most expensive resources. When steam became cheaper than horses, the smartest businesses used steam and spared horses. Today the cheapest resources are computer power and bandwidth. Both are getting cheaper by the year (at the pace of Moore's Law). Google is a successful business because it wastes computer power--it has some 120,000 servers powering its search engine--while it conserves its dearest resource, people. Google has fewer than 3,500 employees, yet it generates $5 billion in (current run rate) sales.

Ricardo's Law. The more transparent an economy becomes, the more David Ricardo's 19th-century law of comparative advantage rules the day. Then came the commercial Internet, the greatest window into comparative advantage ever invented. Which means if your firm's price-value proposition is lousy, too bad. The world knows.

Wriston's Law. This is named after the late Walter Wriston, a giant of banking and finance. In his 1992 book, The Twilight of Sovereignty, Wriston predicted the rise of electronic networks and their chief effect. He said capital (meaning both money and ideas), when freed to travel at the speed of light, "will go where it is wanted, stay where it is well-treated...." By applying Wriston's Law of capital and talent flow, you can predict the fortunes of countries and companies.

The Laffer Curve. In the 1970s the young economist Arthur Laffer proposed a wild idea. Cut taxes at the margin, on income and capital, and you'll get more tax revenue, not less. Laffer reasoned that lower taxes would beckon risk capital out of hiding. Businesses and people would become more productive. The pie would grow. Application of the Laffer Curve is why the United States boomed in the 1980s and 1990s, why India is rocking now and why eastern Europe will outperform western Europe.

Drucker's Law. Odd as it seems, you will achieve the greatest results in business and career if you drop the word "achievement" from your vocabulary. Replace it with "contribution," says the great management guru Peter Drucker. Contribution puts the focus where it should be--on your customers, employees and shareholders.

Ogilvy's Law. David Ogilvy gets my vote as the greatest advertising mind of the 20th century. The founder of Ogilvy & Mather--now part of WPP --left a rich legacy of ideas in his books, my favorite being Ogilvy on Advertising. Ogilvy wrote that whenever someone was appointed to head an office of O&M, he would give the manager a Russian nesting doll. These dolls open in the middle to reveal a smaller doll, which opens in the middle to reveal a yet smaller doll...and so on. Inside the smallest doll would be a note from Ogilvy. It read: "If each of us hires people who are smaller than we are, we shall become a company of dwarfs. But if each of us hires people who are bigger than we are, we shall become a company of giants." Ogilvy knew in the 1950s that people make or break businesses. It was true then; it's truer today.


Pakistani Newspapers on Jaswant Singh's Book

Says Daily Times, “The Quaid can save Pakistan from its internal crisis if is Pakistanis are prepared to see that the terrorists hiding behind “Islam” are opposed to what he wanted Pakistan to be. […] He was never an enemy of India; India can reclaim him now. And in the process, India and Pakistan can change their bilateral equation […] accepting the mutual co-operation and economic interdependence dictated by history and current circumstances.”

The Dawn lays down a challenge: “Can we [in Pakistan] imagine a similar statement about India's independence leaders? Mr. Singh has been treated shabbily, but the whole affair demonstrates that India, or a part thereof, is at least trying to come to terms with the ghosts of partition, and assess it in a frank, honest manner. Can anyone in Pakistani politics claim such boldness?”

Creative Hands !


























Tuesday, August 25, 2009

This August........

.....we will have ,

  • 5 Saturdays
  • 5 Sundays and
  • 5 Mondays
Reportedly this happens once in 823 years!

RSK

16 Habits of Highly Creative Persons.....

Many people believe that creativity is inborn and only a chosen few are creative. While it is true that creativity is inborn, it is not true that only a chosen few are creative.

Everyone is born creative. In the process of growing up, educating yourself and adapting yourself to your environment, you slowly add blocks to your creativity and forget that you had it in the first place.

The difference between a creative person and a person who is not so creative is not in the creativity that they were born with but in the creativity that they have lost.

How can you enhance your creative ability? One possible way is to observe the habits of creative people, identify the ones that you feel will work for you and then make a plan to cultivate them.

Here are 16 habits of creative people. If you cultivate some of them, you will feel an increase in your level of creativity. In the process, you will also feel tickled by life!

1. Creative people are full of curiosity.

Creative people are wonde rstruck. They are tickled by the newness of every moment. They have lots of questions. They keep asking what, why, when, where and how.

A questioning mind is an open mind. It is not a knowing mind. Only an open mind can be creative. A knowing mind can never be creative.

A questioning stance sensitizes the mind in a very special way and it is able to sense what would have been missed otherwise.

2. Creative people are problem-friendly.

When there is a problem, some people can be seen wringing up their hands. Their first reaction is to look for someone to blame. Being faced with a problem becomes a problem. Such people can be called problem-averse.

Creative people, on the other hand, are problem-friendly. They just roll up their sleeves when faced with a problem. They see problems as opportunities to improve the quality of life. Being faced with a problem is never a problem.

You get dirty and take a bath every day. You get tired and relax every day. Similarly, you have problems that need to be solved every day. Life is a fascinating rhythm of problems and solutions.

To be problem-averse is to be life-averse. To be problem-friendly is to be life-friendly. Problems come into your life to convey some message. If you run away from them, you miss the message.

3. Creative people value their ideas.

Creative people realize the value of an idea. They do not take any chance with something so important. They carry a small notepad to note down ideas whenever they occur.

Many times, just because they have a notepad and are looking for ideas to jot down, they can spot ideas which they would have otherwise missed.

4. Creative people embrace challenges.

Creative people thrive on challenges. They have a gleam in their eyes as soon as they sniff one. Challenges bring the best out of them – reason enough to welcome them.

5. Creative people are full of enthusiasm.

Creative people are enthusiastic about their goals. This enthusiasm works as fuel for their journey, propelling them to their goals.

6. Creative people are persistent.

Creative people know it well that people may initially respond to their new ideas like the immune system responds to a virus. They’ll try to reject the idea in a number of ways.

Creative people are not surprised or frustrated because of this. Nor do they take it personally. They understand it takes time for a new idea to be accepted. In fact, the more creative the idea, the longer it takes for it to be appreciated.

7. Creative people are perennially dissatisfied.

Creative people are acutely aware of their dissatisfaction and unfulfilled desires. However, this awareness does not frustrate them. As a matter of fact, they use this awareness as a stimulus to realize their dreams.

8. Creative people are optimists.

Creative people generally have a deeply held belief that most, if not all, problems can be solved. No challenge is too big to be overcome.

This doesn’t mean they are always happy and never depressed. They do have their bad moments but they don’t generally get stumped by a challenge.

9. Creative people make positive Judgment.

A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn. It can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a right man’s brow – a businessman Charles Brower

The ability to hold off on judging or critiquing an idea is important in the process of creativity. Often great ideas start as crazy ones – if critique is applied too early the idea will be killed and never developed into something useful and usable.

This doesn’t mean there is no room for critique or judgment in the creative process but there is a time and place for it and creative people recognize that.

10. Creative people go for the big kill.

Creative people realize that the first idea is just the starting point. It is in the process of fleshing it out that some magical cross-connections happen and the original ‘normal’ idea turns into a killer idea.

11. Creative people are prepared to stick it out.

Creative people who actually see their ideas come to fruition have the ability to stick with their ideas and see them through – even when the going gets tough. This is what sets them apart from others. Stick-ability is the key.

12. Creative people do not fall in love with an idea.

Creative people recognize how dangerous it is to fall in love with an idea. Falling in love with an idea means stopping more ideas from coming to their mind. They love the process of coming up with ideas, not necessarily the idea.

13. Creative people recognize the environment in which they are most creative.

Creative people do most of their thinking in an environment which is most conducive to their creativity. If they are unable to influence their physical environment, they recreate their ‘favorite’ creative environment in their minds.

14. Creative people are good at re framing any situation.

Reframes are a different way of looking at things. Being able to re frame experiences and situations is a very powerful skill.

Reframing allows you to look at a situation from a different angle. It is like another camera angle in a football match. And a different view has the power to change your entire perception of the situation.

Reframing can breathe new life into dead situations. It can motivate demoralized teams. It helps you to spot opportunities that you would have otherwise missed.

15. Creative people are friends with the unexpected.

Creative people have the knack of expecting the unexpected and finding connections between unrelated things. It is this special quality of mind that evokes serendipitous events in their lives.

Having honed the art of making happy discoveries, they are able to evoke serendipity more often than others.

16. Creative people are not afraid of failures.

Creative people realize that the energy that creates great ideas also creates errors. They know that failure is not really the opposite of success.

In fact, both failure and success are on the same side of the spectrum because both are the result of an attempt made. Creative people look at failure as a stopover on way to success, just a step away from it.

All food comes from India !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4A1xfHjyTA

Monday, August 24, 2009

Sri Lanka - Test Ranking No 2 ??

AUS are now ranked No 4 and SAF are No 1...no issues with that...but Sri Lanka at No 2 position? What mindless system is this? I write this from memory but as much as I can recollect, SL have NOT beaten India, Australia, England or South Africa in recent years and they are still No 2 ? Just because they managed to beat Pakistan and New Zealand ? Very, very strange......


Very soon, we may hear that Bangla Desh is ranked in the Top 3 becuase they beat Zimbabwe and West Indies..... Some one has gone nuts here!

RSK

Laptop by Nokia .....

Nokia Enters Netbook Fray with Booklet 3G

Nokia gets into the laptop business with a stylish netbook with built-in cellular data capabilities.

Brennon Slattery, PC World

Monday, August 24, 2009 06:03 AM PDT

Nokia Enters Netbook Fray with Booklet 3G
Nokia will join the ranks of netbook manufacturers with a stylish Windows-based offering called the Nokia Booklet 3G. It will have the looks of an Apple notebook and the guts of a PC. The netbook, according to Nokia, will have close ties to the company's Ovi suite of online services and mobile applications currently available to Nokia handset owner

The aluminium-encased notebook 3G will be powered by an Intel Atom processor and deliver up to 12 hours of battery life "enabling people to leave their power cable behind and still be connected and productive," the company said in a statement. The Booklet can connect to the Internet either by the built-in 3G card or by catching a Wi-Fi signal. It'll weigh 1.25 kilograms (or just under one pound) and slip by at "slightly more than two centimeters thin (0.7 inches)."

Detailed specs, market availability and pricing will be announced at Nokia World on September 2. But here is what we know, according to details included in Nokia's press release:

  • The Nokia Booklet 3G also ships with a GPS unit.
  • The 10-inch display will be glass, just like Apple's family of aluminum MacBooks, for improved HD- and media-viewing.
  • Built-in access to the Nokia Music Store
  • Netbook will allow you to sync data with your Nokia handset or to a Web-based storage service.
  • Booklet 3G will have hooks to Nokia's broad suite of Ovi services that include games, music and video offerings, and office productivity applications.

Judging from Nokia's press release, the Nokia Booklet 3G will give Apple a low-priced run for its money. Returning students are choosing Windows-based netbooks at a substantially higher rate than Apple laptops, and Nokia grabbed this info and combined the stylish features found in Macs with the low-budget appeal of a netbook.