LegeNdS WorK shOP

What’s Your Excuse Now?

2014-02-07T23:06:00.001+05:30

What’s Your Excuse Now?

These tips are not magical, mystical, or complicated. In fact, you could consider them downright boring, plain, and inconsequential.

But applying smart editing rules is what separates your heroes from the masses, catapults them to success, and makes readers say, “I don’t know what it is about their writing, but it’s absolutely fantastic.”

Look at is this way: You've expended a ton of effort on SEO, content marketing, networking, and social media promotion, all in the hopes that more people will notice your blog. So when they arrive, shouldn't your next post blow their socks off too?

And how about your last post and the one before that? (Yes, you can apply these rules to your old posts too!)

Or are you one of those writers who think they write well enough already? Well, you might be surprised by just how many of these crimes against clarity you’re committing.

Open one of your posts right now and see how many of these editing rules you can apply.

Read each word of your post. Is the word an expletive? Is it a weak verb? A weak adjective? Does it represent nationalization or flab or break any of the other rules mentioned in this post?

Run each word of your post through this process. You will find something to improve. And your writing will be 100% more powerful as a result.

Because the search for perfection never ends.

And your writing is never too good.

Sure, proofreading and editing take time.

And yes, you’re already busy enough.

But your writing heroes edit, and they land the guest posts, book deals, and exposure you only wish you could.

So, take a break from #amwriting and start #amediting right now.

Your success will thank you.

And so will I.

About the Author: Shane Arthur is the copyeditor for Jon Morrow’s kick-butt, where he applies these rules (and others) to polish students’ guest posts to perfection before final submission.

7 Simple Edits That Make Your Writing 100% More Powerful

2014-02-07T23:03:00.000+05:30

There are some bloggers who seem to have a natural gift when it comes to writing. Some bloggers seem to be naturally gifted writers.

They manage to get their ideas across clearly and economically, which means that readers can easily follow what they write. Readers devour their clear, economical prose.

Not only is there a lot of respect for what they have to say, but also the way that they say it.People respect what they say – and love how they say it.

Whenever they publish a new post on their blog, it always gets dozens of comments and hundreds of shares. Every new blog post attracts dozens of comments and hundreds of shares.

It would be great to be as successful as they are, but you don’t know what you need to do to make your writing better. You’d love to emulate their success but you don’t know how.

The good news is that there’s a secret you can easily learn which will improve everything you write from now on. Fortunately for you, a simple secret can transform your writing forever.

The Unfair Advantage Popular Writers Try to Hide

You know your writing heroes? Would you be shocked to learn that their writing is no better than yours?

Sure, the end product is better, but the first draft is just as clumsy, flabby, and downright difficult to read as any of your own writing efforts.

What popular bloggers know that many people don’t know (or don’t want to believe) is that a post isn’t finished simply because they’ve said everything they want to say. In many ways that’s just the beginning.

Think of your draft as a rough diamond. Value is hidden inside it and you need an expert gem cutter to reveal its beauty and clarity.

Which is why many top bloggers hire a professional editor to transform their rough diamonds into gleaming jewels. That’s right – someone else is helping them.

Somewhat unfair, right?

No wonder their writing seems so much better than yours. And even those bloggers who don’t use an editor have simply learned how to edit their own posts like a pro.

Fortunately, editing isn’t rocket science. If you have someone to show you how.

So let’s break down the rules that’ll help you transform your unremarkable draft into a perfectly polished post.

7 Editing Rules That Will Totally Transform Your Next Post

1. Don’t Pad Your Prose with Empty Filler Words

(Or: Avoid Using Grammar Expletives)

Grammar expletives are literary constructions that begin with the words it, here, or therefollowed by a form of the verb to be.

(Expletive comes from the Latin explere, meaning to fill. Think smelly literary landfill).

Common constructions include it is, it was, it won’t, it takes, here is, there is, there will be.

The problem? When it, here, and there refer to nouns later in the sentence or – worse – to something unnamed, they weaken your writing by shifting emphasis away from the true drivers of your sentences. And they usually require other support words such as who,that, and when, which further dilute your writing.

Let’s look at an example:

There are some bloggers who seem to have…

The there are expletive places the sentence’s focus on some nebulous thing called thereinstead of the true focus of the sentence – some bloggers. And the writer must then use another unnecessary word – who – that’s three unnecessary words in one unfocused sentence.

Train yourself to spot instances of there, here, and it followed by a to be verb (such as is,are, was, and were) and adjust your sentences to lead with the meat and potatoes of those sentences instead.

(Tip: Use your word processor’s find functionality and search for there, here, and it and determine if you’ve used an expletive).

Other before-and-after examples:

It’s fun to edit – Editing is fun
It takes time to write – Writing takes time
There are many people who write – Many people write
There’s nothing better than blogging – Nothing’s better than blogging
Here are some things to consider: – Some things to consider are:

Caveat: If you previously described an object using there, here, and it, you’re not guilty of an expletive infraction. For example:

I love editing. It’s fun. (This is not an expletive construction since I previously described what it refers to.)

2. Don’t Weaken the Action with Wimpy Words

(Or: Avoid Weak Verbs; Use Visceral and Action Verbs Instead)

Not only does to be conspire with it, there, and here to create nasty grammar expletives, but it’s also responsible for its own class of sentence impairing constructions.

Certain uses of to be in its various forms weaken the words that follow. The solution is to replace these lightweights with more powerful alternatives.

Let’s see some before-and-after examples:

She is blogging – She blogs
People are in love with him – People love him
He is aware that people love him – He knows people love him

Other verbs besides to be verbs can lack strength as well. Use visceral verbs or verbs that express some action. Let’s edit:

Give out – Offer
Find out – Discover
Make it clearer – Clarify
I can’t make it to the party – I can’t attend the party
He went to Mexico – He traveled to Mexico
Think of a blogging strategy – Devise a blogging strategy

3. Don’t Cripple Your Descriptions with Feeble Phrases

(Or: Avoid Weak Adjectives)

Weak adjectives sap the strength from your writing just as nefariously as weak verbs. Use the best adjectives possible when describing nouns and pronouns. And be mindful that certain words, like really and very, usually precede weak adjectives. Take a look:

Really bad – Terrible
Really good – Great
Very big – Huge
Very beautiful – Gorgeous

Even if you don’t have a telltale really or very preceding an adjective, you can often give your writing more impact by using stronger alternatives:

Dirty – Filthy
Tired – Exhausted
Scared – Terrified
Happy – Thrilled

Even worse than using weak adjectives is using weak adjectives to tell your readers what something isn’t as opposed to telling them what something is:

It’s not that good – It’s terrible
He’s not a bore – He’s hilarious
He’s not very smart – He’s ignorant

4. Trim Flabby Words and Phrases

(Or: Avoid Verbose Colloquialisms)

Today’s readers have limited time and patience for flabby writing. Their cursors hover over the back button, so say what you mean as concisely as possible before your readers vanish:

But the fact of the matter is – But (Avoid flabby colloquial expressions when possible)
Editing is absolutely essential – Editing is essential (Absolutely is redundant)
You’re going to have to edit your work – You’ll have to edit your work or You must edit your work (Going to and going to have to are flabby expressions)
Due to the fact that editing takes time, some people avoid it – Because editing takes time, some people avoid it
Every single person should love editing – Every person should love editing (Single is redundant; and shouldn’t married people love editing too? )

5. Don’t Pussyfoot Around Your Verbs and Adjectives

(Or: Avoid Nominalization)

Nominalization occurs when a writer uses a weak noun equivalent when a stronger verb or adjective replacement is available. Like expletives, nominals usually introduce other unnecessary words when used.

Count the number of words in the before-and-after examples below, and you will witness how badly nominals weaken your writing:

Give your post a proofread – Proofread your post (verb form)
Alcohol is the cause of hangovers – Alcohol causes hangovers (verb form)
The plane’s approach was met with the scramble of emergency crews – The planeapproached and emergency crews scrambled. (verb form)
He shows signs of carelessness – He is careless (adjective form)
She has a high level of intensity – She is intense (adjective form)

6. Throw Out the Rulebook on Punctuation

(Or: Use the Occasional Comma for Clarity)

The rules around punctuation can be complicated, even for the humble comma.

But do you truly need to know the difference between a serial comma, an Oxford comma, and a Harvard comma to write a great blog post? Of course not. (And it’s a trick question – they’re all the same.)

So my philosophy on commas is simple:

Use commas sparingly if you prefer, but if excluding a comma MAKES YOUR READER STOP READING, add another bleepin’ comma – regardless of what any comma police may say.

Let’s look at an example:

You can ignore editing and people reading your post may not notice but your ideas will get lost.

By not including a comma between editing and and, I read this sentence and asked myself, “I can ignore editing and people reading my post? Really?” Of course, readers work out the intended meaning a moment later, but by that time, they’ve already stalled.

So, regardless of what comma rule I may break by adding a comma to this sentence, as long as my readers don’t get confused and stop reading, I don’t care – and neither should you.

Let’s look at another example that needs a comma for clarity:

One day, when you find success you can pull out your golden pen and write me a thank-you letter.

By not including a comma between success and you, I read this sentence and asked myself, “Is success something you can pull out of a golden pen?”

Regardless of your stance on commas, you ultimately want your readers to keep reading. You want them to continue down your slippery slope of powerful content all the way to your call to action – without getting jarred from their trance to contemplate commas with their inner editors or a Google search.

7. Be As Manipulative As Possible

(Or: Use Noun Modifiers Whenever You Can)

You won’t use this technique often, but at least be mindful of it.

When we use two nouns together with the first noun modifying the second, we are using noun modifiers. I like them because they hack the flab from our writing by shortening our sentences. Let’s review some examples:

Tips on editing – Editing tips
Great advice on how to boost traffic – Great traffic-boosting advice (Traffic-boosting is a compound noun here)
Information regarding registration – Registration information

These sentences have prepositions between the noun sets. Whenever you spot this construction, try to implement this noun-modifying technique.

Smart investment plan

2013-11-06T01:02:00.002+05:30

Investment : The action or process of investing money for profit or material result.
Assuming this as your interpretation of the word "investment", here is my answer.

I am 18 and have invested money in starting my own conference franchise.
I started this because I

Wanted to learn about NLP, cloud computing etc which were discussed in the conference and I could not find resources. I thought the best way to learn was to learn from experts.
love starting my own ventures.
Wanted to learn about investing money and entrepreneurship.

Note : ₹ - Rupees.

How to start?

Divide your savings and allot a little amount for this.
Catch the pulse of people around you. People of my age, here in India, are crazy about programming and startups. Amount spent - 0
Decide the theme of the event/conference. Amount spent - 0
Start a campaign online. Make posters and a good looking website and start publicizing it on relevant Facebook pages/groups. This step will attract both audience and sponsors. Amount spent - 0
Contact speakers and specialists in that area. Try hard to get an expert speaker, convince him/her and sell your idea. Once a good speaker is confirmed, use his/her name to call others. If you are knowledgeable about any of the topics you are dealing with, try your hand at speaking at the event.Amount spent - ₹ 0 to 15 ( < $0.5 on telephone)
Decide a tentative venue. This can be your local community hall, a conference hall or a school/college. Talk to the management and promise them that you will pay the advance in a month. (Given that there are 2 more months for the event).Amount spent - 0
Strike a deal with a company which might be interested in sponsoring the event. Although a sponsorship is not required, even a penny in sponsorship can reduce your expenses and come handy to avoid risks. Amount spent - ₹ 100 - 200 for travelling. Use public transport only.
Fix a reasonable amount for passes, passes must be affordable by audience and also must not be cheap. Audience tend to look down at events, whose passes are sold for low prices, so decide accordingly.
Start selling tickets using CC avenue or other payment gateways. They offer service at just 1.25% as commission on tickets/items sold and Zero setup fee.Amount spent - ₹0
Make the campaign aggressive and sell at least 15 passes. This amount will be help you start finalizing your venue.
If you decide to change the venue, change it. Inform people who bought the passes about the same. Pay the money they paid for the passes to finalize the venue.
Start visiting workplaces/schools/universities where you might find your potential audience and sell your idea again.

Once you have sold tickets, the only areas where you must have spent money were travelling, phone calls and venue. Any money you get by selling passes after all these payments are profits.

Once the event starts, surprise your audience with goodies, prizes and/or free lunch. This will create a good will among them so that they become loyal to your event, after the event.

The advantage with this idea is that you spend a paltry mount and anything you earn is a profit.

So, in fact, an investment of ₹ 500 and some dedication can give you profits ranging from ₹ 50,000 to ₹ 5,00,000.

If you loved organizing, you can continue this every year and expand.

What have you learnt?

The basics of multiplying money.
The basics of event management.
If you are also interested in the topics discussed in your event, you can learn a lot from the speakers.
Entrepreneurship.

PS: I loved doing this and I am using this money to start another venture. Although this is a very good career option, I personally see this as fun and I am not considering a career in event management. However, I am still continuing the franchise.

Steve Jobs2005 Stanford Commencement Address

2013-11-05T19:22:00.000+05:30

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much.

Source

Most Hidden Danger Of facebook

2013-05-24T17:36:00.001+05:30

Most Hidden Danger Of facebook

The last 3-4 years have observed a tremendous positive growth ladder in the success rate of Facebook, a social networking website. Phenomenal success of Facebook has made it the No.1 social networking website presently. In fact, it has beat Google by the maximum number of visitor visits for one entire week. But things always go the same way as one may think of. Both positive and negative experiences go head to head. Facebook is also not flawless. Recently, many flaws were revealed Most of the Facebook flaws are in it's privacy policies and accounts settings. Sharing information may not be all that great through this social networking site. It can happen that marketing efforts of Facebook may well lead to serious threat to account holders' privacy policies. This article discusses about some of the most important hidden dangers of Facebook.

Danger # 1: Sharing information with 3rd parties

As per Facebook policy (last updated, 2010), "When the user connects with some website or application via Facebook, that particular site or application will have permission to access the general information about the connected user." According to Facebook's dictionary, "General Information" refers to information about the user while getting full access to his/her profile, friend list, user IDs, connections, gender, etc. In fact, the site or app can able to view any of the information being shared using "Everyone" privacy setting. This is also the default privacy setting. It takes only two to get connected, so your privacy settings Because it takes two to connect, the user's privacy settings can control the visibility factor of the connection on profile page. those who are uncomfortable with the public visibility of the connection status, they should not make the connection or try to remove it.

Danger # 2: Privacy settings revert to minimal safety in default mode after every single redesigning phase

It was last March when private email addresses of many Facebook users were revealed in the public domain of Facebook page. This was an irritating fact for many. However, the glitch got resolved at a later stage by Facebook administration body.

Danger # 3: Ads available on Facebook ads may well contain malware

Of late, an event invitation notice from Facebook was sent to nearly 2,300 Facebook friends of a reputed business tycoon. It actually was a scam and those responded to the ad got their account hacked by some unknown hacker. These sort of ads are available in plenty through Facebook. Most of these are scams. So, think and judge carefully before responding to these ads.

Danger # 4: Facebook friends unknowingly make an user vulnerable

Facebook recently patched a serious security bug which allowed the profile users to snoop silently through a user's private chat engine and even view all the pending friend requests. It was such a serious security threat that Facebook even disabled the chat engine for quite a few days before patching the bug.

Danger # 5: Fake profiles being created by scammers

This keeps on happening. However, it is more common with celebrity profiles. Many scammers create fake profiles and try to fool the Facebook users. Such a sort of scenario can result in spreading negative news and rumors about celebrity personalities. Till date, Facebook has been unable to bring out any meaningful solution to this case.

‎5 COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS FACED BY CORPORATE EMPLOYEES

2012-12-23T00:09:00.006+05:30

5 COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS FACED BY CORPORATE EMPLOYEES ARE:

1. EYE AND EYE-SIGHT PROBLEMS-

Long Hours Before The Computer Induce Irritation And Dryness Of Eyes.
This Leads To Itching, Redness, Tearfulness And Soreness Of Eyes.

The Constant Stress On The Eyes Leads To Decrease In Vision.
Common Complaints Of Long Lasting And Persistent Frontal Headaches Are Mostly Related To Eye-Sight Problems.

TIP –

A. Maintain Good Eye Health –

Use Artifical Tear Drops To Keep The Eye Moist,

Get Regular Check Ups Done

Wash With Cold Water At Least Twice A Day

Provide Your Eyes Rest Every 2-3 Hours. For 10 Minutes,

Close Your Eyes And Think Something Positive And Not-Related To The Office.

2. OBESITY-

Poor Eating Habits Mainly Indulgence In High Calorie And High Fat Foods.

Lack Of Exercise And Sedentary Life-Styles Has Lead To Dramatic Increase In Number Of Obesity Cases Among Corporate Employees.

This Has Ensured Fat Incomes For All Those Working In Weight Loss Industry,

Medical Field Related To Heart Disorders, Blood Pressure And Heart Attacks.

TIP –

A. Ask Your Hr Manager To Appoint A Dietician/Nutritionist For The Employees

B. If The Company Is Not Interested In Your Health Habbits - Consult A Dietician/Nutrionist On Your Own.

C. If Consulting And Following A Dietician Is Not Possible, Then At Least Start To Love Yourself.
When You Love Yourself, You Don't Want To Destroy Yourself.

So Everytime You Will See Something Loaded With Fat And Sugar, Remind Yourself Of The Love You Have For Yourself.

3. LOWER BACK AND NECK PAINS-

Poor Sitting Postures, And Poor Non-Orthopedically Designed Office Chairs Increase The Strain On Lower Back And Neck.

Over A Period Of Time This Leads To Internal Compression Of Nerves And Muscles,

Manifesting As Acute, Throbbing And Shooting Pain Predominantly In The Lower Back And Neck Regions.

The Orthopedicians Are Jumping In Glory With The Rise In Number Of Cases Of Spondylitis (Increase In Bone Size Of Neck),
Sexual Problems Due To Lower Back Disorders, Vertebrae (Back Bone) Disorders,

Sleep Difficulties, Needle Pricking Sensations And Numbness Feelings In The Soles And Legs.

Tip -

A. Control Weight

B. Do Strecthing Exercises Every 2-3hrs.

C. Walk A Little Bit In The Office.

If You Cannot Walk, At Least Climb The Stairs At Least Once.

4. AIR CONDITIONER INDUCED PROBLEMS –

Air Conditioning Is A Very Integral Part Of Every Corporate Office.
Proper Maintenance Of Air Conditioning And Disinfection Of Rooms Are Many Times Neglected In Offices.

The Low Temperature, Painted Walls, Carpeted Flooring And External Warm Temperature Provides Excellent Environment For All Bacteria To Grow And Flourish.

These Bacteria Affect Majority Of Office Air, Leading To Respiratory Diseases (Like Asthma, Difficulty In Breathing), Skin Diseases (Like Acne, Rashes) And Allergic Reactions.

TIP –

A. If You Are Experiencing Breathlessness, Get It Checked By A Good Chest Specialist

B. Recurrent Skin Problem Could Be Due To Air Conditioner Issues.

Ask Your Maintainance Chaps To Take A Look At It.

5. SLEEP DISORDERS –

Today’s Work Environment Revolves Around Productivity And Competition.

To Be Efficient In Duties, An Employee Requires To Maintain High Productivity Level.

This Increases Stress Levels To Alarming Levels, As It Requires Longer Hours Of Work (Without Extra Payment), More Efficiency In Producing Quality Work In Given Deadlines And Battling Office Politics.

The Major Side Effect Of All This Is Sleep Deprivation, Increased Time To Fall Asleep, Increased Preoccupation With Office-Related Thoughts, Fractured Sleep Due To Constant Ringing Of Cell Phone Or Blackberry Updates And Decreased Sense Of Freshness In The Morning.

This In Turn Takes A Mental Toll On An Individual By Subjecting Him To Chronic Fatigue Disorder, Irritability, Clinical Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, High Blood Pressure And Decreased Immune System.

It’s The Duty Of A Company To Take Care Of Its Employees. Sadly In Corporate India, Every Employee Is By Himself.

The Occupational Therapy Programs Are Quick Fix Capsules To Please Everyone In The Heirchey Rather Than Benefit The Employee.
Feed-Back Mechanisms To Keep A Tab On Employee Progress Are Totally Focused Towards His Productivity And Not Even 20% Consideration Given To His Health.

Large Attrition Rates, High Number Of Holidays From Work And Lesser Output In Productivity Can Easily Be Tackled If The Companies Would Develop A More Humane Angle To Employee Health Than Just Ultimate Productivity.

TIP –

A. Have 1 Day A Week Or 1 Day In 15 Days, Were You Disconnect From All Work And Spend It Doing What You Love The Most.

B. Have A Daily Routine Of Venting Out Negativity

C. If You Are Having Concentration, Memory, Sleep, Headaches Or Relationship Problems Then Your Stress Might Be Borderline Medical Condition.
Consult A Good Counselor Or Neuro-Psychiatrist In Your Area For Basic Venting Out.

2010-12-24T00:57:00.002+05:30

10 Steps To Success

1. Self-Belief:
Success is begins in the mind. One has to be a believer, first, if one wishes to be an achiever. Never under-estimate yourself. You have no idea how often can you surprise yourself. So to begin with, let's get in the belief, "I Can."

2. Clarity of Vision:
There is no point running around without knowing where one wants to reach. you must get your job cut out. Greatest achievers in the world have been visionaries. Know exactly what you are best at and give it your best shot.

3. Setting the Right Goals:
The goals should be realistic .The goals should be achievable ,and yet challenging enough - neither too easy nor too difficult -something in the middle.

4. Be focused:
If the sun's rays are focused on a piece of paper with a lens, the intensity of the concentrated energy burns the paper. Focus on your objective will enhance the intensity of the effects of your efforts.

5. No Short Cuts to Success:
There are no short cuts to success. Divide your overall goals into smaller targets. Divide your monthly plans into weekly and weekly plans into daily plans and see how simple can things be.

6. Take Risks:
Without any risk no progress is possible. Life comes to a stable standstill. People who take chances are the people who get ahead in life. The only way to reduce risk is to take risks.

7. Take the Initiative:
People who take the initiative make the most of their lives. Proactive people do not wait for success to happen; rather they make it happen. As they say, 'JUST DO IT'.

8. Never Hesitate to Struggle:
No one has ever climbed a mountain just by looking at it. Struggle, hard struggle, is a key to success.

9. Own Responsibility:
Failure to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target. People, who own complete responsibility of their lives, are the people who make the most of it.

10. Never Give Up:
Many people who failed in life, where those who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Success demands extra-ordinary amount of perseverance. Never, never, give up.

Woman Thoughts.......(?)

2010-05-29T21:55:00.004+05:30

WOMAN!If you kiss her, you are not a gentleman,If you don't, you are not a man.

If you praise her, she thinks you are lying,If you don't, you are good for nothing.

If you agree to all her likes, you are a wimp,If you don't, you are 'not understanding' .

If you visit her often, you are boring,If you don't, she accuses you of double crossing.

If you are well dressed, she says you are a playboy,If you don't, you are a dull boy.

If you are jealous, she says it is bad,If you aren't, she thinks you don't love her.

If you attempt a romance, she says you don't respect her,If you don't, she thinks you don't like her.

If you are a minute late, she complains it's hard to wait,If she is late, she says it's a girl's way.

If you visit other men, you are not putting in quality time,If she is visited by other women, "Ah! It's natural, we are girls."

If you kiss her once in a while, she professes you are cold,If you kiss her often, she yells that you are taking advantage.

If you fail to help her cross the street, you lack ethics,If you do, she thinks it's just one of men's tactics for seduction.

If you stare at another woman, she accuses you of flirting,If she is stared by a man, she says that they are just admiring.

If you talk, she wants you to listen,If you listen, she wants you to talk.

In short:So simple, yet so complexSo weak, yet so powerfulSo confusing, yet so desirableSo damning, yet so wonderful.

Top Tricks n Cheats

2009-12-24T00:19:00.005+05:30

Top Tricks n Cheats

This Is crazy!!

Set Processes Priority

Follow this tip to increase the priority of active processes, this will result in prioritisation of processes using the CPU.

CTRL-SHIFT-ESC

1.Go to the second tab called Processes, right click on one of the active processes, you will see the Set Priority option

2.For example, your Run your CDwriter program , set the priority higher, and guess what, no crashed CD's
Shutdown Trick !

Imidiate rapid shut down window
while shutting down window. open task manager(Ctr+Alt+Del),
Select shut down tab. and press ' Ctrl ' key while select Turn Off from dis tab.
Count 5 4 3 2 1 Voila!!! U r window will rapidly shut down.

Speed Up Ur Shut down !!

Start Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.
Click on the "Control" Folder.
Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"
Right click on it and select Modify.
Set it a value lower than 2000 (Mine is set to 200) .
and !

Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windows xp when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. to solve this problem you
must disable this useless sound. click start button then go to settings -> control panel -> Sound,Speech and Audio devices -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Sounds, then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and highlight it.now from sounds you can select,choose "none" and then click apply and ok. now you can see some improvements when shutting down your system.

**new **

Crazy !!

Hide ur folders.. never known trick !!!!!!!!!! Disguise them to "Recycle Bin"

Rename any folder with extension {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
eg,
if u've a folder games
press F2,
then type, "games.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"
c the magic....
then 2 get to original form,
remove the extension using
"ren games.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} games" in dos or as a bat file

n u are done..
~cheers~

System information

system up time only for xp professional edition
It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous
versions of Windows were coy about how long they went
between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina.
Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from
the All Programs start button option, and then type
'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of
useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep
these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a
file called info.txt you can look at later with
Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

lock pc just by double clicking mouse

You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of
the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using
a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe
user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field.
Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just
double click on it and your computer will be locked.
And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do
the same.

SPEED UP UR ACROBAT READER (ALMOST LIKE NOTEPAD)

Do u get irritated when acrobat reader takes 5/10 seconds to load when you want to open a pdf document. There is a way to speed up the loading.

1. Go to the installation folder of acrobat reader
(C:\program files\adobe\acrobat\reader\.. whatever)

2. Move all the files and folders from the "plugins" directory to the "Optional" directory. (I repeat.. cut and paste the files NOT copy & paste).

Also make sure that acrobat reader is not open else it will lock the files and not allow you to move the files).

Now your acrobat reader will load very fast
and almost as good as notepad..

Remove Stored username and Passwords !

To remove the Stored User Names and Passwords from your system, try this:
Click Start, Run and type Control keymgr.dll
Remove the entries from the list.
The other ways to access this dialog are:
Type Control Userpasswords2 in RUN box, click Advanced, Manage Passwords
-or-
From Control Panel, select your User Account, click Manage your network passwords
It Works
~ Cheers ~

Remove the Username and picture from Windows XP New Start Menu

The User account picture can be removed by turning off the Welcome Screen. Or, by switching to Windows Classic theme. Follow the method described in this article if you want to remove the username and picture from the Start Menu, without disabling the Welcome Screen and Windows XP Theme.
For those who want to remove the user name and user account picture from Start Menu, in order to have a blank blue panel at the top, try this:
Start Windows Explorer and go to this folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures

From that folder, rename the BMP file which corresponds to your user account.
( For example, if your username is Robert, rename Robert.bmp to old_Robert.bmp )
Next, rename the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures
to something else, say...
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\No_Default Pictures
To remove the user name, follow these steps

Start regedit.exe and navigate to the this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer
In the right-pane, set NoUserNameInStartMenu value-data to 1

Close Regedit.exe and restart Windows.
You'll end up with a blue space at the top of the Start Menu.

To get back the username and the picture, reverse the above procedure.

For the New Start Menu, Windows XP looks for the <username>.bmp file in the folder
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures
If the file is not found, it takes a picture from the "Default Pictures" sub-folder. By renaming the <username>.bmp and the "Default Pictures" folder, you're giving no chance for Windows to fetch an image for the Start Menu
~ Cheers ~.

Notepad Trick ! for complete list move to NOTEPAD TRICKS page !!

Well quite old but here is d complete collection
Step 1: Open Notepad
Step 2: Write following line in the notepad.
this app can break
Step 3: Save this file as xxx.txt
Step 4: Close the notepad.
Step 5: Open the file again.
Voilla!!
or
1> Open Notepad
2> Enter four words separated by spaces, wherein the first word has 4 letters, the next two have three letters, and the last word has five letters
3> DON'T hit enter at the end of the line.
4> Save the file.
5> Close Notepad.
6> Reopen Notepad.
7> Open the file you just saved.
or
Open a note pad
type Bush hid the facts
save that file,
close it
again open and see...

NOTEPAD "world trade centre trick".. :Rahul

Did you know that the flight number of the plane that had hit WTC ...on
9/11 was Q33N ....Open your Notepad in ur computer and type the flight
number i.e Q33N... Increase the Font Size to 72, Change the Font to
Wingdings. U will be amazed by the findings.

log trick !! make ur Notepad a diary !!

Sometimes we want to insert current data and time, whenever we open the file in the notepad. If you are a lazy person like me, who don't like to press F5 whenever you open a notepad. Then here is a trick to avoid this. Just add a .LOG in the first line of your text file and close it.
Whenever you open the file with that text in the first line in the notepad, it will insert the current date and time at the end of the file. You can start entering your text after that.

WHY?

The reason this happens:
In notepad, any other 4-3-3-5 letter word combo will have the same results.
It is all to do with a limitation in Windows. Text files containing Unicode UTF-16-encoded Unicode are supposed to start with a "Byte-Order Mark" (BOM), which is a two-byte flag that tells a reader how the following UTF-16 data is encoded.
1) You are saving to 8-bit Extended ASCII (Look at the Save As / Encoding format)
2) You are reading from 16-bit UNICODE (You guessed it, look at the Save As / Encoding format)
This is why the 18 8-bit characters are being displayed as 9 (obviously not supported by your codepage) 16-bit UNICODE characters
~ cheers ~

SPEED UP MENU DISPLAY.!!

When using the start menu the you will notice a delay between different tiers of the menu hierarchy. For the fastest computer experience possible I recommend changing this value to zero. This will allow the different tiers to appear instantly.

Start Regedit. If you are unfamiliar with regedit please refer to our FAQ on how to get started.

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Select MenuShowDelay from the list on the right.

Right on it and select Modify.
Change the value to 0.
Reboot your computer.

CLICKING * .AVI FILES ON EXPLORER CAUSING 100% CPU USAGE.!!

Well windows seem to have a REALLY big problem when it comes to reading AVI files. It seems that when you click on an AVI file in explorer, it'll try to read the entire AVI file to determine the width,height, etc. of the AVI file (this is displayed in the Properties window). Now the problem with Windows is that if you have a broken/not fully downloaded AVI file that doesnt contain this info, Windows will scan the entire AVI file trying to figure out all these properties which in the process will probably cause 100% CPU usage and heavy memory usage. To solve this problem all you have to do is the following:
1. Open up regedit
2. Goto HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\PropertyHandler
3. Delete the "Default" value which should be "{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}"
Voila! Please not that this will no longer provide you with the windows properties displaying the AVI file information such as width, height, bitrate etc. But its a small price to pay for saving you resources.
NOTE: Please use caution when using regedit. Improper usage may cause windows to behave imcorrectly. Also, I cannot be held resposible. Backup your registry first.

CD ROM STOPS AUTOPLAYING/AUTORUN.!!

And the AutoPlay Tab has disappeared in My Computer, Devices With Removable Storage, Right Click on CDROM, Properties.
Solution: The service: "Shell Hardware Detection" has been set to Manual or Disabled. Go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Return this service to "Automatic ".

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

Go to Control Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

DISPLAY MESSAGE ON STARTUP.

Start regedit, if you are unfamiliar with regedit please see our FAQ.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
Modify the key legalnoticecaption with what you want to name the window.
Modify the key legalnoticetext with what you want the window to say. Restart

AUTO DELETE TEMPORARY FOLDER.!!

ll what i prefer is %temp% " without quotes.. at Start -> Run..
this opens ur temp folder n den u cal erase it neatly// still try dis one too..

First go into gpedit.msc
Next select -> Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Terminal Services/Temporary Folder
Then right click "Do Not Delete Temp Folder Upon Exit"
Go to properties and hit disable. Now next time Windows puts a temp file in that folder it will automatically delete it when its done! Note from Forum Admin: Remember, GPEDIT (Group Policy Editor) is only available in XP Pro.

make ur pdf files to speak

make ur pdf files to speak
here r the shortcuts for hearing pdf files in abobe reader 6.0 or higher

ctrl+shift+b ---->to hear the whole topic
ctrl+shift+v ---->to hear the page

Computer Security Advice !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-22T20:34:00.002+05:30

Computer Security Advice

Do you know?

Your chances of becoming a victim of cybercrime are about 1 in 4

Hackers are attacking PCs with Internet access every 39 seconds

There are over 20 million known computer viruses out there now, and the number of threats is growing daily

Virus infections have prompted 1.8 million households to replace their PCs in the past two years

71% of 13- to 17-year-olds have received messages online from someone they didn’t know

What is cyber security?

It seems that everything relies on computers and the Internet now — communication (email, cellphones), entertainment (digital cable, mp3s), transportation (car engine systems, airplane navigation), shopping (online stores, credit cards), medicine (equipment, medical records), and the list goes on. How much of your daily life relies on computers? How much of your personal information is stored either on your own computer or on someone else’s system?

Cyber security involves protecting that information by preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks.

What are the risks?

There are many risks, some more serious than others. Among these dangers are viruses erasing your entire system, someone breaking into your system and altering files, someone using your computer to attack others, or someone stealing your credit card information and making unauthorized purchases. Unfortunately, there’s no 100% guarantee that even with the best precautions some of these things won’t happen to you, but there are steps you can take to minimize the chances.

Protect your data on your PC

The first step in protecting yourself is to recognize the risks and become familiar with some of the terminology associated with them.

Hacker, attacker, or intruder - These terms are applied to the people who seek to exploit weaknesses in software and computer systems for their own gain. Although their intentions are sometimes fairly benign and motivated solely by curiosity, their actions are typically in violation of the intended use of the systems they are exploiting. The results can range from mere mischief (creating a virus with no intentionally negative impact) to malicious activity (stealing or altering information).

Spyware - is computer software that is installed surreptitiously on a personal computer to intercept or take partial control over the user’s interaction with the computer, without the user’s informed consent.

Malicious code – This category includes code such as viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. Although some people use these terms interchangeably, they have unique characteristics.

Viruses – This type of malicious code requires you to actually do something before it infects your computer. This action could be opening an email attachment or going to a particular web page.

Worms – Worms propagate without user intervention. They typically start by exploiting a software vulnerability (a flaw that allows the software’s intended security policy to be violated), then once the victim computer has been infected the worm will attempt to find and infect other computers. Similar to viruses, worms can propagate via email, web sites, or network-based software. The automated self-propagation of worms distinguishes them from viruses.

Trojan horses - A Trojan horse program is software that claims to be one thing while in fact doing something different behind the scenes. For example, a program that claims it will speed up your computer may actually be sending confidential information to a remote intruder.

Keep your computer secure from viruses, worm and trojan with Avast Antivirus. Currently, it is the best free antivirus out there, however a paid antivirus such as Norton and Kaspersky is much more recommended.

List of Free Antivirus(Download Page):

Avast! 4 Home Edition(requires free registration)

Comodo AntiVirus

Avira Antivirus

I do not recommend AVG, PC Tool Antivirus, Clamwin and Bit Defender(free edition) due to so many reasons.

Protect your PC from hackers with a Firewall. The most recommended free firewall is Comodo Firewall Prohowever paid firewall such as Zone Alarm Pro and Online Armor Personal Firewall are much better.

List of free Firewall softwares:

Comondo Firewall Pro

Sygate Personal Firewall

Online Armor Free

Outpost Firewall

List of Free Anti-Spyware softwares:

Spyware Terminator(recommended)

Windows Defender (free for original Windows XP and Vista)

Spybot Search & Destroy

Ad-Aware 2008

What is phishing?

Phishing is an online version of identity theft. It is a method of fraudulently obtaining personal information, such as passwords, social security numbers, and credit card details, by sending spoofed emails that look like they come from trusted sources, such as banks or legitimate companies.

After setting up a fake web site, phishers attract users through spam or targeted emails, hoping to get lucky and find real customers of the hijacked bank, e-retailer, or credit card company. The emails can be extremely convincing, such as a message from an online shopping site saying that your credit card has been declined, or from Citibank saying that they have detected unauthorized activity on your account. The messages frequently feature logos, coloring schemes, and company mottos that seem legitimate.

Phishing protection are software solutions that help keep you and your family or business safe from dangerous web site spoofs by flagging them before you release all your private data.

Just like antivirus software protection, it is not 100% that you will be protected from phishing. Here’s some free softwares that tell whether a website is not secure or has been reported to be dangerous:

Link Scanner (Free and Paid version available)

Site Advisor (Free and Paid version available)

Report It!!

You are advised to make a report if you have been a victim of cyber security. At least, it will prevents other users like you form being a victim.

It doesn’t matter if you were spammed, attacked with a virus/spyware/malware, hacked or a victim of phishing.

Send an email to mycert(at)mycert.org.my (replace (at) with @)

If the crime involves international companies or criminals, make an additional report to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Centre.

Ensure that you provide all necessary details for smooth investigation.

If you require more info, contact me or visit the Malaysian Computer Emergency Response Team (MyCERT) website.

Telangana For Telugians

2009-12-10T11:31:00.001+05:30

HYDERABAD: In June, when then Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy asked Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) president K.

Chandrasekhar Rao where he would hide after the humiliating electoral defeat, few would have thought that the goal of a separate state would be achieved in just six months.

Through his 11-day fast-unto-death supported by mass protests, the 55-year-old achieved what other leaders from the region could not in five decades.

For the TRS chief, who called off his fast late Wednesday and broke down while paying tributes to those who laid down their lives for the formation of Telangana, the sudden demise of Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash in September removed the biggest hurdle in achieving his goal.

YSR, as Rajasekhara Reddy was popularly known, was belligerent in his attacks on Rao. With his iron-like grip over the government and Congress and the kind of rapport he had with the central leadership, he never allowed Rao to dominate.

In October, when the Supreme Court declared Hyderabad a free zone in matters of recruitment to police department, KCR, as the TRS chief is known among his supporters, saw it as a golden opportunity to strike.

The death of YSR and the court order provided much needed oxygen to TRS reeling under the rout in March-April elections.

The TRS founder gave the slogan of "Telangana waley jago, Andhra waley bhago ((Arise people of Telangana, run away people of Andhra)". A frail-looking KCR has always been a crowd puller. Known for his acerbic criticism of his rivals with a mixture of Telugu and Urdu words, he attracted a huge crowd at the public meeting at Siddipet on
Oct 21, where he threatened civil war for achieving separate state.

It was in 2001 that KCR quit as deputy speaker of the assembly and resigned from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to float the TRS. The former minister hailing from Medak district revived the decades old movement, which has almost died after the violent agitation of 1969.

why i didn't blog about the pink umbrella...

2009-07-21T11:31:00.000+05:30

Better late than never goes the old proverb, heh heh…

I have been thinking why I actually don’t get time to blog any more – at least that is the excuse I have been dishing out to people who actually are so bored that they land up on my blog sometimes which true to its name has not changed much…

But much as I try to reason out, “NO TIME” is not the actual valid reason. If I look back at my archives and put an effort into bringing back my memories of the past, I realize that I have gotten most of my tasks done when I was the busiest – in terms of the number of tasks accomplished I mean. When I seem to have a lot of time on hand, and a to-do list to add to my guilt, things never progress beyond the to-do list I have created. Sometimes these to-do lists also disappear and I live in the constant fear that some day they will surface to embarrass me…

The more I think of it, time is not the issue I have with blogging or not blogging. I have come up with an interesting theory – information overload. Sometime back I had mentioned that I had wanted to blog about anything and everything I see/hear/feel/smell or taste. That is true… I believe every second in my life could be converted into a page long maybe longer and boring blog post. But then you may ask why I don’t blog more often and you don’t see a hundred posts a day.

Now the reason is something like aamir khan’s short term memory loss in Ghajini… whatever I decide to blog about I seem to forget within a few seconds… now before you start questioning me about why I am not having a close shaven head with an L shaped tramline cut or tell my parents and scare the shit out of them, let me clarify. I don’t suffer from retrograde amnesia. What I suffer from is limited storage capacity.

Now the brain apparently has small pockets where it stores different kinds of information. The space allocated to my “blogging inspirations” would also fall into one of these pockets and obviously it is limited unlike the terabytes of storage available for USB drives these days. So any new information tends to over write the existing ones. So effectively every second I am going around thinking “hey I should blog about that pink umbrella” and the next instant I am saying “hey I should blog about that lady holding the pink umbrella” and slowly with a couple of more inspirations like “hey I should blog about how sexy that lady with the pink umbrella is” and “hey I wonder if all ladies with pink umbrellas are so sexy” the focus entirely shifts away from the pink umbrella… got it?

Anyways, I don’t think I can tattoo myself to blog about everything like aamir khan does here. But then I tried using a small scribbling pad, but now I don’t remember to update it. Actually, I even thought of blogging about my scribbling pad…

And then when I was trying to explain this to srk the other day, he gave me another view of things – I am not blogging becos my parents live with me? Mmm actually that is a pretty valid reason. I can only blog when I have no one looking over my shoulder to see what I am doing. That is just not exactly the way it happens though, let me elaborate.

So when my mom comes into my room and sees me furiously typing on my laptop, she is first of the impression that I am wasting my time on my laptop… which is sometimes the case when I am working… but other times when I am watching a movie or playing some games it gets irritating when somebody brands that as wasting time when that time can be spent in a useful manner by either sleeping or exercising or just having a nice and relevant talk about current affairs with your parents. So assuming that I do manage to cross over all this minor distractions and convince my mom that I am not “wasting” my time chatting with friends or doing office work and that I am blogging, next question that pops out is “WHAT !!! what is that?”

So I explain how a blog is something like an online journal/diary or just a place where you put up your views and opinions, all I get is a blank stare… that is when my dad who had been disturbed by that loud noise from his game of solitaire, comes to my mom’s rescue – “is that like a letters to editors of papers like The Hindu?” displaying that he is a true descendent of my grandfather who used to read the hindu for 8hours a day from the first character to the last and fold it perfectly into an A4 sized bundle and store it away in a cool dark place for the guy who comes once in 2 months to collect the old paper…

“Huh”, I come back to the present, while automatically making a mental note to blog about my dad’s age old eccentricities, I try explaining that it is nothing like that, and I just put it up there, and I don’t think anyone even reads it except for some guys who are equally vella like me… “Oh” is the only word that comes out in reply from which I understand that my dad ha s just dismissed off one of the most popular and powerful medium of communication in our generation as a utter useless waste of time, and casually returning to his job of saving the world through winning the solitaire game.

My mom seeing that I have been wounded by my dad’s callous remarks tries to pacify my ego blissfully unaware that things are going in the other direction actually. “Hey what are you doing? Mmm you are writing something? Wait let me read what you have written so far… mmm why are you writing about ghajini and short term memory loss like a disease ridden person… why can’t you write something else… something nicer about say the old movies of Sivaji Ganesan who is a much better actor than your aamir khan… oh what offensive words you have used here… don’t do that… I hope you are not writing about that drinking habit of yours for everyone to see… I will have a tough time finding a girl for you who also boozes hahaha”.

As she laughs hysterically over that PJ of hers, I am trying all in vain to maintain my cool… how do I tell her that I am not playing Dr.Jekyll at home and a Mr.Hyde in cyberspace… that I am no longer the scared school-kid she left all alone in that wilderness called engineering college some time back…

I just do a ctrl+S and put it in one of the labyrinths of my “My Documents” folders only to forget the document totally and look at it after a few months have passed and totally forgetting what the lady with the pink umbrella looked like and I just do a shift + delete on that document. The details of the pink umbrella are now lost to the world forever…

PS. I would request the blogging community to kindly refrain from informing the authorities that I am a victim of parental abuse. I would like to diplomatically term it as a case of the generation gap. Or else somebody is going to get hurt real bad…

the great indian olympic challenge

2009-07-21T11:30:00.001+05:30

the great indian olympic challenge

Michael Phelps is my new role model and beacon of hope. The recent rekindled interest in the Olympic legend, by the papers, has brought a new ray of hope into my otherwise uneventful meaningless life. I have decided to train for the next Olympic swimming events and have an ambition and quantified objective to work forward to. A look at the ~~diet~~work-out plan of Phelps has made me ~~drool~~ energized and given me enough~~hunger~~ inspiration for success. And not to mention the by product that will put all those bollywood six packers to shame and send them packing (haha, good pun no? a little humor in such serious training hurt no one).

Michael Phelps displaying his 64 packs abs and the small mouth that caused it thereby proving size does not matter.

I have googled about Michael Phelps and here is what I found out about how he won the Olympic golds.

1) He ate eggs, cheese, fried onions, mayonnaise, pasta, chocolate cakes, pizza and lots of coffee.

2) And yeah he spent some time in the pool everyday, even on holidays.

It is not that difficult. I love all the stuff mentioned above… except the fried onions… but I find that he didn’t eat the fried onions alone. mmm maybe I could have them with fried potatoes… yeah, I guess that is ok. Potatoes are a source of carbohydrates... I think. Yes that is what I will do… just thinking about those huge sandwiches with melted cheese makes me super inspired to ~~dig~~ jump in into the pool and start off right away…

I just love eggs… and mayo and… and… of course swimming too… when our school gave me a chance to learn swimming I grabbed it with both my arms and legs too… so now if u threw me into the water I can survive for a few minutes till you threw me the lifebelt… no hurry, you have 3 minutes before I empty the swimming pool with my synchronized thrashing…

But I have taken care of that so that I can train independently (and hence protect my privacy). We have a pool in our apartment complex which is about 5 feet deep. And since I am a foot taller I won’t drown and hence I won’t need that life jacket. Though a nice inflated rubber raft (with an umbrella attached) will be a good idea… so that I don’t have to travel all the way into my house to eat all that food I need for my training. I can just lie on the raft and eat throughout the day – that saves me a lot of time and this way I can spend more time in the pool.

Wow man… I am so clever that I can optimize my time by multitasking… plus my sense of humor will get me the girls… Phelps watch out man… you have competition…

Phelps with no sense of humor says - "hey watch it lady... i just ate… am still digesting… so my swimming will not be as good as… huh… later on…” (which as we all know is a plagiarized dialog from the movie kung-fu panda)

Olympic golds, and of course lovely ladies, here I come!!!

“chocolate exhibition in bangalore”

2009-07-21T11:28:00.000+05:30

“chocolate exhibition in bangalore”

Today, like a well read and well informed local that I am, I got to know of a chocolate exhibition going on here, that was started some 5 days back, from a source in Delhi… so immediately I embarked upon a journey to gather as much information on the event as I could so that maybe over the weekend I could take a break and spend some time in the midst of my favorite food.

google google google…

Being highly ~~lazy~~ efficient, I just copy pasted the last part of the headline “Hundreds of enthusiasts throng a chocolate exhibition in Bangalore“ into the text box and voila… for a second I thought hundreds of journalists had thronged the exhibition and they had just floated the same article over to hundreds of papers… but no, it appears as if Mr.Jaipal Sharma had just sent a mass mail to all possible magazine/newspaper houses and crossed his fingers hoping that he would get lucky… much like an engineer’s dream of getting a paper published in some such journal which they can later claim to be on par with IEEE…

As luck would have it, Mr.Jaipal Sharma seemed to have overcrossed his fingers… almost every state’s journal has published his article. I will just put in a few prominent links to prove my point…

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20090210/824/tnl-hundreds-of-enthusiasts-throng-a-cho.html

http://www.topnews.in/hundreds-enthusiasts-throng-chocolate-exhibition-bangalore-2122747

http://www.andhranews.net/India/2009/February/10-Hundreds-enthusiasts-88882.asp

http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/61555.htm

http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-90230.html

http://story.chinanationalnews.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/464559/cs/1/

http://videosfromindia.smashits.com/view/6238/hundreds-of-enthusiasts-throng-a-chocolate-exhibition

awesome!!!

I am glad that Mr.Jaipal Sharma has not only been able to spread the awareness of namma bangalore to other major states like Andhra, Kerala and Sindh, but also crossed international boundaries to China… and Indian boy little Karan is world famous now thanks to his creative and amazing witty wordplay while expressing his views on the chocolate exhibition’s importance in the world arena especially in the current economic downturn situation…

PS. While reading the article on kerala news, got to know that cute actress Kavya Madhavan is no longer single… sighhh…

feelings on the valentine’s day

2009-07-21T11:25:00.000+05:30

It was a bright sunny morning… wait... it was not supposed to be so bright… oh no we were late already… so a few hurried phone calls to wake up the other eligible bachelors who were accompanying me, and another set of hurried morning procedures we were on our way to the great indian aeroshow… after all the hype generated by the press giving us photos of dazzling display of gravity defying and pure foolhardy stunts, who would not have their brain floating in adrenalin already.

When you set your heart to something the whole world conspires to help you achieve it is a popularized myth created by a equally hyped author and his mindless readers… the truth is generally just the opposite… when we set our heart and mind to buy those ridiculously overpriced tickets, the whole world was conspiring against us… first it was the alarm that didn’t go off loud enough, second it was the traffic police… looking up google maps I had charted out a nice course along the much touted superfast national highway to the airport when we found a few totally tacky banners which had an arrow pointing to a right much before the right shown on the google maps…

Anyways, despite our mind telling us not to follow that route, madness took over and we turned… we did realize the mistake immediately… traffic was crawling not because it was overcrowded, but it had to move ever so slowly for fear of hitting the people who had set up shops so close to the road, making it a drive-through market… and they had put in a lot of craters like any other major road for good measure… and of course the traffic police were conspicuously missing after that stupid sign that made us take that right turn.

A pretty bumpy ride followed during which we met a lot of people who were absolutely ignorant in geography, and finally we managed to catch a caravan of cars following a huge overloaded truck which was trundling along slowly negotiating the craters like a huge rolling ball. And since this was a Monaco grand prix track, overtaking was literally impossible. Somehow we managed to stumble into the elusive NH7, but the elation was short lived as we had to slip into another narrow service road to enter the parking lot… ok, not so fast… we had to drive through some long winding dirt road in a slow procession as people who had managed to wake up earlier than us tried to find their parking spots…

Finally we did too, passing the scrutinizing eyes of the tired sunburnt security guards and the indifferent nose of the sniffer dog. Ignoring the shade provided by the tents we eagerly made our way towards the fence to be as close to the jets as possible… and we waited for the show to begin hoping to witness the famed defense punctuality.

And begin it did I think on dot at 1000 hours, since there is no way to ascertain the exact time by our highly inaccurate personal times and the inaudible voice from the tents, let us assume the indian standard time effect has not yet affected them. The first jet was already parked a few minutes ago and it rolled on to accelerate for take off… the cheers of the crowd seemed to contest with the booming of the engines as the mighty metal machine took to the skies.

It came back, flipped over – once, twice, thrice… and then in the opposite direction… then a straight pull up and an apparent free fall… and a smoke trail drawing lines and circles in the sky… then it came straight at us and then did a few more back flips intertwining the smoke trails behind it… then proving that it could also do a slow motion fly past drawing audible gasps from the crowd at every pass, before coming back one last time to land, parachute extending and all that. Again the crowd cheered, despite the sun beating down upon us. And for a few minutes, the pride of being able to witness the amazing capabilities of the indian airforce swelled my heart, brought a shortness of breath, like when you watch a super patriotic movie of Sunny Deol, and a curse to my lips about why I could not have joined the defense forces.

Then a second jet went up in the air, a slightly different looking one but still the same grayish blue colored body which camouflaged perfectly with the clear gray sky behind it (pardon me for my illiteracy in identifying models from their looks). It came back, flipped over – once, twice, thrice… and then in the opposite direction… then a straight pull up and an apparent free fall… and a smoke trail drawing lines and circles in the sky… then it came straight at us and then did a few more back flips intertwining the smoke trails behind it… then proving that it could also do a slow motion fly past drawing audible gasps from the crowd at every pass, before coming back one last time to land, parachute extending and all that. Again the crowd cheered, despite the sun beating down upon us.

Then a third jet went up in the air, a slightly different looking one but still the same grayish blue colored body. It came back, flipped over – once, twice, thrice… and then in the opposite direction… then a straight pull up and an apparent free fall… and a smoke trail drawing lines and circles in the sky… then it came straight at us and then did a few more back flips intertwining the smoke trails behind it… then proving that it could also do a slow motion fly past drawing audible gasps from the crowd at every pass, before coming back one last time to land, parachute extending and all that. Again the crowd cheered, despite the sun beating down upon us.

No the last 2 paragraphs are not a copy-paste error… this is how the show went on. As each jet answered its roll call and did the same set of maneuvers, the sun beating down upon our heads seemed a little more relevant now. And with each passing model, it seemed to take away my patriotic pride that had sort of reached its peak at the second jet. After the third or so jet, I lost count, and my mind started wandering much like it does when you are attending the marriage of some distant relative at around the same age.

There were 2 changes from the normal routine, when a jet sported the indian tri-colors over the gray of its body came into the tarmac – of course there was no change in the routine, but seeing a difference in the colors and that too the tricolor seemed to send a short spike in the patriotism-vs-time graph. And then one jet seemed to send out a challenge to the anti-anti-indian-culture-upholders by drawing some hearts in the sky… maybe it was hearts, or maybe due to the hot sun and my muddled up brain it looked like hearts, some respite from the routine.

Then there was a huge plane which had the US Air Force painted on it, which drew gasps from the crowd mainly due to the fact that it was a US Air Force plane and in size it resembled a boeing passenger jet. The flight took off as the crowd waited with built-up expectations of the same routines. Then it came back, and passed us, took a turn, came back and passed us and took another turn much before than last time, and again came back and took a turn before finally landing. No flips and the maximum tilt achieved was when it took the turn. Being an engineer, I had not built up my expectations on the bulky plane doing acrobatics, but hope is such a wonderful thing…

Then came the helicopters and the crowd heaved a sigh of relief, as the press had put up nice pictures of the chopper formations. As the crowd expected some death and gravity defying feats from the helicopters, the helicopters surprised the onlookers by disappearing behind some trees in the distance. After some time, when the crowd was getting excited over contemplations of a pakistan planned abduction of the indigenous technologies, they reappeared in the horizon flying damn too slow for someone who was low on impatience and tolerance to the hot sun, with nothing else to distract the mind as by now the distractions with all their boyfriends and/or escorts had retired to the safety of the tent shades.

As they passed by each other in slow motion, this way and that way, letting out smoke to remind us of the unforgotten paths taken by them, the patriotic feelings were slowly entering into the regions of irritation. We moved on closer to where the aircrafts were parked, but were stopped by the fence a few kilometers away from them. Those (#%*% exorbitant tickets could not even buy us a closer view of the planes. Meanwhile some parachutists also emerged out of nowhere and appeared and disappeared in spots as the blue shaded fabrics merged with the sky in the background.

Now a totally new feeling had taken over – hunger. So we just moved on, found our car thanks to the remote locking mechanism, and after a few roundabout routines trying to diligently use the map printed behind the tickets to find the exit, gave up and exited through the entrance. Saturday afternoon did not seem to hinder the people taking to the roads and crawling through the signals of NH7, finally reached the restaurant for a decent meal and huge glass of spiced buttermilk.

Our hunger satiated and tired out of the drive in the sun, the new feeling that took over now was sleepiness. As I retired into the cooler confines of my bedroom, darkened by the curtains, I drifted off into a dreamless sleep, the forgettable aeroshow already forgotten.

The Chronicles of Varuna: The Line, The Ditch and The Downpour…

2009-07-21T11:24:00.000+05:30

It is that time of the year again – where the sun the gets blotted out by shades of grey, and smell of wet earth hits you into a knock out sense of euphoria, the cold air makes you want to curl up under a thick woolen blanket, with the noise of the water pouring in the backdrop sipping noisily on a cup of hot ginger tea… no wait I am dreaming… I don’t have the tea or the woolen blanket… cut to reality – this is the time of the year I get to play cat and mouse with the rain gods…

Today, after so many days of careful meteorological planning and evasion tactics and having upgraded my arsenal with a car, I was exposed vulnerably to the wrath of the rain gods… I had to travel some 10kms through the evening peak hour traffic to get back home without a mobile roof over my head (if you don’t count the helmet as one that is) after I picked up my trusty companion on such missions – my pulsar 150…

And of course Murphy was waiting for one such opportunity… with the patience of a hungry wolf (please note Mr. Murphy that I am using the comparison in a complimentary way). Of course no points for guessing whether I got drenched or not today… but the bone chilling dunking I got through reminded me of the events of last year and the different strategies we played against each other… and I hope I will find time to put them all down here so that maybe some day in the future, i would have gotten into a better mood to have a good laugh…

One particular day's strategy went something like this –

There is this route through the main roads that I used to take to get home – a pretty long route, almost an unbroken but not so straight line, about 20kms one way interspersed with traffic signals to slow you down to give you the time to stop and smell the flowers – only they will be dripping wet like me and I already had enough water in my nose… but then it was usually safer to go this way because this particular route had something that the other routes did not – a road.

As usual the game began as soon as I left office, and the rain started pouring consistently… whenever I tried to race against it, Murphy stepped on the pedal too increasing the quantity of the water pouring from the heavens above… and slowing down back to the old rhythm as my speed fell in tune with the slow moving traffic… following me throughout the path I took…

That day I suddenly decided to experiment – I broke off at a signal, took a detour through another road perpendicular to the direction I was traveling and lo behold – a totally dry patch of land lay in front of me… really – not even the smell of wet earth… it was as if some water tanker lorry was spilling its way along my usual path and it did not turn in this new direction…

I was astounded to say the least at the availability of a non slippery dry road… but at the same time I got a new found elation pumping up my adrenalin giving me hope that today I might end up at my home less wetter than the previous days… I revved the engine only to realize that I can’t make speedy progress because of the enormous number of ditches all along the way… still I tried my best to make it home as fast as possible before Murphy realized I was not getting the water any longer…

But my euphoria was short lived, and as I turned the next corner to catch the general direction to my house, Murphy had finally caught up… he had realized that I was not on my original path any longer and he definitely was not a novice to the streets of this city… in a fury at being outsmarted by a mere mortal he sent forth a gushing torrential cascade that started filling up the ditches on my road… the downpour was not only making my visibility poor, but was also filling up the depressions in the road, disguising them to merge into an evenly flat surface smooth road… in order to avoid causing damage to my trusty steed I had to leave the path less taken and get back on to the main roads as soon as possible…

I did just that, rejoining my older path a few kilometers from where I had taken the diversion, only to realize that I was not exaggerating when I said I was being singled out and chased by Murphy… the road was dry as a new huggies diaper… and since Murphy’s GPS was maybe guiding him along the other path, I had a few seconds of dry and good roads to make my escape.

But yeah the traffic signals who were the good old friends of my enemy simultaneously slowed down my progress and sort of seemed to send a signal to the rain clouds to change their direction. So a short distance from my home, the rain had caught up… and this time in all out fury seemingly to compensate for the short dry patches in my journey trying to get me as wet as possible before I made it to safety…

Of course, once I got under the roof of my house, the game ends and both of us retire for the day to restart a new game the next day… I guess by now Murphy must have realized that his adversary will not give up without a fight…

Benchmarking the Bench...

2009-07-21T11:21:00.000+05:30

It was almost midnight but the celebrations weren’t even close to stopping at all. People congratulating each other, hugging each other cheers all around the hall in which we guys were sitting .No don’t think it was some college farewell or some party going on, this is the scene a year back when we guys were selected on campus for our first job. Wow man what a great day 4 us, selection in a big MNC and all …first job, through campus …when half of the college was still jobless, we guys were few chosen one ,very few to be very frank (53 out of 900) who appeared 4 the selection process and got through with flying colors.

Now when I write this blog, a year later the scene is totally changed. Unlike the new Vodafone add says “change is good” 4 me it is not the case .Wish it was that way, but unfortunately it is not. Big companies, big cities, big dreams that is the way it all starts, but Start that is what we are still waiting 4.Ya u haven’t read it wrong, 1 year and still waiting 4 a start how’s that possible?...but as u must have heard adidas punch line “impossible is nothing”…god knows why I am coming up with brand slogans so often, may be this also is one thing common in generation next with big dreams and bigger firms to work with and enough money in pockets to splurge out on such brands. So what is that I was doing so far in one year? I was on “Bench” - Yes that’s the word, I am not sure if it has been still added in dictionary so far, the way Bangalored just got added last year, so 4 those who do not get it let me tell u, it’s a term 4 people in software industry who have been hired for sole purpose of increasing headcount and bagging new bigger projects and hence even being on job r not actually into client projects. So our accomplishment after a year now is we have benched mark the bench.

Things never started on a bad note for that matter. Coming to Silicon Valley of India, joining your 1st job, superb lush glass offices and a very professional office environment. Then starts the painstaking training sessions and a whole metamorphosis from campus to corporate. Things were looking to move forward in a right direction. But gradually luck has its own track to follow. Thankfully after trainings we were in safe hands with very concerned and professional seniors. Till we were put into some live projects we needed to have some hands-on. So we have a thing called I.P coming into picture. I.P is the Intellectual Property projects 4 the company and not the Internet Protocol as many of engineers tend to think at the first go. So there we were working hard on task at hand. This was the chance to learn and prove our mettle. That was the time when our learning curve was going up up and away analogous to the Bulls raging the markets these days. But then what ever goes up has to come down. But never expected it to come down in this fashion coz we never had reached 18k first of all and now it was coming down with a crash. Wish the I.P projects were ever considered as a property coz at the end they never were. And this was a disheartening realization.

So now we are at Bench as they call it. Contributing to at least the headcount 4 that matter. Hope is the only thing which remains coz now when we see people whom we counted upon, mail us referring to articles like “On Bench” which appeared in a Leading Newspaper recently, we get confused to take it positively or negatively. Positively coz I was amongst the one who had left a biggie firm with such practices to join a smaller one thinking that they must be having some good High-end work in store 4 me. Only Optimism in this scenario where even the Captains and Vice Captains r putting down there armor are some new projects in the pipeline. But God only know when we get to see some output from that pipeline….its a wait too long it seems …. I at times get envious seeing other companies winning some big projects with big scopes of everything in it. But then I believe as it happens in our bollywood movies there will be a “happy ending” to this as well & if not, as SRK says in his new venture Om Shanti Om “picture abhi baki hai mere dost” …so mere picture to abhi kafi baki hai …so I will end with this positive note coz one thing I know is that there is a greener pasture for me, the dream which I have seen, coz this was just a step to reach there..Just the need of the hour is to go 4 it ….and I can surely say something that life has its own experiences in store 4 me. So be it not the way we wish, but there is learning in some form or the other for each of us to take from this experience so why bitch about it… :)

So this is it about my first blog. I hope u enjoyed reading it, coz this was just an experience which I wanted to share, and being a novice in blogging phenomenon I just gave it my best shot. I can hope to do better in times to come… :)

Chamat-Car

2009-07-21T10:13:00.000+05:30

Some time in 2020 (I know u must be petrified that this one again must talk about Developed India in yrs to come ….so don’t gasp it doesn’t …I am no where close to APJ in the making) a Conversation b/w Boss and a new Fresher Joinee :

Boss: Hi, I need a favor from u buddy.
Fresher: Yes Sir tell me?

Boss: Can u lend me your bike for few Hours, I have to clinch a deal with our new client and the meeting is scheduled in an hour from now at Le Meridian 3kms from here.
Fresher: But Sir u have all Merc’s and CRV’s in the parking lot to drive u there.

Boss: Come on man with all those Nano’s, Lite’s, Micro’s and the Mini’s on road u know I cannot make it to the meeting in time even being such a short distance. And on top of that they don’t make machines (no guessing, he is referring to bike here) like Ur’s these days. It’s been my dream to ride a city bike for ages now. Barely get to see any of these nowadays.
Fresher: K fine, here are the keys sir …go ahead …and just make sure this favor reflects in my appraisal if the deal gets through :)

This might actually be the scenario in yrs to come. I am not any astrologer or an Economy Guru but the events which unfolded at Auto Show in Delhi made me think in such a way. The much awaited 1 Lack car by Tata’s was launched here in a magnanimous way. All the newspapers, news channels, media in all possible forms were geared up to cover the event. Right from the morning news, to forwarded mails in office, to the most searched keyword on Google, everything had one agenda: what’s up the sleeve of Tata’s. Even before the D-Day everyone was apprehensive as to how can a car be manufactured in such a price range, how will it look like, will it be safe, will it stick to emission norms, and will it be in the price range as promised coz of Rocketing steel and oil prices? …

D-Day approaches and Mr. Ratan Tata himself drives the car on to center stage at Delhi Auto Expo. Man Oh Man….is what people witnessing the launch have to say…With thunderous applause is the most awaited and speculated car in India so far gets launched. Critics, Experts, Business Rivals, Politicians and at last the common man, everyone goes gaga over this masterpiece of Engineering thinking of it as none less then a miracle or a Chamatkar. Winning accolade form everyone this car of Tata’s sticked to what they had promised (wish our politicians were like Mr. Tata)… An “Aaam Aaadmi Car” as it is to be called.

But then is India Equipped enough to bear such a car, this is the Question of the hour. Social impact of such inventions can not be judged at ease. With a population of more then a Billion people where are we heading to? …With such a stupendous increase in household dispensable income, and a booming Economy with loans available for even a holiday trip u might plan, this might be car for masses. But then this is not some miniature cell phone ke ‘karlo Duniyaa mutthi main’…Cars like these will crash the backbone of Indian Infrastructure to the max extent possible. With Tata’s planning to sell 2.5 lack on Nano’s in a year as of now…u r sure to spot many of these on Roads very soon. Who’s to be blamed? Surely not the Tata’s…They r into business and its simply supply and demand game. They have a come up with a very nice product and it’s sure to sell too. With better mileage u cannot blame them to be sole threat to pollution, what about fuel guzzler SUV’s on Roads. And with cars speeds just marginally above then that of a pedestrian in places like Bangaloredoes anyone have to worry about high speed car crashes? …so I don’t see any reason for guys like Mr. Pachauri to question Tata’s…they will be barking up the wrong tree if they do so…coz it’s the Government which has to start thinking now as to how do they scale infrastructure requirements of the growing country like ours. It shouldn’t be like Bangalore where government builds an international airport in 5 years timeframe that too 40kms away from the city limits, and after its completion suddenly wakes up to see they never had a dedicated road to that place!

I don’t know much as to how things shape up in future, but I can assure u to expect much more traffic on Indian roads in time to come. These buggies and many more like these and bigger (39 other cars were showcased at auto expo this year) are bound to flood Indian roads in no time. Affordability will no longer be an issue to buy a car, and parking zone for bikes will have to be squeezed so as to accommodate many more cars in near future coz a decent bike and “tuk-tuk” like this one will almost be equally priced “to jab wohee mobility same daam main milee to koi bike kyun le, car na le”. So at the end of it crux is to be prepared to spend some more time of our life waiting for those Red lights to turn Green

Photographer Technique

2009-07-01T14:39:00.000+05:30

(Photographer Technique)

These transparencies were really made for their creator's eyes only, "It's an approach where in some areas of design is forgotten or looked over.In fact more and make it seem like there was much more of a rationale, but it was a very simple idea, and thatâ€™s how we want them to remain."

$$.,.,.Different Types of USD.,.,.$$

2009-07-01T14:18:00.000+05:30

A Begger Story Lesson Of Life

2009-07-01T13:49:00.000+05:30

Once a man was waiting for a taxi.
A beggar came along and asked him for some money. The man ignored him. But being a professional, the beggar kept on pestering him. The man became irritated when he realized that the beggar would not leave him alone unless he parts with some
money. Suddenly an idea struck him. He told the beggar, "I do not have money, But if you tell me what you want to do with the money, I will certainly help you." "I would have bought a cup of tea", replied the beggar. The man said, "Sorry man. I can offer you a cigarette instead of tea ".
He then took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to the beggar. The beggar told, "I don't smoke as it is injurious to health." The man smiled and took a bottle of whisky from his pocket and told the beggar, "Here, take this bottle and enjoy the stuff. It is really good". The beggar refused by saying, "Alcohol muddles the brain and damages the liver ".
The man smiled again. He told the beggar, "I am going to the race course. Come with me and I will arrange for some tickets and we will place bets. If we win, you take the whole amount and leave me alone". As before, the beggar politely refused the latest offer by saying, "Sorry sir, I can't come with you as betting on horses is a bad habit ".
Suddenly the man felt relieved!! and asked the beggar to come to his home with him. Finally, the beggar's face lit up in anticipation of receiving at least something from the man. But he still had his doubts and asked the man, "Why do you want me to go to your house with you".
The man replied.................................................
"My wife always wanted to see how a man with no Bad habits looks like."

my dream pc

2009-06-30T01:09:00.000+05:30

10 principles for Peace of Mind..

2009-06-30T01:05:00.000+05:30

10 principles for Peace of Mind..

1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked.

Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others' affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the rightÂ direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God.. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act inÂ exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because GodÂ within them prompts them that way.Â Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget:

This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, developmentÂ of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit.Â Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive,20Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:

This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, butÂ no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yourse lf in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not Be Jealous:

We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. YouÂ know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these inÂ everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody's life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/herÂ reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help youÂ either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:

If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As youÂ do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:

This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe inÂ yourself and you will gain in terms of patience,Â inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:

This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expandingÂ your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.

8. Med itate Regularly:

Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:

An empty mind is the devil's workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, somethingÂ worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work orÂ religious work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental chanting of God's name.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:

Do not waste time in protracted wondering " Should I or shouldn't I?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate allÂ future happenings.Â Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET. Whatever happened was desti ned to happen only that way.Â Why cry over spilt milk?

gOoD MrNg

2009-06-24T08:04:00.000+05:30

Hi,

When people talk behind your back, what does it mean??

Simple! It means that you are two steps ahead of them!!

So, keep moving ahead in Life!!

2009-05-24T00:33:00.000+05:30

If your brain works normally this is neat. This is another example of an amazing illusion!!! The last sentence is so true.
If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, the dots will remain only one color, pink.

However if you stare at the black ' +' in the centre, the moving dot turns to green.
Now, concentrate on the black ' + ' in the centre of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see only a single green dot rotating.

It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear. This should be proof enough, we don't always see what we think we see.