Wonder, Thoughts & Musings

Ashram school - Truly loved by the children

2011-08-01T18:57:00.001+05:30

This incident happened somewhere around a year back. My niece who was studying at Ashram school at that time. One day when the class was going on, my niece stepped out of class without asking the teacher any permission. She returned to class 10 minutes later. The teacher has asked her where she had been. My niece had sweetly replied to the teacher - Since she was hungry, she went to the kitchen to find out if the food was ready. So the teacher asked her if the food was ready for which my niece replied in affirmative. On that, the teacher, trouped her entire class to the kitchen for lunch.

I was so pleasantly surprised at this entire encounter. I have not heard of any school in the past which allows students to leave the class without any permission from the teacher.

I have not heard of the teacher who so pleasantly takes care of the students in her care that the child is treated a child with love.

I was very surprised that the child was not mistreated in any manner or made to feel sorry for her behavior.

The Ashram school is run by Mrs.Latha Rajanikanth. (Our Superstar Rajanikanth's wife).

What good values have been infused that even an elementary teacher showers such love on a child!

My best wishes for such a good school and may many other schools adopt such healthy practices.

US TV NTSC works in INDIA

2011-02-19T10:50:00.010+05:30

I am jubilant!!! Finally got the LED TV which I had got from US to work. The LG LED TV LE5400 Supports only NTSC.

With advent of Digital Channels, I was under the impression that any TV will work, but was I surprised. My Tata Sky did not work. It showed only Black and white. I checked out with one of my wife's friends and he had informed that Airtel TV works, but only in HD mode for those 8 channels. (Not at all helpful). Checked out some broadband forums and many people suggested using Dish TV as it was supported also in the computer and I also found Sun TV is hosted in US through the Dish network.

(Did lots of research on the net and asked lots of people also). Some people had also mentioned that Sun Dish has a NTSC option. It was put in a broadband forum. All this left me confused. Was down to 2 choices: Sun Dish or Dish Network.

My dad at that time consulted a LG technician. He affirmed that LG works in SCV as it has a NTSC option. (Thanks a lot for that LG Technician who helped me make that choice) We earlier had a SCV, which my dad renewed. I gave all the connections. It was still black & white. I went into System Options and changed both for UHF and Audio Video Settings to NTSC_M.

Now, I have a beautiful TV which works in India. Some screenshots showing the settings. Hats

off to SCV who are forward in their thinking of providing all options in a set top box, I was able

to see PAL (India), NTSC (US), Secam (Europe). I have temporarily set this up to check its working. Will set up the entire set on the wall by end of day.
Added: Also confirmed that Dish Tru HD set top box using HDMI cable works for NTSC TV.

Om Nama Sivaya - Sidhar Padalgal at Maruntheashwarar temple

2009-04-11T12:36:00.004+05:30

I was in Marundeashwarar temple at Tiruvanmiyur around 4 weeks back, on a Thursday. I was a bit late from office and could make it to the temple at only 8:30pm. That turned out to be my luck also. In the closing of the temple doors and the last abhishekam, I was made part of a heartrending composition by a siddhar, which all the persons outside the Sivan sannidhi were chanting. The love with which it was sung really brought tears to my eyes. I was mesmerized during the entire chanting.

Now, I make it a point to go there at exactly the closing time just before the abishekam. This chanting is done on all days during closure of the temple at night about 8:30pm.

I have attached the recording in mp3 and also provided a scanned version in tamil. Also the link here will take you to the actual song (Lyrics). I have provided below a sample in english.

Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya

odiodi odiodi utkalantha jothiye
naadi naadi naadi naadi natkalam kazhinthu poi
vaadi vaadi vaadi vaadi vaazNDhu pona manthargal
Kodi Kodi Kodi Kodi enniRunthe Kodiye

Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya

ennele iruntha unRai yaan ARindhaThilaye
ennele iruntha unRai yaanARinthu konddin
ennele iruntha unRai yaavar kaana villaro
ennele irunthu irunthu yaanum kandukonDene

Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya

naanathethu niiyathethu naduvil ninrathethadaa
konathethu kuruvathethu kooRidum kulaamare
avethethu azhivathethu appuRaththil appuRam
eenathethu raama raama raamaa enra naamame

Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya

anjezhuththile piRanthu anjezhuththile vaLarnthu
anjezhuththai othukinRa panchapuutha paavikaaL
anjezhuththil or ezhuththu aRinthu kuuRa villiirel
anjal anjal enRu naathan ambalaththil aadume

Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya
Om Nama sivaya om om Nama sivaya

The Lyrics in Tamil:

And the mp3 version of Om Nama Sivaya Om - 5.55MB - 64kbps - 12:07 minutes. - Rapidshare

Added: MP3 Version - as above - Mediafire (Many people experienced difficulty for Rapidshare.)

I have not found this lyrics with all the combinations on a google search. Let all benefit.

Sunset at Broken Bridge

2009-02-08T02:04:00.011+05:30

I had the opportunity to visit broken bridge after nearly 10 long years thanks to one of my recent friends. This is just behind Theosophical society leading to the beach and it is approachable through Besant Nagar Beach. A tiny road mostly made of sand and tar ridden with potholes took us to this spot. This location is situated in a bit of lonely spot and mugging has been common. I would advise anyone traveling there to go with the right companions.This area is also famous for being the starting point for the famous Olive Ridley Turtle walk.

I really liked these two compositions best among my shots.

Recover files hidden by w32 silly virus

2009-01-24T23:29:00.001+05:30

I recently got infected by W32 Silly virus passed on to me by a friend. My symantec antivirus has effectively removed the virus but where did all the files disappear from my USB stick?

I have been searching 3 days through googling but so far I did not come across anything effective. I downloaded a couple of undelete programs but they did not give me back my files.

Finally today I discovered all my hidden files. In windows explorer, Tools -> Folder Options -> View , Advanced setting: untick the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended). Now, this will show your files in your USB drive.

Right click the files and tick the archive. Now you can view all the files and folders which have been hidden. Such a simple unlock, wonder why there is no proper instructions in any website I googled.

Amazing Indian Inventor - G.D.Naidu

2008-06-19T23:11:00.010+05:30

Today, there was a joke on TV, where the tamil film comedian, Goundamani was calling himself equal to G.D.Naidu. That is when my mother volunteered more information about this amazing person. He was a good friend of my (late) grandfather, freedom fighter Arunachalam.

My grandfather had some amazing stories to tell his children. He had told my mom that he was a whiz at growing plants. Guavas in his garden which normally is the size of an orange, in his garden alone, grows to the size of a large coconut. He used to inject plants with injections containing his marvelous ideas and used to achieve incredible results. Another incident was that a coconut tree which was hardly 3 feet tall, but would grow bunches of over sized coconuts and each of them will be within an arm's length. He did not believe in using any harsh fertilizers and believed in using naturally available insecticides. He was constantly experimenting and inventing and believed that neither education nor age is a barrier to a true inventor. He had at that time also asked my grandfather to send his son to learn through him as soon as he completed his PUC (a degree of the yester years). These incidents date back upto 40 years or more from now.

Neither the government at that time, nor any private investors encouraged him much. He was a patriotic person and he wanted his secrets only among the indian people so that India would grow. He did not beleive in profiting from his ideas, and refused to sell the ideas to foreigners to make money. At the same time, he did not reveal many of his secrets as he wanted it to be of use to the common man and that it should not be made for profit. It is said that the secret of his inventions died along with him, which is a really sad news indeed.

If only, there was a G.D.Naidu or his secrets alive, the world's hunger could have been postponed for some years now or even eradicated.

Fireworks at the Beach

2008-03-25T13:22:00.015+05:30

I finally got myself a tripod. Manfrotto no less. The hunt for this stand has been long. I finally purchased at bangalore. I did receive assistance on choosing a good tripod from a fellow photographer - Dr.Deepak V Rao of Bangalore. Thanks Deepak. This was a fireworks show at Besant Nagar Beach. Some shots here.

I was trying to take photos and at the same time was managing the camcorder. There was a huge light pole which I tried to avoid on the beach. But unfortunately most of the shots were bursting near that location and I had to shift the focus there. No, I could not change the angle since I was on a terrace of a house.

Ganges at Haridware - Blog Title Picture

2007-05-31T22:50:00.001+05:30

The Blog title picture was taken by me at Haridware (One of the holiest places in India) at night. I was across the river Ganges and the line of lighted shops caught my eye. Took a lot more snaps. A couple of them here. I still have not purchased a tripod!!!
Thank God! I had a steady hand.

Car Accident - India - What to do?

2007-05-30T16:01:00.000+05:30

It seems to be a period of unwanted tension & loss.

I had a recent car accident with an ambassador - tourist. At the Nungambakkam signal @ abt 10 kms per hr during rush hour traffic. The tourist car was at fault and his minor scratch on his car due to his rash driving translated in heavily scratched & dented left panel and mud guard for me. The reckless driver's sudden lane change without signalling and aggressive driving tactics left me very little choice to escape.

I went to the Police station and everything / reports were given in my favor. But I did not take a written statement from the driver stating his fault. That turned out to be my mistake.

I was unable to collect on 3rd party insurance due to this small fact. (In US, it is treated differently where the police statement is the final word.)

Car Accident - Not my fault!

Lessons Learnt:
1. Call the cops for report
2. Inform sequence which led to the crash.
3. Show proof.
4. Take photos with you mobile camera of angle of crash, your car and his car
5. At police station, you provide your
(i) Driving license
(ii) Insurance
(iii) Registration
6. Signed statement from police of what happened. / FIR ( If you opt for FIR, the police will detain your car at the police station quoting that it has to compulsorily go for a brake test. Unless your car is damaged beyond use, do not go for this option. It is a test of endurance and you will end up going back and forth between police station. RTO Office and other places as instructed. This could be a point of collection also. You may end up losing more.)
7. Take an original copy of the report from the police.
8. Get a signed letter from the defaulted party that it is his fault and that his insurance company is responsible (I did not do this step alone)
9. Get a copy of his DL, Insurance certificate & Registration.
10. Call his insurance company and submit the data collected. (Take a personal copy first)
11. His insurance company will pay after verification.
12. You can give your car to the service center for evaluvation of damage.
13. Work to an amicable figure which is accepted by the insurance personnel and also the repair person.
14. Your No claim Bonus is intact!!!

In US, if you make a 3rd party claim through your insurance, they in turn will collect moneys from the offending party's insurance and your insurance stays intact. This facility is not available in India!!

My insurance company in India also quoted something like knock for knock policy. In a group of insurance companies, this translates to each insurance company paying for their insured car.
But in the consumer angle, you can still collect from the offending party insurance. (Though in the payment process, external to you, will be made by your company only)

Without a driver attestation owing responsibility for the car accident, you will be left in a lurch and you will have to file a legal case with a lawyer/attorney. That will translate to 5-10 years for settlement. That also translates you to many trips to the court and loss of work time.

Why should "we" the non defaulting party bear the loss?

When are the Indian Insurance companies going to adapt some of the right ethics from their counter parts in US?

Magic Lamps

2007-05-29T15:03:00.000+05:30

I was walking to my car the other day and was thinking, it has been a long time since anything mystical has happened around me. What if this street lamp, turns off by itself the moment I stepped under it? I mentioned it to my wife too. And the lamp...

It did! Just that one turned off. (I heard a click)

My wife was surprised too.

About 2 days back, we were walking to the beach and this lamp was not burning, and a wishful thought what if it turned on the moment I stepped under it.

(Click!) It did again! It turned on!

My wife was again surprised.

No wonder, she calls me her Harry Potter!

I am waiting for the last potter series, the Deathly Hallow. And hope that the main characters do not die... We, who take after the characters in our portrait, will like to win over evil always.

Nightouts - Good or Bad ?

2006-12-08T10:15:00.000+05:30

Useful Night-outs occur in one of these scenarios:
1. Project Delivery Phase.
2. When the person would like to work "extra" to complete a calculated portion of the work.
3. When the person is unable to complete a standard work within the allotted time of 9 hours.
4. Debugging / Error correction.
5. Correction of a Dangerous Error on a live server.
6. Negotiation Discussions with other geographies on their time.
And maybe just a couple more. I have not mentioned concall here since you are free to leave after the call 95% of the time, except when it leads to a situation of one of the above. And it is always kept in a comfort zone for India and US.

More than a night-out, it must be thought in respect of commitment to the cause, and any reason above will not hurt you or the company, since it occurs on very few occasions and many last a few days and it is never permanent. Being committed means delivery on the promised schedules. This creates a sense of achievement and satisfaction to all stakeholders namely,
1. You
2. Your colleagues on the project / team
3. Project Manager
4. Delivery Head
5. Relationship Manager
6. Practice Head
7. CEO
8. Customer / Client
9. Potential Clients.

Any company to progress must achieve and deliver against forecast results. In order for all of us to grow and excel, we sometimes do night-outs too.

You must also take into account those days where you are not pressed or pressurized for work completion during other phases of the SDLC. And after delivery and signoff, there is always a period from 1 week to 15 days where there is very less or no work at all until you get allotted to a different project.

But most other cases where night outs are made but not necessary:
1. You sit since everybody sits.
2. You are not able to complete the work allotted to you within time allotted to you since you while away your office hours in a irresponsible manner.
3. Come late and go late.
4. Overload - You accept too many responsibilities.
5. Overshoot - You miscalculate the time required to complete the job.
6. Just browsing to spend time.
Here, you not only hurt yourselves but also the company and both stand to lose on health, time and money. Night-outs should not be made a practice since in the long term; it will hurt all the stakeholders.

Tips:
1. Work Smart!
2. If you have over estimated, admit it and try to correct ASAP.
3. Do not postpone you work. Even if you correct in time, test it and correct all errors.
4. Though an UAT will be made from customer side, try to do one from our side. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Quick Office Tips

2006-10-16T12:41:00.000+05:30

Excel
1. Wrap text within the cell --> Press Alt+ Enter
2. Move to the next sheet in the workbook --> CTRL+PAGE DOWN
3. Move to the previous sheet in the workbook --> CTRL+PAGE UP
4. Shortcut, make charts --> F11
5. To select the entire column --> CTRL+SPACEBAR
6. To select the entire row --> SHIFT+SPACEBAR
Word / PowerPoint
Align – Justify --> Ctrl + J

My Bike is Stolen

2006-10-13T18:02:00.000+05:30

My new bike purchased on 7th June 2006, hardly 4 months old / Apache (Red) has beeen stolen from my house compound. It has run only 2500 kms and just finished the second service.

Sequence of events: I left my motorbike within the compound wall of our apartments near the doctors house (Ground Floor) at 7:15pm on 10/10/2006. After that I had gone to my house on the first floor. I had locked the bike. I noticed the theft only in the morning on 11/10/2006 at 7:15am. A boy who comes to clean my bike informed me that there was no bike. I came down and searched but could not find the bike. I noticed some tire marks as if the bike had been dragged. When I had enquired with the persons staying on the ground floor (the doctors), they informed me that they had seen the bike at 10:30pm on 10/10/2006 when they had come home. So, I deducted that the bike has been stolen between 10:30 pm on 10/10/2006 and 7:15am on 11/10/2006. Verbally I had informed the police that I heard a siren, their blue brigade patrol at around 12:15am on 11/10/2006. There is higher probability for the theft to occur between 12:15am on 11/10/2006 to 6:00am on 11/10/2006, as there will be people movement in my area after 6:00am.

Yes, I do miss my stolen bike but the process after is more hurting. I found that my bike was under insured with ICICI Lombard and the IDV is mentioned as Rs. 49,875. I paid Rs. 61,500 for my bike, which includes special number for Rs.2500, and electric start. The insurance paper mentions it as kick start. And even if there's an insurance pay back, it is Rs.12000 less.

I have filed the FIR and filed for insurance claim. But this process will extend from a period of 2-3 months. What am I supposed to do for another 3 months ? I do not have any extra bike or scooter and neither can I buy a new one assuming that my bike will not be found.

I am following it through some known police officers, but they have not given me hope. They informed me that after stealing within that day, the bike is dis assembled and sold as parts. (I just hope that nothing like that has happened and hope that I will get my bike whole as on the day it was stolen.) The police officers at the police station have a bored look. They do not care at all.
I have borrowed my dad's bike temporarily, but it has given me such a bad back, that I do not want to use this device. It is going to be be long frustrating weeks with "Nataraja" service and Auto haggling.

All I wish is there some RFID device that I could hide into my bike which has a battery life of 1 year and a traceability area of 3-5 sq kms. If it is cost effective, then all these thefts will be passe. The police could trace all vehicles sitting in one location (A manufacturer site) With improvements, this tag can provide a better version and linking this with vehilcles will provide a maximum deterrent to theft, not only in India but also all over the world.

Any body else thinking along my lines ?

Questions for life …

2006-10-13T17:25:00.000+05:30

- What is life ?
- Why are we here now ?
- What is the purpose of life ?
- Why do we die before/after enlightenment?
- What stage is enlightenment ?
- If the purpose of the human birth is until enlightenment, what am I doing here working my life off for money ?
- If enlightenment is my path, why was I not blessed with money so that I could concentrate on enlightenment ?
- What happens after death ?
- What determines my next birth ?
- How does birth as a human guarantee a transfer to another dimension ?
- Why is the law of Karma possible ?
- If Karma is there, pariharams are able to reduce bad effects, why is there Karma?
- Why is that some persons die even if pariharams are made ?
- Why cannot I sacrifice for someone else ?
- If love can make anything happen, why is it not happening ?
- What causes death ?
- How does one body affect another though marriage ?
- How does the life change after marriage ?
- Why is not possible to write off all debts in just one birth ?
- How does life (soul) come into the new born baby ?
- If the soul is able to choose the parents, is there a similar world as earth in another dimension ?
- How are multiple dimensions (ghost / after death / deva loka / ashura loka / shiva loka etc) existing ?
- If dreaming is considered as life in another dimension, does the soul just pass from one dimension to another and how does it exist simultaneously in several dimensions ?
- What is reality ?
- If “siddhi’s” should not be used, then why are they there ?
- Where does the soul reside in the human body ?
- If the soul is part “God”, why I am searching for him outside ?
- How do I achieve/realize "God" ?

I need ANSWERS and this is not the end of my list neither am I a novice to these questions and search for answers.

Who knows ?

Air Deccan's 3 for 3 - Good Deal or Raw Deal ?

2006-09-24T00:48:00.000+05:30

Is this deal a good deal? What is the hidden agenda? What are the hidden processes ? Please find below a full blown discovery! My mail to Airdeccan and I received only 2 bot mails so far " We received your mail, we will get back to you" kind. I have not seen such callous attitude to the customer queries. Any body else feel like having received the same raw deal ?

To: feedback@airdeccan.net

Dear Customer Care,

I was surprised to find that the refund of Rs.2784/- towards the trip from Chennai to Delhi has been credited back to my account at ICICI bank contained the PNR NUMBER!

(26/08/2006 AIRDECCAN RFND-PRN Cr 2,784.00)

Whereas you had refuted my query with you on several attempts by telephone and also in person, (between 24th August 2006 to 25th August 2006) by informed me that the PNR number had not been generated and so my ticket from Chennai to Delhi would be cancelled.

I had booked the ticket for 3 persons namely:

for 10th November 2006, from Chennai to Delhi by AirDeccan Flight DN639 through my ICICI bank account on 23rd August 2006 and my account had been debited for the same.

(23/08/2006 Dr 2,784.00)

This was purchased under your special scheme for Rs.3 for 3 lakh tickets. When I did not get a confirmation mail even after 3 hours, I had called up the customer care (should I say, “customer don’t care!”). After 45 minutes and 20 attempts, I was able to get hold of a “live person”. He informed me that the PNR number was not generated and the money would be refunded. This was confirmed by one more staff at your “ Whites Road ” office, where I had gone personally. (BTW, did you know that a girl appointed by you at the reception knows only this sentence “Call up customer care, I cannot help you”. My question to you – What is she there for and why does she has such a bad attitude?) The other “boy” at the reception was able to connect me with his manager inside the room. Only the manager present in the office was more kind (?) and informed me that the PNR number was not generated and so my ticket would be cancelled. He had confirmed this information to me, when your staff at the reception mentioned to me that the server was down. He maintained the same stance from my entry at about 11:30 am to my exit at about 12:15 pm. From where this manager was able to pull this information with the servers down, I don’t know! Must be magic!!! (The staff at the reception gave this reply to persons who wanted to book tickets. 2 persons were waiting for over 2 hours for the booking.)

I had also booked the return ticket (from Delhi to Chennai) on the same day after I had booked this ticket and have been awarded the same. So, please do not raise the issue that I could have booked later on.

This cancellation reflects to unfair trade practices and cheating of customers through one of the below mentioned techniques:

Unfair Trade Practice 1: (Staff)
I believe your staffs have been canceling tickets so that they can award themselves with the tickets. This has come to light because the cancellation of the ticket contains a PNR number which your staff informed me that a number had not been generated.

Unfair Trade Practice 2: (Company)
The system/staff (on instructions from the company) have automatically cancelled the ticket to Delhi for the same family since AirDeccan would want the family to purchase tickets one way. If so, you should have specifically have provided this information on your web site / advertisement failing which it becomes a plain case of cheating.

Please provide me a fair deal.

Up in Smoke!

2006-09-24T00:23:00.000+05:30

I was reading my own post. But I remembered the exact reason why I left it. But I did not mention it in full truth since I did not want my sister to know how I had felt on that day!

Now, my sister is no more. But the reason why I left smoking was... She mentioned once in the hospital..."I will not take a smoker's blood", when I wanted to give my blood to her. She needed a transfusion and the hospital wanted a donor, and I volunteered immediately but she refused. I felt so ashamed of myself that I could not give blood to my sister, though many of my friends and colleagues did. I felt so helpless and so lonely. That day was the day I felt I was worthless. If I could not give up smoking, I was a total waste. And I did give up smoking ...with the thought of my sister..and I steeled it using other metaphysical resolves...thanks to my sister. Chomi..where ever you are I will always love you. I wish you to come back to me in your next birth.

Thank you Everyone

2006-03-19T18:58:00.000+05:30

Thank you everyone for the heartfelt condolences and kind wishes. I am very glad that Sowmya had such wonderful friends in her blog world who respected her a lot. I am also grateful to the others who knew very less about her but still sent their condolences as a mark of respect for her memories. Thank you all.

I am now discussing with my family on whether to post the chain of events which lead to her untimely demise. She would have lived for a longer period if not for the doctors carelessness in administering the treatment.

There are 2 trains of thoughts running here.

1. Some feel that the causes be mentioned since somebody else could benefit out of it. They can also question the all knowing doctors on their treatment methods and not accept blindly. (We have questioned and proposed the latest lines of treatment through the best doctors from around the world and even then, there has been a lapse in methodology of treatment in the Indian counterpart)

2. Others feel that now she is no more, let not her "fight" be known. Except for the family and a few good friends, no one else knows, and let it be the same. Let the world not know the pain and suffering she underwent and just remember her as they knew her as happy memories.

Still discussing...

My sister “Sowmya”

2006-03-10T17:29:00.000+05:30

To sum up, The Brave Fighter is how I wish to remember her as.. She loved life and wanted to live as happily as ever with her family. She did not like anybody around her to be sad and neither was she sad. In fact, any cinemas / dramas with sad scenes would be forwarded or the channel changed. If my mom was sad, she would immediately sit near her and cheer her up.

Most people who know my sister know her as a happy person, who was living her life normally and most of them will, but very few ppl are aware that she fought an illness with such strong determination that we (the family and close friends) all were wishful in thinking that she was winning the war though a series of victories in her battles. We consulted the best doctors in the world in the best hospitals, and she had been given the latest line of treatment. Some of her friends were very helpful in getting the best doctors and my sister and her husband met one of the best doctors in the US. Since our house was a bit small, during treatment my little sister's parents had provided their house and they treated Sowmya with love, encouragement and happiness. My BIL had also taken a break from office and worked from home so that he could be with her. We also followed up on homeopathy and other non-allopathic medicines. On the spiritual side, we prayed for her in all the temples mentioned (Pariharams) and I had specifically wanted Rudra abhishekams to be performed in her name every month at Kapaleeswarar temple and I had also paid in advance for Archanai in her name at Vaideashwaran Koil. My dad who is 63 yrs old, got up at 3'o clock everyday to chant Soundarya Lahiri for her in the brahma murhurtham. He also went to all possible places and doctors searching for the ultimate cure. Before every visit to the hospital, he would go there first and book rooms so that his daughter could have privacy and be with the family. My mom was with her most of the time and gave her positive reinforcements. She was encouraged when she was sad. She was coaxed and cajoled to eat her food and comforted when she felt sad. There were many times that she cried her heaqrth out saying "Why should everything go wrong with me ?" All those times my mom patted her and said things will get better and she should not lose courage. She did not till the end and she even showed us a thumbs up sign.

Now, she is no more. She passed away after a struggle at Apollo hospital in Chennai on the night of Maha Sivarathiri. I just stood near her along with my family just holding her hand and speaking soothing words to her, telling her that she would come out of it soon and we can be happy after this battle. She fought till her last breath and she wanted to live. In her last days she suffered so much that none of us could sit near her for more than a few minutes without crying. I cannot understand how God can be so indifferent!! A few years back, I was much into meditation and I did not want to live in this world at all, he could have just taken my life earlier on, instead of hers.

I find that I cannot still reconcile myself to the fact that my sister is no more. I still cannot accept it. She certainly looked like she was winning the war, but for the doctors’ wrong treatment methods. Specific instructions provided by world renowned doctors were not followed by the Indian counterpart in full. He had given her a line of treatment as he deemed fit (different from the other doctors’ recommendations) and he has in effect killed my sister. I certainly did not like the words used by him. Quote: “Don’t tell me how to run my unit, I will run it as I please!” – He used them when we had suggested for a different line of treatment and a second opinion from a different doctor. He was completely commercialized!!! It is a unit he speaks of ….and not a human life!!! Words fail me beyond this point, I shall post more when I am more composed.

Who was she in the blogging world ? - Sowmya at http://jlt-chumma.blogspot.com

Back to US: Philadelphia

2005-10-26T22:02:00.000+05:30

Yes, I am back to US. I have escaped the winters twice but this time I guess I have to go through the icy stuff. Being a madrasi, anything less than 8 deg celcisus is cold and this city seems to provide -5 Farenheit. One part of me does not like this winter stuff but the other part wants to move in the snow.

I am married now, but my wife is in India and the interview date is a long way off (4 months). I have been with my wife for only 1 moonth after marriage and again back to bachelor days! I have asked my company guys to speed up things, but not much seems to be happening now. I guess it will be more fun if she can join me before the winter. (Keeping fingers crossed x). Konjam polambal mathiri irruku.... but my wife does that everyday with me and she is certainly not very fond of the persons responding to her H4 queried from my company. One person even mentioned she had resigned and my wife innocently believed that !!

Hoping for the best for now.

The Real BOSS

2005-08-06T00:10:00.000+05:30

Scientists at the Rocket launching station in Thumba, were in the habit of working for nearly 12 to 18 hours a day. There were about seventy such scientists working on a project. All the scientists were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him - Sir, I have promised to my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm.
His boss replied - O K, , You are permitted to leave the office early today. The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8.30 p.m. Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children. He looked for his boss. He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home.

Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. Children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The intuition was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him.

His wife asked him - Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry. The man replied - If you would like to have coffee, i too will have but what about Children???
Wife replied- You don't know - Your manager came at 5 15 p.m and has taken the children to the exhibition.

What had really happened was the boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 p.m. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition. The boss does not have to do it every time. But once it is done, loyalty is established.
That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss even though the stress was tremendous.

By the way, can you hazard a guess as to who the boss was????

He was the great A P J Abdul Kalam , President of India.

Self Appraisal

2005-07-13T14:23:00.000+05:30

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits.
The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:
The boy asked, "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?
The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn."
"Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied boy.
The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.
The little boy found more perseverance and offered,"Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North Palm beach,Florida."
Again the woman answered in the negative. With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.

The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy and said, "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."
The little boy replied,"No thanks, I was just checking my performance and the job I already have.I am the one who is working for that lady, I was talking to !"

Got Engaged !

2005-07-05T23:44:00.000+05:30

Yeah, finally the day of my bachelorship are over and I am moving towards the couples area. I got engaged to a beautiful girl on the 4th of July (American Independence Day). No chance of forgetting that date. :) This is very much an arranged marriage with horoscope match and all the works. Yes, I am back in Chennai for now. Lucky me !

Repair Problems

2005-04-29T01:24:00.000+05:30

The paper machine's speed controlled drive system was down and the company was losing $10,000 anhour in profits. They placed an emergency call to theGeneral Electric repair service and, since it was 3:00am on Saturday night, the only repair man they had available was old Charlie.

Old Charlie had been a repairman for 35 years andwas only two years from retirement. He had seen it all and wasn't impressed by much.

As old Charlie pulled up to the guard shack at the plantentrance, he was waved through and greeted by no one less than the plant manager. "Thank goodness you'rehere. How long will it take you to fix it?"

Now Charlie had had nothing more than the sketchiest description of the problem but he replied without hesitation, "Oh, about fifteen minutes."

"Great!" replied the plant manager, "My men will show you where the drive controls are and get you anything you need."

After three hours of testing, reading prints, asking questions, the drive system was still not working.The plant manager became increasingly enraged and accosted old Charlie,
"I thought you said you could fix this thing in FIFTEEN MINUTES!"

"I can and I will, " he replied, "As soon as I figure out what's wrong with it!"

Pavement Drawings

2005-04-18T12:44:00.000+05:30

I found this guy brilliant. He is an excellent artist. Take a look at his page.
http://users.skynet.be/J.Beever/pave.htm

Google Maps

2005-04-18T12:18:00.000+05:30

Hey, Check out the satellite image view (link on that page) here. It is really brilliant of Google to do something like that ! Now the chances of getting lost is even minimum and you do not have to go for a costly GPS system. Hah !

The next step will be a virtual walkthrough or should I say a driving experience!!!

Any plans for this ?

Buzy with Car Purchase !

2005-04-18T03:08:00.000+05:30

Mmmmmm...Finally my car purchase is over. It had gone well over 2 months. Finally I came upon the technique which works.
1. Search for the car in Craig's list (Private seller). http://www.craigslist.org/ (This list is useful for a whole lot of other things also) Also check out these websites also: http://www.autotrader.com/ and http://www.cars.com/go/index.jsp

Check MSN Auto for reviews on your car and whether it has a recall and user's reviews: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?make=Mitsubishi&model=Mirage&src=map

2. Check the VIN number in www.carfax.com for any salvage/damage title, odometer fault. If yes, forget the vehicle. If things are clean, next step is

3. KBB value at http://www.kbb.com.

4. Finally contact seller, take a drive and if you find things good, then take to a mechanic or dealer for a 100 point inspection.

You can request the seller to meet you, most of them oblige (specially Indians in US). If you don't have a car and are dependent on friends, you can mention it to the seller, he will mostly come, except in exceptional cases.
If the car has cleared the 100 point inspection also, yes, the car is good. Go ahead and strike a deal with the seller. Try to purchase at the good KBB value of the car, if you do not get it for any less.

5. The next step is change of ownership title. You will have to register this at your local DMV office.

Not so fast..

6. U need a smog certificate

7. Also an insurance certificate to drive the car. (providing u hold a licence). You will find that the IDP can also be used. Get one before you come to US. You can complete an online quote and deal for the insurance. Companies like Progressive (the best one so far), GEICO(the costliest), Allstate (very costly and unfriendly). Also, join up AAA, they offer you maps and roadside assitance 24x7 for punctures, empty gas tank and towing services for the next 1 year.

I have given below the format for car follow-up.
S.No - 1
Year - 1998
Car Brand - Mitsubhi
Variation / Model - DE Sedan Mirage
Miles - 97000
Condition - Good
Asking Price - 4000$
Mail ID - mail id of seller
Where ? - Craig'slist (shortcut)
VIN - 123456789ABC1234
KBB Value-Fair - 2850
KBB Value-Good - 3950
KBB Value-Excel - 4600
Contact Name - ABC
Contact Number - 1231231234
CarFax Report - Rental Use but Good

Lastly but not least base your car purchase based upon resale value and car movement. Better to go for Japanese cars since they sell faster and last longer (upto 2 hundred thousand miles or more) The good brands would be Acura, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Mazda.
Any one needs any other queries answered, please place a comment, I shall get back to you.

2005-02-26T03:49:00.000+05:30

Hari_small

Paranormal Phenomena - Amazing Human Abilities

2005-01-25T06:40:00.000+05:30

Long time out. Been busy with trip to US. I am lucky in one way. I got to CA. Comparitively climate is like Bangalore and a bit colder once a while. So far good. Cost of living is a bit high though.

I found this good site on paranormal phenomena with realistic examples. Contains examples of people with X-Ray eyes, No food for 65 years, Levitation, ESP et all . Found it as interesting reading. Check it out.

Incredible Incident at Vaitheeswaran Koil

2004-12-13T15:37:00.000+05:30

I went to see my Kula Daivam in a small village near Chidambaram with my family. I have been taking lots of Photos during this time and I had several photos of my Kula daivam - "Badrakaali Amman". After which, we had travelled to Vaitheeswaran Koil in Chidambaram.

I went near the temple tank and was happily snapping away. The mandap in the middle of the tank looked exquisite in the twilight hour. I wanted to take one different angle, where I could focus on the temple interior through the temple entrance and lo !!! Surprises !!! I find my camera battery empty ! I thought that it was full some few minutes back and I have an indicator which shows if it is on a smaller level. (I have a Canon Digital Rebel SLR).I do have tricks up my sleeve. I switched off the camera. Waited 5 minutes, switched it on. Still no sign of life !! After which, being disappointed, I resigned myself to my fate, and switched off the camera.

I came back home, wanting to download the pictures onto my PC. But I would require to charge battreries since to transfer, it requires some amount of power in the camera. I connected to my PC, just thought I would check if any power was there and again SURPRISES !!! I had a full battery !!! I connected and was able to tranfer all the pictures back to my PC and still the battery was full. Maybe god did not want me to take that picture ? What else could I attribute it to ? My camera is perfect.

I did mention this incident to my sister and she tells me that I was making it up. I am not making it up. In fact both my dad and mom were near me at that time and I did try for some time to make the camera function there. I do beleive now that there was some power near the temple tank which prevented me from snapping in that angle.

I did manage to get one very beautiful picture.

and another one

Ingenious Crime at the roadside temple

2004-12-01T13:18:00.000+05:30

This incident happened just 2 days back. I have a friend by the name of JRN Rao. He has a small temple (pillayar koil) just outside his flat. Normally, he does Pooja to it on a regular basis. On Monday, he saw a small urchin going around the temple with fervor after his morning pooja. His wife who had gone to the temple after he had left came back immediately since she did not like the looks of the boy. She suspected that kid to be a thief and informed that he was behaving in a suspicious manner. Since she was wearing jewels, she came inside the house and complained to Rao.

Mr.Rao (detective) came out and saw that the kid did act in a suspicious manner. He would go around once stop in the front touch the hundi and so on. He had been going around for the past 15 minutes. Mr.Rao kept behind him slowly and peered, he saw that the urchin would go around once, put his hand in the hole in the hundi, stop for a few secs, look around to see if no one was looking, take his hand, and so on.

The next time he came around and put his hand on the hundi, Mr.Rao ran there and grabbed his hand. He questioned him on his actions for which the urchin said he did not do anything. On close scrutiny of the hundi, Mr.Rao saw a small black ribbon hanging out. When the urchin was questioned, he shook his head that he did not know anything.

When Mr. Rao threatened to take him to the police for suspicious activity and behaviour, the urchin started taking the ribbon out, and guess what came with it ???
COINS !!! A whole bunch of them were stuck to the horse magnet attached to the black ribbon.

His mode of operation was explained by the urchin on further questioning. He would go around once. Stop. Put the magnet into the hundi. Go around. Take the magnet with coins outside. Next round put the magnet in. And so on.

After that, he fell down at Rao’s feet and the general sob story..that he was from a good family and he needed money…he will not do it again…and so on. Mr.Rao being a softy had released and told him never to repeat it again.

Many of us who heard this real story from him were very much angry at the boy’s behaviour except some of us including me, who marveled at that street urchin’s ingenuity at committing the crime.

Diwali was good ...

2004-11-16T01:12:00.001+05:30

This year Diwali went well. I did manage to get some good photos with my camera. Some of them may not be excellent due to the fact that I did not still get myself a good stand and all the photos were hand-shot. The minimum time exposure being 0.5 secs to 10 secs. My hand was pretty stable...on most of the shots. My sister did exceedingly well...and she bravely set off many cracker...I was the watchful one...One of the rockets headed straight into the neighbours house
(6 secs at aperture 18)

...we did peep after a couple of secs to verify that all were well.
The arial shots were fantastic. (4 secs at aperture 18)

and a link to one which I made into a wallpaper Glitterring_gems.jpg.

Coimbatore is Interesting !

2004-11-09T20:44:00.000+05:30

My first visit to the Coimbatore. I went to this Marutha Malai temple dedicated to Lord Muruga. Boy was I surprised on the ATTITUDE of the priests there. We had purchased 4 archana tickets (Rs 2 each) and they would not recite more than one name per ticket and specifically said that they would not say!!!! (In contrast I was thinking about our own Kabali temple in Mylapore, u could tell them a dozen names and they would mention all tose names before the lord). Maybe they should have put a board out there in Marutha Malai...mentioning this fact !!!

When I am spending in thousands to go there, what is a few rupees more ????

Basically I am surprised that such persons with such negative attitude should be near the Lord !!!
A warning to those who want to go to this temple...do buy tickets for archanai for the number of individuals you would want them to repeat ...

The other fact was that they did not place any of the items before the Lord...they rather brought all the items outside and just redistributed...to the persons who had given them. My Chitti & Mom were one surprised lot.

Other than that we went down to visit the cave where the Paambatti Siddhar was placed. The whole place there is very beautiful to look at.

After that we went on a visit to Perks Matriculation School which has an exact replica of the Great Pyramid. Meditated inside it for a while and also purchased a small replica of it.

A funny thing happened...I kept my cellphone full charged near the pyramid...this morning my batteries were empty...and it has shut off...maybe I might have to re-experiment...I don't know how it has happened !

Japanese Quality Standards

2004-10-26T15:29:00.000+05:30

They're still laughing about this at IBM. Apparently the computer giant decided to have some parts manufactured in Japan as a trial project. In the specifications, they stated that they will only accept three defective parts per 10,000.

When the delivery came in there was an accompanying letter. It said, "We Japanese had a hard time understanding North American business practices. But the three defective parts per 10,000 have been separately manufactured and have been included in the consignment. Hope this pleases you."

Photography

2004-10-26T15:09:00.001+05:30

I have been interested in photography for quite some time now. Have posted a few of my photographs in the link below. I am just an amateur photographer. Do inform me if you have any suggestions.

http://www.ephotozine.com/user.cfm?user=8150

My suggestion to budding photographers. Do check out this site. They can help you by giving fine pointers.

Search better in external websites

2004-10-21T18:25:00.000+05:30

Modified the search query by google to suit myself. Using this query, a better search can be made on websites. Some sites as we are aware have a terrible search engine and throw up all unwanted links. There are also lots of sites who do not have a search engine.

For example: You want to search for customer details in a company's website and it has no search engine. You will end up going through all the links and searching for that information. Now you have a better and faster method of finding information.

I guess, using google, we could have an advantage here.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&sitesearch=satyam.com&q=profits

Enter the name of the new website at "satyam.com" and the search query at "profits".

Those of you who know already, well and good, those of you who don't, check out this one.

Stop Smoking ...NOW...YOU CAN...I DID

2004-10-19T13:25:00.000+05:30

I guess it is more than a year since I had stopped smoking. Yeah..that's the way !!!

The technique used by me was a bit unique, so felt it could be used by someone else too. I had been smoking for about 14 years. I had, as every other smoker tried many times but was unsuccessful. I could stop for a maximum period of 3 days and then the feelings would become stronger then ever.

I needed a strong purpose/desire.

The first strong try was for "my sister's request". It was a very strong desire and I was able to stop for 15 days but then again, I started after meeting a friend. A puff became a small cig, and 1 cig, 2 ... and my normal quota of 3 became 5...I thought that I would be able to leave it but again it became a continuous affair.

I knew something was wrong at that stage, since I had a strong desire to leave smoking but unfortunately my progress had setbacks. I started my search for answers. I came across an article that had something like "soul clearing ", mentioned. The article mentioned that there are friendly entities (harmless/harmful depending upon the person) that are attached to the astral body. They would have your similar likes and dislikes but some of them may have some bad habits too. Even if you will to leave a certain habit, their desire would entice you back to the same point. So, the only way to get rid of the desire in entirety is to first get rid of the entities.

For example: A spiritual person would have spiritual entities that help him in his knowledge quest but they would also have the desire to smoke and they satisfy their feelings through him. A trade-off happens most of the times.

The final attempt had the final purpose was that "my sister's request" and "body purification". I cleansed my body of all these entities. I requested them, and compelled them to leave my body through proper directions.

I was stunned with what happened next. I did not have any desire to smoke at all even if I stood near the persons who smoked. That yearning was gone in entirety. But anyway, I avoided all smokers as much as possible for the next fortnight. I did get that desire after 15 days (return of the entity) ... but I had become very careful then and forced them to leave again. Now, I do not have any desire to smoke even if I stand near smokers. In fact, I have become aware of the smell of tobacco. It smelt like a "corpse" !!!

I wish to thank all beings that had helped me in this endeavor and a big thanks to my sister "Chomi". It would not have been possible without her help.

There’s no such thing as you can’t…You Can…You Can…But you have to try first…and keep trying for success.

Offshore vs Onsite

2004-10-19T13:11:00.000+05:30

Just received a couple of pictures on the offshore and onsite scenarios. Did find them interesting.
Many of you will find yourself relating to it. :)
Offshore:

Onsite:

The Japanese Fishy Problem

2004-10-14T17:51:00.000+05:30

A Fishy Problem
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther out into sea. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer.However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?
Life’s like That
The human mind is fickle. To be or not to be is an epithet that is as applicable to each one of us as it was to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. We’re always chasing dreams. It’s good. In order to exploit the best that life has to offer, it is necessary to keep striving and searching for the “more” that we can get out of life. Problem is, that as soon as we reach our goals, such as finding the right mate, meeting our business targets, getting the right career breaks or whatever else it may be, we tend to lose our passion about it. You no longer feel the need to work so hard as you did when you were trying to get where you are, so you tend to get lax. It’s the same problem wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs.
So, how do we handle this? Does that mean, one should be continuously chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Does it necessarily mean that success will bring lethargy and a laid back attitude in it’s wake. On the contrary ... like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. Add a zing of challenge to life. It keeps the fizz in and ensures that boredom doesn’t set in.
The Benefits of a Challenge
The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you will enjoy a good problem. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you will be happy. You will think of your challenges and get energized. You will be excited to try new solutions. You will have fun. You will be truly alive!
How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.
Recommendations
Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game. If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help. If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind. Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.
Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

The Memorial - A True Story

2004-10-14T17:20:00.000+05:30

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge.
"We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait," the lady replied.
For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away.
They didn't and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted. "Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave," she said to him.
He sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.
The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."
The president wasn't touched.... He was shocked. "Madam," he said, gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."
"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."
The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building!
Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs?
We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."
For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.
The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"
Her husband nodded.
The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.
Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
One can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.

$ 20 Bill

2004-10-14T17:08:00.000+05:30

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this."
He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?"?
And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. crumpled and dirty.
"Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.
No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God's eyes. To God, dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless.

The 90/10 Principle

2004-10-11T16:29:00.000+05:30

Have you read this before? Discover the 90/10 Principle. It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations).
What is this principle?
10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.
What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.
We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off.
A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different.
You determine the other 90%. How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light., but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.
Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You haven control over what just what happened. What happens when the next will be determined by how you react. You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit. After a 15-minute d delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home, When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.
Why?
Because of how you reacted in the morning.
Why did you have a bad day?
A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it? The answer is D.
You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.
Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "It's ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.
Notice the difference?
Two different scenarios.
Both started the same.
Both ended different.
Why?
Because of how you REACTED.
You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.
Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle.
If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don't have to let the negative comment affect you! React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.
How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off) Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them?
WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive? Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.
You are told you lost your job. Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out.
Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job. The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day.
Why take out your frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on. Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse.
Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle. The result? Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. There never seem to be a success in life.
Bad days follow bad days. Terrible things seem to be constantly happening. There is constant stress, lack of joy, and broken relationships. Worry consumes time. Anger breaks friendships and life seems dreary and is not enjoyed to the fullest. Friends are lost. Life is a bore and often seems cruel. Does this describe you? If so, do not be discouraged . You can be different! Understand and apply the 90/10 principle. It will change your life.

IT salaries zoom; HP best paymaster

2004-10-11T16:16:00.000+05:30

October 08, 2004 07:20 IST

Salaries in the information technology sector went up by an average of 19 per cent in 2004 with senior level professionals gaining the most, according to Dataquest-IDC survey.

The survey revealed that Hewlett-Packard, India was the top paymaster among Indian IT companies, followed by Cadence and Philips. It found that salaries of IT professionals with over 10 years experience increased by 26 per cent to an average Rs 12.4 lakh (Rs 1.24 million).

Salaries of those with 5-10 years experience went up 24 per cent during 2004 to Rs 670,000, while in the 2-5 years category salaries went up by 11 per cent to Rs 420,000. However, salaries of freshers in the industry registered a significant 12 per cent drop to Rs 260,000.

The survey also found that despite emerging as the highest paymaster, H-P scored low on employee satisfaction.

While Cadence topped in terms of satisfaction, Philips stood second while H-P ranked eighth. Sasken, which stood fourth among highest paymasters, was ranked sixth as far as employee satisfaction was concerned.

"Money is not the main motivator any more. Companies that are good paymasters have a large chunk of employees dissatisfied, and even dissatisfied with their salaries, and this is a rising trend that we have observed for a few years," Dataquest group president Prasanto K Roy said in a release.

The salary survey, which was conducted across 1,010 employees representing hardware, software and services firms, also revealed that IT companies extended perks and benefits to a larger base of employees in 2004 as opposed to 2003.

It said while salaries went up, the satisfaction with salary levels and "salary as the top reason for joining a company" was declining.

Indian stock market news & views

2004-10-09T01:49:00.000+05:30

A list of my favourite sites for Indian Stock Market:
http://www.nseindia.com
http://www.moneycontrol.com
http://www.myiris.com (Wish I knew this one before !!! Site's a lot slow to load but analysis is good.)

Papers:
Business Line: More accuracy with respect to stock. (I purchase this now)
Economic times: More accuracy with respect to market scenario. (I used to purchase this)

Periodicals:
Business World: Good news on market scenarios with study.
Business Today: Not all the books are good, but some are.
The week: Political scenario and other musings.
Outlook: Good on occasions.

Advice to beginners: Do not trade in futures without good market knowledge. (Don't trust the broker!!! He probably know only 1 % more than you). However, if you a planing to invest 50 Cr...go ahead, you have total control anyway. The big ones control the market, we are just wee tiny ones. So watch out and rely on your instinct and good advice if your instinct is bad. :) Confusing you, am I not !!!

Riddles

2004-10-09T01:33:00.001+05:30

Just found this site with a good collection of riddles. Anyone preparing for Infosys: you need to check the alternate thinking style. Check here: http://www.humorshack.com/archive/riddles/index.shtml

My thoughts on life

2004-10-09T01:19:00.000+05:30

Life and time are relative. Life appears its length of time the way we look at it. As a human, life to 80 years in human life line. In a fly's life line which lives for only a few days, human appear to live forever. In the view point of a redwood trees, human life is just a dot. Life and time period are less important. What is important is what impression is made in this span. Has a good example been set for future generations ? Character and Attitude appears to have survived through lenghthier times but is there a time period for that too ??? I wonder ?