Sunday, February 26, 2012

E Sreedharan

A great article on E Sreedharan. http://kaipullai.com/2012/02/24/dr-elattuvalapil-sreedharan-the-bharat-ratna-no-one-talks-about/

Thursday, February 16, 2012

10 Easy Things You Can Do To Improve Your Life Today

Lovely article at this link -
http://baexpat.com/2012/02/14/10-easy-things-you-can-do-to-improve-your-life-today/



Changing or improving your life doesn’t have to be a long, frustrating, drawn-out process. I’m always in search of the smallest changes that yield the biggest returns, and below is my collection of quick tips that can make your life easier, more fulfilling, or just less of a pain in the ass.
Try one or two of these and tell me how great they worked.
1. Get rid of anything you haven’t worn in the past 2 months.
We both know that you should really donate everything you haven’t worn in the past two weeks, but I’ll cut you some slack. This isn’t about throwing away clothes you hate – it’s about getting rid of things that you don’t love. Having excess clothes that you’re never going to wear clogs up your closet, makes decision making more difficult, and serves as a constant reminder of unfinished business. Take two hours out of your weekend, tear everything out of your closet, put it in a big pile and start sorting. I’ll give you an allowance for three nostalgic t-shirts that you’ll never wear again (fraternity Beer Pong Championship shirt, etc).
When you’re done with that, think about the deep metaphor that you’ve just learned and apply it to other parts of your life. Shed yourself of activities, TV shows, people, work, and other obligations that you don’t love. You’ll feel lighter without a life that’s cluttered with fluff, and you’ll quickly fill those voids with meaningful things (you can think of me as a modern-day Mr. Miyagi, Daniel-san).
2. If something takes less than 2 minutes to do, do it immediately.
This is my favorite way to improve personal productivity. Whenever you encounter a task/obligation that requires less than 2 minutes of your time, just do it now. You’ll be amazed as how much this will reduce stress – both because you have less to remember and because you have a higher personal output.
3. Schedule a dinner with a group of 5 or more friends.
It’s actually scientifically proven that people who have dinner in groups of 5 or more at least once per week are happier than people who don’t. Planning an event yields more return than just the event itself – the anticipation of the event gives you something to look forward to. It takes less than 2 minutes to send an email, so you have to do this one right away.
4. Make a donation.
$5, $10, $50, $100. Whatever you can afford. If you don’t do this often, you’ll be surprised at how great it feels. I recommend checking out the charity first to see what percentage of your donation actually makes it to the end of the line – vs. being eaten up by big salaries, expensive fundraisers, and general wastefulness.
If you want some instant impact, give $20 to the next homeless person you see.
5. Practice saying “no.”
I had a friend in high school, Taylor, who had perfected the art of the “no.” When he didn’t want to do something, he’d look you in the face and respond, “I’d ’bout rather shoot myself in the face than do that.” I don’t recommend trying approach without a thick Southern accent, which has the magical power of making rude comments sound hilarious and acceptable.
Most people I know – myself included – get roped into doing things that they really don’t want to do. Saying “no” is liberating – stop giving automatic “yes” responses or, even worse, delaying the inevitable “no” by telling someone you’ll get back to them. If you aren’t instantly drawn to something, try a response like this: “I have plans that day, so I won’t be able to make it. If something changes, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
6. Stop sending open ended emails.
I used to send emails that said things like ”is that shirt available in black, red, or blue?” The other person responds with the answer and thus starts the email chain. Eliminate all this superfluous nonsense with a more comprehensive email that gives instructions for the reasonable contingencies: “I’m looking for a shirt in size medium. My favorite colors are black, red, and blue – in that order. If one of those is in-stock, please create an order, respond with the order number and your phone extension, and I will call you this evening with my credit card number and shipping information. If none are available, please let me know the estimated lead time and email me when it becomes available.” BAM. One and done.
Methods like this allow me to run two automated companies and only work a few hours per week.
7. Use self-scheduling software.
Most people waste an inordinate amount of time scheduling meetings, dinners, family get-togethers, dates, conference calls, and other events. Self-scheduling software, likeTimeTrade, is all web-based and most offer free 30-day trials – they allow you to block off parts of your schedule for personal time, work, etc, and your friends/family/blind dates can choose available time slots. This eliminates all the back-and-forth of trying to find a time that works for both of you, and has the added bonus of making you look really important (you may want to consider exaggerating other exciting aspects of your life if a self-scheduling calendar is completely incongruent with your general image). In case you lead an underwhelming social life, be sure to block off a bunch of nights before sending a completely empty calendar to a potential date.
When you’re trying to get a group together, like for Tip #3, try a poll-based scheduling software like Doodle. This allows you to pick a few dates and ask a group of people which date works best.
8. Start one day per week off right.
Remember how much energy you had in high school? Yeah, well that’s because your parents cooked you decent food, you slept normal hours, and you didn’t drink your face off during the week (well, not as often as you do now, at least). Food and sleep are fuel for your body – put crude oil in your car and see how it runs.
Try doing this one day per week and you’ll be blown away at how great you feel – you’ll get more done on that day than the other days combined:
Get in bed at 9:30 and set your alarm for 6:30 – then leave your alarm clock or phone across the room so you actually wake up. In the morning, throw on some sweats and take a brisk 15 minute walk (if it’s cold out, watch Rocky IV the night before to prevent whining). Eat three eggs and have coffee or tea as normal – but leave out the toast, cereal, sugar, juice, and other garbage you usually consume in the morning.
Have trouble sleeping? Try 3mg of melatonin an hour before bed. If you drink coffee out of a fire hose like I do, PharmaGABA can help you from grinding your teeth out of your skull.
9. Know your instrument.
A mentor said this to me and it stuck. The most incredible tool you’ll ever own is your body and, if you want to maximize your effectiveness, you should get to know it well. Most people have a “productivity zone” – a period of a few hours each day when your energy level is at its peak (mine is from 8:30-noon, give or take). I forget the exact statistics, so I’ll make something up: 9 of out 10 people in a Danish study showed a 200% increase in productivity when they worked on their most difficult tasks during their peak-energy hours.
But seriously, give it a try. It works. Spend your low-energy zones doing things you enjoy doing, like watching cat videos on YouTube or thinking about ways to kill your boss.
10. Do your work in order of descending difficulty.
If you start your day off with harvesting FarmVille crops or cruising Facebook to compare your social life to people you barely know, this one goes out to you. Start off with the most difficult task first. Most people start off by opening their email and responding to new messages. Responding to emails is easy, and it’s something that you have to do, so it should be left for low/no-energy periods. Tackle your most difficult item first and you’ll always be rewarded with an easier task to do next.
There’s an added bonus – if you only get one thing done per day, like I usually do, you actually have something to show for it.

Monday, February 06, 2012

Interesting Article on 2012

Found an Interesting article on the Mayan Calendar, which end on 21st Dec 2012. Next year, this time, I would probably reading this article and laughing to myself :)

http://www.123newyear.com/2012/end-of-the-world.html



The talk and debate on 2012 end of the world will not end till December 2012. Magazines, Newspapers, televisions, social networking is always speaking about the end of the world. The fact lies in the Mayan prediction. In the prehistoric time the Mayans were an expert in the fields of science and culture. They had made contribution in the fields of Art, Science, and Astronomy. Even the calendar that we follow toady is based on the Mayan Calculation. Researches have found out that the calendar ends in 2012. So we can assume that the world will come to an end in 2012. On the other hand we have another set of scientists saying that the Mayan calendar is based on a cycle. The cycle will again start rotating after 2012. So, the Mayan calendar does not say that the end of the world is near. Let us now look into the fact deeply. 


The Mayan side of the coin 


The Mayan calendar is known as the Sun Stone. The calendar is based on the Sun. We can say that it is a solar calendar. As per the calendar the world will end on 21 December 2012. This particular observation is known as 2012 phenomenon. The argument is based on the following points: 


The believers state the followings:
A pole shift will end the world and time will stop.
A geomagnetic reversal can also end the world on 21 December 2012.
Solar Storms can burn the surface of the Earth.
The non-believers state the followings on the contrary:
The concept of pole shift is completely imaginary. A pole shift cannot happen.
A geomagnetic reversal cannot destroy the Earth.
Solar storms cannot happen.
Why we support the Mayan fact? 


Now there few reason to support the Mayan side of the story. 
As per the Mayan culture the count for the calendar years consist of 5 levels.
The calculations of the day cycles are as 20 days, 360 days, 720 days, little below 20 years and the large cycle is little less than four hundred years.
Thirteen batons are required to complete one full cycle which spans around 5,125 years.
The 13th baton ends on 21 December 2012 as per the Mayan belief.
Scientists and researchers say that the world can probably end for the following reasons:
Sun Storms
Atom Smasher
Super Volcano
Slip Slop Slap Bang
2012 end of the world has been reviewed by NASA too. But NASA has different view on the phenomenon. NASA says that there will be a new magnetism on the sun. This can result in solar changes which will destroy satellite communications, GPS, Air Traffic, and Power Grids. 


The myth on destruction 


2012 end of the world, the phenomenon has been completely ignored by few scientists. On the other hand there is a myth on the phenomenon. A certain group of people say that a planet called Nibiru will destroy the fact. But science has proved that there aren’t any planets called Nibiru. But we cannot deny the report presented by few scholars. They say that the Earth will come in a perfect alignment with the sun and the centre of the galaxy. We can assume that there will be excess gravity which can create difference in the alignment. 


The Hindu belief coincide with the Mayan calendar too 


As per the Hindu belief the Golden Age will start from 2012. Lord Krishna said that the Golden Age will start from the end of the Kali Yuga. The calculation says that 2012 will be the time for Golden Age. Surprisingly the Mayan culture also says that the year 2012 will be the Golden Age. The point is that these two cultures had no connection between each other. But they both say that 2012 will be the Golden Age. Thus the argument continues that if 2012 will be the end of the world or not. 


The Hindu prophecy: End of Kali Yuga
The Hindu prophecy regarding the end of the world has ironically coincided with the Mayan prediction. This has further strengthened the belief regarding the Doomsday prediction. 


The ancient Hindus, another advanced race of the ancient time had made an advanced study of time and had divided it into four ‘Yugas’. Kali is supposed to be the last of the Yugas at the end of which the world will return to the golden phase or the Satya Yuga. 


The 10th, and the last of the avatars of Vishnu is expected to descend upon the earth to put an end to the misery of the world, to rescue and to restore it back to its golden time. 


Biblical reference
The Christian belief also seems to support the idea of the end of the world. There are strong references to the incident in the Christian texts. 


In the Book of Revelation the apocalypse has been referred as the total destruction of the world. In Bible the Apocalypse is referred as the God’s Will and it has been elaborated in the Book of Revelation. 


In the Book of Revelation it has been mentioned that the world will meet its end like ‘the thief in the night’. It has also suggested some alternative ideas about how the world will come to an end. 


There will be a global shower of Meteors which will destroy one-third of the green grass, vegetation and crops of the earth. .
An Asteroid will crash into the sea causing massive Tidal Waves and tsunami will flood the human civilization. There will be widespread famine and loss of lives due to this .
However, the Book of Revelation is silent about the probable day of the Apocalypse. Ironically there has been no mentioning of 2012 being the last year for all of us. 

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Sahara Exits from all ties with BCCI

Finally a dream come true for me. Just when I thought that cricketers dont play the game upto the mark, Sahara  has made sure to exit from cricket.
This fact hopefully leads to investment from Sahara into other games, which were never cared for in India. Sahara was the only group, who came up with awards in different games and supported a lot of players monetary. Great Move by Sahara.
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article2860477.ece