NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 3

NOVEMBER 2007

NUMBER 11

MEMO FROM NARA

The month of October gave the much wanted water through rain for the survival of all, although some cities and villages were inundated for a short time.

Old buildings, mostly constructed by the Government collapsed killing scores of people.

Festivals like Navarathri, Vijayadasami, Il – Ul – Fitr were celebrated during this month. Above all, the Nobel Prize for 2007 was announced for various fields. The bomb blast in Pakistan and collapse of Karnataka Government appeared as the main news of the month. We live in a world with full of good, bad and sad news. November is again a festive month for all Indians. Hope nothing bad happens.

Best wishes for a happy festival of light.

NOBEL PRIZE FOR 2007

Medicine: Mario Capecchi (USA), Martin Evans (UK) and Oliver Smithies (USA) for the creation of ‘designer mice’ to track the role of different genes in human development and disease.

Physics: Albert Fest (France) and Peter Gruenberg (Germany) for their pioneering work that led to the miniaturized hard disk, one of the breakthroughs in modern information technology – Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR).

Chemistry: Gerhard Ertl (Germany) for studies of chemical reaction on solid surfaces, which are key to understanding such questions as why the ozone layer is thinning – Surface Chemistry.

Literature: Doris Lessing (UK) for five decades of epic novels that have covered feminism and politics, as well as her youth in Africa.

Peace: Al Gore (USA) and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the international campaign for action against Global Warming. The IPCC is headed by an Indian environmentalist Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri.

Economics: Americans Leonid Hurwicz, Eric S. Maskin and Roger B. Myerson for developing a theory that helps explain situations in which markets work. They laid the foundations of mechanism design theory which plays a central role in contemporary economics and political science.

CLEAR YOUR CLUTTER

When I opened a cupboard in my office a few days ago, I suddenly realized how crammed and disorderly it was. It was definitely time to declutter! Decluttering is the act of removing the things from your environment that you don't really need and reordering the things that you do.

When you get rid of clutter, you actually shift energy that has been stuck or stagnated. The end result is that you feel lighter, clearer, happier, and more energetic. By removing your excess and clutter, you create new space for increased happiness, new insights, and positive experiences. And what is more fulfilling than a clean and pleasant environment as well as an increase in energy to boot? And you are the one who actually makes it happen!

In addition, clearing away your clutter benefits others, as well as the environment. So, recycle your newspapers and magazines, part with extra clothing that is no longer worn or out of fashion by giving it to a local charity, and find new homes for old bric-a-brac and items you haven't used for ages. You will feel all the better for it!

When I was faced with the state of my closet, I certainly wasn't wild about the chore ahead of me, but I knew I would feel better once it was completed. And I did! Afterwards, I felt satisfied by my efforts, organized, efficient, and motivated. I'd say that was well worth the effort. - Rochelle Gordon

SURPRISING STATISTICS

4340 pages long is the copy of judgment in the Mumbai blasts case given to Sanjay Dutt.

62 lakh rupees is the price of a diamond – encrusted flat TV from Philips Electronics.

33 honorary doctorates have been conferred on A P J Abdul Kalam.

41 per cent of married women in India face abuse at home according to the third National Family & Health Survey.

1200 species of birds are in India.

107,452 villages are there in UP, the highest in India.

GIANT MAGNETO RESISTANCE (GMR)

GMR is considered one of the first real applications of the promising field of

nanotechnology. Minute magnetic changes, in materials made of very thin layers of various metallic elements lead to huge differences in electrical resistance.

In turn, these differences lead to changes in the current in the readout head, which scans a hard disk to spot the ones and zeroes in which the data are stored.

The readout head is thus able to read smaller and weaker magnetic areas – this sensitivity means information can be packed more densely on the hard disk.

THEY SAID

Everyone thinks changing the world; no one thinks of changing himself –
Leo Tolstoy

One man with courage makes a majority – Andrew Jackson

The greatest test of courage on the earth is to bear defeat without losing heart – R.G. Ingersoll

Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s major source of wealth. Without it happiness is almost impossible - Unkown

IDLE MIND

An idle mind is like a warm damp place where unhappy thoughts and feelings, like bacteria, grow and multiply out of control. How do you stop your mind from being idle? The best use of an idle mind is thinking about a purpose. And if you’re actively working on a purpose, there’s nothing to worry about, because the purpose and the task at hand will organize your mind and keep your attention too occupied to worry.

But when you’re not actively working, when you’re driving somewhere or waiting in line or taking a shower, or lying in bed waiting for sleep, that’s when to start thinking about a purpose of yours. If you have an overriding goal, that’s the one to choose.

Think about how you’re going to get it done. Think about the advantages of accomplishing it. Think about why you want to accomplish it, and think up new reasons. Think about better and more efficient ways of accomplishing the goal. Ponder the goal. Mull it over purposefully. And if nothing else, use your goal as a slogan and repeat it over and over. This itself, you will notice, brings up new ideas that can help you. – Adam Khan

JUST TO LAUGH

Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother,

‘why is the bride dressed in white?’
‘Because white is the color of happiness and today is the happiest day of her life.’
The child thought about this for a moment, then said, ‘So why is the groom wearing black?’

A mother took her little boy to church.

While in church the little boy said, "Mommy, I have to pee."

The mother said to the little boy, "It's not appropriate to say the word 'pee' in church. So, from now on whenever you have to "pee" just tell me that you have to "whisper."'

The following Sunday', the little boy went to church with his father and during the service said to his father, "Daddy, I have to whisper."

The father looked at him and said, "Okay, just whisper in my ear."

Accomplish things when you’re motivated!
Meet you next month –DECEMBER, 2007

Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
# 19, Phase 5, Maharani Avenue, Vadavalli, Coimbatore – 641 041, Tamil Nadu
Telephone: 0422 – 2423017, Mobile: 98422 42301
E-mail: prof_narayanan_a@hotmail.com (or) arumugakannu@gmail.com
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