Wednesday, December 31, 2008


NARA'S BEST WISHES FOR

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

TO YOU ALL.



NARA'S NOTEPAD


VOLUME 5


JANUARY 2009


NUMBER 1


NARA'S NOTEPAD

IS SUPPORTED

BY READERS

LIKE YOU.


WHERE WEALTH ACCUMULATES

MORALS DECAYS.

WELCOME 2009


January 2009. New Year. New thoughts and resolutions. Very happy that a year has passed successfully since Jan. 2008. Smile is everyone’s face. Ups and downs in life are seen by everybody every year. 2008 is not an exception even for the Nations of the world. Good news and bad news all over the world. The economic downfall created a crisis at the US and spread globally. Globalization had both advantages and disadvantages. Economists of repute are breaking their brain to find out a suitable solution for the financial crises faced by the world .The new President Barack Obama is going to be crowned as the 44th President of the USA on 20 Jan. ’09. Hopes are there that he will take some drastic steps to change American economy. It may help to solve the financial crises of the world. Therefore 2009 is a year of hope for better future. The Parliament election will be held in India during this year. We have to wait and see which party is going to get the people’s mandate .Accordingly the policy of the future Government will take its course. Expectations are high. Hope everything goes well for the betterment of human kind both in India and in all other nations during the coming year. - NARA

THEY SAID...

A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist. – Louis Nizer

The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. – Robert Frost

Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be. – Johann Goethe

Nothing great and durable has ever been produced with ease. Labor is the parent of all lasting monuments of the world, whether in verse or in stone, in poetry or in pyramids. – Thomas Moore.

He who is afraid to ask is ashamed of learning. – Danish Proverb

JUST TO LAUGH...




Customer : Waiter, is this a lamp chop or pork chop ?
Waiter :
Can’t you tell the difference by taste?
Customer:
No, I can’t.
Waiter:
Then does it really matter?

A drunkard was brought to court.. Just before the trial there was a commotion in the gallery. The judge pounded the gravel on his table and shouted, “order, order.” The drunkard immediately responded, “ Thank you, your Honor, I’ll have a scotch and soda."

Customer:
Waiter, there’s a dead beetle in my soup.
Waiter:
Yes Sir, they are not very good swimmers.

1st Thief: Oh! The Police is here. Quick! Jump out of the window.
2nd Thief: But this is the 13th floor.
1st Thief:
Hurry! this no time for superstitions.

Customer:
Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup.
Waiter:
That’s all right Sir, he won’t drink much.

CARBON FOOTPRINT


The carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide attributable to the actions of an individual (which includes emissions through their energy use, but other unforeseen emissions as well) over a period of one year. This definition underlies the personal carbon calculations. The term owes its origins to the idea that a footprint is what has been left behind as a result of the individual's activities. Carbon footprints can either consider only direct emissions (typically from energy used in the home and in transport, including travel by cars, airplanes, rail and other public transport), or can also include indirect emissions (including CO2 emissions as a result of goods and services consumed). Bottom-up calculations sum attributable CO2 emissions from individual actions; top-down calculations take total emissions from a country (or other low-level entity) and divide these emissions among the residents (or other participants in that entity).

STEP BY STEP TO GREATNESS




Pick the field you wish to specialize in; learn all you can about it, study the lives of the persons who have had outstanding success in that field, then strive to emulate their pattern of thinking. Each day strive to put into action one or more of the qualities or traits that you have learned from the lives of great people. Take specialized training to perfect your gifts and talents. Let what I call Discontent motivate you in your desire to achieve perfection. Aim for the stars, even though you may not achieve them. Create a vortex of mental activity about yourself. Never be satisfied with the limitations that life seems to have placed on you and your expression of your talents.

WHAT TO TALK?


‘What to talk?’ and ‘What not to talk?’ in a conversation or meeting is really important for keeping food relation with fellow human beings. Only people who have the attitude of understanding the feeling of others will think before they talk something to others. We need to know the person first either by his appearance or by his character. He or she may be economically poor or rich, educationally literate or illiterate, shy or bold etc., These characteristics are essential before we decide what to talk to this person. If we talk about the wealth we have and the rich way of life to a poor person who will not relish it. Not only that it will sow the seed of displeasure in his mind, he may think that he is not fortunate to have all those wealth other s have. That means we are making him unhappy. Not all persons take it in this manner. But most of them, in their mind think this way only. Some people have a habit of telling always big about themselves and their family and derive pleasure out of it. I feel it is injuring the minds of others. What to talk to others or to an audience is very important for everyone. We do know some people address a meeting without taking into consideration the interest of the audience. If we take care, we can be a good speaker. A speaker should in fact, know what to talk and what not to talk. We should not talk about our success stories to a person who has failed in all his attempts in life. In stead, we should give less importance to our success and encourage him or she by saying that failure is the first step to success. It needs patience and care to share one’s experience with others. Everyone generally talks personal matters to only one’s close friends or relatives not to everybody. Here again one decides about what to talk?
- NARA

SIX MISTAKES OF MAN


1. The illusion that personal gain is made up of crushing others.
2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
- M. T. Cicero, Roman Statesman (106 BC – 43 BC)

Originality is unexplored territory!
Meet you next month – February, 2009

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: arumugakannu@gmail.com
Visit my blogs: http://www.nara2007.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S NOTEPAD)
http://www.nara.tumblr.com/ (NARA’S DIGEST)
http://www.nara1.vox.com/ (NARA’S POSTCARDS)

Monday, December 1, 2008


NARA'S NOTEPAD


VOLUME 4


DECEMBER 2008


NUMBER 12

CULTIVATE LIFE

MEMO FROM NARA


At the age of 70 years, my memories are loaded with all kinds of thoughts of worries as well as happiness about me, my children, family, relatives and friends. I worried whenever I or they were not well or in some kind of trouble and I was happy whenever I or they were happy in life. Now I feel that these are part of everyone’s life. I also feel that there was no point in getting worried at any circumstance because it does help neither me nor others. Certainly the causes for the worry will vanish sooner or later. By worrying we cannot achieve the relief for anybody. One has to face any problem which may be hard sometime. Even then without worry and with a brave will we need to fact it and find the possible solutions. Time, in fact, is a great healer of emotional or physical pain. We have to wait without worrying. It is easy to say and difficult to adopt, we should train our mind and tune to this attitude. Later in life, one brings back to memory all the past worries and happiness as I do now. It is better to think a bit about the repercussions of worrying. It weakens our mind by not solving the problems. The same worry will vanish as soon as the problem is solved. That is what happens. If we know it well in advance for sure, then we can control the worries and live with a clean mind and vision. Such a mind or vision helps us to take some appropriate decisions to solve the problem. Great people have adopted this simple principle and could manage their lives very well. We have to learn from such people to control our feelings of worry and live free from it. I hope those who read this bit will try to follow the principle of ‘not to worry’ and cherish their life and also the lives of children, family, relatives and friends.

GREAT ACHIEVERS


The greatest achievers are driven by a huge, humongous, all-consuming Vision, either for their lives or for the world. They view the world as a perfect playing field to manifest and make concrete their visionary ideas and are often driven by this vision, whether or not they are consciously aware of it from moment to moment.
They set targets and objectives that are in alignment with this grand vision of theirs. They also have the discipline to reject and ignore so-called opportunities, developments, innovations and temptations that are not in alignment with their great vision, often creating enemies because of this.
They seek out the best possible methods to accomplish what they seek, never settling for mediocrity or lackadaisical efforts. To these achievers, the terms 'laziness' or 'hard work' are concepts foreign to them. What they are driven by is their vision and the goals they must achieve in order to meet that vision. Whatever it takes to accomplish those targets of theirs, they will accept, and although they are humans too and can feel exhaustion, they do not view the necessary work as something to dread, but something to live with, even enjoy.
The great achievers are constantly learning. They learn from their mistakes, from other people's mistakes, from their observations of the necessary goal-attaining processes in which they are engrossed. They do not stop at simply learning, they also put their learning into action, dynamically and consistently refining their methods in real-time. Sometimes the growth and improvements they obtain from their gradual evolutions borne out of their learning can be very minimal, sometimes they may achieve tremendous improvements, even breakthroughs. But in their minds, they do not discriminate between small improvements and big improvements, neither obsessing over making huge improvements nor being content with only small improvements. All sizes and manners of growth are welcomed by them. - Mohammad Latiff

TRANSGENES AND CISGENES


Transgenes (hybrid) are genes originating from other organisms or non-crossable species, which is a new source of genetic variation for plant breeding. In transgenic technology, bacterial genes coding for resistance to antibiotics or herbicides are used for the selection of transformed plant cells. The introduction of these classes of genes, new GM regulations have been developed in order to master the potential risks connected with the genes.

Natural indigenous genes, isolated from crop plant itself or from crossable species, are now called cisgenes in order to distinguish them from transgenes. The traits of these cisgenes represent the existing genetic variation applied in classical plant breeding. The use of genetic variation coming from the crop plant itself or from crossable species has a long history of safe use in many crops.

THEY SAID...


Each day is a new life. Seize it. Live it. For in today, already walks tomorrow. – David Guy Powers

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. –
Henry Ford

Often we change jobs, friends and spouses instead of ourselves. –
A. H. Hetha

When angry, count to ten before you speak; if very angry, a hundred. – Thomas Jefferson

The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. - Benjamin Disraeli
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. - Aristotle

BREAK THE ROUTINE


1. Go for a leisurely walk or jog around your neighbourhood.
2. Write down your thoughts and feelings in a journal.
3. Do something creative: paint, draw, play music or do woodwork.
4. Take a hot bath.
5. Meditate.
6. Exercise.
7. Read a book.
8. Collect old clothes and other items to donate to a charity.
9. Start a new project, such as organizing photos.
10. Give yourself permission to just do nothing at times
.

GLOBAL WARMING


Global warming is the increase of average temperatures on the earth’s surface, calculated annually from measurements taken across the entire globe. Scientists attribute the recent rise in average global temperatures to an increase in greenhouse gases which create the “greenhouse effect” of trapping heat from the sun in our atmosphere. These gases include water vapor, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) among others. While the greenhouse effect is essential for life on earth – without it, surface temperatures would be about -2oF – excessive greenhouse gases can also elevate temperatures above livability range.

JUST TO LAUGH...


‘Woman without her man is a savage.’
When this sentence was given to a class to punctuate correctly, it was found that the boys took it one way, the girls another.
Boys: ‘Woman, without her man, is a savage.’
Girls: ‘Woman! Without her, man is savage.’

Satisfied in the past with the work of ayoung teacher who supplemented his income by doing interior decorating, we employed him again. When his bill came, we say he had charged us Rs.120 per room.
‘But last time it was Rs.100.’ my wife reminded him.
‘Yes,’ he answered. ‘But that was before I got my M.A.’

The Sunday Times prints the following conversation between a visiting American and an Eton schoolmaster:
‘Do you allow your boys to smoke?’ the American asked.
‘I’m afraid not,’ said the Etonian.
‘Can they drink?’
‘Good gracious, no.”
‘What about dates?’
‘Oh, that’s all right, said the master, ‘as long as they don’t eat too many.’

‘What steps,’ a question in a college exam read, ‘would you take in determining the height of a building, using an aneroid barometer?’
One student, short of knowledge but long on ingenuity, replied: ‘ I sould lower the barometer on a string and measure the string.’

PERSONAL TRAITS


1. Accurate
2. Active
3. Adaptable
4. Adventurous
5. Affectionate
6. Aggressive
7. Ambitious
8. Analytical
9. Appreciative
10. Artistic
11. Brave
12. Business like
13. Calm
14. Capable

15. Caring
16. Cautious
17. Cheerful
18. Clean
19. Competent
20. Confident
21. Confident
22. Conscientious
23. Conservative
24. Considerate
25. Cool
26. Cooperative
27. Courageous
28. Creative

Curiosity is the very basis of education!
Meet you next month – January 2009

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
arumugakannu@gmail.com
Visit my blogs: http://www.nara2007.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S NOTEPAD)
http://www.nara.tumblr.com/ (NARA’S DIGEST)
http://www.nara1.vox.com/ (NARA’S POSTCARDS)