NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 6

FEBRUARY 2010

NUMBER 2

SUPPORTED

BY

READERS LIKE YOU

LEARN

SOMETHING

NEW

MEMO FROM NARA

Sometimes I used to feel that I am foolish and unwise because I know very little things and many things are not known to me. As Thiruvalluvar says, what we learnt is just a fistful of soil and what we have not learnt is equal to the size of the Globe. This universal truth is applicable to all human beings even today at a greater magnitude because of the enormous knowledge explosion. Once up on a time, we depended on the print media and radio to gather knowledge, but today the electronic media help us to know more at the click of a mouse or a remote or finger tip. We need not depend on anyone to know about anything. Nothing is hidden in today’s world. Everything is open to everyone, everywhere. We need not store the knowledge in our brain even; it is available in search engine such as Google. If we type in a keyword, immediately it flashes out millions of references to choose the appropriate topic one wants. Even if we type our own name, we will be able to know something about us. Articles on any subject are available in the internet. Known and unknown topics on everyday news, from various parts of the world are also available in the net. We will be able to look at the location of our or our friends’ house anywhere on the Globe through the satellite-based navigation system otherwise known as Global Positioning System (GPS) in our laptop or PC or even in mobile phone. So knowledge is in our hands. Hence I feel that everyone in the world is knowledgeable because of the electronic gadgets at our disposal. Knowing is always helpful for leading a happy and healthy life. Learning helps to know more. Internet is one of the essential resources for our knowledge. Gathering knowledge is important for changing the mode of everyone’s life and lifestyle. The future generation – our children and grand children – will be depending on internet for their day-to-day activities including education and knowledge. Internet is an interesting world itself for those who have little knowledge about it. It has everything – literally everything – for helping the people who are in search of knowledge. Therefore I am not pessimistic, but optimistic about my potential to know things. Am I a fool? I think I am not!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Many thanks to

Rtn. Prof. P. C. Sundara Babu, Ph. D.

for his sincere support to bear

the printing charges of next six issues of
NARA’S NOTEPAD.
- NARA

LINES I LIKED...

• Invisible dangers are often more hazardous than the ones you can see.


• Today there’s an answer to every question on the internet.


• Honesty and integrity are essential to the success of scientific endeavors.


• Abundance and availability of energy resources largely determine the economic well being of the country.


• Excellent Universities are built by excellent minds.

JUST TO LAUGH...

TWO women, both wives of prominent industrialists, were trying to impress each other with their wealth. “I always clean my sapphires with fresh milk.” said one of the women. “They say milk from Greece is best for the purpose so I get the milk from there. My rubies, of course, I clean with French wine and my diamonds with ammonia imported from Germany. How do you clean your jewels?”
“I don’t clean my jewels at all,” drawled the other woman. “When they get dirty, I throw them away.”

TWO women, who are dog owners, are arguing which dog is smarter:First woman : My dog is so smart. Every morning he waits for a paper boy to come around and then he takes a newspaper and brings it to me.Second woman: I knowFirst one: How?Second one: My dog told me.

A young lady came home from a date, rather sad. She told her mother, "Jeff proposed to me an hour ago." "Then why are you so sad?" her mother asked. "Because he also told me he was an atheist. Mom, he doesn't even believe there's a hell."Her mother replied, "Marry him anyway. Between the two of us, we'll show him how wrong he is."

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Epidemiology is the basic science of preventive and social medicine. Its ramifications cover not only study of disease – distribution and causation (and thereby prevention), but also health and health-related events occurring in human populations. Modern epidemiology has entered the most exciting phase of its evolution. By identifying risk factors of chronic disease, evaluating treatment modalities and health services, it has provided new opportunities for prevention, treatment, planning and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of health services.

SMALL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

Even a small word of encouragement from someone we admire can change the direction of our lives. We hold a space for each other when we share blessings of encouragement. A small word of encouragement means so much when one is searching for a bit of inspiration. This is especially true if you are an authority figure of some sort. We are all an authority figure for someone; it could be a spouse, a child, a student, someone at work.

Expect the best from everyone in your circle of influence, especially from someone who is underperforming. People can be so fragile sometimes as the pictures of their self-image dance through their heads. No matter the age, many are still struggling to find their way.

I have stationery that I send to people when I catch them doing something wonderful. Imagine how you would feel if someone sent you a letter noticing a kind deed that you have performed for another. Everyone wants to feel good about them and it is a real blessing to them if we become more aware of their innate goodness.

Many times it's the small things that bring happiness to others. We can become so involved with our own busy schedule that we neglect to see those small cries for love and blessings. We don't always recognize the need from another to be recognized and encouraged. Our responding words are either a blessing or a detriment.

STEPS TO PERSONAL MASTERY

Identify Your Three Greatest Accomplishments. In 2009Even if 2009 was a challenging year for you, odds are if you look close enough there's something somewhere to be proud of.
Analyze What You Learned from Each Accomplishment. Now that you have identified your three greatest accomplishments, go back to each one. This time though identify exactly what you learned or were reminded of by each of them.
Identify Your Biggest Disappointments of 2009. Practically every company and individual resists analyzing their mistakes. That's a shame because this is where the best learning comes from.
Analyze What You Learned from Each Failure or Disappointment. No matter how great everything in life is going - we all make mistakes. The trick here is to really analyze them, what preceded them, what could you have done differently, and how can you prevent them in the future.
Identify How You Limited Yourself and How Can You Stop It. Were there certain actions you took or didn't take that came back to haunt you? In order to make sure you don't limit yourself again - you need to bring these self-defeating actions to the surface, confront them, and most importantly determine what you must do differently to make sure you don't make the same mistakes all over again.
Pragmatically Review the Information You Have Gathered. The goal of this exercise is not simply to know yourself and your business better but to actually use the information to make certain 2010 far surpasses 2009. What are the big takeaways from answering each question? What do you know about yourself or your business that you didn't realize or weren't thinking about?
Obviously, having this list isn't going to do it all, you still need to take this new knowledge and USE IT! Fortunately, that's what the last step is centered around. And here it is...
Use This Information to Astonish Yourself in 2010. The purpose here is to build in to your schedule, your interactions, your management style or whatever else you've surfaced in the previous questions and build yourself a new better approach.
- Gary Ryan Blair

THEY SAID...

The weaker sex is stronger than stronger sex because of the stronger sex’s weakness for the weaker sex. – Graffiti
A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that ‘individuality’ is the key to success. – Robert Orben
Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. – Newt Gingrich
Life is pretty simple. You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works. If it works big, others quickly copy it. Then you do something else. – Tom Peters
Now and then it’s good in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy. – The Cocklebur

KITCHEN CABINET

Every head of state is believed to have his/her own ‘kitchen cabinet.’ It usually consists of a small group of people whom the Prime Minister or President turns to for advice. These unofficial advisers are not politicians and the head of state implicitly trusts them. It is believed that sometimes the kitchen cabinet has a greater influence on the head of state than the official cabinet. This is understandable because the official cabinet consists of politicians, and as everyone knows, politicians are not meant to be trusted – even if they happen to be from your own party! The expression ‘kitchen cabinet’ was coined in the United States in the 1830s during the Presidency of Andrew Jackson. He had three friends whom he depended on for advice. Since he wanted to keep their visits a secret, he usually had them ushered in through the kitchen door. It is believed that most of their meetings actually took place in the kitchen; hence the term ‘kitchen cabinet.’ Other expressions which have more or less the same meaning are ‘brain(s) trust’ and ‘think tank.’ --- S. Upendran

CELL

Cells are the fundamental units of life. Whether they be unicellular or multicellular life forms, all living organisms are composed of and depend on cells to function normally. Not all cells however are alike. There are two primary types of cells: prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells have a true nucleus (distinct area that houses DNA) and are generally more complex than prokaryotic cells. Examples of eukaryotic cells include animal and plant cells. Bacteria and Achaeans are prokaryotic cells. Some interesting facts about cells include: There are anywhere from 75 to 100 trillion cells in the body. There are more bacterial cells in the body than human cells. Prokaryotes are the most primitive forms of life on earth. Cells have varying life spans. Cells commit suicide.

VIEWPOINT

Our security personnel stake their lives to capture and eliminate criminals. They put in tremendous efforts to enforce law and order, as a result of which they live in constant threat virtually without any support from anywhere. On the other hand, the captured criminals, including terrorists, are kept safe and healthy in our jails. Very few are punished. We are reluctant to act even after the judiciary sentences some of them to death. Are we not making a mockery of democracy by taking more pains to support and sustain criminals than those who fight to eliminate them? The reluctance to punish the guilty has eroded people’s faith in the criminal justice system.

Make a list of what you accomplished today!
Meet you next month – March 2010
Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
# 19, Phase 5, Maharani Avenue, Vadavalli, Coimbatore – 641 041,

Telephone: 0422 – 2423017 Mobile: 98422 42301
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com

http://www.nara.tumblr.com/ (NARA’S DIGEST),

http://www.nara1.vox.com/ (NARA’S POSTCARD),

http://www.nara2007.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S NOTEPAD),

http://www.nsdigest.blogspot.com/ (NARA’S SCIENCE DIGEST)