Wednesday, September 29, 2010




SPONSORS



NARA’S NOTEPAD, Sept. to Dec. 2010 issues are sponsored by

Dr. T. Nagendra Rao, Head, and

Dr. M. Hifzur Rahman, Senior Manager,

Plant Nutrition Services of Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, Hyderabad.



MANY THANKS TO THEM.




NARA'S NOTEPAD

VOLUME 6

OCTOBER 2010

NUMBER 10



SUPPORTED
BY
READERS LIKE YOU

LEARN
TO BE A KEEN
OBSERVER

MEMO FROM NARA...




Talking is a tool to communicate our needs and feelings with others. It’s a great boon for humans. Some talk less and others talk more but unfortunately the dumb person can not talk. There are always certain codes for talking. What to talk? What not to talk? – are questions need consideration. Moreover, we have to keep in mind the person we talk to. We can not talk certain things to certain persons. Hence talking requires a real control. There are fast talkers and slow talkers. While they talk, they do not listen to them. Only others listen and judge. Some talk to people who do not show an interest in hearing them. More often people repeat the same subject in so many sentences. It becomes painful for the listener. Talking loud to others even in a telephone is a habit of some people. People like to hear someone who talks soft with humor and emotion. When we are in anger, we talk ferociously. Verbal fighting is a common sight we see in our day-to-day life. No one thinks before talking. It is very essential to know how to choose the words before delivering. Once a wrong word is uttered, it can not be taken back. We have to say ‘sorry’ only as the Westerners who think that this particular word is the medicine for the mistakes committed. Talking to elders requires respect and talking to equals requires no formality. Molding the talk depending on the situation is an art. No one teaches us about talking. We have to learn from other humans by carefully listening and observing them. We can not talk as we like in a civilized world. Our education has to modulate our habit of talking so that we can establish good relationship with our fellow human beings.  

THEY SAID...



Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. – Winston Churchill


Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation and a pinch of creativity. – Bo Bennett

Most success springs from an obstacle or failure. I became a cartoonist largely because I failed in my goal of becoming a successful executive. – Scott Adams
Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit. – Conrad Hilton

JUST TO LAUGH...






A motorist was driving through a forest when he came across a stream. Seeing a fisherman there, he asked, “Is the stream shallow enough for me to drive through?”

”Sure’” replied the fisherman.

The motorist drove into the stream and his car sank. He somehow got out of his car and swam back to the shore. When he saw the fisherman, he asked angrily, “What do you mean by telling me that the stream is shallow?” he asked the fisherman.

“That’s what I thought,” replied the fisherman. “After all, the water reaches only up to the middle of the ducks!”



“Please help me, doctor,” said the worried looking man, “I’m getting strange dreams these days!”


“What sort of dreams?”


“I dream I’m playing football against a team of donkeys!”


“Every night?”


“Every night, but against different teams of donkeys. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.”


The doctor gave him a bottle of pills.

“Take three every four hours” he instructed. “They’ll cure you of your dreams forever.”

“Er…doctor,” said the man, “can I start taking them from tomorrow?”

“Why not from today?”

“Well, tonight is the Finals.”

MIND YOUR BUSINESS



Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others' affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

THOUGHTS ON SUCCESS



• Don't gossip about others!


• Stop waiting to do things until the time is perfect or waiting until tomorrow!


• Lay off the junk food!


• If you're fat, do something about it!


• Never put people down or judge people based on your standards!


• Stay away from negative people! Even friends and family if need be!


• Wear good quality clothes always!


• Treat your kids like adults - not babies!


• Go the extra mile!


• Reward yourself whenever you accomplish something!


• Stop thinking anyone is a guru or expert - they're not!


• Think for yourself!

FOR PEACE AND HAPPINESS




1. Let's fill our minds with thoughts of peace, courage, health, and hope, for "our life is what our thoughts make it."

2. Let's never try to get even with our enemies, because if we do we will hurt ourselves far more than we hurt them. Let's do as General Eisenhower does: let's never waste a minute thinking about people we don't like.

3. Instead of worrying about ingratitude, let's expect it. Let's remember that Jesus healed ten lepers in one day--and only one thanked Him. Why should we expect more gratitude than Jesus got? Let's remember that the only way to find happiness is not to expect gratitude--but to give for the joy of giving. Let's remember that gratitude is a "cultivated" trait; so if we want our children to be grateful, we must train them to be grateful.

4. Count your blessings--not your troubles!

5. Let's not imitate others. Let's find ourselves and be ourselves, for "envy is ignorance" and "imitation is suicide."

6. When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade.

7. Let's forget our own unhappiness--by trying to create a little happiness for others. "When you are good to others, you are best to yourself."

VIEWPOINT



Mallika Sarabhai (Dancer, Performer and Social Activist): In times like these, of corporate loot of the nation and political
money laundering, my thoughts search for a different way of life, a different way of living with comfort and even luxury, but not unbridled greed. The signs of this greed are all around us and the newspapers are full of big honchos getting caught raping the nation and her people, and for most part, escaping any damage to themselves, their reputation of their wealth. Occasionally, though, I read about people, or meet them, or see a film that gives me hope that other ways are still possible.

LINES I LIKED...








• The less you speculate, the less likely you are to go wrong.


• Economists are not often patrons of ordinary people.

• Travel across the world makes a world-class connection.

• Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.

• Terrorism and negotiations cannot go on together.

• There are some jobs only the government can do.


• Bad decisions make good stories.


• Being hurt gives you no right to hurt others.


• Those who themselves live in glass houses should be careful about throwing stones at others.



FUEL FOR LIFE



Animals obtain their energy from organic matter or food. They break up food by digesting it, and then they absorb the substances that are released. These substances are carried into the animal’s cells, where they are combined with oxygen to release energy. This process – called cellular respiration – is like a highly controlled form of burning, with food acting as fuel. The majority of animals are either herbivores, which eat plants, or carnivores, which eat other animals. Carnivores include predators, which feed in or on the living bodies of other animals. There are also omnivores, which eat both animal and plant food, and scavengers, which feed on dead matter from decaying leaves and corpses to fur and even bones. All animals, regardless of lifestyle ultimately provide food for other animals. All are connected by food chain, which pass food – and its energy – from one species to another.





If we are well paid, why should we need more?

Meet you next month –November, 2010



Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP

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


 
www.nara.tumblr.com (NARA’S DIGEST)

www.narapcard.blogspot.com (NARA’S POSTCARD)

www.nara2007.blogspot.com (NARA’S NOTEPAD)

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




Thursday, September 2, 2010

SPONSORS



NARA’S NOTEPAD, Sept. to Dec. 2010 issues are sponsored by

Dr. T. Nagendra Rao, Head, and

Dr. M. Hifzur Rahman, Senior Manager,

Plant Nutrition Services of Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, Hyderabad.



MANY THANKS TO THEM.


NARA'S NOTEPAD
VOLUME 6
SEPTEMBER 2010
NUMBER 9

Wednesday, September 1, 2010



DON'T KEEP HARPING ON
THE PAST!

MEMO FROM NARA...



In one of the blogs, I read a sensible sentence which inspired me to think about it a little bit. “You can’t always control what happens to you, but you can always control how you react to what happens to you.” – was the sentence. A beautiful sentence embedded with lot of logic and meaning. It is true that always we can’t certainly control what happens to us. Most of the happenings can be controlled by us but unfortunately, some of them like accidents, certain diseases, and failures are not in our control in spite of our careful precautions and preventive measures. Such beyond-our-control-happenings are called as ‘fate’ by some of us. Even such happenings can be met with confidence and little bit of controlled reaction. The reaction to a desirable / undesirable happening is important to be considered. It is always possible to control our reaction to what happens to us. The famous theory comes to my mind: To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As soon as an event such as an accident occurs to us our body reacts involuntarily. Such a reaction is instantaneous and one can not prevent it! If the event is mild and less dangerous, the reaction will be also mild. However, we do react depending on the nature of the event and also the concerned individual. Patience and calming down considerably help us to think cool and take a decision either to react or not to react. The control (break?) we apply to our reaction will go a long way to manage what happens to us. The ultimate reaction we look for is to control our feelings, emotions and above all the stupid anger. The recent flood in Pakistan is a good example for this. Thousands of people died and hundreds of thousands of people are suffering. The condition they face for the past few weeks is horrible and miserable. Hunger, disease outbreak, inapproachability, continuous rain, loss of homes, crops, cattle, wealth and what not? - Unimaginable for most of us. Still it has happened in Pakistan our neighboring country. All that happened to those Pakistanis was not under their control. But the reaction of the people to such a horrible situation varies considerably with each individual. Each one has to get food, water and shelter. Families with women (old and young) and children fighting for life are unable to react except praying the Almighty to take care of them. Therefore, what happen to us are sometimes uncontrollable and still we need to understand our reactions to bear and contain those happenings.















JUST TO LAUGH...


A disappointed salesman of a cola company returned from his assignment in Saudi Arabia. A friend asked him why he wasn’t successful. The explained, “When I got posted to Saudi, I was very confident that I would make a good sales pitch as cola is virtually unknown there. I didn’t know Arabic. So I planned to convey the message through three posters – first, a man crawling through the hot desert sand, totally exhausted and panting. Second, the man drinking our cola and third, the man totally refreshed. I had the posters pasted all over the place.”
“They should have worked,” said the friend. The man replied, “Well, I didn’t realize that Arabs read from right to left.”

A tourist stopped a local in a village he was visiting and asked; “what is the quickest way to the lake? The local thought for awhile. “Are you walking or driving?” he asked the tourist. “I’m driving.” “That is the quickest way!” the local said.

Atom Bomb : An invention to end all inventions.



Doctor: A person who heals your ills by pills, and kills you by bills.



Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early



Nurse: A person who wakes u up to give you sleeping pills.

AGING BEAUTIFULLY AND GRACEFULLY



Aging is a natural process. Accept this fact and make the best of it at every age and stage. Here are few tips:



1. Make use of your time.


2. Develop a hobby, something you enjoy doing for the sake of doing.


3. Be generous, in your behavior, in your actions and in your thoughts.


4. Don’t be a grumbler.


5. Talk a little less than necessary.


6. Cultivate some form of regular exercise.


7. Smile a little more; it adds beauty to your face.

HERBARIUM



It is a reference collection or library of plant specimens preserved for long-term study. Most plant samples are dried and pressed, labelled, and mounted on light card for safer storage and handling. They usually include leaves and a range of flowers, fruit or cones, seed and bark, as these are important features for identification. Herbarium specimens are used for many purposes including: Comparison of specimens when identifying plant samples; research into the relationships of plants (taxonomy); preserving vouchers of a plant species or group from a particular location, to compile the distribution range of that species or group.

R E L A X ...




Life is busy and sometimes hard. Life is also relaxing and easy. In my opinion, we tend to push ourselves way too much and leave little time to relax and recharge. Just like the battery in a cell phone, we have a finite amount of energy before the battery runs out of juice. Sure you can do the quick hit charges with a power nap or a walk in the park, but you still need to set aside time for a full discharge and recharge. You need that time where you just lay on the couch all day doing nothing but watching reruns, maybe reading a book, or just piddling around the house. There will always be a stack of work on your desk at the office. There will always be a list of to-do things at home. That stack at work and your to-do list need something added to the top of both of them: relaxation time.



How you define relaxation is totally up to you. There are times the couch totally recharges me. There are times just sitting in the dark letting the nonsense of the day flow out of my head and heart recharges me. There are times going to the gun range recharges me. The relaxation method is not important. Allocating the time relax is what it’s all about. If you feel tired more than you feel rested, you need some recharge time. If you feel stressed more than relaxed, you need some recharge time. - RODNEY

VIEWPOINTS



Change Yourself According To The Environment: If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.



Endure What Cannot Be Cured: This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control... If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.



Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew: This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities.

LINES I LIKED...


Look at every set of stairs as an enticement to exercise.



• Your body is an asset; don’t make it a liability.


• In pursuit of knowledge, everyday something is acquired and in pursuit of wisdom everyday something is dropped.


• Human potential is unlimited.


• Where there’s war, there’s lots of money.


• Seeing us, others will follow.


• Speaking is an extension of thinking.


• Peace of mind comes not from wanting to change others, but by simply accepting them as they are.


• Good things come to those who wait.


• To be content with a little is a great wealth.


• The best people are those who are most useful to others.


• Open to new ideas and people. Ideas are not permanent.



WIKIPEDIA




WIKIPEDIA website is based on a wiki engine, that allows users to edit the content. The first wiki engine was written in Perl by Ward Cunningham, for his programming website way back in 1995, and the website was used by programmers for sharing ideas. This was called the WikiWikiWeb. Wiki is a Hawaiian word for “quick”. It simply intended for quick content generation, but between 1995 and 2000, only very few other wiki-based websites ccame out, reaching out to a few people. With the entry of Jimmy Wales, started a wiki based encyclopaedia called Wikipedia, in Jaunuary 2001. 20,000 articles were submitted by the end of the year. It is growing at an exponential rate ever since.

You can always travel anywhere in your imagination!

Meet you next month – October, 2010

Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP

E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com


www.nara.tumblr.com (NARA’S DIGEST)

www.nara1.vox.com (NARA’S POSTCARD)

www.nara2007.blogspot.com (NARA’S NOTEPAD)

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