NARA'S NOTEPADVOLUME 6
JULY 2010
NUMBER 7
Friday, July 2, 2010
MEMO FROM NARA...
Will it be possible to live in a peaceful world in future? A very big question asked by one of my friends to me. My immediate answer was a big ‘No’ because people want more power and comfort. Aspirations like these lead them to suppress others. Contradiction in opinions and viewpoints in fact, create misunderstanding and non friendliness at individual or group levels. Even though many countries follow the democratic principles for governance there is always opposition parties to criticize and oppose. These parties are formed for liberating a section of people who are neglected in the development process. The reasons may be reasonable. However such disappointments in the minds of certain sections of the society induce them to fight for their rights. Fighting for rights is an accepted norm adopted by a free society. Some countries do not respect the peoples’ voice. Those countries do not allow the people to raise their voice and try to suppress them. As a result, a section of our society is always unhappy with the attitudes of rulers and those who are rich and super rich. The only way left to them is agitation and disturbing the peace. It leads to terrorism and killing people who may be security forces, common men and women and children. Such activities are going on all over the world. Millions of innocent lives are destroyed every year in the world. How can peace will prevail? Religious leaders and spiritual gurus are advising people to live in peace. Thousands and thousands of people congregate to listen, the convincing motivational speeches of these great men and women, everyday and everywhere on earth. But still the peace in the world is a rare commodity. As the population and technology explode, people instead of using their knowledge for the betterment of human life, they create an atmosphere of peacelessness and fear in the minds of people. I feel that peacefulness itself is a reason for the peacelessness in our planet!
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Cash or Local Cheque or Demand Draft may be sent favouring:
A.Narayanan, Coimbatore.
THEY SAID...
All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney
A man, who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake. – Confucius
The price of greatness is responsibility. – Winston Churchill
Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.
- William Sprague
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out – Robert Collier
A man, who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake. – Confucius
The price of greatness is responsibility. – Winston Churchill
Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.
- William Sprague
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out – Robert Collier
JUST TO LAUGH...
A young man went to his grandfather's place to stay for the weekend. He was sitting down to lunch when he noticed that the spoons and forks were encrusted in a thin filmy substance.He asked his grandfather, "Are you sure you washed it properly?""As clean as cold water can get it" was the reply.So the young man shrugged and started eating.The next day at breakfast he noticed that the plates were dirty and grimy. It also smelled a bit like dog.Are you sure you washed it properly?"Clean as cold water can get it" was the reply again.The man, a bit suspicious for his health, looked at his grandfather, than at his plate and started eating.As he was leaving, his grandfather's dog jumped out in front of him, growled and generally blocked him from going forward."Cold water, leave the poor boy alone!" shouted the old man from inside.Sign on a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday’s Meals on Wheels.
VALID VIEWPOINTS
· Caste has no relevance in the 21st Century. It is the mark of an orthodox society. It serves no positive, and is an impediment to economic development. It runs counter to the country’s ambition to become a super power. The stratification of people is a political gimmick. A section of politicians is bound to take advantage of a caste-based head count. To fulfill their ambitions, our politicians want to drag India back by a few centuries.
· The caste system in India suited the colonial British rulers, as it facilitated their policy of divide and rule. Elections to provisional assemblies were on communal basis. This evil of division had percolated even to sports. The founding fathers of our Constitution wisely made a provision for special reservation to schedule castes and scheduled tribes for the first 10 years. This was proactive measure to uplift the socially and economically oppressed sections of society. Later, politicians belonging to various parties have extended the privilege, making it almost a permanent provision in the Constitution.
· The caste system in India suited the colonial British rulers, as it facilitated their policy of divide and rule. Elections to provisional assemblies were on communal basis. This evil of division had percolated even to sports. The founding fathers of our Constitution wisely made a provision for special reservation to schedule castes and scheduled tribes for the first 10 years. This was proactive measure to uplift the socially and economically oppressed sections of society. Later, politicians belonging to various parties have extended the privilege, making it almost a permanent provision in the Constitution.
ROREY FREEDMAN’S ADVICE
1. Don’t say “yes” when you mean “no.” It’ll make you resentful. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
2. When driving, if someone wants to get in front of you, let him in front of you. And do it with a smile. It’ll make his day better, and it’ll make you feel good. You just changed the world.
3. Try to make a gratitude list each day. Include big things and little things. Invite your friends to make their own lists; you can all email one another each day, sharing your gratitude.
4. Don’t be a problem solver when a friend just wants you to be a listener.
5. Call your parents or grandparents. Sometimes, a five-minute phone call is all they need to feel loved.
6. Be a good neighbor: Be considerate inside and outside your home/apartment so your noise doesn’t bother those around you. That includes opening and closing your front door quietly.
7. Pee in the shower. If we each did this once a day, it would save an enormous amount of water and toilet paper (trees).
8. Write a “fan letter.” Tell someone you know, or someone you’ve never met, why you admire him or her. You’ll make someone’s day.
9. Curb your jealousy. Be happy for others.
10. Be willing to be wrong. If someone has a grievance with you, really try to see her point of view. If called for, apologize. It’s hard to do, but it feels really good and makes life so much easier.
2. When driving, if someone wants to get in front of you, let him in front of you. And do it with a smile. It’ll make his day better, and it’ll make you feel good. You just changed the world.
3. Try to make a gratitude list each day. Include big things and little things. Invite your friends to make their own lists; you can all email one another each day, sharing your gratitude.
4. Don’t be a problem solver when a friend just wants you to be a listener.
5. Call your parents or grandparents. Sometimes, a five-minute phone call is all they need to feel loved.
6. Be a good neighbor: Be considerate inside and outside your home/apartment so your noise doesn’t bother those around you. That includes opening and closing your front door quietly.
7. Pee in the shower. If we each did this once a day, it would save an enormous amount of water and toilet paper (trees).
8. Write a “fan letter.” Tell someone you know, or someone you’ve never met, why you admire him or her. You’ll make someone’s day.
9. Curb your jealousy. Be happy for others.
10. Be willing to be wrong. If someone has a grievance with you, really try to see her point of view. If called for, apologize. It’s hard to do, but it feels really good and makes life so much easier.
CYBERNETICS
Cybernetics is derived from a Greek word ‘Kybernetes’ meaning the art of steering. It means to plan out objectives or goals and then make efforts to achieve them. In the mid 1950s the term was popularized by Norbert Wiener. Cybernetics involves a multidisciplinary approach to the interaction or communication in machines and biological entities or between them. It is about gathering information. It involves the study of various subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), electrical engineering, biology, neuro-physiology and psychology to name a few. Today cybernetics plays an important role in our daily lives. For example, the biometric systems are used in officer for recording entry and exit details of employees. With the development of new software programs and AI, the machine-man interaction is gaining importance in the study of cybernetics.
Easy is to judge the mistakes of others.
Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes.
Easy is to talk without thinking.
Difficult is to refrain the tongue.
Easy is to hurt someone who loves us.
Easy is to hurt someone who loves us.
Difficult is to heal the wound...
Easy is to forgive others.
Easy is to forgive others.
Difficult is to ask for forgiveness.
Easy is to set rules.
Easy is to set rules.
Difficult is to follow them..
Easy is to dream every night.
Easy is to dream every night.
Difficult is to fight for a dream...
Easy is to show victory.
Easy is to show victory.
Difficult is to assume defeat with dignity.
Easy is to admire a full moon.
Easy is to admire a full moon.
Difficult to see the other side...
Easy is to stumble with a stone.
Easy is to stumble with a stone.
Diffcult is to get up...
Easy is to enjoy life every day.
Easy is to enjoy life every day.
Difficult to give its real value...
Easy is to promise something to someone.
Difficult is to fulfill that promise...
Easy is to say we love.
Easy is to say we love.
Difficult is to show it every day...
Easy is to criticize others.
Easy is to criticize others.
Difficult is to improve oneself...
Easy is to make mistakes.
Easy is to make mistakes.
Difficult is to learn from them...
Easy is to weep for a lost love.
Easy is to weep for a lost love.
Difficult is to take care of it so not to lose it.
COMMUNICATION
Communication is the most important skill in life. There are four modes of communication - Reading, writing, speaking and listening. And most people spend 2/3 to ¾ th of their waking hours doing those four things. Of those 4 communication modes, the one that represents 40-50% of our communication time is listening - the one mode we have had the least training in. Most of us have had years and years of training in reading, writing and speaking. But no more than 5% of us have had more than two weeks of formal training in how to listen.
Seeing us, others will follow!
Meet you next month –AUGUST, 2010
Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com Ph : 0422 2423017 Mobile : 98422 42301
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)
Meet you next month –AUGUST, 2010
Prof. A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com Ph : 0422 2423017 Mobile : 98422 42301
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)
Monday, May 31, 2010
MEMO FROM NARA
‘What is next?” is difficult to predict because the progress is so fast. We are confused of what to buy and what not to buy today. Tomorrow the new model with new features will be available in the market with less cost. Is it a revolution? I think it is! Yes, I am talking about the electronic products such as computers (desktops and laptops), digital cameras, cell phones etc. I do not know how it is possible for the various companies to compete with each other to come out with new products so fast and keep the consumers in a fix. However, it gives us a chance to choose. One has to go through the pros and cons of each item with reference to their quality and cost. Of course our need is of paramount importance. Going on buying things and not using is not a good proposition according to me. Therefore one has to decide first what is needed urgently and not urgently. Also one has to plan for a budget to buy a particular item. Afterwards the search has to start. It is easy nowadays to search in the net and find out what we need and at what cost etc. After selecting an item, contact the concerned agent in the town to check whether the item is available with them or not. It would be better if we visit an exhibition of electronic goods. We can virtually see the various products and verify their working and also we can pose questions regarding the utility of the item and clear all other doubts. In the meantime, there may be one more in the market with some desired new features. So we have to revise our search and research. Thus the search continues and we try to postpone the purchase of an item which we need for adding to our electronic system at home.
One such item I am in search recently is an external hard disc which is a compact device in which we can store all the junks accumulated over time in our internal hard disc (C and D drives) of the personal computer. The external hard disc is made by a number of companies. The capacity ranges from 250 gigabytes to 1.5 terabytes. The cost is around Rs. 5000 to 6000/- in India. Should I buy it now or shall I wait for some more time to get a still better version?
One such item I am in search recently is an external hard disc which is a compact device in which we can store all the junks accumulated over time in our internal hard disc (C and D drives) of the personal computer. The external hard disc is made by a number of companies. The capacity ranges from 250 gigabytes to 1.5 terabytes. The cost is around Rs. 5000 to 6000/- in India. Should I buy it now or shall I wait for some more time to get a still better version?
JUST TO LAUGH...
True love is like a pillow. You can hug when you are in trouble. You can cry on it
when you are in pain and you embrace when you are happy.
So when you need true love spend Rs. 50/- and buy a pillow.
Marriages are made in Heaven. Then what are made in Hell?
Answer: The days after marriage.
During marriage ceremony, why is the bridegroom made to sit on the horse?
He is given a chance to run away.
I wrote your name on the sand…it got washed away…
I wrote your name in air…it got blown away…
So I wrote your name in my heart…
I got a heart attack.
Dear friend, when I ask you flower, you give me bouquet; when I ask you a stone, you give me a statue; when I ask you a feather, you give me a peacock.
Are you really deaf?
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Capital punishment (CP), or the death penalty, is the killing of a person by the process of law as punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The Supreme Court of India ruled in 1980 that the death penalty should be imposed only in “the rarest cases.” Capital crimes in India include murder, gang robbery with murder, waging war against the State, committing terrorist activities and abetting mutiny by member of the armed forces. Death sentence in India is still awarded, but rarely. It is carried out by hanging. There was no execution in India between 1995 and 2004.
CP is known to have existed, the world over since recorded history. Originally, the most common method was severing of the head. Severe penalties included the breaking wheel, boiling to death, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucification, impalement, crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, and execution by burning, dismemberment, sawing, and decapitation. Countries have moved to more human executions that include guillotine, long drop hanging, gas chamber, lethal injection etc. Death sentence is still awarded in 55 countries. It is abolished in 95 countries while about 44 countries have not awarded CP during the pas 10 years. Singapore, Japan and the USA are the only “fully” developed countries that have retained the death penalty. The European Union and the Council of Europe both strictly require member states not to practice the death penalty.
CP is known to have existed, the world over since recorded history. Originally, the most common method was severing of the head. Severe penalties included the breaking wheel, boiling to death, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucification, impalement, crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, and execution by burning, dismemberment, sawing, and decapitation. Countries have moved to more human executions that include guillotine, long drop hanging, gas chamber, lethal injection etc. Death sentence is still awarded in 55 countries. It is abolished in 95 countries while about 44 countries have not awarded CP during the pas 10 years. Singapore, Japan and the USA are the only “fully” developed countries that have retained the death penalty. The European Union and the Council of Europe both strictly require member states not to practice the death penalty.
WRITING
Writing, like reading, is a complex mental task. You are to think about what you want to say, choose the right words to convey your message, and connect words to make sentences and then paragraphs. Depending on the material, you may be exercising your creativity too. Try to write at least one letter a week. You might use that opportunity to share memories, renew a friendship, get in touch with family members, or even create a kind of newsletter that goes out to a number of people. If you have a bone to pick with a recent editorial in the newspaper write a rebuttal to the article.
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