NARA'S NOTEPAD
VOLUME 17
FEBRUARY 2021
NUMBER 2
Monday, February 1, 2021
SPONSOR
Prof.
S. Thamburaj Ph.D
Former Dean, Faculty
of Horticulture, TNAU, Coimbatore
11, Vaiyapuri Illam,
Sabapathy Road, Saibaba Colony
Coimbatore 641 038,
ph. 96007 39443
SENSE OF COMPLETION
“Success is completion. Success is being able to complete what we set out to do – each individual action, each specific step, each desired experience whether a big project or a very small errand,” said Susan Collins. I do not know who this person is. However, the quotation illustrates the importance of completion or finishing.
Similarly, a big or
small project is started with an aim to complete. Projects like the
construction of buildings, roads, railway lines, bridges, aerodromes, etc.,
etc. are initiated with a goal to complete in a stipulated time period – may be
in months or years. Delays may occur due to various reasons. Such delays may
cause inconveniences to common people. There are many cases like that we see
with our own eyes in everyday life. Complaints are filed; sometimes the
complaints even go to courts to find a solution. So the sense of completions is
defeated by the incompletion.
Although incomplete
works always nag at us, some people do not bother about them. Still, they live
a happy (?) life. It is not true. Internally they are unhappy and worried. On
the other hand, if they planned properly they could complete the tasks and be
happy and satisfied. Reading a book, hearing a song, writing a letter, painting
a picture, seeing a film – are some of the simple tasks we undertake in our life. Some of
us start reading a book and leave it in the middle and fail to complete it.
Similarly, we start hearing a long song and will not hear it till the end. Writing a
letter or e-mail is left incomplete due to some reasons or other as a result
those activities not done fully. Even many unfinished paintings are seen
everywhere. We do see films but
sometimes we will not sit through the end of it. Therefore the sense of
completion is not felt in these cases.
TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE PEOPLE - STRENGTH AND WARMTH
Strength is a person’s capacity
to make things happen with abilities and force of will. When people project
strength, they command our respect. Warmth is the sense that a person shares
our feelings, interests, and view of the world. When people project warmth, we
like and support them...People who project both strength and warmth impress us
as knowing what they are doing and having our best interests at heart, so we
trust them and find them persuasive. They seem willing (warm) and able (strong)
to look out for our interests, so we look to them for leadership and feel
comfortable knowing they are in charge. Strength and warmth are the principal
criteria on which all our social judgments hinge.
Strength and warmth are in direct
tension with each other. most of the things we do to project the strength of
character – wearing a serious facial expression, flexing our biceps, or flexing
our vocabulary – tend to make us seem less warm. Likewise, most signals of
warmth – smiling often, speaking softly, and doing people favours – can leave
us seeming more submissive than strong.
The ability to master the
tension, to project both strength and warmth at once, is rare – so rare, in
fact, that we celebrate, elevate, and even have special name for this ability.
The ancient Greeks called it ‘the divisive gift,’ from which we get the word
“charisma.” Today it goes by different names in different circles. It is called
‘leadership potential’ and in the modern workplace, ‘cool in social settings.’ - John
Neffinger and Mathew Kohut
BEING FRIENDLY
1.
Smile and laugh to try to put others at ease.
2.
Avoid distractions like constantly checking your phone.
3.
Keep your body language open so you seem approachable to other people.
4.
Ask open questions about the other person.
5.
Listen properly, and show an interest in what’s said.
6.
Maintain a comfortable level of eye contact.
7.
Practice making small talk and stick to positive topics.
8.
Compliment others and comment on their strengths.
MAKE RELATIONSHIPS WORK
1.
Don’t create stories in your head about what might be happening between
your partner and somebody.
2.
Don’t snoop on your partner.
3.
If you love your partner, focus on your partner’s happiness. Put your
partner’s interest before yours. If you do this, he/she will do so too. In
relationships and in life, you get what you give.
4.
There is a difference between what you see and what is – they’re
never the same.
5.
Remember, the mind is negative by default. It is normal and human
to feel jealous. You can consciously work on your mind to think positive and
get rid of jealousy.
SELF PRESENTATION
How we present ourselves to
others is a very important aspect in physical interactions. In fact, most
people are overly concerned about the image they display to those around them.
Marketers have exploited this kind of consumer behaviors and this explains the abundance of fashion industries, cosmetic counters, diet centers, gyms, as well
as drugs and products that grow hair, whiten teeth, freshen breath, remove wrinkles, fade
blemishes, whiten skin, and inhibit aging.
GREEN GOALS
1. Pledge to make a difference.
2. Buy environment-friendly products.
3. Plant a tree.
4. Reduce electricity and water consumption.
5. Install flow regulation in taps.
6. Manage waste properly.
7. Recycle.
8. Turn off the lights when you leave the room
and water while brushing your teeth.
9. Try to go vegan.
10. Do not waste food.
11. Create a vegetable and herb garden.
TO QUOTE
Civilizations do fall. We have never yet
seen one that hasn’t. The difference is that the torch of progress has in the
past always passed to another region of the world. But we’ve now, for the first
time, got a single global civilization. If it fails we all fail together. – Tim
O’Reilly
The people sensible enough to give good
advice are usually sensible enough to give none. Eden Phillpotts
JUST TO LAUGH
I was sprawled on the living room couch watching my favorite show on the Food Network. When my husband walked in and saw what I was watching. “Why do you watch these food shows?” he asked. “You don’t even cook.” Looking back at him, I asked innocently “And just why you watch football.”
In prison, you spend the majority of your time in an 8'
X 10' cell.
At work, you spend most of your time in a 6' X 8'
cubicle.
In prison, you get three meals a day.
At work, you only get a break for one meal and you have
to pay for that one.
In prison, you get time off for good behavior.
At work, you get rewarded for good behavior with more
work.
LINES I LIKED
Ø
In
a court system one side wins and the other side loses.
Ø
In
a creative field like writing, having a difference of opinion is natural.
Ø
In
a democratic country the power flows from the people to the government.
Ø
In
a knowledge-intensive world, the only way you can remain ahead is by learning.
In a way, we are slaves of our habits!
Meet you next month –2021
Professor A. Narayanan, Ph. D., FISPP
SEND YOUR COMMENTS TO:
E-mail: arumugakannu@gmail.com
Ph :
0422 4393017 Mobile: 75399 15614
(NARA’S NOTEPAD)
Friday, January 1, 2021
SPONSOR
Prof. S. Thamburaj Ph.D.
Former
Dean, Faculty of Horticulture, TNAU, Coimbatore
11, Vaiyapuri Illam, Sabapathy Road, Saibaba Colony, Coimbatore 641 038,
ph. 96007 39443
2021 - THE YEAR OF VACCINATION
Last
year – 2020 was the year of coronavirus spread. Due to the spread, millions of
human beings died all over the world. People were helpless and afraid of the deadly
virus. Everyone was cautious and protected themselves with face-masks, social
distancing, and washing hands often. Still, the fear of infection is in the
minds of people. We all know that every country in the world was affected. The
Heads of States were after the biologists to find a solution. Since it is a
virus the only way is to invent a vaccine and testing it at three levels to
make sure that the vaccine is safe for mass vaccination.
Therefore
many Pharma companies came forward to concentrate on finding a suitable
vaccine. Some scientists said that it may take two to three years to bring out
a vaccine that can be confirmed and used for vaccinating the world population.
Few of the organizations proposed vaccines like Sputnik V (Russia), Oxford University
AstraZeneca vaccine (UK), Pfizer BisNtech vaccine (USA), and Moderna vaccine
(USA). These vaccines varied in their efficiencies from 79% to 90%. But the
Pfizer BioNtech claimed 100% efficiency.
Moreover,
to produce a suitable vaccine is not easy. The efficiency, the side effects,
duration of effectiveness, storage temperature and shelf-life under various
temperatures are some of the crucial factors to be worked out meticulously.
Then only the World Health Organization (WHO) and other National Certifying
Agencies will certify that these vaccines can be used on human beings. Vaccines
are known for the eradication of smallpox, tetanus, and measles-like diseases.
In fact, vaccines are a way of artificially activating the immune system to
protect us against infectious diseases. Vaccines contain a microorganism or
virus in a weakened, live, or killed state. They may also contain proteins or
toxins from the organism. This minor doze teaches our immune system to
recognize and fight specific germs so that when we are exposed to them, we are
at a much lower risk of getting sick. Most vaccines are given by injection as
they are not absorbed reliably through the intestines. Just like any medication
or procedure, no vaccine can be 100% effective for everyone. This is because
each person’s body reacts differently to vaccines.
In the 1800s,
cowpox created a scare in the UK, many people lost their lives battling the
deadly disease. It was then that the British physician Edward Jenner injected
people with weakened cowpox virus (vaccine) to immunize them against smallpox.
That was how the vaccine and vaccination came into practice.
The WHO
estimates that vaccination prevents two to three million deaths every year. The
development of vaccines is a complex procedure. Sometimes it takes 10 – 15
years. Now for the Covid-19, it has taken hardly a year! The human trials of
vaccine take place in three phases. During the Phase I trials, a vaccine is
tested in a group of about 20 people and see how it is safe? In Phase II, if
the vaccine is safe in Phase I, the test is expanded to include 59 to several
hundred people and evaluated for its effectiveness and the ideal dose. If Phase
II proves to be successful it is taken to Phase III where it is tested in
thousands of people. This phase normally can take several years to complete. If
we need it urgently as in the case of Covid-19 vaccines, the vaccine may get
the license.
Since the
vaccine for Covid-19 was tested on volunteers who were eligible with 12–65
years-age it could be released within a year. There were many Indian volunteers
in the UK offering them for the testing. It is a great thing there are very
good souls who came forward to save humanity. The UK took the bold step to
vaccinate an old British woman on 8 December 2020 and mass vaccination was on
from this date. On 14 December
2020, the first vaccination
was done on a New York nurse and Canada also initiated with Pfizer vaccine.
In India too thirty drug
companies are trying to produce Covid-19 vaccines like Covaxine, ZyCO-D,
Mynvax, etc. these vaccines are at different phases of testing. Hopefully, they
will be also ready by the first quarter of 2021. So there are possibilities
that a number of vaccines are on the line to save human beings in 2021.
Therefore I call 2021 as the year of vaccination.
Everything depends on the hard work of our biologists. There is no border for
science. In fact, science works for the benefit of humans. - NARA
TIPS FOR BETTER COMMUNITY
1. Call your family
often.
2. Every day gives
something good to another.
3. Forgive everyone, for
everything.
4. Spend time with
people over 80 and under 6 – it will teach you a lot.
5. Try to make at least
3 people smile every day.
6. What other people
think of you is none of your concern.
7. Your work won’t take
care of you when you’re sick. Your family and friends will. Don’t cut ties.
GOOD WILL
Do what you do because you believe it’s the
right thing to do. Do the right thing even when nobody is looking. Be one of
the people who make a true difference in the world by leaving it a little
better and more wholesome than you found it.
1.
Give small just-for-you presents. Whether it’s a candy bar you
know the other likes or a paperback book you found at a sale, it really is all
about the adage that it’s the thought that counts.
2.
Make it a point to slightly touch him or her often. Nothing
intimate, just an enthusiastic hug of pleasure when you greet or part, a touch
boost people’s mood and sense of connection; one paper found that even the most
fleeting touch of the fingers when a librarian returned a reader’s card made
the customer remember the library visit as a pleasant experience.
3.
Share a warm memory of the other person with him or her. I was thinking the other day about the
time I saw you. Knowing that you are noticed, remembered, or thought of, is
wonderfully flattering to anyone.
4.
Whatever your talent, employ it to create something that make
someone feel special appreciated. If you can cook, invite the friend for a home
cooked dinner or tea with your own baked treat. Such gestures are long
remembered.
5.
Plan an event.
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