Posts filed under 'Interesting'

Dollar v/s Rupee

chart
The Rupee has reached an all time high against the Dollar. This progress has been seen after the one in 1998 when the Rupee was around 40 to a Dollar.
History has turned a page, Today again 40 Rupees equals a Dollar.
hehe…
People say the Indian economy is at a high. Do you think it is a bubble which will explode or is it going up from here?
Goldman Sachs has predicted on the basis of India’s GDP that it will be World’s 3rd largest economy by 2035 racing ahead of superpowers like France, Italy, Russia, Japan, Germany and UK.
Also, about remitting money to India, do we wait or do we send now is a question arising in lot of people’s minds.
If this is a topic that interests you, post your opinions and comments.

4 comments April 30th, 2007

Shocking Discovery about Frito-Lay Products

There had been a rumor going around our campus that Frito-Lay products are not vegetarian. Some of my friends called the company and spoke to the representatives. Here is what they found out - Doritos, Cheetos, Lays, Ruffles - ANY Frito products with any type of seasoning/cheese seasoning are not Veggie friendly. The enzymes used in making the cheese and seasonings for their cheetos, Doritos, etc. that come from grinded pork! The rep said they became aware of this 2 years ago. Esentially, read the ingredients and if you see any “seasoning” or “cheese” - DON’T EAT IT
People at my school wanted to start a petition requesting them to find alternatives, but she said it would be best for individuals to call, because each call is registered. So, if you are going to miss cheetos and doritos, call Frito-Lay at 1-800-352-4477, Monday - Friday, 9:00am-4:30pm

9 comments April 3rd, 2007

Understanding Daylight Savings & Why it saves energy

Since some of you may be wondering, here is my understanding of why DST saves energy. You can add to the comments if you feel I have been unclear or left out something :)

To understand why DST saves energy, we have to examine two cases:

1) In the Winter (this is “normal” time, before Daylight savings was invented), we set our clocks back. Meaning, if yesterday sun rose at 7am, today it would rise at 6am. Since the days get smaller naturally in the winter, this change helps us save energy in the morning, by not having to turn on the lights when we wake up because the sun is rising earlier now. This however, also causes our days to END earlier. This is OK in the winter however, because the days are smaller anyway and the weather is not suitable for out doors. Thus, losing an hour in the evening doesn’t really matter as we would stay indoors anyway.

2) In the summer (the actual “Daylight Savings Time” period), we spring forward and the sun rises and sets an hour LATER. Meaning, if the sun was going to rise at 5am yesterday, it rises at 6am today. This causes us to lose an hour in the morning but gain one in the evening as now the sun sets an hour later. Because the sun sets later in the day in summer, this encourages people to go outdoors more, and this in turn saves energy (from lights, TV, maybe AC). The reason losing an hour in the morning is OK in the summer is that the summer sun tends to rise earlier than in Winter anyway, so losing an hour of sunlight in the morning doesn’t hurt us much.

Now we come to, what has changed in 2007?

In 2007, we extended the summer time (the 2nd case) by 1 month. Where the DST used to last from start of April to end of October, it now lasts from Mid March to Mid November (adding two weeks to each end of the old DST period). This is essentially done to prolong the evenings and encourage people to go out more in hopes that that will save energy.

Will this ploy to save energy by congress actually work? Thats to be seen I guess. All I know is that at Yahoo we went crazy for the past few weeks trying to fix up all our software to handle DST changes gracefully (this is a bigger deal than it sounds…kind of like another Y2k).

4 comments March 11th, 2007

Slow Down Culture

(This article was a forward to me, It makes for interesting reading.)

It’s been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It’s a rule.

Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

Said in another words:
1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo, a state in Brazil.
2. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants.
3. Stockholm, has 500,000 people.
4. Volvo, Ericsson, Electrolux are some of its renowned companies.

The first time I was in Sweden, one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn’t say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, “Do you have a fixed parking space? I’ve noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot.” To which he replied, “Since we’re here early we’ll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don’t you think? Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there’s a movement in Europe name Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing.

Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.

Basically, the movement questions the sense of “hurry” and “craziness” generated by globalization, fueled by the desire of “having in quantity” (life status) versus “having with quality”, “life quality” or the “quality of being”. French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US’s attention, pupils of the fast and the “do it now!”.

This no-rush attitude doesn’t represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means reestablishing family values, friends, free and leisure time. Taking the “now”, present and concrete, versus the “global”, undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans’ essential values, the simplicity of living.

It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do. It’s time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of spirit.

In the movie, Scent of a Woman, there’s a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, “I can’t, my boyfriend will be here any minute now”. To which Al responds, “A life is lived in an instant”. Then they dance to a tango.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

“Carpe Diem!” - which means - “Seize the day.”

2 comments February 27th, 2007

Child Prodigy

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Check this Child from UK with IQ of 230 or more
He was on Oprah Show last week
Mahendra

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Akrit Pran Jaswal, India’s Child Surgeon - Child Genius

Akrit JaswalA young girl in India badly burned as a toddler, her fingers had fused together and curled into a knotted ball. Her shepherd family could not afford surgery, but they had heard of a remarkable young boy being called the child surgeon. Akrit Jaswal was only seven years old when he operated, successfully, on the eight year old girl to release her fingers.

Akrit Jaswal had a reputation, in the region, for being a medical genius. He has been shown to have the highest I.Q. of any boy his age in India, a country of over one billion people.

He has focussed this phenomenal intelligence on medicine and now, at the age of twelve, claims to be on the verge of discovering a cure for cancer.

An early developer, Akrit was walking and talking by the time he was 10 months old. He was reading and writing by two, and reading Shakespeare, in English, by the time he was five, and is now talking about his theories for oral gene therapy in the fight against cancer.

He is studying for a science degree at Chandigarh College and, at twelve years of age, is the youngest student ever accepted by an Indian University.

Akrit’s father left the family a year ago, depressed and exhausted by six years battling with Indian bureaucracy to get his son’s intellect acknowledged and resources made available for his cancer research.

Is it possible that this young boy knows something the medical profession does not? Throughout history, scientific breakthroughs have come not only from the established, the learned, and the scholarly, but also from single flashes of insight and inspiration.

Akrit is not phased by his fame and is used to meeting government ministers and press representatives. For ordinary people meeting Akrit, it is very different. When he is in town, they gather for an audience. They come with prescriptions and medicines, seeking advice. They come with ailments and injuries for a diagnosis. They come to see a doctor, a healer. They come to see a guru, and because this is India, there is always spiritual dimension.

Akrit may be famous but, will he be the one to unlock the secrets to a cure for cancer. He was invited to Imperial College, London to find out. He will spend two weeks based at Imperial College having his intelligence tested and talking super-mechanisms, genes and therapies with scientists at the cutting-edge of cancer research.
Patel and Djamgoz
Mr Anup Patel and Professor Mustafa Djamgoz

Akrit must convince Professor Mustafa Djamgoz, a world-renowned research biologist, and his colleague Mr Anup Patel, a consultant urological surgeon, that his ideas are realistic and worth pursuing.

The inquisitors become his friends, Mr Patel and Professor Djamgoz are keen to foster Akrit’s enthusiasm, keen to protect him from disappointment, and willing to guide him on his way.

Professor Djamgoz says of Akrit: ” He is generating ideas based upon what he knows, in an idealistic sort of way, without being in full grip of reality, withou knowing how difficult it is to turn the ideas into practical realities”.

Just how intelligent is Akrit? Team Focus, the UK’s leading I.Q. analysts agree to test him. For Akrit this was to prove a disappointment. His exceptional results in verbal and numeracy tests were countered by poor practical tests, particularly in the area of pattern matching. Because of this wide range of results Team Focus chose not to give him a final rating.

Rosemary Facer, a childhood psychologist, put forward the theory that Akrit had been an early developer accounting for the good results and because of this early genius he had missed out on later schooling accounting for the poor practical results. These results do not affect what Akrit may achieve, but he needs help, a wise friend to talk to.

The Professor’s analysis is that Akrit needs to obsess less and enjoy more. He thinks Akrit shows great potential but it needs to be properly guided.

Akrit returns home to India, slightly maturer, a little more realistic, but this precocious young man is still convinced that he will find a cure for cancer.

“http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/misc/akritjaswal.html”

Add comment February 15th, 2007

Gujarati Yahoo!

Yahoo recently launched a gujarati homepage…you can see it here:
http://in.gujarati.yahoo.com/

There is also gujarati news and other features there.

PS - You may want to use Internet Explorer to view this page as Firefox has problems with its international language rendering!

8 comments February 1st, 2007

10 Most Bizzare people on the earth

Take a look at this post of 10 really bizzare people. Not sure how much of this may be true…but very interesting nevertheless!

http://www.oddpeak.com/item_65612.aspx

Enjoy.

3 comments December 20th, 2006

Kavita - Poetries

Hello, Some yesteryear memories to be refreshed. Anyone remember these kavitas? It really felt good to me to read all these now which my bai and mummy used to tell me when i was of the age of riding tobu cycles ;)

Chakkiben Chakkiben
Chakkiben, chakkiben,
Mari saathe ramva
Aavso ke nai, aavso ke nai?
Besva ne paatlo,
Suva ne khaatlo,
Piva ne paani,
Aaapis taamne, apis tamne.

Haathibhai - Elephant Description
Haathibhai to jaada, laage motaa paada,
Haathibhai to jaada, laage motaa paada,
Aagad latake laambi soonth,
Paachhad latke tunki poonch

Ek Hato Oondar (A mice story)
Ek hato oondar, coat peryo sunder,
Haath maan lithi soti, vaato karto moti,
Jo banoo hun annapradhaan,
Kadi pade na anna ni taan,
Onndersenaa ghumti jaay choki pehro karti jaay.
Kotha rotlaa charti jaay, Loko sau vahechi ne khaay.

Ek bilaadi (Story of a fat cat)
Ek bilaadi jaadi, thene peri saadi
Saadi peri pharvaa gayi,
Talao maan e tarva gayi,
Talao maan to maggar,
Billi ne aavya chhakkar,
Saadi no chhedo chhuti gayo,
Magar na monma aavi gayo,
Chhedo magar khechi gayo,
Magar bilaadi khaayi gayo

Coming up next post is a Kutchi Kavita titled “Shodhyie Chhiye - શોધીએ છીએ“. Share your comments for this one

4 comments December 16th, 2006

word game competition

Hey, I want quick replies for this post. The competition is to come up with four words in a word Chain. An example of a four word word chain is CREDIT CARD STOCK OPTIONS (where each two word sequence is a chain; credit card, card stock and stock options). We cannot use proper nouns and each chain of four words must work grammatically and according to proper English usage.

16 comments December 7th, 2006

Interesting

http://www.ijourney.org/story.php?sid=20

6 comments November 28th, 2006

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