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Anger – tort of the day!!
Author: SUFFIX on Sunday, October 10, 2010


We all very well aware of the anger, read many times and dwell with it, so don’t get annoyed about this post, recently I read an article about how angry affects the professional work especially the decision makers, it should not be an egregious event, but simple upsets inflict the chores. The decision made with the anger mood are mostly cognitive rather than profound. It could affect the big boss ‘you’ or a poor sweeper out there.

This morning at my daughter’s school entrance I found a furious dad yelling at his KG toddler to get down from his car quickly, while all the vehicles behind him were honking. Who should be blamed, the father or daughter?, the entire mistake was by this grown up man, there were spacious parking just few meters ahead, but he was so lazy to spend few minutes or to turn his wheel to facilitate the small kid to get down safe and peacefully.

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Husband: When I get mad at you, you never fight back. How do you control your anger?

Wife : I clean the toilet....

Husband: How does that help ?

Wife : I use your toothbrush.

Category: | 7 Comments
Journey and the people
Author: SUFFIX on Sunday, August 29, 2010


Nowadays we are using varieties of transportation modes, each one bring us different experience. The flight journey can be fast and modern with smileful air hostess swaying around but nothing can beat the pleasure of train journey, i guess.

It is another great experience if you take a ride in Chennai autorickshaws, at the end of your journey, you will be more updated on political trends, cine gossips and commodity price index etc from the driver.

The bus ride can be appropriate for shorter distance but it is uncomfortable for longer distances, especially with our private transporters compete with thei rivals on catching up the time, it’s like running race, they never care about road bends or turn. Most of these buses, play 'dappanguthu songs' and blurred quality videos make our travel more horrible!!

By the way we rented Mahindra Scorpio for few days, the vehicle is great, equivalent to international brands. India is really shining on this industry.

The train journey brings the people more closer, sometimes we may get a ‘fellow passenger’ then become our friends. During my recent visit to India, I intentionally opted to travel by train. One time we got retired government physician and a software engineer travelling with us, they were so humble and polite, during discussions we found that he has a daughter and they are getting good offers for her marriage, he mentioned about a proposal and the boy is working with a reputed software company, fortunately the person he mentioned happened to be our fellow passenger’s friend, he got more details about him, almost he made up his decision and sent immediately a text message to his daughter. That was a pleasant event in the train.


Let me share a story flight journey, we were six of us, when they allotted the seat, my daughter and son got seats far from us, we preferred to have them beside, I requested two gentle men in front us on possibility of exchanging seats, one agreed another was so stubborn, just I asked him the reason for not moving, his reply was ‘he didn’t want to’ I didn’t argue with him much, he could be mentally stressed or problems to ponder, I know a bachelor’s situation flying to gulf. If that was the problem by a passenger, I didn’t expect another bug in the form of bag by the flight attendants, they were distributing gift bags for all the kids, in fact we have many of them at home got from the previous trips, the airhostess started to distribute and stopped in half way, most of the other kids and their parents were upset and arguing, I asked the reason and understood they are out of stock, it was hard to convince my kids, what a poor management by the Airlines (Saudia), among the airline services in gulf region, its my impression, Emirates is the best!! I could do nothing but a complaint to the airlines.

I hope you got my point for the reason to hate the flight journey!! I wish we have fastest train between Jeddah and Chennai.

Category: | 25 Comments
Improve willpower...
Author: SUFFIX on Wednesday, July 7, 2010

A recent Harvard University study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, suggests that you can improve your willpower simply by doing good deeds. Researchers found we can view others who "do good" as having more willpower. So, when we do good deeds ourselves, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. To improve your willpower, try doing more good deeds in your personal life and at work.

http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article/2010/4/21/good-something-dollar-weight/

Thanks www.mindtools.com

Category: | 10 Comments
Packing up a vacation
Author: SUFFIX on Sunday, July 4, 2010


Packing for a vacation is similar to executing a project, it needs a check list, time schedule, planning, budget allocation, and finally not to miss anything!! This year we are visiting our native place for a month, we have prepared a list several weeks before mainly comprising of gifts to our relatives and friends. We bought each a colorful (not multicolored…lol) suit cases, and fill them whenever we purchase something. Earlier days, we get several quality products those were not available back home or they were comparatively so expensive, the best example I can think of is electronic products, but now we get almost everything everywhere. My uncle used to wear particular brand shoe, that was not available in India, twice I bought him during my last trips, last week I called him, he told, “everything available here, if you need anything I will buy them for you” That is wonderful.



I asked my colleague who is also leaving next week, he is whining, he got a big list from his family, they want soap powder to talc powder, hair oil to cooking oil, he has to carry all these items, pay excess luggage charges which will be more than the product cost, but he mentioned, even though we get everything in our native, but the quality will be superior here, I doubt in his statement but cannot deny, last night we went to a super market and browsing the aisles I found our Indian biscuits, chocolates with the a big label “Export Quality”, what does it mean? as my colleague mentioned the products are superior in foreign countries? for export purpose you can do efficient packaging but the quality should be same is nt it?


For your info, another list is being prepared, mainly these list are of homemade groceries (masala powder, especially for fish curry) to be brought back on return, not any reputed brand can beat them!!


Category: | 12 Comments
Dilbert Cartoons
Author: SUFFIX on Saturday, June 26, 2010

I adore Dilbert cartoons, the expressions, dialogues and the characters depicts a lot. Glad to share these recent ones:


Frightening Presentation


Employee satisfaction doubled 1 to 2% -:)

Watch you words :(

Technocrats

Should have alternative plans

Category: | 19 Comments
Soaring Temperature
Author: SUFFIX on Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Since three days the temperature is swinging in fifties here, yesterday it has reached 55°C, and they expect the same today as well, some of the schools are closed today as they afraid of sunstroke. The sad part is about the laborers, construction workers and the road cleaners, I wonder do everybody will get a propitious management to consider their working conditions, time and their health. In our factory, they distribute plenty of juices, water bottles, shorter working time for the people working in plants and construction areas. Due to higher temperature, there are frequent power cuts, even air-condition going weary. Yesterday evening I could not sit inside my car, the seat has absorbed all the heat, ventilated, even then no use. Back home at Chennai, we used to whine and yell for the temperature 35°C!!

Our body can easily adjust up to 40°C, when it goes higher, it may affect our metabolism, to avoid anything serious, we should keep our body hydrated. We already know about the importance of drinking water regularly, whether it is medically proven or not, it is healthier to drink 8 glasses of water a day, it is water, nature's gift, nothing wrong if you drink more!!

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A Mentor..
Author: SUFFIX on Tuesday, June 15, 2010

There is a quote by Maya Angelou “I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. Nowadays we come across many people throughout the day , at work, in our blogs and mails, we even wish them on their birthdays and anniversaries just by a pop up message of Face Book, we should accept this trend, our relationships are evolved in to ‘E’ thing!!

Among all these gyration, we meet people sincere, appreciative, mighty and admiring. I found in some manufacturing industries, when a talented fresh candidate joins they assign an experienced member of the organization as mentor, who can walk through the process, teach, train and mold, it is best model to learn from experience. Mostly we use the term role model, usually they are big celebrities or leaders, I never had a thought of having anybody as my role model, the reasons may be I don’t know them personally or I am not ready for such a big challenge or it is not required for me!!, but I am inspired by the mentor, who understand, criticize, care, appreciate, share, teach and learn.

If you take a survey of your friends list, some of them you know since the child hood days, from school and colleges, from the work place, and lately some of our e-friendship may be turned in to a good friendship, time is not important for efficient friendship, or just by chatting few minutes every day and exchanging mails is not a measure for effective friendship, but it makes a difference by how much the friendship makes you feel। Recently I got whiff of mentor with a friend, hardly I know less than a year, we discuss a lot, share and update each other, I always trust my friendship, it never deceives me. Everybody is unique and will have some talents, when we share and discuss we learn more and vision becomes broader. I am enjoying all those blessings with my new friend, even though I have few other good friends, this new friend shows the other dimension of it, I am sure you will have such friends at least one or too many!!

Category: | 11 Comments
Thinking outside the box’
Author: SUFFIX on Saturday, May 22, 2010


When somebody talks about ‘Thinking outside the box’, I remember those stories read in the forwarded mails. The first one, the idea flashed from an operator in a Japanese company another one a smart move by the Russian astronauts.


Once in a Japanese soap factory they had problem with their packaging, they were receiving complaints from finished product section about some of the packets were empty without soap inside, they called for a technical meeting to solve this problem, so many suggestion poured in, like installing sensors, x rays machines, scales etc., but they received a simple and economical suggestion from an operator, he recommended to fix a fan near the conveyor, when the air blows on the boxes the empty packets will be pushed aside, what a cost effective idea is nt it?


Another interesting story about the astronauts, once American space agency were seriously discussing about the invention of a pen that can work in space, because of zero gravity, the ink pen didn’t work in the space, Americans spend millions of dollars on research and invented a pen, but Russians thought in smart way and they just used pencil which served the purpose, I hope you have noticed Aamir quotes the same incident in the beginning segment of the movie Three Idiots.

Another mail recently I have received from my friend about luck, we come across many luckiest people and wonder why only few people are lucky and others not, even though many reasons said, I admire the reason mentioned in that particular message, we miss lot of opportunities lurking or hiding within reachable distance which is very much destined for us, but we always look for something very far and ignore the near ones.

These incidents show us the idea can be simple, from a lay person but they are valuable and also we have to concentrate on the solution not the process, when we conceptualize the end result, we can simplify the process. We should always think ‘outside the box’, at work or personal tasks, instead of following mundane, just try out something innovative, maybe that’s where your luck is lurking.

Good Luck!!
Note : The stories might be fictious -:)

Category: | 24 Comments
Eco Friendly Font..
Author: SUFFIX on Monday, May 17, 2010

According to a study performed by Printer.com, an independent printer comparison site, printing in Century Gothic font rather than Arial can consume 30% less ink and help reduce costs.

In addition to Century Gothic font (size 11 - saves 30%), other Microsoft standard fonts that use less ink are: Times New Roman (size 12 - saves 28%), Calibri (size 11 - saves 23%), and Verdana (size 11 – saves 8%).

Simply by choosing a more eco-friendly font, such as Century Gothic, organizations can reduce waste and help trim the bottom line… Did you realize you can actually cut printing costs just by choosing another font? Even with everyone looking for new ways to save money, it’s doubtful most people have considered the font they use for letters, reports, and notices, but you can actually save 31% on your ink cartridge costs just by picking the right font.

Printer.com recently put this notion to the test using two popular printers. The Canon Pixma MP 210 was picked to simulate the printing of private users while the Brother HL-2140 laser printer was used to test business use. Both printers were left at their default settings (600 by 600 dpi). Changing only the font resulted in saving between $20 and $80 per year.

Arial, reigning as the most popular font, was used as the “zero” measurement, against which nine other fonts were tested. The clear winner was Century Gothic, which returned 31% savings in both printers. For the average private user, printing approximately 25 pages per week, this will easily generate a net reduction of $20 in a year. A business-user, printing approximately 250 pages per week, could save $80. If your organization uses multiple printers, you can save hundreds of dollars per year doing nothing more than picking a more economical font.

Century Gothic is a modern font that comes standard with MS Windows. Surprisingly, it even beat Eco-font which was specifically designed with efficiency and cost in mind. For those who require a more “traditional” look, Times New Roman provides a good balance between style and savings.

Source:http://blog.printer.com/2009/04/printing-costs-does-font-choice-make-a-difference/

Category: | 9 Comments
Etc....
Author: SUFFIX on Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Historical





Our house is located in the 'Old Airport Area'. Until 1980 it was the busiest Airport in the Kingdom, now the new airport is located 25 kms away from the city. The archaelogical department maintains the sign boards and few buildings. This board is in the entrance of a road nearby, still 'Arrivals' and 'Departures' are readable.








Hysterical



This is a signboard of key duplicating shop, iron box.......means 'Safe'? -:)




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Dubai Visit
Author: SUFFIX on Monday, April 5, 2010

It was a great visit to Dubai last week to attend the Balanced Scorecard Forum 2010. I was so privileged to meet management icons Dr. David Norton and Dr. Robert Kaplan. They shared their philosophical thoughts on the concept which they derived during 1990s, but the wonder is, it is still capable of making marvelous changes in organizations. Harvard Business Review claims that the concept is the most effective tool in the 75 years of its publishing history. The traditional method to measure the performance was based merely on financial factors, but the balance scorecard recommends the inclusion of other main perspectives like people, internal process, customers and finance. All these perspectives should align with the company's strategic goals.

Most of the reputed companies already implemented this approach, and representatives from those companies shared their journey towards achieving the desired results. A great experience.

As far as Dubai is concerned, it is nice place to live, cost of house and transport are comparatively high, but worth it. Just to experience the new metro service i paid 12 Dhs and travelled through 4 stations, quite nice. One of the many advantages of this place is that you can manage with English and it is user friendly.

I went near Burj Khalifa- it's amazing. i was so excited to see the city from the top. unfortunately they have closed for a few days. Then visited the adjoining Dubai Mall, grabbed the guide from information counter- thousands of shops scattered around, guess you need a full day to roam around!! Had nice spicy chicken and rice at Nandos Restaurant at ground level!! Yummy...

i guess this is the right time to visit, most of the hotels have reduced their prices drastically, guys check out!!

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Emotions Are A Part Of Life
Author: SUFFIX on Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Emotions - We face it in our everyday life, affect us in all directions and in different modes, the below message is forwarded by my friend, i am glad to share with my blog friends:

Life is like an unsolved puzzle. No one can define what life is because it is a very complex thing.
Life is something that makes you happy and proud at times and makes you feel so low at times that you say to yourself, "Why was I born?" But whatever it is, it is real fun.

In Life, in every moment, something new happens; something that you never expected, something that you were waiting from a long while to happen and something you were expecting to happen. It is a combination of happiness, sorrow, joy, love, anger, enjoyment, loneliness, fear, excitement and many other emotions.

The definition of the word life can't be completed without using the word emotions. Some people work in emotions whereas others work with emotions. So it's very important to understand how people are using their emotions.

If they are letting emotions get control over them, then they'll be dragged by others and situations all the time. But, if he is controlling his emotions in a proper way, then no one will ever have control over him.

The way a person uses his emotions is what we call attitude.

Someone has correctly said, "Your attitude determines your altitude in life". Attitude, as I already defined, is the way an individual uses his emotions and directly related to the psyche of a person.

Some people use their emotions in a positive way and some people do it in a negative sense.

When people use emotions in a positive way we call it positive attitude and when they use it in a negative way we call it negative attitude.

It's up to an individual to decide how he uses his emotions. Which way will you decide ?
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Picture source : http://www.miamism.com/wp-content/uploads//m/blogs/miamism/emotions_small.jpg

Category: | 13 Comments
The Formula For Perfect Parallel Parking
Author: SUFFIX on Sunday, January 24, 2010



If you live in a big city, this scenario is all too familiar: Traffic is bad. You're late for work. And, of course, the parking garage is now full. So you're forced to parallel park on the street. You finally find a spot between two hulking SUVs, but it looks pretty tight. Do you go for it or move on? Not to worry;
geometry can save you. Run a simple calculation and — voila! — you'll know just what to do.Ignore the car that's sneaking into your space as you do the calculation. You'll need a few pieces of information:

Your car's turning radius, r

The distance between the front and rear wheels, l

The distance from your front wheel to the corner of the front bumper, k

The width of the car you're trying to park behind, w

Simon Blackburn, Professor of Mathematics, at the University of London,

worked out a formula for the perfect parking, reminds our good school days,

Blackburn's formula does this by sketching the arc of your car's turning capability into a full circle, then using the center of the circle to create the right-angle triangles Pythagoras loved.That's a lot of work just to tell you if you have enough space for an easy park. And it doesn't tell you how to do the parking. That's something you have to learn by doing, which is how most people figure out whether they have enough space to park in the first place.

Mathematics gives you a way of understanding in detail what people have learned to do simply by practice and expertise," he says."In fact, when we practice something, be it on the athletic field or in an automobile, we are becoming very good mathematicians at doing a particular kind of operation, but usually we don't call it mathematics — and we certainly don't give people a pass on the math test because they can park their car."

How To Park Perfectly









Source: The Geometry of Perfect Parking by Simon R. Blackburn

Credit: Alyson Hurt, NPR

Category: | 22 Comments
Taking shape, the new bridge at the Hoover Dam
Author: SUFFIX on Tuesday, January 5, 2010



Creeping closer inch by inch, 900 feet above the mighty Colorado River, the two sides of a $160 million bridge at the Hoover Dam slowly take shape. The bridge will carry a new section of US Route 93 past the bottleneck of the old road which can be seen twisting and winding around and across the dam itself. When complete, it will provide a new link between the states of Nevada and Arizona . In an incredible feat of engineering, the road will be supported on the two massive concrete arches which jut out of the rock face..

The arches are made up of 53 individual sections each 24 feet long which have been cast on-site and are being lifted into place using an improvised high-wire crane strung between temporary steel pylons.


The arches will eventually measure more than 1,000 feet across. At the moment, the structure looks like a traditional suspension bridge. But once the arches are complete, the suspending cables on each side will be removed. Extra vertical columns will then be installed on the arches to carry the road.

The bridge has become known as the Hoover Dam bypass, although it is officially called the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, after a former governor of Nevada and an American Football player from Arizona who joined the US Army and was killed in Afghanistan.

Work on the bridge started in 2005 and should finish by end of this year. An estimated 17,000 cars and trucks will cross it every day.

The dam was started in 1931 and used enough concrete to build a road from New York to San Francisco. The stretch of water it created, Lake Mead, is 110 miles long and took six years to fill. The original road was opened at the same time as the famous dam in 1936. More photos below.

An extra note: The top of the white band of rock in Lake Mead is the old waterline prior to the drought and development in the Las Vegas area. It is over 100 feet above the current water level.






Category: | 17 Comments

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