Thursday, June 29, 2006

Interesting WebSites (General)

Instrument of Passing Time

I thought I would rather share some sites which I had browsed through and found interesting. So if you are bored, you can visit these sites to pass your time.

Todays site is to check how good you spell (
BADSPELLING.COM). I found this site from WEBSite column in Times Of India. Take the spelling test here & find out how you fare and how others fared against each word.

Happy Bad Spelling!!

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Vedic Mathematics (Part 1)

Instrument of Calculation

Why Vedic Mathematics?

Because Winners don't do different things, they do things differently

In this section I won't be going through the details of Vedic Mathematics, but will just take some examples on how this ancient way of calculation is going to help us. For more on this subject "Vedic Mathematics" by Swami Bharati Krishna Tirthaji is a very good book to browse.

1) To subtract any number from the number consisting of 1 followed by zeroes e.g. 100, 1000, 10000 etc.

a) 1000 - 872 = 128

To arrive at this figure you just have to subtract each figure from left by 9 and the rightmost by 10

 9  9  10
-8  7   2
---------------
 1  2   8

b) 1000 - 52 = 948

Here in such cases where we have more zeros than figure being subtracted, we have to precede it with 0

 9  9  10
-0  5   2
-------------
 9  4   8

So don’t you think this was easy !!

2) One more example is to square a number that ends in 5.

a) 65 * 65 = 4225

How fast can you do this calculation?

To get to this answer, separate the answer into 2 parts i.e. 42 & 25

the last part is always 25
to get the first part multiply the 6 of 65 with 6+1 i.e. 6*7 = 42


b) 85 * 85 = (8*9) & 25 i.e. 7225

3) Now if you still need a calculator to calculate 8 * 9, there is a simple way for that too (you will not require to remember more than 5 * 5)

a) 8 * 9 = 72

8 is 2 less than 10 whereas 9 is 1 less than 10

Make it 9 * 8 (descending order)

9 1
8 2
-----
7 2

here you have to subtract 9 - 2 or 8 - 1 (diagonally opposite) to get 7
and then multiply 2 * 1 = 2


b) 7 * 6

7 3
6 4
-----
3 12 = the 1 in 12 should be added to 3.. Hence the answer = 3+1 & 2 = 42

I will add few more ways of calculating in next posting.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Sweet & Spice Your Life (Health)


INSTRUMENT OF HEALTH

A mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most countries of the world. Ayurvedic and Unani medicine have been known to use honey as a vital medicine for centuries. Today, even scientists accept honey to be a very effective medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without side effects and for all kinds of diseases. It has been proven scientifically that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. The famous magazine, Weekly World News, published in Canada dated January 17, 1995 has given a list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by the western scientists.


Arthritis Take one part of honey to two parts of lukewarm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Make a paste and massage it on the aching part of the body slowly. It is said, and has been observed that the pain recedes within a minute or two.

Arthritis patients may take twice daily, morning and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly, it even cures chronic arthritis.

In a recent research, doctors at the Copenhagen University treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon honey and half teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast. They found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain and within a month, most of the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.


Hair loss For hair loss or baldness, make a mixture of warm olive oil, one tablespoon of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder, and apply it on the scalp. Keep it for approximately 15 minutes and then wash the hair.

This works effectively even in 5 minutes.

Bladder infections Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.


Toothache Mix together one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth thrice a day daily till such time that the toothache has stopped.

Cholesterol Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, if given to a cholesterol patient, reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 per cent within 2 hours. The mixture if taken thrice daily, cures chronic cholesterol problems.


As per the information received in the aforesaid journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

Cold Those suffering from common or severe cold should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon powder daily for three days. This cures even the most chronic cough and cold, and also clears the sinuses.


Infertility Unani and Ayurvedic medicines have been using honey since ages in medicine to improve the sperm count in men. It recommends two tablespoon of honey before sleeping to solve the problem.


In China, Japan and Far-East countries, women who are unable to conceive have been taking cinnamon powder to strengthen the uterus for centuries. Women who cannot conceive may take a pinch of cinnamon powder in half teaspoon of honey and apply it on the gums frequently throughout the day, so that it slowly mixes with the saliva and enters the body.

A couple in Maryland, America had no children for 14 years. They had no hope of having a child of their own. When told about this process, the couple started taking honey and cinnamon as stated above. The wife conceived after a few months and had twins at full term.

Upset stomach Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach pain and also cures stomach ulcers. According to some studies done in India and Japan, honey taken with cinnamon powder also gives relief in gastritis.


Heart diseases Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply it on bread or chapati instead of jelly or jam and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol deposits in the arteries and prevents heart attacks. For people who have already suffered from a heart attack, it reduces their chances of having a second attack.

In America and Canada, various nursing homes have thus treated their patients successfully and have found the ageing arteries and veins, which have lost their flexibility and are clogged, to be revitalised.

Immune system Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacterial and viral attacks.
Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron. Regular use of honey strengthens the white blood cells to fight the bacterial and viral diseases.IndigestionCinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey and taken before food, relieves acidity and helps digest the heaviest of meals.


Influenza A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural ingredient, which kills the influenza virus and saves the patient from the flu.

Longevity Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age.


Take four teaspoons of honey, one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil it together like preparing tea. Drink ¼ cup, thrice or four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age.

Pimples Mix together three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder to make a paste. Apply it on the pimples before sleeping and wash it in the morning with lukewarm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

Skin infections Eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections are cured by applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts to the affected areas.


Weight loss Daily in the morning, 30 minutes before breakfast, on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one-cup of water.


If taken regularly it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Drinking this mixture regularly does not allow fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

Cancer Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully with honey and cinnamon. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder thrice daily for one month.


Fatigue Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful than detrimental to the body strength. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon power in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr Milton, who has done the research, says that half tablespoon of honey sprinkled with cinnamon powder taken with one glass of water increases the vitality of the body within a week. This should be taken daily in the morning, after brushing the teeth and again at about 3 pm.

Bad breath People in South America gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, first thing in the morning. This keeps their breath fresh throughout the day.

Hearing loss Honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, if taken daily morning and night, restores hearing.

All these articles has been collected from the net. It is adviced to check with your doctors before using these.

Sunday, June 18, 2006

Mumbai Buses (Travel)

Instrument of Travel


B.E.S.T. (Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking) bus is nothing new to the residents of Mumbai, India. This RED colored bus is also called the "Blood vessel" of this city, even though Local trains are called as the "Lifeline" of Mumbai.

I remember waiting at Dadar Station to see the "Articulated Trailer Bus". These buses covered only few destinations. The ride I used to enjoy from BEST Double Decker bus while traveling from Five Gardens (Wadala) to Nariman Point (The Queens Necklace) was fabulous.

The Bus service in Mumbai has come a long way from Horse drawn Trams back in 1874 till the AC buses which we see today. And when they decided that Double Decker B.E.S.T. buses won't be plying on the roads any more, it was very sad to hear. After seeing the sentiments of the citizens of Mumbai, they had cancelled their plans for now.

It is a pity that we don't have easy access to the pictures of all the buses on the net. But did you know that B.E.S.T. has its own web site http://www.bestundertaking.com/transport/index.htm. It has the route number, fare & maps of all the destiantions serviced.

Some Facts that I came to know from these site.

  • Bus Route No. 166 - plies on roads interconnecting maximum Hospitals. Bus Route No. 161 - This route covers on the way maximum Oil Reservoirs and unpopulated areas in Eastern wings of the city.
  • Bus Route No. 9 - A network of large number of school and colleges is interwoven by this route.
  • Bus Route No. 320, 22ltd., 25ltd. - These routes have an outstanding feature of connecting two largest water reservoirs of the city.
  • Bus Route No. 1,66,202 - Round the clock operating bus routes.

Saving Energy


Do you know how much you spend on Electricity bills per year?

Appliances account for about 20% of your household's energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, and clothes dryers at the top of the consumption list.

As and as our pay check amount increases we tend to buy more and more home appliances. This is not the issues here.. The main issue is we are consuming more energy than required on these appliances. All these wasted energy per house puts more carbon dioxide into the air than a average car.

By using these appliances more effeciently, you not only make your environment more safe to leave, but also gain long term financial rewards.. Also this will avoid Load shedding during summer months.

Few tips for saving energy :

1) In case you are using a normal 60W bulb for 6 hours every day, it would be better to buy a CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulb, which lasts for 4 years rather than 6 months of normal bulb. The amount of money used to buy the CFL bulb will be saved in less than 1 year. A CFL of 15W gives ame illuminatin as a normal 60W bulb, thereby consuming only 0.015 units/hour compared to .60 units/hour consumed by normal 60W bulb.

2) TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power. Power it off completely.

3) Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle

4) Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.

5) Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.


To get some what clear picture of how much you save, please use this online "Energy Consumption Calculator" http://www.rel.co.in/KnowledgeCenter/billCalculator.asp

Last but not the least, dont forget to switch off the computer monitors at your office (not while you are working :-) )

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Financial Instrument (Stocks)

Now that if you have decided to join
let us find the ways to get that one gold coin. But if you are not a member of this club, please let me know about yourself in the comments section of this blog.

As per Chanakya

"He who loses his money is forsaken by his friends, his relations & his servants. But when he regains his riches those who have forsaken him earlier will come back to him. Hence wealth is certainly the best of relations."


So let’s look at instrument of wealth: Stocks

This financial instrument doesn't come without a risk. To reduce risk you have to have a solid understanding of stocks & stock market. Online trading has opened the market to more persons to own a stock easily. But does every one understand stocks.

Just because your friend just made Rs 10,000 in one month by investing in some stock last month and now he has got a good tip which he has shared with you, doesn’t mean that you should blindly buy the stock. Be careful you could burn your hands in just seconds. The only solution is to this is educating yourself. There are many sites on the net where this information is freely available.

Make sure you don't get into the market before you are ready. There is an old stock market saying:

"Bulls make money, bears make money, but pigs just get slaughtered!"

Bull: The optimistic person who believes that the stock will go up. (With proper market study)

Bear: The pessimistic person who believes that the stock will go down. (With proper market study)

Pig: The high-risk investors looking for the one big score in a short period of time who buy on hot tips and invest in companies without doing their due diligence.

Can the Bear make money? Yes they can. I will share this information sometime later.

Right now I will share some tips from my personal experience (but you should have your own ways of guiding you through the market. No one is perfect here)


1) Don’t invest in IPO which will start
functioning only after 3-4 years
later.


2) Only invest that amount which
you can afford to lose. If you have invested with long term plans, then don’t
let the market volatility fool you into selling your
stocks.


3) Disaster can strike any time,
so have enough cash ready in your account. Don’t depend on credit
cards.


4) Companies who announce a buy
back are good sign that the company thinks that its stock is undervalued. But
this might sometimes be a gimmick too. So only focus on good
companies.


5) Plan while investing at
what price you will be selling the share and do sell the share at that price
instead of hoping that the price might go further up. Get into cash and if the
market still goes up buy some more, but don’t put all the money
back.


6) Diversify your investment. Don’t
put all the eggs in one basket.


7) If you
are not feeling comfortable with your investment, either you have invested more
than you can afford. Think over it
again.


8) Never buy a stock to get RICH
Quick. There are other ways for that but not buying
stocks.


9) If you don’t have time or
energy to consider individual stocks or want to cut the risk a little, then
invest in Mutual funds.


10) Finally but not the least.. Do
keep a stop loss. If you were to buy Reliance Industries share at Rs 950 and set
your stop loss at Rs 900, the stop loss value would be Rs 50. This will help you
in deciding how much loss can you bear.






Saturday, June 10, 2006

Are you the member of "The Club 99" ? (General)

I didn't know till now that I belonged to "The Club 99". I am sure neither of you are aware that you have joined this club :-). What is this club about? Should we be proud to be the member of this club?

Do you want to continue being the member or cancel the membership? It's up to you to decide.

Read the story below (This is how I came to know about my membership)

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.

One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"

The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The Club 99."

"The Club 99? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The Club 99 is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins! "

He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The Club 99."

He continued, "The Club 99 is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling to themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life."

We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires.


That's what joining The Club 99 is all about.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Why Yantra Park ?

Yantra Park derives its name from Yantra Mandir ( Temple of Instruments ) often called as Jantar Mantar build by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur.

I hope the information on Yantra Park (Park of Instrument, that by which something is accomplished or some end achieved) blog will help some one to accomplish ones purpose.