Happy New Year 2021

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY, HEALTHY, PROSPEROUS AND PURPOSEFUL NEW YEAR 2020

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Self-Improvement-116: 10 Life Lessons from Einstein

01.    Follow your curiosity
02.    Perseverance is priceless
03.    Focus on the present
04.    Imagination is powerful
05.    Make mistakes
06.    Live in the moment
07.    Create Value
08.    Don’t expect different results
09.    Knowledge comes from experience

10.    Learn the rules and play better

A Thought for Today-633:

When we serve others, we serve ourselves.

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Self-Improvement-115: 12 Steps to Self Care

12 Steps to Self Care

  1. If it feels wrong, don’t do it
  2. Say “exactly” what you mean
  3. Don’t be a people pleaser
  4. Trust your instincts
  5. Never speak bad about yourself
  6. Never give up on your dreams
  7. Don’t be afraid to say “No”
  8. Don’t be afraid to say “Yes”
  9. Be kind to yourself
  10. Let of what you can’t control
  11. Stay away from drama and negativity
  12. Love


Courtesy: Live Love Front

A Thought for Today-632:

When you make a mistake, admit it. If you don't, you only make matters worse - Ward Cleaver

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

A Thought for Today-631

If you do everything with full-flooded involvement, then every simple thing you do will become a miracle – Sathguru Jaggi Vasudev  

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

A Thought for Today-629: Benjamin Franklin

Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame - Benjamin Franklin

Thursday, July 04, 2013

A Thought for Today-628:

People speak sometimes about the "bestial" cruelty of man, but that is terribly unjust and offensive to beasts, no animal could ever be so cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel -  Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Eyecatchers-170: From Now, Not Visiting Parents a Crime in China!

The above AFP news caught my eye in today's The New Indian Express. To control growing population, the Chinese Govt in 1970s brought in a one-child policy.  According to UN, by 2050, 30% of the Chinese population will be more than 60 years old. Elderly Chinese live in what is called "Empty Nest Homes", as the children are away elsewhere where they have found their work.   The critics condemn the Govt saying that they should have thought of this when they introduced the one-child policy.  

The new law entitles parents to take their children to court if they don't visit them.  But how this law is going to be enacted and how many visits have to be made by the children are not clear.

Grateful thanks to AFP and The New Indian Express.



A Thought for Today-627:

If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward – Martin Luther King Jr

Monday, July 01, 2013

A Thought for Today-626:

Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see – Mark Twain

Friday, June 28, 2013

A Thought for Today-625: As a Man Thinketh

Man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny - As a man thinketh

Thursday, February 07, 2013

S and T Watch-62: Nuclear Energy is Very Dangerous to Humanity

This news item by the Staff Reproter of THE HINDU in THE HINDU of February 7, 2013, caught my eye and I thought it needs to be posted in my blog.  Here is an excerpt from the news item:

NUCLEAR ENERGY IS VERY DANGEROUS TO HUMANITY
International Conference on Power, Control (P S N A College of Engineering and Technolgy, Dindigul)

With rapid depletion of fossil fuels, clean energies such as solar, water and wind alone will meet growing power needs in future.  Nuclear energy is very dangerous to humanity, said Joachim Holtz, Professor Emeritus, University of Wuppertal, Germany.  

.....

Nuclear wastes have been posing a grave threat to human beings and the environment.  Nuclear disasters in Russia and Japan had displayed its effects.  Germany had decided to shut down all its nuclear plants in a phased manner and switched over to clean energy.

Germany and Denmark were leading the world in tapping wind energy.  Every village in south Germany has solar panels to generate power, he added.

.....

Grateful thanks to Prof.Holtz and The Hindu.

For the full article in THE HINDU's website:
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/nuclear-energy-is-very-dangerous-to-humanity/article4388043.ece

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Eyecatchers-168: A Call to Green Revolution 2.0

In YOUNGWORLD, supplement to The Hindu of January 22, 2013, under the section, KALEIDOSCOPE, I came across this interesting piece from an eighth standard student, P.R.Niranjana. As an enthusiast and supporter of Organic Farming, I thought I would post a part of it in my blog.  Here it is:

...

INORGANIC KILLS AND ORGANIC FILLS YOUR LAND WITH GREEN VEGGIES.

Organic farming is the only way to achieve a second green revolution in our country and conserve the eco-system for the next generation.  So let's join hands to lead a green and healthy life.

-------

To know more about the Benefits of Organic Farming from FAO of UN:
http://www.fao.org/organicag/oa-faq/oa-faq6/en/

Grateful thanks to Niranjana, The Hindu and FAO.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

A Thought for Today-624: Thirukkural

That wealth leads to dharma and happiness, which is acquired with discrimination in the right way and without evil.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Eyecatchers-167: GRIM REPORT

The New Indian Express, Madurai edition of January 11, 2013, has reported, quoting PTI, that INDIA WASTES 21 MILLIONS TONNES OF WHEAT EVERY YEAR.  An excerpt from this article:

INDIA WASTES 21 MILLION TONNES OF WHEAT EVERY YEAR

India stands out for its glaring lack of infrastructure and food storage facilities, in a new study that says 21 million tonnes of wheat - equivalent to the entire production of Australia - goes waste in the country.

The report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) on global food wastage found that as much as 50% of all food produced around the world never reaches a human mouth.

.....

Overall, wastage rates in vegetables and fruits are even higher than for grains.  At least 40% of all fruit and vegetable is lost in India between the grower and consumer due to lack of refrigerated transport, poor roads, inclement weather and corruption.....

--------
Grateful thanks to PTI and The New Indian Express.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Health News-27: Bats may hold clue to Immunity, Longevity


Bats may hold clue to immunity, longevity in man
PTI | Dec 24, 2012, 05.02 AM IST


Bats, which have survived for 65 million years against all odds, may offer vital clues to immunity and human longevity, a new study has found.

Bats are amazing creatures and one of the most abundant and widespread mammals on Earth, researchers said.

Excerpt from The Times of India, Chennai, Dec.24, 2012

For the full article:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Bats-may-hold-clue-to-immunity-longevity-in-man/articleshow/17737870.cms

Grateful thanks to PTI and The Times of India. 

Facts and Figures-64: Crime against Women

Women get raped in India every 20 minutes. But the authority does not want women to protest against rape. Not even for 20 minutes - Taslima Nasreen, Writer, on Police treatment of Delhi rape protestors

The Times of India, Chennai, Dec.24, 2012

Grateful thanks to Taslima Nasreen and The Times of India.

Eyecatchers-165: Highways Officials miffed with overnight Road Cuts


Highways Officials miffed with overnight Road Cuts by K.Manikandan

In an overnight development, an arterial road near Tambaram was found dug up in 30 places on Sunday morning.

Residents and shopkeepers said they witnessed no signs of work on Medavakkam (Mount-Madipakkam) Main Road all of Saturday.

The road-cut is the handiwork of a private contractor who was entrusted some maintenance job by the Pallavaram municipality. And officials of the State highways department are miffed with the damage to the road. Their permission was not sought for the work, an official said.

Using an earthmover, the stretch was dug up in at least 30 spots between Keelkattalai bus terminus and Madipakkam Koot Road.

While officials of Chennai city roads division of the highways department said the act amounted to a direct violation of norms, officials of Pallavaram municipality said it was meant to facilitate maintenance of the massive underground drainage project.
Excerpt from THE HINDU of Dec.24, 2012.

For the full article: (There is a painful photograph in the article showing the damage to the Road)

Grateful thanks to  Mr.Manikandan and THE HINDU.

Eyecatchers-164: Exclusive Law Ignored in Rape Case

Exclusive Law Ignored in Rape Case by P.V.Srividya in THE HINDU of Dec 24, 2012


Even as protests demanding stringent laws to deal with rape cases sweep the national capital, an exclusive law, already in force for protection of children from sexual offences, has been apparently overlooked by the police in the case of the rape of an 11-year-old girl here in Thalaignayar near here on Friday. The sexual assault was brought to light on Saturday, and the girl has since been admitted to the Thiruthuraipoondi Government Hospital, which is still awaiting consent for forensic tests.

Even though the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has been in force since November, the police, instead of booking a case under this law, have filed the case under Section 450 (house trespass to commit an offence) and Section 376 (rape) of the IPC.

The enactment of the Act was seen as a watershed as it facilitates shifting of the burden of proof from the survivor to the accused. The Act mandates child-friendly procedures right from the beginning of the trial. The Act has been framed since the IPC does not cover all forms of sexual offence and it fails to distinguish between adult and child survivors.
…..
The Act is a powerful law and mandates the State to bear the costs of support services for the survivor, says Kannayan, a freelance consultant on child rights and former field officer under the Department of Social Defence. Pointing out that the law also provides for interim compensation during the trial period, he says the District Child Protection Officer should have taken a suo motu cognisance of the incident from media reports, visited the child and streamlined the investigation.”
….

Excerpt from THE HINDU of Dec 24, 2012

Grateful thanks to P.V.Srividya and THE HINDU.

Letters-92: Delhi Gang rape

... 

Last week's gang rape is a symbol of a vulgar society that a vulgar political class has manipulated into existence.  It is a symbol of the degradation of values that a corrupt ruling regime has imposed on an otherwise docile people of snake-charmers and sadhus.

Excerpt from the letter of Mr.N.Saratchandran, Thiruvananthapuram, to the Editor of THE HINDU, dated Dec 24, 2012.

Grateful thanks to Mr.Saratchandran and THE HINDU.