Persistence

A few interesting quotes on Persistence.

Never give up.
~Nancy Kerrigan

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.
~Elbert Hubbard

Ambition is the path to success, persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.
~William Eardley, IV

Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.
~Hal Borland

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
~Napoleon Hill

Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.
~Colin Powell

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is a city in the Central part of Russia.

It is the capital of the Sverdlovsk Oblast. It is situated near the Ural mountains.

It is also home to the Ural State Technical University.

It is also an important junction on the Trans-Siberian Rail Line.

But what is it about Yekaterinburg which caught my attention?

It was this news article about the connection between the Tsar Nicholas II and Yekaterinburg.

Tsar Nicholas II was the last Russian Tsar.

Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their four daughters and a son, and several servants, were shot dead by the Bolsheviks in a basement in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg in the early hours of July 17, 1918.  

Read more about Nicholas Romanov here.  

Smile Please

When times are tough, a smile comes to the rescue.

Almost five years back, in a poll, Cameron Diaz was voted as the star with the best smile.

You need not meet Diaz, but everyday you meet several people who give you that Million $ smile. And that makes your day!!

Catch up with some interesting quotes on smile.

A smile confuses an approaching frown. 
~Author Unknown

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight. 
~Phyllis Diller

The shortest distance between two people is a smile. 
~Author Unknown

Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. 
~Charles Reade

A smile can brighten the darkest day. 
~Author Unknown

Smile - it increases your face value. 
~Author Unknown

A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime. 
~Author Unknown

Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
~Greta Garbo

The last quote left me intrigued. 

And finally to wrap up, some picture quotes on smile - they put forth the importance of smile.

Keep smiling!!

Perfect 10

What is Perfect 10(Ten)?

You must have heard about the sport of Gymnastics.

Well - the official definition is as below :

Gymnastics is a physical exercises designed to develop and display strength, balance, and agility, especially those performed on or with specialized apparatus.

Well, the sport of Gymnastics is a an Olympic Sport. The Europeans and the Russians are considered to be good in gymnastics.

If you have a sport, you need to have a scoring system.

Gymnasts - after their performance in their respective events were rated on a scale of 10. 

And whenever a gymnast gave an exceptional performance which was superbly appreciated by all the judges, she/he got a score of 10. This was the "Perfect 10".

There are several gymnasts who have reached a Perfect 10 over the past 100 years. Get the complete details here.

However, one person is often attributed with making the words - Perfect 10 - famous.

She is none other than Nadia Comaneci - a Romanian gymnast.

In the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, she scored a Perfect 10 in her event - the uneven bars. Thereby she became the first gymnast to score a Perfect 10 in the Olympics.

Quite often, this phrase has been used to signify that someone has achieved something in totality.

Finally, why did these thoughts about Perfect 10 rush though my mind on a lazy Sunday morning?

Well, I am aiming for 31 posts on my blog in the Month of May 2010. If I am successful, would it be called a Perfect 10? Or shall I say, a Perfect 31?

Until then, fingers crossed!!

Mao Zedong, Maoism and Maoists

Maoists are causing a lot of havoc and destruction in India. Over the last 2 months itself, they have carried out three horrible attacks on the Indian citizens - resulting in the death of 250 odd precious lives.

So who are these Maoists? And what do they want?

We need to start with Mao Zedong.

Mao Zedong was a Chinese leader. He was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976. He was also the Chairman of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to 1959.

He is considered as the most influential Chinese Leader of the 20th century - and is regards by most Chinese as the person who set them on course to be become a super power.

Before the times of Mao Zedong, two prominent theories of Communism were in practice. They were Marxism - by Karl Marx, and Leninism - by Vladimir Lenin.

Marxism put forth that an economic minority (the wealthy class of people)  exploited the working class for their benefits. The theory advocated that the working class must seize political power through social revolutions.

Leninism argues for the forceful deposition of the incumbent government; assume power (as agent of the proletariat) and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat  government. Moreover, as the government, the vanguard party must educate  the proletariat — to dispel the societal false consciousness of religion  and nationalism that are culturally instilled by the bourgeoisie  in facilitating exploitation.(Courtesy Wikipedia).

Mao built on these basic tenets of Marxism and Leninism.

His theory of Maoism is built on the following concepts.

• Revolutionary struggle of the mass against against their exploiting classes and their supporting state infrastructure. 

• Political transformation through the involvement of the people from the lower strata of the society.

• Supporting the struggle through guerrilla war tactics.

What has led to the emergence of Maoism in India?

India is a country which has a vast variety of natural resources at its disposal. Minerals are widely available in India and Mining is a important activity in India. 

The contribution of mining to the Indian economy is significant. Central India is especially rich in minerals. Large corporations have significant stakes in these mining activities. 

Many a times, or rather frequently, the policies of the government and the actions of these corporations are detrimental to the interests of the people who live in these mineral rich regions. 

The people in these regions often feel exploited. Frequently, the economic benefits gained out of such mining explorations are not given back to the region. This creates a sense of discontent among the mass leading to unhappiness.

The Maoists are people who are fighting for this strata of the society. They are fighting for the rights of the tribals from these regions of India. 

Maoists are active in regions of India which are rich in minerals. These regions - which see significant military activity from the Maoists - is also known as the Red Corridor.

Over the past many years, this fight has been bloody.

Significantly, recently, the Maoists launched three attacks on the Indian State which resulted in the death of a large number of people.

In April, they ambushed a group of armed forces in the jungles of Dantewada in Central India killing 76 jawans. Just a month later, they bombed a bus - killing 44 people - 15 among them being from the armed forces.

As India was coming to terms with this aggressive style of Maoist warfare, the Maoists blew up a rail track resulting in a train derailment just 3 days back. This was the worst among the three attacks - resulting in the death of more than 130 odd people.

India has been crying hoarse for strong action against these Maoists - which have some presence in approximately 28% of the Indian administrative districts.

Now 28% is a huge number - it means approximately 1/3rd of India. It is high time that the Maoists Movement is quelled before it becomes seriously damaging to the nation at large.

What is my take on the situation right now?

As an immediate measure, the Government of India should take strong decisive steps to bring down the Maoists. 

It can include holding peace talks with them - urging them to join the political main stream and assuring them of the Government's greater support in bringing all round development to the region, which they feel is neglected. But such peace talks will take time. Should India bleed till then?

As an alternative, the Government can launch an all out military offensive against the Maoists. These will make things bloody in short term. But if the offensive is successful, we can have assured peace later.

This would importantly require that the Indian State takes adequate steps to ensure the all round development of such regions - the lack of which is the cause of this struggle. This has been lacking to some extent in the last 60 years. And with the huge amount of corruption in the Indian bureaucracy, ensuring this will be a far fetched task.

There is a section of the civil society which is against such military offensive. Their line of argument - why should you attack your own people? 

The argument is fine - but I think it holds good only till your own people support the nation. When they start going against the nation and its people at large, this argument should not hold good.

Can we draw an equivalence from Sri Lanka - which was fighting the LTTE for close to 33 years? After several years of peace talks, the Lankans launched an offensive against the tigers and defeated them in May 2009. We are now looking at a peaceful country and Sri Lanka is hoping to make the most of it.

Taking a decision on the plan of action against the Maoists is not easy. P Chidambaram, the Home Minister of India, is looking for a larger mandate to take appropriate against the Maoists.

A re-look at the policy against the Maoists is a must.

Finally, I strongly hope that we have a a peaceful solution to the threat from the Maoists.

To Kill A Mocking Bird

Every avid book lover in the world must have read this book.

And if you haven't read this timeless classic - then it is time to pick up a copy of this book and start reading.

To Kill A Mocking Bird is a book written by Harper Lee exactly 50 years back. This books deals with serious issues like racial inequality in America and rape - all of this through the eyes of a 10 year old girl. 

In my personal opinion, Innocent narration is the hallmark of this book.

The book has been so famous across the USA and the world - that special celebrations are held across the world to mark its 50th anniversary.

Catch an interesting news article about these celebrations here.

Also catch up with some excellent quotes from this book.

Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Miss Maudie Atkinson to Scout, Chapter 10.

The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch, Chapter 11

When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch, Chapter 9.

You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus Finch to daughter Scout, Chapter 3.    

If you have read this book, do share your opinion on this book and how it caught your attention.

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Attractive Hairstyles

Is she Jennifer Aniston or is she Rachel Green?

All of you must be aware of the Jennifer's avatar "Rachel Green" from her hit sitcom "Friends".

As Rachel won the hearts of millions of TV viewers across the world, her stylish hairstyle became one of the most fancied haircuts in the women's world.

Read this interesting article about how hair cuts become a rage after certain celebrities or public figures showcase them. 

Have a look at some smashing hairstyles for girls - which go a long way in increasing their "attraction quotient".

Small hair should never be a disappointment. Style them attractively as this pretty lady has done it. And the girl will be the focus of the attention.

Next comes the "Medium Length Hair Hairstyle". The hair - commonly neck length - can be styled attractively as Kate Winslet has done. The curls around her face make her look all the more attractive.

The "Long Length Hair Hairstyle" comes next. This gives the largest options to style the hair. Making them look enticing is all the more easy.

Letting your hair down? This one is for the wedding day. Makes a girl look extremely pretty on her D-day.

For formal occasions, long hair - like Angelina's - can be styled in an alluring fashion. Tying them short makes them look formal - but that doesn't stop it from becoming stylish.

Last but not the least, check out this "Messy Hairstyle". This can double up as a formal hairstyle. It also gives an charming look to the face. This style looks to be a best shot for a party.


If you are interested in similar such hairstyles, check out this website.

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Poverty

Poverty drives people to do things which they wouldn't have dreamed even in their worst dreams.

Like this particular man in the Chinese city of Wuhan, who tied up his eight year old son to a lamp post on a road and started an auction for selling him off.

The boy was terrified and looked to be on the verge of crying.

Finally passersby were upset with the act. They beat up the boy's father and rescued the little boy.

Read more about this news to understand the terrible story of this boy in China.

I sincerely hope and pray that no one is subjected to conditions as this little boy had to face.

URL Shortener

Did you try to tweet a URL on Twitter - and then found that you don't have enough space to write the actual message?

Or did you ever think of sending a URL to someone with the intent of hiding actual address of the URL from the recipient? 

Or did you want a URL which people could easily remember?

Well, the answer to all of these questions is a "URL Shortener".

To understand this better, check out this link. (http://bit.ly/5rdxu8)

Well, this is the the address of my blog - http://soreanblog.blogspot.com/ - in a shortened format.

Doesn't this sound like an alter ego?

Check out this interesting article which explains how URL shortening works.

And if you want to shorten your URL, then you can use this website.

Pressure

Many a times, I find myself talking about working under pressure.

This includes recounting my experiences where I thought I worked "under pressure". Or asking my reportees to get themselves prepared to work "under pressure".

However, this quote below has left me humbled.

And I have made a silent vow never to talk about working under pressure again.

This is what Jose Luis Chilavert, Goal keeper for Paraguay, had to say during the France 98 Football (Soccer) World Cup.

"Pressure? This is just a football match. When you do not know how to feed your children, that is pressure."

Covey's Quadrant

Stephen Covey is a man well know and well respected in the corporate world.

After all, he is a best selling American author of the notable book - The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Well, I haven't read this book of his. However, one thing which has been been accredited to Covey has caught my attention in the recent years. 

And it is Covey's Quadrant.

Covey's Quadrant focuses on the effective time management. And serves as a guiding force for any individual who wishes to manage his time more effectively.

Covey's Quadrant categorizes tasks based on two factors

• Importance of the Task

• Urgency of the Task

This results in a two-by-two matrix - as above -  with four sectors.  This forms the fundamental of his concept. 

The most important point conveyed by him is - Sector 2 is the key.

Many a times, you find yourself fire fighting at work. This translates into working in Sector 1 as per Covey's Quadrant. Sector 1 is the Quadrant of Necessity.

Although working in Sector 1 may be the need of the hour, it is in our best interests to avoid working in this sector. 

Working in this sector, many a times, means that we have overlooked problems for too long. It also means that you are in a crisis situation - and this impacts your overall mental health. (After all, no one loves a crisis - it is always better to stay away from them). It also results in severe work-life imbalance.

Next comes the Sector 3. This is the Quadrant of Deception.

Quite often you find yourself in a discussion which you could have best avoided. Or discussing a matter which may be urgent - but not to you - but to the other person. In such cases, you are in Sector 3.

Such matters - which seem urgent - but which not are actually urgent - pull away your precious time which you could have put to better use.

Sector 4 is referred to as a Quadrant of Waste.

Many a times you find yourself sucked into these activities - quite against your wishes. Well, this should be OK once in a while. But if this is frequent, then you may consider that you are wasting your time. This wouldn't give you any significant benefits. And if you wish to relax, it's better to that dedicatedly - rather than relaxing at work.

The concept recommends that it is in our best interest to avoid Sector 3 and 4.

And manage your time in Sector 1 - manage what is most important and critical for your business. But you should make every effort to ensure that none of your tasks come into Quadrant 1.

Now, if Quadrant 1 is to be managed effectively and Quadrant 3 and 4 are a strict no-no, what is it that we have to do?

The idea is to to ensure that you work mostly in Sector 2.

Sector 2 is the Quadrant of Quality and Personal Leadership.

Covey urges to focus our efforts and time on this Quadrant - to focus on work which is important and not urgent.

What is the advantage?

Well, the first fact is that we appreciate that what we are doing is important. This will make an individual take things a bit more seriously. Important work involves extensive preparation and planning. 

And the fact it is not urgent gives us a significant peace of mind. It gives us the added advantage to work without pressure, with the best planning and taking appropriate steps to avoid errors in the future - to prevent failures.

Working on tasks in Sector 2 gives you a benefit of building upon things which will help you in the long run.

If we pull our time from Sector 3 and 4, and use it for the tasks while they are in Sector 2, I think we are making a significant and substantial effort in preventing tasks from slipping into Sector 1.

These thoughts have lead me to make an effort to work in Sector 2. I have not yet been successful fully.

Finally, this interpretation of Covey's Quadrant is fully mine.

Read more about the official version here.

French Open 2010

The season for back to back Tennis Grand Slams start on Monday 24th May 2010 with The French Open in Paris. This will go on till 6th June 2010. After a short break of two weeks comes the Wimbledon.

The two week grand slam is played on clay. In fact, it is the only grand slam to be played on clay.

Clay is the slowest surface for playing tennis. This also makes it one of the toughest - especially for players who like to play on the fast grass courts.

The draw and the seeds are drawn for this year's French Open. And it is time to estimate the probable winners of this year's Open.

Starting with the men's draw, you have the familiar favorites - Rafael Nadal,  Roger Frederer. Frederer is seeded first and Nadal second.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are the dark horses. 

And on clay, you can never discount the Spaniard's. Someone out there might be lurking to make this tournament his very own.

My personal favorite to win the Open this year is last year's champion - Frederer.

The women's draw is wide open - considering the wide variety of talent that is on display these days.

As always, you have the Williams sisters - with Serena seeded first. Her sister Venus is seeded second.

Then you have the talented ladies from Eastern Europe - Jelena Jankovic from Serbia & Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Dementieva from Russia.

Then you have the former super stars - who are not in great form these days - Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Justin Henin.

As far as fashion is to be considered, it looks to be straight battle between Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova.

But on the court, one girl who is going to give all of them a run for their money is Caroline Wozniacki from Denmark. She has made a lot of news this year for her talented display of tennis.

She is seeded third and is my favorite to win the title this year.

A Bad Year For Flying

It has been a terrible year for flying.

There have been several horrific air plane crashes in the past one year - making air travelers extremely apprehensive about flying.

It all started approximately 1 year back. 

On 1st June 2009, an Air France Jet crashed in the middle of the Atlantic. It was on its way from Rio in Brazil to Paris in France. The flight is supposed to have crashed in severe turbulence caused by a thunderstorm.

All 228 people on board died - making it one of the worst crashes in aviation history.

In the same month, on 30th June 2009, a Yemenia Airway flight crashed into the Indian Ocean while attempting a second landing at the Hahaya airport in Moroni, Comoros. 153 people were on board. A 14 year old girl was the only survivor.

Just 15 days later, a Caspian Airlines plane crashed near Tehran just after take off - killing all 168 people on board

Only God knew what was happening - three horrible crashes in a span of 45 days.

The new year 2010 also began with a disaster. On 25th Jan 2010, an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea killing 90 precious lives.

Three months later, on 10th April 2010, a Polish Military plane crashed in Russia as it attempted landing in dense fog. All people on board, 96 to count, died in this accident. The then Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife were also killed. Many top people from the Polish political spectrum were also killed.

If all of this was not enough, just a month later, on 12th May - an Afriqiyah Airways flight crashed while landing at the Tripoli Internation Airport in Libya. 103 people on board died. A Dutch boy was the lone survivor.

Just a few days back, a plane crashed in Afganistan killing all 44 people on board.

This made me feel really bad - thinking about the several air crashes which we had over the last one year.

And today, an Air India air plane crashed in the South Indian City of Mangalore just after landing. 166 people were on board and only 8 survived.

All in all it has been a terrible year for air travelers.So many people have lost lives in this tragic accidents.

I strongly hope and pray that flights, crews, and travelers are more lucky and fortunate going ahead - so that their flights take off and land safely. Hope suitable measures are taken to minimize the risk for such horrible air accident.

Cougar

News articles help you realize how ignorant you are. They also improve your vocabulary skills.

Wonder what makes me say this?

Well, I learned a new word today - Cougar.

Cougar is a large powerful wild cat of mountainous regions of the Western Hemisphere, having an unmarked tawny body.

But I didn't read this word in the context of an animal.

It was in the context of a woman. Surprising, Isn't it?

Well, Cougar has one more meaning - a woman, 35 years of age or older, who pursues younger men, typically more than eight years her junior.

Read more about it here.

Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz are considered to be famous Cougar's - considering their relationships with Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake respectively.

And finally, the news article that sparked this blog post.

Google has landed itself in trouble by censoring advertisements for a so-called 'cougar' dating websites for women despite taking no action against ads of similar sites for men.

The company labeled the ad for the website, called CougarLife, which promotes relationships between older women and younger men, as "non family safe".

Read more about it here. 

Google was accused of sexism and this is what the founder of the website in question had to say.

Claudia Opdenkelder, who is the founder of the CougarLife, and whose partner is 14 years her junior, accused the search giant of sexism. 

"It's age and gender discrimination. It's just about older, successful, independent, strong women who enjoy someone that's younger."

Hope the controversy settles down soon.

Are They On Course To A War?

The situation is tense in East Asia.

Looks like the two neighbors and rivals - North Korea and South Korea - are on a collision course.

It all started about two months back when a South Korean warship sank in the Yellow Sea.

The ship sank in mysterious circumstances. Although several sailors were rescued, 46 sailors lost their precious lives. 

Many people suspected the North Koreans. But South Korea decided to play it cautious and didn't blame the North Koreans directly.

However, several days later, the ship was lifted from the sea floor. News floated around that the ship was sunk by a torpedo attack. North Korea looked to be an obvious suspect.

Subsequent analysis by the South Koreans must have revealed some details which has resulted in the current frenzy.

First it was the United States of America.

Two days back, A top U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that the pending release of a report that is expected to blame North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March raises a "very serious set of circumstances" for the region.   

Read the entire news article here.

And if this was not enough, we have had this news today where the South Korea's defense chief has  vowed to make North Korea pay for the sinking of the South Korean warship.

"North Korea surpassed the limits and for such an act we will make it pay," said defense minister Kim Tae-Young.

Hope the situation is diffused based on discussions between the two countries. 

Otherwise the world will have to face a war it doesn't want and cannot afford.