Archive for the ‘General’ Category
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Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008Cleaning up – it’s one of the things that all men dread and women simply love! While there are exceptions to this rule, in general cleaning and organizing seem to help women cope with stress issues and induce a state of calm. Here are some of the top reasons why cleaning can act as a therapy of sorts!
Sense of accomplishment
When you clean something or organize something, you find a newer, neater surrounding. This in itself can provide you a kick, as if you have accomplished something truly meaningful and worthwhile. For women and men, who want a dose of organization and sanity in their lives, cleaning something can work wonders.
Neater environment
There is a reason why people advise you to clear your desk at your workplace. Having a neat and tidy desk boosts productivity. Imagine how lost and helpless you would feel if your desk was filled with files and paperwork! There would be no work done because you felt so overwhelmed by the workload! This is where a basic cleaning exercise proves to be fantastic. Just sorting out old papers and organizing new batches of work into queues can help you prioritize tasks. It sets the wheels rolling for a more productive and organized you!
Discovering something new
There are always things tucked away in our cupboards, shelves and other places, which tend to resurface only when we clean them! So, if you cannot seem to remember where your favorite novel has been or where your kids have kept their toys or just want to get back to wearing that cute t-shirt of yours, all you have to do is to settle your cupboard! You will find that you have more clothes to wear, discover hidden away objects that have been neglected for many months and much more! Part of the beauty and fun of cleaning and tidying things is discovering new things you had forgotten existed!
Keeping busy and staying calm
In the stressful times of today, it is difficult to boast of a job that allows you to keep busy, while also helping you remain calm and composed. One such job is cleaning. When you clean something, you are obviously kept busy because of the work involved but at the same time, it subconsciously allows you to sort out your thoughts and thinking process. This way, you resolve your fears, problems and worries – all while doing the cleaning! This is probably multitasking at its best.
Stop procrastinating
Just like any other job in life, you would have undoubtedly procrastinated about whether to do the cleaning or not. Unless you are absolutely obsessed with cleaning, no one really likes to clear things and tidy their surroundings. We all wish we could just lie there while someone else would do all the cleaning for us, don’t we? Yet, once you start to attempt cleaning, things automatically fall into place. Your surroundings get organized, you love the new neat appearance of the place and above all, you feel great that you alone did all of this great work! Guess what the other side-effect to this is? You stop being a procrastinator. You start thinking – ‘If I could do this much cleaning, I can surely do much more’ and that is how you start working on things you have been putting off for way too long. Things like that mending work for example or the labeling of all your kitchen jars or just simple decorating projects for the home, that you have been putting off. All of these come to the fore and you begin tackling them one by one.
Prioritizing and organizing
When you start making cleaning and tidying a part of your regular routine and habit, you find that your time spent on maintenance goes down. You no longer have to indulge in that 2 hour maintenance ritual on a semi-annual basis or perform intensive cleaning exercises every few months! This is because you have been cleaning on a regular basis, which means the dust and grime is less likely to accumulate. If you are cleaning up your workplace and your cubicle then it helps you stay organized. By throwing away old papers and unused files, you are able to focus on the tasks at hand. This automatically translates into better prioritization and handling of workloads.
Therefore, if you wish to give yourself a new lease of life by becoming better organized, more alert, active and clean start by tidying your immediate surroundings!
Online Christmas Greeting Cards
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
The advancement in the technological domain can be truly defined as a boon for our regular life. It has even changed the way we emote in the festivities by giving us a plethora of options to celebrate in a much invigorating manner. There are a number of websites which has sprung up to indulge in the approaching festivities, Christmas and New Year. The Best Online Christmas Cards sites are the ones to catch up with the vehemence and have revolutionized in such a way that we would really miss out on something if we do not catch up with the latest innovations from their end.
Talking about our life in the recent times, we cannot even afford to think beyond ourselves. However, the best Christmas greeting cards sites have made it easier for us to express our emotions to those who matter to us the most in our lives. These Free Christmas Cards sites are also user-friendly and relieve us of the hassle of visiting gift stores personally, purchasing Christmas Greeting cards and sending it to our special ones. With a click of the mouse, now we can easily relate the much-awaited Christmas wishes. Another great advantage of these Christmas e cards sites is that they allow us to send our heartfelt wishes on the very day without any kind of delay. If you are unable to convey your greetings personally on the very day, the e-card will do it for you. All we have to do is select the particular date option much ahead of the special day and click on the Send button. Then just wait and watch the potential of technical advancement in bringing you and your special ones closer. If you are unable to convey your greetings personally on the very day, the e-card will do it for you. You can very well chose to express your wishes on some other day with a charming bouquet and a home-baked cake.
Christmas greeting cards saying to Christmas greeting cards photos, animated Christmas greetings cards to business Christmas greeting cards, the options are truly endless. The free Christmas greeting cards are in fact quick on the roll. Designed with bright hues and animated features, the best Christmas greeting cards sites fill up the narrow gaps between our happiness with much-awaited joy and zeal. The funny Christmas greeting cards are sure to bring a wide curve on our lips.
If you are looking forward to spread some more joy in the approaching festive season then visit the best Christmas greeting cards sites and pick up some quick stuff for those precious beings around you. I doubt whether anything other than these sites would offer you such a unique opportunity to strengthen the bond with your so-cherished ones.
- 123Greetings (www.123greetings.com)
- Blue Mountain (www.bluemountain.com)
- Fun Silly (www.funsilly.com)
- D Greetings (www.dgreetings.com)
- They Deserve It (www.theydeserveit.com)
are some of the best Christmas greeting cards sites. So get set to enjoy the coming festive season with delightful offerings from the best Christmas greeting cards sites.
VTU Transcripts – How to Apply?
Saturday, December 13th, 2008
Here is a Simple Procedure to Obtain VTU Transcripts
You can get your VTU Transcripts within a day if you can visit the VTU University at Belgaum. All you then need is to fill up the required form which will be issued by them and submitting it along with some required documents as mentioned below;
The Documents that you require to submit are;
- The Form that you fill up as mentioned above.
- Attested copies of your mark sheets (You could get it attested by your College Principal)
- DD with the specified amount. The DD has to be drawn in the favor of: “The Finance Officer, VTU, Belgaum“
I suggest you to call up the VTU Office to check if the Registrar would be available on the day you intend to visit the University at Belgaum.
If you find it difficult to visit Belgaum, the other alternative is to visit your college and send the above through the College.
Official VTU Site: http://www.vtu.ac.in
VTU Belgaum Address:
The VTU Registrar,
Jnana Sangama,
Belgaum,
Karnataka, India – 590014
Email: registrar@vtu.ac.in
Telephone: 0831-2405468
Fax: 0831-2405467
Why everyone needs to have a hobby in life ?
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008Hobbies are important. What else do you look forward to in an otherwise routine existence? Whether it is in photography, music, embroidery, dancing or anything else you find your heart’s calling in, you definitely need to have a hobby in life!
Something to look forward to
At the end of the day, when you are all tired and exhausted from work and want to relax and rewind, a hobby can be the perfect stress buster for you! Most people living in urban cities these days are consciously taking time off for their hobbies to have a more balanced life. While family is important, personal ‘me’ time is also crucial. In the constant race for professional career growth and high stress environments, it is important that we indulge in hobbies that relax our mind and soul. No wonder then that people have started taking up salsa classes, pottery, photography or even painting classes. There is an artistic and creative streak in all of us and we all need to tap into the creative side of our lives once in a while.
Because life is too short
People are now realizing that life is too short to focus on just one’s job. Hence the need to multitask, constantly push one’s limits and explore a new side of one’s personality. Whether it is in overcoming your fear of heights through a bungee jumping session, or exploring the photographer in you through a photography class or even getting to know the salsa dancer in you, we all love to learn something new about ourselves. In an already self-centered world, where I, Me and Myself comes first, it seems people are ready to go the extra mile to indulge their sense in a hobby they love.
True stress busters
Hobbies act like stress busters. Today, everyone is busy. Even homemakers have a life of their own, with not just household chores to fulfill but also other responsibilities. In the flurry of everyday life, it is no small surprise that we all crave for a bit of creativity, some quiet time, a moment of solitude where we get to do something we truly enjoy. It could be something as simple as sketching a black and white picture or something as flamboyant as collecting vintage cars! Hobbies let us explore a side of us, which usually takes second place in our professional or family lives. It is a time when we get to be in touch with our own selves.
Help in traumatic situations
In addition to being the terrific stress busters that they are, hobbies can also act as therapeutic sessions of sorts. For those people who have suffered a severe trauma or who have a mental disability a hobby can free their mind, open up their way of thinking and help them explore new sides to their personality. The entire process of creating something can be very fulfilling and satisfying and this can help people suffering from depression too. Most people who face depression suffer from poor self esteem. By having a hobby they are able to create something with their own effort and that can provide a much needed boost to their self confidence. Even those with disabilities like dyslexia or autism can benefit tremendously by indulging in a hobby. For example, creative hobbies like painting or pottery can help tap into the creative, right side of the brain, which goes largely untapped these days. People who have suffered from a tragedy or a life-altering incident like an accident or a divorce can often recover much quicker with the help of a hobby. A hobby can help a person to focus on the positive side of life instead of being idle and having negative thoughts.
Being more emotive and sensitivity
It maybe a fact that if more terrorists indulged in a hobby they liked, there would probably not be any war or hatred! This is the kind of positive change that a hobby brings about in a person. The more painstaking a hobby is the more patience it teaches you and patience is the basis on which you find peace, happiness and sanity in life. Having a hobby can also help a person become more emotive, responsive and sensitive to the world around us. Often, it is the small gestures that our loved ones make, which go unnoticed and with a hobby we can realize the finer moments of life.
So, here’s to starting a new hobby and reliving life all over again!
Dusky skin is in!
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008This may seem like a very controversial topic to court but it has been going on for decades. India has always has this very strong penchant for fair skin. No matter how bad a person’s features maybe as long as he or she has a fair complexion, all is forgiven. In sharp contrast, dark skinned people are always shunned or looked down upon especially in the glamour industry. It is only now that the country is finally beginning to realize that dusky can be beautiful too!
Lara, Bipasha, Sushmita – shining examples
Rewind a few years back during the Miss Universe pageant where a fair eyed, light skinned Aishwarya Rai was contesting. Enter Sushmita Sen, a dusky Bengali beauty, who managed to capture the hearts of the judges with her mind-blowing response to the question ‘what is the essence of being a woman’ to which she replied ‘Just being a woman is God’s gift. The origin of a child is a mother, a woman. She shows a man what sharing, caring, and loving is all about. That is the essence of a woman’. Everyone thought Aishwarya was going to win the contest, being as beautiful as she is. She was already an established model at the time and it was taken for granted that she would win the crown. However, Sushmita’s grace, poise and wit helped her win the crown. Lara Dutta too showed the world that she was a woman of substance in the Miss Universe contest and went on to win the crown. Bipasha Basu has come a long way as the seductive actress to an actor of substance. Consider her role in Corporate and Bachna Ae Haseeno and you’ll quickly see her acting prowess.
Bipasha now playing Draupadi
In Rituporno Ghosh’s upcoming movie on Mahabharata, he chose Bipasha Basu. It is also a known fact that Aishwarya Rai had auditioned for the role to prove that she could play the part with élan. However, Bipasha won the part. In Ritupporno’s own words ““Bipasha was chosen primarily because of her skin complexion. Color politics is very important in the Mahabharat. Three of the characters Krishna, Vyas and Draupadi have to be really dark….” Draupadi was supposed to be a very sensuous woman, who had great poise, charisma and personality. She was not beautiful but had the inner beauty and qualities of a woman of substance. Hence, her anger at her vastraharan and her vengeance to keep her hair open till the Pandavas killed the Kauravas for insulting her in court.
More dusky actresses and models
While fair complexion is still considered an asset in India, the glamour industry is beginning to see more dusky actresses and models becoming famous. Take for instance Priyanka Chopra, who is not lucky to be beautiful or fair complexioned but it is her acting, fashion sense, glamour quotient and attitude that make her one of the topmost actresses of today. In the modeling circuit, most models are dusky. Take for instance Lakshmi Menon, Carol Gracias, Sheetal Mallar, Madhu Sapre – the list is endless…
Smita Patil – the forerunner
In Indian cinema, it would not be a grave injustice to say that Smita Patil paved the way for more dusky women to enter the silver screen. Her powerful roles, acting prowess and fantastic screen presence all made her an actor of repute. Today, there is an entire string of actresses such as Sameera Reddy, Nitu Chandra, Riya Sen, Kajol, Sushmita Sen, Mallika Sherawat and many more who have been able to find their calling and foothold in the film fraternity.
When will we move out of the stereotype?
The British may have left India years ago but they seem to have left their indelible mark on India. The favoritism towards gora or white skin has started from those times. Even today, marriage proposals feature standard adverts claiming to want ‘fair complexioned’ brides. Fairness creams continue to sell like never before, skin lightening treatments are all the rage and home remedies to whiten the skin are sought after. All this, while knowing that you will have the skin you were born with – no matter what you do!
Identity crisis of sorts
So where does this leave the dusky Indian woman who is constantly scarred by remarks about her complexion, no matter how successful she maybe be in her profession? As the race between fair and dark skin continues, it seems the dusky skinned women of India will have to always play second fiddle to their fairer counterparts. Why, even the term ‘fairer sex’ referring to women is a bit misleading!
With Obama winning the Presidential elections in the US, there maybe some hope for dusky women in India after all!
IELTS Test
Monday, December 8th, 2008
International English Language Testing System or IELTS is aimed at measuring the ability of an examinee over varied disciplines of reading, writing, listening and speaking. This is chiefly undertaken by examinees who look forward to working at places where English is the main language of communication. In today’s world, most of the places fit the above bill.
Initiated almost two decades ago, the test is being touted highly for its unique take on finding out an examinee’s ability with the language. It focuses on testing the levels of language proficiency in safe, fraud-less, global environment.
Over the global stratum, 6000 institutes, associations, training set-ups, and academic behemoths consider the test to be a trustworthy reflector of a student’s caliber in the English language. Today, the test is being conducted across 120 countries and gives avenue to nearly 100000 students each year to come up with the sticker of English-proficiency. More than 300 centers are spread over the120 countries. All of them know that the IELTS mark is more than what competitively summarizes their ability in front of the reputed institutes.
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Many students especially in South East Asia, Africa and Europe look for studying abroad in the universities of Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and UK. For all such students, IELTS proposes to be a barrier and at the same time, a golden opportunity to showcase their competence in the English language. Their mettle is extensively checked over the disciplines mentioned above.
Depending on the recruitment or admission demands of their receiving institutes, the examinees are asked to sit through the academic or general English modules. The first one determines if a student is good enough to be inculcated in the discipline of undergraduate or post graduate study in English. The later just gauges the survival skills and fundamental proficiency in the language. It is more apt for the immigration processes pertaining to countries where English is the first language.
While the candidates are universally subjected to same listening and speaking modules, the reading and writing modules may differ. The results give bands to users to prescribe their ability to the receiving organizations. While the “band 9 expert user” implies that a user has a fully functional command over the language territory and has a profound understanding of the subject and its various nuances, “band 1 non user” or the lowest band user suggests that a user is extremely inadequately placed with the language skills and is only good for using few isolated words here and there.
Few trends in the examinations have shifted recently. Earlier, the enunciation ability of a student was marked on a four band scale. In some time, there will be a nine-band scale to mark it. The general idea is to look to filter regional accent through accent neutralization tips. Further, it is most important not to be overwhelmed and speak in a natural tone. That way the pronunciation would be uttered best.
A trivia: To migrate to Australia as a student, you need to have an IELTS score. TOEFL is not accepted in the country.
How to Prepare for GMAT
Thursday, December 4th, 2008I took my GMAT in November 2009. I got a GMAT score of just 750, but I scored a 95 percentile in Verbal. An THAT is some thing I consider to be an amazing achievement.
I am a working professional from India, which means two things- first English is not my first language and second I did not have a lot of time to prepare. To be precise, I gave myself just 2 months (I absolutely had to apply for the second round of admissions) and for most parts of those two months, I was working nearly 14/15 hours everyday.
Although I did not do very well, there are a few important things that I learnt along the way, things which I am sure would help people.
1. Quantitative Section – Speed is very important here. The questions asked in the actual test involved a lot of calculations. This tends to slow you down. So try to improve your elementary math skills. Get used to trick questions. If the question involves a circle say, the question might be asking about the diameter, while what you might have derived is the radius. And the radius WILL be among the options. So before you mark the answer, make sure that what you are marking is what you have been asked.
Another tactic GMAT test uses is answer disguise. After some calculations, you might have arrived at an answer of say 39. However, it is very much possible that instead of having 39 as one of the choices, the options be some thing like 1/2*sqrt(156)*sqrt(39) . This finally turns out to be 39 itself!
Another important point to remember is that you will definitely encounter at least 2 questions which will stump you. Its always better to make a guess for such questions and move on to the next one. So make sure that the questions you do solve, you get them right.
2. Verbal – For some reason I found the verbal section very easy. These are some of the tips i wold like to share.
Reading and Comprehension- During preparation, do not waste a lot of time doing RC passages. Be assured that the passage you get during the test will not be one that you have encountered before. And if you have the ability to understand what is being said, you are surely going to get the answers right. In fact I did just 2 RC passages during my preparation, just to get an idea of the kind of questions asked.
Critical Reasoning - Again do not waste a lot of time preparing for this one. Try out a few questions to see the common mistakes that people make, or to familiarize yourself with the type of questions being asked. For example, the GMAT test disguises out of scope answers as very tempting ones and its important to know how to avoid falling into the trap. Answering about 10 such questions is more than sufficient practice. Other than this, there is no need to waste time on RC. Every passage you encounter wil be different and entirely new. And if you have problems understanding one passage, you wil have problem understanding the next one too. So whether you do 10 or 100 RC questions, once you have got hold of the common pitfalls and the type of questions asked, it is the same.
Sentence Correction – This one is a little tricky. However, the test almost always asks questions which adhere to a set of rules. So once you know the common errors that you are supposed to be on the look out for, you are done! The GMAT official guide is a very helpful source for sentence correction. One thing I realized is that if one has the habit of reading, sentence correction comes naturally to him/her.
During the test, remember that not all given sentences are incorrect and if you are confused, its better to trust your instincts, especially if you are from an English Medium school/college, it is more or less likely that your instincts are correct. Be a little wary of questions that involve correcting the middle parts of a sentence. After you have decided on an option, fit it into the entire sentence and check to see that the entire sentence is now correct.
3. Essays/ AWA
I scored 5/6. This what I did:
a. Picked up the GMAT official guide and read 2 essays. Then from the one that the guide claims is a 6/6, I picked up the starting sentences. One for the “Analysis of argument Essay” and another for “Analysis of Issue” essay. Doing this is really important as it will save you valuable time on the day of the test. I took help of the sample essays in the official guide for doing this.
b. Prepared 3 concluding sentences. One for “Analysis of Argument” essay. Basically I picked out the last paragraph of the 6/6 essay in the GMAT official guide and modified it a bit. Then I prepared 2 concluding paragraphs for the “Analysis of Issue” one for the argument and the other against the argument.
c. While taking the mock test, I did not always write the entire essays. Instead I used to jot all the points which came to my mind in 7 mins and based on these points, frame the structure of my essay.
Well this is pretty much what I had to say. I hope this helps you guys. My best wishes for your test!!!
Bangalore GMAT Test Centre – Route Map to Pearson Center :
How to get there:- From Bangalore Central proceed towards Airport Road (meaning in the opposite direction of Brigade Road). At the first Traffic point, the Manipal Center junction, turn left (this road leads towards Ulsoor). On this road, the test centre is located to the right, immediately after the first traffic point. To be precise just where the manipal Centre compound wall ends is Bheema Jewelers. Pearson is located right above this jeweler.
The test centre opens at 8:30. Not before that. I reached the centre at 7:45 for my 9 o’clock appointment. Since I was early I went to PINX, the 24 hour coffee shop at Royal Orchid and had a lovely cup of tea.
Test Center Rules
1. After you enter the test center, you are asked to hand over your passport and you are given a document which contains all the rules are regulations. If you have any additional questions ask the test centre staff, they are very friendly and helpful.
2. Jackets / Over coats are not allowed inside. The test room is pretty pleasantly air conditioned and I did not face any inconvenience.
3. No electronic gadgets including watches and mobile phones, are allowed inside. In fact you are not supposed to carry anything inside the test room, not even a handkerchief or a pen. In fact, I had a very bad cold on the day of my test and was therefore carrying tissues. I was not allowed to carry them inside. However, I was provided some tissues by the test centre staff. Mobile phone should be switched off before storing in the lockers.
4. The lockers are sufficiently big. I was carrying a back pack and had no problem storing it in the locker along with my heavy jacket.
5. Even medicines are not allowed inside. However, if you are ill (like I was on the test day), during the ten minutes breaks I was allowed to open my locker and take my medicines.
6. Before entering the test room, you will be photographed. Also you will be video taped during the time you are taking the test.
New Year 2009
Thursday, December 4th, 2008
With just a 4 weeks to go, everybody is sure to be geared up for the start of a brand New Year 2009. Say goodbye to the old, and welcome in the new. There really is a lot of hype that accompanies the Christmas holidays and the coming of a new year. How do you plan to celebrate the start of 2009? Read on to find out some interesting facts and tidbits about this worldwide celebration that has been going on for ages, and find out if you are ready to start the year with a bang!
First up, New Year’s Resolutions
Speaking of starting the year right, are you one of the many fellows who vow to keep a New Year’s Resolution? Perhaps this is because a lot of people believe in changes and new chances as the year draws to a close. A fresh start and a clean slate is what everybody needs. With a New Year Resolution, people hope to have better luck in the coming year, but what are the most common resolutions that people draw for themselves? 
According to a 2008 Franklin Covey survey in the United States, the top 3 New Year’s Resolutions are the following: get out of debt, to lose weight, and to start a new health habit. This study was conducted by life management expert Stephen Covey, author of the popular self-help series, “The 7 Habits.”
As reported by Reuters, the Covey survey does reveal a lot of truths about how people manage themselves. Have you thought about what your New Year’s Resolution would be? Surely, you may be one of the many who wants to get back on track in terms of finances, which is why you may want to save up or erase the dues you owe. Secondly, obesity and being overweight are big problems that a lot of fellows face everyday. Along with the weight issue, other health complications also arise. Do you want to get fitter in the upcoming year, too? And of course, a lot of us have poor health habits we really have to get rid of, such as smoking, alcohol, junk food, or even idleness. It would really be good to start the year with a healthy and fitter body, so why not add this to your list of to-do things for 2009?
However, even if a lot of people jot down the things they want to change in the next year, how many of them really stick to these resolutions? As the same survey in 2008 reports, about one-third of the respondents break their New Year’s Resolutions before the year draws to a close, primarily because they had no time, were too busy, or just plain lazy. Hopefully, you’ll include yourself in the twenty-something percent of respondents who manage to at least stay true to their resolutions.
New Year Celebrations in Asia
It is undeniable that New Year ushers in a lot of good stuff, which is why this event is always synonymous with partying and merry making across the globe. Generally, we welcome in the New Year with fireworks, partying, music, and the works. But there really are different versions of New Year that you might want to know about, especially in the melting pot known as Asia. Here are a few interesting tidbits on this celebration in some parts of the largest continent.
Chinese New Year – This event is held not on January 1st, but usually in the middle of February, following the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Known as the most important holiday for the Chinese, this celebration includes lavish fireworks, dancing, prayers, and great food. The year 2009 is represented by the Ox.
Indian New Year – As sources would explain, Nava Varsha is celebrated in this country in March to April, marking the start of the Hindu Year. In the Deccan region of India, the celebration is known as Ugadi, and is marked by prayers, singing, and the consumption of special foods that symbolize experiences.
In the month of April, several countries usher in the New Year in their own special ways. These are Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Record Breaking New Year Parties
If you haven’t gotten enough of your dose of New Year trivia, here are a few amazing feats that made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in commemoration of this annual celebration. 
In China, the Guinness Book added a new entry to its record, as the very first successful feat for the year 2008. Nearly 2,000 people stretched their vocal chords in Hangzhou in the world’s longest karaoke singing relay, which was completed on the first of January, 2008. These singers were able to break by 20 minutes the previous Japanese record of 214 hours. Apparently they started right after Christmas, just in time to complete the record-breaking attempt at New Year. Can you imagine listening to karaoke singers belt out 3,000 songs over a period of 9 days?
Moving on to the opposite corner of the globe, the carnival capital of the world, Brazil, really knows how to have a new year party when New Year rings in. In the huge and bustling party city of Sao Paolo, more than 2.3 million celebrants packed the famous Copacabana beach to set the world record for the biggest New Year gathering in history. In their Reveillon Copacabana, they really ushered in 2008 with a bang, with one of the biggest fireworks displays ever known. That celebration alone cost the city government about $6 million. It makes you wonder what they’re going to do this 2009.
There is always a huge dispute as to which country holds the crown for the biggest New Year fireworks display in the world. Because every year, these nations try to outdo each other by coming up with something spectacular, it can be hard to gauge a winner. However, if you are hoping to catch some of the best and most extravagant fireworks displays at the start of 2009, you might want to check out these venues: Dubai, UAE; Sydney, Australia; London, England, and Hong Kong.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2009
Visa Gift Cards
Thursday, November 27th, 2008One of the many visa cards available is the visa gift card. These cards are accepted worldwide wherever visa debit cards are accepted, and have a few unique features and functions. These cards are best used, when on a budget, or when you only want to spend a fixed amount of money every week.
Visa gift cards also make a great gift for family or friends. Although you can get visa gift cards from your 
credit card rewards program, if you want it as a present for someone, it is better to give a more personal gift by buying gift cards from your favorite shops or stores.
Visa gift cards are usually activated once they are bought; however if you find that your card is not activated, you just have to follow the activation instructions that come with the card. It is used just as you would use a credit card and you have to remember to sign on the back of your card to ensure authorization of it.
Remember to sign purchase receipts
All purchase receipts also have to be signed for proof that you have made the purchase so always take a copy of the purchase receipt with you. Always check the balance of the card, before conducting any transactions with it.
As visa gift cards have a limited amount that can be spent, purchases that are greater in value than the balance may get declined. With each purchase, the purchase amount is automatically deducted from your account balance.
In a bid to provide fraud protection, visa gift cards are covered under a policy that protects the card from misuse. If you lose your card, or it gets stolen, you just have to report it and the account is protected from any possible misuse. It is mandatory that you note your card number so that you can cancel it and get a new one issued, if required.
Visa Gift Cards Usage Tips
Retain all purchase receipts
One of the drawbacks of a visa gift card is that with wanton spending, you may end up with just a few dollars or pounds remaining on the card, which you will then not be able to use. To solve this problem, make it a point to keep receipts of all your visa gift card purchases, and circle the amount remaining on the card.
If you have some money on your card but it’s not sufficient to make a payment, it is best to inform the sales agent that you intend to pay only a part of the payment using the visa gift card and that the rest will be paid for using another method of payment so as to prevent a possible card decline.
If you had bought gifts using the visa gift card, it is always best to keep the empty visa cards. This is because if the person wishes to exchange or return the gift, they can do it only if they have the original card.
With all these tips on the use and handling of a visa gift card, there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from getting one for yourself or giving it to someone special as a gift.
Clued to the call
Friday, October 17th, 2008
Poor people operated for Cataract for free by Dr Narpat Solanki, Project Drishti
In 1975, a 20 year old medicine aspirant from Rajasthan followed the diktat of his father, a chartered accountant and set out to pursue a professional career in medicine. At the end of his graduate study, he sought to specialize in general surgery but was handed out ophthalmology. Today, twenty-two-years on, Dr Narpat Solanki’s professional palate is a tale of what he describes as “My father’s dream and God’s plan; not my cake.”
He is seen in many roles in many places. You may find him in Karnataka’s rural backyards like Chitradurga and Gauribidanur conducting camps, performing surgeries or even screening eyes alongside his team of trained professionals or you may find him in strife-torn Cambodia and fast-developing Indonesia training fellow professionals under the Rotary International banner. If neither, you may find him at his Bangalore-headquartered Mahaveer Eye Hospital – attending to patients, performing surgeries, interacting with an international group of professionals who are training under him and also fulfilling his managerial responsibilities as director of MEH.
And, there is more to “God’s plan or destiny” in his life. In January 1987, the then young professional was only visiting his ailing grandmother in Bangalore and the city simply ended up becoming his home base. While the closely-knit Jain population in Bangalore was only too happy to have one of their own to rely on, to his credit, the man born with a silver spoon in his mouth saw it as a call to serve. Dr Solanki saw to it that his reach broke the barriers of class, community, social and economic. The special camps that he holds for the mentally challenged, the jail inmates and senior citizens, the AIDS and leprosy afflicted are a reflection of the same.
Against Odds
The crust of his work is however Project Drishti, which was started in July 2001 to reach quality eye care to the poor and under-privileged sections of society. It is an effort that has seen Dr Solanki and his 45-member team going to the doorstep of the target population in some 12 districts in the State. Working with the local administration and non-governmental organizations, team Project Drishti has till date screened over 10 lakh(1 Million) people including 1.32-lakh school-going children and conducted about 95,000 free eye surgeries. Almost one-camp-a-day is the order of things at Project Drishti.
The run has been anything but easy. For service-minded professionals, it has been sorrowful to see invaluable infrastructure at the government hospitals in district centers put to little use, while they struggled with the logistics of reaching care to people far off from their operational base. “The assessment of the utilization rate of equipment in district hospitals will reveal a sad story. Hardly 10 per cent of the available eye care infrastructure is put use”, observes Dr Solanki, while also regretting the government’s “lack of openness” in allowing private players to adopt primary health care centers. The least that the government can do is let medical groups and teams like Project Drishti avail its space and infrastructure in the rural limits, he says.
In the large context, Dr Solanki wants to push forward the case for health clinics for students in government-run primary schools. It is an investment in “health consciousness” the government needs to make in the future interests of the country. A health certificate must become as important a qualifying-document as birth certificate, he opines.
Dr Solanki’s work has been recognized and feted aplenty and it includes ‘Karnataka Rajyothsava Award’, the highest civilian award by the government of his adopted state. That is however not to mean rest from work and service. Setting up eye care clinics in rural areas on public-private partnership basis and spreading knowledge by expanding the professional training activities of MEH are the goals for the immediate future.
As he puts it “Service has given me the achievements. We (at MEH) set our own targets and strive to fulfill it 110 per cent.” As an after thought, he adds, “Self confidence is a thing about it. For, when you are working with good intentions, things will see themselves through.”
