Sunday, October 26, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Micro waved water
"Micro waved water"
A 26-year old guy decided to have a cup of coffee. He took a cup ofwater and put it in the microwave to heat it up (something that he had done numerous times before).I am not sure how long he set the timer for, but he told me he wantedto bring the water to a boil. When the timer shut the oven off, heremoved the cup from the oven. As he looked into the cup, he noted that the waterwas not boiling, but instantly the water in the cup 'blew up' into hisface.The cup remained intact until he threw it out of his hand but all thewater had flown out into his face due to the build up of energy. His wholeface is blistered and he has 1st and2nd degree burns to his face, which may leave scarring. He also mayhave lost partial sight in his left eye.
While at the hospital, the doctorwho was attending to him stated that this is fairly common occurrence andwater (alone) should never be heated in a microwave oven. If water is heatedin this manner, something should be placed in the cup to diffuse theenergy such as: a wooden stir stick, tea bag, etc. It is however a much safer choice to boil the water in a teakettle.
General Electric 's (GE) response:Thanks for contacting us. I will be happy to assist you. The e-mailthat you received is correct. Micro waved water and other liquids do notalways bubble when they reach the boiling point. They can actually getsuperheated and not bubble at all. The superheated liquid will bubble up out ofthe cup when it is moved or when something like a spoon or teabag is put intoit. To prevent this from happening and causing injury, do not heat anyliquid for more than two minutes per cup. After heating, let the cup standin the microwave for thirty seconds before moving it or adding anything intoit.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Lehaman and after...
When I see all this happening, I can only remember the good old days. Then, karz was bad. People looked down upon those who took loans. Parents would not give their daughter's hand in marriage to a man with loans.But of course, the times have changed now. Everyone I know has a loan. The buzz word is EMI (equated monthly installment). Today, you can buy every thing on EMI - a house, a television, an i-Pod. In fact I know of some one who just bought a fancy BMW 3 series on EMI, instead of buying a cheaper car outright with cash. I mostly prefer to take public transport, but then I am an old man with old thoughts!
Anyway, coming back to what caused the crisis. Imagine having Rs 2 lakh in your bank account, no regular income, yet buying a house worth Rs 65 lakh, in the hope of selling it for a higher price. Even if the price of the house fell by just 5 per cent (that is Rs 3 lakh), you will go bankrupt. This is what Lehman Brothers did; with around USD 20 billion they went and bought assets worth over USD 600 billion. Isn't it suicidal and simply foolish?I am sure things would have been different, had I been the head of Lehman brothers. But who wants an old conservative man like me to head a complex financial institution.
But there are a few lessons that we can learn:
1.Live a balanced life and avoid overspending.
2. Don't buy things we don't need.
3. Don't buy Branded good's.
4. Don't buy excess Food, Clothes, Cosmetics, Footwear, electronics and Fashion accuracies just think before you buy.
Tip: World still has a lot of growth ahead and the future holds immense opportunities for us. Let us make the most of it and save and invest it wisely instead of wasting our precious little on things we don't need.
5. Try to balance life with work (No one is happy to work in their professions).
6. Don't stress out your self, after work try to do some extra activities like swimming, yoga, walking, running where you can divert your mind from stress.
A thumb rule: Health is more important than money.
7. Try to understand each other (Wife and Husband) in financial matter's and help each other.
Tip: As soon as you get your monthly salary, set aside a fixed amount, usually 35 per cent, for insurance, savings and investments. You can then spend the rest.
8. Not all loans are bad. Loans that are 'need based' (home loans, education loans) can always find a place in your finances against those that are largely 'want based' (Credit cards, personal loans, car loans).
9. Borrow only if repayment is financially comfortable. A thumb rule: Keep EMIs within 35 to 45 per cent of your monthly income.
In that respect, there is one American who I really respect – Warren Buffet. He has lived in the same ordinary house for over three decades, drives his own medium sized car and leads an extremely regular 'middle class' life. If that's all it takes for the richest person on earth to be happy, why do all of us need to take extra stress just so that we can get things which aren't even essential?
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Just a little thought..
What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection.. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'The audience was stilled by the query.The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story:Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.
'Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still! behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the he! ro for h is team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.'
That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messagesabout life choices, people hesitate. The crude , vulgar and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a littl! e spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
1. Delete
2.Forward
Friday, October 3, 2008
Share a smile...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Harvard Business School
Somehow, I have had close association with Harvard over the years – hired many from Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School and Harvard Medical School. I have also fired quite a few people from this institution in the past (for all the right reasons). Continue to have many in my group from HBS. Last week was invited for coffee at Harvard Club in Manhattan by a CEO friend (of a global company) who introduced me to another CEO. One of my very important mentors is from the HBS - Class of 58. Someone in their Blog entry mentioned about the book which mentioned about the importance of HBS - Class of 58.
Leaders from HBS want to form a close association with us as we focus on bringing business innovation in the industry. We agreed to work closely with HBS, they will lead publication of some of the business innovation, will be sending their selected higher education students to work in our team, etc. At the conclusion of the meeting, the faculty gave us a tour of HBS and it key archives. It was truely a privilege.
I am not sure everyone knows that our dear Sanjay also completed a leadership course at HBS in the recent past. I have also decided to signup for some advanced management education at HBS next year.
As I walked out of the meeting yesterday, I could not resist to take a picture of HBS main bldg (meeting place) on my cell phone which I share with you.
Vipul