Brainstorming Blog: 2009

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Dot Net Tips & Tricks

These are some cool sites for programming tips in .Net
http://dotnetdud.blogspot.com/
http://www.vbrad.com/article.aspx?id=66
http://www11.brinkster.com/notbono/vbnet.asp [Visual Basic.Net Tips & Tricks]
http://www.vb-helper.com/index_tips_and_tricks.html

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Microsoft Watch

This one is good to keep an eye on latest news on MS products...
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/

Linux Watch

This blog is good one to keep an eye on Linux...
http://www.linux-watch.com/news/index.html

Emerging Technologies

This blog is good one to keep watch on emerging technologies related news.... Check it out... http://etech.eweek.com/

Monday, November 30, 2009

Interview Questions

http://www.dotnetspider.com/questions/ <-- I liked this one most as it has objective type answers & allows to verify answer by hitting "Show Answer" button after you select the answer option. Covers ASP.Net, C#, VB.Net, .Net framework, SQL Server & other areas.. Check it out... http://blogs.crsw.com/mark/articles/254.aspx

http://www.geekinterview.com/Interview-Questions/Microsoft

http://www.interviewqsn.com/dot-net-interview-questions/index.html <-- Select topic from category on left side. http://www.questpond.com/ <-- also has free Interview Questions Books to download & list of bookshops in mumbai http://www.thinkinterview.com/Interview-Questions/c1_.NET-Interview-Questions.aspx

http://www.allinterview.com/Interview-Questions/ASP.NET.html

http://www.techinterviews.com/interview-questions/net

http://www.ugain.info/CrackingThePMP.htm <-- Tips for cracking PMP exams

http://blogs.eweek.com/careers/ <-- Blog to keep track for IT career related news

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Ek Anek

Check this out... Doordarshan's hit song "Ek Anek - Suraj ek, chandaa ek, taarein anek..." during 80s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaTYLy1Jgio

Friday, November 13, 2009

FAQ (Frequently asked questions) on Time Management

* Whats the main thing which Time management stresses on?
Time mgmt. stresses on direction not on speed.

*From which paradigm I should carry out my activities?
Study shows that most successful man in the world operates from Importance paradigm not from Urgency paradigm.

*Which are the four quadrants of TM & in which quadrant I should spend most of my time?
There are 4 quadrants of TM based on type of activities:
Q1 - Important, Urgent
Crises, Meetings, Deadline driven projects, Pressing problems
Q2 - Important, Non - urgent
Preparation, prevention, planning, Values clarification, Relationship building, True recreation, Empowerment
Q3 - Non Imp., Urgent
Interruptions, phone calls, some meetings, some mails, some reports, many proximate, pressing matters,Many popular activities
Q4 - Non Imp., Non - Urgent
Trivia, busywork, Excessive TV, Time wasters, Escape activities, some phone calls, Irrelevant mails.

You should spend most of time in Q2.

Q1 : You can't ignore activities which falls under Q1 like meetings, phone calls & other important & urgent work but you should be smart enough in identifying your activity whether it really falls under Q1 or Q3.
Q2 basically comprises of all main activities like planning, prevention, controlling, learning, building relationships etc.
Q3 : This is the quadrant which comprises of activities which are urgent but not important. People who are urgency addicted they consider those activities as Q1 & by thinking these are first things (which are not first in reality) they spends unnecessary amount of time doing that. If you want to increase time in Q2 activities then you should try to get it by reducing Q3 activities.
Q4 : This is the quadrant which comprises of activities which doesn't help at all in our growth. So we should try to bring it down to 0%. When a person works more from urgency paradigm he tries to get relax by escaping to Q4 activities like watching T.V., reading & sending unnecessary emails etc. There are more better ways for renewal & we should follow those constructive renewals.

*How much time successful & non successful industries spent in each quadrant?
Successful -> 20-25% in Q1, 65-80% in Q2, 15% in Q3, less than 1% in Q4 Non Successful -> 25-30% in Q1, 15% in Q2, 50-60% in Q3, 2-3% in Q4

*What are the 4 basic needs of human being?
Physical,Social,Mental & Spiritual are four basic needs. In other way it means to live, to love, to learn & to leave legacy.

*What are the 4 endowments of human being?
Conscience,Independent will,Creative Imagination & Self awareness. Highest level of Q2 activities are those which nurtures & empowers your these 4 endowments.

*Which are the two keystones out of 4 needs & endowments?
Contribution (To leave legacy) & conscience - These are most important because they provide meaning to and energize the others.

*Which are the two stumbling blocks?
Discouragement - which comes as a result of living life on illusion rather than principles. Pride - Pride in living, Pride in loving, Pride in learning & Pride in leaving a legacy. If you are doing activities just to nurture your pride then its just cotton candy satisfaction. When you are doing the things after finding real meaning to it then it will be long lasting.

*What should be the vision of my life?
As per fourth generation of TM, to live a quality of life you should have a vision which can satisfy your all 4 needs. As we know this we can not accomplish with a single role so you should identify your different roles in life & in all the roles you should have a vision which is based on values of principles.

*How can I acquire this final vision?
To acquire this final vision you should have weekly goals in your different roles. You should identify which are the first Q2 things I should carry out in next week which can lead me to my final vision in each role. Some of your most important roles are as personal development, As professional at work, As family member, As friend, Member of Society etc.

*What is the best vision out of all visions?
Raising vision in others

*Shall I go for daily planning or weekly planning?
Fourth genertion TM recommends Weekly planning is better than daily planning.

*Why balance of roles is important & maximum around how many roles I should plan out my goals in a week?
Balance of roles help in reducing stress & it also helps in satisfying all 4 needs. It doesn't mean that you should plan out your weekly goals in each role but depending on circumstaces you should try to cover goals in all roles. You should not plan goals for more than 7 roles in a week.

*What are the three circles & where I should utilise my time?
Outer circle is circle of concernInner to that is circle of InfluenceInner most circle is centre of Focus. Study shows that people who are most successful spends most amount of time in centre of Focus. Which automatically increses their circle of influence.

*Shall I spend time in producing or in increasing capacity to produce?
Society & People judges you from what you are producing. They are interested in final results. So you can't ignore producing but you should also realise that our ability of producing gets directly affected by the amount of time we spend in increasing our capacity to produce. So a proper balance is needed between two.e.g. you are spending specific amount of time with people to build relationhips. This is an act of producing. When you spend certain amount of time in learning ways to win friends & influence people (An act of increasing capacity to produce) then you will be able to build reltionships with people in less time & more effectively.

*Shall I prioritize my schedule or schedule the priorities?
You should schedule your priorities to continue working from importance paradigm.

*Shall I treat people as interruptions & continue what I'm doing to stick to the schedule?
No. Fourth generation TM suggests to operate from paradigm of building relationship with people.

*How should I categorize my weekly goals?
You can categorize it as Determinant goals & Perhaps goals. At any cost you should try to accomplish your determinant goals to keep the commitments to your self & to maintain courage. Perhaps goals are the one which you may or may not achieve depending on any other higher priorities come in the week.

*How can I achieve multiple goals in short time?
By doing multiple activities parallely. e.g u identify Health improvement & building relationship with son as 2 goals of week. You can achieve both things together by taking your son along with you while going for exercise.

*Which are tools available for orgnizing my activities?
Digital Organizer (Sharp 128kb)Software tools like MS Outlook

*Related website?
www.covey.com

*Books on time management?
"First things first" by Stephen Covey (NY Times best selling book)

Agile ways of shaping skills

Agile ways of shaping skills

Agility often defined as the ability of a firm to sense and respond to business opportunities in order to stay innovative and competitive in a turbulent and quickly changing business environment. An agile firm (one that demonstrates agility) has the capabilities and processes to respond to unexpected environmental changes.

To meet business agility, shaping skills of work force is becoming very crucial for organizations. One of the ways to meet those challenges could be agile way of shaping skills.

This article proposes 3 agile ways & states significance of each using dimensions of speed, relevance & measurement.

1. Sharing Knowledge Before Acquiring

It means sharing the knowledge with other concerned colleagues before you start acquiring it yourself. Normally when we come across new set of knowledge, we tend to acquire that first before passing it to other colleagues or team members. This new approach is just opposite to that.

On speed dimension, this approach is best. If you wait to acquire the knowledge before passing to others then there is a delay associated with it. So your organization’s overall skills growth also lags behind by that many days. We never realize its impacts but it does affect organization by losing unseen business opportunities & its growth prospects.

On relevance dimension, this approach is no good. Since you have not seen the knowledge material yourself so there are chances that you may pass knowledge to others that may be less relevant to them. This will waste their & organization’s time. More matured approach could be to have a quick glance of knowledge material before passing.

On measurement dimension, this approach lacks as there is no way to measure how much knowledge others acquired.

2. Screen Knowledge Material & Direct it to Right People

An organization can form a knowledge tapping committee. Members of that can identify trends of emerging technologies, take a call on what will be the most effective learning materials, who will be the right recipients to acquire that knowledge & can set measurement criteria to measure how much one has absorbed at the end of the exercise. It makes sense to have a marketing or sales guy in the committee as he has more handle on customer’s future business needs.

On speed dimension, this approach is of medium type. Since a layer of knowledge tapping committee gets added so some delay does take place.

On relevance dimension, this approach could be the best because it involves screening by multiple people & helps in central planning by taking inputs from marketing people.

On measurement dimension, this approach is of medium type. Organization need to put extra efforts in building questionnaire to evaluate knowledge acquired in an employee. For every new skill, this quiz needs to get built up. These activities increase cost. Also there is no way to monitor decay of knowledge in person & find need of refreshing skills of individual if he hasn’t kept himself updated.

3. Build Learning Portal Site & Subscribe with Web Analytics Agencies

In this approach, organization creates extranet type web site for its employees. A knowledge tapping committee can decide which all links to provide on this site. Organization also decides to register this site with agencies like Fireclick (http://www.fireclick.com/) which is in business of providing web analytics services. Web Analytics firms provide analysis report of your site on different parameters (e.g. no. of hits on links by different users etc.) period wise.

On speed dimension, this approach is of medium type. Since a layer of knowledge tapping committee & modification of web site is involved so some delay does take place. It is slower than previous 2 approaches.

On relevance dimension, this approach could be best for knowledge material available on internet.

On measurement dimension, this approach is better than above 2 approaches. With the help of web analytics you can evaluate who has traversed what link on what date. Also last traverse date of a link for an individual can be seen. By adopting some formula for knowledge refresh needs, people can be identified. Online quiz can be put up on web site to evaluate knowledge acquisition of an employee.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

This article’s contents are derived from “Sustainable Development” 1997 pamphlet issued by U.S. Information agency.

Sustainable Development fundamentally means that the economies of the world should attempt to meet the needs of today’s generations without compromising or stealing from the future generations. Sustainable development is use of natural resources and national infrastructure in a way that seeks to avoid the exhaustion of those resources – and to avoid unacceptable levels of pollution incidental to industrial & commercial growth.

Five biological systems – croplands, forests, grasslands, oceans and fresh waterways – support the world economy. Except for fossil fuels and minerals, they supply all the raw materials for industry; and provide all our food. When the environment is finally forced into bankruptcy because its resource base has been polluted, degraded, dissipated, irretrievably compromised, then the economy goes down to bankruptcy with it. It happened in past in Central & Eastern Europe. Between 1987 & 1990, China lost some 20 million hectares of cropland.

The damage to the global environment, whether it is over fishing of the oceans, the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the release of chemical pollutants or the destruction of tropical forests, threatens the health of the people & future of economy. At the end of world war II, the earth’s population was nearing 2000 million; in 1997 it was around 6000 million & it is projected to reach 8000 million in 2020. It is increasing at rate of 91 million every year. This increased population has caused stress on biological systems considerably. Forests four times larger than Switzerland are lost every year. The people of world annually release 23,000 million tons of carbon dioxide into the air, increasing the earth’s temperature & threatening the health & habitat of animal, plants & people. Scientists estimate 70 different kinds of species we lose from earth every day & they warn that in 50 years a quarter of all species could be gone from earth. IPCC scientists predict that planet’s temperature will rise by 1 – 3.5 degrees Celsius, and the seas will rise between 15-91 centimeters by 2100. It can submerge Florida, Maldives & 17% of Bangladesh land inside water.

Coal, while abundant, easily convertible and cheap produces 1.3 times the carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas that causes global warming) per unit of energy as oil & 1.8 times that of natural gas. It also contains trace amounts of toxic chemicals. China’s reliance on coal for its energy needs results in high levels of sulfur emissions which cause acid rain in China & in other countries in the region. Although the developed countries comprise only one-fifth of the world’s population, they use two-thirds of all resources consumed & generate four-fifths of all pollutants & wastes. In India, an estimated 70 percent of surface water is polluted. Less than 10 percent of nation’s more than 3,000 cities & towns have adequate sewage collection & treatment facilities as per 1997 data. Waterborne diseases account for two-thirds of all illnesses in the country.

By looking at larger picture, we are all sailing in the same boat. We have the power & enormous responsibilities to captain that boat carefully. So we can pass the earth in same status to next generations in which we received. Problems created by man can be solved by man. To achieve this, countries need to think beyond normal GDP growths. It should be GDP + Growth of trees & forests in a country + fresh water resources growth + air quality growth in cities + growth of animals + quality of education growth. That’s the way to achieve balanced social, economic & environmental growth to acquire objective of long lasting sustainable development.

Are we ready for 1 USD = 30 Rs.?

This article was written way back in 2007 end when USD to INR hitted below 40 level.

Are we ready for 1 USD = 30 Rs.?

Introduction:

In 6 months, first half of 2007, the Rupee has appreciated more against the US dollar than it did in over one decade. The Rupee will become stronger by the day.

Have we ever thought of what will be the consequences of it if it reaches to 1 USD = 30 Rs. by 2010 or 2012 & how to tackle risks emerging out of it. This article highlights some aspects of it.

Well at first thought it might appear that 1 USD = 30 Rs. won’t happen by 2010 but looking at Indian political scenario, since elections are expected in 2 years, there are high chances that Indian government will be less aggressive in slashing the interest rates down. This will lead to lots of foreign liquidity flow into our system causing rupee to appreciate a lot in coming few years.

Challenges:

If rupee goes from 43 to 30 level then its gain of around 30%. To compensate that it won’t be possible for software firms to raise billing rates by 30%! This would then pose significant challenges on software firms to maintain profitability.

Now let’s look at what could be the possible solutions to counter those challenges:

Possible Solutions:

1. IT firms can index prices to local salaries rather than fixed prices. Using local salaries would protect IT service providers against both currency valuation & salary inflation. A few firms have already attempted similar clauses although clients have strongly resisted.
2. Reducing the exposure towards contracts getting signed in US dollars wherever possible. One area is bringing change in practices of IT contracts getting signed in USD for countries other than US. Here strategy could be making a shift towards local currency of that country or Euro.
3. IT firm can leverage contract technicalities to reopen contract negotiations & then change prices during the process.
4. Build currency risk and hedging services into a contract. This should enable extra profit margin against dollar depreciation.
5. IT firms need to find more ways towards optimization. They need to stress on higher utilization, higher efficiency & higher effectiveness.
6. IT firm should work towards improving their employee utilization rate – the average percentage of employees who are billable. As people move from one project to other there is some natural waste. It is considered very good to be 80 percent utilized.
7. So far the approach was to take project irrespective of skills needed. Now the approach should be to take projects, only on certain core skills. If you are having multiple projects going on in certain core skills then it would result in higher utilization of your man power.
8. IT firms need to be more aggressive in slashing the costs & wastages. They should come out with more productized and templated (out of box) solutions.
9. Increase the ratio of junior staff to senior staff from a typical 8:1 to more stretched 9:1 or 10:1.
10. IT firm can consider spreading delivery costs & reducing expenses in Rupees by promoting other low cost locations such as China & Latin America.
11. IT firms can push for managed services or results-based contracts where the vendor can manage the size of the team, on site/offshore ratio or team experience. So cost of assigning senior staff will reduce.
12. Delaying the hiring of new staff until contracts are signed & in place rather than anticipating demand, increasing the ramp up time for clients. New clients should include provisions for transition phases in agreements. Client expectations of increased response time should be set accordingly in advance.
13. IT firms should introduce weekly improvement programs where they can capture ideas from employees on weekly basis in different departments & try bringing in improvement changes on ongoing basis.
14. IT firms can take advantage of stronger rupee by converting back their rupee cash assets into dollar assets & buying office space overseas. This will enable them to have long time presence in overseas at relatively cheaper costs.
15. To improve efficiency, IT firms should find improved ways to impart training to their employees at cheaper costs.
16. IT firms can also capitalize on strong rupee by importing cheaper capital goods like Xerox machines, PCs, Hardware devices, software products etc.
17. Lastly, IT firms need to increase billing rates tactfully whenever chances of taking hit of project / customer loss is low.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Antarctica

Antarctica is a new happening place on world & lots of job openings coming in the region too....

Tourists do not visit Antarctica during winter, when the pack ice extends its frozen mantle for 1000km around most of the continent. In any case, few people would pay thousands of dollars to experience the Antarctic winter’s near round-the-clock darkness and extreme cold – the thermometer can plummet to -50°C.

The Antarctic tour season is short – about five months, with each offering its own highlights. November is early summer: the spring pack ice is breaking up, and birds – especially penguins – are courting and mating. December and January, when penguins are hatching eggs and feeding chicks, are the height of the austral summer, bringing warmer temperatures and up to 20 hours of sunlight every day. In the late summer months of February and March, whale-watching is at its best, penguin chicks are beginning to fledge and adult penguins are ashore molting.

Cruises later in the season may be less crowded. However, the longer you wait to go, the more wildlife will already have headed out to sea.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/school/Antarctica/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w0Xy_6WIY0 [Video]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwADGPfjerI [Video - Antarctica in 5 minutes]
http://www.coolantarctica.com/
http://www.coolantarctica.com/gallery/Antarctica_gallery_home.htm [Pictures Gallery]
http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/vtour/ [Virtual Tour]
http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk/
http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/antarctica/index.html
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/antarctica
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0911/gallery.south_pole_job.fortune/index.html

Saturday, October 24, 2009

New Jokes

Interviewer: what is your birth date? Sardar: 13th October Which year? Sardar: Oye ullu ke pathe _ _ _ EVERY YEAR

Manager asked sardar at an interview.. Can you spell a word that has more than 100 letters in it? Sardar replyed: -P-O-S-T-B-O-X.

After returning back from a foreign trip, sardar asked his wife, Do I look like a foreigner? Wife: No! Why? Sardar: In London a lady asked me Are you a foreigner?

One tourist from U.S.A. asked Sardar: Any great man born in this village??? Sardar: no sir, only small Babies!!!

Lecturer: write a note on Gandhi Jayanthi So Sardar writes, "Gandi was a great man, but I don't know who is Jayanthi.

When sardar was traveling with his wife in an auto, the driver adjusted the mirror. Sardar shouted, "You are trying to see my wife? Sit behind. I will drive.

Interviewer: just imagine youare on the3rd floor, it caught fire and how will you escape? Sardar: its simple. I will stop my imagination!!!

Sardar: My mobile bill how much? Call centre girl: sir, just dial 123to know current bill status Sardar: Stupid, not CURRENT BILL my MOBILE BILL.

Sardar: I think that girl is deaf... Friend: How do u know? Sardar: I told I Love her, but she said her chappals are new

Friend: I got a brand new Ford IKON for my wife! Sardar: Wow!!! That's an unbelievable exchange offer!!!

Teacher: Which is the oldest animal in world? Sardar: ZEBRA Teacher: How? Sardar: Bcoz it is Black & White

Sardar attending an interview in Software Company. Manager: Do U know MS Office? Sardar: If U give me the address I will go there sir..

Sardar in airplane going 2 Bombay .. While its landing he shouted: " Bombay ... Bombay " Air hostess said: "B silent." Sardar: "Ok.. Ombay. Ombay"

Teacher: "What is common between JESUS, KRISHNA , RAM, GANDHI and BUDHA?" Sardar: "All are born on government holidays...!!!

Sardar: Miss, Do u called 2 my mobile? Teacher: Me? No, why? Sardar: Yesterday I saw in my mobile- 1 Miss Call". (Had never thought of it)

Sir: What is difference between Orange and Apple? Sardar: Color of Orange is orange, but color of Apple is not APPLE

Friday, October 16, 2009

Diwali Greetings

Wishing all Clients, Relatives & Friends...

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

KVK ki Yaadein

Check out music video of Doordarshan hit song "Ek Anek" during our childhood time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaTYLy1Jgio

Yeh hai S.S.C. ka Hall Ticket jiska exam center Hindi High School mein aaya tha... Aur sab ke sab itne darre huve thai ki parents ya fir brother/sister ko first day leke aaye thai... :-))

Aur yeh hai school ka logo & letter head jo har ek result aur certificates pe chhap ke aata tha...

Aur yeh hai sab se purana document.. Kinder garten ke progress report ka front page:

Aur yeh hai Nataraj ka pencil jisse 3rd ya 4th grade tak kaam chalaana padta tha before they allowed pen writings in notebooks....

Aur yeh hai Stamps ki viraasat jo school time mein collect ki thi...

Aur yeh woh diamond comics hai jisko hum S.S. (Social Service) aur W.E. (Work experience) ke classes mein padhte thai jab Phatak sir "mishaal ke taur pe" ke examples dete thai....

Monday, October 12, 2009

KVK May 90 Batch Contacts

(Last Updated on: 16/11/09)
Anil Bhanushali
9820767642 (Reachable) , 25117934
Archana mehta
9224394007
Bhavesh Nagda
9819891426
Bhavesh Savla
9820968128
Chandrika gada
919821386649
Chetan Dharod
919820244516 (Reachable)
Chetan shah

Darshan Shah
919224173552
Hema
9892371809 (Husband's cell), 32954147 (Home), 22404226 (Home)
Hiren paresh bhuvan..
919820956111
Jasmina
28982153
Jatin class b
919819792919 (Reachable)
Jayendra modi
919869307127 (Reachable)
Kamal chheda ..
919819260132 (Reachable)
Kashyap Dave
919819512929 (Reachable)
Kiran gala
919619111355 (Reachable)
Kishore kubadia..
919322002598 (Reachable)
Lopa dave
919821804373 (Reachable)
Manish mehta ..
919820745122
Manish Raval [Sydney, Australia]
+61-401040777
Meghana
9930335005 (Reachable)
Milan panchamia..
919820240025 (Reachable)
Mitul Jethva
9870119559 (Reachable) , 919224453160 (Not reachable)
Nayan
9819019778 (Reachable)
Nirmal
919820320379 (Reachable)
Nisha Kelaiya
919821209586
Paresh shah
919819735081 (Reachable)
Pragnesh Jani
9223248323(Reachable)
Pintoo Shah
919820142558 (Reachable)
Piyush Sheth
919867464135 (Reachable)
Preeti gandhi
919867911808 (Reachable)
Rajesh captain
919867065522 (Reachable)
Rajesh modi
919892921940
Rajul Gandhi - Gohil
919323937061
Ramesh padaya
919322174891 (Reachable)
Ravi gohil
919869483987 (Reachable)
Sandeep doshi
919867891812
Sanjay
9820777034
Shashank
919870655455 (Reachable)
Shital Shah [Seatle, U.S.]
+1-425-785-7348
Sheetal shah female [Shakti Bhuvan]
919224569153 (Reachable) [Shailesh: 9223433374/75]
Sheetal
919323542712 (Reachable) [Manoj: 9870140365]
Sheetal Gala - Sheth
9323992860 (Reachable)
Sonal
25648933
Tushar
9323900603
Urvi Badani - Sheth ..
919969666067 (Reachable) [Bhavesh Sheth: 9820227354]
Urvi 2 (Class A)
28987530
Vijay gala
919820467421 (Reachable)
Vipul chheda ..
919223319673
Yatin
919821777718

These are the extracts from my autograph book & I see date entered as 20/2/1990 by H.M. Shah Sir... This is really cool & awesome... I guess I've saved the autograph book 20 years for this day only, so it can be shared with you all.... You bet, these are the best quotes & autographs we ever received in life... Just click each image & check it out...

1> C.S. Shah Sir 2> H.M. Shah Sir 3> Usha ben 4> Rajguru Sir

5> Hansa ben 6> Principal 7> Pandya Sir

8> Thakur Sir 9> Tara ben 10> Sudha ben 11> Chhaya ben

Missing Contacts:
Please SMS me , the name & no. of any of following people in case some one has:

Class ADilip(Mini plot), Dilip(1st bench), Bhavesh Savla, Gor Rajesh, Nilesh, Kalpana, Kavita, Bharti, Chhagan, Neepa, Reeta, Charu, Parul Jatakia, Parul, Amita 1 & 2, Manish Vyas, Parag, Jayshree, Kumar, Sameer, Mohamad, Shailesh, Amit, Uday,Sonal,Ruhi,Chetna, Deepti

Class B
Dipak (Dipoo), Jignesh Desai, Ajay, Pranay, Shukla, Vipul Rawat, Dinesh Panchal, Dayalal, Kishore Savla, Jigna Bhatt, Beena, Manisha, Minal, Savitri, Amiksha, Sameer, Parul Gala,Dhan Laxmi

Past Event Details for Get together (School reunion) with family & friends are as follows:

Total RSVP(confirmations) received: 43
Total attended: 32
Date: 15/11/09
Time: 11.30 to 1.30 afternoon
Venue: Terrace of Kar-ke-raas hotel, Near Odean cinema, Next to R-Odean mall & swimming pool, Ghatkopar(E).
Charges for Unlimited Lunch: Rs. 160 per person (Ages 5 & above)

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Money making ideas

Just to share few ideas of making money:

1. Although never tried personally but I met a man in U.S. who made a lot of money just by registering web site domain names of popular companies, brands, movies, T.V. shows etc. & then approaching those companies & selling them at higher price.

2. Garage Sale is a good option to sell out used & bulky stuffs while relocating in U.S. & to make some extra money.

3. You can sell out your unwanted books or audio/video CDs, DVDs at www.HalfPriceBooks.com store outlets in U.S.

4. To sell out car on the spot, visit Car Max Outlets in U.S. Their site address is http://www.carmax.com/

5. There are lots of home based businesses running in U.S. One of them is by Auto Guard, California based company. One can opt for that by sending mail & cheque of some 20$ & they will send the detailed instructions booklet on how to make car anti theft alarm stickers & sell it to public or to Auto Guard. One can find more info of such type of home based businesses by visiting any public library of local county.

6. By joining membership of multi level marketing like AmWay. They have presence in U.S. as well as in India. I got first time introduced to it by one desi guy at Houston.

7. If you have hobbies of collecting coins/stamps then there are stores whom you can sell & make lots of money. Especially in Melbourne, Australia such stores are easily visible.

8. eBay has some outlets in Melbourne where you can sell your stuffs but it normally takes 3 weeks to get money. If you are putting some hand made arts/paintings on eBay for sell then you can make good money.

9. By taking work at http://www.rentacoder.com/

10. By taking work at http://www.earnparttimejobs.com/

11. By writing the blogs. There are people who hires writers for writing blogs....

12. By investing in silver (290% returns in 5 years between 2003-2008)

13. Major events specific investments in shares like election, budget etc.

14. Shifting assets from based country's currency into major foreign currency like Dollar, Euro just 6-8 months before election & shifting it back to base currency at higher rate 2 weeks before election.

15. By investing in bank FDs, NSC, PPF, Mutual Funds, bonds etc.... For U.S. guys in bank CDs, High yield money markets, Mutual Funds etc.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Movie Reviews

New York (Hindi movie) - Being in U.S. at time of collapse of twin towers, I had got the chance to gauge the feelings of americans very nearly.. I was in Phoenix at that time & few of my colleagues were in NY & saw the plane hitting towers live & escaped narrowly in timing of coming out of WTC. After effects in terms of resentment & racism were there but never came right on to the face to us luckily. In one of the incidence, after couple of weeks has passed from 9/11, me & my room mate Ashutosh were driving in his Convertible Ford Mustang by keeping the roof open & playing music. Then one car having group of young guys passed us & they started shouting bad words at us & we were quick to realise our mistake that sentiments of these people are badly affected coz of incidence & better to maintain low profile for few more months.... Movie is also trying to say the same thing that it was the situation which was the problem & not the people or FBI... To protect interest of larger class of civilised people, a small set of suspects have faced injustice & poor treatment... Same way as innocent Shikh people were poorly treated after assasination of Indira Gandhi in India coz of resentment...

Love Story 2050 (Hindi) - Part before interval is in Adelaide, Australia. Then imagination of Mumbai in 2050 is shown. Shown some flying cars, robots, T.V. in air, interactive microwave etc. Nothing great in movie but good to see Adelaide city & have a feel of future technnologies.

Singh is King (Hindi) - Its bit comedy movie but personally didn't like much.

Cast Away (English) - This one has some unique story. Fedex Cargo plan crashes in Sea & one survivor lands up on a lonely island. There his fight for life begins & he lives for 2 & half years in Adam's age on that lonely island before returning back to his country. I liked the way they've shown him struggling hard to create fire & jumping with joys on succeding when fire gets generated after hours of hard work.

Born On July 4th (English) - This one is on Vietnam war & how injured army men gets poorly treated in U.S. hospitals. Also covers abt friendly firing & killing of innocent civilans n kids in the war.

Born to Free (English) - This movie is based on one true story in Kenya. Forest officer n his wife makes lion cubs as their pats after killing their parents who have turned man eaters. Whole movie is pretty cool. When 3 cubs grows, govt. asks them to shift to zoo. They send 2 & still keeps 1 until that lioness grows very young. Once she creates problems, so again govt. asks them to shift to zoo but officer's wife wants lioness to free in forest. So she can live more natural life. Then they starts trying hard to train lioness in hunting & making compatible for forest environment. So she can survive on her own. After 4-6 months of hard work they succeeds on same. Good movie to show it to kids.

Wolf Creek (English) - One of the state in Australia is western Australia where many people gets reported as missing every year. This movie is about story of 4 tourists who wants to explore wolf creek area in Western Australia. They come across a cruel psycho man who kills people by applying cruelty. There are some horrific scenes in the movie.

Cliff Hanger (English) - This one is a cool movie. Some bad people hijacks the plane carrying money & while transfering bags to other plane, it falls down in icy mountains. They try to chase for money & tries to use local rescurers for same by instilling fear of death. Eventually local rescurers win in fight against them. Some good scenes of rock climbing.

Gorillas in the Mist(English) is a 1988 film which tells the true-life story of naturalist Dian Fossey and her work in Rwanda with Mountain Gorillas. It was nominated for five Academy Awards. A Kentucky woman, Dian Fossey, is inspired by an anthropologist Louis Leakey to devote her life to the study of primates. Travelling into deepest Africa, Fossey becomes fascinated with the lives and habits of the rare mountain gorillas of the Rwandan jungle. She becomes so preoccupied with her vocation that she loses the opportunity of a romance with National Geographic photographer Bob Campbell. Appalled by the poaching of the gorillas for their skins, hands, and heads, Fossey complains to the Rwandan government, which dismisses her, claiming that poaching is the only means by which some of the Rwandan natives can themselves survive. She rejects this, and dedicates herself to saving the African Mountain gorilla from illegal poaching and likely extinction. To this end she forms and leads numerous anti-poaching patrols, and even burns down the poachers' villages and stages a mock execution of one of the offenders. Fossey is mysteriously murdered on December 26, 1985, in the bedroom of her cabin.

Friday, June 12, 2009

On Optimizing Organization

* For increasing the overall productivity of an organization, focus should be made on increasing the utilization, efficiency & effectiveness while dealing with resources.
* Management by objectives should cover following 8 areas:
1. Marketing objectives
2. Innovation
3. Human resources
4. Capital resources
5. Physical resources
6. Productivity
7. Social Responsibility
8. Profitability
* Organizations tend to focus only on needs of customers but one should remember that ratio of non-customers to customers is always much more higher. Even for large empires like Walmart its 87:13. To increase market share its very important to identify needs of non customers also.
* Theory of business is based on assumptions about environment, mission & core competencies of Organization. Unless its not enlarged, organization can't grow much.
* 90% of results of organization are based on 10% activities. Effective executives should try to identify that & take few important decisions which can cause impacts. He should know when it should be based on principle & when pragmatically.
* While making people decisions: 1. Think thru assignment 2. Look at no. of qualified people 3. Think hard abt how to look at each candidates 4. Discuss each candidate with several people 5. Make sure appointee understands the job.
* While dealing with idea: 1. must meet rigorous test of practicality 2. must have economic validity 3. meet test of personal commitment
* While making decision don't go for specific. go one step further & take generic decision & go one more step further & take preventive measure.... e.g. in restaurant customer tells waiter that salt is less in curry. Waiter coming & solving his problem is specific decision. Waiter informing to the cook & cook adds salt to whole pot of curry to correct problem is generic decision & cook changing the recipie book for that item is preventive measures.... This way of taking decisions will save lots of time.
* Don't go for changing any process without doing root cause analysis & studying about its implications. Try to pin point the flaw & apply correction there. Don't start any new process without giving much thought. It may eat up lots of time. Stop the processes which are not giving effective results. That will help in freeing up the resources which can be used some where else.
* Innovation is work rather than genius & effective innovations start small.
* Management needs to find better ways to increase productivity of knowledge workers. A country which will lead in that will be the next economic power.
* It costs just as much to do the paper work for a small order as for a larger one.
* Studies reveal that revenues & efforts allocates them to 90% of events that produce practically no results.
* Managers should concentrate their efforts on smallest no. of products, product lines, services, customers, markets etc. which will produce large amount of revenues.
* Channelise staff efforts on very few things that are capable of producing significant results.
* Apply effective cost control on very few areas which will have significant impact.
* Allocate resources to activities which provide opportunity for high economic results.
* The area of greatest potential for opportunity should be given the fullest resource support in quality & quantity before next promising area gets any thing.
* Source of wealth is something specifically human: KNOWLEDGE. If we apply knowledge to tasks we already know how to do, we call it "productivity". If we apply knowledge to tasks that are new & different, we call it "innovation". Only knowledge allows us to achieve those 2 goals.

R-City Mall

Just to give a bird's eye view abt stores n wat products are of interest:

Ground Floor map

First Floor map

Second Floor map

Third Floor map

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Croma Electronics:
* Apple Macintosh desktops & laptops - I've seen & used it before at State Library, Melbourne but first time I've seen it in any store in India.
*Samsung LED TV (latest technology)
* iSqueeze Foot massager (costs some 20,500Rs.) - its Singapore based co. & personally I've used it at Singapore airport for first time.
* other n no. of massagers are there. Chk that out. Its pretty cool...
* Black & Decker Vacuum cleaner
* Pianos, iPhones, landline phones, paper shredders, laptops, PCs, Printers, Handy cams, digital cams, printer papers, web cams, key boards, mouse, headsets, washing machines, refrigerators etc.
* 50,000Rs. kit for wedding gift
Odyssey (Book store, greeting cards, gift items, Office stationary)
Marks & Spencer (U.K. based store)
Life Style

Globus
Pantaloons
Lush body care

Reebok

United Colours of Benetton

Jack & Jones
Foresight Optics (Free eye no.s testing - buying of frames not compulsory if no.s get detected)
Mom & Me (Free play area for kids)
Ethnicity
Big Bazar
Raymonds
Levis
Reid & Taylor

Monday, June 1, 2009

Music Videos

Hindi Songs:
1> Tu hi to meri dost hai - Yuvraaj http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BGH1ZVNGeU
2> Nahi Saamne - Taal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOLztuvNy-E
3> Tum Se Hi - Jab We Met http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sUh4RBD-5E
4> Ishq bina - Taal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmdAzWuvtX8
5> Kehna Hi Kya - Bombay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8dac0QRn8k
6> O Sanam Mohabbat Ki Kasam - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI68bs0zgO8
7> Bheegey Hont Tere - Murder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjvbAcyCtxQ
8> Mere haath mein tera haath ho - Fanaah http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkellxuv_zs
9> mere humsafar mere paas aa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6LnF0HRlPM
10> Mere Rang Mein - Maine Pyaar Kiya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxd6po6wL4w
11> kabhi kabhi Aditi - jaane tu ya jaane na http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl2edsoWzRI
12> Sach keh rahaa hai deewana dil - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYSs7jhe7ZI
13> Sochenge tumhe pyaar kare ke nahi - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJRwb4yLS5o
14> Where's the party tonight? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2O9LFG134U
15> Jiya dhadak dhadak - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfSuwqmR9rs
16> Afreen Afreen - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfxzY00q2To
17> Taare zameen par - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf7YK7ipkVk
18> Chhod aaye hum wo galiyaa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyKAzw_PZiQ
19> Jab deep jale aana, jab shaam dhale aana - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGoERx8-x1o
20> Doordarshan's hit song "Ek Anek - Suraj ek, chandaa ek, taarein anek..." during 80s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaTYLy1Jgio

English Songs:
1> Its the final countdown - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt_ro2aerQg
2> Tearin' up my heart - N sync - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6n7bW-s7TI
3> Ricky Martin - She is all I ever had - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEjqZ0v6Azc
4> Ricky Martin - Let your private emotions come to me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKhPbtuDzB0
5> Bryan Adams - Every thing I do - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFD2gu007dc
6> Backstreet Boys - Larger than life - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UtfMiQ5bP8
7> Backstreet Boys - Quit playing games with my heart - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TQoTBoh8k
8> Nelly Furtado - I'm like a bird - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzZWMWhSA-E
9> Linkin Park - I tried so hard & got so far but in the end it doesn't even matter (My favorite one) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP-bAlOJzWc (with Lyrics)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX54sVwU3iY
10> This one by MJ... Song has deep meaning.. Its like Moon/Mars addressing the people of earth... When you have n no. of problems like homeless people, diseases, drugs, corruption etc. then instead of addressing that why you want to make costly trips on me?
Michael Jackson - Why you wanna trip on me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09gkQ3N-5BM

Thursday, February 5, 2009

My 6 months old picture

Jokes

********************************************************************************
Q1. RAM SITA HAI ... TO RAM KAUN HAI ??
Ans - . TAILOR ( darzi )

Q2. SITA RAM HAI TO SITA KAUN HAI
Ans - . Sita MEMORY hai (RAM: Random Access Memory)

Q3. Prasad ask's Kumble to bring a pepsi... Kumble brings a bottle of pepsibut goes directly to Tendulkar.? why ?? why ?? :-)
Ans:- Tendulkar is an opener

Q5. Woh kya hai jo Dil main hain, Mann main hai par Dhadkan main nahi?
Ans:- aarey Aamir Khan !!!!!!!

Q6. What will! u call a person who is leaving India ??Socho...............
Ans:- Hindustan Lever (Leaver).

Q7. Kalidas ka ek bhai joote banata tha us ka naam kya tha?
Ans:- adidas

Q8. Luv and Kush are going to a village & in between comes a well. Luv fallsinto the well. Why ?
Ans:- Because Luv is blind!!!!!
Now Kush also jumps inside. Why?
OK lot's of head scratching done.
Ans:- Luv ke liye saala kuch bhi karega!!!!Want one more...

Q9. Jackie Chan ki saas ka naam kya hai?.. nahi pata..??
Ans:- D'Cold chain ki saans !!!!!!

Q10. Whats the common colour between Lord Ram & Krishna?
Ans:- Green (Hare Rama Hare Krishna both has Hare)

Q11:- Sardar was cleaning the wall using an ear bud... Why?
Ans:- Diwaro ko bhi kaan hote hai....

Q12:- Vimal & Bimal waiting for bus at bus stop. When bus comes Vimal gets in but Bimal don't.. Why?
Ans:- Behind the bus there was an advertise banner "Only Vimal"

Q13:- Whats opposite of Jogeshwari?
Ans:- Jogesh Don't Worry...

*************************************************************************
Do you know of a Sardar who parked his car infront of board which said FINE FOR PARKING
-----------------
A drunk was hauled into court.Mister, the judge began, you've been broughthere for drinking..
Great, the drunk exclaimed. When do we get started?
-----------------
Can you do anything that other people can't?
Sure, I can read my handwriting..
-----------------
When a wife was asked: What book do you like the best?
She answers: My husband's cheque book..
----------------
Girlfriend: And are you sure you love me and no one else?
Boyfriend: Dead Sure! I checked the whole list again yesterday.
----------------
My father is so old that when he was in school, historywas called current affairs.
----------------
Teacher: Now, children, if I saw a man beating a donkeyand stopped him, what virtue would I be Showing?
Student: Brotherly love.
-----------------
Teacher: Now, Sam, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?
Sam : No sir, I don't have to, my mom is a good cook.
------------------
Manager: Sorry, but I can't give u a job. I don't need much help. JobApplicant: That's all right. In fact I'm just the right person inthis case. You see, I won't be of much help anyway!!
--------------------
Dad: Son, what do u want for ur birthday?
Son: Not much dad, Just a radio with a sports car around it.
--------------------
Teacher: Desmond, your composition on "My Dog" is exactly the same asyour brother's. Did u copy his?
Desmond: No, teacher, it's the same dog!
--------------------
Diner: I can't eat such a rotten chicken. Call the manager!Waiter: It's no use. He won't eat it either.
--------------------
Diner: You'll drive me to my grave!
Waiter: Well, you don't expect to walk there, do you?
---------------------
Husband: U know, wife, our son got his brain from me.
Wife: I think he did, I've still got mine with me!
--------------------
Man: Officer! There's a bomb in my garden!
Officer: Don't worry. If no one claims it within three days, you can keep it.
------------------
Father: Your teacher says she finds it impossible toteach you anything!
Son: That's why I say she's no good!
--------------
Should women have children after 35
No, 35 children are more than enough!
----------------
No one has ever complained of a parachute notopening..
----------------
Living on Earth may be expensive, but itincludes an annual free trip around the Sun..
----------------
*****************************************************************************
funny questions & answersQuestion : You are in a boat in the middle of a river. You have 2 Cigarettes and have to light any one cigarette. You don't have anythingelse with you in the boat? How will you do it?
Answer: Take one cigarette and throw it in the water. So the boat willbecome LIGHTER........using this LIGHTER you can light the otherCigarette
another deadly answer. Scroll down a little.....

Anoth! er solution: You throw a cigarette up and catch it. Catches winMatches. Using the matches that you win, you can light the cigarette

If that was not enough, one more deadly answer.... scroll down.......

Take water in your hand and drop it drop by drop...(TIP - TIP)
"TIP TIP barsa Pani.
Pani ne aag lagayee."
us aag se hamne cigarette jalayee".......

If that was not enough, one more deadly answer.... scroll down

Start praising one cigarette, The other will get jealous & "jalneylagega"
********************************************************************************
Tax structure in India..
1) Qus. : What are you doing? Ans. : Business.Tax : PAY PROFESSIONAL TAX!
2) Qus. : What are you doing in Business?Ans. : Selling the Goods.Tax : PAY SALES TAX!!
3) Qus. : From where are you getting Goods?Ans. : From other State/AbroadTax : PAY CENTRAL SALES TAX, CUSTOM DUTY & OCTROI!
4) Qus. : What are you getting in Selling Goods?Ans. : Profit.Tax : PAY INCOME TAX!
5) Qus. : How do you distribute profit ?Ans : By way of dividendTax : Pay dividend distribution Tax
6) Qus. : Where you Manufacturing the Goods?Ans. : Factory.Tax : PAY EXCISE DUTY!
7) Qus. : Do you have Office / Warehouse/ Factory?Ans. : YesTax : PAY MUNICIPAL & FIRE TAX!
8) Qus. : Do you have Staff?Ans. : YesTax : PAY STAFF PROFESSIONAL TAX!
9) Qus. : Doing business in Millions?Ans. : YesTax : PAY TURNOVER TAX!Ans : NoTax : Then pay Minimum Alternate Tax
10) Qus. : Are you taking out over 25,000 Cash from Bank?Ans. : Yes, for Salary.Tax : PAY CASH HANDLING TAX!
11) Qus.: Where are you taking your client for Lunch & Dinner?Ans. : HotelTax : PAY FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT TAX!
12) Qus.: Are you going Out of Station for Business?Ans. : YesTax : PAY FRINGE BENEFIT TAX!
13) Qus.: Have you taken or given any Service/s?Ans. : YesTax : PAY SERVICE TAX!
14) Qus.: How come you got such a Big Amount?Ans. : Gift on birthday.Tax : PAY GIFT TAX!
15) Qus.: Do you have any Wealth?Ans. : YesTax : PAY WEALTH TAX!
16) Qus.: To reduce Tension, for entertainment, where are you going?Ans. : Cinema or Resort.Tax : PAY ENTERTAINMENT TAX!
17) Qus.: Have you purchased House?Ans. : YesTax : PAY STAMP DUTY & REGISTRATION FEE !
18) Qus.: How you Travel?Ans. : BusTax : PAY SURCHARGE!
19) Qus.: Any Additional Tax?Ans. : YesTax : PAY EDUCATIONAL, ADDITIONAL EDUCATIONAL & SURCHARGE ON ALL THE CENTRAL GOVT.'s TAX !!!
20) Qus.: Delayed any time Paying Any Tax?Ans. : YesTax : PAY INTEREST & PENALTY!
21) INDIAN :: okay, okay !! can i die now??Ans :: wait we are about to launch the funeral tax!!!

Whats new?

May 17, 09
Check out my article "FAQs (Frequently asked questions) on Time Management" http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/shah.html

April 26, 09
Just purchased CD of 8 oscars winner movie "Slumdog Millionaire"... Movie has shown some hardcore realities. At some places it seems bit exagerrated like taking out eyes & all.. Overall it reflects the dark side of struggling life... Movie truly deserves the oscar as it touches many aspects of life...How religious conflicts leads kids to be orphans.. How struggleful the life is for orphans & basically it covers all negatives sides of human beings which arises in absence of money & love.. I also liked the fonts they've used for movie name in end... Its like english name with over line (way we do in hindi script)....

Feb 24, 09
Came across some sites for taxation & laws ->
http://incometaxindia.gov.in/
http://www.taxindiaonline.com/
http://www.tax4india.com/
http://www.tax4india.com/wealth-tax-india/wealth-tax-india.html
http://www.indiataxes.com/
http://www.laws4india.com/itl.asp

Feb 17, 09
I watched Ghajini few days back & then came across this site http://www.atithi.org.in/ promoted by Aamir. Well personally I didn't like Ghajini.... Its quite sick movie... This web site is a good initiative by him..

Feb 9, 09
I was watching one show on T.V. few days back. One desi guy has implemeted sort of garden using 6-7 PVC pipes. He has made holes in pipes to make space for plant to penetrate. Amazing thing was that all the plants were grown without soil. Only water & air was getting feeded to the plants. Same water was getting circulated thru all connected pipes using small electric motor & with help of gravitational force. The plants grown were really looking very rich... Later on while searching on net, I came to know about term Hydro Culture.. Its the technique which guy has used.. Couple of sites on same are:
http://www.hydro-culture.net/
http://edu.udym.com/growing-house-plants-in-water/

Feb 5, 09
-> Upgraded quality of Cable TV... Cursing MTNL for losing internet.... Catching up with fren from U.S. visiting India on phone...

Feb 3, 09
-> Wasted time in reading Mhada's marathi instruction manual to conclude its useless scheme as one can't sell that property for 7 years & its a dead investment....

Feb 2, 09
-> was bit hectic day with work... Delivered work to the Client.

Feb 1, 09
-> Been to Oberoi mall & bought couple of Jeans from Central store.
-> Had gala time with family at Ruchi hotel near Royal Challenge.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Softwares download links

1. For PC to Phone:
a> Media Ring Talk for PC: This software offers free PC to Phone to 8 countries currently. http://www.mediaringtalk.com/mediaringtalk-for-pc/index.php?lang=en-us
Click on "Sign up now" button below 8 countries flags.
b> Other similar type of dialer s/w from different vendor (This is not free) http://www.iconnecthere.com/

2. File transfers using FTP protocol: Download filezilla software from http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client

3. Download free IP Messenger: http://www.ipmsg.org/index.html.en

4. Notepad++ can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=95717&package_id=102072

5. DokuWiki is a great utility to create web based documentation library for your enterprise... It can be downloaded from http://www.splitbrain.org/projects/dokuwiki

6. This one is for s/w application developers in .Net technologies http://www.asp.net/downloads/archived/web-matrix/ [Web Matrix is a free alternative of Visual Studio.Net]

7. Again for s/w application developers in .Net technologies http://www.programmersheaven.com/download/22501/download.aspx [VS.Net 2008 Trial Edition for free for 6 months]

8. One of the leading database backend product by Microsft. http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/download/ [SQL Server 2008 express edition for free]

9. Well you bet, this will never replace those tiny yellow sticky notes but still a cool thing to have its digital version as it allows setting alarm along with each yellow note.... Get free copy of Post-it notes software from http://www.5star-shareware.com/Windows/Business/StickyNotes/postit-notes-download.html

10. SQL Server 2005 installation has pre-requirements. Only after installing .Net framework 2.0 & windows installer 3.1, SQL Server 2005's installation starts. Windows installer 3.1 can be downloaded from http://www.filewatcher.com/m/WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe.2584848.0.0.html and .Net framework 2.0 from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en or from http://microsoft-net-framework.en.softonic.com/

11. HTML Help Workshop is a software which gets used to create *.chm files (i.e. compiled HTML files). These files can be linked with HelpProvider control in .Net application. This software can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=00535334-c8a6-452f-9aa0-d597d16580cc&displaylang=en

Books Review

1. You can win - This one by Shiv Khera describes strategies to achieve success in different dimensions of life. It has chapters on attitude, succes, motivation, self esteem, interpersonal skills, Subconscious mind & habits, Goal setting & lastly on Values & Vision. I liked the way principles are explained by giving examples.

2. Celebrating Love - This one by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (founder of Art of Living group) is kind of archive of the speeches given by him on various topics surrounding human senses, desires, various emotions, feelings, spiritual values etc. Its more kind of introvert & leads to the root on every subject. Its one of the best book which I've come across.

3. The Power of Positive Thinking - This one by Norman Vincent Peale has really small fonts but lists big principles to cultivate brain with positivity & channelise brain's positive energy towards bringing happiness & success in life.

4. Seven habits of highly successful people- This one by Stephen Covey is one of the best selling book & I personally liked all the principles described there. It made lots of sense to me & principles worked for me in practical life.

5. First Things first - Again by Stephen Covey & one of the best book on time management. Check out my posted article on same subject: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/shah.html

6. Rich Dad Poor Dad - Good book on money management... Can be downloaded from http://www.middleastpost.com/87/rich-dad-poor-dad-pdf-download/

7. Millionaire next door - Good book on money management

8. The book of understanding - By Osho

9. Blink - By Malcolm Gladwell (Its about capturing what comes in mind spontaneously when you come across new person/situaion... I've applied its principle once while bidding for a project & got saved from dealing with fraud party..)

10. Tough times never last but tough people do! -by Robert Schuller

11. How to win friends & influence people - by Dale Carnegie http://www.dalecarnegie.com/
Extracts of this book can be found at http://www.westegg.com/unmaintained/carnegie/win-friends.html
Extracts of his other books can be found at http://www.westegg.com/unmaintained/carnegie/carnegie.html

12. Inside your mind - by Louise Snyder Johnson

13. Think & Grow Rich -

14. Brain building for achievement -

15. Optimizing the Organization - by Subhash Khare - This one is on unleashing the potential of practices, processes & people in organization to increase productivity. I guess the author works for Wipro. This one is really pretty cool book & meant for implementing principles practically. Author seems very genius who has put up all his practical learning of n no. of years in this book.

16. Business the Bill Gates Way - by Des Dearlove -

17. Black holes & baby universes - by Stephen Hawking - Despite of his disability, Professor Hawking has contributed best books on universe & time. His book on "A brief history of time" was one of the best seller & this one covers some interesting areas of origin of universe, black holes , Quantum mechanics of black holes & future of universe.

18. Beginning ASP.Net 1.1 E-Commerce: From Novice to Professional- by Cristian Darie - Its good book to start with learning e-commerce implementation using .Net technologies. (ASP.Net) with SQL Server. Take sample codes from http://www.apress.com/ (visit downloads section for this book) . It has stored procedure code for retrieving page wise records.

19. EXAM CRAM2 series for Developing & Implementing windows-based applications with VB.Net & VS.Net - by Kalani (Red cover book) - Unlike other .Net books, I found this to be very much to the point kinda book. If you want to learn many things in short span of time then this book can help you. Its for user level: intermediate to advanced. This one is for exam 70-306 of MCAD (Microsoft Certified Application Developer). Again this book is more like a quick reference. For detailed study, use other books. One of them is Prep Logic series Training Guides.

20. Peter Drucker's different management books in audio form - http://www.learnoutloud.com/Results/Author/Peter-F.-Drucker/564#play426

21. On the Profession of Management - by Peter Drucker - This book is the first one I read from this author & found pretty interesting. It covers theory of business, decision making, how to approach in filtering & executing ideas, on innovation, importance of focusing on basic functions, managing unexpected successes & failures etc.

22. The Essential Drucker - by Peter Drucker - This one covers the introduction of management & all the essential writings by Peter Drucker. Its amazing. First section "Management" covers a lot on entrepreneurship too along with introduction to management. Especially I liked chapter 12 on "Entrepreneurial Strategies". Its 2nd section "Individual" addresses effectiveness, focus on contribution, identifying & capitalising on strengths, time management, decision making, communications, leadership, innovation & leading life. I recommend all to read this book.

23. How to stop worrying & start living - by Dale Carnegie - Extracts from this book can be found at http://www.westegg.com/unmaintained/carnegie/stop-worry.html

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Useful web sites

India
http://www.jaindharmonline.com/more/jweb.htm [List of around 67 sites on Jainism]
http://www.way2sms.com/ [To send free SMS in India.. Main thing is typing on keyboard is much easy than cell phone keys.. Pretty reliable site]
http://www.indialaugh.blogspot.com/
http://www.indiabook.com/jokes/
http://www.timesofindia.com/
http://www.economictimes.com/
http://www.mid-day.com/
http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/
http://www.moneycontrol.com/
http://www.rediff.com/
http://www.jainuniversity.org/
http://www.bseindia.com/
http://bigb.bigadda.com/ [Amitabh Bachchan's blogs]
http://mumbai.mtnl.net.in/
http://register.mtnl.net.in/
http://www.mapsofindia.com/citibank/branches/index.html
http://www.carwale.com/
http://www.online.citibank.co.in/
http://www.hdfcbank.com/personal/default.htm
http://www.icicibank.com/
https://www.rakshatpa.com/raksha/
http://www.nasscom.org/
http://www.epfindia.com/indiaepf/Loginnew.aspx [To check PF claims status]
http://www.pinnacleindia.org/
http://www.naukri.com/
http://www.a2zyoga.com/yoga-poses/asanas.php [For Yoga Poses (Asanas) ]
http://www.a2zyoga.com/yoga-poses/pranayamas.php [For Yoga Breathing Techniques ]
http://www.jainuniversity.org/ayruvedic-upchar.aspx [Ayurvedic medicines]
http://www.artofliving.org/
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/ [Consulate General of U.S. in Mumbai, India]
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/airc.html [The American library - phone: 22624590 ext. 2211/2212]
http://americanlibrary.in.library.net/ [The American library]
http://www.irctc.co.in/ [For long distance trains reservation]
http://www.makemytrip.com/
http://www.spicejet.com/
http://www.merucabs.com/ [phone: 44224422]
http://compareindia.in.com/
http://www.ghatkopar.com/
http://www.indianredcross.org/
http://www.scdl.net/ [Symbiosis Centre for distance learning]
http://www.tsec.edu/ [Thadomal Shahani Engineering College]
http://www.vakeel.com/

U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://money.cnn.com/
http://www.mapsonus.com/
http://www.carfax.com/ [To do the lemon check of car before buying based on VIN no.]
http://www.kbb.com/ [Kelley blue book - while buying car]
http://www.carmax.com/ [To sell car immediately]
http://www.aaa.com/ [American Automobiles Association]
http://www.craigslist.com/ [Classified ads to buy & sell different things area wise in U.S.]
https://www.usafcu-onlineusa.org/
http://www.delta-air.com/
http://www.Geicodirect.com/ [Insurance]
http://www.aig.com/ [Insurance]
http://www.progressive.com/ [Insurance]
http://www.cigna.com/ [Insurance]
http://www.libertymutual.com/ [Insurance]
http://www.statefarm.com/ [Insurance]
http://www.uscis.gov/ [U.S. citizenship & immigration services]
http://www.ssa.gov/ [Social Security Administration Online]
http://www.disney.com/
http://www.seaworld.com/
http://www.universalstudios.com/
http://www.toastmasters.org/

Austria
http://www.wien.gv.at/english/ [Vienna web service]
http://www.iaea.org/
http://www.tour-europe.org/austria/vienna/vienna-tour.html
http://www.viennachristiancenter.at/ [Address: Rennwegg 74, 1030 Wien; Phone: 01/796 91 76 ]
http://www.travlang.com/GermanEnglish/ [German-English & English-German Dictionary]
http://germandictionary.com/ [Germany Times News Paper]

Australia
http://www.vfs-au-in.com/wheretoapply.aspx [Applying Australia Visa via VFS]
http://www.australianexplorer.com/ [For tourists to Australia]
http://www.weather.com.au/
http://www.streetdirectory.com.au/
http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/ [Train, bus & tram services in Melbourne, phone no. 131638]
http://www.silvertop.com.au/ [taxi phone no. 131008]
http://www.optus.com.au/
http://www.mibp.com.au/
http://www.nab.com.au/
http://www.studyplaces.com/australia [for students wanting to go to Australia for studies]

General
http://www.selfgrowth.com/
http://www.oanda.com/ [To Check Currency rates]
http://www.eweek.com/ [To check news on Enterprise Developments]
http://www.ehow.com/
http://www.commoncraft.com/
http://www.logmein.com/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/magazine/cc135865(en-us).aspx
http://www.googlemaps.com/
http://www.hotmail.com/
http://mail.yahoo.com/
http://kids.apl.org/fun/fun.html [Fun Portal site for kids]
http://www.abyznewslinks.com/ [This is a must see News Portal site. It has links to world's leading news papers & magazines. Allows drilling down country wise]
http://www.politicalresources.net/ [Portal site for politics... Allows drilling down country wise]

Software Developer's Stuffs
http://www.dofactory.com/Patterns/Patterns.aspx [Explains different Creational, Structural & Behavioral design patterns]
http://www.asp.net/downloads/archived/web-matrix/ [Web Matrix is a free alternative of Visual Studio.Net]
http://www.programmersheaven.com/download/22501/download.aspx [VS.Net 2008 Trial Edition for free for 6 months]
http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/download/ [SQL Server 2008 express edition for free]
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/ [gotdotnet.com was shifted here]
http://www.asp.net/learn/ [Check out the videos & tutorials]
http://www.dnrtv.com/archives.aspx [weekly 1 hour video shows on .Net technologies]
http://www.dotnetrocks.com/archives.aspx [Check out more than 400 Talk Shows on .Net technologies]
http://www.polymorphicpodcast.com/
http://www.runasradio.com/archives.aspx [Talk Shows mainly on Backend Technology]
http://quickstarts.asp.net/QuickStartv20/default.aspx
http://www.asp.net/Downloads/starter-kits/ [Starter kits & projects in .Net]
http://script.wareseeker.com/download/ibuyspy-portal.rar/3424 [ibuyspy Portal has been renamed to The Commerce Starter Kit. You can download it at http://www.asp.net/downloads/archived/starter-kits/commerce/ ]
http://www.dotnetjunkies.com/
http://www.dotnetjedi.com/
http://www.codango.com/
http://www.dotnetcharting.com/
http://www.quickwebsoft.com/
http://www.intersoftpt.com/
http://www.infragistics.com/
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/architecture/default.aspx
http://www.datadynamics.com/ [Check out Active Reports for .Net]
http://aspalliance.com/ [Check out Learning links on left bar under .Net Tutorials]
http://www.connectionstrings.com/ [To find connection string syntax to be used in .Net programs for different databases]

eBooks
http://www.free-ebooks-download.org/free-ebook/dotnet/ [.Net related eBooks can be downloaded from here for free... No need to create user account]
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/20-best-websites-to-download-free-e-books/ [20 web sites to download free eBooks]
http://www.free-ebooks.net/ [Registration required... Books on various subjects can be downloaded for free.]
http://www.apress.com/ [check out books on E-Commerce]
http://www.getfreeebooks.com/
http://www.freebookspot.org/
http://my.safaribooksonline.com/
http://my.safaribooksonline.com/library
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library [MS Official site for online help]
http://mcpmag.com/backissues/ [MCP Magazines Archive]
http://msdn.microsoft.com/hi-in/magazine/cc135865(en-us).aspx [MSDN Magazines Archive]
http://archive.devx.com/premier/archives/default.asp?pubid=11 [Code Magazines Archive]
http://www.code-magazine.com/
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/architecture/bb219085.aspx [Architecture Journal]
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/architecture/bb201656.aspx [Download Architecture Journal]

Jainism
http://www.jainuniversity.org/
http://www.jainism.org/
http://www.jainworld.com/
http://www.jaininformation.com/
http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/
http://www.jaindharmonline.com/more/jweb.htm [List of 67 more sites on Jainism]

Taxation
http://incometaxindia.gov.in/
http://www.taxindiaonline.com/
http://www.tax4india.com/
http://www.tax4india.com/wealth-tax-india/wealth-tax-india.html
http://www.indiataxes.com/
http://www.laws4india.com/itl.asp

Small Businesses
http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/default.htm
http://www.nase.org/
http://www.nfib.com/
http://www.sba.gov/
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/ Check out link Learning Centre -> Business Articles & Insight
http://www.MrAllBiz.com/

Other Friends' Web sites/Blogs
http://www.shitalshah.com/