News of Rotting food grains

News of Rotting food grains (particularly wheat), was there in the newspaper recently. It would have  been wise to implement a scheme like (Sattunavu Thittam done in Tamil Nadu - Nutritious Meal scheme) for School Children and other labourers struck by poverty and price rise if this has been extended to the needy and poor, the question of waste would not have happened.

One end Govt. is not able to control the price rise  and another extreme wasting resources.

This is total injustice to the hard labour put by our Farmers and unacceptable considering the welfare of the Country.

Where does all the money go ?

ubject - Where does all the money go ?

Life's lessons Where does all the money go ?




HOW often have we sat down to dinner and wondered, "But where does allthe money go?" A million dollar question, indeed! These days the younger generation by virtue of their qualifications is paid quite decently.Shopping is one thing that few can resist. With the buying power having increased greatly, and the market flooded with in numerable products and brands, it is natural that people should be tempted to possess more. Be it gadgets or consumables that promise to make life easy.

Whether you earn ten thousand or forty make it a habit to save every month. It should be part of your monthly plan and not just a new year's resolution. Start early and save for tomorrow! How does one do this? A few tips: Remember the mud pots and piggy banks?

* Draw up a budget and stick to it

* Set up an exigency fund

* Never draw out your complete salary if it is paid directly into the bank

* If both you and your spouse are earning, use only one salary to live on and save the other

* Do not be a compulsive shopper. Buy only what you need, and window-shop with an empty wallet

* Survey the market. Buy from reliable, low-priced hypermarts

* Treat yourself once in a while but don't make a habit of eatingout. It's not good for your wallet or your health

* Jobbing on the side? Keep the income aside for rainy day blues

* VPP, increments or a bonus can be cached in a special term

deposit account

* Reinvest returns from investments and keep all your documents safely

Banks and financial institutions provide loans in 'easy' schemes andpeople often fall for them. Think twice before you commit yourself to aloan. What do you plan to do with the money? Do you plan to buy something that can bring comfort like a vehicle or a refrigerator? Or are you looking at fripperies like jewelry or furniture and clothes.The best is a house loan, which, if taken early in your career can lead to a happy and secure future and no need to pay a rent!. The implication of money sense is: Enjoy life but be judicious in yourspending. Review your financial position regularly.

You needn't curtail your joys but keep them within limits. There's life after 40s too; unless you start saving now you will never be able to,for as you grow older so will your commitments and expenses increase. Saving is like any other skill. Acquire it when you are young. Start early so you can live a planned and comfortable life all through. For a happy balance be thrifty not stingy.

Dhoni's captaincy

Dhoni's captaincy has been most medicoire, at the best in this series ----- Starting from team selection, to batting order, to field placements and change of bowling. To be fair to praveen Kumar, he has bowled well looking at his limitations but he is too slow to be really penetrative. When he is not swinging the ball, he infact helps batsman to get his eye in. If observed closely, Dhoni is baised towards a few players like Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, R P Singh ( when he was in team ). Another point to note is Dhoni hasn't allowed any Backup wicket Keeper to settle in the team for last 3 years - this shows his own insecurity. It was clear case for Parthiv Patel to be picked up for this tour, but Saha was selected ( Patel would have been handy as a opener in second test here ) 
It would be interesting to see team selection for 3rd test - assuming that Viru & Zak would be back - 

my team for 3rd Test would be :

V Sehwag
G Gambhir
R Dravid
S Tendulkar
V V S Laxman
Yuvraj Singh
M Dhoni
Zaheer Khan
Ishant Sharma
S Srishant
Amit Mishra/ Praveen Kumar ( depending on the Pitch and conditions )

We shouldn't be surprised if this is beginning of downfall of Dhoni Era and if he isn't around in India team during next worldcup.
The real credit to India's recent success should go to superb team effort ( to be fair - part credit for this to Dhoni too ), Great Coach in Garry and his superb Man Handling skills & Above average performance by Selection Committee.

One more prediction - Duncan Fletcher wouldn't complete his tenure as Indian Coach ----- any takers?

Subject - Top 10 worst male health habits

Subject - Top 10 worst male health habits

From workouts to healthy diets, many of us make an effort to look after ourselves. However, we could be compromising our health on a daily basis without even knowing it. From bottling things up to eating fast food, here are the top 10 male habits you should try to break.

Avoiding the doctor

Research by the charity Men’s Health Forum has revealed that men are 20% less likely than women to visit their doctor, despite the fact that they have shorter life spans than women and are more likely to die from cancer. While visiting the doctor is rarely a pleasant experience, diagnosing most illnesses early increases rates of survival, so stop ignoring those symptoms and give your doctor a call.

Not doing self-checks

Just like with visiting the doctor, many men avoid doing necessary health self-checks due to fear, denial of the risks, or confusion over what to do. However, it is vital that men check themselves regularly for signs of testicular cancer as incidence of the disease is on the rise, particularly in young and middle-aged men. If you are not sure how to go about checking yourself, visit a reputable website or ask your doctor for tips on performing these necessary checks.


Binge Drinking

Although women are rapidly catching up with men in the drinking stakes, binge drinking is still more common among men than women, and there are consistently higher rates of alcohol-related deaths and hospitalisations in men.

Binge drinking not only affects long term health, but it puts your immediate safety at risk and can also lead to rapid weight gain. To safeguard your health, it’s important to stick to recommended limits and drink in moderation.

Bottling things up

On the whole, men are less likely than women to talk about their feelings, express emotion or ask for help and support. Perhaps as a consequence of this, men are half as likely as women to be diagnosed with depression, yet are 77 per cent more likely to commit suicide.

Depressed men are also twice as likely as depressed women to resort to alcohol and drug abuse. Bottling up anger is just as detrimental to men’s health, with research suggesting that men who don’t express their anger increase their risk of a heart attack.

Stressing over work

While men and women are equally exposed to workplace stress, according to a survey of 3,000 workers by Medicash, men are four times more likely than women to take a sick day due to work related stress and are twice as likely to turn to alcohol to help deal with it.

As workplace stress can be an important factor in the development of depression, heart disease and stroke, it is vital to seek a way to resolve your feelings and ease your stress; whether it is by talking to your boss, changing your job or seeking professional help.

Taking hot baths

Many men enjoying soaking in the tub, but for all those trying to conceive it may be time to swap those long baths for showers. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, found through their three-year study that having hot baths can significantly reduce male fertility.

As sperm develop best in cool surroundings, men should avoid any activity that leads to overheating this area, including sitting in hot tubs or Jacuzzis and regular, prolonged use of laptops.

Not applying sun cream

Although skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, multiple research studies have shown that few of us regularly wear sunscreen, and that men are the worst offenders.

According to research by Mintel on sun cream use in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, an average of 52 per cent of women use sunscreen, compared to only 37 per cent of men. However, with many men spending significant time outdoor for sports, work or leisure, it is vital to cover up with appropriate clothing and sun cream before heading outside.

Poor bathroom hygiene

Do you wash your hands after you’ve visited the bathroom? According to a study by the American Society for Microbiology and the Soap and Detergent Association, one in three men don’t! Furthermore, a study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine carried out at UK service stations found that only a third of men washed their hands with soap. Not washing your hands is the quickest way to spread germs and infection, so protect your health and those around you by making sure you lather up before leaving the bathroom.

Not brushing their teeth

According to a study by the American Dental Association, only 66 per cent of men brush their teeth twice or more a day, compared to 86 per cent of women. Furthermore, research findings published in the Journal of Periodontology showed that women are almost twice as likely to have regular dental checkups than men. Failing to look after your pearly whites is not only bad news for your teeth and gums; research has shown that gum disease can increase risk of heart disease, erectile dysfunction and dementia.

Eating fast food and takeaways

In today’s fast food culture, many of us are guilty of hampering our weight loss by indulging in too much junk food, and this is particularly true for men. A survey by Pew Research Center revealed that 47 per cent of men eat in a fast food restaurant at least weekly, compared to 35 per cent of women. With an average takeaway containing over half your recommended daily calories and copious amounts of salt, do your health a favour by cutting back on takeaways and replacing with home-cooked meals.

Fighting the food prices!

Fighting the food prices!




Weekend was back, so I got ready with the shopping list I had compiled over the week of all the things I needed to buy. It wasn’t a long one, just around ten items because I wanted to buy only the necessary ones.

At the end of my shopping at the local super market, when I saw the end total on the bill, my eyes popped out in shock.The bill was this much for less than ten items!

I checked the bill thrice and it was correct! “Food has become really expensive nowadays, I thought!”
World crises and inflation are to blame.we are now spending more than 22 per cent of their salaries on food or gas. That’s a high that we’ve only seen twice in the last two decades, according to some stats I recently read in an article.

So, if you like to eat (and who doesn’t!), what can you do to try to stay within your budget? I am no Consumer Savings Expert, but I will tell you those 10 tips my

boss taught me to combat food prices.
1. Shop warehouse stores: Not all prices are the same everywhere particularly if you tend to go overboard, but there are some really good deals to be had. Look for great buys on perishable items and shop towards the end of the day, when department managers want to unload extra inventory from the stores.
2. Use vouchers or coupons: Buy those vouchers which come with magazines and go to stores which let you shop during special days or on online. It’s a great way to save money on certain products. Online, you not only save money, you also get exactly what you want. However not all supermarkets allow you to stack, so check first.
3. Hit/Big stores: Whether you cruise the narrow aisles of the big Giant or hit one of the smaller chains,big stores offer savings on boxed, bagged and canned goods. Make sure you check the expiration dates, however.
4. Use grocery store rewards cards: These loyalty cards have become a necessity to access store sales, but they also have another benefit. You can download online coupons directly to your rewards card and the savings will be taken off at the register. Visit the rewards-card pages of such store websites to find these manufacturer coupons. Keep your cards safe!
5. Buy generic: By and large, store-brand generics can be much cheaper than manufacturer products with the exactly same quality. In fact, generics come off the same assembly line before being slapped with separate labels so skip the brand name items.
6. Use discount gift cards: Like the rewards cards, this is another way of combatting high food prices. Certain big stores offer discount cards and these can also be used on most of the products on the shelf. Make use of these cards to save up on those extra few dirhams.
7. Make a reasonable list: Avoid impulse purchases by making a list before you leave home and sticking to it when you hit the store. Knowing specifically what you need also helps avoid duplications of products you already have at home.
8. Plan your meals: It’s a lot easier to make a list when you have a plan. Creating a weekly menu also helps you avoid quick trips to the supermarket that end up costing you more in many ways. For last minute meals, look for great discounts by buying meats, produce and other food items that are on sale at your local grocery store.
9. One-stop shop: Save gas, time and money by shopping in stores which allow you to buy everything on your list within one visit.

10. Avoid out-of-season produce: To every vegetable and fruit there is a season...and a better price. . Wait until prices are at their best and plan your menu around seasonal produce to save big.
Happy Shopping – Happy Saving !

Technology

Technology has changed the way we are living today. Even the way we approach people and the way we talk has changed. Imagine a time when we did not have computers. Most of us relied on faxes and pagers and there was nothing like a mobile phone.Gone are those days when people used to communicate by sending faxes. Of course, we do send faxes if there is a problem with internet and emails but forwarding a simple email has made work much faster.
Now technology has made everything easier. If you need something on the Net, everything is available at a click of a button. You could even do your shopping online.
Technology exists all around us and it is difficult to fathom the very idea of living without it because a lot of the things we own in our homes and use in our everyday lives would simply cease to exist.
The ways we communicate through technology have really evolved in the last few years. First, there were cell phones, then came chat forums, instant messaging, and email through the internet. Nowadays, anyone can keep their family, friends, co-workers informed of the daily goings-on in their life, regardless of where these people are in the world, through social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook.
On special occasions or festivals you don’t have to send letters by post any more as mobile phones are all around so sending an SMS is faster and more reliable.
Can you imagine living life without any form of transportation at all? The only transportation you could use was your own two feet. Nothing else. And the shoes that cover your feet wouldn’t be the attractive sneakers being pumped out by the second at a nearby factory. They would be made by hand out of the hides of animals, much like moccasins!
Some would argue that not having all the advancements from technology would produce a more utopian society. Whether or not technology has contributed to the decline of society remains to be debated, but one thing you cannot argue against that it has made the quality of living for anyone using technology much better.
Although it has improved the overall quality of life, the fact remains that technology has also affected the way people interact with one another and the way they view themselves.
Like anything else in this world, there is a good and a bad side to technology, but it is up to you to determine how it will play out in your life. Will you let it affect your life adversely, or would you reap from the benefits, all the while keeping a sense of balance?
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second revolution

Subject - So let the second revolution

Politics and politicians who were meant to represent hope for the people have long since morphed into a source of despair and pain for most Indians. The season of scams and tumbling skeletons have only added to the already rock-bottom confidence and faith in our government institutions and government. The cry for a Lokpal Bill is a clear and visible desire of the people to initiate some change in the way their government conducts itself.

There’s a tragi-comic debate being played out on television channels the debate is between national political parties about who is more corrupt. It’s a sign of our times when corruption and malgovernance is reduced to one of relative standards, instead of an absolute standard of probity and integrity.
It’s a very useless debate and an unfortunate reflection of how fast the standards of our governance, and indeed politics, are plummeting. What would be more appropriate and indeed what people want to know is what the parties will do in future to create a sharp break from the old-style politics and governance and embark on a new style of a transparent and responsive form of government.

The Lokpal Bill in its current form or this timid effort at trimming discretions will not even make a little dent in the trajectory and vibrant growth of vested interests in government, malgovernance and corruption
So let the second revolution begin on August 16!

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