Will to choose a Life, and not just a Lifestyle

In today’s world, are we just keeping ourselves busy
without really finding a life. Purposeful living is the
answer. One of the human endowments is the Free Will ,
the capacity to think and act unencumbered .The power
of independent action and choice. In the words of Henry
David Thoreau , ‘I went to the woods because I wished to
live deliberately--- and not , when I came to die , discover
that I had not lived’. Lifestyle purveyors abound .The
market place is filled with those things that give you a
makeover and a personality, if you call it so. From cars
to designer homes and holidays abroad , there is much in
waiting for the discerning and the well heeled . Be all you
can be, an inward orientation that brings out the best in
you . Not just to respond to situations & circumstances
based on the resources . But in discovering yourself ,
the uniqueness that is you . We may have to look away
from the market place though . Life’s biggest joys are the
simplest, simple triumphs of everyday living, in trying to
excel in the tasks at hand.

Differentiation and Integration are two processes that
underlie the capacity to achieve a happy and meaningful
life. It’s a paradoxical proposition, nevertheless the two
aspects are compatible . Differentiation involves

realizing that we are unique individuals , responsible for
our own survival and well being , who are willing to
develop this uniqueness wherever it leads. Integration
involves the realization that
however unique we are we are also completely enmeshed
in relationships with other human beings with culture and
the environment . As one former CEO had observed
“My definition of being successful is contributing
something to the world around and being happy doing it’.
To be successful you have to enjoy doing your best at the
same time contributing to something beyond yourself .
If a leader can make a convincing case that working for
the organisation can provide relevance , that it will take
the workers out of the shell of their mortal frames , that it
will connect them with something more meaningful, then
his vision will generate power and people will naturally be
attracted to working for such a company.

Few people who are Entrepreneurs , Artists , Writers,
Sportspersons, all have the benefit of pursuing careers
that are challenging yet fulfilling as it is well matched to
their skills and talents. You are living your vocation. It is
worth remembering that the organization you are working
will shape your entire identity. It will either enable you to
grow or stunt you . It will strengthen your values or make
you cynical. Many enter their first job still unsure of what
they want to be and of their skills and it is their experience

at work during this period that is likely to
determine
the direction in which they will go professionally . If

the first job doesn’t work it is
better you continue your search than stick it out in a dead
end situation. Look for your passion, go towards
companies you really admire where your God given talents
will be best used . Your values and skills should find
expression. A lifetime career is not what you should seek
instead a job where you can study and grow.

Work should not be everything in life although it gives
you that identity. All work and no play makes ----------- .
One should also have interests outside work , if one has to
balance Work and Life . Setting Performance goals
and high standards for oneself , no matter how
uninteresting the tasks may be can help achieve flow in the
job. When the challenge encountered is matched with the
skills, the outcome can be greatly satisfying . There is
absolute control over their activity and the feedback
gives the one who performs the ability to modify and adapt
to the needs . Striving for excellence does not necessarily
demand that one become the best in one’s field. For many
it means simply to do one’s personal best. Ultimately what
makes a result excellent is that it goes beyond what you
would have expected given the available resources . That
way you end up surprising yourself .

-Bijoy Joseph

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Versions 20.12

2012 hasn't even begun, and yet we've already got a number of reasons to look forward to the coming year. Let's take a look at some technology coming our way the next year

Operating systems

As far as operating systems go, 2012 looks set to be a bumper year. With a slate of Windows 8 tablets expected to release, we'll finally get a proper look at Microsoft's vision of the future of Windows. Not to mention Windows Phone 8, which also should make an appearance before the year is out.

On the Google side of things, Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich) has been heralded as the best version of Android yet; and devices running Google's latest should start making their way to our shores in early 2012. The long-rumoured Google Tablet appears set to become a reality next summer.

As always, huge things are expected from Apple's next OS updates, iOS 6 and Mac OS X 10.8; as of now, though, little is known of either. Similarly, BlackBerry fans will have to wait until the end of the year for a glimpse of Blackberry 10.

Gaming consoles

We can't wait to finally see Nintendo's Wii U in action. The original Wii revolutionised motion-control in gaming and became the most popular console in the world; but it's since faded a little due to dated hardware and a dearth of quality third-party titles.

The Wii U represents Nintendo's answer to those criticisms — with HD graphics on par with the current competition, a stellar legacy of innovation and Nintendo's formidable stable of games, the Wii U is easily one of the most anticipated 2012 launches in gaming.

Right up there with the Wii U, though, is the PlayStation Vita. Going by its powerful specifications alone, the Vita is quite exciting; when you also consider that it claims to deliver PS3-level graphics and a full array of control options in a hand-held device, it becomes positively drool-worthy. As always, rumours abound about the next generation of Microsoft's and Sony's consoles.

Will 2012 see the release of the PlayStation 4 or Xbox 720 or whatever else they might be called? It's unlikely; however, given all the evidence pointing to something big coming our way at the end of next year, an announcement or two doesn't seem outside the bounds of possibility.

Truly smart

Meanwhile, ASUS is keeping the flag flying with its sheer out-of-left-field designs. The company that gave us the excellent Transformer Prime tablet — which turned into a capable net-book with the addition of a keyboard dock — is once again pushing the boundaries with the ASUS Padfone.

The Padfone is a 4.3-inch smartphone (reportedly running Android 4.0 at launch) that integrates with a 10.1-inch display dock, effectively enabling it to serve as either a phone or a tablet. And if that wasn't enough to pique your interest, the Padfone will also be running on a quad-core Tegra 3 chip; thus making it one of the most powerful smartphones around.

Say cheese!

In terms of sheer potential, the gadget we're most intrigued is from the field of photography. We're not alone in having such high hopes for the Lytro Light Field Camera; it's been described as the biggest thing to happen to photography since it went digital.

What's all the fuss about? Well, the Lytro camera uses light-field technology to capture all the light information from a given scene comprehensively enough to create what the company calls ‘living pictures'. You can adjust the focus of these living pictures at your own leisure, or even convert them into 3D images.

While it does have its limitations right now, the “shoot now, focus later” USP that Lytro is going with is undeniably exciting, and provides a solid platform to build on. The technology used in the camera isn't new; however, until now, it's solely been the province of those with research labs and supercomputers.

Arjun Sukumaran

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The Industrial Downturn

In an announcement that shocked both the government and the markets, the CSO declared recently that the month-on-month annual growth rate of industrial production had turned negative in October 2011. The government quickly played down the evidence, seeking to talk up the markets. In this it was aided by the fact that the decline was driven to some extent by an unusual 25.5 per cent annualised decline in production in the capital goods sector. The Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council argued that the fall in capital goods output was possibly due to statistical underreporting. The message was that the numbers are likely to be corrected when the figures are revised, and therefore should give no cause for alarm.

But as the accompanying Chart displaying month-on-month annualised growth rates suggests, medium term developments are such that there still is cause for concern. To start with, the decline in month-on-month growth rates is a trend rather than a one-time phenomenon, though October is the first occasion in recent times when the figure turned negative. The ‘V-shaped’ recovery from the 2009 recession seems to have peaked and reversed itself as far back as February 2010. That was disappointing enough because the recovery had established India as one among the countries that had quickly put the effects of the global crisis behind it. To boot, since then industrial growth has slipped, stabilised for a while, and then registered the recent sharp downturn.

Secondly, while suspicions have been expressed about the veracity of the figures because of the surprisingly large 25.5 decline in the production of the capital goods sector, the October figures point to a negative rate of growth in all industrial groups in the “use-based” classification. Even consumer goods, with a weightage in the index of industrial production that is more than three times as much as for capital goods, registered a decline, even if of a much smaller 0.83 per cent. The trend, if not the magnitude, is general.

A third feature coming out of these growth figures is that, if the October figures prove to be statistically acceptable, the month-on-month growth rate is at a trough that is close to its worst performance during the 2009 crisis. If the 2009 recession was a downturn worth taking note of, so is this.

With figures as striking as these, it is difficult for both government and industry to dispute the decline, even if doubt is expressed about the magnitude of the fall. So what has followed is an attempt to dilute the significance of the downturn by attributing it largely to the effects of the Reserve Bank of India’s attempt to raise interest rates to combat inflation. In fact the RBI has even been criticised on the grounds that its response to the inflation was overdone, and yielded less in terms of inflation control than growth deceleration.

There are many advantages to this position. First, it makes the downturn and possible recession an engineered rather than a systemic phenomenon. This provides the argument for those who would not like a proactive response to the recession on the part of the government. Second, it strips the whole gamut of other policies of the government, including those referred to as the “economic reform”, of any role in precipitating either the inflation or the industrial volatility that underlie the current downturn. Third, it ignores the role played by the high growth in services, or outside the productive sectors, in creating the basis for inflation in recent years. More income and less commodity production normally implies high inflation, more imports or both. Accepting that link would amount to accepting that within the current trajectory high growth would lead to high inflation. And, fourth, since inflation divested of its relationship with growth is expected to moderate in due course, the RBI is expected to respond in reverse by reducing interest rates and easing monetary policy. This makes the recovery from the downturn seem inevitable.

There are two important relationships that arguments of this kind ignore. The first is that the inflation, the response to which is supposed to have triggered the downturn, is not an accidental occurrence. There are strong direct and indirect cost-push effects that the recent economic policies of the government have had that are substantially responsible for the inflation. To that extent, policies other than the responsive hike in interest have had an important role to play, even if the role of the latter in driving the downturn is accepted.

Second, the effects of the interest rate must work through some mechanism. Normally, it works through a dampening of demand, which reduces the degree to which the system is overheated. That is, the mechanism is one that seeks to alter the supply-demand balance by squeezing demand, in order to reduce prices. Its success is, therefore, predicated on a decline in demand and growth. Relying on the interest rate implies accepting the link between growth and inflation.

Conventionally, the perception has been that the effects of the interest rate on demand works through its dampening effect on investment. This reduces investment demand in the first instance, and by limiting the income generated through new investment curtails growth in consumption demand as well. The efficacy of the measure depends, therefore, on the responsiveness of investment to interest rate increases. This has in the past been ambiguous, and is more so now given the option of borrowing from abroad for the big corporates.

This questions the argument that interest changes have generated the recent sharp downturn. However, in more recent times, credit has financed not only productive investment by firms and farms, but a substantial volume of housing investment and consumption by households. Interest rate increases discourage such investment and consumption more than they adversely affect productive investment, making the effects of such hikes on demand much more potent.

It is for this reason that interest rate increases are likely to have had strong adverse effects on growth. The question remains as to why they have been less effective in combating inflation. If cost-push factors play an important role in explaining inflation, the dampening effects of rate increases on the price rise are bound to be lagged and limited. That seems to be the case in India today.

C.P Chandrashekhar

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Food Security: If bill becomes law!

UPA II brought a legislature on the food security, fulfilling an election manifesto
promise, a gesture seen rarely in democratic India. But key questions are raised
almost on every provision of the bill, be it the out sized amount of finances involved,
its serious fiscal implications, population identification or distribution mechanisms
and its large scale food grain procurement except on its noble intentions and utmost
necessity. Let’s try to understand the legislation and find answers to draw a clear
picture.

NFSB (National Food Security Bill): The bill aims to cover close to 64% of our total
population. It proposes an imaginary division of population in general and priority
households, covering nearly 75% of rural and 50% of urban population under its
ambit with at least 46% in rural and 28% in urban areas under priority households
and promises them the right to 7kg of food grains per person per month at subsidized
rates. General category would get at least 3 kg of grains at a rate not exceeding 50 per
cent of the minimum support price. What are these unheard divisions? The division
will be based on findings of socio-economic caste census carried out by the respective
State Government with the financial and technical support of the Government of
India, which will be used to separate out priority household from the general. Doing
as promised will require 61 million tons of food grains thus an escalation in food
procurement, translating into total food subsidies to Rs.1 Lakh crore. It also gives
Central government usurps all powers to decide the number of people belonging
to priority households and imposes a substantial level of expenditure on the State
governments. In words the bill sounds simple, doesn't it? Then why has the bill
triggered slurry of criticisms? Let’s answer to the questions floating in the criticisms
and see which part of the chain of food security are missing i.e. the production of
food, its distribution and its absorption by the poor and hungry.

Where will the food come from? - Current average food grain procurement is 52
million tons which has peaked in the last 3 years owing to good rainfall. But if we
see back, we were producing much less thus average procurement was much lower
between 2002-2008. Since Indian agriculture is largely dependent on monsoons we
may have years of bad monsoon and the average production will is less, then the
remaining food grain to meet the legally mandated demand will have to be imported
which could climb the global prices up. The way out is to make India self-sufficient
for its requirement for which we need to invest in agricultural growth, scientific
irrigation, in rural roads that provide vital physical linkage to markets, in scientific
storage and efficient transport logistics, in developing as close a link as possible
between the farmer and the first stage of food processing, in short we need second
green revolution or a evergreen revolution sooner. Ideally, we need to have all the
agro reforms in place before embarking on such an exercise or else the scheme will be
a non-starter or a simple failure.
How the food will be distributed? - The distribution mechanism is centralized
and raises question whether such massive exercise can be handled by FCI(food
corporation of India), and can this system deliver? The food ministry earlier revealed
that it costs Rs.134 per quintal to procure wheat while it costs them Rs.289 to
distribute it. These enormous costs are the result of our failure to move towards a
decentralized system. The way towards an efficient and financially viable distribution
mechanism calls for localized innovations in productivity, to procure food at
panchayat levels and involve these institutions where delivery can be ensured and
fastened, which will also give way to new economic activities. The only logical way
to tackle hunger is to try different methods and see which one works best and extend
the model nationally. This is how the mid-day meal scheme introduced in Tamil Nadu
in was adopted nationally in 2001.
Who will be given the food? - The bill proposes to give food to priority and general
households but no clear division mechanism and is the biggest downside of the
legislation which will not only divide people within same community, the criteria
used will leave out many deserving households and this division of household is
counter reproductive to the inclusive PDS approach in states like TN and AP. Only
feasible exit is to either give everyone the same entitlement or the entitlements above
poverty line be completely vanished and poorest households can continue to get
special support. This bill is not India’s first crack at hunger. In the past we have had
the food-for-work programme (a variant of NREGA), the Antyodaya scheme (targeted
at the ultra-poor), the mid-day meal scheme for children, and the anganwadi schemes
for mother and child. Above it all, we have public distribution system (PDS) which
works well in some states
What are the fiscal implications? - Even though the bill will burden the state
exchequer a large amount it is unlikely that bill come into force in the entire country
in one go and the subsidy will materialize right away. What is at stake, therefore, is
not an immediate financial blow, but the ability of the Indian economy and public
finances to accommodate this Bill over a period of time. We definitely need food
security and the amount involved cannot be the reason for not doing it.

Is it another ‘common-man’ stunt? - Since the economic growth model is not
inclusive, rising inflation and chronic global economic fluctuations are bound to make
India’s war on poverty difficult. So the fact is that the country’s poor need subsidized
food to be able to spend their earning on their important needs, like health care and
children’s education. The government, on the other hand, by its very nature, has to
balance contradictions in society and hence has an obligation to providing the poor
with a minimum sense of existence. Based on this thought, the Food Security Bill
should be welcomed. Hence, the administration of food security is a challenge beyond
budgetary numbers, which seems to have caught everyone’s attention!

The truth is that food security comes from ensuring three things: creating jobs and
income, ensuring higher food output by raising productivity, and creating a safety net
to feed those who can’t do so themselves in distress situations. The proposed subsidies
can help the efforts but it cannot eliminate the problem. And the food security bill is
just one approach to the problem and is certainly a flawed one!

Written by

Ashish Gupta

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Steyn makes batsmen look like idiots

Dale Steyn is without doubt the best fast bowler in the game today. Anybody who swings the ball away from the right hander at that speed is well nigh impossible to tackle. The only saving grace is that the batsman looks like an idiot as he is squared up ball after ball and the slip fielders go crazy with the expectations of the edge coming to them, any ball.

If the bowler is one who brings the ball into the right hander, then there is the pain of the ball thumping into the body while for the away swinger the batsman just plays and misses or edges the ball. That is why the best ball for the tail-enders is the one that comes in, for it is more than likely to have him bowled as he moves out of the way to avoid being hit.

Steyn has been picking five wickets in virtually every Test match and is the one reason why the South Africans are doing so well everywhere, and not just at home. If only Steyn had a partner at the other end who could keep the pressure up then there wouldn't be too many big totals against the Proteas, but Morne Morkel, though awkward to face at times has not been consistent and has allowed the batsmen some leeway.

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Hackers target US security think tank

Now Playing Don 2 Trailers in 3D. Catch It All on YouTube! youtube.com/Don2



Hackers on Sunday claimed to have stolen 200 GB of e-mails and credit card data from United States security think tank Stratfor, promising a weeklong Christmas-inspired assault on a long list of targets.

Members of the loose hacking movement known as "Anonymous" posted a link on Twitter to what it said was Stratfor's secret client list — including the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, Goldman Sachs and MF Global.

"Not so private and secret anymore?," the group taunted in a message on the microblogging site.

Anonymous said it was able to get credit details, in part, because Stratfor didn't bother encrypting them — an easy-to-avoid blunder which — if true — would be a major embarrassment for any security company.

Stratfor said in an email to members that it had suspended its servers and email after learning that its website had been hacked.

"We have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posted on other web sites," said the email, passed on to The Associated Press. "We are diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained."

The email, signed by Stratfor Chief Executive George Friedman, said the company is "working closely with law enforcement to identify who is behind the breach."

"Stratfor's relationship with its members and, in particular, the confidentiality of their subscriber information, are very important to Stratfor and me," Friedman wrote.

Stratfor's website was down midday Sunday, with a banner saying "site is currently undergoing maintenance."

Wishing everyone a "Merry LulzXMas" — a reference to spinoff and fellow troublemakers Lulz Security — Anonymous also posted a link on Twitter to a site containing the email, phone number and credit number of a U.S. Homeland Security employee.

The employee, Cody Sultenfuss, said he had no warning before his details were posted.

"They took money I did not have," he told The Associated Press in an email. "I think why me? I am not rich."

Anonymous warned it has "enough targets lined up to extend the fun fun fun of LulzXmas through the entire next week."

The group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on companies such as Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, as well as others in the music industry and the Church of Scientology.

____________

Cassandra Vinograd can be reached at http://twitter.com/CassVinograd

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Top Ten Free Online Writing Courses

Even though you still may be in middle school or high school, this doesn’t mean you can’t learn more
advanced writing techniques. Thanks to technology, several online and conventional universities offer
free writing courses through the internet. It’s simple to use and offers you the opportunity to advance
your writing skills for free and on your own time. Listed below are ten colleges that offer free online
writing course.

1. The University of Utah: Courses offered in creative writing. Free registration is required.

2. Utah State University: Courses offered include current writing technologies, research writing
and intro to prose. No registration is required.

3. UCLA: This course is taught by best-selling author, screenwriter and UCLA writing teacher, Steve
Barnes. The course can be accessed from his website at www.LifeWrite.com. No registration is
required.

4. Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT): Courses offered in short stories, essays and poems.
No registration is required.

5. University of Massachusetts Boston: Courses offered include critical reading and writing. No
registration is required.

6. Purdue University: Their Online Writing Lab (OWL) provides extensive writing and proofreading
information. There is also information on different styles of writing. No registration is required.

7. News University: This website offers free information about writing for journalism, including
copy editing and covering news. Free registration is required.

8. Open University: Courses offered in essays and fiction. No registration is required.

9. Wikiversity: Courses offered in narrative dialogue, web writing and technical writing. No
registration is required.

10. E-Zine University: Courses offered in basic writing and web writing. No registration is required.

Available courses vary in length and degree of advancement. All are self-conducted and don’t require
homework or other assignments.

Carrie Oakley is editor and writer for Online Universities.
She likes to write articles about many topics of interest, including education and career planning.

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