Phone risk for Android users

Unnoticed flaw revealed by researcher could spell trouble

WASHINGTON: Cell phones using Google’s Android operating system are at risk of being disabled or wiped clean of their data, including contacts, music and photos because of a security flaw that was discovered several months ago but went unnoticed until now. Opening a link to a website or a mobile application embedded with malicious code can trigger an attack capable of destroying the memory card in Android-equipped handsets made by Samsung, HTC, Motorola and Sony Ericsson, rendering the devices useless, Computer Security Researcher Ravi Borgaonkar wrote in a blog post Friday (September 28, 2012). Another code that can erase a user’s data by performing a factory reset of the device appears to target only the newly released and top selling Galaxy S III and other Samsung phones, he wrote.

Borgaonkar informed Google of the vulnerability in June, he said. A fix was issued quickly, he said, but it was not publicised, leaving smartphone owners largely unaware that the problem existed and how they could fix it. Google declined to comment. Android debuted in 2008 and now dominates the smartphone market. Nearly 198 million smartphones using Android were sold in the first six months of 2012, according to the research firm IDC. About 243 million Android-equipped phones were sold in 2011, IDC said. Versions of Android that are vulnerable include Gingerbread, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean, according to Borgaonkar. He said that the Honeycomb version of Android, designed for tablets, needs to be tested to determine if it is at risk as well.

Samsung, which makes most of the Android phones, said only early production models of the Galaxy S III were affected and a software update has issued for that model. The company said it is conducting an internal review to determine if other devices are affected and what, if any, action is needed. Samsung said it is advising customers to check for software updates through the ‘Settings: About device: Software update’ menu available on Samsung phones. — AP

Our Dads

A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without an anaesthetic. He growls when he feels good and laughs very loud when he is scared half-to-death.

A father never feels entirely worthy of the worship in a child’s eyes. He is never quite the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man his son believes him it be. And this worries him sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road of those of his own who will follow him.)

Fathers grow old faster than people, because they have to stand at the train station and wave goodbye to the uniform that climbs on board.

And, while mothers cry where it shows, fathers stand and beam — outside — and die inside.

Fathers are men who give daughters away to other men, who aren’t nearly good enough, so that they can have children that are smarter than anybody’s.

Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry from the breakfast table, off to the arena which is sometimes called an office or a workshop. There, with callused hands, they tackle the dragon with three heads; Weariness, Works, and Monotony. And they never quite win the fight, but they never give up.

Knights in shining armour; fathers in shiny trousers. There’s little difference as they march away each workday.

I don’t know where father goes when he dies, but I’ve an idea that, after a good rest, wherever it is, he won’t just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he’s loved and the children she bore. He’ll be busy there too — repairing the stars, oiling the gates, smoothing the way.

Blessings Overflowing

Do you have anything to be thankful for? In his classic novel Robinson Crusoe, author Daniel Defoe has shipwrecked Crusoe take inventory of his life. He makes two lists of his life. One is list of his problems. The other is an inventory of that for which he can give thanks.

A problem he writes is that he has no clothing. On his corresponding list he writes that the weather is warm and he really has little need for clothing. Another problem is that all of his provisions were lost at sea. But on the other list he writes that he has fresh fruit and water and can provide for himself. And so it goes. He lists his problems and likewise lists all that he has going for him. He is surprised at the size of the list of his assets.

How long would your list be if you took inventory of your blessings — all of that for which you can give thanks? For friends. For faith. For health and the necessities of life.

Did you know that some one million people will die this week ... how is your health? Those who have food, clothing and shelter have more than much of our world’s population will ever possess. Do you have these necessities of living?

How long would you list be if you took inventory of your blessings ... and added one new daily? Would you be amazed at the size of the list?

You have 1,440 minutes in every day. How would your life be different if you spent just 15 of those minutes daily giving thanks? Just 15 minutes filling your mind with concrete examples of how fortunate you are. Most of us would discover even after a few days that the exercise was life changing!

Poet Courtland Sayers put it this way: Five thousand breathless dawns all new
One million flowers fresh in dew.
Five thousand sunsets wrapped in gold
One million snowflakes served ice cold.
Five quiet friends, one baby’s love
One white sea of clouds above.
One June night in a fragrant wood
One heart that loved and understood.
I wondered when I walked that day
— In God’s name — how could I ever pay?

Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you say in your whole life is ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”

I suspect he is right.

My Plans for Today

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight.

I have responsibilities to fulfil today.

I am important.

My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honoured because the lord had provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped.

And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me.

I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

 

Written by Steve Maraboli

Making a Miracle

Ingredients

• 1 part of knowing who you are
• 1 part of knowing who you aren’t
• 1 part of knowing what you want
• 1 part of knowing who you wish to be
• 1 part of knowing what you already have
• 1 part of choosing wisely from what you have
• 1 part of loving and thanking for ALL you have

Instructions

• Combine ingredients together gently and carefully, using faith and vision.
• Mix together with strong belief of the outcome until finely blended.
• Add thoughts, words and actions for best results.
• Bake until Blessed.
• Give thanks again.
• Make unlimited servings.

Handling criticism

Criticism at work can affect every part of your life, adding stress during work hours and invading your thoughts outside the office. If you don’t handle it well, negative feedback from your superiors and colleagues can ultimately derail your career.

You can’t prevent being criticized, but controlling your own reaction can turn a negative situation into a positive one. People too often take criticism as a personal attack, or as a signal that all the things they’re done right aren’t being appreciated. Not all criticism is bad, and sometimes it can provide feedback that’s valuable to your success.

Take time to really listen

If a colleague or higher-up has something negative to say, don’t disregard their comments even if you don’t have a high opinion of the person. Instead of shutting down, stay objective about what he or she is saying (just as you would in any other situation).

Be genuinely open to hearing what the other person is saying and try not to interrupt or jump to conclusions. It is suggested it use active listening techniques throughout the conversations like paraphrasing what you’re hearing in your own words and making eye contact to show you’re actively engaged.

Ask questions

Even the slightest bit of negative criticism is easy to misinterpret.

Be prepared to ask follow-up questions during the conversation in order to prevent a bigger misunderstanding down the road. Asking questions not only shows that you’re eager to figure out a solution, but the colleague’s responses can help you gauge whether the negative feedback is relevant.

Ask for specific examples and instances of the types of behavior that the root of the feedback. If the atmosphere is becoming tense, introduce a more positive approach by asking for examples of the behavior your reviewer would like to see more of.

Don’t get defensive

Whether at work or at home, it’s easy to get defensive when being criticised. Fight the urge and give your boss or co-worker a fair chance to express his or her thoughts. The person giving you the feedback might have a reasonable point, which you’ll never pick up on if you’re busy thinking about how to defend yourself.

Stay calm

Don’t lose your cool, especially in a professional setting. Being calm and rational is essential. Save your anger for discussing the incident outside of work. Think about whether it’s the feedback or how it was given that’s making you angry. Most of the time it’s how the negative feedback was delivered rather than the content that people find offensive. If feedback is presented in a constructive environment, criticism can be more easily digested.

Determine if it’s accurate

Even if the criticism was conveyed in a startling way, there might be some truth to what your boss or colleague is saying. Don’t brush it off.

Responding with a brusque ‘okay’ and nothing more makes it look like you’re just interested in ending the conversation. Instead, take a step back to assess the situation. Speak to mentors, family members or others in your office to help you understand whether the criticism is valid.

Address the problem

No matter who’s at fault, address the problem.

If the negative feedback is coming from you boss, accepting the feedback can help you improve in the future. When your boss sees that you can handle a little criticism without blowing it up into a huge uncomfortable discussion, he (or) she will get increasing more candid and helpful feedback. — Agencies

Extraordinary man

A great man died today.

He wasn’t a world leader or a famous doctor or a war hero or a sports figure. He was no business tycoon, and you will never see his name in the financial pages. But he was one of the greatest men who ever lived. He was my father.

I guess you might say he was a person who was never interested in getting credit or receiving honours. He did corny things like pay bills on time and serve as an officer in the PTA.

He helped his children with their homework and drove his wife to do the grocery shopping on Thursday nights. He got a great kick out of hauling his teenagers and their friends to and from football games.

Tonight is my first night without him. I don’t know what to do with myself. I am sorry now for the times I didn’t show him the proper respect. But I am grateful for a lot of other things.

I am thankful that God let me have my father for 15 years. And I am happy that I was able to let him know how much I loved him. That wonderful man died with a smile on his face and fulfillment in his heart. He knew that he was great success as a husband a father, a brother, a son, and a friend.

I wonder how many millionaires can say that.

Do we have TIME?

For 52 years my father got up every morning at 5:30 am, except Sunday, and went to work. For 52 years he returned home at 5:30 pm, like clockwork, for dinner at 6:00 pm. I never remember my father taking a “night out with the boys,” nor do I ever recall my father drinking. All he asked from me was to hold his hammer while he repaired something, just so we could have some time to talk to each other.

I never saw my father home from work ill, nor did I ever see my father lay down to take a nap. He had no hobbies, other than taking care of his family.

For 22 years, since I left home for college, my father called me every Sunday at 9:00 am. He was always interested in my life, how my family was doing, and I never once heard him lament about his lot in life. The calls even came when he had my mother were in Australia, England or Florida.

Nine years ago when I purchased my first house, my father, 67 years old, spent eight hours a day for three days in the 80-degree Kansas heat, painting my house. He would not allow me to pay someone to have it done. All he asked, was a glass of iced tea, hold a paint brush for him and talk to him. But I was too busy, I had a law practice to run, and I could not take the time to hold the paint brush, or talk.

Five years ago, at age 71 again in the sweltering Kansas heat, my father spent five hours putting together a swingset for my daughter. Again, all he asked was that I get him a glass of iced tea, and talk to him. But again, I had laundry to do, and the house to clean.

Four years ago, my father drove all the way from Denver to Topeka, with an eight foot Colorado Blue Spruce in his truck, so that my husband and I could have a part of Colorado growing on our land. I was preparing for a trip that weekend and couldn’t spend much time tallied to Daddy.

The morning or Sunday, January 16, 1996, my father telephoned me as usual, this time from my sister’s home in Florida. We conversed about the tree he had brought me, “Fat Albert,” but that morning he called the “Fat Oscar,” and he had seemed to have forgotten some things we had discussed the previous week. I had to get to church week, and I cut the conversation short.

The call came at 4:40 pm, that day, my father was in the hospital in Florida with an aneurysm. I got on an airplane immediately, and on the way, I thought of all the times I had not taken the time to talk to my father. I realised that I had no idea who he was or what his deepest thoughts were. I vowed that when I arrived, I would make up for the lost time, and have a nice long talk with him.

I arrived in Florida at 1:00 am, my father had passed away at 9:12 pm. This time he did not have time to talk.

In the years since his death I have learned much about my father, and even more about myself. As a father he never asked me for anything but my time, not he as all my attention, even single day. — Author Unknown

Companies face talent shortage: Study

NEW YORK: The United States and other large economics cannot find enough skilled workers, engineers and other in-demand employees, according to an annual study on talent shortages.

The study, by staffing services giant Manpower Group, found that 34 per cent of employers around the world report trouble filling jobs because of a lack of available talent. The percentage is unchanged from 2011 but up from the prior three years.

However, most of the employers — 56 per cent — say that unfilled jobs are likely to have little or on no impact on customers and investors. That is up from 36 per cent who said so a year ago.

Talent shortages persist despite high unemployment in many economies, especially among young people. Employers are more comfortable conducting business in an environment of talent shortages and remain reluctant to add workers while memories of recession are fresh, according to Manpower.

“Leaving positions unfilled may be a short-term fix, but it’s a short-sighted and unsustainable approach to addressing talent shortage.” Manpower Chief Executive Jeff Joerres said.

The top reasons for not filling jobs include a lack of available applicants, too few hard skills, such as speaking a foreign language among those who do apply and a lack of experience. Smaller numbers of employers complained about deficiencies in applicants’ soft skills, such as showing too little enthusiasm. Manpower polled 40,000 employers in 41 countries and territories.

Tokyo looking forward for help

Educational systems around the world are emphasising four-year university educations, while allowing vocational and technical programmes to decline. As fewer young people pursue technical educations and older skilled workers retire, such shortages are likely to persist, the study predicts.

Other in-demand jobs in 2012 are sales representatives, technicians, drivers, labourers and information technology staff. Accounting and finance workers, chiefs and managers round out the top 10.

Employers in Japan were the most likely to say that they are having trouble finding staff, followed by those in Brazil, Bulgaria, Australia and the United States, were 49 per cent report difficulty, down from 52 per cent in 2011. — Agency

Choosing what we remember

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped get stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE. The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied, “When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can erase it.”

Learn to write your hurts in the sand and to carve your benefits in stone.

Moral: Do not value the things you have in your life, but value who you have in your life!

Becoming an irreplaceable employee

Job security is really important to most workers. Employees can preserve job security by ensuring they are irreplaceable to their companies. Here are some tips for becoming an irreplaceable worker —

Focus on the core mission of the business. Many businesses diversity and serve several functions, but usually there’s a central mission that makes money and determines whether the business will succeed or fail. Identify that central function and play a role in it.

Accept Change. Better yet, be a part of it. Keep abreast of new business methods, especially for handling communication and information, and find ways to use them in your work.

Be exceptionally productive. This doesn’t necessarily mean working longer hours. It’s more important to find a task or role you can handle that goes beyond your job description. Here, skills are important because they are the key to productivity. If you have any time and energy to spare, volunteer to take over a small task that unburdens your manager or a co-worker; this both broadens your skill set and showcases your productivity.

Be visible. In Many businesses, the person whose office is next to the boss’s tend to get the best performance appraisals. If you don’t have that office, find ways to make your accomplishments known; don’t wait for performance-appraisal season.

Acquire a mentor. Find someone who really knows the business, be helpful, and ask a lot of very specific questions, including questions about how to improve your work. Give public credit to the mentor for the advice you get. — Agency

Anatomy of Friendship

My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body. Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer. When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, “My ears, Mummy.”

She said, “No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon.”

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer. So this time I told her, “Mummy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes.”

She looked at me and told me, “You are learning fast, but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind.”

Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, “No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child.”

Then last year, my grandpa died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him cry. My Mum looked at me when it was our turn to say our final goodbye to Grandpa. She asked me, “Do you know the important body part yet, my dear?”

I was shocked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me. She saw the confusion on my face and told me, “This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in our life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you were wrong and I have given you an example why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.”

She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, “My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder.” I asked, “Is it because it holds up my head?”

She replied, No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.” — Author Unknown

A friend portrait

I can’t give you solutions to all of life’s problems, doubts, or fears.

But I can listen to you, and together we will search for answers.

I can’t change your past with all it’s heartache and pain, nor the future with its untold stories.

But I can be there now when you need me to care.

I can’t keep your feet from stumbling.

I can only offer my hand that you may grasp it and not fall.

Your joys, triumphs, successes, and happiness are not mine;

Yet I can share in your laughter.

Your decisions in life are not mine to make, nor to judge;

I can only support you, encourage you, and help you when you ask.

I can’t prevent you from falling away from friendship, from your values, from me.

I can only pray for you, talk to you and wait for you.

I can’t give you boundaries which I have determined for you,

But I can give you the room to change, room to grow, room to be yourself.

I can’t keep your heart from breaking and hurting,

But I can cry with you and help you pick up the pieces and put them back in place.

I can’t tell you who you are.

I can only love you and be your friend.

The first step

Foolish people with all their other thoughts, have this one too — they are always getting ready to live, but never living.

Your success will start when you begin to pursue it. To reach your goal or to attain success, you don’t need to know all of the answers in advance. You just need to have a clear idea of what your goal is.

Don’t procrastinate when faced with difficult problems. Break your problems into parts, and handle one part at a time.

Develop tendencies toward taking action. You can make something happen right now. Divide your big plan into small steps and take that first step right away.

Everyone who ever got where they are had to begin where they were. Your big opportunity is where you are right now.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Take it. — Agencies

Networking Basics

A comprehensive overview of the developments and architectures of modern-day computer networking

Bringing gamers together, congregating wide stretches of workplaces and sharing tons of data from one PC to another—networking has changed the face of communication and data transfer. Whether it be sharing music between two friends, transmitting information from one branch to another in a multinational company or simply connecting to the world via the Internet, networking has played a pivotal role in knitting individual parties together. We bring you a brief overview of the developments and architectures of modern-day computer networking.

Hardware and Devices

The most crucial and fundamental aspect of any new technology is its hardware components. Let’s take a look at the primary components of computer networks.

Modem:

Used as an analog to digital data converter and vice versa, this device transcodes the data from your telephone lines to a digital code that can be comprehended by a computer. Available at various ranges of bandwidth capacity, the modem determines at what rate your data can be transferred. The transfer rate also depends equally on your ISP. The standard cable used for this type of networking is called RJ 11. The modem is known as a ‘dial up modem’ because it dials to the ISP through your PSTN line in order to establish an Internet connection. Currently dying, this form of Internet service was very popular about a decade ago when other Internet solutions were unavailable. Back in the day, ISPs Usually offered a 56 Kbps modem which relayed to the PC using a communication port (COM1) exiting the modem in case of an external modem, and later morphing into internal modems to be directly slotted in the motherboard.

Router:

A router can be actually communicate with computers as well as ISPs. Considered to be the central device of any home network, all individual computers and data from the Internet rely upon the router to transmit and receive information. Available for various Internet services such as DSL, ADSL, cable, and broadband, the router relays packets of data from ISP to the computer. The second function it performs is in creating a link among all the computers connected to the network which allows data transfer without actually having to upload it on the Internet. Referred to as ‘Local Area Networking’ or ‘LAN’, the router can be used to create a client server or a peer-to-peer network. Depending on whether or not your router contains a wireless transmitter, you can create a wired and/or wireless network simultaneously. While picking a router, a few things that one needs to keep in mind are the range of the wireless router, Internet bandwidth and the LAN bandwidth, which indicate the amount of data that the router can handle across the local network.

Hub:

Another additional component which isn’t mandatory but is required in most cases is the hub, also known as an ethernet hub, repeater hub, multiport repeater or simply hub, for the multiple features it possess. Usually used as a permission control device and a router mediator within the network, the hub is placed after the router in case of an available network or simply beyond the server for connecting a large number of computers. A typical router would usually suffice for four computers on LAN so numbers exceeding it would require a hub device. A hub device provides additional slots diverging from a master. For small labs and offices, 8/16 port hubs are used while larger offices install hubs with upto 64 ports or more. At astounding speeds of 100 Mbps, hub devices are capable of sharing large amounts of data in a very limited time.

Cable:

After discussing the roles of routers and hubs, it is necessary to understand the cable used in between devices. In amongst LANs and router-based Internet networking, the standard IEEE cable commonly used is known as RJ45. The 8P8C connector used on cat5 cables is a jack comprising of a maximum of eight smaller wires. In terms of cabling methods—parallel cabling and crossover cabling used for device, and device to computer respectively.

Wireless Adapter:

Required for establishing a wireless connection to the network, this adapter should be present in your motherboard. A must in modern day notebooks and netbooks, the wi-fi adapter is the last piece of the networking puzzle. For a wired connection, any laptop is equipped with LAN port too. In term of desktops, if you wish to turn your PC into a wireless machine, you can do so by adding a wireless adapter internally or using a USB adapter. The ethernet card or the wireless adapters of today are available for various speeds such as gigabit 10 Mbps, and 100 Mbps, among others.


To Cite This: Dhaubhadel, Prabal Man and Shrestha, Prabhat. “NETWORKING BASICS.” The Kathmandu Post, 23 Aug. 2012, p.8.

Mind games

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures, were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

“Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

Hidden treasure

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone.

Excited the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure.

He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he just threw it away.

It’s like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or sparking, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one us. If we take the time to get to know that person, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay.

Gift of advice

Being an entrepreneur is similar to being a newlywed: Everyone has a piece of advice to ‘gift’ you with. Some of it is helpful; some isn’t. Some advice will be just plain weird. Among the mixed bag of advice that you’ll hear throughout your career, here are three best pieces of advices.

• It’s more important to ship passion than wait on perfection. It’s terrifying to put your ideas out into the world; you could be laughed at, ridiculed, slammed, and so much more. It’s easier to keep chipping away at a project until you are absolutely sure of its perfection than to reveal a work in progress. But, today, every piece of a work has to be a work in progress. It’s the only way to stay relevant.

A quote by Theodore Roosevelt might be relevant to this. The quote is “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold knew neither victory nor defeat.”

• Beware of the ugly baby syndrome. Some people love their ideas so much that they refuse to see that it actually isn’t very pretty. Don’t love your idea because you created it. Be open to objectively analyzing, changing, and — if necessary — moving on from a bad idea.
• Differentiate or die. Today, you should expert stiff competition in almost every industry and it is more important than ever to differentiate yourself. No matter what business you are in, find a way to stand out. — Agencies

Get into the zone

Find the feelings that allow your subconscious to take over

Everyone aspires to get into the zone, or mental state where you do your best work. Next time you are trying to achieve peak performance, remember these three things:

1. There is no zone for new activities: When you start a new task, you are not going to find flow. Getting into the zone requires activating the subconscious part of the brain, which is simple inaccessible when you are trying something for the first time.

2. You need the right environment: Figure the settings that facilitate your flow — be it a crowded coffee shop or a quiet library — and work in them whenever possible.

3. Emotions are key: Being in the zone your subconscious to take over. Music can help activate these emotions. Find songs, albums, or artists that put you in the right mood and block out distractions. — Agencies

Fill those empty cans

Don’t throw away those cans yet — they have more extraordinary uses

Make light reflectors: It’s simple to make reflectors for your campsite or backyard lights. Just remove the bottom of a large empty can with a can opener and take off any label. Then use tin snips to cut the can in half lengthwise. You’ve just made two reflectors.

Feed the birds: A bird doesn’t care if the feeder is plain or fancy as long as it is filled with suet. For a feeder that’s about as basic as you can get, wedge a small can filled with suet between tree branches or posts.

Make planters more portable: Don’t strain your back moving a planter loaded with heavy soil. Reduce the amount of soil and lighten the load by first filling one-third to one-half of the bottom of the planter with empty, upside-down aluminum cans. Finish filling with soil and add your plants.

Protect young plants: Remove both ends of an aluminum can and any paper label. Then push it into the earth to serve as a collar to protect young garden plants from cut-worms. Use a soup can or coffee can, depending on the size you need.

Make a tool tote: Tired of fumbling around in your tool pouch to find the tool pouch to find the tool you need? Use empty frozen juice cans to transform the deep, wide pockets of nail pouch into a convenient tote for wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers. Make sure to remove the bottom of the can as well as the top. Glue or tape the cylinders together to keep them from shifting around, and slip them into the pouches to create dividers.

Organise your desk: If your office desk is a mess, a few empty cans can be the start of a nifty solution. Just attach several tin cans of assorted sizes together in a group to make an office-supplies holder for your desk. Spray paint on cans, and when the paint is dry, glue them together using a hot glue gun. Your desk organizer is now ready to hold pens, pencils, paper clips, scissors, and such. — Agencies

Clever uses of clothespin

Start putting those old plastic and wooden clothespins to work with five fun and practical new uses.

Keep snacks fresh: Use clip-on-clothes-pins to reseal bags of chips and other snacks, cereal, crackers, and seeds. The foods will stay fresh longer and you won’t have as many spills in the pantry, either.

Hold leaf bag open: Ever try filling a large leaf bag all by your lonesome, only to see half the leaves fall to the ground because the bag won’t stay open? Next time enlist a couple of clip-on clothespins as helpers. After you shake open the bag and spread it wide, use the clothespin to clip one side of the bag to a chain-link fence or other convenient site. The bag will stay open for easy filling.

Mark a bulb spot: What to do when a flowers that blooms in the spring … doesn’t? Just push a straight clothespin into the soil at the spot where it didn’t grow. In the fall you will know exactly where to plant new bulbs to avoid gaps.

Grip a nail: Hammer the nail and not your fingers. Just remember to use a clip-on clothespin to hold nails when hammering in hard-to-reach places.

Fasten lights: Keep your outdoor lights in place and ready to withstand the elements. As you affix your lights to gutters, trees, bushes them securely with clip-on clothespin. — readersdigest.ca

Cleaning Up Your Desktop

Familiarise yourself with various portable programmes you can use to keep your computer’s desktop organized and clean

We explore some application launchers that will invariable help us—in one way or the other—in our mission to clean up our desktops.

Portable Application Launchers

Portable application launchers are extremely useful when it comes to launching portable applications on USB flash drivers. They also come in handy when you’d rather not install a software programme on your PC.

1. PortableApps.com

PortableApps.com is one of the most popular Windows apps available when it comes to application launchers. The site allows you to take your favourite software with you on any portable storage device, and even facilitates local storage and could computing. It is a fully open source as well as free platform that provides a number of useful portable programmes. It essentially acts as a portable desktop where you can save all your setting and preferences—for all your portable programmes. It comes with its own application launcher, providing easy access to your programmes.

2. CodySafe

A programme very similar to PortableApps.com, CodySafe comes with an additional feature that enables you to download portable programmmes from the CodySafe site. CodySafe is also available in paid version (these versions range in price from US $19.90 and US $29.90 to US $89.90), and provide numerous additional features such as sub-groups and sub-categories, access to an Apps Depot, password protection, and hardware encryption.

3. SE-TrayMenu

SE-TrayMenu provides a replacement for the missing Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 7 (it can be used in XP, Vista, and Windows 8, as well). Use SE-TrayMenu to gain quick access to most frequently used applications and system commands using a customizable pop-up menu from the Windows system tray. Quickly add programmes, documents, folders, and Internet links to the menu using drag-and-drop. The menu is also completely customisable.

4. Portable Start Menu

Portable Start Menu is a simple and free application launcher for Windows similar to the Start menu that can be installed on a USB flash drive or a local hard drive. Organise your programmes in a simple menu system and launch them using a system tray icon. When you close Portable Start Menu on an USB flash drive, running applications can be closed automatically, as well. Portable Start Menu also allows you to automatically mount and dismount TrueCrypt containers.

Start Menu Desktop Application Launchers

We will now focus on application launchers that either replace or enhance the Windows Start menu, Taskbar or Desktop. We will also discuss a launcher that comes in the form of a gadget for the Windows 7 desktop.

1. Jumplist-Launcher

Jumplist-Launcher is a free Windows programme launcher that allows you to consolidate applications on the Taskbar, combining multiple applications into one jump list. It doesn’t require installation, so you can run it directly on your local hard drive or on a USB flash drive. You can add up to 60 programmes in custom groups inside one jump list, and drag and drop shortcuts, files, and folders onto the Jumplist-Launcher setup dialog.

2. 7Stacks

7Stacks is a free application launcher for Windows that emulates the stacks functionally of Mac OS X. Once you install 7Stacks, an icon is added to your desktop allowing you to easily create new stacks as shortcuts on the desktop itself. You can then pin up to 10 different stacks to the Taskbar. If you do not want to pin your stacks to the Taskbar, you can easily use the menu mode, and leave the shortcuts to your stacks on the desktop itself. You can create stacks from special folders such as My Documents, or from ordinary folders on your hard drive.

3. Windows 7 App Launcher Gadget

The Windows 7 App Launcher Gadget provides a very small application launcher that is displayed on your desktop as a gadget. You can drag and drop programme shortcuts, files, and folders directly onto the gadget. You can also add favourites from Firefox, Opera, and IE to the gadget so you can quickly access websites.

Keyboard Application Launchers

The following application launchers are for those of you who prefer using the keyboard over the mouse. They make launching applications and opening files quick and easy.

1. Find and Run Robot (FARR)

Find and Run Robot (FARR) is a free application launcher for keyboard maniacs. It uses an adaptive ‘live search’ function to allow you to rapidly find programmes and documents on your computer simply by typing.

Display the FARR window using a custom hotkey, and then start typing the first letters of the application, file, or folder you want to find, and the results display instantly. You can also use FARR to run web searches, send emails and manipulate files, among other things, Plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions are also available for FARR.

2. Executor

Executor is a multi-purpose launcher for Windows that allows you to quickly run programmes, and search for anything from one central location. It’s like a more advanced and customizable version and customisable version of the Windows run dialog. It operates using keywords, and each keyword can be assigned a hotkey, so Executor can also perform like many popular hotkey managers. The layout, appearance, and behavior of Executor can be easily customised.


To Cite This: Dhaubhadel, Prabal Man and Shrestha, Prabhat. “CLEANING UP YOUR DESKTOP.” The Kathmandu Post, 16 Aug. 2012, p.8.

Changed View

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him.

Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying: “Just take care of my eyes dear.”

This is how the human brain changes when status change. Only a few remember what life was before and who have always been there, even in the most painful situations.

Life is a gift, today before you think of saying an unkind word, think of someone who can’t speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food, think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife, think of someone who is crying out to God for a companion.

Today before you complain about life, think of someone who went too early to heaven.

Before you complain about children, think of someone who desires children but they’ve barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house, someone didn’t clean or sweep, think of the people who are living on the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive, think of someone who walks the same distance.

And when you are tired and complain about your job, think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job.

But before you think of pointing your finger or condemning another, remember that not one of us are without sin and we all have to answer to one Maker.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down, put a smile on your face and thank God you’re alive and still around.

Life is a gift — live it, enjoy it, celebrate it, and fulfill it.

Business dining etiquette

Good table manners show one’s level of refinement

In today’s competitive world, nothing is more revealing about a person than his or her business table manners. To be successful in business, your dining skills during a business meal must be a par with your professional skills. Good table manners not only show respect and consideration for fellow dinners, but also one’s level of refinement. Here are few tips business dining etiquette and table manners.

The Don’ts:

• Do not talk while chewing your food. Swallow your food first, then engage in a conversation.
• Do not refold your napkin if you need to momentarily step away. Place your napkin on the back of your chair or your seat.
• Do not blow on your food if it is too hot — wait until it cools off.
• Do not make any offensive noises while dining with others — no slurping or burping.
• Do not hold your utensils in a dagger position.

The Dos:

• Use your napkin every two or three bites while dining.
• Place your water or wine glass on the right hand side of your table side of your table setting. Return your glass to the same spot so that your dining partner does not drink from your glass.
• Cut only one-bite size piece of food at a time.
• Work from the outside-in when dealing with your silverware.
• Swallow your food before you take a sip of your beverage or water.
• Place your dinner napkin at the left of your plate when finished eating — this is silent signal that you will be leaving the table. — Agencies

Being alone but not lonely

Loneliness can be as much about being isolated from our own self as it is about feeling isolated from people and places. So, is it possible to remove the feeling of loneliness?

The answer is yes, of course!

But how?

Just remember — you may feel lonely but chances are you are not alone, nor you are you the only one feeling lonely in this whole world. So step out of your comfort zone and actively build healthy relationships. There is a whole world out there — a world of billions!

Smile more and see what a difference it makes. Reduce the time you spend online! Another effective way to break the pattern of loneliness is volunteering and helping others. Get out there, do something that would make people happy! But make sure to leave some time for yourself because loneliness is really about you being disconnected from yourself.

So, get better at being alone without being lonely. Create some ‘alone time’ with your inner-self. It is the time spent with oneself that helps one to grow spiritually from within and empower oneself.

Being alone is healthy but spending all your tome alone in a state of loneliness isn’t. So remember, alone does not mean lonely. Alone means to feel comfortable in your own skin, to accept as you are and being your own best friend.

Editor’s note: Rajyogi Brahmakumar Nikunj ji is a writer at www.brahmakumaris.com and can be reached at nikunjji@brahmakumaris.in.

Awakening the Truth Within

Sharada Adhikari transcends to another level with spiritual leader Villy Doctor who is helping people alleviate stress in their lives through her unique technique of ‘Satya-realisation’

People’s stress levels have increased and there is much tension and anxiety in them,” says Villy Doctor, a spiritual healer and meditation instructor from Mumbai, India about her observation of the Nepali people.

And when there is stress, you develop disturbing thoughts, your health, creativity, power of concentration and other things are affected, says Villy Doctor who has developed a meditation technique called ‘Satya-realisation’ for stress management.

With this technique, Villy Doctor has helped a number of people from around the globe to get rid of stress and lead a “peaceful life”.

The ‘Satya-realisation’ is a simple technique that can be done by “anyone from a child to an adult to the elderly irrespective of their caste, class and gender”. “And unlike other meditation techniques, it can be done in just 10-15 minutes,” says Villy Doctor, who has complete her doctorate from Mumbai University on ‘Psycho-Biological Changes that take place through Meditation’.

So, what is Satya-realisation? “It is that state when you realise your true self. Your entire nervous system is bought to balance in a way that a powerful energy awakens within ourselves,” informs Villy Doctor.

But how is it done? “We have seven chakras in our body and each chakra is associated with a particular personality attribute. Through meditation these chakras are energized. The energy comes out of your body and makes connection with the universal energy. Then qualities like innocence, creativity, confident, diplomacy, power of forgiveness et cetera start developing in you,” she says adding, “Once you mediate regularly, you attain a state of peace, all the disturbing thoughts leave you, health and creativity develop, power of concentration grows, people feel very empowered and energetic.”

And she has been conducting stress management workshops in different organisations like Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Nokia in UAE, Google Inc in San Francisco, among others. With a belief that “every human has an energy system which needs to be in connection with the universal or cosmic energy” she also conducted different workshops for students and teachers of different schools in and around Kathmandu during her visit here.

She has lot of followers and is popularly known as Srestha Satyavati Narayani Ma.

Better addressed as ‘Mother’, she has cured individuals globally “by correcting their subtle system imbalances”. “Through my vibrational energy, I cure physical ailments like various types of cancers, cardiac blocks, hypertension, chemical imbalances, asthma, liver diseases,” says the Mother who claims “to have acquired this healing power when she was born. I have never learnt this technique”.

And she realized this power when she was child. “Whenever my friends used to have stomach ache, I would just put my hands over their stomach and they would feel better,” she recalls.

But the scope of her work area is much wider than that. In 2002, she established The Light of Life Trust in India to support the underprivileged, destitute women and senior citizens. She has also been involved in providing education to dropouts in rural Maharashtra, India.

Two Drops of Oil

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for 40 days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.

Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world. The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was the man’s attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.

“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something”, said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

“Well,” asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?”

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

“Then go back and observe the marvels of my world”, said the wise man. “You cannot trust a man if you don’t know his house.”

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

“But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held the boy saw that the oil was gone.

“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wisest of wise men. “The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil in the spoon.”

— Paulo Coelho in The Alchemist

Swim with the sharks

Your attitude is a choice, so why not choose optimism?

When you wake up every day you have two choices. You can either be positive or negative — an optimist or a pessimist. It is all about perspective.

You can whine because you have so much work or be grateful that you are in control of your own destiny. You can complain about lack of an IT department, or be excited about learning the tech you need to know. You can grumble about unengaged employees or do everything in your power to make them succeed. You get the idea.

Pessimism does not aid your growth or even maintain the status quo. The pessimists make the job harder for everyone around them. They make difficulties out of opportunities. And worse, their surliness rubs off on others.

You need to be able to look on the bright side of tough situations in order to take risks, and survive both successes and failures. The sooner you accept the fact that you will have both successes and failures, the easier it will be to get your professional and personal life headed in the right direction.

An optimist understands that life can be a bumpy road, but at least it is leading somewhere. They learn from mistakes and failures, and are not afraid to fail again. It may not be your fault for being knocked down, but it is certainly your fault for not getting up.

Does success or failure have anything to do with mental attitude? The answer is resounding, ‘yes’.

A psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania proved that optimists are more successful than equally talented pessimists in business, education, sports and politics. Based on his research, Metropolitan Life, the insurance and financial services corporation, developed a test to distinguish between optimists and pessimists when hiring sales people. The results were phenomenal: The optimists outsold the pessimists by 20 per cent the first year. During the second year, the difference jumped to 50 per cent.

The right attitude coupled with the courage to reach for opportunity is the defining factor for success. It is never too late to start early. Do not get discouraged just because you have not practiced that approach until now. — Agencies

Olympic athlete at work

The summer Olympics, with opening ceremonies July 27 in London, brought us critical lessons on how to prepare for success. Many of the swimmers, tennis players and other athletes spent countless hours, days and years in training and preparation for a competition that will be over in five minutes. And if you want to perform like an Olympic athlete, here are the secrets.

Find the right coach:

If you want to move up into management, you may seek out a leadership coach to aid in your development. Look for a coach “who understands your goals and how you’re motivates” and check out her background. If you cannot afford a professional coach, seek out a friend or someone whose wisdom and experience shine brightly.

Know the sport:

In corporate life, understanding the game and players may mean reading industry blogs and tracking the careers of some rising stars (especially if you hope to work for one of them). It means reading every media release your organisation puts out, and going to the shareholders meeting or employee open houses and listening actively. Don’t forget to track your key competitors’ moves, too.

Train seriously:

Workers need to determine first what critical inflection points and skills demand training. For stock or commodity traders, that moment may be when they glean a snippet of information and must act. Traders could train themselves to scan for more insights, manage risks and stress levels.

Visualise success:

Corporate executives and professional speakers use visualisation techniques to map out their busy days and their successful engagement with their crew or an audience. You can start doing this in small snippets — imagine your boss asking one or two questions, then saying yes to your request for training or a three-month rotation on a prestigious project. — Agencies

Most expensive art sold

• Edvard Munch’s The Scream (1895), auctioned at Sotheby’s Sales of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art on May 2 in New York City. The masterpiece is one of four versions created by Munch and the only one that is privately owned. The painting was sold for a whooping amount of $119,922,500


• A visitor looks at Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (1932), during a preview at Christie’s in New York, April 30, 2010. The painting sold for $106,482,500


• Picasso’s Boy With a Pipe (1905) on display at Sotheby’s New York, May 5, 2004, prior to its auction. The painting sold for $104,168,000


• Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II (1912), goes under the hammer at Christie’s New Your, November 8, 2006. The painting sold for $87,936,000


• At Sotheby’s where Francis Bacon’s Triptych (1976) was on display on April 15, 2008 in London, England. The artwork sold for $85.9m to oligarch Roman Abramovich


• Dora Maar au Chat (1941) by Pablo Picasso at Sotheby’s in London on March 22, 2006. The painting sold for £51,560,080 ($83,429,503)


• Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet (1890) by Vincent sold for $82,500,000 (£50,985,692) at Christie’s in New York on May 15 1990


• Claude Monet’s Le Bassin aux Nymphéas (1919), at Christie’s in London, June 24, 2008. The painting sold for huge sum of £40,921,250 ($66,212,514) — The Guardian

Learning to be flexible in management

Creating a win-win situation where employees show more productivity and loyalty

In recent years, the dynamics in the business world have changed and management techniques have become more flexible, more in tune with the needs of employees. In becoming more flexible, managers create a win-win situation as employees show more productivity and loyalty.

• The first step is to decide how flexible you and your company can be. Some flexible management skills can be used in any company, no matter how large. Flexible managers understand each employee’s situations, strengths and skills through open line of communication.
• Flexible managers will go as far as to understand an employee’s family responsibilities. For example, if an employee has circumstances at home that are a distraction from their responsibilities at work, managers can work with the employee to create a more flexible work schedule or responsibilities.
• Once this relationship is established, managers can work with the employee by giving them a goal, then letting the employee offer suggestions and methods to achieve it. Some freedom to the employee can translate into enthusiasm and more productivity.
• However, managers should still keep tabs on their employee by doing daily or weekly progress reports. By this, managers can anticipate some troubles or questions an employee may have, perhaps providing answers and tools before they are requested.
• In addition to goal-setting, action plans and progress reports, managers can encourage teamwork within their staff. To adapt to the needs of the employees and allow for more flexibility, consider cross-training employees.
• While flexibility in management can be an asset, it is important to be wary of situations where people may take advantage of such adaptability. Any abuse of a manager’s flexibility must be addressed immediately. Managers should never be adaptable at a company’s expense. — Agencies

Learn to say no

Good management is critical to your overall health

Some pressure at work can be motivating, but when the pressures or demands become excessive, it can lead to work-related stress. The way you deal with stress can encourage unhealthy behavior, such as smoking and drinking too much, which can increase your risk of heart disease. Good stress management in the workplace is therefore critical to your overall health.

Life Coach Suzy Greaves says one of the key skills to managing workplace stress is knowing how to say no. She explains that saying yes can win you brownie points in the short-term, but if you take on too much and fail to deliver, it can be a disastrous long-term strategy.

According to Greaves, you can prevent exhaustion by knowing how much work you can take on. By taking on too much, you could end up doing nothing well. So, she recommends calculating how long you will need to deal with your current workload so that you can see if you have any extra capacity.

“If you’re extremely busy and your boss asks you to do more, you can say no. Outline your reasons in a specific, measurable way, but always offer a solution,” Greaves advises.

Learn to recognise the physical effects of stress and do something about it before it makes you really ill. Beware of work stress spilling over into other areas of your life. Whatever the source of your stress, speak to your manager or someone in your organisation that you feel comfortable talking to. Or get outside help. — Agencies