Nice Quotes - To read every day

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.
If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.
Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.
The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.
The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.
One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.
I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.
One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.
Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.
My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.
The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.
Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the one's who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.


Friends are like balloons; once you let them go,
you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and
problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize
what real friendship means until it is too late.

I don't want to let that happen so I'm gonna tie you
to my heart so I never lose you.

Send this to all your friends including me
and see how many you get back.

Even send it to your balloons that you think have flown away forever.
You may be surprised to see it return.
Send this heart to everybody you like.

You may also return it to me.

VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED

Talk with people politely according to their understanding level, not of your own intellectual level




The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates
it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside.



Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and
excellence.

Effort is important,
but knowing where to make an effort
in your life makes all the difference.

Nice Quotes - To read every day

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.
If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.
Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.
The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.
The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.
One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.
I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.
One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.
Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.
My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.
The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.
Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the one's who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.


Friends are like balloons; once you let them go,
you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and
problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize
what real friendship means until it is too late.

I don't want to let that happen so I'm gonna tie you
to my heart so I never lose you.

Send this to all your friends including me
and see how many you get back.

Even send it to your balloons that you think have flown away forever.
You may be surprised to see it return.
Send this heart to everybody you like.

You may also return it to me.

VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED

Talk with people politely according to their understanding level, not of your own intellectual level




The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates
it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside.



Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and
excellence.

Nice Quotes - To read every day

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.
If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.
Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.
The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.
The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.
One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.
I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.
One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.
Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.
My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.
The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.
Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the one's who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.


Friends are like balloons; once you let them go,
you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and
problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize
what real friendship means until it is too late.

I don't want to let that happen so I'm gonna tie you
to my heart so I never lose you.

Send this to all your friends including me
and see how many you get back.

Even send it to your balloons that you think have flown away forever.
You may be surprised to see it return.
Send this heart to everybody you like.

You may also return it to me.

VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED

Talk with people politely according to their understanding level, not of your own intellectual level

A Nice Quote

"What we see when watching others depends on
the purity of the window through which we look.
Before we give any criticism, it might be a good
idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves
if
we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking
for something in the person we are about to judge.

"You were born an original...Don't die a copy" - John Mason

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate" - Oprah Winfrey

"You can never know how much good a simple smile can do" - Mother Theresa

Nice Quotes - To read every day

A sharp tongue can cut my own throat.
If I want my dreams to come true, I mustn't oversleep.
Of all the things I wear, my expression is the most important.
The best vitamin for making friends..... B1.
The happiness of my life depends on the quality of my thoughts.
The heaviest thing I can carry is a grudge.
One thing I can give and still keep...is my word.
I lie the loudest when I lie to myself.

If I lack the courage to start, I have already finished.
One thing I can't recycle is wasted time.
Ideas won't work unless ' I ' do.
My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.
The 10 commandments are not a multiple choice.
The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It is never too late to become what I might have been.
Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the one's who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.


Friends are like balloons; once you let them go,
you might not get them back.

Sometimes we get so busy with our own lives and
problems that we may not even notice that we've let them fly away.

Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.
Sometimes we just don't realize
what real friendship means until it is too late.

I don't want to let that happen so I'm gonna tie you
to my heart so I never lose you.

Send this to all your friends including me
and see how many you get back.

Even send it to your balloons that you think have flown away forever.
You may be surprised to see it return.
Send this heart to everybody you like.

You may also return it to me.

Relieve Tension

* First, we're going to slowly ease that tension out of
the body. Sit on a chair with legs crossed. Pretend that
your ankle is a pen and use it to write the alphabet.
Repeat with the other ankle.
* Next, place your thumbs at the edge of your eyebrows,
on each side of our head. Slide them up, stopping at the
corner of the head, almost into the hairline. Press the
thumbs into each side of the forehead; hold for a few
seconds and then release. Repeat five times. By doing
this, you release emotional stress because these
pressure points a re linked to the emotional centre
of the brain.

* Eat an orange. The vitamin C helps detoxify the body.
Chewing on a handful of roasted cashew nuts can also be
a good upper. Nuts contain magnesium and essential
fatty acids that help boost moods.

* Change the breathing. Lie on your back, with the
fingertips of one hand nesting between the breastbone
and the solar plexus. Place the other hand on the belly.
Taking deep breath through your nose push out your
stomach as you inhale, thus filling your lungs. Hold
for a few seconds and then slowly exhale. As oxygen
replenishes your brain, use your fingertips to lightly
stimulate the calming areas of your body and you'll
feel more relaxed.

* The brain believes in the images it receives. So
creative visualisation can quickly top up your
happiness levels. Imagine the sun sending heat and
light to your arms and legs. Soak in that sensation
and feel the joy slowly seeping in.

Change Your Luck

Do you believe in lucky breaks?
Do
you believe some people are just
naturally lucky or unlucky?

One of the secrets of being lucky is
to expect
good things to happen to you.

Be observant to what is happening
around you
so that you recognize the good
when it appears.

Many of the people you call
lucky
are filled with positive expectancy
and are prepared to move
when
a break comes their way.

They are filled with faith,
hope,
knowledge, curiosity;
and they have a strong desire to
succeed.

Your luck begins with you,
with
your personal outlook on life.
If you want to change your luck then I urge
you to:

Upgrade your thinking.
For an
attitude of positive expectancy.

Be observant.
Know what you are
looking for.
Become an opportunity hunter.

Become curious. Ask
questions.

Expand your interests
in people,
places, and things.

Listen to the voice from
within,
referred to often as your hunch or sixth sense.

Pray to God for guidance.

A motivating message from the mail....

A Nice Quote

"What we see when watching others depends on
the purity of the window through which we look.
Before we give any criticism, it might be a good
idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves
if
we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking
for something in the person we are about to judge. "

மகத்துவ கீரைகள்

உணவே மருந்து என்று சொல்வார்கள். இதை சும்மா சொல்லவில்லை. சில உணவு வகைகளை அடிக்கடி சாப்பிட்டால் நோய்கள் நம்மை நெருங்கவே பயப்படும் என்பதே உண்மை. மனிதனின் நோய்கள் நன்மை நெருங்கவே எதிர்ப்பு சக்திக்கும். ஆரோக்கியமான வாழ்வுக்கும் துணை நிற்கும் உணவு வகைகளில் முக்கியமனவை இந்த கீரைகள்.

இதில் பல வகைகள் உள்ளன. எந்தெந்த கீரைகள் என்னென்ன பயன்களை நமக்குத் தருகின்றன என்பதை இங்கே பார்ப்போம்:

மணத்தகாளி கீரை : வாய்ப் புண்ணையும், குடல் புண்ணையும் குணமாக்கும்.

காசினிக்கீரை : ஈரலை பலப்படுத்தும், ரத்தத்தை சுத்தப்படுத்தும்.

சிறுகீரை : பித்தத்தை குறைக்கும். கண்ணுக்கு குளிர்ச்சியைத் தரும்.

பருப்புக்கீரை மற்றும் பசலைக்கீரை : உடல் சூட்டை தணித்து குளிர்ச்சியைத் தரும்.

வல்லாரைக் கீரை : நரம்பு மண்டலத்தை பலப்படுத்தும். ஞாபக சக்தியை அதிகரிக்கும்.

புதினாக் கீரை : பசியைத் தூண்டும். ரத்தத்தை சுத்தப்படுத்தும். அஜீரணத்தை போக்கும்.

பொன்னாங்கண்ணிக்கீரை : மேனியை பொன் போல் பலபலக்கச் செய்யும். கண் பார்வையை தெளிவாக்கும்.

தூதுவளை : சளியையும், இருமளையும் போக்கக் கூடியது இது.

தண்டுக்கீரை : சிறுநீர் எரிச்சல், வயிற்றுக்கடுப்பு போன்ற நோய்களை குணப்படுத்தும்.

முடக்கற்றன் கீரை : வாதத்தை தணித்து மூட்டு வலியை போக்கும்.

Three network tools I couldn’t live without

I recently decided to rebuild my Windows machine. I find
it’s something that needs doing every six months or so.
Luckily, I now run my Windows machine as a VMware virtual
machine so I don’t have to start the re-install from
scratch; I just roll back to a snapshot taken when it was
nice and clean. I can then re-install what I consider to be
essential tools and enjoy the machine running much more
quickly without all of the junk that tends to build up over
time.

What are the first applications I re-install? What are those
applications we don’t always think about until they’re gone?
Here are my top three networking tools:

PuTTY

I’m sure I’ve talked about this one before. PuTTY must be
one of the best tools available for an administrator who may
need to log on to a Linux/BSD server from a Windows machine.
PuTTY is a GUI client application that enables remote access
via SSH, Telnet, and Rlogin protocols. While there are
plenty of other clients available, PuTTY always comes up on
top. It’s free, lightweight, easy to use, and extremely
effective; what more could you ask for?

Download PuTTY from here for free. Don’t worry about the
myriad of download options. I usually just go for the
Windows installer.

Wireshark

Billed as “The World’s most popular Network Protocol
Analyser” and formerly known as Ethereal–Wireshark was
created when Gerald Combs (creator of Ethereal) went to work
for CACE Technologies (creators of the WinPcap library). The
Ethereal trademarks could not be taken with him so a ‘fork’
was created and the name was changed to Wireshark.

So what does it do? Wireshark is a protocol analyser.
Similar in many ways to tcpdump; Wireshark adds an
easy-to-use GUI and various sorting/filtering options. As
Wireshark actually ‘understands’ the protocols, it’s able to
rebuild and display data streams from the captured packets,
which can really help while trying to track down that
intermittent bug.

What makes Wireshark special? It runs on Windows, OS X,
Linux, and UNIX; it supports hundreds of protocols; it has
powerful filtering options; and it can be used to analyse
data caught ‘on the fly’ or saved previously with tcpdump. I
have been told Wireshark is great for VoIP analysis, but I
haven’t used it for that.

Oh, did I mention it’s free too? Download Wireshark here.

Nessus

Nessus is a top class vulnerability scanner produced by
Tenable Network Security. Estimated to be used by more than
75000 organisations worldwide–Nessus is said to be the
worlds’ most popular vulnerability scanner.

Formerly an open source project, Nessus was moved to a
proprietary license on the release of version 3; the
scanning engine is still free, although support and
up-to-the-minute vulnerability definitions are charged for.
Those who don’t want to pay still get the updates seven days
after their release.

Nessus starts by performing a port scan on the chosen host
or network. It then probes open ports to try and determine
which services are running and tests those services against
known vulnerabilities. I think Nessus is a great tool for
testing the resilience of your network. The reports it
generates are highly detailed and make a good basis for any
status reports you may need to produce.

Nessus is available for OS X, Linux, BSD, and Windows.
Download Nessus here (it’s free but you will need to
activate).

Of course there are many great network related tools
available and everybody will have their own opinion on which
is the most important; after all, everyone’s requirements
are different. Despite being a Windows-only application and
being very basic when compared to Wireshark and Nessus;
PuTTY is still the tool I just couldn’t do without.

A Good VBA tool for Excel Workers

Code Snippet:

Option Explicit
 
Private Sub Worksheet_SelectionChange(ByVal Target As Range)
    
    Dim RngRow          As Range
    Dim RngCol          As Range
    Dim RngFinal        As Range
    Dim Row             As Long
    Dim Col             As Long
    
    Cells.Interior.ColorIndex = xlNone
    
    Row = Target.Row
    Col = Target.Column
    
    Set RngRow = Range("A" & Row, Target)
    Set RngCol = Range(Cells(1, Col), Target)
    Set RngFinal = Union(RngRow, RngCol)
    
    RngFinal.Interior.ColorIndex = 6
    
End Sub

How to use?

   1. Open Excel.
   2. Press Alt+F11 to open the VBE.
   3. From the Project Explorer double click on one of the Sheets (i.e. Sheet1).
   4. Paste the code in the window that opens up.
   5. Close the VBE (Alt + Q or press the X in the top-right corner).

Testing:

   1. In Excel goto the sheet you put the code in.
   2. Select a cell and see the area get highlighted.
   3. Note that with this macro as is, all other cell fill colors will be removed.

Enjoy scripting with VBA !!!

"tcpdump" for traffic analysis

The tcpdump tool is an old mainstay of network debugging and
security monitoring, and security experts all over the world
swear by its usefulness. It is a command line tool that
eschews all the makeup and jewelry of other traffic analysis
tools such as Ettercap and Wireshark, both of which provide
packet sniffing functionality with a convenient captive
interface. In contrast to such tools, tcpdump takes a
command at the shell, with options specified at that time,
and dumps the results to standard output. This may seem
primitive to some users, but it provides power and
flexibility that isn't available with the common captive
interface alternatives.

Options

The tcpdump utility provides dozens of options, but I'll
just cover a few of them here:
· -A: Print each packet in ASCII.
· -c N: Where the letter N is a number, this option
tells tcpdump to exit after N packets.
· -i interface: Capture packets on the specified
network interface.
· -n: Don't resolve addresses to names.
· -q: Provide less verbose ("quiet") output so output
lines are shorter.
· -r filename: Read packets from the specified file
rather than a network interface. This
is usually used after
raw packets have been logged to a file
with the -w option.
· -t: Don't print a timestamp on each line of output.
· -v: Provide more verbose output. Verbosity can be
increased more with -vv, and even more than that
with -vvv.
· -w filename: Write raw packets to the specified
file.

Expressions

The tcpdump utility also supports command-line expressions,
used to define filtering rules so that you get exactly the
traffic you want to see, ignoring "uninteresting" packets.
Expressions consist of a number of primitives and,
optionally, modifier terms. The following primitives and
modifiers do not constitute a comprehensive list, but they
are among the most commonly useful.

Primitives

· dst foo: Specify an address or hostname to limit
captured packets to traffic sent to a
particular host.
· host foo: Specify an address or hostname to limit
captured packets to traffic to and from a
particular host.
· net foo: Specify a network or network segment using
CIDR notation to limit packet capture.
· proto foo: Specify a protocol to limit captured
packets to network traffic using that
protocol.
· src foo: Specify an address or hostname to limit
captured packets to traffic sent by a
particular host.

Modifiers

· and: Use this to chain together primitives when you
want to limit captured packets to those that
meet the requirements of the expressions on
both sides of the and.
· not: Use this modifier just before a primitive when
you want to limit captured packets to those
that do not meet the requirements of the
following expresssion.
· or: Use this to chain together primitives when you
want to limit captured packets to those that
meet the requirements of one or more of the
expressions on either side of the or.

Examples

All of these options and expression primitives and
modifiers, along with others listed in the tcpdump manpage,
can be used to construct very specific commands that produce
very precise output.
· tcpdump -c 50 dst foo can give you information that
may help identify the source of heavy incoming
traffic targeting an overloaded server with hostname
"foo", dumping the first 50 packets as output.
· tcpdump -c 500 -w `date +"%Y%j%T"`.log dumps 500
packets to a file named with a current time/date
stamp (e.g. 200820715:16:31.log) so that they can
later be filtered according to the information you
want to see. I have the command date +"%Y %j%T"
aliased to stamp in my shell's rc file, so I can
shorten a command like this to tcpdump -c 500 -w
`stamp`.log, saving me from having to remember all
the formatting options for the date command off the
top of my head.
· tcpdump port 22 src or dst foo and src and dst not
bar produces ongoing output that shows all port 22
(presumably SSH protocol) activity originating from
or targeting host "foo" unless it is originating
from or targeting host "bar". If foo is only
supposed to be accessed via SSH by bar, this command
will allow ongoing monitoring of unauthorized SSH
traffic to and from foo. You could even start a
number of persistent monitoring processes with
tcpdump like this within a tmux session on a
dedicated monitoring server.

As you can no doubt see, tcpdump's expressions capabilities
are roughly equivalent to a simple domain specific
programming language that is extremely easy to understand.
With that kind of power and flexibility at my fingertips,
there's little need to use anything else for general traffic
analysis tasks.

Quite good statements:

Dogs love their
friends & bite their enemies, quite unlike people.

The average dog
is a nicer person than the average person.

A dog is the
only thing on earth that loves you more than he
loves himself.

If your dog is
fat, you aren't getting enough exercise .

Women and cats
will do as they please, and men and dogs should
relax and get used to the
idea.

If you pick up a
starving dog and make him prosperous,
he will not bite you; that is the
principal difference
between a dog and a man.

- Mark Twain

முதலில் தமிழில் எழுதிய வலைப்பக்கம் :)

நான் என்ன செய்ய போகிறேன் தெரியுமா
தமிழில் எழுதுகிறேனே....

Indian salaries likely to rise by 16%

New Delhi: Salaries in India are expected to increase
by 16 per cent in 2009, one of the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.

The proposed salary hike is driven by strong economic growth and
pressure on employers due to soaring inflation, a latest report said.

As per a report by the HongKong based compensation firm
HR Business Solutions (HRBS) pay increases in the Asia-Pacific
region are likely grow even as the economies are expected
to be impacted by the global slowdown.

"The forecast pay increase in India averaging 16 per cent is
one of the highest among all the countries," the report stated.
The HRBS 2009 pay increase forecast is based primarily on four
economic factors — GDP growth, inflation, unemployment, manpower
demand and past pay increase trends.

Elaborating further it said that the Indian economy is reported
to be cooling, but still it is expected to achieve a growth rate
of 7-8 per cent in 2008, which is among the strongest in the
region after China.

"In addition, it has the fourth highest inflation rate of over
12 per cent in 2008 which increases pay rise pressures on employers.
Labor demand is still robust and there is a lack of sufficient
supply of the skills-set required by India's rapidly growing services,
manufacturing, construction and retail industries to boot,"
the HRBS report added.

Economic growth rates in Asia are mostly forecast to be moderately
lower in 2008 relative to 2007, while inflation rate across the
Asia-Pacific region has soared to an all-time high.

"In many of the Asian countries, demand for manpower continues
and in some cases, while general unemployment rate remains high,
the labor market is extremely tight for qualified employees,
for example, India, China and Vietnam," it stated.

Besides, in some developed economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore
and Australia, while the unemployment rate is low, the demand
for people has been strong.

Meanwhile, SriLanka is the other country which is forecast to
see a higher double-digit rise in salaries of about 17 per cent
in 2009. The country's inflation rate of more than 16 per cent
is the next highest in Asia after Vietnam and firms in Sri Lanka
are hiring and facing challenges in recruiting and retaining
skilled human capital.

Most of the neighboring countries of India - Pakistan, China
and Bangladesh are forecast to post around 11 per cent of
expected pay increase.

In 2008, the salary increase in India had averaged at 14.9 per cent.

Other Asia-Pacific countries like China, Vietnam and Indonesia
are forecast to see a rise of 11 per cent, 12.4 per cent and 12.7
per cent, respectively in 2009.

Earlier, in a separate report on Asian compensations, global HR
consultancy Mercer had forecast that India was likely to witness
over 14 per cent increase in salaries annually for the next three
years as the corporates were facing shortage of talent.

The Mercer report had also stated that India, Vietnam and Indonesia
were the only three countries in the Asia-Pacific region which
are likely to see a double-digit increase in salaries until 2011.

Flab-belly to fab-belly!

You’d be surprised to know how many of us think that we are solely
responsible for making this earth heavy and are overburdening it
with our excess weight! Though it’s healthy to be slim and fit, but
it’s ugly to be anorexic too. The art lies in finding the right balance, so
make sure you read the fine line. Whatever said and done, I’m not
canvassing for you to be ok with any unnecessary excess flab. This is
why I thought of taking up the ubiquitous excess-weight problem
this week, and addressing the basic concern of all…the tummy!
Here’s what I have to suggest.


1. Touch-my-knee:

Lie on your back. Lift your one knee and bend it towards your chest with
the help of your hands. Try and make your nose touch your knee. The second leg
remains on the ground. Once we become comfortable, try raising the second leg in
the air till about a 45 degrees tilt. Remain in the pose for around 30 seconds.
Then slowly get back and relax. Alternate with the other leg. Repeat the round
twice.

2. Forward-bend:

Sit down with your legs stretched out together and the arms extended in the
air upwards. Now try and stretch yourself by getting your back and palms down to
touch the toes. While doing this contract your stomach muscles. Try holding your
toes now with your hands. Stay for as long as possible and then come up. Relax
and then repeat once more. You would need a good level of flexibility to do
this, so don’t exert yourself on the first day. First warm up and then do it
gradually. You might not attain these poses perfectly in the first few days, but
don’t bother, gradually it would come around.

3. Cobra-style:

Lie down with the forehead on the ground. Keep the legs together and the
arms at the sides with the palms by the side of the thighs. Now bring the arms
closer to shoulder and then bend the arms at the elbows to bring the palms right
below the shoulder. Tilt the head upwards to look up. Then slowly arch the spine
and pressing the palms raise the upper trunk from the ground. Stay for 20
counts. Then slowly resume to normal position. Repeat twice.

History of the Middle Finger

Well, now......here' s something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it
on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified. Isn't history more fun when
you know something about it?

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed
to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible
to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future.
This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow
was known as "plucking the yew" (or "pluck yew").

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving
their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew! Since 'pluck yew' is
rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a
labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!
It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic
gesture is known as "giving the bird."

IT IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE SALUTE TO THE FRENCH TODAY!
And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.

Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO of Coca Cola)

Speech by Bryan Dyson (CEO of
Coca Cola)

'Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air.
You name them - work, family, health, Friends and spirit and you're keeping all of
these in the Air.

You will soon or one day understand that work is a rubber ball.

If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four Balls - Family,Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass.
If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked,
damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must
understand that and strive for Balance in your life.'

Loops in Perl

While

- while (test_expr)
{
statement(s); # Executed while test_expr is true
}

- Both the {} and the () are required!

- The test expression is evaluated and, if true, the statement block
is executed. This continues until the test expression is false.

- Note that the loop body may never be executed

- A compound statement

- Ex.

$i = 1;
while ($i <= 10)
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
$i++;
}


Until

- until (test_expr)
{
statement(s); # Executed while test_expr is false
# (Executed until test_expr is true)
}

- The test expression is evaluated and, if false, the statement block
is executed. This continues until the test expression is true.

- Note that the loop body may never be executed

- A compound statement

- Ex.

$i = 1;
until ($i > 10)
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
$i++;
}


Do Operator Applied To A Block

- do
{
statement(s);
}

- The {} are required!

- The statement block is executed.

- Returns the value of the last statement executed in the statement
block

- Allows the use of a statement block where an expression is required

- Can be modified with a while or until to act as a loop


Do-While

- do
{
statement(s); # Executed while test_expr is true
} while (test_expr);

- Only the {} are required!

- The statement block is executed. Then the test expression is
evaluated and, if true, the statement block is executed. This
continues until the test expression is false.

- Note that the loop body is executed at least once

- A simple statement! (Really just a modified Do-BLOCK.)

- Since it is just a simple statement, the loop control commands
(last, next, redo) desscribed later can NOT be used in a
do-while

- Ex.

$i = 1;
do
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
$i++;
} while ($i <= 10);


Do-Until

- do
{
statement(s); # Executed while test_expr is false
} until (test_expr);

- Only the {} are required!

- The statement block is executed. Then the test expression is
evaluated and, if false, the statement block is executed. This
continues until the test expression is true.

- Note that the loop body is executed at least once

- A simple statement! (Really just a modified Do-BLOCK.)

- Since it is just a simple statement, the loop control commands
(last, next, redo) desscribed later can NOT be used in a
do-until

- Ex.

$i = 1;
do
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
$i++;
} until ($i > 10);


Expression Modifiers

- Can use while and until as expression modifiers

- Similar to the while and until statement except that only an
expression can be modified, NOT a statement block

- Result is a simple statement


While Modifier

- exec_expr while test_expr;

- Exec_expr executed while the test_expr is true

- Equivalent to: while (test_expr)
{
exec_expr;
}

- The () around the test expression are NOT required here!

- The test expression is evaluated first

- A simple statement

- Ex.

# Print 10 down to 1.

$x = 11;
print "$x\n" while (--$x > 0);

# An infinite loop!

print ("Possible infinite loop here!\n") while ($x < 21);


Until Modifier

- exec_expr until test_expr;

- Exec_expr executed until the test_expr is true

- Equivalent to: until (test_expr)
{
exec_expr;
}

- The () around the test expression are NOT required here!

- The test expression is evaluated first

- A simple statement

- Ex.

# Print 10 down to 1.

$x = 11;
print "$x\n" until (--$x == 0);


For

- for (initial_expr; test_expr; increment_expr)
{
statement(s);
}

- Both the {} and the () are required!

- The initial expression is evaluated first (and only once). Then
the test expression is evaluated and, if true, the statement block
is executed. Then the increment expression is evaluated and the
test expression re-evaluated. This continues until the test
expression is false.

- Note that the loop body may never be executed

- Equivalent to:

initial_expr;
while (test_expr)
{
statement(s);
increment_expr;
}

- A compound statement

- Ex.

for ($i = 1; $i <= 10; $i++)
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
}


Foreach

- foreach $var (@list)
{
statement(s);
}

- Both the {} and the () are required!

- The $var variable is assigned the first value in the list @list
and the statement block executed. This is repeated for each value
in the list.

- If $var is omitted, the special default variable, $_, is used

- Note that the loop body is not executed if the list is the empty
list

- A compound statement

- Ex.

foreach $i (1..10)
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
}


Array Element Modification With A Foreach

- If the list used in the foreach statement is a single array
variable, you can modify each element of the array by
modifying $var each time through the loop

- Why? Because in this case, $var is really a reference to
the array element and not a copy of it.

- Ex.

foreach $x (@list)
{
# Add a newline to each element.
$x .= "\n";
}


Labeled Block

- Block with an associated name or label

- Label is an identifier similar to a variable name, but without
any special prefix character

- Recommended that labels be all uppercase to avoid conflict with
reserved words

- Label goes immediately in front of the statement containing the
block followed by a colon

- Labels have their own namespace

- Ex.

LOOP: foreach $i (1..10)
{
print ("The square of $i is ", $i*$i, "\n");
}


Last Operator

- Breaks out of the innermost enclosing loop block if used without
a label, or the specified block if used with a label

- Similar to the C break statement

- If the specified loop contains a continue block, it is skipped

- Only the while, until, for and foreach statement is considered
a loop by the last operator

- BUT a block by itself (a block which is NOT part of a larger
construct, such as a while loop or if-else statement) is
considered a loop that executes once, and the last operator can
be used to exit the block. This type of block is called a
"naked" block.

- Ex.

while (test_expr)
{
statement(s);
if (expr)
{
statement(s);
last; # Break out of the while loop
}
statement(s);
}


Next Operator

- Causes the rest of the specified loop to be skipped

- Similar to the C continue statement

- If the specified loop contains a continue block, it is executed
and then the loop conditional is evaluated

- Only the while, until, for and foreach statement is considered
a loop by the next operator

- The next operator can be used to exit a naked block. (The
difference between the next operator and the last operator in
this case, is that the last operator skips any continue block,
the next operator executes it.)

- Ex.

while (test_expr)
{
statement(s);
if (expr)
{
statement(s);
next; # Start next iteration, evaluate
# test_expr first
}
statement(s);
}


Redo Operator

- Causes the rest of the specified loop to be skipped

- BUT the loop conditional is NOT evaluated prior to the start of
the next iteration

- If the specified loop contains a continue block, it is NOT
executed

- Only the while, until, for and foreach statement is considered
a loop by the redo operator

- The redo operator can be used to restart a naked block.

- Ex.

while (test_expr)
{
statement(s);
if (expr)
{
statement(s);
redo; # Start next iteration, do NOT evaluate
# test_expr first
}
statement(s);
}


Continue Block

- Both the while loop and the until loop can also have a
continue block

- If a continue block exists, it is always executed before
the loop conditional expression is evaluated again

- Ex.

while ($line = )
{
chop $line;
next if ($line eq "END");
# Other Processing here.
}
continue
{
print "$line\n";
}

The input line is always printed, even if the next statement
is executed, since the continue block is always executed
before the loop conditional is evaluated again.

Blog in Tamil

செந்தில் ஒரு புதிய திட்டத்துக்கு தயாராகிரான். அது blog in தமிழ்.

வாழ்த்துகள், செந்தில்............

செந்தில் இனி வரும் காலங்கலில் ஆங்கிலம் பயன் படுத்துவதை குறைத்துவிடுவான்........

PicoP: Better Viewing Experiences from Mobile Devices

Microvision is working with business partners to enable better viewing experiences for mobile device consumers. Sharing photos, watching movies, and giving presentations using the small screens of today’s devices limits our ability to imagine, entertain, and share.

PicoP is an ultra miniature projection module capable of producing full color, high-resolution images but small enough and low power enough to be embedded directly into mobile devices such as cell phones, portable media players, digital cameras, portable computers and more.

For manufacturers who wish to bring to market next generation mobile devices, Microvision provides a PicoP display engine that can meet your exacting OEM requirements. PicoP display engines are engineered for OEMs and made available through our supply chain partners to meet high volume production needs.
Mobile Device with PicoP Display Engine: Mobile devices such as cell phones, portable media players, digital cameras, and laptops can be enabled with pico projection capabilities turning photos, videos, and other content into big viewing experiences that can be shared with others. Embedded pico projectors leverage Microvision's PicoP display engine which at its heart, contains Microvision's patented MEMS scanner. Other technology components include, laser light sources, optics, and electronics. These components are brought to life using Microvision’s proprietary software and expertise.

Different valid uses of Pointers

The following examples help to distinguish between the use of a pointer and of the pointer's value:

void main()
{
int *p, *q;

p = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int));
q = p;
*p = 10;
printf("%d\n", *q);
*q = 20;
printf("%d\n", *q);
}

The final output of this code would be 10 from line 4 and 20 from line 6. Here's a diagram:


The following code is slightly different:

void main()
{
int *p, *q;

p = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int));
q = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int));
*p = 10;
*q = 20;
*p = *q;
printf("%d\n", *p);
}

The final output from this code would be 20 from line 6. Here's a diagram:


Notice that the compiler will allow *p = *q, because *p and *q are both integers. This statement says, "Move the integer value pointed to by q into the integer value pointed to by p." The statement moves the values. The compiler will also allow p = q, because p and q are both pointers, and both point to the same type (if s is a pointer to a character, p = s is not allowed because they point to different types). The statement p = q says, "Point p to the same block q points to." In other words, the address pointed to by q is moved into p, so they both point to the same block. This statement moves the addresses.

From all of these examples, you can see that there are four different ways to initialize a pointer. When a pointer is declared, as in int *p, it starts out in the program in an uninitialized state. It may point anywhere, and therefore to dereference it is an error. Initialization of a pointer variable involves pointing it to a known location in memory.

1. One way, as seen already, is to use the malloc statement. This statement allocates a block of memory from the heap and then points the pointer at the block. This initializes the pointer, because it now points to a known location. The pointer is initialized because it has been filled with a valid address -- the address of the new block.

2. The second way, as seen just a moment ago, is to use a statement such as p = q so that p points to the same place as q. If q is pointing at a valid block, then p is initialized. The pointer p is loaded with the valid address that q contains. However, if q is uninitialized or invalid, p will pick up the same useless address.

3. The third way is to point the pointer to a known address, such as a global variable's address. For example, if i is an integer and p is a pointer to an integer, then the statement p=&i initializes p by pointing it to i.

4. The fourth way to initialize the pointer is to use the value zero. Zero is a special values used with pointers, as shown here:

p = 0;

or:

p = NULL;

What this does physically is to place a zero into p. The pointer p's address is zero. This is normally diagrammed as:


Any pointer can be set to point to zero. When p points to zero, however, it does not point to a block. The pointer simply contains the address zero, and this value is useful as a tag. You can use it in statements such as:

if (p == 0)
{
...
}

or:

while (p != 0)
{
...
}

The system also recognizes the zero value, and will generate error messages if you happen to dereference a zero pointer. For example, in the following code:

p = 0;
*p = 5;

The program will normally crash. The pointer p does not point to a block, it points to zero, so a value cannot be assigned to *p. The zero pointer will be used as a flag when we get to linked lists.

The malloc command is used to allocate a block of memory. It is also possible to deallocate a block of memory when it is no longer needed. When a block is deallocated, it can be reused by a subsequent malloc command, which allows the system to recycle memory. The command used to deallocate memory is called free, and it accepts a pointer as its parameter. The free command does two things:

1. The block of memory pointed to by the pointer is unreserved and given back to the free memory on the heap. It can then be reused by later new statements.
2. The pointer is left in an uninitialized state, and must be reinitialized before it can be used again.

The free statement simply returns a pointer to its original uninitialized state and makes the block available again on the heap.

Dynamic Data Structures: The Heap

A typical personal computer or workstation today has somewhere between 16 and 64 megabytes of RAM installed. Using a technique called virtual memory, the system can swap pieces of memory on and off the machine's hard disk to create an illusion for the CPU that it has much more memory, for example 200 to 500 megabytes. While this illusion is complete as far as the CPU is concerned, it can sometimes slow things down tremendously from the user's perspective. Despite this drawback, virtual memory is an extremely useful technique for "increasing" the amount of RAM in a machine in an inexpensive way. Let's assume for the sake of this discussion that a typical computer has a total memory space of, for example, 50 megabytes (regardless of whether that memory is implemented in real RAM or in virtual memory).

The operating system on the machine is in charge of the 50-megabyte memory space. The operating system uses the space in several different ways, as shown here:

The operating system and several applications, along with their global variables and stack spaces, all consume portions of memory. When a program completes execution, it releases its memory for reuse by other programs. Note that part of the memory space remains unused at any given time.

This is, of course, an idealization, but the basic principles are correct. As you can see, memory holds the executable code for the different applications currently running on the machine, along with the executable code for the operating system itself. Each application has certain global variables associated with it. These variables also consume memory. Finally, each application uses an area of memory called the stack, which holds all local variables and parameters used by any function. The stack also remembers the order in which functions are called so that function returns occur correctly. Each time a function is called, its local variables and parameters are "pushed onto" the stack. When the function returns, these locals and parameters are "popped." Because of this, the size of a program's stack fluctuates constantly as the program is running, but it has some maximum size.

As a program finishes execution, the operating system unloads it, its globals and its stack space from memory. A new program can make use of that space at a later time. In this way, the memory in a computer system is constantly "recycled" and reused by programs as they execute and complete.

In general, perhaps 50 percent of the computer's total memory space might be unused at any given moment. The operating system owns and manages the unused memory, and it is collectively known as the heap. The heap is extremely important because it is available for use by applications during execution using the C functions malloc (memory allocate) and free. The heap allows programs to allocate memory exactly when they need it during the execution of a program, rather than pre-allocating it with a specifically-sized array declaration.

Create Shortcut to Hibernate Windows XP instead of Shutdown

Hibernate is great because it saves the status of your Windows XP session (all the programs and documents you have open) to the hard drive, so it can automatically restore it the next time you power up. The first step to making a Hibernate shortcut is to make sure you have Hibernate turned on. Go to the Control panel then click Performance and maintenance. Next, choose Power options, and select the hibernate tab. Finally, make sure Enable hibernation is checked.

Now to actually make the shortcut right click your desktop and choose New | Shortcut. Next, type this case-sensitive command into the dialog box

Code:
rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState Hibernate

click next. Give the shortcut a name like Hibernate and click finish. From now on all you need to do to enter hibernation is double click the shortcut.

Alos you can put this shortcut to Windows task scheduler so that system Hibernate can be achived at a particular time automatically.

What not to do at a workplace

Angry employees can waste time worrying over conflicts. Keeping the peace in the workplace is imperative to a good day at work.

While colleague romances may litter offices with disgruntled exes and unbearably cute sweethearts, hostility and dislike also leave the workplace reeling. Angry employees can waste time worrying over conflicts, and even lead to office violence.

John Challenger, chief executive of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., offers the following tips on keeping the peace at work:

-Get together with co-workers outside the workplace. Fortifying an office bond with out-of-office activities helps build respect and strengthens relationships among officemates, said Challenger.

Also Watch:

New age therapies are gaining ground

-Don’t embarrass or yell at colleagues in front of others. Make conflicts private.

-Allow employees to openly discuss issues in order to avoid pent-up resentment. Challenger suggests encouraging written complaints and suggestions and calling follow-up meetings to discuss grievances.

-Personalize work spaces with homey touches. A comfortable environment helps cut down on tension.

-Be civil to unlikeable co-workers and generally considerate in the workplace, especially in shared spaces.

-Actually use vacation days. Time away can help ease stress and interoffice tensions.

-Don’t gossip maliciously or "BCC" e-mails.

-Don’t steal credit from co-workers or miss deadlines. Respond promptly to e-mails and always come prepared and on time to meetings.

Gossip can be productive

Workers who gossip between tasks, not during them, are more productive than those workers who remain isolated, says a new US research.

What’s more, communication at the wrong time reduces productivity.

Employees who remain closely knit with one another frequently are more productive than those who are more isolated, the researchers have found.

The researchers used electronic monitoring to tease apart the various types of interaction in the workplace and their differing effects.

Such monitoring could improve how individuals and organizations work, but it raises issues about the extent to which companies monitor their employees' behaviour.

Many studies of communication within organizations, such as of who e-mails whom, have suggested that loose networks, in which people have few contacts in common, boost productivity. But these don't capture face-to-face, moment-to-moment communication, says Benjamin Waber of the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"People have formal structures and reporting relationships, but when you look at who's actually talking to each other you get a different picture. We can predict productivity far more accurately from these informal structures and behaviours,” Nature quoted Waber, as saying.

Waber and his colleagues equipped a team of 23 employees at a Chicago IT company with badges that detect when they are talking, who they are close to and when they are moving about.

The workers were designing server systems. Over the course of a month, the researchers collected data on 911 individual jobs done by 23 employees in 1,900 hours. As well as measuring the time spent on each job — anything from five minutes to several days — they were able to control for its complexity and detect errors.

People who spent lots of time between jobs interacting with their colleagues — going to lunch or stopping for a chat — ultimately got much more done, the results showed. The best connected employee was 60 percent more productive than the least, says Waber, who presented his results at the International Conference on Network Science in Norwich, UK, on 27 June.

No one suspected that such interaction would help, says Waber.

"The company was astounded — formally, these people were not supposed to be talking to each other," he says.

On the other hand, if someone communicated while they were assigned to a task — whether seeking help or distracted by others — their productivity dropped sharply.

When work is hell

A 19-year-old flight attendant, angry at his job, was arrested in Minneapolis for setting a fire in an aeroplane bathroom. It might seem a bit extreme, but how many of us haven't felt like choking our bosses at some point?

Or felt that urge to throw in your resignation letter and go for a vacation (which, consequently you won't be able to afford). Just Google "I hate my job" and the search throws up 62,40,000 matches.

A BBC survey of the top 10 most hated professions throws up surprising results. If you thought the most hated profession would be that of a Proctologist - its not.

Number One on the list was being a traffic warden. Flapping your arms the entire day must be tough. Also on the list were politicians (I though we hated their profession, not them) and Reality TV show contestants - you'd hate it too if you were stuck in a house full of people like the cast of Big Boss. What's wrong with work? So what is it about a job, that makes people hate it even if it seems like a dream come true to those on the outside?

Sanya, who works with a news channel says, "News readers have to sit glued to their seats an hour before the show starts. And as soon as the bulletin ends, everyone rushes to the bathroom. I have to wait in a long line even to take a leak."

For others, work only gets worse with time and even making truckloads of money is not ample compensation. Raj, who recently resigned from the post of a Sales Process Manager with a multinational company, says, "In this sales figure driven world, the individual and his or her demands are completely ignored."

Prateek, an engineer, says, "Hectic work schedules leave no time for a personal life. I also hate the fact that I'm stuck in a cubicle instead of doing field jobs that I love." For Rakesh Jha, an IT person, his is the worst job in the world. "All you get is complaints - this doesn't work, that doesn't work. My whole day is marked with cribbing, frustrated people."

Sounds familiar? But, no matter what the grouch, the sad truth is, we're all heading to work tomorrow.

Unlearning helps at work

Unlearning practices associated with an old workplace is just as good as picking up new ones to impact a company's productivity, according to new research.

“Unlearning” implies discarding prior knowledge to make room for new information that would be useful when applied to major change affecting such an organisation.

Karen Becker of Queensland University of Technology has been studying unlearning and said it was an important, but often overlooked, way of dealing with workplace changes.

“I came from 12 years in business with a lot of involvement in change management -- there was always resistance around change and people are often not willing to relinquish past practices, so I was always looking for ways to minimise this and make transitions easier,” she said.

“When I came across the term unlearning, I pinned my research on exploring this concept further. I found that it's still not a widely used term, but it is an important and effective way of dealing with change in an organisation.”

Two of the cases Becker studied were the installation of a new computer system in a corporation, and a change in safety procedures in a heavy industry setting.

She said she found the most important thing was recognising that to make new processes effective, older ones needed to let go.

“It is about having people acknowledging previous habits and recognising that though they may be ingrained, they may not be the best way, and to accept that change is coming and be open to it,” she said.

She said assisting employees to unlearn past practices could mean changes were accepted more easily, and this would increase the productivity of an organisation by minimising the stumbling blocks that usually came when there was a change in systems.

Obese workers not lazier, says new study

A Michigan State University study demolishes negative stereotypes about obese workers

Washington: Obese workers are not lazier, emotionally unstable and harder to get along with than their thinner colleagues, says a new study that demolishes some of the stereotypes about such people.

Overweight and obese adults were not found to be significantly less conscientious, less agreeable, less extraverted or less emotionally stable.

Mark Roehling, associate professor in Michigan State University, and two of his colleagues based the study on the relationship between body weight and personality traits of 3,500 adults.

"Previous research has demonstrated that many employers hold negative stereotypes about obese workers, and those beliefs contribute to discrimination against overweight workers at virtually. . . from hiring to promotion to firing," Roehling said.

"This study goes a step further by examining whether there is empirical support for these commonly held negative stereotypes. Are they based on fact or fiction? Our results suggest that the answer is fiction."

The findings are based on two separate but convergent national studies. Roehling, who's also a lawyer, said the practical implication of the research is that employers should take steps to prevent managers from using weight as a predicator of personality traits when it comes to hiring, promoting or firing.

"Employers concerned about the fair and effective management of their work force," Roehling said, "should be proactive in preventing negative stereotypes about overweight workers from influencing employment decisions."

The research appeared in the current edition of Group & Organization Management.

Salary top reason why employees quit

The study found 70 percent of the best employers see a large connection between improved performance and higher salaries. Read on

Singapore: The top reason why employees in Asia quit is unhappiness with their pay, a study by a human resources firm said Saturday.

It found 70 percent of the best employers see a large connection between improved performance and higher salaries.

While Asian employers have "increased investment" in compensation, they are not yet getting the "strategic and financial results", The Business Times quoted Hewitt Associates principal Nishchae Suri as saying.

In China, 71 percent of employees are unhappy with their pay, 51 percent are unsatisfied in Hong Kong, 44 percent in India, 73 percent in Japan and 42 percent in Singapore, the published survey said.

Dissatisfaction with compensation averages 54 percent for Asia as a whole amid the battle for talent.

Pay must not only be fair, but seen to be fair in terms of the job and compared to the pay of other employees, Suri said, noting employers in Asia are generally doing a bad job at this.

Poor communications on the part of employers is the main problem, particularly with the new breed of talent seeking to switch jobs more often and becoming increasingly competitive.

Know when to quit your job

Working in an organisation that is going through crisis? Can’t decide between staying or leaving the job? Well, don’t fret, for here are some tips which can help you decide whether to stay or go from the company.

According to Will Werhane, global managing director at the human resources consulting firm Hay Group, look around to see if your most talented colleagues are heading for the exit sign.

That's a pretty good indication that those among the most vested in the organisation are worried and don't think it's worth staying, Will said.

"When the people who are the future of the organisation are leaving, that's a sign that company isn't doing well," News.com.au quoted him, as saying.

"It doesn't mean you should run out the door--it means (you should) examine other elements,” he added.

First, don't pay attention to rumours. Thoroughly research the state of your company as if you were investing money into it. Pay particular attention to how your organisation stacks up against the rest of the industry. One fiscal quarter of bad earnings does not spell catastrophe.

Don't rely on gossip, says a management author.

"There's a difference between a bad quarter and a troubling trend," says John Pearson, president of the management consulting firm John Pearson and author of Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit.

"When you hear disappointing news about your company, get the official and credible explanation of what's happening,” he said.

If you don't work for a public company, find out how others in the industry are doing by talking to people you know at competing companies, John said.

He added: Ask those contacts how sales are and whether they're laying anyone off. If that route proves a bust, ask head hunters; they''re a wealth of information about the companies they cover.

24 Things to Always Remember

1. Your presence is a present to the world.
2. You're unique and one of a kind.
3. Your life can be what you want it to be.
4. Take the days just one at a time.
5. Count your blessings, not your troubles.
6. You'll make it through whatever comes along.
7. Within you are so many answers.
8. Understand, have courage, be strong.
9. Don't put limits on yourself.
10. So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
11. Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
12. Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.
13. Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
14. The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.
15. Don't take things too seriously.
16. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
17. Remember that a little love goes a long way.
18. Remember that a lot . . . goes forever.
19. Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
20. Life's treasures are people . . . together.
21. Realize that it's never too late.
22. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
23. Have health and hope and happiness.
24. Take the time to wish upon a star.

Def to Lib - VC++ Tips

Def to Lib

Ever had use a third party library and found that the import libraries (.lib) are missing but the export file (.def) is available?

Here is the way to get it.

Use the utility called 'lib.exe', which exists in the following directory:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98\Bin

The syntax is:
lib.exe /def:exports.def
This will generate your import library (.lib): exports.lib

There is one 'gotcha'; lib.exe requires a dll called MSPDB60.dll. This library appears to missing from the default VC install. However it appears in the following location:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\COMMON\MSDev98\Bin

Just copy it to the VC98 bin directory and you are all set.

You would think a command like lib /def: is easy to remember; but it isnt.