Sunday, December 27, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
With what is your child living ?
Came across a wonderful poem by Dorothy Law Nolte on how Childrens see and learn from where they live and how they are grown up!
If a child lives with criticism,
he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
he learns to fight.
If a child lives with fear,
he learns to be apprehensive.
If a child lives with pity,
he learns to feel sorry for himself.
If a child lives with ridicule,
he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with jealousy,
he learns what envy is.
If a child lives with shame,
he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with encouragement,
he learns to be confident.
If a child lives with tolerance,
he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with praise,
he learns to be appreciative.
If a child lives with acceptance,
he learns to love.
If a child lives with approval,
he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with recognition,
he learns that it is good to have a goal.
If a child lives with sharing,
he learns about generosity.
If a child lives with honesty and fairness,
he learns what truth and justice are.
If a child lives with security,
he learns to have faith in himself and in those about him.
If a child lives with friendliness,
he learns that the world is a nice place in which to live.
If you live with serenity,
your child will live with peace of mind.
With what is your child living?
- Dorothy Law Nolte
If a child lives with criticism,
he learns to condemn.
If a child lives with hostility,
he learns to fight.
If a child lives with fear,
he learns to be apprehensive.
If a child lives with pity,
he learns to feel sorry for himself.
If a child lives with ridicule,
he learns to be shy.
If a child lives with jealousy,
he learns what envy is.
If a child lives with shame,
he learns to feel guilty.
If a child lives with encouragement,
he learns to be confident.
If a child lives with tolerance,
he learns to be patient.
If a child lives with praise,
he learns to be appreciative.
If a child lives with acceptance,
he learns to love.
If a child lives with approval,
he learns to like himself.
If a child lives with recognition,
he learns that it is good to have a goal.
If a child lives with sharing,
he learns about generosity.
If a child lives with honesty and fairness,
he learns what truth and justice are.
If a child lives with security,
he learns to have faith in himself and in those about him.
If a child lives with friendliness,
he learns that the world is a nice place in which to live.
If you live with serenity,
your child will live with peace of mind.
With what is your child living?
- Dorothy Law Nolte
Friday, December 18, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A new Micro Aerial Vehicle(MAV) from MIT
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/10/mit_uav_uses_lasers.html
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Entrepreneur journeys
http://www.venturewoods.org/index.php/2009/10/09/entrepreneur-journeys-vw-reviews/
Friday, October 9, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Youtube for Animation !
Came across a good website "http://shareswf.com/", which you can call Youtube for Animations.
It has pretty some good videos which helps us to understand some concepts better than just video.
Here is a sample animation which shows the effect of road surface and speed of a bike on stopping distance.
http://shareswf.com/game/107/motorcycle-stopping-distance
Parts of Airplane
http://www.shareswf.com/game/30/parts-of-an-airplane
Clutch Assembly
http://www.shareswf.com/game/15/how-automobile-clutch-work
Italy
http://www.shareswf.com/game/37/italy-the-riviera-of-the-alps
It has pretty some good videos which helps us to understand some concepts better than just video.
Here is a sample animation which shows the effect of road surface and speed of a bike on stopping distance.
http://shareswf.com/game/107/motorcycle-stopping-distance
Parts of Airplane
http://www.shareswf.com/game/30/parts-of-an-airplane
Clutch Assembly
http://www.shareswf.com/game/15/how-automobile-clutch-work
Italy
http://www.shareswf.com/game/37/italy-the-riviera-of-the-alps
2016 Olympics to be held in Rio, Brazil
Courtesy Outlook:
Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic Games after US President Barack Obama's emotional plea for his adopted home town Chicago failed to clinch it.
The mere presence of world's most powerful man was ample indication of the seriousness of the affair and in the end, Rio de Janeiro pipped Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago as Olympic Games, for the first time, headed for South America.
Not that it was a cakewalk.
Honolulu-born Obama himself was here to bolster Chicago's bid, defying criticism of his political adversaries who were quick to remind that health care, the Afghanistan war and the financial meltdown should have been the President's priority.
Obama, however, looked unperturbed and the lone agenda during his five-hour trip of the Danish capital was to wax eloquence on why the Games should go to Chicago.
"I never really had any roots until I came to Chicago and discovered this most American of cities. It is a rich tapestry of neighbourhoods. If you choose us we walk this path together," he said.
First lady Michelle Obama had not left any stone unturned either.
A Chicago native, she had been camping here since Wednesday, attending meetings after meetings to ensure there was no last-minute slip-up.
"You cannot take any vote for granted. Nobody makes the decision until they're sitting there," she insisted.
"We would use these Games as a vehicle for reaching out to the world. It would usher in a new era of international engagement," Michelles promised.
But all came to a naught as odds-on favourite Chicago received a royal snub to crash out of the race in the very first round of voting.
Like Chicago, Tokyo could not be blamed for not trying enough either.
Following Obama, Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama made an impressive presentation, articulating why it was important from an environmental point of view to allow Tokyo to host a green Olympics.
Besides, of the four cities in the fray, only Tokyo has a previous experience of hosting an Olympics (in 1964), he pointed out.
Buttressing Tokyo's case, governor Shintaro Ishihara said, "I saw in 1964 how sport transformed Japan. Fifty years later I still believe in sport's power to change things for the better."
But much to his disappointment, Tokyo fell by the wayside after the second round of voting, leaving the fight to Rio de Janeiro and Madrid.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spearheaded Madrid's bid to become the first Spanish city to host the Games after Barcelona held it in 1992.
The Spanish delegation included the 89-year-old former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who made a passionate appeal, watched by Spain King Juan Carlos and Real Madrid captain Raul.
But Rio de Janeiro had the last laugh.
Like Obama, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva took the onus on himself to convince the 95 eligible International Olympic Committee (IOC) voters to bring the Games to South America for the first time.
"I honestly believe it is Brazil's time," he said.
"Brazil is the only one of the top 10 economies in the world not to have hosted the Olympics. Give us this chance and you won't regret it," pleaded the Brazil President as soccer legend Pele looked on.
Brazil had chosen former FIFA President Joao Havelange to open Rio de Janeiro's presentation and the 93-year-old longest serving IOC member made an appeal seeped in emotion.
"I have a dream of seeing history made in 2016 with the first Games in South America. I invite you all in 2016 to my city in new Brazil for my 100th birthday," Havelange said.
"Rio is the city of my birth, where I began my journey from where I witnessed history.
"At the 1936 Berlin Games of Jessie Owens, in 1952 in Helsinki where new nations appeared for the first time. Then as an IOC member I've witnessed memorable Games in places like Tokyo, Los Angeles and Beijing.
"I ask you to join me and make this dream of bringing the Games to Rio in 2016 come through," he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hH9JJ1DfoPLIegRa3XdI6RlJaIHAD9B3G51G0
Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympic Games after US President Barack Obama's emotional plea for his adopted home town Chicago failed to clinch it.
The mere presence of world's most powerful man was ample indication of the seriousness of the affair and in the end, Rio de Janeiro pipped Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago as Olympic Games, for the first time, headed for South America.
Not that it was a cakewalk.
Honolulu-born Obama himself was here to bolster Chicago's bid, defying criticism of his political adversaries who were quick to remind that health care, the Afghanistan war and the financial meltdown should have been the President's priority.
Obama, however, looked unperturbed and the lone agenda during his five-hour trip of the Danish capital was to wax eloquence on why the Games should go to Chicago.
"I never really had any roots until I came to Chicago and discovered this most American of cities. It is a rich tapestry of neighbourhoods. If you choose us we walk this path together," he said.
First lady Michelle Obama had not left any stone unturned either.
A Chicago native, she had been camping here since Wednesday, attending meetings after meetings to ensure there was no last-minute slip-up.
"You cannot take any vote for granted. Nobody makes the decision until they're sitting there," she insisted.
"We would use these Games as a vehicle for reaching out to the world. It would usher in a new era of international engagement," Michelles promised.
But all came to a naught as odds-on favourite Chicago received a royal snub to crash out of the race in the very first round of voting.
Like Chicago, Tokyo could not be blamed for not trying enough either.
Following Obama, Japan Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama made an impressive presentation, articulating why it was important from an environmental point of view to allow Tokyo to host a green Olympics.
Besides, of the four cities in the fray, only Tokyo has a previous experience of hosting an Olympics (in 1964), he pointed out.
Buttressing Tokyo's case, governor Shintaro Ishihara said, "I saw in 1964 how sport transformed Japan. Fifty years later I still believe in sport's power to change things for the better."
But much to his disappointment, Tokyo fell by the wayside after the second round of voting, leaving the fight to Rio de Janeiro and Madrid.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spearheaded Madrid's bid to become the first Spanish city to host the Games after Barcelona held it in 1992.
The Spanish delegation included the 89-year-old former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who made a passionate appeal, watched by Spain King Juan Carlos and Real Madrid captain Raul.
But Rio de Janeiro had the last laugh.
Like Obama, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva took the onus on himself to convince the 95 eligible International Olympic Committee (IOC) voters to bring the Games to South America for the first time.
"I honestly believe it is Brazil's time," he said.
"Brazil is the only one of the top 10 economies in the world not to have hosted the Olympics. Give us this chance and you won't regret it," pleaded the Brazil President as soccer legend Pele looked on.
Brazil had chosen former FIFA President Joao Havelange to open Rio de Janeiro's presentation and the 93-year-old longest serving IOC member made an appeal seeped in emotion.
"I have a dream of seeing history made in 2016 with the first Games in South America. I invite you all in 2016 to my city in new Brazil for my 100th birthday," Havelange said.
"Rio is the city of my birth, where I began my journey from where I witnessed history.
"At the 1936 Berlin Games of Jessie Owens, in 1952 in Helsinki where new nations appeared for the first time. Then as an IOC member I've witnessed memorable Games in places like Tokyo, Los Angeles and Beijing.
"I ask you to join me and make this dream of bringing the Games to Rio in 2016 come through," he said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hH9JJ1DfoPLIegRa3XdI6RlJaIHAD9B3G51G0
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Car scene in India
http://www.zigwheels.com/Features/Indias-Best-Car-Under-Rs-10-lakh/India_20090820-1-1
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Robot's new Capabilities
Ramen Robot
In English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0GKIQdpscg
Okimiyaki Robot
Industrial Robot
In English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0GKIQdpscg
Okimiyaki Robot
Industrial Robot
Seven Social Sins
Politics without Principles
Wealth without Work
Commerce without Morality
Education without Character
Pleasure without Conscience
Science without Humanity
Worship without Sacrifice
- Mahatma Gandhi
Wealth without Work
Commerce without Morality
Education without Character
Pleasure without Conscience
Science without Humanity
Worship without Sacrifice
- Mahatma Gandhi
Friday, September 11, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Basics Ayurveda.
Ayurveda is synonymous with Kerala. It is an ancient system of healing which is very popular in this state. Originated in India around 5000 years ago, Ayurveda occupies a prized place in Kerala. The state is blessed with rich flora consisting of rare herbs and natural oils. Apart from this rich flora, Kerala also has salubrious climate and great monsoon which are propitious for the practice of Ayurveda. The term “Ayurveda” is derived from two words—ayus meaning “life principle” and veda refers to a system of “knowledge”.Thus Ayurveda means the “knowledge of life”. Dhanvantari, the physician to the heavenly deities in Hindu mythology, received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Lord Brahma. The first book on Ayurveda was written by Agnivesha in Vedic times. It was named as ' Agnivesh tantra'. Later new additions were made to the text of this book by Charaka and it was renamed as Charaka Samhita. Vagbhata from 7th century is one of the most celebrated writers of Ayurveda.
People from across the globe come to Kerala for various Ayurvedic treatments. Ailments such as arthritis, paralysis, obesity, sinusitis, migraine, premature ageing and skin problems can easily cured by this ancient system of medicine.
The eight branches of Ayurveda are:
Internal Medicine - Kayachikitsa
Pediatrics - Kaumarabhritya Tantra
Psychology/Psychiatry - Bhuta Vidya
Ears, eyes, nose and throat - Shalakya tantra
Surgery - Shalya Tantra
Toxicology - Agada Tantra
Rejuvenation - Rasayana Tantra
Fertility Therapy - Vajikarana Tantra
Ayurveda has its own principles which are entirely different from other systems of medicine. Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from natural herbs. Shamana and Shodhana are the two concepts of treatment in Ayurveda. Shamana means alleviation or making the disease and its symptoms less severe. Whereas Shodhana deals with complete elimination of the basic cause of disease. There are five types of Shodana popularly known as Panchakarma. Panchakarma are vamana, virechana, nasya, basti and raktha mokshana. In Shamana oral medicines are given whereas in Shodana external treatments are given. Shodana karma consists of two poorvakarma for preparing the patient's body for treatment: Snehana and Swedana.
Ayurveda Specialities:
Ayurveda and Marma Chikitsa: It involves body massage by applying enough pressure on the marmas(key points) in human body.
Ophthalmology in Ayurveda: It deals with the diseases of eyes.
Prasoothi Tantra and Ayurveda: Prasoothi Tantra deals with the care given to pregnant women for the birth of a healthy baby.
Salya Tantra and Ayurveda: Salya Tantra refers to the technique of surgery in Ayurveda.
Ashtanga and Ayurveda: Ashtanga Ayurveda is divided into eight main classes dealing with different kinds if diseases.
Kaya Chikitsa and Ayurveda: Kaya means body and Chikitsa refers to treatment, thus Kaya Chikitsa deals with treatment of the diseases afflicting the body.
Balachikitsa (pediatrics) and Ayurveda: It deals with the care of children by preventing or treating methods.
Damshtra Chikitsa( Toxicology): It is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda dealing with toxins in the body.
Shalakya Tantra: It deals with diseases that affect eyes, nose, throat, ears and head.
Myths associated with Ayurveda:
Ayurveda is completely herbal
Ayurveda involves the use of herbs but it also uses several other ingredients such as ghee, honey, self fermented alcohol in the preparation of medicines.
Ayurveda is vegetarian
Besides the liberal use of herbs, ghee, honey etc Ayurveda also uses mutton extracts and fish oil.
Ayurveda is not in accord with modern science
Ayurvedic treatments give fruitful results which shows that it is very much in tune with modern science.
Ayurvedic medicines are not clinically tested
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine which got perfected through the centuries.
Ayurvedic medicines work at slow pace
The pace at which ayurvedic medicine works depends on the disease and its cause. Some treatments are fast while some are slow. Above all, ayurveda not only treats the symptoms but also eliminate the root cause of the disease.
Ayurvedic medicines cause no harm
Ayurvedic medicines should always be taken under medical supervision as even the herbs can have some side effects.
People from across the globe come to Kerala for various Ayurvedic treatments. Ailments such as arthritis, paralysis, obesity, sinusitis, migraine, premature ageing and skin problems can easily cured by this ancient system of medicine.
The eight branches of Ayurveda are:
Internal Medicine - Kayachikitsa
Pediatrics - Kaumarabhritya Tantra
Psychology/Psychiatry - Bhuta Vidya
Ears, eyes, nose and throat - Shalakya tantra
Surgery - Shalya Tantra
Toxicology - Agada Tantra
Rejuvenation - Rasayana Tantra
Fertility Therapy - Vajikarana Tantra
Ayurveda has its own principles which are entirely different from other systems of medicine. Ayurvedic medicines are prepared from natural herbs. Shamana and Shodhana are the two concepts of treatment in Ayurveda. Shamana means alleviation or making the disease and its symptoms less severe. Whereas Shodhana deals with complete elimination of the basic cause of disease. There are five types of Shodana popularly known as Panchakarma. Panchakarma are vamana, virechana, nasya, basti and raktha mokshana. In Shamana oral medicines are given whereas in Shodana external treatments are given. Shodana karma consists of two poorvakarma for preparing the patient's body for treatment: Snehana and Swedana.
Ayurveda Specialities:
Ayurveda and Marma Chikitsa: It involves body massage by applying enough pressure on the marmas(key points) in human body.
Ophthalmology in Ayurveda: It deals with the diseases of eyes.
Prasoothi Tantra and Ayurveda: Prasoothi Tantra deals with the care given to pregnant women for the birth of a healthy baby.
Salya Tantra and Ayurveda: Salya Tantra refers to the technique of surgery in Ayurveda.
Ashtanga and Ayurveda: Ashtanga Ayurveda is divided into eight main classes dealing with different kinds if diseases.
Kaya Chikitsa and Ayurveda: Kaya means body and Chikitsa refers to treatment, thus Kaya Chikitsa deals with treatment of the diseases afflicting the body.
Balachikitsa (pediatrics) and Ayurveda: It deals with the care of children by preventing or treating methods.
Damshtra Chikitsa( Toxicology): It is one of the eight branches of Ayurveda dealing with toxins in the body.
Shalakya Tantra: It deals with diseases that affect eyes, nose, throat, ears and head.
Myths associated with Ayurveda:
Ayurveda is completely herbal
Ayurveda involves the use of herbs but it also uses several other ingredients such as ghee, honey, self fermented alcohol in the preparation of medicines.
Ayurveda is vegetarian
Besides the liberal use of herbs, ghee, honey etc Ayurveda also uses mutton extracts and fish oil.
Ayurveda is not in accord with modern science
Ayurvedic treatments give fruitful results which shows that it is very much in tune with modern science.
Ayurvedic medicines are not clinically tested
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine which got perfected through the centuries.
Ayurvedic medicines work at slow pace
The pace at which ayurvedic medicine works depends on the disease and its cause. Some treatments are fast while some are slow. Above all, ayurveda not only treats the symptoms but also eliminate the root cause of the disease.
Ayurvedic medicines cause no harm
Ayurvedic medicines should always be taken under medical supervision as even the herbs can have some side effects.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Secret Of Happiness
The Secret Of Happiness
There once was a very wealthy and successful man. He had more money than he could ever spend and he was admired and looked up to by his community. Still, he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn’t happy. All his life he had pursued happiness and strived for happiness but had never been able to find it.
Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret to happiness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was weary and pennyless, but he knew that none of that mattered now that he had found the temple.
He asked a wise, smiling monk if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him the stairs leading to the room. He climbed them with legs shaking with anticipation and slowly opened the door. He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man gazed at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.
It is time that we all realized that we are the secret to our own happiness. Happiness is a choice that we make within. God loves us and gives each one of us the ability to fill our lives with love, joy, peace, happiness, and oneness with Him. We need only choose to do so moment by moment and day by day.
It doesn’t matter what our outer circumstances are either, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then.
Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.
There once was a very wealthy and successful man. He had more money than he could ever spend and he was admired and looked up to by his community. Still, he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn’t happy. All his life he had pursued happiness and strived for happiness but had never been able to find it.
Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret to happiness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was weary and pennyless, but he knew that none of that mattered now that he had found the temple.
He asked a wise, smiling monk if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him the stairs leading to the room. He climbed them with legs shaking with anticipation and slowly opened the door. He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man gazed at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.
It is time that we all realized that we are the secret to our own happiness. Happiness is a choice that we make within. God loves us and gives each one of us the ability to fill our lives with love, joy, peace, happiness, and oneness with Him. We need only choose to do so moment by moment and day by day.
It doesn’t matter what our outer circumstances are either, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then.
Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
What are Kharif and Rabi Crops ?
I remember those two names from my school days. What I just remember is that those were two kinds of crops we have it in India but nothing about their precise meaning. Hence just revisited those two points for my record.
Kharif are the crops which are sown in the beginning of the first rains in India i.e from July onwards.
Rabi crops are usually sown from November onwards
For Example following is the farming landscape in Maharashtra
Kharif Crops:- Jowar (Sorghum), Bajra (Millet), Rice, Cotton, Groundnuts
Rabi Crops: - Wheat, Gram, Jowar
Other Categories
Cereals: - Jowar, Rice, Wheat, Bajra, Maize, Bali, Nachni
Oil seeds: - Groundnut, Sesame, Jawas, Karadi, Mustard.
Pulses: Dal, Tur (Red gram)
Cash Crops: - Sugarcane, Cotton, Chillies, Tobacco, Banana.
Misc:
Major crops in the world :
http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Other/MWCACP/index.htm
Major Crops in South Asia
In India, which crop in which area, in which month ?
http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Other/MWCACP/world_crop_country.htm#southasia
World Facts and figures of Global Crops.
Ex of wheat grown in the world
Map
http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/ogamaps/default.cfm?cmdty=Wheat&attribute=Production
Stats
http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdreport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=BVS&hidReportRetrievalID=448&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=1
Production, Supply and Distribution Online
http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdHome.aspx
Major Crops, World Calender
http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad/weather/Crop_calendar/crop_cal.pdf
Northern India's Vanishing Water
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-124&CFID=20175607&CFTOKEN=61e74d0437cb07fb-18AF0895-C49D-DD99-D4A7C845DFDF0419
World Weather chart of major cities
http://www.mapsofworld.com/utilities/world-weather-chart.htm
World Climates
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htm
UK Sowing and Harvesting time for vegetables
http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetable/general/sowing-harvest-vegetable-chart.php
How to grow
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/vegetables/sowing_how_to_c.php
Farming in Manipur
http://hortimanipur.nic.in/vegetables.htm
http://www.webindia123.com/garden/vegie/index.htm
Harvest festivals in world
http://www.everythingesl.net/lessons/harvest_festivals_around_world_79423.php
SOWING AND HARVESTING SEASONS
OF PRINCIPAL CROPS IN INDIA
http://www.fadinap.org/india/Sowing.htm
Testing Soil
http://www.mahindrakisanmitra.com/ContentPage.aspx?lang=1&CategoryId=22
Kharif are the crops which are sown in the beginning of the first rains in India i.e from July onwards.
Rabi crops are usually sown from November onwards
For Example following is the farming landscape in Maharashtra
Kharif Crops:- Jowar (Sorghum), Bajra (Millet), Rice, Cotton, Groundnuts
Rabi Crops: - Wheat, Gram, Jowar
Other Categories
Cereals: - Jowar, Rice, Wheat, Bajra, Maize, Bali, Nachni
Oil seeds: - Groundnut, Sesame, Jawas, Karadi, Mustard.
Pulses: Dal, Tur (Red gram)
Cash Crops: - Sugarcane, Cotton, Chillies, Tobacco, Banana.
Misc:
Major crops in the world :
http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Other/MWCACP/index.htm
Major Crops in South Asia
In India, which crop in which area, in which month ?
http://www.usda.gov/oce/weather/pubs/Other/MWCACP/world_crop_country.htm#southasia
World Facts and figures of Global Crops.
Ex of wheat grown in the world
Map
http://www.pecad.fas.usda.gov/ogamaps/default.cfm?cmdty=Wheat&attribute=Production
Stats
http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdreport.aspx?hidReportRetrievalName=BVS&hidReportRetrievalID=448&hidReportRetrievalTemplateID=1
Production, Supply and Distribution Online
http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/psdHome.aspx
Major Crops, World Calender
http://www.fas.usda.gov/pecad/weather/Crop_calendar/crop_cal.pdf
Northern India's Vanishing Water
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-124&CFID=20175607&CFTOKEN=61e74d0437cb07fb-18AF0895-C49D-DD99-D4A7C845DFDF0419
World Weather chart of major cities
http://www.mapsofworld.com/utilities/world-weather-chart.htm
World Climates
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htm
UK Sowing and Harvesting time for vegetables
http://www.allotment.org.uk/vegetable/general/sowing-harvest-vegetable-chart.php
How to grow
http://www.gardeningdata.co.uk/vegetables/sowing_how_to_c.php
Farming in Manipur
http://hortimanipur.nic.in/vegetables.htm
http://www.webindia123.com/garden/vegie/index.htm
Harvest festivals in world
http://www.everythingesl.net/lessons/harvest_festivals_around_world_79423.php
SOWING AND HARVESTING SEASONS
OF PRINCIPAL CROPS IN INDIA
http://www.fadinap.org/india/Sowing.htm
Testing Soil
http://www.mahindrakisanmitra.com/ContentPage.aspx?lang=1&CategoryId=22
How Seeds and Chemicals are leading to the plight of Framers in Vidharbha, MS, India
The vicious cycle of Seeds and Chemicals
Solution : Seed Bank
Water harvesting methods
NGOs like ICRISAT are doing a great job
http://www.icrisat.org/
Food Crises
Solution : Seed Bank
Water harvesting methods
NGOs like ICRISAT are doing a great job
http://www.icrisat.org/
Food Crises
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A touching documentary on 4th graders in Japan named "Children Full of Life"
A amazing documentary where small kids learn about themselves and their friends. Learn to cheer-up their mates and to themselves. Learn to be courageous and take responsibilities.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Vibrant Bali trip !
So this time i was lucky to get break during weekdays. So our journey to Bali started from monday morning. Our flight was at 11:30 am from Narita airport on Monday morning. Our destination was Denpasar Airport in the south of Bali.
We started from 6:30 am in the morning so that we get some time in the airport. Its very strange but I really love airports :) Did our light breakfast at McDonalds and did some currency change from Yens to Rupiah(Bali/Indonesia Currency). Got a rate of 1 Yen = 80 Rupiah which I thought was good before I discovered in Bali that they were giving a rate of 1 yen = 105 Rupiahs. And I advice you to do the currency change in Bali since they give better rate and they Money changers are everywhere. After that we moved to our gate after security check and did our immigration formalities.
Then we boarded the Garuda Indonesia flight at 11:25 (5 min early ;)).
Our flight was direct to Denpasar and it took 7 hours and 30 mins to reach there. We reached there almost at the time of dusk. We came out of the flight and the first thing we had to do was to get VISA on arrival. This was something I was witnessing for the first time.
When I came to Japan or went to Sweden I had to prepare lot of docs for Visa. And this was something new as an Indian. I always felt how comfortable it is for Europeans/Americans/Japanese to move easily in each others countries without a prior VISA. But this time I was also able to witness this phenomenon for myself. Not a big thing but since it was happening for the first time i was worried till i saw the board "VISA ON ARRIVAL" in spite that we confirmed with Indonesian Embassy in Japan for that. So the first step was to get the VISA which costed around 2, 500 Yens/head. I had taken Rupiah but paid there in yens since it was easy to calculate.
Then our holidays start as soon as we came out of the airport. As soon as we got out of the airport, our JTB guide was waiting for us with the name plate and he took out luggage and put that into a small truck along with few others who had booked with JTB. He then asked us to get into a bus and soon he started introducing Bali, guess in what language. Yes Japanese. The Bali guide could speak Japanese but he was reading from a written script he might have received from JTB. He was doing a good job though.
We reached hotel and checked in into our rooms and it was a wonderful delight.
From the next morning we tried to stuff out schedule as follows.
Day 1: Start from Narita,JPN at 11 am and reach Denpasar, Bali in evening. Settled down in the hotel, had our dinner, went to the beach. It was full moon period so the view was also amazing during our stay.
Day 2: Around Hotel, Kecak Dance. Day 2 we dedicated to the place around hotel, beach, hotel facilities, spa and in the evening a lovely sun set with Kecak Dance. Coming back we also found an Indian Restaurant which had really good food.
Day 3: Bali Countryside, art and local culture. Day3 we started early in the morning in a hired car with a person to guide us. We went to see Batik (cloth painting), Wooden carving, Ornaments, visited a traditional village in Bali, went to a Farm where they were growing all sorts of spices, went to visit lake Batur and volcanic mountain and coming back visited a Temple and Rice Terrace. Also had Nariyal Paani after a long long time:)
Day 4: Marine Sports. Day 4 we dedicated our day to Marine sports starting with Dolphin watching in the open sea. They say its like gambling to spot Dolphins in open sea. We were lucky to get glimpses of dolphin in groups. They also had a option of Swimming with Dolphin, but in a pool. You need to select what you want to do. After that we did Ski-Jet. It was kind of fun too. After that the we did our most exciting thing in the trip, the Sea-Trek. I highly recommend this. After that we ended our marine sport with paragliding with one end tied to boat in the sea :)
Day 5: Lazy Morning, Quad Bike and Catch flight home from 12:30 pm and reach early morning in JPN.
Save 1500 Yens/head as airport tax. They accept Rupiah here hence make sure you have sufficient currency while coming back.
Temples and the culture
We learnt lot of new things about Bali. Even though its an Island in Indonesia where majority of population is Muslim, in Bali you will find 95% Hindus who worship Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha (TriMurti - ThreeFigures) . Even though their Temples have idols of Trimurti, their offerings style differ from that in India. The astonishing thing was that they offer non-veg and other things to GOD like chicken, Cakes or anything they find it to be offered to GOD. The thought process is even the chicken is God's gift and we are just returning it back. And also since they also believe in life and birth cycles and realize that you have to die a lot of times before you get a human form and you are animal before it. Hence by doing so they are enabling that animal to take human form at an earliest.
Their temples look like more of Chinese or Japanese styles but the offering methods are like Indians. Every Balinese visit temple each morning and they really celebrate things like Full Moon or Purnima and visit temple for special offerings. Looking at that I realized that they are more religious that people back at home. The conspicuous thing you will notice is the way Balinese people dress and wear a flower (both men and women) on their ear or on their special cap like wrap around their head. History says that it were Chinese and Indians came almost during the same times in Indonesia hence the influence is mixed.
Tourists
When reached Bali it was half-way in route between Japan and Australia. The greatest number of tourist who go to Bali are Japanese, Australia and surprisingly Russians. Then small number of other south asian countries including India. I was informed there is not direct flight from India.If coming form India you might have to change flight from Indonesia or Singapore. Balinese do not speak Hindi though :)Their native language is Balinese which is different from Indonesian language.You will be able to survice if you speak Eng or Japanese or Indonesian or Russian at some places.
Tourism Industry at its best
The tourism industry was very conspicuous in Bali. The awareness in the guides or people related to the tourism industry was could be easily realized. I remember when we were going from our hotel to Quad biking in a car which was driven by a coordinator of the quad bike and we were already running late because of traffic, we liked a statue on a intersection of a road and i war trying to take its picture without asking to stop the car. The person stopped the car and asked us to take snaps in a very relaxed manner. I said no problem you can drive and i can take snap in a running car. He said no problem he can wait for that, since you want t take the snap means you liked that statue and you want to make memories out of that. You will go back to your country and share this snaps with them and they would also like to visit Bali which will be goof for us as a tourism industry. That was something amazing to hear that how a single person who is driving a car for a adventure sport agency is taking efforts to glorify the image of the island and helping to increase tourism in his own way. All the other guides/person related to tourism were friendly, polite and honest.
Also when we went for marine sports they had a option of having a photographer service at a price of 30 USD. The service meant that photographer will accompany you in each sport and will take video and snaps of the important moments of the activity. For example we were doing parasailing, the photographer will take our videos/smaps while take off and landing. They just don't stop here. In the sports like "Sea Trekking" which happens below water surface much like scuba diving, they take pain to have a underwater photography gear, the photographer also dives with you and takes the snaps and videos of you playing with dishes and corals along with your company. And then when we are done with the sports, since we have limited time, they copy all the snaps and videos in a CD and also print a label on a CD with one of the snap you like and hand it over to you there itself in 30 min. Isn't that a perfect professionalism ? If that was not enough, almost every sport operator conducts its own survey in the end where they ask some good questions which are directly related tot he improvement of the their quality of service. They had questions like "WAs the activity worth your money ?", "WAs the staff accompanied you in the sport was friendly and polite ?", "Will you recommend this to your friends ", "if not why ?" , "Suggest improvement points if any", which really makes us think that how serious they are about their own industry and how committed they are to improve it.
They knew if I am taking their services, that meant someone has recommended it and I found it suitable but at the same time they see this as opportunity that I might suggest this to others and they are taking efforts to achieve this.
We also visited places where they were making some artistic things and selling them. We visited the places where they were making BATIK (a cloth work in which they use a manual method for creating colorful cloth), Goldsmith shops and wood carving shops. The things common to all those places was that before you enter the shop they had a section where they first show how that thing is made which arouses our interest in that thing and also as soon as we enter the shop we understand what we want and why one thing is costlier or cheaper that other. So to conclude selling of things is of course the focus but also at the same time to involve the person into that art work, how to educate the person so that he/she can value and reason about the art work, along with the selling of the product. And the preservesess of the art is the positive byproduct of the whole process. It was a good way to to retain an old art, educate people about it, create awareness in a common tourist like us and of course creating more employment for the country. I call it they were the best marketing folks for their art.
Restaurant type
There are lot of Russian restaurants who served Russian food and dedicated live music performances in Russian too.Of course there were lot Japanese restaurants too with the complete Japanese food Menus. We were lucky to find an Indian Restaurant too which had amazing food. This was the best Indian food (Indian Dhaba) we could have between Japan and India. Near the place where we stayed were lot of good bars and restaurants with lively live music. I remember a lady who after enjoying lot of drinks in a open restaurant with live Russian music left her chair and started dancing almost on the street with the rhythm of music. Even though she was a big lady here enjoyment with the dance and music looked elegant. Her boyfriend/Partner also supported her full heartedly.It had amazing night life too.
Batik
Sunset
Kechak Dance
Chill !
We started from 6:30 am in the morning so that we get some time in the airport. Its very strange but I really love airports :) Did our light breakfast at McDonalds and did some currency change from Yens to Rupiah(Bali/Indonesia Currency). Got a rate of 1 Yen = 80 Rupiah which I thought was good before I discovered in Bali that they were giving a rate of 1 yen = 105 Rupiahs. And I advice you to do the currency change in Bali since they give better rate and they Money changers are everywhere. After that we moved to our gate after security check and did our immigration formalities.
Then we boarded the Garuda Indonesia flight at 11:25 (5 min early ;)).
Our flight was direct to Denpasar and it took 7 hours and 30 mins to reach there. We reached there almost at the time of dusk. We came out of the flight and the first thing we had to do was to get VISA on arrival. This was something I was witnessing for the first time.
When I came to Japan or went to Sweden I had to prepare lot of docs for Visa. And this was something new as an Indian. I always felt how comfortable it is for Europeans/Americans/Japanese to move easily in each others countries without a prior VISA. But this time I was also able to witness this phenomenon for myself. Not a big thing but since it was happening for the first time i was worried till i saw the board "VISA ON ARRIVAL" in spite that we confirmed with Indonesian Embassy in Japan for that. So the first step was to get the VISA which costed around 2, 500 Yens/head. I had taken Rupiah but paid there in yens since it was easy to calculate.
Then our holidays start as soon as we came out of the airport. As soon as we got out of the airport, our JTB guide was waiting for us with the name plate and he took out luggage and put that into a small truck along with few others who had booked with JTB. He then asked us to get into a bus and soon he started introducing Bali, guess in what language. Yes Japanese. The Bali guide could speak Japanese but he was reading from a written script he might have received from JTB. He was doing a good job though.
We reached hotel and checked in into our rooms and it was a wonderful delight.
From the next morning we tried to stuff out schedule as follows.
Day 1: Start from Narita,JPN at 11 am and reach Denpasar, Bali in evening. Settled down in the hotel, had our dinner, went to the beach. It was full moon period so the view was also amazing during our stay.
Day 2: Around Hotel, Kecak Dance. Day 2 we dedicated to the place around hotel, beach, hotel facilities, spa and in the evening a lovely sun set with Kecak Dance. Coming back we also found an Indian Restaurant which had really good food.
Day 3: Bali Countryside, art and local culture. Day3 we started early in the morning in a hired car with a person to guide us. We went to see Batik (cloth painting), Wooden carving, Ornaments, visited a traditional village in Bali, went to a Farm where they were growing all sorts of spices, went to visit lake Batur and volcanic mountain and coming back visited a Temple and Rice Terrace. Also had Nariyal Paani after a long long time:)
Day 4: Marine Sports. Day 4 we dedicated our day to Marine sports starting with Dolphin watching in the open sea. They say its like gambling to spot Dolphins in open sea. We were lucky to get glimpses of dolphin in groups. They also had a option of Swimming with Dolphin, but in a pool. You need to select what you want to do. After that we did Ski-Jet. It was kind of fun too. After that the we did our most exciting thing in the trip, the Sea-Trek. I highly recommend this. After that we ended our marine sport with paragliding with one end tied to boat in the sea :)
Day 5: Lazy Morning, Quad Bike and Catch flight home from 12:30 pm and reach early morning in JPN.
Save 1500 Yens/head as airport tax. They accept Rupiah here hence make sure you have sufficient currency while coming back.
Temples and the culture
We learnt lot of new things about Bali. Even though its an Island in Indonesia where majority of population is Muslim, in Bali you will find 95% Hindus who worship Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesha (TriMurti - ThreeFigures) . Even though their Temples have idols of Trimurti, their offerings style differ from that in India. The astonishing thing was that they offer non-veg and other things to GOD like chicken, Cakes or anything they find it to be offered to GOD. The thought process is even the chicken is God's gift and we are just returning it back. And also since they also believe in life and birth cycles and realize that you have to die a lot of times before you get a human form and you are animal before it. Hence by doing so they are enabling that animal to take human form at an earliest.
Their temples look like more of Chinese or Japanese styles but the offering methods are like Indians. Every Balinese visit temple each morning and they really celebrate things like Full Moon or Purnima and visit temple for special offerings. Looking at that I realized that they are more religious that people back at home. The conspicuous thing you will notice is the way Balinese people dress and wear a flower (both men and women) on their ear or on their special cap like wrap around their head. History says that it were Chinese and Indians came almost during the same times in Indonesia hence the influence is mixed.
Tourists
When reached Bali it was half-way in route between Japan and Australia. The greatest number of tourist who go to Bali are Japanese, Australia and surprisingly Russians. Then small number of other south asian countries including India. I was informed there is not direct flight from India.If coming form India you might have to change flight from Indonesia or Singapore. Balinese do not speak Hindi though :)Their native language is Balinese which is different from Indonesian language.You will be able to survice if you speak Eng or Japanese or Indonesian or Russian at some places.
Tourism Industry at its best
The tourism industry was very conspicuous in Bali. The awareness in the guides or people related to the tourism industry was could be easily realized. I remember when we were going from our hotel to Quad biking in a car which was driven by a coordinator of the quad bike and we were already running late because of traffic, we liked a statue on a intersection of a road and i war trying to take its picture without asking to stop the car. The person stopped the car and asked us to take snaps in a very relaxed manner. I said no problem you can drive and i can take snap in a running car. He said no problem he can wait for that, since you want t take the snap means you liked that statue and you want to make memories out of that. You will go back to your country and share this snaps with them and they would also like to visit Bali which will be goof for us as a tourism industry. That was something amazing to hear that how a single person who is driving a car for a adventure sport agency is taking efforts to glorify the image of the island and helping to increase tourism in his own way. All the other guides/person related to tourism were friendly, polite and honest.
Also when we went for marine sports they had a option of having a photographer service at a price of 30 USD. The service meant that photographer will accompany you in each sport and will take video and snaps of the important moments of the activity. For example we were doing parasailing, the photographer will take our videos/smaps while take off and landing. They just don't stop here. In the sports like "Sea Trekking" which happens below water surface much like scuba diving, they take pain to have a underwater photography gear, the photographer also dives with you and takes the snaps and videos of you playing with dishes and corals along with your company. And then when we are done with the sports, since we have limited time, they copy all the snaps and videos in a CD and also print a label on a CD with one of the snap you like and hand it over to you there itself in 30 min. Isn't that a perfect professionalism ? If that was not enough, almost every sport operator conducts its own survey in the end where they ask some good questions which are directly related tot he improvement of the their quality of service. They had questions like "WAs the activity worth your money ?", "WAs the staff accompanied you in the sport was friendly and polite ?", "Will you recommend this to your friends ", "if not why ?" , "Suggest improvement points if any", which really makes us think that how serious they are about their own industry and how committed they are to improve it.
They knew if I am taking their services, that meant someone has recommended it and I found it suitable but at the same time they see this as opportunity that I might suggest this to others and they are taking efforts to achieve this.
We also visited places where they were making some artistic things and selling them. We visited the places where they were making BATIK (a cloth work in which they use a manual method for creating colorful cloth), Goldsmith shops and wood carving shops. The things common to all those places was that before you enter the shop they had a section where they first show how that thing is made which arouses our interest in that thing and also as soon as we enter the shop we understand what we want and why one thing is costlier or cheaper that other. So to conclude selling of things is of course the focus but also at the same time to involve the person into that art work, how to educate the person so that he/she can value and reason about the art work, along with the selling of the product. And the preservesess of the art is the positive byproduct of the whole process. It was a good way to to retain an old art, educate people about it, create awareness in a common tourist like us and of course creating more employment for the country. I call it they were the best marketing folks for their art.
Restaurant type
There are lot of Russian restaurants who served Russian food and dedicated live music performances in Russian too.Of course there were lot Japanese restaurants too with the complete Japanese food Menus. We were lucky to find an Indian Restaurant too which had amazing food. This was the best Indian food (Indian Dhaba) we could have between Japan and India. Near the place where we stayed were lot of good bars and restaurants with lively live music. I remember a lady who after enjoying lot of drinks in a open restaurant with live Russian music left her chair and started dancing almost on the street with the rhythm of music. Even though she was a big lady here enjoyment with the dance and music looked elegant. Her boyfriend/Partner also supported her full heartedly.It had amazing night life too.
Batik
Sunset
Kechak Dance
Chill !
Friday, July 3, 2009
Revisiting the hits of MJ
Thriller
Earth Song
Bad
Billie Jean
They Don't Really Care About Us
Live Performance reactions/Teasers
Dangerous
Earth Song
Bad
Billie Jean
They Don't Really Care About Us
Live Performance reactions/Teasers
Dangerous
China ready to become no.2 Economy of the world ?
China Daily posts a good article on difference between Chinese and Jap economy.
The global economic landscape may see a milestone change this year, for China is widely regarded to replace Japan as the second largest economy in the next few months. But for that to happen China's economy has to grow by 6 to 8 percent, while Japan's has to contract further.
Last year, China's GDP was $4.22 trillion against Japan's $4.84 trillion. And even though China's GDP may overtake Japan's, the two economies have major quantitative and qualitative differences.
The first is the extent to which economic growth has benefited the peoples of the two countries. International Monetary Fund figures show Japan's GDP per capita purchasing power parity was $34,100 last year - 24th in the world - while China's was only $5,962 - 99th in the world.
To evaluate the extent of benefits the two peoples have enjoyed, we have to consider the income gap in the two countries. After World War II, Japan started building an egalitarian society, and once boasted a "society of 100 million middle class", that is, all Japanese believed their incomes had reached the middle-class level. Japan was the first country to provide healthcare for all its citizens, too. An Asian Development Bank survey in 2007 showed that Japan's Gini coefficient was 0.24, the only Asian country below 0.3, while China's was 0.48, considerably higher than the 0.4 alarm line.
The UN Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI), which combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational achievement and per capita GDP, is a more comprehensive indicator than per capita GDP in evaluating the degree of economic and social development, and the quality of people's life. According to the Human Development Report 2007-08, Japan's HDI was 8th in the world, much higher than China's 81st.
Second, China is still far behind Japan in environmental protection. The Japanese enjoy a much better environment than the Chinese. For example, the air quality in most Japanese cities is better than in Chinese cities. About two-thirds of Japan's land area is covered with forests, one of the highest in the world. And Japan's environmental industry has developed rapidly, accounting for $386.2 billion of the $600-billion global market. The US' market is worth $100 billion, and China's, only $20 billion.
In the 1980s, the Chinese admired Japan's dazzling cities, skyscrapers and popularity of home appliances. In the 21st century, they admire its clean environment the most. Pollution in China causes an average annual loss of up to 13 percent of GDP, and has become severe enough to put the health of its people at risk. Sixteen of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China, and 400 million urban Chinese residents breathe polluted air. A whopping 27.9 percent of China's land area, or 2.67 million sq km, is threatened by desertification and 37 percent, or 3.56 million sq km, by erosion.
The third difference between the two countries is the use of science and technology to boost productivity. Science and technology contribute up to 70 percent of Japanese economic growth, while China's proportion is only 39 percent. Japan spends 3.5 percent of its GDP on research and development, whereas China spends only 1.3 percent. Japan's index of dependence on foreign technology is lower than 30 percent, while China's is higher than 50 percent. Besides, China's labor productivity is one twenty-sixth that of Japan.
Since the 1980s, China has followed in Japan's footsteps to become the new "factory of the world". While as a "world factory" Japan seized the high end of the industrial chain in the international division of labor, China is still at the bottom of that chain.
Furthermore, Japan has contributed three-fourths of the 32 significant new technology products to be commercialized, with the rest coming from the US and Europe.
Four, Japan is still far ahead of China in energy efficiency and resource utilization. Since the 1973 oil crisis, Japan has become one of the top energy-saving countries by developing energy-efficient technology, while China's performance is considered poor. For example, to produce a ton of crude steel, Japan needs 0.6 ton of coal, while China needs 1.5 ton and the US, 1 ton.
Moreover, Japan can produce 980 kg of steel products from 1 ton of crude steel, whereas the US and Chinese average is 700 kg and 600 kg. And Japan's energy consumption to produce 1 unit of GDP is only one-ninth that of China.
The fifth difference can be gauged in terms of gross national product (GNP), which means the values created by people of a country. GNP is different from GDP, which stands for values created by production within the boundary of a country. China has been actively attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), while Japan is reluctant to do so. In fact, Japanese firms are fairly active in investing overseas, and they have been the top FDI investors for the past 15 years. That makes China's GDP higher than its GNP, while it is the opposite in case of Japan.
FDI contributes to 40 percent of China's GDP, and accounts for 20 percent of its economic growth. Overseas firms in China generate 60 percent of its exports. That's why even if China's GDP were to surpass that of Japan, China would still lag behind Japan in economic and social development. It is difficult to say how many years China will take to catch up with Japan's overall development.
But there is a message here. The Chinese government has to make sincere efforts to improve those aspects of society that are not included in GDP, such as the quality of people's life and the environment.
The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The global economic landscape may see a milestone change this year, for China is widely regarded to replace Japan as the second largest economy in the next few months. But for that to happen China's economy has to grow by 6 to 8 percent, while Japan's has to contract further.
Last year, China's GDP was $4.22 trillion against Japan's $4.84 trillion. And even though China's GDP may overtake Japan's, the two economies have major quantitative and qualitative differences.
The first is the extent to which economic growth has benefited the peoples of the two countries. International Monetary Fund figures show Japan's GDP per capita purchasing power parity was $34,100 last year - 24th in the world - while China's was only $5,962 - 99th in the world.
To evaluate the extent of benefits the two peoples have enjoyed, we have to consider the income gap in the two countries. After World War II, Japan started building an egalitarian society, and once boasted a "society of 100 million middle class", that is, all Japanese believed their incomes had reached the middle-class level. Japan was the first country to provide healthcare for all its citizens, too. An Asian Development Bank survey in 2007 showed that Japan's Gini coefficient was 0.24, the only Asian country below 0.3, while China's was 0.48, considerably higher than the 0.4 alarm line.
The UN Development Programme's Human Development Index (HDI), which combines measures of life expectancy, literacy, educational achievement and per capita GDP, is a more comprehensive indicator than per capita GDP in evaluating the degree of economic and social development, and the quality of people's life. According to the Human Development Report 2007-08, Japan's HDI was 8th in the world, much higher than China's 81st.
Second, China is still far behind Japan in environmental protection. The Japanese enjoy a much better environment than the Chinese. For example, the air quality in most Japanese cities is better than in Chinese cities. About two-thirds of Japan's land area is covered with forests, one of the highest in the world. And Japan's environmental industry has developed rapidly, accounting for $386.2 billion of the $600-billion global market. The US' market is worth $100 billion, and China's, only $20 billion.
In the 1980s, the Chinese admired Japan's dazzling cities, skyscrapers and popularity of home appliances. In the 21st century, they admire its clean environment the most. Pollution in China causes an average annual loss of up to 13 percent of GDP, and has become severe enough to put the health of its people at risk. Sixteen of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China, and 400 million urban Chinese residents breathe polluted air. A whopping 27.9 percent of China's land area, or 2.67 million sq km, is threatened by desertification and 37 percent, or 3.56 million sq km, by erosion.
The third difference between the two countries is the use of science and technology to boost productivity. Science and technology contribute up to 70 percent of Japanese economic growth, while China's proportion is only 39 percent. Japan spends 3.5 percent of its GDP on research and development, whereas China spends only 1.3 percent. Japan's index of dependence on foreign technology is lower than 30 percent, while China's is higher than 50 percent. Besides, China's labor productivity is one twenty-sixth that of Japan.
Since the 1980s, China has followed in Japan's footsteps to become the new "factory of the world". While as a "world factory" Japan seized the high end of the industrial chain in the international division of labor, China is still at the bottom of that chain.
Furthermore, Japan has contributed three-fourths of the 32 significant new technology products to be commercialized, with the rest coming from the US and Europe.
Four, Japan is still far ahead of China in energy efficiency and resource utilization. Since the 1973 oil crisis, Japan has become one of the top energy-saving countries by developing energy-efficient technology, while China's performance is considered poor. For example, to produce a ton of crude steel, Japan needs 0.6 ton of coal, while China needs 1.5 ton and the US, 1 ton.
Moreover, Japan can produce 980 kg of steel products from 1 ton of crude steel, whereas the US and Chinese average is 700 kg and 600 kg. And Japan's energy consumption to produce 1 unit of GDP is only one-ninth that of China.
The fifth difference can be gauged in terms of gross national product (GNP), which means the values created by people of a country. GNP is different from GDP, which stands for values created by production within the boundary of a country. China has been actively attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), while Japan is reluctant to do so. In fact, Japanese firms are fairly active in investing overseas, and they have been the top FDI investors for the past 15 years. That makes China's GDP higher than its GNP, while it is the opposite in case of Japan.
FDI contributes to 40 percent of China's GDP, and accounts for 20 percent of its economic growth. Overseas firms in China generate 60 percent of its exports. That's why even if China's GDP were to surpass that of Japan, China would still lag behind Japan in economic and social development. It is difficult to say how many years China will take to catch up with Japan's overall development.
But there is a message here. The Chinese government has to make sincere efforts to improve those aspects of society that are not included in GDP, such as the quality of people's life and the environment.
The author is a researcher with the Institute of Japanese Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Crazy things - Bagel Head
Sometimes you see/come across something and you wonder "Why". Few things just do not have any answers :)
"Bagel Head" is one of them.
A new “beauty” fad in Tokyo clubs has teens injecting themselves with bags of saline, disfiguring their heads! They call themselves “Bagel Heads” or “bagelheads.”
Fortunately, the saline injections aren’t permanent. The weird shapes only last for about 24 hours. The bagelhead bumps can even be shaded blue or green with food coloring and molded into any shape you like.
Not for fainted hearts. I am amazed that these kinds of videos are also uploaded by someone. It shows how it works
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
World mourns on untimely death of great legend - Michael Jackson !
His Story of his life.
This Biography was released couple of years back.
All I could conclude from the videos apart from what he did to music is that he was
a small kid at heat, kind hearted, shy, afraid of tabloids, camera conscious, very protective father, secretive about his kids for obvious reasons, emotional, full of love, some time getting irritated, missed his childhood desperately, called himself peter pan, loved to talk to people, warm, loved fun things, balloon fights, climbing trees.
Start of Jackson 5
From Jackson 5 to Solo
Solo to thriller
The Startdom, Solo, Dangerous and amazing Stage shows
Earth, the journey downwards starts
More Down and comes out clean
Who is Michael Jackson when he is not performing in his home videos
Living with MJ
Watch Living with Michael Jackson in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
His first interview in 1993
This Biography was released couple of years back.
All I could conclude from the videos apart from what he did to music is that he was
a small kid at heat, kind hearted, shy, afraid of tabloids, camera conscious, very protective father, secretive about his kids for obvious reasons, emotional, full of love, some time getting irritated, missed his childhood desperately, called himself peter pan, loved to talk to people, warm, loved fun things, balloon fights, climbing trees.
Start of Jackson 5
From Jackson 5 to Solo
Solo to thriller
The Startdom, Solo, Dangerous and amazing Stage shows
Earth, the journey downwards starts
More Down and comes out clean
Who is Michael Jackson when he is not performing in his home videos
Living with MJ
Watch Living with Michael Jackson in Entertainment | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
His first interview in 1993
Friday, June 26, 2009
Teaching Pee or Poo to your Kid
One of the reason why Jap cartoons (ANIME) are famous is that they have content for your kids teaching them very very basic things in a fun way.In the video below a small kid is being taught how to know is it Pee or poo and how to do it and what follows after it, In the end with a real kid..
Enjoy :)
Enjoy :)
Emotional Robot from Waseda University
In a struggle to appeal common people that "Robot can be your good friend" Kobian can do few basic emotional tricks. See it your self.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Instructions For Life - By Dalai Lama
Instructions For Life
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Memorize your favorite poem.
Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
When you say, “I love you”, mean it.
When you say, “I’m sorry”, look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
Don’t judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Call your mom.
Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Spend some time alone.
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Read more books and watch less TV.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time.
Trust in God but lock your car.
A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
Read between the lines.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Pray. There’s immeasurable power in it.
Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
Mind your own business.
Don’t trust a man/woman who doesn’t close his/her eyes when you kiss.
At least once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
Learn the rules then break some.
Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Remember that your character is your destiny.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
~ Words by Dalai Lama ~
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Memorize your favorite poem.
Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
When you say, “I love you”, mean it.
When you say, “I’m sorry”, look the person in the eye.
Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Believe in love at first sight.
Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.
In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
Don’t judge people by their relatives.
Talk slowly but think quickly.
When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Call your mom.
Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Spend some time alone.
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Read more books and watch less TV.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time.
Trust in God but lock your car.
A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
Read between the lines.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
Be gentle with the earth.
Pray. There’s immeasurable power in it.
Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
Mind your own business.
Don’t trust a man/woman who doesn’t close his/her eyes when you kiss.
At least once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
Learn the rules then break some.
Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
Remember that your character is your destiny.
Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
~ Words by Dalai Lama ~
Friday, June 12, 2009
Gaia Symphony
http://www.gaiasymphony.com/co_guide-e.html
Gaia is the name of the Goddess of the Earth in Greek mythology. British scientist Dr. James Lovelock proposed a theory that the Earth itself is a giant living organism. All living creatures actively create the environment they need to survive in, maintaining environmental factors like temperature, humidity and atmosphere. He calls this theory Gaia. It is from this theory that the title Gaia Symphony originates.
Since its first release in 1992, without the help of any large distribution companies, Gaia Symphony continues to be screened voluntarily across Japan by audiences who were inspired by the films. Realizing the importance of sharing the Gaia's message with as many people as possible, this grass roots or word-of-mouth distribution network continues to grow, and to this date, the films have been screened over 5,600 times and have been seen by over 2.2 million people in Japan alone.
Gaia is the name of the Goddess of the Earth in Greek mythology. British scientist Dr. James Lovelock proposed a theory that the Earth itself is a giant living organism. All living creatures actively create the environment they need to survive in, maintaining environmental factors like temperature, humidity and atmosphere. He calls this theory Gaia. It is from this theory that the title Gaia Symphony originates.
Since its first release in 1992, without the help of any large distribution companies, Gaia Symphony continues to be screened voluntarily across Japan by audiences who were inspired by the films. Realizing the importance of sharing the Gaia's message with as many people as possible, this grass roots or word-of-mouth distribution network continues to grow, and to this date, the films have been screened over 5,600 times and have been seen by over 2.2 million people in Japan alone.
Hyponica - japanese farming method
Hyponica is a method of growing plants by using air and water. Hyponica doesnot use soil and organic fertilizer. All plants can grow freely in the Hyponica method. It was first demonstrated to public in 1985 by agronomist Shigeo Nozawa in a tomato plant project in the Tsukuba Science and Technology Expo. He was successful in growing more than 12,000 giant "hyponica tomatoes" per plant by giving the young plants fresh water and fertilizer only. He commented: "The only thing I did was remove conditions that would be hazardous to the trees' growth. I just facilitated their fullest self-realization."
Details
http://www.sensorium.org/linkedsense/jan6/references/hypo.html
Details
http://www.sensorium.org/linkedsense/jan6/references/hypo.html
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Cross Culture !
Chinese Guy Singing Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi)-Super idol 13 (Luo Ping)
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Adjusting technology to habits !
This is a Ticket Machine for trains in japan whose functionality has been modified so that people do not forget to take money.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Real IT Solutions !
Hardware Inventory Mgt
Chocolate Business
Toy Store
Cisco uses IT for GREEN and other cost savers
Chocolate Business
Toy Store
Cisco uses IT for GREEN and other cost savers
Monday, May 11, 2009
Technology made simple !
Internet Made Easy with Tennis Ball
Internet Explained
Internet security
BitTorrent
iPhone/iPod Touchscreens Explained
How Email Works
How IM Works
Podcast !
Computer
Home Network
Speed Up your computer
Virus/Tojans
How RSS Work ?
How Airplanes fly ?
Internet Infrastructure
Internet Explained
Internet security
BitTorrent
iPhone/iPod Touchscreens Explained
How Email Works
How IM Works
Podcast !
Computer
Home Network
Speed Up your computer
Virus/Tojans
How RSS Work ?
How Airplanes fly ?
Internet Infrastructure
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