RK's Musings

PhD – Extinct Species ?

Via Razblint :

:59 Seconds

If you look around, you cannot miss the fact that people are living  in a road runner culture, meaning, People want to do everything fast.

• Speed publishing – Blogging , Twittering
• Speed Talking -  IMs
• Speed Dialing
• Speed Dating
• Speed Sex
• Speed Walking
• Speed Yoga
• Yogaerobics - I saw this ad in Midtown NY and was  rather amused at the way yoga, an essentially slowing down activity  , is being marketed with aerobics tag

Nowadays it looks like people feel that Instant gratification is also too long. They want an instant gratification of instant gratification :)

However there are some people who realize that they are on this fast track, and ironically want to slow down quickly :)

Well, most of us at some point  or the other in our life time would have read some self-help book, be it on public speaking, seven habits , 10 rules, dozen things to do :) … It doesn’t take long for most people to realize that all those books serve no one but the publishing industry..

Given my view of how speed has engulfed all of us, I picked up this book mainly to laugh at the content. A self help book which was offering solutions to all our problems in less than a minute..Wow!! never though speed will enter self-help domain too :)

Audience for this book : People who want to quickly change themselves :) and people like me who want to laugh at the rather serious tone of the book.

The author talks about 10 aspects of human lives .Happiness, Persuasion , Motivation , Creativity , Attraction , Stress , Relationships , Decision making , Parenting , Personality . He provides one minute solutions to each of these complex aspects of our lives. By the way, the author backs it up with scientific research :) People can go to any extent to sound rational.

If you want to laugh heartily , you can read this book, after all “Laughter is the best medicine”.

So, the author unknowingly is doing good to readers :) .Or may be the author is smart enough to cash on the speed culture :)

Cartoon :)

 

Call Center agent !!!

Ants - Swarm Intelligence

I have always been fascinated by ants. Infact I took some time out and via kathalaya told a story to 4th class kids about ants..Here is an interesting post on swarm intelligence in NYT

Link :From Ants to People, an Instinct to Swarm

Funny Service :)

HassleMe

Set up a hassle now!

Brand Power!!

Via  North Denver News - Surgically alters thumbs to better use iPhone

Thomas Martel, 28, of Bonnie Brae is a big guy. So he has a hard time using the features on ever-shrinking user interfaces on devices like his new iPhone. At least, he did, until he had his thumbs surgically altered in a revolutionary new surgical technique known as "whittling."

"From my old Treo, to my Blackberry, to this new iPhone, I had a hard time hitting the right buttons, and I always lost those little styluses," explains Martel. "Sure, the procedure was expensive, but when I think of all the time I save by being able to use modern handhelds so much faster, I really think the surgery will pay for itself in ten to fifteen years. And what it's saving me in frustration - that's priceless."

Communication !!

Ecclestial Or Logic ?

Was just looking at the Church Floor plan for some reason.
Link
Historic Church Floor Plan

Why does the floor plan resemble a cross ? Is there a scientific reason or is it purely an echo of the religious sentiment ?

Why do people say " Bless you " when you sneeze ?

This cropped up in my mind specifically because a lot of people around me started sneezing in my office yesterday. Considering that the weather was bad , its logical that they would have caught cold. But the number of Bless you's that were floating around the office was a little odd..Just was curious to know what's the origin ...I realized that that there is no concrete reason , though there are some wide spread beliefs about the usage..some of the odd reasons are as follows :

• At one time people believed a man's soul could be inadvertently thrust from his body by an explosive sneeze, thus "Bless you!" was a protective oath uttered to safeguard the temporarily expelled and vulnerable soul from being snatched up by Satan (who was always lurking nearby). The purpose of the oath was to cast a temporary shield over the flung-out soul which would protect it just long enough to regain the protection of the corporeal body.
• Conversely, the sneeze itself was the expulsion of a demon or evil spirit which had taken up residence in a person. Therefore, although the "Bless you!" was again a protective charm meant to protect the sneezer from evil, in this version it was meant to ward off the re-entry of an evil spirit which a tormented soul had just rid itself of.
• The heart was believed to momentarily stop during a sneeze (it doesn't), thus the "Bless you!" was uttered either as a supplication for life to return or as a congratulation upon its successful restart.
• Others claim an association of the practice with particular dire diseases (most often the bubonic plague, or "Black Death," as it is sometimes known). They say an infected person's sneeze was sure sign he'd soon be pushing up daisies, thus the "Bless you!" was intended as a benediction to the nearly-departed, a way of commending his soul to the care of God now that he was beyond the help of anything in the mortal world.
• Yet other folks echo the theme of other superstitions about sneezes, that these expulsions are either in themselves lucky or foretell good fortune coming the sneezer's way. For them, the "Bless you!" is a recognition of incoming good luck, possibly even an attempt on the blesser's part to attract a bit of it to himself.
• Finally, some see the sneeze as a blessing bestowed by the sneezer upon the sneezed-upon. Answering a sneeze with "Bless you!" is seen as nothing more remarkable than replying "Good morning!" to the person who had just greeted you with the same phrase.

Whoof !! that's quite a list !!