One door closes while another door opens, but for different people.

One of my friends started working from today, whereas another friend of mine stopped working from today. While one started working after a gap of about 6 years, the other stopped working after a gap of about 6 years. While one was looking to break into work, the other was looking for a break from work. Both had their reasons for doing or not doing what they wanted to or did not want to. I am happy that both of them could do, what they wanted to. I wish both of them the very best in life. Ultimately we all want to be happy in our life and that is what we wish for our friends.

The importance of Elementary Education in USA

I am sure everyone agrees with me when I say that the most important resource of any Nation is its People. Children are our hope for tomorrow. We try to get the best for our Kids. But when it comes to school education we take what we have. Why do Policy Makers and Law Makers here in US, do not look at the quality of education for Elementary schools. Why does the Elementary School Teacher as a Profession not attract the brightest talent? Because there is not much incentive for anyone to do it like some of the glamorous professions like Software, Medicine and Sports. What is Government doing to correct this? What is the Society doing to make the Law Makers understand the importance to attract some of the best talent into Education? At present there is no attraction to be a School teacher and this should change. For starters, Why can't the Salaries bumped up for the School Teachers so that there is an immediate incentive to go into that Profession, when we can spend billions of dollars on democratizing Countries like Iraq. How much would it cost to do this? I do not know. But I am sure it will not cost even half of what is being spent now on charities for other countries. Probably there should be some movement towards this and only then the Politicians try to do something. There may be someone already working towards this goal. At least it does not make it to the front pages of Newspapers as of now. This is not something which can be glamorized and sensationalized. Leaders from Business like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet who have the money to spend should take lead in this and Political Leaders like George Bush(Sr) and Bill Clinton can mobilize people and money into this cause.

Is India the new land of Opportunity?

I know India is still a developing country and may be 25-50 years to go before it can be called a Developed nation. But is this the beginning? May be it is. This "In a Twist, Americans Appear in Ranks of Indian Firms" news item in NYtimes.com is newsworthy because, the fact all these years has been, Indians standing in long lines for visas in US embassies and Consulates. I am sure US will continue to be a land of opportunity for Indians and People from all over the world for many years to come.

Once a Politician. Always a Politician.

It is revolting to read news items like this when Politicians say whatever they like. A former Chief Minister of Kashmir says India will burn if a Terrorist is hanged. What an irresponsible statement? I always thought that Dr.Farooq Abdullah was one of the few saner, moderate modern faces of Indian Politicians. Just because he is no longer ruling, he should not be shooting his mouth off like this. I am appalled at the sad state of affairs where an important leader in India feels that India will be up in flames if a Terrorist is hanged. Why can't our Politicians forget that they are Politicians for a moment and think like Statesmen about the Country? Perhaps it is too much to ask for from them.

India has been slowly burning any way for a long time because of the short sighted approach by our Politicians and Society alike to our longstanding problems. There are fires all over India waiting to be put out. But for our Politicians, Media and Society at large, a small problem is always relegated to the back burner till it becomes a major fire.

Money grows on Tree of Ideas!

It has been proven yet again that it is the idea that makes money but not money itself! There is this good story in Nytimes.com about the latest money spinner in the news "YouTube" and one of it's founders. Check it out.

Great Expections or Least Expectations?

When we expect something and it does not happen, we feel bad. But we want to feel good. So, is it good personally, to have expectations? May not be. If we want to feel good, we should not have any expectations. It is like going to a Movie with no expectations. Even if the Movie is average, you feel as if you have watched a good movie. If you have great expectations about a Movie, even if it is good, it may not survive the expectations. I am struggling with this thought as to what is good for an Individual. To have expectations, fail to meet those expectations, feel bad, try to come out of that phase, try that cycle again and again till success is achieved. The other choice is to simply not have any expectations, do what you need to do and let the destiny be the Master. I don't know. I am sure many of us don't know. I am not sure that everyone does not know. At least I am not one of those who knows. I know that is something not to be proud of. Can someone enlighten me on my ignorance? I really feel that ignorance is bliss as of now.

It is all in our habits.

I have been thinking about this for some time. Why is it so difficult for some of us to do things which are, for others, very easy to do. We are all prisoners of habits and I guess it is very difficult for some of us to change these habits. It starts with when we wake up in the morning and ends with the time we hit the bed. What we do in the interregnum is what we are used to doing all along. We try to resist any changes in the patterns we built in leading our daily life. Even the way we think is also the result of the old habits. They say "Old habits die hard". We all die one day but the habits that we build up in our lives never die on their own till we are gone. We have to kill them and it is never easy for us to do so. We all want to be good, look good, feel good, eat good, live good, yet when it comes to the supposedly good habits it is always very difficult for us to cultivate and replace the bad habits. Does that mean "New habits die easy"? I believe it is very easy kick off new habits, because they are not habits till they are old. There is an article on Old habits at www.PhysOrg.com, for which I have given a link in this post.


My Father used to tell me that I have to be disciplined in order to succeed in life and once your habit patterns are formed in the early part of life, it will not be easy for me to change and unless I made changes, I will have to suffer later. I realize now, that, not only is discipline very important early on in life, it helps us in dealing with the situations more confidently. Self Confidence is also the way we perceive about ourselves and I think that too is a habit. May be this can go on and on, but I need to stop it somewhere, lest this becomes my habit. I don't want to add to my repertoire of habits! But I am not sure if I am succeeding in that goal, because not doing something is also a habit!!!