Carrot…Egg…Or Coffee !!!

WHICH ARE YOU?
(Author Unknown)

A daughter complained to her father about life and how things were so
hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted
to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed that as soon as one
problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In
one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he
placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a
word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he
was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished
the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and
placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl.Turning to her he asked. “What do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and
noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break
it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its
rich aroma. She said, “What’s the point?”
He explained that each of the items had faced the same adversity –
boiling water – but each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong and hard. But after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid
interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became
hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

source:::: One of blogspots

Natarajan

Extreme Closeup of Bugs!!!…. An Excellence in Macro Photography!!!

frog underwater

Sometimes just a change in perspective can make a world of a difference. Take for instance tiny bugs. They are from our standpoint little critters we can literally brush aside,  ignore, or squash dead if we choose to. Now put yourself on equal footing with these tiny creatures, meaning see them scaled the same size as humans, and what you have are utterly hideous looking monsters that would scare the living daylights out of anybody. Photographer Nicolas Reusens’ interest in insects captures extremely detailed images of these diminutive creatures through his interest in macro photography.

ant eating bug

 

Reusens uses a technique known as focus stacking, which combines several images but taken in differing depths of field.  Using this technique has produced some pretty scary close-ups of these tiny insects that are straight out of a science fiction B-movie. Using focus stacking was necessary to achieve an increase in the depth of field while not stopping down his aperture, which would require longer shutter times. This compromise leads to diffraction and diminished sharpness. He combines anywhere between 2 to 200 exposures with the use of Zerene Stacker.

 

frog on top of beetle

 

Reusens’ photos are from different parts of the world. He gets around quite a bit being half Swedish, while residing in Spain. He is well-travelled having been to countries in Latin America, Asia, South Africa, and Mexico to name a few. He also says that this frequent travelling has allowed him to acquire a better world view, understanding the diversity of cultures around the globe.

bug on end of match

 

Reusens shares his enthusiasm for both travel and nature in his website, saying,

“I’ve always had a sharp eye for nature and been fascinated by insects, so three years ago I bought my first reflex camera with which I started from scratch experimenting and learning the ‘secrets’ of THE macro photography as I imagined it should be when as a kid I collected ants, moths and other insects in matchboxes.I guess you could call me a perfectionist or maybe even a freak, but this is how I’ve always felt things should be done.

One of the greatest satisfactions of photography is traveling around the world and ‘capturing’ the weird and wonderful creatures I’m showing you herewith.”

 

bug with droplets of water

 

source:::: Patrica Romos in exposure guide.

Natarajan

 

Message For The Day….God has no “near ” or ” far ” ….

The Lord cares for your concentration (Ekagratha) and purity of mind (Chittashuddhi). You need not worry if you are near or far from Him. He has no ‘near’ or ‘far’. When the address you write is correct and clear, your letter will be delivered whether it is to the next street or a distant city. Remembering the Lord (Smarana) is the stamp. Recapitulating His Glory in your heart (Manana) is the Address. Select any Name that appeals to you for Smarana and Manana. Be careful not to talk ill of other Names and Forms. Conduct yourself like the woman in a joint family. She respects all elders in the family (father in law or brother in law), but her heart is dedicated to her husband, whom she loves and reveres in a special manner. Never carp at others’ faith, it reveals that your devotion is fake. If you are sincere, you will appreciate the sincerity of others.

Sathya Sai Baba

– Divine Discourse, Aug 15, 1964.

“பூந்தி லட்டுக்கு மார்க் 50” !!!…மார்க் போட்டது மகாபெரியவர் !!!

மூலம் : மஹா பெரியவாள் தரிசன அனுபவங்கள் – ஐந்தாம் பாகம்
நினைவு கூர்ந்தவர் : எஸ். சீதாராமன், சென்னை – 28.

நூற்றுக்கணக்கான சுவாஸினிகளுக்கு (சுமங்கலிகளுக்கு) உயர்ந்த முறையில் விருந்தளிக்க வேண்டும் என்று விருப்பம். பெரியவாளிடம் அனுமதி பெற்று, பல பேர்களிடம் நன்கொடை வசூல் செய்து, விருந்து நிகழ்ச்சிக்கு ஏற்பாடு செய்தார்கள் சில மாதர்கள்.

மடிசார் கட்டிய நூற்றுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட சுமங்கலிகளைப் பார்ப்பதே, கண்கொள்ளாக் காட்சியாக இருந்தது. அத்தனை பேர்களும் அம்பிகையின் திருவுருவங்கள் என்று பாவம். சுவாஸிந்யர்ச்சனப்ரீதாயை நம: – என்கிறது லலிதா ஸஹஸ்ரநாமம்.

இலையில், என்ன இனிப்புப் பரிமாறுவது என்று சர்ச்சை. பூந்தி லட்டுக்கு அதிக ஆதரவு கிடைத்தது.

சுமங்கலிகள் உணவருந்திக் கொண்டிருக்கும் காட்சியைக் காண வந்தார்கள் பெரியவாள்.

ஒரு பூந்திலட்டைக் கையில் எடுத்தார்கள். “இதற்கு நான் ஐம்பது மார்க்தான் போடுவேன்” என்றார்கள்.

நிகழ்ச்சியை முன்னின்று நடத்திய (என் தாயார் உட்பட) அத்தனைப் பெண்மணிகளுக்கும் , பெரியவாளின் ரிமார்க் பேரதிர்ச்சியாக இருந்தது. எவ்வளவு சிரத்தையுடன் ஒவ்வொரு காரியத்தையும் செய்திருக்கிறார்கள்? பெரியவாளே குறை காணும்படியாக என்ன தவறு நேர்ந்திருக்கிறது? – என்று கலக்கம் அடைந்தார்கள். ‘இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் பெரிய சைஸில் போட்டிருக்கலாமோ? என்று ஒரு சந்தேகம்.

பெரியவாள், அவர்களை வெகுநேரம் தவிக்கவிடவில்லை. உடனேயே, “ஏனென்றால், லட்டுவிலுள்ள மணிகளெல்லாம் உருண்டையாக இருக்கணும்; தட்டை தட்டையாக இருக்கக் கூடாது. இந்த லட்டுக்களில், உருண்டை மணி பாதி அளவு; தட்டை மணி பாதி அளவு. அதனால், பாதி மார்க்!” என்றாரே பார்க்கலாம்.
கொள்ளைச் சிரிப்பு!

பெரியவாளுக்குச் சிந்திக்க வைக்கவும் தெரியும்; சிரிக்க வைக்கவும் தெரியும்! இதற்கு ஐம்பது சதவீதம் – அதற்கு ஐம்பது சதவீதம் மார்க் போடலாம்.
இல்லை, இல்லை, இரண்டுக்குமே சதம் – சமம் தான்!

ஜெய ஜெய சங்கர! ஹர ஹர சங்கர!!

source:::periva.proboards.com

Natarajan

Read more: http://periva.proboards.com/thread/4443/periyavaas-sense-humour#ixzz2UlyeWxV1

Message For The Day….Love Is God..Truth Is God…Love is Truth ..Truth is Love !!!

If you want to attain God, cultivate love. If you promote love and look upon all with love, hatred will never be your lot. That is the one important lesson I teach always. I do not ask that you should become a scholar or a recluse or an ascetic skilled in recitation of holy Names and Meditation (Japa and Dhyana). God only examines, “Is your heart full of love?” Firmly believe that Love is God, Truth is God. Love is Truth, Truth is Love. For it is only when you love that you have no fear. Fear is the mother of falsehood. If you have no fear, you will adhere to truth. The mirror of love reflects the Divine Self within you and reveals to you that the Divine Self within you is Universal and is immanent in every being.
– Divine Discourse, Jul 25, 1958

 

Sathya Sai Baba

A Look At the Rare Planetary Alignment …. Showing Venus, Jupiter and Mercury !!!!

Teale Britstra snapped a brilliant photo of the planetary alignment from Australia.

Flickr user Teale Britstra told us about how he captured this shot from his location in suburban Brisbane, Australia:

“I was lucky to capture the conjunction yesterday, because I’ve had cloud on my western horizon for the last few days. Luckily, they cleared at the last minute, so I found a position in my front yard where I could see all three planets. That was harder than it sounds, because of all the surrounding trees, though I found a spot wedged between fence and a tree that worked.

From here in the southern hemisphere, the planets appear a little north of west just after sunset, though for my northern counterparts it will be a little south of west.

I think these conjunctions are great to watch over the course of a few nights, as they really give people an idea of the relative motions of the planets in 3-D space — a lesson in Solar System dynamics using nothing but the naked eye.”

Photo credit: Teale Britstra

Jupiter Venus Mercury triple conjunction

 

For the past couple of days, Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury have been putting on a rare show in the western sky.

 

The three planets are in the middle of what is known as a planetary conjunction, when they appear unusually close together. The three planets won’t do this again until 2021.

The event peaked for viewers in the western hemisphere on Sunday, May 26. But the three planets will still be quite noticeable for the next week or so, even as they move away from each other.

We’ve collected several photos of the planetary conjunction taken from various locations around the world.  The above one is a photograph from Brisbane, Auatralia..

source::::businessinsider.com

Natarajan
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-from-triple-conjunction-of-venus-jupiter-and-mercury-2013-5?op=1#ixzz2UhIkJLo4

Watch Warren Buffett “s Interview in 1962 !!!!

Warren Buffett will tell you that his investment career began in the 1940s when he bought shares in a company as an 11-year.
However, there isn’t much footage of the Oracle of Omaha available before the 1980s.
Reformed Broker Josh Brown points us to this rare 1962 interview with Buffett on ValueWalk.com.
In this brief clip, Buffett discusses the predictive power of the stock market.
“The stock market has been a good forecaster from time to time in the past,” he said. It also has been a rather poor forecaster occasionally.”
He addressed an ongoing sell-off in the stock market.
“For example, the last four or five years, the stock market has been booming along presumably forecasting better business which has really not materialized,” he said. “So maybe the stock market is correcting a previously incorrect forecast this time.”
Watch the whole clip here:

 

 

source::::businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Best Quotes Of Warren Buffett On Investment Strategy !!!!

Warren Buffett has just joined Twitter. 

Hopefully this means we’ll hear from the Oracle of Omaha on a more regular and informal basis.

Buffett has established himself as the most successful investor in history.

And he has never kept his investing methods secret.

In fact, when he shares his tips, he often does so in an approachable and entertaining manner.

So, as we get ready for this week’s annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, we reflect on some of Buffett’s best investing quips.

We compiled a few of Buffett’s best quotes from his TV appearances, newspaper op-eds, magazine interviews, and of course his annual letters, which are always-must reads.

Investing novices and experts alike can learn from the advice that the he has articulated through the years.

If we’ve missed any of your favorites, let us know in the comments.

 

Buying a stock is about more than just the price.

“It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 1989

You don’t have to be a genius to invest well.

“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ.”

Source: Warren Buffet Speaks, via msnbc.msn

But, master the basics.

“To invest successfully, you need not understand beta, efficient markets, modern portfolio theory, option pricing or emerging markets. You may, in fact, be better off knowing nothing of these. That, of course, is not the prevailing view at most business schools, whose finance curriculum tends to be dominated by such subjects. In our view, though, investment students need only two well-taught courses – How to Value a Business, and How to Think About Market Prices.”

Source: Chairman’s Letter, 1996

Don’t buy a stock just because everyone hates it.

“None of this means, however, that a business or stock is an intelligent purchase simply because it is unpopular; a contrarian approach is just as foolish as a follow-the-crowd strategy. What’s required is thinking rather than polling. Unfortunately, Bertrand Russell’s observation about life in general applies with unusual force in the financial world: “Most men would rather die than think. Many do.”

Source: Chairman’s Letter, 1990

Bad things aren’t obvious when times are good.

“After all, you only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2001

Always be liquid.

“I have pledged – to you, the rating agencies and myself – to always run Berkshire with more than ample cash. We never want to count on the kindness of strangers in order to meet tomorrow’s obligations. When forced to choose, I will not trade even a night’s sleep for the chance of extra profits.”

 Source: Letter to shareholders, 2008

The best time to buy a company is when it’s in trouble.

“The best thing that happens to us is when a great company gets into temporary trouble…We want to buy them when they’re on the operating table.”

Source: Businessweek, 1999

Stocks have always come out of crises.

Stocks have always come out of crises.

A soup kitchen in 1936

Wikimedia Commons

“Over the long term, the stock market news will be good. In the 20th century, the United States endured two world wars and other traumatic and expensive military conflicts; the Depression; a dozen or so recessions and financial panics; oil shocks; a flu epidemic; and the resignation of a disgraced president. Yet the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497.”

Source: The New York Times, October 16, 2008

Don’t be fooled by that Cinderella feeling you get from great returns

“The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money. After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities ¾ that is, continuing to speculate in companies that have gigantic valuations relative to the cash they are likely to generate in the future ¾ will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice. But they nevertheless hate to miss a single minute of what is one helluva party. Therefore, the giddy participants all plan to leave just seconds before midnight. There’s a problem, though: They are dancing in a room in which the clocks have no hands.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2000

Think long-term.

“Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a part interest in an easily-understandable business whose earnings are virtually certain to be materially higher five, ten and twenty years from now. Over time, you will find only a few companies that meet these standards – so when you see one that qualifies, you should buy a meaningful amount of stock. You must also resist the temptation to stray from your guidelines: If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes. Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio’s market value.”

Source: Chairman’s Letter, 1996

Forever is a good holding period.

“When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 1988

Buy businesses that can be run by idiots.

Buy businesses that can be run by idiots.

“I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.“

Source: Business Insider

Be greedy when others are fearful.

“Investors should remember that excitement and expenses are their enemies. And if they insist on trying to time their participation in equities, they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2004

You don’t have to move at every opportunity.

“The stock market is a no-called-strike game. You don’t have to swing at everything–you can wait for your pitch. The problem when you’re a money manager is that your fans keep yelling, ‘Swing, you bum!'”

Source: The Tao of Warren Buffett via Engineeringnews.com

Ignore politics and macroeconomics when picking stocks.

“We will continue to ignore political and economic forecasts, which are an expensive distraction for many investors and businessmen. Thirty years ago, no one could have foreseen the huge expansion of the Vietnam War, wage and price controls, two oil shocks, the resignation of a president, the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a one-day drop in the Dow of 508 points, or treasury bill yields fluctuating between 2.8% and 17.4%.

“But, surprise – none of these blockbuster events made the slightest dent in Ben Graham’s investment principles. Nor did they render unsound the negotiated purchases of fine businesses at sensible prices. Imagine the cost to us, then, if we had let a fear of unknowns cause us to defer or alter the deployment of capital. Indeed, we have usually made our best purchases when apprehensions about some macro event were at a peak. Fear is the foe of the faddist, but the friend of the fundamentalist.

Source: Chairman’s Letter, 1994

The more you trade, the more you underperform.

The more you trade, the more you underperform.

Public domain

“Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac’s talents didn’t extend to investing: He lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, “I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.” If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases.”

Source: Letters to shareholders, 2005

Price and value are not the same

“Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that ‘Price is what you pay; value is what you get.’ Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.”

Source: Letter to shareholders, 2008

There are no bonus points for complicated investments.

“Our investments continue to be few in number and simple in concept: The truly big investment idea can usually be explained in a short paragraph. We like a business with enduring competitive advantages that is run by able and owner-oriented people. When these attributes exist, and when we can make purchases at sensible prices, it is hard to go wrong (a challenge we periodically manage to overcome).

“Investors should remember that their scorecard is not computed using Olympic-diving methods: Degree-of-difficulty doesn’t count. If you are right about a business whole value is largely dependent on a single key factor that is both easy to understand and enduring, the payoff is the same as if you had correctly analyzed an investment alternative characterized by many constantly shifting and complex variables.”

Source: Chairman’s Letter, 1994

A good businessperson makes a good investor.

“I am a better investor because I am a businessman, and a better businessman because I am no investor.”

Source: Forbes.com – Thoughts On The Business Life

Higher taxes aren’t a dealbreaker.

“SUPPOSE that an investor you admire and trust comes to you with an investment idea. “This is a good one,” he says enthusiastically. “I’m in it, and I think you should be, too.”

Would your reply possibly be this? “Well, it all depends on what my tax rate will be on the gain you’re saying we’re going to make. If the taxes are too high, I would rather leave the money in my savings account, earning a quarter of 1 percent.” Only in Grover Norquist’s imagination does such a response exist.”

Source: New York Times

Companies that don’t change can be great investments.

“Our approach is very much profiting from lack of change rather than from change. With Wrigley chewing gum, it’s the lack of change that appeals to me. I don’t think it is going to be hurt by the Internet. That’s the kind of business I like.”

Source: Businessweek, 1999

This is the most important thing.

This is the most important thing.

Wikipeda

“Rule No. 1: never lose money; rule No. 2: don’t forget rule No. 1”

Source: The Tao of Warren Buffett

Time will tell.

“Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.”

Source: Letters to shareholders 1989

BONUS: On Wall Street advice

“Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls-Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.”

Source: The Tao of Warren Buffett….businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffetts-best-investing-quotes-2013-5?op=1#ixzz2Uh9wS79f