Golden Plover bird ..

(from the Internet..)

 

Golden Plover is a small bird famous for its migration. Every year it flies about 4,000 kilometers, over the ocean, from the US state of Alaska to the island of Hawaii and that's the shortest travel route for it. This flight covers some 88 hours in which the bird does not stop anywhere on the way. There is no island on route and this bird cannot swim, therefore, it is impossible for it to make a stopover to rest, eat or drink anywhere in the middle of the journey.

When scientists did researches about this bird, they found that the bird needed 88 grams of fat to complete this particular journey, while actually the bird posseses only about 70 grams of fat as its flight fuel. Now logically the bird should have died in the sea around 800 km before the destination due to shortage of fuel. But the bird safely reaches the destination each year! How does it do this? The answer is shocking.

V formation while flying

These birds actually fly in groups and astonishingly making a shape of English letter- V. They also keep changing their positions alternately, because of this, they face less air-pressure than by flying alone. Thus they successfully save about 23% of energy, which ultimately help them reach to the island of Hawaii with 6 - 7 grams of additional fat as their reserve fuel which they use in case of bad—weather condition when they may need to fly against the winds direction.

Now, tell me, how can you deny the power of God - the Supreme Creator? How can a bird know how much fat it needs to travel that long and then with planning it flies in the group – in V-shaped, which saves its energy? Who has given it the education of the shortest route of its destination? Who guides and navigates this tiny bird the way in the darkness of nights and unfavourable weather conditions? How dare does it travel so long and who does encourage it to do so?

Third apheresis ..

Yesterday I called up Dr Sitalakshmi at St. John's asking whether there was any need of platelets. She asked me to come by 11 am. From 11.40 am to 1.30 pm, I donated platelets. It was a great experience. 

I also got to talk with the PG doc Ashley for two hours on global history  Peter Diamandis,  Yuval Noah Harari  and so on. Also about human migration from Africa 66,000 years back till 25,000 years back to Cape Horn  South America.

Very friendly doctors and staff at the blood bank. Reached home by 2 pm.

Good experience..

George 

Living longer ..

 The other day I was going through the British Express newspaper (click here) and was intrigued to find an article on how to live longer.

Four principles are discussed there

• Use our legs more often - dont stop walking, aerobic exercises
  
• Reduce meat and include more veggies in our diet, Have lore fermented foods like idli, dosa, curd, cheese etc
• Forging healthy relationships with family members
• Have good sleep at night, take modest stress - exercising muscles, completing a task etc.

If one follows these four principles on legs, food, relationships and stress well, longevity is assured.

George..

Some words of wisdom from Budha

There are 6 puzzles which Buddha answered in his mystical way :

1) What is the SHARPEST thing in this world ?

His people replied simultaneously : The Sword.

Buddha answered :

The sharpest is the human tongue

because with the tongue, humans easily hurt the heart, hurt people's feelings, through slander etc ...

2)  What is the MOST distant from us in this world ?

Some replied : Space, the moon, the sun.

Buddha answered:

The most distant is the Past.

Whoever we are, however rich we may be, we can NOT go back in time.

Therefore we must make good use of today & the days that will come.

3) What is BIGGEST thing in this world ?

Someone replied :

Mountains, the Earth .. the Sun

Buddha answered :

The biggest thing in the world is Lust.

Many humans become wretched because they indulge their  lusts.

All means are justified in order to realise the lusts of this world.

Therefore be careful with lust !

4) What is the HARDEST (and has the MOST WEIGHT) in this world ?

Someone replied :

Steel, iron .. elephant

Buddha answered :

The hardest is ... a promise

It's easy to say it but extremely hard to do it.

5)  What is LIGHTEST thing in this world?

Someone replied :

Cotton, wind, dust, leaves

Buddha answered:

The lightest thing in the world is humility, hence it is easy to forget humility & to leave humility

Look at the many people who are chasing after wealth and position ..  they simply drop & leave humility.

6) What is CLOSEST to us in this world ?

Someone replied :

Our parents, friends & relatives

Buddha answered :

The closest to us is DEATH

because death is SURE and can happen any second.

Even non-Buddhists can  use this knowledge and wisdom

May all living beings be joyful,  peaceful & wise.

🙏🙏🙏 (from the Internet).

12 steps to a healthy life ..

All of us look forward to a healthy living.  We want to be doing things that keep us positive and motivated, energised and enthusiastic the whole day. What are the steps we should be doing to ensure that we we remain healthy and active not only during the day, but our whole life. Given that an average Malayali has a life span of 75 years and females 81 years, let us live the rest of our life healthily. .

Here are the 12 points that will help us lead a happy and active life.

1. Daily bowel movement - enough of movement during the day will ensure bowel movement
   
2. Clear skin - taking enough of water, eating less fatty food
   
3. Deep sleep - ensuring a minimum of 8-9 hours of sleep daily keeps our brains and body systems properly energised and oxidised for active living
   
4. Proper weight - ensuring proper weight, the last two digits of your height in cms, should be your ideal body weight in kgs.
   
5. No body pain - keeping all muscles and joints properly exercised with no secretions or deposits in the body
   
6. 
   Feeling energised through the day - exercise, walking, enough food, water etc.
   
7. Feeling of strong hunger - allow complete digestion of food of earlier meals before taking next food. Feel hunger and then eat.
   
8. Experiencing positive thoughts - watch and read less of negative news, stories
   
9. Hydrating the body properly - taking enough of water ensures the muscles are not stressed and blood remains clean
   
10. Having enough vegetables/ fruits - for proper bowel movement ensure enough fruits and fibres in your daily food intake
    
11. Engaging in long walks - walks help in rejuvenating the mind and the body, ensuring all muscles in the body get proper exercise, prevent over straining
    
12. Stretching the body daily through exercises - the muscles of the body require stretches otherwise they become weak by inaction. Stretching exercises ensures proper blood flow.

When you do these things you get physically, mentally and spiritually active.

Wishing everybody a great active life.

George..

Voyager 1 and 2 ..

Voyager 1 and 2, 14 billion and 11.8 billion miles reply from earth in interstellar space, farthest man made objects in space ..

Mangalore visit during the passion weekend '21 ..

The Covid season has brought great discomfort and unease in going to churches. The fact that Gods could do nothing regarding the Covid virus, with religious leaders queueing up for the vaccine, was a depressing sight. We only have Science to depend on for emergencies and exigencies. 

The 1917-20 Spanish Flu virus saw the death of 70 million people globally when the global population was just 1500 million. In 2020, with the global population at 8000 million, the deaths due to Covid 19 virus has been barely 2.85 million.. 

Religions and religious leaders are out there to grab your time, attention and money for their personal needs and exploitation. I am sure educated people will have a relook at the practice. 

Booked the night train ticket to Mangalore. We reached Mangalore at 7 am on Saturday April 3. After a small breakfast at a neat veg hotel near to Milagres church, we went to Milagres church. Took excellent pictures of the church exterior and interior (built in 1630 AD. Went to Udupi and logged into the Treebo hotel room. 

After a quick bath, we were out to the Kaup beach by 1 PM. Stayed there till 4 PM. Was cool. Lot of rocks at the beach reminded me of the Anjuna beach at Goa. Could not enter the dangerous waters, the warnings were helpful.

After returning to our hotel room, by auto, we spent the evening time going around the famous Sri Krishna temple in Udupi.  I have heard of many of my friends visiting Udupi just to visit the Sri Krishna temple which is very famous. Saw the big rath (cart) used during the annual procession. Spent some time there before returning to the hotel after dinner. Had a good night sleep.

The next morning saw us proceeding to St, Marys island near the Malpe beach. The basaltic rock formed island of 70 million years age has its geological cousin rocks in the Madagascar islands near Africa. That shows the two continents were together and started drifting away 70 million years back.  

After a one hour stay we were back on Malpe beach till 4 PM and after Chinnu spent some time in the waters, we returned to our room at 5 PM. Had a brief coffee and rest, we were on board the Mangalore bus at 6 PM and the Bangalore train by 8.15 PM. after a good night sleep on the train, we were back at home in Bangalore by 7.30 AM and me back in college aby 9 am.

George.

My Covishield vaccine experience ..

 Even though my time for the first Covid vaccine (Covaxin) was fixed on March 30, 2021 afternoon, when I went to Accura Hospital, Koramangala, Bangalore for the vaccine jab, I had to wait till 4 pm and was told that due to lack of other vaccine recipients, my vaccination was being shifted to Wednesday. Paid Rs 250/- as Accura is a private hospital. A bottle of 10 mg can be used on max 20 patients @ 0.5 mg for each person, there were just five people wanting the vaccine at 4Pm on March 30.

I fixed the next visit on Good Friday, April 2, 2021. Accordingly at 9 AM, I was at the hospital on 2nd April, they asked me to return by 10.30 AM, as the number of patients were less. 

One thing I have observed in my interactions with the public, is a good awareness of the lack of complete tests on effectiveness by the vaccine companies. The public therefore does not want to take a chance on this vaccine and desires to go slow regarding the imminisation vaccination procedure. 

Even at 10.30 AM, I waited till 11.30 AM, when some more patients came up. I was the third in the list. Took the Covishield (from Oxford Uty-Astra Zeneca) jab at 11.40 AM and waited in the hospital till 12.15 pm. Since there were no reactions observed, I informed the sister on duty and left the place.  

After reaching home, I started reading the book by Peter Diamndis, The future is faster than you think. Interesting. The Covishield vaccine looks to be really matching to my body systems. That led me to take family, Anila and Chinnu to Mangalore and Udupi for a small weekend break. 

Today it is the fifth day after taking the injecton. So far, so good. I am feeling perfectly fine and energetic. Maybe I also do frequent blood donation, the last was given by end Feb '21. Maybe, the blood is very pure and has no component to cause any adverse reaction. Waiting for another week more before taking Anila also for the injection at Accura.

I am planning to wait for another 8 weeks before taking the second followup jab, even though Accura doctors asked me to return by 4 weeks, ie. end of April. I have been reading that longer the gap, upto 8weeks, more immunity one gets against the virus. Let us wait and see..

George..

An interesting strategy building session at AU ..

It was interesting to have an interesting 4 hour interaction of Area Chairs with Prof. Dr. B V Krishnamurthy, the Advisor to the Pro Chancellor of Alliance University in Bangalore on the first of April 2021. 

 

We are taking up the step after a Bench marking session, an Operations Strategy exercise where our University was bench marked to some of the world's best and we fixed the targets to reach these standards in the next five to ten years. It was great to see an Operations strategy exercise to compare our Institution with the best in the country being deployed in our University. (Click here for the HBR paper How to measure yourself against the best, Tucker et al, Jan '87 that mentions Xerox's experience initially with Bench marking and how it grew to be global in quality eventually)

We brainstormed over 4 hours on Thursday from 10.30 AM to 4.30 PM to find how to proceed to beat the competition and remain among the top in the NIRF survey where we were ranked among the only three schools in the top Bschools from Karnataka along with IIM Bangalore and TAPMI, Manipal. Other business schools were far behind and we hope in the near future they will offer us credible challenge and competition to the top position. 

Some of the interesting points that came up for discussion with the Area Chairs is mentioned here with illustrations. 

Mentorship : 

Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and professional growth of a mentee. Wikipedia 

The purpose of mentoring is to tap into the existing knowledge, skills, and experience of senior or high performing employees and transfer these skills to newer or less experienced employees in order to advance their careers. - www.togetherplatform.com 

One of the most important points was to start mentorship with a different meaning and scope, this time instead of the faculty deciding the mentees, the mentees will decide which faculty member will be their mentees for the next one or two years, till the student passes out of the University. This is a real challenge to the faculty as they will be put to test in the eyes of the students. Students would naturally like to align with those faculty whom they feel will help them with good quality industry knowledge enabling them to perform and shine in the truly competitive business world. (click here for an interesting HBR article on mentorship in August '20 by Landry and Lewiss)

Detention of the bottom 5% : As is being done usually in some of the top ranked Bschools of the world, to bring competition and excellence inside the classroom, the bottom 5% is detained or asked to repeat the course. For Institutions with high academic performance and global rankings, industry work experience requirements and high GMAT entry scores are a must. One of the AU  faculty member's son happens to be studying in IESE Barcelona where the last 5% of the class is asked to repeat the course. In the said Institute for a course on Economics while the boy scored 90%, the class average was 92% and the 5 percentile score was 76%. The students at the bottom 5% percentile were asked to reappear in the subjects in the following semester. ie. 95 percentage of students in the class scored above 76%. The class average of 92% was indicative of the high academic standards in IESE Business school, Barcelona, the Economist global #1 ranked Bschool of 2021 .. Can we employ similar standards in ASB ?

Some of the other interesting points that were discussed included 

1. Taking concrete steps to improve peer learning 

2. Incorporating SWAYAM MOOCS from Govt of India to help improve the quality of instruction delivery.

3. Proposal for faculty to prepare a detailed subject outline for any subject which was currently being taught and to follow it up for all subjects in future

4. Taking steps to improving the strike rate of student placement from the 5-7 lakh band presently to 7-11 lakh band 

As per Prof. Krishnamurthy, when the 

• faculty demonstrates real passion for teaching and 
• students know that the faculty member really cares in their individual growth and continuous excellence, 

it results in the success of the student and faculty relationship.

We hope to discuss some more exciting practical points in the coming days.

George

MOXIE on NASA Perseverance

Congratulations to Dr John Solomon for being awarded by NASA for his outstanding support on the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, better known as MOXIE.

 NASA is preparing for human exploration of Mars, and MOXIE will demonstrate a way that future explorers might produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for propellant and for breathing. Dr John Solomon is an alumnus of CET, 1998, Industrial Engineering batch.

Keep your legs strong .. exercise life long ..

KEEP YOUR LEGS STRONG regular exercise like walking - A MUST READ ARTICLE - from the Internet ..

▪️When we are old, our feet must always remain strong.

 

▪️When we gain ageing / grow aged, we should not be afraid of our hair turning grey (or) skin sagging (or) wrinkles.

 

▪️Among the signs of longevity, as summarized by the US Magazine "Prevention", strong leg muscles are listed on the top, as the most important and essential one.

 

▪️ If you do not move your legs for two weeks, your leg strength will decrease by 10 years.

 

▪️A study from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found that both old and young, during the two weeks of inactivity, the legs muscle strength can weakened by a third which is equivalent to 20-30 years of ageing.

 

▪️As our leg muscles weaken, it will take a long time to recover, even if we do rehabilitation and exercises, later.

 

▪️Therefore, *regular exercise like walking, is very important*.

 

▪️The whole body weight/load remains and rest on the legs.

 

▪️The foot is a kind of *pillars*, bearing the weight of the human body.

 

▪️Interestingly, 50% of a person's bones and 50% of the muscles, are in the two legs.

 

▪️The largest and strongest joints and bones of the human body are also in the legs.

 

▪️"Strong bones, strong muscles, and flexible joints form the "Iron Triangle" that carries the most important load on the human body."

 

▪️70% of human activity and burning of energy in one's life is done by the two feet.

 

▪️Do you know this? When a person is young, his thighs have enough strengths, to lift a small car!

 

▪️The foot is the center of body locomotion

 

▪️Both the legs together have 50% of the nerves of the human body, 50% of the blood vessels and 50% of the blood flowing through them.

 

▪️It is the large circulatory network that connects the body.

 

▪️Only when the feet are healthy then the convention current of blood flows, smoothly, so people who have strong leg muscles will definitely have a strong heart.

 

▪️Aging starts from the feet upwards.

 

▪️As a person gets older, the accuracy and speed of transmission of instructions between the brain and the legs decreases, unlike when a person is young.

 

▪️In addition, the so-called Bone Fertilizer Calcium will sooner or later be lost with the passage of time, making the elderly more prone to bone fractures.

 

▪️Bone fractures in the elderly can easily trigger a series of complications, especially fatal diseases such as brain thrombosis.

 

▪️Exercising the legs, is never too late, even after the age of 60 years.

 

▪️Although our feet/legs will gradually age with time, exercising our feet/legs is a life-long task. 

 

▪️Only by strengthening the legs, one can prevent further aging.

 

▪️Please walk for at least 30-40 minutes daily to ensure that your legs receive sufficient exercise and to ensure that your leg muscles remain healthy.