Online Business - Why I shun Ebay?

Like everyone else I was thinking of using EBay for a little business. In all, my sales must have been less than $2000.

I got a jolt some time back from EBay. At a time when I was almost inactive on EBay, I got an email from them that my EBay seller experience has been poor and so I was being suspended.

I was obviously surprised and pointed out that I am no more active on EBay and that my feedback score is in tact. I really could not understand what they were talking about. I got a reply from EBay that my account will not now be suspended but will remain under observation. After about a month I got another email from EBay like the earlier one.

I again responded and again received the same reply. This time I was not only not selling anything on EBay, I was not even logging on to my account. Then it happened one more time.

Each time I tried to reason out with EBay customer service, I was surprised to receive the same reply. I got fed up and stopped thinking of EBay altogether. I don’t even log into my account now, not to mention of doing any transactions.

I believe that they have stereotyped replies and hardly bother to address real issues.

What are the lessons? Don’t rely too much on EBay. They may shut down your account at any time without any reason. I know now that this has happened with many others and they also left EBay. EBay will not only not listen but make one more frustrated by raking in irrelevant issues.

If one is serious about online business, one should always have options and not to depend heavily on EBay. This should be used as an aid rather than as the main platform for doing business.

The best place to do business is from one’s own web site. It is dirt cheap now to set up a web site and to display one’s products. The only thing one has to do is to drive traffic to the same. This may not be that difficult if one follows right strategies.

Another important measure to consider is to also try other online sites. There are so many now like Amazon, Yahoo Auction, OnlineAuction, overstock, Ubid, BySellTrade, Eepier etc.

Online business is now expanding. One should never put all eggs in one basket. My best advice will be to use EBay as one of the promotional tools rather than the main platform for doing business, lest one is frustrated at some point of time because of the weird EBay customer service.

Global Warming And Arctic Sea

One of the major effects of global warming is the melting of ice in the arctic region. This has resulted in the opening of a navigable route between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), melting of sea ice in the Arctic region has led to the opening of a new route linking Europe with Asia, hitherto seen impossible. According to scientists, all ice in Arctic may melt as early as 2040.

Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic is considered to be a possible cheaper route as compared to the Panama Canal. This may also lead to the blocked Northwest Passage through the Russian Arctic.

The above suggests that climatic change is affecting international routes favorably. Melting of ice in the Arctic may not only lead to finding of more routes, but also more oil and gas. Whole of Arctic region is considered to be resource rich with immeasurable quantities of oil and gas which Scandinavian countries, Canada, Russia and USA would like to control and exploit.

Because of richness of natural resources many countries like Canada and Russia are likely to make increased claims on the Arctic region. Other countries involved are US, Norway and Denmark. Russia alone is claiming 45% of the Arctic. Canada is in the process establishing a Canadian force as part of Canada First Defense Strategy to patrol Arctic.

At present Arctic region represents a no man’s land. Increased claims by various countries on this will have to be based on geographic connectivity and proximity. These claims will eventually have to be settled by an international agency.

While global warming is considered to be generally harmful, in some cases it also has beneficial effects like the above. However, in the longer run, it is feared that increased sea traffic and exploitation of natural resources may result in oil spills and destruction of regional wildlife.

Thought Of The Day - Move On

Do not look back, my friend.

No one knows how the world ever began.

Do not fear the future. Nothing lasts for ever.

If you dwell on the past or the future, you will miss the moment.


Rumi

I Am Back

After availing holidays for more than a month, I am back on the table. During this period, I could not write any new posts. I had hoped to write something while still on vacations, but that could not be possible. Though I had some free time sometimes, I felt lazy and did not want to write. But now I am back and will continue new posts.

Vacations are always rejuvenating. It was a carefree month for me and I liked to be lazy, eating, relaxing and gossiping around.

It is always difficult to start right away after returning from holidays. Though it is a few days that I returned, I am still feeling sleepy and slow.

I feel that everyone should take vacations of about a month at least once a year. Life is too short and we need lighter moments of life. One should travel, see new places, meet new people and see how the world is changing.

Of course, it is not easy to travel abroad these days given too many security restrictions. International travel has become difficult and sometimes unpleasant. If one can withstand the pressures of international travel of these times, it is definitely rewarding.

Prospects Of A World Government

World is beset with so many problems. Political and geographical problems are two most important of them. Can the presence of a world government be the answer to the solution of all the ills afflicting this world?

United Nations Organization is not a world government but it has many functions that a government does. It could very well be a substitute for a world government, but it has failed in so many respects.

Given the myriad of differences amongst the countries, it is simple naive to think that we can have one world government. At best it will be prudent to strengthen the United Nations itself rather than to create any new world body.

World is too diverse for a world government. That is the ideal that any one will cherish. A world government based on the principles of freedom, democracy, non-discrimination, economic well being of all etc. can just be a dream.

There is no such thing as one world government prophecy. That may a doomsday come true. Only a prophet like a Jesus can usher in such a body.

We know how United Nations has failed in so many respects. It is merely a discussion platform. In fact even that is an achievement. Governments do have a place where they can share their views and hold discussions. Though it has not been able to eliminate war and misery, it has succeeded in so many other respects.

If at all there is any effort being made towards a world government, it should start with strengthening the United Nations. Only that has the prospects of becoming a world government, if at all possible.

We have to recognize the differences across the globe in terms of endowment of resources, cultural traits, politics, levels of development, economic systems, technological developments, skills etc. These play an important part in any world body.

Given the looming conditions of energy crisis, global warming, global trading, migration etc., it is quite essential that world societies work together. The presence of a strong global entity is necessary for taking measures towards the solution of these issues.

International countries may not support or strength a world body of their own will, but many issues that may unfold in future may force them towards increased international cooperation and a stronger body than the United nations.

Are Governments Mediocre?

The primary duties of any government are the protection of lives, properties, preservation of basic human rights, freedom from fear, poverty, non discrimination etc. People always have great expectations from their governments.

How far are governments living up to the standards and aspirations of people? Of course, no government can satisfy all its citizens. However, each government need to be judged by its performance against its primary duties.

If we look around the world, we can see that almost in all countries there are some shortcomings. Many a times the lives and properties get destroyed at the hands of underworld dons and mafia. In numerous cases, governments have been spectators and have been unable to protect their citizens.

The situation in poor and less developed countries is rather grim. Whenever, hoodlums want to strike, they seem to do it with impunity. People do not have full faith in government capabilities and many times have been let down.

In worst cases, governments themselves are repressive. They are not only incompetent but also often side with criminals.

Take the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq, the two black spots on the surface of this earth. Despite a large international military presence and support, ruling governments have shown their mediocrity time and again.

Are these governments in control? There is no safety for populace there at large. Despite all the force in their command, they are not able to rein the wicked. Hoodlums seem to be operating freely.

A handful of anti social elements are kidnapping large number of innocent persons and governments are unable to nab them despite the backing of world armies and all kinds of amazing technology.

In many cases around the world, governments themselves are hand in glow with undesirable persons. Although eventually they get caught and punished, this does not deter more thugs to replace them.

The struggle between ruffians, governments and innocent people has been going on for ages and this trend is likely to continue. We see that even in major cities in advanced countries like New York or Toronto, underworld gangs strike whenever they want to and it is hard for governments to control or catch them.

The best thing that general people can do is to remain themselves vigilant and not to look all the time at their governments to come forward and get them out of their miseries. After all no government has a magical wand to come to the rescue of everyone all the time.

Caribana Festival - Toronto Caribbean Carnival

This festival of music, dance, food and costumes of Jamaica, Guyana, the Bahamas, Brazil and other cultures of Toronto, was created in 1967, as a tribute to Canada's Centennial Year. It is marking its 40th anniversary in 2007.

The festival has its origin in Trinidad and Tobago carnival. Toronto festival is now an international event showcasing numerous activities like Jamaican reggae, Brazilian Samba and African djemba rhythm.

Caribana or Toronto Caribbean Carnival is North America's largest street festival. This is celebrated every year in Toronto during July and August. Carnival Parade is the major highlight of this festival, comprising of thousands of amazing costumed masqueraders and scores of trucks carrying live soca, calypso, steel pan, reggae and salsa artists.

More than a million people from all over North America attend this festival, marked with month long celebrations. The festival features different cultures of all the Caribbean people, hence the name Caribana.

In addition, one also gets a taste of Caribbean and international cuisine, dramas, story telling, Caribbean art and the best and biggest cemadia calypsonians battle for the crown. This takes place between all kings and queens of bands the night before the caribana Parade Day.

This Parade is the major element of the whole festival which takes place along the 3.6 kilometer route on Lakeshore west Boulevard, featuring stunning display of colors and pageantry in the first week of August. 2007 Caribana Parade is being held on Saturday, August 4.

The festival is very important for the economy of Toronto as well, bringing in more than $100 million in revenue every year.

Whole city of Toronto is jam packed with foreign visitors and dignitaries from all over North America and Caribbean.

It is not only a matter of pleasure bur also that of honor to be a part of this spectacular event at least once in the lifetime of a person.

Malthusian Theory Revisited- Do We See It?

Thomas Malthus or Robert Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), was an English demographer and political economist. He is popular for his views on population growth in his "an essay on the principle of population". His theory of population growth has been very controversial since its publication.

Essentially what Malthus prophesied was that while as population was going to grow geometrically, food supply was to increase mathematically. What this means is that population growth was to outstrip food supply.

With more population than food, natural forces were bound to keep population in check by a war of extermination, diseases, epidemics, pesticides, plagues and famines. He opined that as population outstrips supply of food, the above factors would come into play and eliminate surplus population.

His predictions largely became false as increased agricultural productivity led to unprecedented growth in food production and abundant supplies. Diseases and plagues have taken a heavy toll of human lives throughout history, but they cannot be attributed to the same causes as Malthus foresaw.

Post 1950 period witnessed green revolution and phenomenal increase in agricultural production. It was only a question of disbursal from pockets or countries of plenty to those of paucity.

Malthusian theory has largely been irrelevant and his predictions did not come true the way he had opined. There have been periods of diseases and natural disasters, but food supply has been plenty in most parts of the world.

There are still critics who think that Malthus predictions are bound to come true at some stage, One opinion is that food supply will take a toll of humanity following 2020, accelerating after 2050.

One important view of Thomas Malthus was that his theory was directly associated with poor people. If we have a look on poor countries of the world, Malthusian theory seems to be quite relevant.

Everyday we see images of starved and impoverished people in African and Asian countries, most populated continents. Constant wars, diseases, floods and famines in Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan and other Asian countries have been eliminating hundreds of thousands of people everyday. I wonder if it is not the Malthusian principle of population that is working behind the scenes.

We can see that there is less accommodation, less food and shortage of medical facilities because of excessive population. There is insufficient infrastructure sustaining large populations of these countries.

Everyday wars in Middle East and Asia, attributed to terrorism and other political factors may be the result of shortages of food and other essentials of life. These might continue till there is a perceptible decrease in populations of those countries and this may take a long time.

There has been constant pressure on land resources in African and Asian countries and this is expected to only accelerate. The net result may be more conflicts, diseases, famines and plagues. Malthus theory seems to be already working in those countries.

Another dimension of Malthusian theory can be seen in increased global warming. This phenomena is a result of increased population, deforestation, increased carbon dioxide, industrialization, international transport, modernization etc.

Experts are already predicting dire consequences of global warming, if unchecked. We are seeing changes in climates, floods, shortages of water etc. This may also lead to a decrease in agricultural and food production on a large scale in the decades to come.

Malthus theory might materialize in a different way in the decades to come. Policy makers in rich and poor countries need to take all the factors into consideration and deal with looming Malthusian predictions. On their part, people especially in poor countries will also have to work for their future as their governments may not be able to sustain them adequately.

Jobs, Internet And Outsourcing - Trend Is Only Up

One of the major offshoots of Internet has been outsourcing withing a country or to overseas. This is mostly practiced by multinational companies as a way of reducing costs and maximizing revenue. Major beneficiaries of outsourcing are less developed countries like India and China.

Essentially a company can have virtual staff anywhere all over the world. Even small companies have now started reaping the benefits of outsourcing. They have been hiring human resources, accounting or IT staff from outside. With outsourcing, these are now able to do without big establishments, local staff, infrastructure, office furniture, buildings, facilities etc.

Outsourcing appears to have started with call center outsourcing to countries like India. Now companies outsource anything. Usual projects of outsourcing besides call center outsourcing are business process outsourcing, IT outsourcing, payroll outsourcing, HR outsourcing, software outsourcing etc.

Companies hire virtual staff by global outsourcing and assign jobs worldwide. So far, they appear to have been quite satisfied with this trend. They are reported to be getting excellent worldwide staff, better service, timely completion of projects, reliable sources of getting work done and above all huge savings in costs.

In addition to selecting virtual staff on an ongoing basis, there are numerous websites which accept projects from companies and their members bid for them and then the persons being awarded the projects complete them. In this case, hiring of workers is strictly on project to project basis and the recruiting websites do the intermediary role.

There have been instances when some companies have been started from one's home with virtual staff all over a country. Though outsourcing started as offshore outsourcing, now any work being done outside the premises of a company can be termed as outsourcing. So outsourcing can be within the same country or offshore.

There has been a lot of criticism in developed countries against overseas outsourcing as it has been alleged that jobs are being diverted to other countries at the cost of local workers and wages.

Outsourcing basically saves a company big bucks. A job which an Indian worker can happily do in $100-$200, the same will cost many times more in developed countries. Therefore, it makes sense for big companies to get thousands of work done from outside.

Despite adverse reaction from job seekers in developed nations, outsourcing is getting additional attention. More and more companies are looking to the outside to get their works done. Networking, Internet and more efficient means of transportation have made it easy for companies to outsource their projects.

Quite a large number of workers are glued to numerous websites for independent work. There are thousands of works online which are available to professionals to choose from all over the world.

Outsourcing has two elements. One, it is easy for outsourcing companies to get their jobs done all around the world. Second, outsourcing facilitates individual workers to get freelancing work in their fields of expertise.

As Internet progresses and there are more advancements in technology, outsourcing will only go further.

Link for freelance jobs

Secrets Of Logevity - Living A Fuller Life

Every one would like to live a longer and fulfilling life. Everybody also knows how hard it is. A human being is full of sentiments, feelings, desires, different stages of life and social interaction.

All of the above affect health of a person differently. Pain, sorrow and happiness are part and parcel of human beings. Given all these things how can one stay fit and live a longer life?

A good portion of staying healthy relates to the way one feels towards life and how sensitive one is towards different aspects of life. Family relations, money problems, social tensions etc. can take a heavy toll of one's health.

With constant grief, sorrow and troubles over the life span of a person, one definitely becomes week in heart and body. One cannot live a healthier and fuller life. These are surely going to shorten the life span of a person.

In our society, emphasis is being laid on diet and exercise. Of course these cannot be undermined, but a greater part is also played by one's feelings and thoughts.

A person passes through various stages of depression, happiness, setbacks, personal troubles etc. One key factor for effective health lies in controlling these sentiments.

One can have a very good diet and exercise, but still remain unhealthy, sick and may live a short life, if one s not having good feelings. In order to have proper health and a long prosperous life, it is important that one controls one's sentiments and feelings.

The truth is that one can have no control over so many things like death of near and dear ones, social conflicts, crimes, diseases, wars etc. These are extraneous to a human being and these will have to happen.

I have seen many happy families in one moment and getting ruined in the very next. There are countless such situations which happen within no time and leave one shattered.

The best thing is to understand that one can have no control over a large number of things in one's life. To feel for them is but natural. If one realizes that there is nothing that one can do with those happenings, the pressure of pain will get reduced.

One should always try to control whatever is within one's control. These can be family issues, job related problems, relations with the society, personal behaviour and above all personal thoughts. One main factor of reducing tensions is to develop a habit of thinking positively.

One can experience a healthy and long life with right ideas, control over one's thoughts and sentiments and being more practical with life. Remember "nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so".

Of course diet and exercise are quite important. In the diet category, simple food like green vegetables, dairy products, fruit, fish etc. are more important. Walking briskly is one simple exercise which can keep one fit. One should take long and brisk walks everyday in order to stay healthy.

Passion - The Ultimate Factor Between Success or Failure

Passion is an emotional state of mind. It is natural and it exhorts a person to great and persistent action. In this one loves ones' work and is always preoccupied. Passion is a mystical and powerful force that brings one success and happiness.

Passion enables one to remain focused on what he is doing. One is clear about one's objectives and goals. It is to that direction that passion pushes him along. There is less wastage of time and resources and less aimlessness.

With passion one is clear about one's aims and aspirations. One gets inspired and energetic in doing things of one's choice. One feels fearless and devoted. Passion simplifies the complexities and hardships of one's work.

With passion no work is boring or uninspiring. One feels courageous and propelled to move forward. Passion makes the achievement of results very easy. It enables one to fulfill one's dreams.

Passion can be about anything. Whatever the field one chooses, one has to be passionate about the same. It could be to become a player, a professional, to cross the Atlantic, to make a discovery, about writing etc.

Can passion be used in negative sense also? Unfortunately some people have used passion for the promotion of particular ideologies, religion and terrorist activities. This way passion has been used negatively as well.

Can passion be acquired? It is possible to discover passion within oneself and be successful. The first step towards passion is to analyze one's likes and dislikes. One should consider one's interests and goals. Once one is clear about what one wants to do, it is easy to be passionate about the same.

One may drift apart at certain times. By taking a few precautions one can remain passionate. One should always keep one's objectives in view. One should take a break in between and refresh oneself. Once certain goals have been achieved, one should set new goals.

Great things of life have happened only because of passion. Scientists and other inventors discovered all the good things of life only when they were passionate. Let us cultivate and preserve passion.

Politics And Religion - Drawing Of A Boundary?

This debate has been going on for centuries. The thing is that it is difficult to compartmentalize a life. Every aspect of life is interconnected and one action has an affect upon the other.

With separation of the two, a person is supposed to play a dual role. I wonder if it is possible for him to keep them really separate without affecting each other. But there is no choice. They need to be kept apart because of so many valid reasons.

A religion should be a private affair. Every human being should have a choice to be free in his private life. Anybody can have any beliefs. So long as these are confined to him and are not detrimental to the society at large, there should be no interference in the private affairs of a human being.

In order to serve the tenets of individual freedom, polity should be bereft of religion. We are living in a pluralistic society where there are hundreds of different beliefs and religions. Even within the same religion, there are so many variations.

In fact, in the modern age there is no uniformity even within the same religion. There are too many conflicts and sentiments attached with beliefs and personal practices. Any state cannot control them.

Times keep on changing with the onset of new discoveries, needs and challenges. Any religion cannot take care of all the situations. Religion may even slow down reforms.

There are so many hardliners who would like to see their religion to dictate every aspect of life. They would drag religion into polity regardless of its suitability or its affect upon people of different faiths and religions.

History has shown that whenever religion and politics were mixed up, the results were disastrous.

I think world has recognized the harm that politics and religion can do if mixed together. That is why most of the countries in the world are secular. Wherever, we see the stamp of religion on politics there are conflicts and disturbances. Societies which take them separately are more prosperous, tolerant and peaceful.

Some religious fanatics are playing havoc with the world. They are trying to force other people to follow their thinking and path up to total destruction. There is no place for peaceful living in their lives and the principle of live and let live.

I don't think it is also in the scheme of God to force people to follow a certain mode of life. At best I believe God has given human beings a choice.

The basic thing is that whatever one's beliefs and preferences, they should contribute to the ultimate welfare of people and not to harm them.

Vacationing In India - Most Diverse Tourist Destination On Earth

I have traveled throughout the length and breadth of India. It is such a amazing country that you will find differences in cultures, peoples, topography, climate, living standards, historical interests etc. after every few hundred miles of travel.

India is one of the oldest civilizations with its history going as far back as c5000 B.C. It has seen huge ups and downs in its entire history with centuries of foreign rule.

It has been one of the most tolerant and absorbing society. The mark of different historical structures can be seen all over the country. Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of this historical country before 1947. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh together constitute Indian subcontinent.

Every travel lover should travel India at least once in his life time. There is something for everyone in this country. All of its major cities are fully accessible by air from any quarter of the world.

Places along the Himalayas are have a particular charm. Darjeeling, Dharamsala, Simla etc. fall in the cream of tourist attractions.

Kashmir in the north constituted the darling of tourists till 1990. However, unfortunately with the onset of violence by some mad people after 1990, this place lost a large number of tourists. From the top most place for tourists in India, it suddenly became a dream. The situation has improved a little and the tourists have started coming back.

For a foreign tourist, most of the places in India will offer something interesting. If one wants to see historical places, they are all over India. Most promising of them are Rajasthan, Uttar Paradeh, Delhi, central India etc. Taj Mahal is now one of the seven wonders. That is a living love story and a mark of lasting beauty and glory.

One can go to the south and see entirely different culture, nature and communities. It is a repository of some of the finest temples and architecture of the world.

One can see the elements of modernity and traditional society existing side by side. One can find primitive things and the most modern facilities around. One can also see poorest and rich people living side by side. There are high risers and low residences.

India travel can be extremely economical. One can live from a small budget to a luxury stay. Whatever, one wants to live with, one can find it.

There are a few pockets of north and north east India which one should avoid. Kashmir is now experiencing a lot of tourist traffic with control over violence. It is rightly termed as the Switzerland of Asia. While visiting India, a visit to Kashmir will be in order. There are so many flights every day from New Delhi to Srinagar.

A visit of India will surely be rewarding for anyone in the world.

What Is Harry Potter?

Harry Potter is a series of seven novels, popularly referred to as 7 Harry Potter. The seventh book in this series is "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" which got released on July 21, 2007.

The first novel of this seven series book, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, was issued in July 1997. It took 10 years to complete the whole series.

These seven books are essentially children's books and were authored by J.K.Rowling, a woman. This name was chosen so as to sound it muscular.

Harry Potter series books have become immensely popular since their release. The six books released before 21st July 2007, recorded sales of 325 million copies in more than 63 languages.

The seventh book was released on July 21,2007 in Britain and other cities. Eager readers had lined up in front of the book stores for hours together.

More than 12 million copies of "Deathly Hallows" have been published in US alone. All major cities in the world notably Sydney, Canberra, London, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv, Rome, New Delhi, Bangkok, Phnom Penh, New York, Mexico, Paris etc. were buzzing with excitement and passion about the release.

Popularity of Harry Potter series of novels has been unprecedented in the history of publication. It has earned record revenue for the author and the publisher.

Harry Potter is an adolescent boy in these books. The story is about his fight against the evil wizard namely Lord Voldemort who killed his parents in his plan to capture and rule the wizarding world.

The story underlying Harry Potter has been staged at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a school for young wizards and witches. Harry Potter is also a wizard in the novel.

The English author J.K.Rowling conceived the plot of these books during her rail journey from Manchester to London in 1990. Her real name is Joanne Rowling. In order to camouflage this name and to give it a male tinge, she adopted the name J.K.Rowling for greater acceptability among readers.

Harry Potter books are undoubtedly a classic series and these have earned worldwide acclaim and superb reviews.

Coping With Depression

Every one in this world experiences depression at some stage of life or the other. It is a mental condition and its causes can be identified in most of the cases.

The most important factors causing depression are unemployment, difficult life conditions, family feuds, breakdown of relations, social and political issues, communal tensions, health problems etc.

Depression is a national problem afflicting all societies. It is severe in poor countries. Depression is a drag on national resources and reduces the well being of many societies. It is a curse and the society should collectively fight it. Depressed persons deserve all the support.

Depression treatment should be easy if the causes behind depression are identified properly. If depression is money or job related, obviously an individual will find it difficult to cure depression. Since in this case the depression is a result of monetary problems, it will be difficult to overcome depression unless the basic problem is resolved.

Similar is the case with other types of depression. A situation of depression arises because an individual is unable to cope up with the problem. Therefore it is important that an affected person gets all the depression help from the society at large without any further financial implications.

It is necessary that cases of depression are identified quite early by conducting a proper depression test. This should be followed by depression medication.

All societies should strive to have physically and mentally healthy people. Depression conditions should be recognized at the national level and depression treatment provided right at the start of depression conditions.

At an individual level, one can take certain simple steps to cope up with depression. These could comprise of making changes to one's diet, taking exercises, discussing with family members and friends, participating in cultural activities, going on picnics, listening to music and indulging in other entertainment etc.

Many a times, depression is purely a mental state without any apparent causes. This can be temporary in nature and can easily be tackled by some simple steps.

Depression no doubt can take a heavy toll of a society's mental and physical well being. One should always be on the lookout to even small depression signs and take appropriate steps to overcome depression at quite an early stage.

More Women Than Men In Canada - 2006 Census

According to 2006 Census of Canada, the sex ratio has turned against men. 56 per cent of the population consists of women now.

This sex ratio varies across the country. Nova Scotia has the maximum number of women. As against 100 females, there are only 93 males. Alberta is the only province in Canada with more men than women under the age of 60 because of oil boom. For every 100 women, there are 100.2 men in this province as compared to 95.9 men for every 100 women at the national level. During 2001, there were 96.1 women for every 100 men.

The sex ratio is almost even only in Edmonton and Calgary.

There is a male shortage in the country. The male female ratio is mostly one to one in most of the country till the age of 25. It is only after that the ratio turns against women. Older women outnumber males. Toronto seems to be one of the few places where women exceed men in all age groups above 20.

The main factors for increased number of women population is the increase in life expectancy. Women live longer than men. As against an average life expectancy of 82.5 years for women, it is 77.7 years. As a result we also have more women centenarians than men.

Aging Population In Canada And Decreasing Labor Force

According to 2006 Census of Canada, Canadian population has been aging due to the nation's low fertility rate and increasing life expectancy. As a result, the number of seniors with ages more than 65 years increased from 13.0% in 2001 to 13.7% in 2006 or to more than 4 million. This is expected to increase further beyond 2011. The increase has been recorded all over the country. Now one person in every seven in Canada is a senior.

Not only that population of aged has increased considerably, people reaching the retirement age has also gone up to record levels. The number of workers in 55-64 year age group has substantially gone up.

Because of changing population structure, Canadian society and employers could face labor shortage. This is more so as the number of children aged 14 years and less is on the decrease.

Though Canada is the youngest country in the G8 group of industrialized countries, it is the oldest in Americas.

Along with the increase in the proportion of seniors, longevity for Canadian women has gone up to 82.5 years as against 77.7 years for men.

Immigrants are believed to have pushed up diversity and population growth. But since their average age on their arrival in Canada is 33 years, they also start aging along with the rest of the population. Their affect on minimizing the proportion of an aged population is minor.

Census 2006 has also revealed that the number of centenarians with ages more than 100 years increased markedly over 5 year period from 2001 to 2006. The number of people over 80 years of age has increased to 21 million. Eighty percent of centenarians are women.

Seven Deadly Sins

There is general agreement regarding 7 deadly sins. These are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. There are references to the above in holy scriptures like bible and in other literary works like Dante's Divine Comedy.

Lust is usually associated with sexual desires and addiction. Manifest forms of this are homosexuality, adultery, bestiality, rape and excessive sex.

As the name suggests, gluttony means overindulgence in food and drink. Some people relate it to excessiveness of everything.

Greed can take many forms like bribery, hoarding, usurping, theft, robbery etc. This can also manifest itself in treachery, betrayal, manipulation and violence. This refers to a desire of acquiring more and more wealth. It is largely related to material goods.

Sloth is synonymous with behaviors like laziness, sadness or depression and apathy. This condition also indicates absence and shortfall of love. In this state, a person is not using natural talents the way they should be used. With this, a person shirks work and transforms himself as a parasite.

Wrath implies anger or rage, impatience, hatred, violence, prejudice, discrimination and assault. In this state, a person is bent upon harming others. It may lead to assaults and murders.

Envy leads to jealousy and malice. In this, one cannot tolerate the happiness and well being of others. When others face some misfortune, envious people become happy.

Pride hath a fall. It signifies arrogance, vanity and narcissism. This is considered to be the most serious of all the 7 deadly sins. This is because it is the source of all other evils. Pride leads one to deride others, to treat them unfairly and to belittle their achievements. At the same time, proud people consider themselves superior and assign themselves an unparalleled importance.

There are many other sins listed, but the above are the more broad manifestations of those seven.

Tackling Global Violence

Why There Is So Much Of Bloodshed? Are There Any Limits Of Insanity?

Every day newspapers are full of headlines of hundreds of deaths relating to violence. Unfortunately this has become the rule rather than the exception. When I go through the headlines each morning, I usually find at least two reporting mass murders.

I wonder who are these people dying each day. Are these human beings or they are some other creatures. Are human beings so insensitive. Human lives have become unimaginatively cheap and free to play with.

Many people give scant respect to human and their own lives. They are bent upon killing and getting killed. They know the consequences and do it purposely. This is a special form of insanity. They are sane but insane. They kill with planning and with full senses.

Who is behind all this madness? May be there are so many groups, each having different motives. Whatever their objectives, they are evil geniuses. Behind all these individual or mass murders there is articulate planning, strategy and determination.

Many times we also see that while societies sympathize individual deaths in greater numbers, they are not that sensitive to mass murders. Killings in some parts are considered to be a normal thing.

Is there any stop to this frenzy? I believe that somehow the perpetrators of these heinous crimes should at best be left to their own fate. The more they are eliminated, they get reinforcements. They find a common enemy somewhere.

Action gets reaction. If actions against these people are avoided or at least minimized, they will have no other agenda. Given their mentality, they are bound to fight with each other. Since their only purpose of life is to kill and get killed, they should be left alone. It is highly probable that they will eventually start killing each other.

So I would suggest to leave them to their fate and let their own societies deal with them. Just don't go near them and don't interfere in their affairs. I strongly feel that these are incorrigible people and so better not to waste time and resources in their pursuit. Left to themselves, they may come to a halt at some point of time.

World should just ignore these hardliners. By going after them, they get undue publicity and importance. They need to be tackled more psychologically and not by force, while fully trying to understand their psyche and culture.

13th Day Of Any Month Is A Black Friday

Today is Back Friday, the 13th of July 2007. In fact any Friday which is on 13th of any month is called the "Black Friday". It refers to a number of shocking and devastating events that took place on Friday, the 13th.

Though popularly believed to have started on Friday, Oct.13,1307 when a large number of Knights Templars were arrested and tortured into "admitting" heresy by the king of France, now any Friday falling on 13th is associated with "Black Friday". It is considered to be a day of bad luck mainly in English speaking societies around the world.

In fact, many countries have different episodes associated with Friday, the 13th. For example, in Greece, it signifies the fall of Byzantium era on Turkish victory. Number 13th is generally feared in Greece and Spain.

Any date of 13th on a Friday is supposed to be unlucky in a number of countries. People are generally afraid that something really bad will happen on this day, like an accident, a death, a natural disaster etc.

Because of the fear of "Black Friday", many people avoid doing activities like going out to work, traveling, shopping, eating out, wedding etc. As a result, it is estimated that in North Carolina, US alone, business worth $800 to $900 million is lost on any Friday, the 13th. Similar estimates can be made regarding other places.

Many events are organized on this day and people take precautions to ward off any mis happenings on this day. For example, in Port Dover, Ontario Canada, motorcycle (biker) community meet on this day and participate in music, biker, vendor etc. shows.

"Black Friday" is considered to be the most superstitious day in the United States and in other English speaking countries. It is feared as a day of misfortune and bad luck.

Vacationing Abroad - Is The Fun Over?

These seem to be the worst of times. Just a few years ago going abroad and seeing the world was considered to be so exciting and fun. One could go anywhere in the world fearlessly and without any hassles.

Alas all this changed drastically over a short span of a few years. Right from thinking of going abroad on vacations, one is confronted with ideas of prohibited baggage. Rules regarding what one can or cannot carry aboard a plane or a public carrier change everyday.

Security has become tight all over the world. One cannot carry even a simple thing like a toothpaste with oneself. One is never sure of making it to one's destination on schedule. There are delays and disruptions galore. Even small suspicions are enough to create panic like conditions amongst people, the security and officials.

One has to be careful about what to carry in one's hand baggage and even in check in baggage. Even a slight mistake can land one to great hardships and even detentions.

It appears there is lot of confusion around. Things are blown out of proportion. Lives of many innocent persons have been turned upside down. There is a lot of hype and suspicion especially at border points. If someone doesn't like some one's face, even that can cause problems.

Many of our precautions seem to be closer to being ridiculous. There are complaints and there are criticisms. A genuine and average traveler is caught up in all this maze and does not see an escape.

Traveling has really become difficult. It is not surprising that many persons have cut their traveling and to confine their holidays to their own neighborhood places.

There does not seem to be any relief in near future. Nobody knows when the conditions will improve. Till that time people have to take all the precautions, travel light and minimize any chances of misunderstandings.

Tah Mahal - Living Symbol Of Romance

Taj Mahal was voted one of the seven wonders of the world on July 7,2007. I love this historical monument because this is a living symbol of love, dedication and romance.

About 4 centuries ago Shah Jehan (1592-1666) was the emperor of India from 1628 to 1658. He married his beloved Mumtaz Mahal in 1612. She dies in 1630 during childbirth.

The emperor had extreme love for Mumtaz. He was so devoted to his wife that it is said that his beard and his hair on the head turned white just in a few months. Her death devastated him to an unimaginable degree.

During his living days, Shah Jehan told her that he will build an everlasting memorial as a mark of their love after her death. True to his word, when she died, he spent all of his energy in raising this monument. It is said that as many as 20,000 craftsmen participated in building it over a period of 17 years.

Millions of people all over the world visit this epitome of love every year. This is an artistic structure of marvelous and exquisite beauty. Made of marble, this monument dazzles especially in moonlight. Scores of people make it a point to visit it during full moonlight.

Shah Jehan was latter dethroned by his son and was put into Jail in Agra fort right across Taj Mahal. He lived in a room whose windows opened towards the Taj. It is said that he survived 8 more years just by looking at the tomb. He was buried besides his wife in the Taj after his death.

We have endless love stories in the world. But nothing as prominent as Taj Mahal. It is a story of unparalleled devotion, sacrifice and true love. As one walks through this monument, one smells and breaths romance and love.

I strongly suggest all great lovers to visit this wonderful symbol at least once in their life time. It is about 5-6 hours of train journey from New Delhi, India to Agra. One should especially try to visit Taj during full moon and to be a witness to snow white marble and its four minarets in the moonlight.

Sauna For A Healthy Body

I had never enjoyed sauna just before three days. Luckily the place where I am living now has an attached gym, swimming pool and a sauna. Though I knew swimming before, I forgot. So I have to learn it afresh.

I was in fact more curios to experience sauna. Now I have been visiting sauna for the last three days. I see a few people around as I generally prefer to go late in the evening.

Sauna has Finnish origin. It is a piece of Finnish culture and it has spread all over the world. Saunas are now available in most of the public places and they are kept as part of swimming pools.

They are very hot inside and one really feels the intensity of heat. The idea behind this is perspiration. As perspiration increases, pores open and throw out waste from inner side of a body. That is why a sauna is supposed to cleanse the pores.

It is generally believed that a sauna bath is good for the health of skin, mind, and overall body. Sauna is believed to refresh and produce a scintillating effect upon a body. Many people recommend sauna bath on a regular basis.

Though sauna is beneficial to health, it is not believed to be good for some people, especially those suffering from heart diseases, strokes etc. If one is not feeling comfortable with a sauna, it is advisable to consult a doctor before visiting a sauna.

Then one has to maintain a certain degree of etiquette while using a sauna. Sauna door should not unnecessarily be kept open. In some places, no costumes are allowed inside a sauna as this is considered unethical. In some places swimsuits may not be allowed at all inside a sauna.

Sauna rules vary from country to country. Before using a sauna, it is essential that one is familiar with them. Otherwise it is likely that a person may not be allowed or welcome.

Some saunas have now become a part of homes. People have been owning and establishing saunas in their residences. In most of the places, there are separate saunas for males and females. But in others there is no gender consideration.

Saunas were once considered to be sacred, second only to a church. A sauna is considered to be immune from sexual presence or any other vulgarity.

Sauna is like a luxury which everyone cannot afford. But if one can find one at some public place or at cheap rates, one should definitely try it out.

Swimming - Burn Calories and Lose Weight

Exercise is very important for the overall health and fitness of a person. Sedentary habits make limbs dull, muscles inactive, promote obesity, lead to poor digestion and produce many other undesirable effects. Exercise is necessary not only for the overall health of a person but also for increased longevity.

There are so many exercises. Some exercises can be done in a gym while as others can be done in the open. There is usually a price for the use of a gym while as one need not to pay for some popular exercises in the open. These include walking, running, jumping, breathing and doing other exercises in a public park.

One very attractive and highly beneficial exercise is swimming. There are public swimming pools available in many places. Generally these have limited timings and are crowded. Therefore, one has to depend on private commercial swimming pools.

The benefit of commercial swimming pools is the quality of service, convenient hours of operation, less crowding and ease of use. Of course, these could be expensive.

One should seriously consider swimming as an attractive fitness exercise. It is not only an interesting sport but also complete in many respects. In swimming almost all the parts of a body get exercised.

Swimming involves hands and arms, legs, bum, head and neck, shoulders and overall body. One can go under water with deep breath and thus help exercise overall respiratory system. It builds endurance and muscles.

It is not that hard to learn swimming. If one does not know how to swim, it is easy to learn. Many clubs hold training classes and sessions for new members. One can learn after a few sessions of exercise. One can also learn on one's own. For this there are free guides available both online and off line.

If anyone is serious in burning calories, reducing weight, keeping one's belly in check, there can be no better exercise than swimming. Swimming for less than an hour is enough to change a person's health for better.

Canada Day Celebrations - Overwhelming Immigrants

It is a great sight to see colorful Canada Day every year. This day is being celebrated with great fanfare. Celebration are held all over the country with the main event taking place at Ottawa which hosts the federal government.

One important feature of Canada Day festivities is the presence of a large number of immigrants. The enthusiasm and spirit of immigrants in Canada Activities is remarkable.

It is amazing to see that in some cases immigrants seem to be more active on Canada Day than the natives. They come out in large numbers and join celebrations in different parts of the country.

The involvement of immigrants seems to be spontaneous. They show their attachment and love for the new land of their choosing with great fanfare. They can be seen everywhere in all major cities of Canada with flags, banners, fireworks etc.

Fireworks is a special feature of Canada Day. These add light to this day and also work as a great source of entertainment.

Canada is still in the making. It will take decades and centuries to transform into a populous country like the US. Immigrants will constitute a major factor in the formation of New Canada. It has been well recognized that Canada will have to allow an increasing flow of immigrants in order to make it possible to continue on the path of success.

A few centuries back USA was more or less in a similar situation. Constant flow of immigrants to that country from all over the world, especially Europe exalted that country to great heights.

Now is the turn of Canada. A day will come in the history of Canada when it will boast to equal any great power in this world.

Canada is bestowed with unlimited resources. They are in need of proper utilization by adequate manpower. Immigrants have to fill this void and to ensure that Canada marches ahead.

Every year Canada Day shows that immigrants are a vibrant community from all over the world. They have actively started participating in all national activities like elections, census, new businesses, innovations, education, cultural activities etc.

Because of increasing flow of immigrants, Canada is fast becoming the most
multi-cultural country on this earth, in harmony and peace.

Are Hybrid Cars Big Savers?

There is a general notion among many people that hybrid cars save a lot of money, that they are fuel efficient and that they are the right answer to the current spiraling energy prices.

Hybrid cars became the focus of attention over the last few years due to rising oil prices. Automobile manufactures and others are constantly trying to evolve new technologies and new automobiles in order to overcome the energy scarcity.

Development of hybrid cars is one of the several strategies which auto manufactures have been experimenting with.

Market also seems to have responded well to the concept of hybrid cars. The demand for such cars has been growing over the years.

What differentiates hybrid vehicles is that they have a rechargeable energy storage system for increasing fuel efficiency than what is available in conventional vehicles.


Most important hybrid vehicle manufacturers at present are Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault and Toyota. In fact, Toyota has been the highest producer of these types of vehicles recently.

The general belief is that these cars save energy and money for an owner. Several critics have opined that they may be energy efficient, but at current prices they will not save money for their owners.

Cost benefit analysis reveals that the prices of hybrid cars are more than the savings that they may generate over their lives. However, in case, oil prices go sufficiently high, then hybrid cars can have a positive cost benefit ratio.

At present there are two scenarios. First, hybrid cars are energy efficient and these help conserve energy at national level. However, at the current prices, they are not economical for an individual in the long run.

Hybrid vehicles have nonetheless caught up with the public, with the result that their production and sales have zoomed over the last few years. With increased stress on energy conservation and rising prices, the future of hybrids seems to be only upwards.

An Overview of Gmail - A Comparison With Other Email Services

Google Gmail is a great service. With about 2.7 GB of storage and 20 MB of transmission at a time, I think this is the best facility available at this time.

Earlier, one could open an account by invitation only. Now it is open and anyone can have a Gmail account.

Gmail is free and loaded with many other features. Most important of these are the accessibility of Google Adsense and Google Adwords from the same account.

Greater storage and ad free interface make it superior to many other free email services.

However, I have noticed a few problems with Google Gmail.

At present I am using Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail. I have been the longest user of Hotmail. I think I never had any problems with Hotmail.

As compared to Hotmail, Gmail remained inaccessible to me many a times. I got the message that there were technical difficulties. Of course the service was restored after a few hours or overnight, but when I needed to see email, it was not accessible. I really felt bad at those times.

One major problem with Gmail is that it bundles all emails from the same email address together. Many times it becomes hard to find the latest email or to find some particular email. One has to go through all the emails and many times it is confusing.

I also lost my emails many times. When having emailed something, the other party reportedly did not receive it. I tested it by sending email from my Hotmail. I found out that at times it did not receive my email. I don't know who is at fault. I suspect Gmail.

I am not sure how long I can use this service, but the jumbling of emails is one major problem with me at present. Hope Google modifies and makes it easier.

Secrets of Long Life - Good Health

Life expectancy seems to have increased globally in different countries at varying rates. In many countries it is past 80 now.

It looks like that life expectancy is directly linked with the level of income. More the per capita income of a country, more the life expectancy.

Most important factors that affect the average length of life are diet and food habits, medical facilities, personal hygiene, culture, emotional well being, marital relations, family issues etc. Living standards constitute a prominent factor in the life span of a person.

Some simple food habits and caution can go a long way in promoting the life span of a person. Eating a lot of vegetables, avoiding artificially prepared food, avoiding too much of sugar and sweets, stopping drinking and smoking, exercising etc. are some of these simple steps. These don't cost much.

An important key to good health is eating a lot of food in its raw state. These include green vegetables, salad, fruits, natural juices, natural water, dairy products, fish etc.

One should take plenty of drinks like water and juice. This is a sure way of keeping a body healthy.

Another major factor that I have found useful is to give stomach some rest after every few days. By this I mean to do fasting or very minimal eating for one full day after intervals. This will help in cleaning the inner system.

If I remember correctly there is a fable from Aesop on eating. According to it, one should never eat unless one is hungry. And one should not eat to one's full. One should always eat a little less than full stomach.

Exercise is good. This refreshes and strengthens body muscles. This also improves digestive system. If one is short of time, one can do a little bit of exercise even during one's normal activities. It is only a question of will power and change of life habits. On need not to join a health club.

By following some simple steps, one can maintain enviable health and beauty. I am sure one can maintain a youthful look and energy till sixties. I know people in fifties easily looking 10-20 years younger because they cared for their life and have been living a simple and worry free life. One should also pay special attention to mental health as well.

A Review of DayTipper.com

Formerly known as Vitamin T, DayTipper.com is a site which pays for sharing tips with others. If you have got a great tip, you can share it with others. Anyone who has a tip, can submit it to daytipper.com. If they approve and publish it, they promise to pay $3 for each tip.

The business model under this site seems quite attractive. This can not only get bright original ideas to light, thereby benefiting the community at large, but it can also earn cash for its contributors.

One can see hundreds of tips on different subjects on this site anytime.

The policy of daytipper.com is that once it accepts a post or tip and publishes it on its website, the tip becomes its property or copyright. In other words, they are buying each tip for $3.

Not many people have shared their experiences on this site. Whatever little information is available, it appears they have been rejecting a lot of tips. Secondly, one person is reported not to have been paid for his tips that were accepted.

So at present, there is not much to say about the payment record of daytipper.com. But judging from the number of available tips on this site, it seems people have been contributing.

If one is writing one's own ideas just for sharing with others, then there is no payment problem involved. However, if one is contributing purely for making money, then one has to be cautious. One can always give it a try for some time and find out.

How I Fixed My Used Car

I recently bought a used car. It had many problems. The three major problems were i) the driver side door lock was not working, ii) the speedometer was out of order, and iii) break was not working properly.

I know many mechanics. The first mechanic took 2 days to fix the break. I asked him to fix the other things. But he seemed to be taking his own time. In fact he could not understand how to fix other problems especially the speedometer and the door lock.

I was told that fixing the above two problems is hard. The door may not be fixed at all without replacing the entire locking system for all the doors. That was scary.

I went to an electric mechanic to talk to him about the speedometer. He refused to be of any help. While driving around, my wife saw one sign board of a Honda mechanic. And we made a dash to him. He immediately agreed to fix the speedometer.

We were lucky that he had just got a used sensor from somewhere. He replaced the sensor and lo the speedometer got working at $70. Had I believed the first mechanic, I would have been in trouble.

Impressed by his work, I asked this Honda mechanic to fix my other problems. He changed one pipe which was easy. He expressed his inability to fix the door lock. He suggested to change all cylinders or put on a remote access system on the door. Both were expensive and disheartening. The door lock itself was irreparable, he reported.

Without any hope I asked some other mechanics. Everyone was of the same opinion. Finally I landed up with one mechanic whom I knew for long and I was avoiding him as he was a little expensive.

I called this mechanic on phone and asked him if he could fix my door lock, but with least hope. He suggested to take the car to him. Anyway I went to him. On arrival, he told me that he will fix the lock at $80. Finally he agreed at $60. I did not believe he will be able to repair it. I was really surprised when after 20 minutes of work, my lock was working.

Then I had to change the tires. This mechanic was not having used tires of my size. So I went to another place and got two tires changed. I was surprised that I had 2 different tire sizes on my car. He put on 2 used tires.

When I went to my earlier mechanic, He asked me why I had put on winter tires? Oh gosh how I missed to see that? I called the tire guy. He refused and said that I was at fault and he can do nothing except to charge me extra.

The moral of the story is that if you got a problem with your car, do not rely on the opinion of just one mechanic. Visit as many of them as possible. Some one will fix your problem. Also be careful while changing the parts like tires. Put on all season tires.

How To Sort Out Issues With A Used Car

Past two weeks have been very tough for me because of a used car that I happened to buy. My ordeal started when I got rid of my old Carola. It served me well and faithfully.

After Carola I bought Chrysler Intrepid. I do not know much about cars. When my mechanic saw my new car, he just got angry. His outright remark was that Intrepid is the worst car in North America.

I shortly found it out. My steering was not working properly and with a 3.5 L engine, it was drinking expensive gas. Just after three weeks I sold it at a loss.

Not having much money and having remained without a car for about 2 weeks, I decided to buy a very inexpensive car for the time being and then go far a newer one when my finances improved.

The lady who sold me this inexpensive car (Honda Accord), told me all good stories about it. My troubles started when I brought it home.

First, the door key on the driver side did not work. So I had to use the other door. Battery was dead. Engine and some other lights were blinking. Exhaust started making noise. I found lot of dirt underneath seats. Breaks were loose. Front tires were almost dead. Engine rubber pipe had thinned out.

Radio was not working. Air conditioning was dead. I trusted the lady and I had to pay for it. Now for the last two weeks I have been trying to fix one thing or the other at great cost and expense of time. What I believed to be an inexpensive car has become quite the opposite.

I accept my fault. My ignorance about cars and credulousness put me in great trouble. Moral. Don't trust others easily. Take time to examine in detail if you are buying a used car. Take the help of a mechanic. Be prepared for surprises.

Freedom of Speech

I love all types of freedoms. Freedom of speech is the foremost of them. I want the same type of freedom for everyone.

If someone criticizes me, I will feel upset with myself. I feel disappointed because of my own shortcomings. While I try to avoid criticizing others, I feel if other people criticize, they have some reason.

I will take any type of criticism positively and try to improve.

If I think I am good, I should demonstrate it. How can I or my culture or my beliefs be good, if I am least tolerant, am ready to fight out any type of least criticism and have no respect for debate, discussion and accommodation.

I expect others to vouch for my good nature. I wish people listen to others. We should encourage others to express their views freely. If people are gagged, how can we know how they feel?

May be others have to say something good. May be they are right. May be they are not right. By knowing their views, one can get a chance of removing any misunderstandings.

If we believe that a flower is good, it will be good no matter what ever somebody says against it. Why to fight?

The main thing is that there should be freedom of speech and expression. We should welcome others' point of view. This is the only way we can know about the feelings of others.

There should be free and open debate and discussion on anything. Any sort of misconceptions should be removed by proper arguments. If one is wrong, one should accept it and correct oneself.

In this world we see numerous instances of intolerance and muzzling of open talk and speech. The best thing will be to avoid and shun these elements. The more we try to force reason on them, the more obstinate they are likely to be.

Can Oriental And Occidental Meet?

My best advice will be not to force it. How do I maintain relations. If I find I cannot change the nature of anyone, I leave him alone. I would prefer not to insist on maintaining relations with him.

What can one do if the other party harps on its own views and has no respect for tolerance and accommodation? It is best to leave him alone. If we still insist on continuing relations with that party, we will be harming our cause only.

Is there a meeting place between eastern and western cultures. The best thing is that if one does not like any other culture, it is alright. Let everyone follow one's own practices and believes so long as they are within the confines of that person. One should not cross the limits and invade the privacy of others.

If two cultures do not see eye to eye each other, why it should be a cause of conflict? Live and let live.

Many times, eastern and western cultures do not seem to be in harmony. It is alright. Why it should be a cause of trouble? Let people follow their own way of life.

It is hard to tackle obstinacy, lack of logic, superstition, blind beliefs, intolerance and the like. There are vast numbers of people who do not want to see reason and seem to be quite irrational. Let us not waste time in molding them as there are remote chances of their correction.

Is Canada Really A Mediocre Country?

According to a recent report of Conference Board of Canada, Canada's recent performance has been miserable in innovation and environment. Its ranking has come out to be 14th out of a total of 17 industrialized countries in the category of innovation.

Amongst a total of six factors, Canada has got an "A" only in the field of Education. However, even here the country has been protecting its highly educated professionals. Otherwise, its low levels of literacy are shocking.

Its performance has been lacking in economy, environmental protection, health care and poverty eradication.

There has been low foreign direct investment. There is reported to be little value to growth and shortage of skilled labor.

Some areas where it has been doing well are inflation, growth, labor productivity and unemployment.

Because of less progress in creative thinking, Canada's scientists don't keep up. Canada is known for large natural resources. But there is shortage of skilled labor and graduates in science, engineering and technological fields. In a way Canada is not able to take advantage of high technology.

In order to grow in future, it is essential that it improves its position in innovation, science and technology. The country has to be creative and grow in this age of technology based development.

Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox - A Comparison

I have been experimenting with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox for a long time now. I find certain benefits with the latter as compared to the former.

One main benefit of Firefox is that it remembers my login information for many websites and I don’t have to type them again and again. The only problem with this is that one is apt to forget this information over time. And if sometimes, one is required to submit this afresh, one will have to dig it from other places. However, this may happen once a while.

The other major benefit of using Firefox is that one need not to open several windows. It opens several tabs within the same window which makes it easy to manage many websites from one place.

One more positive factor about it is that if there is some problem on the internet and the window gets unexpectedly closed, the sessions one had been previously working with are restored when restarting Firefox.

The above are the three main benefits of Firefox which cannot be found on Internet Explorer. I don’t find any better feature of IE over Firefox. With this and with new constant upgrades, Firefox has emerged as a clear winner as compared to IE.

I have been using both of these internet tools. Though Firefox is my major web browser now, I use IE as well. Sometimes Firefox gets stalled while loading a website. At that time I immediately turn to IE and open the website.

Moreover, many websites still use only IE. Where a site cannot be loaded in Firefox, the same can be opened with IE. Therefore, one should keep both of them handy.

Buying a Used Car -II

One has to be careful while buying an old car. One should know a little bit of mechanics also. The usual things that one should check are the type of transmission, the engine size, mileage, condition of the body, tires, exhaust system, alignment, condition of seats, availability of air conditioning, air bags, power locks, power seats etc.

It is hard to find a vehicle that matches all the desired features. And when there is a tight budget as well, there is usually a chance of give and take.

Obviously, price is one of the main factors. One has to compare prices of the same vehicle at different places. Generally cars offered for sale by owners will be cheaper than those being sold by car dealers.

The sources of used autos are newspapers, auto magazines, EBay, other online websites, posters, used car dealers, friends and colleagues, TV, radio, liquidators, car mechanics etc.

While buying, one should also be careful because this is an unregulated market, with no warranties, lack of full details about a car, blind spots etc. One may find a gem some time and may also get a junk.

Many times it may be better to buy a car through a used auto dealer because the dealer may take the responsibility, may be more open and professional, may reveal more, may be more cautious, and provide complete service. All this depends upon the level of comfort that one will have while buying an older vehicle.

Buying a Used Car - I

It can be a nightmare, especially if one has a budget.

Why one should buy a used car? Obviously because one cannot afford to buy a new car. Buying either a used or a new car is complicated because of the wide variety of automobiles and models in the market. If one has a fixed budget, it may be hard to get a car of one’s choice.

Generally the factors that should be considered while buying a car are the price, the make and model of the car, the condition, the mileage, repairs required, safety and emission testing etc. There could be many other factors that one has to consider while purchasing a car.

A used car can be purchased from a used car dealer, directly from car owners, from brokers or from government sources. There are many seized cars available from public agencies as well.

There are some varieties of cars which are in high demand. This is especially so with some Japanese cars. These cars are in high demand and have a good resale value.

In fact resale value should have a higher weight age while buying a second car. This is because if one does not like a previously owned car, one should be able to resell it without much loss of value.

How to Stop Laptop Crash and Prolong Laptop Life

Leaving a notebook PC running endlessly can be an invitation to trouble. Hard disk crashes result from many reasons. Individuals, small and big companies are equally vulnerable. After about three years, hard disk failures in laptops is almost common.

No one would like a full HD replacement. By following some simple steps one can save one’s expensive computing equipment.

One simple strategy is to close the cover of the laptop when not in use. This will put the notebook to hibernate, sleep or shutdown mode depending on how one has set up those options on one’s computer. Closing the cover will stop the disk from spinning continuously.

This activity if done even for a few hours a day can prolong the life of a notebook at least by one to two years if not more. If the laptop is inactive and the hard drive is not spinning, the life of a hard disk can go up by several years.

Basic point behind a prolonged and efficient life of a PC is that if not active for a few hours, and then shut it down.

Another simple rule is to set a hard drive to turn off mode after a certain amount of time if the computer is idle. One can customize the time out of our hard drives and display, saving both from burn out. The good thing about shutting down the hard drives is that they wake up as soon as one hits any key.

How to Increase The Life Of a Laptop’s Battery

The following computer components consume a lot of power when in use.

• Hard Drive
• CD/DVD Drive
• Floppy Drive
• Modem
• Network Interface
• The Display

When the computer is not being used, there is obviously scope for reducing power usage by partially turning them off.

We can do the above by choosing appropriate time outs in the power options properties dialog box. For this, we open the Control Panel and then the power options. We can also disable certain laptop features.

After the power options dialog box opens, we can select “Turn Off” option for the monitor and hard disk, so as to send them into the desired mode. This will stop the spinning of Hard drive after a few minutes and also put off the monitor.

This action will result in constant savings of laptop battery. The devices will go in sleep mode and can easily be brought back to life simply by pressing any key or moving the mouse.

We can also choose other hibernation or sleep options from the dialog box. Whatever scheme one chooses, it can be saved under an appropriate name which can be applied again latter on if the scheme somehow gets disturbed.

Laughter – The Best Medicine

Is it easy to laugh? It seems. We have to distinguish between true laughter and forced one. It is only when one laughs spontaneously that one feels the joy of laughter. There is no price that can be fixed for genuine laughter.

World seems to be slowly awakening to the bounties and joys of laughter. We see concerted efforts being made to make people laugh. In many countries laughter is held as part of regular exercise. Laughter sessions are being organized and people made to laugh purposely.

People have realized that laughter has so many physical and psychological benefits. It is believed that people should laugh in order to provide exercise to lungs, jaws, facial muscles and open the valves of heart. Laughter strengthens and gives shape to those muscles which otherwise would not have been exercised.

It is not certain how far this type of forced laughter has the beneficial affects as desired. When laughter is abrupt and spontaneous, one can feel the relaxation of muscles. Purposeful laughter may not be as effective as natural laughter.

There are certain programs run by many voluntary and community bodies aimed at making people laugh. When people see or hear some real pleasing activities or conversation, they tend to burst in laughter.

For example, there is a TV program in Canada by the name of “Just for Laughs”. In this, the actors do certain unusual and absurd acts. Since these bizarre acts are done without the knowledge of people, the ultimate result is sudden laughter and joy. People have been watching this TV series and have really been enjoying. This is a real program which does a real job of making people to laugh.

In this age of high tensions, busy schedules and reduced leisure, any amount of free time is welcome. This has to be accompanied by lighter things of life like laughter. Let everyone make this life lighter and tune do genuine joy and laughter. That is the real medicine for a good and healthy life.

Friend in Auto Mechanic

I think auto mechanics have not got the level of recognition that they deserve. If we think about it closely, we can see how vital they are for our comforts and safety. A little attention from them can save one a lot of trouble.

We suspect auto mechanics more than respecting them. Although they are indispensable, many people do not have positive feelings about them. Reason being a sort of doubt and suspicion about their work.

So may people have the notion that a car mechanic inflates repair charges in various ways and is not truthful. Car mechanics are believed to unnecessarily replace auto parts and do not take pains to repair damaged parts. Mechanics are said mostly to insist on replacing broken parts rather than repairing them.

Some of them are not supposed to be sufficiently qualified to repair most types of cars. Many times different mechanics have varying points of view on the same problem. Of course there are mechanical aids now available, even then human judgment cannot be altogether ruled away.

Despite the above, we cannot afford without an auto mechanic. He takes the role of a friend, an adviser and a person of the last resort. He makes our travel safe and easy. Whenever we have a car problem, we think of him. If we want to buy a new automobile, we take his advice.

Many times we are caught up in very complicated situations. A car mechanic comes to our rescue at that time. Being a specialist in his field, he provides us with so many tips which help us to escape from many troubles. He educates about the condition of our autos and so we are forewarned.

I think one should always find a good mechanic and stick with him. In my case I had to try many mechanics till finally I reached the one I have now. It was not easy. There was a lot of heartburn. But now I have developed some sort of understanding with my mechanic and this gives me some mental peace.