Did they sleep or didn't they?

Yes, we know that teens go to bed late and wake up late.

But what about Air India pilots? Did they sleep while in flight and miss the landing as the newspaper reports say?

Research shows that the average hours of sleep in the 21st century has come down to 6.9 hours from around 9 hours in the 1900s.

Has technology contributed to these late nights? Perhaps!

How many restless souls browse the net at unearthly hours? how many watch a game of cricket played at the other end of their world when one should be blissfully sleeping? and how many depressed and sleep-deprived people who can't wait for the next day to be stressed even further contribute to this statistics?

Txting like a teen

There are many who lament that Txt spk is damaging the English language. Two Canadian researchers http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2216746/texting-does-harm-language
have analysed over a million words of instant messages and more than quarter of a million spoken words and concluded that the ascendancy of txt speak is not damaging to the language. Rather the language is enriched by the process.

So, on to some txt spk now:
BOC: But of course
BBL: Be back later
TTYL: Talk to you later
OMG: Oh My God
IMO: In my opinion
PSOS: Parent standing over shoulder
CMIIW: Correct me if I am wrong
SLAP: Sounds like a plan
TMTH: Too much to handle
HOAS: Hold on a second
WOMBAT: Waste of money, brains and time

CUL8R
Tks to Dom Post

Harmone Seyyum Kalakam Thaanada!

Teenage kids are the hardest to wake up early in the morning.

We know that some adults are basically morning people while some are night owls. But what's with the teenagers? Why are most of them late nighters and late risers?

Parents usually scold them for sleeping in till late, perhaps without understanding the culprit called 'Melatonin'.

Melatonin production in teenagers is slow during the evening. Melatonin is the sleep inducer and as it is produced at a slower rate in the teen aged kids, they sleep late and rise later than others.

The squirt of melatonin occurs at around 9.30 for adolescents and adults while it happens at around 10.30 to the teens.

But in cases of teens who do not watch TV in the evenings an hour before bedtime, Melatonin production is faster.

So, ideal time for a teenager to push that red button on the remote is around 8.30.

Middle age blues

Here is one more survey on happiness!


Researchers from Uni of Warwick and Dartmouth in the U.S interviewed close to 2 million people and came out with the following results:

• People are happy when they are young and again in their final years. It is the middle bit that is problematic


• Our sense of wellbeing follows a U shaped curve through our lives


• In the U.S, the time of least happiness happens at age 40 for women and 50 for men


• By the time one reaches 70, if one is physically fit, their happiness is similar to that of a 20 year-old.

The theories that explain these (Prof. Andrew Oswald) are:

1. Youngsters have high aspirations and in the middle ages they have to learn to quell them


2. People who are happier live longer. So, if the unhappy people have died younger, then those who remain are happier


3. You learn to count your blessing when you are older and when we see bad things happen, are just happy to be alive

Reading this and seeing people all around, the research appears to be on target.

The ancient Indians however, had a great structure and formula for living well called "Purushartha" (Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha).

This stated the purpose of living as attaining 'Moksha'. For people who lived a life as dictated by the sastras, there would be no emptiness or loneliness.

Sometimes I wonder : Have we veered away from this, lost touch with scriptures and trying to reinvent the wheel by reading western researches that merely scratch the surface?

For this some would protest "But the scriptures are in Sanskrit and we don't understand".

This is a lame explanation and an ignorant one too, for one has to merely look at the number of resources available in the internet and the also the number of teachers who talk our language (English or whatever) and are trying to remove our ignorance.

Srimad Baghavatham

We missed the first three days (the Introduction and two days) of the
Katha as we had to be out of Wellington.

We came in on the third day and every day, starting from the first
invocatory sloka we were spellbound through to the end of the day's
discourse. Premaji weaved her magical spell and put J.K Rowling to shame
with the invisible (w)hand of Lord Krishna.

Here was a discourse on Divnity at its best.

Premaji's eloquence, her perfect blend of the Kirtans with the story
telling, her bhAvas and mudras (as she rightly referred to danseuse
Padma Subramaniam's tribute to her), her choice of heavy and vibrant
Sanskrit slokas immediately followed by soothingly light and lilting
Bhajans and her sense of humour were joys to behold.

The fact that even the kids stayed put for around 3 hours every day is
proof of her excellence in story telling.

Gulls at Lake Whakatipu, Queenstown

GOING...

GOING...

GOING...

GONE!!!

Was reminded of the old TMS number: Pull (grass) anAlum Pazhamudircholaiyil PullAven

...Gull anAlum Queenstownil Naan Gull AvEn!

A week at Queenstown

This will easily rank as one of the best holidays we have ever had.

A week at the beautiful Queenstown.

The view from our cottage of the mountains called 'Remarkables' (very aptly named...we thought) every morning took our breath away...and so did many other places in and around QT.

We had taken our little Indian coffee-filter, so made our own little cuppa. Sipping the Mysore Indian brew while watching the remarkables waking up to its snow-capped glory as the sun rose has left an indescribable and indelible impression in us.

This thought of ours found endorsement by an umpire who stood in the one-dayer on the 31st between NZ and Bangaladesh. He preferred to stand with his back to the mountains lest he get distracted by the captivating beauty of the remarkables and err in his decisions.

A great morning walk around the lake Wakatipu refreshed the soul and the place was so quiet and tranquil that sometimes I thought even speaking at a slightly higher volume would be considered rude by God.

Be Happy and Get Rich

The search for the holy grail of investment that can make hopeless investors to financial whiz kids led Arun Abey, an Aussie investment Guru to come up with these nuggets of wisdom:

THE WISDOM OF ABEY

1. Money alone will not make you happy. Living an "authentic life" will. People have more money today than 50 years ago, yet are no more happy.

2. Have a financial plan for you, not your money. Those with a financial plan report greater satisfaction with life than those who do not.

3. Your plan should be based on your goals, not goals someone else says you should have. Those selling dreams are probably trying to sell you something else.

4. Understand "The Prize". Over the long term, cash makes a real return of 0%-1%, bonds 1%-3%, property (without leverage) 3%-5% and shares 5%-8%.

5. Understand the "enemy within". You are wired to make bad investment decisions, and your financial plan needs to defeat that.

6. Beware false accounting. An investment you bought for $100 five years ago, and sold for $150 yesterday, but cost you $4 to buy, $10 in finance interest costs, and $11 to maintain and insure, made a 25%, not a 50% return.

7. Drip-feed money into the markets so you do not worry about short-term ups and downs. You'll be buying in both.

8. Do not attempt to chase fads, or time the market. You will fail, unless you are lucky. Very few people are consistently lucky.

9. Do not watch your investments constantly. Review annually.

10. Have a financial planner. Make sure he or she is not a commission salesman.

Diwali 2007

Colourful, great crowd, food and shows!

Olive Riley Returns to Broken Hill

Watch the amazing 108 year old blogger