The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever.
The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.
To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer.
However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price.
So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.
Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?
If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend?
Too Much Money!!!!!
As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company, paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion. You don't need to work so hard so you relax.
You experience the same problem as lottery winners who waste their money, wealthy heirs who never grow up and bored homemakers who get addicted to prescription drugs.
Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple. It was observed by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950's.
"Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment. "- L. Ron Hubbard
The Benefits of a Challenge
The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem.
If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy.
You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun.
You are alive!
How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh?!?
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank
The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state.
The fish are challenged.
Recommendations
Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them.
Enjoy the game.
If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.
If you have met your goals, set some bigger goals. Once you meet your personal or family needs, move onto goals for your group, the society, even mankind
Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.
Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!
Mom comes to visit her son Kumar for dinner...who lives with a girlroommate Sunita. During the course of the meal, his mother couldn't help but notice how pretty Kumar's, roommate was.
She had long been suspicious of a relationship between the two, and this had only made her more curious.
Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Kumarand his roommate than met the eye.
Reading his mom's thoughts, Kumar volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Sunita and I are just roommates."
About a week later, Sunita came to Kumar saying, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the silver chutney jar. You don't suppose she took it, do you?"
"Well, I doubt it, but I'll email her, just to be sure."
So he sat down and wrote :
Dear Mother, !
I'm not saying that you 'did' take the chutney jar from my house, I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the chutney jar. But the fact remains that it as been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love,
Kumar
Several days later, Kumar received an email from his Mother which read:
Dear Son,
I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Sunita, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Sunita. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her OWN bed, she would have found the chutney jar by now.
Love,
Mom.
Lesson of the day .....
Don't Lie to Your Mother...especially if she is Indian!
Have you seen recent advertisement of M/S SAINT GOBAIN GLASSES shown in TELEVISION'S - Then you must have known about 2 Way mirror)
How to determine if a mirror is 2 way or not (Not a Joke!)? Not to scare you, but to make sure that you aware. Many of the Hotels and Textile showrooms cheat the customers this way& watch privately. HOW TO DETECT A 2-WAY MIRROR? When we visit toilets, bathrooms, hotel rooms, changing rooms, etc., How many of you know for sure that the seemingly ordinary mirror hanging on the wall is a real mirror, or actually a 2-way mirror i.e., they can see you, but you can't see them. There have been many cases of people installing 2-way mirrors in female changing rooms or bathroom or bedrooms. It is very difficult to positively identify the surface by just looking at it. So, how do we determine with any amount of certainty what type of mirror we are looking at?
CONDUCT THIS SIMPLE TEST: Place the tip of your fingernail against the reflective surface and if there is a GAP between your fingernail and the image of the nail, then it is a GENUINE mirror. However, if your fingernail DIRECTLY TOUCHES the image of your nail, then BEWARE; IT IS A 2-WAY MIRROR! (There is someone seeing you from the other side). So remember, every time you see a mirror, do the "fingernail test." It doesn't cost you anything. It is simple to do. This is a really good thing to do. The reason there is a gap on a real mirror, is because the silver is on the back of the mirror UNDER the glass. Whereas with a two-way mirror, the silver is on the surface. Keep it in mind! Make sure and check every time you enter in hotel rooms. May be someone is making a film on you.
Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section, and there I started to curse the prices, wondering if after all kids really play with such expensive toys.
While looking in the toy section, I noticed a small boy of about 5 years old, pressing a doll against his chest. He kept on touching the hair of the doll and looked so sad. I wondered who was this doll for.
"You know, my mummy loves white rose." A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left with my trolley. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.
Then I remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck who hit a car where there was one young lady and a little girl.
The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able to get out of the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?
Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young lady had passed away. I couldn't stop myself and went to buy a bunch of white roses and I went to the mortuary where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wish before burial.
She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.
I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that this little boy had for his Mother and his sister is still , to that day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk man had taken all this away from him
India is in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup 2007. We could win the first ever Twenty20 World Cup. But we must remember that Pakistan is a determined adversary. Also, they are experienced in this form of cricket: They have a domestic Twenty20 tournament where all their top class players play. India may not have experience but the young turks have had a taste of success and won't give up easily. India has never lost a match to Pakistan in a World Cup before. It promises to be a tough fight. Let us hope India wins.
The Indian cricket team is currently doing very well against England [ India tour of Ireland , England & Scotland , Aug2007] . The English are looking like amateurs. One funny aspect if this is that though the Indians can play professionally and win this kind of series ( tests or ODIs ) at home & abroad , the same team behaves unprofessionally during World Cups. What happens to them during World Cups ?
A is for Apish (Office). This is where the average Kolkatan goes and spends a day hard(ly) at work. If he is in the Government he will arrive at 10, wipe his forehead till 11, have a tea break at 12, throw around a few files at 12.30, break for lunch at 1, smoke an unfiltered cigarette at 2, break for tea at 3, sleep sitting down at 4 and go home at 5. It's a hard life!
B is for Bhijon. (As in teli-bhijon) For some reason most of the Bengalis don't have good bhijon. In fact in Kolkata most people are wearing spectacles all the time. The effects of this show in the city.
C is for Chappell. This is the Bengali word for the Devil, for the worst form of evil. In the night mothers put their kids to sleep saying 'go to bed, or Chappell will come and take you away.'
D is for Debashish. By an ancient law every fourth Bengali Child has to be named Debashish. So you have a Debashish everywhere and trying to get creative they are also called Deb, Debu, Deba with variations like Debnath and Deboprotim thrown in.
E is for Eeesh. This is a very common Bengali exclamation made famous by Aishwarya Rai in the movie Devdas. It is estimated that on an average a Bengali uses eeesh 10,089 times every year. (That's counting eeesh and other eeesh-ish words).
F is for Feesh. These are creatures that swim in rivers and seas and are a favourite food of the Bengalis. Despite the fact that a fish market has such strong smells, with one sniff a Bengali knows if a fish is all right. If not, he will say 'eeesh, what feeesh is theeesh!'
G is for Good name. Every Bengali Boy will have a good name like Debashish or Deboprotim and a pet name like Shontuda, Chonti, and Dinku. While every Bengali Girl will be Paromita or Protima as well as Shampa, Champa and Buri. Basically your nickname is there to kill your good name.
H is for Harmonium. The Bengali equivalent of a rock guitar. Take four Bengalis and a Harmonium and you have the successors to The Bheatles!
I is for lleesh. This is a feeesh with 10,000 bones which would kill any ordinary person, but which the Bengalis eat with releeesh!
J is for Jhola. No self respecting Bengali is complete without his Jhola. It is a shapeless cloth bag where he keeps all his belongings and he fits an amazing number of things in. Even as you read this there are 2 million jholas bobbling around Kolkata- and they all look exactly the same!
K is for Kee Kando. It used to be the favourite Bengali exclamation till eeesh took over because of Aishwarya Rai (now Kee Kando's agent is trying to hire Bipasha Basu).
L is for Lungi. People in Kolkata manage to play football and cricket wearing it. Now there is talk of a lungi expedition to Mt. Everest .
M is for Minibus. These are dangerous half buses whose antics would effortlessly frighten the living daylights out of Formula 1 race drivers.
N is for Nandan. This is the Bengali hub for culture (drama, films, film festivals, etc. ) , hanging out with friends and dating .
O is for Oil. The Bengalis believe that a touch of mustard oil will cure nything from cold (oil in the nose, earache (oil in the ear), to cough (oil on the throat) to piles (oil you know where!)
P is for Phootball. This is always a phavourite phassion of the Kolkattan. Every Bengali is born an expert in this game. The two biggest clubs there are Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and when they play the city comes to a stop.
Q is for Question. Bengalies excel at the art of asking questions being in general talkative in nature . Bengalies never hesitate to ask a stranger a question if they felt like it .
R is for Robi Thakur. Many years ago Rabindranath got the Nobel Prize. This allows everyone in Kolkata to frame their acceptance speeches and walk with their head held high and look down at Delhi and Mumbai!
S is for Sardarjee whom Bengalis are very envious of because he is born with a semi-monkey cap on.
T is for Trams. Hundred years later there are still trams in Kolkata. Of course if you are in a hurry it's faster to walk.
U is for Ambrela. When a Bengali baby is born they are handed one.
V is for Violence. Bengalis are the most non-violent violent people around. When an accident happens they will shout and scream and curse and abuse ("Chhere de bolchi ..." , "Dekehe nebo ..." ), but the last time someone actually hit someone was in 1979.
W is for Water. For three months of the year the city is under water and every year for the last 200 years the authorities are taken by surprise by this!
X is for X mas. It's very big in Kolkata, with Park Street fully lit up.
Y is for Yastarday. Which is always better than today for a Bengali.
Our honorable president's term ends by 2007. He had been informed not to continue. Some youngsters of INDIA set a site given below for requesting the Indian government to extend his period for the next five years. If you want Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam to continue as president you can enter their support in that website. Hurry UP. Please forward it to all Indians. ***************************************
Contributed by : Alok Vats ( vatsalok@gmail.com ) ----------------------------------------------------
THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH !!
Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the second largest producer of rice. Look at Dr. Sudarshan he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit.
There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke upto. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news.
In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation;it is a highly developed nation. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, and mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60)to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road)between 5 PM and 8 PM.
YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai (True). YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else .'
'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, 'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand . Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ?Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ???We are still talking of the same YOU.
YOU, who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own, You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?
Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staffs who are known not to pass on the service to the public.
When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.'
So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England . When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government (Absolute truth).
Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing what J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....
'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY' Lets do what India needs from us.
Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending some
Jokes or non-sense junk mails. Thank you, Dr. Abdul Kalaam
(PRESIDENT OF INDIA )
------------------------------ Contributed by : Alok Vats ( vatsalok@gmail.com )
[ Hindustan Times , Romita Datta & Saptarshi Banerjee ] Singur, February 10, 2007
Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee issued a threat to Tata and the government, warning them of the consequences of playing with fire.
"Don't play with fire, return the land," she dared the Tatas, at the same time exhorting the 35,000 strong crowd to pull down the boundary wall, that is replacing the fencing.
"The Tatas could not do it at Kalinganagar. They won't be able to do it here. We will break that wall..surely we will," she said.
"Those of you, who have not given up their land, I would ask them not to give. Don't receive cheques, if you have abstained so long. The Tatas don't have the guts to take your land with bullets," she thundered amid loud claps and cheers.
She said she was willing to respond positively to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's offer for talks but only if the land "forcibly taken away from farers" was returned.
"First return the land, you had forcefully acquired and then I would be ready to sit for a dialogue, any day, any moment. If you want it now, I am ready," she said.
"The gun will speak and so will the chorus (read Corus as Mamata intends) of Buddha and Tata and we have to sit for talks in this environment…this is not acceptable," she said.
Explaining the reason why she shifted the venue of her meeting to a place 15 kms away from Singur where section 144 had been clamped, Mamata said that it was done for the sake of peace and as a gesture of decency.
Mamata was addressing a motley crowd, which comprised all parts of the state and a few hundreds from Singur. The dais had all the prominent Trinamool leaders, but the biggest surprise was INTUC president Subrata Mukherjee, who drove in the venue with Mamata and sat next to her, smiling and chatting. While one section of the crowd cheered at the duo, many in the audience booed Mukherjee as a traitor.
After a long time Mamata Banerjee was at her crowd-pulling best. She was making funny puns, rhymes, the usual histrionics of resignation and giving up her posts, but the crowd lapped it up all.
Referring to a rumour that Trinamool Congress is against discussion and dialogue, while the chief minister was very keen, she said: "We have always maintained forceful acquisition has to be stopped, but he (CM) does not seem to care. Such audacity."
In fact, she feels that this government, which takes control of villages by using guns, which deprives men of their food has no right to stay.
"We will make them (Buddha..Buddhababu) bow down before the people. This ruthless and ruleless government has no right to continue," she thundered.
All of us have been following the Singur ( and Nandigram ) crisis in the news . This is an issue which does not look like it will be solved easily in the near future . Here is the latest on this :
Article from THE TELEGRAPH , Calcutta . [ Sunday , Feb 11 , 2007 ]
