Crazy units

Q:How much is a ton?

1000 kgs?

2000 pounds?

2240 pounds?

And how much is one tonne?

How much is a short ton and how much is a long ton?

I bet most of you didnt know how many ton(ne)s you weighed :P

Answer:

1 metric ton = 1000 kgs.

short ton = 2000 pounds = net ton

long ton = 2240 pounds = gross ton

1 quintal in UK is 100 kgs while 1 quintal in US is 100 pounds

Note: 1kg = 2.2 pounds

Predictions for the decade

Some very interesting predictions for the countries for the new decade:

http://www.businessinsider.com/stratfor-predictions-for-the-next-decade-2010-1#china-doomed-1

Destroy the pyramids

Well, it is time we destroy the pyramids and start constructing apartments/flats. If we are to remove the widening rich-poor divide, the government will have to make some new policies and rules to discourage the people at the bottom of the pyramid to stop growing and simultaneously make them jump to the highest level. So how is it possible?

I have a probable solution. Yes, it is a little radical but here is a solution.

Make it compulsory for the rich to have/raise atleast 3 kids. If the family has one or two biological kids of their own, then they should adopt two or one kid respectively of their choice from the thousands of orphanage kids in the country and the adopted should have the same right as any other kid in the house and should also have the adopting parents' surname and religion. If they already have 3 kids, then they should adopt atleast one more. Such rules will make the following things possible:
1. There is a real chance for the poorest of the poor to come up in life if they are adopted.
2. The caste discrimination between the higher rich castes and the lower poor castes will come down drastically.
3. Parents who have always wanted either a boy or a girl but couldn't conceive one will have their wish come true.
4. The rich will be forced to have their riches divided between more children. So the average wealth of the richest will fall a lot bridging the rich-poor gap.

On the other end of the spectrum, the people at the bottom of the pyramid should be punished in some way for having more than two kids. Their selfishness to have more kids is putting more strain on the society and making the society as a whole poorer and creating excesses following the invisible leg theory
http://ajitjagan.blogspot.com/2009/09/invisible-leg.html

Till now, people are only avoiding to solve the real issues and problems and trying only to solve the symptoms of the problem. How else can people keep giving ideas of how to keep the people going up the pyramid structure while continuing to have the pyramid in the first place? Why not realise that the pyramid structure of society is not the most efficient and worthwhile of structures? I think the apartment structure is better. There is also a fair chance in the apartment structure that the non-performing may come down by a level and someone may have a better chance to go up.

The zones

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_k3DIyFVzFcQ/SkNIhx4b_6I/AAAAAAAAAc8/pPOMFLDDMTI/s1600-h/null.jpg

The case of Perpetual Growth

Most of the problems of mankind today can be reduced to the simple economic concept of 'supply & demand'. Unlike other things in this world, where prices rise in case of excess demand and prices fall in case of excess supply, people excesses can neither be reduced in a short period of time nor can be raised fastly. The concept of continuous growth at all times puzzles me. Yes, to continuously improve the quality of life of the people, there needs to be growth. At some point in time in earlier decades when human population was less, there was a need for more people as most work was manual. But as of now, things have changed. I believe we have excess people in this world, far more than that required to improve mankind as machines help do the same tasks efficiently and faster. This excess has now caused a deterioration in the lives of humankind. The concept of growth has unfortunately moved from qualitative growth to quantitative growth.

There is only one country that has truly understood the effects of excesses of human population and that country is China. Over the last few decades, the one child norm has reduced the population of the country and it will continue to. China has realised that excess population is a drag on the economy. It also realises that in the globalised world, any work it wants can be done by outsourcing it. 

Dirty insurers

I intend to increase my life insurance cover once I join a company and I started looking for the most economical term plan. (Comprehensive plans are not for a person like me who wants more than the normal returns of 6% on an investment and I don't want Ulips as there is no guarantee that I will die when the market is on a high. Chances are more likely that a market crash will get me a heart attack.)

So, my search started. First went back to my current insurer's website and found the premium tables. There were 4 "bands" in the premium table pdf with no explanation what the bands are. Under each band, there is indeed a very understandable table of "your age" v/s "years of insurance required". The value in the table is the annual premium for every Rs.1000 insured.

Unable to understand the bands, I tried using their premium calculator.

"Please provide the details in the given format to calculate the appropriate life insurance cover to meet your family’s needs.

Your Name  

Your Age  

Gender 

State

City

Pin Code

Email ID

Mobile Number

Click next to continue"

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point of time. How come a mandatory email id, mobile number and name is required to calculate a premium for a scheme?

Am I mad enough to give these to get some much needed spam for giving away my limitless time?

I looked at another insurer. This company has many plans under  protection plans itself, namely:

Reliance Super Golden Years Term 10 Plan 

Reliance Super Golden Years Basic Plan

Reliance Super Golden Years Plus Basic Plan

Reliance Super Golden Years Plus Term 10 Plan

Reliance Super Golden Years Value Basic Plan

Reliance Super Golden Year Value Term 10 Plan

Reliance Wealth + Health Basic Plan 

Reliance Traditional Super InvestAssure Plan 

Reliance Term Plan

Reliance Simple Term Plan

Reliance Wealth + Health Term 10 Plan 

Reliance Special Term Plan

Reliance Credit Guardian Plan

Reliance Special Credit Guardian Plan

Reliance Endowment Plan

Reliance Super Five Plus

Reliance Connect 2 Life

Reliance Whole Life Plan

Reliance Cash Flow Plan

Wow! I am so excited! I feel like a kid in a toy store...Yay! (Ya right!)

I would personally like to slap the marketing manager for the ease with which one can make out the plan looking at the name.

I remembered a subsidiary of naukri.com policybazaar.com which enables you to compare the premium rates across various insurance schemes. Here's what I need to provide to compare policies.

Wow! A free credit card on offer....

^#@*^# Marketing managers and insurers.

I feel saddened to know how inconvenient and un-user friendly and non-transparent online marketing is.

Marketing has evolved from looting blind people to forcing a non-blind person into a dark, non-lighted alley to loot him.

Very interesting political song

One of the most interesting songs ever: A new genre, called propaganda song.

The song is so hip and modern and about the man who got the sexiest man alive title in Russia: Putin

My boyfriend is in trouble once again
Got in a fight, got drunk on something nasty
I've had enough and I chased him away
And now I want a man like Putin

One like Putin, full of strength
One like Putin, who won't be a drunk
One like Putin, who wouldn't hurt me
One like Putin, who won't run away!

I've seen him on the news last night
He was telling us that the world has come to crossroads
With one like him, it's easy to be home and out
And now I want a man like Putin

One like Putin, full of strength
One like Putin, who won't be a drunk
One like Putin, who wouldn't hurt me
One like Putin, who won't run away!

Innovative outsourcings

Outsourcing prisoners to another country? Nice idea :P

http://www.businessinsider.com/schwarzenegger-outsource-prisoners-to-mexico-2010-1

A bloody good idea

You would think the world of medicine and finance don't mix... Well, not until now...

The following is an idea I gave to a market development head of an organisation in the business of stock and commodity exchanges. I got selected for this company based on this idea and many others I gave, but I have declined the offer. If this idea is indeed implemented, I would have at least managed one of my ideas to actually take off and see it in the real world.

Problem: Hospitals need a regular supply of “whole blood” and “packed cells” for giving it to patients. Maintaining a constant supply of these of the right blood type at the crucial life/death scenario is difficult.

Idea/Solution: Trade blood contracts on the exchange.

Buyers: Hospitals

Sellers: Blood banks, NGOs that do Blood donation camps/drives.

Benefits:

·         Helps hospitals get the required quantity and right type of quality tested blood in advance.

·         Helps hospitals save more lives and being more reliable.

Details:

In India, during a medical emergency, the onus is on the patient's relatives to arrange for replacement of blood. India has many blood banks, all functioning in a decentralized fashion. In the current system, there is no tool to find number of blood donors of the required blood group in current time and place, there is no interaction between blood banks, no exchange of blood or its components.

“Whole blood” is the blood available in human beings. Whole blood is extracted from the body during blood donations. The human blood has both solid parts (Red blood cells, White blood cells, Platelets, etc) and liquid parts (called serum). The whole blood can be stored upto a period of 15-21 days at 4°C. Whole blood is given to patients in case of major blood loss as in the case of accidents. The cost of a pint (Indian pint = 350ml) of whole blood is approximately Rs.650. This cost is not for the blood, but for the testing, transporting, storage and personnel cost.

Whole blood can also be separated into components and be stored. Certain components of the blood need to be given to patients in certain cases. Whole blood minus the liquid parts is called “packed cells”. Packed cells are given to patients usually in OBG cases. The cost of a pint (Indian pint = 350ml) of packed cells is approximately Rs.650-700 (slightly higher due to separation/sedimentation charges)

5.1 million units of blood are collected every year in India. The demand of blood is very high and there is a deficiency of 30-40 percent of blood as per WHO norms.

(Src: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/218536/119745403644.htm)

There is also a supply demand gap in the different states and areas. The main proposal of this idea is to make the commodity exchange as a marketplace for buyers (hospitals) to buy blood from the sellers. The sellers have expertise in procuring fresh blood, testing for diseases, classification based on blood types and storing them. The buyers can buy the required quantities of the right blood type from the sellers. This will enable hospitals to save more lives and become reliable from a patient’s point of view.

                This idea will enable the suppliers (Blood banks and NGOs) to try to increase their sourcing and increase voluntary blood donations in India. The suppliers will try to have captive donors and contact them for regular donations which will boost the blood supply available in India and close the supply demand gap.

Types of instruments (future/option) and contract specifications are to be decided.

Constraints/Challenges: Hospitals need a license to buy and store blood from the MCI (Medical Council of India).

Market size: There are a total of 2609 blood banks in India as of 30^th June 2009 out of which there are 753 private hospitals with blood banks.

(Src: http://cdsco.nic.in/html/BloodList.html

http://bloodbanksdelhi.com/content/LicensedBloodBanks.htm,

http://www.indiabloodbank.com/bloodbanks.php)

The internet in numbers

Take a look and you will surely be surprised with some of the data:

http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/22/internet-2009-in-numbers/

Very useful for online marketing people for calculating required numbers.

Is this what we are actually ending up with?

My friend said something he had heard his friend asking: "Are we really working our a**es off to have a higher hard disk capacity, faster processors and download speeds with more high definition resolution so that someone out there can watch more high quality porn in newer devices? "

Well, I don't think he was much off the mark when you consider the numbers below...

http://www.businesspundit.com/the-numbers-behind-pornography/

Practical Business lessons from social psychology

http://www.businesspundit.com/12-practical-business-lessons-from-social-psychology/

An excellent read and some readily applicable...

The Christian church keeps up with the times

http://www.businesspundit.com/the-christian-church-keeps-up-with-the-times/

Hurt quotes

“Spiteful words can hurt your feelings but silence breaks your heart.”

"It's weird...you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second...just so it can hurt a little more.”

“Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth.”

“Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.”

“I've learned that no matter how good a friend someone is, they're going to hurt you every once in awhile and you must forgive them for that.”

“The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other”

“You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.”

“I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love” : Mother Teresa

Be a hero today!

"Heroes don't die, they just reload"

Whatever your problems, reload and get going!

The sinful path

Wall Street runs from Broadway to South Street. There's a church at one end and a graveyard at the other.

Don't you think the location is perfect.

lol

The bankers should either go and pray or get themselves killed for putting the world in a mess.

Be free

"You can enjoy life only when you are free, not formal!"

Best enterpreneural books

http://www.businessinsider.com/required-reading-for-entrepreneurs-2010-1#the-fountainhead-by-ayn-rand-1

Njoy!

Don't take life too seriously, you are not going to survive it anyway  :D

Love & war 2

"War (like love) is easier to start than to stop": H.L.Mencken