HABIT

I am your constant companion.
I am your greatest helper or your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am completely at your command.
Half the things you do, you might just as well turn over to me, and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly.
I am easily managed; you must merely be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done, and after a few lessons I will do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men.
And, alas, of all failures as well.
Those who are great, I have made great.
Those who are failures, I have made failures.
I am not a machine, though I work with all the preci-sion of a machine.
Plus, the intelligence of a man.
You may run me for profit, or run me for ruin; it makes no difference to me.
Take me, train me, be firm with me and I will put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Who am I?
I am a HABIT!

- Author Unknown

.....keep layering the yellow butter paper

Obi Wan Kenobi

courtesy of Obi Wan Kenobi

To think that you know a person, but you actually dont. Heres to a guy who Ive known for the last 22 years, sadly I missed his formation years...to find out that he is one cool dude. If I am his age, I ll be his best friend. What the heck, I wanna be his best friend.
The person Im talking about is my brother, my little brother. Boy has he grown up. The dude got talent man, more than I do at his age. Im so proud. To give myself a little bit of credit, he got some of the influences from yours truly. But the dude develops it to the next level.
Go ahead man, pursue your dreams. Do something bout your talents. Let me say this, being in the field that I am right now, I can tell you this, if you've got the eye, YOU HAVE GOT THE EYE!!! Period....

Check out my bro's works: http://mymedulla.deviantart.com/

.....keep layering the yellow butter paper

Health is Wealth

This year is my 30th year living in this third rock from the sun. In May this year, in conjunction with World No Smoking 2006, I quit the nicotine filled smoke. Of course there's always the temptations, especially late nights at work slogging those last stroke of design ideas, but generally the will prevailed. In August, I started going to the gym again. All those 5 years of full time working in deadline based environment slowly taking its toll on my body. I need to get to my prime. Stairs instead lifts/escalators are my friends now. No more nasi lemak or coke or both at same time. A lot of sacrifice but should be well worth the effort in the long run. Recently, I got a calling. Ramadhan has been a blessing. You think clearer. Decisions are not that hard to make. Something magical unveils itself before me. A device that basically tells me, medically, whether my anti-oxidant level is up to mark all in 3 minutes.

Bio-Photonic Scanner

Astounding technology!!!
The sad part is I am not as healthy as I have thought I would be. I 'take care' of my body. I do take caution in what goes into my stomach...all that abuse past few years really 'showing' its might. OK. What should I do? Basically, I have to eat more food with high anti-oxidant levels; fruits and veges, 5-9 servings each day. Thats a lot ok. Substitute?


I got hold of this magic juice and some supplements, been at it religiously, and I cant wait to test my anti-ox levels. I am on a mission. Mission of Health. Mission of Wealth. Health is Wealth. I put up a link under 'the future is here' tab. Its called Health is Wealth. You would need a username/password (guest/scanner). Check it out if you value your health. Leave a post for further explanation.
To Adnan, keep layering.

......keep layering the yellow butter paper

Another Fav Quote

The moment you cheat for the sake of beauty, you know you're an artist.
David Hockney

ps: I get this a lot at work....I take it as a complement

WHY WE SHOULD GO HOME ON TIME...

Mr. Narayana Murthy is undoubtedly one of the most famous persons from Karnataka. He is known not just for building the biggest IT Empire in India but also for his simplicity. Almost every important dignitary visits InfoSys campus. He delivered an interesting speech during an employee session with another IT company in India. He is incidentally, one of the top 50 influential people of Asia according to an Asiaweek publication and also the new IT Advisor to the Thailand Prime Minister.

Extract of Mr. Narayana Murthy's Speech during Mentor Session:

I know people who work 12 hours a day, six days a week, or more. Some people do so because of a work emergency where the long hours are only temporary. Other people I know have put in these hours for years. I do not know if they are working all these hours, but I do know they are in the office this long. Others put in long office hours because they are addicted to the workplace.

Whatever the reason for putting in overtime, working long hours over the long term is harmful to the person and to the organization. There are things managers can do to change this for everyone's benefit. Being in the office long hours, over long periods of time, makes way for potential errors.

My colleagues who are in the office long hours frequently make mistakes caused by fatigue. Correcting these mistakes requires their time as well as the time and energy of others. I have seen people work Tuesday through Friday to correct mistakes made after 5 PM on Monday.

Another problem is that people who are in the office long hours are not pleasant company. They often complain about other people (who are not working as hard); they are irritable, or cranky, or even angry. Other people avoid them. Such behaviour poses problems, where work goes much better when people work together instead of avoiding one another.

As Managers, there are things we can do to help people leave the office. First and foremost is to set the example and go home ourselves. I work with a manager who chides people for working long hours. His words quickly lose their meaning when he sends these chiding group e-mails with a time-stamp of 2 AM, Sunday.

Second is to encourage people to put some balance in their lives. For instance, here is a guideline I find helpful:
1) Wake up, eat a good breakfast, and go to work.
2) Work hard and smart for eight or nine hours.
3) Go home.
4) Read the books/comics, watch a funny movie, dig in the dirt, play with your kids, etc.
5) Eat well and sleep well.

This is called recreating. Doing steps 1, 3, 4, and 5 enable step 2. Working regular hours and recreating daily are simple concepts. They are hard for some of us because that requires 'personal change'. They are possible since we all have the power to choose to do them.

In considering the issue of overtime, I am reminded of my oldest son. When he was a toddler, if people were visiting the apartment, he would not fall asleep no matter how long the visit was, and no matter what time of day it was. He would fight off sleep until the visitors left. It was as if he was afraid that he would miss some thing. Once our visitors' left, he would go to sleep. By this time, however, he was over tired and would scream through half the night with nightmares. He, my wife, and I, all paid the price for his fear of missing out.

Perhaps some people put in such long hours because they do not want to miss anything when they leave the office. The trouble with this is that events ill never stop happening. That is life! Things happen 24 hours a day. Allowing for little rest is not ultimately practical. So, take a nap. Things will happen while you are asleep, but you will have the energy to catch up when you wake. Hence,


"LOVE YOUR JOB, BUT NEVER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMPANY BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN THE COMPANY STOPS LOVING YOU"
- Narayana Murthy -


...........keep layering the yellow butter paper