To sleep or not To sleep

Weekends are part of everyday life and they keep coming without much control. The effort however gets consumed between the weekends and most of the time wishing that there were a couple of days less before the next weekend arrives. On a few rare occasions one does hope that there were a little bit of more time before the week actually ends but that’s definitely not normal.

What is that one big decision that one has to take for the Sunday morning and in our case Friday morning? The Saturday night is usually dictated by the social circles while the more active socialites spend partying the lesser mortals have some quality family time. But challenge is on the morning of the holiday. Do you wake up early because this is your day and you want to enjoy and actively utilize every moment of the day or you want wake up late and use the opportunity to give your body and mind a well deserved rest.

On a working day morning there isn’t much that I can do before rushing off to work. I sleep till the last moment during weekdays using the snooze to squeeze out the last bit of available time and stretching up to the limit. I prefer to wake up early on the weekend to devour the early hours and let it seamlessly flow into my rest of the day. A nap in the afternoon goes a long way to compensate for much required rest for the body and soul. I had slept till late in the morning a few times and invariably got depressed upon waking up that my holiday was almost over and guilt that I have wasted it.

Everybody has their own priorities for the holidays but sleeping in the morning is not on that list of mine!

Images from the Internet.

How does a frozen Chicken Expire?

Coming from an Indian Town and growing up in the seventies, we never used frozen foods. As a matter of fact frozen food was simply not available. The man of the family used to go to the bazaar every morning and the lady of the family used to prepare fresh foods twice a day.

So when I got introduced to frozen foods and packed foods there were a few questions that started to pop up. One thing that I could never understand is how could a chicken have a expiry date while it was already slaughtered and frozen and packed quite some time back….. Well I am still looking for that answer.

I read this article in the Yahoo webpage and found it quite interesting and thought of sharing it here…..


Food expiration dates: What do they really mean?
By Ann Pietrangelo
Posted Mon Aug 16, 2010 4:30pm PDT

Are you one of those people who pour the milk down the drain on the expiration date?

Expiration dates on food products can protect consumer health, but those dates are really more about quality than safety, and if not properly understood, they can also encourage consumers to discard food that is perfectly safe to eat.

A recent poll of more than 2,000 adults showed that most of us discard food we believe is unsafe to eat, which is a good thing, of course, but it is important that we understand what food expiration dates mean before we dump our food -- and our money -- down the drain or into the garbage. On average, in the U.S. we waste about 14% of the food we buy each year. The average American family of four throws out around $600 worth of groceries every year.

Which five foods are most often feared as being unsafe after the printed date? According to ShelfLifeAdvice.com, we are most wary of milk, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, and eggs, and the site offers these helpful explanations:

• Milk: If properly refrigerated, milk will remain safe, nutritious, and tasty for about a week after the sell-by date and will probably be safe to drink longer than that, though there’s a decline in nutritional value and taste.
• Cottage cheese: Pasteurized cottage cheese lasts for 10-14 days after the date on the carton.
• Mayonnaise: Unopened, refrigerated Kraft mayonnaise can be kept for 30 days after its expiration date or 3-4 months after opening, the company told ShelfLifeAdvice.
• Yogurt: Yogurt will remain good 7-10 days after its sell-by date.
• Eggs: Properly refrigerated eggs should last at least 3-5 weeks after the sell-by date, according to Professor Joe Regenstein, a food scientist at Cornell University. Note: Use of either a sell-by or expiration (EXP) date is not federally required, but may be state required, as defined by the egg laws in the state where the eggs are marketed.

The “Use-By” Date

The “use-by” or “best if used-by” date indicates the last day that the item is at its best quality as far as taste, texture, appearance, odor, and nutritional value. The decline after that is gradual. The use-by date refers to product that has not yet been opened.

The “Sell By” Date

The “sell by” date is not really a matter of food safety, but a notice to stores that the product should be taken off the shelf because it will begin to decline in quality after that date.

The Law

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): “Product dating is not generally required by federal regulations. However, if a calendar date is used, it must express both the month and day of the month (and the year, in the case of shelf-stable and frozen products). If a calendar date is shown, immediately adjacent to the date must be a phrase explaining the meaning of that date such as "sell-by" or "use before."

There is no uniform or universally accepted system used for food dating in the United States. Although dating of some foods is required by more than 20 states, there are areas of the country where much of the food supply has some type of open date and other areas where almost no food is dated.”

Food-Borne Illness

Cross-contamination and unsanitary conditions are a primary cause of food-related illnesses, whether it occurs in the home or in a restaurant, and this is independent of any expiration date. The leading culprits are:

• Improper hand-washing prior to food preparation.
• Storing food at the wrong temperature.
• Cooking food to an inadequate temperature.
• Cross-contamination (raw meats that come into contact with salads, for instance).
• Improper washing of fresh produce.

The Yuck Factor: Common Sense Approach to Food Safety

Aside from any expiration date or lack thereof, if a food item is moldy or if it smells and looks spoiled, err on the side of caution. If it makes you say, “yuck,” throw it away.


http://green.yahoo.com/blog/care2/54/food-expiration-dates-what-do-they-really-mean.html

Choose your partner with care

Last weekend we were at the beach and it was rather empty around. I guess most of the people were either at home as this is the holy month of fasting or did not think it was a good idea to be at the beach on this hot summer afternoon.
While our daughter was reluctantly getting introduced to the Majestic Sea under the mother’s supervision, not at all amused by its vastness, I decided to take a lone stroll along the water.

I spotted a dead fish on the sand I remembered two stories that keep having a significant impact on our lives. These are the fish story and the scorpion stories of life. I thought of sharing these with you as both of these are worth sharing.

The Fish Story
A small boy was once walking in the beach along the water and he noticed that as waves were crashing into the sand they were throwing hundreds of small fishes out of the water. Those little creatures had no hope of surviving. Then he saw a man who was picking a hand full of those fishes and letting them back in the water. A little boy who was amused and asked,

“Sir there are hundreds of fish that are been thrown out with each wave. You are rescuing only a few while most of them are dying anyways. What difference does it make?”
The next wave swept in and he picked one fish and while he returned it back to the water, he said
” It did make huge a difference to this fish. It is alive.“

It also made a big difference to the boy!

The Scorpion
The other story that crossed my thoughts was that of the scorpion who used to live by the side of a pond along with other creatures. It was raining heavily one day and water started to overflow and flood the surrounding areas. As land was getting submerged, the only way for the creatures to survive was to swim across to the other side. The scorpion did not know how to swim and approached a frog with a request for a ride across to the shore.

“I won’t do that as you will sting me” said the frog said.
“Now you are my partner. If I will do that my I will sink with you” said the scorpion.
Reassured the frog let the scorpion ride on his back as it swam across. Half way through the scorpion stung on the back.
The poison paralyzed the frog’s limbs and asked as they were sinking the frog asked,

“Why did you do it? Now you too are going to die.”

“What can do my friend” said the scorpion with tears rolling down.

“This is my nature.”

Choose your partner with care. ....my friends

Kolkata - The City Of Joy

Someone once told me that a camera does not lie (Photoshop does though). If I click a photograph today and another one after a year, it will show me difference in Black and White (may be in color). The point here is that the differences shows up without any emotional bias as opposed to human eyes.

Calcutta, now known as Kolkata has been very unlucky with the publicity she received in the recent past. It has been mostly bricks and seldom praises, in spite of being the City of Joy.
Today I am posting a series of pictures that I have received by an email from a friend. It will change your perception. These are photographs and they are not supposed to lie! (Kudus to the photographer)

Kolkata is in the heart of every Bengali with all its pluses and minuses. We all dream of settling back there one day.

We too say... next Durga Puja, we will be in Kolkata!

Kolkata is in the heart of every Bengali with all its pluses and minuses. We all dream of settling there one day! We too say... Come next Durga Puja and we will be in Kolkata!

The Barber Theory Of Our Life

My brother has a way of elevating stories to the level of life defining theories. A few of those are so popular between us that these have become part of our life. I would like to share a few of those in the coming weeks will start with the Barber Theory.

Barber Theory: One can do lots of things if he does not have complete knowledge.

Once upon a time there was a barber in a village. He was also the de-facto local surgeon who took care of all the surgical needs of the village. Operating seamlessly through any boils, tumors any other ailment that came across and his hand never trembled. So cheap and efficient was his service that professionally trained surgeon of the area started to get affected as no patients went to see him. He was sad and complained to his peers and friends. One of his doctor friends told him, “Don’t you worry! I will fix it for you tomorrow.”

The very next day the physician went and witnessed the barber in action. Once ther surgery was completed, he asked the barber” how could you perform with so much confidence?”

The barber said “what is the big deal. I do this regularly!”

The Physician explained “if you had cut a little bit extra on the right it would have severed the vein that supplies blood to the right side of the brain. The blood circulation to the brain would have stopped leaving the patient paralyzed.” And he went on to explain exactly where each vein and nerve and tissues and muscles and all the other body components were. He also described in detail what the risks and consequences were if something gone a little wrong.

When the barber went to perform the next surgery, his hand was trembling and he was not sure anymore where to cut and how much to cut. He was worried about the consequences as he was aware of the possibilities and the dangers.

Knowledge makes a big difference! (May be at times, if not always!)

This is in response to Shekhar Kapur’s blog post “A Blackberry addict discovers grassroots enterprise in India” (http://shekharkapur.com/blog/2010/07/a-blackberry-addict-discovers-grassroots-enterprise-in-india/)

Indian Rupee finally gets its symbol

I will start with this news excerpt from News channel and it says it all. Following this is a set of instructions that shows a way to use the symbol in our PC.

Indian Rupee finally gets its symbol
NDTV Correspondent, 15 July, 2010

Finally, the Rupee will have a symbol like the Dollar ($) or the Euro (€) or the Pound (£). The Cabinet today finalised the design for the Rupee.
IIT post-graduate Uday kumar's entry has been selected out of five shortlisted designs as the new symbol for the Indian Rupee.
The government had organised a symbol design competition with a prize money of Rs 2.5 lakh. Five designs were shortlisted from a competition and all new notes will bear the design finally approved.
The growing influence of the Indian economy in the global space is said to have prompted this move that will result in the Indian rupee joining the select club of global currencies like the US dollar, the British Pound, European Euro and Japanese Yen that have unique symbols.
The abbreviation for the Indian Rupee, 'Re' or 'Rs' is also used by India's neighbours Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

 
You can start using the font straight away in your PC. Thanks to Foradian Technologies. Following are the steps.

Go to  http://blog.foradian.com/font-with-indian-rupee-symbol-download-and-us
Down load the font file. It is by the name “Rupee.ttf”
Copy it to your computer's font folder. This is C: /Windows/Fonts
Open a word file. Type the first character left of 1 (the key just above "tab" button in your keyboard) Just select "Rupee" font from the drop down list of your fonts in your application It will display our new rupee symbol.

Try it. It will have its limitations, but it’s definitely a very good starting. Lets celebrate another entry to another very exclusive club.

Information obtained with thanks from NDTV and Foradian Technologies websites.

A thought for Collectors

People say that every good action of a man comes back to him multiplied several times more. Something similar happened to me last week. I used to collect postage stamps as a hobby when I was a kid. When time came to leave home for college, I somewhat detached myself form my worldly possessions and handed them over the stamp album to my kid brother. Soon it was his turn to leave home he handed them over to one of his juniors and thus the collection left our home.

Old habits die hard- that’s what they say! A decade later I restarted my hobby of stamp collection. Not as actively as before but as passionately as ever. One close friend of mine recently decided to hang up his gloves and give up hobby as well as his collection. This doesn’t interest my son and daughter, he said. So he asked me if I would take it over. I was overwhelmed and more than eager to give his collection a new home. Last week I received the first batch of his lovely collection and it made me smile to say the least. I put all my work and papers aside as I gazed through those lovely pieces of paper like a kid!

I belong to a generation where there were many things to collect. We had the craving to collect stuff partly because the abundance of today was not to be seen during those days and nor were everything for sale in the mart. Alongside postage stamps, I also collected currency notes, coins and calling cards.

I wonder what will the new generation collect. What will be their hobbies and what will they exchange. How can they learn that there are certain things that one cannot buy form the super market? They have to trade something they have extra to get something that they want to add to his collection.

As it stands today, even emails are considered backdated with the popularity of social networking rising with each passing moment. So getting a letter by general post is nothing less than a dream come true. I will not blame my friend’s children if they stamp collection does not interest them. With everyone having a mobile in his hand, even calling cards are now rare and invisible. Currency notes and coins are still an option even though European Union had a big dent in the number.

But what will the new generation collect? Digital imageries and programs! or to create some postage stamps of your own like I did....

If you are a collector of Artworks, Antiques & Collectibles, a collection of vintage cars would be a great idea  if one could afford!

What about The Common Man!