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Monday, March 30, 2009

The Perfect Compact DSLR

I'm looking forward to buying a camera, the prob...Point n shoot have really small sensors, so low light et all shooting sucks and DSLR are quite big, they feel like someone who is serious about photography. I'm not but I do know quality when I''ve shot it. Thom below says what I want to say very well. Fellow photographers, enthusiasts, support him, he really knows how design one. A good read and nice plea to camera companies.

In the mean time I'm planning to pickup Canon A590 IS. Decent and price less than 10k.

Thom's Compact Camera Challenge
http://www.bythom.com/compact.htm

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The 10+ most dangerous words in business

Business buzzwords can be annoying — but everyday language can be far more treacherous. BNET UK’s Jo Owen lists a dozen seemingly innocuous words that are often used to distract, misdirect, and deceive the listener.


Don’t worry about the jargon: At least we all recognise it when we hear it. The really nasty language in business consists of normal words with abnormal meanings. Here are 12 words that should get any alert manager’s bullsh*t detector working overtime.

Note: This article originally appeared on BNET UK. It’s also available as a PDF download.

1: Just

This is used to make a huge request or error seem trivial, as in, “Could you just do this (500-page) document by Monday?” — a request best made late on a Friday afternoon.

2: But

Remember, whatever is said before but is b*****ks, as in, “That was a great presentation, but…” or, “I would like to help, but…”.

3: From

From is much loved by advertisers, as in “Fly to Rome from £10″ — excluding £100 of taxes and other “optional” extras for a flight leaving at 4 AM and going to an airport about 100kn away from Rome, and only if you book the ticket one year in advance.

4: Might (and any other conditional verb)

Might is used to achieve two thing. First, it sets up a negotiating position, as in, “I might be able to do that if…” Second, it lays the groundwork for excusing failure later on: “I would have done it, if only…”

5: Only

Closely related to just, this is an attempt to make a big request or problem seem small. “It was only a small error…. We only dropped one nuclear bomb over London…”.

6: Important (and urgent)

This is used to puff up any presentation: “This important new product/initiative…”. Important to whom? And why? Maybe it is important to the speaker, but why is it important to me?

7: Strategic

Important, with bells on. See Strategic Human Capital Division, formerly known as the Personnel Department. It’s alternatively used to justify something that has no financial justification at all: “This strategic IT investment (which costs £100 million and has no identifiable payback) is essential to the survival of the business.”

8: Rightsize, downsize, best shore, offshore, outsource, optimise, redeploy, downshift, re-engineer

How many ways are there to avoid saying straight up: “We are going to lay off staff”?

9: Thank you

Normally, thank you is good — except when used by automated voices at call centres saying, “Thank you for calling; we value your call… (and we have so much contempt for our customers that we can’t be bothered to answer your call promptly, so we will put you on hold until you give up and try to use our impenetrable and useless online help instead).”

10: Interesting

Fear this word. When your lawyer uses it, you are doomed. When your doctor uses it, check that your will is up to date. The recession is certainly interesting. A slightly less interesting time would be preferable.

11: Opportunity

Because the word problem has been banned in business-speak, all problems have become opportunities. This means many opportunities are problems. There is a limit to how many opportunities I can solve. Interesting and strategic opportunities really scare me.

12: Investment

Investment was first hijacked by the British government to justify wild and uncontrolled public sector spending. Spending is bad, but investment is good, so it simply reclassified all its spending as investment in the health, education, and future of the country. The businesses that followed the government’s lead by going on a spending/investment splurge are now going bust — unlike the government, they can’t print money or raise taxes.


Sound familiar?

Have you run into these verbal gotchas on a few occasions? What other common words and expressions have you encountered that were being wielded disingenuously?

Source:- http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=566



Friday, March 20, 2009

Dilbert One liners


These are some of the best Dilbert one-liners, infact if you read some carefully they are absolutely true...lol



1. I say no to alcohol, it just doesn't listen.
2. A friend in need is a pest indeed.
3. Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
4. Work is fine if it doesn't take too much of your time.
5. When everything comes in your way you're in the wrong lane.
6. The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train..
7. Born free, taxed to death.
8. Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
9. Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
10. Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking..
11. If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you'll have
trouble putting on your pants.
12. It's not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
13. I love being a writer... what I can't stand is the paperwork.
14. A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper
tray and the blinking red light.
15. The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who
invented the other three, he was the genius.
16. The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to
appreciate it.
17. In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?
18. If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
19. Beat the 5 O'clock rush, leave work at noon!
20. If you can't convince them, confuse them.
21. It's not the fall that kills you. It's the sudden stop at the end.
22. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
23. Hot glass looks same as cold glass. - Cunino's Law of Burnt Fingers
24. The cigarette does the smoking, you are just the sucker.
25. Someday is not a day of the week
26. Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
27. To Err is human, to forgive is not a Company policy.
28. The road to success.... Is always under construction.
29. Alcohol doesn't solve any problems, but if you think
again,neither does Milk.
30. In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don't need it.

??.and here's the best of the lot

31. *All the desirable things in life are either illegal,
expensive,fattening or married to someone else *

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Understanding Financial Crisis in simple terms

A good understanding of Financial Crisis - simple and to the point!

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar somewhere in Europe. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar.

Taking advantage of her customers' freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine and beer, the most-consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic customer service consultant at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit.

He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert bankers transform these customer assets into DRINKBONDS, ALKBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on markets worldwide. No one really understands what these abbreviations mean and how the securities are guaranteed. Nevertheless, as their prices continuously climb, the securities become top-selling items.

One day, although the prices are still climbing, a risk manager (subsequently of course fired due his negativity) of the bank decides that slowly the time has come to demand payment of the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar.

However they cannot pay back the debts.

Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy.

DRINKBOND and ALKBOND drop in price by 95 %. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80 %.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment due dates and having invested in the securities are faced with a new situation. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor.

The bank is saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock consultations by leaders from the governing political parties.

The funds required for this purpose are obtained by a tax levied on the non-drinkers.

Now I hope you finally understand our current Financial Crisis!

What your computer desktop says about you‏

A study into desktop psychology by Windows Vista reported today that people's personalities, habits and ambitions could be laid bare by analysing their computer screens.

Donna Dawson, a psychologist specialising in personality and behaviour, examined a selection of office workers' desktops and identified several clues which could indicate a person's personality.

She also said personalities could be divided into categories: Generic, Specific place; Goal-orientated; Trophy; Escapist; Artistic and Sociable.

She said: "Our desktops are our personal space and as such provide a fairly accurate personality description of an individual.

"My belief is that everything says something about what we're like. You may not consciously be aware of it but once you know, then your desktop can be used to give off a positive message about who you are."

For example, she said, having too many icons may suggest a person is disorganised and possibly insecure.

People with desktop pictures displaying their past successes, meanwhile, risk revealing their egocentric side to colleagues.

A list of desktop personality indicators from the report included:

:: Desktop with icons strewn across the screen - the owner is disorganised and tends to lose focus easily.

:: Even icons on each side - the owner values balance and proportion and tends to keep a cool head in tricky situations. Likely to be organised and dislike clutter.

:: Desktop with many rows of icons - reflects a person who needs everything to hand, likes to feel in control and on top of their life, while at the same time revealing a tendency to be slightly disorganised.

:: Personal photos as wallpaper - indicates the kind of person you are and what priorities you have. Often a parent will have a photograph of their child, or a keen traveller will have a photo of an exotic location. Photos of friends show popularity, which is useful in work environments where you need good people skills.

:: Plain blue wallpaper - suggests the kind of person who likes to keep their personal life private.

:: Trophy photos as wallpaper - can suggest a big ego and someone who revels in their past successes.