I have been in love with podcasts and iTunes. When reading books are not the luxury (crowded commuting or just a mood for something different other than reading), listening to podcasts while on the go is always a step ahead… my list includes…

1. Amateur Travels
2. QDT
3. Beautiful Places in HD
4. The Welch Way
5. Photoshop killer tips
6. Pixel Perfect
7. Tekzilla
8. Pop Siren
9. TWIP
10. SKywatch
11. 65 bits
12. Travel with Rick Steeves
13. Planet Green Podcast
14. Lightroom for digital photographers

few of them on the desktop…

1. analog clock
2. month calendar
3. countdown
4. stock updates
5. world clocks

List of stufff to install/download after reformatting my laptop…

1. OS
2. Office – word precessing, spreadsheet and presentations

1. anti-virus – AVG
2. MSN messenger
3. Skype
4. Firefox
5. Chrome
6. Adobe reader
7. Flash player
8. FLV Player
9. Dropbox
10. piclens
11. iTunes
12. Google Earth
13. Irfan View
14. Yahoo Widgets

that’s a long list… no wonder i can take up to a day to install everything

This is an interesting one i thought. I am not conscious when to use ‘whether’ and when to use ‘if’

• Whether – for a choice/alternatives
• If – for a condition

Account for / Account to… when to use what?

• Account for – explain something 
  E.g. We had to account for the delay.
• Account to – receive blame or credit
  E.g. You will have to account to the the teacher for your naughtiness

Types of tenses in English Language:

• Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense – The action started in the past and it continues upto now.
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense – The action has just stopped or an action continuing up to now

• Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense – The action in the past before another action in the past.
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense – It expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past
  E.g. I was very tired because I had been running.

• Future Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
  The train will have left when you arrive.  
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense - about a long action before some point in the future
  I will have been working here for ten years next week. 

Accept versus Except

• Accept means “to agree to” or “to receive.”
  E.g. We will accept (receive) your manuscript for review.
• Except means “to object to” or “to leave out.”
  e.g. No parking is allowed, except (leave out) on holidays. 

What is a modifier? In grammar, a modifier (or qualifier) is a word or sentence element that limits or qualifies another word, a phrase, or a clause.  There are 2 kinds of modifiers are:

1. adjectives - modify nouns and pronouns
2. adverbs - modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs

Subjunctive is a special rare verb in English. The structure is extremely simple:

• be (past)  - I were, you were, he/ she/it were, we were, they were
• be (present) - I be, you be, he/ she/ it be, we be, they be
• all other verbs (past & present) - I play, you play, he/ she/it play, we play, they play

Some links:

• Grammar Girl
• GMAT Grammar
• English Club

It has long been a tenet of business theory that the best decisiosn are amde after careful review and consideration. Only then can a practical decision be made. Now that model is being questioned by some business thinkers in the light of the theories of Malcolm Gladwell, who states that human beings make better decisions in the blink of an eye. Gladwell argues that on the contrary, the human mind is able to make complicated decisions quickly, and that intuition often trumps an extended decision-making process.

Some links..

• Malcolm Gladwell
• Blink – the book

Finally i found little applications that i can display on the desktop without the use of any browser or opening any applications… Yahoo Widgets!! Clocks, Convertors, weather, countdowns etc…

Looks like i need to explore something similar – Google Desktop gadget!

Probability A and B

• P(A) + P(A’) = 1
• P(AUB) = P(A or B) = A union B
• P(A?B) = P(A and B) = A intersect B
• P(AUB) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A?B)
• P(AUB) = P(A) + P(B)  for mutually exclusive events

Probability A and B and C

• For 3 sets A, B, and C:
  P(AuBuC) = P(A) + P(B) + P(C) – P(AnB) – P(AnC) – P(BnC) + P(AnBnC)
• No. of persons in exactly one set: 
  P(A) + P(B) + P(C) – 2P(AnB) – 2P(AnC) – 2P(BnC) + 3P(AnBnC)
• No. of persons in exactly two of the sets: P(AnB) + P(AnC) + P(BnC) – 3P(AnBnC)
• No. of persons in exactly three of the sets: P(AnBnC)
• No. of persons in two or more sets: P(AnB) + P(AnC) + P(BnC) – 2P(AnBnC) 
• No. of persons in at least one set: P(A) + P(B) + P(C) – P(AnB) – P(AnC) – P(BnC) + 2 P(AnBnC)

So when should we use ‘different from’ and ‘different than’ ?

different from is used to compare 2 nouns. E.g. The curtains in this room are different from the ones in my room.

different than is often used in American English to compare a noun and a clause. E.g. Elaine’s painting was veyr different than i has expected!

Some related links:

• GMAT blog
• comparison of usage
• gramatically correct

White collar refers to salaried professionals white Blue collar refers to job with manual labour earning hourly wage.

This term was first used by Upton Sinclair in 1930s where the color of overalls or coveralls indicated occupational status: blue for workers, brown for foremen, and white for professional staff such as engineers.

Book Title: Self Leadership and the 101 Minute Manager
Authors: Ken Blanchard, Susan Fowler, Laurence Hawkins
Year written/published: 2005
Book Source: Google Books, Library
Summary: How do you steer yourself
Some extracts:

Points of power

• Knowledge Power
• Position power
• task power
• relationship
• personal power

Tricks of leadership:

1. Challenge assumed constraints
2. Celebrate your points of power
3. Collaborate for Success

Perhaps your greatest weakness is not realizing your own power

Ask yourself 2 questions about the goal of performing:

1. what is your level of competence?
2. what is your level of commitment?

4 development continuum

1. Enthusiastic Beginner stage: Low Competence -high commitment ? you need directing
2. Disillu8sioned learner stage: low some competence – Low commitment ? you need coaching
3. Capable but cautious Performer stage: Moderate high competence variable commitment ? you need supporting
4. High Achiever: high competence – high commitment ? you need delegating

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 link to image source: picture credit

To increase your competence to achieve a goal you need from someone who will:

? Set a clear goal
? Generate an action plan
? Show you how to do the goal or skill
? Clarify roles
? Provide timelines
? Establish priorities
? Monitor and evaluate your work and give feedback

To build your commitment to achieve a goal you need from someone who will:

? Listen to you
? Praise and encourage you
? Facilitate your problem solving
? Ask you for input
? Provide rationale (remind you why you’re doing it)
? Share information about their experiences relevant to the goal
? Share information about the organization relevant to the goal

Read this story a few times here and there…

T. J. Watson, one of IBM’s influential pioneer leaders had this talk with his employee (a highly efficient one) in 1915.

The employee probably did a big blunder that cost the company thousands of dollars. So when he came to meet Mr. Watson, he was naturally expecting to be fired.

But instead Mr. Watson said this, “You kidding me! We just send you for training costing thousands of dollars!”

Randy Pausch’s 2 amazing lectures…

Time Management

Last Lecture: Achieving your Childhood Dreams

I’m in love with this little podast from the QDT network – Grammar Girl by Mignon Fogarty. SO who’s she in real life?

Book Title: How to enjoy life and your job
Author: Dale Carnegie
Year written/published: 1984
Book Source: Google Books, Library
Summary: A compilation of Dale Carnegie’s books on How to win friends and influence people and How to stop worrying and start living
My Comments: I have always taken Dale Carnegie as relationship/diplomacy guru when dealing with people… another revision of this ideas.
Contents page:

1. How to stop worrying and start living
2. Fundamental techniques in handling people
3. Ways to win people to your way of thinking
4. Ways to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment

Some extracts:

7 ways ot peace and happiness:

1. Let’s not imitate others. Let’s find ourselves and be ourselves
2. 4 good working habits: Clean your desk of all papers except those relating to the immediate problem as hand, DO things in the order of importance, Don put off decisions, learn to organise, deputise and supervise
3. learn to relax
4. count your blessing and not troubles
5. Remember than unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment.
6. Do this – and criticism can’t hurt you: Do the very best you can; and then put your old umbrella and keep the rain of old criticism from running down the back of your neck

 Fundamental techniques in handling people:

1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation
3. Arouse in the other person as eager want
4. be genuinely interested in other person
5. make the other person feel important – do it sincerely

ways to win people to your way of thinking

• Show respect for the other people’s opinions. Never say "You’re wrong"
• Begin in a friendly way
• get the other person to say ‘yes yes’ immediately
• Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers
• appeal to nobler motives

Ways to change people without giving offense or arousing resentment

• call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly
• Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person
• Ask questions instead of giving orders
• Let the other person save face

GMAT General

• beating GMAT and beyond
• beat the GMAT
• How i got 770 in GMAT
• Manhattan GMAT
• GMAT Club

GMAT Verbal

• GMAT Grammar
• Sentence Correction
• Analytical Writing

GMAT Math

• GMAT Math