Life on Earth ..

https://youtu.be/wT70917QM0g

If this is what happens after human extinction on Earth, roughly every 100 million years, imagine we have had approximately 46 earlier cycles of such creation and extinction already !! 

What would have been the size and shape of the intelligent thinking creatures in each of these geological cycles and what would have been their accomplishments and creations, knowledge sources, energy sources like ? 

In each of these cycles, what were their Gods and religious customs like ? Did they ever have Gods at all ? What were  those civilization and cultures like ?

How did they move from point A to point B ? Did they explore outer space ?

What rational thinking (like our Science) and knowledge did they rely on ?

How many of that intelligent species populated planet Earth then ? How did they reproduce? What were their food like ?

Were material, spiritual, knowledg or any otheer possessions considered desirable in society? Excess of which of these possessions brought respect in society ?

What did they call the supernatural powers then ? How did they worship them ? Were the intelligent species divided on these powers they worshipped ?

Did all members of the intelligent species have the same colour of skin ? Were they discrminated then ?

Did they live in families and societies ? Who became the leader and what qualities did he or she have ?

Where there two or more than two sexes or only one ? How was time denoted then ? Were there any more fundamental dimensions than that of mass, length and time which we possess ?

Interesting thoughts ..

Is this Afghanistan or Florida ?

No nation is advanced or strong enough in this world, as the above pic shows .. All have their own weaknesses and pain points .. In Texas and Florida, we saw and continue to see US being tossed left and right, up and down .. No AWACS, no STAR WARS, no nuclear bomb can save US now ..

It is a sad plight to see a strong power, US, global leader in science and technology, medicine, transportation, space technology and so on, also the second largest polluter of the world, totally helpless, being pounded time and again by mother nature ! Trillions of dollars of material damage already  ..

Let's be modest and mend our ways !

President Trump needs to have a relook at his climate policy. The vagaries of nature occuring all around the world, particularly now in United States, is due to man's insensitivity, especially that of the leader United States, to the uncontrolled atmospheric and ground based pollution happening around the world.

Now it is United States, next it could be Europe and then the rest of the world. Beware, countries of the world. US would not accept its responsibility in causing this great change in global climate by polluting the world from 1876 onwards when it regained the position as the world's top industrial power.

The casualty of this hurrricane so far in US has been three deaths and 65 millions of people shifted to makeshift safety camps. the material damage has been very large. HBR suspects  damage to the local economy to the tune of $1.2 trillion. It could take perhaps weeks and months to retain its earlier glory. Lets be optimistic and modest. Climate change from global pollution is not just the look out of Europe and Asia, US also has its hands in deep shit in this problem and needs to pull up its pants and co-operate with global efforts to contain future damaging global effects of climate change ..

george..

Is slow work, productive work ?

Author unknown (from the Internet), but I found this an absorbing read and very thought provoking ...

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Slow Down Culture in Sweden Vs.Hustling Culture of US.

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It's been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It's a rule.

Globalize processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results. Therefore, we have come to possess a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish. They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x number  of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. In the end, this always yields better results.

Put in other words:

1. Sweden is about the size of San Pablo , a state in Brazil .

2. Sweden has 9 million inhabitants.

3. Stockholm has 500,000 people.

4. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, Nokia are some of its renowned companies. Volvo supplies the NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees drive their car to work). The first day, I didn't say anything, either the second or third. One morning I asked, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot." To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, and whoever gets in late will be late and need a place closer to the door. Don't you think so?" Imagine my face. (And imagine a corporate parking lot in US!) 

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart: the spirit of Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week. Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the quality of being".

French people, even though they work only 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 29 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity been driven up by 20%. This slow attitude has brought forth the US's attention, pupils of the fast and the "do it now!". This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, perfection, with more attention to detail and less stress. It means reducing rejects and wastage. It means re-establishing family values, friends. This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, perfection, with more attention to detail and less stress. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous future. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work environment, more happy, lighter and more productive where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.

It's time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence of the human spirit.

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious of living the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists. We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in how each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment.

As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans".

Congratulations for reading till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this globalized world. 

Probably applies to many of us (if not all of us).

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Does slow (thoughtful) work mean more quality productive work ?

Fact corrected - Sweden has 9.8 million population.

george..

Problem penetration as an efficient metric ..

Most of the time new enterprises are evaluated on the metric of market penetration. How much of customers are using the product or service is a measure of the acceptance of the product/service presently in the market and is also an indicator of how more customers will get attracted to the product/service in future.

If we slightly change our thinking process from meeting our needs (less affirmative) to solving problems (more affirmative and pro-active), besides helping solve problems it can motivate innovative thinking and new applications and processes. How ?

Problem penetration as a metric addresses the core issue of the problems/challenges addressed by new product or service introduction. What are the problems/challenges faced by the market presently and how far does the 'new' product/service address this market problem is a great way to address the issue. Other than addressing the immediate problem in the society and satisfying an unmet need, this metric also motivates innovative thinking in the organisation. 

The products/services developed by this metric specific thinking process is likely to bring in more innovative thinking and innovative products and services to the market.

We know, Market penetration ratio is the ratio of the amount of sales to the total theoritical market for the product or service.

Problem penetration ratio could thus be more accurately defined as the ratio of problems directly addressed or satisfied by the solution to the sum total of all current problems faced by the industry sector trying to find solutions.

It would also be a good idea to keep track of the innovations that accrue as a fallout from the introduction of this metric.  Hitting two birds with one stone !!

george..

Ref : Yoon, Eddie, Tesla shows how traditional business metrics are outdated, HBR, August, 2017.

India retains top spot in data usage, thanks JIO .. ..

On the 5th of September last year, Indian Internet data consumption was just 20 crore GB (200 million GB) per month. On 5th of September 2017, this figure changed to 150  crore GB (1500 million GB) per month.

Who was the top singular Internet service provider and telecommunications provider in India who made a big difference the way India handles data ? was no doubt Reliance Jio, the telecommunications company working on 4G by Mukesh Ambani. In the period of a year he also has got atleast 136 million new connections making it among the top telecom players of the world. With the offer of a free Jio 4G phone for Rs 1500 ($25, refundable) he is again going to disrupt the whole telecom world like never before.

Mukesh Ambani invested almost $ 33 billion in building hardware infrastructure in cables, towers and stations across the country making Reliance Jio investment the heaviest in telecommunication in any country of the world by any telecom service provider. Mukesh has also seen that India has the cheapest 4G data availability at $0.17/GB.

Telecommunications sector being a very hot and active participant in economic development of any country, it is not hard t say whether  India can maintain the lead for a long time. Will China build its own super heavy networks and challenge India and Reliance Jio ? We have to wait and watch.

george.

How to neutralise your body and remain healthy ..

Have plenty of fruits, plantains in your daily diet

If you look a some of the ancient and time tested medication systems and practices around the world, be it the famous Ayurveda from India, Homeopathy from Germany Unani from Greece, Egypt and the middle east, the traditional acupuncture, herbs, massage and dietary therapy from China, almost everywhere the stress has been on identifying the root cause and eliminating this root cause. 

The more nascent western medicine also has a scientific approach to treat ailments, but most of the time, the treatment is superficial and treats symptoms than the real cause. The high variance in efficacy of treatment procedures from differently able and informed practitioners makes western medicine scary at times !

This chart tells you what foods to avoid ..

Our lifestyle and food eating habits especially with bakery foods, chemical fertiliser enabled food items, vegetables, hormone injected poultry items, fish etc sees to it that most of the time our diet is acidic in nature, less than 7 pH value.

The more acidic our stomach and body, the more problems we face, all sorts of health ailments like arthritis, acidity, gas etc. The continued presence of acidic environment in our body (low pH) can lead to many disturbances and imbalances in the human body, especially leading to cancer..

Taking food items which are alkaline in nature will help you to reclaim the neutral or mildly alkaline environment in your stomach. Ideally blood should be 7.3 - 7.5 pH value, slightly alkaline.

Click here for the ideal 8 food items to give you an alkaline stomach and blood, a healthy body..

Food components that leave an acidic ash include protein, phosphate and sulfur, while alkaline components include calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
Certain food groups are considered acidic, alkaline or neutral:

• Acidic: Meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, grains and alcohol.
• Neutral: Natural fats, starches and sugars.
• Alkaline: Fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables.

                   : From "The alkaline diet - an evidence based interview", Joe Leech

Do not miss out on sunlight, nature's greatest gift to humanity

Don't miss out on vegetables, local fruits, nuts and roots.. These are the food items that helps to neutralise your body pH and helps you lead a healthy life. 

Sunlight is the greatest gift from  nature to mankind. Take enough of sunlight, 30 mins at least 4 times a week, of the morning sun upto 10 AM. Besides raising the Vitamin D levels in the body, it has multitude of benefits as the above pictorial shows ..

george.

Will the digital superpowers of the world grow more stronger ?

The top eight digital superpowers of the world are given in this pictorial.

While three of these are from China, five are from United States, the top and second topmost economies in the world. These companies definitely add value to the people of the world without any doubt of discrimination. but the really scary question is - are they really getting all-powerful making them escape the control mechanisms of the world ? 

What aids them in their quest to be the digital superpowers of the world ? It was simple innovative thinking which propelled them initially and gave them the required traction to beat local competition and emerge as global IT products.

Networking is propelling them to greater heights, lets take a look at Metcalfe's law which gives us some understanding about the process.

Metcalfe's law states that the value of a telecommunications network is proportional to the square of the number of connected users of the system (n²).

Even though the law is for telecommunications network, in the present world it is equally relevant in the digital world too.

The strength and popularity of a network is determined by the number of players or nodes in the network. As the number of  nodes increase, the strength and capability of a network increases according to the square of the nodes connected.

With just under 2.5 billion people of 7.25 billion all over the world connected to the Internet, as the unconnected people of the world get online and connected, these superpowers are only going get stronger and flex their muscles again.

An interesting fact is to know how these digital superpowers (or hub firms) compete. These hub firms do not compete based on the services and products they offer, on costs or features, they relocate themselves to the new environment and using their strength of networking, access the services and products on offer in the new environment, what follows is complete domination.

A very scary situation.. A possible outcome is these eight superpowers may get re-consolidated to two or three and control the people of the world .. When the next round of electric driver-less cars, working on artificial intelligence, networked and connected to the cloud emerges in the global scene, whichever be the company, it will emerge really strong and be a contender for the digital superpower post.  

The doubts that linger in the minds of the people are whether these over controlling digital super powers of the world, will control humanity to a large extent resulting in the imbalance between the haves and the have-nots increasing. Will it lead to social unrest and wars in the future ? The other great drawback of this whole exercise is we are in a stage and cannot backtrack. 

george..

Ref : Iansiti, Marco and Karim Lakhani, Managing our Hub economy, HBR, Aug-Sept., 2017.