Simply amazing pic…
It resembles myself, whenever i am thinking something important as well as enjoying being alone too sometimes….
This pic touches to my heart.
Archive for January, 2008
29
Jan
08
It’s me when alone
Our communications coach breaks down the ace presenter’s latest Macworld keynote. The result? A 10-part framework you can use to wow your own audience
When Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs kicked off this year’s Macworld Conference & Expo, he once again raised the bar on presentation skills. While most presenters simply convey information, Jobs also inspires. He sells the steak and the sizzle at the same time, as one reader commented a few years ago.I analyzed his latest presentation and extracted the 10 elements that you can combine to dazzle your own audience. Bear in mind that Jobs has been refining his skills for years. Still, how he actually arrives at what appear to be effortless presentations bears expanding on and explaining again.
1. Set the theme.
“There is something in the air today.” With those words, Jobs opened Macworld. By doing so, he set the theme for his presentation
2. Demonstrate enthusiasm.
Jobs shows his passion for computer design. During his presentation he used words like “extraordinary,” “amazing,” and “cool.” When demonstrating a new location feature for the iPhone, Jobs said, “It works pretty doggone well.” Most speakers have room to add some flair to their presentations. Remember, your audience wants to be wowed, not put to sleep. Next time you’re crafting or delivering a presentation, think about injecting your own personality into it. If you think a particular feature of your product is “awesome,” say it. Most speakers get into presentation mode and feel as though they have to strip the talk of any fun. If you are not enthusiastic about your own products or services, how do you expect your audience to be?
3. Provide an outline.
Jobs outlined the presentation by saying, “There are four things I want to talk about today. So let’s get started…” Jobs followed his outline by verbally opening and closing each of the four sections and making clear transitions in between. For example, after revealing several new iPhone features, he said, “The iPhone is not standing still. We keep making it better and better and better. That was the second thing I wanted to talk about today. No. 3 is about iTunes.” Make lists and provide your audience with guideposts along the way.
4. Make numbers meaningful.
When Jobs announced that Apple had sold 4 million iPhones to date, he didn’t simply leave the number out of context. Instead, he put it in perspective by adding, “That’s 20,000 iPhones every day, on average.” Jobs went on to say, “What does that mean to the overall market?” Jobs detailed the breakdown of the U.S smartphone market and Apple’s share of it to demonstrate just how impressive the number actually is. Jobs also pointed out that Apple’s market share equals the share of its top three competitors combined. Numbers don’t mean much unless they are placed in context. Connect the dots for your listeners.
5. Try for an unforgettable moment.
This is the moment in your presentation that everyone will be talking about. Every Steve Jobs presentation builds up to one big scene. In this year’s Macworld keynote, it was the announcement of MacBook Air. To demonstrate just how thin it is, Jobs said it would fit in an envelope.Jobs drew cheers by opening a manila interoffice envelope and holding the laptop for everyone to see. What is the one memorable moment of your presentation? Identify it ahead of time and build up to it.
6. Create visual slides.
While most speakers fill their slides with data, text, and charts, Jobs does the opposite. There is very little text on a Steve Jobs slide. Most of the slides simply show one image. For example, his phrase “The first thing I want to talk to you about today…” was accompanied by a slide with the numeral 1. That’s it. Just the number. When Jobs discussed a specific product like the iPhone, the audience saw a slide with an image of the product. When text was introduced, it was often revealed as short sentences (three or four words) to the right of the image. Sometimes, there were no images at all on the slide but a sentence that Jobs had delivered such as “There is something in the air.” There is a trend in public speaking to paint a picture for audiences by creating more visual graphics. Inspiring presenters are short on bullet points and big on graphics.
7. Give ‘em a show.
A Jobs presentation has ebbs and flows, themes and transitions. Since he’s giving his audience a show instead of simply delivering information, Jobs includes video clips, demonstrations, and guests he shares the stage with. In his latest keynote, the audience heard from Jim Gianopulos, CEO and chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment, and Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel ((INTC). Enhance your presentations by incorporating multimedia, product demonstrations, or giving others the chance to say a few words.
8. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Despite your best preparation, something might go wrong as it did during the keynote. Jobs was about to show some photographs from a live Web site, and the screen went black while Jobs waited for the image to appear. It never did. Jobs smiled and said, “Well, I guess Flickr isn’t serving up the photos today.” He then recapped the new features he had just introduced. That’s it. It was no big deal. I have seen presenters get flustered over minor glitches. Don’t sweat minor mishaps. Have fun. Few will remember a glitch unless you call attention to it.
9. Sell the benefit.
While most presenters promote product features, Jobs sells benefits. When introducing iTunes movie rentals, Jobs said, “We think there is a better way to deliver movie content to our customers.” Jobs explained the benefit by saying, “We’ve never offered a rental model in music because people want to own their music. You listen to your favorite song thousands of times in your life. But most of us watch movies once, maybe a few times. And renting is a great way to do it. It’s less expensive, doesn’t take up space on our hard drive…” Your listeners are always asking themselves, “What’s in it for me?” Answer the question. Don’t make them guess. Clearly state the benefit of every service, feature, or product.
10. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
Steve Jobs cannot pull off an intricate presentation with video clips, demonstrations, and outside speakers without hours of rehearsal. I have spoken to people within Apple who tell me that Jobs rehearses the entire presentation aloud for many hours. Nothing is taken for granted. You can see he rehearsed the Macworld presentation because his words were often perfectly synchronized with the images and text on the slides. When Jobs was showing examples of the films that are available on the new iTunes movie rental service, one poster of a particular film appeared at the exact moment he began to talk about it. The entire presentation was coordinated. A Steve Jobs presentation looks effortless because it is well-rehearsed.Article from businessweek.com. (BusinessWeek.com, 1/15/08) and hinted at the key product announcement—the ultrathin MacBook Air laptop. Every presentation needs a theme, but you don’t have to deliver it at the start.
Last year, Jobs delivered the theme about 20 minutes into his presentation: “Today Apple reinvents the phone.” Once you identify your theme, make sure you deliver it several times throughout your presentation.
28
Jan
08
101 most funny Quotes
Albert Einstein Quotes
1. The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
2. As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.
3. Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
4. The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.
5. If you are out to describe the truth, leave elegance to the tailor.
6. I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
Fredrick Nietzsche Quotes
7. In the beginning was nonsense, and the nonsense was with God, and the nonsense was God.
8. A casual stroll through a lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.
9. Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent.
10. Is man one of God’s blunders? Or is God one of man’s blunders?
11. Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.
Mark Twain Quotes
12. Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
13. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
14. I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.
15. I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
16. The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
17. “Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?”
Voltaire Quotes
18. Prejudices are what fools use for reason.
19. If there were no God, it would have been necessary to invent him.
20. Every man is guilty of all the good he didn’t do.
15. No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
16. The true triumph of reason is that it enables us to get along with those who do not possess it.
17. It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.
18. There are men who can think no deeper than a fact.
19. Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.
20. Anything too stupid to be said is sung.
21. By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.
22. Governments need to have both shepherds and butchers.
Plato Quotes
23. One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.
24. No one ever teaches well who wants to teach, or governs well who wants to govern.
25. This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.
26. Courage is knowing what not to fear.
27. The measure of a man is what he does with power.
Winston Churchill Quotes
34. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
35. If you are going through hell, keep going.
36. The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
37. It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.
George Carlin Quotes
38. Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
39. A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.
40. Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man…living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer and burn and scream until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you and he needs money.
41. You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans.
42. Reminds me of something my third-grade teacher said to us. She said, “You show me a tropical fruit and I’ll show you a cocksucker from Guatemala.”
43. I never fucked a ten, but one night, I fucked five twos.
44. What year did Jesus think it was?
45. The real reason that we can’t have the Ten Commandments in a courthouse: You cannot post “Thou shalt not steal,” “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and “Thou shalt not lie” in a building full of lawyers, judges, and politicians. It creates a hostile work environment.
46. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
47. “No comment” is a comment.
48. If a man smiles all the time, he’s probably selling something that doesn’t work.
49. The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.
Steve Martin Quotes
50. Boy, those French: They have a different word for everything!
51. There is one thing I would break up over, and that is if she caught me with another woman. I won’t stand for that.
52. Hosting the Oscars is much like making love to a woman. It’s something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town.
53. I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things that money can buy.
54. You know what your problem is, it’s that you haven’t seen enough movies – all of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.
55. First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me.
56. Why is it we don’t always recognize the moment when love begins, but we always know when it ends?
* As Harris K. Telemacher in “L.A. Story” (1991)
Steven Colbert Quotes
57. “To sit here at the same table with my hero, George W. Bush…I feel like I’m dreaming. Somebody pinch me. You now what, I’m a pretty sound sleeper, that may not be enough…Somebody shoot me in the face.”
-Roasting Bush at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ dinner
58. On this show, your voice will be heard – in the form of my voice.
59. There’s a phrase we live by in America: “In God We Trust”. It’s right there where Jesus would want it: on our money.
60. Folks, the President needs a break. He’s like a Black and Decker cordless Dirt Devil vacuum. If you don’t recharge his batteries, he can’t suck.
61. I’ve always been a big fan of beauty. Sure, you can’t judge a book by its cover but who wants to have sex with a book?
62. Now, I don’t see color. People tell me I’m white and I believe them because police officers call me “sir”.
63. Asia: Four little letters, three billion little people.
64. “There’s nothing wrong with being gay. I have plenty of friends that are going to hell.”
65. Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.
Jon Stewart Quotes
66. I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.
67. Insomnia is my greatest inspiration.
68. We have it. The smoking gun. The evidence. The potential weapon of mass destruction we have been looking for as our pretext of invading Iraq. There’s just one problem – it’s in North Korea.
69. We declared war on terror—it’s not even a noun, so, good luck.
70. Here’s how bizarre the war is that we’re in in Iraq, and we should have known this right from the get-go: When we first went into Iraq, Germany didn’t want to go. Germany. The Michael Jordan of war took a pass.
Jon Stewart’s Stand-up performance at RIT, 2005
Bill Maher Quotes
71. Everything that used to be a sin is now a disease.
72. I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder.
73. Religion, to me, is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don’t need.
74. They’re talking about banning cigarette smoking now in any place that’s used by ten or more people in a week,
which, I guess, means that Madonna can’t even smoke in bed.
Jerry Seinfeld Quotes
75. Men want the same thing from their underwear that they want from women: a little
bit of support, and a little bit of freedom.
76. Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge.
77. There’s very little advice in men’s magazines, because men don’t think there’s a lot they don’t know. Women do. Women want to learn. Men think, “I know what I’m doing, just show me somebody naked.”
78. Why do people give each other flowers? To celebrate various important occasions, they’re killing living creatures? Why restrict it to plants? “Sweetheart, let’s make up. Have this deceased squirrel.”
Larry David Quotes
79. Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair. But a confident bald man – there’s your diamond in the rough.
80. If you tell the truth about how you’re feeling, it becomes funny.
81. I’m surprized Hitler didn’t round up the toupee people.”
Dennis Miller Quotes
82. A recent police study found that you’re much more likely to get shot by a fat cop if you run.
83. The average American’s day planner has fewer holes in it than Ray Charles’s dart board.
84. “The only way the French are going in is if we tell them we found truffles in Iraq.”
Jay Leno Quotes
85. Here’s something to think about: How come you never see a headline like ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?
86. The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.
87. Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average. Which means you’ve met your New Year’s resolution.
88. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that 9 out of 10 doctors agree that 1 out of 10 doctors is an idiot.
Rodney Dangerfield Quotes
89. My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet.
90. Oh, when I was a kid in show business I was poor. I used to go to orgies to eat the grapes.
91. I’m at the age where I want two girls. In case I fall asleep they will have someone to talk to.
92. A girl phoned me and said, “Come on over. There’s nobody home.” I went over. Nobody was home!
93. Bisexuality immediately doubles your chances for a date on Saturday night.
Sarah Silverman Quotes
94. When God gives you AIDS – and God does give you AIDS, by the way – make lemonAIDS.
95. I was raped by a doctor. Which is, you know, so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.
Chris Rock Quotes
96. Every town has the same two malls: the one white people go to and the one white people used to go to.
97. I live in a neighborhood so bad that you can get shot while getting shot.
98. If a woman tells you she’s twenty and looks sixteen, she’s twelve. If she tells you she’s twenty-six and looks twenty-six, she’s damn near fourty.
99. “You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America’s Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn’t want to
go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named ‘Bush’, ‘Dick’, and ‘Colon.’ Need I say more?”
100. “You won’t be able to take your eyes off the next four presenters: Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz.”
Chris Rock while hosting the Oscars
101. Gas is getting so expensive I’m gonna ride a mexican to work.
25
Jan
08
What women want? Mr Long Legs
London: It’s not only men who are attracted to the physical attributes of women. When it comes to finding Mr Right, a new study has revealed that females too prefer long-legged males than their stumpier counterparts.
Researchers in Europe have carried out the study and found that taller people are more physically appealing to the opposite sex — in fact, people whose legs are five per cent longer than average are considered the most attractive,
regardless of their gender.
“There are good evolutionary reasons for the preference. Long legs are a sign of health,” The Guardian quoted lead researcher Boguslaw Pawlowski of University of Wroclaw in Poland as saying.
The researchers came to the conclusion after asking 218 male and female volunteers to rank the attractiveness of seven men and seven women from digitally altered images.
The team found that regardless of the volunteers’ own body shape and leg length, people whose legs were five per cent longer than average were rated as the most attractive.
The next most appealing was an average leg length, or those that were ten per cent longer than normal.
According to Prof Martin Tovee of the Newcastle University, longer legs are one of many subtle cues that suggest good health, especially in women. “Leg length is a good indicator of childhood nutrition in women because their legs stop growing once they reach puberty.”
“So if a woman has long legs it suggests she grew up in a good environment and that has a positive effect on fertility. The effect in men is more subtle, because their legs continue to grow beyond puberty,” he said.
Previous research has linked shorter legs with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity-related type II diabetes in both sexes.
Shorter-legged men are also more likely to have higher levels of triglycerides, which are linked to arterial disease and strokes.
So, moral of the story is If you got long lags then start impressing girls NOW……… I am sure they will not resist you…
The Nano, also known as the People’s Car, is Ratan Tata’s dream come true, and is India’s contribution to changing the global auto industry. “The car has put India on the global map,” says Fionna Prims, head of business development for Segment Y, a Goa-based automotive consultant for emerging markets. “Tata has done in four years what the Japanese took 30 years to do. It will change the whole industry.” Even rivals are gushing. “It’s a red letter day for Indian industry, a day India should be proud of,” says Venu Srinivasan, chairman of motorcycle maker TVS Motors. “Ratan Tata has the vision to create a new business model and all the naysayers are looking at it with concern. The Nano is a path breaker.”
Judging by the extreme enthusiasm that greeted the launch of the car Jan. 10 at the biennial Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi, the Nano has exceeded industry expectations. For the four years that the car has been in the making, Tata Motors, which makes trucks, sport-utility vehicles, and the Indica, India’s second most popular car, has endured skepticism and disbelief (BusinessWeek.com, 1/3/08) from rivals both domestic and international.
Ratan Tata Never Lost Faith
In the past week alone, domestic rival Bajaj Auto unveiled a hastily configured concept car with a price tag of $2,700, and Osamu Suzuki, chairman of Japan’s Suzuki Motor (7269.T), said the $2,500 price point was not where the market is (BusinessWeek.com, 12/5/07) in India. International carmakers and media doubted Tata’s ability to meet international environment and safety standards, and wondered aloud what the appearance of an affordable car would do to India’s already congested roads.
Throughout, Ratan Tata remained unfazed, despite his own doubts of meeting his timeline and price goal at a time when the costs of raw materials, from steel to rubber, were rising. But Tata promised a $2,500 car, and “a promise is a promise,” he said to an audience spilling out into the streets and packed with government officials, industry chiefs, international carmakers, and reporters. “I hope it will be seen as the car…which changes the manner in which people in rural and semi-urban India will travel,” said Tata. And, he added, “it will be a profitable venture for the company.”
The Nano has broken ground on many different levels—in price, in size, in distribution, and technology. By using lighter steel, a smaller engine, and having longer-term sourcing agreements with parts suppliers, Tata was able to keep the price of the Nano down. Its length of 3.1 meters, width of 1.5 meters, and height of 1.6 meters, with wheels at the outer corners and engine, gears, and transmission in the rear, creates space inside the car.
A Diesel Nano Will Come Next Year
Tata has filed 34 new patents on the Nano, says Girish Wagh, chief engineer and leader of the 500-man engineer and design team that created and developed the car. Most are in the engine; the Nano will have a two-cylinder, 30-hp engine with a four-speed manual transmission. Analysts say the true engine innovation will come next year, when Tata introduces the diesel version of the Nano.
Finally, the distribution of the car will also be an innovation. Just like a bicycle, it will be sold in kits that are distributed and serviced by the entrepreneurs who will assemble it for the consumer. Tata won’t elaborate, and will only say “the distribution system will be a variant from the norm. It will remove some of the layers in distribution and service.”
The Nano basic will sell for $2,500, but there will be many versions of it, including an air-conditioned one, and prices could go up to $4,000, still less than the Maruti 800, until now the world’s cheapest car at $4,810. And it will be customized for overseas markets and exported. Ratan Tata intends to export the car to emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where it’ll be a natural fit, says Paul Blokland, director of Segment Y who has been following the auto sector in emerging markets, particularly China, for a decade. The Chinese, he adds, have been only making copies of cars all these years, and have a lot to learn from Tata Motors’ innovative vehicle.
Dealers’ Phones Ringing Off the Hook
The Nano, having created a new market segment, has already begun to spawn an industry around it. India’s Apollo Tyres has said it will start to make tires for small cars like the Nano, and the industry could clearly grow if the Nano proves to be popular.
Will Ratan Tata shift to a lower gear now that his dream has been fulfilled? He’d like nothing better, he says, but it’s unlikely. “We have to now deliver a reliable product, and the Indian consumer has still to ratify it,” he said. “We have only just put a stake in the ground.” Does he worry about rivals? “We were driven by a desire to achieve what we set out to do, and it can be achieved by anyone who tries to achieve their dream. Someone else may be able to do it better than us,” he said.
Certainly there’s interest from consumers. At Bafna Motors in Mumbai, the phones were ringing all day, according to S.M. Bafna, managing director of the auto dealer. He had to keep his phone off the hook to ward off prospective buyers. Bafna wouldn’t hazard a guess of how many Nanos he might sell, for “I might underestimate the demand,” he said. “People are desperately waiting for the car.”
Article from Businessweek.com
