Friday, August 21, 2009

Papa's Porridge

This post is written for Cooking for Kids Event.





Ingredients:
2 cups oats
4 cups warm milk
2 tbsp sugar
2 bananas, sliced
8 small pieces of papaya
8 small pieces of watermelon
few pomegrante seeds

Method:
a. Put the oats, 2 cups of milk and sugar in a bowl and mix it well
b. Keep it in oven for 2 mins (alternatively u can also boil for 2 mins on a medium flame)
c. Add remaining milk
d. Put all the fruits and mix it well
e. Serve it to the children

Benefits:
i. Oats reduces cholestrol
ii. Fruits are rich in vitamins (as we all are aware of)
iii. Will be ready in maximum of 10 minutes

Top-Ups:
a. Instead of sugar use jaggery, as jaggery is highly nutritions
b. Add butter (which has a little salt) before serving.
c. Use raisins, almond flakes for more taste.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

56 Reasons Why Most Corporate Innovation Initiatives Fail

Innovation is in these days. The word is on the lips of just about every CEO, CFO, CIO, and anyone else with a three-letter acronym after their name. As a result, many companies are launching all kinds of "innovation initiatives" -- hoping to stir the soup. This is understandable. But it is also, far too often, very disappointing...
Innovation initiatives sound good, but usually don't live up to the expectations. The reasons are many.
What follows are 56 of the most common ones -- organizational obstacles we've observed in the past 22 years that get in the way of a company really raising the bar for innovation.
See which ones are familiar to YOU. Then, sit down with your Senior Team... CEO... innovation committee, or best friend and jump start the process of going beyond these obstacles. Let the games begin...

1. "Innovation" framed as an initiative, not the normal way of doing business
2. Absence of a clear definition of what "innovation" really means
3. Innovation not linked to company's existing vision or strategy
4. No sense of urgency
5. Workforce is suffering from "initiative fatigue"
6. CEO does not fully embrace the effort
7. No compelling vision or reason to innovate
8. Senior Team not aligned
9. Key players don't have the time to focus on innovation
10.Innovation champions are not empowered
11. Decision making processes are non-existent or fuzzy
12. Lack of trust
13. Risk averse culture
14. Overemphasis on cost cutting or incremental improvement
15. Workforce ruled by past assumptions and old mental models
16. No process in place for funding new projects
17. Not enough pilot programs in motion
18. Senior Team not walking the talk
19. No company-wide process for managing ideas
20. Too many turf wars. Too many silos.

21. Analysis paralysis
22. Reluctance to cannibalize existing products and services
23. NIH (not invented here) syndrome
24. Funky channels of communication
25. No intrinsic motivation to innovate
26. Unclear gates for evaluating progress
27. Mind numbing bureaucracy
28. Unclear idea pitching processes
29. Lack of clearly defined innovation metrics
30. No accountability for results
31. No way to celebrate quick wins
32. Poorly facilitated meetings
33. No training to unleash individual or team creativity
34. Voo doo evaluation of ideas
35. Inadequate sharing of best practices
36. Lack of teamwork and collaboration
37. Unclear strategy for sustaining the effort
38. Innovation Teams meet too infrequently
39. Middle managers not on board
40. Ineffective rollout of the effort to the workforce
41. Lack of tools and techniques to help people generate new ideas
42. Innovation initiative perceived as another "flavor of the month"
43. Individuals don't understand how to be a part of the effort
44. Diverse inputs or conflicting opinions not honored
45. Imbalance of left-brain and right brain thinking
46. Low morale
47. Over-reliance on technology
48. Failure to secure sustained funding
49. Unrealistic timeframes
50. Failure to consider issues associated with scaling up
51. Inability to attract talent to risky new ventures
52. Failure to consider commercialization issues
53. No rewards or recognition program in place
54. No processes in place to get fast feedback
55. No real sense of what your customers really want or need
56. Company hiring process screens out potential innovators
Others we may have missed?

Remedies of a Banana

Dear Viewers,

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.

After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.

It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected
area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nervous: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work?
Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at wor k leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit !

Have a banana to keep doctor(s) away!!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi

Dear Viewers,

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Ganesh Chaturthi falls in the Hindu calendar month of Bhadrapada on Chauthi or Chaturthi. Its a belief that Goddess Gowri (Swarna Gowri)would come to their parents house for Gowri festival and Lord Ganesh would come to take back his mother on Ganesh Chaturthi. Ganesh loves to dance on that day, along with the dancing group(s).

This year (2009) we are celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi on August 23rd on a Sunday. And Gowri Puja is also celebrated on the same day.

But the sculpturers would start making sculptures of Gowri and Ganesh from June only. You can see different kinds of sculptures and here is just one image of Ganesh in which there are 6 ganeshas along with the main one. There will be traditional Ganeshas and also fancy Ganesh.

This puja will extend from 1 day to 1 month. In houses it would be kept for maximum of 1 to 3 days. While on streets, near shopping malls, it might go from 5 days to 1 month.

I remember, when i was at Chintamani a big Ganesh would be kept for 3 days and 4th day they would leave it back in water. It means that Ganesh is taking his mother Gowri and then returning back to his home. There used to be competitions viz., painting, essay, dancing, skits, thol-mol-ke-bhol (means one gift article or something like that would be shown and we have to guess the price of it) and all the people who used to stay on this road will become so close to each other and it looks as if they are all in one family. Prasadams would be done atleast by one house per day and distributed to the people who come to visit Lord Ganesha. There would be neatly decorated mantap with shamiyana on the road with serial lights and music. Few shops would sponsor per day for prizes. There will be excited crowd to address all these things all the 3 days. And on the fourth day they will book a tempot to carry the Ganesha all the people will go and drop the Ganesha into the lake by telling "ganesha banda kayi kadabu tinda hote mele banda chikka kerele bida dodda kerele yeda" [kannada line] which means - Lord Ganesha has come and ate the sweet (kadabu) he was carried on our stomachs he fall into small lake and got up from big lake. These moments is really eternal in my entire life.

Remember, on this day better not to see the moon. If you couldn't avoid then read the story of Lord Ganesha or see the moon on bedege, second day after the amavasya.

Once again, wish you all Happy Gowri festival and Ganesha Chaturthi.
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