Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Tools to manage time efficiently

Time management plays an important role in success of personal life as well as in career. Time management is as simple as extracting the most of the time you are awake in a day. At the same time it is as complicated as a set of practices, principles, skills, systems and more over tools.

What tool do you use to manage your time? Let us start with a simple list – calendar, to-do list. A calendar will be a calendar as long you see it as just a calendar. Enhance your calendar with a diary, mobile, or sites online like 30boxes, Google calendar, etc.

The Ti-Mandi (or Time and I) Window is one of the famous time management that most successful persons use. Its as simple as creating 2 by 2 column table. In the first row and first column list out all your works that are on priority for action (Important and urgent in other words). Assign the second column of the table to hold the list of all works that are important but can be put on hold for sometime. The second row and first column will be a list of all hot potatoes (that are trivial but demand an attendance in urgency). The last column of the table will hold all to-do thins that are a sheer time-trappers. They are neither urgent nor important.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Technical Responses to Prevent Phishing

Many anti-phishing browsers have been implemented till date and some of them include embedding features in browsers, as extensions or toolbars in browsers, and as part of website login procedures. Most websites targeted for phishing are secure, meaning that SSL with strong cryptography is used for server authentication. In theory, it should be possible to confirm the site using the SSL authentication, but in practice, it is easy to fool the user.

The superficial flaw is in the browser's security User Interface (UI) that is insufficient to deal with today's strong threats. There are three parts for secure authentication: indication that the connection is in authenticated mode, the site which the user is connected to and which authority says it is the site that it claims to be.

Secure Connection: The user easily misses the padlock that was the standard display for secure browsing from the mid-1990s to mid 2000s. Mozilla featured a yellow URL bar in 2005 as a better indication that the connection is secure. However, unfortunately, this innovation was then reversed due to the EV Certificates, which replaced high value certificates with a green display and the rest with a white display.

Which Site: The user is expected to confirm that the domain name in the browser's URL bar is in fact where they wanted to go. Users can be too complex to be passed and users often do not know or recognize the URL they intend going making authentication meaningless. Many e-commerce sites will change the domain names within the overall set of websites making it harder for the user to trace himself. Also simply displaying the domain name of the visited website as some anti-phishing toolbars do is not sufficient.

Firefox offers an alternative- a pet name extension which lets users type in their own labels for websites that they can recognize when they later return to the website. In addition, if the site is not recognized then the software warns the user or detects it outright. This symbolizes the user-centric identity management of the server. A graphical image selected by a user could be a better identification.

With the introduction of EV Certificates, browsers display the organization's name in green making it more visible ad hopefully more consistent with the user's expectations. But then the browser vendors have limited this display to only EV Certificates, leaving the user groping in the dark for other certificates.

Who is the Authority As far as the user is concerned the browser is the authority at the simplest level since no authority is stated at this stage. The current practice is for the browser vendors to control a root list of acceptable CA s the problem is that all Certification Authorities (CA s) employ neither good nor applicable checking. In addition, neither do all CA s subscribe to the same model and concept that certificates are only about authenticating web sites or e-commerce organizations. Certificate Manufacturing is the term given to low value certificates that are delivered on a credit card and an email confirmation, which can be easily perverted by fraudsters. Thus, a valid certificate issued by another CA may spoof a high value site. This could happen because the CA is in another part of the world and it is unfamiliar with high value e-commerce sites. Nevertheless, since the CA is charged with protecting its own customers and not the customers of another CA there is an inherent flaw in this model.

The solution to the above problem is that the browser should show and the user should be familiar with the name of the authority that issues the certificate. This projects the CA as a brand and allows the user to come in contact with the handful of CA s in her country. The use of brand provides the CA with an incentive to improve their checking and the user will demand good checking for high value sites.

This solution was put into action in early versions of IE7 when displaying EV Certificates here the issuing CA was displayed. Nevertheless, this turns out to be an isolated case. There is resistance for branding CA s on the chrome resulting in a fallback to the simplest level above: the browser is the user's authority.

Monday, September 28, 2009

All about Journalism

Journalism is the discipline of gathering, writing and reporting news, and broadly it includes the process of editing and presenting the news articles. Journalism applies to various media, but is not limited to newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. While under pressure to be the first to publish its stories, each news media organization adheres to its own standards of accuracy, quality, and style — usually editing and proofreading its reports prior to publication. Many news organizations claim proud traditions of holding government officials and institutions accountable to the public, while media critics have raised questions on the accountability of the press.

Journalists report and write on a wide variety of subjects: politics on the international, national, provincial and local levels, economics and business on the same four levels, health and medicine, education, sports, hobbies and recreation, lifestyles, clothing, food, pets, and relationships; journalists report on anything that news organizations think consumers will read. Journalists can report for general interest news outlets like newspapers, news magazines and broadcast sources; general circulation specialty publications like trade and hobby magazines, or for news publications and outlets with a select group of subscribers. Journalists are usually expected and required to go out to the scene of a story to gather information for their reports, and often may compose their reports in the field. They also use the telephone, the computer and the Internet to gather information. However, more often those reports are written, and they are almost always edited in newsrooms, the offices where journalists and editors work together to prepare the content of news items.

Journalists, especially if they cover a specific subject or area are expected to cultivate sources, people in the subject or area that they can communicate with, either to explain the details of a story, or to provide leads to other subjects for stories yet to be reported. They are also expected to develop their investigative skills to research and report stories better.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Economic Immigrants In American Colonies

Many immigrants to the American colonies came for economic reasons. Inspired by the Spanish riches from colonies founded upon the conquest of the Aztecs, Incas, and other large Native American populations in the sixteenth century, the first Englishmen to settle in America hoped for some of the same rich discoveries when they first established a settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. They were sponsored by common stock companies such as the Virginia Charter Company financed by wealthy Englishmen who understood the economic potential of this new land. The main purpose of this colony was the hope of finding gold or the possibility (or impossibility) of finding a passage through the Americas to the Indies. It took strong leaders, like John Smith, to convince the colonists of Jamestown that searching for gold was not taking care of their immediate needs for food and shelter and that "he who shall not work shall not eat". The extremely high mortality rate was quite distressing and cause for despair among the colonists. Tobacco quickly became a cash crop for export and the sustaining economic driver of Virginia and nearby colonies like Maryland.

From the beginning of Virginia's settlements in 1587 until the 1680s, the main source of labor and a large portion of the immigrants were indentured servants looking for new life in the overseas colonies. During the 17th century, indentured servants constituted three-quarters of all European immigrants to the Chesapeake region. Most of the indentured servants were English farmers who had been pushed off their lands due to the expansion of livestock rising, the enclosure of land, and overcrowding in the countryside. This unfortunate turn of events served as a push for thousands of people (mostly single men) away from their situation in England. There was hope, however, as American landowners were in need of laborers and were willing to pay for a laborer’s passage to America if they served them for several years. By selling passage for five to seven years worth of work they could hope to start out on their own in America.In the French colonial regions, the focus of economy was the fur trade with the natives. Farming was set up primarily to provide subsistence only, although cod and other fish of the Grand Banks were a major export and source of income for the French and many other European nations. The Russians on the northwest coast of North America also practiced the fur trade. After the French and Indian War, the English captured virtually all-French possessions in North America, leaving only the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon to France.

Monday, September 14, 2009

The Nomination And Selection Process of Nobel Prize

Compared with some other prizes, the Prize nomination and selection process is long and rigorous. This is a key reason why the Prizes have grown in importance over the years to become the most important prizes in their field.

Their respective committees select the Nobel Laureates. For the Prizes in Chemistry, Physics and Economics, a committee consists of five members elected by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; for the Prize in Literature, a committee of four to five members of the Swedish Academy; for the Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the committee consists of five members selected by The Nobel Assembly, which consists of 50 members elected by Karolinska Institutet; for the Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee consists of five members elected by the Norwegian Storting (the Norwegian parliament). In its first stage, several thousand people are asked to nominate candidates.

These names are scrutinized and discussed by experts in their specific disciplines until only the winners remain. This slow and thorough process, insisted upon by Alfred Nobel, is arguably what gives the prize its importance. Despite this, there have been questionable awards and questionable omissions over the prize's century-long history.

Forms, which amount to a personal and exclusive invitation, are sent to about three thousand selected individuals to invite them to submit nominations. For the peace prize, inquiries are sent to such people as governments of states, members of international courts, professors and rectors at university level, former Peace Prize laureates, current or former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, among others. The Norwegian Nobel Committee then bases its assessment on nominations sent in before 3rd of February. The submission deadline for nominations for Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Economics is January 31. Self-nominations and nominations of deceased people are disqualified.

The names of the nominees are never publicly announced, and neither are they told that they have been considered for the Prize. Nomination records are sealed for fifty years. In practice some nominees do become known. It is also common for publicists to make such a claim, founded or not.

After the deadline has passed, committee screens the nominations, and a list is produced of approximately two hundred preliminary candidates. This list is forwarded to selected experts in the relevant field. They remove all but approximately fifteen names. The committee submits a report with recommendations to the appropriate institution. The Assembly for the Medicine Prize, for example, has fifty members. The institution members then select prizewinners by vote.

The selection process varies slightly between the different disciplines. The Literature Prize is rarely awarded to more than one person per year, whereas other Prizes now often involve collaborators of two or three.While posthumous nominations are not permitted, awards can occur if the individual died in the months between the nomination and the decision of the prize committee. The scenario has occurred twice: The 1931 Literature Prize of Erik Axel Karlfeldt, and the 1961 Peace Prize to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld. As of 1974, laureates must be alive at the time of the October announcement. There has been one laureate—William Vickrey (1996, Economics)—who died after the prize was announced but before it could be presented.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Things to Consider While Remodeling Your Kitchen

A kitchen is a heart of a home. So Kitchen remodeling is among the most fashionable projects each year. Remodeling your kitchen is expensive and a lot of work. Recently I have remodeled my apartment's kitchen. But a well thought out, detailed plan could produce a kitchen where you will enjoy years of memorable experiences. When ever you plan to remodel your kitchen it’s the time to keep in mind the "work-triangle". This is the area of the kitchen from the refrigerator to the cooking area to the sink. Relating these 3 areas should form a triangle. Its helps to keep your cooking activities in one area, with everything you need close by. If you are unable to remodel your self, then you hire a professional. He will save you many headaches as your project unfolds. There are lots of professionals out there - interior designers. At this time more and more people are spending anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 on kitchen remodels. Because kitchens are becoming more of a showplace and an entertainment area in homes. Not only will you get a beautiful new kitchen, but also your home value will increase dramatically more than the cost of the remodel job.

And select the appliance also very important in kitchen remodeling so select commercial type stainless steel appliances have become quite popular. Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management survey the stainless steel received the 1st position. And another biggest expense of your kitchen remodel will be the cabinets and countertops. Cabinets range from the most expensive custom built, to the "off the shelf" variety available at home centers. A kitchen planner/designer's focus should be to design for the way a person lives, and asking the right questions will ensure your finished kitchen fits you and your budget.

Related Links:
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Monday, August 31, 2009

Aloe Vera Gel and Its Uses

The mucilaginous juice or gel obtained from the leaves of this plant, widely used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations for its soothing and healing properties. It prolongs the conservation of fresh produce, such as fresh fruit and legumes. This gel is tasteless, colorless and odorless. This natural product is a safe and environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic preservatives such as sulfur dioxide. The study showed that grapes at 1°C coated with this gel could be preserved for 35 days against 7 days for untreated grapes. According to the researchers, this gel operates through a combination of mechanics forming a protective layer against the oxygen and moisture of the air and inhibiting, through its various anti-biotic and anti fungal compounds, the action of microorganisms that cause food borne illnesses. A study performed in the 1990s showed that the healing time of a moderate to severe burn was reduced when the wound was treated on a regular basis with Aloe Vera gel, compared to the healing of the wound covered in a gauze bandage. In contrast, another study suggested wounds to which Aloe Vera gel was applied were significantly slower to heal. Cosmetic companies add sap or other derivatives from A. Vera to products such as makeup, tissues, moisturizers, soaps, sunscreens, shampoos and lotions, though the effectiveness of Aloe Vera in these products remains unknown. A. Vera gel is also alleged to be useful for dry skin conditions, especially eczema around the eyes and sensitive facial skin. Aloe Vera gel may help some people with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease. These are some of the benefits of Aloe Vera.


Related Links:
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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Why to Give Your House for Rent?

People often would have come across the situation where the house owners ask – “Why should I rent my house out?” Many people can’t afford the expenses in the current market.

Below are some of the reasons of Why to give your house for rent:

1. People who cannot afford the payments in the current situation, renting can be a good idea allowing your house slip into foreclosure and ruining your credit. When their financial position improves, maybe they can pay some of them and sell the house at that point.

2. Most people have lost money in their homes equity. Renting now can allow you to wait till prices go back up before selling so that you can recover the money that has been lost earlier.

3. The things like Mortgage interest, taxes, insurance, property management expenses, repair expenses, utilities can be written off by renting and you may be able to depreciate the property as well.

4. Rental rates are increasing because many good people lost their homes and cannot afford to get another mortgage and have no money for the down payment. This would be the good time to rent your home, as people need house with less cost.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Gorgeous iPhone

These days i am hearing more about one electronic gadget, that is iPhone. I am shocked when i saw my boss is going crazy in buying that. I picked it from him to take a close look.

The first thing i observed in iPhone is that it is handy and easy to use. iPhone has high resolution and give a feeling of a real desktop. It plays both videos and music like iPod and allows to watch more videos.Unlike to my expectations, it does not have 3G. But its camera is much more sophisticated compared to Blackberry.

Simply i can say iPhone is one more revolutionary gadget from Apple.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Slowing down your age with anti-aging

People dislike aging. They try to keep the aging away from them by using many techniques. Some may seem to have worked sometimes, but most of the times they are worthless. Aging is a natural process in animal system, which cannot be kiboshed using some artificial process.

But we cannot say that all the hype going around anti-aging treatments and creams is wrong. Some of them are very effective and can help you to conceal or postpone your aging for some time.

The anti-aging hormones are most effective of all the present anti-aging treatments we have. This enables the anti-aging process to initialize naturally. However, recently we have a group of doctors from US who say that using these products for long tenures are risky rather than helpful. They seem to possess terrible impact on health of the users.