“Everybody lies” - how to deal with it?

“Everybody lies” that is what of the popular character on television, Dr. House says. I agree, honesty is a rare entity these days. Friends lie that they won’t tell the secret you told them, while they blurt it out half drunk or in their full senses. Anyhow, a well kept secret is something only you know. No point blaming your frineds. Family lies that everything is going to be fine when you fail, which you know is not going to be the same as you expected. Lover lies that you are the best thing that happened in life, only till he sees you in your worst shape. A good person will try to stick around and a wise one may not put up with the bullshit which you splash around while deep down in crap. Employer lies that they will give you a rise for completing an important project within a deadline, which is the only lie most of you might have guessed it right. Come on now, they are spending their money on you. You know how people are cautious when it involves the green bills. Nobody would give you a raise unless you threaten to resign or they badly need you or you are going to be the next Steve Jobs. Anything replaceable for same cost can be replaced. Remember.  

It is very important to know if someone is lying or not. In simple terms, lie is defined as “an intentionally false statement”. So, you see lie cannot just happen. It has to be ‘made up’. It definitely is active process. Quite some physiological and mental work is needed (that’s how lie detectors work, these machines capture these sudden burst in energy when someone lies) to lie unless you are habituated liar or mastered the art of lying. The lie detector, built by qualified scientists, by itself is not accurate. So, I don't deem myself to be an expert at detecting lies. I vouch that I suck at it badly. So, we leave this subject alone and let the God, if any, be the judge. 

 Before you start analyzing if someone is lying or not, you need to decide if the subject is worth your time and energy. Did the person lie for a missed dinner, party or belated birthday wishes? Just let it go unless that is your boyfriend. Just kidding. Be kind, these things happen with busy pace of life or whatever. You will be least affected, apart from moments or hours of bad feeling, may be. Did the person lie to you about something that can cost you your job, money, or a  relationship?  Clear your mind and assess carefully. You don’t want to listen to many people. Listen to those you trust and be your own judge. Be very much sure before accusing anyone of lying. Get it sorted appropriately and respectfully. Try not to make it ugly. You know whom you don’t have to trust next time and just move one. Don't dwell in it. 

Not everyone who lies is a bad person. Not every lie is bad. Neither is every honest statement a good one. Imagine someone telling you on your face that you do not deserve this job interview given your credentials. Well, that may be right or it may not be. But, those words may make you feel hopeless and you end up not trying further to get the call, thinking you don't deserve it. What you don't know is that  there are other things that matter - such as contacts, a call from your previous boss or a well written email inquiring about your status- that can help you get that interview. Even if, what was told is true, but it is only half truth. The omitted half is another part of truth without which the statement may not qualify to be true. So, in such a situation you may end up hating the person who told so, or go into phase of hopelessness, or self loathing, which are all absolutely exhausting and worthless. Don't do this to yourself. Step back and think. 

Finally, my two cents: no matter what others say – a lie, a truth, or an honest advice- don’t take it straight to your head. Have a filter i.e. your conscience. Listen to yourself and believe in your judgment of what is right or good for you. Say to yourself what you want to hear from others for you to be a better person. That is your mantra. This mantra will lead you. Keep it positive and keep chanting.You will reach where you believe you want to be in the future.

Unposted post: Being doctor

From my iPhone notes: 04/27/2013 

I am writing this post after I met a group of people. The conversation went smoothly until they found out I am a doctor. Their demeanor changed towards me like a tide passing by. They looked aghast to have discovered this fact about me. Those grins, raised eyebrows and gaping mouths have become the routine response on my first encounter with new people. It surprises me that they can't believe that a five foot tall girl, who looks like a high school student, can't be a doctor they might consult. I always have this itch to tell people "Looks could be deceptive'. Then, I stop myself from putting my foot in my mouth. Anyway, the conversation went on. "Is there something you wished that could be different from what it's now?" I asked one of the fellows who was cribbing about working night shifts at his air-conditioned, carpeted office in the 12th floor of a skyscraper Taking a deep breath he replied, "I wish the earth was flat, not spherical. Wish there was one single sunrise in the whole world, unlike now- where the sunrises for a part of the world and sunsets for the other. Playing with us and deceiving us- making us think it's a new day, but it's still yesterday in another part of the world. While one thinks it's a beginning, it's the end for someone else. If the earth was flat, all of us would go to bed and wake up at the same time of the day. So there would be no need for my work at night to cater my client on the other side of the world, for there would be none of that sort. Yes, it's my selfish motive. But, that is all I can wish for after my tiring night shift where I was on long conference from my client in the U.S. " He sighed. That ends the story for engineers. His revelation made me think from my perspective as a doctor. Even to make such I wish, I have to think about those who would seek my help. Even if the earth was flat - I can't expect people to sleep like a dead person with fever, pain or what so ever. I can't ask the pregnant lady not bear down the her baby at night. I can't ask the appendix not to burst at night or ask the heart not stop despite the blocked artery because it's night. No, that would be impossible. No matter whether the earth is flat or spherical, whether is day or night, it's duty of doctor to cater the sufferers irrespective of time, place, person or state of his mind. We walk around the deserted corridors of the hospital at night, checking the vitals, making sure the patient is doing fine. Oblivious to the aching legs though I had been on my legs all day - thanks to the busy OPD and post OPD patient check up, case writing and lab works. Oblivious to the stinking hospital corridors as I run across them when I am paged. Oblivious to the unkempt hair, soiled apron, stack of pens, pen torches, syringes, prescription pad ruthlessly stuffed in my pockets and the stethoscope dangling around my neck. No matter how uncomfortable I am at that point of time, I make it a point to enquire the comfort of my patient and do all that I can get his comfort back. I don't complain. But, do all people understand that we sacrifice our sleep, sanity of mind and comforts to help them heal and not make faces, when I say I am on a night duty. Most are like didn't you realise what you were getting into when you chose the medical seat, just get used to it. They don't understand that I am not asking them to pity me, but leave me alone so I can rest well before my night shift. I meet a lot of such people who disparage doctor's duty, maligning them as money minded, whenever there is a flash news showing medical negligence of a doctor or simply otherwise. They take no time to generalize and blame all doctors, but never acknowledge how demanding, at times inhumane, is their working life is. People - I don't get your attitude. You at time pity me and go on to add that being a doctor is a noble job. I should not be disheartened to do night duty. And, you at time despise me saying, all you doctors want is money, so you people work late night, neglecting your health for the sake of making money Maybe you don't understand me (or i don't understand you). Leave apart the question of respecting my profession, don't pity me that I have to work while everyone is asleep. I work even on holidays and I don't get off on all weekend, I am ok with that. But, don't disrespect me duty thinking all my actions are routed towards making a fortune. If I was keen on getting rich alone, I would surely not being a doctor. I am aware of my working hours and do not despise it by making faces or cribbing about it. I have embraced the field of medicine. Being a doctor is a way of living who is student for lifetime. I study throughout my life, I have accepted it and you too should accept that it's the way I live. Keep your opinions to yourself, keep your sympathy to yourself. If you want things to be better, better yourself for I know I am incomparable to anyone, for I am my own competitor. I am not a philanthropist, I am not great enough to be acting like one. I am a common man (or, woman; I care the least) with emotions, values who loves what he does for a living. I like to rock and roll, dance crazy, spend time holidaying with friends and family. It's you who labelled me as someone with divine power to cure anything and anybody under the sun at times; and greedy other times. All I want people to understand is I am just like any other person who does his job, a tough one (taking the responsibility for some strangers well being and their life is no joke). We doctor are aware of our limitation and we do our best to serve our patients. When we say we have had a tiring day we mean we didn't have time to even pee. When we say we had a bad day, probably we saw a patient of ours succumb to his illness. When we say I have a night duty, we mean we are going to be on our feet all night without batting an eyelid and work through the night after a busy OPD and continue to work the next day if needed. We hate to elaborate, because there is so much to explain and most of you won't understand. So, next time you meet a doctor don't crib about your night shifts unless you are one too. I too err because I am no God-man and don't judge my morale because I am a doctor. I got a job to do which I know how to do. I will stick to my job and you stick to yours. (Last sentence courtesy: Sachin Tendulkar)

India spends Rs. 450 crores on Mangalayan. Is it justified?

People are asking justifications for India spending Rs. 450 crores for a satellite are those with no vision. Let me tell you, India is not what is seen in “Slumdog Millionaire”, which is an extreme portrayal of Indian society. It left lasting wrong impression on people from west that india is land of extreme poverty, filth and malnourishment. Its rightly siad, India is a rich country but Indians are poor. There is a gross disparity between the rich and poor, but that should not be the reason for not taking steps towards breakthrough scientific achievements.

Some interesting facts about ISRO and its work: 

• ISRO employs thousands of people in order to build and launch satellites PSLV-C26. If not whats the point is spending so much of money on space research and development. yes, PSLV-C26 is the result of those effort and Rs.450 Crores i.e., $75 million is a modest amount, as a satellite launch can cost anywhere between $50 million and $400 million according to the studies. 

• Total Disbursements of ISRO for the year  2012-2013 – Rs.4,000 crores

•  ISRO’s budget is only 0.34 per cent of the central government expenditure at present and 0.08 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). There is so little to offer, but in turn ISRO has got more in return to offer back to the nation.

• ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 cost 386 crore rupees (approx) which is almost 9 times less than what NASA spends on a similar exploration.

• ISRO is one of the six space agencies in the world with the capability to build and launch satellites from its own soil. In September of 2012, ISRO completed its 100^th space mission with the launch of two foreign satellites.

•  Current DTH services providers in India rely on satellites launched by ISRO, but the progress of DTH operators has been impeded due to the nonavailability of transponders. ISRO is working on launching more transponders.

How big is the amount spent on PSLV-C26?

 Total cost to lauch the satellite Rs.450 Crore. Actual satellite costs Rs.153 crore.  The rest of the budget has been attributed to ground stations and relay upgrades that will be used for other ISRO projects. It was not a one day project, work started months before the actual launch.

The amount spent is nothing compared to hundreds of scandals in India. Let us compare the cost of Mangalayan to these notorious scams, which was approximately 

0.22% of Karnataka Wakf Board Land Scam 2012 (. Rs. 2, 00,000 Crore)

0.24% of Indian coal mining controversy 2012 ( Rs. 1, 85,591.34 Crore)

0.25% of National 2G spectrum  scam 2010 ( Rs. 1,76,000 Crore)

0.45% Andhra Pradesh land scam  (Rs.1,00,000 Crore)

0.62% of Maharashtra Irrigation Scam  (Rs. 72,000 Crore). 

0.64% of  Common wealth games scam (Rs.70,000 Crore)

1.28% of Uttar Pradesh food grain scam 2003  ( Rs. 35,000 Crore)

1.55% Ultra Mega Power Projects Scam – where Central government lost Rs. 29,000 Crore due to undue favours to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power.

2.8% of Granite scam in Tamil Nadu  (16,000 Crore) 

4.5% of Uttar Pradesh NRHM scam 2012 (Rs. 10,000 Crore)

These scams involved huge amount of money, defamed the country and still investigations are going on as most of the culprits are our politicians. 

Yet, why launch the satellite when there are so many already in the space from different countries and involves huge amount of money?

“The primary objective of the Mars Orbiter Mission is to showcase India's rocket launch systems, spacecraft-building and operations capabilities. Specifically, the primary objective is to develop the technologies required for design, planning, management and operations of an interplanetary mission, comprising the following major tasks”

 ISRO receives a lot of funding from developed countries, they want to see the result of their investment. Launching a satellite successfully is a way to show ISROs capability in designing such satellites at such low cost and attract more funding. More countries, where certain GDP will be utilized for space research will be willing to launch their satellites from ISRO ground station.

  People (not many common men, but celebrities, men and  women with hell lot of money) are buying sites on Mars. There is a websites, Mars One, inviting applicants interested in one way travel to Mars. The mission was launched in April 2012 and people are registering. Over 8,000 Indians have registered paying the application fee and 2, 02,000 people across the world have applied for Mars one mission. The application fee varies from US $5 to US $75 (the amount depending on the relative wealth of the applicant's country). Imagine the amount of money collected just from the applications !!  Mars One claims that in 2022, four carefully selected applicants will then be launched in a Mars-bound spaceflight to become the first residents on Mars, and that every step of the crew’s journey will be documented for a reality television program that will broadcast 24/7/365. Mars One aims to land four people on the Red Planet in April 2023 at a cost of about $6 billion. 

All the pessimistic, cynical folks please watch the launch of PSLV-C26 and applaude. 

Veggie-Cheese-Chapati roll

It was 6.30 pm and my stomoch was grumbling. I ran into kitchen hoping calm my stomach at rest. All I found was a left over chapati, no curry or jam. But, I had my favorite Amul Cheese in the refrigerator. 

Result: Veggie-cheese-Chapati roll.

Preperation time: 5 min

Coking time: 5 min

Ingredients for stuffing: 

Finely chopped cabbage- 4 tbsp

Finely chopped capsicum- 2 tbsp

Amul Cheese - 1 small block(25gm)

Maggi tomato chilli sauce- 2 tbsp

Salt- 1 pinch

Instructions:

Mix cabbage, capsicum, tomato chilli sauce and salt. Microwave the mixture for 2 min (otherwise, you can sot them on stove). Take it outa and add grated/finely chopped Amul cheese to this while its hot. Mix well. your stuffing is ready. 

Spread this stuffing on a chapati and roll it. 

Pre-heat the oven at 180C and cook for 2-3 min in convection mode. (Or, you can cook it on heated pan)

That's all! Now, enjoy hot Veggie-Cheese-Chapati roll with tomato ketchup. 

PS: You can add more vaggies as per your choice. 

12 reasons why one should upgrade to iOS 7

This is my first blog post here. I didn't expect to write about gadgets/software updates here. But, after I installed the new iOS 7 I would like to share my views on iOS 7, which might get lost among thousands of reviews by techno geeks. This comes from a routine iPhone user, a non-gamer and I am not a techie as my blog name suggests. 

 I did considerable amount of online research on iOS 7 before clearing 1.5GB(as advised my cousin) for 665mb sized update. Having downloaded more than 8GB data from my home BSNL broadband service, the internet speed had dropped from 2 mbps to 512 kbps (in reality from 0.8mbps to 55kbps). It took freaking 4 hour to download+install the new iOS 7. It is now those bad reviews started to haunt me ;).Once it was done, I must say it was worth the wait. My old iPhone 4 is a transformed into a much smarter version of iPhone or should I say an android smartphone's cousin. 

 Why should iPhone user should upgrade iOS 7:

1. Appearance: For the first time an apple OS update has changed the look of iPhone app screen and over all interface. Apple users who are acquainted with dull, dark and mundane iPhone screen will find it as brighter screen with colorful app icons, despite same settings.

2. Swipe up- for Control centre. It has quick access to wifi, Bluetooth, torch, music tool bar, calculator, screen lock, clock and  camera.

3. Swipe down- for Notification center to know upcoming events, missed calls, app notifications etc. 

-SWIPE UP & DOWN WORKS EVEN WHEN PHONE IS LOCKED; you can remove swipe functions from lock screen by changing settings-

4. Back running applications can be closed by just swiping them up. No need to hold on it and then touch that tiny cross ! 

5. Switching on 2G/3G data: Now you have to go to Settings > Cellular; as Cellular option is put in the among main selections list. No need to go to settings>general > cellular to turn of your 2G/3G data as in iOS6. Wish the option was included in the control center. 

6. Camera: iPhone 4S and 5 series can use filters, take panorama pics etc. There is option for square layout while taking pic.No grid view option. HDR can be switched on/off directly from camera home screen.

7. Camera album: There is separate are album for videos It is now easy to access videos as they no longer get lost among hundreds of pictures. 

8. Mails: You can customize your mail box by choosing folders - like personal, important, mails from VIP etc- you would prefer to have on your mail home screen for easy and direct access. It shows total unread/new mails including those not displayed  mails. 

9. Contacts- YOU CAN BLOCK NUMBERS. And, also you can add birthday to contacts and get notification in notification center.  

10. Spotlight search: Use iPhone " spotlight search" in any of the app screen, unlike previous iOS where one had to go to 1st screen which was fixed for that function. Swipe down from the center of the screen. Be careful not to swipe from the top, as that action will pull up the new Notification Center.

11. Safari: It is made more simple. Common dual purpose search or address field, which can be used for Google search or enter web address, with relevant prompts. More than 8 tabs can be opened easily and navigating from one tab to another is convenient too. 

12. MUSIC : most important reason IMO. It allows to delete songs directly form iPhone, without connecting it to iTunes. It's a new found freedom for apple users as me. I hate, or used to hate, connecting my iPhone to iTunes to manage apps and add/delete songs. There is an add on to music player ie., iTune radio; of course, you need Internet to play it.

- It is such a remarkable change, I wonder if my iPhone would suffer from an identity crisis. -

According to me  iOS 7 is one of the best apple update so far. It's a inexpensive method of transforming your old boring iPhone it to interesting smart phone.

I am loving it .

PS: Somewhere in my mind I have this wild thought, if  iOS 7 is a result of cross-breading between Apple iOS and Android OS. For now, let those thoughts R.I.P.