One thing is clear ...The Gay Science, 1882

You can't know everything you'd like to know.
You can't do everything you'd like to do.
You can't read everything you'd like to read.

You must hold onto some things and let go of others. Learning to make that choice is one of the big lessons of this life."


Read, every day, something no one else is reading.
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.
Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do.
It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.

Christopher Morley


Enduring habits I hate.... Yes, at the very bottom of my soul I feel grateful to all my misery and bouts of sickness and everything about me that is imperfect, because this sort of thing leaves me with a hundred backdoors through which I can escape from enduring habits. ~Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, 1882

The book's title uses a phrase that was well known at the time. It was derived from a Provençal expression for the technical skill required for poetry writing that had already been used by Ralph Waldo Emerson and E. S. Dallas and, in inverted form, by Thomas Carlyle (see The dismal science). The book's title was, however, first translated into English as The Joyous Wisdom. Nevertheless The Gay Science has become the canonical translation of the title since Walter Kaufmann's version in the 1960s. Kaufmann cites The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (1955) that lists "The gay science (Provençal gai saber): the art of poetry."

In The Gay Science Nietzsche experiments with the notion of power but does not advance any systematic theory. The book contains the first consideration of the idea of the eternal recurrence, a concept which would become critical in his next work Thus Spoke Zarathustra and underpins much of the later works.[1]
"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: 'This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more' ... Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: 'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine.' " - [§341]

X'mas Songs...

We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
We wish you a Merry Christmas,
And a Happy New Year.

Good tidings to you,
And all of your kin,
Good tidings for Christmas,
And a Happy New Year.



Jingle Bells
James Pierpont (1857)

Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh
Over the fields we go, laughing all the way;
Bells on bob-tail ring, making spirits bright
What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh


O Come All Ye Faithful
John Francis Wade

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels!
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Silent Night
Vicar Joseph Mohr

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.


On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Frisking

A curse on these VIPs! Their cavalcades, their red lights flashing on their white ambassadors, their offensive security staff, their refusal to stand in queues, their refusal to obey traffic rules, their constant demand for special privileges, our republic is blighted by VIP culture. American diplomats and politicians routinely travel by bus or taxi in London. But Indian politicians and diplomats abroad always have to have a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce!

Why should anyone be exempt from security procedures during air travel? Particularly because hijacked or a bombed plane is such a favorite terrorist target? Is India's "national honor" so fragile that it is undone simply because a former head of state is checked at an airport? Our politicians seem to think so. An FIR has been filed against the airline staff and Continental Airline has had to apologize. Our national honors should rest on fighting poverty and illiteracy, not on the empty ridiculous rituals of official importance and hierarchy.

A personal anecdote. On a flight to Sri Lanka a year ago, I saw a very familiar looking British gentleman and a friend standing a few places behind me in the security queue. After the gentleman's bag was checked, the rather brusque staff at IGI airport even asked him to open it. He did so without demur, packed all his things away afterwards, smiled at the staff and stood in the queue again to board his flight. The gentleman was none other than former British Prime Minister Tony Blair! A lesson for our VIPs?

Out of the Box……….

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan?

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.

Moral:
Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving? Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to keep us active and taste better...

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a challenge. If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are Conqueror. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions.

"Don't be afraid of pressures. Remember that Pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond"

Beauty...

"The most beautiful thing is to see a person Smiling and even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it."

You do not love people because they are beautiful, but they seem beautiful because you love them....

Point to Ponder Contd:

Tuesday Dec 15, Day 93

“Talkers are no good doers.”
~ William Shakespeare
________________________________________

Monday, December 14, 2009 1:21 PM

Point to Ponder - Days 90, 91 & 92

“If you rest, you rust.”
~ Helen Hayes


“Life always gets harder toward the summit — the cold increases, responsibility increases.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche


“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.”
~ Les Brown

________________________________________

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 2:47 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 89

“The shortest way to do many things at once is to do them one at a time.”
~ Samuel Smiles
________________________________________

Tuesday, December 08, 2009 12:14 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 88

“The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work superbly well.”
~ Sir William Osler
________________________________________

Monday, December 07, 2009 11:53 AM

Point to Ponder - Day 87

“Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.”
~ Napoleon Hill
________________________________________

Friday, December 04, 2009 10:51 AM

Point to Ponder - Day 86

“A man of understanding has lost nothing, if he has himself.”
~ Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
________________________________________

Thursday, December 03, 2009 2:14 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 85

“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves — to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.”
~ Stewart B. Johnson
________________________________________

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 2:25 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 84

“In life, it doesn't matter if you get knocked down; it's if you get back up that matters”.
________________________________________

Tuesday, December 01, 2009 12:20 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 83

A great man said... "I cried as I had no shoes but stopped crying when I saw a man with no legs"... life is full of blessing sometime we don't understand it!
________________________________________

Monday, November 30, 2009 12:24 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 82

“Do you try to hide your mistakes? Or do you take the courageous path of owning up to them? Most people will respect you more if you admit them”
________________________________________

Thursday, November 26, 2009 3:33 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 81

“When you think of quitting, just think of why you started."
________________________________________

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 1:06 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 80

“Just as every problem can be traced to a wrong decision, every solution begins with a wise and conscious decision to do the right thing”
________________________________________

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 1:35 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 79

“Think positively about yourself, keep your thoughts and actions clean, ask God who made you to keep on remaking you.”
~ Norman Vincent Peale
________________________________________

Monday, November 23, 2009 4:29 PM

Point to Ponder - Day 78

“Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
~ Muhammad Ali





"The most beautiful thing is to see a person Smiling and even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason behind it."

North Pole, INC., Annual Christmas Letter to Employees

The recent announcement that Donner and Blitzen have elected to take
the early reindeer retirement package has triggered a good deal of
concern about whether they will be replaced, and about other
restructuring decisions at the North Pole.

Streamlining is due to the North Pole's loss of dominance of the
season's gift distribution business. Home shopping channels and mail
order catalogues have diminished Santa's market share. He could not
sit idly by and permit further erosion of the profit picture.

The reindeer downsizing was made possible through the purchase of a
late model Japanese sled for the CEO's annual trip. Improved
productivity from Dasher and Dancer, who summered at the Harvard
Business School, is anticipated. Reduction in reindeer will also
lessen airborne environmental emissions for which the North Pole has
received unfavorable press.

I am pleased to inform you that Rudolph's role will not be disturbed.
Tradition still counts for something at the North Pole. Management
denies, in the strongest possible language, the earlier leak that
Rudolph's nose got that way, not from the cold, but from substance
abuse. Calling Rudolph "a lush who was into the sauce and never did
pull his share of the load" was an unfortunate comment, made by one of
Santa's helpers and taken out of context at a time of year when he is
known to be under executive stress.

As a further restructuring, today's global challenges require the
North Pole to continue to look for better, more competitive steps.
Effective immediately, the following economy measures are to take
place in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" subsidiary:

- The partridge will be retained, but the pear tree never turned out
to be the cash crop forecasted. It will be replaced by a plastic
hanging plant, providing considerable savings in maintenance;

- The two turtle doves represent a redundancy that is simply not
cost effective. In addition, their romance during working hours could
not be condoned. The positions are therefore eliminated;

- The three French hens will remain intact. After all, everyone
loves the French;

- The four calling birds were replaced by an automated voice mail
system, with a call waiting option. An analysis is underway to
determine who the birds have been calling, how often and how long they
talked;

- The five golden rings have been put on hold by the Board of
Directors. Maintaining a portfolio based on one commodity could have
negative implications for institutional investors. Diversification
into other precious metals as well as a mix of T-Bills and high
technology stocks appear to be in order;

- The six geese-a-laying constitutes a luxury which can no longer be
afforded. It has long been felt that the production rate of one egg
per goose per day is an example of the decline in productivity. Three
geese will be let go, and an upgrading in the selection procedure by
personnel will assure management that from now on every goose it gets
will be a good one;

- The seven swans-a-swimming is obviously a number chosen in better
times. The function is primarily decorative. Mechanical swans are on
order. The current swans will be retrained to learn some new strokes
and therefore enhance their outplacement;

- As you know, the eight maids-a-milking concept has been under
heavy scrutiny by the EEOC. A male/female balance in the workforce is
being sought. The more militant maids consider this a dead-end job
with no upward mobility. Automation of the process may permit the
maids to try a-mending, a-mentoring or a-mulching;

- Nine ladies dancing has always been an odd number. This function
will be phased out as these individuals grow older and can no longer
do the steps;

- Ten Lords-a-leaping is overkill. The high cost of Lords plus the
expense of international air travel prompted the Compensation
Committee to suggest replacing this group with ten out-of-work
congressmen. While leaping ability may be somewhat sacrificed, the
savings are significant because we expect an oversupply of unemployed
congressmen this year;

- Eleven pipers piping and twelve drummers drumming is a simple case
of the band getting too big. A substitution with a string quartet, a
cutback on new music and no uniforms will produce savings which will
drop right down to the bottom line;

We can expect a substantial reduction in assorted people, fowl,
animals and other expenses. Though incomplete, studies indicate that
stretching deliveries over twelve days is inefficient. If we can drop
ship in one day, service levels will be improved.

Regarding the lawsuit filed by the attorney's association seeking
expansion to include the legal profession ("thirteen lawyers-a-suing")
action is pending.

Lastly, it is not beyond consideration that deeper cuts may be
necessary in the future to stay competitive. Should that happen, the
Board will request management to scrutinize the Snow White Division to
see if seven dwarfs is the optimum number.