cyborg anthropologist

A cyborg anthropologist is an individual who studies the interaction between humans and technology, observing how technology can shape humans' lives. Cyborg anthropology as a discipline originated at the 1993 annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association.

Originally, a cyborg referred to a human being with bodily functions aided or controlled by technological devices, such as an oxygen tank, artificial heart valve or insulin pump. Over the years, the term has acquired a more general meaning, describing the dependence of human beings on technology. Cyborg anthropologists argue most humans are now considered cyborgs, as smartphones, smartwatches and other mobile technologies can all be considered external extensions of individuals that allow them to perform tasks and abilities that can change the way they live.

Cyberhero

The Cyberhero is a form of the hero archetype that represents individuals who use the Internet and digital technologies to act on behalf of other people, animals, and the environment with the goal of achieving humanity’s highest ideals and aspirations, including world peace, social justice, environmental protection, and planetary stewardship.[1] The archetype was first introduced in 2010 by psychologist, Dana Klisanin.[2][3][4][5] Her research indicates that individuals embodying the archetype embrace paradox and feel interconnected with the larger web of life.[6][7] Examples of people embodying the Cyberhero archetype include individuals who participate in social media campaigns, online petition sites, and interactive games, that are designed to improve social and environmental conditions in the world.[8] The Cyberhero archetype is the antithesis to cyberbullying and other forms of cyber crime.

Catapult

Catapult publishes award-winning fiction and nonfiction of the highest literary caliber, offers writing classes taught by acclaimed emerging and established writers, produces an award-winning daily online magazine of narrative nonfiction and fiction, and hosts an open online platform where writers can showcase their own writing, find resources, and get inspired. 

We nurture emerging writers by helping them better their craft, and support more established writers by evenly sharing revenues from the classes they teach, and by paying to publish their work online. Catapult strives to be a successful business model for the future of independent publishing.

To read more about our mission and vision, read a letter from our co-founder and CEO, Elizabeth Koch. 

Our books: Since our launch in Fall 2015, Catapult’s books and our authors have won numerous major literary awards, including the American Academy of Arts and Letters E. M. Forster Award in Literature, the Maine Literary Award, the Costa Novel Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Our books have been finalists for many other prizes, including the Man Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism, the Goldsmith Prize, the Miles Franklin Award, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the California Book Award for First Fiction, the Stella Prize, and the Desmond Elliott Prize for New Fiction. Our books are frequently named to the American Booksellers Association Indie Next List, and have been featured as Amazon’s Best Books of the Year, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, Belletrist Book Club picks, and as The New York Times Editors' Choice selections. Our titles have been praised in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and many other outlets. To learn more, click here.

The magazine: The essays and stories published in Catapult have been selected for The Best American Essays, shortlisted for The Caine Prize for African Writing, and featured on “Best of” lists at Longreads, Longform, The Los Angeles Times, and numerous other publications. 

Writing classes: Catapult’s creative writing workshops and master classes are led by award-winning and bestselling authors, and industry professionals at the top of their fields. Our students have been admitted into high-ranking MFA programs, gained representation by literary agents, and have gone on to be published in venues including The New York Times, Elle, and Guernica.

Anyone can contribute writing to Catapult’s Community. Here’s more information about how our open platform works. We also post resources and inspiration for writers, including miscellany from contributors, instructors, and authors. Check out our interviews, job listings, roundups of great narrative writing from across the internet, and more.

You can read about Catapult in Poets & Writers, The Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Sign up for our newsletter to keep up-to-date on Catapult goings-on. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram.

https://catapult.co

Parent and child inventions / discoveries

Parent and child inventions and discoveries:

Let me give you an example: Let's say ocean is a parent; Would it be possible to have a ship without it? Would you be building it? There's no point in it, right? How about social media without the Internet? Isn't it possible that at least some of us are futurists -- We'd be ridiculed for doing something which might not appear logical now in this era -- Our theories perhaps are not compliant. What if there's no computer? Like this: No this No that? Got it? No parent invention / discovery -- and, No child invention / discovery.

Okay -- How about discoveries? Just imagine we find some planet -- say, Mars, for instance, is inhabitable for us -- Just image -- just one discovery would change everything.

Or, let's say we find something -- gain something from The Uncontacted Tribes -- What if they've a cure for AIDS?

Flying cars are real now -- at least quite promising prototypes. Individuals flying donning backpack-like gear -- Doesn't this tell us that Superman isn't a cartoon character anymore?

One more thing: Just don't be a good end-user -- If you can't invent -- discover anything -- at least make exhaustive use of present technologies to catapult your child inventions etc.

In a nutshell: Domino effect. If there's an OS  - so you create an add-on  or variant of it-- so on so forth.

Maybe all those make-believe stories about Venus are true! Who knows --   Go get your telescope!

The Hunchbacked Whirling Dervish

Latitude and longitude coordinates are: 17.387140, 78.491684.

These're real GPS coordinates: Just don't nuke me! LOL

The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier by Bruce Sterling

http://www.mit.edu/hacker/hacker.html

Bruce Sterling AMERICAN AUTHOR

Bruce Sterling, (born April 14, 1954, Brownsville, Texas, U.S.), American author of science fiction who in the mid-1980s emerged as a proponent of the subgenre known as cyberpunk, notably as the editor of Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986).

In 1976 Sterling graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and published his first story, “Man-Made Self,” in the anthology Lone Star Universe. His first novel, Involution Ocean (1977), describes a dystopian planet where inhabitants escape their confusing lives through drug abuse. The characters in The Artificial Kid (1980) struggle to gain stability in a world of fast-paced change.

Sterling’s novel Schismatrix (1985) and the short-story collection Crystal Express (1989) examine the contrasting philosophies of the Shapers, who alter themselves genetically, and the Mechanists, who alter themselves with prosthetic devices. In Islands in the Net (1988), heroine Laura Webster is drawn into the geopolitics of a vast information network. In The Difference Engine (1990; written with William Gibson), Sterling imagines the ascent of the computer age during the 19th century. In 1992 he published Globalhead, a volume of short fiction, and The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier, an exposé of computer crime. Sterling’s later works include Heavy Weather (1994) and Holy Fire (1996).

Ransomware – The Nasty Type of Malware That’s On the Rise

Ransomware. The word itself sends shivers down our spines. The concept that someone could be brazen enough to infiltrate and lock your computer, and then have audacity to demand money so you can get your information restored or unlocked, is shocking and terrifying. It’s also happening with increasing frequency.

https://www.zonealarm.com/blog/2015/11/ransomware-new-virus-rises/

To Pay or Not to Pay – That is the Ransomware Question

Imagine you’ve just come home after a long day of work to open your computer and find a pop up on your screen instructing you to pay approximately $500 to unlock and decrypt all your files. You’ve just been hit by ransomware, and now you have a choice to make. Do you pay up to get your files back, or do you stand your ground? Ransomware has recently become the hottest attack method for hackers to use, and it effects upwards of 10,000 people in the US each day.

https://www.zonealarm.com/blog/2016/10/should-i-give-into-ransomware-attack/

The Evolution of the Ransomware Threat

If you’re a news junkie you’ve probably heard about one of the most effective threats – ransomware. Every time you turn on the news there’s another report of a medical system, university or even electrical grid being brought to its knees by data-encrypting criminals who hold precious information until ransom has been paid.

https://www.zonealarm.com/blog/2016/11/evolution-ransomware-threat/

What You Need to Know About the ImageGate Ransomware

Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a user’s data and prevents them from accessing their personal files until they pay the hacker for their files back. Sometimes users are requested to pay hundreds of dollars in order to receive a decryption key. Usually, ransomware is transmitted through infected email links, malicious websites or popup messages.

https://www.zonealarm.com/blog/2016/11/imagegate-ransomware/

Hacking For Dummies, 6th Edition (English, Paperback, Kevin Beaver)

Aadhaar not mandatory for mobile SIMs, you can submit other documents too

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/aadhaar-not-mandatory-for-mobile-sims-you-can-submit-other-documents-too/articleshow/63994175.cms

domino effect

ripple effect

a situation in which one thing causes a series of other things to happen

the domino effect

the situation in which something, usually something bad, happens, causing other similar events to happen

Domino theory INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Domino theory, also called Domino Effect, theory in U.S. foreign policy after World War II stating that the “fall” of a noncommunist state to communism would precipitate the fall of noncommunist governments in neighbouring states. The theory was first proposed by President Harry S. Truman to justify sending military aid to Greece and Turkey in the 1940s, but it became popular in the 1950s when President Dwight D. Eisenhower applied it to Southeast Asia, especially South Vietnam. The domino theory was one of the main arguments used in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations during the 1960s to justify increasing American military involvement in the Vietnam War.

ripple effect

a situation in which one event causes a series of other events to happen

a spreading, pervasive, and usually unintentional effect or influence the automotive industry has a ripple effect on many other industries

domino effect

a situation in which one event causes a series of similar events to happen one after another

 a cumulative effect produced when one event initiates a succession of similar events

Meet the psychic who uses gift to solve FBI cold cases

https://nypost.com/2016/08/01/meet-the-psychic-who-uses-gift-to-solve-fbi-cold-cases/

“And with Him are the keys of the Ghayb (all that is hidden), none knows them but He. And He knows whatever there is in the land and in the sea; not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record”

[al-An’aam 6:59] 

“No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but it is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfooz) before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allaah”

[al-Hadeed 57:22] 

“And you cannot will unless (it be) that Allaah wills the Lord of the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)”

[al-Takweer 81:29] 

“Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation as written in the Book of Decrees Al‑Lawh Al‑Mahfooz)”

[al-Qamar 54:49] 

Delphi technique

a method of collecting opinions about the future and judging how likely a future event or situation is. Experts answer a list of questions without discussing them with each other, look at each others' answers, and change them until a consensus is reached (= a situation where they all agree):

The Delphi technique is a structured approach for reaching a consensus judgment among experts about future developments in any area that might affect a business.

One advantage of the Delphi technique is that participants are not influenced by the dynamics of a group discussion, in which people meet face to face.

A method of group decision-making and forecasting that involves successively collating the judgments of experts.

dervish

A member of a Muslim (specifically Sufi) religious order who has taken vows of poverty and austerity. Dervishes first appeared in the 12th century; they were noted for their wild or ecstatic rituals and were known as dancing, whirling, or howling dervishes according to the practice of their order.

medium

 an individual held to be a channel of communication between the earthly world and a world of spirits

shaman

in particular religions, a person who is thought to have special powers to control or influence good and evil spirits, making it possible for them to discover the cause of illness, bad luck, etc.

A person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits, especially among some peoples of northern Asia and North America. Typically such people enter a trance state during a ritual, and practise divination and healing.

Automaton

Antipsychotic drugs / medications make me incoherent. 

catch-22

Origin and Etymology of catch-22

from Catch-22, paradoxical rule in the novel Catch-22 (1961) by Joseph Heller

The History of catch-22

The original catch-22 was a governmental loophole involved in Joseph Heller’s satirical novel Catch-22. Heller’s novel follows the exploits of a bombardier in World War II, and in doing so shines a light on the relentless and circular bureaucracy of war and wartime governments. The term is introduced to describe the apparent loophole, or catch, that prevents a pilot from asking for a mental evaluation to determine if he’s fit to fly:

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

Catch-22 appears several times in the novel, always invoked to explain a contradiction or an inescapable paradox caused by the rule itself. It was adopted into general English to refer to an illogical situation, or a problem in which the solution is denied by the problem itself.

Irony . . . .

I even forget -- ironically -- that I forget or I don't remember!

Cobrass' pleas for clemency . . . .

Safe passage, yeah?

Tashkent Agreement huh?

Instrument of blunder ya?

Oh, okay surrender!

Hiding in the BUSHes?

Oh Snake Charmers defanged you huh? Oh, tsk tsk.

You'll soon change your policy?

Oh moulting? Shedding tears? Oh okay skin.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fiercest of them all?

Weirdest?

Delusions of grandeur eh? 

​

The belief that you are more important or powerful than you really are!

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) yeah?

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders eh?

Fifth Edition

(DSM-5)

I'm just a feral cat eh? Just a tomcat?

Reprint

The moment of coronation

Amidst awe and hushed silence -- steady steps of the empress-to-be-crowned

At each and every step a Crescent Sword is unsheathed with unflinching swift and warrior's grit

In the shade of the swords . . . . She ascends to the throne.

What's defeat? What's retreat?

A Decree enforced.

I'm a warrior -- righteous knows -- no shield and deceit.

You weakling and weak-kneed.

This is the day you were promised.

Reprint: A fictitious brattish Arabian Princess and her bedouin aide-de-camp:

SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2017

Dhow ready for you missui

Same familiar voice of rugged hunchbacked bedioun

My father's most trusted lieutenat

A crescent sword dangling by his side

a gust of wind -- that seems to bother him somehow

The audacity of his Samurai-like gait

A mare whimpers and he pats in his charasteric dismissive gesture

Subduedly flamboyant -- debonair -- that smirk on his face --

A chaps -- magenta or something -- it's charcoal-ish now

A war trophy -- No head hunting anymore -- show any tribes

He told me once with a shrugg nonchalant curse-like tone -- oh those spurs -- not even for menace makers

Duel -- Jostle -- Do I look that intimidating to you eh -- Missui -- what's your name before you went to ....

The uninimous chosen leader of warrior race

A spine-chilling momentary glint in his pupil

He ain't hunchbacked -- it's his way of obeisance

His loyality rests with my father --

Mills and Boons -- That's what he thinks of me -- I guess

Discreet -- hoarse -- monosyllables -- like giving them marching orders

Doesn't even snooze -- siesta -- he trots to souk

Hubble-bubble occassionally -- otherwise, Come To The Marlboro Country

It's real sultry -- re-schedule your -- next summer break maybe

Yes, yes he's so copycatish and fake -- gotta go now. Bye.

Hey, Mister Cowboy -- Where's my Black tea huh?

Damn -- did he hear that or what -- eavesdropping on me.

Wait let my grandfather come.

Hey, mister stonedeaf -- dont we pay you slave.

Joe Nickell

I have been called "the modern Sherlock Holmes," the "real-life Scully" (from the X-Files), and other appellations. I am well into my fourth decade as an investigator of historical, paranormal, and forensic mysteries, myths and hoaxes. In contrast to mystery-mongerers on the one hand and so-called debunkers on the other, I believe that mysteries should actually be investigated with a view toward solving them.

Apparently, I am the world's only full-time professional paranormal investigator -- the "Investigative Files" writer for Skeptical Inquirer science magazine who travels around the world investigating strange mysteries at the very fringes of science (see Paranormal Investigator). The role utilizes my varied background: former stage magician (Resident Magician at the Houdini Hall of Fame), private investigator (for a world-famous detective agency), and academic (Ph.D in English, focusing on literary investigation and folklore, and author of some two dozen books -- see Books page).

A major role is examiner of questioned rare documents. I have exposed many forgeries, including the notorious "Jack the Ripper Diary," and I have authenticated many treasures. My books on the subject include Pen, Ink, and Evidence and Detecting Forgery. (See "Historical Documents Consultant.)

And those are only some of my roles. Like everyone, I have done many different things, but I have pushed the envelope. I have made something of a career out of careers-- blackjack dealer, riverboat manager, poet, sign painter.... (Scores are listed on this site under "Personas.") Even in this regard I have been a detective, for it's my way of investigating life.

http://www.joenickell.com/

Joe Nickell, Ph.D., is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) and "Investigative Files" Columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. A former stage magician, private investigator, and teacher, he is author of numerous books, including Inquest on the Shroud of Turin (1998), Pen, Ink and Evidence (2003), Unsolved History (2005) and Adventures in Paranormal Investigation (2007). He has appeared in many television documentaries and has been profiled in The New Yorker and on NBC's Today Show. His personal website is at joenickell.com.

Meet the psychic detectives who help solve police cases

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/603402/Psychic-detectives-solve-police-cases

Draft copy: Weigh one's words . . . .

Portering: The heavy load / weight of your fortune / future on your shoulders -- stand still -- don't even breathe -- stay motionless -- wait for the disc to stop spinning -- then it vents out a small card -- synopsized -- precis -- prediction of your future -- there's one at Kachiguda -- some theatre -- I used to  bunk off college -- I was a young adult -- 1990s you know -- to go to the movies -- Could you believe I got badly injured at the same place -- bike accident -- got mowed down by a bus -- If I remember correctly it's 7:30 ish evening -- I don't remember that machine harbingering anything -- naivety, right? -- 

To be continued . . . .

End of an era: weight and fortune for Re. 1 no more

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/end-of-an-era-weight-and-fortune-for-re-1-no-more/article4456420.ece

Bored waiting for train? Weigh this option at CST Mumbai

https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/bored-waiting-for-train-weigh-this-option-mumbai-chhatrapati-shivaji-terminal/

Here's a message in Morse Code for all my Blog readers!

http://morsecode.world/m/eJxjZBARYQjxcPTzVoj0D1UI9lfwDXX2UHDzD1II8wz2DPH0c1fwjVRw8vF31wMA2acKmA==

Start Your Own Internet Radio Station for Free

https://www.pcworld.com/article/190705/start_your_own_internet_radio_station_for_free.html

EXTREME HOBBYISTS PUT SATELLITES INTO ORBIT WITH $8,000 KITS

https://www.wired.com/2010/07/tubesat-personal-satellite/

WHAT WOULD YOU do with your own private satellite?

https://www.wired.com/2012/08/phonesat/

Reprint from my Blog: Myopia

A good metaphor for the effect of limiting beliefs is the way a frog's eye works. A frog will see most things in its immediate environment, but it only interprets things that move and have a particular shape and configuration as food. This is a very efficient way of providing the frog with food such as flies. However, because only moving black objects are recognized as food, a frog will starve to death in a box of dead flies. So perceptual filters that are too narrow and too efficient can starve us of good experiences, even when we are surrounded by exciting possibilities, because they are not recognized as such.

-- Introducing NLP Neuro-Linguistic Programming / Joseph O'Connor & John Seymour

Reprint from my Blog: Myopia

A good metaphor for the effect of limiting beliefs is the way a frog's eye works. A frog will see most things in its immediate environment, but it only interprets things that move and have a particular shape and configuration as food. This is a very efficient way of providing the frog with food such as flies. However, because only moving black objects are recognized as food, a frog will starve to death in a box of dead flies. So perceptual filters that are too narrow and too efficient can starve us of good experiences, even when we are surrounded by exciting possibilities, because they are not recognized as such.

-- Introducing NLP Neuro-Linguistic Programming / Joseph O'Connor & John Seymour

Reprint: From my Blog . . . .

FRIDAY, AUGUST 24, 2012

The joy of giving . . . .

I've learnt that giving (irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions) -- even just a wee bit -- even at a micro level -- unselfishly and unconditionally gives you joy. Sudha Murty Ji says the same thing -- giving back to society. It's not about money always -- most important thing you'd give to an underprivileged person is dignity and respect. A little chitchat. A pat on the back. Sharing a smoke. Having Chai together. Empathy. Mercy. Compassion.

Reprint: From my Blog . . . .

THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2018

Cuppa culture of Hyderabad . . . .

A cup of tea -- if that's offered to you in Japan -- then if I haven't got it wrong -- that means that you're a honored guest -- So the other things I love about Japan are Aikido (How many of you know that Sri Rahul Gandhi Ji practices it?) -- By the way, I'm seriously turning apolitical now -- Honor code -- Samurai (the warrior aristocracy of Japan) -- and so on . . . . 

Here in Hyderabad -- if anyone offers me a cup of tea -- I feel honored -- I accept it gladly and with intense humility like of a sage -- This happened just now an hour ago or so -- that's why I'm writing about it -- Wish I really were A Hunchbacked Whirling Dervish and could really do faith healing, exorcise demons, do psychic detective work and all that stuff -- You know, in India -- I always tell this to everyone that -- India is a spiritual country -- People have tremendous respect for saints -- that's why so many charlatans thrive -- but that's okay -- that's not my point -- When people address you as Maulvi or sahib etcetera  and offer you a cup of tea -- that really peps you and boosts your morale.

Thank you so much -- My Blog readers -- for your affection and concern. And, for a cup of tea. :-)

That's all.

Bye for now. 

The Hunchbacked Whirling Dervish

Doctor Who BRITISH TELEVISION PROGRAM

Doctor Who, British science fiction television series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The show’s original run lasted 26 years, from 1963 to 1989. Remembered for its primitive special effects and compelling story lines, Doctor Who became a landmark of British popular culture. The series resumed to much acclaim in 2005.

Doctor Who chronicled the adventures of an eccentric time-traveling scientist from the remote planet Gallifrey, home of the Time Lords. The Doctor, a Time Lord himself, traveled through time and space in his unique craft, the TARDIS, an acronym for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. With an interior larger than its exterior, the TARDIS could take on various shapes to blend into its environment. Although capable of whisking the Doctor and his passengers to any time and any place in the universe, the craft was frequently parked on Earth in the form of a blue police box. Whether in England or in the far reaches of space, the Doctor and his colleagues battled a multitude of evils, including robots, monsters, and a twisted Time Lord. Certain adversaries recurred throughout the series, notably the Daleks, genocidal aliens armoured in robotlike suits who sought the extermination of life-forms inferior to themselves.

The original Doctor was played by William Hartnell until 1966, when the show revealed that Time Lords had the ability to regenerate themselves when near death. Their reincarnated forms appeared as different people, although they retained the same memories and skills. This plot twist allowed different actors to assume the title role. The original series eventually featured seven different Doctors, the longest-lasting of which was Tom Baker (1974–81). Over the course of the program, companions of the Doctor included Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), a commander in an organization that combats extraterrestrials; Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), an 18th-century Scotsman; and Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen), an investigative journalist.

The original series was not so much cancelled as postponed. Following a television movie in 1996, the BBC began producing new episodes in 2005, which quickly proved popular. The 10th Doctor, portrayed by David Tennant in 2005–10, became a fan favourite, along with such new characters as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), his loyal assistant, and the mysterious River Song (Alex Kingston). In 2017 the show made news with the announcement that the 13th Doctor would be portrayed by a woman (Jodie Whittaker). Doctor Who also engendered numerous spin-offs across different media, including the TV series Torchwood (2006–11) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007–11).

bell the cat

: to do a daring or risky deed

Food chain

Tony Robbins

Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, philanthropist and the nation’s #1 Life and Business Strategist. A recognized authority on the psychology of leadership, negotiations and organizational turnaround, he has served as an advisor to leaders around the world for more than 38 years. Author of five internationally bestselling books, including the recent New York Times #1 best-seller MONEY: MASTER THE GAME, Mr. Robbins has empowered more than 50 million people from 100 countries through his audio, video and life training programs. He created the #1 personal and professional development program of all time, and more than 4 million people have attended his live seminars.

Robbins is the chairman of a holding company comprised of more than a dozen privately held businesses with combined sales exceeding $5 billion a year. He has been honored by Accenture as one of the “Top 50 Business Intellectuals in the World”; by Harvard Business Press as one of the “Top 200 Business Gurus”; and by American Express as one of the “Top Six Business Leaders in the World” to coach its entrepreneurial clients. Fortune’s recent cover article named him the “CEO Whisperer,” and he was most recently named in the top 50 of Worth Magazine’s 100 most powerful people in global finance.

In his mission to continually impact the lives of millions, Robbins has made headlines by partnering and lending his voice to disruptive companies in the financial services arena.

His company America’s Best 401k, a full service 401k solution, is making waves by providing free side-by-side fee comparisons to business owners to see just how much they are really paying in fees. They are also pioneering unique guaranteed income solutions for plan participants entering retirement. Robbins is also a major advocate for Portfolio CheckUp, a service that is disrupting the brokerage industry by providing a free online analysis of your investment accounts and then connecting you to a fee based fiduciary advisor that is required by law to put client’s best interests first. He is also the founder of Global Accounting Alliance, which provides much needed outsourced CFO services for small business owners in 8 countries around the world.

As a philanthropist, Tony Robbins feeds 4 million people per year in 56 countries. He has also initiated programs in more than 1,500 schools, 700 prisons, and 50,000 service organizations and shelters. He provides fresh water to 100,000 people a day in India in order to fight the number one killer of children in that country – waterborne diseases. Last year he raised the stakes: In order to honor those who helped his family during tough times, he personally provided 59 million meals to people in the USA, and matched funds to feed 100 million in 2015 alone through his partnership with Feeding America. 

http://www.tonyrobbinsfirewalk.com

It's your call -- button

Pedestrian signals in Kozhikode

KOZHIKODE: In a major relief to pedestrians, the traffic police have decided to install pedestrian-operated signals at various arterial junctions in the city.

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/Pedestrian-signals-in-Kozhikode/article16628605.ece

Reprint: Where did the hunchbacked, whirling dervish go eh?

I can't write -- numb and pale -- maybe, the djinn left me -- so was I possessed eh? -- it goaded me to insanity -- but there's something shamanic in me -- it gnawed me -- it said I'm conscientious and I don't bludge like you -- that's why I chastise you... -- so, was that my alter ego? -- where did it go now huh? -- it's just me: a skeptic and a cynic -- untethered life -- bloated and shameful.

Reprint: Sisyphus is in you.

Mettle:

Strength of spirit: Ability to continue despite difficulties.

There is no magic wand that could change boys into men but sheer, mammoth grit.

This is your life.

If you are a closet escapist opt for hot-air balloon ride. No one would ever suspect your timidity.

But if you have even a wee bit of pathfinding spunk --

Invoke the pygmy Sherpa-like relentlessness of spirit in you.

It would metamorphose into a real giant. Eventually.

Buckle down to Sisyphean ordeals.

Don't shy away from 'em.

Sisyphus is in you.

Listen to your inner voice.

Try not to muffle or squelch those echoes.

Reprint from my Blog: Mirza Tahir Ahmad from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community

SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2017

My Mentor -- My Guru: Mirza Tahir Ahmad from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community: My Homage.

In the early nineteen-nineties a sagely person helped me learn the fundamentals of interaction -- rudimental elements of initiating not only a conversation but an everlasting and pristine liaison with a rather self–conscious kid. Void of pompus sermons and condescending attitude. A panchayat: A village council like milieu. But every kid present could role-play as a sarpanch. He'd give his input without the mortal fear of being ridiculed or labelled a moron. His aura was such that he'd invoke an implicit trust in you for everything that is good around you effortlessly. Nothing riddled with an unending checklists of Dos and Don'ts. A non-manualist-ic approach to self No rude awakenings. No instantaneous Enlightenments guaranteed. No Fast-food like Nirvanas but a simple icebreaker with a shy, pimply, pony=tailed girl who is probably being taunted at her school for her dental braces. Crooked teeth she says chokingly. Oh, his face turns grim all of a sudden -- then he chuckles -- the kids breathe again with a joyous grin -- as if they imitate everything he does -- as if they are in commune with each other -- he says now that's a very complicated problem but tell me something do you know how to spell c-r-o-o-k-e-d? Be honest. She nods and swears in her kiddo body language sign. Her entire faith is at stake. Tick Tock Tick Tock. He says you know when I was your age I didn't know the meaning of the word or how to spell it and even the language this particular word belongs to -- but I met crooks -- everywhere -- they don't belong anywhere -- but they're ubiquitous -- learn to deal with them -- don't let them spoil your English and Computers classes. Your siblings tell me that you are so exceptionally good at them. So I rang up your coordinators and they said she's a kind of girl who's good at everything thus computing or English language or any other lingo for that matter. She's a sagely soul. She doesn't want to hurt anyone. That's why she can't me mean or rude. She's always polite and goes out of the way to help people in school-like distresses. We're so proud of her and her family -- nuclear and extended and her community -- An unassuming girl -- A girl who'd tell a very wise thing in a few simple words -- blah-blah-blah. All the kids burst out laughing. What did I just say? They repeat loudly. BLAH-BLAH-BLAH. This girl is choking again -- but this time -- she's happy. Joyously happy. 

This person was My Mentor -- My Guru: Mirza Tahir Ahmad from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

I wonder if that program is still being televised eh?

Let's keep our fingers crossed . . . .

Just crossing this road here in Hyderabad is so analogous to assisted-suicide -- the inconceivable enormity -- the colossality of -- that we're so callous -- that we'd mow down -- a prescooler -- an elderly couple -- an infant -- or a hunchbacked middle-aged person like me -- with impunity is unthinkable. Not just me -- but literally 100s and 1000s of us -- pedesterians -- have to wait for like 15 - 20 minutes at least -- even then -- it's a death-defying stampede-like sprint -- dudging -- Snake-and-Ladders-like game. Any walker could vouch for me.