Tech Tips, Tricks & Trivia

There is a lot more literature on investing in mutual funds in India due to better performing stock markets than a decade ago. The mutual fund houses also have a vested interest in having potential investors better informed. Here is a compilation of the useful content I have found on various sites - Large-cap mutual funds are those which invest in large sized companies , which usually are market leaders in their industry. Some commonly used names of large-cap funds are top- 50, top-100, top-200, blue-chip and focused large-cap. Another characteristic of a large-cap stock or fund is that they usually demonstrate better resilience in times of heightened stock market volatility. Furthermore, these companies usually have a dividend paying track record though this cannot be guaranteed always.  The term mid-cap is an abbreviation for 'middle capitalisation' stock.  The ' capitalisation ' indicates the size of the company in terms of its market value. The market valu...

Did you know, YouTube hosts scores of full-length movies & award-winning documentaries that you can watch online for free? There are movies from around the world in over a dozen genres. There are also a good number of Bollywood flicks there although you may not find your favorite ones. Jennifer informs that there are also other places like Archive.org where you can find good entertaining stuff. There is news that the upcoming Bollywood movie "3 Idiots" will be available online for free after 12 weeks of it's release. Also see: Free print version of Newspapers

We have put a man on the moon decades ago, but it's sad that science doesn't have a solution yet to wipe out the scourge of Cancer which has been there for centuries. The Big C is a devastating illness that cripples it's victims physically, monetarily & more than that, mentally as it affects their loved ones as well. Cancer Has Its Privileges: Stories of Hope and Laughter is a poignant compilation of thoughts, anecdotes, poems and "chicken soup for the soul" type of experiences by brave cancer survivors & their loved ones. This is the fourth book of the author Christine Clifford, a cancer survivor & founder of The Cancer Club , who believes in the therapeutic value of positive thinking & humor. The book has tips for cancer patients, their family & friends on coping with the dreaded illness. Sometimes well-meaning well-wishers of a patient get disconnected not knowing how to help. There is a chapter on how friends & family can help. Some w...

There is news that after 55 years as a monthly publication, MAD magazine will become a quarterly. It is, of course, a sign of the times, if ever their were one, a sign that the magazine is continuing to struggle at the hands of newer forms of media, seven years after finally caving and including advertisements in its printed form. It’s also a sign, Jaffee adds, half jokingly, that “humor is dying.” Reviewing Mad’s 500th issue which has a spoof on Google, Wired magazine has this to say about MAD - Now well into its emerald anniversary, the spoof-filled magazine founded by William Gaines in 1952 has left an immeasurable stamp on global entertainment. Mad served as a comedy Bible to Monty Python auteur Terry Gilliam, taught Roger Ebert how to write film reviews and peddled parody to the masses. According to Patti Smith, it more or less replaced drugs altogether. It is a consolation that there is a DVD compilation of over 600 issues of Mad Magazines from 1952 to 2006 - Absolutely MAD Mag...

In the Forbes article "How to be a Genius", Scott Berkun mentions two personal attributes among two others that aspiring geniuses can take note of - Be obsessed with work Don't strive for fame in your own lifetime An aggrieved reader sarcastically pointed out if being male should also be a criterion as no female names were mentioned in the article. One of my all-time favorite scientists Marie Curie transcended superficial barriers of gender, language and country in pursuit of knowledge to make discoveries of far-reaching effect for mankind. The New York Times obituary titled "Mme. Curie Is Dead; Martyr to Science" described Marie Curie thus: Few persons contributed more to the general welfare of mankind and to the advancement of science than the modest, self-effacing woman whom the world knew as Mme. Curie. Her epoch-making discoveries of polonium and radium, the subsequent honors that were bestowed upon her--she was the only person to receive two Nobel priz...

Here is my feedback on BigFlix , India's version of NetFlix, after subscribing to it for 2 months - It's nice that DVDs are home delivered generally in a day. You can place a pick-up request by phone or their website. Their Call Center initially used to work from 10:30 AM to 9 PM but now stays open between 10:30 AM to 7 PM. If you are using their website, you have to place a pick-up request before 7 AM the next day to get a DVD delivered next day. The movies you set with the highest priority may not be the ones you will receive. They have now modified the Queue page to show estimated waiting time. The quality of DVDs may not always be good. Popular movies prior to 2005 may not play well. These are the movies from the BigFlix collection that I liked and recommend - Thank You For Smoking - A comedy about a much hated Tobacco lobbyist in America grappling with a divorce and job challenges. He goes on to impress his young son and salvage his career. The Pacifier - In this Disney ...

"Let food be your medicine and medicine be thy food" - Hippocrates It's comforting to know that food can also be preventive medicine. Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal - An A-Z Guide to Safe and Healthy Eating beautifully explains the benefits & bad effects of various vegetables, fruits & food sources. Written by experts and full of relevant images, this colorful book makes for interesting reading. Common diseases and the effects of various types of food on them are also discussed. All the topics are arranged alphabetically. This makes it great to use for future reference. The book has been written for an American audience. Although this does not diminish the value of the book's contents, I wish it was written in more general terms to suit a global audience. Being a vegetarian & foodie, I did not know about the health value & drawbacks of the food I've been eating all these years. I loved reading this book for all the practical knowledge it c...

India Today published a special issue titled "Transforming India Great Ideas.Great Minds" in October. It has thought provoking articles by India's best minds on ideas than can transform India and how they can be implemented. The articles contained some statistics about India - some interesting, some extremely shocking. Sample this - 72 was India’s rank in the 2007 transparency international’s global corruption perception index. Rs 883 cr - the amount of bribes paid by poor families in 2007 to access 11 public services, says a TII-CMS report. 69 per cent is the reservation in educational institutions in Tamil Nadu, the highest among all Indian states. 120 MPs in the Lok Sabha face criminal charges, though the law says that anyone sentenced to two years or more in jail is disqualified from contesting elections. 126 policemen per 1 lakh population. That is India’s manpower deficit compared to western ratios of 250-500 per 1 lakh. 8 - is the number of communal riots indepen...