OffBeat Buzz

The Kid Who Would Be President (Photos of Young Barack Obama)

Barack Obama Sr. poses with his son in the Honolulu airport during Obama Sr.’s only visit to see his son while he was growing up in Hawaii. Young Barack was in the 5th grade when the photo was taken

Barack Obama with his maternal grand parents, Stanley and Madelyn Dunham during a 1982 visit to New York , where Obama was attending Columbia (Courtesy of The Obama Family)

Barack Obama walks with his grandmother Sarah Hussein Obama at his father’s house in Nyongoma Kogelo village, western Kenya , in Aug. 2006 (AP file)

Barack Obama with his grandmother, Sarah Hussein Obama, in Africa (Courtesy)

Barack Obama as a toddler (Courtesy of Barack Obama)

Barack Obama as a child (Courtesy of Barack Obama)

Barack walks along Waikiki Beach shortly before he and his mother moved from Hawaii to Indonesia to live with her second husband, Lolo Soetoro, in 1967

Barack poses with his mother, Ann, half sister, Maya, and maternal grandfather Stanley Dunham in Hawaii in the early 1970s after the family returned from Indonesia. Neighbors remember the close relationship between young Barack and his grandfather

A page from Barack Obama’s senior yearbook features his personalized message to family, friends and teammates. (Photo from The Oahuan Yearbook)

Just goes to prove you can be anything you WANT to be…

Microsoft: Work and Travel Do Mix

Talk about getting creative. Talk about killing two birds with one stone. Talk about Microsoft’s innovative move to start employees’ working time the moment they step into the company bus to work.

According to sources, Microsoft started bus service for employees at Bangalore, India. The bus is obviously equipped with computers and connectivity which allows employees can start work from the bus. Their office hours counts from the time they switch on their computers in the bus. Needless to say, the time they spend working in the bus counts toward their stipulated working hours for the day.

So what gave birth to this gem of an idea? Well, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention, but sometimes a crisis can be, too. The crisis in this case was the infamous traffic Bangalore jam. Stuck? Work! Apparently, the management wasted no tie in accepting this idea which was proposed by an employee through their suggestion scheme.

Photographs That Changed the World — Part I

1957. The first day of Dorothy Counts at the Harry Harding High School in the United States. Counts were one of the first black students admitted in the school, and she was no longer able to stand the harassments after 4 days.

Assasination (Yasushi Nagao, Japan) January 12, 1960. A second before the Japanese Socialist Party leader Asanuma was murdered by an opponent student.

Protest (Malcolm W. Browne, USA) 1963. Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist priest in Southern Vietnam, burns himself to death protesting the government’s torture policy against priests. Thich Quang Dug never made a sound or moved while he was burning.

Death (Hictor Rondsn Lovera, Venezuela) 1962. A soldier shot by a sniper hangs onto a priest in his last moments.

Vietnam War (Kyoichi Sawada, Japan) 1965. A mom and her children try to cross the river in South Vietnam in an attempt to run away from the American bombs.

Vietnam War (Kyoichi Sawada, Japan) 1966. U.S. troops in South Vietnam are dragging a dead Vietkong soldier.

Vietnam War (Eddie Adams, USA) February 1, 1968. South Vietnam police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan shots a young man whom he suspects to be a Viet Kong soldier.

Assasination of Salvador Allende, Chili (Unknown photographer) 1973. A few seconds before Chile ’s elected president Salvador Allende is dead during the coup.

Accident (Stanley Forman, USA) 1975. A woman and a girl falling down after the fire escape collapses.

Hunger in Uganda (Michael Wells, U.K.) 1980. A kid in Uganda about to die of hunger, and a missionaire.

How to be Happy Most of the Time — if Not Always

An extract from Chetan Bhagat’s speech to the new batch of MBA students at Symbiosis, Pune, India in July, 2008.

There are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the spark to be happy in us. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do, come out stronger. Failure can and will make you feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.

Frustration

Disappointment’s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign that somewhere you took it too seriously.

Unfairness

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damn lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.

Isolation

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, perhaps all you wanted was ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

Top 10 Biggest Mistakes Made by Travelers

I agree traveling is meant to be fun. Matter of fact, even the sheer anticipation of a holiday can be so exciting that some us tend to overdo or underdo something or the other, which can end up making a mess of our travel experience. And we always see what we did wrong when it’s too late. (Recall Murphy’s Law? If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.)

But there’s no need to panic. Help is available — travel experts at VirtualTourist.com reveal what not to do on vacation.

“Every experienced traveler has a war story or two of missed flights, nights spent in train stations, or full vacation days at an embassy trying to get missing paperwork,” explains Giampiero Ambrosi, general manager of VirtualTourist®. “While there are always situations that can’t be avoided, this is a great checklist to help you avoid some very common blunders. The list may help you avert disaster, but remember that the biggest travel mistake of all is not to keep a sense of humor about your mistakes!”

1. Overpacking. A good rule of thumb is, if you have to sit on the suitcase to zip it up, you’ve packed too much.

2. Not anticipating passport expiration. Double-check the expiration date the day you start planning your trip and be sure to confirm that it won’t expire while you’re on vacation!

3. Leaving too little time between flight connections. As any seasoned traveler will advise, any between-connection time less than two hours and you’re really rolling the dice.

4. Forgetting time differences. Not taking into account time differences is a very common mistake travelers make, along with not realizing that some countries count time from one to 12 while others count from one to 24.

5. Not renewing prescription medication. Getting refills in some countries isn’t easy, so ask your pharmacist about an advance refill.

6. Neglecting to confirm hotel reservations. Even if you booked months ago and made a deposit, always call a few weeks before to confirm and if possible, get something in writing.

7. Not bringing an adaptor. If a day without a hairdryer is a day spent in agony, make sure to bring the appropriate adaptor.

8. Not checking to see if your ATM card works in other countries. Even if you’ve used your ATM card somewhere before, always check with your bank and keep in mind that different countries often require shorter or longer PIN numbers so ask about that as well.

9. Leaving valuables in a hotel safe. When you come back to the hotel each night, make it a habit to leave your key on the safe so when you’re ready for a final departure you’ll be reminded to have one last look.

10. Not learning how to say “help” in another language. Before arriving, learn words like “help” and “fire,” and make sure you know the local equivalent of 911.

Now, from my experience — the problem is that these tips seem too obvious. And I tend to take them for granted. “Knowing” something never worked for me, while actually “doing” it always did. Take care of the finer details, and the bigger ones will take care of themselves.

Bon Voyage!

SOURCE VirtualTourist.com

How the World’s Greatest Companies Got Their Names - Part I

There are hundreds of products we use on almost on a daily basis; products manufactured by world-renowned companies. Companies whose logos are recognized instantly by millions around the globe, and we treat their names as if they’ve been around forever. I unearthed some fascinating stories behind some of the best known companies and how they evolved into what they are today.
	3M
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company started off by mining the material ‘corundum’ used to make sandpaper.
	Adobe
This came from the name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of founder John Warnock.
	Apache
It got its name because its founders got started by applying patches to code written for NCSA’s httpd daemon.. The result was ‘A PAtCHy’server –thus, the name ApacheJakarta (project from Apache):A project constituted by SUN and Apache to create a web server handling servlets and JSPs. Jakarta was name of the conference room at SUN where most of the meetings between SUN and Apache took place.
	Apple Computers
It was the favourite fruit of founder Steve Jobbs.He was three months late for filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if the other colleagues didn’t suggest a better name by 5 o’clock.
	Cisco
It is not an acronym as popularly believed. Its short for San Francisco.
	Coca-Cola
Derived from the coca leaves and kola nuts used as flavoring. Coca-Cola creator John S. Pemberton changed the ‘K’ of kola to ‘C’ to make the name look better.
	Compaq
This name was formed by using COMp, for computer and PAQ to denote a small integral object.
	Corel
The name was derived from the founder’s name Dr. Michael Cowpland. It stands for COwpland Research Laboratory.
	eBay
Pierre Omidyar, who had created the Auction Web trading website, had formed a web consulting concern called Echo Bay Technology Group. "Echo Bay" didn’t refer to the town in Nevada, "It just sounded cool", Omidyar reportedly said. Echo Bay Mines Limited, a gold mining company, had already taken EchoBay.com, so Omidyar registered what (at the time) he thought was the second best name: eBay.com.
	GNU
A species of African antelope. Founder of the GNU project Richard Stallman liked the name because of the humor associated with its pronunciation and was also influenced by the children’s song ‘The GnuSong’ which is a song sung by a gnu. Also it fitted into the recursive acronym culture with ‘GNU’s Not Unix’.
	Google
The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was originally named ‘Googol’,a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. After founders - Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor; they received a cheque made out to ‘Google’.
	Hewlett-Packard
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.
	Hotmail
Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in ‘mail’ and finally settled for hotmail as it included the letters"html" - the programming language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective upper casing.
	Intel
Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company ‘MooreNoyce’ but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics. (I always thought ot was short for ‘Intelligence’!)
	Java
Originally called Oak by creator James Gosling, from the tree that stood outside his window, the programming team had to look for a substitute as there was no other language with the same name. Java was selected from a list of suggestions. It came from the name of the coffee that the programmers drank.
	LG
Combination of two popular Korean brands Lucky and Goldstar. Not really an acronym for "Life’s Good"!
	Linux
Linus Torvalds originally used the Minix OS on his system which he replaced by his OS. Hence the working name was Linux (Linus’ Minix). He thought the name to be too egotistical and planned to name it Freax(free+ freak + x).His friend Ari Lemmke encouraged Linus to upload it to a network so it could be easily downloaded. Ari gave Linus a directory called linux on his FTP server, as he did not like the name Freax.(Linus’ parents named him after two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling).
	Mercedes-Benz
This was actually financier’s daughter’s name. The three points of the star were supposed to represent Daimler’s ambition of universal motorization: "on land, on water and in the air".

Homer Simpson is New Face on Euro Coin

An official Spanish one Euro coin bearing the face of cartoon couch potato Homer Simpson instead of that of the country’s king has turned up in candy shop owner Jose Martinez’s till.

Martinez was counting his cash the city of Aviles in northern Spain, when he chanced upon a Euro coin where the typical face of cartoon couch potato Homer Simpson had replaced that of King Juan Carlos.

“The coin must have been done by a professional,” he told Reuters.”It’s an impressive piece of work.”

Don Juan Carlos’s regal half-profile topped by a full head of curls had morphed seamlessly into the pop-eyed, big-nosed, bald-headed features of beer-guzzling Homer Simpson, complete with his 5 o’clock shadow.

The talented carver had not touched the other side of the coin displaying the map of Europe. So far, no other coins of the bald headed and big-eyed hapless ‘intelligent idiot’ have been found in circulation.

Martinez says he’s received thousands of bids for the coin have come in from Simpsons fans in the Netherlands, Japan, Canada and the US, but he plans to keep the collector’s item for himself–at least for now.

But he ought to beware of potential duplicates:

Kill Alcohol Before It Kills You

It comes as a breath of fresh air — literally. Alcohol Killer USA, Inc. (AK USA) has introduced an innovative beverage with a citrus twist that has been proved to help make you sober immediately after a round (or more) of alcoholic drinks.

Consuming Alcohol Killer (AK) immediately prior to and immediately after consuming alcohol results in a significant lowering of blood alcohol concentration. It works with and not against the body to support the body’s natural detoxification process.

“In Europe, where AK was developed,” explained Ihor Koval, president of AK USA. “it is well known that AK(TM) can be consumed daily not only to hydrate and replenish, but to work naturally with the body to reduce the harsh effects of alcohol consumption, including reducing the effects of a hangover.”

“The significant lowering of breath ethanol levels that result from drinking AK is not the result of a masking effect, but is the result of AK(TM) properties that increase the amount and the speed with which alcohol is eliminated from the body,” he added.

Made in Austria, AK is the result of the combined knowledge of pharmacists, physicians, and biochemists, as well as practitioners of traditional medicine.

However, it’s important to remember that drinking AK does NOT prevent intoxication. It’s not your ‘DUI license’.

And just as the length of time required to get intoxicated depends upon each individual, the time taken by to decrease the amount of alcohol in one’s body depends upon severl factors such as age, gender, body weight, metabolism, diet, general health, and the amount of alcohol consumed.

SOURCE ALCOHOL KILLER USA, Inc.