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Resolutions recorded on liquid surfaces! Having made an ardent promise to myself and my readers that I would henceforth cease to be a drop out and would spend time writing a blog a day, I have failed to keep my word.  It seems these resolutions...

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What is so addictive about blogging? I never did think that I would drop out of blogging.  Yet I have been so tardy with my posts that I am nearly a drop out! So, it is clearly a time to examine why did I start this blog in the first place...

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Laser Hair removal When cutting, waxing, and shaving is no longer desirable or feasible, some patients seek laser hair removal.  Most people have hair covering their bodies that is lightly colored and fine and therefore,...

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Gardenia If you receive a bouquet of Gardenias you can be sure that the sender thinks you symbolize purity and sweetness and they are telling you of their secret love for you. Since a gardenia plant or bouquet...

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Freelancer alert: Not an export code-A purpose code! While we have been busy speculating on what is an export code and what it takes to get one issued from DGFT, paypal has issued a clarification that it is not an "export code" but a purpose code which needs...

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May

05

2010

Resolutions recorded on liquid surfaces!

Posted by Samantha | Comments : Comments Off

Category : Communication, Creative writing, Freelancing, General, Information highway, News and society

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Having made an ardent promise to myself and my readers that I would henceforth cease to be a drop out and would spend time writing a blog a day, I have failed to keep my word.  It seems these resolutions of mine get recorded on liquid surfaces that erase them the moment they are recorded.  Anyway, here is a post that I hope will interest my readers.

I am currently grappling with three different topics that interest me. One the literary theory of Saussure, Lacan, Barthes and others. I am doggedly reading the translations of the works of these writers even though I need multiple readings to make sense of them. Finally, I am getting a glimmer of what they are talking about and am getting immensely interested in what they have to say. I am also attempting to apply their theories to literary works!  A challenging and interesting task. Very intellectual!

I am also reading a wonderful novel by a Japanese writer in English called Kazuo Ishiguro called The Remains of the day.  The writer has wonderfully captured the essence of what “buttlership” (if you forgive my coining of this word) implies.  A copy of the novel is available online (in docstoc or is it scribd?–I am not sure). Truly relaxing!

I am also working out the nuances of contract law and bombarding myself with  topics like “invitation to treat”, “postal delay in contract law” and so on and so forth till I am getting a little cross eyed with the effort. Absolutely legal! Keeps my mind live and kicking.

Of course, I cannot complain that my life is drab and dull and lacks variety.  Will perhaps translate the results of all my efforts into little articles that may be of interest to you all?

Why do I do all this?  I like being an intellectual.  In fact I revel in it.  What comes out of it?  A lot of writing practice and of course a number of new creative ideas for books that I plan to write sometime in the future (only the future seems very dimly distant at the moment).   Some of the work may also find a way into literature journals and law journals and law journals.

May

01

2010

What is so addictive about blogging?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : Comments Off

Category : Communication, Creative writing, General, Information highway, News and society, social media

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I never did think that I would drop out of blogging.  Yet I have been so tardy with my posts that I am nearly a drop out! So, it is clearly a time to examine why did I start this blog in the first place and why have the posts fallen off?

I think I began to blog because I felt that I had a lot of information that I would like to share with others. I also felt that it would give me good writing practice as I am a writer by profession.  I was however, not very sure that anyone would want to read what I had to write.  Surprisingly, there are at least 60+ people out there who visit my blog and read it whether I have posted anything new or not.  Now I think I have another reason not become a drop out.  I have a readership who really find my blogs interesting enough to visit daily and read up. I owe something to them.

Blogging is generically very close to dairy writing. Of course you write your most secret thoughts in the diary and keep it under lock and key hoping no one else will get sight of the things you tell your diary about your fellowmen.  A blog on the other hand is an open diary. You write about everything that you are interested in and can be as democratic as you like about your readership.  Of course, you will not share your innermost thoughts and you secret cravings with your fellowmen? Yet, there is a satisfaction that there is someone out there who shares your interest and you feel joyful about reaching out to them.  I wonder what psychologists have to say about blogging?

To come to the meat of the question, I asked in the title–What is so addictive about blogging? The question follows: “Am I an addict?” Well No. I find that I can really live without blogging. It is not like diary writing. I am not searching for a confidant. I think I am reaching out to friends, like minded people who are interested in what I am interested in. One is not obssessed with one’s friends. It is just nice to have them around and have an occassional relaxing chat with them. I think my blogging fell off, because I am a healthy human being with a healthy work appetite. Sometimes I put work before friends and the need to reach out takes a back seat when work holds my attention.  Therefore, while I do not feel guilty about not continuing to blog, I do feel remorseful that I have not shared sometime with my 60 odd friends out there, who hang out at my blog hoping for a glimpse of me.

Perhaps, if I were depressed and unhappy, blogging could become a kind of addictive and I may end up blogging to myself or using my blog more as a diary than as a blog. Perhaps, I would find comfort in my readership and may even obssess about the number of people who visit my blog on a daily basis and worry if there is a drop in readership and so on…I hear people find pleasure in committing online suicide because the number of people who “like” you has changed or dropped or what not…. Even for them blogging is not an addiction–it seems more like a lifeline. They would drown if you prevent them from blogging. It is not merely a question of de-addicting them.

Business blogs are a whole new ball game. They are bloggers who are blogging for survival; to prove that they are better than their competition or just advertising as blogs attract readership. For them, blogging is a necessary adjunct to their business and not an addiction.

So, what is all this talk about addiction to blogging? I do not know. If you do know people who are addicted about their blogging do find out why and share it with us. Contact us using the contact form on http://www.consult4content.com and give us the meat on why someone finds blogging addictive.

Apr

07

2010

Gardenia

Posted by Samantha | Comments : Comments Off

Category : Communication, Freelance content, General, Information highway, website content

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If you receive a bouquet of Gardenias you can be sure that the sender thinks you symbolize purity and sweetness and they are telling you of their secret love for you. Since a gardenia plant or bouquet can cost anything between $39-50 in the market and a single gardenia flower can cost as much as $11 and a gardenia flower with a bud can cost up to $15, they must really mean what they are saying with the flowers!

Summer brides often choose bouquet of gardenias for their weddings. It has featured in Royal and celebrity weddings. The Princess of Wales Diana, choose a bouquet of gardenias for her wedding with Prince Charles. The exotic, spicy sweet fragrance of the gardenia flowers and the pale ivory color the petals contrasts with the dark glossy leaves to create an impression of beauty and grace as the bride walks down the aisle. It also complements white bridal wear and appropriately symbolizes the purity of the bride.

But, did you know the Gardenia really belongs to the coffee plant family? The white multi layered petals of this beautiful flower belies this fact, does it not? Yet it is true that the Gardenia belongs to Rubiaceae family and is native to tropical and sub tropical regions of Africa. There are more than 250 species of this genus. The flower is named after Dr.Alexander Garden a Scottish born American naturalist.

The gardenia plant is a small evergreen shrub or a small tree that grows to 1-15 meters in height. The leaves are set opposite each other or in whorls of three or four. They have a dark green glossy and leathery texture. The flowers bloom singly or in small clusters and can be white or pale yellow. The tubular-based corolla has 5-12 lobes and is often 5-12 centimeters in diameter.  These plants flower from mid spring to mid summer and may or may not have a strong scent.

Chinese farmers raise the gardenia for the dye that can be produced from its fruit. In East Indies this plant is nurtured for a gum that exudes from its bark. In South Africa the hard wood from the tree is considered valuable. In America the plant is grown for the waxy blossoms it produces.

The gardenia flower has also been used extensively in oriental perfumes and oils. It is known to be an aphrodisiac. It is also used for medicinal purposes as an anti inflammatory drug, anti bacterial medication and for its fungicidal properties. It adds an exotic flavor to tea.

Since the gardenia is a tropical or sub tropical plant, growing gardenias in other climates can be difficult. They are finicky houseplants and require the bright southern light. If you must grow gardenias at home grow lights must be used to supplement natural lighting in cold places and in winter. A timer must be used to ensure that the plants have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness. They must be watered with distilled water kept at room temperature. Hard or cold water will stunt their growth. The soil used to grow these flowering plants must be moist and must not be too wet and slushy.

Feb

15

2010

Journeys on record: What to see when you visit Kurukshetra

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (1)

Category : Content Marketing, General, Information highway, News and society, Travel content

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History lovers, tourists and temple goers will find Kurkshetra a wonderful place to visit. This historical site can be reached by road(National Highway1)  from New Delhi(160 Km); Chandigarh(90 Km); North Karnal(39 Km) and South Ambala(40 Km). The railway station at Kurukshetra is called Kurukshetra Junction.

A two day visit with one night stay at Kurukshetra is recommended.  Popular hotels for overnight stay at Kurukshetra are: Saffron, Heritage, Neelkanth Yatri Niwas and Parakeet hotel. There are also a number of guest houses and Dharmashalas that accomodate travelers to this historic city.

Places of Tourist Interest

Sheikh Chehli’s Tomb is a beautiful tomb constructed by Dara Shikoh(1650 AD), the eldest son of Shah Jahan the Moghul Emperor, for the sufi saint Abd-ur-rahim or Sheikh Chehli. The tomb is constructed over an artificial terrance and is octogonal with a south facing entrance. It is built of buff sandstone and crowned by a pear shaped dome of marble with a high circular drum.  A smaller tomb with beautiful floral carvings dedicated to the wife of Sheikh Chehli can be found near the west entrance.  The whole overlooks a Madrasa which has a nine arched opening on each side of the central courtyard. It has been declared a monument of National importance.

The Kurukshetra Panorama and Science center is located near the Sri Krishna Museum in Kurukshetra. It is a two storeyed building that exhibits Indian heritage science and technology. Ancient Indian concepts of properties of matter, structure of the atom, geometry, mathematical rules, astronomy, medicine and surgery are on display.  The highlight of the museum is the life like panorama of the historical battle of Kurukshetra with 34 feet high paintings of the episodes from the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas.  The sound and light that accompany the scene along with the background Gita Chanting create an illusion of reality. A science park has been set up in the grounds with busts of all the greatest scientists of India.

The Krishna museum exhibits the collection of archelogical material from 5000 years of Indian History. Effort has been made to sequence the material culture from the Kurukshetra war pre epic, epic and post epic periods. There is no effort to establish the historicity of the war, only to display the archeological findings pertaining to the different periods. The museum has six galleries and a rich heritage of art and sculpture is housed in these galleries. A whole day can be spent examining these exquisite pieces of history and art!

Kalpana Chawla Memorial Planetarium was built to impart non formal education in Astronomy. A number of excellent programs with high tech digital and optomechanical systems are conducted in this building.  Science and technology exhibits, astronomy shows and the astro park are highlights of this spot.

Gulzarilal Nanda Institute of National Integration and Peace is a personalia museum built in honor of the erstwhile Governor of the State who did much to improve and preserve the historical and places of tourist importance in Kurukshetra.  The musuem highlights his career, spiritual beliefs and his services for Kurukshetra.

Brahmasarovar is a beautiful tank with a temple dedicated to Shiva in the center of the tank. This spot is believed to be the location at which Brahma begins his act of creation after the great Pralaya that destroys the world. A number of bathing ghats named after the characters of the Mahabarath can be found round this tank.  The waters of this tank are considered sacred and pilgrims visit this tank in large numbers during the Solar eclipse and on New moon day to take a dip in the holy waters.

The Sannihit Sarovar in Kurukshetra is said to be the confluence of seven sacred saraswatis. A large number of pilgrims visit this tank on New Moon day to absolve themselves of sins.  Adjacent to this tank are the temples dedicated to Dhruv Narain, Lord Vishnu, Laxmi Narayan, Lord Hanuman and Mother Goddess Durga.

Places of Historical Importance

Kurukshetra is replete with history.  The site has been the cradle of Indian civilization for more than 5000 years. A number of archelogical sites have been excavated and the findings from these sites are housed in the different museums located across the city including the Krishna museum.

The Archeological site museum and Harsha’s Palace are located behind the Tomb of Sheikh Chehli. The museum houses the archeological findings at the excavation site of the Palace of Harsha, the King of Thanesar.  The Archeological Survey of India has unearthed from the mound, stone and terracotta sculptures, coins, ornaments, ritualistic objects. The exhibition also has on display the schematic plan and its findings and architectural buildings that have been exposed during the excavation.  The mound itself is located close to the  museum and the contours of the palace are very visible. The settlement pattern, the architectural style, religious life and artistic endeavor are visible to tourists.

Jyotisar is the most revered historical location in Kurukshetra. It is believed that Krishna elucidated the Gita to Arjuna at this spot. While the historical truth of this assertion is not proved, tradition has it that the message was delivered under a holy banyan tree at this spot. Jyotisar lies 5 km from Kurukshetra on the Kurushetra Peshowa road.  The banyan currently found on the spot is said to be an offshoot of the original banyan that existed at the time of the discourse. The site has a beautiful marble statue of Krishna and Arjuna on a chariot.  A sound and light show on the theme of Bhagawat Gita is mounted by the ITDC as part of the tourist promotion of Kurushetra here.

Close to Jyotisar, infact at the entrance to the location, stands an ancient Shiva temple between the trunks of two trees. The temple is said to date back to the Kurushetra war.

Temples in Kurukshetra

The Staneshwar Mahadev temple is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of destruction. It is said that the Pandavas visited this temple before the battle of Mahabarat to receive the blessings of Lord Shiva. The waters of the tank adjoining the temple is said to have cured Kind “Ben” of leprosy.  A pilgrimage to Kurukshetra is complete only when the pilgrim takes a holy dip in this tank.   The temple is constructed in the regional style and has a domical roof and the facade of this dome has the shape of an “amla” or gooseberry with a tall pinacle.  The sanctum sanctorum houses a Lingam in the traditional style.

The Bhadrakali temple is a temple dedicated to Shakti, the consort of Lord Shiva. It is one of the fifty one Shaki peetas or seat of power of the Goddess.  The right ankle of Shakti is idolized in this temple.  A large number of devotees congregate in this temple to worship the Godress. Local legend has it that Krishna and Balarama had their “Mundan” ceremony or the removal of first growth of hair was conducted in this temple. It is also believed that the Pandavas visited this temple to pray to the Goddess for victory in the Kurukshetra war.  Worshippers offer terracotta horses to the diety when their prayers are answered by the Goddess.

The Kalmaki temple is also dedicated to Bhadrakali. This temple is associated with Tantricism and is said to have existed even in the sixth and seventh centuries AD at the current location.  The style of the temple, however, is 19th century.  The brickwork is in Lakhori style and is double storied. The style of the sanctum santrum is offbeat with the sanctum juxtapositioned to form a single structure bearing a composite domical and vaulted roof styles.  Four domical spires are located around the central domical spise.  The entrance to the temple has a vaulted alcove design.  Beautiful murals decorate the sanctum interior and the octogonal wall below the inner dome and square chamber of the sanctum.

Bhishma Kund or Narkatari tank is located about a mile and half from Thanesar on Kurushetra Pehowa road. The legend says that Bhishma, the elder of the Pandava and Kuru clan gave up his life voluntarily at this spot. It is believed that the waters of the tank were summoned forth by Arjuna to quench the thirst of Bhishma. There is a temple dedicated to Bhishma on this spot adjacent to the tank.

If you have liked this post, please do leave your comments. If you are looking for similar kind of content, please visit my website http://www.consult4content.com and leave me an order for content.

Feb

11

2010

Tax Talk: Income from house property

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (3)

Category : General, Information highway, Money & Finance, News and society, taxation

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“House building” is an economic activity that is hugely encouraged in most tax legislations.  Governments want people to build houses and promote the development of localities and contribute to overall economic growth.  So, people who invest in house property are given a number of incentives to do so.  They are given a number of tax breaks that are not available to persons who earn income under other heads of income as defined in the tax legislation of the country.

However, it should be noted that income from every type of house property is not treated on the same footing in all countries, for a variety of reasons. Depending on the scope of encouragement to be given to house building activity, the  income tax benefits available on the  first property owned by a person may be different from the income tax benefits available on  the second property owned by the same person.

It follows that income tax benefits available on properties owned by the individual in countries other than the country of residence, may also be different. The tax on income from such properties may be computed with reference to any tax treaties that may have been entered into by the parent country with the country in which the property yeilding income is located.

Having said this, let us go on to examine what is commonly understood as income from house property.

Income from House Property, also referred to as rental income, is any payment you receive for the use or occupation of your property (referred to as Lessee or owner) by another (referred to as lesor or tenant).

Broadly, Income tax legislations the world over define income from house property as any or all of the following:

  • Periodic payments by the tenant for use of property fully or partially
  • Notional rental value of property that is intended for self occupation
  • Payments by tenants towards amenities provided with the property
  • Any amounts paid by tenant to cancel a lease
  • Any expenses paid by the tenant on your behalf
  • A security deposit that is intended to be adjusted against unpaid rent or final payment of rent
  • Any security deposit that is adjusted because tenant does not comply with the terms of the lease

The type of accounting system you adopt will also make a difference to the amount of income from house property you report under the tax legislation. So most tax legislations recognize two types of accounting proceeduces as legitimate–cash system or accrual system.  A cash system of accounting implies that you account for the rent only when you receive the cash. Under the accrual system you will include all rent that is due to you and not necessarily received.

However, the entire amount you receive from your tenant is not taxable.  The income at the point of receipt is “gross rent”.  The actual taxable rent could be far less than what you have received from your tenant in the course of the accounting year. Why? All tax legislations allow legitimate and reasonable expenses that may be incurred by an individual in collecting the rent or maintaining the property in a rentable condition. The rent arrived at after deducting expenses is the “Net taxable rental income”.

Deductible expenses on gross rental income could include:

  • Expenses on upkeep of the property
  • Finding a tenant to occupy the property
  • Expenses incurred for collection of rental
  • Expenses incurred for payment of property tax and
  • Other taxes/charges on property.

A few tax legislations may also allow you some deductions such as:

  • interest that is paid on loans taken by you for the purchase of property;
  • vaccancy allowance for the period when the property remains untenanted or
  • loss of income you have appropriated the property for personal use during a part of the financial year.

A few legislations allow a standard deduction on income from house property in place of deductions for various expenses. Other legislations may allow depreciation on house property income.  You must compute your house property income in accordance with the definition of house property income that is enshrined in the legislation of your country of residence and deduct expenses that are allowable under that legislation.

The total income from house property can be a loss if the expenses on property exceeds the gross income from property. This may or may not be set off against income from other heads as defined in the tax legislation of the country.

[Subsequent tax talk posts will be devoted to "How to compute house property Income" under different tax legislations. So stay with us and we hope this information will be useful to you for the tax filing season in your country!]

Feb

09

2010

Are you still watching the fallout?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (0)

Category : Business, General, Money & Finance, News and society

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The sub prime bubble burst three years ago. If you are among those who are still fearfully watching the fallout know that others have learnt their lessons and have moved on.  Remember smooth seas do not make skillful sailors. ‘

In fact, the downturn threw into sharp relief all those things you should have been doing (but never did) even when there was no downturn to scare you silly. A few learnings of industries over the last two years have been summarized below:

  • Tweak your business model but don’t cut down on marketing innovation
  • Stay with your long term goals
  • Exploit your strengths
  • Keep a tight rein on costs by running your business efficiently–keep positive cash flows
  • Do not push profits at the cost of stability
  • Invest in a few strategic things that will help you maintain your balance in differing environments
  • Never expand in a fractured market using debt
  • Treat employees as partners  in your success at all times
  • Network with your customers constantly–your business depends on them
  • Advertise your products aggressively all the time
  • Keep watch on your competition and their product strategies but do not imitate them-learn from their mistake

Maybe we should say with John Heywood:

“If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.”

John Heywood quotes (English Playwright and Poet, 1497-1580)

Feb

05

2010

Meditation: Active or passive state?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (2)

Category : General, Health and Exercise, Medical content, News and society

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Is Meditation an active or passive state? Anyone who observes the meditator would say “passive”. All the meditator seems to do is sit still, doing nothing.

There are many arguments in support of meditation being an active state!  They would point out that you can actually burn calories by doing meditation. Visit http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/fitness/exercise/meditating/ and you will be told that meditation helps you burn 66 calories per hour for an average person–average being a person who weight 145 pounds.  http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-burned-light-meditating-a148 says that you can burn 70 calories  per hour if you weigh 150 pounds by doing light meditation.

You may then,  turn round to argue that even people who are sleeping burn calories. Of course, you do that in the assumption that sleep is not an active state! Well, it must again be pointed out that the active or passive state of sleep is itself in question.  However, studies show that you burn 60-72 calories an hour(per 150 lbs weight) during sleep. So sleep too is an active state for the purposes of our thesis.

Of course, we do not have to believe all this. We can look to scientific proof. Siebert, Gessner and Klasser who studied the energy consumed by the central nervous system when a person sits down to do some deep thinking reveals that the brain burns 230-270 calories an hour. {Energy supply of the central nervous system.PMID: 3516137 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Bibl Nutr Dieta. 1986;(38):1-26.].

While this is not much when compared to calorie loss during exercise, it is certainly a large amount for a small organ accounts for such a small part of the body weight! Also, it is a clear indication that “thinking” is activity that burns calories. It follows, that meditation which is a kind of focused and concentrated thinking, is an active physical state and not a passive one.

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Feb

01

2010

Should you care about RSS feeds?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (1)

Category : Communication, Content Marketing, General, Information highway, News and society, Self help, Types of content

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There is a clickable legend on the sidebar of my blog which says Entries RSS . What is that? Should you care?

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary. This is a format that delivers regularly changing web content to subscribers automatically. News related sites, weblogs and other online publishers find this tool very useful for delivering their content to their readers via the RSS feed.

What is there in it for you? RSS feeds can solve a problem for you if you regularly follow my blog. You will be automatically informed the moment I put in new content. This will save you the trouble of visiting my site everytime and will also ensure your privacy–you do not have to join the site’s email newsletter or register with the site. This technology is becoming very popular as more and more sites are offering you RSS feeds.

What do you need for reading a RSS feed? There are several feed readers that can be downloaded and used to read the feed. But, what happens if you subscribe to RSS feeds in more than one site? There are News aggregator software that allow you to grab the RSS feed from various sites and display them for you.  A few examples of feed readers are: Amphetadesk (Windows, Linux, Mac), FeedReader (Windows), and NewsGator (Windows – integrates with Outlook). Web based feed readers include:My Yahoo, Bloglines, and Google Reader.

Once you have your feedreader installed, all you need to do is to add the RSS feed of the sites you are interested in to the list of feeds in the feed reader. The feed reader then automatically checks the sites for new content and displays them on your reader for you.

So, if you are interested in subscribing to the RSS feed on this site, click on the link and keep up with my posts!

Jan

25

2010

Boundaries of freedom: tax laws

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (2)

Category : Communication, General, News and society, Types of content

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If you study the history of taxation of any country, you will note that it has been one long debate on constitutionality and unconstitutionality of taxation. Most often than not, taxation was seen as a means of amassing wealth, subjugating the enemy, financing a war or developing a nation by the rulers.  All land and all wealth rightfully belonged to the monarch and the citizen was allowed to enjoy “income” at the mercy of the State.  Property could be taken over, confiscated without explanations by the State. It was a declaration of the power and right of the State and a definition of the boundaries of their freedom.  If the subjects saw the ability to tax differently, it was just too bad.

The concept of taxation in the modern world is really not very different.  In countries driven by socialistic principles, the common good is placed above the individual good and all land, property and incomes belong to the society/State.  Individual wealth and inheritance concepts do not exist.  In capitalistic countries where the concept individual freedom and personal good reign supreme, voluntary compliance is, seemingly encouraged and people are persuaded to consider paying taxes a duty. Penal sections of the law were enacted as disincentives to tax avoidance.

Even today, in most countries, tax laws define the boundaries of your economic freedom. You are free to earn, live and love in a community so long as you give back to the community something of what you receive from the community.  If you do not do so with the spirit of joy, voluntarily, the state has the power to act Robin Hood.  It is no wonder, therefore, that there are several voices that declare taxation a socialistic tenet in a capitalistic world!

It follows that while economies can be capitalistic or socialistic, no Government can afford to be wholly capitalistic. While they can respect the concepts of “liberty, equality and fraternity”, they cannot place the individual good over the common good without extending an invitation to anarchy.  Unbounded freedom is a myth and rightly so. Do you agree?

Jan

19

2010

Investing in real estate: Get real, you will get the estate

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (2)

Category : General, Money & Finance, News and society, Real Estate Investment, Self help

Tags: , , , , ,

Most of us dream of building our dream home and living it up with the family. Most often the dream remains just that –a dream. Why?  The answer is simple. Dream homes are driven by dreams and reality is something very different. Investing in real estate, needs to be a “real” activity that is well planned and executed as per plan.

If you have come across people who have made it big by investing in real estate, pause a while; study what they did vs what you did. They too began with a dream. However, the dream was founded on a sound understanding of how to finance investment in real estate.

Primarily, they were very clear about their motives for investing in real estate. They want to make money standing up and sitting down. They were desirous of generating a passive income to supplement their income from salary or other sources. They were out to acquire property that puts money into their pockets all the time. They were hell bent to ensure that the property fetches them a decent rent that pays any expenses on acquisition and puts some money into the pocket after taxes. They made sure the property value would appreciate and the sale of the property would come with capital gains that can be reinvested in other high value properties while defering taxes.

Most people “invest” in dream home mid career. They buy property, because  they want to live in the property, ultimately after retirement. They may be a long way away form retiring and settling down, yet they build their homes in localities they would like to settle down instead of in localities that show a distinct growth potential.  They are willing to pay higher prices for the property, though they could have got a better property at a lower price elsewhere and more rent in the bargain. They take huge loans from the bank and spend their lives repaying the loans using up all the rent and slicing off a chunk from out of their salary income.  Additionally, repairs to the property, taxes on property and a score of other corrosives eat into their income and leave them wondering about the wisdom of their investment.

What should they have done?  If they have several years to retirement, they should develop a real estate investment plan rather than jump into investing in real estate for retired living.  It is like going to the Doctor today for an ailment you may have in the future.

Real estate investment plans begin small. The shoe must not pinch. The rent from the property must take care of loan repayments, taxes and all other charges arising from property ownership.  Capital appreciation on property must be reinvested in newer and larger properties that generate a passive income for the owner and enable him defer capital gains tax on the sale.   This will gradually result in a valuable real estate portfolio that can be used to buy the dream home and also remain invested in properties that you have no intention of living in!

So, it is time to come down from the clouds and get real so that you can build up your estate!

Jan

14

2010

Money dynamics:Do you understand money?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (2)

Category : Communication, Content Marketing, General, Information highway, Money & Finance

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antgrassopper1All our lives we have been taught to lay aside something for the rainy day.  We have been shown examples of how the ant saves up while the grasshopper whiles away the time and regrets his laziness. Yet, if you look around you those who save up money meticulously are the ones who seem to lose out all the time. The ones who do not save up for the rainy day seem to do very well and seem to enjoy what life has to offer them! Are we fools?

No and Yes. We are not fools because saving up for a rainy day is a wise thing to do. But yes, we are fools, because the way we are saving up is wrong.  The money we save up has poor velocity and returns are meagre. The winning formula has never been taught to us. Our parents did not know it themselves, so how could they teach it to us?

Look at the interest rate your bank offers you. It is about 2% in America and 6% in India.  Of course something goes into the Government coffers by way of tax and the rest is eroded by inflation. You get back a small sum or nothing at all, for all the pleasures you have forgone to save up that money. The bottom line is that you are not getting much for your pains.  At least the grasshopper had a good time.

The secret of getting somewhere quickly with your money is making sure that you understand money and its dynamics. You must learn to distinguish between assets and liabilities. You must learn to identify liabilities that are masked as assets and seeming liabilities that are really assets. For instance, if you have purchased a property with a loan and the rent on property repays the instalment of loan and also puts some money into your pocket, you have created an asset. If your house property draws money out of your pocket and puts nothing into your pocket, it is a liability.  Unless you are going to trade your smaller property in for purchasing a bigger property(taking advantage of prevailing tax laws) with a larger loan that pays for itself, the capital appreciation really does not count!  It will not create wealth for you.

If you cease to look at money as an object, a possession, you will begin to see that money is really an idea.  Ideas are made up of words and words have momentum and direction. They fulfil a destiny.  For instance, instead of repeatedly saying “I cannot afford something”, try saying “how can I afford it?” You will find that you begin to have ideas about how to make money and how to get money working for you.

It is also important to understand that it does not take money to make money. Money can be made out of –an idea, a concept.  Thereafter, you only need to work on the idea of geting your money to make you money! Look at the forward trading market and the stock market and you will realize that money can be made without investing money!

In brief, you need to change your mind set about money. You need to make your money work for you even if you work for money meanwhile.  Becoming rich and having enough money for the rainy day requires meticulous planning and compelte understing of the dynamics of money.

Jan

12

2010

Resolutions: Who follows them up?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (0)

Category : General, Self help

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selfNew years are replete with hopes and resolutions. Yet sadly, years do not end with a review of hopes realized and resolutions followed up.

So, let this new year begin with a resolution to review and reward ourselves for resolutions that were nurtured and followed up. There is no substitute for self help.

Having said that, let us look at a few resolutions that we can make this year and follow up to our advantage.

1. The recession and threat of job loss has made people wise(at least I hope so). It is clear that those who are willing to learn, enhance skills and grow are the ones that will survive downturns. The first resolution of the new year, therefore, is a commitment to learning and personal development.

2. The recession also taught us that those who are well connected and have networked had an advantage over the frog in the well types. It follows that the next resolution must be to reconnect with and nurture your contact network.

3. Financial suffering and physical deterioration were commonplace during the recession.  Many people were made aware that they had lost their health and fitness in their obsession with their careers.  So, let us resolve to make health and fitness a top priority this year.

4. The year behind us saw us carrying the burdens of our fears and focusing on the negatives of life.  Let us look at the positives of life this year and work towards acquiring an equanimity that is unshaken in calamity.

5. Disorganization was perhaps the major cause of distress in the year gone by. Let us organize our lives and bring order to our thoughts in the days that are yet to come.

6. Somewhere between the church and home we have forgotten to count our blessings.  Let us be thankful for all that we have and the fact that we have our hopes intact.

7. Of course, we see the world from the windows of our mind and we are conditioned by our experiences, but let us try to understand our impulses and recognize the talent of others impartially. Let us appreciate the qualities of those around us.

8. Finally, let us write down these goals and monitor them faithfully so as to be able to render up accounts to ourselves in our year end review.

Dec

26

2009

A googly or a google?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (0)

Category : Content Marketing, Defining Content, Information highway, Keyword search, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine marketing, Types of content

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googlyWordnet describes “googly” as a cricket ball bowled as if to break one way that actually breaks in the opposite way. “Google” of course is a search engine that throws up googly’s when one searches for something! Puns apart, all search engines do that.

Why is that so?  Search engines are after all computer programs. You need to create databases and databases means records of something. So search engines create data bases of frequently searched words and match them with websites in which these words occur. They also create databases of links that connect  or from one site to another. When a user types a keyword, the database is searched and results are produced. When ranking sites access a website, they check the number of links to the site or from a site from the database and award the ranks. Hence, it is not surprising that a new world of commerce has grown around search engine optimization and link building!

But what about the googlies? I thought we were talking about search engine googlies! Yes we are. However, if you look deep into the issue you will find that it is not the search engines that make the googlies but the site owners who force search engines to produce the googles that visitors see! How?

Many site owners set out to improve page rankings for their site by ensuring that their sites are search engine optimized. Of course, they do not make a fetish of providing their visitors with information or knowledge in the process. They include the keywords in image descriptions, title of the page and scatter the keywords in sufficient percentage to ensure that search engines are hoodwinked into thinking that the site is relevant to the keyword. After all search is a computer program and the law of garbage in garbage out never changed since the introduction of the computer.

These site owners also love article directories. They will buy or create quantities of articles that are qualitatively poor but provide links back to their sites to make sure Alexa and other similar sites rank them high because of the number of incoming links to the site.  While this is cheating for links, how does it matter?

In the circumstances it is not surprising that “searchers” experience the “goglies” when they search for relevant information.  What is your experience? Do you get googlies when you google? Come share it with us!

Nov

30

2009

Why should you visit my blog about content?

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (1)

Category : Defining Content, Information highway, Types of content, social media marketing, website content

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I had sent out a few invites to friends to come and visit my blog and leave a feedback.  The few who took the pains to visit the blog sent me a question “So what do you want us to do on your blog?”  What does one really do on a blog?

  1. Read the posts
  2. Leave comments about the post
  3. Blog about content (if you are permitted to)

My blog is all about content. What makes for “intelligent content”. How intelligent content is important in the Information age. How content gets indexed; how content adds value to a website; how content is a marketing tool and so on….

Chris Baggott, will certainly dismiss the purpose the purpose of my invite–to share my knowledge– as so “first generation”.

If I say my blogs are all about citizen journalism, I stand in danger of being dismissed as “so second generation”.

If I say that my blog is a compendium to attract human visitors, I would probably be branded as “third generation” blogger!

So whatever the “generation” to which I belong, at the end of the day, I basically want more active, vociferous visitors. I want visitors who share my views or are willing to at least disagree with my views actively. I want them to argue a case or add to my argument in meaningful ways. I want the blog to be a social platform where I can share my views or argue a case with my friends and visitors on the exact nature and quality of content and its role in our daily lives.

So join me in actively discussing the different nuances of content and create the necessary verve and interest around a blog post–so that others too, are prompted to join us in the debate.

If you are visiting my blog on invite or suo motto, please do read the posts and pitch in with your own comments on the rightness or wrongness of the hypothesis that is being expostulated per post! We value your opinion and would love to debate on issues with a gusto!

Sep

30

2009

Online games–content for entertainment

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (0)

Category : Game reviews, Information highway, Types of content, website content

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online games
online games

Computer graphics and computer gaming technology have come a long long way since the ubiquitous Pong to DOOM 3.  A very substantial evolution since the inception of online gaming!   The history of gaming is tricky to track as it often diverges from computers to independent gaming consoles and arcade machines and back again with forceful enthusiasm.

While a newbie gamer is aware that this is a billion dollar industry and that he can be hugely entertained by the products, he has almost no idea as to which games to begin with. How does he go about gathering information about the best games on the Internet and how to play them?  The resource has to be offline gaming magazines, word of mouth or online website content of course!!!

Offline or online gaming content can be Product descriptions, game reviews, instruction manuals, user reviews, game cheats and a host of related content that tells the gamer exactly what he can expect and what kind of value he can get from the game! The best retail sites make the effort to provide the user with the kind of content that he comes looking for.  Product briefs describe the product from the user perspective.  Good product reviews outline the modus operendi of the game, the rules of the game and the number of players who can play simultaneously. The brief will also give him the inputs on hardware and software requirements. Product reviews will elaborate on the good and bad features of the game and also briefly discuss the technology improvements, upgrades and value additions to the game over a period of time. These reviews may give the gamer a comparative analysis with other games in the same genre.  User reviews are likely to dwell on difficulties encountered by the user while playing the game or focus upon the items that the gamer is looking for and cannot find. Users may also comment on how entertaining or boring they found the game.  Instruction manuals and tutorials are supportive material that will guide the user over the bumps and humps of the game.

All this is content and very valuable content!  A good quality online game with poor quality content will soon lose its ResidentEvil_GS_300x250_copy2following.  A poor quality game with good quality content may stay on forever!  What is the logic?  Any game that makes sense to the audience is enjoyed.  Let us look at a simple example. Snap dragon is a game for children that has been around for centuries!  Children being introduced to the game are given elaborate instructions and are verbally guided through the game by their elders (who had enjoyed the game as children!).  The elders too, begin the introduction to the game by telling the youngsters, what pleasure they had derived from the game and how much the latter will enjoy it!  The introduction excites the children and makes them ready to be entertained. The simple instructions make the game easy to grasp and play. The actual play gives them a hands on feel and they learn to appreciate the entertainment value of the game. If you study the process carefully, you will see that the player was given a lot of quality content to chew upon!

The content that is required for introducing online games is no different. Users still look for what the product does or what the game is about. They look for instructions on how to play it. They look for reviews that tell them why this game is superior to an earlier version or a competitive game.  They try to find out if others in their peer group enjoyed the game or not!

If your website does not provide some or all of the above information, your visitors will wander away to search for a website that gives them the information they are looking for.  So, if you are a website selling games, check what you have on offer and what you need to include to address the concerns of your website visitors!

Sep

30

2009

Frustrations of the information highway

Posted by Samantha | Comments : (0)

Category : Information highway, Keyword search, website content

Tags: , , , ,

Everyone who owns a computer and uses it to access the Internet, will know the all too familiar sense of despair  that assails us the moment we begin a keyword search. Like Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner  we must admit to frustration arising from useless plentitude on the information highway.  A keyword search will throw up millions of documents that contain the keyword, but not even one gives us the relevant information!

Why is that so?  This is a legacy of a period when webmasters keen to get their websites listed into search engines threw commonsense out of the window and just included meta tags that contained all the keywords in their html pages., so that they get listed on search result pages.  They had a one point agenda–to get high ranking on a search engine result page, so that they could get the customer to the website and sell their product !  Unfortunately, they ignored the crying need to actually include information about the product in the context of the keywords.  They talked about their company, the CEO and then listed out the products manufactured by the company without a single word about why a customer should buy their product over that of the competition or what are the significant features of their products in layman terms!  A few posted pictures of the products (as if the website was part of their display window) relating to the keywords with little or no information about them.   You see, alt tags are crawled by web spiders for listing relevant pages!   A smarter breed of websmasters, just filled their webpages with lists of the keywords repeated endlessly! Of course, this is ignoring the scores of websites that buy the top space in search engine results for a price!  So, browsing these pages  for information was, and still is,  a very frustrating exercise.

It is in this scenario that a content rich website that actually informs the visitor about the products, comes as a pleasant surprise. Recent studies on browsing habits of visitors to websites indicate that visitors tend to spend more time on websites that provide detailed information on a product.  They tend to revisit the site several times and also refer others to the site.  Such readers also navigate to the sites of the competition only if the latter provides comparable information.  So if your site provides only pictures and feature lists, it is quite likely that your visitor will leave your pages quickly and  permanently.

Search engines too, have become wise to this fact.  Modern search engines use sophisticated algorithms to track quality of content on websites, the relevance to keywords listed in the meta tags vis a vis the content and the relevance of the pictures to the meta tags and so on.   You will find that sites that were listed number one on search engines in the past, have slid down the rows and are now listed somewhere deep inside the search result pages.  This is to the advantage of readers, who prowl the net for all kinds of information.

It follows, that the “survival of the fittest” in the context of websites today, is a matter of hosting plentitude of informative content.  The better the quality of content, the better the possibility of converting a casual visitor into a lead and a lead into a sale!  So, if you are a websmaster and are competing for attention with thousands and millions of competitors across the globe, have a relook at what you have to offer to your cyber customers! Your business could depend on it!

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