HIGHEST PAID EXECS AT WIPRO

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji termed the fiscal year 2008-09 one of the toughest. Little surprising then that the top execs of the company saw a decline in their pay packets for the year vis-?-vis the previous year.

However, while the senior management took home lower salary for fiscal 2008-09 as against the levels in 2007-08, there was a jump in commissions and incentives received.

According to a filing by the technology major with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, the company's senior management saw a healthy jump in commissions and incentives received.

Here's looking into the pay packets of Wipro's senior management for the 2008-09 fiscal.

Suresh Vaswani
Taking into account salary and commissions, the highest paid employee in Wipro for FY2009 was Suresh Vaswani, joint CEO of the company?s IT business. Vaswani received an annual package of $371014.

However, Vaswani saw a drop in salary during the fiscal 2008-09. The salary received by him for the year was $209,035 as against $259,216 in the previous fiscal. But Vaswani saw a jump in incentives received. The joint CEO received commissions worth $161,979 in the fiscal vis-a-vis $13,180 received a year earlier.

Girish Paranjpe
The second highest-paid employee during the fiscal was the other joint CEO Girish Paranjpe. Paranjpe received a total package of $353312 during the fiscal 2008-09. Like Vaswani, he too saw a drop in his salary, which went down to $202,638 last year as against $232,148 in the previous year.

Paranjpe too got a hike in incentives and commissions which went up from $16,756 in the previous fiscal to $150,944 in the just-concluded fiscal (2008-09).

Suresh C Senapaty
Wipro CFO Suresh Senapaty received a total package of $334831. Like others, his salary too saw a fall while incentives and commissions went up.

Senapaty received commissions and incentives of $119,443 during FY2008-09 compared to $13,374 in FY2007-08. While incentives went up, there was a drop in salary with Senapaty getting $215,388 as against $237,674 in the previous fiscal.

Azim Premji
The only person in the senior management who took a cut in commissions and incentive was Wipro chairman Azim Premji. Premji took home $105,710 in commissions and incentive in fiscal 2008-09 compared to $127,621 in the previous fiscal. Premji's package for the year stood at $190439.

 

Source: The Times of India

 

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ZENSAR EYES RS 100-CRORE REVENUE FROM DOMESTIC MKT, TO REDUCE COST

Following the industry trend, where Indian software export companies are aggressively looking at the domestic industry as the global IT spending falls, RPG group?s Zensar Technologies is targeting Rs 100 crore revenue from the Indian market this fiscal.

Currently, the domestic market contributes around Rs 40 crore to its top line, which is 4.5% of its overall revenues.

?We have significantly stepped up our focus on the India market and expect to get around 10% of our revenue from the domestic operations,? said Ganesh Natarajan, vice-chairman and CEO of Zensar Technologies.

Natarajan added that the company was hoping to clock around Rs 20 crore from the implementation of SAP, while another Rs 15 crore will be garnered through Oracle software projects. ?We plan to get another Rs 12 crore from utilities and education spaces,? he said.

Zensar is looking at projects with electricity, water and power companies in the domains of asset management and GIS. In the education space, it is looking at working with large private universities.

As companies are looking at more cost efficiencies in these times of distress, Zensar has started a programme called impact sourcing, which talks about 10% cost savings in 10 months for Indian companies. Natarajan said the company is targeting firms in the retail and manufacturing domain for this programmes. ?This 10% reduction in cost will come through either revenue maximisation or an outright reduction in the cost,? he said.

The recent past has seen Indian IT companies stepping up their focus on India as the global economic crisis has had a severe impact on their revenue. According to an industry analyst, apart from the meltdown, the increased opportunity in the domestic market is also spurring the trend. Almost all the top Indian IT companies in India have publicly announced their intentions of increasing their domestic exposure.

While TCS, which is the strongest player in the market, plans to double its India revenues, Infosys has a deal pipeline of $1 billion from India over the next few years. HCL, too, sees an opportunity in the domestic market.

 

Source: The Financial Express

 

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PREMJI TAKES PAY CUT, BUT HIKE FOR OTHERS IN WIPRO TOP BRASS

As the global economic downturn takes toll on pay packets, Indian IT major Wipro's chief Azim Premji seems to be leading by example as he has taken a cut of about 10 percent in his annual compensation.

The total remuneration paid to Premji dipped by $32,414 (about Rs 14 lakh) in the fiscal year 2008-09 to $2,96,142 (about Rs 1.37 crore).

India's third largest IT exporter, listed at New York Stock Exchange, had paid a total remuneration of $3,28,556 to its Chairman in the previous fiscal.

However, the company has paid higher remuneration to many of its other executive directors and senior management personnel in 2008-09, according to its annual report filing with the US market regulator SEC. The compensation paid to the non-executive directors also increased.

For its non-employee directors, Wipro said, the attendance fee was raised to Rs 20,000 per meeting with effect from August 1, 2008, from Rs 10,000 previously. Besides, the company paid a total of Rs 1.46 crore as commission to them in 2008-09, up from about Rs 86.02 lakh in the previous year.

The pay package for executive directors like Suresh Senapaty, Pratik Kumar, Suresh Vaswani and Girish S Paranjape also rose in 2008-09.

Another Indian IT firm Infosys' top brass, including its directors and senior-most management personnel, also got a collective hike of over Rs 10 crore in their pay packets during last fiscal.

The collective remuneration of all the board members and top management personnel rose by Rs 10.28 crore to Rs 29.16 crore in the fiscal 2008-08, as per the auditors' report to Infosys board on the consolidated financial statements of the company and its subsidiaries.

A number of companies in the country, particularly from the IT space, have either cut down or frozen the salaries of their employees, as their bottom lines and revenue have been hit hard by the global economic downturn.

According to Wipro's SEC filing, Premji was paid $84,729 as salary and allowances in 2008-09, down from $107,701 in the previous fiscal. Besides, he also got a lower amount of $105,710 as commission/incentives in the latest fiscal, compared to $127,621 in 2007-08. The other components of the pay package include housing perquisites, deferred long-term compensation and other benefits.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

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Life is not about feeling Unhappy always, Its about Being Happy with what we have

Image via Wikipedia

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.
They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'
'It was great, Dad.'
'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.
'Oh yeah,' said the son.'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father

The son answered:I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

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TCS sees stability in Financial Sector

Expects demand to pick-up in Financial Services Sector in the current financial year

 

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, India's biggest IT outsourcer, is seeing stability in its key financial services sector and expects demand to pick-up this financial year provided economic conditions do not deteriorate.

 

"From our financial services point of view while the full recovery has not happened, there is stability," Chief Operating Officer N. Chandrasekaran told the Reuters Global Technology Summit.

 

"If we can have continuous three months with no surprises then we can hope that things will be better from that time onwards," he added. The firm, which provides services such as consulting, system integration and runs call centres, counts Citigroup, General Electric, Lloyds TSB Group, General Motors and insurer AXA SA among its clients.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

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Infosys eyes buys in Healthcare, Lifestyle

Eyeing an acquisition of around $200-300 million in the healthcare or lifestyle segments in the geographies like Germany, France and Japan

 

Infosys Technologies Ltd, the country's second largest software exporter, is eyeing an acquisition of around $200-300 million in the healthcare or lifestyle segments, chief financial officer V Balakrishnan said.

 

"We are focused on that, we always have some four-five targets at any point of time but the challenge is to do the right acquisition because it's more strategic for us," Balakrishnan said.

 

Infosys wants to increase its presence in these verticals and expand operations in services within business process outsourcing, infrastructure management, and consulting.  The Bangalore-headquartered company is looking at geographies like Germany, France and Japan for the acquisition, as it wants to capitalise on growth opportunities available in the local markets there.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line 

 

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Infosys to hire 1,000 In US

Plans to add employees as part of a big US expansion in anticipation of growth resuming in 2010

 

Indian software firm Infosys plans to hire about 1,000 people in the US in the next 12 to 18 months amid a gloomy job market.

 

In an interview with the local media, Infosys Chief Executive Kris Gopalakrishnan, who is currently in Seattle for Microsoft's CEO Summit this week, said that the company plans to add more than 100 new employees as part of a big US expansion in anticipation of growth resuming in 2010. Altogether, Infosys plans to hire about 1,000 people across the US over the next 12 to 18 months, he said. Already, 14,000 of the company's 1,04,000 employees are based in the US. "We believe business will be there if we add capabilities, more services and solutions to our portfolio and increase the business volume with the existing customers -- that's how we see growth coming to our business," Gopalakrishnan said.

 

Regarding the recovery in the Indian economy, he said that it is in, "Very early stages." Gopalakrishna said, "I hope it is sustained and picks up. The difference with the US is in the US it has gone from 2-3 percent in GDP growth to approximately zero, about a 3 percent decline.

 

Source: The Economic Times

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EDS wins $61 Million Infrastructure Deal with Australian FederalGovernment

Contract to manage the technology infrastructure for the Australia Department of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry, providing expanded technology services and increased economic value to the Commonwealth

 

EDS, an HP company, has signed a $61 million (AU$96 million) agreement to manage the technology infrastructure for the Australia Department of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry, providing expanded technology services across the department's key locations and increased economic value to the Commonwealth. Under the five-year agreement, EDS will provide desktop, server, storage and architecture services.

 

"This agreement will help the Australian federal government meet its business and policy objectives and deliver better return on investment to the Australian people," said David Caspari, managing director for Australia and New Zealand at EDS, an HP company. "It builds on existing services we provide to the government and strengthens EDS' position as the No. 1 government supplier in the country."

 

EDS will manage and provide help and service desk support to approximately 5,000 employees across the department's 300 locations, as well as provide the overall storage and IT architecture and design services in a multivendor agency environment.

 

Source: Business Wire 2009

 

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IBM announces Seven-Year Outsourcing agreement with Lam Research

Seven-year, $11.3 million, BPO services agreement - a renewal of a previous contract signed in 2002

 

IBM has signed a seven-year, $11.3 million business process outsourcing services agreement with Lam Research Corporation, a major supplier of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment and services. The agreement is a renewal of a previous contract signed in 2002.

 

Through the agreement, IBM will continue to provide Lam Research with Accounts Payable, Cash Receipt Applications, Systems Invoicing, Payroll Administration, General Accounting and Account Reconciliation services. Key to IBM being selected for this deal was its successful history with Lam Research in delivering quality services at a competitive price. "IBM provides a well-rounded, cost effective global solution that aligns closely with our business goals," said John Theler, Lam Research's corporate controller.

 

"IBM and Lam Research have the benefit of working together for several years and we have made service level improvements and taken measures to ensure that the next seven years are even more successful," said Gene Byrne, general manager, F&A Solutions, IBM Managed Business Process Services. "IBM takes great pride in providing high-value services to its clients - with our global delivery capabilities and outsourcing expertise Lam Research will be free to focus on its customers."

 

Source: PRNewswire

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IT Vendors see more revenues from Maintenance Services

The new systems that clients were going to implement are delayed, which means there is more maintenance to be done – COO, Infosys

 

Indian IT vendors are seeing more revenues from application maintenance services as cautious customers continue to hold back investments on deploying new technology systems.

 

"Maintenance continues to be hot," said S. D. Shibulal, Chief Operating Officer, Infosys Technologies Ltd. "The new systems that clients were going to implement are delayed, which means there is more maintenance to be done," he added. Infosys has started implementing a new ticket-based pricing model for its maintenance services, where the customer is billed for the number of upkeep requests or the number of devices managed. The company earned 21.9 percent of its revenues from maintenance services in the year-ended March 2009, down from 23.7 percent in the previous fiscal.

 

Despite adding newer service lines such as testing and infrastructure management in the past few years, Indian vendors continue to earn about 40 percent of their revenues from the traditional application, development and maintenance (ADM) services. Maintenance revenues, which typically account for almost half the ADM earnings, lend some stability to these vendors, especially in an economic downturn. "Growth in maintenance revenues is typical and not surprising in a slowdown environment as development part of the ADM business will be less," said Harit Shah, an analyst at Angel Broking Ltd.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line

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My Favorite Songs..

These 2 songs are my fav. songs when I was studying in Intermediate(+2)

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O Sanam...by Lucky Ali...

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Aryan's Beautiful Song

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Ariel View of NASA

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Varma is now moving Supreme Court on Jana gana mana rann

Director Ram Gopal Varma has irked the censor board by tampering with the national anthem for the song Jana gana mana rann hai in his upcoming film Rann which stars megastar Amitabh Bachchan. Lawyers say there is no specific law to prevent people from doing so.

According to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, a person could be charged with a criminal offence with regard to the national anthem only if he or she “intentionally prevents the singing of the Indian national anthem or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing”.

“I don’t see why justice is going to the roads. When there is no punishment for the act according to the law, nothing can be done about it. I have heard the song and there is no dishonour to the national anthem,” said Supreme Court lawyer Pinki Anand.

“Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right of every Indian citizen. And when there is no system of law against what the filmmaker has done, no amount of people taking to the roads and agitation can help,” she added.

Jayant Bhushan, a senior advocate, echoed similar sentiments and said: “Freedom of speech is important. One shouldn’t be too sensitive. I don’t think the filmmaker has dented the national anthem by just changing a few lines. The dignity of the national anthem is not so fragile.”

Varma is now moving Supreme Court after the censor board refused permission to air the song, said producer Madhu Mantena.

However, Lalit Bhasin said that the CBFC can ban either a part or the entire film “if its content is socially misgiving and creates unrest among people”.

“But if the filmmakers are going to appeal to the court, only the judges will have the final say,” he said.

Rann Movie Trailer

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I kissed Barbara On lips: Hrithik Roshan

Hrithik Roshan scorched the headlines when he locked lips with Aishwarya Rai in Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa Akbar.

The star has made news for a lip-lock again, this time with Latin co-star Barbara Mori in Kites. But the actor says she helped him discard his inhibitions and they kissed like real-life couples.

“Why are we even talking about kissing? Is that such a big deal? Hasn’t our cinema grown up? Yes, there are kissing scenes in the film, but nothing to make me squirm. In fact, I’d be more than happy and completely comfortable watching those kissing scenes with my wife, son and parents when the film is released,” Hrithik said.

Rationalising the need to look at lip-locking, Hrithik said, “Kites is a love story. It’s about people in love. And what do people in love do to express their mutual feelings? In fact, it was Barbara Mori who made me realise how silly we look on screen while shying away from expressing love naturally.”

It happened while Hrithik and Barbara were shooting a tough and dangerous action sequence in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the US.

“We were both supposed to jump off from a rooftop at an impossible height. Before we did so our director Anurag Basu suggested I kiss Barbara since we were doing something death-defying and dangerous and potentially lethal. I reached out and kissed her on the cheeks. Barbara turned around to ask why I had kissed her on the cheek. ‘Given the same situation with your real-life wife, Suzanne, would you kiss her on the cheek?’ I was floored by her logic,” said Hrithik.
The take was repeated. “And this time I kissed her the way real-life couples would in the situation. On the lips,” said Hrithik.

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IT vendors vie for deals with Middle East telcos

A total outsourcing of IT systems, application development and maintenance and other back-office work will help these telcos become leaner and manage exponential growth in their business more effectively

 

Middle East phone firms Telecom Egypt, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Zain Telecom plan to emulate the outsourcing model created by Indian telco Bharti Airtel and are in the process of fleshing out multi-year outsourcing contracts worth Rs 1500-Rs 2,000 crore each.

 

A total outsourcing of information technology (IT) systems, application development and maintenance and other back-office work will help these telcos become leaner and manage exponential growth in their business more effectively.

 

According to a senior executive at one of these telecom companies, internal discussions for total outsourcing of IT and back-office work has already started. He requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak with media.

 

"Many of these telcos have been enjoying high average revenue per user (ARPU) of over $30, and with that coming down, they are seeking ways to become more efficient," the executive said. Managing growth and ensuring better focus on core, telecom business are among triggers for outsourcing by these telcos.

 

IBM, Wipro, Logica and Tech Mahindra are currently exploring these outsourcing contracts, however, these vendors declined to comment on any specific future contract from the region.

 

Source: The Economic Times

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Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori at Cannes Film Festival

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Aishwarya Rai at Cannes 2009 Film Festival

Aishwarya Rai attends Cinema Verite 2009 Press Conference during the 62nd International Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, France .............. ..............

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Sania Mirza..

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25 Reasons Why You Should Start Drinking Green Tea Now

Green tea has increasingly become a very popular drink worldwide because of its immensely powerful health benefits. It is extraordinarily amazing what green tea can do for your health. And if you're not drinking 3 to 4 cups of green tea today, you're definitely NOT doing your health a big favor. Here Are The 25 Reasons Why You Should Start Drinking Green Tea Right Now: 1. Green Tea and Cancer Green tea helps reduce the risk of cancer. The antioxidant in green tea is 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times better than vitamin E. This helps your body at protecting cells from damage believed to be linked to cancer. 2. Green Tea and Heart Disease Green tea helps prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering the level of cholesterol. Even after the heart attack, it prevents cell deaths and speeds up the recovery of heart cells. 3. Green Tea and Anti-Aging Green tea contains antioxidant known as polyphenols which fight against free radicals. What this means it helps you fight against aging and promotes longevity. 4. Green Tea and Weight Loss Green tea helps with your body weight loss. Green tea burns fat and boosts your metabolism rate naturally. It can help you burn up to 70 calories in just one day. That translates to 7 pounds in one year. 5. Green Tea and Skin Antioxidant in green tea protects the skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, which cause wrinkling and skin aging. Green tea also helps fight against skin cancer. 6. Green Tea and Arthritis Green tea can help prevent and reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Green tea has benefit for your health as it protects the cartilage by blocking the enzyme that destroys cartilage. 7. Green Tea and Bones The very key to this is high fluoride content found in green tea. It helps keep your bones strong. If you drink green tea every day, this will help you preserve your bone density. 8. Green Tea and Cholesterol Green tea can help lower cholesterol level. It also improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, by reducing bad cholesterol level. 9. Green Tea and Obesity Green tea prevents obesity by stopping the movement of glucose in fat cells. If you are on a healthy diet, exercise regularly and drink green tea, it is unlikely you'll be obese. 10. Green Tea and Diabetes Green tea improves lipid and glucose metabolisms, prevents sharp increases in blood sugar level, and balances your metabolism rate. 11. Green Tea and Alzheimer's Green tea helps boost your memory. And although there's no cure for Alzheimer's, it helps slow the process of reduced acetylcholine in the brain, which leads to Alzheimer's. 12. Green Tea and Parkinson's Antioxidants in green tea helps prevent against cell damage in the brain, which could cause Parkinson's. People drinking green tea also are less likely to progress with Parkinson's. 13. Green Tea and Liver Disease Green tea helps prevent transplant failure in people with liver failure. Researches showed that green tea destroys harmful free radicals in fatty livers. 14. Green Tea and High Blood Pressure Green tea helps prevent high blood pressure. Drinking green tea helps keep your blood pressure down by repressing angiotensin, which leads to high blood pressure. 15. Green Tea and Food Poisoning Catechin found in green tea can kill bacteria which causes food poisoning and kills the toxins produced by those bacteria. 16. Green Tea and Blood Sugar Blood sugar tends to increase with age, but polyphenols and polysaccharides in green tea help lower your blood sugar level. 17. Green Tea and Immunity Polyphenols and flavenoids found in green tea help boost your immune system, making your health stronger in fighting against infections. 18. Green Tea and Cold and Flu Green tea prevents you from getting a cold or flu. Vitamin C in green tea helps you treat the flu and the common cold. 19. Green Tea and Asthma Theophylline in green tea relaxes the muscles which support the bronchial tubes, reducing the severity of asthma. 20. Green Tea and Ear Infection Green tea helps with ear infection problem. For natural ear cleaning, soak a cotton ball in green tea and clean the infected ear. 21. Green Tea and Herpes Green tea increases the effectiveness of topical interferon treatment of herpes. First green tea compress is applied, and then let the skin dry before the interferon treatment. 22. Green Tea and Tooth Decay Green tea destroys bacteria and viruses that cause many dental diseases. It also slows the growth of bacteria which leads to bad breath. 23. Green Tea and Stress L-theanine, which is a kind of amino acids in green tea, can help relieve stress and anxiety. 24. Green Tea and Allergies EGCG found in green tea relieves allergies. So, if you have allergies, you should really consider drinking green tea. 25. Green Tea and HIV Scientists in Japan have found that EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) in green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells. What this means is that green tea can help stop the HIV virus from spreading. How to Make Green Tea Green tea is a wonderful beverage with potential health benefits. But if you're not familiar with a few basic techniques, you can wind up with a tea that's grassy, bitter, or just too strong. Here's how to get a perfect cup of green tea both Chinese and simple green tea. Recipe

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Very Crazy...

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Moon Shaped Skyscraper

Korean Heerim Architects has tried to reinvent the skyscraper with their two projects in central Asian republic of Azerbaijan. The two skyscrapers will be built in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan with a view on the Caspian sea . One building is called Full Moon Bay the other is Crescent and Caspian Plus. The two are going to be built on both side of the bay, acting as gateway markers. So far the pictures look fantastic and I really like the gateway markers idea.

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Nevada Shoe Tree

Between the small towns of Fallon and Austin stands a tree on the side of the highway. Much like the gum tree in Ohio, it has become a living, breathing work of collective art - a piece which has an unwritten history and a fluid, unending future. It exists by the sheer will of its anonymous participants and the spirit of conspiracy. I present to you, in all its breathtaking majesty and glory, the Nevada shoe tree.

People amaze and amuse me. It is a wonderment that never ceases. Often times it can be appalling, the brutal and insensitive nature of humanity, but for the most part, I've always found it inspiring. Man is capable of the grandest achievements - philosophically, artistically, and mechincally - and yet, simultaneously, can be reduced to tearful, hysterical laughter by a really good fart joke. It is this duality of the human spirit that moves me; the sacred and the profane, the high-brow and the low-brow, the earnest endeavor and the flight of fancy.There is a tree at the Kings Island amusement park in Ohio. I forget which ride it is, one of the big water rides. The line you have to stand in winds through a forest to the attraction. There are many trees along the path, but one in particular was singled out by the throngs of hot, idle park-goers for a piece of impromptu collective art. I've always called it the gum tree. There, on the right-side of the path stands the small tree, it's trunk almost completely covered in globs of chewing gum of every color imaginable. It's not like base graffiti, an essentially one person show of artistry on a public canvas. Sure, graffiti when un-checked results in a collection of various artists in a localized area, but it's not a collective effort on a singular undertaking. Someone, most likely a group of someones, standing in that line decided to all stick their gum on that tree. Consequentially, over the years, more and more people added more gum to the tree, resulting in the myriad of color that exists today.I discovered a similar phenomena in central Nevada. Trees are rare here in the desert climate. One is generally hard pressed to spot a tree on the stark landscape. U.S. Highway 50 runs laterally through the center of the state, from Ely on its eastern border all the way to Lake Tahoe. It is a beautful drive, with long stretches of open country. Often times you can drive anywhere from 50 to 100 miles between towns with nary a house in site. Between the small towns of Fallon and Austin stands a tree on the side of the highway. Much like the gum tree in Ohio, it has become a living, breathing work of collective art - a piece which has an unwritten history and a fluid, unending future. It exists by the sheer will of its anonymous participants and the spirit of conspiracy. I present to you, in all its breathtaking majesty and glory, the Nevada shoe tree.
While I'm sure no one went barefoot to create this masterpiece, it is arguable that it has required a bit of sacrifice to create and forethought to maintain. Whoever began this must've had some extra shoes and just tossed them into the tree branches. Over the years, people travelling through the area have made their donation to the tree with pairs of unwanted shoes that happened to be in their RV's and trucks.
It is an amazing sight up close. The tree is filled with every type and size shoe imaginable. Children's sneakers and adult's atheletic shoes. Boots of all stripes: workboots, hiking boots, cowboy boots, and even a pair of rubber knee-high "hipwaders". Pumps, sandals, wing-tips, and loafers.
Which is what makes this project so astounding on a level that the gum tree cannot begin to approach. This tree, literally and figuratively, represents every walk of American life. What probably began as a prank or a joke, and is probably still fueled largely by mischeivous adolescents, has blossmed into a beautiful statement which an indivudal artist could never capture. The very essence of the art lies in the fact that it was created in cohort and by collusion to create an unintentional statement.
It is certainly one of the most amazing things I have seen in my great American escapade thus far. For me it captures perfectly that dual nature of humanity, particularly the American human. Sometimes it is easy to feel inconsequential, like one's contribution to life and society is of little import. In a grander scheme of things, this may be true, but in the realm of the trivial interactions of humans, sometimes all it takes to be part of something beautiful and infamous is tossing a pair of shoes into a tree.

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Burger Grease Art

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Amazing Chreography

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Water Bridge over River

Even after you see it, it is still hard to believe !

Water Bridge in Germany ....

What a feat! Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......

now this is engineering! This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration. To those who appreciate engineering projects, here's a puzzle for you armchair engineers and physicists. Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic, or just the weight of the water?
Answer: It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water! Why? A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.

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World's Oldest Animals

Jonathan the tortoise and Mischief the cat may have hit the headlines for their longevity, but there are plenty of other creatures giving them a run for their money in the age stakes.
Mischief, the world's oldest cat, is 100 Photo: SWNS.COM Jonathan the tortoise was already well into his 60s at the end of the 19th ceremony Photo: EPA

• Rabbit: Fourteen-year-old George, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts in the US, was recognised as the oldest rabbit in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records earlier this year.
  The average life expectancy of a rabbit is six to eight years, making George an estimated 160 years old in human terms. His owners met at college and fed their pet Doritos.

• Cat: Spike, a ginger and white tom, died two months after his 31st birthday in July 2001 - making him the world's oldest cat.
  He was bought for two shillings and sixpence in London's Brick Lane market in 1970 and nearly died at the age of 19 when he was attacked by a dog.
  Spike's owners, from Bridport in Devon, used to put aloe vera gel into his cat food.
  
• Spider: The world's oldest spider is thought to have been a female from the Theraphosidae family, which lived up to the age of 28. The bird-eating arachnid was captured in Mexico in 1935.
  Dog: At 29, black Labrador Bella was thought to be the oldest dog in the UK until her death in September.
  She was bought from an RSPCA sanctuary 26 years ago and lived out her long life in Derbyshire.
  
• Guinea Pig: The average age for a guinea pig may be between five and eight years, but the official record is 14 years and 10 and a half months.
  Monkey: Bueno, a black spider monkey, died in 2005 at the age of 53 and was thought to be the world's eldest monkey.
  She lived a "stress-free" life at the Japan Monkey Centre in Aichi, 150 miles west of Tokyo. The average black spider monkey lives for between 30 and 33 years.
  
• Goldfish: Tish beat all the records by living to a ripe old age of 43 after being won a funfair in Doncaster in 1956.
  As he aged, his scales faded from orange to silver but his owner Hilda Hand said the key to his longevity was not feeding him too much and placing him in the sun every now and then.
  
• Clam: An ocean qahog clam dredged up off the coast of Iceland last year is thought to have been around 410 years old.

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Is 8ft Zhao Liang the world's tallest man?

At 8ft tall, Zhao Liang stands head and shoulders above the competition.Which is lucky, as the 27-year-old is in the running to be the world's tallest man. The current title holder is Bao Xishun ('the Mongolian mast'), who measures in at a measly 7ft 9in - a whole three inches shorter.

Record breaker: 27-year-old Zhao Liang is 8ft 0.7in tall, beating the current record holder by more than three inches, Mr Liang's claim came to light when he was admitted to Tianjin hospital, in China, for a routine operation on an old muscle tendon injury to his left foot. Doctors confirmed his height as 8ft 0.7in. But his claim to be the world's tallest man has not yet been verified by Guinness World Records. Mr Liang, who is now seeking official recognition, had been training as a basketball player when he sustained the foot injury over a decade ago.He remained unemployed until 2006, when an art troupe in Jilin province employed him to perform magic tricks and play the saxophone and flute.Mr Liang's parents are of normal height, with his father measuring 5ft 9in and his mother, 5ft 5in.

Hospital staff confirmed Mr Liang's height. He is now seeking official recognition from Guinness World Records His mother Wang Keyun said that her son had a big appetite, eating eight hamburger-sized steamed buns as part of a three-course dinner.'But I am so worried about his marriage, job and his health that my hair has turned white,' she added. Liu Yuchen, a surgeon at the hospital, declared the operation on Mr Liang's foot a success.

Mr Liang currently works with an art troupe, performing magic tricks and playing the saxophone and fluteHe said that he would be able to walk normally in two months' time, but advised against any intense physical exercise.Dr Yuchen said that Mr Liang was in good health and has no complications in relation to his height.

The world's current tallest man is Bao Xishun, who stands at 7ft 9in.

Tallest of them all...But no one has quite reached the dizzying heights of the tallest man in medical history - Robert Pershing Wadlow from Illinois, US, who stood at 8ft 11.1in. Robert Wadlow (1918-1940) - the tallest person in medical history for whom there is irrefutable evidence.

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HEADCOUNT @ IT COS: UP, DOWN OR STATIC

The past few quarter have been trying for IT companies. With IT chieftains like Wipro CEO Azim Premji terming financial year 2008-09 worst-ever.

The year seems to be worst for IT companies on hiring front too. Other than pinkslips, previous quarters also saw a plunge in hiring at all IT companies. In fact, the last quarter ended March 2009 saw most tech companies either reporting a decline in total number of employees or retaining the same number. Not even five IT companies reported a marginal increase in their total headcount during the quarter.

Here's taking a stock of the total employee numbers at the leading IT companies in the past quarter: where the headcount remained same, where headcount declined and where headcount saw a marginal hike.

Wipro (headcount decline in IT services)
India's third largest IT services provider said it had 97,810 employees as of March 31, 2009, which included 74,986 employees in IT services business and 22,824 employees in BPO business. This represents a net addition of 845 employees comprising a decline of 401 employees in IT Services business and an addition of 1,246 people in BPO business for the quarter.

The company had 96,965 employees as of December 31, 2008. Pratik Kumar, head of human resources, said that the company won?t increase salaries in the current fiscal year." On deferring the pay hike, Premji said this was being done to minimize expenses. During the third quarter of fiscal 2008-09, Wipro's employee headcount in the IT services business went down by about 1,100 as compared to the earlier quarter.

Patni (headcount went down)
The Pune-based Patni Computer Systems saw its employee strength at 14,540 as on March 2009, down 354 from the previous quarter. As of December 2008, the company had 14,894 employees.

Jaya Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, said, "The demand environment continues to be challenging in the short run, however, we are investing for portfolio expansion in all areas. Long-term growth prospects of the global delivery model are robust. We will see the benefits of our financial health in further enhancing sustainable differentiation of our strategy."

Tech Mahindra (headcount went down)
The new owner of scam-hit Satyam Computers employee strength stood at 24,972 as of March 2009 compared to 25,429 in December 2008.

The company ended the quarter with 457 fewer people on its rolls. However, the company said utilisation improved to 70 per cent, from 67 per cent.

Hexaware Technologies (headcount went down)
The provider of IT and business process outsourcing services, Hexaware Technologies for the quarter ended March 2009 saw employee strength at 5,296 as compared to 5622 in quarter ended December 2008.

This means that the company saw net reduction of 326 employees, down 5.8 per cent from the previous quarter. Hexaware has implemented a virtual bench programme for 250 of its employees as well as salary cuts for all senior and mid-level employees.

The company is cautious but optimistic about the hiring trend in the following two quarters. Says Deepak Chumble, Chief People Officer, "Hexaware?s headcount ?will not go down drastically? in subsequent quarters." The future is uncertain and there is a possibility the situation may not improve even in third or fourth quarter,? he added.

Mastek (headcount went down)
Mumbai-based Mastek's employee base stood at 4,023 as of March 2009, down 220 from the previous quarter. The company reported 4,243 employees as of December 2008. To tide over the economic downturn, the company has introduced the concept of a virtual bench. Employees on the virtual bench would receive only a percentage of the salary and receive training on various technologies during that period.

The identified employees could opt to be on the virtual bench or receive a severance pay and leave the company. An overwhelming 85 per cent opted to stay. Company's HR head Kalpana Jaishankar said that it wasn?t that they were poor performers, this was a business issue and we wanted to make that clear.

Zensar Technologies (headcount went down)
Zensar Technologies saw its employee strength at 4,684 as of March 2009, less 250 as compared to the previous quarter. As of December 2008, the company's employee base was 4,934.

As for what reason the company points -- During the quarter ended March 2009, the company's big domestic voice BPO project came to an end. So the company relieved 250 people working on the contract.

Ganesh Natarajan, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director, Zensar Technologies, feels that attrition levels in the industry have come down so drastically that one does not feel the need to hire.

Polaris Software (headcount went down)
Chennai-based Polaris Software saw headcount at 9,238 as of March 2009, down 649 or 6.5 per cent from the previous quarter. As of December 2008, the company's employee strength stood at 9,887.

However, Arun Jain, Chairman and CEO, Polaris Software Lab, said the company would be hiring at least 150-200 every quarter depending on the business need. Opting for just-in-time hiring, he said, Polaris does not recruit so many people.

TCS (headcount went marginally up)
At the end of fiscal 2008-09, TCS employee count stood at 143,761. The fourth quarter ended March 2009 saw a net addition of 13,418 employees to the company's resource pool. As of December 2008, the total employee base stood at 1,30,343 professionals.

According to Ramadorai, the company made 24,885 campus offers for 2009-10. The company added 48,595 employees in the year. As for attrition rate, Ajoy Mukherjee, vice president and head, global human resources, TCS, said, "The attrition rate is at 11.4 per cent. The utilisation rate (excluding trainees) has been maintained at 79.7 per cent, while the utilisation rate otherwise is lower at 69.4 per cent."

The company expects to add only about 16,000-17,000 new net hires, about half the number in the previous year.

Infosys (headcount went marginally up)
Infosys Technologies said that it has hired close to 5,000 employees in the first three months of this year, but net additions were just 1,772 to its headcount after taking into account attrition and other factors.

The total headcount of Infosys and its subsidiaries stood at 1,04,850 employees as on March 31, 2009. "During the quarter, Infosys and its subsidiaries added 4,935 employees (gross). The net addition during the quarter was 1,772," it stated. The company had close to 1,03,078 employees as of December 31, 2008.

Infosys Head, HRD and Education & Research TV Mohandas Pai said, "The year ahead would be challenging on the people front. Our continuous investment in capability development, training and certification would make us more competitive. We have tightened our performance management system to create a more focused workforce."

The company said that it plans to hire a gross 18,000 employees in 2009/10 and there would be no job cuts despite the slowing outsourcing momentum.

MindTree (saw headcount going up)
IT services firm MindTree added people on a net basis during the quarter, taking the employee strength to 7,866 as of March 31, 2009. As of December 2008, the company had 5,826 employees.

The company plans to add another 250 by October this year. MindTree executive chairman Ashok Soota said, "Our new organisational structure and focus on new business areas will help us withstand the economic crisis and continue on our path to become a $1-billion organisation."

 

Source: The Times of India 

 

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