A directory of U.S. college courses.

Though this blog post is late for students in India to apply for the course of their choice, it might at least be helpful for them to pass on the information and definitely useful for the the students who pass out in the next academic year.

I would request students who happen to read this blog post to pass on the information to their fellow students and also to their school authorities.


Courseopedia is a directory of various educational courses in various colleges in the U.S. The database is huge with listings from private tuitions also.

The search facility offers us to search by keywords as well as by Zip code. Also, one can search for courses based on their topic of interest such as languages, I.T, Humanities, Social Sciences and Vocational.

The website Courseopedia is a simple website but has received a few awards. The website is a 'must bookmark' for every school in the world.

Net banking with UCO bank is a nightmare.

One of the most pathetically designed e-commerce website is ucoebanking.com.

My unpleasant experience:
* I have applied for e-banking with UCO bank and after a long delay, I received an email that I should collect my login details from my local UCO bank branch.
* Then the headache began. Till now, I might have tried nearly 40 times aided by all of my Internet knowledge to log into my personal banking with UCO bank but never even saw the log in page.
* I tried first my usual Firefox browser. I got this error message.

APPLICATION SECURITY ERROR !!
This error has occured (the spelling mistake is not mine) for one of the following reasons :
# You have used Back/Forward/Refresh button of your Browser.
# You have clicked twice on any options/buttons.
# You have kept the browser window idle for a long time.
# You have logged in from another browser window
# You are accessing the application URL from a saved or static page.
# You have not used "Microsoft Internet Explorer" Browser.

*Since none of the above cited reasons didn't apply to me, I tried Internet Explorer browser.

* Now, it is even more worse. After clicking on the "Personal Banking" link, nothing happened. The next page never opened.

* When I contacted my local UCO bank branch manager and informed him of my bitter experience, he just gave a customer care number.

* I tried and I was asked to call again. So, I complied but again after hearing my story, I was asked to call again.

My God, what a customer service! First their website showed inefficiency and secondly, their customer care could not even tell me what else should I do.

I have been dealing with ICICI bank's net banking and find it to be top class.

Read this before you buy diet supplements.

“Are there diet-supplements for people who have blood pressure?”-I asked my family doctor. He gave me an odd look that suggested a little bit of bewilderment.

Since he knew me for so long, he is sure that I was not asking this question for me. There is no way I can put pressure on my blood as I am one of the easiest persons. Nothing in this life ever bothers me.

Without replying me directly, he pushed over some papers across his table and asked me to read them.

I was shocked. And yes, I was angry too though I have never used diet supplements in my life.

What I read surely made my blood boil and the color on my face might have indicated the doctor that I am beginning to have blood pressure.

If you are in the habit of using diet supplements or if you know anyone taking diet supplements of fat loss or for diabetics, please go to dietsupplements.org.

You will then understand why I was angry after reading the information the doctor gave me.

AIRTEL takes 45 days to just deactivate a service.

(This blog post is posted by my husband who has subscribed to AIRTEL.)

Mobile phone subscribers in India are prime targets by every advertising company. We are bombarded with spam SMS throughout the day. It is annoying to be disturbed at odd times.
Even though the Government has taken steps, mobile operators in India have not heeded fully to the law.

A week before, I received an SMS from Airtel with home I have subscribed. The SMS gave me an option to stop receiving promotional messages through my mobile phone.

All I was asked was to send one SMS to a number requesting to stop promotional messages. I did so immediately and I received an instant acknowledgment stating that it will take 45 days to implement the request.

45 days! Don't you think one can take a round trip around the world in 45days? Does that mean, AIRTEL, India's leading mobile service provider lacks the technology to simply deactivate a service that did not take 45 days to activate in the first place?

And they say India is a technologically advanced country!

Ireland travel deals.

Last minute travel planning is not my forte. I will feel safe and comfortable only I start planning 3 months in advance because that much time I need to search for travel deals that offer discounts flights and hotels.

Usually, my husband helps me in selecting the holiday destination. Then he will leave it up to me whether we sail or fly. If it is an extended weekend trip, we usually hit the road.

Some of the newsletters we have subscribed to are of great help in deciding the holiday destination. The one that is most useful always is from Shermans Travel because of their timely travel deals alert.

We have a plan to go to Ireland in October (will it be tool cold then?) and we have almost opted a for a three days tour offered by Shermans Travel because the stay was supposed to be in a castle and who can resist Irish castles?

I give below the image of Killiney Castle where we are going to spend a few days.

Exciting job opportunities at Fourth Estate.

“Mom, look at this email; I am now Karan Makhija’s friend”-my son was excited and looked sincerely elated. He was referring to the email from Facebook.

I stared blank. I didn’t know Karan Makhija. “How can you expect a mathematics teacher to know about movie celebrities, son”-I defended my ignorance.

I decided to share in my son’s delight and somehow pretended that he too is now a celebrity. At the same time I was concerned; how can people take these digital contacts with famous personalities seriously?

My son’s girl friend was by his side when he reported the news to me. She was a budding media professional and already started making it up the ladder. She told me that she will be meeting Karan Makhija on 25^th July at “The Media and Entertainment industry conference” to be held at Chelmsford Club, Krishi Bhawan, Raisina Road, New Delhi H.O.Delhi 110001.

The Fourth Estate (the name of the conference) is organized by 9.9 School of Convergence.

The conference will address at the youth who are looking for a prospective career in the entertainment and media industry.

“Oh, dear, the Media & Entertainment Jobs, does it still lure technicians and creative persons in spite of the industry not doing very well in the past 3 years”?-I asked my the young graphics wiz girl.

Unlike my son, she understood my ignorance and assured me that the job opportunities in the entertainment industry will always entice people with burning creativity in them.

She told that the “Fourth Estate” conference is an important event in India and is going to attract a lot of job seekers in the Media and entertainment industry.

Latest news about call center outsourcing.

I believe call center outsourcing companies are at present facing a dearth of skilled and dedicated executives who take on the responsibilities of servicing international clients.

There is another widespread opinion contradicting my belief. The training given to call center professionals is inadequate and the call center outsourcing companies also lack the knowledge of servicing different nationals.

There is a semblance of truth in it. I too have noticed that all telemarketing executives and customer care service people speak with only American accent which is definitely not understood by an Indian or a Russian!

Before engaging the services of a call center, it is better to learn about their experience in handling non-English speaking customers.

And searching for call center outsourcing companies is indeed a difficult task but the Internet may have a directory of BPO services.

I recently came across Owd.com, an award winning BPO Company that has several Fortune 500 companies under its belt. It is a BBB listed company and a member of several organizations including Association of TeleServices International.

Image courtesy: Google Images

What can you sell at any condition?

There are only 3 things in this world that retain their full value even in their most damaged condition and they are gold, silver and the platinum.

The uniqueness about these three precious metals is their liquidity factor. In case of emergency cash need, you can barge into any jewelry shop, quickly sell your possession and come out with cash.

When I got married, buying silver coins was not in vogue. My father gave me a bag full of silverwares that I never used in my daily life till I sold them off to buy a refrigerator.

I felt sad about having lost my silver treasure. I decided to replenish and I started buying silver ingots from Monex Deposit Company (MDC) three years ago and availed their facility for safe storage at an independent bank.

Monex prides itself on having the best U.S. silver coin prices and programs in the silver coin industry.

I am now prepared to give a bag of silver coins to my, would be daughter-in-law.

Can we lose weight at home?

“I beg to differ from you Sheila; Gym is not the only solution to lose weight. It might even prove to be a weight gainer” I argued with my childhood friend, who is 2 years older than me but actually look much older.

Her face still retains her old charms but her body fails to enhance her beauty. She started going to the all women gym two months ago. She has this bad habit of not taking weight loss supplements and diet pills like Atrophex.

She doesn’t believe in losing weight at home and hence resorted to vigorous work out at the gym.

I appealed to her senses after throwing her a few crumbs by agreeing that aerobics does help to achieve her weight reduction goal but it takes time to get to that. Weight loss pills help quicken the pace of getting back to shape and gym work outs will help tone up the muscles.

Sheila seemed to be lost in conflicting thoughts but murmured her thanks when she left for the local pharmacy.

A test for all of us.

What will be your decision ?

Insight into Decision Making :





A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........ ........

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.'

The best gifts for thin men.

Women who boast they knew men like the back of their hands are the ones who find it difficult to chose gifts for their men. Their assumption of their understanding men is based on uncertain grounds.

Oh, well, forget it! I am not here to discuss the reasons for the failure of men and women relationship but to give you some tips to strengthen the pure bond of love between men and women.

Gifting men with handkerchiefs is probably the worst gifting idea. Buying rings for men is another poor concept.

I will tell you a secret. Like women, men too carry a lot of vanity; only they don’t like to admit it openly. Men like to be considered as stylish even though you will hardly find an iota of style in him.

Try romantic colored suits for men who are thin and unmanly. You may win his mother.

Slightly dark colored men like to be presented with the latest designer shirts and blazers. They will become very possessive of you.

Men from colder places of northern Europe prefer heavy watches. Yes, this seems odd and I am yet to verify the truth behind this crazy claim. However, you can dare to try and give me your feedback.

Any more useful tips of gifts for men? I could surely use it to educate the next generation of girls. (Smile)

Samsung NC 10 laptop-the choice of software engineers.

“Yeah, it was difficult to choose”-the reply was the same from 6 persons when I asked them if it was difficult to choose the laptop they recently bought. And surprisingly, five of the six persons are my students, who are all street smart these days when it comes to buying computers and mobile phones.

I guess they all don’t know what they really look for when buying a laptop computer. Everyone wants all the latest features of laptop-whether they really need it or not. It is a question of prestige.

I believe my son is smarter. He picked up the Samsung NC 10 notebook computer just because it has everything a software engineer needs no. They don’t have time to waste on computer games anymore.

Samsung Laptop NC 10 promises the longest battery back up time of up to 10 hours.

Another notable feature of Samsung Notebook NC 10 is the keyboard that is said to be spacious and well positioned by laptopmag.com, a famous review site of gadgets. The reviews of this web site are taken seriously by techno savvy people, who know what they are buying.

For persons on the move, music is an indispensable companion. Samsung NC 10 laptop computer comes fitted with SRS sound with 2.1 channel speakers.

For the first time, I am seeing a white color notebook PC. The screen size of 10.2 inches is a bit of disappointment to me but not for my son who says software engineers prefer smaller screens.

To me, this Samsung NC 10 laptop is strictly for professionals and not for kids. I have taken a rather heavy laptop (2.8 pounds) into consideration. (Smile)

How to stop abusing your body?

"Your health is our concern"-the cliché that has been used and used now stopped appearing in billboards, magazines and doctors' waiting room.

Why? The natural concern of human beings-aren't we wearing it any more? Have we lost an essential organ, the moving force of mankind? If so, how did we lose it?

I would say we have abused our body to the core by eating just about everything and our body, gifted by God was not prepared for this merciless onslaught. Every religion would have laid out certain food habits that include what to eat and what not to eat, when to eat and when should we allow our body to perform the natural metabolism etc.

Men make machines. And when he does that, it is built to undertake only certain tasks based on some instructions and pre-defined operations. Just because the times have changed and demanding different things, can we ask the machine to perform differently?

God made this body that will perform to its optimum capacity foreseeing much stranger tasks than men used to do a millennium ago. And we have stretched our body to its maximum by working odd hours, sleeping and resting insufficiently under the pretext of changing times and situations.

Who are we deceiving?

I too have been living much the same way described above. But, though late, stopped once and threw away the speedometer attached to my body.

The body that can give pleasures to me and be of help to the society cannot be the body that your 5 senses want.

I am eating the best 4 food men should take daily and that alone will give me a body that my true inner self wants.

Look at the Japanese and Koreans. They seem to possess some mysterious energy that always keeps them active and brisk. Ask them what their secret is and they will reply, “Green Tea”.

I have gathered several pages information on Green Tea and clearly they showed what I have been feeding my body so long was pure, unadulterated poison in the name of fashion and modern times.

The other 3 best foods that we should be taking regularly are Kale, Flaxseed and wheat grass.

I was introduced to the wonder salad-a mixture of kale and avocado by my Japanese student. It is a low calorie food that my husband modified by altering black pepper.

I am short of words to explain how I feel these days. My body is at pristine best, bubbling with energy and I don’t sleep more than 4 hours in the night.

Safe and dependable moving kits.

We, the fanatics of the World Wide Web, find extremely useful websites for our day to day life only by accident-agreed?

Sure, we do find useful websites when we search with a specific purpose but not always because, many websites don’t find themselves on the first page of search results.

Today, I stumbled on to a website that supplies moving kits that consist of various sized carton boxes to pack when we shift our residence, packing materials, markers and other essentials.

To be frank, I should be actually searching for moving related service providers because I just signed up an agreement with a new landlord. But, the internet that is forever kind to me landed me on the exact web site I need.

Discover Boxes is a rather simple site but its usefulness is indispensable. They have been in the moving industry for nearly 40 years.

Their web content exudes confidence and dependability. I can’t explain my inner feelings scientifically.