Tabulating data easily - Creating a table in Ms Word

If your have a lot of data that needs to be put in form of a simple database or you just need to list different but related things together, you can create tables using Ms Word.

To create a table in Ms Word:
1. Click the Table menu on the Standard Toolbar and then select the Insert option.
2. Select the Table option to display the Insert Table dialog box.
3. Select the number of rows and columns required and whether the cells in the table should be of fixed size, should fit the size of the text inserted, or should fit the window size.
4. Click OK to create the desired table.

You can now proceed with entering your data into the table. You can further enhance how your table looks by selecting different borders and shadings. You can also add or delete the number of columns and rows in the table.

Cropping an image in Adobe ImageReady

If you have a picture in which you look very pretty but something in the background does not look that pleasing, you can crop the picture to highlight only that part and cut out the rest of the background. You can do so very easily with the Adobe ImageReady software.

Open the picture you want to crop and then select the Crop Tool icon on the Toolbar. Notice that the mouse pointer turns into a crop tool now. Start from the top of your image and highlight the part that you want to highlight. Keep your mouse pointer pressed as you select the desired part of the image. Once the area to be cropped is selected, double click it to crop the image. Now you only see the part of the image you wanted to show. Save this version of the image and you are ready to share it with your friends.

Scintillating Beauty of Cayo Guillermo

Cayo Guillermo is one of the most beautiful islands of the Jardines del Rey archipelago, with only 13 square kilometres of surface. It has three beaches out of which Playa Pilar is the most scintillating. It has a total length of four kilometres The greenery and stunning beauty of this sandy island has been described in the work of Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway, the ‘Islands in the Stream’. The sand dunes of this cay, that can be as high as 15 meters, are one of the natural elements that make it beautiful.

Natural Beauty of the Cays

Cayo Guillermo and the Santa Maria National Park are a part of the Sabana-Camaguey group of cays, situated to the North of the Ciego de Avila Province. The beauty of these cays is especially alluring to nature lovers as they have a very rich fauna and flora that is similar to that of the Bahamas. Numerous colonies of pink flamingos add to its scenic beauty. Apart from its endemic bird fauna, it also flaunts a large population of migratory birds that seek these cays for nesting. Hence, the best way to appreciate the nature of these places is by taking walk or horseback tours, or excursions.

Scenic Places Neighboring Cayo Guillermo

Tourists can select from different trips that the tour operators have on offer. These are mostly one-day or two-day trips. A one-day package tour to Havana offered by Thomas Cook would cost around £250 for two. It would include a coach transfer to the Cayo Coco airport and flight tickets to Havana. It would also include a tour guide, a walking tour of the place, part coach or driving tour and lunch. For the return trip it would include, the return flight tickets and a transfer to the hotel. In case you don’t have enough time to visit all the places that Havana has on offer in a single day, you can visit various tourist websites that are available on the internet and view its pictures.

Adventure Trip Options

To get your adrenaline pumping, this cay offers the Le Guillermo jungle tours and underwater snorkelling. The jungle tour is a two-hour trip where you get to explore the mangroves on self-driven speedboats travelling through a web of channels.

If you fancy swimming in between colourful fish, then snorkelling in the blue waters of Cayo Guillermo is a better option for you. During this trip, you follow the guide in a convoy until you reach the starting point. Once you are there, the guide swims deep into the water to annoy the fish so that they swim up to the surface and show their vibrant colours to you. So do make sure to carry your camera when you decide to take this trip. Another good part of this trip is that you get to keep the snorkel as a gift.

These trips can cost you around $39 USD daily and can be booked through the hotel you stay in. These trips take about 3 hours of time.

Attractions Offered by the Hotels

The packages offered by the hotels in the Cayos are all inclusive, with some entertainment activities, kayaking and pedalos in the day time and cultural shows every night. These hotels also provide you with pool and lobby bars, and night clubs.

These activities and the picturesque locales should be enough to keep you occupied during your trip. If not, you can also take various excursions on offer by the local tour operators to swim with dolphins or to visit neighbouring places.

For the Nature Lovers

If you are a nature lover, a horse ride around the island is highly recommended during early morning or late afternoon. It costs you around 5 Convertible Cuban Peso or CUC and takes about an hour. If you book it through the people at the Melia Resort it may cost you around 10 CUC.

Banana Boat Ride

At the beach, you can take a banana boat ride that will cost you around 5 CUC.

Catch Them Fresh

The Melia Resort has a pier extending 100m into the water that is used for fishing. The locals at this spot catch fish with only a wire and hook, so you need to carry a fishing rod with you. The rod need not be of the highest quality since the locals may ask you for it once you are done with fishing. If they respond to you in a friendly and helpful manner you may not mind giving the rod away.

Up, Up, Up in the Air

To get an aerial view of the island, you may take a flying boat trip of 10 to 15 minutes. It also has an operator onboard to guide you. It may cost you around 30 CUC. You can find the boat operators at the Cayo Guillermo beach.

Sun, Sand and Food

You can travel to the Playa Pillar beach from Melia CG by either train or taxi. It costs around 5 CUC each. You can book your travel from your Melia hotel or take the bus or train from a nearby place to the Melia and then get a taxi to the beach.

Since there is so much to see and experience at the beach, you must spend at least a day at this beach. Though there are huts available to take shelter from the sun, the recommended time to visit the beach is around 9 to 10 am. You may want to take a lounge chair for 1 CUC at the beach to relax. The beach also has a snack bar at which beer is available at 1 CUC and snacks such a as fillet of shrimps, fish and lobster are available.

You can go snorkeling around the Media Luna or the half moon island on a boat or a catamaran for 11 CUC. The island has the second largest barrier reel in the world and has an amazing display of aquatic life. You must get some bananas or bread with you to feed them. You may spend around an hour at the island.

Global Warming

Global warming is the change in the climate all over the world due to the rise in temperature of oceans and the air near the surface of the Earth. This in turn is impacting ecosystems, agriculture, and the spread of disease. Evidences prove that this global rise in temperature, in a matter of a few decades, could result in melting of the snow in the Polar Regions and glaciers all over the world, and could submerge many islands and low lying areas. It is a real threat to life on Earth that cannot be ignored by just wishing that it goes away.

NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies show that average temperature all over the world has already risen by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 0.8 degree Celsius since 1880. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report collected between 2000 and 2004 states that the average temperature in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia has risen at twice the global average. It is being predicted that by 2040, the Arctic might become completely ice-free. This will also have an adverse effect on the existence of Polar bears and similar species that need sea ice for their survival. Rise in the temperature of ocean waters also poses a threat to survival of coral reefs. In 1998, a large number of coral reefs experienced bleaching or death due to stress, as they are highly sensitive to changes in water temperature. In some areas, there was a loss of over 70 percent of coral reefs. Another alarming change that will happen as the years pass by is the increase in the number of wildfire, heat waves and tropical storms.

Of the factors that are causing global warming, some of the most dangerous are human activities like industrialization, deforestation, and pollution. These activities increase the content of water vapours, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the Earth’s atmosphere resulting in the green house effect that trap sun's heat in the atmosphere and cause a gradual warming of the Earth. These gases remain in the Earth’s atmosphere for many years and hence, even if the emission of thee gases is stopped immediately, global warming will not stop immediately. The other factors contributing negligibly to global warming are solar variation and volcanoes.

To save our planet and ourselves from extinction, we have to make ourselves and everyone around us aware of global warming and take concrete steps to curb it. The first step in this direction should be to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, and make efficient use of electricity and water. Another simple change must be to start using compact fluorescent bulbs rather than the incandescent ones. Although the cost of compact fluorescent bulbs is more than incandescent ones, their cost is quickly recovered as they consume less energy, resulting in the reduction of electricity bills. Another startling fact that most people do not know about is that any appliance or electronic equipment that has a remote control, AC adapter plug, instant-on feature, battery charger, internal memory, permanent display, or sensor uses electricity even when it is switched off. Thus, the only way to stop the wastage electricity through these electronic items is to unplug them. Yet another simple method of saving energy and water, that has been mentioned innumerable times, is turning off the tap while brushing teeth or shaving. Likewise, fixing a leaking tap, dripping water every three seconds, can save as much as 110 litres of water a month.

My opnion about the movie Ghajini

As far as I am concerned, no matter how hyped the movie Ghajini is, I didn’t find the story convincing at all. After coming out of the movie theatre I kept thinking of the loopholes in the storyline and even in the direction of the movie.

To start with, it is shown that Aamir’s character, Sanjay Singhania is being interviewed by a TV channel. It is also said that his articles are published in a financial newspaper, then how come no body ever saw him or recognized him as the business tycoon.

It’s shown that Asin or Kalpana, calls up Sanjay and gets him assignments for advertisements. They are in the same industry and keep meeting regularly. Then how come she never wanted to see any of his ads in newspapers or magazines. She still very much believes that he is a struggling model.

When Kalpana’s firm hosts a New Year party and invites Sanjay as the Chief Guests, pictures are clicked by the press but aren’t they ever published anywhere for the public to see?

When Kalpana travels to Goa for an assignment, she is shown going alone, without any colleague or friend accompanying her. She is travelling in an almost empty, third class train compartment. Very daring I must say.

Once she rescues the group of under-age girls from the crooks on the train, she doesn’t realise that she is getting into some dangerous situation and keeps going to the hospital all alone at the beck and call of the lady constable. She doesn’t feel the need to seek police protection or someone’s company for her safety.

When she is visiting the hospital to find the missing girls, Ghajini himself appears there to give an explanation to her, and then plans to kill her as she now knows the truth. Instead, he could have easily misled her and bribed the police some more to bury the matter, like he was already doing.

When the crooks are shown waiting for Kaplana in her apartment, and the lights go off, she doesn’t realise then that there is a staircase exit in her apartment that leads directly outside.

When the crooks finally nail her down and are waiting for Sanjay in her apartment, the look on Kalpan’s face, when she sees Sanjay in her apartment, should be that of fear. She should be signalling him like crazy to leave the apartment at once as he too is in danger. But she is shown as calm and placid, walking towards him as if nothing has happened.

Coming out of the flashback, when they show Sanjay’s room, there are sentences like ‘find him’, ‘kill him’, and ‘who is Ghanjini’ all over the walls. His manager, doctor and other people close to him visit him there but never think about warning the police of his intentions.

From being a gentleman he suddenly goes on to become a super fighter who can fight a person of any proportion and size. Instead, it would have been a good idea to show him with a confidante, someone who would have known him long, who would have trained him and helped him remember the sequence of events every time he forgot something. This would have been similar to what was shown in earlier movies like ‘First 50 dates’, which dealt with a similar medical problem. I think showing Jiah Khan as an accomplice comes too late in the movie.

The next striking thing is that the police officer who comes to nab Sanjay while investigating a murder case is the only brave and honest police officer in the city. No one ever follows up with the investigation later or shows any interest in Sanjay’ whereabouts thereafter. When Sanjay is later found in the medical college lift and is taken into custody by the police, no one is alarmed over the things written on his body. They accept the story of Ghajini being a friend of his and leave him without any further clarification about his intentions of finding and killing someone.

Jiah Khan’s character has again been shown as extremely brave. She goes with Sanjay’s to help him find and kill Ghajini although she knows that the place they are going to might be dangerous.

All these loopholes in the story make Ghaniji a disappointing movie. It is not as convincing or flawless as Lagan, Rang de basanti, or Taare Zameen Par. It’s another disappointing movie from Aamir like Fanaa. The only good things about the movie were Aamir’s body, and his and Aasin’s acting.

The Mumbai Carnage of 26th Nov 2008

How safe do you feel in a city which gets attacked by terrorists every year in events that take the lives of innocent people by hundreds? Mumbai seems to have become a favourite target of terrorists because of its huge population and popularity as the financial capital of India. It has always been labelled as the most lively and financially successful city in India, which bounces back from adversities almost instantly. But this time the sentiments of Mumbaikars are different. They are angry and want the administration to take some serious steps towards securing their lives in the city they deeply love. They refuse to forget the incident and just get on with their lives as usual.

Even for the people who have been watching this tragedy over the television, it is an unforgettable incident, feeling the helplessness to get in control of a dangerous situation for over 50 hours and to rescue all the hostages safely.

Even when the Mumbai police stays on highly alert all the time, terrorist attacks have been made yet again, and this time through the ports of Mumbai. Terrorists planned this attack on Mumbai very meticulously and chose a new inroad to the city through its waters. A fishing vessel from Pakistan was chosen as the entry vehicle this time. They came in this fishing vessel till a convenient point and from there on travelled in inflatable rubber boats to the shore of Mumbai. They had pre-planted people in Mumbai who had in advance arranged for arms and ammunitions, and the maps of the buildings that were to be attacked.

According to the sources, their actual plan was to attack the symbols of economic success of Mumbai, the Taj Hotel and the Oberoi Hotel, cause as much damage to life and property, and then escape unharmed by distracting the armed forces by planting bombs at nearby places. They had also planned to blow up the Taj Hotel by planting a huge amount of explosives there, but this plan was foiled by the quick and efficient response of the staff of the hotel and the armed staff. If this plan had been successful, it would have been all the more damaging to life and property. The other places that were targeted were the Nariman House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. The latter being the bustling train station from which both local and long distance trains leave, and from where thousands of people commute everyday.

It is horrifying to even think about the scene at the places that were attacked. The terrorists had opened fire at everyone in sight. There were huge casualties in the banquet halls, hotel rooms, lobbies, restaurants, and even the kitchens of the hotels. It is difficult to imagine the scene at these places, dead bodies of the victims lying strewn all over the place, even in the hotel swimming pool, rotting for more than 50 hours before they were removed. It would have been such a horrifying experience for the NSG commandos who had to carry out the rescue operation at these places and then later the medical team who sanitised these places. The damage to life and property at these places is simply mind-numbing.

From the investigations that have been made so far, names that have come up for being responsible for this attack have links to Pakistan. Since this has been made certain, there is an air of bitterness for Pakistan in India. Ridiculously, some media channels even had a poll asking its viewers to vote through SMS and suggest if Pakistan should be attacked in response to this terror attack. They fail to understand that even discussing such things at such a sensitive time can be devastating.

Since this terror attack, we have seen three things happening. Firstly, people raising their voices over the current political condition in India. The inefficiency of our politicians, the overall state of law and order in our country, and corruption in general.

Secondly, the praise for the armed forces, the protest over their meagre remuneration, and the sad state of facilities and equipments given to them.

Lastly, the politicians trying to salvage their remaining pride by resigning at the drop of a hat, and people at important positions promising stringent action to be taken on the people responsible behind these attacks.

How far these promises will hold good is the question now. Since the casualties include people of different nationalities and from different walks of life, this attack has been condemned internationally. There have been innumerable meetings among the political circuits and various debates on media channel suggesting different actions that can be taken.

Since the terrorist caught from the Mumbai attack has confessed to be a citizen of Pakistan and trained in the terrorist camps there, even the USA has been strict with Pakistan to take some action. The Pakistan government on the other hand has been saying that it itself has been a victim of terror attacks in past and has not given shelter to any terrorist group. What it fails to promise is that it will take some action against the terrorist groups, ban them, and help in eliminating their training camps. The Pakistan government is helpless in front of various forces within its boundary which help in sheltering these terrorist groups. It is in no condition to take action against these forces or terrorist groups and promise some concrete solution. It seems that in near future Pakistan Government itself will fall prey to these internal forces and terrorism, and become a lawless state.

So what we now have to see is that after such hullabaloo over not forgetting this incident, learning something from it and taking stringent steps at conquering terrorism, what is actually done by both the governments of India and Pakistan. For how long are we successful at keeping our guards high before falling victim to another terrorist attack, this time probably through the air-route.

The Gleaming IT Profession in India

Do you want to learn and grow in the organisation you work in from a fresher to a high managerial level? Do you want to balance work and home together without sacrificing much? Do you wish to lead a healthy life and make ever-lasting friends at your work place? If the answer to all these questions is ‘Yes’ then the IT industry is not the place for you to look for employment.

These days it has become quite a norm for people in the IT industry to change jobs every year. They find that the only way to increase their salary is changing a job and asking for a phenomenal jump in the salary. This is also a consequence of a bad appraisal system in such organizations. When a person joins an organization, he is told that the company has one of the best and fair appraisal systems in the industry. But when the person goes through his first appraisal he gets to know that the big promises made to him at the beginning were just an eye wash. No matter what he does, he will never be able to get a hike he deserves. The appraiser is instructed by the higher management to appraise the people in his team in such a way that one person gets an excellent grade, two people get a good grade and the rest of them get an average grade. He is also allowed to give a poor grade to the person who he dislikes and who he thinks is incapable of contributing much to the project and to the organization on the whole.

As a result of an increase in the attrition rate, the trust and loyalty that used to exist between an employer and employee has come to an end. Nowadays, the employee is least bothered about the loss the company faces because of his resignation. The companies have also stopped caring for their employees. They don’t bother whether the employees have been put into projects keeping in mind their interest and capability. They just place them in the project which they think would fetch them the highest monetary benefit from the client. They don’t bother about their personal and organizational growth. They refuse to stretch and accommodate a personal request. Both the employer and the employee think about their monetary benefit. The company squeezes out as much work as it can from its employees and the employees also try to negotiate a phenomenal hike when joining.

Because of such a huge demand for professionals in the Indian IT industry today, companies find it easier and cheaper to recruit freshers. They prefer training them according to their own needs rather than employing someone who is experienced and who asks for a big pay. They pay peanuts to these freshers on the pretext of their being inexperienced but make them work as hard as experienced employees. On the other hand, if an experience employee comes on board, he is pushed into doing the same work as a guy with half his experience. He is put under a team leader who is younger than him and has nearly half the experience but is in the current organization for two or more years. The experienced person then gets frustrated due to the immature way in which the work is handled and is forced to either take up some other project outside his interest or look for greener pastures again.

In BPO or ITES companies catering to foreign clients, it is assumed that the employee is ready to work in any shift the company puts him in. While UK timings are still reasonable, USA timings extend up to wee hours of the day. If there is a meeting or a deadline, the employee who comes to the office at 9 in the morning is expected to stay back even beyond midnight. There is no consideration whether the employee is a male or a female. Everyone is expected to stay back to finish work and then leave. If the company issues a laptop to the employee or he has a computer at home, he still has some relief of finishing the work from home. If this isn’t enough, generally there is no healthy snack or meal available in these offices. In order to finish work fast and rush home, the employee is forced to either skip meals or have a high calorie snack which has little nutrition at office. This leads to obesity and lifestyle induced diseases.

In today’s expensive economy, to maintain a decent lifestyle and save something for the future, both spouses have to work. Sometimes it is seen that due to stress at office the relationship between them also starts getting sour since they hardly get any time for each other. On weekends they have other household and important chores to attend so they get very little time to enjoy each other’s company. They also get cut off from their extended family and friend circle and end up only making courtesy calls to them once in a blue moon.

In some cases, where both the partners are in late thirties, it gets difficult for them to conceive due to stress and unhealthy lifestyle. Another problem area is when women have to join work just after having children. They have to leave back their toddlers in some other family member’s care or sometimes even with a maid to join back work. Sometimes, this choice is made due to the family’s financial problems. But, when this choice is made due to over ambition of women, it is not worth it as at such a tender age the child is deprived of its mothers care. The mother also feels guilty as it always plays that the back of her mind that she is not spending enough time with her kid. When she returns home from work she is very tired. After doing the household chores, she is left with very little energy to play with the kid.
Thus, only bachelors who have ample amount of time and energy can survive working in such organisations which demand an awfully high level of commitment without offering much to their employees. Just out of college, bachelors are more than happy to get jobs in companies with good reputation. They take up these jobs for work experience and get a good jump in their next employment. As they still live with their parents or with roommates, their expenses are next to nothing. So they take up these jobs even if they are paid peanuts. But for people who have families to sustain it’s a different story.