Confronted with a new face of terror

What basically is terrorism, I sometimes wonder? The dictionary defines terrorism as “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce esp. for political purposes”. When I picked up the Thursday newspaper with my hot cup of chai (I always do that), I was in for a rude shock. The first page of The Times of India was splayed with pictures of the new face of terror ... “the terror attacks in Mumbai.”

Honestly speaking early in the morning when you are confronted with those visuals you can really think of nothing. Same thing has been happening since the beginning of this year. Lives lost, life scarred. Then after many days of lamenting and sadness, life moves on, not only for the people who aren’t affected but also for the people whose lives get permanently altered. What’s the point of such cowardice? Why do the terrorists always make the innocent people suffer? Is it just to prove a point? When will this amphigoric way of making innocent victims suffer stop? The common man on the roads taking the morning train or bus just to reach their work place on time is always apprehensive of whether he is going to return home or not. Be it Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati or Mumbai…Everyday this man wakes up takes the step towards his mundane life, doing what he does always and there comes a catastrophe like MUMBAI TERROR ATTCKS..

10 desperadoes completely jeopardized the lives of not only the common man but this time the who’s who of the high society were also sucked into the whirlpool of horror. 59 hours of blood shed and a small flicker of optimism coupled together with endless wait (at least that’s what it seemed.) people martyred, people victimized. The last few days were a combination of a huge drama of terrorism. Who could have thought that a stay or even being associated with TAJ could mutate their lives forever? The FATEFUL Wednesday and the following macabre tale of war that was waged between our heroes (ATS, Mumbai Cops, the army and the NSG) and the terrorists came to end on Saturday finally. We all mourn; we are covered with a shroud of fear. The question of ‘will I be the next one?’ always comes to one’s mind.

When will this end? When can we walk the streets again, having not to worry about death? I guess that would be an utopist world.

Just wanted to share my thoughts with you guys...about the MUMBAI MASSACRE..

Prime Numbers:

A prime numbers is a number greater than one whose factors are only one and itself. In other words, 4 is not prime, because its factors are 1, 2 and 4 (1x4, 2x2). But 5 is prime, because the only way you can get a product of 5 is by multiplying 1 and 5 (1x5). Composite numbers are those who has more than two factors. The number 1 is not prime OR composite because it has only one factor.
Here are all the prime numbers up to 500:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83, 89, 97, 101, 103, 107, 109, 113, 127, 131, 137, 139, 149, 151, 157, 163, 167, 173, 179, 181, 191, 193, 197, 199, 211, 223, 227, 229, 233, 239, 241, 251, 257, 263, 269, 271, 277, 281, 283, 293, 307, 311, 313, 317, 331, 337, 347, 349, 353, 359, 367, 373, 379, 383, 389, 397, 401, 409, 419, 421, 431, 433, 439, 443, 449, 457, 461, 463, 467, 479, 487, 491, 499, ...
How to find big Prime Numbers:
Following is a somewhat celebrated result of Euler:
The function f(x) = x^2 + x + 41 is always prime for x = 0, 1 ,..., 39.
This quadratic was the record holder for centuries as a consecutive,
Distinct quadratic prime-producer for an initial range of input
Values. It is not, however, the new function is there that can give more range of prime numbers than Euler’s:
The Function:
f(x) = 36x^2 - 810x + 2753
Which is always prime for x = 0, 1, ... , 44.

ATMA 2009

Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS)ATMA-2009 (AIMS Test for Management Admissions)
ATMA-2009 on Sunday, February 08, 2009 (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) at 31 Centres
Issue of application kits starts from: November 22, 2008Last date for receipt of completed application forms: January 20, 2009
Eligibility: Bachelor's degree in any discipline. Students appearing for their final year examinations in 2008 are also eligible to apply.Price of ATMA kit Rs.850/- by cash, by post Rs.910/- in demand draft favouring "Association of Indian Management Schools" payable at Hyderabad. (Indicate offline or online application form, name, address, Tel/Mobile no. on the reverse of the DD).How to apply: Online: Students can apply online for the test. Online application kits are available at the following sales centers across the country. (i) Office of ATMA, Hyderabad (ii) AIMS member Institutes(10) (iii) Axis Bank (25) (iv) Cerebral Heights (5) (v) Career Launcher (123) (vi) Career Forum (13) (vii) IMS Learning Centres (55) (viii) PT-Education (50). The telephone numbers and addresses are available inthe ATMA website www.atma-aims.org.Offline: For students who cannot apply online. Offline applications are available. Exclusively at Office of ATMA, Association of Indian Management Schools H.No. 8-3-677/57 A, Plot No.57, Sri Krishnadevaraya Nagar, Street No.6, Yellareddiguda, Hyderabad-500073Tel: 040-23750247, E-mail: atma.secretariat@gmail.com Website: www.atma-aims.org
For details see Hindustan Times (HR Horizons) New Delhi - November 19, 2008 pg.3

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength......... And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom......... And God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity......... And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage......... And God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love......... And God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors......... And God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted ........ I received everything I needed!

So don’t worry even if you mess up with your CAT paper, God is just making you strong to Fly......

Here is overview of CAT and Expected cut offs for different Institutes:

CAT is finally OUT!

With limited access to CAT-related news in my hand, I thought the best way to help anyone interested in knowing about today's CAT test is to divert you to our mothership. Logon to www.careerlauncher.com for all the action.

All the best with the post-mortem :-)