Procedure for Transfer/Closure of EPF (Employee Provident Fund) Account in India

Procedure for Closure of EPF Account in case of leaving service/retirement/termination:

After 60 days of separation, you need to submit the following to your previous employer for withdrawal.

• Form 19 [download from http://epfindia.nic.in/downloads_forms.htm]
• Form 10C [download from http://epfindia.nic.in/downloads_forms.htm]
• Cancelled Cheque or Bank Statement

Then previous employer will place a request with the RPF (Regional Provident Fund) office. Once the forms are submitted in RPF office, it is between you and RPF office. In general, RPF office takes around 4 months to process your claim and credits the amount to the bank account mentioned in the Cancelled Cheque. Usually, RPF office sends a Account Payee Cheque to the banker and then banker deposits the cheque in your account.

RPF office won't deduct any taxes, since they will not know in which tax slab you fall. If you withdraw PF before 5 years, you are supposed to declare it during IT Returns filing and pay tax for the same.

If the PF account is dormant, you will not receive any interest from 3rd year onward. Till 3 years, you usually get 8% PA interest. Note that you can keep your PF account as long as you want.
Note that PF is for retirement purposes, not a very good idea withdrawing the same prematurely.


Procedure for transfer  of EPF Account in case of leaving service:


You need to submit the following to your current employer for transfer. You need to submit 3 copies.

• Form 13 [download from http://epfindia.nic.in/downloads_forms.htm]
• Form 3A from Previous Employer [Optional]

When you submit the Form 13 to current employer, he will send it to the RPF office where your current EPF account is held. Then your current RPF office will send it to RPF office of your previous employer. Now, Previous Employer's RPF Office will initiate the transfer after confirming with Previous Employer. Here, if you submit Form 3A, RPF is not required to confirm with your previous employer, thus speeding-up the process.


If the transfer do not happen even after 6 months, you may want to file an online grievance with: http://epfigms.gov.in/

Psychiatrist vs. Psychologist

The difference between the two mental health professional is in nature of treatment. Psychologist primarily aids the depressed patient by counseling and psychotherapy. A psychiatrist may also perform psychotherapy; but, in addition, can prescribe medications and perform ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).

Because psychiatrists are trained medical doctors, they can prescribe medications, and they spend much of their time with patients on medication management as a course of treatment. A psychiatrist is a Medical Doctor (M. D.). Psychologists are mental health professionals who hold a doctorate (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) and be called "doctor"; but, are not medical doctors (M. D.). 

Psychologist's training and education includes graduate study for at least six years in human behavior, therapeutic treatment of emotional problems,  theories of  personality, psychological test construction and administration, experimental research,  statistical analysis of data, as well as a clinical internship. Psychologists focus extensively on psychotherapy and treating emotional and mental suffering in patients with behavioral intervention. Psychologists are also qualified to conduct psychological testing, which is critical in assessing a person's mental state and determining the most effective course of treatment.

Income Tax India: Do we need to pay tax on Shares or Mutual Funds?

Summary:

If you hold Shares or Mutual Funds for more than one year, no tax is payable. This is assuming STT(Securities Transaction Tax) is applied on all your stock market transactions.
If you did not hold Shares or Mutual Funds for one year, profit becomes part of gross total income and normal tax rate applicable. If you have purchased stocks through ESOP (Employee Stock Exchange Program), you are liable to pay tax on profit because don't pay STT while purchasing stocks.


What if you have received loss in sale of shares?

Capital loss (short-term or long-term) can be set off against ONLY capital gains (short-term or long-term). You can ensure carrying forward of loss on sale of shares by filing tax return in time. The loss left over after set-off, can be carried forward for eight years in the case of short term assets and for four years in the case of long term assets, for similar set-off.

Do we need to pay tax on Dividend received from MFs or Shares?

Dividend income (as referred u/s 115-O of the I.Tax Act) paid by Companies and Mutual Funds are exempt from tax. A 15% dividend distribution tax and surcharge of 3% is paid by companies before distribution. Equity mutual funds (with more than 65% of assets invested in equities) do not pay a dividend distribution tax, though other funds do. Liquid and Money Market funds pay 25% dividend distribution tax.01123

Details:

Definition of capital asset :

Capital Asset means all moveable or immovable property except trading goods, personal effects, agricultural land other than within municipal areas or within 8 kilometers from it wherever notified and gold bonds. Jewelry and ornament are not personal effects and their sale will attract capital gains.

Distinction between short term and long-term asset:

Capital Assets are of two types i.e., long term and short term. Long-term capital assets are assets held for more than 36 months before they are sold or transferred. In case of shares, debentures and mutual fund units the period of holding required is only 12 months.  Different rates of tax apply for gains on transfer of the long term and short-term capital assets. Gains on short-term capital asset are taxed as regular income.

Computation of Capital Gains :

Capital gains are to be computed by deducting the following three amounts from the consideration money received on transfer of the asset.

i)     The actual cost of the asset or its estimated market value as on 1.4.81, if acquired earlier;
ii)    The cost of improvement, if any, for the asset;
iii)   Expenses incurred on transfer of the asset; and In case of a long-term capital asset, the costs are increased as per a Cost inflation index for the year.

Shares and Mutual Funds becomes 'long term capital assets' after one year of holding. Sale of such long term assets gives rise to 'long term capital gains'. As per 'Section 10(38) of Income Tax Act, 1961', long term capital gains on shares or securities or mutual funds on which Securities Transaction Tax (STT) has been deducted and paid, no tax is payable. STT has been applied on all stock market transactions since October 2004 but does not apply to off-market transactions and company buybacks; therefore, the higher capital gains taxes will apply to such transactions where STT is not paid.


For companies abroad, the tax liability is 20% of such gains suitably indexed (since STT is not paid).

All capital gains that are not long term are short term capital gains, which are taxed as such:

- Under section 111A, for shares or mutual funds where STT is paid, tax rate is 10% From Asst Yr 2005-06 as per Finance Act 2004. For Asst Yr 2009-10 the tax rate is 15%.
- In all other cases, it is part of gross total income and normal tax rate is applicable.

Exemptions from Capital Gains (such as sale of residential house) :

In case of Individuals and HUF, long-term capital gains are exempt if the sale proceeds are reinvested in certain assets.
Some examples:
A)        Profits on sale of residential house is reinvested in a new residential house.
B)         Long term capital gains are invested in notified bonds
These exemptions are subject to certain conditions and the reinvestment has to be made within the prescribed time.


FAQs from www.incometaxindia.gov.in about 'What if you have received loss in sale of shares?' :

WAT IS THE LAW ON SET OFF OF LOSS ON SALE OF SHARES?
    Capital loss - short-term or long-term, can be set off only against capital gains - again, short-term or long-term. Obviously would first offset capital loss against short-term gains as these are taxed at higher rates. Remember, capital loss cannot be set off against other income.

WHAT IS THE LAW ON CARRY FORWARD OF LOSS ON SALE OF SHARES?
    The loss left over after set-off, can be carried forward for eight years in the case of short term assets and for four years in the case of long term assets, for similar set-off.

HOW TO ENSURE CARRYING FORWARD OF LOSS ON SALE OF SHARES?
   By filing your tax return in time.



Further Information and References:
-----------------------------------------
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_India
http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/general/computation.asp#c3
http://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/publications/1_Compute_Your_Salary_Income/3_Income_from_capital_gains.asp

Setting up a Wireless Network (to access internet)

If you are planning to setup wireless network at your home, you have following two ways:

1) Setup a Wireless Network with a router

Wireless router is connected to the internet via a modem. Wireless router enables computers within the range to connect to each other or internet.
Note that, computer is required to have Wireless Network Adapter to connect to wireless router. This could be one of the following. If you have a newer portable computer, you might already have wireless capabilities built in.

1. A wireless internal network card
2. USB network adapter
3. A wireless CardBus
4. CF network adapter.

Just follow the instructions specified in the following link to setup a Wireless Network.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/wireless.mspx


2) Setup a Wireless Network without a router

Without a wireless router, we can create Ad hoc wireless network. Here, one of the computers is designated to work as a router. The chosen computer which is to be designated as a router must already have a wired connection to the Internet.

This approach has following disadvantages:

1. If the computer connected to the Internet is shut down, all computers that are part of the ad hoc network lose their Internet access.
2. To connect to the Internet, one computer always needs a wired network connection.

Follow the instructions specified in the following link to setup a ad hoc wireless network:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/setup/adhoc.mspx


Further Info:
http://it.toolbox.com/wiki/index.php/Setting_a_Wireless_Network_on_Windows_XP_server_without_using_a_router

Tips to guard your credit card

I read one article today which talks about securing your credit card against fraudulent transactions. Following are some key points:

• [Preventing Card Swipe Fraud:] The liability always lies with the merchant if he processes a fraudulent transaction without a second glance at the signature. Hence, always keep a photocopy of your credit card (along with the signature) to help you in case of disputed transactions which has to be reported within 60 days. If the signature on the charge slip mismatches with yours then the merchant has to bear the liability and you get your money back. Most card issuers have dispute forms either online or in their branches.
• [Preventing Internet Fraud:] Online transactions require only the card number, validity date and the 3-digit CVV number printed on the reverse of the card. This three-digit number has to be kept confidential to prevent card misuse. Since cardholders often part with their cards during payments, the CVV number should be scratched off or masked with ink to prevent misuse.
• Always subscribe to Mobile alerts available in the form of an SMS confirmation for credit card transactions which help you in checking frauds.
  
• If you "lose" a credit card, you are liable for any fraudulent transaction unless you have covered this risk by signing up for an insurance cover.
• In case the credit card is lose or stolen, you need to block the card by specifying its number so it may be good idea to memorize or note down the credit card number in some safe location.
  

References:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/3271503.cms

Camera modes and their purposes

We can broadly divide the camera modes into following categories:

• Automatic Modes : Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Night, Sports, Snow, Panoramic/stitch, Beach, etc
  
• Semi Automatic Modes : Aperture Priority (Av), Shutter Speed Priority (Tv), Program
  
• Full Manual Modes : Manual

These modes help you control one or more of the camera controls like Aperture, Shutter Speed, Exposure, Flash and Focus. Apart from these modes, today's cameras have extra mechanisms like ISO speed and While balance.


Auto: Camera automatically chooses all the controls like shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and flash so as to help you get better picture. You may have option to control flash, etc in some cameras. This mode may give good results most of the time. Camera does guess work and sets the control based on it's analysis. You may get better results if you change the controls based on what type of snap you are looking for.



Portrait: Small aperture (Large f-number). Keeps the background out of focus. Focus only the object. Works best if you are close enough to the object either by zoom or standing closely.

Landscape: Large aperture. Ideal for capturing wide scenes. Objects of interest are at different distances from camera.

Sports: Increased shutter speed. Ideal for capture moving objects.

Night: Low shutter speed so that camera gets more time to capture the details. Also uses flash.

Macro: You can shoot small objects like flowers, insects, etc. Since you need to keep the camera at shorter distance from your subject, camera focus is restricted to small area. If you want make the background blurred, keep the background away from the object and just keep the focus object.

Super Macro: You can use 'Super Macro' if you can get close to the object. You may find the 'Super Macro' mode as difficult to use as it lacks the ability to zoom so you need to struggle to lock and focus. Best way is to use Macro mode and then zoom-in.

Aperture Priority: You have the choices of controlling aperture. Camera adjusts all the other controls like shutter speed, white balance, ISO etc., to help you get better image.

Shutter Priority: You have the choice of controlling shutter speed. Camera adjusts all other controls to help you get better image.

Program: This is nothing but Auto Mode with some extra controls like ISO speed, Flash, While balance, etc.

Manual: Gives you full control. You can control everything including and not limited to shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance, focus and flash.

Photography - Basic concepts

When you talk about photography, we basically have 3 controls : Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO speed.

Before we get into technical jargon.. let's understand Aperture, Shutter Speeed and ISO in simple terms..

Let's take look at the functioning of your Eye.. When you are in bright sunlight, eye lids come closer to reduce the amount of light that can go inside.. When you are inside dark movie theater, eye lids wide open.. This is behavior is nothing but controlling Aperture based on the need..

Let's say, you are looking directly at bright sun in the afternoon.. you would not able view the sun directly for longer.. if you do, you go blurred... so you look at sun for a while and then close your eye... so it's Shutter Speed that determine when to close your eye...


Now comes the ISO Speed.. Human's eye cannot see properly in the night but Cat can see in night.. Then we can say that Cat's ISO Speed (or Sensitivity) is more than Human's ISO Speed (or Sensitivity)..


Let's talk about camera functioning now..

Camera is box with a lens at one end and light sensitive film or digital sensor at the other end. A lens will have a diaphragm that opens and closes to allow the light to pass through. The amount of light which can be passed through lens is called "aperture".
When the light crosses this diaphragm, the shutter exposes this light to a digital film for consistent amount of time; the amount of time is determined by "shutter speed".
'ISO speed' determines the sensitivity of the digital sensor. The higher the ISO speed the faster the camera collects light but it also adds more noise to the photograph than the lower speeds. Increasing ISO speed is nothing but increasing processing speed of digital sensor.


More about each of these controls now... Let's also discuss about purpose of each of this control.

1. Aperture:
Aperture size is usually measured in f-numbers or f-stops. The smaller the f-stop number, the larger the lens opening; the larger the f-stop, the smaller the lens opening. The aperture (f-stop) determines the amount of area which is in camera's focus.

The f-stop is a fraction that indicates the diameter of the aperture. The f stands for the focal length of the lens, the slash (/) means divided by, and the number represents the stop in use. For example, if you were shooting with a 100mm lens and with an an aperture of f/2, the diameter of the actual lens opening would be 50mm. Here, 50 (focal length of the lens) divided by 2 (stop) equals 50 (diameter of lens opening). So smaller the f-stop number, the larger the lens opening; the larger the f-stop, the smaller the lens opening. An aperture of f/1.4 will have very very focus, while f/32 is extremely narrow focus. If the aperture is set to large value, the surroundings which are not in camera's focus get blurred. Aperture can be used to draw attention to one subject (like the flower on the right) by blurring the background with a wide aperture (low f/stop). Aperture can also be used to focus everything in a picture with a narrow aperture (high f/stop).

Adjustment to the aperture controls the depth of field, the distance range over which objects are acceptably sharp; such adjustments generally need to be compensated by changes in the shutter speed.

2. Shutter Speed:
As discussed above, shutter speed determines amount of time the light coming from the lens is allowed to stay on the sensitive film. Shutter speed (more literally exposure time) is measured in seconds, but often marked in reciprocal seconds. A typical exposure time for photographs taken in sunlight is 1/125th of a second, typically marked as 125 on a shutter speed setting dial. Very short shutter speeds are used to freeze fast-moving subjects, for example at sporting events. Short shutter speed for example can be used to freeze subjects in midair with a fast speed or it can be used to blur water with a slow speed i.e., short shutter speed is suitable for capturing water falls with high speed. High shutter speeds are often used in low light conditions, extending the time until the shutter closes, and increasing the amount of light gathered. Very long shutter speeds are used to intentionally blur a moving subject for artistic effect. High shutter speed means lens closes fast.

3. ISO Speed:
The common span of ISO speed is 100 to 800. If you are trying to take pictures in dim light without a tripod, you might want to raise the ISO speed in order to get a picture that's not blurry. Most of the time you should keep it at a lower ISO speed if there is enough light, but it makes a big difference when there isn't. Note that, ISO speed and Shutter Speed are related. When you increase the ISO from 100 to 200, you are cutting down the amount time required to capture the scene on the digital sensor by half. So when you change the ISO from 100 to 200, your shutter speed may change from 1/125s to 1/250s.

What is Depth of Field?
It's the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance at a time, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

In the following figure, the area within the depth of field appears sharp, while the areas in front of and beyond the depth of field appear blurry.

 Let's take a look at another image...

What is Exposure?

Amount of light which needs to be captured on digital sensor is called "exposure". Exposure can be treated as a function of Aperture and Shutter speed because both of these can control the amount of light. Various parts in a scene can have different light intensities. For example, if you are wearing a bright white shirt, your shirt has more light intensity than your face. If the exposure is set based on your shirt, your face will look dark. If exposure is set based on your face, your shirt color may washed out. Camera finds best average light intensity for the scene and digital film gets exposed to the light based on this intensity. If the light is too much then the picture will be washed out. If the light is not enough ten then picture will be too dark.


As discussed, exposure is the amount of light collected by digital film. Cameras have light meters which measure the light in the given shot and set an ideal exposure automatically. If you control this, you can get creative picture some times.
Look at the following image to know about the trick of exposure:
http://www.twin-pixels.com/wp-content/uploads/exposure-tutorial-7.jpg

The two values – shutter speed and aperture are intertwined. To get the correct exposure, both have to be set correctly – that is, if you increase the exposure time then you need to decrease the aperture. Exposure can be treated as function of all these.

For the given exposure, a fast shutter speed requires a larger aperture (smaller f-number). Similarly, a slow shutter speed, a longer length of time, can be compensated by a smaller aperture (larger f-number).


What is 'Rule of Thirds' or '2/3rd Rule'?

In this rule, objects in the snap are given 2/3rd or 1/3rd of the area. Usually, objects are confined to 1/3rd of the area. Instead of having objects like 'crime convicts' in the middle, it's good cover the space in which the object is located. For example: If you are covering birthday cake with candles, confine it to 1/3rd of the space and leave the remaining space blank instead of covering just cake in the middle. If you are covering an ant, confine it  to1/3rd of the area, and, use the remaining space to cover the direction in which it's heading.

Applying Rule of Thirds Vertically:
If your snap is covering both water and the sky and if you want to give emphasis to water then it should get 2/3rd portion of the snap. If your snap is covering water, hills and sky then you may want to give 1/3rd portion to each.

Applying Rule of Thirds Horizontally:
If you snap is covering an object (Tree, Person, etc), you may want to keep it in the 'left most' or 'right most' 1/3rd portion of the snap.


Few Tips:
- Capture the non-obvious things. Try different things. [Ex: Capturing just one Eye and blurring other eye, Capturing hands but not faces, etc]
- Create things [Ex: Sprinkling water on flowers, etc]
- Camera Flash is strict NO-NO. It takes-out naturality from the snap. If you really need to use flash (in case of insufficient light), cover it with light paper, etc.



References:
http://www.twin-pixels.com/photography-understand-exposure/
http://photo.net/learn/basic-photo-tips/aperture-shutterspeed-iso/
http://www.picturecorrect.com/photographytips/ExposureBasics.htm
http://photo.net/learn/basic-photo-tips/aperture-shutterspeed-iso/
http://www.betterphoto.com/article.asp?id=135
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

Photography - How to make the background blurred?

People want to make the background blurred so that their subject gets sharpness and focus.

The farther the background is from the object, the more blurred it will be. Some times you may need to move away from the the object so that background gets more blurred. So focus only the object then zoom to the fullest and also keep the object as far as from the background. If you zoom to the fullest, you may need to move backward to get the focus on the object.

In canon cameras, you can use Av (Aperture Priority) mode. As you increase aperture, focus on the object increases and background gets more blurred. Keep aperture as large as possible (i.e. small f-number). Then you can try the zoom for extra help. Note that, aperture gets smaller if you increase the zoom. Also, try to keep the background away from the object.

In summary, following are the important factors to consider:

• Large aperture (small f number)
• Full Zoom (Long focal length)
• Keep the background farther from the object
  

If you have SX10 then you can try 'Macro mode' [and keeping the camera closer to your object]. You can use 'Super Macro' if you can get close to the object. You may find the 'Super Macro' mode as difficult to use as it lacks the ability to zoom so you need to struggle to lock and focus. Best way is to use Macro mode and then zoom-in.


Otherwise, you can use photoshop after taking the image. Just select the background and blur the background. You may not get good results as it blurs the image uniformly irrespective of distance at which background objects are standing. Not sure if photoshop has option which applies blurriness depending on the depth of objects in the background.

Why does aperture decreases if you increase the zoom?
Aperture is described in terms of 'f-stop' or 'f-number'. It's the relationship between the focal length and diameter of the lens. If the focal length is 100 mms and the aperture's diameter is 25mm, then the f-number is written as "f:4".

When you increase the focal length (i.e., zoom-in) if focal length becames 200 mms, then the f-number becomes "f:4" even though aperture has not changed. The f-number always changes if you zoom-in or zoom-out.

Photography - Post processing of images

Post processing is an important step. You can really make any snap look better by adjusting few parameters. Read on....


1). Adding contrast

What is 'Contrast Ratio'?
Contrast ratio is measured as the difference between the brightest and darkest colors on the screen. You can treat it as the ratio between brightest white and the darkest black on the given screen. For example, a 1000:1 contrast ratio means that the brightest white is 1000x brighter than the darkest black. If you want the best picture possible, you need to have more ratio between the brightest white and the darkest black. It can also be thought as the amount of shades between black and white. For better quality image, you need to have more shades between black and white. However, there could be instances where higher contrast ratio looks bad.


1.1). Adding contrast in Picasa

Contrast brings life to a snap. Picasa is very easy use tool which provides user friendly options for adjusting contrast, cropping, straightening, shadows, highlights. Adjust these parameters appropriately to make your snap better.


1.2). Adding contrast in GMP:

We can adjust contrast by going to 'Colors -> Brightness-Contrast Tool'. But, we can achieve better results by using following tools. Links will give you more info on how to make use of these tools.

• Colors -> Levels [http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/levels.htm]
  
• Colors -> Curves [http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/photoshop-curves.htm]
  

2). Cropping

Crop the snap appropriately so that the object which you want focus gets it's share of space. Below mentioned rules can bring better look. Ideally, you should be following these rules while taking the snap but you may improve the snap further by following these rules during post processing.

2.1). 50-50 Rule

If you want to capture 'cloudy hill' then you can make the snap symmetric by giving 50% area to clouds and remaining 50% area to hills. If you want to project certain portion more, it should get more area in the snap.

2.2). 'Rule of Thirds' or '2/3rd Rule'

In this rule, objects in the snap are given 2/3rd or 1/3rd of the area. Usually, objects are confined to 1/3rd of the area. Instead of having objects like 'crime convicts' in the middle, it's good cover the space in which the object is located. For example: If you are covering birthday cake with candles, confine it to 1/3rd of the space and leave the remaining space blank instead of covering just cake in the middle. If you are covering an ant, confine it  to1/3rd of the area, and, use the remaining space to cover the direction in which it's heading.

Applying Rule of Thirds Vertically:
If your snap is covering both water and the sky and if you want to give emphasis to water then it should get 2/3rd portion of the snap. If your snap is covering water, hills and sky then you may want to give 1/3rd portion to each.

Applying Rule of Thirds Horizontally:
If you snap is covering an object (Tree, Person, etc), you may want to keep it in the 'left most' or 'right most' 1/3rd portion of the snap.


2.3). Golden Ratio Rule

Here, you apply Golden Ratio to photography.

What is Golden Ratio?
If area 'A' is divided into two parts (B and C) where one is larger than the other then the golden ratio is achieved if A/B = B/C, which is around 1.618.

When you apply this to photography, you have to to adjust the position of the objects in such a way that they get area in the ratio of "1 : 1.618". The best way is to make use of following golden rectangles.




3). Adding border

3.1). Adding border in Picasa

• Open the snap in picasa
• Go to: Create -> Picture Collage
• Select 'Mosaic' in the drop down box under Settings tab
• Adjust the 'Grid Spacing' to depending on the border size you want. Select the color of the border in 'Background Options'
• Set 'Page Format' to '8.5X11: Letter Paper' to get full snap without cropping [This step may depend on the size of the original snap]
• Select 'Landscape or Portrait' as per your snap
• Click on 'Create Collage' and you are done :)

3.2). Adding borders in GIMP

• Open the snap in GIMP
• Filters -> Decor -> Add border
• Specify the values : x-size, y-size, color
• Click OK

4). Add custom watermark (copyright text) to your images.

There are lot of tools available to do batch watermarking.

Following link provides you the script which can be integrated with GIMP. With this, you can do watermarking at batch level or individual snap level.

• http://www.td-e.com/soft/watermark-it.php

If you are looking for other ways to watermark, just read the following links:

• http://www.ehow.com/how_2176726_watermark-digital-art-using-gimp.html
• http://www.imagemagick.org/script/binary-releases.php
  
• http://www.ab-archive.com/programs/graphics/tools_for_webdesigner/alamoon_watermark.html
• http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?w=48637250%40N00&q=copyright

Kauri Pass Trek

We have recently completed Kauri Pass Trek. This is my first himalayan trek. I enjoyed the trek like anything and I was very excited after seeing himalayan peaks and icy hills for the first time.
Following is trek itinerary suggested by our guide Sohan. As per this itinerary, we were to cross Kauri Pass on 2nd day of the trek itself. But, we wanted to keep all the excitement to the end so we started our trek from Chefana(Ghat) instead of Joshimath. I liked the trek overall but I haven't find as much greenary and ice as I expected. We got to see some icy hills on the last two days. So if you are expecting to see lot of icy hills then Kauri Pass may not be the right place. We were also not able to see the himalayn peaks clearly because of the smoke which is coming out of forest fires.

If you are not interested in lot of physical activity and still want to go for Kauri Pass then the best way is : Joshimath -> Chitrakhana -> Kauri Pass -> Chitrakhana -> Joshimath. You can finish the trek in just around three days as per this plan.

In the last two days of our trek, we were able to see following himalayan peaks:
- Mt. Nanda Devi
- Mt. Trishul
- Mt. Kamet
- Mt. Burmal
- Ghoda and Hati peaks

How to reach Joshimath from Pune?
Pune -> Delhi -> Haridwar -> Joshimath

Why MBA? Why abroad? Where should I do my MBA? How to make final decision? How much does Forein MBA cost? Application Proces

http://www.rediff.com/ posted series of following useful articles by an alumna of Oxford University:

Why MBA?Why abroad?

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/oct/03abr.htm

Where should I do my MBA?

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/oct/09abr.htm

International MBA: Making the decision

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/oct/30abr.htm

Foreign MBA: How much does it cost?

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/nov/06abr.htm

The Application Process

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2008/nov/20study-abroad-winning-application.htm

Side Effects of Protein Supplements?

I found following stunning article on http://www.mumbaimirror.com/. This article is categorizing energisers, steroids, etc all under the protein supplement title. According to users of protein supplements, if you choose a good protein supplement according to your needs, then you are much better off than trying to get the same protein content through regular food. The regular food with that much protein also gives you a lot of bad fat in your body. IMO, excessive use of anything will get you side effects.

Pump down the Protein

Many believe that energisers, such as protein powders, help build muscles without side effects. However, a magic pill that gives you a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't exist and it never will!

In his book, Arnold's Body Building for Men, Schwarzenegger writes "People nowadays... tend to go overboard when they discover body building and eat diet consisting of 50 to 70 per cent protein - something I believe to be totally unnecessary. In my formula for basic eating and to get enough protein eat about 1 gm of protein for every 2 pounds of body weight."

The Conservative National Academy of Science USA too says that there is little evidence that muscular activity increases the need for protein.

What's in the market

Ultimate Nutrition, Precision Nutrition, Optimum Nutrition and Experimental are some of the companies that sell protein powders in India.

Ultimate Nutrition is the producer of ANS Mega Amino Mass, which claims to have an "All in one formula." It advertises more muscle size, more strength, more power and faster recovery. It has basic creatin, the side effects of which are water retention, bloating, flatulence, muscular cramps, nausea and effect on the Central Nervous system and kidney damage in the long run.

Optimum Nutrition sells Gold Standard Whey which claims to have 100 per cent whey isolates. It's known to cause cow-milk allergies and can lead to digestive problems such as cramping, flatulence and diarrhoea. Many people have a problem digesting complete whey protein and an overdose can cause weight gain and kidney damage.

Prosoyal, a soya protein, is easily available in medical stores. Soya comes in the Top 10 list of allergy causing foods and excess of it interferes with oestrogen levels and can cause breast cancer. Any protein powder, taken in excess, causes uric acid and leads to gout.

According to medical journals, side-effects of excessive protein include fatigue, irritability, nausea, constipation, headaches, dizziness, hair loss, dry skin and bad breath. People have also been known to suffer kidney damage and develop gall stones. Excess protein leaches calcium, leading to osteoporosis.

How much do i need?

According to the American Journal of Clinical nutrition, you need a minimum of 2.5 per cent of your daily calories in protein. WHO advises 4.5 percent, The Food and Nutrition Board 6.5 percent and the Natural Research Council of USA a highest of 8 per cent.

Moreover, excess protein is stored as fat. A high protein diet leads to breast, prostate, pancreas and colon cancer according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. Intact proteins are not easily digested and are therefore not used during or before sports activities.

A report title Rapid Growth Shorter Life, which appeared in the Journal of American Medical Association, aid that high protein diets shorten the life span of humans. This corroborates with World Health statistics that show people on a high protein diet do not live longer than people on a low protein diet.


Source:
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article&sectid=39&contentid=200809012008090102534478c8d419c6&pageno=1

Why Do Muscles Grow?

Muscle Growth is based on "overcompensation" concept, where you overcome a real/imagined defect or unwanted trait by overly exaggerating its opposite. When you have a cut, your body repairs the cut and overcompensates by leaving a scar.

When muscles undergo intense exercise, there is trauma to the muscle fibers that is referred to as muscle injury or damage in scientific investigations. A biological effort to repair or replace damaged muscle fibers begins and body overcompensates by increasing the cross-sectional diameter of the muscle cell. So more you use your muscles, the stronger they become. And unused muscles do not remain preserved; neglect causes them to waste away, or atrophy. Each muscle cell contains many small bundles of contractile proteins, called myofibrils. When muscles undergo intense exercise, the muscle cells’ myofibrils will increase in thickness and number.

So when we exercise, especially when using weights, we create micro tearsin our muscle tissue. When you take rest, these tissues repair and regenerate themselves. During this repair process muscle cells adapt by becoming bigger to help your body produce more force making your workout easier. So rest at least 24 hours before training the same muscle group. Try not to rest more than 72 hours as the muscles begin to reverse their progress.

Aging also mediates cellular changes in muscle decreasing the actual muscle mass. Happily, the detrimental effects of aging on muscle have been shown be restrained or even reversed with regular resistance exercise. Importantly, resistance exercise also improves the connective tissue harness surrounding muscle, thus being most beneficial for injury prevention and in physical rehabilitation therapy.

Sources:
http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/musclesgrowLK.html
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/10dec_muscles.htm
http://www.naturalphysiques.com/faq/407.html
http://lancebreger.blogspot.com/2007/12/pop-quiz-when-do-your-muscles-grow.html

US MBA - One year Vs. Two year, Finance, Reco letters

I have attended informative session conducted by Duke university's Fuqua school of business over the weekend in Pune, India. I got a chance to interact with Alumni and School's Regional Directors for India. Following were the important points which I inferred from that session:

One year Vs. Two year MBA :
If you are looking for the career switch then you should better be looking for 2 year MBA program. For example, if you want to switch your career from Software Engineer to Market Analyst then you need to significant amount of time in business school to learn all the concepts of the area you want to be in after the MBA. Two year programs usually have an internship where the actual career switch might happens. In second year of MBA, you will have internship where you put the concepts which you have learnt into application. In many cases, you may be getting an offer from the company where you did your internship. If you want to enhance your current profile then one year MBA may be the good option. In case you want to be in the same career path but looking for improvements then programs like One year MBA, Executive MBA, etc seems to be the better option. Of course, this my personal opinion.

Financing your MBA:
Two year MBA in a decent college may cost you around $90,000. If you got into good university, you are not required to worry about these expenses as you can easily get the loan. Most of the universities have contacts with the banks and you can get the loan as soon as you reach the campus. For the amount of $900000, you may required to pay an approximate EMI of $550 for 20 years. In your I-20, you can just mention that you will be taking loan to finance your MBA. If you get a cosigner who is US citizen or permanent resident then you can get the loan for cheaper interest rates.

Recommendation Letters:
You are required to submit two recommendation letters from your profession. One of them should be from your immediate supervisor/manger. If you can not get reco from your immediate manger for the reasons like current job security, company not encouraging higher education, etc. then you need to give proper justification for the same. In case you want to submit more than two recommendation letters then you should check if it's really adding a value. I got the positive answer for my question - Can I submit reco letter (in-addition to two recos from my profession) from my professor for the Teaching Assistant-ship which I have done during the MTech.

Miscellaneous:
University may ask you to take TOEFL exam to evaluate your interpersonal skills, language skills, etc. You may be called for an interview to test the same. If you have multiple GMAT scores then you need to mention which one you want the university to consider.

What is First name, last name and mother's maiden name ?

I have seen people getting confused about naming conventions in applications, etc. Here is brief discussion about standard naming convention...

Last name indicates the family to which the person belongs, also called as family name. Depending on the culture, family name may appear in last part of a person's name or in first part of the person's name.

First name is a name given to a person, as opposed to an inherited one such as a family name.

Mother's maiden name is family name of the mother prior to her marriage. And "married name" is name after her marriage. Lot of firms use "mother's maiden name" as a kind of password.

Basic Nutrition Strategies

1. Eat High-Fiber Low-Glycemic Foods

Low-glycemic foods are carbohydrates that breakdown slowly, releasing sugar into the bloodstream gradually rather than all at once. These foods almost always contain fiber. The fiber is what is mostly responsible for slowing the absorption of the sugars. These foods can provide long-lasting energy. Most vegetables (especially dark green), most fruits, whole-grains and nuts are high-fiber, low-glycemic. For optimal health, get your grains intact from foods such as whole wheat (whole-grain) bread, brown rice and other possibly unfamiliar grains like whole oats.

An Indian adult should acquire 1,600 calories a day through his diet while a woman should get at least 1,400 calories. Recommendations say less than 25% of our diet should be fat.
However, when we consume just 10 pieces of chips, we take in 4 grams of fat that translates to 36 calories.


2. Eat More Protein

Your body requires more energy (calories) to process protein than it does carbohydrates. Eating more protein can increase your metabolism, thereby increasing your body's ability to burn fat. Protein is necessary for your body to build muscle, and building more muscle increases your ability to burn fat. Good options include eggs, low-fat or no-fat dairy products, lean meat, poultry, seafood and whey protein supplements. Nuts and legumes are also excellent sources of protein; plus you get the added benefit of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Legumes include black beans, red beans, pinto beans, navy beans, garbanzos, and other beans that are usually sold dried.

3. Eat Frequent Small Meals Throughout The Day

Eat 6 smaller meals per day, rather than 2-3 larger meals. This will ensure that you will supply your body with the necessary nutrients to build muscle and burn fat while increasing your metabolic rate. It will also supply a constant stream of energy to prevent fatiguing early and prevents the body from kicking into starvation mode. If this happens, your body will burn muscle for energy increasing your body fat stores as well as slowing down your metabolism.

4. Eat Balanced Meals

Make sure you cover veggies, milk, smoothies, beans, brown rice, whole-wheat, fruits, nuts, whole-grain cereals, yogurt, etc in your day meals. Balance your meals by making sure that you eat plenty of protein and fiber in each meal.

5. Never skip BREAKFAST

This is the one meal you cannot afford to miss! Jump start your day with a high-fiber, high protein meal containing complex carbohydrates, avoiding simple (sugary) carbohydrates which trigger hunger and sleepiness a few hours later. Choose whole-grain cereals that are loaded with fiber and protein instead of sugar (Oatmeal, etc). Fat-free milk or soy milk and sliced almonds. Smoothies are great for breakfast too!

Metabolism

Metabolism is processes within the body that convert food and other substances into energy and other metabolic byproducts used by the body. The process of metabolism is really a balancing act involving two kinds of activities that go on at the same time — the building up of body tissues and energy stores and the breaking down of body tissues and energy stores to generate more fuel for body functions. Metabolism is a constant process that begins when we're conceived and ends when we die.

Your fast metabolism can quickly slow down with age. Diet can have an extreme impact on your metabolism. Certain foods can either slow down your metabolism and make your body gain weight or it can speed up your metabolism and help you burn calories and fat. Junk food can also slow down your metabolism so if you want to keep your fast metabolism you should start eating healthy. An easy way to do it is to make your own juices and smoothies!!

Exercise has a major effect on your metabolism. The more you move the more your heart has to pump to keep the right nutrients in your muscles. This has a great effect on your body's ability to burn calories (energy metabolism). Any type of exercise effects metabolism in a positive (increasing) fashion.

How can you boost metabolism?

Strength training (otherwise known as resistance training) is another way to boost your metabolism. This can be done with light weights and a high number of repetitions, or a higher intensity lifting with fewer repetitions, both working on large muscle groups. The result will be the same - more muscle mass which translates into a higher metabolism.

Do you put on more weight when you eat late at night?

I read the following on the web. Not sure how much truth is here and what to believe.

Eating food in the hours just before bedtime may need to be avoided. Any calories consumed in the evening will count more. They usually cite the "fact" that a person's metabolism slows down significantly in the evening, or that no one burns calories in the middle of the night. Your metabolism is completely shut down in the midnight. Any fruit contains natural sugar which will not be processed until 7AM at which your biological clock wakes up and starts digesting again.

When we consume fried food late at night, the digestion process takes place constantly within us, seriously affecting our sleep. A person should hit the bed at least three hours after the last meal. Fried food late at night also leads to acidity that again hampers sound sleep and adds to your body weight.


Further info :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolism
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body_basics/metabolism.html
http://www.theage.com.au/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthSci/

Gym mistakes you must avoid

Staying fit is the one of the biggest challenge. Researchers consistently recommend that regular physical activity with healthy eating habits is the most efficient way to keep yourself fit and control your body weight.

Weight training is common type of strength training for developing the strength and size of skeletal muscles. Weight training tones your muscles which raises your basal metabolism which causes you to burn more calories 24 hours a day. Weight training uses a variety of specialized equipment to target specific muscle groups.

We can use weights typically in two ways:

1. Free Weights (including barbells, dumbbells, and hand weights)
2. Weight Machines

But, weight training carries a certain risks so make sure you follow the things mentioned to below to avoid those risks.

Why stretching in the Gym is important

Before you try any of the gym facilities, you need to warm up. Stretching improves your muscles' range of motion and helps keep them long. During a weight-training session, you should utilize the time between the sets by selective muscular stretching. Although many people regard stretching only as a means to increase flexibility, it can provide muscular benefits when incorporated into your routine. Stretching a "pumped" muscle can actually enhance the quality of your workouts and even help to promote muscular growth. Selective muscular stretching helps to neutralize the effects of lactic acid by restoring blood flow to your working muscles.

warm up and cool down

The purpose of a warm-up is to prepare your muscles for a workout by raising your body temperature slightly and making your muscles more pliable.

Simply walking on the treadmill or doing the cycle at a low to moderate speed for 5-10 minutes ensures a good warm up. Similarly, never forget to cool down after a workout by stretching the various muscles of your body. This will help bring your heart rate and body temperature back to normal.

Wrong postures/ techniques

If you are doing an exercise standing up -- like a bicep curl, for instance -- make sure you stand with your feet apart for better balance. Never lock your joints while performing an exercise.

Too fast or too slow

Whether you are doing a squat or a bench press, make sure you do your exercise at an even pace. You should be lifting and lowering the weight at approximately the same speed throughout the workout. This will ensure you do not get injured and, at the same time, see to it that the tension on the muscle stays constant.

Too intense

Try to mentally rate your exercise on a scale of 0-10 by the end of each set, with 10 being the toughest. If you find that you are rating the intensity at five or six even in the last set for each muscle, you need to up the intensity.

Too long

An ideal workout should last you about 45-50 minutes. If you train beyond this time span, you are either doing more than required or you are wasting too much time in between the workout, which menas you won't get the results you want.

The same old routine

It's a good idea to change your workout routine every six weeks to prevent your muscles from getting used to the exercises. Change the repetitions or weights you lift, do a different set of exercise for each muscle or switch to a different activity. You will be surprised at the change in stamina.

You don’t time your rests between sets

Your recovery time is important when looking at how much you are going to be able to lift later on. ‘Too short a rest and your muscles won’t have recovered; too long and you won’t get the benefit.’ Wear a stopwatch and don’t be intimidated into starting your next set too early.

You only ever use heavy weights to build muscle

When you hit the weights room, you always lift the heaviest weight possible. This may limit your growth because you’ll hit your muscles in a very predictable way, and it’s hard to control large weights precisely. Now and then, go light and do extra reps with a greater range of motion.


References and Further Info:

http://www.maxim.co.uk/fitness/fittips/2218/15_top_gym_mistakes.html
http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/stretching-gym.php
http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2006/mar/23health.htm
News paper articles

Types of exercises : anaerobic and aerobic

There are two types of exercises: anaerobic and aerobic.

Anaerobic exercise

The term "anaerobic" means "without air" or "without oxygen."

The term "anaerobic" means "without air" or "without oxygen." Anaerobic exercise uses muscles at high intensity and a high rate of work for a short period of time. Anaerobic exercise helps us increase our muscle strength and stay ready for quick bursts of speed. Think of short and fast when you think of anaerobic exercise.

Examples of anaerobic exercise include heavy weight lifting, sprinting, or any rapid burst of hard exercise.

Anaerobic exercise is usually performed at high intensity and can be sustained for periods of time as short as 10 seconds. During a sprint, the muscles need for oxygen cannot be matched by faster breathing and increased pumping by the heart. The muscle then turns to making energy through a non-oxygen dependent mechanism. The by-product of that is called lactic acid. The lactic acid triggers muscle aching and burning. After finishing the run, the lactic acid is slowly converted to a different non-troubling product, as the oxygen debt is paid back. So these anaerobic exercises cannot last long because oxygen is not used for energy and a by-product, called lactic acid, is produced.

Lactic Acid contributes to muscle fatigue and must be burned up by the body during a recovery period before another anaerobic bout of exercise can be attempted. The recovery period also allows the muscles to use oxygen to replenish the energy used during the high intensity exercise.

Aerobic exercise

Lower intensity activities performed for longer periods of time. Activities like walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling require a great deal of oxygen to make the energy needed for prolonged exercise. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercises are needed for the development of physical fitness.

Aerobic exercise on the other hand is done at a pace that does not outstrip the muscles ability to get the needed oxygen. Apart from the effects of dehydration, fatigue then is due to a lack of glucose. Many athletes have enough stored glucose (called glycogen) for about one to two hours of exercise. After that, the body simply runs out and they "hit the wall."

With regular aerobic exercise, the muscles and liver will increase their stores of glycogen to meet the new demands. Poor nutrition prevents this from happening and will allow these stores to become drained.

Further info and References :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic

http://www.teengrowth.com/

http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/exercisefitness/exer3098.html

Role of "Lactic Acid" in workout/metabolism

Lactic acid is a chemical structure made out of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a chain-like form. Lactic acid is produced as a result of hard work by the muscles. What happens is that when your body is working hard, it produces high levels of lactate in the muscles. When you’re running , your body produces so much lactate that it can’t remove it from the muscles quickly enough.

However, while this sounds like a bad thing, it’s actually a sign that your body is finding ways to create energy and ensure that you can keep doing whatever it is that you’re doing.

Why your "muscles" ache after a work out

When the lactate levels get too high, a chemical reaction occurs with other chemicals in the body, creating lactic acid. What you should know is that it is not the rise in lactate levels that leads to that burning feeling in your muscles, but rather it seems that it is the reaction that forms lactic acid that is the cause of the pain. But some scientists are still debating about the pain’s source.
Several theories have been proposed, to explain the delayed muscle soreness. One theory is intensive exercise and lactic acid accumulation. Some evidence disputes the role of lactic acid, in muscle soreness. For example, lactic acid is removed from muscle, within 30 minutes after exercise, but soreness does not appear for at least 24 hours. Also, some exercises, such as those that stretch the hamstring muscle, cause little, or no lactic acid build-up, but result in soreness.

Another theory, is a tissue damage theory. Considerable evidence supports the idea, that exercise damages muscle fibres and /or surrounding connective tissue (micro-tears). The muscle tissue becomes swollen, which stimulates sensitive nerve endings and results in soreness.

Better Muscular Recovery

Contrary to popular belief, muscle tissue is actually broken down-not built up-during anaerobic exercise. When a muscle is subjected to intense stress, tiny micro tears develop in its fibers. This contributes to the presence of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that often accompanies a grueling workout. By expediting nutrient delivery to your musculoskeletal system, selective stretching helps to repair muscle tissue and accelerate the healing process.

How to overcome lactic acid

But what you really want to know is how you can avoid that burning pain when you are working out. And the answer is simple: work out more. While it might seem counterproductive to workout more, what you need to do is effectively ‘teach’ your muscles to handle lactic acid in a more effective way. However, you want to do this is a controlled fashion so that you’re not hurting each time you walk in the door.

Once lactic acid builds up, you simply cannot continue to train. Selective muscular stretching helps to neutralize the effects of lactic acid by restoring blood flow to your working muscles.

You can start to build up a resistance to lactic acid by working out at a medium intensity during your workouts. This means that you are working just hard enough to get your heart pumping fast and your lungs working a little harder.

You might measure this by how much you can talk as you are working out – which should be in incomplete sentences, though you can still talk. As you build up your muscular and aerobic capacity, your body will be able to handle higher levels of lactic acid and thus reduce the amount of pain that you might feel.

References and further info:

http://www.24hrfitness.co.uk/fitness%20tips/lactic-acid.html

http://dersalsites.com

http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/stretching-gym.php

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article018.htm