Chatbots

Do you know what a chatbot is? A chatbot is a computer program designed to simulate a conversation with humans especially over the internet. It can also be described as a software application or web interface designed to have textual or spoken conversations. Chatbots are online and use generative artificial intelligence systems that are capable of maintaining a conversation. They apply natural language and simulate the way a human would behave in a conversation. Chatbots combine the internet and ai, I think. Examples of Chatbots are openAI's chat gpt, Microsofts copilot and Google's Gemini. Chinese tech startup Deepseek also has a chatbot based on AI. The only chatbot I have spoken to is Alexa. Hope you have a lovely day!

Study Methods from Srushty

Hi all: Today I would like to share study methods by a topper in a competitive exam (UPSC)in India. The topper's name is Srushty Jayant Deshmukh. One idea from Srushty that I really like is answer writing. All the aspirants for this competitive exam do answer writing. Some more than others. Srushty did answer writing the most. I think writing answers helps you organize the info you have about a topic in your head. From the point of view of UPSC prep when you answer a question from a previous year question paper at least one answer is clear in your head. If that question comes for the upsc exam then at least you know that answer. In this way if you write answers to all questions from from previous years papers then you would study a substantial portion of the syllabus. Srushty recommends writing a few answers every day. The second idea I like from her is if you come across a term in the newspaper such as a new treaty by two governments or some other news you can just Google that and find more info about that. It brings variety to your study method if you google it online instead of trying to study printed matter and you learn something about that topic. Srushty prepared her own notes. She did not rely on notes made by others. One advantage of making your own notes is you think for yourself about that topic and make connections. I really like the idea of "thoda sa pade lekin har Roz pade." She says study only a little but study every day. If we feel we have to study a lot every day then we will not feel like studying. But two editorials we can definitely read. Or we can definitely write down ten points about one topic. BTW I am not prepping for UPSC but I like to study and learn about study methods so I can be a knowledgeable person.

Table Topics

Hi all,

I hope you had a lovely Tuesday. I attended the Toastmasters club meeting yesterday evening. I was given the role of Table Topics and I volunteered to do Thought since there was a vacancy. I have already posted what I said in Thought on January 8. I started writing it as a speech but said it as a Thought yesterday. Here are the Table Topics questions I asked.

1. What method do you follow while reading newspapers? Different people follow different ways of reading the newspaper. I read the editorials first. In WSJ the opinion page is the page facing the editorial so I read at least one opinion article. Then I read the front page. Then I read the World News and then I read the business section. My father reads the front page first. My younger brother reads the sports page first. There may be others who read the business page first. How do you read the newspaper?

2. How do you follow a developing story? There are many news that are continuing to unfold. Such as the Israel Hamas ceasefire deal. New developments are taking place every day. How do you keep yourselves knowledgeable about the latest developments in such a news story?

These are the two questions I asked. I prepared two more questions but did not get to ask.

3.What is a song, book, quote, or personality in news that was inspiring to you this year or last year? Something that made you want to listen several times or read, watch or think about several times.

4.What are your New Years resolutions for 2025? What ideas do you have to stick to the resolutions?

Inheritance

Inheritance! Our parents with all the love have given us what they have which is a mixture of what they received from their parents and they themselves acquired.

For some reason I was interested in this topic and decided to write about it. Here is what I wrote about inheritance. 

One day I felt I inherited contentment from my grandfather. 

I have inherited so many likings for so many things from my parents. 

From my father love for books and poetry. 

From my father a love for economics and philosophy.

From my father a love for  reading. 

From my father a love for writing. 

From my father and mother a love for hair care. 

From my mother a love for sarees. 

From my mother a love for fabrics. 

From my mother a love for fashion. 

From my mother a love for collecting beautiful sarees and salwars. 

From my mother a love for work on fabrics such as embroidery. 

From my mother an appreciating of the textile heritage of India not understood intellectually but just aesthetically. 

From my mother a love for jewelry. 

From my mother a love for sewing. 

From my mother a love for dressing nicely. 

From my mother a love for diy skin and hair care. 

From my mother a love for flower arrangements. 

From my parents I learned to respect everyone. 

From my parents I learned to live within my means. 

From my parents I learned to not like too much non veg. 

From my parents I learned to love simple food. 

From my father I learned to appreciate nature. 

From my mother I learned to collect plants. 

From my grandfather I learned to love church. 

From my grandmother I learned to show generosity. 

From my grandfather I learned integrity. 

From my grandfather I learned to avoid evil. 

From my parents, grandparents and extended family I learned the sacraments. 

From my father and mother I learned not to be ostentatious. 

From my father and mother I learned sincerity. 

From my father, mother grandparents and all Indians I learned to respect other religions. 

From my father I learned to like Indian mythology stories. 

From my father and grandfather I learned about dedication. 

From my mother I learned about being a pleasant person. 

From my mother I learned the importance of humility and patience. 

From my father I learned the importance of your work speaking for you. 

From my father I learned the importance of having courage to speak to an audience as in being a anchor for a happy show. 

From my father I learned the importance of not complaining. 

From my father and mother I learned the importance of having my own viewpoint. 

From my father I learned to appreciate painting. 

From my father I learned the importance of painting lots and lots of paintings. 

From my father I learned the importance of writing every day. 

From my father I learned the importance of appreciating other cultures and art forms whether it be dances from Russia, or Czechoslovakia or music from US or Germany. 

From my father I learned the importance of developing your talents. 

From my father I learned the importance of being self reliant. 

From my father and mother I learned to appreciate good movies. 

From my father and mother I learned the importance of spending time wisely in a holy way.

From my father and mother I learned the importance of raising kids who love others. 

From my grandfather, my aunt and my mom I learned the importance of prayer. 

From my father I learned that religion is loving, peaceful, about serving others and loving others. 

From my father and mother I learned the value of education, knowledge wisdom and information. 

From my parents I learned the importance of allowing  children to follow their own interests just as my parents showed that respect toward me in allowing me to like the things I liked. 

Pretty Outfits

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. My weekend was quiet and restful. Last week and during the weekend I uploaded a few outfits from Dillards.com. Sharing them with you today.

This is a top I really liked. It is the coco jamison long sleeve lace top.

This is the Chelsea Violet short sleeve eyelash sweater. I like the juxtaposition of the two shades of black and the scoop neckline.

I like this black outfit with ruffles. I like the length and the light fabric.

This is the short sleeve lace smocked maxi dress by coco jamison. I love how simple and modest this dress is.

I like this sweater and the jeans with the stitches showing.

I sort of like this outfit. The french saying on the sweater means something that cannot be defined.

I like this combo of printed tank top and skirt. I hope you have a lovely day!

Indoor Plants

I bought these plants from Walmart on January 22nd. The names of these plants are Kalanchoe blossfeldiana,Epipremnum Aureum, Syngonium Podophyllum and Echeveria blue heron. I think these are winter indoor plants. I don't know the full care instructions yet. I hope you have a lovely day!

I bought two pots of Kalenchoe Blosfeldiana.

This is Epipremnum Aureum.

Syngonium Podophyllum

This is Echeveria Blue Heron. Reposting!

Bus Rides 7

There is provision to hang bikes on the fronts of buses. Some people hang their bikes in the front of their buses before getting into the buses and after getting off the bus driver patiently waits for them to unhitch their bike from the bus. In her book the common reader an entire chapter is devoted to the French essayist Montagne. Montagne has specific notions on what a journey should be like. According to Montagne The journey is everything, Virginia Woolf said. If this is true then for the pioneers more important than reaching salt lake City would be the journey of traversing the official estimate of 1400 miles in wagons with friends and family. The sights they saw, the smells they inhaled, the sounds they heard, the stories they shared, the problems they faced, the solutions they found, the thoughts they meditated upon and the dreams they dreamed and the hopes they cherished during the 1400 mile long journey was more important or just as important as reaching Salt Lake City. So I am thankful for the buses.

Bus Rides 6

There were two people in the bus stop when I reached the bus stop. A man with a beard was sitting in the bench inside the bus stop. A girl was standing outside with her back to me. She was wearing grey pants, grey top, and had a bag. She was peering into her bag. I crossed the road and reached the bus stop and stood near the girl. Traffic passed me by to and fro on the street in front of me. Behind me was the parking lot of a store. After waiting for a while I saw the bus in the distance. The huge glass windshield reflected the sky. The bus was higher than the cars, vans, bikes and jeeps on the road. I heaved a sigh of relief because the bus was coming. I don't have to wait indefinitely for the bus. As I moved to the spot where the bus would stop I saw a mother and two kids walking toward the bus stop. The mother appeared Islamic in a long robe and her face was half covered with a cloth from below the eyes. A girl with short hair ran in front of her. A younger girl probably five wore her hair in a braid and wore a black top with pink and red flowers on it. The running girl wore jeans and a jacket. It was not that warm of a day but she was running carelessly. I got in the bus and noticed almost all the seats were occupied. I sat next to a lady browsing her phone. I glanced at the lady and her phone, then I looked at the lighted area in the bus where the time and date are displayed and at other passengers. The bus slowly moved dropping off passengers at bus stops. One by one everyone sitting in the bus exited. Suddenly the bus passed through a forest area. On one side was a thick forest. On the other side, an elementary school. It was the Irving Weber elementary school. In the bus it was just me. How are you today, the driver asked me. I am fine, I said. It felt odd to be the only passenger in a large bus. Every body else has reached their destination. I had to sit for at least twenty more minutes in the bus to reach downtown. The bus rolled along and the forest area was left behind.

Bus Rides 5

One wintry evening at 6:08 pm it was dark. But it was not 6:08 pm when I reached the bus stop. I was at least 30 minutes early. The entire bus stop was empty. There were no buses and no people in the bus stop standing and waiting for the buses or sitting in the benches. But there were street lamps. There were round lamps shaped like globes and lamps shaped like old fashioned lanterns. The round lamps shaped like globes were spheres of light on a black post in the middle of the street. The lamps that were in the shape of lanterns were on the side of the street where the bus stop was. Usually I never come to the bus stop at dusk. So I don't usually see the street lamps lit. After around 20 minutes, a few people started coming to the bus stop. Buses started driving in and parking. Bus number 5 came and stopped in front of me. Bus number 8 came and stopped in front of me. Finally I saw a man who works in a book store I go to buy books and who I have seen in bus number 10. So I assumed bus number 10 would come soon. And bus number 10 came soon. The man who works in the book store got in. And I got in. The seats in the bus were florescent orange. I sat on an orange seat. I looked up and saw on the screen 6:08 pm. I looked out the window and it was dark. On Saturdays buses are not very frequent. The wait in the bus stop can be long. I have tried to go on errands on Saturdays. I have sat for minutes that seemed like hours in the bus stop. From downtown to the mall there is only one bus. At 5:30 pm I wait in the bus stop. There are a few buses but they do not go to Mormon trek. There are not a lot of people as in students because there are no classes on Saturdays. This past Saturday it was chilly and the wind was brisk and brazen. In the middle of February it does not have to be this cold. I walked to the mall. Inside the mall it was warmer than it was out in the bus stop. I stood at the glass door and looked at the bus stop. I looked at the leafless trees near the bus stop. They are all branches. The branches dividing again and again angular, asymmetric, gnarled and brown. The tree and branches are brown. It is difficult to describe this brown.

Bus Rides 4

Bus number 10 came to the down town interchange bus stop and I woke up from my meditation. The buses to coralville do not stop where the white buses with orange stripe stops. It stops on a street perpendicular to that street. There are three buses that go to coralville where the mall is located. Two of them go to the mall. One of them goes up to Iowa river landing. As I started using buses for all my errands I learned more about buses. If I have to go to Walgreens I could go in the bus that goes to Iowa river landing. If I have to go to the mall I take either bus #21 or bus #23. On Saturdays there is only one bus that goes to coralville and that is bus #25. Each errand each day was a small journey. The word journey itself has roamed through several different languages including detours through Latin and French to reach us as we know it today in English. The old French meaning of the word journey is "a days work." When we work we are journeying. This is such a complicated definition. How can work be equated with journey? In August I believe a pilot program was started by the bus administration. It was to do away with payment for bus rides.We could hop on to the bus and hop off the bus and not pay anything. This is such a good system. It feels like you are living in a rich country. But this is only in the white and orange buses. The yellow and black were always free. The blue you still have to pay. I don't know about the orange and black buses.

Bus Rides 3

Sometimes a whole bunch of kids from an elementary school get in the bus. All the kids seem to be from some other country. The kids outfits are the cutest. Pink leggings, purple coats, yellow smiley faces, and sparkly sneakers.The loners among the kids stare out the window. The bus becomes lively with their presence and chatter. My destination is always down town interchange. Down town interchange is a hub of buses. All buses come here. Buses are parked on both sides of the street. Bus numbers 5, 6, 8, and 13 in addition to 10 and 12 are a few I have noticed. There are innumerable yellow and black striped buses, and there are blue buses that go to the nearby village of coralville. Earlier there was a slogan painted on some of the yellow and black buses. The slogan was Changing Medicine; Changing Lives. Larger than life portraits of doctors in white coats and nurses in green hospital uniform are painted on the buses. These painted portraits smile at you from the sides of the buses. One day I was waiting at the downtown interchange bus stop. I was waiting for bus number 10 or 12, to reach me to the bus stop in the Mormon Trek road. It was then that I saw a different sort of bus parked on the other side of the road. This was an orange and black bus with swathes of red. This bus was perhaps huger than a regular bus. On it with white letters were written the words Renewable Energy and Creating a Sustainable future. Presumably the renewable energy buses do not depend on fossil fuels such as gas. They may not give out poisonous emissions like regular automobiles. The windows and doors of the renewable energy buses are not detectable. They look like a smooth composite whole. As I stared at the orange and black renewable energy bus even as I was waiting for the white bus with the orange stripe at the edge of a park full of trees I entered into a sort of reverie about life in a bus. It was the sight of the renewable energy buses that made me think of an RV. I have never been inside an RV but the idea of living in a bus--eating, sleeping, reading, writing, watching videos and studying in a bus has been appealing to me ever since I first heard about it during my childhood. In an RV the journeys are long. Innumerable kilometers are crossed while time elapses and days become weeks, months and years all spent in an RV. We can look out the window and see the vastness of the universe in the trees, forests, the huge mountains and the sky. In my real life there was school, home work, schedules, activities and here was a life style of being unfettered from all of these. No having to memorize long poems, write down things from the black board and memorize them at home and solve math problems. Instead we can sit in an RV and life becomes an unending vacation or a never ending journey. Outside is the vast wilderness-- forests of trees. But inside in the plush seats of buses there is tranquility to be found. We can celebrate birthdays in buses, play board games, watch movies or look out the window.

Bus Rides 2

The bus goes at a regular speed but it feels as though it is going at a leisurely pace. It does not feel like a roller coaster ride. It feels like a meandering drive through neighborhoods. If you choose not to browse your phone there are a myriad of absorbing activities that can capture your attention. On a panel above you see the time and date updated constantly with lighted letters and numbers. You can watch this. The announcement system is a deep baritone which monotonously alerts us about the name of each bus stop. You can listen to this. Passengers can request that the bus would stop by pulling a yellow wire that runs along the length of the bus. If we pull the wire the baritone voice says Stop Requested. In addition you can look out the window. In winter I saw snow covered trees in a white and brown landscape and slushy snow on the edges of roads. The ride from down town to the mall is long. As the bus careens it's way through the neighborhoods in coralville you can see the houses, the gardens, the flowers, and the porches. You can see trees and parks. The road is undulating and winding with gentle turns. I have seen ladies gardening, kids biking on the edge of the road, girls walking on the sidewalk and flowers that have seen better days. Wilting plants, Christmas decorations that the householder forgot to take down and has weathered and faded are other sights I have seen. When the bus leaves the neighborhood and enters an area filled with stores you can read the names of stores and stare at the displays in the glass walls. The other activity is to look at the people sitting inside the bus. Senior citizens, high school students, college students, hospital employees, and people who appeared to be from diverse areas of the globe are passengers in the bus. Their coats, bags, hair, and mannerisms can sometimes give you food for thought. Sometimes the idiosyncratic clothing help you play a guessing game with yourself. Shining African headdresses with maroon track pants, a man wearing bright yellow overalls scraping the snow in walmart, a middle aged woman wearing an embroidered cardigan, floral skirt and sneakers with a complacent face, an all American looking old lady with grey curls holding tightly to a walker. The African head dress could be from Zimbabwe, the yellow overalls could be from Germany, the embroidered cardigan could be paying homage to Bulgaria. Some times I would see high school students. Islamic students proclaim their identity by wearing the hijab with hoodies and sweatpants. Once I perceived, uniquely manicured nails belonging to a girl with a pile of brown black dreadlocks on her head staring mournfully out of the bus window. Once, a girl with pink hair wore luminous black shirt and pants with combat boots. She seemed from another planet and even her extremely white skin appeared luminous against the black clothing. On another occasion I saw a girl wearing a long sleeved grey shirt with jeans with hair as straight as sticks. On yet another occasion I saw a plump high school student wearing a jump suit and leather sneakers. Some passengers looked impoverished. Perhaps these were the ones who got into the bus with small metal carts filled with odds and ends, and crumpled plastic bags. Some were loud and cheerful. They greeted the bus driver with familiarity and affection. One such person was an elderly lady with short hair. She wore dresses and would say bless the Lord at intervals talking with friendliness to the bus driver. Some passengers were unkempt-- wearing baggy jeans and shabby jackets.

Bus Rides

I had shared a few paragraphs that I wrote about buses a few days ago. Here is a revised version. I wrote this in May last year. It is a long essay so I will post the entire essay in instalments. The pioneers travelled from upstate New York to Utah. This famous journey is called the Mormon Trek. It could be a coincidence that the bus stops frequented by me in a small university town called Iowa city are located on either side of a street interestingly called the Mormon Trek road reminding me of a historical journey taken by the pioneers, every time I go to the bus stop for any number of little errands. It is a good idea to call roads after historical journeys. Because a road is meant for a journey and life itself is a journey. The pioneers may have hiked, roamed, traipsed, tramped or trudged all the way to Utah more than 178 years ago. Apart from being reminders of historical journeys, going by buses helps me contribute my mite for protecting the environment. Each human choosing public transport instead of a car helps save so much valuable fossil fuels. It is only when life circumstances catapulted me into the world of buses that I joined the bandwagon of public transport users and in the process learned a lot about buses. What if I get to meet an alien and I have to describe buses to them. Here is what I would say to the alien about buses. Buses are huge automobiles on four wheels with seats inside them. Buses are shaped like an elongated box. They roll gently down the streets of the city I live in. In the US I have never seen a bus screeching down the street at breakneck speed. They do not race with other vehicles. Two buses roll along this boulevard called Mormon Trek which has flowering trees on either side. Bus number 10 stops on both sides of the street. Bus number 12 halts only on one side of the street. But it does stop in front of a nearby grocery store. There is a proper bus stop only on one side of the road. This bus stop has a roof and a bench to sit on. It's walls are made of glass. The bus stop on the other side of the street has only a bench. The bench which has a red heart painted on it is made of wood panels. The colors of the buses are white and orange. The outside of the bus is decorated with an orange wavy stripe that is painted across the entire length of the bus. At the back, the bus is grey and red. Inside some buses the seats are blue. There are patterns on the blue suede like fabric. In some buses the seats are green and grey. There are seats on both sides of the bus. There are two doors. One door is for getting into the bus. One door is for getting off of the bus. At the door which is meant for getting off there is a step. If you climb that step you reach a slightly elevated place within the bus. This is the very back area of the bus and farthest away from the driver. There are seats on either side that face each other. At the very back, there is a long row of seats. Sometimes a crowd of teenagers sit on this seat and talk boisterously. (Reposting with correction in spelling of the word instalments in the first para)

Cease fire deal between Israel and Hamas

A girl who topped an extremely competitive exam in India gave this advise. Study a small amount each day but study every day. I am sort of applying this advice to newspaper reading. I am trying to understand a few ideas about each story. I wrote around 20 points about the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. I wrote this during the weekend. I tried to watch some of the events live on my phone. All of this info is from cnn. First pause in fighting caused by Israel's approval of a long anticipated cease fire with Hamas. Phased exchange of hostages held by Hamas and its allies for palestinian prisoners. Israeli Prime minister has praised the deal but also said it would not move forward until Hamas supplied a list of hostages. The deal was announced on Wednesday. The deal takes effect on Sunday January 19. Two far right ministers in the Israeli cabinet voted against the deal. Dozens of Israeli hostages and 100's of palestinian prisoners. The Israeli defense forces has been preparing to receive the hostages and is preparing to provide medical and psychological support. Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv will receive the released hostages. I wrote a few more points but am just sharing these. Since I wrote this during the weekend this may be old news. Have not yet read the newspaper today. I hope you have a lovely day!

Buses

Here is an essay I wrote about buses recently! I would have written this between 2023 and 2024. Buses are huge automobiles on four wheels with seats inside them. Buses are shaped like an elongated box. They roll gently down the streets of the city I live in. In the US I have never seen a bus screeching down the street at breakneck speed. They do not race with other vehicles. When I started making buses my primary mode of transportation last year I did not know much about buses. I did not know which bus to take to reach me to my favorite haunts. How much money to pay for each ride? What was the mode of payment? Where were the bus stops located? I was ignorant of the names of bus stops, the bus routes, the bus timings and the bus system. In the course of the past one year I learned all this. Bus number 12 and bus number 10 traverses the main thoroughfare near my home at regular intervals. Both these buses go to down town which is a bus hub. Bus number 12 takes the highway and has a scheduled stop in front of Walmart. Bus number 10 made it's way through the road in front of the hospital. Bus number 10 stops on both sides of the street in the sense that it stops at the bustops on both sides of the street near my house. Bus number 12 halts only at a bus stop on one side of the street. But it does stop in front of a nearby grocery store. Only on one side there is a proper bus stop. This bus stop has a roof and a bench to sit on. It's walls are made of glass. The bus stop on the other side of the street has only a bench. The bench has a red heart painted on it. It is made of wood panels.

Pink Earrings

These umbrella earrings in pink were uploaded by me last year. I found these images in the internet. In Etsy I have seen similar earrings in pretty much every color. I like these earrings a lot. I hope you have a lovely day!

Gubernatorial

This coming Tuesday I am going to be saying the word in Toastmasters club. The word I picked was Gubernatorial. This is a word I heard a lot during the first week of November --after November 5 when the elections were held. While listening to election analysis I heard this word several times. This word is related to the state governor or office of the state governor. The roots of this word can be traced to the greek word kubernan which means steer and the latin word gubernare which means steer and govern. I hope you have a lovely day!

Chiffon sarees in 15 colors

These are 15 chiffon sarees in varying colors. They have no pattern on them. They are plain. They have a thin gold border. Chiffon is a very light and transparent fabric. I found these in etsy. These are not very expensive either. I love chiffon sarees. I hope you have a lovely day!

Saree Color I like

I think this color is very pretty. The cool thing about this color is that it can be worn in cold and warm weather. I saw a hoodie in this color in walmart and thought it was nice. And imagine a cotton outfit for warm weather in this color. It will look awesome. I uploaded this picture from the internet. It is a kancheepuram saree with lots of gold in it--a staple of special occassion wear for women from southern India. I hope you have a lovely day!

Table Topics

Yesterday I attended the Toastmasters club meeting.

I answered two table topics questions.

One question was how would you spend your day if you were a billionaire.

I said I would buy a ton of books.

I would buy new TV's for our family room, living room and kitchen.

I would buy new cookware.

I said I would buy everything I liked.

That was my response.

The other question was about strange neighbors or roommates.

I related the story of a Icelandic family that lived in our neighborhood while growing up in India.

I said that most people avoided going outside at noon a time when the sun was blisteringly hot.

If they had to do an errand at that time they would hold umbrellas.

But this family appeared to love sun bathing.

They just took walks at that time of the day and this seemed strange.

This was my answer but after the meeting I wished I had added more details to my answer.

To the first question I would have liked to add the following details.

I would spend a ton of money in the salon.

I would go to the salon every week.

I would join a yoga and some other fitness class.

I would buy a ton of plants.

I would buy all the plants in Walmart.

To the second question I would have liked to add the following details.

Most indians like to look fair and that is another reason to avoid the sun.

The sun in the early morning and late afternoon is considered good for you.

But the noon sun is considered harsh.

Of course, if there are necessary errands no one would hesitate to step out in the sun.

The strangeness in the behaviour of the icelandic family is their enjoyment of the sun at noon. They may have enjoyed tbe sun because it may be scarce in Iceland. Or they may have wanted a tan.

They would wear sunglasses and walk purposefully.

Also I would have qualified my answer to the first question by saying that our family is able to afford multiple televisions and everything else I mentioned in my billionaire shopping spree--it is just that we do not prioritize them.

Business Words

Yesterday I read the business section of the WSJ. I came across several terms I was vaguely familiar with but did not know exactly what they were. So I searched the exact definition in the internet. The terms I did not fully understand were government bonds, dow jones industrials, natural gas and asset based lending. Government Bonds: "A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments, and to repay the face value on the maturity date. For example, a bondholder invests $20,000, called face value or principal, into a 10-year government bond with a 10% annual coupon; the government would pay the bondholder 10% interest ($2000 in this case) each year and repay the $20,000 original face value at the date of maturity (i.e. after 10 years)." Dow Jones Industrials: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (/ˈdaʊ/), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexes. Many professionals[who?] consider it to be an inadequate representation of the overall U.S. stock market compared to a broader market index such as the S&P 500. The DJIA includes only 30 large companies. It is price-weighted, unlike other common indexes such as the Nasdaq Composite or S&P 500, which use market capitalisation." Natural Gas: Natural gas is a fossil fuel, a hydro carbon, methane and is used for heating and cooling. Asset based lending is when money is lent to a company based on the assets they own and not based on cash flows in business transactions. So even if income is low some companies get loans based on their assets. Assets work as a collateral. "With Asset based lending, a broad range of your company’s assets— ranging from accounts receivable to real estate and even brand names and intellectual property—can serve as collateral, unlocking needed capital." It is wise for everyone to know a little bit about every subject. A subject may not be our field and not be something we studied in college and not be something we have careers in but it is still important to know something about it. We don't have to be experts in that but just have basic literacy in that. I hope you have a lovely day! . .

Chocolate diamonds

These hoops with chocolate diamonds on them are from jcpenney.com. I uploaded these images into my phone last December. The first one is set in yellow gold and the second one is set in rose gold. I first learned about chocolate diamonds from the glossy pages of a fashion magazine. It could have been vogue or cosmopolitan. I have not seen such diamonds in India while growing up. Later in the jewelery department of a retail company where I worked in the mall there were a few chocolate diamond jewelry items. A girl I worked with who always visited to look at the jewelry said she loved chocolate diamonds a lot. She was on the lookout for a ring. I don't remember if she bought one. But when I see chocolate diamond jewelry I remember her. These hoops could look nice with brown outfits, copper colored outfits, gold outfits or orange outfits. I like chocolate diamond jewelry. I hope you have a lovely day!

Paintings of two outfits

This is the picture of a dress I painted. I saw a dress I liked in dillards.com. The dress is made of a very nice fabric. I think it could be organza from the way it flows. The colors are subtle and soft and delicate. There are purple flowers on the dress. There are green leaves on it. There are faint traces of yellow. The background of the flowers is a very light purple that could be described as lilac. Near the flowers the purple color deepens. It is a very simple dress.

This is another outfit I painted. I first saw a picture of a girl in bollywood wearing such an outfit in the internet --A vest with matching pants. I found a few similar ones in dillards.com. So I painted it. Both dresses could be worn in several types of occassions. I hope you have a lovely day.

Pink saree from etsy

Today I would like to share with you a picture of a saree I liked from etsy. I like the light pink color. The material with which this is made also appears to be very light. I like the silver patterns on it. I hope you have a lovely day!

Diamond Hoops

These diamond hoops are from jc penney.com. The diamonds are set on yellow gold. These are fairly large hoops. I would love to buy such hoops. You can wear it with lots of different types of outfits. I hope you have a lovely day!

Pheran

The state of Jammu and Kashmir is in the northern tip of India. It is a war torn and contested state between India and Pakistan. It has the Himalayas in it. The capital of Srinagar is supposed to be beautiful. I have never been to Jammu and Kashmir. This state is famous for house boats. A house boat is a system by which a boat floating in a lake is a house. During winter the kashmiris as the people living in jammu and kashmir are called wear something called a pheran. A pheran is a wool tunic with embroidery at the yoke. Also on the hem and edge of sleeve. They wear it over a salwar kameez. They wear heavy silver jewelry with it. There are many kashmiris in New Delhi. There are lots of kashmiri stores in New Delhi. They sell traditional kashmiri clothing especially pherans. If you walk down a busy shopping area in New Delhi every once in a while you will see a kashmiri store with pherans hung on the store front. They come in many colors. When I got my first job in New Delhi in press trust of India in my office there were women journalists who wore pheran during winter. I liked it so much I also bought one. My pheran was pink. Sometimes I just remember the clothes of India or clothes I used to have. I hope you have a lovely day! Here is a picture of a pheran worn by a kashmiri child that I got from the internet.

Newspaper

Hi all,

Yesterday I posted a speech I said in Toastmasters club based on the poetry of Sylvia Plath. However since we are still in the new year I thought it would be a good idea to say a speech with reference to the thoughts most people have in the new year. When 2024 became 2025 a new year is being born so why would you not become a better version of yourself.

When I asked myself the question how I wanted to improve myself I realized that one area I could improve is in reading the newspaper more thoroughly. I made a list of advantages I could gain by reading the newspaper.

Advantages of reading the newspaper:

23 to 24 pages of mostly printed matter arrives at your doorstep every day without fail.

We don't have to step out of our house to go to the library or book store. The reading material comes to our door step.

It is packed to the brim with information, facts that is presented to us without hype or fanfare.

It tells us about events within the US and outside the US.

It tells us about business news, political news, sports news, weather news, science and tech news and any earth shattering developments in every area of life.

Before starting your career as a doctor most doctors have to take an oath known as the Hippocratic oath to use their knowledge to heal patients.

Journalists have a similar responsibility.

Their responsibility to report about events as accurately as they can.

So all the journalists who write about political news, business news or sports news write accurate information from which we can learn about the world around us.

Reading the newspaper gives us an accurate idea of the situation in the world.

It helps us be well informed.

Being well informed helps us become better citizens.

Our choices are based on information instead of ignorance.

The aphorism ignorance is bliss is not applicable to the knowledge we can gain from newspapers.

Reading the newspaper helps us accumulate knowledge.

Reading the newspaper helps us empathize when we know about war or sufferings in different parts of the globe.

Reading the newspaper helps us understand that we are not the center of the universe.

There are other people with other viewpoints and other ideas and philosophies.

Reading the newspaper helps us be aware of problems in the world such as Iran's nuclear ambitions or exploitation of uyghur peoples in China.

Reading the newspaper helps us become aware of geopolitical issues, and contributions of great world leaders towards peace or prosperity etc.

Reading the newspaper helps learn about the latest developments in tech.

Example: What is an AI PC?

Reading the newspaper helps us understand the way the Constitution is applied in our daily life.

Example: The anti trust law and how that applies to corporate mergers.

There is so many more advantages to reading the newspaper. I shall try to brainstorm and post on this topic again.

Speech 2

continued from the previous post! The idea of waking up to a tomb could be a reference to an idea that the rival symbolizes death to the poet. The use of the word mausoleum by the poet could be an allusion to the primordial enmity between life and death.

Today I spoke in our local Toastmasters club about a poem by Sylvia Plath. The title of the speech is The Rival. Given below is the text of the speech. This is what I wrote about the poem. Today I am going to be speaking about a poem by American poet and novelist Sylvia plath who was born in 1932 and died in 1963. She lived for only 31 years yet during this time she made exceptional contributions to poetry. The author of several poetry collections, and a few novels she won the Pulitzer prize for her collection of poetry Ariel in the year 1982. The poem The Rival that I am going to be speaking about today belongs to this collection. Sylvia Plath's poems have been described as confessional, brilliant, full of angst and provocative.

Christmas 2024

I would like to share with you today a few pictures of Christmas 2024. I sometimes think I should have a scrapbook album for every christmas to record the time with family and how we celebrated. Going to the store, buying an album, printing pictures, and buying supplies for the album seems not an easy goal to achieve. So I just decided to gather a few of my favorite pictures just of the decorations and make a blog post of it so it will all be in one place. Some time in the future if I need to know how I decorated for christmas2024 I can just look at this post. I know other, more organised bloggers are already dismantling all decorations. I hope you have a lovely day!

Gemstone Rings

Hi, I hope your saturday was happy. Mine was extremely happy. During Christmas I uploaded these pictures of rings with colorful gemstones from JC Penney.com. These may look nice stacked two in a finger or so or rings in all fingers. I like gemstone rings.

I hope you have a lovely day!

A simple dress from Walmart.com

Hi all, I hope you are all enjoying christmas and new year holidays. I am enjoying the holidays. Yesterday I saw this sweet simple dress in walmart.com and liked it a lot.

Here is that same dress in another color. I hope you have a lovely day!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a lovely new years. On the Saturday before Christmas there was this massive sale in JC Penney. I went to jcpenney.com and uploaded images of all these bags. I don't know if they still are on sale. But I liked these a lot. Just sharing what I liked. I hope you have a lovely day and a lovely year!