Spikes

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You see this ridiculous thing on the left side? The spike bracelet or whatever it’s called? Bracelet of spikes. You can buy them on Amazon or Etsy. I think this was the rage during the 80s as I saw many metal bands who have members wearing them and a bunch of fans as well.

A studded bracelet, alternatively called a spiked bracelet, is a wristband usually made with black leather and which has metallic spikes. It attaches to the arm with one or more straps, or more rarely with simple buttons. It is a usual fashion accessory worn by punk, gothic and fans of heavy metal.

So I had one as well, at the tender age of 9 or 10 if I remember correctly. But it wasn’t because of a rock or metal band that I wanted one. Oh no! It was because there was this movie called Fast Foward, which came out in 1985, and was a big hit among my friends and I. They were dancers and had a lot of breakdancers in it (remember break-dancing in the 80s?) and I was hooked onto this film. I watched it all the time and I saw some of them wearing one of these so I asked my parents to buy me one. Silly boy!

June 30: On This Day…

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On this day, June 30:

Rowing Across The Lake

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A Jew, A Catholic, and an atheist are rowing in Lake Erie when their boat springs a huge leak.

The Jew looks skyward, and says “Oh, Adonai, if you save me, I promise I’ll sail to Israel and spend the rest of my days trying to reclaim the land you gave us”.

The Catholic looks skyward, and says, “Oh, Jesus, if you save me, I promise I’ll fly to the Vatican and spend the rest of my days singing your praises”.

The atheist says, “Oh, guys, if you pass me that one life preserver, I promise I’ll swim to Cleveland”.

“And how will you spend the rest of your days?” the Jew and the Catholic ask.

“Well,” says the atheist, “I’m not sure, but I can tell you one thing: I’ll never go rowing with other atheists”…

My New Phone Is Here

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It’s here. My new phone, the Realme X2 Pro, which I bought online on Saturday via Flipkart arrived this late afternoon. I was excited, as always on getting a new toy, but waited for 30 minutes while I got things done.

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I unboxed it at around 4:15 pm I think and then setup the phone. There is no sim that I have put inside it. I will wait to get a new connection and insert that sim into my Oppo and then use my current sim in this phone. I do think it looks amazing.

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She is gorgeous.

Sheffield United 1 Arsenal 2

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Arsenal remain in the hunt for silverware to brighten their underwhelming season after Dani Ceballos’ 91st-minute winner took them through to the FA Cup semi-finals at Sheffield United’s expense. The on-loan midfielder slotted home a low, angled drive to win the tie in dramatic fashion, after David McGoldrick’s hooked finish just a few minutes earlier looked to have ensured extra time at Bramall Lane. The Gunners had led from midway through the first half when Nicolas Pepe had slotted home a penalty after Alexandre Lacazette had been fouled in the box by Chris Basham.

They had earlier had a reprieve when John Lundstram’s close-range header following a corner was ruled out because the scorer was offside. The home side also had another effort chalked off in the second half when John Egan poked the ball in after McGoldrick had strayed beyond the last defender. There was further bad news for Lundstram and Sheffield United with the midfielder having to be substituted before the break because of a shoulder injury. Arsenal also failed to make it through the game unscathed, with centre-back David Luiz – who had only just returned from suspension – limping out to increase their already lengthy injury list.

The win adds another fixture to Arsenal’s already crammed post-restart schedule but they will welcome it as they continue their pursuit of a European place. As for the Blades, there were positives to take from their front-foot display but they remain without a win in four games since football resumed – a run of form they must quickly arrest to ensure their otherwise impressive first campaign back in the top flight does not peter out. In a campaign that has seen Mikel Arteta only just begin to pick up the pieces of Unai Emery’s faltered regime, the world’s oldest cup competition is again their last shot at glory.

Last Relaxed Week

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Another light week working at home beckons for the next 5 days. The final week of a general shift or day shift as it would be called in this industry. The upcoming week will be a 9:30 am to 6:30 pm shift after which I will have 2 30 minutes calls. One with the remote team that is helping setting things up for the new process at Hyderabad, of which I am temporarily working for until August and the other is my regular team here.

One more week where it’s quite relaxing and then another weekend before I start training remotely a new set of hires for the next 2 weeks. After that I will support them remotely for 2 more weeks before getting back to training new hires for here. I am not very happy with one aspect of the training, mainly the tool that we are gonna use. In my opinion, corporate India is always like this. Trying to make things as difficult as possible for those who actually have to do it while people in decision making abilities just sit back and make you do more.

Shift timings are gonna be killer. 8:30 pm to 5:30 am. Or is it 8pm to 5am? I can’t remember. I will check my email tomorrow morning and check and see what it is. I don’t usually like working these kind of hours but I was told that there is no other way. I am getting 4 weeks of almost relaxed working situation so I shouldn’t complain I guess. It was nice while it lasted.

Realme X2 Pro – Bought!

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Well I did it again. I dipped into my savings and bought a new phone. Since I have been making some extra money I have been spending some of it on a few things that I wanted to get. I bought the chair, a bluetooth chargeable speaker, new glasses and this morning I spent Rs.32k on a new phone. Which one?

After a few days of research I realized that the Realme X2 Pro seems to be the best reviewed phone on several Indian websites for the around Rs.30,000 bracket of phones. I also looked at a Samsung phone but the processor put me off. Ralme X2 Pro smartphone runs on Android v9.0 (Pie) operating system. The phone is powered by Octa core (2.96 GHz, Single core, Kryo 485 + 2.42 GHz, Tri core, Kryo 485 + 1.8 GHz, Quad core, Kryo 485) processor. It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus Chipset. It has 8 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage.

Realme X2 Pro smartphone has a Super AMOLED display. It measures 161 mm x 75.7 mm x 8.7 mm and weighs 199 grams. The screen has a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and 405 ppi pixel density. It has an aspect ratio of 20:9 and screen-to-body ratio of 83.7 %. On camera front, the buyers get a 16 MP f/2.0, Wide Angle Primary Camera(3.419 mm focal length, 3″ sensor size, 1µm pixel size) and on the rear, there’s an 64+13+8+2 MP camera with features like Fixed Focus. It is backed by a 4000 mAh battery. Connectivity features in the smartphone include WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Volte, NFC and more.

Four Signs Of A Good Business Owner

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Becoming a business owner is something that not everyone wants to do is capable of achieving. It takes a certain person to be a business owner, and you also need to have the right business idea in order to get your company off the ground. Here are four signs of a good business owner to see if you have what it takes.

You Listen To Your Staff

A clear sign of a good business owner is someone who doesn’t have any trouble with listening. Being able to listen to your staff is important because it ensures you are taking everyone’s opinions in and you’re being present for them in their time of need. Being able to listen, rather than to simply talk over people is important, and it can help in many situations in business. By being a good listener, you’re showing respect and appreciation for everyone you deal with, no matter what their role or influence may be. Try to embrace being a better listener where you can, and if you’re finding it hard, then you need to acknowledge where you’re going wrong. You might be someone who talks too much that it’s hard for anyone else to get a word in edgeways. Try to pull yourself up on that where and when you can.

Willing To Take Risks

With all business owners that are successful, they take risks. From senior care franchise owners to owners of a retail stores, if you’re not willing to take risks for the sake of the company, then you might never grow or develop in the way you were hoping to. Risks are always going to be a matter of accessing the pros and cons of taking that risk and then trusting your gut. Some risks don’t pay off, but some could certainly do a lot for your company.

Good Communication

Communication is always going to be an important part of your business, and you must be willing to communicate effectively not only with your staff but also any suppliers or clients you have. Good communication is good to really pay off when it comes to getting things done, and sometimes a lack of communication can cause mistakes. These are mistakes you definitely don’t want to be having when it comes to your company because it could hinder how well your business does in general.

You Can See The Bigger Picture

Being able to see the bigger picture is important. Knowing where your business is going and where you want it to be in the next five years is an example of that, and so you have to be willing to adapt and change with the times. It can be hard to keep up with how much industries can change within the space of a few years, but it’s all relevant to stay reputable and within the spotlight.

Your business needs a good business owner and leader. That’s something that takes certain skills and criteria, so work at it if you lack it in some areas.

Southampton 0 Arsenal 2

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta remains hopeful that his side can qualify for Europe this season after they won their first game since the restart of the Premier League at Southampton. The Gunners had lost both of their previous two games, to Manchester City and Brighton, but Thursday’s victory arrests the slump, moving them up to ninth in the table. Champions League qualification looks unlikely, but with Manchester City’s involvement in Europe still up in the air pending their appeal against a ban for breaching financial fair play, Arteta’s side could well claim a Europa League spot.

The Gunners were helped along their way at St Mary’s by a dreadful error from Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy who faltered under pressure from Eddie Nketiah following a back-pass, allowing the striker to intercept his attempted ball out slot into an unguarded net. The win was sealed late on when Jack Stephens was sent off for fouling Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the last man and from the resulting free-kick substitute Joe Willock finished after Alexandre Lacazette’s free-kick struck the wall and his follow-up was parried. It was timely boost for the Gunners, who have struggled with injuries and form since the restart. The victory, though, was not undeserved. Prior to the goal, Nketiah had seen a close-range finish ruled out for offside and Aubameyang had crashed an angled effort against the bar.

Coming after such an impressive display in their first game back at Norwich, the result continues Southampton’s woeful inability to replicate their away form at St Mary’s. This was their 10th loss at home this season – equalling the club record for a Premier League season, set back in 1993-94 when their were 42 games in a campaign. With 10 points separating them and the bottom three it is very unlikely that they will get dragged into a relegation fight. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, in for the injured Bernd Leno, was solid, Granit Xhaka returned effectively in midfield and Nketiah and Aubameyang were typically lively in attack.

Full-back Kieran Tierney, who has been hampered by injury problems since joining the Gunners from Celtic last summer, limped out of the game in the second half. Also, Matteo Guendouzi was left out of the squad entirely. While manager Mikel Arteta stated that his exclusion was down to “squad management”, he also did not entirely dismiss speculation that the Frenchman blotted his copybook by clashing with Neal Maupay at the end of the Brighton game on Saturday.

International Package Delays

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One of the biggest problems due to Covid-19 related issues is the delay in getting packages and parcels delivered to you. Although local delivery, ie. India to India delivery is back to normal and has been normal for a while (for the most part though it does seem that some 3rd party sellers are still affected and cannot deliver to all parts of India). So for the most part Amazon India and Flipkart, which are the only two online websites that I purchase from, have been back to normal.

I place a lot of orders on Amazon India and a few on Flipkart. Since the sanctions of non-essentials were lifted I placed a few orders for toiletries like shampoo and deodorants and even some ointments plus some masks. Then I started looking for shirts on both Flipkart and Amazon IN and even managed to pick up a new 2 TB drive, earphones, some coffee mugs, bedsheets and just yesterday I got a new bluetooth speaker. So India wise we are all good, unless we go into another shutdown if the rumours are true. But where I am facing issues is my international orders.

As some of you may know by now I place a lot of orders for the dvds that I buy from Amazon UK and a few on eBay (either .com or .uk). Also I do get a few Funko Pops (my collection is now 7) that I place on them. What I was usually get within 2-3 weeks is now overdue even after a month. So far it is 2 of them but I have placed around 8 to 9 orders and I feel all of them will get delayed. I hope they don’t get delayed by too much longer.

What To Do If Your Flower Beds Look Nothing Like They Do In The Magazines

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We would all love to own properties, surrounded by delectable beds, displaying row after row of beautiful flowers. But the reality is that for most of us, a concrete driveway with a few scrawny weeds growing through the cracks is about the best we can hope for. How did things get so bad? And why is it so hard for the average person to create flower beds that look like they do in the magazine?

A lot of it comes down to knowledge. Flowers will pretty much grow anywhere around your home, so long as conditions are right. All you need is a bit of know-how for what works and what doesn’t, and you’re sorted. The problem is that the majority of homeowners never take the time to consider their flower beds. They imagine they “just happen,” but they don’t. Coaxing nature to do what you want takes exceptional skill. Do your flower beds look nothing like they do in the magazines? Here’s what to do.

Research Your Flowers

You can’t just dump a bunch of bulbs into the soil and expect everything to come out flowering beautifully. Just like people, plants are very different from each other. Species have their own environmental and watering requirements. Anyone planning on creating a lush flower bed, therefore, must consider the specific needs of bulbs they plant first. Some species are hardy and robust and can survive pretty much anything, including a nuclear winter. Others require a little more care and can perish at the drop of a hat.

Sort Out Your Landscaping

Have you ever noticed that the best flower gardens also have excellent landscaping? It’s no accident. It turns out that the lie of the land is vital in constructing ideal beds that drain correctly. If you haven’t already, you may need to hire a landscaping company. Experts can arrange your garden optimally for flowers, preventing encroachment or competition from trees. They can also construct things like raised beds, which are ideal or some species.

Choose Showstopper Plants

We all know how we feel when we see a genuinely impressive flower garden. It takes your breath away. But you won’t achieve this effect with any old flowers, though. You need large flowers that create an immediate visual impact, preferably for long sections of the year.

Add Focal Points

A pure flower garden is a rare thing. Usually, garden designers combine them with various focal points that act as magnets for the eyes. “Anchoring,” as it is called, can help to bring out the colors and textures in your flowers, creating an even greater visual impact. Modern gardeners tend to prefer outdoor pieces of art. But you can stick with things like arbors or fountains if that’s more your style.

Select Complementary Flowers

Complementary flowers are two or more species that work together in a single bed. Some flowers actually thrive more when placed next to species that attract pollination. Other beds can benefit from rotating blooms, as one species yields to another, providing color year-round.

Arsenal Being Arsenal Again

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Arsenal have confirmed David Luiz has extended his contract until the end of next season as loanees Cedric Soares and Pablo Mari will join permanently. Dani Ceballos, on loan from Real Madrid, has also signed a short-term extension to keep him at the club until the end of the 2019-20 season. It had been widely known when Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares arrived in the final days of the January transfer window that Arsenal hoped these deals would last longer than the remaining months of this season, elongated as that proved to be. There is an argument that that proved to be astute financial management and squad planning from Edu and Raul Sanllehi. Get Mari and Cedric in midway through the season to take a long look at them on and off the pitch and make an informed judgement from there.

If the players don’t hit the grade, all that has been lost is a few million in loan fees and wages. That is not insignificant at a time when finances are severely strained but better that than commit several years to players whose fit you cannot be sure of. Inevitably coronavirus changed things beyond all measure. Cedric has not started no games for Arsenal because he is not good enough or has failed to prove himself to Arteta. He is yet to feature because his periods of fitness have coincided with the lockdown. It will not be until the visit of Norwich to the Emirates Stadium on July 1, at the earliest, that he will be fit to feature.

Cedric may well end up playing more games than fellow January addition Mari, who is out until the end of the season with damaged ankle ligaments. The three month timescale could even sideline him for next. Arteta, though, was emphatic that his mind was already made up and that his decision would not be changed after someone took a blow “defending our club”. Just great! Our former rivals are strengthening their squad and we are being the same stupid Arsenal. What a shambolic situation this club is in. Run by spineless morons.

Medical Businesses Face Massive Challenges In A Post COVID-19 World

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It’s fair to say that the coronavirus crisis has put the entire world economy through the wringer. However, some industries are being impacted more than others. Here are the challenges for the medical world right now.


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Social Distancing

It’s clear based on scientific research and government stances that social distancing is the key way to beat the virus and prevent the spread. It’s also apparent that social distancing will need to remain in some form until a vaccine is readily available. This prevents challenges for any business or organization where people are in close proximity for long periods. That’s particularly true for medical businesses. From waiting rooms to examinations it seems almost impossible to effectively maintain social distances. However, there are steps to take here and many medical businesses are using technology to widen the gap. Examinations, for instance, are being completed through video calls. It remains to be seen whether this can provide the same accurate info as before. You can learn more about social distancing on cebm.net.

High Demand And Long Waits

Visits to the emergency room and the hospital fell sharply through the lockdown. This was likely due to people fearing that they would catch the disease in the waiting room or potentially when speaking to a doctor. Due to this, there are now massive numbers of people who need everything from check-ups to full treatments. It has led to massively long wait times for patients who need treatment. That’s why it will be important to maintain a high level of efficiency when running a medical business. Again tech can help here but now is the worst possible time to have team members that are not performing effectively. These individuals will need to be replaced without delay.

Low Levels Of Supplies

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis reports emerged that hospitals and medical businesses were lacking everything from PPE to ventilators. There were fears that hospitals were going to run out due to the expected massive level of demand. While this fear did not become a full reality, there was certainly pressure and many medical businesses that we’re seeing lower levels of demand donated their PPE equipment. Businesses like this will now need to work to build back up their supplies and ensure that they can provide the right solutions to their patients. Companies like revsuppliance.com will be essential services here to ensure that medical businesses are equipped with everything they need.

A New Lockdown

Finally, it is possible that we will be plunged into a second lockdown without much warning. Governments have already warned that this could occur at the drop of a hat if cases begin to surge once more. Medical businesses will need to be prepared for this and make sure that they have the right measures in place to deal with that possibility. This does mean that the business model needs to be flexible enough to adapt.

We hope this helps you understand some of the key challenges that the medical business industry is going to face over the next few months and even the next few years.


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RIP Joel Schumacher

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Joel Schumacher, costume designer-turned-director of films including “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “The Lost Boys” and “Falling Down,” as well as two “Batman” films, died in New York City on Monday morning after a year-long battle with cancer. He was 80. Born in New York City, the son of Marian (née Kantor) and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, whereas his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old.  Schumacher studied at Parsons The New School for Design before earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. He moved to Los Angeles, where he began his media work as a costume designer in films such as Woody Allen’s Sleeper and Interiors and developed his skills with television work studying towards a Master of Fine Arts from University of California, Los Angeles.

Schumacher’s first screenplay was for the musical drama Sparkle in 1976, which Schumacher had developed with Howard Rosenman before moving to Los Angeles. He also wrote the screenplays for the 1976 low-budget hit movie Car Wash, 1978’s The Wiz—an adaptation of the stage play of the same name—and a number of other minor successes. His film directorial debut was The Incredible Shrinking Woman in 1981, which starred Lily Tomlin. The Brat Pack films St. Elmo’s Fire and The Lost Boys were two of Schumacher’s biggest hits. Their style impressed audiences and their financial success allowed studios to trust him with ever-larger projects. He stated in the director’s commentary for St. Elmo’s Fire that he resents the “Brat Pack” label, as he feels it misrepresents the group.

Schumacher directed two adaptations of John Grisham’s novels: The Client (1994) and A Time to Kill (1996). Grisham personally requested that Schumacher return to direct A Time to Kill. Schumacher replaced Tim Burton as the director of the Batman film franchise when he directed Batman Forever in 1995. Val Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton in the title role. Despite a mixed critical reception, the film scored the highest-grossing opening weekend of 1995. It finished as the second-highest-grossing film of the year in North America, and sixth-highest worldwide. After this success, Warner Bros. hired Schumacher to direct a sequel, Batman & Robin, which was released in 1997. The film did not perform as well at the box office as its predecessors, and was critically panned; it is frequently considered to be one of the worst films ever made.

Schumacher decided to reinvent his career with darker, lower-budget fare like 8mm with Nicolas Cage, and Flawless with Robert De Niro. 8mm was entered into the 49th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2003, he released the controversial Phone Booth, in which he once again worked with Farrell. The film—about an unseen gunman tormenting a publicist—was also delayed for months due to the Beltway sniper attacks. It received generally positive reviews, earning a 71 percent “Fresh” rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Buoyed by Farrell’s recently found fame, the film earned $98.7 million worldwide.

He directed a film version of the musical The Phantom of the Opera in 2004, an adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s original stage musical. Despite mixed reviews, the film earned $154.6 million worldwide (Schumacher’s biggest hit of the 21st century to date) and was nominated for three Academy Awards, as well as three Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.

Schumacher directed The Number 23 in 2007, which was a critical flop but a moderate financial success. His next project was the vampire thriller Blood Creek, which was filmed in the spring of 2007 in rural Romania. It had a limited release. In October 2011, Schumacher released his latest film, Trespass. The action-thriller reunited Schumacher with stars Nicole Kidman and Nicolas Cage. Schumacher was openly gay throughout most of his career.

WWE Legend Undertaker Retires

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WWE wrestling star The Undertaker has received an outpouring of support on social media after saying he had “no desire to get back in the ring”. The 55-year-old, whose real name is Mark Calaway, said in a recent documentary that there was “nothing left for [him] to conquer”. His words suggest plans to retire after a career spanning three decades. But neither Mr Calaway nor the WWE have formally announced his retirement from the league. The Dead Man, as he is nicknamed, made the comments during the new WWE biopic The Last Ride. He spoke about his most recent match against wrestler AJ Styles, which ended with him burying his opponent and riding away on a motorcycle.

He said he would consider returning for one last match, but that “only time would tell”. Mr Calaway has been a multiple world heavyweight champion, six-time tag team title holder and winner of the Royal Rumble. He began his career with World Class Championship Wrestling in 1987, and moved to the WWE in the 1990s as a final member of Ted DiBiase’s Million Dollar Team. Mr Calaway is also known as a WWE pioneer. He was part of the first Casket Match at Survivor Series in 1992, the first Buried Alive match in 1996 and the inaugural Hell in a Cell match in 1997. Despite enormous popularity, however, he has not chosen to follow superstars like John Cena or Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson into movies. He told the BBC last month that he “had opportunities to do so” but had decided against it.

On Sunday, he tweeted a clip from The Last Ride and wrote “you can never appreciate how long the road was until you’ve driven to the end”. His revelation has prompted a wave of supportive messages on social media, using the hashtag #ThankYouTaker. AJ Styles said he would be “honoured” if their fight had been The Undertaker’s last. There has been speculation in previous years about his retirement. In 2017, after losing a match to Roman Reigns, Mr Calaway dropped his iconic gloves, hat and trenchcoat in the middle of the ring before walking backstage.

Although to be fair in the wrestling world retirements are seldom certainties so we might see him again.