Faststone Capture - screen capture program

This is one of the shareware program which I use very often for capturing screens and make changes such as resize, save in different format, rotate the capture graphics etc.

Anyone interested can find it at:
http://faststone.org/

Free pdf creation tool

One of the favorite tool I used for creating pdf file is pdf955.
It's a free tool and available at:
http://www.pdf955.com/

WikiMapia - web based map

Recently discovered a very useful site which provides very good source of information for searching places, and the map are marked with names.

Those who used Google Earth before would noticed that both uses the same satellite images. But they are different programs and I tend to like the way places are maked and named in Wikimapia. Plus Wikimapia is web based so without installing any program I can access the information just by using my browser to reach the site.

From the Wikimapia faq:

About WikiMapia

WikiMapia is a Web 2.0 project to describe the whole planet Earth. It was created by Alexandre Koriakine and Evgeniy Saveliev, inspired by Google maps and Wikipedia.

Try it at: http://www.wikimapia.org/

Time zone & world clock

Ever get confused with the different time zones you need to deal with?
How to find a suitable time to communicate with your counterpart on other parts of the globe?

Try checking the following two sites for time, clock, time zone information.
They have served me well, and hope they are useful for you too:

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/
http://www.timeanddate.com/

Document converting tool - Print2eDoc

Another great program for converting your office documents to pdf, or jpg, bmp, etc file formats.

The program is free for personal use, but you need to register so that you don't get the the line of message printed across the top of the page. And of course if you pay for the Pro version, there are more enahnced features, should you need them.

Great tools! give it a try at:
http://gnostice.com/index.asp

Mutianyu Great Wall, China - April 2007

Mongolia: June 2007

Not much traffic on the road , and only sparsely located gers.

We pass by some chalets in various colors (still under constructions) and from far it doesn't seem real ...

(stone site with flags)

An ovoo (Mongolian: овоо, heap) is a type of shamanistic rock cairn found in Mongolia. Ovoos are often found at the top of mountains and high places and at borders and cross-roads. They serve as both navigational aids in a country with few roads and fewer signs, and religious sites, used in worship of the mountains and the sky as well as in Buddhist ceremonies.

[Notes from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovoo ]

Bare hills, Clear water, green trees

Camels

the bare hills and the flat land

Visited a herder family and tasted some food stuff such as milk cream, yogurt, lamb soup, etc

Herder family

Risk comes from ....

Risk come from not knowing what you are doing.
-- Warren Buffett

Neurotic, Psychotic & Psychiatrist

"A neurotic build castle in the air, a psychotic lives in it, and a psychiatrist collect rent from it"
quoted from Dr.Alexander Elder's book 'Come into my trading room".

Matters of style and principle

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

--------- Thomas Jefferson

Right & Wrong

Its not about being right or wrong, rather, its about how much money you make when you're right
and how much you don't lose when you're wrong.
------ George Soros

Conversation is an art

Conversation is an art in which man has all mankind for competitors.
---- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Advice when most needed ...

Be Yourself

To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
~~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~~

Carrot or stick? It's the same…

Carrot or stick? It's the same… by ZDNet's Roland Piquepaille -- According to Californian researchers, receiving a reward or avoiding a punishment have the same effects... on our brains. In other words, the same areas of our brains are stimulated when we win a game or when we avoid to lose one. In fact, for our brain, both things are similar: it has to achieve a goal. Fascinating research!

Chinese proverb (1)

Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse; over a long time, you learn about the character of your friend.

True Knowledge

True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one's knowledge.
---- Confucius

Happiness

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-------- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Only few appreciate the taste of food

"Everyone eats and drinks; yet only few appreciate the taste of food."
........ Confucius

In a world of virtualization, should Windows host Linux or should Linux host Windows?

In a world of virtualization, should Windows host Linux or should Linux host Windows? by ZDNet's David Berlind -- This is actually a question that I was giving a lot of thought to while recovering from back surgery? Why? As you may know, I'm an insanely huge proponent of using virtual machine technology like VMWare's VMWare Workstation 5.5 on desktop and notebook computers. I've covered the reasons why, ad nauseum On the upside, VMWare [...]

Eye tracking Web usability

Eye tracking Web usability by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- User interface guru Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group is on the road, giving seminars based on a recently completed an eye-tracking study that indicates how users consume Web pages--such as where people start browsing on a page, whether they have banner and text link blindness, where users look for navigation, how they react to [...]

Logic vs Imagination

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
-------- Albert Einstein

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
......... Aristotle

Being right or wrong in a trade

"It is not how right or how wrong you are that matters, but how much money you make when right, and how much you do not lose when wrong."
--------- George Soros

Look into your heart

"Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."
-------- Carl Jung