Harish Raju Musings

Exclusive Video of Virgin Galactic’s Test Flight

Nice Digital Photography Glossary over at DPR:

Glossary: Learn: Digital Photography Review

Srikumar recalled: “One quality in Sandeep which caught my attention was he always aspired to be a good leader. He led from the front in whatever endeavor he took up. He loved sports and was an excellent soccer player. He was straight, upright and would tell the truth on the face which made him stand different from others.”The only son of Unnikrishnan, Sandeep, was born in Kozhikode in 1977. He completed his schooling at Frank Anthony Public School at Cambridge Layout, Bangalore. After clearing the NDA examination, he underwent training at the Indian Military Training Academy, Dehra Dun, for one year before being commissioned in 1999.He joined Lalghatta Jatta, Rajasthan, and served in Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad and 7 Bihar regiment for some time and was stationed in New Delhi.

Deccan Herald - Home they brought their warrior dead

Surviving Mumbai – Information for emergencies in the Bombay area

(added at 11.35 pm IST) Here’s a spreadsheet of injured and deceased.

(added at 7.15pm IST) There are some useful helpline numbers here.

Leave a message if you’re trying to get through to pals in the city.

Mumbai Help

Everything you need to know about your baby’s development and growth. Know what’s next when it comes to baby’s behavioral milestones, growth spurts and more.

Baby Development, Growth & Milestones

How to know when a stock is really a bargain ?

* Step 1 Look at a stock’s forward P/E. This is the price investors are willing to pay for every dollar of expected earnings. Compare this ratio with that of the company’s peers and industry benchmark. The S&P 500’s forward P/E is 13.8. What you want to see: ratio lower than average but not too low (Matthew Sauer, a senior vice president at value-oriented Ariel Investments, is cautious about P/Es below 8).

* Step 2 Look at the trailing P/E, which is based on a company’s past earnings. It will show whether a stock was cheap before the market’s recent free-fall. What you want to see: ratio lower than industry average.

* Step 3 Check the price-to-cash-flow ratio. This shows how much cash a company generates per share. It’s sometimes a more reliable measure of value than P/E because cash, unlike earnings, cannot be manipulated easily by accountants. Again, compare the ratio with the industry benchmark and peers. What you want to see: ratio lower than average.

* Step 4 Look for stability. A company that isn’t highly leveraged (laden with debt) has a better chance of riding out the economic downturn. To find out if that’s the case, see the company’s balance sheet at The SEC’s Web site. Divide total assets by total equity. What you want to see: ratio of 2 or lower (10 or lower for financial firms).

* Step 5 Read the news. No matter what the numbers say, a stock could be a rotten choice if, say, the company is embroiled in a potentially costly lawsuit. Not every stock that appears cheap is a good deal. What you want to see: no obvious problems. Bottom Line: If a stock passes all these tests, you could be onto a good buy.

Money: 9 ways to tough out tough times - Oct. 8, 2008

For China to save the world with consumption would take a more extreme shift of behaviour than seems possible. And China’s famous exports, said Mr Rothman, will not be the driver many expect.

Despite its well-established image as an unstoppable engine of export growth, China’s economy is predominantly driven by domestic consumption and investment: last year, exports accounted for only 16 per cent of nominal GDP growth.

Chinese households are steadily spending more, said Mr Rothman, but are doing so from a low base and will take many years to reach the levels seen in the United States.

The only circumstances under which Chinese consumers could provide a short-term fix for slumping global consumption is if households were suddenly persuaded to borrow recklessly – what Mr Rothman described as a foolish leap into Western lending practices.

China won’t save the world from the financial crisis - Times Online

Tags: china, financial crisis

The 2008 contest attracted nominations from a wide cross-section of businesses, including restaurants, hotels and casinos.

Five finalists were selected based on exceptional hygiene, style and open access to the public.Ten of thousands of votes were cast at the program’s web site, which produced the following results:
1. The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville, TN
2. 21C Museum, Louisville, KY
3. Brio, Rockford, IL
4. The Signature Room at the 95th, Chicago IL
5. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
6. El Monte Sagrado Living Resort and Spa in Taos, New Mexico
7. Grand Central Terminal in New York, New York
8. Jerome Bettis’ grille 36 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
9. The Montville Inn in Montville, New Jersey
10. Iowa 80 Truck Stop in Walcott, Iowa.

America’s Best Restroom Award From Cintas

Tags: jeromebettis, grille 36, america’s best restroom

01 TIGER WOODS GolferHis absence from the PGA Tour this year has opened the world’s eyes to how powerful he really is.

02 ROGER GOODELL Commissioner, NFLUnder his reign, pro football rumbles on as America’s most popular, and profitable, sports league.

03 DAVID STERN Commissioner, NBAIn charge 24 years, Stern has expanded the league’s reach to Europe and China, but a scandal over referee gambling required some cleanup.

04 GEORGE BODENHEIMER President, ESPNLooking to strengthen an already mighty brand, Bodenheimer aims to win the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics.

05 DICK EBERSOL Chairman, NBC SportsPrime-time ratings for the Beijing Olympics trumped those from Athens four years earlier, and fans flocked to NBC’s Web site for streaming video.

The Power 100 - BusinessWeek

Tags: mostinfluential people in sports, business week

Under Buffett’s plan, Treasury would lend hedge funds, Wall Street firms or any other investors 80% of the price for distressed assets. Investors would benefit from borrowing at lower rates available to the Treasury. But the government would get first claim on the sale of those assets, which means it would get its loan back plus interest and possibly turn a profit. Only then would investors see a penny.”Now you have someone with 20% skin in the game,” explained Buffett.

“Believe me, I won’t be overpaying if I’m buying with that kind of leverage. And you have someone [the investors] to manage the assets to the extent they need to be managed.”Buffett also noted that the presence of the government in the transactions would raise the price of assets above the absolute firesale levels for which they could now be sold. That would benefit the banks trying to unload them.

Buffett: $700 billion bailout may not be be big enough - Oct. 2, 2008

Tags: WarrenBuffet, $700 billion