Opening Honda Pilot's Rear Hatch with a dead Battery

The other day my wife called me at work asking me to return home immediately as our 2009 Honda Pilot wasn't making even clicking sounds when she tried starting it. I knew right away that little Nyle must have checked out all the switches in it and left a couple of lights on overnight. Well, the Mr. Know it all wasn't worried at all, he had stowed away a pair of jump cables away in the storage space at the back of Honda Pilot. All That was required was to go home, take the cables out, and jump start. What Mr. Know it all wasn't prepared for was that the rear hatch wouldn't open with a dead battery. Hmmmmmmmmmm............ not to worry, Mr. KIA knew there's always Google to go to for getting advice on solving any problem in the world, he had stopped following the well established rule of RTFM (Read The Manual). Well. any help forum MKIA Googled were filled with people complaining about Honda not having an option to open the rear hatch with a dead battery, and the jump cables could not be taken out unless the rear hatch was opened. Luckily, deep buried inside one of the forums was a comment about the solution being on page 93 of the vehicle's user manual, however the very next comment mentioned that the user manual showed how to replace batteries in the key fob. That dampened any hopes I had, but then I realized the link provided by the original poster was pointed to page 90 and not 93, and there it was on page 93 showing a two step process of opening the hatch without using electric power. It involves just opening a small plastic panel on the inside of the hatch and manually unlocking using a convenient lever provided by the wonderful Honda engineers. Unfortunately I couldn't find the posting again (will update whenever I find it again), however, Google comes to the rescue again and here's the link to 2009 Honda Pilot User Manual, you will find the solution on Page 145 instead.

How to attract success!

Success is something you attract, and to attract one needs to become attractive themselves. Here,  "becoming attractive" really means "to be prepared". When the opportunity arrives at your door or you arrive at the opportunity's door, you should be prepared or be attractive enough to let the opportunity to enter your life. More often than not, people attribute success to luck, being at the right place at the right time. One such example could be a chance meeting with someone who provided you an opportunity to work on a specific project that gave huge dividends. What people won't realize is that you had prepared for exactly such a chance meeting by polishing certain skills, working very very hard for long periods of time. And then, you had been to so many places searching for just the right person or opportunity to be available that suits the skills or resources you had acquired.

When Zig Ziggler said "Work harder on yourself than on your job", he was pointing towards  acquiring the right skills that would help you become attractive. For, when you have the right skills you can go out there and  knock at the opportunities' doors and one might open up for you and opportunity may find you attractive enough to let you in.

To get started with becoming more attractive, first decide what you want, or in other words set your goals.

• Decide what you want?
• Who do you want to meet? 
• What books you want to read? 
• Which places you want to visit? 
• What experiences you want to go through? 

WHEEL OF LIFE

It is important thing to write your goals down on paper. There simply isn't any other way to convert a dream into a vision, and convert a vision into a goal, and convert a goal into a reality, than to writing it down. Each of your goals have to me very very specific. if you want to loose weight, specify how much weight you want to loose, or what is your target weight. Next, specify when you want to achieve your goal, also referred to as the timeline. Again be very specific and set up an exact date by which you want to achieve that goal. Wheel of Life is a very effective system for planning out your life. For a well balance life, make sure you cover all eight spokes of the wheel of life. A balanced wheel of life will run smoothly, and so will your life, unless some areas are neglected or over emphasized. Without balance the wheel would wobble and may fall apart altogether. Specify what is required to score a perfect 10 on each of these areas of your life, and when do you plan to be there, and then plot where you are currently along the spokes. This will give you an idea about which areas need more effort and time, but it is important not to neglect any of the areas, even if you are ahead compared to the others.

Once you have your goals list prepared with specific measurable parameters (metrics) to be achieved by specific dates (timelines), you are 80% percent through with your journey. Rest 20% is sheer persistence and focused hard work. You will have bumps, hurdles and distractions along the way, but just like a sail boat, no matter which way the wind blows, keep adjusting your sails so that you are always moving in the direction of your goals.

Upgrade to a Millionaire

8  Principles for success, based on "I Believe" from the book "Millionaire upgrade" by  Richard Parkes Cordock:

I – I believe in myself.
B- Be passionate and want it.
E – Extend your comfort zone.
L – Lies and Luck don’t work.
I – Install goals.
E – Enjoy hard work.
V – Very very persistent.
E – Expect failure.


Set a Definite goal, describe the parameters to achieve, why you want it, set a time frame,  how.. and then be persistent, stay focused. Its like playing a match of squash or tennis. You have definite goals (scores to win), and all your focus is set to achieve the win, even in the face of defeat belief that you can win until the last point is scored by the winner.

20 Habits to loose weight and stay fit

I cam across a list of 20 habits that should help loose weight and stay fit. I will list them below and update the explanations for each item later on:

1. Eat an early dinner
2. Weigh yourself daily
3. Eat a boring diet (eat same food frequently which results in reduced intake)
4. Reward yourself with a healthy dessert (about 200 calories) if you stuck to task during the day
5. Read diet / exercise tips
6. Eat breakfast
7. Take snack breaks
8. Drink water (2 glasses before a meal)
9. Order a la carte (not value meals)
10. Choose whole grains (whole wheat products)
11. Eat spicy food (capsaicin in chilies = appetite suppressant)
12. Sleep between 6 to 8 hours continuously (not less not more)
13. Manage stress (cortisol releases = promotes abdominal fat storage)
14. Take the stairs, park away from entrance
15. Chew thoroughly (stop to eat, not on the go)
16. Walk after meals
17. Keep healthy food on hand (fruit / vegetables)
18. Learn to take a joke (laughing 15 minutes burns up to 40 calories)
19. Eat Proteins (fish / eggs / lean meat)
20. Avoid dinner distractions (TV, phone, etc.)

WINNING vs. Avoiding DEFEAT

Having read many self development books, articles, blogs and viewed a few videos, every once in a while I come across the concept of Attitude making the difference. Attitudes are basically reactions to situations, and our reactions depend on how we perceive a situation.

Attitudes are reactions to perceptions, and perceptions could be deceiving

 Zig Zigglar in one of his talks mentions about a lady who came to him and asked for help. Her problem was that she didn't like the company she worked for, she didn't like the workplace, the staff, the management. Zig asked her to open a note book and start writing reasons why she loved her job, she was dumb founded as she though if she liked anything about the company then she had no reason to come to Zig for advice. Zig, however, nudged her on with a couple of suggestions like the company pays her for the work she did, they provided her with a decent office space, they covered her health insurance, and soon she had a list of 22 items (if I remember correctly) that she liked [loved] about her company. Next Zig asked her to go through the list every night and also after getting up in the morning. Next time they met after a few months she seemed very happy and when asked, she said people in my company have changed so much and she loves working there.

Similarly, race car drivers are taught to drive their cars along an ideal path on the racetrack, and not to drive to avoid hitting the side walls, meaning, worry about where to go and not about where not to go.

Imran Khan, Pakistan's finest cricket captain who helped them win the world cup, says that when he joined the national team as a teenager, he was taught to play so that they don't loose, and the result was they hardly ever won. When he became the captain of the national team, he demanded from his player to stop worrying about what if they loose, and instead focus upon what needs to be done to achieve victory. He gave the famous "cornered tiger" speech to the team when they were almost out of the world cup competition and only had a mathematical possibility of making it to the next round. The team responded and did what they had to do and leave the rest on mathematicians to figure out if they can qualify. Pakistan eventually ended up winner of that competition.

So, it's all in the mindset or attitude of a person, about what he or she wants. Determine the desire, set up a goal or destination. Once that is determined, next comes self discipline and determination which can be defined in many different ways but ultimately it comes down to a commitment to oneself to achieve what is desired and not to give up. And finally, the most important step towards success is to take the first step, and then keep moving towards your goal, jump over hurdles, go under the obstacles, keep getting up when tripped but remain determined to achieve what you desire. Good luck!

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

We had been talking about Steve Jobs having pancreatic cancer and Apple pushing for iPhone5 and his authorized autobiography ahead of schedule so he may be able to present these before he moves on. And when iPhone 4s was launched it seemed like a non-event. The tech pundits started ridiculing the new team for being lackluster and not at par with launch events hosted by Steve jobs. Little did we know that they did an incredible job given the circumstances. Most of the Apple employees probably knew that the time has come for them to say good bye to an icon who can easily be considered at par with Ford, Carnegie, Wright brothers, and other great visionaries in history. Had it not been for Steve, we probably would still be dabbling on standard desktop computer with Monitor on top of a box and type writer style keyboards. The laptops would still be at least an inch thick, the MP3 players with non-standard, non-intuitive UIs, graphical OS GUIs wouldn't have been as developed as they are, we would still be struggling with trying to fit desktop GUI onto touch screen based devices, cell phones would not have become as smart and easy to use as they are, Android wouldn't have emerged and probably MS Windows wouldn't be what it is. Steve had a vision and followed it undeterred and the rest just kept trying catching up. Who else would have been able to get a cell phone vendor to not put their logo on a phone that they market? Who else at age 13 could've gotten free microprocessor chips from HP? here have been failures and mis-steps on his life, but he learned and kept moving forward. Even the way he left this World shows how prepared he was for future......

Screen Clipping Directly from Outlook 2010

This tip shows  an easy way to take a screen clipping and inserting directly into an email inside outlook. This is applicable to Outlook version 2010. While composing an email, click on the Insert tab and then click on Screenshot on the ribbon, you will be presented with several thumbnails of different windows open on your computer and you can select the one you want to insert:

You also have the option to select an area of the screen by clicking on Screen Clipping option at the bottom of the menu.

Whats Wrong With America's Healthcare System?

The US Healthcare industry sits at number 2 just below the Defense in the worldwide industry rankings. It also belongs to a select group of three or four industries that are considered recession proof, again defense being one of them. The cost of healthcare for a common person has escalated exponentially over the last decade and any number of reasons may be quoted for this increase, and primarily depends on who is asked the question. The provider will almost always point to the liability factor, which results in not only them ask for higher reimbursements, but also them practicing what may be termed as defensive treatments. If insurance companies are asked the same question, they would blame it on the providers who charge too much and who also do not manage  their patients properly thereby incurring extra costs in the long run. Patients simply make it look like the physicians bilking them out of their skins to maintain their luxurious lifestyles. Outsiders would blame lobbyists and pharmaceutical companies. Hence, there is no clear cut explanation and as a result no definite solution can be generated. Lets try and gather as many views fro as many diverse audience as possible and try to narrow down the issue at hand. Having spent almost a decade in this field and with significant experience on all fronts, i.e. provider, health plan, and patient, I have my own unique perspective, but will hold back for a while so as not to start a debate in support or against what I perceive as the problems in this industry. Lets try to be very objective in our analysis, and avoid negating or supporting views of others and instead present our own independent views.

HIPAA, HITECH, EMR -- half cooked soup..

With the recent push by Obama administration to incentivise adoption of EMR, a whole new cottage industry has blossomed. Everybody is jumping onto the bandwagon, with physicians focusing primarily on the incentives, the EMR vendors focusing on pushing their products and a whole slew of middlemen figuring out how to get their share from all this. Healthcare in general has been a slow adapter of technology, although you may find an occasional example of an individual provider taking the lead and being at the forefront of technology frontier.

There is no denying the usefulness of adopting technology to increase availability, efficiency, and manageability. However, the "incentive" and deadlines have forced provider to jump in relying on peer references, and pharmaceutical products like marketing tactics, which more often than not ends up as a sour pill which is stuck in the esophagus, that can neither be spit out or swallowed in. This whole scenario is being repeated all over the country, alongside another major "initiative" being forced by the administration, aka the ECO model. I don't doubt the intentions behind either of the two major initiatives, i.e. EMRs and ECOs, as the the objective is to make this industry more efficient in terms of performance, availability and cost-effectiveness. The problems emanate from a lack of industry-wide standard for the business models, work-flows and long-term incentives (remember the incentives on offer are much less the cost of implementing either of these two initiatives).

Let's take a closer look at the history of EMRs, in order to understand my point above. A 1000 ft. view of a doctors office operations 20 years ago would show a paper appointment book maintained by a front office administrator, patient walking in at appointed time, registering, waiting, a nurse preparing the patient for the doctor, filling out basic information and recording some basic health information, doctor walking in, going over the available information, checking the patient and diagnosing the problem and recommending/ordering remedial actions including  medications, tests, referring to a specialist, etc. Everything gets recorded in the patients medical record, filed in a colorfully coded folder and onto the medical record storage shelve. if a specialist or hospital needed the medical records, they would ask the patient to have these faxed over to them by the doctor's (primary care) office. Now, all this seems standard across any doctor's practice, however, every office, while utilizing similar forms/tools, had slightly modified version of this workflow. The modifications resulted from the personalities involved in the process, office layouts, patients/doctor's/staff demographics sometime forced certain deviations or creative processes being introduced. Once an office starts following a certain process, it becomes hard to make them change old habits. Whatever the flow, any person even with a basic technical knowledge, would consider this model a prime candidate for "computerization" or "automation". And that's exactly what happened. Either the providers hired programmers to develop systems (ancestors of present day EMRs) which after a while evolved in to Practice Management Systems, OR enterprising programmers decided to develop systems themselves and sell them to providers. The most prominent factor here which differentiates this industry (Practice/Medical Records automation) was the direct interaction between the end user and developer. End user defined what was required, and the developer produced exactly that. Even, when there was a pre-built program, it was modified to match the practice workflow as much as possible.Even if it wasn't a customized program, the market penetration was so low that an industry wide standard work flow wasn't developed or it never evolved. This is not unique to healthcare industry, as many other industries have so many disparate systems within different companies within them. But, the case here is that in Healthcare, the administration is forcing (with timelines/penalties) to implement a solution which might suit one practice and may result in complete disarray in another for a variety of factors that include personnel training (not comfortable working on computers, especially the old trusted front office administrator), management motivation (older gen vs. younger gen or gen x) etc. Come to think of a situation where every automaker in the country is asked to adopt a similar workflow management system. This will never happen, companies have their own systems, cultures, management styles, preferences and so on. The only thing that can be mandated in our auto-maker example would be to ask for certain standard reports, with the ability to authenticate when required. If similar mandates (reporting) are enforced ( we already have these), in healthcare industry, then all one has to do is to have the system vendor to make sure relevant information is captured and reports generated as per the administration requirements. Having spoken to a few physicians and working in this industry for almost 10 years, focusing on the technology and information systems, I can see a clash of three cultures here, the administration, the providers, and the techies. Each one of them feels they know what needs to be done and the others should conform to these. Taking everybody on board is also not possible. Every regulation goes through an extensive process of development, debate with concerned/effected parties, and final approvals. In our case the real issue is the involvement of silent majority who do not participate in the regulations development process for various reasons, but are the most important factor in successful implementation. Majority of providers or physicians are entrepreneurs and manage their own shops who are too busy to focus on anything other than looking after their core business.  The sheer number of healthcare providers/businesses make it impossible to "please everyone", but at the same time their represntation have been unable to provide adequate remedies to the core issues.

(TO BE CONTINUED...)

Principle of Minimum Required

The Minimum Required Principle (PMR) states that :

“to achieve a goal one need to set a specific measurable target, and then plan to achieve that utilizing minimum effort”

Let me clarify one thing right at the beginning. Minimum effort should not be confused with minimum standards. For example, to achieve an A in a certain subject at college you may determine that a score of 90% is required. At the same time to pass through that subject you may be required to score 50%. So “attaining a grade A in Applied Mathematics” and “passing Applied Mathematics” are two different specific goals and should be treated as such. This means the minimum required effort does not mean to “pass” the subject, but to “achieve a specific grade” can be treated as specific goals. Also, I may decide that I want to achieve 98% in a subject irrespective of what grade I would be given. So for each of these three goals (scoring A, D, or 98%) the minimum required effort would be different. I hope this analogy clarifies what minimum required means. My standard could be an A grade, while yours could be a 95% score.

Once a specific target has been set, next comes the plan “to achieve the goal/target utilizing minimum effort”. Here, again, minimum should not be confused with the standard definition of just enough, although that’s exactly what I am implying here but in a different sense. I am actually trying to say that to achieve a specific goal, our plan should not carry any extra baggage that does not contribute towards achieving that goal. So we are not putting in minimum effort, but in fact are focusing everything in our plan towards achieving the goal. I will go over a couple of examples to elaborate on this principle in my follow-up posts.

Just Do It...

Pick up and self-help book, read any number of online articles from authors of any era from 1800s to 2000s, you will find the basics of success to be the same, and every once in a while you will realize that all points, techniques are plain common sense and the only difference between successful and not so successful people is very minor. I have identified the most basic of the basic factors that contribute to a persons success, "Just Do it" or "Do it now" or  "Act now".. you get it, now is what you have and do what is needed at this moment. Making the choice to do the right thing at the right time is a skill which is most critical but once you start "doing it" you will get this skill working for you automatically. Agile project management, which is considered one of the more successful and effective methodologies of getting projects completed within shortest possible time and with least  effort, and then repeating to improve upon version 1.0 boils down to the same principle of "Do it now!"...