It's Teachers' Day on September 5! So in order to celebrate its awesomeness, send us the funniest thing a professor has ever said to you. The three funniest entries will be put up on The VisTimes newspaper- with your name. Send... in your entries by September 10th as comments here or mail us at vistimes@gmail.com

by,
Manoj Varghese Mathew

Swine flu in India is spreading like wildfire, taking the toll to ten. Officials say there are currently more than 1000 cases of the H1N1 flu strain in India. Governments from all around the world are finding ways to combat this deadly disease. So what can you do to protect yourself? Stay calm and practice these 10 effective prevention tips.

1. Wash your hands frequently
Use the antibacterial soaps to cleanse your hands. Wash them often, at least 15 seconds and rinse with running water.

2. Get enough sleep
Try to get 8 hours of good sleep every night to keep your immune system in top flu-fighting shape.

3. Keep hydrated
Drink 8 to10 glasses of water each day to flush toxins from your system and maintain good moisture and mucous production in your sinuses.

4. Boost your immune system
Keeping your body strong, nourished, and ready to fight infection is important in flu prevention. So stick with whole grains, colorful vegetables, and vitamin-rich fruits.

5. Keep informed
The government is taking necessary steps to prevent the pandemic and periodically release guidelines to keep the pandemic away. Please make sure to keep up to date on the information and act in a calm manner.

6. Avoid alcohol
Apart from being a mood depressant, alcohol is an immune suppressant that can actually decrease your resistance to viral infections like swine flu. So stay away from alcoholic drinks so that your immune system may be strong.

7. Be physically active
Moderate exercise can support the immune system by increasing circulation and oxygenating the body. For example brisk walking for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week will significantly perk up your immunity.

8. Keep away from sick people
Flu virus spreads when particles dispersed into the air through a cough or sneeze reach someone else’s nose. So if you have to be around someone who is sick, try to stay a few feet away from them and especially, avoid physical contact.

9. Know when to get help
Consult your doctor if you have a cough and fever and follow their instructions, including taking medicine as prescribed.

10. Avoid crowded areas
Try to avoid unnecessary trips outside. Moreover, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

Courtesy: Yahoo

by,
Manoj Varghese Mathew

The symptoms of the H1N1 flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with novel H1N1 flu virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. The high risk groups for novel H1N1 flu are not known at this time, but it's possible that they may be the same as for seasonal influenza.

Emergency Warning Signs -
If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.

In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

1.Fast breathing or trouble breathing
2.Bluish or gray skin color
3.Not drinking enough fluids
4.Severe or persistent vomiting
5.Not waking up or not interacting
6.Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
7.Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

1.Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
2.Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
3.Sudden dizziness
4.Confusion
5.Severe or persistent vomiting
6.Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough.

Courtesy: Yahoo

by,
Manoj Varghese Mathew

Like a carnival, our college was packed with visitors, stalls, cars, posters and sign boards. Students eating and talking was the scene outside the SCIB block. One of the best events in the college the window display called the “Creative streaks” this year shows off the creative talent of the students. Apart from the loud music and noise there were more than a dozen of posters outside the block. The stalls had themes like the hard rock café, tribute to MJ, the scary house, the human intestine, titanic, Halloween, bike doctors and many more.
With a lot of expectations I entered the block not knowing which stall to see. The first stall that impressed me was the setup of “Nathaigoundaumputhr”, a village near Coimbatore. What I loved was not just the display, but how the students visited the village and planted joy in the hearts of its residents with their actions. The 3rd B Com CA, they spent a day there, understood the requirements of the village people and raised funds for the local school rather than spending more on the set up. I believe it was a brilliant idea and the implementation was amazing.
I also liked display about the tribute to MJ. His fan follower Shardha of 1st B Com highlighted his life and achievements. The British rule extended for 50 years left me lost in thoughts about how my life would be if it had happened. Brands in 60 seconds, a game about identifying brands were loved by all. Here the students tapped into one very important element, it was human interaction. Rather than just explaining points or playing slide shows, they let the crowd in on the fun. A similar approach was seen from the Stall by 2nd B.Com where the display features the working of an internal combustion engine and you are the fuel that goes through the various parts. The idea was amazing and implementation was decent. But it would have been better if they had added a bit more attention to detail.
There were many stalls that were very informative like, ways to save fuel, animal cruelty, ways to be eco- friendly, etc, but they could have been displayed in a more innovative manner, rather than just point blank explanation. The seven gates to hell by 3rd B Com compared terrorism, corruption, child molestation and other negative qualities to hell. Parthiban from 3rd B Com CS startled us with his knowledge on bikes when we walked into his display. There were many bikes and parts on display and attention to detail was simply amazing.
But when compared to last years show, one would notice that there was a massive dip in enthusiasm and quality this year. The teasers which create the eagerness to see was missing, the hype and excitement was low. Overall the quality of each display was poor, and there was a shabby feel to all of them. And most of the first year had displays outdid their seniors; their efforts were more articulate when compared with the latter. We did notice that there was one major fault, and it was that all the displays had brilliant ideas. But whatever the thought or idea , its implementation is more important. It’s the implementation that communicates and shows your actual talent, which was lacking.
Hope to see more enthusiasm, excitement and creativity in the next window display.

by,
Divya Chugani

Gossip is all around us today. Its more abundant than the air we breathe. It is created in seconds and , and it requires little or no reason to be spread. And as it moves on from vendor to vendor, the information receives more and more exaggeration ( or animation as I prefer to call it ), the characters become more colorful and the incidents more fictional. And at the end of the day, you have a story so exciting that it would put the plot of a Jeffery Archer novel to shame.
For today's teenagers, gossiping comes as a reflex. Most of us understand that its a bad habit and that it can result in co-lateral damage, but yet we immerse ourselves into the vicious cycle that it in turn creates. So you weave a fresh spell of gossip, you share it with your best friend, your “ Chaddi Buddy “, the one person in the world who is the keeper of all your little secrets , the one who wouldn't let you down even if someone put a gun in his mouth, at least that’s what you think. But even before you know it that supposedly loyal friend has already passed it on to his other “Chaddi Buddy”, who in turn swears secrecy on his parents, the God he worships and his new beige Labrador pup called “Scruffy”. So inevitably the message spreads faster than an epidemic. The results are devastating. You damage many reputations, you offend people, you make enemies. Your friends who once patted you on the back to comfort you, will now fear that you might just stab theirs.
But shockingly gossip is actually the seed of " Language" . Many anthropologists believe that language evolved because gossip is a more efficient version of the " social grooming "essential for animals to live in groups. Apes and other creatures solidify their social bonds by cleaning and stroking one another, but the size of the group is limited because there’s not enough time in the day to groom a large number of animals. Speech enabled humans to bond with lots of people while going about their hunting and gathering. Instead of spending hours un tangling hair, they could bond with friendly conversation (“Your hair looks so unmated today!”) or by picking apart someone else’s behavior (“Yeah, he was supposed to share the wildebeest, but I heard he kept both haunches”).
So mind your own business, love all and speak ill of no one. Yes I know I sound like your teacher from third standard, who also happened to gossip a lot. But the no one is perfect and life is all about getting there.

by,
Akash KJ