The Greenhorn and the Mule Egg

The Greenhorn and the Mule Egg

retold by

S. E. Schlosser

Well now, there was a chap that got real sick of working in the big city. One day, he quit his job, packed up his wife and kiddies, and hi-tailed it out to Kansas to become a farmer. Bought a big parcel of land with a grand old barn and some fields just ready to plow and plant.

Now, being a bit of a greenhorn, the poor fellow didn't know where to start with that there farm. His wife suggested that they get a mule to pull the plow for them, and the greenhorn thought this was as splendid idea. He set off down the road to visit their neighbor and ask him where he could buy a mule. Well, that neighbor was a bit of a wag. He'd sized up his new neighbor as a greenhorn in about five seconds and decided to have a bit of fun with him. "Well, you could advertise for a mule in the local paper," the neighbor said. "But if you want to do it the Kansas way, well then you should get yourself a mule egg and hatch your own. That way you can train the mule up from birth to do exactly as you want." The greenhorn's eyes got real wide. "I didn't know mules hatched from eggs," he said excitedly. "Where do I get one?" "It just so happens I have one mule egg left from the last batch I raised," the neighbor said. He went into the shed and came out with a round, hairy coconut. The greenhorn's eyes lit up. "How much do I owe you?" he asked his neighbor. "That'll be a dollar. And mind you, you've got to sit on the mule egg night and day for a week before it will hatch," the neighbor said, accepting the greenhorn's money and handing over the coconut. Well, the greenhorn ran all the way home and showed the mule egg to his wife and kiddies. Everyone was thrilled with his purchase, and they all took turns sitting on the coconut, waiting for it to hatch. They waited one week. Then they waited two. By the third week, everyone's bottoms were sore from sitting on the hard coconut, and still there was no sign of a mule. "It must be a bad egg," the wife said at last. "Better throw it out and see if our neighbor will give us our money back." As the disappointed family watched, the greenhorn took the coconut outside and pitched it into the bushes. All at once, a giant jackrabbit burst out of the tall grass next to the bushes and hopped away lickety-split. "It's the baby mule!" shouted one of the kiddies. "Catch it, Pa! Catch it." Well, the greenhorn ran after that long-eared critter as fast as he could go, shouting: "I'm your momma, baby mule! Please come back!" But he was no match for that jackrabbit. It darted here and there; it slithered hither and yon; and finally it slid down a hole in the ground and disappeared. The greenhorn fell to the ground and lay panting in exhaustion. A few moments later, his wife and kids caught up with him and pulled him to his feet. "Where's our mule?" asked his wife. "The dad-blame thing got away," said the greenhorn. "And I'm not sorry it did. That's the speediest mule I ever laid eyes on, and I don't aim to plow that fast!"

Latest Wisdom I learnt

People Love to be Flattered : So flatter them

Bad philosophy: Sell the the sizzle don't sell the steak

Plan: Read Learn to read.

If you ask yourself "am I happy?" , You are not.

Work with a list. Keep working

You don't get tired by doing work, it is the superfluous work that tires you.

Be a man of Integrity.

Be willing to pay the price.

Ask yourself , what do you want from the life and then ask yourself , what are you going to pay in return.

You can get anything you want so long as you help the other people get what they want.

Ambarish Morphing in to robin sharma

US Univquest

USA UnivQuest program will comprehensively prepare a student for admission to US Universities. The program will effectively cater to all aspects / requirements of admission to US Universities i.e. SAT-I, SAT-II (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math Level-1, Math Level-2), TOEFL and Advance Placements (Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C, Biology).

For students who aspire to study in US Universities right from an undergraduate level, this program is a real boon. It provides all the necessary inputs to the aspiring students, right along with his/her normal school curriculum. This ensures a totally stress free, comprehensive preparation for admission to US Universities that too without having to compromise on sports and extracurricular activities.

FIITJEEs Total Success approach helps its students to experience success with confidence in all major entrance exams. FIITJEE students have been consistently outperforming others in exams like IIT-JEE, Olympiads, NTSE, KVPY and also shine with glory in global base exams like SAT. Some of our achievers in SAT exams like Poshak Agrawal a Two Year Classroom Program student (FIITJEE enrolment year 2006 - 2008) secured the highest marks in the world (2390 / 2400 marks) in SAT. Following his legacy, Pranay Ranjan, a Two Year Classroom Program student (FIITJEE enrolment year 2007 - 2009) also secured the highest marks in the world (2400 / 2400 marks) in SAT. Also K. Sashi Gowda, a PINNACLE-Two Year Integrated School Program student (FIITJEE enrolment year 2007 - 2009) has secured (800 / 800 marks) in Maths as well as in Physics in SAT - II.

To help you in your Quest for admission into US Universities we have following programs which will help you to experience success with confidence

USA UnivQuest

4 year Integrated School Program for Admission to US Universities - Prepares for SAT-I, SAT-II (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math Level-1, Math Level-2), TOEFL and Advance Placements (Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C, Biology) :

The program will be integrated along with Classes IX, X, XI & XII

USA UnivQuest

3 year Integrated School Program for Admission to US Universities - Prepares for SAT-I, SAT-II (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math Level-1, Math Level-2), TOEFL and Advance Placements (Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C, Biology) :

The program will be integrated along with Classes X, XI & XII

USA UnivQuest

2 year Integrated School Program for Admission to US Universities - Prepares for SAT-I, SAT-II (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Math Level-1, Math Level-2), TOEFL and Advance Placements (Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, Physics B, Physics C, Biology) :

The program will be integrated along with Classes XI & XII

Admissions close on 8th April, 2010

Session starts on 11th April, 2010

For FIITJEE Centres offering this program, please refer to Program Availability Grid (enclosed).

(Copied from FTRE Brochure for complete details refer to the brochure available at fiitjee.com)

FIITJEE World School

Yet another milestone in the ever-vibrant FIITJEE story.

After having established itself as an icon of success and excellence in the sphere of preparing students for IITJEE, OLYMPIADS, NTSE, KVYP a strong need was felt to elevate to the next level. Next level, in terms of inspiring students to aspire for more and enable them to fulfill their aspirations.

This need also stems from the fact that :

* Even though the IITs are the best institutes in India and are among the good technical institutes in the world today, but they still are not among the best in the world. The current ranking of IIT (Highest is for IIT Mumbai) is 36 ( Source:www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-colleges/2009/06/18/worlds-best-colleges-engineering-and-it-universities.html1) in the list of best institutes for Engineering and among the all Universities the best is for IIT Delhi which is placed at a rank of 154. ( Source:www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-colleges/2009/06/18/worlds-best-colleges-top-400.html)

* No wonder, why most of the B Tech Graduates from IITs choose universities / institutions in the US for their higher studies.

* And no wonder why top most FIITJEE students – who otherwise would definitely be among the top 10 in IIT-JEE, prefer to seek admissions in top US Universities at the under graduate level only.

* Since last 4 years, FIITJEE has been providing able coaching to interested students of Ascent+, Supreme & Pinnacle School Programs for admission to US Universities.

* In fact, some of these FIITJEE students have been topping at the world level.

These facts germinated an idea in our minds. An idea to provide deserving students a platform, an environment, where their aspirations are not limited only to the IITs. Where they can break all the barriers and seek to make a name for themselves and their country across the boundaries. Where they can look for opportunities beyond IITs and actually aspire to go to the best institutions in the world – right after their schooling. However, this needed a paradigm shift in the way school education is handled currently.

FIITJEE continuing with its tradition of innovation and setting new benchmarks in the education domain has conceptualized and embarked onto the path of establishing FIITJEE World Schools for students of class VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI & XII. FIITJEE World Schools is a concentrated effort towards preparing students for admission to universities in the USA within the regular school timings.

Goals of FIITJEE WORLD SCHOOLS

*Preparing students for admission in US Universities - in all Science Streams, Engineering & Medical faculties.

* To create success for students in various competitive & scholastic exams in India and finally enable students to secure admission in prestigious colleges / universities of United States of America.

* Students will be prepared extensively for Advance Placement Tests (US College Board), SAT-II subject tests (US College Board), SAT-I and TOEFL.

* To prepare students for admission into colleges / institutes / universities ahead of IITs in the World Rankings

Needless to say, these students will, in any case be very well prepared for IIT-JEE, KVPY & Olympiads.

Initially these World Schools will be operational at Hyderabad from March, 2010 at the following locations :

1. S. R. Nagar

2. Dilsukhnagar

3. Narayanguda / Saifabad

4. Secunderabad

FIITJEE World Schools at Hyderabad will be affiliated to SSC Board – Andhra Pradesh (till class X) and subsequently we plan to introduce International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum also. The International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum is the most accepted curriculum for admission to US Universities. However, the students will have a choice to choose the board of their preference.

FIITJEE WORLD SCHOOL – The Ideal School

Curriculum: In line with the requirement to prepare students for a Global Higher Education Scenario, the curriculum will cover syllabi of IB, IGCSE, CBSE, ICSE & SSC Board – Andhra Pradesh.

Creating Global Indian Citizens: Recognizing the fact that schools need to play a proactive role in nurturing and developing personalities and preparing the students as global citizens with a strong grounding in Indian Value system, FIITJEE World Schools aim for:

1. Proficient & confident communication ability for each & every student.

2. Inculcating sports / exercises as a discipline for physical fitness throughout the life for each student.

3. Improvement of memory & IQ, mental, physical & spiritual well being, awareness & growth with intensive yoga & meditation for each student.

4. Instilling Indian culture & values for each student, not to learn all this as History & Geography but learn to live like that.

5. Developing personality traits (focus, effective communication, leadership ability, determination, strategic planning, pro-active approach, handling failures, stress, etc.) & positive attitude required for success. (This is what corporate sector tries to teach employees who are 25 - 55+ years of age and hardly respond to changes required) (This post has been Copied from FTRE brochure for complete details refer to FTRE brochure available at www.fiitjee.com)

Jaago Ray: Panel Discussion on Kapil Sibal's 80% on Pragya TV

Just now I am coming back from studios of Pragya TV. There was a panel discussion on the Kapil Sibal's suggestion of 80% cutoffs. I feel happy that I solidly hammered in some of the points from the article (click to read) written on this blog about it. (Practically pulverised the opposing views). Most of the panelists/callers were unanimously agreeing with the points. I am feeling very happy about it!

My thoughts feelings (or may be fantasies) about Grigori Perelman

I am a fan of Ayn Rand's philosophy and in particular her novels Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
The heroes in both her novels are the people who do their work because they simply enjoy it. Their source of pleasure is their passion for their work and reward is this pleasure itself.

When I read about Grigori Perelman rejecting the fields medal, It immediately reminded me of Howard Roark of fountainhead who rejected his university degree because his thoughts were different from those of his profs.

In Grigori Perelman, I see a mathematician who solved problems for pleasure and sought no other reward than the fact that his proofs of the theorems were correct. A person living in his mind and Absorbed so much in Mathematics that the pleasures of the material world seem pale to him. A goal that many spiritualists aim to achieve.

Considering this I believe that Mathematics can be spirituality. It could possibly raise one to the kind of ecstatic experiences and bliss that many spiritualists seek through yoga, meditations and following their Gurus. (Yet many a times the "bliss" keeps eluding them).

I feel that Mathematics can be an end on to itself. In Gregori Perelman I see a man who has a few simple needs and a Man living blissfullly based on certain axioms. I imagine Grigori Perelman speaking to me "My life is a continuous well behaved simple function independent (or perhaps nearly independent) of time dependent variables like money, love, fame, Recognition , Material Posessions ..." and "What do you need for life ? A little food to survive, A hygienic home to avoid sickness,Some money for food and medicines and a notebook and a pen.... That's what a blissful life is all about.What for should I need anything else?."

My tributes to the Great Mathematician ("Perhaps the greatest of the living mathematicians"). I am inspired and wish that some day in my life I will be in a position to begin to understand his works.

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For Abhijeet Mahabal: If you happen to stumble upon this page some day, I want you to know how much I admire you, even though I didn't express it in my college days! (You might have thought me to be a crank involved sentimentally in religeous philosophies, but now I am beginning to see your point).