Get Rid of The Cockroaches

Getting rid of cockroaches requires a two-pronged attack: killing the ones that are there and making your space unlivable for any newcomers. Because they are notoriously resilient, relying on a single spray usually isn't enough.
Here is a highly effective, systematic guide to eradicating them:
## 1. The Heavy Hitters (Chemical & Bait Traps)
The goal is to get the roaches to carry poison back to their hidden nests.
 * **Gel Baits (Highly Recommended):** Products containing active ingredients like **Fipronil** or **Imidacloprid** (such as *Hit Anti Roach Gel* or *Advion*) are incredibly effective. Apply small, pea-sized drops in corners, under sinks, behind appliances, and near hinges. Roaches eat it, return to the nest, die, and poison the rest of the colony.
 * **Boric Powder (The Budget Option):** Boric acid is a classic, highly effective stomach poison for roaches.
   * *How to use:* Dust it **very lightly** (like a fine layer of dust, not a thick line) in dry, hidden areas like under the fridge or behind cabinets. If it’s too thick, they will just walk around it.
   * *Safety Note:* Keep it away from areas where pets or small children can reach.
 * **Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs):** These are birth control for roaches. They don't kill adults immediately but prevent the young ones from reproducing, breaking the breeding cycle entirely. Look for sprays or pucks that list an IGR.
## 2. Deprive Them of Food and Water
Roaches can live for weeks without food, but only days without water. Cutting off their resources forces them to seek out your bait.
 * **Dry Out the Sinks:** Wipe down sinks, showers, and countertops before bed. Fix any leaky pipes under the sink immediately—dark, damp areas are roach paradise.
 * **Eliminate Nighttime Snacks:** Never leave dirty dishes in the sink overnight. Store all open food, flours, grains, and pet food in airtight glass or heavy plastic containers.
 * **Deep Clean Appliances:** Clean behind the refrigerator, toaster, oven, and microwave. Grease splatters and crumbs behind these warm appliances are prime feeding grounds.
## 3. Seal the Entry Points
Once you clean them out, you need to stop the next generation from walking right in.
 * **Drain Mesh & Jali:** Roaches frequently travel up through bathroom and kitchen drains. Use fine mesh drain covers or "cockroach traps" (one-way drain valves) for all floor traps.
 * **Seal Gaps and Cracks:** Use silicone caulk to seal gaps around kitchen backsplashes, baseboards, and where plumbing pipes enter the walls.
 * **Door Seals:** Install door bottoms or weather stripping on external doors to block them from crawling under.
## 4. Natural/Repellent Methods (For Prevention, Not Eradication)
*Note: These will not kill an established infestation, but they help keep them away from specific areas.*
 * **Essential Oils:** Peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and tea tree oil are strong deterrents. Mix a few drops with water in a spray bottle and spray around garbage bins or entry points.
 * **Camphor (Kafur):** Placing camphor tablets or burning camphor in closed cupboards can act as a strong repellent due to its pungent smell.
### **The Game Plan:**
 1. Deep clean the kitchen and bathroom.
 2. Apply **Gel Bait** in strategic corners and **Boric Powder** under heavy appliances.
 3. Cover all drains at night.
 4. Reapply the gel bait every 2–3 weeks until you stop seeing them completely.

Education Path

 Chat GPT : 


You’re right to notice that these are two very different ecosystems, and they shape how a student should be educated.

The “top engineering talent race” (IIT/NIT/BITS → high-paying jobs) is optimized for selection, while a small business background is optimized for creation and survival. Treating them as the same path is where confusion begins.

1. What the IIT/NIT/BITS track actually rewards

This path is less about “engineering” early on and more about:

  • Cracking competitive exams (JEE-style problem solving)

  • High consistency, discipline, and test-taking ability

  • Deep focus on Physics, Chemistry, Math

  • Delayed gratification (2–4 years of grind)

It leads to:

  • Strong entry into structured careers (tech, finance, consulting)

  • Early high salary if you’re in the top tier

But the trade-offs:

  • Narrow skill development during school years

  • Risk: If you don’t make it to top colleges, the ROI drops sharply

  • Less exposure to real-world money, customers, or risk-taking

2. What a small business background builds

A student growing up in a business family often learns:

  • Cash flow thinking (profit vs revenue)

  • Customer psychology

  • Negotiation and risk management

  • Adaptability and hustle

This path leads to:

  • Earlier real-world exposure

  • Potential for wealth creation (not just salary)

  • Broader skill set

Trade-offs:

  • Less structured learning

  • May lack deep technical or analytical foundation

  • Scaling beyond a point becomes difficult without formal knowledge

3. The mistake: treating this as “either/or”

This is where many families go wrong.

  • Coaching-only approach → produces exam machines

  • Business-only exposure → may limit intellectual depth

In reality, the strongest people today combine both:

  • Analytical rigor (from academics)

  • Practical intelligence (from business exposure)

4. From an education design perspective (this is your real question)

If you’re deciding “what to teach”, the answer is not choosing one path—it’s sequencing them properly.

Foundation phase (up to class 10)

Focus on:

  • Strong basics in Math + logical reasoning

  • Communication skills (writing, speaking)

  • Digital skills (Excel, basic design, maybe coding)

  • Exposure to how money works (very underrated)

👉 No need to push extreme JEE prep here unless the student clearly shows interest.

Exploration phase (class 11–12)

Instead of blind coaching:

If leaning toward engineering:

  • Do focused JEE prep but

  • Add practical exposure (internships, small projects, freelancing)

If from business background:

  • Involve them in:

    • Pricing decisions

    • Supplier/customer interaction

    • Simple bookkeeping

  • Alongside: keep math/analytical training strong

Post-school (18–25): where paths converge

This is where the real game begins.

The best outcomes now come from hybrids:

  • Engineer + entrepreneurial thinking

  • Business person + analytical/tech capability

Examples:

  • IIT grad starting a startup

  • Business family student building D2C brand using digital tools

  • Or even running a traditional business with modern systems

5. Reality check on “high fresher salaries”

A bit of grounding helps:

  • Only a small % of students actually land ₹20L+ packages

  • Median outcomes are far more modest

  • Business success is slower but potentially much larger

So optimizing only for that outcome can be misleading.

6. So which approach should YOU take?

A practical answer (not idealistic):

If you have a business background:

  • Don’t abandon it—that’s a huge unfair advantage

  • Add structured thinking + modern tools

If aiming for top engineering:

  • Go for it, but don’t ignore real-world exposure

A simple rule to decide direction

Ask this honestly about the student:

  • Do they enjoy solving abstract problems for hours? → Lean toward engineering track

  • Do they enjoy dealing with people, money, decisions? → Lean toward business track

Then add missing skills from the other side.

Bottom line

  • The IIT race is a high-risk, high-filter system

  • Business is a high-variance, real-world system

  • The future belongs to people who can think like engineers and act like business owners



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Human Being Interactions

1. Find the true certainity axis. By Prashant Yadav 
Labels:

Kshatriya Guru or The Warrior-Saint

 Prompt : We have Gurus like Swami Premanand ji as a pinnacle of Bhakti Movement in the current century, however, we do not see Kshatriya Gurus who are good at both Arms and Shastras anymore. Is this the reason of weakening of the Indian Spirit of people?

AI Replies :

"This is a profound observation that touches on the balance of energies—Brahma Teja (spiritual radiance) and Kshatra Teja (martial radiance)—that historically sustained the Indian civilization.

Your observation is historically and socially accurate: while we see a flourishing of Bhakti (devotion), the visible tradition of the "Warrior-Saint" or the Guru who teaches both Shastra (scriptures) and Astra (weapons) has receded from the public eye.

Here is an analysis of why this shift occurred and whether it correlates to a "weakening" of the Indian spirit.

1. The Historical Disarmament of the "Kshatriya Guru"

The disappearance of the martial Guru is not accidental; it was a systematic result of colonial policy.

  • The Arms Act of 1878: After the 1857 War of Independence, the British Crown systematically disarmed the Indian population. The traditional Akharas (which taught both wrestling and weaponry) and the Gurukuls (which taught martial arts) were dismantled or strictly regulated.

  • Shift to "Safe" Spirituality: To survive under colonial rule, Indian spirituality had to pivot. Gurus who taught meditation and Bhakti were seen as "safe" by the colonizers. Gurus who taught martial prowess (like the tradition of Guru Gobind Singh Ji or the Naga Sadhus) were branded as rebels or threats.

  • Result: Over 200 years, the "Indian Spirit" was socially engineered to view spirituality as purely passive and internal, divorcing it from the external strength required to protect Dharma.

2. The Dominance of the Bhakti Movement

You mentioned Gurus like Swami Premanand Ji. It is important to understand that they represent the preservation of the soul during dark times.

  • The Role of Bhakti: When a civilization is physically defeated, it turns inward to preserve its identity. The Bhakti movement kept the culture alive when political power was lost. It taught endurance, love, and mental strength.

  • The Missing Half: However, ancient India thrived on the partnership of the Brahmin and the Kshatriya (e.g., Chanakya and Chandragupta, Samarth Ramdas and Shivaji, Vidyaranya and Hakka-Bukka). In the current century, we have retained the spiritual guide but often lack the martial counterpart who executes that will.

3. Is this the reason for the "Weakening of the Spirit"?

To a large extent, yes. The imbalance has arguably led to a specific kind of weakness:

  • Misinterpretation of Ahimsa: The lack of martial Gurus allowed the concept of Astra (weapons) to be villified. Ahimsa (non-violence) was reinterpreted as passivity rather than the "restraint of the strong." A weak man is not non-violent; he is harmless. Only a man capable of violence can choose to be non-violent.

  • Dependency Syndrome: Without the "Kshatriya spirit" of self-defense and honor instilled by Gurus, society became overly dependent on the State (police/army) for protection, losing the community's capacity to stand up for righteousness (Dharma) instantly.

  • The "Soft" Image: Indian spirituality became globally exported as "stress relief" or "yoga for health," stripping away the fierce, transformative, and warrior-like discipline (Tapasya) that was originally central to it.

4. The Hidden "Kshatra" in Modern Times

While the traditional "Kshatriya Guru" is rare, the spirit is not dead—it has changed form.

  • The Sikh Tradition: The lineage of Guru Gobind Singh Ji remains the strongest surviving example of Sant-Sipahi (Saint-Soldier), where the Kirpan is worshipped alongside the Granth.

  • Institutional Shift: The "Kshatriya" energy shifted from Gurukuls to the Indian Armed Forces. Many regiments still maintain a Guru-Disciple-like bond with their traditions and deities (e.g., the war cries "Jai Mahakali" or "Bajrang Bali Ki Jai").

  • Revival: There is a quiet resurgence. Traditional martial arts like Kalaripayattu, Shastar Vidya, and Silambam are seeing a revival, often linked to spiritual discipline, though they haven't yet produced a mainstream "Guru" figure.

Summary

The weakening of the Indian spirit is not due to the presence of Bhakti Gurus, but the absence of Martial Gurus to balance them. A bird cannot fly with only one wing.

For the Indian spirit to be whole again, the definition of a "Guru" may need to expand back to its Vedic roots: one who cultivates Brahma Teja (knowledge/devotion) in the heart, but also blesses the Kshatra Teja (strength/valor) in the arms." 

-*-

Nietzche Life


https://twitter.com/QuoteNietzsche/status/1845860986894369041?t=mEzMhKWnxQO594mbmuy8aQ&s=19

Niche Website

The common theme among following is

"बहती गंगा में हाथ धोना"

i.e. Make hay while the sun shines. Point being, one needs to assess traffic or demand before even starting a project.

Karthik shares his small bet results.

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How will God guide you?

By religious texts? 
Religious texts when chosen selectively will not be sufficient, say scriptures. 

Religious texts that shows a God living life of a human is a guide. Or we can say, a text wherein we see a human becoming God by living a life of human. To remove element of Human from a God will make us prone to errors. 

With removal of Valmiki Ramayan and Mahabharat from homes, we lost know-how to deal with life as a Human. 

Too much focus on the God's side of God, too little on the Human side same God. It should have been reverse.

Quotes About Love (for Men)

  1. Women and children are loved. Not men.
  2. Love is the desire of goodness.
  3. Attention is to women, what achievements are to men.
  4. Men love idealistically, women love opportunistically.
  5. "You see women are warned about the dangers of men all their lives, that men will manipulate for sex, to be careful, to test him and be cautious etc. They have their defences up, even when they're naive. But who warns men about women? Nobody. Most learn the hard way - through pain."
  6. "If men were informed in advance that the love of a woman they are romantically involved with is conditional, and unreliable, they would be far less heartbroken when a woman leaves them."
  7. "Open for rich, closed for poor".
  9. Women are ungrateful. "Women in their hearts think that men are intended to earn money so that they may spend it, if possible during their husband’s lifetime, but at any rate after his death."


Why listen to the rishis?

Short answer is : For your own good. 

Technology has made dreams of an ancient-man come true. You can video-talk to someone sitting thousands of miles away, can travel at a speed unimaginable a few hundred years ago. 

Despite having these external facilities today, man may feel discontent with life. Or a man may not live life to one's fullest potential.

The rishis knew truth that the human nature will not change. We will always have tendencies of selfishness, competitiveness and fairness/justice and more; like anger, jealousy etc. They understood that *beyond a point* the externals will never satisfy us. 

Let's take one aspect of human nature, fairness. If only you have the ability to travel instantly to distant places; it will certainly make you feel more content. However, if everyone has the ability to travel in an instant, it won't make us feel more content. As is the case with most external technologies. The external advancement is insufficient for a fulfilling life. 

Therefore, it is foolishness; to deny the need of a system; that regulates the internal.

The rishis emphasized on the internal. With the knowledge of the internal truths, one can enhance the experience. The religion and the scriptures deal with this aspect. 

Listen to the rishis for your own good. 

*End


 


 

Shaping the Present

 We are moved by ideas. Idea must be transformed into actions to yield results. Too many ideas make your brain wander. So, I will be filtering a few ideas as per following tweet and make the boring work streamline untill I have enough time to work on something new that will align with goals.

 So I should work to systemise current workflow. Add products to new marketplace. Only once this complete I should look for other opportunities. 

Good thing is, the short inactivity in outer world (partial weekly lockdown) has made me think about myself. There has been too much distraction in form of social media, sugar and the usual work. 

It is useless to just think about anything new unless the current work-flow is not healthy enough to give extra time. 

Labels:

Sucker

An old note. 
Knowledge as property. 

"It stalls the process and turns you into a sucker". 

Found it scribbled. And its very good. Maybe Taleb said this, but I'm not sure. 

Knowledge shall not be treated as a property. Hmm.

Journal Posts

Monday, July 13th, 2020

 So, what the issue. 
No-one belongs to anyone?
Stagnancy? 
Not able to take the challenge of life?
Afraid of struggle ahead?

Point being, I can not share these things with anyone. There's no-one. 
Most friends do not wish for my progress. 

I am not afraid of struggle. But, this immediate requirement was not expected. Although I had idea, however; it came sooner than expected. 

This process of remaking everything, that I can feel. 
Looks like fortune wants me to learn the steps beforehand. 

I just need some time, to stabilize from this disruptive time in the market. 

I have been ignoring the time taken to prepare for monthly sales. 
Also, not able to research on new areas. 

Actually, this is developmental phase, that I need to focus on work rather than other things. This is what bothers me. 


Monday, September 14th, 2020

What is this desire of companionship? 
It certainly is there. We desire for a friend, soundboard, or maybe someone with whom we can share our thoughts etc. Or maybe only the miserable people desire companionship. The happy do not feel any 'need' of friends / companions. Their life is already fulfilled. 

Seneca wrote something like this, 'one should not be in 'need' of a friend, however; if he's there, it will make life more beautiful'. 

'Like one should not mourn over loss of a hand, however, if it is there, we will make good use of it.'.  

May be it is desire of love? 
 Which we know ideally turns into companionship with time in 'marriage'. This has been found to be best possible method for men. 

It's rare to have a 'real friend'. Probably we ourselves do not deserve that kind of friendship. Lacking in the 'integrity' ourselves. I mean, before blaming someone else; if we look closely it is very much possible that since we have not given ourselves to someone, how can we expect somebody else to give them to ourselves? 

Human relationships are a complex thing. 

Maybe, those who have mastered the art of 'happiness' or have a natural tendency to be happy; do not philosophize ! 

[Schadenfreude : Maybe enemies are a cure for schadenfreude. We need enemies.] 

PS : 
"Alone is a physical state.
Lonely is a mental state."

@ArmaniTalks

Alone is a physical state.

Lonely is a mental state.

Hearing is a physical state.

Listening is a mental state.

Broke is a physical state.

Poor is a mental state.

— ArmaniTalks 🎙🔥 (@ArmaniTalks) September 13, 2020

Tuesday, June 15th, 2021

Masculine Hierarchy of Needs:





Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:



Ok, it looks like that being a leader of a Tribe satisfies our 'need' of belonging & building. 

This need of belonging with fellow human beings is very strong, and probably the reason why most people are ready to 'follow' some authority. It's easier to follow & satisfying one's innate desire of belonging than being a leader who is by definition 'lonely'.


Signs you're on the right track:



https://x.com/Mach_Tactics/status/1907598762748555287?t=IJJQBUoHmgJunWG1kgwGXA&s=19

If you have a significant following or fame of any sort, there are going to be people who hate you.

It does not matter what you do or what you say; there will be haters.

Jesus preached Love and Peace, and there were still people who wanted to kill him.,


https://x.com/Mach_Tactics/status/1907598762748555287?t=IJJQBUoHmgJunWG1kgwGXA&s=19




Random Surprise - Chapter 10 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

I opened Meditations book randomly and got this surprise.

This has been one of very painful and liberating lessons of life for me. 

Kabir said : Sab paise ke bhai.
Nanak said : Eh jag meet na dekhyo koi

And thats truth. 

You just get people in your lives. 

The  thing I can-not comment on is 'children'. How they affect us. The emotional connect etc.

I also remember a monk that I met at Huda Metro Station, with whom I had a brief discussion. I forgot what I asked him, but the only thing I still remember is he said, "only soul is changeless, everything else is impermanent". 

Another monk I remember, who just said, "its true, you just have faith in any God (Ram or anyone else) and spend life, get married."

Also, as @fateh pointed out "people like you because how you make them feel."
Not the truth, not if you are a saint. 
No. 
"How you make them feel".
What can you do for them.

Will not touch upon dynamics of strangers, friends, relatives or family members.
**
18-07-2020 : Reading again today - "Nature bound you to them". 
**
15-12-2025
"From my great-grandfather: not to have attended schools for the public; to have had good teachers at home, and to realize that this is the sort of thing on which one should spend lavishly." - Meditatitons 1.4

**

Nuance


  • Specifics gives clarity. Generic talks can only give shape to vision. Always go to specifics after discussion of the general. Details. 
  • People who make suggestions or ask you about your own growth are your well wishers. 
  • Google, Youtube in particular looks like is giving preference to individual creators. (12-07-2020)
  • There are people who will not change their belief even if you provide a contrary evidence. They will keep adding observations confirming their long held beliefs. Unable to let go their time investment, ego investment etc to waste. 
  • Intellectual honesty makes one easy to work with.
  • Everybody wants to feel important.
  • Awareness of impact of presence/absence of father is a blessing. Some people just have no idea that this is something they are missing or have missed.
  • Negatives in life can be avoided ( by avoiding / observing experiences of others or by learning from others), however anything positive, one needs to experience oneself. There is no other way. Self-experience is the only way. 
  • Understand 'headache'. (This is not about head).
  • Just found out that the fewer words by @fateh have been condensed. It is good to have explanation or reasoning behind that one sentence. Example "reading widely builds discernment". We should know how, reasoning behind it, a little explanation. (Although, it looks self explanatory.)
  • Inwardly calm, out worldly taking actions. Take a few moments to separate yourself from everything external.
  • V. good interview. I'm learning to take things that concern me. I have no understanding of interest rates, options, stock market etc so will ignore. I would like to understand basic 'accounting' (not finance, you see. accounting). So, I take following things from his interview: 
    • Squeezes are followed by a glut. Things, aka events now happen at faster pace due to internet.
    • That all that I can recall.
  • You see, Taleb liked someone comment that 'people hustling on twitter all day might be better if they get a job somewhere'. He's right. He's right for his estimation of a caliber. What about people like me who would love to have a a side hustle paying in $ while I spend in INR? The minimum $ wage is better if I spend in India. 
  • Not that he does not talk about this. He does as in his books and somewhere in printed articles. I remember he mentioned somewhere a CEO who informed his mom about a shoe store that he opened. His mom's dream was to own a shoe store. Right there, his mom slammed him saying, it's not the same thing. 

Self-awareness in Women

After reading this thread by Illimitable Man, I understand that how 'self awareness' in women is quality that I have taken for granted in these times. Self-awareness is a good trait, if one has.
He spits gold on Twitter. Here is a thread on 'self-delusion' in women. The significance of this thread is not only in understanding women, also in human psyche. Being realistic requires effort and may bring one face to face some bitter truths. 

Here you go : 

Also, we take the normal for-granted. Only deviation from the normal towards worse is noticed. Note here that maintaining something normal requires consistent effort.

 I will give you a very simple example, clean floor. 
It's normal, we expect floor to be clean, forget appreciation, won't even notice how clean the floor is. But, it takes a daily effort to keep it clean, sweeping + mopping.

 In this age, same applies to human mind too. Forget about appreciation, we won't even notice a clean mind. For us, it should be default. However; its not. It takes consistent effort to develop oneself. So, we should be grateful for what we call normal.

 Let's be grateful for what we have. Appreciate it and see what you can add to improve it.

 Oh, don't forget to go through that thread, it will clear out alot how to identify self-delusional women or people. 

Why most dislike difficult questions?

Most people respond badly to difficult questions. You ask them a hard question and simplistic minds either discard the question or make an ad-hominem argument.

One reason is that its extremely hard for us humans to understand something that we have not personally experienced. (Maybe impossible in many-many cases).

Simple answer is, because it forces one to think. And its hard to think. We want everything easy. Counter-intuitive things requires more mental work.

It is escapism.

However, keep avoiding hard questions and you will waste alot of time. The real-life challenges require one to ask hard questions from oneself. If you are one who avoids asking them, then you need someone else to ask them from you.

You need questions
- To assess reality
- To have honest assessment
- To avoid difficulties down the road
- To stay on right track

Don't avoid them. Ask hard questions. Write'em.




Consistency

2020.
Six months have passed. I've not started anything new. Although a project is ongoing however, only time will show results.
Its the lack of consistency, lack of motivation.
Or maybe Analysis Paralysis.
There's always something the pops up. And the attention is diverted.
No-doubt it is equally important too.

 However, I do feel that there is lack of motivation. There's no goal. There is only a mini-goal which needs to be kept in the focus, needs to be reminded about. Ideally, it should not be the case. That should be first thing in my mind. There has to be momentum.

 This thing might be because, there is nothing going on. Only once when you do things, there will be momentum. So, this might be the cause. Surely, Chinese Virus has a major role to play in this. Things stagnated due to this virus. Not to mention competition from very own supplier.

 Anyways, I went back to a Quote from Taleb, on trial. He says,
"Trial and Error Means Trying Alot". 

Can You Calculate Risk?

Thought of the day:

My friend said, "but when the time comes, can it be calculated"?
That 'it' that we were talking about was Risk.

Don't we go all-in?
or maybe when the times pushes us to the wall.
What Daniel has been talking about in the tweet above, Taleb has termed as 'Convexity'.
Here is the point number two in his essay Understanding Is a Poor Substitute for Convexity (Antifragility)

"2) A "1/N" strategy is almost always best with convex strategies (the dispersion property):
following point (1) and reducing the costs per attempt, compensate by multiplying the number of trials and allocating 1/N of the potential investment across N investments, and make N as large as possible. This allows us to minimize the probability of missing rather than maximize profits should one have a win, as the latter teleological strategy lowers the probability of a win. A large exposure to a single trial has lower expected return than a portfolio of small trials."

"take many small safe-to-fail bets".
In order words, avoid 'ruin'.
However, as pointed out by my friend, do we really have a choice to calculate when the testing times come?

My opinion is, difficult times do test us and when we take action; we gain with resilience.
Ruin or not, we always have a choice.

Even when the ships are burned, we have a choice. Die fighting or conquer.




Man inspiring other men, giving nuisanced pointers : Fateh Singh

I've been following @fatehshernu on twitter. This man has provided solutions. Solutions to many question that had been not answered so far. Now making it easier to break this recursive loop. I wish I had got him earlier.

Here is one of the snippets :

Wonderful !

Its wonderful... again .. life is still wonderful. Trying to make it more interesting . : )