Ronald Hadrian's Blog, page 7
April 20, 2025
When the 80/20 Rule Fails: The Downside of Being Effective
Audrey Hepburn was an icon.
Rising to fame in the 1950s, she was one of the greatest actresses of her era. In 1953, Hepburn became the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award for a single performance: her leading role in the romantic comedy Roman Holiday.
Even today, over half a century later, she remains one of just 15 people to earn an “EGOT” by winning all four major entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. By the 1960s, she was averaging more than one new film per year and, by everyone’s estimation, she was on a trajectory to be a movie star for decades to come.
But then something funny happened: she stopped acting.
Despite being in her 30s and at the height of her popularity, Hepburn basically stopped appearing in films after 1967. She would perform in television shows or movies just five times during the rest of her life.
Instead, she switched careers. She spent the next 25 years working tirelessly for UNICEF, the arm of the United Nations that provides food and healthcare to children in war-torn countries. She performed volunteer work throughout Africa, South America, and Asia.
Hepburn’s first act was on stage. Her next act was one of service. In December 1992, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her efforts, which is the highest civilian award of the United States.
We will return to her story in a moment.
Efficient vs. EffectiveYou get one, precious life. How do you decide the best way to spend your time? Productivity gurus will often suggest that you focus on being effective rather than being efficient.
Efficiency is about getting more things done. Effectiveness is about getting the right things done. Peter Drucker, the well-known management consultant, once encapsulated the idea by writing, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”
In other words, making progress is not just about being productive. It’s about being productive on the right things.
But how do you decide what the “right things” are? One of the most trusted approaches is to use the Pareto Principle, which is more commonly known as the 80/20 Rule.
The 80/20 Rule states that, in any particular domain, a small number of things account for the majority of the results. For example, 80 percent of the land in Italy is owned by 20 percent of the people. Or, 75 percent of NBA championships are won by 20 percent of the teams. The numbers don’t have to add up to 100. The point is that the majority of the results are driven by a minority of causes.
The Upside of the 80/20 RuleWhen applied to your life and work, the 80/20 Rule can help you separate “the vital few from the trivial many.”
For example, business owners may discover the majority of revenue comes from a handful of important clients. The 80/20 Rule would recommend that the most effective course of action would be to focus exclusively on serving these clients (and on finding others like them) and either stop serving others or let the majority of customers gradually fade away because they account for a small portion of the bottom line.
This same strategy can be useful if you practice inversion and look at the sources of your problems. You may find that the majority of your complaints come from a handful of problem clients. The 80/20 Rule would suggest that you can clear out your backlog of customer service requests by firing these clients.
The 80/20 Rule is like a form of judo for life and work. By finding precisely the right area to apply pressure, you can get more results with less effort. It’s a great strategy, and I have used it many times.
But there is a downside to this approach, as well, and it is often overlooked. To understand this pitfall, we return to Audrey Hepburn.
The post When the 80/20 Rule Fails: The Downside of Being Effective first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov on How to Build Confidence
Garry Kasparov and his long-time rival Anatoly Karpov—two of the greatest chess players of all-time—took their respective seats around the chess board. The 1990 World Chess Championship was about to begin.
The two men would play 24 games to decide the champion with the highest scoring player being declared the World Chess Champion. In total, the match would stretch for three months with the first 12 games taking place in New York and the final 12 games being played in Lyon, France.
Kasparov started off well, but soon began to make mistakes. He lost the seventh game and let multiple victories slip away during the first half of the tournament. After the first 12 games, the two men left New York with the match tied at 6-6. The New York Times reported that “Mr. Kasparov had lost confidence and grown nervous in New York.”
If Kasparov was going to retain his title as the best in the world, it was going to take everything he had.
“Playing Kasparov Chess”Josh Waitzkin was a chess prodigy as a child and won multiple U.S. Junior Championships before the age of 10. Along the way, Waitzkin and his father had the opportunity to connect with Garry Kasparov and discuss chess strategy with him. In particular, they learned how Kasparov dealt with remarkably difficult matches like the one he faced against Karpov in the 1990 World Chess Championship.
Waitzkin shares the story in his book, The Art of Learning (audiobook).
Kasparov was a fiercely aggressive chess player who thrived on energy and confidence. My father wrote a book called Mortal Games about Garry, and during the years surrounding the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov match, we both spent quite a lot of time with him.
At one point, after Kasparov had lost a big game and was feeling dark and fragile, my father asked Garry how he would handle his lack of confidence in the next game. Garry responded that he would try to play the chess moves that he would have played if he were feeling confident. He would pretend to feel confident, and hopefully trigger the state.
Kasparov was an intimidator over the board. Everyone in the chess world was afraid of Garry and he fed on that reality. If Garry bristled at the chessboard, opponents would wither. So if Garry was feeling bad, but puffed up his chest, made aggressive moves, and appeared to be the manifestation of Confidence itself, then opponents would become unsettled. Step by step, Garry would feed off his own chess moves, off the created position, and off his opponent’s building fear, until soon enough the confidence would become real and Garry would be in flow…
He was not being artificial. Garry was triggering his zone by playing Kasparov chess.
—Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning
When the second half of the World Chess Championship began in Lyon, France, Kasparov forced himself to play aggressive. He took the lead by winning the 16th game. With his confidence building, he rattled off decisive wins in the 18th and 20th games as well. When it was all said and done, Kasparov lost only two of the final 12 games and retained his title as World Chess Champion.
He would continue to hold the title for another 10 years.
“Fake It Until You Become It”It can be easy to view performance as a one-way street. We often hear about a physically gifted athlete who underperforms on the field or a smart student who flounders in the classroom. The typical narrative about underachievers is that if they could just “get their head right” and develop the correct “mental attitude” then they would perform at the top of their game.
There is no doubt that your mindset and your performance are connected in some way. But this connection works both ways. A confident and positive mindset can be both the cause of your actions and the result of them. The link between physical performance and mental attitude is a two-way street.
Confidence is often the result of displaying your ability. This is why Garry Kasparov’s method of playing as if he felt confident could lead to actual confidence. Kasparov was letting his actions inspire his beliefs.
These aren’t just feel-good notions or fluffy self-help ideas. There is hard science proving the link between behavior and confidence. Amy Cuddy, a Harvard researcher who studies body language, has shown through her groundbreaking research that simply standing in more confident poses can increase confidence and decrease anxiety.
Cuddy’s research subjects experienced actual biological changes in their hormone production including increased testosterone levels (which is linked to confidence) and decreased cortisol levels (which is linked to stress and anxiety). These findings go beyond the popular fake it until you make it philosophy. According to Cuddy, you can “fake it until you become it.”
The post World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov on How to Build Confidence first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
Justin Welsh worked crazy hours
Justin Welsh worked crazy hours
Then one day burnt out.
He got hospitalised.
Then he realised.
Why am I working so hard for company that would hire another dude in a matter of hours.
The light bulbs brightened.
He wrote twice on linkedin.
For years sharing
Then shared his wisdom in a product.
Sold in millions.
Now
— Works approx 2 hours.
— Works out with his wife.
— No boss
— One person business rocks.
Most of all.
Financial freedom
Time Freedom
Purpose driven.
The moral
Start today while in your job.
When they send you out.
You can provide others a job.
The post Justin Welsh worked crazy hours first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
April 18, 2025
NET TEST 2025-3
This test contains 15 multiple-choice questions based on British literature from the Renaissance to the Restoration period.
Please enter your name to begin:
Start Test1. Who is often referred to as the “Father of English Poetry”?
A) William Shakespeare B) Geoffrey Chaucer C) John Milton D) Edmund Spenser2. Which of these works was written by Edmund Spenser?
A) Paradise Lost B) Volpone C) The Faerie Queene D) Astrophil and Stella3. Who among these is NOT considered a Metaphysical Poet?
A) John Donne B) George Herbert C) William Shakespeare D) Andrew Marvell4. Which of these plays is NOT attributed to William Shakespeare?
A) Macbeth B) The Alchemist C) Othello D) King Lear5. Sir Philip Sidney is known for his sonnet sequence titled:
A) Amoretti B) Astrophil and Stella C) Holy Sonnets D) Idea6. Francis Bacon is known for his contribution to which literary form?
A) Drama B) Poetry C) Essay D) Novel7. John Donne’s poetry is characterized by:
A) Pastoral themes and simple language B) Conceits and paradoxes C) Classical allusions and epic form D) Religious devotion only8. Which epic poem did John Milton write?
A) Paradise Lost B) The Faerie Queene C) The Canterbury Tales D) Beowulf9. The Restoration Period in English literature began in:
A) 1600 B) 1660 C) 1700 D) 155810. William Congreve is best known for which comedy?
A) The Country Wife B) The Way of the World C) The Beggar’s Opera D) Volpone11. John Bunyan’s most famous work is:
A) Paradise Lost B) The Pilgrim’s Progress C) Utopia D) Gulliver’s Travels12. George Etherege is associated with which literary genre?
A) Restoration Comedy B) Epic Poetry C) Metaphysical Poetry D) Gothic Novel13. The sonnet form that Shakespeare predominantly used consisted of:
A) Three quatrains and a couplet B) An octave and a sestet C) Four quatrains D) Two sestets14. Which of these is a characteristic feature of Restoration comedy?
A) Moral didacticism B) Witty dialogue and satire of social manners C) Religious themes D) Tragic endings15. “A Defence of Poetry” was written by:
A) John Milton B) Sir Philip Sidney C) Francis Bacon D) Edmund Spenser Submit Test Test Results Answer Key Take Test Again // Define correct answers const correctAnswers = { q1: "B", // Geoffrey Chaucer q2: "C", // The Faerie Queene q3: "C", // William Shakespeare q4: "B", // The Alchemist q5: "B", // Astrophil and Stella q6: "C", // Essay q7: "B", // Conceits and paradoxes q8: "A", // Paradise Lost q9: "B", // 1660 q10: "B", // The Way of the World q11: "B", // The Pilgrim's Progress q12: "A", // Restoration Comedy q13: "A", // Three quatrains and a couplet q14: "B", // Witty dialogue and satire of social manners q15: "B" // Sir Philip Sidney }; // Map answers to their text const answerText = { q1: { A: "William Shakespeare", B: "Geoffrey Chaucer", C: "John Milton", D: "Edmund Spenser" }, q2: { A: "Paradise Lost", B: "Volpone", C: "The Faerie Queene", D: "Astrophil and Stella" }, q3: { A: "John Donne", B: "George Herbert", C: "William Shakespeare", D: "Andrew Marvell" }, q4: { A: "Macbeth", B: "The Alchemist", C: "Othello", D: "King Lear" }, q5: { A: "Amoretti", B: "Astrophil and Stella", C: "Holy Sonnets", D: "Idea" }, q6: { A: "Drama", B: "Poetry", C: "Essay", D: "Novel" }, q7: { A: "Pastoral themes and simple language", B: "Conceits and paradoxes", C: "Classical allusions and epic form", D: "Religious devotion only" }, q8: { A: "Paradise Lost", B: "The Faerie Queene", C: "The Canterbury Tales", D: "Beowulf" }, q9: { A: "1600", B: "1660", C: "1700", D: "1558" }, q10: { A: "The Country Wife", B: "The Way of the World", C: "The Beggar's Opera", D: "Volpone" }, q11: { A: "Paradise Lost", B: "The Pilgrim's Progress", C: "Utopia", D: "Gulliver's Travels" }, q12: { A: "Restoration Comedy", B: "Epic Poetry", C: "Metaphysical Poetry", D: "Gothic Novel" }, q13: { A: "Three quatrains and a couplet", B: "An octave and a sestet", C: "Four quatrains", D: "Two sestets" }, q14: { A: "Moral didacticism", B: "Witty dialogue and satire of social manners", C: "Religious themes", D: "Tragic endings" }, q15: { A: "John Milton", B: "Sir Philip Sidney", C: "Francis Bacon", D: "Edmund Spenser" } }; // Question descriptions for the answer key const questionText = { q1: "Who is often referred to as the 'Father of English Poetry'?", q2: "Which of these works was written by Edmund Spenser?", q3: "Who among these is NOT considered a Metaphysical Poet?", q4: "Which of these plays is NOT attributed to William Shakespeare?", q5: "Sir Philip Sidney is known for his sonnet sequence titled:", q6: "Francis Bacon is known for his contribution to which literary form?", q7: "John Donne's poetry is characterized by:", q8: "Which epic poem did John Milton write?", q9: "The Restoration Period in English literature began in:", q10: "William Congreve is best known for which comedy?", q11: "John Bunyan's most famous work is:", q12: "George Etherege is associated with which literary genre?", q13: "The sonnet form that Shakespeare predominantly used consisted of:", q14: "Which of these is a characteristic feature of Restoration comedy?", q15: "\"A Defence of Poetry\" was written by:" }; function startTest() { const name = document.getElementById('userName').value.trim(); if (!name) { alert('Please enter your name to begin the test.'); return; } document.getElementById('welcome').classList.add('hidden'); document.getElementById('test').classList.remove('hidden'); } function submitTest() { const userName = document.getElementById('userName').value; let score = 0; let results = ''; // Generate the answer key HTML let answerKeyHTML = ''; for (let i = 1; i <= 15; i ) { const questionId = `q${i}`; const selectedAnswer = document.querySelector(`input[name="${questionId}"]:checked`); if (selectedAnswer) { const userAnswer = selectedAnswer.value; const isCorrect = userAnswer === correctAnswers[questionId]; if (isCorrect) { score ; results = `<div class="result-item correct"> <strong>Question ${i}:</strong> Correct! You selected ${userAnswer}: ${answerText[questionId][userAnswer]} </div>`; } else { results = `<div class="result-item incorrect"> <strong>Question ${i}:</strong> Incorrect. You selected ${userAnswer}: ${answerText[questionId][userAnswer]}<br> The correct answer is ${correctAnswers[questionId]}: ${answerText[questionId][correctAnswers[questionId]]} </div>`; } } else { results = `<div class="result-item incorrect"> <strong>Question ${i}:</strong> No answer selected.<br> The correct answer is ${correctAnswers[questionId]}: ${answerText[questionId][correctAnswers[questionId]]} </div>`; } // Add to answer key answerKeyHTML = `<li>${questionText[questionId]} - <strong>${correctAnswers[questionId]}: ${answerText[questionId][correctAnswers[questionId]]}</strong></li>`; } document.getElementById('userGreeting').textContent = `Thank you, ${userName}!`; document.getElementById('scoreDisplay').textContent = `Your Score: ${score}/15 (${Math.round((score/15)*100)}%)`; document.getElementById('resultsList').innerHTML = results; document.getElementById('answerKey').innerHTML = answerKeyHTML; document.getElementById('test').classList.add('hidden'); document.getElementById('results').classList.remove('hidden'); } function resetTest() { // Clear all selected answers const radioButtons = document.querySelectorAll('input[type="radio"]'); radioButtons.forEach(button => { button.checked = false; }); // Reset to welcome screen document.getElementById('results').classList.add('hidden'); document.getElementById('welcome').classList.remove('hidden'); document.getElementById('userName').value = ''; }The post NET TEST 2025-3 first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
January 1, 2025
Ron Reports 2025
To be honest I didn’t achieve any goals this year.
Yet this turned out to be the most productive year.
How:
Instead of a big goal
I focused on daily increments.
Instead of spending a lot of energy on my goals, I put effort on daily work.
Every year I have worked on the false notion that my goal could be reached by brute force.
But reality.
Life is unpredictable.
We do not have the luxury to work on big goals without compromising on health, mental stress and big sacrifices.
So everyday I set simple realistic goals.
Spiritual Part:
— Daily prayer
— Daily scripture reading
— A personal group(ME and God- basically a journal)
In fact I don’t really think about it. I have never missed Bible reading and praying for the last decade.
This year I have also created a prayer list. ( I even read a book on effective prayer 
)
— My friends name
— My mentors
— My goals
— My needs
— Anybody who needs prayer.
This way I don’t forget anyone. They might never know, but praying for others not only blesses the other person, but keeps me grounded and filled with gratitude.
Physical part:
I ran everyday
Goal is to reach 10 K steps daily.
In fact I made very good progress in the first half of this year.
Then gained weight.
Probably should do more strength training.
But the energy often those long, sweaty runs, I could write an epic after them.
Working in the physical part.
Mental Part:
Daily I read a small portion for a self-help book and share my notes to my accountability group.
I try to implement the lesson.
And of course I follow reading breaks. (Learnt from Teddy Roosevelt the infamous president for reading a book a day)
After writing session can be boring every hour for 15 minutes I alternate.
-Fiction
-Non-Fiction
Travelling Audio books.
And whenever I have reached 70% of a book I sprint and complete it. This enabled me to read 52 books. Not bad eh.
Writing part:
My Bread and Butter is knowledge work.
So I have to read daily.
And write daily.
For me daily goals are:
Fiction: Minimum 250 words.
Non-Fiction: 3000 words minimum
Practice daily: (Daily poetry, Drabble, comics)
In a year time they add up like crazy.
So I have spiritual, mental, physical, and writing daily habits in place. This lets me accomplish a lot.
Tip:
Wake up on the same time, and sleep on the same time. (Those are the most productive days)
I wake 4.30 or 5.15
Sleep 9.30.
But still working with consistency. 7 hours of sleep it is enough for me.
Finally what are the the things accomplished this year.
– Running/Walking- 926 KM- Average 4km daily.
-Read 52 books.
-Writing
100 Lamentation poems.
100 Inspiring poems
150 Modern Psalms poems.
30 Sonnets
26 Short Stories
30 Drabbles.
1 draft of non-fiction book(Personal branding)
Published Poetry collection.
Half-way through my Children novel( for my nieces, what to publish before they grow up )
Almost 400 students certified through DRH training.
Wrote around 200K-300K words for my clients.
Saved and gave away Charity cash without the person knowing that I helped them. ( Need to earn more to give away more)
Got my PHD this year.
Trained for NET
Trained for IELTS
Conducted FDP’s for faculty.
So what do I hope to accomplish this year.
Of course
DRH expansion— going for WORLD DOMINATION.
To publish a novel, 2 poetry collection, short story collection, non-fiction book.
Read as many as I want. ( But do meaningfully)
So what’s my philosophically foundations.
I think about death a lot.
What if – it ends soon.
Will my life be in vain?
These questions haunt me.
Helps me in focusing on what is important moves me away from people pleasing and taking more risks.
In a nutshell, my philosophy
-Heart Within, God Overhead. (Do your best)
– All I got is this day ( Capiem Diem)
– Trust no future( Present is reality)
– Remember you are gonna die( Memento Mori)
-And also what is the point of gaining the whole world and losing your soul (Love God, Love People even your enemies(very difficult) still learning)
– Be super humble( you are mortal, what I know is nothing in this infinite universe)
Of course the biggest enemy is ourselves.
I need to fight self doubt.
My unbearable ability to feel things. (Poets sensibilities is a curse)
My good friends depression and anxiety. ( The trick is to not engage with them. They come and they will leave. If you engage they stay like unwelcome guests. And of course when they visit I make good use of it, I sit and write poems, and stories. ( I have learnt to cope with them).
This year I left my secure teaching job.
I was so scared.
Will I survive?
Will anybody help me?
So much of self doubt.
Financials took a hit, but slowly getting a handle of things now.
But it isn’t bad. It will work out, I know.
I know it will workout for you too.
Keep marching on.
Happy 2025
The post Ron Reports 2025 first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
December 21, 2024
quiz
b) Aldous Huxley
c) Ray Bradbury
d) Philip K. Dick
2. Which Shakespeare play features the character Ophelia? a) Macbeth
b) Hamlet
c) Romeo and Juliet
d) King Lear
3. Who wrote “Pride and Prejudice”? a) Emily Brontë
b) Jane Austen
c) Charlotte Brontë
d) Virginia Woolf
4. What is the name of the first book in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series? a) Prince Caspian
b) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
c) The Magician’s Nephew
d) The Silver Chair
5. Who is the author of “The Catcher in the Rye”? a) F. Scott Fitzgerald
b) J.D. Salinger
c) Ernest Hemingway
d) John Steinbeck
6. What is the setting of “The Great Gatsby”? a) New York in the 1920s
b) Chicago in the 1930s
c) Boston in the 1910s
d) Los Angeles in the 1940s
7. Which novel begins with the line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”? a) Great Expectations
b) A Tale of Two Cities
c) Oliver Twist
d) David Copperfield
8. Who wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird”? a) Harper Lee
b) Truman Capote
c) William Faulkner
d) Carson McCullers
9. What is the name of Don Quixote’s horse? a) Sancho
b) Rocinante
c) Dulcinea
d) Panza
10. Which poet wrote “The Raven”? a) Edgar Allan Poe
b) Walt Whitman
c) Emily Dickinson
d) Robert Frost
Next Question Quiz Results Review Your Answers: Take Quiz Again let currentQuestion = 1; let score = 0; let userAnswers = {}; const totalQuestions = 10; const correctAnswers = { q1: {value: 'a', text: 'George Orwell'}, q2: {value: 'b', text: 'Hamlet'}, q3: {value: 'b', text: 'Jane Austen'}, q4: {value: 'b', text: 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'}, q5: {value: 'b', text: 'J.D. Salinger'}, q6: {value: 'a', text: 'New York in the 1920s'}, q7: {value: 'b', text: 'A Tale of Two Cities'}, q8: {value: 'a', text: 'Harper Lee'}, q9: {value: 'b', text: 'Rocinante'}, q10: {value: 'a', text: 'Edgar Allan Poe'} }; function startQuiz() { const username = document.getElementById('username').value.trim(); if (!username) { alert('Please enter your name to start'); return; } document.getElementById('start-screen').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('quiz').style.display = 'block'; updateQuestionCounter(); } function updateQuestionCounter() { document.getElementById('question-counter').textContent = `Question ${currentQuestion} of ${totalQuestions}`; } function nextQuestion() { const currentAnswer = document.querySelector(`input[name="q${currentQuestion}"]:checked`); if (!currentAnswer) { alert('Please select an answer'); return; } userAnswers[`q${currentQuestion}`] = currentAnswer.value; if (currentAnswer.value === correctAnswers[`q${currentQuestion}`].value) { score ; } if (currentQuestion === totalQuestions) { showResults(); return; } document.querySelector(`.question[data-question="${currentQuestion}"]`).classList.remove('active'); currentQuestion ; document.querySelector(`.question[data-question="${currentQuestion}"]`).classList.add('active'); if (currentQuestion === totalQuestions) { document.getElementById('next-btn').textContent = 'Finish Quiz'; } updateQuestionCounter(); } function getOptionText(questionNumber, optionValue) { const question = document.querySelector(`.question[data-question="${questionNumber}"]`); const option = question.querySelector(`input[value="${optionValue}"]`); return option.parentNode.textContent.trim(); } function showResults() { const username = document.getElementById('username').value; document.getElementById('quiz').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('results').style.display = 'block'; const percentage = (score / totalQuestions) * 100; document.getElementById('score').textContent = `${username}, you scored ${score} out of ${totalQuestions} (${percentage}%)`; let feedback = ''; if (percentage >= 80) { feedback = 'Excellent! You have a fantastic knowledge of Literature!'; } else if (percentage >= 60) { feedback = 'Good job! You have a solid understanding of Literature.'; } else if (percentage >= 40) { feedback = 'Not bad! Keep studying to improve your knowledge.'; } else { feedback = 'Keep learning! There\'s room for improvement.'; } document.getElementById('feedback').textContent = feedback; const reviewDiv = document.getElementById('answers-review'); for (let i = 1; i <= totalQuestions; i ) { const qKey = `q${i}`; const div = document.createElement('div'); div.className = 'answer-item'; const questionText = document.querySelector(`.question[data-question="${i}"]`).querySelector('h3').textContent; const userAnswer = userAnswers[qKey]; const isCorrect = userAnswer === correctAnswers[qKey].value; const userAnswerText = userAnswer ? getOptionText(i, userAnswer) : 'No answer'; const correctAnswerText = correctAnswers[qKey].text; div.classList.add(isCorrect ? 'correct' : 'incorrect'); div.innerHTML = ` <p><strong>${questionText}</strong></p> <p>Your answer: ${userAnswerText}</p> <p>Correct answer: ${correctAnswerText}</p> ${isCorrect ? '<p class="status">✓ Correct!</p>' : '<p class="status">✗ Incorrect</p>'} `; reviewDiv.appendChild(div); } }
The post quiz first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
December 18, 2024
5 ways to be happy
thank you
The post 5 ways to be happy first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
December 17, 2024
Revision 2
Start Quiz
1. When was Geoffrey Chaucer born?
a) 1330-1335 b) 1340-1345 c) 1350-1355 d) 1360-13652. Who called Chaucer the ‘Father of English Poetry’?
a) Matthew Arnold b) Edmund Spenser c) John Dryden d) G.K. Chesterton3. In which work did Chaucer first use the Heroic Couplet?
a) The Canterbury Tales b) The House of Fame c) Troilus and Cressida d) The Legend of Good Women4. How many stories were originally planned for The Canterbury Tales?
a) 100 b) 110 c) 120 d) 1305. Which tale is considered the longest in The Canterbury Tales?
a) The Miller’s Tale b) The Knight’s Tale c) The Pardoner’s Tale d) The Wife of Bath’s Tale6. Where was Chaucer first buried?
a) St. Paul’s Cathedral b) Westminster Abbey c) Canterbury Cathedral d) York Minster7. What position did Chaucer hold in 1374?
a) Knight of the Shire b) King’s Works Overseer c) Comptroller of London Customs d) Royal Messenger8. How many pilgrims are described in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales?
a) 25 b) 26 c) 27 d) 289. What verse form did Chaucer first use in The Book of the Duchess?
a) Heroic Couplet b) Ottava Rima c) Rhyme Royal d) Blank Verse10. Which of these characters is NOT criticized or satirized by Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales?
a) The Miller b) The Merchant c) The Parson d) The Friar Quiz Results let currentQuestion = 1; let score = 0; let userAnswers = {}; const correctAnswers = { 1: 1, // 1340-1345 2: 2, // John Dryden 3: 3, // The Legend of Good Women 4: 2, // 120 5: 1, // The Knight's Tale 6: 1, // Westminster Abbey 7: 2, // Comptroller of London Customs 8: 2, // 27 9: 1, // Ottava Rima 10: 2 // The Parson }; function startQuiz() { const name = document.getElementById('userName').value; if (!name) { alert('Please enter your name to start the quiz'); return; } document.getElementById('nameSection').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('quizSection').style.display = 'block'; document.getElementById('q1').style.display = 'block'; } function selectOption(option, questionNumber) { userAnswers[questionNumber] = option; if (questionNumber < 10) { document.getElementById('q' + questionNumber).style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('q' + (questionNumber + 1)).style.display = 'block'; } else { showResults(); } } function showResults() { document.getElementById('quizSection').style.display = 'none'; document.getElementById('resultSection').style.display = 'block'; const name = document.getElementById('userName').value; score = calculateScore(); document.getElementById('userName-result').textContent = `Name: ${name}`; document.getElementById('score').textContent = `Score: ${score} out of 10`; showDetailedAnswers(); } function calculateScore() { let score = 0; for (let question in userAnswers) { if (userAnswers[question] === correctAnswers[question]) { score++; } } return score; } function showDetailedAnswers() { const answersDiv = document.getElementById('answers'); answersDiv.innerHTML = '<h3>Detailed Answers:</h3>'; const questions = document.querySelectorAll('.question'); questions.forEach((question, index) => { const questionNumber = index + 1; const questionText = question.querySelector('p').textContent; const options = question.querySelectorAll('.option'); const userAnswer = userAnswers[questionNumber]; const correctAnswer = correctAnswers[questionNumber]; const isCorrect = userAnswer === correctAnswer; const resultClass = isCorrect ? 'correct' : 'incorrect'; const answerHTML = ` <div class="${resultClass}" style="margin: 10px 0; padding: 10px;"> <p><strong>${questionText}</strong></p> <p>Your answer: ${options[userAnswer].textContent}</p> <p>Correct answer: ${options[correctAnswer].textContent}</p> </div> `; answersDiv.innerHTML += answerHTML; }); }The post Revision 2 first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
December 16, 2024
Ancient Literature
The post Ancient Literature first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
December 6, 2024
How to survive an Elopment? – A Short Story by Ronald Hadrian
What seemed fun then feels tragic today. What felt like a tragedy then feels like a comedic sketch now. Before I go further, here are some instructions and sage advice for my readers.
If you have a friend who is in a relationship, do not be their friend until they are married.
If you have a friend who asks you for money and never pays you back, rest assured that even after marriage, they will continue to ask. It’s safer to cut this friendship now.
If your friends drink, learn to drive.
And if you still think this is worth it, wait until I reveal how I was taken to the police station because of my friend.
This all happened ten or fifteen years ago—I’m not really sure. But it happened when I was young and going to the gym every day to keep up with my raging hormones. Good times. I studied at a college that I didn’t want to attend. (It was like a divine conspiracy to make my life miserable; if only I hadn’t gone to that college, I wouldn’t have a broken heart now—but that’s a story for another day). Now, this story is about my good friend. Post-graduate studies weren’t common then, and very few people enrolled. Our only future prospect seemed to be becoming bald-headed professors with bad taste.
The first semester crawled by like a sloth. I spent my time in the library while my friend was smitten by a first-year undergraduate. He had already loved another girl, but she had married and eloped with a bus conductor. (If you want girls to chase after you, become a bus driver or conductor). He wasn’t devastated by this. (Probably wasn’t true love).
Then it happened, and I remember him vividly describing the proposal scene. Our hero stood arched by the corridor rails—lean, tall, unusually dark—chatting with first-year students, sharing his wisdom. Then she appeared, this almost homely girl, standing unusually close to him. This continued for several days: standing close to him but never talking. (I wasn’t there; this is all hearsay, as I told you I was in the library arranging the Norton Anthology series).
Tamil movies have spoiled romance.
Let’s call the girl Chitra and the boy Santhosh. Santhosh stood in his usual place, and Chitra stood unusually close, as usual. No one was around. Utilizing the opportunity, she pulled his ID card closer to her, read his name, and said, “I love you.” She expertly removed the ID card and walked away saying, “Tomorrow, give me an answer, and then you can have your ID card back.”
Let me explain the symbolism here. Many readers won’t spend five years getting a Literature degree, so symbols are important. Like how blue means depression, red is anger, and purple is lust. The next day, Santhosh wore blue, but Chitra wore white. Her hair was loose, her heart singing a trending love song, and the ID card was hidden in her palm. She replayed the previous day’s scene a hundred times. (Note: if you missed the symbol here, let me make it clear. This is an ID card—Identity—she stole his identity. I’m making it easier for the English teachers here, who will never get to teach this story to you, as they would be extinct, and some dumb AI would probably interpret this story for you.)
I apologize for interrupting the story so much, but it’s vital I explain all this. Otherwise, you’ll miss all the reading between the lines. This story isn’t a typical love story—it’s political. Yes, let’s get back to the day she returned the ID card. In fact, she imagined it as a thali chain(for all my white friends it is a thread tied to a women after marriage) and wrapped it around his neck. Usually, it’s the guy who does that, but here she did it symbolically. Like a sheep heading for slaughter.
Then love blossomed. Lunches together, fights for no reason, bunking classes, movie sessions, secret looks, late-night texting, pride in each other’s vain achievements—all the garbage lovers do. Just thinking about lovers’ commitment makes my head expand like a balloon.
“Dai, wait here, I’ll drop her and come,” he left me one day at a rather peculiar place. I waited. One hour passed before he returned. In that hour, I spiraled into depression, chiding myself for not learning to ride a bike, for my reliance on others, and of course, for no girl liking me. The first two I have successfully mastered, but the last part—well, never mind. I’m now a tourist guide in Venice. I came here to see how this city is drowning, not for a girl dashing to open a window to yell out, “Richard, Richard, where are you?”
But no one calls my name.
Days passed, and I watched these lovers become lovers. Night and day talking, hanging out, feeding each other in the canteen, and holding hands. I didn’t mind. Days, as they do, ran away, cheating youth of an eternal summer. The exams were done, and we were searching for jobs.
We both got communication trainer jobs. Same company, same school, and just like we went to college together, we went to work together as well. Every day we caught a bus to work. While I read a book, he texted his girlfriend. A year slowly plodded by, and now and then he would disappear to meet Chitra.
Then suddenly, Chitra’s parents discovered this affair, but they didn’t do anything. They thought nothing would come of it, that the girl would change. Besides, she would never marry outside her caste. This had been injected into her from her youth. She knew what would happen if she ever stepped aside: instant death. Chitra didn’t believe this though; she continued to love him. Like Shakespeare said, love is blind.
When Chitra got her Bachelor’s degree, she didn’t want to be a Bachelor anymore.
“They are searching for a groom,” she told Santosh. “What are you planning to do?”
Santosh had been doing odd jobs and saving cash for the last six months. He knew this day would come. So he got help from a political group that saved couples in intercaste marriages. (I didn’t know this at the time.)
“Don’t worry,” said one of the members. “We can protect you legally, but if you die, we can’t do anything,” he smiled.
Santosh planned to elope with the girl meticulously. Well, not exactly meticulously—he forgot many things. He forgot that he had friends like me. Never bothered to delete our Facebook photos. BIG MISTAKE.
Santosh had once taken her to his home. His mother already knew.
“Hey, Richard, why this fellow doing like this,” she said. (Note: I’m verbatim translating the dialogues, so it won’t sound proper to you white folks, yellow folks, or anyone who’s reading this.)
“Aunty, that girl only came… he’s always with her,” I blurted, not knowing what to do.
“That girl is other caste, we are different. Please tell him, Richard,” she bemoaned. “Even if we agree, their caste guys won’t. Experts at honor killing.”
I didn’t know a thing about caste until I came to this wretched, God-forsaken place. At my beautiful hill station, people didn’t have time for that nonsense. It was too cold to remove slippers, too tedious to have separate cups, too crowded to have separate streets. But this place crawled with differences—except for money. Money folks joined money folks—black, white, Caste A, Caste B, Caste Z, all the same. Poor folks had dreams and misery to keep them company.
The complex maze of love is put to test when it comes to marriage. Sometimes the girl’s heart melts seeing their parents cry and say they would die. It’s a standard dialogue but very effective. Many girls with flimsy love have gone with their parents after seeing them bawl in front of typical policemen who have seen such drama all their lives.
So all these thoughts ran through Santosh’s head as he asked Chitra a thousand times:
“Will you go if your mom says she’ll die?” “No.” “Father?” “No.”
Santosh, I’m sure, wanted to end the relationship because one day he came home and said, “I asked her to go, but she wouldn’t. She says she’ll kill me if I try to do something.”
“She really does love you?” “Yes.”
I had an amateurish notion of love. I thought only boys loved, and girls had no such feelings. (This was probably because of my many unreciprocated loves that I suffered all my life). I don’t know what it’s like to be loved by someone, and this is precisely what I found incredibly annoying when I saw lovers. When they romance, it’s nauseating to me. I’ve gone from curious to being a negative jerk. This way I keep people away from me so my heart isn’t trampled. The truth is I like the idea of love; when it comes to reality, I’ll mess it up.
I was in no way equipped to advise my friend.
Days passed, and it became clear Chitra’s family had started to see potential grooms. Chitra gave the ultimate ultimatum: she would die if he didn’t marry her. Santosh didn’t know what to do.
“There is no other way, Richard,” he told me one evening. “Elopement, marriage, then escape for a year or two.”
With my little wisdom, I asked, “Is she strong with her resolution?” “Yes.”
Then I shook his hands and bid him farewell. No, that’s not what happened. After revealing his plan, he didn’t meet me. The routine continued for me, and then, gosh, Santosh came home hurriedly one evening.
“I won’t see you for a year or so. Be safe. I won’t tell you where I’m going; they might ask you.” He looked me in the eyes and said, “Sorry for the trouble, Richie.”
I had two good friends in college, and one was going to disappear now. I went about my daily life: going to school, teaching naughty 6th graders, shouting at them at the top of my voice to maintain silence, cajoling them to talk in English. Then by evening, I got a call from an unknown number.
They asked if I knew a person called Santosh. By this time, I had forgotten all about Santosh’s master plan. I thought it must be some debt collector. He didn’t have a strong handle on money management.
“Have you seen him recently?” “No, it has been over two weeks.” “My relative’s girl hasn’t come home. She went out to temple this morning. If your friend calls you, please let us know.”
They cut the call. I started to sweat.
That evening, I was loitering in the corridors of the school to remind these tired kids to talk in English. A 2nd standard Hindi kid who hardly spoke English pointed at me and said, “Banther.”
I nodded my head and left for home. “Santosh went away with that girl, and they called me today.” My mother started to lecture for half an hour about avoiding such friends.
Around 6, another friend called me and asked what had happened. They had called him as well. “So you know where he went?” he asked me. “No man, he never told me.”
“Me neither, hope he’s safe.”
I was becoming anxious. I started to pray (funny how we go to God only when we’re in trouble)—typical human behavior. The reply was clear: “Dude, deal with it.”
I prepared classes and had dinner. Around 8:30, I got another call; this was the girl’s uncle.
“Do you know your friend’s house?” His voice was hostile. “No, I have not gone there.” “Where is that fellow’s house?” he asked. “Somewhere near Swami Colony,” I lied.
He cut the call.
Then he called again. This time he was shouting at me. “You really think we are fools? You have been to his house before a month. Facebook photos… we are coming for you. You better tell us where your friend is…” Blank.
I hadn’t thought about it. Mr. Santosh had neatly tagged me in the photos. Not one, not two, but hundreds. They decided I was his best friend. I waited, then they came. Chitra’s uncle, another uncle, some far-off cousin, neighbor, and the milkman who suddenly claimed to be her uncle visited me around 9.
We didn’t let them enter the house. They stood outside the gate and questioned me. “Where is he?” “I don’t know, I haven’t seen him for many months,” I said. “Don’t lie to us. We know you’re his friend.”
My mom stayed inside and listened.
“Did you know about their love?” That terrifying uncle asked. “Of course I know, and everyone in college knows.” The milkman interjected, “I have seen that boy roaming near our home.” “Please tell us about their place, I’m sure you know about it.”
I was starting to freak out, but I composed myself and said, “Really, I don’t know. You should ask their parents.” “We went to their house; his parents are lying as well.”
Then they started to get agitated. “Morning we will call you, otherwise we will take you to the police station,” they threatened.
That was the only night I didn’t sleep out of fear. Did they leave me then? No, they came once again knocking at the door by 2 A.M. They had brought their relative, an SP. This police officer looked at me and interrogated me.
“How many days you know him?” “Where is he?” “You would have helped him?”
He bombarded me with questions. I said, I don’t know.
He then scolded the other uncles, “You all know she is in love, and why didn’t you do anything? You have left the head and now chasing the tail.”
“Call his mother, and put it on speaker,” the policeman commanded.
I don’t know if it’s legal to barge into a house at 2 A.M. to question like this, but who cares for rules in this country.
I called, and his mother without missing a beat said, “I don’t know, Richard. They came here also. We don’t know where he went.”
After the call, they got more infuriated. They started abusing all the so-called “lower castes” as though they themselves came from heaven. And then they abused us.
“You have come here to earn a living, in our land, and you are doing all this nonsense,” as if I had anything to do with this whole scenario. I was just a guy who memorized poems for fun. But in retrospect, when I think about all the foolishness this man was spouting, I feel sorry for him. He was just there to show his power; he never really cared. (Only after a year did I understand—this uncle wouldn’t get the allotted land if the girl didn’t sign.)
“Give me your phone,” they said.
They searched for his number. I had two numbers: Santosh 1 and Santosh 2. Of course, I had saved his name as Lord of Idiots, but they didn’t guess. They called the number they already knew, hoping if they called from my number, he would pick up. It was dead. They asked me to call from the other number; the policeman thought he was onto something. I called alright, but it didn’t ring. It said it wasn’t in service. (Only after they had gone did I realize I had called my own number—I was totally freaking out by this time, I guess.)
Good thing they didn’t check the call log. They threatened that they would call in the morning, and if there was no news, they would take me to the station.
As they stood there threatening me, my mother came out and shouted, “Some other guy has done something and you’re coming here threatening us! You should have been careful, and now you’re coming here telling about us!”
They looked offended and angry at the same time. They left.
That night I couldn’t sleep. The fear was about my friend—would they find him, would they kill him? These people seemed capable of such things.
The night moved ever so slowly, and only by early morning did I fall asleep. Back at work, I dreaded a lot. My friend called to ask what happened. “I won’t come to your house for another 3 months.”
By 9 o’clock, I received a call. “I’m calling from Perabalur police station. Did your friend call you?” “No,” I said. “We will call by 11:30, and if you don’t answer the call, we will come to your workplace,” the inspector threatened.
I didn’t take any class that day. I asked them to draw anything they wanted. I went around the class while my mind revolved around all the possible scenarios.
I didn’t receive any call until evening, and then another friend called. “They found them, and they’re in another district. They surrendered at a police station—it seems Santosh’s uncle is an inspector there. The girl refused to go with her parents, so they took away all her gold and belongings.”
I was a little relaxed, and a little happy. So my friend was alive and married. Good.
But what happened to them shocked me. (All this I came to know only after 6 months.)
When everything was settled, the uncle who came to my home had contacted the inspector, Santosh’s relative. “I will pay you money, finish them off. I know they’re staying in your house.”
A constable at the police station had heard about this and informed Santosh. His relative, the policeman, after getting drunk, met this sinister uncle and got money from him. As he made his way home, he called three goons and a hitman. “A couple will be with me, all you have to do is kill them.”
That evening he called Santosh, “I’m coming home, don’t go anywhere.” But Santosh knew what he was plotting.
“Come, get ready!” he told her, grabbing his clothes. “Where are we going?” she asked, agitated. For the past four days, she hadn’t slept well. It was evident that both were annoyed with each other. “Can’t we go in the morning?” she pleaded. “We might not make it to morning,” he looked into her eyes and said. She didn’t question him then; she got ready. (This is the problem with love—when they loved, they both wore their goodness masks. They showed only their good sides, but now it became apparent that there were many differences between them.)
They took the old bike, with two bags hanging at the sides, and rain splattering for extra effect as they rode to the highways. The police sirens and ambulances frightened them. They felt like someone was following them.
Meanwhile, his uncle had come home to find Santosh gone. He had drunk heavily and asked his mother if she knew where they had gone. His mother, with a coolness (that frustrated him), said they had gone back to their native home. He called the police vehicle and gave orders to seize this couple if found. Two lakhs would be gone if he didn’t perform this murder. As his senses returned, he thought about Santosh and how they had played together as kids; now, for money, he was willing to kill him. He felt a sickness come over him.
The world had changed him.
He secretly wished they had escaped to a safe place. He asked to stop the car and have tea. He called the uncle and said, “They have escaped.”
“Our pride, our caste and everything is at stake—you have to finish the job.”
And then he mentioned Santosh’s caste, after which they quietened down. If the caste was lower than theirs, they would be willing to kill them, and if the caste was higher, they would reconsider. The hypocrisy of it all. By this time, in the pouring rain, Santosh and Chitra had reached a faraway relative’s house in a village that was hardly on the map. (I knew all this only after a year.)
They stayed there for the next six months. By this time, I had finished the school year, and my other friends, after three months, came home from time to time. But now I was careful about whom I spoke with. If they had a lover, I avoided them at all costs.
Then one day I received an unknown call. Santosh called. It was so weird to hear his voice after six months. “I am safe, don’t worry about me. Other details I will say afterwards. Just go to my house and see my brother and parents,” he said.
One day I went to his house and found out that Santosh’s brother had been kidnapped and beaten badly, being asked for his brother’s location. They had injected him with something—he wasn’t sure what it was—but it was Santosh’s mother who had threatened to go to the police station and burn herself if they didn’t leave them alone.
I often wonder what drives these men to be so despicable. Just pride, nothing else. Well, it has been over a decade now; I met his two children last week. A boy naughty like him, and a girl bold like her mother. I won’t say “happily married,” because stories always end happily, but that’s not life. They are married, and was it all worth it? Only time can tell.
This is exactly how you survive an elopement:
Get a lawyerAn atomic bomb shelterDon’t be a friend if they are in a relationshipPractice running every dayKnow drivingBe acquainted with a political partyAnd for heaven’s sake, don’t be friends with private bus drivers or conductors. You will be in troubleDon’t be friends with people who tag you on social mediaOh wait, Santosh just called—his brother has gone with some other girl. Okay then, it’s time for me to go into hiding.
The post How to survive an Elopment? – A Short Story by Ronald Hadrian first appeared on Ronald Hadrian.
