Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory is my one of the most favorite TV shows ever. So, it was obvious, that it needed an entry here. I started watching it in my college times, when Amit gave the first two seasons to me. I was astounded by the show and completed the both seasons in the weekend; even as I was having my exam on the Monday.

The show basically encompasses the lives of four nerd scientists living in Pasadena, who encounter a socially well connected girl, Penny when she moves into their apartment. The main characters are Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstader, Penny, Howard Wolowitz and Rajesh Kuthrapalli. Sheldon is very intelligent scientist, but is socially awkward, Leonard is the linchpin of the group and loves Penny, Howard is a womanizer and is the only guy in group, not having a PhD, Raj is an Indian immigrant who is working as an astrophysicist who has problem talking in presence of women. In contrast to guys, who like playing MMORPG, comics and are fans of Starwars, Penny has a very social life. But, she finds herself comfortable in their presence and she also loves Leonard. Later, in the series Howard makes Bernadette, a friend  of penny as his girlfriend and they marry also later in series.While Sheldon also meets Amy Farafowler through a dating site.

The show is a total comedy and once we start, it is very difficult to stop. The way in which the lives of these people are displayed is very fun loving and enjoying. They eat various types of cuisines from Thai to Italian and play various games from Paint Ball to Kinect. It is also kind of inspiring to watch this series as it teaches us to live a fun life. It also portrays that geeks and nerds also have a fun loving life of their own, we just have a belief that they are boring.

Supernatural : Good. Evil. And everyone in between.

I had watched the advertisements of the famous TV Show Supernatural earlier, but never got the chance to see it. It started when we took a PG in Bangalore and my friend Soumen recommended me to watch this show. The earlier seasons used to air on Star World and I watched few of them. I liked the show and decided to watch it from first season. So, I took all the episodes from a friend and started to watch from first season. But, as I watched the show more, I came to an opinion that it becomes boring in the middle of the season. The underlying story doesn't catches up in every episode and for few episodes they just hunt another supernatural entity. It is like watching a same kind of wrestling match everyday with results known to you.

But I liked the connection of stories to our real world myths or legends. Each episode can be tracked to some legend and later reading about it makes it more interesting. Erick Kripke has taken the legends from every part of world. But after watching the first three seasons, I am now bored of the series and have decided to watch no more. The characters of Sam and Dean are really well crafted. I especially liked the macho, daring character of Dean. But, after watching 58 episodes, a sort of redundancy starts to arise.

I also like the role of Yellow Eyed Demon - Azazel, who went on to be a fuzz rather than the mysterious powerful demon I thought he would be. Actually, I am disappointed by the series; I believe it could have been better.

The Tale of Two Books

As usual I had planned a lot for this vacation; I will do this and that, but again as usual, I was unable to see the unforeseen circumstances I am facing now and thus all my planned activities are in backdrop.  I haven’t done any reading except Kite runner which I started when I boarded the train from Bangalore; I am not able to catch up on the subscription magazines of Forbes India which I brought here, thinking that  I will finish these here; but all in vain.

The first book which I mainly read on train was "The Kiterunner" by Khaled Hosseini. It is a story of how Amir matures from a young boy to a man and the changes in his life in the middle of Afghanistan. Amir who is son of one of the richest person in whole of Afghanistan has a childhood friend and servant named Hassan. Hassan likes Amir and serves him as a master, and stands up for him in front of local guys. But when the day comes for Amir to return the favour, he is not able to gather enough courage. This incident causes a great dent in the relationship of two boys. Even after knowing the betrayal by Amir, Hassan tries to reform his friendship, but Amir couldn't and finally Hassan leaves the home. After this incident, Afghanistan's atmosphere starts to change rapidly. The country gets stuck in between a fight of Soviets and local warlords which completely torns it apart.

Amir and his father leave for Pakistan and from there to US where they start a new life. Amir becomes a writer and marries another Afghan girl relocated there. But then the story takes a turn when his father dies due to cancer and he has to go to Pakistan to meet his father's best friend for one last time. There he knows that Hassan had come back to his home after they left to safeguard it and still remembers Amir. Hassan has married and has a son now. But Taliban kills Hassan and his wife and now their son Sohrab is living in an orphanage in Kabul. The same Sohrab who was named after Amir's favourite chrachter in the Persian epic Shahnama. This time Amir gathers the courage and goes back to Afghanistan to bring Sohrab back, but this time he finds the same Afghanistan he grew up, very different. The story is very well narrated and sometimes one can feel nostalgic. I found it to be a good read.

And finally after lots of time wastage i read three stories from a book I borrowed from my cousin in the last two days.The book is "I have a Dream" by Rashmi Bansal. This is the third installment by Rashmi Bansal in this series of books written by her on success stories of some of the famous entrepreneurs of India. I read the first book two years back - Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, which compiled the stories of 20 people having MBA from IIM-A, which have created successful companies from scratch. The second book "Connect the dots" is about people who have been successful entrepreneurs without any MBA degree. I haven't got the chance to read it yet. This third book is on people who have centered their endeavors around the social cause rather than money. 

The book is same like the first one, inspiring;even better in some aspects. Till now I have read stories of three people - Anand Kumar (Super 30), Arvind Kejriwal(Parivartan) and Bindeshwar Pathak (Sulabh). One interesting feeling I got is that as I moved from the first story to the third, the level of inspiration and awe was increasing. Super 30, an innovative approach  by Anand, a cognizant of mathematics to teach poor but intelligent children and train them for IIT-JEE is a splendid and heart moving approach. Moreover, the results  show the effectiveness. This is a perfect example of the potential held by the poor section of society, how if they can be provided with correct resources, they can excel. The second case of Arvind Kejriwal, now famous in news everyday for taking on government head on is even better. It narrates the story how a bureaucrat challenges the government for accountability. It shows the live example how accountability and transparency can bring a revolution in the lives of people. Before reading this, I had heard about 'The Arvind Kejriwal', but now I came to know really about his struggle and constant endeavors to bring a  change in our society.

The third story I liked was the best, the story of Bindeshwar Pathak and his journey to change one of the most gravest problem of our society - casteism. It is a story of how a small town guy creates Sulabh International to change the lives of scavenging people and changed the toilet model all over India. How he not only relieved the low cast people of this menial job, but even gave them self esteem. In his words, ' you cannot put a price tag on such an intangible thing called feeling'. I am really impressed by his model. 

Miracle of Finland

Finland is a beautiful Scandinavian country famous all over the world for its natural lakes. The huge count of lakes has earned it the sobriquet of “Land of Thousand Lakes”. However, the country is in news nowadays for another reason – Education. PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is one of the most challenging assessment exams all over the world. It assesses 15-year old children’s capabilities in reading, science and mathematics. From the last decade, Finland has shown top results consistently, while the biggies like US, France and UK have performed average. This has led to studies into the education model of Finland so that some lessons learnt there can be applied elsewhere.

Studies have revealed that the Finns have a very eccentric but effective model. In Finland all the education is state owned and there are no tuition fees for education. Children join the school at a much later stage than the children in other countries and are not assessed till 16 years of age. There is rarely any homework provided to children. But still they are able to sustain top rankings in the assessment.

The seeds of this model of education were laid after the World War II, when Finland emerged from the war economically shattered. The people of Finland quickly came to know that the only resource that they had was their people and they can only take them out of the recession. So, they invested heavily in education. The results were dramatic; the economy of Finland started to recover rapidly. The education revolution has also made the nation a knowledge based economy and it is now one of the most developed countries of the world.

I recently watched a documentary on this “The Finland Phenomenon”. The documentary describes the quest of a professor from Harvard to examine the school system of Finland and what lessons can US learn from this. He travels to various schools and colleges of Finland and is astonished by their way. The teachers are very interested in their job and focus on the children in a major way. They want their children to think how they can solve the problems of future rather than rote learning. I am really impressed by the Finn’s paradigm and hope the world learns something from it as the education model of world needs a revolution. 

A Visit to Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur, a small city nestled in the heart of Western Ghats is famous all over Karnataka for its serene environment and pleasant climate. I had planned to visit it from a long time, but never got the chance to be there. This time my wish came true, when Bindu’s marriage came up. She is my supervisor and a good friend. She invited us all on 21’st October for her marriage in Bangalore, but we couldn't be there, which made here angry. So, we decided to go to Chikmagalur and be there in her wedding reception. But due to project constraints we all couldn't go there. In the end, after a long planning and some tough decisions we four people – Me, Sankara, Swati and Sushma started on Thursday night (25^th October) from Bangalore. We hired a Tata Indica Vista for the trip.

We started around 12 am and reached Chikmagalur around 6:30 am. The morning was really peaceful and cool in Chikmagalur. We went outside and had a brief photo session. From Chikmagalur it took us further one hour to reach her native town Koppa. There we met Bindu; she had arranged our stay in a Forest Guest House. The guest house was situated in the middle of woods. It was a nice place with hot water for bath. We took a bath and explored the nearby area. After a lot of time, I was seeing the perfection of nature; the serenity of morning was embellishing the whole view. It was greenery anywhere eye could see. The trees were laden with the morning dew like they are welcoming us. From there we went to Bindu’s home and had a nice breakfast. She served us the food on banana leaves and we had to eat with hands. I don’t like eating with hands, it makes them messy. But I was little shy to say that, Sushma helped me in this.

After some chit chat with Bindu, we went for some sightseeing nearby. There was home of the famous national poet ‘Kuvempu’ nearby; we went there. It was a nice home placed in the foot of the dense woods. The home was entirely made up of wood and was kept in a good state by the organisation. The home was full of souvenirs of the poet ranging from the daily household items he used to various prizes he earned in his lifetime. I was clearly astounded to see the ‘Padma Vibhushan’. It was the first time I saw that, it was clearly radiating the value of the award. Every year some individuals are honored with this prestigious award by the Government of India to recognize their excellence in their fields. The medal was enclosed in a red box with Padma Vibhushan emboldened on a betel leaf. A one KM walk from there took us to a place on the hill where the poet wrote some of his best poems. It was a quiet place on the hill, but it was too hot that day. So, we quickly came back from there.

After returning to the guest house we got refreshed up and went to the main event – Bindu’s reception. It was arranged in a typical South Indian way; the bride was dressed in traditional attire and the stage was decorated beautifully with flowers. We congratulated them for their wedding and had a tasty lunch there and then we moved on for some more sightseeing. From there went to see some waterfall; the name of which I am unable to recollect. Our filled bellies took over our interest in the sceneries nearby quickly and we all were slumbering in few minutes. I woke up after half an hour; the sharp turns were making me uneasy and I was desperately waiting to reach the destination. Finally, after what seemed ages filled with uneasiness we reached the spot.

I think the name of the waterfall was ‘Srirangana Falls’, but I’m not sure. The waterfall was splendid. The drop was around 18-20 feet. The water was chilly and it was fun to be there. We enjoyed the chilled water of the waterfall and the natural beauty of the place for around half an hour. It was great to watch the water falling on the rocks and then split into countless crystal clear drops. It was a reminder of nature’s ingenuity in spite of its simplicity. It was amazing to see how the simple act of water falling from the rocks was a wonder to the eyes. The world is full of such feats of nature which can never be repeated by any human. Every great artist has found the inspiration from the nature. It is like a bottomless pool of creativity, filled up to brim. Regardless of how much we take from it, it will never dry.

After spending some valuable moments we went off for Chikmagalur. We reached Chikmagalur around 9 PM. There we found ourselves a hotel to spend the night. We had dinner in a nearby restaurant and then went to sleep. As we had traveled so much, we slept quickly and comfortably. Next morning, we woke up early and went to see Mullayanagiri peak, the highest peak in whole of Karnataka. The way to the peak was filled with the vista of Western Ghats, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I took many panoramic shots of the view through my camera. But even my 10-megapixel camera was unable to catch the details that my eyes were able to catch. The overlapping silhouettes of mountains in the distant view were really mesmerizing. Far away nestled in the middle of two mountains I saw a lake which left me spell-bound. I had just seen such views in movies and wallpapers, but seeing these in front of me was like a dream come true.

We reached a base point on the peak, from where we had to climb on foot. The winds were blowing too fast here. I stood on a rock for a pose, and the force of wind was so great that I was being pushed away by it. The cold gale left my whole body shivering. After trekking for about 1 km we finally reached the peak. It was a really great achievement for me as I was feeling like I whole of the Karnataka is below my feet. There was no snow on the peak, but the gale was blowing in such ferocity like it was compensating for it. We spent around half an hour on the peak. Then we climbed down and went to Kemmengudi. The way to Kemmengudi was full of sharp turns and narrow roads. By this time the sun had also risen up high in the sky. The hot weather was contributing to the uneasiness and I felt for some moments that I will have nausea. But fortunately, I overcame that by distracting my thoughts on other topics. We started to play ATLAS and it was fun. The main attraction of Kemmengudi was a famous waterfall ’Hebbe falls’. But after reaching there, we came to know that it has been banned due to an order by Supreme Court order to ban tourism in the wildlife areas. It was really disappointing to miss out the falls after coming such a distance for them. By this time we were hungry also, so we decided to have a quick brunch in a nearby canteen.

After having this brunch, we went to another nearby waterfall that came out to be a fuss. It was a little stream of water falling from 5 feet and a throng of people were bathing there. We decided it was better to go back only. So, we went back to the cab and told him to take us back to Bangalore. After that, we didn't stopped anywhere except some short breaks for rest and tea. Around 9 PM we reached the Bangalore. It was feeling great to be back in Bangalore. It was like this was the place where I will find the comfort I will feel. All I wanted now was to go and relax on my bed and I will be fresh again. I went and got a quickly got asleep. I got a good sleep, actually was enjoying the sleep after many days.

In the end, it was a good trip; we enjoyed the cool weather and the serene environment of Chikmagalur. We badly needed a break from this busy life of Bangalore. But the weekend has ended and I have to go to office tomorrow. I can’t imagine why time flies so fast when we trace it back in past. 

India a Superpower

Few days ago I watched a video of Ramachandra Guha, an acclaimed historian of India. He was in UBC for a lecture on "Ten Reasons why India will not and must not become a superpower". In this lecture he discusses the major ten reasons which are roadblocking  India's path to become a superpower. My cousin recommended me to watch this video. Mr. Guha tells us about the following 10 biggest hurdles in face of India:

• Insurgency 
• Right wing religious parties
• Decline and fall of democratic center and conversion of political parties to family firms. 
• Degradation of public  institutions
• Growing gap b/w poor and rich. 
• Rapid pace of environmental degradation
• Apathy of media
• Political fragmentation 
• Unreconciled borderlands
• Unstable neighborhoods

These are actually some serious problems but I believe India can overcome these, just a strong will to succeed is required. But how can Mr. Guha says "must not" become superpower. The first question that comes to my mind is that Ramachandra Guha is a cynic who does not believes in the potential of India. But as the fogs of patriotism started to clear away, a different reality started to emerge  in my mind. Why is the whole world obsessed with the notion of a country becoming superpower. The Americans are behind this; after the collapse of USSR, US is boasting of its power all over the world. They are responsible for creating a mirage in the minds of the people(especially from the developing world) that being a superpower is the ultimate sophistication.

You pick any newspaper or magazine, it will be filled with news of India-China, US- China or even US-India comparisons; how India is lagging behind China in the superpower race. But I feel is it necessary to become a superpower? Are there no great nations except US in the world to model. I greatly respect US in its achievements in the field of science and economy especially. They have a great lifestyle and have given a lot to the world. But, do we need to model ourselves completely after them? No. Every country is different and it will require different and focused effort to reform it. I personally believe Canada is a better example for us. It is a cool country not just in terms of weather but politically also. Why do you want to stick your nose into others matters? Let them live as they want. What will India achieve after becoming superpower?

A great nation is not a nation who dominates others but where people are happy. A country which is for the people, not for the interest of some top ranking officials. So, I want India to better focus on progressing its people rather than dreaming of world domination by becoming a superpower. The middle ages are far behind. In the future there will be no next UK or USA, but the world will become more stable. I visualize the world collaborating together to solve the problems of future and India should play a greater role in that which can only happen if it becomes more prosperous. So, lets hope India comes out of this mirage and face reality as soon as possible.

Religion

Religion is a powerful thing. The history is the proof of the impact that the religion has caused on this world. It has influenced everyone from the creative artists in renaissance, to the great rulers of the Middle ages. Every civilization on this earth has the marks of being associated with religion. But is there really a supreme entity like God or it is just a myth created by humans for their own prospects. If there is a God, then why he/she is hidden. Why doesn't he comes to the front? Where is he/she? I really don't know which gender to use for him/her. I have heard that according to Bible, there were two brothers God and Devil who created this world and on a personal bet they had a competition who saw that no one will directly interfere but just influence them to see which side they will go. That seems an interesting theory.

While if we see more clearly, sometimes it seems like all of this is fraud. These gods are just a creation of human mind. As our civilized society needs law to function properly like that human mind needs religion to work in moral bounds. The religion could have been created just to contain the humans so that they do not believe themselves as the most superior and commit whatever they want. The presence of god created a fear in minds of people to do what is right, to live morally. In fact, the absence of god would have made this society chaotic. Everywhere there would be dissonance. The strong would have been ruling the weak. Even now, this is the rule of nature, but it would have been more extreme. The crime would be on its highest peak. So, we can say that maybe some visionaries of earlier ages foresaw this and made religion as a solution.

On one side religion is responsible for morality in world; It is under the influence of religion only that people donate a lot especially in India and help the poor. While a little north west of India, we can see what can happen if we interpret religion in wrong way. The terrorism is now considered as one of the major problems of world. The 2002 riots of Gujarat were an example of how religion can influence a man to commit such grave acts. No religion says that kill other person of other faith. I don't know why people are so rigid in their perspective. I have seen people who never consider the other side of equation, they just think they are always correct and the one of the biggest miracle of this world is that they find a lot of idiots who follow these people blindly.

Like all the people in this world, I also don't have a concrete answer for it. Sometimes, I am in this basket, other times i am in other. I am right now sandwiched between traditions and the practicality. One I have got from my family which I cannot leave behind. But the other I discovered while learning which I cannot ignore. I can't say whether it is there or not, but it has impacted the world in a way, no other thing could have.  Religion is a wide topic and I have lots of thoughts regarding it but I will keep them for some other time. Till that time I can say that I am an agnostic Indian.

Make Over

When I crated this blog, I chose an appearance that will deflect a cool look. As our culture. defines hackers with being cool, so I chose a black background with a background of a pic of Earth taken from outer space. It was there to show my interest in space and technology. But, today I realized that the blog also needs a makeover. Something warm, that would instantly make you happy. Moreover, I have now realized that being social is also a required term in case. So, I have changed the appearance of my blog completely today. It has  got a new color and I have also removed the unwanted components in the sidebar. Here, is a cached pic of the old facade.

Some Thoughts

I was thinking from many days to write something, but wasn't getting time for it. One of the best things about IT industry is you have a 5 day week which gives you 2 days full of leisure. I was looking for this day with special anxiety as I had to go to office last Sunday to perform a smoke test. But, now I am having little difficulty to decide what to write. I should have jotted down the topics that were coming to mind earlier. While I was reading 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari', there was one quote of Robin Sharma about our thoughts that I like very much. he says a human mind thinks. We think every time. But, it is just plain redundancy. Most of the things that we think in a day are same what we thought about yesterday. So, basically writing keeps a record and pushes you think more and in new areas. I think everyone should write sometime. I had always wanted to write a diary, so that when I look back into my life after 10-20 years, I have some record. But, I never had  the consistency and the notebooks being tangible are prone to wear and tear so I  shifted to blogs. It is a safe way to preserve your thoughts.

Thoughts are an important part of our life. They represent our consciousness. Like we have a face, we have a consciousness. The ability to think is only developed in humans and that makes us different from other organisms. We should always respect what we are given by the almighty. Moreover, writing if developed can become an art. The things which a good writer can do just by his words are spell-bounding. There is an ancient saying, " A pen is mightier than a sword". When a person writes, he is preserving his thoughts, his abilities, his visions and much more. Every other person who will read it will capture these thoughts and will make them their own. Now, he will start from where the author left. The reader will not have to start from scratch, he will not have to reinvent the wheel. This is one of the ways, knowledge has been passed on from generation to generation.

This earth has had around 108 billion people. The problems we are facing or faced would have been faced by some of them for sure. So, why not gain from their mistakes, why not learn from their experience. This can be only be done by knowing their thoughts(reading), visualizing what they thought, combining all the thoughts to think something new and then passing it to future generations. If we follow this, we can take our race to the levels we can never think of. The amount which is spent on wars and military each year is colossal ($1.74 trillion). Just think if we can put even a fraction of that amount for advancement of humans, we could have been living in a new era.

Pulp Fiction: A Classic

I had heard a lot about the classic movie Pulp Fiction, but didn't got chance to see it until recently. One of the major reasons I downloaded it was its high ratings by critics on 'IMdb'  and 'RottenTomatoes'. The movie is a really good piece of art. It is not having any enthralling story or motive, but still it is the movie which will stay with you for a long time. The lead roles were played very well, especially Vincent by John Travolta. Moreover, I liked Harvey Keitel as Wolf. He was really inspiring with his think fast, talk fast and act fast philosophy. The way he cover ups the whole operation in such a scarce time is astonishing. This movie is one of the rare scenario when I haven't deleted the movie after watching it. The dialogues are clear and spell bounding. In the end, I can only say you should watch it, it clearly depicts the American culture and that era in States when the crime was at its peak and the nation was bound in shackles by drug lords and mafia. 

The Story Of India:The Power of Ideas

The second episode of the legendary documentary by Michael Woods depicts the time in India when ideas started generating in the minds of people and they begin to question the standards. This was the phase in history when philosophers started questioning the old order all over the world; In china Confucius; Old testament in Israel and Greek Philosophers in Europe, but nowhere the questioning was as intense as in India. It was a revoltuionary time for humanity. It depicts the story of various religions which evolved in India especially Buddhism and its effect on Indian civilization and as well as on the world. This story also explains the invasion of Alexander the Great on India and the rule of Mighty kings thereafter like Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashoka which heavily influenced the culture of India. Wood traverses various places throughout the India related to Buddha and unravels the story of how Buddha discovered enlightenment and shares some of his philosophy. 

Then Wood describes the rule of Chandragupta Maurya who ruled all over India from Afghanistan to Assam  and from Kashmir to parts of Tamil Nadu. The Greek ambassadors who visited the capital city of Patna (known as Patliputra as that time) described it as the best city of its time with the city expanding around 9 miles along the banks of the mighty Ganges with palaces lining the riverside. In the end Chandragupta adopted Jainism and lived such a ascetic life that he died of starvation. After him, Bindusara ruled the Mauryan empire. After him came the great ruler Ashoka who expanded the limits of his rule further. Ashoka was a fierce ruler and was involved in lot of violence. His attack on Kalinga(present day Orissa) is said to be one of the most brutal wars in the history of India. 

But the war changed Ashok, he was so moved by the horror of war that he adopted the path of non-violence and for the rest of his life followed the philosophy of Buddha and maintained good relations with neighboring states. Ashoka created a lot of  monuments all over India to preach Buddhism. When India got independent in 1947, the symbol of Ashoka became our national emblem. Ashoka even started various forms of governance to improve the lives of people. 

Steve Jobs Resume

I found the resume of Steve Jobs on internet and I think it deserves to be published.

I think this is splendid. Wow!!!!

Forbes Subscription

Today I completed the first magazine of my subscription of Forbes magazine, the issue of 15 August. It was all about India, its growth and how can it be a great nation after few years if and only if we take some right but difficult steps in the correct direction. It had an article "65 Things We Love about India", listing 65 great things about India on its 65th Independence Day. Moreover, the magazine praised various bureaucratic of India who brought a positive change for nation. Overall it was a good read.

A Tribute to Steve Jobs

Sometimes there are moments in the life, which touch you to the core. One such moment happened to me when I read the biography of Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson. The former managing editor of Time magazine depicts the story of his life in an artistic way. Earlier I had heard of Steve; the legendary entrepreneur and founder of Apple, but now I am little more familiar to his life. Steve was an eccentric, innovative and visionary guy who had the keen sense of judging how thing should be. His life teaches us that facts are not everything, sometimes we have to believe in ourselves, in our sixth sense. He was a college dropout and still he hired some of the best people all around the world. The biography traces his life right from the beginning when he was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs to the very end when he was on deathbed due to cancer. Steve was very much interested  in Zen teachings and it is said he learnt his love for simplicity from it.

On 5th October 2011, Steve died at an age of 56, don't know whether Apple will survive after him or not. But they will feel the loss for sure. Steve was responsible for quick decisions and binding different departments of the organization together. Whatever Apple does they cannot be leaders without the vision of Steve. The effects are beginning to show, the new iPhone 5 has no wow factor in it. The Apple Maps are a disaster; completely opposite to the perfection Steve craved for. The last time Apple launched such a product 'Mobile Me' in 2008, Steve fired the team lead responsible publicly.

He never did any market research, but believed in his intuition that people will buy this product. He was a magician who had the capability to woo people like the piper. In his lifetime he founded three companies : Apple, Next and Pixar.He believed in simplicity and his products show that. Every product of Apple from Macintosh to iPad was simple to use and futuristic in features. After reading the book I really wanted that maybe Steve Jobs shouldn't have died so soon, so that we can have some more inspiring products. He revolutionized the whole industry by bringing products that changed the viewpoint of people and forced the whole industry to change their plans.

Here are some pics of him I liked:

Some quotes from Steve:

• Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

• You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.

• Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?

• It is hard to think that a $2 billion company with 4,300-plus people couldn't compete with six people in blue jeans.

• The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products.

• The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products.

• Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don’t. I think it’s 50-50 maybe. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of – maybe it’s ’cause I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear. The wisdom you’ve accumulated. Somehow it lives on, but sometimes I think it’s just like an on-off switch. Click and you’re gone. And that’s why I don’t like putting on-off switches on Apple devices.

16/09/2012

From now on I have decided to make regular interval reports to see how am i using my time. What actually I am doing.This will help me in the same way companies use analytics to see their progress. So, for me today started when I woke up at 11 O' clock. I had slept late yesterday night after watching the fourth installment of Mission Impossible Series - The Ghost Protocol. After that I freshened up and had breakfast of fried rice with tea. Then, I took up the newspaper - Economic Times. The newspaper was full of opinions of various people on the new reform agenda unveiled on Friday by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Then, I just had a glance on the 'The Hindu'.

After that, I heard voices coming from kitchen, so I moved there. I saw my freiends preparing something for lunch as cook is on leave on Sunday. We prepared chapatis and heated the tinned curry of 'Kadi Pakoda'. It was delicious. After I had lunch it was around 3 PM. Post lunch, all my friends went to do their daily chores. I also came back to my room and started reading the biography of Steve Jobs. I read about the development of iPhone and cancer complexities of Steve Jobs. After that I started to just browse the internet and watched some videos on YouTube on Apple. I have also started downloading the Windows 8: Preview Edition. Let's See how is the newest edition of Windows is actually.

Then, I saw a ted video on how the usage of thorium reactors can change the energy scenario in the world and can even help us to form colonies in the world. It is five minutes to 5PM now and I am just writing this blog. I have to also send the courier to the mobile guys and I have to rearrange stuff in my closet. I cant believe how fast time passes on. Tomorrow, I have to go office again the weekend is over. :(

Naruto : A Manga

Recently I have started reading Naruto;one of the most famous manga in the world. I started it after a recommendation by a person in his resume online. The story is addictive; it is about an orphan boy who wants to become the strongest ninja in the world. 

Movie Reviews

Just browse a little on Friday and you will see every website's homepage having reviews of movies released that day. So, from now on I have decided I will also start rating the movies I watch and keep updating the same on this blog. Now, the question arises how should one review a movie, there should be a set of parameters on whose basis we can rate a movie. After a lot of thinking and research I have come on the following attributes required in a good movie :

• Screenplay/Story
• Cinematography
• Casting
• Soundtrack 
• Depiction/How you show what is there?

All these parameters carry one star each. Cinematography includes the skill of camera and the backgrounds used. While depiction includes how the plot is shown to evolve in the movie.

Story Of India : Beginnings

Finally after a long gap, I started the documentary I downloaded a long time ago : The Story of India; a six volume documentary series on India narrated by famous historian Michael Wood. I had first seen this series on my cousin's computer and he recommended me to watch it. I watched the first episode today : The Beginnings. In this episode, Michael tries to find the beginning civilization in Indian subcontinent and how people came here. This journey takes us from the hamlets of Kerala to ruins of Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan and finally to mainland India. The magic of Michael wood was overshadowing the video, his unique British accent, priceless expressions and huge knowledge about the world was unmistakably charismatic. One more thing which kept me spellbound throughout the episode was the background Indian classic music composed by Howard Davidson.

The Series starts with Wood explaining about the first migrations of humans from Africa. Then, he takes us to remote villages of Kerala; one of the few regions of India still highly culturally intact. He goes to the Brahmin homes where father and sons are reciting incantations in an ancient language. This language is a very old language and there is no written mode of it. It is only known in its spoken form. It is told that this is was one of the earliest languages known to mankind and after research it has come to knowledge that it is composed of strange sounds resembling the hooting of birds. It is speculated that when the humans first came to settle down in India, they were using this language. 

Then, wood packs his bags and moves on the Indus Valley in Pakistan, where civilization is believed to have started around 3500 B.C . There he moves to ancient towns of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. In its peak of power, Indus Valley civilization is believed to have been home of around 5 million people. In his eloquent tone, Wood also describes how British archaeologists discovered this place. But suddenly the civilizations got disappeared from here and migrated to other places. The shift in climate is believed to be a major factor in this. The change in weather affected the river system in which was the lifeline of Valley. So, the people migrated to east in the interiors of India; right in the plains of mighty Ganges.

The story then takes us to the earlier capital of British India - Calcutta. The city still shows the impact of British in its architecture and culture. Wood meets some members of Asiatic Society which has lots of historical texts. Wood discovers the Rig Veda and the various theories in it about the Indian gods. Rig Veda is written in Sanskrit and is believed to have been written around 1700 - 1100 BC. It is considered to be the oldest of the holiest scriptures of Hindus. Wood compares the texts of Rig Veda with what he found in Indus Valley that people of that age tamed horses and had chariots. He even mentions Soma, a drink believed to be taken by even gods. He tries to recreate Soma in the markets of Peshawar. Soma is believed to be  prepared from plants in Central Asia and supports the strong relation between Central Asia and India. Then, he observes the fact that the people not just migrated to India alone, but even to upper Central Asia like in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan of present. Wood doesn't leaves these parts behind for his quest to uncover the mystery and goes to an Archaeological complex in Turkmenistan and meets an Russian archaeologist who is working on the same mystery. Then, he concludes the episode by going to Holi celebrations in Mathura and quotes "This is just the beginning". 

Tourism Industry

Tourism is an important industry in world. Every year millions of people travel from one place to another for a wide range of causes ranging from business, leisure etc. A lot of other industries like hospitality; local people are often dependent on tourists. A survey has observed that France is the most toured country in the world. The main reason behind this is the pro activeness of French to be on the top. They have spent a lot of money to preserve their heritage and marketing their culture.

India is said to be the cradle of civilization. India is a colossal country of 1.2 billion people, having lots of cultural, geographical and historical diversity. India has the potential to become the top tourist destination in world. The govt. should take some serious steps in this direction to make this happen as this will create lakhs of jobs directly and many more indirectly. I have thought some initiatives, that can help in this ambition.

 First of all, we need to have an ambitious but achievable goal, that can inspire and motivate us to strive more. Therefore, the tourism ministry should have a committee that should analyse the current trends of tourism; both internal and external and project the demand for next 7 years. Then, we should set our target more than this figure, like 40% more. This committee should also find the major tourist hot spots in country and develop them further. 

Second, a separate marketing department should be created to popularize India across the world. The 'Incredible India' campaign was a really successful campaign, but we need something new now, something more energetic and fresh, depicting the new spirit in the ministry to rejig the structure completely. India boasts of everything that a person dreams from calm beaches of Goa, to stubborn mountains of Himalayas, what is required is awareness among people.

Third, a high level committee should be formed to  look into the ways, we can enrich the experience of people. Their should be a proper tourism infrastructure in the country. By tourism infrastructure, i don't mean just basic infrastructure of roads, rail, power etc. , but proper accommodation and other facilities. The experience of tourists will portray us in the view of world, so strict laws should be enacted to make sure these places have proper sanitation and hygiene. The tourist operators should be multi-lingual.

Fourth, better maintenance of monuments, archaeology, push for international recognition, world heritage, open  museums, collect antiques

Tourism will also infuse the spark in the dormant economies of northeast India which really needs development now.China is the recent example of nations rising up in the tourist table. India has the potential to be one of the best tourist place in world. What is required is an indomitable will to succeed.

ISRO

Human being is a very curious animal. It is the curiosity that has led him from the depths of oceans to the unknown worlds in space. But now in this modern globalized world, nations launch space missions not only to fulfill human curiosity  but to show their superiority and reap its economic and scientific benefits also. I admire Vikram Sarabhai for his vision. After the independence he put forth a space policy for nation, people questioned his idea as why does a poor nation like India needs to spend huge amounts on space, when people in our country are dying of hunger. But Mr. Sarabhai remained persistent and told people that India is not going into any space race, but the advancement will help people in long term.

India is reaping benefits from his vision now. Today, we are not dependent on some other country to launch our satellites into space. Even world acknowledged India's prowess after Chandrayaan. But we need to work hard as we have conquered just a peak, the mountain is still there. It really hurts me to see that corruption has not left Isro, India's one of the most prestigious institution. The ongoing war between the former and current chief of Isro will surely affect its future.

One of the main reasons why Russia lost to US in space war was lack of adequate rocket which could take payload to moon and return. Werner Von Braun's Saturn 5 rocket is till time the largest rocket ever made. China is playing superb by investing in rockets, its long march family is developing fast and was responsible for their manned missions.

Just a few days ago, I read in news that govt. has approved ISRO's mars mission. This mission is nothing but a show mission. The payload will be only 25 kg. Moreover, the mission is not much complex. Rather than spending so much amount, India should now focus building capabilities by improving its rockets. We need GSLV mark III as soon as possible. It will allow us to launch heavier satellites, moon missions like Chandraayaan 2 and manned missions in space. The only reason Chandrayaan 2 is delayed is due to lack of such a heavy launch capability. So, rather than be in a race to send first thing to Mars, India should focus on basics first and invest in building heavy rockets. I have devised a four step approach for Isro that can help it to be a  world leader in space :

 ~ Change the organisation structure of Isro, make different subsidiaries based on their roles like rockets, satellite, space missions, R&D etc. These subsidiaries should be allocated budget on their priorities.

~ Invest higher amounts in Research and development so that we can find more innovative and creative solutions for our problems.

~ Improve the work culture of Isro so that more and more better people join it. Improve the life of people in Isro.

~ Increase the level of space education in India. If we want to increase the level of we need some world class educational institutes  IIST is a good step in this direction but we need to increase the quality and quantity of courses. IIST should increase MOU's with top aerospace institutions across the world.

Moreover, I believe the time has come for Isro to go into a new phase with new ambitious objectives and a new momentum. Nothing tells more to the world at a first glance than your logo. The current logo of Isro was adopted in 2002. Few weeks ago, I saw the logo of CNSA - China National Space Academy and i was really amazed by the detail and the logic in it. I suppose the ISRO has lot to learn from it, not just in terms of their creativity, but also their zeal to excel and hard work.

TV Shows

1. Big Bang Theory (Season 1 - 4)
2. Friends (Season 1 - 2)
3. Supernatural (Season 1 - 2)
4. Story of India
5. The Finland Phenomenon

Movies@2012

1. The Vow **
2. John Carter **
3. Vicky Donor ***
4. Shanghai ***
5. Avengers ****
6. The Amazing Spiderman ***
7. Teri Meri Kahaani ***
8. Captain America: The First Avenger ***
9. Cocktail ***
10. Dark Knight Rises ****
11. Ice Age: Continental Drift ****
12. Kya Super Kool Hain Hum **
13. The Fighter **
14. Limitless ****
15. Green Lantern *
16. Downfall ****
17. Kahaani ****
18. Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol  ****
19. Barfi ****
20. Scent Of A Woman ****
21. Goal: The Dream Begins ***
22. Pulp Fiction ****
23. Oh My God ***
24. Kung Fu Panda ****
25. Kung Fu Panda 2 ***
26. Goal II: Living The Dream **
27. Memento ****
28. Student of the Year **
29. King's Speech ****
30. Chakravyuh **
31. Jatt and Juliet ***
32. V for Vendetta ***
33. Borat **
34. Scary movie *
35. Life is Beautiful *****
36. Love Actually ***
37. Braveheart ***
38. Talaash ***
39. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II ***
40. Jab Tak Hai Jaan ****
41. Hobbit ****
42. The Perfect Storm ***
43. Prometheus ***

Rating:
* - Poor
** - Average
*** - Good
**** - Very Good
***** - Awesome

Tour to Banerghatta National Park

Its around 3:40 pm, we are waiting for the safari coach. It would be my second safari, after Jim Corbett National Park. We are currently staying in Jungle Lodges and Resorts. It is a very serene resort situated in the national park. Banerghatta national park is situated near Bangalore. We started as a group of 12 friends from Bellandur in a BMTC bus. We reached the national park around 3 pm. The park's vehicle was waiting for us at the gate. From their it took us 10 minutes to reach our cottage. We booked a dormitory, it had 16 bunk beds. After getting fresh, we had lunch. Then we, had a little photographic session. The cottages provided a nice background for photos. The wooden cottages in forest provided a really nice  view. The forest here is not that dense and the average height of trees was also around 10 ft.

Then, we went for safari. The van took us into the depths of forest. The view from there reminded me of the opening scene of Jurassic park. Mountains laden with greenery as far as you can see. The horizion blurred with layers of blue mountains and you feel that its magnum opus of nature indeed. Looks like weather is also in good mood, sky is cloudy with a cool breeze flowing. I was just gazing here and there and our vechile stops gradually. I see a black gate in front, with signs of bear safari. The area nearby is fenced, it again remind of Jurassic park movie, when those colossal gates are opened, however, the gates here were dwarf in comparison  After a short distance, we spotted black bears, in a huge group. One bear is dancing in a real cool fashion, moving his hind legs.

Then, after few minutes we saw a herd of spotted dears, really cute, furry animals. The park is actually divided into cells for various animals. Then, we moved to lion safari and then tiger safari. There, we also saw the white tiger. It was a really good experience. A tiger was even lying in the middle of road, without any fear as proving his dominance. There, was so much difference between this tiger and the one I saw in the zoo in Jaipur. The one in zoo was lean and lacking energy. This one was moving as a king, proud and pompous. There was a distinct shine in his eyes, radiating pure power. Now, I got to know, why it is the national animal of India. Then, we started to return back to our cottage, on the way we found lots of pools filled with water. One even had crocodiles in it.

While coming back I noticed that a lot of construction projects were going on, some areas were filled with cement. The park was clearly showing signs of human intervention, I think there should be no roads in such parks. These only make them more unreal, widened trails would be better. We can enjoy more, as the park will seem more realistic. I think, the more we try to meddle with nature, the more backward steps it take. As it is said 'beauty is to see, not to touch', places like this should be left as they are. After, returning, coffee and biscuits were served. Then, we started playing volleyball. We played three matches, out of that my team won 2. Then, we played little badminton after which we went on a little excursion. After, a little exploration we came back to cottage. We were just discussing what to do, when the official guy came to inform that they had organised a little camp fire. We went there and played a game of ball pass. Then, we went for dinner. Dinner was delicious.

Now, I am lying in the bed. Its around 11:30. Its cold here and its feeling cosy under the blanket. The place is having some charm, its very peaceful here. Tomorrow morning, there is a morning walk. I  am hoping, it would be great. I am going to sleep now. The next morning I wake up in chaos, everybody is running here and there, the park authorities are continually asking us to hurry as we are getting late for our morning trekking. I freshened up quickly and then went to the group. The group had three more people, they were looking professionals, with SLR cameras and shorts. We all went for trekking inside the park, where we saw deers, bisons and some birds. While trekking we came to a plateau, from where there was an awesome view of the hills surrounding it. The cool morning weather was making it scenic  We reached the camp back after around 90 minutes, where we had  gourmet  breakfast. Then, we again played a game of volleyball. After that, we were all tired and every muscle of body was in pain. 

We all took some rest and then got ready to leave the cottages. We packed our bags and went to the outskirts of park, having zoo. There we saw wild animals like cheetah. Then, we went to butterfly park. After, that nobody had even one joule of energy left. We took the bus back to Bellandur. We were all sad that we will have to go to office tomorrow. Overall it was a nice trip, we all enjoyed it. It was first  time i had stayed in cottage in a jungle. I will remember it for ever.

Friends - An Introduction

I am currently watching Friends, yeah you are right that comic show of 90's. It is my second sitcom after big bang theory and I can definitely say it seems more real. The fun started from the beginning theme song composed by Rembrandts - I'll be there for you. It is addictive and I have even made it my ringtone.

Well basically there are six main charachters Monica, Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe. The story revolves around the lives of these friends living on Manhattan. Monica and Ross are siblings.

Monica is a cook and is looking for a relationship, but is only able to have small stunts with unusual guys. She is a little hot headed and likes her home to be clean and things to be in the same order as she had placed.

Ross is a cute and simple guy who works in a museum and is in love with Rachel since high school. He was earlier married to Carol but they are separate now as she turns out to be a lesbian. They have a son named Ben.

Rachel is Monica's high school friend and shifted in her apartment after she left her fiancee just before wedding. She is now working as a waitress in Perk café. In the second season she and Ross become engaged in a relationship.

Chandler is working in a MNC and is roommate of Joey. Their room is opposite to Monica's. He usually behaves weird in front of girls and is desperate to be in a relationship.

Joey is a cool headed casanova who is struggling to be an actor. He recently got role in a TV show as a doctor. He is usually great with girls but doesn't believes in a relationships.
Phoebe is an eccentric but sexy girl who writes songs (Smelly cat) and usually performs at café with a guitar. She believes in totems, curses and aura. She usually provides her weird comments on everything.

I am currently on second season and still 8 more seasons are left. :O

Rise of America - Triumph of Freedom

I have a great respect for people who are brilliant and have achieved something. People who set aside from the common path to achieve their passion. If we talk in terms of Robert Frost, the people who chose the road less travelled. Here are two lines of his poem, depicting the sentiment.

                   I took the one less traveled by, 

              And that has made all the difference.

A nation is made up of people, it's most important natural resources. If there are ambitious people in a country having the right skills, they can even turn problems into oppurtunities. One such nation is United States of America - the land of opportunities. The land of freedom.

US came into existence on July 4, 1776 declaration of Independence was adopted. From the beginning, America was at a different path. It led to genesis of democracy, an entirely new system of governance which led the center of power to shift in hands of people. This new regime based on the foundations of equality and freedom attracted people from all over the world. Lot of people migrated to US and settled there. These people were also responsible for rise of US as these people were full of passion and energy and wanted to change.bb their lives in a new land. These people contributed a lot; even today there are very few native Americans left, most Americans are descendents of those immigrants.

It was US which gave the world consumer rights. It was US which gave the world nuclear bomb. It was US which gave us the Internet. But the recent crisis creates some doubts on its credibility. The media is filled with the predictions by all gurus.

I believe America can rebound, and it will rebound strongly.America has all the basic ingredients to rule the world. But they have lost their focus right now on trivial things.What they need is a total overhaul.

Why I am acting like a pro supporter of US? I like that nation. I believe they need to be thanked for the major technological and medical inventionsthey provided. US spends most on welfare for other countries in form of foreign aid. I am not denying the fact that they have done some hideous acts, but the benefits far outweigh the losses. We need America either this one or some other, which can act a leader in world, which motivates us daily to take our country at that level.

No country is perfect, but I believe the contributions of America will be remembered ever.

Shanghai - The Movie

Just came back from cinemax after watching Shanghai. It was a good movie, little slow but the acting was superb. Abhay Deol's magic still continued. He played the role of a bureaucrat investigating a poltical murder. The power of an IAS was clearly visible. My friends didn't liked the movie much, especially the girls. They kept complaining the whole time as they wanted to watch Rowdy Rathore.

Moreover, had a busy day in office. So, I am gonna sleep now, can't write more.

Rating: ***

Riddle Called Life

Even after 22 years, I don't know how to live this life. People say that the world is full of mysteries, but I think the most difficult challenge is life. The ultimate answer to this riddle is still not found. I just want a set of instructions that will absolutely lead to the expected results. But that is the beauty of life, there is no one concrete answer, you have to change with the situation. I mean people say be a good person. Now what is good here? In computers term, good is a variable here, that just keeps on changing. The trick lies to adapt yourself too quickly with the situation. I hope it comes with experience. How should a person live his life? Some people spend their whole life in gaining knowledge, while some live to enjoy. They don't think what will happen in future, they squander the money. I believe both the ways are correct, as like trekking a mountain, the fun is not when you reach the peak, the fun is in the journey. So, do what makes you happy, rather than trying to do  what makes others happy. I mean maybe roaming around here and there will be fun for someone, but maybe not for you. Live the life fullest according to the way you want, otherwise you will repent later. If you want to do something, which is right, but others are saying you should not, take their advice, listen to them, but do what your mind says.   People will always criticise/object your actions. Pay no heed to them, do what you want. When you are being criticised, you can be sure that you are growing up.

Randomness

I know there are somethings in this world which one can never get, but only dream, or am I wrong. Can a person do anything he wants? Is this true that determination can do anything? I believe yes and no both. It depends on the situation. Is luck really out there or everything is random. Sometimes I feel, what is random? well, if we go in its meaning, random means unplanned, a situation in which we cannot predict the next outcome. Some people relate it with luck. In computers we can generate random numbers through a simple algorithm. Just take the system time and date in numeric form and apply some long calculations on it. As the system date and time changes, the number pattern changes. Moreover, the calculations are so long that one cannot deduce the next number easily, but it is still predictable. So, what else will we call random?? Outcome of a dice? Or is there any way we can predict it? I am gonna think about that.  

Smartphone

I really want to buy a smartphone now. I am fed up with my Nokia E 63 now. Earlier it used to be a dream to have such a phone, but now that I have it, it seems like penny. The most negative point of this phone is that it is having Symbian in it. The age of Symbian has passed, now the market is ruled by either Android or iOS. Windows Mango has also entered the market now and till now its great. The major advantage carried by these two operating systems is that they have collosal app stores which enable the users to do virtually everything with their mobile phones. It makes them much more productive.  Another good feature of OS is its interface. When we compare the interface of Android with my Symbian, I really feel pathetic. These newer OS makes mobile  usage so much easier and fun.
Apart from OS, another  good reason for buying a new phone is that I will able to use internet over it. It would be like a computer which I can user anywhere, it will bring whole of the world in my pocket. I can sync my emails with it so that i can get instant notifications about work or friends. Moreover, I will have the ability to search anything. That would make the times easier when I want to know about something but I have to wait till I reach home and switch on my laptop and google about it. I can use internet on this mobile, but it is not user friendly at all. It is cumbersome process. Moreover, the phone is having a much longer response time. Therefore, it wastes a lot of time. Another thing I would like to do on my phone is reading books. My this mobile phone is also having a PDF reader, but its screen is too small. So, I need to scroll sideways again and again to read the complete line. Then, another thing is music, now that I am buying the phone I don't want to waste money on another iPOD. This phone's volume is too low. Another desired feature is good camera so that I can click good snapshots. So, now lets converge all these.
First of all OS. For OS we have following choices: - Android - iOS - Blackberry - Windows 7.5 Windows 7.5 Mango is a new attempt by Microsoft to gain the mobile OS. The interface is completely revamped to suit  touchscreen input. The homescreen is tile based. Moreover, internet explorer is very easy to use. But the app store is still far behind those of android and iOS. The major problem with iOS is that it only comes with iPhone. iPhone is really awesome smartphone. But there are few concerns regarding it. First of all its damn costly here. It will cost me around 40000 bucks to buy one. I can buy a good laptop at this price. Its money wastage to buy one. Second, the iPhone is very restricted. The Apple has designed it in keeping only themselves in mind. We cannot share files between an iPhone and some other phone through bluetooth. Third, apple is still new in India, so there are very few service stations. So, if something happens, its gonna be problematic. So, I have decided, I can buy it later, when i will have more money :). Further, blackberry is also going down nowadays. The good apps are all paid ones. And after seeing the blackberry phone of Vivek, I am not that much impressed. I think android provides everything nowadays that blackberry had. The main reasons of rise of blackberry were: BBM and Push to email service. Apps like these are now readily available in Android App Market. So, in the end I conclude, I am gonna buy an Android smartphone. The android has a new version released now recently. It is the 'Ice Cream Sandwich'. I am looking to buy this one.
Till now only a few mobile manufactureres have come up with this. But I will wait for sometime and buy this one only. One other choice is samsung galaxy s3. Its gonna launch in april. So, lets see what the future awaits.   

Some Thoughts on World in 2020

Its year 2012 and I am travelling back to home in company shuttle.  I am currently 22 years old approximately. As far can I remember the world started to change rapidly after 2000 especially India. The dot com revolution had begun galloping and the world started to become smaller and smaller.I didn't recognised the change at that time but as the time passed on  and got more and more connected to the world, I realized that the world has started picking up pace. The more i think , the more i feel the same. The technology revolution has shaken the world like never before. Never in the history of this planet has any species left such a mark on it as now. We are becoming meaner day by day. We just think about us nothing else. We are expanding cities like never before. So hows it gonna be in 2020? I don't know really. A lots of think tanks have published their predictions, but i believe its gonna be different. New areas will be discovered, beyond the realm of our imagination. 8 years is a collossal period of time.
Some people say it is gonna be a better world, some say its gonna be hell. I think both, for some it would be heaven, they would have all the comforts, while for some its gonna be more competitive to live. My dream is that there is a single government on planet, no India, no China but Earth. It won't be possible in this decade, but it is surely gonna happen in future. If this happens, its gonna be one of the greatest revolution on earth. But the consequences would be mixed.  The good thing would be that unlike today less amount of money, time and resources would be involved in wars and millitary. But on the negative side this will hurt the economy as the competitiveness will be reduced drastically.
Today, one of the major reasons behind technological improvement is the rivalry between the nations. If we move back in time, we can easily see that one of the most productive periods for world were -  During Nazi Germany and Cold War. While in the former the rivals invested a lot in research and development, it was the cold war between russia and usa which led to the space age.   So, what should be the best model for a global government which provides a central solution so that less time, money and resources are wasted in unproductive things but also maintains that spirit in people that they have to do something. That they have to become better than the other person.   The UN is a good global platform which has been a good step by the world. But it's structure, its soul is old. The world has changed a lot from its creation. So the foundations on which UN is based no longer applies to the world. The UN is just a tool of the developed economy. The creators of UN made sure that the powee lies with them always. But the world now needs a more balanced approach, a new organisation both structurally as well as fundamentally, whose main aim is for the greater good not personal motives. I hope the world moves on this way. Just imagine how much more advanced our race would be if we all 7 billion dedicate ourselves to it.
But still one major thing is left - GOAL.   A goal is a very powerful thing. It can inspire, it can motivate a man to do things, he can never imagine. A goal was the main success recipie of USA beating Russia in space race. The vision that Kennedy put into the thoughts of millions of Americans when he gave his famous speech was a master stroke that inspired them to do something which was thought impossible earlier, and it continues to inspire some people to do something which has been never done before. It was the charismatic speeches of Hitler which lead the Germany to recover so rapidly.

21 Feb 2012 : A normal day in life

Today is 21 Feb 2012, I am right now sitting in backup shuttle from office to my pg. Today's day went good, I am satisfied with my performance. I did work today. I woke up in the morning around 7:40 to the sound of door bell. I was aware that Vinod had left the home as he had to catch the shuttle for office. So, I woke up and went to door, but there was no one there. Then, i thought it is better to dress up now that I have left the bed.
Then, I remembered that I have to  wash clothes, so I went to roof and put my clothes in washing machine. The sun had risen and it was hot up there. So, I quickly dumped them in the tub and set the procedure. There, I saw the option of air turbo, I had seen it before also in other washing machines, but I had never used it. So, I selected that also. I don't know what would be the result, I have my fingers crossed. Then, i went back to room and switched on tv and set the channel to mtv. I like listening songs in the morning. It feels fresh after I listen good songs in morning. Then, I started dressing up for the day. After dressing up I went for breakfast, it was not that good. Then, I started walking to bus stop and got the shuttle to reach office. Today, too much traffic was there and further, it was aa hot day, so it was problematic to reach office today. After what seemed hours of punishment, I reached office.
In office , I did lots of work today and wrote scripts on tenders in pos. Then, there was a  conference call with onshore team today. So, I was there attending the call. Now, after all that I am sitting in shuttle. I am feeling hungry now and hope that there would be good food today at pg. But my heart knows that this hope's gonna shatter when, I reach there. After having dinner, I will watch TV for few minutes and then, check my mails. Then, I am gonna study my two novels little bit and few other articles. Then, I am gonna sleep.
Today, when I was having that con call in that meeting room, I was wondering how far I have come and how far will I go now. Let us see, what the future has for me.

Reality of Change

The only thing constant in this world is change. Change is the reality of life. Nothing is eternal in this world. i completely agree with the Darwin when he quotes : “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Change is the glue which has woven the fabric of world. Even pain occurs due to change. We feel pain as the mind tells us something is different, something is not right. Pain is just a sensation of change.

It is clear that change occurs but the most interesting thing about change is its timing. It just happens at the time when we least expect it to occur. That's why it hurts a lot. We don't expect it and lower our defenses and that is the time when the change strikes. So what can we do about it? Nothing. The only thing we can do is to embrace it and accept it as a bitter part of life. God has gifted us with cure named 'Adaptation'. But it needs practice, patience and self control. 

After some time we will develop the ability to adapt and face the change head on. Then only we can hope to live successfully because change is everywhere, everything and for everyone.