The E-Factor

These days Everything has an 'E' factor attached. The E-factor has a prominent place in our daily lives. A single day cannot be spent without the E-factor. I am not going to mention the business part of internet but surely would like to mention how our lives are affected by internet. It is both easier an addictive in nature.

Our day begins with checking E-mails. We decide our day depending on the emails we have received (at least this is what happens at work). The internet is so much into our lives that everything happens over internet, including weddings.

The travel bookings are done over internet. As we call it, E-booking and the tickets E-Tickets. Even though they charge Rs.20-Rs.100 extra, we are ready to pay for it. It of course saves our time and efforts of standing in the long queue, spending money to reach to the booking offices etc.

Gone are those days when people used to send greeting cards via post or couriers. It is the era of E-Cards. An E-Card is personalized, faster and easier way to send your wishes to your loved ones. It just doesn't end there. Gifts can also be sent via the internet. You can use: E-Commerce, E-Bay to purchase the gifts. In fact, some websites even deliver the gifts, cake and flowers at given address(makes our life lot easier).

You want to buy/sell something, the cheapest and easiest way is to put it over internet. It is called E-Auction. No need to include the brokers in between. Be it property or electronics they can bought and sold via Internet.

People even buy books via internet. They are soft copies of the original books called as E-Books. Lot of people like reading books on the system or laptop. I feel the best way to read a book is a hard copy of the book, a cozy bed and a steaming cup of tea. Anyways, few people like a laptop instead of the book.

Lets come to the money part of internet. The last I went to a bank was 4-5 years ago. Most of us do all the transactions over internet. It includes transferring money from one account to another, paying bills, checking balance etc. Thanks to the internet we can transfer money anytime from anywhere :)

I have heard people getting married through internet. Credit goes to the web cam. This in fact, saves a lot of money and efforts spent during the marriage ;)

Well our life is a lot easier with the E-Factor but small things in everyday life cant be replaced. A sweet smile, a hug, a shoulder to cry etc... Glad that still we meet friends, hangout with them, have fun and just don't wave at them in the web-cam.

Numbers and my life

This is a strange thought or call it feeling, that I had since few years. Even when I am not very much into mathematical domain or finance, my life revolves around numbers. Not just mine, its with most of the people. I understand mathematics is the base of the economy but what has numbers to do with one's life? Sometimes I get frustrated with all the number business.
- Your day starts with a number - Getting up at some x hrs. You need to calculate the previous night how long will it take for you to reach your destination(office, school, college etc). And then add all the factors like - How long you would take to get ready (especially for girls :)), How long for breakfast etc. Uff! you sleep with all the numbers and calculations in mind.
This is just an example of almost all of us! Lets get into professional life now. I am very sure this area is filled with only and only numbers. Be it any domain/field of work you need to answer the questions that start with HOW MANY and HOW MUCH... Your performance, salary, promotion, growth etc etc all depends on these numbers.

Your health also is defined by a set of numbers. BP, Heart Rate, Sugar Level, RBC or WBC count and many more labels. If you are to be called fit, your values have to be within a pre-defined range.

If we get into relationships, even here the numbers have the dominance. How many years have you been together, how many fights have you fought, how many gifts have you been gifted etc decide about the depth or seriousness of the relation.

The rest of our life revolves around finance, economy and again numbers rule us here.

Wish we had a life without numbers (I know it sounds insane and unimaginable, but it is just a wish). We would not have been restricted to 24 hour cycle. Life would be so less complicated. Ah! Sounds good! Anyways, I have to sleep now so that I can get up and start calculating again :(..

Ek Cup Chai

Tea is called as Chai, Chaha, Tea, Cha, Te, Tee, Sha in different languages across world. One cup chai, as it is called in Hindi, works wonders after a long and tired day. Drinking tea has been a practice since childhood. When I was a kid I used to cry for tea but then my mother never let me drink tea till I was 7-8 yrs old. Even that was after a lot of crying and convincing. I have been drinking tea since so many years, even then every single cup tastes different till date. In India, drinking tea is a daily practice. You just need a reason to drink tea:

a. The day begins with a cup of tea. First thing in the morning, have a cup of tea while reading the news paper. This makes a good beginning of your day.

b. Every guest in India irrespective of cast, creed and status is treated with a cup of tea. This practice is prevalent almost everywhere in India.

c. Tea is considered to be one of the good stress busters. When you are very tired or stressed a cup of tea can rejuvenate you.

d. Tea is always a reason for break in between work.

e. Meeting over tea is a way people catch up with each other.

f. Tea is also treated as a medicine in many ways.

g. When you are sleepy, you grab a cup of tea to stay alerted up.

h. Tea is the best way to stay awake during exams for students. I remember many people doing that to stay awake during the exams.

i. Tea is the way to stay awake during night out with friends. This is the best way I remember having tea with my friends. You stay awake till sunrise with 2-3 cups of tea and talk endlessly.

j. During the monsoons steaming cup of tea and hot pakoda's (especially chilly pakoda's) are the best way to enjoy the monsoons. Especially the tea on the roadside tea shop, while its drizzling is a very enjoying moment .

k. Hot cup of tea during winters is a very nice way to beat the cold.

l. A cup of ginger tea during throat infection is beneficial to reduce the infection.

m. Black tea with lemon is very good after a heavy meal. It helps in digestion.

n. Drinking tea during travel especially in Indian trains is a way of bonding with people and passing time.

o. How can I forget... Tea is the first thing a girl offers to the guy and his family when they come to see her. This is the age old practice which is still followed in India.

p. For most of the software engineers, it is kind of relieving when you do the work on the computer simultaneously sipping a cup of tea.

q. Tea in another form - Ice Tea is a cooling drink and has soothing effect during hot summers

r. I am not sure how far will the medics agree to this. Indian tea is prepared with milk. For people who do not drink milk directly but drink tea with milk, the calcium deficiency can be compensated.

s. Lot of people drink tea when they have a headache. I am not sure if it really works. I never tried it though.

t. Tea helps you overcome the headache and fatigue after a hangover. Lot of people say tea reduces the hangover.

u. High Tea - It can be called as a gathering where people meet up for tea and snacks. It can be a form of get together. High tea basically originates from UK.

v. Tea can be a mood up lifter. A cup of good tea, with good music can change a gloomy day into a happening one. This has worked for me many a times :).

w. This an economic reason why lot of Indians prefer tea to coffee. Tea is cheaper than coffee in most of the restaurants. Economically drinking tea works out :).

x. Most of the people are addicted to Tea. Tea is a drink not restricted to any culture or country. People worldwide drink tea with the same love for the drink. Anywhere you go on earth you will find a cup of tea :).

y. Tea is also drunk just for TIMEPASS. You need not have a reason to drink tea :).

z. The best reason - THE TASTE n AROMA OF TEA!!!

Ah! The aroma and colour of boiling tea awakens you :) Time for my cup of tea!!!

Bhage re Mann Mera!!!

Beheka hain mann kahi,
Kaha jaanti nahin...
Koi rok le yahi
Bhage re mann kahin aage re mann...
Chala jaane kidhar jaanu na...

I love this song. Every time I hear this I feel rejuvenated. Somebody truly said human mind is very fluctuating. We wish to do so many things in life but how far do we generally reach our dream destination? But then who cares, life is to live n have fun...

They say we are IMPATIENT!

A few days back there was an ad by Airtel broadband claiming 16Mbps speed. I hope people remember it. It said IMPATIENCE is the word. There were all youngsters in the ad.. Impatiently trying to figure out how things can be made faster. I could relate very much to it. Today I met my senior manager seeking a new project. I was yet to finish my previous one. He said - "Your generation guys are very impatient. They just want things to happen in a blink. Take things as they come. Don't rush!"
But isn't it how we are? Don't we want things to happen in a blink? Don't we complain about wasting time waiting for bus, train or for traffic to clear?
Impatience has made the world go on a faster pace. It was an impatient guy who wanted to travel in a bullet train. It was an impatient guy who wanted to transfer money anytime.
If it is wrong to be impatient, I proudly say - Yes we are IMPATIENT!!!

It was just Y'day!!!

Here I am on Dec 1, 2009 waiting for Jan 1, 2010. The same thought that must be pondering every one's mind - How soon time flies :) The memories of celebrating new year on Dec 31st 2008, are still fresh. Guess this is how life goes on and on... We feel, it was just yesterday!!!

Comments

Its nice to see people commenting on your blog. Especially when people you don't know comment :) It is a kind of motivation to write more n more....

Michael Jackson's Ghost

This article I got while I was browsing -

Young Boy Claims Michael Jackson’s Ghost Molested Him

Posted by Probably Sucks on 7/06/09 • Categorized as Satire

A 12 year old boy is alleging that he was molested by the ghost of Michael Jackson late Wednesday night in his family home soon after going to bed.

At around 11:30pm Wednesday night Timmy Rogers went to bed like any other night, only this time he wasn’t alone. He claims to have heard weird sounds and singing coming from underneath his bed, of which a ghost like figure appeared.


“I heard something that sounded like it was singing ‘Billy Jean’s not my lover’ over and over again. I thought it might have been the radio or something, but then I heard someone going ‘hehehe’ and ‘woo’.”, claims Timmy.

“I looked under my bed and saw something, I was really scared. At first I didn’t know it was Michael Jackson. He told me he was an angel and that God had sent him to give me special angel super-powers. I wanted super-powers and then he started touching me in the special area of my body.”

“When I realised it was Michael Jackson I yelled for help and my parents ran in, but he disappeared.”

Timmy’s parents (Mimi & Joe) are planning on suing the Michael Jackson estate for $23 million dollars for emotional stress caused by the attack on their son and to make some renovations to their aging home.

Michael Jackson could not be reached for comment, because he’s dead.

The funniest part is their parents even thinking to sue the dead man's estate for some money. How much more could the world get opportunistic??? Atleast, let his soul rest in peace...

Seven Blunders of the World

My gyan session :). These "Seven Blunders of the World" by Mahatma Gandhi was found in one of the websites. The blunders seem very true, but that is how the current world is functioning. Following are the blunders with my live examples -


1. Wealth without work - Would imply to all the children and grand children of Ambani family and similar coming generations of affluent families.

2. Pleasure without conscience - Who could be better example than Bill Clinton and the recent Shiny Ahuja.

3. Knowledge without character - Lot of dictators and terrorists would fall in this category. To mention a few names - Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden.

4. Commerce without morality - The current recession is the ideal illustration. Millions of people going jobless and homeless. However, developed the nations are, billions of people die of hunger every year.

5. Science without humanity - Global warming would be apt for it. The rate at which the technology is growing and destroying our mother nature, we would have nothing left for our next generations.

6. Worship without sacrifice - Guess this inspired the famous song - "Qurbani qurbani qurbani... Allah ko pyaari hain qurbani". There is a famous dialogue from bollywood - "Pyaar ka dusra naam qurbani hain." So even god demands huh :)

7. Politics without principle - I am very sure all Indian politicians would fall here. The only principle that matters to our politicians is 'The PRINCIPAL AMOUNT'.

Little did Mahatma Gandhi imagine, the condition of the world 60 years after he left. He just gave the foundation of the seven blunders and thanks to us, we are constructing seven wonders on them...

My Poem

I am posting a poem. Writing after a long time. I used to write poems in hindi but that was in college. Here goes the poem -

After an endless day I returned to u,
Little did I actualise you were gone…
My heart desperate for your glimpse
I know you were the one…

The time spent with you
Took me to paradise…
I wish we stayed on
What took me so long to realise…
I know you were the one

Your smile still blocks my vision
Your words echo my ears…
Every thing reminds of you
Hope you were along for years…
I know you were the one

You conveyed your feelings
My insanity kept me away…
I regret my silence
It took you far away…
I know you were the one

If time could revert, would say it all…
Would hold you back and never let go,
Would be with you till eternity
And let my tears flow
I know you were the one….

My travel in the BMTC bus

This is about my first experience with the BMTC bus in Bangalore. Though I have travelled by the BMTC bus, it is not been farther than two stops. This time it was quite some distance. I did not want to spend unnecessarily on the auto guys. They demand additional 10 or 20 bucks which is not worth the ride. Since the train reached the station before time, I decided I was going home by bus may what come. I have been thinking over this when I started travelling from Subhramanya to Bangalore. Since I did not carry much luggage, (just a bag pack) I was sure about the bus travel to home.
The train reached the station 10 mins before its scheduled time. I got down and started looking for the platform number. I saw the board which read – P.F 8. There was a direct exit to the pre-paid auto stand (very tempting after the overnight journey), but I made my mind and started walking towards the overhead bridge. Walked over the steps and finally got down near the exit.
Now came the dilemma, which way do I go? All stars in my mind! I just walked towards the main road. I saw people going through the subway. I followed them. I had nothing to lose, I had plenty of time, so could walk around. I saw a guy with beige trousers and black T-shirt. He seemed decent chap. I just followed him. Again in the subway below there were arrows pointing – Kempegowda Bus stand. But this chap did not follow any of them and walked in the opposite direction. I too followed him. I came out of the subway and saw I had to climb a slope to reach another bridge. The black T-shirt guide was walking over the slope. I followed him.
Uncertainty creeps in again – I am walking over the bridge, but where do I get down? There were 5-6 exits I guess. Again I went after the guy and he got down at the second exit. I did not know where the buses left to from there. Intuition and GUIDANCE, I followed him. He was surprised when he saw me walking behind me. I am sure he must have been observing me. But I portrayed as if I was walking casually and I very much knew the way. When we came down the bridge there were so many platforms and so many buses. The guy was lucky; his bus was waiting (as if it was waiting for him). He got in the bus and left. I was lost again.
Confusions confusions all over. What do I do? Shall I ask somebody or shall I wait? Whom should I ask, nobody seems right. So many thoughts man!!! I decided, I shall walk on the same lane, if I get a bus, good for me, else ask some driver or conductor. I was walking, looking all around and suddenly I see the bus board reading my bus stop. I was more than happy . Got into the bus and thanked god.
Mine was the last bus stop. The bus took longer than the usual route as it went around the city. After an hour I reached my bus stop. Reached home after a five minutes’ walk. One of my friends saw me walking from the balcony.
Surprisingly came the question – “Where is the auto? Did you walk from the railway station?”
I said – “I was walking from the bus stop.”
“You came by bus? What made you do that? And how did you find the bus?”
Oops… so many questions. Obviously anybody would be surprised.
I said “Just for a change. Found out the bus stand and got the exact bus.”
Immediately came the answer “I am sure your Subhramanya trip would not have been as adventurous as your bus trip back home!!!”
I was glad to hear that. I did something new(may sound silly).

Social Networking and INDIA

To start with, I am writing on the subject suggested by my DL. Thanks DL!!!

Social networking is a trend in the Indian youth. Anybody in the age group of 15-35 would be surprised if you are not using any of the social networking sites. To name a few of them - Orkut, Facebook, LinkedIn, iBibo, Twitter, Myspace (these are as per my knowledge, am sure there are many more). I am enrolled in most of them except for Twitter and Myspace, which is not that popular in India. I would not be surprised if I join them in the near future ;)

Let me be a critic for these sites and give my opinion.

Here follows why we all like these social networking sites -

1. They are free of cost. Need not spend to talk to people or to see them on the internet.

2. Most (guess all) of the sites have options of posting pictures. You can see your childhood friends growing, their special moments and upload yours too.

3. Can reach a lot of people. You wanna start a campaign, here you got the way.

4. Search your old friends or people you met only once and have no mean to contact.

5. Stressbuster

6. Can gossip about people (old friends) with the information on the sites :)

7. Easy access to girl/guy's profile, pics :)

8. Can create your own community and get information from people.

9. The recent change in these sites - they let you play games and compete with your friends.

10. The most common way of Internet TIMEPASS in India :)

Guess there could be many more to add! If you know any, plz let me know.

I shall now write the negative points -

1. Even though the site does not charge, internet and power bills shoot up.

2. You take pictures with the only intention of posting it on the site. The best pic will be the profile pic :)

3. You run into unwanted profiles and later get into trouble (may not be that serious though).

4. Do you actually need to know all the people on the earth. If you really were interested, you would be sipping a coffee with them. If you want to keep in touch, you would anyhow - email , telephone, letters or meet them personally.

5. Teenagers are glued to the internet for this lone reason.

6. Kids prefer playing with their friends on these websites, rather than going to the playground.

7. Easy access to your personal information, could turn out unsafe.

8. Kind of addiction.

9. Increasing number of fake profiles.

10. Lot of people feel its a WASTE of TIME...

Guess, could add more negative points also.

Do all these stop us from being on internet and continue our social networking? The funniest part is we can spend hours chatting with an unknown person but would not prefer spending some time in person with our loved ones.

This concept is certainly a trendsetter for the Indian population. It boils down to the fact - You need to know where to draw the lines. Too much of it is certainly too bad...

A Blog

Before you start anything, you need to be aware, if not well versed with the basics. So better late than never, I found what does a blog technically mean (thanks to Google). Here goes the definition and description of a blog as per the website - http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/blogging-rss/blog-definition.html -

It seems like Blogs are everywhere these days. You can't seem to surf the Internet without seeing the word Blog somewhere. The intent of this article is to explain the basics what a Blog is and how you can use them to help promote your business and gain valuable information quicker that surfing the Internet.

The word Blog is short for web log. Basically a Blog is just an area set aside you to write articles that can easily be accessed with a special program called a RSS reader. In case you're wondering RSS stands for real simple syndication.

When you set up a Blog you select a template that will house your information. Once you have the Blog set up you can post whatever information you like. It's really a fast way to get your articles and information up on the web and the templates look great! You don't have to mess with all the technical end of getting something up on a web page (HMTL layout, FTP, ect...). The real cool thing about Blogs is that you can get the software to read them for free. Also, you can set up an account and create your own Blog for free!

One thing you should note is, you can read Blogs with your standard browser and post comments on the content of the Blog. An optional way to read Blogs is by using a RSS reader program. You simply subscribe to whichever Blogs that you want to and they are available immediately in the reader.

The are many advantages that Blogs offer over a web site or ezine.

1. You don't have to mess with an HTML layout. You just post your info and the info looks wonderful because the Blog uses the template that you set up.

2. You can post as often as you like and as much as you would like.

3. Email spam filters do not block Blogs because they are not an email communication.

4. You can make as many Blogs as you like on any subject.

Hope everybody is clear about what a blog is now. This should encourage people to start blogging. It is beneficial as too much of it is not too bad.

People START BLOGGING!!!

Finishing Touch

Have heard this word from childhood. Would wonder did it literally mean 'The touch before you finished something'. Took a very long time to realise its the 'Finishing Touch' which makes anything look just perfect. Funny English language :)

Chicken Biryani

Life is like chicken biryani. The more you marinate the chicken with all the spices, the tastier it turns out. Similarly, the more efforts you put in whatever you do, the closer you get to success :)

YOU...

Nothing is important in the world as you. The world starts with you and ends at you. So starting thinking about YOU....

If you want to do something, go ahead. Don't find excuses to runaway from your goals.

Bite of the Day

After my first blog, I wrote one more on the Mangalore episode. Somehow did not like it, deleted it. Let me write about my bite for today -

Never start something if not sure of completing it, else there will be another half completed Taj mahal...