The Geek Gyaan

The Best Ways to Add Content to Your Site

2011-11-08T09:56:00.000-08:00

A website would be nothing without the content to back it up. You’ve got to make sure that you get as much content to make yourself noticeable on any web search as you possibly can. There are a few easy ways to ensure that your content is enriched with enough clout to keep a steady flow of traffic flowing to your site every month.

Quite frankly, if you’re going to get your business noticed by anyone, you’ve essentially got to go out there and grab them yourself. No, this has nothing to do with cyber stalking or junky spam. You have to have been living under a monolith to not recognise that the most obvious outlets to any business are FaceBook and Twitter. Well, adding links to your website to your Twitter or FaceBook account(s) will ensure that people are continuously interested in what you’ve got to sell them. However, these two outlets are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You’ve got to earn your snacks.

Another way to get content on your site is to just ask for it. Simply asking people for permission to feature their articles to your website ensures you enriched content and links to other websites that offer similar interests to your customers. However, get in the habit of doing research. You don’t want to get caught in a copyright war because you didn’t know that the content you borrowed was already spoken for.

Think about letting your customers do the work. Gasp, that’s crazy talk! However, it’s also one of the best ways to get people actively involved in your website. If you give them a way to put some of their favourite content on your site --videos, sound clips, even links-- then you’ve got a winning combination of traffic flow and free content.

Commenting is the world’s answer to an overzealous, over-indulgent, and incredibly arrogant audience that’s never interested in hearing differing opinions. Allowing people to comment on your website --via a discussion board or an old fashioned guestbook-- will enable people to post their comments and their content on your website free of charge to you.

Remember, keep it interactive. People want to feel as though they’re a part of something (more than that, that they’ve got a functioning brain). Give them something to do and you can have your cake and eat it, too.

Joomla and You

2011-11-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

If you’re going to build a website to compete in the global market, may as well begin with the best. The most compelling and certainly most popular content management system in the industry is Joomla It offers its users comprehensive features and a great deal of flexibility as it pertains to the construction of their website. The amount of web goodies also inherent in the Joomla package is enough to make anyone jump head first into site creation.

Joomla offers features that allow your enriched content and any extensions to be made easier than ever. For example, Joomla offers a wide range of Plugins to make your website all the more interactive and user friendly. The software also offers its clients components which allow them to enhance the viability of their website: building communities, website backup, content translation, search engine friendly URL creation, everything that anyone could possibly need to make their website all the more marketable in the world wide market.

With Joomla you also get the freedom of getting custom made code integrated into you website. For instance, for those who’d like to make a tidy sum with their website, Google AdSense is a monetised advertising service that gets you paid every time someone clicks on the enriched content on your page. Joomla allows website owners to add that code to their web pages with absolutely no hassle at all.

Afraid that you won’t be able to install Joomla and make your website experience all the more engaging and easy? Fear not, dear hearts. Most webhosts offer a one click installation process that gets Joomla up and running on your website as quickly as you can say “Go-Go Gadget website!” More than that, it’s easy to get websites built for your own list of clients. If you’re looking to make a little extra cash on the side, there’s nothing wrong with going into a bit of freelance design yourself. Joomla is so amazingly comprehensive and easy to use, you could be raking in the dough building dynamic HTMLs and putting your name on the map in the world of web design.

Even if you happen to be a professional developer, everybody needs a little help every now and again. Joomla has an application framework that’s powerful as it is easy to understand. The Joomla framework makes it simple to build anything from application bridges to reservation systems. With Joomla the possibilities are virtually endless.

Zoom in to Joomla

2011-10-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

It took me exactly two years before I finally awoke to the fact that I owned a blog. And while I write this I'm not even sure if it'll be read by my readers of yore! My last post came in the month of October '09. Long time indeed!! Back then SEO was something that I had developed a keen interest on and I'd leave no chance to bandy around anything even remotely related to SEO. :-) It was natural, for I was working on assignments that required me to have a basic idea about how the SEO thing worked and how to implement it in particular.

Time really flies by. Today when I happened to accidentally run into my own abandoned blog, it made me feel that it was just yesterday when I scribbled down my last post! During these 2 years as a freelance writer, I did a lot of professional writing, but very few of the work I did managed to excite me. I usually got assignments that were very non technical in nature. In the beginning, it was all quite interesting, but gradually you tend to get bored doing something for which you aren't made or simply put which you don't have much interest on. Computers and technologies have always fascinated me big time..it's like they are very well etched within me and this moment when I'm back to my blogging ways I make it a point that from now on I'll be talking only about what I love to talk about.

During this 'sabbatical' of mine I developed an interest towards learning Joomla and over the time I've come to a conclusion that it's one helluva CMS and the best part being it all comes for free. The next posts coming from my blog will essentially talk about all the goodness of Joomla as a platform that even you could learn in no time, in a real hassle free manner without even worrying about those dreadful codes and end up designing those real cool looking websites. Let it roll!! \m/

Top Ten Tips to top the Search Engine results

2009-10-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the all time greatest tips to get found by any search engine on its first page:

   1. Older you site, the better it is.

It’s good to use those sites or domains which exist since quite some time. Any search engines’ probability of indexing the sites increase if the sites or domain are old enough. So it’s always recommended to go ahead with your existing domain instead of purchasing a new one as it will take few weeks or maybe months to get good search engine traffic.

   2. Know how to target your audience

The search engines look for pages that best fit the keywords given by a user and if those users are typing the keywords which relate with the offerings of your site then you have found your prospect audience. However you need to optimize the website to cater their needs in the best way. Studying online demographic info and visiting other sites, communities or forum whether the target audience visit regularly are the best ways to identify their needs.

   3. Extensive research of the keywords.

If you feel you already know the keywords of the target audience then chances are you might be completely wrong. So it’s better to not take any chance and take help of reliable tools to find the exact keywords such as Google's Keyword Tool, Word Tracker or Keyword Discovery.

   4. Architecture should be on the basis of keyword research.

Your research may uncover undiscovered areas of interest or ways of categorizing your products/services that you may wish to add to your site. For instance, let's say your site sells toys. There are numerous ways you could categorize and lay out your site so that people will find the toys they're looking for. Are people looking for toys to fit their child's stage of development? Look for keyword phrases such as "preschool toys." Or are they more likely to be seeking specific brands of toys? Most likely, your keyword research will show you that people are looking for toys in many different ways. Your job is to make sure that your site's navigation showcases the various ways of searching. Make sure you have links to specific-brand pages as well as specific age ranges, specific types of toys, etc.

   5. Program your site to be "crawler-friendly."

The search engines can't fill out forms, can't search your site, can't read JavaScript links and menus, and can't interpret graphics and Flash. This doesn't mean that you can't use these things on your site; you most certainly can! However, you do need to provide alternate means of navigating your site as necessary. If you have only a drop-down sequence of menus to choose a category or a brand of something, the search engine crawlers will never find those resulting pages. You'll need to make sure that you always have some form of HTML links in the main navigation on every page which link to the top-level pages of your site. From those pages, you'll need to have further HTML links to the individual product/service pages. Please note that HTML links do NOT have to be text-only links. There's nothing wrong with graphical image navigation that is wrapped in standard tags, as the search engines can follow image links just fine.)

   6. Label your internal text links and clickable image alt attributes clearly.

Your site visitors and the search engines look at the clickable portion of your links (aka the anchor text) to help them understand what they're going to find once they click through. Don't make them guess what's at the other end with links that say "click here" or other non-descriptive words. Be as descriptive as possible with every text and graphical link on your site. The cool thing about writing your anchor text and alt attributes to be descriptive is that you can almost always describe the page you're pointing to by using its main keyword phrase.

   7. Write compelling copy for the key pages of your site based on the keywords

This is a crucial component to have a successful website. The search engines need to read keyword-rich copy on your pages so they can understand how to classify your site. This copy shouldn't be buried in graphics or hidden in Flash. Write your copy based on your most relevant keyword phrases while also making an emotional connection with your site visitor. This is where that target audience analysis comes in handy! Understand that there is no magical number of words per page or number of times to use your phrases in your copy. The important thing is to use your keyword phrases only when and where it makes sense to do so for the real people reading your pages. Simply sticking keyword phrases at the top of the page for no apparent reason isn't going to cut it, and it just looks silly.

   8. Incorporate your keyword phrases into each page's unique Title tag.

Title tags are critical because they're given a lot of weight with every search engine. Whatever keyword phrases you've written your copy around should also be used in your Title tag. Remember that the information that you place in this tag is what will show up as the clickable link to your site at the search engines. Make sure that it accurately reflects the content of the page it's on, while also using the keyword phrases people might be using at a search engine to find your stuff.

   9. Make sure your site is link-worthy.

Other sites linking to yours is a critical component of a successful search engine optimization campaign, as all of the major search engines place a good deal of emphasis on your site's overall link popularity. You can go out and request hundreds or thousands of links, but if your site stinks, why would anyone want to link to it? On the other hand, if your site is full of wonderful, useful information, other sites will naturally link to it without your even asking. It's fine to trade links; just make sure you are providing your site visitors with only the highest quality of related sites. When you link to lousy sites, keep in mind what this says to your site visitors as well as to the search engines.

10. Don't be married to any one keyword phrase or worried too much about rankings. If you've done the above 9 things correctly, you will start to see an increase in targeted search engine visitors to your site fairly quickly. Forget about where you rank for any specific keyword phrase and instead measure your results in increased traffic, sales, and conversions. You can sign up for a Google Analytics for free, which easily tracks and measures those things that truly matter. It certainly won't hurt to add new content to your site if it will really make your site more useful, but don't simply add a load of fluff just for the sake of adding something. It really is okay to have a business site that is just a business site and not a diatribe on the history of your products. Neither your site visitors nor the engines really give a hoot!

Basics of SEO: The new BIG thing

2009-09-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

Search engine optimization

The SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a method of increasing a website’s traffic by means of search results. Lately, it has been such an emerging technique which every other site present on the web wishes to have, in order to improve their site’s web traffic and hence it’s ranking.

It is no secret that one tends to visit the sites which appears first in our search results as they happen to be relevant and contain what we are looking from using our keyword. A site which is well optimized for SEO will appear higher in the search results, thus providing itself a huge traffic of visitors and improving its ranking thereby. This is one of the best ways to grow their web presence.

Editing the content and coding of a site by restructuring its HTML according to the relevant and specific keywords is how a website is primarily optimized. The group of people who perform this task for their clients are called Search Engine Optimizers and they provide SEO as a completely independent service or a part of a large and extensive market campaign.

Any site which is vying to be a search engine friendly site needs its internal contents and structure optimized, which in other means its management system, images, videos and menus need to be tweaked in order for the search engine to place it higher in its search results so that the site gets the maximum exposure.

In the mid-nineties when the internet was still in its nascent stage, the content providers started tweaking the web content of their sites while the early search engines were still in the process of cataloguing the whole World Wide Web. Earlier, the indexing of sites was quite simple a task. A webmaster was just required to submit the webpage’s URL to the search engines, which would later send its own automated program called “Spider” that visits the site’s pages and collect all the links originating from that particular page. This particular process is called “Crawling” and this was how indexing of sites was done. Meanwhile the second program of the search engines called “indexer” would gather all sorts of information and their location, along with the keywords and then stored to be crawled later.

The primitive algorithms which the search engines employed then were dependent on a website’s information like meta-tag, keywords or phrases and the index files. The webmasters gradually learnt how to optimize their web content’s attributes so as to rank higher in the search engines result.

After nearly a decade, most of the search engines had integrated many unrevealed aspects in their algorithms so as to decrease the widespread link manipulation by the web content providers. For example the leading search engine Google has more than 200 factors to rank a site.

The search engine optimizing techniques are typically divided into 2 types: White hat SEO and black hat SEO. White hat SEO is like web development which encourages approachability and its results have a long time effect, on the other hand black hat SEO improves web ranking by implementing methods which are not promoted by the search engines.

Social Networking For Your Business

2009-09-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Social networking helping business

The secret of using a business network lies in successfully involving the foundation of your business connections group through your friends and acquaintances. Almost all social networking websites have a similar kind of registration process. Just a few minutes of setting up your account with a bit of account details and contacts entered, and you are all ready to go; your network of friends can now effortlessly help you search relevant business contacts.

It really can be as easy as entering a name of a person you’ve been trying to find or an extensive search for contacts in a particular industry. The convenience of creating personal links and developing online businesses makes the service far more effective than the traditional methods of business.

With the success of various social networking sites like MySpace, Friendster, Connexion and Facebook in getting both the individuals and groups together on the basis of mutual interests and a healthy rapport, the social-networking services are now offering an unparalleled experience in the business arena.

In my next post I will be talking about SEO, as lately I have been studying a lot about SEO and in fact I have practically tried doing it in a way, which is not promoted by the search engines. But who cares!! I don’t really find any harm in it. From a neutral point of view, it’s just a technique after all.

Recession - Best time for innovation

2009-08-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

The best time to innovate

Very soon in the future the idiom “Necessity is the mother of Invention” will reflect a different meaning on to our minds. With recession, the companies have started relying heavily on cost cutting, tighter time schedules, faster deliveries, efficient utilization of resources and the most important- innovation. Due to this recession, innovation has to bloom in every sector for the sake of its own good. Improved and smarter ways of working are seen at bringing new Innovative Ideas to industry where you can raise the margins and hence lower the operating cost. History is proof of the fact that many of the world’s enduring, multibillion-dollar corporations, from Disney to Microsoft, was founded during economic downturns decades back. The operating costs tend to be cheaper during a recession and talent is easier to find because of huge layoffs and dissatisfaction prevailing among the distressed employees. So naturally it’s a lot easier to find a more talented resource at a relatively lower cost. Also the competition is usually not so fierce because many players are taken out of the game. Recessions could also help executives put on their thinking caps to figure out how to improve products, services, and processes internally and for customers. Ideally, the creative thinking that’s needed to weather the storm of an economic downturn can lead to new markets and revenue streams. HCL recently partnered with Xerox to provide tech support for corporate customers using Xerox systems meant to reduce the amount of wasted paper. Those XEROX systems themselves were inspired by the dual challenges of helping to save the environment and the need to slash office expenses during the downturn. Inventing cost-effective and time-saving processes becomes a priority in a downturn, and it’s an area of interest for companies and organizations in a variety of fields, from high tech to health care. In a recession one has to innovate to be more efficient. Most of the Mergers and Acquisitions are triggered during the period of recession and though multi-billionaire companies can go bankrupt in months, there are always new owners to overhaul the system. The fall of giants like Sun Microsystems, Nortel are the best examples. Though they fall for bad, innovation-driven Big Fish eats them and keep them in a safer zone. Effectiveness of cost is the main driving factor for any type of merger. The market being down, recession is the best time to find a good bargain for the bidder, immaterial of the financial state of the company on radar. There are some companies which are always left Recession-Proof. One of the best example can be Apple Inc. Apple’s quarterly profits jumped 15% this year. With the sales for Mac, iPhone soaring, Apple once again proved the key to survive in recession is innovation. innovation at technology, flashy gadgets, quality and a unique way of presentation of their products. Smart companies will continue to apply the innovation lessons learned during today’s tough times even when things pick up. The innovative processes, products, and services can help executives understand how to curb costs or take risks on fresh ideas when the economy rebounds. innovation is about companies finding creative ways to come up with new products and services faster and more efficiently—with fewer resources. Industry must look at the current recession with a positive perspective to rethink how to approach innovation tactics even as Research & Development budgets have been slashed. Smart companies like Apple & Google are finding inventive ways of keeping employees motivated and creative even when morale is low. It’s time to look into the benefits of outsourcing innovation in areas ranging from industrial design to corporate strategy. All these strategies will certainly help us to prove that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Ye India hai Bidu !!

2009-05-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

Every time I hear any news related to this Ajmal Kasab I just pity on the legal system of India..I can't stop myself wondering how hollow and outdated our whole system is !! The Mumbai massacre was one of a kind and its perpetrators should be handled the same way, what I imply here is there ought to be a different code for such kind of crimes which don't need any proof or evidence simply because it was watched by the whole world. The sheer brutality with which our people were murdered was broadcasted and seen live all over the globe and here we have captured the convict and treating him as some kind of royal guest..I don't really know whether to laugh or cry over this. Our system is just pathetic to say the least.
The omnipresent media is also not lagging far behind covering everything from how he smiled to what he demanded to what he ate in the dinner to the toothpaste he used..How to create news out of nothing, ask these folks..they have mastered the art of adding sensation and mirch-masala into a report to shoot up their TRP.

What examples are we setting to curb terrorism. Those fellows, I'm sure must be laughing their hearts out with the VIP respect Kasab is getting in India. Many more Kasabs both inside and outside the border must be waiting to do few more Mumbai acts without any fear of consequences.

Whats there more to prove..what more evidences are sought..? Hundreds of innocents lives gone for nothing ..?
Why the heck are we entertaining him !!
Its high time our savant lawmakers realize the fact that if this remains their approach towards terrorism and terrorsists, it will never ever get rooted out, thats for sure. Instead of hundreds, thousands of lives would have been gone by then and we would be just mute spectators.
Those eggheads are talking of taking into account the basic human rights, but can such terrorists be really considered as humans at first place??..Never !!..what about the brutality and the savagery with which they massacred the innocent people.
Talking of human rights in the support of Kasab is out and out blasphemous.

I sincerely feel those good old medieval torture tools need to be brought back in use for these kind of criminals. Hanging would be far too easy death for them.
They should be tortured in such a barbaric way that they would plead to euthanate them and the whole process should be televised all through the world, the same way when they were on a shooting spree. This would give a message that how Terrorism and Terrorsists should actually be dealt with.
Somebody has rightly said: To tame a beast you ought to be a bigger beast !!

Note: The SAW series have got really very innovative ways to torture the heck out of anybody.

Complex human behaviors

2009-04-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

Every puzzle fails when compared to the puzzling human behavior

Many a times I am left wondering why people who have been quite friendly with you in the past behave in a strange manner that you'll never ever understand. Even if you try to.. it's futile ! Today I kinda faced similar situation and cuz of my typical cancerian nature got a bit disturbed with that.

You entrust somebody with a job simply cuz you've faith on that person who happens to be a supposedly good friend of yours,..now one fine day you wake up to realize that, that very person acts in a very unpredictable and a not-so-friendly manner( indirectly though) and you're left with scratching your head that what went wrong..what did I do..?

Here when people complicate trivial things, blow things up out of proportions and cause problems out of it, the chain continues and in the end its the both sides who are at loss I must say and to that a good rapport gets lost in no time.
What I don't understand is if you' happen to be a good friend of some person and you're having some kinda issue with him, why not sort it out at once. Give him a slap or two and tell him upfront whatever problems you had with him. Thats how friends are supposed to be. There's no point in ruining the relation and making it bitter at once when you've had great time together and with all your friends in the past.

Its just that sometimes human behaviours are too tough to fathom which keep us puzzling all through the day without getting a slightest clue about its reason, not to mention they leave you hurt too.

Space Time

2009-04-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

Artist's concept of a satellite orbiting the Earth to measure space-time

A word for Stephen Hawking's fourth dimension theory of Space-Time :

“Time is an illusion perpetrated by the manufacturers of space.” ;-)

( To know what I imply, one ought to read his best selling work " A brief history of time" )

Dream On

2009-04-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered why do we dream..? What exactly is their purpose..are they just useless by-products of our exhausted mind or they are something more than that hiding some deep meaning in every weird scene or character symbolizing something important in our real lives which we can relate with.
Personally this is what I feel about dreams: They are quite possibly symbolic representations of a series of events, already happened or yet to come presented to us in a very irregular manner which is why its so tough to comprehend. In a way I can say its like a typical Quentin Tarantino flick in which every other scene is so randomly placed.

Artistic impression of a dream

People have different opinions about dreams, some say they have scientific meanings, some say dreams are just reflections of thoughts that have been occupying our mind the whole day. They quite possibly be something like a medium through which we see ourselves that make up a platform for someone to be himself and be what he really wants to be.

Way back when I was a child I was haunted by a weird dream which used to recur everyday without a miss for more than a month. Now from what I could gather after trying hard its a vague image of me left alone, sobbing in a dark deserted fort like place. Generally my dreams used to be so much of mess without any having any sense that I never really gave a thought upon it but every once in a while there are such dreams which can be mistaken for reality..so much realistic and life-like are those that you wake up with everything being crystal clear imprinted on your mind for quite some time. Few disturbing and few pleasing ones.

But again the question is why some dreams occur in a recurring manner while others get lost in the deep alleys of our minds as soon as we wake up. Also some people dream in black & white while some, very few in fact dream in color.
So can it be taken as an insinuation by our dormant brain to do some comprehending act for our active brain to warn the concerned person of the approaching danger ahead..?
Our mind certainly holds those eternal powers of which even we are unaware and I've always been fascinated by dreams as some way or the other they have the capability to unearth at least some of that power.

In scientific terms "Dreaming is a common and distinctive phenomenon of sleep, has since the dawn of human history given rise to myriad beliefs, fears, and conjectures, both imaginative and experimental, regarding its mysterious nature. While any effort toward classification must be subject to inadequacies, beliefs about dreams fall into various classifications depending upon whether dreams are held to be reflections of reality, sources of divination, curative experiences, or evidence of unconscious activity."

One can find that even the scientists have been unable to find any concrete testimony in support of their research work even after years and decades of comprehensive research work over the subject. What was revealed after those researches were the fact there are quite a few which can be considered to be very common among the dreamers, like being chased, running slowly in place, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, a person who is dead being alive, teeth falling out, flying, future events such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. (with different scenarios), embarrassing moments, falling in love with random people, failing an examination, not being able to move, not being able to focus vision, car accidents, being accused of a crime you didn't commit, suddenly finding yourself naked, going to the toilet, and many many more..
I can agree with this opinion that the above mentioned dreams.. their theme, might be common with respect to the dreamer in a way that each one is representing a typical set of conditions and situations for the person concerned.
But then again dreams are much more than that, far beyond our analytical competence to perceive each and every dream with precision.

For me it will ever be a mystery like its for others.
Wish someday I would be able to comprehend the dreams for good as I believe it can't be interpreted scientifically. There are still countless things well out of reach of science.

Shoe: Mightier than pen ??

2009-04-16T12:44:00.000-07:00

They say "Pen is mightier than a sword" but times have changed and seems, so have this proverb. Now if I go on to make my own maxim saying "A shoe is far mightier than a Pen" it won't really sound out of place. A couple of weeks back I was shocked that Shoe Throwing fad has caught up with Indian journos as well..A Sikh reporter from a Hindi daily venting out his ire against P.Chidambaram during a Press Meet by hurling his shoe directly at him when he refused to answer some question regarding Jagdish Tytler's involvement in the Sikh communal riots. I must say, either the world has gone too flatter or our Indian skills are getting better in catching up with whats in vogue, doesn't matter if its maligning the whole society of theirs or they're deviating from what they've been instructed and qualified to do.

The latest entry into this Shoe throwing episode is L.K.Advani at whom his former party member hurled his slipper as he was peeved with the party leadership for being removed from his post due to groupism within the party.
For Indian Politicians these are more than just standout incidents to make an issue out of nothing. I just hope the ever opportunist Advani doesn't claim that shoe lobbed at him belonged to the CONGRESS..:-P

As a matter of fact its a thing to be condemned and there are better ways out there for the civilized folks to vent their ire. Why lose your shoes for that and get into a trouble knowing it well that neither will it serve the purpose nor you'll get your shoe back. :-)

{ My suggestion here is to train all our high profile Politicians to dodge the shoes, slippers and sandals of all shapes and sizes effectively a'la Matrix's NEO and a word to all those shoe hurling journos, headmasters and party-members: Work hard to get your aim right } :-P :-D

What ya listening..!!

2009-04-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

It has been said music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ( & by that I don't mean its a replacement for a daily shower which would wash away all the dust off your ephemeral form :-P).
I spend more than half of my time when I'm awake listening to music. As lately I've been home, these hours have accordingly increased a lot but when in office its such a pain to be unable to get indulged in a luxury called music. Surely rules are there for the workplace but what I feel is one should be allowed to listen to the music unless the people around aren't getting disturbed out of it and most importantly its not hindering his performance and efficiency at work as I have seen lots of guys like me who do and give their best when the music is on.
Anyways that was just another creative idea of mine, as innocuous as me..:-)

This one is all about these beautiful songs I've been listening of late and which I would love to share with you all..consisting of few all time favorites of mine and some fresh ones in the list. It won't really be possible to mention each and every song that I've been listening as that's quite a huge playlist, nevertheless I'm mentioning the ones which I enjoy listening and which happen to appear in the frequently played list.

# Heavy Fuel - Dire Straits
Its is one of my all time favorites and never a single time it has felt insipid to me. One of my friends Shshank living in the room upstairs in the hostel introduced me to this band by playing its songs over and over and thus I got familiar with 'Dire Straits' and ultimately turned into a big time fan of theirs. This song apart from "Romeo and juliet" & "Sultans of swing" are not the ones to be missed !

# Stairway to heaven - Led Zeppelin
Its unusual lyrics are still a mystery for most of the listeners. To some it seems like a satanic verse and for me its just an amazing song.

# World in my eyes - Depeche Mode
I love it as its an energetic song with full of electronic beats completed by a dark sensual voice. Though people have different opinions, some term it as too erotic a song.

# Elegantly wasted - INXS
Old INXS fans would be at one with me if I say "Elegantly wasted" doesnt really sound like the usual INXS..in it they sound so much rejuvenated and differently styled.

# You got it - Roy Orbison
The 'Pretty Woman' guy is as jolly and jocund as ever in this song.

# Light my fire - The Doors
A wonderful rendition of great guitar chords and organ in an equally compelling & passionate song.

# High hopes - Pink Floyd
To feel the real charm of this song, get high and put this on ..:)
All in all a very influential song depicting a life a youth can relate with.

# Butterfly - Crazytown
Crazytown got lost into obscurity after giving this song. I'm listening this song after quite long and this time its sounding much better.

# Child in time -Deep purple
One may get confused with the opening beats of the song as some bollywood track but beneath that lies a sombre meaning to the song.

# Losing my religion - R.E.M.
One of the only REM songs apart from 'Everybody hurts' that I like. This was an immense hit and with it REM was able to reach out to masses maintaining their original style at the same time.

# Return to innocence- Enigma
An enigmatic song that will surely stimulate ones mind bringing back memories from the past.

# Another brick in the wall - Marilyn Manson
If you liked the original track by Pink Floyd, you'll surely like this one as well for Marilyn Manson has sung it in its unique trademark style. The music is quite appealing.

A couple of latest tracks too:

# I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Have already talked about this song in my earlier post. Its great by the way.

# Sober - Pink
Pink has come a long way since its 'Stupid girls' and its songs have now have far more depth to them. Listen to sober and you'll find yourself as a far more sober person than you were..:-D

# Jai Ho - A.R.Rahman & Pussycat Dolls
Its topping the charts since its release here, there and everywhere and it indeed has a reason for that. Superbly remixed to an already wonderful song. Its a treat listening it.

Resurrection of Satyam

2009-04-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Mahindra: The Defender

I have closely seen Satyam Computers rise, fall and a supposedly resurrection after the Govt. appointed members made good in cruising the tainted company in safe hands. At the end its a huge relief for everybody who was attached with this fiasco some or the other way. Tech Mahindra is on the way of a successful acquisition of a company which was sometime back more than four-five times its size but thanks to its founder the company was on the verge of breaking down leading to one of the biggest corporate scams of all time.
During this epic bidding process running more than a month many players from round the globe from various sector came out showing their keen interest to get what was once such a profitable organization cheaply and today this whole process came to a happy ending.

Raju: The Destroyer

Wilbur Ross, a billionaire well known for taking over companies in distress and tailoring it to make a profit making one joined the race for Satyam quite late. Last, but surely not the least. A lot had been expected from Mr. Ross and I myself was feeling Ross could ultimately be the Boss though I was well aware that L&T was the hot favorites of one & all considering the fact that it was already a big stakeholder in the company and the keenness it had been showing into it.
After the winning bid was announced I was pleasantly surprised with the bidding amount of Tech Mahindra but more than that I was shocked to know about the bidding price Wilbur Ross had put up..I don't know what made him think that Rs. 20/- would be the apt price. With all my honesty I feel, for such Uncle Scrooges there should be a floor price to start with. He has indeed embarrassed himself with such a lowly price for there was a lot of expectations from him , even the board members were reckoning that his firm would leave no stones unturned for as lucrative opportunity as Satyam..but that was that..!!

Satyam has survived a fatal setback; courtesy the govt. appointed board members who handled the situation effectively and swiftly without losing the faith of clients and employees.
Still there are concerns for the satyam employees who have been with it in its turbulent times as it has come out that government won't be interfering with the acquirers' decision related to any reduction in the company's workforce.
Seeing it all in a different note this would-be management's unabridged right to modify its human resources including the right to lay-off the people can be taken in a positive manner for all those who have wished to get off it without the employment bond being broken.
Won't ya guys call it a golden opportunity ?? Whats the point in living in apprehension and fearing of own shadows. If lay off happens it will in a way bring up a road of better opportunities,
and in case it doesn't happen ..POOR YOU..Stick to the company ..be loyal to it !!

Now can anybody exhibit a better show of optimism than this...?? :-)

Mind your job

2009-04-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.Tech., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B.
-Unknown

"I'm Yours"

2009-04-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Last time I heard Jason Mraz while in college days I kinda liked the way he sang "Remedy". Its unusual beats well coordinated with a cool lyrics and a great rhythm was a treat to listen. The moment one of my good friends there at the hostel who had an enormous collection of music of sundry genres made me listen to it I knew it ought to be there in my music folder as well.

That was one of best the songs of his debut album which topped the charts for quite a time, but sadly other songs got lost unheard, and though I have listened the other songs I'm finding it tough to recall any. His second album performed below average cuz of the obvious reasons; none of the songs were likable. All were simply duds.

Jason Mraz

Now fast forward to 2009 and everybody's listening "I'm yours" and pouring heaps of praises for the singer and it can't be reasoned why..!! I listened it once and it really at once will strike a chord with the listener I'm sure about it. I can go on to say that he's unlike those singers who just ponder and chide over life or anything by means of their songs, that don't serve any purpose except making one sick and dejected with his own situation. The way it has been sung in a very laid back manner is just beautiful and I don't know how much its helping others to cheer up, listening to it automatically lifts my spirits, putting me in a good and positive mood every time I listen to it. This is the reason its a hit all over the place and folks are finding it such a pleasant song. Even the video is equally cool and appears quite natural.

As of now apart from Coldplay's Viva La Vida this one has turned out to be my favorite song and I can't stop myself listening it again and again !!

My new Gaming rig's Rundown

2009-04-08T03:58:00.001-07:00

Few years back having a computer system with a Quad Core CPU, a terabyte of Hard Disk, 4 gigs of DDR3 memory and a Graphic card with a GTX suffix having its own 1 GB of graphic memory seemed like one of those wildest dreams of a computer geek. I was no computer geek but I loved to keep myself updated with latest developments in the hardware & technologies or any computer related news and I fancied to have one such high end system which is generally termed as 'Enthusiastic' in computer terminologies.

Of all the computer peripherals sitting inside a computer tower what fascinated me most was the Graphic Card, the GPU which is the costliest item of all the other parts if you have taken a mid or high-end card and its a fact that anyone who is fairly inclined towards gaming or has something to do with 3D applications will first of all put most of his money in the GPU which has got enough power for his requirements.

A Dell XPS Gaming Rig

But as always whats fast now becomes last in no time. Times make everything outdated but nothing as faster as any computer hardware. What you got for 10 grands turns into 5 grands the next year, sometimes the same year !!
Anyways I recently got a similar kind of configuration which I mentioned above, the only disparity being my new processor is of two cores but since its a 45 nm based processor with 1333 MHz FSB one can see its not lagging far behind. Rest is more or less the same config which I always wanted to have: A nVidia Geforce 9800 GTX+ GPU with 1 GB RAM, [its undoubtedly the jewel of my system :-)] well supported by 4 Gigs of DDR3 memory and 1 TB HDD for my storage needs. I wanted to have 10,000 RPM HDD but that was sadly out of my reach. A component which is generally neglected by most of the guys is the PSU (Power Supply Unit or SMPS) but it must be known that a cheap SMPS can cost the whole system quite dearly especially if you have connected a whole lot of power hungry apparatuses inside the cabinet. Its the unit that powers the whole system so it must be ensured that it is capable of taking that minimum load or it can simply break down. I knew its importance so I settled down with 500 Watt PSU from Corsair (it was costlier than a same kinda 'Antec' PSU and I was glad to see that, as Antec makes quite costly PSUs and is one of the best in business).

Running CRYSIS with this machine on my 19" widescreen with every single quality setting maxed out was helluva a visual delight. This "CRYSIS" is considered to be one of the biggest system hog games of all time but at the same time its the most photo-realistic game ever created. Its like a benchmark for the upcoming computer systems, if your system is able to run Crysis then you must be a proud owner of a fairly good system (not to mention that not too long ago his must have been quite a system but there you are..cannot be ever young).
As of now I'm basking in this gratifying fact that I'm a owner of a system which is capable of running all the next generation games in HD with highest quality settings without any hiccup.

Assembling it all which took me back by more than what a 150 CC bike would have is not really a bad deal if you are into gaming considering the fact that my ever thirsty gaming appetite has been put down to rest and its indeed satiated for the time being and i'm busy relishing its sheer brute power ..!!

Election time Tamaasha

2009-04-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

One report in a popular daily said Varun Gandhi topped the popularity list after his hate speech ahead of his senior colleagues in the party who dream and strive for the similar kinda fame.. no matter if its in the negative side..as long as it will be helping them for their political mileage. Varun is now a well known BJP leader nationwide and it shouldn't be forgotten that he has just debuted into his political career. For the Hindu fanatics he's a hero and he's getting pats from all sorts of Hindu fundamentalists groups. During all these ugly polity tactics in the name of caste and creed which is nothing but just sheer communalism I was expecting a just and a responsible statement from his mother Maneka Gandhi, also a BJP leader and a staunch animal rights activist.

Courtesy : Jose cartoons

She's the one who raised voice against the ill treatment towards the animals and asked for an equality for those guileless creatures. Especially the circus guys and film makers who involved animals bore the brunt of hers and had to pay heavily legally and financially. She had an image that if you trouble an innocent animal there are fair chances that likewise you too would get troubled by Maneka Gandhi for that. I would jokingly ask my younger kins not to harass the pet or Maneka gandhi would put them behind similar kind of cages where animals are confined !
And after this Varun Gandhi episode she has strongly come out in his support blindly backing her son for whatever he said was correct and there was nothing he should be sorry of. She should surely support her son but not acknowledging the fact that those remarks were quite inflammatory for a minority community it was disappointing. He clearly violated the model code of conduct but they didn't, according to them..their excuse was it had been doctored. !!

Where's the morality of Maneka Gandhi now..? She has always asked for a fair treatment towards the animals but when it comes to humans' fair and equal treatment irrespective of their communities her integrity gets lost in the shuffle just because here her son is involved ?

Every election year we get to see moral standards touching new lows. The so-called leaders giving provocative and irresponsible remarks and surprisingly getting substantial benefits out of it. The Britons left long back but they sadly didn't take the "Divide & Rule" policy along with them.

Lowly politicians getting undeserved publicity by making believe their respective communities that its solely them who's safeguarding their interests by abusing and dishonoring the other communities and thus successfully able to grow seeds of communalism in their people without them having any inkling that its all politics.
It has been happening every now and then but we are just silent spectators.

At the end of it all the question is ..who is really responsible : The politicians or we the public ???

Its a Nano world !!

2009-04-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

To maintain the continuum I decided to keep posting once in a while and if you're regular with your blogs you have to be aware with what your friends bloggers around are coming up with. Lately I have been quite out of touch with whats really going on in the blogosphere..whats hot & whats not. I didn't have the vaguest of idea. But now I'm gladly back to this blogosphere and its really great to know whats going around by the means of blogs. Getting a picture about an issue from all the various perspectives is different from a biased view from a rather well known source. The best part is one can have an own opinion.. his own say about something in which he begs to differ.
For that Blogs are a blessing.
Anyways I'll discuss at length sometime later about what blogging can actually help us achieve. I was to talk about something else.

TATA Nano touted as the world's cheapest car has hit the tarmac defying all the odds against it. I still remember when Ratan Tata talked about his dream of making a car for the masses which will be cheaper than the rest and better than the two wheelers in a sense that it'll be having a roof, doors and space for at most five people to sit. I saw this compassionate side of Ratan tata who cared for the public..who genuinely felt sorry for the families riding on a two-wheeler quite unsafely with their kids sitting on the vehicle's petrol tank and another on the mother's lap behind. But a lower middle class family has not much options when it has to commute with the whole family and which has just a two-wheeler for its traveling needs as for most of them getting a car is quite out of reach.

It was this sight of families traveling on two wheelers that made Tata announce that it will launch the Rs. 1 lakh car..the cheapest car in the world. But this idea wasn't received well by many automobile giants and they forthrightly declared that it was never going to happen with the ever rising prices. Similarly few automobile conglomerates claimed that there's quite a possibility that it will never be able to reach the market. Many thought it wont really be a car if at all it manages to come true..may be it will look like an auto with no doors clothed with some kinda synthetic material. The people who desperately wanted it to come true also seemed unconvinced and skeptical about its possibility.

This was just the beginning, and though the idea was a noble one perceived by a humanitarian industrialist it was looked down upon by many.

A promise had been made to the masses and the work had already been started to fulfill it. In each step it faced hurdles. The steel prices shoot up sky high meanwhile and then that 'Singur' issue which took such an ugly turn after being politicized in the name of safeguarding the public rights which forced the Tatas to move from Bengal to Gujarat. Anybody didn't think about the employment opportunities which would have generated out of Nano's production plant there..? Anyways that's passe.

Finally the dream has been realized,.the promise fulfilled and the car has been launched and has already hit the roads. And NO it doesn't look cheap by any means. No body can say looking at it that its a one lakh rupee car. It looks cool..accommodates 4 people comfortably, is decently powerful, fun to drive in the bustling traffic with an incredible fuel efficiency.

Tata Nano Deluxe

Nano is the answer to all the questions that had been raised for its existence. It is a proper car in contrast to all the speculations and its worth the wait.
Its the ingenuity of the Indians that helped it turn into a reality and the whole world is in awe with the final product called TATA Nano.

But as always criticism comes packed with any innovation and Nano is no different and it has been bombarded with questions from the fanatic environmentalists from the Western countries who are too much concerned with the Global warming which is very honestly their gift in a way. Those Green goblins are neglecting the fact that every developing country has the right to utilize its resources for its masses and it isn't bad at all if someone cares for the people who can't afford to have a car for his family. Its not that for a family of four-five every member will be having his own nano considering the target customers, unlike the westerners who for that matter have their own car for every individual in the family thus contributing to the carbon contents in the atmosphere in a more hazardous way than nano could ever do. Its emission is even lesser than a common motor-bike in the country. Surely no questions should be raised on it being a environmental vehicle.

Environmental campaigners have also warned that the car will add further pressure on India's road infrastructure which already struggles to cope with existing traffic. But does that mean a common man shouldn't be allowed to have a car of his own as it is a car which every one can afford to have..? Is this really a solution for the congested traffic ? How about constructing more & more flyovers and by-passes and widening the roads wherever possible..? Criticizing a product just because its cheap and affordable & meant for the masses is surely not good by any means.

As of now everybody ought to just accept the ingenuity with which the Nano has been developed. Its a dream come true for its would-be owners who have waited half their lives to drive a car they can proudly call their 'own'.

In a westerner's own words "The arrogance of western society is amazing. We have no comprehensive strategy to deal with our own environmental morass, yet we are instantly ready to obsess about the theoretical environmental impact of India's newest economy car. The list of things WE need to do in our own countries is staggering and the will to take action to resolve our own concerns is nonexistent. Don't we have better things to do than harass Tata? Most of you voted for change; now start putting solar panels on your house!"

Back to blogging

2009-04-03T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ahem..quite a long break..!! Yeah indeed..I ain't pardoning myself by saying things like I didn't get time or I was too far down to get a luxury like internet..NO..they all sound so lame. What I feel is you don't need just time alone to post something on a blog like this..There are these times when you just don't wanna do anything..you just wanna enjoy your time, sometimes engaging yourself in something which you always wanted but couldn't cause of 'time constraints' or sometimes doing something which ain't gonna fetch anything for you..you do it just cuz you're doing it..just no productivity obtained and there are times when you do just nothing at all..what's work..??\\\!!...productivity..??!!never heard..
Now if somebody would personally ask me I can tell him that I like doing the last one the most..Its undoubtedly the best bet..bestest in fact..!!
so you see Lately I have been trying to engage my soulful soul into the things which I mentioned earlier..How could I ever thought about such earthly matters as Blogging when there are far more solemn matters waiting for my attention..:-D :-P

I am back..cuz I'm again sick of this taedium vitae..
And even I have no clue when would I post the next one..:-)

Where is the happiness...??

2008-10-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was...the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be..

Children of GOD

2008-10-08T17:45:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I didn't oversleep as opposed to the usual Saturdays where I don't leave the bed until I make sure that I slept complete ten hours so as to compensate for a rigorously tiring week..And there was a chaste motive behind that. We were being taken to an orphanage for a visit & I was quite keen to be there for my own ethical contentment. Its not that I've never been to one..just beside our home in Ranchi there was a child-rehabilitation center where most of the kids were orphans so I had a fair idea what the visit was going to be like.

But this visit was of such a short period that I at once was feeling I better shouldn't have come at all. That was something which nobody had expected. I was feeling it would be more of a formal sojourn. Very much like a political leader's hasty visit to such places done just for media attention. People were evidently not happy with that..and why wouldn't they be, they were there with a purpose - taking their time out to spend a weekend with those unfortunate kids.
I was amazed & delighted at the same time by the no. of folks turning up to go there..it will be so great if everybody continues to show the same eagerness ever n always to lend a helping hand to the needy.

I'd like to make it clear that its no somber recount of my experiences from this brief visit..neither its any usual dismal condemnation of the society and system. Its just my attempt to glance the things with a positive perspective, a revitalizing way rather than my habitual cribbing at the system..enough of that hogwash. Contemplation makes life miserable..we should act more, think less, n stop watching ourselves live. I needed to look at the positives of the life. I feel acknowledging the commendable work those benign men & women are doing in that orphanage is one of the aspects we always miss out. Its no easy job to handle those many kids who are without their parents & that too when many are just few weeks old, but they were doing their job with so much of dedication and devotion that was truly laudable to say the least.

It was quite touching when one of the toddlers held my finger & wasn't willing to leave it when I reached out to caress its cheeks..one beside was too happy with our presence n was smiling continuously in its cradle as we looked on..it brought smiles on the faces of everybody around. Most of the kids there were below 5 years of age or around that..some among them were even few weeks old. It was all so good to see so many infants sleeping, smiling, giggling in their cradles. :-)

In the next room there were kids playing..just 2-3 years old. As we entered there was a kinda apprehension visible in the children's faces but it went off as soon as we greeted them with a smile & we were fairly reciprocated with their sweet smiles.The happiness in them was worth watching while I was giving away chocolates to them..I was in fact feeling like a Santa Claus without a beard & his red cloak surrounded by those little kids.[;)]
It was amusing to see one of the kids hiding her share of chocolate very smartly behind her and asking for it again & again. I gave few more to that little gal & said to myself.."oh..look at her..how cunning this kid is..". But soon I realized I was wrong..she wasn't collecting those for herself..she gave away those extras to two kids who didn't get any. It was so moving..Children are so much innocent, far from any malignant feelings for others..they really have the purest of hearts.

There were mentally challenged children in another room..it was so pathetic just to see them. We were told that some of these children can not perform the simplest of tasks that we all seem to take for granted like sitting or walking straight or even eating.
The orphanage staffs there I must acknowledge were doing a commendable job for its quite evident that a great amount of patience and tolerance is required to supervise and handle such children.

This visit got over in no time ,n I wasn't feeling like going anywhere else. So I came back to our bus which was there to drop us back to our dorms. Those high spirits of the morning had taken a different shape by then..may be taken over by a mixed feeling of anguish and empathy.

Babies are angels that fly to the Earth,
their wings disappear at the time of their birth,
one look in their eyes and we're never the same.

Monday mournings..

2008-10-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

mondays are the potholes in the road of life..
but sunday's carousal is always there to get through it [:P]

Pro Palin..but not a Pro McCain-Palin

2008-10-05T08:21:00.000-07:00

I was so eager to watch Palin-Biden debate & was expecting to see Sarah Palin going great guns in one of the world's most highly anticipated vice-presidential debate..though sadly I wasn't able to watch it, I managed to get a transcript of the whole proceedings together with some experts' feedbacks and what I could make out from it was she was unquestionably able to live up to the expectations encompassing her. I'm quite happy about it for I'm pro Palin and this endorsement is there cuz I've high regards for this woman and there are a flurry of reasons and explanations for this reverence.

Having said that this backing is limited till her encounter with senator Joseph Biden Jr. as I have no sympathies with the Republicans. Its strange that though I strongly abhor the Republicans' policies n ideologies (especially talking of its imperious foreign policies) I am exhibiting favoritism towards Sarah Palin but for the reason you got to read "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment on Its Ear," by kaylene johnson & the chances are even you'll become an admirer of the governor of Alaska. Anybody having an interest in world politics must be aware of Palin's executive experience..prowess with a gun in the woods or the lakeside fishing but the book speaks of those minute details cuz of which what she is now today & what made McCain choose her as a vice-presidential candidate for the Republicans.

Back to the debate of yesterday which I was talking about Sarah Palin must have made McCain feel good this time after her series of not so good interviews. Her adversary Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. Was not going to be a piece of cake anyways but she managed to survive it. McCain is already a man in distress & there were some talks about her basic qualifications for the VP Office which was surely adding up to his woes but after this highly anticipated debate which certainly gave him a sigh of relief & would help him to concentrate on his other troubles shading his campaign. Her feisty performance must have raised the spirits of the conservative Republicans who were so dejected since she was nominated & I heard that some of them from the conservative block are coming forward to acknowledge that “her performance will re-energize the conservative base,”.

Palin and Biden's debate was pivoted to the economy and diplomacy.
"You're darn right it was the predator lenders,..there was greed and corruption on Wall Street."...She was putting the Wallstreet responsible for the United State's one of the worst economic crisis which has eventually led to a global economic slowdown...on the other hand Senator Biden blamed few of the crisis on deregulation policies that Republican presidential candidate John McCain believes in. "McCain voted for deregulation and that is why we are in the crisis that we are in," he said. (Even I feel the same, that its all a good lesson for the Republicans who believe and keep banging the drum for a market that would administer and regulate itself with minimal government interference ).

Shifting to international issues Palin was quick to accuse Obama of voting against funding for U.S. troops in combat & chastised Biden for defending the move, "especially with your son in the National Guard headed for Iraq..!!"
Biden was even quicker to counter-attack.."John McCain voted against funding for the troops, as well.." adding that the Republican presidential candidate had been "dead wrong on the fundamental issues relating to the conduct of the war." He didn't reply to Palin's mention of his son, the attorney general who's scheduled to fly to Iraq with his national Guard unit on Friday..

Due to the growing public interest on Palin's performance, cuz of the governor's largely unknown political skills & her mistakes made during recent interviews the debate had been expected to be a TV hit..& as a matter of fact it turned out to be one, becoming the most watched vice presidential debate in the U.S. history..The debate set a new record for a VP debate beating the previous high set by the VP debate between Democratic Geraldine Ferraro and then-vice president George H.W. Bush; in addition to that it also very easily succeeded in beating their running companions' debate (the debate between Democratic Senator Barack Obama and Republican Senator John McCain a week back) by a large margin.
There are talks like who did the better job at the end..who was more likable..and so on.. but to me what matters is that both the candidates crossed everybody's expectations with their performances, especially Palin who I feel will make her critics do a rethinking who hold a wrong opinion about her. I'm eagerly looking forward to get the recorded version of this televised debate.

Sun goes down... again

2008-10-02T07:27:00.000-07:00

Inspiration has left me..i have got no inspiration at all to write..theres so many things to write about but as soon as i take out the phone i choke (yeah its far better than PC with the mobility factor as an added advantage).I forget everything that i wanted to write down.Its quite annoying actually. The last blog was just about a song. I was looking for another song but I don't really like using other peoples' words and make them my own..

But still there are some songs which I like keep talkin about again n again..Last night thanks to my good fortune(I must emphasize it cuz I still remember how much crazy I was for this song few years back)..I got to listen "Sun goes down" by deep purple on VH1. Rarely do I watch TV these days but that was somethin I couldn't have afforded to miss out...n I was wishing if they could play next "Pictures of innocence" from the same album but sadly they didn't..:-( This album 'Bananas' was one helluva album and surely this was their one of the best..i mean each of the tracks in it gelled so well n made it one superb album, however it will be a pure blasphemy if I try putting it in the same league as 'Machine head' (Highway star & Smoke on the water fame).

After the disappointment of 'Abandon' I was wary of Bananas but after a listen I knew that this album was leagues better in every way..any fan of melodic hard rock will enjoy this.. It was their third album with guitarist STEVE MORSE n who would resist the sexiness of Steve Morse & vocals of Gillan together..well at least I couldn't that time and even right now I couldn't..

Now the first thing Im gonna do is rummage around for this album or at least that track by any means (my means consist of mainly searching through the net or asking some fren of mine for it-some are self proclaimed connoisseurs of music among them:-P..)so that I can put it in my zenstone firsthand as an attempt to satiate this never ending craving for music..
But before that i wish to post the song here as a moral commiseration for me until I get it in my audio player.

So ladies n gentlemen here goes down the sun for you...!!!

DEEP PURPLE- Sun Goes Down

Oh you're all looking up
With hearts of devotion
Through the dust and the heat lost to me
In a cloud of emotion
I have no motivation
To keep this breathless pace
I'm more inclined to stay here
In this breathing space

And the sun goes down
And the moon comes up

I never tried to walk the walk
'Cos the steps are elusive
The membership is too costly
And exclusive
Hey, the more I've got
The more I stand to lose
So I'm gonna unpack my bags
And take off my shoes

And the sun goes down
And the moon comes up

Let me tell you there's no point knocking
At the big oak door
Can't you see that it's all full up
They can't take no more
The line's so long
It's almost Disney
Ooh:
Wont somebody kiss me

And the sun goes down
And the moon comes up

.......

2008-10-02T02:57:00.000-07:00

These aren't my lines..these are from a song whose title I couldn't recall
'She loves him more than he would ever know, he loves her more than he would ever show..'
Im listening CSNY right now n still those lines are doing rounds of my mind since last hour.Somebody help me find out which song it is...

A welcome change

2008-10-01T21:46:00.000-07:00

Today was so different..Guess why..??
Well no rewards for any speculation..for the folks present there in the lab late afternoon better know why.

The man in charge for the "Scare factor" was today unanticipatedly a horse of a different color singing a completely different tune, nevertheless im sure everybody must have enjoyed that. Certainly there was a reason for his cheerfulness & the reason was everybody from our batch had successfully cleared one mandatory certification in one go..and not just cleared but cleared with surprisingly such great marks.. one can reckon it from the fact that the lowest was 90%:-) (Not to forget that it's regarded as quite a tough nut to crack :-P )

As a result we were treated with a sorta small coffee party thrown by the commander himself for the batch's fabulous performance and it was labeled as "Coffee with commander " -Sounded so familiar except for the 'commander' part but he was at his best to be an equally good n hospitable host as that name suggested. Smirking all the way since the moment He entered into the lab till he left. When I first came to know about it I hoped we were cruising for a bruising( folks were in fact lookin for "excuses" for backing up their superb performance,..guys who had scored highest marks were miserably scared the daylights of it ) but He really caught one and all off guarded with His unusually congenial behavior.

There was that typical smile on His face as He spoke but this time it was genuine..not involving anything sarky. Nonetheless His own acid test was still undone so he wanted to double corroborate it again with His own set of questions. The first one being related to laws of motion it was so much pleasing to see the giant OAP[:P] talkin about it in such a descriptive way after few responses which were not at par..It was impressive in the way He illustrated it and I honestly didn't expect from Him.

Few more rounds of such questions with a tinge of smile n His unique dry humour and lots of giggles from our side added up to the already gleeful ambience...n He was a happy and contented man at the end, by the words of Him & by the look on His face..;-)

We were later told that this was the first time the commander was having coffee with an ELTP batch..n I feel we deserved that for this was the outcome of the sweat of our very own brows..Rakshit & I know it very well..(or for that matter the whole class knows it so well :-D )

Now if there's anything called sea change..this is it..!!!

They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom. ~Confucius

A tribute to business unit

2008-09-28T10:32:00.001-07:00

After the phase I of my training period which I somehow managed to get through after lots of last moment painstakingly rigorous processes( yeah the so called processes..the lousy processes ) I landed into phase II & its nearly two weeks that I've been into it..The first n foremost change which I observed after reaching this far is the ultimatums from those undesirable creatures whom i talked about in my earlier blog have subsided drastically to the pleasant surprise for most of the folks. We feel a lot safe n secure now..

So the phase II began amid lots of anticipation and the hype created reagardin some business unit responsible for the rest of our training period. We were made to believe as if a kinda new struggle was gaping at us..like the first phase wasn't enough for that.Ours being some customized batch as we were reminded constantly we were thoroughly dealt in a customized way (read screwed) n we coming from some PPP Colleges (nopes..It surely doesn't stand for Point to Point protocol or Poor People's Party..this wild guessing is there cuz even they don't know what this acronym stands for) added up to our woes. The first day of phase II got ahead with a faculty from business unit narrating his plans to keep us on toes for the next three weeks, I could well remember the stressed out faces of the folks that time. And to speak somethin about our business unit faculty..I feel I was expecting more from a 'Business unit' person when I first saw him.Its not that he appeared disgusting but he wasn't at par with their very own business standards..he may be believing in the notion that appearance is never what actually matters..very true ,even I do believe so.

The impression which he created about himself in the initial days was like he was going to be very strict in his approach but gradually we realized he was a real far cry from what he was talking about..I mean as a person & as a business unit facilitator he was one of the most liberal n easy going facilitator which was unexpectedly very different from his early image but at the same time there was some peculiarity about him..n I was the first one to Point out about that bit of weirdness in his actions n manners when our Program manager asked for a feedback for him. His irritatingly screeching voice and together with it his over stressed n funny way of pronouncing some specific words were always a kinda catalyst to show us a funny side of a rather dull class.

One thing worth mentioning here is that cuz of his not so gentlemanly mannerisms in the class he led himself into a high level furore which was there for quite some time noticeably due to a hesitant n slothful approach of the higher officials..Im sure it could have costed him his job at worst. I still admire that bold n straight-forward statement made by one among the trio of his favorites which in a way lambasted the indecisiveness of the officials in the best possible way and eventually brought an end to all the pandemonium happening inside the class cuz of it..

Who knows what was that...his natural mannerism or an off putting randiness. In all my sanity I would wish it was the first option else no faith would be left there & which surely won't do any good to anybody.
Good that his term of a week or two in our class concluded with a good note which was a relief considerin the fact that it went so sour at one Point of time.

A funny old man with a heart of a teenager...That was him... :-) :-D

Why...???

2008-09-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

Why is it that when a man gets up to speak, people listen then look,...n when a woman gets up, people look.., then, if they like what they see they listen..!! [:P][:D]

Divide n Rule

2008-09-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

So finally the batch has been divided n the way it has been divided I find it questionable as how just a single test was employed as a criteria for the division especially when the results are shockingly so contrasting.
I could sense an air of uneasiness n discontentment among few of the left outs here n few from the otherside as well. The reasons were different- one side performed extraordinarily brilliant(at least in context to the result )[my team performed the best...kudos to my team mates..;-)] n what they got is their broken squads and a highly softspoken giant who'll help them continue with those sleep inducing n monotonous classes & the reason for a hushy disgruntlement from the other side is that their results have been truly very much contradictory and hard to swallow for them n others too,..Even I believe the same. The breather for them is I'd say they haven't been asked to continue in some far off Centre.
Now the most important thing is how we'll cope up here without our guides n helper buddies..the added pain is that soft spoken giant himself who I believe can induce sleep in you even if you've gotten off the bed a moment back..such are his lectures.one has to struggle to stay awake..SLEEPING PILLS ARE PASSE FOLKS..COME HERE & GET A SOUND SLEEP..that too for free..
Those darn mysterious 'processes' which they keep talkin about did the harm to us once again & there is really nothin we can do about it..sadly :-(
Anyways gotta rush now..need to do some workout..my six packs are fading :-( :-( :-(

Equality...!!

2008-09-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

I believe in equality ...I believe all people are equally inferior to me.....
(Pun intended..) ;-) :-D

An unwanted transmogrification

2008-09-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

I really couldn't believe this..i actually managed to find some time out to post something here cuz lately I've been as busy as a one legged bloke in an arse kicking contest & a diversion like blogging is real back breakin..should rather say hellish..
Its been two n a half months that they have literally held me captive in this heavily guarded hidey hole secluded from the city but the respite is im not alone..there are other hapless folks as well accompanying me here..I wouldn't like to do any delay in clarifying that here 'they' implies a software company n their hidey hole is nothin but their technology center n im nothin but a white collared software Er.

So finally here I am..fluky or not so fluky enough..to get metamorphosed from a not so inept electrical engineer to a total klutzy software engineer (read Tester ).. but what's even more tragic is the fact that what they call a world class professional training is nothing but a sadistic approach of the companies to develop humans into dummies & bots..expecting them to act, work & behave more like their automated softwares and demanding to get accomplished in an alien domain in a stipulated time which is just one tenth or even lesser than what it normally takes to get a hold of it...This is just one facet of it all. Add to it their gruelling schedule which forced me many times to realize that NDA really wasn't any option at all for me & not going for it was actually a good decision;-)..

Then there is the all so new n intense work pressure environment which is made to feel even worse by the presence of some commanders who I think are a hired lot by the company for the 'SCARE FACTOR'..to instil fear among the new joinees so as to squeeze the best out of them.I honestly feel they are better suited for the border side army recon..There is also an operations team to monitor our activities headed by a savage looking creature who does the unfinished tasks of such commanders..

In pursuit of customer satisfaction & delighting the customers strategy they miss out the basic fact that their employees are equally important as their customers.

To tell the truth life has been real tough in more than one ways here n im still on my way to get used to of the changes..For instance the no. of hours im sleeping a day nowadays is close to my noon siesta at home..Im eating the kinda food which I'd have given to Jimmy had I been home..

Nevertheless I shouldn't forget to acknowledge the fact that the rapport I've developed here with a bunch of guys who have gradually turned up to be real good buds has eased off many of the problems..

Earlier I used to hit life hard n now its the other way round ..life is hitting back at me from all the possible angles n wid twice the ferocity & the company n the job are cooperating as much as it can in that but im glad that its the same unaffected me, the same non chalant person which I ever have been..I really won't like to give a darn to anybody..

My gratuitous growlings..

2008-06-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

arrrrrggggghhhh....why ..why..why...dunno why...I think I'll never know why I do this..everyday I go through the same suffering..what drives me to get up every morning jus to return to this hell we call earth.....?
what the hell am i bitching about anyways...I mean there are people out there that has barely got anything...and they are not complaining.. they really dont care about tomorrow...they live for today and today only.. I envy persons who live like that cuz regrettably i aint left like that anymore..damn im slouching here like the world's biggest shirker cussing everythin comin along my way...damn what has gone wrong...

A suggestion

2008-06-08T08:03:00.001-07:00

Never tell your problems to anyone... 20% don't care and the other 80% are glad you have them...

Hard work ----> Chararcter

2008-06-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

hard work spotlights the character of people... some turn up their sleeves.. some turn up their noses n some don't turn up at all !!

20 distinct characteristics of real lazy people..

2008-06-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

20 distinct characteristics of real lazy people..

The incapacity to put forth the effort required to complete a task...
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Once a lazy always a lazy...

2008-06-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

Phew...this one turned quite a long long furlough...was fearing if this account of mine was up n running and to my pleasant surprise it is.. :-) I actually ran across some blogger's work which made me realize that not too long ago I too had opened one account here with a motive to give vent to those pent-up emotions and I think it was bursting with ultra enthusiasm that time [:P]n sadly now it seems those stifled emotions got that much constrained :( that I eventually forgot to post something here...!!
or may be I was in such an interior region where I had no access to such comforts as net n all...
or was it that I had forgotten my ID & password...!!
once a lazy always a lazy...:) :D
But I hope I wont allow this kinda long long gaps from now on...I'd keep chipping in with my valueless gab n I also hope you lazy guys drooping on your chairs will devote your precious time going through it all ....:)

A not so differential issue..

2008-02-16T06:19:00.000-08:00

As you folks proceed to read it i suggest you to have an open mind before i evaluate everythin im about to say... First thing first Ive been highly influenced with Michael Gurian's brain research techniques that are still quite debatable..though quite powerful n innovative in their own regarding gender differences when it comes to their emotional n cerebral quotient but by this it never implies im biased towards one particular gender or hyping for a sorry disparity between the two. Let me be very clear that im dead set against it. Wot im talkin of is an eternal difference that sets apart each one's existence but sadly it sometimes leads to an unfair n unvirtuous disparity..

So wid all due regard n reverence to all those feminists n not so feminists n anti feminists as well, this has nothin to do wid your very own altruistic sentiments..Things like race, age n appearance are all aspects of our physical identity but gender is the prime factor in defining wot we are n how we are perceived. For instance a man n a woman can look at exactly same thing & find somethin exactly different.. Gender has a powerful influence on the way we manifest our feelings n emotions..

Its a fact that boys are more easily angered n gals are slower to anger. A typecast gal will feel niceness is somethin that brings praise and protection n loudness of anger is something to stay away from. In order to be a so called "Good gal" soft spoken n not causing trouble, ...Liability is very necessarily somethin to take care about not hurting feelings or triggering anger.

Gender tells gals avoid conflict, to make things pleasant n to be nice. No fostering of the courage just the suppression of the confrontation. She is supposed to be pretty, shapely n able to attract attention by her looks..if shes not that attractive she must be more subservient. Manipulation not confrontation is the cultivated exercising of power for the stereotypic female. 
Then there are the gals who spurn the stereotype n rebel against it. They imitate aggressive male behavior n define power in terms of anger n intimidation. They rely on ridicule to establish their position n taunt others who represent the female role they are rejecting. Emotional outbursts often in the form of clamour n violence are a natural outgrowth of the unfair response n treatment they receive. On the other hand boys who fit the stereotype for acceptable male behaviour feel they rule the world. If they are smart n handsome they can assume they are superior to others n keep exhibiting that through their hoity toity ways. They can become overweenin..arrogant..manipulative or dominative.Their talent n charm can become an excuse for lording it over others. Feelin superior they can demand respect but not once think they need to give it too.

Accountability is not at all admissible to them cuz they endorse this stereotypic belief system. Their birthright is superiority with impunity. Males often talk n act aggressively..even violently.Its an accepted expression of boys 'coming of age'. Masculinity is tied to aggression. To be a man is to be in charge. To be gentle is to be a wimp, a weak excuse for a man, an object of derision n ridicule. We must realize that to speak of fairness,integrity n equality we must attend to gender and how it affects the way we approach personal power n vulnerability.

The iniquitous society which we live in is all responsible for the deplorable dissimilitude between the two but its us who form the society..n we need to bring that change in our mindsets. A fair resolution that brings with it a greater understanding n respect for each other will allow us to meet n join together with integrity n intimacy. Respecting each others differences is a means of recognising the similarities..None is the best n none is the worst..Its just that both are different..

2008-02-14T11:01:00.000-08:00

Reality is for people who lack imagination...

No smoking..(X)

2008-02-01T02:31:00.000-08:00

As i have quitted smoking for good..So obviously I find it quite irritating( or say tempting:-D) as some buddy of mine pulls it on right beside me..You guys better read this for yourself..This one is for you all..Cheers..!!:-) mate smokin is the residue of your pleasure:-(..It contaminates the air, pollutes my hair and my clothes not to mention my delicate lungs..n this all takes place without my consent...btw i too find my pleasure in one thing..I love beers..n mine residue of pleasure is urine..would u be annoyed if i stood on a chair n pissed on your head n on your clothes without your consent...:-P

Back to bedlam

2008-01-29T01:28:00.000-08:00

...Had thought before joining this bloggin thing that it will be just crammed with all those random thoughts n impressions that obscure the mind big time n the logical mental faculties called sanity which eventually got affected cuz of it.... But as i move on im finding it tough ..Im not knowing how to give a perceptible silhoutte to those vague contemplations which once shrouded the whole mind n soul..May be i need time.. May be it still is the same snafu self of mine.. Or may be folks im boring the heck out of you wid my stoical ruminative blabberings.. Wotever...Ive got now a little space to give vent to those troubling perplexing thoughts cuz of which im all fucked up lately..