Users Control Facebook Now On

I have always been a believer that social networking sites like Facebook always play with our personal data. I had already written a post about the Friend Finder feature of Facebook and the chances of it scanning through your private data. These were just assumptions and we did not have any materialistic evidence for or against it. But Last month Facebook was found to breach Canadian law by holding on to users' personal data indefinitely. Facebook has now agreed to make changes to the way it handles this information and be more transparent about what data it collects and why. It will also make it clear that users can deactivate or delete their account.

These changes mean that the privacy of approximately 200 million users will be far better protected. Facebook has said it will make changes that will give users more control over the data they provide to third-party developers of applications, such as games and quizzes. There are around 950,000 developers in 180 countries who provide applications for the site. Specifically, the changes will require applications to state which information they wish to access and obtain consent from the user before it is used or shared.

All this emphasises the fact that the Facebook developers had unrestricted access to our personal data. Though after this change in the Privacy Policy things may get a bit more user friendly. Now the user will have more control over his private data and he can decide when and where he wants to share his personal data. Facebook and Twitter are also the two sites that have sparked a new revolution mobile net usage. These are very popular sites and have millions of users world wide. We have had a news doings the rounds some days back regarding the hacking of Twitter and Facebook. So these sites have been in the eye of hackers.

This change in privacy policy will definitely make us feel more confident and will help us trust the sites. The most important part is that the magical button shall now be in our hands and we can use it as per our needs. Now if we feel like exposing our private data, nobody stops us but if we decide against it, we can be sure that the data is as private as it was. There is no one accessing our personal information without our permission or without our even knowing about it.

A Family Affair

This Saturday I had decided to meet some of my relatives and make this weekend a Family Affair. I had promised few of my cousins that I shall give them a visit and it had been quite a long time since I had made this promise. Shravani, the youngest of the lot had even lost hope and along with Aditi had declared me total fraud. So I had to go, I also wanted to meet them, it had really been a long time.

I went there with my sister and her son. We had a really good time and enjoyed ourselves. Mama ji lives at Pandara Park, which is very close to India Gate so we even went there for a while. The entire trip was really refreshing and wonderful. The only negative thing was that I had to drive for long distances and that drained out the energy from me.

But the time that I spent with Mama Ji, Mami Ji, Hena, Aditi and Baani was really wonderful. It feels so good to be within Family member when you are out of your house. I love such meetings, it not only makes me feel happy but also gives me the warmth of my home and family. I would love to be with my cousins and relatives more regularly but the daily routines does not leave me with enough time. Thanks to all of you for making my day special.

Maruti Zen Estilo gets a Facelift

I Just got my eyes upon the new Zen Estilo and it impressed me. I was overwhelmed with the features and looks of the car more so when we consider all this comes at an ex showroom price of 3.69 lakhs only. This is the price of the VXI model without ABS. Major Specifications of this car are:

IN MM
Length 3600
Width 1475 (LX/LXi), 1495 (VXi)
Height 1595
Wheel Base 2360
Tread, Front 1295
Tread, Rear 1290
Turning Radius 4.6 m
Seating Capacity 5
Ground clearance 165 mm
Max power (PS / rpm) 68 PS @ 6200 rpm
Max. Torque (Nm / rpm) 90 Nm @ 3500 rpm
Engine K10B
Engine Capacity 998 cc
Engine Type 3 cyl
Transmission 5 MT

The car comes with iCATS protection system, tubeless tyres and disc brakes. The upper variant of VXI model comes with ABS and Air Bags. This is power packed car and should attract lots of customers. The best part is the new look which combines the front view of Ritz and back of Zen Estilo. The face lift that has been given to this car has really made it very attractive. If you are planning to buy a new small segment car then you should give this one a though. I think this car is value for money. For more detailed analysis you can visit the Maruti Suzuki official website.

Monday beats Wednesday

In an amazing and unconventional fight Monday beat Wednesday. Yes it is true, there was a survey and it resulted in naming Wednesday as the worst and most boring day of the week. That's the claim of two American applied mathematicians, who analysed words used in 2.4 million internet blogs such as Twitter, giving a score out of nine depending on how positive they were. This was an article on Yahoo News. I was really amazed by the result. I personally maintain that Monday is pretty boring as it comes after two days of fun. It takes the most curses. I even remember people saying 'Oh My God Its Monday'.

Saturday and Sunday were expected to get good ratings but most shockingly, Monday came out as the second happiest day of the week. The reason they give is that people are still thinking about the weekend. Thursday and Friday get the benefit as they bring us close to the Weekend, thus Wednesday gets voted the worst day of the week. I ran this quiz amongst a few friends and none of them called Wednesday. I am not with the result but then I think there is no point complaining and we should treat each day with dignity. What cannot be cured must be endured ;) . Keep Rocking !!!

The LOAN Effect

I have been a victim of this Loan effect. Of late I planned to buy a house and some months back I had purchased a car. On both occasions I was faced with the problem where I could not decide whether I should go for Loan or go for cash down. The problem was more complex at the time of purchasing a car, for house the loan sort of becomes mandatory and the only thing that needs to be decided is the amount of loan.

I would advice that Loan should be avoided as far as possible. Moreover we should refrain from taking Loan on depreciating assets such as a car. The motive behind this is simple, we should play safe. Suppose in case there is some issue and we are unable to pay the loan back, the amount of loan could not be recovered even after selling out the car. There is also a theory that opposes my thought and says that the value of money decreases with time and the value of an amount that you pay today will not be that significant few years later and one can easily pay. I would advise safe play, hence reject this school of thought.

For the purpose of purchasing a house, loan becomes mandatory. In today's world it not easy for a Salaried Person to buy a house on Cash Payment. The fact that House is an appreciating asset and its value increases with time plus it gives a tax rebate makes it that more suitable. But it is a big burden that plays on people's mind till the time they shed it off their shoulders. I know this gentleman by the name of Kushagra Deep who has a running house loan. Once asked what will do if you get a jackpot, he humbly replied 'Will Repay the Home Loan'. So things are not as simple as they appear from a distance. It keeps on playing in your sub conscious mind and keeps you engaged. Next time when you decide for a Loan, think over it and when you are fully satisfied and content only then go for it.

Everything Comes With An Expiry Date

It is well said that everything comes with an expiry date i.e. nothing is forever. This seems so true for the Australian Cricket, their reign at the top is over. Statistically they may now come down to the fourth place after India in world test cricket ranking . Also going by their recent form it would not be wrong to say that it is time for Ricky Ponting to hang his boots. The Aussies lost the Ashes when they tasted defeat in the 5th and final test match just moments ago.

The Aussies are yet to get to terms with the shortest version of the game, the T20s. Their dismal show in the T20 World Cup showed that they have not yet been able to adapt to the T20 format. Their strength was the longer version of the game where they were the undisputed leaders. But the Ashes defeat has questioned their legacy and supremacy, the expiry date may have finally come.

The Aussies have ruled the test cricket for more than 5 years now and it would be the first time since 2004 that the Aussies will lose their top spot in the test cricket ratings. It has been a downward graph for the Aussie cricket for some time now. With an emphatic win in the 4th Ashes test only on the third day made us all think that they might spell their magic in the final test and keep the Ashes with themselves. But they failed in the final test match and as a result lost the series as well as the Top Spot in the Test cricket rankings.

There will be more competition now for the top spot, presently South Africa are sure to get the crown. Other teams will now feel more confident and believe that they can also beat the Aussies. The unbeatable tag associated with the Aussies is no longer valid, they can be beaten. After you lose players like Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne, it is difficult to replace them majorly because of the impact they had on the outcome of the games. They were genuine match winners and could turn the match on its head when in form. Also the confidence and the toughness of the Aussies shall be at test. Will they bonce back or is this the Expiry Date of their Cricketing supremacy will be clear in near future.

Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Metro

Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Metro, what could possibly link these two together ? is the question that crosses our mind when we read this title. So let me explain, Rahul Gandhi actually boarded Delhi Metro on Friday Night. He was on his way back from two days visit to Chattisgarh and got stuck in the heavy traffic jam caused due to the rains on Friday. He decided to board the Delhi Metro and reach as close as possible to his house. Metro got graced by an unlikely passenger.

The havoc caused by the water logging is made so obvious by this step taken by Rahul but the MCD Officials are unmoved by the situation. MCD commissioner K S Mehra claimed on Saturday that there was "no water logging" and that the water that accumulated on the roads drained away within the hour, before the evening traffic peaked. He further said that the drains are meant to carry a load of only 25 mm/hr, and when the rainfall is more than this, it takes a while for the water to drain off. This too happened within a short while and by evening, the roads were clear.

The Metro was graced but for all the wrong reasons. Why must Delhi suffer so with every shower? is yet to be answered. Wake up guys its high time and we need to take some difficult decisions.

Dostana Sequel with Katrina

We all remember Abhishek Bachchan and John Abrahim romancing on screen for their movie Dostana. I even remember John coming up to announce the best actress in lead role award at a function along with Tabu. He then calls Tabu's name, Tabu smiles and says girls will run away from you. John replies who cares about girls, I am anyway doing movies with Abhishek. So the 'jodi' of John and Abhishek was a hit.

With the scraping of Chapter XVI Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalized homosexuality and the popularity and success of Dostana, the makers of Dostana have decided to make a sequel to this movie. It is also known that Dostana 2 shall have John and Abhishek chasing after Katrina Kaif. Few others including Arjun Rampal and Riteish Deshmukh may be added to the crew of Dostana 2 to make things a bit more complicated.

Let us see if this sequel impresses the Indian crowd as much as the original version did. India does not have a good history of sequels with most of the sequels running considerably less than their original version. There are some exceptions to this theory also. It will take time and we have to wait for the movie to come out before we can actually watch it.

Dostana was not a entirely new concept but it was a bold step to say the least, the makers experimented with a different subject and took a risk with the Indian viewers, the risk paid off last time, let us hope it so this time as well.

Google Doodle

Google Doodle is the artistic, funny graffiti that we see on the Google Logo on its homepage on special occasions, dates or even birthdays of famous personalities. It is a lovely piece of work and I am a great admirer of the same. I often keep waiting for the events to come so that I can see another logo and know the reason behind its presence. I was wondering about the thought and the process that has given birth to this concept so I decided to get a insight into the Doodle.

Google Doodle is a concept that started in the year 2000 and has ruled the world since then. There is this man Dennis Hwang who is behind all this. The concept as per my understanding is that these people design a image for the google logo based on the event that is to come and then display it all day long on the event date. Sometimes the image that appears with the logo is so obvious that you can easily guess the event. Sometimes it is not that easy, but to make things easier for us they show the event name that they have depicted in tool tip on mouse hover. Also the logo has a link that leads you to Wikipedia where you can read in details about the event that the specific logo signifies.

I am a real fan of Google Doodle and when I read about the 'Doodle 4 Google' Contest, I could help myself and decided to write this post in order to salute the hard work that goes behind the presentation of the Doodles. It is a great concept and very informative. It helps us remember some important events, date and may other accomplishments. Keep up the good work, it is reaaly fantastic. View the Google Doodle logos here

Rain and Storm cause havoc in New Delhi

31.8 mm of rain and a wind speed of 91.2kmph on Friday evening saw Delhi break down with water logging all around and traffic jams through out the city. Even the Indira Gandhi International Airport had a break down. The major impact was on the newly created terminal 1D whose roof flew off and there was water logging up to the knee level.

People were stuck in traffic jams for hours. The Times Of India listed the 5 Slowest Trips which goes to show the frustration that must have crept into the people who suffered yesterday night.:

• Gurgaon - SP Marg, Time 5hrs
• New Friends Colony - South Ex, Time 3hrs
• IP Extn - India Gate, Time 2.15 hrs
• Delhi Gate - Mandi House, Time 2hrs
• IGI - Domestic Terminal, Time 1.30hrs

There was chaos all around and people were stuck in traffic jams. The news channels were requesting and suggesting people should stay back at their houses if possible and not to contribute to the already over loaded roads. But what about those who were stuck in those jams. We were lucky yesterday that we escaped this chaos.

Much has been said and written about the chaos that has taken place. This thing is not new to Delhi and we witnessed it so many times, still there are no signs of things improving. Where are the officials and who is there to blame for all this. We are not even sure if any step is being taken to handle such situations. The normal person is so confused, we are not sure whether we pray for rains to come to relieve us of the scorching heat or should we be content that there are no rains hence there would be no traffic logging.

Prompt Service at Maruti Service Station

Today I went to get my car repaired at a Maruti Service Station and was overwhelmed at the express service that these guys provide. It felt like if those guys were just waiting for me. As soon as I entered and explained the reason for my presence, I was introduced to a man who was in charge of the body shop and then he almost in half an hours time got everything done and released me.

My car had a dented rear bumper and it was to be repaired. Also my third service was due so I went to the service station to get both these things done at a go. I have had a wonderful experience with Maruti Service Centres. After today's experience I am pretty happy with the decision that I made while deciding upon a car when I chose Maruti Swift. The express and prompt service and the gesture of the people at the service centre have really made me happy.

I have had bad experiences with Chevrolet and Fiat service stations. They are no match as compared to the service that we get at any Maruti service centre. So I firmly believe that while deciding upon a new car one must take the after sales service into consideration. It should and is one of the important factors when buying a car.

Women Power

On my way to office, I heard this program on radio about the 100 most powerful women in the world. It was basically aimed at listing out the Indians that have made to the list. It was good to note that Indian women are amongst the top 100 in the world. There are infact 4 Indians in the list which includes Congress President Sonia Gandhi, CEO and Managing Director of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar, Pepsico CEO, Indra Nooyi and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman of Biocon India.

But the exciting part was when the radio jockey put a question for the public to answer. The Question was to name the women that was in this list last year but could not make it this year. The hints that she gave led me to the conclusion that she was talking about Mayawati. Just for the records, Mayawati was ranked 59th last year. I was shocked to know that she has been a part of this elite list published by Forbes. This just goes to emphasize the effect that she had on India last year when she was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

You will agree with me when I say that it is not a piece of cake to get your name in that list. So the power and the authority of Congress President Sonia Gandhi could be imagined. She has moved 8 places ahead this year to finish at number 13 this year as compared to 21 last year.

It is good to note that the women in India are also getting acclaim for their work and that should help reduce the man-woman differences. It can also be looked with the concept that only 4 Indians out of the Billion could make it to the list, but as I said we should look at positives and move ahead. So let us hope that in the near future we have more names from India popping into that list. Though I am not pretty sure how far this near future is going to be. Let us just wait and watch.

Office Bonanza - The Red Chillies

Yesterday we had a good 4 hours of entertainment in the office. The objective was to take a break from the daily routine and enjoy ourselves. The other motive that I guess was to develop team building and intimacy across various teams and team member. With this objective in mind the entire office staff was divided into teams consisting of approx. 10 members each. We called ourselves the 'Red Chillies'.

The events started on a serious note when few people were facilitated for their contribution to the company's success. The event was pretty boring till the time they announced my name as well. I was very surprised, I was not expecting it (though I did the last time around). After this award ceremony was over the actual events started.

We were informed about the various games that they had in store for us. For instance they had a small area marked by a ribbon and the entire team members were made to stand within that area for a total period of one minute. There was another game in which only two members from each team would participate and they had to alternatively call numbers in English and Hindi from 1 to 30 and the team that reaches 30 the earliest is the winner. It was something like one, 'do', three, 'char' and so on. There was also a game where each team was given some 35 balloons and the members had to blow into them until they burst. The team which finished their quota of balloons first would be declared winners.

Each team was also given 15 minutes time to present any play(skit) of their choice, there was prize for the best play and the second best play. Well this was my favourite part, I am so much into plays and theaters. The memories of the various events that I had been a part of and the medals and trophies that grace my house reminded me of the college days. I wanted to do so much but due to paucity of time I was not able to give it my 100%. Still we put up a good show with Swine Flu being the theme of our play. I wish one day I am given a chance to spell my magic all over again. I also want to check whether the actor inside me is still there or it has dissolved with time.

We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves, I personally feel and maintain that events like this should happen more regularly. It helps us understand each other better and for once we could forget all the Oohs and AAhhs and enjoy. It gives us the opportunity to become kids once again. But in reality it is not possible due to the tight schedule of our work and deliverable. It was a good experience especially due to the Award that I received. A big thank you to the company and colleagues for making this event a successful one.

It Is Very Difficult to Maintain Things

It has been my observation that it is easier to get something but it is really difficult to maintain. This applies to each and every thing, be it ant item, friends, or even the image or reputation. I tried to analyse the reason behind such a notion but could not get a convincing answer. But every time I thought about it, my belief got stronger.

How often we hear in Television shows from the judges that the participant has failed to meet the standards that he had set and hence he/she gets lesser applaud. It even happens in our life that the bar once raised needs to be maintained. Even in case of Relationship and friendship, it is easier to get into one but requires a whole lot of effort to maintain it.

Let me list down a few things that I feel hard to maintain:

• Positive Attitude
• Grace
• Self Esteem and Respect
• Relationship especially Friendship
• Being Myself
• Emotions
• Trust

I am still searching for the ways in which I can maintain the above mentioned. Hope I get answers some day. But the easiest way that I can think of is to be honest to oneself and trust the instinct.

Back To Work

After a refreshing trip to my Hometown, today I resumed my duties at my Office. It was a good three days break and I must admit that I enjoyed all of it. It is such a nice feeling to be home and amongst all the family members and the friendly environment. To add to the joy, it poured heavily last Saturday and Sunday hence making the mercury fall down. The cool atmosphere and the warmth of the loved ones made a deadly combination.

As I came back, Delhi seemed to welcome me with light showers and cool breeze. Things at office were also pretty cool with not much pressure as such. Though I am still stressed and I think it will need a good sound sleep to get over it still I am satisfied with things.

But then I realise that my weekend is over and I am back to work. This little trip was a wonderful trip and has rejuvenated me. I feel fresher and I think my urge to work and the passion that I have for my job just got better. It feels so good to work, this break has worked wonders for me and I would love to plan such short trips a bit more regularly. But the order of the day is I am back and have to resume my duties. I thank the almighty for the lovely time and wish that the same continues...

Finally I got there !!!

This post was written on Thursday, the 13th of August, though I have posted it today.

The much awaited long weekend has finally arrived. I am going home (Allahabad) and presently I am in the Train (Prayag Raj Express 2418). Today has not been a normal day in my life, it was very eventful. Though I am pretty happy now as things have finally fallen in shape. It has been a day where my heart has been pumping throughout and I was very worried all day long. Let me just revise the day for you.

My packing was almost done last night, I had left a few small things for today morning. I went to bed at around 11:30 yesterday night with the intention of getting up in time so that I have ample time to get ready and finalize my packing. It all started from here, I forgot to set the alarm and as a result woke up late and then had to hurry to get ready and reach office on time. Generally I drive my own car but just to relax I requested my friend to take his car. We reached office a bit late than usual but it was OK.

Things were cool in office till about 5:30 in the evening, since I had to catch this train we had decided to leave office at around 5:30 so I get ample time to have my food and reach the station to catch the train. Then this friend of mine (Ajay) in whose car we went to office today had to stay back for some official work. So I had to drive his car. He has a Zen oldest model which is barely in the condition to run. The car declines to move ahead with 3 people inside and the AC running. The piece of metal does not even have power steering. So I had a real rough time driving, the congested roads and traffic didn't make things easier.

I finally reached my house to note that the Gas Cylinder was empty and I was left with no option but to get some food from some place to eat. I rushed to KFC, got myself a Chicken Meal and ate it. I then had a shower and left my place at around 7:40. I had everything planned, the Metro takes about an hour to reach New Delhi Station and the train leaves at 9:25 so things should be pretty comfortable. As I came out of the society I found that I had left my wallet at the flat itself. So I had to go back to my flat at the 9th floor and get my wallet and come back. This wasted around 10 minutes of my time. To add to my problems there was no Rickshaw available outside the society. After walking some distance, I finally got a rickshaw that took me to the Metro Station.

As I reached the Metro Station and was getting my baggage checked, the Metro left the platform and I had to wait for the next Metro which was to come after 12 minutes. The time was 8:10 already and my heart was pumping fast and I was thinking that I may not catch the train, the Metro finally came at around 8:20 .It ran some distance and then it stopped suddenly for 5 minutes. There was no reason given for the stoppage but I guess it has something to do with the derailment that had happened a few days back. My eyes were doing a round robin between the station that was coming and the clock ticking. I was praying within myself and requesting God to help me catch the train.

Finally I reached the New Delhi station and my clock was showing 9:23 pm. I ran out of my life and somehow got into the Train. As I sit down here to write my experience, I have a smile on my face and relief within but this has been a hectic run to say the least. But now when I weigh it against the fact that I would be meeting my parents, relatives and other close friends, I feel this is nothing compared to the amount of fun and pleasure that I am going to have in the coming three days.

Way to Go In Recession

I just came across an article under Yahoo News Car sales jump 31 percent in July and was wondering is this the way to go in recession ?. In this post I shall try and summarize what to do to help get rid of recession.

Let me start with the above news first, it says that as compared to last year car sales have risen 31% and motorcycle sales have risen 19% and so on. I am not at all surprised at this figure and will not be surprised if this number increases even more in the coming year. I would like to highlight few points related to recession. First of all India is third in the least recession hit countries. Secondly the markets in India have recovered a bit, plus the fact that the prices have come down due to competition among various brands and also due to recession.

Then there is a gentleman that I know by the name of Yogesh Kumar, who is of the opinion that during recession there should be constant flow of money to keep things moving, hence we should spend. This great thinker also happens to be my flat mate and colleague. So just to honor his statement we went shopping last Sunday and to make our contribution we spent around 10,000 rupees. So the flow of money is maintained.

The recession is not as much into India as is in other countries. Even the layoffs and the job cuts that are occurring are majorly in US based or other Multinational Companies. Some companies who are even not hit by recession as such have taken this is a reason to clean up their unwanted stuff that were otherwise not possible. I am here in no way advocating that we are not hit by the recession wave, the only point that I am putting forward is that we have other ways to look at it and just forget it. It will pass out with time. This is a bad phase and is certain to pass, let us just keep our cool. I know it is easier said than done but I believe that is the way to go in Recession.

Kajol and Shahrukh

I am very big fan of Shahrukh-Kajol as on screen partners. I have enjoyed almost all movies where these two have been together. Who can forget the magical trio of .Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaiyenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam. They are going to be back in 'My Name Is Khan'. I am just waiting for this movie to release and I am expecting the same magic from this couple.

The small stunt in a song in Kal Ho Na Ho, even in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi got me all excited. There is something about this couple that just makes me sizzle. My Name is Khan will see this couple together after Eight long years. The movie was to be released in December this year but now it's release has been delayed till February 2010. We generally associate grand sets and music and costumes with a Karan Johar movie, all this is missing in the new movie. It is even said the movie has no song whatsoever, so it is a serious film. This has sparked even more curiosity and I am almost restless to watch this movie.

It is also heard that Karan had even applied for permission to shoot in the White House, the residence of the US President. Another important thing that is worth a mention here is that with this movie Karan has finally parted away with the 'K' factor that we associate with him. Let us just sit back and wait for the movie to come. One thing is for sure that the movie will have a lot of expectations from the people and it has to be a real good one to satisfy the viewers. After all a gap of 8 years is a very big gap that this movie has to fill. Hope the movie comes out with flying colors.

Lifebuoy Handwash Advertisements

I have a special liking for Advertisements just because of the creativity that goes into it. I have already written a blog post on it. Take a look at this Interesting Lifebuoy Handwash advertisements by advertising agency Lowe Jakarta. This advertisement just by way of pictures scares us into washing our hands more often. They have a slogan : You eat what you touch - so before you eat something, think about what you have touched previously. This is a very creative way to show how gross it can be when we don’t wash our hands. Take a look at the pictures and enjoy.

Hackers Hit Twitter And Facebook

Micro-blogging service Twitter and social networking site Facebook have been severely disrupted by hackers. Both sites now have millions of users worldwide. Facebook claims more than 250m active users whilst a ComScore study suggests that Twitter had around 45 million users worldwide as of June 2009. However, as many users interact with the service through mobile phones or third-party software, the actual number of users is likely to be higher. Twitter was taken offline for more than two hours whilst Facebook's service was "degraded", according to the firms. The popular sites were subject to so-called denial-of-service attacks. Denial-of-service (DOS) attacks take various forms but often involve a company's servers being flooded with data in an effort to disable them.

The Companies claim that no harm has been done to the User's data and things are under control. We should be very careful while playing games and/or giving out the Email Id and Password to choose friends we add on it. After all this I wondered how does Facebook come up with Friend Suggestion List. Sometimes they come up with names that don't even have a mutual friend. The only way I could think of was that person's email ID is in my email provider's address book. And when I had used the Facebook Friend Finder feature, I had given Facebook access to my address book so that it could tell me which of my friends were already in there. Though Facebook claims that they do not store passwords still we are exposing our private data.

After this event we should be very aware as to what we are doing and should make it a habit to verify the links before clicking it. Just a few safety measures from our side would keep us safe and help the always-connected, always-on Internet culture.

Amitabh Bachchan's Best Look

There is a poll going on regarding the best look that Amitabh has ever worn. The picture posted alongside shows the 10 different roles that the actor has dawned. If you are an Amitabh fan and want to vote you can do it here.

I would like to take this opportunity to salute the Charismatic Aura of this great man, one of the most successful and respected actors in Indian Film Industry. He has played almost all type of roles and has carried it well, this speaks of his versatility and flexibility. Lot has been said and written to applaud the work done by this genius, he has several awards to support his capabilities and to show for his hard work. We should be proud that we have been fortunate enough to be there to see this Masterpiece in Action. I salute you Sir.

Sunny Deol Sues Radio Station

Sunny Deol today sued Big 92.7 for Defamation and demanded 200 crore as damages. The show which is being referred to here is 'Son Sunny With Papa', you must have heard it several times on Radio, atleast we do it almost daily either on our way to or from office. The Mimicry is very good but they actually project a bad image of the actor. Sunny was of the opinion that "Mimicry is good and healthy but shouldn't go below the belt". He was furious that the radio channel spoofed his style of dialogue delivery and used it as a filler item to 'entertain' people.

To quote Sunny : "It is cheap comedy and in very bad taste. A film artist and particularly an artist, who is holding an image of lead hero/macho man, cannot be portrayed as a funny/comic figure before the people at large and that too, casually and or/regularly such that he becomes a laughing stock".

I believe that the matter has been dragged a bit to much, the Radio stations should refrain themselves from promoting such type of programs that may hurt the sentiments of any person and the stars should also be cool enough to accept these things gleefully. What shall be the outcome of the case remains to be seen. The Radio station has been issued a notice of 7 days to pay the damages. Let us hope that things shape up well and in future such conflicts do not arise.

D I R E C T I O N S ...

Directions is the only label that I can think of writing on this picture. This picture was taken at a zoo in Kufri (Shimla). We were just standing there when this pose struck us and we decided to give it a shot. So we took some 10 different poses with different people from different angles. The picture posted above is my favourite amongst all the pics.

Let me post some other pictures as well and then I shall introduce you to the people in the picture.


In this picture is my sister[Pranjali] and her husband[Gaurav]. He started this direction stuff and posed first for this killer picture. The tree should be in one corner of the frame was also a point that was taken care of. The result was good. Thanks Gaurav.
The next picture captures Pranjali, Vikram, Daksh and Myself. The best part of this pic that even Daksh is looking in a different direction. Even the child understood what we were trying to achieve. The other person who was on the trip and was clicking all the pics was Shruti. She also needs a mention here for she transformed our thoughts into prints. Thanks Ruchi [we call her by this name].

The zoo was a very boring place and we had purchased tickets to enter it, more over we had even paid to carry the camera along, so we decided to make it a fun filled experience. We experimented with photography and came up good. I will remember this trip for a long long time.

How Do We Judge a Movie ?

I have always found that people differ in their opinion about a movie. I even found various websites posting different reviews for the same movie. I tried to analyse the variant behaviour and to find out the cause for a movie being rated as successful. The first thing that comes to my mind is that people have different taste and liking. As far as the websites go, I am not so sure about the reviews they give as they are mostly inspired. Also the polls that are conducted are not conclusive as they cite the opinion of only a few people, plus the fact that a person can cast his vote more than once.

The mindset with which we go to watch a movie also plays an important role. The star cast and the expectations that we set from that star cast also have their influence on the movie rating. The sequels to movie generally do not get as much acclaim as its previous version, the only movie that I can recall is Munna Bhai where the second part was more successful than the first one. There might have been other movies but I could not recall, the point is that after the success of the first part, the expectations that we have from the subsequent parts automatically rises. So even if the movie is as good as its first version, the movie does not get the same praise as the first version had.

A movie being labelled as successful has many factors behind it and majorly depends on the mindset of the people watching it. So next time when you go to watch a movie, go with no expectations and try to judge the movie entirely on its merits and do not try to compare it with its sequel or any other movie on similar subject. Let us give the directors and the movie makers a fair chance to prove themselves.

Dwarka Underpass, the latest swimming pool in Delhi

The Dwarka underpass, an important link between south-west Delhi and NH-8 turned into a 20 feet deep waterpool after the heavy rainfall on 27th July 2009. Two buses along with some other vehicles were submerged in the Dwarka underpass on the Dwarka-Kapashera link road near the IGI Airport. The busy road that connects south-west Delhi to areas like Narela, Dwarka, Najafgarh, Kapashera was closed for commuters. Watch the video. A similar situation also occurred during August 2007 when vehicles were submerged in the underpass filled with rain water.

This speaks about the alertness on part of the MCD when it refused to learn from past experience and did not make proper drainage system. To make things even worse, the water was not cleaned up by Friday, the 31st of July 2009, four days since the rain. This basically closed on of the links between West Delhi and Gurgaon, and all the traffic was diverted on alternate routes. The Palam route saw the most of the traffic and people were stuck for more than 2-3 hrs as compared to the 30-40 minutes daily run. The traffic was so heavy that the link roads were flooded, the fly overs hard to climb and then to walk down, the red lights getting cursed.

If this is the situation of the Capital of our Country, I could very well imagine the conditions in other parts of the country. It is also worthy to point that Delhi is still devoid of the rains and 27th was the only day when there was considerable rain. This is a big worry when I think about the time when the monsoons set in properly. I could not even see any change just appearing, things need time and planning to actually come up and be successful. Lets hope something happens pretty quickly otherwise we are in for big trouble.

Web addresses exceed world's population

I came across this article and found it interesting. Read the original Article. I was stunned at the speed with which the Internet has grown. It has been just over a decade and things have grown in leaps and bounces. I still remember the days when just out of curiosity we went to explore the Internet and paid 60 rupees per hour for the same and now things have changed so much. If we talk about India, the number of web addresses may not even match the number of people in the country. Here most of the people are not very into the Internet, we are still on the transformation phase but we cannot deny the fact that the Internet has impacted almost all parts of our life and we are dependent on it. Also the fact that that people have more that one email addresses have contributed to the number of web addresses overrunning the world population. Even I have 6 email addresses to say the least. Happy Surfing !!!