Orkut - A new feature

I consider Orkut as the GOD of all social-networking sites in India. Though I'm not a strong promoter of such sites, I agree that they do have great benefits.
One thing I've always appreciated about Orkut and certain other similar websites has been the way they have developed themselves to become more user-friendly. They have also provided many applications which support their core functions. Tracking what your friends have been doing has become far simpler today then what it was in 2004, when orkut was launched.
I don't want to bore you with core features which all of you know about. The objective of this post is to praise one of their new features:
"View this conversation", provided in scrapbooks
This feature helps you track the complete discussion which you've had with a particular individual. Of course, your discussion will only be tracked if it has been posted as "Reply" by your friend.
Sometimes people forget in what context someone has replied to them, especially when the reply comes after 15 days. :-) This new feature makes your life easier. Since most people use the "Reply" function, you don't have to go to their scrapbooks to view your recent scraps anymore.

Google in 2001... Travel back in Time!!

Some call it the "Virtual Time Machine" while others call it Rembrandt's of the past. Google has become nostalgic and in celebration of it's 10th anniversary they've put their 2001 search index online for about 1 month(till end of October). This index gives you a feel of how the world has changed in the past 7 years. And it also helps us realize that the future is so unpredictable.
If you're wondering why, on its 10th anniversary, it isn't a 1998 index, well, Google has quoted that the 98 archives weren't readily accessible and hence they came up with the Jan 2001 search index instead. Google has given you the option to view the current link for any search as well as the cached link from 2001, to give you a good way to compare. However, don't be upset if you can't find a few sites, which you're sure existed in 2001, because Google has also stated that some links have been removed on request while some other sites have blocked google.com.
Now, I'll leave it up to you to go experience the fun(click on the picture above) or you can read about some of my own interesting searches below:

1. Search item: "Wikipedia"
First result: link to "Nupedia". For those of you who've never heard that name b4, it was an English web-based encyclopedia whose articles were written by experts and licensed as free content. The idea did not last too long(Mar 2000-Sep 2003). In June 2008, CNET hailed Nupedia as one of the greatest defunct websites in history. Today it is known as the predecessor of Wikipedia.

2. Search item: "orkut"
Results: No link to our present community site which probably every teenager knows. But instead it sites links to the OWNER of orkut.com, ie. Orkut Buyukkokten, an employee of Google and a student of Stanford University in 2001.

3. Search item: "Youtube"
Result: This entry which gives you 1,070,000,000 hits today, gave me the following message: Your search - Youtube - did not match any documents. :-)

4. Search item: "ipod"
This word has done fortunes for Apple today. But the 2001 archives knew nothing about it. Instead it returned entries such as Image Proof of Deposit Document Processing System (IPOD), IPO disorder(A post-traumatic stress syndrome from the 90s), International Program of Ocean Drilling(IPOD), and the list goes on...

5. Search item: "blog"
Result: Though blogs in 2001 also referred to the same "blogs" of today, but the number of search entries in 2001 were 76,400 as compared to 3.32 billion today.

6. Search item: "Gmail"
Result: Gmail in 2001 was not the brainchild of Google. Instead, it reffered to a Gnome email client which used Mysql database as the datastore.

7. Search item: "9/11"
Result: This date is one which humankind shall never forget. The day when more than 3000 people were killed and many others were left lifeless by the 4 suicide attacks which rocked the whole world. In Jan 2001, 9 months b4 the attack, this same search led to various events such as meetings scheduled for September 11 in addition to a site called www.9-11.com(A complete search research tool for the emergency professional). This link however has been removed from the archive and it gives just one line -" Our Hearts go out to the victims of 9-11".

8. Search item: "BitTorrent"
Results: This entry which gives approx. 58 million hits today, asked me to check if all words were spelled correctly. :-)

9. Search item: "Barack Obama"
Result: This was a real shocker. It shows how famous a guy can become in a short span of time. 2001 - 771 results : 2008 - 75,400,000 results

I guess that's enough to get you interested if you already weren't. Don't miss this opportunity guys. And yeah, if you come up with any other very interesting searches, do post them as comments. Happy Googling!!

"The Man from Earth", Released Nov. 2007

On recommendation by a friend at college, I watched this movie a while back. And I must say, it's one of the most simply made films I've seen in a long time. But don't let simplicity cloud the ingenuity behind the plot. I mean, how often have you seen a movie in which 6-7 people sit in a room, chat and create a blockbuster. The beauty of the movie is accentuated by the soundtrack "Forever" by Chantelle Duncan, featured at the end.(Click on the link to download the song and see what I mean)
The story is Jerome Bixby's last work, which he completed on his deathbed in April 1998, after starting it in the early 1960s. Bixby dictated the last of his screenplay to his son, screenwriter Emerson Bixby. After Jerome Bixby's death the script was given to Richard Schenkman to direct on a $200,000 budget, which is pretty low by all standards. That's understandable by the fact that the whole movie was shot in 1 room.
The lead role,Professor John Oldman, is played by David Lee Smith, who claims to be 14,000 years old from the Upper Paleolithic era. No, it's not a case of incarnation; John has walked across ages exploring religions and nature across the globe. To avoid being discovered, he moves on every 10 years leaving his past to become history.
I shall not reveal any more of the suspense... For movie lovers, I'll just say one thing-"You can thank me once you've seen it". And for those of you who just want to know the full story, proceed to the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_From_Earth
For more details on the cast and the men behind the movie, you can visit the movie's official website, http://www.manfromearth.com/index.html

"Earth from Above" and Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Aiming to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living, photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has been capturing unique views of our planet, seen from the sky, since 1994. He has produced an exhibit of over 150 4-ft. by 6-ft. prints which will be on display in New York City from May 1, 2009 to June 28, 2009. When completed in New York City, the "Earth from Above" exhibit will also move on to California in 2010.

I have displayed a bit of his magic below, but to view his complete work, you may visit some of the links I have given at the end of this post.

Waste from the copper mine at Chuquicamata, Chile. This giant scallop shell is made of earth. A crane deposits the earth in successive, slightly curved lines giving the appearance of sheets of sand lined up side by side. This earth is extracted with the copper, but it is separated from the ore by sieving. The metal is refined in the Chuquicamata foundry that, thanks to newly installed equipment, can now filter out 95 percent of the sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) and 97 percent of the arsenic that the process releases. (© Yann Arthus-Bertrand)

Mountainous countryside near Maelifellssandur, Myrdalsjökull Region, Iceland. Once the young lava fields of Iceland cool down, life begins anew little by little. Ice, wind and water flatten and carve out shapes to begin with, then, during the summer, bacteria, lichen and fungi prepare the soil for plants, in particular mosses which adapt to an environment which remains difficult. These plants colonise the most favourable sites and terrain little by little, forming a new ecosystem.
(© Yann Arthus-Bertrand)

Worker resting on bales of cotton, Thonakaha, Korhogo, Ivory Coast.

Cotton crops occupy approximately 335,000 square klilometers worldwide, and use nearly one quarter of all pesticides sold.
(© Yann Arthus-Bertrand)

About Yann Arthus-Bertrand:
Photographer, Filmmaker, Activist, Environmentalist

Born in 1946, Yann Arthus-Bertrand has been interested in the wilderness and animal world throughout his lifetime. Using a camera, he started to create a record of his observations and eventually discovered his gift: testifying through images.

In 1991, Yann became a photojournalist and founded "Altitude", the leading aerial photography agency in the world. Inspired by the link between humankind, wildlife and nature, he collaborated with the UNESCO to focus his vocation on a long-term documentary photography series: The Earth From Above, Wild Animals, Horses, and 365 Days.

As an activist convinced of the importance of sustainable development, his aerial photographs and accompanying texts request every individual to take note that we are all personally responsible for the future of our planet. To this end, with the Earth From Above series book release, Arthus-Bertrand saw the need to broadcast this call-to-action through a large-scale public art exhibition of this testimony. Premiering in Paris in 2000 to unprecedented success, the exhibition soon travelled to cities around the world to reach over 130 million visitors across every populated continent by 2008. The book would eventually sell millions of copies in over 21 languages.

By 2005, Arthus-Bertrand created the association GoodPlanet. This international NGO develops numerous projects whose shared objective is to educate about sustainable development and request individuals across every background, culture and border to think beyond the development of our planet and, instead, toward the future of all of its inhabitants.

Earth From Above, a 4-episode, 8-hour TV series then launched in 2007 and renewed for 2008, prompting Arthus-Bertrand to begin filming of Home (http://www.home-2009.com/us/index.html), a documentary-style feature film about the state of our planet and challenges facing us to protect it. Its simultaneous worldwide release is scheduled for June 5th, 2009 – World Environment Day.

Arthus-Bertrand was a member of the Academy of Fine Arts of the Institute of France in 2006. He is a knight of the Legion of Honour, an Officer of the Order of Agricultural Merit, and an Officer of the National Order of Merit. In 2007, Arthus-Bertrand helped Al Gore present his Academy Award-winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, to the French Parliament.

Yann's personal website: ›› www.yannarthusbertrand.org
Note: There is an English version for the website once you enter one of the links on the home page.
You may also view a collection of 38 photographs at
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/earth_from_above_comes_to_nyc.html

Photographs and captions all courtesy of Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

Phobias galore...

One word or rather suffix which many people would've come across in life on many occasions is phobia...The term phobia is derived from the Greek word "phobos" meaning 'fear'. Clinical phobia is defined as an irrational, intense, persistent fear of certain situations, activities, things, or persons. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive, unreasonable desire to avoid the feared subject.
Phobias are more often than not linked to the amygdala, an area of the brain located behind the pituitary gland. The amygdala secretes hormones that control fear and aggression. When the fear or aggression response is initiated, it releases hormones into the body to put the human body into an "alert" state, in which they are ready to move, run, fight, etc.
It is possible for an individual to develop a phobia over virtually anything. The name of a phobia generally contains a Greek word for what the patient fears plus the suffix -phobia. Creating these terms is something of a word game. Few of these terms are found in medical literature. However, this does not necessarily make it a non-psychological condition. To elaborate on this idea, I surveyed a few friends to discover their worst phobias. Some of them were realistic while others were pure fun; they did run their creative minds. I’ll share a few of them with you here...Though some of the words created may sound funny, you'll find that many of us do face similar fears...
1. Episodophobia: Fear of addiction to serials/soap operas
2. Escalator-phobia: Fear of escalators (I have an aunt as a practical ex. of this)
3. Studyophobia: I don't think I need to elaborate this one 
4. Ghostophobia: Yup, people do believe in ghosts....
5. Projectophobia, Schedule-phobia: Both related to fear of tight schedules on projects,etc.I'd just call it deadline-phobia (something I'm facing at IIM right now)
6. Identity-phobia: I coined this one for a friend who identifies it as "Fear of knowing who u are but wishing not to be that
7. Another friend said she was grandfather-phobic... I thought they were supposed to be God's gift to children... NOT FOR HER!!
8. Doll-o-phobia: Fear of dolls- Those of you thinking how's that possible, watch Child's Play.
9. Venusophobia: Fear of speaking to stunning women
10. Fightophobia: A very common fear; the fear of getting into a brawl
11. Speedophobia: Fear of speed; I guess most parents have this fear when giving their kids a vehicle; recently my dad has been facing the same.
12. Fatophobia: The biggest fear for all those sexy babes out there; I swear, as soon as a girl puts on 3 extra kgs. she starts hyperventilating.
13. Home alone-phobia: Ring any bells??
14. Cattle-phobia: I think people are more scared of the horns, but hornophobia sounded a bit porno...
15. Now this one came as a shock to me,but I must say, it was the best- “RAVIOPHOBIA”: How can people be scared of a sweet person like me?

Some of the most common methods of treating phobias, used by psychologists are Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Hypnotherapy coupled with Neuro-linguistic programming, Anti-anxiety or anti-depression medications, Emotional Freedom Technique, etc.

For other comprehensive lists on phobias, I'd suggest:
http://phobialist.com/
http://psychology.about.com/od/phobias/a/phobialist.htm

P.S. I’d like to thank my friends (Shobi, Goks, Borve, Raj, Swathi, Bhashni, Sonali, Rohit, Rudhra, Mridu, Madhu, etc.) for their valuable inputs and creative ideas.

Two Engineers....

Here’s an online conversation between 2 of my friends, which I’d like to share with some of u out there. I’ve used some amount of discretion and edited it slightly (All quotes in < > have been added by me.) I’ve only excluded the boring parts…and I’ve kept the lingo intact…
I’ve edited names of all people and some places and replaced them with letters in CAP.. And for ur information, FF and GB are 2 engineers just out of college.. yeah, in simple words- JOBLESS. That’ll be clear from the dialogue… So here they go. Enjoy…

FF: dude, wen u cumin to Chennai ?? < GB is presently abroad >
GB: I was planning to come on 22nd, but G just told me ur leaving by then, so I'll make it on 20th.
FF: 20th?? 19th not possible??
GB: well, possible, but 19th only I am landing, around 10 am, my parents won’t approve of me leaving immediately.
FF: dude, how’s S???????
GB: is Ravi online? < Yeah.. I’m the “Ravi” being spoken of >
FF: ppl keep tellin me to ask u about her..chakkar kya hai?? Ravi’s not online, don’t worry
GB: ya ya, ppl will keep telling and u also keep asking. anyway, no chakkar and bullshit, she's fine.
FF: but u never reply to questions.. y?????????????????????????????????????? And who asked about bullshit?? keep it for urself..shove it up ur ass..
GB: ya of course. hahaha
FF: great.. let’s talk about S...2 b more precise, UR S
GB: ya fine, my S.
FF: forever urs??
GB: that u should ask her.
FF: y?? u have no voice?? slave or wat??
GB: i am planning to go to PY when I come.
FF: wat? wen?? S is from PY rite??
GB: maybe 22nd or 21st if u guys wanna come.. ya ya, going to meet her only idiot
FF: m definitely cumin.. coz have to confirm a lot..u need not cum.. give her address..
GB: I myself don’t know.
FF: she's ur friend only rite??
GB: ya ya friend only.
FF: good..then give her number..I’ll take care of her..she good enough for me?? < Any1’s gud enuf 4u FF >
GB: a bit taller than u..hmmm, slightly faster than u in math...
FF: not a problem... seen sachin n wife?? perfect pair.. I’ll learn math from her then.,,. either ways good for me..
GB: she's a black belt
FF: and I’m a red belt..comes after 10 black belts.. < New karate guys.. >
GB: ya rite FF. with all that, u didn’t kick the shit off B. shame on u.
FF: not just muscle dude, u should have some common sense also not to fight with 2 on 1 side n 100 on the other,, < What was it, Mahabharata ?? > ..and first rule of karate.. never use it with a person who doesn’t know it.. poor B n frenz.. I was being loyal to karate.. < I'm sure u were FF >
GB: oh, I almost forgot, she has two dogs at home. u can have a nice time running around the house. they r really big dogs u know. < Reminds me of an incident in the past FF >
FF: I’ll take GC along. he’ll make it 5 dogs by the time we return.< What is he? Superman? >
GB: u guys game to go to PY? < What the hell have u guys been discussing all this time u dimwit.. >
FF: so, u have any prob if me n ur S go along?? sorry..MY S!!!!!
GB: I can see that ur too lonely these days
FF: I don’t feel lonely at all.. S's there in my mind all the time...
GB: when did Ravi have that much time to tell u about S? < Yeah guys, this editing itself is eating into my sleep time >
FF: He dint tell me anything bout her dude..
GB: Then they told about me being her friend in the news? < Maybe AajTak or IndiaTV. That’s their standard these days  lol >
FF: no.. u told me b4 I returned to Calicut..tambaram outing.. forgot?? n during chatting.. bout ur marriage n all.. PY church n stuff. n night at Ravi’s place..4got?? < Seems like GB hit his head and forgot everything >
GB: I like her man, she's a nice person < Isn’t every female… > , and PY church is coz she's supposed to find a person for me..actually, her younger sis is very pretty. but she already has someone. < don’t they all > too bad… < Sounds like a bollywood story >
FF: now I want to c her.. but S's gonna b mine.. n m damn possessive of others talking to her..I’ll kill him..else u take him to US.. GAY marriage is legal there rite?? n I’ll gift our first child to u.. adopt him or her.. < You’ll be lucky FF if u HAVE a child >
GB: dude, her current boy friend is a bit taller than D man.. < D’s probably 6’2” plus >
FF: very good.. I can easily go under his legs then.. poor fellow will develop a backache by the time he catches me.. < now it really sounds like a hindi blockbuster >... I’ll call G to damage his future.. n trust me, she's the best in it.. ask GC for proof..
GB: what happened? what did she do?
FF: damaged his future..2 tight waks n the damage is done..she shouted in public that he has a very small lollipop.. < I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm guys.. ;-) >
GB: she shouted at GC?
FF: forget it dude.. out of Americans reach..let’s talk about my S.. < Oh ya, 4got to tell u, GB’s a student-exchange product >
GB: ok, let’s talk.
FF: u say something na.. how do I approach her??what do I tell her??how do I win her faith n luv??
GB: win her faith..PY has a nice beach, dive into it and get a pearl. < Everyone’s a producer out here >
FF: fine..u dive n get me a pearl ok.. I’ll give it on my behalf..
GB: typical Mallu..
FF: how do u know about typical mallu?? DG a mallu??I dint know that..< neither did I >
GB: I just have an allergy towards mallu gals man, dunno y.
FF: so, how many mallu girls do u know other than SL??
GB: hmmm, just her. < That sounds like a nice judgement >
FF: looking at the past, I guess I’m the one who should b allergic to mallu girls.. not u..
GB: ok ,tell me, seriously when do u think we can go to PY, where will we stay?
FF: u ppl find a stay.. mine is almost pakka now itself.. I’ve made up my mind..
I can stay at my S's place.. < In ur dreams maybe > n probably u can sleep with the dogs.. < Then he won't be staying.. he'll be straying. >
GB: ok, tell me ,where r u staying now?
FF: yesterday at V's place.. 2day at I’s place.. 2moro again V's place.. then may be in Tambaram at cousin’s place.. < No guys, he’s not gay >
GB: when I come on 19th nite, that’s if I am planning to come on 19th nite, where will u be?
FF: probably cousin’s place..not sure.. y??
GB: coz I need a place to stay asshole, where will I shit and take bath < He’s just pissed >
FF: I’ll see if u can cum there..what else dude??
D: Nothing much..
FF: ok..I’ll catch u later then,, have n xam 2moro morning regarding sum crap placement.. < !!! Typical engineers. I hope TCS, Infy, CTS, etc are reading… >
GB: ok, good luck man. tc
FF: thanks man.

PS. I thank FF and GB. Without them this would've never been possible. Special thanks to V also. Comments from all of u are welcome. Till next time, see ya....

IIM Indore...

I want to dedicate this post to IIM Indore (Planet I, Prabandh Shikhar)
Incidentally, I started writing this blog after my first association with IIM Indore (GD-PI). Today I'm in the hallowed portals of the very same institute and I feel very privileged to be here.
The past 3 weeks have been a journey into a new world; a world full of opportunities,hard work,dedication and loads of fun. The sleepless nights are honestly worth it guys... Planet-I rocks!!
To know more about life at IIM Indore, visit my other blog by clicking on the picture above.

Lets make India clean...

Just reading this blog is not enough. Let's change ourselves and also make an effort to push this message to people around us...
This might sound like a topic spoken of many times...But the truth is we Indians are not socially responsible. Over the past few months i've tried making an attempt to keep my country a bit cleaner. I agree its tough,i know dustbins are scarce.. But are they SO hard to find ? Why are we so impatient that we can't hold on to our own filth for a few minutes ? It's common practice to throw rubbish everywhere around us (As long as its not our home),at times even when there's a garbage can nearby. Dirtying mother nature has become our birth right.. But why? Isn't it affecting us in some way or the other? Are we any better than animals?

Just to add onto my thoughts, here are some parts of a speech by our dear APJ Abdul Kalam :

Take a person on his way to Singapore . Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face- YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads.
YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia or NewZealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ?
YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cant you be the same here in India ?
We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
Our excuse?
'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone stop throwing trash in public places?' So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU.


Before closing this post, one humble request...
Next time a person throws trash in public and there's a dustbin around.. Pick it up and let him watch you throw it in the dustbin.. Let him feel ashamed.. Hey friends , lets make a difference.

The Beginning..

I've just returned to Chennai after an IIM-Indore GD-PI in Bangalore. It was during the PI that one of the panelists asked me whether i wrote a blog. That was when i felt reading blogs has been gr8 fun, its time to start my own.. I hope my posts will be regular and some of u out there will enjoy reading em..
Preparation for these Gd-PIs during the past few months has been an eye-opener.You can excel in so many fields and still not know enough..But the best part of it is that the journey is truly enjoyable and it brings about a change in how you view life and move forward. New portals of knowledge open-up and it strikes you...GOD,I WAS MISSING A HELL OF A LOT!
Writing CAT is more then giving an MBA entrance..It's a life-time experience.
I've learnt one big thing from all of this.. With all the sincerity in studies and work , don't miss out on the oceans of unread knowledge out there.. GO DIVE , AND FEEL THE DIFFERENCE...