Letting Freedom Ring...!

"Vacations Overrrr Finally...!" Since, I am back to my grounded state now-I can let my imagination go wild yet again :) Remember back in college there were days when you loved studying a subject or working on the same so much that you became completely absorbed in it? Well as human beings we all drop into such ultra-creative blissful zones every now & then - thats when human brain works to the best of its ability - often resulting in amazing positive outcomes...!
Few years later, nothing made us feel more happier@work than sitting in a nice office environment with designer furniture & energetic looking folks around - but not for long. Soon, many of us realised that we ought to pursue our passions & pursue interesting 'n' challenging things that make our lives fun. Welcome to the bandwagon of creative souls friends...!
While most of my acquaintances have come up with remarkable resolutions for 2008, I have decided to wait for a while, analyze my "Ahaaaa" moments in the year that went past by & then write everything I can think of as a resolution for the year ahead using RW / MM Techniques and finally distill the ones I feel I can accomplish easily ;-) I firmly believe that setting one's new year's resolutions is just one half of the battle; the challenge lies in remain fixated to them and achieve them within perceived time frame. Lets see how quickly I nail my resolutions down - Jan end max :)

Have a look @ Acciental Creative folks' website-I learnt about them while searching for podcasts ["creative" was my search keyword] in iTunes this morning - their whole concept looks so impressive. They are slowly (& steadily) hunting & connecting with distinguished Creative Pros across the globe with a mission of helping people find their "Creative Rhythyms". I am so amazed by the whole idea. I have a notion that each one of us can make a visible & unique contribution to this world.

The question is - "Have you started yet?"

Breaking The Rules...!

Back in High School, me & few of my friends were always on the lookout of opportunities where we could contribute as responsive citizens by engaging ourselves in community based initiatives, participating in nature trails, educating have-nots during our free time (we were mostly free)...and believe me it used to be so much fun. Somehow it used to give us a sense of euphoria - and we all were invariably happy most of the time. But all such rules seem to have changed in present times - The green lustre of the environmental movement has lost its emerald sheen; similarly, the social get togethers have become a rare occurence.

Why don't we care about the plight of others anymore? Why can't we spend few bucks to help the needy and spend a few hundred bucks on Black Friday / Christmas? Why is everyone-firms, individuals, coaches so focussed on creating their identity amongst masses rather than helping the masses?

The bigger concern I see is that somehow all such observations seemed to have turned people like me off for a while.. and lack of alternatives is definately not an excuse in this case..! Anyways, till I do some more soul searching, here's what I'll keep myself occupied with:

• FreeRice - Build Up vocabulary & help end hunger
• ONE Campign - Fight against poverty & global AIDS
• Millenium Campaign - Goal to end poverty by 2015
• Get a Prius soon :-) - Hey c'mmon its Hybrid, eco friendly, economic to maintain (44 MPG Mileage), HID lights, cool looks, has an amazing smart key technology - oooops I can write a full blog post on it :-) This perhaps explains this post's title. Ω

♥ Merry Christmas ev'body ♥

Decision Making...!

Time & again we hear from our Supervisors/elders that "Quick Decision Making Skill" can be learned over en extended period of time and it comes from practice. May be thats true but considering the paucity of time & based on the post - I somehow feel that everyday decisions are indeed taken by our subconscious minds in those Split Seconds. As my friend (my Cooking Guide) was cooking yesterday, I tried drawing an analogy between cooking & decision making. Here's a gist of my thoughts that wandered way too much last evening ;-) :

• Gather All Ingredients (Facts) - The exercise directs our Subconscious minds towards soaking the problem which could later help in taking a good decision.
• Add Spices (Self Judgment) - Like a good recipe, we have to allow ourselves to add our own spices (feelings, intuitions & other considerations) based on our past experiences & judgments. Like a good dish, this step is what differentiates a good decision from a not o good one.
• Patience - Until the dish gets prepared one has to exercise patience-likewise decision making can be a time consuming process which we ought to consider.
• Visualization - Mind Mapping has proved to be a good aid since my High School days. Have tried the same while cooking - it actually helps. Somehow I feel we remember things better by way of pictures / illustrations as against mere facts.

Enough said-have a look@the following Video...to learn why timely decisions are crucial~ Enjoy...!

Beyond Cognition...!

Early this morning while browsing through my Google Reader feeds, I stumbled upon Yahoo Design Blog and there was an instant moment of awe & inspiration. For the first time, I felt that out there there are some folks do work for pursuing true research in pursuit of their passions - as against working on usual stuff under visible pressure of revenue targets, work hours clocked or performance feedback :)

The Yahoo Design Team seems to be working on a plethora of Research Projects and after navigating their site - I can summarize their work as " Cutting Edge Science applied for executing some fresh idea". The one project which intrigued me in particular was their "Burst Visualisation Software" - which represents Yahoo Search Queries density in different geographic locations on the globe against a search term like "Miss Teen USA". Apart from the idea this is what impressed my mind about this project:

• Globe Texture & Appeal (Yahoo rocks in aesthetics..!)
• The algorithm that yields patterns from a seemingly colossal data against a search term - wonder how they do that - get data, do reverse IP Loookup, plot a trend, capture times also since search trends would differ during day / night times for each distinct location...Wow!
• After a while [few spins of the globe :)], one can ascertain what are the popular search keywords and "patterns" like these are what Marketers look forward too - ain't it?

And yes, check out the statement by Aaron Koblin - "I have a feeling there's a lot more to come with this stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to spend some more time on it soon". Now, this is a true passion indeed..Boy, what a nice way to start your day with...!! By the way do have a look at this video.

Winds Of Change...!

For some people tradition begins at home - a special dinner with loved ones, a precious gift by someone special, a fun gathering; for others, tradition manifests itself in different ways - like a trip to the nearest Movie Theater or a Mall...! Now, amidst all my friends, I am a little less adventurous of the lot and given a choice - prefer to stay back home, pick up some bestseller, grab a Coke, switch on some music and believe me weekend just passes by :) About 3 Weeks back, on one fine Saturday morning, when my friends made a plan to go Bowling @ Rip Van Winkle Lanes nearby, my first reaction was "Oh dear! What Kinda trouble..?" But then the idea somehow intrigued my consciousness since I had never been to a Bowling Alley before... and I thus decided to Go Bowling...!

I was pretty amazed upon enterring the bowling arena (it was huge...!) for it had all the trappings of an upscale entertainment-made-to-order cocktails(we had mock tails :)) , snack bar food to delier made-to-order casual dining choices & tempting appetizers, colossal Plasma Displays, a state-of-the-art sound system blasting latest music tracks and an array of lanes to keep everyone occupied. Observing the frenetic pace of everyone inside- their rhythmic walking & swinging of arms was remarkable indeed. Now, I couldn't help myself taking a note of few things in there:

• Appeal - The Bowling experience is designed to work for everyone - an office team building event, a special birthday party, a super special date, a family get together or just a hangout destination for friends.
• Patience - The excitement is always on as one waits for his/her next turn to bowl for everyone tries to do better than erstwhile attempt. The lead time is best for munching some snacks.
• Speed - The game goes way too faster than one anticipates and as a result everyone wishes to play games after games.
• Music - Pulsating Sound tracks coupled with intense desire to hit a strike adds special effect indeed.
  
• Etiquette - Bowlers next to you proceed with their next chance even though you are about to take your shot & at times they even pick your favorite bowling ball. But then the good part is egos are kept aside & it all somehow works fine.
• Shoes - I wonder whose idea was it to make it mandatory for everyone to wear bowling shoes provided by folks running the alley, but may be the concept appeals to some.
• Work-Out - Owing to balanced & co-ordinated body movements, bowling serves as a nice way to shed off those extra calories indeed.
• Customizations - Bowling Balls come in varying degrees of hardness, weight and colors - and one gets to cherry pick the ball from a stack of multitude of balls in alley thus giving an illusion of customization (Mac Experience).

All in all, thanks to my friends it was a wonderful experience which helped in breaking my status quo for the weekend ;-)

Halloween Effect...!

Yale is an institution known far and wide for its love of tradition. My visit to Woosley Hall to attend Yale Symphony Orchestra’s during Halloween made me realize that Halloween means much more than exhibit of Creative Costumes...! For most of us (me in particular) Halloween conjures up vivid images of ghosts, flying witches, grinning pumpkins, youngsters roaming around in caparisoned experience and the most striking of all oodles of party time...! This being my first Halloween in US, I was pretty excited and learnt about this concert which is popularly known as Yale Symphony Orchestra. The special part of this concert is the tradition of presenting a Yale-themed comedic silent film which is prepared by Yalies - embodying the spirit of Halloween.

This time the silent-film was was based on "Harry Potter" theme and circumvented around life of a new student who joins Yale. The film was accompanied by orchestral music and the multimedia extravaganza was an amazing thing to watch 'n' experience. Sporty Halloween Costumes adorned by performers, outrageous pranks performed by film actors & the "jugalbandi" add more fun to the coherent event. Yet again, "Yale" University with its majestic buildings, towers, lawns, courtyards, walkways, gates, and arches with architectural styles ranging from New England Colonial to High Victorian Gothic amazed me on Halloween Night. I must say (based on inputs I received from some students & pamphlets) that in addition to providing students the opportunity to perform & audiences (New Haven residents in particular) the opportunity to enjoy, the Yale Symphony Orchestra also inspires several smaller orchestral ensembles in and around New Haven. (Hope my friends will accompany me in the next YSO concert :))

Fragments of the Self...!

I often wonder about this whole marketing stuff - after all everyone around seems to be somehow associated with it. Human Nature according to me always seeks to pursue the best. An example is - we hunt for nice deals online (or visit nearest Walmart) while buying normal utility good; however the whole equation simply changes when we are buying say our first Car or Laptop or Phone (I know iPhone is amazing :)) or say a house. Ain't we all are ready to shell out a little extra money to settle in for the best - well thats what human psyche is all about. Some of my learned friends tell me "Dude, thats called Branding in business world" and in order to achieve success, companies today apply lots of efforts towards making the presence of their brand felt in this busy world. Well, I totally agree - if you ask me Why... here are the pointers my mind would look at before giving a nicely composed answer:

• Attention Spans in the world around us are getting incredibly shorter thanks to ever increasing clutter of products across the globe.
• Since Information is universally accessible now (Thanks to Google), anyone is capable of achieving breakthroughs provided one is focussed, positive and has a concrete idea to work upon. Which means that even a great product needs an audience...!
• Our Mind looks for pictures / sensory experiences first than plain facts / figures while looking for information in our Indexed memories. Which means you have to develop a visual aid (Logo) so that people can connect with you instantly. Seth has an interesting post on a logo's worth.
• We all love Storytelling - my friends who own iPhone/a Macbook speak volumes about the amazing aesthetic experience Apple Products provide; ever wondered anyone who returns from a Disney Park keep sharing the memories of his visit to a Theme Park for weeks. Which means that a product must generate ripples amidst our humdrum existence and should be something which people love talking about.

Well, that should be enough Food for thought for now. Let me try designing a logo / visual repr. for my sketches over this weekend. As Seth says - one should keep trying if one has a dream. And yes, I did try this one out - writing the goals does makes you slip an inch closer to achieving them.

By the way, the best brand till date I feel is of "Bond". All we need to hear is....

"My name is Bond, James Bond....!"

Does Art Matter...?

The world sometimes looks a great place to live in when you meet people who possess amazing qualities like - desire to create a memorable & pleasant experience for others by aesthetic expression of their thoughts, willingness to give back to society, wish to pursue their true passions...! As I was checking the Yale Calendar this morning, I notice "Exploring Human Expression Through Nature" Event that intrigued my consciousness.

Anyways, as anticipated the Seminar was quite informative - Alice (Yale undergrad Student) spoke at length about the the exhibits. The most interesting part was the description which we learnt about every painting. In additon to getting awed by works of art - on canvas, on walls, on fabric, on wood, on glace paper, on grains etc th gallery guide encouraged us to make our own interpretations about the masterpieces.

All of a sudden, I feel its fun research closely about the encyclopedic works of Art. A decade ago, I used to wonder how can someone spend hours in a museum where time seems to be static....! But now looking at art - I can relate to true human emotions, human psyche, perspectives, impressions and most importantly reflections of life. By focusing on the way an ace artist depicts a some aspect of life / era, one can connect with a different world way back in time. Another observation I made was the way artists work so meticulously & patiently (some portraits took years to complete - we were told !!) - exhibits the deepest human need - the need to be heard and feel appreciated...! But its great that hundreds of years later, researchers / curators continue analyzing the masterpieces and keep on deciphering more about them. For now, here's how my mind can best describe Art as:

• A medium of expression where the individuals and culture come together
• Realisation of true self
• Way to question existing beliefs
• Creative Spark
• Visual Representation of Dreams / Experiences

Infact I have decided to get involved @ YUAG and help them in making art matter by participating in intrepretive projects, exhibits and talks. My question to all readers & friends is "Does Art Matter?" (Honest opinions pls - wish to reaffirm my belief before I get hooked in Art :)) By the way current exhibits at Yale Univ Art Gallery can be accessed right here.

Face Reading...!

One of my friends at Yale Department of Psychology is doing a course which makes one almost a master at deducing typical characteristics of people (temperament, attitude, enthusiasm level) by observing them closely for a day. Now I don't know what the inherent logic is from a psychological eprspective but then when I sit down on Saturdays to draw sketches - all my sketches are indeed based on facial expressions of characters.Which means that certainly our subconscious judges people from their face value, from their external appearance & vibes. Most of us do split second decision making and perhaps thats why we are asked to make good and lasting First Impressions in our work places & meetings. I must admit that the topic has aroused my curiosity about the way we make decisions about people we converse with...!

Let me spend some time researching more on the subject this week. By the way wikipedia refers to this thory as Physiognomy...!

Physiognomy comes from Greek physiognomonia, from physiognomon, "judging character by the features," from physis, "nature, physique, appearance" + gnomon, "one who knows, hence an examiner, a judge," from gignoskein, "to know."

Positioning...!

I am sure like me, many would have noticed the Google's home page yesterday illustrating the spirit of celebration of Sputnik's 50th Anniversary. Now, that was indeed a nice gesture from Google who keeps changing its logo on occasions like these. Interestingly, I tried drawing few analogies between Google & Sputnik - here they are:

• Sputnik changed everyone's perception about capabilities of Artificial Satellites very much like what Google did to now omnipresent Internet Search.


• Sputnik Launch displayed man's desire to dream, think and realize dreams similar to Google which was en excellent idea put into diligent practice by two passionate & confident individuals.


• Preparations in Sputnik launch proved that fine grained control on small things matter a lot for Shuttle Launch. I am sure Google manages to get us instant Search Results by ensuring excellent orchestration of both software & hardware.


• Sputnik Launch was marked by immense competition amidst US & USSR similar to the kinda competition amidst Search Engines. In man's quest to become the best, in a way this is good since it brings about the best products & inventions out there.


• Sputnik provided lots of information to the world in split second time frames. Google extracts information from almost any system wired to Internet and render the same in a pretty smart manner instantly.


• Most importantly, Sputnik provided ray of hope to many budding scientists who were working on their ideas. Likewise, everyday Google's new Product launches instills a sense of hope in minds of young Engineers / Entrepreneurs who can surely make the world a better place to live in the years to come.

Conserving Energy...!

Most of us (IT people) believe that breakthrough performance of an application (minimal downtime, max throughput, min. access / page load time) can be achieved by scaling up hardware, adding more boxes. Other than Google which by the way is an excellent software that runs on top of custom made commodity servers which have been wedded into a network centric architecture, lots of other companies are proving everyday that with existing hardware / infrastructure, one can achieve impressive performance provided the software, the logic is unique & near perfect for the situation at hand.

Let me mention about "Snap" - the company which has amazed me since last year with its totally innovative ideas & product offerings - all aimed at making end user experience more rich & hassle free. Snap Shot, Snap Search, Snap Preview - all of 'em basically are awesome products since they let an end user know about a page's content, look & feel even before clicking on its HyperLink. Their latest blog post shows that they are even planning to make an entry in Web Adv Space with "Snap Shares" - It would basically render the Real time Contextual Ads as user navigates across a Web Page. On face of it, the idea appears impressive since it would be like Dynamic Google Ads which are displayed at relevant places only. (No more Leaderboard/Square/Vertical Banner Selection hassles :)). God knows how they'll do this seemingly challenging enhancement.

For now, have a look at their CO2 Saver - this tool is a light-weight program which runs on Desktop & tweaks user's Power Mgmt settings to reduce the energy use when the PC is idle. And yes, as a user you are empowered to change the Power Settings anytime of course.

I simply fell in love with this tool - just add up the CO2 you are saving per day (Tool shows you the metrics as well) and multiply it my 365 and you'll realize why am I so excited about it. So, lets go & make a difference....!

Illusion Of Control...!

When you go to a nice restaurant, you want to be greeted by name & seated at whatever table you like for whatever reason - ain't it? My trip to Atlantic City last week reaffirmed my belief that Donald Trump strives to provide that kind of value in all his endeavors. The moment we entered the city - we were greeted with big Neon Sign Boards, huge hotels & beautifully lit Casinos. I was all the more excited since this was my first ever chance to visit a Casino. By the way this resort community is located on Absecon Island on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and is too picturesque. We decided to visit The Trump Taj Mahal Casino (for it was voted "Best Casino" by the readers of Casino Player magazine). Spotting the density of people and the frenetic pace which we noticed the moment we enterred Taj was remarkable indeed. It took me a little while to understand the dynamics of various games and the appealing Slot Machines. But then as soon as I tried my luck at first slot machine as they they you are bound to feel the heat of the action...!! I was somehow hooked to the machine which somehow seemed to give me Illusion of Control.

Going by the basic probability - anyone would know that one has absolutely no control over the outcome on any game of chance. I mean i am not hitting the slot machine with any of my cortical or physical skill - yet it tends to be so so addictive. I played 4 games in a row myself before my friends took me over to a new game!! Here's what I observed-

• Amidst the constant barrage of noises-spin of Slot Machines, Dind Dong sound of coins hitting the metal, chit chat of people discussing their wins, pitter patter of Casino Staff boosting you always somehow gives one a false yet very strong sense of hope.
• In every section, I witnesses winners near highly trafficked zones - was it intentional on part of Casino Staff- may be..!!
• This was the only place where soft drinks & booze was delivered to players without them having to get up. People are made to feel that they influence the games evident from - the expression of people when they were throwing the die, deciding when to split at Blackjack or choosing series of numbers at slot machines.
• Rhythm can be best noticed-everything happens in rapid succession. Money's on the line, people predict, try their luck, many loose some win - yet the process continues on and on.
• The attire (or lackof) of the staff definitely influences the atmosphere inside - dealers in characteristic uniform, pit bosses in black suits, servers in striking outfits et all.
• The Confidence, energy & cheerfulness of the Lady at Poker Table - I made her sketch (shown above) as soon as I returned back :)

I must say that the visit has left a lasting impression in my mind regarding people's psyche.
By the way saw a nice article while Googling about Casino Design. For those of you who would want to learn more about Donald Trump & his line of thinking have a look at this video.

Simplicity Rocks...!

Did they tell you that creating innovative ads or content on the web was difficult? I don't think so - there are lots of smart folks out there who create great content that users simply love & would certainly wish to discuss with their friends (World Of Mouth).

Have a look urself - I liked this ad a lot...!

Training the Parrots...!

Since I returned from Sea World, I have been wondering how can a human train an animal and make them do wonderful things...!! I mean all of us know that training a fellow homo sapien is an uphill task by all means. Moreover, you can't guarantee that people will behave in exactly the same manner for all of us are governed by plethora of factors major one being our effervescent 'MOOD'. 

Most Animal Trainers mention that one has to win trust of the animal first besides establishing a cordial relationship & thats the toughest part of the whole training exercise. Once you gain their trust and manage to find way into their comfort zones - you can teach them amazing stuff. As I continue my pursuit of exploring more about this - Njoy this video.

 

Translation Made Simple...!

Lotsa young people have bold dreams, wonderful ideas & will to pursue their passion. And when such enthusiastic people get together - they invent new possibilities !! Yes, I am talking about Google India - who’s been in news ever since inception of 2007. Here’s their latest offering - an online (I should better sat Real Time) Translation Tool that converts any written text in English into Devanāgarī characters, the moment you hit space !! Well as far as application of Tool is concerned, here’s wht I can think for now:

* Draft applications (spc to Govt Offices) in Hindi, print them & submit them quickly.
* Blog in Hindi :-D
* Design Banners in Hindi for Websites. (Get Devanāgarī Text from Tool & play around)
* Create Content in Hindi for others to see :)

चिन्मय * इंडिया * नमस्ते * बढ़िया * एन्जॉय * इन्नोवेशन * इंस्पिरेशन * मोटिवेशन

Independence Day...!

15 years ago, as a kid - Independence Day used to be a terrific day for me. We used to get the much awaited holiday (a breather in scorching summers) get reasons to buy new clothes & ofcourse watch Television (we juss had Doordarshan that time but that was boon for us !!) full day without any burden of doing home-work or any other household chores, play for hours during evenings - true independence indeed. Success for us, in those times was merely getting "1st" rank in class & the celebrations post results & during birthday parties.

Today, As India marks its 60 years of independence - I sit here & watch Indian Independence Day Videos on YouTube - all I can say is that Time has changed a lot till then. Last six eventful decades has really helped India in shaping up its position in global arena -the exponential growth, exchange rate, the IT Boom, the software hub tag, the rising number of millionaires, ever increasing advancements in Science & Medicine and the best of all its ever famous Democratic Values are few things that makes India create frequent audible beeps in the world. Makes one feel proud - ain't it?

The most notable change in India I feel has been in the mindset of people - parents now encourage their kids to pursue uncommon professions (Engineers, Doctors, Lawyers are in abundance already) like Corporate Trainers, Recruitment Consultants, Scientists, Hair Stylists, Fashion Designers, Theatre Artists, Tourist Guides etc. and thats beneficial for country as a whole indeed. I read somehere - "Unless, one tries out various things - one can never realise what one's best at?" Anyways, I leave you all (my Indian friends here) with mixed feelings of nostalgia, enthusiasm & reverence for the great country with the most widespread diversity.

N'joy the video....

Things that Matter...!

I always look forward to meeting people who do things differently, or should I say those who decide to pursue their passions. Interestingly, 'coz of my habit of speaking to strangers while I am communiting to and fro via my favorite Metro North Train to Grand Central Terminal, NYC - I manage to meet lotsa people. yesterday, I met a guy who was going to update NY to meet some of his friends. He (Richter) was with his best friend Gavid who was juss lazing an hardly spoke anythig during our short junket Now, Richter told me that in his good old school days - their gang of friends decided to take up one activity per week which their parents would not normally let them do. Now, the impressive fact was that this 'gang' decided to update Richter's diary everytime they felt they did something different n' were successful at doing that....!!

Now, one might as well say that "So What?' - I too do lotsa innovative things but juss 'coz I don't keep a log - doesn't make me different. So here's my point - in the current world (read World Wide Web) - where distance between information and its destined audience is perhaps say 0.3 seconds (Thanks to Google :) ) logging & publishing information does make a visible difference to lotsa people. Atleast I have decided to do new things (the more unconventional the better) and post them here.For those of you who wish to know what other folks are doing in their free time - have a look @ http://www.43things.com/ - te site & its concept impressed me a lot. Go - have a look yourself.

I say that 43 Things does something which perhaps 1000 or even 10000 words cannot...!! By the way it was nice meeting Richter & Gavid (his dog) ;)

Breakthrough...!

I was checking the new bestsellers this morning - and was amazed to find the following video song. Its about a new book "Two weeks to a Breakthrough" by Lisa Haneberg and believe me its awe inspiring - Nice song & presentation does creates a positive 'n' lasting impact. N'joi...

"We are put on Earth to learn our own lessons"

Vrrooooooooom...!

Let me start by accepting that by nature I am quite an impatient guy. If I have an idea or a notion, I want it to be completed tomorrow no matter what. And when life smiles back to me with the unexpected - I have no choice other than to sit back in dismay. I am sure you would've already made an impression about me or abt the post that follows. Thats 'coz thats the way human mind is hardwired to make quick associations with the available audio visual available in one's close proximity. Interesting - isn't it? ;)

Anyways, now that the summer season is on - there's so much my wandering mind wants to indulge itself into. Hope some one helps me narrow down the list ;) Well, may be get involved in some Volunteer work or explore American flora or write for IMZ or read posts like this and get amazed.

For now, have a look at Google Summer Of Code Entries - these folks are indeed inspiring young techies to participate in Open Source Web Development. Providing passionate young minds with a platform to pursue their dreams would certainly make the world a better place to live in.

Good Things Take Time

Stream Of Thoughts...!

While trying to captivate the stream of my ever wandering thoughts today, it occured to me that we probably remember things as pictorial representations than words. Our lives can be compared to an ongoing movie script over which we have complete creative control. Within us lies the power to examine what works or isn't working in our lives and make "edits" to our life's script, accordingly. Sounds simple - ain't it? ;)

Granted, editing our real life isn't always as easy as erasing a line of text. If we've carried emotional baggage or held on to an unconducive relationship for a long time, these may be difficult to edit out. But when we do cut out what isn't working from our lives, we'll feel lighter & more alive. Editing out activities that we find stressful, disassociating ourselves from people that drain your energy, and letting go of your emotional baggage are all beneficial cuts we can make - all by ourselves. Many times, when we try to be perfectionists - we overexert ourselves & in case we learn that things we wish to improve are simply not under our control - we feel even worse !! Then we think - should we actually take life that seriously?

Probably not - since good 'ol childhood days, we have been conditioned to believe in truth and pursue our paths to excellence / perfection. How can one unlearn this? Anyways for now let me

make the commitment to remove these disturbing & non-value adding Add-Ons from this adventurous game called life.

And yes, wish you all a very Happy & Eventful Independence Day !!!!

Changing One's Perspective...!

My parents always say that 'Enthusiasm can't be faked". For something to be exciting & to become viral or sought out by others - it has to be of visible value & should have a mass appeal - thats what I think atleast :) Recently, I attended birthday party of one of my very good friend and beieve me my silent observation of guests was a true eye opener for me. If you keep a close watch, you can't ignore the true positive energy warehouses (people). Btw...I feel lucky whenever such people are in my close proximity most of the times !! Coming back to enthusiasm, I was thinking while dining today - watching a movie / hanging meeting friends / visiting NYC / exploring new places - kinda energizes me a lot or should I say make me happy. Then why do I feel bad after spending a busy day in office...hmmm something to ponder for sure. Guess its time to change perspective indeed. There are certainly many other activities that I would wanna do; could be small ones but certainly the ones that make a positive 'n' visible impact on my ever thoughtful psyche. Anyways being a weekend - I am sure I'll get plenty of time to do things I really want to spend time for 'n' ofcourse push in more Blog Posts :) 

And yes for those readers who think that there's paucity of time in this world - the following video is a must c - N'joy !!

World of Words...!

Etymology has interested me since high-school days. Besides the fact that we were always asked to enrich our Vocabulary for those "big" exams that grill your English-Quotient, understanding meaning of the words made learning quite easy. Now, here's a thing while going for walk today evening at Greens it struck to me ... isn't it that we remember things by pictures. Think about that first "A" grade you received, the first marriage you attended, the best movie you saw and of course your first date. In extension to this, the moment we meet an acquaintance - our subconscious mind quickly runs a trailer of events that happened when last time this person was around us. Sounds familiar..ain't it? ;) Perhaps this explains the reason why we feel more comfortable with our "chosen" bunch of pals against the crowd !!

Anyways coming back to "words", they carry energy and gives language a power. After being thru' some tough conversations recently, I have started believing that spoken words perhaps make more lasting impressions than illustrations alone. Lets put it in this way - It may have been the first time we received a truly accurate compliment, or the time a friend or sibling called us a name, but either way it stuck. This experience reminds us that what we say has weight and power and that being conscious means being aware of how we use words. I have started believing that words are not abstract, disconnected entities used only to convey meaning; they are powerful transmitters of feeling. I have also noticed how the different communication styles of the people in my life makes me feel.

For the next few days, you might want to practice noticing how the words you say and hear affect your body and your emotional state. (I bet you would like it - I tried the experiment last week and believe me it worked wonders !!)

Hmmm, seems when we carefully listen to others before we speak, our words have more integrity, & when we take time to center ourselves before speaking, we truly begin to harness the power of speech. Ahha, what a revelation Chinmay - I said to myself....!

Now, that some of you like me would have realized the esoteric World Of Words, please join me in making a difference by spreading words of wisdom to make the world a better place to live??.....don't worry all you have to do is click on the banner below. The idea is that the more people you get to start I'm conversations, the more money gets raised for a noble cause.

Scribble & Doodle...!

Upon waking up little early today (10 AM for Sunday is early indeed ;)), with my usual morning 'Kukicha' in one hand and Cookies in another - I gazed out o the window and wondered - "What fascinates me?, What is it that I really care about?, What kind of people I want to work with? What brings out the best in me?...et all" I mean somehow just earning a good living doesn't satisfy my apetite anymore. I am looking to make a statement in this journey called life - lets c what happens...!

Anyways, speaking about "creativity" or wannabe daydreamers like me - Where do we have our best ideas? When our full attention is on solving the problem or when we're taking a shower, driving, or relaxing in the garden? Upon researching a lil' more about this on WWW, I learnt that most of the great inventors had best o their ideas / 'Eureka' moments come in when they were in a state of absolute relaxation.

The challenge is whether we can do anything to nurture it??

Interestingly, even penning down thoughts can work wonders - I learnt. They call it "autogenic writing". This techinque is a particularly effective way of tapping into our intelligent unconscious is creative visualisation. It's similar to the system for relaxation in 'Tranquility' but with a twist, so instead of sending us to sleep it keeps us in that space between slumber and wakefulness: a place where the most extreme creative thinking tends to happen.

It can be words, sounds, pictures, smells, objects or pretty much anything that frees up our mind to head off on a new adventure and so think the unthought. Sounds Simple...Now thats interesting - let me go try the same !!

"Major writing is to say what has been seen, so that it need never be said again."

Creative Sovereignty...!

Many a times, we come across those "Ah-Ha" Moments-when we notice an Ad in say a newspaper, journal or even Youtube , we sit back and say to ourselves-"Hey. Isn't that kool? ". And this is where the folks who designed the Ad win-they are able to connect to you emotionally & believe me thats tough !!

In communication business - you have to say a "thing" out there loud to an audience of millions whom you would never ever meet yet your soul task is to connect to them in a split of a second. As always during Lunch time today - I was checking some Marketing Videos of Google - and was impressed a lot. I mean three words came to my mind upon viewing them - simplicity, clarity & "Ah-Ha" :) Now coming to the point I published this post for.....

I draw sketches whenever I find time & a plane A4 Paper. Back in India, I started collecting my cartoons, scanning them and uploading them on Picasa - receiving pat on the back soon became a habit. But then thats about it - life carried on pretty much the same for some time till I arrived in US. Today afternoon I was terribly upset & said to myself "Now that even though my "Sketch Count" has reached 80, but nobody cares:( actually. Everyone around me specially here seems to be too busy with humdrum lives; and the ones that aren't, I don't want them anyways". Thats when I called up my best friend and was told "Making a big deal over one's creative work is kiss of death". I decided to maintain my "creative sovereignty" - with or without the help of world at large -- Nice resolution ('_')

"Everyone has their own private Mt. Everest they were put on this to climb"

Next Generation Search....!

One good thing about most of the "Product" selling Sites is the Online Chat Support they have - which certainly saves time of users (like me) visiting the site for some very specific information (gathering info about some Investment Scheme / applying for a Loan) and such users would obviously not remain on the site for long. Now, this made me think why don't we have Chat functionality for Search Engines as well. I mean many a times I just wake up, check my mails and go to Google and think...now what? I might not think about the correct set of "keywords" in order to get the spontaneous and logicaly & mathematically correct results. And then I think that for sure there would be many others like me too.

And then going by the business sense too, from companies' perspective they can grab a customer pretty quickly if they get customers the required information instantly. Imagine in our ever busy lives where 24 hours seem too short, the "Live Chat" can actually save on our time on a continual basis. Infact there are many great people doing this already say ALICE - an A. I. chat robot. So why not have our Search Giants incorporate this as well??

I congratulated myself upon this discovery and thought about letting Google/Yahoo know about the same. But then seems my friend from NY already though about this before ;) Go have a look urself !

Euphoria @ Wall Street...!

Today while exploring features of Google Finance, I saw under Tope news section about the good news for Wall Street enthusiasts; For the first time in history today the Dow Jones Industrial average crossed the 13k Mark. Basically solid earnings reports for last quarter and strong economic data help ed propel the Dow over the 13,000 mark. Now, this indeed is a good news for it does tell that US economy is doing well and Corporate Earnings are progressively increasing with companies posting higher profits and growth QoQ. To reaffirm the above fact, many (besides me) are looking forward to checking the GDP Report due out on coming Friday.
Lets hope for the best !

What amazed me today was this cool promo video on Reuters (World's Leading News Company) & Second Life (a 3D Online Digital World).

The Era Of Innovation...!

I was recently gathering informartion about new Software Startups trying to find how the dynamics of "entrepreneurship" works in IT Industry.To my utter surprise - I learnt that most of 'em prefer to operate under "stealth mode" for quite some time before going out there in open & making big news.Upon exploring for some more time - I found David Beisel's blog wherein he discusses the logic behind "stealth mode" of operation of startups - very convincing indeed !

In addition to what Davis days - operating in stealth mode gives one more time for testing the site. Afterall you can never know in reality which day of the week, a font or a theme change on your site can affect your conversions. Well then that’s what Beta Testing aims at then !!
Anyways for now I am keeping my eyes set for 3rd quarter of this year when an unknown Swedish firm plans to release a new, free operating system that might radically alter the economics of software development. For the past five years, Xcerion has been working on an XML-based Internet operating system (XIOS) that runs inside a Web browser. In a way, XIOS is an abstraction layer that sits on a true operating system like Mac OS X, or Windows or even Linux. Interestingly,XIOS aims to focus on two very basic yet indispensible entities in the world of internet - security & user experience.

While no computer system is completely secure, XIOS should be immune to most of the malware today because it runs in a sandbox, a virtual environment where code can be executed without risk to computing resources on the outside. Also, since XIOS is based on XML, the operating system, the integrated development environment (IDE), the applications, and data files are extremely portable and compatible. Applications can be easily tied to back-end XML Web services created with .Net, Java, or other Web technology. Because XIOS was built from the ground up, it includes an answer to two of the most vexing computing issues today: collaboration and keeping files backed up and synchronized across multiple machines and operating systems. All this 'n' much more for free. So keep a watch in Q3 this year for XIOS and its promising cloud based computing.

The Invisible Web...!

While going for stroll this evening, I was wondering as to how huge would Google's Index size be? 2 billion / 3 billion web pages or even more? Quickly, I searched and found that as per last official figures released by Google, it seems to have over 8 billion web pages indexed. Isn't that a LOT of information...I bet it is indeed !

Google/Yahoo or for that matter any Search Engine hasn't indexed yet. Now, isn't that interesting? Upon spending a little more time trying to demystify about such hidden information, to my utter surprise I found that there is indeed sites and pages that methodical search engines crawlers haven't crawled yet. Such Web pages are part of what's called the Dark, Deep, Hidden or Invisible Web.

Interestingly the ever smart Googlers have already filed a patent for their invention aimed at
Searching through web content accessible through web-based forms. But what if one wants to search the hidden collection of documents and a multidimensional repository for sounds, images, audio, and other formats now??

I found a few Deep Web Search Tools - hope you like them:

• CompletePlanet.com - Specialty search engine
• Directory of Open Access Journals
• Super Searchers Web Page
• Librarians Index to the Internet
• GPO Access
• The Virtual Library
• Web Lens
• Clusty- my personal favorite

Hope you enjoy searching about obscure topics. Till my next post - good bye!!

Time for Resolutions...!

New Year's is traditionally a time of resolutions. Upon returning from Winter vacations, my mind was pacing rapidly as to what ideally be this year's resolutions I might want to undertake - I decided I should better be at a place that has remained a source of hundreds of ideas in the year past by. Upon finsihing two lengths in the pool, I was wondering about what I perceive to be the most challenging part in IT Industry - is it Installing software on OS, Applying patches, writing some good code or venturing out all by ourselves (You Tube, Writely).

Hmmm...venturing out all alone seems pretty interesting ;) Lets c....!
For now, here's what I would want to look forward to in 2007:

• Try replacing at least one commercial product I use with a free alternative once a month;
• Make an informed decision when I do cosmetic changes on my blog;
• Help spread the word about Google products as part of our symbiotic relationship with Google;
• Contribute to atleast one free software project and learn more about the command-line interface
• Share my views and experiences in using Linux thru' my Blog
• Publish my Sketches on www and Innovate.
• Slow down 'n' Play ;) & yes participation in iWatch for sure.

I hereby toss off my old calendar & say good-bye to 2006 officially now all set to take control of 2007 and the world ;)