Smokers, be it chain, rope, thread or whatever, always have that ‘Aaaaah’ relief when after being deprived of a cigarette for a long time, are handed one in their hands and have their first puff. Addicted to it, they really crave for the feeling. While I believe smoking is injurious to health but doing it occasionally does not kill anybody unless the occasional is replaced by daily. Incidently i came across a term called e-cigarette just a few days ago. Invented by a chinese firm called SBT Co. Ltd and marketed by Golden Dragon Group Ltd, the e-cigarettes market under the name of Ruyan. Basically this device aims to help smokers quit their habit.
An e-cigarette releases some nicotine into the body through the battery-operated device. This battery operated device is capable of releasing vapour that makes smokers feel like they are smoking real cigarettes. It feels and looks like a real cigarette. At present, the device ships for $208. It was invented way back in 2003 but has now found commercial grounds.
This concept is not new as it seems. It is similar to nicotine filled chewing gums and inhalers available from many pharmateutical companies that help smokers quit. But they have built upon the concept and added an innovative look and feel of a cigarette that helps smokers stay in familiar grounds but yet quit smoking.
The product should find its way into India in a short time.
Keep watching, smokers !! Something to help try-to-quit-smoking group !!
Source :: http://www.ciol.com/content/news/2007/107051002.asp
Google - Can "she invent"?
It seems Google is supporting male chauvinism!! You can probably see it for yourself by Googling “She invented” in the Google Search Bar. It would immediately reply back with ‘Did you mean He invented?’. I came across this in a mail that one of my colleagues forwarded to me. I tried out the same and the result was obvious!!
It seems that the Googlius, the Greek God Of Searches, does not agree to the fact that she can invent too. So is Googlius a MCP? Or is it just some algoritm gone haywire? Its probably some algorithm tweak thats done by some geek out there. The prompt for correction of the spelling usually comes up when you type in a wrong one (obviously ) but here seemingly ’she’ is a wrong spelling according to Googlius.Is it true? Does Google refer to Oxford’s or Webster’s? Or has it designed its own Googlicon?
It does seem funny when such a thing comes up in searches. Did you know that there are people who just sit around on Google’s main search page and search for anomalies in searches? And also there are active threads on sites such as Digg where such discussions take place on the anomalies. Google somehow must have come across these posts https://ch1blogs.cognizant.com/blogs/145799/2007/05/09/do-women-need-more-rightsgive-me-your-thoughts/ and https://ch1blogs.cognizant.com/blogs/133710/2007/05/02/if-ya-dont-agree-you-must-be-a-woman/ here which discussed the ‘gender’ situations. So I think Googlius took the matter in hands and proved that ’she cannot invent’.
Females, please spare me! .. I am just stating facts.. :)
It seems that the Googlius, the Greek God Of Searches, does not agree to the fact that she can invent too. So is Googlius a MCP? Or is it just some algoritm gone haywire? Its probably some algorithm tweak thats done by some geek out there. The prompt for correction of the spelling usually comes up when you type in a wrong one (obviously ) but here seemingly ’she’ is a wrong spelling according to Googlius.Is it true? Does Google refer to Oxford’s or Webster’s? Or has it designed its own Googlicon?
It does seem funny when such a thing comes up in searches. Did you know that there are people who just sit around on Google’s main search page and search for anomalies in searches? And also there are active threads on sites such as Digg where such discussions take place on the anomalies. Google somehow must have come across these posts https://ch1blogs.cognizant.com/blogs/145799/2007/05/09/do-women-need-more-rightsgive-me-your-thoughts/ and https://ch1blogs.cognizant.com/blogs/133710/2007/05/02/if-ya-dont-agree-you-must-be-a-woman/ here which discussed the ‘gender’ situations. So I think Googlius took the matter in hands and proved that ’she cannot invent’.
Females, please spare me! .. I am just stating facts.. :)
Royalty on Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V
Windows helped Microsoft mint millions in whatever currency you want to consider. The most user friendly OS took the market by storm and is still the dominant OS in the market. Almost 90% PCs run on Windows. Such quirk of the mind helped Microsoft reach where it is right now.
But the reality or rather estimates say that if users start charging $1 from Microsoft each time the OS hangs then Microsoft would be bankrupt within a year. I dont know how far that is true but well Windows does hang a lot. If somebody asked as to when did Windows last hang (not until death) your machine, answer would probably be ‘just an hour ago’.
Anyways one of my colleague suggested a very good idea on how Windows could beat piracy of their OS. Rather how can Windows let the piracy go on but still make money. He sugested that Windows should start charging half a pence or whatever meagre amount for the functions Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. And voila!!! Windows would be minting money again!! And this time it would probably be making 5-6 times more than the products that they sell. 5-6 times is rather an understatement. Actual amounts might be 10 times greater. We, technobiles( I just invented the word. I dont know whether it exists ), use these functions to produce most of the code existent in the world today. Dont know what would happen if Windows had not provided that. If Microsoft starts to take advantage of this addiction, they can help us become efficient programmers .
Is Bill listening ?
But the reality or rather estimates say that if users start charging $1 from Microsoft each time the OS hangs then Microsoft would be bankrupt within a year. I dont know how far that is true but well Windows does hang a lot. If somebody asked as to when did Windows last hang (not until death) your machine, answer would probably be ‘just an hour ago’.
Anyways one of my colleague suggested a very good idea on how Windows could beat piracy of their OS. Rather how can Windows let the piracy go on but still make money. He sugested that Windows should start charging half a pence or whatever meagre amount for the functions Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. And voila!!! Windows would be minting money again!! And this time it would probably be making 5-6 times more than the products that they sell. 5-6 times is rather an understatement. Actual amounts might be 10 times greater. We, technobiles( I just invented the word. I dont know whether it exists ), use these functions to produce most of the code existent in the world today. Dont know what would happen if Windows had not provided that. If Microsoft starts to take advantage of this addiction, they can help us become efficient programmers .
Is Bill listening ?
Seat Belts Save Lives
Here is a nice article on why we should insist people on wearing seat belts and why should they be made compulsory for all to wear them.
Royalty on Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V
Windows helped Microsoft mint millions in whatever currency you want to consider. The most user friendly OS took the market by storm and is still the dominant OS in the market. Almost 90% PCs run on Windows. Such quirk of the mind helped Microsoft reach where it is right now.
But the reality or rather estimates say that if users start charging $1 from Microsoft each time the OS hangs then Microsoft would be bankrupt within a year. I dont know how far that is true but well Windows does hang a lot. If somebody asked as to when did Windows last hang (not until death) your machine, answer would probably be 'just an hour ago'.
Anyways one of my colleague suggested a very good idea on how Windows could beat piracy of their OS. Rather how can Windows let the piracy go on but still make money. He suggested that Windows should start charging half a pence or whatever meager amount for the functions Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. And voila!!! Windows would be minting money again!! And this time it would probably be making 5-6 times more than the products that they sell. 5-6 times is rather an understatement. Actual amounts might be 10 times greater. We, technobiles( I just invented the word. I don't know whether it exists :) ), use these functions to produce most of the code existent in the world today. Dont know what would happen if Windows had not provided that. If Microsoft starts to take advantage of this addiction, they can help us become efficient programmers :) .
Is Bill listening ?
Maiden !! Maiden !! Part 2
Thought i would never tell you anything after the lights went out ??
Dont worry.. here it is.
Thoughts were flying high as I stood there in anticipation. I was wondering whether the Maiden was going to fly in on to the ground in a helicopter or maybe they would appear out of the crowd itself. It would be so exciting if that happened. As i stood there riding such thoughts, suddenly the lights went out. And chants of the “Maiden” started growing louder every second. And out of nowhere, the lights came on again with more intensity than before and suddenly Iron Maiden was on the stage. Maiden always makes entries in this way. They appeared in the same manner in the Rock in Rio concert. It was so sudden that it took a moment to realize that the rock band that I have idolized for a long time were finally on the stage. I could not believe I was so close to Iron Maiden. We had waited for 4 hours amongst the crowd without water or food to see them perform on the stage and here they were jsut a few meters away from me.
All their numbers are so famous that if they played all famous numbers then they would probably end up playing for the whole night and still not finish. Iron Maiden is basically on the promotional tour of their new album A Matter of Life and Death. So they were expected to play the latest songs at the concert. They sung Reincarnation of Benjamin, the most famous number from the latest album. From the older ones, they sung Run to Hills, Fear of the Dark, Hallowed be thy Name, The Trooper etc. They had the crowd singing along with them all throughout the night. The crowd shouted out loud at the start of every song. Most of the songs were recognized within 3 seconds from the beginning. It was quite surprising to know that most of the people remembered the lyrics of almost all the songs that were sung by Maiden. Rock songs usually contain so much music that often the vocals are difficult to understand especially to many of the Indians who are not that fluent or comfortable with English. If you are a regular listener, then you might be able to discern most of the lyrics from the song. But forget that if you are in a Maiden concert. There is so much noise and singing along with the band, that you would probably be hearing the lyrics more clearly from the person beside you rather than Bruce.
We were shouting out so loud along with every song that I had to suck on Strepsils almost every hour. As abruptly it had started, they stopped playing! Maiden chants started again from the crowd. For a moment i thought the concert was over. It had been hardly an hour with Hallowed be thy Name and Fear of the Dark still to go ! But thankfully it was just a break. And bang ! Just as abruptly as they had stopped playing they were back on the stage and this time it was far better than the first half. One of the songs featured a fake military tank being brought on the stage. Also the beast on stilts moved around on the stage. The crowd once again was on its toes to watch the props. Also Iron Maiden changed the screens behind them for every song. Each song is associated with a particular poster and what depicted on it. The crowd also recognized the song even before they started playing by just looking at the poster. So you could imagine how much they were into Iron Maiden !!
It was of course going to end some time. So it did. But the crowd still anticipated that they again had gone in for a break but it had ended. The electrifying concert was finally over. I and my room mate had been planning for the concert for over a month. It was worth all the effort and waiting. I christened Maiden as the Gods of Rock on that day!! There was no way something could be more stimulating than this!! Maiden is certainly the God of Rock.
All was worth it. Every single rupee spent was worth it. I and my friends walked about 4 kms before we found a rick to go back home. We ate at a restaurant not so good with the food but nevertheless satisfied our hunger. My neck ached with the amount of head banging that i had done but it was worth all the pains to see Maiden live in concert. It comes once in a lifetime and I was there to form a memory of it in my mind.
Maiden !! Maiden !! Part 1
Ever had a very excited feeling inside your body which is waiting to come out no matter what? It seldom happens with the dreary life that many people lead nowadays! Excitement always causes a person to secrete more and more adrenaline into the body providing the surge of energy that one requires! And believe me, that was what had happened to me while I was standing on the Palace Grounds in Bangalore amongst a stupendous crown rumored to be close to 20000 in number. All bodies on grounds were filled with enough adrenaline to run a marathon! The atmosphere was tingling with excitement waiting for the arrival of Iron Maiden band.
Earlier, on my way to Bangalore by bus, I was accompanied by my room mate and of course there were a score of Maiden fans on the bus too. We did not discuss Maiden on the bus but yeah I was up almost half the night revising the Maiden songs! The fever had had me in its grip!! JJ. Those who are hard core rock fans and those who understand rock would probably understand why people are so crazy about rock concerts. We reached Bangalore in the morning. The show did not start till 5:00 in the evening. So to cut the time, we went off to Brigade road. The fever had also gripped the city. Black t-shirts were seen with maiden prints everywhere. It was like Bangy had gone into mad frenzy about wearing black Maiden t-shirts. We suddenly realize the density of the crowd expected to turn up.
We reached the concert grounds at about 5:00 having left early to beat the traffic which we obviously could not because it’s the Maiden concert!!! First time in India. Bruce Dickinson, the all time favorite vocalist, was coming with the band. Iron Maiden had flown in the entire stage to India. For the record, a similar concert in Rio de Jaineiro, Brazil had over 2 lakh people attending the show. Freaky? Its not! It’s exciting.
Nevertheless, we were right there in the 15th row from the stage waiting for Maiden to arrive. The opening act was performed by the winners of Campus Rock Idols whose finals were held here in Pune. Next came the famous Indian rock band Parikrama to increase the tempo of excitement. With known numbers like But it rained, they really set the atmosphere for the grand finale. Next came Laren Harris, a big letdown. She did not rock at all but well all was acceptable since Maiden was going to come next.
You would not believe the haze that the cigarette smoke was creating. It is often seen that rock concerts attract a lot of smokers and dopers. But it is not that they are attracted to these concerts. Usually rock idols are heavy smokers, drinkers and dopers which most of the times cause the fans to become one too. For your information, the lead vocalist of System of a Down ( rock bands always have weird names !! J ) spends almost $200 in a day on dope. The person standing next to me was clearing in ecstasy after having smoked away a lot of grass!! And abuses are like the second word that comes out of the mouth while you are there. Interestingly, it was worth noticing that Maiden too uttered a lot of abuses but all is uncensored and allowed since it is Maiden. Imagine one of us uttering any such words in public! Bang!! Indian culture protectionists would appear out of thin air and take you off the stage and file a PIL and whatever that is possible to make you realize that you have made a “great” mistake and a mockery on the “civilized” Indian culture.
Everyone was trying to make some or the other excuses to go one line further to watch Maiden up close. “My friends are standing in the front” or “My girlfriend is shorter in height to be able to see from behind you” were some of the reasons that were heard. Also one more thing that we came to know which was funny was the fact that the train which had arrived that morning ( 17th March by the way ) , was almost filled with fans wearing black t-shirts. The passengers were literally frightened out of their wits seeing the black colors everywhere ( also the color of conspiracy and unknown ).
And suddenly the lights went out !!!
Do you believe in luck ?
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that " Shallow men believe in luck. Strong men believe in cause and effect". And I strongly believe what he says. Luck is like waiting for something to happen and I don't like to wait for things to happen to me. I make them happen around me. Thats the way life is more exciting and challenging. Its better to go out and grab the opportunities rather than wait for them to be created and customized to your needs. Speaking about customization, when we create opportunities for ourselves we can customize it to our requirements. See ? :-) I guess thats speaking like an engineer.
Me and two of my roommates, Dhruv(D) and Saurabh(S), had a discussion once regarding the belief in luck. We were just returning from a test for a management studies class that we were attending when such a 'brainstorming' session erupted!!
The plot for the discussion was based on the CAT examination. D and S came up with a hypothetical situation ( god knows from where!! ). What they conjectured is that they asked me to imagine a situation during the examination. The situation was that there is only 1 minute left in the exam. You assume that you are seated next to a person who knows more than you and is likely to get a higher percentile than you. You badly want to get a call from IIM-Ahmedabad. You know (assume) that at that moment, you have got 58 correct. You need to 2 more to go past the cutoff for the IIM-A assuming you have achieved all the sectional cutoffs. There is no way you can calculate or answer 2 or more questions in a minute. So will you copy from the person next to you? Will you play the luck game and copy atleast 4 questions so that you might just go past the cutoff ? ( OK, leave aside the ethics of not-copying for the sake of this blog ). The arguments presented by D and S for the motion was like this : if you are lucky then you get all 4 correct, get a call. If you are not then in the worst situation, you might get all 4 wrong and in that case you wont get a call which you would not have if you had not copied. Getting an answer wrong cuts jsut 1/4 mark but a correct answer earns you 1 mark. So even if you get 1 correct and 3 wrong, then you still profit by 1/4 mark which definitely increases your percentile which of course wont get you into an IIM but as well get you into one of the other top 10 institutions.So why not copy and try our luck at it ? If we are lucky, then we might get through.
So here we had this discussion about luck going. In a discussion, it is always fun if there is some opposition to the normal flow of the discussion. I brought in that element of opposition into the discussion. I was riding this line of thoughts : As it is known, the cutoffs for the calls does not remain the same every year. It keeps changing every year as decided by the panel in the institute. Riding the luck, lets just say that the cutoff for that year had been reduced to 58. And your worst luck plays out. You get all 4 wrong on your exam. Your score comes down to 57. You missed out from getting a call from IIM which you could have if you had not copied. You play with the probability and you never know which direction it takes. Just suppose that it did not play in the direction that you wanted, then you actually cut short your way to a successful MBA career. Instead why dont you prepare yourself in such a manner so that you make it past the 60 mark. So if the IIMs decrease the cutoff then you are definitely in and if they increase it, then there is a possibility that you might have achieved that many marks to make you go past the increased cutoff. Why do you want to depend on luck when you have it in your hands to shape your destiny ?
So we had these chain of thoughts before we reached our luncheon outlet. Comment on what you think should be the case ....
Me and two of my roommates, Dhruv(D) and Saurabh(S), had a discussion once regarding the belief in luck. We were just returning from a test for a management studies class that we were attending when such a 'brainstorming' session erupted!!
The plot for the discussion was based on the CAT examination. D and S came up with a hypothetical situation ( god knows from where!! ). What they conjectured is that they asked me to imagine a situation during the examination. The situation was that there is only 1 minute left in the exam. You assume that you are seated next to a person who knows more than you and is likely to get a higher percentile than you. You badly want to get a call from IIM-Ahmedabad. You know (assume) that at that moment, you have got 58 correct. You need to 2 more to go past the cutoff for the IIM-A assuming you have achieved all the sectional cutoffs. There is no way you can calculate or answer 2 or more questions in a minute. So will you copy from the person next to you? Will you play the luck game and copy atleast 4 questions so that you might just go past the cutoff ? ( OK, leave aside the ethics of not-copying for the sake of this blog ). The arguments presented by D and S for the motion was like this : if you are lucky then you get all 4 correct, get a call. If you are not then in the worst situation, you might get all 4 wrong and in that case you wont get a call which you would not have if you had not copied. Getting an answer wrong cuts jsut 1/4 mark but a correct answer earns you 1 mark. So even if you get 1 correct and 3 wrong, then you still profit by 1/4 mark which definitely increases your percentile which of course wont get you into an IIM but as well get you into one of the other top 10 institutions.So why not copy and try our luck at it ? If we are lucky, then we might get through.
So here we had this discussion about luck going. In a discussion, it is always fun if there is some opposition to the normal flow of the discussion. I brought in that element of opposition into the discussion. I was riding this line of thoughts : As it is known, the cutoffs for the calls does not remain the same every year. It keeps changing every year as decided by the panel in the institute. Riding the luck, lets just say that the cutoff for that year had been reduced to 58. And your worst luck plays out. You get all 4 wrong on your exam. Your score comes down to 57. You missed out from getting a call from IIM which you could have if you had not copied. You play with the probability and you never know which direction it takes. Just suppose that it did not play in the direction that you wanted, then you actually cut short your way to a successful MBA career. Instead why dont you prepare yourself in such a manner so that you make it past the 60 mark. So if the IIMs decrease the cutoff then you are definitely in and if they increase it, then there is a possibility that you might have achieved that many marks to make you go past the increased cutoff. Why do you want to depend on luck when you have it in your hands to shape your destiny ?
So we had these chain of thoughts before we reached our luncheon outlet. Comment on what you think should be the case ....
Attire at work ..
Hi Everyone!! Ever had a feeling that things are getting too formal around here ? Well I just had that feeling sometime back. Rather I continue to still have that feeling. I have been an advocate of informality everywhere that i have been till now. Now stop wondering why am I discussing such a silly topic ? Well since it means a lot to me, I want to find out who all think in the same manner as I do.
Well, to start with in a services company like ours, we are always required to wear formal business outfits.So this is the first thing that i would like to speculate upon. Why is there such a requirement? People say we do that to project discipline and to impress the clients.Hmmm.. I would definitely like to believe that but well my mind always functions in the opposite direction. How is it possible that our clients form impressions based on our dressing ? Are they not always impressed by our track records ? By our quality conformance? By our way of conducting business? Why is it that we need to stress upon the clothing? It is said that clothes make the first impression which lasts forever. Well I think the first impression is made on the basis of your body language and not on the basis of how you dress.
People say that clothes give you an impression on how disciplined you are.Hmm… don't you think I could wear the best Marks and Spencer clothing and still be indisciplined and result in the loss of business to the company ? What do you think ? Is it not possible ?
If you agree with the above statement then I guess you will also agree that clothing is not that important as is the attitude of a person and the way he conducts himself.It is not that I despise wearing formal clothing but why is so much emphasis laid on this fact in any services company ?There must be some solid reason. Or is it just about putting up a mask before your client for the so called impression ?
I don't know why I come across strongly with these feelings but what I feel is that we must promote the most informal environment around. Don't how far people will agree withe me but I would like to lots of views on this. It would be nice to know different perspectives of my thoughts.
Well I have so many things to discuss on about the informality but lets just start with this. I would love yo see informal posts here. That would add more spice to this blog.
Thanks.
Ultra high security for politicians
It was 10:00 PM. I and my roomie were standing by the roadside near the Pune station. We were waiting for the arrival of any transport medium which could take us to our home. We were wondering about the way the cities are handled and how tough it can be if you are an official of the state. Most of us believe that politicians are corrupted and they sit there only to eat money.True. Corruption is a part of any seat with power and India is no different. But if they are corrupted and do not work, then how is the government working ? It still works. Though the level at which it works is still way below the expected standards but nevertheless, it still works. My belief is that let the politicians eat money but at the same time let them show their mettle on the battleground. The problem arises when they just accept the bribe but don't work. Well its going to remain as it is for as long as we survive.
Ok Ok. I will get back to what happened on that night. As we were standing there, sirens started blaring in the distance. I thought some unfortunate incident must have happened in some household and a need must risen for the person to be taken to the hospital. I wished to god that nothing happened to the person inside the ambulance. But alas! It was not an ambulance. It was a convoy of 12 vehicles carrying some high profile politician/s on their way to some vote gathering event. All traffic got blocked to let them pass and all the policemen snapped to attention. Another stream of thoughts started. What i was wondering is that why do these politicians have to make such a noise of arrival with so much security. Yes , we never know which of 12 vehicles they are traveling in so that makes it very discrete and hideous. But ever wondered about the fact that there is a high profile person within just those 12 vehicles ? If anyone plans to eliminate the politician, he has narrowed down the choices to 12. The probability of finding a politician in one of the cars is 1 in 12. On the other side, what i was thinking is that why cant they just travel in a normal low cost - low profile car with no information whatsoever as to when and how the person is traveling. Doesn’t that make the politician more safe and discrete? Now for the elimination of the target, you need to sift through thousands of vehicles to find him/her. No blaring sirens nor flashing police lights. You never know when a person has traveled from one place to another. And yes, the cost. Instead of 12 vehicles transporting one vehicle, there is just one.
Well. Then one would say what about security ? The police vehicles are there as the part of the convoy to protect the politician. But what can they do while sitting in their own vehicle while the politician’s car gets blown apart ? There is nothing that they can do except cordon the area and search the area!! Instead making the politician’s car more secure is a better idea. Another thing is that the sirens and flashing lights can clear the traffic for the politicians so that they can reach the place where they need to reach on time. So does that imply that politicians don't know how to manage their time ? They after all manage the entire country but what they cant do is manage time ? That's quite a derogatory remark on them but cant help to think in that direction. Businessmen also strangle to find time out of their work. They plan their activities such that they reach places on time keeping the traffic in mind. If the businessmen can do it, then does that mean that they don't work or have less work than the politicians ? Not true i guess. Just as 16-hour work cycle businessmen can manage to beat the traffic, cant the politicians do that ? Cant they behave in the same manner as the common man does ? They will come to know about the harrowing experience that people go through everyday by being a part of the traffic. If it can put some sense of guilt then probably something can be done about the traffic. They will come to know more about the troubles of the people if they stay with the people and not above them.
Well !! There is one advantage in the passing convoy of vehicles. If you manage to stick behind the convoy with arousing suspicions then you can probably reach your place in record time since no traffic is going to stand in your way !!! Two sides of a coin huh ??
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