'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

'Father, remember Psalm 129?'

A priest offered a Nun a lift.

She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg.
The priest nearly had an accident.
After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.
The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'
The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again.
The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?'
The priest apologized 'Sorry sister but the flesh is weak.'
Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.
On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'
Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Subway maps design

Subway maps design

"Organizing functionality and content into a structure that people are able to navigate intuitively doesn't happen by chance. Information architecture (IA) is the art of expressing a model or concept of information used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems"-That's about 'Information Architecture design' an important usability process for designing computer based applications.

What if 'Information Architecture' is used for design of Subway or Tube map.

If you've seen such interesting transport maps in Singapore, Bangkok, California rail and London. I'm sure it's not easiest task, it's quite an innovative mind at work as massive physical navigation to be designed.If you've seen Subway maps, they are not just another city map. They've lot of inter-connections, information, visual cues which are part of intelligent design.

When I first got into London underground Tube in 2007, I just loved the simplicity and effective design of 'Tube Maps' of London. Color, mapping, context points are well designed by Harry Beck at 1933.It has become the iconic signature of London too.

I've observed many media houses using tube map design to convey the common meaning of the product advertisement. London has a massive commuters who uses underground tubes for daily travel. They not only speaks English & all possible languages and many don't even know to read English. Designing a navigational route to such 'diverse audience' must be a challenge.

I found an interesting read on the conceptualization, ideation, design and evolution of such maps design at the World's Most Impressive Subway Maps

What's the Greatest Pain In Life ?

What's the Greatest Pain In Life ?

What's the Greatest Pain In Life ?

My mom once told me, it's the pain while delivering a baby. It's one of the killing pain a woman could ever face. I am sure, anyone who knows human anatomy a tad bit, would know how a little life comes into a shape in few minutes out of human body.

Now imagine this, a woman on the hospital table delivering a baby. Doctors helping her to give a life. And suddenly few slain terrorists enter into hospital and start shooting indiscriminately. The whole hospital is abandoned and people run and hide for life.They kill mercilessly anyone who's making a noise. Even docs, nurses are scared for their life. But they had to help the pregnant women to deliver the baby. She is screaming with the pain. How to control her, when there are terrorists outside blood thirst for life ? How can she control her pain ?

Irony is: Some one is erasing life, some one is gifting life.

That's what happened in 26/11 last year at Mumbai when terrorists struck Cama hospital. They created a merciless carnage. It's a dreadful story. Bunch of young terrorists were mastered & sent from across the border to carry on suicide attack in the peace loving nation.

Their perpetrators assured young terrorists that, after death they'll reach heaven. I don't know if they've reached heaven after achieving such a fake martyrdom. But history would never forgive their handlers. What if their mother was silenced while delivering him in pregnancy ?

Thanks to my friend Nikhil who shared this detailed mega documentary about 26/11, 2008 Mumbai attack.

>> You got to see it to feel it here
('Dispatches - Terror In Mumbai' Video | duration: 48m | 14,699 views | 378 MB )

Accessibility compliance for Rich Internet apps

Accessibility compliance for Rich Internet apps

{Punk girl in a wheelchair descending a escalator in London underground tube}

How to treat accessibility in rich internet applications ?

There are much more powerful, time saving UI patterns and JavaScript frameworks, ajax libraries than before. But where & how accessibility will be nurtured between all these hoopla ? So far validating accessibility of semantic code was quite easier but may not be that easy when a content is wrapped in intelligent UI widgets rendered by rich internet apps. In one way, web 2.0 backed UI patterns are very intuitive and user friendly but how 'disabled person' is going to access such advanced applications ?

w3.org has come come with new way of looking at rich internet applications accessibility. I was quite keen to understand what's this all about WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications)

WAI-ARIA (Web Accessibility Initiative - Accessible Rich Internet Applications) is a set of documents published by the World Wide Web Consortium that specify how to increase the accessibility of dynamic content and user interface components developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript and related technologies.

WAI-ARIA describes how to add semantics and other metadata to HTML content in order to make user interface controls and dynamic content more accessible. For example, with WAI-ARIA it is possible to identify a list of links as a navigation menu and to state whether it is expanded or collapsed.

I found an interesting read on 'importance of the ARIA presentation'. The article discusses about bottlenecks of WAI-ARIA. I am sure, WAI-ARIA is the way to go when section 508 standards and WAI's are the necessity in quasi govt and federal linked companies.

>> Read more on the WAI-ARIA here

Motorcycle Diaries - a spanish delight

Motorcycle Diaries - a spanish delight

{ My movie of the week: Motorcycle Diaries a.k.a Diarios de motocicleta (2004) }

I am a big fanatic of the purity in movies & this is the finest exemplary of movie making. It's the dramatization of a motorcycle road trip Che Guevara went on in his youth, that showed him his life's calling. A sublime direction by a non-hollywood director Walter Salles.Interesting trivia is he knew nothing about the historical character 'Che Guevara' before shooting the movie :)

Ernesto's(Che Guevara) journey with his close pal Alberto to reach an leprosy healing center in some nook and corner thousands of miles distance from his town. He wrote diary on his experience all along their journey and this movie is based on the same.

Movie is completely shot in Spanish language. It's worth to note realization of Ernesto about Inca's intelligence in Machu Picchu. Even I felt the same about Khmer Kings who built largest Hindu temple complexes, clever architectures in the early 12th century in Angkor Wat, Cambodia. I feel I am lucky to been there.

Che's been portrayed as a sweet character both by persona, virtue and modesty. This is the fantastically designed character in rain clad backdrop of Brazil, Chile,Peru, Venezuela, and Spain with the setting of 1950's. It also touches deteriorated health, injustice and social issues in poorer counties such as Peru.

I love the way friendship is captured between Ernesto & Alberto. It reminded my journey to Cambodia last year with friends Raj and Nikhil. We spent having fun all along the local trains, tuk-tuks from Thailand to Cambodia. There's nothing like foot loose journey with friends like they did in Motorcycle Diaries.

Jolly trip turned horrible trip :)

Jolly trip turned horrible trip :)

{ Mag-Aso falls on the island of Bohol, Philippines }
This is a kind of eye opener, a true incident happened in Philippines.Rainfall elsewhere on the uphill forced a sudden gush in the waterfall caused 2 guys to drown to death in the water.

Being an adventurer enthusiast, I've done so many adventure trips with my friends. Since we've traveled across and know how to do adventure activities with lot of care, we've never stumbled risk as such. However safe you're sometimes it's beyond the control of self.

Recently we did one risky but amazing river water rafting adventure in Kali River in Dandeli in monsoon season. We tried swimming in swift current areas with lot of care in a right place. After seeing this picture blog, I am forced to relate this adventure with such kind of water borne adventure activities :)

Nature is such a wonderful magic, unless it turns tragic. Nevertheless: not everything is as per your design, nature has its own design for you !

>> Watch this amazing photo blog fore more details

Australia, Rabbit and fence

Australia, Rabbit and fence

{my movie of the week - Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)}

Imagine you're a small kid. Eating what you want, learning what you like, humming what you feel. Some one suddenly captures and takes you away to other part of the country and makes you pray their rhythm and teach you the way they live. In such a tender age away from mother, family, away from your known locality that strange feeling is just unbearable. And Australia successfully did that for 'original living beings' of Australian continent for years !

'Rabbit-Proof Fence' is the true story of Molly Craig, a young black Australian girl who leads her younger sister and cousin in an escape from an internment camp, set up as a part of a government policy to train Aboriginal children as domestic workers and integrate them into white society.

I love Rabbit-Proof Fence movie as drama, as protest, as movie making and as poetry. It's a breathtaking story of defiance and triumph that has to be considered one of the most sublime films. At an economical 94 minutes, Rabbit-Proof Fence trims all the fat and tells its heartfelt and stirring story. It's an wonderfully shot movie with the beautiful usage of the celluloid.

>> Know more about - Rabbit-Proof_Fence

Timelapsed downtown toronto.

Timelapsed downtown toronto.

“Timelapsed Downtown Toronto” by Sam Javanrouh

Fantastic photography from flickr. 6 photos shot in a 2 hour time period. Amazign time elapsed shot is vividly laid out here. You can download the wallpaper size version of it as well.

Monalisa, just using Microsoft-Paint

Monalisa, just using Microsoft-Paint

Microsoft-Paint - A software piece known for its basic drawing tools. Drawing is all about shadows. I found this interesting video, in which artist creates Monalisa, just using Microsoft-Paint. He proves, it's not about tool, it's about what you can create out of it. It's awesome how shadow & light come alive to create magic colors of Monalisa using MS-paint.

The same painting is done using Photoshop here which is much more versatile, powerful and flexible tool. If you could realize how nicely this artist is using Photoshop tool to his advantage, you will know the importance of the Monalisa painting done by MS-Paint:
Monalisa realized on Photohosp