Can't dispute that

Can't dispute that

I'm slowly moving towards new year along with lot of dejavu feelings of 2007 & wishing to burn all those on 31st night with as much spirit as possible ;) . Bangalore is geared up for new year night feast & even Kingfisher breweries too...

I'm driving around in my car
I'm driving too fast
I'm driving too far
I'd like to change my point of view....
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

...I am humming along with Fool's Garden while driving around in hot Bangalore of December. I come back home to find TV news fizzing around the murder of wonderful politician Benazir Bhutto a day back. There are thousands of theories doing rounds about her gruesome murder. Some are really hilarious & some really serious (for Mushraff) in coming days. May she rest in peace, and may God lead Pakistan to a better future. World clock is ticking ahead for one more year...

While reading the comments of online videos, I found this interesting comments by 2 readers in youtube:

World's greatest question. How do you stop a suicide attacker?

feed him,
give him a decent job,
and some hope.
don't starve him,
don't impoverish its country
avoid desperation.
That should work OK for him and global business

Look at our stupid ignorant people why they have to destroy public places and cause so much damage, you can see kids as young as 13 following their elders & smashing cars when they probably don't even realize whats going on, wake up ignorant people you are destroying generations to come..

Photographer's nail gun: Histogram

Photographer's nail gun: Histogram

A histogram is nothing more than a bar graph. It shows how the luminance values in a digital or digitized photograph are distributed. The linear scale in a histogram runs from black at one end to white at the opposite end.

It's about Histogram in DSLR cameras. It looks like a small criss crossed bar graph, but it holds true information on color scattering details of the photograph. I mostly shoot pictures in RAW format (ARW in sony alpha 100). Though I'm able to read Histogram partially, it needs to have a perfect & expert knowledge on how histogram holds information about luminance values in a digital photograph.

I found a detailed read on histogram & what histogram has to offer in digital pictures.

>> How To Read and Understand a Histogram

Usability is a Conversation.

Usability is a Conversation.

Skelliewag takes one more road to reach the 'common sense design approach: a.k.a usability: Usability is a Conversation.

“Usability” can seem like a pretty abstract term, though. What does it really mean? What does it involve? How do I get it? Do I have it already? In this post, Skelliewag discuss just how useful it is to think of your site’s usability as conversational.

>> Link to Usability is a Conversation

"Acres of Diamonds"

"Acres of Diamonds"

There was a farmer who lived in Africa and through a visitor he got to know about diamonds & wealth it can churn out. He became tremendously excited about looking for diamonds. Diamonds were already discovered in abundance on the African continent and this farmer got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that he sold his farm to head out to the diamond line. He wandered all over the continent, as the years slipped by, constantly searching for diamonds, wealth, which he never found. Eventually he went completely broke and threw himself into a river and drowned.

Meanwhile, the new owner of his farm picked up an unusual looking rock about the size of a country egg and put it on his mantle as a sort of curiosity. A visitor stopped by and in viewing the rock practically went into terminal convulsions. He told the new owner of the farm that the funny looking rock on his mantle was about the biggest diamond that had ever been found. The new owner of the farm said, "Heck, the whole farm is covered with them" -
and sure enough it was.

The farm turned out to be the Kimberly Diamond Mine...the richest the world has ever known. The original farmer was literally standing on "Acres of Diamonds" until he sold his farm.

Moral:
Each of us is right in the middle of our own "Acre of Diamonds", if only we would realize it and develop the ground we are standing on before charging off in search of greener pastures. Opportunity does not just come along - it is there all the time - we just have to see it.

>> Russell Conwell's rhetorics

why dilute the purity ?

why dilute the purity ?

Few excerpts:

"There isn’t much you can do to help those who think their ***** is smaller. They will always be insecure. They won’t come out and say it but you can make out they have a ‘problem’ by their behavior in other issues."

"...all I want to say is: India is my country, if we have a problem, we will solve it. Please don’t waste your bandwidth and web-design skills on creating hate. Take down your website by the end of this month. If you don’t, I will be reporting this matter to the Government of India and the US authorities. I will not let losers like you create divisions in my country."

Alright. What's this all about ? Is the problem really about small thingy ;) ? Naa..

It's a nice blog about some cowards holed up somewhere on the other side of the tunnel & trying to tickle the calm sense of nationalism in the name of conversion. Though published in Feb'07. It's relevant all through..

>> Read more in mutiny
>> Mutiny permanent link

Here is a girl....

Here is a girl....

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are; Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your Sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements.

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family name...

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen...

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning and cook food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more, and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother, a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise;

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it...

Here is a girl...

eMail | Received via Sachin

Art of pick pocketing !

Art of pick pocketing !

You want it or don't want; you can't avoid being in crowd, may be in train, shopping arcade, pavement or wherever you come in contact with lotta people. You can't avoid carrying anything worthy, may be cell phone, purse, credit card, atm card or anything which is of some value for some one out there. More importantly you can't avoid loosing attention on your personal valuables atleast for few seconds. All this is what any pickpocketer expects from you. At one point or the other at least one of us might have been the victim of pick pocketing.

Why I am talking about something unusual than normal gizmo or geeky stuff I usually rant about ;) ? Am I the recent victim of these crooks ? Certainly not. I've lost things by myself but not because of the handiwork of some pick pocketer. I stumbled upon an interesting read in the web which dwells with this oldest crime in the world. I've always wondered about this most challenging profession, though I don't want to take up one ;)

It's also important not to look like a good target. Pickpockets are drawn to people who look lost, confused or distracted. People who seem sure of themselves and aware of their surroundings are less attractive targets. Remember, most pickpockets are cautious thieves who want to avoid confrontation. Even if they think they could steal something off you, they'll tend to pass you over if you don't look like the safest mark in a crowd.

Crowd is the best place for pickpockets to operate. That's their strong play ground. I was always wondering how do they operate so easily ? What's their Modus operandi ? how do they pick even from the most alert person ? where do they get training ? where do they practice ? what's their mentality since it's a risky business - as he can nowhere to run sometimes. I've heard announcements to be aware of pick pocketers everywhere. May it be the mall in Piccadilly in London, Indra shopping arcade of Bangkok, underground malls of Frankfurt, Great mall of
Milpitas, warning sign in Jayanagar Cool joint ...

It's difficult to spot every pickpocket, no matter how careful you are, because pickpockets generally camouflage themselves. They are very careful not to fit the common conception of criminals. Many dress like wealthy businessmen and women; others carry babies, who they use to hide what their hands are doing. Some even mimic tourists, their prime targets.

>> Understand how pickpockets work ?

Most of the time, people carry their credit card, digital diaries, cell phone & personal diaries in their pocket-containing personal information. So pickpocketing is always equated with personal identity theft.
>> Know more about learning on identity theft.

Who's besides your bed ?

Who's besides your bed ?

Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:

Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get into your house, just press the panic button of your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar or rapist won't stick around... after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there.

Via email | Sachin