Mariouana on Revival!

 

First of all, apologies for not posting for almost a week. I was off town for some work and after I returned, it was time to go for a revival, a revamp! As I said in my August 2010  Round-Up, we’re in for a change and to change for the better. If everything goes as planned, then here are the changes that you will see within the next two to three days!

• We’re moving to a new self-hosted domain space :-)
• A new theme; fresher look
• Enabled Rating for posts and comments
• Mariouana Polls will be a new feature
• Mario’s PJ Time and Marioism will be added to the blog. You will love these! :-)
• A Gush of awesome posts coming your way… trust me!

Thanks to all of you for your patience and support. Thanks to for the free domain… won two contests in a month ;-) Surprisingly our RSS subscribers have increased during the past two weeks! Once the newer version of Mariouana is setup we’ll be back in business! Please do wait a while until then. Thank you.

Way to go!

 

With not even two months done, I am enjoying blogging and more so in this week when yesterday, I won my first prize in blogging which is the third place in IndiBlogger’s My Demand Contest. This is the winning post… Pee for Petrol… which was a sensation when it was conceived in college and even now, when it has created such a craze on YouTube, my blog and even on facebook. There are a lot of people to thank and I’m dedicating this post as a small sign of gratitude to all of them.

• First of all, thanks to Pramod Kamath, who is the true inventor of this crazy-but-great idea. It was only after this thought was born in his innovative mind, that we both built-up on this and finally gave form to this marvellous conception.
• I thank all  my friends and fellow bloggers on IndiBlogger who read my post and voted for it. I irritated many along the way and some tagged me as spammer as well… but I’m damn sure that whoever read the post surely loved it :-) I’m still very new here and its better I make mistakes now, than later. Learnt a lot from this experience.
• Special thanks to two people: Karthik Kastury and Vinayak Nagri whose blogging efforts were the reason I started blogging in the first place and still continue to do so. These are very inspiring people and you have to know more about them. I have included them in my special Inspirers series of posts, which they truly deserve.
• I thank all my friends on Facebook and Twitter, most of whom, even without having a blog or without knowing anything about blogging, tried so much to help me and shared my post, building the publicity. Trust me, that helped the most! Thanks for all the shares, re-tweets and mentions!
• Thanks to all my blog readers, visitors, and those who left back lovely comments, helpful suggestions and criticisms which helped me better my posts, my writing, my content style and my blog overall.
• Thanks to IndiBlogger, Renie Ravin and HP Printers for opening this lovely opportunity for me and for all bloggers to showcase their creativity and win these amazing prizes. Can’t wait for my printer :-)

With just more than one month gone, I still have a LOT to learn for good blogging. Mistakes made have taught me more and I continue to learn, become a better writer and reach out to as many as possible. Thanks again and please continue to show your support. Will do the best I can.
[Prize badge placed in the Showcase]

“The truth takes its own sweet time to reveal itself... blogging makes that faster” – Mario D'Cunha
#Marioism… Coming soon… :-)

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My Experiences with Spamming

It has been a month and two weeks now since I started blogging regularly. I had recently posted my first month’s Roundup for August 2010 and things were going pretty good. As another opportunity, I came across IndiBlogger which is a home to many Indian and foreign bloggers as well and a great place to help you blog. IndiBlogger hosted the My Demand Contest which will be closing in a few days… and I found it a great chance to take part in.

The My Demand Contest expected us to write about one technology that was as crazy as possible and the top 2 posts with the most votes on IndiBlogger wins HP Laser Printers worth 15-20grand!. What better idea than the acclaimed Pee for Petrol! I gave my entry and in the first few days itself, the post was well appreciated and received many votes! But the votes weren’t enough for me to reach the top 2. I used all social media like Facebook, Twitter and my blog to promote my post and it did get promoted a lot!

But then, it still wasn’t enough! I was in the 4th or 5th position. I had to reach the top 2. That was when I received many messages from some bloggers asking me to vote for their posts. I thought to myself, if I can ask enough bloggers in the same way, I may get enough votes to win! So I scrapped my usual routine and took to SPAMMING! I sent messages with my vote link to as many IndiBloggers as possible on twitter, facebook and commented in their blogs and posts whether I knew them or not. I went to my competitors vote bank, saw who voted for them and tried to get them to vote for me too!

This was going out of control and bloggers all over were getting irritated. But guess what… I became third on the list. Now I just couldn’t stop. I had to win! I went on an even more crazy spam spree! Now many bloggers just lost it and began tagging me as spam! Some yelled back, some ignored and some reported! Finally I was getting frustrated! I couldn’t do anymore… I got irritated with this whole new habit and it wasn’t worth ruining my regular routine… plus, I was still on third place! That’s it… I gave up! Now why exactly did I take into spamming, what were the pros and cons?

Why did I go for Spamming?

• First of all, I thought that my post was THE best when compared to any of the other posts entered in the contest and therefore it had to win! I still think so. But this is subjective and you can judge for yourself.
• A 20 grand HP Laser Printer was at stake!
• Others sent me spam messages first! So why should I sit back and watch them steal votes, that too when my post is quite better than theirs? Even some “good” bloggers asked me to vote for them just because they voted for me. After that I started the same pattern on others as well!

What was the Negative side of it?

• I ruined my blogging ethics, ruined my usual healthy routine, wasted time on my computer!
• Irritated many bloggers and upset them. Their disgust may take time to cool off me…
• My post may have been the most deserving based on content, style etc… but then again, even good politicians have to fight the election and then only win rite?

What was the Positive side of it?

• I got so many views to my blog in no time! Got hundreds of views everyday! Any publicity is good publicity!
• Even when messaging many unknown bloggers, I found in them some cool people who have now become good friends with me on facebook and twitter. I thank them and I know they will be laughing at this post :p
• Got me many many votes to keep me in third place. The best part was that many people actually told me “I am not voting because you asked me to vote. I am voting because your post is damn good!” :-)

So why did I Stop Spamming?

• The contest is still in progress and if I had spammed for a few more days I probably would’ve won it! But I got tired… my whole day was being eaten up by running behind unknown people!
• Some people gave me lame excuses of not voting! Those excuses were so mind-numbingly discouraging! They could have either yelled at me, or just ignored!
• Whatever I did and how much ever I spammed, it did not allow me to elevate from third place. Whoever voted for me, voted for others too! So what’s the point!!!
• With suggestions and cautions from friends I suddenly realized that spamming was a terrible thing to do and there are far more important things in life at the moment than a 20k printer for which I may have to pay 30% gift tax!

So finally things are back on track now. I’ve stated my feelings on the IndiBlogger Forum (this link may be deleted)and have decided to blog fair and healthy always. Web reputation is prime and nothing else. Thanks to all those who honestly and genuinely liked my post and voted for it. Thanks to those who just simply voted for it. And a special thanks to those who corrected me on this bad habit, especially the seniors on IndiBlogger. Apologies to everyone!

This is the superhit post which started it all. You can still vote :-) and please vote if you like it and share it with others too :-)
Now this is not spam… why? coz I own this blog!!!

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Inspirers: Karthik Kastury

I wanted to write this post long back but I’m glad I kept this for the month-end closure posts. To start with, Karthik Kastury is the reason why I’m writing this post, why I’m blogging and most of all and why I have become such an Internet addict over the past three years! Without his influence, I think I would be an Internet-illiterate by hanging only to Facebook! He’s not only an inspiration when it comes to cyber technology, but also to life’s outlook as a whole.

I came to know Karthik in my first year of engineering but I came to know the Cyber-Crazy-Karthik only in the second year. He currently owns two smash blogs which have a name for themselves on the Internet: his tech blog, DailyApps and his personal blog Karthik.Kastury.in. Most of you bloggers might have already heard his name, but for those who haven’t here’s Karthik.

He began DailyApps on July 26th, 2007 and there was no stopping since. DailyApps silenced all his former critics and ‘dA’ went onto to establish Karthik’s stronghold in the Blogging community. DailyApps has managed to get the attention of leading blogs such as Technorati, Lifehacker, DownloadSquad, Problogger, LaughingSquid and many more. It’s one of the most read tech blogs in India, with over 2000 RSS Subscribers. DailyApps is a blog where posts are read half a million times a month at its peak! It’s a part of the India Technology Blogs Network. To know more on dA click here. Off late, he’s been silent on dA but only to get busy with other endeavours like his new personal blog Karthik.Kastury.in.

Karthik.Kastury.in is just about 45 days old now with 4000 visits so far. To date, it has got about 7000 page views and about 60 RSS subscribers, creating a buzz in the Blogging world. Some of his personal posts have run into debates and discussions, only reconfirming his influential presence on the net.

Karthik is a decade old on the Internet and his passion for technology pushes his boundaries further. For his final year project, along with his project team, Karthik created MobSpot. This is a location-aware social networking site, the technology that is now seen in Facebook Places. Unfortunately, he did not get much of a heads-up from his faculty that was needed. Still, MobSpot may be a ‘thing’ of the future.

His creations don’t stop there. For the PayPal Developer Challenge, Karthik is on his way to release the beta version of SocialPay tomorrow! Stay tuned for its release here! SocialPay is a service that let’s you send money to your friends with just a tweet or an update of your facebook status! Money is transferred from your PayPal account to your friends. Wow! Talk about speed and ease!

Karthik has not only been an influence to me, but also to many others in my college and around. In our college of NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, Karthik was the first person to lead the brigade to host inter-collegiate technical and cultural fests. Following his initiative, his branch, other branches and the college as a whole woke up to the new flavour infused in college life. Until then, I regret to admit that other than academics, there was hardly anything to immerse in our college. He hosted the first Dumb Charades competition in our college, the format of which became tremendously popular in the entire Mangalorean belt and was copied in other colleges as well.

As a noted batch-mate, Karthik had several other medals up his sleeve. He was the Vice President of our college’s Information Science Department, a key member of ‘Pride of NMAMIT’ and a renowned Microsoft Student Partner. Currently, he is employed by Tata Consultancy Services as a Software Engineer. For a 21 year old, Karthik is quite a person. You can find him on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter and Friendfeed.

”Inspiration is a strong force” – Mario D’Cunha :-) and Karthik occupies one very HEAVY place there... quite ironical to his weight! LOL.

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Hey Guys… I need your help…

 

Hi… as you might already know… I’m taking part in the My Demand Contest on IndiBlogger. I have got lovely reviews and awesome comments from all of you who have read my post Pee for Petrol and I thank all of you for the same.

The contest closes soon and I need more votes to win. From the post, you will see that a lot of hard work has been put into it. I request you to vote for me here if you like the post and please do share it with your friends. Pee for Petrol is a lovely read and I bet… you will love it!! Please do cast your vote. I will be very grateful. Thank You :-)

P.S.: That’s me in the photo when I was 2 years old :-)

Inspirers: Nelson Mandela - Invictus

It’s like an understatement to say that Nelson Mandela is an inspirer. Of course he is! And so are many others like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, etc. So why exactly am I writing this post then? I was born in the year 1988. I did not know how great Mandela was or of his contributions to history. Even when I studied history in school, I wasn’t that inspired by Mandela at all. But it is when I watched this film Invictus  I got to feel and experience this amazing, positive and humble creation called Nelson Mandela. Here’s the critique of this film that I had published on Absolutely Filmy.

Gist: Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Mandela with his humility, wisdom and forgiving nature turns South Africa into a land of love from a land of bitter racism!

Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, nominated for Best Actor in a Leading and Supporting Role respectively, is truly deserved! Check this out… Morgan Freeman nominated for a “Leading” Role… Yep! He played one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen… Nelson Mandela. This movie is all about how Mandela along with the Captain of the South African Rugby team François, shocked the world by winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup amidst Apartheid, hardships and other discrimination! South Africa was known now, finally for all the good reasons.

If you have been a Class Representative, School/College Leader, or any leader, or even if you haven’t and want to be a leader in the future, watching this movie is the first thing you MUST MUST do. I say, this movie MUST be shown to all leaders in the schools and colleges and even in the Parliament! I got goose-bumps more 6-7 times during the movie; this movie has got great moments, and a very realistic touch. Please watch it.

I give this movie 4^1/2 Stars

Here’s the poem which is the essence of the movie:

Invictus – by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

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Times Now: An Icon of Irresponsible Media!

You might have seen and heard newspapers and TV news channels reporting about corruption, hate, deceit, sting operations, “exposes”, etc. You know that anyone can make mistakes… however good one is, he has made a mistake somewhere or the other, whether he’s a doctor, lay person or even a priest. So that means mistakes are made through media channels too. Fine… no issues! Even if our “ministers” make a few mistakes, no issues.. c’mon their humans too! But the problem arises when they cross the line… too much!

Many of you will agree when I say that Hindi new channels in India cross the line all the time. They’re not even news channels, their entertainment channels! Keeping Karishma Kapoor’s alleged divorce as the main headline for a week… what do you classify that channel as!! Even Zoom won’t do such a thing! Star News, Aaj Tak  are just synonyms for BULLSHIT! Have you ever thought the same of the English news channels?

I just returned this evening after watching Peepli Live and for me, that movie was ALL about Irresponsible Media. This is not a small problem where we raise our eyebrows, tease the channels and go back to work! Media is our vision to see our country. If the police is corrupt, we have the Government. If the Government is corrupt we have the Judiciary. If the Judiciary is corrupt we have Media. And if the media is corrupt…???

I’m not making any bias to language or saying that news channels are completely corrupt. But they’re definitely irresponsible as far as channels like Times Now and Headlines Today are concerned. As a viewer and as an Indian citizen I respect NDTV 24x7. Dr. Prannoy Roy and Ms. Barkha Dutt are my favourite and I’m sure yours as well. NDTV hasn’t paid me to write this article and neither I have any personal grievances to anyone in Times Now. But I want to bring your attention to some stupid journalists who think that by shouting out loud, and debating like hooligans on live TV, great things are being done towards citizens!!

Arnab Goswami… the blabber mouth of India disgusts me to the core! If you don’t remember, he used to work for NDTV 24x7 earlier. Not sure whether he quit the sensible world or was thrown out! Dr. Rajdeep Sardesai from CNN IBN also worked for NDTV 24x7 before, but he is very respectable wherever her is now. I can go on about all the BULLSHIT Arnab spews out daily at 9pm on Times Now  but here are FEW examples:

• When Pramod Muthalik’s face was blackened, he was called live and was practically interrogated by Arnab! I hate Muthalik and all his chamchaas, but still that’s not the way responsible media behaves. You can’t just call him on TV and say “How do you feel when someone has blackened your face? You are getting what you deserve!” Why do you think Dr. Prannoy Roy doesn’t say that!!!
• Do you remember the fiasco during Sania  Mirza’s and Shoaib Malik’s wedding time? There was a girl who claimed that she is already married to Shoaib. As far as I remember there was only one report on NDTV 24x7 about this case, whereas Shoaib’s uncle was called on live, and again was questioned as if it was clear that he was guilty… all week long! What happened to that girl now? Aren’t Sania and Shoaib happily married? Don’t you think the girl and her family were playing this…? And unfortunately they had the support of a stupid channel like Times Now.
• How can we forget the Mumbai Terror attacks on 26/11? The Army had issued a notice to all media channels NOT to report live since the terrorists may watch the news and know the army’s next move. All channels gave a 20 min delay to the telecast… except Times Now. I’m sot sure whether they were sued by the Government. They should have been!
• Recently, the Suresh Kalmadi Expose on the corruption in Commonwealth Games came into light because of Times Now. I will give them the credit for that. But, the female reporter (don’t get her name) was asking so many questions to one of the officials from the organizing committee, that forced him to say “Ma’am... please don’t raise your voice. I’m not talking like you. Let’s talk properly” LOL.

Showing people what they SHOULD see is Responsible Media like NDTV 24x7, a campaign to go green, save tigers, documentaries which expose harsh realities in the deep villages of India, etc. Showing people ONLY what they WOULD WANT TO see is Irresponsible Media, like Times Now. The TRPs for Times Now ‘may be’ higher, but that doesn’t mean they’re a good news channel.

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Inspirers: Ashank Alva & Rushil Shah

Art is one thing that I can’t stay away from. Whether its playing the piano, singing or dance. I also draw whenever I get the time for it… especially animated and 2D imagery. I love animation too… again only in 2D. I find 3D too complicated and not necessary when so many classics have been made only in 2D. I don’t draw, animate or do photography a lot… but if I am doing any of it right now, its only because of Ashank Alva and Rushil Shah… fortunately they’re my good friends too!

Most of us have our own interests… in photography, move making, image editing, etc. But there are some who crib about things and give silly excuses saying “I don’t have a camera, I don’t a have a laptop… else I’d become a superb designer!” That’s so stupid and lazy! If you really love it, you’ll do it anyhow. Ashank and Rushil prove just that! Ashank did not have a laptop until just a few months back. Yet, he has drawn by hand some brilliant designs and abstract images which have gone onto room walls, t-shirts, logos and other surfaces… unedited! Draw, Scan and its up for display! He’s yet to organize his entire collection, which may be put up on Facebook soon. Rushil has taken dozens of marvellous pictures, i.e. his ‘Works’… throughout his college days only by borrowing camera’s or by using the one on his cell phone! He has also directed and edited to mini-films with Rochershake Productions... again without any added professional training or supervision! Click to find out more about these movies: The Law and Citius, Fortius and Chronos.

During my four years of college, Ashank and Rushil have designed practically every brochure, every poster and every t-shirt which was required for the college fest merchandise etc. I wonder what would our college have seen if it weren’t for these two! Like me, Ashank and Rushil are engineers in Computer Science; Rushil is planning for higher studies or taking his art to a professional level while Ashank will be joining Accenture soon.

It’s amazing how “common” people inspire you as they go on to become “uncommon” people. I’m sure you can find in your friends circle too, some of those gems who intentionally or unintentionally force your eyes wide open. These are two guys, two friends… good in art, damn good in heart! You can find Ashank and Rushil on Facebook.

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Favourite Screen Icons: Sue Sylvester

She is the new villain in town and also the latest entry to my Top 25 All-Time Favourite Screen Characters! Sue Sylvester is the big b*$&ch in the latest popular multiple Emmy nominated musical series… Glee. It’s will be a total insult to Sue if I compare her with the Indian “vamps” in our daily soaps… she’s clearly the boss of ‘em all!

Glee has become into a hit series and will soon step into its second season in September 2010. Sue has been trying all along to shut down the Glee Club and has got very dirty and filthy with it, all along… and I like that!!! Sue’s got so many striking qualities to her well crafted character. Her slow and silent taunts into the ear… flicking people while she walks down the hall way, slap-on-the-face-insults and above all… her dirty mind! Not to forget… the half grin! :-;

Glee has become successful not only because of the twisting story, amazing music and actors but also for its individual characters…. whether its Mr. Shue, Rachel, Finn… or my favourite… Ms. Sue!  In my Top 25 Screen Characters, she is the latest entry so far replacing Karan Shergill, played by Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya. And I guess it will take a well refined and fabulous character to replace Sue. Can’t wait to see how she rips Mr. Shue and Glee Club apart in Season 2. Go Sue!

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Say ‘NO’ to Autos & Taxis on August 12th!

When you were in a hurry to go somewhere, you stop an auto and tell him the place… and without looking at you, the driver gives a “Nahin”, “Illa” or a “No” and just drives off!!! Did the same occur with a taxi??!
Just yesterday, I had stopped a rickshaw to drop me to my arts institute where I go every week. He told me that I have to pay 5 extra! I asked him what for. He didn’t give me a proper answer and told me that he won’t drop me exactly to the institute but about half a Km away. I said ok. When we reached there, I asked him again to drop me to the institute itself… he told me that the road isn’t proper. If you ask me, that road is perfectly alright and I always travel there every week!
But then the actual reason why he didn’t drop me there was that if he did, then there aren’t many people around that area who would hire the rick from there back! So he has to travel about half a Km without a passenger! Gawd!!!

August 12th has been decided as the day where we will show the finger to these worthless public servants. Corruption is everywhere, but it takes it roots from things like this! I know many may say that there are the good ones as well… but hey… when they call strikes… they mean it! The ‘good’ ones have no option during their strike and they follow it too. Even so here, we gotta say no to the ‘good’ ones too!! These are four good things which will come off this strike on August 12th:

1. The stingy and cunning drivers will be taught a lesson and they’ll learn that we can say NO to them too!
2. We will use buses and trains more which are cheaper and better.
3. Finding these darn auto and taxi drivers stagnant at their vehicles will reduce pollution too!
4. We will learn a good lesson for ourselves to fight corruption and taking some pain on our side if we want to make India better!

This is just one step to make a mark! More of these may be needed in future, in traffic, society and many other places. We must not hesitate to go forward with these measures, and not hesitate to support those who take the initiative! Remember, when they go for a strike, THAT is illegal. When we say NO to them, it is just our choice and its completely legal because it is we who run the city and the nation… not the auto-drivers or taxi-walas!!! Its our choice to say NO… and let’s keep it at “NO” on August 12th at least. I’m taking the bus this week… what bout you? 

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10 Firefox addons you must have

Many of you might be using Mozilla Firefox as your web browser. I know Chrome is faster with a more neat interface then Firefox, but I still prefer Firefox because it offers addons for almost all my activities on the net, that it automates so much! Here are the 10 addons without which I cannot use the net peacefully… and I think you should try them too (if you haven’t already!).

1. Greasemonkey: This allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript. Hundreds of scripts, for a wide variety of popular sites, are already available at http://userscripts.org. You can write your own scripts, too. Check out http://wiki.greasespot.net/ to get started. I have installed FFixer – with this, I can see the entire image when I just hover over any thumbnail or display pic in Facebook. It’s got much more functionalities too!
You have no idea how useful this addon can be if you install the scripts befitting your use!

2. Video DownloadHelper: This works like magic. Whether you watching a YouTube Video, a song playing, movie trailers or anything, this addon’s button glows (or animates) and with just a click on it… you download the video!! Yep! Whatever media is playing on your web page can be downloaded with just a click… even those which you aren’t supposed to be visiting :P

3. AutoPager Lite: With this addon, you will never have to click the ‘Next’ button, in you Google Search, Facebook Photo Albums or anything else with many pages. As you reach the end of your screen, the new page loads! :D

4. Delicious Bookmarks: If you use Delicious for bookmarking your web sites then this addon is a must! If you don’t use Delicious, then start using it… and then use this addon too! You can of course customize your Firefox toolbar and keep only those buttons that you need, however, again, with just one click you can bookmark you favourite sites and tag them too!

5. Download Status bar: Don’t like the ‘Downloads’ window of Firefox popping up every time you download something??!! Well then use this addon! This will show up as a bar at the bottom of your screen with all your recent downloads neatly lined up horizontally. Hassle free and it also shows you the download progress! It helps me a lot when I download torrent files.

6. FlashGot: Download all the links, movies and audio clips of a page at the maximum speed with a single click, using the most popular, lightweight and reliable external download managers. Don’t think this addon is made only for the “FlashGet” Download manager… its not. It works well with IDM, or any other manager for that matter. You can automatically download a single link, group of links, all the links in that entire page or whatever!
I use this when I download all the songs of a particular music album. I just highlight the songs (titles) that I need and click the addon! Tadaaa!
IDM (Internet Download Manager – the best one) installs its own addons to Firefox. That’s pretty good too!

7. FoxTab: When your surfing the net, you suddenly remember that you need to open the tab that you recently closed… or the one you closed quite sometime back. Now, going back to history and then retrieving it is so boring! With this addon installed, just click both button of your mouse! And there you have it! All your tabs neatly arranged. Now you just click on the one you want! Quick as a Fox!

8. Power Twitter: If you use Twitter on the site itself, then this will make your twitter experience SO much better! It auto loads pictures on your twitter timeline, it converts the shortened URLs to the actual link with a small image too… it shows thumbnails… and so on. Basically, your Twitter experience is more powerful and faster!

9. SmoothWheel: Don’t like the jerky scroll down a page? Then SmoothWheel is here to give that comfortable feel to your surfing experience. It makes your browsing experience very Mac-ish so to say ;-) I have set my scroll setting to 1/5th of a page in ‘Relax’ mode. Now my pages scroll as smooth as butter on a hot frying pan!

10. WiseStamp: And finally WiseStamp. You might be  having multiple account for Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, Facebook etc and you might have to attach your e-signatures to so many of these account. Well… just get a WiseStamp done! You can have the same signature in all your accounts, or different ones for separate accounts. When you need to change your signature, you only have to change it here… and not in each and every account!

I hope these addons are useful to you as they are to me. I use them like bread and butter while I surf the net! If you know better addons and different ones that make your life easier please let me know.

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Cancer: The Growing Threat…

This post is extracted from dancetrance, my exclusive dance blog. This post isn’t exactly about dance, but the emotion that the following dance piece had inflicted on all of us is unforgettable. I was not only impressed by the art and skill with which Tyce Diorio had choreographed that amazing and sacred “Breast Cancer routine”, but also the overflowing emotion that the piece spewed out. Melissa and Ade danced to this beautiful piece in So You Think You Can Dance, Season 5. I know this routine is a year old now, but since I had just started my dance blog less than a month ago, I had to make a mention of this.

I have added this video in our YouTube Channel’s Special Playlist and you can view it by clicking the image above. The other reason that I wrote this post is simply to show more awareness towards this growing threat of cancer. I lost my uncle and my grandfather to lung cancer. My grandmother, my aunt, two of my friend’s relatives are suffering from cancer of one or the other type. I cannot understand what precautions do we need to take. Well, the obvious may be to stop excessive smoking, etc. But what else can we do to prevent cancer other than lung cancer? What did they have to do to avoid it? we just can’t figure it out! All I can say is we must keep up hope and keep praying. Whenever we find someone in cancer we must be strong and share our strength with them.

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Inspirers: Sahal Kaushik

This is my second post on this series and even I got to boy this boy genuis through the papers. Sahal Kaushik is a 14 year old boy who is the toper of Delhi region IIT JEE examination and holds an all India rank of 33-the youngest ever toper in IIT JEE examination . This is not a big thing for Sahal. He was in the frontlines years back also. In 2006-07 Sahal Kaushik  was named Young Astronomer by the Nehru Planetarium, Delhi.  Last year he won Silver medal in the Tenth Asian Physics Olympiad and only  step away to represent India in International Physics Olympiad- Mexico.

In the press meeting Ms Ruchi  Kaushik said “ At three, he could recite multiplication tables of up to 100. I just knew he would not fit in the formal system of education.” Sahal was registered for Class IX at Vandana International School in Dwarka when he was 10. Physics teacher from his coaching Narayna Academy says “He cracks mathematical problems mentally. That’s what he did in the JEE”. Now call this hard work? or a special marvel of God’s engineering skills?

Sahal also breaks the myth of toppers scoring 90 plus in board exams. This topper scored a modest 76 percent in Class 10 and 73 percent in Class 12 board exams. 'He has a sharp brain, does calculations very fast, but fails to express very well on paper. Perhaps that is why he scored less in CBSE exams,' Ruchi said. Now there’s the inspiration for me… It just goes to prove again how pathetic the Indian Educational System is!!! I hope this article and gems like Sahal, show Indian children that they don’t have to trust the “system” so much. Its just a “system” and we’re far beyond it…

Courtesy: Sify and TechlineInfo

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