The power of positive thinking!

a long and standing mantra that most people believe in is the power of positive thinking- which according to google throws out about 7,650,000 pages of information. Now how does one not ignore this?

I did not think too much of it till recently. Going through a rather tough patch myself at work, i decided to think positive with the focus on whats happening rather than whats not.

Personally, i think it has made a huge difference. I feel happier, feel less stressed, and most importantly, am enjoying my work a lot more than i could have imagined that i could. I am really beginning to fathom this concept, and guess at a stage where i might embrace it simply for its sheer power and size.

i love camera phones - my picture of the day

was driving home last evening, and the skies did a little dance. i was at the right place at the right time- i captured this dance.

Its now the turn of Twitter!

A new spammed malware attack is impersonating messages from micro-blogging site Twitter.

Researchers at Symantec said that the attack poses as an invitation to join Twitter with the message: 'Your friend has invited you to Twitter.' The message also contains images of the Twitter logo and front pages.

Rather than send the user to Twitter by way of a URL, however, the message asks the user to open an attachment under the name 'InvitationCard.zip'. On launching the attached file, the user is infected with a malicious worm that attempts to send out mass email messages.

Users are advised not to open the invitation attachments or any other unsolicited or suspicious email attachments.

"As Twitter continues to gain popularity among social networking users, people are regularly receiving invitations and email updates from fellow users, " wrote Symantec researcher Sammy Chu in a blog post.

"We expect that spammers will continue to use Twitter and other popular social networks as bait in their attacks."

The practice of disguising malware as email attachments and greeting cards is not new. Attacks such as the infamous Storm worm were routinely spread under the guise of greeting card attachments.

Attacks targeting Twitter have also become more common in recent months as the site has seen its popularity soar. Attacks have ranged from account-stealing hacking attempts to cross-site scripting attacks and malware distribution attacks.

source: http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2244458/malware-threat-targets-twitter

Facebook Worm!

A general word of caution to all facebook users- considering its one of the most popular social networking sites, i guess is a general caution to all.

There are several worms doing the rounds on facebook - the most recent of them being the koobface.
the modus operandi is the same- send a link through a message, considering its coming from a friend, you tend to visit it, after that it downloads a trojan onto the system. Now the scary part is that its using the macromedia / activex route to run this exploit.
its asking for the update, its downloading a worm onto the system, and then when you visit facebook the next time, it gets your username / password and replicates itself. from the facebook account. It has appeared to have been more complext through a greater level of automation than before. So next time a message comes from a friend, please check the message before visitng the site.

More :
http://news.cnet.com/facebook-fights-new-koobface-worm-another-rogue-app/
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/07/elaborate-facebook-worm-virus-spreading/

The game that is Gravity

http://www.media.perthnow.com.au/multimedia/2008/12/html/gravity.html

i came across this game on the internet- flash based, however, terribly addictive. I am not trying to score top points, but jus trying to complete each level.

you have to move the ball to pick up all the magic balls on the way. you need to draw shapes with the mouse to move the ball- all using the laws of physics. So, use levers, weights, inclines etc and move it...
try it- its addictive!

Apple site hacked!!!

pretty excited with my finding - the apple site http://www.apple.com/asia/buy/locator/svcindex.html if you select a country and then click serach - it takes you to

http://foo.example.com/cgi-bin/tester

thats a comprimize or a REALLY bad upgrade job- like forgetting to remove the gauze from a patient during an operation.

Love affairs with Horns!

Something must really be done to those jokers who cheating on their wives, girlfriends and boyfriends with the horn. Its so weird, and i dont think i will ever get the reason people are so anxious to blo0w the horn. there will be nothing in front of them, yet blow the horn.

thats why i believe we need to start a de-addiction center to help those who have the following:
1. fetish for blowing horns on empty roads
2. hornblowingholic
3. someone who is cheating on their partnr - with the horn - using every opportunity to touch, feel, caress and press the damn horn!

there should be something which makes people reaslise that blowing the horn will not get it done faster, but just make you more irratated. I think the order of the day is to install horns INSIDE cars. so if someone uses it in excess, they cut down automatically, since the noise is now inside as well! :)

Legend that is Yuyutsu

A friend of mine and his wife are expecting their first child, when asked what is the name on his mind - the name Yuyutsu came up. At first - I thought it was an african name, with the Us and Ys... but then on further research, I was uniquely surprised that its an Indian name and more importantly from the Mahabharatha.

I read the great indian epic a few months ago and, to say the least, have been quite inspired by it. Indraprashtra - the home for the gods was also the kingdom of the Pandavas after they lost everything- a symbol of what can be built even with nothing - now thats inspiration. It towered over the landscapes and contained all the comforts that adorned a king, however, the land was barren before the pandavas were given the place.

coming to Yuyutsu - i starting doing some research and found him to be quite a character. He was the 101st kaurava but was born to Dhritrashtra by a Maid servant who was waiting on him. He was one of the 11 athirathi or one who is capable of killing 10,000 warriors at a time.

He was righteous to the point he stood up against Dhuryodhana's actions - against dhraupadi and the pandavas and was thus the last and only survivor of the Kurkshetra war simply because he joined the side of the Pandavas.

when the pandavas finally passed over - Yudhishthir handed over Indraprashtra to Yuyutsu.

What a story!

sourced from all over the internet.

Techie Awards

Well,
one must realise with evolving times, the awards and prizes must also evolve. So when you have a bunch of nerds, you obviously want to give them something they like- for instance a limited edition Star Wars Lightsaver! :) (this is inspiration from Big Bang Theory)

I recently came across a rather interesting set of prizes.

The Prizes
The prizes are sponsored by Microsoft India. The winner gets to choose any one prize from the following:

2 Year Flickr Pro Account
(or)
50 WordPress.com Premium Credits
(or)
2 Premium Wordpress Themes
(or)
1 .com domain of your choice, valid for 5 years
(or)
1 .in domain of your choice, valid for 3 years
(or)
1 Premium RapidShare account, valid for 6 month

How Cool is that! Now I'm inspired to compete!

Breaking traffic rules

Its frustrating when you see drivers blatantly breaking all the road rules, just to make their life easier. This morning, I noticed a large innova with the number TN 04 P 9995 - yes, i am publishing the number here, with the sincere hope that someone reads this and tells the owner- coming out and turning onto the wrong side of the road, and driving a good 100 mts. What more annoying is that this guy does it EVERY day, and sometimes much longer distances.

I know the apartment, but i dont know if i should stop him and tell him to go the other way. :( I just had to get it out of my system... so here is the post.

remember the number is TN 09 P 9995- If you see it - tell the driver to respect road rules and drive properly!

cycling coverage in India

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epaperpdf/19042009/18sunday-pg15-0.pdf

Twitter

Have started moving more towards Twitter. Going to try and blog more often.
you can follow me http://twitter.com/madan/

fundraising and VCs

Venture Capital Crash Course with Jason Mendelson from Andrew on Vimeo.

Uphill ride

Did my first uphill ride today. It was hard, and time consuming but the low gear ratios on the trek 4300D really helped a lot. the first leg of the journey was a 15 km ride to the base of the hill. from there it was about a 2 km ride UP... now that was killing. However, i told myself that i will not walk- that meant that i had to ride up. I stopped 3 times, but that was worth it. Managing to cycle up.. got me highly kicked. Even though i was the last one up (considering i was the last to start) cycling up was totally worth it! :)

safari 4 Beta

Really impressive feature

roadside blogging

one of the biggest disadvantages of having a really fast car is the urge and tendency of pushing the car, now throw in a set of race specificaiton tyres and an empty road well... Damn!!!

So i decided to "see what MY CAR can do" and pushed it. It was an exhilaraing experience, loved every minute of it... But sadly, all good things ,must end and so did my joyride. All things were going jus great when i suddlenly see the temp needle hitting the roof. I stop & check & realise albiet Naturally- that ive blown the cooling system. Bummer.

So i stop, make a few calls and ask for the mech to come by, waiting out here on the side of the road, i decided to blog. Very bizzare but never in my life did i imagine this would happen. Technology would reach such a stage taht i can actually do this.

But the nicest thing to ever happen- a youg lad stops by and says - ive noticed that youve brpken down for more than half hour, would you like some help!!! God bless him. I was speechless. Thank you- for stopping and for being concerned!

Still here, been almost 2 hours, guess ill be out of here in a bit.




Damn i love this country!!!

Delhi 6

my wife and i finally went for a move after a very long time. we got tickets for delhi 6 - a  new realease by the same director who made Rang De Basanti - Rakyesh Omprakash - it was a TRAGIC disappointment. One would assume that with a cast of rishi kapoor, om puri and wahida rahaman, the film will be as gripping as ever, the only gripping that was happening was me clawing into my seat out of sheer desperation. 

the film has a very relevant theme- of communal hatred being stirred by people with ulterior motives, caste and arranged marriages. the same thing that all people think of when they come to india. 

but thats it, it stops there,. there was a story that was smaller than a grain of rice, and the acting by certain characters was non existent. The most amount of dialogue came from the "news reporters" in the movie than from the lead characters. 

how did this get funding? :( 

apologies?

i was thinking and penning down something similar  - but this blogger took the words right out! :)

http://imdur1980.blogspot.com

to think about it, there are a few people that i would like to rewind the clock and not say what i had said, and apologize to them, but i don't see that happening. :(

Slum Dog Millionaire - a repeat?

i know this might seem a little excessive, but what if? I equate this to the East India Company again. they came, they saw, they liked, they used, they got glory and now claim to be theirs.
Danny boyle (As much as I appreciate the other flicks sir!) has said it himself - "In Reality - IT is a british film".
Though the cast, crew, music, script and original story are indian - he is claiming it to be brit! damn!

Source: Times of India: http://is.gd/kCWE

Danny Boyle, 52, was born into a middle-class Irish family. He grew up in Northern England, and perhaps it is because he contemplated priesthood as a vocation in his youth that he now has this inexorably calm demeanour that refuses to be ruffled by accusations of poverty porn. Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan has even called him a saint. The self-deprecatory Brit in Boyle laughs off the praise. “My mother would have loved it if I had been a saint, but I’m far from it. I’m a very real guy,’’ he says.

A very real guy who has made a very real film, the brightest feather in a cap which boasts other acclaimed productions such as 28 Days Later and Trainspotting. “We worked with a budget of 13 million dollars. That is the amount I could raise without having a major Hollywood star in it, but we made it look like a hundred million dollars because we spent all of it on screen.’’

Talking to Times of India from Los Angeles an hour after he picked up his Oscar, a slightly out of breath, Boyle said, “I’m truly happy that every Indian I meet is beaming, and it is the ultimate compliment for me that people in India see Slumdog Millionaire as an Indian film. However, in reality it is a British film. It is a very gritty in the beginning and very realistic because our film culture is based on that kind of realism which in Hollywood and Bollywood isn’t quite there.’’

How soon does Boyle intend to return to Mumbai? “As I have said earlier, I intend to do a thriller in Mumbai. We are talking to a couple of people. It will be a while before the script is ready. I would be very privileged to work in India.’’

Although Boyle’s exposure to Bollywood is admittedly limited, he has seen some of its cinema. “Honestly I hadn’t seen too much of it before I came to Mumbai to shoot Slumdog,’’ he says. “I’ve seen films by Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair and Anurag Kashyap and Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya and Company. I liked what I saw because they are very much like my taste. These were different films, but I love the regular Bollywood stuff as well.

Finally, who is the real Danny Boyle? Sinner or saint? “I am not a saint, sadly,’’ he says. “I just give my job and the people I work with a lot of respect. And I’m always willing to learn. As a film-maker it is not about having a reputation and just going and doing it. With each film, you have got to learn. I like learning. I like starting from scratch. You learn that from your actors and from people who help you like Loveleen Tandan, Raj Acharya, Resul Pookutty and, of course, the charismatic Rahman.’’

lovely charts!

finally! i found a site where i can make my process flows et al, without having to lug two laptops (one mac and one pc) just to do my process flows.
and its pretty powerful as well.

check out ...
www.lovelycharts.com