~ Birds of paradise ~

The birds below are surreal & look like some painting. Yes, indeed they are natures' creation. They are for real. Thanks to Tim Laman who has spent enormous time & perseverance for documenting these beauties from ARU ISLANDS, MALUKA, INDONESIA. 

Mr Laman, did 18 expeditions over 8 year period & 39,000 photographs to document them. I bow to him for his passion to explore & share with the lesser mortals. With this, I feel there are still some parts of the world which is still unaffected from mankind's madness.

Note: All the images are photographed by Tim Laman. Am in no way selling them or distributing them.

Via: NGC | Bird of Paradise Gallery  

~ Socially Me ~

The life of an technophile living anywhere today, is expressing those moments of emotion as a constant stream of data to various Social Networks - FB, Twitter, Instagram, Path, G+. The power of smartphones & data connectivity has exploded into data bomb. Will not be surprised, if the Governments tomorrow are not elected by tweets :) 

I personally use all of those networks for various means:

1. Instagram: For clicking moments when am travelling & without my DSLR around. 
2. Path: For places  - restaurants, movies, leisure - all for audit trail purpose. 
3. G+: For sharing information w/ co-workers on various news items - tech, political, football.
4. G+Messenger: For 3 months, have been using it mostly to connect with Gooners who are spread across the globe. We share the latest updates, rants, news or anything to do with ArsenalFC. Happened to meet few of them in Bangalore & watched the Arsenal vs Manchester United game with Bangalore Gunners. This week we were amongst the first to have Arsenal FC Fans G+ Community.
5. Twitter: Consuming or sharing instant updates about anything under the sun which I like.
6. FB:  Updates from college friends, (ex)colleagues, travel, interests, etc.
7. Last.fm: For scrobbling songs.
8. Also there are numerous tech blogs which I follow on a daily basis.
9. Using LinkedIn more often over the last 2 weeks. Most of you who are connected would have noticed the activity :P
10. Youtube subscriptions are active, but not regular.

By now you have figured out how much of information over-load I go through in a day from various apps at various point of time. This definitely isn't good when you are working or otherwise. Your attention span takes a BIG hit & distracts from your task. Off-late {for the past 2 months} have made  conscious effort about how & when I use - Twitter & FB. I check them during lunch / tea breaks & post dinner, during weekdays. On weekends, my usage of Twitter & FB is high; considering football games.

The trigger for the post was this article by Roger Cohen - Thanks for not sharing, on NYT. 

Like everything else in life, when it comes to usage, technology too has its share of pros & cons. Instead of blaming - technology, smartphone, social networks, information overload - for not having enough time for loved ones or pursuing your hobby or reading a book or going for walk or run or meeting friends, etc. It boils down to the individuals' approach on maintaing the balance in the eco-system of life. Be it virtual or real, we still have control over ourselves. The day hasn't arrived yet, where machines have taken over & we have limited options. It isn't far, surely gonna happen. But till then, we are the masters of our own lives & we can maintain a healthy balance. Be the judge the next time when you are about to share or like something w/ the rest of the world :)

Take a look at the Socially Awkward Infographic. 

Image source: DigitalQuarters

Update: 26 Jan 13

If you are a developer, then I recommend you read Christian Grobmeier post 'The 10 rules of Zen programming' This should definitely help one focus & achieve more in the age of social distraction {Twitter, FB, Whatsapp, Emails, SMS, et al}

~ Kobe vs Messi: Legends on board ~

A lovely advt to showcase the services of an airline. Not sure how good the service is, but Turkish Airlines has definitely got the right Ad agency to get them popular in the world of Football & Basketball.

~ Axl N Roses ~

You read it right, Axl N Roses (A'N'R) formerly called Guns N Roses (G'N'R). One of the iconic band which I grew up listening to in the 90s. On 7th Dec 2012 got to witness the performance of Axl Rose & his band pay tribute to G'N'R.

After a long harrowing journey to Bharatiya City of 45 mins from Nagwara Junction we managed to get past the gates @ 19:30. By then the band had already taken the stage & had probably performed one / two songs. It was bit strange, as most of the headlining acts in Bangalore happen only post 20:45. Looks like the organisers Mooz forgot to get supporting acts for A'N'R.

The first song which I gotta listen after clearing the security was 'It's so easy', followed by 'Mr Brownstone' & then followed some cover songs in between.

Was getting bored & bugged by the sad show of the band, so far. {SideNote for Mooz: The sound setup was pathetic. Hope you guys get your act right next time}  The tempo picked up after this song 'You could be mine'. I did message Navneet to check what he had to say about the show so fat; only to know that he was still stuck in traffic. It was already 21:00 hrs when they played the classic 'Sweet Child O' Mine', followed by another cover - Another Brick in the Wall (Pink Flyod).

THE song, November Rain, which we - me & Malhar - had been waiting for nearly hour and half. Sure the song wouldn't measure the performance from the original band members, especially that of Slash. Still, this was one of the songs which I wanted to listen to from A'N'R show & we got the moneys' worth.

Finally when they closed the show by performing another popular number - 'Paradise City'. When glanced at the clock, realised that this was the longest Rock act in Bangalore by an International Artist - 3+ hours. The duration of the concert definitely doesn't mean Axl N his Roses performed well. The spirit of  G'N'R will never return to A'N'R. Always sad to see a music band breakup.

Found the setlist for today's show -

1. Chinese Democracy 
2. Welcome to the Jungle 
3. It's So Easy 
4. Mr. Brownstone 
5. Estranged 
6. Rocket Queen 
7. Richard Fortus Guitar Solo 
   (Blacklight Jesus of Transylvania)
8. Live and Let Die 
   (Wings cover)
9. This I Love 
10. Better 
11. Motivation 
    (Tommy Stinson song) (Tommy Stinson on lead vocals, with band introductions)
12. Dizzy Reed Piano Solo 
    (No Quarter by Led Zeppelin)
13. Catcher in the Rye 
14. Street of Dreams 
15. There Was a Time 
16. You Could Be Mine 
17. DJ Ashba Guitar Solo 
    (Ballad of Death)
18. Sweet Child O' Mine 
19. Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 
    (Pink Floyd cover) (with Axl on piano)
20. November Rain 
21. Objectify 
    (Bumblefoot cover) (Bumblefoot on lead vocals)
22. Don't Cry 
23. The Seeker 
    (The Who cover)
24. Civil War 
25. Knockin' on Heaven's Door 
    (Bob Dylan cover)
26. Jam 
27. Nightrain 
28. Encore:
28. Don't Let It Bring You Down 
    (Neil Young cover)
29. Jam 
30. Patience 
31. Jam 
32. Paradise City 

~ Facebook governance vote ~

Facebook today evening sent an email on their Global Site Governance Vote. Anyone who read and understood - Feedback,  Proposed policies - please explain in simple words what they mean?


Explanation of Changes

Proposed Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

Proposed SRR Redline

Proposed Data Use Policy

Proposed Data Use Policy Redline

Here is a snippet from The Registration & Account security section

Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here 

are some commitments you make to us relating to registering and maintaining the security of your account: 

1. You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone 

other than yourself without permission.

2. You will not create more than one personal account.

3. If we disable your account, you will not create another one without our permission.

4. You will not use your personal timeline primarily for your own commercial gain (, and will use a 

Facebook Page for such as selling your status update to an advertiser).purposes.

5. You will not use Facebook if you are under 13.

6. You will not use Facebook if you are a convicted sex offender.

7. You will keep your contact information accurate and up-to-date.

8. You will not share your password (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else 

access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account.

9. You will not transfer your account (including any Page or application you administer) to anyone 

without first getting our written permission.

10. If you select a username or similar identifier for your account or Page, we reserve the right to 

remove or reclaim it if we believe it is appropriate (such as when a trademark owner complains 

about a username that does not closely relate to a user's actual name).

Guess most developers violate #2, #7, #8,  #9. Related to #4, why can't one use their personal timeline for marketing their own commercial gain?

Thinking of  minimizing my footprint on the Social Network with so much of Rule changes.

Links: Feedback | Governance Vote Email

~ Ideation ~

A very interesting animation from Steven Johnson on "Where good ideas come from". Most of what he articulates are 100% true. Do watch it.

The BIG idea comes from the collision of smaller hunches. Bingo!  Don't have to hide you ideas in a closet so that no one steals it. You gotta talk & share them, before they become a breakthrough.

Ideas need to be swapped & borrowed to bring something new i.e. REMIX. If you still haven't watched the amazing documentary - Everything is a REMIX then do.

Chance favours the connected mind.

Images: Christophniemann | Austin Kleon

Updates: 

5 Dec 2012 :

1. Paul Graham has a brilliant piece of Startup Ideas - How to get startup ideas 
2. Rosabeth Kanter: "Instead of spending all your time w/ elites, connect w/ the streets"

~ David Headley: Terror Architect ~

The documentary on David Headley - the American mastermind behind the 2008 - 'A perfect terrorist' provides an insight into how a drug peddler turned DEA informant to an Triple Agent (FBI, Lashkar, ISI) carried out a perfect strategy to plot the Mumbai terror attack. 

I feel Kasab's death doesn't do justice to the Mumbai terror attack. As PBS correspondent Sebastian Rotella puts it "What Osama Bin Laden was to 9/11, David Headley is to 26/11". I wish Indian Government pursue Headley's extradition to India & try him here. Headley turned his childhood friend Rana to the FBI and entered a plea bargain to escape death penalty. 

A man who architected the Mumabi terror attack with Laskhar-e-Taiba and Pakistan's ISI should definitely be tried & punished in India. In the evening, got to know that we are playing Pakistan cricket team in India. Wish Indian Govt put more effort to pressurise Pakistan Govt to punish those who are responsible for the attack & harbouring rouge elements, instead of cricket diplomacy.