Ubiquitense

Green, blue and grey - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:18:26 +0000

Parambikulam is a scenic place situated in between the majestic Anamalai Ranges of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliyampathy Ranges of Kerala. The moment I..

Twilight lighting - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:34:16 +0000

Not a single soul to be seen around (but for the car!) when I was taking this picture. Looks like an architect's representation of a new building about to be built..

The Rocky road ahead - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:46:43 +0000

I just couldn't stand those insanely freezing temperatures with the gloves off my hands (at times, I felt like I was being sprayed with liquid Nitrogen!!), as I had to grip my camera from..

How to mobilize your blog in less than 10 minutes

Ubiquit — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 10:12:38 +0000

If there is one technology that has been disruptive and pervasive, it is the mobile phone technology. I'm amazed by the fact that a little over 50% of the world's population (3.3 billion, by November 2007) are mobile subscribers. The technology has improved to a great extent and we are already in the verge of adopting the fourth generation (also known as 4G or beyond 3G) mobile services. The latest models of mobile phones flaunt wide-screens and powerful browsers backed by high-speed data connectivity. People have started using their mobile phones to get news updates, cricket scores, live weather, and also for services like blogs, Gmail and Twitter! So, most bloggers and website owners now want to reach out to those audiences who access the internet via their mobile phones. If I consider 40% (conservative figure) of the mobile subscribers accessing the internet via their phones, I may reach out to quite a few of the whopping 1.3 billion people on the move!! So, how do I make my blog mobile-friendly? If you've a Wordpress blog, you just got lucky..

Horsetooth Reservoir - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:50:41 +0000

Though I spent just about a week in Fort Collins, Colorado, the place has never failed to amaze me. Just a few kilometers west of Fort Collins lies the..

How to get maximum mileage out of your car in tropical conditions

Ubiquit — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 10:47:20 +0000

There are thousands of articles on the world wide web talking about getting maximum mileage out of your car. Just like the millions of car owners that wanted to get the most mileage out of their cars, I was reading through dozens of 'how to' articles on 'hypermiling'. Hypermiling is a term coined by Wayne Gerdes, and hypermilers are those drivers striving to exceed the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) fuel economy rating of their vehicles. I'm not going to talk about the cars and their mileage efficiencies in the US and Europe, but in a country like India where one cannot exceed 35-60 kmph inside congested city roads. Also, enormous traffic jams that happen due to the callous..

Church of Our Lady Before Tyn - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:17:55 +0000

Prague (Praha) never fails to fascinate you. All eight corners of the old town square of Prague sports a beautiful mix of modern and fourteenth century architecture. Of special mention are those buildings with Gothic architecture. I'm told that Gothic architecture is peculiar in providing asymmetry to the stance of the building, giving the entire structure a surrealistic image - a strange mixture of art, culture and magic. Take a look at the spire of this church Týnský Chrám, or Church of Our Lady Before Tyn in English..

‘How to’ articles for blogs - How useful are they?

Ubiquit — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 13:40:03 +0000

What is the first thing you do after setting up a blog? Well, if you ask me, I usually spend a considerable amount of time (about 4 hours) implementing the theme/layout that best suits the content of the blog. I'm a Wordpress fan, and so spend another hour searching for the best plugins and sidebar widgets that add to the much needed cosmetic and functional aspect of the blog. When blogs were started a few years ago, they were mostly viewed as an electronic version of one's personal diary - the only difference being..

Go green - Electrify the dance floor!

Ubiquit — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:49:26 +0000

Previously, I've written a couple of articles on going green, and how the environmentalists and industrialists worldwide are going crazy about inventing new techniques to contain global warming. Now, it looks like going Green has been catching up with night clubs all over the world, where they can generate quite a lot of power from those electrifying teenage/middle-aged dancers thumping their feet, consciously or unconsciously, on the dance floor. This is what I call cool technology! The technology behind this may sound very simple, yet it appears to be powerful enough to generate about 60% (not sure if it is theoretical or practical) of the night club's electricity.

Neuschwanstein castle - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:05:16 +0000

We all dream, irrespective of whether we work towards realizing the dream! Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Bavaria, popularly known as the fairy-tale King (der Märchenkönig in German), dreamt of a castle so beautiful that it inspired Walt Disney in the twentieth century. People who've been to Disneyland Park would have seen the Sleeping Beauty Castle, which is a reflection of King Ludwig II's dream castle in Neuschwanstein, Bavaria. When I reached Neuschwanstein, and looked up at the castle built on a small hill, I was in awe!

Carbon capture and storage - Is the future green-hot for coal?

Ubiquit — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:08:30 +0000

It is a universal truth that burning of coal is one of the major causes of global warming, acid rain and other toxins in the air. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, about 3,700,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) is released into the atmosphere - by a typical coal plant in an year. It may sound oxymoronic if one talks about using coal and going green. Well, why not? Carbon Capture and Storage, or CCS in short, seems to be the technological answer to this oxymoron!? The US 2008 elections are red hot right now, and many who've voted for Obama or McCain are keeping their fingers crossed.

Interesting and proactive search engine - Nuemo

Ubiquit — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:11:08 +0000

Thanks to SL, who introduced me to this interesting search engine called Nuemo. Spinlet Oy, a Finnish company, is the brain behind this search engine technology, yet if you visit their home page, you don't find Nuemo - Weird! Also, there is hardly any information about the company, its management team, detailed service offerings and so on. No wonder Nuemo doesn't show up on Google or Cuil search engines. I believe that they have excluded themselves from being indexed by popular search engines - correct me if 'm wrong!

Intriguing Hampi - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:46:54 +0000

Today's theme - Architecture, society, travel India today, in the eyes of foreigners, is the land of the poor, uneven roads, strewn with garbage, poor infrastructure, and so on. If there is one place in India that could exemplify the grandeur of India in the ancient times, it should be Hampi. How India transcended from such glory to what it is now is a long story, which happened during the British rule, and currently out of scope for this blog post. Take a look at the picture. What made the architects think of building such a lone structure perched atop a rock that looks like a boulder?

Inside Prague’s metro rail - Themed pic of the day

Ubiquit — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:40:01 +0000

Today, I have been browsing through the pages of my photo album on Webshots, and found this casual photo. I clicked this photo while traveling by Prague's beautiful and serenely calm metro rail system. I don't know why I framed this pic from such a strange angle, but I was quick enough to press the shutter button without switching ON the flash - when people were getting ready to alight from the train. Looking at the picture, 'm still thinking as to why the train was not fully loaded. The EXIF information of the picture says that it was taken at 6:10 PM, and that 'twas a Friday! Gosh! Imagine the scene in a metro rail in India at 6:10 PM, and..

The Ace of 64-squares - Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand

Ubiquit — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:38:42 +0000

If there is one game that people all over the world knows that India plays, it should be 'Cricket'. Though being a British game, circket and India are synonymous - many, over here, eat and sleep cricket. In my office, I can see most of my colleagues glued to their laptops and desktops, constantly refreshing (inspite of having 'auto-refresh' feature) the Rediff cricket live score page. You go to a tea shop, there you see an old FM radio connected to obscenely big speakers playing cricket commentary. Even if the tea shop owner doesn't like cricket, he urged to tune into cricket news - customers' popular demand. When I opened today's newspaper, the headlines screamed "Anand is World Champion"..

Themed pic of the day - Technology, travel

Ubiquit — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:03:07 +0000

On my way to the Horsetooth Reservoir at Fort Collins, Colorado, I stumbled into an antique shop with an intent to get a souvenir. I was looking around the shop and came face-to-face with this horseback rider. The picture speaks for itself! Upon inquiry, I came to know that this Pony Express was indeed an express mail service between 1860 and 1861. Though it was in vogue only for a short time, it became the forerunner of express delivery mail technologies, and the logo is still in use by the United States Postal Service.

Themed pic of the day - Travel, environment

Ubiquit — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:55:58 +0000

No sooner I entered this place than I felt eternal bliss - relieving me from the heat, dust and noise pollution of Chennai. The Azhiyar reservoir is serenely calm, beautiful, well-maintained and very clean. I was amazed to see people suddenly becoming conscious about 'not to litter' around the dam, even in the absence of a 'No Littering' sign board. Wow! this place really has the capability to transform normal care-free humans in to civic-conscious citizens. In the picture, you can see a big house at the far end of the reservoir. Wish I had a house like that..far from the madding crowd. Just me and nature, and..

Themed pic of the day - Society, travel

Ubiquit — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:38:38 +0000

I'm a shutterbug !! Starting today, I will be posting a picture from one of the photo-sharing websites, and write a few words about why I like in the picture. I will try to associate the pic to the following themes: * Society - the people, city, culture, etc * Technology - ranging from the oldest to the newest, disruptive, gawky, funny, disruptive, etc. You can also suggest/send in your pics, and a few words about the picture.

Chandrayaan-1, India’s first unmanned Moon mission - Tid bits & Analysis

Ubiquit — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:38:40 +0000

As a mark of success on its maiden attempt in the exploration of the romantic and intriguing Moon globe, Indian scientists at ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) have placed the Moon spacecraft into the Transfer Orbit around the earth. Powered by the indigenously designed and built Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11), the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft carried 11 payloads - three from the European Space Agency (ESA), one from Bulgaria, two from NASA, and five designed and built in India. So far, so good! Good job ISRO!! The scientists of ISRO have achieved something great, under challenging circumstances. How did you feel today when you opened the morning newspaper and saw..

What are ghosts made of, if you believe in them?

Ubiquit — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 06:20:37 +0000

Well, kinda' funny to be writing about this on a blog focused on the society, lifestyle, movies, environment and new technology. Nevertheless, after a recent round of casual discussions with my friends (over a couple of pints of beer!), I would wanna share my thoughts on this. I agree, more or less, with Wikipedia's definition of ghosts. Various religions treat/consider ghosts in their own form, choreographed to that religion's 'personal' likes and dislikes, and I'm not gonna discuss about them over here. I may believe in God and ghosts, but not in religion. What are ghosts made of? Hmm, an interesting question, but difficult to give a concrete answer.

Twenty tips for the Indian Government to take India to the next century

Ubiquit — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:31:01 +0000

Well, this can be considered more of a rant (or a rant-laundry-list) than a creative post..but I believe many fellowmen concerned about the future of this country would second my thoughts.. 1. Government servants - Respect your office and portfolio, allow your subordinates to do their duty and keep a check on them. Money isn't everything, think about your future generations. 2. Revise the pay package for the people in secret services and the police. 3. Stricter laws against corruption - corruption may not be eradicated, nevertheless, can be made to stay at the top-most levels. Corruption starting from the bottom-most levels up to the top is not a..

Will Cuil dethrone Google as the No. 1 search engine?

Ubiquit — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:24:02 +0000

Where do people get these ideas from? Well, if you've been tracking the Internet Technology news since 2005, you'd very well be asking the same question to yourself. Google search has been the biggest influence in not only refining the Web search experience, but also in presenting the most relevant results in an uncluttered way - in the least possible time. Everyone loved (and still love!) this search engine, and many, like me, just cannot live without Google when they turn on their browser. Lately, I've been using this newest search engine Cuil - which is claimed to be the biggest search engine with more than..

Would you mind owning a TATA car?

Ubiquit — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:46:34 +0000

I work for an IT company with thousands of employees; with 4-level parking space that can accommodate about 2500 to 3000 cars. One day, as usual, when I parked my car in the second-level basement, I was glancing at and scanning the rows of cars gleaming under the bright fluorescent lamps - AND counting the number of TATA cars that I could spot in 5 rows. Being a market analyst, I was a little shaken by the negligible number of TATA cars in all of the four rows that I considered. I wanted to do a small informal survey to contain my curiosity, with just four questions on a sample size of 47..

Top ten Wordpress plugins that I’m using on my website

Ubiquit — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:52:01 +0000

I will cut short my pep talk on how I came across these free and open source solutions, and would rather post some info on the top ten plugins that I'm using on this website (or blog, in geek terms). I think it's also a good idea to include some screenshots of certain plugins to give an idea on how they look - perhaps, making it easier for you to see them in action while you explore this website. Please note that the plugins covered here (Subscribe2, Statpress Reloaded, Disquss comment system, Similar Posts, NextGEN Gallery, etc) are running fine on my Wordpress 2.6 installation!!

How healthy is our corporate culture - Part II

Ubiquit — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:11:38 +0000

Well, after my (new) experiences with the corporate culture of our present day multi-national companies for a couple of years, I moved on looking for better opportunities. I must say, it was pretty much the same in the new company too, but I wasn't affected much by those anomalies that I came across in my first couple of jobs - essentially, I was able to better manage the situation, practice some politics, and things like that. Considering the fact that I spent more than two years in Western Europe, I was not entirely comfortable with certain things the new age multi-national companies in India practice.