Can you find DIGG in your dictionary

It would be interesting if Digg is in the lines of Google, and gets added to our dictionary. I've heard a few techies using digg as a verb in order to express their approval (vote). But, here is an interesting info about "Digg, trademarks, and confusion". Check it out!

BTW, for those who are not aware of the popularity of Digg, read the post from TechCrunch.

Below is the content generated by 'Stuff a Blog'

Digg started out as an experiment in 2004-11-01

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Relevant pics from Flickr



Related News
Geek to Live: Wget local copies of your online research (del.icio.us, digg or Google Notebook)
Digg founder dismisses Web 2.0 'me tooism'
Kevin Rose to make Digging easier

Yahoo Answers
The first Digg on digg.com and promotion?
Digg.com-like website?
is digg the new slashdot?
www.digg.com has how many monthly unique visitors ?

Some of my recent related posts
0 - Click here for a list of all my previous blog-posts related to digg
I love digg... what genuine idea!

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Jai Hind...

Thinking of my country on its independence day.

Disciplinary Mind

Y'day, my mom was explaining me the content of the book "Sri Ramakrishna Prabha", which she had read recently. The subject interested me a lot, and I decided to subscribe to this book. It gives a greater clarity to my thoughts, and teaches me the righteous way to live life. Click here for the article that convinced me to go for a subscription. Its an article titled "Overcoming Negative Ideas", but it tells much more that just that. Here is an excerpt.

There is an interesting anecdote of a landowner who lived near the town of Beaumontin, Texas, in America. Financial reasons forced him to sell portions of his land to feed his family. Then an oil company manager told him that there could be oil on his property and offered to pay him royalties if he would permit them to drill on his land. The landowner agreed, as he had nothing to lose. Surprisingly, there was indeed an oil well there and that was the discovery of 'Spindle Top', the most productive single oil well in history. The landowner became an instant multimillionaire--or did he? The reply is no. He had been rich even earlier but did not have the knowledge of the oil available there and consequently did not capitalize on it. Similarly, everyone has in himself an incredible ability, talent and divine wealth, which however remains unrecognised and unutilised. We should hence get acquainted with ourselves by doing a little mental drilling and exploring, for we have nothing to lose in the process. And what is the tool for this task? Self-discipline. It is the key to all great discoveries, and achievements in all walks of life.

The above excerpt tells that by self-decipline, we can achieve greater heights. Read the article's section titled 'Dive Deep, O Mind' to learn the varieties of disciplinary exercises for the youth to choose.

Story behind the emblem

Below is the emblem of Sri Ramakrishna Math. I recently came across the meaning behind this emblem, and wanted to share among u all...


Designed and explained by Swami Vivekananda

The wavy waters in the picture are symbolic of work, and lotus, of devotion, and the rising sun, of knowledge. The encircling serpent is indicative of yoga and the awakened power dormant in us, while the swan in the picture stands for God. Therefore, the idea of the picture is that by the union of work, knowledge, devotion, and yoga, the vision of God is obtained.

The Rakhi day

Today is Raksha-bandhan day... I got an e-greeting and a rakhi from my sis, and we wished each other on phone. Thanks, and I love u sis!

here is a good pic that I found on the net... Its Rakhi day

Whatz in the name?

Do you know how these companies got their names... I bet you must have known most of them. Here is a revision for you.

Compaq
This name was formed by using COMp, for computer, and PAQ to denote a small integral object.

Mercedes
This was actually the Diamler/Benz's French financier's daughter's name.

Adobe
This came from the name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of founder John Warnock.

Apple Computers
It was the favorite fruit of founder Steve Jobs. He was three months late in filing a name for the business and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if the other colleagues didn't suggest a better name by 5 O'clock. They couldn't, he did!

CISCO
It is not an acronym as popularly believed. It is short for San Francisco.

Corel
The name was derived from the founder's name Dr. Michael Cowpland. It stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory.

Google
The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was originally named 'Googol', a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. After founders - Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor, they received their first funding cheque made out to 'Google'. Since they didn't want to risk going back to the investor to correct the error, they retained the name 'Google'!!

Hotmail
Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in 'mail' and finally settled for hotmail as it included the letters "html" - the programming language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective uppercasing.

Hewlett Packard
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

Intel
Bob, Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company 'Moore Noyce' but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain . So they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics.

Lotus (Notes)
Mitch Kapor got the name for his company from 'The Lotus Position' or 'Padmasana'. Kapor used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Microsoft
Coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the '-' was removed later on.

Motorola
Founder Paul Galvin came up with this name when his company started manufacturing radios for cars. The popular radio company at the time was called Victrola.

ORACLE
Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a consulting project for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). The code name for the project was called Oracle (the CIA saw this as the system to give answers to all questions or some such thing). The project was designed to help use the newly written SQL code by IBM. The project eventually was terminated but Larry and Bob decided to finish what they started and bring it to the world. They kept the name Oracle and created the RDBMS engine. Later, they decided on the same name for the company.

Sony
It originated from the Latin word 'sonus' meaning sound, and 'sonny' a slang used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster.

SUN
Founded by 4 Stanford University buddies, SUN is the acronym for Sanford University Network. Andreas Bechtolsheim built a microcomputer; Vinod Khosla recruited him and Scott McNealy to manufacture computers based on it, and Bill Joy to develop a UNIX-based OS for the computer.

Yahoo!
The word was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book 'Gulliver's Travels'. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance and action and is barely human. Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo selected the name because they considered themselves yahoos.

Just thought of sharing these facts..............

AR Rahman's "WorldSpace - Signature Tune"

WORLDSPACE® Satellite Radio unveils Signature-Tune by brand ambassador AR.Rahman. The signature tune will be used in an integrated communications campaign.

The WORLDSPACE signature tune draws inspiration from the sounds of nature and the rhythms of our everyday lives. AR Rahman has woven the lyrical sounds of the soothing sea, a bird's chirpy call, the earthy chant of fishermen – among a medley of other evocative sounds around us, crafting a tune that refreshes and energizes, showcasing the true inspiration of music.

Click here to listen to the tune. Its simply superb!

Frustrate the smart people

Below are four (4 ) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately. OK?
Let's find out just how clever you really are.

First Question:
Y ou are participating in a race You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
.
.
.

Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second! (Select the text to see the answer)

Try not to screw up in the next question.
To answer the second question, don't take as much time as you took for the first question.

Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?
.
.
.
Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person? (Select the text to see the answer)

You're not very good at this! Are you?

Third Question: Very tricky math! Note: This must be done in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000 Now add 10. What is the total?
.
.
.
Did you get 5000 ?
.
.
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The correct answer is actually 4100. (Select the text to see the answer)
Don't believe it? Check with your calculator! Today is definitely not your day. Maybe you will get the last question right?

Fourth Question:
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono.
What is the name of the fifth daughter?
.
.
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Answer: Nunu?
No! Of course not. Her name is Mary (Select the text to see the answer)
Read the question again

Okay, now the bonus round:
There is a mute person who wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done.
Now if there is a blind man who wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses, how should he express himself?
.
.
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He just has to open his mouth and ask, so simple. (Select the text to see the answer)

KEEP THIS GOING TO FRUSTRATE THE SMART PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE!

One-laptop-per-child... Not required!

I consider India's decision to opt out from the OLPC program as a wise one. OLPC is a programme which aims to deliver laptops priced at $100 (about Rs.4500) to school students, according to reports. Here is what is said by Sudeep Banerjee of Indian Human Resource Development...

1. OLPC is a “pedagogically suspect”. He elaborated on it by mentioning that laptop may actually be detrimental to the growth of creative and analytical abilities of the child.
2. The ministry cannot visualize a situation for decades when we can go beyond the pilot stage. We need classrooms and teachers more urgently than fancy tools.
3. If the Planning Commission has the kind of money that would be required for this scheme, it would be appropriate to utilize it for ‘Universalisation of Secondary Education’ for which, a concept paper has been lying with the Planning Commission for approval since November 2005.
4. We do not think that the idea of Prof Negroponte is mature enough to be taken seriously at this stage and no major country is presently following this. Even inside America, there is no much enthusiasm about this.

If one thinks of it in practical terms, most of the above (except the first point) make sense. Here are my thoughts on it...

I contradict the HRD's reference to laptops as "pedagogically suspect". Laptops actually entertain the expression of creativity in students. It gives them more ways to express, communicate, and sell their ideas. However, I agree with the HRD on all other points. India has taken the mission to fight illiteracy, which is dominantly seen in rural areas. What it desperately need are more schools, teachers, and a basic infrastructure. Laptops need not get into the picture now.... not so soon.

Standalone laptops without an internet connection will prove to be a less powerful tool. But, an internet connection will spice up the cost of maintenance for people in rural areas. Here is yet another strong reason for my argument... The Indian education system did not yet incorporate computers into its normal teaching process. There is no online submission policy or e-notes. So, the use of laptops at schools is pushed further down.

First of all we should make sure that the program works, before investing huge sum of money on it. Its like reading customer-reviews before purchasing a product. Check this article that questions if OLPC is fundamentally flawed. Bottomline is that it is too soon for India to take up OLPC program, and its a wise decision by the HRD to snub it for the time being.

Also check out this blog-post in which the author has stated some of his views on India's decision to against OLPC. Its a good read.

Happiest people live in Denmark

I read a couple of articles that ranked the world's happiest countries. Nigeria was given the top spot in 2003. The most recent ranked list is the one put together by 'University of Leicester' on July 2006. Click here for the complete list of ranking, and an interactive world map that paints each nation based on its level of happiness.

The 10 happiest nations in the World are:
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. The Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada

Other notable results include:
23. USA
35. Germany
41. UK
62. France
82. China
90. Japan
125. India
167. Russia

The three least happy countries were:
176. Democratic Republic of the Congo
177. Zimbabwe
178. Burundi

Interestingly, Nigeria is not among the top 10... I was wondering what pushed India to be unhappier than most of its neighbours. In theory, it should be the other way round.

• India's average household income has been increasing at a rapid pace ever since the birth of off-shoring.
  
• Moreover, Indians have the innate quality to show contentment for whatever they have, irrespective of their financial/social status.
  
• The ability to work hard & smart have been given to Indians even before they could ask for.
  
• Its society and culture encourage the teens to live with their parents, and enjoy the luxuries of love & affection at home everyday.

Then, why else are we Indians not as happy as expected? Here are my thoughts on it...

• Influence by the West... The desire to live a western lifestyle in India
• Joint-family problems (within large families)
• Increased competation in every aspect of life due to large population
• Mediocre household-income to most families
• Stress among students to study harder and harder, irrespective of their interests
• Government infrastructure is not among the best
  
• Poverty
• Jealousy (not specific to India)

A new study reveals that unhappiness has risen in the past decade. In my opinion, the main reason for unhappiness can be boiled down to "Unfilled aspirations". We wish for something to happen... but something else happens. Thats LIFE! Infact, thats how life is designed to be. Why do we have to feel like a loser?

Is there a way out? Check out this article that explains how to overcome unhappiness through study. If you are lazy to read it, here is a shortcut... As wise men say: "whatever happens, happens for good". Lets all believe in this adage, and be happy for life.