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what to do......

Online Games and Web 2.0 ??

Like many of us I am a big fan of online games. I love playing those brain teasing casual skill games - be it Sudoku, online racing games or various puzzle and strategy games or so. I usually play during lunch time or when I need a break (yeah right..work productivity). These games are fun and quick to play.

But now and then, but these sites make me aloof and make those interesting game boring. So I am constantly in googling in for new sites. Yeah I love playing games but not like this. It would be nice to have some kind of competition (not betting, at lest for me), interaction with other gamers....and so. Bring on the Web 2.0 element guys... Can we have a quality online community for gamers???

You'd say..look around dude there are plenty of sites such as Kon'gate and Miniclip yeah right have you looked at the interface and the playing environment..its so not web2.0. Ok kon'gate has the right concept and idea, but does not excite. I mean how hard can it be to have a good quality Game Social Network. Doof (in private Beta)is website aimed at online gamers. Looking forward to "doof" the site looks sleek and promises to offer a new experience. From the site "Doof is all about Playing Online Games, Meeting People, friendly competition and expressing yourself". Looks good to me - but again will have to wait and watch. (More about this new online gamer)

The key for any web 2.0 site would be a brilliant interface, simplicity and the concept. I would be exploring various web 2,0 startup, how the existing one are doing in future. Also keep an eye on doof.

Also If you have any such interesting web2.0 startups, share info about them.

Cheers!

Cheeky Googler!!

At the Internet World exhibition held in London- Earls Court (couple of weeks back), I attended one of the Google's seminars. This seminar was about AdWords (ahhh!!). But at the end of the presentation, the usual Q&A stuff - the guy sitting next to me asked "What software did you use for the presentation" Googler " I don't remember the name but the software was caller Power something ....I don't know .. Anyways it's crap" hahah.. we all know guys even we don't like MS....... waiting for your version of PowerPoint.

Online Marketing ? - "Is your website ready?"

Off late a lot has been said and written about online marketing - getting traffic to your website – using SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Pay Per Click (PPC, like Google AdWords) and what not. Yes they may help you in getting traffic to your website – but if your website does have the right content, information or products - then your visitors don't stick around – let go the prospect of converting them to customer.

We have been so obsessed with SEO , PPC & Co that we have ignored the very basic component e-business – an informative( relevant content), well maintained and easy navigable website. I have been asked by many of my friends and colleagues about listing their website in PPC and SEO. I had a look at their website and asked – "do you really want people to visit your website ?"

All I want to say to business people who who design and develop their website( using the available packaged software's) - is to do some research (you will find millions of website/ blogs giving you information about web designing), get the relevant content on your site, take feedback about your site from friends- family colleagues , clients, visit various websites that offer similar kind of service or product as you.

You might not have the budget or skills to develop an sophisticated website incorporating the latest technology. But then again, some of the most visited and profitable websites don't use either. We all know that design and structure of websites vary from business to business – depending on the nature of business, budget and target market (audience). Content is the key here, because thats what's will make a visitor return to your site, give them useful information relating to products/service.

Keep your website as simple as possible (avoid all those flash animation, bright colors and loud music) – Simplicity is the key to success.Get your website right and then embark on various marketing campaign's.
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Cut the Crap - Smoking

We have been hearing from ages that tobacco ( chewing/smoking) causes all sort of health hazards, yet we see millions of people continue to do so. People close to us - friends, family are in to this slow death.
The most horrifying thing is that they all know the effects of tobacco and yet... The most common excuse one gives is " I have been smoking for years and I am addicted to this and I cant leave it ".

Truth be told, at one point of my life I used to smoke cigarettes. It started of as trying as I go by the following - All things in life need to be tried at least once - but don't get addicted. I had enough of it and needed to quit badly. You need to be disciplined and determined to quit, no matter what. There are plenty of aid avaible in the market to help one quit tabbo - like anit smoking pills, patche & co. But above all you need a stong will power.

Quitting was not as easy as I expected it to be. So I decided to take it one day at a time without any external help. I followed a 5 day rule, and it worked. The theory being, if you curb your urge for smoking for first 5 days - you have won half battle. Because its the initial days when you would be dieing for a smoke or even a puff. Control that and you are on the right track.So anyone who's trying to quit tobacco, just try the 5 day rule. I am sure it will work.

People talk about withdrawal symptoms ,yes there are - you look and feel fresh, more energetic, not to mention white teeth's(after a while) :), more stamina - which I guess is better than the various sort of cancer and heart/lung troubles caused by tobacco.

People say they smoke under stress/pressure. Well the best way to release stress is working out - exercising. Go out and jog or hit the gym. They are the best stress busters, not that bloody cigarette. And Girls, smoking does not burn calories.

" Cigarette does the smoking, you are just a sucker"

You all know the effect of smoking and the benefits of quitting, a simple search on Google will give you 1000's of websites giving information on this. All I want you to do is just try for 5 days - I am sure you can do it - your famlily and freinds wellbeing lies in your wellbeing. Think about it.

Stay hungry, Stay foolish

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech: You gotta watch this.

It's back ...Cricket World Cup

Its been four years since last world cup, played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg( RSA) on 23rd March 2003. I remember watching last world cup final between India and Australia at friends place. We had armored ourselves with Coke(Cola) and Pizza's expecting it to be nail biting final. But Australia (as usual) did not like that. The fate of the match was decided in first couple of hours when Australia thrashed India. They had played like champions.

So whats new this world cup - well for the fact that its being held in West Indies (Islands, enclosing the Caribbean Sea. Lying between southeastern North America and northern South America) . Also this world cup is truly open. No one team start of as the only favorites, every team has equal chance. The main reasons being inconsistency of team Australia (of late) - considered to be the best, the pitches in West Indies - low scoring and unpredictable nature and the size of the grounds - small compared to the ones found in other test playing nations.

Well I do not indulge in betting, but if I were to put my money on it would be on England, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

England - Last couple of years they have performed consistently well in ODI's, beating the top sides. A fully fit England is worth a watch.

South Africa - Truly deserve to win this time and show the world that they are not chokers.

Sri Lanka - Of Late thee been doing well and the pitches in West Indies will suit their style of cricket.

New Zealand - They have a complete package - bowlers, batters, all rounders and the team is in good from. They recently thrashed the mighty Ozzie's for 3-0 series victory.

The teams I have excluded are India, Pakistan, West Indies. Though they could be tough opposition as well, but not cup contenders. So will have to wait till the semi finial's are played to see which 4 teams go through. I would love to see New Zealand vs South Africa in the finals. Till then sit back and enjoy the boys sweat it out!!!

Success

Success, this one word makes hell of a difference in our life. It's presence has a huge impact on how we live our life, how people perceive us ( respect and honor) and how we will be remembered. Everyone wants to be successful in their respective field, and everyone is successful in their own right. But what is Success ? How can we measure success, if at all it could be measured?

Success has different meanings at different stages of life and differ form person to person. As children we measured success in a different way, may be through gifts and friends we had. In general people, usually measure success in terms of fame and fortune.

According to me success is directly proportional to opportunities you had and the results you achieved through them.

Consider people in third word countries, they had to face such difficulties - some like hunger, lack of infrastructure, proper schools and colleges , to reach a respectable position in society.They are successful as well. Success with fame and money appeals to the materialistic part of us.This holds true for most of us, till we reach a certain age. But as we get more matured in our thoughts and age, our meaning of success becomes universal - did we live a successful life?

Success lies within, if we are content with our self , our work, people around us then we are successful ,if not we keep on trying.


"They say that someday your life will flash before your eyes..make it worth watching."

climbing Ben Nevis

Mountain Climbing how’s that for an adventure? Adventure sports/traveling is an altogether different experience. Something which you will remember for your life time, not that you don’t remember your other outings, but there is a certain level of risk or calculated risk involved with an adventure. Some do it for fun, some to test themselves and some to get away from the day to day life, after all life ain’t incessant.

I decided to take on one such challenge partly because I wanted to test my – physical and mental ability and also for the sake of change. Like most humans I love to travel, explore new cities, cultures, food and meet the locals, this to me is part of life’s education.

I was looking for my available options, when one of my friends suggested me to visit Ben Nevis, located in Scotland - the highest peak in United Kingdom.

For your information on Ben Nevis:
Location: Scottish Island Lochaber
Height: 4408 ft (1344 m)

So after doing some online research I decided to head for Inverness, the coming weekend. Inverness is the city in the Highlands. Inverness is also the focal point for the road network in northern Scotland. Main roads from Aberdeen, Perth and Fort William all meet here. Ben Nevis is located at about 30 – 40 minutes drive from Inverness. One of my friends decided to join me, it’s even better if you go in a group – but as it happened with me some of my friends didn’t have time, some were not comfortable with the short schedule and various reasons one gets to avoid such trip.

Since the trip was not planned well in advance, we could not get cheap air tickets. As a result we decided to go by a coach- National Express, which takes about 12 hours from London. Trains do take the same time and probably more comfortable for such a long journey, but we decided to travel by coach purely for economical reasons (train would have cost about £160) . National Express cost us about £30 return journey from London - Inverness. We decided to keep the trip short, our trip itinerary was to leave on Friday night – reach Inverness by Saturday afternoon. Climb Ben Nevis on Sunday morning and board the Monday morning’s coach back to London.

The Journey.

We left London on Friday night at 12am and reached Inverness around 12- 1 pm on Saturdayy afternoon. Having done some research on the online B n B bookings I was a bit reluctant to book online, as I knew that we could get cheaper rates if we go directly to the hotel (did the same for my previous trips). But to our dismay, there was some festival going on in Inverness and all rooms had been taken. After nearly 2 hours we finally got a room (thanks to the city Information Center) at one of the B n B's. Inverness is a wonderful city, there is some sort of calmness attached to it. We were smitten by its beauty, the people are warm and friendly. As we were walking towards our B n B we passed the Inverness Castle and river Ness running besides it. Luckily our B n B was located just opposite the castle.

After reaching our B n B we decided to explore the city. Inverness is a diverse and bustling city with a compact and attractive center. Thanks to the ongoing festival it was a bit busy, but then who minds to see beautiful faces around :) ? . Later in the afternoon we decided to go for shopping – things that we would need tomorrow for the climb. Things like water, cereal bars, fruits, juice and stuff. Make sure you don’t take too many stuff with you, as you probably don’t want to carry a heavy bag while you are climbing. Cereal bars are a must as they are light (to carry) and are a good source for energy. This was reminded to me by my friend; she’s more of a professional in such adventures.

In the evening my friend decided to go to bed early while I went out for a jog in order to enjoy the wonderful city and partly to check my stamina before the climb. I was freshened after 30-40 minutes of jog in the clean and fresh air,
I was exploring the city in a different way. I wanted to carry on but did not
wish to over exert myself.

Reaching Ben Nevis.

We rose early on Sunday and reached the coach station at 6:30 am to catch a bus for Fort Williams, a town where Ben Nevis is located. But were surprised to see that that the first bus would start at 10:35 am or so and the last bus from Fort Williams was at 5 pm. It would be impossible to climb and be back in such a short time (It takes roughly 4 hrs of ascending and 2.5 – 3rs hours of descending). We got the wrong information the previous day, I should have checked the bus timing while scheduling the trip, may be I took things for granted (but I'll excuse myself considering this was my first expedition :)). But we found a way out – or should I say an expensive way out. We hired a cab for £60 from Inverness to Fort Williams (Ben Nevis is located in Fort Williams)

The drive was about 30 minutes. The view on the way was mind blowing ( not the one in picture). There is a huge lake near Fort Williams surrounded by mountains, clouds had covered the lake and such a sight could not be described by words. There was a French Food festival in the market of Fort Williams, we had a quick bit and were on our way towards Ben Nevis. It took us about 20 minutes walk to reach the base of Ben Nevis, we could have reached faster but we had taken a longer route. We later figured out that the road was meant for cars and huge vehicles to reach the base of Ben Nevis. We finally reached the base, the real journey was about to begin.

The Climb.

We started out climb at about 9:30 am with a loads of energy and enthusiasm, probably wanted to complete in a record time, so we started in a rush and as a result after 40 minutes my friend pulled out, was not physically fit to carry on. That left me alone, of course there were other climbers as well, but friends and companions do make difference in such a grueling task. I was determined to climb to the top no matter what. Also you receive encouragements from people who are climbing like “Well done Man”, “Keep Going” which does help.

The first hour was fun moving alone with the sound from my mp3 hitting my hear buds, taking frequent breaks to get the air in. The first hour or so the path was well laid out and the view was mind blowing giving one a heavenly feeling.

I then passed could of wooden bridge, that looked a bit risky they were not very strong and if you slipped then you go down straight in the valley. It was a bit scary but that made the climb all the more exciting. Always kept you on toes. As I progressed the path became rockier. I was wearing trainers rather than rock climbing shoes (which has thick soles and extra grip). Well my friend did advice me to get those, but I ignored her advice. But then I was an amateur in mountain climbing (here goes the same excuse, can't find another one :) )

This climb (or any in life) wasn’t that straightforward. The rest of the climb was on rocky terrain, and then it rained, making it even tricky. I had taken a light wind sheeter but it didn’t help much making me wet. I started to fell the pain in my heels, leave alone the wet clothes that made climbing difficult. But I was determined to reach the top. I had just completed about 2 hour of climb of the approximate 4 hours.

I then wanted to reach the top as soon as possible, got a bit anxious. As I was on my way to the top, I could see people coming down. They had started early in the morning. So every now and then whenever I saw some one coming down I used to ask them “How much more?” The first reply I got “You have just about completed half the climb”. I was a devastated :) . I continued to ask these questions after every 10- 20 minutes.

It was good that I had ample of energy supply with me ( water, cereal bars, apples and so on )in my bag pack. As I reached towards the top it rained heavily and was getting colder (you would expect that at 4408 ft). My legs were &*%* up, I could feel the rocks hitting my heels. Trainers are not meant for such climbs, I paid the price for ignoring my friend’s advice.

Finally I reached the top. It was very foggy up there. There are few memorials placed in the memories of those who died in War's. At that time I had forgotten about the pain in my legs, the sense of achievement was bigger than the pain in my legs. It was a rocky mountain table, which made walking a bit difficult (it was still raining). If you slipped you were sure to twist your ankle of hurt your body. It was around 1:40 pm, I took about 4 hours(with countless breaks) to reach the top, thats the average time one takes. But I was pleased with the effort. I could see the deep valley, there are no barriers at the top, so a couple of steps more and I would be falling down about 2-3000 ft. I took few photos had something to eat and drink and was on my way down.

Just after 10 -15 minutes of leaving the top. I pulled my calf muscle of my right leg. So now not only did I have trouble with my heels but I had pulled my right calf muscle as well. What more do you want?? I am sure this was due to all the walking on the rocks with an occasional stretch and jump here and there. This made sure that my descending was not easy as I thought to be. Still carrying my injuries I managed to reach at the end in about 2:30 hrs. As I came towards the base I could see the cars and the road I thought thats it - I completed the climb and nothing more could go wrong. Well I proved myself wrong again. Just about 10 minutes from the base, I jumped over an iron gate (may be I was a bit excited), I mistimed my jump and hit my right knee, it was a painful blow.

I some how managed to reach the base where my friend was waiting for me. The climb was above my expectations. Even though I did most of the climb by myself, I enjoyed. As a result I have decided to go mountain climbing again ( will let you know about it) but a different destination and with more preparation.

A kind Spanish girl gave us a lift till the coach station and we were in time for our coach to Inverness. I was in pain that night but I was so tired that I just hit the bed. The next morning we left for London.

It took me a week to fully recover from my pulled calf muscle. While the painful blow I took on my right knee took 2-3 weeks to heal. I also took an x-ray back in London to make sure that I had not broken it. But this hasn’t dampened my spirit, I wish to undertake more such adventures, next on my list is Bungee Jumping.

I wish you undertake such trip and let me know about them.