Yup, Prayas you are right ! Two months of mostly nothing even for me.
Got what I wanted !
I wanted a place to quickly post thoughts and just about anything I wanted to, without providing a commentary. Yup, this is my very own tumblelog. Expect me to post frequently in this stream.
Not heard of a tumblelog...
A tumblelog is a quick and dirty stream of consciousness, a bit like a remaindered links style linklog but with more than just links
Read more here.
At the eleventh hour
Came across this interesting option of 'Trends' within my Google Search History account. I had enabled search history long back when I started working on feedee. I find it pretty useful and would recommend it to everyone who use Google extensively for their research work.
Key advantages over social bookmarking websites are:
- Its Transparent - It saves all your queries and search results clicked once activated.
- Its intelligent (At least its made to be intelligent) - There are options like 'Interesting Items' which is a search query or web page discovery tool based on your past queries to Google.
- Its Useful - There are so many times when you forget to bookmark a web page you found through Google. Now , there is no more disappointment.
This still is not a replacement for social bookmarking websites but very nifty utility for someone like me who instinctively presses Control+k (shortcut for Firefox search box) on his keyboard when he needs to find anything.
Here is my Trends chart:
The initial section lists Top queries, sites and clicks. Most of the picks there were pretty obvious. (I confess I do a lot of egosurfing)
Search activity section is what interested me the most. The graphs reveal my work pattern. They also justify the title of my blog stream, Coding on the late shift and off course this post title too. Looks like the eleventh hour is when I get going and pretty much sums up my life till date too.
Google Search History also has a option of 'Interesting Items". It suggests search queries, web pages, videos and gadgets related to your searches. I didn't find the suggestions interesting may be the algorithm still has a bit of learning to do.
Have you signed up for Google Search History?
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Karnala – Adventurous & Eventful … need I say more ? (SchoolFriends)
Once again I planned an annual meetup for SchoolFriends.It happend to be around the same time as last year and an adventure trek too.
I am sure you would love to read about it too...
What started with a casual discussion between me, dazzle, kartik and pratik, finally culminated in one adventurous and eventful outing. Special thanks to everyone who made it to the outing... (in no particular order đ Dazzle, Pratik, Kartik, Cherie, Sheetal, Abhijeet, Nihal, Santosh (Nihal's cousin) and Me (too đ !
So what was so adventurous and eventful this time around? Oh hell yeah... everything. The planning whcih was too adhoc... we did what we wanted to and didn't try to plan things (or try and stick to any decided plans).
Firstly, the train journey (Goregaon-Bandra-Wadala-Panel) was FuN filled and all the while. We switched trains one after another. Ppl stuck to their roles... Cherie (always gigling), Kartik (Gadget gyaan) likewise.
I had thought of hiring a TumTum (10 seater) to get to Karnala which was around 15km. from Panvel. Me and Kartik tried to get a good deal out at the rickshaw stand and fixed it with someone. On the other hand others unanimously (Yup, Cherie has the convincing power...) decided to walk our way to Karnala.
A 15 km. walk was no small deal... eveyone knew that but then I am sure everyon wanted to have Fun (yeh school_friends ka style hai bidu !) We had our share of breaks. Batata vada, sabudana khichdi, chaas and kokam sarbat were awesome at Datta snacks (near phalase phata... 3 km from Panvel) We kept on walking... and walking... yah and some more walking. Need I say it was real hot and the road was pretty dumb but we had years of gupshup to cling onto and yah the usual kheechna-kheechana to do. Oye we topped our own record of 12 km. to the Mahuli base with a rock solid 15km to reach Karnala. Just to give u an idea of the enthusiasm... Cherie and Pratik ran the last 100mt in a sprint... surprised đ !!!!
We got our lunch (batata vada and pulav along with some tasty onion slices) from a nearby restaurant and had it in the Karnala Bird Sanctuary on a circular looking stage amongst monkeys.
After taking a small break we started towards Karnala fort. Again it looked dumb to start with but soon we were on a dirt track towards the top (bcz someone directed that it would be quicker). Quicker it must be but soon we realised that it wasn't that easy... must be bcz of the 15 km. walk we did before. Anyways it was exciting and challenging to keep us going... though we slowed down a bit. We would take pics at regular intervals all this while. Also this time around we had thick vegetation protecting us from the sun's heat. Hey 'Sathiya haath badha, Saathiya' is one song which would fit very well. We made sure we all reached the top.
The view from the top was exhilarating. Most of the fortification was stil intact. There was a water reservoir at the top from which we quenched our thirst. The water was coOL and satisfying to say the least. We explored few parts of the fort here and there and were ready to start our journey back. We did the customary Jay Gunj at the top before leaving which left us completely rejuvenated to reach to the base again.
The descnt was simpler and we choose the longer (bt comparitively simpler) route this time. During the descent it was more of some coOL music (courtesy: sony erricson and nokia), some groovy moves (courtesy: cherie, dazzle, me and pratik), bum-massage and setting sun. By the time we had arrived to te base it had got dark.
If you feel that was it... then you are wrong. Nope we didn't return walking back to Panvel... tat would have been too much. To substitue for it we took lift from a truck from the highway. Yah, it was all the more exciting to come back in the truck. We all cramped ourselves in the front of the truck... yup all 9 of us in the front. The truck driver also tried to play some bhojpuri music on our request.
We came back to normalcy (not sure of this) after reaching Panvel station and traveling back home by train.
By the way I didn't write much about birds bcz we didn't see any. Yup, its just a namesake bird sanctuary, though it didnt affect us much and we continued with the same zeal to the top.
So how was it? I sure missed to mention a lot of things... but that is the price you pay for not making it to the outing for wateva reasons of urs đ
d
Thnks once again for the people who made this possible by comming for the outing. Feel sorry for all who missed this one. Like always, there surely will be a next time ;-).
-- I just pulled this from the follow-up mail I posted on our schoolfriends group.
Pics from the Trek:
Click on the image below to look at the complete album:
Updated and Archived so the postdate is not true representative of the actual post date.
Just another weekend trek, Was it ?
On October 8th, I had planned a trek to Peth (near Karjat) with friends (Sankool, Swapnesh, Hardik and Manav). Like all other treks it was awesome. Just the right weather to go for the trek! It was shady during the ascent and drizzled a little while on descent. Last year I had been to Peth-Bhimashankar overnight trek. We halted at night in the caves of Peth fort. This time it was only one day trek.
Some interesting tit-bitsâŠ
We started late (anyone cud have guessed that đ and Manav who is in Pune joined us from Karjat. From there we hired Vikram(10 seater) to reach base village of Ambivali. This journey was coOL and enjoyable. Lots of PJs + stories to tell eachother. On reaching Ambivali we quickly asked for directions and started out trek. None of them had an idea of Peth except for me. I just told them that they wonât believe me when I point out the fort to them. Primarily because it seems impossible at start but is pretty doable. You just need to have a trekers mindset. My favorite line is always âWe trek only to a point from which we can return safely.â I say this just to make them feel comfortable. Also, I only choose treks which are comfortable to first timers. So, on the whole I make sure they reach the top (touch-wood).
The initial part of the trek is crossing a mountain and getting to the plateau from where you can get to the base village of the fort. It is only then that you get a clear view of the Peth fort. No first timer can believe we would make it to the top of that fort. There was Hardik who thought I was joking, Manav and Swapnesh knew I was serious but had no clue how and Sankool who knew I was serious and there would surely be a way to the top. Their perspectives tell you how seasoned trekers they are. We took a lot of snaps here. Next we reached the Peth base village and had nimbu pani in a house and also asked them to arrange lunch for us when we come back.
Now from the base village we started our ascent of the fort. We missed a right turn towards the top and ended up taking almost a half circle of the fort before we realized and to our luck we were guided by two females who were carrying firewood back to the village. Its fun getting lost and then finding your way back again. We were soon on the right track and were gaining altitude soon.
We reached the gate of the fort soon and did a customary âJay Gunjâ which is a salute to Chattrapathi Shivaji Maharaj. Next we visited the caves. Now there was another interesting thing which is fairly unique to the Peth fort. There is a secret(everyone knows about it though..) tunnel to get to the top of the fort which is just superb. At the top of the fort it always feels amazing. You feel victorious and satisfied at the same time.
The descent from the fort was also exciting and we did it pretty quickly. This time we didnât loose our way to the base village. Also, it drizzled just right and for the right time so it felt good. We had our lunch in the village and then just lazed away for a few minutes.
On our return journey we were quick and didnât take a halt. We were back to the base village of Ambivali just before it got dark. We were damn tired by then. We lied there on the road for sometime just to let the feeling seep in. Then we tried to take some pictures of ourselves sleeping on the road in a formation. After a few pics we could hear Vikram ( the 10 seater ) making a vroommmm sound and approaching us. We boarded it and it took us back to Karjat station. The journey back was unforgettable as it was nice and coOL by then and the ambience was moonlight. I could not stop myself from singing âSo gaya yeh zahanâŠ. soo gaya asssmaaan âŠ. â ( I am sure others surely wanted me to stop.. for obvious reasons but I went on⊠.>!
Manav got a train back to Pune quickly and rest of us had to wait for another hour. Travelling in the train was also fuN and I started a story telling session which was quite interesting. Hardik (dukh bhari kahaniyaan) and Swapnesh also shared their own stories. By then we reached Dadar and then in sometime to our sweet homes.
Yup, every trek is truly unforgettable and unique đ
Pics from the Trek:
Click on the image below to browse the album:
iNDiaN FoOD ;)
I just happened to visit BASES Entrepreneurship Kickoff 2006-2007 after reading a blog post on meebo. Chk this:
The BASES Entrepreneurship Kickoff aims to bring Stanford students, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley together with a mixer and panel that will kick off a year of entrepreneurship at Stanford. The panel will address issues in entrepreneurship through the shared experiences and perspectives of the panelists. Panelists range from venture capitalists to entrepreneurs in the mobile apps, web 2.0, and social entrepreneurship arena.
Other information:
- Indian and Chinese food will be provided for attendees.
- A raffle will be held for various items including an iPod.
- Also present to build awareness for their events will be other Stanford student groups related to entrepreneurship including the GSB High Tech Club, the GSB E-Club, LASES, and others.
Look whats on the menu :p ?
GaRbAa BeAtS
Never before had I been to a GaRbAa night. Except for one forgetful evening when I had been to one around 10:15pm and it got over by 10:30pm. :p
So this year (29th September) it was my first time and like all other things was unplanned and was decided at the last moment after some coaxing from my colleagues (Hardik, Ashwini and Pawan). I just happened to say âyesâ and then the next thing I remember was changing in to a shirt given by Hardik.
Ashwini made a couple of phone calls to ensure a pass for me was available. So me, Hardik, Pawan and Ashwini left for Mithibai college where the event was. Reshma, her dauther Anoushka, her husband and brother-in-law were going to join us at the event.
I was sure I would not be able to pick up the steps naturally. I am not a born dancer ! But I knew if someone gave me a crash course I may pick it up. Inside the music was loud and everyone were all enjoying. I was coOL⊠good music, coOL people and gr8 looking guju babes around :p
Among us Hardik was a pro and so was Ashwini, Pawan had two left feet and I had one đ
Hardik and Ashwini joined a small gang and started dancing. I was warming up (;-) and just trying to let the beats seep in. Suddenly the music stopped and looked like the show was over. Unlike my previous experience this time I knew they would start again bu this time without the loudspeakers. It would just be the band and no vocals. It wouldnât make a big difference to me.
I said to myself I am not here to see others dance⊠I wanted to try dance too. Hardik was extremely supportive and encouraging. He told me, âAkshay you need to learn the steps before the band starts playing again. Its your only chance!â. I said, âFine! I donât care whether the music is playing or notâŠjust teach me now.â
So, there he was teaching me his favorite (and now mine too) move called âPopatâ while others were taking a break and resting. I was trying my best to match up to what he was try to teach me, but it wasnât working. The flow wasnât there. I would somewhere go wrong on the turns. There were people who were seeing us dancing with no music but we continued. Also, not all were interested in watching us, my steps were not that amusing.
So, to cut things short it wasnât working untill⊠I came up with this algorithm.
Algo: POPAT_GARBA (2 - 4 : This is how its signaled đ
(Intialise: Face to the center of the circle formed)
- Take a step towards your right. ( This may also look like a step and a half )
- Now take a 180* turn in the clockwise direction
- Take another step, this time towards your left and stop
- Now take a step towards right.
- Now take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
- Take another step, towards your left.
- Again take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
- Now take a step towards right.
- Now take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
- Take another step, towards your left.
- Again take a 180* turn in the anti-clockwise direction
- Continue from Step 1 untill everyone decides to change the step. Also, even if you miss any keep continuing.
This may seem childish but I am sure people who are not well versed with Garba (lik me) may find it useful. Also the key here is taking the turns in the right orientation (clockwise/anti-clockwise).
The State of Search Engine Marketing in India
U Thought I was busy with something all this while?
- Yup !
Here is what it was all about > A Report on The State of Search Engine Marketing in India
About the report from Pinstorm - News channel
This report is a first-of-its-kind in the field of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) business. You can expect to find some very interesting data, comparisons & revelations here.
- Find out where the SEM industry in India stands today.
- What sectors are hot.
- How much the key players in every sector are spending- Naukri vs Monster, HP vs Dell, Shaadi vs Jeevansathi. You name it, we have it.
- Are other players catching up with the giant eBay in the retail market?
Some coOL, funny and interesting tit-bits straight from the report:
Rs. 230 crores of ad spend on this media is aimed at Indians alone. Of this, about a third, over Rs. 70 crores is spent by Indian companies. For an industry that barely got off the ground a couple of years ago, itâs a huge leap.
A note of thanks. An enterprise of this scale wouldnât have been possible without the help of some very smart people. A big hand to Dr. V. Vinay, Pinstormâs technology guru (with flowing locks to match) who wrote much of the code and algorithms to make these calculations possible. A doff of the hat to Akshay Surve, Ansoo Gupta, Hanisha Vaswani, Harish TM, Indrojit Chaudhuri, Milan Zaveri, Netra Parikh, Nikhil Sheth, Ratan KK and Reshma Nayak - some of the other Pinstormers who temporarily gave up sleep and sanity to make this report happen. And to the redoubtable Subho Ray of the IAMAI, Doc, hereâs to making history together!
Delhi is more expensive than Bangalore, which is more expensive than Mumbai. But only in search marketing terms.
So, here we are, many nights, many cups of Barista coffee, Punjab Sweet House samosas and Snack Shack sali botis, many lines of code and charts on Excel later.
You can download the report for free đ from here.
meebo roCks !
I have been following meebo for long time now since its start. It always interested me and I kept a chek on the features it provided from time to time. I would also sometimes happen to read their blog. It surely was an interesting read. A post I remember distinctly said,
âWe wouldnât misuse your passwords, as even our friends use meebo and they would remain our friends if we wouldnt have done so.â
So what makes me make a post about meebo today?
Simply because meebo launched meebome !
Whats special about this ?
Okie here it is. For years now, one could enable live statistics for a page to display the number of current users on a website. Then we also had ways to display our online(Yahoo! I am Online) status. meebome allows you to chat directly with a visitor on your site (provided you are logged onto meebo) while the visitor need not have a meebome account.
Check the live demo here > http://www.akshaysurve.com/scrapbook
(Donât expect me to be online as I avoid being online when at work)
I tried it and its coOL !
Gandhigiri – is it still relevant?
âGandhigiri - is it still relevant?â, is a simple question which you need to ask yourself and find your own answer. (I am trying to do the same here)
Gandhigiri to me is adherence to simple but powerful values of truth and morality. Questioning Gandhigiri is questioning the relevance of these essential values. People (sometimes even me đ fail to realize the potential of Satyagraha and non-violent protests (or just prefer to ignore). Blame it on myopia. People want to see favourable results instantly and so tend to use other means (read by hook or by crook). I just hope people regain their belief in the effectiveness of non-violent protests. For me the best part of non-violent protests is that we maintain our composure and compel others to pay heed to our request.
I like the term âGandhigiriâ and in general I do like buzz words (read Web2.0 etc). They give you a fresh perspective to look at things. Its like repackaging of sorts to cater to the tastes of the new generation. Bole toh⊠Zhaakass !