­­­­L.I.F.E. is a huge P.U.Z.Z.L.E

I went out shopping day before yesterday, and ended up in a bookshop for several hours, read ing every book there. Yep, I did it, just the cover though. ;) . I bought a few novels. One of that is 24 Declassified – Vanishing Point by Marc Cerasini. I didn’t know about the novel before, but it’s a series of books based on the TV show 24, the hit FOX series. Eight books already in the stores and the author is busy writing more. Damn! That's the fourth book in the series, the first one is Operation Hell Gate.

I came home with something else, which I haven’t bought in a very long time; a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. Actually, I wanted to buy a 1000 piece puzzle, but the finished-size of that is so big that it won’t fit on my table. I started working on it that night, and finished in 30 minutes. Wow, can I really do that! Nope. I sat at my table constructing this interesting and colourful thing and it took me almost 3 hours to complete the outline alone. The pieces are very small , and the picture itself is complicated. I still haven’t finished it because I got busy with some personal stuff today and I won’t be able to touch it for the next 2 days. Now that I’m here talking to you guys, that’s alright. :) . I love doing it, you know, because it represents re-creating life to me. No wonder why it intrigued me to write this article.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that life itself is not different from a jigsaw puzzle, except that we don’t see the clear picture of how the finished-piece would look like. Every day we move several pieces of this enormous puzzle; conscious or subconscious, every thought, every decision and we breath we take is all about solving it. It’s so intricate and obscure. Things we do, that may seem insignificant to us, would have an effect on this jigsaw.

When you are constructing a puzzle, you would misplace pieces and it might seem perfect there then. But, as you go along, you’d realize the mistakes and you definitely have the chance to change it accordingly. Is it the same in life? Why not? You misplaced a piece today, yesterday, or 10 years back, you could always change it and move it to where it belongs. Some of your actions in the past that you believed as the right thing then, might not be worth that much now. As time goes, you’d get better understanding of it and you would figure out things that need to be changed. Even if it is a piece that seemed right for 10 years, isn’t it? Then why should we regret some things, if not all, in the past?

Embrace and appreciate everything you have done, everything that has happened in your life. Most of the time, we live it up so fast, without taking time to appreciate. Some of us are too busy with work or studies, jumping on the staircase of life. For a second, stand still, turn around and grasp the picture you created. Acknowledge it and don’t forget to criticise. You’d see a lot of boo-boos; nobody is perfect.

Don’t sit back and cry, put an effort to reconstruct it. You picture doesn’t have to look beautiful to others, though mine, yours and everyone else's pictures are connected to it somehow. It doesn’t mean that you have to totally sacrifice the happiness and beauty of your life others. It's just me thinking out loud. Maybe it'll be good for you to think about it this as well and I always welcome criticism. Good luck with your zillion piece puzzle. :)

I would be unavailable for about a day or two at the most. You guys have a great time here; I’d be back soon... Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Mind Tortures the Innocent Body

Laying there lost in sensation,

Heart following music’s pulsation;

Locked in thoughts of uncertainty,

Will it be the same for eternity?

Mind would not rest at all, ever,

The exhausted body sometimes quiver.

All it need is a few hours of sleep!

Does it hear the sensations deep?

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards!!

Exam stress huh! Why am I talking about it here? It’s crystal clear; that’s exactly what I’m going through right now. I hope I’ll be alright. I always tend to show too much stress when it comes to exams. Oh man, there’s a lot to talk if you want to listen to that! Maybe this is not the right time though.

Actually, having exam stress to a certain extent is a good thing. They say it helps sharpen concentration and performance and help to create the additional energy and momentum required to keep studying when we would be doing something else. Indeed! It would make you drive the extra mile, rather than becoming complacent. Too much stress, however, can be overwhelming and stop us from being able to study and get on with life.

For the last 3 days, I was studying in the library with my friends. I get really stressed and find myself completely lost sometimes. The little-white-thing-that-I-puff-away didn’t seem to help much though ;). When I’m questioned on certain topics, I know that I’ve read it but I can’t recall it. I didn’t realize what really was going on till yesterday.

Library is not the perfect environment for me to study. It’s a huge place, and supposed to be silent. You see people talking and moving around. In the library, you’ll always get distracted. Since yesterday, I’ve being studying in my room. It’s remarkable how much I have crammed in a day. I shouldn't have gone to the library at all. Yes, actually I do. Remember, no REGRETS! That’s a new lesson for me.

To study, I need to be alone.

Things I do, I do better on my own.

It helps to have some music on.

And coffee turns the machine on.

Studying long hours at a stretch, doesn’t help at all. It’s important to do something else after about an hour of studying. I haven’t being around this place much, lately. Still, I find time to peep in once in a while. It helps, you know! Sometimes you have to find a way to totally forget about studies. Then when you get on back to it, your mind would be more fresh and you wouldn’t be in a place where you keep on thinking that you’re pushing yourself too hard and you know... Am I right?

I reckon you would be thinking why I’m writing about exam stress, since I want to forget about it and concentrate on studying. Talking about it helps. I’m feeling much better now. Thanks guys for reading my e-thoughts. I got to get back to more cramming. Wednesday is the bitter-sweet day. :)

Time for some desserts... chocolate chip cookies!!

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Never Touch a Butterfly's Wing With Your finger!!!

This question came up while I was talking to a friend the other day, and out of my intense curiosity I end up researching on it. I thought it would be nice to share my findings with you guys.

When you touch a butterfly, you get dust on your hands. Ever wondered what it really is? I did, but never thought this much about it before. Butterflies and moths belonging to the genus Lepidoptera, meaning scale-wing, are named referring to the scale cell structures on its wings.

Butterfly has four wings; a pair of forewings and a pair of hindwings. These wings are composed of two very fine membrane layers (chitonous) which are supported and nourished by tubular veins (also functions in breathing). Tiny sockets in these membranes hold each individual scale, providing further support to the delicate wing. The scales are arranged in such a pattern, overlapping each other like shingles on a roof. Butterfly wings will not be structurally sound and strong if you remove a bunch of them, thus harming the small insect. This ridges of our fingerprint or oil on our skin is more than enough to pry these wing scales loose, even with the slightest (caring) touch. The dust that comes off, when you touch a butterfly is its wing scales. Be careful next time you wish to touch it! You could endanger it’s life without meaning to harm it.

The hindwing contains scent scales which are modified wing scales that release pheromones. This chemical, called androconia, attract opposite sex of the same species. There are often ultraviolet coloured patterns on the wings that are only visible to other butterflies.

Lovely patterns on butterfly wings are not only beautiful, but wonderful. Fluorescent patches on the wings functions similar to Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) which are found in everything from computer and television screens to traffic light. A LED developed at MIT uses two-dimensional photonic crystals with layered structures for controlling of emission direction. This was a huge step up in performance, compared to previous standards of LED. Researchers have shown that butterflies use an identical method for communicating to each other over long distance.

The beautifully coloured wings of butterflies manipulate light using engineering tricks similar to those found in digital displays. The wing scales which works like photonic crystals, absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it. The re-emitted light interacts with fluorescent pigments to produce beautiful colours. There's so much science behind the beauty of butterfly.

Dedicated to those of you who adore butterfly!!!

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Addressing the damages of COFFEE

I wrote an article on Sunday about how we benefit from coffee, mostly emphasizing on health. For you guys, who haven’t read it, here’s the link. My dear friend, Sarey, after reading that article, sensed bias in it. That’s true actually. I was totally ignoring the bad effects of that. He wrote an article highlighting on how caffeine could kill you, with reference to past cases as well. Here’s the link for his article. Sarey, I’m honoured to have a friend like you, and thank you for taking time to address it. I would highlight on some other bad effects of coffee, not mentioned in his article.

Everyone knows that coffee is a stimulator. It gives adrenals a kick, causing in production of more adrenalin (handles stress) and more cortisol (which is also known as the stress hormone) resulting in a short-term benefit of heightened awareness. The quantity required to boost this get higher and higher making you want to drink more and more to get the required effect. It could get very addictive and ultimately could result in adrenalin exhaustion. The raised level of cortisol results in constriction of blood vessels, harder pumping of the heart and higher blood pressure.

Caffeine and some other substances produced by high heat of roasting (creosote, pymdine, tars and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). These substances are acknowledged carcinogens (cancer-causing substance or agent). However, coffee has never been conclusively linked to cancer. At least, not yet.

Coffee contributes to dental caries which is an infectious disease damaging the structure of teeth, and causes tooth decay or cavities. It causes more frequent urination and subsequent loss of various vitamins and minerals such as B, C, calcium, iron and zinc. It also hampers the absorption of essential minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, zinc, iron and B’s.

Caffeine in coffee may aggravate osteoporosis by leaching calcium from bones, may also increase intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma, and aggravates stress in people who drink it every day. Many of the chemicals in coffee (including decaf) irritate the lining of stomach causing an increase of stomach acid leading to digestive disorders.

Coffee been the most heavily pesticide sprayed crop, also affects quality of sleep. It’s not an exhaustive list of bad things, but quite a bit huh! Still, it’s widely believed and proved that it is far healthier than the damages.

DO NOT drink coffee if you’re pregnant, if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, gall stone, high cholesterol, or a tendency for blood clots or stroke. Try to avoid coffee at all, if you have mental illness, insomnia, or anxiety.

For those of you who doesn’t have any of those problems and drink coffee daily, you could consider taking a good vitamin or mineral supplement to replace lost electrolytes, minerals and vitamins due to diuretic effects. Don’t forget to drink PLENTY of WATER.

After reading about benefits of coffee, most of you guys felt good that you drink coffee. There were some good comments. You’ve the right to know the damages it causes as well. Hope this was informative although coffee drinkers certainly wouldn’t enjoy reading it.

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

FACEBOOK – Application Requests – Could it be considered spam?

I’ve being away from Facebook for about 2 days or less. Not because I got fed up with that, I’m a bit busy with assignments and exams these days, so trying to disallow it from distracting me. I’m very distraction-prone. :-S.

Anyway, I logged-in to Facebook to see what’s going on there. To my surprise, I had more than 80 invitations for different applications built on Facebook, of course, from my friends, and more than 100 notifications. That’s all within 36 hours or less. I’m mostly have Facebook open, and do whatever I do with requests as soon as I get it.

I don’t add or join most of these applications. There are several thousand applications on Facebook platform. How can one person possibly have all those applications? I don’t want to keep these requests unattended and have to go through the hassle of clicking ‘ignore... ignore... ignore...’ every time. For a single application, there could be requests from 10, 20 or more friends and each would be separate. Couldn’t Facebook, group all requests for each application, so that it would be convenient for the user to either add or ignore the requests with one click. How much time could we save?

Recently, they have grouped the application requests shown on the home page; 5 facelift request, 100 kick-my-a** requests, 1000 other requests. It’s a good improvement. Prior to that, there’d be a long list of requests on the right- sidebar of your home page.

Could it be considered SPAM? Some of the applications wouldn’t allow you to use it unless you invite at least 20 of your friends. “You did not invite enough friends. You must invite 17 more friends”. What the heck!! They are forcing you to invite. They are pushing you to send spam. Some of the applications have a ‘skip’ button in the invitations page, that’s a good thing. I don’t know. Maybe I’m exaggerating. I was clearing up the requests and maybe the irritating ‘right-clicks’ made me write about this.

Is there a better way Facebook could handle this? There are quite lot privacy settings for most of the applications, and the default settings would allow these applications to access your data. These settings can be restricted, but average user won’t be aware of it. Is this a concern? I have got too many questions today, isn’t it? Seriously, we should be aware of Facebook and what's really going on behind it. It's growing rapidly, with hundreds of thousand of new users daily. A lot could happen there. Consider this one of the few warnings!!

Well I’m so busy these days. I’ve being working on an assignment lately; due this week. And got 2 exams coming up next week and I haven’t started reading for that yet. So, doesn’t get much time to do anything else. I might be a little less frequent in updating this, and visiting all of your blogs. Sorry about that! I would be hosting a BIG party here on this blog after my exams... :P

Cheers!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Coffee Is More Beneficial Than The Damages It Cause

Don’t disagree with me yet!! First have a look at what I have to say. I drink a lot of coffee every day. So does most of you. It’s hard to start the day without a coffee. Coffee is both healthy and unhealthy at the same time and we know it. It has been proved that coffee keeps you healthier than the damages it cause. So why not drink 6 cups a day?

I’m not going to elaborate on the unhealthy part. ;). University of Scranton revealed that coffee is America’s no.1 source of antioxidants, an important compound that protects your body from many diseases; mostly chronic diseases. Antioxidants help stave off cancer, heart diseases, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and also lessen premature aging. This study ranked black tea as the second source of antioxidant and banana as third. Their advice for coffee drinkers is to spread coffee throughout the day. :)

Caffeine, the main ingredient of coffee, is used to for the treatment of Somnolence (drowsiness), migraine, and fatigue. It is also used to boost the action of pain relievers. It lowers your risk of Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and colon cancer. Having 3 cups a day reduces diabetes by a single digit, while 6 cups a day reduce it by 54%. Research has shown that men who take 4 to 5 cups of coffee (caffeinated) cuts the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease nearly in half compared to men who takes little or no caffeine daily. Caffeine enhances physical endurance, and protects against cirrhosis of liver (a disease causing damage and scarring of liver tissue and progressive decrease of liver functions). People who smoke tend to drink coffee more, and are at less risk to heart disease and liver damage than people who drink less. The more you drink the better it is. What’s that look? You don’t believe me? Google it!!! It’s not me who’s saying all this. More than 19,000 studies have been done on coffee and there’s lot of information available out there.

Coffee also contains substances responsible for giving anti-adhesive and anti-bacterial properties which help prevent dental cavities from forming. I wish it could make my teeth whiter :). It also helps in treating asthma and headaches. If you are an asthma patient, and you run out of medicine maybe at midnight, try drinking some coffee. One or two cups, maybe. They say it helps.

Coffee drinking kids perform better at school and it has been proved. It’s not because their mental ability gets better than others, but they stay more focused and awake in classes and exams. And no research has shown that coffee is harmful to children. A recent study from Brazil shows that children who drink coffee with milk each day are less likely to have depression than other kids.

Coffee could be very harmful to pregnant women. It is harmful to the central nervous system stimulation of the baby inside the womb and also affects birth weight. Heart patients are advised not to drink caffeinated coffee. Doesn’t mean they can’t drink coffee. Decaf is everywhere!!! But, if you are pregnant it’s wise to totally avoid coffee.

Bottom-line is if you drink coffee a lot, don’t feel guilty about it. Keep drinking more. Coffee is far more beneficial than it is harmful. We drink it to stay awake, to be more active and not to feel the fatigue of overworking; and it does a lot more than that. Go and have a Lavazza, Melitta, Boncafe’ or whatever you prefer. Let’s go for a coffee!!!

Cheers!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

How Much Does Music Affect You?

It’s not only us that dance to the music or tap our feet to the beat. Our heart, muscles, brain, lung or every cell for that matter, dances to the music. It could be you listening to something on your iPod, music playing on your computer while reading this post, background music at restaurants and shops, or sound of Aima band playing a musical while erecting a new building right next door. Music has a significant effect on your mood.

Music does so many things to our body like equalizing brainwaves, affecting blood pressure, heartbeat, respiration, pulse rate, body temperature, and masking unpleasant sounds. It changes our perception of time and space, strengthens learning and memory, and stimulates digestion. Music affects our body in such a large way, though we aren’t aware of it or some of us know and don’t appreciate it. It enhances your romance and sexuality, fosters endurance, and generates a sense of well-being. It affects kids a lot. While the baby is growing in the womb, music can help a lot. I found an interesting article about that.

Our brain has 4 kind of waves; Beta waves (14-20 Hz), Alpha waves (9-13 Hz), Theta waves (4-7 Hz), and Delta waves (0.5-3 Hz). Beta waves occur when we focus on daily activities or have strong emotions. Alpha waves occur when we’re calm and are in a state of heightened awareness. When we’re sleeping, meditating or in an inspiring mood, that’s when Theta waves occur. That’s the state when we can do creative things. In DEEP sleep or DEEP meditation, Delta waves occur. I wonder what happens when I sleep. I don’t sleep; I hibernate. What waves would my brain produce then?

Many professors have done research and published findings about this. They say that, the slower the brain waves, the more relaxed, contended and peaceful we feel. Different type of music alerts different waves, and it depends on the person as well. Mozart could help, if you’re in a daydreaming, unfocused or emotional mood. ;) . We breathe to a rhythm and it changes depending on the music we’re listening to. When you breathe deep and slow, you have better control of emotions, think deeply, and even speeds up metabolism. When you listen to fast paced music (heavy metal, I love it), you breath is short and fast, and you’ve a tendency to make mistakes while banging your head. But that depends on how you react to heavy metal. I don’t have a problem studying while listening to that.

Our heart picks up frequency, tempo and volume of sounds and reacts to it. It changes pace accordingly and effects pulse rate. This is subtle. Yet it reacts to music. As a result of all these minor changes, the body temperature varies accordingly. Vibrations caused by earthquakes create tsunami. Music produces the same kind of vibrations; much lower than that though.

I was listening to Megadeth for continuous 3 days, about 2 weeks back. Then I changed to Metallica. After 4 days, I started listening to a country radio. I could never stay on the same pace for long. I have being listening to James Blunt for about 5 days now.

I have this assignment due next week. I wrote a few pages about 3 weeks back and this week I couldn’t focus on it at all. Whenever I open the document and start thinking, I find myself doing something else. And last night I was wondering; what’s going on with me? I wrote like 1500 words in 3 days before. Why can’t I do it now? Suddenly I thought of changing music. Resuming Joe Satriani’s musicals, which I listen to most of the time, I found myself writing again.

I have a strange taste of music. I listen to everything, now and then. But mostly, I listen to Satriani, Steve Vai or Metallica. I listen to heavy metal when I’m on the go, walking to the beat, it’s soothes. You should try it, if you already don’t. I can’t stay alone without music. It seems as if the silence would entangle and harm me in some way. I know, it's stupid!! Does that happen to you guys? Appreciate music. Listen to different kinds of music and see how much wonders it can do. It’s the ‘International Language’. You might not understand the words, but, definitely, you can dance to the tune. What are you listening to now? I was listening to Mozart while writing this article. Mozart, huh? It’s time for some more Satriani. :)

Cheers!!

Hammett

Image taken from here.

Predicting 2008 - Forthcoming Technologies

Many new technologies have exploded throughout that year 2007, including Facebook, iPhone, Nintendo Wii. A recent technology from NeuroSky which translates brainwaves to commands, making it possible for any electronic appliance to be controlled by just concentration, is a major breakthrough in 2007. It’s hopefully going to be on the market this year. You can read more about it on Neo’s Blog. Using nano-technology to boost battery power for laptops, iPods, mobile phones or other devices that use lithium batteries, is a notable technology demonstrated in 2007. This technology is s not on the market yet. I came across this interesting article about technology prediction for 2008 in BBC website. Here's the link to the article.

This year is going to be remarkable in the development of technology. BBC has predicted 5 major technologies that could be BIG this year: the web to go, Ultra Mobile PCs, IPTV, WiMax, and Mobile VoIP. Technologies that could blur the online and offline world have been announced in 2007. Google announced Gear which would enable online web content to be taken and used offline. Adobe’s Air used an EBay desktop application built using Air that could do much of the legwork required to setup an auction offline making the content to be posted automatically when the user connects to the Internet. Microsoft Silverlight has the ability to run desktop applications in a web browser. Zoho, creator of free online office package and other applications, use Google Gear to enable users to use these applications quite similar to desktop applications. Still these technologies are not used much, but BBC predicts that many more applications that use these tools will come out this year. A lot more is to come yet!!!

Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs) has not taken off yet. One of the most talked about UMPCs is ASUS EEE, a sub-£200 laptop about the size of a hardback book, weighing less than 1Kg. The laptop runs Open Source Linux and uses 4GB of flash memory instead of hard drive. The manufacturer predicts to sell 5 million in 2008. Samsung has shown off chips that could be used to make 120GB memory cards. We could see more laptops coming out with flash memory instead of hard drives this year.

IPTV has not been used much because of the internet bandwidth. Internet bandwidth is presumed to improve this year and IPTV is predicted to capture the market soon. BBC is also has a product coming out, iPlayer, which allows people to catch up BBC’s output over the internet. WiMax, a technology that delivers high speed broadband over long distances, is used quite widely in United States. Although it has not been used much in many other countries, BBC predicts WiMax growth to be notable in 2008. Voice over IP (VoIP) is becoming quite famous for making calls over the internet. Some mobile phones are VoIP enabled with services like Skype. More mobile phones manufactures are introducing VoIP enabled phones and it could grow rapidly this year.

What other technologies can we expect this year? It’s quite unpredictable, what they could come up with. Narrowing the divide between online and offline world, and NeuroSky’s recent technology that translates brainwaves could be the most notable. Don’t you wish just thinking what you’ve to write in this blog, instead of actually having to typing everything? I do!! How much time could you save? My dream is to use the PC/laptop, lying on the bed, wearing a glass with NeuroSky's technology. So that I dont' have to use the mouse, type, sit here looking at the LCD/TFT. How cool could that be? :P There is so much to come. It’s going to be a big year for techno geeks making it much harder to keep up with new technologies that it has ever been. I’m still lagging behind trying to keep up with last year’s developments. Don’t expect any less!!!

Cheers!!

Hamemtt

Picture taken from guardian.co.uk

Fireworks Delineate End of 2007 and Beginning of 2008

I’m not a person who celebrate events like New Years, Eids, birthdays and any other days you could add to it. I could say that, because I usually don't do that, and I don't have the urge for celebration as most people do. However, New Year’s Eve turned out to be one of the greatest nights ever. The night started with pizza and some drinks at a friend’s place. Afterwards, we went to a huge pub in Victoria called The Albert. The place was damn full and entrance closed, forcing us to find another pub nearby. The Slug and Lettuce turned out to be pretty cool hangout. The place was decorated nicely for New Year’s Eve; a fantastic venue with the right ambience for the evening. It was so enjoyable; happy faces, everyone laughing with the party spirit, enjoying the few hours before ending a long year.

Everyone was dancing like crazy. I’m not much of a dancer (not at all), moving slowly to the beat. Danie made me dance; I couldn’t resist. She thought me few steps and I was good. J Thanks to her, she was dancing up a storm. We planned to go and see the fireworks at zero hour. However, due to unplanned setback we couldn’t see the first minute. The amazing firework lasted for about 10 minutes. London eye was so colorful and sometimes not visible because of the fireworks going on the foreground. It was a stunning scene, lighting up London, streets were so packed and people stood everywhere staring at the impressive display. The darkness awakened by impressive lights invading the sky as Big Ben strikes 12. Just WOW… Happy New Year 2008!!! It’s good to start a new year with excitement. Thanks to Brigitte for organizing it.

After watching fireworks, we walked through Westminster to a pub in Leicester Square called O’Neil’s. It was a cold and drizzly night. Police presence was high. There were mobilized first aid units helping those in need. The pub was awash with people. You can’t standstill when you hear beats like that. Great music! I enjoyed stone-cold sober, every bit. It was about four in the morning, when we were ready to go home. I was so tired and sleepy, but I had a fabulous time nevertheless. And guess what…… London underground was free after midnight. Saved a bit!! Hehe.. J I reached home at about 5. Tried to sleep, but my brain wouldn’t shutdown. I was running back and forth between bed and this chair till about 10a.m, when I fell asleep.

It's a new year now. Is it ??? I don't see any difference in my routine. I don't have resolution, which isn't my thing. Probably I should make a resolution and add 'more reading' to it. I don't know. I read all of your blogs, that's a lot. Isn't it?

Anyways, a glorious New Year to you guys. If you have resolution, try to stick to it till the last digit on todays date changes to 9. Hope you guys had a great time!! Obviously I did!! It would be nice to hear about your New Year’s Eve.

Cheers!!
Hammett