~ Epic Mashup ~

One of most seamless movie mashups ever to be made. Watch this & let me know if there is something which is better than this.

~ Information overload ~

Ever wondered what the netizens of the world do in 60 seconds? The infographic below is the answer to that.

Via: The Next Web

Am sure those reading this post, have an account in one of the above application & do contribute a substantial footprint. Off-late I have tried my best to share very less content on networks.

Not sure about others, but I have experienced distraction while I had Tweetdeck running. After 6 months of self discipline, I have kind of cut down twitter usage. Currently, check my TL while commuting to office {P.S: I do not use smartphone while driving. I take the company transport ;) } or during lunch. The below diagram is an ideal representation of how my mind was before.

Mental desktop of Distraction Junkie. Source: Componentowl

Am slowly getting to a different state. To see how the mental desktop of Zen Coder looks like, I suggest you read the post - Are you a Zen Coder vs Distraction-Junkie. 

I definitely need some kind of Intelligent Algo OR need to cut down on the number of people I follow in the Social Networks to filter the Noise from the Signal.

A new kind of addiction can be seen around - consuming or producing content and being hooked to a mobile device. This might lead to a different health issue if we don't know how to maintain balance b/w online & offline world. 

GoodNight! going offline :)

~ Animals as leaders ~

An interesting name for a music band ain't it? Animals as Leaders. I discovered the band during this season's Bangalore Open Air. They are American instrumental progressive band based out of Washington.

Don't mistake this blogpost for a review on the band. I felt the title goes well with the subject, as Humans we have lost control of our inner instincts in the world of Darwinism. Through the years of evolution, mankind might have evolved from being animals to intellectual beings. We have tried our level best to create a society by defining rules & institutions in various forms to have control over people. Why? To maintain order in the system where things can run smoothly & efficiently. 

However, the human mind hasn't been able to define a rule or a law which could adapt to the Continuous Evolution {CE}. The rules & institutions which were supposed to create an environment where everyone would have equality & freedom hasn't really happened even after so many countries have gained Independence from Colonial Rulers. 

Am sure you are wondering what is that am trying to convey with a progressive metal band name, Darwinism, Institutions, etc. This rant has been over the passing of judgment, which let Zimmerman walk free over the killing of young boy, Trayvon Martin. Also, how the systems which were created haven't evolved over changing times or the reformation of the system has been very slow.

Many Americans across major cities in the US have taken to the streets protesting the judgement. There have been numerous blogs & mainstream media covering it. From the User-Generated clutter on Social Media, these 3 posts stand out.

Gary Younge writes 'Open season on black boys after a verdict like this' in The Guardian

Appeals for calm in the wake of such a verdict raise the question of what calm there can possibly be in a place where such a verdict is possible. Parents of black boys are not likely to feel calm. Partners of black men are not likely to feel calm. Children with black fathers are not likely to feel calm. Those who now fear violent social disorder must ask themselves whose interests are served by a violent social order in which young black men can be thus slain and discarded. 

But while the acquittal was shameful it was not a shock. It took more than six weeks after Martin's death for Zimmerman to be arrested and only then after massive pressure both nationally and locally. Those who dismissed this as a political trial (a peculiar accusation in the summer of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden) should bear in mind that it was politics that made this case controversial.

Amy Davidson asks 'What should Trayvon Martin have done?' on her blog in The New Yorker.

I still don’t understand what Trayvon Martin was supposed to do. I’ve asked before, and received many confident answers; since the moment George Zimmerman shot him dead, there has been no shortage of loudly stated certainty about his actions and explanations of how it all ought to have gone. Most are presented as self-evident. Many are contradictory. None are satisfying. In part, that’s because we don’t know exactly what Martin did in the very last minute of a life that ought not to have ended. More than that, too many of the prescriptions are not about what Martin was supposed to do, but who he was supposed to be.

The third one where Charles Blow writes the Op-ed column in the NYT, "The whole system failed Taryvon Martin"

This is not to dispute the jury’s finding — one can intellectually rationalize the decision — as much as it is to howl at the moon, to yearn for a brighter reality for the politics around dark bodies, to raise a voice and say, this case is a rallying call, not a death dirge.  

The system began to fail Martin long before that night.  

The system failed him when Florida’s self-defense laws were written, allowing an aggressor to claim self-defense in the middle of an altercation — and to use deadly force in that defense — with no culpability for his role in the events that led to that point.

This isn't the first time we have seen injustice taking place in the world. We have been witnessing across the world time & again. Except that there is change now, people are no longer silent. They have started protesting against Govts or Institutions - Arab Springs, Occupy WallStreet, Greek protests, Nirbhaya protest. 

In the recent past, Indians have taken to the streets to protest corruption in the institutions which are meant to serve. The other one which shook India was the protests in Delhi over the rape and subsequent death of the victim. 

Even though Obama has spoken about Trayvon Martin case yesterday, that he could have been the person 35 years ago. He tells there are the flaws in the system & could drive reforms for a better & safer country. 

Compare that to our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's speech given during the Rape protests. The speech is more like a news reading & ending up "Theek hai". Interesting, the 'Theek hai' video has removed from Youtube, probably a request from the Indian Government.

We might protests for freedom of speech, liberty, democracy, et al. As leaders Politicians might speak up from their past experiences or prepared speech. The speech could be for political gain or otherwise; in the end, the ground reality needs to improve for everyone in the system. 

Connecting the 3 - the title of American instrumental progressive metal band, Evolution and Institutions. We have a lot to learn from Animals. While they might live their lives out of instincts, there is some order in their system. Even though we Humans have evolved in many factors & attained mastery over many domains, we still are fighting over basic things in society we created. The Institutions - Democracy, Laws, Constitution, etc which were created to bring order and equality still hasn't been conducive for everyone. 

Till then I feel Animals are far better than Humans.

~ Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio | Pure Muscle ~

From the gallery 

From the print advt 

The Richards Group has created a body painted print advt for Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio to depict the tagline of the car - Made of pure muscle. 

Watch the video to find out how the advt was created.

~ Dadapeer Chatra is history ~

The Public Works Department (PWD) created history by razing Dadapeer Chatra, which is 3 kms from Hampi. The structure is 153 years old, which was built by a local sultan in 1860.

Sadly none of the Indian main stream media, State or National, have reported this in any medium - print  or digital.

Only DailyMail has a report on this. Wonder if Karnataka Govt is serious about conservation.

H/T: Came across this via Amog's post.

~ 200 Calories ~

Wish some of your favorite food might had lower calories ;)

More details here.

Via Guy Kawasaki

~ Decoding nature ~

Graduate student Eirik Ravnan works with a parrotlet that he is training to fly from perch to perch in order to be filmed by a high-speed camera. (Photo: L.A. Cicero)

We might have advanced in many domains, but we still have a lot to explored & learn from the natural world. For me, nature has been the inspiring architect for the design and creation of so many animate objects with varied features & functionalities. The adaptation of each being to their respective environment and the subsequent evolution to the changing factors is just fascinating to observe.

A study undertaken by the Standford Mechanical Engineering is just one such step. Many people across the world have been keenly observing the natural order to innovate in the nano technology & the bi-robotics sphere.

"The best way to prevent a small drone from spying on you in your office is to turn on the air-conditioning," said David Lentink, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford. That little blast of air, he explained, creates enough turbulence to knock a hand-size UAV off balance, and possibly send it crashing to the floor.

A pigeon, on the other hand, can swoop down busy city streets, navigate around pedestrians, sign posts and other birds, keep its path in all sorts of windy conditions, and deftly land on the tiniest of hard-to-reach perches.

"Wouldn't it be remarkable if a robot could do that?" Lentink wondered.

Via Stanford.edu