Gmail to work offline

You can now create Gmail, or browse your inbox, without a connection to the internet - but the new feature comes tacked with a warning.

In an upgrade announced on its Gmail house blog today, Google says its web mail service can now be used with Gears – the company’s technology for synchronising on and offline content.

Instructions on upgrading your Gmail settings to accommodate Gears are here (see also the one-minute video below).

Once you’re set-up, Gears downloads a copy of your Gmail inbox to your PC’s hard drive. Gmail defaults to this cached version if you’re offline or if you’re encountering a ropey connection - "Like when you're 'borrowing' your neighbour's wireless", as a Google engineer writes on the blog, with studied zaniness.

However, like everything to do with Gmail, and with Labs, the new offline feature is in beta and Google warns on its blog: "Offline Gmail is still an early experimental feature, so don't be surprised if you run into some kinks that haven't been completely ironed out yet."

As the correspondent writes, the kinks include Offline Gmail not actually showing up under Gmail's Labs tab yet. A rep for Google tells NBR that Gmail Offline "is being rolled out progressively over the next few days, so there may be a slight delay in it appearing".

Massive Job Cuts even at Microsoft

I have been hearing the word “job cuts” almost everywhere I turn to. With falling revenue from sales and income taxes, and property-tax declines looming, states, cities and towns have already to lay off tens of thousands of government employees (believable?) though sad, it’s happening. Everyone seems to be firing rather than hiring. With just over 5 minutes of research I was able to find articles everywhere about thousands and thousands of job cuts, and not only that, it seems to be the fastest growing headlines on some of the more popular news sites now.

There were so many organizations that have announced job cuts. And now, its the turn of IT Major Microsoft. Overlooked in the Microsoft announcement about its layoffs of 5,000 people over the next 18 months is this startling revelation: The company's revenue decline is due, in large part, to the growth in the sales of Netbooks.

In a statement, Microsoft announced that because of the economic meltdown and slowing IT spending, it will lay off 5,000 people. Overall it reported a 2% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year. It had a total of $16.63 billion in revenue for the second quarter this year.

While overall growth was 2%, Microsoft took a big hit with its client software, and a big reason for that was netbooks. Here's what the company said:

“Client revenue declined 8% as a result of PC market weakness and a continued shift to lower priced netbooks.”

That's an astonishing admission. It means that people are forgoing higher-priced laptops, and instead buying netbooks --- and many of those netbooks are powered by Linux. So Microsoft loses out not only on sales of Windows, but also sales of Microsoft Office as well. Estimates are that 30% of all netbooks ship with Linux.  This is all the more reason why Microsoft needs to ship Windows 7 quickly, and will most certainly do it before the announced 2010 ship date. Windows 7 has been designed to work with netbooks, and Microsoft hopes it will be a Linux-killer.

If you want to read the full Microsoft announcement about layoffs, you can get it here.)

What we don’t usually see.

Blogspot (blogger) has a nice selection of hidden links that are very helpful to users. Finding help to seeing updates–these links are a nice list to bookmark in case you should ever need them.

The blogger help pages:
http://help.blogger.com/?page=help

A list of the blogs that have been updated in the last five minutes:
http://www.blogger.com/changes10.g

The XML feed of the blogs that have been updated in the last five minutes:
http://www.blogger.com/changes10.xml

Current bugs in blogger:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42108

Bugs in the beta version of blogger:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=44251

Reset your blogger password:
http://www.blogger.com/forgot.g

Blogger Terms of Service:
http://www.blogger.com/terms.g

Hope this information is useful to you :) Happy Blogging.

Beware : Adwords Phishing email in circulation

From: Google Adwords-noreply [mailto:adwords-noreply@google.com]
Sent: Saturday, Jan 10, 2009 9:40 AM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: [Released by Allow List] Please Update Your Billing Information
————————
Dear Google AdWords Customer!

In order to update your billing information, please sign in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com , and update your billing information. Your account will be reactivated as soon as you have entered your payment details. Your ads will show immediately if you decide to pay for clicks via credit or debit card. If you decide to pay by direct debit, we may need to receive your signed debit authorization before your ads start running, depending on our location. If you choose bank transfer, your ads will show as soon as we receive your first payment. (Payment options vary by location.)

Thank you for choosing AdWords. We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.

Sincerely,

The Google AdWords Team
————————
This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message. If you have any questions after following the steps above, please visit the Google AdWords Help Center at https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?topic=8336>

The actual destination login URL hidden under the display URL: http://adwords.google.com.fr4ck.cn/select/Login

Clearly, this isn’t from Google.

It is phishing attack designed to steal your billing information. Beware!

Here’s Google’s response to this:

From: XXXXX [mailto:XXXXXXXXX@google.com]
Sent: Monday, Jan 12, 2009 3:16 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: [#255928689] [Released by Allow List] Please Update Your Billing Information

Hi XXXXXXXX,

This appears to be a ’spoofing’ email sent to some AdWords advertisers recently. ‘Spoofing’ refers to the act of fraudulently altering certain properties of an email to make it appear as though it originated from a legitimate source. The email can then lead to a deceptive website which collects sensitive personal information. In this case, the email may have appeared to be from Google AdWords, asking for your account login information. Please do not respond to these emails.

Google is not responsible for nor are we able to monitor the actions of other parties. However, we are very committed to ensuring the safety and security of our users and our advertisers, and we take issues of fraud seriously. Moreover, we’ve dedicated a number of resources towards preventative measures, such as the Google Safe Browsing extension for Firefox. You can find more information about this feature at http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/safebrowsing/.

Here are some steps you can take to ensure the security of your account:

* Be wary of unsolicited messages. Google will never send unsolicited messages asking for your password or other sensitive information. If you need to change your account information, such as your billing details or your password, always sign into your AdWords account from https://adwords.google.com and make the changes directly within your account.

* Check the message headers. The ‘From:’ address and the ‘Return-path’ should reference the same source.

* Make sure the URL is legitimate. The AdWords homepage URL will always be https://adwords.google.com.

* Change your Google Account password frequently. To learn how, visit https://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=24828.

* Report suspicious messages to adwords-charge@google.com.

* Keep your computer’s antivirus and spyware protections up to date and regularly run system scans.

If you believe your Google AdWords account may have been compromised, please let us know so that we can initiate an investigation.

Best,

XXXXXXXXXX

——————
XXXXXX
Account Associate
National Agency Team

In-session Phishing

A bug found in all major browsers could make it easier for criminals to steal online banking credentials using a new type of attack called "in-session phishing," according to researchers at security vendor Trusteer.

In-session phishing gives the bad guys a solution to the biggest problem facing phishers these days: how to reach new victims. In a traditional phishing attack, the scammers send out millions of phony e-mail messages disguised to look like they come from legitimate companies, such as banks or online payment companies.

Those messages are often blocked by spam-filtering software, but with in-session phishing, the email message is taken out of the equation, replaced by a pop-up browser window.

Here's how an attack would work: The bad guys would hack a legitimate Web site and plant HTML code that looks like a pop-up security alert window. The pop-up would then ask the victim to enter password and log-in information, and possibly answer other security questions used by the banks to verify the identity of their customers.

For attackers, the hard part would be convincing victims that this pop-up notice is legitimate. But thanks to a bug found in the JavaScript engines of all the most widely used browsers, there is a way to make this type of attack seem more believable, says Amit Klein, Trusteer's chief technology officer.

By studying the way browsers use JavaScript, Klein said he has found a way to identify whether or not someone is logged onto a Web site, provided they use a certain JavaScript function. Klein wouldn't name the function because it would give criminals a way to launch the attack, but he has notified browser makers and expects the bug will eventually get patched.

Until then, criminals who discover the flaw could write code that checks whether Web surfers are logged onto, for example, a predetermined list of 100 banking sites. "Instead of just popping up this random phishing message, an attacker can get more sophisticated by probing and finding out whether the user is currently logged into one of 100 financial institution Web sites," he said.

"The fact that you're currently in-session lends a lot of credibility to the phishing message," he added.

Security researchers have developed other ways to determine whether a victim is logged onto a certain site, but they are not always reliable. Klein said his technique doesn't always work, but it can be used on many sites including banks, online retailers, gaming and social networking sites.

Source : CompuWorld

India: a major terror target

Thousands have been killed and hundreds maimed and devastated in terror strikes in the last six years. It is unfortunate that we as a country are facing hostilities from our neighbouring countries since independence.  Pakistan since its creation has always harboured terrorist elements against India with an intention to destabilise our country.  China the Big Brother supports Pakistan in their endeavour to divide India.  We face threats from Bangladesh and from Sri Lanka in the South.  Since we have open borders with Nepal, terrorists use Nepal as easy entry and exit points.  Our borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh are porous and not fully sealed.  We face trouble on the North -East side with China claiming Arunachal Pradesh.  These countries hobnob with these terrorists and have helped them to establish their bases from where they can carry out their evil acts.  So all the expertise for planting Bombs on soft targets come from these countries.  But not everything can be done from these foreign bases.  So they take advantage of the unemployed youth and others who fall easy prey to their indoctrination and create local groups who foment trouble in all cities across India.  They take help from some political class and the corrupt officials provide fodder for their entry and exit from India.

Not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are Muslims. So Terrorism is not about Muslims only and their quest for Jihad. Religions do not give permission of mindless killing of innocent people, and those who are indulging in such activities have nothing to do with any religion. Nothing can be achieved by making humanity to bleed, and those who swear by the name of political goal are nothing but inhuman and should be treated in a very strong manner. No stone should be left unturned to bring these enemies of humanity to book.

I would like to pay my sincere homage to all those who had lost their lives in this blast. I express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims, and want to assure them that they are not alone, this entire nation is equally depressed at the loss of lives. Put a brave face against the enemies of humanity and do not let them succeed in their motive of terrorising us.

Following is a chronology of the major terrorist attacks in the country:

Mumbai, Nov 26, 2008: At least 195 killed and many more injured in seven terror attacks targeting mostly foreigners' hangout places.
Assam, Oct 30, 2008: At least 45 killed (figure can change) and over 100 injured in 18 terror bombings across Assam.
Imphal, Oct 21, 2008: 17 killed in a powerful blast near Manipur Police Commando complex.
Kanpur, Oct 14, 2008: Eight people injured after bomb planted on a rented bicycle went off Colonelganj market.
Malegaon, Maharashtra, Sep 29, 2008: Five people died after a bomb kept in a motorbike went off in a crowded market.
Modasa, Gujarat, Sep 29 2008: One killed and several injured after a low-intensity bomb kept on a motorcycle went off near a mosque.
New Delhi, Sep 27, 2008: Three people killed after a crude bomb was thrown in a busy market in Mehrauli.
New Delhi, Sep 13, 2008: 26 people killed in six blasts across the city.
Ahmedabad, July 26, 2008: 57 people killed after 20-odd synchronised bombs went off within less than two hours.
Bangalore, July 25, 2008: One person killed in a low-intensity bomb explosion.
Jaipur, May 13, 2008: 68 people killed in serial bombings.
Hyderabad, Aug 25, 2007: 42 people killed in two blasts, at a popular eatery and a public park.
Samjhauta Express, Feb 19, 2007: 66 people killed after two firebombs went off on the India-Pakistan friendship train.
Malegaon, Maharashtra, Sep 8, 2006: 40 people killed in two blasts.
Mumbai, July 11, 2006: 209 people killed in seven blasts on suburban trains and stations.
Varanasi, March 7, 2006: 21 people killed in three blasts including one at a temple and another at a railway station.
New Delhi, Oct 29, 2005: 61 people killed in three blasts on the eve of Diwali.
Mumbai, Aug 25, 2003: 46 people killed in two blasts including one near the Gateway of India.
Gandhinagar, Sep 24, 2002: 34 people killed in the attack on the Akshardham temple.

An email in circulation asks this :

Are these dates pre-planned or mere coincidence?
13 May -------- JAIPUR
June -------------------
26 July ------------ AHMEDABAD
August ---------------------------
13 September ------------ DELHI
October -------------------------
26 November --------------- MUMBAI
December ----------------------------
13 January (Today) ----------------- Where Next?

I wish this does not happen. I wish there there are no more terrorist attacks in India and that we are able to live peacefully. In case you come across any suspicious activity, any suspicious movement or have any information to tell to the Anti-Terror Squad, please take a Note of the new ALL INDIA TOLL-FREE Terror Help-line "1090 ". Your city's Police or Anti-Terror squad will take action as quickly as Possible. Remember that this single number 1090 is valid all over India. This is a toll free number and can be dialled from mobile phones also. Moreover, the identity of the caller will be kept a secret.

Let us make each and every citizen of India aware about this facility.

Section 49-O of the Constitution of India

Many-a-times emails can be used to mislead people. I have received this email a couple of times and I am sure you might have received the same too. When we receive such emails we believe them to be authentic and have the natural tendency to forward it to others. I have copied and pasted the email as below.

Did you know that there is a system in our Constitution, as per the 1969 Act, in Section "49-O" that a person can go to the polling booth, confirm his identity, get his finger marked and convey to the presiding election officer that he doesn't want to vote anyone!

Yes such a feature is available, but obviously our seemingly notorious leaders have never disclosed it. This is called "49-O".

Why should you go and say "I VOTE FOR NOBODY"... because, in a ward, if a candidate wins, say by 123 votes, and that particular ward has received "49-O" votes more than 123, then that polling will be cancelled and will have to be re-polled. Not only that, but the candidature of the contestants will be removed and they cannot contest the re-polling, since people had already expressed their decision on them. This would bring fear into parties and hence look for genuine candidates for their parties for election. This would change the way of our whole political system... it is seemingly surprising why the Election Commission has not revealed such a feature to the public....

Please spread this news to as many as you know... Seems to be a wonderful weapon against corrupt parties in India... show your power, expressing your desire not to vote for anybody, is even more powerful than voting... so don't miss your chance. So either vote, or vote not to vote (vote 49-O) and pass this info on...

"Please forward this mail to as many as possible, so that we, the people of India , can really use this power to save our nation". Use your voting right for a better INDIA

When I read this for the first time, I was very much surprised and happy that such an article exists in Constitution of India. But I was curious to know more details about the article and couldn't find anything on the net other than certain blogs and other forums where the topic is discussed. My search finally lead me to the Constitution of India Handbook and I am not able to find out any reference to this rule.

Quoting from the Constitution of India Handbook:

“Article 49 Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance

It shall be the obligation of the State to protect every monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest, declared by or under law made by Parliament to be of national importance, from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.”

This article is under Part IV Directive Principles of State Policy, and there is no such article 49-0 in The Constitution of India.

The Election-related Articles (324 to 329) have nothing along these lines. Please click here to visit the official link of the Handbook for Presiding Officers issued by Election Commission of India:

Now, the Interesting part. The search lead me to another document "The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961” published by the Ministry of Law & Justice which explains this rule. The creator of the email got confused and he has confused many others I believe. There is no such directive or rule in the Constitution of India which allows us the right to say No, but there is such a section in ‘The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961”. It says:-

“ Elector deciding not to vote.-If an elector, after his electoral roll number has been duly entered in the register of voters in Form-17A and has put his signature or thumb impression thereon as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, a remark to this effect shall be made against the said entry in Form 17A by the presiding officer and the signature or thumb impression of the elector shall be obtained against such remark”.

The section does not say about cancelling an election. As per my understanding you can record your thumb impression or signature and prevent any other person from voting in your name.

If there was a provision as mentioned in the email, do you think the Media would have kept quiet about it? So my advice to you, before you forward sensitive information please make use of Google or Yahoo or MSN or any other search engine and do your homework.

‘Proof of Address’ cards

Many working people often shift their houses.  For them, it is difficult to produce an address proof issued by the Govt with their latest address. You need to intimate all the banks, service providers wait for the verification and then wait for up to a month to get a bill with the relevant details which some authorities would use as an Address proof.

If you find yourselves in this situation, you can approach India Post (our post offices) for a solution. You can get an Address proof along with your photo from India post. Since the ID proof is issued by India post which is a Central government organization, it can be considered as an alternative to Govt ID cards like Driving license, Voters ID etc.  This ID can be used for opening bank accounts, getting Telephone/Internet connections etc.

The scheme is already in use in Tamil Nadu and is currently provided in Chennai and Coimbatore where number of industries are high.  For other districts, you need to enquire in the head post office of corresponding district. The total cost for getting this ID card is Rs.250/ (Rs.10 for application and Rs.240/- processing fee). For more details please enquire with your nearest post office and also click the links below.

The Hindu, Chennai

The Hindu, Coimbatore

Tamil Nadu Post Website

This could be very useful for someone who you know. Please let them know.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.

I have once posted the full text of Steve Jobs’s  commencement speech at Stanford University. Till date, I haven’t come across the video on this one. May be because I haven’t looked for it. When I did, it did not even take a full second to bring it up. As I once mentioned in my post on this topic, almost an year and a quarter before, I read the speech by Steve Jobs whenever I feel low. There is so much of Inspiration, Motivation, Hope, Advice, Warmth in his speech.

I have read the full text over and over, umpteen times. Today, I have watched the video multiple times. Now, I can almost deliver the same speech without consulting any notes. There's only one part in it that I do not agree to, - the fear-of-death-as-motivation-to-follow-your-dream.  Better to see that all fear is unfounded, so you can have a life motivated by hope & love rather than fear, I think.

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish has become a Mantra to me. One by which I live on… I have posted the video that I found today here. May be you have already seen it. You will find new meaning to life each time you watch it. Please do not miss it.

The video is lengthy, about 22 minutes and YouTube offers two versions – the High Quality and the Normal Quality ones. Loading times may differ based on the Quality of video you choose to view. Please be patient.

Euro – The New Dollar?

Europe's single currency has come of age early. The Euro turned 10 on 1st January, a milestone for one of the most powerful symbols of European identity. It has already endured a rite of passage over the past few months, as the global financial crisis battered European markets yet failed to fluster the euro. And, like any debutante, it has its suitors: a string of countries lining up to dump their national currencies and join the euro zone.

It's a remarkable achievement for a currency whose only global rival is the US dollar. The greenback has more than two centuries of history behind it. But it wasn't until Jan. 1, 1999 that 11 European Union countries locked their national currencies together into a fixed exchange rate. Three years later, physical coins and notes became available, replacing national cash in a massive changeover operation.

The euro zone is now 15 members large and has a combined population of about 320 million. However, many more people are directly affected by the currency, from would-be members whose money is already pegged to it, to countries like Montenegro and Kosovo, whose effective national currency is the euro. France's former African colonies also peg their common currency to Europe's. That means about 500 million people rely on the euro or euro-pegged currencies.

The euro zone is now 15 members large and has a combined population of about 320 million. However, many more people are directly affected by the currency, from would-be members whose money is already pegged to it, to countries like Montenegro and Kosovo, whose effective national currency is the euro. France's former African colonies also peg their common currency to Europe's. That means about 500 million people rely on the euro or euro-pegged currencies.

Microsleep

Microsleeps are brief, unintended episodes of loss of attention associated with events such as blank stare, head snapping, and prolonged eye closure which may occur when a person is fatigued but trying to stay awake to perform a monotonous task like driving a car or watching a computer screen.

Microsleep episodes last from a few seconds to several minutes, and often the person is not aware that a microsleep has occurred. In fact, microsleeps often occur when a person's eyes are open. While in a microsleep, a person fails to respond to outside information. A person will not see a red signal light or notice that the road has taken a curve, which is why this phenomenon is of particular interest to people who study drowsy driving. During a microsleep, a pilot might not be aware of flashing alarm lights in the cockpit.

Microsleeps are most likely to occur at certain times of the day, such as pre-dawn hours and mid-afternoon hours when the body is "programmed" to sleep. Microsleeps increase with cumulative sleep debt. In other words, the more sleep deprived a person is, the greater the chance a microsleep episode will occur.

People with sleep disorders often experience microsleeps, but pretty much everyone can have them, particularly if they are tired. It should be noted that “Excessive Daytime Sleepiness”, a well recognized symptom, is not the same as microsleep, although microsleep episodes often occur during periods of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness.

Researchers have tried to quantify microsleep times and episodes in an attempt to develop a diagnostic tool like the commonly used multiple sleep latency test. However, this has proven difficult and at this time there is no agreed-upon clinical tool for assessing microsleep.

ബൂലോകത്തിലേക്ക്‌ മമ്മൂട്ടിയും

ബൂലോകത്തിലേക്ക്‌ ചുവട്‌ വെയ്‌ക്കുന്ന ആദ്യ മലയാളി താരമായി മമ്മൂട്ടി മാറുന്നു.  മിനിഞ്ഞാന്ന് മുതല്‍ ഈ  മഹാനടന്റെ കുറിപ്പുകള്‍ ഞാന്‍മമ്മൂട്ടി, i-am-mammootty.blogspot.com എന്ന ബ്ലോഗിലൂടെ ലഭ്യമാണ്.  (ശ്രദ്ധിക്കുക, മാതൃഭൂമി ക്ലിപ്പിങ്ങിലെ വെബ്സൈറ്റ് വിലാസം തെറ്റാണ്‌)

ബോളിവുഡിലെയും മറ്റു ഇന്ത്യന്‍ ഭാഷാ സിനിമകളിലെയും താരങ്ങള്‍ ബ്ലോഗിങ്‌ ആരംഭിച്ച്‌ ഏറെക്കാലമായിട്ടും ഒരൊറ്റ മലയാളി താരവും ഈ വഴിയ്‌ക്കുള്ള സാധ്യതകളിലേക്ക്‌ കടന്നിരുന്നില്ല.

മഞ്ഞക്കണ്ണടയെന്നൊരു പുസ്‌തകത്തോടെ  രചനയുടെ ലോകത്തിലെത്തിയ താരം ഏറെ ആവേശത്തോടെയാണ്‌ ബ്ലോഗിങ്ങിലേക്കും എത്തുന്നത്‌.

ബോളിവുഡ്‌ താരങ്ങളായ അമീറിന്റെയും സല്‍മാന്റെയും ബച്ചന്റെയുമെല്ലാം ബ്ലോഗുകള്‍ക്ക്‌ വായനക്കാര്‍ ഏറെയാണ്‌. ഈ താരങ്ങളുടെ ബ്ലോഗെഴുത്തുകള്‍ പലപ്പോഴും വന്‍ വാര്‍ത്തകളായി മാറിയിരുന്നു. മറ്റു പല കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ക്കുമെന്ന പോലെ മമ്മൂട്ടി തന്നെയാണ്‌ ഇക്കാര്യത്തിലും മോളിവുഡിലെ താരങ്ങള്‍ക്ക്‌ മുമ്പില്‍ നടക്കുന്നത്‌.

ബ്ലോഗെഴുത്തിനെക്കുറിച്ച്‌ മമ്മൂട്ടിയ്‌ക്ക്‌ വ്യക്തമായ കാഴ്‌ചപ്പാടുകള്‍ ഉണ്ട്‌. എഴുത്തിലെ യുവത്വമാണ്‌ ബ്ലോഗ്‌. സാങ്കേതിക തലത്തില്‍ ഏറ്റവും നൂതനമായ എഴുത്തെന്നും ഇതിനെ വിശേഷിപ്പിയ്‌ക്കാം. ഇത്‌ രണ്ടും തന്റെ വ്യക്തിത്വത്തിന്റെ ഭാഗമാണെന്ന്‌ മമ്മൂട്ടി പറയുമ്പോള്‍ ആരും അതിനെ എതിര്‍ക്കുമെന്ന്‌ തോന്നുന്നില്ല.

ആനുകാലിക സംഭവങ്ങളെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള എന്റെ കാഴ്‌ചപ്പാടുകളായിരിക്കും ബ്ലോഗില്‍ കൂടുതലായും ഉണ്ടാകുക. അതില്‍ സിനിമ കുറയും, സാമൂഹികം, സാംസ്‌ക്കാരികം, രാഷ്ട്രീയം, സാമ്പത്തികം തുടങ്ങി എന്തിനെപ്പറ്റിയും എനിയ്‌ക്ക്‌ തോന്നുന്ന അഭിപ്രായങ്ങള്‍ ശക്തമായും വ്യക്തമായും രേഖപ്പെടുത്താനുള്ള ഒരിടമായിട്ടാണ്‌ ബ്ലോഗിനെ കാണുന്നത്‌. -മമ്മൂട്ടി പറയുന്നു.

അങ്ങനെ ഈ പുതുവര്‍ഷത്തില്‍ ഞാനും ആദ്യമായി മലയാളികള്‍ക്കായി ഒരു മലയാളം ബ്ലോഗ് എഴുതി.   ഇനിയുള്ള ദിവസങ്ങളില്‍ കൂടുതല്‍ പ്രതീക്ഷിക്കുക. 

Reminiscing:

I stumbled upon the habit of diary writing 15 years ago and my set of personal diaries hold a lot of memorabilia. Some times it is essential to look for inspiration in droning period of life. Reading a few pages of the diary puts the zing back into the tedious life. Writing diary used to help me relive the cheerful moments that makes me happy again. In fact it is fantbulous to look backwards and find the lost days again. Maintaining the habit of diary writing helps improve memory. One can come to more logical conclusions of the events happened in the past as the strong emotions attached to the incident melt down and one can think calmly and reasonably.

It is perhaps one of the best things that has happened to me.  I started writing my diary when I noticed tears in an elders eyes, as he was going through his diary which he wrote some 42 years ago. Looking into his eyes, I could see events of his past unfolding. It was as if he was having a real trip down the memory lane. That was fifteen years ago and I was just 15 then. But have I been doing justice to my Diary off late? No, I haven't been. I have only scribbled a few pages in my diary in the past two years.  Though I am ashamed to admit it, it remains the fact.

Today, the pace of our lives are very fast. There is hardly any time to ruminate on our actions and their consequences. Like I posted earlier, I do not remember what I was doing on the wee hours of 2007. If I had updated my diary on the day, I need not have to struggle to remember. Writing diary at the end of the day will help you face your actions. If you jot down your problems the way out will be clearer as writing about your troubles helps finding solutions faster.

Pen your daily work and see the sea change in your routine. Mark your completed tasks and see yourself nearer to your goal. Your diary will constantly remind you of your ambition and desire and will prevent you from distracting from your focus. This is a good exercise for your brain keeping it energetic and razor-sharp.

Many surveys illustrate that the persons who write diary have a greater chance of shining with flying colours than those who do not maintain journal of any kind. In one research carried out in Yale, barely 5% students of 1953 batch put their ambitions in black and white. After 20 years, in 1973, this five percent was the owner of the 90% of the batch’s net worth. People who have an idea of what they want to become in their life, attempt to reach the target. But they are somewhat successful as though they had aim in their mind, they did not have particular, distinct in front of them. Honesty and discipline are other factors that join hands with success when one makes writing diary a routine. Thus writing about your goals in a diary encourages taking positive steps towards the achievement of your aspirations in life.

With the current pace of life, we might forget many simple things that happened to us. Meeting an old friend, noticing the rainbow, the strange call of a bird. I haven't been just to my Diary after 2005.  It will not be so from now on. It’s a promise that I have made to myself.

Writing a diary holds the following advantages too:

Memory : By noting down the day's events in a journal every night, we are forced to jog our memory as we recalls the events of the day. This exercise keeps the brain sharp and active, and it also increases memory. In fact, sitting down every evening and recalling the events of the day is a yogic exercise. May be we can escape from the claws of Alzheimer's by doing this.

Honesty : Keeping a journal also encourages honesty, because rarely do people lie to their diary. There is really no point in lying as no one will be reading our diary but for ourselves.

Discipline : Sitting down every night and writing a page or two in your diary is a discipline by itself. Random writing every once in a while naturally does not lead to discipline, but it does lead to some great memories. If we are regular with our diary writing, we are likely to be regular with other matters as well.

Keeping a diary or journal is a great way to express your emotions on paper and treasure experiences. Twenty years from now, you'll wonder what you were doing years ago. A diary will remind you of the good - and bad - times you had in your past. A diary can also help vent out anger and frustration as well as excitement. However, to make sure it is a complete document, you've got to stick with it. I am going to. What about you?

Moving Forward

It seems that every year is momentous, filled with joy and sorrow and significant change - 2008 has been no different.  I can hardly remember the final days of 2007 - it seems like my life now is so far removed from where it was just a year ago.  So much has changed, and yet so much feels exactly the same. Well, the time is upon us: reflection on another year gone by, resolutions for the year to come.

It's a tradition that stretches back probably to the time when man invented what is now known as the Calendar. Every year people make New Year's Resolutions, and by February, if not sooner, they're long forgotten.

Does it always have to be that way? I am not an expert at keeping all of my resolutions -- if I were, I'd have been a multi-millionaire and I would have been driving an all black Rolls Royce Phantom by now. Hmm… But I do remember my resolutions, and so I thought I would offer a few tips for those who are thinking of making resolutions but wondering if it's worth the trouble. Should I?

Don't call them New Year's Resolutions. The resolutions part is fine. The "New Year" isn't. Instead, make up a "goal" list. Something like, "Goals: 2009," you might have a better shot at keeping your resolutions at the forefront of your mind.

I'm not so sure on what to suggest when it comes to how many goals anyone should have on a yearly list. Some years, I've had as many as 50 goals written down, with the thinking that I'll probably achieve more during the year, but too many goals, and you can lose focus on what you're really trying to improve. But if you only have two or three goals for an entire year, and you fail at all of them, you're going to be demoralized come December 31. So if you're new to the New Year's Eve resolution scene, I'd recommend thinking up about 10 goals, making some of them fairly easy and within reach and two or three of them, pretty challenging. Put them to paper, of course, and check them periodically; at least once a month, preferably holding yourself accountable to a friend or trusted family member.

Here are some of mine:

• Save enough money – for what ever….
• Shave Everyday.
• Loose some weight.
• Make regular posts.
• Keep in touch with friends.

This is a small list but I don’t want to overwhelm myself. I need to feel as though I accomplished something this time next year :)

Lets see if by this time next year I have done everything!! The game is on! It’s time to start looking ahead.