Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Just wanted to add... that irrespective of how competitive the environment is, even competing companies tend to work/integrate so well with each other... This post originated from a Yahoo company: flickr.com and went straight into a Google company: Blogger.com

What an interconnected world we live in :)

Slower than I thought.... Blogging frequency :(

Just wanted to add... that I started with the hope that I will be regular and will manage to do some frequent blogging, but I guess it's not as easy as one thinks...

The first few happen very quickly, the excitement gets you going, but then the slowness starts to kick in.... Now I need to figure out a way to be regular, so let's see what happens...

Any one has any ideas?

Forgot about the trek... The Amazing Devaria / Deoria Tal (Lake)

Just forgot to add... the uphill climb/trek was to a beautiful Lake named Devaria Tal (Village Sari, Near Ukhimath, Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand)... BTW, some people spell it as Deoria Tal, but I like Devaria Tal better...

I must say, a wonderful experience... Lush (really lush) green surroundings, huge Snow laden Mountain Ranges as the backdrop, Night Camping, Jungle Trek, Crystal clear Skies in the night for Star Gazing... what more do you want? Oh yes, the Beautiful Lake itself ;)

A must visit place, highly recommended...!!
Don't miss it while it's still not very famous...

Here is the official link but with very little details. Let me know if you need more details about the place...
http://gov.ua.nic.in/uttaranchaltourism/Devaria tal.htm

Also, my pictures below are much better than what you'll probably find on the Internet ;)

Finally, here are the (great, LoL) pictures...

The Beautiful Lake: Devaria Tal


The Lushy/Mushy Greens all around our Camp...



The Mesmerizing Sunset (and Sun rays)...



The towering Chaukhamba (4 Peaks) mountain...
About 7000+ mts, almost as big as mountains get, and as close
as you can get to one of the big ones... Icing on the Lake ;)


Happy Trekking,
Saurabh

The importance of being fit...

Just wanted to add... that recently I shocked myself when I was tired like hell in my attempt to do about a 3km uphill trek... I was resting on my past laurels and was feeling (a little over) confident that 3km wouldn't be a big deal, but I was proved wrong, very wrong...

7-8 minutes into the climb, and it felt like somebody stole my oxygen cylinder... Things improved slightly as I continued the climb, but the fact that I was not as fit as I used to be, is still haunting me :(

Did finally manage to finish the trek, but took much longer than the usual time...

So, I'm now working on getting a little more fit everyday, and if you're reading this and have had a similar experience, please get started too...

Best of Luck..!!

Only if the Spammers knew…

Just wanted to add... that only if the great Spammers of world knew (precisely) where their target audiences exist, then it would have been easier for millions of people out there to go through their daily mail checking ordeal…

Staying in India, I and many other people I know have to deal with hundreds of spam mails everyday and the sad part is that almost all of the spam seems to originate and is also intended for our brothers & sisters from the western parts of world…

I get spam regarding ‘100s of Dollars in Savings’, ‘Improving my Credit Scores’, ‘Free Federal Grants’ and only god knows what else, but I have no real use for any of them... You know, I would love to save 100’s of dollars on shopping, but the truth is that I can’t, even if I want to :(

I also think that nobody, from anywhere in the world, would have actually ever benefited from Spam (other than the spammers, I meant)… but that’s not what I am here to comment on… Spam is bad, why people do it etc. enough has already been said about that.

What I just want to add is that somebody (probably a spammer, they are supposedly technical geniuses) should come up with some sort of technique where they can figure out which geographical location does an email address belong to and if the “Special $100 Coupon” is not applicable to people from that location then do not send them that special offer...

This will not bring an end to Spam, but certainly has the potential to drastically reduce the volume of spam for some of us. And, the spammers get a niche audience :)

Can be done, should be done... Just hoping that someone is already working on it… or gets inspired reading this...

Imagine… a spam free world (for some of us)
I wonder if you can…

You may say that I'm a dreamer…
But I'm not the only one… :)

Want to warn Smokers... Think logically...

Just wanted to add... that I guess Dr Ramadoss (India's Health Minister) and his team needs to think a little more logically if they really want to warn smokers, in the hope that they might (repeating myself, just might) quit smoking some day...

Putting up labels (Text or Pictures) on cigarette packs has not been very effective anywhere in the world... However, if the Health Ministry is still hell bent on putting up labels, I suggest that they go as far as putting the labels (NOT only on the cigarette packs) on the individual cigarettes also...

Here are the 2 main reasons why I think doing this would be more effective:

1. Many (and then some more) people simply choose to buy loose Cigarettes (just 1 or 2 at a time, as whole packs can be expensive). So the packs with all those warnings & pictures will simply rest in the bins.
   
   This means that many of the actual smokers do not get to see the pack at all, unless of course another law is introduced where "Panwaris" (Cigarettes vendors) are forced to make the smokers read the Cigarette Packs... :)
   
   
2. Also, even those buying a full cigarette pack, will simply take out a cigarette and put the pack back where it came from (packs are hardly worth admiring) and that's about it.

What a waste of money, time, and effort in trying to put Warning Labels on cigarette packs :(

On the other hand, having the labels/warnings on the Cigarette itself would act as a constant reminder... May be, something on the butt, or on the visible portion of the filter etc... I am sure somebody out there would come up with an innovative idea, after which each drag would constantly remind the smokers of what they are doing to their bodies.

On a side note, the Health Minister should also try and work with the Education Ministry in order to educate our school going children about the ill effects of smoking. This way (hopefully) lesser youngsters will take up smoking and at least the next generation will be healthier..!!

Schools are the best place to teach good habits, not only Accounts, Computers, English etc... Catching them young is very important...

Hoping that somehow this gets read by those that matter... In case someone has anything else to add (for or against) they are more than welcome to post Comments...

First things first...

Just wanted to add ... that the reason I selected the Black coloured ("colored" for my American friends out there) layout is to save some electricity/energy. Some of my friends out there understand what I wanted to say... hope the others get it too, very soon... :)

I am inspired by the website www.blackle.com, so just hope that more people will get inspired by watching other inspired souls like me...

So, please search using Blackle.com rather than Google.com and if you can, please switch to Black websites/blogs etc etc...

You'll be happy to know that you are still getting the same results using Blackle.com, but more importantly, you are saving some electricity/energy too. Feels so good..!!

Spread the Word, or the Link..!!