Earth day - Climate change is happening!

Bad change is something which we do not accept either knowingly or subconsciously but when we are quite aware of that change taking place around us, we ought to act before it consumes us in the end. That is how we are, ignorant enough to open our eyes and see the reality around us. It has always been the same tale with us; we react only after unimaginable events occur by expressing what we could have done to stop them.

When you recall how your colony or the place you live currently used to look like a decade ago, the changes would seem very drastic. Even though we do not remember much, which is yet another tragic story, we might at least remember vague scenes from the past. Back in 2004 in the city of Hyderabad, the long stretch of highway between R.K Puram and Kothapet was covered with overgrown trees attached to the V.M Home compound. Though it did not cause any disturbance to people, they were cut down by the authorities for road widening. Also, the inner roads were different too, with big trees growing in the middle, acting like natural dividers. But we wanted new dividers with a little patch of grass on them, the kind of grass that needs huge amounts of water for its maintenance, and the kind of grass that dries in summer. So, the good old trees were taken down and the little dividers were constructed. It did make the area look clean and modern, but it resulted in the loss of greenery and tree census. While this is about a single area, the whole city of Hyderabad which seemed like a summer getaway back then has become a get-away-from city now. The average summer temperatures a decade ago stood at 40 degrees Celsius, while the same average temperatures now are touching 45? While this is about a single city, the whole country is experiencing water shortage and the Latur district case is one open example. According to recent statistics (Source: Newspaper) nearly 1/3rd of the districts in our country are experiencing drought/ water shortage. It sounds simple, stating something in a single sentence, but the lives that depend on that water are the ones being affected. Just today, because of high temperatures, almost 200 huts caught fire in the state of Bihar, which sounds illogical but true. 

Humans are incapable of noticing gradual change, it is the way we were programmed. It is said that a person living by the sea slowly fails to acknowledge the roaring sound of waves, which is how we are ignoring the fact that climate change is happening and is very much a serious issue than celebrity relationships. After all, this is the only place we have to live, eat, love and die. 

Conditions

We come across many difficult situations every day. Some of them make us very sad and some of them are so cruel that the fighting spirit inside us loses against the intolerable cruelty. Just when we lose all hope and conclude that the world is a bad place to live in, the cloud with its silver lining begins to shower the drops of strength, which inspires us to move forward, carrying with us the new hope to stick to our paths no matter what. Hope is what inspires us to wake up in the morning and take control of our already stumbled lives, in an attempt to conquer our daily woes and finally rest for the day when the time is right and when the sky is dark. Hope is what we yearn for when we are stuck in the deepest trenches of misery and the nod of approval from someone close to us sounds like the brightest of light at the end of the tunnel. Hope is what drives the pigeons to build new nests when the crows overthrow their eggs and destroy their old homes. It is that one moment's strength we find inside us when we break apart from the addictive drug called sleep, realizing that we have so much left to accomplish. But in the end, we are all mere mortals, who have completely forgotten that nature claims everything around us and we have no choice but to return to her gracious haven when we have completed our part of the bigger journey. The end is unstoppable even for the mightiest and the richest; it is as probable as the mango trees bearing fruits in summer,   the children crying in their infancy and the Earth revolving around the Sun. We are all but confused minds heading towards a singularity, but with each one of us choosing our own paths, ideologies and beliefs.

The Martian Frenzy

The recent 'news' about the discovery of an old statue that resembles Buddha on the Red planet raised speculations about intelligent life on Mars. Strengthening the theory, image of an alien's shadow was also captured, which made half of the internet users who do not use their brain to believe that aliens worship Buddha on Mars. This is where we lost the bigger image of an even more exciting theory of how entire civilizations could have existed on Mars and what conditions could have led to their extinction.

Indus Valley Civilization is considered to be one of the first well flourished civilizations that existed on Earth. I remember the history lessons that described how they had built underground canals for transportation of water even in those times. Even though it was the genesis of development, it had to end at one point of time. Today, all that exists of such a great civilization is just ruins for archaeologists to study, which by the way, is considered very precious because we can still learn a lot from them.

I am sorry for including the history touch from school but I wanted that piece to prove what I feel might be a possibility. The Indus Valley was just the beginning. We now live a very different life, one that is more comfortable and sophisticated. We have technology without bounds and thoughts without boundaries. We have equipment to reach other planets, for example, Mars. NASA is recruiting suitable individuals for an expedition to Mars early next year. (Source: Newspaper, not the Internet) We also have nuclear weapons that could wipe out the entire planet within a few minutes. Press a button and its gone. Not just a small place in Japan, but the whole of the Earth can be destroyed just like that.

Now here starts the funniest part of this whole thing. The following sentences will be starting with a 'what if' which means that this is just my mind coming up with this stuff, only because I like it. So what if Mars was our actual home millions of years ago when Earth was not yet suitable for human survival? What if people lived on Mars just like they do now here, with all the technological advancements? What if they even possessed the nuclear intelligence and the ability to reach other planets like we do now? I would seriously not recommend this, but what if they had their own religions and worshiped almighty by building statues just like we do? What if a war broke out some day and they finally knew life could not continue on Mars? What if a group of humans moved to Earth, where by that time, dinosaurs and other habitat were living; and with the descent of humans in their ships from Mars, the dinosaurs had to go extinct because of the sudden impact? (From what I studied, dinosaurs went extinct because of a meteor shower that was immense) What if we are the descendants of those humans who were the lone survivors from our home planet called Mars? Doesn't it make things pretty convincing? I mean, if we buy the theory that we are all descendants of Adam and Eve or that we evolved from monkeys, I am sure this theory would make things even more understandable. We moved from one planet to another to survive, big deal! After getting here, we started from scratch, discovered fire, invented the wheel, fast forward, built the pyramids!

That must be why we are so obsessed about finding life on other planets. So that one day we could move again if things go wrong on mother Earth. Another recent news that needs attention is the increase of ice quantities in Antarctica and that we could be heading towards a mini ice age in a couple of years.

Nope, don't wanna ruin this planet, because even if we wanted to move to another one, it is a billion light years away.

The Concept of Infinity

Infinity is a value that is beyond our reach. Or so we learnt from our textbooks and never gave it a thought again. Recently, my younger sister who treats me like her younger brother asked me why we could not cancel infinity with infinity and write the quotient as 1. I started explaining, "So imagine. Infinity is something which cannot be counted. If the infinity in the numerator is infinity and the infinity in the denominator is one less than infinity which is also equal to infinity, then you cannot write a 1." I know, that sounds like crap.

So I sat down and started writing this. For the second time, imagine this. If a newly born baby started writing numbers the whole time everyday, till she/he reached old age and passed away, they still wouldn't have reached infinity. And if their posterity continued from where that person left, still they would not reach infinity because the numbers still keep going on and on like a woman's chatter. The funny part is, all those numbers were written using just 10 digits, 0 to 9.

If it is this difficult to imagine what infinity would be like, we are taught that the universe is an infinite space of emptiness. If we could not even cross the galaxy, what could probably exist beyond that? Beyond the last known galaxy? Spooky thoughts! What if some other person somewhere in this infinite space is writing the same crap and sheepishly grinning at the thought?

However, it is to be kept in mind that infinity is an invented concept and it did not exist before man thought about it. The metric system, the calculations, the theories, algorithms, programs and equations were all human invented. Now if you are wondering if there is something that we did not create and complicate our lives, there sure is. It is called time. That is the only known quantity that no one came up with, not even Einstein or the other eminent scientists of His time. Notice the transition? The sentence 'we live in a different time now' says it all. The quantity has changed! It is changing even now as I write one word and move to the next! Merlin's beard!

Yes that was a Harry Potter's reference, thanks to Rowling.

'To infinity and beyond!' Nope, not gonna go there bro.

Review : Efficient Reminder Free

Efficient Reminder Free is a useful application that helps you keep up-to-date on all your important tasks at hand. It belongs to the genre of reminder applications and is quite easy to use. This application is available for specific versions of Windows Operating system viz., Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and  Windows 8 (both 32 and 64 bit). It is a freeware application available in the market.

FEATURES

Efficient Reminder comes as a package of many different options to choose from. This application does not require further installation once you download it. It can also be placed in an USB drive and used on any computer you work with. You have the ability to decide on creating new storage spaces. Also, when you are creating an event in the application, you can enter all details regarding the event like the deadline time, the date, levels of importance and alarm requirement. It is very easy to use as the interface is absolutely user-friendly. You could also add comments to your events for better understanding so that you quickly remember everything with a single glance. This application provides better filter options to go through your tasks. The user can also change the background of the application and include colors of choice. You also have the option to run the application every time the computer starts which automatically saves you a lot of time.

COMPARISON

There exist a lot of similar applications that provide almost the same function as an Efficient Reminder. Being an application of the reminder genre, Efficient Reminder faces tough competition from other applications like Remember the Milk, WunderList and Google Tasks. The latter is an online application and it becomes difficult for you to go online every time you want to use it. The other applications are simple and user-friendly ones with a graphical interface that provide the user with diversified options at setting reminders on their computers. But, in spite of all these other applications, Efficient Reminder is recommended on several websites online.

CONCLUSION

Efficient reminder is an easy to use application which occupies very little space. It is a portable application that can also be used on other computer systems. It does not influence you computer RAM speed and there have been no complaints about the system breaking down because of the application being run.

DEVELOPER

Efficient Reminder was developed by Efficient Software, which also developed other applications like Efficient Calendar free and Efficient Man’s organizer.

To download efficient reminder: Click here

Review: Efficient Diary

Efficient Diary is a free software application with which you can maintain an e-journal on your computer. Instead of using a paper diary, this application can be of much use to those who love writing a diary on the computer. This application is compatible with selected versions of Windows Operating system viz., Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and 8 (both 32 and 64 bit).

FEATURES

It works on a simple interface with detailed options, so an amateur user can work on it without complexity. Efficient diary allows you to store files in text format, so a simple text editor can be used to write your information. You can store all your personal information safely, as Efficient diary lets you choose a password for your entries. The main window shows you all the texts entered recently, so you will not find difficulty in finding your entries. You have a wide range of options on text format, colour, font and alignment. The graphical interface also lets you pin the weather condition and the status of your mood to the text of the day. The interface also supports addition of images, tables and URLs for storage and future reference. If you want to roll back and read your entries later, you can easily find them by utilizing the search option. The search process takes place with respect to the date, month and year of your entry. You also have a useful option where you can store details about other people along with your text entries.

COMPARISON

Efficient Diary is a unique software application and has minimal range of competition from other sources. Even though there include other applications like Evernote, Notezilla, My Life Organized and Memonic, Efficient diary has its superiority because of its options. Evernote and Memonic are web based applications meant to post notes for reminders and to do tasks. Notezilla can be used to scribble notes and post them on your desktop screen for reference. My Life Organized is a multitasking organizer which lets you manage your tasks, meetings and project details efficiently.

CONCLUSION

Efficient diary is a useful application to all computer enthusiasts, who like to keep detailed notes about their daily life. It is very easy to use and occupies little space on your hard disk drive. It is recommended on several sources online and does not alter your system performance in any way.

DEVELOPER

Efficient diary was developed by Efficient Software, which is a software developing firm. Some of its other products include Efficient notes, Efficient calendar and Efficient sticky notes.

To download efficient diary: Click here

What makes you angry?

Anger is an emotion that we can never hide even though we wish we could, because of its impact on you and your surroundings. The evilest feature associated with anger is that it stops your brain's thinking for a while. All your senses revert to a state of hibernation like the Bears do during winters. You lose focus on who the person in front of you is and how your next action will affect her/him.

Now when we talk about anger, the first basic question we could ask ourselves is, why do we get angry in the first place? You woke up with a huge grin on your face, had a warm bath, wore your favorite shirt and are all set to go out and conquer the world. Right at that point, your mother accidentally spills a drop or two of your favorite chutney on your shirt, while handing you the breakfast. The fact that you woke up with a grin and were about to go rule the world is just lost in a quarter second. You have no control on what you are going to do next and the emotion that builds up inside you is anger. Going in a general sense, since it was your mother in that situation, all you can do is storm off from the house without eating breakfast.

The little example above has got many things to teach us and the fact that it is a common situation in everyone's lives makes it more empathetic. One, we are all humans and it takes a lot of control over your mind to not get angry. Two, we all wake up with a strong sense of enthusiasm everyday and it is those little things that happen to us that change our mood. Three, your mother makes the best breakfast and you know it. Four, in spite of being aware of the previous point, you chose not to eat breakfast because of your anger, which means indirectly you chose to starve yourself. Finally, the most important lesson that anger teaches us is that, it is you and you alone who is going to suffer because of your anger.

That was just a simple example where we all get angry unnecessarily. Other such situations include your daily encounters with people around you. But if it is the contact with people that is leading you to get angry, then there is no solution for your problem. Because, we cannot stay away from interacting with people and that is the prime need in a human's life.

So how do we reduce that anger inside us? Simple, do not take decisions and do not make statements when you are angry. It is said that, 'the ability to speak 6 languages is a great gift but the ability to stay calm and cool when angry is a greater gift'. However, it depends from one person to another and it is finally our own view of how one should deal with anger.

During one such Q/A session on twitter, long back in 2012, this is what Actor Siddharth had to say about how he dealt with anger. (My twitter handle was aB_writer_1 back then)

So the question for you to ask yourself is, how would you react and calm yourself when you are angry?