The New Age Zombies

1. Smartphone Users

For us, let's face it, it's all about the Battery Charge, Bq!!

I’ve said this before, briefly, in my previous write-up about the strange life of the phone battery. The golden equation of charge retention for uninterrupted power outage and misery avoidance goes something like this

14 ≤ (Bq) ≤ 17; and valid for all integer (only) multiples of this value.

Any deviation from this rule will invariably involve frantic moments with high levels of perspiration, pockets bulging with chargers, constant charge monitoring of the battery level indicator and/or the cell phone dropping dead between a call!!

Scary, I know!

Of course, there are conditions apply to this rule too. Assuming that your typical work day starts by say 8 every morning, you are taken care of at least till 10pm; for the late nighters till about 1am!! Often with new age smart phones if this rule is met, it’s more than good enough!

Battery Blues

Imagine now you get battery backup in non-integer multiples.

So when Bq < 14, you may have to put it to charge just as soon as you might be reaching home; and then if your night involves a dinner out, you gotta charge it a little at least before you hurry out and then put it back on charging before hitting the sack!

When Bq > 14, you still have some charge left in your battery when you’re about to turn in for the night, and you are bugged thinking you really don’t want to charge when your battery is still 25% full!!

So either ways, you end up having to do a lot of math if you want to get your phone’s charging cycle right, and that’s almost every day!!

Why this matters?? (are you kidding me !)

Well, to the casual user these things hardly matter, but make this a practice, and soon you’ll see that your battery charge retention has gone down.

So after being through this frustrating mental exercise the first few months of my smart-phone usage, I reduced the time spent on non-phone features – most of which drains out my battery – games, heavy internet usage etc during the peak times of the day. If I’m left

with ample charge towards my day’s end, I then liberally use my phone for gaming and 3G surfing!

Still, I do a lot of math, and I don’t deny it does get difficult at times. But I’m slowly getting used it – most of it now comes to me as though it’s all hard wired into my system – am now one of those new age zombies \m/ !

Peace,

$ur

Cyclic ?

Off late I've been rediscovering old interests, of which, ones like last.fm, I never knew I missed so much until I rediscovered it for good. It is interesting how certain things stick on after one cycle. Like fashion, you know, people always say that it is cyclic in nature - that trends and fads change, but then after a whole cycle, one day a random guy decides to dress a little retro and BOOM you have it doing the rounds again. 

So it may be worth trying that old hobby of yours' again; the one that probably didn't get you hooked onto for more than couple of days last time around !

Most of my hobbies have been that way too, pretty cyclic in nature, I get really involved in something for few months and then slowly that interest starts to wane off. Then somewhere down the lane, one day I get some new ideas to revive it up and am all excited once again !

Have you ever felt this way ?

Peace,

$ur

Facebook

Pessimist's Version - 

No good has come out of posting on FB; but then why do we still post on FB ?? Is it because our online profiles are more rhetorical :P ?? 

Or is it just the sheer pleasure derived out of saying something totally bothering you; something you are psyched about; something to just know what others have to say about it, without having to ask them anything and making it unpleasant or awkward ?

Well, there can be a myriad number of reasons I suppose, just the different perspectives !! 

Well, it may well be that people wanna share their thoughts on a wider scale, reach out to more people at the same time without having to repeat it !! But knowingly or unknowingly aren't we feeding the introverted part of our conscience ?

Optimist's Version - 

Don't think too much !! Its just plaintive as this - to keep in touch, duh !? 

A way for the less extroverted, to start opening up, perhaps !!

Well, whatever it was, did the inceptor think this much through ? I bet he didn't ! Its the people and their minds that give birth to these numerous meanings of materialistic life. Sometimes you'll be surprised if you stop to think, 

"Almost everything is man-made"; we are all playing our parts as if it is all meant to be this way !! 

A lingering thought ~ comments ?

Peace,

$ur

Stop to think over this bit

Its been my observation that people who tend to go to extremes of emotions, tend to always be swayed a lot.

Its like saying, the more resistance you offer to change, the greater chance of you getting changed.

This concept applies to everything that happens around you. Why otherwise do you see the aerodynamic design in vehicles ( cos otherwise the performance of the vehicle is compromised due to air resistance).

People who are radical in their viewpoints tend to be pushed down in the long run. People who are pretty smart ( and slightly out of the ordinary ), are always the ones getting the rude stares and rebukes, the reason being in a way, that they are drawing too much unwanted attention to themselves.

Maintaining a low profile therefore, is a way of being a moderate person, at least in the eyes of the onlookers ;)

So, if you are with me till now on this concept of mine, I ll go a little ahead by saying, the lesser resistance you offer to even things you despise, the lesser negative effects those things will have on you.

So if you say while joining college, for example, that it is an infuriatingly damned place and you ll never ever miss it after you have passed out; the more chances that you will dearly and most painfully miss it when you are actually out of it !!!

Peace,

$ur

Err...True Devotion !?

Today morning, while I was praying in the temple; a guy stepped in front of me, rendering me unable to see the deity. I thought of moving a little aside hoping to get a glimpse of my favourite lord...but in vain. I was just thinking of asking the guy who was responsible for this state of my despair, to move a little, when he started to chant loudly some of the longest prayers ever written.

I had, but no choice, than to wait for the person to move after his religious chanting.

On coming back, I pondered on this particular issue. I had seen this happen quite often in my country, at different places, from time to time. I asked myself, was it really devotion to god, by being selfish, not by allowing fellow devotees to chant in peace ? Did chanting long verses of prayers after getting to the front of a long queue, stepping on the toes of people behind, really earn you any godly bliss at all ?

Most often, we ourselves don't realize that by doing such acts of indifference, knowingly or otherwise, we are overstepping that code of conduct, much demanded of us. I don't see how our gods and goddesses will be happy about such people, who even after having sung innumerable number of prayers, pushes and shoves others all the time.

Often, we see people going on pilgrimages, to cleanse themselves of the sins that they quite shamelessly did, in the bygone year. Here, while referring to devotees who go on pilgrimages, I don't mean to offend them in any manner; there are always people who do it with a good heart and also people, who fake devotion, actually fooling none other than themselves. I was referring to those people, who never even near the temple, let alone praying on usual days, even when they can; but speak of going for pilgrimages once every year to compensate for not going daily or weekly.I have always felt that, being a devotee doesn't necessarily mean, going on pilgrimages and often to temples far and famous. Again, you may debate on this saying, its a personal habit; maybe, but all in the good sense is always fine.

True devotion therefore isn't therefore, the number of verses of mantras you have sung or the number of temples, churches, mosques or gurudwaras you have visited; It is being true to oneself and to god, that matters. If you pray with conviction, and be responsible for your actions, and won't try and repeat them again after confessing to your lord, then thats all that will make yourself and the god you pray, happy.

If you find this writeup a thought provoking one, please drop in a comment !

Peace,

$ur

If a change is resisted...you might be losing that much needed experience called Life !

I must say that its been some time since I blogged...Been on the run with lots of other things on my mind...And with that came changes that taught me some important lessons in my life, mostly regarding my interaction and relationship with people.

People generally are known to resist changes. Most often you get bored of the same old routine in your life..you look out to people around you and start to think.." Hey now thats fun.." .But because even the very thought of change, gets you a cold feet almost instantly, you resist it.

I admit that I myself was a person who loved to stick to things which went mostly by majority opinion. Never did I stop to think whether I felt differently about some things that happened around me...

One person studying whose personality taught me to be myself, and in being so, think independently, also taught me to accept changes. He was one of my closest pals from the day we met, to the day fate parted us. Hats off to you man for all that you taught me, mostly through just being with you for the most part of your life.

A change, conscious or not, is a different feeling. It is very much analogous to changing the profile on your mobiles ;-)...You step out of the "you" you were and start to look at things little differently. Initially its like you are in a new place where you don t know anyone...but sooner you are ready to accept the new change in your life, the sooner you adjust.

One thing that i learned from a change is how fresh we feel, when we get out of own "old" skin and look at it in a way others see it. Sometimes, you will find things that you might want to change in yourself.

I have a reputation of writing long blog entries which go abstract as it thickens !!

I just wanted to let all of you know how good I felt when I started to accept changes in my life, and began to take every moment of my life as a lesson teaching me something trivial or the other.

Hang around for more, soon..till then

Peace,

$ur