Elements of Style - New Insights (for me!)

Frankenstrunk - The Boston Globe

But ''The Elements"'s new clothes can't hide the worsening limp and spackled complexion that plague this aging zombie of a book.

Return of the living dead - Jan Freeman - The W...

the book has a lot of silly or half-explained "rules" and a little advice about writing that's fine if you're already a good enough writer to apply it.

I read the section they're reffering to, and yes they're right! Why are so many people still hooked on it then?

Caught My Eye - 09/01/08

Internet and Stupidity - What's the connection?

This discussion seems to be the buzz right now - Is the Internet making us stupid or not? I tend to believe not as I explained in the earlier post on the same topic.

The Critics Need a Reboot. The Internet Hasn't ...
On the contrary: The explosion of knowledge represented by the Internet and abetted by all sorts of digital technologies makes us more productive and gives us the opportunity to become smarter, not dumber.

I agree completely.

29 Marbles / The internet doesn’t make people stupid…

If we do find ourselves in a new dark ages, it won’t be caused by the internet. It will be caused by people. (Of course, the internet will be there to document it all ;-)

These lines capture it the best! :)

Turning Diaries to Blogs.

Here are two interesting blogs that document the diaries of people from a different era. They are both posted in real-time, with just the year changing. What also seems interesting to me is that one of them is a World War I soldier's experiences, while the other one is George Orwell's experiences and thoughts, who was a political commenter during World War II!
Do you know of more such diaries that have been turned into blogs?


WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier

This blog is made up of transcripts of Harry Lamin's letters from the first World War. The letters will be posted exactly 90 years after they were written. To find out Harry's fate, follow the blog!

This blog is a collection of letters Harry Lamlin wrote to his siblings. I've just started reading it, and it seems to be very interesting, more like a story than a collection of essays.

About « THE ORWELL PRIZE

Orwell’s ‘domestic’ diaries begin on 9th August 1938/2008; his ‘political’ diaries (which are further categorised as ‘Morocco’, ‘Pre-war’ and ‘Wartime’) begin on 7th September 1938/2008.

I have to confess, I haven't read Orwell's work before. The domestic diaries are a little dull. I'm sure the "political" ones will be the ones to watch out for.

Language Pointers

Language Log » Hillary unwavers?

If a desert island is uninhabited by humans, it doesn't follow that humans uninhabit it. Likewise, if half the money was unaccounted for, that doesn't mean that anyone unaccounted for it. And you can say that someone's support was unwavering, but you can't say that it unwavered.

It's easy to fall into these traps. There have been several instances when I've commented or changed something a writer has written, but haven't been able to exactly describe why it is wrong. You know the the times when you know something doesn't read right, but you're not sure why? These "un" words used as verbs fall into that category for me. And this article has thrown some light on the why.

CJR: Comma Suture
“Seldom has the distinction between a restrictive and a nonrestrictive clause been more important,” wrote Dean Mills, who happens to be the dean of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

I'm someone who struggles with getting the commas in the right place everyday. And I sometimes feel that it's much ado about nothing (well almost). I mean how much of the audience cares about a serial comma. It should be okay as long as the meaning is clear. But this, evidently, is an instance where the humble comma makes all the difference.

What an IDEA!

I just love the Idea ads for Mumbai! I’ve heard the radio ones and seen the print ones. They have the right touch of satire, and they echo the sentiments of (dare I say) most Mumbaikars.

The recent vitriolic comments against out-of-state people who have made Mumbai their home were getting too hard to digest. I am a third-generation Mumbaikar. My roots are here, in this city. I cannot call any other city my home. But, my family’s roots do lie somewhere else in the country as well. How does that make me any less loyal or true to this city where I’ve been born and lived all my life?!

Sure, migrants may be causing infrastructure issues here. But, to insinuate that “non-Maharashtrians” are “taking away” jobs from “locals” is pretty stupid. Mumbai has always been known as the land of opportunity in the country. Anyone from anywhere with the right amount of talent and dedication can make a mark for themselves here. So, what is holding the so called “sons of the soil” back?

Of course, most people know that these are all political gimmicks. Raking up long-dead and pseudo-patriotic issues is an old ploy. If there are no issues, rake up something! The sad part is that these non-issues are affecting our image as a global cosmopolitan city. They’re beginning to damage the city’s social fabric.

What happens if one day, fed up with the constant bickering and turmoil, the Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas, Bachchans, Khans, Chopras, et al decided to get up and leave this city. Or people like them, who have the potential to transform the economy of the country, decide not to come here anymore? Do they really think Mumbai will continue to be the vibrant economic hub of the country? Aren’t we a country first? Shouldn’t the country’s progress come before all else? What happens if every city, every state decides that out-of-towners cannot live or work there? Where will we as a nation stand then?

All said and done, knowing the spirit of Mumbai, politically-motivated strategies like these will not affect us. What will affect us are ads like these. Congratulations to Lowe and Idea Cellular for the brilliant campaign!

What Caught My Eye Today

How I Stole Someone's Identity: Scientific Amer...
The author asked some of his acquaintances for permission to break into their online banking accounts. The goal was simple: get into their online accounts using the information about them, their families and acquaintances that is freely available online

Pretty scary. Although some commenters did mention a few loopholes in this "experiment", I have to go and figure out my weak links now!

Gmail Account Automatic Hacking Tool Presented ...
A tool that automatically steals IDs of non-encrypted sessions and breaks into Google Mail accounts has been presented at the Defcon hackers’ conference in Las Vegas.

I'll use https:// from now on...

The world's largest English dialect

Is it Indian English? Perhaps, but Chinglish is a close second, and may already have overtaken the language of the angrejiwallahs (which actually consists of several dialects).

Check out the colossal blunder link on this post!

What Caught My Eye Today

If You Use the Web, You May Have Already Been E...
"We are getting people to help us digitize books at the same time they are authenticating themselves as humans," von Ahn says. "Every time people are typing these [answers] out, they are actually taking old books or newspapers and helping to transcribe them."

Who knew that we're working even while we're logging into a website! I have to admit that this is a novel and obviously a very productive idea. But, I don't think completely understand how this works. Aren't they supposed to be validating what we enter? And if that is the case, shouldn't someone or a computer have already "decrypted" the letters??

Is Google Making Us Stupid?
And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.

I agree to this, but only in part. Very rarely do I take the trouble of reading every word of a resource online. I'll first scan to see if it has what I want or interests me. Then, I may or may not give it a second or third read. But, does that mean it's making us stupid? We're processing far more information faster. We don't need to spend hours poring over a book to realize that it's not what we were looking for. We can search for exactly what we want, get much more information, filter the information faster, and (I believe) process the information better. I believe that the Internet has played a large and effective role in enhancing self-learning. Sure we generally skim through the surface, but the important point is that if something really catches our interest, we make it a point to read it through completely. We'll bookmark it, add our own comments, go back to it when we have more time or when we need the information again. The point is if the Internet was only about skimming through stuff and not analyzing and understanding the information we really want to, this post wouldn't have generated so much discussion in the first place.

Andrew McAfee
I don’t see why everyone shouldn’t be following in our footsteps. We’re amused when we hear about companies banning sites like Facebook at work. You hear things like "it is a distraction to workers", so are you banning cell phones because Facebook has a great app that resides on mobile devices, what’s stopping them from accessing it there? Often we hear, "aren’t you concerned about confidential information being put on Facebook (or the internet in general)?", our response is "if someone wants to release confidential information about your company maliciously they will find a way to release it". Ironically, since people tend to use their real names on Facebook posting confidential information is the least of our worries, it doesn’t take much to track who posted what and when. We also hear "aren’t you afraid that if all your employees are on Facebook that recruiters will start poaching your best talent?", our response is "if you create a corporate culture that embraces the fact that your employees are people and gives them numerous ways to not only contribute but help shape both the direction and the image of the community they are part of then we trust that we will always have an engaged workforce." We started this off by saying every employee in our company is a PR person, a marketer, a developer, etc.., We want everyone that wants the opportunity to get involved.

Facebook as a company intranet? That's very interesting. But, does it work for Serena only because of the way their company is structured? I know there are organizations where not only will the management consider it to be a waste of time, but the employees themselves probably won't want another "task" added to their workload. But, it could just be a matter of time. Once people realize the benefits and the need for Web 2.0 implementation, the use and participation will grow further. The managements will benefit from the "free" marketing, while the employees will benefit from developing closer friendships and support groups at work. As far as "wasting" time goes, it's hard enough to find enough time to finish your work for the day, will someone really spend hours doing this stuff for fun if they have other more pressing tasks to complete?

I'm registered on a few social networking sites. And I don't really get the time to log in or message my friends that often. But, I will NEVER delete my account on these sites. Simply because these sites have put me back in touch with a number of my long-lost friends. I still dont keep in touch with them regularly, but if I feel like talking to any of them at any time or if they want to get in touch with me, we know there's a way for us to do that...wherever in the world we might be.

Holiday (Part 2) - Manali

From Delhi we took a bus to Manali, where I enjoyed a lovely, memorable, long-awaited, but (unfortunately) short holiday. To say that Manali is beautiful would be a gross understatement. The hills, the valleys, and the rivers left me enchanted. I wished we could extend our holiday by a few days, a few weeks. But, we’d already overrun our budget and staying on would also mean disrupting other plans.
We took an overnight bus from Delhi to Manali. And IMHO, that has to be the best way to get there. As the bus starts its way up the mountain early in the morning, waking you up from your sleep, you open your eyes to a gushing river flowing right outside your window. As the bus winds its way up, you can see a column of mist hanging right above the river, following it like a shadow. You forget all the aches and pain from the long ride and marvel at the wonder called Nature.
The weather in Manali was perfect. The temperatures were just right, with a little bit of rain, which made it more enjoyable. We did most of the regular “touristy” things there. We took the day tours to Manikaran and Rohtang Pass. Roamed around Mall Road. Went to Hadimba temple, the clubhouse, and a monastery around the town. We tried to cram a lot of things into our four days. But were left with many more things we wanted to do but couldn’t.
The long drive to Manikaran was breathtaking. A river flowed right by the road and there were lofty mountains all around. The mist would sometimes drop by to say hello on its way to meet them. I couldn’t stop clicking pictures but no photograph could ever do justice to the beauty that captured not just my eyes, but my heart as well.
Rohtang Pass was a long arduous journey. The day was filled with uncertainty about the Pass being accessible by road. But, we took a bus anyways. And in spite (or maybe because) of all the traffic, long wait, bad roads, missed lunch, missed dinner, walking up a lonely path at 1.30 in the night events, Rohtang will remain an incredible memory. As you climb and cross mountains the view changes. Small streams change to raging waterfalls only to change to blocks of water frozen mid-flow. The valleys get deeper, greener, and prettier. The mountains become loftier, rockier, and icier. One minute, everything is crystal clear, and the next minute, mists heavy enough to be called clouds descend on you and you can’t see 2 inches in front of you. Just when you start getting your bearings, the clouds have lifted and it’s almost sunny again.
I could just go on an on about the beauty of the place but I don’t think my words would do enough justice to it.
It was not just the beauty of the place. I also enjoyed the food, the ice tubing (I don’t what else it’s called!), the river crossing, the shopping, the walk down the mountain from our hotel to the market, and the tourist buzz in the market.
I’ve made up my mind to go there again. But, the next time I go, it will be for longer. I have so many things on my list to do – trekking, mountaineering, river-rafting, camping on the river, crossing Rohtang Pass to Lahaul and Spiti, and then going farther on to Leh. I know it’s a long list, and it’s not even complete. I have to start plotting and planning a break of a month or two. I’ve added it to my list of “want to do once in life” dreams. It doesn’t seem that unattainable, does it?

Holiday (Part 1) - Delhi

It was a long-awaited break. We’d been waiting for a holiday for a pretty long time and it didn’t help that the few weeks running up to it were particularly stressful at work. Finally, the day dawned, 14th June.

But, it wasn’t the perfect start to our holiday. We were supposed to take the train to Delhi (wanted to save a few thousand and also wanted the “Rajdhani” experience) in the evening. Two hours before the train was supposed to leave, we came to know that it has been cancelled! So, we ended up taking a flight to Delhi the next day (money and experience- lost!). To be frank, I had started wondering if this will set the tone for the rest of our week. But, thankfully, it didn’t...well not completely at least.
We landed in a rainy Delhi and the rains lasted through the day. Thankfully, we’d booked a cab for the day in advance. We’d planned to tour Delhi through the day and take a bus in the evening to Manali, our actual holiday destination. Our driver for the day was waiting at the airport when we arrived and though he wasn’t very knowledgeable about the sights (he was a Himachali, recently moved to Delhi), we had a pretty good time. We saw most of the sights there while getting thoroughly soaked in the rains. I believe the rains added a nice aura and beauty to the historic monuments. I felt transported to a different, but familiar world.
The roads in Delhi are very wide, clean, and well maintained. Almost all streets are lined with trees on both sides. And being a rainy Sunday morning, there wasn’t much traffic on the roads either. We reached India Gate first. It was still early morning for a Sunday. The grounds and gardens around had been transformed into playing fields. The game? Cricket of course, with a stray football match thrown in. The place was abuzz with activity. Cold-drink stalls, chana and chat sellers, Polaroid photographers, and tourist guide sellers, all added to the mélange. And then there were groups of armed forces, in different uniforms holding various instruments waiting near the Amar Jawan Jyoti under India Gate, presumably waiting for the rains to subside before beginning a rehearsal of some sort (I assume for Independence Day).
From there we took the drive up to Rashtrapati Bhavan. Next, we went to the majestic Red Fort, where the Diwan-e-Aam and Diwan-e-Khaas buildings transport you to a different era. As you cross the vast immaculately maintained grounds, you can almost see emperors and queens walking along the same paths, pondering over the fate of an entire nation. The bazaar street at the entrance gives a nice lively atmosphere to the place.

While we debated where to go next, our driver suggested that we should visit the new Akshardham temple. Akshardham is a huge complex. The security is Z-plus. The temple complex is beautiful and the atmosphere could’ve been serene if not for the teeming, babbling crowds. The main temple is almost an architectural marvel. The detailed carvings, the beautiful idols – it’s difficult to believe that this is actually a modern temple building. We spent quiet some time marveling at the craftsmanship inside and outside the temple. They have a lights and sound show, complete with a boat ride and stuff but, unfortunately, we were running out of time.
On our way back to bus station, we decided to make one last stop at the Bahai temple or Lotus temple as it is more popularly known. The prayer hall was very peaceful, calm, and quiet (they make it compulsory for everyone to keep quiet inside). It managed to mellow down my excitement levels and took away some of the tiredness from the long day’s travel.
All in all it was a long and tiring but enjoyable day. I saw most of the places I’d wanted to see. The only ones we missed were the Kutub Minar, Humayun’s tomb, etc. But those were a bit too far and we had a bus to catch. And well, I didn’t get a chance to visit the shopping havens of Delhi. We did drive by Janpath a number of times, but most shops were closed. :(
Oh, did I mention the other great thing about Delhi? The food! Armed with the Lonely Planet guide to India, we made our way to Parathewali Galli in the afternoon right before we saw Red Fort. The galli is small and hard to miss especially in the rains. But, after asking around a little, we found it. We decided to stop at the first shop (dhaba?). They made the oiliest, crispiest, hottest parathas I’ve ever had. And to say that they were delicious would probably be an understatement! Then, since we were in Delhi, we couldn’t miss Nirula’s. So, we stopped there for a quick bite before ending our whirlwind tour of Delhi and boarding the bus to Manali.
How was Manali? Heavenly! And that’s coming up next!

Security at Malls

You know the security guards at the entrances to mall parking lots? Most of them stand at the entrance with a mirror attached to a long stick and use it to look under your car. I constantly wonder if they know what they are looking for. I mean I assume they are looking for something that shouldn’t be there, like a bomb or something. But, do they know what EVERY car looks like underneath, irrespective of the make and model of the car? Are they trained in what to look for, what not to look for, what is normal, what is abnormal?

The other day at a mall, one guard was “coaching” a few others about how to look in the mirror. He held the mirror near the front of our car and looked into it, while four other “junior” guards peered from over his shoulder. Then, he nodded with a satisfied smile that prompted the others to do the same, and off we went to park the car. That scene was seriously hilarious because it didn’t seem like the others knew what they were supposed to be looking at. Yet, their heads went bobbing up and down with a smile that said “I’m not sure what it is…but if this guy thinks it looks okay, it must be.” Did the “senior” know what he was looking for/at? I’m not sure. His smile and attitude was one of so much self-importance that I couldn’t make out the real reason for it.

Speaking of security at malls, another thing comes to my mind. I feel several malls discriminate between the shoppers on foot and the ones that drive into their parking lots. If you walk into a mall, you will be stopped, frisked by a metal detector and have your bags opened and scrutinized by the guards at the entrance. However, if you drive into the parking lot, more often than not, only your car is checked (with the mirror of course, and sometimes they peep into the boot too). You can freely walk into the mall from the basement parking without anyone checking your bag. I always wonder what the logic behind that is? Maybe they think “walkers” will carry dangerous things in their bags and “wheelers” will carry them in their cars?