Is The SMS Voting System Knocking Off Good Competitions?

These days, you'll see a spurt of competitions which includes singing, dancing and other talent hunts. These guys call judges who are fully settled in their respective fields. Yet, the results are based on people's votes through those SMSes and telephone lines.

One of such talent hunts is the "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs" which features little kids aged 10-12 singing really very nicely and showing their matured behaviour on the stage. After each performance, the participants are rated and complimented by the judges. The people are then asked to vote through SMS and other media, on the basis of which the participants are eliminated one by one.

This type of system exists in almost all talent hunts and is really frustrating. Sometimes, even the finest performers are eliminated, and even the judges express their grief indirectly(mostly) or indirectly. As Arshad Warsi said, 95% of the people don't understand the tune or the sur, as they call it. The song which sounds the best is applauded. Sometimes, I don't understand the necessity of calling the judges. If they want the people to vote, why don't they just keep live shows so that all get the proper entertainment!

What do you think about this?

Kevin's Spectacular Discovery

Kevin went to an ophthalmologist and was shocked to hear that his vision needed correction. And then again, the problem of spectacles nagged him all the time. As he walked down the lane, he saw a shop having a banner saying "Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case!". He rubbed his eyes with awe. He ventured inside.....

Inside, he found a huge collection of frames and lenses. Kevin walked around the showroom to select a frame or two. It took a long time for him to select a frame from such a huge collection. And then he had to select the type of lens. They were all there - single vision lenses, sun sensor lenses, tinted sunglasses lenses, bifocal lenses and progressive lenses. He selected the type and went straight to the billing centre. He expected the bill amounting to more than $8. But, to his surprise, it included no extra charges! "But how?", asked Kevin, to which he got the answer as, "The secret to Zenni’s low prices is that we sell only our own manufactured frames direct to the customers, with no middlemen. Usually, it's the middlemen who are responsible for the higher price, as they need to have their share of profits."

Kevin left happily with a smile on his face........

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Denmark and Iceland - Europe's Hidden Jewels

Did you know, Denmark has the highest rate of income tax, with citizens paying over 65% of their earnings? Yet, Copenhagen is rated as one of the world's best cities to live in, despite the high cost of living. Accommodation is quite affordable for the average person compared to London and Paris. Copenhagen hotels and other Denmark hotels, in that respect have comparatively lower rates. Danish people love music – from open air concerts and festivals to small places playing all types of music. Anything from jazz, blues, folk, pop to rock . If you are looking to discover Danish night life, the chances are you will be listening to live music. Other great options for taking in some live music are at the new bars, which often have a kind of club culture or disco in them. Modes of transport include trains and buses.Apart from a metro system, Copenhagen has a good suburban rail network that is electrified. Just recently, significant investment has been made in the country's roads. Many inter-city links have been built. The Danish cuisine includes meat, potatoes and fish. If you ever go there, don't forget to relish some frikadeller, which is fried meatballs, often served with potatoes and different types of gravy.

Another country in Europe which tends to win your hearts, yet isn't much discovered is Iceland. In my childhood, we use to kid around saying it's full of ice. But, Reykjavík is often dubbed "the nightlife capital of the north". Surprising, isn't it? It is famous for its nightlife during the weekends. Reykjavík hotels and other Iceland hotels are generally very reasonable and provide you with great services. Icelanders tend to go out late so bars that look rather quiet can fill up suddenly, usually around midnight on a weekend. One of the main causes for this is that alcohol is very expensive at bars, so people tend to drink at home before going out. Beer was banned in Iceland until 1 March 1989, but has since become Icelanders' drink of choice. However, like other alcoholic beverages, it is still quite expensive; a pint (actually a half litre) of beer in an Icelandic bar can cost between 500 and 800 krónur, or from 5,50 to 9 euro. To this end, some people show up late and are already drunk when they arrive at the bars downtown.There are over 100 different bars and clubs in Reykjavík; most of them are located on Laugavegur and its side streets. It is very common for an establishment that is a café before dinner to turn into a bar in the evening. Closing time is usually around 6AM on weekends and 1AM during the week. The staple food there is mostly fish, meat and dairy products. Overall, one must make it a point to visit atleast any one of these countries in case you visit Europe.

I've made up my mind to go there during my vacations. Have you?

Zero Worries For Valentine's Day

Yeah, Christmas is now over and Valentine's Day is arriving speedily. It's just a few weeks away! It's time to celebrate, it's time to spread the love, and it's time to buy goodies for your loved ones. Can't find a good place to buy? Try CouponChief for a change.

CouponChief a subsidiary of CouponChief Inc. which provides online coupon deals and huge discounts on various products. The site features many other merchant sites which include Old Navy, OfficeMax, etc. These merchant sites provide you with the actual products and discounts. All you need to do is search for the product and get the coupon code. You will be then redirected to that merchant site where you enter the code and buy the product. It's that simple! A good thing about CouponChief is that, you'll find great customer support, which according to me is a plus point for e-commerce services. And they provide you with coupons and discounts, that are unmatched indeed.

So what are you waiting for? Visit the site and celebrate Valentine's Day with love and gifts....

Start Your Own Online Shop Using Ashop

Sam wanted to start a store to sell his products, ranging from clothes to used electronics. But he did not have enough market in his area. One day, he decided to go global, by going online. But the problem was, he was a computer illiterate. Although he knew just the basics, he had zero knowledge of web designing or scripting. This how he found Ashop.

Ashop is a sort of software for creating an online store very easily. It's a one-of-a-kind site that offers to manage almost everything, from design to traffic handling. It's features include a rich What You See Is What You Get(WYSIWYG) editor, comprehensive text and video tutorials, a customisable template system and much more. And one of the most things that are the best here, is the customer support. If you ever require any kind of help, there are many ways and means by which you will get help here. The site is well built and makes a fine impression on the mind of a budding online seller.

What I like the most is the web optimization the provide. For instance, your Page titles will be embedded with tags to get a better page ranking. They would also provide you with free SEO tools and services. The page URLs would be search engine spider friendly.

Of course, the most crucial thing is the pricing. Ashop provides a great value for money with apt services for an amount which is the most reasonable and most competitive in their field. They take care of everything, absolutely everything, you just have to supply the products.

Now Sam can certainly relax and make money by selling his products online. He just has to supply his goods and make good deals online. Isn't it a fair deal? So, go, have a look at the ecommerce software

Tata Finally Unveils 'Nano' The Swanky Rs.1 Lakh Car

At last, after five years of speculations, Tata Motors finally unveiled the world's cheapest car, named 'Nano' in the Indian Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi. The car costs $2000 or Rs.1 lakh. The car is all set to target the middle class, and who knows, it may be the largest selling car in India after Maruti 800. The mini-car is sure to put Indians in the driver's seat. Ratan Tata, chairman of the second largest, and one of the oldest companies of India wants every Indian to drive, just as Capt.G.R Gopinath, the founder of Air Deccan, want every Indian to fly.

Well, now let's look at its dimensions. Its 3 metres long, 1.5 metres wide and 1.5 metres high and has four seats. Unfortunately, there is very little boot space. The car is a rear mounted, 33 horsepower, MPFi engine, which boasts a mileage of 20 kilometres a litre. Moreover, it is in accordance with Euro IV standards, which makes it less polluting than other vehicles. The car actually reminded me of the Small car used by Inspector Klauseau(Steve Martin) in the movie Pink Panther

The production of the car may start this year in Singur, Orissa. There was quite a controversy on this issue as the farmers there weren't willing to give up their lands for the factory construction. Or perhaps, the Tatas did not provide enough compensation. But as history goes, the Tatas are well known philanthropists. Or maybe, it's just good old politics. Even during the launch, protesters gathered at the venue as the media coverage was very large and the protesters hoped to get some exposure.

With the launch of this car, Tata Motors has has started a new era, which will see many competitors slugging it out to make the cheapest car. For example, Bajaj, the two wheeler major and the pioneer of the autorickshaws, plans to tie with Renault and develop a $3000 dollar car. Even Hero Honda plans to produce a similar car, but maybe it's electric version. But, the best part is, thanks to this competition, millions of Indians and others will be benefited from this launch. For instance, Maruti Suzuki is expected to slash the rates of the small segment cars. Now it's time to hope for an electric version so that it is cost, user and environmental friendly.

I Want To Know What You Did For The Environment Last Year...

The year 2007 was full of anti-nature events. Indian and Chinese economies continued to boom which could be a natural disaster. And America was still adamant and hasn't yet signed the Kyoto Protocol as its economy will decline! We all saw people protesting in various parts of world for many causes related to the environment and global warming. All were busy cursing the their respective governments for doing nothing. But I must ask, what did WE do? I mean what did you do? Did you curse the government? Or you did something which could make the earth a cleaner place?

Let me tell you what I did. I saved some electricity by switching on the computer only after 10 pm and used it for not more than 1 hour. I mostly travelled by public transport and used my vehicle less often. Sometimes, along with my friends, I managed to organize some electrcity-free hours in our area. And one of the most important thing was stopped the use of polyethene bags and switched to cloth bags. Also, an article on what pro-nature-measures are to be taken was posted in this blog. You can view it here.

So,what did YOU did last year for the environment?

How The Mumbai Dabbawallahs Show Accuracy Without Technology

Mumbai is considered to a city of dreams. The only difficulty faced here is time. It's really difficult to cope up with time. And so Mumbaikars are very well known for their swiftness. The heart of businesses in Mumbai is its southern part. You must see the influx of people in the mornings into this region. And the biggest problem for the working people is food. They all prefer food which is homemade and hygienic. And this is how the Dabbawallahs come into picture. Many have heard of them. But have you ever thought how they work? Well, here's an insight.....

To get a better understanding, we'll mark a place here in Mumbai. Let this place be Mulund. You can see it here in the map in the right top corner. Mr.Batliwala(a fictitious name) has his office in Fort(the lower dot). His wife prepares food at around 8 am. And it should reach him before 10:30 am. As she packs the tiffin, the dabbawallah arrives, sharp at 8. The dabbawallah first takes it, along with many dabbas or tiffins to a central area in Mulund which is decided by them. The second dabbawallah takes several such packs of dabbas from other dabbawallahs and takes it to the Mulund railway station.

The time is now 8:30. Here with the help of another dabbawallah, he puts all such packages on a cart, and boards it in the next local train towards Mumbai CST. Now, other dabbawallahs already on board receive this cart. As the train moves towards the southern part, the number of such carts increases enormously. And as the train reaches the southern region, the carts reduce one by one as most of the offices are in the south. The train now reaches CST, its final stop. The time is now 9:45. The carts are quickly removed and the packages are sorted according to the areas. The next dabbawallah takes his package and delivers it to that particular area, from where the tiffins are sorted on the basis of their final destination and many other dabbawallahs deliver the tiffins to their respective destinations. And thus, by 10:30 am, Mr.Batliwalla gets his tiffin.

On an average, a tiffin is handled by around eight to ten dabbawallahs on its way. All this sounds really simple, but it's quite difficult considering the transport system and the time. Yet, all this is done everyday without any delay. Based on the location the customers are charged somewhere around Rs.250-300 a month. That is around 7 dollars a month! Be it bright sunlight or a rainy day, dabbawallahs are never deterred.

But did you notice the most important thing? Nothing at all is written, only the tiffin are marked according to their destination. The only so called technology used here is the local train. These dabbawallahs, around 1-2 thousand in number, deliver more than 200,000 tiffins in a day! And that too without any paperwork or the use of computers or mobiles or any damn thing, for that matter. These people illustrate the fact that humans can still be ahead without machines..........

What do you think about this? Do you know any other organisation working with such precision without the use of technology? Please leave your comments......