My Plans and Forthcoming Works

Hi people, I'm back after some looong study vacation. Although I won't be free for the whole time, but I'm trying to do a few more revamps and some rejuvenation.

First of all, I really want to change the appearance of this blog, and make it more interactive and appealling. I need to decrease the loading time too. Also, I really want to add a few more posts and polls. You might have seen a sudden spurt in the number of sponsored posts. Well, I had to do it as I need to switch to a new domain.

Secondly, I'm starting a few blogs, two to be more precise. One will be my personal blog and the second one, a blog on some blogger tweaks and some good templates. Else, I'll be merging the second one with the blog reviews.

Although this seems to be easy, it's going to be difficult to manage all the posting and the maintaining the blogs.And yes, my blog on James Bond also needs to 'restarted'. Currently, I'm brushing up some Photoshop basics, so that I can create some header designs and some banners for my upcoming works. I'm also considering buying some new domains to give a pro look altogether.

Let's hope this works out in the next few months...........All I need is your support and some suggestions. You can leave a comment here or contact me.

How The Insurance Companies Bully People...........

The other day, as I watched the ad of an insurance company boasting its services, I was wondering as to how these companies react when the real calamities befall. In some way or the other, these companies accept the premiums with both hands while at the time of claims, people literally have to spread both their hands. Then whether it is life insurance cover, car insurance, or medical insurance, these people literally make you run on your toes.

How can one forget how the companies reacted after the July 26th 2005 deluge in Mumbai? As it is, lakhs of people suffered immense losses in the form of property, vehicles, grains, and even lives. Godowns were filled with water, cars were submerged, yet the insurance people, instead of lending a helping hand, they added salt to their wounds by giving them only a percentage of the actual insured amount. And later, flood affected vehicles did not get anything!

Now let's talk about medical insurance. People diagnosed with problems of high blood pressure, diabetes and other obesity and heart related problems are never insured. Now check out some stats : one out of every seventeen Indians is diabetic. And three out of five suffer from high blood pressure and hypertension. And I need not say anything about obesity. That's the way the cookie crumbles....

Oh, I missed the most important part - the documentation. Damn, the number of documents and proofs you require to show your existence are simply terrorizing! If I want want to get a life insurance cover, I need to show my PAN(Permanent Account Number) card, ration card, a proof of my residence, my birth certificate, a document showing my existence!

All this reminds of Maddux, the fictional character in most James Hadley Chase's marvellous novels. He seems to smell frauds and scamsters even before they become one. He is the one who always avoids the payment of dues by proving something or the other. It is said that, for him, paying the dues, is like giving a pound of flesh.

Well, time for me to sign off, I'll be back with some more 'How blahblah folks fool you.....' stuff.

Is Northern Rock The Luckiest Bank Ever?

I was just going through the newspaper(Mumbai Mirror) yesterday, when I came across this article in the editorial section. The heading was 'A bank is nationalised'. The first para highlighted the plight of the depositors when a bank drowns. At the first place, I thought it would be a story about an Indian bank. But later I realised it was a rock solid bank from UK........

My speculations were false indeed. It was the Northern Rock Bank from the Uk, with assets of over Rs.904000,00,00,000 , or 113 billion pounds. But suddenly, the Northern Rock plunged southwards, thanks to the new mortgage crisis. The scandal was discovered long back, in 2007. The bank still struggles due to high borrowing costs. But what exactly happened? People rushed to the bank to withdraw all their money amidst speculations that the bank may collapse. The result? The bank ran out of cash, and asked England's Reserve Bank for help. And what's the best part? The government nationalised the bank! Now, the bank's website says that the depositors' money is safe and all branches, call centres and other operations remain open for business as usual.

So why is the bank lucky? Or the luckiest? Usually, when such an event takes place, big banks jump to takeover such banks and all the shares are transferred. And the biggest advantage for these big banks is manpower. But take the case of Northern Rock. The Bank of England nationalised it straight away, just because it was one of the top five lenders of Mortgages UK. By doing this, the bank has not only restored its services, but also recieved the extra cash which it required.

So what do you have to say on this?

Muralitharan's Mouth-Opening Spins (Pictures)

Muttiah Muralitharan is the name which terrifies world class batsmen, thanks to his lethal spins. But now, allow me show its funny side........

I got this idea, as I was reading an article about him in today's newspaper. These photos are not to insult him, and are published with due respect. Hope you enjoyed them..........

The Best Credit Services For the Bad Credited

The internet is jammed these days with loads of credit offers, loans and other related stuff. And there are people with damaged credit. For such people, Bad Credit Loans is the place to be. These guys are proffesionals and give you free guidance on recuperating your ruined credit, and build a good income.

They offer you with links to websites offering credit card reports as to how efficiently your card is being used, or whether it is being used fraudulently. The information gained thus is vital and very useful in monitoring the use of your credit card.

Home loans are these days very common, with everyone wanting to live in a luxurious house, a place they can call home. But bad credit history becomes a hurdle. These guys provide you with lists of all those home loan services that not only specialize in approving bad credit, but also offer lower interest and processing fees.

In recent times, unfortunately, geting an auto loan may be quite tedious, as you need to furnish details on your income, your capability in returning the loan, and also your income tax details. But some organizations offer loans to people who are unable to show these details, in short, have bad credit. And these organizations are all listed there.

Apart from all this, this site lists the best websites offering all kinds of loans, including home loans, credit card services and other finance related matters. All those listed there are aptly categorized, ranked and appraised. And what's the catch? It's for people with bad credits!

Does The Indian Army Need Conscription?

That's the last thing the Indian Army would resort to, but the Army Chief seems to be desperate about draft or conscription. Till now, India has the largest army on the basis of voluntary services, the military draft has never been imposed on its citizens. But thanks to the tech and economic boom, most of the individuals are being lost to corporate giants. In the last three to four years, there has been a steady decline in number of candidates appearing for the NDA or IMA exams.

One of the most important factors which still bugs the indian soldier is the salary. Although the government has provided lots of other goodies, like free ration(foodgrains), Rs.20 lakh security cover, separate living quarters, and many such crunchies, the payscales are too low. As a result, it fails to attract the youth.

But, a career in the armed forces fulfills one wish - job security. Since it's a government job, your job is highly secured. Apart from increasing the number of employed officials, draft has other advantages too. For instance, it has helped China in checking it's rapid population growth. Perhaps, it may also inculcate some discipline amongst youngsters, who, these days are brimming with arrogance and over-confidence. And yes, fitness can be very well taken care of. But I would suggest, that the cadres should serve for a maximum period of 2 years, beyond which they should be given the option of discontinuing or continuing their services.

If at all draft is really introduced, the government would face a tough task of training lakhs of youngsters as there would be an infrastructure crunch. Moreover, the quality which is usually maintained would dip by leaps and bounds. And again comes one of India's major problems - corruption. All big-shots can very well bribe officials to exempt their children from conscription. And what's more, the entire system(education and political) would need a revamp.

So, you can see that draft can be beneficial, but sometimes may get foul as well. What do think? Should conscription be introduce in the Indian Armed Forces? You can also vote in the sidebar on the top in the poll section.........

We Have Got Our Chunk Of Climate Change, Have You?

So it's not just the talk, after all. After all these days of fancying the dreadful climate change, we have, or atleast I have, realised that climate and weather have certainly changed, thanks to our computers, those intoxicating fumes emanating from those industries hoping to make it big, and our attitudes, of course. Let me tell you about Mumbai. The temperature during Christmas was around 28-32C. The normal temperature? 23-26 degrees. The temperature in January was below 15 degrees! And for a coastal place like Mumbai, which has high humidity, this is the most unusual. The lowest temperature recorded was 10.2 degrees! Even now, as I'm writing this post, I feeling chills down my spine.

So that was about Mumbai. It's hard to imagine what north India might be undergoing, with the temperature in the capital, New Delhi, falling to 0 degrees. I doubt whether the temperature may rise further in the coming weeks. Although most of northern India is near the Tropic of Cancer, the temperatures haven't yet soared. Hundreds of people have died owing to severe cold and even snow. Mostly, this time around(February), spring sets in. But I can still feel the cold biting into my body. The only good thing winter has brought in is, lots of alphonso mangoes. It seems the number of mangoes grown has increased considerably owing to this cold climate.

The climate change has brought about mixed feelings. Yet, there is no such commotion over the same. Actually, I had expected some uproar from the political opposition parties as well as the media. Although, no one has realised the volatilty of this issue, maybe it's time we buckle up and change our lifestyle to keep the nature calm.......

Did you experience any such weather change? Please share your thoughts......