Friday, November 06, 2009
Chronicals of a chronic cricket fan..
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Challenges of customization of online news
Warning:- Technical post ahead.
When I came across this article sometime back, I was specially intrigued by one particular portion –
Everyone can publish, and everyone will - This is a problem, but since online journalism is still in its relative infancy it’s one that can be solved (we’re technology optimists, remember?). The experience of consuming news on the web today fails to take full advantage of the power of technology. It doesn’t understand what users want in order to give them what they need. When I go to a site like the New York Times or the San Jose Mercury, it should know what I am interested in and what has changed since my last visit. If I read the story on the US stimulus package only six hours ago, then just show me the updates the reporter has filed since then (and the most interesting responses from readers, bloggers, or other sources). If Thomas Friedman has filed a column since I last checked, tell me that on the front page. Beyond that, present to me a front page rich with interesting content selected by smart editors, customized based on my reading habits (tracked with my permission).
This got me thinking about the way presentation of news is expected to evolve in news websites, and how it would differ from offline newspapers. Most news websites these days do support “Guided navigation” features, suggesting articles to readers though links like “You might also be interested in..”, “People who read this also read..” etc. While “guided navigation” does have its obvious benefits, I have a difference of opinion with the suggestion that news websites of the future can completely replace the reading pleasure of offline newspapers. Anyone suggesting that content on a news website should ONLY be tailored to the interests and reading patterns of the reader, forgets that one of the key benefits of reading an offline newspaper is the ability to BROWSE through all topics all the time, and figure out what is interesting to you at that moment. For example, Mr. X may never have read the Finance section of the news website in the past, but if he sees an article about lay-offs or pay-cuts in the Finance section one day, he would definitely read it. Similarly, Mr. X might never read the Science and Health section, but might be interested in an article on an ailment which he suffers from. If the content of presented to Mr. X by the news website is tailored only on what Mr. X have been reading since the time he started using the service, such articles would never show up for him. Such algorithms would only narrow down a reader’s vision and knowledge acquisition to fields he or she has been 'historically' interested in (historically here means the history carried by the service provider), which might be biased by the previous set of articles and news items accessed on that service. Hence, an attempt of this kind, narrows the reader’s interest and intellectual growth in the direction defined by the interest he or she had from the time the reader started using the service. I do understand that such algorithms do get more “intelligent” as the duration of use increases. But there is a limit to which an algorithm can guess what a person wants to read.
A hybrid approach might be the way to go in the future. Front pages of news websites can have 2 sections, one presenting the latest headlines and editorial articles belonging to various topics (that is same for all readers), and one that presents articles based on historical data about the reader’s reading habits (stored with the reader’s permission). Going forward, algorithms of the future, apart from a person’s reading habits, must also consider other attributes like a person’s background (educational, professional, personal, demographic) while coming up with customized articles of the reader’s interest. This approach might help counter the two scenarios mentioned above. In this aspect, integration with social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn etc. might be an option worth considering.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Mythological Mystery
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In some remote village of India , a Masterji was teaching Mahabharat Katha to class 6 students. He was at the 'Krishnajanma' chapter.
Masterji: Kansa heard an akashwani that, his sister's 8th child would kill him. He was furious. He ordered to put Vasudev and Devaki behind bars.
First son is born, and Kansa kills him by poisoning...
Second one is born and Kansa throws him off the mountain peak...
Third one is born....
Now Ramu, who is smartest of the lot, raises his hand.
Ramu: Masterji, I have a doubt (sounding nervous and confused)
Masterji: Ramu bete, whole of India does not have doubt in Mahabharata then how come you have one?"
Ramu: Masterji, if Kansa knew that, Devaki's 8th child was going to kill him, why the hell did he put Vasudev and Devaki in the same cell???
Masterji fainted.......
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Though the joke was good, I began thinking about the real reason for this. After some research, I chanced upon the real reason -
Kans was a doting brother. He loved his sister Devaki very much. Vasudev was Kans’ friend and his choice as the husband for Devaki. When Kans heard the Akashvani about Devaki’s 8th son killing him, he imprisoned Vasudev and Devaki together. His plan was to release Devaki and Vasudev after he had killed first 8 children. Though Kans was a cruel man, he loved his sister, and did not want to keep her imprisoned for life. Moreover, he had complete confidence on the security system of his jail and could never imagine that someone could escape. He thought, that after killing the 8th child, he will be out of danger.
The next question that came to my mind was -
If Kansa knew that Devaki's 8th child would kill him, why did he kill the first 6 (remember that the 7th child Balrama was not killed either)?
After some more research, the answer to this question was also found -
The first 6 sons of Devaki were sons of Marichi. They once laughed at Sage Devala, as he was very ricketee. He cursed them. They were born as the sons of Kalanemi. They became known as Sadgarbha. They used to remain in the water at Patala loka performing penance to obtain immortality. Brahma granted them immortality. However Hiranyakashipu became angry at this. He did not like his brother's grandsons obtaining a boon from Brahma (Kalanemi was the son of Hiranyakashipu's brother Hiranyaksha).
Therefore, he cursed them to be born again and be killed by their own father. Accordingly, they were born as Devaki's children and were killed by their own father. Kamsa as Kalanemi was their father in their earlier birth. The boon given by Brahma to be immortal and the curse given by Hiranyakashipu to be killed by their father were reconciled by Durga.
To make this happen Narad muni went to Kansa after akashvani and feed this idea of “killing all” into his head. To trick Kansa - Narad drew a circle with eight dots and asked Kansa to identify the 8th dot, which was impossible and he obliged to kill all approach.
The more you study this great epic, the more interesting things you learn.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
6 Online Vices
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Vote
Although I have been an adult for quite some time now, this is the first time I have exercised my franchise. The main reason for me being not voting all these years was the fact that I had never been in my hometown at the time of polls. I am happy to have finally broken the jinx. :-)
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Similarities between IPL and Elections
Both will contain many controversies..
Both will result in record TV ratings..
Both have number games..
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Quote Hanger
Life is like a taxi meter. It keeps ticking whether you are getting anywhere or not.
Monday, November 10, 2008
End of an era..
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
La Loo !!


In case you are wondering what the gadgets above are, these are Toilet Occcupancy Indicators, giving passengers inside the compartment an idea about whether the toilets are occupied or not. Trust the Indian Railways to come up with such ingenious innovations.
Needless to say, the indicators always showed the "Vacant" sign irrespective of whether the toilet was occupied or not.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
My favorite TV shows
1. Yes Minister (and it's later Indian version "Ji Mantri Ji")- Classic British humor. For all you fans of "Friends" and other American sitcoms, I believe nothing comes anywhere close to the instantaneous bureaucracy bashing wit of this legendary British show. I loved the Indian version as well, but was disappointed that it turned out to be an exact copy of the original, whereas introduction of a few nuances of Indian politics into the script would have made it many times more relevant and interesting. Alas, the Indian version had too few episodes.
2. B.R. Chopra's Mahabharat - It was this epic TV series that kick-started my fascination with the story of Mahabharat. The production values and manner of story telling in this serial were far superior than the other mythological epic telecast on Doordarshan in the 1980's, Ramanant Sagar's Ramayan (Particularly infuriating were the repetative scenes where opponents used to hurl arrows at each other in war, and the arrows took almost the entire length of the episode to hit each other.). My fondness for the show also stems from the inherent beauty of the multi-leyered story line of this epic. Ekta Kapoor's recent Kahani Hamarey Mahabharat Ki is just a gaudy remake of the original.
3. Flop Show - This is unquestionably the best satirical comedy telecast on Indian television. No show before or after this, has been able to expose the idiosyncrasies of Indian society and the inefficiencies of Indian bureaucracy in the same laugh-out-laud way as this show. Office-Office is the only other show that comes close, but is not in the same league. Even Jaspal Bhatti has not been able to re-create the same magic in any other show since. The amount of humor packed into each episode o the show was truly incredible. Each episode which dealt with a different problem in the life of a common man, consisted of a small joke in the beginning, the main storyline in the middle, and a parody song in the end. Sheer genius!!
4. Star Trek - As a child with a fascination for sci-fi and space, Star Trek had to be one of my favorites. Apart from the sci-fi elements, I loved Captain Kirk's at times arrogant personality and Spock's funnily shaped ears!! "Beam Me Up, Scotty" is my all time favorite TV dialogue.
Worst movies I have seen..
Yet, I have been lucky enough to watch a few landmark movies that will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst in the history of Indian cinema. I call myself lucky since I am sure the number of people who have seen the following films can be counted on fingertips. The idea was not to list poor movies, but the absolute worst of the lot.
1. RGV ki Aag (2007) - This film will almost certainly go down as the biggest disaster in Bollywood history, the greatest damp squib of all times. What strikes you most is the mockery it made of exceptional actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Mohan Lal. Absolutely none of the elements of the original Sholey, like the bond between Jai and Veeru, Thakur's internal angst, Gabbar's menace etc. get depicted anywhere near as well as the original. RGV might have been better off projecting his movie as a comic spoof of Sholey rather than a serious remake, as a majority of the audience came out laughing from the theater at this utterly ridiculous attempt at mimicking a classic.
2. Gajagamini (2000) - To call this movie "bad" is an injustice to it. "Incomprehensible" is a more apt description. Watching this movie was like staring at a Modern Art painting, trying to figure our the hidden meanings behind the abstract expressions. I am sure not many apart from Mr. M.F. Hussain have been able to figure them out. Even Hussain's muse Madhuri was so embarrassed that she did not turn up for the film's premier !!
3. Badhti Ka Naam Daadhi (1974) - This movie, which must have been conceived by Kishore Kumar during of of his eccentric fits, was an attempt to recreate the magic of the 50's hit "Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi". The horrendous nature of the movie is aptly illustrated by the absurd premise of the story. A rich old man mentions in his will that he would give away his fortune to the person with the longest beard. The lucky man turns out to be Kishore Kumar, whose beard it longer than his height itself. the rest of the film has a few goons chasing him with scissors, and the Kishore Kumar dodging them successfully. The least one expected from a Kishore Kumar movie was some good music, but this film was a monumental let down on that front too.
4. Jaani Dushman - Ek Anokhi Kahaani (2002) - Raj Kumar Kohli's suicidal attempt to remake his 1976 hit Nagin and launch the acting career of his son Armaan Kohli. The saying "Money can't buy everything" is apt for this hopeless film. It is very apparent that the makers spent a fortune in trying to re-create special effects of major Hollywood blockbusters, but it seems that they completely forgot to make any attention to the storyline itself. How else can you justify the hero of the movie just having a couple of lines to speak, inspite of being present in almost half of the scenes. Anyone watching this film should not forget to catch Sonu Nigam doing some of the worst acting ever seen on the silver screen. No wonder no one has heard of Raj Kumar and Armaan Kohli ever since.
Note:- I have confined my selection to A list (big budget and leading star cast) films. I have not looked at B grade movies like countless Mithun-da flicks (Truck Driver Suraj, Kaliya, Chandaal to name a few) for my selection, since such movies are meant to be poor by definition.
I am sure readers of this post would recall many other equally horrible movies they have seen. Comments invited.