Tracking the blog roll

With blogs having gained so much popularity in cyberspace, it is quite possible for an average internet user to visit at least a couple of blogs daily. However, the fact remains that people do not always update their blog on a regular basis. So if your internet connection is down and you manage to open a blog after a good half an hour only to discover that it hasn’t been updated since the last time you were here, things can seem pretty irritating.

So how do you make things easier? What is needed here is a service that will inform you immediately whenever one of the blogs on your list of favorites was updated so you don’t waste time opening each one daily only to discover that it hasn’t been updated. Many websites have taken an initiative like this but Blogarithm takes the cake.

The greatest thing about Blogarithm is its simplicity. You visit the home page and without any self-praising messages, you will find a simple form which will ask you to enter your email address and URL of the blog you want to subscribe to. This is basically all that you need to create an account with the website. As you discover more and more interesting blogs that you want to keep updated on, you can simply log in here and add URLs to your blog roll.

So how does Blogarithm work? It’s simple: by sending a daily email into your inbox which has the list of all the blogs and URLs which have been updated in the past 24 hours. All you then need to do is click on those blog links from your email, only to access them in another window. The email also has a few lines from the new post on the blogs concerned, so you get a fair idea of the kinds of updates made by the blogger.

On the website itself, you can manage your account in many different ways. Apart from adding blog URLs that you want to subscribe to, you can delete the links to blogs which are no longer functioning. If you won’t be able to check your email for a long time and don’t want your inbox to be flooded, you can suspend email from this website by entering the date till you want the email to be suspended, after which it will be automatically restored.

There are other options as well, which you can avail. You can choose whether to receive the daily email in text or HTML format. You can change the email address at which you receive emails. And if your list of blogs is too long, you can create categories and file your blog links under each, for instance, personal blogs, political blogs or metroblogs. Plus, if you have a long list of blog links to subscribe to, you can simply use the import option and add them all in one go. There is an extensive help section as well if you get stuck anywhere.

Moreover, if you have your own blog, you can use some of the stickers and banners that are here to promote this website. So basically, this is a website with many utilities. It helps you sort out your blog links and while doing that, it saves time while you are online and keeps your blog roll organised.

Visit blogarithm.com to get a daily dose of your favourite blogs.

Fooling Around

It was quite late in the afternoon - a time when many people indulge in a siesta after a long and tiring day. This particular household was no different. Everyone there was asleep as well with the exception of Sana Haq, the youngest member of the household. It was not surprising then, that when the phone rang, she went to pick it up.

'Hello?'

'Look, this is an emergency,' said an unfamiliar voice, slightly hysterical. 'Your father's administrator has been taken seriously ill. He is having problems in breathing. You must send your father right away to his clinic.'

Sana felt quite panicky. 'But my father is asleep,' she said. 'And if this really is an emergency, just take him to the hospital.'

The person on the other end hung up. Not quite sure what to do, Sana ran to her father's room and woke him up. Her father was also quite surprised. He picked up the phone and called his administrator on his cell phone. The administrator apparently was asleep and had no idea about what was going on. After a hurried exchange of words which left both Sana and her father in no doubt that he was really all right, the phone was hung up.

Now it was left to Sana to explain who had made the call and what exactly had happened. The entire family was quite baffled at what they thought was a very bizarre incident.

'It wasn't until very late at night, that we realized that it was 1st April that day, and someone had played a prank on us. It was quite disgusting. Imagine what might have happened had dad rushed to his hospital,' said Sana, narrating the incident that had occurred a couple of years ago.

One can easily surmise that this isn't the problem of just one family or one individual alone. Come the last week of March and it is highly likely that quite a few people will become their most vigilant selves, authenticating even the most trivial information they receive to ensure that they are not the victims of what is universally known as April Fool's Day.

April Fool - Quite Ancient!

It is quite surprising to note that unlike the events of Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, which have become rampant mainly because of all the mass media hype they generate, the phenomenon of April Fool has been around for a longer time in this country.

'I remember when I was in sixth grade, girls of my class used to discuss ideas for pranks to play on the 1st of April,' reminisced Maria Hussain. Maria is now in her fourth year of medical school. Judging by this, one can imagine that this idea has been around for, at least, the past decade.

Is Harmless Fun Really Harmless?

Even though 1st April pranks have been around for a long time, this doesn't essentially mean that people have gotten any more mature when it comes to playing pranks. The phrase 'harmless fun' is lost on most people as they indulge in bizarre and sometimes, quite dangerous tricks and jokes. Calling up people to give them unnerving news about their relatives, telling a classmate she has flunked a quiz or making people panic by telling them that their house has been a victim of arson are only some of these 'jokes' that in reality are not even slightly funny.

Over the years, another change that has taken place in the way 1st April is celebrated is that people have apparently decided that the whole month of March should be dedicated to it. Those who have loads of time at their disposal, not to mention a whole lot of their parents' hard-earned money, send out hoax SMSes to everyone in their list of contacts. These hoax news items are then made the subject of feverish discussion right up to 1st April, which is when the 'joke aspect' is revealed.

Confused? Take the following example. Your friend sends you an SMS that she is getting married in 30 days and that she needs your help for the wedding preparations. You sit down with her to make the guest list and decide the menu. At the end of the month, the month that incidentally happens to be March, you find out that it was a joke. Would you regard this as funny or would you term this as downright cruel and insensitive? It's not that hard a guess.

No Time for It!

But quite surprisingly, there are many young people who have now simply chosen to dismiss this day as nothing more than a waste of time. According to these people, they have other better things to do and they only indulge in humour in their own time and not because of any specific day. And, it's heartening to note this sudden change of trend, as revealed by some students.

'April Fool? What are you talking about?' exclaimed Nadia Fayyaz, student of a prestigious business institute. 'We simply don't have time to even think about it. We have our hourlies on 1st April and that's all that the first of April means to us these days.'

The views of Andaleeb Salim, an engineering student, are also somewhat similar. 'This is our third year. We have to take practical courses and form our project groups. I, along with my entire class, am so caught up in these academic activities that we can't even think of any pranks or jokes to play on anyone else.'

At the end of the day then, it does seem that where there are a group of people who will not even consider the nature of their pranks before playing them on others, there are loads of other young people who have decided that it is a sheer waste of time.

What matters is the way you actually think about April Fool's Day. Once you decide that on 1st of April, everything is legal, every joke will seem perfectly harmless, even though it may be dangerous to the nth degree. Of course, no one is saying that you should give up humour altogether. But the fact of life is that humour should not be at the cost of anyone else. And if it is, then maybe it's time to rethink whether all of Us really want this kind of humour to be part of our lives.

Is there a History?

It is quite interesting to note that April Fool's Day has NO history at all. Apparently, no one is ready to trust any historical account after it transpired that one of those accounts themselves was an April Fool's joke.

However, the most popular theory on the Internet regarding how this day came about goes something like this: Before 1582 (in some places the date is 1564), the New Year was celebrated from 25th March for eight days, concluding on the 1st of April and these were all the celebrations dedicated to this day. When the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, the New Year celebrations were shifted to 1st of January.

That was the time when there was no concept of mass media and news traveled slowly. So until this change of calendar became widely known, some people continued to celebrate the New Year on 1st April. Those who did not agree with the new calendar also continued with the old one. These people were labelled as fools by those who followed the new calendar. Over time, this evolved to 1st April being a day when people play practical jokes on others.

Beware of an Urban Legend

1st April has been a subject of many hoax emails. The bad news is that very few people realise that they're not authentic in the first place. One such email regarding the origins of 1st April, which has been widely forwarded, has now been widely refuted as well. The summary of that email is as follows:

The Christian forces wanted to capture Spain, but were unable to do so. To emerge victorious over the strong Muslim rule, they worked hard to indulge them in various vices like alcohol and cigarettes. Finally, when the morals of Muslims had degenerated, they attacked them and captured Spain, ending the Muslim rule. The last city that they occupied was Grenada and that was on the 1st of April. So from that day onwards, they celebrate the day as April Fool's Day - to symbolise that they made a fool out of Muslims to drive them out of Spain.

This story has been aptly termed as an urban legend and refuted by many on the following grounds:

a) As mentioned before, it was after 1582 or 1564 that the concept of April Fool came about. On the other hand, a historical fact is that that Muslim rule in Spain officially ended on 12th January 1492. There is a huge difference in dates, as you can see.

b) Smoking wasn't around at the time when Muslims ruled Spain. In fact, the first cultivation of tobacco by Spain was in 1550, again way after 1492 which was when Grenada fell.

c) There are many authentic and diverse explanations for the downfall of Muslims in Spain. These can be found in many books and articles, and the sources one can trust over a forwarded email.

Of course, the above three points were just the tip of the iceberg of a matter that has been discussed quite at length. Many different Muslim history buffs have collected facts and figures to convince other Internet and email users not to forward this email. Rather they should let the authentic facts be known to whoever forwarded this email in the first place. You can read more about this urban legend at http://www.themodernreligion.com/misc/hoax/april-fool.html

Cyber activism redefined

Published in Sci-Tech World

Who hasn’t been disturbed by the events taking place in the past couple of weeks or so? With the Chief Justice of Pakistan being suspended, a popular television show banned and the offices of a television network attacked by police, one can’t help but what exactly is going on. One thing, though, is for sure — even those who claim to be extremely disinterested in the affairs of this country have had plenty to think about, given the recent developments on the political front.

Of course, there is a majority which is already politically conscious, though they may not necessarily belong to any specific party. The concern of such people is their country only and in the face of all these events, these people have taken to the internet. Proud Pakistanis is the website serving as central point of its first movement entitled “White Band for Justice.”

Why white band? “We choose to use the white band, as it signifies purity and justice while the latter part of the slogan is essential as it evokes national pride and patriotism, a core value which has for sometime disappeared from the emotions of all Pakistanis. It’s time to bring patriotism back into Pakistanis,” says the “about” section, explaining in detail what Proud Pakistanis is all about.

The website has various sections, each dedicated to a different aspect of this cyber movement. The main section is the blog, where news, updates and analysis from all over Pakistan are regularly posted. As of right now, news of statements given and protests taken out are only some of the types of news covered here. There are audio clips with some of the news items as well.

The section on the mailing list is next. It invites people to be a part of the Proud Pakistani mailing list at Google Group. This group is an effective outlet where people can vent out their frustrations regarding the current situation and share their views with other like-minded people. It is also a place one can use to keep him/herself updated as events are posted when they occur with subsequent comments by people. Many pertinent questions have also been raised here.

Another section is dedicated to a petition. The website invites all readers to read through the text of the petition and sign it if they agree with it. Basically the petition calls on the President to take five immediate and urgent steps which include the request that the media be permitted at the hearing of the reference. It is amazing to note that within a span of few days, a total of 630 signatures have been collected. If you refresh the page, you’ll notice that the number of signatures has increased.

Moreover, Proud Pakistani has a banner for the convenience of all those who either have their own blog or website. Such people can easily download the banner and put it up at a prominent position on their blog/website, etc.

Overall, the website allows users to be actively involved in it, whether s/he is posting a message on the newsgroup, writing a comment in response to a post on the blog or sending out a link to the petition to every contact in the address book. It also dispels the popular view that many Pakistanis are simply not interested in the political scenario of the country. Apparently they are, and are very active at that.

Visit Proud Pakistani to be a cyber activist

Studying a publication

Ok, so you have decided that you want to write for a publication. You have loads of ideas and you can’t wait to sit in front of your PC, sort out those ideas and get those creative juices flowing.

But, wait a second! Are you just going to write something at random, and then search for a publication to submit it to? That’s not such a good idea. When you’re a freelancer the best approach towards writing is: write for a publication. Even when you’re thinking out ideas, you must have a certain publication in mind. So how do you come to know so much about different publications in the market and the kind of stuff they publish?

The basic question to ask yourself in this regard is: have you actually done a thorough study of the publication(s) that you want to write for? Or is it that you saw a certain publication on a newsstand, got attracted to the name and cover and decided to write for them? To ensure that you give the editor something worth publishing, it is always a good idea to study a publication thoroughly before sending something to be considered for publication. And this is one of the main tasks which will give you a very thorough and accurate idea of the different publications that are out there in the market and the material they publish.

Here are some different ways in which you can carry out such a study:

1) Subscribe to the publication: If you don’t already get that publication at your home, then it is a good idea to subscribe to it. Or if that isn’t possible, you can try to purchase a few back issues or get them from the library. You must have a few issues in hard copy.

2) Visit the publication’s official website: Some websites carry full text material of the contents of the publications, while others carry only a brief outline of the articles published. You can get a print-out of some of the issues’ contents if you cannot lay your hands on any copy of the publication.

3) Read carefully: Once you have laid your hands on the publication, the next step is to go through it. If you are seriously interested in writing for a publication, then you must read it carefully. Flipping through or reading only the by-lines and summaries will not help in any way.

4) Notice the different sections of the publication: If you simply cannot read everything, then look at the different sections which the publication has been divided into, and go through the ones which appeal to you. For instance, you may be very good at writing poems and so you may want to look at the poetry section. If you want to write reviews, you can go through the reviews section.

5) Note the topics: Once you have selected your section, the next step is to look at the different topics. If you are looking at the reviews section, you may notice which type of books, movies and websites have been reviewed. Are the books bestsellers or latest releases or classics? Are the movies those which have recently been premiered? Are websites related to a specific issue, or you can review fun websites as well? If you are looking at the articles section, you may want to note down things like whether or not articles are fiction or non-fiction, time-specific (related to Earth Day or various “Days” which are celebrated) or issue-specific (related to current news items like cricket or natural disasters).

6) Write down the guidelines: It is always advisable that you jot down some of the points you have discovered while going through your favourite section. You can later compile them to form your own writer’s guidelines. You can add or delete from these guidelines as you study successive issues. In fact that is precisely why you should study a number of issues rather than relying on one.

7) Look for official guidelines: Some publications have their own guidelines — this may include the email address to send the work to, the details you must supply when you’re submitting anything and/or any other things you need to take care of. Include this in your writer’s guidelines as well.

8) Sample writer’s guidelines: Here is an outline of some important details your writer’s guidelines must contain:

a. Section name

b. Topics covered

c. Possible new topics

d. Approve outline from the editor?

e. Word limit (approximate)

f. Email address to submit the work

g. Details to give when submitting work

Finished? Now you are ready to write down your article or outline. Keep those guidelines in front of you as you go to your PC and begin writing. Best of luck.

Webwatch

Mysterious designs
http://plus.maths.org/issue38/features/nishiyama/
WHAT is so unusual about the number 6,174? At first sight, it seems like just another ordinary number but if you go through the content of this website you will discover that it is a really mysterious figure. The website goes to great lengths to explain how 6,174 is the number which turns up every time you apply certain formulae. Of course, some of the details are quite complicated, but if you are a number buff, you’ll have a great time here.

Exploration galore
http://www.exploretheabyss.com/
WHETHER oceanography is your domain or a general interest, this website is sure to keep you occupied. It basically features loads of photo galleries containing illustrations from the oceanic and deep sea life in New Zealand. There is a separate section which is dedicated to ocean expeditions as well.

Where’s the chemistry?
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff.html
HAVE you ever wondered why margarine melts if you put it in a hot frying pan? Or why do plastic bags remain intact even when you put everything imaginable inside them? Yes, all these and more interesting details are covered on this website which basically covers chemistry in our daily lives. Hence, you can see exactly how the principles of chemistry apply to all of us, whether we are at home or at the supermarket.