WikiCharts: Top 100 Wikipedia articles

This tool shows the articles from the English Wikipedia that are viewed most.

The tool is available here.

This tool is still being tested. Some of the results may be false or misleading!

Thanks, No.

Do you get forwarded mails from people you are very close to and therefore are afraid of hurting them by telling them that you do not like getting forwarded mails or chain mails and even if they want to send you something like that, they should put your email address in BCC instead of TO/CC? At least I am.

Here's a solution to your problem: You can send a gentle reply to them containing the link to the website: Thanks, No. Nice, gentle and works!

Say good-bye to forwards!

The demotion of a ... planet !! (Updated)

I don't see the need to redefine the solar system - Siraj Ahsan, Dubai

People all over the world are discussing the topic of Pluto being demoted so passionately as if one of their close friends is being subdued and they must do something (which invariably means kill time discussing it with others) about it. Most of them have a few questions. I would like to answer some of them for everyone's benefit. And then some people may say, "Who are you to answer those questions?" to which I would say, "No one. But then, Who Cares?"

So the questions go like this:

1. Why are they doing it now? It does not make any sense!
2. Oh I am emotionally attached to seeing it as a planet. Why are you breaking my heart?
3. Why don't they realize that all the textbooks need to be changed?
   

And this is how I would like to answer them:

1. Why they are doing it now? Better late then never. Would you not go to a doctor if you realized that you had been suffering from AIDS for the last 2 months? Okay, bad example but the point still holds. If the top people researching in this area think it does not qualify to be a planet anymore, then there must be some good reason behind it. It is not politics, after all.
2. They are breaking your heart? Oh! I am so sorry for you honey. May be what you should do is to run to the closest shop selling a model of the now outdated solar system and at least preserve a model for yourself. This is science of planets, not the science of hearts!
   
3. I see. So you think it is better to teach the young lads wrong stuff than to update the stuff? Hmm, nice point that.

So, as you can see, I am all for updating the textbooks and anything that is needed as long as we have a good reason to back it up with, specially if it is related to Science or Finance.

(This link here echoes my feelings)

Update:
And now there's more to it. A few big names have also joined the "outcry" as BBC reports here. What is happening? I see some of the questions above coming true!

What you "mostly" see while running Windows

Also take a look at (this).

Setting up RSS feed for your blogger blog comments

This is a useful post for setting up RSS/Atom feeds for the comments posted on your blogger blog. BTW, you can subscribe to my blog's feeds here. Here goes the step-by-step procedure to set it up:

1. Open your main blog's Settings
   1. Go to Comments
   2. Set Comment Notification Address to something like: <YourGmailId>+<SomeStringABC>@gmail.com
   
   
2. Go to Dashboard and setup a new blog. You can call it whatever like. This blog will hold your comments! Wondering how? Keep reading.
   
   
3. Open your comment blog's Settings
   1. Go to Email
   2. Set Mail-to-Blogger Address to something like: <YourBloggerId>.<SomeStringXYZ>@blogger.com
   
   
4. Login to your Gmail account,
   1. Go to Filters
   2. Set up a new filter with the following values:
      • Mail sent to: <YourGmailId>+<SomeStringABC>@gmail.com
      • Forward to: <YourBloggerId>.<SomeStringXYZ>@blogger.com
      • Select: Delete it.
   
   
5. You're done mate! Your comments will now be available on your new blog. You can publicize the feed to it on your main blog for the convenience of yourself and your readers.

PS: I utilize this post to congratulate on of my close friends for getting "The Nod"! Your responsibilities have increased now ;)

Be an Expert on Anything

Extremely interesting! I'll just list the points. Read the entire article to know more:

1. Pick a field that can't be verified.
   
2. Choose a subject that's actually secret.
3. Get your own entry in an encyclopedia.
4. Use the word "Zeitgeist" as often as possible.
5. Be sure to use lots of abbreviations and acronyms.
6. Speak from the balls, not from the diaphragm.
7. Don't be afraid to make things up.
8. Don't limit yourself to current knowledge.
9. Get an honorary PhD. (Reminds me of someone :) )
10. Make a habit of name-dropping.

Wish I Were A Meter!

As the bikini turns 60, it's entering the electronic age with a new model featuring a built-in alarm to warn wearers to get out of the sun -- and ease concerns that the scanty swimsuits damage the health.

The American Cancer Society advises that the best way to lower the risk of skin cancer, the most common form of the disease in humans, is to avoid too much exposure to the sun and other sources of ultraviolet light.

So Canadian company Solestrom has come up with a new bikini that goes on sale next month with a UV meter built into its belt and an alarm that beeps to tell wearers when to head to the shade.

"There's so much concern about sun exposure and skin cancer that we saw the demand and designed something to be safe for the wearer," Solestrom spokeswoman Emily Garassa said.

Garassa said the meter on the $190 bikini displays a level of UV intensity on a scale from 0 to 20. A person's sensitivity to UV depends mainly on skin type, but generally three to five would be considered moderate strength, 8-10 very high and anything above 11 extreme.

Garassa said the company was already seeing high demand from Australia and South Africa, which have the world's highest skin cancer rates. The United States has about 1 million new skin cancer cases each year.

Despite increasing awareness of the sun's dangers, sales remain strong for the bikini, which celebrated its 60th anniversary this month.

A new survey by U.S.-based market research company NPD Group found the number of the suits sold in the United States rose 18.8 percent to 33.6 million in the year ended in April 2006, with sales worth a total of $811 million.

The two-piece suit was officially named the bikini in July 1946 by French automotive engineer Louis Reard who persuaded nude dancer Micheline Bernardini to appear in his design at a Paris beauty contest.

Reard named the design after Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, where the United States tested an atomic bomb, because he thought the excitement over it would be like an explosion.

Here's the source of information.

IIT Bombay to set up campus in Gujarat

Please read the referred post.

Yeh haath mujhe dede thakur

Apple’s products are now undoubtedly distinct among all other products, and this has turned into a great asset for Steve Jobs’ company. He can now rely on a huge community of Mac users who would rather cut a hand than give up their good ol` Macintosh…

Reminded me of the famous dialogue from one of the biggest Bollywood movies ever.

All jobs PASS

Job <307595> is submitted to default queue <normal>.
<<Waiting for dispatch...>>
Job <307596> is submitted to default queue <normal>.
<<Waiting for dispatch...>>
<<Job is finished>>
<<Job is finished>>
All jobs PASS.

That's what I had been waiting for for almost 2 weeks now, my first success!
:)