Postcards From J

My family is g ear ing up for my brother's wedding in early December. So you can imagine the chaos that accompanies the phenomenon called the Big Fat Indian Wedding. Invitations, what to wear, arrangements for the reception, caterers, decorators, travel bookings, shopping for a zillion things, and the list goes on and on and on. (Sometimes I wonder who really enjoys these weddings - the people getting married or the ones making a fortune out of it? The latter, I'm sure.) While all this was going on, my parents (who are doing the 'inviting') happened to drop in at a very close relative's home only to find it locked. Even the windows were covered completely and the neighbours didn't know anything. They dropped the invite at the door and left. Soon after, they called the relative to check if they had received the card. No response. The cellular phone company's recorded message said 'switched off' or 'unavailable'. Strange. Then the parent...

What the world wide web threw up today: Creative use of Facebook Timeline: https://www.facebook.com/Antidrugstimeline This one is for social media enthusiasts and for anyone looking to design an innovative campaign for a cause. 7 Things Highly Productive People Do (Inc.com): http://blog.deskaway.com/7-things-highly-productive-people-do-inccom Nothing really radical in this one. But I like the way it's drafted. All of the 7 things mentioned are doable. 20 New Year’s Resolutions For 20-Somethings: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/20-new-years-resolutions-for-20-somethings/ Even if you're not 20-something, these are resolutions most of us could use. And of course, the bigger picture is just screaming to tell us to spend more time on people and things that matter, and less time on being 'connected' via Facebook etc. Just thought of sharing what I managed to read today. Hope you find them interesting.

So, the unintentional social experiment worked.  - or rather, is working. More details later. Will update this post by the end of today or tomorrow morning. Till then, watch this space. I had turned off my birthday information on my Facebook page last year. Two reasons. One, the sheer number of messages that came in on FB directly, and then because of FB on Twitter or via sms. People got a 'reminder' and hence, an obligation to wish. Never mind if you've not spoken to me in years, or don't know what my life is like, but a FB wish toh banta hai, boss. Plus I don't do a generic Facebook status saying "thanks", so it meant fewer people to respond to.  The second reason for turning it off was but obvious. Getting older is getting progressively depressing - the age factor was looming over, people reminding you that you're not married yet, and worse being wished that "hope this year your happy day arrives". I mean, what the fuck! And yes, I just ...

"Technology addictions can lead to increased stress-levels, shorter attention spans (especially in kids), irregular sleep-patterns and poor sleep, to name but a few." EEEEEKKKKKKKS! The article from where the above line came from actually made me shudder. Looks like I have way too much dopamine in my brain. Now that explains my poor sleep patterns and wavering attention span. It goes on to say... "To give a real-world example: when your phone receives a text, it beeps loudly, and we suddenly feel the urge to check the message. Dopamine (which is especially wired to cues like message alerts) is the cause of that urge." "And so we enter the ‘dopamine cycle.’ Want to know what the capital of Chile is? It’s just a Google search away. Want to know if your friend has sent you that funny e-mail he told you about? Refresh your inbox. Want to see what your friends are saying about the new Harry Potter movie? Just hop onto Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Rotten To...