Upgradations !

I've added the analog clock and the statcounter to this blog. I hope they bring some glitz amongst the possible monotonousity ! I also plan to launch the RSS/XML feed to this site, but can't figure out how ! Any help/advice/suggestion would be gladly accepted and are eagerly awaited.

Anyhow, today was a very long day : surfing through the books in the British Council Library and then the National Library and then to a friends house. It's 1 at night now. Gotta go to sleep.

Road to Heaven ! 

RIAF - 3 

RIAF - 2 

Russian Ice-art Festival (RIAF) -1 

FIORA : The Pheromone Perfume (with ingredients extracted from a young woman's underarm sweat) 

Pheromone : The sexual side of smelling !

What is pheromone?
Pheromone is an odorless chemical signal that all human beings and animals produces and release into the air. And it affect the behavior of others within the same species. Pheromone makes a signal to the opposite sex that trigger a subconscious response of attraction and induce natural romantic cravings in both men and women. In nature, it is common to see that many animals attract their sexual mates primarily with the release and use of natural pheromones.

How do pheromones work?
Human behavior is infinitely more complicated than other animals or species. However, certain biological urges remain the same. All living beings have the need to procreate and therefore need to mate. The secretion of pheromones is nature's way of attracting the opposite sex to one another. Men and women have always known that sexual attraction was partially related to their sense of smell. That is why billions of dollars each year are spent on perfumes and colognes.And even though pheromones are odorless, they are perceived through the vomeronasal organ(VNO) in the back of the nose, which then sends this information to the brain, which in turn, controls our sexual responses. In essence, the secretion of pheromones is nature's way that someone is attracted to one another. Therefore, it is only logical that the more pheromones you secrete the more desirable you become.

How are pheromones detected?
Pheromone signals are detected through an organ inside the nose called the Vomeronasal Organ(VNO). When the VNO detects pheromones, it sends a sexual response signal to the brain. And so, it makes the feeling of attraction and romantic impression.

What is the VNO?
The Vomeronasal Organ or VNO is the receptor organ of a sensory system involved in pheromone chemical communication. Among animals, pheromones that advertise sexual readiness to potential mates are often, although not necessarily exclusively, detected by the VNO. Odors that are produced by one individual and detected by another of the same species are called "Pheromones" if the process is a real communication with benefit to both individuals.

Do we give off pheromones naturally?
Science has proven that human beings emit Pheromones. However, through tens of thousands of generations, (evolution), the human animal produces this chemical signal not much naturally. So, our FIORA perfumes will help you to have more human pheromones with sensual fragrances.

Experimental Evidences :

1.The Australian organization, Bennett Research, conducted a survey of 306 men using pheromones. 90% of them claimed that the product had increased their attractiveness to women. Increased response from women was measured by:
Making conversation - 61% Starting up a conversation - 52% Expressing an interest in the man - 43% Being responsive to him - 40% Paying unsolicited compliments - 36% Overt flirting - 34%

A significant measure was a big increase in physical response by women - brushing against the pheromone wearers (31%), touching them (30%), becoming sexually excited (18%), expressing a desire for sex (17%), and actually having sex with them (16%). One survey participant described his experience: "One night in a bar a womean walked past me and looked at me. The second time she walked past she came straight to me, said hello, started talking to me and I was very surprised when she grabbed hold of my hands and gave me a kiss on the lips."
* Source: "Sexual Magnetism" (Urban Male Magazine, Winter 2001)

2.Scientists at San Francisco State University conclude that women who wore perfume with synthesized female pheromone were more attractive to their male partners. They recruited 36 women between the ages of 19 and 48 years old for the research. And the study found that women who had pheromone added to their perfume reported a more than 74% increase in sexual attention from men: they were involved in more sexual intercourse, kissing, heavy petting, affection, sleeping next to their partner, and formal dates with men. Women wearing perfume with a placebo also experienced an increase in these activities, though not as great as the pheromone group. The most highly significant difference between the placebo and the pheromone group was actually sexual intercourse. "This affects male behavior and makes the women attractive. It is a biological signal to a man that suggests that this woman can reproduce and he responds with romantic behavior related to securing intimate relations with her." said research author Norma McCoy, a professor at San Francisco State University."This is not a smell one can detect. Neither the man not the woman is aware of it, but it's very powerful."
* Source: "That old pheromone magic" (The Examiner, March 20, 2002)

3.This study tested whether synthesized human male pheromones increase the sociosexual behavior of men. Thirty-eight heterosexual men, ages 26-42, completed a 2-week baseline period and 6-week placebo-controlled, double-blind trial testing a pheromone "designed to improve the romance in their lives." Each subject kept daily behavioral records for 6 sociosexual behaviors: petting/affection/kissing, formal dates, informal dates, sleeping next to a romantic partner, sexual intercourse, and self-stimulation to ejaculation and FAXed them each week. Significantly pheromone users increased above baseline in sexual intercourse and sleeping with a romantic partner. There was a tendency for pheromone users to increase above baseline in petting/affection/kissing, and informal dates, but not in self-stimulation to ejaculation or in formal dates. A significantly larger proportion of pheromone users than placebo significantly increased in sociosexual behaviors involving a female partner. Thus, there was a significant increase in male sociosexual behaviors in which a woman's sexual interest and cooperation plays a role. These initial data show that human male pheromones affected the sexual attractiveness of men to women.
* Source: "Pheromonal influences on sociosexual behavior in men."

(Arch Sex Behav, 27(1):1-13 1998 Feb)

Piracy & Ethics !

"Wow Amit !", said Rahul, "You got that latest Need for Speed game ! Please lend it to me for a day. I'll just copy it and return it to you immediately."

"No Problem Mate, but dont forget to lend me your FIFA 2005 CDs. I hope the crack file is included in it.", said Amit.

"Of course it is.", muttered Rahul.

Amit gave a wide smile and said,"Ok boss, it's a deal then !"

This is the present scenario. With more and more people discovering their worlds in the cyberspace, these 'deals' and spreading exponentially. After all, who would bother to spend 2000 silly bucks on a game when u can buy some more RAM or HDD space or a spectacular graphic card with it.

The gaming industry, film industry and music industry are the worst hit by piracy. With over 200 music mp3's (more than 15 albums) being loaded in a CD, worth 50 bucks, who'd buy them for 15*200=3000 bucks? Even sometimes you can get them for 15 bucks. There are people (calling from my experience) who uses 40GB of his 120GB HDD for storing 12,000 music mp3's and 20GB with games and 40GB with 40 full movies.

Advanced softwares like PhantomCD, VirtualCD etc which creates a virtual image of the once inserted CD and makes the computer believe that the original CD is still the CD-drive. Thus, even the softwares which cannot be easily cracked are easily pirated.

Softwares like Audiograbber, Windows Media Player, etc crumple huge audio files in as little as 2or3 Mb files. Hudreds of copyrighted books are freely distributed over the internet. The movie which even hasn't released, goes out in the black market.

All these do incur a huge loss. But you cant deny that these make a great market for the softwares and the games. The good movies get a huge popularity and a ready audience and on the other hand bad movies fail to make the least success and smashes even before the release.

The main theme is money. But this is well understoob, no matter how good a programmer you are there is still a better programmer then you. No matter how tight the security, the software will get cracked. There are even online sites which readily supply the chits and keys for all popular softwares and there is a readily going separate industry which concentrate on making 'key-generators' following the logic of the worldwide keys.

My solution :

The only way to utilise this is to make it free and commercial. Distribute all softwares freely from the beginning direct from the manufacturer, but make a small change, create advertisement bars somewhere in the game or use real company names in the graphics, songs, movies, books. Suppose Harry Potter says, "Oh! This drink of Pepsi really replenished me.", would Pepsi deny paying up a multi-million bucks, with the sale rate being 125 books per second on the first day in Kolkata alone ? Like popular newspapers put some introductory prices like 50 bucks or anything like that (so that you wont see free copies of Harry Potter lying astray or streets flooded with CDs!) and you'll see the difference !

Is anybody hearing me out ? I'd really like comments on this subject !

Iceberg ! 

Witty way of self-defence ! 

The way to get your choice ! 

Decision !

It occurred to me that writing about Sumitra-di in this blog has become too personal for me and too lengthy and boring for the viewers. Henceforth I've decided to delete it.

The Conspiracy Theory : Man never landed on the Moon !

Man has started to think seriously about inter-planetary motion from as early as the nineteenth century, when the age of modern physics and technology was dreaming. In the twentieth century man made history when they landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong, the celebrated astronomer, was said to be the first human to disturb the soils of the barren moon, the centre of many myths and tales.

I had believed all these from my age immemorable. However, I got the shock of my life when I heard the following information. The world seemed to crumble down….

According to an American News and Information Channel, man had never landed on the moon, all the videos and pictures and everything is a complete hoax to fool the common people.

The United States at that time was having a cold war with Russia. All the astronomers were researching day and night to develop the correct machine that would take humans to moon. So, whoever wins the race would be in a politically better position. Hence the United States, after realizing that they’d never make it, played the most expensive shooting ever done by man.

But some of the researchers and scientists found these flaws :

1. In the video from the moon, the United States flag was seen to flutter. But that was quite impossible as there is no atmosphere in the moon and hence there comes no question of wind.
2. It was seen that NASA had failed miserable in all the tests done in the lunar rocket, as none of them could be controlled and all of them resulted in crashes. These happened just a few months back before the landing on the moon. In this very short span of time it was impossible to design a rocket that would be fully controlled.
3. While landing on the moon, the rocket had let out a gust of fuel comprising of burning light gases, generating tremendous heat and momentum. But there is no sign of a blast crater beneath the rocket in any of the pictures sent from the moon.
4. In a place called ‘Area 51’ in the United States, the physiography of the land resembled strikingly to lunar physiography and this was maintained in a very strict security. Any casual trespasser were killed without any warning and no media was allowed to obtain any information. However, the pictures sent from the moon resemble exactly like that of the satellite pictures of the craters and boulders in Area 51. The whole shooting is said to have done there.
5. According to space-scientists and biologists, the outfit worn by the astronomers was studied and was found to be highly insufficient to protect them from cosmic radiations. Moreover, at that point of time when astronomers were ‘in moon’ there was a very severe sun-storm, which should have been highly fatal to them, but they returned with not a single injury.
6. In a video, where the rocket is seen to take off from the moon, it was seen that it took off with the slightest jerk and sailed smoothly in space, but the same rocket was seen in the video a few months back as utterly unmanageable. Moreover, scientists say that there should have been quite some jerk while the taking off. It was as smooth as like somebody was lifting it with an invisible cable.
7. As there is no atmosphere in the moon, billions of stars should have been seen twinkling in the sky, but almost no stars were seen in any of the pictures.
8. The live video from the moon was very blurry and the figures seemed very ghostly. Critics say that this was done intentionally to let go thousands of other small mistakes in the ‘shooting’.
9. In a two different pictures shot at two different places on the moon about 2 miles apart, when superimposed one on the other, it was seen that they were shot at exactly the same place, as all the crater, boulders and the tiniest bit of rocks had matched with utmost clarity. Others than the human figures, every lunar physiography had matched exactly, which is next to impossible for two different places. It seems like they went out of shooting place and should have needed a larger studio.

These points indicate that Man never landed on the moon; it was the greatest hoax of the century.

Bokaro : from an AC capsule !

Bokaro Steel City, as it is called, is a very planned city and is the heart of all the steel production in India. Our interest in Bokaro was not due to its economic importance but as the residential city of my cousin’s husband & the place of the reception for the newly-wed couple.

The father of the bride being the CGM of a BSNL branch, all the services provided by the government was exploited, but still he had to pay a great deal to carry 25 people to Bokaro and back, with their lodging, fooding and transport.

This was the most extraordinary tour I ever had in my life (I’m not saying ‘best’…). Let me explain.

We went out from our respective houses in Kolkata at around 5am to catch the train in AC cars.
The train was AC.
The hotel in Bokaro (Bokaro Hotel) was AC.
The reception room was AC.
All the transports we used in there were AC.

Maybe in Western countries, were the temperature is insufferable, this is quite common. But to us, ol’ Indians, this is quite ‘entertaining’ to some and ‘awkward’ to others (like me).

To get the ‘flavour’ of a certain place in my opinion you should be able to ‘feel’ that place. If the temperatures of Kashmir and Rajasthan are the same, then it’ll be very boring and fake. While wandering through the jungles, you must be attacked by the wild, like leeches, ants, etc while in the mountains you must have a frost-bite, while in the sea you must get sand in your eyes and have a taste of the salty water. Otherwise, there’d be no difference in them.

Though this wasn’t an adventurous tour for us and there were elderly people with us, still I missed ‘it’. I felt sleepy throughout this highly comfortable tour.

I hope to hear some news from Abhijitkaku for some plans in the Puja holidays or even in the Christmas holidays. I’m dying to leave this jungle of concretes and breathe some fresh air, free from the pollution and the crowd.