Blogging from mobile

I am kinda late to the mobile blogging scene, owing to slow gprs speed, missing 3g connection and a mobile device with wifi connection (well I had the ipad for about 6 months now but guess I was lazy). So now that I ve 3g on my nexus s (not to forget wifi on it as well) , I ve now installed WordPress for android on it. I can immediately see the pros n cons of it. Pros – blogging on the move.  Cons – the linking to other pages etc would be more cumbersome as you can’t just open a tab, copy a link and paste. A big major pros is the auto suggest and auto correct that you get on all mobile phones. Well… I guess am gonna be happy about it…

UPDATE: I opened the post in my laptop browser to add the android marketplaces link. Guess, mobile blogging will take sometime before its my first choice. I ll try it from my ipad as well. Somehow it appears as if thats gonna be more intuitive.

Indiblogger #indiblr meet!

Finally am here, at Fortune Park JP Celestial, No.5/43, Race Course Road, Bangalore! Don’t even bother looking that up on google maps! Am here, and I still can’t find it on the maps correctly! I reached here mostly by instinct and a lil bit of past recollections! Will definitely post in the accurate coordinates after I am done through with it. One thing for sure, the wifi here is good, let me do a speedtest.net soon!

Coming more as the session progresses…

PS : I am an hour and a half late due to the location confusion…

Pics coming soon…

Etherpad setup on Fedora 12 slicehost.

I ve been trying to setup etherpad on my slicehost slice running fedora. I managed to get all the dependencies fulfilled yet it would fail compiling. (I let it run for 36+ hours and then did Ctrl+C when I realised its not really working.) Then I came across the newly released rpm for fedora 12:

http://sdz.fedorapeople.org/etherpad/

This still is buggy. For example,

[root@deltacore etherpad-0]# etherpad-rebuildjar.sh
/usr/bin/etherpad-rebuildjar.sh: line 32: ../infrastructure/bin/compilecache.sh: No such file or directory

Ofcourse, because the original script has just been moved to /usr/bin without even changing the source :!

Anyways, I just tried running the etherpad server and thats when I got my major roadblock :!

[root@deltacore etherpad-0]# etherpad-run-local.sh
Using config file: /etc/etherpad.localdev-default.properties
Error occurred during initialization of VM
Could not reserve enough space for object heap

So next, I am gonna run it on my private server with better memory and see how it works.

When wordpress went down…!

The early morning of June 11th (or June 10 evening for the folks in US west coast) saw wordpress.com going down! This is the first time that I remember such a big outage ever since I started with wordpress. It was just giving an error message saying “WordPress will be back shortly!”. Millions of blogs hosted on wordpress were affected because of this. Also non-wordpress hosted blogs using wordpress were affected for their stats. As the stats plugin uses API keys issued by wordpress.

Wordpress.com goes down, affects wordpress stats as well.

Wordpress.com goes down, affects wordpress stats as well.

Majority of wordpress blogs are up now and rest are slowly crawling back to normalcy. The main site is yet to be restored.

Scuba Diving at Netrani Islands, off Murudeshwar!

I went for a Scuba diving trip at Netrani Island, 10 nautical miles off the western coast of India from the city of Murudeshwar, KN. It was a weekend trip. The trip was organised by Bangalore Mountaineering Club BMC. We started at 10 from bangalore and reached Murudeshwar by 9 next morning. In between we stopped at Jog falls which was mostly reduced to a stream. There were 8 of us including the event co-ordinator. 2 more folks joined us later in Murudeshwar itself. We landed up at the RNS Highway , a good hotel 5 minutes drive from the beach. The charge is about Rs.450 for a non-AC double room whereas it is INR 1250 for an AC double room. After some initial freshening up and a light breakfast, we went for a training session in a pool. We spent some 3 hours in the pool learning various tips and related hand signals about scuba diving. After that we had a good lunch at an eatery called Park Groves nearby. Then we retired back to the hotel. We left for the beach in the evening. We visited the Shiva temple at the beach that boasts of the tallest shiva statue in the world. Its 123 feet or 37mts high. We also went atop the nearby 20 story Gopura, another tallest in world. The lift takes you upto 18 story. After that we spent some time off at the beach, had a good dinner at Kamath and then went back to hotel and hit the bed.

Next day we were up and on the beach by 8 am. After a light breakfast, we boarded the boat to Netrani Islands. There were two boats, one with us and the other with the scuba gear. We reached the island in around one hours time. There after we raced to go in for scuba diving followed by snorkelling in the calm waters. When you are in the deep sea, then only you really understand the meaning of a real deep blue sea!
The snorkelling and scuba diving were my first experience. Its simply awesome and amazing.

We started back for land around 3 and were back on dry grounds by 4.30. Thereafter we went back to hotel, freshened up and hit the road again after light snacks, We had dinner in the evening the city of sagar and we reached Bangalore by 7 early next morning!

It was an awesome weekend and a time to remember!

Will @Google Search replace @twitter search?

Google just launched their another innovative feature in the field of RTI(Real Time Indexing): Search across twitter archives.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/replay-it-google-search-across-twitter.html

The one thing I *LIKED* about the google RTI was their twitter integration. It showed me my latest tweet (10 mins old! ) Thats pretty cool.
Will Google Search replace twitter search?
Look up @shashiTharoor in this new feature:

http://bit.ly/dxeRTm

Also ipl:

http://bit.ly/b0vsgx

This looks interesting!
http://bit.ly/9EVCOg

But they can definitely do better with the suggest part :P

cheers!

India trending #princessSheeba

India has the count to make any topic trending on twitter! Be it #IPL #RCB #SachinIsGod #Satyanand #epicIndianAds or countless other such trending topics that pop up every other day!

Today’s trending topic is #princessSheeba and right now am jobless enough to track it back to its origin! Well I do it for most trending topics but right now am jobless enough to blog about it :P
(well, actually the script is running in the screen and I can’t do much about it atm :P )

So the first tweet about her was not today but 6 days back!

http://twitter.com/GeorgeTheWalker/statuses/10664155445

“2 yrs ago, I found this gem. Princess Sheeba – DEAR TO THE NEAR ONES and TERROR TO THE REAR ONES. m/ http://princesssheeba.com/index_1.html”

Today, it was rediscovered by
http://twitter.com/meenususanna/statuses/10967706993

And the first tweet with the #tag was

http://twitter.com/jacobrohan/statuses/10972635537

@manav84 Dude.. This is trend material… #PrincessSheeba

Lets see where this trend continue to!

PS: Have you ever noticed how all Indian trending topics are always on weekdays evening! (Needless to say why? ;)

cheers!

IAF 7 SSC (M) F (P)/36 SSC (W) F(P) 2010

INVITES ENTERPRISING & ADVENTUROUS MEN & WOMEN
TO JOIN THE INDIAN AIR FORCE
AS SHORT SERVICE COMMISSIONED OFFICERS IN
FLYING (PILOT) BRANCH
WE ARE a high tech service, operating a formidable array of aircraft, weapons and associated equipment.
HAVE some of the finest training facilities, which will transform you into a skilled professional.
HAVE openings for bright young men and women who seek a life of challenge, honour and glory

GIVE WINGS TO YOUR DREAMS

Download the whole advertisement here.
Originally sourced from http://www.davp.nic.in/WriteReadData/ADS/eng_10801_73_0910b.pdf.

Download application form. Originally sourced from
http://careerairforce.nic.in/written_schedule/Flying%20Branch/Application%20Flyng%20Branch.pdf
1. Applications are invited from unmarried male and female Indian Citizens
for grant of Short Service Commission in Flying (Pilot) Branch of the Indian Air
Force for the following courses for which training will commence in Jan 2011.
No. 7 SHORT SERVICE COMMISSION (MEN) FLYING (PILOT) COURSE
No. 36 SHORT SERVICE COMMISSION (WOMEN) FLYING (PILOT) COURSE

Last date for receipt of applications: 06 April 2010.
Last date for receipt of applications for the candidates who are sending their
applications from Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep & Minicoy Islands,
Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland and
Mizoram: 13 April 2010

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS
2. Should be an unmarried Indian citizen.
3. Age: 19 to 23 years as on 01 Jan 2011 i.e. born between 02 Jan 1988 and
01 Jan 1992 (Both dates inclusive).
(Upper age limit for Candidates holding valid Commercial Pilot Licence issued
by DGCA (India) is relaxable upto 25 years i.e. born between 02 Jan 1986 to
01 Jan 1992 Both dates inclusive ).
4. Educational Qualification: Graduates (Three year course) in any
discipline including BE /B Tech (Four year course) who have attained Minimum
60% marks in aggregate in all papers put together. All candidates applying
must have passed Maths and Physics at 10+2 level through regular schooling.
Candidates appearing in final year/semester examinations may also apply
provided they fulfil the following conditions:-
(a) Candidates should not have any present backlog and should have secured a
minimum of 60% marks in aggregate in all papers put together upto the last
semester/ year for which results have been declared at the time of applying /
AFSB testing.
(b) Candidates should be able to provide provisional / original degree certificate
latest by 15 Dec 2010.
5. Height and Weight: Minimum height – 162.5 cms with correlated weight and
leg length in the range of 99 cms (Min) and 120 cms (Max).
6. Vision: (a) Visual Acuity 6/6 in one eye and 6/9 in other, correctable to 6/6
only for hypermetropia. (b) Manifest Myopia – Nil. (c) LASIK Surgery for
correction of vision is admissible in Transport and Helicopter streams of Short
service Commission (Flying Branch) if the following conditions are fulfilled at the
time of Air Force medical examination:- (i) LASIK Surgery should not have been
carried out before the age of 20 years. (ii) The axial length of the eye should not
be more than 25.5 mm as measured by IOL master. (iii) At least twelve months
should have lapsed post uncomplicate stable LASIK. No history or evidence of
any complication. (iv) The post LASIK corneal thickness as measured by a
corneal pachymeter should not be less than 450 microns. (v) Individuals with
high refractive errors (>6D) prior to LASIK are to be excluded. Candidates must
not suffer from colour or night blindness.

Candidates who have failed the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) in an earlier
attempt OR a Flight Cadet suspended from flying training at Air Force Academy
will not be eligible to apply.
Airmen candidates are to apply through the separate Airmen entry

HOW TO APPLY
7.(a) If you meet the eligibility criteria, download the application format from our
website www.careerairforce.nic.in, complete the columns in English (Block
Capitals) and send the same by ORDINARY POST at the following address by
06 April 2010 / 13 April 2010 (as applicable). Alternately the application can be
typed or handwritten (in block capitals) as per the format given in the advertisement
in A4 size paper

POST BAG NO. 001, NIRMAN BHAWAN POST OFFICE, NEW DELHI – 110 106

Note:
No queries/correspondence will be entertained regarding late
receipt / non receipt or incomplete / non eligible / illegible applications.
(b) Superscribe the envelope: 7 SSC (M) F(P) / 36 SSC (W) F (P) Course
(as applicable).
(c) Application must also be accompanied by One self addressed envelope
(size – 23 x 10 cms) pasted with Rs 27/- postage stamps

SELECTION PROCEDURE
8. After scrutiny of the applications, short listed candidates will be called for Pilot
Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) and Service Selection Board (SSB) interview at one
of the Air Force Selection Boards (AFSBs) situated at Dehradun, Mysore and
Varanasi.
9. Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) will be administered on the first day and
candidates who qualify in it will undergo Stage I Personality Test on the next day.
Stage I test consists of Intelligence test and Picture Perception and Discussion
Test (PP&DT). PP&DT is a screening test and those who qualify would undergo
stage –II testing. Candidates who fail to qualify the PABT / stage – I would be
routed back on the same day.
10. Stage II tests consisting of Psychological test, Group test and Interview will be
conducted in the subsequent days (Three to four days).
11. Medical Examination will be conducted at AFCME, New Delhi or IAM
Bangalore for those who are recommended by AFSBs after stage-II testing.
12. Candidates recommended by the AFSBs and declared medically fit will be
appointed for training in order of All India Merit List depending on the number of
vacancies available.
13. No compensation will be paid in respect of any injury sustained during testing
at AFSBs.
TRAINING
14. Training is scheduled to commence in the month of Jan 2011.
15. Candidates will be detailed to undergo training for 74 weeks at Air Force
Training Establishments. During the training period, candidates would be
orientated with defence lifestyle and imparted military training to enhance their
physical and mental toughness before commencing flying training. On
completion of training they would be granted Short Service Commission. The
engagement period would be for 14 years from the date of commissioning (not
extendable).
IAF OFFERS YOU
16. Pay and Allowances: Flying Officers will be entitled to the pay band of Rs
15,600 -39,100 per month. Grade Pay, Military Service Pay, Dearness
Allowance, Flying Allowance, Transport Allowance & Kit Maintenance
Allowance are the other admissible pay and allowances.
17. In addition certain other allowances are applicable based on nature of duty /
place of posting.
18. Benefits: Well Furnished Accommodation, Comprehensive Medical Cover for
self and dependants, Leave Travel Concession, Leave (60 days Annual and 20
days Casual), Rations, Canteen, Officers Mess facilities and many more.
19. Insurance: Rs.30 Lac Insurance Cover (on contribution) as applicable to
serving officers. Additional cover of 3.5 Lac for Flying Branch is also available.
20. Adventure & Sports: The IAF provides facilities to pursue all major sports
activities. In addition, one can learn and participate in adventure activities such as
Sky Diving, Para Jumping, Para Sailing, River Rafting, Mountaineering, Trekking
etc.

Intangible:
21. An unparalleled way of life that offers you intrinsic compensation that no other organisation may provide

IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS
22. Terms and conditions given in the advertisement are guidelines only and are subject to change without notice.
23. Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) is administered only once in a life time.
24. The columns in the Application Form must be complete in all respects. Illegible / incomplete applications will be rejected without
assigning any reason.
25. The following documents must be carried in original along with photocopies by the candidates while reporting to the Air Force
Selection Board for tests.
(a) Matriculation or Secondary School leaving Certificate issued by Board of Secondary Education for proof of Date of Birth. (No
other document would be accepted as proof of Date of Birth).
(b) 10+2 Certificate and Mark Sheet (issued by Board only) as proof of having passed in Physics & Maths.
(c) Original / Provisional Graduation Degree Certificate, Mark Sheets issued by the University only. For those appearing for the
final exams, semester/year wise mark sheets are to be taken.
(d) In case of final year / semester students applying, a certificate from college principal clearly mentioning the following aspects
annotated with proper stamp & seal of the institution (i) Name Of College (ii) University affiliated to (iii) Discipline of Graduation
(iv) Likely date of declaration of final result ( DD / MM / YYYY format ).
(e) Original Air Wing Senior Division ‘C’ Certificate (if applicable). In case the candidate is to appear in the NCC ‘C’ Certificate
(Sr. Division) Examinations, a certificate from the Commanding Officer of the NCC Air Squadron is to be obtained and carried
stating that the candidate will produce the ‘C’ Certificate by 15 Dec 2010.
(f) Original valid Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (if applicable).
26. Candidates who are not in possession of these documents will be routed back from AFSBs on the first day without any
payment of Travelling Allowance.
27. Onus of meeting eligibility criteria rests with the candidate. Merely because you have been called or tested in PABT / AFSB dose not
constitute fulfillment of eligibility criteria.
28. You must be in good physical and mental health and free from any disease/disability. For broad details log on to our website
www.careerairforce.nic.in .
29. DISCLAIMER: Information given in the advertisement and on the website are only guidelines. In case of any ambiguity, the existing
rules and regulations of Indian Air Force / Govt. of India will be final.
30. STATUTORY WARNING: Selection in the Indian Air Force is free, fair and merit based. Any attempt to influence the selection
process detected at any stage, is liable to lead to termination of candidature or service and legal action against the concerned individual
will be initiated

How to auto insert target=”blank” in wordpress!

Hi,
So all of you must have used the link button in the WP editor to create links. Now the default link button makes your links open in the same tab. If you want to make your links open in a new tab, you have to add target=”_blank” to your a tag.

Now to do that manually everytime or use a text editor to manually edit (Ctrl+F, Ctrl+H) or whatever to search replace and add target=”_blank” could be a tedious job! Why do it when you can edit one file and automate it forever.

The file in question is quicktags.js and resides in “wp-includes/js” folder.

Open the file in a text editor and search for “function” till you come across “function edInsertLink”. This is the function responsible for inserting links to your posts.

Edit this function so that the corresponding part now reads as

edButtons[c].tagStart=’<a href=”‘+a+’” target=”_blank”>’

and save.
There you go.
Now your links will have target=”blank” as a part of them.

Or you can just download the file from here and save it in your wp-include/js/ folder.
cheers!

the anAlyst

Time lag!

This thoughts been for a while in my mind! When you work for a US company, you come to know about happenings and holidays in the US before you come to know when is holi! The latest news piece that prompted me to come back to this particular train of thoughts is the news piece about the Playsation 3 time issue. The older PS3 (non-slim versions) considered 2010 as a leap year. As a result their time mismatched from the servers on the Playstation Network and some of the user data (trophies won etc) were unavailable/corrupted for some users. Even as we speak, Sony updated with the news and the fix (manually changing the date on PS to 1 March 2010 fixed the issue). However, many of the US news majors on the net are yet to catch up with the latest update and still running the news about the failure without the latest updates. It leads me to believe that the US night time news can be better handled by folks where its daytime. Interesting thought! Will any online News media try out the same?

So many times reading a particular news piece in the newspaper or watching it on the TV, I feel that ain’t that a old news? Yeah, maybe coz being employed by an internet giant, I get to know News as it happens while the traditional media takes its own sweet time to comeup with the latest (err.. oxymoron? )!