The Wild Wisdom 2014 quiz for Indian students

Here's a wildlife quiz you might like to participate in...

The Wild Wisdom quiz, started in 2008 intends to raise awareness about flora and fauna in India. 2014 is the 7th edition of the quiz, which is an initiative by WWF-India in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which recognizes the quiz as a Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) activity. To be conducted in 30 cities in India it would like participation from 15,000 schools.

The National Final (for the Middle School) will be held in New Delhi on the 1st of October during Wildlife Week.

The awesome part? The prize! The top three teams will win a trip to Adventure Nation’s Camp Tusker near Rajaji National Park, in the Shivalik Hills.

City Level Quiz: 18th Sept 2014
 Last Date to Register: 3rd Sept 2014
For more Details contact: 022-24701361 / 022- 24700039
E-mail: wwfmso@gmail.com

What about the Amethi school you tweeted about, Ms Smriti Irani?

I really don't care about Smriti Irani's qualifications. Don't care about Yale or any diploma. What really matters is... Can she change things and get work done?
Here's a reminder for her... in case she forgot that she was HRD minister and she stood from Amethi. Any updates Minister? What about the Amethi school you tweeted about while campaigning there? All forgotten?

Pic of girl's intercollege in Amethi. Another girl's school in Shukl Bazaar runs out of a godown. Women empowerment? pic.twitter.com/PoGFW5EOQQ
— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) April 27, 2014

The ridiculous state of Mumbai footpaths

 

This is what an average footpath in Mumbai looks like. 

And this photo pretty much sums up what the post is about. Why can't Mumbai have decent footpaths? Footpaths that do what they're supposed to do: Let people walk without injuring themselves, falling, tripping!

Look at these pictures. A manhole, minor repair are enough to destroy a fully-functioning footpath. And Mumbai's municipal corporation is rich! We pay taxes for this stuff. Shabby!

 

Footpath fail. #mumbai pic.twitter.com/IXZMbNCQYD
— महाफ्रीद ईरानी (@mahafreed) May 7, 2014 

Some more footpath fails. 

This footpath is outside one of Mumbai's best and most-frequented malls: Phoenix at Lower Parel.

Scene near Mumbai's Phoenix Mills. RIP footpath. pic.twitter.com/f0jGS4bI3t
— महाफ्रीद ईरानी (@mahafreed) June 1, 2013

Then this is what happens to footpaths on voting day:

In the name of elections, my footpath is being blocked. pic.twitter.com/dDjXn8us
— महाफ्रीद ईरानी (@mahafreed) February 16, 2012

Next up, the footpath opposite the head offices of The Times of India and the BMC.

What can you change if you can't change the area around you?

Footpath across the office of the largest newspaper of the country. Potholes on roads are our only concern? pic.twitter.com/gf42UUJE9i
— महाफ्रीद ईरानी (@mahafreed) May 14, 2013

Gaza violence: Animated videos that cut the long story short

Here's a list of interesting animated videos that try to explain the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Some of them try to be neutral, some are completely biased towards one side. Just like History text books. Some videos are commissioned by governments, some by NGOs, some by historians, some by ordinary people who love history...
But the good thing is that each of them illustrates history in a graphic form to make it more digestible.
PS: It's a good practice to read comments... they often tear apart the video, highlight its goods and bads.

This video talks about two refugee camps and their relation to each other. Created by human rights group Jewish Voice for Peace, the primer explains "why Israelis and Palestinians are fighting, why the US-backed peace process has been an impediment to peace, and what you can do to make a difference."

The next video is a simple animation that only shows the war field and makes connections between three countries... the two opponents and the supplier.

 



This video, although not animated, explains the historical perspective and does a quick brief on the idea of zionism.

The next video is best summarised by a viewer who wrote a comment on Vimeo.  "This was about the ridiculousness of many peoples having the same spiritual claim to a piece of land and how they have claimed it in such an un-spiritual way," writes Mat Brady.


This Land Is Mine from Nina Paley on Vimeo.

Jewish immigration, jihad, partition plans and rivers of blood.

One last animation...

The Israel government has also created a video. We know whose side it takes clearly. Nevertheless it highlights the tunnels built by the Hamas and how they use children as human shields.

IIT-B's map app of the campus

The last time I visited the IIT B campus, a large and detailed map of the campus welcomed me at the entrance. For someone who visits IIT Bombay during TechFest, this was a pleasant surprise... I saw many student visitors looking at to navigate their way around.

IIT B campus map. Nicely done. Created by the same prof Mandar Rane who was the one behind the Mum rail map pic.twitter.com/xLpubog4O1
— महाफ्रीद ईरानी (@mahafreed) January 3, 2014

Now, the Design Lab has created a map app for first time visitors and new entrants. Called instiMap, it gives a  "detailed isometric + perspective map that makes orienting yourself in the real-world quick and easy".

Next time you are in IIT Bombay, find your way around campus using this nice App. @idc_iitb @iitbombay https://t.co/jbG368ufwB
— Pranav Mistry (@pranavmistry) July 18, 2014

Other features as listed in the description include:

• Destination groups: All the places you may search are neatly organized in 12 groups.
• Offline search: Look up a place and you will find its location along with relevant info such as contact details
• Pin your searches: Pin all your searches on the campus map as you search for multiple locations one after other( pin remains until you exit the app)
• Each location you search throws up a card which gives detailed information about the location searched, associated phone numbers, timings, etc

The students are working on a new feature in the upcoming version called 'you are here' that indicates where the person is using the GPS in the phone. It will also add a Google-map like feature that allows a user to do an A to B search.

The reviews so far look positive. Looking forward to using the app myself when I visit the campus next.

To download the app on the Play Store, visit: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.designlabs.instimap

Another popular map by the design students at IIT was the one for Mumbai railways. It was an instant hit and got several shares on social media.

IDC students design navigable railway map to ease commuter woes http://t.co/BwbwqOrg7b pic.twitter.com/ZZaMVz1Acy
— IDC, IIT Bombay (@idc_iitb) December 4, 2013

Pretty awesome eh?

A representation of the Mumbai Railway Map Designed by IDC, first year Student Jaikishan Patel for Kanjurmarg Station pic.twitter.com/0AcAW3KYR2
— IDC, IIT Bombay (@idc_iitb) December 7, 2013

Check this introduction video
Mumbai Rail map (MRM) - Documentation Video from Mandar Rane on Vimeo.

Kudos to Prof Mandar Rane and his team.

Online encyclopedias: Wikipedia, Lostpedia, Murderpedia and Hindupedia

Regular users of Wikipedia, the biggest online Encylopedia know how important it is to have a free-to- use compendium available at the click of a button, anytime, anywhere. Well just like Wikipedia, there are a host of other encyclopedias and wikis dedicated to specific subjects. Here's a list of some interesting and notable ones, do leave a comment to improve the list.

1. http://www.hindupedia.com/ 

Hindupedia is devoted to educating the public about all aspects of Hinduism ranging from history and philosophy to current events that impact Hindus. The online Hindu encyclopedia provides a Hindu perspective on Dharma.

2. http://samosapedia.com/

Samosapedia is the definitive guide to South Asian lingo. It intends to catalog and celebrate the rich, diverse and ever-evolving landscape of the region’s shared vernacular.

"Whether you’re in India, Bangadesh, Pakistan, Trinidad, Queens or Uganda, or grew up near Brick Lane in London or the Bay Area, South Asian English is bindaas; Samosapedia is its home," the website says.

3. KnowYourMeme.com

One of my favourites. This website archives popular trends and online phenomena like memes, hashtags and viral videos on the Internet.

4. http://www.symbols.com/ 
An online encyclopedia that contains everything about symbols, signs, flags and glyphs arranged by categories such as culture, country, religion, and more. 

5. www.pantheon.org

Encyclopedia Mythica is an internet encyclopedia of mythology, folklore and religion

6. http://www.who2.com/

An encyclopedia of biographies. 

7. http://murderpedia.org/

A free online encyclopedic dictionary of murderers and the largest database about serial killers and mass murderers around the world.

Wikis

There are a whole bunch of Wikis. What are Wikis? Mostly created on wikia.com, these are collaboratively published archives of content on the web. 

"Wikia is home to over 400,000 communities for fans, by fans. We are often cited as the best source of accurate, dynamic, and fresh fan-authored information that is fueling virtually all aspects of popular culture: console and mobile games, cable and streaming TV shows, music festivals, big movie franchises, major sporting events, anticipated book releases, fashion trends and DIY, food and drink recipes, and current events on an international scale," their website says. 

Their website is organised into three categories: 

-Videogames

- Entertainment

-Lifestyle

Interesting Wikis worth checking out:

1. Dinopedia

2. How I met your mother Wiki

3. Recently announced: Afripedia 

GPS games

If you like Geography and understand GPS, then try a few high-tech games that make you explore the great outdoors like no other

The Degree Confluence Project
Chased by an elephant at 21N 85E, nearly bitten by a cobra at 21N 86E, stepped on a sleeping python at 20N 84E, taken hostage by naxalites at 19N 83E, attacked by a porcupine’s quills at 24N 84E, nearly drowned after a boat capsized at 20N 83E. Sounds too cryptic? Well, these are just a few adventures from the online diaries of Odisha-based finance executive Anil Dhir. A contributor to an international collaboration to build ‘an organised sampling of the world’ on the web, Dhir is just one of the 12,204 participants from around the world who use GPS to find the invisible points where latitudes and longitudes meet.

Called the Degree Confluence Project (confluence.org), the aim is to have people visit each of the integer degree intersections of latitude and longitude on earth, posting photographs and a narrative of each visit online. Started by computer programmer and entrepreneur Alex Jarrett in 1996 because he “liked the idea of visiting a location represented by a round number such as 43°00’00’’N 72°00’00’’W”, the project has now covered 6131 confluences. While there are 64,442 such confluences in the world, only 16,194 of these can be accessed cutting out ones which are in water and the many points close to the North and South Pole.

The Taj-Gateway controversy

The Tata-owned Taj Mahal hotel is a popular haunt for tourists from around the world.
Some say the hotel was built facing away from the harbour, which is why it's French architect jumped overboard and committed suicide when he arrived by boat to see his masterpiece for the first time.
Some say Jamsetji Tata intentionally asked for it to be built facing away from the Gateway of India(a monument built to welcome King George V and Queen Mary) because he wasn't allowed to stay in a British-owned hotel.
But did you know that the Taj Mahal Hotel was commissioned before the foundation stone of the Gateway of India was laid?
If it was, the second story is untrue.
Satellite overview