Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Pose No# 1 Pose No# 2 Pose No# 3 and the winner is . . . . . . . . . . . .

India's 1st Gold Medal at Beijing Olympics Beijing: Abhinav Bindra won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal when he claimed the men’s 10m air rifle shooting title in Beijing Monday 11th August 2008. Bindra, 25, a businessman from Chandigarh, followed his world championship title two years ago to finally win a landmark gold medal for India. The Indian trumped his rivals with the best finish of 104.5 in the 10-shot final as he went into the last shot level with Hakkinen on 689.7 points. While Bindra secured his best score of 10.8 in the deciding shot, Hakkinen managed only 9.7 to concede the silver to Zhu, whose last shot was 10.5. Bindra finished with a combined tally of 700.5. Bindra said, “Life cannot get better than this. I’m thrilled about winning the gold... It’s very difficult to describe how I feel because the winning moment is yet to sink in. I guess it was my day today.” Dedicating his victory to family and fellow Indians, “I know my country was yea...

Cellphones may soon replace plastic cards for withdrawing and depositing money. Some banks have already started testing the technology and may implement it later this year. ICICI Bank has already started experimenting with card less transactions though it is not known which company’s technology platform they use. The bank has recently launched card less remittance service. Apart from that, a Bengaluru based mobile payment solution provider mChek is working with banks in India and abroad to roll-out its card-less technology platform. An employee of the firm, focused on mobile bill payment , recharge, flight bookings, and movie ticketing, says mobile phones can be the second level of authentication, beyond passwords, for establishing identities. Airtel has this technology already in use. Using two levels, rather than just one, implies a greater level of assurance. Currently, when an ATM card is inserted into a machine and a pin entered, the combination of the two, which is registered wit...

Batman has no limits," says Bruce Wayne to his manservant, Alfred, early in The Dark Knight, and the accountants at Warner Brothers, which released the movie, are likely to agree. I'm not so sure. The Dark Knight, praised by critics for its sombre themes and grand ambitions, has proven to be a mighty box office force in a summer already dominated by superheroes of various kinds. But any comic book fan knows that a hero at the height of his powers is a few panels removed from mortal danger, and that hubris has a way of summoning new enemies out of the shadows. Are the Caped Crusader and his colleagues basking in an endless summer of triumph, or is the sun already starting to set? The season began with Iron Man back in May, which anticipated The Dark Knight in striking many reviewers as a pleasant surprise and hordes of moviegoers as a must-see. The July Fourth weekend belonged to Hancock, which played with the superhero archetype by making him a grouchy, slovenly drunk rather t...

So You Think You Can Dance contestant Robert Muraine has some of the best moves I've ever seen in my life. The guy can pop and lock like no one else.

Welcome to our Does Social Media Influence Purchase Decision?. Hello, I am trying to study the 'Influence of Social Media in Purchase Decision' or 'Does Social Media influence Purchase Decisions'? Social Media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowd sourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few. Example: Let's say you are planning to purchase a new mobile phone. You would go online and read reviews by experts or users who have used the phone before you make up your mind? I am trying to study this influence of Social Media in Purchase Decisions. This questionnaire should not take you more than 10 minutes and 43 seconds to fill. I value your time and appreciate your help in filling up the questionnaire. Click here For any suggestions or clarifications, please feel free to reach m...

The Associated Press: Italian architect David Fisher said he is poised to start construction on a new skyscraper in Dubai that will be "the world's first building in motion,'' an 80 story tower with revolving floors that give it an ever shifting shape. (June 25)It may look like something out of a science fiction movie....But David Fisher showed up in New York Tuesday, saying that he was poised to build the world's first moving building in Dubai. SOT: David Fisher, Architect and Creator of Dynamic Tower: "First of all, it's the first building that is being, that is dynamic, changing the shape. You can adjust the shape the way you like every given moment. The model being pitched is an 80-story skyscraper with revolving floors ... That would provide residents with a constantly changing view of the Persian Gulf. A few apartments that would take up entire floors would be able to spin on command, the rest of the building rotated in patterns that could be alter...