Blog rankings on blogger communities

Blogging platforms such as Blogger and Wordpress are used for posting various kinds of content. Yes, there are the typical blogs that post on all kinds of topics- usually thoughts, opinions, and at times information- especially related to technology.  The frequency of posts on such blogs is high and regular, mainly due to the nature of the blog.

 But many a times blogs are used to present a collection of recipes, poetry, visual art, an interesting project, or expedition. Blogs are preferred over paid websites by the blogger, as blogs are free. In such cases it is not right to rank a blog based on the regularity and frequency of posting. What matters here is the concept behind a blog, and the quality of art or poetry posted.

It is time that blogging communities, directories, other blog forums and search engines take this difference into consideration and use a different system for ranking or rating of such blogs. What do you think?

Roads that move

Nowadays wherever you go there are traffic jams, petrol and diesel fumes, unpredictable travel time, and a lot of resultant anger and frustration.

If you look closely at the cars, jeeps, and vans waiting at a traffic signal you might just realize something very significant. Most of these vehicles use just 25-60% of their seating capacity. So on an average, a car with a seating capacity of 5 people will have just 2 to 3 people in it. Which means, that if 100 cars fit on a stretch of the road, only 250-300 people are utilizing that stretch, whereas 500 people could have done so!

What this boils down to is that on one hand we have traffic jams, and on the other, the people carrying capacity of roads is highly underutilized. This problem prevails in many parts of the world to a greater or lesser extent.

Even more critical is the limited supply of fossil fuels. There have been attempts the world over to use other forms of energy to run vehicles, but with not much success.

Now here is an idea:Why not have roads that move? Right now the roads are stationary and we have vehicles running on them. But what if the roads themselves moved? This concept is not so far-fetched, considering that we already have moving escalators and walking strips at places like airports and malls. But a moving road would be a true path-breaker; please excuse the pun.  

How would a moving road help?

It would:

·   eliminate the need for vehicles for many people, especially for distances that take upto 30 minutes to commute

·   reduce the current traffic jams, as fewer vehicles on the road (with their frequently underutilized capacity feature) would free the blocked space on the road

·   drastically reduce fuel consumption, especially the kind of natural fuels required by vehicles

Design: It could be designed like a conveyer belt, or something else. All you would then have to do is step on to the road, stand or sit till you get to your destination, and then step off the road, as required. There could even be lanes, with faster moving lanes on the inside and slower moving lanes on the outside for people to step on or step off. You could also have some seats on the roads at suitable intervals, for those who need to sit. Solar energy could be used to run them.

Of course there would be a host of practical problems resulting from the installation of moving roads, but then when has this not been the case with any new invention? What one needs to do is perform an analysis to evaluate whether an idea has the capability to provide overwhelming benefit for humankind.

Facebook: recent or top stories?

Facebook keeps showing you those wall posts that are pushed to the TOP (i.e. massively liked and commented on) in preference to others, unless you specifically choose 'MOST RECENTLY' and refresh that choice every two days. This must be fb’s way of promoting those who spend all their time chatting-shatting on fb instead of doing anything useful. The downside for us is that we tend to miss out on the updates from our genuine friends that might interest us more than the regurgitated and recycled pearls-of-wisdom images floating to the top.

To outsmart fb, do this:

-On 'Home' page, just below the update status box, to the right, is an option in smart grey letters- 'sort:'

-Click on it and you'll find 2 options- Recent, Top. Click on the one you need.

-Check every few days. In all probability, the RECENT option will have mysteriously changed to TOP. In which case, repeat this exercise. 

 

Are these apartments more secure?

A friend of mine lives in an apartment block. The watchman and his family reside in a miniscule shed in the compound. Recently, the residents decided to increase the security by installing a metal grill door at the entrance of the steps. The residents each have a key. Other than them only the watchman can open the door from the outside to any visitors. It does keep the salesmen and chanda-takers away. For the genuine visitor it is a painful process. It means that the watchman or his family have to be present at all times to open the door. If you are a friend of one of the residents with an emergency and need to enter the building you cannot do so unless the watchman is satisfied about your authenticity. 

Now there is one family where a maid servant comes in early morning. She has the keys to the flat. She opens the door, comes in, makes tea and breakfast. She has also been now given the key to the entrance door. What is then the point of the whole exercise of putting in a door, if someone from outside has full and free access to the building? It does not take much to duplicate a few keys. Ok, the maid might be honest. But what about the others who visit this maid’s home, who reside in her locality, and who might be able to help themselves to the keys?