Gasp! My Blog marked as spam!

I got a shocker when I checked mail this morning, Blogger had marked my blog as a spam blog and sent me an email with a link to unlock it. I first thought that mail was from a spammer, who was posing as Blogger. After reading the help pages, I realised this was a genuine spam alert email from the Google guys. I've filled out the retrieve blog form. Hope things get ironed out soon. Until then, if you see a sign saying this is a spam blog, pl bear with me.

And this is to Google,
Dear Google, this blog is definitely not a spam blog, this is where a humble soul called Vatsala expresses her thoughts on various things.

Hope Hakuna Matata prevails again soon. So long

Update 26 Aug 09- Thankfully, My blog is back in action again!

Zugara Online Shopping App - A new way of attracting customers to online shopping

Buying, more specifically Shopping has changed a lot over the years. I have seen that happening particularly in India, (since I live here). Fifteen years ago, Shopping (as in impulsive buying) used to be restricted to the really rich people. The middle class segment used to do more of buying which was primarily driven by needs and not by wants, and definitely not by any impulse. Shops used to focus on stacking more quantity of goods in ever shrinking spaces. Shops would stack up items from floor to roof and ensure that the pavement was also used as a showcase for the goods in the shop.

Then, changes in the Indian economy changed the way businesses worked, and overall increase in the prosperity and bank balance of the middle class transformed the retail space. Local Grocery shops, "nukkad dukans" and "maligai kadais" turned into one off supermarkets, which have now turned into Retail chains of branded Supermarkets and Hypermarkets. And shopping centres have become Malls. Now, Shopping has become an experience, rather than an activity. And businesses are continuously making making efforts to widen their audience by opening new formats of stores and supermarkets, and making it a successful business model. Kishore Biyani's Future Group and the Big Bazaar story is proof of that. Interesting read about Big Bazaar over here.

Online shopping is a new entrant here in India, and is slowly picking up its roots. Are Indian Business listening to this new innovation by Zugara.com??
Here is an interesting new shopping application launched by Zugara.com .

Here is Zugara's blog post on the new online shopping application - I'm Re-Blogging (in short,copy pasting) the entire contents, in true ReTweeting style, because no one can say it better than themselves. The full credit of the following text goes to weareorganizedchaos.com -

Utilizing Augmented Reality And Motion Capture

June 23, 2009, Los Angeles – Here at Zugara, we’re proud to announce the launch of our newest application, The Webcam Social Shopper. Coupling the functionality of both Augmented Reality and Motion Capture, this application will allow anyone with a webcam to shop online right from within their video feed. We like to think of it as “Augmented Reality meets Utility”. This app allows you to seemingly hold articles of clothing up in front of yourself to see “how they look”. And the Motion Capture allows the app to track your movements so you can interact with the site (e.g. cycle through a product’s various colors/styles or take a picture of yourself so you can get immediate feedback from friends on Facebook) while standing several feet away from your computer’s controls. No extra downloads, no new plug-in, no consumer headache.

To see the application in action, check out our video below.

(UPDATE: If you’re having trouble accessing the embedded video - here is the direct YouTube URL)
Original URL - http://weareorganizedchaos.com/index.php/2009/06/23/zugara-launches-online-shopping-app-utilizing-augmented-reality-and-motion-capture/

My latest project

Hi there,

I always make it a point to work on one hobby project when I am working on some project in the office/college/school. Helps me retain some sanity, when my mind is madly racing at a problem. I finished up an embroidery project this week. Some pics.

This is the side view:-

The center design:-

The border:-

And the full view:-

Today's Insight

I subscribe to daily emails from asamanthinketh.net and here is today's insight:

The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible.

Richard M. DeVos

So true.

Where is the Wonder Wheel?

I got the time to do some generic browsing today after two months of hectic work, and I discovered that Google had added a number of options to refine the search results. But when I tried it out, I dont seem to get the "Wonder Wheel" in my left column of links.

Me disappointed :(

A Picture is worth a thousand words

This picture best describes the stock market:

Changing times

The last one month I have been trying to make some meaning out of the many things flying in my head. And now, a change of job is in the offing. The job market being what it is, I should be lucky to get any job at all, besides, I am clueless as always about what I exactly want to do. So my first job is getting over today. Hoping that my second job will start soon.

In the shade of parental care, the illusion of comfort and convenience seems all pervading.
But then that is not the reality.

In reality there is no clarity of thought. Neither a hand to show direction. Nor money in the pocket. Only a small glimmer of hope, an attitude to experiment and a mind that struggles to figure out the middle portion of two ends of a string remain.

So long.