The Daily News : Delivered your way

Once upon a time there was a dearth of news. Today we have the exact opposite problem. There's too much news. And we sometimes miss the important news depending on our source of news. So I came up with a list of 5 news sources who send a daily e-mail or summarize the news for you. A combination of real news and not so real news that will make you smile.


the Skimm

"theSkimm is the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. We do the reading for you - across subject lines and party lines - and break it down with fresh editorial content.

We read. You Skimm.

http://www.theskimm.com/



The Onion

"The Onion is an American digital media company and news satire organization. It runs an entertainment website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news. It also runs a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club. Since 2007, the organization has published satirical news audio and video online, as the "Onion News Network".
The Onion's articles comment on current events, both real and fictional. It parodies traditional news websites with stories, editorials, op-ed pieces, and man-in-the-street interviews, using a traditional news website layout and an editorial voice modeled after that of the Associated Press. Its humor often depends on presenting mundane, everyday events as newsworthy, surreal or alarming."

http://www.theonion.com/



Infobitt

"I’m co-founder of Wikipedia. Now think back to a time before Wikipedia—the 1990s, if you’re that old. If you didn’t know the answer to a question, and a web search brought no joy, you might have to take a trip to the library, or stay ignorant.
...

... Now I hope to organize people to summarize and rank the world’s news in a free, open content news resource. The project is called Infobitt.
...

...Here’s the Infobitt model. We grab different facts from different news sources, summarize them in sentences which link back to those sources. We each drag-and-drop the facts into our preferred order, and the system calculates the sense of the community. The result is a bitt. ..."
http://larrysanger.org/2014/11/infobitt-short/

http://www.infobitt.com/



NPR

"Great storytelling and rigorous reporting. These are the passions that fuel us. Our business is telling stories, small and large, that start conversations, increase understanding, enrich lives and enliven minds.

We are reporters in Washington D.C., and in bunkers, streets, alleys, jungles and deserts around the world. We are engineers, editors, inventors and visionaries. We are Member stations around the country who are deeply connected to our communities.

We are listeners and donors who support public radio because we know how it has enriched our own lives and want it to grow strong in a new age.

We are NPR. And this is our story."

"Now you can get one daily email subscription to our most popular stories of the day; our main coverage areas including news, arts and life, and music; select daily radio programs; and all NPR.org blogs. All of your daily selections are combined into a single digest, because no matter how much you love NPR, you probably don't want 30 emails a day."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/newsandviews/127150454/daily-news-digest/



BBC

"The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a UK-based international public-service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London.

It is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, with around 23,000 staff in total, and 16,672 in public sector broadcasting."

http://www.bbc.com/news/help-16617948

The No Pants Subway Ride

"Improv Everywhere is a New York City-based prank collective that causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents."

Last Sunday was the Annual "No Pants Subway Ride". Its interesting to see the reaction of people riding the subway. To me whats even more interesting is  the participants. In addition to being an awesome group, they have to have a lot of guts to defy the norm. In public.

Enjoy the show and if you like it check other interesting public pranks.

Dieting. A secret you don't want to miss.

Most of us want to lose weight and we are always trying to find a diet that will allow us to lose weight. I've tried several and even as I write this, I'm on a diet.

I've read, viewed and tried 100s of diets, systems, revolutionary products, ... and none of them have worked beyond the first couple of weeks. Unfortunately that has not stopped me from continuing my journey to find the perfect solution.

And that's exactly what happened. I found the perfect solution in this TED talk on dieting. Check it out and if it works for you, don't forget to drop me a "Thank You" note.

Predictions for 2015

This year my blogs are going to be "S3". Short, Simple and Sweet. I'll try and learn more and say less. Which means I'll be sharing what I learn or find interesting during the week.

For the New year, here are my 5 predictions for the year. I'll be pleased if a couple of them turn out to be right. And thrilled if 3 or more are right.


5 predictions for 2015

US Stock market will correct down by 20%.

Oil will correct up by 100%.

India's growth rate will inch upwards while China's growth rate will inch downwards.

In the US overall percentage of out-sourcing will decrease and percentage of in-sourcing will increase.

Apple will out-perform. Google and Facebook will meet expectations. Amazon will under-perform.

Goodbye 2014. Welcome 2015.

We've reached the last Sunday of 2014. That time of year when we look back at the year gone by and plan for the year we're about to usher in. That time of year when we make our New Year's resolutions.

For 2015, I have just 1 resolution. To not have any resolutions. This year I plan not to plan, but rather to "Just Do It".

Here's wishing you and yours a Happy and Eventful 2015 filled with joy and happiness.

Gifts I'd like from Santa

 

Its that time of year when you give and sometimes get gifts. Here's my list of 5 of the favorite things I'd like to get from Santa. For some strange reasons Santa doesn't listen to Adult wishes, but nothing stops us from hoping for the next few days.

Chromecast
Chromecast is a thumb-sized media streaming device that plugs into the HDMI port on your TV. Simply use an Android phone, tablet, iPhone®, iPad®, Mac or Windows laptop, or Chromebook to cast your favorite entertainment and apps right to the big screen.

Smart Watch
A smart watch allows your app notifications and personal information come with you, like flight status and messages. And when you say “OK Google,” you can ask a question about anything, from turn-by-turn navigation steps to team stats—even find out your heart rate.Just when you thought wrist watches were passe, they're back.

GoPro Camera
With stunning image quality and powerful new features, the GoPro cameras take video recording to a whole new level. The cameras have an incredible high-resolutions and high frame rates. A built-in touch display completes the perfect camera package that makes amateurs into professional photographers.

Photographic Drone
A good drone is one that is easy to control while having great battery life and range, terrific safety features, and a smartphone app that lets you preview your on-drone camera for photography and piloting ease.

Robotic house cleaner
This is what everyone would love to have. Imagine the cleaning being done by a robot.

All of the above is greed. I need none of it. But I can make a difference, albeit a small one. And here are 2 gifts I'd like to continue to give.

a. Enabling a few families get decent meals.
b. Enabling a few kids get an education

And this is something I'll continue to work on over the next year to do in a small but sustainable way.

Happy Holidays !

Supporting Open Source Initiatives

In the last few weeks I noticed a new message pop up in 2 of the services I use most frequently. Mozilla Firefox, the browser and Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Maybe because its that time of the year which is the time for giving and everyone is expecting you to give.

Here's what the Mozilla Firefox message said:
"Hello there: We know you love Firefox, but did you know a non-profit called Mozilla built Firefox? Thanks to donations, Mozilla does a lot more than build this awesome browser. We teach people to code, fight for online privacy, and protect this amazing thing called the Web for future generations. Just a few times a year Mozilla asks for donations, and tens of thousands of people all over the world give. If they didn't, we couldn't do all this good stuff. If everyone reading this chipped in just a few dollars we could wrap this fundraiser up in under an hour. You can make a donation here. Thank you."

And this was what was on the top of the Wikipedia page"
"Wikipedia is one of the top sites on the web and serves 500 million different people every month – with billions of page views.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.

When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We’ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfill our mission efficiently.

If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour. But not everyone can or will donate. And that's fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

This year, please consider making a donation of $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales
Wikipedia Founder"

What I found intriguing was that the number of users using bot these amazing products are so many that their fundraising could be done in under an hour, yet doesn't get done for a year.

All of us talk a lot about freedom and choice and how we should be paid for every little thing we do. Its a little sad that most of us don't think twice about buying a cup of coffee at Starbucks, a coffee that gives us a little pleasure for a few minutes. Yet so few of us are willing to reach out into our pockets for a couple of dollars to give to initiatives that we use multiple times a day, day after day, month after month and year after year.

I've practiced what I'm preaching and have done my bit. Will you ?