26 November, 2014

God is a gamer by Ravi Subramanian - [Book Review]

Book Details:

Title: God is a gamer
Author: Ravi Subramanian
Publishers: Penguin books
Genre: Fiction
No. of pages: 310

This book is an engaging thriller. Author introduces us to many threads like murder of Senator in US - Gillian Tan, ATM heists in New York, transfer of huge amounts of money of NYIB bank customers to anonymous accounts, cases of explosion of Dell laptops across the world etc., All are connected to a single reason, which is being investigated by Agent Scott in US. This novel also explains the virtual currency 'bit coins' and introduces us to the gaming industry. 

Story:
Story starts with the murder of US senator Gillian Tan. Then, it moves to India. An online fraud which results in transfer of funds of NYIB bank customers takes place and retail banking head Swami, Malavika and Matt enter the story. While this investigation is going on, Malavika is murdered and her affair with finance minister and her influence on some major bank transactions to fraud companies come into light. Since Swamy finds out all these, he will also be murdered. Aditya, head of number one gaming company Indiscape is close friend to Sundeep, head of an outsourcing company eTIOS and Swamy.  Aditya unexpectedly invites his son Varun to his life after many years and Varun takes over the responsibility of Indiscape and proves his ability. Varun loves Tanya who is Malavika's daughter. Due to ATM hiests in New york, eTIOS face a huge loss as it is an outsourcing company for several banks. FBI in New york also receives a case about investigating the explosion of DELL laptops in different parts of the world and transfer of bitcoins to an anonymous account. Thus story takes many twists and turns. How the author connects all these dots and who is behind all these murders form the climax.

What I liked?
This is the first book I am reading from this author 'Ravi Subramanian' and I have become a fan of him. Will surely read his other book 'The Bankster' soon. Book is very engaging till the end. Couldn't put it aside for a minute. Even though many threads are running simultaneously, we don't feel lost or confused. Author is successful in making the reader enjoy the flow without much confusion. Writing style is easy to understand and interesting. I am happy to learn some new concepts like bit coins and understand the details of gaming industry. It is interesting to know how a collaboration between a gaming company and Facebook yields better results than a direct gaming web site. 

What I didn't like?
There is a good explanation on bit coins, their history and usage, but not much details are given on bit coin mining. How is it created, converted from cash to virtual currency? At one point in the story, many dell laptops across the world get burnt in sleep mode and their bitcoins will be transferred to an anonymous bit coin wallet. This doesn't seem very convincing. I didn't see any other negative points..

Overall:
A very good read and engaging thriller. I would rate it 4.5/5.
Buy it in flipkart from here

Until next time,

`

24 November, 2014

Eliminate classroom hunger with Akshaya patra foundation

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Raghav never misses his school. He is from a poor family, father is working in a factory and mother is a house wife. Going to school without breakfast is very common for him as his family can afford only lunch and simple dinner with meagre income that they earn. That day, he is very tired. He is feeling weak to stand in the hot Sun for morning prayer in the school.
He wishes that someone in his school celebrates his/ her birthday daily as he gets a chocolate which will eliminate his hunger and allow him to concentrate on classes.

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Satheesh was a child labourer before an NGO found him and joined him to a primary school. He has big dreams of becoming an employee of a good company and earn his living after his studies.  His only aim is to earn something to eat for his family daily. He sells flowers in the evening in beach after school. The mid day meals provided by government in schools is the only option for him to satisfy his hunger.

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We see many lads and girls like Raghav and Satheesh in our daily lives who go to school and study in spite of hunger and many other challenges. Earning a plate of food is not easy for them.



Hunger in children can make them go towards good or bad options. They can either go to school, have good education and lead happy lives in future or can become a pawn of some street rowdies or do any illegal things to satisfy their hunger. Children are like uncut diamonds. They can be moulded as great human beings by providing them with good education. 



Blog adda is sponsoring meals for an Akshaya patra beneficiary for entire year for a blog post that spreads awareness on eliminating class room hunger. I am happy to participate in 'Blog to feed a child' initiative. :)



Until next time,







Image courtesy: www.fungems.com 

18 November, 2014

Planning for a new home with PORCELANOSA

Are you planning your new home? Not an easy task right? Selecting tiles, wardrobes, ceilings, bathroom fittings, wall tiles.. what not? It's a big list and it needs more research for a person like me who has zero knowledge on these items.

Stumbled upon this site http://www.24kliving.com/ through a blogger contest.
#24kLiving is a luxury brand from world renowned manufacturer of kitchen and bath products 'Porcelanosa'. Porcelanosa is venturing into Asia for the first time with Kolte - Patil Developers Ltd. Porcelanosa group is spread across 100 countries with their expertise for around 40 years in manufacturing kitchen and bath products.

Now, coming to the contest run by Indiblogger and Porcelanosa i have to pick few items to build my dream home :) Let's see..

1. Floor tiles: This is the most important thing to give great look to our home. Cermaic flooring is trending these days and I love flooring which is safe for children who run and play whole day. This also gives decent look. I would select 'Anti slip flooring'. How is it? There are also other types like natural wood, natural stone, porcelaine tiles, laminate flooring and linkfloor.





2. Kitchen furniture: I dont like spending more time in kitchen. I would prefer cooking quick. But, a good looking kitchen with bright lighting and furniture improves mood to cook better. Isn't it?








3. Wall tiles : Never knew about wall tiles, thought of wall colours though :) See this metallic wall tiles, looks wonderful. Isn't it? Shine of metal always has some power of attraction.

Ceramic tiles anyway are preferred as they are easy to clean and highly resistant.

Site has different tiles like natural stone and mosaics.





4. Bathroom accessories: A beautiful bath tub, showers, sanitary ware, basins and taps. Each and every accessory need to be selected with care. This site has a collection of different types of shower settings with shower trays, columns etc., All designs are contemporary and innovative.

5. Rain showers:
Site has different beautiful designs of rain showers. Some showers has light settings to make it look cool.

I love this rain shower :)




5. Bathroom taps:
I am amazed to see these contemporary designs of bathroom taps. Designs are unique and show that this is luxury brand. Few taps have light settings to make it glow. A few has temperature control, Aren't they looking practical and innovative? Have a look at some..











6. Wardrobes and dressing rooms:
It is important that it occupies more clothes in less space while selecting a good wardrobe. Porcelanosa offers different styles that can fit into any room with different finishes like matte, stained wood etc., One of them below:



I hope, you liked these photos and it helps in planning for new home :)

Until next time,


PS: All images are from http://www.porcelanosa.com/gb/index.php

#24KLiving

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