Hi guys,

After a long time, I’m back with not so good news. There are serial bomb blasts happening in Bangalore. As I type this, there have been seven blasts, and an eighth one is rumoured. I’m keeping track through Twitter and Spy.

No news on why the blasts or who is responsible for these blasts. They are happening at a 15 minute interval.

And yes, the eighth blast has been now confirmed. I pray for everyone’s safety. Be safe. Be in a safe place, like a college. DO NOT VENTURE INTO CROWDED ROADS!

Meanwhile, for motivation, here is a post written by my close friend, guide, and psychologist, Mathews George

we got the message while sitting at a Clinical case conference.
As of now 3:45 pm, there have been 7 blasts that’s rocked around bangalore . And most of them near Christ college. all students are safe and not being let out of the campus for safety reasons. Latest news, the gates are open.
It’s terror.
But there’s singing practice for next week intra college competitions going on… people standing at the kiosk having coffee.. people calling up their parents … many not getting network on airtel, and hutch .. spice network is working.
Why do people have to kill!

We stay united no matter what, whoever blasted. we will be as resilient as the Rajashthan people. We students, though, from different places and don’t belong to B’lore will stay together and will not suspect each other. we will support each one of our fellow indians and keep the spirit and fight the evil forces.

Y knot.

http://www.georgelivestheday.blogspot.com/

Technorati Tags: bangalore, bangalore blasts, balck friday bangalore, bangalore blasts 25 July, 25 july, blasts

Hi all,

Typing a quick post from the free wifi access at The Forum Mall (Bangalore) to wish you all a very happy Republic Day! I know its kind of late, but still, better late than never.

I would like to, on this occasion, to reciprocate Dr A P J Abdul Kalam’s message on this day, like Sandil on Mutiny.in

1. Wherever I am, a thought will always come to my mind - What can I give?

2. Whatever the mission I will do, my motto will be to work with integrity and succeed with integrity.

3. I will always remember that my winged days, be not spent in vain.

4. I realise I have to set a great goal that will lead me to think high, work and realise the goal.

5. My greatest friends will be great human beings, great teachers and great books.

6. I will firmly believe that no problem can defeat me; I will become the captain of the problem, defeat the problem and succeed.

7. My National Flag flies in my heart and I will bring glory to my nation.

Published at Rediff.

Signing off, since my battery is low. Have a great year India!

Tags: India, republic day

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Its with utmost pleasure that I inform you that the 5th edition of Bar Camp Bangalore, the 2007 Winter Edition, is in a few days time, and registrations are off in full swing! Its to be held in IIM - B on the 17th and 18th (Saturday, Sunday) of this month.

For those who do not know what a Bar Camp is, it like a workshop wherein participants from different areas converge to talk about a specific area of interest, and a Bar Camp will include many such specific areas of interest (each area is called a Collective). Each collective goes on for around 3 hours, with as many participants sharing ideas and developments. After a collective, the participant can go for another collective, and so on.
For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry on Bar Camp.

In this edition, there are around 32 collectives (I use "around" since more are being added), including Blogging, Photography, Security and so on…

To see the full list of collectives, see the BCB5 Collectives page.

To register, visit BCB5 Registrations page.

And for more information, or just to do about anything you want - sponsor, register, volunteer, check out venue etc. - visit the BCB5 wiki.

About me, well, I’m bunking class for this Theres a huge excitement in the Blogging collective since the renown Indian blogger, Amit Agarwal, from Digital Inspiration will be coming!!!

So where will you be on the 17th and 18th? At home or at IIM B? (Free T shirts and food as well!!!)

Technorati Tags: BCB5, Bar Camp Bangalore, barcampbangalore5

Hi all,

PayPal has introduced its brand new support for Indian banks. You can withdraw money from your PayPal account to approved Indian bank accounts. Currently, the banks participating with PayPal are State Bank of India , Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ING VYSYA Bank, UTI(Axis) Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC and Citibank.

• There is NO minimum withdrawal
• Un verified PayPal members can withdraw only a maximum of $500 per month
• You get money in Rupees
• There is a fee of Rs. 50 for withdrawals LESS than Rs. 7000
• There is NO withdrawal fee for withdrawals more than Rs. 7000
• It takes around 5 to 7 days for you to receive the money

To withdraw money to your accounts in any of the banks listed above, you need to add the banks to your PayPal account first.

1. Login to your PayPal account.
2. Click the ‘Profile’ subtab on the Account Overview page.
3. Click the ‘Bank Accounts’ link in the Financial Information column.
4. Click Add.
5. Fill out the Add Bank Account form.
6. Click ‘Add Bank Account’.
7. You are now able to withdraw funds from your PayPal account to this bank account.

I’m yet to check out this method of withdrawing cash. I’ll keep you posted.

By the way, please remember to pay Income Tax for any professional income (i.e. income via sales, advertising, services etc.) you withdraw via PayPal. I’ve checked this up, and you can withdraw money, and receive it, provided you pay income tax for it (if you haven’t already).

That is, imagine you have a job in USA. You earn money, and put it in PayPal. But you have to pay taxes in USA. Then you withdraw it to India. In this case, you don’t have to pay Income Tax in India.

This is a pretty cool step by PayPal. This means that more Indians can utilize the services of PayPal. It could become a great medium of transactions. Hopefully, they’ll introduce the PayPal Visa Credit Card in India soon Enjoy!

[for the official announcement, visit http://pages.ebay.in/paypal%5Fbankaccount/]

Technorati Tags: paypal, india, paypal india, withdraw, funds, indian banks, state bank of india, citibank

Hi all,

Printo - a printing company based in Bangalore, has launched its web services in India. It is a startup based in Bangalore, and they act like popular photo printing websites in other countries.

You can upload pictures to Printo, order prints, calendars, visiting cards, posters and so on. They deliver at your doorstep.

To check it out, visit http://www.printo.in/

Cheers

Technorati Tags: printo, print photos, india, photography