The world around us

Came across the Six Degree site, which was started by Kevin Bacon as a social networking initiative to help and support the charities that are dear to you. It’s all about connecting with someone who might connect with someone else who might be known to you and so forth. The concept started years ago from the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game that was quite popular on college campuses. Visit their site for additional information.

The Internet is 40 years old and some researchers are wanting to scrap the entire system and start from scratch again. Interestingly, these researchers believe that starting again with a "clean slate" is the best way to deal with all the problems of the Internet, such as security and mobility. There is a need according to some researchers on the need for a complete overhaul in the way the system works, which would replace the way that the Internet functions.  

The National Science Foundation wants to build an experimental research network known as the "Global Environment for Network Innovations," or GENI, and is funding several projects at universities and elsewhere through Future Internet Network Design, or FIND. Rutgers, Stanford, Princeton, Carnegie Mellon and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the universities pursuing individual projects. Other government agencies, including the Defense Department, have also been exploring the concept. The European Union has also backed research on such initiatives, through a program known as "Future Internet Research and Experimentation," or FIRE. Government officials and researchers met last month in Zurich to discuss early findings and goals.

When I used to work outside the home, in a regular office, no matter how hot it was outside, I used to have a seater handy in my office, since it was the coldest part of the building. I’ve always felt the cold more than most people and made it a habit to carry a light shawl with me, especially when going to the movies. Our house in Bristol, RI was quite old, almost to the stage that it should be receiving a heritage status which was really great, but essentially meant that the heating system in the house wasn’t too effective. Thankfully, our landlord realized the problem and installed some wall mounted room heaters for us to use, which then made the entire house rather toasty. Thanks to those indoor heaters, we really enjoyed our stay there.

This weekend we explored a new mall, well new for us since we usually never head in that direction, in the eastern suburbs of the city. Nirmal Lifestyle Mall is an mixed use space that initially started out just as a lifestyle focus mall, but slowly and surely developed into something bigger and more varied. Now the mall has a huge variety of stores of all types, including a multiplex, eating places, hangout space and two large piazza’s, one outdoor and one covered but still with an outdoor feel. For a first time visitor, the mall is quite confusing, espcially all the levels and circutious routes to go from one area to another. It was nowhere as full as the mall near our house, Inorbit usually is. Inorbit is one of the best malls in the entire country, for its mix of stores and its layout as well. Lately, the mall has started adding too many portable vendors in the hallsways and public space, which have now become a bit too crowded and end up taking away from the store brands, since there is only so much information that one can take at a time.

The governments decision to give concessional benefits for importing cold storage equipment will help retailers in setting up and maintaing their supply chains. Retailers with a minimum of 1,000 sq mts of area will be allowed to benefit from this new policy according to the Foreign Trade Policy. Some of the too retailers such as Pantaloon, HyperCITY, Reliance will be benefiting from this new rule.

Have you heard about the LinkyLoveArmy? It’s a new form of collaborative blogging, that takes the combined power of bloggers and connects them to advertisers and marketers. It’s a brand new initiative, and I’m excited to be part of this new adventure. Check out their website and see if this is something that you could be interested in yourself.