Now!

Ever come across the phrase "delayed gratification"? It is good if you are trying to achieve a goal and you are ready to sacrifice everything for it. But does it make sense if you overdo it? If you say "I am going to make as much money as I can till I retire". And then what? How are you going to spend it then? For whom will you live your remaining years then?

Before I advocate "Living Life for today" anymore let me put in a word to the cynics who will point out to the greedy consumerism in the west and the consequences of it, including an ever increasing pile of debt. Yes you need to find a balance between the two train of thoughts.

I suggest live your life in the present. Do as much as you can while you can. Go see places, hike up to mountains and swim in the ocean while your limbs are working fine. Dance to the music, learn to play a new sport, for it might be too late when you decide to let loose. Find a new hobby. Give time and money to charity. Help a needy, a blind cross the street. Pledge to donate your organs after you die. Donate your blood while you are alive. Hey just one time donation can help 5 people.

Don't spend money on fancy gadgets if you don't really need them. I know of people who wasted their money on an iPad and yet go ahead and buy iPad 2. For what?

And after you spend money and see the savings you have, invest it. If equity is not your cup of tea, put it in bonds or fixed deposits. You can double your money in 9 years if you invest in the bonds that have 8% interest rate.

Express your love for someone you love now. Even if it is your family. Just do it now.

the common man

If there were a new representation of the common man, and I stood for the elections, I will probably win. Because I represent the common man. And here are some facts/statistics to prove it:
1> I am an Indian. We represent more than 1/6th the population of the world. We represent the perfect balance between the old and the new. The ancient and the modern. The poor and the developed.
2> I am a Guy. Majority of the working people comprises of men. At least where I live. There are no reservations for the male, whether for a seat in a public bus or in an educational course, unless one is a "backward category" student, which brings me to the next point.
3> I am a "General Category" person. From my childhood I have learnt that I have to fight for everything. For getting an admission in a college, my marks are all I have. I don't have any special right to study. For working in a public sector undertaking or in a Government institution, I don't have any special "certificate" that will help me get in. My schoolmates who used to stay in the same residential area as me, played the same games as me, studied from the same teachers and the same books as me, get an admission in my college scoring half the marks as me, just because they had a different surname than me.
4> I am a Hindu. In my country it means that I represent more than 80% of the population. My mother tongue is the most commonly understood language in my country. It is understood in all the areas of the world where there are enough migrants from India.
5> I am brown. Again I don't belong to either of the extremes. By that I mean the whites, the blacks or the "asians". My ancestors were probably white aryans who migrated to this part of the world about 2,500 years ago. After so many generations my skin colour is representative of the majority of the world. Including Latins. I will probably face racism if I go to any white region but my people won't throw racism towards any of the "extremists" if they come here.

Of virtual chips and real money

Ok. This is what happens when I don't get an outlet for expressing and the creativity in me is bursting through my veins. So this time the "outlet" is a hacker trying to hack my Zynga Poker account on Facebook and trying to take off with my virtual chips to sell it to someone else for real money. The heights people go for fake money and pseudo-achievements.

I got the standard message that has lead to a lot of my poker friends' accounts being hacked. It pretends to be originating from some real Zynga person and goes something like "Your account will be permanently suspended if you don't click our link". Obviously the link is an application on facebook that will, if given permission, hack your Zynga Texas Hold'em Poker account. So please don't fall prey to any such message or other facebook tricks like "free iPad event". Here goes:

Admln Secuṛițy March 10 at 9:59pm

Hi Abhishek ,

Thanks for playing on Zynga applications.

We have reviewed your account activity, and we get information about possible unauthorized access to your Facebook and Zynga Poker account. We have provided a warning to you via email, but you do not respond to our notification.

“Your Zynga Poker account was accessed from a new location : Anonymous Proxy.”

If you are not signing into your Facebook account from Anonymous Proxy, your Facebook account may have been compromised. We recommend immediately verify your account by carefully on the link below to manage your Zynga Poker account. It may take a few minutes of your time to complete your data.

Verify your account immediately at the link below:
============================
http://apps.facebook.com/(harmless sounding app name)
============================

Note : If within 12 hours, you have not verified your account, then you have ignored our notifications. Therefore, your account is permanently suspended, and will not be reactivated for any reason.

Zynga Poker wants you to have a fun and safe time playing! Good luck at the tables. And thank you for your attention.

Kind regards,
Zynga Game Network Inc.
Texas HoldEm Poker.
Attn: Intellectual Property Agent
444 Deharo St., Suite 132
San Francisco, California 94107
Copyright © 2011 Zynga, Inc. All rights reserved.
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(Yup, they even added a California address and a Bar-code)

Abhishek Pandey March 10 at 10:06pm

Dear AdmIn Secuṛițy,

Please don't block my account! What will I do with my life if I am not able to play Zynga applications? I am so sad that someone else has accessed my account. Please don't punish me for someone else's crime. Please. I beg you.

I will do everything I can to confirm to you that it is indeed me who is playing and not some "Anonymous Proxy".

I have just visited your Facebook Page and I am just clicking on "Report/Block This Person" (as soon as I send this reply). Hopefully that will confirm me and verify my account.

And regarding your complaint that I do not respond to your email notifications, I will ensure I do that the next time. I will gladly click "Report Spam" when you send me the email. I hope we can be friends forever and ever and ever :)

Thank you in anticipation.
Abhishek