Day: January 6, 2022

Magical Words For The Sign Of Birth

zodiac | Symbols, Dates, Facts, & Signs | Britannica

We all have seen or read fictional movies or books where people can go into the future or be able to see the future and so many more things like that. Just imagining this coming true in the real world makes us go into our imaginary dream world or brings a big smile to our faces. What if I told you that we do something similar like this then how would you react? Wondering how with a feeling of excitement? The answer is the topic that I am going to discuss is zodiac signs. Though it is a casual topic, it has a lot of depth and understanding. I feel it has a sense of mystery, myths, and stories, histories that we can learn and enjoy at the same time. Let me ask all the readers out there how many times have you looked into the newspaper or sites that speak about zodiac signs? We all have done it at some point in time that piques our interest and puts a sense of mark in our heads.

Types of zodiac signs readers

Many might know this but there are different ways people read their zodiac signs. These are some observations I have made.

  1. True Believer: These zodiac sign readers make it a point to check their horoscope every single day without fail. They make it a point to read the different interpretations that people have made about their day according to their zodiac signs. Their ideas, perspectives, action, and activities influence whatever they have read about their zodiac sign to some extent. If you are wondering that, only a few people do this. Then you might want to think again. Many people whether rich or poor have made it a habit to read their zodiac signs and go about their day.
  • Special and Important Days: These zodiac signs readers are a little different from the first one. These people make it a point to read their horoscope according to their zodiac signs only on important days or special days such as job interviews, birthdays, difficult exams, etc. People under this category might or might not believe the interpretation. However, the influence is not as high as the true believer is.
  • Just for fun: These zodiac sign readers just read their horoscope about their zodiac sign just for fun and have the interest of reading about it casually. They do not have a specific time, date, month, or year. They just read if it comes on their search page, or while scrolling through their social sites, and so on. The influence of the interpretation is very little on the readers. However, there are high chances that these readers may slowly become true believers or special or important day’s kind of readers.
  • Sense of Identity: These zodiac sign readers feel a sense of connection with the things that tell about their zodiac signs. They see what it tells here is right or wrong about them. They usually tend to have the quality of reading different sites like a true believer and at the same time have the quality of believing or not believing about the things that tell about them in their horoscope. These readers are very intriguing because they show a sense of influence and at the same time, they show very little influence.
  • Do Not Care: Some people might consider them as part of zodiac sign readers and some might not. The reason is that these people do not care about zodiac sign interpretation and horoscopes at all. The reason I do include them in this category is my idea of inclusion. Just because one is not part of the main different types of the group does not mean they cannot be a part of it at all. These people do not search for things or even read about their zodiac sign for fun. Either if someone around them reads about their zodiac signs or they happen to see or read a post regarding it, they skip it, or even if they read a few lines there are no effects on their actions, thinking, etc. I find these people interesting because I wonder how things like these do not have an effect on them or do not bother them.

These are just a very few important ones that seem to be present in large numbers during my observation. There are many more types of zodiac sign readers that I have not mentioned. Who knows maybe in a few more years more people will start reading about their zodiac signs and many more types will show up that are not there now. 

Horoscope Today, Dec 28, 2021: Check astrological predictions for Aries, Scorpio, Libra, Cancer and other zodiac signs here

Kinds of Zodiac Signs

The most common zodiac sign horoscope is the American version of the horoscope. Many people might not know this but there are several other cultures, ethnicity, religion, and country that have their different horoscopes and zodiac signs. The Chinese have separate zodiac signs and horoscopes. In India, there are so many different religions, cultures, and ethnic groups and each has unique and different zodiac signs and horoscopes. Not just India and China there are so many more countries that have different zodiac signs and horoscopes. This is because they celebrate New Year on a different date and not on 31 December. Though they might be different in names or dates they all are similar and are connected in some sense.

This is also a gentle reminder that please read your zodiac signs and horoscopes; there is no harm or problem in that. Nevertheless, do not let these interpretations or sayings harm you personally so much that it creates an imbalance in your mental and emotional health. The way prediction of zodiac signs is done has many factors playing in it. Some might be true some might be not. Therefore, we must read and look into the source of these zodiac signs or horoscope interpretation in detail before we dive into it completely.

To conclude, I would like to say that whatever we do in the end we should make sure that there is peace, harmony, and contentment not just with ourselves but also with the society, environment, and world so that we can reduce the number of negative things that we will have to deal with.

References

  1. Google searches for images and quotes.

A Non – Negotiable Protection

Data privacy expectations in 2021: Trends to watch | 2020-12-28 | Security Magazine

Just a few days back, I decided to open a Facebook account. To my surprise the moment I created my account, it showed my personal information. Information that I had not even filled. To everyone reading this it might sound very scary. Being scared of such things especially when you hear them from people it becomes even more truthful and genuine. Today the topic that I am going to cover is something that has been a problem and issue for people all around the world. With this article, I hope to speak about the existence or non-existence of privacy in one’s life and the role of social media tech giants in it.

The word “Privacy” creates a mix of feelings. Gary Kovacs rightfully says, and quotes “Privacy is not an option. Therefore, it should not be the price we accept for just getting on the internet.” The reason I am stating this quote is that the world is slowly moving from the real to the virtual world at an uncontrollable pace. At the same time at a much faster rate, we tend to provide or give out all our information into the virtual world while also losing a sense of identity of oneself in the real world. It is a fact that, in the real world people do many things to protect their privacy and personal information but unconsciously tend to do very little about their privacy in the virtual world. The reason for this may be that people cannot see each other physically. This, therefore, brings in a sense of feeling in an individual that the person is not around me and hence they do not know things about me.

Does privacy exist or not?

I think that this question needs to be taken into consideration and find answers for it as we are moving constantly ahead in the field of technology every single day. When I question myself about the existence of privacy, there is only one answer that I get. Privacy does exist but not with the intensity that needs to be present in the 21st Century. Privacy is such an important thing in everyone’s life. People get to decide what information about themselves they want to put out to the world and what they do not want. Any other person regardless of what kind of money, power, influence, etc they have cannot decide this. In recent years, privacy is slowly losing its importance and value. Therefore, we must decide what kind of information we want to put in the virtual world.

Cyber crime seems to increase every day. Let me as you this, how many times have you or people around you have had an experience of your fake account being opened, which you have asked people to report and block? I am sure we can think of one or two instances in our head, which stand as proof of how our personal information is lost and later seen for the use of wrong things. This is just one of the incidents that I have brought out. There are many more incidents whose intensity of danger and trouble is at a much higher rate.  Through various ways, we give out our information that we would think twice before doing it. We would not tell everyone where we stay or where we are going to be all the time. Often we tend to let go of our location in the virtual world without even realizing it. Our privacy happens to be the invisible protective shield that will protect us from uncalled dangers. This shield cannot be negotiated for anything else whether it is the real world or the virtual world.

Social Media and The Power of Big Tech Companies | Shift - Living in the Digital Age | DW | 15.01.2021

Role of Social Media Tech Giants concerning Privacy.

I think we all are aware of the recent incidents taking place in the social media world. We all remember the controversies of Whatsapp, Facebook, and other social media platforms regarding their privacy policy and the threat of information of common people. Talking about the incident in a few lines, these social media tech giants want to make our personal information more public to gain more productivity and revenue. We all remember Whatsapp putting out on different newspapers on the front page saying that their privacy policy is completely secure and nothing will go wrong. A lot of governments and the public itself were not okay with the new privacy policy that has questionable statements that had to be accepted by the people if they wanted to continue as members of the app. The reason many people agreed to the policy even though they were not okay with it was that a lot of people’s daily lives and activities whether they were students or people working had a lot of reliance and dependency on being an active member of Whatsapp. The most shocking part was that when that the US Senator asked the CEOs of these Social Media Tech giants about their work towards privacy and protection they did not have an answer to the question and rather kept revolving around how it is not that simple. These CEOs have been made to come to court several times to answer and provide an explanation in the lapses of their app but they just do not do enough to make things better for people and it is the people who face the consequences of these lapses.

Yes, I completely agree when people say that online or the virtual mode whether it is social media or any other apps that we use brings people together, increases production and economy,  continuous learning and communication, progress, development and so much more. However, what we tend to forget is that with advantages there are disadvantages that need to be looked into or else will result in grave loss of privacy. How many times have we heard on the news that Facebook, Instagram, or even food apps like Swiggy or Zomato have been hacked and information of different accounts has been accessed? It is high time we take such matters seriously and take some action towards them rather than leaving them as incidents that keeps happening every other day.

During the same time, we also had seen incidents regarding government-running apps such as the Aarogya Setu app in India. The justification provided by the different governments around the world was that the privacy of the people matters but the security of the people is also more important and the responsibility of the government. My question to this perspective is how privacy can and security is two different things? Only when the privacy rights of the people are taken into proper consideration only then will bring about the proper security of the people.

To conclude, the protection of privacy of every individual should come from themselves, the community, the governments, and the world. Only when we work together as a whole will be able to make the virtual world a safe place for every individual using it in any form. As Bruce Schneler rightly says, “Privacy is an inherent human right and, a requirement for maintaining the human condition. With dignity and with respect.”

References

  1. Google searches for images and quotes.

WHAT IS A SONNET?

The sonnet is a popular classical form that has compelled poets for centuries. Traditionally, the Sonnet is a lyric in fourteen lines in iambic pentameter governed by certain prescribed rules in general and in the arrangement of the rhymes. It aims at concentrated expression, but fairly complex development of a single theme also is possible. It derives its name from the Italian ‘sonnetto’ which means ‘a little song’ or sound sung to the strain of music. It has only one leading thought or emotion as in Milton’s ‘On His Blindness’ or Keats’s ‘On first looking into Chapman’s homer.

Primary Types of Sonnets:

In English literature, there are two basic sonnet patterns:

Petrarchan Sonnet:

The first and most common sonnet is the Petrarchan, or Italian. Named after one of its greatest practitioners, the Italian poet Petrarch, the Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two stanzas, the octave has two rhymes ‘a’ and ‘b’ arranged in ab ab, ab ab scheme. The sestet has three rhymes arranged in various forms as abba, abba, cdecde or cdcdcd is suited for the rhyme-rich Italian language, though there are many fine examples in English. The octave may be divided into two stanzas of four lines each called tercets. Since the Petrarchan presents an argument, observation, question, or some other answerable charge in the octave, a turn, or volta, occurs between the eighth and ninth lines. This turn marks a shift in the direction of the foregoing argument or narrative, turning the sestet into the vehicle for the counterargument, clarification, or whatever answer the octave demands.

Sir Thomas Wyatt introduced the Petrarchan sonnet to England in the early sixteenth century. His famed translations of Petrarch’s sonnets, as well as his own sonnets, drew fast attention to the form. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, a contemporary of Wyatt’s, whose own translations of Petrarch are considered more faithful to the original though less fine to the ear, modified the Petrarchan, thus establishing the structure that became known as the Shakespearean sonnet. This structure has been noted to lend itself much better to the comparatively rhyme-poor English language.

Shakespearean Sonnet:

The second major type of sonnet, the Shakespearean, or English sonnet, follows a different set of rules. Here, three quatrains and a couplet follow this rhyme scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg. The couplet plays a pivotal role, usually arriving in the form of a conclusion, amplification, or even refutation of the previous three stanzas, often creating an epiphanic quality to the end. In sonnet 130 of William Shakespeare’s epic sonnet cycle, the first twelve lines compare the speaker’s mistress unfavorably with nature’s beauties, but the concluding couplet swerves in a surprising direction.
 

Shakespeare Sonnet 130: My Mistress’ eyes

Variations on the Sonnet Form

John Milton’s Italian-patterned sonnets (later known as “Miltonic” sonnets) added several important refinements to the form. Milton freed the sonnet from its typical incarnation in a sequence of sonnets, writing the occasional sonnet that often expressed interior, self-directed concerns. He also took liberties with the turn, allowing the octave to run into the sestet as needed. Both of these qualities can be seen in “When I Consider How My Ligth is Spent”.

The Spenserian sonnet, invented by sixteenth-century English poet Edmund Spenser, cribs its structure from the Shakespearean—three quatrains and a couplet—but employs a series of “couplet links” between quatrains, as revealed in the rhyme scheme: abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee. The Spenserian sonnet, through the interweaving of the quatrains, implicitly reorganized the Shakespearean sonnet into couplets, reminiscent of the Petrarchan. One reason was to reduce the often excessive final couplet of the Shakespearean sonnet, putting less pressure on it to resolve the foregoing argument, observation, or question.

THe Theme:

The common theme of a sonnet is love as in the sonnets of Shakespeare, Philip Sidney, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. However several poets have used other themes also in their sonnets. Milton’s sonnet ‘On His Blindness ‘,Wordsworth’s sonnet addressed to Milton, Keat’s sonnet ‘On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer and Arnold’s sonnet on Shakespeare are examples.

Examples of Famous Fisrt Lines in Shakespeare’s Sonnet:

William Shakespeare is credited with writing 154 sonnets, collected and published a few years after his death. Shakespeare featured many themes and subjects in his sonnets, and his works in this poetic form are arguably the most famous in English literature. Most of Shakespeare’s sonnets are known by their first-line rather than their number. Here are some examples of famous first lines in Shakespeare’s sonnets:

  • Mine eye and heart are at a mortal war
  • Those lines that I before have writ do lie
  • To me, fair friend, you never can be old
  • My love is as a fever longing still
  • Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
  • So are you to my thoughts as food to life
  • My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun
  • No longer mourn for me when I am dead
  • Love is too young to know what conscience is
  • Then let not winter’s ragged hand deface

Sonnet Sequences:

There are several types of sonnet groupings, including the sonnet sequence, which is a series of linked sonnets dealing with a unified subject. Examples include Elizabeth Barrett Brownings’s Sonnet from the Portuguese and Lady Mary Wroth’s The Countess of Montgomery’s Urania, published in 1621, the first sonnet sequence by an English woman.

Within the sonnet sequence, several formal constraints have been employed by various poets, including the corona (crown) and sonnet redoublé. In the corona, the last line of the initial sonnet acts as the first line of the next, and the ultimate sonnet’s final line repeats the first line of the initial sonnet. La Corona by John Donne  is comprised of seven sonnets structured this way. The sonnet redoublé is formed of 15 sonnets, the first 14 forming a perfect corona, followed by the final sonnet, which is comprised of the 14 linking lines in order.

Single window portal for doing robust common KYC system for Stock Brokers, Mutual Fund and depositories etc

 Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today called for transparency and the highest level of integrity in the stock markets. Addressing the National Stock Exchange (NSE) function today to mark the Silver Jubilee Celebration of 25 Years of Nifty Index and 20 Years of Launching of Derivatives Markets in India, he said this will empower households to look at greater incomes through investment besides encourage foreign investors.

“I think perception matters in the financial world, & therefore it is imperative we must put in place a strong system to maintain the highest level of integrity & transparency, which will encourage every Indian to invest in the stock market & empower households to look at greater incomes through investment besides encourage foreign investors,”

Shri Goyal said the NSE has been able to eliminate a lot of bad practices and brought in more transparency in the working of the exchange.

“On a lighter note, many people are missing the charm and the excitement of trading in the ring as it used to happen earlier, but I think given the current market dynamics & the size of the markets, I’m sure the ring could not handle this level of trade volumes” he said.

Shri Goyal said India has earned respect globally, with its robust technical solutions for handling large trade volumes. “It is equally pertinent that all financial products pass through the prism of ‘Trust, Transparency & Accountability’ so that they can turn into a rainbow of colours for the investors,” he said.

Shri Goyal said Stock Exchanges play a pivotal role in providing capital both to industry and service sector and you channelize household savings & institutional flows for capital formation.

Shri Goyal quoted the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, “Wealth creation is good, but for me the real value of our securities market lies in their contribution to the development of the nation, to the improvement of all sectors and to the welfare of the vast majority of citizens.”

“In this spirit, capital markets can become a source of finance for productive purposes like Infrastructure & Agriculture, which can benefit a very large majority of our population. Also, commodity derivative markets can be used to eliminate risks of farmers,” he said.

Shri Goyal said India is on the path of unprecedented economic growth. The rising economic indicators have showcased India and its true potential and capacity. “We have had the highest ever exports in the history of India. During Dec’21, goods exports stood at $37 bn, up by about 37% over last year. Exports have exceeded $ 30 bn for 9 months in a row consecutively setting a record every month since April 2021,” he said, adding, “Moody’s recently upgraded India’s rating, we recorded the highest ever FDI, we see a robust GST collection, Vibrant Startup ecosystem, Record Mfg & Services PMI – just to name a few indicators!”

Shri Goyal said the Government under the leadership of PM Modi has worked in a mission mode to reduce compliance burden. He called upon the NSE to create a single KYC system for all trading and financial transactions like the NSWS.

“Recently we have launched the National Single Window System, one stop portal, has been launched on a pilot basis created which is a one-stop portal for approvals & clearances needed by businesses,” said Shri Goyal, adding, “Is it possible to implement a Single window portal for doing robust common KYC system for Stock Brokers, Mutual Fund and depositories etc.?”

Lauding NSE for being recognised as the largest derivatives exchange globally for 2019 & 2020, Shri Goyal hoped it will contribute strongly to India’s growth story.

“As we celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, PM said the next 25 yrs will be ‘Amrit Kaal’ for both India & the NSE also, in a way defining the future of India and the future of investing in India. NSE is adding to this momentum with its Nifty 50 index, which in a way has become the ‘Stock of the Nation.’ The Index has grown by 15 times in the last 25 yrs symbolizing the growth potential of the Indian economy. It has made the common man a part of India’s growth story. I’m sure the Nifty 50 will continue to play a very important role in making GIFT City an international financial hub. NSE symbolizes New India’s commitment for strong economic growth.”

Shri Goyal gave a Seven Sutra mantra for the growth of stock exchange market:

i. Safeguarding interests of Small Retail Investors & the MSMEs by improving their financial literacy, launching financial products suitable to their risk appetite & meeting their investment needs

ii. Strong need for participants to be well informed about products that they are investing into; amplify campaigns which would keep the eyes of investors open.

iii. Encourage sentiment shift from Speculation to Diversification, from Momentary gains to building long-term portfolios

iv. Bringing Ease & Simplicity to products which includes launching products in Regional languages

v. Collaborating with schools and colleges to imbibe investment & trading skills at a young age

vi. Reduce volatility & the sudden spikes to enlarge investor base & induce robust capital formation, &

vii. It’s important that we follow the International Best Practices (Wall Street, NASDAQ, etc.) and aim to be among the top 3 exchanges in the world.

Shri Goyal said let us all make a New Year Resolution to help in making Stock Exchanges a frontier to achieve target of $5 tn economy. “India cannot become a developed country without world class securities & commodities market,” he said quoting PM Modi.

“Let us work together to deepen our markets & make an “Aatmanirbhar Financial Market” so that Indian corporates do not have to look at other markets for funding & risk management requirements,” he said.

***

Designing a New Town

 A new town built on land strongly controlled under unified public or semi public ownership, should be distinguished by combination of town and country life style and of environment, an uninterrupted greenbelt encircling and intersecting the town. A planned urban community that combines residential, commercial and recreational areas. Due to increasing population, we provide new town for reducing the burden of the city. Designing a new town for self-sufficient and providing housing, commercial, basic facilities and recreational area . 

New towns are playing in the economic development of the countries they are emerging in, it is clear that economic motives are the dominant factor behind most new town initiatives. The present new towns are populated by the middle and upper classes, while the lower income groups live in the old city or in self organized cities and slums.

The New Town Movement 

The new town movement refers to towns that were built after World War II and that have been purposefully planned, developed and built as a remedy to overcrowding and congestion in some instances and to scattered and settlements in others. The main reason for it was to decongest larger industrialized cities, rehousing people in freshly built, new and fully planned towns that were completely self-sufficient and provided for the community. 
Records exist of plans for new towns back as far as the ancient Egyptians. Most of the “planned towns” in history were based on providing for military, trade or harbor needs. The idea of planning a city for the needs of the people who would live there didn’t crystallize until the end of the 19th century when Sir Ebenezer Howard, first suggested a series of “garden cities” north of London. However, it was another 50 years, at the end of World War II, when these garden cities really began to flourish. 
The world was moving into a new era of rapid urbanization. The problems of pollution, traffic congestion and the impersonalized isolation of urban sprawl were growing. The concept of creating new towns spread across Europe with the creation of planned communities to deal with these problems. These “new towns” sought to plan in advance the design and growth of cities. Some of the key features were: 

  • Pedestrian friendly walkways separated from vehicle traffic to promote the safe movement of people between neighborhoods, schools and shopping 
  • Architecturally innovative housing 
  • Community owned land to create activity areas and a sense of openness 
  • Community works of art 
  • Close proximity of commercial and industrial parks for people to live close to where they work 
  • A development philosophy to respect the land 

Need For New Towns 

Developing new towns for various purposes, such as, to exploit natural resources, to provide raw material to industries, to serve nuclei and act as catalytic agents for stimulating economic growth in backward areas, for administration and for special purposes. Although in most cases new towns are expensive to build and they take several years to develop fully, still they offer several benefits. Building of new towns does not mean that, we should stop the growth of major cities. Major cities develop, but new towns reduce the rate of growth of metropolitan cities. In this regard it is necessary to prepare national and state physical plans. The national physical plan should be the physical and ecological guide of the policies, programmes and strategies relating to population changes and distribution.