Destination Infinity's Blog, page 28

Chequered Bangles (Fashion Jewellery)

Just wanted to publicise a couple of beautiful chequered bangles made recently by Ramya

Our New Drone Camera: DJI Ryze Tello :)

In spite of my apprehensions and my assurances (foremost to myself), I just couldn’t resist the temptation to buy a Drone camera, especially at this attractive price. So bought the DJI Ryze Tello

Forest Genetic Resources Tree Park near Vandalur, Chennai

Tamil Nadu Forest Department has built the Forest Genetic Resources Tree Park at Kolapakkam, near Vandaloor Zoo at Chennai. Actually, this huge park is located on the Kelambakkam-Vandalur highway after crossing Vandaloor Zoo. So, if you are going from Tambaram towards Chengalpettu, you’ll have to take the left turn just after Vandalur Zoo and travel a couple of Kilo Meters down the road. I guess it’s not walkable distance from the zoo, try to travel in a vehicle.

It seems this park has just been opened on 16th August 2018 by Dindigul C. Sreenivasan, Hon’ble Minister for Forests, TN. I guess the objective of the park is to showcase the different varieties of wild trees to everyone. Hence, they have planted many varieties of tree saplings. At a few places, they have also kept information boards with the name of the tree species, its classification, description, etc. Currently the boards are in English, but it seems they are planning to give the information in Tamil also, soon.

Since the park was just one week-old when I visited, they had not set up the ticketing system yet. They are planning to charge Rs. 5 per person to enter this park in the future – but until the system is setup, entry will be free of cost. There is a functional Aavin Parlour selling milk based beverages and eatables outside this park already!

I feel this is a much needed initiative, especially by the Government. I am sure parks like these will spread information about our native trees and inspire people to grow new trees or at least conserve existing ones. Don’t forget to see the above embedded video where I have shown a few pics I took at this tree park.

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Sep.1 ’18 :: Joy of Giving Carnival/Expo @ Good Shepherd School

The Joy of Giving Carnival/Exhibition is scheduled to happen at the Good Shepherd School, College Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai on 1st of September (Saturday) from 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. According to the organizers (Convent) this event is to promote the cause of girl empowerment. You can expect to see around 100 stalls in various segments. The entry fee is Rs. 200 per ticket.

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Design your Own Shirt Online or In-Store (India)

Bombay Shirt Company is a customised shirt maker based in India who enables customers to design their own shirts. You can either visit their website and order online, or better, you can visit one of their stores currently located at Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru [India], Dubai and New York.

The advantage of visiting one of their stores is, they have a designer to guide you with the selections & they have an in-house tailor who can take more accurate measurements.

Recently, I had an opportunity to visit an outlet of Bombay Shirt Company located at Adyar, Chennai. They offer shirts in two ranges – Indian (2K INR to 5K INR, approx) and International (More than 5K INR). Actually, these rates are for fabric types – and there are many. I selected the “stretch” fabric as it was very different and maybe exciting

Fabelle Exquisite Creates a 72 kg chocolate bar (ITC Grand Chola)

Note: This is a Press Release, but the above video was created by me with photos/videos taken during our recent visit. 

Chennai, August 16th 2018:  As India celebrated its 72nd Independence Day, Fabelle, one of the most celebrated Indian chocolate brands, commemorated the Independence Day with a first of its kind 72kg chocolate bar made from a unique mix of 72 ingredients. The brand which is known to create distinct chocolate experiences had crafted a larger than life 72 Kg chocolate bar in each of the 6 metros where the brand is currently available. These bars will be displayed in the chocolate boutiques in select ITC Luxury Hotels in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru from 15th August to 19th August 2018. The exquisite milk chocolate bar was handcrafted by Fabelle Master Chocolatiers using rich milk chocolate blended with unique ingredients like nuts, dried fruits, cookies, seeds, jellies, biscuits and more.

Fabelle, which is known for crafting unique chocolate experiences, left the guests fascinated with the larger than life chocolate bar. The brand undertook months of research to finalise on the 72 ingredients which would be a part of the 72 kg chocolate bar and also multiple tasting trials were done to create a unique chocolate taste and a multi textural experience. Finally Fabelle Master Chocolatiers in each of the 6 cities worked for over 7 to 8 days to handcraft the artisanal masterpiece. The journey of the creation was a challenging one because it was not only important to create a larger than life 72 kg chocolate bar but to also ensure that the bar is as exquisite to taste as any of -the other Fabelle chocolate creations which are rated very highly by chocolate connoisseurs. The Master brought all their experience to bear in creating one of a kind experience to create this iconic creation and pay a befitting tribute to the nation’s most celebrated occasion i.e. the 72nd Independence Day.

To make the occasion sweeter, the brand decided to partner with Make-A-Wish Foundation of India, a non-profit organization which works towards supporting deserving children to lead a richer life by fulfilling their wishes. Fabelle worked with Make a Wish Foundation and distributed the specially crafted 72 kg chocolate bar to kids making Independence Day special for them. Through digital and PR campaigns, guests were also encouraged to donate to a Make a Wish India to make wishes of kids come true and Fabelle thanked the contributors in a unique manner by gifting them a piece of the iconic chocolate bar.

Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Mr. Anil Chadha, General Manager, ITC Grand Chola, Chennai shared “With the 72 kg Chocolate bar we wished to celebrate the 72nd Independence Day in a unique Fabelle manner and also to create a magical moment for kids with our association with Make a Wish Foundation India. We invite all Indians to join us to fulfil wishes of deserving kids with chocolates and your generous contributions.”

Executive Chef  Ajit Bangera,  ITC Grand Chola, Chennai added “ It was a challenging task to create a life size 72 kg chocolate bar that would pay tribute to the country’s 72nd Independence Day.  We are extremely happy to see that our Master Chocolatiers envisioned to create our largest creation yet and transformed their vision into a reality with extreme finesse after months of preparation and trials. The 72 Kg chocolate bar is not only large in size but is as good as any of our chocolate creations and what makes it sweeter is our association with Make a Wish foundation that brings happiness to lives of several kids.”

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Mr. Deepak Bhatia, Make-A-Wish Foundation shared “Independence Day is significant in the lives of every Indian and at Make-A-Wish Foundation, India; we always aim to celebrate this day in the most unique way. It’s a great initiative from Fabelle, as children love chocolates and celebrating Independence Day with Fabelle chocolates made the celebration sweeter for them. At Make-A-Wish Foundation we have fulfilled over 39,000 wishes across 11 divisions in India, and now with proceeds raised from our association with Fabelle, we are hopeful to fulfil several such precious wishes for kids.”

 

Where:

Fabelle at The Chocolate Boutique, ITC Grand Chola, Mount Road, Guindy, Chennai;

044 49065410

About ITC Foods:

ITC’s branded packaged foods business is one of the fastest growing foods businesses in India, driven by the market standing and consumer franchise of its popular brands – Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo!, Yippee!, Kitchens of India, B Natural, Mint-o, Candyman and GumOn. The Foods business is today represented in multiple categories in the market – Staples, Spices, Ready-to-Eat, Snack Foods, Bakery & Confectionery and the newly introduced Juices & Beverages. ITC’s Foods brands delight millions of households with a wide range of differentiated, value-added products developed by leveraging ITC’s in-house R&D capabilities, deep consumer understanding, knowledge of preferred Indian tastes, agri-sourcing & packaging strengths, and an unmatched distribution network. ITC’s uncompromising commitment to the health and safety of its consumers ensures adherence to the highest levels of quality, safety and hygiene standards in manufacturing processes and in the supply chain. All ITC-owned manufacturing units are Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certified. The quality performance of all manufacturing units is monitored continuously online. Going beyond process control, ITC ensures that quality standards are scrupulously adhered to while choosing ingredients that go into the preparation of its food products.

 

GoPro for Commercial Videography?

I am confused.

I am a Video Creator. Of late, I am getting enquiries to make company introduction videos. I would have to record short customer interviews, glimpses inside their office/manufacturing environment, etc.

These are typically short – less than 2/3 minutes and they’ll mostly be a part of promo videos I make for them. Promo Videos mostly contain animation, video backgrounds, messages with text effects, motion graphics, etc. and the recorded videos may be a small part in it.

As you may have guessed, I am more of a video editor and not a videographer. But since a few customers want, I am considering to create a small mobile video kit that I can carry around and record their videos.

I have three options,

One option may be to rent a video/movie camera. These are available on a per-day basis, for a relatively low-cost. However, I’ll not have much of an opportunity to learn and use it often.

My second option would be to buy a professional DSLR tailored for video professionals like the Sony a6300. It’s expensive, but very capable, and should be sufficient for my requirements. The issue is, photographer friends say that my requirements will change over time, hence major investments now may not be a good idea.

My third option, and my current favourable consideration is to buy a GoPro Hero 5 Action Camera. This is not only a very capable video camera, but has latest/excellent features like 4K movie recording, slow motion, time lapse, burst mode, RAW photos, and what not. This one costs 1/3rd of the Sony DSLR price.

The lower cost gives me the leverage to more confidently invest in the remaining accessories required to build my mobile video studio setup – like Mic, LED Light, Video Tripod, Gimbal/Stabilizer, Memory Card, Power Bank, etc.

The issue is, although they are awesome for video recording, GoPro cameras are very small – the size may be 3″ x 3″ x 1″. So, when I visit a customer, they might be daunted by the small size and that might create an unprofessional first impression.

GoPro’s are meant for shooting high-speed action scenes and other such, hence the good video capability. They’ve been used to shoot action movies, even, due to their support for high speed recording.

I am now thinking why I should spend so much and buy a professional DSLR when I can buy a GoPro at 1/3rd of the price. Maybe I can rent professional video cameras as the need arises.

Has anyone used a GoPro for commercial purposes? Even if not, I am tempted to try it out

Photo Printed on a Canvas in India: PhotoJaanic

Recently we got one of our favourite photos printed on a 12″ x 8″ photo canvas which we then hung in our living room. We clicked this photo (actually someone else clicked it for us) at Click Art Museum, at VGP Snow World, ECR, Chennai. We have already printed this as a postcard sized photo, put it on a photo frame, and kept it on our table. But it was not gaining any attention from anyone – it was too small.

But this new photo on canvas print screams for attention. I don’t think anyone visiting our hall will go without looking at it

What a Missed (Selfie) Opportunity!

I will show you a selfie later in this post. But there is an interesting story behind it, I will tell that first.

Today I went to an event on startups and scaling one’s business organised by Zoho and YourStory at Crown Plaza, Adyar Gate, TTK Road. They had invited Mr. Mofai K Pandiarajan, founder of the popular Mofai HR Consultancy and now the Minister for Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archeology (Government of Tamil Nadu) from the AIADMK Party, and acting M.L.A. from Avadi Constituency.

The minister gave an excellent speech and I was quite inspired. I enjoyed the proceedings of the day and went on to have my dinner after the event. Once I finished eating, I went and took a small water bottle.

As I was drinking the water, a small crowd formed around me. I noticed that the Minister was two people ahead of me. The first person explained about his business and how he planned to scale his business, etc. and went away. The second person (in my front) explained how they were connecting home cooks to office goers and how he was planning to make it bigger than dabba-wallas in Mumbai. And then he also went away.

Now there was no one between me and the minister. The minsiter saw me, anticipating me to come up with how I was planning to scale my business and other such. But I was not standing there to meet him in the first place!

So I quickly grasped the opportunity and asked him if I could take a selfie with him. “Idhukkagavum event-ku varanga pola irrukku” nu nenachirupparu! Anyway, he said OK and I immediately took my phone and switched ON the flash to take a clearer picture. That was my biggest mistake of the evening.

My camera will first flash, and then after a second or so it will flash a couple of times more and only then it will take the photo. By the time it flashed for the first time, he thought the selfie was taken and started moving forward. But I was in a standstill position.

As you might have guessed, the selfie that resulted was eerie, to say the least. What a missed (selfie) opportunity! Here it is, for your viewing pleasure

Google Search Conference: My Learnings

Today I went to the Google Search Conference held at Trident Hotel, Chennai. Here are a few of my learnings/highlights from the event –

Google looks at more than 200 factors while ranking a webpage for a search query; page rank is just one of them.
In 2017 alone Google did more than 2,70,000 experiments with Search and they implemented less than 2500 changes in their algorithms.
Everyday, around 15% of the searches are for new keywords.
Loading Speed and SSL (https) are important factors for better search result positioning.
They suggest we use Structured Data Markup (Schema.org is fine, but Google’s Structured data is preferred) for giving additional information about your page to Google – this doesn’t impact search results directly. They use Structured Data to display rich results, knowledge graph sheet and carousal results. Here is their Structured Data Testing Tool .
For better positioning of images in search, they suggest we use Alt Tag, give descriptive title names, and use captions on every image.
For multi-lingual webpages, it’s better to use separate URLs for each language as it is difficult for their search engine to set a preferred language if we mix multiple languages in a single domain.
The domain name/URL can be in Tamil or any of their other supported languages, but it should be in UTF-8 encoding.
Google will not consider the same content in different languages (translated) as duplicate content.
They suggest that we implement two-step verification for logins in addition to passwords for enhanced security as almost 45% of web users are prone to losing login data to phishing attacks.
They suggest we update our systems like CMS, Plugins, etc. regularly and keep them up to date as patches for vulnerabilities are provided through updates.
Google Search Console will give information on security threats they identify on a website to registered users, in addition to providing information on SEO issues like 404 errors, indexing status, search keywords, etc. Registering our sites in Google Search Console is free of cost.
To increase Mobile Website loading speed, Google suggests webmasters to implement AMP for the mobile version.
If there is any issue with Google Adsense or if Publishers have any clarifications, they could visit and drop a message on The Adsense Help Forum , or send a direct email message to adsense-support@google.com
To compensate for 404 errors, Google suggests we don’t redirect the readers to the homepage. Instead, we can create a custom 404 error message if possible with links to related content.

 

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