Scoring Hundred

The Significance Of The Number 100
The digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 singly or in combination give various numbers. However, the number 100 has different significances altogether depending upon the context in which it is used.
Milestone in Life: Octogenarians and nonagenarians are not held in public awe anymore with longevity increasing all over the world. But when one completes one hundred years, the centenarian does get reverential attention.
Academic Performance: In schools and colleges, the most brilliant student is indisputably determined by the one who scores 100 out of 100.
One Hundred Metres Sprint Race in Olympics: There are dozens of sport events for which medals in Olympics are awarded to the winners. But the winner of gold in one event - 'One hundred metres sprint race' is given the singular honour of 'fastest man/woman in the world'. The fastest man today in the world, according to the official records, is Donavan Bailey of Canada who finished the race in just 9.79 seconds.
Googol: One of the two Google founders Larry Page had initially wanted to give the name Googol to their search engine. Googol is 1 followed by one hundred zeroes just as one billion is 1 followed by nine zeroes. Due to some spelling mistake, Googol became Google which millions use as search engine.
The100th post in Blog: Bloggers are publishing thousands of posts in their Blogs round the clock. But the 100th post, I think, is a very significant milestone for an individual Blogger. Self-propelled to blogosphere without any idea about the alien world, my blog 'Satish and his thoughts' started on 24 June, 2006 completes its 100th post with this. For me, its significance is no more less than other significant 'One Hundred's listed above. But for the support and encouragement of you all, my blog would not have seen this red-letter day.
I wish you all 'Happy blogging' in days, months and years to come.

Myths & Facts Surrounding Blogging

One fine morning I decided to take up blogging and within minutes, to my utter surprise, my blog was ready thanks to the user-friendly sites which offer ready-made free services. Having entered the blogosphere without knowing ABC of blogging, I found myself in an unenviable position - fight or flight was my choice. As the fight still continues, I got exposed to some myths that have metamorphosed to facts. I want to share my experience gained so far with you.
Myth #1: Blogging is a favourite past-time among only a limited number of people who are casual and pedestrian in their writing.
Fact: A mind-boggling 50 million Bloggers are at it and every second two new Blogs are born. A good number of Bloggers put heart and soul to their work. Some blog posts are as outstanding as some best sellers.
Myth #2: One has to just spend a few hours in writing and then forget about it.
Fact: Blogging requires meticulous planning, research and a good strategy to stay connected with the blogging community to get feedback and act upon comments. The posts should be regular and preferably at least one post a day.
Myth#3: As long as you think your post is having originality and unique style, the readers will surely lap it up.
Fact: Your posts should appear interesting in a cursory glance. To achieve this, a very catchy title is a must. Darren of Blog-Republic has made several useful suggestions in his Blog. The middle portion is equally important if not more explains lucidly Easton in his Bog Businessblogwire.
Myth#4: You have some creative thoughts and you know how to express them. You do not have to bother anything about technology.
Fact: One must have minimum technical background to make frequent changes and add features to the Blog besides making it stand out visually.
Myth#5: One can make money while blogging.
Fact: There are thousands of sites available to show how money-tree can be made to grow when you are blogging. AdSense, SEOs, pings and sitemeters are only a few tools available to monitor and maximise hits which set in an euphoria. The problem arises when some get carried away by such hits their Blogs generate and start believing that their writings are so popular as can be compared with the works of famous writers like Charles Dickens. If the mind is obsessed with how to get the blessings of Google, then paradoxically thoughts for creative writing will have no place.
How many of the above you accept as facts?

A Billion Dollar Question

Some awards and rankings are simply awe-inspiring. Take for example - the Nobel prize which is regarded as the highest honour for the most outstanding work in the field of science, economics or peace. Similarly, Oscar awards are considered the most coveted in the world of entertainment. Shouldn't there be, therefore, any ranking for possessing the most-sought-after thing in life i.e. money? Why not, there are such honours the magazine Forbes bestows every year by bringing out a list of wealthiest Americans.
The list of 400 richest Americans has been published by the magazine by following a criterion of including only those with a net worth of minimum of $1 billion or more. For the last 13 years in a row, Microsoft's Bill Gates has been at the top position. The second position has always been taken by Mr Warren Buffett since 1994.The third ranker Sheldon Adelson has catapulted to the position from 15th held last year. His rise has an interesting background. He has made his wealth from casino unlike the likes of Bill Gates besides four others who are technologists and five Walton clans who made their fortune through retail sales. The two Google founders Sergey Brian and Larry Page got 12th and 13th ranking; all cyber citizens and Bloggers blogging round the globe have been directly using their creations.
Mr Adelson, however, is looking for a second property in Macau and a new casino in Singapore. These billionaires, perhaps, send one common message for their success - 'Money is lying all over. You should only know how to pick it up'.Very soon Forbes may decide to publish only names of 'trillionaire-athon' participants as the list of billionaires is becoming too long.
Who all are getting ready to take part?