Few days back, I was reading an article on the difference between content and information. It drew my immediate attention because like many others, I sometimes fail to distinguish between them and assume what I feel is right.

 

The word “Content” has many definitions such as “something that is to be expressed through some medium, as speech, writing, or any of various arts” or “substantive information or creative material”.

 

Whereas “Information” can be termed as “knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance” or “knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction”.

 

So, there is a thin line between these two terms which many a times results in confusion of what we perceive – mere content or valuable information from the piles of content.

 

I believe, content is a field where knowledge matures in a shape of information. Content is important because it provides the knowledge a sustainable platform, and information adds flavor to it.

 

Take an example of functional specification. Customer requirements is translated into detailed analysis in the functional specification covering Requirement Background, Scope, Assumptions, Limitation, Exclusions, Implementations, Terminology and so on. The whole document not only approaches the requirement from the technical point of view, but also supplies ancillary functionalities and attempts to portray a “big picture”.

 

Now, that “big picture” creates trouble for technical writer when he tries to document the enhancement. For me, it is always a challenge to cover each important element and not to leave out any important information. Sometimes the spec document elaborates few elements so widely that it creates more confusion for those who never participated either as a developer or tester.

 

To cover that problem, one can follow many proven steps. Few of them are quite generic yet effective and can be implemented at any point of time, such as:

 

1. Discuss with the business or technical analyst to get hands-on knowledge on the enhancement. In many cases, when approached, it has been found that the spec document itself is either not updated or quite ambiguous. So, it is their duty to either release the document with version or update the master document before releasing it.
2. Participate in the demo showcasing or online product training might help to understand the interface better although people showing the demo always have a tendency to perform it quite superficially and avoid any complex issues.
3. It is sometimes imperative to play with the application and understand the functionality from the user’s or administrator’s point of view. While documenting writers tend to justify what they are writing is enough and appropriate. Manipulating the interface with the help of his writing validates how effectively he has illustrated the functionality.  Test plans and acceptance criteria can both come handy in this scenario.

So, in a nutshell, a writer can either follow task based approach or feature based approach to extract required information step-by-step and present a clear, concise, and organized documentation to the end user.

So I have finally finished reading the novel, THE NAMESAKE. So anyone waiting for me to fulfill the promise and comment on the book, here is my observation.

 

I believe this is the second significant literary attempt by Jhumpa Lahiri and she has displayed her talent and elegance quite distinctively in the book. The writing is smooth; language used is simple yet imaginative, characters are vividly portrayed adding various shades in them. I am not going into the story, neither am I attempting to analyse their characters. It’s worth reading this book even to get acquainted with the Bengali culture. For me, it was easy comprehending that but any non-Bengali would find it bit difficult to interpret few elements in the book. I wish the author could have explained it more or kept a foot-note. But overall quite engrossing although I took a long time to finish it.

 

Next I am planning to watch the movie to see how Mira Nair has justified the original story. How many of you have seen that movie? What’s your take?

 

 

 

 

 

Fish is yummy. They look so vibrant whirling in the aquarium. But fish waste? Neah. We don’t even bother. But hold a sec! Have you ever imagined that fish waste can be so useful for producing energy? If not, then read on, you might be amazed.

 

As per the Alaska Energy Authority, Alaska fish processing plants dispose of 13 million gallons of fish waste per year that could potentially be converted into biodiesel. We all know that traditional petrofuel is becoming scarce and price of it is soaring high. Biodiesel or biofuel has emerged as an alternative resource and offered us something more environment friendly. It is non-toxic, non-polluting, bio-degradable and does not emit sulphur dioxide. And the source of the biodiesel is few popular plants like Sunflower, Rapeseeds, Palm, Fish waste joins this bandwagon as a potential raw material for bio-diesel.

 

A project in Hawaii has succeeded in extracting 5,000 gallons of biodiesel from fish oil. The Baranof Hotel in Juneau, Alaska invested $ 10,000 on a project which would fetch them power for boilers from nothing but fish waste. Believe me or not, the saving from this effort within little over one year is $30,000. A Canada based company, Nova Scotia utilized waste oil to generate biodiesel for its' own operations, and then went on to selling it.

 

In India, Navatha Biofuels in Hederabad has claimed to produce ” 15KL of ASTM biodiesel from any refined vegetable oil inclusive of Lard, Tallow, Rubber oil, Sal fatty oil, Fish oil etc”. When you travel by Amritsar-Shatabdi Express train in India, remember it runs on biodiesel.

 

So, now whenever you see fish waste or fish oil, don’t just ignore it but appreciate its contribution towards reducing pollution and offering us alternative fuel resource.

Travelling is always very dear to me. Be it a real travel or a virtual one by glancing through travelogues and travel articles, it never fails to excite me. That’s why I envy those people who always get an opportunity to escape from the mad world and enjoy the serenity and the raw beauty of the nature.

 

Time and money are two primary factors which can both garnish as well as tarnish your travel recipe. Sometimes you have ample money (rare for me) but no time to wanderlust. But many a time the sense of future insecurity prevents you from spending in travelling and you rather end up shelving the plan.

 

Being an avid travel-lover, I always feel this turmoil. These days a normal travel plan for two days for a couple at least costs you two to three thousands rupees if not more. Therefore, it is extremely important to plan it quite well and much in advance to face any undesired surprises during the tour. Thanks to the internet, many travel sites are there to provide you free and detailed information on places, things to see, accommodation, eating, commutation etc. That saves your time in grappling for information after you reach your destination.  

 

But the most fascinating part of any tour is to meet various unknown people – autowalas whom you always blame for overcharging, waiters in the hotel or those vendors selling miniscule things. What you gain from the interaction is the feeling that life is an endless journey. The way they lead their lives with meager income and smile away all worries make me feel how lucky I am to have all amenities of material happiness yet curve for more and more and more. During our stay in Vizag, I saw a small boy of 15-16 years serving teas. He was so sweet yet his melancholic face reminded me of those thousand kids starving or toiling days or nights for a single meal. I could not do much but to offer that boy some food, talked to him politely and befriended him. As I was leaving the place he bade good-bye but gifted me his innocent smile. That was the greatest moment I could ever cherish.

 

I am back in Space! My attempt to access the BLOGSPOT went in vain, so here I am with you MSN!