Spooky Action At The Distance ...

A Misty Mountain Hop

2011-12-03T04:33:00.004-05:00

We were sitting in the boarding area awaiting the announcement from a Kingfisher official of our flight to Coimbatore. I was twiddling my thumbs and trying to shake off the starry eyes and drowsiness as a result of the Deepavali celebrations from previous day. The wife was making sure that her iPod shuffle was in her handbag and getting tensed that the taxiwala (Tangavelu, as we later came to know him as) did not call up with the cab information and or confirm that he'll pick us up from the Coimbatore airport.

Although I had a poker face on, the same thought process was going inside my head. What will we do if he doesn't show up, are prepaid taxis available at the airport? Is it the best option we had? Are there any other mode of transport? Why hasn't he called yet? I must admit that this was one of the quick and probably the most unprepared trips I was about to start. And that too, not having traveled in India in the past decade or so did not help. The India that I knew of had changed, lack of information had become almost non existent. Distances had been reduced by more than one half by the availability of quicker means of transportation, the ease of travel and the luxury that you can avail of during your trip had grown by leaps and bounds. Why was I in a dilemma? Why the hesitation and the plethora of questions? Something I can never explain; In India, after being away for almost a decade, I was acting up like a tourist with his hands all over his pockets and eyes scanning the crowd to find the person about whom he had read in the tour guides and travel books by people who had visited the country.

After I started getting a feeling that I've been sitting in the wide leatherette seat in the boarding are for hours, I got the call I was expecting. Sir, mein tangavelu bol raha hoon. Aapne taxi bola tha to mein Coimbatore airport pe aa jaoonga. Aap pahunchne ke baad call kar deejiye. 'I'm the cabbie and I'll be waiting for you at the Coimbatore airport, please call me once you land and I'll pick you up'. Phew! I wasn't expecting Hindi from him at all. the last two days had made me think that its probably difficult to find someone who knew Tamil in Tamil Nadu. Cutting the chase, we boarded the Kingfisher flight after traveling in the pick up bus for what seemed to be a million kilometers. The bus turned left then right and then again left before repeating the same for about a bazillion times. Finally we were seated in what seemed to be a full flight headed to Coimbatore.

Udhagamandalam, Ooty, was about a 3 hour drive from Coimbatore. One doesn't get a 5 days long weekend in India that often, I was told. And hence, we decided to make a trip somewhere and somehow ended up going to Ooty. The previous day's Deepavali celebrations, again a get together and a festivity that I hadn't attended in almost a decade, was short and sweet. We lit some firecrackers, had some sweets, did some rangoli and were immersed in the lighting and the celebrations that followed. I was still getting starry eyes sitting in the flight the next day while I was trying to get some sleep. Although we did not get a window seat, the wife and I were seated comfortable near the rear of the airbus. After about 2 hours we landed at the Coimbatore airport and headed out. The cabbie was waiting just outside the exit door and we were able to get in to the car, get out of the airport periphery with ease. I conveyed to him that we need to get a quick lunch and a pit stop at a store to get some refreshments etc. He took us to a nearby restaurant where we filled our tummies with some thali meals served on top of a banana leaf in a bronze plate and a variety of tamizh delicacies topping it off with a chikku juice. We finished our lunch and the Tata Indica started zooming on the two lane highway kicking off a three hour long drive.

The route from Coimbatore to Ooty is a well toured road. One could spot a taxi or a rental car every few minutes either going to or heading back from the tourist place. After about a couple of hours, we were driving past the mountain ranges and slowly the mountains were getting a coated by the low lying clouds; some dark, some white as cotton. We asked Tangavelu about the whether in the past few days and were disappointed to learn that it has been raining and the forecasts did not look good at all. We hit the first set of traffic on one of the curves heading onto the mountain range. The cars and SUVs were all lined up and I had a few moments to capture some snaps after rolling down the windows of the Indica. Aaney! Elephant! he yelled out, there are designated routes for elephants to cross the main road. I pointed my Canon to the road side but no elephant in sight. Someone who walked past the queued up vehicles informed us that a volvo bus had caught one of the low lying wires on the side of the road and that's what was causing the delay.

The sky was getting dark by the minute and it was hardly 4 pm. Although we were used to see that in the winter months, it was a bit unexpected in the Indian subcontinent. And suddenly it started raining, taking our hopes of getting out and enjoying Ooty into the drain with it. We reached our hotel with the car drenched in rain water and our umbrellas and rain jackets out. Dumped our luggage in the hotel room and waited. An hour went by with no respite from the rain. And then two hours - still raining. Finally we gave up, asked the cabbie to take us to a restaurant nearby where we had our dinner. He then drove us back to the hotel where we bid adieu. He said his replacement would be coming in to take us around tomorrow.

Day II was a bright and sunny day. The yellow rays of sun filled the hotel room asking us to start our day early. We beat our estimate and got out to explore. Ooty to Coonoor the toy train ride was first on our hit list. The scenic train ride took us through the ups and downs of the misty mountains and tea estates. Kids, Family, Tourists, School Kids and Daily commuters, they all thronged the train. Thanks to some forums, we had booked tickets for the train ride in advance. We occupied the window seat which gave us an excellent view of the small towns on the way. After about an hour the train pulled in to the Coonoor railway station. We had already filled almost half of the SD card in our camera and our trip had just started. Jaykumar, the new cabbie, was to pick us up from the Coonoor railway station. After a few minutes wait, we got in touch with him and took to the task of visiting the hot spots in Coonoor. Tea estates were the first stop. Mist covering the estates was a pleasant sight. A light wind made sure that the mist shifted now and then letting us view the best sights from the top of the hill and enabling us to capture the Kodak moments in our Canon. After stopping at a few tourist attractions on our way, we were back to Ooty visiting the Botanical garden (deemed as a must visit for any tourist) Rose gardens and a few other attractions.

Ooty is a small town, some say one could have a peaceful stay and an excellent tour of the town and nearby places about a decade ago but over the last 5-10 years, an increase in the number of tourists has not made the infrastructure and facilities improve to accommodate them. However, we were staying close to the town and did not feel so. Of course it would be buzzing with activity mainly during the summer months and tapering off after October before picking up after March. Jayakumar made sure that he gave us some background about the town and other attractions. He informed us that he has been driving in and around Ooty for more than 20 years! He knew the history of the town way back to the British days. It was indeed nice to see that he could very well fill in the shoes of a tour guide. A multifaceted person who just loves to drive!

Satisfied with the day's achievements, though tired, we reached our hotel in the evening. The next day, we were to drive back to Coimbatore to continue our onward journey. We turned to the Idiot Box to provide us with some news and/or entertainment. I had totally forgotten about technology the last couple of days; a place like Ooty can do that to you! I caught up on my emails and took to the task of planning the remainder of our trip. We checked out the next day early morning, visited Dodabetta peak, the highest peak in South India on our way back and resumed the 3 hour long drive back to Coimbatore.

Although I was itching to drive the car on more than one occasion, I choose not to. Let the professional do what he does the best yeah? It was probably the first vacation where I hadn't driven a vehicle. Felt nice, less stress; should do more often :)

Until next time ....

Its raining cats and dogs

2011-07-30T10:26:00.002-05:00

Clearly one doesn't understand the real meaning of the word 'Monsoon' until he or she experiences it first hand. Nothing in this world can ever give you the true meaning of the word like experiencing it by being in the midst of it; not even books, tales, experiences shared by someone who's seen it or videos.

As someone said, if the world has to look for a long term progress in any part of the world, it has to be the Indian subcontinent. For no other nation or group of nations experience a steady dependable period of downpour from the heavens like the subcontinent does. In fact this act of nature, also known as rain, is probably one of the most important needs of humans. They need it in order to meet their daily needs, to progress and to sustain the civilization. I cannot think of any other part of the world where a monsoon, or its equivalent, works like a clockwork every year.

1st of June is known to be the day when Monsoon hits the southern part of the country in the state called Kerala. Apparently, June 1st marks the first day schools reopen after the long summer break. Keralites have known for years that these two coincide almost every year. No matter what happens, it rains on the 1st of June. Some kids are probably annoyed that their school season starts with a schoolbag and an umbrella (or a rain jacket) in hand whilst some are happy that the monsoon is finally here - they can enjoy it out in the open: playing in the rain is like a dream come true for any kid in this part of the world.

In a matter of weeks the Monsoon gradually travels north-west and hits the western part of the country before arriving in Mumbai in the 2nd half of July and then the northern parts of the country in August/September. June through October are the months when the country meets most of its supply of the yearly water consumption filling in lakes (both natural and man made) and dams. It comes with another benefit - a relief from the scorching summer heat. With temperature rising every year, the importance of monsoon rains would only increase in the future. Of course, needless to say that its a boon to industries and the agriculture industry. Nothing better than a natural source of water.

It also brings a level of discomfort with it. The intensity of rains on certain days almost disrupts the routine people are used to. Travel, communication, electricity and anything you name it is affected. As the intensity increases, folks get over the initial jitters and life during monsoon falls back to normal. It can bring a whole city to halt (like what happened in Mumbai a few years back) and bouncing back becomes difficult. The uncertainty adds to the displeasure of residents; if it starts to rain - one can never predict when it would stop. Sometimes it just rains for a week. Light rain at times but still it keeps pouring days and days. There are quite a few industries that survive as a result of Monsoon. They're active during these 4-5 months and make full use of the rains.

People have started to wonder if the Monsoon is of that help. All it causes is a discomfort, they say. To them I only have this to say - One year without a Monsoon and it would be difficult for half of the country to survive. The amazing thing to note is its dependability. Nature is reminding us time and again of the way it works and for as long as people in the subcontinent can remember - they have seen it function like a clockwork.

It is fun to look out of the window and enjoy the thunder, the lightening, heavy droplets of rain, small droplets but nothing like having a hot cup of tea and pakoda! Off I go to have my tea and pakoda, of course!

Fighting it out with a scraper in hand

2011-01-12T20:42:00.007-05:00

You wouldn't expect anything different from mother nature in the winter months. A rain here a snow shower there, a sunshine (here) a chilly night filled with moonlight (there), an adorable view from the house (here) a not so pleasant moment sitting in the car waiting the engine to warm up (there). The winter months in New England comes with its own perils which start with cleaning your vehicle.

It is like a war out there. The first thing you do is get dressed up for the occasion. This is not easy because , for example, one moment you're cleaning up the car and the next, you feel the cold wind reach your bones and unless you want to feel them, its better to dress up ... in layers. So here I was debating whether to get out there and clean up the vehicle today or tomorrow. Wait one day and mother nature's miracles would hamper your progress. Sunshine would take care or the fluffy snow turning them to ice and then ... all I gotta say is - good luck ! Finally, I overcome my procrastinated mind and decide to venture out. As I head to pick my jacket I say to myself - dress up in layers, dress up in layers. Before I even realize, I'm suiting up in a sweater a fleece and a 4" thick jacket that I bought for myself at Burlington Coat Factory while I was in Chicago.

Dressed up like I was in the North Pole, I venture out and realize that I've got to plunge into the ocean of white flakes that have accumulated in front of my apartment. The rate at which these white flakes have traveled the earth's atmosphere was too much for the snow plowers and they decided to wait till mother nature decides to ease up. So, after I lunge through the accumulated snow and walk through the snow covered tar-road and peek at the number plates to spot my car I realize that I am only a third of my way through the entire process called "spot and clean up your car".

Now that I've spotted my car, and that I have my war cap on, I spend a few seconds , but waste no time, to decide the mode of attack. How am I going to approach this beast that has grown to be 2 feet above the roof of my 4-wheeler and more than 2' near the tires? I decide on what seems to be the best approach and take a dive. It is like cutting a cake - you start from one side and carve your way through the icing. Hands, Scrapers, Legs, Shovel - all come into play as you try to take control over what looked like a no-win situation a few minutes back.

Thirty minutes, Forty five minutes, An hour and finally it looks like we're making headway. Doesn't this look something similar to how you had left your vehicle yesterday ? I ask myself; knowing that the answer ought to be - Yes.

A Nor'easter that created havoc in New England and I fear - the winter has just started!

Skiing Mantra

2011-01-04T20:44:00.004-05:00

The Northeast got its share of December snow just after Christmas - close to 20 inches. New year started off with cold air and winds that would blow your nose off. As we await another storm this weekend I couldn't help but think - how about some skiing? Having done it once, I think its going to be fun; though the last attempt was a couple of years ago. Would I have forgotten what I learned in the 3-4 hours we spent in the hills? Don't know, but then lets find out .... Pizza Franch Fries anyone?

Gearing up for an interesting winter season.

God's own land? Don't think so.

2010-04-17T09:25:00.016-05:00

Saturday morning as I sit on the chair with some breakfast in my hand, staring through my window at the tree that has just bloomed and the rain drop dripping from its baby pink flowers, I ponder; have I seen this before? Of course - everyone has. I've seen it too, and have pondered about it back then, in what they call the God's own land - Kerala. Tile houses are surrounded by flowering plants and trees that get a booster shot as if life has been pumped into them as soon as the first ray of sunlight falls on them. Everything you see and experience out there is divine and is irreplicable (if that's even a word).

Well, that's the land that they all portray on websites and on the top attractions list that India carries in her pouch. Getting deep into the nooks and crannies of the inland, one would start to get the notion that maybe not. It may all be a hype. It is a great tourism destination but a state as big as Kerala cannot survive merely on tourism. Isn't there anything else out there? One would ask. And from what I've seen, there is but its gonna die out sooner or later.

The state has a unique distinction, a magnetic power if you may call it, to repel anything that comes in its path, any new notion, an idea, an industry. Anything that starts to bloom in Kerala is met with an ill fate; some do not even bloom, the idea is opposed and killed before it can even take flight. This is quite evident from the fact that there are almost no industries in the state, most of the people have fled to other parts of the country, the Middle East, the Western hemisphere and Europe.

Hartals and Bandhs are the backbone and the main reason that industries have tried to run away from the state. The state carries unique distinctions - like the most number of bandhs in the country (~100 bandhs a year in the recent times) , the maximum success rate of a Bandh has also been registered in the state. It had become such a nuisance that there was a Court ban on Bandhs and that too more than a decade ago.

Visiting Kerala a few months back, I heard from people that the state cannot go on living like this for long. Nokia was in a negotiation trying to setup a factory in India to make use of the exploding market in the subcontinent and this state was in its radar. They backed away the last minute and opened up their factory in the adjoining state of Tamil Nadu (TN) because of a fear that the labour force would spend more time on the streets raising flags and protesting than in the factory itself [overheard]. We all know the Coca Cola war that was going on a few years back. There are may more examples, which I do not wish to list here, that describe the sad story.

Literacy rate is one of the highest in the country but isn't that big of an asset because the young task force is not able to work in the state after he/she graduates. 20% of the educated class is unemployed (three times the national average). Most of the anger can be diverted to the politics in the state and the involvement of politics in colleges and unions at workplaces. Politics itself is a fire , forget mixing it with education and work .

And when young people try to bring a wave of change, they are opposed throughout their stint in the state and they don't have any other option but to resign to the fact that here I am trying to get some common sense but its all in vain. IPL - the big thing in India these days. A few months of sport and an income that would be enough to sustain one for years. This year, though, it has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The first half was taken over by the staggering $$ amounts that the team owners have spent and the news that there would be two new teams starting next season - Pune and Kochi.

Kochi - the port city in Kerala and the most happening place in the state. Young crowd that grasps anything that comes in its way, reflects it back to the audience watching and gives a "foreign" look to the city. The new announcement was grabbed with both the hands by the people and the dignitaries of the state. But when it seemed like everything was going smooth, the so called chair of the IPL started throwing dirt indicating that a minister of the cabinet (M Of State for external affair) Dr. Shashi Tharoor (who is an MP from Thiruvananthapuram) was involved in wrongdoings and was involved in obtaining the bid for the winners (Rendezvous).

If there's anything we can learn from the state's history it is the fact that we shouldn't be surprised. As I mentioned before, anything and everything that has attached itself to the state has encountered a road block and the matter has always gotten worse thereafter. Here's a guy who has left a United Nations job to come and serve for his country and finds himself amidst a storm initially and now a hurricane. Should he be targeted for his novice? It looks like he underestimated the state of Kerala and what it is capable of. The name in itself is enough to malign a good deed - he should have known that.

About a month back the state government sent out a letter to the Big B of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, indicating that they would like him to be the state's brand ambassador to promote tourism. BigB agreed only to be rejected a couple of weeks later. The government says it was yet to make up its mind on the matter. The fact was the BigB was promoting the same for the state of Gujarat, India, and they were questioning the fact that he's supporting the state were riots took place a few years back. I mean, come on - grow up. If you need time to think over then just say so before jumping the gun and sending out the letter and being made fun of in the public.

So, at the end of the day, even though many of its (Kerala's) social indicators are on par with the developed world and it has the highest human development index in India, it finds itself in a huge conundrum ... how to save itself. Low infant mortality, high literacy rate, highest life expectancy in the country, lowest school dropout, high gender ratio (women outnumber men), low population growth, lowest rural poverty in the country - are all statistics that look great on paper [stats courtesy BBC]. Even after achieving these positives, the state has one of the highest suicide rates, highest unemployment of the educated class, lacks industries that can make the state sustain itself and politics/unions that threat to shake the pillars and topple the building with a bandh/strike few often. Anything that touches the state or its affairs - turns into coal.

It looks to me that we are observing two extremes here. One extreme will eventually be successful. Which one? We need to wait and watch.

PS - Just my thoughts. Am sure all may not agree.

Writers Block - Cleared

2010-03-20T14:04:00.004-05:00

So they say spring is round the corner, today marks the first day of Spring '10. It couldn't have been better, one couldn't have asked for more - a low 70 deg F temperature the hustle and bustle in town and no cloud in sight ... woohoo !

Its been a while since we've been postponing the visit, since it was winter we didn't want to go out there in the single digit temperatures, although they say some of the best sightings are possible in winter. Star gazing at the Planetarium / Observatory. I didn't know that there are sessions organized by the Museum of Science [weather permitting of course]. So we went to explore; being a Friday we didn't expect much crowd but were surprised to see about 50 ppl waiting to learn more about our neighbors and neighboring galaxies, waiting to see what they might have read on paper.

It was fun, after a few minutes of standing in the queue we were able to see something - The Orion cluster, Mars and Saturn. All three visible by naked eye but a telescope adds a glitter and much more detail - like the gas floating around in Orion and the red Mars. Nice start, I'd say, for any one who wants to explore what you can see using a telescope - visit your nearby observatory; am sure they would have something going on in the summer.

Phew! Nice weekend all around and hopefully we've seen the end of snow/winter. On a separate note, I can't believe its been almost a year since I wrote a post out here. Hopefully the summer will infuse some energy and an enthusiasm to get rid of my writer's block.

Your Voice or Their Voice

2009-07-30T20:10:00.004-05:00

Here comes Google with yet another app. What was once GrandCentral has been transformed to Google Voice. One number for you with some amazing features. These guys have just one thing in mind - give the best out there to everyone. Well depending too much on them may not be a good thing but then how can you not love their products ?

Access to Google Voice is by invite only but then you can get one with a wait of about 2 weeks or so these days. Till then - might as well check out their About page and some videos like the one I've attached below. Enjoy !!

Innovation

2009-06-08T19:59:00.002-05:00

Just another filler .... am really running out of ideas and an 'enthu' to write - boo hoo

Not Your Average Joe

2009-02-01T12:18:00.008-05:00

He sat there all the way towards the end of the bus staring at the folks who walked in from the front door, taking off their ear muffs and scarfs, gloves in one hand and bus pass in the other. He sat there with a smile on his face, with a cap ON that barely protruded and covered his eye. Had an inner shirt that covered till neck and with no jacket or gloves he had made a point of getting noticed in the 30 some group of people taking the 8:25 bus to the train station.

He smiled often, staring out of the window looking at the passing trees maybe, trees that could barely be called trees as they had shed their green long back, staring at the frozen lake that had an Ice cap with a few cracks in them, staring at the sea gulls that sat on the cap staring at the sun looking for the air that would bring change and ask them to move to the north.

He didn't blink, didn't talk to anyone, didn't read anything but just sat in the same pose throughout, keeping his legs a few inches apart, the same angle throughout, not a move, not an inch. He was not bothered by the small kid wearing a pink hoodie and pink shoes talking to her daddy asking him questions that would make a normal person giggle. He wouldn't look up when the girl and her daddy ask the driver to open the rear door so they could get out and wouldn't stare when the daddy piggyback's his daughter on the sidewalk.

He kept looking at his stylish watch often calculating the time the driver has wasted and probably realizing that he's about to be late in reaching his destination, wherever that may be. He looked uncomfortable for he would never have been late, never allowed to. A left, a right, a 90 degree turn and a honk - nothing would bother him as he kept staring straight not bothered by the folks who were looking at him trying to read him gauging his dress from top to bottom. A dress that had patches and stars but definitely an elegance, a cap that had stitches but covered the few grey hair that had grown on his scalp.

He wouldn't blink wouldn't worry, for he had the four letters ARMY stitched on his right pocket.

Google searches and the Carbon cost

2009-01-19T19:53:00.005-05:00

I never paid much attention to the fact that how many times I hit http://www.google.com for performing searches. Let it be anything, the very first thing that comes to mind is "do a google search and find it out". It does matter though. How much? Well, I happened to read an article on BBC the other day where some studies suggest that a search produces anywhere between 0.2 and 7 g CO² (thats actually more than enough to boil an electric kettle).

The price has to be paid right ? I mean the faster the search is, the more data banks it uses to transmit data contributing towards the energy usage. Google has come out and said that they've improved their search engines to be more energy efficient and that it doesn't consume large amounts but some research has to be done in order to minimize the consumption. I'm sure there are studies underway as we speak and folks are trying to cut the cost of energy being spent by a computer.

How soon can we see changes? Not sure its gonna be that fast. There are websites that help minimize these costs and the emissions by suggesting you as to what should be done; co2stats.com is one of them (am sure there are many). So the next time you do a search on google - think twice ... maybe you could avoid it and save some energy :D

$lumdog Millionaire

2009-01-13T22:14:00.013-05:00

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it ?

A. He cheated
B. He's lucky
C. He's a genius
D. It is destiny

The much acclaimed movie that hit theaters in Dec 08 out here in the US starts off with the question "How did he do it?" the answer to which lies in the life of Jamal Malik who has spend the majority of his life growing up in the slums of Mumbai. A superb narration of his life and how different things in life are connected. And when you add A.R Rahman's music to it - simply superb.

Happened to watch this movie over Christmas and liked it very much. Came to know the other day that it has bagged 4 Golden Globe awards with Rahman winning the best original score - "Jai Ho". We all knew he had talent and that the world would recognize him tomorrow if not today.

The movie is actually based upon a novel written by Vikas Swarup titled "Q&A". The movie is yet to be released in India (Releasing on Jan 23rd) but it has already won about 64 awards from the time of its release in the US on November 12th.

Get a chance - do watch it !!!

Happy 09 !!

2009-01-05T19:57:00.009-05:00

Wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 09.

Some things to remember from the past year -

Where the Hell is Matt -

Spaghetti

Breaking News

Super Mario

Do I know about Star Wars ?

I will prevail

2008-12-08T22:29:00.003-05:00

Courtesy: Times Of India

Two Big Weeks

2008-10-30T21:17:00.002-05:00

The next two weeks are probably the biggest weeks that we would see for a while in this part of the world -

The first week of Nov marks the end of the longest Daylight Savings in American history - finally an extra hour of sleep.

We could see some early snow in this part of the world this time. Winter's started early and its a bit harsh already - all awaiting the Snow.

With the economy in doldrums, the fate of millions could depend on how things unfold in the coming weeks.

And oh yeah, the elections are next week too. The fate of millions would be decided when the next President of the United States is chosen. The campaigning thus far has been one of its kind with both Joe the plumber and JOe the CEO having a role to play ;-).

I'm looking forward to it - the Time Change. How about you ?

10000 here we come !!

2008-09-29T16:41:00.003-05:00

They are playing Chicken with the economy out there as we close in to hit the DOW 10,000 mark. No one knows what's going on but at the end of the day we've ended up in a bigger trouble with the House of Representatives rejecting the 700 billion dollar bailout plan.

Not sure if they have an alternate plan but the folks who said 'Nay' better come up with a word or two as to how to salvage some pride. The whole world would soon start making a mockery of the US Economy (which right now looks in shambles) if these politicians try to play a game right now.

777 is the biggest drop ever ( in terms of points) that we've seen and with the future of several Banks at stake who knows what's in stake for us this week. Going into the vote today we all had a perception that it would be passed but they came out empty handed. And now they're talking about trying to present it again and get it passed.

Phew!!

Lit Up

2008-07-23T18:04:00.002-05:00

Lit Up
Originally uploaded by Rajesh Warrier

Captured this the other day when I was taking a stroll near Charles ;-)

The Big(gest) Apple

2008-05-16T18:45:00.005-05:00

Right across from the Prudential tower in Boylston street now stands a glass building which is now the Beantown's new claim to fame. Around 1000 crazy fans stood in line for more than 6 hours to become the first to enter the new Apple store in Boston - claimed to be the biggest in US.

So how does it look ? Well its a 3 storey glass structure that stands sandwiched between 2 good old brick buildings - definitely an odd man out but you start feeling the buzz as you approach the doors which are now wide open to the public till 11 pm.

Sneaked out of my office today to have a quick peek; obviously was crowded. I believe no matter what time of the day you go there - its gonna have the buzz. Soon it would become (if it hasn't already) a tourist spot , a must visit for anyone visiting Boston. Media, Common man, Photographers were on a clicking spree today and why not - you get some real good pictures with all the Glass thingy that they've come up with.

The store as such is filled with AAPL gadgets. Some that I had seen before and some that I hadn't. The iMacs for example really look good. The huge 21" screens are superb indeed. With just two wired pieces (mouse and the keyboard) it really does avoid a clutter.

You need not look more than a yard to catch the attention of an Apple Rep (Not sure if they call themselves something else ... an iRep for one). Any questions you have can be answered then and there. 3rd floor of the store is the so called "Genius Bar". They even have demo sessions and info sessions out there. All you gotta do is register yourselves for a session and be there with your Macbook / Pro.

All in all a nice layout some awesome display of their gadgets. The Spiral stairs they have that go through the center is cool too (much similar to the one in Manhattan). Very much hyped though, not sure if its worth the hype. You're probably better off buying stuff online. ;-)

Feels nice to be back punching out here. Hope to keep posting often.

Earth Hour - What's the point?

2008-03-29T09:17:00.006-05:00

Earth Hour: is an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour on the evening of 29 March at 8 pm local time until 9 pm to promote electricity conservation and thus lower carbon emissions. [wikipedia].

One way if you think about it - its nice. Reduce the power consumption and make a point. But the more I think about it I believe that its all a farce. I mean why this one day? Why one hour? Back when I was in India we knew the importance of saving power and saving resources. But then visiting other parts of the world just opens up your mind. You see how people just don't understand the point. They are not to be blamed, its the system thats messed up. They have not been told (or are unaware) that there's soon gonna be a shortage.

I think last year Sydney made a point and showed it to the whole world that its important to conserve. How can we be selfish to use up the resources as if there's no tomorrow and not leave much for the coming generations? This year its Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv. Even google has jumped into the race and have their "Google Blackie" thing put up.

If we really have to make a difference, switching power for 1 hour on a particular day wont help at all. If you just visit any city-downtown in the US (for example) in the evening/night you would know what I'm talking about. All those towers and all those fancy looking buildings are lit up the whole day, the whole night for weeks, months and years. Looks good at night and feels nice to get a snap or two in front of the buildings but when it comes to conserving power and resources - it doesn't help at all.

Thats just one thing. Switching off your comp, switching off lights and heat when you leave the apartment/house, maintain your vehicle etc.. etc... are few other that one can start doing. Afterall "Rome was not built in a day". I read somewhere that couple of years back several firms in Japan urged their employees to stop wearing Suits and Ties to work during summer and shift over to casuals. Less Air Conditioning costs :). Reduce the heating during winter and keep the thermostat at no more than 68F, make up by using warmer comforters, turn off car engines while idling at traffic lights; At work, use Canon's Pixus MP500 printer, which uses 60 percent less electricity than the company's other models, saving 10% power each time its switched on.

What can I say - Just start with the Earth Hour today and make it a point to continue the good work :)

Cheers !!

Cricketers up for sale. Did you buy any?

2008-02-23T22:10:00.004-05:00

Yes, the Indian Premier League was out there auctioning cricketers (selling them ... actually) to teams named Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Mohali, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Jaipur etc..etc. One thing is sure - the international players would soon get to know the geography of India; whether they do end up playing well and live up to their reputation, ... err ... their "price tag", needs to be seen.

On the one hand players are getting a chance to get to know their worth in the international market, but on the other it doesn't stop one from wondering whether the $$ they are getting are justified? Is it the talent that was being auctioned at Hilton, Mumbai or was it the integrity of International cricket that was being sold.

MS Dhoni ended up earning $ 1.5 mn/yr and Andrew Symonds - $ 1.3 mn. Now come to think of the effort they have to put up - 6 weeks of 20-20 matches in a year - the price tag seems to be way too high isn't it? Of course there are contracts and bindings but who would have imagined that one day these guys would get an opportunity to break the shackles of domestic cricket, county cricket and come up this way on a new 20-20 format that was non existent a 2-3 years back.

Is this the end of Cricket as many of us are calling it ? Or is for the better? Will have to wait and watch as time progresses but one thing is sure - IPL has caught a lot of attention both domestic and international. And what on earth happened to ICL? Remember this was their idea but the BCCI owned IPL muscled them outta the race? May ICL's soul rest in peace.

Hillary or Obama

2008-02-18T21:09:00.002-05:00

... you decide ....

The [Re]public of India

2008-01-26T20:38:00.000-05:00

The 26th day of the year does mean something for folks who hail from India; the country celebrates its Republic day. Many things come to my mind when I think about how things used to be this very day some 10-15 years ago, celebrations if you may call it.

Schooldays was fun - we never thought of it as just another off (chutti) day, rather there was an eagerness to get up early and participate in the activities organized at the school. Feeling proud looking at the fluttering flag, hoisted way up in the sky and a bright sun rising in the east, shining in the sky was how the day used to start. The chill in the January air just gave it a special feeling making the walk to the school a special one.

Now, the parade that's organized at the capital is something special too. The parade that troops down from Raisina Hill to Rajpath every 26th Jan is simply amazing and now matter how cold it is at the capital, you would see scores and scores of people gathered to watch the spectacular display of our military pageantry and the state tableaux.

The very meaning of this day, I'm afraid though, has been put to test quite a lot of times over a period of these 58 years. What used to be a celebration, an occasion to pay homage to the often forgotten martyrs, is being looked by many as just another day in the year to catch up on some ZZZs or party the night before to make use of another off day :). Little do they know that the world has changed their perception of the country, the world is taking notice of India and all this - while they were asleep.

Not only have we taken the bull by its horns, we are trying to change the fear many have when it comes to facing the bull itself. But there's lots to be accomplished, lots to be thought about for the present and for the future generations. A world class infrastructure, consistent growth in the tough times that we could face in the future are a few things to be kept in mind as we open up the gates to enthusiastic onlookers who consider the Republic as the next place to invest and to expand.

May this symbol of national integration stay alive in the years to come and may the 'Unity in diversity' that we boast about - live up to its expectation.

Did you notice

2008-01-12T23:28:00.000-05:00

... that Flickr was down today? Their homepage had a reference to Flickr blog where I found the following -

2:30pm PST: We started on a database upgrade and a few alters to the database structure last night. Given our scale, work like this takes a long time, and makes a definite impact on site performance.We’re anticipating a couple of hours is all we need at this point, so, we’re hoping to be back online around 4:30 PST.

4:13pm PST: Anyone who’s ever worked in software probably knows that time estimates are tricky. Given that we’d prefer that Flickr be as close to 100% stable as we can make it before we go back online, we’re going to take more time to make sure that’s what happens.

6:07pm PST: We’re almost back folks. Just crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s before we throw the big switch. In the meantime, why not get outside and take some photos?

7:08pm PST: Do you remember when we said we were almost back online? Well, that time we were joking, but this time is for real!

7:34pm PST: And we’re back. Flickr is open again and ready to receive your photos. Get uploading!

In short a database upgrade that was supposed to be done within 2 hours took more than 5 !! They probably said that right about the software industry, but didn't they get it all wrong by about 150%? I'm not sure thats acceptable even in the software industry isn't it? Especially with popular sites like these :)

But I liked their statement - 'In the meantime, why not get outside and take some photos?' :P

Above updates - From the Flickr blog

My Flickr experiments

Pizza and French fries

2007-12-26T19:46:00.000-05:00

If you're a regular South Park viewer, you'd remember this phrase. This is how Stan Marsh learns (or tries to learn) Skiing while they were on a so called vacation at 'Asspen'. So this Christmas weekend we decided to try it out; try out how many pizzas and how many French fries we could have in a day.

First time for me and I'd say that its a must experience and a must learn if you haven't already. Now, I know its not that easy or it may be pretty difficult to motivate yourself (it took me ~5 years, but then it was not just the lack of motivation) but must say that it was real real fun.

Who needs lessons when you got almost the whole slope for yourselves. Being a cloudy day (rains predicted towards noon) there was hardly anyone out there. After renting the heavy/bulky boots and Skis huffed and puffed I dragged myself to the lift, falling down couple of times in the process. Falling down was one thing but getting up was simply impossible. I lay there for a whole 2 minutes or so trying to get myself up and even though a voice inside me said 'Get up dude' and 'Yes you can do it' .. I simply couldn't get up !!

Reached the lifts and made up my mind to take a crack at it - Downhill skiing. Took the lift to the top of the beginners mound and the same saga repeated while getting down from the freaking lift. Couldn't stop myself, didn't read the signs put up at the point of descent and paid the price. Result - another 2-3 minutes pf 'trying to get up' .

First time going down the slope was fun. I had no freaking idea as to what to do and how to do. All I knew about Skiing was 'Pizzas and French fries' and needless to say that its not enough to know your Pizzas and French fries. Came down the slope with the wind blowing on my face and my past my ears and it felt amazing !! Its probably the closest one can get to a natural way of going down the hill (by natural I mean one that doesn't include any machines).

Stopping/Trying to stop at the bottom of the hill is something that's an interesting and an important part of the whole act of Skiing. I couldn't do it the first time - but then thats how you learn ;-). A second trip to the peak, the descent was smooth. Managed to complete the act without tasting the snow even once. Oh boy - You should have seen the smile on my face as I slowed down and zoop - a perfect stop.

In the next 3-4 hours managed to do some 10-15 trips and enjoying it every single time. Had to cut short the day as it had started raining. Realized that although skiing wouldn't have been an issue, drive back to the Cabin would have been troublesome with all the snow turning into ice on the roads.

All in all the stay at the Cabin and the Skiing was amazing and I'd really want to do that again. This winter ? Maybe yes but if not - definitely in the next one. And if you're wondering where is this place, its a small town called Windsor in VT and the slopes are known as Ascutney Mountains.

Hope you all had a Merry Xmas !!

Transformers

2007-12-11T18:33:00.000-05:00

Talk about transformations and you don't have to look any further than the Asian subcontinent; and one of the major contributors - India. Couple of years here and there and you would miss so much that you would feel nothing but embarrassed in front of "The Common Man". Yes I'm talking about the common man as portrayed by R.K Laxman; and the common man knows a lot ... lot more than one can possibly think of.

Trip back to India now a days (business/pleasure) comes as a surprise for many. The very outlook of cities change in a matter of days, forget months or years. The rate, for example, at which the shopping malls are propping up in cities is ridiculous and one starts to get a feeling that - are we in line with something like happened in the west? The way one used to spend $$ in relation to the $$ earned has changed drastically. More and more money flowing in to the market has only caused prices of commodities, real estate to skyrocket and make the common man's wallet thinner and thinner.

Sticking to 'shopping malls' read somewhere the other day that the country would see ~600 of them in the coming 2 years span. Thats an amazing rate of ~1 per day in a country that is yet to accept the rate of change that it has been seeing in the past 7 years !! Now, I'm stressing on these outlets 'cause they are nothing but hangout places for college kids and the young generation, I've seen the older generation getting lost out there and trying to accept these changes as a norm of the 21st century.

On a recent trip, learned a lot as in the way things are and the way one can expect things to unfold. Money is being poured into the stock market and every Tom, Dick and Harry now owns few thousand Rs. worth of a stock or the other. Was amazed by the interest and the knowledge that the 'common man' shows now-a-days, quite literally I was embarrassed. Cell phone revolution, SMS, Explosion of TV channels, $ being poured by investors, BPOs are all changing the face of the nation.

Slow and steady, cities are getting destroyed though. One can actually see the effect with an increase in vehicles on the roads, infrastructure development not catching up with the development, daily commuting hours rising higher and higher and what not. I also had been to God's own land for a few days and realized that in a few years it may not live up to its name!! This is something strange and something that I had not seen in the past. Things like these used to take some time to trickle down to Kerala but not anymore.

Oh well, that's probably the new face of India, changing India, Incredible India. Hope we all are prepared to accept the new face :)

Signed: Rajesh

Dilberted again

2007-11-21T11:02:00.000-05:00

Another filler .... will be back with something soon ...

Macintosh or Longhorn

2007-11-13T22:27:00.000-05:00

Still deciding ? Get one for yourself ;-)

Art of Photography

2007-10-30T20:58:00.000-05:00

The closest I remember being anywhere near 'Art' was in my school days, when we used to have painting classes. Although Music and Singing are also considered as Art, I'm not that close to these forms. Listening to music - of course; but not singing. In my own world, I am Kishore Kumar and/or Eddie Vedder but then others have to vouch for it and usually they don't

So this new form of Art which I've been thinking of checking out is probably working out pretty well. Have been thinking of getting involved for some time now but glad that I took control of the situation before the iron started cooling down.

Read somewhere that "Buying a Nikon doesn't make you a Photographer, it makes you a Nikon owner" - soo true come to think of it. I'd say that for me, it has at least started an owner; if I would like this form of 'Art' and whether I'm able to carry on with it needs to be seen.

Its fun actually, one of the few things I've learned is how to be patient. You seldom realize the amount of patience required to get a decent snap; the number of clicks you have to make to get a decent one. Ah well, the invention of Digital Camera has simplified things. Its so much easier and so much better to play around with the manual modes that you can get almost anything done. It would really have been difficult before the digicam days. I wonder how they used to get things done. That's why probably they were known as Photographers while now-a-days they're known as Nikon owners

Some images - here

Google Map's on Fire

2007-10-24T19:45:00.000-05:00

Click here to find out more ...

Let there be Peace on earth

2007-10-13T09:09:00.000-05:00

It came as a surprise to me, it really did. Early morning yesterday I was getting my daily dose of News when I read that the Nobel Peace prize this year was being awarded to the UN Climate change panel and Al Gore.

The selection committee probably did not receive any nominations this year, 'cause nothing else could explain their selection. First of all i'm having tough time understanding what Global warming (or creating environmental awareness) has got to do with peace. Some might say - Of course there is but I don't buy that. I mean if they wanted they could have given Gore an environmentalist award or something but Peace prize ?? What a farce.

If you see there are quite a lot of folks around the world who devote their entire life for the cause and should be recognized (The prize is more of a recognition than the $$ amount you get). And if we talk about the work this guy has done (making a documentary - An Inconvenient Truth) - that itself has got so many inaccuracies.

Searching the 'net' I found quite a lot of articles written in the last couple of days on the topic. One of them I came across is this. How to win a Nobel prize. Soon they will come up with 'How to win a Nobel prize for dummies' and you could buy it in stands around the world.

To prove a point Mr. Gore would probably have to buy an HEV for himself; Oh - how would he go and collect the prize then? Nevermind - he has his private jet !! :P

Chak De!

2007-10-07T09:02:00.000-05:00

The Caption/Punch line craze has reached India. Not sure if every country has one, but about a year back I realized that the Aussies have one and it was pretty cool to listen them chant. We saw the effects during the Australian Open, World Series of Poker etc.... I mean almost anywhere the Aussies went, they carried this along - Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oye Oye Oye !!

Chak De India! is the one that I'm talking about. If not for the latest SRK film by the same name, I'm sure we would have gone without one for some more time. Be it Football, Hockey or Cricket - one can see the Chak De moment spreading like a virus. The Media is playing a big role in promoting it big time by organizing shows and even airing news headlines by the same name . Another stunt to grab some attention. With a lurking danger of mid-term polls in sight - I wonder what would happen if our politicians take a shot at this. I can only hope that they don't.

We now have a Chak De moment, My Chak De moment, My own proud Chak De moment, My biggest Chak De moment and what not !

BTW anyone talking about the movie at all? How're the responses?

The 5K Deal

2007-10-03T21:46:00.000-05:00

A $5000 bond from the government. Yup, that was what Hillary Clinton has in mind for the future American kids. A proposal that would help parents start an account to use for paying for further education of their kids. Now, approximately four million babies are born each year in the US. So the total amount (roughly) would be four million times five thousand dollars = twenty billion USDs. Wow !! Is this a small amount? And ever wondered where this money would come from? Of course, the tax payers money.

I'm not a supporter of Candidate A or Candidate B but hearing comments and statements like these, which (we all know) are nothing but a vote buying scheme, how could one pay no attention? Why should every citizen (or a non citizen) pay tax which ends up being helpful for a few? Isn't eliminating income taxes for children's education a better Idea? On top of that, why pay for someone who may not end up going to college at all.

Does anyone think this would work? I do not!!

A Week after Clinton's speech, Sen. Barack Obama came up with statements like ... "It’s a tragedy that many Americans have to ride the bus or have to settle for a Toyota. Cars are a sign of hope. My proposal allows for all families to have an American-made car, which will bring hope to millions of Americans that have none."

What?? Did I read that correct? Is it a tragedy that many have to ride the bus? I think they should look at other countries and learn something and try not to mess around with mother nature by promising cars and contributing towards global warming.

A quarter for a quarter

2007-09-26T19:56:00.000-05:00

It really didn't matter. Last time I checked, USD was stronger than CAD. Last week though, CAD went on to register a 30 year high beating USD ... and then becoming equal to it. As of today, 1USD = 1 CAD (okay its 1.0031 but the decimals are for ppl trading in billions).

Point is that it didn't matter. It took me a while to realize that; couple of weeks to be exact. The story goes something like this -

The place where I used to stay before, we had a washer dryer in the basement and I didn't have to make occasional trips to the bank and fetch quarter rolls. But out here, I do ... and its not always what you think you got (a roll of quarters i.e). So couple of weeks back I made a trip early SAT morning to the nearest bank to fetch some. Intention - do my Laundry over the Weekend.

Sunday evening I tried to do that but the machine simply wouldn't accept my quarters. Thought that the machine-slots would be filled to the brim with coins and ditched the plan. A week later tried the same thing. Again - same thing !! Frustrated, thought of calling the landlord and requesting him to fetch the deposited coins in the machine, so that I could use it.

Came back to my hut and a closer look reveled that one of the coins was a Canadian qtr. No wonder it didn't get pushed through the machine slot. Sigh !! Adulteration?? Oh yeah, happens quite often and anyone could squeeze in one or two Canadian coins in the roll and chances of him/her getting caught are bleak.

So after struggling for 2 consecutive weekends, I said CAD != USD. But guess what, the very next day (or the day after that ... I can't remember) read that CAD is on a 30 year high and that its equal to the USD. Way to go !! Its not just that, the weakening dollar has made many other currencies stronger; some have shattered the records, some would follow suit soon ......

Fireworks at J'burg

2007-09-24T17:55:00.000-05:00

Also, was just trying out this pictobrowser thing. Works cool !!

Big Apple celebrates Incredible India

2007-09-22T19:16:00.000-05:00

Just before the UN general assembly meeting at Big Apple (NYC) this year, India is doing some brand building or should I say 'educating' folks up here with our Culture, Technologies, Fashion, Advancements etc. Times Square and some other parts of the city have already been decorated and banners have been put out on the streets for the cause.

With some big guns attending the event, our govt. and the tourism ministry are probably trying their best to change (or continue) the outlook of westerners and provide them with all the information that they're missing :-) {smiley intentional - see previous post}

NYC folks, take some time out to check the events (darn !! I wish I were there one of these days but alas) to be held 23rd thru 26th of Sept. especially the ones at Times Square which I'm sure is bound to attract the attention of scores of tourist/commuters.

The sponsors of these events are spread from companies like Infy to the Indian Ministry of Tourism, Culture to universities like Columbia,Yale to Louis Vuitton, Coca Cola and Citigroup.

:-) is 25 years old

2007-09-18T20:11:00.000-05:00

Wow!! I didn't know this. 25 years ago CMU prof Scott Fahlman invented a smiley face :-) using just 3 keystrokes and what a way to start an emoticon race. Users of Yahoo Messenger would know of the many many variations ; like :-D, :-P, :-S :-( and ;-)

These smilies spread from CMU to other schools to other businesses and then around the world. Now a days these are so common that you can find them almost anywhere on the www world. The best part is that there's no language barrier. A :-) means the same in English, French, Spanish, Zulu or Mallu ;-)

Dr. Fahlman was quoted as saying "I sometimes wonder how many millions of people have typed these characters, and how many have turned their heads to one side to view a smiley, in the 25 years since this all started". Come to think of it, I think I actually might have turned my head to one side during the initial stages. After a few years, we now see folks @ Google making it interesting, swinging these emoticons vertically so that you don't have to "turn your heads sideways" :P

Hey Ram

2007-09-15T20:38:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, thousands and thousands of years ago, there lived a prince named Rama, whose wife Sita was supposedly abducted by a demon (and king of Lanka) named Ravana. Many years later a Hindu Sage named Valmiki composed a Sanskrit Epic which tells the story of the above mentioned Prince (Rama).

Thousands and thousands of years later, people residing in the Princes' land (now known as a country) were involved in a political and socio-religious debate out there at a place called Ayodhya (supposedly the birthplace of the above mentioned prince Rama) a.k.a the Ram Janmabhoomi. The riots that took place (known as the Babri riots) were devastating and sad to sick to say the least.

Again, some years later a similar situation has arisen. This time its the governing body of the country that directly got involved and supposedly "hurt the faith of millions".

A Shipping Canal Project between India and SriLanka is being opposed on religious grounds because the opposition says the project will destroy a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys. The Govt filed an affidavit to the Supreme Court of India questioning the very existence of Ram and said the belief about the monkey builders was solely based on Hindu mythology.

Not sure how or why the ruling folks decided on filing the affidavit. Only a noob would go ahead and try to deny the existence of Hindu mythological figures.

Quite interesting isn't it?

After all, what's this whole debate about whether Lord Ram existed or not about? We all have grown listening to and reading the fact that these (Ramayana, Mahabharata to name a few) are Epics. In this scientific culture of ours, these figures are heroes, as far as millions are concerned and its just not possible to try to confine them within any kind of boundaries is utterly foolish.

Even if tomorrow its scientifically proved that the Adam's Bridge (or Rama's Bridge) did not exist, would these Epics end being part of our lives? The answer probably is No. Why then this shout and ga-ga about hurting millions? Well - stuff like this is food for the media and with all the 123 Nuclear Agreement the opposition parties in India are looking for ways to bring the government down; cause a mid-term election.

Bravo !! What a way to highlight and defend achievements. Questioning mythology, questioning the questioning of mythology, creating havoc by disrupting daily routines, blocking roads and burning effigies. Progress? hmmm .... I really doubt.

Fedex

2007-09-10T21:35:00.000-05:00

... always on time.

Congrats Roger !!

Sabbath, Alice Cooper and Megadeth

2007-09-10T17:42:00.000-05:00

Believed to be the 2nd best heavy metal/rock band out there (VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock), Sabbath were truly amazing!! Had a chance to visit their US tour last weekend (touring under the name Heaven and Hell). Ronnie, Tony, Appice and Geezer were superb and played along with some of their best numbers like Voodoo, Mob Rules, Neon Lights to name a few.

They were playing with Alice Cooper and Queensrÿche. I haven't heard much about the later one but who doesn't know Alice Cooper. They really set the tempo and boy oh boy was it fun !! They let the Poison run through our veins before handing it over to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ;).

Next stop ... hmm planning on attending a Megadeth concert.

Countdown to Extinction .....

Cheers!!

Flickered ...

2007-09-05T18:21:00.000-05:00

So finally I thought of shifting pics from Y! to Flickr. Every time I login to my Y! photos, I saw a bold red statement - a countdown actually that said how many days I have left to switch to Flickr. Anyways the process took about 4 days and finally got an email today from their team telling me that I'm all set.

I had started using Flickr, though, a long time back. But today I find out that I've gotten a pro-account and that its valid till end of 08. I'd have to shell $24.95 per year after that. Hmm ... that doesn't sound interesting. Why should I choose to use Flickr when others are offering it for free? Its not a huge price to pay but then something doesn't sound right somewhere.

Lets see if they relax the rates and/or extend the free account after 08.

Well deserved victory

2007-08-29T19:58:00.000-05:00

It was a well earned victory and India played some solid aggressive football (its the most popular sport in the world ... americans insist on calling it "Soccer", but I know it as "Football") in the finals yesterday to shut out Syria & lift the Nehru Cup. Watching the news and reading some articles before the match, came to know that there's more to it, much more than just a 11 member Indian team going out there and playing the 90 minutes. Full credit to Bob Houghton and his team as they ended up defeating 112 ranked Syria.

Its high time we started a movement, enough cribbing about Cricket and treating the players as Gods; I hope we end up re-building our training facilities, promoting fresh talent and attracting sponsors; for money and in turn facilities are a major hurdle right now.

Hope the good work continues and that we do strike while the iron is still hot.

Onam - Oh seven

2007-08-26T18:55:00.000-05:00

Couple of years back, i.e in 2005, I thought I saw Maveli up here in Boston - but then I was wrong. Last year this time, I was back home in Kerala, India celebrating our harvest festival - ONAM.

This year - Oh well, just a few phone calls, this post and a few snaps from last year ;-)

Wish you all a Happy Onam!!

What do you mean you've run out of chloroform?

2007-08-25T14:23:00.000-05:00

... one of the entries into the "Caption competition" on BBC Magazine Monitor. The winning entry, however, was - "Weren't you wearing a watch before we started?" :P

I'm a Reploid

2007-08-18T18:34:00.000-05:00

Your Future depends on your dreams, so go to Sleep. A one liner that carried us along our undergrad days, err .. motivating us . But then it so happens that most of the times you don't recollect what goes through your mind while you are asleep. You wake up and realize that there was something- but what exactly ? Doesn't ring a bell.

I realized the next day morning when I woke up, that something's fishy. Realized that I'd dreamt of something and for probably the very first time I remember it. It was a game with words and I was speaking them, most of them that I haven't even heard of, Ever. The one that I remember is "Reploid". Just another ordinary word until you see the meaning of it. Don't know how I ended up uttering or even thinking of it.

Reploid - A Reploid is a robot with completely free will and thought processes comparable to that of humans [Origin: Japanese games, Video Games].

The trouble is that I'm still not able to digest this. God knows how many other similar 'unheard' words I had in my stash - hell scary I tell ya.

Having seen the movie Matrix umpteen times, it did go through my mind whether all could be true. I mean all the yada yada yada about we being part of the Matrix yada yada yada. Well who knows; I, for one, believe that we could very well be (atleast I have a feeling). A recent new article in NY Times that - there a 20% chance we are in a matrix and that it is almost a mathematical certainty that we are living in someone else’s computer simulation - gives me goosebumps.

If so - what is he (the someone else) up to? Could I be the one of 'them' ? Would Morpheus find me somehow ? Would he give me a Red and a Blue pill that I would have to choose from?

And ..... am I Neo ?

Google's Gift

2007-08-17T23:32:00.000-05:00

Google Blog recently made a post (on 14th Aug to be precise) and it read -

"Happy 60th birthday, India! We can't wait to celebrate, but we're going to wait a few days for the formal unwrapping of our gift to Indian users. Check back and we'll have news shortly."

Guess what - they've come up with Google Labs India. Right now they just have 2 tools but of course they'd keep adding useful stuff out there.

Have a nice Weekend everyone!!

Its hot and everyone's sweating

2007-08-11T21:20:00.002-05:00

ts hot in NYC, its hot in Europe, hot in Japan and other parts of Asia. The Cause - not summer's not the cause, its because of sub-prime mortgage fears and a panic. In today's economy, a global economy, things that happen out here in US is not just restricted to the US. Fear has spread to Europe n to Asia.

With the market swinging up and down staying putt seems to be the sane thing to do. But maybe not - its a hot oven out there on Wall Street now gripped with Fear and Speculation. Although Feds have intervened pouring some liquidity into the market, some are not happy. The real estate market that took a beating looks real bad and some were hoping for rate cuts. Chairman Ben Bernanke decided to play the waiting game and some folks like Cramer are not quite sure why ...

I totally love his show - Mad Money but don't think I totally agree with him. As people are losing money left and right, losing money invested in Financial companies, Real estate - it has started to affect the Tech stocks which are slipping down amidst all this fear, investments like 401k have also suffered a setback as people wait and watch. Its a waiting game as we go into the next week as the market tries to recover from a huge slide which some say is really bad ;the real estate slump is the worst since the Depression.

The weakening $$ doesn't help either, if at all anyone's gaining from all this its the firms in Asia. Just as an example the $ -Indian Rupee conversion now stands at 1 USD ~ 40 Rs, while it was close to 50 about 5 years back. Companies like Wipro (NYSE:WIT) are buying out US software firms and forging ahead in the IT sector.

What's happening in Boston - It was hot and humid 4 days this week and then a sudden slump to 70s. The car sits there in the parking lot baking in the sun and giving company to a GMC truck. It would have hoped of driving through the narrow streets this WE - but not today. Maybe tomorrow ..... if I'm able to get myself off of the Mac, which (as it would have learned by now) is a big IF :P

Don't Clutter, Buy a Mac

2007-08-07T18:34:00.000-05:00

Yes. Its all up there right in front of you. Apple released the latest version of their Mac today - a new Keyboard as thin as a cardboard, glass monitors. The HDD, CD/DVD drives, USB ports, firewire ports, jack for speakers/headphones, built in camera, microphone - everything's there in the pic you see above.

The standard version of Mac includes the following -

1 Gig memory (SDRAM)
Whopping 250 Gig - Hard Drive
2.0 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
8x DVD, CD +RW
20" widescreen LCD

Whoa !!

And if you get their bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse, you'd have just one power cord - the one that plugs in your monitor/CPU

pic from apple.com

Switch to Flickr ...

2007-08-01T19:48:00.000-05:00

I was trying to login to my Yahoo photos account and here's what I see -

I did read a while back that they were trying to close down "Yahoo photos" somewhere in the 3^rd quarter this year. Well, there it is - either download them onto your machine or switch to Flickr.

I didn't click on the "Get Started" link on the page and Get Started; thought of giving it some time and find out how easy it is to switch. A friend of mine asked - "How easy do you think it would be? Would we have to go thru the dwnload and then upload process, or would it be a direct switch from Y! to Flickr". Well at least they've got that right; one can skip the download process altogether.

Anyways pretty soon, I'd have to decide whether to use Flickr or Picasa. Both have their own advantages but I think I prefer the Y! product - atleast for now :P

What to wear, What not to wear

2007-07-29T18:00:00.000-05:00

So, the Guruvayoor temple (Guruvayoor, Kerala, India) has finally decided to relax the dress code last week. Female devotees can now wear a churidar /salwar kameez as against the 'Sari only' policy that they had. This (according to the Guruvayoor Dewasam board) was a long-pending demand from several women.

I've been there quite a few times and the atmosphere out there is worth experiencing. The darshan puts you right there amongst the clouds :). The temple has been in limelight, off late, due to various reasons. The stringent rules (or laws) like the one above, a purification ritual that they performed after a minister and his wife (who was a christian) - to name a few.

I'm not pro or against these rules (laws) but know one thing, slow but steady they would have to relax these and open up the doors to other folks to avoid major issues. I know there are a few similar places (in India and throughout the world); but globalization should be able to change that (isn't it ?). The part of Kerala where I come from, its not possible to get an entrance wearing pants (or trousers), you gotta get into something known as a mundu ;).

Hope this is for the good and its the first step towards relaxation of rules and regulations.

Flash News - Internet Crash !!

2007-07-20T19:13:00.000-05:00

Be prepared to watch this video twice -

Watch it - hold on to your chair.
Replay the video but this time switch off the speakers and read the ticker.

How to get rid of Rains

2007-07-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

If you are from the Asian subcontinent, you'd know what a Monsoon is and what a rainy season actually means. Nothing much happens in this part of the world (except S. America); of course Hurricanes create havoc in the southern part of the States, its nothing as compared to the former.

So, as many of you know, Beiging is hosting the next Olympics (2008). Events are scheduled to begin on Aug 8th and per Chinese officials, there's a 50% chance of rain playing spoil spot during the opening ceremony and a 50% chance of rains during the closing ceremony. So what to do ?

Well, they're trying to get rid of the rains by sending out rockets into the atmosphere. You heard it right - send out rockets to disperse rain clouds - isn't that nice ;-). The only problem they are having right now is that there are fewer rain-clouds this year to test these rockets out.

I just have one thing to say - don't mess with the rain gods :)

Everything Mac

2007-07-06T20:56:00.000-05:00

Couldn't wait any longer - a week since I ordered a Macbook, it reached my hands yesterday. Can't believe Fedex took a week to deliver the product from PA. But they say right - all's well that ends well? I opened the package switched the Macbook ON and there it was. As easy as 1-2-3 (believe me when they say its that easy - you better believe them). I just have one word for it and the experience thus far - AWESOME !!!

Its been a catching up game for me; I bought an iPod when the MAC craziness had started and here I am getting hooked to the MAC when the iPhone craziness has kicked off.

The graphics, the ease with which one can get used to it (including the keyboard), the MAC world that you get sucked into - has to be seen to be believed. Anyways, soon its gonna be bye-bye to Mr. Gates and his Windows (though I will have to use it at work)

I was a PC now I'm a Mac

Started July in October

2007-07-03T18:16:00.000-05:00

Kicked off the month of July with some driving and hiking - October Mountains. It was superb, enjoyed the ~3 hour hike on the Appalachian Trails up there. Hope to continue the trend and do similar activities this summer - let's see how far I'm able to stretch myself ...

Have uploaded some snaps, hope you enjoy them.

Indian Space Odyssey

2007-06-24T10:50:00.000-05:00

"The Indian Space Odyssey" read the headline in one of the Indian newspapers.
"India stayed up to track Sunita's return" read another one.

It was reality television at its best. Packed with spine-chilling thrills, nerve-wrecking action and ending with an outburst of cheers and tears, Sunita Williams’ journey back to terra firma was watched with rapt attention throughout India. While some Indians performed pujas through the night, others tracked her return by the microsecond on the NASA website. Most, though, just chose to sit glued to their television sets.

How can one not think what this all about? Sigh!! Is there really something wrong or is it just me? Can our country [India] claim any role in the so called "Indian" space odyssey? The answer is simple - No. Why then do our folks act the way they do is beyond my comprehension. NASA has a right to take proud in whatever they have accomplished and so do the Americans. But these folks in the Indian media - are nothing but a bunch of jokers.

For one, she was born in Ohio and has an Indian origin because her father hails from India. But thats it. There's nothing wrong in making the Atlantis story a big deal, there's a way to do it. The reasons that our folks back home quote are quite stoopid. And then run SMS campaigns praying for the safe return back home of Sunita Williams. I personally don't have anything against the astronaut, she has achieved many milestones and has reached heights that other's haven't. The problem that I have is with the media and the people back in India. We do have more than enough pagans back home don't we? Why then do we spend energy and time for folks like Williams, Jindal etc.etc.

A quick check on the news aired in Slovenia reveals the difference. Afterall Sunita is a half Slovenian yeah? So a quick check revealed that they have other things going on. The top headlines were -

Slovenia Cracks down on smoking.
Slovenian ambassador visits Bethlehem

I only have two words to say "Shut Up". Make claims when ISRO sends folks on a space trip. Back them up and give them credit for what they have been doing. Support their effort and teach children back home the "facts" instead of making someone (who's not even looked back at India) an overnight hero.

See Both Sides Of The Story

2007-06-16T14:32:00.000-05:00

The timing couldn't have been better. My last post - "what a week" highlighted my displeasure towards news channels in US. All these years in the US I have been watching Fox News, CNN and some local news channels to get to know the news from different parts of the world. Here's how it looked -

Their reach was limited to the War in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and Korea. Countries like Russia, India, Japan, Australia that existed when I was back in India were somehow off the charts the very moment I landed here.
News channels aired scores and snippets not from International sports like Soccer, Cricket, Tennis but from Universal games like Football, Baseball and NBA - winners claiming themselves to be World Champions.
Stories like Cat rescued by fire fighters, Tiger gives birth to a calf, Man sues laundromat for million bucks are prime time news and there's a panel discussing pros and cons of rescuing the cat.
Biased opinions and the opaque curtains denied understanding what exactly occurs (occurred) after an incident.
Witnessed accusations and verbal fights on evening news/interviews and most often the interviewee gave up while the interviewer made a fool out of himself in front of a million viewers.
Someone who's a Smoker is a big big issue (in this country?) and if that person happens to be a Presidential Candidate - then FORGET ABOUT IT. They will rip him apart.
Shows like O'Reilly Factor and The Situation Room try to add spice to a news that wouldn't appear even on Page 3 in other parts of the world.

Thanks to BBC World - they announced their entry to the States and that they would try to come up with the other side of the story. This would be great; at least one can get out of the monopoly prevalent out here.

I'm looking forward to it.

What a week

2007-06-12T18:22:00.000-05:00

Quite a happening week I'd say, not only in this part of the world but the Asian subcontinent had a fair share -

Entertainment

The much awaited finale of 'The Sopranos' was deemed as the final whack. Though, I've heard a lot about the series, didn't quite want to watch the series. When the screen suddenly went blank towards the end, many people went insane. Started jabbing buttons on their remote control, yelling while panicking and even checking their cable connection to make sure that the screen indeed "went blank". They said -

That was the ending of “The Sopranos”?

That?

The Hilton-going-to-jail saga came to an abrupt end and was aired by news channels throughout the evening. So much for CNN and Larry King and the Daily news channels providing news from across the country US. I think I will stop watching CNN one of these days. Larry even aired interviews and had his typical set of questions - oh well!

Conan O'Brien has a smart way of putting things and mentioned that she was dearly missing her facial cream which left her skin dry - sob sob.

Technology

Apple iPhones are finally to hit the market on the 29th. They've come up with some good promotional ads - see them here.

They've also come up with SAFARI for windows .... mmmmmmm

Also - the new leopard's out there. Trying to conquer time and space.

Sports

Nadal once again proved that he's the best on Clay. Fedex delivery did not reach Roland Garros for the 3rd year in a row. I think the window is now closing for Fedex, if he's not able to life the trophy in the next 2 years, he's done. Deprived of the French Open like so many tennis greats!

Graeme Ford did the right thing by slapping BCCI on its face. He was offered the position of Indian Cricketing coach which he rejected the very next day. The series of embarrassments continue after India's early exit from the WC, this time its the BCCI to blame. They should seriously revisit the terms and conditions they put forward while on a Coach hunt.

Walt Disney announced that they would be acquiring 'Cricinfo'. Tough to digest but they are staring to venture out of their traditional - American football, Baseball, Basket ball & NASCAR.

The All New Leopard

90 dollars please

2007-06-09T10:16:00.000-05:00

I just stared at the official when she said "90 dollars please". I asked her if she said 19 or 90. She re-iterated "90 please". I'm not sure how the state justifies these , they just charged me 90 bucks for an Out of State License conversion. You end up paying as much as you would would for registering your vehicle in the state (what?). And No, its not the same in other parts of the US. Place where I had got mine issued before - they charged me 20 bucks.

"The Spirit of America"

Area 51

2007-06-07T19:45:00.000-05:00

I can't breathe right now!

You believe me, don't you?
Please believe what I've just said!
See the Dead ain't touring
And this wasn't all in my head.
See, they took me by the hand
And invited me right in.
Then they showed me something
I don't even know where to begin.

Lyrics courtesy LyricsWiki...

Vote for Taj

2007-06-03T19:32:00.000-05:00

More and More Chocolates

2007-05-18T11:26:00.000-05:00

I don't know how, but I end up coming up with these news , researches and studies again an again. This time a study by Tulane University. They say eating more chocolates can keep the Dentist away - lol.

Eat more Chocolates

2007-05-15T21:16:00.000-05:00

Eating Chocolates are good for health, if taken in an appropriate amount. But eating chocolate is much better, if you don't know already. Recent study shows that chocolate is better than a passionate kiss, causing a more intense and longer-lasting buzz, and doubling the heart rate. Oh My !!

According to a recent study conducted in UK by Dr. David Lewis, "There is no doubt that chocolate beats kissing hands down when it comes to providing a long-lasting body and brain buzz. A buzz that, in many cases, lasted four times as long as the most passionate kiss."

The volunteers had electrodes attached to their scalps during the tests and the researchers compared their resting heart rates with those during the chocolate and kissing tests. Of course Dark Chocolate was the one savored and I bet you wont get the same results if it were just another candy. I love the ones from Hershey's - they're simply amazing.

Anyways hope you got another reason to eat more chocolates

... and before you leave for Bangladesh

2007-05-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

Fan(s) just wanted to remind him something. Now at least he has something to look out for .

And yeah he's already qualified.

Sleep deprivation

2007-04-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

If you ask me, when was the last time I had 8 hours of uninterrupted, peaceful sleep, I'd say dunno; for I don't frankly remember. Like today - I woke up somewhere around 5:00, 5:30 because it was so bright outside. I had a look at my timepiece and realized that its not time to get up. Again at 6 then again at 6:30 - oh man. All because it was bright and sunny outside, I think that the sun showed up somewhere close to 4 am.

There was an article on BBC the other day that said - Do we really need eight hours of sleep? According to the article, researchers and scientists have found the answer to be - 'No'. They say that asking everyone to get 8 hours of sleep is "like saying everybody should have size eight shoes or be five foot eight inches" - gee thanks !!

There goes a golden opportunity, for everyone who wants to get an '8 hour sleep' need not necessarily need 8 hours. I mean, why cant these scientists keep quite. Who are they to decide how much sleep I need? I need atleast 8 hours of sleep and thats it. "In a nutshell, if you sleep for eight hours a night go to work and find yourself lolling and drooling on the keyboard, you aren't getting enough. If you're sleeping five hours and running the country, you probably are getting enough".

What really surprises me are statements like "Women may need more sleep than men due to the structure of their brains." and "sleep disorders are a 24-hour phenomenon with sufferers spending their days stressed and unable to clear their heads at night."

When it comes to thinks concerning sleep, I think its best to ignore the research. If after doing some tests they figure out that I need only 6 hours of sleep, I'm not going to agree to it. No way can I compromise on my sleep. They say that a classic demand of the 19th Century labour movement was "Eight hours labour, Eight hours recreation, Eight hours rest"- how true

Going tech - Mobile Post

2007-04-16T13:02:00.000-05:00

Dark clouds, rain n heavy winds couldn't stop these runners from finishing the marathon today.

Here i was, capturing some snaps from my cell n posting via MMS :D. Kewl !! Was an experiment but looks like it works fine ;-).

Edit

Following was added later in the evening.

I also happened to capture some more in the 15 mins I was out on Boylston Street. There were scores of people supporting the athletes as they crossed the finish line.

देर से आए - पर दुरुस्त आए

2007-04-14T13:26:00.000-05:00

ब्लॉगर में जिन सुविधाओं की कमी थी , धीरे ही सही, वे पूरे किये जा रहे हैं | मुझे याद है , करीब एक साल पहले मैंने हिंदी में अपना पहला ब्लोग पोस्ट लिखा था | Mosilager की सहायता से मैंने हिंदी और मलयालम में पोस्ट करना शुरू किया |

कुछ दिन पहले ब्लॉगर ने यह आसान कर दिया | अगर आप ज़्यादा जानना चाहें, तो यह पढ़ें | ब्लॉगर की ओर से यह एक अच्छी शुरुवात है |

What does Sparta mean to you?

2007-04-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

For me, it didn't mean anything, for it was the very first time I heard about them. For some - probably not. The inspiration for this film - 300, was a historically inspired comic novel series by the same name. Sparta was the city-state devoted to military training, possessed the most formidable army in the Greek world and having achieved notable victories over the Athenian and Persian Empires, they were regarded as the natural protector of Greece.

The film is a definite must watch and you'd love it if you liked Gladiator. The Sin City effect is quite evident throughout the movie and gives it a special touch. Heard an NIN music (The Downward Spiral) being played as soundtrack which was kewl. Things happen so fast these days, I already find people adding stuff relating this movie to the novel with an excellent comparison of how it was depicted in the movie vs the novel on Wiki.

Direction was superb and so were some of the dialogues. I watched it in an "almost full" theater with lots of oohs, aahs and peek-a-boo happening throughout the movie. I would give it a 4.5 star rating and was one of the best movies I have seen off late.

First Law of Motion

2007-04-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

Define Newtons First Law of motion ...

Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Let's ask Calvin.

Me : Calvin
Calvin : Yeah ?

Me: Define Newtons First Law of Motion (in your own words)

Visit Places - Drive, Fly or Swim

2007-03-29T19:27:00.000-05:00

Playing around on Google is fun. Playing with Google is double fun. People visit places, they drive, they fly, take the train. But what would you say if you're asked to swim? Amrita visited London recently (she's gotta blog with a detailed write up and 'more' snaps to prove that though) ; I thought hey - it would be a good idea to visit London - spend your vacation there. It would be a dream come true fomme.

So I open up the much reliable Gmaps and here's what I find ....

Pay attention to - Item #9 and you'd see what I mean. And then #10 asks me to take a "slight right". Pay toll and reach my destination "London" after traveling 3,722 mi in about 29 days 6 hours. I wonder, amongst other things, how they'd have calculated my swimming speed :P.

Spot the 10 differences

2007-03-25T19:29:00.000-05:00

Just a quick comparison. Can you spot the 10 differences between these two video feeds? Let me give you a heads up. The first one is the actual Apple 1984 video while the second one is a spoof. Watch both, they're interesting in their own respect. I do recommend you put some thought into the second one ...

Monopoly

2007-03-20T20:14:00.000-05:00

Read this article in TOI and thought of sharing it out here with you guys. Though we all know the after effects, I thought let me clarify some points here. Put some details that you might not have thought about - so here goes some analysis. Impact of the big IF looming over the sub-continent.

For starters, you'd know that last week was a happening week in the cricketing world. Two teams, India and Pakistan lost their group matches making life difficult for them. On tops, PAK coach Bob Woolmer passed away the very night their team lost to Ireland. What're the impacts -

ESPN has bought telecast rights of ICC events for the next 8 years; For the recovery of more than 80 per cent of the $1.1 billion spent, ESPN is banking on the cricket craze in the Indian subcontinent.

If India is knocked out in the group stages of the WC, not a single advertiser will henceforth have the courage to invest money in buying advertising slots early. And if advertising rates don’t hit the roof, chances are ESPN will be unable to recover even half the money invested.

The bottomline: if India loses on March 23 to Sri Lanka, the ICC might even face its worst financial crisis in the long run.

If India crashes out at group stage, advertisers’ interest in the tournament is certain to nosedive. Chances are some of the organizers might well drown themselves for fear of bankruptcy in the Caribbean sea. In fact, the World Cup faces the risk of being touted a financial disaster when it is hardly a week old.

Some of the West Indian islands are likely to suffer huge losses if India fails to qualify. The tourism industry, which is the primary source of revenue in many of these islands, is banking on the fact that Indian supporters will make the World Cup a success.

Of all the packages sold by official travel agents, Indian fans have bought 60 per cent of them. And if Dravid and his men lose to Sri Lanka, chances are more than 80 per cent of these fans will try and cancel trips.

Looks like the world's gonna end if the match on Friday doesn't turn out to be a +ve one for the men in blue. Why go through all this pain? Why not win against SL and end all these "question marks". Gauging from what happened last week, it doesn't look that simple, that easy.

Superb Week (Sports)

2007-03-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

Was a superb week(end) as far as the sporting world's concerned. Close to 6 inches of snow Friday, saw my plans of going to watch '300' go down the drain. But thanks to F1 and thanks to Kimi Raikkonen Saturday evening I was all smiles.

One reason - India lost their WC opener against Bangladesh. It seriously cranked me up. I was following the scores on Cricinfo and saw the wickets tumble like crazy. The end result was quite evident as the men in Blue got their much needed wake up call. On the other hand Pakistan was kicked outta the WC after losing 2 matches in a row, yesterday was truly a celebration for the Irish.

Anyways I don't care much about these teams anyways (am more interested in the Fantasy League now), I'm rooting for SA or SL this time. All this seems to be a Deja Vu, I'd mentioned earlier that "I hope I don't see any surprises" ... and what a surprise it was!! Again I have to ask this - What's Sehwag doing there? Enjoying his stay??

Coming back to the F1 - finally Kimi got what he deserved. He was unstoppable right from lap 1 as he dominated the race and never looked back. I'm happy for him and happy that Ferrari would be able to retain their stature as the best team even after MS's departure. The new kid - Hamilton did a superb job as well. Let's wait and watch if Alonso would be able to retain his title this year...

Oh Brother, Where art Thou?

2007-03-13T20:07:00.000-05:00

With, people switching services left n right, creating havoc on the www world, trying to stamp their name out there, I thought let me sit back and relax. Gave a pat on my back today as I was able to end another procrastination of mine. Although, you might have guessed by now that I'm going crazy talking nonsense out here, let me help you out ... hit "Ctrl + End" on the browser - what do you see? "2006 Spooky Action At The Distance"? Check the "Currently Reading" section and you would see that I'm hooked onto "One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest" - awesome book.

Before you start scratching your head and deem moi to be insane, imagine what you can achieve with 83 cents a month, which is ~ 2.5 cents a day ~ $10 a year. What you see here is what you can obtain; and by here I mean the address bar. One of the few things you can get done now-a-days with Google. Something else that obviously flows is this.

Lots to follow here (of course) and there and everywhere. Please update your feeds with this link.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- R.Frost

Change Clocks to Help Environment?

2007-03-10T20:02:00.000-05:00

I don't have a digital timepiece [thank god], I'd have to wind my analog watch, one hour ahead tonight/tomorrow morning - thanks to the DST which, as you all know, takes place 3 weeks earlier this year.

I've been reading about it and hearing about all the "patch" work going on now-a-days. While some claim that this could turn out to be a mini Y2K problem, I don't believe there should be an issue. Will have to wait 3 more weeks or so and keep an eye on the stats provided by hospitals, the airline industry, business week, IT industry etc... Here are some facts I was able to extract from the net -

Reuters -

Softball teams, which gather on playing fields after work, will be able to start their seasons earlier, as will backyard barbecue enthusiasts.
Candy manufacturers see brisker sales at Halloween as children will have an extra hour of daylight to go door-to-door begging for sweets during the late-October holiday.
Some in law enforcement think evening crime rates could fall.
Orthodox Jews, who wait until sunrise to say morning prayers, lobbied against the provision.
Airliners complained it would throw their international schedules further out of sync with Europe, costing the industry millions of dollars.
The energy savings would translate into a 10.8 million-metric-ton reduction in carbon emissions over the next 13 years. While 10.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions may sound like a lot, it pales in comparison to the 5.9 billion metric tons the United States emitted just in 2004 [DOE].

And here's what doctors suggest you start doing (I should have posted this a week before, but anyways) ...

A few days before the time shift, start going to bed a little earlier each night – even 15 minutes earlier for three days can make a difference. In addition, set your alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier. [are you kidding me?]
The Monday morning commute the day after DST starts is especially hard, and is associated with a spike in sleepy-driving crashes.

Well, what can I say. I've never felt anything (I mean anything different) whenever this "annoying" stuff happens twice a year. The, so called, Jet lag when you do an Intl. travel is something, I'd say, makes you go crazy for a week or two. That doesn't mean other people won't have problems right ? If you need any info - follow the tips suggested by American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Hope you have a nice Sat/Sun and be careful while Springing Forward :)

Dear Wikipedia - I'm feeling lucky

2007-03-03T18:22:00.000-05:00

There's a new craze in town . Gone are the days you used to use 'Google' as an encyclopedia - search for anything and boom its right up there on top. Well, Google still have their feature called 'I'm feeling lucky' whereby any search is directed to the 1st search result.

New craze - to become part of the Wiki Project Wikify. Wikipedia prides itself on the fact that the articles are unbiased and that many eyes on any article will ensure the accuracy of the article. It didn't take me much time to get on with it and am now a Wiki user, just like millions of others out there. What do I do there? Believe me its a great place to practice your translation skills, go through the articles that need some attention, need modification, check for grammatical errors, add information that you are aware of (and you can defend by providing links) etc etc.. Its Fun!!!

Heard a joke the other day that Google's "I'm feeling lucky" button would soon be replaced with a "Wikipedia Result" Button ;) , for the very first hit for almost every search out there directs you to Wikipedia. Who knows, it could become true one day -

Snap - Digital Point

Coming Of Age

2007-02-22T21:15:00.000-05:00

According to Wiki it's a term used in reference with a young character who (with age) has developed in some way, through the undertaking of responsibility, or by learning a lesson.

Am a character allright ;), but feels like the term 'young' doesn't go with the 'character' anymore. Amidst the early morning hurry-burry, trying to get to work on a pleasant Feb. Thursday, I discover something that made me ponder. Ponder all the way until I could get busy at work.

Finding a strand of white hair creeping up among a zillion other black ones is not something that you forward to as a 'young character'. It was funny (and I almost laughed at myself) when I tried to pluck it out. Poor chap, I could hear him scream 'Noooooooooooooo'. Felt like asking him - "how long you've been there dude"? "Trying to hide from me eh?"

So, they say it could be 'cause of hazzar (thousand) things going on in your life. Apart from 'Coming of age' it could be 'cause you're tensed always, use Gel on your hair quite a lot and blah blah. All I know is that I ended up just flipping pages of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" on my daily commute today.

Procrastination

2007-02-18T00:01:00.000-05:00

Pro·cras·ti·nate [proh-kras-tuh-neyt, pruh-] : to defer action; delay;to put off till another day or time

[definition : dictionary dot com]

[example: below]

Yes. This is what happens when envelopes start piling up on your desk. I've seen the stack grow from 1 to 2 to about 30, but all I could do was to pass a glance every once in a while. Its so difficult isn't it, especially when Homer and Garfield are your inspiration.

Well then, I decided its enough and started the long process of sorting them out and shredding them. It took me close to an hour and had filled 3 huge bags worth of junk. Oh boy, it was fun and a good start to the long weekend. Let's see how many bags I'd be able to fill on the next Long WE.

1944

2007-02-12T21:42:00.000-05:00

Read this in one of the Indian Newspapers couple of weeks back. Don't know how much it makes sense right now as you read it but think twice and it will :D

"Anyway, this concerns the year 1944 and some leaders involved in the Second World War. Take Churchill for instance. He was born in 1874, his age in 1944 was 70, he took office in 1940 and was there for four years. If you add up the numbers they come to 3888. Now take Hitler. Born: 1889; age in '44: 55; took office 1933, years there: 11. Total 3888. You can do the same with Roosevelt, Stalin and Mussolini too."

See if you can figure it out ...

Post for 8th Feb 07

2007-02-08T10:43:00.000-05:00

Time flies they say, other believe that time is relative. Can't believe that 365 days have gone by, 38 days in this year. Cold February, and it has been cold always this time of the year. Not much of a celebration as such for my B'day today apart from wishing myself Happy Badday in the morning ;-).

What's up New York?

2007-02-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

Carl Kruger is the name. New York state senator - his occupation. What's he up to? Introducing a legislation to ban the use of Ipods or Cell phone while crossing the streets of NYC. What this means is that, soon you could face a fine of $100 if caught red handed.

Now, the report mentions "listening to Ipod or talking on a cell phone, using Blackberry and Video games". Does that mean that I'm good to go if I use a gadget manufactured by any company other than Apple? Probably not yeah? But the way these product names are used (anything that's plugged into your ears is now known as an Ipod) you could end up in trouble. A while back Google came up with a correct usage of the word Google and I thought it was justified. Apple would definitely come up with something similar.

So NYC residents, be careful while crossing the streets. If not for the vehicles on the road, a fine of 100 bucks. Kruger says "3 pedestrians in Brooklyn have been killed since Sept 06 'cause of negligence while crossing the street, plugging in a gadget into their ears. This electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it's becoming not only endemic but it's creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand."

He's got a point, but is this the right kinda way to go for it? What do ya think?

Scared in Boston

2007-02-03T14:13:00.000-05:00

What was an advertisement campaign by one of the leading Ad firms (Turner Broadcasting), turned out scaring the hell

outta Bostonians. Well, I was at work when I heard the news, glad that I was inside one of those buildings and not on the road; for all the major bridges in the city were closed as traffic piled up. Although this happened on the 31st of last month, I could hear people talk about it on talk shows, on the train, Radio, Blog etc... etc... even yesterday.

The campaign was allegedly for the popular cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force, for its 5th season scheduled for a release on Feb 23rd. Bostonians had the right to get scared for the gadget consisted of magnetic blinking lights and had wires protruding out from them. Turner ended up apologizing and has agreed to pay ~ $1 million for causing a security alert.

Two men were arrested by cops and were later released after placing a cash bond of 2500 bucks. Here's what they had to say at the press conference ...

Lol - "Thats not a hair question"

Living in this modern era

2007-01-30T20:39:00.000-05:00

I'm sure we all have our own perceptions on how the modern world is changing/adapting itself to the changes. Here's an example (got forwarded via email) -

OLD VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or

shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).

Opposition MP's stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in educational Insititutions & in Govt Services.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden' . Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

MANY YEARS LATER...

The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi billion dollar company in silicon valley.100s of grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India.

Get online - doesnt matter who you are.

2007-01-29T23:55:00.000-05:00

- President of India seen with folk dancers on the 26th.

Some were surprised when the "Missile man" became President of the largest democracy in the world. I had other reasons though; I was surprised by this. Do you have an answer to his question?

The 10 Grand Slam Club

2007-01-29T20:18:00.000-05:00

Over and Out

2007-01-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

One of the most devastating defeats in the tennis world yesterday. Matchup between Federer n Roddick and the scores suggest what happened in Melbourne yesterday. 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 -- Federer completely embarrassed Roddick, thereby entering the Finals of Australian Open in style.

I'm not sure who could stop FedEx but having seen Roddick play for the past 3-4 years I know that he's not the one. Head to head stats show a staggering 13-1 record in favor of the Swiss with the only loss coming way back in '04 at Montreal. All Roddick had to say was "It was frustrating. It was miserable. It sucked. It was terrible. Besides that, it was fine,".

He might have lost his Mojo again (not that I've seen him find it in the past) ... somebody please find his Mojo !! The Mojo girl has reached the finals this year though, Sharapova defeated Clijsters pretty easily.

Back to the drawing board - Andy !!

Next Stop: Miami

2007-01-21T20:23:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah ...

They played a punishing run game , brought their kick ass defense back into play, the Jones factor, effective plays by Grossman, Urlacher etc.. etc... made it "Next Stop - Miami". A wait of Twenty one years - Da Bears make their appearance in a Super bowl game since '85.

But I have to say this again and again and again - guys @ FOX , esp. Mr. Joe Buck- Can you please give the BEARS some credit NOW ? Have to hear the ESPN guys as well - all that BS stats and the downplaying crap !!!!

Anyways, would rather CELEBRATE than bragging about the commentary and making a big issue about it. Congrats Bears, Congrats Chicago.

Read someone mention about us being underdogs - "We went in as the underdogs. And you know what happens when someone calls us an Underdog in Chicago: we fight like hell." So true ...

Da Bears

2007-01-15T01:19:00.000-05:00

The headline says it all. Congrats Bears !!!!!

NASA decides its enough !!

2007-01-09T19:49:00.000-05:00

We all have heard/read Neil Armstrong make a historic statement "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind". After so many years, we hear something similar again.

Yes. NASA finally decides to go completely "metric". I say completely 'cause they have been trying a few things here and there but it was not until today that they came up stating that - the next time they return astronauts to the Moon, the mission will be measured in kilometers - not in MILES.

I wonder why the FPS system is still being followed out here when the rest of the world has adopted and adapted to the SI system - using Metre, Gram, Litre instead of Miles and Pounds and Gallons. The worst part is that the education system here makes us learn facts and figures in the SI system. But once you graduate and get out there in the real world - gotta revert back to FPS.

I (like many others out here) have found this amusing and it took me some time to get accustomed to the usage, especially implementing it in my day-to-day activities. Guess its time to move ahead and why not? At least we won't be losing spacecrafts. According to Wikipedia, "As of 2005 only three countries, the United States, Liberia, and Myanmar (Burma) had not completed the changeover". Wow !! There's some company ;-)

Looking into the near future - I believe NASA would be losing a bit of productivity due to the switch. Scientists would have to "re-learn" the sizes of all the equipments, Metal Sheets, Screws, Fasteners (and what not).

Let's go back to school !!

Ten Things ...

2007-01-08T22:08:00.000-05:00

Read this on BBC the other day. Thought of sharing it with you guys, if you haven't read already -

10 Things we didn't know last week -

UK Traffic Lights emit about 50,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year through energy use.

Jobs in finance make up 4% of the UK's workforce - and account for 13% of the income tax paid.

Coach (bus) travel is the safest form of road transport in the country (UK).

More than 20 million people visit Little Chef roadside outlets each year.

Saddam Hussein's codename while in US custody in 04/05 was "Victor".

A Beefeater is more formally known as a Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary.

Holders of the MBE can be stripped of the honor at the discretion of the Queen, "if evidence of wrongdoing comes to light".

A shortage of volunteer leaders has led to a waiting list of 50,000 girls wanting to join the Girl Guides.

Noel Edmonds' middle name is Ernest, although it’s not noted in his first Who's Who entry, in the newly published 2007 edition. He is listed as Noel E Edmonds.

The US Senate has never had a "socialist" senator - until now. Bernard Sanders, an independent, calls himself a "democratic socialist".

Now wait a minute, was that Victor ?

My Own India

2007-01-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

The depth in his voice makes you just sit there and listen to whatever he has to say. This time it is for an awakening - its time to fly !!

Oh Dear Yahooooo - why dont u Improve !!!

2006-12-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

I believe it was the year 1995 when I opened up an email account on Yahoo. It was an "in" thing to do at that time - having an email account i.e. Though I didn't know what to do with it - I just knew that I had to get one for myself. So while creating the account, filling up some personal details, I filled up "India" as the country of residence 'cause thats where I was back then. Little did I know that it wasn't the smartest thing to do.

To start off with I was given a "co.in" ID which, at that time, went against the preferred ".com" ones. I remember once or twice (or maybe more than that) I tried to change it but in vain. Why you may ask. Because Yahoo servers are probably down 90% of the time. What else would explain a weeks time just to receive emails?? Oh yeah - there were times when I had to wait at least a week to receive emails !!! A friend of mine sent me one like early last week and am still awaiting its holy presence in my Inbox. The only way I could figure out that he had sent me one was by logging into my Yahoo Groups account.

One Week?? Are you kidding me ? Snail mails travel much faster. Hell you can send postal mails in 4 days around the globe - via airmail. If you opt for a courier service or an expedited service you can get it at the destination in 2 days or so. Why then does it take days and days for Emails to get delivered ? I've come to know the those who have a ".com " address apparently don't have this issue at all. Does that mean that I have to suffer this until and unless I open up a new account portraying myself to be residing in US (which I do now but not back in 95) ??

ne !!!!!
Pull up your socks Yahoo. You guys would very well be aware of the competition you're getting out there from other service providers. Some people, like me, just hang in there 'cause of the level of patience we have. One fine day you would realize that you don't need all that hardware, all those servers, all those offices in them high risers around the globe - because there won't be any more users accessing your services.

M.U.Z.I.C

2006-12-30T23:54:00.000-05:00

Kicked off a new blog today. Have been thinking of scribbling something related to music - stuff that I listen to, some news and other stuff.

Title - M.U.Z.I.C
Link - Listen to my Dejavu

Though its a newbie , please feel free to pay a visit and post your comments.

Cricket Crazy India, Ad Crazy Players

2006-12-28T21:21:00.000-05:00

Wont be coming as a surprise to most of you out there. If you follow the game of cricket you would definitely know that India is a cricket crazy nation. People Eat cricket, Drink cricket, Sleep cricket, Live Cricket out there.

Turns out that our wicketkeeper-batsman M.S Dhoni scored the max. in 2006 when it comes to advertisements. He was the player endorsing the largest number of brands and appeared in TV ads for as many as 23 brands in 2006, beating 10dulkar and Rahul - 17 each.

In terms of the most appearances on an Indian television, its Dhoni again. Between January and November , Dhoni has appeared for almost 12 lakh seconds in TV ads. Holly macro, thats like 1 hour every day throughout the year !!!! What an achievement. Atta Boy-Dhoni ! Tennis star Sania Mirza with 8.4 lakh seconds is the runner up beating the Captain and Sachin.

धोनी - अगर उतना वक्त आप प्रशीक्षण् मै बिताते तो शायद् ....

Flashback 2006

2006-12-25T14:25:00.000-05:00

What happened in 2006 ? Here's something that has been floating around for a couple of weeks now. A collection of the first sentence of the very 1st post every month on this Blog -

Its 2 hours and 10 minutes after the clock stuck 12 for the first time this year - the year 2006, that I'm writing this blog.
2006 has been pretty hectic (@ work) so far.
"And, oh, by the way, Mr. Prime Minister, the United States is looking forward to eating Indian Mangoes.
Mark Twain probably was correct when he said, and I quote, "April 1st: This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three-hundred and sixty-four."
I don't know when did I decide, but here I was repenting over my decision to watch some Bollywood movies over the WE ;
Vending machines at workplace are a topic of debate, always.
There are times when you find yourself at a juncture where an unknown force takes over your predetermined notions.
Ongoing rift in the Middle East is getting worse.
It was year 1965 when US astrounaut Ed White lost a spare glove when he went outside his spaceship for the first time.
Find myself in NYC this weekend ;) didnt quite enjoy the Hound ride though.
No, this post is not in relation to what agent Fox Mulder used to say.
No, this chap wont learn. (Bart Simpson)

This is my Deja Vu

2006-12-17T20:38:00.000-05:00

Happened to see Deja Vu (movie) yesterday. Hadn't been to a theater for about 6 months now, last movie I saw on the big screen was KANK.

Review - Its a good movie. Some new concepts introduced, current affairs and a good performance by Denzel Washington. I like the roles played by him - Man on Fire, Manchurian Candidate, Taining Day, Remember the Titans .... were all superb. The name of the movie is a misdirection, though.

Wanted to see Casino Royale, but decided against it due to shortage of time this WE. How's the new bond movie btw ? I remember there was a lot of gaga over Eva Green. Hope you guys are having fun out there and geting ready for the Xmas weekend.

Serendipity - http://www.dejavumovie.com/ (a new one if you refresh the page) ;-)

What else do you need ?

2006-12-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

Need to test drive this one ;-)

Orbitz - not that great service

2006-12-09T20:06:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine had an opportunity this time to yell at them (Orbitz). Just for the heck of saying it lets just say that they suck big time. Couple of months back he got an opportunity to go through their web-site and book tickets online. This time an International flt ticket.

And boy was he in trouble ... British Airways cancelled their flight and the customer rep at Orbitz reissued the tickets - but this time in a higher class (which he wasn't made aware of) . 2 days before departure he calls up to confirm his tickets only to find out that he has to pay ~ $4000 [the difference] before he could check in.

Went crazy, called up Orbitz who didn't know what to do. Went to the airport to talk to BA reps at the counter and ended up spending 5 hours. The whole Saturday afternoon spent at the airport with calls going back and forth, yelling and shouting at the reps (poor chaps), cell phone batteries giving up and what not.

I was just sitting there like Viktor Navorski (The Terminal), watching hundreds and hundreds of passengers running around. People carrying 3,4,5 and 6 suitcases, huge fedex boxes and what not. There was a Canadian Ice hockey team (I believe) with their bulky kit blocking the walkway. Then there was this lady who startes at the display screen for a while and hurries to the KLM check in counter. After like couple of minutes, I saw her running again - this time from the KLM counter to the BA counter ... getting confused as to which airline to board ? ;)

Anyways it was getting on my nerves (and my friends') but finally they had it settled. Alfter all the confusion and waste of like 1000 man hours, they gave him the best offer available at that time - 1 weeks wait. Yup - the trip was delayed a week cutting short his vacation. Thanks to Orbitz; bottomline - they suck big time.

Going berserk

2006-12-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

We saw the first snow of the season out here in Boston on Monday. Wasn't that bad - it flaked for 3-4 hours in the morning. You know when ... 6 am - 9 am (Murphy). Was pretty cold hence I had to check the weather before leaving work that evening.

Boy, did I go crazy when i saw this ( 9pm, 10pm, 11pm etc) ... Sunshine ??

Need to punish Bart? No problemo

2006-12-03T12:33:00.000-05:00

No, this chap wont learn. Have seen this everyday but he seems to have this immense talent to get himself in trouble and then write compositions :P ...

Got any answers?

2006-11-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

You can find answer to the following questions on Google Answers. But they will stop accepting new questions by the end of this week and new answers by end of 2006. It wasn't as successful as they expected. The reason? One word suffices - Wikipedia.

Anyways, have fun reading these -

How many tyrannosaurs in a gallon of gasoline?
Why flies survive a good microwaving?
Can you drink water from an Air Conditioner?
What's the answer of life ?

What's weird is that only about 800 people ended up answering

thousands and thousands of questions out there.

Archived in:Google Answer Gasoline Life Wikipedia

20,000 vehicles on the road

2006-11-27T20:50:00.000-05:00

Last weekend of November - by far the busiest long weekend of the year. Not only in terms of shopping, long queues outside shopping complexes but in terms of 'Number of vehicles on the road'. Not an inch to move on the road, east coast was packed like there was a hurricane out there and all were trying to escape OR as if Aliens were invading the 3rd rock from the sun and all humanoids were trying to escape.

Ended up relaxing up there in the mountains : perfect getaway - 3 days. Peaks, Valleys, Roller coaster drives, Wild animals, Chill in the air, Rivers, Campgrounds, Trails, Tourists, Cabins - Shenandoah had them all.

La-Z-Boy, 52" flat screen, Fireplace, A million lamps, Antiques, Proximity to trekking grounds, Good scenic view, Amazing location - The cabin had them all. An interesting piece I found out there (amongst other funny stuff) was this lone warrior, fighting it out in the open ...

And here I was, fighting it out on the roads. Changing lanes and speeding at 25 on a 65 mph interstate.

Hope you had a Gr8 Turkey day weekend :)

Archived in: Thanksgiving Turkey NY Boston Driving Shenandoah Trekking

Lefty or Righty ?

2006-11-20T21:47:00.000-05:00

Are you ambidextrous ? No frankly, do you think that you could use your Left/Right hand for most (if not all) of your daily activities ? Here's some food for thought. How do you think you respond ?

Left or right ...

While using the Shift key on ur keyboard
To hang a bag (or a bag pack) on your shoulder
While using the phone
While using the space bar on a keyboard
Preference given to Left/Right while dressing up/wearing your shoe/socks.
To wear your timepiece
1st step while climbing stairs ?

Some say that left-handed people are more intelligent or creative than right handed people and a recent study shows that Lefties have the advantage in adversarial situations. But they say "Not only our language function, but even the way we see the world can depend on our handedness".

... so what did you figure out from the Se7en above? Lefty or Righty?

Archived in: Right Left Ambidextrous Side