Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Some nice snaps

Monday, February 12, 2007

Bizarre divorce: Far apart under one roof

Truth is stranger than fiction.

Read it to believe it : Los Angeles Times: Far apart under one roof

Saturday, February 10, 2007

The Best Place To Hide Money

A conversation with a burglar reveals some good places to hide your money. Interesting.

Link: The Best Place To Hide Money: Conversation With A Burglar

Thursday, February 08, 2007

25 things to see at the Googleplex before you die

Well, I have never visited the Googleplex. But if I do, I will refer to this ...

Link: GOOGLE: 25 things to see at the Googleplex ...

11 Most Important Philosophical Quotations.

Feeling philosophical? Try this....

Link: 11 Most Important Philosophical Quotations.

Fake Holograms a 3-D Crime Wave

If you thought that

A hologram is a sign of a genuine product
Holograms could not be duplicated

Think again ....

Link: Wired News: Fake Holograms a 3-D Crime Wave

Monday, February 05, 2007

The Pompous Ass Words Home Page

Snippet from the site:

This is the Pompous Ass Words site, a place dedicated to identifying words that shouldn't be used on the grounds that doing so makes you sound like a pompous ass.

Link: The Pompous Ass Words Home Page

How to Make Google Go Crazy

Go try it ...

Link: Make Google Go Crazy

Sunday, February 04, 2007

10 tips for time management in a multitasking world

Link : 10 tips for time management in a multitasking world

Actual article (copied from the site above):

10 tips for time management in a multitasking world

Time
management is one of those skills no one teaches you in school but you
have to learn. It doesn’t matter how smart you are if you can’t
organize information well enough to take it in. And it doesn’t matter
how skilled you are if procrastination keeps you from getting your work
done.

Younger workers understand this, and time management is becoming a
topic of hipsters. One of the most popular blogs in the world is Lifehacker, edited by productivity guru Gina Trapani, and her forthcoming book by the same name is a bestseller on Amazon based so far on pre-orders.

In today’s workplace, you can differentiate yourself by your ability
to handle information and manage your time. “Careers are made or broken
by the soft skills that make you able to hand a very large workload,”
says Merlin Mann, editor of the productivity blog 43 Folders.

So here are 10 tips to make you better at managing your work:

1. Don’t leave email sitting in your in box.

“The ability to quickly process and synthesize information and turn it
into actions is one of the most emergent skills of the professional
world today,” says Mann. Organize email in file folders. If the message
needs more thought, move it to your to-do list. If it’s for reference,
print it out. If it’s a meeting, move it to your calendar.

“One thing young people are really good at is only touching things
once. You don’t see young people scrolling up and down their email
pretending to work,” says Mann. Take action on an email as soon as you
read it.

2. Admit multitasking is bad.

For people who didn’t grow up watching TV, typing out instant messages and doing homework all at the same time, multitasking is deadly. But it decreases everyone’s productivity,
no matter who they are. “A 20-year-old is less likely to feel
overwhelmed by demands to multitask, but young people still have a loss
of productivity from multitasking,” says Trapani.

So try to limit it. Kathy Sierra at Creating Passionate Users suggests practicing mindfulness as a way to break the multitasking habit.

3. Do the most important thing first.

Trapani calls this “running a morning dash”. When she sits
down to work in the morning, before she checks any email, she spends an
hour on the most important thing on her to-do list. This is a great
idea because even if you can’t get the whole thing done in an hour,
you’ll be much more likely to go back to it once you’ve gotten it
started. She points out that this dash works best if you organize the
night before so when you sit down to work you already know what your
most important task of the day is.

4. Check your email on a schedule.

“It’s not effective to read and answer every email as it arrives. Just
because someone can contact you immediately does not mean that you have
to respond to them immediately,” says Dan Markovitz, president of the productivity consulting firm TimeBack Management,
“People want a predictable response, not an immediate response.” So as
long as people know how long to expect an answer to take, and they know
how to reach you in an emergency, you can answer most types of email
just a few times a day.

5. Keep web site addresses organized.

Use book marking services like del.icio.us
to keep track of web sites. Instead of having random notes about places
you want to check out, places you want to keep as a reference, etc.,
you can save them all in one place, and you can search and share your
list easily.

6. Know when you work best.

Industrial designer Jeff Beene
does consulting work, so he can do it any time of day. But, he says, “I
try to schedule things so that I work in the morning, when I am the
most productive.” Each person has a best time. You can discover yours
by monitoring your productivity over a period of time. Then you need to
manage your schedule to keep your best time free for your most
important work.

7. Think about keystrokes.

If you’re on a computer all day, keystrokes matter because
efficiency matters. “On any given day, an information worker will do a
dozen Google searchers,” says Trapani. “How many keystrokes does it
take? Can you reduce it to three? You might save 10 seconds, but over
time, that builds up.”

8. Make it easy to get started.

We don’t have problems finishing projects, we have problems
starting them,” says Mann. He recommends you “make a shallow on-ramp.”
Beene knows the key creating this on ramp: “I try to break own my
projects into chunks, so I am not overwhelmed by them.”

9. Organize your to-do list every day.

If you don’t know what you should be doing, how can you manage your
time to do it? Some people like writing this list out by hand because
it shows commitment to each item if you are willing to rewrite it each
day until it gets done. Other people like software that can slice and
dice their to-do list into manageable, relevant chunks. For example,
Beene uses tasktoy
because when he goes to a client site tasktoy shows him only his to do
items for that client, and not all his other projects. (Get tasktoy here.)

10. Dare to be slow.

Remember that a good time manager actually responds to some things more
slowly than a bad time manager would. For example, someone who is doing
the highest priority task is probably not answering incoming email
while they’re doing it. As Markovitz writes: “Obviously there are more
important tasks than processing email. Intuitively, we all know this.
What we need to do now is recognize that processing one’s work
(evaluating what’s come in and how to handle it) and planning one’s
work are also mission-critical tasks.”

No Big Bang? Endless Universe Made Possible by New Model

A new theory has come up that challenges the "Big Bang" theory for the Universe's creation ...

Link: No Big Bang? Endless Universe Made Possible by New Model

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Found this puzzle on the net. I do have the solution and will post it soon ...

PUZZLE:

---------

"I believe you are unfamiliar with the penal system in our country," said the warden, as he led the new prisoner to his cell. "We find that it improves prison morale for each prisoner to have a chance to end his sentence at any time. In your case, we have set up a combination lock on your cell door.

There are ten dials, on which you can set up any ten-digit number. If you set
up the right one, the cell door will unlock and you will be free to leave."

"I see," said the prisoner. "Then if I try every possible number, I'm sure to hit the right one."

"True," said the warden, "but even if
you were able to change the numbers at the rate of one per second without rest, it would still take you a hundred years to hit the right combination.
However, you could try numbers at random and have a chance of choosing the right one. Or, you could search for the clue which we always provide."

"What sort of clue?"

"Well, it might be almost anything. For example, one of our prisoners was put in an escape-proof cell and told that he would be pardoned if he could break out. He was also given permission to keep any plants he wished in his cell."

"What became of him?"

The warden chuckled. "After more than two years, he suddenly realized that some words may have more than one meaning. He requested a poison ivy plant. Soon after receiving it, he broke out – in a rash. Naturally, he received his pardon."

The warden unlocked the cell and ushered the prisoner in. "Your cell contains a desk calculator and writing implements. Good luck."

The prisoner was left alone. He tried a few combinations on the lock without success. What could the clue be? A thought struck him. It seemed worth a try. He made a few calculations, and then set up a number on the lock. The cell door opened and the prisoner strolled out, after serving less than an hour of his sentence.

What number did he
try?

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

INSANE Japanese obstacle course

This obstacle course is absolutely INSANE. And the guy actually completed it !!

Link: Sasuke Obstacle Course - YouTube

Top 10 Foods for a Good Night's Sleep

Taken from Top 10 Foods ... Yahoo! Food

What is the secret to getting a
solid 7 to 8 hours of sleep? Head for the kitchen and enjoy one or two
of these 10 foods. They relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds,
and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones - serotonin and melatonin
- Yawning They're
practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing
melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.

Chamomile tea.
The reason chamomile is such a staple of bedtime tea blends is its mild
sedating effect - it's the perfect natural antidote for restless
minds/bodies.

Warm milk. It's not a myth. Milk
has some tryptophan - an amino acid that has a sedative - like effect -
and calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan. Plus there's the
psychological throw-back to infancy, when a warm bottle meant "relax,
everything's fine."

Honey. Drizzle a little in
your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little
glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered
neurotransmitter that's linked to alertness.

Potatoes.
A small baked spud won't overwhelm your GI tract, and it clears away
acids that can interfere with yawn-inducing tryptophan. To up the
soothing effects, mash it with warm milk.

Oatmeal.
Oats are a rich source of sleep - inviting melatonin, and a small bowl
of warm cereal with a splash of maple syrup is cozy - plus if you've
got the munchies, it's filling too.

Almonds. A
handful of these heart-healthy nuts can be snooze-inducing, as they
contain both tryptophan and a nice dose of muscle-relaxing magnesium.

Flaxseeds.
When life goes awry and feeling down is keeping you up, try sprinkling
2 tablespoons of these healthy little seeds on your bedtime oatmeal.
They're rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a natural mood lifter.

Whole-wheat bread.
A slice of toast with your tea and honey will release insulin, which
helps tryptophan get to your brain, where it's converted to serotonin
and quietly murmurs "time to sleep."

Turkey.
It's the most famous source of tryptophan, credited with all those
Thanksgiving naps. But that's actually modern folklore. Tryptophan
works when your stomach's basically empty, not overstuffed, and when
there are some carbs around, not tons of protein. But put a lean slice
or two on some whole-wheat bread mid-evening, and you've got one of the
best sleep inducers in your kitchen.

What if none of these
foods help get your Check out your sleep habits with this
quick RealAge test to find out what?s keeping you up at night. http://www.realage.com/health_guides/RLS/intro.aspx

For an extra treat, here's the ultimate sleep-inducing snack...

Lullaby Muffins

Makes 12 low-fat muffins

Between the bananas, the whole wheat, and the honeyed touch of sweetness, these muffins are practically an edible lullaby.

· 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1 tablespoon baking powder

· 2 large, very ripe bananas

· 1/3 cup applesauce

· 1/4 cup honey

· 1/2 cup milk or soymilk

Preheat
oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine the flour (make sure it's
whole-wheat pastry flour or you'll produce golf balls, not muffins),
salt, and baking powder. In a blender, puree the bananas; add the
applesauce, honey, and milk. Blend well. Pour the banana mixture into
the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. Line muffin tins
with paper muffin cups, pour in batter, and bake 30 minutes or until
tops are lightly brown and slightly springy.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving: 119 calories; 1g fat; 2.5g protein; 27g carbohydrates; 10g sugars; 133mg sodium; 3g fiber; 35mg magnesium

One of my favorites - attributed to Mother Teresa generally, but some sites say that it was written by Kent Keith in 1968. Irrespective of who wrote it, it is beautiful ...

Anyway

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

Monday, January 22, 2007

You call that a boat?

It's an alien ship!! No, its a new boat - the "Proteus".

Go look see ...

Link: MercuryNews.com | 01/19/2007 | You call that a boat?

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Top 100 endangered species

A list of the top 100 species that have reached a critical stage in terms of their existence on this planet. We should act before it is too late...

Link: EDGE :: EDGE Top 100

Monday, January 15, 2007

Deep Space Images

DEEP SPACE.

One of the neat things about this (besides the killer images) is you only load the part of the picture you are looking at. Click a couple of times on the image to enlarge then you can pull the image to see areas that are off screen. When you get to an area that hasn't been loaded yet it will look blurry until the image loads. Too cool.

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/mediaimages/zooms/index.shtml

Need a Good Painter? (This Guy Should Qualify)

Amazing wall paintings!! See them for yourself:

Link: Need a painter? ...

The distribution of world income

Which countries have the most money? No surprises here:

Link: Econbrowser: The distribution of world income

Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

Awesome video. Go see it !!

Link: YouTube - Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

Saturday, January 13, 2007

How do you run a business without managers?

A nice story by a person who ran a company WITHOUT any managers. That's right, no managers !! Might not work for all cases, but it definitely is a case of really thinking "out of the box".

Link: Ask the CHO: How do you run a business without managers

Joke: Things you would never know without the movies...

Things you would never know without the movies...

-
During all police investigations, it will be necessary to visit a club at least
once.

- All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large
red readouts so you know exactly when they are going to go off.

- If you
need to reload your gun, you will always have more ammunition, even if you
haven't been carrying any before now.

- You are very likely to survive
any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture
of your sweetheart back home.

- A man will show no pain while taking the
most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.

- When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a
bill; just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact
fare.

- Kitchens don't have light switches. When entering a kitchen at
night, you should open the fridge door and use that light instead.

-
Cars that crash will almost always burst into flames.

- A single match
will be sufficient to light up a room the size of any big stadium.

- Any
person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.

- Even
when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to turn the wheel
vigorously from left to right every few moments.

- A detective can only
solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.

- It does not matter
if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts - your enemies
will patiently attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner
until you have knocked out their predecessors.

- Once applied, lipstick
will never rub off - even while scuba diving.

- Any lock can be picked
by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds - unless it's the door to a burning
building with a child trapped inside.

- Television news bulletins
usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment that
it is aired.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Awesome car mileage

How to get awesome car mileage by driving efficiently.

Link: This Guy Can Get 59 MPG in a Plain Old Accord. Beat That, Punk.

100 Best Companies to Work For

If you work in one of these, you're lucky !!

List: 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007: Full list | FORTUNE

20 Different Ways to Manage Your To Dos

Simple, elegant solutions to manage your TODO lists:

Link: 20 Different Ways to Manage Your To Dos «

Offshore Wind Turbine Farms : Wind Power In Stormy Waters

Some wonderful snaps of offshore wind turbine farms. They generate electricity without polluting the environment, and yet manage to look really beautiful ...

Link: Dark Roasted Blend: Wind Power In Stormy Waters

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Find what is the time anywhere in the world

Nice site. Has the current time for places around the world.

E.g. The time for India is:

New Delhi

And the time for Los Angeles, CA is:

Los Angeles

Link: Free Analog Web Clock for your website or blog

Top Ten Accidental Discoveries

The top 10 accidental discoveries of the 20th century. You can argue about some of the items on the list (popsicles?), but others are pretty much spot on.

Link: EXN.ca | Discovery

Monday, January 08, 2007

Feel like going on a roller coaster ride?

The Amazing Eejanaika Roller
Coaster

Fuji-Q Highland
(Fujiyoshida, Shizuoka Japan)

Number
of Inversions 14 times (Guinness World Record)

Maximum Speed 126 km/h

Lift
Height 76 m

Angle of Descent 89 degrees

Track Length 1,153
m

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kMARGNfHfU

Friday, January 05, 2007

World Record skydiving parachute formation!

After almost a week of training a group of dedicated skydivers put together the largest parachute formation ever built. It consists of 81 skydivers in the formation and several video people flying around. It took place over Lake Wales Florida USA just before sunset and has some incredible shots by some incredible video fliers, and a picture-perfect "starburst" break-away.

Link: World-record skydiving parachute formation! (funzu.com)

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Joke: W.C.

It seems that a little old English lady was looking for some rooms in Switzerland. She asked the local village schoolmaster to help her.

A place that suited her was finally found, and the lady returned to London for her luggage. She remembered then that she had not noticed a bathroom, or as they called it in England, a "water closet." She wrote to the school master.

He was puzzled by the initials "W.C.", never dreaming of course that she was asking about a bathroom. He finally asked the help of the parish priest, who decided that W.C. stood for Wesleyan Church. This was the reply:

Dear Madam,

The W.C. is situated nine miles from the house in the center of a beautiful grove of trees. It is capable of holding 350 people at a time, and is open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday each week.

A large number of folks attend during the summer months, so it is suggested that you go early, although there is plenty of standing room.

Some folks like to take their lunch and make a day of it, especially on Thursdays when there is organ accompaniment. The acoustics are very good and everyone can hear the slightest sound. All join in to sing.

A sheet of paper is distributed at the entrance, but if there is not enough to go around, you can always borrow your neighbours'. The paper must be returned upon leaving, to be used again within a month’s time.

It may be of interest to you to know that my daughter was married in W.C., and it was there that she met her husband. We hope you will be there in time for our bazaar to be held very soon. The proceeds will go towards the purchase of plush seats, which the folks agree are a long-felt need, as the present seats all have holes in them.

My wife is rather delicate, therefore she can not attend regularly. It has been six months since the time she last went. Naturally, it pains her very much not to be able to go more often.

I shall close now with the desire to accommodate you in every way possible, and I will be happy to save you a seat down front or near the door, whichever you prefer.

--Schoolmaster

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Joke: Marriage and wives

Marriage and wives...

I recently read that love is entirely a matter of chemistry.

That must be why my wife treats me like toxic waste.

David Bissonette

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

Sacha Guitry

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.

Hemant Joshi

By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher. Socrates

Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.

Dumas

The great question... which I have not been able to answer... is, "What does a woman want?

Sigmund Freud

I had some words with my wife, and she had some paragraphs with me.

Anonymous

"Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays."

Henny Youngman

"I don't worry about terrorism. I was married for two years."

Sam Kinison

"There's a way of transferring funds that is even faster than electronic banking. It's called marriage."

James Holt McGavran

"I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me, and the second one didn't."

Patrick Murray

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming

1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,

2. Whenever you're right, shut up.

Nash

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once...

Anonymous

You know what I did before I married? Anything I wanted to.

Henny Youngman

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met.

Rodney Dangerfield

A good wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

Milton Berle

Marriage is the only war where one sleeps with the enemy.

Anonymous

A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: "Wife wanted". Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

Anonymous

First Guy (proudly): "My wife's an angel!"

Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."

Poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (Robert Frost)

One more poem by Robert Frost

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

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.

Poem: The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)

A poem that I like ...

The Road Not Taken --> Robert Frost


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

Monday, January 01, 2007

Funny Poem: My Boss and I

My Boss and I

When I Take a long time, I am slow,
When my boss takes a long time, he is thorough,

When I don't do it, I am lazy,
When my boss does not do it, he is busy,

When I do something without being told, I am trying to be smart,
When my boss does the same, he takes the initiative,

When I please my boss, I am apple polishing,
When my boss pleases his boss, he is cooperating,

When I make a mistake, you're an idiot.
When my boss makes a mistake, he's only human.

When I take a stand, I am being bull-headed.
When my boss does it, he's being firm.

When I overlooked a rule of ettiquette, I am being rude.
When my boss skips a few rules, he's being original.

When I am out of the office, I am wandering around.
When my boss is out of the office, he's on business.

When I have one too many drinks at a social, I am a drunken bum.
When my boss does the same, he appreciated women.

When I am on a day off sick, I am always sick.
When my boss is a day off sick, he must be very ill.

When I apply for leave, I must be going for an interview.
When my boss applies for leave, it's because he's overworked

When I do good, my boss never remembers,
When I do wrong, he never forgets.

Nice tool - Copernic Desktop Search

Fast, accurate search of your hard drive. Find emails, files, music, pictures, etc. in a jiffy.

I use this and I am very happy with it. It is free !!

Link: Copernic Desktop Search - The Search Engine for Your PC

Happy New Year 2007!!

A new year. A chance to begin anew. May we take this opportunity and make the world a better place.

Friday, December 22, 2006

The history of Orkut

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut
Home page of Mr. Orkut Buyukkokten: http://www.stanford.edu/~orkut/
Orkut page of Mr. Orkut: http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=325082930226142255

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Poem: Recipe for Kindness

Recipe for Kindness

Fold two hands together

And express a dash of sorrow

Marinate it overnight

And work on it tomorrow.

Chop one grudge in tiny pieces

Add several cups of love

Dredge with a large sized smile

Mix with the ingredients above.

Dissolve the hate within you,

By doing a good deed,

Cut in and help your friend

If he should be in need.

Stir in laughter, love and kindness

From the heart it has to come,

Toss with genuine forgiveness

And give your neighbour some.

The amount of people served

Will depend on you,

It can serve the whole wide world,

If you really want it to.

Author Unknown

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Blogger for Word

Blog from inside Microsoft Word. A plugin that is really easy to use. Recommended.

Note: For some reason, it does not work when Microsoft Outlook is running AND Outlook has Word configured as the default editor. So you have to either

Close Outlook when you want to blog from within Word. OR
Choose another editor other than Word as default for Outlook.

Other than this problem, it works great.

Link: Blogger: Download Blogger for Word

Expanding tables

Fletcher Capstan tables (Expanding tables)

Fantastic tables that expand when rotated to double its original seating capacity, but still remains circular. Made out of wood.

Existing tables can seat six persons when small, and twelve or more when expanded, but there are other design possibilities.

Go see it: DB Fletcher Furniture Design

Does Hospitality Have to Be So Wasteful?

A thought provoking article in NYT.

Link: Does Hospitality Have to Be So Wasteful? - New York Times

You have problems?

Got this email ... very nice!!

Don't worry if you have problems! Which is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one, I know. But the only people I am aware of who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighbourhoods. Most cities and villages have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you!

Let me explain.

Maybe you have seen the Great Barrier Reef , stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia . Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colourful," a traveller observed. "Why is this?"

The guide gave an interesting answer: "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves, and storms -- surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces."

Then he added this telling note: "That's the way it is with every living organism." That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness.

So, you have problems -- no problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again; stronger and powerful!"

China's white dolphin called extinct after 20 million years

Man's shameless behavior on this planet claims yet another victim.

A species that survived for 20 million years has died. Guess who is responsible?

Link: China's white dolphin called extinct after 20 million years - CNN.com

Nuckin' Futs – Awesome JibJab video

A H I L A R I O U S video from JibJab !! Go see it ..

Link: Nuckin' Futs – A JibJab Year in Review - 2006

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Mars Rover video

Amazing!! No words can describe it. Go see..

Link: dailyvideo - Mars Rover

Nissan Pivo: Amazing concept car

Check this out:

No blind spots
The cabin of the car turns around 360 degrees !! So no problems while parking

Link: hubertheller - Nissan Pivo

Sunday, December 10, 2006

A nice joke that I happened to come upon.
Reproduced from the site : EE versus CS

Electrical Engineering vs. Computer Science

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not far from here, a king summoned two of his advisors for a test. He showed them both a shiny metal box with two slots in the top, a control knob, and a lever. "What do you think this is?"

One advisor, an engineer, answered first. "It is a toaster," he said. The king asked, "How would you design an embedded computer for it?" The engineer replied, "Using a four-bit microcontroller, I would write a simple program that reads the darkness knob and quantizes its position to one of 16 shades of darkness, from snow white to coal black. The program would use that darkness level as the index to a 16-element table of initial timer values. Then it would turn on the heating elements and start the timer with the initial value selected from the table. At the end of the time delay, it would turn off the heat and pop up the toast. Come back next week, and I'll show you a working prototype."

The second advisor, a computer scientist, immediately recognized the danger of such short-sighted thinking. He said, "Toasters don't just turn bread into toast, they are also used to warm frozen waffles. What you see before you is really a breakfast food cooker. As the subjects of your kingdom become more sophisticated, they will demand more capabilities. They will need a breakfast food cooker that can also cook sausage, fry bacon, and make scrambled eggs. A toaster that only makes toast will soon be obsolete. If we don't look to the future, we will have to completely redesign the toaster in just a few years."

"With this in mind, we can formulate a more intelligent solution to the problem. First, create a class of breakfast foods. Specialize this class into subclasses: grains, pork, and poultry. The specialization process should be repeated with grains divided into toast, muffins, pancakes, and waffles; pork divided into sausage, links, and bacon; and poultry divided into scrambled eggs, hard- boiled eggs, poached eggs, fried eggs, and various omelet classes."

"The ham and cheese omelet class is worth special attention because it must inherit characteristics from the pork, dairy, and poultry classes. Thus, we see that the problem cannot be properly solved without multiple inheritance. At run time, the program must create the proper object and send a message to the object that says, 'Cook yourself.' The semantics of this message depend, of course, on the kind of object, so they have a different meaning to a piece of toast than to scrambled eggs."

"Reviewing the process so far, we see that the analysis phase has revealed that the primary requirement is to cook any kind of breakfast food. In the design phase, we have discovered some derived requirements. Specifically, we need an object-oriented language with multiple inheritance. Of course, users don't want the eggs to get cold while the bacon is frying, so concurrent processing is required, too."

"We must not forget the user interface. The lever that lowers the food lacks versatility, and the darkness knob is confusing. Users won't buy the product unless it has a user-friendly, graphical interface. When the breakfast cooker is plugged in, users should see a cowboy boot on the screen. Users click on it, and the message 'Booting UNIX v.8.3' appears on the screen. (UNIX 8.3 should be out by the time the product gets to the market.) Users can pull down a menu and click on the foods they want to cook."

"Having made the wise decision of specifying the software first in the design phase, all that remains is to pick an adequate hardware platform for the implementation phase. An Intel 80386 with 8MB of memory, a 30MB hard disk, and a VGA monitor should be sufficient. If you select a multitasking, object oriented language that supports multiple inheritance and has a built-in GUI, writing the program will be a snap. (Imagine the difficulty we would have had if we had foolishly allowed a hardware-first design strategy to lock us into a four-bit microcontroller!)."

The king wisely had the computer scientist beheaded, and they all lived happily ever after.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

The US ZIPScribble Map

-- Start SNIPPET ---

What would happen if you were to connect all the ZIP codes in the US in
ascending order? Is there a system behind the assignment of ZIP codes?
Are they organized in a grid? The result is surprising and much more
interesting than expected.

-- End SNIPPET ---

Link: The US ZIPScribble Map | EagerEyes.org

The Japanese Super Safe Wii Safety Manual (and its parody)

If you want to design a safety manual for your product, the ultimate one comes from the Japanese. They have covered almost all the scenarios that one can think of as far as "Don't do this!!" kind of advice is concerned. Definitely worth a look ...

Link: The Japanese Super Safe Wii Safety Manual - Kotaku

And can people resist poking fun at this? This site has a parody of pages that are "missing" from the manual.

Parody link: The missing pages

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Funny Shayari

Aaj thodi shayari ho jaaye ...

Lamha lamha waqt guzar jayega,
Saat pheron ke sath koi apko bhand jaeja,

Aabhi bhi waqt hai kisi se affair kar lo ,
Kya pata kal kaun cartoon apko saup diya jayega!!

Shah jahan ne Taj Mahal ki har dewar ko dekha,

Har menar ko dekha,

Har kaleen ko dakha,

Har khidki ko dekha

or bola....

Maa kasam, bohut kharcha ho gaya hai!!

Ishq Ke School Mein Naya Mahole Tayyar Ho Gaya

Class Ki Teacher Ko Pappu Se Pyar Ho gaya

Yeh Sun Ker Sari Class Ka DIl Udass Ho Gaya

Sari Class Fail Aur Pappu Pas Ho Gaya!!

Chori Chori Yeh Aana Jana Chhorh Do
Chupke Chupke Yon Nazar Milana Chhorh Do

Kisi Din Bohat Pito Gay Unse Tum
Yeh Masjidon Se Jootay Churana Chhorh Do!!

Maine Kaha Dilruba

Usne kaha Paise Dikha.

Maine Kaha Paise Nahi

Usne kaha kaise Nahi??

Maine Kaha Mehangayi Hai..
Usne Kaha-Ja Tu mera Bhai Hai !!!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Aurora / Meteor Shower Images

Images of the aurora borealis. Quite a collection.

Link: Aurora / Meteor Shower Images

The post-it pad that looks like an Onion

Those Japanese again - inventing new things every day. I want this one !!

Link: Tokyomango: The post-it pad that looks like an Onion.

Do Not Call List (for India)

-- START snippet --

Get disconnected from the world of perky telemarketers and wallow in the
lap of a luxurious disturbance-free day. Just sign up the Do Not Disturb
Registries of banks to disengage..

-- END snippet --

Table copied from the site:

A Few Clicks Away
Bank	Website	No. of clicks¹
ICICI Bank	www.icicibank.com	1
SBI	www.sbicard.com	1
BoB Cards	www.bobcards.com	1
Citibank	www.citibank.co.in	1
HDFC Bank	www.hdfcbank.com	1
StanChartered	www.standardchartered.co.in	1
HSBC	www.hsbc.co.in	1
ABN Amro	www.abnamro.co.in	1
UTI Bank	www.utibank.com	2
Bank of India	www.bankofindia.com	1
¹To reach DNCR

Link: outlookmoney.com: Ring in peace, say no to unsolicited banking calls

Monday, December 04, 2006

The World’s Most High-Tech Urinal

Urinal's are going high-tech !!

This one is underground during the day and comes out at night for peeing purposes. No doors - so no vandalism possible !!

Link: The World’s Most High-Tech Urinal « John Chow dot Com

Some Shayari

Today I feel poetic - so here is some shayari ...

Jo shaks tum se pehle yahan takht nasheen tha

Usko bhi khuda hone pe, itna hi yaqeen tha

(takht nasheen --> ruler)

-- Habib Jalib

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Bagair jane pahechane ikrar na kijiye,

Muskura kar dilo ko bekar na kijiye,

Phool bhi de jate hai zakham gahere kabhi kabhi,

Har phul par yun aaitbar na kijiye...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaam pe jaam peene se kya fayeda,

Raat guzri to utar jayegi,

Kisi ki aankhon se peeyo khuda ki kasam,

Umr saari nashe mein guzar jayegi.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Pyar ne ye kaisa tohfa de diya

Mujhko gumo ne pathar bana diya

Teri yaadon main hi kat gayi ye umar

Kehta raha tujhe kab ka bhula diya

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Wada na karo agar tum nibha na sako,

Chaho na usko jise tum pa na sako,

Dost to duniya me bahot hote hai,

Par ek khas rakho jiske bina tum muskura na sako.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday, December 01, 2006

How to Buy Nothing

All of us at one point or the other, have bought something that we really did not need. This list tells you ways and means of cutting down on spending unnecessarily in shops/malls. All of the suggestions may not be to your liking, but the overall philosophy is good.

Link: How to Buy Nothing - WikiHow

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Some nice snaps

Monday, February 12, 2007

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Monday, February 05, 2007

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Top 10 Foods for a Good Night's Sleep

Monday, January 22, 2007

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Monday, January 15, 2007

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Find what is the time anywhere in the world

New Delhi

Los Angeles

Monday, January 08, 2007

Friday, January 05, 2007

World Record skydiving parachute formation!

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Joke: W.C.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Poem: The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)

Monday, January 01, 2007

Funny Poem: My Boss and I

My Boss and I

Friday, December 22, 2006

The history of Orkut

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Recipe for Kindness

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Fletcher Capstan tables (Expanding tables)

Does Hospitality Have to Be So Wasteful?

You have problems?

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Funny Shayari

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Do Not Call List (for India)

Monday, December 04, 2006

Some Shayari

Friday, December 01, 2006

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