Cellphone Review - Nokia X6

I had the opportunity to get my hands on the new Nokia X6. And here's what i found out.


The Nokia X6 happens to be a pretty good phone at first sight. Sleek looks, great tough interface , and a pretty decent sensivity. Support for both sis and sisx files. The Nokia X6 does a good job with touch sensitivity. But the phone doesn't have a stylus, neither supports one. that can be a real nuisance sometimes.

The call quality is okay on the phone. But the network reception isn't pretty good. When i was sending messages to the phone, there was a terrible delay in message delivery on the phone when used on the BSNL network. The phone also had issues on connecting to networks.

Setting up a Proxy enabled WLAN network is a big headache. It took me an hour to just to configure the proxy settings, and still the phone wouldn't connect to the web. Music and Video experience is ordinary, nothing special.

I'd rather recommend the 5233 XM instead of this one. New Nokia smartphone handsets aren't that good as they used to be.

Sangakara and Sri Lanka act cheap , cheat cowardly

August seems to be a very bad week for the Cricketing world in the Indian subcontinent. August started with cheap antics by the Sri Lankan Captain Sangakara, and a cheat umpire.

The 2nd ODI between India and Sri Lanka in the Micromax Cup ended with India winning the match and levelling scores. But The last ball was something that ashamed the sprit of 'The gentleman's game'. Sangakara planned a cheap trick, and put his wicketkeeper and the bowler to execute it.

The trick - give a no ball. So that Virender Sehwag doesn't make a century(in technical terms), though he had made more than 100 runs from his bat. Knowing that this does shatter the player's confidence, this shows how CHEAP, DISGUSTING and PATHETIC Sangakara is.

In the 3rd ODI, they managed to get the Sri Lankan Umpire and referree to give unfair decisions, declare batsmen out on injust grounds.

I PITY on the Sri Lankan masses that their INEFFICIENT, COWARD team does such antics just to win a home series

Priyanka Chopra acts fake in KKK3 Promos

It surprises me to see how people can stoop to unprecedented low levels for publicity..

In the Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 3(thats the Indian Fear Factor), the promo's intend to show Priyanka Chopra taking a snake out of her purse, or standing next to a table with a crocodile on it. But it can be easily figured out by techies that its all graphic techniques, and all that intended to be seen is not true.

But still the channel, and even some news channels call her 'heroic', 'brave', and 'fearless' for that in special half hour broadcasts. I suspect those channels to be payed for such specials.

Pathetc s such media whch actually tries to mislead the audiences blindly. I strongly condemn such acts.

Nathu Noida - a review

Sometime back, i had the opportunity to visit the Nathu's flagship restaurant in Sector18, Noida. And the experience there was 'damn bad'.

When we entered the place, we were able to see the huge rush in the main sitting section. We proceeded to the 2nd floor's sitting section, it was the same story. Finding a free table, we occupied it.

And the wait started. After a long 15 minute wait, we got the menu. We immediately rounded on the order - two Mini Thali meals(thats for two heads).

And again the wait started. After around 20 minutes, we finally got the order. instead of being the lunch time(at 2:30pm), we still had to wait for this order. Normally, this order in lunch time doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes.

The food was okay. All the dishes in the thali seemed too much 'sweetened' for all unknown reasons.

On the whole, this was a 2/5 experience. in short, avoid Nathu's at Sector 18 Market,Noida. You won't miss much. Instead try some wastern cuisine at the nearby The Great India Place.

HDFC Sucks

Here's another revew of one of the organisations whom i'd prefer to avoid - HDFC Bank. And that too for the simple reasons like - Injustifiable charging, bad services, poor work quality.

Recently, i shifted my address(yet again). having an account at the Hauz Khas branch, i went there.

It was a rainy day. Nothing special was there to make me a bit relaxed. I was there, and there were atleast 3-4 staff members who weren't even bothering(thats except Ms Anjali, the one who finally decided to attend me after watching me wait for ten minutes). Meanwhile, the one who should have attended me was busy in getting someone getting an account opened.

After obtaining the form from Ms Anjali, and enquiring about the procedures, i handed the form to my dad. I had taken up this so that my dad doesn't waste his time in such silly things.

When he submitted the form with the necessary documents, the branch manager refused to accept it, citing some technical issues with the stated address(he said that FF would not be read as First Floor). Poor chap not knowing that he was coming across a general manager from the second largest Indian bank. Finally he agreed to accept it. But now he wanted dad to fill in the form once again. My father asked why, for which he was answerless. Seemed like my dad understood that he intended to make some changes in the account type without even asking us(in the same way the did when we opened this account, we had ignored it then only).

Now, after 10 days, they call up saying that the proof needs to be changed as the short name in the bill cannot be considered to be same as the full name entered in their records. How irritating.

HDFC Hauz Khas is simply pathetic !

Enough of 3 Idiots

I've been having enough of the Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots lately,leading me to furious reaction whenever a 'idiot' news or promo airs on TV.

Lately the DVD had been released, and so was the movie aired multiple times within a week on a popular channel - that too continuously on weekends. I never found this 'Overhyped' movie much good(though i do adore the aim behind the movie).

No more 3 Idiots for me !!

Travelling Tips for Delhi Public Transport

Here are a few travellng tips which might come handy for you.

1) Off Season
If the tme of travel sn't an ssue for you, then visit the place during the off peak months. You will not only aval a good discount n the hotels and fares,but wll also have a less crowded lace to explore on your own.

2) Bargain
You can compare price of train/bus/air fares on the internet or other sources, and choose among the cheapest of them.

3) Single Out
Very often, booking individual elements of a travel - like accomodation, sight seeing, tickets, etc can turn out to be a lot cheaer than those deals which travel firms offer. So do try researching on this.

4) Choose Widely
There are different travel packages available, depending on the type of holiday - personal.individual,business or family travel.

5) Travel Light
Dont keep extra luggage. Calculate the number of days outside, and keep clothing and other items accordingly. Addtional luggage is nothing but a load, and might even make you pay up for it at the airport .

Hope you all find them useful

Cellphone Care tips

Here are some tips to care for your cellphone which i found in a local daily.


Seal Well
Small cracks on the surface of a cellphone can cause moisture/steam to seep in, which can gradually erode the circuit board. Avoid using in the rains.

Fatal Attraction
Keep your cellphone away from a magnet. The magnet in your speaker phone will absorb excess iron powder if exposed to a magnetic field.

Give a Breather
Enclosed metal spaces like elevators and cars may require the device to work harder for establishing a connection,thereby draining the battery faster. So avoid using your cellphone ion such areas

Positive Charge
Switch off your cellphone before you charge it. Charging a cellphone while it is switched off decreases the life drastically.

Save from Extremes
Never leave your cellphone in direct sunlight or at very cold area. Drastic changes in temperature may hamper the phone's internal components.


Hope you find them useful.

A Tribute to the City of Joy

Calcutta(Known as Kolkata nowadays), the capital of the British East Indian Company during the British rule, the workshop for great humans like Mother Teresa, Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Saurabh Ganguly and the likes is one city that i'm proud to be associated to. The city happens to be a second home to me after New Delhi. Though people call it Kolkata, i'll call it Calcutta because its the name i'm attached to. I can say that i'm a 'half-bengali' since i've stayed a huge part of my short life in Calcutta only(fifteen years in a city isn;t a joke).

One of the oldest cities in India, and the biggest Indian sea port(before aeroplanes came into commercial use) is fondfully known as the 'City of Joy' , and no wonder it is called so, it deserves this tag. Being a Delhi'ite by birth, i am proud to say that Calcutta is way better than Delhi - a million times. And let me just iterate an incident that had seen myself in Calcutta at the popular Gariahat market.

On the junction of the road, a man snatched a woman's handpurse when she was boarding a bus, and ran away. Looking at this, the woman cried for help, and atleast thirty(or more) people started runnign behind him. And they kept on chasing him for atleast a kilometre till the moment they finally caught him. The bag was returned to the lady, and the thief to the police. Can you believe it. In which metropolis of the world would you find such things. People, who dont even know each other,haven't ever seen each other's face, run behind someone else's possession leaving their own work priorities behind just for the sake of humanity - Thats the spirit of Kolkata, and i'm proud to say that i've lived among those noble humans.

Its communism that has ruptured the city's growth for half a century now. In 1947, when the British were forced to run out of the nation, Calcutta was the most advanced city. But successive ignorant governments left the city there only, and seemed like the city's development stopped.

Calcutta's tourism department toils very hard to ensure that the public system supports every human out there in the city. The aim is simple - Let everyone be happy,healthy and prosperous. Let no-one go to bed without having three square meals a day. And proudfully, i can say that this is one city where this is ensured. Even beggers get to eat before calling it a day, something that the biggest cities on the planet dont get to see.

The city is a heaven for art and craft lovers. Bengali's and Calcuttians(as i'm used to say this phrase for years) have an unseen 'craze' for artistic skills. This is one city where the first thing taught in school is NOT the words and numbers, but to pursue and learn things, and pursue your love, your interests.

Calcutta, best known for its joyous people, can be best seen during the 'Navaratri', locally known as 'Durgo Pujo'. This is a religious festival which has the most importance in the region. The festival celebrates Lordess Durga killing the evil, and bringing stablity to the world. And the city's joyous air shows that Bengali's still celebrate it, just like Catholics celebrate the Christmas.

Arts, Sciences, Sports - no matter what field it is, Bengali's have shown their steel. If you happen to come across any Asian whose name ends with "Banerjee","Chatterjee","Bandhopadhay","Sengupta" or "Bose" , just know that you've just come across another member of the 'smart race'(thats in case you're a racist).

Known for its great architecture, rich culture, varied legacy, in case you happen to visit India, make it a point that you visit this city. Though the city may not be pretty 'advanced' as the other Indian cities, it is one city you'll love to reside in. And the large number of Foriegn immigrants settling in the city proves it.

So make it a point, and visit Kolkata - the real Indian Soul

Travelling Tips - New Delhi

For the upcoming commonwealth games in New Delhi, here's a tip for those who'll use public transportation. Follow them to stay hassle free.

1) Find public transport charges
visit the Incredible India(thats the Indian Tourism outlet) at the Indian airport, and get the list of public transport operators suggested by them. In case you dont find it, take a DTC(Delhi Transport Corporation - the government carrier) Red coloured bus. The red bus is the Airconditioned one. That'll avoid the dust,rush, moreover being the most reliable mode of transport.

2) Always insist on metered fare, or pre-paid booking slip
Pre-paid booking slips is the best way to ensure using a public transport. For this, Pre-paid Taxi and Prepaid Auto booths have been setup at prominent places.

3) Contact the Police for problems
In case you're having any problems related to anything(even the public transportation staff misconducting, or any taxi driver overcharging), just ask any police assistance to interfere in the matter. In India, every tourist's safety,security and comfort's responsibility belongs to the Police. Any mishappening, anything an be reported to the police.

4) Keep important numbers stored in your phone
Keep the following numbers stored in your phone. In case of any problems, these numbers are going to be very helpful.

Ambulance - 102/1099
Police - 100
Doctor - 1098
Information Helpline - (011)22222222

5) Go for the Metro for quick travel
For travelling long distances, insist on the Delhi Metro. Its the best way to commute to places where the distances are long, and time is an issue. Obtain a map from Wikipedia, and plan the route in advance to use this efficiently. Moreover, its much more comfortable for long distances.

Hope you find these useful. In case you do find some more useful tips online, feel free to link them

Re-Use your crayons

Here are a few tps on how to reuse and recycle your old,broken crayons. Here they are

Peel Off
Collect all the broken pieces and take the paper off your crayons.

Mix It Up
Put some watern into a sauce pan and put all the crayons into the pan(you can try mixing colors, or using sane colors all together)

Let It Melt
Heat the saucepan in a low flame and let the wax crayons melt slowly.

Pour It
Place a cookie cutter on a sheet of alumnum foil and pour the melted crayon. Hold down the cookie cutter so the wax doesn't leak out.

Cool It
Let it cool in the fridge. Once cooled, you can now use them just like a brand new crayon.

Hope you guys find them good.

Shaving Tips for Starters

Here are a few smart tips for shave starters.

1) Be Wet
The wetter the facial hair,the easier it is to cut. Instead of just splashing some water on your face,have a shower(preferably with warm water first. Then, dab off excess water before applying shaving cream.

2) Give It Time
Wet the shaving brush with warm water before applying shaving cream on it. Go for shaving creams with moisturisers and lubricant. Leave the lather on your face for a couple of minutes before you shave.

3) Keep it sharp
Always use a sharp blade, as a dull or blunt blade makes you too prone to cuts. AVOID DISOSABLE BLADES, and in case its the only option available, dispose it after the first use.

4) Mark the areas
This is something i learnt from my experience. No matter how experienced you are, do mark the areas where shaving is needed. Sometimes people shave over their cheeks, and end up looking bad instead of clean.

5) Go with the flow
Never shave against the direction of hair growth, as it might cause rashes(as it used to in my starting days) or in-grown hair. Use gentle strokes to shave, dont put too much pressure on the blade. And for repeating over any area twice, moisturise it before repeating.

6) Precautions after shave
After shaving,rinse your face thoroughly, and pat dry(never rub it dry). Preferably go for an aftershave moisturser(in case its not possible,use the alcohol based one) to soothe your skin.

Hope some guys out there get to learn something. Comments are welcomed

Congress on a Lame Prince

During the Bihar state elections, Rahul Gandhi was a very popular name, along with his mother Sonia Gandhi. He kept on holding press meetings, interacting with masses, meeting the tragedy affected, and so did his mother. But after the misfortunate cloud bursting incident at Leh which killed hundreds of lives, after half the state has been suffering from floods, after tonnes and tonnes of foodgrain has been rotting in the open due to corrupt officials, neither the son, nor his mother have been decent enough to come and speak up. They just appear at the time of elections.

Now, India Today calling Rahul Gandhi the most desirable candidate for holding the position of Prime Minister seems like a pathetic political attempt to set the stage for him.

Just see. A man, who couldn't study well due to his own causes(and not the situational ones), intends to be the prime minister. I ask such congressmen, is the Prime Minister's Office an office for the Jobless and Useless?? If it is so, i can still bring someone much better for the position, not some 'script-reading' kid.

Its not that i'm opposed against youth. Bring Jyotiraditya Scindia or the likes of politician, and i'm pretty happy with that. They might just be able to bring in the change, but certainly not a chap, who has done nothing much except eating off her mother's powers.

India Today, Shame on You ...

Floor Stain Removal tips

Here are a few tips i found out on removing stains from the floors.

Scuff Marks
Try removing the scuff marks using a rubber eraser, or using a paste of 2tbsp baking powder and a little water. Rub this mixture using a clean dry cloth into the mark. You can also use a non-gel toothpaste to rub into the mark with a clean dry cloth.

Rust Free
For the situations when the flooring hapens to be Vinyl, spread some baking powder over the rust stains and let it settle for a while. Now dip the cloth in vinegar and and rub it on the stain. Repeat it until the stain is removed.

Concrete Floor
You can clean small spills or spots by using a strong detergent, a scrub brush, and a sponge. A commercial concrete degeaser should be used in cases of oil stains.

Marble Floors
For removng stans off marble, make a paste of baking soda and bleach, and cover the paste with a damp cloth, and leave overnight. Then, wet down and scrap off the residue. Rinse thoroughly.

Remove the Gums
Use an ice cube to chill the gum off the floor. Simply rub it over the material to make it brittle, and then using a plastic spatula, scrape and lift the gum.



Hope you all found these rarely known stain removal techniques useful. Feel free to pour in your comments

Be-Ware

On CNBC TV18, there's one show which happens to be enlightning consumers for years now. I've been watching this show for years now, and its actually given me a big encouragement to go and fight for my rights from the mis-managed companies. The show is titled 'Beware', and airs on CNBC TV18 every weekend.

The show is immensely educational on consumer rights and issues. They give tips on loads of consumer issues, like fake foriegn exchange issues,invalid billing and unjustified denials to insurance policies. And in case you find the fact that someone's taking up a wrong step towards your consumer interests,you can take up the issue with them too on their contact addresses.

So i'd suggest you to be 'beware' !

Contact Information for Beware (whatever is known with me,i'm publishing)

Twitter : bewareatcnbc

Back to the Hop

A little more than a year ago, i had done a post on Hip-Hop, where i had shown my concern over the declining Hip-Hop in the music industry. And within a year, the scene's changed. Just look at the music industry, Hip-Hop guys have turned a rage again.

If you have been checkng out music download sites, you'll be familiar with names like Rihanna, Eminem, Jason Derulo,Jay Z, M.I.A, Sean Paul, Usher to name a few artists who've been in the news for their music recently. And the thing common in all of them - Hip-Hop/RnB/Rap. All of them belong to the same industry.

EMinem came with a new album after a long time - Relapse, soon followed by Recovery, and both sell in enormous numbers even after extreme piracy. Ditto for Jay Z. And Sean Paul came after ages . Jason Derulo, a new name came with a mix of Rock'ish RnB. and all of them have actually come big with their beats.

RnB/Hip-Hop/Rap are more about lyrics with catchy beats, and thats what makes people listen. Afterall, humans want good lyrics which somewhere resonate with them, and great beats to hook on to. Some of Jay's tracks like 'on to the next one' were real dud's , but the beat made them big.

It isn't that rock is dead, but rock is an aggressive music form. Miley Cyrus might be a hit, but at the end of the day, thats not one'll want to hear before you go to sleep, instead Eminem's light raps like 'cleanin out my closet' or Ashanti's 'Unfoolish' or Nelly Furtado's 'Try' would be a good choice.

Seems like its back to the past...

Tips for Gym Starters

Here are a few tips i found for those who're just about to join the Gym for the frst time. Thought it'll be a great share

1) Keep Your Body Hydrated
Drink water 15-25mins before starting your warmup exercises. This will reduce the chances of gettng muscle cramp.

2) Warm Up and Stretching
Warm-up and dynamic stretching is very important, infact the most important thing before starting any exercise

3) Go Slow
Don't over exert yourself n order to lose flab early. Resist the temptaton of lifting weight in initial days. Go for a higher number of repetitions for the first few times and gradually practise with the heavier weights.

4) Bench Pressing
Don't pick your feet up from the floor when you bench, no matter how others are doing it. Prefer light weight so that your feet are always steadily planted.

5) Cool Down
After working out,do cool-down exercises. You need to calm your muscles by repeating some of the stretching exercises in correct order.

Hope you liked it.

A great eatout - Karnataka

For years now,i've been visiting this place in Yusuf Sarai market for delicious South Indian cuisine, and the more i go, the more my affection for this place grows.

Karnataka Restaurant, which has been operating in Yusuf Sarai before 1980's, is a wonderful eatery out there. Probably one of the best South Indian ones.

Coming from the family of great Indian hoteliers, this chain of restaurants makes it mark among those who've tried it atleast once, and like their food not too spicy. The owners of this chain happen to be in blood relations with the owners of the worldspread 'Shravana Bhavan' chain of eateries which also specialise in traditional South Indian.

The cuisines available are South Indian, North Indian, and Chinese. And surprisingly, their north Indian dishes, especially the Punjabi ones are mouth watering good,better than many 'north Indian' specialist restaurants out there(This i say being a Punjabi myself). I'd personally recommend Shahi Paneer, Mixed vegetable, and Malai Kofta as dishes in the main course for the North Indian meal. Though their North Indian Thali is quite good, and the South Indian thali is quite brilliant and authentic in itself. And as for the South Indian meals, try any from the huge range of Dosa's(their dosa's are just perfect), Uttapam's, and Thali.

And for the finishing touch, try either Gulab Jamun, Faluda Kulfi, or the ice creams(try the butter scotch one, or the truffle, they're both excellent). Finishing your meal with sweets happens to be a South Indian tradition, something i found very wise of the Dravidians.

The feature that all the dishes are made with great precision makes me a loyal customer. The food is not spicy at all(unlike as assumed for the Indian dishes). The dishes are made with a medium level of spices, which makes the presence of spices and indredients detectable, but not pinching to the senses. And the quality of food is uniform throughout their branches(they have an outlet behind Alaknanda market too). The flavour of Shahi Paneer ceases to change with the outlet, its the identical replica. Even McDonalds or Subways cannot do such great replication.

This is one wonderful place to eat out. Personally, after being a loyal customer for years, the staff rather treats us as a family, and are very hospitble. The food from all the cuisines extremely reasonably priced, making it a great value for money. Both the Alaknanda and Yusuf Sarai outlets are great. The Yusuf Sarai market outlet happens to be the oldest one in Delhi, so for the real 'Karnataka' experience, i'd recommenting it.

I'm giving it 5 out of 5 for being such a great place to be,and that too for decades now.

Address

Yusuf Sarai
46/3
Yusuf Sarai Market
Hauz Khas
Delhi -110016
Next to Indian Oil Bhavan
Contact:
011-26511222, 011-26862026, 011-26852534,9210011836

Alaknanda
J-3/5, Alaknanda , Delhi- 110019
Landmark: Near Mother Dairy
Contact no: 011-26029992 ,011-26029993,9810109216

Movie Review - Khosla Ka Ghosla

For a long long time, i'd been wanting to write the review for this 'superb' movie. This is one movie i've seen over eight times, but whenever i find it airing on some channel,i simply forget evrything else on tv. So here it goes.

Khosla Ka Ghosla is a movie made on the land mafia and the suffering people have to face because of them. Brillantly scripted and directed, the rest of the brillance is shown by the fine performance by actors like Navin Nischol,Anupam Kher,Boman Irani,Tara Sharma,Vinay Pathak,Parvin Dabbas,Ranbir Shorey and the likes.

The Plot:
Kamal Khosla(Anupam Kher) is a government servant, who works hard to make a living. After saving money for years, he invests it in buying a plot from a property dealer Vijender. But his hardluck that he's bought this plot from a very dishonest property dealer. When he visits the plot, he finds that someone else had already occupied the plot and built on it. Later on, he fnds out that the dealer had duped him, and that land is in the ownership of a wealthy land mafialord Khurana(Boman Irani). The papers had been forged when Khosla was buying the plot, and so the papers he was in possession of were fraud.

Khosla tries many ways to get his plot back. He tries negotiating with Khurana, but he asks for 15 lac rupees, which he later reduces to 10 lacs. Khosla tres the polce, but they act more like a broker rather than a law enforcer,asking him to pay 10lacs and 2lacs as his share. It is the same story when he goes to the local MP and the NGO's, all of them want a share.

Khosla has two sons and a daughter. His elder son Cherry(Parvin Dabbas) is a software engineer planning to go to America for pursuing a better career and his younger son Balwant(Ranbr Shorey) is unemployed. On learning their father's plight, both Cherry and Balwant try to help him out. Balwant tries to help by getting some local wrestlers to get the land vacated. But in the process,Khosla gets arrested on Khurana's police complaint.

Looking at the plight,Cherry decided to contact his Visa agent Asif(Vinay Pathak), who had once asked him if he could assist in the matter. Cherry comes to know that Asif used to be Khurana's aide once upon a time,but was himself duped by Khurana who had took away all his ancestral property. Asif agrees to help him out. And in Asif's plan, Meghna(Tara Sharma) who is Cherry's girlfriend, and her father(Navin Nischol) help out. And whats Asif's plan - dupe Khurana, get money from him, and pay him that same money to free the plot.

The story then unwinds in the most hillarious way how they make a fool out of Khurana, get the money and get the plot.

Final Take:
The move is hillarious. The common man's story is just so interesting that you simply can't get your eyes off it. Made on a budget of Rs 26Lacs(thats 2.6 mill.), the movie is a humorous take on the grim situaton in the estate industry. Navin Nischol,Anupam Kher,Vinay Pathak, Parvin Dabbas have really given a tremendous performance. Rest actors have also done brilliant job. The music of the movie was a new trendsetter. Everything is brilliant.

For everything, i'd give 4.5 out of 5. A MUST WATCH movie

Tips to protect Paintings

I came across an article in the local newspaper on How to look after your wall paintings in rainfall season, and seems like they're good.

1) Maintain friendly room temperature
High levels of humidity tend to cause mold growth. moisture may also cause the wooden frame of the painting to expand and damage around the canvas.

2) Be careful about seepage
Don't hang the paintings on a seepage prone wall. Water from make the colors bleed and also cause damage to the frame.

3) Stay away from windows
As much as possible, don't put your pantings close to windows and doors. These are the most humid prone areas. Kitchens and dinng rooms also are places where there should be no paintings hanging.

4) Control Air Flow
Don't start your Air Conditioners on full cooling capacity, adjust the cooling slowly so that the the change in the room temperature comes gradually.

5) Be careful about packaging
If the paintings are being stored, ensure that they are wrapped in foam, and then bubble wrap. Prefer storing them n a cool and dry place

Hope the artlovers like these tips.

Source: The Hndustan Times

Rise of the Old

Rise Of the Old

Lately, i've been trying to understand whats up with this world. Everything which happens to be said so called 'New' or 'Latest' seems to be something i've known of for sometime. And its not just about one thng, its with most of the things.

In the 1990's, there used to be ths trend of reading book( mean, its always been there, but it was quite a rage back then). But later, since early year 2000, things changed. People become more of a visual being rather than a textual one. Enjoyment and refreshment meant more of partying in clubs and going out for movies rather than have a small get-together's and lazying out on weekends with a pipe and a book. Those days went by.
But since last year, changes started to pop up agan. The Kindle made it 'trendy' to read books again, which meant more book sales. But whats new wth E-books, the've been here for quite sometime,but why this sudden rise. The answer is - the physical touch. Fnally man has something to touch in a book. The Kindle's design makes it more like reading a physical book, and thats what appeals the human.

Now people used those early analog equipments to monitor electrical systems, but ever since they encountered digital, they switched to the latter. But in the recent times, companies have been also constructing the old analog equipments for the sake of 'backup'. Maybe even they know that no matter how smart 'artificial intelligence ' is, its still no match with 'nature's intelligence'.

There used to be a generation when people used typewriters for writing out anything lengthy. QWERTY was made just to reduce efficiency of the human hand,so that the typewriter would have enough time to rebound. But look at this age. Instead of the old numeric keypad, even the cheapest phone coming nowadays has a full QWERTY keypad, when the only thing they're doing is typing text messages of maximum 1000 words, and that too including spaces and special characters.

At the end of the day, we can easily see that human being is just the way it used to be, its just that forms change, the basic tendency doesn't. Man changes according to needs, but this doesn't apply to his nature.

Whay do you have to say on this? Do you agree or think differently? Feel free to pour in

Tips to Relieve Tech-Stress

Here are a few tips i found on managing tech fatigue. I found them helpful, thought sharing them with you. Here they are

1) Get Fresh Air
Resolve to step out of the balcony for fresh air before checking your mail first thing in the morning. Find ways to engage in entertainment that does not involve a gadget. Watch a live performance, go out for a walk.

2) Meet Friends
Meet people more often in person than on the web,whether they are friends, business clients, or cousins. This will automatically keep you off the technological over-indulgence.

3) Make a chart
Keep a track on what makes you most tired - is it texting on the cellphone or calculating on the desktop? Or overdoing the iPod? Set a time aside from it. Limit yourself to a certain number of texts a day, take atleast a 10 minute break from the office computer every hour. You'll be amazed at the results.

4) Pamper yourself
Get a full body massage, with special attention to your digits and eyes. It soothens the technologically active part of the body.

5) No gadgets at all
Declare one day in the month totally tech-free. Do the math, pick up the pen instead of hitting the keys, sing insteaad if picking the pod.

Hope you all also found them useful the way i did. Comments are welcomed.

The colors of the Capital

Delhi, better known as the Indian capital, and the host for the soon to be held commonwealth games happens to be a very varied city in terms of experience.

A recent outing in the city recently made me ponder over the various colors,experiences and fervors of the city. It wouldn't be wrong to say that Delhi is the summation of the whole of India. The whole country seems to be summed up in this city.

For the fact, i was roaming around August Kranti Marg, the same road where the Siri Fort Auditorium,North India's first shopping complex Ansal Plaza and the legendary Siri Fort is situated. Those roads also happens to be those very roads where i have been born and brought up in, the roads where i can say 'i belong from'. I've been seeing these roads since they day i was born. There's not even a single year when i've not seen these roads, or interacted with people.

While shopping at Ansal Plaza, i realised something. This city can be very hospitable as well as misbehaved at times. Thats a different thing that the misbehaved ones are generally aggregated, and are mostly untrained,ignorant, working in uncertain situations, and infact less educated.

And on the other hand, it can enormously generous and hospitable, so hospitable that you'll love it. A few good examples are Shoppers Stop,Ansal Plaza , and Karnataka Restaurant,Yusuf Sarai Market. Over years,they have served people with the same care and concern they've been giving for years, without any break. Karnataka Restaurant, which my parents have been visiting for decades now, has been a wonderful place for us to dine in.

And then there is the wonderful Hauz Khas market. The people might not be looking very smart and attractive there, but believe me, its wonderful. By any chance, if you happen to visit the Asian games Village complex(better known as Siri Fort Sports Complex), then do visit Hauz Khas market and Karnataka restaurant(only for the Vegetarian guys) at Yusuf Sarai market. Its a wonderful experience.

And in case you want to roam around in Delhi, prefer going out after 8:30pm. This city is a wonderful place to hangout during late nights.

Do you think the same, or you have something else to add. Feel free to pour in your comments.

An ode to the good times

An ode to the good times


An year back, i used to be a pretty serious guy, who probably felt like a machine. Infact, a bit depressed. Fixed schedules, fixed desires, fixed checklist. Efficiency was everything for me then. No emotions at all.

But then, someone who had been around me for a while now came into existance for me. It was more like a breath of fresh air, something new and interesting, which made me think over everything. And before i knew anything else, i had changed. And changed a lot. I became more about enjoyment and comfort contrary to what i used to be. And its all thanks to this person.

And its been more than a year since i've changed a lot. This person has changed my whole outlook towards the world(in all senses). And still i feel that this is not the end of the road for the changes that i'm yet to see.

All i'd like to you is...thanx. Thanks a lot. You did turn my life upside down. Thanks for being there.

Signing Off

RD

lucyphone - A Great Service for the Impatience

Hello Everyone
Recently i came through this great site. The site is lucyphone.com

For my US based readers, this is your site. Sick of waiting while being connected by some dum voice response system. Here's your relief. This website gives you the ablity to break free from such stud IVR waits.

Here's the deal. Just vsit the website,note down the number you want to call with their system, and feed your number. And just when you're call s about to be answered by some human being, they'll give you a call. Isn't that great. No waitingover annoying IVR's, no wasting time over responding to some computer answering machine.

Well, i dont know about the charges. One of my pals in the States had told me about it. She told me that Lucyphone was also available as a software for smartphones(she uses an iPhone, and it was available for it). Too bad India doesn't have this service, i'm darned tired of waiting for turn to press that button that connects to that human..

What do you think. Isn't that great ?

Site Picks

Hey everyone.
Here's another list of the sites i came across. Hope you like them.

freedrive.com
Its a file sharing and personal storage site, good for social networkng site users. It connects with sites like Facebook,Myspace,Bebo , and gives shares your files with your friends. basic account gves 1Gb free space. Users can access both their own and ther friends's files.

seesaw.com
Ths is a video site, which buys the best show in the uk, and shows them online. I found it pretty nice enough to mention here.

paintingsilove.com
Ths site allows you to mark your favirote paintings,comment on them, or even upload your favirotes. Ths site allows budding artists to uload ther creations on forums, discuss about them, or even learn new skills.

oneframeoffame.com
A nice sounding site. The site gives you the option of getting your one photograph frame which you can show it to everyone with pride. An English band s going to use the frame in their video. Better hurry if you want to, they already have 25k+ entries already.

tvlizer.com
Download your favirote shows from this site for fee. A site many friends recomend me. But a note, Content available on the site may be a subject of copyright.


Comments are welcomed.

Site Pickz

Hello everone
Now here is another list of sites i chose. Hope you guys like them

tineye.com
You have a picture with you and want to find out on the internet from where it can be taken from. This is the site you should be looking for.

lamebook.com
This site happens to be a mock of the popular Facebook. All the funny things on the social networking giant are posted on this.

springpadit.com
A website for the thosen who need to remember things. It gives you a great software

1daylater.com
This site allows you to manage our work profile and all other tasks to do. Make a lst of what to do, take down additional notes, and even setup reminders. There's a free servce option, and two premium service option from which you can choose from, depending on your needs.

box.net
Another one of those cloud storage sites. It gives 1Gb free online storage space. It gives you an web interface, and also suports a software based interface where you can drag and drop files to your box account.

adrive.com
It clams to offer 50 Gb of free online storage space - the largest i know. At $& a month, it gives multiple premium features.


Hope you all find them useful. Comments are welcomed

More discrepencies in the CWG

Surprisingly, many companies throughout the world have been found in bribing the officials of the Commonwealth Games OC for getting ther own profits in the investigations of the Central Vigilance Committee

Sports Marketing And Management(SMAM), Singapore -For failing to meet the contracted requirements and drafting an injust agreememt

AM Films, UK - For illegally getting money without any specific role

It wonders me, how come people be so obsessed with money.

Pakistan Promoting Insurgency,says a US document leak

Very recently, some 92000 pages of classified US intelligence data had been leaked on wikileaks.com , and it has stated the same information that the Indian government has been saying for years.

Pakistan's national intelligence organisation ISI is funding many terrorist activities against India. This happens to be a very surprising confirmation of what i had been hearing for ages. In fact, it even reveals many other important points that the US government should have put up in front of India. It reveals how Pakistan is training terrorist militia to kill Indian citizens in Afghanistan, and supplying tonnes of arsenal to them. And all that is being done by routing the US and UN Funding for relief,rehabilitation,education and many other noble purposes. This cheap and disgusting Pakstan has become.

I know, many readers of mine are Pakistani's, and this truth might offend you. Well, brothers, this is the truth of your nation. Check out wikileaks.com and check it out for yourself. Hacking the site down won't do much help to you,Google has cached all its 92000 pages of newly uploaded information onto all its servers in the Asia-Pacific region. You should rather work on changing your government, and throw away those pathetic sick insane leaders.

Commonwealth Crap..

For the ongoing preperations for the Commonwealth Games, which are going on at a superslow pace, i feel that they might become a nuisance for us Indians.

As a part of the preparations, the whole city has been dug up at every corner where one can think of. Even the shining old streets have been dug up just for the sake of retiling it with swanky shiny new tiles. And the renovation work for the pre-existing stadiums and arena's have actually worsened these facilities instead of improving them.

And The Government of NCT of Delhi has spent over Rupees 80000 Crores(roughly 15000 billion US$) over this babbling nonsense. You have actually made ths city into a bombed concrete graveyard, with the dead bodies of plants, trees, and the environment. Wasting so much money on such hazardous activities is simply nonsense, foolishness, and unjustifiable. And to top it all, quite a large chunk of then work is yet to be completed. All the big stadiums, arena's and tracks are yet to be made(Not to mention that the proposed cycling track at the Noida-Greater Noida expressway is nowhere near initiation of construction, and they expect t to be over by october). This amount is way many folds than the annual defence budget the government has, and still these NCT politicians are ruining the whole city just to satsfy their ego's.

Thinking the fact that for this, we citizens are paing our hard earned cash makes us frustrated more. We're paying double the amount for a can of beer(which's roughly 2US$) than what we were paying till this January, and all this for wasting on cheap work. Am i paying so much as property tax so that this city can turn into a city of shambels from a lush beautiful green city.

Sheila Dixit,Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi , you all have to answer me.

politicians are so sickening....