via vimeo.com
Beautiful!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything
Here, then, are the six keys to achieving excellence we've found are most effective for our clients:
- Pursue what you love. Passion is an incredible motivator. It fuels focus, resilience, and perseverance.
- Do the hardest work first. We all move instinctively toward pleasure and away from pain. Most great performers, Ericsson and others have found, delay gratification and take on the difficult work of practice in the mornings, before they do anything else. That's when most of us have the most energy and the fewest distractions.
- Practice intensely, without interruption for short periods of no longer than 90 minutes and then take a break. Ninety minutes appears to be the maximum amount of time that we can bring the highest level of focus to any given activity. The evidence is equally strong that great performers practice no more than 4 ½ hours a day.
- Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses. The simpler and more precise the feedback, the more equipped you are to make adjustments. Too much feedback, too continuously, however, can create cognitive overload, increase anxiety, and interfere with learning.
- Take regular renewal breaks. Relaxing after intense effort not only provides an opportunity to rejuvenate, but also to metabolize and embed learning. It's also during rest that the right hemisphere becomes more dominant, which can lead to creative breakthroughs.
- Ritualize practice. Will and discipline are wildly overrated. As the researcher Roy Baumeister has found, none of us have very much of it. The best way to insure you'll take on difficult tasks is to ritualize them — build specific, inviolable times at which you do them, so that over time you do them without having to squander energy thinking about them.
via blogs.hbr.org
I've never been a big fan of these kind of articles, but these six points hit the point bulls-eye! Everyone who is good at something has gone through these, knowingly or not.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
How Barcelona make sex look ugly… (via @krish_Santhosh)
In a display of much beauty and delight, Barcelona despatched Real Madrid with a good 5-0 thumping that left us breathing heavily and completely flushed at the sheer art of their tapestry.
It was just one of those nights when you were glad you preferred sticking to the television set than move over to the bedroom. On a chilling Monday night, Barcelona’s football effused such warmth that you wanted to lie in its arms and snuggle up to it, wishing the moment would never end.
There was mild flirting at the beginning, a few playful glances exchanged, the hands brushing together and then Barca took us all home. We like gleeful voyeurs sat and watched them strip Real Madrid of every garment, taking in the irony that the sheer beauty of the act came from a team dressed in blue and violet and not the one in white.
As you saw the sleek passing, the flicks, the dribbles, the feints, the mazing runs, the pinpoint vision and the understanding of the team-mates on the field, you realised that football may have been invented by the English but it has been mastered to perfection by the Catalans. They are the definitely the ones on top.
What we witnessed was not some kind of a B-grade porno filmed in a day in someone’s basement. There was nothing ugly about the Blaugrana’s performance, nothing at all, in fact it would have made us wonder just how ugly we get once the curtains are drawn. This was not Arnold Schwarzenegger, this was Johnny Depp oozing charm all the way through.
The belief that men are not multi-orgasmic was made redundant as for ninety minutes Lionel Messi and Co. had everyone enthralled in crescendo. As I rewatched the highlights of the game on YouTube, two American commentators were describing the action and you could hear them Ooohhh… Aaaahhhh…. Yesssss their way through it.
The first two goals were made out of pure passing as the ball never left the feet of a Barca player and then the next two were made solely by a certain magical Argentine. In between all this, there were so many times when the Catalans seemed simply unbeatable and yet so enticing. We love to hate successful teams but Barca can never be hated.
In this country we have grown an affinity for the Portuguese Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo for their rawness, machisimo and exuberance. But there is just too much flair, poise and panache about Lionel Messi to not fall in love with him. He is not only the boy you can take home but also one who can make you see the world in a different light – ‘el Mesiah’.
I am not a Barcelona fan by any means, I took delight in their downfall at the hands of Mourinho’s Inter Milan side last season. In the battle between Good and Evil, I was on the latter side. But anyone who saw the Catalans in action last night would be forgiven for thinking that they are indeed ‘The Saviours’.
Beautiful beautiful articulation
Monday, November 29, 2010
WikiLeaks – Insurance Policy Expired? « Jester's Court – Stay Frosty My Friends
So we all know it’s been pretty quiet round these parts. Why? WikiLeaks recently published a mysterious encrypted 1.4GB file titled “insurance.aes256′′ on their Afghan War Logs page, with no explanation. While much speculation has been going on as to the origins and purpose of the file, much of it saying that it is ‘insurance’ against WikiLeaks being taken down by the United States government, and contains ‘terrible secrets.’ WikiLeaks neither confirms nor denies the purpose of the file. But it remains there.
One of the real thought provoking ones in recent times
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
At it again
Moving on, and speaking of moving-on, when is that process completely done? Till when do you care about the people you're moving/moved on from? Do you stop caring at all? I know I don't want to stop caring. I know that I will always wonder and worry and ultimately, care about everyone and everything... and about keeping things in equilibrium and peace. What I worry about is the intensity of every emotion I feel now... towards people in the past and present, and about my future. Wonder. Worry. Curiosity. Fear. Aah. I feel sorry, happy, scared, stupid, and lost. Very freaking exciting. And I'll stop here.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Coconuts removed in India ahead of Obama visit
In their effort to provide maximum security in the run-up to his visit on Friday, they have removed coconuts which may fall on his head from trees.
All coconuts around the city's Gandhi museum have now been cut down, an official told the BBC.
Every year in India people are injured or even killed by falling coconuts.
via bbc.co.uk
The lines crack me up. That said, seriously? This is one of the top stories on BBB South Asia?
Monday, November 1, 2010
Qatar's leading dailies are confused! Panther? Cheetah? No dude, it was a tiger!
The last week here in Doha had some kind of a wild animal scare. I remember first seeing the rumors on twitter thanks to @NazQatar that a Tiger hunt was on somewhere near the Khatriyat area. http://twitter.com/#!/NazQatar/status/28817427261
Come Thursday, and not only the rumors but the Tiger itself had apparently reached EC and this resulted in some of the colleges sending out an emergency message asking people to stay indoors. This post is not the story of the rumor (a real report btw can be found here, a report by @mydailyq).
Here are the post rumor reports from Qatar's leading English dailies, namely Gulf Times and The Peninsula. The funny part, BOTH GOT THE ANIMAL WRONG!!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A Girl’s Guide to Geek Guys (via @Decloned_Taz)
So, your crush on the bass player from Vibrating Sandbox has finally died a whimpering death and you’re wondering where to go from here. All the scenester dudes are either dating a series of interchangeable high-school riot grrrls in baby doll dresses and an overdose of manic panic, or permanently shacked up with some bitter old lady who pays all the bills. Which will it be, a wifely prison or a humiliating one night stand? Into this void of potential mates comes a man you may not have considered before, a man of substance, quietude and stability, a cerebral creature with a culture all his own. In short, a geek.
Why Geek Dudes Rule
They are generally available.
Other women will tend not to steal them.
They can fix things.
Your parents will love them.
They’re smart.
Where The Geek Dude Lurks
While they are often into alternative music, geek dudes tend not to go to shows too often. Instead you’ll find them hanging out with their friends, discussing the latest hardware revolution or perfecting their Bill Gates impressions. You know how some people wear t-shirts with their favorite bands on them, thus showing that they went to certain shows? Well, geek dudes wear t-shirts with the logos of different software companies on them, thus showing that they are up on the latest, um, releases. A small, though convivial, rivalry may be detected here amongst the geek dudes. Try wearing one yourself and see if he strikes up a conversation.Of course the best way to meet a geek dude is through the Internet. All geeks harbor a secret fantasy about meeting some girl in cyberspace, carrying on an e-mail romance in which he has the chance to combine an activity he is comfortable with, computing, with one he is very uncomfortable with, socializing. To many geek dudes, cyberdating is just an advanced form of some kind of video game, but they are frustrated by a lack of players. Their lack is your strength.
Imprinting
You might notice that these men harbor some strange ideas about how the world works and some particularly strange ideas about women. There is a reason for this. Because they’ve had limited interpersonal experience, geek dudes must look elsewhere for behavior models. Lacking a real world social milieu, geeks often go through a transference stage with such narratives, and try to model their interactions on them. Thus, certain media images and themes come to have an overly cathected, metaphorized reality to them, while the rest of us view such programming as mere entertainment. Case in point, our next topic….The Trek factor
If you’re not up on your Star Trek, you can forget about getting or keeping a geek dude. And I’m not just talking vintage-era Captain Kirk and Spock either. You’ve got to be up on your The Next Generation , your Deep Space Nine, your Voyager. Armed with your own knowledge of Federation policies, you can better gauge when and how to act. For extra help in learning how to relate in their own language, check out the Klingon Language Institute.
Once You’ve Nabbed Him
Of course, catching that geek guy is only half the battle. Keeping him by your side is another story altogether. I was privileged to speak with Miss Victoria Maat, who not only got herself a geek guy but was also clever enough to marry him just a few short months ago. She interrupted her newlywed bliss to give us a few tips on the care and feeding of a geek man:Geeks are sensitive and caring lovers and husbands. If you can hang with the techno-lifestyle, they make the best mates. They are the most attractive people, not flashy or hunky, but the kind who get cuter and more alluring over time (I told you she was a newlywed). Definitely give geeks a chance.
Geek Cuisine
Geeks tend towards packaged, junk foods since they prefer to work and think and aren’t all that into cooking for themselves. Make sure that your geek understands that you are not merely a replicator, and provide him with home cooked food. A batch of chocolate chip cookies will let him know that you love him. You do have to monitor your geek for weight gain; however, remember that most of their days are spent sitting and staring at a monitor.Geek Lifestyle
The geek dude has long work habits and tends to bring his work home with him. He seems permanently connected to his hard disk. You must at least appear interested in his work. Generally, a solid understanding of the computer is a must; if you cannot master this, you should at least be able to talk the talk. Remember most geeks are anal and they get stressed about details which appear insignificant. Be understanding, put on your best Deanna Troi face (see above) and empathize.To relax, geeks love to play the latest computer games. Let him play Myst or Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat for hours if he wants to. Act concerned if he’s stuck or has just been ambushed by three MiGs. My geek loves to try to help people on the Internet who say that they are stuck in Myst. He comes up with clever riddles instead of directing them point blank. Geeks also like to go to sci-fi and Japanese animated movies, again, a basically harmless vent for your man.
Geek Buddies
Many geeks extend their work friendships into what they jokingly refer to as RL (Real Life, also known as “that big room with the ceiling that is sometimes blue and sometimes black with little lights”). The greatest thing about your geek’s buddies is that you can feel secure in setting them up with your girlfriends. They may feel awkward around females at first, so don’t overwhelm them. In time they will come out of their shell and realize that you are into the same things they are. Post-It NoteI thank Victoria for the above advice. I must say that when she read my draft of the piece, before writing her section, she asked her husband which one he thought she was more like, Deanna or Beverly. Howard, the devil, immediately replied that he had always thought Victoria was actually most like Ensign Ro Laren, a cute character with a slight authority problem who is always had trouble (this is fairly apt). This exchange is interesting for several reasons:
Howard had already thought about who she was most like.
He could summon up characters from seasons past with ease.
Victoria actually knew who he meant.
Folks, I think this marriage will last.
One Last Thing
Because they have been so abused and ignored by society, many geeks have gone underground. You may actually know some and just haven’t noticed them. They often feel resentful, and misunderstood, and it is important to realize this as you grow closer to them. Don’t ever try to force the issue, or make crazy demands that he choose between his computer and you. Remember, his computer has been there for him his whole life; you are a new interloper he hasn’t quite grasped yet.Geek dudes thrive on mystery and love challenges and intellectual puzzles. Don’t you consider yourself one? Wouldn’t you like a little intellectual stimulation or your own? We thought so.
Happy Hunting!
via mikkipedia.net
it's scary how true this is!
Compared to you, most people seem dumb
In the Internet industry most people know the difference between Firefox and Explorer. We also know what FTW stands for and what the difference is between ASP, PHP and RoR. Or at least we know that there is a difference.
If you meet an entrepreneur who has never heard of Digg, Google Apps or The Freemium Model you would be surprised. Right?
But that is just us; a small subset of digerati who have time to stay up-to-date on almost everything relating to our industry. The rest of the world? Ignorant to most of it, and that is just fine. The problem arrises when you are trying to think about what you customers could want. Chances are they don’t have a clue what you are talking about. A few examples:
1: my father recently told to me he didn’t know how to text someone back. He doesn’t have an old phone that doesn’t make sense but the iPhone. How hard could it be? Well, he opened up the “Messages” App and showed it to me. He gestured at the interface, slightly irritated, and said “Where is the damn reply button??”. I was stupefied. The iPhone interface is the most elegant and easy to understand interface out there. Still, it didn’t contain that one recognizable element that my father needed to make sense of it all: no reply button meant he didn’t know how to reply.
2: a few years ago I managed an online birthday calendar. The interface was really simple. It showed the calendar in month view with a big red button on top of it that said “Add a Birthday“. It was so big I figured people wouldn’t be able to miss it. Unfortunately they did. I got about 100 helpdesk messages a day and about 60 of those started with “I don’t know how to add a birthday“. At first I got really annoyed at those ignorant people who thought it was more convenient to just email someone than to think and look around for more than 2 seconds. But then I did some tests and found out that everybody assumed that they just had to click the calendar to add a birthday. If that didn’t work they assumed it was broken. My fault, not theirs.
3: at a reception recently a woman came up to me and told me her daughter is named ‘Loïs’ too. She said “I was hoping I would bump into you because I noticed you know how to put the umlaut on the ‘i’, Can you please tell me how to do that on the iPhone?”. I explained it to her and the next day in the office during lunch I told the story to my co-workers. I laughed and said “apparently some people still don’t know how to get to the special characters on the iPhone!”. Nobody laughed. Then someone said “Well, neither do I. How DO you do that?” and then someone else admitted not knowing and then it turned out nobody knew.
4: Patrick got a call from his father a while ago who wanted to find something on the web. Patrick told him the URL and his father didn’t seem to understand what he was talking about. So Patrick said “You know, the address of the website”. His father still didn’t seem to get it so Patrick said “the line of characters you enter in the location bar in your browser” after which his father replied “I don’t know about all that. I simply click the blue icon for Internet and then Google shows up and I type what I want in Google and then I get it”. Apparently you can book tickets, check email and do all sorts of stuff online without knowing that each website has a distinct address called a URL.
The point of all these stories? If you know how to get to the special characters like ü, é and © on your iPhone and or PC, if you know what a URL is and if you know how to use most of the Apps on your iPhone you and part of a small group of experts. Don’t assume you are the default because you are the exception. Make your apps, websites and tools as simple as possible and always test with other people.
People are not really stupid, it is just that you know a lot more. Don’t let knowledge blind you.
via thenextweb.com
The last line says it all - "People are not really stupid, it is just that you know a lot more. Don't let knowledge blind you"
Thursday, October 21, 2010
hello
test
--
Shakir Hussain
http://shakir.me | +974 55856274 | +974 77112358
Twitter: @fibonaccifreak, Facebook: http://fb.me/fibonaccifreak
Shakir Hussain
http://shakir.me | +974 55856274 | +974 77112358
Twitter: @fibonaccifreak, Facebook: http://fb.me/fibonaccifreak
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
P = NP [Proof]
Orwell says 2+2 = 5, and everybody agrees that Orwell is classic. But we know that 2 + 2 = 4. Also, I have proved in the past (YES< PROVED :P) that 4 = 5. Subtracting 4 from both sides, we get 0 = 1, or 1 = 0, which also implies that ONE = NONE (concentrate now, this is important).The statement ONE = NONE implies that the letter 'N' at the beginning of a word holds no value (you can see where i'm going from here right?) From the obviously true statement P = P, we add the valueless N to either of the Ps and we get*drumroll*P = NPNow where's my goddamn Ph.D.?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Talent Vs. Attitude – Harsha Bhogle at IIMA (via @lokarlotweet)
Talent Vs. Attitude – Harsha Bhogle at IIMA
A must-watch talk on why attitude matters, not talent. Presented at IIM Ahmedabad by Harsha Bhogle, a well known cricket commentator in India.
(Thanks Harish)
via gauravgupta.in
Exactly what I've always had in mind articulated awesome
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Trapped Miner Finds Himself in Another Tight Spot After Wife Meets Mistress at Vigil (via @woodster)
Yonni Barrios' wife, Marta Salinas, and Barrios' lover, Susana Valenzuela, were both holding vigils for him outside the mine.
Salinas was stunned when she heard Valenzuela shouting his name amid a crowd of miners' loved ones.
via foxnews.com
Uh Oh
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Airline with a sense of humor (via @anaggh)
Kulula is a low-cost South-African airline that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Check out their new livery!
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From the cockpit on KULULA.COM- South Africa's Budget Airline
WHAT A PITY KULULA DOESN'T FLY INTERNATIONALLY - WE SHOULD SUPPORT THEM IF ONLY FOR THEIR HUMOUR - SO TYPICALLY SOUTH AFRICAN.
Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg. Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
------------------------------------------------------------------On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, "People, people we're not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!"
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On another flight with a very "senior" flight attendant crew, the pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants."-------
On landing, the stewardess said, "Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you're going to leave anything, please make sure it's something we'd like to have."
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"There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane."
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"Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride."
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As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"
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After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo, a flight attendant on a flight announced, "Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted."
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From a Kulula employee: " Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
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"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite."
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Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines."
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"Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments."
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"As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."
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And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"
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Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town: The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault, it was the asphalt."
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Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what's left of our airplane to the gate!"
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Another flight attendant's comment on a less than perfect landing: "We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal."
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An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline". He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment.
Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"------
After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."
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Part of a flight attendant's arrival announcement: "We'd like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you'll think of Kulula Airways."
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Heard on a Kulula flight. "Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light 'em, you can smoke 'em."
Rajnikant time...or is it Rajnican time (via @anaggh)
The Rajni saga continues!!
· When Rajnikant hits you, you fly so far off….even Google can not find you
· Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Rajnikant.
· Rajnikant counted to infinity - twice.
· When Rajnikant does a pushup, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.
· Rajnikant is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.
· Rajnikant doesn't wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
· Rajnikant gave Mona Lisa that smile.
· Rajnikant can slam a revolving door.
· There are no races, only countries of people Rajnikant has beaten to different shades of black and blue.
· Rajnikant's house has no doors, only walls that he walks through.
· Rajnikant can divide by zero.
· When taking the GRE, write "Rajnikant" for every answer. You will score over 1600.
· Rajnikant grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
· If you Google search "Rajnikant getting kicked" you will generate zero results.
· Rajnikant doesn't bowl strikes, he just knocks down one pin and the other nine faint.
· It takes Rajnikant 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.
· The Bermuda Triangle used to be the Bermuda Square, until Rajnikant kicked one of the corners off.
· There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq cause Rajnikant lives in Chennai.
· Rajnikant once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink
· Rajnikanth makes onions cry
· Rajnikanth can delete the Recycle Bin.
· Ghosts are actually caused by Rajnikanth killing people faster than Death can process them.
· Rajnikanth can build a snowman..... out of rain.
· Rajnikanth can strangle you with a cordless phone.
· Rajnikanth can drown a fish.
· When Rajnikanth enters a room, he doesn't turn the lights on,......... .... he turns the dark off.
· When Rajnikanth looks in a mirror the mirror shatters, because not even glass is stupid enough to get in between Rajnikanth and Rajnikanth.
· Brett Favre can throw a football over 50 yards. Rajnikanth can throw Brett Favre even further.
· The last digit of pi is Rajnikanth. He is the end of all things.
· Rajnikanth does not know where you live, but he knows where you will die.
· Bullets dodge Rajnikanth.
· A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Rajnikanth and that you will be handicapped if you park there.
· Rajnikanth' calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd, no one fools Rajnikanth.
· If you spell Rajnikanth wrong on Google it doesn't say, "Did you mean Rajnikanth? " It simply replies, "Run while you still have the chance."
· Rajnikanth can do a wheelie on a unicycle.
· Once a cobra bit Rajnikanth' leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.
· When Rajnikanth gives you the finger, he's telling you how many seconds you have left to live.
· Rajnikanth can kill two stones with one bird.
· Rajnikanth was once on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and was the first to spin. The next 29 minutes of the show consisted of everyone standing around awkwardly, waiting for the wheel to stop.
· Leading hand sanitizers claim they can kill 99.9 percent of germs. Rajnikanth can kill 100 percent of whatever he wants.
· There is no such thing as global warming. Rajnikanth was cold, so he turned the sun up.
· Rajnikanth can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass. At night.
· Rajnikanth has a deep and abiding respect for human life? unless it gets in his way.
· Rajnikanth once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"
· In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Rajnikanth could use to kill you, including the room itself.
· Behind every successful man, there is a woman. Behind every dead man, there is Rajnikanth.
· Rajnikanth destroyed the periodic table, because Rajnikanth only recognizes the element of surprise.
· Rajnikanth got his drivers license at the age of 16 Seconds.
· With the rising cost of gasoline, Rajnikanth is beginning to worry about his drinking habit.
· The square root of Rajnikanth is pain. Do not try to square Rajnikanth, the result is death.
· When you say "no one's perfect", Rajnikanth takes this as a personal insult.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Spirit of Mumbai
Exact Narration by an auto-rickshaw passenger
By Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries, who shares his inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai: Last Sunday, my wife, kid, and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra.
When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that thisride would be any different...
As we set off, my eyes fell on a fewmagazines(kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver's backrest.
I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on theDoordarshan channel.
My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. Infront of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and somemedicines.This was enough for me to realise that I was in a special vehicle.
Then I looked round again, and discovered more - there was a radio, fireextinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of allfaiths
- from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.
There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkareand Unnikrishnan.
I realised that not only my vehicle, but also mydriver was special.I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule anddisbelief gradually diminished.
I gathered that he had been driving anauto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when hisemployer's plastic company was shut down.
He had two school-goingchildren, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night.
No break unless he was unwell. "Sahab, ghar mein baith ke T.V dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega." We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai –the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling inlife.
I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did nothave too much spare time.
He said that he goes to an old age home forwomen in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, wherehe donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other itemsof daily use.
He pointed out to a painted message below the meter thatread: "25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped.
Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs. 50.
My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO! A hero who deserves all our respect!!! Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness, and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai, mytemporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a
free ride for a blind man. I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhein his auto rickshaw: MH-02-Z-8508.
----------------------------------------------------------
This is probably the best forwarded email I've ever gotten, and it's from my Mom :D
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Twitter ‘onmouseover’ security flaw widely exploited
It looks like many users are currently using the flaw for fun and games, but there is obviously the potential for cybercriminals to redirect users to third-party websites containing malicious code, or for spam advertising pop-ups to be displayed.
Hopefully Twitter will shut down this loophole as soon as possible - disallowing users to post the onMouseOver JavaScript code, and protecting users whose browsing may be at risk.
Some users are also seemingly deliberately exploiting the loophole to create tweets that contain blocks of colour (known as "rainbow tweets"). Because these messages can hide their true content they might prove too hard for some users to resist clicking on them.
via sophos.com
I like the fail whale better
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Herbal Cigarette
As 43-year-old S Radhakrishnan holds up a cigarette and starts explaining its healing and medicinal properties, one could only stare at him in disbelief. The cigarette he is holding in his hand is not the usual kind available in stores. This one is special – an herbal, 100 percent tobacco free cigarette! If the cigarette has the properties that Radhakrishnan claims it has, it could be the panacea smokers wanting to kick the habit have been seeking.
Herbal cigarettes may not be new to the world. Wikipedia lists about twenty such brands, but none of them seem to be popular among Indian smokers. L Prema, a psychologist at the tobacco resource centre in Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai, told The Weekend Leader, “Nicotine gums are available in the market, which we recommend to people who want to quit smoking. But as far as I know, there is nothing like an herbal cigarette available in India.”
According to Radhakrishan, a Coimbatore based psychologist, who is also an emerging motivational speaker at schools and corporate institutions, the herbal cigarette is a far less harmful substitute to tobacco cigarettes. “I am not claiming its hundred percent safe, but I can assure you it’s far better than a tobacco stuffed cigarette,” he says.
A small room adjoining his house is the “factory” where herbal cigarettes are made by two women employees using a tiny imported machine. Twelve ingredients including pepper, ginger, and turmeric are used in the cigarettes. The cigarettes are put inside attractive packets carrying the brand name, HOPE.
Launched first in 2000, the cigarettes were sold at a couple of places in Coimbatore including the popular Nilgiris Departmental Stores. “I used to have loyal customers, though we made only a few hundred packets a month. Even doctors recommended it to their patients who wanted to quit smoking. Some managed to quit also,” says Radhakrishnan.Production was stopped three years ago. The product was re-launched a couple of weeks ago with plans to expand the business slowly. Dr S Arivazhagan, a diabetologist, practicing in Coimbatore told The Weekend Leader that some of his patients reported increased appetite and a better sleeping pattern after using the cigarettes.
According to Radhakirshnan, the Indian Tobacco Research Institute at Rajmundry had endorsed the sample of ingredients used in his herbal cigarettes as tobacco free. One of his brands, though, has thirty percent tobacco content in it. “It is for those who would find it too difficult to quit tobacco all of a sudden,” he says.
Prices of the herbal cigarettes are on par with leading tobacco brands in the country.
Anti-smoking campaigners though are restrained while commenting on the herbal cigarette. Prema at Adyar Cancer Institute feels a scientific study on the effects of the herbal cigarette on smokers could reveal more details.
ummm,,.....
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
My meeting with Rahul Gandhi : Abdul Chowdhury (via @greenrains)
Rahul Gandhi, in retrospect, gave me the impression of an aristocratic patrician: brought up around Prime Ministers, Economists and Cabinet Secretaries, the man is extremely sharp, suave and most importantly, convinced, and that helps him frame his arguments in such a way so as to win over people, and also give him that touch of sincerity. His heart is in the right place, and he wants to do good, but like they say, the most dangerous enemy is the one with a clear conscience. So I'm curious as to the Prince will rule the Kingdom, and i'm also a little terrified.
An enlightening read.
I really like the articulation of Arnab, and am glad that he brings to light that critical thinking is more than alive in Indian politics, or at least will be in its future.
Coitus interruptus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This method was used by an estimated thirty-eight million couples worldwide in 1991.
via en.wikipedia.org
Why is this the THIRD sentence in the article?
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Video Chat on Facebook - Rounds
Video Chat Rounds allows facebook friends to interact and have fun while webcam chatting. You already chat to your friends on Facebook right? Well now, using Video Chat Rounds, you can video chat, take snapshots, play games, listen to music, share photos, use effects, send gifts and much more without ever having to leave facebook. Sounds great right? Well it is! Check out the demo below:
via blog.rounds.com
looks promising
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Venting Frustration Will Only Make Your Anger Worse (via @Lifehacker)
Nobody recommends bottling up your anger, but venting your frustrations may actually be much worse. Quiet reflection may be the best cure for pent up frustration.
via lifehacker.com
See? I was right!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
My best ideas come to me when I'm in the shower - Sachin's Posterous
I have found that my best ideas come when I'm taking a shower, when my mind is left to wander. My thoughts will drift to the idea that is at the top of my mind and I will have a moment of clarity.
The shower is when I come up with the most elegant solution to a problem that I've been struggling with. In the shower I figure out the best algorithms, the simplest way to store data, the best way to write an email I've been avoiding, the best tactic to negotiate something.
Haha....who remembers 251?
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Very important alert from Saudi Geophysical Consulting and Environmental....
Got this as a forward this morning. If it really is from a Geophysical bah blah and has been consented by all those countries, someone care to EXPLAIN THE ENGLISH?!?!?!
| Dear all, After 40 days the season will change in overall in the Middle East . This year the summer will be very tuff, the astronomer Dr.Khalid Al-Za’ak wrote an article in Al-Hayah Newspaper, that the temperature will reach approximately 70 C so please take care of your family and your kids. This report from the office of the Saudi Geophysical Consulting and Environmental, it is official & has been consented by Germany , Japan , Switzerland , Denmark , Belgium , France , China , Korea , Italy , Brazil , Iran , Malaysia , Jordan Spain, Mexico , Canada , Syria , USA & UK And especially in the summer, when the temperature is 45 and above it is 70 degrees inside the car- |
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you receive this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of HMC.
Qatar Health 2010 I International Healthcare Congress and Exhibition I 10-15 December
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Bulletproofed Boolean - The Daily WTF
public boolean isBooleanFalse(boolean value) { boolean response = false; if (value == true) { response = false; } else { response = true; } return response; }
via thedailywtf.com
Even my CMU Intro to Programming profs did not make me do that!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Amerrica's Got Talent...this guy proves it!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=132296470140207
nothing to say....just beautiful
Proud Geek
Conversations like these make me miss Carnegie Mellon, probably the only thing that does!
Apple Could Announce iPhone Recall at Special Press Conference Friday (via @rohanv)
When Apple announced that it would be holding a special press conference on Friday, Twitter immediately lit up with speculation about a new product launch. Afterall, most new Apple products have been announced by CEO Steve Jobs under similar conditions. But, as one Gawker writer pointed out, Friday afternoon, right before the weekend hits, is the best time for companies to announce bad news. Without giving out any additional details, Apple Inc. acknowledged that the press conference would be about the iPhone 4, the company's latest product, which has been plagued by criticism over problems associated with its antenna design. Consumer Reports recently retracted its recommendation of the phone. "Given the intense pressure and scrutiny Apple has come under on the problem with the iPhone 4, it's going to be about some kind of fix or compensation for the owners of the phone," Ed Snyder, an analyst with Charter Equity Research, told the Wall Street Journal. Given that the antenna problem doesn't affect safety, a full recall of the iPhone is unlikely. "But financial analysts said Apple could give away its $29 rubber 'bumper' cases, which they said would solve the antenna reception problem," the Journal reported. "Analysts estimate that such action would cost Apple $1 to $5 a phone." The press conference, which was first announced on Wednesday, will be held at Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters.
o_O
It's official! IITian gives Rupee its symbol
Kumar's symbol (seen above) is formed by the merger of the Devanagari 'Ra' and the Roman capital 'R' without the stem.
via sify.com
Can't wait to see what key the symbol grabs on the keyboard
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
World Science Festival - Bobby McFerrin, the Pentatonic Scale and the Human Brain (via @HNatarajan)
via facebook.com
The reason I still love science!
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