Peak Day Blues

Another weekend ahead!! Oh Yeah!! Another weekend ahead... Yippeee... (PS: Me having an extended weekened coz am off on Monday too) :-) So, after another week of "die-hard" work, here comes the sweet weekend ahead. So, what have I planned for this weekend? Sadly, nothing!! I am going off to my native place and have got plenty of work to do... Priority 1 this weekend will be, of course, family. My uncles, aunts, and cousins have been complaining lately that I've become more busier than the President of America!! When will they realize man!! Priority 2 will be to catch up with some of my "long lost" college friends.... am sincrely hoping that they will identify me (have gained so much weight over the past few months).... The rest of the time I will be indulging in one of my favorite passtimes... being a couch potato... As some of you know, in Kerala you get plenty of channels thanks to Asianet Cable. So, this whole weekend I will be crunching s

Three salesmen were bragging who is the best. The first said that he is so good he sold a color television to a blind man. The second bragged he sold a hi-fi stereo system to a deaf man. The third said he sold a cuckoo clock to Banta. The other two said, “So what?” The third salesman added, "Along with the cuckoo clock, I also sold him 50 kg of bird seeds!"

HER DIARY Sunday night - I thought he was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a cafe to have some coffee. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment. He said it had nothing to do with me and not to worry. Conversation wasn't flowing so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk, he agreed but he kept quiet and absent.I asked him what was wrong - he said, "Nothing."I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset.Was it because i had gone shopping with my friends instead of being with him? On the way home I told him that I loved him, he simply smiled and kept driving.I can't explain his behavior; I just don't know why he didn't say, "I loveyou, too." When we got home I felt as if I had lost him, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there and watched TV.; he seemed distant and absent.Finally I decided to go to bed. About 1

"O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness."

An online casino won the eBay bidding for a decade-old cheese sandwich bearing what some people consider a likeness of the Virgin Mary. GoldenPalace.com's bid of $28,000 was the highest offer for the sandwich when bidding closed late on Monday, the Internet casino's Web site said. The seller, Fort Lauderdale, Florida resident Diana Duyser, says she made the cheese sandwich 10 years ago and after taking a bite, saw "the Virgin Mary staring back at me." In her eBay ad, Duyser said the sandwich has been kept in a plastic case for a decade and has developed no mold or bacteria. "It is like a miracle," she said. "I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother Of God," the ad said. "That is my solemn belief, but you are free to believe that she is whomever you like, I am not scamming anyone."

A shocking rumour saying Salman Khan had committed suicide spread like wildfire in India and abroad on Wednesday even as the Bollywood star was busy shooting in Chennai. A purported "news item" from Mumbai claimed he died at his plush Bandra apartment after slashing his wrists and that his body was shifted to a hospital. But a close friend of Salman said Wednesday: "I just spoke to him in Chennai, so how could he commit suicide in Mumbai?" PS: He is one of my favorite actors!!

A senior Dell executive said today that Dell Inc. plans to build up its presence in India. "India is the fastest growing market in Asia Pacific and from that standpoint its a very critical market for Dell," said Paul-Henri Ferrand, vice president & general manager for South Asia at Dell Asia Pte. Ltd. Dell's Indian subsidiary, Dell India Pvt. Ltd., that sells computers and servers among other products, has two sales and customer support offices in India. It recently set up a third office - a business process outsourcing unit - in the north Indian city of Chandigarh. Ferrand didn't give specific details of the company's future plans for India but said business is growing at 43% year on year. "We are a pretty independent organization and as we are growing in terms of business, we will be adding the necessary headcount and resources," he said.

A German computer scientist has broken the world record in mental calculation, needing just 11.80 seconds to work out the 13th root of a 100-digit number. Gert Mittring, a 38-year old computer scientist, was faster working out the answer than several onlookers using calculators at an event in the western town of Giessen sponsored by the Museum of Mathematics.

Elaine Davidson, the most pierced woman in the world, shows off some of her 2,520 piercings at the 50th anniversary of the Guiness World Records in London.

‘Work’ is what we do for the better years of our lives. So it would be wise that we should make the best of it, and have some fun while we are at it. We found a person amongst ourselves who works by this principle and has done it in style and very convincingly. We are glad that Vishwanath, a senior member of the EBM team, has been meeting the Quality & TAT metrics on a consistent basis and for this achievement has won a special gift package from the company for a 3 days/2 nights stay at Club Mahindra Resorts in Kodai with his family. Congrats Vishu on a Job Well Done, and a well deserved holiday!! Lets have more from the team join the bandwagon of success. Rajiv Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence. --Unknown

A woman and man get into a car accident. Both of their cars are totally demolished, but amazingly neither of them is hurt. After they crawl out of the wreckage, the woman says, "Wow, look at our cars - there's nothing left! Thank God we are all right. This must be a sign from Him that we should be friends and not try to pin the blame on each other." The man replies, "Oh yes, I agree with you completely." The woman points to a bottle on the ground and says, "And here's another miracle. Somehow this bottle of Scotch from my back seat didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this Scotch and celebrate our good fortune." Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, and chugs about a third of the bottle to calm his nerves. He then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts the cap back on, and hands it back to the man. The man asks, "Aren't you having

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband. Suddenly her husband burst into the kitchen. 'Careful ... CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOD! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful ... CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!' The wife stared at him. 'What the hell is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?' The husband calmly replied, 'I wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving.

Courtesy: Kiruba

I went home this weekend and forgot to take my electric shaver with me. As you might have noticed, i didn't shave last week coz I was too busy :-) Well now coming to the story.... I had an important appointment this Sunday and early morning I went out and brought a ready-to-shave Gillette razor... It was already 8.30 and I was supposed to keep up my appointment by 9.30... so in a hurry i started out my escapade... have you noticed how they shave very smoothly in TV ads in flat 30 seconds?? Well, I tried to be one of those ad models and the result... You can see it in my face... around 8 cuts in my face!!! Moral: Quality is better than efficiency!!!

It's always been my dream to visit Wall Street one day. Well, the technology over the years have improved so much that you can see wall street at the click of a mouse.... Don't believe?? Check it out

Vishwa Hindu Parishath’s Bharat Bundh is on. The Bundh is in protest against the arrest of the Kanchi Seer Jayendra Saraswathi by the TN Police in connection with the murder of a temple employee. For the first time in the history of Bundhs and hartals, the state of Kerala, popularly known as the cradle of bundhs and hartals, gets a reprieve. The organisers of the Bundh were kind enough to exempt Kerala from Monday’s Bharat Bundh. It is not known whether the hartal mongers in the state will come out with another bundh in protest against the VHP leadership’s move to exempt Kerala from the bundh. There is already a complaint that the North Indian lobby is always ignoring the interests of the state!

In a shocking revelation in CNBC TV18, Mukesh Ambani started off a chain of controversies which caused the behemoth Reliance Industries to shave off more than Rs. 2000 crore off its Market Cap over the weekend. He made public that he and his brother are having differences of opinion over the ownership issues of some companies. Now the latest news is that Dhirubai Ambani, the erstwhile patriarch didn't leave a will... shocking!! Hari V gave me this link where more is discussed about the will.....

Guess whose childhood photos are these!! PS: Not Mine!!

Unbelievable, but true. Allied Computers International (Asia) has launched in India a multimedia laptop called ACi Ethos V, priced at Rs 29,999.

Chief Executive Officer of Wipro Spectramind Raman Roy while speaking about the growth plans of the company, said that they were in the process of identifying the location for setting up their next development centre, adding that choice of the venue would be either Goa or Coimbatore .

Budding actor Danush and superstar Rajnikant's daughter Aishwarya were married at a simple ceremony at the actor's residence in Poes Garden today. The actor, in his early 20s, tied the mangalsutra around the neck of his young bride at a function held as per Vedic rites, in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Prominent film personalities, including Kamal Haasan, Satyaraj, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, Ambarish, Mohan Babu and Chiranjeevi attended the function. Rajnikanth was a happy man and was personally looking after the comforts of each and every guest. The notable absentee was DMK supremo M.Karunanidhi and other opposition leaders who were once close to the superstar. Info Courtesy: Hari V!!

Management consultancy McKinsey & Co.'s recent newsletter presents three different points of view on what is one of the hottest topics of debate: China and India: The Race to Growth. China and India are both developing quickly but with vastly different approaches. China's growth has been driven by manufacturing, and the country's planned economy has tapped into domestic savings and foreign investment to build an impressive infrastructure. India, by contrast, owes much of its progress to private businesses. Without much assistance from the government, they serve companies in the West's knowledge-based industries, such as software, IT services, and pharmaceuticals. The difference between the two models prompts debate about whether one country has a better approach to economic development than the other and which will eventually emerge as the stronger. Read more!!!

Google today announced it acquired Keyhole Corp ., a Mountain View, Calif.-based digital mapping company. Keyhole is the 3D digital earth pioneer—the only company to deliver a 3D digital model of the entire earth via the Internet. Keyhole’s groundbreaking EarthStream™ technology combines advanced 3D graphics and network streaming innovations to produce a high performance system that runs on standard PC’s and commodity servers. Both high performance and intuitive to use, Keyhole’s solutions enable anyone to manipulate a rich map of the earth composed of imagery and feature information. Info Courtesy: Ramesh

One day, a man walks into a dentist's office and asks how much it will cost to extract wisdom teeth. 'Eighty dollars,' the dentist says. 'That's a ridiculous amount,' the man says. 'Isn't there a cheaper way?' 'Well,' the dentist says, 'if you don't use an anaesthetic, I can knock it down to $60.' 'That's still too expensive,' the man says. 'Okay,' says the dentist. 'If I save on anesthesia and simply rip the teeth out with a pair of pliers, I could get away with charging $20.' 'Nope,' moans the man, 'it's still too much.' 'Hm,' says the dentist, scratching his head. ' If I let one of my students do it for the experience, I suppose I could charge you just $10.' 'Marvelous,' says the man, 'book my wife for next Tuesday!'

A fourth-grade teacher was giving her pupils a lesson in logic. "Here is the situation," she said. "A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife hears the commotion, knows he can't swim, and runs down to the bank." Why do you think she ran to the bank? A girl raised her hand and asked, "To draw out all his savings?

Have you ever felt twitching or tweaking in your eyes while staring at the monitor?? Have your eyes been dry lately?? Then you should read this article .... Courtesy: Sangeetha

19 November was declared 'World Toilet Day' in 2001 by 17 toilet associations around the world. Since then there has been an established annual World Toilet Summit and many other regional conferences. Each toilet association has also engaged in many activities promoting clean toilets in their own respective country. Beijing will host the 'World Toilet Summit 2004' from Thursday onwards. Previous hosts were Singapore, Seoul and Taipei. Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International, will represent India and he will speak on 'Toilet - A Tool of Social Change'. Courtesy: Ramesh

As most of you know, Ganguly was recently banned from playing TWO test matches for violating the ICC code of conduct on over rates in the recently concluded BCCI Platinum Jubilee Match against Pakistan. Needless to say, Ganguly is the most successful captain India has ever seen, but his form in the recent years especially after becoming the captain of India is pathetic. One can say that if he was not the Captain, he won't be in the Indian Team. At the same time, Rahul Dravid as a batsman has improved tenfolds in the recent past, gaining respect from all corners of the cricketing world. So, the question is whether Ganguly is fit to be the Indian Captain or should Mr. Consistent be given a chance?? Or should we again consider Sachin, since recent media reports have stated that Sachin wishes to don the Captain's cap before retiring. Well, here's what Peak Day Guyz think!!

Hartal, the bandh renamed following judicial pronouncement against it, along with unrbidled holidays wreak havoc with academic and economic life of Kerala. The state schools had, in this academic year, worked only 90 days while the half yearly examinations are at the door. In this month (November) alone, two hartals had claimed their toll and two more are scheduled in the remaining fortnight. With six public holidays (all of them religious holidays) including second Saturday, and four Sundays the non-working days have totalled 16 days . The hartal on Monday was courtesy the Viswa Hindu Parishad protesting the arrest of the Kanchi seer. And all hartals in Kerala, called even by notional parties, meet with "complete success".

The best thing about the new Microsoft Beta Search is a set of features absent from Google. Especially nice is the ability to get actual answers -- not just Web links -- when you enter fact-based queries. Microsoft draws these answers from its Encarta encyclopedia, including lots of material that was formerly provided only to paid subscribers. For instance, I typed "birth Mahatma Gandhi" into MSN, and was given his birth date on top of the usual long list of Web results. The same query typed into Google yielded no direct information. I also got quick answers from MSN to questions like "population of Coimbatore" and "GDP of India". Like Google, the new MSN Search now has a calculator built into its search box. You can enter math problems, equations and weight-and-measure conversions, and get quick answers. MSN also lets you see a cached version of the Web pages it finds, as Google does. But MSN still doesn't match some of Google's neatest

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on Monday announced software partnerships with India's leading outsourcing firms and stepped up plans to hire more programmers in India. The deals will enable Infosys and Wipro to use Microsoft technologies to build software for their outsourcing clients. Infosys and Microsoft said they would together invest $8 million in the new venture, while Wipro, which also concluded a similar deal, declined to specify the investment. Mr. Ballmer said Microsoft will hire hundreds of Indians in the coming months, but didn't give any figures. "I am excited with what is going on here in India," Earlier Monday, Mr. Ballmer opened Microsoft's own premises in Hyderabad, 550 kilometers north of Bangalore, India's leading high-tech hub. About 1,500 Microsoft employees, mostly software programmers, have worked out of a rented building in Hyderabad's outskirts. The new Microsoft campus, the largest outside the U.S., will eventually h

Thank God It's Friday!! No no, am not referring to the famous TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) pub in Bangalore... am sincerely thanking god!! Woosh, another "successful" peak season is over and now it is time to rejuvenate your soul and catch up with something which you've been missing for the past few months... First thing I wanna do is to go for a movie... it's been soooo long since I went to a cineplex (oops, Cinema Kottai).. I also have to call up some long lost friends who will be furious at me that I haven't called them up for a while.. So, here's my plan for this weekend (hopefully). 1.) Go watch Veer Zara at Apsara at the earliest (God only knows if I will get a ticket)... 2.) Check out some local massage centers for a rejuvenating massage to my right shoulder which has been aching like hell for sometime. (I heard Residency offers a body massage for 200 bucks) 3.) Listen to some good 'ol music. 4.) Catch up with s

Sri Jayendra Saraswathi of Kanchipuram Sankara Matth was arrested at 10 p.m. Thursday night at Mehboobnagar in Andhra Pradesh as one of the prime accused in a case relating to murder of Thiru Sankararaman, manager of Varadaraja Perumal temple in Kanchipuram on 3.9.2004. "The police team from Tamil Nadu, which went to Andhra Pradesh, secured Sri Jayendra Swamigal at Mehboobnagar and is being brought to Chennai to be produced before Judicial Magistrate-1, Kanchipuram," a brief press release issued by the I K Govind, Director General of Police said. The arrest is understood to have been made on the basis of statements made by five people who were earlier held in connection with the murder. The Kanchi Shankaracharya, who has considerable influence with political leaders cutting across party lines, was in the limelight in the last two years of the NDA rule, acting as a go-between with Muslim leaders and Hindu organisations in the Ayodhya issue.

From across the miles, here are for you.... Plenty of wishes for good times to prevail forever... Wishes for your world to be illuminated with joy & peace... Happy Diwali!! PS: Please be careful with crackers as you will be half asleep after the night shift!!

Ever wondered what will happen to your picture if you post it on the Internet?? See your yourself ..... Courtesy: KTJ

Microsoft will offer consumers a preview of its technology for searching the Internet, beginning Thursday. After 18 months of development, the Redmond, Wash., software maker will open a preview version of the search service, according to people familiar with the plan. The company is trying to grab a bigger piece of the lucrative business, now led by Google , of combining Internet search and advertising.

A young second generation Indian in the US, is explaining the significance of Diwali to his younger brother. This is how he would go about it... So, like this dude had, like, a big cool kingdom and people liked him. But, like, his step-mom, or something, was kind of a bitch, and she forced her husband to, like, send this cool-dude, he was Ram, to some national forest or something... since he was going, for like, something like more than 10 years or so, he decided to get his wife and his bro along... you know...so that they could all chill out together. But DUDE, the forest was reeeeal scarysh*t... really man...they had monkeys and devils and sh*t like that. But this dude, Ram, kicked ass with darts and bows and arrows...so it was fine. But then some bad gangsta boys, some jerk called Ravan, picks up his babe (Sita) and lures her away to his hood. And boy, was our man, and also his bro, Lakshman, pissed... And you DONt piss this son-of-a-gun cuz, he just ki

Polar aurorae are optical phenomena characterized by colorful displays of light in the night sky. An auroral display in the Northern Hemisphere is called the aurora borealis, or the northern lights.... Auroras are the most visible effect of the solar wind upon the Earth's atmosphere. The aurora occur when the Van Allen radiation belts become "overloaded" with energetic particles, which cascade down magnetic field lines and collide with the earth's upper atmosphere.... Sounding too technical?? Why don't you Check Out these cool pictures, courtesy KTJ..

The following is an actual excerpt from an edition of Forbes Magazine... Recent Epidemiological studies have shown that while excessive intake of alcohol kills off brain cells, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. Thus, regular consumption of alcohol helps eliminate the weaker cells, constantly making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. The result of this in-depth study verifies and validates the causal link between all-weekend parties and job related performance. It also explains why, after a few short years of leaving a University and getting married, most professionals cannot keep up with the performance of the new graduates. Only those few that stick to the strict regimen of voracious alcoholic consumption can maintain the intellectual levels that they achieve during their college years. So, this is a call to arms. As your company enters a period of rapid and aggressive growth, let's not be found lacking. Get back into the bars. Quaff that pint. Y

Click Here to boost or Bournvita your morale!! :-) Courtesy: KTJ

The prime Minister of China called President Bush to console him after the attack on the Pentagon: "I'm sorry to hear about the attack. It is a very big tragedy. But in case you are missing any documents from the Pentagon, we have copies of everything."

I was in the VIP lounge last week en route to Seattle. Whilst in the lounge, I noticed Bill Gates sitting on the Chesterfield enjoying a cognac. I was meeting with a very important client who was also flying to Seattle with me but she was running a bit late. Being a forward type of guy, I approached Mr. Gates and introduced myself. I explained to him that I was conducting some very important business and how much I would appreciate it if he could throw a quick "Hello, Dean" at me while I was with my client. He agreed. Ten minutes later while I was conversing with my client, I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Bill Gates. I turned around and looked up at him. He said "Hi Dean, what's happening?" To which I replied "Piss off Gates, I'm in a meeting."

India, the world's fastest growing major mobile market, added 1.45 million mobile users in October to push the number of wireless customers higher than the number of fixed-line users. Mobile telephony began in 1995 in India, and carriers such as Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. are now furiously expanding across the country. The customer base of Reliance Infocomm Ltd., India's largest provider of CDMA-based services, stood at 8.387 million, and the user base of India's largest GSM firm, Bharti, touched 9.062 million customers. This unprecedented growth has been due to the fact that the mobile tariffs in India are the lowest (in the world).

GUNTUR, India - Cotton farmers in some Indian villages are flocking to buy Coca-Cola and Pepsi, believing that the sugar in the fizzy drinks kills pests. Farmers say scientists advised them to mix pesticides with a sugary syrup to control pests, and they found the mixture cheaper and more effective than pure chemicals -- although soft drink makers and scientists dismissed the claims. N. Hamunayya, who has become a celebrity in his village in the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, said his crop survived an attack of pests which had resisted other remedies. "We found that all the colas had uniform effect on pests. The pests became numb and fell to ground," he said. He said the drinks had all the elements they needed: they were cheaper, sticky, fizzy, and attracted ants, which devoured the larvae of the pests. Statements from Pepsi and Coca-Cola said there was "no scientific basis" for this practice. But their vendors are enjoying booming sales. Ma

People chat as they drink from glasses made of ice at the opening of an ice bar in Milan, October 14, 2004. The bar, made from blocks of ice cut from the Torne River in Sweden, will last six months until the ice melts.

IT may be a good thing the series between Australia and India is coming to an end because relations between hotblooded Harbhajan Singh and the tourists were starting to turn ugly..... Read More ...

Courtesy: Hari V!!

India Roars Again!! Indians have yet again proven that on their day they are the Tigers!! The Lion is back!! It was very disheartening to note that everyone just wrote-off Sachin Tendulkar so easily. Just remember one thing - Form Is Temporary, Class Is Permanent!!

Actor Pierce Brosnan is tipping Hollywood bad boy Colin Farrell to become the next James Bond. Brosnan has admitted his days as 007 are over and the question of who will take over has been the subject of intense speculation for months. Hugh Jackman, Jude Law and Colin Firth have been rumoured to be in line for the part.

How many people are needed to change a light bulb? Your answer may be - just one! But our Cow Boy Bush needs atleast 10... Here's how Courtesy: KTJ

I came across a website where two identical pictures are given and you are asked to spot 3 differences between the two pictures. I spotted out 2 differences in the pic. Can you find out the third one?? Click Here to see the picture....

"Ending speculation of over one month and consultations with allies, the government today hiked petrol prices by about Rs 2.20, diesel prices by about Rs 2.10 per litre linking them to import parity price and LPG by Rs 20 per cylinder while sparing kerosene prices. The new prices will be effective from midnight tonight. The hike in oil prices will imply that people will have to shell out about Rs 2.20 to Rs 2.50 per litre more on petrol and about Rs 2.10 to Rs 2.40 per litre on diesel in different states depending upon state taxes that include local taxes, octroi as well." I think it's time for someone to come up with an alternative source of energy, something like Ramar Petrol!! The other option would be to be like Chinese guys, use bicycles to come to office. And those of you planning to go to your home town Kerala this weekend, better don't go... There might be a strike anytime there!!

"An Industry In India Cheers Bush's Victory" read one of the articles in today's New York Times. Any guesses on which industry?? Yeah, Yeah, you are right... it's our very own BPO industry... Read on...

Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night! I still remember this famous dialogue from The Truman Show... And now this concept is becoming a reality... Read more

A man leaped into a lion's den at the Taipei Zoo on Wednesday to try to convert the king of beasts to Christianity, but was bitten in the leg for his efforts. "Jesus will save you!" the 46-year-old man shouted at two African lions lounging under a tree a few meters away. "Come bite me!" he said with both hands raised, television footage showed. One of the lions, a large male with a shaggy mane, bit the man in his right leg before zoo workers drove it off with water hoses and tranquilizer guns. Newspapers said that the lions had been fed earlier in the day, otherwise the man might have been more seriously hurt ... or worse.

Thanks all for participating!!

John Kerry telephoned President Bush on Wednesday and conceded the White House election!!!

Yes, as the title suggests, IT and BPO pros can now enjoy sambar vadai from our very own Annapoorna/Gowrishankar if this is going to come true... Wondering what?? Click Here!

Hey, did you know that AR Rehman composes his tunes when the world sleeps?? Yeah, you are right, he is a night shift worker!! Even I was perplexed when I read that, why don't you too... Click Here

A Muslim man has attempted to divorce his wife - by email. Rahat Iqbal, a Muslim man living in the US, sent the email to his wife Rubab back home in India. Rubab is challenging the email divorce and the case has sparked controversy in the Muslim community in northern India. The couple married in 1998 and lived together in Bareilly for just a month before he left for the US, promising to send for her within 20 days. But Rubab was kept waiting for six years until she received the email saying 'talaq', Arabic for 'I divorce thee', three times. Islamic clerics are considering the validity of the divorce. Most say the email would at least have to be authenticated for the divorce to go through. Prominent cleric Maulana Khalid Rashid told the Hindustan Times that the husband would have to telephone the wife to confirm the email was from him. Another, Akhtar Raza Khan, ruled that the "divorce should be handwritten and the wife should recognize the hand

French fries or potato chips - These foods are the toxic equivalent of a cigarette and should be avoided like the plague. - Dr Mercola Courtesy: Vinay

Once upon a time there was a shepherd looking after his sheep on the side of a deserted road. Suddenly a brand new Porsche screeches to a halt. The driver, a man dressed in an Armani suit, Cerutti shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses, TAG-Heuer wrist-watch, and a Pierre Cardin tie, gets out and asks the shepherd: "If I can tell you how many sheep you have, will you give me one of them?" The shepherd looks at the young man, and then looks at the large flock of grazing sheep and replies: "Okay." The young man parks the car, connects his laptop to the mobile-fax, enters a NASA Webster, scans the ground using his GPS, opens a database and 60 Excel tables filled logarithms and pivot tables, then prints out a 150 page report on his High-tech mini-printer. He turns to the shepherd and says, "You have exactly 1586 sheep here." The shepherd cheers, "That's correct, you can have your sheep." The young man makes his pick and puts it in the back of