Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from November, 2005

When Armstrong landed in Moon....

Fardeen's Marriage pics

Bollywood heart-throb Fardeen Khan got married to Natasha a few months back, the daughter of a big-shot businessman from London... here are some xclusiv pics...

Crying Mary!

Red stains are seen running from the left eye of a statue of the Virgin Mary at the Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs Church in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005. According to Anthony Nguyen, a deacon at the Church, the stains first appeared more than a week ago, but they were wiped away. The stains reappeared a week later. Visitors have been flocking to the church to see what many call 'a miracle.'

World's Ugliest Dog passed away!

Sam, crowned the 'World's Ugliest Dog' for three years in a row at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, died last Friday. The pooch with the hairless body, crooked teeth and sparse tuft of hair atop his knobby head died just short of his 15th birthday, according to his owner, Susie Lockheed.

Akshardham

After 5 years of non-stop, round-the-clock construction, the massive and awesome Akshardham Temple Monument to World Peace was inaugurated. The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi, India, constructed by the BAPS foundation -- the builders of the various Swaminaryan Temples across the world, is truely a modern day Wonder of the World. It is one of the biggest and most intricate religious places of worship ever constructed. Combining several completely different and contrasting architectural styles of Hindu temple architecture of northern India -- Rajasthani, Orrisan, Gujarati, Mughal and Jain -- the Akshardham Monument is entirely constructed of marble and the red-sandstone that Delhi is famous for, and that so many of her monuments are constructed of. It was completed in only 5 years a world record of sorts. So after years of waiting, the Temple was opened to the public -- and to photographers. At its inaguration, it is widely being heralded as one of the greatest monuments India has ever p

25 Simple Ways to Reduce Stress

Sometimes it seems as if we're on a collision course with insanity. The pace of life, the endless demands and incessant contact through email, cell phones, and other "electronic leashes" seem to keep us in a constant state of alert. I'm convinced that stress management is as much about the little ways we decompress daily as it is the big annual "week at the beach" vacation. Here is a list of 25 simple ways to reduce stress...most of which I've used regularly. Many of them may be a "blinding flash of the obvious" but if you practice one, several or allof them on a regular basis, I predict your life will become more peaceful, less stressful, and more joyful to live. 1) Spend some time everyday just sitting...watch clouds float by or listen to the birds; 2) Savor a cup of tea or other soothing beverage; 3) Give time to someone who cannot repay you; 4) Pray or meditate; 5) Spend one day a week resting (it's called "the Sabba

Chappell my foot!!

Mr. Greg *Chappall* (means footwear in indian language), for your kind information, showing Indian cricket fans your "middle finger" and thinking you might escape our ire is just your imagination.... God save Indian cricket!!

Kamal Haasan's daughters pics!

Ain't she beautiful??

Jobs Aplenty!

C'mon, hit me!

This is one of the most famous incidents in Cricketing history... can anyone tell me what the incident was and who are featured here??

Phew, never knew I was a competition for Mr. Trump!!

Your Birthdate: July 8 Watch out Donald Trump! You've got a head for business and money. You'll make it rich some day, even if you haven't figured out how yet. A supreme individualist, you shouldn't get stuck in a corporate job. Instead, make your own way - so that you can be the boss. Your strength: Your undying determination Your weakness: You require an opulent lifestyle Your power color: Plum Your power symbol: Dollar sign Your power month: August What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Imagine This!!

Yeah, imagine this... One day Coimbatore is renamed as Peak Day Blues... Well, that's exactly what's happening in the US... a town in Idaho has renamed itself as Secretsanta.com... Read more PS: Anyone vouching for renaming Coimbatore? Link via: Sangeetha

Eye Test!

Count every "F" in the following text: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS... HOW MANY? ..................... 3? WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke. READ IT AGAIN ! The brain cannot process "OF". Incredible or what? Go back and look again!! Anyone who counts all 6 "F's" on the first go is a genius. Three is normal, four is quite rare. Via: Nitish

Cigarettes and Kisses

When it eerily dawns the rooster sings his tune- a tune sang a thousandth time, My bed wearily beckons. Flashes of the recent past, zips by in a vicious haste, while a spent mass of cells wages a war that his face never tells - a war built on a rueful saga - of disastrous transitions and ethical decay. of changes replete with sick choices. Are they just some strange voices or the answers to my vices? And now as the day crawls towards dusk I stir and wake to ask Cigarettes for breakfast and kisses to last. Written by: Sony

Fear!

I fear the wilderness of this concrete jungle. The deafening silence is heard no more while blood and sweat now mingle oozing cheap energy and ruthless power. I fear the hostility of sophistication and vanity I fear the suddeness of misfortunes and surprises. I fear for my numbness for while great griefs are mute silence is consenting. I fear for peace for war will then be lurking. I fear for reunions, partings feed on lesser courage. I fear for my victory 'tis but the advent of another gory story. I fear for my whims of brief wonder and eternal curse. I fear for my sacrifices for I had never banked on them. Need is a weakness that drives the wheel of madness. I fear for my knowledge for ignorance is my best protection, but innocence is no defense. Written by: Sony

Mission Mars!

NASA was interviewing professionals they were thinking of sending to Mars. The touchy part was that only one guy could go and it would be a one-way trip, the guy not ever returning to Earth. The interviewer asked the first applicant, an American engineer, how much he wanted to be paid for going. “One million dollars,” the engineer answered. “And I want to donate it all to my alma mater–Rice University.” The next applicant was a Russian doctor, and the interviewer asked him the same question. “Two millions dollars,” the doctor said. “I want to give a million to my family and leave the other million for the advancement of medical research.” The last applicant was an Indian Politician. When asked how much money he wanted, he whispered in the interviewer’s ear, “Three million dollars.” “Why so much more than the others?” the interviewer asked. The Indian Politician replied, “You give me three million, I’ll give you one million, I’ll keep a million, and we’ll send the American engineer.”

The Nice Guy Who Finished First

Castrol India Limited today unveiled a biography on Rahul Dravid, at the hands of Greg Chappell, coach of the Indian cricket team. Authored by Devendra Prabhudesai, the biography reconstructs the incidents and events that have contributed to making Rahul Dravid one of the greatest cricketers to have played the game. The book which is titled “The Nice Guy Who Finished First - A biography of Rahul Dravid”, is a tribute to a role model who refuses to rest on his laurels, and remains as intense in his quest for perfection as he was when he started his cricketing career. “This biography holds a special place for me as it succinctly captures some of the most passionate and intense cricketing moments of my life and career till date. I am sure cricket lovers will relish these anecdotes from my life”, said Rahul Dravid, who is also Castrol’s Brand Ambassador. The book outlines Rahul David’s moments of triumph as also his trials and tribulations. The book narrates the epic battle, one that he ev

The Speech!

Not too long ago, a large seminar was held for ministers and reverends in training. Among the facilitators were many well-known motivational speakers. One such speaker boldly approached the pulpit and, gathering the entire crowd's attention, said, "'The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who wasn't my wife" The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, "That woman was my mother" The crowd burst into laughter and he gave his speech, which was well received. About a week later, one of the ministers who had attended the seminar decided to use that joke in his sermon. As he shyly approached the pulpit one sunny Sunday, he tried to rehearse the joke in his head. It was a bit foggy to him. Getting to the microphone he said loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who was not my wife! His congregation sat shocked, murmuring. After standing there for almost 10 seconds trying to recall the second half o

Empowerment, Not Slavery!

"At the stroke of midnight, when the world sleeps, Indian youth slog for freedom from unemployment." Organized slavery ended decades ago, but to go by the criticism of some leftist commentators in India, one would imagine that it is alive and flourishing in the world’s largest democracy. Recently it has become especially fashionable to hit out at call centers, or business processing outsourcing (BPO) units as they are officially known. A study published by an institute that comes under India’s Labor Ministry compared conditions in Indian BPO outfits with those of “Roman slave ships.” Chetan Bhagat, the author of a new book set in one such unit, “One Night @ The Call Center,” recently claimed that call centers are “corroding a generation.” It is common, almost clichéd, to hear call-center workers referred to as “cyber-coolies.” All this criticism is terribly misguided. Contrary to being a form of economic imperialism, as its critics claim, India’s BPO industry is an indication

Sania Mirza turns 19!

Happy B'day Sania!!

Yahoo, Google to Launch Cellphone Services

Internet powerhouses Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. are set to roll out new wireless services, taking advantage of advanced networks and cellphones to provide features similar to those available on computers. Yahoo, Sunnyvale, Calif., soon will introduce a cellphone that it will sell through a partnership with SBC Communications Inc., according to SBC executives. The cellphone will take a step closer to linking wirelessly such cellphone services as music, photos and email with consumers' existing Yahoo accounts, address books and preferences. Meantime, Google, Mountain View, Calif., is tailoring some popular Internet services for use on wireless devices. Starting today, for example, consumers using some types of cellphones will be able to access satellite maps wirelessly and scroll through them as they can on the Google Maps service. The moves will mark a further step in the evolution of cellphones from communications devices to minicomputers that can be used for email, Web br

WSJ for free!

Yeah, you read it right! Wall Street Journal's online version at www.wsj.com will be completely free for this whole week for unregistered users!! Make the max out of it folks!

Tiger Vs. the Dragon!

It was inevitable... the two most growing economies in the world, India & China, after conquring the west are now starting to take on each other head on, especially in Information Technology & Outsourcing... New York Times has come up with a brilliant report , in which Infosys is taken as an example. Infosys recently announced plans to invest $65 million to expand its business in China. Infosys plans to hire 2,000 computer specialists over the next two years and to construct corporate campuses in Shanghai and Hangzhou to accommodate even more workers. Infosys has not previously made an investment in China of that size and scope and, experts say, it presages similar moves by other Indian technology companies. Infosys's plans to expand in China have been mirrored by those of several other big Indian companies that also specialize in computer services and outsourcing, like Tata Consulting, Wipro and Satyam Computer Services. This year, Satyam announced its plans to build a m

Syntel @ Coimbatore!

Syntel, the US-based software services provider with India-centric outsourcing model, would be looking at setting up development centres in Tier 2 cities to drive down costs and leverage the advantages of being among the first movers to these cities. The Nasdaq-listed company, through its Indian subsidiary Syntel (India), has three development centers in Pune, Mumbai and Chennai. Currently, its global headcount is about 5,500 and the company is planning to take this to around 10,000 by the end of 2006. Addressing a press conference, Keshav R Murugesh, chief operating officer, Syntel, said that the company was looking at Tier 2 cities like Coimbatore and Madurai in Tamil Nadu, a couple of locations in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to set up its own campuses. The company has done study on educational institutions, availability of talents and other incentives in these cities. On the sidelines of the press conference, Murugesh said that he would be making a presentation

How to make a balloon dog?

Children all around the world just love balloons, and some in the adult age group also like it (read: ME)... and some even like bursting the balloons rather than playing with it... Here's a how to guide on making a balloon dog... click here

Chotta Recharge!

Hutch has again done it!! After pioneering in bringing up creative advertisements to catch the imagination of the youth, it has come up with another master stroke in the way of "Chota Recharge", a prepaid voucher that starts as low as Rs. 10. It has happened to me and am sure it has happened to others also... By the end of the month, I run out of talktime and hence will be out of touch with friends till the next salary day comes....apparently because I have to pay 500 bucks to again get it recharged!! Well, Hutch's honchos has just understood this aspect of the consumer behaviour and have come up with recharge coupons with small denominations. I am sure everyone would have seen the ad in the TV! I did some digging as to the reasons behind this strategy and here's what I found. Apparently, industry research shows customers hesitate to renew because of the high processing fee and in this scheme, there is no processing fee if the service is renewed within th

Stars & Advertisements!!

While watching today's cricket match between India & Sri Lanka (in which India lost unfortunately), one of the most glaring things that I noticed was that Sharukh Khan's face appeared on screen every other over, obviously in advertisements of different brands. I believe I saw Shahrukh's face more than the cricketers in the big box!! Celebrity endorsements used to be few in the early 90s and a consumer like me was able to connect to the brand and its star value immediately. Today if you look at celebrity endorsements, it has kind of become a headache with stars putting up their faces for anything and everything. One thing that stars and advertisement managers should understand is that even excess "Amrut" is poisonous. And the companies advertising their brands should also understand that having a "star value" alone doesn't mean their sales are going to increase. I kind of get irritated whenever I see a star promoting a brand/brands in ev

Salaam Namaste!

Time: 04:00 AM Date: Sunday - November 6, 2005 As I am writing this, that's what my digital clock shows in its screen. One might be wondering what this fellow' is doing at this time of the night when the whole "world is sleeping".... Well, that's what I've been doing for the past 4 years of my life! Yes, come November 7, I would have completed 4 years of my professional life. As I take a trip down the memory lane, the most amazing thing to me is that the so called "night shift" has never bothered me. People ask me in amazement how the hell were you able to work in the "night" for 4 years. The answer is simple. Look what I am doing on a Saturday night. The root cause for all night shift related problems is that no one realizes that one needs to take extra care in your daily routine to get adjusted to the "graveyard shift". I've always made it a point to sleep for 7 hours daily and have at least 2 meals a day proper

Ghajini - Review

A very strong script, superb actions sequences, brilliant acting by Asin, and with all the right ingredients of a sci-fi thriller makes Ghajini a sure shot commercial success. Surely Surya is the next superhero in making. Though am not a regular Tamil moviegoer, the reviews I heard from friends and from MSM (mainstream media) made me go watch the movie. A.R. Murugadoss' brilliant piece of direction is seen throughout the movie, without a single hitch in the storyline. The story is about a multi-billionaire named Sanjay Ramaswamy (Surya) who has a successful mobile phone company in Chennai (Air Wave Cellular or something). Asin (don't remember her screen name) is a small-time model who acts in advertisements for a living. A small lie made by Asin to get a boost in her career sets the tone of the movie, where Surya and Asin meets. The rest is an off-the-mill love story. But when Asin saves a bunch of teenaged girls from local goondas, all hell breaks lose. Asin is kille

SMS - TV Connection!!

It's raining reality shows in all the TV channels these days... From Sony's just concluded Fame Gurukul, Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma Challenge, Star One's Nach Baliye, Star Plus' KBC, Vijay TV's Tamil version of KBC, Vijay's soon to be introduced comedy challenge featuring Chinni Jayanth, a take off from the hit Star One series which featured Shekar Suman and Navjot Singh Siddhu and many many more.... Well, probably one important attribute that made all these reality shows a hit was the audience participation through SMS. When Star's KBC-2 was launched in June this year, it received 700,000 messages from people who wanted to be on the show (including me). And all these messages were routed through Airtel (which partnered with KBC) and it cost me 6 Rs. per message. The whole Indian telecom air is crowded with messages these days, rather than talk time. A guy forwarding a funny message to all his friends, boys/girls chatting via SMS, banking transactions, news

"like.no.other"

That's Sony's latest tagline and I think it fits like a T to its brand image. I have always perceived Sony's products as the best-in-class, but highly costly kind. Their products were always away from the not-so-filthy-rich kind of people. But some brilliant EMI schemes introduced by them to boost sales have people flocking to buy all the latest gizmos on offer. You can virtually buy an Sony product these days with an EMI (equated monthly installments) and the “good” thing is, you will never realize through these EMI’s that you are making a hole in your pocket. Imagine this! One only needs to pay 1000 bucks per month to get a costly handycam, or 600 bucks for a "latest" 3.2 mega pixel digital cam - mouth watering indeed. Through it's easy to pay back, 0% EMI schemes, Sony has hit the right chord with the customers and more and more people are willing to shell out their hard earned money to this new found materialistic possession. PS: The writer is s

Wood Cellphone!

Coming soon to a shop near you, a cellphone made of wood! :-)

Over & Out!

BPO Unplugged!

Neeraj Bhargava, the CEO of WNS Global Services, a major BPO player in India has written a piece in the DNA newspaper about BPO employees being underrated by other industries, especially the old brick-and-mortar kind... Here's what he had to say... The Indian BPO industry employs around 4,00,000 people. About one out of ten of the BPO professionals manage other people, i.e. there are 40,000 managers in the industry. The BPO jobs pay well, people employed work in a globally savvy environment and learn to meet or exceed expectations of very demanding customers. Yet, BPO industry careers are often criticised and BPO jobs are referred to as boring and dead-end. These views are myopic and misguided. Lets consider some basics. Good careers do not just (or sometimes necessarily) require a good degree or the most perfect opportunity from Day 1 out of college. You need to be a part of a growth industry which stretches people and creates opportunities for young and less experienced people to

BPO Zindabad!!

A funny take on what will happen if BPO/IT sectors are unionized! Source: DNA

Mercedes Factory Snaps!

Wonder if all cars were made in such a clean factory!! Fore more pictures, click here

India's Most Wanted!

Delhi Police have released sketches of a man they want to question in connection with Saturday's explosions that killed 62 people. They say the man is in his early 20s and was seen leaving a bag on a bus. The bag exploded soon after he got off.

Flood Alert!

A flood warning has been issued in 11 districts, downstream from the Stanley reservoir at Mettur, of Tamil Nadu following heavy discharge from reservoirs in Karnataka due to good rain.

Who let the dogs out!! Bow bow bow!!

A new Internet radio station for pets aims to keep the loneliness at bay while owners are out - DogCatRadio.com!

Windows Live

Microsoft unveiled new Internet initiatives, including an online version of its Office suite and a service called Windows Live that will incorporate email, blogging and instant-messaging tools. Read more

Take note ladies...

Life is full of beautiful moments that make you feel special. These are moments of appreciation and admiration for your beauty, by your loved ones. These are the moments that you will never forget and could make you the Pond’s Googly Woogly Queen . Send the best compliment you have ever received on your beauty from a loved one and participate in the Pond’s Googly Woogly Queen contest, which is on till December 15th 2005, and share the spotlight and crown with none other than the reigning Pond’s Femina Miss India’s. Participating in the Pond’s Googly Woogly contest is extremely simple. If you are a lady above 18 years of age, all you need to do is write in the best compliment you have ever received to P.O. Bag No. 18, Kalkaji Post Office, New Delhi – 110 019 or email it to googlycontest@pondsindia.com. Don’t forget to fill in your name, address, phone number & date of birth. Rush in your entries as the first 2000 early birds stand to win a stunning silver Tulip Pendant!

The Wall

ESPN STAR Sports will telecast a 13 episode series, ‘The Wall’, saluting Rahul Dravid - the India Cricket team captain. The series, hosted by star commentator Harsha Bhogle, features some of the best innings played by Dravid outside India that have established him as a cricketer par excellence. The series aptly titled ‘The Wall’, depicting the manner in which Dravid bats, will showcase innings such as his debut test at Lord’s against England where he missed century by five runs, Rahul’s extraordinary performance against Australia in 2003/04 when he single handedly helped India chase a 200 plus target in the fourth innings among other remarkable innings. The episodes will also feature excerpts of Rahul Dravid’s interviews taken on the day of showcased innings. "The Wall" will be aired on ESPN every Tuesday at 7:30 PM starting November 1, 2005. PS: Unfortunately, there's no ESPN Star in Coimbatore!

The Indian Car Review

Is a car key to impressing a first date?? What's the next generation Mercedes car?? Who's the world's top car maker?? Will Mercs copying of Toyota Innova work?? To know the answers for all these questions, check out The Indian Car Review

Is Philippines the next BPO destination?

Philippines has been long touted as the next big BPO destination with a much better cost advantage and cheaper labor force. According to this report in Business Standard, the paper claims that Filipinos are playing hard to catch up to India. Philippines is preparing eight other Filipino cities besides Manila to foster this growth in the country. In India, centres like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune have been developed and now firms are being urged to branch out into second tier cities like Mysore, Mangalore and Coimbatore. The Phillipines seems to be adopting the same route.

Happy B'day Ash!

Amul Hits!

Topic: Sachin Tendulkar marks his return to international cricket with a sparkling knock

Diwali Greetings!!