Peak Day Blues

"It is very likely that the prices of petrol and diesel might be increased by up to Rs 2 a litre by mid-September, following the tough stand taken by the finance ministry." Read more

I thought this lady was free with the mobile, but the showroom folks chased me away when I asked :-)

Finally settled for a sleek sexy looking Chocolate phone.... Will write a detailed review later...

I've been using a Nokia 3310 (pic below if you haven't seen one) for the past 5 years and has been giving me a stellar of a performance. I had bought it at a sky rocketing price of Rs. 8500/- (which then for a mobile was a huge sum) and was also one of the first in my friends circle to own one... Good old days!! But now, it's a totally different story. People give me strange looks when I take a call or exhibit my lovely phone in public. I've become a jokebutt among my friends, calling my mobile an antique piece. You might ask why I didn't buy any mobiles for the past 5 years? The reason is, from an amortization standpoint, a Rs. 8500/- worth thing having only a value of Rs. 600 in 5 years is the worst price deluge I've ever seen in my life! And one more reason was the sentimental value... You know, the first thing I ever bought with my first salary... But I think it's time for me to part with my ever following mob, since the battery performance hasn't be

If you want a train to go on reverse automatically, just say "Jai Chella Keshava" 3 times and like a wrestler, hit your thigh and point your finger like Spider Man to the train... It will automatically go back!! Don't believe me? You think am crazy?? Then watch this!! Video via: Jagan, Madan, Ragav.

The second part in a series of camp fire videos... Here you can see Johnson's magic dance performance!

Here's the first in a series of rocking* videos from the camp fire we had in Kodai *The video has turned out to be quite funny, especially since no sound was recorded. I had a laugh riot watching it. Hope u too :-))

After returning from Berijam, in the evening, we organized a camp fire. Before the rocking party began, we had two contests. One was a group activity where you will have to act out a particular story and the other one was a musical based quiz. Straight after that, we all Rocked N Rolled our legs into the night... [Teams getting together for the team activity] [JVK Master with his students] [The blazing fire and yours truly in the background] [The sweater gang] [The party begins] [Rock N Roll...] [Guys taking a breather] [Oops, somebody catch Jviks b4 he falls down] Flash Flash: Videos of the dance party coming after this post!!

For some reason or the other, I liked the ninth rock from the Sun, Pluto. I think one of the reasons I fondly remember this plant was because of the Disney Character Pluto. In school, it was easy for me to remember Earth and Pluto, but took some time to remember the remaining. But the decision by the scientific community to take off Pluto from the solar systems list of planets has dampened my Pluto spirits :-(

Father: I want you to marry a girl of my choice Son: I will choose my own bride! Father: But the girl is Bill Gates's daughter. Son: Well, in that case...ok. Next Father approaches Bill Gates. Father: I have a husband for your daughter. Bill Gates: But my daughter is too young to marry! Father: But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank. Bill Gates: Ah, in that case...ok. Finally Father goes to see the president of the World Bank. Father: I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president. President: But I already have more vice-presidents than I need! Father: But this young man is Bill Gates's son-in-law. President: Ah, in that case...ok. PS: I wish I had read this a few months back! ;-)

Scott Carney, an American journo settled in Chennai for the past few years, specializes in tech writing and has been contributing to Wired for a long time. He has written an article in Wired about iPod's availability in Chennai's grey markets and why it makes sense to buy from a grey market. He also points out that it costs $150 extra in India to get an iPod legally vs. US or any other market. Do read it here

The July issue of KGiSL 's News Magazine In The Spotlight is out... Click here to check out the issue! FRM's Volume Celebrations and Kodaikanal Trip is covered.

You've seen Formula 1, Super Bikes, Moto GP and all sorts of other races... But hold you breath, here comes a unique race, of, the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge! Indian Auto Rickshaw Challenge (IARC), is a challenge of India’s famous rickshaw vehicles and the first of its kind anywhere in the world! 200 teams from around the world will venture 1,000 kilometers across and through Tamil Nadu in southern India experiencing the best that Tamil Nadu has to offer in terms of tourism, scenery, culture, and adventure. Not only will this summer host a new exhilarating challenge experience, but also, an opportunity to explore and discover another world. Do check out their website and read more about this unique adventure! PS: Am supporting Curry In a Hurry team, headed by Scott Carney!

Two trains packed with commuters collide in Northern Egypt, killing dozens and injuring more than 130! For the updated news and video, press Ctrl + End and watch Reuters News Videos!

There was a chat, arranged by Wipro for its employees, with Dr. Devi Shetty, Narayana Hrudayalaya (Heart Specialist) . The transcript of the chat is given below. You might as well like to share with rest of your colleagues as this snippts is all about the way we lead our daily life...very informative & useful stuff!!! What are the five thumb rules for a layman to take care of his heart? 1. Diet - Less of carbohydrate, more of protein, less oil 2. Exercise - Half an hour's walk, at least five days a week; avoid lifts and avoid sitting for a longtime 3. Quit smoking 4. Control weight 5. Control blood pressure and sugar Is eating non-veg food (fish) good for the heart? No It's still a grave shock to hear that some apparently healthy person gets a cardiac arrest. How do we understand it in perspective? This is called silent attack; that is why we recommend everyone past the age of 30 to undergo routine health checkups. Are heart diseases hereditary? Yes What are the ways in whi

I know how many of you guys at my workplace feel about Canara Bank's ATMs and Services... But it's not only related to Coimbatore! Here's an account of a guy from New Delhi, who had such an experience with Can Bank... Read more

Here's the video of Berijam lake from atop a hill!

[Entrance to the Lake] [Nearby places] [A temple] [Well, had great expectations about the lake, but it looked more like a kuppam river, thanks to pollution] [Nice message about conserving Tigers] [An overview of the park] [Gals for the cam] [The Lake!] [That's me! But don't I luk different?] [Abhilash posing for his fiancee! Yah, he is getting Married girls!!!] [What to say, what to say... u guys decide]

Due to the recent blog ban in India, thx to the red tapism at DoT, I couldn't continue with the Kodai Trip series... Good news is, I will post the rest of the series pretty soon... Upcoming attractions: Berijam Lake, Rockin the Dance Floor, Shopping Xtravaganza! So, stay tuned! Meanwhile, if you've missed any of the previous ones or are new here, check out these links! Enroute to Berijam Pine Forest 2 Pine Forest Part 1 The Resort Random Pics from Day 1 Day 1, Part 2 Day 1, Part 1

Employee of the Year! Via: KTJ

According to news reports, Indian government has increased security at Taj Mahal, after receiving a letter from a purported Al-Qaida activist claiming to blow up the monument! "Police are verifying the source of the letter. The letter could be false but we cannot afford to be complacent. We are not taking any chances and have enhanced security at the Taj." Terrorism has reached such a level that people are so scared even if they get a prank call or a letter. The other day I heard a friend saying that he doesn't need to bother about train or flight timings anymore. He says that if he feels that he will miss a particular train, he just needs to call up Railways and say there's a bomb in it! :-)

All the arterial roads in Saravanampatti was blocked today afternoon from 12:00 noon to 12:45 with loads of traffic police... Initially I thought it could b coz of an accident or something... After sitting in the car and fuming, I venture out of the long line of vehicles and asked a traffic assistant as to what was the reason... He, in a cool manner, told me that the Governer is passing through the road as he is going for a vacation in Ooty! Duh! All this traffic block for one person's conveyance?? Height of Atrocity!

The reason why Miss France did not win this year's Miss Universe title... Amazing! PS: Zidane's girlfriend?? Via: KTJ

Total no. of theatres - 5289 Total no. of theatres - 7611 Super block buster in 2005 - Bunty aur Babli Super block buster in 2005 - Chandramukhi Total earning (Bunty aur Babli) - 45 crores Total earning (Chandramukhi) - 110 crores Movies per year - 246 Movies per year - 479 Average viewers turnout - 35 to 40% Average viewers turnout - 60 to 65% Aamir Khan - 7 crores per film Rajinikanth - 15 crores per film (30 crores for Sivaji!! Shahrukh Khan - 5 crores per film Chiranjeevi - 10 crores per film Bunty Aur Babli vs Chandramukhi Here are some interesting nuggets to give you the feel of how the two pillars of Indian cinema fare in comparison. The average number of films made in Hindi is about 250 while it touches 500 in all the south Indian languages put together. The biggest Hindi hit last year, Bunty aur Babli, grossed Rs. 45 crores which pales against the Rs.110 crores raked in by Rajinikanth's Chandramukhi. The average daily attendance is just about 40% at theatres screening Hind

Wish you all a Happy 59th Independence Day!

Osuma Bun Lathen was found alive and roaming around the modules of KGiSL on Friday... I was able to take a snap using my spy cam with great difficulty.. Hope he didn't c me clicking...

I've updated snaps taken from last Friday's Fun Activity in my Flickr Page... Click here to head over there! You can also catch the Flickr Badge on the right hand side of the blog. A few samples!

A small video from this past Friday's Fun Activity.... Where Rajiv tried to hit me with a cake!! :-)

Indian born Indra Nooyi was appointed as the new CEO elect today, suceeding Steve Reinemund, who will be retiring from his Chairman post on May, 2007. Indra, who has spent the last 12 years at PepsiCo and was recently the President, is only the fifth person in the history of Pepsi to become its CEO, and that too the first woman! Nooyi was born in Chennai, India, where she received a B.S. from Madras Christian College and an M.B.A. from the IIM Calcutta. Nooyi has graduated from the Yale School of Management. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Nooyi held senior management positions at Motorola and Asea Brown Boveri. Let's all congratulate Indra Nooyi of becoming the first India born CEO of PepsiCo.

Thanks to the folks at Reuters and its affiliates, I was invited for a special test run of their new embedded video player in Peak Day Blues. This Reuters Video player, which broadcasts news from a wide array of categories, from headlines grabbing news to the latest in fashion, design and technology can now be watched straight from here itself. You will also get an array of optional videos which you can select and watch it for your video pleasure. Just go to the bottom end of this page to watch the videos or please press Ctrl + End in your keyboards. Mind you, one needs to have a broadband connection to watch these videos. As always, keenly expecting your reviews or feedbacks on this new feature! About Reuters: Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY) is best known as a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. However, news reporting accounts for less than 10% of the company's income. Its main focus is on supplying the financia

A business owner decides to take a tour around his business and see how things are going. He goes down to the shipping docks and sees a young man leaning against the wall doing nothing. The owner walks up to the young man and says, "Son, how much do you make a day?" The guy replies, "150 dollars." The owner pulls out his wallet, gives him $150, and tells him to get out and never come back. A few minutes later, the shipping clerk asks the owner, "Have you seen the UPS driver?? I asked him to wait here for me!" Via: Vanitha

The communist ruled government of Kerala has decided to ban all brands of Pepsi and Coca-Cola after the recent study from CSE again indicated that the pesticide levels in colas are still high. The same CSE had done this study 2-3 years back and the cola majors were just coming out of that big controversy which led to a huge fall in their sales & profits. Read more , and here's the mallu version Well, I personally don't think they are as dangerous as it is perceived to be, but still rather prefer not drinking them coz of an experiment me and my friend did a few years back, by putting in a rooted tooth of his in a bottle of cola for 2 days!! My new slogan: Eat Cola, Sleep Cola, But Never Drink Coca-Cola

" Stalling Parliament costs taxpayers Rs 20,000 a minute " This titled caught my fancy coz I've been watching DD Loksabha and DD Rajyasabha channels for the past one week at lay hours, i.e., after I get up from bed at around 12 or 1 in the afternoon. There won't be any good programs in any entertainment channels at that time, and so I switch to these channels for a heavy dose of entertainment. Once, I was even able to see a big fight, which am sure will be featured very shortly in the World's Most Shocking Videoes. Coming back to the above mentioned article, it quotes -- "India loses nearly Rs 20,000 (about $400) every minute when politicians stall proceedings in Parliament. "Politicians have lost the sensibility to understand that every minute they disrupt Parliament, the common man's precious money is going down the drain," says Justice V R Krishna Iyer, the respected, retired Supreme Court judge." Read more

Tamil movie buffs would have already heard this news and pardon me for putting it up so late, but for the not so informed, tamil actor Surya and Jyothika will be tying the knot on 9/11!! Yes, on September 11! And this is official, coming from the father of Surya, veteran actor Sivakumar himself. The romance that started from Surya's first movie paired along with Jyothika 'Poovellaam Kettuppaar' has finally blossomed into a wedded lock. But the sad news is that Jyothika will be retiring from movies after the marriage. The couple plans to throw a gala party in Chennai on September 12.

The online marriage market in India is growing exceptionally if one is to go by the numbers. The two major players in this market are Shaadi.com and BharatMatrimony. Recently, Yahoo and a VC firm jointly invested $8.65 million in BharatMatrimony, which claims about 3.5 million active users. In March, Sequoia Capital, formerly WestBridge Capital, bought an undisclosed stake in People Interactive, which runs matrimony portal Shaadi.com, for $8 million. It is to be noted that Yahoo had a tie up with Shaadi.com and when the term ended, it was actively looking for another partner in the wedding classifieds space. There are also other players in the market, but not so dominant. So, what does this signify? That Indians are increasingly logging on to the net for searching their soulmates?? Anyways, here's an old piece I wrote about Shaadi.com

Though I don't believe in all these Archies/Hallmark created special days, I got a very special forward from an anonymous friend thru mail... When I sat down and read it, it was like Nyabagam Varudhe, Nyabagam Varudhe song... Super poem dude! It lit up my day! ------------------ When the school reopened in June, and we settled in our new desks and benches! When we queued up in book depot, and got our new books and notes! When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, Yet, managed to line up daily for the morning prayers. We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and progressed to fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips! When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to color pencils and finally sketch pens! When we started calculating first with tables and then with Clarke's tables and advanced to calculators and computers! When we chased one another in the corridors in Intervals, and returned to the classrooms drenched in sweat! When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,

It all started with one idea — the notion that drawing on a computer could be as easy and expressive as drawing on paper. In 1996, that idea became software, and that software became Flash, the industry standard for creating interactive digital content. Happy 10th B'day Flash Buddy!

The elusive cricket commentator of Ten Sports, Mr. Dean Jones, has been sacked because of a racist comment he made against a South African player during the ongoing colombo test. "Jones, who admitted making the comment and apologised, was on a TV commentary team covering the second Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo. According to a statement issued by Cricket South Africa on Monday, viewers heard Jones say, "the terrorist has got another wicket" when Amla took the catch that dismissed Kumar Sangakkara." Read more

The latest issue of the KGiSL in-house magazine, In The Spotlight is out... You can catch all the stories over here Also, our departments football fever also finds a place

First, write a book on your experiences. Second, a few days before it is getting published, call for a press conference and create a controversy. Third, keep talking about it and give broad hints about the controversy thereby getting more media coverage. Didn't get whom I'm talking about?? Well, none other than our former minister Jaswant Singh. His strategy would have worked wonders for his upcoming book, had he not come up publicly now saying that he didn't know the name of the so called "mole" in PMO's office during Narasimha Rao's regime!! Now, you know how to make a jackass of urself!

The Indian government has announced a ban on children working as domestic servants or in roadside food stalls. The order, which applies to children under 14, will come into effect in October, officials say. It also bans children from teashops, restaurants, hotels, motels, resorts, spas or other recreational centres. There are estimated to be more than 12.6 million child workers in India, many of whom work as domestic helps or in small roadside restaurants. Source: BBC

In an article titled "Call Center? That's So 2004", BusinessWeek talks about a major shift seen in the major Indian BPO providers who are saying no to call center contracts and are moving to other high-end outsourcing jobs like payroll processing, insurance claims etc. The reason? Simple, it's not profitable anymore. Most of the argue that it's very hard to run a call center and the margins aren't that great. Read more

"Google Real Estate Search", "Mobile Marketplace," "Google Online Assessment" and "Workplace".... Sounds unfamiliar?? Well, if this UK Googler is to be believed, who by the way got lucky into testing these services, these are the new projects under wraps at Google... He also speculates that Google Workplace might be the killer word processor application that might take on Microsoft! Do read more