Those Polyphonic Ringtones
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Early morning nemesis - wake up calls. No these are not the wake up calls that we used to give during the undergrad days [ragging if you may call it]. Is it Sonu Nigam's voice that I hear ... wait a minute ... Oh yeah thats right its Milans cell phone ring tone. But early morning at this time ... aah its the alarm. What a deal ... "your's truly" singing Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna to wake you up - take that !!
Archived in: Technology Cellphone Ringtone Nokia Tmobile Verizon Motorola Chicago Mp3 Radio Kank
Posted by Rajesh @ 1:15 AM; PERMALINK,
,
Dysfunctional Mouse
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Got to get a new one tomorrow and try it out I guess. Here's what I've tried so far -
Update the driver.
Uninstall the driver and let Windows install it on a re-boot.
Boot in safe mode and check if its detected - Nup :(
Any ideas/insights anyone ??
Archived in: Computer PC Microsoft
Posted by Rajesh @ 9:50 PM; PERMALINK,
,
The World of PI
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
First of all let me point out that, what we have been using (or atleast I have been) for most of our calculations i.e. Pi = 22/7 is incorrect. Actually 22/7 = 3.142857 whereas Pi = 3.141592. Hence 22/7 > Pi.
Pi Day - An unofficial holiday held to celebrate Pi. Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3-14 or3/14). Actually its celebrated at 1:59 PM, thereby adding few more digits that would approach Pi. People even eat Pie, drink Pina Colada, eat Pineapple and/or watch the movie Pi.
Pi Approximation Day - Celebrated on July 22 (7-22 or 7/22)
Feynman Point - It is the 762nd through 767th decimal places of Pi and consists of the digit 9 repeated six times. Talking about Feynman you guys should read "Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman"
The first occurence of the sequence 0123456789 is found in the decimal expansion of Pi starting at 17,387,594,880thdigit. Holy Crap !!
The world record for the number of decimal places - expansion of Pi stands at > One Trillion; performed by two Japanese scientists and took only about 600 hours !!! A short expansion can be found here.
I wont reveal much but just imagine - he was named after a Swimming Pool !!!!
Archived in: Books English Pi Patel Feynman Amazon
Posted by Rajesh @ 8:34 PM; PERMALINK,
,
Pirates Can Speak Hindi
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Snap Courtsey - TOI
Posted by Rajesh @ 9:23 AM; PERMALINK,
,
Sandwich War - Subway or Quiznos
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Although both have their Pros and Cons, here's a comparison that I thought was worthwhile ;-)
Distance from home
Subway - 2.1 miles
Quiznos - 0.5 miles
Slogan
Subway - "Eat Fresh"
Quiznos - "Eat Up"
Restaurants
Subway - 26155
Quiznos - 4000
Toasted Subs
Subway - Idea grabbed largly due to Quiznos' success
Quiznos - Great Success and later copied by Subway
Founded
Subway - Bridgeport,CT (1965)
Quiznos - Denver, CO (1981)
Offer Starbucks Mocha
Subway - Noooooo
Quiznos - Yes
So which one do you think is better. In terms of the bread the offer, stuffing inside, dressings, service, quality ??
Is it Eat Fresh/Eat Healthy for you or is it "Mm mm mm mm mm ... toasty"
Archived in : Sub Quiznos Subway Mocha US
Posted by Rajesh @ 9:20 PM; PERMALINK,
,
India Blocks Blog-sites
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
This comes as a surprise to many of us. It is only when my friend informed me yesterday that I came to know. It seems the Indian Dept. of Telecom has issued orders to ISPs to block around 20 websites (Blog Sites) reeling under fierce criticism of its response of the recent Mumbai blasts.
I don't know how much would this help the govt. Blocking a few blog-sites isnt going to help, considering the explosion of the Blog Universe. Well, as of now blogspot, blogs.com and even geocities stand blocked. All blogs are visible to someone outside India, though.
The reason cited - Blog entries cannot be monitored as easily as emails. China, Korea and now its India's turn?? I can understand the former two ... but Hindustaan?
Archived in: Blog India Mumbai China Korea Blogspot Ban
Posted by Rajesh @ 10:37 AM; PERMALINK,
,
I Didnt Know
Monday, July 17, 2006
I did not know that ...
Zip in "ZIP CODE" is an acronym for - "Zoning Improvement Plan". USPS officially adopted the zone improvement plan in 1963. The 5 Digit Zip code worked as follows -
UNIX stands for - UNiplexed Information and Computing System (originally spelled Unics).
RSVP stands for - Repondez, s'il vous plait (although I knoe it was French, didnt know the exact word). Stands for "Respond, please."
Most wired country in the world is - S.Korea, with broadband connections in 70% of its household. Broadband is everywhere, its fast nd its cheap. Some stats on Mobile Phones show that nearabout 2/3rds of Koreans have handsets that are 10 times faster than those used out here in the USA.
Most common password - is "password" itself. But I guess with the security check that they do now-a-days it would be impossible to keep "password" as your password. A list of common passwords can be found here. Make sure that you scan all of em and if you find yours out here, it would be a good idea to change it ;)
Archived in: UNIX Windows Korea US password French
Posted by Rajesh @ 7:27 PM; PERMALINK,
,
How much should one TIP a pizza-delivery person ?
Friday, July 14, 2006
It says "You're supposed to tip the pizza delivery driver like you tip the waiter. They rely on tips and use their own car". A typical tip for a waiter in a restaurant is 15%, but this site advises a $2 minimum tip. But if the delivery person does an excellent job, 20% is appropriate . If the service is poor, 10% is a reasonable tip. Now I dont know what they mean by poor service. The delivery guy just delivers it to your doorstep. If there's a delay, it is most probably due to "Friday Night Fever" or a problem with their oven, for which this guy is not responsible, anyways ....
Also, the web-site says due to inclement weather, a larger tip is appropriate. If your home is located more than 3 miles from the pizza place, its considerable to tip $1 more. More than 5 miles, add another $1.
I didn't know this but - Pizza delivery is considered a hazardous job by the US gov. They are the third most likely to be murdered on the job, coming right after Police Officers and Taxi Drivers. Equally surprising were these tipping ettiquettes and some reasons why its appropriate to tip.
If you find it too difficult to caltulate 15%, they even have a tip calculator which you would fine handy ;-)
Archived in: Pizza Tip US Dominos Papa Johns Papa Gino Tip
Posted by Rajesh @ 7:22 PM; PERMALINK,
,
MBTA not up to the mark
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Posted by Rajesh @ 10:57 PM; PERMALINK,
,
Cricket Stand Up ...
Saturday, July 08, 2006
This guy is hillarious. Although there are many stand up comedians out there now a days, got hold of Vikram Sathey - some spoof of well known Cricketers :). Enjoy !!
Archived in: Cricket India Comedy Standup
Posted by Rajesh @ 7:38 PM; PERMALINK,
,
I'm Feeling Lucky
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Wanna check how lucky you can get ? Type in the following and do an "I'm Feeling Lucky" on Google .... (Make sure you pay attention to the page thats's displayed/not displayed)
* Miserable Failure
* French military victories
* Arabian Gulf
* Liar
* Awful Announcer
* a**hole
Read the clickable link that comes up in the "French Military Victories" page.
Now try something else, your name for example and see what comes up as a 1st hit. Dont look astonished if you find a surprise ;-)
Archived in: Google Googlebomb French France USA Military Lucky
Posted by Rajesh @ 10:32 PM; PERMALINK,
,
Price Tag On My Déjà Vu
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Bidding starts at $5,645.40 bucks - people .. and I hope thats not too much to ask for ;-). Its difficult to put a price tag on these ramblings and frankly speaking I dunno how they arrived at this figure; probably they just went by the url. For, if they went by the content I would be a millionaire by now :D.
Arvhived in: Blog Cost US Dollars Bid Technorati
Posted by Rajesh @ 7:07 PM; PERMALINK,
,
A Stranger
Saturday, July 01, 2006
There are times when you find yourself at a juncture where an unknown force takes over your predetermined notions. Something which you never expected would be explicit. I tell you , I did never think that would be here writing this stuff 10 mins before, but find myself somehow getting into the act.
This time I blame myself for my stupidity. Knowing what was going to hit me, I still agreed to get myself down and watch this Bollywood movie which I wish I hadn't.
I am not a Hindi movie hater or something but after watching this happen again and again , can't live with this gulit of what we are capable of and why we remain a land of underachievers. I mean, for the amount of talent and creativity we have, it is Sad that we still end up copying stuff from Hollywood counterparts. I detest our Moviemakers' option of earning quick bucks or investing $$ on someone elses idea.
Every freaking Hindi Cinema in the 20th Century (most of them) is just a CtrlC + CtrlV of a Hollywood one. Looking at the past, there have been quite a few instances where many have tried to detach themselves .. but in Vain. 1 or 2 films at the max then there's no option left for them but to sign Miss Indias and topless Heros and mix Indian Army stunts and Army brain on hollywood streets.
For gods sake ... why on earth can't we persist some of our own Ideas. Its very easy to get distracted and I believe that's what's been happening to most of our Hindi Films. I luv the way Russell Peters portrays a typical Hindi Movie where the Hero plants a tree out of no-where and sings along with his Heroine. Now-a-days its just a saga of the Hero fighting it out alone. Then when you expect the least, the Director adds a Song Item - at the precise point where his Hollywood counterpart has a shooting sequence.
The Hero, now carrying all sorts of Guns and about 20 lbs of RDX .. is shown smoking a Fag and walking in Slow-motion from the fresh Blast that he was responsible for. He now has 10 times the work to do as opposed to an English movie where bang bang bang .. its all done. Here, in Bollywood it gets to a stage where they end up using the same Life Support System @ the hospital which was used in the very freaking "Mother India" movie. One - because the Producer finds it cheaper to use the same stuff. and Two the Hero cannot Die. He is like this immortal 5 foot ... some human for whom matrix stunts are childs play !!
Every now and then he reminds his GF of the above mentioned 20 Lbs of RDX and what he can/cannot do with that. If only he had this Helicopter which could fly or a Boat that could chase the Bad and the Ugly asea. aarrrghhhhhh ...
In the end Denzel Washington gets tuns of appraisal for his performance while Big B ends up acting in just another Jack*** remake - degrading his talent and gaining maybe 10 whistles in some theater in a Bihar Village! Oh not to forget his son small B walking in slowmotion (as always) wearing Ray Ban 'again' as if he grows them in his backyard... The Director/Producer on the other hand is all smiles ... "dekho 1 billion logon ko ullu banaya" me being one of them ...
I was a Man On Fire .. but then I met A Stranger ..... Sigh !! When will this end ?
Archived in: Bollywood Hindi Movies India Films Amitabh Bachchan Denzel Washington Hollywood
Posted by Rajesh @ 12:14 AM; PERMALINK,
,
