It really didn't matter. Last time I checked, USD was stronger than CAD. Last week though, CAD went on to register a 30 year high beating USD ... and then becoming equal to it. As of today, 1USD = 1 CAD (okay its 1.0031 but the decimals are for ppl trading in billions).

Point is that it didn't matter. It took me a while to realize that; couple of weeks to be exact. The story goes something like this -

The place where I used to stay before, we had a washer dryer in the basement and I didn't have to make occasional trips to the bank and fetch quarter rolls. But out here, I do ... and its not always what you think you got (a roll of quarters i.e). So couple of weeks back I made a trip early SAT morning to the nearest bank to fetch some. Intention - do my Laundry over the Weekend.

Sunday evening I tried to do that but the machine simply wouldn't accept my quarters. Thought that the machine-slots would be filled to the brim with coins and ditched the plan. A week later tried the same thing. Again - same thing !! Frustrated, thought of calling the landlord and requesting him to fetch the deposited coins in the machine, so that I could use it.

Came back to my hut and a closer look reveled that one of the coins was a Canadian qtr. No wonder it didn't get pushed through the machine slot. Sigh !! Adulteration?? Oh yeah, happens quite often and anyone could squeeze in one or two Canadian coins in the roll and chances of him/her getting caught are bleak.

So after struggling for 2 consecutive weekends, I said CAD != USD. But guess what, the very next day (or the day after that ... I can't remember) read that CAD is on a 30 year high and that its equal to the USD. Way to go !! Its not just that, the weakening dollar has made many other currencies stronger; some have shattered the records, some would follow suit soon ......

Just before the UN general assembly meeting at Big Apple (NYC) this year, India is doing some brand building or should I say 'educating' folks up here with our Culture, Technologies, Fashion, Advancements etc. Times Square and some other parts of the city have already been decorated and banners have been put out on the streets for the cause.

With some big guns attending the event, our govt. and the tourism ministry are probably trying their best to change (or continue) the outlook of westerners and provide them with all the information that they're missing :-) {smiley intentional - see previous post}




NYC folks, take some time out to check the events (darn !! I wish I were there one of these days but alas) to be held 23rd thru 26th of Sept. especially the ones at Times Square which I'm sure is bound to attract the attention of scores of tourist/commuters.

The sponsors of these events are spread from companies like Infy to the Indian Ministry of Tourism, Culture to universities like Columbia,Yale to Louis Vuitton, Coca Cola and Citigroup.

Wow!! I didn't know this. 25 years ago CMU prof Scott Fahlman invented a smiley face :-) using just 3 keystrokes and what a way to start an emoticon race. Users of Yahoo Messenger would know of the many many variations ; like :-D, :-P, :-S :-( and ;-)

These smilies spread from CMU to other schools to other businesses and then around the world. Now a days these are so common that you can find them almost anywhere on the www world. The best part is that there's no language barrier. A :-) means the same in English, French, Spanish, Zulu or Mallu ;-)

Dr. Fahlman was quoted as saying "I sometimes wonder how many millions of people have typed these characters, and how many have turned their heads to one side to view a smiley, in the 25 years since this all started". Come to think of it, I think I actually might have turned my head to one side during the initial stages. After a few years, we now see folks @ Google making it interesting, swinging these emoticons vertically so that you don't have to "turn your heads sideways" :P

Once upon a time, thousands and thousands of years ago, there lived a prince named Rama, whose wife Sita was supposedly abducted by a demon (and king of Lanka) named Ravana. Many years later a Hindu Sage named Valmiki composed a Sanskrit Epic which tells the story of the above mentioned Prince (Rama).

Again, some years later a similar situation has arisen. This time its the governing body of the country that directly got involved and supposedly "hurt the faith of millions".

A Shipping Canal Project between India and SriLanka is being opposed on religious grounds because the opposition says the project will destroy a bridge built by Ram and his army of monkeys. The Govt filed an affidavit to the Supreme Court of India questioning the very existence of Ram and said the belief about the monkey builders was solely based on Hindu mythology.

Not sure how or why the ruling folks decided on filing the affidavit. Only a noob would go ahead and try to deny the existence of Hindu mythological figures.

Quite interesting isn't it?

After all, what's this whole debate about whether Lord Ram existed or not about? We all have grown listening to and reading the fact that these (Ramayana, Mahabharata to name a few) are Epics. In this scientific culture of ours, these figures are heroes, as far as millions are concerned and its just not possible to try to confine them within any kind of boundaries is utterly foolish.

Even if tomorrow its scientifically proved that the Adam's Bridge (or Rama's Bridge) did not exist, would these Epics end being part of our lives? The answer probably is No. Why then this shout and ga-ga about hurting millions? Well - stuff like this is food for the media and with all the 123 Nuclear Agreement the opposition parties in India are looking for ways to bring the government down; cause a mid-term election.

Bravo !! What a way to highlight and defend achievements. Questioning mythology, questioning the questioning of mythology, creating havoc by disrupting daily routines, blocking roads and burning effigies. Progress? hmmm .... I really doubt.

Believed to be the 2nd best heavy metal/rock band out there (VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock), Sabbath were truly amazing!! Had a chance to visit their US tour last weekend (touring under the name Heaven and Hell). Ronnie, Tony, Appice and Geezer were superb and played along with some of their best numbers like Voodoo, Mob Rules, Neon Lights to name a few.

They were playing with Alice Cooper and Queensrÿche. I haven't heard much about the later one but who doesn't know Alice Cooper. They really set the tempo and boy oh boy was it fun !! They let the Poison run through our veins before handing it over to Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ;).

Next stop ... hmm planning on attending a Megadeth concert.

Countdown to Extinction .....


Cheers!!

So finally I thought of shifting pics from Y! to Flickr. Every time I login to my Y! photos, I saw a bold red statement - a countdown actually that said how many days I have left to switch to Flickr. Anyways the process took about 4 days and finally got an email today from their team telling me that I'm all set.

I had started using Flickr, though, a long time back. But today I find out that I've gotten a pro-account and that its valid till end of 08. I'd have to shell $24.95 per year after that. Hmm ... that doesn't sound interesting. Why should I choose to use Flickr when others are offering it for free? Its not a huge price to pay but then something doesn't sound right somewhere.

Lets see if they relax the rates and/or extend the free account after 08.

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Name: Rajesh

Location: Boston, MA, United States

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