A man who boasted to reporters around the world that his Web site allowed strangers to turn his outdoor Christmas lights off and on admitted Monday it was an elaborate hoax designed, he said, to spread holiday cheer. Check this on CNN...
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Jour de Noël
Holiday time has just begun with Christmas, I have 9 days of holiday. So the plan would be cook, eat, sleep, blog and little travel as the weather is not really promising one. But the good news is it good for ski, which I planned to do on 26th, but the weather is really bad, don’t know if I will be able to make it.
So on the day of Christmas I went to Wilson’s house for lunch. I had a nice lunch there good food & fun with the kids of Wilson. Victor and Vincy are really energetic kids, have lot of energy and newer tired of making mischief. After the heavy lunch-on session came home and slept the whole evening. Got up and then was browsing through some sites. After that cleaned the house for a while then met my house owner who came after their Christmas celebration.
Presented some gift for them after that they offered me wine, then they realized that I don’t have alcoholic drink and settled for a Tea, this tea from Thailand. For the first time I has tea without milk. Later I learned that its was one of the most expensive tea. Just 50 grams costs Euros 20. It was an excellent one. I also have decided to but that and enjoy the tea. Then I remembered the article which I read long back on White tea. U know this is one of the costliest tea in the world. It’s served only in royal weddings etc. Any guess how much one kilo of White tea costs… Just $1500 per kg.
This kind of tea, without milk can be drunk throughout the day. It is not uncommon for the morning pot to still be poured in the afternoon, having been continually topped up with boiling water. This is what was going on. The tea session lasted for 2 hrs, with some nice sweets also served. The tea pot was topped with hot water thrice and the aroma was still on. First I had with sugar and later without that. Both were equally good.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Snowflakes
Hope all your favourite, most wished-for things, will all be bundled & delivered to you in the coming year. Happy holidays.
Party time
As mentioned earlier I was doing some research on Wine, here comes the reason for that.
As Christmas is around the corner we had dinner organized by company in the division I'm working for. There were some games organized as a part of celebration. The first part of the game is you will be given with 4 questions which u need to answer. One question was which wine u like the most? Based on this these questions the person who picks up u r details need to identify you and the clue is the answers you have provided. I tried to answer them in French and in a perfect French way, had little success also. On the day of dinner it was even more fun. Each of us had to carry some gift and the gift has to less that Euro 5. Then all the names of the people attending the party would be written on a paper and we need to pickup one and gift him/her the one you have got. It was so fun. I got this gift which is there in the picture.
From that day onwards I'm having dinner in restaurants regularly no stopping so far. I have started liking the French food more these days. I some how manage to get the vegetarians ones.
The more recent one tried is the Lebanese food. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The dishes are like this FALAFEL(small firm flat cakes thick as a finger), FATAYER BI SBANIGH (spinach cakes) and one more some thing like masala vada for the main course and for the dessert we had ZALABI HAF (like doughnuts). The best of all this is the flavored coffee. So far in my life I have only tasted flavored tea, this is first time in my life I was having flavored coffee. Thanks a lot Jason who prompted me to try this food. Happy Holidays to all of you.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Oracle/Peoplesoft deal - u know what it means
Sometimes I forget just how little people understand terms and technology.
In a USAToday article taking about the Oracle/Peoplesoft deal there was this paragraph:
Oracle is already the No. 1 maker of computer databases - powerful programs that store huge amounts of information. The PeopleSoft acquisition also will make it a major player in applications, or programs that run on top of a database to handle business tasks.
So that's what a database & application are, now I get the point why Oracle was keen on getting the Peoplesoft.
On the other side
Read this on GG's post PeopleSoft employee wants to get his coworkers jobs
In a USAToday article taking about the Oracle/Peoplesoft deal there was this paragraph:
Oracle is already the No. 1 maker of computer databases - powerful programs that store huge amounts of information. The PeopleSoft acquisition also will make it a major player in applications, or programs that run on top of a database to handle business tasks.
So that's what a database & application are, now I get the point why Oracle was keen on getting the Peoplesoft.
On the other side
Read this on GG's post PeopleSoft employee wants to get his coworkers jobs
Sony DSC V1 - My camera
I was surprised to read this. This is the Digi Cam I use.
The DIWA organisation of collaborating worldwide websites (Digital Imaging Websites Association) announced that Sony Inc. has been awarded Gold and Silver medals for two of their excellent digital cameras. The DIWA test experts honoured the Cyber-shot DSC-F828 with gold, accompanied by the Cyber-shot DSC-V1, which qualified for a silver medal. The awards are the results of comprehensive, independent reviews of different samples, made by a number of DIWA camera testing experts from Europe and USA.
The Cyber-shot DSC-V1 digital compact camera was very well accepted by the DIWA testing team. Not only did the robust body impress them, but also image quality surpassed their expectations for a compact camera with a 4x zoom lens. The well reputed Carl Zeiss lens brand, 34-136 mm zoom range and high speed f/2.8-4.0 attribuites, proved them wrong.
The DIWA test experts unanimously say: Sony may not have a legacy to show as a camera manufacturer, but their electronic skills are undisputed. With legendary Carl Zeiss onboard, Sony now has all the optical expertise they may require, proven by these excellent Cyber-shot cameras. The compact Cyber-shot DSC-V1 is also a high-grade digital camera with a tough exterior,which is very true - I had dropped it twice, but with the creative mind of an imaging guru.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Autograph
A straight flick from the Photographer
As the 2004 Year-End 13 Q&A for you to rewind
Now for the questions:
As the 2004 Year-End 13 Q&A for you to rewind
Now for the questions:
- Your ‘high’ moment of the year.
- Your ‘low’ moment of the year.
- Faux pas/greatest regret.
- Something that got you 'almost famous' and nearly catapulted you into the Hall of Fame.
- The 3 things you wanted to do the most this year, and did!
- The 3 things you wanted to do the most this year, and couldn’t/didn’t!
- Number of resolutions you made for 2004. And how many you actually stuck to.
- The list of cities/ places/ countries you visited in 2004.
- Your movie of the year award goes to...
- A friend lost? A friend found? A friend made?
- You will remember 2004 as the year of …
- The 3 things you really want to do in 2005.
- A set of 13 words that will be your keywords for 2005!
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Sabha experience - not for the Raaga but for the Sada dosai
For this season's Chennai music festival in I'm not in a jubilant mood. There are very many reasons depart of MSS during this time and Music academy not hosting the festival during this season and a lot. But for me it's the food that's served there in the sabha's. I miss this. Every season I storm all the sabha's with a gang where Guru also a part of that, for the variety of food served there. My favorites are Mount Mani Iyer @ Music academy, Arusuvai Natarajan @ Parthasarathy Sabha and Gnanambiga @ Narada Gana Sabha for last year. The best thing is U can taste all different varieties under one plate sorry one place..still thinking of the plate we used ot eat... Idly, vadai, pongal, halwa, bondas... and what dosas! Masala, rava, onion, vegetable, rava-onion, rava-masala as descried here. It also tells an interesting story how Mani Iyer became Mount Mani ...
I frequent some time for the breakfast also during the festival. I think I made you hungry enough now go and have food what ever u have or take a trip to Chennai and visit all the sabha and enjoy u r dosa and raaga. Guru u r lucky u r going back to Chennai to enjoy all these ;-)
Monday, December 13, 2004
Problem solved - Very Happy Now
I had kalvsys on my PC which used to start popups and nasty toolbar when ever I connect to the network either at home or at office. With the excellent support from my office helpdesk from Network/Internet/End user helpdesk 3 teams, I was able to completely remove the same. It's really a smart one. I remember from last week so many times I deleted the registry entry/the software but still everytime I connect to the network it pop's up.
After 5 frustrating days of using SpyBot, the freeware version of AdAware everything what not, today in the afternoon I had the taste of success.
After 5 frustrating days of using SpyBot, the freeware version of AdAware everything what not, today in the afternoon I had the taste of success.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Celebrations
It's celebrations..I mean to get sweets. As Simha, Dal and Gai left for India I got this sweets gift from them. I enjoy the company of sweets now.
Sushi Roll - Is also veg
I discovered here it also Veg.
A lot of people mistakenly think of Japanese sushi as "raw fish". This is most certainly NOT the case! (The classic Japanese raw fish dish - which is thin slivers of various different fish - is commonly known as "sashimi". Not sushi!)
The term "sushi" is Japenese for "vinegar rice" - which is the classic short-grained rice that, when cooked, is rather sticky - and then folded in seasoned rice-vinegar. The sushi rice is typically served with various fish and vegatable accompaniments - and in various styles. The "nigri" style is the familiar small bite-sized "boat" shaped mounds of sushi rice toppped with raw salmon, raw tuna or cooked omelette.
A lot of people mistakenly think of Japanese sushi as "raw fish". This is most certainly NOT the case! (The classic Japanese raw fish dish - which is thin slivers of various different fish - is commonly known as "sashimi". Not sushi!)
The term "sushi" is Japenese for "vinegar rice" - which is the classic short-grained rice that, when cooked, is rather sticky - and then folded in seasoned rice-vinegar. The sushi rice is typically served with various fish and vegatable accompaniments - and in various styles. The "nigri" style is the familiar small bite-sized "boat" shaped mounds of sushi rice toppped with raw salmon, raw tuna or cooked omelette.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Celebration time
Its celebration time - Christmas is the reason. Soon there would be some updates on the food I enjoy in the parties- "all Veg".
My last treat was at LA FONDUE. This is a treat given to me by Simha, Dal & Gai as they are going back to India. Though Gai enjoyed the starter Simha didn't enjoy the food much. Read more on my first "LA FONDUE" experience.
LA FONDU means 'the melt'. Mostly its made with cheese but the other popular ones are made with is meat dipped in hot oil and some time fruits in hot chocolate. In this part of Alps & the Swiss this is very famous with cheese. I don't know why I like it so much, I enjoy this a lot. People who don't like cheese people don't try this.
Some facts about Wine
From my first visit to Europe I had been learning more on how to select a wine and what needs to be done. I shall let u know the reason what prompted me to share this info, still u can read what I've collected which is going to be a nice read to all of you.
Every time we go out one thing people ask me what do you want to drink, I mean alcholic drink. When I say that I don’t drink people are surprised. But every time I go to a party I learn more about this. So here I’m today compiling with all the information gathered and with all the information I present this to you.
Red wine and White wine are there and you can select the one u like. But know more about that before you start drinking it. Next time u drink a wine or host a party think so these and select the wine for you guests.
Tasting - Tasting is not difficult when one knows how to go about it, not just that its a lot more process.
It is an observation process that requires your eyes, nose and palate. The result is an overall impression of a wine's general balance, as well as its complexity. Balance between these three sensations creates the taster's overall impression of the wine and is key in determining its pleasantness. Its aromatic complexity is a secondary factor, used to determine the difference between a good wine and an excellent wine. First, use your eyes to evaluate the color and nuances of the wine. Then, bring the glass to your nose to smell the aromas that are automatically released. Next, swirl the glass to stimulate the release of additional aromas in the wine. Finally, roll the wine around on your palate to complete the process by identifying physical sensations such as a wine's acidity, depth and structure.
Using your eyes
* First, take small quantity of wine in a glass and check the reflection of light on the wine n shining of the liquid. More it shines, younger it is.
* The next element is brilliance. Just as some diamonds sparkle more than others, some wines shine more than others. If you appreciate beautiful things, indulge your senses! *Viscosity can be a geographical indicator or a measure of residual sugar. Watch the streams of wine that run down the sides of the glass after you swirl it. An oily look indicates a high level of alcohol, as would be found in a Mediterranean red wine. The opposite would suggest a wine from the Loire region. For whites, viscosity combined with a deep golden color implies a sweet wine.
* Stir it littlebit and see if the liquid sticks to the glass. More it sticks, more alcoholic it is.
*A wine's color can provide many clues. A light red wine that is nearly transparent comes from a variety that doesn't impart heavy pigments, such as an Alsatian Pinot Noir. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a deep, dark, nearly black wine evokes an intensely pigmented wine, such as a Merlot from Bordeaux from a particularly mature vintage. The same applies for whites: if a wine is almost colorless, it infers that a wine is young, tank fermented, and could be a white variety such as Sauvignon Blanc, whereas a straw yellow or golden wine suggests a wine that has been barrel aged for several years, such as a Burgundy. Your nose will help you confirm your guesses in the next step.
*Now, on to clarity, Looking through the side of the glass, preferably against a dark background, try to see if any particles are suspended in the wine. If not, all the better-the wine is very clear. A cloudy wine will lack finesse.
*A wine's color also involves accent tones or glints. A young, red wine will have purple, almost blue glints. An excellent example of this is Beaujolais Primeur. A dark wine with garnet, tawny or even bright red glints indicate that a wine is in the midst of the aging process. Your taste buds will help you confirm your hunches
Using your nose
* Now you have to smell it, first just smell it simply as it is. Then stir it littlebit and smell it. Try this 3 - 4 times. The smell can be like any flower, fruit, animal (...???), etc...
* Now finally take it in mouth. But wait, wait, wait...just take it in mouth, don't swallow it. Keep it there for a while, that will increase the temperature of wine upto the body temperature and also let a little amount of air go in the mouth and mix with the wine. Now take it in.
Using your Palate
Tasting the wine confirms our noses' conclusions by increasing the wine's temperature and evaluating two important physical and tactile factors: complexity and balance. Complexity is based on a wine's aromatic richness and the length of its finish. Balance measures the interaction between a wine's different flavors. The flavor of a wine refers to a combination of different tactile impressions that are desirable or undesirable in the mouth, primarily acidity, astringency and sugar content.
Acidity is very important, as it gives a wine depth. Without acidity, a wine is flat, uninteresting and has no aging potential. Excessive acidity renders a wine a bit aggressive or "green", though there is no qualitative system of measurement for this. Acidity is perceived primarily on the sides of the tongue. A wine's smoothness compensates for and balances its acidity. This physical sensation can be regulated by alcohol, sugar or glycerol content. Wines from Southern France tend to be smoother than those from the North. This sensation is also expressed as roundness or viscosity.
Not to miss section
Astringency refers to the wine's roughness and describes the wine's structure in the mouth. This sensation is produced by tannins, which can be more or less coarse. They block certain proteins in saliva and create a sensation of great dryness and roughness. However, there can be different types of tannins. Wines from the Médoc region have strong, but mature tannins provided by the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. They are the broad-shouldered athletes of the wine world. Red wines from Beaujolais, on the other hand, are less tannic and more delicate, as is characteristic of the Gamay variety. These are more feminine wines, but their slight acidity grants them a mischievous edge.
Every time we go out one thing people ask me what do you want to drink, I mean alcholic drink. When I say that I don’t drink people are surprised. But every time I go to a party I learn more about this. So here I’m today compiling with all the information gathered and with all the information I present this to you.
Red wine and White wine are there and you can select the one u like. But know more about that before you start drinking it. Next time u drink a wine or host a party think so these and select the wine for you guests.
Tasting - Tasting is not difficult when one knows how to go about it, not just that its a lot more process.
It is an observation process that requires your eyes, nose and palate. The result is an overall impression of a wine's general balance, as well as its complexity. Balance between these three sensations creates the taster's overall impression of the wine and is key in determining its pleasantness. Its aromatic complexity is a secondary factor, used to determine the difference between a good wine and an excellent wine. First, use your eyes to evaluate the color and nuances of the wine. Then, bring the glass to your nose to smell the aromas that are automatically released. Next, swirl the glass to stimulate the release of additional aromas in the wine. Finally, roll the wine around on your palate to complete the process by identifying physical sensations such as a wine's acidity, depth and structure.
Using your eyes
* First, take small quantity of wine in a glass and check the reflection of light on the wine n shining of the liquid. More it shines, younger it is.
* The next element is brilliance. Just as some diamonds sparkle more than others, some wines shine more than others. If you appreciate beautiful things, indulge your senses! *Viscosity can be a geographical indicator or a measure of residual sugar. Watch the streams of wine that run down the sides of the glass after you swirl it. An oily look indicates a high level of alcohol, as would be found in a Mediterranean red wine. The opposite would suggest a wine from the Loire region. For whites, viscosity combined with a deep golden color implies a sweet wine.
* Stir it littlebit and see if the liquid sticks to the glass. More it sticks, more alcoholic it is.
*A wine's color can provide many clues. A light red wine that is nearly transparent comes from a variety that doesn't impart heavy pigments, such as an Alsatian Pinot Noir. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a deep, dark, nearly black wine evokes an intensely pigmented wine, such as a Merlot from Bordeaux from a particularly mature vintage. The same applies for whites: if a wine is almost colorless, it infers that a wine is young, tank fermented, and could be a white variety such as Sauvignon Blanc, whereas a straw yellow or golden wine suggests a wine that has been barrel aged for several years, such as a Burgundy. Your nose will help you confirm your guesses in the next step.
*Now, on to clarity, Looking through the side of the glass, preferably against a dark background, try to see if any particles are suspended in the wine. If not, all the better-the wine is very clear. A cloudy wine will lack finesse.
*A wine's color also involves accent tones or glints. A young, red wine will have purple, almost blue glints. An excellent example of this is Beaujolais Primeur. A dark wine with garnet, tawny or even bright red glints indicate that a wine is in the midst of the aging process. Your taste buds will help you confirm your hunches
Using your nose
* Now you have to smell it, first just smell it simply as it is. Then stir it littlebit and smell it. Try this 3 - 4 times. The smell can be like any flower, fruit, animal (...???), etc...
* Now finally take it in mouth. But wait, wait, wait...just take it in mouth, don't swallow it. Keep it there for a while, that will increase the temperature of wine upto the body temperature and also let a little amount of air go in the mouth and mix with the wine. Now take it in.
Using your Palate
Tasting the wine confirms our noses' conclusions by increasing the wine's temperature and evaluating two important physical and tactile factors: complexity and balance. Complexity is based on a wine's aromatic richness and the length of its finish. Balance measures the interaction between a wine's different flavors. The flavor of a wine refers to a combination of different tactile impressions that are desirable or undesirable in the mouth, primarily acidity, astringency and sugar content.
Acidity is very important, as it gives a wine depth. Without acidity, a wine is flat, uninteresting and has no aging potential. Excessive acidity renders a wine a bit aggressive or "green", though there is no qualitative system of measurement for this. Acidity is perceived primarily on the sides of the tongue. A wine's smoothness compensates for and balances its acidity. This physical sensation can be regulated by alcohol, sugar or glycerol content. Wines from Southern France tend to be smoother than those from the North. This sensation is also expressed as roundness or viscosity.
Not to miss section
Astringency refers to the wine's roughness and describes the wine's structure in the mouth. This sensation is produced by tannins, which can be more or less coarse. They block certain proteins in saliva and create a sensation of great dryness and roughness. However, there can be different types of tannins. Wines from the Médoc region have strong, but mature tannins provided by the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. They are the broad-shouldered athletes of the wine world. Red wines from Beaujolais, on the other hand, are less tannic and more delicate, as is characteristic of the Gamay variety. These are more feminine wines, but their slight acidity grants them a mischievous edge.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
World's most spammed person
Bill Gates is reportedly the world's most spammed person.
So they have decided to to replace the CEO of Microsoft. Guess who is going to repleace him?
Steve Ballmer has requested me to take over due to this and there is a great support around the world. I wish I can dream like this... :-)
So they have decided to to replace the CEO of Microsoft. Guess who is going to repleace him?
Steve Ballmer has requested me to take over due to this and there is a great support around the world. I wish I can dream like this... :-)
Screensaver tackles spam websites - Make Love, Not Spam
This is a very intresting project which was undertaken by Lycos. But as know all good things come to an end.
Initially :
Sites selling spam goods and services are being targeted. Net users are getting the chance to fight back against spam websites. Internet portal Lycos has made a screensaver that endlessly requests data from sites that sell the goods and services mentioned in spam e-mail.
Lycos hopes it will make the monthly bandwidth bills of spammers soar by keeping their servers running flat out.
The net firm estimates that if enough people sign up and download the tool, spammers could end up paying to send out terabytes of data.
Cost curve
"We've never really solved the big problem of spam which is that its so damn cheap and easy to do," said Malte Pollmann, spokesman for Lycos Europe.
"In the past we have built up the spam filtering systems for our users," he said, "but now we are going to go one step further."
By getting thousands of people to download and use the screensaver, Lycos hopes to get spamming websites constantly running at almost full capacity.
Mr Pollmann said there was no intention to stop the spam websites working by subjecting them with too much data to cope with.
He said the screensaver had been carefully written to ensure that the amount of traffic it generated from each user did not overload the web.
"Every single user will contribute three to four megabytes per day," he said, "about one MP3 file."
But, he said, if enough people sign up spamming websites could be force to pay for gigabytes of traffic every single day.
Lycos did not want to use e-mail to fight back, said Mr Pollmann.
"That would be fighting one bad thing with another bad thing," he said.
Slow down
The sites being targeted are those mentioned in spam e-mail messages and which sell the goods and services on offer.
Anti-spam screensaver scrapped
A contentious campaign to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers by flooding their sites with data has been dropped.
Lycos has shut down the campaign saying it had been started to stimulate debate about anti-spam measures and had now achieved this aim.
The anti-spammer screensaver came under fire for encouraging vigilante activity and skirting the edge of the law.
Sites swamped
Through the Make Love, Not Spam website, users could download a screensaver that would endlessly request data from the net sites mentioned in many junk mail messages.
More than 100,000 people are thought to have downloaded the screensaver that Lycos Europe offered.
Lycos Europe statement
The company wanted to keep the spam sites running at near total capacity to make it much less financially attractive to spammers to operate the sites.
"The idea was simply to slow spammers' sites and this was achieved by the campaign," the company said.
Initially :
Sites selling spam goods and services are being targeted. Net users are getting the chance to fight back against spam websites. Internet portal Lycos has made a screensaver that endlessly requests data from sites that sell the goods and services mentioned in spam e-mail.
Lycos hopes it will make the monthly bandwidth bills of spammers soar by keeping their servers running flat out.
The net firm estimates that if enough people sign up and download the tool, spammers could end up paying to send out terabytes of data.
Cost curve
"We've never really solved the big problem of spam which is that its so damn cheap and easy to do," said Malte Pollmann, spokesman for Lycos Europe.
"In the past we have built up the spam filtering systems for our users," he said, "but now we are going to go one step further."
By getting thousands of people to download and use the screensaver, Lycos hopes to get spamming websites constantly running at almost full capacity.
Mr Pollmann said there was no intention to stop the spam websites working by subjecting them with too much data to cope with.
He said the screensaver had been carefully written to ensure that the amount of traffic it generated from each user did not overload the web.
"Every single user will contribute three to four megabytes per day," he said, "about one MP3 file."
But, he said, if enough people sign up spamming websites could be force to pay for gigabytes of traffic every single day.
Lycos did not want to use e-mail to fight back, said Mr Pollmann.
"That would be fighting one bad thing with another bad thing," he said.
Slow down
The sites being targeted are those mentioned in spam e-mail messages and which sell the goods and services on offer.
Anti-spam screensaver scrapped
A contentious campaign to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers by flooding their sites with data has been dropped.
Lycos has shut down the campaign saying it had been started to stimulate debate about anti-spam measures and had now achieved this aim.
The anti-spammer screensaver came under fire for encouraging vigilante activity and skirting the edge of the law.
Sites swamped
Through the Make Love, Not Spam website, users could download a screensaver that would endlessly request data from the net sites mentioned in many junk mail messages.
More than 100,000 people are thought to have downloaded the screensaver that Lycos Europe offered.
Lycos Europe statement
The company wanted to keep the spam sites running at near total capacity to make it much less financially attractive to spammers to operate the sites.
"The idea was simply to slow spammers' sites and this was achieved by the campaign," the company said.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Weekend
Normally weekends bring lot of happiness, especially when u r in Europe. In north of France people when we meet after the weekend they ask did you party but in the south of France where I stay they ask you what did you do this weekend? It's like asking what activity did you do. In the south of France there are lot of activities like scuba diving when your near the coast, If you are in the Alps like me in summer its normally some trekking, rock climbing and in winter ski. Oh I need to plan for the Ski this winter also. I started my blog with the first blog on my 1st ski experience only. I was checking some youth hostel booking in Chamonix the whole place has been booked till the April 2005. Oh my gosh this is impossible.
So I did some movie watching and planning for my Christmas holidays. U can soon c some more Places as Virtual tours in coming weeks. Keep checking.
Oh I forgot some thing here is the link for the visit to Parc de la Tete d'Or. This is an heavenly collection of the fall season.
So I did some movie watching and planning for my Christmas holidays. U can soon c some more Places as Virtual tours in coming weeks. Keep checking.
Oh I forgot some thing here is the link for the visit to Parc de la Tete d'Or. This is an heavenly collection of the fall season.
Air Taxis :-) Cool...
A private engineering company servicing the British air force says it's 18 months away from introducing a flying taxi that could ferry passengers from the outskirts of London to the city centre in three minutes, and for the cost of a conventional fare.
The Jetpod T-100, a virtually silent, six-seat, twin-engine jet replete with horizontal and vertical thrusters that allow it to hover like a helicopter, will reach 560 km/h and needs just 125 metres of space to take off or land.
Priced at under $1 million US each, the Jetpod will coast onto grass or dirt runways less than one-tenth the normal length, dotted throughout a city. It isn't meant to travel between cities or ferry monied folk to weekend homes, but will concentrate instead on winging suburbanites downtown for about $60 to $75.
It's a cheap solution for cities that are looking for creative ways to reduce traffic congestion -- and a gamble for entrepreneurs looking to tap into what is predicted to be a lucrative commercial market for urban micro-planes in the near future, its inventors say.
"It's the right moment for flying machines, I guess," Mike Dacre, managing director of the plane's developer Avcen Limited of London, said Tuesday. "If you live to be 300 years old you don't expect to get the kind of response we've had so far."
Interest from investors and the public has been frenzied since the design was unveiled last week. Dacre has given non-stop interviews and received inquiries from as far as New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The firm's website shut down after receiving 16 million hits.
Jetpod's rugged undercarriage is being built to withstand multiple daily flights over low terrain, and a proprietary noise attenuation system reduces the whooshing of its engines by 50 per cent over today's light jets.
The demo now under development will be flight tested over the coming months, and should be certified to fly in Britain within five years, Dacre said.
The Jetpod T-100, a virtually silent, six-seat, twin-engine jet replete with horizontal and vertical thrusters that allow it to hover like a helicopter, will reach 560 km/h and needs just 125 metres of space to take off or land.
Priced at under $1 million US each, the Jetpod will coast onto grass or dirt runways less than one-tenth the normal length, dotted throughout a city. It isn't meant to travel between cities or ferry monied folk to weekend homes, but will concentrate instead on winging suburbanites downtown for about $60 to $75.
It's a cheap solution for cities that are looking for creative ways to reduce traffic congestion -- and a gamble for entrepreneurs looking to tap into what is predicted to be a lucrative commercial market for urban micro-planes in the near future, its inventors say.
"It's the right moment for flying machines, I guess," Mike Dacre, managing director of the plane's developer Avcen Limited of London, said Tuesday. "If you live to be 300 years old you don't expect to get the kind of response we've had so far."
Interest from investors and the public has been frenzied since the design was unveiled last week. Dacre has given non-stop interviews and received inquiries from as far as New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. The firm's website shut down after receiving 16 million hits.
Jetpod's rugged undercarriage is being built to withstand multiple daily flights over low terrain, and a proprietary noise attenuation system reduces the whooshing of its engines by 50 per cent over today's light jets.
The demo now under development will be flight tested over the coming months, and should be certified to fly in Britain within five years, Dacre said.
Interesting stuff
Just checked this link..This is really cool ... Just move the mouse in and out and you can travel through a different world. Make sure you stop here and there and have a look at the place Click here
Enjoy you visit
Enjoy you visit
The Hitchhiker - Australia is famous for this also
This story happened about a month ago, in a little town in Victoria, Australia, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, apparently it's real.
This guy was on the side of the road near Terang, hitchhiking, on a very dark night and in the middle of a storm.
The night was black and no cars went by. The storm was so strong, he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.
Suddenly he saw a car coming towards him. It stopped. The guy, without thinking about it, got in the car, closed the door and then realized there was nobody behind the wheel.
The car started slowly. The guy looks at the road and sees a curve coming his way. Scared he starts to pray begging for his life. He hasn't come out of shock, when just before he hits the curve, a hand appears through the window and moves the wheel. The guy, paralysed in terror, watches how the hand appears every time! they get to a curve.
The guy, gathering strength, gets out of the car and runs to the nearest town. Wet and in shock, he goes to a pub and asks for 2 shots of whiskey, and starts telling everybody about the horrible experience he just went through.
A silence enveloped everybody when they realized the guy is crying and isn't drunk.
About half an hour later, two blokes walked in the same pub and one said to the other "Look Bill, there's the wanker that got in the car while we were pushing it!!!"
This guy was on the side of the road near Terang, hitchhiking, on a very dark night and in the middle of a storm.
The night was black and no cars went by. The storm was so strong, he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.
Suddenly he saw a car coming towards him. It stopped. The guy, without thinking about it, got in the car, closed the door and then realized there was nobody behind the wheel.
The car started slowly. The guy looks at the road and sees a curve coming his way. Scared he starts to pray begging for his life. He hasn't come out of shock, when just before he hits the curve, a hand appears through the window and moves the wheel. The guy, paralysed in terror, watches how the hand appears every time! they get to a curve.
The guy, gathering strength, gets out of the car and runs to the nearest town. Wet and in shock, he goes to a pub and asks for 2 shots of whiskey, and starts telling everybody about the horrible experience he just went through.
A silence enveloped everybody when they realized the guy is crying and isn't drunk.
About half an hour later, two blokes walked in the same pub and one said to the other "Look Bill, there's the wanker that got in the car while we were pushing it!!!"
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Attention grabbing CV
This is doing the rounds in Microsoft, and therefore, might prove the adage that attention grabbing CVs can actually make a difference ... from GG post.
When The Known Devil is Better Than an Unknown God: An Empirical Study of the Antecedents and Consequences of Relay CEO Successions
If all corporations take Rice University’s advise, then you all will be looking for new gigs. In a recent study they found that that despite a sharp increase in the number of CEOs at U.S. companies have been recruited from outside those firms, a new study suggests that boards of directors should look inside their organizations before filling this critical position. Love the name of the study by Yan (Anthea) Zhang of Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management and Nandini Rajagopalan of the University of Southern California
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