ugach bhankas!!!

If u guys are travelling outside US and u need to unlock the cell phone :
try this site.. ( i have not used it because I have plenty of time to argue with my service provider first..if that does not work out then I will have to go to these ppl)

On the other hand..Interestingly enough Harry Potter author Joanne Kathleen Rowling has made her debut on the Forbes magazine's 18th annual billionaire rankings :) thats a good inspiration for budding talents!

Last but very imporatant (and no more hands left ;) so this shall be called straight from the heart!!!) :
In solitude- discipline is the best virtue- to keep one's sanity levels to normal !!
*** Whosoever is delighted with solitude is either a wild beast or a god. --Bacon
I am neither, definitely !!

Did you know?
"Mardi Gras," which literally means "fat Tuesday" in French, is the term for Shrove Tuesday, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the Christian period of Lent. Though Mardi Gras has been celebrated since at least the Middle Ages in Europe, the celebration did not arrive in America until 1699, when, according to tradition, a group of French explorers held a Mardi Gras celebration downstream from the site of what is now New Orleans. In modern times the festive revelry and extravagant parades and costumes that are hallmarks of the carnival tradition are alive and well in both France and New Orleans, as well as other places around the globe.

The weather today is so very pleasant..just like rainy season back home :) moderate temperature, cool winds and the cloud cover to take care of the sun :) I have become very nostalgic..I remember the bike rides in such a weather..the hot cup of chai warming the hand and the liquid warming up my mood :) and on top of it if I could get 'kandabhaji'..I would say I am in heaven..Ppl from Pune..think of Sinhgad and that is exactly the wather today..
I wanna go home.. :( and there are reasons too.. :(

Ever since I arrived in the United States of America, I have been troubled by the problem of 'static'..the charge one accumulates on one's body..and the moment u touch a metallic object..whooooom..sometimes I see spark flying across to the metallic object from my body..It need not be metallic object, humans are also at risk ;)
door knobs have been the main problem..and i can feel the shock through the handkerchief too!! this whole thing just cripples me..to open the car door i first touch the window (glass) then slowly my hand goes down to the metallic body and then the actual handle !
I was wondering..how the patients who undergo shock treatment must be feeling :( even the earlier way of carrying out the death penalty (remember The Green Mile..) maaaan..that is gruesome :(

Great news..Pres. Bush nominated for nobel peace prize!! Can anybody beat that ??
and one thing that came to my attention..on the Nokia career website ( yeah..I am desparately seeking a job ;) can't help) they ask u to enter the languages known and we click english and then look out for Hindi and what we find is Tamil... but no Hindi. If that Tamil corresponds to Sri Lanka its ok..else this is nothing but amusing!!
Some websites go to the extent of recognizing the regional languages like Marathi, Konkani and some other do not recognize the national language of the country which produces the most number of engineers?

Its been my first love..and i spent hours pursuing my favorite timpepass..Yes ! its riding bicycle..Early on I had the BSA champ like bicycle which I rode for quite a few years..and that was a thrill..I used to go and explore the unexplored places..I even went and crossed a neraby Ghat on that cycle..and my thrill can not be shared by all unless they know the place and time I am referring to..and I was 10-11 at that time!
I am sure that everybody in their days ;) had such fun..having a close knit group of friends and the doing all the adventures !! That was real fun :)
Then came the bigger cycle..the Hero Ranger..the one I lovingly called (still call) Mercedese..Its still there in Garage and I don't think I'll ever sell that bike..I just have to chk air in the tyres and its all set..I drove that cycle quite a bit..Most of the ppl who read the blog are aware of this :)
Afte then came my motorcycle and then the old faithful cycle was left at the mercy of my fitful mind..It saw the road only after I had sudden attacks of environmental consciousness/fitness drives and what not..
I still love riding bicycle..and I am writing this because again I am suffering from the fitness drive stroke..I have begun to ride bicycle for half an hour and then run..but riding bicycle in a park is fun..and going to the park is all the more enjoyable because I run over all the STOP signs..being in states this is great fun!
Unfortunately , these are the days when one dreams about the cars..but I will surely buy a great bicycle for myself :) Actually Cycle tour of Europe is not that bad an idea..May be in 10-15 years time :)

The Word of the Day for Feb 10 is:
pukka \PUK-uh\ adjective

: genuine, authentic; also : first-class


Example sentence:
Ellingsworth stood framed in the door of his club, the picture of a pukka gentleman, immaculately groomed, upper lip appropriately stiff, perfectly genteel.

Did you know?
"Pukka" tends to evoke the height of 18th- and 19th-century British imperialism in India, and, indeed, it was first used in English at the trial, in 1775, of a certain Maha Rajah Nundocomar, accused of forgery, and tried by a British court in Bengal. The word is borrowed from Hindi and Urdu "pakkā," which means not only "cooked" and "ripe," but "solid" as well. The English speakers who borrowed it applied the "sound and reliable" sense of "solid" and thus it came to mean "genuine" or "bona fide." As the British Raj waned, "pukka" was occasionally appended to "sahib" (an Anglo-Indian word for a European of some social or official status). That expression is sometimes used as a compliment for an elegant and refined gentleman, but it can also imply that someone is overbearing and pretentious.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.


Merriam Webster zindaabad.. I have subscribed to word
a day e mail..its good !!!

SAUCONY (Sock-A-Knee)- began in 1898 in Pennsylvania..along Saucony river..
in native Indian language that means 'swiftly running water' ..a phrase appropriate to the running heriatge of the brand..of which I am a part !!! ;)
Yes..bought the good running shoes I was talking about.. Got a good deal on weights too :)
Now is the time for serious workout !!
These saucony shoes are real light and fit snugly..provide good cushioning..and look real fancy :)
I am happy over my find :) a real good deal !!

And this one goes to the now 'in'famous (?) Dr. A.Q. Khan from Pakistan!!
If he has managed everything single handedly..then we don't need all the MBA's nor do we need the management schools :)

Pity that blogspot (free version) does not allow images to be posted!! I thought that these were my shortcomings with the web scripting..but then I found out that I have enough skills and the blogspot ppl have this policy :(
Neways, wanted to post a mutts cartoon strip.
If u r not aware please go to the 'webshite'..
Oh..its really wonderful!!
and u all would shtart shaying yesh !!!
:)

And also see..WHy did the chicken cross the road!!

There is nothing as beautiful as a sunset and that too from a desert (Arizona ;) its a desert !) is simply breathtaking!
I have been fortunate because from my place I can see the sun set behind hills...and its gorgeous!
One should see the range of colors..and trust me I have never seen this range anywhere..at Bombay point in Mahabaleshwar what u see is a perfectly spherical sun..and its bright reddish orange..always! For that matter Kanyakumari also presents the same view..
Here the case is different..first everything is pure golden which then converts to dark orange and then its reddidh then bright red then somewhere between pink and yellow ( i can not define anything else!) and then its blusih yellow and then some great steely grey which further leads to darkness..and I think its black ;)
Presence of clouds make this whole episode all the more interesting because of the hues we can observe..
Its really really awesome!!
:)

Great News for the A. R. Rehman fans..listen to the songs of Meenaxi-A tale of 3 cities !! Fantastic - take a bow :)

Top 10 richest people on the face of the planet...I'll need another 28 years to be there ;)

William H Gates III
Warren E Buffett
Karl & Theo Albrecht
Paul G Allen
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
Lawrence J Ellison
Alice L Walton
Helen R Walton
Jim C Walton
John T Walton

Source: Forbes of course!!
Its surprising that Paul Allen owns (Basketball team) Portland Trailblazers and (American Football team) Seattle Seahawks!!
Look at the college dropouts there..I am doomed ;)

I always think that a movie should have something for the viewer to think about! Something to cherish! Even the LOTR types animation will also do (not for me though!)..It helps a lot if the idea or underlying theme is known..One appreciates the movie better..eg. Dil se by Maniratnam..I would have been in dark but for a review which explained how that movie projects the seven stages of LOVE as depicted in Arabian litarature..that is the reason behind the song 'Satrangi re'..you look for this aspect..the underlying theme and that movie is brilliant!! This theme under the so called superficial theme of terrorism and all!! (No doubt that I would watch that movie on the big screen for songs alone..ARR the boss!!! ) I could go on about Dil se..but I won't!
I saw 'One flew over cuckoo's nest' today..Jack Nicholson is as usual brilliant if nothing more!! That guy is G O O D !! (Watch 'a few good men' another cool performance). If you have watched that movie and loved Jack Nicholson and thought nothing else..here is something which reveals more and would make u think..
By the way..Superbowl was really super! It was really a great game ! (If I say something more NFL might sue me ;) as they proclaimed their rights all the time on TV)..Go Patriots!!!
And..for Indian Music Lovers..try the newsgroup- rec.music.indian.misc