I Chase Time ...

A hilarious summary of 2010

2011-01-29T10:19:00.000-08:00

Got this as a forward mail and it was an awesome read, so I am putting it out here for the rest of you to enjoy too.

THE YEAR THAT WAS - 2010

By Dr C Andrade

So here's the year the way I saw it.

January

Jyoti basu dies at 11.47 a.m., yet again almost making it to P.M.

UPSC increases civil services intake from 580 to 965. Ouch. 385 more bureaucrats each year. A real Babulation Explosion.

Kerala gets 3G services. Now they can call themselves "GGGods own country".

February

Kishenji announces his phone number : 9734695789 . Now we don't need the army to fight him. ICICI business calls will finish him off.

Lok Sabha meets. Noise. Confusion. Lok Sabha adjourns. It's time we rename our parliament - the Joke Sabha.

India says no to Bt brinjal. An auberginity lost?

March

What's common to Iceland & Abhishek? Both are wondering what to do with ash.

Sania Mirza announces that she's going to marry Shoaib Malik. Thank God,
Sania doesn't have to do 7 pheras with Shoaib. She'll never get past
the first round. Anagram of "Sania has a Malik" - "Asli aman ki asha".

April

ND Tiwari may have to take DNA test. Ha. So far for him, a double-helix was just an interesting position in bed.

Sachin Tendulkar's birthday today? Let's celebrate it as runmashtami.
The good thing is that Sachin has turned 37. Which means, for the next
365 days,he will be in his prime.

IPL-3 happens with much glitz, glamour & goris. Definite Punjab
victory over Mumbai today. Mumbai may have the X-factor in Sachin. But
Yuvi gives Punjab the XXL-factor.

Matthew Hayden to change his name to Matthew_Hayden. After all he is a chronic under-scorer.

If Vijay Mallya had his way, after the quarter-finals, IPL would have the half-finals & full-final.

And the post-IPL party starts. Unfortunately, all the recent happenings
only go to prove that an honest politician is the exception rather than
Tha...roor.

If an aquarium can have water and a planetarium, planets, why can't a consortium have a consort?

Lalit Modi possessed drugs as a teenager. What?! No way we'll let him
run a cricket tournament. Let him go stand for parliament instead.

BJP, RJD & BSP want JPC probe into IPL so that NCP will get caught & UPA will be in trouble.

- Acronymous scenes in parliament.

May

If India were a gym, Delhi would be the sauna, Chennai, the steam-room
& Bangalore, the a/c reception. Mumbai will be the pool in 2 months.

The IPL saga continues.

I've heard of "suspension of disbelief", but LKM's behavior suggests
that he's experiencing "disbelief of suspension". LKM gets threats from
the underworld. Looks like organized crime doesn't like competition.

Kasab gets sentenced Like all sentences, Kasab's too ends in a full stop.

If he's sentenced to death, Kasab will be 51st in the queue. "Capital" punishment just means your file is stuck in Delhi.

Subhash Ghai was ahead of his times. He introduced 4G in 1989. A-G, oh-G, lo-G suno-G.

June

FIFA World Cup provides a lot of kicks

Hope Greece is not given a penalty. They'll say they have no money to
pay it. I don't think Mexico will make any attempt at the Argentinian
goal. A Mexican can't take a shot without salt and lemon. I think Italy
should be allowed to have an extra player on the field. After all,
Azzurri usually comprises 12 people.

The feeling of having heard a damn irritating noise before - Deja Vu-vuzela

On the offside, first there is God, then there is Ganguly. And then sometimes Argentina.

If India had qualified for the World Cup, Chetan Bhagat would have been
goalie & Mamata the forward. He can block, she can strike.

Germany, Uruguay, Netherlands & Spain. So the big G.U.N.S. have made it to the semis.

TN may free 500 convicts to mark Tamil conference. Why, may i know? Did classical Tamil have shorter sentences?

Ahmedabad to celebrate World Blood Donation day. Hopefully, this time around, they'll keep it voluntary.

Karunanidhi turns 87 today. He will henceforth be called Dravida Munnetra Kazhavan.

July

Bopanna & Qureshi to play tennis match with Wagah border as the net. Thereby showing that there are faults on both sides.

Petrol price increased again. An optimist will now look at his tank as half fuel.

Just realized that M.S. Dhoni's wife will be called Ms. Dhoni.

CWG fun begins

Now i understand why the CWG mascot is called Shera. They want a Shera
this, a Shera that, and a Shera everything that makes money.

New HR rating scheme- 5: Exceeds Expectations, 4: Meets Expectations, 3: Average, 2: Needs Improvement, 1: Kalmadi.

Suresh Kalmadi plans to give us the Common & the Games. The rest, he'll keep.

The latest form of humour : Stand-up Kalmadi.

So Amit Shah is behind the Sohrabuddin fake encounter uh? Makes sense. His name is, after all, an anagram of "a sham hit".

If Sherlyn Chopra met Rakhi Sawant, would the CBI call it a fake encounter?

August

Manmohan becomes third PM to hoist flag at Red Fort for 7th time. Sigh. So many hoisters, so few pearls.

If life gives you lemons, be very happy. They're now Rs.100 per kg.

I'd like to start a paper factory that supplies clean chits to the CBI. Big business potential.

Congress to have elections to decide its President. Ha. That's like
Robinson Crusoe conducting interviews to select his assistant.

It's a great day for our planet. All the top places in Miss Universe are bagged by earthlings.

Spot-fixing controversy hits Pakistan cricket Pakistan is the world champion in book cricket.

There's actually a website that does nothing but spot-fixing. It's called Foursquare.

I'm looking forward to Arnab on spot-fixing tonight. I bet that he'll
interrupt his first guest on the third word of his second sentence.

September

CWG action continues. Finally some positive news about the CWG - 5 athletes test positive for dope.

1.6 million meals to be served during CWG. Oh. No wonder they have created such a big mess.

Delhi gets hit by Dengue.

What Delhi needs is some Ram Sene folks. They won't let the mosquitoes breed till they get married.

I propose that we make mosquitoes our national insect. Then the government will try to protect them and they'll become extinct.

Kasab case drags on. Sentenced terrorists have a good time in India - They are footloose and phaansi

free.

UID launched. The first person gets an aadhar number. The second gets anaadhar number. And so on.

I guess, in Jalandhar, people will soon be bidding lakhs of rupees for a premium UID number.

Ayodhya verdict happens. Seems to be on the basis of Share-ya law. This
Ayodhya issue is quite complex. Hindus want a temple, Muslims want a
mosque, while Mayawati actually wants a statue.

Off to Google Maps to mark Nungambakkam as Rameshjanmabhoomi so that there's no confusion in 5510AD.

Raymonds wants to sponsor the Ayodhya verdict, because it turned out to be a 3-piece suit.

October

Obama's goal seems to be to see as much of India and as little of Indians as possible.

In TN, a million more TV sets will be distributed. Our whole country seems to be in an alms race.

Advice to Arundhati Roy : if at first you don't secede, cry, cry, cry again.

Mukesh Ambani is not the first to stay in Antilla. Centuries back, Valmiki used to hang out in one.

November

Today is the day Krishna slays Narakusara, Rama returns to Ayodhya,
Mahavira attains moksha, and Airtel makes a killing. Happy Diwali. The
more the number of Diwali sweets in your house, the faster they get
spoilt : burfi's law.

Raja scam explodes

A Raja is living proof that there is a pot of gold at the end of the
spectrum. In India, scams have an alarming frequency. And now, with
Raja, frequencies have an alarming scam.

Dear Manmohan Singh, it would be apt if you could sack our telecom minister using radio language :

Raja. Over and out.

Manmohan Singh continues to do nothing about anything

Manmohan Singh's First Law of Motion : Everybody stays in a state of rest unless acted upon by Soniaji.

Manmohan Singh's Third Law of Motion : Every action has an equal and opposite inaction.

One day there will be a movie made about Manmohan Singh. And the director will go, "Lights. Camera. Inaction."

Manmohan Singh's personal integrity is unquestionable. Mostly because he never attends question hour.

Yeddy allots land to his children

My name is Yeddy. I'm a great father, a cool deddy. Politics has been
bleddy, but be happy i am steddy. Cos else you'll be stuck with Reddy.

The nation finds out that Radia : Government :: Sonia : Manmohan

Q : How do you fit 1000 media people in a hotel?

A : 998 in 499 double rooms. And Barkha & Sanghvi in the lobby.

Why does phone-tapping make India a banana republic?

Isn't tapioca republic better?

December

Wikileaks threatens national security, or rather politicians' security
What with wikileaks & payback, the governments of the world will now
unite to face their common enemy - the public.

TIME had a difficult choice for Person of the Year. Assange, who
attacked governments' privacy. Or Zuckerberg, who went after people's.

Sarkozy is a VIP Frenchie, right?

To protect against hacking, DRDO instructs all government officials to change their password from sonia123.

India has got an old, rich and glorious tradition in hacking. It started with Parashurama.

MMS & team are busy blowing balloons for Sonia's birthday. They've told their staff that they're tackling inflation.

Many bills were passed in the parliament session. Travel bills, food bills, etc.

We should also screw China by issuing visas that are attached by mere gem-clips.

Obama, Sarkozy, Jiabao & now Medvedev. If india can't get to the
Security Council, at least the Security Council is coming to india.

Refreshing the Dataprovider of a chained combobox

2010-03-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

I work with Flex 3 and was recently trying to implement something like a chained combobox, whereby the selection in one combobox filters the options that are available in the next one. Simple enough. But alas, I was in for an unpleasant surprise.

In an ideal scenario all that was supposed to happen was that I select a certain value in the first combobox that triggers a filter for retrieving data that populates the second combobox. The data retrieval was not an issue at all but when I had to assign the dataprovider for the second combobox it did not work. No matter what I did the combobox would not refresh and display the content. While debugging I could see that the dataprovider had the correct data in it.

All efforts to explicitly set the dataprovider, refresh it, validate the control failed to deliver the desired result. I spent a LOT of time trying to figure out what could be the possible reason for the problem, didnt get anywhere and when I say a lot of time, I mean a day and a half after which the whole thing got extremely frustrating. I had been searching to find some help or a post for someone who had run into a similar problem. Didnt come across anything.

I posted a question on Adobe Forums a couple of guys suggested some stuff, didnt help. When I had given up all hope I came across this link by someone who seemed to be having the exact same issue as me and SURPRISE it had a solution.

The issue as I came to know from that was with the SDK. SDK 3.5 to be precise, I checked my version. No surprises it was 3.5, the root cause of my misery was a bug in that version. Its not present in SDK 3.4 and below but only in 3.5. The same has been fixed in SDK 3.6 but it does not have a stable build yet and only the nightly builds are available on the Adobe site. You can get it here.

I got SDK 3.6 and tried doing the same and it worked like a charm. Didn't have to do one extra step to make it work. The binding took care of everything. BUT BEWARE, the SDK 3.6 does not have a stable build yet and has a few bugs of its own. As I realized because it broke my language modules code. So, give the 3.6 a try but make sure you go back and test throughly, it might leave a little trail of destruction of its own.

Also, since Flex 4 is out. I guess the development of SDK 3.6 might have been stopped altogether.

Anyway, I am putting this post out so that it can possibly help someone who is stuck with the issue of the chained combobox not displaying the data assigned to it by the dataprovider and probably save a lot of time trying to hunt around for a possible solution.

It is extremely frustrating when you know your code is right and it still doesnt work. Thank you Adobe.

Grumble grumble.. hmmmpphh !

2010-03-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Yea.. today was one of THOSE days.. I start work at 8.. i had a parking ticket on my dash at 8:10.. even before i could go to Starbucks to get my chaa.. i mean.. gimme a break... dear law enforcement officer.. where the eff were you .. hiding in the bushes ??? I agree it was my fault :(.. i didnt read the street cleaning board.. but c'mon.. we just moved into that neighbourhood.. cut me some slack.. will you ??

Then I had been stuck on a piece of code since yesterday.. like seriously STUCK... STUUUUCCCKKK.. you get the point.. right.. I get my team mate involved, its a basic operation that should work out of the box.. its BASIC.. but no.. it wont work.. it JUST WONT... JUUUUSSSTTT WOOOONNNTTT ... it was frustrating to say the least.. i spent nearly the entire day trying to make it work.. tried everything under the sun that i could to make it work.. to no avail.. turns out... it was a bug in the prgramming language.. by Adobe.. hey thanks for that Adobe... thanks a ton... now gimme my day back >.< !!! ridiculous nutcases.. its open source... not bug source.. NOW Microsoft... so yea it should work.. anyway... I get my stuff done... finally .. i update my SDK to get the bug sorted.. lose my entire day's code coz the merge fails for the last head in the tracking system... I screamed at that... i did.. no kidding.. and yes i was annoyed... !

KXIP had lost in the morning.. so I wasnt too happy.. and the Canucks just lost .. to who ??? the Islanders.. who loses to them ??? WHO??? The are 12th in the Eastern Conference .. 12th out of 15 teams.. No Eastern team had won in Vancouver this year.. NO ONE.. and we lose to the Islanders.. *sigh*...

Today was indeed one of THOSE days.. the only relaxing thing was the easy 20 min run in the rain.. Thank God for running..

Happy Monday ...

2010-03-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well.. Happy Monday.. the name says it all.. so yea .. that's it.. I'm done :)

Well the first day after the time change.. I'm still reeling like the rest of the continent.. its nuts.. probably tomorrow wont be an issue.. also coz I will be so sore from training tonight that i wont have a clue till tomm morning.. so yea I wont mind it..

Just finished work and now getting ready to head to practice in an hour.. coach says its going to be a painful session.. *sigh*.. Dear Coach.. everything is painful... but till the time he can run faster than me.. i do not have the right to complain... hehe ...

The weather has been awesome.. spring is here already and summer aint too far either.. sooo looking forward to it.. Will be a busy one.. <GRIN> ...

Want to write more but i am scramble brained from coding all day .. so will probably get back here later..

Happy Monday guys :)

Thought

2010-01-24T13:37:00.000-08:00

Easy Sunday going on, and a lot has been going on behind the scenes. All those things make me extremely happy. I feel so much better and relaxed about things now, its almost as if I have a new lease of energy and I am liking it way too much, that it becomes difficult to find words for it.

Now, when I take a minute to think about the past three weeks. First, time flies, I didnt even realize it was three weeks till I started typing out this sentence. WOW. No complaints, I like it that way. Second, the thought that comes to my mind after all this, and not just talking about the past three weeks, but a longer period of time is, how can some things that appear so small, make a change so big. A change which I thought could never happen and though it didnt bother me, there were times when it came to my mind and made me think... I'm losing it here... FOCUS FOCUS !!!

Lazy sunday.... thought.. change... THOUGHT... yea better... a million people might have said it before I did, but now is the time that i truly understand what they mean when they say :

The happiest person is one who is at peace with himself.

All of a sudden it makes the most sense in the entire world. Not that I was fighting a war within, but there are thoughts that come to mind and you think I wish it wasn't like that and voila one day it isn't. Can you imagine how beautiful everything seems that day ??? Ask me... but then I won't have words to capture it in. There are things which are music to the ears, then there are things which are music to the soul. Now you can paint the rest of the picture yourself =D Yes, it's that good.

P.S. just in case someone was getting ideas. No I am not in love. But just happy with the way things are right now, in love with myself all over again... ok fine if you must think thats its love talking :P .. now if she would only call... LOL =D

Happy thoughts everyone... :) and oh Happy New Year too.. first post of the year.

Sachin Tendulkar - The Genius

2009-11-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hashim Amla:
"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it."
Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight

Yaseer Hameed:
"Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job."

"To Sachin, the man we all want to be"
- What Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin

BBC on Sachin:
Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives "

"But the finest compliment must be that bookmakers would not fix the odds - or a game - until Tendulkar was out."

"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin's catch.

Brian Charles Lara:
"Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal."

Mark Taylor:
"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin" - Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

M. L. Jaisimha:
"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best knock."

Glenn McGrath:
"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility - all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"

Anjali
"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"

Matt HAYDEN:
"I HAVE SEEN GOD, HE BATS AT NO.4 FOR INDIA"

"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."
-- Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai

KUMBLE:
"I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets!"

Shahrukh (quoting Shahrukh from an interview)
"Que: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!!"

Navjot Singh Sidhu:
"India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.."

Waqar Younis
"He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also."

A banner once said-' I WILL SEE GOD WHEN I DIE BUT TILL THEN I WILL SEE SACHIN ' that quiet defines Sachin-The greatest.

Allan Donald:
"Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world"

And i remember reading in one of Allan Donald's interview.
This interview was in Cricket Talk 7-8 yrs ago.

"I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best I have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries."

Peter Roebuck, Aussie journalist
"On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!"

NKP Salve, former Union Minister (This was when he was accused of ball tempering)
"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It's clear discrimination. "

Andy Flower:
"There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others."

Cussing at Work

2009-10-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Employees:

It has been brought to management's attention that some individuals throughout the company have been using foul language during the course of normal conversation with their co-workers.

Due to complaints received from some employees who may be easily offended, this type of language will no longer be tolerated.

We do, however, realize the critical importance of being able to accurately express your feelings when communicating with co-workers.

Therefore, a list of 18 New and Innovative 'TRY SAYING' phrases have been provided so that proper exchange of ideas and information can continue in an effective manner.

Number 1
TRY SAYING: I think you could use more training.
INSTEAD OF: You don't know what the f___ you're doing.

Number 2
TRY SAYING: She's an aggressive go-getter.
INSTEAD OF: She's a f___ing bit__.

Number 3
TRY SAYING: Perhaps I can work late.
INSTEAD OF: And when the f___ do you expect me to do this?

Number 4
TRY SAYING: I'm certain that isn't feasible.
INSTEAD OF : No f___ing way.

Number 5
TRY SAYING: Really?
INSTEAD OF: You've got to be sh___ing me!

Number 6
TRY SAYING: Perhaps you should check with...
INSTEAD OF: Tell someone who gives a sh__.

Number 7
TRY SAYING: I wasn't involved in the project.
INSTEAD OF: It's not my f___ing problem.

Number 8
TRY SAYING: That's interesting.
INSTEAD OF: What the f___?

Number 9
TRY SAYING: I'm not sure this can be implemented.
INSTEAD OF: This sh__ won't work.

Number 10
TRY SAYING: I'll try to schedule that.
INSTEAD OF: Why the f___ didn't you tell me sooner?

Number 11
TRY SAYING: He's not familiar with the issues...
INSTEAD OF: He's got his head up his a__.

Number 12
TRY SAYING: Excuse me, sir?
INSTEAD OF : Eat sh__ and die.

Number 13
TRY SAYING: So you weren't happy with it?
INSTEAD OF: Kiss my a__.

Number 14
TRY SAYING: I'm a bit overloaded at the moment.
INSTEAD OF: F__ it, I'm on salary.

Number 15
TRY SAYING: I don't think you understand.
INSTEAD OF: Shove it up your a__.

Number 16
TRY SAYING: I love a challenge.
INSTEA D OF: This f___ing job sucks.

Number 17
TRY SAYING: You want me to take care of that?
INSTEAD OF: Who the f___ died and made you boss?

Number 18
TRY SAYING: He's somewhat insensitive.
INSTEAD OF: He's a pr_ck.

Thank You,
Human Resources

How to get a day off from work

2009-10-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

I urgently needed a few days off work, but I knew the Boss would not allow me to take a leave. I thought that maybe if I acted "CRAZY" then he would tell me to take a few days off. So, I hung upside down on the ceiling and made funny noises. My co-worker asked me what I was doing.
I told her that I was pretending to be a light bulb so that the Boss would think I was "CRAZY" and give me a few days off.

A few minutes later the Boss came into the office and asked, "What are
you doing?" I told him I was a light bulb. He said, "You are clearly stressed out. Go home and recuperate for a couple of days." I jumped down and walked out of the office. When my co-worker followed me, the Boss asked her, "And where do you think you're going?"

She said, "I'm going home too, I can't work in the dark."

Random Thoughts of the Day

2009-09-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the

sidewalk.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the fuck was going on when I first saw it. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right

parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA . No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

The 'One'

2009-09-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

This is the english translation for the mool mantra in Guru Granth Sahib ... Enlightening words.. :)

There is only one God
His Name is Trurh

He is the Creator
He is without fear
He is without hate
He is beyond time (immortal)
He is beyond birth and death
He is self-existent
He is realised by the Guru's grace

Chant and meditate:
True in the primal beginning
True through the ages
True here and now
O Nanak
For ever and ever true

Ok !

2009-07-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

So, I had to move my entire blog from Y! 360 to here coz that service is closing down and I didnt want to lose my blog.

So, what I have here is everything from waaaaaaaaaaaaay back when i was in school to now... so there might be broken links and confusing stuff, please bear with that. and I hope to get back to regularly updating it with useful stuff.

When will that time come ?? I have no clue right now. These days its just coding and running which are on top priority.

Songs from which Bollywood gets its 'cheesiness' from

2009-05-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

dhoodh ban jaongi, malai ban jaongi, botlon mein daal de sharaab ban jaongi
jaam ban jaongi, surahi ban jaongi, machchi ban jaongi, kabaab ban jaongi

saari duniya mein hain deewane, parwaane, afsaane, nazraane mere naam ke
aaye ho yahan to zara baitho mere yaara dildaara diljaani dil thaam ke
neend jo lage gi to chatai ban jaongi, khaat ban jaongi, razai ban jaongi

maajra hai kya zara mujhe bhi batoa muskuroa na chupao thanedaar ji
ankh to milao, yun na dekho, paas aao, dil churao, le ke jao mera pyar ji
qaid jo karoge mein rihaai ban jaongi, chor ban jaongi, sipahi ban jaongi
botlon mein daal de sharaab ban jaongi

dhoodh ban jaongi, malai ban jaongi, botlon mein daal de sharaab ban jaongi
jaam ban jaongi, surahi ban jaongi, machi ban jaongi, kabaab ban jaongi

Rain can be a Good Thing

2009-04-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

A curious fellow died one day and found himself waiting in a long, long line for judgement. As he stood there he noticed that some souls were allowed to march right through the gates of heaven - others were led over to Satan who threw them into a burning fire pit.

Every so often, instead of hurling a poor soul into the fire, Satan would toss the soul to one side in a small pile.

After watching Satan do this several times, the fellow's curiosity got the better of him. So he strolled over and tapped Satan on the shoulder. 'Excuse me, Prince of Darkness,' he said, 'I'm waiting in line for judgement, but I couldn't help wondering why are you tossing those people aside instead of flinging them into the fires of hell with the others?'

"Ah," Satan said with a grin, "They are from Vancouver; they're too wet to burn.!"

Man - Woman Relation

2009-04-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

Just found this lying around - .. :D

A woman has a close male friend. This means that he is probably interested in her, which is why he hangs around so much. She sees him strictly as a friend. This always starts out with, you're a great guy, but I don't like you in that way. This is roughly the equivalent for the guy of going to a job interview and the company saying, You have a great resume, you have all the qualifications we are looking for, but we're not going to hire you. We will, however, use your resume as the basis for comparison for all other applicants. But, we're going to hire somebody who is far less qualified and is probably an alcoholic. And if he doesn't work out, we'll hire somebody else, but still not you. In fact, we will never hire you. But we will call you from time to time to complain about the person that we hired.

Running

2009-04-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

100..200..quarter mile..800..1500..trails & walls..tracks & spikes..puddles & pools..rain & snow..laps & splits..nothing deters..counting hours..minutes..seconds..miles..meters..planning strategies..fighting pain..out of breath & in the zone..letting it rip & finishing strong..warm up & warm down..A skips & B skips..strides & lunges..22.92..53.45..under two..pounding every step..getting into that rut..that groove..running anticlockwise.. chasing time.. ALWAYS chasing time..when exhaustion gets tired..when agony doubles over in pain..when defeat waves a white flag..I am out there..RUNNING..!

Being a Twenties Something ...

2009-04-07T11:24:00.000-07:00

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like.You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you. Or you look at your job and feel, 'Dude! I nailed this', you feel good about yourself and everything around you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.(Read - Who Moved my Cheese !)

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. You want to settle down for good because now all of a sudden that becomes top priority. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic.You begin to think a companion for life is better than a hundred in the shack and for once you would not mind standing tall for that special someone which otherwise you had never thought of until now.You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What we do not realize is that everyone (in my age group) reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out. Maybe this will help someone feel like they aren't alone in their state of confusion...

We call it the "Quarter-life Crisis"

Drinking + Risk = ???

2009-03-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

I never take risk while drinking

When I come from office in the evening, wife is cooking
I can hear the noise of utensils in the kitchen
I stealthily enter the house
Take out the bottle from my black cupboard
Shivaji Maharaj is looking at me from the photo frame
But still no one is aware of it
Becoz I never take a risk

I take out the glass from the rack above the old sink
Quickly enjoy one peg
Wash the glass and again keep it on the rack
Of course I also keep the bottle inside my cupboard
Shivaji Maharaj is giving a smile

I peep into the kitchen
Wife is cutting potatoes
No one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I to my wife : Any news on chopra's daughter's marriage
Wife : Nope, she doesn't seem to be that lucky. Still they are looking out
for her

I again come out; there is a small noise of the black cupboard
But I don't make any sound while taking out the bottle
I take out the glass from the old rack above sink
Quickly enjoy one peg

Wash thebottle and keep it in the sink
Also keep the Black Glass in the cupboard
But still no one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I to Wife : But still I think chopra's daughter's age is not that much
Wife: What are you saying? She is 28 yrs old... like an aged horse
I: (I forgot her age is 28) Oh Oh...

I again take out potatoes out from my black cupboard
But the cupboard's place has automatically changed
I take out the bottle from the rack and quickly enjoy one peg in the sink

Shivaji Maharaj laughs loudly
I keep the rack in the potatoes & wash Shivaji Maharaj's photo & keep it in
the black cupboard

Wife is keeping the sink on the stove
But still no one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I to Wife: (getting angry) you call Mr. chopra a horse? If you say that
again, I willcut your tongue...!
Wife: Don't just blabber something, go out and sit quietly...

I take out the bottle from the potatoes
Go in the black cupboard and enjoy a peg
Wash the sink and keep it over the rack
Wife is giving a smile

Shivaji Maharaj is still cooking
But still no one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I to Wife : (laughing) So chopra is marrying a horse!!
Wife: Hey go and sprinkle some water on your face...

I again go to the kitchen, and quietly sit on the rack
Stove is also on the rack
There is a small noise of bottles from the room outside

I peep and see that wife is enjoying a peg in the sink
But none of the horses are aware of what I did
Becoz Shivaji Maharaj never takes a risk

chopra is still cooking
And I am looking at my wife from the photo and laughing
Becoz I never take...... never take ..... never take what??? I never
take a potato I think…

Stanley Park Trails

2009-01-25T22:28:00.000-08:00

Went for an awesome trail run today. At the Stanley Park. The day was beautiful, started off with a 0 C temp and by the time we finished it was +3 and sunny and simply beautiful. What a day it was.
Ran around the Beaver Lake.
The trails, Oh my, what should i say about them. So pretty and quiet, it felt as if you had been transported to a different world altogether.
Wasn't that great a workout for me in terms of my endurance but I cant complain, getting back to it after a winter only in the gym with speed and strength workouts. :-)

Hoping to go back next weekend for more amazing runs around the lake.

Umm !

2009-01-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

I dont know who is this for.. :P a very old one.. so .. finally plonking it here !

It's a touch without feelings,
It's a kiss without love.
It's the faith that we're losing
and the truth that I hide.
It's a tear without crying
and a word without sound.
It's my heart full of sorrow
and a love I left behind.

It's a room full of silence
It's a day without light
Well anger keeps risin,
and theres nothing left to say
Put your face at the window
It's the world passing by
and the life that we shared and the love that belonged
Turned to pain along the way

Awww ! LOL !

2008-12-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

So, I am battling this throbbing headache and I am extremely sleepy... and I have been writing code all day.. and my legs are sore from training... and while talking to a friend i had to wait a little too long for replies. .. and this is what happened... LOL..

i lubb juu lot
like biiig car lot
like full custard pot
like tranquilizer shot
like cozy baby cot
tell me to stop not
cuz my heart is like a big dot..
and you are right in the sweet spot :)

Shit ?

2008-06-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

You can be shit faced, be shit out of luck, or have shit for brains.
With a little effort you can get your shit together, find a place for your shit or decide to shit or get off the pot.
You can smoke shit, buy shit, sell shit, lose shit, find shit, forget shit, and tell others to eat shit and die.
You can shit or go blind, have a shit fit or just shit your life away.
People can be shit headed, shit brained, shit blinded, and shit over.
Some people know their shit while others can`t tell the difference between shit and shineola.
There are lucky shits, dumb shits, crazy shits, and sweet shits.
There is bull shit, and horse shit and chicken shit.
You can throw shit, sling shit, catch shit, or duck when the shit hits the fan.
You can take a shit, give a shit, or serve shit on a shingle.
You can find yourself in deep shit, or be happier than a pig in shit.
Some days are colder than shit, some days are hotter than shit, and some days are just plain shitty.
Some music sounds like shit, things can look like shit, and there are times when you feel like shit.
You can have too much shit, not enough shit, the right shit, the wrong shit or a lot of weird shit.
You can carry shit, have a mountain of shit, or find yourself up shit creek without a paddle.
Sometimes you really need this shit and sometimes you don`t want any shit at all.
Sometimes everything you touch turns to shit and other times you swim in a lake of shit and come out smelling like a rose.
And remember, once you know your shit, you don`t need to know anything else.

The 9 Minutes

2008-02-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

Which 9 minutes you will ask ... well we'll come to that later in this post. I know I'm back after a little longer than I would have wanted to. But yea, certain things were ummm.. not so great. Had a sprained ankle and was trying to locate the new coach, yea the old one quit. Pretty sad, I liked Jim. But well heard today that we have the Head Coach of the club will be taking care of us long distance guys. So I head to the track tomorrow again after a little long break. :P its gonna be a little tough coz it'll be 3 days of shredding from now and at a much earlier time. Which means I get home and run back to the track. Hmmm .. need to do something about it.

Anyway, I didnt write the update for my last 2 runs. They were in Jan and I didnt get time to update it here.

Date : Jan 24, 2007
Time : 1900 hours
Location : Bear Creek Park
Temperature : + 2 C

Was supposed to be a 60 minute run as an endurance training session and building up the mileage. Had my running buddies with me Clint, Ricco and Sarb. Did 25 laps in 49 minutes... weehooo.. was happy with that. My best ever time for the 10K. Continued with the guys for another 5 laps as a cool down. So ended up doing 12 K in about 1 hr 7-8 mins. Felt good by the end of it and yes exhausted too.

Date : Jan 26, 2007 - Happy Republic Day :)
Time : 1100 hours
Location : Bear Creek Park
Temperature : + 3 C

WOAH ! . It was a hard hard day for me. Yes, Jim wanted to pull one on us :P and he did. No track running for the day. Only trail. Its tougher than track. So, Deon and I start with a 1200 M run around the short loop untimed as warmup. Follow it up with the drills. Then a medium effort 1800 M around the big loop 8:06 yep Deon smoked me by what... 30 seconds.. :O .. yea.. Anyway 6 minute rest. High = 90 - 93 % effort short loop again. That is 1200 M clocked 4:42 for it. Gave Deon a decent run was fun and very very taxing. Light runs in between to break the lactic acid and a 6 min rest.
Finally - Yes we were still going. A medium effort 800 M with splits to be completed in 3 mins. Splits - 52 - 47 - 42 - 37 for every 200 M. Ended with + 1 s up on 3:00. Two laps of cool down and head home. :O Was a tough day. But I loved it.

So thats the last two runs. And the 9 minutes. Well the Sun Run is on April 20 and it has a wave start. So you have to give them a tentative time in which you will finish. So far men with a timing of 40 mins and under are considered seeded. So I am tryin to get into that bunch and after that Jan 24 run I have 9 mins to shave off from my timing. HAHAHHA 9 mins in two months *faints* .. but I'll try. :)

Had a talk with Jim after the session on the 26 th and I have some serious stuff on my hands to deal with. Lets see. :)

Anyway I m looking forward to hitting the track again tomorrow and I'll be back with those details.

Keyword @ Speed

P.S. The pic is for the number 9 guy. :)

A Beautiful Mind

2008-01-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

I dont have a reason ... but I like this part in the movie, which has the same name as my blog title. This is taken from the part when John Nash is presented with the Nobel Prize.
He says -

Thank you …

I have always believed in numbers, in equations, in logics, the need to reason, but after a lifetime of such pursuit I ask, what truly is logic ? Who decides reason ? My questions have taken me to the physical, the meta physical, the delusional and back. And I have the most important discovery of my career, most important discovery of my life. There’s only in the mysterious equations of love that any logical reasons can be found. I am only here tonight because of you, you are the reason I have. You are all my reasons. Thank you.

I m hooked on this part and also the scene just prior to this one when he is told that he is being considered for the Nobel and while sitting in the cafeteria he is presented with pens by all his colleagues. THE honour.

Anyway.. I think i wrote about it earlier too but have lost it, so, i had to youtube it and write it down again. Its worth the effort.

Anyway here it is and I hope this time I don't lose it. :P

Keyword @ Reason

Anticlockwise & in the Groove

2008-01-24T18:42:00.000-08:00

Finally... finally .. I did something i had dreamt of doing for a very loooooong time... :).. I joined a running club. So, here I am moving beyond my endeavours on the road and the treadmill and the trails.. its a different league. An exhilarating experience.. its too good for words... and I can really not define it in words.. nor will I be able to express the joy I want to.

Anyway.. South Fraser Track & Field Club is the new name that brings a smile on my face. :)

http://www.southfraser.org

Yep I wanted to give my running a serious chance and here I am. Pounding the track twice a week with heavy duty training sessions and trying to add more runs. It feels so good. yes yes i m super excited even to write about it.

The first day - Jan 15, 2008

Location - Bear Creek Track

Time - 1800

Temperature - 1 C

warm up... stretching drill and the task to run 8 laps with easy - medium pace. I ended up throwing up in the end. Was pretty embarrassing. :-S Cool down and back home.

Second Day - Jan 17, 2008

Location - Bear Creek Track

Time 1800

Temperature - 0 C

warm up... stretching drill... task to run 25 mins at medium-easy-medium-fast pace. managed 12 laps.... but i Got smoked by a kid... maaaaaan.. he was quick... and I found out later he is 13. :-S.. Embarrassment Part 2. LOL... he was really good.. mission till end of Feb.. catch up with him.. LOL... he lapped me once in 25 minutes.. and thats pretty bad...

hurdling drill... cool down.. back home.

Third Day - Jan 19, 2008

Location - Home - Treadmill

Time - ???? forgotten :P

Temperature - 19 C

Had to complete a 60 minute run on easy pace. Managed 10 K in 60 minutes.

Fourth Day - Jan 22, 2008

Location - Bear Creek Track

Time - 1800

Temperature - 0 C

jus me and Chrislana.. with Jim of course.. Jim = coach.. :).. awesome guy.. warm up.. stretching drill.. plan to do interval training... 3 laps on easy pace.. 4 min rest.... 2 laps.. medium pace.. 3 mins rest... 1 lap in 80 second... quad drill... 2 laps medium pace... 2 lap cool down... back home... was exhausting... sprained ankle... better next day... though i was happy I smoked Chrislana.. on the track... :P hehehe

Fifth Day - Heading out now... will write about it next time.. plan to do a 60 minute run @ Bear Creek Track with Clint, Ricco, Sarb and Carl (maybe).. they are training for their Police and Army physicals.. so they r good company :)

Moving ahead with stronger strides everytime. :)

I am addicted.

I have collected footsteps before dawn.

Seen places I never knew existed.

Run in the moon and back.

Been a rabbit for the neighbourhood dogs.

Obeyed the voice in my head.

Let music carry me when I couldn't.

Placed against yesterday,

let the world be my witness.

Measured myself in meters, kilometers,

and finally character.

I've plugged into a higher purpose.

Left this world and come back changed.

Running like I have never run before.

I am addicted...

Keyword @ Stopwatch

TZP-ized ...

2007-12-26T12:16:00.000-08:00

I guess I am not the only one at a loss of words here. TZP is a masterpiece saw it yesterday and have been dying to post here. The activation link has decided to play hide n seek with me. :P Anyway.

Congratulations to Aamir Saab, this is an amazing effort from your side. Beyond words, beyond blog comments praising it from the earth to the moon and back and repeat, beyond anything.

I am moved by the movie, the characters and the way they have been portrayed. Ishaan's description of the hindi poem is a great way to reflect his thought process - out of the box also when his dad can't read the Chinese text shows what difference can a change in perspective make.

I have moved to Canada not so long ago and the attitude of Indo-Canadian youngsters towards India has been a slight disappointment for me. They are too Canadian-ized. But I was surprised to hear the sobs, sniffs and the comments full of awe at different points in the movie coming from teenagers who are usually oblivious to their surroundings (and that too in hindi and punjabi... YAY). Thank you Aamir Saab for making me see that these youngsters connect at the same level as me.

My 9 year old nephew (yes he's Canadian-ized too :P) was quiet for most of the movie with occasional inquiries about certain words. He didnt want to get the refill on his Coke lest he miss out on something. (I was all *giggity* inside.)

He loved the movie and I guess TZP will have to share his top spot with Chak De India. He's already waiting for the DVD... :D but what was best was his interpretation of the movie while driving back home.
He said - 'It tells us that the only thing that can stop us is we ourselves and we should stand up even if we stand out from the rest.'
Me - *Mission Accomplished*

*Hi5 Khan Saab*. Thank you for this great movie.

-Prabh :)

P.S. And.. yes ... Jame raho is my new ring tone.. :D
Got a couple of inquiries from white colleagues. They seem to like it too. :D .. *TING DING* :P and for the ones who are keen to watch Indian movies I guess I have a movie worth recommending.

oOps .. :P

2007-07-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

Bryan came home from the pub late one Friday evening stinking drunk, as he often did, and
crept into bed beside his wife who was already asleep.
He gave a peck on the cheek and fell asleep. When he woke up he found a strange man standing at the end of his bed wearing a long flowing white robe “Who the hell are you?” Demanded

Brian, “and what are you doing in my bedroom?”.
The mysterious Man answered “This isn’t your bedroom and I’m St Peter”.
Brian was stunned “You mean I’m dead!!! That can’t be, I have so much to live for, I haven’t
said goodbye to my family.. you’ve got to send me back straight away”.

St Peter replied “Yes you can be reincarnated but there is a catch. We can only send you
back as a dog or a hen.” Brian was devastated, but knowing there was a farm not far from his
house, he asked to be sent back as a hen.

A flash of light later he was covered in feathers and clucking around pecking the ground.
“This ain’t so bad” he thought until he felt this strange feeling welling up inside him.

The farmyard rooster strolled over and said “So you’re the new hen,how are you enjoying your
first day here?” “It’s not so bad” replies Brian, “but I have this strange feeling inside
like I’m about to explode”. “You’re ovulating” explained the rooster, “don’t tell me you’ve
never laid an egg before”. “Never” replies Brian “Well just relax and let it happen”

And so he did and after a few uncomfortable seconds later, an egg pops out from under his
tail. An immense feeling of relief swept over him and his emotions got the better of him as
he experienced motherhood for the first time. When he laid his second egg, the feeling of
happiness was overwhelming and he knew that being reincarnated as a hen was the best thing that ever happened to him. ever!!!

The joy kept coming and as he was just about to lay his third egg he felt an enormous smack
on the back of his head and heard his wife shouting

” Brian, wake up you drunken idiot, you’re shitting on the bed.”

HmMmMm .. :P

2007-05-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

>1. THINGY (thing-ee) n.
>Female...... Any part under a car's hood.
>Male..... The strap fastener on a woman's bra.

>2. VULNERABLE (vul-ne-ra-bel) adj.
>Female.... Fully opening up one's self emotionally to another. Male....
>Playing football without a cup.

>3. COMMUNICATION (ko-myoo-ni-kay-shon) n.
>Female... The open sharing of thoughts and feelings with one's partner.
>Male... Leaving a note before taking off on a fishing trip with the
>boys.

>4. COMMITMENT (ko-mit-ment) n.
>Female.... A desire to get married and raise a family. Male......
>Trying not to hit on other women while out with this one.

>5. ENTERTAINMENT (en-ter-tayn-ment) n.
>Female.... A good movie, concert, play or book.
>Male...... Anything that can be done while drinking beer.

>6. FLATULENCE (flach-u-lens) n.
>Female.... An embarrassing byproduct of indigestion. Male...... A
>source of entertainment, self-expression, male bonding.

>7 MAKING LOVE (may-king luv) n.
>Female...... The greatest expression of intimacy a couple can achieve.
>Male.. Call it whatever you want, just as long as we do it.

>8. REMOTE CONTROL (ri-moht kon-trohl) n.
>Female.... A device for changing from one TV channel to another.
>Male... A device for scanning through all 375 channels every 5 minutes.
>AND;

>He said . . . I don't know why you wear a bra; you've got nothing to
>put in it. She said . . . You wear pants don't you?

>He said . . ..... Shall we try swapping positions tonight?
>She said . That's a good idea - you stand by the ironing board while I
>sit on the sofa and fart!

>He said . ... What have you been doing with all the grocery money I
>gave you? She said . .....Turn sideways and look in the mirror!

>He said . . How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?
>She said . . We don't know; it has never happened.

>He said . . Why is it difficult to find men who are sensitive, caring
>and Good- looking? She said ...... . . They already have boyfriends.

>She said...What do you call a women who knows where her husband is
>every night? He said . . . A widow.

>He said . .. . Why are married women heavier than single women? She
>said . . . Single women come home, see what's in the fridge and go to
>bed. Married women come home, see what's in bed and go to the fridge.

Bar Room Translations

2007-04-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

1. "Excuse Me." (male to male) -- "Get the hell out of the way."

2. "Excuse Me." (male to female) -- "I am going to grope you now."
3. "Excuse Me." (female to male) -- "Don't even think about groping me, just get the hell out of the way."
4. "Excuse Me." (female to female) -- "Move your fat ass. Who do you think you are anyway? You are not all that, missy, and don't think for one minute that you are. And get your eyes off of my man, or I'll slap you like the slut you are."
5. "What do you have on tap?" -- "What's cheap?"
6. "Can I get a glass of white zinfandel." (female) -- "I'm easy."
7. "Can I get a glass of white zinfandel." (male) -- "I'm gay."
8. "Can I have a white Russian?" (female) -- "I'm *really* easy."
9. "Can I have a white Russian?" (male) -- "I'm *really* gay."
10. "That person looks really familiar." -- "Did I sleep with him/her?"
11. "Can I just get a glass of water?" (female) -- "I'm annoying, but cute enough to get away with this."
12. "I don't have my ID on me." (female) -- "I'm 16."
13. "I don't have my ID on me." (male) -- "I don't have a license since I got pulled over and blew a 0.4 after my last visit here"
14. "You get this round and the next round is on me." -- "I'll be leaving before the next round."
15. "I'll get this round and the next one is on you." -- "Happy hour is about to end. Beers are now a dollar, but by the next round they'll be $3.50."
16. "Hey, where is that friend of yours?" -- "I have no interest in talking to you except as a way to get your attractive friend into a compromising position."
17. "Ever try a body shot?" (male to female) -- "I am even willing to drink tequila if it means that I get to lick you."
18. "Ever try a body shot?" (female to male) -- "If this is how wild I am in the bar, imagine what I'll do to you on the ride home?"
19. "I don't feel well, let's go home." (female) -- "You are paying more attention to your friends than me."
20. "I don't feel well, let's go home." (male) -- "I'm horny."
21. "Who's got the next round?" -- "I haven't bought a round in almost 3 years, but I am an expert at diverting attention."

70 Things not to say to a man with a small penis

2007-02-13T20:41:00.001-08:00

1. I've smoked fatter joints than that.
2. Ahh, it's cute.
3. I'm sorry.
4. Never mind, why bother.
5. Who circumcised you?
6. Why don't we just cuddle?
7. You know they have surgery to fix that.
8. It's more fun to look at.
9. Make it dance.
10. You know, there's a tower in Italy like that.
11. Can I paint a smiley face on that?
12. It looks like a nightcrawler.
13. Wow, and your feet are so big.
14. My last boyfriend was 4" bigger.
15. It's OK, we'll work around it.
16. Is this a mild or a spicy Slim Jim?
17. Eww, there's an inch worm on your thigh.
18. Will it squeak if I squeeze it?
19. Oh no, a flash headache.
20. (giggle and point)
21. Can I be honest with you?
22. My 8-year-old brother has one like that.
23. Let me go get my tweezers.
24. How sweet, you brought incense.
25. This explains your car.
26. You must be a growing boy.
27. Maybe if we water it, it'll grow.
28. Thanks, I needed a toothpick.
29. Are you one of those pygmies?
30. Have you ever thought of working in a sideshow?
31. Ever hear of Clearasil?
32. All right, a treasure hunt!
33. I didn't know they came that small.
34. Why is God punishing you?
35. At least this won't take long.
36. Let's just stick with your hand.
37. Do you need a splint to prop that up.
38. How interesting.
39. I never saw one like that before.
40. What do you call this?
41. But it still works right?
42. Damn I hate baby-sitting.
43. It looks so unused.
44. Do you take steroids?
45. I hear excessive masturbation shrinks your dick.
46. Maybe it looks better in natural light.
47. I think there's a dildo around here somewhere.
48. Why don't we skip right to the cigarettes?
49. Let me know when you're done.
50. Oh, I didn't know you were in an accident.
51. Did you date Lorena Bobbitt?
52. Aww, it's hiding.
53. Are you cold?
54. If you get me real drunk first.
55. Is that an optical illusion?
56. What is that?
57. Does this run in your family?
58. I'll go get the ketchup for your French fry.
59. Were you neutered?

60. It's a good thing you have so many other talents.
61. Does it come with an air pump?
62. So this is why you're supposed to judge people on personality.
63. Where are the puppet strings?
64. Look, it all fits in my mouth at once.
65. Deep throat???
66. Your big gun is more like a BB gun.
67. Can you get this pencil out of me now?
68. Do I hang my hat on it?
69. Look, it fits my Barbie clothes!
70. Don't hold back.

LMAO...

Tags: | Edit T

70 Things not to say to a man with a small penis

2007-02-13T20:41:00.000-08:00

LMAO...

Tags: | Edit T

Are we Biased ???? lmao....... !

2007-01-26T00:14:00.000-08:00

A man passing thru a street in NYC
suddenly he saw a woman running followed by a dog
he kicks d dog n save the lady
a reporter observed all this
he went to man n says that he will publish the incident in tomorrow's newspaper wid heading
"an Indian saves a lady in NYC"

d man says
'i m not an Indian i m Pakistani'

headline in newspapers next day
"terrorist attack on local dog"

Once a woman was walking down a street when a parrot which was in a cage inside a shop called out to her.."Hey Lady!". "What??", she replied. "U r very ugly!!". The annoyed lady ignored it's remark and went on her way. Then next day when the lady was walking down the same street the parrot called out to her "Hey Lady". "What??"
she asked. "U r very ugly!!". The angry lady once again tried to ignore it. The next day the same thing happened. Furious, the lady went to the shopkeeper and complained. The shopkeeper promised that it won't be repeated. The next day the parrot again called out to the lady.."Hey Lady!". "What??" she replied. "You know"!!!!.

Once a lady liked a parrot in the pet shop. On asking it's price to the shopkeeper, he replied in a serious tone, "Look madam, i will be honest. This parrot belonged to a prostitute. So u may pay wat u like if u still want to keep it". The lady however decided to keep it. She brought the bird to her home and kept it in the living room.
The parrot said "A new house and a new mistress". Surprised the lady went into the kitchen. Later her two daughters came from school and the bird said "A new house, a new mistress and her 2 daughters". Surprised the girls went in to have lunch. In the evening the woman's husband came from work. The bird said, "Hi George"!!!!!.

m3 ... !

2007-01-24T15:27:00.000-08:00

hehehe.. ok .. i lifted this from babli's page .. ! tank u ... :P

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary.
If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

Your Eyes Should Be Gray

Your eyes reflect: Intensity and drive

What's hidden behind your eyes: A sensitive soul

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?

You Belong in Summer

Energetic, creative, and very curious about the world...
You're not going to let anything hold you back, especially a cold day.
Whether you're chilling out at the beach or partying all night, you live for the warm weather.

What Season Are You?

You Are 17% Selfish

In other words, you're a warm, caring considerate person.
Just make sure to get your way sometimes. There's a fine line between unselfish and pushover.

How Selfish Are You?

The True You

You want your girlfriend or boyfriend to be more open with you.

With respect to money, you save for a rainy day.

You think good luck might come your way, but if it does you'll be so surprised you'll burst out laughing.

The hidden side of your personality tends to be methodical in your ways - with trouble adapting to the rules of society.

You have a tendency to overdo things, but basically you value your friendships highly.

When it comes to finding a romantic partner, you will search and search until you find your perfect match.

Who's The True You?

You Are 40% Addicted to the Internet

Internet? Please. You're definitely not geeky enough to be that addicted.
You have a full life off your computer - and the internet is just a small pastime.

Are You Addicted to the Internet?

Your Heart Is Pink

In relationships, you like to play innocent - even though you aren't.
Each time you fall in love, it's like falling for the first time.

Your flirting style: Coy

Your lucky first date: Picnic in the park

Your dream lover: Is both caring and dominant

What you bring to relationships: Romance

What Color Heart Do You Have?

You Are 9% Angry

You're so laid back, no one could ever accuse you of getting angry.
While there are a few little things that may annoy you, you generally play it cool.
In fact, your calm attitude tends to provoke people with anger problems.
They may think you're screwing with them, but that's just the way you are!

How Angry Are You?

You Are 41% Perfectionist

No one would call you a perfectionist, but you definitely have a side of you that strives to be perfect.
Try to see your mistakes as learning experiences, and don't be so hard on yourself when you screw up!

Are You a Perfectionist?

Your Attitude is Better than 70% of the Population

You have a good attitude. While a realist, you do see the positive side of most things. People love to be around you.

How's Your Attitude?

Your Greed Quotient: 20%

You're anything but greedy. You're eager to share and give to others.
For you, collecting material possessions is more trouble than it's worth!

How Much Greed Do You Have?

You Have Good Karma

In general, you like to do the right thing when it comes to others.
Your caring personality really shines through.
Sure, you have your moments of weakness - and occasionally act out.
But, all in all, you're karma is good... even with those few dark spots.

How's Your Karma?

You Are 70% Grown Up, 30% Kid

Congratulations, you are definitely quite emotionally mature.
Although you have your moments of moodiness, you're usually stable and level headed.

How Emotionally Mature Are You?

You Are 80% Extrovert, 20% Introvert

You are as outgoing as they come
The life of the party, you're friends with everyone
You're a people person, and you are quite the entertainer
You love being around a crowd and acting spontaneously

Are You An Extrovert or An Introvert?

You Are Somewhat Honest

You do tend to tell the truth a lot
But you also stretch the truth on occasion
You figure a little lie isn't a big deal
As long as it doesn't hurt anyone too much!

How Honest Are You?

You Are 0% Shy

You aren't shy at all, in fact, you're probably quite outgoing.
You are comfortable in almost any social situation, no matter how difficult.

How Shy Are You?

Your Personality Is Like Acid

A bit wacky, you're very difficult to predict.
One moment you're in your own little happy universe...
And the next, you're on a bad trip to your own personal hell!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

You are 60% Aquarius

How Aquarius Are You?

Your Pimp Name Is...

Backdoor Big Spenda

What's Your Pimp Name?

You Are Wonder Woman

A true goddess, you have the strength and skills to rule the world.
You're one sexy amazon... all of the superhero guys are fighting over you!

What Superhero Are You?

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL !!!!!!!!!

You Are 60% Boyish and 40% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch.
Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes.
You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them.
You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

You Should Drive a Toyota FJ Cruiser

A true adventurer, you're always up for trying the latest new thing.
And you need a car that will take you anywhere, because there are no roads where you're going!

What 2007 Car Should You Drive?

uh ... WOT ??? huh ! :|

You Are a Chocolate Martini

You're an elegant drunk, who only likes the best bars and the most expensive drinks.
A bit of a cheapskate, you're likely to mooch ten dollar drinks off both friends and strangers.

You should never: Drink and dash. You're gonna get caught leaving someone with the tab!

Your ideal party: A posh celebrity party you crash, with an open bar.

Your drinking soulmates: those with a Classic Martini personality

Your drinking rivals: those with a Blueberry Martini personality

What Flavor Martini Are You?

uh ...r eally ????

Your Inner Child Is Happy

You see life as simple, and simple is a very good thing.
You're cheerful and upbeat, taking everything as it comes.
And you decide not to worry, even when things look bad.
You figure there's just so many great things to look forward to.

How Is Your Inner Child?

What Your Face Says

At first glance, people see you as driven and ambitious.

Overall, your true self is reserved and logical.

With friends, you seem dramatic, lively, and quick to react.

In love, you seem mysterious and interesting.

In stressful situations, you seem cheerful and optimistic.

What Do People Think Of Your Face?

Your French Name is:

Sébastien Carreau

What's Your French Name?

Your Vampire Name Is...

Draco of Prussia

What's Your Vampire Name?

You Are a Boston Terrier Puppy

Aggressive, wild, and rambunctious.
Deep down, you're just a cuddle monster.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

woof woof... is coco listening ??? LOL !

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart.

In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved.

You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.

Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love.

Your risk of cheating is 100%. You are not suited for a monogamous relationship.

You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

voila .. no monogamy for me .... (devilish grin... )

What Your Underwear Says About You

You like to think of yourself as innocent, even though you're not!

You are childlike (or childish), and prone to run around in your underwear.

The Underwear Oracle

hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe !

Your Inner Blood Type is Type B

You follow your own rules in life, even if you change the rules every day.
Sure, you tend to be off the wall and unpredictable, but that's what makes you lovable.
And even though you're a wild child, you have the tools to be a great success.
You are able to concentrate intently - and make the impossible possible.

You are most compatible with: B and AB

Famous Type B's: Leonardo Di Caprio and

What's Your Inner Blood Type?

You Are Sex On the Beach

When comes to drinking, you like it to go down smooth.
You really don't like the taste of alcohol - just its effect on you.
So, you're proud to get drunk on fruity, girly drinks.
Because once you're liquored up, the fun begins!

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL ... and repeat ... ..... this is fun !!!!

Your Values Profile

Loyalty:

You value loyalty a fair amount.
You're loyal to your friends... to a point.
But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties.
Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself.

Honesty:

You value honesty a fair amount.
You're honest when you can be, but you aren't a stickler for it.
If a little white lie will make a situation more comfortable, you'll go for it.
In the end, you mostly care about "situational integrity."

Generosity:

You value generosity a fair amount.
You are all about giving, as long as there's some give and take.
Supportive and kind, you don't mind helping out a friend in need.
But you know when you've given too much. You have no problem saying "no"!

Humility:

You value humility a fair amount.
You tend to be an easy going, humble person.
But occasionally your ego takes over.
You have a slight competitive streak - and the need to be the best.

Tolerance:

You value tolerance highly.
Not only do you enjoy the company of those very different from you...
You do all that you can to seek it out interesting and unique friends.
You think there are many truths in life, and you're open to many of them.

The Five Factor Values Test

HEAVY..... :|

Your Brain's Pattern

You're a simple thinker, and this is actually a very good thing.
You don't complicate matters when you don't have to.
You look for the simplest explanation or solution, and you go with that.
As a result, your mind is uncluttered and free of stress.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

Your Aura is Blue

Spiritual and calm, you tend to live a quiet but enriching life.
You are very giving of yourself. And it's hard for you to let go of relationships.

The purpose of your life: showing love to other people

Famous blues include: Angelina Jolie, the Dali Lama, Oprah

Careers for you to try: Psychic, Peace Corps Volunteer, Counselor

What Color Is Your Aura?

oops !

Your Stripper Song Is

Toxic by Britney Spears

"With the taste of your lips
I'm on a ride
You're toxic I'm slippin' under"

You may dance for someone - but only to weaken their defenses.

What Song Should You Strip To?

Hell No.......................... !

You are 47% Pisces

How Pisces Are You?

sorry i m a cusp .. :P

Your Penis Name Is...

Light Saber

Penis Name Generator

ROTFL.. this is crazy !!! LOL .. this was fun .. though i dont know how true or false.... ! hehehehehehehehe !

Subject : Marketing

2007-01-24T10:32:00.000-08:00

Professor at one of the IIM's (INDIA) was explaining marketing concepts to the Students: -

1 You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am
very rich. Marry me!" - That's Direct Marketing

2 You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One
of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says: "He's very rich. Marry him." - That's Advertising

3 You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her
telephone number. The next day, you call and say: "Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me." - That's Telemarketing

4 You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your
tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink, you open the door (of the
car) for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her ride and then
say: "By the way, I'm rich. Will you marry me?" - That's Public Relations

5 You're at a party and see gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says:
"You are very rich! Can you marry! Me?" - That's Brand Recognition

6 You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am
very rich. Marry me!" She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. - That's Customer Feedback

7 You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say: "I am
very rich. Marry me!" And she introduces you to her husband. - That's demand and supply gap

8 You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you
say anything, another person comes and tells her: "I'm rich. Will you marry me?" and she goes with him - That's competition eating into your market share

9 You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and before you
say: "I'm rich, Marry me!" Your wife arrives. - That's restriction for entering new markets

What are Your Chances ? ...LOL !

2007-01-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

In the world of romance, one single rule applies to men:

Make the woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points.

Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted.

You don't get any points for doing something she expects.

Sorry, that's the way the game is played.Here is a guide to the point system:
SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed (+1)
You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-1)
You go out to buy her what she wants (+5) In the rain (+8) But return
with Beer (-5)
You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
You pummel it with iron rod (+10)
It's her pet (-10)

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
You stay by her side the entire party (0)
You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a collegebuddy(-2)
Named Rita (-4)
Rita is a dancer (-6)
Rita is single and is really beautiful (-80)

HER BIRTHDAY
You forget her birthday (-50000)
You take her out to dinner (0)
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
And it's all-you-can-eat night (-3)
it's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted
the
colours of your favourite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT
You take her to a movie (+2)
You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
You take her to a movie you like (-2)
It's called 'DeathCop' (-3)
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

ENJOY THE 'BIG' QUESTION
She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) [Yes, you LOSE points no matter WHAT]
You hesitate in responding (-10)
You reply, "Where?" (-35)
Any other response (-20)

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem , you listen, displaying what
looks
like a concerned __expression (0)
You listen, for over 30 minutes (+50)
You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-10000)

Now what chances do u have?;)

New Mecca of Open Source – The Linux Foundation

2007-01-22T23:53:00.000-08:00

From now on all pilgrims of the open source sect will proceed to their ‘new’ promised land. Their Mecca – The Linux Foundation. Formed by a merger of the Beaverton based OSDL and Free Standards Group headquartered in San Francisco. The new foundation sets the tone for Linux in its fight against Windows and has the backing of companies like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Novell, Red Hat and Oracle. The group will have 70 vendor sponsors in all. Other members include Fujitsu, Hitachi, and NEC.

Earlier attempts of merging Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) and Free Standards Group (FSG) did not work out as planned. This time around they seemed to have ironed out all the bumps and look set to formally go ahead as the LF from February, when the members of the two groups are expected to approve it.

The foundation which is a boon for the open source developers will share many of the same objectives that the two bodies pursued independently plus additional aspects which will place Linux in the battlefield with its biggest and toughest competitor – Windows.

OSDL and FSG were both established in 2000, though OSDL hogged more limelight than FSG. The groups shared overlapping memberships of business sponsors and overlapping goals. In early December, the OSDL announced plans to narrow its focus after laying off just under a third of its staff and after the resignation of CEO Stuart Cohen, who wanted to pursue a career with another organization.

Linux is constantly moving up the ladder in its challenge to Windows and is a constant pain for Microsoft. Linux is now an established operating system presence for embedded, desktop, and server systems. FSG’s Executive Director Jim Zemlin will head the LF.

In his statement he said that the foundation will look to expand the legal protection it offers developers and continue to provide a "safe haven" for Linux kernel developers, including the creator of the Linux operating system, Linus Torvalds. Torvalds’ right hand man Andrew Morton, the kernel maintenance expert had left OSDL to pursue his career in Linux with Google. Linux package maintainer Stephen Hemminger will also be a part of the team.

The foundation will continue to supply the Linux Standard Base, the Linux Developer Network, manage the Linux trademark and provide legal services, including the Open Source As Prior Art project to defend against patent challenges, and the Patent Commons, where companies may contribute their patents to be used in defense of Linux. The LF will also offer legal advice to companies worried about lawsuits around their use of the open-source software.

The Foundation is taking all the right steps at the right time to make sure that Linux does not meet the same fate as Unix and that it keeps growing as a powerful and dynamic operating system. The merger of the two groups has been deemed as ‘inevitable’ by the experts in Linux.

The new year seems to be a very bright one in the entire history of open source and lets hope it takes the community t greater heights with interoperability and compatibility issues a thing of the past and best considered forgotten.

WILLiams has it in her Name

2007-01-19T00:52:00.000-08:00

Her racquet has it, her name has it and it is in the word that matters most to us in our lives. ‘W’ and the word is win. Yes, add will to it, its there too. Serena showcased all the right meanings of the words in her 1-6 7-5 6-3 win over Moscovite Nadia Petrova. Her will to overcome adversity and to fight back from nearly been ousted of the tournament is worth lauding.

A two hour five minute encounter could have been much shorter had the younger of the famous Williams sisters not raised her game up when it mattered the most. She is making a comeback after a chronic knee injury. The injury kept her out of action for a major part of the 2006 season.

The win against the fifth ranked Petrova is her first win against a top ten player in two years. A figure which Williams herself admits to be a ‘bad stat’. In her first round at the Open, Williams beat the 27th-seeded Mara Santangelo 6-2, 6-1 in 67 minutes. She defeated her second round opponent, Anne Kremer, 7-6, 6-2.

The proceedings in her third round match started with things going not in her favor. She dropped the first set 1-6 in 29 minutes. Won the first three games of the second set to show some spark then lost her touch and was staring at what might have been her last shot at the Australian Open for 2007, but the early ouster was not acceptable to the American who made sure she stuck to her shots and raised her game.

All of a sudden a new Serena was out there breaking her opponent, her shots which earlier landed on the wrong side of the sideline were in the right spots and the grit made sure she clawed back and claimed the set, 7-5.

She continued with her form and broke the Russian twice in the third set to claim it 6-3 and happily made it to the fourth round. Petrova was stunned at the change of fortune in the game. She said later that Serena’s superb effort in the second set gave her the momentum going into the decider and she took full advantage of it.

Serena is a two time Australian Open Champion. She won in 2003 and her last was in 2005, when she was on a dream run. She seemed invincible at that time ripping apart her opposition with ease. She defeated three of the tournament's top 4 seeds (#2 Amélie Mauresmo, #4 Maria Sharapova, and #1 Lindsay Davenport) en route to the title.

That year, 2005 saw TENNIS Magazine put her in 17th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the tennis era. 2002 and 2003 were her best two years in the game when she managed to win five grand slams, she has won seven in all till now.

Serena now has a face off with the red hot Serb Jelena Jankovic, ranked 11. Last year Serena had slipped out of the top 100 for the first time in her career since 1997, but managed to end the year at 95. her current form should get her back up on the ratings soon enough.

As of now the ‘W’ for Will, Win and Williams will be pushing her towards a probable impressive start to the year. She after all is a player who turned pro at 14, all that experience and grit are going to do her good now. For now, lets face round 4.

Pearl Makes it 'White'berry

2007-01-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

Should it be deemed as the Empire Strikes Back ? After Steve Job’s left the Macworld in San Francisco last week innumerable jaws had dropped and the rest were drooling at what they had just seen. The ‘iPhone’ touted as the future of smartphones and a possible eliminator of the oh-so-ancient cell phones, … well, knock knock… it has a challenger.

Research In Motion (RIM) and T-Mobile have stepped out with a new Blackberry Pearl and well if the black one did not catch your eye. This one surely will, the new Pearl in lustrous white. You think what has this one got ? Well, welcome the new age smartphone. Its 3.1 ounces unlike its cousins who were all heavyweight boxers and with dimensions like four inches long, two inches wide and half an inch thick, this is a masterpiece.

And if that was not enough, it packs in the knockout punch with its pricing. At $ 149 with a two year contract, this white pearl is going to send you scampering off to get one for yourself. T-Mobile's MDA or BlackBerry 8700g cost $ 250 after rebates and well Apple better look away here after they priced their ‘jewel’ for a hefty $ 499 and $ 599.

The SureType based 4 row 5 column modified QWERTY keypad makes its way here too so, does the shiny trackball which gives the device its name. The Pearl was the first Blackberry with a camera and other multimedia features and this one carries it ahead. A 1.3 MegaPixel camera with onboard flash and 5x digital zoom. The media player supports MP3, AAC, AMR, polyphonic MIDI and WAV sound formats and MPEG-4 and H.263 video formats.

Of course the other features are all in – contact list and calendar, Bluetooth 2.0, Web Browser, Blackberry Maps, Push e-mail, voice dialing, SMS and MMS messaging and also Instant messaging (on T-Mobile version only). Yes, the phone is quad band and EDGE enabled too. The Pearl is currently only available with T-Mobile or Cingular service in the United States, Rogers Wireless in Canada, and all networks in the UK.

So, all the corporate guys are making a run for it ? Yes. But the rush is bigger this time, because with the new Pearl there is a shift in the consumer base. This one seems to be bridging the gap between on the run business professionals and the ever demanding consumers who want to have data availability all around.

Plus with costs getting lower this one is going to fit the bill for regular consumers even more. Blackberry had earlier surveyed that 3 out of 4 upgrades amongst Blackberry customers had been for personal e-mails and not to access corporate mail servers. The white Pearl is surely going to make college kids, soccer moms and general consumers smile with all the features they get at the great price.

Apple might have priced their ‘iPhone’ like a Ferrari in smartphones but this little one is still a sports car and one with lots of punch and packs in lots of oomph for the fashion conscious with its color, size and the features. Not to forget the pricing.

Who will have the last laugh ? The results will tell when the ‘iPhone’ hits the market via Cingular. As of now it can surely be taken that the Empire has Struck Back. They are not going to let Apple call the shots in their field.

Now L.A. to Bend it Like Beckham

2007-01-12T11:06:00.000-08:00

One of the world’s most popular athletes and probably the poster boy in Europe for many multi nationals has decided to spread the wings of Beckham and Football Inc. to the U.S. of A. what follows is a 5 year contract for a whopping $250 million. The figure should be terrorizing the likes of Kobe and Shaq.

With the news confirmed, it is official that David Robert Joseph Beckham, the 31 year old center mid fielder from London will be joining his new club in Los Angeles after playing out his contract with Real Madrid. With the contract set to expire on June 30, Beckham should be seen on the pitch in his new team Los Angeles Galaxy’s colors by August.

With the deal signed for $ 250 million , it means Becks pockets about $50 m per annum, a figure matched only by Tiger Woods in the U.S. The Americans are already ruing at their jobs been outsourced, now foreign athletes come and get better deals than them. Kobe, A-Rod are going to be seeing many more shades of green, other than the ones on the bills.

Also, the fact that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are Becks and Posh’s best friends endorsements and other paths to make money will always be open. With Creative Artists Agency representing the soccer superstar, making or rather minting money should not be a very big problem. According to a report Beckham made about $ 27 million when he was Real Madrid, and now he is aiming to double that figure. Well he has the resources and the contacts in the U.S. to help him reach that figure.

The club also hopes that he will help get the people back in the stadium and increase their earnings. Their research has pointed that Beckham has a lot of female fan following and is one of the most talked about males in women chat forums. So they are pinning their hopes on that front too. Beckham's name was searched for on Google more than that of any other sporting personality in 2003 and 2004.

Beckham will also hope he can put forth the right image and market his aftershave : David Beckham Instinct in the right manner. Beckham hopes to take the sport in the U.S. to a higher level, he knows he cannot compete with the established forts of the NBA, NFL and Baseball, but he is taking this up as a challenge mission to increase the respect and fan following of soccer in the country.

The ball has already started rolling with fans vying for tickets of the Galaxy team, even before the schedule has been issued. After all they are all willing to see Major League Soccer’s most expensive player. They have the right to see what makes him worth it. Is it his tattoos or the trademark curling kick.

Becks has a lot to prove on the pitch with his talent and off the pitch, by gaining acceptance in a new country. Los Angeles has been warming up to David for the past few years but now is their chance to get really close and personal with the superstar. Let’s see if Real Madrid’s No. 23 can change the stars of the Galaxy.

Mamma Mia ! It’s Streep

2007-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

When a $ 1 billion grossing musical decides to upgrade and hit the big screen, it needs to make sure that the names that scroll up at the end are big ones too. Right ?

Well the makers of Mamma Mia have taken the best step first and confirmed that Meryl Streep will be a part of the musical.

For the actress who made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy Of Seville and her screen debut came in 1977's made-for-television movie The Deadliest Season, this will be her first musical in an impressive career spanning over 35 years.

Streep will play a rebellious single mother who raises her daughter on a Greek island. The daughter who has never been told about her father tracks down three men and decides to invite them for her marriage.

The musical has some of ABBA’s biggest hits including, "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me" and "The Winner Takes It All.” In all it features 22 of the group’s songs and has been created by, Judy Craymer and Catherine Johnson. Johnson has also penned the screenplay of the movie. ABBA’s members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are amongst the executive producers. The movie will begin filming in London and Greece this summer.

Phyllida Lloyd will make her directorial debut with the big screen adaptation of the Broadway musical by the same name. The movie will be distributed by Universal Pictures. Despite all this, the headlining act will be by Meryl Streep, whose recent portrayal of a shrewd business woman in ‘Devil Wears Prada’ has won her the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations. The movie was a box office hit. Let’s hope Mamma Mia heads the same way.

Streep will also be flexing her vocal chords for the movie, though not her first time. She has shown her prowess with her singing in, "A Prairie Home Companion," "Postcards From the Edge" and "Death Becomes Her." So, if you missed that earlier you have a chance to catch up again.

Meryl has been having a great time and be prepared to see more of her in the coming months, on the big screen. "Rendition," a political thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon has recently finished filming. She has also signed up for the all-star cast of "Lions for Lambs," in which she will act alongside Tom Cruise and Robert Redford.

Lets hope that the big screen adaptation lives up to the success of the Broadway version of the musical. With Streep in the team it should definitely be heading that way.

Nothing is a Sin Anymore...

2006-12-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

I DON'T KNOW WHAT DOCTOR WROTE THIS, BUT I LIKE HIM! ...LOL
HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this
true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't
waste
them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your
heart
will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the
life
of
your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and
corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an
efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain?

Eat
chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy
vegetable).
And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of
vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine,
that
means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of
the
goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one.
If
you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular
exercise
program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!... Foods are fried these days in vegetable
oil.
In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be
bad
for you?

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO . Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the
best
feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had
about
food and diets.

And remember:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving
safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body
thoroughly
used up, totally worn out and screaming : Woo Hoo, what a ride!

the beer and da insect..........interesting!

2006-12-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

An insect falls into a mug of beer...

Reactions:

Englishman:
Throws his mug away and walks out

American:
Takes the insect out and drinks the beer

Chinese:
Eats the insect and throws the beer away

Japanese:
Drinks the beer with insect as it is coming free

Indian:
Sells the beer to the American and insect to the Chinese and gets a new
mug of beer. ......INTELLIGENT INDIANS

Pakistani:
-Accuses the Indian for throwing insect into his beer
-Relates the issue to Kashmir
-Asks the Chinese for Military aid
-Takes a loan from the American to buy one more mug of beer

La computer OR Le computer ??? :P

2006-12-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

A French teacher was explaining to her college class that in French,
unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. House is feminine "la maison." Pencil is masculine "le crayon."

A student asked, "What gender is computer ?" Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups male and female - and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the
feminine gender (la computer) because:
1.. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2.. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is
incomprehensible to everyone else.
3.. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later review.
4.. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half your pay cheque on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine
(le computer) because:
1.. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.
2.. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.
3.. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they
ARE the problem.
4.. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a
little longer, you could have gotten a better model

So which one do u think has the winning argument?

Gyaan.... :P

2006-12-07T11:11:00.000-08:00

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY?

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
-- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that Usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T G ET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

Why ?

2006-12-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Hey, some of them are good, have read many of them earlier but some are really cool .. :)

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we
know the batteries are flat?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are
four billion stars, but check when you say the paint
is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilised needles for death by lethal
injection?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest,but
ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Are there specially reserved parking spaces for
"normal" people at the Special Olympics?

If the temperature is zero outside today and it's
going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it
be?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

If it's true that we are here to help others, what are
the others doing here?

Do married people live longer than single ones or does
it only seem longer?

If someone with a split personality threatens to
commit suicide, is it a hostage situation?

Can you cry under water?

If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have
branches?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we
figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on
bigger suitcases ?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby"
when babies wake up, like, every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called
a hearing?

Who Speaks First ?

2006-12-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

A Junior Software engineer, a senior Software engineer and their Project

Manager are on their way to a meeting. On their way through a park,

they come across a wonder lamp. They rub the lamp and a ghost appears. The

ghost says, "Normally, one is granted three wishes but as you are

three, I will allow one wish each".

So the eager Junior Software engineer shouted, I want the first wish. I

want to be in the Bahamas , on a fast boat and have no

worries."Pfufffff, and he was gone.

Now the Senior Software engineer could not keep quiet and shouted “I

want to be in Florida with beautiful girls, plenty of food and

Cocktails."Pfufffff, and he was also gone.

The Project Manager calmly said," I want these two idiots back in the

Office after lunch at 2.00pm"

Moral of the story is: Always allow the boss to speak first !!!

Beyonce, Jay-Z to get Married ?

2006-12-06T00:06:00.000-08:00

It seems that Destiny’s Child lead singer and the "Greatest MC of All Time" are heading towards marriageville. A four day bash which coincides with the rapper’s 37 th birthday is reportedly just a cover up for the wedding. Beyonce Knowles and Jay-Z might be exchanging the vows at a lavish Caribbean resort over the weekend.

A four day bash is been organized aboard a yacht in St Barts in the Caribbean as part of the birthday celebration for the rapper who turns 37 on Monday. The couple were overheard talking to record executives at New York's STK restaurant on Saturday about their celebration plans. Rumors are also afloat that friends and family invited to the celebrations were told to have passport applications filed by last Friday so they could witness the pair exchanging vows.

The two have been dating for four years and have kept the relation away from the media glare. Beyonce says that keeping it away from public discussion has helped them and Jay-Z said in an article, "We don't play with our relationship."

There were reports about the two parting ways based on the lyrics of Jay-Z's latest single 'Lost One’, "I don't think it's meant to be, be / For she loves the work more than she does me / And, honestly, at 23, I would probably love my work more than I did she / So we ain't we, it's me and her." Some people just seem to be reading too much between the lines.

As for now all the splitsville rumors have been put aside and the five star resort on the island of Anguilla might be gearing up for a celebrity wedding. The couple had visited the place earlier this year and it seems they decided it had to be ‘the’ place for them. As of now it all seems to be going on track.

Jay-Z and Beyoncé were fond of each other before they had an "official" relationship. In 1999, Jay-Z directed rapper Amil's "I Got That", a video in which Beyoncé was featured. Destiny's Child was also seen in his "H To The Izzo" video singing some of the rap. There were many appearances like that before 2002.

Beyonce, 25 and Jay-Z, 37 both have successful careers behind them and they have been listed as a Power Couple on Time Magazine's 100's Most Influential People of 2006. Jay-Z had remarked during a goodbye party for departing Def Jam head Lyor Cohen in 2004 that he and Beyoncé will "marry very soon.", and it seems the soon is now.

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles is a known R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, dancer, and fashion designer for House of Deréon. Her claim to super stardom came as the lead singer of world's best-selling female group, Destiny’s Child. The group helped her claim three Grammy Awards. Beyoncé added six more as a solo artist. Her first solo album Dangerously in Love, released in 2003, was a chart topper. She appeared in two movies : Austin Powers in Goldmember and The Pink Panther, which opened at number one at the box office; the two films have grossed over $481,364,728 worldwide. Her upcoming film is Dreamgirls, which releases on December 15, 2006.

Shawn Corey Carter better known as Jay-Z, is an American rapper and current president and CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records, co-owns The 40/40 Club, and is a part owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He has been one of the most successful American rappers of the past decade. He has five Grammy awards to his name. In 2006, an MTV list named him the "Greatest MC Of All Time". Known for his use of freestyling abilities, flow, and blending of street and popular hip hop, Jay-Z became one of the most respected rappers in the music industry before his declared retirement in 2004. He is admired for his ability to craft lyrics from memory, without the use of pen and paper.

He returned from retirement in late 2006 with the album Kingdom Come which sold 680,000 copies in its first week, Jay-Z's highest selling album in a one week period.

What unfolds over the weekend remains to be seen.

Old is Gold at Billboard Awards

2006-12-05T00:15:00.000-08:00

Old is definitely gold when it comes to music, but the upcoming ones are somewhere in that league too. While a 35 year old R&B diva stamped her authority all over again with her comeback album. A 17 year old sent out the message that he is here to stay too.

The top honor of Artist of the Year was bagged by 17 year old Chris Brown. That was not all, he added the New Artist of the year and Male Artist awards also to his winnings. It sure was a big day for him as he commented before the show that “It feels great, I certainly don't feel my age.” After the awards wonder what all he could not feel, not even the ground we suppose.

Rihanna faced a similar problem, the 18 year old hottie from Barbados could not feel her legs as she accepted the best female artist of the year award. Sure was a big moment for her as she edged out seasoned players like Blige and Beyonce for the top slot and she was aware of it saying that it was phenomenal for her to win in such a tough category.

After debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in December 2005 and selling 2.6 million copies till date, Mary J. Blige's comeback album, The Breakthrough only made her smile bigger. The R&B diva picked up, not one, not two but nine awards breaking right through the entire R&B category.

The 35 year old artist hauled in R&B/Hip-Hop artist and female R&B/Hip-Hop artist, her album knocked in awards for R&B album and R&B/Hip-Hop album. Her single "Be Without You" delivered the awards for Hot 100 airplay song, R&B/Hip-Hop Song, R&B/Hip-Hop song airplay, and video clip. Blige was also named R&B/Hip-Hop songs artist.

Carrie Underwood the ‘American Idol’ winner let her crossover country music do the talking for her and roped in five awards for her act. ‘Some Hearts’, her album, received top honors in both country album and album of the year. Then she put the icing on her cake by walking away with the female country artist of the year and the new country artist of the year awards. The female top 200 album artist also went her way.

The rapper T.I. was another artist who walked off with five awards. He dominated the rap category taking away rap artist of the year and rap album of the year for his chart topping album King, which was out in March this year. The other three awards for the Atlanta rapper were for the best rap album artist, best rap song artist and also for best videoclips artist.

Canadian rockers, Nickelback ‘All the Right Reasons,’ won rock album of the year and artist-duo/group of the year. Nickelback, who had five nominations, also performed on stage with Kid Rock and ZZ Top on ‘Looking for some Touch.’

The rock band Fray also picked up three awards, for their album ‘How to Save a Life’. Digital songs artist and digital album artist also went their way.

Tony Bennett was honoured with the Billboard Century Award, a lifetime achievement award. Bennett timed his release of Duets: An American Classic — featuring Bono, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand and other musical big-timers — to his 80th birthday. The September release has become the best-selling album of his 50-plus-year recording career.

Earlier, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears who were reported to be the hosts of the evening were no where in sight and the show went on without any host. The presenters doing some filling in at times. The show kicked off with Janet Jackson performing (without any wardrobe malfunction) on her 1980s classic, The Pleasure Principle, mixed into So Excited, a single from her 2006 comeback album, 20 Y.O.

Blige rocked the house with a medley of her Enough Crying and Take me as I am. Gwen Stefani and Black Eyed Peas lead singer Fergie, both with solo efforts this year, were amongst the other performers.

Complete list of 2006 Billboard Music Awards winners:

Artist: Chris Brown

Male Artist: Chris Brown

Female Artist: Rihanna

Artist-Duo/Group: Nickelback

New Artist: Chris Brown

Female Billboard 200 Album Artist: Carrie Underwood

Hot 100 Artists-Duo/Group: Nickelback

Hot 100 Song: Mary J. Blige, Be Without You

Female Hot 100 Artist: Rihanna

Pop 100 Artist: Rihanna

R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Mary J. Blige

R&B/Hip-Hop Album: Mary J. Blige, The Breakthrough

R&B/Hip-Hop Song: Mary J. Blige, Be Without You

R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Artist: Mary J. Blige

R&B Album Artist: Mary J. Blige

R&B/Hip-Hop Song Airplay: Mary J. Blige, Be Without You

Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist: Mary J. Blige

Videoclip: Mary J. Blige, Be Without You

Rap Artist: T.I.

Rap Album: T.I., King

Rap Album Artist: T.I.

Rap Songs Artist: T.I.

Videoclips Artist: T.I.

Album: Carrie Underwood, Some Hearts

Country Album: Carrie Underwood, Some Hearts

Female Country Artist: Carrie Underwood

Male Country Artist: Kenny Chesney

New Country Artist: Carrie Underwood

Country Songs Artist: Kenny Chesney

Rock Single: Three Days Grace, Animal I Have Become

Rock Album: Nickelback, All the Right Reasons

Pop Single: Nelly Furtado, Promiscuous (featuring Timbaland)

Digital Album: The Fray, How to Save a Life

Digital Songs Artist: The Fray

Digital Album Artist: The Fray

Soundtrack Album: High School Musical

What is Politics ?

2006-12-02T01:04:00.000-08:00

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?"
Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the
breadwinner of the family, so let's call me capitalism. Your Mom, she's
the
administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're
here
to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the people. The nanny,
we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call
him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,"
So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said.
Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to
check
on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the
little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep.
Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door
locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the
nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.
The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I
Understand the concept of politics now." The father says, "Good son,
tell
me in your own words what you think politics is all about." The little
boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the
Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future
is in deep shit."

Two Minute Management Course

2006-12-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

This is a very old one ... but still a personal favorite, some of you might have read it already, but I really love it. and here it is for the ones who haven't got the chance to learn some management skills. :)

Lesson One

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing.
A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?"
The eagle answered: "Sure, why not."
So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested.
All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson - To be si tting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Lesson Two

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients."
The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the
tree.
He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Management Lesson - Bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Lesson Three

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As
the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Management Lesson -

(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

The B-52 bomber pulverized the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center in LA last night. Agencies are still trying to figure out where it came from. It’s

2006-12-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

The B-52 bomber pulverized the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center in LA last night. Agencies are still trying to figure out where it came from.

It’s the season record, it’s a franchise record for points in a period, he actually equaled his own record, three short of the all time record, a cent percent record in shooting in one quarter and a streak spanning eleven successive baskets. The question is what do you get in the end ?

One, a league leading team licking its wounds. Two, a jubilant Lakers team and coach. Three, a grinning Kobe, and four, chants of M-V-P.

The Lakers dished out a 132-102 thrashing to Utah Jazz and avenged the loss at Salt Lake last Friday. That surprisingly was not the exact reason for the jubilation amongst the fans, the best for them was : Kobe’s back. Back with both his spring and the sting. After recording 15 of 47 in the last two games. He ended the day in office with 19-of-26 from the floor and 12-of-15 from the line. That is not all add four rebounds and three assists to that.

By the end of the first two quarters he had pulled up his personal tally to 22 points and helped his team to an eight point lead at half time. The scoreboard read 53 – 41. Then came the third quarter that knocked the wind out of the Jazz line up. All their attempts to keep Kobe the Bomber away from the basket either ended in vain or in free throws.

Kobe racked up 30 points in the third quarter alone, courtesy ten on ten from the free throw line and two on two with three pointers. He was on fire and unstoppable, that’s how it can be summed up. It was his twelfth fifty and above score and the sixth best in his personal scoring tallies.

The Laker’s hero went out towards the end of the third quarter and sat out for a major part of the fourth, and returned to put the finishing touches on the game. His team led by twenty at that point of time.

Kobe has not packed in the killer punch till now after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in mid-June. He was the league’s top scorer last season with a 35.4 average. This time around he is pushing it around 24.1, but if he has more games like the one on Thursday, we know which way that is going to go. Up, up and away.

The Lakers knocked up 42 points in the third quarter, of course courtesy Kobe. It is their best tally since their game in January against Toronto where Kobe had performed his stunner of 81 points in a game.

Kobe also managed to surprise himself with his 11 in-a-row streak, he doesn’t remember doing it on the turf before. It is difficult, but yesterday it was his day and it all fell right into place in that third quarter. Coach Phil Jackson was happy with the performance and said that Kobe had some amazing plays and that the fire was still in him to go and blast the opposition anytime he wanted.

His performance managed to get Jackson smiling and he gave him a high-five and a hug as he walked to the bench towards the end of the third quarter, he had set the foundation for the win. Kobe also understood the meaning of that, he knew he had done his job, that is what he plays for.

So let’s join the chants which are doing the rounds after that third quarter, M-V-P… M-V-P.

Will this be the turning point for the Lakers this year ? Will it trigger the magic run for the team that propels them to the finals. The 14 time Championship title holders will certainly hope it turns out to be just that. And no else but Kobe will have the biggest hand in that.

One is Better than Two says AMD, Shows off Native Quad-Core

2006-12-01T01:16:00.000-08:00

AMD and Intel have been in this constant attempt to out run the other and grab the monster share of the processor market. The pendulum keeps swinging either way. It is a race where the bottom line is to churn out faster and better processors. Both of them are taking turns at the top slot with every improved product they dole out.

Intel took a head start with their dual and quad core processors and now AMD is trying to cover up for lost ground. AMD showcased its native quad core processor at its annual Industry Analyst Forum in Berkeley, California. AMD touts it as the first ‘genuine’ quad core, unlike their competitors in the processor rat race which has two dual-cores stitched together. AMD says that they will be the proud producers of the first ‘genuine’ quad core because their processor will have one physical die with four physical processors with four separate caches all interconnected and operating as a quad-core processor.

Intel had claimed a 60% improvement in performance when they put the quad core into service. AMD say that they will go better, by churning out a 70% improvisation in output. The reason can be that the two-core CPU’s in the Intel design communicate over a FSB (Front Side Bus) which is a slower mean of communicating. AMD processors do it on the same chip thereby been quicker.

AMD demonstrated the Barcelona quad-core Opteron x86 server chip for a total of 16 cores, all the 16 cores were used in the demonstration. The chips were manufactured on 65-nm silicon-on-insulator process technology. The launch date for the market is slated for the second quarter of 2007. The desktop version is expected around the same time with the Quad FX platform for the desktops.

The buzz outside is that will the ‘genuine’ quad core have any impact on the users who have lapped up the dual cores by Intel and their quad core also has a runaway lead on the AMD processors. With at least another six months before everyone gets to lay their hands on the AMD quad cores, AMD will have to put a strategy into place that lets them push ahead of Intel at the time the quad core rivalry hits the market.

AMD will have to out do Intel in a way that their lead in the quad core market can not just be cut short, but they end up ahead of Intel. Over the last few years, AMD has been considered technologically better than Intel with their high end range of processors. Intel came up with the dual core processors and they have been a runaway hit in the market. AMD has not tasted the same success as Intel in that regard. Even with the quad cores AMD can only hope that their more elegant design will help them get a leap over Intel.

As of now AMD is trying to pass the message to its potential customers that their quad core program is on track and more importantly on schedule. The customers are been given a hint that they should wait for their chip to come out rather than loosen their purse strings in Intel’s favor. Not a bad strategy, the real battle will commence when the chips are face to face in the market.

Mr. Driver.. tap tap .. !

2006-11-30T06:35:00.000-08:00

A taxi passenger tapped the driver on the shoulder to ask him a
question.
The driver screamed, lost control of the car, nearly hit a bus, went up
on the footpath,and stopped centimeters from a shop window.

For a second everything went quiet in the cab, then the driver said:
"Look mate, don't ever do that again. You scared the daylights out of
me!".

The passenger apologized and said, "I didn't realize that a little tap
would scare you so much."

The driver replied, "Sorry, it's not really your fault. Today is my
first day as a cab driver - "I've been driving a van carrying dead bodies for the past 25 years".

P.S. .. about the pic .. hows that for a taxi and the crew..

First Night Shuttle Launch since 2003

2006-11-30T03:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas celebrations will get a kick start on the ISS (International Space Station) when Discovery delivers the goodies. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) announced on Wednesday that space shuttle Discovery will embark upon its journey on December 7. Launch time has been set at 21:36 EST from launch pad 39B.

The launch has been preponed by a week. The original date for the launch had been set at December 14. After the two-day flight readiness review meeting at the Kennedy Space Center there were no dissenting votes on the topic of the first night time launch since the Columbia accident in 2003. The review meeting is conducted by the Shuttle Mission Management Team two weeks before the opening of the launch window to check on the all activities and elements necessary for the safe and successful performance of shuttle mission operations -- from the prelaunch phase through post-landing -- including the readiness of the vehicle, flight crew and payloads.

The launch window for Discovery’s mission STS-116 is open from December 7 through December 17. The readiness of the entire team, the shuttle and the payload has made the December 7 launch possible.

The mission will span 12 days and deliver critical equipment to the ISS. This will be the third trip to the station by NASA and the last for the year. This will be the 20 th trip to the station in its construction program.

The current mission is said to be the most challenging one to date. The payload includes : the P5 integrated truss segment, SPACEHAB single logistics module and an integrated cargo carrier. The biggest task in this mission will be to perform space-walk to rewire the station to the new solar powered electrical system that was delivered earlier this year.

It is a sensitive task and the astronauts will have to configure 112 new electrical connections so that the station can change over to the new power system from its earlier temporary power system which was in service for the past 8 years. The power from the temporary supply will be switched off for half the station at a time while the new connections are configured.

The new system will then be ordered to be powered on, by the ground controllers. If the connections hit a glitch, NASA could be forced to revert to the temporary power supply because the station’s power distribution system controls all the life support systems aboard the station. Any wrong step can have serious consequences.

The review meeting has found that the preparations are going as planned and December 7 should be the launch date. "From the processing perspective we feel really, really good about Dec. 7," Launch Director Mike Leinbach said about the launch. The astronauts will reach the Cape Canaveral station on the afternoon of December 3. the team has seven members this time.

The team for STS- 116 : William A. Oefelein, pilot; Joan E. Higginbotham, mission specialist; and Mark L. Polansky, commander. Astronauts Robert L. Curbeam, Nicholas J.M. Patrick, Sunita L. Williams and the European Space Agency's Christer Fuglesang, all mission specialists. Williams will join Expedition 14 in progress to serve as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station.

The next scheduled flight to the ISS is slated for March 16, 2007 to deliver more components to the station. The mission will be aboard the shuttle Atlantis and will deliver the second and third starboard truss segments and another pair of solar arrays to the space station.

Performance vs Position ... :P

2006-11-30T01:53:00.000-08:00

A priest dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates.
Ahead of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket and jeans.
Saint Peter addresses him, "Who are you, so that I may know whether or not to admit you into the Kingdom of Heaven?"
The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, from New York."
Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
Now it's the priest's turn. He stands erect and booms out, "I am the Right Reverend Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last forty-three years."
Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the priest, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
"Just a minute," says the priest. "That man was a taxi driver. Why does he get a silken robe and golden staff?"
"Results," shrugged Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept. When he drove, people prayed."

Moral:
It's Performance, Not Position that Counts …

Kid Tired of Party Girl, Pam Wants No Noise

2006-11-30T01:45:00.000-08:00

Four months ago they decided to be together ‘till death do us part’ but now it seems the lawyers can do the trick too. Four months after their much talked about marriage aboard a yacht outside the French Riviera city of St. Tropez and parties in which they celebrated here and there and everywhere. It seems the dream run is out of steam.

Kid Rock and Pamela Anderson have both filed for divorce citing diametrically opposed differences. Kid Rock made sure this was the first thing he did Monday morning, Pam decided the same though she was an hour late.

Kid rock’s friend has gone on record saying that Kid was tired of Pam’s party girl lifestyle. She used to go off partying every night leaving Kid to handle three kids. She used to have fun with her pals and then end up at photographer, David LaChapelle's studio.

Anderson has denied any such thing saying that she has been to David’s studio only twice since her marriage. She has further added that she is concerned about the media attention that the split is drawing. She said that she would like to play down the entire thing so that it does not affect her children. Pamela wants to end the whole thing with rocker Kid Rock amicably and with dignity.

Both of them have mutually taken the decision to split. As Pamela put it, "Truth is, Bob is great in many ways—we just don't belong together." Pamela 39 and Kid Rock 35 have three children but none together. Pamela has two sons from her previous marriage with Tommy Lee, while Kid Rock has a 13 year old son from his previous marriage with Kelley South Russell; a Detroit auto worker.

Pamela Anderson, born July 1, 1967 is a Canadian-American actress, glamour model, producer, TV personalityand author. She has been referred to as the sex symbol on the 90s and is popularly known for modeling and television acting in the 1990s and for her large breast implants. Baywatch and Home Improvement are her most well known television appearances. She has also been a Playboy cover page girl many times, the first appearance been in October 1989. She is also a well known social activist and is an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

On the personal front, she was married to Tommy Lee, drummer of the band Mötley Crüe, on February 19, 1995after knowing him for only 96 hours. They had two sons Brandon and Dylan. The couple split and made up again twice, before walking their separate ways in March 2002. After her split she was associated with model Marcus Schenkenberg and the singer Kid Rock (Robert J. Ritchie). She split up with Marcus in 2001 and then met Kid Rock.

Robert James Ritchie better known to us as Kid Rock has had a roller coaster career till date. Starting off with his turn tables at the age of 17. He has had his fair share of bricks and bouquets all along. Born in Michigan, he moved to LA after his marriage to Pamela Anderson. He has various albums to his name but the most popular one been Devil Without a Cause which sold 11 million copies. He released another album in 2000, The History of Rock, which hit a Billboard peak No. 3. Currently he is working on his new album which is supposed to be out in the early part of 2007. In between, Rock has been was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault after a fight in a strip club DJ in February of 2005.

Pamela and Kid Rock began dating in fall 2001. In April 2002 the couple announced their engagement which did not see the walk down the aisle and they split in the fall of 2003. After the split Rock briefly dated Conchita Leeflang. However, in July 2006 Pamela announced that the couple was together again and they married on July 29, 2006 aboard a yacht.

Now within four months the couple has decided to part ways. Rock is back in MI working on his album and Pamela after the success of Borat, is busy with her movie Blonde and Blonder, which is expected in 2007.

Graphic Violence can Result in Behavioral Changes

2006-11-29T22:56:00.000-08:00

Does your teen go about around the house punching thin air ? Gets worked up at the drop of a hat ? Do they get impulses to do things that are in the ‘no’ list ? There is something you can blame for such behavior. The latest video game that they have their hands on and if it’s a violent one then you have hit bull’s eye.

With teens readily taking up violent video games it is the time to strike the alarm bell, because it is related to behavioral changes in them as reported by a latest study. The study was undertaken at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis by Vincent Mathews, a professor of radiology.

Teens living in the fantasy world of ‘headshots’ and ‘frags’ are prone to have a higher emotional arousal than those playing non-violent but exciting games. Violent games also result in having problems with control, focus and concentration. The results maybe short term but with prolonged exposure things will certainly deteriorate.

The study was carried out on 44 adolescents aged between 13 and 17. They were divided into two groups and each group was given a T- rated (for teens) video game to play for 30 minutes. One game was Medal of Honour: Frontline, a violent game from the First Person Shooter genre and the other was Need for Speed: Underground, a non-violent game from the racing genre.

After 30 minutes the subjects were asked to perform various tasks involving concentration and processing of emotional stimuli. Their brains were scanned using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to record metabolic changes in brain activity.

The study found that the subjects who were playing the violent game showed higher activity in the amygdale, which controls emotional arousal. The MRI scans showed brightly colored portions in areas with high activity. They also had a poor response in the prefrontal portions of the brain which deal with self-control.

The study has been presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America this week. The findings are indeed a cause of concern because the $ 13b industry which challenges the Hollywood box office in terms of earnings is not doing something great the children, the future of the country and the world.

The gaming industry has been facing protests over the increasing amount of violence that is creeping steadily into games. So far the industry has not really faced a distress situation because various attempts to ban the sale of violent games to teenagers have been quashed by the courts. Louisiana, Illinois, California. Michigan and Minnesota stand as examples in this regard.

The signs are not good and some steps need to be taken before it is too late. Lets hope we get something like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) here too, a MAVG (Mothers Against Violent Games) does not seem bad.

Trojans Tightening their Grip on Title Game Spot

2006-11-27T04:07:00.000-08:00

The Trojans whizzed past Michigan to grab second spot in the BCS standings. Michigan dropped a place and are now staring at a Rose Bowl spot. What did the Trojans do to work up this magic ? Well, they played well, to their plan, to their strengths. Handing over a 44-24 drubbing to the Fighting Irish. And what did the Wolverines not do well ? Except praying to hold on to the second spot, there was nothing else they could do, seems they didn’t do it well.

The new BCS standings out this week shows that USC and Michigan swapped their places from last week. Michigan are now in third place. The Buckeyes are sitting atop and enjoying the hustle and bustle below. Waiting and watching out for their opponents for the January 8 title game at Glendale, Arizona. Notre Dame after their drubbing from USC dropped to 10 th place. LSU moved up four places to set camp on the 5th spot.

The last five times the Irish have taken on the Trojans, things might have changed every time players, places, tactics and many other things too, the only thing that has not changed is the end result. The Trojans have gotten the better of Notre Dame the last five times and it seems to be becoming a ritual now for them. The Irish have an elite lineup, from their quarterback to the receivers to the coach. On the other hand USC are seem slightly shaky on paper. With a new quarterback, an inexperienced defense and untested running backs.

But should we believe that ? No would be the right answer. Their score lines do the talking these days. 50-14 against Arkansas, the SEC West champions. A 28-10 treatment for Nebraska, the Big 12 North Champ, and the latest one for Notre Dame the team ranked sixth in the country. USC has won 55 out of their last 58 games, a 95% win record. That surely is impressive. A week before the regular season ends, they are No. 2 in the standings and looking forward to head into their third consecutive title game. The Pac-10 spot has already been sealed.

They face UCLA in their final game, a win there would lock them in the title game spot. They deserve it. The Michigan-Ohio rematch, which was the hottest topic last week seems to be a near impossible thing. Michigan will be upset definitely, but looking at it from a realistic angle, their lead over USC was hairline. Their regular season was over and the Trojans still had to games to go. The Wolverines could not have done much except hope that they managed to cling on to the second spot till the end of the season.

The final BCS standings and bowl pairings will be announced next Sunday. The current form of the Trojans seems to be projecting them as the best bet against the seemingly invincible Buckeyes. January 8 will tell.

Critical Bug Compromises Security in Firefox 2.0

2006-11-24T23:36:00.000-08:00

IE7 also susceptible, but not to the same extent.

Next time you decide to be lazy and let your browser do your work, think twice. The latest finding says that your browser can be tricked to pass on passwords to attackers. Something that will not please you very much. Right ?

What is happening ?

Attackers have found a new method of extracting information from users. As of now it has been seen on MySpace.com, a social networking site. When users sign in with their username and password, it goes to the attackers first and then to the MySpace server and hence security goes for a toss. Robert Chapin, who discovered the flaw calls it, RCSR – Reverse Cross Site Request vulnerability.

How do they do it ?

In simple terms, the communication between you and a website that you wish to sign in to is a direct communication. There is no one else in between. But in an attack, the attackers trick the user’s browser to send information to them first and then its further passed on to the actual server where it needs to go. The flaw was discovered in late October when it was reported to be taking place across MySpace. The attackers had made a login account by the name of - login_home_index_html and then created a fake login page for users.

Unsuspecting users signed in using the fake login page, which sent all the information to the attackers.

Why does it happen ?

There are two simple reasons for it. The first been that, the Firefox’s Password Manager does not perform a thorough check before it decides to send across the password information. Secondly, it does not perform a check whether it is sending the information to the same server that requested it.

Attackers take advantage of these two flaws.

As shown by the MySpace attack the browser did not check back if it was sending the information back to the MySpace server. It just blindly assumed that it was sending it there, whereas the reality was different.

Mozilla’s take on the issue.

The Mozilla foundation that handles the Firefox code has acknowledged the problem to be a critical one. As of now no patch has been released for it and they hope to come out with a solution to the problem with the release of Firefox version 2.0.0.1 or 2.0.0.2.

What about IE7 ?

The same problem is faced by IE7 too, but it is a little less susceptible to the attack on the ground that it does not fill in the fields automatically like Firefox does. Hence it is a little safer. But like Firefox it does not check the server to which it is returning the password information. But IE does check where the login form is coming from, So if it is from an unknown server then the information will not be sent back. Once the server has been checked it does check it again while transmitting the information back. This loophole still needs to be plugged and no patch has been put up by Microsoft till now.

The remedy ?

As of now, without the patches, the simple remedy is to disable the Save Passwords feature in your browser.

With Firefox you need to follow the path – TOOLS à OPTIONS à SECURITY. And there uncheck the box which says ‘Remember Passwords for Sites’.

A simple solution but it does the trick.

By being a little more alert, users can avert accidents.

‘Thorpedo’ is Out of the Water

2006-11-21T04:05:00.000-08:00

1:44.06 – 200m freestyle

3:40.08 – 400m freestyle

For every swimmer these are dreams, for Ian Thorpe it something he calls his own. His records. These are not the only ones, he has broken 22 in all in his stupendous career. And if that does not make you jealous, how about five Olympic golds, 10 Commonwealth golds and 11 World titles. Now you understand the concept of green with envy. Don’t you ?

Australia’s prodigious swimmer and most decorated Olympian has finally retired from pro swimming at the age of 24. He formally announced his retirement on Sunday and also announced that he will not be participating in next year’s World Championships. The basic reason : breaking records is no more inspiring. But what will mere mortals like us understand, ask him who has been there and done it 22 times. Awe inspiring indeed.

The retirement announcement might be a breather for many who are still in the pool, their most feared competitor has gone. Thorpe has not just dominated the 400m freestyle event since 1998, he has consistently out performed everyone in that event. He was unbeaten in the event till 2004, when he took an year off.

From a National debut in 1996, to the Australian swimming team qualification as the youngest person ever, to the international debut in 1997. The youngest ever male individual world champion in the 400m freestyle. Claiming his first set of gold medals at the Commonwealth games. To the first set of World records. Then subsequent Olympic golds and the World titles. Thorpe it seemed cannot just manage to stay away from the gold medals up for grabs. They were all supposed to land in his kitty and that’s what happened again and again and again.

The teenaged swimming sensation has ruled over the course, with stunning times and his trademark ‘dolphin kick’ courtesy the size 17 feet. Everything was so perfect he seemed to be custom built for swimming. Six gold medals at one World Championship should make you think like that too. Fukuoka 2001 was when he rose to the top step six times. The only man to have done so ever.

Born to parents who played cricket and an elder sister who was a swimmer. Thorpe had sporting genes from the beginning. His first coach, Doug frost whom he met aged 8 and the one with whom he claimed eight World titles called him ‘incredible talent’ at the age of 11.

Thorpe said during his retirement announcement that he is not sure about his future plans yet. Though he will stay associated with swimming in some way. He said that swimming had given him the life he lives, a security net from which he can move on. But to continue swimming he does not have the motivation. Others expect him to repeat his performances in the pool, but he himself does not feel like. So, it boils down to doing something what others expect and not something for himself. And that is what he is not willing to do.

At 6ft 4in Thorpe is an attractive person and already is the ambassador for Armani and has a keen interest in fashion. He has his own jewellery and underwear line. Also he reportedly earns about $2.6m each year via sponsorships. Has a big fan following and has been in many commercials too. With a sports drink called ‘Thorpedo’, after his nickname, endorsed by him in Japan.

Thorpe is one of the most popular and prominent athletes in AustraliaBeijing for orphaned children with disabilities. In addition, it works with The Fred Hollows Foundation to improve health standards and living conditions in Australian aboriginal communities. where he is rated even above the cricket legend Don Bradman. He is a crusader against the use of drugs in swimming and outside the sport too and has been open in his criticism of the sport’s governing body, FINA about their laid back approach towards drugs in the sport. Thorpe has also emerged as a committed philanthropist, founding the Ian Thorpe Fountain for Youth trust in 2000. The organization raises funds for research on childhood illnesses and also sponsors a school in

A complete package that is what Ian Thorpe seems like. The sport will miss him badly. And the records which were waiting to tumble when he was in action will have to wait a little longer for another champion to take his place.

New Strategy for the War

2006-11-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

A typical scene from a movie depicting a drunken guy will show him getting up shakily for the bar stool, bumps into a couple of people, manages to reach the car. Tries to figure out the key of the car. Manages to get in drives off somehow. Then after a while we here blaring horns, a wide eyed guy swerving off the tarmac down a cliff or hits a tree and he either dies or ends up in the hospital in a hopeless condition.

What we need to wake up to is, that these scenes are not just restricted to reel but are there in real life too. The forces have just pulled up their socks and are ready to deal a killer blow to what we call – drunken driving. The menace will cost approximately 13,000 more lives this year, much like the previous few. Its time we stamped out this fire.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation and with the backing of car manufacturers is all set to launch a new offensive against the never ending problem. They believe the steps taken by them will help wipe out the evil. Since many people who have been booked for drunken driving are not exactly listening to them, they have changed their plan. They say that if they cant stop drunk people from driving, they will stop the vehicles that drive these people around.

Also on the anvil is to make sure that the example set by New Mexico, with their regulations against drunken driving are taken up by the other 49 states too. New Mexico is the only state where first time offenders of drunk driving have to install ignition interlocks, a device which disables the ignition system of the car if the driver has an above limit alcohol level in his breath.

Other states have regulations too but only for repeated convictions for the same offense. MADD wants to make it a first time practice to install the ignition interlocks. Till now it has not had major success with only 1 in every 8 people actually going ahead to install it. MADD wants to the number to go up at least five fold over the next 5 years.

Despite having about 1.4 million arrests for drunk driving every year, the number of ignition locks is still about 100,000 only. People need to realize it is for their safety and put them in place. That is the main point that MADD wants to emphasize. Glynn Birch, MADD's president who lost a 21-month-old son to a drunken driver, kicked off their self-described "audacious campaign to eliminate drunk driving" on Monday compared the ignition interlock devices to a polio vaccine.

The campaign is not going to taste immediate success, but the ground work will be laid for the future and what steps are taken now will bear fruit in the coming years. The ignition interlocks right now are cumbersome, with the driver having to breathe into them every time they need to start the car. For smart devices to replace the current breed of interlocks it will take at least an year. For them to be present in large numbers and also as a standard fitting in the cars.

Volvo and SAAB are working on such systems. They first test runs will be on large fleets before been incorporated in passenger cars. Volvo hopes to have them as a standard fitting by 2009. They hope that it will be a preferred choice for parents buying cars for their teenage children.

Various techniques and devices are been worked upon which can analyze whether the person is over the legal drinking limit and then not allow to start the vehicle. Breath analyzers have not been so successful in curbing the menace because the drunk drivers can ask friends who are sober to blow into them and start the vehicle. We need more fool proof methods and devices.

The success of the New Mexico regulations should be enough to push the other to implement similar rules. Their fatality rate has dropped by 11.3 percent since last. A big achievement indeed.

Revoking driving licenses for the drunk drivers has not been a major help as people still continue driving. Also lowering of permissible blood alcohol levels from 0.15 to 0.08 has not brought about a major drop in numbers. Stricter rules need to be in place and also smarter devices. The new set of interlocks should be like air bags working automatically when needed.

The campaign has a solid backing from car manufacturers, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Distilled Spirits Council and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Top Bush administration officials also will endorse the proposed program.

As always there is someone who is not very happy with the campaign. This time it been The American Beverage Institute, which represents restaurants, their statement said that it was not fair in totality. The spokesperson of the association said that the campaign was not looking at eliminating drunk driving but also responsible drinking and it is this aspect that they did not appreciate. The Americans should be outraged by such a campaign the statement added.

Without doubt we need means to curb the menace, but the fine line of healing should not run over and be a source of trouble. We can just hope that the balance is met and more and more people on the roads are safe.

Moral of the Story : Don't Drink n Drive !

Penguino Royale

2006-11-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

They both dress in black and white.

They both have ‘the license’, the first has the one to kill and the other has it to spill – spill the funny beans.

One tip toes, the other taps toes.

But this weekend they both had the ‘same difference’, top grosser at the box office and in the fight amongst themselves, the Penguinny gang tapped 007 off the number one slot by a whisker.

What'chu hugging me for? If that is cute to read trust me its even better to hear. An amazingly cool movie which has surprised the pundits with the numbers it has grossed and the vast acceptance by the crowds. Who would have messed around with the super spy for a weekend fight at the box office ? These lil’ fellas did it and now they are worried that soon they will be on Bond’s hit list.

Going by numbers Happy Feet, the cute movie about tap dancing penguins is the weekend’s No. 1 with $42.32m as collections. Bond as always is lurking just around the corner with $40.60m. With two movies crossing the $40m mark in the same weekend, analysts say it is an unusual affair. But it has powered the top 12 movies to garner $133.6 million from Friday through Sunday. Not a bad show at all.

Happy Feet, a Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow project had its task cut out, to meet the benchmarks set by the previous animated movies, Shrek, Finding Nemo, Toy Story etc. which had been animated by world renowned animation studios. Happy Feet a roll out from the Sydney studio of special effects house Animal Logic has surpassed all the parameters. The work is just stunning, they have managed to raise the bar even further in the fight of perfection.

Happy Feet does not have the lone title of been the top grosser over the weekend, it beat the super spy James Bond for the slot. The other achievements that it has managed to stack up are, that is on its way to be the most popular Australian movie. It hopes to beat the records set by previous hot picks from Australia namely Babe, Crocodile Dundee 1 and 2 and Moulin Rouge.

The $42m opening for the penguins dwarfed the previous best opening by an Australian movie in North America, that of Crocodile Dundee 2 which had managed $24m in 1988. George Miller, the director of the movie is also looking to break his own record of grossing $254m, Happy Feet seems to be going great and is all set to cruise past that mark in worldwide collections.

The movie has a great story line and immaculate animation. It’s the story of a tone deaf emperor penguin. Penguins are known to find partners by singing but Mumble is set to bowl over his ‘femme fatale’ with tap dance and this dude rocks at it. His jig is a killer.

The movie has vocal contributions by Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, the late Steve Irwin, Anthony LaPaglia, Hugo Weaving, Robin Williams and Magda Szubanski. The movie opens in its home country, Australia on Boxing day and with the reviews it has been getting from across the world it is sure to be a mega grocer there too.

First time Bond, Daniel Craig may have been outshone by the emperors but Casino Royale is another awesome movie. The analysts have not been able to stop raving about the performances and the movie. The collections prove it too. So its time Bond… James Bond joined the tap dance party too.

Happy Feet may have done everything perfectly fine, in place, in timing and in every other aspect too. But yes with the bouquets you have the brick bats too. Viewers complain about one aspect of the movie. The scenes depicting the death of the seals and the whales. It has had a scaring effect on young children. The movie is a feast for the family but this aspect is also worth keeping in mind. Not too many voices around about this thing, and let’s hope that it does not affect the movies super run.

The movies’ tagline - WARNING: May Cause Toe-Tapping. Are you ready ?

Michigan Praying Harder Now

2006-11-20T01:05:00.000-08:00

They are still No. 2 in the latest Bowl Championship Series rankings and praying really hard now that they retain the same spot over the next two weeks and if they do manage to cling to the second spot then the Buckeyes - Wolverines national title game is slated for January 8. A rematch of sorts, the Buckeyes beat Michigan by 3 on Saturday, 42-39.

It is not as simple as it seems. The number 2 spot might be theirs for the time being, but they have a very slender lead over the Trojan’s who are just 0.075 behind them in the rankings and have two more games to play over the next two weeks. Michigan is done and over with their regular season, now their fate hangs in the performance of the other teams in contention for the number two spot.

The latest rankings released on Sunday made the Buckeyes the first team to have the perfect 1.00 as the score since the inception of the BCS rankings in 2004. They have a 12-0 record this time. No. 3 USC and No. 4 Florida are the biggest contenders for the No. 2 spot and the constant source of worry for the Wolverines.

USC have two more games to go, they host Notre Dame the coming week and then face UCLA the next week. If the Trojan’s pull both the games in their favor, they will be able to garner enough votes to rob Michigan off the national title game spot. As such in the polls USC had a better score than Michigan in the Coach’s and the Harris poll where they had the second spot as opposed to the third for Michigan. But Michigan made up for it in the computer rankings which have a one-third weightage and sealed the second spot for themselves.

Michigan will hope that the Trojan’s lose one of their games and Notre Dame will be the best bet to do so. Also, Irish are in no way a threat to Michigan after having been routed 47 – 21 earlier this season. So they cant leapfrog Michigan in the rankings.

The Wolverines will also be hoping that Florida also lose because they have a chance to win the SEC title and claim the spot against Ohio on January 8 and these complications will imply that then Michigan move to the Rose Bowl. That is not the best news for them but the Michigan Athletic Director, Bill Martin said they will not lobby and if the need be to play in the Rose Bowl they will be honored to play in it.

As always the spots are there for contention, some doors are shut (the No. 1 spot) and some open (the No. 2 spot). It all boils down to the next two weeks some people will just be mute spectators whose fate is in someone else’s hands. For the others it will be a time get together and let their performance do the talking.

Of course, we cannot side line the speculations, the controversies and the politicking that is an inherent part of the game now. For some teams it’s a do or die situation. Lets see if there are some surprises in store.