Happy New Year!!! Hoping that this new year of Rat will bring you health, wealth and love..
2007 was a very interesting year to say the least. I lost and gained a lot… Am not going to wish for anything in the new year.. Am just going to wait and see :)..
It’s no Mamba.. it’s Samba.
Did you know that fear of the number 666 is known as hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. Try pronoucing that!!. Very entertaining article on the BBC, of how one town has decided to change their area code from 666 to 749. Guess, there is nothing better to do 🙂 (no offense to anyone’s beliefs).
I have been regularly working out for the last 4 weeks and man what a difference it makes :).. When I started off, I could barely run for 5 minutes without panting like a dog.. Am up to 35 minutes now and can run ~3 miles without stopping. Long way to go before I can do a marathon.. but a good start.
I also successfully lost 5 lbs as promised. Now the goal is to loose another 10 lbs before end of Jan 08. I should mention that it makes a big difference in energy levels and the way you consume food. Even though, you don’t go on a diet per se, just that fact that you are working out makes you eat less and more conscious of what you are eating. I guess, you finally realize, how difficult, it is to burn off those 100 calories from the small pop can :)..
Graph from Traineo showing the results of the last 1 months workout…
6:00 PM – Arrive at O’Hare. Flight was scheduled to depart at 9:20 PM.. As I check in, I realize that the flight is delayed by 30 min.. No big deal right.. Check in my luggage.
6:30 PM – Get past security in a record breaking 2 minutes. That was my best record :).. Check the monitors and realize that the 6:30 PM flight is delayed by 30 minutes too.. Run 0.25 miles to the gate and stand in line..
7:00 PM – The agent keeps yelling in them mike that they are not taking any more passengers on the standby list. I persist and don’t give up..
7:15 PM – There is 1 remaining seat in the flight and I am the only one remaining standing.. (reminds me of a cowboy shootout for some reason!!). I hand over my ticket in hope to the agent and she gives me my ticket.. I am so happy that I am actually getting to my destination earlier!!.. Alas, I had to ask the stupid question “What is going to happen to my luggage”.. The agent gasps and pulls the ticket away from my hands “Young man!! How naughty of you. You thought you could fly without your luggage!! You have to take your original flight.. which by the way is delayed by 1 hour now.”
7:30 PM – I sigh in despair and headed over to the food court… Glance through all the stalls and settle on the “Billy Goats” tavern. Get a hotdog, fries and a cold bud light.. As I eat and glance around me, I realize how many cultures, one can see at the airport. There are some women, in head scarfs and skirts (Sudanese??) munching on some McDonalds grub.. Right next to them is a South Asian dude, trying to look hip in his Gap attire. And by him is a gum chewing teenager with a slogan “I am blogging this” on her chest..And she seems to be taking incospicous pictures with her mobile phone..
8:30 PM – Complete “Mr.Sampath” by R.K.Narayan.. The beer had gotten warm by now and I had to discard it. BTW, R.K.Narayan is one of the most gifted authors, I have read so far.. He is a natural storyteller. You do have to have an understanding of Indian culture and history to turely enjoy his stories though..
9:00 PM – I pick up my gear and get to the new gate, just to realize that the gate has been changeg again.. Lug my bags to the new gate.. Wait in line for the agent to give me a seat no. Just as it is my chance to speak with the agent, she decides that she has to go and serve another gate!!!
10:00 PM – More wandering in the hallways of O’hare in search of a power strip, so that I can at least watch a movie on my laptop.. They should really provide more power outlets in the airport for the passengers. And free wi-fi, while they are at it. I think, it would be a nice idea to create a website and/or page with listings of the freely available power outlets in the airport… Another business idea, that will never get realized!! :)..
10:15 PM – The flight is delayeg agian.. It is going to leave at 11:00 PM now.
10:30 PM – Finally find, a seat in the “Sprint sponsored laptop center” next to an old couple.. Think they have been married for ever and am impressed by their dedication to each other.. The old man struggles to get up as they leave and I offer to help…”No sir, I don’t need any help. But thank you though!!”.
10:40 PM – The gate is still not open.. I start to think if I am ever going to fly today. Scroll over to the gate and see the dreaded message “Flight Delayed.. Departure time 11:22 PM”!!. Just for the record, I was originally planning on driving. The drive would have taken ~10 hours and flight is supposed to last 1.5 hours. At this rate, it might have been better to drive. At least, I am in control of my own destiny..
10:45 PM – Complete first episode of Cowboy Bebop. If you are into Anime, you will know that this is a classic. This series was my introduction into the Anime world and I still cherish it..The blond girl and the hispanic guy in the “Big Shot – Bouty Hunters” TV show crack me up. BTW, that is a TV show in the series.. Here’s a screen shot from the series..
11:00 PM – Looks like the flight timing hasn’t changed.. Decide to use the restroom, before I board the flight and note this new gadgetry in the restroom..
How cool is that?
11:20 PM – Finally board the flight and on route to my destination!!! Happy Holidays :)..
I promised to myself to post at least once a month on this blog :-).. So this post is to remind myself about this promise and fulfill the 1 post per month obligation :).. Alright.. I am cheating :).
I first listened to music by Boney M, when I was a kid and the impact of the catchy tunes was so profound that I can still recite them :). I finally ran into some of their videos on Youtube. And boy, can Booby Farrell dance :). Here are some of the videos for your pleasure.
Boney M – Daddy Cool : http://www.youtube.com/v/2c-M8mHsFEY
Boney M – Ma Baker : http://www.youtube.com/v/Dt77ZqE1bCA
Boney M – Brown Girl in the Ring : http://www.youtube.com/v/6qJTyGmZeLo
I came across this description of a phone with the capability to take two sim cards. Found it on a site that sells wholesale Chinese goods (read : “ripped off models”). I couldn’t stop laughing at the claims the manufacturer of this phone put on the site.. Imagine a phone, you can use to “share happy & secret with different people” :)..
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“DUAL SIM CARD CELLPHONE!!
What`s dual sim card phone?and what it is used for?
It is a cellphone that can help you put two SIM cards in one mobile. It can make you realize one mobile with two SIM cards,this one allows to manage two GSM Sim cards in one mobile phone,This means users can switch between two numbers or networks. More and more people have two mobiles. One is for work and one for private.this phone can let those people make things easier by just needing to use one phone.
Mobile is becoming a daily necessity. Nowadays more and more people like moving, especially businessmen are wandering from one place to another frequently. “Fliers” are often envied at the price of high roaming charges & long-distance fee. If your mobile is with dual sim card, you can freely switch between different numbers of different areas , avoiding high roaming & long-distance charges. Friends or customers from different area can find you by calling your any numbers. It can reduce half mobile charges economically.Many people hope to leave an integrated space to their closed lovers. Super twin card can set up a special line for you. One mobile is with 2 numbers, different number is for different people. Two numbers let you enable to share different happy & secret with different people.It becomes the life belief of people in E century that work hard and completely relax. It will not get the largest achievements and happiness unless you put all moods in one thing. If your mobile are with super twin sim card that one number is for business and the other for private, you can put into work thoroughly and enjoy life completely. this phone can improve your life quality easily.”
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Tired of listening to Radio stations that might or not play what you want to hear? Try Pandora (www.pandora.com). Pandora claims it’s sole mission to be “To help you discover new music you’ll love”. The founders of Pandora have analyzed more than 60 years of music and created a sophisticated taxonomy of musical information. If you specify an artist or song, Pandora creates a unique radio station based on a Musical Genome of the song/artist/band. And to top it all off, it is completely free :). I love the sleek and simple flash interface too. I would love to take a look at how they keep up with streaming all that content across the Internet.
Update : Some Googling lead me to this article in Computerworld which speaks about some of the technology used to power Pandora.com. Looks like they use OpenLszlo.The programming approach is as elegant as the site :).
I came across a new project by one of my old colleagues, Tim O’Brien, called PresidentFeed.com when I saw another colleague mention it in his blog. Tim is one of the smartest people I have come across in my career. Not only is he a great technologist but he also takes an interest in politics (which more and more people seem to do less and less of 🙂 ). He built this new website, that aggregates information on all the 2008 presidential candidates and also lets you cast your vote for them. Obama has the largest number of votes and highest approval ratings.. Go Obama!!! . Get your mouse over to this site and take part in shaping the free world :).
