Check this out! Good one! A really simple but brilliant idea to transport water in the rural.
But there should be enough water available to be filled. This will definitely increase fights in the Indian rural where there will be a long queue for one water tap and the time available is limited to fill it up.
Filling water from a river or a pond using this will be very easy and convenient though!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Our leaders
I was reading this article where one of our beloved leaders expressed his concern that he is not able to understand the Nuclear Deal and hence he will be voting against the government. Here are the exact words:
"I have not understood what the deal is all about. Though I listened very attentively to the debate throughout yesterday (Monday), I could not make any head or tail out of it," Ahmed was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
"I will definitely vote against the government. If I, being a member of parliament, could not understand anything about the nuclear deal, then how can the people of the country follow it?"
I could not stop laughing. Here is an indicator of the quality of our MPs. Nuclear deal is an issue which is going on for quite a long time.
Anyways, i think he did not have enough time to go through all the news in the jail (he has just been released from the jail to participate in the vote)!!! :)
"I have not understood what the deal is all about. Though I listened very attentively to the debate throughout yesterday (Monday), I could not make any head or tail out of it," Ahmed was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.
"I will definitely vote against the government. If I, being a member of parliament, could not understand anything about the nuclear deal, then how can the people of the country follow it?"
I could not stop laughing. Here is an indicator of the quality of our MPs. Nuclear deal is an issue which is going on for quite a long time.
Anyways, i think he did not have enough time to go through all the news in the jail (he has just been released from the jail to participate in the vote)!!! :)
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
On Silk and gravity
Am reading this book 'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides. Nice book. Here on one occasion he tells the story of how a chinese princess discovered Silk accidentally when a cocoon fell in her lap once when she was sitting under a tree. The same happened with Newton as well. In this it was an apple. And here is the quote:
"Great discoveries, whether of silk or of gravity, are always windfalls. They happen to people loafing under trees."
I feel little consoled! :)
"Great discoveries, whether of silk or of gravity, are always windfalls. They happen to people loafing under trees."
I feel little consoled! :)
Canada Offers an Apology for Native Students’ Abuse - NYTimes.com
And these people talk about racism in South Africa!
Canada Offers an Apology for Native Students’ Abuse - NYTimes.com:
Canada Offers an Apology for Native Students’ Abuse - NYTimes.com:
Friday, May 30, 2008
Have you ever heard about switching the water lines?
I had a message from the apartment management that " from June 1st, hot water will be coming from the cold water tap and cold water will be coming from the hot water tap". Can you think of any reason as to why they are doing this?
Well... the temperature is soaring so much in Kuwait that, normally no one can get cold water in cold water tap. So they will be actually storing cold water in some storage so that it will stay cold and will be delivered through the hot water tap. And the water which will be in the overhead tanks will be delivered as usual through the cold water tap.
Wierd!! This is middle-east! :)
Well... the temperature is soaring so much in Kuwait that, normally no one can get cold water in cold water tap. So they will be actually storing cold water in some storage so that it will stay cold and will be delivered through the hot water tap. And the water which will be in the overhead tanks will be delivered as usual through the cold water tap.
Wierd!! This is middle-east! :)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Adding a wireless layer on earth
Excellent article on making wireless internet available everywhere on earth.
Friday, May 23, 2008
what you dont have is what you want!
I was returning back to India from SA after finishing my assignment. I met three different set people in the journey and they were quite interesting.
The first one is a family of Indian origin, now settled in SA. The guy said that they visit India every year. Last year they had been to north India and this time they were visiting the south. Pretty interesting stuff. Somehow they don't want to lose that connection with India. I wonder why people do that. They just don't want to lose their identity.
I met another lady who was going to London. She looked little tipsy. guess she had had couple of drinks before boarding. she said she was going to meet her son after 14 years. I was shocked. How can that be?! and i don't have to mention here that she was excited. she said she was going to bring back him to SA and look after him from now on. Must have been a divorce case.
The last set of them was an old couple. I was sitting next to the lady. She gave me good company all through the way. she was going to meet her daughter in london who was soon going to have a baby. she was so happy that she was going to be a grand-ma. This couple had fled Zimbabwe and settled in SA. I dont know when!
People are always after something. Something or the other. They always want to be doing something or the other. They just wanna be busy.
I think the only part of life which is good to live is one's childhood. i always remember the book 'To kill a mocking bird'. Such an amazing book, full of childhood and innocence. But when we are kids, we always want to be grown-ups and have a job and make money. but when you get there, you suddenly see that its all shit. you knew that you wanted all this. but you did not know how it will be. now you know! and you want go back from where you came from. Man, you aways want what you dont have at this point of time - something new or something old. But not the one that i have right now. Give me a break!
I think i wanna be a carpenter. I am tired of this software shit. :)
The first one is a family of Indian origin, now settled in SA. The guy said that they visit India every year. Last year they had been to north India and this time they were visiting the south. Pretty interesting stuff. Somehow they don't want to lose that connection with India. I wonder why people do that. They just don't want to lose their identity.
I met another lady who was going to London. She looked little tipsy. guess she had had couple of drinks before boarding. she said she was going to meet her son after 14 years. I was shocked. How can that be?! and i don't have to mention here that she was excited. she said she was going to bring back him to SA and look after him from now on. Must have been a divorce case.
The last set of them was an old couple. I was sitting next to the lady. She gave me good company all through the way. she was going to meet her daughter in london who was soon going to have a baby. she was so happy that she was going to be a grand-ma. This couple had fled Zimbabwe and settled in SA. I dont know when!
People are always after something. Something or the other. They always want to be doing something or the other. They just wanna be busy.
I think the only part of life which is good to live is one's childhood. i always remember the book 'To kill a mocking bird'. Such an amazing book, full of childhood and innocence. But when we are kids, we always want to be grown-ups and have a job and make money. but when you get there, you suddenly see that its all shit. you knew that you wanted all this. but you did not know how it will be. now you know! and you want go back from where you came from. Man, you aways want what you dont have at this point of time - something new or something old. But not the one that i have right now. Give me a break!
I think i wanna be a carpenter. I am tired of this software shit. :)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hail storm in kuwait
We got stuck in an hail-storm on one of the days when coming back from office. Some pictures here. This is the first time it has happened with me. Of all the places, in Kuwait!!! cant believe it!
The road was filled with ice-cold water and I could not walk in that water. My legs became numb after 2-3 steps.
Monday, February 25, 2008
An open letter to the CXXs
Monday, February 18, 2008
Simulating Evolution
Am reading 'The Blind watchmaker' by Richard Dawkins. In one of the chapters he explains evolutions as cumulative selection. I wrote a simple java program which finally evolves a readable sentence in the end.
As you can see, it started as a random collection of alphabets. In each iteration only the sentence resembling the most to the desired sentence is selected and it breeds further.
Here the 'desired sentence' can be compared to the most fit characteristics for the environment and only the most fit candidate will be successful in passing his/her genes!
0 : iyrqqqouhwmmqksoqwzfgzercqnwbp v
1 : azxzcoyhawkhldielwjvwvnivhfpokz
2 : ualrpeov sdqvxficjy bxbni htrqwz
3 : calviso usiuoafic kflfnimhtxfbv
4 : waspi owgpwjgpfic oyfitniyhtnkrh
5 : manarvozeotgarfic fsuycnightcorc
6 : hanwojomeutoahfic ls yrnightvurh
7 : yanielogektfadfic fs psnightuurv
8 : ranpmlodeht aafic ns xwnightaqrn
9 : aanntlolebtsapfic hs vjnightwcrq
10 : ganeoloreutoaffic hs ainightvxrv
11 : wanfrloreltoaffic xs aqnightdurk
12 : eanq lorewtmaffic is aqnightbarn
13 : uanlllorevtfaffic is aonightgarp
14 : panahlore tzaffic is arnightuarc
15 : banadlore tcaffic is acnightbarg
16 : bannolore tsaffic is acnightjarc
17 : banptlore traffic is afnightearz
18 : banxplore traffic is arnighteark
19 : ban slore traffic is ajnightzarb
20 : banphlore traffic is aqnightaara
21 : banyalore traffic is alnightaare
22 : banlalore traffic is acnightaare
23 : banralore traffic is asnighteare
24 : banvalore traffic is aqnightmare
25 : banxalore traffic is abnightmare
26 : bancalore traffic is annightmare
27 : bangalore traffic is a nightmare
28 : bangalore traffic is a nightmare
As you can see, it started as a random collection of alphabets. In each iteration only the sentence resembling the most to the desired sentence is selected and it breeds further.
Here the 'desired sentence' can be compared to the most fit characteristics for the environment and only the most fit candidate will be successful in passing his/her genes!
0 : iyrqqqouhwmmqksoqwzfgzercqnwbp v
1 : azxzcoyhawkhldielwjvwvnivhfpokz
2 : ualrpeov sdqvxficjy bxbni htrqwz
3 : calviso usiuoafic kflfnimhtxfbv
4 : waspi owgpwjgpfic oyfitniyhtnkrh
5 : manarvozeotgarfic fsuycnightcorc
6 : hanwojomeutoahfic ls yrnightvurh
7 : yanielogektfadfic fs psnightuurv
8 : ranpmlodeht aafic ns xwnightaqrn
9 : aanntlolebtsapfic hs vjnightwcrq
10 : ganeoloreutoaffic hs ainightvxrv
11 : wanfrloreltoaffic xs aqnightdurk
12 : eanq lorewtmaffic is aqnightbarn
13 : uanlllorevtfaffic is aonightgarp
14 : panahlore tzaffic is arnightuarc
15 : banadlore tcaffic is acnightbarg
16 : bannolore tsaffic is acnightjarc
17 : banptlore traffic is afnightearz
18 : banxplore traffic is arnighteark
19 : ban slore traffic is ajnightzarb
20 : banphlore traffic is aqnightaara
21 : banyalore traffic is alnightaare
22 : banlalore traffic is acnightaare
23 : banralore traffic is asnighteare
24 : banvalore traffic is aqnightmare
25 : banxalore traffic is abnightmare
26 : bancalore traffic is annightmare
27 : bangalore traffic is a nightmare
28 : bangalore traffic is a nightmare
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Chaiwala Vs Coffee day : A case study
We have in front of our office, 2 service providers, for our timely breaks from work. Both of them are very distinct in the services they offer and the customers also have unique. One of them is coffee day and the other is our own Chaiwala. I found it interesting to dissect and see how they differ and what makes the customers chose them.
Branding: Coffee Day is branded hugely and has more than 100 franchisees in Bangalore alone. Chaiwalas dont have any sort of branding, but they also have a huge presence all over the city. You will find them almost everywhere.
Ambience: Coffee Day has a very nice ambiance with some nice music playing in the background and a big LCD screen with one of the music channels ON (muted). They also have a policy that they can only play music and movie channels. This must be a tested and proven strategy which adds some Masala to the whole thing. The seating arrangements are also nice - cushioned and all, mostly catering to a group of 2-4. It will be air-conditioned.
Chaiwala has none of the luxuries listed above. He will usually setup a makeshift table on the road-side, on which will be displayed all his goods on sale. No seating. No A/C.
No Music. No TV. No luxuries.
Menu: Coffee Day serves many types of coffees, flavors usually foreign. It also serves light food like sandwiches, samosas, cakes, and pastries which can easily fill your stomach. They usually have a non-smoking section inside and a smoking one on the outside. You cant buy cigarettes though.
Chaiwala offers cigerettes, paan (tobacco), some 2-3 types of biscuits, bun bread, chakli, kodubale (salty-cpicy home made snacks) and tea. All the eatables will be usually kept in glass jars. There is no coffee served. And the tea will be usually in a very small cup and we usually call it chota-tea(small tea). He also serves some mouth-fresheners for smokers.
Service: Coffee Days are usually small and they don't have too many people to serve. We have to wait till he comes and takes the order. I would tell that the service is OK. But not that too great. Its just fine.
I would say that the Chaiwala service is super-fast. As soon as we land there he will keep our chais ready and hand over the cigarettes to the smokers. He usually learns all this info over a period of time. There is only one counter and only one person serving everybody. The whole thing will end up in just 10 minutes.
Customers: Coffee day customers are people who usually have pre-decided to end up in coffee day and hang-around there for some time. It can include business people who want to discuss some deal, young people on dating, college gang who will end up there drinking some coffee and have a smoke, and people who are just very hungry. You will spend at-least half an hour there.
Chaiwala customers can be anybody and everybody. We usually end up there for our hourly breaks. It usually people who need a quick break. Construction workers also come there to have some chai and bread. children come there to have a snack. Obviously people on a date don't come here. If they come here, most probably it will be their last date. :)
Cost: I find Coffee Day expensive. i dont feel like paying 40 bucks for a coffee. I think you just end up paying for the time that you spend there, ala, rent for real-estate. If you really wanna drink some coffee, you should probably go to Adigas or some other darshini.
Chaiwala is damn cheap. Tea costs 2 rupees and the costliest item is the cigarette which is 4. No service taxes or whatever. you pay nothing extra.
So thats about it. But its nice to see these 2 operate right opposite. Each has got its own USP(Unique selling proposition).
Branding: Coffee Day is branded hugely and has more than 100 franchisees in Bangalore alone. Chaiwalas dont have any sort of branding, but they also have a huge presence all over the city. You will find them almost everywhere.
Ambience: Coffee Day has a very nice ambiance with some nice music playing in the background and a big LCD screen with one of the music channels ON (muted). They also have a policy that they can only play music and movie channels. This must be a tested and proven strategy which adds some Masala to the whole thing. The seating arrangements are also nice - cushioned and all, mostly catering to a group of 2-4. It will be air-conditioned.
Chaiwala has none of the luxuries listed above. He will usually setup a makeshift table on the road-side, on which will be displayed all his goods on sale. No seating. No A/C.
No Music. No TV. No luxuries.
Menu: Coffee Day serves many types of coffees, flavors usually foreign. It also serves light food like sandwiches, samosas, cakes, and pastries which can easily fill your stomach. They usually have a non-smoking section inside and a smoking one on the outside. You cant buy cigarettes though.
Chaiwala offers cigerettes, paan (tobacco), some 2-3 types of biscuits, bun bread, chakli, kodubale (salty-cpicy home made snacks) and tea. All the eatables will be usually kept in glass jars. There is no coffee served. And the tea will be usually in a very small cup and we usually call it chota-tea(small tea). He also serves some mouth-fresheners for smokers.
Service: Coffee Days are usually small and they don't have too many people to serve. We have to wait till he comes and takes the order. I would tell that the service is OK. But not that too great. Its just fine.
I would say that the Chaiwala service is super-fast. As soon as we land there he will keep our chais ready and hand over the cigarettes to the smokers. He usually learns all this info over a period of time. There is only one counter and only one person serving everybody. The whole thing will end up in just 10 minutes.
Customers: Coffee day customers are people who usually have pre-decided to end up in coffee day and hang-around there for some time. It can include business people who want to discuss some deal, young people on dating, college gang who will end up there drinking some coffee and have a smoke, and people who are just very hungry. You will spend at-least half an hour there.
Chaiwala customers can be anybody and everybody. We usually end up there for our hourly breaks. It usually people who need a quick break. Construction workers also come there to have some chai and bread. children come there to have a snack. Obviously people on a date don't come here. If they come here, most probably it will be their last date. :)
Cost: I find Coffee Day expensive. i dont feel like paying 40 bucks for a coffee. I think you just end up paying for the time that you spend there, ala, rent for real-estate. If you really wanna drink some coffee, you should probably go to Adigas or some other darshini.
Chaiwala is damn cheap. Tea costs 2 rupees and the costliest item is the cigarette which is 4. No service taxes or whatever. you pay nothing extra.
So thats about it. But its nice to see these 2 operate right opposite. Each has got its own USP(Unique selling proposition).
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Taare zameen par
Watched it yesterday. good movie. good work by Amir.
It may be just a coincidence. I was reading 'Calvin and hobbes' and happened to find the 6+5 problem (3+9 in the movie), where calvin imagines himself on a spacecraft hurling planet 6 against 5 and only 6 remains the end. So he writes the answer as 6. The same stuff is there in movie as well. Guess Amir is a fan of Calvin.
Now, thats called copying.
Anyways, i think Amir has stuffed a lot of crying into the movie. May be he wanted to move the audience a bit. I was also moved. I dont know why! but Indian Film makers resort to making the audience cry and all... why?!! I guess, the feeling stays for a longer time if u do that... how long ?
whatever, in the end, a good movie to watch.
Applause!!!!
It may be just a coincidence. I was reading 'Calvin and hobbes' and happened to find the 6+5 problem (3+9 in the movie), where calvin imagines himself on a spacecraft hurling planet 6 against 5 and only 6 remains the end. So he writes the answer as 6. The same stuff is there in movie as well. Guess Amir is a fan of Calvin.
Now, thats called copying.
Anyways, i think Amir has stuffed a lot of crying into the movie. May be he wanted to move the audience a bit. I was also moved. I dont know why! but Indian Film makers resort to making the audience cry and all... why?!! I guess, the feeling stays for a longer time if u do that... how long ?
whatever, in the end, a good movie to watch.
Applause!!!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Fooled by randomness!!
This piece from 'Fooled by randomness' by Taleb just stuns me:
"Sadly, I learned quite a bit from Niederhoffer, mostly by contrast, and particularly from the last example: not to approach anything as a game to win, except of course, if it is a game. Even then, I do not like the asphyxiating structure of the competitive games and the diminishing aspect of deriving pride from a numerical performance. I also learned to stay away from people of a competitive nature, as they have a tendency to commoditize and reduce the world to categories, like how many papers they publish in a given year, or how they rank in the league tables. There is something non philosophical about investing one's pride and ego into a 'my house/library/car is bigger than that of others in my category'- it is downright foolish to claim to be first in one's category all the while sitting on a time bomb.
To conclude, extreme empiricism, competitiveness, and an absence of logical structure to one's inference can be a quite explosive combination"
Think about it!!!
"Sadly, I learned quite a bit from Niederhoffer, mostly by contrast, and particularly from the last example: not to approach anything as a game to win, except of course, if it is a game. Even then, I do not like the asphyxiating structure of the competitive games and the diminishing aspect of deriving pride from a numerical performance. I also learned to stay away from people of a competitive nature, as they have a tendency to commoditize and reduce the world to categories, like how many papers they publish in a given year, or how they rank in the league tables. There is something non philosophical about investing one's pride and ego into a 'my house/library/car is bigger than that of others in my category'- it is downright foolish to claim to be first in one's category all the while sitting on a time bomb.
To conclude, extreme empiricism, competitiveness, and an absence of logical structure to one's inference can be a quite explosive combination"
Think about it!!!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
New feature on google
I found this new interesting feature on google ads: As you can see there is a telephone icon next to the ad.
And when you click on the icon the following will appear:
As you can see you can enter your contact number and the company will get in touch with you!!
Nice feature which will reduce the Ad-sale time.
As you can see you can enter your contact number and the company will get in touch with you!!Nice feature which will reduce the Ad-sale time.
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