Probably we should send Katrina Kaif to Pakistan as an ambassador or something. But Krishna has a wig you know ;) #justsaying

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Been to RTO, through an agent this time. Super-smooth. Agent Zindabad!

I went to RTO today. But this time I had given all the documents to an agent and he had done all the work on behalf of me. No more wandering around. He took me to the computer room where they take a photo, a thumb impression and your signature. Of course all this for a fees. Don't how much goes inside as bribe. 

He even game me back the affidavit for the rental agreement saying that its not necessary 'anymore'. I wasted 150/- on this.

He assured me that I will get the DL with the new address in less than 10 days through post.

Agent Zindabad! Long live the agents. How will India ever function smoothly without these agents!?

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I think RTO is the most fucked-up dept in the govt.

I visited RTO(Road transport Organization), Rajajinagar last week seeking an address change on my Driver's license. I had my rental agreement as proof of address. They  said that for rental agreement I will also need an affidavit from a lawyer. I paid 150 and got an affidavit. After that the officer insisted for the electricity bill which I did not have at that time. He told me to visit the office along with it. I went today with all the documents. Here is the full log of what I did at RTO today:

• Stood in the Q for 15 minutes to pay cash - required to issue a new card with the changed address
• The lady told that I have to go to another counter and get the amount written on the form
• I went to counter-21 and got the amount written on my DL Xerox
• Stood in the Q and paid 220.
• Went to counter-21 and showed all the forms. The fellow said that I need to put a self-addressed envelope and attach my DL with the form. 
• Went out and bought an envelope. Attached it to the documents and went back to  counter-21
• The lady took the application. Filled my details in some torn ledger. Asked another fellow to give an acknowledgement. I thought all was going well. 
• Then another officer came and checked my documents. He told that I will need to fill 2 other forms which are available outside in the shops. 
• I went out, bought the other 2 forms, filled them and came back to counter-21
• The officer took the documents and gave it to another person sitting next for signatures. Some other guy appeared suddenly and asked me talk to another officer sitting in the back.
• I went inside and spoke to the guy. Now, he tells me that they don't accept rental agreement as proof. I told him that, last week, they only had told me to get the rental agreement with the affidavit. But, he says that the rules have changed this week. 
• I asked the other guy as to why he gave me the wrong information last week. He tells me that this is the first time he is seeing me - fair enough, they see lot of faces daily!!

I have decided that I will not go there again.

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Krishna's gaffe at the UN: Reads out Portugal minister's speech

External Affairs Minister SM Krishna was caught in an embarrassing faux pas at the United Nations Security Council meeting in New York when he inadvertently read from out a part of…

Full story: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/krishna-s-gaffe-at-the-un-reads-out-portuga...

Sent from my iPhone

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Fixed my 2.5 year old iPhone 2g camera

I ripped open my 2.5 year old iphone 2.g today. Was just curious to see whats inside. Found this neat video which shows how to open it  . 

I had dropped the phone some 1.5 year back and since then the camera had stopped working. I removed the camera inside and replaced it again. Switched the phone back and boom! Camera works :)

Also, the volume adjustment button on the side had gone inside a little bit - again after a drop. This used to cause the volume level to show up on the screen when touched lightly on the side. This was very irritating as it used to block the display. I hammered the dent lightly using a small screw-driver. This problem is also gone now. 

The only issue now is that the the screen has cracked and it looks ugly. Need to know if anybody can fix this. I can do it myself if I can get hold of a new screen!!

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They always find a way to make quick money!

I went to a petrol bunk to get emission certificate for my car. This guy took the reading, gave me the certificate and asked for 80 Rs. I promptly asked him for the bill. Initially he told that they don't give the bill for this. I insisted for it and asked him to call the owner. Then he showed me the price list and took only 75/- which was the actual listed price. Felt triumphant for a minute :) I dont know if I should have done anything more, like alerting the owner?! He would have lost the job unless the owner is also part of it.

 

Guess he usually charged 80 Rs and pocketed 5 Rs..

 

hmm.. poor people.. they find a way to make quick money.

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My HP camera works again after 3 years!

I had bought a 4.1 MP HP camera - R 607 when I was working in HP for around 12k. I am sure nobody have heard about it. HP later shut down that product line. It was a pretty good camera and it worked. 

When in SA, I had dropped the camera on a rock and somehow the lens had got struck and it would not move. Its like it died with its mouth open. The camera stopped working. I was pretty sad. But, later that year I bought a Nikon D80 and was soon in love with it. I put this HP camera somewhere on the shelf and soon forgot it. 

Yesterday, I suddenly remembered that there was a memory card inside this HP camera and thought it could be of some use. I took it out and tried the memory card. Don't know why, but the laptop did not detect it. Anyways, now that there was nothing to lose, I decided to give this camera a couple of whacks and see if it works. To my greatest surprise, the camera started to work again!! And there was some battery power left as well - after 3 years. Now thats what I call a solid battery. I took couple of photographs and saw the saved pics in the camera - all good. Happy Happy :) 

Moral of the story - if something does not work, give it a couple of whacks and then try again. Its of no use being nice all the time :)

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