Shooting from Keyboard

Enyo opensourced

2012-01-26T12:42:00.000-05:00

Finally, HP/Palm started releasing source codes from webOS. The first one of the lot is Enyo framework.
http://blog.palm.com/palm/2012/01/today-were-excited-to-announce-that-weve-kicked-off-the-open-sourcing-of-the-webos-platform-by-releasing-the-first-piec.html

also check http://developer.palm.com/blog/?p=5085

The developers have started already posting "issues"
https://github.com/enyojs/enyo/issues which is good, as that's what an open source project should get, crowdsourced improvements.

Free Touchpad apps - gone in 60 seconds

2011-09-02T10:55:00.001-05:00

HP gave out second round of touchpad apps including Angry Bird Rio - but all of them are gone too soon.

:(

My Favorite SLE (Shankar Loy Ehsan) Songs

2011-05-08T10:48:00.000-05:00

"Maahi Ve" by Kal Ho Naa Ho http://bit.ly/lc0gqE
More to come

Indian Patriotic Songs by A R Rahman

2011-05-08T10:45:00.002-05:00

Here are some of my Indian Patriotic Songs (links to Pandora)

"Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai" From Roja http://bit.ly/mGuMky also Roja and Roja
More to come...

I thought this was the main reason Google Aquired Dodgeball

2011-01-06T08:19:00.001-05:00

THis was a useful feature... Though not always accurate :( darn.

in reference to: Location Alerts (beta) Update - Google Mobile Help (view on Google Sidewiki)

Memories from 2008

2010-11-06T11:11:00.001-05:00

Bell’s grin

Culture program after Pajushan 2010

2010-09-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

Why Football is better than Cricket

2010-08-19T13:43:00.000-05:00

Why Football is better than Cricket

Very Interesting reading with lot of graphics.

My two bits: All it needs is few player and a ball to start a football / soccer match. It can be played with just 5 or even 10. Let me know what you think.

Winter Haiku

2009-12-17T09:48:00.000-05:00

Southern Winter,
Early Morning Frost,
Melting Away with Sun's Love rays.

Adobe is not here, nor there

2009-11-13T20:07:00.001-05:00

In the current spat of eBook readers, there is a platform that people completely missed. The PC and its newest version as netbooks and tablets.

Adobe with is reader and AIR platform (including acrobat online editor) is a leader in content distribution software, but for some reason has remained a laggard in eReader and its market place for unknown reasons.

in reference to: http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

CNN's new UI reminds me of AOL

2009-11-13T19:55:00.001-05:00

New CNN UI is portalized and reminds me of AOL. It appears as if CNN is trying to move away from its "news" roots and trying to "portalize" itself.

in reference to: http://www.cnn.com/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Slumdog Millionaire or Millions of Slumdogs - India struggles with Hunger

2009-03-16T10:14:00.002-05:00

Just as Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire has shocked Indians around the world (even when it is not new, not sure how many remember Amitabh in Hum?). May be people need to realize that the farms that Yash Chopra shows off in his movies, do not really exist for poor farmers.

The real India hasn't changed inside. See http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/13/world/asia/20090313-malnutrition-audioss/index.html
A shocking portrayal of Hunger in India.

US arms sales fuelling conflicts, says repor

2008-12-12T13:28:00.001-05:00

Say what,

Arms sold by US are fuelling conflicts. US plays active role in spreading terrorism. Duh!

see the link: http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/12/top13.htm

Customer Care Experience - Vonage 1

2008-12-11T15:50:00.003-05:00

Okay. I finally decided to ditch my long distance provider and switch to Vonage. It became an interesting quest, because Vonage offers service at 30$ per month, unlimited calling. There are other similar companies which may even offer this service at lower rate (such as Ooma etc).

But for some reason, I decided to use Vonage itself.

Step 1 was to activate my device/account.
Step 2 was to initiate my number transfer request.
Step 3 was to talk to my existing provider to split my phone line and DSL line into two different accounts.
Step 4 was to talk to Vonage rep and say that my number is going be split into two account in x number of days.

The shock started here: The account rep I talked to said that since my phone line is going to be split only after 8 days, he needs to cancel my number transfer request. That was weird. I thought all they needed to do is put some "transfer after this date". Anyways, that got cancelled and I got an email indicating that temporary number assigned to me is now my permanent number. That was another shocker. (It seems to me that if a transfer request can not be completed in certain number of days, it probably flags into a report to someone).

Finally, I ended up calling customer care again, they finally reinstated my transfer request. Let's see how it goes now. Will keep you all posted.

Angkor Picture from Rajbir

2008-11-02T21:12:00.001-05:00

picture_090, originally uploaded by rajbir_talwar.

This is one of the nice picture from Rajbir's album. It captures spirit of Angkor very well.

Trick-or-treater, 12, shot to death, police say - CNN.com

2008-11-01T20:52:00.001-05:00

Well, Whatever has been provided as reason for defense of the shooter, but the truth is that AK-47 is a choice of weapon for Terrorists and militaries. There is no place for any such weapon in civilized society except for Police.

Trick-or-treater, 12, shot to death, police say - CNN.com

Flowers from Botanical Garden

2008-10-19T12:07:00.001-05:00

DSCF4281, originally uploaded by Chirag Sanghavi.

This is one of the picture that was taken during a recent trip to Botanical Garden.

Angel Dust Inspired a new Schizophrenia Drug | Wired Science from Wired.com

2008-09-16T12:40:00.001-05:00

Some of new drugs being discovered can help lot of patients with schizophrenia. It may not help people who have it right now, but I hope it can help the future generations.

Angel Dust Inspired a new Schizophrenia Drug | Wired Science from Wired.com

The Associated Press: Rainwater collectors work to ease shortages

2008-08-30T13:47:00.001-05:00

Rainwater Harvesting has been making waves around the world (especially in countries such as India) and finally has reached the country of splurges.. USA..

If all new houses implemented rainwater harvesting, the world would be a much better place.

The Associated Press: Rainwater collectors work to ease shortages

The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates - Yahoo! News

2008-08-13T09:46:00.001-05:00

Yahoo is running a story based on an article on Jeanna Bryner's article at LiveScience.com. It says that the women who take birth control pill tend to seek mates with same Major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This happens because birth control pills stop ovulation in women, causing them not to seek out a mate. Such type of mating creates fertility problem in future generations and makes them unfit.

As per the article:

MHC genes churn out substances that tell the body whether a cell is a native or an invader. When individuals with different MHC genes mate, their offspring's immune systems can recognize a broader range of foreign cells, making them more fit.

It also says:

Past studies have suggested couples with dissimilar MHC genes are more satisfied and more likely to be faithful to a mate. And the opposite is also true with matching-MHC couples showing less satisfaction and more wandering eyes.

Stewart Craig Roberts from University of Newcastle in England says:

Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to fertility problems, but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of relationships when women stop using the contraceptive pill, as odor perception plays a significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.

This research has higher ramifications.

In countries where personal freedom is highly valued over religious or moral values by youngsters, use of birth control pills would mean that they are building relationships with mates which are essentially not suitable to them; there will be reduced satisfaction and more wandering eyes, would mean that most relationships will be short-lived, creating further breakdown of social family structure.
In countries where generation is more workaholic or for any reason prefers to use birth control pills, a similar impact will be created. These countries may show that newer generations are less fit or an impact similar to above where social family structure starts breaking down.

Some of the countries that come to my mind are USA and Japan.

The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates - Yahoo! News and The Pill Makes Women Pick Bad Mates

Russia and Georgia for South Ossetia

2008-08-12T08:49:00.001-05:00

The map shows the region where the fight between Russian and Georgian troops was going on yesterday.

At the center of image is the town of Gori.

Boy in suitcase was cult victim, police say - CNN.com

2008-08-12T08:38:00.001-05:00

This and similar news on CNN cause me to worry about this country called as U.S.A. and the western hemisphere. More so, when people involved have names such as Ramkissoon (Rama and Krishna, Indian gods - name probably identifies someone of Indian parentage from Caribbean). Boy's grandmother's name was Seeta (another Indian name, wife of Rama). There was no mention of boy's father.

Things that happen when people lose their faith and are blinded by other faith/cults.

Boy in suitcase was cult victim, police say - CNN.com

RTÉ Sport Olympics: Shooting: Bindra wins gold

2008-08-11T08:10:00.001-05:00

Abhinav Bindra of India gets a Gold at Beijing Olympic. It is not just the first gold medal at Beijing Olympics, but also first gold for India since 1980 and first ever gold for India in an individual category.

Go Abhinav Go.

RTÉ Sport Olympics: Shooting: Bindra wins gold

Olympic swimmer battles testicular cancer - CNN.com

2008-08-11T07:54:00.001-05:00

Amazing Story about Olympian from US Swimming team, Eric Shanteau. He is battling cancer and has put off his surgery to take part in Beijing Olympic. Very Inspiring.

Olympic swimmer battles testicular cancer - CNN.com

Georgian, Russian medallists share embrace - CNN.com

2008-08-11T07:48:00.001-05:00

While Georgia and Russia battle it out of South Ossetia, the Olympians from both countries have shown that they have the spirit of Olympic. Sometimes people have to remember that the borders of countries have been drawn very recently (considering the entire history of mankind) and it may not be worth fighting for using guns.

Georgian, Russian medalists share embrace - CNN.com