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3-D Creator - Push Button Play God

2010-09-14T18:20:00.000+05:30

Even though the article uses the word 'printer', I thought 'creator' or 'modeler' might be more appropriate for the way it functions - M A 3-D printer, which has nothing to do with paper printers, creates an object by stacking one layer of material — typically plastic or metal — on top of another, much the same way a pastry chef makes baklava with sheets of phyllo dough. The technology

Heidi's Story

2010-09-13T12:59:00.000+05:30

The 2008 financial implosion/meltdown/collapse: an interesting way of putting it - Here is an easy understandable explanation of the cause of the recession in the form of story. Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit . She realizes that virtually all of her customers are unemployed alcoholics and, as such, can no longer afford to patronize her bar. To solve this problem, she comes up

Random Thought Luck

2010-09-07T12:52:00.001+05:30

Copywriters and Art Directors should also form unions. We also need a one stay strike to protest against higher workloads and lower quality of briefs. I suspect the only good thing that would come out of that would be the Union posters, if we were given a free hand. Lokmanya BG Tilak had the biggest activation/on-ground idea before marketers racked their brains trying to form communities around

Living in Mumbai

2010-06-22T10:10:00.000+05:30

In Mumbai, when you buy a house, you buy into the location and not the surroundings.

Art As Investment

2010-05-07T11:24:00.001+05:30

Art, when it does come up for auction is very rare. And the most expensive ones are works of European masters because among other things, even the well-known auction houses are Eurocentric in their outlook and located in London or New York. The ten pieces below are the top 10 most expensive works of art since 1990. There may be other works of art that might be better, but they may not have come

One Rank One Pension

2010-04-19T11:48:00.000+05:30

There is a lot of confusion regarding the One Rank One Pension, previous Pay Commission anomalies and restoration of pension to original level of 70% for all ranks for retired officers of the three Indian Armed Forces - Army, Air Force and Navy. A lot of state owned banks apparently don't have the knowledge and the wherewithal to understand, process and update the Government of India orders

Kashmir

2010-04-19T11:36:00.001+05:30

A representative from India began: 'Before beginning my speech I want to tell you something about Rishi Kashyap of Kashmir, after whom Kashmir is named. When he struck a rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath.' He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had

Fear, Happiness And God

2010-02-05T12:11:00.000+05:30

People have often suggested 'amazing', 'this is the baap of movie A or movie X' horror movies to me for a long time. I have politely declined and have tried to explain to them that I can't willingly trouble myself so much. It's a thrill that I haven't quite gotten addicted to. I'd rather stay a creepy arm's length away. I feel that the fear you experience, stays with you longer than it should.

Minority Community

2010-01-24T10:08:00.000+05:30

Granted that the Muslims in India are just 13% of the population (160.9 million per 2009 estimate according to two sources: CIA Factbook and India Census 2009). But if you look at the figure, how can anyone (or any longer) call them a minority community? Call them vilified, oppressed, ignored or whatever else. But minority they are not. They are the size of an average country by themselves.

Rude Food. Literally.

2009-12-07T15:31:00.003+05:30

Had to meet a friend from out of town. So we decided on a convenient place that we could meet and catch up for an hour or so. 10.30 was the appointed time. We reach (wife and I). Friend is running a bit late. So to while away time I order a Cappuccino of the Illy variety. They serve it with lots of foam (fine with that) and a sprinkle of cinnamon (uh huh). After a sip I discover that it's not

Paa

2009-12-01T15:37:00.001+05:30

I had read about the brilliant prosthetic make up, seen the pictures and also got a little freaked out at the sight of it in the promos. Well, that is me. But as the film opened and Auro made his entry, the visual comfort increased till, later and towards the end, the bald head with blue veins didn't matter as much as what was happening in the story. Like Cheeni Kum, Paa is also well written,

What Security?

2009-10-27T13:19:00.001+05:30

I was participating in a Canon photo competition last Sunday for a lark, and of course for the all-expenses-paid trip to Japan which they had dangled enticingly. We got an hour and a half per topic to run from Atria Mall to click pictures and get back to upload them at the Canon Center. The three briefs were - Stand Out, On The Job and Freedom. While roaming around Peddar Road, Babulnath

Hippo Vs Aliva Vs Cracker Classic Lite Vs 5 Grain

2009-10-23T19:02:00.013+05:30

A comparison between some new snack foods that have cropped up, all in the baked, not fried category and a few old favorites. All of them flag off the Zero Cholesterol and Zero Trans Fat prominently. Some say made with wheat and dal instead of flour (maida). Some have 5 grains in them. Some have minuscule amounts of honey and other good things that they are irrelevant in the health claim. So,

Displaced... And Dazed

2009-10-15T16:21:00.009+05:30

I was born in Bombay. My first few nappy changes brought along a heady rush of smells, sights and sounds as my parents took connecting trains and planes, shifting across the length and breadth of India bag, baggage, two bawling kids and 42 wooden boxes in tow. Pathankot, Chandigarh, Kanpur, Silchar (in Assam), Poona, New Delhi, Bareilly, Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune and so on. 29 houses

Vuclip: More News

2009-10-08T16:45:00.002+05:30

Vuclip’s redesigned web and wapsites make it easier than ever for users to search for and watch any Internet video on their mobile phones by adding social networking and other functionality to drive the discovery of new video content. In addition to having any video delivered to their phones whenever they want, users can now create playlists, receive alerts about new videos and share their

IT Calling

2009-10-08T15:57:00.000+05:30

Got a letter from the IT Department, Government of India. My returns had been randomly selected by the computer for scrutiny under the CAAS system. The Parel, Mumbai office of the IT Commissioner was a godown. The 3rd floor, where I was to meet the case officer was a mess. Piled with personal and corporate income tax returns on the floor, on racks nine feet high, on desks, on every available

Typhoon Journeys 8000 Miles Non-Stop

2009-10-07T11:37:00.002+05:30

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has deployed four Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 combat aircraft to the Falkland Islands/Malvinas for air defence duties. The aircraft, which departed from their homebase at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire on 12 September, were accompanied by aerial refuelling tanker aircraft for their 8,000-mile journey to the South Atlantic island chain. The Typhoons will spend a period

When Will You Have Money?

2009-09-29T15:48:00.000+05:30

In the twenties, you either couldn't care, or didn't have enough. Investment. Savings. Putting something aside. All these were for someone else. Definitely someone older. The reasons being: 1. Not now. 2. I'll start saving/investing later. 3. I don't have money now. 4. You earn so much more than me, that's why you can think about all this. 5. Some other stuff that you thought of, because the

HDFC Securities - Shares As An SIP

2009-09-25T16:19:00.000+05:30

HDFC Securities has launched something called Do It Yourself SIP. The difference being that instead of buying mutual funds in a systematic investment plan, you can buy shares on the 7th of the month worth a minimum of Rs 5,000, as an SIP. The second good thing is that instead of buying shares via mutual funds and earning dividend through them, where they get to keep some of the earnings, you buy

Personal Finance Ideas

2009-09-23T21:41:00.001+05:30

It is a good thing if you can distribute your investments among the various asset classes. Liquid Cash, Equity, Land and Property, Gold, Debt and so on. In your 20s and 30s, you can put aside up to 50% of your money to invest in property, as it appreciates over the long term. Up to 30% in equities and mutual funds, to reap the high returns they promise over the long term. 10% in long-term bonds

Piqued by F1 'Decisions'

2009-09-23T12:34:00.008+05:30

Somebody tell me the logic why F1 drivers are let off every time, as if they are not privy to the goings on in a small, highly charged group like an F1 team in the race paddocks. Michael Schumacher (as much as I love that man), did everything to win his 7 World Championships, including deliberately crashing his machine and got off with barely a frown. We have the 2007 Mercedes Vs Ferrari spying

Matryoshka Gets A Makeover

2009-09-13T21:58:00.004+05:30

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Vogue Russia, Aliona Doletskaya decided to honor the famous Russian Matryoshka. They took the traditional wooden doll shape and turned it into a carved female body.Standing 50cm tall, these beauties doesn’t confirm to the perfect 90×60x90 model proportions.Commissioned to some of the world’s greatest designers to create tailor-made and exclusive outfits, the

Hail Obama!

2009-09-13T20:55:00.007+05:30

U.S. National Debt: From 1789 through 2008 = $10.7 trillion. Obama's plan adds $9.3 trillion more! 22.08.09: Oops! They just found another $2 trillion of red ink! This means that Obama will generate more U.S. debt in 10 years than the other 43 presidents did in 220 years!U.S. 2009 GDP = $14.2 TrillionObama's 1st Budget = $3.55 Trillion ( 25% of GDP)US 2010 Proposed Budget: Requests $100

Ukraine's (Definitely) Got Talent

2009-09-11T10:17:00.003+05:30

Kseniya Simonova makes sand-doodling an eye-popping art form.Here she tells the story of the Jewish holocaust, the 1945 liberation and how 2 lovers are finally reunited. All with a backlit screen, a bit of sand and her fingers.http://ping.fm/VDnnq

Iraq Withdrawal

2009-09-10T13:38:00.002+05:30

The US is to move 31 million items from Iraq as the 2011 deadline nears. In the inventory are 100,000 vehicles, some bound for Afghanistan.