To infinity and beyond

Beginning of the End

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:51:00 +0000

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Amidst lots of controversies over the past few days questioning some of the stalwarts attitude, there has been some grief for the Indian cricket fans. The loss of Dada and Jumbo has been really crude.

Dada has been the face of resilience. He never gave up. He is an inspiration for many. I used to hate this bloke for some reason of my own. But after his stellar return, all opinions changed. Never have I seen such resolution. Indian cricket is surely going to miss its best captain. He had inspired the Indians to humble the mighty Aussies and puncture the English. I appreciate him for the way he backed his team.
In another way Jumbo was a pride of the nation. He was aggressive. With every ball he bowled, he was looking to rattle the stumps. His was a face of resoution. The third wicket in his last match , that of Mitchell Johnson, where he runs backwards and takes a fine catch, surmises the life of a real fighter. Two catches were dropped earlier. Some of them sitter. And he took matter in his (injured) hands and took a stunning catch.

But with the departure of these two great cricketing giants, its the beginning of end of Indian cricket's legacy. The fab four and Jumbo had been the heart of Indian cricket these many years. But with their retirement on the brink, watching cricket might not be the same.

Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito

Philately Series : Old Indian currencies(notes)

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:49:00 +0000

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#Obtained from various sources.
Victoria Portrait Series

The first set of British India notes were the 'Victoria Portrait' Series issued in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 1000. These were unifaced, carried two language panels and were printed on hand-moulded paper manufactured at the Laverstock Paper Mills (Portals). The security features incorporated the watermark (GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, RUPEES, two signatures and wavy lines), the printed signature and the registration of the notes.

Rupees Ten Rupees Hundered

British India Notes facilitated inter-spatial transfer of funds. As a security precaution, notes were cut in half. One set was sent by post. On confirmation of receipt, the other half was despatched by post.

Half note
This series remained largely unchanged till the introduction of the 'King's Portrait' series which commenced in 1923.

Green Underprint - Rupees Five Hundred

Green Underprint - Rupees Five

Red Underprint - Rupees Fifty
Small Denomination Notes!

The introduction of small denomination notes in India was essentially in the realm of the exigent. Compulsions of the first World War led to the introduction of paper currency of small denominations. Rupee One was introduced on 30th November, 1917 followed by the exotic Rupees Two and Annas Eight. The issuance of these notes was discontinued on 1st January, 1926 on cost benefit considerations. These notes first carried the portrait of King George V and were the precursors of the 'King's Portrait' Series which were to follow.

Rupee One - Obverse

Rupee One -Reverse

Rupees Two and Annas Eight - Obverse
King's Portrait Series

Regular issues of this Series carrying the portrait of George V were introduced in May, 1923 on a Ten Rupee Note. The King's Portrait Motif continued as an integral feature of all Paper Money issues of British India. Government of India continued to issue currency notes till 1935 when the Reserve Bank of India took over the functions of the Controller of Currency. These notes were issued in denominations of Rs 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 10,000.

Rupees Fifty

Rupees Ten Thousand

The Bank's issues to January 1938 when the first Five Rupee note was issued bearing the portrait of George VI.

Rupees Five - First Note issued by Reserve Bank of India

This was followed by Rs 10 in February, Rs 100 in March and Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000 in June 1938.

Rupees One Hundred

Rupees One Thousand

Rupees Ten Thousand

In August 1940, the one-rupee note was reintroduced, once again as a war time measure, as a Government note with the status of a rupee coin,

Rupee One Obverse

Rupee One Reverse

Rupees Two

As an added security feature, the security thread was introduced for the first time in India.

George VI Profile

George VI Frontal

The George VI series continued till 1947 and thereafter as a frozen series till 1950 when post independence notes were issued.

Photo series : 4

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:30:00 +0000

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Another day and another set of photos to upload.. I have been checking out the various modes. But still have not been able to get that 'WOW' touch in my photos. Though I have a kinda PRO CAM, I dont have PRO LIKE thinking. That does me in. Even without a pro cam, a pro can make a fantastic pic. These are my new pics.. CHECK IT OUT

Photos : Series 3

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:05:00 +0000

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Photos : Series 2

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:02:00 +0000

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Photos faves 1 : Olympus E520 :

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:59:00 +0000

In my childhood days I wanted to be an artist spending all my time under the recluse of a shady tree and perfect my art every tme. But this wish of mine remained and still remains unfulfilled. I am just a scale better than the worst artist around. This made me embrace photography. Recently I was so engrossed in photography medium that I bought myself a new DSLR cam : Olympus E 520. And so far it has been the best one I had ever had. I am not able to post all my photos at one go. So I am uploading my photos in a series wise.

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Hailstorms in chennai

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:37:00 +0000

With this post my blog has surged the Alexa rankings with 622, 547 rank. And probably this could have been the reason for the hailstorms in Chennai. I was at that time playing around in the ground. At the start of drizzle we cached ourselves under the shade of a tree to safety. All of a sudden some stones started to hit our dumbwitted brains. Realizing it was ice 'stones', we ran helter skelter to save ourselves. Thanks to my helmet, my head was saved. There has been a lot of developments along since the last time I had posted here. My sister had got married. I got a new camera : Olympus E 520 DSLR (I will be posting a collection of my best pics so far with the cam sooner or later). And I am still waiting for my call letter from Logica or CTS. God save this poor soul. Sooner I will also review the Olympus E 520 series camera in my blog for those who are interested in buying a DSLR. So far I am really satisfied having thios cam.

Some surprises and some phony -prises

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:48:00 +0000

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Today was somewhat a mixed bag kinda day for me. I was happy to have bid a PR4 domain for 10$ but to have lost the bid in the last few seconds of the auction. I wasn't much disappointed about the issue than the happiness and surprise that "struck" me when I saw this in Alexa.

This might be just the beginning. I might get a PR4+ hopefully in the next update.
But what gave me more surprise was the way iPhone 3G was to be launched in India.

In probably a first for a gadget launch in the country, iPhone lovers will be able to lay their hands on their favourite toy at midnight on August 22. To celebrate the launch, both service providers, Airtel and Vodafone, will keep their select stores in key metros open well past midnight. The companies have taken special permission for the same.

But is it worth the money? To lay your hands upon an iPhone you gotta shell out Rs.31,000 ("only). For some it might be a one month blog earnings. Then I read this over the web:

In NCR, the unveiling will take place at Airtel brand shop in Sahara Mall, Gurgaon. The company claimed that over 2 lakh prospective buyers had registered on its website for an iPhone. What it did not mention was the fact that it was before iPhone prices for India had been announced. At Rs 31,000 for the 8GB model, many a prospective customers may simply choose not to buy an iPhone.

Poor jerks! Out of their enthusiasm, they might have booked themselves a set. But now would they have regained their conscious, would like to know what they think about that!

In US the price of the iPhone(not the 3G) was 299$. It comes to around 12000 Rs. Does shipping cost 19000? But iPhone 3G is to be launched here in India! IT costs roughly 8000Rs. after the conversion. Wierd!

In US, some of the money is paid by the service provider and the buyer has to signup for a particular service. Here in India also you got to buy from the service provider. But unlike their rich counterparts, who plan big and whose plans are paid for by the extravagant people, Indians wouldn't like to spend hefty sums on mobile bills. This is the difference. Paying for yearly is not everyone's cuppa tea.

To check more I searched the Vodafone "Happy to help" website. Check these features out. I got this from Vodafone website. I hate airtels site which is cumbersome(not in the literal sense). (The template just sickens me. So preferred to go through Vodafone site.)

GPS
HIGH SPEED INTERENET
and more .. check the site.. (I cant add those here though. That was just an ad for iPhone most of the features are limited to the Indian users!)

This is going to be great. GPS.. High speed net.. That's what I thought! On a second thought what a cheap ad. India has so far not set up 3G spectrum and they are selling 3G phones and people are "spending money like water"(that was a conversion of local slang:-) ).
But in days to come the iPhone costs may come down and 3G spectrum for high speed net and GPS facilities will be available. Will be waiting till then to buy my iPhone.
But iPhone has no:

1>MMS
2>video recording

So do think twice. But that doesnt bacck me off the deal. I am going for iPhone when it reaches sub 10K mark. Till then Moto Rokr will do.

Fast, Faster and Fastest

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:24:00 +0000

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Change is nature and nature changes. So does the records. USain Bolt bolted to the finish line in 9.69 seconds. He beat the record set by Asafa Powell of 9.74 seconds set in 2007. But, records are meant to be broken. IT remains a question will they break the 8 seconds mark. The time taken to bolt through 100m is ever on the decrease from the time when Donald Lippincott set the record for the run with 10.60 seconds in 1912. Then Jesse Owens brought it down to 10.2. Men after men set new records and got them listed in the books and felicitated by the media. But to be replaced later by some other. This remains a mystery? What would be the limit!

Travel Times : Munnar

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:09:00 +0000

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Munnar, set at an altitude of 6000 ft in Idukki district, was the favored summer resort of the erstwhile British rulers in the colonial days. Unending expanse of tea plantations - pristine valleys and mountains- exotic species of flora and fauna in its wild sanctuaries and forests - aroma of spice scented cool air - yes! Munnar has all these and more. It's the place you would love to visit - it's the place you would wish never to leave. This place has been on my favourite list of visits apart from Thekadi, Khandla and of course Goa. Being an avid photographer (though I am not that good at it!), I would like to take my own time over there at snapping, er, photography. These places seem to be the place for my vacation. But finding a good place to stay was bit difficult. But then I landed here. The Club Mahindra Hotels is what I need to check out. I haven't been to any of the Club Mahindra hotels. This would be a nice opportunity to land there. Apart from that Tall tree houses is what interests me. You can check out the hotel details from hotelscombined. Before going to Munnar do check out the net for places to visit. I am actually longing to visit Munnar after seeing the snaps that my friend had taken. Must visit place! Don't forget to pack a camera along!

Some Videos that inspire

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:31:00 +0000

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I have been going through youtube videos for some videos related to Independence. These videos really spread the true meaning of "INDEPENDENCE".

Football diaries : India vs Tajiks : AFC cup Finals

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:54:00 +0000

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This week has been really great for India. Still 3 days left and what more surprise gonna creep in? Firstly, India got its first individual Gol in Olympics. Next India won the AFC and qualified for Asia Cup 2010. The match indeed was a well fought. A perfect Independence day Gift for India and Indians.

The stage was set for the final of the AFC cup final. Dr. Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi was the venue. I was glued to my TV set.. er .. comp which serves double purpose as TV. And was ecstatic to see Indians on top. Even though I am a great cricket fan, I love watching footbal. This win gave me far more joy than the 20-20 world cup victory. Bob Houghton, indeed has instilled some vigour in the Indians performance. Day by day Indians are improving on the field. Sunil Chetri, Bhaichung Bhutia were the destructor in charge for the Tajiks. First goal was from Sunil Chetri's golden boots. Still two more were on the way. Pradeep headed the ball, but was stopped by the goal keeper who missed the ball and Chetri took the chance and converted it to a goal. Next Bhutia did a volley to score a stunner which would have stunned the Tajiks. Bhutia was crammed for room. But, still guided the ball to the goal. Then the third goal was Chetri's. The three goals came in the first 20 mins of the first half. Never did I see India play such a fast game and with such vigour. The aggression was seen through out the game. Tajiks Fatkhullo scored the lone goal for the Tajiks in the 43rd minute. The thought of Tajiks fight in second half sent a shiver down my spine. I thought, India would forsake this match yet again. But second half they moved pretty well. Steven Dias missed a chance which hit the goal post. Then in the 75th minute, Sunil netted the hat-trick goal. This could well be his moment.

Bhaichung Bhutia was elbowed by some guy from Tajiks whose name I well couldn't remember. Blood was oozing and the refree was unaware of that which irked Bhutia still more. He was replace by Sushil Kumar Singh. Cheers to Bhutia! India could not have been here without his effort and aggression. But I would have loved to see him play bleeding. This would have sent a message across the world about India's desperation to be a super power and how the player's are contributing for the cause. And the magic moment came. The final whistle. The fans were ecstatic. The Indian players just hopped around the field for the fans frenzied support. Will the victorious path sustain? Only time will tell! But as of it is going India's and Bob's way. May India become a super power in football and qualify for 2014 WC.
CHAK DE INDIA

A budding photgrapher at work

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:27:00 +0000

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I happened to be flipping through some of the photography related website and got inspired to post some of the recent photos that I had snapped. These photos have been a random one with use of different cameras. Some using mobile cams and other using my digiLife cams.

This was shot using ( believe me) Moto Rokr Camera. I was looking around to take some snaps, when I got this view. I took almost 10 snaps to get this.
Shell shocked! This was snapped, er I mean this photo was shot when I went to the beach. I actually intended to take a snap of a sea fish. But it would be ludicrous to have such thoughts when at beach. This was the only sea element (except for water and sand, of course), that I found snapable(lol).
Ahh.. This was the difficult one. This grass hopper somehow landed in the train. And kept hopping here and there. The crowd started jeering me when I was taking this snap. Pity! They don't understand the mind of a budding nature photographer.
This is the photo ehich I took in the Railway Ground aka my den from 4pm to 6pm. The sky simply looks beautiful in this image.

Olympics : Womens Badminton

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:50:00 +0000

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With defeating Wang Chen, ranked 5th in the world, the 15th seeded Saina Nehwal of India booked the quarterfinals berth. Saina Nehwal made a good start to the game with winning the 1st set . Having lost the second set 21-11, she bounsed back like a ping pong ball, routing Wang Chen winning the match and the set 21-9.

Hope that India wins more medals this Olympics. Cheers

First Gold medal in Beijing Olympics for India

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:28:00 +0000

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Cheers! India has won its first Gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, thanks to Abhinav Bindra. He snatched the Gold in Men's 10m Air Rifle. In the qualification he was ranked 4th. But turned out victorious in the finals. So cheers for Abhinav and India.

India has won the Gold after 28 years. The last time India won the Gold, was for Hockey. But, this is the first individual Gold. So, Kudos to Abhinav and hope this raises others to get medals for India.

Chak De India

Please fund the charity : This is for the orphans

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Webmasters 4 Charity is a non-profit project that connects Webmasters around the world for charity causes.

In 2008 the founder of this project wants to help the orphan children from his city once again. He wants to buy them candies of $500. He did this before (in 2006) and it was a real success. $200 were collected and 60 bags of candies were bought.

Now he is organizing a raffle where 22 prizes are waiting to be won; more than $880 value. Prizes are available thanks to generous sponsors. You can win one of those prizes and also support the orphan children!

Here are some of the prizes you can win:

*Software (more than $250 value)
*PHP scripts (more than $300 value)
*Web Hosting
*E-Books
*Domain Names

You can buy as many tickets you want, but only 50 will be sold! Every participant will receive a picture with the orphan children while receiving their gifts!

Here is the Web address where you can find all the information about this charity raffle: http://raffle.webmasters4charity.org/

The Webmasters 4 Charity website is located at http://www.webmasters4charity.org

Harry Potter and the half blood prince Trailor

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 09:17:00 +0000

So ye all Harry Potter fans, rejoice is what I would say. Come November 21, you are in for a treat in the World of Magic, the world of Harry Potter. Now the wait for the trailers are over. Check these out.

Beware, the Dark Lord is Rising!

A boy named Calvin, tiger named Hobbes

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:40:00 +0000

Ever wondered what it takes for a hit comic strip? Just a 6 year old boy with wierd imaginative talents and his pet stuff toy Tiger, (rooaaaarrr) Hobbes. Before I go on with my shower of praises over C&H, just answer me this one question: What to do when I catch a Tiger? hmm.. Confused. Read this trip for the answer! Calvin
The name Calvin and Hobbes are synonymous with history. Named after the 16th-century theologian, Calvin is an impulsive, sometimes overly creative, imaginative, energetic, curious, intelligent, and often selfish six-year-old, whose last name is never mentioned in the strip. Despite his low grades, Calvin has a wide vocabulary range that rivals that of an adult as well as an emerging philosophical mind.
His talks seem to be on par with some scientist hooked up with the NASA. His wild imagination suggests his far thought that are unimaginable for his age. The 6 year old kid has wild imaginations going on everywhere: at school, at home and where not. The most comic part would be the monster one :

His imagination of Spaceman Spiff and the adventures clips are too entertaining.

Hobbes
For everyone's naked eye, Hobbes is nothing more than a dullard stuffed toy. But for Calvin, he is his trustworthy friend. This would describe it much better:But Hobbes sometimes just kids along and jibes Calvin to frustration:
This clip refers to Susan Derkins the new entrant in Calvins class. Calvin has an 'apple eye' on her. But he doesn't like to reveal his feelings thinking that it would be unmanly of him. There could be no other best mate for Calvin than Hobbes.

Hobbes is named after the 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who had what Watterson described as "a dim view of human nature." Thomas Hobbes' most famous work is titled Leviathan, in which his description of the human condition also mirrors a physical description of Calvin as "...nasty, brutish and short". Hobbes (the tiger) is much more rational and aware of consequences than Calvin, but seldom interferes with Calvin's troublemaking beyond a few oblique warnings—after all, Calvin will be the one to get in trouble for it, not Hobbes. Hobbes is sarcastic when Calvin is being hypocritical about things he dislikes.

---- From Wikipedia

Characters from C&H Susie Derkins
She is Calvin's crush and she is the only important character who has been given a full name in the Calvin hobbes series. She is a normal civilzed kid and has no wierd imaginations. Susie also has a mischievous streak, which can be seen when she subverts Calvin's attempts to cheat on school tests by feeding him incorrect answers. She is sometimes seen with her favourite stuff rabbit, Mr. Bun.

Miss Wormwood
I pity her character. When in school, Calvin wreaks havoc in the classroom by going back to his world of imagination. He imagine

Principal Spittle
Principal Spittle is the principal at Calvin's school. It has been implied that, as with Miss Wormwood, Calvin's behavior is the main reason Spittle dislikes his job; Calvin has been to Spittle's office enough times that his file of transgressions is the thickest in the entire district. Spittle's appearances typically come in the last panel of strips that show Calvin misbehaving in class and being sent to his office, where he serves as a foil for Calvin's outlandish excuses for his antics.

Rosalyn
Dear and poor Rosalyn! She is tormented real hard and frustrated to the core by Calvin who hates being baby sitted. Calvin thinks he is a grown up and need not be baby sitted anymore which is the reason why he rebels against Rosalyn. But Rosalyn puts up for Calvins stiff rebels just to earn some pocket money.

The Calvin Hobbes could indeed be the best comic strips of all time. Here are some more interesting clips :

Do take your time to read the Strips. They are fun for every age.
Calvin and Hobbes rock the world

88888 Lights out campaign - Need of the hour!

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:03:00 +0000

First was Sydney. The London and Mumbai followed it. Now Chennai seems to be next in line. Looking up to create awareness for Global Warming, Light out campaign is set to .. lol.. debut in Chennai. The city-zens are expected to turn off the lights for 8 minutes at the 8th hour in the 8th month of the 8th hour of the 8th millenium. So 88888. It is being spearheaded by Exnoral International's Civl Exnora unit. This might create awareness among people to reduce their consumption of power. But the fact is that with frequent power cuts, do they expect the city-zens to reduce their consumption still more by staying away from the recluse of their AC's and fans. It certainly might ire some people when they are notified of these campaigns. But, in my views, some more reduction in power has to be done. This would ensure less bills and less warming. More than these s off campains, more campaigns have to grip the city to lessen global warming. With the vehicles zooming across the city roads, lots of CO2 ar e released. 'Plant trees' campaign should be encouraged by the government. As an incentive, whoever plants 100-200 plants a year, should be given a 'Tree Lovers' rebate. This would ensure people from planting more saplings and making the city greener. Apart from that, the government has to take steps from preventing felling of trees. If the road has to be put forth, let it take a diversion. Why fell trees, to make a path? Pray for a greener Chennai!

Think of the devil, Devil is blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:46:00 +0000

"So, how was your school today?", a lady asked her 6th grader son."Mom, don't ask me that now. Just check out my post on my days rants and ramblings. After you read the post, digg, stumble, favourite it or atleast post me a comment." This what makes a dude or a dame's day. Come back from their workplace and sit in front of the "all knowing machine" and start off with it, as I am doing. Nowadays most of the people have taken up to blogging instead of diary writing. In the days to come they might forget how to write. Atleast, it helps to save some of the trees! Whoever we give a call canvasses his or her blog and asks to comment for the post or digg, stumble or fav it. I try to do that whenever one such opportunity present itself.

First, I came to the blogging zone when I learnt that there were serious earning opportunities from it. But this interest recently lost its touch and instead I shelved the idea of blogging for money and have locked the key and thrown it in an abyss. This whole coterie of paid blogging seems to be an advantage for those in search of some quick bucks. But, in my word it proves nothing but a step or two away from malefic weed which tend to pull you towards it. When the earning opportunities dry out people tend to work out other ways. With this money making in mind, people tend to lose the very edge of blogging. Moreover, by posting the ads for money, it obfuscates others while buying a product. They might not have heard about it. But since review is up on the blog, they might have some positive feeling about the product. But it might be an aweful product, an invention of a dullard. But just by looking at the false reviews they tend to buy the product. This surely has its ill-effect. The true meaning of blogging is to provide correct information to its reader, just like the newspapers do. But with paid bloggin, we sure can't. Moreover, the paid blogging won't give ou the satisfaction as we get from our ramblings about our clique, about the environment and about our personal life. It's upto people what route they tend to take, but paid bloggin is like Devil blogging. Next time, do think twice before going for paid blogging. And even if you do, furnish details that describes the product and donot over exagerate.

India through a flip of coin : Part1

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:55:00 +0000

The other day I was thinking, why not post something related to coins. Thats when I stumbled upon the idea of the Indian independence through coinages. So coinage history is what this post series is all concerned about and how it made history. But instead of going through independence, I will start right from the first coin being found in India.

Early coinage were minted out of Gold or Silver. It proved the abundance of gold and silver in those era. This coin was supposedly minted somewhere between 2500 BC and 1750 BC. These were the Mohenjo-Daro excavations. But it still is unknown whether they are seals or coins.

This probably might have laid the foundations for coinage. Some of these were found in other countries indicating the presence of trade in those days. Next is the punch marked coins. They were the first documented coinage and were issued between the 7th-6th century BC and 1^st century AD. These coins are called 'punch-marked' coins because of their manufacturing technique. Mostly made of silver, these bear symbols, each of which was punched on the coin with a separate punch.

Then there were many coins issued as these:

These coins were put forth mainly by the local people for easy trade and used to ersatz the usual barter system which seemed to be getting on the head. These coins had pagan symbols like sun, moon, trees and more. These were the next step in coinages. This is because thay had some definitive shapes and aimed for people of a particular janapadas or small local states. The coins first didn't have any definitive shapes. But gradually it seemed to have a circular, square or rectangular shape.

Then were the coins related to Indo Greek. These coins with their Greek legends are historically significant, as the history of the Indo-Greeks has been reconstructed almost entirely on their evidence. This was supposedly minted between 2BC to 2 AD.

These coins shows that there were established trade links between Indian and the Greece, though I don't think there was a country India then, all were divided amonst separate kingships.

You might be wondering what significance these old coins has got to the title 'India through the flip of coins'. These coins tells the story of ancient India. How they did the trade, the economy which was a rich economy. Those days Gold and silver were usual substances found in abundance. It showed their mutual understanding for trade amongst different civilizations.

There is a vast history of these coins. Lots got to be told till we reach the present age. Such is the varied history of Indian civilization.

Gadgets to awe everyone - Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:36:00 +0000

Aha! India
I came across this and since this is the month of Indian Independence, felt that this would be the best way to start this post.Now, if are a patriot, then just check this mouse and start clicking using this mouse. But one thing that a true patriot would object of this product is the Logitech logo in the green shade in the mouse.

Lenovo's Ideapad s9 and s10
Impressive look. May be this was in the cars after Dell and Sony had it colour variants.
It sports glossy flavors of deep blue, ruby red and bold black. The keyboard is 85 percent of the size of a full-function notebook PC’s keyboard. The IdeaPad S9 features an 8.9-inch display while the IdeaPad S10 comes with a 10.2-inch display. The energy-efficient LED backlit displays offer longer battery life compared to the traditional displays.

A cam for the freakBelieve me! This cam got a..hold your heart.. 56 megapixel shooter. Previously Heinbald had provided a cam with 50 megapixel shooter.
The Leaf AFi 10 features a CCD size 56mm x 36mm ‘True Wide Frame’ digital imaging sensor, 9288 x 6000 resolution, 6 x 6 sensor width, 1 frame/sec capture time and light sensitivity (ISO) 50-800. Leaf Verto internal sensor rotation technology needs no the camera, or even the imaging module with the Leaf AFi 10. With one finger you can flip the sensor from landscape to portrait and back, giving you the power to quickly capture 56mm resolution in both landscape and portrait orientations.More details and features can be found in the leaf afi10 website.
With more such competition we can expect more superb clarity cams for less price. But one thing is to be expected from these products. NEVER ever try to get to know the price of these gadgets. Be satisfied with your 12Mp or 8Mp cameras.

A phone with Dolby FeaturesThis phone has been incorporated with Dolby Mobile technology. LG plans to include various Dolby Mobile features in its handsets like natural bass, mobile surround, graphic EQ, sound space expander, high frequency enhancer, sound level control and mono-to-stereo converter. Got some entertainment on the move.

Last but not the least: this blowed me off
Do you see the globe at the top? This rotates and this is the reason behind the price for this crappy watch. It is priced at 550,000$. LOL... Anyone wanna waste that much amount just because they wanna see a globe spinning in their watch?

A twist in the tale : India wins second test

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:41:00 +0000

Kumble should continue
So, the talk amongst our friends proved to be true. As expected, India had won the second test match. Of late, India's test match performance has been predictable. Every time India plays a test series, it loses the first match then performs exceptionally in the remainder of the series. Lots of hiccups in the starts.
The second test match was nothing short of a superior show. Sehwag was his natural and in his own splendour in both the innnings. Impressive. Bhajji doing good taking a 10 wicket haul in the match.

Leadership is action and not position

And Sehwag proved it right. Kumble with his vigour proved that his captaincy is indeed genuine. Nobody could have done better than him at this juncture. Kumble should not retire for some more years atleast. I personally prefer to see him bowl.

All round performance
Bowler's did a good job. But I think, first some praises had to be showered on our batsmen who didn't crack quickly. I personally loved Sehwag swashbuckling knocks and in the second innings liked Karthik giving no respect to Mendis and Murali.
The bowlers were damn accurate and determined to drub the Lankan Lions. Might have enjoyed the loin for their lunch.. LOL. Ishant Sharma impressed and rejuvenated the Indian attack. It was a delight to watch him bowl and especially his specialist delivery that maintains its line after pitching. Then comes Bhajji who got his first wicket in his very first over. In the first over Dravid missed a real difficult chance. But compensated by taking a sharp catch of Jayawardena. Now his total of catches is 176 second to Mark Waugh(181). Laxman took two splendid catches in the slip. His take made it look easy. But believe me! It was not. It was in an awkward position. His total catches is now 102.

Now that Indians were firing like Machine Guns, the fielder backed up their fierce bowlers like a shield taking catches. Even Ganguly couldn't help but tumble to take a splendid catch.

What has Arjuna Ranatunga has to say?
Kumble and his entourage had really hit hard on the Sri Lankans and the lousy Arjuna Ranatunga, who lambasted at India's first test performance. So now what s Arjuna going to do? Another blame game round? LOL. Its hard to understand the administrators and politicians!

So let him be ponder without repose over the loss. But INDIA HAS WON THE TEST.

GO TO HELL ARJUNA ! Cheers INDIA!

Depp will be the Riddler?

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 05:35:00 +0000

The Dark Knight's Joker would have impressed everyone and would have saddened everyone with the sudden demise of Heath Ledger. Now, the creators of Batman films have tipped that the Pirate, Johny Depp could be the new nemesis, Riddler in the next Batman movie. Also Phillip Seymour Hoffman might play the role of the Dark Knight's arch enemy, The Penguin. Jim Carrey last played the role of The Riddler in Batman Forever whereas Penguin was Danny De Vito's other face.

Waiting for the release of next in the Batman series....

Absurd Solar Eclipse stories : But have some deeper meaning

noreply@blogger.com (Buzz) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:14:00 +0000

In my tender days, I used to hear some crap stories about the reason behind the occurrance of solar eclipse. This is the story of the churning of the milk-ocean and the descent of Lord Visnu as the Kurma avatara, the divine tortoise. It goes this way :

When the nectar that was churned from this ocean was being served to the gods, a demon, disguised as a god, sat between the Sun and the Moon in an attempt to procure the nectar. When he was detected by the Sun and the Moon, Lord Vishnu immediately severed his head from his body. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough, for the demon had already tasted a small quantity of the nectar and had become immortal. Ever since, this demon is said to wreak vengeance on the Sun and Moon whenever they come near. The head of this great demon is known as Rahu and his tail is known as Ketu. So every time of the year, they try to wreak havoc to seek their revenge on Sun and moon. So they gobble the sun and moon causing eclipse. And due to their inability to digest(may be huh!) they bring them out(in a decent term).

This perhaps sounds like a childish story is a powerful metaphor for what actually happens when an eclipse takes place. Upon further search through the net, I learnt that Rahu and Ketu are the astronomical points in the sky respectively called the north and south lunar nodes.

To the observer on earth, the paths of the sun and the moon appear to be two great circles projected on the celestial sphere (see the diagram). The sun’s path, the solar ecliptic, makes a complete revolution in one year. At the same time, the moon’s circular path is completed in about one month. Every month the moon will overtake the sun which moves more slowly. This is called new moon or in Sanskrit, amavasya. Usually the moon’s path passes above or below the sun’s path and no eclipse occurs. But, periodically the moon overtakes the sun at the place where their paths intersect. This causes the sun or the moon to be hidden from the earth’s view and is thus called a solar or lunar eclipse. These places of intersection are the north and south lunar nodes, or as they are referred to in Hindu mythology, Rahu and Ketu. Therefore, in literal terms of mythology, Rahu and Ketu are said to “swallow up” the Sun and the Moon. The ancient Hindu observers of the sky were aware of the cause of the solar and lunar eclipses and so described the process in the language of metaphor. But people were foolish enough to take it in the literal sense.

Courtesy: Some text have been edited with the help of articles seen over the web.