Busy closing the house

Sorry for not posting anything new.... I am really busy with closing of my new house - it was scheduled to be on 3/29, but since the lender did not get all the paperwork, it is going to be on Friday 3/20. I have been busy with home inspection and walk-through. A lot of work is still left to be done, but the builder is confident that he'll get it done.

Here is a picture... this is a 2 weeks old picture...

Woh bhi kya din the

Jaane kahan gaye woh din...





Jaane kahan gaye woh log...





Jaane kahan gaya Cricket

May the above pictures give strength to you all

Worst day for India and Indian Cricket

I usually sleep in on Saturdays. I stay busy the whole week and I cherish the sleep on Saturdays. But today - March 17, 2007 - was different! There was excitement since last night. I wanted to sacrifice my sleep to get up at 8:00 am to watch India play their first World Cup game.... WoW!!!! I got up correctly at 8:00... turned on my laptop, connected it to my TV and made me some coffee anticipating a great opener. Honestly I wanted India to bat first and expected them to make more than 300 runs ---- Now I feel like a fucking fool. Forget 300, Indian team could not even make 200 against (a much improved) Bangladesh.

There was NO aggression, NO passion, NO grit, NO determination, NO character, NO talent, NO CRICKET!!! Basically India team DID NOT show up for THE game. It almost felt like they didn't even want to play. It was lackluster, boring, drab, unimaginative, uninspired, muted and JUST PLAIN DEAD. Indian cricket team should officially apologize to all of India and Indian fans all over the world for falling waaaaaaaaaaaaaay below the expectations and playing such a lifeless game at the biggest stage of International cricket --- What a fucking Shame!!!! Infact they should all be FINED and BANNED form participating in ANY Fashion-Show or Ads --- Enough is Enough --- there's gotta be some BASIC STANDARD, some BASIC LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE.... Is that too much to ask?????

Something needs to be done... we deserve better than this! Strong, result-oriented actions must be taken! Hiring an international coach will not SOLVE anything!!!!

It was the worst day for India and Indian Cricket - not because they lost a game, just the way they lost it!

Damn you!

A depressed, dejected and really really sad cricket fan....

Indian definition of Customer

customer --> Kasht de-de-kar Maar

Why Cisco paid $3.2B for WebEx?

GigaOm says that Cisco's move (a smart one) to buy a company that had sales of $380 million, and a net income of around $47 million is actually part of a bigger chess game the company is playing against Microsoft. GigaOm has this chess game all figured out.

Cisco gobbles up WebEx for $3.2 billion

Cisco Systems Inc. agreed to buy WebEx Communications Inc., the largest provider of Internet teleconferencing services, for $3.2 billion to counter Microsoft Corp.'s expansion in the market.

WebEx investors will receive $57 a share in cash, the companies said in a statement today. The offer is 23 percent higher than the Santa Clara, California-based company's closing share price of $46.20 yesterday.

Cisco will add WebEx's services to products for making phone calls, sending messages and holding meetings over the Internet, allowing for integrated communication. The company and Microsoft, which bought WebEx rival PlaceWare Inc. in 2003, are battling for corporate customers who want to simulate face-to-face meetings.

"It's a very attractive market, a growth market,'' said Ari Bensinger, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York. He has a ``hold'' rating on the shares and doesn't own any. "We like the video conferencing aspects of this deal. Cisco provides the corresponding pieces for this.''

Cisco, the world's biggest maker of computer-networking equipment, said the purchase won't affect earnings excluding some items in fiscal 2008. The companies said they expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter of Cisco's 2007 fiscal year.

Shares of San Jose, California-based Cisco rose 4 cents to $25.89 at 12:03 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. WebEx shares surged 22 percent to $56.49 in Nasdaq trading. The stock had gained 32 percent this year before today.

Cricket World Cup Frenziness

An Indian cricket fan gets hair cut prior to the start of the first match between Pakistan and West Indies,Kolkata, March 13, 2007

Microsoft Executive Makes VoIP Predictions

A senior Microsoft executive predicted last week that the average cost of VoIP service for businesses will tumble by a staggering 50% over the next three years.

Jeff Raikes, President of Microsoft’s Business Division, said that the falling prices will be apparent as VoIP systems make the shift from hardware to software. He went on to say that 100 million people will be able to make calls from Microsoft Office applications during this same time period.

“Software is set to transform business phone systems as profoundly as it has transformed virtually every other form of workplace communication,” said Raikes.

“Over time, the software-based VoIP technology built into Microsoft Office Communications Server and Microsoft Office Communicator will offer so much value and cost savings that it will make the standard telephone look like that old typewriter that’s gathering dust in the stockroom.”

Raikes indicated that Microsoft plans to distribute the public beta version of Office Communications Server 2007, Microsoft’s VoIP and unified communications server, and Office Communicator 2007, to testers later this month.

Read the rest of the story

Craziest week of the year...

I am sorry for not posting something last week... Last week was the busiest and craziest week of the year so far... Not only the work was hectic, but there are million other things I had to take care of on the personal front (like trying to work with the lenders for the mortgage of the new house I am building, trying to get things straightened with the builder, and doing other stuff with my GF, and not to mention paying bills that have been starring at me for the last 2 weeks)....

Anyway so yeah, I had a crazy, busy week. Work was split up in the middle by working with a client - my most important account - trying to help them setup Ruby/Catalyst web framework and also trying to release new features of our product.

On the personal front exciting things are happening but its really draining - trying to build a house is extremely strenuous - especially when its 45 miles from work and 25 miles from my current place. But I am so looking forward to it - it is very special to me and my GF and thats what keeps me going.... and right I need to go eat my dinner... more laters... bye for now.

Nike: Just DID It... Awesome ad

This is an awesome ad...

In pictures: Holi: Hindu festival of colors

The Hindu festival of Holi marks the start of spring. The colors signify the blossoms of the season. Below are some colorful pictures. You are more than welcome to send me your Holi pictures....

Enjoy....

Holi - Hindu Festival of Colors

An Introduction

Holi - the festival of colors - is undoubtedly the most fun-filled and boisterous of Hindu festival. It's an occasion that brings in unadulterated joy and mirth, fun and play, music and dance, and, of course, lots of bright colors to make a festive graffiti on every heart.

Happy Days Are Here Again!
With winter neatly tucked up in the attic, it's time to come out of our cocoons and enjoy this spring festival. Every year it is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March and glorifies good harvest and fertility of the land. It is also time for spring harvest. The new crop refills the stores in every household and perhaps such abundance accounts for the riotous merriment during Holi. This also explains the other names of this celebration - 'Vasant Mahotsava' and 'Kama Mahotsava'.

"Don't Mind, It's Holi!"
During Holi, practices, which at other times could be offensive, are allowed. Squirting colored water on passers-by, dunking friends in mud pool amidst teasing and laughter, getting intoxicated on bhaang and reveling with companions is perfectly acceptable. In fact, on the days of Holi, you can get away with almost anything by saying, "Don't mind, it's Holi!" (Hindi = Bura na mano, Holi hai.)

The Festive License!
Women, especially, enjoy the freedom of relaxed rules and sometimes join in the merriment rather aggressively. There is also much vulgar behavior connected with phallic themes. It is a time when pollution is not important, a time for license and obscenity in place of the usual societal and caste restrictions. In a way, Holi is a means for the people to ventilate their 'latent heat' and experience strange physical relaxations.

Legends & Myths

Like all Indian and Hindu festivals, Holi is inextricably linked to mythical tales. There are at least three legends that are directly associated with the festival of colors: the Holika-Hiranyakashipu-Prahlad episode, Lord Shiva's killing of Kamadeva, and the story of the ogress Dhundhi.

The Holika-Prahlad Episode
The evolution of the term Holi makes an interesting study in itself. Legend has it that it derives its name from Holika, the sister of the mythical megalomaniac king Hiranyakashipu who commanded everyone to worship him. But his little son Prahlad refused to do so. Instead he became a devotee of Vishnu, the Hindu God.

Hiranyakashipu ordered his sister Holika to kill Prahlad and she, possessing the power to walk through fire unharmed, picked up the child and walked into a fire with him. Prahlad, however, chanted the names of God and was saved from the fire. Holika perished because she did not know that her powers were only effective if she entered the fire alone.

This myth has a strong association with the festival of Holi, and even today there is a practice of hurling cow dung into the fire and shouting obscenities at it, as if at Holika.

Radha-Krishna Legend
Holi is also celebrated in memory of the immortal love of Lord Krishna and Radha. The young Krishna would complain to his mother Yashoda about why Radha was so fair and he so dark. Yashoda advised him to apply color on Radha's face and see how her complexion would change. In the legends of Krishna as a youth he is depicted playing all sorts of pranks with the gopis or cowgirls. One prank was to throw colored powder all over them. So at Holi, images of Krishna and his consort Radha are often carried through the streets. Holi is celebrated with eclat in the villages around Mathura, the birth-place of Krishna.

Making the Colors of Holi
The colors of Holi, called 'gulal', in the medieval times were made at home, from the flowers of the 'tesu' or 'palash' tree, also called 'the flame of the forest'. These flowers, bright red or deep orange in color, were collected from the forest and spread out on mats, to dry in the sun, and then ground to fine dust. The powder when mixed with water made a beautiful saffron-red dye. This pigment and also 'aabir', made from natural colored talc, which were extensively used as Holi colors, are good for the skin, unlike the chemical colors of our days.

How to Celebrate

Colorful days, solemn rituals, joyous celebrations - Holi is a boisterous occasion! Draped in white, people throng the streets in large numbers and smear each other with bright hued powders and squirt colored water on one another through pichkaris (big syringe-like hand-pumps), irrespective of caste, color, race, sex, or social status; all these petty differences are temporarily relegated to the background and people give into an unalloyed colorful rebellion. There is exchange of greetings, the elders distribute sweets and money, and all join in frenzied dance to the rhythm of the drums.

Happy Holi

Today is HOLI. Wishing u and ur family a very happy and colorful HOLI !!!!!



Holi is all about Colors, Coming Together, Joy & Happiness...Celebrate the occasion with the true spirit....

The 20 Most Popular Websites That Capture 39% of Our Online Time

Yahoo! continues to be the number one online destination for U.S. internet users with over 131 million unique visitors in December, followed by Time Warner (AOL), Microsofft, and Google sites, each of them attracting over 100 million unique visitors, according to comScore. But the latest data from Compete.com show that none of these web properties in the top spot in terms of total time spent online.

No surprise -- MySpace.com tops the list with 11.9% of all time spent online (or 29 billion minutes in December 2006) by U.S. internet users. Here is a list of the top 20 websites, capturing 39% of all U.S. internet online time, according to Compete.com:

Tony Blair deliberates over his future in this fantastic music video

Positive proof of Global warming (funny)