iTelescope

Apologies! I know that I have been away for quite some time now - but there are reasons! Work being the major sucker followed by personal interests. Moreover, my boss paid a visit I tried hard to spare time, then reversed some - but nothing worked! Anyway, the good news is that I’m back.

Census 2011 Logo

I did miss writing all this time & kept noting them as they happened. To begin with, I hope you are aware about Census 2011. Most state & central government employees have to compulsorily participate in this, over & above their routine responsibilities (pl note 0+1=1). The lady who was doing it in our area was an innovator! Instead of visiting each house & collecting data, she took an iterative, outsourcing model. She took the lift to the first floor, and walked down distributing a form in Marathi to each house. She very calmly told people that the form was very simple (I don’t know of a single govt form that is simple) & that one didn’t need to know Marathi to fill it (I don’t know how Bengalis & Malayalis bought this idea?) Suddenly people realized the importance of Maharashtrian neighbours, and fortunately each floor had one. After putting people to the job, she again took the elevator up to start collecting filled forms. I’m sure with this trick she managed to get home in time for lunch, which otherwise she would’ve had to couple with dinner. Just to note, that innovation is not necessarily rocket science.

Rickshaw Meter

Two notable things happened in the near past, both of which have affected our lives in one way or the other. The first thing: revised auto-fares. As Shubhojit said, this is one thing that makes you feel real poor. What I used to spend both way is what the 3-Tyre boogie now takes away one way. All thanks to the revision graced by skilled instrumentation engineers at garages.

Rupee Sign

The other thing - the symbol that our national currency got - actually makes me feel very proud. It is the symbol of globalization, equality & finally a distinguishing factor from other currencies with the same name. Some websites, like Burrp, picked up the symbol in no time. I’m just waiting for it to show up on currency.

Ambedkar Memorial, U.P.

After news about the symbol hit the stands, people questioned the kind of money that must have gone into its making. But I say, what’s wrong? If someone can spend tons of money raising statues in a city where people don’t have enough, (continue reading…)

After Sunday, I finally had some time to check out movies I missed. Up in the Air is good, but not a must watch. Or perhaps, I’m not good at reviewing movies. Harold and Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay was funny, but I enjoyed the White Castle installment more. The clever poem that Kal (Kalpen Modi, a.k.a. Kal Penn) sings to win his love at the end was very impressive. Probably its the geek in me that loved it, but you should read it as well.

I’m sure that I will always be
A lonely number like root three

The three is all that’s good and right,
Why must my three keep out of sight
Beneath the vicious square root sign,
I wish instead I were a nine

For nine could thwart this evil trick,
with just some quick arithmetic

I know I’ll never see the sun, as 1.7321
Such is my reality, a sad irrationality

When hark! What is this I see,
Another square root of a three

As quietly co-waltzing by,
Together now we multiply
To form a number we prefer,
Rejoicing as an integer

We break free from our mortal bonds
With the wave of magic wands

Our square root signs become unglued
Your love for me has been renewed

Earth Hour 2010: 08:30-09:30pm on 27th Mar

Earth Day 2010 Banner

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Water: Precious & Scarce as it is

Do you know what date it is? 22nd March. I know its not your birthday (unless you are Prof. Aneesh Gangal), neither is mine. Today is World Water Day, observed world-wide since 1992, popularized by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development at Rio De Janerio that year. And what are we doing? Forget about standing in the world’s longest queue to highlight the global sanitation crisis or using low flow toilets, we’re not even closing taps when we brush. And please note, its not about the money; water is still very cheap at 25 paise (INR 0.25) a gallon. Just that its not enough. Water like other resources is extremely precious & sadly depleting. Let us atleast pledge to conserve & use it judiciously. Read further if you wish to Go Green!

Anyway, we’re talking water. If you are planning to save water, you should first be roughly aware of how much you are using. Similar to the carbon foot print, water consumption by individuals & companies is measured by a water foot print. This includes the total amount of freshwater used directly and indirectly. Direct consumption is on account of drinking, washing, leaving the tap open Indirect usage is the water spent on growing vegetables we consume, manufacturing coffee beans, preparing a meat steak, etc. Unfortunately, it takes 20 gallons of water to create a pint of beer. Here is a Facebook app to check out your water foot-print.

So why is water so important?

• Although a person can live without food for more than a month, a person can only live without water for (continue reading…)
  

When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company,…

When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, (continue reading…)

Prasad: I know quite a few avid writers in my friend circle who are lazy enough to run their own blog. I am going to keep the stage open at prasadgupte.com for sharing their wisdom, and to benefit them from provoked skill-set retrospection & motivation to start writing more. What’s a better start than to have one of the sweetest women in my life write on Women’s Day? Over to you Aru!

It’s the centennial anniversary of  International Women’s day and though it would be just another day down here, a lot of changed already and improving each year. The battle of sexes is never-ending, but women today are much more ambitious, open to challenges and reaching new heights.  And all this, thanks to the empowerment struggle by ‘us’ & the support extended by men; they are not so cruel after all, they just get insecure sometimes

Although I don’t much happening in town, I’m expecting fun at the ‘Lavasa Women’s Day Drive’ on the eve of women’s day. With a long drive, live performances, makeovers & lots of goodies, it’s going to be one hell of an experience! I really wish I could join them, may be next year. As we struggle to create awareness by airing ‘Balika Vadhu’ as prime-time entertainment (fiction is thankfully better uglier reality prevalent in some parts of our society), the world elsewhere has seen several interesting initiatives (continue reading…)

This weekend has been quite different. With Valentine’s day falling on a Sunday, it should have been something for my heart, but instead it was great for my stomach. I had been eating out all the time. The food forced me too take long walks to make place for another meal, and I used it to compile 5 new foodie reviews at Burrp. Do check them out! By the way, did you know that I have a dedicated RSS feed for my food reviews? If not, please do subscribe through your favorite reader!

• Sabkuchh Food Plaza, Malad (W): ‘Great paneer!!! Average chaat‘ [3/5]
• Tangerine Restaurant, Andheri (E): ‘Nice place for buffet!‘ [4/5]
• Chakra, Andheri (E): ‘My favorite place around Marol/Sakinaka‘ [4/5]
• Wazwaan, Andheri (E): ‘Misled by Burrp; Silly/Cheap place‘ [2/5]
• Garden Court Restaurant, Malad (W): ‘Great ambience; Good prepartion; OK service’ [4/5]

Wishing fellow Indians a happy Republic day! Just checked out the new version of Mile Sur Mera Tumhara today: 2 x 8 min videos… huh! And not that exciting! Check out the new ‘Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’: Part 1 | Part 2. Some immediate comments:

• All pure instrumental portions are fantastic: Rahman, Anousha Shankar, tabla, Sivamani, Jazz, …
• Great focus on renewable energy: Solar water heaters and aggregators in the background a couple of times
• S-E-L (Shankar-Eshan-Loy) are great towards the end of their part
• The old-age home (supposedly) & Kashmir parts are very sweet
• Old is Gold: Original music has been tampered too much. Preferred the older Punjabi & Bengali parts (Is Shaan saying send me ‘SMS’?)
• There seems to be no one besides movie stars in this…
• Amitabh Bachchan has been made to sound wierd; he should’ve only been asked to read out the lines
• A bit of over-acting from actors down-under
• No Value Add: The Lux couple, Sonu Nigam, Shahid, Ranbir (in pajamas), Karan Johar
• Salman, Deepika short of clothes
• First 14 mins were great, and then SRK arrives with his silly hand gestures  as if he’s going to jerk of the whole world by closing his fist Just compare it to Aamir’s part
• Thanks for paying homage to the military at the end

Notable comments from elsewhere:

• why to ruin the good memories with bad bollywood experimentation. It is like comparing SHOLAY with RGV KI AAG
• This “SUR” has become “BESUR” because of bollywood
• Seriously, half of the people in this video didn’t deserve to be there

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I never spent more than 2 mins on making my coffee: 1 minute to mix coffee, sugar & milk and another to heat it in the microwave. But then I came across a great way of making coffee - by spending 10 mins. Not that I suddenly have more time, but once in a while its good to take interest in something that makes you feel so good. Especially when you want to spend some time talking to your honey

This is how you make it...

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Wish you all & your families a very happy & prosperous new year. It has been quite a lazy start to my new year, nonetheless I’m lovin it (am I using this too often? McDonalds gonna sue me :D) What else would you expect when the new year starts with a long weekend?

I personally don’t keep new year resolutions; they perish as winter sets out While I was setting some targets for me to achieve this year, a few other things came to my mind which we, as Indians, should all look forward to. (continue reading…)