Monday, May 29, 2006

Oh yea

Have just finished a Sat night at Seijo and am waiting for the valet to get my car. Rs. 28,000 is not a bad bill for 8 considering it's been an eventful 2 weeks at the Bombay Stocks and my friends were going heavy on the single malts. Its sweltering and the damn valet is taking long to get my car. Idiot. Probably comes from a village.

Rs. 20 is too much of a tip for making us melt in the heat for 15 mins. Anyway its generous considering everybody else only tips Rs. 10. Who carries small change anyway.


Read the Sunday papers all about some idiot in Delhi who tried to burn himself over the quota issue. Yea what quotas you ask, exactly, who cares. Education quotas. We all know its all a political gimmic anyway. Nothings gonna change. Anyway what differance does it make, India's booming and nothings gonna stop the boom. I'm sure anyway that these facts that 600 million people in India live on Rs. 45/day are wrong. But then maybe not. Rs. 1350 a month is a lot in a village and anyway they don't pay any taxes, we do, so they're living of us. Yea, did you know Bombay pays 80% of India's income tax.


Good to see the Chief Minister getting rid of slums in Bombay. These people have no business squatting on public property. Indians are such a civic less species. Its such an embarrsement to pass these slums, especially with foreign visitors in town. Thank God, Shantaram was published and has romanticized the slums. Anyway, foreigners don't understand like we Indians do that these people are used to living in slums, so dosen't make a differance to them.

Same with the beggars. These people are not beggars, they are professionals. Begging is hard work. Look at them carefully, thats make up they have on, its boot polish. Otherwise how does your face become so black, just by begging? I've been seeing the same beggars for years, they all have a new gig every few months. Rotten creatures. Its the no. 1 reason why India dosen't get enough tourists, because people are always harrasing them.

Good Aamir Khan stood up to the BJP and gave them a piece of his mind. Those guys have gone too far. Its about time someone took the political parties on. A friend of mine has become a politican. Idiot. Who wants all the stress. Its all games anyway. I don't even vote, or know anyone who votes. Its a waste of time standing in lines and anyway our vote dosen't count. I'm sure in a few years there'll be Internet Voting, will vote then.

They've changed the national anthem playing at the movie halls before the movies. Its better and clearer now. But I noticed strangely that none of the instruments in the national anthem are Indian. They are all brass band. Idiots. Someone should tell them to use some Indian instruments...

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Interesting Mosaic

Someone has created a very cool algo that does an endless mosaic using real images. Very fascinating and some high quality photography as a bonus.

http://interact10ways.com/usa/information_interactive.htm

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Skype Handphone



Have been using this US$15 Taiwanese handset with Skype for sometime now. It plugs into the USB port and starts working immediatelly. To make a call, simply double click your Skype contact, or dial the number from the phone!

When you receive a call, the handset rings(!) and you can answer it just like you answer a cell phone.

I've taken Skype In numbers in the US & UK, so my friends and busines associates call me on those all the time.

The quality is amazing, similar to a good cell phone connection. The device is simple to use, even for non techies, and no hassle with stupid headphones and mic.

Reading RSS thru Google.com/ig - RePrinted !


Now that I have started this blog, I'd like to share with you how you can read this blog and the thousands of other blogs out there.

The best tool I have found till date is www.Google.com/ig. Here you can set-up this page and all the content from the blogs you want to read, or any other publication for that matter. See my Google.com/ig page above.


1st you need to sign in with your Gmail account. After that, you can add content from the Blooggers you like, for example, to add this blog click in Add Content on the top right hand corner and feed in http://bombaycurry.blogspot.com/atom.xml.


Another way to add to your Google page is click the "Add to Google" button you'll find on blogs like this one (right hand column usually).


Go on now, give it a try, its a great way to track news and niche publications. This way you will always be able to keep an eye on news that is meaningful to you.

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This blog was 1st published 2 months back; I thought I'd run it again since a lot more of you are reading now.

PS. Not just Blogs, you can read all RSS feeds thru www.Google.com/ig

Skype SMS & Google Notebook

Just a quick blog here to tell you about 2 new interesting releases this past week, have been using them since, and am happy to recommend them here as useful additions.

Skype 2.5 Beta

Cool new feature here is sending SMS to your Skype friends. There are some bugs in it, so maybe you want to await the main release.
Get Skype 2.5 Beta here>>


Google Notebook

This useful tool is a downloadable and it allows you to copy stuff from the web and paste it in your Notebook, without losing the format/layout. For example, you could copy a section of this blog and paste it into your notebook for future reference.

There is an online dashboard along with Notebook where you can view, search and manage all your notes.
Get Notebook here>>

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Thailand Tales

Stayed at the Nilert Park on Wireless Road. ( this photo is from their poolside). Remind me to bypass it next time. Great loaction and property, but there appears to be something amiss in the quality of maintenance design in general (creaking doors, no hot water at night, faulty lamps). Gives the impression the Swiss should stick to running banks as hospitality dosen't seem to be among their strong points.

Not a total disaster though; visiting chef Boris Benecke, Michelin 2 stars, put together one of the finest lunches I have ever eaten. Cheers to you Boris. If you're in BKK and reading this anytime before 14th May '06, go get yourself a great meal.

Bangkok as usual totally swept me off my feet. If there is a more energetic city anywhere, I haven't been to it. By day BKK is a bustling business town with high transaction business being conducted in sophisticated buildings. By night, Bangkok is a tourist and entertainment paradise, offering everything from fine dining to Go Go Bar entertainment. And its not just the indoors, the outdoors are buzzing with life 24/7!


I was looking to find out what's happening on the Internet scence in Thailand. Looks like lack of early stage Venture Capital hasn't allowed the Internet business to fully develop. Which is a pity because Thailand has an estimated 8 million users, and growing fast. Lets not forget, this country now has 51% mobile phone penetration, so keep in mind the sophistication of the users. The leading portal in Thailand appears to be Sanook.com, with MSN, Yahoo & Google not far behind. I think it's a matter of time before the Chinese and Korean portals enter to service this large and vibrant market.

It's interesting to see the large expat workforce
in Bangkok, working harmonously with the Thais. Many senior managerial positions are filled by expats, which is great, as it ensures world class quality in the Thai companies. I think it's a super mix and something India must encourage too. Globally, including the UK & US, its common to find several expat and overseas managers...the hallmark of a world class workforce.


The quality of Thailand's infrastructure is truly dazzling, with everything well thought out and immaculately maintained, which says a lot about the skills and culture of the everyday Thais. This country will go a long way both in capatalizing on opportunities in Asia and in surviving tough times.

Phuket

Last week was a short week in Bangkok, both with Labour Day Monday and King's Coronation Friday, so decided to do a quick trip to Phuket on Friday.


If you hadn't told me the Tsunami hit Phuket on 26th Dec '04, I would never have beleived it. Look around and there isn't a trace of the Tsunami. The infrstrature is immaculate, the beaches are clean and the people are always smiling. It's truly Amazing Thailand.


Rented a bike and drove around to some of the main beaches: Kata, Katong, Kamla & Patong. While Patong is more your Pataya style Go Go Bar entertainment and fun to visit, the other beaches have fine dining and classy bars. Had a great dinner at Boat House on Kata beach, highly recommended.



Its easy to see why Phuket is one of the most sought after places gloabally for a 2nd home. The great infrastructure, nice peo
ple, super value, excellent weather and tons of water sports, all add up to a combinations thats hard to beat. If you haven't been there yet, don't miss out any longer, the time spent getting there is more than worth it.


Clicking on images

Did you know that you can click on the still images in this blog to see a larger version of them? Try it.