Breaking news: Celebrated Author Sidney Sheldon dies at 89

Los Angeles: Sidney Sheldon, who won awards in three careers - Broadway theatre, movies, television - then at age 50 turned to writing best-selling novels about stalwart women who triumph in a hostile world of ruthless men, has died. He was 89.
Sheldon died of complications from pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Centre in Rancho Mirage, said Warren Cowan, his publicist of more than 25 years. His wife Alexandra and his daughter, author Mary Sheldon, were by his side.
"I've lost a longtime and dear friend," Cowan said. "In all my years in this business, I've never heard an unkind word said about him."
Sheldon's books, with titles such as Rage of Angels, The Other Side of Midnight, Master of the Game and If Tomorrow Comes provided his greatest fame. They were cleverly plotted with a high degree of suspense and sensuality and a device to keep the reader turning pages.

"I try to write my books so the reader can't put them down," he explained in a 1982 interview. "I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she has to read just one more chapter. It's the technique of the old Saturday afternoon serial: leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter."
Analysing why so many women bought his books, he commented: "I like to write about women who are talented and capable, but most important, retain their femininity. Women have tremendous power - their femininity, because men can't do without it."

Courtesy: Samachar

Come elections 2008, can Bill Clinton become the 'First Man of the United States'

The lady in the running for the Democrats - Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton (born Hillary Diane Rodham on October 26, 1947) is the junior United States Senator from New York. She is married to Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States, and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She is a lawyer and a former First Lady of Arkansas. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Departing from the traditional role of First Lady, Clinton was directly involved in policy-making during her husband's presidency. She headed the task force that proposed the Clinton health care plan, which was not enacted by the United States Congress. She later initiated the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which were signed into law. Clinton was the subject of several official enquiries, but no charges of wrongdoing resulted.
Clinton was elected to the United States Senate in 2000, becoming the first First Lady elected to public office and the first female senator to represent New York. She was re-elected in 2006. As senator, she sits on the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Special Committee on Aging.
On January 20, 2007, Mrs. Clinton announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee for the United States presidential election of 2008.
Article & Image courtesy: wikipedia.org

Maruti lauches its first diesel car - The Swift Deisel

Breaking News: The much awaited first diesel car from Maruti, the Swift diesel, was launched on Wednesday with an introductory price tag of Rs 4.68 lakhs for the LDi and Rs 4.96 lakhs for the VDi version. (ex-showroom, Delhi). The engine in the diesel Swift is the 1300cc DDiS engine, a derivative of the Fiat Multijet engine, says BS Motoring. Maruti has a plant in India to manufacture exactly this diesel engine in India - it only seems logical that it will find its way in to the Indian Swift too. Maruti also said that it plans to launch two new models in the next fiscal (2007-08) and a new model for export to Europe by 2008-09. However, it did not give any details of the new models to be launched.

Blog Vault: Wednesday, July 13, 2005 'My next car's SWIFT (new review below)'

Cars never got me crazy and I've always wondered how can it put most people into hysterics when spoken of; ofcourse Formula1 is an exception. The other day I was in Spencer Plaza (shopping mall in Chennai) and there they had displayed a soon-to-be-released car. It looked spectacular from the third floor but what caught my eye were the number of people trying to have a feel of the car. Had a feeling of deja-vu; these people just won't leave anything thats new, free and being displayed (guess I had assumed too early).
We had gone to Spencers to while away time and very soon even we were there having a look. My idea on cars were modest to say the least and the first thing I saw then in the car were the shape, light spacing and the color of the car. Yes, my dominant opinion on cars then were based on looks. Interiors, Comfort, Practicality and Driving Comfort were almost secondary.
Well, all this was about to change. I had then been going for my driving class where driving comfort became an important aspect for me. Though I haven't got to drive many different model of cars and never wanted to juxtapose car features and compare but cars were something cannot avoid hearing about it in today's world. Now after reading review and feature articles on cars, in particular the ones on the new car in spencers , yes its the Maruti Suzuki Swift, I too have joined the rest in speaking about cars.
Looks :
Spectacular. Has a very sporty look and have never seen any other hatchback car with the looks of this class.
Interiors :
Well depends on what kind on interiors do you expect and with what you compare with. Nevertheless its good and neat.
Storage:
It could do with more storage space. Storage space is much lesser than a few other hatchback cars. Though it has a glove compartment, a seat parcel tray would be very important space as these days most of the car space in taken by CDs.
Comfort:
Very comforatble. Has a width of 169 cm and is well suited to seat three behind. The leg space is good though Getz is a little better in this aspect. AC is spreads out well as in most of the Maruti Suzuki cars. Other features in this department include lights on warning, seatbeat warning, door open warning, key inside warning etc. It has a 6 inch speakers on all the four doors and so there is no compromise on the sound quality.
Driving Comfort:
I haven't driven it so cannot give you a hands on review. What I can do is tell you from what I've heard and read.
It has a mileage; the fuel efficiency is 12kmpl on city road and 17kmpl on highways. Its has a power of 87bhp of 1.3L engine, good for a bit more heavy car. Another interesting feature is the slightly bigger tyres, the bigger the tyres the better the drive on the Indian roads. The tyres are around 14inches bigger than the tyres of the esteem which is13inches. As the Swift has a flat torque shaft it requires a lesser gear shift.
Safety:
This is seldom taken into account while buying a car; however it should be one of the most important considerations as the safety aspect takes into account not only the people in the car but also the car itself. The car's built with thick steel and therefore looks strong and solid. It has an aluminium engine which reduces the weight. Most of the weight comes from the chassis and the body of the car.
The ABS and EBD feature prevents the car sliding but preventing the wheels to lock prematurely and therefore stops the car. The braking system here is commendable. The ZXi model of this car comes with dual front airbags.
Pricing:
Aha! Thats something that actually makes people decide whether to buy or lie. Well, nothing wrong in it, affordability with quality that all crave for and the feeling of getting more out for less does seems like an achievement.
There are three versions of this car;LXi is around 3.8 , Vxi is around 4 and ZXi is around 4.8 and all this very less as compared to their other competitors. So the pricing is very attractive and unbeatable.
Me on the car: Its the best bet on a hatchback car in India and affordable for the Indian class. Whats more, its up with a Deisel version.
Me in the car: Well, as I said my next car is Swift. Am a big fan of the swift and it would take a lot to change my opinion.
Image courtesy: autoexperience.tv

The Burkini Burst

Burkini is a portmanteau of the Burka and the Bikini. As seen from the picture the suit covers enough to protect Muslim modesty. The Burkini was designed by Lebanese Australian Aheda Zanetti as a type of swimsuit. She says it can also used by others as it protects the skins and helps in utilizing ones swimming skills.

However its felt that this much publicized creation by Zanetti seemed to have been to gain popularity instead of liberating the Muslim woman. In the Australian society, a Muslim swimmer must have been using other costumers of convenience earlier too. While the above could be in the case of recreation, but if they were a Muslim professional female swimmer in the near future the Burkini will definitely be thrust upon her. It could spark a chain of events leading to Muslim sportswomen being conscious on covering themselves completely instead of focusing on the game. It may not be long when one hears calls for India's tennis icon Sania Mirza to be covered completely while playing Tennis. Watch as the events unfold as the game has just begun.

Marie-Antoinette

The hands, dials, its movements and the men who shape and give life to the class of time-pieces has several stories to tell. An enigma is the story of the expensive and noble watches, something like a canvas painting. Just as a picture can speak a thousand words, a watch reveals moments of several times.
One such piece is the Mario-Antoinette, the watch whose making began by A-L Breguet and was completed by his son after his death. It took a period of 44 years to complete this impressive work. During the time France had become a Republic and the then Queen's tomb was in the cemetery. The watch therefore survived a revolution, found it's way to the Jerusalem Museum only to be stolen in 1983 and remains untraced ever since.
As expects say, the watch is worth an Agartha Christe plot. Nichole G Hayek, the CEO of the Swatch Group and Breguet considering the Marie-Antoinette to be one he's ready to shell out any amount for. He sure has already spent billions to lay his hands on Breguet and place them in the Paris-based Breguet Museum.
So here's a call for the return of the World's most precious watch - Maire-Antoinette.
Courtesy: Watch World & top100watchsites.com

World's Best Airports

1. Hong Kong International Airport; Hong Kong

2. Singapore Changi Airport; Singapore

3. Incheon International Airport; Seoul, South Korea

4. Munich Airport; Munich, Germany

5. Kansai International Airport; Osaka, Japan

6. Dubai International Airport; Dubai, UAE

7. Kuala Lumpur International Airport; KL, Malaysia

8. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport; Amsterdam, Netherlands

9. Copenhagen Airport; Copenhagen, Denmark

10. Sydney Airport; Sydney, Australia

Courtesy: forbes.com

The game of Name, Place - animal thing

A friend of mine once asked me how do governments brush aside issues of importance. The answer were aplenty but one that struck me immediately was the proposal of a name change. Well not individual names but names that government sometime think he own. It seems to be the strange obsession with most from the political sect, one often wonders if this what's called pseudo- nationalism.
In just span of two years, the city I lived changed all its popular roads, buildings and to follow suit was the name of the city itself. The confusion that followed was clearly evident, a newcomer to the city found two roads with the same name (e.g. Anna Road); whats worse is that both the roads are at least 10kms away from each other. Therefore the ever so friendly 'automan', as he's often called, struck gold many a time with the newcomer (it's not his fault though). It's not a question of a single city but the important landmarks in the whole country seem to be at threat.
Cities such as Bombay, Madras and Calcutta having changed to Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata found a relatively easier reason for the change since they were earlier named by the British.
However the recent proposal by the Karnataka government to change the names of several of its cities baffles most of us. The most conspicuous of them would be India's IT Hub Bangalore being changed to Bengaluru/Bengalooru. It must be remember that the city was named Bangalore by Kempe Gowda, whom most regard as the architect of modern Bangalore. Now with another Gowda ruling the state, he expects the transition to be smooth unlike their roads and other infrastructure.
Soon, there were proposals to change the name of the North-Indian state of Uttaranchal to Uttarkhand, unhealthy discussions are sill going on. This time though at the national level, especially keeping in mind the state elections. It can also be said while all these changes were being made, the citizens did get to voice their views.
Today find it to be the turn of the North-eastern state of Assam, whose government wants the name changed to Asom. But finally, citizens of Assam have united led by its eminent personalities. Assam too has been named by a local, and has been since the Taj Ahoms during the 13th century.
The bigger issue here is not about disliking a name or its change but like products does this change bring with it a better product.
Will Bengaluru infrastructure turn for the better? Will the city and citizens be spared of the dirty pockets, polluted lakes, etc.? If the government can do that, you might just find its citizens dance to a new name every year.
Its fun to change a name when there is a vision, a mission beyond petty politics. It's to be seen if the country's 4th pillar and the citizen's biggest one for support, the Media to voice for justice.

Golden Globe Awards 2007

Cecil B DeMille Award goes to veteran Actor/Director Warren Beatty
Best Motion Picture (Drama) – Babel
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) – Helen Mirren for The Queen
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) – Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland
Best Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) – Dreamgirls
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) – Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) – Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat
Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls
Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture – Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls
Best Foreign Language Film – Letters from Iwo Jima
Best Director (Motion Picture) – Martin Scorsese for The Departed
Best Screenplay (Motion Picture) – The Queen
Best Original Score (Motion Picture) – The Painted Veil
Best Original Song (Motion Picture) – ‘The Song of the Heart’ from Happy Feet
Best Television Series (Drama) – Grey’s Anatomy
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series (Drama) – Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series (Drama) – Hugh Laurie for House
Best Television Series (Musical/Comedy) – Ugly Betty
Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series (Musical/Comedy) – America Ferrera for Ugly Betty
Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series (Musical/Comedy) – Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock
Best Mini-Series Or Motion Picture Made for Television - Elizabeth I (HBO)
Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Helen Mirren for Elizabeth I
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Bill Nighy for Gideon's Daughter
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Emily Blunt for Gideon's Daughter
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television - Jeremy Irons for Elizabeth I

Salma Hayek & Penelope Cruz - Hollywood's Spanish beauties

L - Penelope Cruz, R - Salma Hayek

Coin Espionage

So which one's watching you. Yes, I am talking about these Canadian coins.

According to a warning from the US Defense Department, it said mysterious coins were found planted on US contractors with classified security clearance.
Experts suggest that transmitters, if inserted can secretly track the movement of people who carry there coins. While the report does not suggest who might be tracking them and why. While the details have been kept close-chested the reports according to the spokesperson of Security Services are definitely true.
Top suspects, according to outside experts include Russia, China or even France who have been actively running espionage operations in Canada and do have enough sophistication to produce such technology.
Experts though have rejected suggestions that the Canadian authorities might be spying on these Contractors. The Canadian Security Intelligence Services however seemed oblivious of the coin espionage story.
So for those who never had a keen eye on their coins, it's time you change.
Courtesy: cnn

iPhone from Apple

Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs announced today it plans to launch a cellphone, dubbed as iPhone at the Macworld conference in San Francisco. It can download and play music as in iPod. The iPhone has a touch screen (like some HTC phones) and it also offers Wi-Fi in addition to compatibility with both GSM/EDGE mobile voice and data standard.

It will also be able to synch up with Apple’s iTunes media software that would allow users to transfer music and other information into the new phones. As expected this, instead of a specialized mobile operating system, it will run on Apple’s OS X.
iPhone will be available in the US beginning in June 2007 in a 4GB model for USD 500 and an 8GB model for USD 600, and will work in combination with Apple’s iTunes running on either a PC or Mac. It will not be until next year when India can have its hands on the iPhone.
Apple now has very well entered into the larger and more competitive wireless arena. However its success ultimately depends on their users, that include you and me.
Courtesy: mobilemonday.net

India on World Space

Bringing back memories of India's first man on Space Rakesh Sharma's views on India, where he said 'Sare jahan se accha hindu sita hamara' speaking to the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from space; Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams had this to say “I have the opportunity to look at India a number of times from the spacecraft and it looks beautiful. It’s a colorful country. Greenery and red mountains were great.”

Further she had a 10 minute conversation with ISRO from the US International Space Station. Speaking via satellite phone she said, “First of all congratulations, what a great accomplishment”. An excited Sunita Williams said its now time to look for a manned mission to space also.
Earlier on January 10^th 2007, India had launched the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota with an experimental space capsule to evaluate the reusable launch vehicle technology. The spaceport at the Satish Dhawan Centre had seen a lot of action and it all ended with jubilation.
The 44.4-metre tall PSLV will be carrying four satellites, two Indian, two foreign. The Indian satellites are Cartosat-2, to be used for mapping purposes, and the Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SCRE). The other two satellites are Indonesia's Lupan and Argentina's Pehuensat.
According to space experts, the launch assumes significance because of SCRE which will launch India into the world of re-entry technology. Data from the experiment will allow ISRO design a reusable launch vehicle that will take off like a rocket, deploy a satellite and land back like an aircraft. A great achievement by the ISRO Team and we take great pride in congratulating them.

Image courtesy: isro.org

Bollywood going Ban Ban (warning: this may reach the censor-bored)

Taking a cue from the article on bike stunts being banned in Bollywood from ibnlive.com, here are a few snippets on what else could land up at the doorsteps of censor board.
The article talks about the State Transport Minister having written a letter to the censor board asking them to ban such stunts as its a bad influence on the youth. If not the youth, believe he sure has been under the influence.

A few more movie scenes that he might want to consider banning

* The gun - though it might inspire many more into becoming Olympic shooters. The flipside that looks more likely, is the gateway becoming a gangster.
* Dances - Well, this may sound a little strange but here's my reason. Isn't it dangerous to start dancing on a pole while raining and in the middle of Mumbai roads, least one gets electrocuted.
* Fight sequences - While we could go on adding sub-clauses for each act, I'd like to stay with the essence of the whole fight. Though I definitely wouldn't dare even challenging two at a time (well even the one needs to pass a fitness test. not scared but I believe its easier to believe in Ahimsaism :0)), let's spare a thought for our superstars Mithunda or Rajinikanth.

Having given enough to the censor board to think about, lets come to the language usage.
Besides movies, I'd also like to talk about Television shows.
While its quite obvious that movie flicks such as 'The goodfellas' and the recent Scorsese triller 'The departed' influences even the most gentle of men, including yours truly, even our very own Indian shows on TV do have in them, the stuff.
In reality Television shows such as the 'Roadies' in MTV and 'BigBoss' being shown on Sony we sure have access to the choicest of vocabs.
Here you are exposed to the beep so many times that even the most intelligent of species take time in figuring out the many words used. This I say is dangerous, let me cite an example.
There was this 12th grader who decided to take a break from his preps by listening to some 'light' music on TV. Light music - haha; 'no' but lighter than what he actually saw.
Hearing an intense argument between contestants, there were so many beeps in the conversation that the ear drums soon got ambulatory. You know what I mean, its the stage after numbness. He was dumb-struck that it took sometime and effort for him to figure out the words and their contextual meaning.
What books and Television don't tell you, you can definitely trust you friend to tell you. I heard this on a dialogue from the 'Departed'.
"What the f***? You *otherf*****, **cksu****; What the f*** did you say you **cksu****? What the f*** did you fu***** say? Your Mother’s c***. Your mother’s c***;”“You get your period yet?” “Maybe, maybe not. Maybe f*** yourself.”

My apologies to the eminent ladies and gentlemen who are actually reading this post (firstly, a big Thank You). My bet is that you didn't expect the climax.

Country up for sale, bids welcome

Former WW-2 fort and a disputed country is up for sale. The country ‘Principality of Sealnad’ began as Roughs Tower in 1941, as a 658 square yard steel platform perched on two concrete towers. The population of Sealand consists of family and associates of former radio broadcaster and British Army Major, Paddy Roy Bates. Mr.Bates has since been the self-proclaimed Prince of Sealand.

Country ‘Principality of Sealand’ is an man-made off-shore Island. It was formerly Maunsell Sea Fort. It’s located in the North Sea, around 6 miles off the coast of Suffolk, England and its territorial waters by 12-nautical-mile radius.

In its proposal, bidders with astronomical eight digits are only accepted. Says Prince Michael of Sealand, “We have owned the island for 40 years now and my father is 85. Perhaps it is time for some rejuvenation.” Here a few other points that the Sealand authorities seem to suggest are uninterrupted sea views, complete privacy and the place’s a tax haven.

Though the nation is disputed, a judge has ruled that Sealand was outside the British government control as it was beyond the 3-mile limit of the country’s waters. The country can be accessed only by helicopter or a boat.

So Ladies and Gentlemen if you interested in owning the country, kindly quote us the rates and we would pass it on.

Image courtesy: wikipedia.org

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas - 7-9 January, 2007 New Delhi

Plenary 1 - Challenges of Development in the Global Context
Plenary 2 - Developmental Challenges of the States: Partnership Opportunities
Plenary 3 - (continued from Plenary 2) Developmental Challenges of the States: Partnership Opportunities

Tuesday, 9^th January 2007
Plenary 4: How to get US $ 1.5 Trillion of Capital Investment: The Resource Hurdle for Development

According to the Investment Commission, India needs around US$ 1.5 trillion in capital investments over the next five years even to maintain a 8% growth momentum.
The Commission also estimates FDI requirements of US$ 72 bn for the same period.
How to get this kind of resource? What models can work? What would the Indian government be required to do?
These and other questions relating to the critical issue of resources get deliberated in this session.
Moderator: T N Ninan, Editor & Publisher, Business Standard
Chief Guest: P. Chidambaram, Minister of Finance

Plenary 5 : Leveraging Technology for Development
India's recognition in the international domain has been owing to its prowess in the area of Information Technology and other knowledge industry developments, among other things.
Technology has to play a key part in India bridging its developmental divide. Be it the digital divide or the requirement for networking the economy, technology would play a critical role in India's progress.
The mere scale of these requirements present phenomenal opportunities for the technology providers and developers.
How can India leverage the knowledge skills of its diasporas? How to build the technological infrastructure of India?
This session would look at developing on these aspects.
Moderator : S Ramadorai, Managing Director, TCS
Chief Guest : Sam Pitroda, Chairman, Knowledge Commission

Plenary : Planning for Development: How to Include the Indian Diaspora?
The Planning Process still plays a significant role in the economic policy making of the country. India is at the rather unique position, where a sound economy, backed by strong demographic ratios and genuine international business interest in India are presenting a never-before window of opportunity for big and bold decisions, which would help the economy to move onto the next level of growth trajectory.
The rapid externalization of the Indian economy, and the keen interest and potentially significant role that NRIs can play in the development of India means that the Indian diaspora may want to be more involved with the planning process for India. Besides the large remittances that the NRIs send back to India from all parts of the world, the potential for this community to contribute to the efforts of building social and physical infrastructure is huge. How to include this community in the planning process? How to leverage their strength? This session looks at these aspects.
Moderator : T K A Nair, Principal Secretary to PM
Chief Guest: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission

Kama Sutra lessons

The Kama Sutra states that there are four kinds of love as well. There's love that:

is acquired by continual habit

results from the imagination

results from belief

results from the perception of external objects

Continual habit: if you do something enough times, you'll grow accustomed to it and thus love it.

Imagination: if you've always wanted to be with a certain woman and yet never get her, you will imagine her in fantastical scenarios and therefore fall in love with her.

Belief: This is mutual and shared love that results from seeing the other person as your own.

Perception of external objects: If a 22-year-old gorgeous woman was with a 50-year-old man who drove a Ferrari and lavished her with diamonds and furs, what would be your conclusion?

courtesy: askmen.com

George Bush & his Texas gestures

American President George W. Bush seen here giving an impromptu massage to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel during during the G-8 summit at St. Petersburg last year.

President Bush gestures the "Hook 'em, horns" salute at the University of Texas Longhorns as he and his family watch the Inaugural Parade in Washington.

Britney Spears's New Year '007

Britney Spears collapsed at a New Year Party at Pure Nightclub while in Las Vegas. That night, she was last seen escorted to her suite by her bodyguards. While sources in the nightclub say she was drunk, her manager Larry Rudolph had a different story to say, he said that she got really tired and it was a late night for her.
Britney Spears in the meantime seems to have checked into a Spa for some much needed rest. She was coaxed into it by her parents who aren't too happy with the recent events. Britney therefore has checked into Sanctuary, an exclusive spa in Arizona. It was expected that Britney take a break considering she's been partying wildly since her split with Kevin Federline.
Britney is not just making the celebrity headlines but she taking all the celebrity news, this after rumors of her crying on the phone while speaking to her ex-hubby Kevin on Christmas Day.
Stories also doing the round spoke about Britney's new interest in getting herself painted nude, after taking inspiration from the artistic portrayal of Kate Winslet in the Oscar-winning flick Titanic.
With Britney's recent antics and pictures taken, she definitely is getting enough publicity.

Crime & the Capital

News hype or police negligence, who cares; the big part is to be played by the capital's citizens on countering crime.
Though its evident that the Noida Police have been lax, one cannot blame the police entirely.

Residents of suburban Delhi who have long remained aloof of the developments in their neighborhood need to play a more proactive role. May be not as a moral-policeman, as evident in UP during this season but as police-informers especially when you come across suspicious activities.

The ghastly murder of 30 children in the industrial city of Noida, suggests that all is not well in the capital's most developed suburbs. It goes to show not just the kids of affluent families (as in the case of Anant's kidnapping) but ones from the poorer families are equally as susceptible to crime.

The capital has been witness to several incidents of crime in the last quarter decade,
From kidnapping to extortion, it seemed the Biarhoodization of the state had just began.
Then you had cases of rape, murder and finally when things couldn't get worse, it was found that even pedophiles activity existed.

How is Delhi and its suburbs going to cope in the aftermath of such heinous crimes? What could each one's role in the society:

Delhi Police - needs to take care of not just Delhi but also its industrial suburbs of Noida; UP and Gurgaon. Noida & Gurgaon needs to remain a state subject but this time it needs to be under the Delhi State Police, as they seem more efficient.
Legislature - need to visit their constituencies regularly. If we do not know our neighbors, its least expected of the legislatures to know them better.
Judiciary - Quick justice and severe sentencing of criminals involved in such gory acts.
People - Know thy neighbor. Its ok to interact with those outside your home not only ifthey were part of your Business.

News recap
45,000 children go missing every year in India
Read the Hindustan Times (4th Jan '007) for more
Noida Police under fire
Read the Indian Express (4th Jan '007) for more

And the final nail in the coffin on the whole crime - The UP Chief Minister avoids visiting Noida due to Political superstition. It's believed that any UP Chief Minister visiting Noida during their tenure never returns to power.

Poker - The game rulez

Poker is played in a multitude of variations, but most follow the same basic pattern of play.
The right to deal each hand typically rotates among the players and is marked by a token called a 'dealer' button or buck. In a casino a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but a button (typically a white plastic disk) is rotated clockwise among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting.
For each hand, one or more players are required to make forced bets to create an initial stake for which the players will contest. There are tables which may have a designated betting stake, or other tables may have multiple. For example, a LIMIT table will have blinds set up, and no bet may exceed the big blind. In a NL (no limit) table, you may bet all your chips at any time during the hand. The dealer shuffles the cards, he cuts, and the appropriate number of cards are dealt to the players one at a time. Cards may be dealt either face-up or face-down, depending on the variant of poker being played. After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players' hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. At the end of each round, all bets are gathered into the central pot.
At any time during a betting round, if a player makes a bet, opponents are required to fold, call or raise. If one player bets and no opponents choose to match the bet, the hand ends immediately, the bettor is awarded the pot, no cards are required to be shown, and the next hand begins. The ability to win a pot without showing a hand makes bluffing possible. Bluffing is a primary feature of poker, one that distinguishes it from other vying games and from other games that make use of poker hand rankings.
At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown, in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot.

The most popular poker variants are as follows:
Draw poker
Players each receive five — as in five-card draw — or more cards, all of which are hidden. They can then replace one or more of these cards a certain number of times.
Stud Poker
Players receive cards one at a time, some being displayed to other players at the table. The key difference between stud and 'draw' poker is that players are not allowed to discard or replace any cards.
Community card poker
Players combine individually dealt cards with a number of 'community cards' dealt face up and shared by all players. Two or four individual cards may be dealt in the most popular variations, Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em respectively.

Article courtesy: wikipedia.org

New Year resolutions worth pondering over

Am going to work hard this year and yes, party even harder.
Shall remain fit without my regular meal cycle taking a hit.
While driving shall not speak over the phone and when not driving shall speak only so loudly that the receiver hears.
Shall live each day as if it were my last.
I shall persist and insist till I succeed.
When in problem, shall seek for solutions from within before asking for assistance.
Shall raise my tolerance levels and compassion towards mankind.
Will increase my value and shall live up my expectations.
Shall not speak anything that doesn't pass any of the filters in triple-filter test (Words that are True; words that speak good; words that are useful).
When in dilemma, shall go by my gut feel.

Ministry of HRD gets a BodhTree solution for their pilot project

Government-aided primary schools promoting education among the children of economically-backward families through their mid-day scheme can now heave a sigh of relief. For incidents of many bogus students in the list of scheme allocations came to light with the installation of the Bio-metric Kiosks in these schools.
The pilot project undertaken by the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development and the AP State Government seems to have brought a solution to attendance that seemed suspect in these schools.
The Biometric kiosk developed by a software company BodhTree is a touch-screen based kiosk, records attendance by capturing the students thumb impression. Once the thumb impression's identified, it displays the students photo and other details.
Results on the project indicate a sea change, it not only checked for ghost students but also got the teachers to be more punctual and accountable to their students.
Some ground work done by Bodhtree, the software company thats provided there kiosks, suggests that the students are encouraged by the new system. Upon interaction, the children said that they liked the system and would be regular to school. They also had complains about the poor quality of food that was being served.
However now with the project directly being monitored by the Ministry of HRD, the scheme is definitely heading the right direction.
News courtesy: ToI
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