30 Jul 2005

The 10th Planet to orbit sun - Planet Lila

Planet Lila is the current temporary name of the planet that scientists have discovered recently. They believe its the 10th addition to the set that orrbit the sun.

Its also believed to be bigger than pluto. The planet was first observed on 21 october 2003.

28 Jul 2005

Open Source Beer!

source: bbc.co.uk The open source phenomenon never looked so good. Here's a idea from the beer fame Danish (or the famed Carlsberg beer). Its called Vores Oel or 'Our beer'.

In short, its beer with an open source receipe. Apparently they took the idea for the open source world. The thing is so serious that they actually released the recipe under a Creative Commons License. And tell you what, the first ever version was even called 'Our Beer Ver. 1.0' - now thats Open Source at its very best :=)

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Jihad?

The muslim community has currently come under a lot of flak. As a hindu, i dont know a lot of islam and the reverse is also true i am sure. I do have a lot of muslim friends and none of them are too happy about the situation.

The reason, why i am bringing up this topic is that i ran into this interesting article on BBC news which has a muslim cleric scholar explain what Jihad is. From what he says, it sounds like a noble concept. But history is witness to the fact that the noblest of idea's have always been twisted badly and colored exactly to look like what they were never supposed to be.

Here's another article by Daniel Pipes of the New York Post . And finally, here's what wikipedia has to say on the subject - it is a struggle against all that is perceived as evil in the cause of that which is perceived as good, a cosmic and epic struggle spanning time and all dimensions of human thought and action, and transcending the physical universe. Sounds reasonable and a good thing to do, right? Then where did it go wrong?


13 Jul 2005

Flirt Divert

I've always been a huuuge admirer of the BBC, both television and radio. Here's a gem my friend jason pointed me out to. Its called Flirt Divert a program on BBC radio 1.

The program has published a number that can be handed out to people who keep hassling you for your number (flirts!?). The number points to a radio answering machine that records messages and plays them on the program called 'Flirt Divert' on BBC Radio 1!

They've put up some texts they've received at this number as well :)

12 Jul 2005

Aishwarya inspires an Indian version of Barbie

Indian BaribieBritain is to soon see an indianized version of the famous barbie dolls. And who else to be the inspiration but our very own Aishwarya rai. Aishwarya was also recently honored by the Netherlands, which named a special variety of Tulip Flowers after her.

The Indian Barbie Collection features looks and costumes from all corners of the country, with the dolls dressed in traditional garb of rich silks and embroideries in the true Indian style of grandeur. There is also an Indian Diva collection, dressed in the latest chic ethnic Kurtas.

DollsOfIndia.com has this limited version of customized barbies stylized on the indian movie Devdaas. Given below is a very nice example of barbie as a bengali bride.

source: dollsofindia.com.

See the entire range here.

11 Jul 2005

A Guide to London

I ran into this interesting site called 'The London Open Guide'. Whats interesting is that its 'hand-written' by londoners and people visiting london.

Whether you are looking for good Indian food joints or Tube information or even info on the latest selection of London for 2012 olympics.

It also turns up some interesting gems. Here's a nice page on tube etiquettes. Worth checking out.

9 Jul 2005

New Pictures - Lok Sabha and Lotus Temple.

i've just posted two pictures taken from google earth into my latest blog on India on Google Earth. Do take a peek. This time i am featuring Lok Sabha and the Lotus Temple. Take a look at how both look from a satellite.

7 Jul 2005

Multiple blasts in London


In an incident that looks similiar to what happened in Mumbai in Aug 2003, atleast six explosions have been reported in London.

Scotland Yard said explosions have been reported at Edgware Road, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Russell Square, Aldgate East and Moorgate.

Causes for the explosion are still not known. Here's a detailed report on BBC.

This event comes a day after London being announced to be the avenue for the next Olympics. A day later and this would have shattered their chance.

- New Updated map from BBC.
- Here's 'London Blasts: a glance'.
- Al-Qaeda claims responsibility.
- Pictures

Latest Updates

6 Jul 2005

London to host Olympics 2012

It was perhaps one of the most awaited decisions this year - Choosing the next country to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The results are out and its London! Paris was the favourite in the race. Read all about it on the BBC. (note: at the time of writing this like is very slow!)

Paris was being counted as the favourite because of superior infrastructure. This decision means a lot for both the british economy as it will create thousands of new jobs for a good part of the next decade. I am expecting a sharp rise in the british stock market after this decision :)

Goa to produce digital map of its entire state.

The online version of the Business Standard is running a story of plans for producing a digital map of the state down to the last lane. I am quite excited to read this and hope that this plan will soon be approved.

Already a reality for western countries like US and UK, it would be nice to see a digital map of India someday. Those of us living in the UK and US have seen tremendous advantages of the mapping technology with GPS-based directions and realtime vehicle (tom tom, for example)/ flight tracking and much much more.

Go Goa!

4 Jul 2005

Inside the mind of a child rape suspect.

source: nyDailynews.com
Here's the sickening block of a Child Murder-Kidnap suspect, Joseph Duncan called The Fifth Nail. Here's a extract

I have no problem with taking direct measures to stop people from hurting people. But I think it is more effective to take direct measures to stop people from wanting to hurt people.

My impression? All said and done, this sounds too orchestrated. The words this guy uses are so well written and laid out that it has the look and feel of 'trying to write a book' written all over it. Maybe i am wrong.

However, sicker than this blog spot are the comments - most of those sound like twisted minds.

Japan investigates 3300 feet vapour column.

source: MSNBCsource: MSNBC

The eruption of an underwater volcano created a massive column of water vapor in the Pacific Ocean near the uninhabited Minami Iwo Jima island, about 870 miles south of Tokyo, on Sunday. Japanese coast guard officials said Sunday they believe an underwater volcanic eruption has caused a 3,300-foot high column of steam to rise.

Here's the full story from MSNBC.