9 Safe investments in India for a middle income householder

Hmmm, I was looking for some 'safe' investment options for investment in these troubled times of bad politics and worse market fluctuations ...when I came across this kinda old article in rediff.com(Which in turn, had been taken by rediff from Sunil Dhawan, Outlook Money).. Well, reading it turned out to be pretty interesting and worth sharing as it not only listed out the options but also mentioned the pros and cons of the stuff. It even featured some of the commonly held myths on investments and busted them... and so without further ado, here is the link:
"The 9 safest investments for you"


Just to summarise, as per the article, the 9 safest investment options are:

1. Bank Deposits (the usual suspect)
2. Public Provident Fund (a very good tool when you desire to have a certain amount of tax saving edge to your investments)
3. National Savings certificate. (good tax saving tool which can tailored for every pocket, easy to procure and for people who are not looking for a regular income kinda outcome to the investment)
4. Senior Citizens Saving Scheme (one of the best tool for retired individuals)
5. Post Office Monthly Income Schemes (another reliable and easily available scheme. albeit, personally I feel the ROI is a little bad).
6. 8 per cent Taxable Savings Bonds (these are an alternative to the Post office scheme with a half yearly interest payment option and no upper investment limit)
7. Kisan Vikas Patras (interest on this tool is fully taxable but it has been a reliable item to investment when looking to supplement existing investments to have something set aside for a future expenditure)
8. Time deposits (available from both banks and Post Offices. not very attractive tools where interests are fully taxable better to go for section 80c enabled FD tools)
9. Recurrind depostis (another tool available from both Post Offices and Banks. Banks offer the more attractive option in this)

The First Grader.....

Stumbled across this old joke. Long, yet quite funny! ( BTW .. IIM Ahmedabad is currently the best B-School in India, in case you haven't heard of it)

A beautiful teacher was having trouble with one of her students in 1st Grade class. teacher asked,'Boy. What is your problem?'
Boy answered, 'I'm too smart for the first-grade.My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 4th Grade!'

Teacher had enough. She took the Boy to the principal's office. While the Boy waited in the outer office, teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told teacher he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his
questions he was to go back to the first-grade and behave.She agreed.
the Boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test..
Principal: 'What is 3 x 3?'
Boy.: '9'.

Principal: 'What is 6 x 6?'
Boy.: '36'.

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 4th grade should know. The principal looks at teacher and tells her, 'I think Boy can go to the 4th grade.'

Teacher says to the principal, 'I have some of my own questions.
Can I ask him ?' The principal and Boy both agreed.

Teacher asks, 'What does a cow have four of that I have only two of'?
Boy, after a moment 'Legs.'


Teacher : 'What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?'
Boy.: 'Pockets.'

Teacher : What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval,
delicious and contains thin whitish liquid?

Boy.: Coconut

Teacher : What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft And sticky?
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, Boy was taking charge.

Boy.: Bubblegum

Teacher : What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?

The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer...
Boy.: Shake hands

Teacher : You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do.
Boy.: Tent

Teacher : A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first.
The Principal was looking restless, a bit tense and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.
Boy.: Wedding Ring

Teacher : I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you blow me, you feel good.
Boy.: Nose

Teacher : I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.
Boy.: Arrow

Teacher : What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?
Boy.: Fire truck

Teacher : What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if u don't get it, u have to use ur hand.
Boy.: Fork

Teacher : What is it that all men have one of it's longer on some men than on others, the pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?
Boy.: SURNAME.

Teacher : What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of veins, like pumping, & is responsible for making love ?
Boy.: HEART.

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher,

'Send this Boy to
IIM AHMEDABAD,
I got the last ten questions wrong myself!'.

Unable to attract a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe

New Delhi. In what could prove to be a major marketing and legal embarrassment for Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a 26-year-old man has filed a case against the FMCG company, which owns the Axe brand of men grooming products, for 'cheating' and causing him 'mental suffering'. The plaintiff has cited his failure to attract any girl at all even though he's been using Axe products for over seven years now. Axe advertisements suggest that the products help men in instantly attracting women. Vaibhav Bedi, the petitioner, also surrendered all his used, unused and half-used deodorant sprays, perfume sticks and roll-ons, anti-perspirants, aftershaves, body washes, shampoos, and hair gels to the court, and demanded a laboratory test of the products and narcotics test of the brand managers of Axe. Vaibhav was pushed to take this step when his bai (maid) beat him with a broom when he tried to impress her by appearing naked in front of her after applying all the Axe products. No girl ever asked Vaibhav to call her "Where the !@#$ is the Axe effect? I've been waiting for it for over seven years. Right from my college to now in my office, no girl ever agreed to even go out for a tea or coffee with me, even though I'm sure they could smell my perfumes, deodorants and aftershaves. I always applied them in abundance to make sure the girls get turned on as they show in the television. Finally I thought I'd try to impress my lonely bai who had an ugly fight with her husband and was living alone for over a year. Axe effect my foot!" Vaibhav expressed his unhappiness. Vaibhav claims that he had been using all the Axe products as per the company's instructions even since he first bought them. He argued that if he couldn't experience the Axe effect despite using the products as directed, either the company was making false claims or selling fake products. "I had always stored them in cool and dry place, and kept them away from direct light or heat. I'd always use a ruler before applying the spray and make sure that the distance between the nozzle and my armpit was at least 15 centimeters. I'd do everything they told. I even beat up my 5-year-old nephew for coming near my closet, as they had instructed it to keep away from children's reach. And yet, all I get is a broom beating from my ugly bai." Vaibhav expressed his frustration. Vaibhav claims that he had to do go a lot of mental suffering and public humiliation due to the lack of Axe effect and wants HUL to compensate him for this agony. An advocate in Karkardooma court, who happened to mistake Vaibhav for some deodorant vendor when he entered the court premises with all the bottles, has now offered to take up his case in the court. HUL has been served a legal notice in this regard. HUL has officially declined to comment on the case citing the subject to be sub judice, but our sources inform that the company was worried over the possible outcomes of the case. The company might argue that Vaibhav was hopelessly unattractive and unintelligent and didn't possess the bare minimum requirements for the Axe effect to take place. Officially HUL has not issued any statement, but legal experts believe that HUL could have tough time convincing the court. "HUL might be tempted to take that line of argument, but it is very risky. There is no data to substantiate the supposition that unattractive and unintelligent men don't attract women. In fact some of the best looking women have been known to marry and date absolutely ghoulish guys. I'd suggest that the company settles this issue out of court." noted lawyer Ram Jhoothmalani said.

T2 BOX SET ::: WTF?????

Well, all the cyborg talk of the last post led me to snoop around for Some T2 jewels...T2 or Terminator 2 is a movie I really, really, really , really like... it was like the most wonderful movie I had seen at that time, with all its SFx and stuff like dat... back in the glory days when we used to watch movies on VHS..(*sigh*),.,... So when i saw this foto in a site, I really rushed to see wat it was...well it was the T2 box set....and that quickly brings us to the next question...what is in the Box?...

Well, the following are the items in the box:

• Terminator 2 Skynet Edition Blu-ray
• Terminator 2 Extreme Edition DVD
• Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition DVD
• Terminator 2 Digital Copy
• A 14" terminator endoskull which is the container for the said discs. This lil thing...actually lights up and makes wierd noses!!
  

This Terminator 2 Complete Collector's Set for just $120....now which moronic numb-skulls will buy four copies of the same dvd for that price???...well certainly not ME(ur still asking why?? cos i am not a moronic numb-skull, u numb-skull!) even though its like one of my favorite movies of all time ..hope u don't get duped by scooping up this stuff under the influence of terminator salvation fever (wat ? dont tell me u dont know the name of the forthcoming sequel to the terminator series)...By the way, during the same search for T2 stuff, i found some nice unreleased stuff from the T2 movie...will post them in some subsequent post ....
So 'til that time ..
Hasta la vista, baby

Add Recent Posts and Recent Comments to Blogger ::: The Easiest Way~!!!

Hmmm now this has been around for many days and not many talk about it even though lotsa ppl use the "Recent posts" and "Recent Comments" in the same way as I do but don't write 'bout it...( i wonder why??!!)....So "much ado About nOthing~!!" does wat its meant for ... ;) :p

How to Add "Recent Posts" / "Recent Comments" to Blogger
(and I am gonna tell it 2 u even if u already knew how to!)

Step1:
Click the Layout view of the respective blog in your Dashboard. You'll find that you have been directed to the page elements page.
Step2:
Click the "Add a Gadget" Link which you have on your Layout. This time something'll pop up...more precisely a pop up window.
Step3:
In that pop up window (the window from Step2 or did u forget already??) you'll find a gadget that goes by the name of "Feed" ...Click the Blue Button wit a white "plus" sign on it to the right side of the "Feed" gadget.
Step4:
On doing step3, you'll find the window's changed and now the silly thing's asking u to feed it some URL. Well, dont hesitate ...paste ur comments/Blog feed URL to it...the comments feed in my case is:
http://rajsharmablogs.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default
And so this step will create for ME (not U awrite...use ur own feed for dat!!) a "Recent Comments" thingy
Click on the "continue" button.
Step5:
You'll find the window's changed again (the chameleon dat it is!!). Make the required changes you need and click the "Save" button.

Behold! a "Recent Comments" Widget to ur Blog... see? no sweat!!!...Repeat the steps for including a "Recent Posts" widget to your blog but while in Step4, just provide your blog feed URL
(e.g.: http://feeds.feedburner.com/rajsharmablogs)
instead of the Comments feed...to get ur desired results..

Hope u liked the post ...(and hopefully, i dint shove it down ur scrawny throats like the spinach of ur Yore!!)

'til l8r ....tk cr

Comment in same post page ::: Its here... finally!!!

Its finally here!!...after spending many days in "Blogger in Draft" anonymity, the post comment on the same page that u see the post has become a feature in Blogger.com. Finally, i can comment in peace in a blogger blogpost without having to look at drab, redirected post comments page...good riddance!!! comments page!! (though it'll still be around if u post from the main page of the blog)

Photofunia.com ::: Joyful Photo Fun!!!!

Hmmm not in wat ppl would call "Pink of Health" right now, which would explain my hiatus from posting to the blog. Well, now if u live in India and don't contract any kind of tropical fever once in a while then it'd be a real shame!! wouldn't it?? :P. Anyways, thanks for sticking in there....and doing wat the title of the blog says, "much ado about nothing~!!" lol.. really appreciate it...

Now getting down to business, something caught my eye in my friend Nischal Shetty's blog (u can spot it in my blogroll) and simply loved it.... Its a website called "Photofunia.com". The site is a online tool (yup!, yet another web 2.0 phenom!) for mashing and re-mashing ur pics ...online!. This website has some pretty cool photo-effects which it will render upon the photos that u provide the tool with. I tried it out wit some of my own fotos, which turned out some pretty interesting results...check out some of them below:
U can do all the Above stuff and more without having to be a Photoshop Wiz!! all at Photofunia.com

As of now, Photofunia.com has about 70 foto effects to chose from (but they all slightly differ from foto to foto ..which is good)..the facial recognition tech. is quite good actually but be sure to use a relatively bright foto or u might not get the effect u desire (read botched image!!)....anywz...its got my thumbs up on this one ...sooo wat u wating for? go.. go check it out!!

ciao!!

10 Effective Ab Exercises ::: C'mon lets Workout !!!

Hmmm of late, I am being approached by people around me, asking wen the next blockbuster is gonna hit screens and wat my opinions 'bout it are(all thanks to my blog and the raving reviews dat i write ahem! ahem!)....well ppl, yea i like showbiz a lot(movies in particular) but I ain't no walking, talking movie encyclopaedia folks!! (or so i tend to think..). So, to shake things up a li'l, I have decided to change the topic for couple o' days....but nothing to worry the movie trailers and reviews will keep coming, cos 'ol habits.. die hard!! (heyyyy... waitaminnit, die hard's a movie too!!..maybe i am a movie addict!!)....

Well, i came across this article at about.com...it instantly caught my eye, the reason being very clear from my earlier post (I am somewer between the 1 and 2 year stages...). Having gone from fab abs to ab flabs in recent days had really been a shock for me....so have started to take my exercises more seriously. By the way, in the process of this, have come across lotsa things 'bout exercising and health, which, I'll hopefully be able to share in my subsequent posts, its only the top ab exercises for this one..wit some of my quips on the various forms of bodily contortions...(u can check out the exercises by clicking the number one exercise link and moving onto the next ones in d page which opens)

1. Bicycle Exercise (my favorite cos its one of the few ones to target the obliques together with the abs)
2. Captain's Chair (its good for the entire upper body)
3. Exercise Ball Crunch (Never tried that huge ball ..so cant say anything bout this)
4. Vertical Leg Crunch (effective!!!)
   
   
5. Torso Track (its a tough one folks..be careful wen u do this)
6. Long Arm Crunch (one of the oldest in the books!!)
   
   
   
7. Reverse Crunch (yup it works!! hmmm well its supposed to or it wont be here :D)
8. Full Vertical Crunch (this golden oldie is actually quite effective!)
9. Ab Rocker (this looks like the one they show on TV!..dunno if it really works heh heh!)
10. Plank on Elbows and Toes (i dint know bout this one b4. do check it out its quite cool!!!)

(source:about.com)

I tried out almost all the exercises above ('cept for the pilates one with the huge Ball and torso track) and well, i can say they all are quite effective but only to the extent of wat u eat (and u should see me gorge!!! Its the reason why I still am li'l on the pudgier side in d belly area :D) and ur genes...well, Ur genes u can't help but wat u can is, by eating a low calorie, filling diet (do not crash diet it'll make the situation worse) and stay happy!! (believe me extreme mood swings really do wreck havoc wit ur regimen!!!)...Don't keep dreaming about 6 packs ..they'll come to u if u have them in u (thats in the genes part)

so until l8r,

ciao

(dont forget ur cardio!!!!!)

Software Career Growth Meter... Where do you Stand??:::email forward

Ha ha !..I got this picture few days back in my mail...still at awe how the foto actually imitates real life!!!

keep watching this space, i have a good post related to this comin up in a few hours....hope u'll love it.....ciao

A Judge's Dilemma ::: An E-mail forward

I got this forwarded mail the other day...kinda seemed interesting enough to post....

In a small town, a person decided to open up a liquor shop, which was right opposite to a church.

The church & its congregation started a campaign to block the liquor shop from opening with petitions and prayed daily against his business.

Work progressed. However, when it was almost complete and was about to open a few days later, a strong lightning struck the liquor shop and it was burnt to the ground.

The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the liquor owner sued the church authorities on the grounds that the church through its congregation & prayers was ultimately responsible for the destruction of his liquor shop, either through direct or indirect actions or means.

In its reply to the court, the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection that their prayers were reasons for the act of God. As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork at the hearing and commented:

'I don't know how I'm going to decide this case, but it appears from the paperwork, we have a liquor shop owner who believes in the power of prayer and we have an entire church that doesn't.'

Indigen ::: Ice age but not quite heh! heh!

Well i was scouting around for trailer of the new Ice Age sequel coming up in july '09 and came across this funny lil small cartoon called Indigen. I am sure u guys will really enjoy this lil one.
In this there's a Scrat lookalike who goes around creating trouble for an african aboriginal who gets a really hard time..in a battlefield...made by a talented french group...looks as good as Ice Age if not better...

The video kind of makes u think whether the two are indestructible or something..it also reminds one of the classic Tom and Jerry adventure albeit it has a lot of gore in it...lots and lots of it actually!!! Watch out for the blood,  gore, flying body parts and stray missile folks!!!

watch the video for more details....

Valkyrie ::: Tom Cruise 's New Movie ...a first look

Hmmm..... well we all know that Tom Cruise 's no capt. Jack Sparrow but he'll be sporting a pirate-like eye patch in his new movie Valkyrie (dats supposed to be "Val-curry" or something ). 

The movie's a WWII thriller based on real story, where in the height of Nazism, a few germans conspire to kill The Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler.

Tom Cruise portrays Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the aristocratic German officer who led the heroic attempt to bring down the Nazi regime and end the war by planting a bomb in Hitler's bunker known as "The June 20 Plot". 

 Severely wounded in combat, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg returns from Africa to join the German Resistance and help create Operation Valkyrie, the complex plan that will allow a shadow government to replace Hitler's once he is dead. 

But fate and circumstance conspire to thrust Stauffenberg from one of many in the plot to a double-edged central role. Not only must he lead the coup and seize control of his nation's government... He must kill Hitler himself. (source:: yahoo.com)

The movie's directed by veteran Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-MEN, Superman Returns) and armed with an international cast consisting of Manfred-Anton Algrang, David Bamber, Matthias Freihof, Stephen Fry, Andy Gatjen, Christian Oliver, Christopher Karl Hemeyer, Carice van Houten, Eddie Izzard, and Kenneth Branagh alongside Tom Cruise..

The movie certainly seems promising....
It hits U.S. screens this yuletide in December 26 (which is actually a li'l delayed from its Summer 2008 release)

'k till then we'll have to do with the Trailer(below) and the pics...
ciao.

Bon Jovi snubbed by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame !!!

The veteran New Jersey rockers, Bon Jovi, won't be blazing in glory in 2009 at the inductions to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, first year that they are eligible.

For the uninitiated, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in the area of rock and roll. The museum is part of the city's redeveloped North Coast Harbor.

Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first single or album and are represented in an exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

This year’s nine nominees, who will be whittled down to five inductees, are Metallica, Run-D.M.C., the Stooges, Jeff Beck, War, Chic, doo-wop group Little Anthony and the Imperials, pioneering rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson (the “Queen of Rockabilly”) and soul singer-songwriter Bobby Womack.Five of the nine nominees will be inducted April 4, in a ceremony at Public Hall in Cleveland rather than the ceremony's usual site (the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York). The inductees will be announced in January.

Well, there is some solace for Bon Jovi considering that lots of other candidates were snubbed as well: Yes, Kiss, Genesis, Brian Eno, Chicago, Neil Diamond ...to name a few.

Morever, being a rockstar/playing rock...was always like somthing that was opposed to any frilly official acceptance, like striking out on your own..rebellious etc etc...so this non-nomination kinda satisfies the idea/philosophy behind being a rocker...I guess Bonjovi won't be giving The ROck and Roll Hall of Fame a "Bad Name" this time atleast ..heh heh!!

anyways...

till l8r,

tk care...

p.s; almost all the pictures are taken from wikimedia..except for the first one which is from the Rock and Roll Hall of fame website

Live Earth Concert In India::: Bon Jovi to rock the show!!!

Hey hey hey people!!...the popular Live Earth Concerts for climatic awareness touches down  to India this December. This event is like a sequel to the hugely successful series of concerts held last year. These were organized by former US Vice President and now custodian of environmental awareness, Mr. Al Gore. That event saw an estimated two billion people watch 150 acts perform simutaneously in 11 cities around the world!! (Phew!! now thats wat i call an audience!!). Live Earth 2008 Concert in India will be co-produced by Mumbai-based event management company Wizcraft Entertainment and Live Earth producer Kevin Wall.

The Bachchan family members, including actress wife Jaya, actor son Abhishek and his wife, the former Miss World and actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, are expected to participate. But, the most prominent among them The Big B, Amitabh Bachchan plays the most important role this time too, like always. He's going to be the spokesperson for Live Earth India.

The 'Live Earth' initiative by Emmy Award-winning producer Kevin Wall and Al Gore has found support in co-nobel prize winning environmentalist Rajendra Pauchari and Director Shekhar Kapoor(who'll also serve as the creative director of the event), besides Bachchan. 

Jon Bon Jovi's Band is almost a surety for the concert, which will have many more internationaly famed performing artists on it. All the people on the show will have their take on the Issue at hand i.e. to bring worldwide awareness on the environmental issues. The benefeciaries of this concert are; Pachauri's  TERI ( The Energy and Research Institute) and

 an organisation 'Climate project India', which is dedicated to climate issues and poverty alleviation. For TERI, the artists hope to create awareness for the "Light A Billion Lives",  a project that aims to put a solar-powered lantern in a billion homes. This a project 

 promoted by the eminent

 New Delhi-based Indian scientist Rajendra Pachauri who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.

Live Earth 2008 India takes place on December 7 at the 20,000-seat Mumbai Andheri Sports Complex.

Keep watching this space for more updates on this.

Ciao,

Till L8r

HAve fun and Make merry!!

For those who "Chrome" in late!!

Hmmm lots of buzz surrounding the newborn Chrome. The pros, the cons..the easy chrome hacks, the not so easy Chrome hack-nots ...like it or not, if you are a web surfer chances are u haven't been able to ignore it. Though I have been commenting and reading on it on some other sites and blogs, i still find it too early for my blog to carry a verdict on it (its still a baby after all!! let it grow ppl!).
Anyway for the time being, I have simply loved reading about the eComic on Chrome the people at Google have put up.
Have fun reading it like I did.
Till l8r,
Ciao!

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans :::a sneak peek

Hmmm, its coming pretty soon Underworld the prequel


The story:
The third film of the Underworld franchise delves into the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires, known as Death Dealers, and the barbaric Lycans (werewolves). A young Lycan, Lucian (Michael Sheen), emerges as a powerful leader who rallies the werewolves to rise up against Viktor (Bill Nighy), the cruel vampire king who has persecuted them for hundreds of years. Lucian is joined by his secret lover, the beautiful vampire Sonja (Rhona Mitra), in his battle to free the Lycans from enslavement.

The negative:
NO KATE BECKINSALE...thats the biggest trough on this movie..but the story requires this cos this movie's about the time before Selene (Kate) was taken in by Viktor (Bill Nighy)


The positive:
F/x maven Patrick Tatopoulos, who developed the creatures for the first two films in the franchise, will helm "Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans," with Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy and Rhona Mitra aboard to star. "Underworld" creator Len Wiseman will produce alongside Lakeshore's Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi and Skip Williamson.



My verdict:
Wait and watch..hope the new one's atleast a scratch on the older stuff.





"Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans," stars Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy and Rhona Mitra, from a screenplay by Danny McBride.

Oh and by the way, Rosenberg assured that this departure was consistent in the original plans for an Underworld trilogy, and that a fourth film with Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman is still possible. (Hurrah!!!!)


so 'til l8r
Rajarshi Sharma says
"Ciao and take care"

Dog Story::: an email forward

This was a forward from my fren ashu on his Birthday.. good similie but i am an atheist and ashu hates dogs!!! ha ha ha...Didn't get it?? .. i know ..so keep reading...

" This explains why I forward jokes..

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead..
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them..

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road..

It looked like fine marble.

At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.

He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"

"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.

"Wow! Would you ha pp en to have some water?" the man asked.

"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open..

"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveller asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.

As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book..

"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"

"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."

"How about my friend here?" the traveller gestured to the dog.

"There should be a bowl by the pump."

They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it..
The traveller filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog..
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree..
"What do you call this place?" the traveller asked..

"This is Heaven," he answered.

"Well, that's confusing," the traveller said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."

"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."

"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just ha pp y that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Soooo.
Sometimes, we wonder why friends keep forwarding jokes to us without writing a word..

Maybe this will explain..
When you are very busy, but still want to keep in touch, guess what you do? You forward jokes..
When you have nothing to say, but still want to keep contact, you forward jokes..
When you have something to say, but don't know what, and don't know how, you forward jokes..

Also to let you know that you are still remembered, you are still important, you are still loved, you are still cared for, guess what you get?
A forwarded joke..

So, next time if you get a joke, don't think that you've been sent just another forwarded joke, but that you've been thought of today and your friend on the other end of your computer wanted to send you a smile.

You are all welcome @ my water bowl anytime ..

P.S. – I personally hate dogs and all other animals .(By ashu...) "

Happy Birthday ashu !!!!

Doomsday approaches??:::Swapping of Earthly poles

Hmmm, came across a forwarded mail warning about the impending doomsday, end of the world etc etc....the world's gonna end by 2012 it announced. Usually, i delete all this stuff from my inbox, but today i desisted. Had nothing better to do, so decided to go thru it, wasn't much long anyway.

"The world will end in 2012, say experts" ....

went the subject line...it had all myriad kinds of doomsday theories ranging from scientific to religious, stupid to the macabre...the one which caught my eye was regarding swapping of earth's poles....

So I ended up googling up the stuff, and wound up with some interesting findings. The claim it seems isn't half as false as the other theories in the mail. I got references to this in websites of NASA, some educational instutions, other blogs and more doomsday prophets...

The phenomenon:

At present, the overall geomagnetic field is becoming weaker at a rate which would, if it continues, cause the dipole field to temporarily collapse by 3000-4000 AD. The "South Atlantic Anomaly" (localized field reversal) is believed by some to be a product of this. The present strong deterioration corresponds to a 10-15% decline over the last 150 years and has accelerated in the past several years; however, geomagnetic intensity has declined almost continuously from a maximum 35% above the modern value achieved approximately 2000 years ago. The rate of decrease and the current strength are within the normal range of variation, as shown by the record of past magnetic fields recorded in rocks.The Earth's magnetic north pole is drifting from northern Canada towards Siberia with a presently accelerating rate. It is also unknown if this drift will continue to accelerate.

Research:

Glatzmaier and collaborator Paul Roberts of UCLA have made a numerical model of the electromagnetic, fluid dynamical processes of Earth's interior, and computed it on a Cray super-computer. The results reproduced key features of the magnetic field over more than 40,000 years of simulated time. To top it off, the computer-generated field reversed itself.

EFFECTS::

1. Its unknown whether this field decay will continue further.



2. Some speculate that a greatly diminished magnetic field during a reversal period will expose the surface of the earth to a substantial and potentially damaging increase in cosmic radiation. However, homo erectus and their ancestors certainly survived many previous reversals.



3. There is no uncontested evidence that a magnetic field reversal has ever caused any biological extinctions.



4. A possible explanation is that the solar wind may induce a sufficient magnetic field in the Earth's ionosphere to shield energetic particles even in the absence of the Earth's normal magnetic field.



5. Present society with its reliance of electricity and electromagnetic effects (e.g. radio, satellite communications) may be vulnerable to technological diruptions in the event of a full field reversal.



6. Natural Phenomenon like the aurora borealis, bird migrations etc. may vanish..

pretty heavy stuff huh???...

so till l8r...

Ciao.....

Edge of reality:::Gadget Or The Girl?

Caught this dig at another blog (www.ohgizmo.com to be precise)...and didn't waste time posting it on mine either.

Reality shows are the "in" things in tubes everywhere these days. Count on Playboy TV to cash in on it and add another feather to its already multi-hued hat.

Churning reality and fantasy being their forte, they have come up with this new reality show "Gadget or the Girl". The show is based on two of men's fantasies...Gadgets and women....
This features the usual run-of-the-mill reality show story about a guy who has to choose from the chicks on display, after some amount of interaction with them. The not so run-of-the-mill twist in the story being, that he gets to ditch the chick and choose a gadget instead!

Here's how:
The show will start by having a guy meet 3 beautiful women. He will choose two of the ladies to take on a date. Eventually he will have to choose one of the women to be his only companion for the rest of the evening.Then he must make one more decision which is the main premise of the game: go on a romantic weekend getaway with the lady or ditch the girl and bring home a brand new gadget.
There's another twist at this point too, the guy doesn't know what his gadget will be... heh heh He can only know about it after he has made his choice, between the girl and the gadget! Imagine if he leaves all the goodies for an electric shaver or a similar item.. lol!!..Another angle of looking at it ...well think how the gal will think after she discovers she's been dumped for a t.v.... Serious emotional turmoil i am sure ...Possible gadgets include a 60-inch plasma TV or a home arcade game etc.

Gadget or the Girl, hosted by comedienne Iliza Shlesinger(in picture), goes on air on Playboy TV on Monday, September 1, at 7:30 p.m. EDT..
Wish we in India could see it..but with even primary sex education shunned here, its still a long way off for Playboy TV!!

So gadget or the girl which would u choose??

'till l8r ciao..

B'lore Blooming!!, The Flower Show @ Lalbagh: a review

Hmmm I wound up at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Bangalore(of all places!!!) this weekend to see a flower show!!..yea yea if my frens are seein this i am sure they're gonna be titterin' away like a bunch of sparrows on steroids..but just couldn't help it guys...

Well i dunno my coronations from the chrysanthymums..but hey, it isnt necessary to make a movie to write a review for one ...so why not a flower show? heh heh. You could call it a review from a novice's point of view. Wouldn't blabber much on it though. 

The entry fee to the place is quite overpriced for a guy like me who isn't even interested in flowers(but its better spending ur money at this place if you're considering to visit a place like the Scary house, one of the unscariest places i've ever been. Come to think of it many Indian Toilets are scarier ha ha ha). Well, after that, we made it to the show after a lot of searching cos it was my first time to the place and the same being huge. It was located bang in the middle of the Gardens in some old structure.

 I go straight to the flowers now. Well, it had flowers, and a humungous number of them at that. The prize-winners were really pretty but some unpretty ones ended up with better ranks than some good looking ones(well they were good looking to me atleast)..Among some of the only flowers i know, i found the marigolds at the most healthiest of state. The rest of them, roses and dahlias, i dint like b'cos they were either too small or rotting and after seeing the huge dahlias we had in our college these ones didn't stand a chance b4 dem. But not to worry,  all you budding florists and flower enthusiasts, the other more exotic and rare varieties were quite good actually.  There was one piece of decor there,  an anthurium globe kinda thingy which looked like a huge strawberry, which  i really liked.

There were also stalls for the sale of bonsai, pots, seeds, manure, veggies, orchids et al...a gardener's pure delight!!..Hmmmm even i kinda ended up enjoying the affair..i  give a thumbs up on this one..certainly worth a dekko, the colors are quite mood-lifting.

Hope u guys like the pics i clicked

Ciao and till l8r tk cr...

Go to my flickr photostream for more pics