Running in the Rain

This is the second of my "small childhood frustrations" - i think i already wrote about the first one long long ago - none of my classmates believed the schoolbus was doing 60 km per hour when we were passing the milestones (kilometerstones rather) about one a minute :)

this is another - not just childhood, but right through every rainy day of my life in kerala :)

i always thought i got less wet if i walked through the rain, rather than ran through it....but NOBODY believed me - ever...it was always "get out of there"..."run to the house"....the usual... i played in the rain a lot..but when it was about getting from here to there, i was NOT playing around....i just knew i got less wet walking that running....(i do admit i liked the fact that i could spend more time out in the rain)....

well - caught a mythbusters episode the other day, and they were testing just that - do you get more wet walking, or running? and what do you have? u get almost 2wice as much wet running than walking....

i rest my case....and thank you mythbusters....you will appreciate how much this means to me if you ever spend some time in my hometown :)

Ideal Songs and Jessie's Girl

Rick Springfield is shouting "I wish I had Jessie's girl, where can i find a woman like that.." on vh1 classic
and the wife makes an interesting point - we only sing about the "ideal" (in our movies), these guys sing about what they actually feel.
true?
---------------
after "much" thought, i think only our movie songs tend to the "ideal". the village folk songs were always "current events" - let me try translating one i've heard - think it was in dad's village..its gonna be a bad job - am not good at folksey english :P

bad times these my god
think they are stealing my fowl in the night
went out to check with a torchlight
and caught keshavan diggin up yukka (tapioca)

it goes on to the morning where our hero shouts at his wife if the breakfast is ready, and she shouts back to wait a bit etc.
------------------
now that we've done very "country" kerala, lets also look at the very country side of US (read CMT)
here the songs go like this...(from "international harvester" by craig morgan

I’m the son of a 3rd generation farmer
I’ve been married 10 years to the farmer’s daughter
I’m a God fearin’ hard workin’ combine driver
Hoggin’ up the road on my p-p-p-p-plower
Chug a lug a luggin’ 5 miles an hour
On my International Harvester

Three miles of cars layin’ on their horns
Fallin’ on deaf ears of corn
Lined up behind me like a big parade
Of late to work road raged jerks
Shoutin’ obscene words flippin’ me the bird

Well you may be on a state paved road
But that blacktop runs through my payload
Excuse me for tryin’ to do my job
But this year ain’t been no bumper crop
If you don’t like the way I’m a drivin’
Get back on the interstate
Otherwise sit tight and be nice
And quit yer honkin’ at me that way

Broke Dosti Back

Watch brokeback mountain, and switch quickly to some bollywood channel....

gives a whole new meaning to some songs starting "ye dosti...." starring any two of our hunks :)

be it amitabh & dharmendra....or akshay and bobby.....

(heck, just read this post, and go see one of those "ye dosti"s)
:))

Japanese Potty Training

Here is a good start to your japanese lessons

What Happened?

Who says only movies have previews? Listen in to an office conversation (esp. between members of a particular gender)...and you hear the well planned preview releases.....

the following is just an example (and yes..all the previews are for the same movie (read topic)...

Don't ask me what happened, I won't tell you!
What happened?

You know, this is so weird, I can't tell you!
What happened?

I mean its so funny, I can't tell you right now!
What happened?

You know, I got this call .... Blah blah .... Unto eternity

Netflix Monty

Email
From: Netflix Receiving
Subject: We've Received The Full Monty

:) Thanks for letting me know.

Getting Noticed

if you listen to launchcast on yahoo, there is a new advertisement of launchcast premium services.

most other ads so far have been voice ads, or something urging you to click right now to launch the ad page.

this one was silence....absolute silence....

thinking something was wrong, i open up yahoo messenger, and there is a 1 minute clip playing with title "try out launchcast premium for 7 days free"

You got my attention all right :)

Brazilian Soccer

me n colleague returning bk from a long trip, waiting at houston for next flight,

there was this very amorous (long time since i used that word - hope it still means the same :)) couple - both wearing brazilian soccer t-shirts

finally boarded, and my colleague was two rows ahead, on an aisle seat - and looked like he was next to the very same couple....

when we landed and the "it is now permitted to use your electronic devices" was announced, i sent him a message "are u next to the brazilian soccer team?"

reply came "ya, but they were mostly practicing their french"

Consulate Stories - Followup

An update to the earlier post here: Had to visit the same consulate again today, and they have devised a permanent solution to the problem. The plastic benches have gone, and a step has been constructed (out of brick and mortar) all around the outside of the counters. Now the whole family can stand up to the counter instead of just the dad on the plastic bench shouting down at the mom for some details.

Three Little Pigs

Saw Disney's three little pigs after a long long time (23 yrs?)....amazing how the images and song stayed in my head all these years...understood the lyrics only now
:P

Here is the song (copied from some site online, not what i jotted down - the times have changed u know :)

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la

Long ago there were three pigs
Little handsome piggy-wigs
For the big, bad very big very bad wolf
They didn't give three figs

Number one was very gay
And he built his house of hay
With a hey hey toot
He blew on his flute
And he played around all day

Number two was fond of jigs
And so he built his house with twigs
Heigh diddle-diddle
He played on his fiddle
And danced with lady pigs

Number three said "Nix on tricks
I will build my house with bricks"
He had no chance
To sing and dance
'Cause work and play don't mix

Ha ha ha! The two little
Do little pigs just winked and laugh, ha ha!

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la

Came the day when fate did frown
And the wolf blew into town
With a gruff "puff-puff" he puffed just enough
And the hay house fell right down

One and two were scared to death
Of the big bad wolfie's breath
"By the hair of your chin-ny-chin,
I'll blow you in"
And the twig house answered yes

No one left but number Three
To save the piglet family
When they knock
He fast unlocked
And said "Come in with me!"

Now they all were safe inside
And the bricks hurt wolfie's pride
So, he slid down the chimney
And, oh, by Jimney
In the fire he was fried

Ha ha ha! The three little
Free little pigs rejoice and laughed, ha ha!

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf
Big bad wolf, big bad wolf?
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la

Suicide Stats !

This is not meant to be funny, but quite interesting -

did u know that more number of teenage girls attempt suicide than teenage boys?

did u also know that more number of teenage boys are successful at their attempt than teenage girls?

source? http://mywife.toldme.com

07/29/2007 0744
correction: its not just teenage stats, its applicable to the entire population of suiciders
07/29/2007 0756
(a suicider - "an urban word describing a suicide bomber" has been used a bit out of context here..)

Subconscious Catch

we all have heard abt how our subconscious works...or experienced it sometimes, when u wake up and are able to finish off that puzzle, or whatever it was that we were fighting over the previous night....well, i think i sort of caught the chap at work....

there was this big discussion at office abt how each project mgr(PM) handles the customer etc etc.

nothing important..normally in any such case, i end my day with total blur abt who did what etc., but things get clearer the next day, or after i finish the gym or do something else...anything but think abt customers and PMs :)

this time I was woken up early next morning by the phone, and had some clue abt what i was dreaming (usually, i wake up with no recollection of dreams). It was a laboratory setting, with lots of cubicles arranged, each with some unique problem, and each PM was being sent through the cubes...and we (the guys in lab coats) were observing and noting down how each PM reacted...

brilliant! i would say :)

(honestly, that does not sound like boasting to me..:P
more like commending somebody else!!)

Scooby Dooby Doo

Never quite sat through the latest genre of animation - to me the old hand drawn tom and jerry or donald duck is a cartoon...not today's computer animated tom or jerry. So my cartoon themes have always been just a dog chasing a cat chasing a mouse or something similar.

Happened to watch a "current" episode and was quite surprised to find scooby doo searching a "wired" mansion (everything from the window shades to doors to refrigerator to the vacuum was connected and controlled by a central computer) for an evil computer virus, before it became more powerful and took control of the whole world.

yeah...cartoons have come a long way...so have the kids :)

Chinese Buffet / Takeout

It is amazing how much of america is covered by chinese buffets...even in small towns with population figures proudly posted (with signs like You are entering XXX Population 600), you may not have a mcdonalds, but you will find a chinese buffet, with of course chinese speaking chinese people in it :) and the stories around them are endless

1. "copee tee meee?" goes the lady (coffee tea milk?)

2. "whajijuoja?" that was our deli owner in SFO asking "what did you order?". he will keep repeating it till you pay up...

3. me and wifey were sitting at one take out waiting for our order, and it was a lean time for them...the lady there teaching a new recruit some english....she did "good morning" to "good night"...then started on how to welcome somebody coming in for take out ... understood it in bits and pieces, but it was basically if someone comes in for take out, and his order is ready, go "hellooo mr. xxx, yoo are just in time...".....sure enuf, the recruit mugged it up and said it to the next chap who walked in....

4. Three big (by american stds) men went to an "all you can eat" chinese buffet...filled up their plates with crab legs and started on it....the crab legs had to be re-filled in the buffet spread...cycle repeats 3 times....and the owner starts shouting at them..."no more..no more....get out...no more...". Not much reaction from the guys, expect one chap moved his chair to sit right next to the buffet...

5. colleague receives a call on his mobile..."sir u odaa ready..."
colleague "i did not order anything"
take out "yes u did, come pick it up"
and phone slams down

Men Talk Alike?!

As per new study results published today, men really do talk as much as women (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-07-05-women-men-talking_N.htm),

my only point here is on the sample group studied ... university students - well, what do you expect?!!

here is a real life example from a non-university (or post-university) student (called prowe?)

a typical day, the wife calls up around 3 ppl (family/close friends), and talks around an hour to each....and probably a half to 1.5 hour briefing to me (yeah..prowe!) on what they spoke...thats a straight 3.5 to 5 hour advantage she has over me ...

competition?

Tagged by Wooster

tagged by wooster - and i thank him for the opportunity (to do what? sit and think abt myself?)

so let me see what i come up with....am pretty sure this is a dead end for at least the tag chain. but i can always talk abt myself..

8 random facts about me...

1. i CAN get angry, but only ppl very close to me have seen that happen...so if i ever get angry at you, rest assured, you have made it :)

2. i love being horizontal - waiting for the day when they will allow me to lie down and work at office...if am working from home one day, i will be horizontal, and i finish more work than the remaining 4 days in the week...its something to do with the increased blood flow to the brain i guess...maybe also something to do with dozing off now and then

3. i believe in equilibrium and the law of physics (there is only one - A body maintains its state of rest or of motion unless it is disturbed by external force), equilibrium to me is rest, and usually that external force is my wife

4. i love my school years...and i believe i still am that chap in 11th standard..no idea when i will grow up...anybody reading this feel grown up?

5. there is great pleasure in doing something new, doing something for the first time, visiting a new place, eating a new dish...its downhill after that :) which returns me to random fact 3 - get back to equilibrium...

6. (i should) always remember, the mind is much faster than the body...and the gap increases as we age..

7. i hate making somebody else wait for me...and Vice versa

8. i miss tea shops...

and there is a whole list of people i hope will start writing blogs some day....and i will tag them....am i living in the wrong generation?

and the rules to live by:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.

3. At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

4. If you fail to do this within eight hours, you will not reach Third Series or attain your most precious goals for at least two more lifetimes.

Everything Else

here is the past blog....i've had enuf with yahoo 360 and its feeds, and how an alert message was sent to me 2 months after the actual "alert" happened...

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/ppn03