"A Directory Of Programs Designed For USB Drives"

Here's a list of some of the interesting programs/things you can do with you on your USB pen-drive. Linux OS on a USB drive has been around for a while now, the rest of the list is pretty cool. More reasons to buy that USB drive :)

Natural yoghurt beats bad breath

Natural yoghurt beats bad breath: Its a good thing you dont get anything but "curd" here in India. I hate to say it but it makes you wonder what else we are missing out on as traditional foods/technologies die out.

A ricky strategy

I have had it with ricks in Bangalore. We get back sleepy and tired yesterday, when the rick-driver says "Saar, 10 rupees extra kodee". I refused and frowned, not surprisingly, but that got me thinking..

Next time a rick-driver asks me for more money, I'm going to smile and ask him for a rebate, after all I chose to hire his rick over 5 others, so shouldn't he be paying me something back :) We'll see how this one goes :)

Murdeshwar - Our beach holiday

We are back from Murdeshwar. This was an impulsive trip decided at the last minute. This trip had many firsts for us, it was the first time w've taken T on such a long bus journey (12hrs), the first time since we've had T that we've made an impulsive trip on short notice.. hopefully we can do more of these now :) Murdeshwar is a small sleepy coastal town with a fantastic beach.



You can find the rest of the photos here. The beach is about 2 kms long, wonderful fine sand and a gentle slope... you can walk about 50-100 feet into the water before the depth becomes too much to wade in. We stayed at the RNS residency, we had a great view of the entire beach from our balcony. The main attraction in Murdeshwar are the beach and the Shiva statue/temple. The statue temple is probably worth visiting if you are the religious type, I saw all I needed to see from the road...

There are a couple of eating joints off the beach - the overpriced 'Naveen beach Resort' where you get fish curry for Rs.115 and a Sunshine restaurant where you can get fish fry for Rs.15. We tried the former and hated it as it was a total ripoff. We also tried Hotel Vaibhav, a 10 min walk down the mainroad, which was great food and value. We spent most of our time at the beach or at the hotel, where T and I were the only ones in the pool :)

We left murdeshwar with a nice warm feeling, all in all a great holiday, though I have a feeling we got lucky.

Killer Lakes

If you're wondering what that means, do read the write-up by yours truly. Was inspired by a Horizon episode on the BBC.

Cubbon Park

T and I visited Cubbon park yesterday as we were by ourselves for the day. Cubbon park is one of the oldest public parks in Bangalore. The bit I remember going to most often is the BalBhavan, its main attraction being the Toy train - Putani Express. I had been reluctant to go for a while now as the last time I visited, it felt a bit rundown and very dirty. With T's penchant for mud and dirt, I wasnt sure it was a good idea.

In retrospect, I'm glad I was persuaded to give it another shot. It has changed a lot and for the better. The toy train is the same old rickety clackety thing and still as enjoyable as ever if you're a kid, T enjoyed it thorougly. They also have a fair bit of kiddy playground thingy's - jungle-gyms, see-saws, slides - the usual and tucked away to the back - a really nice set of play-units that I havent seen in Blore until now. All in all, good stuff.

For Tanay, the best part was not the park - but the aquarium next door. Most of us forget its there and with good reason. Its dingy and poorly lit, feels like a crypt - but T loved it (part of a current fascination with fishes). This btw was probably the first time we pottered off by ourselves without a care in the world (by bike, no bag and other kiddy paraphernalia). Hint of things to come I hope.