for_sv's Blog

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Saturday, August 30, 2003

Somerset Maugham Quotes (1874 - 1965) British Novelist and playwright

- The ability to quote is a serviceable substitute for wit.
- Anyone can tell the truth, but only very few of us can make epigrams.
- Perfection is what American women expect to find in their husbands ... but English women only hope to find in their butlers.
- I made up my mind long ago that life was too short to do anything for myself that I could pay others to do for me.
- At a dinner party one should eat wisely but not too well, and talk well but not too wisely.
- The rain fell alike upon the just and upon the unjust, and for nothing was there a why and a wherefore.
- I've always been interested in people, but I've never liked them.

My favorite:
It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.

# posted by SV @ 8/30/2003 08:39:00 AM

Friday, August 29, 2003

Mailinator

Have you ever needed an email .. NOW? Have you ever gone to a website that asks for your email for no reason (other than they are going to sell your email address to the highest bidder so you get spammed forever)?

Welcome to Mailinator(tm) - Its no signup, instant email. Here is how it works: You are on the web, at a party, or talking to your favorite insurance salesman. Whereever you are, someone (or some webpage) asks for your email. You know if you give it, you'll be spammed. On the other hand, you do want at least one email from that person. The answer is to give them a mailinator address. You don't need to sign-up. You just make it up on the spot.

Later, come to this site and check the email for that account. Its that easy. Mailinator accounts are created when mail arrives for them. No signup, no personal information, and when you're done - you can walk away. The emails will automatically be deleted for you after a few hours.

Let'em spam.

# posted by SV @ 8/29/2003 08:19:00 AM

Thursday, August 28, 2003

Fake Northeast "Blackout Photo"

From a pro meteorologist friend:

Check this website for some true images from the blackout. It's curious, the image that the fake came from is at the bottom, as a comparison. It says it was a cloud-free composite taken over a period of a couple weeks. It appears to be a cropped version of whatever the fake came from, because only the contiguous U.S. is shown.

Unfortunately, the fake image is a doctored image from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's mosaic of North America. How do you know it is a fake? No clouds across 3,000 miles of continent; the blacked-out area is darker than regions that have sparse nighttime lighting (Arizona, New Mexico, Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean); sections of Albany, Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts had power, but you don't see them illuminated in this image; and finally, the GeoStar satellite is a communications satellite, not an imaging satellite.

# posted by SV @ 8/28/2003 06:41:00 AM

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Your Guide to Looking Busy at Work

The computer has irreversibly changed the workplace. E-mail has replaced memos, Winamp has replaced the portable FM radio and stupid Far Side desktop wallpapers have replaced stupid Far Side wall calendars.

With all these changes, we often overlook the single greatest boon that computers have brough to the employed masses: the ability to look busy.

# posted by SV @ 8/27/2003 10:16:00 AM

Tuesday, August 26, 2003

BBC to give public "full access" to its archives

For those of us still debating whether to shell out the 40-odd bucks for Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection on DVD, BBC Director-General Greg Dyke may have settled the matter this weekend. At the end of his speech to an annual TV industry conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dyke announced that the Beeb plans to put its enormous TV and radio archives online and to allow anyone to download them—free—for non-commercial use. "Under a simple licensing system, we will allow users to adapt BBC content for their own use," Dyke said. "We are calling this the BBC Creative Archive."

The British Broadcasting Corporation has announced plans to make its full archive of programs available free online.

That is what I call good news!

# posted by SV @ 8/26/2003 01:41:00 PM

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Photographers can learn creative photo techniques online. Valuable instruction easily found on the Internet.

- This interactive Web site uses photography, audio, moving images and 3-D diagrams.
- This site offers 24-7 on-demand programming designed for photographers.
- The mission of this site is to inspire photographers.
- This is to present and showcase the work of talented photographers and artists.

Every so often, I like to stick my head out the window, look up, and smile for a satellite picture. - Steven Wright

# posted by SV @ 8/26/2003 06:46:00 AM

Monday, August 25, 2003

eat less of everything!

Smaller Food Portions May Explain The 'French Paradox' Of Rich Foods And A Svelte Population

Mayonnaise: One of the sauces which serve the French in place of a state religion. - Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil's Dictionary

# posted by SV @ 8/25/2003 09:19:00 AM

Saturday, August 23, 2003

Rita Rudner Quotes (b. 1956) - American comedian, actress.

- I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.

- If you never want to see a man again, say, 'I love you, I want to marry you. I want to have children...' - they leave skid marks.

- To attract men, I wear a perfume called 'New Car Interior'.

- Life is tough enough without having someone kick you from the inside.

- You know the oxygen masks on airplanes? I don't think there's really any oxygen. I think they're just to muffle the screams.

- Whenever I date a guy, I think, is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?

- I was going to have cosmetic surgery until I noticed that the doctor's office was full of portraits by Picasso.

her all time best:
- When I eventually met Mr Right I had no idea that his first name was Always.

# posted by SV @ 8/23/2003 07:06:00 AM

Friday, August 22, 2003

Black Out 14th August 2003

Star Trek log 23:15 EST 14 Aug 2003 "Scottie, Turn up the lights--I don't want to go home in the dark." (originally by - O. Henry [William Sydney Porter])

# posted by SV @ 8/22/2003 09:33:00 AM

Thursday, August 21, 2003

What Country Are You?

I really liked this online quiz. For one thing, it's short; only six questions. (It turns out there are far more questions than six, but each question depends on the one preceding it, so you're only exposed to six.) And there is a wide range of countries to end up as - 64.

You're India!

A great thinker and leader, you have a great deal of power despite being really poor. You like movies, cows, and you probably are a vegetarian and may even be a pacifist. You've probably been moving away from pacifism lately, though, as you get more and more defensive that everyone around you is trying to hurt you. How about a nice game of chess?

Take the Country Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

# posted by SV @ 8/21/2003 08:36:00 AM

Wednesday, August 20, 2003

Govind bolo Gopal bolo

Today is Janmashtami.

# posted by SV @ 8/20/2003 11:10:00 AM

Cracking Windows passwords made easy

A Swiss boffin has created a web page demonstrating how easy it is to crack Windows based passwords. But that has prompted serious questions about the methods Microsoft uses to encode passwords. Cryptographic researchers have outlined techniques to greatly reduce the time it takes to crack alphanumeric Windows passwords.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

# posted by SV @ 8/20/2003 09:41:00 AM

Tuesday, August 19, 2003

Window of worms

Corrective action for the Blaster virus (W32.Blaster.Worm). Microsoft has made a special page about the MBlaster worm to help its customers.

You can download the tool to remove the virus from this Symantec software page. System patches to remove the risk of being infected with this virus are available from Microsoft: Windows 2000 patch or Windows XP patch.

Microsoft breathes easier after hackers' 'Blaster' virus error

Worm vs. Worm - W32.Blaster.Worm vs. W32.Welchia.Worm

Man is certainly stark mad. He cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens. - Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592)

# posted by SV @ 8/19/2003 02:56:00 PM

Sunday, August 17, 2003

E-mail shrinks the world

The theory that almost everyone on Earth is connected to anyone else via a small number of acquaintances seems to hold true for e-mail, too.

An experiment has found that messages only have to be forwarded between five and seven times to reach almost any other e-mail user.

# posted by SV @ 8/17/2003 08:41:00 PM

Saturday, August 16, 2003

ePrompter

ePrompter automatically and simultaneously checks and retrieves your e-mail messages from up to 16 password-protected e-mail accounts, such as AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, POP3, Earthlink, Juno, MSN, GO, Email.com, Mail.com, Mindspring, OneBox, Rediffmail, USA.net, and hundreds of other e-mail domains, without you having to pay $29.95 per account for POP3 access or message forwarding.

A must download. Check their reviews.

# posted by SV @ 8/16/2003 07:38:00 AM

Friday, August 15, 2003

Happy 56th Independence day

You can get an Indian out of India, but you can't get India out of an Indian.
Vande Maataram
National Anthem

# posted by SV @ 8/15/2003 09:59:00 AM

Thursday, August 14, 2003

Play 'Someone in Time'

A new installment of history mystery game.

# posted by SV @ 8/14/2003 06:37:00 AM

Wednesday, August 13, 2003

An unbelievable achievement

Model plane flown across Atlantic. It didn’t fly high and it didn’t fly swiftly, but The Spirit of Butts Farm made it all the way from Canada to Ireland with a few drops of fuel to spare, a group of model airplane enthusiasts say.

# posted by SV @ 8/13/2003 11:33:00 AM

Why you should get paid for receiving e-mail

Like a lot of people, I have passed a threshold in the last year or so: Spam has gone from one of life's little nuisances to a threat to the usefulness of e-mail. The answer, I think, is this: I should have property rights to my e-mail inbox, and I should be able to charge you for admission.

# posted by SV @ 8/13/2003 08:24:00 AM

Tuesday, August 12, 2003

Raksha = protection. Bandhan = tie.

Today is Shravan purnima’s second festival, Raksha Bandhan. Celebrated on the full-moon day in the month of Shravan (July-August).

Raksha Bandhan is also known as Rakhi, the tying of an amulet. On this day, sisters tie an amulet, the Rakhi, around the right wrist of their brothers praying for their long life and happiness. Rakhi has become a sacred festival for sisters and brothers.

Nowadays Rakhis are decorated with soft silky threads of various colours, and also with ornaments, pictures, gold and silver threads etc.

This is also the day set apart for Brahmins to change their sacred thread they wear. In Bombay, it is an occasion for offering coconuts to the sea (Nariyal Purnima)

# posted by SV @ 8/12/2003 06:42:00 AM

Sikander ne Porus se ki thi ladai ...

The greatest of Alexander's battles in India was against Porus, one of the most powerful Indian leaders, at the river Hydaspes in July 326 B.C.E.

Alexander's wife approached the mighty Hindu adversary Porus and tied Raakhi on his hand, seeking assurance from him for saving the life of her husband on the battlefield. And the great Hindu king, in the true traditional Kshatriya style, responded; and as the legend goes, just as he raised his hand to deliver a mortal blow to Alexander, he saw the Raakhi on his own hand and restrained from striking and in turn lost the battle.

# posted by SV @ 8/12/2003 06:40:00 AM

Monday, August 11, 2003

Do you use your left or right hemisphere more?

Discover the role of left-brain/right-brain plays in your personality. Popular Brainworks program is now a FREE online application. Now use it from any computer without a download!

# posted by SV @ 8/11/2003 10:04:00 AM

Sunday, August 10, 2003

Monogamy May Threaten Species' Survival

Recent research at nature reserves in Ghana has found that among mammals, monogamy may be a risk factor for extinction of their species.

# posted by SV @ 8/10/2003 06:58:00 AM

Strum your guitar

AP Guitar Tuner is the most advanced guitar tuner in existence and above all it is free.
Guitar Pro is a multitrack tablature editor for guitar, banjo and bass. Besides writing scores, Guitar Pro is a complete tool for amateur and accomplished guitarists alike.

# posted by SV @ 8/10/2003 06:55:00 AM

Saturday, August 09, 2003

Chalti ka naam Gaadi (if it is moving it is a car)

Anybody who gets a guilt complex about driving their car on fossil fuels. For all those who worry about pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every time they get in a car, there is a relatively easy solution to your dilemma. Meet a man who he is about to tour Britain in a car that runs entirely on vegetable oil. His name is Daniel Blackburn.

And if you want to know how to convert your own car to run on cooking oil, just contact The Low Impact Living Initiative.

# posted by SV @ 8/09/2003 06:58:00 AM

Friday, August 08, 2003

Jai Somnath

K.M.Munshi, founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and historian writes: "The shrine of Somanath in Prabhasa is traditionally as old as creation; it. is prehistoric." He further observes: "Prabhasa was traditionally a sacred place even in the days of Dharma, the son of Pandu. The Mahabharata refers to it again and again."

The temple which has risen seven times from ashes till now depicts a saga of devotion and heroism. Legend has it that the Somnath Temple was originally built out of gold by Somraj, the moon god. Then, it was rebuilt by Ravana in silver and then again by Krishna in wood and yet again by King Bhimdev Solanki in stone in the 10th century.

Mahmud of Ghazni, upon hearing the description of the temple by an Arab traveller by the name Al Biruni, raided the temple in 1024 AD and after looting it, carried away camel loads of jewels and gold.

After the 1706 AD demolition by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, it was rebuilt the seventh time in 1950 AD with the support of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The temple contains one of the twelve sacred Shiva shrines known as 'Jyotirlingas'.

# posted by SV @ 8/08/2003 09:21:00 AM

Thursday, August 07, 2003

To Bi or not to Bi

Buttocks. Most of us have them. But what can we do to make them more attractive?

# posted by SV @ 8/07/2003 06:57:00 AM

Wednesday, August 06, 2003

Knowledge Oasis

PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, non-profit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 350 public television stations.

Some favorites:
Exploring the pyramids of Egypt
Ansel Adams
Albert Einstein
Hemingway Adventure
Runaway Universe
Science Odyssey, A
Secret Life of the Brain

# posted by SV @ 8/06/2003 10:46:00 AM

Tuesday, August 05, 2003

Now iSelect my music!

Check it out, iSelect programs the music you've put on on your computer to give you a new, interesting and never-ending playlist every time you turn it on. With iSelect YOU determine what songs get favored. It learns what you like and what you hate and plays music to please you. iSelect uses the same technologies to program music that radio stations all around the world have used for years (amazing technology).

This is cool stuff. Dirt cheap buyout. Already millions have downloaded.

# posted by SV @ 8/05/2003 07:09:00 AM

Monday, August 04, 2003

Holy Cow!

Cows For 'Rent' On The Internet

# posted by SV @ 8/04/2003 09:00:00 AM

Make the most of the meteor show

August is usually regarded as “meteor month” in the Northern Hemisphere, as one of the best shooting star displays of the year reaches its peak near midmonth. The annual Perseid meteor shower is beloved by everyone. The Perseid meteors appear to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus, next door to the W-shaped grouping in northern skies known as Cassiopeia's Chair. Although the "radiant" is in Perseus, the meteors can appear in any part of the sky. Meteor Show

# posted by SV @ 8/04/2003 08:46:00 AM

Friday, August 01, 2003

Is Yale a Waste of Money?

Wouldn't it be neat if, instead of a diploma costing $160,000, you could buy a $16,000 certificate saying you got in?

Colleges are places where pebbles are polished and diamonds are dimmed.

# posted by SV @ 8/01/2003 09:13:00 AM

Wrightisms

If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright, he's the guy who once said: "I woke up one morning and all of my stuff had been stolen and replaced by exact duplicates." Here are some more of his gems:

- I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
- If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.
- All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.
- OK, so what's the speed of dark?
- Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
- Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
- If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
- A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
- The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
- Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.

# posted by SV @ 8/01/2003 09:00:00 AM

what blogs are good for, aside from ego expression... Sort of like putting your face, life story and personal opinions on a milk carton so other people can see them.

for_sv's blog