OK

Reading about our faltering legal system got me asking how we've survived as a functioning society so far. In most cases, people in India take recourse to the legal system when in a complete state of helplessness or for lack of viable options.

It's just appalling. Either a society such as this mends its ways or we let ourselves decay slowly until the justice system is left totally emasculated, de-fanged and anarchy is the order of the day (an oxymoron if there ever was one)

In my limited understanding of the matter, I think we need to do away with the system of appeals or make it extremely strict, where the most genuine of genuine cases trickle through. And we have strict timelines for cases, based on the type of case.

This is when we can have some hope of recovery but this is just idealistic thinking. What will probably happen is that the current system will collapse under the weight of its own incompetence after which we will be forced to re-think and re-implement our legal system. Either way, we know the status quo isn't meant to last.

Did you know that your iPhone can be used for more than just streaming videos or playing music on your iPod? You can now stream music directly from Safari, without installing any apps.

All you need is a service that streams audio and a .pls stream for that audio and you're done.

To find the .pls file you'll either have to use a little trial and error on your iPhone's browser or find the link using the browser on your computer. Most websites should label their streams well, but in case they don't, you can simply hover over any link and read the file extension in the status bar.

Clicking on the link in your iPhone should start the stream directly. Wi-fi is recommended as most audio streams can be very heavy, especially if its a continuous stream.

Enjoy!

You'd think a big agency like IBN would employ writers who can get their basics right. Some passages from the report.

Rajasthan boys miss on rakhi due to skewed sex ratio

Jaisalmer/Jaipur: A long history of female infanticide in Rajasthan hasn’t left many girls who could tie rakhi around their brothers’ wrists. But (the) condition seems to have improved in the past some years(?!).

In most of the places in Rajasthan, Raksha Bandhan is celebrated with the temple priests who tie the scared threat (sacred thread? or are guys really scared of this perceived threat) around everyone’s wrist.

The full article

A pathetic way to deal with an issue as serious as female infanticide.

Okay.

http://news.rediff.com/report/2009/aug/03/first-swine-flu-death-14-yr-old-succumbs.htm

It's a 14 year old from Pune. I wish her loved one's peace.

Related post:

http://obairkhan.blogspot.com/2009/06/swine-flu-hyderabad_18.html

I've finally switched. Since I first saw a Mac, I've always wanted one. Right now I'm enjoying every moment of it and I'm truly impressed by how user friendly, fast, efficient, and cool a Mac really is.

Well.. Almost.

You can now browse the web like you're using the iPhone. An advantage in that is it improves load time and some sites like Gmail seem even better. Here's how to do it.

Why do something in 3 months, when you can do it in 17 years?

The forum on rediff is a place filled with gems of wisdom and highly intellectual polemics.

Like these two discussions over a diet plan

We've been hearing a lot about Swine Flu. But it seems as though the true scale of the 'pandemic' has missed us. To know what I'm talking about, check this map here. It gives the number of cases by country. Just to give you an idea:

- The number of confirmed cases globally stands at 46664
- 20522 of those are in the United States alone
- There are 34 confirmed cases in India. 10 of those are in Hyderabad. The highest in the country.

Please go through these prevention steps as I believe those of us working in offices, where international visitors are common, should know this. Be careful of those touristy places where lots of foreigners are present.

Keep safe!

Ha Ha!

First, I'd like to make my stance clear. I don't think live-in relationships are OK. I have my reasons, which I'll mention but won't justify.

is a time of ridiculous promises, but this just takes the cake.

"...she (Jayalaltihaa) also said that if the Lok Sabha polls returned a "favourable" government, she would ensure the Indian army was sent to Sri Lanka to help create 'Eelam'."

This is hillarious. This, I'm not sure.

online tonight. Their website is much better than the last time.

Are we going to see a TDP comeback?

Time will tell.

Where I work, if my boss thinks I am a failure, I probably am better off looking for a new job. Especially given the current circumstances. But that rule apparently doesn't apply as you go further up the corporate ladder. And it cant been truer for the person at the very top. Need proof?

Well, this piece at rediff says it all.

Vikram Pandit, the very famous CEO of Citibank, has found his place among the 20 worst CEOs of the world as judged by "a panel of professors from business schools like MIT Solan School of Management, Tuck School of Business, Wharton School, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Yale School of Management and Kellogg School of Management"

Pretty bad you'd think. But the article also mentions that "Pandit's current salary was $1 dollar, but his pay package was valued at $38.2 million for 2008, a year when taxpayers kept the firm in business."

That's some salary! So the question is, would you mind being adjudged the worst, if your pay package had 8 digits in it?

I certainly wouldn't

Given the current circumstances, the solution to the Kashmir issue has to be a joint one. No single party can hope to 'resolve' this problem unilaterally. Here's how the problem can be solved:

Saturday was an eventful day indeed. We were heading over to our cousins place for a game of monopoly. We're really avid fans and we have an orkut community, with a full 12 members! Anyhow that's besides the point.

Today being a Saturday, I thought of installing a security system on my car. So I went to Ramkote, which is the hub for car accessories in Hyderabad. After touching a couple of stores, with more or less similar offerings, we (my bro tagged along) settled on one shop and made the purchase. The store owner, Ghouse, said it'd take 30 minutes. So we left the car at the shop and went to have lunch at the fabulous Bahar restaurant a couple of minutes away.

After returning from lunch, we went back to the shop and they had it all ready. We tested the system out and it worked fine. I needed to replace the carhorn, so I got them to work on that. In that time, Ghouse and I started chatting and he was telling me about his business. Being wholesalers and all, they supplied to a few shops in and around Hyderabad. Then he mentioned that business wasn't so good these days.

'Why?' I asked. And I was surprised to hear that it was because of the bank failure in the international market. Needless to say, I was interested. 'How?'

Well, since the financial downturn (he didn't exactly use this term) banks in India are reluctant to offer car loans to salaried people working for private firms or in the IT sector. As a consequence, car sales are down, which in turn means car accessories don't sell either. I was surprised and it struck me how truly inter-connected we are. A financial catastrophe in the United States, is affecting the business of some small accessory shop owner in Ramkote, Hyderabad.

Where do you think all of this will end?

If you're an avid war nerd reader, you might ask the question, 'Who is the war nerd?' Is Gary Brecher a real person. Well, I have conclusive proof that the War Nerd is non other than John Dolan. Wanna know how?

Check the following screenshot (Click to enlarge)

Just used a crap service from Ebay called price book [pricebook.in] They'll charge you 3 rupees per SMS for most carriers to tell you what the expected market price for your car is.

So I tried it for my car. Its an alto lxi, 2006 model.

First, you can't use it to search for lxi directly.. atleast the site doesn't give you instructions upfront. So you have to simply send alto.. and you'll get the price for the lx.. and then send another SMS for the lxi. That's 6 rupees to get the price.

Isn't exactly making me poor, but the fail part is where it says the lxi is cheaper than the lx.. which is pure, simple, unadulterated shit. Anyone who's bought this car or claims to be an expert in this field knows that the lxi is a more advanced model.

So.. to save you some money and effort.. simply go to www.drcar.co.in and check out the prices for used cars. It's free and seemingly more accurate.