Category: Information

Came Across Twilight Takeout


Today i was damm hungry by 2 o clock at night. I didn’t know if i could find out some food where in i have options and that too something is healthy and something that suits my diet. When i asked my friend if i had an option he asked me to goto this place called Twilight Takeout.

The name itself tells that it is only takeout and the joint operated from 7 PM – 7 AM to cater to all night birds. For all of you who have never come across here is the address and a snapshot of menu.

Twilight Takeout

#1, Park Side Street,
Lake Area,
Nungambakkam,
Chennai – 600 034
Phone: 044 – 43081222 / 43081333
Web: www.twilight-takeout.com

Door delivery available within 3 KM radius from the joint.

Something Wrong with PayPal


All of a sudden all the payment we received from Paypal for last two days have got reversed stating personal payments cannot be sent or received for Indian accounts. Ours is not a personal account and i don’t know on what rational Paypal has revered the payments. All those payments are made by clients for delivering services have been reveresed and getting them back depends on the genuineness of the client. Also we have not received our money request made before 7 business days and now we had to slog to make salary payment. After all this we are getting an email form Paypal staff after 18 hours; Here is the transcripts of the email;

Dear Anand Nataraj,

Hello my name is Allan. I am sorry to hear about this situation, and
understand your frustration and concern regarding your declined payment.

We’re glad that you’ve chosen PayPal to send money to India.
Unfortunately, we’ve had to stop allowing personal payments (such as
gifts for a friend or family member) to be sent to and from India.

Any personal payments that you’ve recently sent to India have been
automatically reversed, and the money returned to you. If you sent the
payment with a bank account, the funds will be returned to your PayPal
balance. If you paid with a credit card, the amount will be credited
back to your card.

If you’re trying to send money for a personal payment (such as a gift
for a friend or family member), we ask that you find another way to pay
until we’re able to restore personal payments to India.

If you’re sending money for something you purchased, you can resend the
payment to the seller by following these steps on the PayPal website:
Log in to your PayPal account.
Click “Send Money.”
Enter the email address or mobile phone number of the person you are
sending the money to.
Enter the amount of money you wish to send, and choose the currency from
the list.
Select “Goods”, “Services”, or “eBay Items”, depending on your purchase.

Click “Continue.”
We are trying to resolve this issue as quickly as possible and we’re
sorry for any inconvenience.

Don’t forget, we’re always around if you need us. Just click “Help” in
the top right corner of any PayPal page to visit our improved Help
Center.

Sincerely,
Allan

PayPal, an eBay Company

Copyright © 1999-2010 PayPal. All rights reserved.
Consumer advisory – PayPal Pte. Ltd., the holder of PayPal’s stored
value facility, does not require the approval of the Monetary Authority
of Singapore.  Users are advised to read the terms and conditions
carefully.

I understand they might be affected by some policy issues from the local government. But any change must be informed and it must not affect the existing payments. Also they must know the difference between business account and personal account… Hope they sort their differences and offer good quality service in future…

WHO KNEW THIS???


I have been driving for many years… I would think I should have noticed the little secret on my dashboard that was staring me in the face the whole time…I didn’t…and I bet you didn’t either…

Have you ever rented or borrowed a car and when arriving at the gas station wondered…mmm, which side is the gas filler cap?

My normal solution was to stick my head out the window, strain my neck and look, try to see in the side mirrors or even get out of the car!

Well ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to share with you my little secret so you will no longer look like Ace Ventura on your way to the gas station or pu t your neck at risk of discomfort or injury.

If you look at your gas gauge, you will see a small icon of a gas pump?

The handle of the gas pump will extend out on either the left or right side of the gas pump?

If your tank is on the left, the handle will be on the left? If your tank is on the right, the handle will be on the right (see photo). It is that simple!


10000 Hour Rule


I came to know about the 10,000 hour rule from my friend Kaviraj or areapal.com and i immediately googled to know Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule. It was interesting finding and i wanted to share it with my readers.

Gladwell writer of Outliners book mentions about the 10,000 hour rule and he claims that greatness requires enormous time, using the source of The Beatles’ musical talents and Bill Gates’ computer savvy as examples.

The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time, therefore meeting the 10,000-Hour Rule. Gladwell asserts that all of the time The Beatles spent performing shaped their talent, “so by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, Germany, ‘they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.

Gates met the 10,000-Hour Rule when he gained access to a high school computer in 1968 at the age of 13, and spent 10,000 hours programming on it. In Outliers, Gladwell interviews Gates, who says that unique access to a computer at a time when they were not commonplace helped him succeed.

Without that access, Gladwell states that Gates would still be “a highly intelligent, driven, charming person and a successful professional”, but that he might not be worth US$50 billion.

Gladwell explains that reaching the 10,000-Hour Rule, which he considers the key to success in any field, is simply a matter of practicing a specific task that can be accomplished with 20 hours of work a week for 10 years.

He also notes that he himself took exactly 10 years to meet the 10,000-Hour Rule, during his brief tenure at The American Spectator and his more recent job at The Washington Post.

Hammer Fall Made me Fall


Yesterday I went to the rock concert of Hammer Fall organized at SAARANG yearly IIT-M cultural. It’s been 8 years since I attended SAARANG which I use to be a regular. The visit took me to my college days where we would be deprived of money and we would long to make up for concerts.

This time money was not a problem and we went for the expensive ticket with which we can go near the troop. It has been an electrifying experience.

I didn’t know I carry such stamina. I danced nonstop for 4 hours. We stood on the first row from where folks were playing. We danced. We banged with each other. Then we had some grub danced on the steps. 

Other aspect is the way concert was organized. Everything was handled by professionals and it was absolutely delight to the eyes. Also sponsors were all biggies and I think they would have got value for their money.

Didn’t know how four hours had gone. Even as a student I didn’t try such dancing experiments. My friend has taken video of how I danced and will soon publish it in Youtube.com.

Madurai’s day out


Since Madurai doesn’t have a beach only entertainment for people is this eco-park other than movies and temple. Park is spread over an area of 8.5 acres. Last year when I was feeling bored with hardly any places to visit. I was taken to Major Karthik to this place.

For a person from Chennai there is no excitement. But I was enjoying seeing on how locals were enjoying with what they have. It is a big park maintained by corporation of Madurai. Some of the attractions in the park are;

  • Artificial pond
  • Boating
  • Fountain show
  • Lots of walking space
  • Lust green environment
  • Kids play area

Though these are much less attraction compared to a person from a metropolitan city. One can pass time by seeing kids enjoying their day out; mom’s running behind their kids, lovers at their peak of romance et more. Also there are lots of philosophies displayed at every spots.

Again I must thank my PRO Mr.Major Karthik for taking snaps of the place and sending it to me. He is helping me a lot to blog these days.

CaneCan new finding in Madurai


One of the latest findings in Madurai is this joint CaneCan which is opposite to Germanus Hotel. We found it once while driving that way and we wanted to give it a try and when we got in we were in for a surprise.

There was a huge list of flavored sugar cane juice. This was something new for me and I immediately jumped in and tasted 6 varieties of cane juice. There are the available flavors and the bolded ones are my favorites;

  • Natural cane juice
  • Lemon cane juice
  • Ginger cane juice
  • Lime & Ginger cane juice
  • Salt & Pepper cane juice
  • Mint cane juice
  • Chilli cane juice
  • Honey cane juice
  • Mango cane juice
  • Pineapple cane juice
  • Orange cane juice
  • Strawberry cane juice
  • Litchi cane juice

Other important aspect to be noted in this joint is the importance they give for hygiene. Their suppliers wear gloves and they use disposable paper cups. Also cane’s are washed and keep in a refrigerators and it is served cool without using crushed-ice which is always unhygienic. 

Other important thing which impressed me is the testimonial which they get it from customers in a stick-it which will be displayed. Also one can see their joint being covered in almost all famous magazines in Madurai.

This is a small joint opposite to Germanus Hotel and can be easily located. This is a must visit joint in Madurai. Now this joint has become my desert point after having my dinner as it is near to my house and I normally walk to the joint.

Leader Insulted


One common trend in india is gaining popularity by aligning with Late(dead) leaders. Some common things they do are;

  • Building statues for leaders. Which is mostly used by birds to shit.
  • Celebrating their Birth & Death anniversaries by blocking roads.

Today while driving to office i came across images of Late leader M.G.Ramachandran fondly called as MGR all over Arcot road in chennai. Mostly all places were deserted and no one was there to take care of those images. Near Valasaravakkam i came across this scene and i immediately shot it. A cow eats the garland & flower kept for the leader.

I don’t know why at all they waste money, time & be a hindrance to public. Also they don’t do it with respect or from the heart. These things look like insulting the leader and in-fact general public only gets irritated by seeing these kind of non-sense.

Chennai Sangamam Rocks


Yesterday myself and Bala were working from home as business was sluggish because of Pongal Holidays. Then i got a call from a Sales guy who said he will visit our office by 4 PM to explain his product.

Me & Bala reached office by 4 PM and then we got a call from that guy telling he cant make it for the day. Then Bala asked if we can goto Chennai Sangamam & without any hesitation i agreed because.

  • Unable to hang out with Bala these days.
  • I missed last 2 Chennai Sangamam & i badly wanted to make it.

Then after attending some unexpected visitors & after picking some calls we left to Natesan Park Sangamam. It was a great for ones eyes to see lights decoration on the entire stretch of Venkarnarayana Road.

We parked the car on a near by road as the stretch was blocked & immediately i started clicking snaps. We enjoyed some half a kilometer walk by seeing the decorations.

On entering the park we were greeted by the aroma of food stalls on the entrance. Then a common welcome from Usman Road shop owners who sponsored the show. We entered the park watching People applying mehandhi, listening to astrology (Kili Josiyam & Regai Josiyam) all these are traditional astrological methods.

Then we went to watch a Mahabarath play. To be frank i’ve never seen a theru koothu / stage plays in my life. I’ve read all about these in books which says these were Tamilian Culture. I was very happy to get a glimpse of things which i’ve just imagined and I felt i must be lucky to see these things in my life time.

Also i’ve read a lot about how these traditional entertainers once were burnt because of cinemas, modern day technology like TV, internet. They find it hard to continue there generational livelihood and how they come out to make a better living. Such events makes audiences feel happy and also the it gives an opportunity to these Kalainargal (Artists) to make a living.

There different types of entertainment showcased like;

  • Oyilattam
  • Kuyilattam
  • Nerupuattam
  • Stage Plays
  • Street Plays
  • Poi Kal Kudurai
  • Thappata
  • Veera Saagasangal

and more types of traditional performances. When audiences & reporters flooded for a photo with them. These artists who were ignored for long felt happy to oblige an pose for photos and videos. Also people encouraged then by shouting, whistling etc.

Talking about the crowd, there were people from all status of life and i saw a bunch of elite crowd. Also there were foreigners who flooded to the show.

Then there were stalls from 5 star hotels to home cooked stalls which offered delicious traditional foods which were a gift to ones taste buds.

I must thank Ms.Kanimozhi for initiating such a spectacular even and making it a grand success. My only wish is to see this as a non-political even thought this was envisioned by someone with political background. I wish even if government changes this event continues.

While returning i came out as a happy man & a proud tamilian to  watch our old traditions & entertainment medias.

Google Launches Super Phone Nexus One


Salient features & information about Google Nexus One – Web Meets Phone. 

  • Handset is manufactured by HTC.
  • Software used is Google’s Android 2.1.
  • Can be purchased from http://www.google.com/phone.
  • Phone is prices at $179.
  • Device has 3.7-inch OLED 800 x 480 display.
  • Processor is 1 GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm.
  • Device is 11.5 mm thick, and weighs just 130 grams
  • Device has 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and can take MPEG 4 videos.
  • Google applications such as Gmail, Google Voice and Google Maps Navigation are inbuilt.
  • Device has a career-independent model & also a model tied up with T-Mobile.
  • Already 5188 article based on Nexus One.