My Personal Graffiti

Links for 2009-10-04 [Digg]

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PDT

[Go-Green]: Home Insulation | Benefits of home insulation
In simpler practical terms, getting the buildings properly and adequately insulated is the perfect way of providing an effective and continuous barrier between the conditioned indoor spaces and unconditioned outdoor spaces of any particular building.

Links for 2009-09-24 [Digg]

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Home Design for the Senses | BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com
When decorating interiors, homeowners most often rely on their sense of sight to gauge how attractive a room is. Most, however, forget that there are four other senses and these are as important as sight. The best & most comprehensive room designs are those that are able to engage all five senses and create a space that's...[READ FULL POST]>>

Links for 2009-09-20 [Digg]

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

7 More Amazing Engineering Wonders of Today & Tomorrow
Megaproject... even the word sounds big! These 7 amazing engineering wonders push the envelope of what can be accomplished on Earth - and someday, beyond.

'Buildings with wholesome beauty'~~ Does your dwelling looks all-round beautiful like this? | BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:15:00 +0000

Does your dwelling looks all-round beautiful like this? | BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com ... This submission of mine can be seen on one of realty world's buzzing blog~ BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com

Getting the point?? Look at the picture of this building herein below and judge for yourself if your dwelling looks all-round beautiful like this or not.
(pic thumbnail view)
If the answer is a big NO, then do the needful and ...
[Read full post]

About this "Picture Perfect Competition" at multiply

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Got to know about this "Picture Perfect Competition" at Multiply(dot)com from Mannu's blog. And I totally agree with her concluding line.. "darn this global warming!"

Yupp, Mannu, its a very gloomy picture of this year's season of the time in most parts of India. Otherwise, monsoons would have swept us by now, had the season be on its usual correct path.

The clouds I met enroute at the usual time of start of monsoons seems perhaps to have lost their way somewhere...

The dry river beds seemed to be optimistic that very time in the month of May eyeing the roaming clouds overhead...

The rivers started behaving as if being shy with covers of water slipping off them making them to feel almost naked...

:-(
And, sadly, the story is still the same. The monsoons suddenly started behaving nomadic not coming and showering by this year. Hope they do remember their paths back home, and drench the rivers, the soil, the rooftops, the car windshields, the mankind once again... and definitely with a promise of not to miss the date again next year.

Remembering Michael Jackson... (MJ's memorial service held on 07/07/09 )

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:32:00 +0000

TOI news-piece on MJ's memorial service held on 07/07/09

Generation - 'Y'

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 07:35:00 +0000

A friend sent me this top-secret fact... Please do not share with anybody else!

People born between 1925 and 1945    :   The Silent Generation

People born between 1946 and 1964    :   The Baby Boomers

People born between 1965 and 1982    :   Generation X

People born between 1983 onwards :   Generation Y

Do you have any idea how this hot'n'happening new young generation got its name as Generation - 'Y' ???

Its because of this.....

(LOL!)

'BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com' witnesses 10,000th Visitor on 12 June 2009 | BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:34:00 +0000

'BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com' witnesses 10,000th Visitor on 12 June 2009 | BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com ...

Wow! 'Team B-n-M' feels elated and ecstatic to share with its valuable subscribers, readers, visitors and the entire online blogging world about witnessing its Ten Thousandth (10,000 th) visitor to its blog 'BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com' with nearly 2-pageloads on an average per visitor to the blog reading the pageload figures as nearing 19,000 as on 12-June-2009. The achievement is celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm among the whole of BRICKS-n-MORTAR community and the core team as well considering the fact that the feat is achieved within 14-calender months of launching the blog as "a weblog encompassing a common man's Civil Engineering related doubts and queries" A quick analysis of the number indicate the maximum of the traffic coming from the originating country of this blog - 'India'; with the 'United States of America (USA)' following at the second position. The other countries/ regions falling in the rest of the top-ten visitors contributors being 'United Kingdom (UK)', 'Canada', 'United Arab Emirates (UAE)', 'Australia', 'Malaysia', 'Singapore', 'European Union (EU)' and 'Philippines'. We wish to thank all our patrons, subscribers, readers, visitors and contributors to make this happen in a short span of time despite the fact that BRICKS-n-MORTAR is not the usual kind of blog which would bombard the blog and its RSS feed / E-mail oriented subscribers with unnecessary loads of blog posts day-on, and that it believes in quality material only being posted once or twice a week so that people get ample time to grab every single post to its core and entirety. THANKS A REAL TON TO ALL WHO HAS CONTRIBUTED!! :-D ...

SUBSCRIBE to get B-n-M's updates and feeds right there in your INBOX. Enter your email ID here ...

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The Three Musketeers!

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:11:00 +0000

The Three Musketeers... in concert of their own!
:-D

Imitating the original flick, is it you flamingos? But where's the fourth character?

Original Characters: Aramis, Athos, Porthos, D'Artagnan

---
Catch me also at...
MyPersonalGraffiti | bricks-n-mortar | ProductsGalleria

A must-must Crash Course for all young and would-be parents!

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:07:00 +0000

One of my friends sent this to me over email entailing very demonstrative set of instructions showing what to do and what not to do with a new born child!

A must must Crash Course - for all young and would-be parents!

Simply hillarious :-D

fun

TATA NANO l NANO price l World’s cheapest car launched in India l NANO bookings to start soon

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:03:00 +0000

TATA NANO l NANO price list l World’s cheapest car launched in India l NANO bookings to start soon

‘nano’ – the Rs. 1 lac (approx. $2000) car and the much-much hyped and awaitedIG> peoples’ car from the house of TATA MOTORS has finally been officially and formally launched here in

India

today, the 23rd day of March, 2009 --- the day that will perhaps be bookmarked as a landmark day in the history of the automobile industry at least.

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the flagship TATA Group formally launched the ‘TATA nano’ today in India. The booking for the ‘nano’ will start from April 9 to April 25, 2009 with the forms being made available at an upfront nominal cost of Rs. 300 (about $6) from the State Bank of India branches spread across the length and breadth of the country, TATA’s own franchisee stores (Titan, Chroma, Westside), besides other likely outlets that may be announced in the days to come assuming the high numbers of people looking to lay their hands on the booking form.

The ‘nano’ – arguably the world’s cheapest full version car till date - may also be booked directly on the newly launched dedicated website for the car --- http://tatanano.com

(A quick note: the website, a screenshot of which is presented hereunder, is already reporting enormous traffic and reporting error message due to more-than-expected internet traffic!)

Here are a few salient features of the NANO :

The ‘nano’ is to be launched in three petrol engine versions initially - the base version (costing about Rs. 1.12 lakh), the executive version (costing about Rs. 1.55 lakh) and the fully loaded luxury version (costing about Rs. 1.73 lakh).
The CX and LX higher end versions of the petrol engine version cars will have air conditioning (AC) features besides having power steering and/or power windows depending upon the respective models.
The booking of the Nano will begin on April 9 and remain open till April 25.
The delivery of the first lot of Nano cars are expected to begin in early July, while the applications for booking of the car will be available in 30,000 locations in 1,000 cities across India.
State Bank of India will be the qualified banker for collection of bookings in 850 cities, he said.
The car can be booked by just paying Rs. 3,000 (some report it as Rs. 2,999) upfront while the rest can be secured by way of loan, he said.
There will be 15 preferred financiers for the booking whose names will be disclosed in three days.

Nano’s dimensions : (length = 3.1 meters, width = 1.5 meters, height = 1.6 meters)
Reasonably high ground clearance of 180mm
Weighs only about 600 kg (on an average), which makes it about 50 kg lighter than the present day nearest competitor, Maruti 800.
The company cites an average of about 20 km per litre, which is one of the highest in its class. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide.
The car is about 8% smaller in size but about 21% higher in inside space volume when compared to the yesteryear small wonder from the house of Maruti Suzuki – the Maruti 800
All four tyres will be tubeless tyres but the front two ones will be smaller than the two rear ones, thereby requiring two steepeneyes. IG>
The people’s car’s tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements, the company boasts.
The nano is designed driving a family in mind; has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy
Sports a rear-wheel drive and an all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine
It has an all sheet-metal body, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body.
The fuel tank capacity is about 15 liters

Colour Variants available:

IG>Comparison of Nano with Maruti 800 (dimensionwise) :
IG>Comparison of Nano with Maruti 800 (overall specifications) :

IG>

My Random Click-Flicks --- (TP stuff)

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:39:00 +0000

1 2

Possession of a digital camera has made us click 'n experiment our shots. Reel cameras, anolgue cameras-- as they were used to be known, restricted the pleasure photo-ops as clicking such random shots like this would have meant wasting one of the 36 odd clickable shots.

But thanks to the new gen digital cameras... the photo-ops have increased manifolds, and the experiments with shots being multitude lately. The only negative aspect that comes to the mind is of eventually making a large hard drive of the order of 250 GB (used for storing the pictures) feel so very humble wanting for an urgent update :-)

These photos were a result of a similar lazy afternoon workout :-) Found them in today's clean-up drive that I'm busy in since this evening trying to pave way for some retrieved precious disk-space.

BTW, my iLike's current addition (play >>)
Am still working on it

81st Annual Academy Awards (Oscars) -- Nominees & Winners -- Slumdog Millionaire rules the roost

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:02:00 +0000

SM>

Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" has bagged 8 awards. A typical slumdog entry into the big wild world cinema, it has lived up to its very title and the theme of hope, anticipation and shear grit.

Entire India, which considered an Oscar was long overdue, is enthralled... and so are a billion of Indians.

Hereunder are the main categories, their respective nominees and the WINNING ENTRY among them as a quick reference of the world's most awaited and admired awards night -- 81st Annual Academy Awards.

Best Picture
'09The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Best Actor
Richard Jenkins in The Visitor
Frank Langella in Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn in Milk   (Winner)
Brad Pitt, in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Best Actress
Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie in Changeling
Melissa Leo in Frozen River
Meryl Streep in Doubt
Kate Winslet in The Reader   (Winner)

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin in Milk
Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt
Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight   (Winner)
Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams in Doubt
Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona   (Winner)
Viola Davis in Doubt
Taraji P Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler

Best Director
David Fincher in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard in Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant in Milk
Stephen Daldry in The Reader
Danny Boyle in Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Foreign Film
The Baader Meinhof Complex Germany
The Class France
Departures Japan   (Winner)
Revanche Austria
Waltz With Bashir Israel

Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley-Doubt
Peter Morgan-Frost/Nixon
David Hare-The Reader
Simon Beaufoy-Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Original Screenplay
Courtney Hunt-Frozen River
Mike Leigh-Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin McDonagh-In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black- Milk   (Winner)
Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter-WALL-E

Animated Feature Film
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E   (Winner)

Art Direction
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button   (Winner)
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

Cinematography
Changeling
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Sound Mixing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)
WALL-E
Wanted.

Sound Editing
The Dark Knight   (Winner)
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

Original Score
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-Alexandre Desplat
Defiance - James Newton Howard
Milk - Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire- AR Rahman   (Winner)
WALL-E Thomas Newman

Original Song
Down to Earth from WALL-E - Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman
Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire- AR Rahman and Gulzar   (Winner)
O Saya from Slumdog Millionaire- AR Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam

Costume
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess   (Winner)
Milk
Revolutionary Road

Documentary Feature
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire   (Winner)
Trouble the Water

Documentary (short subject)
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki   (Winner)
The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306

Film Editing
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire   (Winner)

Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button   (Winner)
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II
The Golden Army

Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes   (Winner)
Lavatory — Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

Live Action Short Film
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)    (Winner)

Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button    (Winner)
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

List source: IBN7

Statue of Liberty, USA --- Can somebody validate this info if he/she knows about it?

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 10:45:00 +0000

This looks really INCREDIBLE !
May be somewhat as incredible as the real monument itself is !!

One of my friends sent me this mail with this picture of human-made-image of the Statue of Liberty... The statue of Liberty that is synonym to the United States of America (USA). It is mentioned in this picture that the photograph was taken in 1918 while some 18,000 army men and officers were preparing for a war in some training camp at Camp Dodge in Iowa.

If this really is true, then the information and the picture are worth a thousand compliments.

Can somebody comment on its veracity and correctness of facts?

[Web-Share]: Economic Meltdown... the BIG mystery SIMPLIFIED!

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:12:00 +0000

>>Economic Meltdown...

You must be hearing this term these days so commonly that the terminology might seem to be ominous. The newspapers are continuously writing about it.. the TV channels are beaming endless news, reviews, discussions, and what not! But, to a common man like me, this terminology was becoming more and more of a BIG question mark as what it really means in common terms.

So asked friends.. searched the web.. and then finally found this piece. Sharing that simplified version with you guys too for easy understanding!

Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.

1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.

2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owned a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.

* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.

3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.

*A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.

* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.

* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.

* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.

4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owned a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owed B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.

* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.

* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.

* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. Note that a hypothetical bubble has started building up.

(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A.

* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.

* B owned a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.

* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.

* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.

(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.

(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more."

(8) A also thought the same way.

(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.

* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.

* B owed C 2 dollars and the land he owned which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.

* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his Heart is palpitating.

* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.

(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country ? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper.

* B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.

(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.

* A owns the 2 coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.

* B is bankrupt, his net asset is 0 dollar. ( he lost everything )

* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar

* The net asset of the country is back to where it stood initially = 3 dollars

SEE, UNLESS THE VALUE OF THE ASSETS IS IMPROVED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BALANCED SUPPLY 'n DEMAND SCENARIO, THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN BUBBLE MUST BURST AT SOME POINT OF TIME BY SIMPLE DYNAMICS of SCIENCES and ECONOMICS.

Got it now?!! :-D

[Indian Graffiti] : Indians Love their Babies

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:29:00 +0000

Yupp... Indians have inherited this in their very blood and genes :-) Proud 2 b an Indian

Pass on to fellow Indians to let them also get the feedback as what the Westerners see and realize for themselves besides the usual media renderings of portraying India where sadhoos, cows and snakes greet visitors on road. :-)

-------- Original Message --------

Sometime back.. may be around 4-5 weeks before or so.. I stumbled upon a blog post title through my customized google alerts with 'India' as one of the keywords therein that I've subscribed to in my inbox. The title - "Indians Love their Babies" attracted my attention immediately as it was an unusual topic of sorts that one could find in the blogosphere, and that too when the author is shown as a non Indian. [By the way, in case somebody's intrigued what I mean by these alerts here above, let me tell you that subscribing to google alerts (or any other similar internet service alert as a matter of fact) is a good way that I got to know from one of my pals to receive alerts from internet search results and/or indexing results etc. which keep updating with new and old web stuff in their respective servers.]

Coming back to the topic, the post was really good. I followed the link.. nah!.. now i remember there wasn't any link.. and in fact searched for the blog post author Susan Weis on facebook (as she had suggested at the end of her post), and am proud to be a pal of hers now. She had a couple of photos uploaded there, and they were simply good. I strongly suggest all of you reading the following shared blog post of hers to visit her pages and read more good stuff. The blog post that I'm referring to is reproduced hereunder for the sake of sharing nice web stuff (of course with her permission only, so to mention :-D )

READ HER POST HERE BELOW...

susan's musings:

Indians Love their Babies
This thought just keeps swirling around my head. I never saw a stroller in India. I saw parents holding their babies everywhere. Passing them on to other relatives. Kissing them. Tickling them. Smiling into their eyes. Never letting them go. Indians love their babies. On the trains, in restaurants, at tourist sites, walking on the street - moms and dads holding their kids’ hands, reassuring them, cuddling them, nuzzling them. I was so struck by the love, the acceptance, the humor, the smiles, the eyes. Such beautiful, amazing people.
And then there is this lovely tradition of Indians wanting to have their photo taken with foreigners. I can just imagine their photo albums filled with faces of white strangers – “Look ! We met these lovely people at the Taj Mahal. They love our country.” Schoolboys on a field trip shyly approached us at the Agra Fort – “photo?” Soon most of the class was upon us, crouching down to form rows to fit them all in! Families on vacation from the south, “photo?”
Often we would take photos of the kids posing for us – they didn’t seem that interested in seeing the digital picture – they were just so happy to have their photo taken! It was so sweet.
But back to the Indians loving their babies. I mentioned this to a woman on the trip and she said everyone loves their babies. I wish that was true. What I witness everyday on 36th Street, in the neighborhood where my shop is, makes me doubt that sometimes. I know they love their babies – but they most certainly don’t know how to express it. The aggression and anger I see from these parents is heartbreaking. I know it’s the way they were raised so I fear their kids have no chance. I rarely see love and affection between mothers and their babies on 36th Street. I see anger and frustration. I see drinking and smoking. I hear yelling and cursing. I wonder why it’s this way.
So this is why I was so struck by the love and warmth I saw in India. The biggest smiles I’ve ever seen were on the faces of these children held so closely by their mom or dad, or auntie, or uncle, or cousin, or friend. Passing babies back and forth from one loved one to another – never letting them go. On the airplane from Newark to Delhi. On the train from Delhi to Amritsar. In the market place in Jaipur. On the colonial streets of Shimla. In the quiet pathways in Dharamsala. By the Ganges in Haridwar. I’ll never forget this. Indians so love their babies.
To see photos from the trip, go to facebook.com, search for Susan Weis, and proceed from there…

--
Posted By Shelly to Indian Graffiti at 1/14/2009 04:09:00 PM

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About India's first high-profile skiing village in Kullu - Manali (HP, India)

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:16:00 +0000

This article, published in the 'Financial Times Deutschland', is about the state of the long-proposed India's first high-profile skiing village in the suburbs of Kullu - Manali in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. The places are famous tourist destinations in Indian tourist circuit and are thronged by millions of visitors and tourists from round the world and within India alike. The higher reaches of Kullu - Manali receive heavy snowfall in winters and are foreseen to be developed into a world class ski resort by international entrepreneurs and business houses of the likes of Alfred Ford (the great-grandson of US industrialist Henry Ford) and other well known personalities.

The article caught my attention while surfing the internet as its keywords must have been SEOed as related to 'India'. The article essays the difficulties that the proposed project has undergone in past couple of years resulting in its much hyped delay, the government's slow working procedures, and most of all the faith of the local people in their respective local deities in deciding if the project is good or bad for the people / region.

But, the thing that had my eyeballs snapped the most was this glitzy picture of some dancing damsels in flashy filmy costumes highlighting the article (in other words representing the picture of India to the FTD's readers). The article has nothing to do with bollywood or entertainment yet it is correlated with colourful picture of some dancing beauties.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS IT REALLY THE PICTURE THAT THE WESTERNERS MUST RELATE INDIA TO WHEN THEY READ ABOUT HER?
OR IS THIS THE TRANSFORMATION OF IMAGE FROM INDIA BEING PROJECTED AS THE LAND OF SNAKES, COWS, SAINTS ROAMING ON ROADS?
ALL IN ALL, DO VISIT THE FTD's SITE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN FULL AND SEE THE PICTURE IN LARGER VIEW.

[Guest post by Shelly @ Indian-Graffiti]

[Dekhona.com]: Sunset view from within an aeroplane video

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:51:00 +0000

Watch the horizon with the golden hues spread by the last streaks of the sun at the sunset from within an aeroplane.

Watch the Video

Tribute to the BRAVE Indian soldiers & our beloved Nation - INDIA!

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:34:00 +0000

Heartfelt Tribute....

The terror episode has been demolished for this particular Mumbai incident for now...

but if you believe in the cause & feel its worth sharing with millions of people worldwide showing our solidarity, make it a point to keep the flame of patriotism and faith burning.

And yes, many thanks & due credits for the creators of this 'saluting' image with a heartfelt message.

[Update Flash] : New post on "Bricks-n-Mortar.com' >>>

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:07:00 +0000

[Update Flash] : New post on "Bricks-n-Mortar.com'

The Marvelous Heritage Architecture -- The 'TAJ MAHAL PALACE & TOWER' -- Mumbai, India

Posted: 03 Dec 2008 10:11 AM CST

India, in the past week gone by, witnessed one of the most horrendous and ghastly terrorist attacks on one of her iconic and heritage architectural structure which by no means can be considered less than a monument. Several innocent lives lost, many of dutiful Indian armed personnel martyred, and innumerable horrific memories remain in the eyes 'n minds of the entire rational world.

And, in the centre stage of this worst episode of inhuman and ghastly act of certain fundamentalists, stand the other victims - 'TAJ MAHAL PALACE and TOWER' besides the 'Oberoi TRIDENT', Jewish settlers' Nariman point building and the Cafe Leopold - which bore the physical blunt of this insane act of terrorism... may be still trying to find out WHY THEY WERE SO ATTACKED and defaced. The answer may never come to them unless the fanatic fundamentalists who carry out such devilish acts are blessed back the thoughtfulness and righteousness of whats right and whats not right by the Almighty.

Taj Mahal Palace & Tower - BnM - Image1 (Still standing tall as usual]

This post of Bricks-n-Mortar is a humble and heartfelt 'get-well-soon' prayer to this iconic Indian monument as well as the other buildings that came under attack. Heartfelt tribute to all the persons too also who lost their precious lives.

The Taj Mahal Palace hotel was built in the year 1903 by Mr. Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the founder of India's one of the topmost business conglomerate house: The Tata group. History has it that Mr. Jamsetji N. Tata decided to build this iconic hotel when he was denied entry into a premier English hotel during the Britsh Raj era. The result was this marvelous piece of architecture, which in fact was built even before the very famous 'Gateway of India' monument, some about 20 years back. [Check out the hotel's full history snapshot at the hotel's official website the link of which is following below]

As highlighted in the Taj Hotels' website,

"Built in 1903, the hotel is an architectural marvel and brings together Moorish, Oriental and Florentine styles. Offering panoramic views of the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India, the hotel is a gracious landmark of the city of Mumbai, showcasing contemporary Indian influences along with beautiful vaulted alabaster ceilings, onyx columns, graceful archways, hand-woven silk carpets, crystal chandeliers, a magnificent art collection, an eclectic collection of furniture, and a dramatic cantilever stairway.

Over the past century, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Mumbai has amassed a diverse collection of paintings and works of art and is a veritable showcase of artifacts and art of the era. From Belgian chandeliers to Goan Christian artifacts, the hotel incorporates a myriad of artistic styles and tastes."

Taj Mahal Palace & Tower - BnM - Image2 (INTERIORS]

Architecture.about.com writes,

"With distinctive onion domes and pointed arches, the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel combined Moorish and Byzantine design with European ideas. Constructed of yellow basalt and reinforced concrete, the grand arch borrows details from 16th century Islamic architecture."

Now that the nightmarish terror episode has been tamed by the Indian armed forces and the positive will of the Indian and International people alike, lets all wish these iconic and marvelous architectural jewels come to vibrant life as soon as possible. Come together hand-in-hand wishing the marvel and grandeur of these beautiful jewels of the earth are restored by the utmost strong will and empathy of rational mankind.

http://www.bricks-n-mortar.com/search/label/Architecture

RELATED WEBLINKS : [Clickable direct weblinks as listed below]

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[Delhi-NCR]: Four simple steps to 'Track your DDA housing-2008 Application Form online'

Posted: 03 Dec 2008 05:59 AM CST

Realty sector is down all around the world. True by all means in current worldwide financial meltdown!

But when it comes to buying a home from Government/ Semi-Government and other State-owned bodies, nothing can still beat the euphoria among the citizens of India... no matter what the falling stock markets indicate, or what the property pundits forecast about realty as a whole.

And when the Housing Scheme in question be that of the Delhi Development Authority (or DDA as it is popularly called in short form) for a piece of land/ floor area in the Capital city of India - DELHI; one can easily see people cozying up to the anticipation of getting their application forms drawn out in the lucky draw.

Yes, we are talking about the DDA's housing scheme 2008, which witnessed millions and millions of application forms being submitted for some 5,500 odd flats, plots and duplexes on offer through a number of nationalized and private banks through the months of August 2008 & September 2008. After receiving complaints from aspiring applicants the last time (year 2006) of the banks failing to submit certain numbers of forms to the Authorities in time, DDA this time around has took a wonderful step --- TO HELP LET THE APPLICANTS KNOW IF THEIR RESPECTIVE APPLICATION FORMS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED BY 'DDA' OR NOT. In the process, in case certain applicant finds out that his/her application (the acknowledgment receipt of which he/she has in possession from the concerned bank) has not been received by DDA, he/she can follow up the status and demand an answer from that particular bank which accepted his/her application. A tough task of tracking the application has been made simpler by DDA !!

If you are also one of the applicants, and want to know the status, team@bricks-n-mortar presents you the four simple steps to find out:

STEP-1 : Log in to DDA's website (see the web-address at the bottom of this post for a QUICKLINK)

STEP-2 : Click the link on the middle-right hand side of the DDA's homepage mentioning "DDA HOUSING SCHEME- 2008"

STEP-3 : Fill up your application form number in the window opened after following step-2 above. Click the 'GO' tab

STEP-4 : The subsequent window that opens up after following step-3 brings about the STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION FORM. In case the form is not in possession of DDA, hurry up... go and follow up with the bank branch where you submitted your form. DDA is understood to be waiting for a couple of days only after 20 November 2008 when it brought this service live.

RELATED WEBLINKS for Quick Reference & Users Assistance: [Clickable direct weblinks]

DDA's website ................ http://www.dda.org.in
DDA's homepage with link as told in step-2 above ................ "DDA HOUSING SCHEME- 2008"
India's national informatics website ................ http://www.india.gov.in

Post Tags: PropertyBazaar Delhi-NCR NewsOfUse

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[Utilities-n-Softwares]: Google's "SketchUp" - A useful architectural 3-D models generating software

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:57:00 +0000

Being a regular reader and subscriber to the feeds of one of my friends social blog- bricks-n-mortar.com, I had posted a query there to know more about google SketchUp. Using the same post here too by blogging it here on my personal graffiti with the aim that someone from my readers too may be knowing about this useful utility which is another very effective and useful freeware from google's stable. Do tell me in case you can help. Here's the link to the original post at bricks-n-mortar.com .... [Utilities-n-Softwares]: Google's "SketchUp" - A useful architectural 3-D models generating software

[Web-Share]: Google Alert >> Best laid plans and the Shatabdi Express - New Delhi, India

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 06:34:00 +0000

Interesting piece posted by some tourists visiting India. The experiences detailed are similar to what we can expect Westerners can face visiting here, but the narrative is informal & funny. Its bit lengthier. Read when you can spend some 4 - 5 minutes of your spare time.

Google Alert

Best laid plans and the Shatabi Express - New Delhi, India Our few weeks in India had been quıte an awakening. We had become all to used to South East Asıa's exceptional tourist infrastructure, low season deals and vacancy - not to mentıon the fıve dollar massages! ...

... Best laid plans oft go awry but in this case that really didn't hinder us. The dice turned right and we made our schedule with no problem and some fun memories to boot!

A humble web-share post on "1971" - The touching hindi movie

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:34:00 +0000

Watched this touching and tale-telling movie just now on the Doordarshan just by chance as the CAS signal went off (luckily for today, as it made me surf the usual DD channel which was airing this movie tonight) I couldn't help but cry throughout the end. Actually I wasn't crying. Only the tears didn't stop rolling and my senses kept on asking for some good ending (which in fact could never be there considering the brutal reality of the raw treatment of Indian POWs by our neighbour). All credits to the entire 1971 team for presenting the truth to us in a non-filmi and so realistic manner. All aspects of the movie are worth more than a zillion-dollar praise... be it the director, star cast, script, screenplay, and everything related. And to those families, who've lost their loved ones' lives in such incidences in reality, or who still are hoping against all the odds that their loved ones would return back some day, please be known that our hearts and prayers are with you. Also hope that whenever good Samaritans from India as well as Pakistan would come across any hint of news related to this issue, would at least share the same in all possible media channels so that any likely clue of saving lives and respective relations be preserved, thereby helping keep the human spirit alive. Do spread the message beyond so that the good work gets more and more eyeballs, and minds as well.

A few related reviews and links found through search engines on "1971":

IndiaGlitz : "1971 - Small film with big effort"
OneIndia : "1971 - Review, by Taran Adarsh"
YouTube : "1971 Indian movie Re-Cut"

Google introduces FeedBurner integration for all blogspot bloggers

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:01:00 +0000

At last, some good news for google's blogspot bloggers....Google has introduced this new simple and easy way to use feedburner and blogger together.There had been some apprehension since last few days when google all of a sudden used the feedburner platform actively for migration / transfer of the erstwhile feedburner feeds to google's feedproxy.feedburner platform. This very update at feedburner's group blog explains it all.And for previous users of feedburner, who used to login through http://feedburner.com address, they can now migrate their blog feeds through one-ID google login through http://feedburner.google.comBut, practice some care, and better read a few forums and dos and don'ts before you try it on for your own blog as some hitches were experienced in the last few days (including that by one of my pals, Shelly, at her popular blog- http://BRICKS-n-MORTAR.com, and which she told took her a full day to sort things out!!!)Bon voyage netizens who want to sail through to google's feedburner direct platform.

read more | digg story

[Food4Thought]: A nice article on Kashmir's options in The Times of India (TOI)

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:38:00 +0000

[Food4Thought] A nice article on Kashmir's people's options in the Delhi edition of The Times of India (TOI) dated 24/Aug/08

MEN AND IDEAS

Kashmiri choice

-GURCHARAN DAS

A Kashmiri Muslim student came to see me last week and it was not long before our conversation turned to the current azadi wave in the valley. He did not think that an independent Kashmir was viable, and its only choice was either to be with India or with Pakistan. After a pause he asked guilelessly, why was India a democracy and Pakistan an autocracy? This set me thinking. I told him that Pakistan was more the norm — Third World countries do not generally become stable democracies. India is an exception. India’s democracy and Pakistan’s autocracy have deep roots in history. India’s nationalist movement was older and more widespread. Millions of ordinary Indians were drawn in by Mahatma Gandhi. Muslim nationalism emerged later and did not become a mass movement — Jinnah was more comfortable in the drawing room rather than the ‘dusty road’. While Indians prepared for democracy over three generations, Pakistanis-to-be got the itch only a couple of years before independence. After independence, Pakistan’s politicians performed abysmally. The Muslim League Party disintegrated; there were nine governments in 10 years and the army under Ayub Khan seized power in 1958. Jinnah’s great error was to impose Urdu as the national language when only 8% of Pakistanis spoke Urdu and 55% spoke Bengali. Thus, he sowed the seeds of Bangladesh. Sri Lanka made the same tragic mistake. India did not succumb to this anti-democratic temptation by imposing Hindi. This is how India gave space for subidentities to flourish, allowed the rise of peoples’ leaders from linguistic states, and deepened democracy. Although his slogan in the 1945-46 elections in undivided India was ‘Islam is in danger’, Jinnah wanted to build a modern nation. Even though General Zia-ul-Haq reinforced theological priority, i do not believe Islam prevents Pakistan from being democratic. The rise of Islamism does tear the ordinary Pakistani’s loyalty between the brotherhood and the state, but the maulvi is not Pakistan’s natural leader as in Iran. The chief obstacle to democracy is the army. Hence, i am relieved that Musharraf is gone. It does create a vacuum that might be filled by extremists, but in the longer term the best thing for India is to have a democratic Pakistan. For a brief moment in the mid-1970s the two nations seemed to converge. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto began to steer Pakistan towards genuine democracy while Indira Gandhi took India on the path of dictatorship. The paths diverged after 1977 as Mrs Gandhi called an election and Bhutto was executed by Zia in 1979. India returned to the path of democracy, whose binding glue is the liberal notion that all Indians are equal citizens before the law, owing loyalty to the Constitution. This is a British legacy. Before that we were a collection of communities and kingdoms. Although we still feel loyal to our caste or community, we are different from the tragic Pakistanis whose land has been hijacked by the military. Once there is military rule you get a state within a state. You are powerless to stop your secret service from creating monsters like the Taliban and before you know it your country has become the world’s top university for terrorists. I then turned to my young Kashmiri friend. He wished more Kashmiris could come and see India’s vibrant democracy, its confident economy and the rise of the lowborn. ‘‘There is a simple choice before all Kashmiris,’’ he said. ‘‘If you want to be a citizen of a modern democracy with unparalleled opportunities, you will choose self-assured India. If you believe that Islam is in danger and you want the army’s protection, you will choose tragic Pakistan.’’

[Source web location: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMDgvMDgvMjQjQXIwMjIwNQ==&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom] Disclaimer: Article shared just for the purpose of thought-sharing only. No personal contribution in terms of writing or propaganda, or any monetary aspect attached of whatsoever kind.

WOW! New google logo for Beijing Olympics 2008 (08/08/08)

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 06:03:00 +0000

Google logos (insignias) are always eye-catching and remain in the news. And google's current logo highlighting the Beijing Olympics 2008 inauguration day today (08/08/08) is no different.... its fresh, insightful and interesting again! Isn't it?? What do you say?

[I-Tax India]: Know your PAN and Jurisdiction details --- All by yourself in a minute!

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:10:00 +0000

NOTHING MUCH TO DO. JUST A FEW SIMPLE STEPS...

Simply click the link
Reach to India Govt's IT website
Fill in three details
Get to know your PAN as well as Jurisdiction (Ward and Circle)

WEB LINK https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/knowpan/knowpan.jsp

[I-Tax India]: Some Useful Tips and References for Filing Income Tax Return (India)

noreply@blogger.com (sood13545) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:31:00 +0000

1	HRA exemption = minimum of (40% (50% for metros) of Basic+DA or HRA or rent paid - 10% of Basic+DA)
2	Transport allowance is exempt upto Rs.800/- per month provided the person is in India during the month. For people having permanent physical disability, the exemption is Rs.1,600/- per month
3	Vehicle maintenance exemption can be claimed if you use a car for travel to the workplace. In such case, exemption can be claimed for the petrol and vehicle maintenance amounts. The exemption is available to the tune of Rs.1,200/- per month if the engine capacity is less than 1600cc and Rs.1,600/- per month if the engine capacity is more than 1600cc. In case the amount includes driver's salary, there is an additional exemption of Rs.600/- per month. When this exemption is claimed, transport allowance exemption is not available.
4	Medical bills are exempt for self and dependent family, upto Rs.15,000/- per annum
5	LTA is exempt to the tune of ecomony class airfare for the family to any destination in India, by the shortest route. LTA can be claimed twice in a block of 4 calendar years. The current block is from 2006 to 2009
6	Gratuity, VRS and some such amounts are exempt up to certain limits. If you get any such payment, please find out the exact limit for you from a tax consultant.
7	Children's Education allowance is exempt upto Rs.100/- per child per month plus Rs.300/- per child per month for hostel expenses (max of 2 children only)
8	There is an exemption for interest on housing loan. If the loan was taken before Apr 1, 1999 exemption is limited to Rs.30,000/- per year. If the loan was taken after Apr 1, 1999 exemption is limited to Rs.1,50,000/- per year if the house is self-occupied; there is no limit if the house is rented out This exemption is available on accrual basis, which means if interest has accrued, you can claim exemption, irrespective of whether you've paid it or not. If the loan is taken jointly by two individuals both can claim this exemption
9	If you have rented out your house, consider the total income/loss from the house (after deducting property tax and standard maintenance expenses)
10	Medical Insurance (such as Mediclaim) premium is exempt upto Rs.15,000/- per year for self, spouse & dependent children. An additional Rs.15,000/- is exempt towards premium for parents (even if they are not dependent). If the parent(s) are above 65 years of age, an extra Rs.5,000/- can be claimed
11	Deduction in respect of medical treatment of handicapped dependents is limited to Rs.50,000/- per year if the disability is less than 80% and Rs.75,000/- per year if the disability is more than 80%
12	Deduction in respect of medical treatment for specified ailments or diseases for the assesse or dependent can be claimed upto Rs.40,000/- per year. If the person being treated is a senior citizen, the exemption can go up to Rs.60,000/-
13	Interest repayment on education loan (taken for higher education from a university of self & dependents) is completely tax exempt
14	Donations given for certain charities are tax exempt. Some are exempt to the tune of 50%, whereas others are 100%. (Please cross check the applicable category)
15	If you do not get HRA, but have rented a house, an exemption is available. This will be calculated as minimum of (25% of total income or rent paid - 10% of total income or Rs.24,000/- per year)
16	Donations for certain scientific research and rural development are also exempt.
17	Interest earned from all sources is to be included in income. All interest income is fully taxable (except interest from Savings account)
18	If you have a permanent physical disability (including blindness), you can take an exemption of Rs.50,000/- per year
19	Investments up to 1 lac in PF, VFP, PPF, Insurance Premium, Housing loan principal repayment, NSC, ELSS, long term bank Fixed Deposit, Post Office Term Deposit, etc. are deductible from the taxable income under sec 80C. There is no limit on individual items, so all of the 1 lac may be invested in a particular single instrument also. The only exception is PPF where the maximum investment is limited to Rs.70,000/-
20	Surcharge on Income tax is applied at 10% of the tax amount, if the taxable income is more than Rs.10,00,000/-
21	Education cess is calculated at 3% on total tax payable
22	For the current year, Govt. prescribed rate of interest for PF is 8.5%. If the employer pays interest higher than this, the differential interest earned is treated as perquisites
23	Residents of Sikkim are exempt from Income Tax for the current year (Please confirm though; This is not 100% sure)

[Source: Reference material received through email from one Nithyanand Yeswanth] Disclaimer: Correctness of the matter to be cross verified from other sources too. This is only a sourced presentation and should notbe taken without necessary verification.