Lost in Dreams…

Have you ever wondered how much time you spend online? or how many times you Google on average?. Google has a not so famous notorious tool called “Web History”. Eventhough it has been in the receiving end of privacy watchdogs, I decided to try it long back. Few days back when I checked the trends of my search activity, I was surprised to find that it could be so meaningful. Below is a screenshot of my search activity.

As seen above the Feb 2008 was a dull period for my search activities since I was on vacation and away from the computers for most of the time. The period of Apr-May saw a peak because of the aftermath of my Hannover visit. The latter half of previous year was filled with work that I didn’t much time in front of the system and October visit to India was a cause of the drop. I was surprised to find my Friday activity to be quite higher than my expectations since I spent most of the day in the bed. Looks like Tuesday is the day when I am totally jobless. Lately for the past one year I have been trying to hit the bed early which is very much evident, and also evident are my lunch breaks at 2pm and last few hours at office after 5pm and consecutive climb at 8pm back at home and post dinner climb after 10pm and just before hitting the bed at 12 am.

For a one year period ending on 17th May 2008, my average searches per day was 12. Top sites visited were Wikipedia, Answers.com, Google, Experts-exchange, Support@micro$oft, Amazon, IMDB. The top three queries were test, whois and wikipedia. 

Coming clean on nuclear energy

Gulf News Published: May 16, 2008, 23:39

It is good to be cautious. And it is caution the UAE is demonstrating as it goes about developing its nascent nuclear energy programme. Nuclear energy is seen as being a significant supplier to the UAE for domestic purposes in the future. So it is only right that the nation is approaching the installation, technology and training of nuclear power with great care. The UAE has already signed agreements with the US and France, two leading suppliers of nuclear energy, to advise it on the installations. Now an agreement has been signed with the UK, also a major supplier of nuclear energy for many years.

With the US, France and the UK supplying technical know-how, the UAE can be sure it is getting some of the best advice available. Furthermore, by disclosing who they are co-operating with, the UAE is showing full transparency of the project, as it said it would.

The above article was the editorial of Gulf News today. If I show this article to somebody without telling that this was the editorial of the day, I bet their first guess would be that this was the Government publication. I fail to see the reasoning of Gulf News about supporting a nuclear program and the worst case is talking about the merits in an editorial. I assume US & UK will be helping in “training of nuclear power” to UAE (whatever it is supposed to be). I am no Oxford pundit but still that term look way off to be used in an editorial.

Source : Gulf News

Finally it’s a time for rejoicing for all the Chennaiites living in Abu Dhabi. A direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Chennai was a dream for thousands people living here who had to contend themselves from taking a transit via Doha, Bahrain, Muscat, Bombay and Colombo (I guess not everybody taking a transit via Colombo were sad).

According to the government gazette (I mean the newspapers), the new Chennai service will operate as flight EY266 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Abu Dhabi at 8.50am, arriving in Chennai at 2.30pm. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the service will operate as flight EY268, departing Abu Dhabi at 1.45pm and arrive in Chennai at 7.25pm. Return flight EY267 will depart Chennai on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 3.15pm, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 5.45pm the same day. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the service will operate as flight EY269, departing Chennai at 8.20pm and arrive in the UAE capital at 10.50pm.

Now if somebody asks whether I will change my preferred transit (thro Colombo), it is something I need to think it over…

Source : Gulf News , Economic Times, PK News Bureau

I got a new Spice mill this weekend and thanks to it I have been making great salads and omelets (a very relative notion). But cannot stop wondering how the spice over the egg has changed the world history. These spices have established empires, destroyed civilizations, revealed new continents and changed the power equations of the great empires. It was one of the reasons that men set sail into the unknown with promise of the riches out of the spice trade resulting in discovery of new routes, lands, people and also in wiping out ancient empires and resulting in imperialisation that has led to the world as we know today.

Spices that garnish my salads at one time were more valuable than gold and any known worldly possession. They were the cause why Vasco Da Gama landed in India and later, British taking over India to guarantee the supplies of spices so that the monarch can have a more flavorful dinner. Out of the trade that resulted with these spices wealth was concentrated in certain places of the world and which resulted in more development and ultimately the Industrial Revolution and rest is modern history.

All in the name of tasty food…