Solving Rubik's Cube

Got my hands on a Rubik's cube & the experience has been fun. (puzzle solving)

Photo Courtesy to Wikipedia - Rubik's Cube

I have been trying to solve this puzzle, and getting through the basics is fun. Going through it repeatedly makes it easier and the steps & patterns start to fall in place & it starts to make sense. I just hope I can make it second nature. People should give it a try and should not loose heart if not being able to solve. The people that saw me solving it throughout my day, show interest in the Magic Cube (earlier name for Rubik's cube before the patenting) but just loose interest once they cannot get the colours to match. 

Check out the wikipedia article on Rubik's Cube. CLICK HERE.

The Epic Splits - Volvo Trucks

The Epic Split feat. Jeanne Claude Van Damme on a moving Volvo truck. Now if that was the only case. 

Volvo quotes,

This live test was set up to demonstrate the precision and directional stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering -- a world first technology that makes the new Volvo FM easier to drive.

The above video is the Teaser which gives information on the split to performed. CLICK HERE if the above embedded video does not work. The video below is the Final Cut - Epic Split video, CLICK HERE if the below embedded video does not work. The link will take you to the Official Youtube Page of Volvo Trucks which released the video on Youtube on 14th November 2013.

Original Source: Volvo Trucks on Youtube
Referrals: Came across the video on Facebook shared by a friend.

Another Behind the Scene footage by AutoMotoTV. CLICK HERE if the below video does not work.

The Complete story of the Epic Split - The Auto Channel. Interview with the director. CLICK HERE if the below video does not work.

Squats for a Subway Train Ticket

Russia is publicizing very hard to promote the Winter Olympics 2014 at Sochi ( Friday, February 7, 2014) till (Sunday, February 23, 2014). The above concept is one of its such efforts. What I find interesting is that a daily activity such as commuting on a subway is made interesting, be it for the viewers or the ones participating. Location: Moscow Subway, Russia. I would say this concept can work across a lot of places around the world. CLICK HERE if the above embedded video doesn't work (Original/Official Youtube Uploader -Олимпийские перемены - Olympics Change ). Uploaded on 8th November 2013. Enable the Captions to English for viewing the captions/subtitles.

Original Source: Олимпийские перемены - Olympics Change
Referrals: Mashable (CLICK HERE for the post)

Referrals: First came across the video on Facebook shared by a friend.
More videos of the launch of the event can be seen on Youtube mostly uploaded by Event attendees and Passers by.

Go Right, 2D at its best

Mark just shared this link on his B-sides 248pm. A nostalgic feeling came over seeing this video and rightly put by Mark on his post "If you’re an old school gamer then you’ll agree with me that this video is more touching than KONY2012."

So many thing went through my mind like Atari, Nintendo, Sega, 286's, 386's, Mario, Prince of Persia, Aladin, Sonic - the Hedgehog, Spiderman, Zelda, Ironman, Contra, Ninja etc. Amazing Video Compilation and Editing and more amazingly Storyboard. HERE is the original Youtube link. 

Lumix Photography Competition Facebook

Came across this contest by Mark 2:48AM. Every month a new theme is put up. This months theme is Light Trails.For more details, you can check the Facebook site by CLICKING HERE.Photography opportunities are all around.

Invisible Mercedes - F Cell Hybrid Car

This video is quite popular over the Internet right now. I have seen this popping up on facebook, youtube and also twitter. Looks like the marketing department in Mercedes-Benz must be having a field day with this one. The company claims that the car is a Fuel cell with Zero emissions. People are more interested in the invisibility that is put up over the car. I am sure the people in Germany had an amazing first hand experience for a whole one week with this car. Now the folks over the internet will try to get a first hand experience with viewing the video over the internet. There is an article on this on hybrid cars website.If that itself is not enough then the facebook page for the official Mercedes Benz F cell is another place to visit. The technology behind the invisibility in pretty nice one. On one side you coat the car with LEDs and on the other side a camera (here they use Canon). The image taken is immediately displayed over the LED giving a sense of a see through. (Reminds me of Ninja Camouflage 101) Anyways here is the video.

Currently Listening : Breathing by Jason Derulo

Currently listening to the song 'Breathing' by Jason Derulo. I have been hearing this song as it was on the UK Top 40 at number 35 when it entered on 26th February 2012. Currently hooked to the music, more than the lyrics. Have been hearing it over and over again. Lyrics can be read HERE. Official video can be seen on Youtube. One can see below also.

Plantronics Headset

Plantronics Mobile Audio 920

I recently got my hands on this headset device (Plantronics Mobile Audio 920). I had a 50-50 feeling about this device. It felt similar to the previous headsets I had come across. Previously, I have used Nokia bluetooth headsets (BH-209 and HS-36W) which were compatible with Nokia phones.

Recently, I was searching for some headset which could work with other mobile phones. There were many choices available which allow one headset to be connected with two mobile phones simultaneously and also belonging to two different mobile companies. Many third party companies are available which connect to any type of mobile phone (as long as bluetooth is present).

This particular headset can be connected to two different mobile handset phones simultaneously and also of different companies. But the other point which I consider as a plus for this particular device is that apart from being a bluetooth device this also acts as a wireless device when connected to a PC which enables to make voice calls. The price of this device was put at KD 25 (US$ 90) on Blink and currently crazy deal offer at Blink (valid for few days from 14th January 2012) has priced it at KD 15 (US $ 53). When I was searching for similar devices for PC and Mobile phone at different stores throughout Kuwait, this particular device was available at Blink and was reasonably priced.

The most intriguing thing about all these devices is that the power cords are annoying different. The Plantronics Mobile Audio 920 has its own cord which is connected using USB port for charging. I am just hoping that in the future there is a standard for power charging with electronic devices like cell phones, accessories and other devices. This way less amount of clutter with the wires.

Happy New Year 2012

Another new year dawns on us. 2011 was another interesting year with a lot of things happening. (Ofcourse 365 days in a year is quite sufficient for all sort of events). Each year brings ups and downs which leads us in having amazing set of memories and experiences. Hope 2012 brings another amazing set of experiences, hopefully good ones

Flight 29 Down

Have been watching Flight 29 Down - the series lasted for 2 seasons with each season containing 13 episodes. After two seasons, the last of the series (4 episodes) was released as a movie. The nice thing about KTV is that all the 30 episodes were shown in one go over a period of one month.

Watching Flight 29 Down

Watching KTV 2 (Kuwait Television Channel 2); one of the tv series I am watching, is 'Flight 29 Down'. Reminds me of 'Lost'. It is about a group of high school kids stranded on an island after crashing landing due to a storm. This series is about the experience of the high school kids surviving each day on the island until rescue arrives.

Breaking Laziness

 It's seems like ages since I have posted on the blog.Trying to break into the habit of writing. Working out on what to post. Still getting things cleared out within my head (Getting a clear picture).

Ads at Pharmacy

Recently I visited a Pharmacy in Bangalore and noticed a monitor with advertisements. I enquired about it and came to know that it is a new kind of promotion/business model. This is being implemented in 100 pharmacies in Bangalore. The advertising company provides the 20 inch Viewsonic monitor (with in built memory) on a refundable deposit of Rs 10,000 paid by the pharmacy. In return, the pharmacy get Rs 500 per month from the advertising company. The advertising company updates the ads every month. The advertising company makes money from the advertisers which are usually pharmaceutical companies. The monitors currently were showing some health facts. I am guessing that this is an effective means as people do spend few minutes at the Pharmacy purchasing their medicines.

Throwing into Dustbin

I was returning home and a couple of people walking before me were having some flyers in their hands. After reading they dropped it onto road and footpath while the dustbin was just a few steps away. What was strange was that they were not the only people doing so and the road & footpath looked like a mess.

Flyers are a way of advertisement for any business establishment - big or small. The only best thing I like about flyers is that they are made of Recycled papers. Any shop, market, clinic, restaurant and even individuals use these flyers for advertisements. They are distributed on the roads, infront of ones house, masjids, churches, markets etc...

I remember another incident on Brigade road Bangalore quite a while ago. I was walking with my friend Silv3rStag and we had just finished eating a sandwitch. We have a habit of dropping the sandwitch wraps or any kind of paper into a dustbin but in this case couldn't find one. We had to walk upto a restaurant and drop it into a dustbin available there. Recently when I dropped by on Brigade road, I found that dustbins were placed at every few meters. The logo on the dustbin was of McDonald's. So finally when McDonald's recently opened its Brigade branch, it was the only one which thought of putting dustbins throughout the Brigade road compared to the old and existing brand names. Also Brigade road has a shopping association which make major decisions with regard to lighting and decorations on that road and hadn't thought about it.

People need to put a little more effort to keep their own surroundings and environment clean. People need to think of how they pay so much attention to their homes as compared to the surroundings.

Launch of a new sister blog

I have launched a new sister blog which talks about my view of Kuwait and its happenings. I will be talking about the malls and upcoming skyscrapers and other things with regard to Kuwait. I thought of it to be more better to keep everything with relation to Kuwait in one blogs separately. This blog will still continue on with all of the happening in general and my views. I am planning for other views but let's see how things shape up. So here is the link Fraz's View on Kuwait.

People with money

Couple of weeks ago, Forbes magazine took out the latest list of billionaries. This time people did look at list as the top position had someone other than Bill Gates (held the top position for 13 years). Anyways all the people on the list have most of their money in form of Shares in the stock markets, so the position keeps moving according to the rise and fall of markets. This time Indian businessmen have taken the 4,5,6 and 8th position on the list. Anyways here is the list for the top 20 richest people in the world.

Name: Net Worth (in billion USD) Source of Wealth

1. Warren Buffett (US): 62 Berkshire Hathaway
2. Carlos Slim (Mexico): 60 Telecoms
3. Bill Gates (US): 58 Microsoft
4. Lakshmi Mittal (India): 45 Steel
5. Mukesh Ambani (India): 43 Petrochemicals
6. Anil Ambani (India): 42 Diversified
7. Ingvar Kamprad (Sweden): 31 Ikea
8. KP Singh (India): 30 Real estate
9. Oleg Deripaska (Russia): 28 Russian Aluminum
10. Karl Albrecht (Germany): 27 Aldi
11. Li Ka-Shing (Hong Kong): 26.5 Diversified
12. Sheldon Adelson (US): 26 Casinos, hotels
13. Bernard Arnault (France): 25.5 LVMH
14. Lawrence Ellison (US): 25 Oracle
15. Roman Abramovich (Russia): 23.5 Oil
16. Theo Albrecht (Germany): 23 Aldi, Trader Joe s
17. Liliane Bettencourt (France): 22.9 L Oreal
18. Alexei Mordashov (Russia): 21.2 Severstal
19. Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Al Saud (Saudi Arabia): 21 Investments
20. Mikhail Fridman (Russia): 20.8 Oil, banking

Frozen Grand Central NYC

I came across this video when I was watching one of the shows (Listening Post) on Al Jazeera News Channel. Then ofcourse I went on the internet and found it on Youtube. The group responsible for the event in the video is called 'Improv Everywhere'. I also visited their official website. Anyways the video which really impressed me was one of their mission called 'Frozen Time at Grand Central'. This took place in New York City at the Grand Central Station by the Improv Everywhere group based in New York where 207 agents participated. At exactly 2:30 pm all the agents froze in the main concourse (Lobby area) of the Station. All the agents stopped exactly at the same time, doing whatever they were doing. Example, one lady was eating, one guy was tying his shoe lace, even one person dropped his papers from a briefcase and was in the process of collecting them when he froze, one couple froze kissing each other. This lasted for exactly 5 minutes after which everyone went their way. This caused normal people passing through the concourse to stop and think what was happening. They could not understand the reason for so many people being frozen at the same time and then unfreezing and going on their own way as if nothing ever happened. This is a must see video which lasts for 2 min and 15 seconds. You can also check for the video on the main site by clicking HERE which also contains some of the still photos of the event and a high resolution video. Based on this particular frozen time, other Improv Everywhere groups based in London and Toronto have executed the Frozen time. On 16th February 2008, more than 1000 people participated in London's Frozen Trafalgar Square.

The Go Air experience

I was travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai by Go Air as its flight timings are in the evening and suite my needs. Their boarding and processing of passengers were done as per schedule but ofcourse being Bangalore HAL airport, the flight took off 30 minutes late due to traffic congestion. We reached Mumbai airspace on time as the pilot had increase the speed of the flight to 810km/hr, which he announced before reaching Mumbai on time. But as one has it, we circled around Mumbai for 20 minutes till we got clearance to land. I dozed off in the flight as nothing much was their to do, but enjoyed my leg space as I was seated at the emergency exit doors. Ofcourse I was given instructions by the cabin crew twice in English and Hindi, that in case of emergency I may have to open that door which by the way weighs 15 kgs which also brought the next question whether I could lift that much. The cabin crew were so thoughtful ;) that they woke me up for refreshments and snacks. The first thing I came up was with the answer a bottle of water. After I had a sip of it, they asked me for Rs 10 for the bottle. I was slightly shocked but thankful that it was 500 ml not a 200 ml bottle otherwise it would have been baffling (fyi --> Rs 50 is charged for a bottle of 1 litre drinking/mineral water at 4-Star hotels in India).

An encounter

The other day when I was at Mumbai Domestic Arrival terminal, I got to see Rahul Gandhi passing by. Not much security except for 2 cops which were part of the airport security force and were keeping their distance from him (around 15 metres). Also 2 bodyguards were with him, who were dressed like businessmen, but I guess the give away was the ear pieces they had in their left ears. Though Rahul Gandhi sat for 10 minutes at the baggage collection area, not many people realised his presence in the area. In one such case, two youth most probably some MNC professionals with their laptops hanging on their sides sat next to Rahul Gandhi and his friend. They didnot realise until Rahul got up and left with his baggages which were brought to him by his bodyguards. I guess people are generally busy collecting their baggages and making their way to the arrival terminal. I am told that if someone spends couple of hours at the Mumbai arrival terminal, you will get to see many celebs, politicians and businessmen. That could be really true, but I am not sure whether these stats are hard proof.

Hitman (2007)

I got to see this movie on the day it was released here in India. It was around the start of December 2007. I was excited to see how this Hollywood movie which is based on a game does on the silver screen. By the way, the theatre was only two-third filled, I guess many people didnot know much about this movie and its stars. The actors who played in this movie are Timothy Olyphant (Agent 47; he has also acted in movies like Die Hard 4.0, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Girl next door), Dougray Scott (Mike Whittier; he played the villain in MI-2) and Olga Kurylenko (Nika Boronina). When the movie got over, I was shocked as the action lasted only for 100 minutes. I think I was expecting more, but still it was satisfactory. I give appreciation to Timothy Olyphant for really getting into the shoes of Agent 47. He was able to really move and hold the weapons like Agent 47 from the game series.

Hitman series of games come from the creators working for EIDOS. The Hitman series so far consist of 4 games starting in order with:

1. Hitman: Codename 47
2. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
3. Hitman Contracts
4. Hitman: Blood Money

I haven't been able to play the last game as my system doesnot support enough graphics to run the game. But still am waiting for that day when I get to play it. I have really enjoyed playing Hitman 2: Silent Assassin and Hitman Contracts as the graphics and music were pretty cool.