Neons and Lavishness - Las Vegas

This is my attempt to "beautify" my blog; after frenzied activities that happened here few days back. I thought the best way would be to share some nice pictures that I clicked on my trip to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is also called Sin City. They say "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas".
That's so true, you will start indulging the way you could never imagine. Doing all those wild things ;-)

Las Vegas during the day; is just a dry place; a desert. No activities at all; may be people sleep so that they can prowl at night!! Its only at night when all the actions start. Booze flows free in casinos for On the Table players. There are never ending rows and rows of slot machines and roulette . Filthy rich men with their "Lady Luck" play on and on while the pencil thin lady in 6 inch stiletto has to stand beside them wearing a smile all night

Each casinos are as big as villages. Its Neon and Neon everywhere. Their electricity consumption would be obnoxiously outrageous. Here are very few of the pictures.

Looks as if the city has been abandoned long time ago. This is what it is during the day. As seen from Wynn's parking area


Ceaser's Palace casino. This one has all Roman theme

One of the decorative ceilings in Ceaser's Palace


Even the elevators have Roman motifs


Another decorative ceiling


A statue of a Roman soldier

Guess this is Ceaser


Main arena inside The Venetian casino. This one is designed as Venice complete with canals and gondolas.
The sky is artificial; forever evening :-) Its said that no casinos have clocks in Vegas. But we captured a clock; maybe its dummy.

The main canal

Another view of the main arena

Someone filthy rich are getting married

The Luxor casino - has Egyptian theme and motifs. The pyramid structure was an architectural challenge.

Inside The Luxor.


I had to lie down on my back to get this view. The pyramid's slants are visible; the suites are all constructed in a way such that the lower one supports the upper floors.


Stratosphere - The tallest structure and casino in Vegas.


Another angle


Las Vegas as seen from the top of The Stratosphere

A roulette


Rows and rows of slot machines

View of the Flamingo


Look at the prize money. Out of innumerable casinos; and thousands of people gambling; no one ever gets to win these prize amount

Those 3 magical words

Her thoughts just brought him that unexplainable ecstasy. He would just wait to catch a glimpse of her. He could not explain how he felt when he thought about her, when he saw her.

He had heard about numerous love stories; discussed about love and its magic, how intoxicating it was. But he did not really understand how euphoric the feeling would be; until now. He had had heard about love, heard his friends discussing about love; only to understand its magnitude now.

He would not forget the day he first saw her. He was loitering in the park; when she walked with an acquaintance. The first thing he noticed about her was her hair; long and silky. At that moment; he just wanted to feel her long tresses. She was the first lady who evoked a strange blissful feeling in him; the most amazing feeling.

He had heard about infatuation; puppy love and all that; but was very sure his was true love. He had been her secret admirer for quite some time; he decided to confess his feelings for her. He wanted to express how much he loved her; he wanted to share with her the future he has dreamt for them; all the wonderful things they would do together.

As these thoughts poured over; he forgot that he was sitting in the same place in the park where he first saw her. He knew she would pass by and he had decided to steal some time from her and confess; proclaim his true feelings for her.

Awww, he forgot to carry with him some present; a bunch of flowers would have been so appropriate. So nervous he was that he didn't have a thought about it; but that was alright. All that was running on his mind was how he would approach her. He was fighting with all these overwhelming thoughts and his nervousness; when he saw her approaching from distance. He had this exhilarating joy the moment he saw her. He waited for her; and as she came by; she gave such a charming smile that he could faint right there.

She walked close to him; and took a seat beside him. He knew this was the moment; it was now or never. He mustered all his courage; drew a deep breathe and was about to propose; when she just saw one of her acquaintances; her friend, he always hated him for being so close with her. That guy was the villain for him. As she was about to get up and go to meet her friend; he decided to just tell it out. He struggled as she smiled and was walking away; when he wanted to say. All he could manage was a feeble

"Bow Wow Wow...." as she elegantly walked away wagging her tail.

Sulk!!

2 days of being at home on a weekend makes one lethargic. And if pretty obnoxious event accompanies it; its blunder all the way.

Having slept late the previous day after much frowning and fuming; an angel out of the blue wakes up just on time on a Monday morning. You notice that you have turned off the alarm!! Darn you!! But when? how? why? Awww, final thing is that your alarm was turned off instead of snoozing. Yeah, last night being a colder one; and you had your fan at high and was lazy enough to not get up in between your sleep to slow the speed!!

Anyways, waking up just on time, and as you sleepily grope the cot to walk towards the bathroom, your little finger of your foot hits the corner of the cot; oohhhhhh the pain just propagates harshly aggravated by the cold temperature.
You curse the cot and move forward only to stumble on the door mat and hurt your toe a tad too fast.

Finally reach the bathroom and feel that the tap is flowing out air!! Curse again!! Agonize yourself and switch on the motor. The geyser has some water; and as you thank heaven silently; you realise you were a bit too fast; thanks followed too quickly by another curse; the water is way too hot than normal; burn your fingers.

Fling the clothes around as you don't find what you are looking for; in a hurry, use the iron and feel the hot iron too close to your thighs. A burn mark; but no time for the darn burn mark; scamper around for your pair of trousers. As you dance around trying to push your legs into that skinny thing; you knock off the perfume bottle.

Curse yourself for breaking up a bottle of expensive perfume, half -clothed; run around to clean up the mess; assemble the glass pieces and one of them cuts your finger. Awwww what more? Clean up the mess and mop the place dry. Put on your trousers finally.

And you realize you had the milk on the stove; which now has oozed out of the vessel and the kitchen slab is a mess. Lift up the hot pan and throw it into the sink, half clean the mess and leave home for work. Walking a few steps; you doubt if you have switched off the iron box. Run back and confirm everything is switched off and is in place.

Hire an auto rickshaw and on the way; the auto breaks down; in a desolated place. Wait for few minutes before you can hire another auto. Go to work well past morning breakfast time. At least opt for a beverage and you find the vending machine is under maintenance. Too lazy to walk to some other floor for the coffee; get back to start your work. Few analysis here and there and you realize that all the efforts that were put on weekend is all shoddy waste as you have picked up invalid piece of code for your work. Everything invalidated.

And when your friend comes online and expresses the disappointment over not responding well. "Kabhi dekhoon kam pe lage rahti ho!! Tumhare dost ko bhool gaye ho!! Badal gayi ho tum!!"
By the time you respond, the friend goes offline.

All hungry; go for an early lunch and find the food unpalatable. All you can do is

Sulk!! :-(
Sulk!! :-(
Sulk!! :-(

Image from fanart.lionking.org

Naming Cyclones

All of us remember the devastation hurricane Katrina caused when it hit New Orleans. But for me, apart from that, I was wondering about its name 'Katrina" . I could only relate it to Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif; and thus could not help but wonder if hurricane Katrina was as glamorous as Katrina Kaif; this is on a lighter note.

My inquisitive mind started googling about cyclone names; as to how they get their names; who maintains them and such. I guess there has been an article on them recently on some newspapers due to cyclone Phyan. Yet, I share some information from what I read sometime back.

To begin with; hurricane, cyclone, typhoon are all the same thing. The only difference is where they occur. Hurricanes are found in West Atlantic ocean,; cyclones in tropical ocean; except for Southeast Pacific and South Atlantic; whereas typhoons are found in West Pacific ocean.

Technically, all hurricanes can be cyclones; but not all cyclones are hurricanes. If the wind speed is more than 74 miles/hour, they are hurricanes; else they are just tropical storms or cyclones.

Hurricanes and cyclones are named. The practice started during the 1940s in order to quickly identify the storms and these names helped in transmitting warning messages and propagating the weather forecasts and other related information across several weather stations and to general public across the world.

The first use of proper name was by an Australian forecaster during early 20th century. He named the cyclones after political figures he disliked. During World War 2, tropical cyclones were given woman's names by US Army and Navy meteorologists; after their girlfriend or wives. They had noble intentions people; naming a cyclone is in no way related to the behavior of both the entities involved :-P

A variety of naming systems have been used; like names drawn from a phonetic alphabet system. But the names are not according to any preference; the names selected are those that are familiar with the region. Its obvious as the main purpose of using the name is to create awareness among people and to prepare for disasters.

Cyclones are named in a systematic procedure; and this lies with international committee of the World Meteorological Organization. There are 10 cyclone regions; Phyan was part of Northern Indian Ocean region.
There are eight northern Indian ocean countries; which have prepared a list of 64 names. These countries are Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand

The next cyclone to hit the north Indian ocean region will be named Ward, a name given by Oman; and the next one would be Laila; given by Pakistan. These countries take turns in naming the cyclones. The names are used sequentially and once only.

The previous eight were

Sidr named by Oman
Nargis - named by Pakistan
Abe - nambed by Sri Lanka
Khai Muk - named by Thai Land
Nisha - named by Bangaldesh
Bijli - named by India
Aila - named by Maldives
Phyan - named by Myanmar

The next eight would be

Ward - named by Oman
Laila - named by Pakistan
Bandu - named by Sri Lanka
Phet - named by Thailand
Giri - named by Bangladesh
Jal - named by India
Keila - named by Maldives
Thane - named by Myanmar

Generally, the names have to be concise and easy to be used; understood well enough and must not be culturally sensitive; it must not be inflammatory and definitely no room for misunderstanding.

The Atlantic Region cyclones are generally named after male and female names. It has a six year supply of names with 21 names each year. Why 21? Because letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used; as its tough to find 3 male and 3 female names with these letters. Few names are retired; means they are not used again; if it has caused huge destruction to life and property; like hurricane Katrina; which is replaced by a new name hurricane Katia; which would arrive in 2011. Such a proposal is generally made by the country which was worse affected; as a mark of respect for the victims.

And what happens if the cyclone crosses from one region to another? The names are simply retained.

To get the list of all the names from all the regions - go here http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutnames.shtml

The I tag :-)

You know how trainings can be boring!! And if its a core technical training; with some theory and lab exercises where you go dig and mutilate the servers, products; its still boring. Especially when you are interested from an engineering point of view, but the scope of the training is only administrative.

OK, what I want to say is. I am in this boring training for 4 full days. I cant sit; I cant laugh; I cant make fun of my colleague cant laugh; cant comment. I am fed up; waiting for the last day; that's tomorrow. You might ask me why am I putting up with it? That's because its a Certification course and my organization has paid 40K for me to get trained; so don't want to waste the org's money!! I am a goody goody girl..:-D

At the end of it all, I would have learnt something new!! Yeah, so to beat the boredom, I shamelessly asked Neha to tag me. That she would a bit later; but asked me to take up a tag for now; but I was told to take up the tag with the letter "I"; instead of the starting letter of my name.

Hmmm...so what? I shall. So here it is.


1. What is your name: I :-P
2. A four Letter Word: init - (Its the first process in a UNIX system which spawns all other processes). I told ya that I was in a training!!! Can't help!!
3. A boy's Name: Ishant
4. A girl's Name: Ina
5. An occupation: Ichthyology...hmm Investment Banking is lucrative, or is it anymore?
6. A color: Indigo
7. Something you wear: ID badge
8. A food: Ice cream!!!
9. Something found in the bathroom: Instant Facial Masque
10. A place: Iceland
11. A reason for being late: I missed the bus!!
12. Something you shout: Idiot!!!
13. A movie title: Inglorious Bastards
14. Something you drink: Iced Tea
15. A musical group: Iron Maiden
16. An animal: Impala
17. A street name: Infantry Road in Bangalore
18. A type of car: Infiniti
19. Something scary: Ice caps melting in the polar region due to global warming :-(
20. Ice cream flavor: Icing on the Cake by Baskin Robbins...Yummyyy..

PS : A couple of stuffs beginning with 'I' was tough. But I made it!!!...yeeeeaaayyy!!!

India - Just a Notion?

November holds a special place in Karnataka's history. It was on November 1st 1956 that the state of Karnataka was carved out of the then presidencies. Each year; this day is celebrated as the birth of the Mysore state later renamed as Karnataka.

Now why am I talking about this? This was an historical event which; nowadays is politicized for selfish purpose. The state of Karnataka has its unique flag; which one can see at most places. But in recent times; its actually a mockery; with the Rajyotsava only belonging to auto rickshaw wallas and cab drivers. The meaning of patriotism is lost. Now this state festival is celebrated with a sense of hatred towards the arch-rivals; the Tamils. No; it would be a blunder on my part if I say people harbour this hatred. Its all created by the corrupt politicians for their selfish reason; people are living in harmony. Who could forget the 1992 Cauvery riots; where innocent people were victims?

There are a couple of so called Pro-Kannada organizations which have cropped up in recent times. They are self appointed guardians of languages; having ridiculous demands like forcing local language in schools, corporate offices; demanding renaming of Airports; roads and other public infrastructure. Its funny to notice that these self-appointed guardians were once underworld criminals and were in Most-Wanted list.

How come the patriotism all of a sudden? One who indulges in criminal activities; how can you claim yourself patriotic towards the state; when you were not patriotic to the country? And who gave them the authority to police common people?


Images from photos.ibibo.com

Observed the pictures above? That's the state flag. And one can see such flags on high rise glass buildings around Bangalore. One can see these flags on corporate offices, malls, star hotels. Know the genuine reason? This flag protects the buildings; from the stones hurled at those glass facades. Few anti-social elements keep waiting for an opportunity to turn any issue to state issue; they somehow knot any god forsaken issue as a threat to the language!!!! - like when actor Dr. Rajkumar was kidnapped; when the same actor passed away.....what the heck was the relation between patriotism and he being kidnapped or passing away? These guardians also indulge in holding corporates to ransom on the pretext of showing useless fanaticism.

Just wait for a chance, behave atrociously; damage public property and the whole state limps; while the common man suffers for no fault of his; while the per day economic earnings of the state tumbles down....
Is this called patriotism; which is inconvenient to people and against the interest of the country?

Another news that was shocking was when MNS chief insisted that each MLA swearing in wake of the Maharashtra elections must do it in Marathi. Where has the basic human right gone? Its a constitutional right that the swearing in can happen in any of the 15 languages that is officially recognized as preferred by the candidate.

All these drama when our Bhai is silently intruding into our border and holding its claim on Arunachal Pradesh. Peculiarly; India is not only soft but also pretends as if all the provocations have gone unnoticed. China has been sending signals to show their dominance; cross-border incursion into Arunachal Pradesh; issuing stapled paper visas to Kashmiris; showing Kashmir as an independent nation; setting up earthquake monitoring station at the foot of the Everest and objecting PM's visit to Arunachal Pradesh. The reaction of India towards all these has been confusing. Our external policies are not strong enough; coupled with our politicians selfishness and shortsightedness; which has compounded the problem.

What with each one indulging in petty cat fights; it sure has compounded. Well, how many of them would know the North Eastern states and their capitals?

PS : It is with an intention to accept all sort of views that I have not moderated my comment. I genuinely believe that I have no authority to moderate anybody's views; so the comments can be posted free with no restrictions. I would appreciate if my comment box is not misused. Thank you.

Taking a Lift?

Warning to SG, Gautam, Neha and AS. You have already read this post. I am re-posting it; becuase I am too busy to be writing anything new; and I genuinely feel there's no harm reading it second time; and above all, I want as many people to read this and enjoy!!
So go ahead :-)

Call them lifts or elevators; we cant do without them in our daily lives. Office lifts have rich tales to tell, only if they had the ability to yell!
Alas! NO.

An office goer would use the lifts at least 4 times a day. The lifts are silent spectators of human embarrassment and an apt place for research on human behaviors. How does one initiate a conversation with someone who is going to share that tiny space with you for not more than 1 minute? How do you stand in the tiny confinement of cramped space and yet not invade the private space of others? How do you develop the art of staring into space?

Most people would prefer to have the lift all by themselves. Yeah me too! I revel in excitement when I get into a lift and there's no one around. I can make a phone call and talk loud. I can look at my reflection on the polished walls of the lift and make sure I am presentable. I can relax, lean against the wall....hum my favorite tune, take the entire space and practice dance moves, curse someone.....

Image from http://www.savagechickens.com/tag/elevator

But that's not the case always. More often than not; we happen to share this cramped heavenly space with number of others. Lift experiences have always been annoying to me.

Most of us would have been part of few of the annoying situations more often - either by being the VICTIM or the CULPRIT. Lets find that out.


1. People tend to shout loud speaking on the phone while on the lift. Yelling improves the network signal, is it? Why are they not considerate enough to hold the call unless they leave the lift.

2. Another obsessive attitude of folks is to stand right in front of the control panel even when the lift is empty! What are you trying to do? Its understandable if the lift is crowded and you would want to stay as away as possible. That's the proper etiquette; but protecting the panel such that no one else can use it.....argh!!

3. I would like to occupy any one of the four corners of the lift space to let people come in and go out of the lift with ease. If the corners by chance are the front ones, it doesn't mean I AM THE LIFT OPERATOR!. I would definitely offer to press the buttons and hold the floor. But no, I ain't getting paid for it Mr. Where has the courtesy of "Please" and "Thank you" gone when one offers to press the buttons?

Image from www.cartoonstock.com

4. Its coldly amusing to be confronted by people just right in front of the lift door as it opens. They want to rush inside the lift even before the people trying to get out of the lift. Its a feeling of getting slapped hard on your cheeks. Guys! wake up. The lift is all yours but only for 60 seconds. Why do you barge in? Whats in store? Nothing interesting, just few boring and frustrated folks. Likewise, don't ever assume people have supernatural powers to pass through you to exit the lift if you hijack the only exit available.

5. Conversing aloud when inside the lift. Its so annoying to hear people complain about their work and their bosses in the lifts. Keep your drudgery conversations to yourself guys.

6. LADIES! LADIES! Its not your rest room to give yourself a makeover, highlight hair and clean your nails! Its very embarrassing for others who is on the lift with you. And please no.. no.. no.. gossips. Get that...huh?

Image from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/s/stressful_working_gifts.asp

7. What do you call people who get a sadistic pleasure out of pressing all the buttons on the control panel just before they get out at the ground floor? The lift stops at each floor, 10 seconds to open the door, 30 seconds waiting and 10 seconds to close the door and start all over again.....

8. The lift is full, why do you want to try squeezing in and delay others?

9. If your office is in 1st or 2nd floor, whats the harm in taking stairs? People using the lift to travel less than 3 floors must be PROSECUTED!

10. Another thing that could drive you barmy is when someone holds the lift and the whole bunch of folks doing a ramp walk to get in. Least considerations to people already in the lift. Or when someone holds the lift and has a conversation with a person outside the lift not wishing to get in. What the heck! Disembark! Finish off your lovely CHANGE THE WORLD conversation , there's always the next lift..

11. Pressing the lift button continuously does not speed up the lift to go faster. Yet, people tend to do it. the lift is no Cow or Horse, lash it out and it runs faster buddy!

12. The DISGUSTING of them all...Breaking wind! Please don't do it. Don't even try it silently. Your face will give away.

Image from http://www.savagechickens.com/tag/elevator

13. THE FATHER OF ALL PUNISHABLE OFFENCE
You are on the lift, you are about to close the lift and notice someone running for the lift, please be kind enough to hold the door so that they can get in. This exact thing happened to me last week. A lady was on a lift, she saw me running towards the lift and phut! she pressed the button and the door slammed shut on my face. She looked exalted and in high spirits with her success as if she was on a high after guzzling down a couple of beers!. I wanted to punch on her lovely face!

Image from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/e/elevator_doors.asp

Folks, I tell you there is nothing worse than seeing the lift open as one tries to get in and the lift door slams shut in the face. At least try to put up a sorry sad face and not an amused one!

Hoping for better experiences...

And yes, before signing off, the most stupid question people ask...

IS IT GOING UP/DOWN?



People, look at the panel; which direction is the arrow blinking? Why do you waste 10 seconds of my precious time?