Thanks Yamaha!

At first I was not impressed with the R15. Well to begin with, it has a puny 150cc engine, as found in most bikes. Okay its FI but so is Apache RTR 160!

However going by the rave reviews it has got, R15 seems to be a hoot to drive. Damn those showroom guys who just won't let me test drive it!



As I said, 150cc seems too less and I would have liked it around 200 mark at least. Still the bike delivers thanks to good power-to-weight ratio.

There are 3 color options at present. My pick is the blue one.

Design wise, the front is appealing and stylish. Rear section is uninspiring however. And tyres look too thin and puny to be frank.


Still, overall its definitely the best looking 150cc bike in the country, though at a price!
Speaking of which, I say 1L is a tad too much for a 150cc bike, even if its this good. But if you are a true biker, the price doesnt matter.


So that part having been reasoned logically :D , the bit about practicality comes in. If I do go for it, when the hell do I get to drive it!! Weekends yes, but then where do I park it safely during weekdays? Delhi is a nightmare for an automobile lover if you dont have a permanent parking place with proper shed.

Shelling out 1L makes sense if you are going to get to drive it frequently. In my case, that would be a tad difficult. Hmm, thats sad!

What Is Intelligence, Anyway?

Came across this piece by Isaac Asimov, worth a read.

What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army, I received the kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that, and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP - kitchen police - as my highest duty.)

All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm highly intelligent, and I expect other people to think so too. Actually, though, don't such scores simply mean that I am very good at answering the type of academic questions that are considered worthy of answers by people who make up the intelligence tests - people with intellectual bents similar to mine?

For instance, I had an auto-repair man once, who, on these intelligence tests, could not possibly have scored more than 80, by my estimate. I always took it for granted that I was far more intelligent than he was. Yet, when anything went wrong with my car I hastened to him with it, watched him anxiously as he explored its vitals, and listened to his pronouncements as though they were divine oracles - and he always fixed my car.

Well, then, suppose my auto-repair man devised questions for an intelligence test. Or suppose a carpenter did, or a farmer, or, indeed, almost anyone but an academician. By every one of those tests, I'd prove myself a moron, and I'd be a moron, too. In a world where I could not use my academic training and my verbal talents but had to do something intricate or hard, working with my hands, I would do poorly. My intelligence, then, is not absolute but is a function of the society I live in and of the fact that a small subsection of that society has managed to foist itself on the rest as an arbiter of such matters.

Consider my auto-repair man, again. He had a habit of telling me jokes whenever he saw me. One time he raised his head from under the automobile hood to say: "Doc, a deaf-and-mute guy went into a hardware store to ask for some nails. He put two fingers together on the counter and made hammering motions with the other hand. The clerk brought him a hammer. He shook his head and pointed to the two fingers he was hammering. The clerk brought him nails. He picked out the sizes he wanted, and left. Well, doc, the next guy who came in was a blind man. He wanted scissors. How do you suppose he asked for them?"

Indulgently, I lifted by right hand and made scissoring motions with my first two fingers. Whereupon my auto-repair man laughed raucously and said, "Why, you dumb jerk, He used his voice and asked for them." Then he said smugly, "I've been trying that on all my customers today." "Did you catch many?" I asked. "Quite a few," he said, "but I knew for sure I'd catch you." "Why is that?" I asked. "Because you're so goddamned educated, doc, I knew you couldn't be very smart."

And I have an uneasy feeling he had something there.

DREAM WIN!!

FAIRY TALE, ABSOLUTELY!!!
Its been a dream run for the young Indian team and culminated in the thrilling victory over arch rivals Pak!! This is the stuff dreams are made of!! Hats off to Dhoni & his boys!!!! Bravo!!!!!

India were looking down the barrel after that loss against NZ and needed to play out of their skin to progress in the championship. And they did that in some style!!

India crushed England, sent SA packing and shocked Aussies with aggressive cricket. Yuvraj proved that he is a massive force to reckon with and those 6 sixes off a frontline bowler were unbelievable to say the least!

Aussies were thrashed and hit out of the park by Yuvi in the most dismissive manner! World champions? Oh Yeah!!

Coming to the final against Pakistan, India were favourites. But Pakistan contained India to a reasonable total with great bowling. Yuvraj and Dhoni were picked up by Gul who was the top bowler in the tournament. India needed to pick wickets regularly and thats just what they did, helped by poor shot selection of pak batsmen along the way.

But it was that guy again! Misbah-ul-Haq! he took them single-handedly (okay, 2 sixes by Tanvir did help) to the doorsteps of victory. But again, he failed to deliver the KO punch and India broke their zinx of losing finals!!

Awesome final to finish what has been the most exciting tournament in a long long time!! I guess last one was the 2003 World Cup in the same country!

And to think that we did it without the big 3 (sachin, sourav and rahul) and no zaheer either!!
Maybe it was the very reason we won ;)

Tee Off at Twenty20!!

So its begun!!!

The latest version of pajama cricket is here!! Helter-skelter cricket, its more akin to the gully cricket we all have grown up playing. I can imagine dressing room situations where the lower order guys would be itching to go out and tonk it around from the word go :D

Its tailor made for the Sehwags, Afridis & Gillies of the world.


Though a huge shocker already in the upset win of Zim over Aus would point to a method approach to the madness ;)

The opening match was a blinder with Gayle hitting proteas out of the park at will, some bloody innings that was!!
His effort was undone by Windies bowlers/fielders as only they can! and now they are out of the tourney thanks to another dasher from Bangladesh, Mhd Ashraful.

Customer Service?

Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die. This is so priceless, and so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.
A lady died this past January, and The Bank billed her for February March for their annual service charges on her credit card, added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance of $0, is now somewhere around $60. A Family Member placed a call to The Bank.

Here is the exchange:

Family Member: “I am calling to tell you she died in January.”
The Bank: “The account was never closed, and the late fees charges still apply.”
Family Member: “Maybe you should turn it over to collections.”
The Bank: “Since it is 2 months past due, it already has been.”
Family Member: So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?”
The Bank: “Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau. Maybe both !”
Family Member: “Do you think God will be mad at her?” (I really liked this part !!!!)
The Bank: “Excuse me?”
Family Member: “Did you just get what I was telling you? The part about her being dead?”
The Bank: “Sir, you’ll have to speak to my supervisor.” !

(Supervisor gets on the phone)

Family Member: “I’m calling to tell you she died in January.”
The Bank: “The account was never closed, so the late fees and charges still apply.” (This must be a phrase taught by The Bank!)
Family Member: “Do you mean you want to collect from her estate?”
The Bank: (stammering) “Are you her lawyer?”
Family Member: “No, I’m her great-nephew.”
The Bank: “Could you fax us a certificate of death?”
Family Member: “Sure.” (fax number is given)

After they get the fax:
The Bank: “Our system just isn’t set up for death. I don’t know what more I can do to help.”
Family Member: “Well, if you figure it out, great ! If not, you could just keep billing her. I really don’t think she will care.”
The Bank: “Well, the late fees charges do still apply.”
(What is wrong with these people??!!)
Family Member: “Would you like her new billing address?”
The Bank: “Yes, that will help.”
Family Member: ” Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69.”
The Bank: “Sir, that is a cemetery!”
Family Member: “What do you do with dead people on YOUR planet?!!

Movie Review - Eight Below

If you are a dog lover, you owe it to yourself to watch this one!

You get to see the amazing huskies in their full glory in the frozen lands of antarctic.
Its not about the story but about the dogs :P

One does wonder on watching such movies where animals have a prominent part as to how the director manages to make them act! Quite mind-boggling!

The movie shows how a group of huskies who have been left behind, manage to survive on their own in the worsening weather in antarctic.

I would give this one 3.5/5

Greatest Prank Call?

LOL, this is a darn funny prank call alright :D
You'll start getting ideas after watching this ;)