Archive for General

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa/ Ye Maya Chesave – different climaxes

// March 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // General

Gautham Menon's latest release Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is the latest buzz in town. The movie brings back to theatres the genre of love stories, something we have not seen on screens for quite some time.

The film is a bilingual, starring Simbu-Trisha in Tamil and Naga Chaitanya-Samantha in Telugu. VTV is indeed a memorable experience for its beautiful camera work by Manoj Paramahamsa and soul-stirring music by A.R. Rahman. A Red Giant Movies presentation, the movie is produced by Escape Artistes Motions Pictures and R.S. Infotainment.

VTV, which released on Friday, has different climaxes in Tamil and Telugu. The Telugu version, titled Ye Maya Chesave, ends on a happy note while the Tamil version has a surprise ending with some twist and turns. When asked about the different climaxes, the stylish director said he had the guts to shoot a surprise climax in Tamil but not in Telugu.

via/ galatta.com

Posted via email from [ ramesh ]

Ye Maya Chesave / Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa – Movie Review

// March 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // General

Simply speaking its a story of a crazy guy on and an awesome gutsy girl.

Karthik (Naga Chaitanya) falls for Jessy (Samantha) at first sight. She is the daughter of their house owner who stays in the first floor. He was like crazy, does almost somersaults on the road. through his sister he comes to know that jessy is two years older to him. even then he does almost anything to get her attention.

There is an awesome twist after this. will continue tomorrow.

Posted via email from [ ramesh ]

The responsibility

// March 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // General

This is not right, how long a small rock can hold a truck on a slope?

Posted via email from [ ramesh ]

Pic taken during Diwali

// January 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // General

Taken by Ramesh Sakibanda

Posted via web from [ ramesh ]

My favorite couple picture

// January 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // General

They thought this was us.

Posted via web from [ ramesh ]

10 commandments of investing

// November 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // General

INVESTING today is not just about opening a bank fixed deposit or a public provident fund. With the opening up of the market in all ways, with everything being a function of the market, be it jobs, credit, interest rates, inflation, it’s no longer enough to remain in the safe comforts of a bank deposit or government scheme. There are more than 500 financial products to meet your every need and create wealth; the challenge is the pick the right ones. Moneycontrol lays down the ‘10 commandments of investing’ which will help you make that choice.
Commandment 1: The Goal of Investment
Commandment 1: You need a goal
To create wealth you need to know why you desire wealth in the first place. Your goal could be:
- Saving up to make the down payment for a home mortgage
- Buying a car
- Saving up for the higher education of children
- Your retirement
Whatever the goal is, once you figure it out there will be a target for you to achieve.
After this, it is as simple as saving your bonus or surplus towards the goal.
Commandment 2: Regular Investment
Commandment 2: Invest regularly
You need to religiously save money. Set aside a specific amount every month from your salary. If you think you’d not feel compelled to save, you can invest your money in recurring deposits, Systematic Investment Plans (SIP), Monthly Investment Plans (MIP), etc. Here, you have no choice but to write a cheque every month. You can, of course, pick an amount that suits your salary level and your goal.
Commandment 3: Account for Inflation
Commandment 3: Account for inflation
The value of money is actually depreciating with time. Strange as it sounds, it is true. If the rate of inflation is more than the rate of return, the real value of your investment is negative. For example, if you have invested Rs 10,000 in a bank fixed deposit for a period of 3 years at an interest rate of 5.5 per cent, you will be assured of a maturity amount of Rs 11,742. Suppose during this period of 3 years, average inflation was at 6 per cent, the real value of your maturity amount would be Rs 9,859.
Commandment 4: Evaluate Risk Profile.
Commandment 4: Evaluate your risk profile
You will have different capacity for risk depending on your income and your needs. There is also a different risk tolerance, based on an individual’s psychological make-up. Understand your risk profile and plan your portfolio accordingly.
Commandment 5: Save for Emergencies.
Commandment 5: Save for emergencies
You can’t have all your money locked-up for the long-term. Remember to set aside some liquid cash to meet emergencies. Be prudent, plan for the worst-case scenarios. This way you are adequately prepared for the bad times. You can do that by keeping funds equivalent to 4-6 months of their monthly household budget in cash and bank savings account. Banks will give little by way of interest, but they offer highest liquidity. You can withdraw this money at any time.
Commandment 6: Buy insurance regularly.
Commandment 6: Buy insurance early
Investing is not only about putting money in financial products. It is also about protecting that money so that you don’t have to make unnecessary withdrawals. Insurance, life and health, can guard against that. The cost of your insurance is linked to your age. That is, the older you grow the higher your premiums. Once you cross 50 years of age, you will also be asked to go for several medical tests that add to your cost. So, be smart and go for an insurance policy at an early age.
Commandment 7: Plan your taxes.
Commandment 7: Plan your taxes, but don’t make it the be all
Make the best of your tax saving investments like Public Provident Fund, National Savings Certificate and the like. While it is true that tax saving instruments must not be your only investments, make sure that you don’t end up paying taxes when you could have actually saved them by making fruitful investments. Even investing in a pension policy or an insurance policy can save you tax, but make sure you don’t do that just to save on tax.
Equities for long term, debt for the short term.
Commandment 8: Equities for the long term, debt for the short term
Long-term investing helps you tide over short-term market volatilities, especially in high risk-high return asset classes like equity, something that short-term players invariably lose sleep over. Long-term investing will also keep you from making common mistakes such as timing the market, picking bad stocks, speculating on stocks that are worthless, investing on borrowed money, trying to make a killing in some fad-of-the-day stock, etc.
Asset allocation profile
Commandment 9: Asset alloaction
Devise a professionally counselled and well-managed asset allocation portfolio. That way you can reduce your risk without necessarily having to reduce your returns. To get the maximum benefit of reducing your risk through diversification spread your portfolio across different assets. Different assets should ideally span across different asset classes such as fixed income, equity, real estate, gold as well as different investment options within these asset classes e.g. within equity shares your exposure should be to companies in different sectors; or within fixed income investments it could be partly government risk and partly corporate risk.
Seek professional help.
Commandment 10: Seek professional help
If you don’t have what it takes to analyse stocks or research mutual funds, seek professional help. If your health seeks a doctor, your money should seek a professional advisor.

via moneycontrol.com

Birth Number Test

// November 23rd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // General

Your birth date describes who we are, what we are good at and what our inborn abilities are. It also points to what we have to learn and the challenges we are facing. To figure out your Birth Number, add all the numbers in the birth date together, like in the example, until there is only one digit.

A Birth Number does not prevent you from being anything you want to be, it will just color your choice differently and give you a little insight.

Example : March 20, 1950

3 + 20 + 1950 = 1973 = 1 + 9 + 7 + 3 = 20 = 2 + 0 = 2

2 is the Birth Number to read for the birth date in the example.

  1. THE ORIGINATOR
  2. THE PEACEMAKER
  3. THE LIFE OF THE PARTY
  4. THE CONSERVATIVE
  5. THE NONCONFORMIST
  6. THE ROMANTIC
  7. THE INTELLECTUAL
  8. THE BIG SHOT
  9. THE PERFORMER

    # 1 – THE ORIGINATOR

    1 ’s are originals. Coming up with new ideas and executing them is natural. Having things their own way is another trait that gets them as being stubborn and arrogant. 1’s are extremely honest and do well to learn some diplomacy skills. They like to take the initiative and are often leaders or bosses, as they like to be the best. Being self-employed is definitely helpful for them. Lesson to learn: Others’ ideas might be just as good or better and to stay open minded.

    Famous 1’s : Tom Hanks, Robert Redford, Hulk Hogan, Carol Burnett, Wynona Judd, Nancy Reagan, Raquel Welch, Samuel L. Jackson

    #2 – THE PEACEMAKER

    2’s are the born diplomats. They are aware of others’ needs and moods and often think of others before themselves. Naturally analytical and very intuitive they don’t like to be alone. Friendship and companionship is very important and can lead them to be successful in life, but on the other hand they’d rather be alone than in an uncomfortable relationship. Being naturally shy they should learn to boost their self-esteem and express themselves freely and seize the moment and not put things off.

    Famous 2’s : President Bill Clinton, Madonna, Whoopee Goldberg, Thomas Edison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Orlando Bloom, David Beckham

    # 3 – THE LIFE OF THE PARTY

    3’s are idealists. They are very creative, social, charming, romantic, and easygoing. They start many things, but don’t always see them through. They like others to be happy and go to great lengths to achieve it. They are very popular and idealistic. They should learn to see the world from a more realistic point of view.
    Famous 3’s: Alan Alda, Ann Landers, Bill Cosby, Melanie Griffith, Salvador Dali, Jodi Foster, LL Cool J

    # 4 – THE CONSERVATIVE

    4’s are sensible and traditional. They like order and routine. They only act when they fully understand what they are expected to do. They like getting their hands dirty and working hard. They are attracted to the outdoors and feel an affinity with nature. They are prepared to wait and can be stubborn and persistent. They should learn to be more flexible and to be nice to themselves.

    Famous 4’s : Neil Diamond, Margaret Thatcher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tina Turner, Paul Hogan, Oprah Winfrey

    # 5 – THE NONCONFORMIST

    5’s are the explorers. Their natural curiosity, risk taking, and enthusiasm often land them in hot water. They need diversity, and don’t like to be stuck in a rut. The whole world is their school and they see a learning possibility in every situation. The questions never stop. They are well advised to look before they take action and make sure they have all the facts before jumping to conclusions.

    Famous 5’s: Abraham Lincoln, Charlotte Bronte, Jessica Walter, Vincent Van Gogh, Bette Midler, Helen Keller, Mark Hamil, Colin Farrell, Scott Speedman

    # 6 – THE ROMANTIC

    6’s are idealistic and need to feel useful to be happy. A strong family connection is important to them. Their actions influence their decisions. They have a strong urge to take care of others and to help. They are very loyal and make great teachers. They like art or music. They make loyal friends who take the friendship seriously. 6’s should learn to differentiate between what they can change and what they cannot.
    Famous 6’s: Albert Einstein, Jane Seymour, John Denver, Meryl Streep, Christopher Columbus, Goldie Hawn, Salma Hayek

    #7 – THE INTELLECTUAL

    7’s are the searchers. Always probing for hidden information, they find it difficult to accept things at face value. Emotions don’t sway their decisions. Questioning everything in life, they don’t like to be questioned themselves. They’re never off to a fast start, and their motto is slow and steady wins the race. They come across as philosophers and being very knowledgeable, and sometimes as loners. They are technically inclined and make great researchers uncovering information. They like secrets. They live in their own world and should learn what is acceptable and what not in the world at large.
    Famous 7’s: William Shakespeare, Lucille Ball, Joan Baez, Princess Diana, Johnny Depp, Shah Rukh Khan

    # 8 – THE BIG SHOT

    8’s are the problem solvers. They are professional, blunt and to the point, have good judgment and are decisive. They have grand plans and like to live the good life. They take charge of people. They view people objectively. They let you know in no uncertain terms that they are the boss. They should learn to exude their decisions on their own needs rather than on what others want.

    Famous 8’s: Edgar Cayce, Barbra Streisand, George Harrison, Jane Fonda, Pablo Picasso, Aretha Franklin, Nostrodamus, Jack Davenport, Michelle Rodriguez

    #9 – THE PERFORMER
    9’s are natural entertainers. They are very caring and generous, giving away their last dollar to help. With their charm, they have no problem making friends and nobody is a stranger to them. They have so many different personalities that people around them have a hard time understanding them. They are like chameleons, ever changing and blending in. They have tremendous luck, but also can suffer from extremes in fortune and mood. To be successful, they need to build a loving foundation.
    Famous 9’s: Albert Schweitzer, Shirley MacLaine, Harrison Ford, Jimmy Carter, Elvis Presley, Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean!)

    PHP time since function, works similar to twitter

    // October 27th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // General

    If you need to display time in the format 5 seconds ago or 7 minutes ago like twitter feel free to use the following script. This function returns the time since specified datetime. refer timezones if you need help on them.

    // SET TIMEZONE SO THAT RESULTS ARE ACCURATE
    date_default_timezone_set('Asia/Calcutta');
     
    // THIS METHOD WILL COMPUTE TIME DIFFERENCE AND RETURNS A STRING SPECIFYING THE TIME SINCE THE SPECIFIED TIMESTAMP
    // INPUT: $time REPRESENTING A TIMESTAMP
    // OUTPUT: A STRING SPECIFYING THE TIME SINCE THE SPECIFIED TIMESTAMP
    // NOTE: this script as it is, will return -1 if hours > 24, which means the difference is more than a day
    function time_since ($time) {
     
    	$now = time();
    	$now_day = date("j", $now);
    	$now_month = date("n", $now);
    	$now_year = date("Y", $now);
     
    	$time_day = date("j", $time);
    	$time_month = date("n", $time);
    	$time_year = date("Y", $time);
    	$time_since = "";
     
    	switch(TRUE) {
     
    		case ($now-$time < 60):
    			// RETURNS SECONDS
    			$seconds = $now-$time;
                            // Append "s" if plural
    			$time_since = $seconds>1?"$seconds seconds":"$seconds second";
    			break;
    		case ($now-$time < 45*60): // twitter considers > 45 mins as about an hour, change to 60 for general purpose
    			// RETURNS MINUTES
    			$minutes = round(($now-$time)/60);
    			$time_since = $minutes>1?"$minutes minutes":"$minutes minute";
    			break;
    		case ($now-$time < 86400):
    			// RETURNS HOURS
    			$hours = round(($now-$time)/3600);
    			$time_since = $hours>1?"about $hours hours":"about $hours hour";
    			break;
    // UNCOMMENT the following lines if you wish to use for general purpose other than twitter
    			/*case ($now-$time < 1209600):
    			 // RETURNS DAYS
    			 $days = round(($now-$time)/86400);
    			 $time_since = "$days days";
    			 break;
    			 case (mktime(0, 0, 0, $now_month-1, $now_day, $now_year) < mktime(0, 0, 0, $time_month, $time_day, $time_year)):
    			 // RETURNS WEEKS
    			 $weeks = round(($now-$time)/604800);
    			 $time_since = "$weeks weeks";
    			 break;
    			 case (mktime(0, 0, 0, $now_month, $now_day, $now_year-1) < mktime(0, 0, 0, $time_month, $time_day, $time_year)):
    			 // RETURNS MONTHS
    			 if($now_year == $time_year) { $subtract = 0; } else { $subtract = 12; }
    			 $months = round($now_month-$time_month+$subtract);
    			 $time_since = "$months months";
    			 break;
    			 default:
    			 // RETURNS YEARS
    			 if($now_month < $time_month) {
    				$subtract = 1;
    				} elseif($now_month == $time_month) {
    				if($now_day < $time_day) { $subtract = 1; } else { $subtract = 0; }
    				} else {
    				$subtract = 0;
    				}
    				$years = $now_year-$time_year-$subtract;
    				$time_since = "$years years";
    				break;*/
     
    		default: $time_since = -1;break; //delete this line if you uncomment the above lines
     
    	}
     
    	if($time_since == "0 years ago") { $time_since = ""; }
     
    	return $time_since;
     
    } // END time_since() METHOD