Or..should I say, cuisines? Because I don't really count calories while eating, but I usually do worry if my pants start getting tighter around the waist!
So some of the nice cuisines that I like are:
South Indian (especially Tamil Nadu - obviously when your mother and grandmother's cooking is from one cuisine, it is usually your top choice!)
Rajasthani
Punjabi
Bengali Sweets
Outside India
Meditteranean (in fact these cuisines from regions in Italy, Crete, Spain, Greece) have been noted to be one of the healthiest diets in the world.
Mexican cuisine (minus the sour cream for me please!)
German desserts
Slavic desserts
Ethiopian cuisine
and more that I can hopefully try as time flies by!
Here perhaps I should also divert and mention that Crete is a place to visit for tourism and wonderful eating. So if you want to take a 2 month book writing stay - Crete-Skafia region is the place to go. Check it out here. There accomodation prices seem relatively cheap except for the fact that getting there can be an adventure in itself and a little pricey (if you are going for a short trip and by yourself). A group of four seems to be best party size to go to this place and you won't find discos and bars while out there. Most places there do close at midnight too. However they advertise their location as a good hiking spot too.
I have not been there but I think I would love to go there!!
May 7, 2007
Apr 18, 2007
Calling India Airtel, Onesuite, Reliance etc.
This is a review on Airtel's call india service that I posted as a comment on the floatingsun.net blog (by some chap in San Diego). At the bottom I will add more reviews about Reliable, Onesuite and also Reliance Calling Services [probably by the end of April].
AIRTEL INDIA CALLING CARD/Long distance service
I started using Airtel at the beginning of 2007 when they had a double down offer. So here is the good and bad of their service.
The Good: Rates are lower than Reliance and your money is doubled (which is very different from what reliance offered- they were halving your usage cost - which is nice but compare this. I added $10 to Airtel , it became $20 balance and then calls are billed at 4 c (no tax).
Reliance instead takes your usage (if you are post paid) and halves it, so I used only 100 mins at 13c/min, I will get a discount of $6.5 for the month. Whereas with Airtel I get $10 advantage and that increases if you are willing to add $50 etc. (which I did eventually in Feb).
Call quality = very good.
Connection to network: about 90% reliable.
Website usage: Sucked in Feb. have nt been there in 2 months now. They need to improve that. The site makes you log in multiple times, there was no password customization ( so I had to write down a long string of letters provided by Airtel).
Regarding PINLESS dialing: I have been able to add one number (with reliance I could add 3 to 5 numbers).
However, this is not a BIG issue for me because MODERN CELLPHONES can store long sequences of numbers with pauses ('p') and (executions: '#' signs) so I can program a sequence into my phone for each family member.
E.g.
Speed dial 1 on cell phone is assigned to my girlfriend (let us say she is in Delhi and has a mobile no = 98 XXX YYY ZZ
1 = Airtel tollfree no + pause, pause pause + 4 digit PIN # + pause pause pause + 00 91 98 XXX YYY ZZ#
So how it works is, the "pauses" can be inserted in (Sony and motorola phones) by holding down the "7" key till it changes to "p".
I insert 3-4 pauses which gives you 3-4 seconds before the tones (PIN or Delhi no) are sent to the Airtel system. The # key executes that number.
Sometimes in system delay cases it asks me to enter the India phone no again, but I have never had problem authenticating the PIN and entering the system.
Further you can also program this sequence to a voice dial if you have that on your cell, then you dont have to dial any digits at all. just say "Call Sweetie" or "Call Ankur" or Call Kareena" and your hitech phone will do the rest for you.
Just dont voice program names like Shehanshah Jahangir, system might trip! :)
Welcome to Voice dialing!
ONESUITE CALLING CARD
The big advantage with Onesuite is that they provide competitive rates to almost all countries in the world. Unlike Airtel, which is restricted to calling India from US, with Onesuite you can call many different countries with a single account. The rates to most European landlines are in the 2-5 cent a minute, to India it is in the 7-10 cent a min rate.
They also offer PINLESS dialing and stored memory online for speed dialing, Auto Recharge facility etc. Overall, a GREAT DEAL!
Sign up at Onesuite here
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this blog are referral links which earn some rebate or bonus commissions to the author. This does not affect the quality of the review of any product or service however. Also, none of the statements in this blog can be construed as a recommendation to sign up for a service or to avoid any service/product. Make your own final decision. Good luck/.
AIRTEL INDIA CALLING CARD/Long distance service
I started using Airtel at the beginning of 2007 when they had a double down offer. So here is the good and bad of their service.
The Good: Rates are lower than Reliance and your money is doubled (which is very different from what reliance offered- they were halving your usage cost - which is nice but compare this. I added $10 to Airtel , it became $20 balance and then calls are billed at 4 c (no tax).
Reliance instead takes your usage (if you are post paid) and halves it, so I used only 100 mins at 13c/min, I will get a discount of $6.5 for the month. Whereas with Airtel I get $10 advantage and that increases if you are willing to add $50 etc. (which I did eventually in Feb).
Call quality = very good.
Connection to network: about 90% reliable.
Website usage: Sucked in Feb. have nt been there in 2 months now. They need to improve that. The site makes you log in multiple times, there was no password customization ( so I had to write down a long string of letters provided by Airtel).
Regarding PINLESS dialing: I have been able to add one number (with reliance I could add 3 to 5 numbers).
However, this is not a BIG issue for me because MODERN CELLPHONES can store long sequences of numbers with pauses ('p') and (executions: '#' signs) so I can program a sequence into my phone for each family member.
E.g.
Speed dial 1 on cell phone is assigned to my girlfriend (let us say she is in Delhi and has a mobile no = 98 XXX YYY ZZ
1 = Airtel tollfree no + pause, pause pause + 4 digit PIN # + pause pause pause + 00 91 98 XXX YYY ZZ#
So how it works is, the "pauses" can be inserted in (Sony and motorola phones) by holding down the "7" key till it changes to "p".
I insert 3-4 pauses which gives you 3-4 seconds before the tones (PIN or Delhi no) are sent to the Airtel system. The # key executes that number.
Sometimes in system delay cases it asks me to enter the India phone no again, but I have never had problem authenticating the PIN and entering the system.
Further you can also program this sequence to a voice dial if you have that on your cell, then you dont have to dial any digits at all. just say "Call Sweetie" or "Call Ankur" or Call Kareena" and your hitech phone will do the rest for you.
Just dont voice program names like Shehanshah Jahangir, system might trip! :)
Welcome to Voice dialing!
ONESUITE CALLING CARD
The big advantage with Onesuite is that they provide competitive rates to almost all countries in the world. Unlike Airtel, which is restricted to calling India from US, with Onesuite you can call many different countries with a single account. The rates to most European landlines are in the 2-5 cent a minute, to India it is in the 7-10 cent a min rate.
They also offer PINLESS dialing and stored memory online for speed dialing, Auto Recharge facility etc. Overall, a GREAT DEAL!
Sign up at Onesuite here
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this blog are referral links which earn some rebate or bonus commissions to the author. This does not affect the quality of the review of any product or service however. Also, none of the statements in this blog can be construed as a recommendation to sign up for a service or to avoid any service/product. Make your own final decision. Good luck/.
Apr 13, 2007
National Flag/National Anthem Controversy
On the latest (cultivated) controversy about the national flag/anthem and Tendulkar/Murthy.
Contrary to media portayal, In Tendulkar's case, (IMO) he was actually showing MORE respect by cutting a cake with national colors on it. I personally would not put something into my mouth unless I respect it. It is like Annapoorna devi for me (our country and the flag, that is).
Further, in Tendulkar's case, it was the Indian High Commission in Jamaica that had organized the event and arranged for the cake. So if people in the government don't know and implement (so-called) rules properly why is it the fault of the ordinary man (tendulkar in this case)
I dont know much about Murthy's case but probably they were taken out of context, I definitely believe Narayan Murthy is quite patriotic. Besides the politicians need to do some useful work than waste time on things like these.
Jai Bharat.
Contrary to media portayal, In Tendulkar's case, (IMO) he was actually showing MORE respect by cutting a cake with national colors on it. I personally would not put something into my mouth unless I respect it. It is like Annapoorna devi for me (our country and the flag, that is).
Further, in Tendulkar's case, it was the Indian High Commission in Jamaica that had organized the event and arranged for the cake. So if people in the government don't know and implement (so-called) rules properly why is it the fault of the ordinary man (tendulkar in this case)
I dont know much about Murthy's case but probably they were taken out of context, I definitely believe Narayan Murthy is quite patriotic. Besides the politicians need to do some useful work than waste time on things like these.
Jai Bharat.
Feb 15, 2007
Snow day
Smiling in the Apple Store in NY City. Me and my friends were trying different types of smiles (genuine, plastic, surprised and more) in front of a webcam. Silly time pass. If you go to NYC, check it out, it is near Central Park.
Snow Day - Feb 14, 2007
I spent a glorious day on Wednesday. First, of course, work had to be done in shoveling the sidewalks clear of snow. I did this the night before @ 9pm and still found 7-8 in snow piled up next morning. Even the prev night I had shoveled snow from a sidewalk that had been cleared by my roommate in the afternoon!.
Anyhow after all the work, I went to campus but since I was not doing much, I made some plans to go skiing. That did not work out either, but I ended up snow sledding in a park (on a snowy slope) near our house! It was amazing! Will try to add pics soon. Sledding down slopes was great fun on a snow day!
Snow Day - Feb 14, 2007
I spent a glorious day on Wednesday. First, of course, work had to be done in shoveling the sidewalks clear of snow. I did this the night before @ 9pm and still found 7-8 in snow piled up next morning. Even the prev night I had shoveled snow from a sidewalk that had been cleared by my roommate in the afternoon!.
Anyhow after all the work, I went to campus but since I was not doing much, I made some plans to go skiing. That did not work out either, but I ended up snow sledding in a park (on a snowy slope) near our house! It was amazing! Will try to add pics soon. Sledding down slopes was great fun on a snow day!
Feb 10, 2007
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