Happy new Year

To all my friends and readers of this blog, may you be blessed with a happy, peaceful, prosperous and fun-filled 2006.

Lance Armstrong - Hollywood Ishtyle

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My first 55 word story

As our lives become faster, our entertainment has to keep up. Flash-fiction is the answer. Write a story. A short one. 55 words to be precise. Bingo. Here's my first piece of FF.

Cramped office. Stale air. Blurry monitor. Impending deadlines. Need to get out. Run around the block. Once more. Crisp air. Soft pavement. Pitter Patter. Laces tight. Can't bend. Pick up the pace. Thumping heart. Pitter Patter. Trickling sweat. Too fast. Slow down. Whatz the time ? Oh Shit. Gotta get back. Cross the street. Screeeeeech!!!!.

Eat a Burrito to fight cancer

If you are a resident of the Washington DC metro area, please continue reading. Baja Fresh has decided to donate 15% of its December 15th sales to the Leukemia and Lymphoma society (LLS). LLS is a non-profit organization dedicated to find a cure for leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and Hodgkin's disease. So, whether you are visiting DC or it is home for you, please take some time off your busy schedules and enjoy a wonderful lunch/dinner at Baja Fresh.

I know I am going to have a bare burrito for lunch. How about you ?

Here is a list of partcipating locations:

WASHINGTON DC

Dupont Circle

1333 New Hampshire Avenue NW

202-835-0570

"Eye" Street

1990 K Street NW

202-293-0110

VIRGINIA

Fairfax

12150 Fairfax Towne Center

703-352-1792

Herndon

2405 Centreville Road

703-793-0878

Cascades

20968 Southbank Street

571-434-7230

Reston

11690 Plaza America Drive

703-689-0993

Pan Am Center

3011 A Nutley Street

703-280-5400

Chantilly

13940 Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway

703-378-3804

Springfield

7003 A Manchester Boulevard

703-924-1313

Alexandria

3231 Duke Street

703-823-2888

Pentagon Row

1101 Joyce Street B-5

703-414-8211

Clarendon

2815 Clarendon Boulevard

703-528-7010

Manassas

8099 Sudley Road

703-365-2077

Rosslyn

1100 Wilson Boulevard

703-516-2101

Falls Church

1116 West Broad Street

703-237-0020

MARYLAND

Rockville

1607 Rockville Pike

301-770-4339

Kentlands

622 Center Point Way

301-330-0889

King Farm

302 King Farm Boulevard

240-683-3907

Westlake

10321 Westlake Drive

301-469-9773

Bethesda Row

4930 Elm Street

240-497-0660

Germantown

19810 Century Boulevard

301-528-1630

Silver Spring

8515 Fenton Street

301-587-6542

Wheaton

2800 West University Boulevard S-116

301-962-6002

Yet another hike in Interest Rates ?

The Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates another quarter point today. But after 18 months in which the Fed has been pushing rates higher to keep inflation under control, the central bank appears to be getting close to the end of its rate increase campaign.

Continue reading

Sukhasana

The new brain drain

CNN reports...

Two government biologists heavily recruited by Stanford University have decided to work in Singapore instead, saying they will face fewer restrictions on stem cell research overseas.

Read on more here

Wise monk says

Wise monk says : "Be stingy. Save money. You don't know when your car will break down"

Venus, Meet Probe. Probe, Meet Venus

New Scientist has a report on the Venus Express spacecraft that is set to blast off on 9th November. Amongst other things, scientists hope to find out why a planet that has so much in common with earth in terms of physical dimensions and orbiting distance from the sun is devoid of life. Read more here

Joke of the day

A suspect sample of the avian flu virus from dead Romanian birds went missing for at least 24 hours and possibly two days at Heathrow. It was flown in by British Airways but when security couriers arrived to collect the package, it could not be found. BA began an investigation and said there was no health risk.

(Source)

Now, if only, I can do this at work.

Jim Jubak takes on the Fed

Jim Jubak, a columnist for MSN Money , has a very interesting take on the Fed's policy of increasing interest rates to combat inflation. According to him, the Fed has gotten it all wrong this time around. Here's my favorite passage from his article.

"The Federal Reserve is fighting the wrong kind of inflation. The classic monetary remedy for inflation is higher interest rates -- that slows the economy, reducing demand. That, in turn, breaks the spiral of higher wages leading to higher prices leading to higher wages, etc. But the current problem isn't classic wage-price inflation. Wages are going nowhere fast; something else is driving inflation. Take a look at the numbers for the quarter completed in September. The economy, as measured by gross domestic product, grew at a 3.8% rate in the quarter. Consumer prices, measured by the Consumer Price Index, climbed at an annual rate of 4.7%, the highest rate of increase since June 1991.Where did that inflation come from? Certainly not from wage increases. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employers' wage costs grew just 2.3% in the last 12 months. That's the slowest growth rate on record, beating out the 2.4% annualized growth rate in wages reported in August. Instead, current inflation is almost all a result of higher energy prices. ".

Black Hole

According to the New Scientist, astronomers are zeroing in on the location of the black hole that is believed to be at the center of our galaxy, the Milky way

Run Raju Run

Hey Raju!!!
Let me be the first to Blogratulate you on your successful completion of the Marine Corps marathon today. Keep up the great work.

I can't remember the last time I ran 10 miles. Do you ? To be honest, I never ran 10 miles. But, I have a friend, Raju, who can run 10 miles. In fact, he is going to attempt 26.2 miles this weekend to raise funds for the victims of the Kashmir earthquake. In his own words :

Hi people,

It has been raining all day and night here in Washington DC. The weather channel throws up this picture of a perfect storm on the screen and I am reminded of the movie. I love rain, so I took a walk in the rain....the temperature - a chilly 45 F. That is chilly. My mind instantly shifted gears and thoughts of the thousands of people left homeless in Jammu and Kashmir sprung up. As I rushed back to my heated apartment, my realization was complete - they dont even have a place to stay forget the heated part. In AID we have been collecting funds and sending it to our partners in India. And what we have been sending has been really insufficient. Yes, we are a small organization - but that doesnt take anything away from the fact that there are thousands in distress, whom we can help. Without a roof on their heads and not much to eat, surviving rain in DC itself is tough - forget the cold and harsh climes of Jammu and Kashmir winters.

I, a grad student in Univ of Maryland, as you know - a couple of months back could never even imagine that I could run a mile non-stop. I ran for fun with a bunch of AID, ASHA and AIMS volunteers as they prepared for the marathon. Simultaneously I did volunteer working on the earthquake. But today, the thoughts are different. I need to get out there and highlight the plight of these people. I dont want these survivors to be left out! Not in this kind of weather!

I got a chance to run the marathon - this sunday, a full 26.2 miles and I will run to highlight the plight of these survivors in Jammu and Kashmir. In less than two weeks, winter will set in. Mountains in J&K will start getting their snow showers. The race is on to provide some comfortable accomodation and food and warm clothing.

The race is on, the clock is ticking. The hope that one more family can get sheltered from the fast approaching frigid winters with another stride I take will be enough to energize me (more than a few bottles of Powerade/Gatorade) on Sunday. But I need your support to make that hope a reality - every bit of your support will provide warmth to a shivering family.

In American Poet Robert Frost's words...

"The wood was lovely, dark and deep,
but I had promises to keep
miles to go before I sleep,
miles to go before I sleep."

Please pass this along - we need more than moral support. We need to help our brothers and sisters in Jammu and Kashmir rebuild their lives!

Thanks,
Raju
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reach out to our brothers and sisters in J&K
https://www.aidindia.org/aidadmin/aux/RandRinKashmir2005Donate.jsp

- Hide quoted text -

Updates from J&K: http://aidindia.org/new/content/blogsection/24/140/

Now, do you know India?
Donate Generously @ http://aidindia.org/donate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meet the new Fed Chief

Ben Bernanke has been named as Alan Greenspan's successor today. Among other things, he has a Ph. D in Economics from MIT and is a professor at Princeton. Here are more details :

BEN S. BERNANKE
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
Phone: (609) 258-5635, (609) 258-4000
Fax: (609) 258-2809
e-mail: BERNANKE@WWS.PRINCETON.EDU

Personal:

Born Augusta, Georgia - December 13, 1953
Married (Anna) with two children
U.S. citizen

Education:

Harvard University, B.A., Economics, 1975, summa cum laude. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ph.D., Economics, 1979.

Employment:

Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University, 1996-present. Class of 1926 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University, 1994-1996. Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University, 1985-1994. Associate Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, 1983-1985. Assistant Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, 1979-1983. Morgenstern Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, New York University, Fall 1993. Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, M.I.T., Fall 1983; academic year, 1989-90.
Honors and Fellowships: Fellow, Econometric Society. Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Fellow (eligible) Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 1983-84. Hoover Institution National Fellow, 1982-83. National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, 1975. Allyn Young Prize (for best Harvard undergraduate economics thesis), 1975. John H. Williams Prize (for outstanding senior in the Harvard Economics Department), 1975. Phi Beta Kappa, 1975. Special lectures:
Money, Credit, and Banking Lecture, Ohio State University, March 1994.
David H. Steine Lecture, Vanderbilt University, October 1996.

HOCKEY!!!

I watched my first hockey game last sunday (the version played on ice) and I have to say that I am 'hook'ed. I got more bang for my b(p)uck as the game went into overtime and a penalty shoutout. The Washington Capitals beat the Tamp Bay lightning in a well contested match. Go Caps!!!. Twenty year old rookie Alex Ovechkin was spectacular. I knew little about Hockey but even my feeble hockey mind could sense his speed and control on the ice. Check this article out. Suddenly, winter doesn't seem boring any more.

Support AID in their relief efforts for the Kashmir Earthquake

Click me to donate

"Thousands of lives have been lost in Kashmir following the collapse of buildings due to an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale. Tens of thousands of familis are faced with the prospect of spending the harsh Himalayan winter without the warmth of their homes.

Help SUPPORT Association for India's Development's relief and reconstruction efforts in the communities affected by the earthquake. AID is works closely with partners and volunteers to constantly reassess the situation and disburse the funds accordingly. Please DONATE generously.

All donations to AID are 100% tax-deductible, under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS code in USA. "

iPOD VIDEO is out

Price :399$
Display: 2.5 inches
Playing Time : 150 hours of Video, music and photos

IPOD Video on Oct 12 ?

According to the AppleInsider, Steve Jobs and co. are hosting an invitation only event on Oct 12 a t the california theater in San Jos

" The invitations simply read: "One more thing..."

In recent years, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has used the phrase "One more thing..." to indicate a surprise product announcement towards the end of his keynote presentations.

In the invitations themselves, Apple provided no hints as to what announcements it plans to make. However, recent information suggests that Apple may be preparing to introduce a version of its iPod with video capabilities."

Google Office

Google and Sun might be collaborating together make Sun's Star Office suite accessible through a web browser. Check this link out.