Hot Chilli

The first thing that comes to our mind when we think about chilli is that it is HOT. But why is it hot? What gives chilli its hot sensation? The answer is a substance called ‘Capsaicin’ and other related chemicals collectively known as ‘capsaicinoids’. When we eae chilli, the capsaicinoids present in them bind themselves with the pain receptors in our throat which is responsible for sensing heat. These receptors sends a message to the brain which says he has ate something hot. The brain in turn responds to this message by increasing the heart rate, perspiration rate and endorphin release.

So why does chilli have this capsaicin? The answer, according to scientists is evolution. The plant produces seeds so that they can be eaten and spread out by birds and so they can exist without extinction. But the hotness however is to inhibit a fungus called Fusarium which is the main cause of seed mortality. The birds anyway doesn’t have the necessary organs to experience the spicy taste and so the hotness is not a big deal for them. One of the other important aspect of capsaicin according to a new study is that it can help in killing cancer without harming other cells and that too with no side effects.

Balls of Fury

After a days hectic work, I take a break and play some Table Tennis(TT) with my friends. The place that I work in offers some games like carom, chess, TT, etc. At first it was a bit hard to play as I didn’t have any experience in it.  After a while we got better and started to play more and work less☺. The serve is one of the important things in TT. A good serve will always give you the edge.

There are two ways to hold the bat: pen-style and hand-shake method. While holding the bat in a pen-style way, the server has an advantage of a giving a powerful forehand to his opponent, however, backhand is affected severely. On the other hand, the hand-shake method is more popular as the server is able to react with a strong backhand to his opponents shots. There are even some really good players and we learnt some moves from them. As days &  hours went by, we mastered the serve, forehand, backhand, smashes & even advanced moves such as chopping & blocking.  We started teaming up with our friends and had some good matches. Too bad I am going to be transferred to a different work location shortly L.

Warren Buffet’s principles for successful investing

      1>      Rule:1 Never lose money

    Rule:2 Never forget rule 1    

2>     Never be afraid to ask for too much when selling or offer too little when buying.

3>     Look for business in which you think you can predict what they are going to look like in

10 to 15 years time. Take Wrigley’s chewing gum. I don’t think internet is going to change

How people chew gum.

4>     “If calculus or algebra were required to be a great investor, I’d have to go back to delivering newspaper”. All you need is addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and some little knowledge of percentage and probability. Anything more is a waste and anything less, you can’t play the game.

5>     You want to learn from experience, but you want to learn from other’s experience when you can.

6>     It is hard to teach a young dog, old tricks. All that matters here is age and experience. Youth and enthusiasm has no value.

7>     Wall street makes its money on activity. You make your money on inactivity.

8>     “You only have to do a very few things right in your life. So long as you don’t do too many things wrong”

9>     Fearful when others are greedy. Greedy when others are fearful.

       10>   The most important thing to do if you are in a hole is stop digging.

The "i" factor

I guess the first thing that comes to mind when the word “cellphone” is uttered has got to be “iPhone”!Apple has been in the lead with respect to its ‘revolutionalising’ mp3 players - iPod as well as their hi-tech and uber cool laptops/desktops - iMac.

With the new iPhone 4 out in the US & Europe, people are queueing for their latest smartphone. Another issue reported by some users within days of the iPhone 4 release was that during calls the proximity sensor can be insensitive and contact with the touchscreen can end calls, mute calls, and dial other numbers.

Inspite of these issues, the iPhone 4 is “THE” phone of 2010 with several unique & innovative features. Some of its improvements over its predecessors are the inclusion of 5MP camera with LED flash along with HD (high-definition) video capabilities.

Another new feature is “FaceTime” , which is a video calling software. Currently, it works only with Wi-Fi connection between an iPhone 4 or 4G apple device with another similar device (FaceTime compatible device).

Do those fingerprint marks on your cell annoy you? Fear not! The iPhone 4 uses a Lipophobic screen coating which repels fingerprint oils. (another “plus” for the iPhone 4!)

The hardware details of the “i4″ are equally commendable, with its rechargeable Lithium ion battery. With an Apple A4 (ARM Cortex-8) CPU & storage capacity of 16GB (or 32GB) , what more can one ask for? Did i mention that it has a memory of 512MB eDRAM?

Inspite of these mouth-watering features, the iPhone 4 has faced severe criticism due to its “antenna” issue. People have complained that the signal bars of the phone reduce when the phone is held in a particular way (if the hand blocks the antenna). Unfortunately, Apple committed a blunder with respect to their signal-formula-calculation for which they tried to correct using a “bumper”. The Bumper serves as an outer cover preventing the signal from dropping.

With Apple releasing the new iOS 4.1 in the months to come, lets hope they fulfil the customer’s wish!!
Underneath a libel washes the motorway.

Games for apple platforms

I have always wanted to get a mac system and I finally brought one last week. I really like the user interface a lot more than my other system. I was using this mostly for my profession as a web developer. But sometimes I get bored and want to have some fun. So I found out some cool mac games to play around with. I have to say, they were awesome. I also liked the spider game for mac, similar to our spider solitaire but a lot more cooler.

Some years back, mac systems didn’t have many good games. But now be it action, adventure, puzzles, sports, strategy etc mac has it.  Some mac games have really cool graphics and are really fun to play.

"Casino" Online

I have always been a fan of films like 21, Hangover, Rush Hour 2 etc for they all have one thing in common. You guessed it, I am talking about casinos. I always wanted to have a casino experience just for the fun and thrill of it. But most places don’t have a real casino and for those casino freaks who want to experience casinos at the comfort of their own home, there is a way. An online casino is a place that offers games such as roulette, poker, bingo etc. Some online casinos also offer live games such as blackjack where the dealing part is done by real dealers from casino studios. One of the other great games offered is online poker. The revenue of Poker alone grew substantially after the introduction and the fame of Online Poker.

One of the important things to note about gambling is that the people indulging in these activities should not get addicted to it. A good thing to mention about online gambling is that many sites offer bonuses for people to play in their sites. The rules and regulations are also better online than at a land casino. Also you do not have to  tip the casino employees. So if you decide to play in a casino, enjoy yourself and stay safe.

3D Origami

Chinese modular origami is one type of origami where we make complex structures out of many similar modules. This type of origami came into existance during 1993 when a group of Chinese refugees who were detained on a ship called Golden Venture. These refugees were held in an American prison where they started to make complex models and these models were given as gifts to those aiding and helping the refugees and sold them at charity fund collectors. The media helped in popularizing this art around the world. Soon after this, this type of origami was called ‘Golden Venture Folding’.

These modules are made of rectangular paper with 1:2 aspect ratio. These rectangular papers are folded into small triangles with 2 flaps and 2 pockets. The basic module is quite simple to fold but making a structure with those often require hundreds of pieces and will take a lot of time. These triangles are then joined together by inserting a flap of one triangular piece into the pocket of an other triangle and so on to make a complete structure. These structures often include swans, pineapples, ships and dogs/cats. This kind of origami is also known as 3D origami and this makes a good gift for your loved ones as it shows the amount of effort you put of them.