Card Games

Card games are awesome fun and a nice timepass especially if you have a big group. In my childhood I used to primarily play Ass and Joker. Then during the numerous train journeys to College we used to play quite a number of card games and I learnt games like Rummy, trump, Bid etc. Yesterday I learnt a new game called TeenPathi (Flush/Flash). Really nice game. The problem with card games is that I tend to forget the exact rules if I have not played the game for a long time. I found a nice link that lists most card games with their rules.

http://www.pagat.com/alpha.html

http://www.pagat.com/

Happy - Happy Deepavali

"Happy-Happy Deepavali maa" - This is the phrase that an old man tells his grandchildren, son and daughter-in-law who live elsewhere(foreign land) in some telephone advertisement that used to come long time back on television. This ad caught my attention because that old man used to say these with so much of emotion and love which I could not understand at that point and had brushed it aside as overaction.
Little did I know when I saw this ad that I would be exactly doing the same thing for many more years to come. There is a bright side to staying away from home in the sense that you become very independent and responsible (supposedly) and worldly wise. But on the flip side it is quite sad that you miss out on all the love and affection from parents,siblings, grandparents and other relatives. This I feel all the more when any special occassion comes by. During every Diwali at college we did have fun, but it was never quite the same as it was at home. I used to call home and other relatives every Diwali, and each time I used to have this kind of weird feeling of "OutOfContext Exception". I used to ask myself whether was it really worth staying away from home missing so much. I still do ask myself this question, now occassionally though as I have learnt to live with the reality. The reality is that I am in a Hot Pursuit (a euphemism for Rat Race) now, in pursuit of career growth and achievement, money and social recognition and this pursuit has brought me so far away from home But I do live with the hope that soon in the near future the race will end soon or I will voluntarily opt out of the race. Whichever happens the good thing is that "The good old days look much more nearer now"!!!

Nature Retreat - MacRitchie Reservoir

For all Nature freaks in Singapore, the MacRitchie reservoir park walking trails are one of the best you can get in Singapore. It is a picturesque location with walking trails all along the perimeter of the MacRitichie lake. I think morning time is the best time to visit the reservoir park as it is very cool and the morning dew on the rich foliage is breathtaking.



There are various attractions also in this Reservoir, the best one being the Tree Top Walk. This is a strech of the trail where one can
walk over a Suspension bridge amidst the tree tops and it is really a worthwhile experience. You feel like you are over a jungle and we also get a very good view of the reservoir area.

My personal favorite attraction in the reservoir is feeding the turtles. These turtles are really bold and hungry and even take food directly from the hand. The turtles seem to eat whatever humans eat like Biscuits, Water Melon, Murruku etc. etc. Other attractions in the reserve include the Jelutong Tower which is a great view point. Adjoining one edge of the reservoir is the Singapore Island Country Club Golf Course and we can see the golfers teeing off there.

Located in Upper Thomson Road region, the best way to get here is to to get down at Thomson or Novena and take a cab to Upper Thomson Road (Venus Drive) or ask for Singapore Island Country Club.

Golf Club View ..















Can you Spot the Web?















The Tree Top View

The Beginning!!

I noticed her due to her tinkling anklets,
That first glance was enough to make a mark of a lifetime.
Her long plaited hair was adorned by the sweet smelling Jasmine flowers,
Or was it the Jasmine flowers adorned by her wonderful wisps of hair
Her broad forehead dotted with vermilion and kumkum
Reminded me of the morning horizon and the radiant rising sun
Dressed in crisp Kanchipuram silk here she was the girl of my dreams!!

I had become quite oblivious of our surroundings

Just then I realized that we were in a temple and I was supposed to pray!!
She had started making small steps around the sanctum
Quickly I began following her with my hands folded in piety
My heart skipped a beat when she turned around to look at me
In reflex my hands folded and my lips started uttering something...
She must have thought I was praying in devotion
Yes I was praying in devotion, that I could speak to her.

It was the full moon day and the temple was getting crowded
Soon I lost sight of her in all the chaos
Disappointed I completed two more rounds of pradakshina,
Made a deal with HIM that all be good,
And with a heavy heart walked back home .



As I was opening the gate of my house
I heard a sweet and soothing voice
Surprised I was when I looked around
Here she was the Jhaangri* of my eyes!
Slowly she walked up to me!!
I was too dazed by the situation to see!



While all the time I was looking down,
She spoke to me without a frown
She had just moved into the neighbourhood with her mom and dad,
And thought she would get to know her neighbours well, wasnt I too glad :)
She too had noticed me in temple, and in friendship she extended her hand
I too reciprocated while I was floating away into FairyLand...
And that was the Beginning, a really nice Beginning!!


*Jhaangri: A Really delicious awesome South Indian Sweet!!

Power Play in Cricket!!

Recently I read an article about the new rules in Cricket that have been tested in the Australia vs England series. They seem pretty interesting. Now we can have a 12 member team (one substitute) who can replace any player and do batting as well as bowling any time in the match, the only catch being the replaced player cannot come on field again.

It more feels like football substitution now. But it seems pretty useful. For example we can choose a fast bowler who bowls well with the new ball and have him bowl for 5-6 overs and then can substitute him with a bowler who bowls well with an old one in the slog overs. Or we can send in a guy to hit in the slog overs and if it looks like he is out of form or is underperforming then chuck him out and replace him with the twelfth man. Cricket is getting more and more interesting. Looking forward to see how well these Power play rules are put to use by the various teams.

Source: BBC News

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MKS - Windows Unix Interoperability

Recently installed a Windows-unix interoperability tool called MKS.
Details : http://www.mkssoftware.com/products/tk/ds_tkdev.asp

Really cool product. Now all unix commands are functional on the Windows command prompt. It is very helpful cos' it eliminated the need to change long unix scripts for running on windows.