The Shadow Experience » Offbeat

Want to Own a Lamborghini, Here’s How…

Abhinav Kaiser — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:56:21 +0000

Lamborghinis are a dream for most of us. The sight of one is a rarity in itself, let alone owing one. Thanks to the world of legos, you can build your own Lamborghini for $60.

It’s just not any of the Lamborghinis, but the Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia. There are only two other real models of this car and both are owned and driven by Italian police force.

The 5.2 liter V-10 engine powered car crashed into a car pulling out of gas station a number of years ago. It cost the state police a few thousands to fix it. You can now re-enact the wreck and fix it at no extra cost.

The lego version comes with 801 pieces, inclusive of a radio, a radar gun, and a cooler for high-speed donor-organ deliveries. There’s even an onboard defibrillator, presumably for restarting the tickers of bad guys who get cardiac-arrested when the 5-0 appears behind them in a $225,000 road rocket.

Terror from Eyjafjallajokull

Abhinav Kaiser — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:03:59 +0000

Last week’s volcano in Iceland was supposed to be one amongst several, and it was in a place that is of least significance, at least from the business side of things, and yet transportation between the East and the West was is widely affected. This is true globalization. There is a big lesson that all of us can learn from this. If we do not take care of our ecology effectively, a catastrophe in one geography might affect the entire human kind. The takeaway from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is deep, and I hope there are concentrated efforts across the board.

Nature is beautiful, even when its furious. The picture links provided below are sufficient proofs that there is second to none when it comes to the beauty of nature. Ladies, if your man starts to say that you are the most beautiful thing in the world, he might just be lying, and he knows it too.

Picture Set 1 | Picture Set 2

Google Nexus One Trademark Rejected

Abhinav Kaiser — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:36:11 +0000

Not everything is smooth sailing for Google. Their recent hype with their new phone Nexus One maybe short lived. The trademark office has rejected Google’s application claiming patent on Nexus One.

The reason – a small telecom firm, Integra Telecom based in Oregon owns the trademark for the word “Nexus”. The company makes around $60 million a year based on the trademark.

Google has confirmed that they are going to reapply and continue to claim the rights for Nexus One. Their argument is Nexus and Nexus One are two different products, and should be viewed separately as both can exist mutually exclusively.

Thousands of Google Nexus One are already sold, and many are in the process. If Google loses the appeal, are they going to recall all the phones for a re-badging? Things will change dramatically if this has to happen.

Last time, way back in 2007, Apple brought out their phones under the brand name iPhone, only to realize that Cisco already had a product by that name. To their good luck, Cisco was ready to accept a monetary offer in exchange for the trademark. Google would hope for a similar resolution too.

The Blue Moon Phenomenon

Abhinav Kaiser — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:22:24 +0000

I have and most of us have used the term once in a blue moon several times, without knowing the actualities behind it. I vaguely remember that a friend had told me that a blue moon occurred once every 55 years. At that time, I did not bother to figure out what it actually meant.

Tonight, several regions across Asia and Australia will witness the blue moon, which will in fact take us to the next year. If you are spiritual person, you would probably associate something supernatural with this phenomenon indeed.

Generally, a full moon is visible once every month, as the turn around time (excuse my IT language) is 29.5 days and unless, a full moon is visible within the first 2 days of a 31 day month, it will most certainly come back the next month.

This time around, the first full moon was visible on the 2nd of December and will once again shore up tonight, making it an anomaly of sorts. This phenomenon is called as the blue moon. And, it happens once every 2.7 years to exact (and not 55).

Another rarity of this blue moon is the timing and the past history it is attached to. The last time a blue moon occurred during the New Year’s eve through the following year was in the 19th century. Wow! Even my great grandfathers missed this opportunity. If you miss this due to New Year festivities, don’t worry, it will take place in 2028 and 2066 as well. Just hope that all will be well until then!!!

The eclipse is partial and will begin at 10.45pm on Thursday and continue till 2.59am on Friday. And, India is the best place to witness it.

Co-incidentally, Blue Moon is my favorite beer and we don’t get it in this part of the world (sadly).

Originally published on Say What!!! on 31st of December, 2009 which was a blue moon day in India.

A Village Named ‘Google’ In North Karnataka, India

Abhinav Kaiser — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:07:55 +0000

The birth of the cyber company Google was sometime in the 90s and the name was patented around the same time too. But, you would be shocked to hear that a village named Google has existed for centuries now.

Google is a tiny hamlet in North Karnataka, around 530 kilometers from the cyber capital of India, Bangalore. Around 1000 people inhabit this place. You would be surprised to hear that the village does not have internet connectivity and most are not aware that one of the world’s largest companies is named after their village.

There are a couple theories about the origin of the ever-so-popular name. In the 12th century, a saint poet named Allama Prabhu stopped by in the village while travelling from Basava Kalyan to Shreeshailam in Andhra Pradesh. The cave he stayed in has been described as Gavi Gallu (cave of stone), and the village which came around this cave is called Googallu in Kannada which translates into Google in English.

The underground cave exists. Devotees visit the cave which hosts an idol of the saint by crawling through a hole in the ground.

The second theory is based on the rocks that sing. The sound was produced by people who wanted to communicate with villagers in far-off places by hitting rocks with small sonorous stones. A special feature of the rocks in this region would produce a unique sound.

The clanging of rocks produced cup-like marks in the rocks. Prehistoric rocks with such cup marks are found in several places in the Krishna river basin, such as Watkal, Hunasagi, Hebbal Burj and other villages in Gulbarga and Raichur districts. Rocks that sing/shout is called Kooguva Kallu in Kannada, which might have let to today’s name Google.

I am going to don the devil’s advocate hat and question Google’s hold over the usage of the name. Will others be allowed to come with new businesses named after the village, and still not be pulled to court by the company. For example, I might come with new businesses like Google store, Google arts and so on. And, I am beginning to think the company Google will start to fight a losing battle. But, I am not a legal expert, maybe somebody could give it a try for a shot at fame.

Dolphins are Hunted, So are Chickens and Cows…

Abhinav Kaiser — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 13:04:50 +0000

I was recently going through an article which pictures the horrible practice of killing dolphins in a small town called Taiji in Japan, by driving them to a cove. Here’s an excerpt:

Twenty-six fishermen in 13 boats corral a few dozen dolphins into a small cove, where they kill the animals by stabbing them repeatedly with long harpoons and knives. The 50-square-foot (4.6-square-meter) inlet turns crimson, as if filled only with blood.

In the course of a six-month season, fishermen kill roughly 2,000 dolphins and sell the meat to local supermarkets for about U.S. $500 a dolphin. The fishermen supplement their income by taking about a hundred dolphins alive and selling them for tens of thousands of dollars each to aquariums in Japan, China, South Korea, Iran, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

I agree that it is a cruel practice, but how is it different from killing chickens and cows for meat. Even they are animals/mammals and they go through the same set of emotions as dolphins and whales.

When posed with this question, a smart activist Diani Reiss who is famous for discovering that dolphins can recognize themselves in a mirror says – “Taiji hunt must stop simply because it’s inhumane. Dolphins are extremely intelligent creatures that experience pain and suffering. I have listened to underwater recordings from the Taiji drive hunt and says the dolphins issue sophisticated distress calls.”

Reiss must be a blonde!!!

Does that mean none of the animals that are killed for food don’t experience pain, given the reason that they are not as intelligent and don’t send distress signals. Bull Shit! I had expected a better explanation from somebody who is worthwhile mentioning on the national geographic website.

All animals feel pain. If we are to stop an animal from being hunted, there should be a good reason such as extinction or harming the ecology. I am not buying any intelligence stories, sorry Reiss!!!

Have you Heard about the Hump Day?

Abhinav Kaiser — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:14:54 +0000

Recently, I was reading a mail from a friend who lives in New York and he was mentioning about a hump day party. Intrigued by the name, and the way the name has been coined, I began to believe that it was like a swinging club or an orgy.

The friend I am referring to is married and I began to wonder if he alone was a part of this festivity or if his wife is also a partner in crime. I thought about it for a while before I decided to give him a ring.

My friend burst into laughter after he heard my concerns patiently. He apparently took over 5 minutes to get over the Nitrous Oxide that I had produced through my question.

Well, long story short, I learnt that Hump Day is a synonym for Wednesday. It is christened the way it is, as the hump (on a camel) is in the middle and so is Wednesday.

The Hump Day party was in the evening and it was to commemorate the passing of more than half a week.

What a disgusting way to live life?

I cannot believe people around the world live for mere two days of a week. All five days go down the drain in anticipation of the weekend and on Sunday evenings, mournings begin. I just can’t get the word disgusting out of my head.

Getting into the Cult of Law of Attraction

Abhinav Kaiser — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:22:51 +0000

I don’t know! I have never been a believer of super natural things and yet, I have been hearing about the law of attraction over the past couple days, I don’t seem to get around it. The thing that catches me off-guard is the fact that psychologists, physicists and many other scientific professionals prophesize it to be true. And, I have a great deal of respect for these individuals and I have decided do a bit of R&D on this topic over the next couple of months. I will keep my updates posted as regularly as possible.

So far from what I have understood – your thoughts are transmitted to the universe and it feeds it back to you in terms of realization of your thoughts at some point later in time. In essence, if you think (or believe) that you are truly going to be a millionaire someday, it is going to happen. Foshizzle!

It seems outlandish in the first instance and in the second and the third and so on… The only reason I have taken into this is due to all the geniuses who have bought into this theory. Well, I might as well state it, as they say, there is a very fine line between a genius and a mentally ill person.

Monstropedia : A Website Dedicated to Monsters

Abhinav Kaiser — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:49:04 +0000

I recently stumbled upon a website dedicated to monsters, Monstropedia. It’s a nice concept and is fun to read when on a break. The website is still in the works for the most part and boasts of around 1000 articles on monsters.

Here’s my favorite:

Werewolf

A werewolf (Or Lycanthrope) in folklore and mythology is a person who shapeshifts into a wolf, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon, but this concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by modern fiction writers. Most modern references agree that a werewolf can be killed if shot by a silver bullet, although this is more a reflection of fiction’s influence than an authentic feature of the folk legends. Werewolves are sometimes held to become vampires after death.

Simpson Family is Now Portrayed as African

Abhinav Kaiser — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:25:29 +0000

I know for sure that many of you are avid viewers of Simpsons (were rather). Reuters reports that an advertising agency in Angola is giving a makeover to the Simpsons to reach out to the local community.

The Simpsons, broadcast in more than 90 countries, have always been portrayed as yellow but the advertising agency, Executive Center in Luanda, decided to turn them brown in a promotional video aired by Africa’s digital satellite TV service DSTV in Angola.

Homer, Marge, Lisa and Bart are portrayed as Africans sitting on their over-used family couch. The family is shown wearing African-inspired clothing and their living room has little more than two huge loud speakers.

Even Homer’s cherished beer has been replaced by Cuca, the Budweiser of Angola.

Read On…