Silly Point

If you came here in search of "Lazy Workday", the SNL/Narnia parody, click here

Sunday, June 18, 2006

California

Lenny Kravitz’s song “California” goes something like this:

I was converted to the other side
From the day I'd gotten there

When I moved to California
California


This is how I felt when I first came to California in 2002. As soon as I was here I knew there was something magical about this place. I had always been a city guy. Living in the NYC metropolitan area suited me perfectly well. But LA was very different from all other mega-cities; it had this inexplicable aura of bliss. The weather was one factor, always pleasant, the ocean played a major part, and I was thrilled to see the pacific. Then the magic of tinsel town and the glamour of the city make it even more the American Dream. It has always been the golden land of the American dream since the gold rush of 1849 until contemporary times where it has become the entertainment and the technology capital of the world.

Right now I am still on route to the Golden State, flying over the Mojave Desert at the moment. The site is beautiful, desert everywhere with some outcrops of rock interrupting the terrain. There was a wonderful site near Phoenix as we flew over Lake Pleasant; the water amid the barren landscape was such a contrast. I had been to this lake in 2002 and had navigated its waters; it was good to see it from an aerial view.

The purpose of this trip of mine is for business. I am going to the LA region to bring two major hotel sites up to date with their hotel management software. The work isn’t much and I expect to do a lot of sightseeing on this trip. I am still planning for places to visit, I will try my best to see the ocean today after I land, perhaps go to Malibu.

So far the trip has been decent, apart from my neighbor on seat 20F on the flight from Newark to Phoenix. He should have purchased tickets for 2 seats. Him occupying the center seat, limited me to just half a seat. And on top of that, the constant snoring made the trip very unpleasant for me. Had it not been for that girl sitting across the aisle from me, a hot looking young college girl, that flight would have been a bad memory. For once I was glad that I had read all the Harry Potter books, she was reading the “Order of the Phoenix”, it was easy to break the ice talking about Harry and Hogwarts and get a good conversation going. Flying over the Sierra Nevada Mountains now, with their snow capped mountains providing some sight. We are about to land soon, will finish this later.

So my room is pretty nice. It’s a suite with a living room and kitchen area and then double doors that lead to the bedroom and bathroom. I am watching both the TVs at once, the NBA finals on the one in the living room and “Ronin” on the bedroom TV. The staff here at the hotel is very friendly, especially Genevieve, the receptionist who was showing me around the back office (Unfortunately nothing along the lines that you are thinking.)

Later on I went to Malibu; I was told that the beach was very good there. I looked at the map and found a scenic route to Malibu, going through the Malibu Canyon; it was really nice, especially when the ocean is visible from the top of the mountain. Unfortunately I was driving and couldn’t take a picture. But Malibu was a big disappointment. The beach was not so great. Or perhaps I did not go to the right area. But anyway, I drove down to Santa Monica, which I have always liked. But I had wasted the better part of the day going to Malibu. The beach there was good but the sea was very rough. It was windy and the waves were strong. There weren’t many people surfing either. It was cooler today, a pleasant 70 degrees so most people at the beach were covered up and avoiding the chilly breeze. I hope to see more of the beach later on in the week when I move to the other location.

Do comment and let me know what you thought of this.

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Lazy Workday

If you have never seen "Lazy Sunday" (SNL Narnia Rap) It would be advisable to see that first. Click here for the original.


Lazy workday,
Leave work in the late afternoon
Call Max just to see how he's doin'
Hello?
What up, Max!
Yo Monis, what's crackin'?
You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?
Platters!
Man it's happ'nin'!

First, call up Lu. But he wont pick up his phone.
Forget about him, when its platters, every mans his own.
Hurry, speed down Route 80 and leave county Morris.
Let's pick up Nenad else he'll roundhouse like Chuck Norris.

Route 80, 17; 3! Lincoln Tunnel!
On life-support, I'll eat platters through a funnel!

Yo, the place wont be open
Till an hour or two!
Let's hit up a pool place and shoot some cues.
I prefer Comet Billirads.
That's a good one too.
Clifton Billiards is the best!
True that! Double true!

53rd and 6th.
Take the West Side Hwy.
Turn right at the Hustler club.
Platter! I want it MY WAY!

Hit the Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!
Yes, the Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!
We love those Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!
Pass those Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!

Yo, wat ya gonna have?
I like the combo with rice.
Gyro and Chicken mixed,
The special sauces make it nice.
With platters the occasion don't need be auspicious!
Platter and Extra White Sauce equals crazy delicious.
Yo, pull up to the ATM, lemme take out some dough.
You didn't bring any cash? Hey, I didn't know!
Don't take out much; a Lincoln's all you need
5 bucks for a platter, more than enough for you to feed.

Rolled up 'round the corner, the line was really long
Haven't seen such a crowd since I went to see Kong!
We got to the end of the line and time went in a freeze.
While placing our orders we asked for "Extra White Sauce please!"
We got our platters so fast, it was fantastic:
Everyone stared in awe when we screamed "Yes we have it!"
Eat it while it's hot or it's gonna get tragic!
The special white sauce will take you to a dream world of magic!

Hit the Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!
Yes, the Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!
We love those Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!
Pass those Platters, what? Of 53rd and 6th!

By MCMLXXXII with special thanks to M

Monday, June 05, 2006

New Template

Perhaps some of you had thought that after posting 3 entries in two days, I might have calmed down a little. In fact, it has been the opposite. During this time I have been working really hard trying to redesign the template and the result is before your eyes. Although I liked the old template a lot, but it had such a "used" feel to it. It compelled me to sit down and design something of my own. I created the new graphics for the template and changed the stylesheet. I also made the content a little wider. Please do let me know what you think of this new design in the comments section, especially if the design does not fit your monitor resolution. And to compare with the previous design, here are some screenshots. (Click on the images for a larger view)

Thursday, June 01, 2006

World Cup Trading

While surfing on BBC today, I stumbled on to the World Cup Daq (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldcupdaq/). This is one of the most interesting things I have come across recently. It acts like a real stock market, instead of companies, there are the 32 Fifa World Cup teams taking part in the month long tournament beginning 9th June in Germany. You start off with some virtual credit (£10,000) and purchase shares in teams. There are weekly prizes for the person with the most percentage gain during the week.

The trading experience is real-time. Prices go up and down as you buy and sell, the price of the share being dependent on its demand. England is currently the highest valued stock at £29.11, it has not stopped growing as of yet. Brazil is another which has been growing steadily. Many of the other stocks have fluctuated as people buy and sell them. For anyone who has never traded in the stock exchange before, this will prove to be a very good learning experience.

The game is more elaborate than that. There are also dividends paid for a certain holding period based on the amount of press coverage received per square-centimeter in selected newspaper. Win Bonuses are also allotted to certain teams that perform well. The photo shows my current portfolio. I started off with £10,000 today and made a profit of £55.44.

If any of you do join and create a team, I would like to invite you to my league, just enter your user ID in the comments and I will add you. Also, I was unable to find any other blogs or discussion groups about World Cup Daq so if you have anything to discuss , any strategies that might prove profitable, then please converse in the comments below.