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Showing posts from 2013

Applying Simple Arithmetic and Pobability for Everyday Train Journeys!

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Last week during my journey back from New Delhi to Bathinda in my favorite “Punjab Mail” I was eavesdropping conversation between a family and one lonely traveler.   The family want to exchange a seat of theirs, which is 5 compartments away, with this person so that they can all sit together. The lonely traveler is ready to help out, but with a condition that he don’t mind any berths other than Upper or Side Upper or Side Lower . Seat number the family want to exchange is “42” and they have no clue which berth this is. All were totally clueless to my utter surprise! I had been routinely confronted with this birth allocation problem, especially when tickets in “RAC” gets confirmed while checking the “PNR status”. I could help them out almost instantaneously (which is middle berth!) with a very simple solution. This is the berth allocation for Seat # 1 to #8 1 L 5 M 2 M 6 U 3 U 7 SL 4 L 0 SU Whatever your seat number,

Online-Only Direct Banks in India, are we ready yet?

Direct banks (online banks) are very popular almost everywhere except in India. Of course you will see online banking aka e/internet banking versions of traditional banks here, but I haven't come across not a single online-only bank. Are we that much traditional not to trust anything which is online? There are indeed a number of benefits online banks offer over the traditional, biggest among them is low cost of maintenance, with minimal physical presence and absolutely no branches. A big chunk of interest rates that you get from traditional banks are eaten by their advertisements and operational costs across hundreds of their branches. Offline banks also have advantages, like depositing physical cash etc. Of course safety is a major concern but e-banking of traditional banks have been thriving in the subcontinent for the last decade and I haven't came across a single case where net banking got hacked leading to loss of money. Of the traditional internet banks, my preferen

Offline Google Calender and Google Maps

Dear World, There are a number of apps available for android that syncs two-way with Google calender (gcal) for offline use, but I could never get this thing done for PC. For example, neither Windows 8 calendar app, nor Outlook calender, will sync with G Cal. Is there any workaround? I'm using a PC-Tablet running Windows 8 and I want to see and create schedules offline that should sync with Gcal when ever I come online. Again, situation is same for maps. During the time of Microsoft Encarta, offline, installable maps were such an easy task, but not anymore. I used to use Gmap Catcher ultil recently when Google API changed such that catcher can not take maps offline. Is there a work around? I want high resolution maps (tiled) of selected cities (for e.g., places I'm intending to travel soon) for offline use in my Windows 8 PC. Thanks and love, Felix

My experience with IndusInd Platinum Select Credit Card

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A few months ago I visited local branch of IndusInd (Bathinda) for a credit card and the manager explained that it cost Rs. 3500 as a joining fee and nothing else; so I applied on the same day (primarily as an online payment mechanism for forthcoming overseas trip). Manager said it comes with complimentary Jet Airways ticket, but as I presumed, the so called "ticket" is a voucher code for Rs 1500 discount on the base fare. Base fare is normally Rs. 1 for domestic airlines in India (fuel surcharge comes almost 95% of the total fare); so in order to get that Rs. 1500, you gotta purchase 1500 airtickets! Sites like www.yatra.com have been offering this sort of deceptive tactics for such a long time! I received the kit with credit card in couple of months and I spent sometime to read "Most important terms and conditions" booklet (I am always alert with this sort of nondescript documents, easy to spot with its low font size, like EULA/Terms and Conditions of Mutua

My Daily Schdule

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