India in Pictures: 19th century

Taj Mahal in late 1850's

Victoria Terminal early 1930's

The Begum Kothi, Lucknow 1875

Jama Masjid, New Delhi about 1915

Boat in Gomti River, Lucknow about 1858

The Great Immambara, Lucknow about 1865

Buying a Laptop

Buying a computer is not an easy thing especially with somany brands and promotions to choose from. I went through a major research to zero down on the best suited buy in the budget that I had.

After a long look at all the notebook offerings in the UAE market (mostly Dubai) it was finally decided. To go for a Toshiba A200 11c. Just to take you through the aspects that I considered important
- Technology
- Durability (without upgrades)
- Adaptability
- Price

There were a few other aspects that did cross my mind like its look, its weight, battery life but they were not considered too big decision drivers.

First step that I took as a outsider to the laptop world was to understand the different specifications and technology presentin the market. So I paid a visit to the nearest Plug-in store and checked the different models and their speficications, since they were gibberish to me I just noted them plunged into the net search at the deep end so to speak.

The website which helped me a lot was CNET which provided excellent comparison among different models, though these model numbers were not the same as the ones we have in the Middle-East but comparison of the specifications were a big help. I took sometime in reading feedbacks that were written for each model, which helped me a lot in making up my mind

Anyways to cut the long story short the configuration I ended up with is
- Processor- Intel Core 2 duo
- Clock Speed- 1.83 Ghz
- RAM- 1 GB
- Hard Disc- 160 GB
- DVD Super Multi drive (Double Layer)
- HD Audio supporting Microsoft® Windows® HotStart™ for instant-on entertainment integrated microphone for Voice over IP integrated
- WiFi, Bluetooth, inbuilt camera 1.3 mega pixel
- Windows Vista home premium

Of all the features that you see I had to compromise on the clock speed as I was looking for a 2 Ghz but then there was a logic that with a processor of core 2 duo speed of 1.83 is quite good, the difference between 1.83 and 2 Ghz was 700 AED or approx $200.

It does seem a good buy, though there were no add on like a carry bag o extra RAM or a memory stick with the purchase.

In the end I understood that the game is not to look for a perfect laptop as there is nothing like a perfect one, if you have the right processor then the clock speed is too low, if you have both these right the price break the roof therefore I concluded that the aim is to get one as close to perfect as possible.

Construction of Eiffel Tower- Paris

These are set of old pics of Eiffel Tower under constructiontaken in 1887-1889. The tower was completed in 1889 under the supervision of Engineer Gustave Eiffel.

Construction started in January 1887 and was complete on 31 March 1889. It was further enlarged for the 1937 exhibition.









Stonework of the piers, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 20 April 1887.


Construction of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 7 December 1887.

Scaffolding, construction of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 14 January 1888.

Erection of the pillars below the first level, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 15 May 1888.

Erection of the upper section, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 26 December 1888.

Fitting of the bell-tower, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 15 March 1889

Man with many faces!

Bush at his best!

• He did it again!... George W Bush does his act again at the Queen's reception in the White House, this is not the first time he has done such a think. This guy is the funniest character in contemporary history and I have treasured some of his funniest quote over the years. Starting from the recent one…
  
• Bush messed up at a ceremonial welcome for the queen at the White House Monday when he spoke of a visit paid by Elizabeth to mark the 200th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from Britain "in 17 -- in 1976." After the queen looked up at him from beneath her wide-brimmed black hat, he winked at her, before turning to the laughing audience and telling them: "She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child".
  
• When the Queen visited the White House in 1991 during his father's presidency, he said he was the black sheep of the Bush family. "He then asked: 'Who's yours?' The queen did not reply," the other ones
  
• "I want to thank my friend, Sen. Bill, first for joining us today. … He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. (Laughter.) Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me"
  
• At a bill-signing ceremony on August 5, 2004, Bush spoke, and he said the following (not kidding!) “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and *neither do we.*”
  
• While George W Bush was visiting Japan, he said the Yen was subject to 'Devaluation', and a few hours after the stock market almost crashed until one of the President's officials explained that Mr Bush had meant 'deflation of the Yen' instead of 'devaluation of the Yen'
  
• "Actually, I -- this may sound a little West Texan to you, but I like it. When I'm talking about -- when I'm talking about myself, and when he's talking about myself, all of us are talking about me." Hardball, MSNBC, May 31, 2000
  
• "It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it." Reuters, May 5, 2000
  "I think we agree, the past is over." On his meeting with John McCain, Dallas Morning News, May 10, 2000
  
• "Laura and I really don't realize how bright our children is sometimes until we get an objective analysis." Meet the Press, April 15, 2000
  
• "I was raised in the West. The west of Texas. It's pretty close to California. In more ways than Washington, D.C., is close to California." Los Angeles Times, April 8, 2000
  
• "We want our teachers to be trained so they can meet the obligations, their obligations as teachers. We want them to know how to teach the science of reading. In order to make sure there's not this kind of federal cufflink." Fritsche Middle School, Milwaukee, March 30, 2000
  
• "The fact that he relies on facts -- says things that are not factual -- are going to undermine his campaign." New YorkTimes, March 4, 2000
  
• "It is not Reaganesque to support a tax plan that is Clinton in nature." Los Angeles, Feb. 23, 2000
  
• "I understand small business growth. I was one." New York Daily News, Feb. 19, 2000
  "The senator has got to understand if he's going to have he can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road." To reporters in Florence, S.C., Feb. 17, 2000
  
• "If you're sick and tired of the politics of cynicism and polls and principles, come and join this campaign." Hilton Head, S.C., Feb. 16, 2000
  
• "How do you know if you don't measure if you have a system that simply suckles kids through?"
  Explaining the need for educational accountability, Beaufort, S.C., Feb. 16, 2000
  
• "We ought to make the pie higher." South Carolina Republican Debate, Feb. 15, 2000
  
• "I've changed my style somewhat, as you know. I'm less I pontificate less, although it may be hard to tell it from this show. And I'm more interacting with people." Meet The Press, Feb. 13, 2000
  
• "I think we need not only to eliminate the tollbooth to the middle class, I think we should knock down the tollbooth." Nashua, N.H., as quoted by Gail Collins, New York Times, Feb. 1, 2000
  
• "The most important job is not to be governor, or first lady in my case." Pella, Iowa, as quoted in the San Antonio Express News, Jan. 30, 2000
  
• "Will the highways on the Internet become more few?" Concord, N.H., Jan. 29, 2000
  
• "This is Preservation Month. I appreciate preservation. It's what you do when you run for president. You gotta preserve." Speaking during Perseverance Month" at Fairgrounds Elementary School in Nashua, N.H. As quoted in the Los Angeles Times, Jan. 28, 2000
  
• "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000
  
• "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." At a South Carolina oyster roast, as quoted in the Financial Times, Jan. 14, 2000
  
• We must all hear the universal call to like your neighbor just like you like to be liked yourself." At a South Carolina oyster roast, as quoted in the Financial Times, Jan.14, 2000
  
• "There needs to be debates, like we're going through. There needs to be townhall meetings. There needs to be travel. This is a huge country." Larry King Live, Dec. 16, 1999
• "The important question is, How many hands have shaked?" Answering a question about why he hasn't spent more time in NewHampshire, In the New York Times, Oct. 23, 1999
  "Keep good relations with the Grecians." Quoted in the Economist, June 12, 1999
  "Education is my top priority. However, education is not my top priority.
  "[British Prime Minister] Blair, Bush and [French President] Jacques Chirac were discussing economics and, in particular, the decline of the French economy. 'The problem with the French,' Bush confided to Blair, 'is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur.'" Eh-hem. "Entrepreneur" is a FRENCH word.
  
• “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" This Slip-Up was published in Rolling Stone
  
• "One of the great things about books is that sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.
  "Well, I think if you say you're going to do something and don't do it, that's trustworthiness
  
• "I am responsible for all of my mistakes. And so are you."
  
• Before giving a speech at a campaign, Bush spotted Adam Clymer, a reporter for the New York Times, in the crowd. Someone turned on the mic just in time to catch Bush saying to his running mate, "There's Adam Clymer, a major league A------ from the New York Times."
  
• At the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City, Bush was asked to answer questions about what had taken place. He answered that he would not, "Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican."
  
• Bush's address to teachers "First I'd like to spank all the teachers..." there was a short pause with a definite facial expression change on his part as he realized his mistake .Then he continued his speech.
  
• "A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls."
  
• Before he became President, George W. Bush was asked if he was Dyslexic. (reading disorder) His response was, "No, I eat 3 square meals a day!"
  "Families is where we find hope, where wings take dream."
  
• "The American peoples expectations are that we will fail. Our mission is to exceed their expectations." Quote by George W. Bush Jr at one of his first televised cabinet meetings in an opening speech to his cabinet.
  
• During the second presidential debate between George W. Bush and John Kerry (10-8-2004), John Kerry was asked a question about how America could remain competitive in manufacturing. During the answers and rebuttals between Senator Kerry and President Bush, the following exchange took place: KERRY: The president got $84 from a timber company that owns, and he's counted as a small business. That's how they do things. That's just not right. BUSH: I own a timber company? That's news to me. Need some wood? A funny exchange, intended to make Kerry look like a liar and/or an idiot. Only one problem...yes, the President does, in fact, own a timber company. Bush has part ownership of Lone Star Trust, which is an oil and gas company. Lone Star Trust owns 50% of another company, LSTF LLC. According to Bush himself, LSTF LLC is a company organized "for the purpose of the production of trees for commercial sales." So, according to Bush's own words, he DOES own a timber company. Guess he forgot!
  
• This one has been shown in news reports on different channels (at least in Europe). On June 12, 2001, US President Bush made an official visit to Spain. He met with Spain's first minister. In various speeches during the day, Bush called the first minister twice by the name "Mr. President" (I hope Bush knows a first minister is not a president. By the way, Bush also visited Spain's king later that day). Bush also did a speech in Spanish. During that speech he called the minister "Anzar", where his real name is Mr. "Aznar".
  
• This is a direct quote from Bush as printed in the Philadelphia Daily News when Bush visited Philadelphia in early May 2001:
  
• "For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And we're going to do something about it."
• Remarks to the troops of Fort Stewart, Georgia, February 12, 2001: "And America needs a military where our breast and brightest are proud to serve, and proud to stay."
  
• "We'll let the other countries of the world be the peacekeepers and the great country called America be the pacemakers." Well, medicine always was our specialty.

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