Choosing an inverter

What's an inverter?
Inverter is a device that is used as a back-up power supply, when the power from the mains provided by the energy company or board fails. We all know that battery can save electrical power for longer durations which is why it is widely used in so many gadgets. It is common thinking that battery can be used to provide back-up power. But battery power is in a different format (DC) than that used by household electrical items (AC). Hence it needs to be converted into that format (AC) that can be used by the household electrical items (AC). An inverter does exactly that. So when you shop for an inverter, actually you are shopping for an inverter and a battery.

Are there different types of inverters?
Yes, there are. Broadly saying, Digital and Sine-wave. However there are some types in between. The classification based on the voltage waveform they produce. Is it really important? Yes, for sensitive devices like computers, hi-fi equipment etc. The waveform from mains is sine-wave. Anything closer to that is desirable as all the devices are made to work on such a waveform. However battery power is DC which is linear. Digital inverters are earliest made inverters which just switches on and off the continuous flow of current to produce a square waveform.

A DC voltage waveform is given below.

When Digital inverters switch the voltage on and off, the waveform becomes like this.

However the voltage from the mains have the following waveform.

Hence a digital inverter produces only an approximately equivalent waveform of the mains. So when somebody tells you that a Digital inverter is advanced as it is "Digital", beware. It is not the case with inverters.

A pure sine-wave inverter produces a sine-wave voltage, from the DC power drawn out of the battery. Hence it is superior to a digital one.

Any more classification?

The next is purely based on the amount of power they deliver, which starts from as low 300VA, which is very low. 600VA is considered a starting range. 800VA is ideal for normal usage. Beyond 800VA it becomes much costlier, which I'll tell you why in the later part of the story. To know which rating to choose, please see the table below on the power consumption of the normal household electrical equipment.

Equipment	Power Consumption
TV	100 W
Fans	75 W
Tubelights	40 W
Filament bulbs	60 W
Computer	300 W

You can check on how much power you will need by multiplying the power for each of the items with the number of items. For e.g., if you have 4 fans then the total power requirement for the fans in your house in 4x75 W = 300 W. To simplify things, multiply the VA rating by 0.8 (lets call this as power factor). So 800 VA becomes 800x0.8 = 600 W. So based on the power requirement you can see which rating is suitable for you.

Which inverter is suitable for me?

It depends on the usage. If you can spend a little more, a sine-wave inverter will be ideal. But major cost towards buying an inverter lies in the battery you choose.

Are there different kind of batteries as well?

Yes. The basic is identical to the standard automobile battery, which requires maintenance in-terms of topping the cells with distilled water once in 3 months and does not have that much long-life. Next is the Maintenance free battery, which requires topping probably once in a year. But may run for more than 5 years. The top-end is the tubular battery, which are maintenance free and can run longer than maintenance free battery, besides having very good charge retention and hence will consume less power in charging the cells. Next comes the battery rating. An 130 Ah battery should be ideal for most cases. However you will need more than one battery if you choose an inverter that has a VA rating that is more than 800 VA.

So, now you are equipped with enough details to buy an inverter. Good luck!

Insurance - A few basics...

What is Insurance?
Insurance is a financial product one "buys" to cover various risks he faces in his life, including risk to his own life, his body and his assets. The term "buy" implies that this is an expense and not an investment as widely (mis)understood.

Why countries like India provide tax benefits for Insurance products?
Insurance is in a way, social security. Developed countries collect a small amount as tax for social security. But this cannot be mandated in poorer countries as not everyone will be able to pay that. Hence it remains optional in the form of insurance. If 100 people subscribe to a pure risk life insurance policy (more about this later) for 20 years and one of those guys dies at the fifth year, the insurance company pays a lumpsum to the family of the deceased from the premiums paid by 100 people. Hence every other person in the group of 100 people helped the family of the deceased, which can be considered in a way as charity. The country is bound to help the citizens who spend their hard earned money to cover their risks, besides helping others in times of adversity. Hence the country waives the tax on the "expenditure" towards insurance.

I get back my money spent on Insurance, sometimes including the returns in terms of bonuses. So is it not wrong to say that it is charity?
Well, a pure risk insurance policy does not return you anything back. Hence it falls inline with charity. However Endowment and Moneyback policies do return your money with bonuses. But if you check the percentage of returns on your money it will be less than 3-4% p.a. in most cases. The rest of the yield, goes towards your insurance expenses. A pure risk life insurance policy for 500,000 quid for a period of 20 years for a healthy 20 year old individual will be around a 1000 bucks an year. However an endowment policy on similar conditions may cost 10,000 bucks a year. That explains.

Honda Shine - A long termer review

Honda Shine is in market for quite some time. I bought mine almost 3 years back and feel it is apt to write a review of it now, as only time can tell you whether a product is really good or bad. 

Design & Engineering:
The looks of Honda Shine may not appeal to everyone. It looks very much like a younger sibling of Honda Unicorn and hence if you are caught in traffic beside a Unicorn, you may feel as if you are lower in power, calibre, and status due to which it’s a bit humiliating too. I would say, that is a drawback and the bike should look unique. Otherwise it is a decent, modest looking bike.

It gives a good seating posture - technically speaking the ergonomics is good even for long rides. However the pillion rider may develop aches in their tail if they don’t sit closer to the rider and hence good to carry your girl friend so that she may have to compulsorily sit closer to you. ;-)
The handle bar position may sometimes lead to shoulder aches. All the controls are placed comfortably. But the quality of plastic used for the controls is very much mediocre. I did not expect this from Honda. The indicator switches started problems just after a year of use. Now to switch on my right indicator, first I have to switch on the left and then go to right due to this problem.

The instrument console is really mediocre considering the ones available in Bajaj Discover or TVS Flame. It just has a Speedo-Odo combo and a fuel gauge and that too all are analogue.

The head lamp is powerful and hence is very helpful during night rides. However on slowing down it may dim as if it does not exist.

The gear shift lever is rightly placed and is comfortable. The gear ratios are worked out properly that the transmission is really butter smooth.
Engine is the USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of this bike. It is silent, smooth and responsive, yet economical. Even at low speeds the engine smoothness delights.

Honda has to seriously work on its rear view mirrors of Shine. You can see vehicles at a distance, but as soon as they close in, you will lose their sight. I firmly believe that the blind spot of Shine is larger than most of the bikes available in the market.

The tires of both front and back are of same width as in Hero Honda Splendor. This poses slight instability when you ride on rough uneven surfaces.

The battery compartment is in the conventional place. However removing it for changing is slightly cumbersome.

You cannot have a grab bar to the side of the vehicle due to its design. It poses slight discomfort when the pillion rider sits with both legs to one side.

Performance, Fuel Economy and Handling:
As previously stated the Engine is the USP of this bike. It is silent, smooth and responsive, yet economical. It reaches 60 kmph is just over 5 seconds and the pickup is steady till 80 kmph. However I have never rode it beyond 80 kmph as stability suffers and dislodges confidence from the rider. This may be due to the thin tires at the back (28mm as the front).
Beyond 50 kmph itself one will find the need of an additional gear as 4 gears is not enough for such an engine. The engine smoothness will delight anybody even at low speeds, say 10 kmph in 2nd gear. Gear shift is slick and precise. Transmission is another area where this bike excels.
In the last two years I have rode it without much thought on to the fuel economy as however I ride it gave me about 65 kmpl consistently as promised though I have missed several maintenance schedules.

Handling is one area I hope there is scope for improvement. The suspension is stiffer and poses problems when you ride on bad roads. Road grip is lesser due to thin tires at the back, which is a problem in bad roads as well as cornering. However straight-line stability is wonderful and provides tireless ride in congested city traffic as you will need very less gear changes owing to its excellent low end torque that enables good engine smoothness at low speeds.

Shine has one of best brakes (I have disc brakes) and I had avoided several accidents due to good braking.

Conclusion
Honda Shine is a winner in most areas except for a few, like looks and handling. It is perfect for riding within city as well as on the highway. However bad roads are not the area Shine can play on.

An historic visit to Windsor, Stone Henge and Roman Bath

Tired of visiting main attractions in London city? Why not set out for an historic trip to the South West England to a few interesting and historic places?

The coach service to Windsor castle, Roman bath and Stone Henge from Victoria starts @ 8.30 am. As per the our guide in the coach , this is one of the longest coach routes.

Coach services in London are a good alternate to cabs and cost effective mode of travel, provided the places are not well connected by tube services and if you travel single. Ticket fare per person is 55 pounds , including entrance tickets for the places.

We start our journey on a Wednesday morning. We go past London's famous Landmarks , hearing the interesting briefing by our guide about them and some more tit bits like , schooling and shopping in London. As the peak hour traffic slowed down our bus, we reach Windsor castle around 10:30 am. One can get a glimpse of the magnificent castle well ahead from the bus. We start our journey inside the castle, keeping in mind that we have to return to the coach by 12 pm.

Windsor castle is the largest and oldest castle in the World and is one of the official residence of her majesty, the Queen. We enter into Queen Mary's dolls house. This is a miniature of the King and Queen' palace and showcased the most finest and modern goods at that period. This was created as a gift to Queen Mary by the people. When we enter into the magnificent state Apartments, the decoration in the walls with the swords and rifles lures our attention. The apartments are furnished with some of the finest works of art from the Royal collection including paintings , sculptures etc. Every room depicts the richness and glory of the Kingdom.

We stroll through the rooms in awe , hearing about the history of the art pieces with the audio guide given to us at the entrance. The audio guide is of very much help. But watch out! if you follow the audio guide completely, I bet you will miss the coach. The dazzling interiors of the Prince room and dining rooms at the end are a good architectural feast to our eyes. Slice more time for them!!

Buying some souvenir from the shops, we board the bus back @ 12 pm. As we head towards Roman bath, we drift to sleep until we are woken up by the voice of the guide around 2.30 pm. We gaze in surprise to see the buildings of same color in the entire city and come to know that the city is full of buildings with Georgian architecture, crafted from Bath stone. The warm, honey coloring of the stones gives the city a distinctive appearance.

Roman bath is the heart of the World heritage site. The Romans built a magnificent temple and museum around Britain's only hot spring, which still flows with natural hot water. We get to know the ancient history of how Romans lived here and the customs they followed with the help of the audio guide. The ruins and treasures used by them are well preserved and presented in the museum.

The botanical garden outside the museum is most colorful. As there is less time, we run for the coach. We can find hop on hop off city tour buses for Roman bath.

After few more hours of travel , we reach our final destination of the day, Stone henge. Don't get disappointed to see just 6 huge stones in the middle of what looks like a desert. Stone henge is renowned for its remarkable rings of ancient stones that ages back to 3100 BC. It is aligned with the midsummer sunrise and sunset. But it seems that the history behind the stones remains a mystery.

We finally reach Victoria station around 7:30 pm. A wonderful day filled with memories of Britain's rich history and architecture.

A trip to North Wales

Why this trip :
Human brain needs a break from the repetitive tasks to get revitalized and refreshed. So, we decided on a trip to get a break from our routine chores. Once we decided on a trip, the next question that popped in our mind was “Where”.

Where to go :
People look for mountains, sea shore and picturesque places as their break-away spots; as such places are energy fillers. These scenic places touch your heart through your eyes. If the place combines adventure also, then it becomes a favorite tourist place for all age groups. Wales is one of them.

A few words about Wales :

Wales is part of the UK and is about 200 miles North from London. It has population of 3 million and has 2 official languages Welsh and English. Wales is a land of mountains, rivers, lakes, gardens and castles and attracts millions of tourists every year.

Who : A group of 2 families with 2 kids.

When :

Long weekend on Aug 27th..

How to go:

Obviously, we booked the train tickets, as none of us had car driving license to rent a car. We did regret for this later.

What to see:

I started googling to find the tourist attractions in Wales. But the list seemed to be endless with hundreds of castles and gardens and many scenic and adventure spots. So, we could not come up with a journey planner before the travel. 

The train journey - Aug 27, Friday:We started on Friday night by train. The crowd in the platform was nothing short of the train crowd in Chennai during Diwali long weekend. As the platform number was announced just few minutes before the train start time, we had to literally run to catch the train and got squeezed in the crowd.

This was my first travel in a long distance train in UK. It was a Virgin train (private) and the interior of the coaches were like that of an aeroplane though not that much cramped. Also there were some family seats wherein there was a table in between two rows of seats facing each other – a dining table kind of setup. This was convenient to eat and to use a laptop. We reached Prestatyn station around 9.30 pm. We reached our accommodation, Prest Haven Sands Caravan park by 10 pm. Yes, we chose a Caravan as our abode for the three days of our trip. Caravans are cottages in the shape of a van with bedrooms and kitchen.

We had packed our dinner (ready made chapatis and panneer butter masala) for that night. As we chose a caravan as our accomodation, we bought a lot of kitchen items and grocery so that we could cook and eat rather than relying upon western food on all the three days.

Day 1 :
After a good night sleep, we started our day 1 trip around 11 am with a heavy downpour as soon as we got into the taxi to Rhyl. But luckily rain stopped after that. So, we went to the tourist information centre to collect the details. Unfortunately, there were no tourist buses and we had to rely on public transport. Based on London experience, we thought it should be fine but later realized that our assumption was wrong. The trains were less frequent and to make things worse, many were cancelled because of long weekend. Somehow, we took a train and reached Llandudno around 2 pm. The train journey was a picturesque one alongside seashore with mountains and valleys and served a good feast to our eyes.. .

About Llandudno and Great Orme:

Llandudno is world's largest resort, uniquely situated between the Great and Little Ormes with 2 wonderful beaches North shore and the quiet West shore.

To reach Llandudno summit there are 2 modes - tramway and cable car. Great Orme tramway is still the only cable hauled tramway operating on British public roads.

The Great Orme is a wonderland of nature and history. There are around 500 million visitors every year.

When we reached Llandudno, we were convinced that  the trip was worth it. The coastline walk beside the bluish green sea was a wonderful experience. As the Cable car to 'Great Orme' was cancelled because of heavy winds , we took the tram to reach the summit. .

As strong breeze flapped our face, we enjoyed the scenery, which was a perfect blend of sea , mountains and valleys. There was also a restaurant and a children play area. We spent some time there and started for Conwy to see the castle. By the time, we reached , it was 5.30 pm and  the entry was closed. So, we just took pictures from outside.

When we reached Conwy, we were surprised to see that the whole city was surrounded by a wall and we started our trekking on the wall. We could take a glimpse of the entire city and mountains from the wall. After an exhaustive day, we reached Havens around 8.30 pm and ordered for a Pizza in Papa John's.

Sorry, I did not mention about 'Havens' park'till now.
It was acres of land filled with a lot of caravans. Traditionally Caravans are mobile, but for the experience it offers, companies have setup permanent stationary caravans as a choice of accommodation. We stayed in one such stationary caravan and Presthaven sands is a caravan park with numerous caravans on a beach side with dedicated entertainment complex, department stores, eateries, kids play area, Go-Karting, swimming pool etc. Many had come there just to be in the Caravans and enjoy the amenities inside.

We started planning for the next day trip while we were waiting for the Pizza. We decided to go to Caernarfon (pronounced Ca(r)navon), as there were couple of attractions.

Day 2 :

We got ready soon the next day and went to the station around 10.30 am. But after reaching there , we came to know that there was no direct train to Caernarfon and we had to go till Bangor and take a bus from there. To add to our woe, the train to Caernarfon was only at 11:45 and also the wait time for the connecting bus was another hour. Then we tried different means like taxi but it worked out be very expensive. So, we waited for the train and reached Caernarfon only by 2:30 pm. We were damn hungry, when we reached Carenafon. So, we opened the Tamarind rice and curd rice that we had packed. The boxes got empty in no time :-)

Caernarfon castle was one of the most impressive architecturally of all the castles in Wales. It was built by King Edward I around 1200 AD. It was good to see that the towers were complete and not ruined. It seems there had been some renovations inside, which had retained the castle till now. We started climbing the tallest tower called 'Eagle tower'. It was tough climbing the narrow spiral steps with the strong wind pushing us in one direction but the effort was paid off, as the sea view from the top was really beautiful.. On the way back, there was a museum displaying the castle history and about the warriors who fought in British wars.

We set off early from Caernarfon and took a taxi to Llanberis for the Llanberis lake railway.

The lake view was good but we missed the popular 'Snowdonia mountain railway'. We could not get the tickets, as there were lot of tourists because of long weekend. The llanberis train took us around the lake. But it was bit boring as it was going very slowly. But as usual, we had our own fun and we could hear lot of Tamil voices around. It is good to know that Tamilians and Indians have reached all corners of the World.

That night we reached our Caravan and cooked veg Biriyani for dinner. As we did not want to miss the fun in the Havens, we went to the Casino in the night and played some games and of course lost some money and came back. The entire park crowd was inside that entertainment complex. It was surprising to see lot of kids playing with money in the Casino. There were also dance shows. We got tired and got back and had our Biriyani. Wherever we go, South Indians cannot do away with rice. Our stomach is not happy unless we eat rice. Hope u agree with me :-)


Day 3:

The next day we took the kids to the swimming pool. We bade good bye to our Caravan and headed towards the train. We reached home tired around 3:30 pm.

It was a great enjoy and we had lot of fun . It was true that we could not cover many places or visit any adventure spots, but our 'Why ?' was answered.. We got revitalized to continue our routine :-)

A day in London Sea Life Aquarium and Greenwich Observatory

Summer is the most awaited season in a cold city like London.. As we did not want to waste a summer weekend , we set out on a trip. Main challenge in family trips is to make it interesting for kids..!

Sea life aquarium

Sea life aquarium is very close to the London eye. In fact, it was managed by the same Merlin entertainment that operates the London Eye. 

The arrangement inside the aquarium seemed quite unusual, as it resembled a tunnel and some of the fish tanks were so tall and huge that it spanned across many levels of the aquarium. This helped in getting a view of the fishes from different angles, which made it more interesting. It also gave the feel of touching the fish directly when we touched the glass. So, the kids were too scared to touch the glass.

When we were enjoying seeing the colorful fishes in one side of the tank, we felt something fishy (!!) on the other side. A giant sized lobster, which was almost hiding under the rock, started moving. Then , there were lot of colorful sea anemones and star fish , which were really beautiful.

Then came the Ray fish , which is a type of bat fish but is huge in size. It was looking very normal until we saw its back closer. It was looking like a white ghost and so was  a bit scary..

Just contrary to this was the Jelly fish, which still lingers in our mind. The fish was simply dazzling, with the multi-colored back ground lights.. I was reminded of the shiny and glowing creatures shown in 'Avatar' movie.

Next were the biggies, sharks and the big Ray fishes. The sharks were really big and about 10 ft long. It looked very shiny but the fact is, its skin is so rough like a salt paper. As we saw them very close from different angles and from different floors, the kids were excited.

We moved on to some colorful ones as shown in the movie 'Finding Nemo'. There were some funny looking fishes like the giraffe faced fish and the stone fish. The stone fish exactly looked liked a stone. It was hard to believe it to be a fish, until it made some movements.  Sea horses and turtles were also nice to watch.

Finally , it was time to move out. The only disappointment was that there were no dolphins and dolphin shows. But, overall we enjoyed the aquarium.

Then we set out to Greenwich.

Towards Greenwich..

The boat ride from London eye to Greenwich was an exciting experience. Boat is another means of transport for London. The seats inside the boat were just like in an airplane and there were few seats outside just open to sky. We took the outer ones for sight seeing. The boat was going so fast, that it splashed water on us. As  it was a windy day, we felt very cold. London's weather is very unpredictable. It is very hot on one day and the very next day it swings to the other extreme even in summer. It is always safe to go out with an outer wear and an umbrella.

Prime Meridian

Finally we reached Greenwich Royal observatory... This houses the Greenwich mean time and prime meridian , which separates the East from the West just like the equator separates the North and the South.

The Observatory was mainly built to improve navigation at sea and 'find the so-much desired longitude of places' – one's exact position east and west – while at sea and out of sight of land, by astronomical means. King Charles II appointed John Flamsteed as his first Astronomer Royal in March 1675, who did his research here. Finding the longitude @ sea proved to be a major challenge in those days and due to which there were many disasters in sea. Finally the clock invented by John Harrison to find the local time @ sea helped in calculating the longitude , which changed navigation forever. The clocks by Harrison were in display and the longitude /latitude calculations and different time zones of different countries based on longitude were displayed and explained.

We had to wait in a long queue to take a photo on the line with one foot on the Eastern and another on western hemisphere.

Telescopes and clocks used in ancient times to measure time and longitude were present. Dolphin sundial is one. There are 2 dolphins facing each other and the exact location where their tail end of the fins shadows meet give the actual time.. We checked the time and oh yeah.. it was accurate.

If you have a thirst for astronomical science , this observatory is a must visit for you. There are also other museums and parks in the surroundings.

As it started raining  and the evening was drawing to a close, we returned home filled with good memories of the day..

My first trip in London

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and my husband suddenly said we shall go around London city. As it was just 2 weeks for me in London, I was very much excited about the trip.

We started around 2 pm and I topped up my Oyster card with £10. Oyster card is a pre-paid card for using public transportation in London, using which one can add money to it and use it like a train cum bus pass which has to be swiped in the bus and in the train station entrance. The advantage is it, that it has a per day ceiling amount. Even if we travel many times per day ,the maximum we will be charged in the card would be 3.9£ in bus and 6.3£ in train. As travel is very expensive in London, everyone goes for Oyster card as it provides easy access to train/bus without having to buy a ticket and with a reduced price. But watch out , when you use the Oyster in trains. The card has to be swiped in and out properly. Otherwise , it charges a maximum amount of 9.5£. It is safe to take a day travel card for travelling in train.

It was my first train journey in London and I was really excited travelling in the underground tube. I was initially confused with the different lines (district line/circle line/picadilly line etc) that goes to different directions but could differentiate it later with the color coding used. One can use a tube map to go anywhere without having to ask anyone. But the major problem is random train cancellations (this is because of the various renovations happening in London as a preparation for the 2012 Olympics in London). So , we have to really watch out for the active lines before boarding train. All routes are interconnected. So, one can easily reach their destination, even if they take a longer route.
We crossed Stratford, where the stadium for the Olympics is getting constructed. Massive construction..It would be a lifetime experience if we get a chance to watch Olympics..

We alighted in Aldgate East to take a district line for Tower hill and reached tower hill to see the Tower of London and the Tower bridge (There is a misconception that Tower bridge is the London bridge but it is not true. London bridge is a old bridge opposite to tower bridge and it is a normal bridge). It was a huge bridge above Thames river and tourists throng the place. There was a big queue for the river cruise. But the water was not clear. (One shocking thing for me about London is the cleanliness. People do not hesitate to litter in the streets. But there are lot of greenery's everywhere with lot of parks and gardens). Tower of London is riverside fortress , usually remembered as a place of imprisonment. Many princes and queens were imprisoned here and later murdered.

As it was a hot summer day which is most awaited in a cold country , people had dressed up so freely. We took lot of snaps and enjoyed river Thames relishing the cone ice creams that we bought for 2£ (6 pounds - 420 Rs. is really expensive for ice cream.. isn't it.?. Sorry! as it is just 2 weeks for me in London, cannot avoid currency conversion).

We took another train to reach Westminster (most of the main attractions in London are close by.. with just few trains and of course lot of walking we can cover all important attractions.). We came out of Westminster station to see a tall building .. oh. yeah it is the Big Ben,one of the main attractions of London. Big Ben is the huge clock tower and is part of the Houses of parliament. Looking at the building, we can understand how well it is maintained as it looks really new, though it is built 1000 yrs ago.

Walking along Big Ben to the left in the opposite is the 'London eye'. As i said, we had a separate plan for visiting these places, we did not go inside but just had a glimpse from outside. 'London eye' is the giant observation wheel and is the second highest in the world and offers fascinating views over the whole of London.

If you walk to the right of Westminster, you will reach the Westminster Abbey. This is a old church and it serves as a place of Royal ceremonials. Princess Diana's funeral was held here.

A few minutes walk from there will take you to the royal palace of Buckingham, which is the the Queen's residence. It is a huge palace with complete security protection. 'Guards change' is an event here, in which the palace guards, in their red tunics and tall bearskin hats, are changed at 11am each morning. We were almost exhausted by that moment and wanted to relax. So, we went to James park close to Buckingham palace. There are several parks and gardens around the palace. We had a good time there.

After few minutes rest, we continued to Trafalgar square. This houses the huge monuments of Nelson and other warriors , who fought and won the battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon.The main structure worth seeing at Trafalgar square is the tall Nelson's column, which is a tower over which Admiral Nelson stands.

Another 10 mins walk, we reached Picadily circus. It is a shopping place and there are lot of clubs and bars everywhere. It seems, day never ends here. We can see Britain's richness here.
Suddenly, bell rang in our bellies.. oops.. It is 8.30 pm. As day is long in summer, one can hardly realize the time. So, we hunted for a food place and reached Pizza hut. It was 9.30 pm by the time we finished dinner and took the trains to reach home @ 10.30 pm. Overall, it was a wonderful day !

How-To: MS Word - Description for a numbered item

Do you know how to have an unnumbered text in midst of a numbered list?
The problem...

"Apple is a fruit" is a description and not part of the numbered list. But as soon as I press enter after entering "Apple", MS Word automatically numbers the newly inserted line as well.

Let me take off the number by pressing backspace in front of "Apple is a fruit". Oops! the alignment is gone. OK, I can indent or adjust margin using the ruler. Is that the only way? Aren't any easier ways? Yes, there is. Just press, Shift+Enter after any numbered item to add description. Once done, press enter to resume numbered list. Simple!

Von Neumann architecture - Does it hold good now?

Does Von Neumann architecture applicable to today's world, when we are working with tablets and mobile computing platforms... lets explore here.

Under Construction

This page is under construction... as on 12th Dec 2010