Rambling of a .COM Fanatic » Ramblings

Reset second hand Tag Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta

Vikram Mohan — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 16:44:09 +0000

After wearing my fabulous Tag Heuer Aquaracer Calibre S watch for weeks I noticed something was wrong with it. The second hand was no longer aligned at zero when I switched over to the Chronograph and Regatta mode by pushing in the big button you usually use to adjust time.

Over time this got annoying and very disappointing as the last thing I wanted was to stop wearing it and send it in for repairs :/

After reading up on the Internet I found out that this was a common problem faced by quartz watches that utilize several motors and take in precision timing. This particular watch in general has over 230 components and 5 bi-directional engines that generate twice the amount of torque that a conventional timepiece engine would! Self calibration over a period of time is something that could be understood I guess.

After several weeks of frustration, especially since I did not know how to reset it and not having my manual on me I set out to experiment with it. Least to say not an easy task with a watch having so many modes and complicated means of operation.

I am hereby listing the procedure along with detailed instructions with hopes of helping out whoever might need this information,

For sake of simplicity let us name the buttons on the watch in order of their presence on the watch on the right side
- Button A – Top most button
- Button B – Middle button (between top and bottom ones)
- Button C – Bottom most button
Move the watch to the normal mode of operation, which is where it shows the time (the second hand should now be moving about as it always does)
Press button A and B together for many seconds till all the dials move to the 12 o’ clock position
One more many of the hands would not be aligned and out of position
Now pressing button A will move the hour hand
- Continue moving it till it is aligned at exactly the 12 o’ clock position
- This could be difficult to determine so do it till hidden by the longer minute hand
Press button C now, it will move the reset mode over so you can adjust the minute hand
- Press button A till the minute hand is at the 12 o’ clock position
Press button C now, it will move the reset mode over so you can adjust the second hand
- Press button A till the minute hand is at the 12 o’ clock position
Press button C now, it will move the reset mode to the small hand on the bottom left side of the watch (the one that shows the mode – 0, 1, 2, 3, CHRONO, REGATTA)
- Press button A till the small hand is at the 12 o’ clock position
Press button C now, it will move the reset mode to the small hand on the bottom right side of the watch (the one that says 1/10)
- Press button A till the small hand is at the 12 o’ clock position

You can exit the reset mode at any moment by pressing the button B. This can be done once the hand you need is aligned and in position.

This method should fix all your worries and thank you Tag once again for making pretty watches!

The Gentoo Prayer

Vikram Mohan — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 20:20:16 +0000

Quoting Jason Jhonson from Oracle Corporation,

Let us pray…

Our system, who art on raised tile,
Hallowed be thy OS.
Thy portage come, thy emerge be done,
On servers, as it is on workstations.
Give us this day, our daily sync,
And forgive us our broken ebuilds,
As we forgive those who break ebuilds against us.
Lead us not into dependency frustration,
But deliver us from rpm evil.
For thine is the make.conf, the USE flags,
And the profile forever…
Gentoo.

AMEN!

Why Salik is going to work

Vikram Mohan — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:43:46 +0000

Ever since the introduction of a proposal by the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to implement an automated road toll system there have been huge outbursts and protests. The primary concern of the citizens (mainly the expatriates) is that the system is just not going to work, or even if it does it will just cause more chaos and havoc.

Initially the system will be implemented between the Al Garhoud bridge till the Dubai Police Academy interchange on Sheikh Zayed road. The thing that bothers most people is that the entry and exit points to those roads do not have any toll gates. Hence it is possible for someone to say use Al Khail road to get around the toll bridge and join up at Sheikh Zayed road at another point. While this does look like a sure shot method of circumventing the Salik system it would still be able to achieve its task. The problem is not with the implementation of Salik, the problem lies with the interpretation of what Salik is supposed to do.

Before dwelling into this matter perhaps it would help to revisit a similar system, one that was criticized in a similar manner and scoffed and frowned upon. This system has been the envy of many governments with the surprising efficiency it is operating at. It has been studied over and over and even copied by places such as the City of London. It is none other than the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) of the great Lion city, The Republic of Singapore; a city from where our great rulers of the United Arab Emirates have been commonly known to borrow economic policies from.

The ERP system aims to reduce traffic within the Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore. It also is placed strategically at the entry and exit points of expressways and arterial roads that are known to have heavy traffic. ERP is however charged only during peak hours and this basically discourages use of these roads during these periods and gets them to resort to using alternative routes.

Coming back to the Salik system it is not difficult to associate with ERP. Salik like ERP is placed on the Sheikh Zayed road so that people would be discouraged from using it. This would push people off Sheikh Zayed road and get them to consider alternate routes such as Al Khail road and Emirates Road.

While this sounds like a stupid plan to merely diverge the traffic of one road onto other roads and clog those in the process it is crucial to note that Sheikh Zayed Road, running all the way from Trade Centre Roundabout all the way till Abu Dhabi was built with little thought of how this region would undergo such rapid expansion. It was previously just a two lane road then overhauled to have four lanes on either side or at some places over six in each direction.

It was necessary to device a means to get traffic off this road and onto other newer roads which have been built to handle such traffic. By their ability to handle such traffic it is in no way implied that either Al Khail or Emirates road have no traffic on them. By ability to handle such traffic it means a road that is not under constant renovation and construction to add lanes or flyovers. This diversion is essential till at least other alternate means of travel such as the Dubai Metro system (implications of this are covered later) are put into place.

Salik was not devised as a means of reducing traffic on Sheikh Zayed road, though commonly known to be implemented for this reason. The current objective of Salik from a road planning perspective for RTA is the reduction of bottlenecks.

If the current position of the toll bridges is examined this matter could be clarified further. Consider point A to be Garhoud Bridge and point B to be the toll bridge between Al Quoz and the EMAAR development community (the one that houses Emirates Hills, Meadows, and Springs etc.). Point A is one of extreme traffic as it is a key point of commuting between most people lying between anywhere from Abu Dhabi and point B to Sharjah (where most expatriates are know to live due to far more economical means of living). Point B is what could have been called a classic exodus; several thousand people living in one area all having one means of getting to main Dubai, be it to get to their workplace or schools or even to get food.

In order to re-emphasize the objective of Salik and its parent the ERP system it is restated – reducing congestion at key and arterial points of traffic. When the Salik system would go live people would resort to alternative routes of commuting to Point A and Point B, this would result in a direct reduction of traffic at both points. Reduction in traffic would not take place at exactly these points but several interchanges in advance in both directions as people would have to exit well in advance to take their desired alternative route.

The main point to consider is that Salik is here to stay. It will soon be a popular system that will go live throughout the country and serve as an efficient means of reducing traffic; similar in nature to their counterparts be it in Singapore, Hong Kong or even London (where it has drastically cut down on traffic within the Congestion Zone, Zone 1).

Once the Dubai Metro system is active the wide use of Salik will literally inhibit the use of automobiles as a popular means of travel and even the affluent would consider the use of public transport. If not for the cost cutting factor, as a convenient means of transport. Segregation of classes similar to the British Railway system (not racial segregation! But classes of travel) would be essential to culminate the lack of desire of the well heeled to commute with the common man.

Use of Salik throughout UAE would also come with added benefits. Once it can be used as a wide spread means of identifying your vehicle (similar to the compulsory In-Vehicle Unit or IU of Singapore) it can further benefit the public.

Traffic at pick up and drop off points at hospitals can become less clogged; only taxis would be permitted free entry and all other vehicles charged. Once a vehicle drives up to the barrier of the hospitals entrance its Salik tag would be read and the vehicle would be identified as a taxi (each Salik tag has a unique id which in a central database is linked to its license plate) and entry would be permitted, all other vehicles would have the fee deducted from its Salik tag.

Paid parking lots would no longer be a hassle. Salik readers compounded with the use of automated barrier systems would tag vehicles on the way in and out. This would avoid the need for fumbling for loose change or an hourly payment system. A minute based parking payment system could be implemented by use of such means. This reduces the unwillingness on the part of the vehicle driver to pay for paid parking when he/she is sure that only a part of it would be used.

The past proven performance of systems such as Salik does shed some light of optimism and in the long run should benefit the entire traffic infuriation in the region. The Land and Transport Authority of Singapore reports that upon implementation of their ERP system (during peak hours) the road traffic reduced by nearly twenty five thousand vehicles and the average road speed increased by twenty percent. In addition to this the entire restricted region saw a traffic reduction of thirteen percent during operational hours.

What is interesting to note here is that, the public transport system infrastructure before and after implementation of the ERP system was the same. What changed is merely the willingness of the consumer (in this case the driver) to utilize the service (the road) during those hours or encouragement of public to utilize the alternative means of transportation. Now would similar efforts being put in to place especially with the coming of the Dubai Metro system and the reduced use of the Salik system not pave the way to frequent and regular use of the metro?

The future does look bright for the traffic condition of Dubai though with time other modes of correction would have to be implemented such as the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system. This would limit the introduction of new cars every year by a fixed number which would be sold off by an auction system (rich vs. poor situation is unavoidable in this case but seems to work well). Schemes such as this are only feasible once the whole of UAE is interlinked by an accessible public transport system.

In closing it should be noted that as in any economy the consumer only looks into his immediate benefit while the government has to plan for and act on considering scenarios and their long term implications. This insight considered by the government of a country while often not perceived or overlooked by an individual is often in their own interests.

Sending Dubai back to the Stone Age

Vikram Mohan — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 04:31:18 +0000

First it started off as Sahmnet, then it became Dubai Internet City (DIC) Telecom, Now it is called either Du or Tecom (??). Whatever it is apparently this provider of unrestricted, uncensored, elegant Internet service seems to have fueled a massive immoral controversy within the free zone’s (EMAAR properties such as Springs, Meadows, Hills, Greens).

Has this colony evolved into pornography addicted, Isr@ël loving maniacs ? NO, then why would the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) want to annoy the happy user base of their Internet service. Perhaps they want to protect the youth of tomorrow from reading up on breast cancer and corrupt their young minds.

Irrespective of whatever their reasons might be, the TRA has decided to re-implement the proxy based censorship in all these areas.

According to them,

“Unlike etisalat, [Tecom] does not use a proxy server that can prohibit access to undesirable sites such as those featuring pornography.“However, as part of the process to allow du to provide internet services beyond these zones, the TRA will introduce a uniform proxy server across the UAE.”

Apparently now we all will stop looking at haraam and become good devout citizens (denizens). Somehow I really doubt it when all someone has to do to bypass the proxy is google for SSH port redirection; and that my dear telecommunications industry is a method that you can never ever restrict.

Good luck in regulating the industry TRA.

Good bye UK

Vikram Mohan — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 20:04:37 +0000

Time flies like anything. Cannot believe it has been four years since I have been in UK… As far as reflecting on my past is concerned I think it is pretty apparent to anyone who knows me that I have changed a lot; from being the immature kid that I was when I first came here I believe that being in London has taught me a lot.

It is always an experience when you go someplace new and the transition period from which you pick and apprecaite both cultures and learn a moderate lifestyle. Yes it is a life altering experience and you face reality as it, raw and bitter. Meeting people from all walks of life and backgrounds is what University life is all about and that is what makes the difference when you study away from home, far from any shelter you had previously been offered.

Good bye’s have always been hard and that is exactly what I encountered when I met my friends from Middlesex this Saturday (7th October 2006). There happened to be quite a few people I knew, which was quite unexpected. I was originally going for JO’s farewell party with her girlfriend M to Spain forever but there happened to be AM, RN, AB, LY, E which was quite a surprise. They all got to meet D too and very much liked her.

The only thing stopping me from going back home is the Viva for my Msc final project. Once that is over tommorow (11th October 2006) I will be off. My flight leaves tommorow and by tommorow this time I would be in the air.

It ended up being dad who sorted out D’s accomodation in Dubai, how sweet is that. She is visiting me in Dubai one day after I reach there and is spending ten days with me which should be fun. Though she wants to goto Hatta and Al Ain and see all the remote spots which for some reason she likes. I blame the Lonely Planet – Dubai book for that !
No one can predict the future and nothing can be said what no one has seen. But one thing I am sure about, whatever it is I am looking forward to it. After all it cannot be too bad to be back and live in Dubai. Home Sweet Home ? As I said before it is Dubai and the question mark with its degree of uncertainity is very important.

Urges of Men and Women

Vikram Mohan — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 05:22:35 +0000

Nothing can get more true than this,

I never have quite figured out why the se*ual urges of men and women differ so much. And I never have figured out the whole Venus and Mars thing. And I never figured out why men think with their head and women think with their heart. And I never yet have figured out how the se*ual desire gene gets thrown into a state of turmoil when it hears the words “I do.”

One evening last week, my wife and I were getting into bed. Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says, “I don’t feel like it. I just want you to hold me.” I said, “WHAT???”

So she says the words that I and every husband on the planet dread. She explains that I must not be in tune with her emotional needs as a woman. I’m thinking, “What was her first clue?” I finally realize that nothing was going to happen that night, so I went to sleep.

The very next day, we went shopping at a big, unnamed department store. I walked around with her while she tried on three different, very expensive outfits. She could not decide which one to take, so I told her to take all three of them. She then tells me that she wants matching shoes worth $200.00 a pair to which I say OK. And then we go to the jewellery department where she gets a pair of diamond earrings.

Let me tell you. She was so excited. She must have thought that I was one wave short of a shipwreck, but I don’t think she cared. I think she was testing me when she asked for a tennis bracelet because she does not even play tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I told her that it was OK. She was almost se*ually excited from all of this, and you should have seen her face when she said, “I’m ready to go to the cash register.”

I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, “No, honey, I don’t feel like buying all this stuff now.” You should have seen her face. It went completely blank. I then said, “Really, honey, I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while.”

And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me, I added, “You must not be in tune with my financial needs as a man.”

I figure that I won’t be having s*x again until some time after the Spring of 2008 but godammit it was worth it.

Borrowed from Antti Brax.

Redefinition of the word Genuine

Vikram Mohan — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 23:09:58 +0000

What is the definition of the term genuine ? Citing a reliable source we see,

genuine:- adj 1: not fake or counterfeit
Source: WordNet Â® 2.0, Â© 2003 Princeton University

Come sense right? Now why would someone want to actually call the word genuine something than other than what it is?

Whenever manipulation of idealogies is seen to be taking place it is done mostly by big corporations for their own personal benifit and gain. This time is done by Microshaft.

They seem to have some form of new advertising gimmick coupled with Windows Genuine Advntage notification (The dreaded WGA). They call this the Microsoft Genuine Software Initiative.

Microsoft seems to use the word genuine in contexts such as the following,

In the month of May, 38,000 customers purchased genuine Windows software after being notified that they had been sold non-genuine software. Customers recognize that the value of genuine is greater than ever.

As per our previous pre-verified and authenticed (irony?) definition of the word genuine, Microsoft’s statement seems to sound rather pecuilar. How is a copy of Windows that does not have a license associated with it be less genuine (original, not fake or counterfeit) than a licensed one ? It is compiled from the same source code, in all probability has the same functionality. Most people would say this is not true however as there would have to be some form of ‘fixing’ (did someone say cracking) involved, but this can be easily circumvented by merely making use of a VLK version (yes no built in activation) of Windows. Furthermore this form of restricting a users ability to make use of unlicensed software is only some form of inhibition implemented by Microsoft and not something that would form a part of its functionality. This inhibition does not serve as a valid point for the supeririority of Microsofts “genuine” software.

If you buy a Armani top off the Camden market it is not genuine because it would not have the same aesthetics, functionality, and resale value of a similar (or exactly same looking) product off an Armani showroom.What Microsoft wants you to do is pay them the full price for the DVD Rental by Post package that the pikey mail man stole and sold to you for two pounds.

With Microsoft failing to obtain any soft corners for having its software being sent as binary all over the Internet (now theres redefinition of piracy for you) perhaps the branding of its new definition of genuine will actually imply that something wrong is being done. It is also not unknown a fact that everyone just hates Microsoft and its business practises.There is no way they could ever win over people by putting forward a legal point of view.

Suspicious Behaviour

Vikram Mohan — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 19:05:47 +0000

Many of my innumerable Asian friends have been after me to warn other Asians how to behave on board a flight, especially after the humiliation of twelve Indians suffered in Holland when their seemingly suspicious behaviour after take off made the Netharlands send the prestigious F-16’s to escort the North West Airlines flight back to the airport.

Here are some simple guide lines you could follow to escape being handcuffed, imprisoned and treated as a terrorist.

First of all never smile at the air-hostess when you enter an aicraft! I do agree she smiles at you but don’t for heaven’s (or hell’s) sake ever return the smile, don’t even say thank you. If she helps you put your luggage on the rack, pretend she doesn’t exist! If you do otherwise, the captain will be told about your strange ways and you may end smiling your way to a lock up shared with Bubba!

From this you may gather that smiles are not allowed on board; most often you may be happygoing back to your families you haven’t seen for months, or even years, but never allow a trace of joy to show; these people have been trained to believe that signs of happiness are signs of a radical fanatic displays before setting off a bomb!

After being seated order a cocktail! You don’t drink? Sorry my friend when in the sky do what frequent fliers do! Don’t order a soft drink and never ask for water! Most flight stewards don’t know what water is and may alert security and the nearest airport if you ask for the same. (On a different note last week I spilled my drink accidentally and the steward asked me – “Sir if you do not drink why did you act like you consume alcohol?”; I had to literally reorder a drink and consume it in front of him to make him believe I do drink). Even if you have to pour your drink onto your neighbour, do so, but see you have a cocktail in your hand!

A cocktail seen in your hand and of course a book on your lap! You will notice most fellow non-Asian types have a book lying open, never mind the pages aren’t turned from Dubai to London, but an open book puts you above suspicion; it makes you look educated. For God’s sake don’t hold the book upside down as Bush frequently does in his many classroom lectures; some fellow passenger may notice the turned around book and report you for suspicious behaviour! Telling security later that Bush does the same thing may not get you off the hook.

With these few suggestions I wish all you passengers a happy and safe journey, and if you still want to reach safely without landing up in strange four by four cell in a strange country then here’s a last suggestion: Apply white paint on yourself before a flight; with that on you, you don’t need to practise the other points I have just suggested.

White paint works wonders and will ensure you are above any sort of suspicion!

All the best my fellow Asians in your travels around a troubled world…

Wifi on the air plane

Vikram Mohan — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 12:07:44 +0000

Since I was going for a week to Dubai I decided to carry my laptop with me so I could actually get some work done while I am there (yea rite).

It happened to be the smartest thing I actually ever did as as soon as the plane took off they made an announcement that this flight, Etihad Airlines Boeing 777 had high speed WiFi internet onboard. For a modest fee of $19 I am typing this blog entry out at 38,000 feet high up in the air and can continue to use it for the remaining 6 hours and 15 minutes of my flight duration.

There is little technology can do to amaze me nowdays but what better way to spend a boring flight that to be have the entire world through the Internet at your fingertips ?

Possibilities arer ulimited and Etihad even gives live streaming TV channels once you are connected to their Internet service. No more limited boring fixed movies that they show. Hell I could even fire up Bit torrent and download a movie of my choice at the 10mbit speeds that I seem to get.

Life is good but this is a short holidady and I have to be back in UK by Tuesday, the 29th of August 2006 so that I can give a presentation to the Computer Systems Research group at 10am the next day !!!

Signing out for now…… till later

New feature for interaction with visitors

Vikram Mohan — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:19:11 +0000

Came across this really nice feature called MeeboMe by Meebo, an AJAX cross network Instant messenging web client (Something like Trillian on an web site). It allows addition of a Javascript widget on your website that allows an in site live chat with the visitors to your website. Once a visitor loads a webpage with the widget on it the contact list of your client on Meebo (if you are signed into it that is) is updated with the visitor id (customizable by the visitor again). Pretty slick feature so I had to incorporate it.

A little know fact to some of my readers is that I play a Multi User Dimension also known as a MUD called Adventures Unlimited. It is a text based MMORPG game based on a modified ROM code and best part is it can be played with a simple telnet client like Putty (Oh i would recommend trying out this game to anyone – been on it for a bit over 6 years now).

I belong to the elite evil clan of Sophism in the temple of Jirah on there and a clan mate of my Solaufein today complained to me about how he thought the alternative mortal charachter of an Implementor of the mud (Oriena is the alt of the implementor Jirah – yes the very one whose temple I am in) cheated in conquering several of the areas by using her Immortal staff capabilities to locate the Orb of Control that is required to do so. I doubt I can agree with him on this matter as I know the concerned people he is talking about and have complete faith in their honesty.

Oh well I guess people have a right to their own opinion and I wish to steer clear of any and all politics.