Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Carrying among other things a copy of the Bhagavad Gita, a statue of Lord Ganesh and a packet of samosas, Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams soared into space on board the space shuttle Discovery toward the International Space Station that would be her new home in the stars for the next six months. Discovery, with six other crew, took off at 8.47 pm EST on Saturday (7.17 am IST Sunday) on a column of fire that briefly dispelled the darkness over the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Strong winds had put in doubt Nasa’s first night launch since the Columbia disaster in 2003 which killed another Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla, but the gusts subsided about an hour before. Bad weather postponed an initial launch attempt on Thursday. “Forty-eight hours makes a tremendous difference,” Nasa launch director Mike Leinbach told Discovery’s crew shortly before launch. “The weather is outstanding, the vehicle’s in great shape, so we wish you all good luck, Godspeed

Jackie Chan starred in a porn film when he was a struggling actor. The martial arts expert, famous for his death-defying stunts, appeared in a Hong Kong made X-rated movie entitled All In The Family, 31 years ago when he was an unknown 21-year-old. However, Chan, now 52, insists he is not ashamed of the film and says if you watch it, you will see that is very tame compared to modern pornographic movies. He revealed to Britain’s Daily Express newspaper, “I had to do anything I could to make a living, but I don’t think it’s a big deal, even Marlon Brando used to expose in some of his movies. The porn movies at that time were far more conservative than the current films.” Chan isn’t the only Hollywood action hero with a pornographic past. Before making it in Tinseltown Rocky Balboa star Sylvester Stallone appeared in a soft-core porn film entitled Party at Kitty and Stud’s. The movie which was originally a hardcore movie before the most graphic scenes were cut, was re-released after Stall

Sentence on hold till Jan. 31 By ASIT JOLLY, Chandigarh: For mer cricketer, flamboyant television anchor and BJP Lok Sabha member Navjot Singh Sidhu has been awarded a threeyear jail sentence for manslaughter. Having already (on Fri- day) found the batsmanturned-politician guilty on charges of beating and causing the death of 65-year-old Patiala landlord Gurnam Singh during a road rage incident 18 years ago, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday also ordered Sidhu to deposit a cash fine of Rs 1 lakh, but allowed him time till January 31 to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The former player will, however, need to furnish a personal bond of Rs. 10,000 during the next few days. The news that their hero would not immediately have to go to jail evoked loud cheers and repeated volleys of slogans from the many relieved Sidhu fans who had anxiously awaited the court’s ruling on the length of his prison sentence since early in the morning. Earlier, Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and Ba

Dell Inc., on Tuesday announced the commencement of work on its India manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur Hi-Tech park, near Chennai. Chief minister M. Karunanidhi launched the project with the ceremonial unveiling of an architectural model of the proposed plant. Dell Asia Pacific president Steve Felice told reporters the $30-million project would be completed by July 2007 and would start shipping desktop computers from Chennai from August 2007. The new facility coming up in a 50-acre land in the special economic zone would be set up in three phases and would have an initial production capacity of 400,000 desktop computers. Desktop computers make up about 60 per cent of Dell’s current business in India. The state government has also allotted 150 acres land adjacent to the plant where the company will house its suppliers. The suppliers are likely to invest $210 million in the setting up plants. Dell has already commenced hiring for the new plant. The new facility will provide 1,000

Style Statement: Newly Launched Maruthi Suziki Zen Estilo in Gurgoan. Estilo, a Spanish word meaning Style, is targeted at young people who desire products with contemparary styling and international appeal, Mr Jagdish Kattar said. The Zen Estilo is Priced at Rs 3.19 Lakh

In a blink of mere months, the mobile “smart” phone has been transformed from pricey corporate gadget to an affordable alternative for ordinary folk. Cingular Wireless has unveiled three devices priced as low as $200. The shift began in May with the ‘Q’ from Motorola that Verizon Wireless introduced for $200 and now sells for $100. But no carrier has gone as wild with consumer-friendlier smart phones than Cingular, which rolled out four such devices since September. I tried out three of them: Nokia E62, the Samsung BlackJack and the Palm Treo 680. Samsung BlackJack: The BlackJack stands out among the three devices, if only because it is compatible with Cingular’s new high-speed wireless Internet network. It’s small and weighs 3.5 ounces. Despite the size constraints, the phone features a slot for removable memory to store music and photographs, as well as a 1.3 megapixel camera. One omission is GPS satellite capability for location-tracking. Nokia E62: The E62 is the first mass-market

If you want a glimpse of the future of advertising, you can hire a consultant — or you can travel to Britain. British marketers are embracing new techniques for the Internet. For example, Hewlett-Packard used an email campaign in Britain, to try to attract potential customers to a Website promoting its products. Online advertising is racing ahead in Britain, growing at a roughly 40 per cent annual rate, and is expected to account for as much as 14 per cent of overall ad spending this year, according to media buying agencies. That is the highest level in the world, and more than double the percentage in the United States. There are big differences between the advertising markets in Britain and the United States. In Britain, much of the advertising is national, while there are strong local and regional ad markets in America. Still, some believe that online advertising in Britain provides somewhat of a roadmap for where online ads in the United States and elsewhere may be heading. “The US