Navdeep's Blog

The blog has been moved

2006-02-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Please visit My new blog at my website
This page will not be updated anymore

Testing new blog software

2006-02-22T06:27:00.000-08:00

Last night I installed and configured WordPress on my website. It is supposed to be this incresingly popular blogging platform that many people are using. Currently I am using Blogger (by Google). The one thing nice about wordpress is that since it is installed locally on my server; I have complete control over it. All the data is being stored in a mysql database I created. And frankly; it is much more geekier to host your own blogging platform than to use one that already exists. :)

Check out the 'new' look and let me know what you think.

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MacBook Pro - Naked

2006-02-22T06:23:00.000-08:00

These things have barely started shippiing and some crazy dude has already stripped it naked. Wasn't there supposed to be an Intel chip in there somewhere?

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Taco Bell Automated Ordering

2006-02-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Taco Bell (and KFC) are testing out 'automated check out' counters at some of their locations in the US (mainly in the east). I love the 'self checkout' option at walmart and some grocery stores; so I figure this is a good thing. Now if they can have computers be in charge of cooking also.. hmmm

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Sacramento real estate bubble - is it bursting yet?

2006-02-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

For all this talk of the so called 'Real estate bubble' over the year or so; it really hasn't happened. Looks like the wait is over. This weekend's advertisement in the sacramento bee might be the strongest sign for the bubble yet.

Do you want to be that guy who bought a house at $434k that is being sold at $299k right now?? Give it another six months and maybe these house prices will actually start to make some sense.

Textbook Roundhouse kick

2006-02-21T06:33:00.000-08:00

Check out this Chuck Norris disciple roundhouse kick a opponent. No word on if Chuck Norris was there to watch the event in person.

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Top 10 Strangest MP3 Players

2006-02-21T06:18:00.000-08:00

A list of some pretty unusual mp3 players.

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Really nice windows theme

2006-02-21T05:57:00.000-08:00

I found this very cool Windows XP theme on the web last night. I really like it; its very 'XP Media Edition' like. Check out the screenshot.

You can download it here. After downloading; just double click on the installer to install it. Once its installed; you can 'right click' on the desktop; choose 'Properties' and then choose it in the 'Themes' section.

Home for 3 days

2006-02-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

I'm at my parent's house for the next 3 days. They live in Selma (a small town near Fresno). Usually that would mean no internet access; but as you can see, thats not the case anymore. I just set them up with Yahoo DSL. It was only $12.95 a month; which is so cheap!! Btw; this is my second attempt at getting my parents online. The first attempt involved a 6 month (free) subscription to AOL; which failed miserably. Lets see how this one works out.. since its dsl; they might actually use it.

Apple is the coolest computer company

2006-02-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

If anyone needed more proof about how "cool" Apple is; check out this warning they are embedding in their latest OSX:

"Your karma check for today:
There once was a user that whined
his existing OS was so blind
he'd do better to pirate
an OS that ran great
but found his hardware declined.
Please don't steal Mac OS!
Really, that's way uncool.
(C) Apple Computer, Inc."

A 'hacker' would get this if they try to hack OSX to run on non Apple hardware.

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MSN Search and Win

2006-02-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

Looks like there is even more competition for Google. Msn is offering a promotion in which if you use their search engine to search; you can instantly win prizes.

What will it take for you to switch from google?

MSN Search and Win

World's thinnest wallet

2006-02-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

I am a big fan of a thin wallet; but its hard to keep mine like that due to the content. Let me run it down for you. At any given time; these are the cards in there.

1) Driver's License
2) Wamu ATM Card
3) Citibank Dividend Select (5% on Gas/Supermarket)
4) American Express Platinum
5) Discover Platinum
6) Citibank Professional
7) Visa
8) Library Card
9) Costco Card
10) Safeway card
11) Health Insurance card
12) Blockbuster card
13) Asian supermarket card

So there you have it. 13 cards in my wallet. Due to this; I have started carrying my wallet in my front pocket.

There seems to be a solution. Today I came across this wallet called 'All*ETT Billfold'. Check out some of the demos on that site; it looks very promising.

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Stupid Smoke Detector

2006-02-16T06:07:00.000-08:00

So after working late last night; I was actually looking forward to sleeping in this morning and not having to go to work until 8am. (Thats 'sleeping in' for me since I go to work everyday at 7am). Anyways; that plan was foiled at abut 5:15am this morning when the smoke detector started beeping every 15 seconds. ARGGHH!! I guess the battery needs to be changed or something.

So here I am; blogging instead of sleeping!

Neat Firefox trick

2006-02-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

Type 'about:mozilla' into the addressbar and hit enter. :)

(shortest blog post ever??)

Make your own Yahoo! Logo

2006-02-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Well, the love for Yahoo! continues for me. I found this site that allows you to make your own Yahoo! type logo.

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Celebrities without makeup

2006-02-15T06:27:00.000-08:00

This is defintely not for the squeamish. This page shows a bunch of pictures of some celebrities before and after makeup. Wow Bridget Jones is fugly!!

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Washing machine of the future

2006-02-14T20:35:00.000-08:00

Some guy in England has come up with the design of a washing machine that washes/dries and irons clothes! Man where was this when I was a bachelor!!

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Collection of Dick Cheney jokes

2006-02-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

I usually get to bed by 10pm (since I work a 7-4pm schedule); so I miss all the late night shows such as Leno/Letterman etc. Here is a collection of Dick Cheney related jokes from these shows.

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I like Yahoo! search better

2006-02-13T20:24:00.000-08:00

So I have been an avid user of google search. Whenever I go to look up something on the web; I just click on the little google 'G' that I have bookmarked in my Firefox toolbar. I never even think about the quality of results Google is giving; or if I can get better results somewhere else. But lately; I have been meaning to give Yahoo! a chance. I think tonight might have been the last bit of convincing that I needed to try (and use) Yahoo! as my primary search.

Lets say someone wanted to search for my blog (I know this doesn't sound very plausible; but stay with me here). They would naturally type in something like navdeep shergill blog and search. When you type this query into google; the first link that comes up is a review of a movie by Jimmy Shergill. My site is not even listed at all!!

Now try the same query in yahoo; and what do you get as the 1st result?? Thats right, this site!

I guess Google doesn't think my site should be up on its list because its pagerank is low or something; but does that really make sense in this case?

Another vote for Yahoo!

Programming advice

2006-02-13T15:15:00.000-08:00

This article lists some common programming advice that you SHOULD NOT follow. An interesting read, to say the least.

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New Truck - Chevy Silverado

2006-02-12T14:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend; I took delivery of my new truck: 2006 Chevy Silverado. Actually; I got it for my dad. This is going to be his first new car. I bought it from carsdirect.com (read my experience below).

Some details about the truck. Its a 4 door crew cab model. There is a lot of rear passenger room; along with a 5.75ft bed for hauling stuff. I'll be driving it to my dad next weekend; so that gave me some chance to drive it around. Its one smooth ride! Sitting inside; you can't even tell that the truck is running: its that quiet!

This post would be incomplete without pictures: so here you go.!

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Buying from Carsdirect

2006-02-12T14:08:00.000-08:00

In this day and age of internet shopping; doing most of your shopping online is not that unheard of. This week, I took the ultimate step: buying a car online. This was my first new car purchase ever. Here is how the carsdirect.com experience went.

I went to carsdirect.com and configured the car with the options I wanted. The good thing was that I knew at that point exactly how much I was paying for the car. After submitting my request; I got a call from one of the carsdirect representatives in about 30 minutes. Keep in mind that I submitted my request on a saturday (2/05) afternoon. That was impressive in itself. Basically the guy went over the options that I wanted and the availablity. He found a vehicle that matched exactly what I was looking for.

One Probelm! The vehicle was at a dealership about 100 miles away from where I lived. I was in no mood to go drive 100 miles to go pick it up. This is where it gets good. They offered to deliver it to my home at no extra charge. Wow.. thats good customer service. So basically; we set up a date and time (saturday 2/11). They promised 12pm and the delivery guys were here at 11:55am. After inspecting the vehicle; I signed the paperwork at home and took the keys. Thats it!! As simple as that. During the whole time; my rep was just a phone call away. Most of the time though; we communicated via email. He was very quick with his emails; usually within 5 minutes.

So if any of you guys are worried or unsure about buying a car online; I say go for it. You can't go wrong with carsdirect.com I will defintely have to look into carsdirect the next time I buy a new car.

Back to the Gym!

2006-02-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

So today is turning out to be a pretty 'productive' day. Woke up this morning; read the sunday papers; 'laughed' at the horrible comics.... btw; has anyone noticed how unfunny the 'funny pages' are becoming.. god damn.. some of those are just plain stupid. Anyways; today I went to the gym after 4.5 months. I've been going to the dingy little apartment gym (off and on); but today I went to a 'real' gym: The Intel GYM. First thing I did was get myself on the weight machine. Only 5lbs worth of damage! Not bad at all. I was expecting a lot worse; I guess the apartment gym wasn't that bad after all.

Anyways; today starts my ambitious plan of getting to the gym 4 (or more) time a week. Lets see how it turns out. I need to find (and stick) to a good 'workout plan'. anyone know of one?

More Google Maps craziness

2006-02-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

This time a giant sticky found in Thailand.

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Real Life Transformer

2006-02-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

They should market this as a toy!

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