25 September 2013

Puzzles. Take my “word” for it.

There is no travel for me this week after fourteen straight weeks on the road. So, far πŸ™‚
So, instead of math and logic puzzles, this time it is about English words, as specifically requested by Sara.
Without Googling or looking up the internet try these…

1. As we all know “ballpark estimate” means a rough guess at the actual number. What is the origin of this phrase?

2. Many times you have seen (but I am sure not used πŸ™‚ ) phrases like !@#$%^& to replace actual vulgar words. What is the English word for those string of characters? (I believe the same word also signifies the string of pictures that denote a comic strip character spouting profanities)

3. Finally, “education” is a word that has all the five vowels. (Friends from UK and India will also point to “favourite” and “dialogue”). Can you come up with a word that has all the five vowels – each only once and in exactly that sequence – a,e,i,o,u? (“education” does not qualify since the sequence is e,u,a,i,o)

Sara, next time you have to post some more puzzles or give them to me, I will publish in my blog with due credits to you.

24 September 2013

Flashlight!

The effects of trying to run 5 miles at my 5K speed is showing. The shins are terribly sore. Had to cut down my run to 4 miles in the drizzling rain this morning.
The light mist and constant drizzle made the streetlights look like somebody is searching for something on the roads with a flashlight!!

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22 September 2013

Another great turnout

Another great turnout from Chalupa running group. 20 folks showed up. Which is commendable since many participated in the Vibha race yesterday.
Hats off to the new leaders of the group – Malobika, Sudakshina and Samaresh for successfully roping Debjyoti in. Last time he showed up was over four years back!!
There is a certain Jasmine that has been threatening to show up for quite a few weeks… Ahem… πŸ™‚

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21 September 2013

Ill Organized Vibha run. Inadvertent best 5 mile run.

Went to run Vibha Dream Mile 5K with quite a few Sunday morning running group friends this morning. The organizers were very inept. As a result most of us in the front were sent the wrong way after completing a couple of miles. A lot of aspiring kids and regular runners wanting to put in a well-timed run were totally disappointed when they realized that they were sent the wrong way. I was really upset to see a dejected kid pull out of the run and start walking when he realized he has much longer to go.

After doing two rounds instead of one, when we all finally got to the right direction, a bunch of us asked the organizers “What happened?”. The organizers immediately threw the city under the bus citing restrictions that the city evidently put.What that has got to do with a team of volunteers – not at one turn – but at two different turns – when specifically asked for directions – guiding a whole bunch of runners in the wrong way, we could not understand. So much for grace from the organizers.

This is certainly my last Vibha Dream Mile run πŸ™ Β If I want to get lost in my running route, I can do that by myself πŸ™‚ If I am going to give my money and time to an ill-organized run, I would rather give it to the smaller runs where the local parents and kids organizing runs for school and church are a lot more graceful.

On the plus side, in my quest to find the 5K end line, I kept on running at 5K pace and then realized that I actually did my personal best 5 mile run at 41 mins 26 seconds πŸ™‚ Sometimes, I can be tricked into my best performances πŸ™‚

 

19 September 2013

Pink Shirt Guy!!

Last evening, I was a speaker at an event – I know, I can fool some people some time πŸ™‚ . In any case, I reached there a little early to avoid traffic and settled down at a nearby bar with a glass of wine to work the pitch out in my mind.
This was a bar where the servers did not wear name tags. Which was a bummer since I like to address a person by his or her name to say thanks when leaving.
So, to be smart, I tried to quickly glance at the receipt to see the name of this elderly lady who was serving me. It was Anne. But I was struck by what name she had given me without asking my name πŸ™‚
I did get her to take a picture of me – so I could put this post together !!
So after all the Starbucks names, I have a new name – The Pink Shirt Guy!!

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17 September 2013

Puzzle time

Returning home from New York. Ergo puzzle time. Today’s is a simple yet challenging problem.

Think of the various pairs of two numbers you can make using the digits 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 (each used only once) e.g. (2345, 16789) or (743, 821569) and so on.

Which is the pair (of two numbers) has the maximum product value (compared to other pairs)?