In so many years of being in the USA, I had never taken a flu shot and didnt catch the virus either. Last Christmas, I decided to take one. And lo behold - I am down with the FLU !!

For the uninitiated, a flu shot is a vaccine that is supposed to prevent you from getting the flu. But the wise people in the health care business messed up and this year people who have got a flu shot have more chances of getting bitten by the bug!!

This info was on the local news that the flu shots were ineffective in keeeping the virus in check. I feel that not only is the shot ineffective, but it also made my immune system weak enough for the virus to affect me.

The symptoms are muscle pain, fever ranging from 99 - 102/103 degrees, chills, headache, pain in the ears, and dry cough.

I paid a visit to the doc's office and was told to take Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen in other words Motrin and Tylenol. Both are pain relievers and fever reducers but they work a bit differently. I also got Tylenol Sinus pain relievers and nasal decongestent. Also take vitamin C tablets to help boost your immune system.

Also, keep drinking a lot of fluids and eat a lot of food to help combat the virus.

The doc also told me that if I dont get better in 2 weeks, I should go to a hospital [2 weeks???]

Now, I believe this can be a more sinister plot on part of the health care industry - first they give you a flu shot - a bad one at that - this generates income for them - the people still fall ill and the pharmaceutical industry benefits.

While some may call this talk cuckoo, I blame it on the flu.

!! Spike !!

Friends,

You have got to see this - these players have amazing basket-ball skills !!

http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=pZw41_LfpeE


!! Spike !!

Spoilt by the comforts of modern life and running hot water - I had forgotton how refreshing a cold shower can be till I ran out of cold water just moments ago

:D

It was time for my evening shower and being the weekend, also time for doing laundry! Spike was on a clean-up mission !! Than te dan !!

Comming straight to the point - The doggone washing machine took away all the hot water at precisely the same moment I finished applying soap to my face - talk about timing !!

I thought of waiting it out till the heater finishes doing its job, but my impatient nature got the better of me.... I turned the shower to full blast and like a true polar-bear "I took the plunge" into the 8-10 degree C water while crooning a poor rendition of "thande thande paani se...." at the top of my voice - this caused the neighbours dog to start barking too, but I blame it on the poor sound insulation of the apartment :P

After the first 20 seconds - the cold water was not so bad and it actually felt refreshing... you should try it sometime :D

Watching TV also helped me go thru the ordeal quite fast, I must say (for those folks who are racking their brains, the tv watching happened earlier and not at the time of this shower :D)

I have to thank Kramer from Sienfeld whose extensive research on showering helped me in being exceeding efficient !

Check out his tips here...
http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=hUoyb1bgSAo


errr.. while you are at it - you may also want to check out these other related videos from the tv show Sienfeld :P
http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=pm3F9piwnTU

http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=1cUNNKzj_Nc&feature=rel
ated

cheers,

!! Spike !!

  I had a nice and comfy leather chair that has been supporting my rear for many months - coming straight to the point - yesterday it was no more :-)


stop laughing - some friend you are !!


I completely blame it on the poor engineering design of the structure :D

I mean - that thing had a circular metal base about an inch in diameter with three spokes, also 1 inch in diameter, starting inwards in the circle (like a mercedes benz logo) but curving upwards to meet a rod in the center thats about 12 inches from the ground - with the 3 spokes welded to the central rod.

The entire base of the chair rests on this one central rod which also allows the chair to pivot in a circle. The back of the chair also slides in a front-back motion to allow me to sit more comfortably in front of my computer :P

The leather covered base and back was so soft but yet firm - so succulent and just perfect... hmmmmmmmm !!

It is this pivoting feature coupled with the reclining motion that led to its sad demise.... because if I slide backwards and also pivot on the chair - both at the same time - think of the amount of stress it would put on the welding joints ... I mean I admit - I dont exactly tip the scales on the lighter side :D

I was having trouble adjusting the chair to a comfortable position for the past 2 to 3 days because the angle of central rod to the base was not exactly perpendicular and this prevented a good and clean pivoting motion in the chair - kind of like the axis of the earth which is also tilted - :P

I tried to keep its heart beat going by adjusting this angle to make it perpendicular - at times by grabbing the chair with my hands and rotating the seat on its axis - at times by turning it upside down and instead of the seat, I tried adjusting the merc logo metal base.

I felt I was most successful last night as I found the perfect angle... :P  The seating was very comfortable and was very close to the comfort felt in its hey-days.

When I left the chair at night, it was quite ok.... However, when I woke up this morning, I found the base drooping at an awkward angle and I knew that there is no point in trying to resucitate it any more!


Alas, the spirit had left its lifeless frame in the dark of the night ... the chair was there no more to see the new dawn of another day... I felt sad :-(


Important thing is - my derriere is intact and so is my ego as a resounding "thud" was avoided ... lol


Ofcourse the tiramisu cakes that I had been consuming lately might have hastened the uncoupling of the joints and expelling its spirit a tad bit too early.. but it'll be dearly missed  :-)


lesson learnt - nothing lasts forever - off I go to the gym to save another chair !

!! Spike !!

I'm back and this time with another link

did you say, why a link? bcoz a picture is worth a thousand words and a video is made of a lot of still pictures in quick succession - do you realise how many words would it take if I were to describe all that .... :D

(note : press and hold the shift key while clicking the link to open it in a new window - else the link will open in the same page)

http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=H6A91F2W7XM&eurl=http:/
/www.orkut.com/FavoriteVideoVie
w.aspx?uid=18239027476451906154
&ad=1201874062&uit=/Hom
e.aspx

I wish people staying in Gujarat see it - Lalit and Pragya and also Smita - as she lived in Gujarat at some point

Maybe a delhiite, Alok and a Mumbaikar, Vyoma will see it and refute/endorse some of the claims while the rest of the "mumbaikars" (God I hate that word !!) will just sit back and rename some more places, close their eyes and make tall claims to make Mumbai a Singapore.

btw, a person by the id caretaker also hates the name - mumbai - I was happy to see people still take pride in the name - Bombay !

Q: Can all the hot air around this Singapore claim be used to generate enough electricity to light an illegal bangladeshi shanty for a month ?
* free air to those who answer correctly - extra points for being creative *

Maybe a disclaimer should be added to the claim that goes "We'll make Mumbai a Singapore in 2010 as Singapore was in the year 2000 when the claim was originally made. the fact that the infrastructure demands from the city will be completely different in 2010 than in 2000 will be compeletely ignored"

but hey - no more negative vibes - For now, just watch the video and enjoy Gujarat !
PS: some other related videos on the youtube page are equally interesting - do chk them out too...

!! Spike !!

hope u are able to view the clip and hear the sound ...... total time-pass
  Check the link out Karan Johar's new Hollywood remake!   http://www.makkadman.com

full tp !