The concept behind all you can eat buffets is fairly well known - you offer everything and people will be happy with a lot less. However, in Thrissur India the opposite was happening, A man, was literally eating the restaurants out of business. Finally, after being banned from the eating establishments, doctors helped "curb" his enormous appetite.
Hoteliers in Thrissur can now run their business without the Rappai-phobia. They used to pull their shutters once they saw the slow-moving shadow of Rappai.The man in question is not a goon or a food-inspector but a voracious eater. From one hundred idlis to a just dozen, from two buckets full of rice to a plateful -- doctors have finally doused the fire in Rappai’s belly.
Relieved, many hoteliers are planning to restart all-you-can-eat buffets, stopped ever since RappaiTheeta (monstrous eater), as he’s popularly known in Kerala, won’t be there to tongue-polish their plates. After his week-long hospitalisation, doctors have advised the eating sensation to cut down his food intake or be ready for serious health problems. invaded the area.
The police are also happy with the new development. On several occasions, the cops had to intervene to rein in the monstrous eater. Once college students took sweet revenge on a restaurateur with Rappai’s help. He took an “unlimited meals” coupon and emptied the day’s food -- three buckets full of rice, one bucket of fish curry and 10 kg cooked meat -- in no time. Finally, law-enforcers had to be called in to end his sumptuous feast.
A regular at eating competitions, he ate 700 idils in one sitting in Kasargod and gobbled up 10 kg halwa in 10 minutes in Thalasserry, records are aplenty. His story attracted global media’s attention and some international magazines covered his story.
Though Rappai developed his massive appetite at a very young age, the 64-year-old never thought that his jumbo belly would shrink so fast. Two weeks ago, a severe tummy ache forced him to consult doctors.
Wired had a great article featuring some classic comic book cover artwork from the World War 11 era. The cover art belongs to collector Ben Samuels' collection and has some early examples of Captain America and Buck Rogers artwork. What I enjoyed most was a little blurb explaining the history of each image as well as some artist information. Perfect timing for the upcoming Comic Con in San Diego!
A collection of strange statues from around the world. My personal favorite is Optimus Prime below but there are several other goodies spanning the distance betwen fine art and plain lunatic. Still, it's a novel idea for a gallery and heartening to see creative design like this.
Ok, so like everyone else in the world (except for the Americans) watching the World Cup this past month has been gratifying and overwhelming to say the least not to mention full of questions.Following are links to statistics, drama queens, sore losers, tv viewership, club budgets and some inspiring video for those interested in a little alternative commentary on the world's greatest sporting event.
Information Builders posted wonderful statistics on divers and divas along with tantrum throwers and others that made less spectacular headlines during the month long competition. This is also the company that has helped market the event.
Football (soccer) is not known for its onslaught of statistics unlike its American counterparts but a wealth of information can be found here. See who scored when, over what time and filter according to your fancy with this interactive spreadsheet for football fanatics.
Ever wondered if team performance is related to the overall value of your players? With player budgets of several clubs such as Chelsea and Real Madrid approaching the half billion dollar mark SoccerNet had a sweet analysis to this very question. The title of "Best Value for the Money" team this year must go to Ecuador, ranked number 27 at $23 million.
Bosch and Fjorg the design company recently unveilved thier "plug and play office" for Copenhagen IT University . We Make Money Not Art says, "Premised on the condition of moving, the system considers possibilities for rearranging rooms and combining elements and is intended for an innovative organizational structure in constant change.
It consists of big shipping crates that work as modules with different things on the inside, e.g. a workstation, part of a conference room or a kitchen. The crates are designed to fit into any standard building. When the crates are brought into the building from the truck, they are placed in a room and opened. Each function has its own crate with its own explicit identity and design.
The crates include three different kinds of workstations, enabling individual Lab Agents to choose their own place according to character, need or mood. There is a small, intimate meeting room with a green lounge sofa and a video-conference room built as a light green ‘blue-screen film studio’, enabling choices between backgrounds for video conferences. There is also a pink kitchen box, as well as a big biomorphic worktable with a palm tree in the centre. The crates can be combined into rooms with closed doors or left open.
This is a wonderful film about Global Warming from Al Gore's bestselling book, presently undergoing a limited showing in select theaters. The premise is pretty simple - Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced. "
The annual Corndogorama Music Festival sponsored by The Earl was this weekend. If has hadn't been so hot and I actually had some energy, perhaps I would have made it. Live music seems too few and far between in my life lately.
EvilSponge had a great intro and review of the whole thing - "Corndogorama is a big to-do in Atlanta. It's a music festival started in 1994 by Dave Railey, whom alert EvilSponge readers will know as the vocalist in local act American Dream. This annual event first came to EvilSponge's attention when it relocated from Lenny's (the doublewide with a view) to The EARL in the heart of East Atlanta. We look forward to this festival for the chance to, well, basically stand around all weekend drinking beer, eating corndogs, and listening to tons of local music. The 2005 festival was great fun, and The Minions as a whole enjoyed it, although it did leave them somewhat exhausted on Monday morning. " You can also see a full artist lineup here.
Sara and Jason are on their month long road trip - out West to Vegas and SFO and then a leisurely run through the Midwest snaking down through Maryland and the Carolinas. It should be one month of fun. I would have loved to be in Vegas for a few days.
What's your favorite casino or Vegas experience? Saw this wonderful skyline shot on ShutterStock.
Did You Know:
Fun Fact: A 1910 law made it illegal to gamble in Las Vegas. In 1931, a gambling bill was approved that made gambling legal again.
Fun Fact: The Dunes, demolished in 1993, was the first resort to feature topless showgirls in a show called Minsky's Follies.
Fun Fact: The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino opened in 1906, making it the first hotel and casino to open in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Fun Fact: In 1941, the El Rancho Vegas was the first resort to open on The Las Vegas Strip (across from what is now The Sahara).
Fun Fact: Many of the first hotels on The Strip opened in the 1950's such as The Desert Inn, The Sands, The Riviera, The Dunes, Hacienda, Tropicana, Royal Nevada, Moulin Rouge and The Stardust. More Las Vegas Fun Facts Here:
FIFA's World Cup 2006 starts today. One month of soccer for us soccer starved in the United States. So just a quick few facts (in case you didn't know) - Soccer IS the most popular sport in the world and World Cup viewership is much larger than the Olympics. Supposed "peoples" games like American Football, Basketball and Baseball don't even come close.
Matches seem to be around 10am and Noon US Eastern time so I will be missing most of them. However there are a number of live blogs around, the New York Times' being highly recommended. I find the commentary good and also a little humourous. As always the favorites seem to be Brazil (the current title holders) France and Germany with England and Italy as serious contenders. The fact that out of 32 teams, over half are from Europe is not lost on me. So we shall see. In the meantime do check out a few wonderful articles on soccer including - National Geographics Why Soccer Rules The World, a great article on the Brazilian style of attacking play, a great intro to Pele (the god of soccer) by Henry Kissenger who was instramental in bringing the World Cup to the US in 1994 and the now infamous Most Bonito article which originally appeared in the New York Times talking about soccer culture and the sheer pleasure of watching the canary shirts play. So a little read - then settle back and watch the games.
I will also be covering the World Cup and mobile technolgy to check out the news section for related articles. It is rumored to be the most mobile friendly sporting event ever.
I'm looking for a Germany/Brazil rematch in the finals!
Moores Law deals with the doubling of transistors on an IC every 16 months but for modern devices, the IC is only ten per cent or less of the total product. The remaining 90% is resistors, capacitors, inductors, antennas, filters, and switches. Students at Atlanta's Georgia Tech have made breakthroughs in miniaturization of these components that allow for increased performance well beyond Moore's Law.
GROWING FASTER: System integration using system-on-package (SOP) technology from Georgia Tech's Microsystems Packaging Research Center will see "More Than Moore's Law" take hold, as measured by component density. From about 50 components per square centimeter in 2004, component density will climb to about a million per square centimeter by 2020. Functional system density will escalate similarly.
IEEE Spectrum has a huge spread on the SOP approach and its ramifications saying "This last application will see the convergence of biology, chemistry, and digital technology to produce capsules small enough to be introduced into the human body to monitor personal health daily. A capsule could be used, for example, to check vital signs and monitor parameters such as glucose levels, blood pressure, and even signs of cancer. The capsule would then wirelessly communicate the person's health status to a Web terminal outside the body or, via the Internet, to a physician (or to anyone, anywhere). Fitted with a reservoir, the capsule could also deliver drugs at programmed intervals to selected places within the body.
That tiny body capsule is certainly a compelling product, and we can expect many others. Imagine, for example, a home entertainment and control hub—a device that combines voice, video, data, sensing, and control functions. It could include a home computer, a cellphone, environmental and other sensors, a health monitoring device, and a satellite TV receiver, to name just some possibilities. A wireless broadband connection would link the system to the Internet, and the hub would serve as the remote control for all the home's appliances.
Following are links to statistics, drama queens, sore losers, tv viewership, club budgets and some inspiring video for those interested in a little alternative commentary on the world's greatest sporting event.
Did You Know:
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