After searching for rafting information and several packages we zeroed in for booking from this company. (link removed because of virus infected pages, nonetheless website is raftinginrishikesh.com). The plan was simple, get a train to Delhi, preferably, Garib Rath, because it’s departure timings suited us and the fare is low as compared to Rajdhanis’ then get a car to Rishikesh. However, the Murphy’s law “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” did not fail to impress and the great Indian railway’s website (irctc.co.in) did not work while booking for Tatkal tickets to Delhi and we had to settle for a holiday special train that derailed our plans and we struggled to get a car on hire in Delhi to Rishikesh.

Finally, we managed to reach Rishikesh and on first sight of the Ganga and our river side camp, we forgot all our tiredness and sleepless night. We spent 2 days (almost) and one night in camp (without light) and it was pure fun. On first day, we did rock climbing and a small stretch of trekking to a water fall (can’t remember the name of waterfall).

The next day was the D day, after small session of instructions on how to sail, swim and survive in rapids we started the water rafting. The water rafting is an amazing sport, when cold water splashes on your face, the feeling is awesome, when you see the rapids ahead of your boat, when your boat inclines for more than 80 degrees, when your oar doesn’t find water because you are in air due to rapids.
The food and service in camps were good; however, the toilet facilities could have been better.

I couldn’t help but remembering the TATA Safari Dicor ad.

If you looked back on your life, what would you remember?
The corner office?
The corporate powerplays?
The VIP lounge?
What would you remember?
Reclaim your life.

This is one of the satisfying holidays I have ever taken. I would suggest one should do river rafting at least once in life.

Expense statement:

Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai Train fare (AC III tier): Rs. 2300
Delhi-Rishikesh-Delhi (Innova)- Rs. 6000
2 Days/1 Night in camp including food and all activities: Rs. 1700
Verdict: Satisified

When a backup is terminated abruptly then sometimes the backup status of tablespaces remain active. In oracle 10g, you can reset the backup status of all tablespaces using the query

alter database end backup

However, in Oracle 9i you can not reset the backup status of tablespaces in one go using the above query if database status is open.

You can reset the backup status of tablespace from SQL using the following query.

alter tablespace tablespacename end backup

in this process, you will have to give one tablespace at a time, or, you can reset the backup status in one go by following the below steps in BRTOOLS.

Orasid> brtools

Select 2 – Space management

Select 4 – Alter tablespace

Press c twice to continue

Select 4 – Reset backup status

You will see the list of tablespaces which are in backup mode. Enter the range for e.g. if there are 10 tablespaces listed then input 1-10

Press c to continue.

This would reset the backup state for all tablespaces.

Tip: if you need to kill a running backup for any reason. Always kill the backint process not the brbackup process. It would make sure that tablespaces’ backup status is not active.

So, what has changed? Now, you can book Indian railway ticket with simple and ease on Clear Trip. I did try some search on Cleartrip and was amazed by the speed of results. I wonder why these results do not appear so fast on IRCTC website?
Although, the Cleartrip’s clean interface and speed is appreciated but the website does not show the full list of trains. See in the below screenshot: I searched for trains between Mumbai Central to New Delhi for 16th Dec, 2008. Cleartrip show’s me only one train whereas IRCTC shows 9 trains for the same day.

Is IRCTC not sharing the complete database?
I am sure once Cleartrip overcomes these minor issues, it would be a breeze to book railway tickets online on cleartrip and there would be no Unable To Retrieve Due To Communication failure messages.

Here is how it works.

• Add im@ibnalerts.com in your buddy list in Gtalk.
• Send help as instant message and you can get the list of accepted keywords.
• The keywords are like sports, ent and top. You receive news stories snippet along with link to the news story.

By using IBNlive Gtalk buddy you can also search for stories on IBNlive.com, just send search “your query” (without quotes) as your message and you will receive links for your search related stories (for e.g. search Beijing Olympics )

See the how to video on IBNlive

The Rediff bus fare searches mainly state transport websites and RedBus.in, Ticketvala.com. The search result takes you to the parent site or to the contact information of the operator.

This is a very unique and first of it’s kind marketing gimmick and I am sure this is going to help the movie.
via Economic Times

Here is how it works:

• Print or draw the box like the one below and write one of these words in every square.
• Cross appropriate square when you hear one of these words.
• When you have crossed, five squares, horizontally, vertically or diagonally, stand up and shout BULLSHIT!!!

Now, instead of avoiding meetings, you will look forward to them .

The Beneficiary will have to visit any of the specified ICICI ATM branch and has to enter the following parameters.

• The beneficiary’s mobile number
• The 4-digit code (as received by the remitter / ICICI Bank customer)
• The 6-digit code (as received by the beneficiary)
• The amount remitted (in INR)

You will be charged Rs. 10 +taxes upto Rs. 5000 remittence and Rs.25 +taxes for above than Rs. 5000.
You can transfer maximum of Rs. 10000 transaction and not more than 25000 per day.

Read FAQ about smsNcash

Thanks India Inc.

Update: The smsNcash service has been discontinued by ICICI bank and you can no more withdraw money without ATM card.

Some key points are:

What form do you need to fill?

ITR-1: Income from salary, pension and interest earned in a financial year

ITR-2: Capital gains, income/loss from house property and income from any other source

Checklist

• Enter all the details in CAPITAL letters
• Ensure that name, address and other personal details are entered correctly
• Double-check PAN number, bank account details and the MICR code you write
• Store the acknowledgment safely property and income from any other source.

You can file your income tax return online, however, you still have to visit income tax office for acknowledgment if you don’t have digital signature. You can get your own digital signature which starts from Rs. 800/- for two years.

You can also avail third party services like Taxsmile and Taxshax to file your Income tax return, the service starts from as low as Rs. 181 on Taxshax and Rs. 250 on Taxsmile.

Cartoon by Satish Acharya

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe – Abraham Lincoln

A new article on SearchSAP.com by Kent Sanders talks about transferring your skills from Basis to Netweaver. The article not only tells you the road ahead for Basis consultants but also explains how you can get to that road.

The key points raised by author are:
Java is the way ahead: As more companies are opting for portals and web business, you can not avoid Java.

Go for Solution Manager or Enterprise Service Oriented Architecture ( eSOA)

If you want to stay up with the latest in SAP technology and differentiate yourself from your Basis competition, then mastering the SAP Java Application Server, enterprise SOA technology, and Solution Manager will keep you ahead of the game.

Read complete article on SearchSAP

On a related note do check the tips from Prem Sagar about how to survive an IT slowdown.