2011 in review January 1, 2012
Posted by Shafeeque in Uncategorized.add a comment
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 22,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
How to open a Transcend External Hard Disk Drive August 3, 2011
Posted by Shafeeque in Technology.Tags: External Hard Disk, Service Manual, Transcend
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I had this feeling that i am avoiding my blog for a while since i got the rank notification email from Indiblogger. My score dropped from 79 to 40(scoring model : higher the better). A month back one of my friend gave me a Transcend External Hard Drive (Storejet 25P) 250 GB to repair. When it comes to computer, Shafeeque is the first point of contact for all my friends
. I did a warranty check and happily found that the HDD was under warranty. Took it to the service center in Cochin. Guy there checked on his computer and told me that only the case is manufactured by Transcend and they can only help me if I am ready to dismantle the HDD for them. We had a good talk over there a ,the case was escalated to two levels up. I spoke to a good for nothing zonal service manager who couldn’t do anything for me. After that I dumped the HDD somewhere.
Today while searching for a book, I got the hard disk from my cupboard. As my friend bought a new one, i got permission to do some experiments on the hard disk. The greatest challenge was opening the hard disk without breaking the casing.Googled for service manual and ended up in some websites selling HDD. So i decided to do trial and error method.
Removed the only screw that was on the front side of the Hard Disk and used the flat screw driver to pull the cover. I was able to open to the case, but ended up breaking the two plastic locks on the sides. After doing detailed check, the case was designed in slide to close method. Remove the screw first and then push the upper case in the direction marked. Please refer the image below for details on opening the case(click on the image to see the enlarged version)
Chinakkathoor Pooram 2011 February 17, 2011
Posted by Shafeeque in Festivals, Friends, Palakkad, Personal.Tags: Chinakkathoor Pooram, Festivals, Kerala, Myth, Ottapalam, Palakkad, Pooram, Valluvanad
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Unlike past 4 years, I am free to roam around and celebrate pooram to the core this year.Chinakkathoor Pooram 2011 will be celebrated on friday 18th of February. I left my last employer back in December as I was planning to undergo some networking training. Though I completed training well, I couldnt find a company to start with. So i decided to continue the networking classes. I am very happy that, atleast this year i dont have to beg my boss for a two or three day leave stating some false reason. Last year pooram went extremely well that all my friends were there to accompany me. But this year, it is gonna be different or literally boring. I will have only few of them with me to enjoy as majority in my friend circle are outside the city for their bread and butter. One of them has dropped in today. Planning to have a blast with the limited resources as I am not sure if I will be here next year to enjoy.
I ve been saying about pooram and my non malayali readers or non Palakkadan readers will be wondering what pooram is. Pooram is a regional festival of Kerala. Pooram is mainly celebrated in the northern part of Kerala, mainly at the district of Thrissur and Palakkad. And Thrissur Pooram is the most famous pooram. Different pooram has different custom of Celebration Chinakkathoor Pooram is celebrated in Ottapalam or Valluvanad which is a sub distrcit of Palakkad. Chinakkathoor Kaavu(the temple) is located at Palappuram which is 5 kms away from Ottapalam and 29 Kms away fromPalakkad Town by road.
Pooram commences with Koothu and Pooram molayidal function happens ten days prior to the actual pooram. From the time Pooram molayidal happens, People start yelling for help (ayyayyo ayyayyo അയ്യയ്യോ അയ്യയ്യോ) which is there in the myths of Chinakkathoor Pooram. Though I asked my mom what this myth is all about, she also dont know the real story leading to this ayyayyo ayyayyo അയ്യയ്യോ അയ്യയ്യോ. I will do a separate post about this later once i get the clear picture from someone who knows about it.
Chinakkathoor Pooram is a very colorful festival.After the Pooram molayidal Poothan and Thira will visit each and every hindu houses of Valluvanad. I ve heard that Poothan Thira has also got som’e myth behind them. I did a googling for that got a wikipedia post. This is what it says “A typical Poothan Thira performance comprising mostly shouts and wild gestures. The duo is immensely popular amongst the natives and an essential part of the village festivals of the region. Poothan player usually wear in bright (usually red), tightly woven costumes embellished with gold-coloured trinkets. Their larger than life headdresses with peacock features and imposing masks with stick out tongues and eyes are sure to leave an unbelievable imagination to the viewer. Thira player wears semicircular black crown mounted on his head with symbols of the goddess embossed on the same. We can see may Thira players with extra ordinary acrobatic skills who make the performance a real treat to watch.” Nayadis a particular tribe of people also visit the homes singing their tribal songs. But I have heard them singing only one song and the lyrics goes like this “Naayaadi Naayaadi Chankara Naayaadi” accompanied by the special effects created by hitting two bamboo sticks.
The next custom is Parayeduppu. Velichapaadu who is believed to be the revealer of light, is a mediator between the deity and the devotees. ‘Velichappadu’ literally means ‘the one who throws light on any problems.’ Possessed by the deity, Velichappadu (oracle) dances in frenzy at the festivals in Bhagavati temples. Velichappadu visits each and every house to accept para( which is a vessel used to measure cereals) filled with paddy, Neyyappam, Plantain etc.
The next ceremony that comes next is Kuthirakku Thalavekkal. Many huge stuffed horse models are built using bamboo sticks(framework), Plantain leaves(stuffing). Each horse depicts a soldier of army. Once they are done with the body building fixing the head of Kuthirakku Thala Vekkal happens. Valluvanad is divided in to different Desams or villages and all of them have their own troups of this horse armies. On the pooram day people carry this horses to Chinakkathoor Temple and performs the Kuthirakali. This horses compete with each other the pooram ground. The one who throws or lifts the horse the highest is believed to be the best player. Pooram starts with the horse rally which always starts in between 1 PM and 2PM. The Horse rally or Kuthira pooram is followed by the Aanapooram or Tusker Rally. After the kuthirapooram and Aana pooram fireworks happens at the temple ground. Though majority of people leave after the fire works all of them come back to the ground by early morning for the pakalpooram.
I know i havent given the right justice to this post. Though I want to write more about this, I am really exhausted today. By the time i sleep you can go through the snaps of previous pooram on the link below
Check out more photos at :
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rijesh.ramdas/ChinakkathoorPooram2007?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rijesh.ramdas/Pooram2008?feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/rijesh.ramdas/Pooram2009?feat=directlink
2010 in review January 2, 2011
Posted by Shafeeque in Blog.1 comment so far
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Crunchy numbers
About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 43,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 5 days for that many people to see it.
In 2010, there were 31 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 58 posts. There were 34 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 6mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was August 9th with 1 views. The most popular post that day was Craziest Facts that Everyone Must Read.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were mail.yahoo.com, mail.live.com, mail.google.com, freemail.hu, and rediffmail.com.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for nokia 5800, nokia n900, laziness, n900, and vaaranam aayiram.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Craziest Facts that Everyone Must Read July 2010
3 comments
Auto format error fix for Nokia 5800 Memory Card March 2010
31 comments
Nokia N900-Some snapshots March 2010
4 comments
Free Sites for Airtel Live!! March 2009
12 comments
She is like a Raindrop falling on my heart August 2010
1 comment
Airtel Version 2.0 November 13, 2010
Posted by Shafeeque in Airtel, Techn.Tags: Airtel, Logo Change, Mobile, New Logo
4 comments
Telecom giant and biggest telecom service provider Bharathi Airtel is undergoing a big change in its logo. Many telecom discussion forums states that it seems to be inspired from Zain telecom of Africa which Airtel acquired recently. Reports says that the official logo release will take place in another one week. Since Airtel is spreading its roots to all parts of the planet, they are planning for a uniform logo. Zain telecom of Africa will be rebranded as Airtel very soon. Airtel is planning to spend almost Rs. 300 crore globally to welcome the new brand identity. As of now Airtel has got its service in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Seychells and Africa.
This is how the recharge cards are gonna be:
Image Courtesy: Telecom Talk
Get AVG internet Security 2011 free for One year October 11, 2010
Posted by Shafeeque in Giveaway, Uncategorized.Tags: AVG, Free Giveaway, internet Security
4 comments
AVG is giving away one year license of AVG internet security 2011 worth $54.99 for free. You just need to fill in your email address and Full Name on the page and download the trial now and then itself. Within one month of activation of the product AVG will email you a free licence for one year which is worth $54.99 in the common market. I am using the product right now, I reco it is worth $100. Dont miss your chance.Check AVG official page for details
Compixels Giveaway for India September 25, 2010
Posted by Shafeeque in Giveaway.Tags: Giveaway
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Participating and winning prizes free through various giveaways and contests are always fun. Though many free giveaway campaigns are running on internet, around 99% of them are only reserved to US legal residents. And now compixels (the best page for non geeks for info on latest apps findings, software and hardware reviews, tricks and tips_ has came with a very new exciting giveway which is exclusively for legal residents of India.Prizes include A nikon 12 MP camera or creative 5.1 sub woofer or HP Deskjet(I will always opt for a Camera). Unless like any other giveways, lotteries or bids you dont have to spend a single paise for participating. Just make use of your social networking accounts like twitter,facebook,google reader,delicious,stumbleupon or you can even blog about it and increase your chances of winning prizes. For more details please visit http://compixels.com/1900/giveaway-win-nikon-12-mp-digital-cam-and-pringoo-com-geeky-tees
Post updated on07 Oct 2010 :
And Happy to inform you all that I won a Geeky Tee from the compixels giveway!!
Vadakkumnatha Temple Trichur September 16, 2010
Posted by Shafeeque in Photography.Tags: Kerala, Thrissur
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Found this beautiful photo of Vadakkumnatha Temple on Flickr by Prasanth Chandran
Courtesy: Prashanth Chandran(Owner)
She is like a Raindrop falling on my heart August 27, 2010
Posted by Shafeeque in Music.Tags: Aarya2, Best Hello Tune, Romantic Song, She is like a raindrop falling on my heart
19 comments
I came across this beautiful song when I was watching malayalam dubbed version of Aarya 2(a telugu cinema). The way it is composed makes you assume that the song was ripped from some English album, but I couldnt find any songs by the lyrics anywhere on the internet world . If you want to download She is like a Raindrop falling on my heart mp3, click here
You can listen to the song below
Craziest Facts that Everyone Must Read July 30, 2010
Posted by Shafeeque in Uncategorized.5 comments
I got this on a forward mail, thought will share with you all



















