Mousetrap – 95

Found in translation
Zamzar
Web browsers and HTML, the computer world’s equivalent of Pidgin English, serve up stuff to us that most computers can read. But, like Pidgin, they have their limitations when it comes to communicating more complex thoughts than the yes-no-bathroom variety. Which is why we will continue to need specialised file formats. But there are so many of them out there (txt, pdf, rtf, doc, odp.. and those are just the more common text formats; it gets much more complex when you get into multimedia stuff), and in this hyperconnected world, we’re always sending each other stuff. Most high-end programs have conversion utilities. But what if you’re on someone else’s computer, or in a cybercafe and you need to do some conversions? This site will do the trick for you. Upload a file (or enter a URL), and you get instant conversion, right there.

All in the family
Geni
We’re big on family ties in this country. So most of you should enjoy this one. It lets you set up a family tree with a simple, elegant interface, and then, if the family members you bung in have email addresses, you can invite them in too, to do their share of the work. You can choose to add in more profile info, both for yourself and others. Pretty soon, as the connections, filial and marital, add up, you have a comprehensive family tree, and you’re probably going to find connections you never knew existed. Of course, this means that all the relatives must obligingly do their thing, but it is quite addictive (and as I said, simple), so you can be pretty sure of that. The tree you generate is only visible to the people you invite, as is your profile (which I actually think should not be the case; I’d like to invite a few trusted pals to look at mine, for instance), so go right ahead and create your own.

Value addition
The Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary
A perfect site for those of you who have to deal with jargon-addicted management-wallas every day. Simple definitions that will have you nodding knowledgeably when the chap in the ghastly tie runs something up a flagpole to see who salutes. (Yes. Really.) Just promise me you won’t use them yourself, hm?

Write me a letter
Literary Stamps
A very single-minded blog, this. The title says it all: this is about postage stamps that pay tribute to literary figures. A lovely collection from all over the world. And there’s this too: when did you last see a postage stamp?

Reader suggestions welcome, and will be acknowledged. Go to http://o3.indiatimes.com/mousetrap for past columns, and to comment, or mail inthemousetrap@indiatimes.com. The writer blogs at http://zigzackly.blogspot.com.

Published in the Times of India, 25th March, 2007.

Tags: The Times of India, Mousetrap

Zest

Zest

Twenty four-hour restaurants are a novelty in that middle-class haven, New Bombay. Well, there are a few dives that stay open all night, once the lair of thirsty mildly anti-social elements, now also home to equally dehydrated call-centre kids. But a legitimately open fine dining establishment in a fancy hotel, one you can seriously dent the credit card with? Nada.
Well, gentlefolk, you and your expense account now have Zest, at The Park, in Belapur. Zest says it serves coastal Indian and Asian cuisine, and we took a while to browse through the long menu, with the aid of attentive wait-staff, and to scope out the buffet. The interiors are bright and shiny—too much metal and glass—and garish red-orange-and-white-patterned tiles cover an entire wall. The buffet occupies centre stage, a marble-topped ring choc-a-bloc with serving dishes.
The friend who’d opted for the buffet (Rs 625) circled his prey, then scorned the inviting salads and cold cuts and loaded up on the meat and a side-plate of cheeses.
The rest of the table went a la carte. The lager prawns (Rs 706) were delicious, large and succulent, with a lovely tamarindy dip. The Black Snapper (Rs 511) was well-presented, with a delicate flavour to the sauce, but the fish itself was unevenly cooked. We attacked the vegetarian Khow Swey (Rs 488) with relish; it was almost as authentic as the dish my grandmother, who lived in pre-war Burma, used to make. The Bheja Gurda Kaleji Kheema Fry with parathas (Rs 484), the menu confided, was from a recipe by an old man in Bhendi Bazar. It lives up to billing, but at perhaps ten times the price of the original, I hope that gentleman is getting a percentage.
Thanks to all the selfless sampling for the benefit of this review, we were too full now to order dessert. Instead, we nibbled off the eclectic selection on the buffet-eater’s plate. If the staff noticed this robust display of bad manners, they chose to smile indulgently; we did not get our just desserts in our bill. Clever folks. Because now we’ll be back. Peter Griffin
Zest, The Park Navi Mumbai, No 1, Sector 10, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai (2758-9000). Daily 24 hours. Meal for two without alcohol, Rs 1,300. All credit cards accepted, except Diners.

Published in Time Out Mumbai, XXth XXXX, 2007.

Tags: Time Out, Mumbai

Something’s Fishy

Something’s Fishy

In the welter of buildings that have sprung up over the last few years in Sector 30, Vashi, one of the newest is the Tunga Regency, all cement and blue glass.
This magazine told me to wander over and pick one the three restaurants to review. The choice was easy: Café Vihar, the vegetarian place, was overrun with noisy brats, partly open-air and looked like a food court in an amusement park mall, not a restaurant. This writer scuttled off quickly, in search of ACs and peace.
We started off at Crimson, the coffee shop, whose signage beckoned with promises of spirits, coffee and grills. It was a dry day, so we sipped a fresh lime soda (Rs 45) and a chaas (Rs 55) while we sniggered at the typos and fractured English in the menu. For what at first glance looked to be a quiet, subdued haven, Crimson was noisy. Not because it was full or patrons were yelling, but because of sheer bad design. The constant clatter of cutlery, every movement and word is preserved and amplified echoed through the room. I’m notoriously cranky about those things (“ossified old curmudgeon,” my politer friends say), so I checked with my dinner companion, younger, more tolerant, more inclined to smile. Nope, it wasn’t me. The place gave her a headache, she said. The food on offer seemed uninviting, so we decided to head next door to eat. To do so, we had to step through the hideousness that is the atrium (imagine the inside of a jukebox) into the even noisier Something’s Fishy.
The interior motif here is glass and silly curtains dangling coyly a third of the way down from the ceiling, and the tables are jammed way too close to each other. The senior waitstaff wear pinstripes and gold braid. ’Nuf said? And the acoustics are even worse here, or perhaps it’s the number of yelling toddlers gambolling in the aisles.
The name leads one to expect seafood. But there is something black in the lentil soup. Like the presence of lentil soup. Because the place is multi-cuisine, with Indian (when a restaurant in India does that, one, um, wonders), Chinese, Malvani, Mangalorean and Goan food. Pushy waiter wants our order before the chairs were warm. He is twice dismissed. When we’re ready to order, the first three items we choose aren’t available. The place being new, he confides, it hasn’t started preparing all the items on the menu. The baby at the table to the left has started to bawl, and from the one just below (our miniature table is on a raised sort of gallery at the back), a brat shows signs of wanting to stick his fingers in my water. We order before our appetites vanish, staying with the marine section of the card, and then attempt to converse through the din.
My Crab Meat Soup (Rs 125) arrives, and it is swimming with capsicum and chillies, which effectively smother all taste of crab. Gah. I do so love crab. Comes the main meal. The Kolambiche Ambat (Rs 350) is lovely. The prawns are succulent, the gravy has a mild bite, and goes well with the steamed rice (Rs 95) that has taken the place of the appams and neer dosas that they don’t make yet. The rice sets of the Tesereya Ani Batata (Rs 195) as well; the gravy’s spicy without taking the roof off of your mouth, but alas, the potato chunks easily outnumber the shellfish morsels.
Verdict: fair enough if you live in Vashi and want to try out a new place, but hardly worth the trek from any other part of town.

Something’s Fishy, Tunga Regency Hotel, Plot 37, next to Centre One, near Vashi Station, Sector 30 A, Vashi, 400703 – Mumbai. Phone: 66801818. Meal for two, without alcohol, Rs 1200 – 1500. Service charge and VAT charged over the bill.

Published in Time Out Mumbai, XXth XXXX, 2006.

Tags: Time Out, Mumbai

Mousetrap – 94

All in a flap
The Ornithopter Zone
What’s an ornithopter? It’s a device that flies by flapping its wings, bird-style. The Ornithopter Zone is a fascinating resource about these unusual machines. Plenty of information about the history and science of this branch of aviation, with instructions and tips for those experimentally inclined. There’s even software to help you make your own machine, and, naturally, a forum for the regulars.

Oops
Only Human
As the old saw goes, to err is human. We learn by making them, or, if we’re lucky, from watching other people me them. So if you’ve made any good ones lately, here’s where you can go to tell all, and read up on other people’s sad tales. As the site says, “Mistakes make the most compelling stories, the funniest jokes, the best movies and provide the easiest advice to accept because of their ability to evoke empathy.” And of course, for good, clean laughs, helpfully sorted by category, popularity and newness. Enjoy. And if you don’t, well, hey, put it down to experience.

Hearts and Flowers. Not.
Relationshit.com
This site makes it clear right there on the masthead: “Brutally honest dating advice for the cynical, bitter and jaded.” Do not go here if you’re young, in love, or have even a smidgen of romance left in you. But then again, maybe you should. Well, not if you’re very young (keep the kids away; it’s, um, definitely not kid-safe). Articles for men, for women, a shop where you can buy books about break-ups, a forum where you can vent some angst about the ex, even songs (in various genres) for break-ups.. it’s all here. A survey too, where you can fill in a few details about your sad story and ‘“incompatibility patterns” will emerge that may help future relationships suck less.” Right. Good luck.

What on earth..?
Geocide
Keep this for the days when you’ve had just about had it with everyone around you. Because this is not about messing around with your colleagues or family. This is total destruction, baby, like the whole darn planet. Much enjoyment here, with sections on why such an action could be desirable (with a set of counterviews), geocide in fiction, and, when you’re ready for it, a pretty comprehensive how-to guide with a host of options to choose from. They are, of course, a bit expensive, and, well, not easy. So, rest assured, our government won’t ban the site.

Reader suggestions welcome, and will be acknowledged. Go to http://o3.indiatimes.com/mousetrap for past columns, and to comment, or mail inthemousetrap@indiatimes.com. The writer blogs at http://zigzackly.blogspot.com.

Published in the Times of India, Mumbai edition, 18th March, 2007.

Tags: The Times of India, Mousetrap

Mousetrap – 93

Holy statistics, Batman
Adherents
A vast array of information on religion, but in a rather secular way: through numbers and statistics. You could spend days in here, flittng from topic to topic, from the serious number crunching (the site claims, as of my last reading, to have over 43,870 citations and statistics for over 4200 religions) by geography or religion, to essays and collections of citations, to lists of influential people on history and their religious affiliations. It’s a great site to get answers on numbers and the like — don’t expect any of the bigger answers, hmm? — and for random browsing, on lighter topics like lists of the apparent or deduced religions of fictional characters, including sci-fi and comic book characters. The jury’s still out on Batman: he’s either Episcopalian or Catholic, but both camps agree that he is a lapsed believer.

Psst!
Wikileaks
Leaks (nope, not that kind, little boy, go away now) are practically an institution in politics, with governments and oppositions alike using them to make sure information gets out that wouldn’t see the light of day officially. This site want to help the process along, even if not for the same reasons. To quote its FAQ page, it is “an uncensorable version of Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. It combines the protection and anonymity of cutting-edge cryptographic technologies with the transparency and simplicity of a wiki interface.” It aims to release documents to the world at large, so that they can be studied, critiqued, explained, what-have-you. The site claims to have over 1.2 million documents already, but nothing’s out there yet barring a sample doc. And around the web, theories have begun to fly: is this a CIA plot? Something nefarious? A money scam? Watch this space.

March of the penguins
PenguinWiki
Writers like to nurture the romantic notion of the author slaving away alone, all alone, to produce her or his masterpiece. And then you’ve also heard the old saw about a million monkeys on a million typewriters eventually turning out the Compleat Shakespeare, right? Well, Penguin, the publishing house, teamed up with De Montfort University (in Leicester, UK) to midwife a rather unusual collaboration exercise: a novel by collaboration. Not just an ordinary collective, mind you, but wiki-style collaboration, where anyone anywhere with the price of a net connection could come by and write, edit, delete and commit mayhem. Alas, this site is one of the casualties of the erratic appearance of this column over February; I meant to include it last month, but the project’s now closed to contributions.You can, however, go view the results, and read the companion blog which comments on the whole thing. [Link via Nilanjana S Roy, and many others.]

Reader suggestions welcome, and will be acknowledged. Go to http://o3.indiatimes.com/mousetrap for past columns, and to comment, or mail inthemousetrap@indiatimes.com. The writer blogs at http://zigzackly.blogspot.com.

Published in the Times of India, Mumbai edition, 11th March, 2006.

Tags: The Times of India, Mousetrap

Mousetrap – 92

Second helping
A month ago, this column did an edition devoted to food sites. Space constraints meant that I could only put a few sites in. So I promised more in the next week. And that next week happened to be only the second since this column began where I didn’t send one in on time. And what with one thing or another, that promise slipped my mind. But not my little database. So, here you go. Some more mouth-watering sites. (If you have a favourite I’ve missed, do send it in.) This week’s set: sites that specialise in Indian cooking.

Home-cooked
thecookscottage
There are many, many food blogs around, so it’s difficult to make picks to recommend to you. I like this one for the mix (and with food, it’s all about the mix, innit?) of recipes, chatter, commentary, world view, and some nice writing. The blog seems to be on a bit of a hiatus at the moment, so go wake the site owner up, will ya?

Home-cooked 2
Mahanandi
As I said, many, many food blogs around, and I’m going to have to repeat the subhead. Sue me. And I’m going to get really lazy and give you a review by the friend who recommended the site to me, Megha Murthy (no mean cook herself). She says ‘Mahanandi gives me a chance to revisit recipes that I would otherwise have to ask Mom about. Plus I like how warm and friendly Indira is and how that translates into making her recipes more approachable. She instantly gives you the “I can try this!” feeling. And of course, her pictures! Gawd! She can make one perspire for a raw dondakaaya!’

Hotchpotch
My Dhaba
Last month, I wrote about a very cool idea called the Feed A Hungry Child Campaign which asked for donations of heirloom recipes for a cookbook. Well the recipes have been pouring in, apparently, and this blog links to all those donated recipes at the sites of the donors. Ignore the garish design and go slurp over the pictures.

The old chef
bawarchi
Mm. There was a time, when the web was still young, when a list of Indian cooking sites would probably have started with this name. The old bawarchi.com was subsequently bought by Sify (during the dotcom boom, if memory serves me right), so typing in that URL takes you to this site now. It’s a genoowine portal type thingy, some interesting sections, like some decent features and tips, and user-contributed recipes, counter-balanced by a godawful Celeb Talk section, clunky design and painful pop-unders and the like. Still, for old times’ sake..

Reader suggestions welcome, and will be acknowledged. Go to http://o3.indiatimes.com/mousetrap for past columns, and to comment, or mail inthemousetrap@indiatimes.com. The writer blogs at http://zigzackly.blogspot.com.

Published in the Times of India, Mumbai edition, 4th March, 2007.

Tags: The Times of India, Mousetrap