General Chit chat - say Hi!

[Thad E Ginathom]

... they are all of birds and animals. When I'm not shopping, I join my wife in her enjoyment of nature

 

[iaudio]

I bought...

M-Audio AV40 Speakers.

Echo AudioFire 2 Firewire Audio Interface

but I'm only 50% happy, because the Audiofire is even more affected by latency issues than my old card was, so it looks like new PC time. Cost me a lot of money to find that out!

Hey, this is serious stufff, I'll post about it elsewhere...

Singapore... first visit... Where did I feel most at home? Little India :lol: !

The tourist attractions are all a bit too contrived for me: I think I prefer Vandalur Zoo . Actually, the visiting place I liked the best was the botanical gardens. Still a man-made park, of course, but it felt much more natural.

And yes... Sim Lim Square and Funan Digitalife took up a few hours of my visit --- but, in total, Mustafa Centre got most of my attention.

Ananda Bhavan did a good job of keeping me fuelled up with Chai, filling my flask for the long days out like zoo and bird park.

It was hot there, with very intense sun, more like Kerala than Chennai, but wow! Chennai's summer has begun since I went away: it's much hotter here now than it was when I left ten days ago

Tiger Airways is not exactly comfortable --- but for a mere four hours... why pay more? :licklips:

Thad, thanks for tellin about the Singapore trip.
So you got M audio powered speakers!
Congrats!
So you are gonna upgrade your rig? A new Music PC thread?

 

[santhosh]

I bought...

M-Audio AV40 Speakers.

Echo AudioFire 2 Firewire Audio Interface

but I'm only 50% happy, because the Audiofire is even more affected by latency issues than my old card was, so it looks like new PC time. Cost me a lot of money to find that out!

Congrats on the Audio Equipment. Are the latency issues to do with a slow PC unable to catch up with your Soundcard's speed?

Singapore... first visit... Where did I feel most at home? Little India :lol: !

The tourist attractions are all a bit too contrived for me: I think I prefer Vandalur Zoo . Actually, the visiting place I liked the best was the botanical gardens. Still a man-made park, of course, but it felt much more natural.

And yes... Sim Lim Square and Funan Digitalife took up a few hours of my visit --- but, in total, Mustafa Centre got most of my attention.

Ananda Bhavan did a good job of keeping me fuelled up with Chai, filling my flask for the long days out like zoo and bird park.

Yes Thad, something very artificial about the Night Safari. You haven't mentioned Sentosa Island. The aquarium/water world is excellent. So is the dancing fountain show.

[/QUOTE]It was hot there, with very intense sun, more like Kerala than Chennai, but wow! Chennai's summer has begun since I went away: it's much hotter here now than it was when I left ten days ago

Tiger Airways is not exactly comfortable --- but for a mere four hours... why pay more? :licklips:[/QUOTE]
Even Bangalore has gotten really hot these days. Even I travelled tiger airways once and will choose it again if I plan to travel. It is good enough for the short journey. Whatever we save on airfare, it is worthwhile if we can spend on gadgets:clapping:

 

[santhosh]

Does anyone know how to reset Mastercard's SecureCode?

My Citibank Mastercard does not allow me to make online payments (Paypal works), but any place which requires you to key in the Securecode fails. I entered it wrong once and now I do not even get the screen to enter again or "forgot password" option. I am straightaway taken to an error page which gives me possible reasons as to why the transaction did not come through. I tried using different computers, clearing cookies, changing browsers etc.

Citibank Customercare does not know what Mastercard Securecode is and start instruction me how to reset my I-pin. Does anyone know the helpline for Mastercard in India. I got one from JustDial but nobody answers it.

I need to make an urgent payment to ship my goods that are currently with Borderlinx.

ps: I will also post this in the Borderlinx thread as I need to get an answer fast

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Citibank need shouting at! I hate this "extra level of security" --- it is nothing to do with security at all, but everything to do with the card companies being able to say that the transaction must have been valid as the securecode was given... they are protecting themselves, not you!

Whatever... I think that RBI, for reasons known to themselves, insisted on this this extra level being present for on-line transactions as of just a few months ago. The card companies must know about it! You need to get your problem escalated to someone who can help you. Good luck!

santhol2 --- yes, we visited the waterworld on Sentosa and it was pretty good. The butterflies and insects place there was rather disappointing. We did the zoo, but not the night safari.

Listening to the M-Audios just now properly for the first time. There is a lot of base compared to what I had before, and that was a 2.1 system so it didn't put the base on the desktop. It is going to take some experimenting with positioning, some foam in the base port maybe, etc to get it comfortable for me. My desk is in an impossible position, in an alcove with a wall in front an behind me, barely seven feet apart: quite a challenge!

 

[santhosh]

Citibank need shouting at! I hate this "extra level of security" --- it is nothing to do with security at all, but everything to do with the card companies being able to say that the transaction must have been valid as the securecode was given... they are protecting themselves, not you!

Whatever... I think that RBI, for reasons known to themselves, insisted on this this extra level being present for on-line transactions as of just a few months ago. The card companies must know about it! You need to get your problem escalated to someone who can help you. Good luck!

Thad, guess what?!! Citibank has implemented Securecode in a different way. Securecode and I-pin are the same, so all I had to do was to get my I-pin reset and it worked well. I got this tip from the other thread where I asked the question. All is well now, payment went through.

But still feel Citibank Customer Care should have known this, I wasted my time last 2 to 3 days trying to find an answer. I even tried buying something else online to see if I get prompted so I can reset it using the "Forgot Password" linky

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, they should have known, or found out from your description what was happening. Having done a bit of tech support, I know to listen to the customer, but also to get confirmation of what's happening!

Congrats on being sorted out, anyway.

I wish DPC latency could be dealt with as easily. This is crazy... one spends heaps of money on an audo interface for a PC, and it stutters like old vinyl that's been walked on --- and the internet seems to suggest that loads of people have this same experience!

 

[spirovious]

Just saw in news,a plain named "KIRAN" fell on building in Hyderabad.
Everyone OK there?

 

[spirovious]

Hi Suprateep, I can read you after long break.Did you took break?

 

[suprateep]

Hi Suprateep, I can read you after long break.Did you took break?

yes we kind of left together - me and moserw. I was always there silently following the guys who add so much to the forum.

Like they say - old habits die hard so could not get away completely. Nice to be back.

 

[spirovious]

Welcome again....

 

[kaushik]

Onsite service

I remember a story of on- site service , my friend bought a PC from
a vendor as he offered on-site-service and EMI during college days.

he got a faulty mouse , junior coming to his room , were
making jokes on his computer "what computer u have bought, the seller cheated u"

It was like a prestige issue , add to that he called 2 times and technician guy dint arrive....junior making comments again.
He thought a while and went to PCO for a final call "sir smoke is coming from my PC, what computer u sold to me, mouse not working".In 30 minutes the technician arrived ,replaced the mouse and rebooted...
Technician finally asked the guy , where is smoke it is running well?
Guy told "oh by mistake i kept a agarbatti below the table "

 

[santhosh]

Friends, have a question for members who are experienced parents. Just thinking about buying a baby car seat for my son so my wife can drive around without having to depend on someone to hold him. He is 17 months now.

We have a few doubts which I need answers from anyone who has experience in this:
1) I have heard that it is useless after the kid is 2 years old. How long do you think we can use it? Just trying to decide if it is worthwhile buying it for just 5 to 6 months of use.
2) We know it is going to be a challenge trying to teach him to sit in one place that too fastened with belts etc. Are we too late trying to getting him to learn?
3) What is a good brand available in India and how much does it cost?

Feel free to give me any other suggestions you may have.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[santhosh]

Is it just me or do you guys see a timestamp difference offlate between HFV time and Indian Standard Time?

Just to give an idea, time on my PC is 11:09AM and this posts appears to have been posted at 12:09 PM. There is a difference of one hour.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

for members who are experienced parents.

I'm not ...but I do come from a country where these things are not only common but required by law.

Please buy a car-seat for your child: no child of any age should be carried unsecured in a car. Just think... hole in windscreen, mess on road. Sorry to be so graphic, it is something I feel strongly about.

... so my wife can drive around without having to depend on someone to hold him.

holding a child is just never a safe alternative. Nobody can hold the weight of a child in an accident. Even emergency braking could lead to serious injury.

1) I have heard that it is useless after the kid is 2 years old. How long do you think we can use it? Just trying to decide if it is worthwhile buying it for just 5 to 6 months of use.

It would be worth it for any amount of time! It really depends on the size of your child, rather than just age. I think some seats, by use of inserts, cushions, etc, can be used from infancy to several years.

2) We know it is going to be a challenge trying to teach him to sit in one place that too fastened with belts etc. Are we too late trying to getting him to learn?

Never too early; never too late. You do wear your own seat belts, of course? And so will he when he is old enough? If the answer is no, then please review this: your child needs to survive, but not to be an orphan either.

Even if I was not a habitual belt wearer, the nasty dents i saw in the windscreen of a car being towed away from an accident recently would have converted me. Actually, I was converted by hitting the windscreen at little more than walking pace, before it became legally required in UK. Nasty enough bump to make me think!

3) What is a good brand available in India and how much does it cost?

You could take a look at the Mothercare India site here.

It is usual for cars in Europe to be fitted with standard anchor points to firmly fix a car seat into a car. Whilst these might be found on imports, I don't think they are there on Indian vehicles. Make sure, if you buy an international brand, that it can be fixed using a normal seat belt.

If any of this sounds a bit preachy... sorry... Yes, it is a hobby horse of mine and, possibly, one of the most frustrating aspects of living in India. Knowing how I feel about a child being held in a car, imagine what the sight of a babe in arms on the back of a bike does for me!

You can find a lot more discussion on these topics, as well as everything else to do with cars and roads in India, on Team-BHP - The Definitive Indian Car Community - Home

 

[santhosh]

Thanks for taking time to enlighten me with this info.

I am a member of team-bhp as well and have enjoyed your many posts there, you may know me as S@~+#0$# there.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Oh Good

I think there are quite a few Team-BHPians here

 

[Kamal]

Could'nt agree more with the tenor & intent of Thads post right above.
Do It Now, Santhol & any other members who have toddlers/little kids-it takes just one happening to make it seem so very worthwhile.

 

[sud98]

Hi Santosh,

Car seats come in a variety of offerings there are new born car seats (0-2 years) which are meant for rear facing and front facing car seats for later. As Thad mentioned, you do get boosters et al, when the kids become bigger.

there are also hybrid car seats which can be made rear as well as front facing but they are more expensive.

Go to the Mothercare in Indiranagar for the best collection in car seats albeit over priced.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Mothercare (whilst I don't have any children, I do have a small step-grandson!), from what I've seen, seems to sell goods that it sells in UK at the same prices.

It might be a good idea to buy an international make, especially if it conforms to international standards, anyway, but I don't know if local manufacture is available at lower cost.

I haven't, by the way, succeeded in getting the parents of said child to take on board my safety views at all. Very frustrating.