Rupaj's Quiz Blog

Warren Buffett

rupajd — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:36:15 +0000

Often called the “Oracle of Omaha
When he spent $9.7 million of Berkshire’s funds on a business jet in 1989, he jokingly named it “The Indefensible” because of his past criticisms of such purchases by other CEOs
In Buffett’s own words: “I’m 15 percent Fisher and 85 percent Benjamin Graham.”^[
Buffett’s speeches are known for mixing business discussions with humor. Each year, Buffett presides over Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholders’ meeting in the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, an event drawing over 20,000 visitors from both United States and abroad, giving it the nickname “Woodstock of Capitalism“
Filed his first income tax at the age of 13

Morton’s Fork

rupajd — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:11:13 +0000

Morton’s Fork is an expression that describes a choice between two equally unpleasant alternatives (in other words, a dilemma), or two lines of reasoning that lead to the same unpleasant conclusion. It is analogous to the expressions “between the devil and the deep blue sea“ or “between a rock and a hard place.”

The expression originates from a policy of tax collection devised by John Morton, Lord Chancellor of England in 1487, under the rule of Henry VII. His approach was that if the subject lived in luxury and had clearly spent a lot of money on himself, he obviously had sufficient income to spare for the king. Alternatively, if the subject lived frugally, and showed no sign of being wealthy, he must have substantial savings and could therefore afford to give it to the king. These arguments were the two prongs of the fork and regardless of whether the subject was rich or poor, he did not have a favourable choice.

Elected officers (MPs and councillors) sometimes may have recourse to a variant on Morton’s Fork when dealing with uncooperative non-elected officers (civil servants). This variant asserts that a non-elected officer’s non-compliance with the directive of their elected officer must be due to one of two equally unacceptable causes: either the civil servant is lazy or incompetent, or the civil servant is acting willfully or maliciously against the instructions given by his/her elected officer.

“Morton’s fork coup” is a manoeuvre in the game of Bridge that uses the principle of Morton’s Fork.

Hobson’s Choice

rupajd — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:10:06 +0000

A Hobson’s choice is a free choice in which only one option is offered, and one may refuse to take that option. The choice is therefore between taking the option or not taking it, colloquially formulated as “take it or leave it.” The phrase “Hobson’s choice” is said to originate from Thomas Hobson (1544–1630), a livery stable owner at Cambridge, England who, in order to rotate the use of his horses, offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all.

The HENOKIENS

rupajd — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 21:10:54 +0000

In 1981, the idea of creating an association of bicentenary family companies came from the Chairman of Marie Brizard, a descendant of the creator (in 1755) of the first anisette. He decided to place it under the aegis of Henok (or Enoch) a name coming from the Bible.
Henok (or Enoch) was one of the greatest patriarchs. Caïn’s son and Methuselah’s father, he lived before the flood, and was 365 years old when he ascended to Heaven without having died. After a year of research, Gérard Glotin, Chairman of Marie Brizard (with the help of 164 Chambers of Commerce and 25 embassy attachés) was able to identify 74 companies and among them made a selection of about thirty.
The first meeting took place in 1981 in Bordeaux. Since then, the Henokiens (there are 32 members in 2003) meet each year in a different country for their general meeting. For the year 2000 it was in Holland, 2001 in Italy, 2002 in Germany and 2003 in France.

Usain Bolt

rupajd — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:20:13 +0000

Ding Dong must love this. And so must Overmars, Johnny Bravo, Mundo, Chicken and Bear, Pree Dam, Strength and Sir Yummy. They are the Jamaicans who taught Usain Bolt his footwork.

It is a dance called the “Nuh Linga” that Bolt performed in front of the whole world Wednesday night. He wiped out Olympic and world records in the 200 meters on the eve of his 22nd birthday and it was party time, calypso style. Who choreographed his steps? Ding Dong did. A dance troupe back home called the Ravers Clavers came up with a cool shimmy that Bolt likes so much he does it before and after every race he runs.

Trivia

rupajd — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:08:12 +0000

Roopa Purushottam had co-authored the BRIC report (Dreaming with the BRICS: The Path to 2050) along with Dominic Wilson.

Per the Guinness Book of World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is presently noted as the most well recognized song in the English language, followed by, yet just as well liked, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and “Auld Lang Syne”[1].

Perfetti Van Melle

rupajd — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:43:16 +0000

Perfetti’s founders: Ambrogio and Egidio in 1950.
produced 1st chewing gum of Italy, BROOKLYN, known everywhere as “la gomma del ponte”
Merged with VAN MELLE of Netherlands in 2001.

Creative Commons

rupajd — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:32:34 +0000

Lawrence Lessig, the founder and former chairman, started the organization as an additional method of achieving the goals of his Supreme Court case, Eldred v. Ashcroft. The initial set of Creative Commons licenses was published on December 16, 2002
Creative Commons was officially launched in 2001 with the support of the Center for the Public Domain. The project launch had additional support from students and fellows at the Harvard Law School and the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. Creative Commons is now headquartered at offices in San Francisco. The organisation is run by the Creative Commons Board and a number small administrative staff and technical team, and is advised by a Technical Advisory Board.
The project itself was honored in 2004 with the Golden Nica Award at the Prix Ars Electronica, for the category “Net Vision”.
On December 15, 2006, Professor Lessig retired as CEO and appointed Joi Ito as the new CEO, in a ceremony which took place in Second Life.

A History of Jaguar

rupajd — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:08:18 +0000

Few marques on the road today have a heritage as rich and distinguished as Jaguar.

That is, when you consider that it was conceived in 1922 by William Lyons, a man whose original vision was to design motorcycle sidecars with his Swallow Sidecar Company.

By 1927, he’d progressed to building special bodied cars, which in 1931 resulted in the launch of the legendary SS1 – a car which set the stage for the first true Jaguar. As the range improved and expanded, it needed a name to reflect its speed, power and sleekness and in 1935 the Jaguar name was born.

During World War II, whilst concentrating primarily on the manufacture of sidecars for military use, the company also learnt aircraft design and production techniques. When Jaguar subsequently introduced its new XK120 at the 1948 Motor Show – with an engine output of an unprecedented 160 BHP – it was destined to become one of the greatest sports cars of all time.

The Mark VII saloon was unveiled at the 1950 Motor Show and once again Lyons ‘stole the show’.

Jaguar now had a fine reputation, a superb large saloon and a very fine sports car, but it needed a high volume smaller car. In 1955, the company invested £1 million on designing and developing the Jaguar 2.4 to fill the gap.

After an exploratory trip to Le Mans in 1950, it was realised that Jaguar had the makings of a successful competition car. Consequently Lyons was persuaded that a car should be produced solely with racing in mind. Hence was born the XK120C or, as the car is more generally known, the C-type.

Three C-types were finished just in time for Le Mans in 1951. The Jaguars were an unknown quantity, yet the C-type driven by Peter Walker and Peter Whitehead recorded a remarkable victory on its racing debut.

Meanwhile Jaguar engineers had been working in conjunction with Dunlop on a new development, the disc brake.

This was to be Jaguar’s secret weapon upon their return to Le Mans in 1953. With their fade-free brakes the C-types could decelerate at the end of the three and a half mile Mulsanne Straight from speeds of around 150 mph with complete confidence, and they could leave their braking far later than their rivals. The result was a complete walkover, the Jaguars finishing first, second and fourth.

If further proof were needed that Jaguar was now a world force and the XK engine a world beater, then the emphatic triumph of ’53, against one of the strongest fields any race had ever seen, provided it. By the end of the decade, Jaguar C-types, and the D-types that followed, had achieved a total of five victories at Le Mans.

By the 1960s, Jaguar needed to make another quantum leap forward. The E-type, announced in 1961, was just that. Like the XK120 in 1948, it was an absolute sensation, perfectly capturing the spirit of its time. A true automotive icon, and arguably the most famous sports car of all time, some 70,000 Jaguar E-types were built over the next 13 years – with around 60% being shipped to the United States.

In 1968, the XJ6 arrived. It was without question the finest Jaguar saloon yet, and met with instant praise. First and foremost, the shape was another Lyons masterpiece. In an era when cars were starting to lose their character, the Jaguar strongly retained its identity.

In 1972, aged 71, Sir William Lyons retired. Innovation and development continued under Lofty England, and 1975 saw the launch of the XJ-S – a sports coupé and convertible that boasted saloon car refinement and quietness. A new era began in 1980, when John Egan was appointed Chairman and Managing Director.

Jaguar soon experienced increased demand, particularly in the United States, and continued to refine many models over the ’80s. Two further Le Mans victories followed, with the XJR-9LM in 1988 and XJR-12 in 1990. By 1989 the Jaguar Board recognised the potential value of collaborating with a worldclass car manufacturer. Events moved swiftly and by the end of the year the company was owned by Ford Motor Company Limited.

Throughout the nineties Jaguar underwent a programme of modernisation and expansion that saw the introduction of the new XK8 and XKR sports coupés and convertibles and the launch of the new mid-sized S-TYPE sports saloon – ensuring that Jaguar would enter the new millennium with record levels of production and the broadest product range in the company’s history.

In February 2001, the new X-TYPE – true to form – became the highlight of the Geneva International Motor Show. While in 2002, the all-new XJ, featuring a revolutionary aluminium body construction, was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show to great acclaim. Worldwide sales of the all-new XK range of sports cars – the most technically advanced Jaguar’s ever built – began in March 2006.

This distinguished heritage continues with every Jaguar – they stay true to Lyons’ original vision of providing drivers with a unique blend of style, luxury and performance.

iPhone’s India Connection

rupajd — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:09:21 +0000

The photo tagging application available on the iphone was developed by AirMe which has two Indians in the founding team, Apoorva Ruparel and Keshav Murthy.