IE7 And runonce.msn.com

I always use FireFox. But a few Indian web sites force me to use IE (blast them). ICICIDirect and ICICI Bank are prime examples of this soft of foolishness. Imagine forcing people to use IE! Eecchhh!

Anyway, I am frequently forced to use IE. My PC at home and the laptop had IE 6.0 installed. No Tabs, multiple windows popping up all over the screen... eechhh... So I went and downloaded IE7. And the damn software keeps trying to access a web site called http://runonce.msn.com/runonce2.aspx. The first time this happened was on my laptop at work and I ended up with a settings page. Clicked through the idiotic thing and then forgot about it. The same evening I downloaded IE 7 to the PC at home. And guess what? The blasted browser keeps choking on the damn startup URL. I keep getting a blank page with a Script Error in the status bar. Tried changing the home page in the options dialog. No luck. The browser just ignores it and tries to load that blasted runonce URL.

I finally figured out how to nuke this behavior by chaning a Windows Registry setting:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]
"RunOnceComplete"=dword:00000001
"RunOnceHasShown"=dword:00000001

If you don't find these settings in your registry, then you will have to create them as DWords. Worked like a charm after some initial experimentation.

Help! I Just Received A Message From My Wife

I think my wife is trying to tell me something but I just can't figure out what! She sent me the text below in an email. Can anybody decipher the stuff and send me the message hidden in there?

Looks like plain old English to me. Every third letter perhaps? Or first letter of each word?

Grrr... Why can't women just tell you what is on their mind?

Anyway, do give it a try. if you decipher it I will be glad to hear from you!

Why Women R so Special...............

Mum and Dad were watching TV when Mum said, "I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed."

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for rewing the next morning. She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button. She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer. She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry. She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the excursion and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.

She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped he envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her bag Mum then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night Solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, "I thought you were going to bed."

"I'm on my way," she said. She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on. She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and radios, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. "I'm going to bed."

And he did...without another thought.

Gym Equipment For Sale

I have the following gym equipment for sale (Hyderabad, India):

1. Afton Magnetic Treadmill: Adjustable magnetic resistance, fully collapsible. Excellent condition. Infrequently used. 3 years old. Rs. 7,000/- Somewhat negotiable. Purchase price Rs. 10,000/-
2. Home Gym: With 150 Pounds in weights. 1 year old. Excellent condition. Infrequently used. Rs. 10,000/- Somewhat negotiable. Purchase price Rs. 11,500/- SOLD
   

The Home Gym can be broken down for transportation. I cannot provide transport but can knock it down and put it together again at destination.

Both the tread mill and home gym are in pristine condition. I bought them in the vain hope that they would be used :-) I want to get rid of them to free up some much needed space.

If you are interested in purchasing these items, please send me an email (gautam AT satpathy DOT in) or call me at 91-94407-01095 (only between 1.30 pm & 10.00 pm).

Online Payment of BSNL Bills - My latest Mess Up

Last month I did something really stupid. I messed up the bill payments. I paid the BSNL (landline phone) bill twice and didn't pay the electricity bill!

Opps! The wife is mad. She will be madder if she knows the whole story. She thinks I am losing it slowly. If she gets the whole story she might pack me off to an old age home at the ripe old age of 35.

It went like this; I pay the electricity bills on ESeva. Their web site sucks but it gets the work done. Earlier I used to pay the BSNL bills on ESeva too but for the last six odd months I am using BSNL's web site. Much nicer web site and I get the job done much faster. Well last month I logged into the ESeva site late at night and clicked my way through the screens. The amounts were similar and I paid BSNL's bill by mistake, thinking that I am paying the electricity chappies. Then I happily logged into BSNL's web site and paid the bill again! The next day I synchronized my bank statement with my off-line records and marked the payments as Elect Bill & Phone Bill. I remember being a little puzzled that the amounts were the same but I let it go.

Well to cut a long story short, I got a shock when Padmaja received this month's Electricity bill and it was twice the usual amount. She waved it under my nose and I stared at it for a few minutes with my mouth open. I still didn't get it at that time. I quietly pocketed the bill and told Padmaja I would deal with it.

It was much later when I pulled out the old bills to cross verify and figure out whether I had goofed up big time or somebody else had. Unfortunately I am the guilty party.

Called up BSNL and the lady in the customer service department (not call center) told me that they could fix it if I wrote to them explaining all the details.

Now I have to sneak out of the house on Saturday and go visit the Ameerpet BSNL office.

Psst. Please please please don't tell Padmaja.

Does your husband fix a budget for you? Indiwo.com Poll

I saw this poll on Indiwo.com this morning. The poll asked about budgets for women and the source of the money. Well I voted for Padmaja, knowing what her choice would be :-)

The poll results are (as of March 7, 2007, 10.30 am, IST):


Nice to know that the majority of Indian women (with access to the internet) are self sufficient.