Yoga enthusiasts rejoice!

I'd like to share a terrific discovery: The new Nehru-Wangchuk Cultural Centre (NWCC), the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy. This refreshing addition to the Thimphu scene offers the following valuable services:

• Free, daily yoga classes by an experienced Indian yoga teacher. Classes are 40 minutes long, and you choose a slot between 7am-11am or 5pm-7pm (Mon-Fri). Once registering for a particular slot, you are expected to come daily. In some slots you will have to bring your own mat (it's already full!). Otherwise, bring a towel or sheet.
• A well-stocked library with fiction and non-fiction books, mostly related to Asian countries. The books were transferred from India House and are nicely organized in heavy wooden bookcases.
• Cultural events such as talks and shows.

The reception area has a bunch of Indian magazines for public reading. In the planning are Indian music classes, Indian cooking classes and... I will keep a few upcoming goodies for a future post.

The Centre is centrally located in the Taj Tashi complex, smack on Norzin Lam (careful when you cross the busy intersection there!) For inquiries, call 322664.

Meanwhile, you can keep updated on upcoming events via the NWCC Facebook page. The next event is on Monday!

Workshop: Decision Making Using Excel

Prof. Galit Shmueli will be conducting a 3-day workshop on "Decision Making Using Excel". The workshop is intended for decision makers in government, corporate and private organisations in Bhutan. Attendees will gain knowledge on how Excel can be used effectively for supporting decision making.

The three-day workshop will take place on October 20-22 at the new Rigsum Institute campus (behind Hotel Pedling).

For more information and for online registration please visit http://www.rigsum-it.com/workshops/decision-making-using-excel.

Prof. Shmueli and graduates of the June 2009 workshop

SMS in Dzongkha

Is this the world's first Dzongkha-enabled smartphone? Perhaps. I've been playing recently with the Nokia N900, a smartphone cum mobile computer running Linux. After installing a Dzongkha font (Jomolhari, created by Chris Fynn) and tweaking the on-screen keyboard, the prototype was complete. I was then able to surf Dzongkha-enabled websites, read and write Dzongkha emails, and even send text messages (SMS) in Dzongkha. This is not a product, but rather a proof-of-concept: Dzongkha can be used on existing mobile devices. Now let's wait for one of the mobile operators to offer a daily zakar SMS service in Dzongkha...

Sending an SMS in Dzongkha

Surfing the DDC's website

Solar-powered karma

Prayer wheels powered by the sun's abundant rays are all the rage in Thimphu, and it's becoming increasingly rare to see a taxi's dashboard without one. The street price currently hovers around Nu 450 to Nu 500, although some of the tourist shops may charge double that amount.

Salvaging files from an infected computer

A friend's computer recently got infected by a Trojan, and he contacted us to find out about ways to salvage the important files. Since this type of infection is common here in Bhutan, we thought that it would be good to share these tips. First, try using a good Anti-virus software. If that does not help, then try one of the following:

1. If the number of files to salvage is not too large, email them to yourself using an online email program  that has strong virus filters (such as gmail).
2. Another option for transferring the important files to the Web is uploading them to Google Docs. Note, however, that you will need a relatively fast Internet connection in order to upload large batches of documents. Also, the size limit per document is 1024 MB.
3. If the number of files to salvage is large and you have a computer running Linux, then you can transfer the files to an external hard drive or pen drive, then connect the hard drive to the Linux machine and transfer the files to the Linux machine. Two important points in this case: (1) The hard drive (or pen drive) is most likely infected now! Make sure to reformat it before connecting it to any Windows machine. (2) The files that were transfered to the Linux machine might still contain the malware. Although they will not harm anything in the Linux environment, if you move them back to a Windows machine they will regain their malicious power.

Online Dzongkha-English-Dzongkha dictionary

One of the biggest and heaviest books found on the shelves of Thimphu bookstores is the Dzongkha Development Commission's (DDC) 2006 Dzongkha-English-Dzongkha dictionary. While it is fun to browse such dictionaries, it is often more efficient to take advantage of digital capabilities such as search. Luckily, the DDC created a very nice online resource. It includes 4 components: searchable Dzongkha-English, English-Dzongkha, and Dzongkha-Dzongkha dictionaries, as well as a listing of Dzongkha-English entries, organized alphabetically (shown in the picture). Click on a letter at the top to see the words starting with that letter. Then choose an option from the second set of options (rows 6-8 in the picture) to see words starting with that letter/vowel combination.

When will Google Street View reach Bhutan?

Yak at Pele La

Google Street View is the technology used in Google Maps and Google Earth which provides panoramic street-level views in various cities and towns across the world. Large parts of the U.S., Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand are covered, in addition to parts of South Korea, Japan, South Africa and Brazil (and then a few other countries).

To use Street View in Google Maps, drag and hold the little orange man (just above the zoom slider) over the map. The areas where Street View is available are then highlighted in blue. Drop the man at the desired location and use your mouse to watch the magic. For example, if you want to wander the streets of Paris in your pyjamas, here's a good place to start (don't forget to drag-n-drop the little man!). Alas, buttery croissants and bitter espresso are still beyond Google's technological wizardry.

While privacy is a major concern (especially in Germany, for obvious historical reasons), Google keeps expanding its Street View program. A couple of years ago there were rumours about starting the program in India, but this has not materialized. Google doesn't make its plans public. So it may take a good number of years - and Bhutan's government co-operation - until Street View is available in Thimphu and other towns in the Kingdom.

Until we'll be able to see roaming yaks when zooming on Pele La, take advantage of the most recent addition to Street View - Half Moon Island, Antarctica - and enjoy the penguins.