Online flight check in

If you are traveling by Indian (Air India) and if you want to save time at the airport, do a iCheck-in. For this you have to do the following:

• Fill in the origin, PNR No (Indian ref No) and Last Name at iCheck-in site
• This does not work in Firefox 2.0/3.0, so use Internet Explorer.
• Follow the process and you can select the seat and finally it will provide you a boarding card sheet which could be printed out.
• In case you do not have a printer you are dead as it does not allow you to save.
• So ensure that your printer is working fine before you start on this process.
• In case you end up with no print, you can still take your ticket to the airport boarding pass counter and request them to print the ticket.
• At the airport you can directly walk to the security area and get the boarding pass stamped. You need to get security stamp at BOTH the customer as well as agent copy.
• In case you have a check-in baggage this is of not much use as you still have to go the booking counter.

There is a similar procedure for kingfisher in their website.

So cut down your wait at airport especially now in Bangalore where it takes 1.5-2hrs to reach the airport.

Making Tea

Over the years i have tried simplifying the process of tea making and seeing which suits the best. I am speaking of Indian black tea and that suits "my" taste. Few of the "findings":

1. Boil water and add black tea leaves (One scooped teaspoon per glass) and boil for one minute. I prefer Kannan Devan Tea leaves compared to Red labels and other brands. Teabags are really bad.
   
2. Filter out the tea concentrate and add hot milk. Do NOT use milk powder as it tastes bad.
   
3. Hot milk should NOT be boiled in milk cooker as it tastes bad. It should be boiled till it is about to guzzle out of your vessel.
   
4. Add sugar to taste.
5. Properly mix the milk and tea concentrate by pouring from one vessel to another (Not mixing with spoon) multiple number of times. Ensure that it does not get cold.
   

I never knew that any small change in this process affect the taste so much. Let me know your on experience with tea making.

Transferring gas connection

In case you have a connection in you home town (A) you can transfer it to any other place (B). For this you have to do the following:

1. Close the connection in the original place and ask them to mention to the place you want it to be transferred (i.e. "B"). For example, in case you want to transfer to any gas agency in Bangalore, you have to get the transfer certificate issued with the caption as "transferred to Bangalore".
2. You would have to return the the original valve at "A". Also you need to carry the initial deposit information bill.
3. Bring that letter and submit at "B". The person on whose name the cylinder is there has to come in person. You should also carry a proof of residence in this person's name. Rent agreement or BSNL Telephone bill would do.

Petrol pump review

Beware of crooks in Bangalore petrol pump. In case you are filling the petrol ensure that you look in the meter right through the procedure when your tank is filled up. What they do is the following:

In case you ask to fill for Rs 500/-, they stop filling after 100 telling that they did not hear you properly and without resetting the meter fill to another Rs 400/- which effectively means they have only filled for Rs 400/- now they will tell you that you have been filled with full 500 rupees of petrol. I have experienced this two times and always in smaller pumps. so which pump is good and bad. I will add to the list as and when i fill up from different pumps:

Good
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1. City service station, JP Nagar 2nd Phase on outer ring road

Bad
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1. Indian oil pump at the outer ring road and Mysore road junction.
2. IBP pump near the silk board toward the BTM layout side somewhat opposite to silk board.

Please add the pumps you know into the list and let us drive them out of business and keep only the good ones.