Buying an SSL certificate
After using and being happy with RapidSSL certificates for some time, I'm especially happy to buy them through Namecheap for a better price.
After using and being happy with RapidSSL certificates for some time, I'm especially happy to buy them through Namecheap for a better price.
In my last hearing at the consumer forum, I was asked to present oral arguments again today. The Exide chap also asked me for my phone number so that the lawyer could discuss a settlement. He never called.
I wondered if they'd try to spring it on me in court today, and that's exactly what they did. Their lawyer (the same one who wrote the response to my complaint) waited until the last possible moment to ask me what it would take to settle, so that when my case came up for hearing, he could say he wanted to discuss a settlement, and I would be unprepared.
I protested to the bench that it was a delaying tactic, but that made me look unreasonable (just as he wanted, I'm sure). I eventually did agree to another hearing in two weeks to see if we can reach a settlement.
When he asked me what I wanted, I referred him to my complaint, which he
dismissed as being always exaggerated
. I said I wanted all three
batteries replaced, plus compensation amounting to a bit less than what
I had originally asked for. I also said I was very offended by what they
had said about me in their response (unclean hands
etc.), and he
said that's just a part of litigation
.
Anyway, he went off saying he would try to bring some harmony
between Exide and me. Meanwhile, I will prepare my oral arguments again,
based on what I learned from listening to a somewhat disorganised lawyer
presenting hers in court today. I learned a lot about what not to do,
and what the forum members look for.
I went to the consumer forum today, expecting nothing more than the last rites for my case, considering the notice I received. But when I was called up, the president of the forum listed the case for arguments (i.e. to be handled right at the end). I mentioned the notice, but they said that since the bench had changed, the matter would have to be heard again. (The president was the one who was present when I first appeared, and not the one who admitted my arguments. The other two members were the same.)
When I was finally called up again, the Exide guy appeared once again to say that their lawyer was unable to appear, and asked for another month. I protested that the said lawyer had not appeared for four months, but they scheduled oral arguments for a month later. No problem, it gives me some time to prepare.
As I was leaving, the Exide guy ran after me and asked for my phone
number. Why?
, I asked. Our lawyer asked me to get it. He
wants to discuss a settlement.
Oh, does he indeed?
I gave a talk on feathers to the Delhibird group at the WWF auditorium, but the video and presentation are not yet available on this web site.
Write to ams@toroid.org if you're interested in them.
At my last appearance before the district consumer forum, my oral arguments were admitted and I was told to expect a judgement by registered post (I called up a few days later to find out how long it might take—a month or more).
Yesterday, I received the following:
With reference to your complaint, dated … you are hereby informed/directed as under:
i) That the complaint is not maintainable before this Forum.
ii) To appear before this Forum on 27/1/12 11.00 a.m. to complete the formalities / to reply to some querries [sic].
iii) Your complaint has been forwarded to Distt. Forum 12/12/11 for further necessary action.
I don't understand how (ii) and (iii) can go hand-in-hand, or what further action may be necessary, but the "not maintainable" part is clear enough.
Perhaps I will be told the rationale on the 27th.
Ammu is studying Newton's laws of motion this year in Physics, but she can never remember what the three laws are (partly because they don't seem to be stated clearly in her textbook).
I learned the three laws from a very old-fashioned British textbook that belonged to my great-grandfather—long before I had internet access—so it was a treat to be able to look up Newton's original formulation in the "Philosophiæ naturalis Principia Mathematica" on Gutenberg. After the preface and a series of definitions followed by explanatory notes, the laws of motion are presented in a section entitiled “Axiomata sive Leges Motus” (“Axioms; or, The Laws of Motion”).
Last christmas, I saw a number of Richard's Pipits at Dadri. Yesterday, on a trip with Ramit and Ammu, I was pleased to make their acquaintance again. We had multiple good views of at least one bird out in the open, and saw and heard a few others in flight.
I noticed this time that, at a distance, the streaking on the back can be more obvious when the bird is running with its head down and body held parallel to the ground than when it stands upright, something that can be seen briefly in this video:
Perhaps when the bird is in its characteristic upright posture, the back feathers are pushed together, and the streaks are shifted out of alignment?
Apart from the pipits, the highlight of the morning was watching three young Peregrine Falcons hunting waders and waterfowl over the lake.
(Meanwhile, a number of Blyth's Pipits have been seen in Karnataka this year. I wonder if there are any at Sultanpur yet?)
My date for oral arguments in the case against Exide was the 10th of November (yesterday), which was a national holiday. I called the consumer forum to find the revised date, and they asked me to appear today.
Exide was represented by the same chap, with the same story: their lawyer was ill and could not attend. I had expected them to try to file written arguments, but they didn't have any. Fortunately, the two judges present were not inclined to postpone matters further. They asked me to state my case, which I did; and they put it up for judgement.
Now I have to wait for the judgement to reach me by post.
ztype is a fun way to practice typing.
My checklist of bird species encountered in and around Mangar banni, a community-protected forest in the Aravali foothills near Delhi.