A Little South Of Sanity

Rock N Roll ain't noise pollution

2005-11-18T18:57:00.000+05:30

Rock is not dead. I managed to attend the regional finals of Campus Rock Idols held at Durgam Cheruvu in Hyderabad. And boy, what a experience it was. Some really kickass college bands from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Vizag were lined up for the show and they played some really cool music.

I read in the newspaper( Times - Page 3 ) that the passes would be available at PlanetM outlets and the competition was supposed to start at 5PM. We made a mistake of finishing our lunch before going to PlanetM. After reaching PlanetM we were told with a smile that the passes are over and there is a possibility of we winning free passes if we visit indiatimes.com and sign up and fill some other forms by which the winners of the competition would be tripping. I was really looking forward to this. It had been ages since I had a stiff neck from head banging and I wanted a stiff neck badly. We decided to try our luck and hit the spot. To our surprise we were given passes by the nice DNA guy at the security. God bless him with 5 kids. ( Though we told him we owe you one :-)

The competition was organized at the picturesque Durgam Cheruvu Secret Lake. I don't know if they call it the secret lake because of the secrecy it provides to the couples in the rocks around the lake area or because of its geographical presence due to which you don't see it until you are there. But I digress. They had constructed a cool backdrop against the rocks. Hero Hondo and Hutch banners were visible almost everywhere. No complaints there, "Who sponsors rock shows in India, dude?" Go Here Honda and Hutch. I think I will shift from Airtel to Hutch and from Maruti 800 to Splendor ( I am kinda fed up with my 800 coz its erratic behaviour. I don't know but she starts behaving real crazy in winter. Maybe its the cold. I think I have a topic for my next post. I digress again. )

The show started with a band from Vizag performing "Hotel California" to everyones surprise. Things are changing guys. No one performs Eagles nowadays. Definitely not in campus rock competition. You perform song by either a band with name ending in TERA e.g. : Pantera, Sepultera or a band people would have never heard of like Cannibal Corpse, Children of Bodom etc. As expected things got real heavy after the first band's performance and my friend who is not much into rock, seriously felt that the singer from the second band had problems with his throat and should consult an ENT Specialist. But his doubts faded away as all the bands started showing signs of the same disorder.

Albeit the music everyone played cannot be exactly called mainstream rock ( which I am into ) it really showcased the raw talent we have in the younger generation. Worth mentioning were Native Toungue, Wreckage and History Makers( these are the names of rock bands incase you are wondering). Nowadays guys are more into death and other genres of metal. I don't listen to much of it. It scares me actually. I have attended rock shows by Parikrama, Euphoria (Yes, they play rock if you don't know) and other bands and most of them play classic rock. Times are changing, and now you hardly hear a band playing Van Halen, Floyd, Doors or a LedZep number. For that matter, I have never heard an Indian band playing any LedZep song. Man, they were real good. Maybe it has got something to do with the capabilities. Infact Metallica frontman once told in an interview, "If we can come up with a song that is half as good as any of Zepps, we would have visited Mecca, These guys are up there where everone else can only dream of to be". Digress.

After the performance by the college bands the main act was by Synapse and Sledge. They made some great noise. Worth mentioning is Synapse's front man. This guy has got terrific voice. Way to go. By the end of the show I was really tired from all the shouting and jumping around. Anyways, I felt really good after the show and the rocker in me was inspired to write this post. Keep the spirit of Rock n Roll alive guys.

Naram Masala

2005-11-10T16:27:00.000+05:30

Herapheri had a perfect script and some superb acting by Paresh Rawal and Om puri. Humgama again had a hilarous script but wasn't as good as Herapheri. Hulchul left me wondering why the movie was made. And now after watching Garam Masala I seriously think Priyadarshan should pack his luggage and leave Mumbai. Can't believe the same director gave us a classic viz. Herapheri.

Whats wrong in the movie? Everything. I don't know what John Abraham was doing in the movie apart from biting finger nails through out the entire length. The three heroines look the same and are equally irritating. Music is just average and frankly Mr. Priyadarshan you should have avoided all the songs. But when we set on a path to make a pathetic movie, we never stop at silly mistakes, do we. Paresh Rawal gives some respite in couple of scenes, but overall extremely pathetic movie if you ask me. Stay away.

Picked up couple of books from crossword during my visit to Pune. "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat being one of the books. Have devoured half of it. Good book, takes you back to those golden days in engineering. Would recommend. BTW, I am looking for Dune series by Frank Herbert. I have asked all the major book shops in Pune/Hyd/Bangalore. To no avail. Let me know if you guys are aware of a book store where I can get the series.

Short Story

2005-10-17T19:59:00.000+05:30

I get up. Ahh, slight headache, must be the drinking binge the night before. Curse myself. Some things can't be explained. I move lazily and get to the wash. Try to grab the tooth brush. Can't get my hands on it. In Shock. I shout. Can't hear myself. The truth sinks in. I am dead.

Nithya tagged me and had to write this. I tag Snehal.

First post from home

2005-10-08T21:07:00.000+05:30

Yeah, all these days, I was blogging from my workplace, not that I am ashamed of. For official records, I used to do it after the office hours. Anyways, I recently got this lousy Reliance phone, so that my Airtel bills get back to three figures, but as expected I got screwed again. The scheme for which I took Reliace connection was withdrawn the day after my phone started working. Murphy is a sadist and seems to have taken a liking for me. Of what use is this phone. Wait, I can get connected from my house. Ofcourse, its not like the office hi speed thing, but decent enough to surf and read stuff in vela time.

I am off to Pune next week for a long duration. 5 days. Yes, thats long. And in all probability will be in Pune during Diwali also. Will get to unwind and relax and catch up on not so important but really needed stuff. I love this time of the year, lots of festivals and offs. Dussera, Diwali, Ramzan and then Christmas. Before we realize we'll be welcoming 2006.

Gosh, time flies by so quickly. Couple of days back I completed my one year stay in Hyd. To be honest, I have started liking this place and am seriously considering settling here. Nice infrastructure, nice food ( biryani and the spicy Andhra delicacies) and nice people. Me being a maharashtrian it might surprise you if I say I prefer Hyd to Pune. But, thats true.

And now if you excuse me, I need to cook some fried maggie for myself. I love Maggie so much.

When The Levee Breaks

2005-09-16T21:09:00.000+05:30

Finally we went Beta with our product yesterday. It has been one helluva roller coaster ride with this project. My IT friends here would agree with my sentiments, whenever a product you are associated with goes beta or in the market, you feel proud about it, irrespective of the number of bugs your code would have introduced in the otherwise stable product :-)

What next? Well, work is already planned, infact I am already neck deep into it. Thats one thing about work which amuses me, it's always there. Smiling and waiting for you. The more you work, the more you are rewarded with work. Which implies, as you keep working, work assigned to you is going to increase exponentially, leaving you hardly any time to freak out and do insane ( or should we say sane ) things in life.

Coming to the festive season. We have been cautioned by the authorities to stay inside our houses tomorrow and avoid visiting the hotspots for Ganesh visarjan. Wonder why? Someone said, communal riots. Sad. They should have said,"Stay inside, we are not capable enough." Nevertheless, I was never adventurous by nature so would stay inside and watch some flick.

As many of you requested to divulge more details about P, here it comes....hang on, I am not going to reveal her name.But you might be interested to know that in all probability we'll get hooked by year end. She is an architect by profession and works in Pune. And it feels great to be in Love(again).

Ok, its friday night and I have an excellent reason to party hard tonight. Have a rocking weekend.

(Just in case you are wondering what has the title got to do with the post. Nothing. Just the song I was listening to when I wrote this.)

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi

2005-09-06T20:55:00.000+05:30

Ganesha Chaturthi reminds me of good ol Pune. And ofcourse the famous Dagaduseth Halwai Ganapati !!!

Don't think it will be celebrated on such a grand scale here in Hyd. Nevertheless, I hear that old city celebrations are good and worth a watch. Will visit some old city Ganesh mandals during the weekend and update you guys on that.

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi to all of you.

Trip....Not the HIGH kind :-)

2005-08-18T18:06:00.000+05:30

After posting the previous entry I got pretty depressed and decided to do something over the long weekend. I didn't want Murphy to win over me. Buzzed couple of friends and within half an hour we had a plan ready for a trip to Sri Sailam.

We started on Saturday morning and came back by Sunday evening. All in all a great trip. Enjoy some pics from the same.

Sri Sailam here we come....

Reminded us of the scene from FOTR when Arwen challenges Ringwraiths at the river.

RAINBOW...Amazing isn't it?

The call of the valley...

The damsite...

Are we in AP?

The long road to home...

Murphy at work

2005-08-12T11:18:00.000+05:30

Never, never plan things well in advance. Why? you may ask. Well, because stupid things can ruin your well planned plans. The weekend before last weekend, I was supposed to be in Pune to meet "P". Well, we were looking forward to this trip and when I reached the railway station the receptionist with a devilish smile told me that all the trains to Mumbai/Pune were cancelled. I was thunderstruck in Hyderabad by the rains in Mumbai/Pune. No pun intended.

Now, tomorrow "P" was supposed to be here with couple of her friends and again we planned everything meticulously and what happens? The plan goes for a toss and we can't meet. When you really long for something there is a very high possibility that you won't get it. Ever heard of Murphy's Laws?

So what am I supposed to do now over the long weekend. Well, get drunk, eat like pig and watch movies.

Again as I mentioned earlier in one of my post, getting a ticket in Hyderabad for watching a movie is a very tough task, tougher than making Sunny Deol dance. So what option do I have, sit at home, rent some DVDs and get depressed alone over the long weekend. Why alone? Because most of the friends are out to their native places.

Games and Movies

2005-07-26T16:47:00.000+05:30

During campus recruitment season, once we wrote written test for a company. There was this question in the test, what is NFS? I remember someone wrote Need For Speed. For the uninitiated, NFS was this very popular racing game which we used to play day and night. Ofcourse, the company for recruitment was looking for a different answer which had something to do with Network File System. Coming to the point, the makers of this game, Need For Speed ( Electronic Arts ) are planning to come up with games based on Tolkien'e epic LOTR. Check out the detailed news here.

Being a hardcore Tolkien fanatic, me looking forward to this. Talking about fanatics check this out. Some guy saw the latest Rajnikant flick for 100 days. Watching the same movie consecutively for 100 days, gawd. Kudos to the guy. The theatre guys presented him with a memento or something. He definitely deserves something more than that.

All My Love

2005-07-18T18:56:00.000+05:30

Finally, I said something to "P" which I was pondering over for quite some time now. Am glad that its out now. We will be meeting up in the coming weekends and finalize things :-)

Sometimes, it takes a moment to clear all your doubts and take an important decision about something. Thats exactly what happened with me. I was in a denial mode earlier, don't know the reasons, but I was avoiding something which I shouldn't have. Anyways, good that things are clear and settled.

When I first met "P" about an year and half ago, I never thought we would get along so well. As they say, some things are just destined to happen.

Me happy.

The Rain Song

2005-07-04T22:28:00.000+05:30

Finally the rain gods answered my prayers and came with a thunder. Its been raining heavily since couple of days, and it feels good.

But call it irony, I haven't been able to enjoy this splendid climate much. The entire weekend was spent in the office trying to sort out issues and banging code. It gets on nerves I tell you. Try working on a weekend evening, and you will understand what I am talking.

Rainy season always reminds me of good ol Pune. Those outings to the places/forts near Pune used to be so thrilling. That reminds me, the first outing of this season will happen during the next weekend most probably, to a place called Sri Sailam, which is like 250Kms from here. Hope its good.

BTW saw Parineeta and would recommed it to everyone. Except the melodrama towards the climax, I enjoyed every bit of it. Vidya Balan is so cute and likable. Haven't seen Paheli. Some people tell me its load of crap, while some tell me its an awesome movie. Suggestions welcome. I used to hate Amol Palekar as a KID. But as I grew I kinda started liking his movies/acting skills. Same applies to Farooq Sheikh.

Also saw "Harold and Kumar go to white castle" recently, if you haven't seen this movie and enjoy slapstick, go for it. Laugh riot.

Will get back to work.....

The Art Of Cooking

2005-06-16T18:12:00.000+05:30

Eating out on a regular basis is sickening. Since the day I completed by 10th, I have been staying away from my parents, and that obviously deprived me from the home-made food which I always crave for. Ok, I was with Mom for couple of months in Pune but that was just a small duration. That wasn't sufficient to quench my hunger for scrimptious home food.

Thanks to Mom, my kitchen here now boasts of a gas stove, basic utensils and other stuff which is needed in the process of cooking. The kitchenware. And that doesn't stop there, I have actually started cooking at my place.

Till now, my cooking adventure has been limited to Fried Maggie,Scrambled Eggs, Boiled Eggs, Aloo Sabji, Rice, Pulav, Khichadi, Upma and Poha. ( Alright, boiled eggs and plain rice don't actually qualify as cooked food, but what the heck. ) Let me tell you cooking is fun, especially done at your leisure sipping your favorite drink and listening to "The Who". And it gives immense pleasure, eating food prepared by yourself. Not to forget the BIG bucks I am saving in the process :-)

Haven't tried chapatis yet because of a secret fear, but whatever I tried so far has been edible. Maybe I will try my hands on some exotic food cooking once I am through with the basics. Just hope that the enthu about cooking doesn't fade out and I keep feeding myself with some good home made food.

Cooking has taught me one thing though, appreciate whatever comes on the plate :-)

Happy Birthday !!!

2005-06-08T20:50:00.000+05:30

On the same day last year, one more blog was added to the millions of blogs on the cobweb. Yes, it was the blog created by yours truly, to speak his thoughts out.

Met some really fine people in this adventure people call blogging. Snehal,Akshay,Phal,A,Govar to name a few.

But after the initial euphoria, the blogging frequency suffered quite a bit, and nowadays its getting even worse.

Will leave you guys with a question.

Why do things become insipid after some time?

The Remnants And The Ruins

2005-05-25T16:17:00.000+05:30

Some snaps from trip to Golkonda fort.

Summer Song

2005-05-18T14:48:00.000+05:30

The heat is getting on my nerves now. When I go back to my flat in the night, its no less than a hot furnace ready to roast me alive. I happen to have a flat on the 5th floor, which also is the top most floor of the apartment. Purchasing a cooler was a necessity.

Eagerly waiting for the rain gods. I know its a bit early to expect rains, but you never know. Anyways the weather hasn't been following a fixed course lately with rains witnessed in February.

Coming to the news makers. Satch will be performing in Bangalore today at palace grounds. Yesterday, I saw one of his LIVE recordings, and was amazed to core. This guy is unbelievable when it comes to electric guitar. The way his fingers move on the fret board is mind-boggling. He can make it talk/cry. I am gonna miss him in action. Why God? Why do they organise rock shows on weekdays?

"Summer Song" happens to be my favorite song by the "Lord of The Strings".

Anyone saw him LIVE in action?

Kaiowas

2005-05-12T17:45:00.000+05:30

Traffic sense is the least common of all senses in Hyderabadis. People here simply refuse to follow the traffic rules.

Question : How many guys can an auto rickshaw take?
Answer : Well, depends on the city you are from.

Can you believe that stuffing around 10 guys ( well grown, not mal-nutritioned) in an auto is very common in Hyderabad. Six guys in the back and four guys including the driver on the front. Yes, four guys in the front. ( Infact once I saw five guys in the front, three sitting on the driver seat and two clinging to the auto on one leg ) I am sure you won't believe it, you have to visit Hyderabad to believe it.

And need I mention the rash drivers of the QUALISs/SUMOs engaged in dropping the call center junta. Add to it the inherent apathy towards the poor traffic police, things go really wild on Hyderabad roads.

What we get in the end is a BIG MESS.

And you guys know whats the best part? After driving here for couple of months you also become one of them. Changing lanes, whenever you want. Pressing brakes, wherever you want. Hurling abuses, to whoever you want.

Back in Black !!!

2005-05-06T16:10:00.000+05:30

You : Whats up?
Me : Nothing special. Life is just smooth.

You : Its been ages since you updated, why?
Me : Didn't feel like updating. That's all.

You : You haven't visited my blog.
Me : Yeah, didn't feel like doing that as well.

You : So what were you doing all these days?
Me : Nothing. Partying, Tripping. Sometimes working.

You : Good to have you back.
Me : Yeah, me also feels good.

You : What else?
Me : I want to get married.

You : What?
Me : I want to get married.

You : Why?
Me : What do you mean, Why?

You : I mean, all of a sudden.
Me : Well, I thought over it and feel like settling down.

You : Are you sure?
Me : Very positive.

You : So why this marriage and stuff all of a sudden.
Me : Don't know ya. Maybe I am tired of leaving alone.

You : You don't have to marry if you are tired of leaving alone.
Me : Yeah, but thats just one thing.

You : Well, what can I say? All the best.
Me : Thanks.

I can't get no Satisfaction.....

2005-04-04T19:00:00.000+05:30

How does it feel to do nothing? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Thats what I did the last week. Nothing. And let me tell you that doing nothing can get on your nerves.

Life has suddenly become a drag and really don't know whats the reason. Maybe I need to take a break. Not couple of days off. Maybe two or three weeks. Maybe a month. ( But the kind of stuff I do for my living won't exactly allow me that )

Does it happen to you? You don't exactly know the reasons but things are not fine and you know that. So what do you do, for temporary relief you smoke/drink/party. But once you come out from that illusion the uneasiness stares back at you. And you stare back with a smile, accepting the truth.

Celebration Time

2005-03-28T13:51:00.000+05:30

Yours truly celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday with couple of friends.

Why do we celebrate birthdays? I mean whats the point in cutting cakes and distributing sweets and partying for something which happened without your efforts. You agree, right?

The 26th tag set me thinking. 26 years gone by. Just like that. Feels like yesterday, those days in school and college. You suddenly realize you are grown up and feel the burden of responsibilities on your shoulders. The whole thing made me kind of sad.

Reminds me of the beautiful lyrics of this song called "Time" by Floyd.....

You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then the one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun
And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's
sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older
And shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Lord Of The Rings musical.

2005-03-17T11:06:00.000+05:30

They are making a musical of LOTR to be staged in Toronto. I wonder how will they come up with all those special effects.

And guess who is composing the music for the epic, our very own A. R. Rehman.

Check out the detailed news here.

Crazy days !!!

2005-03-08T20:05:00.000+05:30

No time.

Boozing. Partying. Playing TT. Jamming. Coding. Sleeping. Sweating. Tripping. Listening. Talking. Loving. Longing. Waiting.

Keeps me busy.

BTW I missed Mark Knopfler's show :-( Its really SAD. One of the legends comes to India and I miss it !!! Really love the way he plays his guitar. Effortless. Arguably the most melodic guitarist. ( Ofcourse Dave Gilmour from Floyd is also there ) I will curse myself for days to come, for not attending the concert. But the timing of the show was weird. He performed on a Monday evening in Bangalore. I mean thats real crazy. Atleast they should have kept it on a Sunday evening. Anyways, its over now....

Of the Oscars.......

2005-02-28T12:26:00.000+05:30

Getting nominated seven times for an Oscar and never winning one is a rare fit not everyone can achieve. I don't know why the Oscar guys hate Martin Scorsese so much.

I haven't seen "Million Dollar Baby", so can't really say if Clint Eastwood deserved the best director Oscar. But Scrosese's direction for "The Aviator" is mind blowing. Don't miss the movie at any cost. "Leonardo DiCaprio" is brilliant as the eccentric businessman Howard Hughes. I think he is the most underrated actor currently in Hollywood. After watching "The Aviator" I was pretty sure he will bag home the Oscar. Again I haven't seen "Ray", so can't say if "Jamie Foxx" was better than "DiCaprio".

Read somewhere that "Black" is Sanjay Lila Bansali's yet another attempt at Oscar. If that is the case, I am disappointed. The movie is good, but don't think will even get shortlisted for the final round if it is India's entry to the Oscars. I think SLB tried too hard. Mr. Amitabh Bachhan delivers an impeccable performance once again. Rani is impressive, but the highlight of the movie is Ayesha Kapoor. A good movie but could have been better.

Boys Of Summer

2005-02-21T13:44:00.000+05:30

Summer time...
Hot Afternoons...
T-Shirts and Cargos...
Empty Streets...
Watercoolers and AC...
Dull Weekends...
Crowded evenings...
Weak Appetite...
Cold drinks...
Tons of Water...

I hate summer.

Thank God good part of my day is spent in the office. Last weekend I suddenly realized summer is here, when I went out to grab something for lunch at 1PM. The streets were empty and so were most of the shops. Go out for couple of minutes in the blistering sun and the experience drains out every ounce of energy you had in you.

I wonder how is it gonna be in April/May? ( I have seen the worse during my Pilani days, though )

This heat leaves me no option but to watch movies on weekends. Saw five of them the last weekend. Barry Levinson's "Rainman" and "Wag The Dog". Both movies were good but could have been made better.

Best of the lot was the classic "Oliver" which is based on "Olivers Twist" by "Charles Dickens". If you love musicals, this is a must watch. Mind blowing music and choreography. My another favourite musical being "West Side Story".

And the modern classic "Pulp Fiction". Have seen it N number of times and everytime I watch it, I get a bang out of it.

The weekend that was.....

2005-02-07T16:38:00.000+05:30

I realized my flat was a mess when the landlord came to collect the rent on Saturday. He said with sarcasm, You have kept the flat pretty tidy. His remarks set me thinking and thus began "Operation CleanUp".

I sometimes curse myself for staying in a 2BHK flat, when I definitely don't need more than 2 rooms. All you can find in the hall are books. The master bedroom contains my bed and the wardrobe and the second bedroom contains my computer and the guitars with the gear. The kitchen is literally empty, not a single utensil. You might think cleaning then would be a much more simple. Believe me it only makes it tough with all the empty space in the rooms.

If not done on a regular basis, cleaning, can be a frustrating chore. I first shifted stuff from a bedroom to another so that I could do the sweeping and mopping properly. It took good 3 hours from the precious weekend hours to finish everything. It is at times like these, I am hit by the fact that I need to work out a bit. But I was happy about the results and decided to stay home and treat myself to "The Usual Suspects".

Also visited the much hyped "Hyderabad Central" mall for the first time. Being a weekend, it was stuffed with people and what can I say about the management, just one word, lousy. It took 15 minutes to park my car in the area they call "Parking Space". But the offerings on the four floors were decent enough with almost all good brands setting shops there. I had a friend with me for shopping. When it comes to shopping I have this idea in my mind about the stuff I want to purchase. I just go and pick the first thing which I like and thats it, its the end of my shopping. My friend on the other hand is an extreme end, he insists on having a look at each and every color/brand available before settling for something. And I thought only gals are finicky about shopping.

Visited the book shop in the mall but was let down when they told me they don't have "The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time". Planet-M was not to the mark, with very limited collection, but they had a DVD of award winning documentary on Woodstock.

Not to forget, I was really impressed with the alterations service which they offer. Fast and free while maintaining the quality. Managed to peep into the room where alterations were done and was amazed to see 15 tailors sitting in a very small room, speeding the machines through the trousers at 10'o clock in the night. Met at work. I wish I had my camera with me to capture that moment.....

Pics

2005-01-28T18:57:00.000+05:30

Enjoy some pics from my trip to Konkan.

Before sunset....

The sea shore....

Lines in sand....

The beautiful landscape....

The Rocky Beach....

Guess me if you can....

On the waterfront....

Sunset blvd....

Much Needed Break......

2005-01-21T13:51:00.000+05:30

I am off to a small sleepy town "Kelashi", to meet Dad and Mom. Dad has been posted there since last year.

And he has been all praise for this place. Its a small town in the Ratnagiri district, on the coastal Maharashtra ( also known as Konkan ). Hoping to have some good time.( A bit scared because of the tsunami thing )

Will be posting some snaps of the country side once I am back from the trip.

I have been working pretty hard recently and need to slow down a bit. Maybe this trip will charge me up for quite some time.

You guys have a nice time and enjoy.

BTW Sania lost to Serena in the third round of Australian open. Nevertheless she has done us proud and considering the fact that age is on her side I won't be surprised if she bags home a grand slam title in the coming days.

Google

2005-01-14T13:05:00.000+05:30

If you are a techie unlike me, working for Google is what you should aim for.

If you think Google is just a search engine, think again. Apart from the world's fastest search engine, they also have the fast growing 1GB mail service GMAIL and the hit online networking portal ORKUT. Not to forget the ground which we blog on, Blogger is also owned by Google.

And now they are offering a "mini" search application for SMEs. Check out the NEWS here.

If all you did on Google.com was search, check out the following pages on Google.com.

1) Features apart from searching on Google.

2) Free downloads from Google. My personal favorite is the Google Toolbar. ( It blocks the stupid annoying pop-ups )

3) Google's technology playground

4) The Google story.

5) All those creative holiday logos.

New Year Resolutions.......

2005-01-09T14:08:00.000+05:30

Finding it really tough to keep up with my new year resolutions. Smoking is one killer addiction. Your body needs the nicotine and if you stop suddenly the body reacts in a weird way. I am having this irritating gum itch. Its been just a week since I inhaled that smoke from Goldflake lights and feels like its been almost ages. Its gonna be one tough resolution.

Drinking on the other hand is very easy to quit. Haven't had much trouble on that front. Just the SAD feeling when you cross a PUB while commuting.

But again as they say "Resolutions are meant to be broken", I think I will break the resolutions some day. But for the time being trying to stick with them.

Have been really busy last week. Blogging frequency has suffered due to the sudden spurt in the work assigned.

Called up a friend day before and had a long chat. Was speaking with her after couple of months. Felt really good after the talk. Decided to add one more resolution to the already tall list of resolutions. Try to catch up with old friends and be in touch with them. Once into a professional life you get tangled so much in the work that you tend to forget, there is more to life than just work.

Happy New Year !!!

2004-12-31T14:14:00.000+05:30

Swades

2004-12-30T10:21:00.000+05:30

Excellent !!!

Can't ask for more. A sincere effort from Ashutosh Gowarikar. This is not the run of the mill NRI movie. There is class and substance in this one.

Cast lineup is good. I personally feel this is Shahrukh's best movie. Gayatri Joshi is promising, considering the fact that its her first movie. Music and the background score is good.

Don't miss it at any cost.

And something which totally contradicts what is shown in the movie. According to a media report in Washington India is world's 4th largest economy. Here is the news in rediff.

Child Bear

2004-12-22T21:23:00.000+05:30

How about some Child Bear?

Gastronomic Delights

2004-12-20T10:21:00.000+05:30

Since the day I arrived in Hyderabad, I have been hogging the famous Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani regularly. It definitely deserves a post on my blog. So here it is...

History:
In the olden days when the armies marched long stretches, they were to be fed in the most befittingly nutritious manner. Hence they carried with them herds of sheep, goats and rations of rice and wheat. The meat was then cooked with rice or wheat, what was cooked with rice came to be known as Biryani and with wheat as Haleem. The Nizam and other members of the royal family with unwavered dedication from the royal cooks perfected this most ordinary cooking by using expensive, special and aromatic ingredients to produce food of the highest quality of taste and nutrition. The extent of care taken is evident from the fact that even the metal that is used in cooking is predominantly copper, which helps in slow cooking, while retaining the flavours of the meat and spices.

Where in Hyderabad:
There are quite a few places famous for Chicken Biryani in Hyderabad. Paradise on M.G. Road, Secunderabad, serves arguably the best Chicken Biryani in Hyderabad. There is a place called "Bavarchi" on RTC cross roads which is also famous for its biryani. A chain of restaurants called "Hyderabad House" is also decent. But I personally prefer "Paradise" and "Bawarchi". If you happen to land in Hyderabad and want to savour the biryani, you know where to go....

Movie Crazy Hyderabad

2004-12-15T10:39:00.000+05:30

Hyderabadis are crazy about movies. Thrice we returned from Cinema halls without watching a movie, because of unavailability of tickets.

Van Helsing which was a disaster in US of A, is a super hit here. Any movie released, runs to full houses for atleast couple of weeks.

There is an excellent IMAX multiplex near Hussain Sagar Lake, but half of the twin city can be seen fighting for a ticket there.

What option do we have? Enter Super Seva. They take care of everything for people like us. You want your RTO documents cleared, you want to buy a railway/bus/air/movie ticket, you want to walk your dog, floss your cat. They will do it for you.

This time I don't want to drive all the way to Prasadz and come back without watching a movie. Super Seva will be given a chance to do some seva and book Ocean's Twelve tickets for us.

Because of the above mentioned reasons, normally I prefer watching movies at home. We rented this DVD of "Big Fish" and saw the movie at Amit's place on weekend. I think its Tim Burton's best movie, better than "Sleepy Hollow" and "Edward Scissorhands".

That reminds me, I am looking for a VCD/DVD of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"....But I guess I won't get it in Hyderabad. Maybe Landmark in Bangalore is the place.

Give peace a chance.....

2004-12-10T15:32:00.000+05:30

Why? Why are fans so obsessed with rock bands or rockstars?

Pantera was arguably the best heavy metal band you could head bang to. Wild and amazing riffs with those dark lyrics. But as usual, success gets into your head quickly and things go haywire.

Just because the founding members Dimebag Darrell and his brother decided to call it off, a crazy fan went on a killing spree leaving Darrell and three more people dead before he was shot dead by police.

Apparently he was upset because of the split in Patera. Why shoot people around? He should have shot himself. *Beep* lunatic.

Do you guys know why Chapman killed Lennon? He was motivated because of the "the attention Lennon's murder would generate".

All we are saying is give peace a chance !!!
-- John Lennon

SMS SPAM

2004-12-07T17:47:00.000+05:30

I am deep into fixing some BUG when I hear the SMS tone from my cell. Irrespective of the importance of the task on hand you just can't resist yourself when you have a SMS.

So I open my cell INBOX. What I get is.....

"Dial 700 from Ur Airtel and talk to renowned Astrologers @ Rs9/min. To listen to Ur favorite devotional chants, dial 701 @Rs4/min from Ur Airtel"

What the *Beep*?

I am in deep shit and the Airtel buggers want me to talk to a renowned Astrologer and see if he or she can predict some timeframe by which the BUG will be fixed or better ,I listen to some devotional chants and let the Almighty take care of the BUG.

I get back to the stupid BUG and after about an hour I hear the SMS ring tone from the cell. Again.

We never learn from mistakes, do we?

I think it must be an important SMS from one of my 17 girlfriends from Hyderabad. So I again open the cell INBOX.....

"Call 646193 for atleast 3 mins/day & win 2X5 gm Gold Daily. Bumper prize of HondaCity, SantroCars. Listen to hilarious Telugu jokes. Conditions apply."

"Listen to hilarious Telugu jokes."

What a *beep* joke? Apart from "Ledu", I don't know a single word in Telugu.

Party till you drop......

2004-12-06T14:01:00.000+05:30

My body still aches....Shouldn't have danced so much....Couldn't help it actually. When you have a good DJ to rock the crowd and 10,000 Watts of loud music, you just can't control yourself.

We had an office bash on Saturday to celebrate completion of one year of operations in India. Venue was a resort called "Alankrita", about 15 kms from Secundarabad.

Everything was managed by an Event Management Company and must say that they did a pretty good job.

Unlimited booze, lots of games, good food and the dance party made sure that everyone had rockin time.

After that tiresome party all I could do on Sunday was have a haircut and sleep like a log.

Ahh....not to forget I read DBC Pierre's smashing debut novel "Vernon God Little" and enjoyed it immensely. It reminded me of "Catcher In The Rye" but nevertheless it was good stuff.

Deewar

2004-12-03T09:49:00.000+05:30

Anil : Pahale ye batao ke ek Bhai sun raha hai, ya Reliance Industries ka M.D. sun raha hai.

Mukesh : Jab tak ek bhai bolega tab tak ek bhai sunega, aur jab Reliance Energy ka M.D. bolega tab Reliance Industries ka M.D. sunega.

Indian Marriages

2004-11-28T13:49:00.000+05:30

Attending two marriages in a week is not a joke. ( Add to it one was in Nashik ) On Tuesday I attended Yogya's marriage in Nashik. Typical Maharashtrian marriage with delicious food. I also liked the venue a lot, it was a place called Birla Arogya Mandir on the Nashik-Pune highway. Serene atmosphere.

And Today I attended Harish's marriage, a friend from the company. Typical Telugu marriage, again with delicious food. The only difference, in Yogya's marriage the food was pure vegetarian while today we had Non-vegetarian option also. I ofcourse savored the chicken and mutton dishes.

Basically by attending the above mentioned marriages I witnessed the cultural difference which exists between two states in India, not to forget that the two states also share a boundary. The whole episode, made me think. You travel 100 Kms in India, and things change. Language changes, food changes, customs and traditions change. I guess no other country in the world can claim the cultural variety which India brings. I am fascinated.

Mute Me

2004-11-18T20:24:00.000+05:30

I am down with sore throat and flu. That explains the suffered blogging frequency. The journey back to Hyd from Pune in that AP tourism volvo was the trigger for the cough and flu I guess.

Have you guys noticed one thing, whenever you fall sick, you realize that something is wrong after you get up. I mean when you go to sleep, your body is almost normal and as you wake up you realize that your throat is itching or your body is aching. It happens to you also, right? Or does it happen to me alone?

Ok lets talk about something else.

I read on Google News that Bill Gates gets 4 million e-mails a day. Now thats one tall number. ( Irrespective of the fact that most of it must be spam and hate mails :-) Imagine your mailbox flooded with 4 million e-mails on a day. What would you do? It would take the rest of your life to go through each and every mail. ( Ok, thats a bit of exaggeration )

Ahh...here is a review of Matrix by a Japanese kid who is Galvin's student. Have you guys visisted Galvin's blog? Its called Kind Of Crap and its one of the funniest blog I have read. Have fun.

Coffee and Programming

2004-11-10T09:30:00.000+05:30

Many a software professional start work in the office with a cup of coffee. Whats the reason behind Coffee being such a hit among software guys? Ofcourse, it works like a stimulant but I think there is more to it. So I visit "How Stuff Works", where I get all my answers normally.

Caffeine which gives coffee its kick, is an addictive drug which affects your brain the same way cocain and heroin do. Don't worry caffeine is milder than cocaine/heroin. But if you can't "Start" without that cup of coffee, there is a possibility that you are a caffeine addict. Caffeine normally provides high energy and heightened alertness which explains software professional's dependency on coffee.

Some Gyan :
Chemical formula for Caffeine : C8H10N4O2
In its pure form caffeine is a white powder with a bitter taste.

Some Fun :
Click here to start your day with that cup of coffee.

Waking up.......

2004-11-08T21:39:00.000+05:30

7:00 AM. The Alarm goes, Tring...Tring...I manage to get my hands on it in the haze and daze of half sleepiness. I stop it and close my half open eyes.

7:05 AM. The Alarm goes, Tring....Tring...Its in the snooze mode. Goddammit. I get up and change the Alarm time to 7:30 and crash again.

7:30 AM. The Alarm goes, Tring.....Tring....I have to get up. Got to shave. Getup Rahul. If you enter the office canteen after 8:45, you won't be able to catch up with the damsel in the next office.

I am ready by 8:25 AM. I know its a bit late, because she usually finishes her breakfast by 8:50 AM. It takes atleast 20 mins from my place to the office. Nahh...Today I also have to stop at the laundry and give my clothes for wash and iron. I hurry up, as I am about to pull my car out of the parking, I realize I am missing something. Mobile. Now mobile is one thing which I need always. Why I even need it next to my bed when I go to sleep. I feel secure and connected when I have it with me. So I rush back to the fifth floor and get the mobile. Drive like Michael Schumaker to the office. The only difference, he normally is behind the wheels of a Ferrari while I am behind the wheels of a Maruti 800. While entering the canteen I look at the time, its 8:53 AM. She is done with her breakfast and must be already working by now. Curse myself for getting up late. Grab a Orange juice from the canteen and head for the desk.

Thats exactly how my day started.....

Coming to the weekend that was.....

Alexander of Dolce Music institute is going to give me Guitar lessons. Why I even attended the second class on Saturday. Alex is a cool dude with good knowledge about Guitar, Piano, Violin and Drums ( that's a long list ). He was in Singapore for couple of years where he was the lead guitarist of a band. He moved to Hyderabad and started DOLCE music institute. Taught me to play "The House Of The Rising Sun" by Animals in the first class. Cool huh....

After the class went to Abids and Koti to buy some books, ended up buying lots of stuff save books. Hyderabad streets are flooded nowadays with people shopping on the occasion of Diwali and Ramzan. After that tiresome shopping experience, good dinner was a necessity, we decided to go to Cafe Bahar which is famous for its Biryani. Biryani was definitely upto the expectations.

How about a movie? Rented out "Guns Of Navaron". I wanted to see this movie since a long time, never got a chance or time. In the CD shop met two gals from NIFT ( National Institute Of Fashion Technology ). And must tell you that NIFT crowd is GOOD.

Ok, so coming back to "Guns Of Navaron", if you guys have seen the movie I don't have to tell you what a great movie it is and stuff. Inspite of the fact that it was released in 1961, if you see the special effects, they are amazingly well done. And ofcourse when you have a cast which includes Gregory Peck, Anthony Quine and David Niven the movie is definitely going to be worth a watch.

Work Galore

2004-11-04T09:30:00.000+05:30

I am buried neck deep in work. Here is how my typical day goes.

Get up at 7:00 AM. Get ready and drive to office before 8:45 AM. Work from 9:00 AM till late in the evening ( or shall we say night ) normally till 10.00 or 11.00 PM. Go home and hit the bed. Get up.......

I am in office even on weekends. Its driving me crazy.

Looks like I won't be able to make it to Pune for Diwali. Mom and Dad are definitely going to be sore over this, but can't help it. I have this BIG release on 15th of this month. Got to finish everything by then. And given the fact that I am new to this firm and to the product on which I am working on, its gonna be one helluva tough task.

Hope that things will be a bit easy after 15th.

While I was busy banging code yesterday night George W. Bush was celebrating his splendid victory over Democratic chanllenger John Kerry. I am happy about the results, I always wished that Bush wins.

Pics from Ramoji Film City Trip

2004-10-29T09:56:00.000+05:30

No private vehicles allowed inside. Its quite a distance from the main entrance. They have buses which take you to the heart of the film city.

Shangrila Garderns.

Birds eye view of Shangrila Gardens.

Dump Bin.

There were so many gardens. I don't remember which one was this.

The Rain Dance

Thats me and Yogya....Exhausted and laughing over some silly joke.

Here is the trip's account in Yogya's words.

There was lot of emotions in air when we met up. Friends meeting up after long time and so on. I could bet that friendgod above was singing happy songs but as I am not a betting man I shall pass the opportunity. Naturally none of this happened but still makes for good copy. With total English manners, we shook our hands and commented on whether and got going. He had a nice house though if it was a bit further I could have said that he lived in forest. As for what we should do , we decided to let Ramoji Film city have the pleasure of our company. It was bally thousands of kilometers away from the city but once we started we had decided to complete the quest and go there. On the way, I counted that we asked seven hundred and fifty seven people about the directions and as most of them were people with nothing evil in mind against us, we managed to reach there just after sun had crossed the midway mark. Driving was a pleasure outside city and I will have to say that as long as roads are that good, drives can be considered as a pleasant recreation. It was huge area and those guys had private buses to take us in the interior of filmcity from highway.

As we entered the film city, we realized that this was something different. They claim to be the biggest such thing in world but even if they are not the biggest they definitely are among the best. Infra was very good and there were gardens aplenty, the entire area was meticulously planned and maintained. The guy seemed a greeko-roman lover. There were venuses and apollos along with helens aplenty and most of them in the long honoured tradition were wearing something similar and lesser then what mandakini wore. But the status were aplenty and will have to say were impressive, even if they were of plaster of Paris. There was this one Ulysses or Hercules driving a chariot which occupied deserved centerstage. Surrounded by a small circular garden and a structure which seemed to move as we say with the force of horses pulling it, it was quite different then what we see around cities where dead netas who no one cares about live in every nook and corner. As we got down from bus, there were tours lining up. With the greed of American tourist to cram up as many as possible as quickly as possible, we jumped into one and readied our cameras, rather readied Rahul's camera. It was a tour through the entire campus and he showed up places where they blow up apartments and jails and railway station and some two dozen gardens and pathways which were very nice. There were jap gardens and theme gardens. The guide was an ass with wisecracks about something or other which were rather cheap but that doesnt mean that he was not fun for little bit. As we walked around all this, we felt it was nice but as guys go there wasnt much enthu in us in going and looking in all nooks and corners.

I don't know if you have noticed this, but when only guys go out, they will look around and enjoy the scenery but soon they will look for smoke or just chat and so on. I think that for something of this sort when one is supposed to look around the various things natural girls are a great help. They are the ones who spur on the guys to look for this and look for that. Their oohs and aahs and looking for small stuff is something that is distinctly missing in guys. So naturally after small bit we started looking for smoke or food. Finding neither we abandoned our foray into the garden country and went to main area. Now we were under the impression that place was not quite full and there were even some remarks bandied about how empty the place looks but as soon as we entered the eating area, we were thrown into cauldron of humanity.

Eating has to be up there with sex among things that obsesses people. I sometimes think that people care more about eating then they do about sex and if you don't believe it just compare the figures of people who are overweight due to eating and those who are oversexed. So the entire population visiting Ramoji city seemed to have descended on the restaurant for food. We struggled through and with strategic pushes and shoves, kicks and pinches managed to get near to the chappie who was taking the orders. Food was not good by a long way but still we managed to get that down.

Then we went to dance show and it was decent one. In film city we watched filmy dance and I am sure that I saw rahul salivating at couple of decent looking females but that is to be expected. It was just some music and acrobatic dancing but definitely value for money. Same goes for Wild West show that we went to. Stunts were rather good and worth a dekko was our verdict.

Now i was feeling thirsty for beer but others were not so keen on the stuff so we decided to stick around for a while. There was another area for recreation and we went there. There was scary looking merry go round and considering that we were scared a lot just to look at it, we decided to take a pass and do something that wont be so threatening to life. So we did a bit of rope sliding and bungie jumping. That jumping thing requires lot of stamina, let me tell you. From there we went to the maze and it was wonderful experiece. Thet was amoung the best things on offer over there. The scenes were scary and there were lot of things that we expect but still can thrill us. One of them which had racks falling on people was so realistic that one for a second got frozen. But naturally it was unlike the maze which harry potter had to clear and without any He who must not be named as our nemesis we came out quite safely and happily.

It was time for journey back though there was some dancing under the showers which really tempted me but couldnt do due to lack of enthusiasm exhibited by others. As we waited for the bus, the junta seemed to getting ready for customery fight and pushing and pulling. I dont know why people dont have the common sense to wait for some time. I always try but with all the pushing one just gets this impulse of joinin in the frey. So with buses there was lot of pushing and shoving in which we also participated with all the gaity and abandon shown by fellow revellers and managed to grab window seats which can be considered as equivalent to olympic gold in stuggle of bus entry sport.

Mondegreens

2004-10-26T20:15:00.000+05:30

Question: What are Mondegreens?
Answer: They are the mangled, minunderstood, misheard and mispronounced lyrics.

There is a pretty good collection on the web. Believe me its really funny. I couldn't control my laugh after reading couple of them.

Some Mondegreens for you.....

'Scuse me while I kiss this guy.
Actual lyric:'Scuse me while I kiss the sky.
Artist: Hendrix ( Purple Haze )

Are you going to starve an old friend?
Actual lyric: Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Artist: S&G ( Scarborough Fair )

Home, where my love lies waiting, Simon, weep for me.
Actual lyric: Home, where my love lies waiting, silently for me.
Artist: S&G ( Homeward Bound )

I shot the Sheriff, but I didn't shoot him dead you see.
Actual lyric:I shot the Sheriff, but I didn't shoot the deputy.
Artist: Clapton ( I shot the Sheriff )

KissThisGuy has got a huge collection of Mondegreens. Have a blast !!!

Happy Dussera

2004-10-21T18:04:00.000+05:30

It is believed that Goddess Durga on her 10 day journey around the earth removes all evil.......

May Goddess Durga destroy all evil around you and fill your life with happiness and prosperity.

Happy Dussera

BTW I am off to Pune today. Will be back on Monday. Yippee.....

Half Life

2004-10-19T21:25:00.000+05:30

How many of you are computer games freaks? I was one during my college days. I can't remember the innumerable nights we spent playing games.

There was this game called Half Life which was pretty cool with all the 3D effects. Moreover, it used to run smoothly on any 4MB AGP card. It was an instant hit on our campus then. Read that they are coming up with the sequel to the original one. Here is the detailed news.

Though my all time personal favs are

1) Mortal Combat
2) NFS II
3) Age Of Ampires

Dhola Ri Dhani

2004-10-16T19:22:00.000+05:30

Today we had an office outing to a place called Dhola Ri Dhani which is located some 11 Kms outside Hyderabad. Its an ethnic Rajasthani theme resort. Decent place if you are planning to have a office trip or some bash. I'll post the snaps once I download them to my PC.

We started from the campus at around 10:15 and reached the place at around 11:15, thanks to the suberb traffic management in the city. As we entered the resort two guys dressed in Rajasthani outfits played the Dhol ( its a kind of drum ) and lead us to the reception where we were offered welcome drinks. That would be Jaljeera if you thought something else. After the snacks we had some real fun playing cricket and football.

The lunch was savory. Ethnic Rajasthani food. Add to that the elegant servers all dreseed in Rajasthani dresses, who were forcing sweets on our plates irrespective of our needs.

As we sat on the lawns trying to come to our senses a magician showed us his tricks. This guy was really funny. He kept cracking real nasty PJs. Once he said something like "Mein pichale mahine Hawaii gaya tha, thoda hawa khane ke liye"....and broke into a hysteric laugh.

I spent some time swimming and was glad to know that I still can go two laps without a break give the fact that I was off-swimming since last one year. Nice feeling. I think I can keep off the gym for another month or two.

Yes, we also had some smoke from Hukka. In three flavors actually. Strawberry, Apple and Mixed Fruit. I liked the Mixed fruit though. And boy, it was really smooth. I was a bit reluctant initially, thinking that it would screw the throat badly. But once I took the first drag all my doubts faded away and I enjoyed the smoke. I think because of the water filters, the smoke which you inhale is not hard on your throat. We ended our party with some masala tea.

All in all an excellent outing. Hyderabad, has got this thing for theme resorts. You will find lots of them in and around Hyderabad.

Coming soon....An account of our trip to Ramoji Film City by a friend of mine and some snaps from the same trip.

Miserable poetry

2004-10-12T20:59:00.000+05:30

Here is some really crappy poetry by yours truly.

The tasks assigned are not yet over,
As I am still undecided and hover.

Sure there is a nice way to bait,
But my blog friends will have to wait.

Yeah, I know its BAD and it sucks bigtime, just couldn't control myself.

Led Zep and LOTR

2004-10-06T18:40:00.000+05:30

I am a big fan of Led Zep and LOTR. Couple of minutes ago I was listening to "Battle Of Evermore" which happens to be one of my fav song from LedZep. In the song there is a line which refers "the ringwraiths". Now I have been listening to this song since years, but never before it occurred to me that it will have anything to do with LOTR. I open Google and give a search for "Led Zep + Lord Of The Rings + Battle Of Evermore" and this is what I get.

Apparently LedZep were heavily into LOTR and very much influenced by Tolkien's work.

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara

2004-10-06T18:16:00.000+05:30

Guys, here is a remake of "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" by Indians at MIT. Keep some time aside and have a look.

Click here for 10 MB Version.

Click here for 60 MB Version. ( Better Resolution )

Solitude.....

2004-10-04T19:32:00.000+05:30

After a three week stay in the company provided guest house, yesterday I shifted my base to the new flat. Shifting was fun because of the fact that my flat happens to be on the fifth floor and the escalator was out of order. Nice way to remind me that I need to work out a bit daily. Anyways after a gruelling Sunday afternoon and evening I was able to get the flat fixed with all the necessities. By 8 PM I was hungry as hell and had some really good food at a joint close to my place.

As I spent some time listening to "Vivaldi" and reading "1984" before going to bed, I started feeling uncomfortable and felt that the life in Pune was a better option and the decision to shift to Hyderabad was a mistake. After much introspection I came to the conclusion that the secluded surroundings were indirectly responsible for triggering the sudden thoughts. Its not that I am not used to stay alone but since last year or so I have been staying with my parents in Pune and it definitely makes you dependent(and I hate being dependent). I understood why they say "Man is a social animal". Anyways I am sure I will get used to this solitude and get something constructive out of it. Few things which I have planned.

1) Start strumming my guitar again ( This one has been on plans since ages )
2) Finish reading all the novels which I have accumulated recently.
3) Create a new skin for my blog. ( Inspired by Akshay )

Expectations.....

2004-09-29T19:20:00.000+05:30

At times I feel that the root of all problems in a relationship is "expectations". Why do we have expectations in a relationship? Can a relationship exist without expectations? Thoughts welcome.....

Of Comments and Trackback

2004-09-27T10:32:00.000+05:30

I have added Haloscan commenting and trackback feature to the blog so that I can post replies to the comments. In the process I lost all the previous comments to my posts :-( (Ofcourse I can get the comments by shifting to the old template, but of what good is a template if it doesn't allow reply to a comment)

Some cool features about Haloscan commenting.

1) You don't have to go to a new page for viewing the comments. The comments are displayed as part of a pop-up window.

2) You can customize your comments pop-up window.

3) The Web based installation is smooth.

Give it a try....Its pretty cool.

Hyderabadi Joke

2004-09-22T18:18:00.000+05:30

A joke from a friend of mine who says that this is a real life incident. (I don't believe him)

My friend who is from Bangalore had some official work in Hyderabad. Our guy landed in Hyderabad and wanted to take an auto from Airport road to Banjara Hills. He headed for the auto stand outside the airport and came near the first available auto. Following is the conversation which took place between him and the auto guy.

Auto Guy : Kidhar jaana hai saab?
Friend : Banjara hills, chaaloge kyaa? ( With a Kannada accent )
Auto Guy : Haaau ( Pronounced as HOW)
Friend: Mereko kya puchata, HOW??? Tereko pata nahi????
Auto Guy : Mer ku pata saab. Iske kate to haau bola.

My friend didn't know that "Haaau" is "Yes" in Hyderabadi hindi.

kill house_hunt

2004-09-20T16:41:00.000+05:30

Search for my abode came to an end this Saturday. I am happy and relieved. Whole thing was getting on my nerves. Finally had to settle for a 2BHK flat. Its gonna be too BIG for me, but can't help it. Don't want to share my place with someone and as told earlier finding 1BHK flat in Hyderabad is like Finding Nemo in Pacific Ocean.

Went out with couple of friends on Saturday night. Had some good time around Hussain Sagar lake. There is a huge monolithic statue of the Budhha on a rock in the center of the lack. Impressive.

Some good news on the work front. After a gap of almost 3-4 years, I might have to work on Linux again. I am thrilled. I remember those good ol days in college when we were Linux freaks and spent innumerable nights trying to configure the X Server. Most of us had SiS card on our machines which was not supported by Red Hat Linux distribution then. Bringing up the X Windows was the coolest thing you could do. Look at the Linux installation now. As smooth as Windows installation.

Hoping to have some good time with LiNuX.

Watching TV - II

2004-09-17T11:53:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I saw "Sanyaasi Mera Naam" on Star Gold. Have you guys seen the movie? Its one amazing piece of cinematic excellence. Do you know who plays the lead in the movie? Some of you must have guessed it from the movie's name......The one and only Mithun Da.

Great music. Great acting. Great script. Great direction. One Great movie.

Don't miss it at any cost.

PS : I have this nasty habbit of pushing myself to the limit. Yesterday I was just stress testing myself. I wanted to see how much crap I can take. I am happy about the results. I saw the movie till the end.

Watching TV

2004-09-16T17:14:00.000+05:30

At times watching TV can be a really frustrating experience. After a hectic day I decide to kill time by watching some TV before hitting bed. So I switch on the TV. Start surfing the channels. You know what is the problem with so many channels? You have so many options but hardly anything worth watching. I decide to put some songs. Good thing about this is you don't have to really get into a "Watching TV mood", you can just switch to other channel if the songs get irksome.

I switch to Mtv. Now, the Mtv guys are really lousy. Other music channels throw in a couple of ads between 3-4 songs. Mtv people throw in a song between ads. Its really frustrating. The songs which they play simply adds to that frustration. Nowadays they play mainly those loose remixes with loads of flesh in the videos. When I switched to Mtv they were playing "Lekar Hum Diwana Dil" remix. I am sure if Panchamda would have been around listening that, he would have regretted being alive. Some ads and they play the next song. "Ye raat bhigi bhigi" remix by Nitin Bali. You guys know Nitin Bali, right? What? You don't know who Nitin Bali is? For chrissake? He is India's answer to Johnny Cash. Nitin is one cool dude (or that's what he thinks ). I don't know why he is carrying that guitar with him in the video. He pretends playing the lead in the song. No Mr. Bali, you can't fool around. Smart viewers ( like me ) can easily make out that you don't even know how to hold a guitar, forget about playing a song. But if you look at the video from artistic view its done pretty well. I mean its not vulgar. Its sensuous. You know what I mean. BTW do you guys remember there used to be a program called "House Of Noise" on Channel V? What happened to that? I remember they used to play really cool numbers. But that's a different story.

I get bored very soon and decide to switch to something more meaningful. How about a news channel? I change to CNN. I get a detailed report about how 5 demonstrators managed to get into House of Commons (British Parliament) to protest a ban on fox hunting. Yes, you read it right. Fox hunting.

I decide to switch off the TV. Start reading "The Dilbert Principle" to cheer things up. Much better option than watching TV.

PS :
Guys, I am not able to post replies to the comments. ( The company firewall is not allowing me. I know it sounds ridiculous. I am able to post a blog without any problem, but when I try to post a reply to a comment by a fellow reader I just get the "Company's internet policy" webpage )

So don't get down if you don't see any reply to your comments. I am not avoiding you. If you mail me and still don't get any reply, I am definitely avoiding you :-)

Hyderabad

2004-09-14T09:11:00.000+05:30

The stay here in Hyderabad so far has been pleasant. Company provided guest house is cool with all the facilities. The only thing which is keeping the spirits down is the house hunt. I am looking for a 1 BHK flat/house near the HITEC city, but looks like Hyderabadis have inveterate antipathy for 1 BHK flats/houses. I am sure it will be a tough time on that front.

Coming to the important aspect. Food. Well since I am a big time fan of Andhra Style food, I am not having any problem on this front. Water is a bit of problem though. It's a bit heavy. My throat is itchy since I arrived here. All guys from Pune complained about this.

Infrastructure is average. The roads are good, but they are not wide. During peak hours it gets pretty tough and you have a traffic rage. Ahh, the roads are capable of confusing you and its better to ask someone if you find yourself lost. Two days back while coming back from Ameerpeth I was lost and did a nice long drive around Hyderabad. The journey which ideally takes 30 minutes took more than 2 hours. Neverthless it was a learning experience.

Crowd. Well, can't exactly say that I am impressed by Hyderabad crowd. Actually haven't had much time to socialize, so maybe in the days to come I will update on that. Girls. After staying in Bangalore and Pune my expectations were very high. I was disappointed. Not a single decent face. But I knew that was coming.

Office. Its cool. My machine was ready by the time I joined and within half an hour I was connected. Office team looks great. Haven't got any real work. Undergoing some web-based training. Induction is next week.

Some cool things about this place...
1) No time logs....So as long as I finish my work no one is going to ask me.
2) Desktop configuration. ( Intel Pentium IV/ 1 GB of RAM / DVD combo drive )
3) Office pantry. Its much better than the one in my previous organization.

Happened to meet some Bitsians after a long time. Met Tikam while having dinner at Southern Spice. He is still with Intelli. The same Tikam I remember. He was my senior in Vyas Bhavan. Thanks to Mogru, Tanmay, Gappi, Rajiv, Garvit ( all seniors ) me and couple of my friends always used to be in his wing during the fresher's period. He never ragged us though. Very shy and introvert guy. Very much the same now also.

Also met Deepa yesterday. My batchmate. Actually we hardly spoke to each other during our college days. But it was great to catch up with her. Hope to meet some more guys/gals from BITS.

That will be my first post from Hyderabad.

Bye Bye Pune

2004-09-07T10:37:00.000+05:30

I am packing my stuff. My stay at Pune was awesome. Made some really great friends. But as they say "All good things must come to an end". I will be leaving my current employer and joining a firm in Hyderabad. Moving out of Pune on Thursday.

Your first job always has this special place in your heart. Fresh out of college and they mould you to take on the professional world. Its so different. Things which they teach us in engineering are rarely applied in real life scenario. Learned some really great stuff in this company. People say that three years is a long period when it comes to sticking with a software firm. Can't say, atleast in my case it was pretty fast. Before I realized I had spent three years in this company. But got to move on.

And need I talk about Pune. Its a great place. My stay here will be etched in my memory forever.

Things which I will miss.....

1) Long drive to my office in Hinjewadi. Especially in the rainy season.
2) Kacchi Dabheli and Wada Pav
3) Home made food ( This is going to be tough )
4) Hanging out with college friends
5) Stroll down the F.C. road after visiting British Library.

If oppurtunity knocks, will definitely consider coming back to Pune. But for the time being I will call it a stay.

Define irony. I am listening to this great song by "Simon and Garfunkel"......

I'm sitting in a railway station.
Got a ticket to my destination.
On a tour of one-night stand, my suitcase and guitar in hand.
And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band.
Homeward bound,
I wish I was,
Homeward bound.

Adios Pune.

Tatoo Of The Year

2004-09-03T08:48:00.000+05:30

This is really amusing. A bald guy turning his baldness into something which he can show off.....

Back in Pune

2004-08-31T08:49:00.000+05:30

It feels good to be in Pune. Life is funny. There was a time when I used to hate this place. Maybe the circumstances then made me feel that way. But the perception has definitely changed, and I feel Pune is not that bad a place.

Normally the memories associated with a place form an opinion about it. You ask a bunch of students freaking out on F.C. road about Pune and they will definitely come out with something like "Pune rocks". You ask a group of new joinees in TCS/Infy/Wipro having a great time in one of the pubs in Bangalore and they will say "Bangalore is the best".

So its the time you have in a place which decides whether the place sucks or rocks. I am definitely glad to be in Pune again.

This week is going to be an easy one, with literally nothing to do on the work front. So reading and browsing is what I have on mind.

Bangalore Trip - II

2004-08-25T18:41:00.000+05:30

Life is hectic suddenly with tons of work , but it gets over this weekend. And I expect my next week to be free. Had to fly to Bangalore last week for some urgent official work and am still stuck up with that. How I hate last minute issues.....

But the stay here has been pleasant. After witnessing that heavy downpour in Pune for weeks the sunny weather in Bangalore was a welcome change. Bangalore has been a fav city for me since I visited it first during my final year.

But I can see the infrastructure crumbling under the steady increase of traffic on Bangalore roads. It takes more than an hour to rech Airport road from BTM during peak hours. The flyover construction at Airport Road junction and Bannerghatta Road junction is still incomplete. I remember it started well before I left Bangalore for Pune almost a year back. And I don't think it will be completed within a year. Lousy state of affairs.

One more thing which I don't like about Bangalore is the lack of good cinema halls. Just one multiplex....that too somewhere on the outskirts of the city.

Recently there was a strike called by the Kannada Film Producers Assoc.
There demands....
1) Release all non-Kannada movies after 6 weeks from the date of the national release. ( I will have to wait for 6 weeks to see any English/Hindi movies which are released in India )
2) Rollback the decision to reduce entertainment tax from 70% to 40% for non-Kannada movies. ( I will have to spend more money for watching a non-Kannada movie )

Sounds ridiculous....Isn't it?

On the reading front, finished reading Jules Verne's "A journey to the center of the earth". Its an average novel. Maybe I was expecting too much. Yesterday started HP but was bored after reading couple of chapters.

Have started Dan Brown's Deception Point and it definitely is promising.

Independence Day

2004-08-14T11:15:00.000+05:30

Tomorrow we shall celebrate our 57th Independence Day.

There are memories associated with each and every festival we celebrate. Independence Day always reminds me of the school parade which we used to organize. Carrying Indian tricolor on our bicycles while going to school used to be a major thrill. Morning atomosphere used to be so energetic, one could hear patriotic songs played or radios/TVs. After the parade there used to be cultural programs which invariably had a group singing "Saare Jahaan Se Accha" or "Vande Mataram" and students performing a skit on a freedom fighter. Some sweets distribution used to end the ceremony.

After the school parade I used to rush back to catch the live transmission of parade at Red Fort on DD. Then DD was the only option. Me and my cousins used to get so excited watching our troops marching. The various missiles and tanks used to be the topic of discussion for quite some time after the parade.

But this was when we were kids. Things change as you grow up and so do the ways of celebrating a festival.

Is it true that as you grow you are less jingoistic? Or you are more bothered about materialistic things in life?

Happy Independence Day !!!

Bushy Olympics

2004-08-13T10:08:00.000+05:30

Bush begins his speech to pen the Olympic Games. He looks at his paper and says : Ooooooo! Ooooooo! Ooooooo!

For those who have not understood read further....

An aid comes over and whispers :
Mr. President, these are the Olympic rings. Your speech is below.

Music Creation.....

2004-08-12T13:59:00.000+05:30

I think creating sensible music is the most tough art to master. Whenever I listen to a great song, I think about the efforts which go behind it. I am listening to one helluva track from Floyd. Its called "Shine On You Crazy Diamond". One of my all time favorite from the Floyd stable. Must confess that I just can't get enough of this song. Have heard that this one is dedicated to Syd Barett. But that's a different story.

Coming back to the topic of music creation, I don't think creating such great music is possible when you are sane. It must be the high (on grass or whatever) which lets your creativity flow and such a masterpiece is recorded. Listen to Dave's guitar solos in the song and you will understand what I am talking.

No wonder almost all the rock bands of the flower generation were indulged in doping. But at the same time they also gave us great songs which will be there till the end of time.

How rich you are?

2004-08-11T09:19:00.000+05:30

Every year we gaze enviously at the lists of the richest people in world published by Forbes. Wondering what it would be like to have that sort of cash. But where would you sit on one of those lists?

Find out at Gobal Rich List.

Hope you'll feel better about your position in the globe !!!

Dreams

2004-08-10T14:58:00.000+05:30

Yesterday night I dreamt about missing a train. I am supposed to catch a train at 1:00PM. I realize that at 12:30. Haven't even packed my stuff. I dump stuff into my rucksack. Get on the road. Wave frantically at autos. Not even a single auto seems to be free. Finally get into one after much frantic waving. Make it to the railway station just in time. About to board the train, I realize tickets are not in the wallet. I forgot them back home. Bang. I wake up. Smile. Back to sleep, feeling happy that there is no train to catch.

I can never understand dreams. Have read somewhere that dreams are always in black in white. No colors in dreams except shades of grey. Is it true?

Two Days

2004-08-06T18:01:00.000+05:30

Two days of fun !!!
Two days, for recharging your batteries !!!
Two days, to catch up on the reading/studying/sleeping front !!!
Two days, to unwind yourself !!!
Two days, to freak out !!!
Two days, to be yourself !!!

Just two days.....Thats BAD !!!

Have a nice weekend.....

Don't Get Bangalored !!!

2004-08-05T14:44:00.000+05:30

Thanks to outsourcing, Bangalore has become a verb and don't be surprised if you see it in the next Webster edition. Apparently a US online anti-sourcing website is now marketing T-shirts saying “Don’t get Bangalored”.

The dictionary of old and new words actually has an entry for "BANGALORED".

I really don't understand the hue and cry over outsourcing. The very proponents of free world trade are making an issue out of outsourcing. Yeah, we know that its an election year in US of A. But I am really scared of that dumb Kerry. If he finds himself in White House, its sure going to be one tough job for us. I sincerely think no matter how stupid Bush is, he will make a better prez than Kerry. Atleast India will be assured about her IT and ITES success stories.

Back to home and rains play havoc in Maharashtra. Following pic tells Mumbai's monsoon story.

Some laws......

2004-08-03T09:49:00.000+05:30

Lorenz's Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Anthony's Law of the Workshop:
Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Kovac's Conundrum:
When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged one.

Cannon's Karmic Law:
If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

O'brien's Variation Law:
If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

Walk down the memory lane......

2004-08-02T15:08:00.000+05:30

Last Friday saw six Shahuites gather at the Bamboo House restaurant near Shivaji Nagar to celebrate Girish's stupendous success. Me and Girish reached Deccan at 6:45 and as expected no one was around. We decided to head for Bamboo House since it was drizzling. Amit joined us in couple of minutes. I was the only one with a drastic change in BMI since our Shahu days. Manish and Srihari arrived and the stage was set for an eventful evening.

We talked about our profs, gals from our batch and all the incidents which shall be part of our memories forever.

Some personal observations I made during the meet.

Girish : Not much changes since our 12th. Found out that he is gifted with a supernatural power of meeting friends, profs ( and for that matter whoever is remotely associated with Shahu ) in state transport buses. It was decided that Girish will have to go on a India tour, commuting strictly in state transport buses, to promote our Yahoo Group. ( Since he is bound to meet someone from our Shahu days ).

Manik : Still the loud mouth he used to be. Extremely funny and nice to talk with. One interesting fact.... he still remembers the roll numbers of gals from our batch. The problem is, he doesn't remember the names.

Amit : Soft-spoken, shy and very much the same Amit we remember. Nonetheless it was nice to catch up with him.

Manish : The only CA from our batch. If you guys don't remember, our man dropped out of Medical and Engineering after scoring those mind-boggling marks. He is practicing here at Pune and doing well. Stays silent most of the time but has the ability to crack real good one-liners when needed. He is the next one to get hooked.

Srihari : The only married guy I know from our batch. Keeps good knowledge about restaurants in Pune. So next time you land in Pune and don't know where to have your breakfast/lunch/dinner you know whom to ask.

To wrap it up, it was an evening which will stay with me for years to come.

What movie do you belong in ?

2004-07-29T09:58:00.000+05:30

Fight Club!

What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
brought to you by Quizilla

BTW did I tell you that I have seen this movie couple of times and really enjoyed it. Click here for more on Fight Club

Fahrenheit 9/11

2004-07-29T08:57:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I saw Fahrenheit 9/11. A great documentary.
Michael Moore the director argues that, embarrassed by its failure to bring Osama bin Laden to justice and at its own family links with the extremely wealthy Saudi Bin Laden family, Bush launched a war on Saddam. He takes aim at the Bush administration, whose tenure has been distinguished by unparalleled arrogance and incompetence.

Bush's rabbit-in-headlights expression while at a children's literacy event, getting told about the second plane hitting the towers are worth a watch. A clock appears in the corner of the screen, as the minutes tick by and the president keeps reading My Pet Goat, not knowing what to do.

The most powerful moments in the film are those that humanize U.S. troops, several of whom are shown criticizing the regime.

Don't miss it at any cost.

Click here for some fun with Dubya !!!

Monday Blues

2004-07-26T14:38:00.000+05:30

How I hate Mondays. Getting into the working mood after that big break is really tough, especially if you don't enjoy your work. ( No, don't start jumping with your assumption that I don't enjoy my work :-} )

Well, bought a new connector for my Guitar pick-up, as the old one refused to work. Installed Fruity Loops on my PC. I must say that this software rocks. You can create loops/music/beats using Fruity Loops. Did find some time to take out my Guitar and wipe the dust. But that's all I could do on the Guitar front. Maybe some strumming is in store today, once I get back home.

Yesterday was wasted on a hopeless bunch of 12 guys who have found themselves in the Indian cricket team to their amusement.

My Guitar Memoirs

2004-07-23T16:06:00.000+05:30

Friday, the most awaited day of the week. No special plans for the week. Just planning to take out my good old Guitar from the shambles and strum a bit.

The very mention of my Guitar takes me back to those days in BITS where I spent the most memorable four years of my life. It was third year in Engineering. The most important year academically. Never really made a big difference for me though. I was hell bent on learning Guitar. John my good friend was the lead guitarist of the college band. He was pretty good at it. He promised that he will teach me and SamT on weekends. Sumukh aka Kullu had bought this new Guitar from Delhi and had got some nice bashing from his parents for doing everthing except studies at BITS. He was hoping that some one buys the Guitar before we head for our summer vacations because he didn't have the guts to carry it home. He found a perfect buyer in me. Atul Gupta our beloved wingie also had a Guitar in his rooms, the only problem with his Guitar were the strings. Only two of them. Even now I can't control laughing when I am reminded of Atul playing his two string Guitar.

I was a proud owner of a new Givson. John our master used to teach us chords and tabs of some easy to learn songs. We were always in awe, John used to play Guitar without any effort, as if the Guitar was just an extension of his body. I learned my basics from him. Actually he taught a great deal about Guitar and the music theory. Then I had made my mind to give considerable time to Guitar learning once out of that concentration camp they call BITS. But after I left campus it never worked. Once into a professional life and you know how things are. Never found the time to change the rusted strings forget about learning some new stuff.

How Napolean Died?

2004-07-22T10:17:00.000+05:30

I am frustrated to core. Lost and Confused. Really don't know whats happening. I need a change. Maybe that will sort out things.

Its strange how easily we get bored with things. What would have been a novelty yesterday becomes a drag today. Is there a permanent solution for this problem? If you are aware of it then please let me know. I will be indebted.

Waiting for the weekend, so that I can do some soul searching. Maybe come up with some answers for the problem.

BTW if you are confused and wondering what Napolean has got to do with this, click here.

No time

2004-07-21T12:08:00.000+05:30

Really finding it tough to sqeeze some time from my hectic schedule to blog a few lines. My blogging frequency has suffered a lot because of this, the last self-blog came almost two weeks before and after that it has been forwards and some links all the way. At times a sofware professional's job becomes real erratic with no fixed course and time.

BTW saw Lakshya. Good movie. I never knew that Hrithik Roshan can act so well. Really loved the rock climbing stunts. Christopher Popp's cinemetography was awesome. Akhtar senior did a pretty good job with the dialogues and songs. Music of Shankar/Ehsaan/Loy is decent. I liked the "Agar mein kahu" number. Akhtar junior once again proved that he is a class director, but again I feel that Lakshya won't be a mass film just like Dil Chahta Hai. Eagerly waiting for his next movie.

For all you M. Night Shyamlan fans....Check out the following link
http://thevillage.movies.go.com/main.html

Why the Russians excel in chess..!!!

2004-07-20T09:00:00.000+05:30

After months of negotiation with the authorities, aTalmudist from Odessa(city in the erstwhile Sovietnear the Black Sea for those unfamiliar with "TheOdessa Files") was granted permission to visitMoscow.He boarded the train and found an empty seat.

At the next stop a young man got on and sat nextto him. The scholar looked at the young man andthought:This fellow doesn't look like a peasant, and if heisn't a peasant he probably comes from thisdistrict.If he comes from this district, then he must beJewish because this is, after all, a Jewish district.On the other hand, if he is a Jew, where could he begoing? I'm the only Jew in our district who haspermission to travel to Moscow.

Ahh? But just outside Moscow there is a littlevillage called Samvet, and Jews don't need specialpermission to go there. But why would he be going to Samvet?He's probably going to visit one of the Jewishfamilies there, but how many Jewish families arethere in Samvet? Only two - the Bernsteins and theSteinbergs. The Bernsteins are a terrible family,and a nice looking fellow like him must be visiting the Steinbergs.

But whyis he going? The Steinbergs have only daughters, so maybe he's theirson-in-law.But if he is, then which daughter did he marry? Theysay that Sarah married a nice lawyer from Budapest,and Esther married a businessman from Zhitomer, soit must be Sarah's husband. Which means that his nameis Alexander Cohen, if I'm not mistaken. But if hecomes from Budapest, with all the anti-Semitism they have there, he musthave changed his name.

What's the Hungarian equivalent of Cohen? Kovacs.But if they allowed him to change his name, he must havesome special status. What could it be? A doctoratefrom the University.

At this point the scholar turns to the young man andsays, "How do you do, Dr. Kovacs?""Very well, thank you, sir." answered the startledpassenger. But how is it that you know my name?""Oh," replied the Talmudist, "it was obvious."

Swaminomics

2004-07-14T10:41:00.000+05:30

Check out this site !!!
It gives all the articles written by Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar .

For the uninitiated the author writes for TOI and ET. The article in Sunday Times is also known as Swaminomics !!!

TAXATION

2004-07-14T09:59:00.000+05:30

Got this forward....

You've heard the cry in the past "It's just a tax cut for the rich!", and it is accepted as fact. But what does that really mean?

The following explanation may help.

Suppose that every day, 10 men go out for dinner. The bill for all 10 comes to $100. They decided to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, and it went like this:

* The first four men (the poorest) paid nothing.
* The fifth paid $1.
* The sixth $3.
* The seventh $7.
* The eighth $12.
* The ninth $18.
* The tenth man (the richest) paid $59.

All 10 were quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner
said: "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20." So now dinner for the 10 only cost $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes.

The first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But how should the other six, the paying customers, divvy up the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share"?

They realised that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth and sixth men would each end up being paid to eat. The restaurateur suggested reducing each man's bill by roughly the same percentage, thus:

* The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
* The sixth paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
* The seventh paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
* The eighth paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
* The ninth paid $14 instead of £18 (22% saving).
* The tenth paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off, and the first four continued to eat for free, but outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He

pointed to the tenth man "but he got $10!"
"That's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too.
It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner. The nine sat down and ate without him, but when they came to pay the bill, they discovered that they didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of it.

That, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up at the table anymore.

Document Reviews

2004-07-12T20:56:00.000+05:30

How I hate to review documents !!! Almost spent half day on reviewing a design doc. Boy, was it nerve breaking ? Booze is a necessity today.

Personality Quiz

2004-07-08T08:51:00.000+05:30

Try this personality quiz ....Its really amazing and gave me accurate results. I am impressed....

Lost For Words......

2004-07-07T18:47:00.000+05:30

...is exactly how I feel. I have not been quite myself in the last couple of week. Lost and confused. Everything is fine on the superficial level, but deep inside I miss something which I don't know. Sounds really crazy. But thats the way it is.

Its high time I decide about my long term goals. To take or not to take CAT is the BIG question in my mind nowadays. Haven't given it a good thought though.....

All I can think right now is the amazing lyrics of one helluva song by arguably the best band in the world......

Lost for words

I was spending my time in the doldrums
I was caught in a cauldron of hate
I felt persecuted and paralysed
I thought that everything else would just wait

While you are wasting your time on your enemies
Engulfed in a fever of spite
Beyond your tunnel vision reality fades
Like shadows into the night

To martyr yourself to caution
Is not going to help at all
because there'll be no safety in numbers
When the right one walks out of the door

Can you see your days blighted by darkness?
Is it true you beat your fists on the floor?
Stuck in a world of isolation
While the ivy grows over the door

So I open my door to my enemies
And I ask could we wipe the slate clean
But they tell me to please go fuck myself
You know you just can't win

Trip to Tikona Fort

2004-07-06T08:50:00.000+05:30

Started from Pune at around 9:30 AM. Took the expresshighway to Lonavala, and reached Karla caves at around 11:00 AM. The place was too crowded and I was a bit disappointed, we decided to shift our outing location to Tung/Tikona fort. After almost two hours of frantic journey around the Pawana dam and Kale colony we reached the base of Tikona fort. We decided to change there and carry our lunch with us.

The fort is of pyramid shape and hence popularly known as 'Tikona' or Triangle. It is also called as 'Vitangagad'. The fort is almost 3500 feet high. One can reach 6 Kms to 'Tikona Peth' village from Kale colony - near Kamshet. 'Tikona Peth' is the village nearest to fort Tikona. The trekking is tiresome. There are few monuments on the fort to see like the big doors, the temple of 'Trimbakeshwar Mahadev', a water tank and few caves of Satvahan era. The view of Pawna dam and other forts like Tung, Lohagad and Visapur is beautiful.

We took almost one and half hours to reach the top. After reaching the top using the slippery and high stone steps we realized that we shouldn't have climbed those steps.
Had our lunch there. Mom had cooked some Methi Paratha and Aloo subji. We were about to finish our lunch when it started drizzling. We decided to descend as it was getting late. Going down was much more tougher as compared to climbing up. Part of the trek was real slippery because of the continuous drizzle. Everyone was soaked in mud and really dirty.

We decided to head for a waterfall which is on the other side of the Pawana dam. I knew about this place because of my last trip to Bedse caves with my office team. After reaching the waterfall everyone just jumped into it. Me, Yogesh and Dada climbed the hill for more fun. As we stood under the water which came down heavily on us, I felt as if all my fatigue was getting washed away with the dirt. Soon we were summoned by mom and dad to get ready as it was getting dark. On the way to Pune we stopped at "Bhajan Singh's Dhaba". The chicken handi was delicious. Reached home at 10.00 PM. I slept within a minute of hitting the bed.

To conclude.... the bath at the waterfall near the Pawana dam was the high point of the trip to Tikona fort.

Trip to Bangalooru....

2004-06-29T20:02:00.000+05:30

Came back to Pune yesterday. The stay at Bangalore was pleasant thanks to the ever cool climate and buddies. I just love Bangalore. Can't seem to get enough !!! Visited the most talked about mall of the season...."The Forum" !!! Its cool.....I liked the multipurpose store landmark....I was looking for some Dave Matthews Band's tapes since ages and found them there.

Visit to Bangalore would have been incomplete without a visit to Maharaja. Went there twice with Nikhil.( Once for the delicious Andhra stype chicken biryani and once for the lunch ) One thing which I really miss in Pune is Maharaja's chicken biryani. I have had chicken biryani at "Tiranga" and some other place in Camp , but they are no real match to what I used to have at Maharaja's.

Ended the trip with a great party. Me, Sandy, Jayanth and Maddy visited this place called Bageecha which is on the outskirts of Bangalore. Nice ambience.....Decent food.....Costly booze. It was great to hear the brief account of Jayanth's shortlisted three candidates. Maddy has changed a lot, now he carries a mobile and keeps roaming in the hotel. Sandy was as cool as ever.

Bangalooru......

2004-06-25T19:07:00.000+05:30

I am in Bangalore for some official work. It has been one hectic week for me. Shall update you guys once I am back in Pune. Till then....RoCk On !!!

Blogger Code

2004-06-23T10:23:00.000+05:30

My blogger code is....

B1 d- t k s- u-- f i o x e l- c+

Click me for creating your blogger code.

Trip to Bedse Caves

2004-06-21T17:37:00.000+05:30

We started at noon from campus. 19 team mates out of the 23 members in the team were present. ( Sameer, Reema, Harish and Mandar being the absentees ) We took the bypass from Hinjwadi and soon we were on the old Mumbai - Pune highway. Since everyone was used to the expressway, even the 20 kms stretch on this old highway was unbearable. However we tried to make the journey as smooth as possible by starting Antakshari....Some things never change. Bedse caves are 8-10 Km south of Rautwadi which is in Kale Colony while going towards Phagana Dam on the river Pawana near Kamshet.

Within no time we were at the base of Bedse caves. Decided to have our grub there. Senthil our official cook for the trip had cooked amazing Chicken masala which everyone enjoyed. We started our trek to the caves after that. It was drizzling a bit and we could see lots of crabs around. From the village a trail leads up to the base of the hill, and is followed by a 20 minute climb to the caves. In the monsoons (June-September) the path can be slippery. There is absolutely no accommodation or other facility at caves. If you plan to camp in the village or on the hillside you need to bring everything you require. Soon the senior members ( read old guys ) from the team were struggling to keep up with the junior members ( read young guys ). But after reaching the top we were rewarded by the amazing scenery around us. Just too good.

The caves are facing east so it is advisable to visit the caves early morning as in sun light the beauty of carvings is doubled. An unusual feature of the caves is the mass of rock in front to the chaitya that hides the main facade. Two imposing pillars at the entrance create a striking effect characteristic of ancient places of worship. The Caves today are not well cared of. But still their beauty definitely catches hold of an aesthetic mind. We clicked lots of snaps here, and decided to visit Phagana Dam.

Outing Planned

2004-06-17T22:00:00.000+05:30

Had to finish a release today because of the planned trip tomorrow. Team has planned a outing to Bedse caves, which is around 30-40 kms from Pune on the Pune - Mumbai express highway. Should be fun. The only thing which is bothering me currently is the slight cold which I caught because of the drastic whether change in last few days. Anyways, I am planning to get wet in the rains if the Rain God continues His superb form. Will update all you fine people about the trip on Monday, maybe with couple of snaps. Till then have a nice time.....Enjoy your weekend !!!!

Monsoon is here

2004-06-16T08:43:00.000+05:30

Its been a while I wrote.....Its been raining cats n dogs since Monday in Pune. I have never seen continuous rainfall of this magnitude before. Its a great relief from the scorching heat but I miss my daily dose of sun rays.

Got to finish some important work today....Will post after I am done with it.

Of Hobbits and Elves......

2004-06-12T13:23:00.000+05:30

Check out this site.....

http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/

It generates your Hobbit and Elf name...

My Hobbit name : Hob Sandydowns
My Elf name : Círdan Eärfalas

Did I tell you that I am a LOTR fanatic. Have read the book thrice.....

Party Time

2004-06-11T18:14:00.000+05:30

I love Fridays...arguably the best day of week...I start getting into the weekend mood right from Friday morning, but prep for CAT and attending IMS classes is what normally makes my weekend, still I enjoy it. You get to stretch out and think beyond defects and releases. Considering the level of pressure under which IT professionals work, I think we should have Wednesday off as well. It will be nice...You know work for Monday, Tuesday take a small break on Wednesday, again work for Thursday and Friday before heading for that eagerly awaited weekend. Soundz great isn't it....

Planning to read "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" again. Last time I read it, hardly got anything, it was an enriching experience though. Lets see how much I can grasp this time.

Read this on ET....( Dated June 11 2004, last page )

Did you know why the Post Office guys recalled their latest stamps?
They had pictures of marketing men on them, and people couldn't figure out which side to spit on.

Its funny, but at the same time I felt, it was a sick remark on someone's profession !!!

Why Title?

2004-06-10T09:40:00.000+05:30

Hmmm...Finished a release yesterday. Am reading this book....Autobiography of LEE IACOCCA. Amazing autobiography....One of the best books I have read in recent times. He was president of FORD and was sacked for some stupid reasons. Dude joined CHRYSLER and saved it from bankruptcy. Great motivator this book is. After reading all the hard work he did, I kinda felt sad, people put so much of efforts to achieve and look at me. Funny isn’t it....Instead of inspiring, the book actually depressed me a bit.

My CAT preparation is going nowhere. After sitting infront of this stupid monitor for almost 9 to 10 hourse, its really tough to pull yourself together and do some prep at home. But I have to do it.....Come what may, I have to do it....

Read this oneliner somewhere "If Oppurtunity doesn't knock.....Build a door".

My FiRsT BlOg

2004-06-08T18:06:00.000+05:30

Here I come !!!