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Friday, December 24, 2004 Well.. As the most eagerly expected part of the holiday calendar approaches, I am only too glad that we are escaping this lovely British weather after about 1.5 years. We are heading to Singara Chennai and thereafter to Rock City. With 2 cities & few temples to shuttle around, couple of domestic functions to attend, never ending list of friends to meet/call, 2 big suitcase full of things to shop, quite a few dinner/lunch invites to decline with equal or more number of people to convince, lot of nitty-gritty things to experience, burning issues like Shankaracharya/Jayalakshmi etc to keep pace with - the 19 days (hmm.. that is less than 3 weeks.. damn!) from 28th instant promises to be hectic - but, interesting. We do hope to have a great time though.I would love to show my face in these pages but I doubt whether I would get enough time. Nevertheless, I would try. In the meanwhile, let me wish you & your family a very happy & prosperous 2005. Posted at 12/24/2004 09:12:48 AM Link Thursday, December 23, 2004 RaffleOne of the interesting prizes in this year's Christmas raffle at our office is an hour at the controls of Boeing 727. My chances of winning are 4 in 1200. I am not interested in other prizes like DVD-VCR combo, DVD player, compact camera etc, but wouldn't mind if they come my way. The draw is being held later this afternoon. UPDATE: Draw over. I drew a blank. Peace. Posted at 12/23/2004 10:27:01 AM Link Wednesday, December 22, 2004 Airport Experiences :: MumbaiPart 2 of 2 That thug called me aside and asked the following questions: Loop -- · What is your name? · What is your father’s name? · Where are you going? · What for are you going? · Where are you working? · Is this your first job? · When did you first go there? · Why did you come so quickly? · Exams? What exams? Which university? What semester? · Have you got the hall ticket? · Who is sponsoring you for the work permit? · How many branches does Ramco have? · What kind of business does Ramco do at UK? · What is your role? · Why did they choose you to send UK? · For how long you are with Ramco? · What is your qualification? · Why didn’t you come from Chennai itself directly? · Show me the appointment order of Ramco. · How much you are being paid? · Where do you stay in UK? (As if he would make out between 'Westminster' and 'West Mambalam') · Where is the proof of landing at Chennai. (Here I explained the story of the seal.. but he didn’t believe a word of it) Finally he said, "I don’t think you have come back by legal means". "What do you mean?" I retorted. He replied, "You have to tell" and sent me to another officer. -- End of Loop This loop continue 'n-1' number of times (n – around 10) when the (n-1)th officer had a spark and called out another officer yelling, "Saab! Voh, campootar aadhmi hein!!". The supposedly super-technical guy came to me, got seized of the issue and asked "Which area you are working?" I was about to tell, "Harrow", the name of the London suburb where Ramco's office was located in UK in those days. Before that he clarified saying, "I mean Windows 95 or Windows NT?" I was bowled over by his question and said "NT". He was too happy, so his smile said. He turned around to that first thug and spoke some words in Marathi again. The first thug would have been thinking all along, it appeared. Suddenly he woke up and asked me the airline by which I came from London. Luckily since I had booked the ticket for both onward and return journey together, I had the ticket with me. He immediately called up British Airways counter and enquired whether it is genuine. They confirmed it in seconds and he cleared me. After that, every one – right from the pan-chewing cop, n – 1 thugs, one computer expert came to me and apologised for the inconvenience caused. Don't know whether to laugh or cry about these guys. What would have been the situation had I told him that I am working on Linux? Don't know whether he would have considered me a technical guru - much above the ordinary campootar aadhmis or would he have considered me a cheat, who sneaked into the country by some illegal means. :-) Posted at 12/22/2004 10:37:48 AM Link Tuesday, December 21, 2004 Airport Experiences :: MumbaiAfter writing about my experiences at London Gatwick Airport, I felt that I should put down all the strange experiences I have had so far. Mumbai comes next in this series. Part 1 of 2 I came to UK for the first time in mid-April 2000. Within 6 weeks, in order to take up an examination to complete my Masters, I had to make a 5-day trip to Chennai. I headed to Chennai by British Airways flight and was slated to return from Mumbai by the same airliner. I was told by some of my friends that Bombay & New Delhi airport immigration people are generally troublesome. Not wanting to take any chance, I carried all relevant documents - from my mark sheets to Ration card copy. I reached Chhatrapathi Sivaji International Terminal at Mumbai very well in advance. After the check-in, I stood in the Immigration queue. I gave the relevant documents to the officer behind the desk. He scrutinised the passport and asked me when I came to India. I told him that I came back on 4th June instant. He asked me the proof for that. Normally, upon arrival a seal would be affixed on the passport by the immigration official at the port of embarkation. It was there on my passport too, but it was not very clear. (Flashback: While embarking at Chennai in the wee hours of June 4th, the guy behind the counter had put that seal sleepily and the date impression didn't fall on the passport properly. So, he manually wrote the date over the seal). This aroused suspicion in the minds of the officer and he called out "Arrrreey! Sawhney!!" (I couldn't help translating that name!). A pan-chewing cop emerged from nowhere and they had a lengthy conversation in Marathi after which that cop led me to another officer who looked like a thug. Posted at 12/21/2004 02:31:25 PM Link Monday, December 20, 2004 Christmas CarolsThis year I am making sure that I don't let any of the invites I get for Christmas carols go un-honoured. I realise that I had underestimated this carol singing as a mere religious ceremony when I attended one last week. Apart from the advantages of being served with Christmas cake & other pastry items ('masala vada' if its an Indian home), they provide a big network of acquaintances. Also, the carols themselves don’t push me into the territory of spirituality, as I had feared earlier. They are sung like a group/theme song and though I don't sing/know a word about it, I enjoy watching the faces of those who sing their heart out. Further, if you don't know the language in which it is sung, the better it is. More than anything else, it would train me for the future as well. If I happen to jump into politics when I return to India, as is the norm for any pseudo-secular politician, I would have to attend & host Ifthar parties. Attending carols would at least go a short way in getting trained towards that end. Posted at 12/20/2004 10:18:06 AM Link Friday, December 17, 2004 DPS case & IT Act of India - Points to ponderIn an interesting development in the Delhi Public School case, the CEO of Baazee.com - the Indian arm of Ebay has been arrested as the site had facilitated the sale of CD containing that controversial porn MMS. Leaving aside the argument whether or not sex & porn should be open/legal etc, I feel that the Information Technology Act of India (click here to read a part of the Act, especially look at Section 67 of Chapter 11) is a bit too harsh in this case leaving me ponder over the following points: - The website in question is an online market place where anyone can sell or buy anything though the site does stipulate that the users should not sell porn. The VCD, which was listed was removed from the site by the company after they became aware that it was porn. - I feel that it is practically impossible to monitor all the items that are being bought & sold in the site unless they mention about it in the product description explicitly. So, in what way would the CEO of the company be responsible for the spread of that MMS, while one can find it available in the Internet as free download? - If the CEO of a site could be arrested for unknowingly acting as a link facilitating the sale of a porn video, shouldn't the CEO(s) of the respective mobile networks be arrested as well for starting the spread in the first place? - If one of the the Google adverts you find at the top of this page links to a site that sells porn, would I be responsible for that? I am not campaigning for the availability of free porn over the Internet, but I feel that either the law is ambiguous or it is being misinterpreted or misused. As I said in one of my posts before, who are we to argue with law? Posted at 12/17/2004 04:49:43 PM Link Thursday, December 16, 2004 A brat had been playing with his dog in his garden. It was no ordinary dog, but a fierce looking one – quite huge for its kind, about 3 ft high, roughly the size of a bigger sized calf. For some reason, he chose to chase it out of his house and out went the dog. It was exactly at this time, I walked past that particular house on the way to work this morning. In the corner of the eye, I could see something running towards me and it appeared to me like a monster about to pounce on me and extract few kilos of flesh.Instantly, I jumped onto the road making the traffic come to a screeching halt. Had it been Chennai, I would have been fortunate to be showered upon with "saavugraaki", "vootla sollittu vandtiyaa" & few other encomiums. However, I was not so fortunate even to hear its English equivalent that the scared, old lady driving the car muttered. Meanwhile, the dog followed me to the road, but perhaps saw no point in chasing me and started running in a different direction. By the time the brat came out of the house and controlled the dog, I had sprinted across the road, safely jogging my way. Needless to say, I had one hell of a moment this morning. Posted at 12/16/2004 01:08:01 PM Link Wednesday, December 15, 2004 CampaignGot a nice, little, personally addressed - signed Xmas greeting card from Tobias Ellwood - Conservative candidate for the parliamentary elections from Bournemouth (addressing himself as "your prospective MP"). This is a good way to start the campaign with a personal touch considering General Elections are still a good 7 months away. Anyways, I don't think I would vote for Tobias next June. Posted at 12/15/2004 10:17:38 AM Link Tuesday, December 14, 2004 AdsenseI love Google. I am glad that I swallowed my pride and let Google litter my site with adverts, albeit in select few pages. Within 40 days of implementing Adsense, this site has managed to break even, raising enough money to cover domain registration & hosting bills for the year. Adsense does makes sense. Posted at 12/14/2004 09:12:17 AM Link Monday, December 13, 2004 MS
Posted at 12/13/2004 10:13:21 AM Link Friday, December 10, 2004 This day..q: What is the best way to remember your wife's birthday? a: Just forget it once. I remember reading this somewhere and made sure that I didn't have to use the above way. Happy Birthday, my dear! Posted at 12/10/2004 04:39:19 AM Link Thursday, December 09, 2004 CokeA can of Diet Coke was lying around in our house for quite sometime. Probably it was given free with something. As both me & my wife doesn't like Coke or any of its carbonated cousins, I decided to empty the contents into the wash basin. I have a feeling that the wash basin is cleaner & shinier than before. If what I feel is true, what could this damn thing do to our body? Nevertheless, found one useful thing to do with that stuff. Posted at 12/9/2004 09:52:21 AM Link Do you know what these red-jelly like things are?
Posted at 12/9/2004 09:51:33 AM Link Wednesday, December 08, 2004 Nokia 6230Reading Jag's post on the above mobile and also withstanding O2's annoying welcome message, I ordered a new Nokia 6230, which is gonna be my phone for the next 12 months. It gave me a lil' scare while I tried to open the battery case. I had to try hard to make it slide and open up, but it became easy after a while. Though I am yet to tap many of the features it has got, I am more than pleased with what I have seen so far. T-Mobile, the mobile operator with whom I was with earlier charges £20 for unlocking my old mobile. While I know that some networks do it for free if you remain with them for a certain period, there are umpteen shops & Internet sites, where they do it for a fraction of the money charged by T-Mobile. Someone told me that they are illegal, but I am not sure and wonder why they should be so. Guess what I have been doing? Whenever I get my new mobile, I insert some other network's SIM card before putting in the actual one. It automatically unlocks your mobile. Quite simple, huh? Posted at 12/8/2004 10:58:04 AM Link Tuesday, December 07, 2004 Blood DonationAfter a while, I donated blood & registered myself as a Bone marrow donor with the National Blood Service last evening. Before taking the blood, they would conduct a small test by taking a drop of blood from your finger. When I was called for this purpose, a young and innocent nurse said, "Fold in all the fingers and just show me your middle finger". God.. why couldn't I think straight & take the first meaning? ;) Posted at 12/7/2004 10:11:22 AM Link Monday, December 06, 2004 Bits & PiecesKrib's scintillating post on Trisha video last week (it has been removed now), the subsequent comments, Karthik's explanation of his views with a case example, Mr.Naavi's opinion on the need for the bloggers to tread safe et al made the week all the more interesting. That said, I feel that the law is unfair when it says that I would be responsible for the comments that appear in my blog. But then, who are we to argue with the law? Nevertheless, good few days of learning, indeed. On the home front, I accidentally switched on the TV yesterday and to my pleasant surprise, it worked. It stopped working few weeks back and I was about to dump it before leaving for India in 3 weeks. Thank god, I didn't do that. Was glad to see two girls Gayathri Kumar & Nisha Thomas reaching the finals of BBC - Hardspell. It is a sort of competition where a single letter would make the difference and it did making Gayathri, the winner. But I admired the other girl Nisha, who was very composed and took the loss in her own stride. After all, she would only be 12 or 13. Hats off to both the girls. Never before I have struggled to complete my assignment like I am now. It is an open book exam for one of the papers in my MBA. I was well on course while someone told that he failed the paper coz of a particular approach. Suddenly I realised that I am doing the same way and the prospect of having a re-sit wasn't that interesting. I decided to change tracks midway and as a result am racing against time coupled with the risk of compromising on quality. Perhaps, I should have listened to my head and carried on not bothering about what the other guy did. But it is too late now! Posted at 12/6/2004 01:35:04 PM Link Sunday, December 05, 2004 DevelopersOne of my neighbours, a printer is doing a course on Computer Networks. As a person relatively new to computers, he is all excited about it. More than that, he is in awe for those developing software. He was like "those writing code have lot of brains.. what a brilliant work they are doing.. brainy chaps they are". As he went on, I just squirmed, but thought "good for us, if you think so. let my boss too think in the same lines". He is the guy who on frequently seeing me drive a car with a 'L' board thought that I am a driving instructor. Posted at 12/5/2004 07:47:00 AM Link Friday, December 03, 2004 DHLI was supposed to receive a parcel sometime this week as the sender had told me that they have despatched the same through DHL. When I called up DHL to find out when it would be delivered, they said it would be done on a particular day and the parcel did arrive at the said date. Today, I got a call from DHL apologetically saying that they couldn't track the parcel intended to me and it is likely that they might have lost it. In case, if they couldn't track it within another couple of days, they would arrange for compensation to the sender. When I told about the status of my parcel, the guy sheepishly made note of the same. I heard a similar story about DHL from one another person as well. Looks like a good idea to send parcels through DHL. You could not only get your things in time but also get compensation. Whether you are victimised or not, they are keen on rewarding. :) Posted at 12/3/2004 10:18:12 AM Link Thursday, December 02, 2004 Male KindIf you can read Tamil, you might like this post. I did! :-) Posted at 12/2/2004 01:25:24 PM Link Wednesday, December 01, 2004 A Telephone conversationPizza Guy: Good Evening. GOGO pizza. Me: Hello, I am calling from xxxx Road. I ordered a pizza about an hour back. Has it been sent? Pizza Guy: Yeah! Me: Fine. I haven't got it yet. When did you send it? Pizza Guy: Yeah! Me: I am asking when you sent the pizza? Pizza Guy: Yeah! 10 minutes sir. Me: 10 minutes? Your shop is just 2 minutes away from my place. Has your delivery guy got my address right? Pizza Guy: Yeah! Me: Fine.. let me wait for him. -- 10 minutes later, I call up again. Pizza Guy: Good Evening. GOGO pizza. Me: Hello, I am calling from xxxx Road. My pizza hasn't been delivered yet. Have you sent it first of all? Pizza Guy: Yeah! Me: You said you have sent it long back. Still I haven't received it. Pizza Guy: Yeah! Me: What do you mean? Its more than an hour since I ordered. Pizza Guy: Yeah! 10 minutes late sir. Me: What are you saying? Haven't you sent it still? Why didn't you tell that before? Pizza Guy: Yeah! Me: Hello... How long do you expect me to wait? If you can't get it delivered in another 5 minutes, you can keep it yourself. I am cancelling the order. Pizza Guy: Yeah! I gave up! Posted at 12/1/2004 01:22:08 PM Link | ||||
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