Monday, September 18, 2006
SpiceJet fighting cyber terror!
I hope their in-flight security is not as tight as their "web security" -- LOL!
Friday, September 08, 2006
New high or new low?
I guess I'm astronomically late in getting to know about the bandwagon, but I noticed an ad in the Gomantak Times (for those of you who don't know -- that's one of the leading English dailies in Goa -- OMG!). The ad was about the ill effects of smoking and how to lead a tobacco free life and pointed you to the URL www.LowTobacLife.com. And just below that it said "A website on gadgets & gizmos, haute couture, books, lifestyle products, etc." WTF?!
A friend at office told me that it was a new form of surrogate advertising by ITC. A little googling led me to the Global Tobacco Control website, which claims that it actually is a new cigarette brand which causes no harm!
I don't know which is true, but (a) it's a fucking intelligent way to go surrogate and (b) it's a mean kick below the belt!
A friend at office told me that it was a new form of surrogate advertising by ITC. A little googling led me to the Global Tobacco Control website, which claims that it actually is a new cigarette brand which causes no harm!
I don't know which is true, but (a) it's a fucking intelligent way to go surrogate and (b) it's a mean kick below the belt!
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Look up!
It is seldom that one smiles at Indian airports -- especially Delhi. Yesterday was one such rare instance. While waiting for my luggage (which was a very long wait, btw) I happened to notice a long banner hung up very high:
And I couldn't help but look up at the ceiling and smile to myself :)
I've noticed quite a few lively banners and notices put up by GMR (the controversial company which outsed Reliance for the airport renovation bid). Really nice PR from a company that will mostly be viewed as a nuisance by passenger -- broken toilets, cramped up passages, closed pathways, etc.
You'll always look up to the Delhi Airport
The ceilings is getting repaired!
And I couldn't help but look up at the ceiling and smile to myself :)
I've noticed quite a few lively banners and notices put up by GMR (the controversial company which outsed Reliance for the airport renovation bid). Really nice PR from a company that will mostly be viewed as a nuisance by passenger -- broken toilets, cramped up passages, closed pathways, etc.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Linus Does It Again!
Check out some of the one-liners this guy comes up with... from a recent CNN interview:
CNN: Now you are something of a rock star in tech circles...
Linus: I don't notice that in normal life. I don't actually go to that many conferences. I do that a couple of times a year. Normally I am not recognized, people don't throw their panties at me. I'm a perfectly normal person sitting in my den just doing my job.
:-)
CNN: Now you are something of a rock star in tech circles...
Linus: I don't notice that in normal life. I don't actually go to that many conferences. I do that a couple of times a year. Normally I am not recognized, people don't throw their panties at me. I'm a perfectly normal person sitting in my den just doing my job.
:-)
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Yeh Jeena Bhi Koi Jeena Hai Lallu...
That's exactly how I felt after my recent trip to Mumbai. It's not that it was my maiden trip to the city -- I've been there a number of times before. But I've been mostly confined within my hotel room in VT during the night, and within my client's office during the day.
It was only during this trip that I ventured away from what is called the "town side". I was putting up at Malad at a friend's place. And was visiting Andheri during office hours, shopping at InOrbit Mall and Bandra during whatever free time I had. And I've never seen so many people every-fucking-where. There was not even a single place where the people-to-floorspace ratio was relatively less. Every place was as crowded as the other.
It was a mad house. For two continuous days I had a headache because of the humid heat and the constant noise of traffic.
What's the use of earning a package of 7 lakhs plus, in a city like this when you end up spending 7,000 for a measly little room which you don't even feel like calling a home! It looks more like a prison cell with the iron grills jutting out of the holes in the walls people like to call "windows"!
What's the use of earning so much when every day of your life you have to leave home at six in the morning cuz it takes two hours to train-hop and reach your office? Covered in someone else's sweat!
What's the use of living like insects crawling, fighting, jostling for space every living moment of your life?
It was only during this trip that I ventured away from what is called the "town side". I was putting up at Malad at a friend's place. And was visiting Andheri during office hours, shopping at InOrbit Mall and Bandra during whatever free time I had. And I've never seen so many people every-fucking-where. There was not even a single place where the people-to-floorspace ratio was relatively less. Every place was as crowded as the other.
It was a mad house. For two continuous days I had a headache because of the humid heat and the constant noise of traffic.
What's the use of earning a package of 7 lakhs plus, in a city like this when you end up spending 7,000 for a measly little room which you don't even feel like calling a home! It looks more like a prison cell with the iron grills jutting out of the holes in the walls people like to call "windows"!
What's the use of earning so much when every day of your life you have to leave home at six in the morning cuz it takes two hours to train-hop and reach your office? Covered in someone else's sweat!
What's the use of living like insects crawling, fighting, jostling for space every living moment of your life?
The Train to Hell
I was in Mumbai over the weekend. I had to board a bus from Bandra at 9:00 PM back to Goa. So I boarded a fast local from Church Gate to Bandra at about 8:00 PM. And that was the biggest mistake of my life!
I was smug about getting a seat at Church Gate and had a HUGE bag which was kept on one of the overhead racks. Bandra was about five or six stops away, so I was busy SMSing people left, right, and center.
The train stopped at Dadar.
"Bandra next station hai kya?"
"Haan. Aapko utarna hai kya?"
"Haan"
"To aap baithe kyun hue hain yahaan. Nikalna shuru kariye warna utar nahin paayenge"
I got up -- my bum was not even an inch away from the seat and poof -- someone else's butt was warming the wooden plank. I managed to pull my bag from the overhead rack... and that's all I managed to do. I was stuck! Literally stuck!
"Arre itna bada bag lekar kahaan chad gaye"
"Bhai sahab kahaan utarna hai aapko"
"Bhaiyya Bandra utarna hai"
"Arre toh dhakka maaro -- aise nahin utar paoge Bandra"
Shoving and heaving my way from out of the sitting area to the area right in front of the door I realized what I had just done. I had moved from an area with a packing fraction of 0.99 to an area with a packing fraction of 1.00!
Suddenly everyone in the compartment knew that there's an idiot with a huge bag on his head who was supposed to get off at Bandra and who still hasn't reached the door. Can you beat it -- I was just three feet away from the door!
"Bhai sahab -- so rahe the kya abhi tak, pehle utarna shuru karna chahiye tha na!"
Everyone around me was trying to inch me closer to the door. It's not like people were not trying -- but no one could fucking move! No one! It was a deadlock! Never in my life could I have imagined that so many people could squeeze into so little space.
I wasn't sure whether the sweat on my skin was mine or of the ten people I was in close contact with. I had to follow a seemingly dismembered elbow up to an arm up to a shoulder to a face to figure out who was hooked onto my arm with all his weight. The bugger was actually sleeping with all his weight hooked onto my arm -- bloody hooker!
Bandra came and went. More people got onto the train. Yes -- MORE PEOPLE!
Then finally, when Andheri came a BIG push from behind helped me traverse the last three feet to the door. I was out -- freedom at last!
I rushed back to Bandra on a fast local in the opposite direction, which was thankfully empty.
I just don't know what to make of my journey. Should I be amused about the state of affairs? Should I brush it off as "Life"? Should I be apathatic?
Why do people still come to Mumbai? Go back! No place -- house full!
I was smug about getting a seat at Church Gate and had a HUGE bag which was kept on one of the overhead racks. Bandra was about five or six stops away, so I was busy SMSing people left, right, and center.
The train stopped at Dadar.
"Bandra next station hai kya?"
"Haan. Aapko utarna hai kya?"
"Haan"
"To aap baithe kyun hue hain yahaan. Nikalna shuru kariye warna utar nahin paayenge"
I got up -- my bum was not even an inch away from the seat and poof -- someone else's butt was warming the wooden plank. I managed to pull my bag from the overhead rack... and that's all I managed to do. I was stuck! Literally stuck!
"Arre itna bada bag lekar kahaan chad gaye"
"Bhai sahab kahaan utarna hai aapko"
"Bhaiyya Bandra utarna hai"
"Arre toh dhakka maaro -- aise nahin utar paoge Bandra"
Shoving and heaving my way from out of the sitting area to the area right in front of the door I realized what I had just done. I had moved from an area with a packing fraction of 0.99 to an area with a packing fraction of 1.00!
Suddenly everyone in the compartment knew that there's an idiot with a huge bag on his head who was supposed to get off at Bandra and who still hasn't reached the door. Can you beat it -- I was just three feet away from the door!
"Bhai sahab -- so rahe the kya abhi tak, pehle utarna shuru karna chahiye tha na!"
Everyone around me was trying to inch me closer to the door. It's not like people were not trying -- but no one could fucking move! No one! It was a deadlock! Never in my life could I have imagined that so many people could squeeze into so little space.
I wasn't sure whether the sweat on my skin was mine or of the ten people I was in close contact with. I had to follow a seemingly dismembered elbow up to an arm up to a shoulder to a face to figure out who was hooked onto my arm with all his weight. The bugger was actually sleeping with all his weight hooked onto my arm -- bloody hooker!
Bandra came and went. More people got onto the train. Yes -- MORE PEOPLE!
Then finally, when Andheri came a BIG push from behind helped me traverse the last three feet to the door. I was out -- freedom at last!
I rushed back to Bandra on a fast local in the opposite direction, which was thankfully empty.
I just don't know what to make of my journey. Should I be amused about the state of affairs? Should I brush it off as "Life"? Should I be apathatic?
Why do people still come to Mumbai? Go back! No place -- house full!
Monday, March 27, 2006
Bachelors' Lunch
I haven't been blogging much lately. As I type my "comeback post", I'm trying to analyze the reasons of why this could be so. Three reasons come to my mind:
(1) I have drastically reduced the time that I spend on the computer.
(2) Whatever time I do spend, is mostly spent in working -- i.e. no more slashdotting and incessant Google Readering
(3) The "I-just-have-to-blog-about-this" feeling has subsided to quite an extent!
With that, I return to the topic of the post -- "The Bachelors' Lunch" -- which was probably the first 'event' of it's kind for me at Synapse. The idea about the lunch just popped out of nowhere as Shaalini, Mohan, Jwahar, and I were waiting for Abhi to get the '50% discount Marriot cake' on the night of 13th Feb.
Okay, sorry for another detour -- but I just have to tell you this. The pastry shop at Hotel Marriott gives away all bakery items at 50% discount after 9:00 PM every night! :-P Happy calorie counting!
So the idea that popped out of nowhere was that all bachelors at Synapse would cook lunch for everyone else the next day. Jawahar was given charge of logistics and managing the whole affair.
The many cooks that cooked up many a tasty broth were:
o Gurpreet with his Lemon Garlic Chicken - the one in the topmost pateela, right next to the Maggi Ketchup bottle
o Naveen with this Tossed Salad - the one in the red tub
o Moi with my Chilli Paneer - the one in the kadhai towards the bottom of the pic, more on this later
o Mohan with his Rasam & Rice - rasam in the bottom left corner
o I don't remember what was in that pressure cooker -- probably something that Jawahar cooked
o Then there was Italian Pasta by Zubin (not in the picture)
o Not to forget the Strawberry Shake by Kumar.
o Oh yes, and there was also the fraud Jal Jeera by Abhisek!
Moi posing proudly with my freshly cooked chilli paneer. I was the first one to get my hands down and dirty with all the choppping, dicing, and cooking!
My yummy chilli paneer in its full glory!
The general commotion in the kitchen. That's Indu in the saaree helping out us lesser mortals with the cooking. She's the inhouse cook whipping up a tasty menu week after week.
Gurpreet in the act.
Our CEO, Gourav Jaswal, getting a handful!
(1) I have drastically reduced the time that I spend on the computer.
(2) Whatever time I do spend, is mostly spent in working -- i.e. no more slashdotting and incessant Google Readering
(3) The "I-just-have-to-blog-about-this" feeling has subsided to quite an extent!
With that, I return to the topic of the post -- "The Bachelors' Lunch" -- which was probably the first 'event' of it's kind for me at Synapse. The idea about the lunch just popped out of nowhere as Shaalini, Mohan, Jwahar, and I were waiting for Abhi to get the '50% discount Marriot cake' on the night of 13th Feb.
Okay, sorry for another detour -- but I just have to tell you this. The pastry shop at Hotel Marriott gives away all bakery items at 50% discount after 9:00 PM every night! :-P Happy calorie counting!
So the idea that popped out of nowhere was that all bachelors at Synapse would cook lunch for everyone else the next day. Jawahar was given charge of logistics and managing the whole affair.
The many cooks that cooked up many a tasty broth were:
o Gurpreet with his Lemon Garlic Chicken - the one in the topmost pateela, right next to the Maggi Ketchup bottle
o Naveen with this Tossed Salad - the one in the red tub
o Moi with my Chilli Paneer - the one in the kadhai towards the bottom of the pic, more on this later
o Mohan with his Rasam & Rice - rasam in the bottom left corner
o I don't remember what was in that pressure cooker -- probably something that Jawahar cooked
o Then there was Italian Pasta by Zubin (not in the picture)
o Not to forget the Strawberry Shake by Kumar.
o Oh yes, and there was also the fraud Jal Jeera by Abhisek!
And now for some 'in-the-action' pics
Moi posing proudly with my freshly cooked chilli paneer. I was the first one to get my hands down and dirty with all the choppping, dicing, and cooking!
My yummy chilli paneer in its full glory!
The general commotion in the kitchen. That's Indu in the saaree helping out us lesser mortals with the cooking. She's the inhouse cook whipping up a tasty menu week after week.
Gurpreet in the act.
Our CEO, Gourav Jaswal, getting a handful!
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
E. Sreedharan
After seeing the Konkan Railway bridge here in Goa and realizing that I'd be using it quite frequently now :-D I decided to read up on the man behind the legend -- E. Sreedharan. He completed the Konkan Railway project before schedule and is now working as the Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The DMRC is also before schedule. Completing a government funded large-scale civil engineering project before schedule is nothing short of a miracle! And these are not any civil engineering projects we're talking about. It's the Konkan Railways and the Delhi Metro Rail. The first time in India such contructions have ever been attempted!
Read about him at the following links. Inspiring!
E. Sreedharan - Wikipedia Entry
E. Sreedharan - Interview in The Indian Express
Read about him at the following links. Inspiring!
E. Sreedharan - Wikipedia Entry
E. Sreedharan - Interview in The Indian Express
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