Precipitation of my thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:41:00 +0000

Top 20 Countries - Ranking based on GDP (per capita)

Rank	Country	Intl. $	Year
1	Qatar	88,919	2011
2	Luxembourg	88,787	2011
—	Macau	77,607	2011
3	Singapore	61,103	2011
4	Norway	57,092	2011
5	Kuwait	54,654	2011
6	Brunei	50,506	2010
—	Hong Kong	49,990	2011
7	United States	48,442	2011
8	United Arab Emirates	48,222	2011
9	Switzerland	47,817	2011
10	Netherlands	43,339	2011
11	Austria	42,122	2011
12	Ireland	41,642	2011
13	Sweden	41,447	2011
14	Denmark	41,015	2011
15	Canada	40,541	2011
16	Australia	39,466	2011
17	Germany	39,414	2011
18	Belgium	38,633	2011
19	Finland	37,581	2011
20	Iceland	37,115	2011

Post after a long hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 10:58:00 +0000

The last one year had been very very busy for me. I had completed MBA from Oxford University. Met hundreds of interesting people, made tons of new friends. Been to wonderful places. Done strategy consulting. Worked 80 hours a week. Lived the DDLJ dream in Switzerland. Started a new blog on movies - sachinmovielist.blogspot.co.uk/

Wonderful facts about India

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:40:00 +0000

Although many of you would have read this article (it is not written by me), I am just posting it on my blog as this makes me proud of being an Indian. My intention is just to spread awareness on India. (Can't write the source as I myself is unaware of it).

1. India is the world’s largest, oldest, continuous civilization.

2. India never invaded any country in last 10000 years of history.

3. India is the world’s largest democracy.

4. Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called “The Ancient City” when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.

5. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

6. The World’s first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

7. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software – a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.

8. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.

9. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth.

10. The art of Navigation was bornin the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit ‘Nou’.

11. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.

12. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.

13. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.

14. Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.

15. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.

16. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).

17 The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world’s population.

18. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.

19. India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.

20. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.

21. India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.

22. India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.

Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)

* Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.

* Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.

* French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.

* Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

Done it again

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:35:00 +0000

I know I have broken my promise once again. But what the heck. This is my blog. I will write whenever I feel like. :P

Not posting here had given me ample amount of time to do other wonderful things in life. (at least that's what i think :D ).

Over a period I will tell ya more about what I did in the last 8 months.

Another broken promise

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:16:00 +0000

I promised myself to keep posting here. But here I am. Trying to break bad old habits but just can't do so. I am irritatingly fucking stubborn.

More than three months have passed by and the year is ending now. I have been busy with lots of things mostly professional.

Worked hard in these months to get customer satisfaction index of 5/6 (which for your reference is stupendous).
Had chicken pox for three weeks.
Had been visited by Jiju and parents lately.
Met some of the most influencing personalities (Angus, Acky, Anuraj, etc. - all professional)
Celebrated first anniversary in a modest way.
Celebrated first Diwali after marriage at home.
Started playing AOE again. :)

Have lots to write. But have to start AOE. Will post soon. Promise. :)

Good links

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:21:00 +0000

1. Alternate web browsers

Fcuking long weekends

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:06:00 +0000

After 2 and a half months of rubbing my ass on the new project, finally comes the long weekend. And guess what - I am in no mood to rejoice or rest. I have changed. I am no longer looking forward to the long weekends. And thanks to Murphy I have 2 more coming on my way. Fcuk Murphy. Fcuk, I am seriously pissed off. Hope the mood changes quickly and I am again the same old guy.

FRM Deferred

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:43:00 +0000

Not even 24 hours have gone by after coming from London and I have taken the decision - a very hard one - to defer the FRM exam to May 2010. I have missed the chance to write FRM in one shot. From next year, it is going to be held in two stages. So, I would have to clear Level 1 first before sitting for the second level. That was another $250 bullet in my credit card.

Amrita Arora and Lamborghini

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:12:00 +0000

What a day !! Went to Oxford Street directly from office. Oxford street in London is like Connaught Place in Delhi with all the big brands occupying thousands of square feet place. We were walking the street and Amrita just passed me by. In the first glance, I was not sure she was Amrita. So, I called out her name - "Hey Amrita". She turned back and said "Hi". I said "Hi". And thats it. I was delighted but didn't ask her for a photograph.

The second surprise in that evening was a black Lamboghini with pink interiors. It was like a gay batman's car. :D Even with the pink interiors the sheer beauty and the power of Lamborghini cannot be undermined. See for yourself:

My first Lamborghini experience was in Las Vegas, US when i was roaming with my then girlfriend and now wife Madhura Karandikar. :D Here is a pic:

The third surprise was the GBP 2900 Armani Jacket I saw (and touched :D) and GBP 27000 Ferrari watch. Man, they were awesome. I turned materialistic for sometime.

Constant battles within my mind

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Everyday I come from office thinking that I would study for FRM. But after having dinner while watching Simpsons, that feeling goes away. I am also confused about postponing my exam to May next year. It is going to cost me $400 and a chance to be an FRM in one shot as the exam is going to be held in two levels. I have to have a strong state of mind to go through this. "It is just a matter of few months." - thats what I tell myself every day. A few months.. this is more than I can give. I am kind of feeling exhausted. But, somehow I have to gain the momentum(or rather start it) or else I have to forfeit the game.

Missing Home

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:22:00 +0000

6th August, 2009
Upton Park, London

Its 11:15 PM here and it is raining. I am missing the cozy cozy atmosphere at home. Rains can be romantic or brutally painful. To do away the blues, I usually get into the extremes of other moods. This time, I watched a gruesome movie Saw 5. It comes nowhere to Saw 1, but it definitely turned my mood around.

Lets hope the weekend goes fine. And by that time I would have started my studies for FRM, a $700 affair. :D

Signing Off,
Cheers,
Sachin

Goodbye Depression, thanks for passing by

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:01:00 +0000

Coming out of Goldman Sachs loop was a feat in itself. This is the second time I escaped the dreaded walls of GS office. All the days I spent in training for GS interview (4 days to be precise) I remember Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption. The perseverance and the patience kept me going.

Always a kid

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:37:00 +0000

Time and again, I have behaved like a kid. I get excited quickly and can get over depression quickly. At times, I tend to be adamant like a kid over a thing. Sometimes, I crib over petty things as I did when I was a kid and my pencil was lost. I like to be among friends and enjoy their company. I hate foes and tell them on their face. I just can’t keep the hatred towards them to myself. I think I have not yet developed that ability. Being a kid doesn’t always hurt. I am very open. You can look my face and tell what mood I am in. This openness has won me trust and faithfulness from others. I hope I remain the same in this cruel, competitive and cynical world.

Subsiding Toothache and IPL

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Tue, 26 May 2009 10:46:00 +0000

The last 15 days passed by struggling with the toothache and watching IPL. The fantasy cricket I was playing is over. I got 57250 points with 7396 rank. Not bad considering that I started playing late and missed about 20 matches. With the concluding ceremony of IPL, the daily dose of cricket, fakeiplplayer's blogs, cheerleaders' glimpses and fantasy cricket has ended. Now, I wonder what would I do next until the upcoming World Cup T20.

The toothache is subsiding with every passing day. I had developed a condition called "dry sockets" after the surgery. A very good link about it is
http://www.animated-teeth.com/dry-sockets/a1-dry-sockets.htm
I went to the dentist again and he induced some blood clots. The gums are still healing and I will not be able to eat paani puris and burgers for few more days. :(

Now my own IPL team

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:03:00 +0000

I have been busy in this IPL season. I have bought my own team and I regularly gauge the performance of the players and make necessary changes. Though, I started late, I have been catching up fast with other teams in the league. When I started, my rank was around 28000. As of today my rank is around 12000. Here is a link where you can create your own IPL team.

http://fantasygame.cricketnext.in.com/cricket_game/

The best part is that you can make unlimited number of changes. Make your team, create a league and you can play against each other.

My team's name is crazyking. You can track my team, invite me in your league and compete with me.

So much for a tooth, which is useless

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:41:00 +0000

After more than 2 years of sporadic toothache, I finally got rid of the wisdom tooth. It was a minor surgery lasting around 70 minutes. The dentist injected 6 syringes of anesthetic substance in my mouth followed by one each in arm and buttocks. Even after such a high dose of anesthetics, I could very well feel the drill going on in my mouth. At many occasions, my mouth was filled with my blood. After many ouches and uffs, the tooth was out. The dentist charged me 50% extra for the complicated case. Nevertheless, now when it is out, the pain has gone down - thanks to the painkillers and the antibiotics.

Wisdom tooth, as I have read is rarely used in chewing the food. It usually gives pains when there is no place in the gum for it's uproot. I spent so many days and nights with its pain, surviving on liquid diets sometimes and having painkillers for it.

After the surgery, I vowed to take a good care of my teeth and gum lest visit a dentist (besides regular checkup). To my surprise, the dentist advised me not to use mouthwash regularly. Twice in a week is fine, but not daily. She said that a regular use might tarnish the enamel and the whiteness on the teeth. An alternative for the mouthwash is to gargle with salted lukewarm water.

Search Engines and Browsers WAR

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:19:00 +0000

Many of us would not be amazed to know that the most widely used search engine is Google. But can u tell the market share of google? It is around 90%. Now that is monopoly. What about the traditional monopolist in the software industry Microsoft? Microsoft's Live is well below 1%. Yahoo comes second with market share of around 8%. Here is the graph for the search engines.

The war in the web browser's zone is interesting. Here, Microsoft has maintained the top slot, but its market share is declining continuously. Mozilla's Firefox popularity seems to be increasing. Very recently, Microsoft has launched Internet Explorer 8, but it has very few takers. I am sure that Microsoft will be able to maintain its lead in browser domain mainly because of its dominance in OS battlefield. IE comes pre-installed with Windows, even when the version is pirated. Try uninstalling IE from Vista and if you succeed, let me know.

Am I a smuggler?

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 09:39:00 +0000

I just thought about it while reading a newspaper article. On trips to US, I have brought many cameras back for my friends, relatives and myself. For all these cameras (4 of them), I did not pay any duties. One of them was very expensive ( $1300). I have been to US 4 times and I am aware that I can bring one camera for my personal use per trip. So technically, I did not break any rule. Still, I felt the guilt of bending one. Now you people tell me - Was I wrong not to pay any custom duties?

Resurrection of my blog 1

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 08:08:00 +0000

I am very very sorry for a really long gap in posting on my blog. A lot of things have happened in this gap of 7 months:

A trip to US - This one was memorable. I was working with one of the Directors of Wachovia. Saw some biggies falling like Lehman Brothers, Merill Lynch, AIG, etc. Visited Smoky Mountains, Philadelphia, Dallas.
Marriage - I got married to Madhura on 29th November. The marriage took place in Bhopal and Pune. The function was very long. It lasted 7 days. :) I created few webpages for the marriage. I will post the URL and the snaps soon.
I moved to a new place which is a 2BHK apartment.
I have bought PS2 slim version.
I went to Kodaikanal on a long weekend.
I saw AeroShow in Bangalore on 14th Feb, Valentine's Day. I saw some of the most wonderful flying machines like Sukhoi, F-16, Apache, etc.
I watched some good movies like Slumdog Millionaire, Billu, Malena

I now promise you that I would regularly post on this blog.

Different kinds of creatures on Orkut

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 18:22:00 +0000

Yes, I don't have anything better to write (or rather type). So what the heck? This is my blog. I would type whatever I like. If you don't want to read it, get the hell out of here.

So, if have come to this line, it means that my blog interests you. So go ahead read on.

Saturday night I have nothing better to do, so I started browsing random profiles on Orkut. Though frankly speaking (or rather typing :D ) I occasionally this site to respond to my friend's scraps. But today's intention to visit the site was different. I had time to kill and I decided to visit random profiles just to check how people make others view their self portrayed image.

Some creatures( I actually mean many creatures) login to orkut to find where their friends are and what is going on in their personal life. I don't understand what pleasure do they get doing so.

Some just upload 100s of photographs depicting them standing next to some great monument. Some with fascinating cars or bikes. Some with their girl friends or wives. And the captions go like these - "Me at Times Square", "Holiday in Las Vegas", "With my better half", "My new car" or "Prized Possession" (to tell ya that the car is expensive), "Birthday in London". Some for the fear of getting their pictures posted on "obscene profiles" just upload celebs snaps or postcard snaps.

Then there are those people who like to tell everyone what they are doing as if anyone cares. Like our Mr. A who has mentioned that he in on a world tour. He hasn't failed to mentioned that he is making everyone jealous. Miss B will mention that no random friend requests are accepted. Mr. C will talk about his latest adventure in some exotic country. Mr. D will put some poetry in their "about me" section describing how much he is in pain. Mr. E will post some random job openings. Mr. F will talk about the latest orkut screen.

Some creatures will keep changing locations and statuses to tell people that they are abroad. Some interesting statuses - "Back to the States" or "Bangkok calling".

No matter for what purpose do people login to these so called social networking sites, these sites will make sure that people waste enough time on these to generate revenues for them.

PS: The writer doesn't intend to offend anyone here. In fact, the writer confesses to be part of some categories described here. :D

Some more movies

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:51:00 +0000

The Ruins - A group of friends visit an old temple in deep forest only to find that it was not a proper picnic place. The bushes in the ruins were evil and very soon they find that it is impossible to leave the premises. Ratings: 5/10

The Bucket List - A drama which unfolds with Jack and Morgan lying on hospital beds in the same room. They have very few months with them. They decided to enjoy the time doing things they always wanted to do. The movie also takes you to The Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal looked very beautiful. I also liked the conversations between Jack and his PA, Thomas. Ratings: 8/10
Batman Begins - A good movie to watch if you like the superhero movies. It is surely better than the Spiderman and the Superman. Moreover, the lead actress is Katie Holmes. If you are planning to watch The Dark Knight, it is advisable to watch this movie before watching the former. This shows the story of Bruce Wayne becoming Batman. Ratings: 7/10
Zombie Strippers - The worst movie I had seen recently. This movie is a proof that even Hollywood can make non-sense movies. No story, no characters, no sense at all. Instead, watch Gunda one more time. :D Ratings: 1/10

Movies I watched this weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:45:00 +0000

21 - a story of a group of students from MIT who tried to make a fortune in the sin city, Las Vegas. This is based on a true story, however some parts were fictitious. If you want to read interesting facts about the movie, go to IMDB. Ratings: 7/10
Pathology - story about a freak game between forensic doctors. The game is about killing any random person and the ease of getting away with it. The doctors used novel ways to kill someone and made others to guess the modus operandi. Ratings: 6/10
Hancock - A very unpopular superhero who meets a PR executive willing to work on improving his public image. The superhero discovers something about the PR exec's wife, who can be a threat to his existence in a different way. I wanted to watch this movie for one more reason - it has been shot in downtown LA, where I stayed for a month. Ratings: 6/10
Untraceable - The best pyscho movie I watched this weekend. The killer broadcasts the killing on the internet live. As the number of viewers increases, the death expedites. The ending could have been better. Still it deserves a good rating. Ratings: 8/10
Chaos Theory - A highly organized man finds out that everything in life cannot be planned. Ryan Reynolds in a very different role than Van Wilder. A very different movie. Ratings: 6/10
Apna Sapna Money Money - Ritesh Deshmukh trying to do another Bluffmaster. He is a con man who tries to help his friend Shreyas Talpade who in turn helps his "poor", "desperately needing money" friends. Watch this movie if you like to watch Riya Sen, Koena Mitra or Celina Jaitley. Ratings: 4/10
College Road Trip - Watch this movie if you don't have anything better to do. A super boring and time wasting movie. I should have known by seeing "Raven" from the Disney channel in the movie. I really admired Chris Tucker before watching this movie. Ratings: 2/10
The Prestige - A very good direction and screenplay. Slow in the beginning, but keeps you involved. Shows how rivalry between two fellow magicians have dire consequences. Superb ending. Nice magic tricks. Ratings: 9/10

CFA level 1 cleared

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:44:00 +0000

It was always on my wish list ever since I joined Headstrong. There were dozens of people writing this exam, but only few managed to pass. I was betting on not only the money, but on the time too. The stake was too much - almost Rs. 90000, 6 weeks and two onsite assignments. I am not counting the numerous movies I could have watched during this time.

29th July, 2008
The entire month of July went very hectic for me. I was away from family and friends on my birthday, worked on weekends, slept for less than 7 hrs on most of the days ! I was relieved to get released from the project (after completing the work I was assigned). On 28th July, I left Los Angeles. I stayed in Hong Kong for a day. I almost forgot the 29th July D-day. I was at the HKIA airport, when my mom called me and asked me about my result. I had forgotten the password to login to the site! I hurriedly reset the password and logged in to see that I have cleared the exam. Here is the snapshot of my result:

I have scored the maximum marks in the dreaded FSA (Financial Statement Analysis) :D. This result was worth taking the risks. I am happy. I feel satisfied. July ended well for me.

Hotels around the world

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:13:00 +0000

Temenos, a private rental property in Anguilla, consists of three villas that uses white and spare elements to bring the attention to the beautiful Caribbean surroundings.

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Schloss Velden, located in Austria, is a combination of old and new. The historic castle is the focal point from the view of the new modern wing.

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Asaba, a 19-room inn in Shuzenji, Japan pays homage to traditional Japanese architecture and landscaping: guests must pass through a Meiji-period gate into a gravel courtyard before entering the inn.

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Cocoa Island's 23-room hotel that features suites resembling local dhoni fishing boats that are anchored to the ocean floor with pine poles. Best feature? Steps in the back of each suite/boat lead right into the water. Located in the Maldives.

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Washington D.C.'s Park Hyatt Hotel celebrates one of its finest springtime treasures: cherry blossoms. Taking cues from nature, this hotel has one of the prettiest pink tile backdrops paired with warm wood, making this modern lobby particularly inviting.

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Hollywood Sign

noreply@blogger.com (Sachin) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:04:00 +0000

The hollywood sign - everybody knows about this. The sign was visible from my hotel room in LA. Though not this clear, but yes anyone could read out the letters: H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D