Thoughts of the free mind

Uncovering the treasures @ Charles Heidsieck

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Had been one of those lucky few who got the opportunity to visit the chalk cellars of Charles Heidsieck. Got a few clicks on my mobile but nothing in words could really describe the beauty of the cellar underworld. Champagnes ageing decades lined up on the walls, something which I always wanted my room to look like :P

Improving awareness of Big Mac & Fries among Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 20:49:00 +0000

"My daddy's big car" was one of those concepts tested to justify the decision making ability of kids in the purchase of new cars, but what about food?

I happened to be at one of my friends place whose kids priced pencil box carried this image

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet

Eating a Big Mac and Fries

Along came a spider

and sat down beside her

"Yuck", it said, "I prefer flies".

Its not easy to guess whether the poem was changed to increase awareness among kids about Big Mac and Fries or to refrain them from having it. I sat down looking at the image for quite some time and inquired about the same to my friend. This was the response

"Even the alphabetical charts have got changed in schools. 'Parrots' have being replaced by 'Pizzas' and 'Balls' by 'Burgers', and we expect to keep them away from junk food"

The ASUS Zenbook in Simple Words

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:47:00 +0000

ASUS Zenbook was my first purchase abroad and sharing some of the pictures of the same

Asus has done an extremely good job in keeping the box simple and putting in an additional wooden carry handle, just to give the impression of a suitcase. In France the handle was helpful in making me spend an extra euro for a bag as it would not be provided with the PC at Fnac.

Some additional packing for making it look good and ofcourse to save it from the harsh environment

At last the final box made visible. If you believe that vacuum can't be created using paper boxes, you should try opening one of these. I had to drill 4 small holes on the corners in order to open it without any vacuum (just kidding). Difficult but not impossible.

2 good and sufficient accessories taking into consideration only presentation and web access without Wi-Fi. I think that should be good enough for low performance office usages or meetings :)

A small charger for a small ultrabook. Oops, the windows authentication code is on the charger. Better not loose it. or may be write it down somewhere.

A very good bag to carry you PC. Nothing else would have mattered more in buying the ASUS. The flip open Carry bag looks much more bulkier than expected once the ultrabook is placed inside it. Doesn't look so in all the review videos i saw on the net.

Some additional documentation for people who like to read. When reading these documentation do note that the more minuscule in size it looks, the more important it is. P.S: The small book like thing on the extreme right is a wiping cloth.

A pic just to show the size of the Ultrabook in perspective. aaaaaaah.. "My hand is a dolphin" and the Ultrabook is really very small.

Last but not the least, the internals of the Ultrabook. A very good finish on the internals. Seems like the driver issues for the trackpad was fixed or may be i did not get to it yet.

SSD Memory fully utilized to provide a 2 second sleep wake up. Might slow down later when i install a few more applications on the Ultrabook or may be not because of shortage of memory.

Lack of memory on the 64 Gb version is a big issue = only 16 Gb of memory free on the drive when opened for the first time with nothing but the operating system installed. It would be a better option to take a UX31 since it also has a SD card slot.

Please do not compare Macbook Air with Zenbook. I wasted a lot of time, both on the net as well as on the shop floor. The easiest way to look about it is as given below

"Go to a electronic good store, have a look at the Macbook Air. Oh my god, how light it feels, how beautiful it looks etc etc etc. Then go meet the zenbook. Holy god, cannot believe it can be made this way also, and cheaper too, and so much better. Buy a zenbook and go home. Don't speak to friends with Macs, they will think u have got a Mac as well"

Excerpts from Mamboy's Diary: Meeting prospective spouses - Episode 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:07:00 +0000

After the first tragic Episode Mamboy decided to reflect upon all the mistakes committed on that day. He realized that the only person who could give an unbiased opinion was the broker itself and thought about asking him. Even before Mamboy could ask him, he had already come up with a feedback list and decided to tell Mamboy about the same.

The Feedback of Girly 1

1. He has not shaved (pretty much understandable with Hardware designers)

2. He did not talk much (Don't really know what Mamboy could have spoken more. But looking back to those engineering days, Mamboy was not that talkative and his voice unrecognizable. This made him one of the ideal candidates for helping out with our attendances )

3. Mamboy wears spectacles. I want my husband to wear contact lens

On hearing the third feedback Mamboy wanted to meet the girl for one last time and say "Dear, i dont wear glasses while on bed". Broky got a clear impression that Mamboy does not talk much, he is a laid-back kind of person. His parents were now afraid of him more than ever during his entire life. Mamboy could sense the pressure getting built up at home.

In the mean time Mamboy's Mom got a second profile for consideration. This time once again they were supposed to meet up at Mysore. Mamboy after working hard for the whole week found it really annoying. Mamboy's mom tried to wake him up early on "the day" but by the time Mamboy got up it was too late for a shave. Mamboy parents ensured that the car is stopped on the way at a parlor and that his hooligan looks are changed.

The journey was pretty long (4 hours) and all the way he had to listen to lecture sessions from his parents and Broky. By the time they reached Mysore, Mamboy was tired but was happy that he got out of the lecture hall (car). Mamboy and his parents reached the hotel where they were supposed to meet Girly. To Mamboy's surprise Girly's family seemed to be much more comical than his own. About 10 people turned up at the occasion which included the granny, uncle, aunt and a few other relatives. After the usual introduction it was the time to pick up a conversation.

Girly's mom took this opportunity and started off stating that Girly is not that talkative and spoke very less. On hearing this Mamboy's parents got a sense of relief and jumped in stating that their son also doesn't speak much. To add to the cherry on top Mamboy's parents also stated that Mamboy usually opens the door for guest and walks away without welcoming anyone. The guests would keep guessing as to who opened the door.

Mamboy could not get a better introduction for himself. Mamboy's thoughts of having something by his choice on the menu was spoiled as the order had already been placed, Poori it was. Mamboy said to himself "Don't mind it". Mamboy was been stared at by 9 people on the table except the girl who seemed to have lost something on the floor and was looking for it. Mamboy had so far only heard about the term "Ankhon se Balatkar".

Seeing that the session is going no where and the intensity of the stares taking an upward graph, Broky decided to interrupt. He turned towards Mamboy and said "Speak to Girly"

Hearing this Mamboy's Mom whispered into his ears: "Talk in front of us".... Mamboy felt like Laughing his *** off. Mamboy just could not get angry. He knew that his mum was a totally normal person provided she was not in that situation. Mamboy's mom was basically nervous and wanted to know what his son was talking to Girly's that they rejected at the first meet itself

Mamboy decided to be "the Man" and make the first move. He asked the girl whether they both could go out to another table.. and hell broke out. All the 9 who were staring at Mamboy till now were now looking at each other. Mamboy remembered that if S.Narayan was right there at that moment, he could capture the emotions which could be put for telecast to a minimum of 7 to 8 episodes. Mamboy had a feeling that even though the country has progressed so far, Girly's family might have been from the 18th century warlords.

Broky said "Carry On",but the granny wouldn't let Girly go. Mamboy before this meeting had thought that his parents were over protective, but it seemed like his benchmark had hit a new low. The granny let the two sit at the corner of the same table but Girly still seemed to searching for something on the floor. Mamboy even though cautious enough not to concentrate only on the Poori was tensed by the fact that Girly's mom was sitting right next to her and next to Girly's mom was Girly's aunt.

Mamboy started off with the conversation

Mamboy: (To Girly) Hi

Girly: (Smile)

Mamboy: (Guessing that its the first time she has come to meet anyone) So.. First time.. haan?

Girly: No no. ... Third

Mamboy: (Third ??? They why the hell is she so shy?).. Oh ok.. What are your expectations

Mamboy decided that he will use the same set of questions that he was asked the last time. He was prepared better than the last time for sure

Girly: Nodded her head

Mamboy: Nothing???

Girly: (In a feeble voice) No

Mamboy: (Hoping to regain from the bouncer).. Where did you Study?

Girly's Aunt: She studied in GSS in Mysore. Its a girls college

Mamboy did not expect Girly's aunt to answer this question but in the hope that she might spill out something asked her if she was working

Girly: No, Parents send me to Bangalore alone

Girly's Aunt: Just a few months back she has finished studies. Anyways after marriage she has to work. So we have asked her to play at home....

Mamboy was confused and disturbed at this point.. Play???? not spend time at home?

Mamboy: Oh ok!!! so you have many friends

Girly: No, not many

Mamboy: You go out for movies/shopping with friends?

Girly: No

Mamboy: So how do you send your time

Girly: TV, Sometimes i read some book

Mamboy: Any questions for me?

Girly: No

Girly was still searching for the lost article on the floor and hence staring at the floor. Mamboy could not decide anything at this point of time and could not speak anything more. He could not decide whether she will be able to adjust to Bangalore or his environment.

Mamboy had just wasted 8 hours on travel and his second lecture session of 4 hours was all about the qualities of Girly and the hope that she will be happy since she doesn't have many expectations. He was also asked to think about what happened in the first interview

Mamboy's Mom: (after reaching home) What do you say about the girl

Mamboy: Next time lets have interviews in Bangalore itself, else I am not coming anywhere

Excerpts from Mamboy's Diary: Meeting prospective spouses - Episode 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:38:00 +0000

Mamboy after serious consideration decided that he would be going by the arranged marriage system. His decision was also aided by the fact that he did not find any success by any other means. He was supposed to meet up with Girly who works at Infosis Mysore and it was the first time that he was going to attend such a ceremony. Mamboy even though hesitant initially decided to attend the ceremony so that the amount paid to the broker does not go wasted. His hesitance also meant that his preparation levels were too low even by his own standards

The "INTERVIEW" was arranged in a hotel by Girly's parents. They met up at the hotel and after some formal introductions sat down for the process to begin. Mamboy and Girly were seated on a separate table while the entire families from both side sat at the other table with watchful eyes.

It was the time to order breakfast. Mamboy thought for a moment and said to himself that he hadn't had "Rava Idli" for a long time and decided to try it out. Girly was fine with a juice. Mamboy started having his "Rava Idli" which was tasting great and was almost done with one when he realized that the main purpose of the meet was not having the awesome "Rava Idli". Girly seeing no response from Mamboy decided to make the first move by calling out to him by his name. Mamboy wanted to respond to the call but just then remembered that he doesn't remember her name (the typical "Oh shit" moment). Mamboy asked out for her name and the rest of the conversation follows....

Mamboy: This is my first experience of such a meeting (interview). I don't really know what to ask you. I want you to start

Girly: Ok, What kind of a girl are you looking for?

Mamboy preparation had backfired. Even though Mamboy was pretty adamant about his VLSI design specification, he hadn't thought much about this question and didn't know what to say but did try his level best

Mamboy: I don't have specific requirements (with a big smile)

Girly: What? You don't have any requirements. She need not be good looking.?

Mamboy: Need not be...Ah wait i have just 2 requirements

Since Mamboy had not thought about the requirements, he was trying to generate requirements on the go. Mamboy was good at doing this @ his company meetings and thought the same would apply over here

Mamboy: My first requirement is that she should be working. I am not saying this for the sake of you earning money but i don't want you to waste time watching mega serials and reality shows at home.

On hearing this requirement, Girly's smile got a bit reduced. His requirement was not unjustified as he had pretty bad experience with the bonding between his mom and mega serials and would kill S.Narayan (Director of a few mega serials in Kannada) if he got the opportunity to do so.

Mamboy: My second requirement is that she should not get angry

On hearing this Girly spit back the juice she was having into the glass in surprise

Girly: Not get angry???? I am very short tempered person.. Don't you get angry?

Mamboy: on very rare occasions

Mamboy wanted to get out of the session but he still had one more "Rava Idli" on his plate and he did not want to let it go.

Mamboy: What are your requirements.?

Girly: He should be caring, loving, understand my feelings, He should not object to what i say/do.

Mamboy at this point of time wasn't sure whether she was describing her husband or her dog. He interrupted in the hope that the requirements end.

Mamboy: Wait. All these are cliches. How will u get to know that he has all these qualities in the first few meets?

Girly: hmmmmmmmmmm. (wondering why this guy is using logic) . haan yes i cant. (biiiiig pause)

Mamboy: But still u take decision right after first meet

Girly : YES!!!!

Mamboy : Do u have any ambitions in life (not that i have many)

Girly : No no. I want to marry.

Mamboy: (Waaw what an ambition)

Mamboy's mom had been very worried by the course of the events. She hadn't let her child speak to a girl for such a long time and she did doubt Mamboy's capability that he could talk to a girl. She had been looking at them (Mamboy and Girly) all the time through the mirror right next to their table. She couldn't control her curiosity any more and reached out to Mamboy's table

Mamboy's mom : enamma ivnu enaadru maataadna. illa sumne kootidna. avna baidu maataadsu ..... (Did he speak anything at all or did he sit quite. Scold him and he will talk)

Mamboy could not imagine what an impression his mom had created and that too at the first meeting. He could not say anything more and decided that its time to leave

Mamboy: Mom, We have spoken.. You carry on

Mamboy's mom: What did you speak? I couldn't hear a single thing

Mamboy did not know whether to curse his fate or burst into laughter. He managed to control himself till his mom left the table

Girly : What are your hobbies?

Mamboy: music, movies and cricket. What about you?

Girly : I go to malls and shop a lot

Mamboy : Ah???

Girly : I like shopping a lot. I also watch all the movies.

Mamboy : Any more questions?

Girl : No.

Mamboy : Then wait, let me finish off the idly

Mamboy and Girly joined the main table along with the others. Girly's father had ordered a juice. Seeing the tiring look of Mamboy he decided to offer it to him instead. Mamboy accepted it without any hesitation and was happy that it was over.

Girly and her parents left and that was the last time Mamboy heard from them !!!

Mamboy is still wondering what went wrong?

Thinking in a Different Language

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 16:37:00 +0000

A pretty good example of what happens when you think in a different language and convert the same into English from the movie "Phas Gaya Re Obama"

The gyan and the implied sentences

You long hair and lanky fellow. Stand where you are sitting (Jahan pe baite ho, khade ho jao). Teacher enter, no notice. full insulting (Masterji aye hein aur dhyan bhi nahi raha, itni be-izzati). Your mother father manners, this? (Tumhare Ma Baap ne tumhe ye sanskar sikhaye hain?) Speak in English. This English Coaching, not a local language (Ye Angrezi hai, koi airi gairi bhasha nahi) full stop (muh band). Sorry ka baby (Sorry ke bacche). You together thinking, english speaking like a rice plate eating, no, never, not (Tum dono sochte ho ki angrezi bolna chaval khane ke barabar hai, nahi, kabhi nahi). English speaking not a children play (Angrezi bolna bachhon ka khel nahi). English speaking like a undertaker play (Ye sirf bade logon ke liye hai). Tajmahal create (no idea what this means). Again time, careful (Phir se bol raha hoon, sambhalke raho). Again time this behaviour, so touch to my finger print, your chick (Phir se ye dohraya to meri ungliyon ke nishan tere gaal pe hoga). So big chick, you chick, red red chick (Ye bade gaal tumhare lal ho jayega). Understand. The postman, the busiman, the collector.... (no idea what he says)

Its really amazing how every minor bit of detailing has been taken care of in the scene. Appreciate the script writer for the effort.

GoAir : The Airline Whose Customer Service Representatives are "ALWAYS" busy

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 09:02:00 +0000

    The Experience of ticketing with GoAir can be put as the worst experience i had so far with any airlines. Its really amazing how well they have put it up together to give the worst possible experience to the customers

Lets start with the Website:

    Booking tickets is as easy as every other website with just a simple flaw. you just don't know which date you are booking for. The previous/next day booking buttons is as terrific as possible. its as simple and user friendly as learning to fly a concorde after training on a home made propeller plane. Please be careful when you click on any of those. And you never know which dates you end up with

Once you end up having a wrong booking this is what you do

     There is a very intuitive way of being able to modify your booking by browsing through the website which you take you not more that 30 minutes. Once you have found the same you go ahead and modify you dates of departures. Now you are doubly careful about what you are clicking on. The feeling of the time it takes after recovering from hanging a hundred times cannot be put in words, its only to be experienced.

Time to save your new changes

     At last you get the right preferences and click the save button. OOPS you are supposed to pay a bit extra.. just about 2K more ((Interactive Voice Response)IVR system says you can do a rescheduling for 150 Rs, but that's just the IVR). With a smiling face you decide to pay and then click on the make payment button. You end up filling a lot of details and then proceed to make the payment

    SURPRISEEEEE: You have an error shown on the window stating that there was an error in the server. You try again and again, but in vain. Now the issue is that your ticket preference has got changed to the new date but you really don,t have the ticket for it. You have lost the booking done earlier and you don't really know whether you have got the new one.

     At last you decide to take on the numbers provided on like with the server error and try calling them up. These are the same numbers that are given on the opening page of the website. If anyone has ever been able to get through the IVR of GoAir and get an answer after pressing the reschedule button please do let me know. Would like to personally congratulate you as you have been one of those few chosen ones in a million who have been able to get through it. Congratulations once again. Sadly i never made it through.

    You fight it out again and again and at last give up. The Customer representatives are Really Busy out there, you are asked to wait and in the mean time a totally pleasing instrumental carcass is delivered through the phone which you don't want to hear more than once. This just happens for about 5 times after which they get bored i believe and hang up (Sorry, the system automatically disconnects, since they do not want customers to be waiting for long period of time you see).

    At last i decided that atleast a few people in the system should know how good they are doing and decided them by using the Contact us link provided on the bottom of the website. The topping on the cake was delivered when the GoFeedback link refused to open.

    The prefix to the link said "Your feedback is important. To add your feedback click here"

We do know that feedback is important but what's the point when you not interested in listening

The Study Group Formation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:49:00 +0000

The Study group formation was in full swing. Being a non IITian does help sometimes to create pretty diverse group and it did happen. Mark was able to join forces with Naga, Kapi and Whyve to form the study group but the big question was who would be the other 2 members. A question that could be answered only after the group preferences were out. At last the day came when the group preferences were out and people were fighting it out to get the best people on their side. Some (Spot Creatives) even came up with creative ideas of forming groups on the spot. But then it was too late to leverage these wonderful thoughts. The preference list was put up on the projected screen. Mark and Naga looked up the huge list and found that only 5 preferences were made for their group when all preferences of all the members were counted. A pretty dissatisfying number for sure. Mark and Naga decided to put their non IITian brains and look into the reasons.

Mark: I think we have fared pretty bad on the wanted list.

Naga: I do feel the same. it might be for 2 reasons. Either the prisoners dilemma completely took over and people opted for other groups or people did not have our groups as their preference at all.

Mark: I think most probably it is the second case.

Naga: Lets see whom we get in our groups.

Mark, Naga, Kapi and Whyve eagerly sat in the last row of the classroom for the process to begin. The spot creatives were still at work and weren't in a mood for letting the process to begin. Butterfly had decentralized his powers to the spot creatives to run the show and was lurking in the background with confused faces. At last the class had to intervene to get the processed started. Meanwhile Mark and Naga started looking into the preferences and found a something strange.

Mark: (Excited) Dude, Tofy has given our group as the second preference.

Naga: I too don't understand why she has given our group as the second preference. She might have thought about it before itself (tactical move funda.... )

Mark: (selective listening) I don't think so dude. May be she has a crush on one of our group members.

Naga: What?.. No way.. Although all of us might have a huge crush on her, there is no reason its gonna go the other way round. (Reality Check... Who r U?)

Mark: What about Whyve? (Evaluating alternatives)

Naga: I haven't seen her speaking to him. It Can't be. (Evaluative statistics available)

Mark: What about Kapi?

Naga: Listen, Kapi and Tofy are totally different characters in themselves especially in terms of being vocal. But then, there is still a small possibility.

Mark: Why do u think so?

Naga: She is the only good looking person in the group......!!!!

Mark: Seem like her first choice is not gonna work out and she is gonna be in our group for sure..

Naga: Ya, she will be

(Smiles on the faces of Mark and Naga)..

The group formation process did kick off and the group was formed with Mark, Naga, Kapi, Whyve, Tofy and Billow. The Drama didn't seem to end over there. Tofy wanted to form a group with Jury and didn't want to be Naga's group. It followed with a series of tactical moves from Tofy and Jury to get Tofy out of the group. A few of them have been listed below

Idea No 1: Give me your member. You are OK with 5 people (Please let me go)

Jury: You guys have a pretty strong group. Why don't you give us one of your members. We bad require the person

Mark: No way (reason implied)

Naga: That's not possible.. (reason implied)

Kapi: Only I know the bad effects of being in a group with lesser number of people (Genuine Reasons put forward)

The idea did not work out. Tofy and Jury were competing against marketers and were in no position market their idea. Meanwhile Billow was already become the part of the cult and was contributing his bit.

Idea No 2: Exchange offer.

Tofy: We can give you a guy with 4 years of work experience. Why don't you guys let me go instead?

Naga: I have 5 years of Work experience.
Mark: I have 4
Billow: I have 2

Tofy leaves without saying a word. (Learning: Never try to sell a meteor to a Dinosaur, it wastes your time and annoys the Dinosaur)

Idea No 3: Be genuine (with bit of pleading, remorse, empathy, tears, persuasion, threat etc.. More the number of people involved, better is the effect)

Jury: Please Mark. Try to Understand. We always wanted to be together......close friends........ only reason we still fighting...... only reason we are alive...... cant live without.... inseparable..... group incomplete without her... she is the group.... (Selective listening till this point. Mark didn't know what was happening after that)

Mark: I need to check out with the group before taking a decision.

Naga: (with a huge frown on his face) ...There is no point in having a person in the group who is not with us.

Kapi: I too feel the same

Mark: (sad) Okay..

Naga: There is no point in having huge expectations.......

The Cult got a new member in the form of VaVa. The members of the Cult were happy with the decision and left with smiling faces. On the way back Naga and Mark wanted to cheer up the mood.

Naga: Its good that she did not have to join us forcefully (Grapes are sour.. funda)

Mark: I too feel the same. There would have been a split in the group right away.

Naga: Ya, She would be on one side and the rest would be on the other...

Mark: Are you sure?????

Naga: Not Exactly..... :)

Driving in Ahmedabad (The seventh sense)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:21:00 +0000

I always thought Bangalore to be the worst affected in terms of road traffic and driving sense. One step into Ahmedabad and all the notions were gone. In terms of road traffic, congestion, number of vehicles Bangalore does stand tall, but in terms of driving sense or to say traffic sense Ahmedabad takes it all.

You require something called the seventh sense to ride your vehicle over here. Something which cannot get into a traveler or may be a person who has shifted to the city lately. Its just an inborn talent to avoid vehicles at the last moment and without any emotions whatsoever continue driving. Its a unique ability to completely misjudge the vehicles coming in, and at the nth moment synchronize in harmony with them, just like the ants do. Back in Bangalore u would be greeted with "The Finger" or may be with a few unparliamentary words for such an effort for sure.

To get into the groove of the seventh sense u require a bit of the following
    1. Rash driving skills (fast paced lane switching, sudden bursts of speeding)
    2. Signal hopping skills (presence of traffic cops to be taken care of. If not present u can skip any signal.. When i say any, it really means any of them absolutely)
    3. Neck bending skills (to talk over the phone while driving)
4. Identification avoidance skills (Super cool sunglasses and clothes completely covering your face)
    5. Superb braking skills (The autos are fitter with hydraulic brakes for the same purpose)
6. And of course lots of prayers before u take out your vehicle

After U have mastered these skills, it time to test your real driving skills.

If you are driving a two wheeler what u don't wanna do is keep your leg down (stop) on the road.To accomplish u can go to any extent which includes movement in tight corners jumping signals etc. For the auto guys its a different ball game. What the auto guys don't like is any kind of vacant space in the road or at traffic junctures. So to fill in a gap on the left hand side of the road he can move from the right hand side to the left in a Giffy (of-course without indication/intimation). The car guys always want to be in the front. So some of them use there honks more than the accelerator pedals. Buses are not much to be seen on the roads but even they do try sneaking in on tiny gaps.

When the whole city rides this way, you trying to be a sane person is definitely not gonna help. So "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" is the only quote u need to follow to survive. One very good thing about people driving over here is that "nobody complains".. LOL

The heart of Ahmedabad (Kargaz Market)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 12:51:00 +0000

The best way to find out what a city offers is to checkout the market. Had been to the market at kargaz or what is famously called the Teen Darwaza

The place is just awesome. other that the teen darwaza it also has an ancient fort with deformed gates (all iron spikes removed and sold probably. non functional for now). Construction and mining activities being banned by archaeological survey of India in and around the fort has helped retain the old city image. one of the best places to have a complete picture of how the old city would look like.

The first thing that u will notice when u drop in at this place is total "CHAOS". U will find hundreds of shops (both permanent and make shift) selling clothes. By the way they are good and they are dead cheap (bought a few things that would cost me almost 3 times the amount in Bangalore). U can even get a discount on that if u have the heart to ask. Outsides find it difficult to do so. Then there are eatables, soda's, watches and a lot of other things sold on the streets.

Last but not the least. Guys with girlfriends and who are totally short of time, never dare to get them to this place. 2 hours of shopping can turn out into whole day event. Lots and lots of stuff for the ladies..

Last Day @ ITTIAM

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:58:00 +0000

May 31st 2010

Today is my last day here at ITTIAM. My First glance at the corporate world comes to an end today. So far a dream ride, without killing the REBEL inside.

I can still remember the day i stepped into ittiam and with me a few more bunch of enthusiasts. Time just manages to get away without waiting and that is what exactly happened over the past four years. I can still remember the excitement i had when i received my first hardware development kit. I had to take special permission from people to work on one of those at college. Now it was all going to be mine. No more resource sharing. In the time to come the hardware excitement did die out but the interest in resolving issues on hardware continued to gain.

When i received my first task. This was my first question "Is this a regular training task?". Kumar reply "We don't have time to waste. You are on job already". This was on the second week of joining. I gave an estimate of 3 weeks for the completion of the task (My first ever task time estimation). It took me 3.5 months to finish it off though :(. Kumar knew that from the very beginning but then some things better learnt the way it is to be.

I still remember how badly i used to dislike C programming in college days (Assembly coding was my way of doing things). I had the opportunity to work with one of the largest C code base (at that point of time may be the largest) for Video phone. It was one of those roller coaster rides i will never forget. More than a lakh lines of code put in the most sophisticated manner by few of the most talented people in the team. Somehow used to end up searching for the changes which i had done just 30 minutes ago. Thanks to Puneet for helping me out with it.

It was fun working with the systems applications team. There were huge set of reviews, comments and introspection's on design and style for every module being written and integrated. The most fought after were for the variable names. Can't believe that when i look back now.

Hopefully a respectable farewell has been organized for me. I don't know how many speakers would get senti with tears on their cheeks. But I do know that i will be missing out on a lot of good people.

I owe a lot to all my friends at ittiam, a few being listed below.

Anil, Puneet: Thanks for tons of support.
SIP Nori: Have lost all hopes on you as for now.. ROFL
Prashanth: I haven't lost hope yet. Will keep trying with the never say die spirit.
Ashraf: Thanks for the support and help (On numerous occasion)
Kumar: I have troubled you the most at times. Thanks for bearing with me for more than 2 years. I know it was really tough. :)
Ashwini, Battula, Karthy, Soni, Sumanth, Vikas: You guys ROCK
BG: You are a star.
Sumanth: No person has the right to be happy always. September 2010 is the deadline for you.
Namratha: You have been one of the better P.I.C
Lijo: You still owe me a portfolio. Hoping to catch up soon before you get busy
Sunny, Sumukh: You guys are the next rock stars
Suma, Sameer: I did trouble you guys quite often. Thanks for listening to my dumb questions :)
To all the troubled souls at the carom board: Those shots weren't fluke !!

Last but not the least. Special thanks to Mr Ravishankar (VP, SOC IP) for giving me an opportunity to work at Ittiam. It been a wonderful journey altogether. My learning curve could never reach the place where it is right now had I not been here.

One last good bye to a wonderful learning place. Wishing the very best to everyone at Ittiam. You guys ROCK. Will catch up with you tech maniacs soon.

The Banana Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:34:00 +0000

While travelling i do end up giving a thankyou note to the sea at some point or the other. Some kind of self realization with the waves. They are soft, hard, good, bad but then you keep yourself up everytime they make you fall. A note of thanks and a promise that i will return.

All this took a huge turn at Goa when me, my bro and of course seevesh, (one of my good friend and expert in drowning with previous demonstrations at black thunder) took the great chance of doing a banana ride. The ride was supposed to be super simple. 3 guys sit on an inflated tube. The boat pulls it to the sea and flips it around. Then you get on to it and come back. As simple as that.

We 3 got ready to be flipped into the sea. We were totally excited when it all started moving. Little did we realize whats gonna happen. About 500 meters from the shore the boat took a huge U turn and it flipped us 3 into the sea. Oh god, before we could realize we were in the sea. Seeve was busy looking at the lovely sunset and was not even prepared for it.

I could see the same set of actions on seve's face as i had seen at black thunder, Ooty.. Help was the call. He was taking in water for sure. I swam to hold on to his hand and then he calmed down. The life jacket does work but staying afloat without taking in water in itself is an art. All of us were quick enough to learn it (had to.. ).

When everything was settled it was time to get on to the banana. Seve was pulled in by one of the rescuers. Rahul also got it. both of them were sitting on the corner. Then it was my turn to get on to it. I was very sure about me being capable of getting on to it. What i did not realize that jumping on to it is not a good option. I jumped on to the tube and fell the other way into the water. In the process i held on to the craft and it overturned plunging seeve and bro also into the water. This time it was my trun to panic. Fell head first into water, went in really deep (no trace of ground) and then emerged back on the surface. Had taken in a few gulps of water by that time. With the water not being still it was getting difficult. The scene when i emerged out of water was even more horrifying. Could see only the inflated tube overturned. No signs of seeve and bro. My view being completely blocked by the overturned tube itself. Ah i could see them at last.

Managed to get on to it and reach shore (almost) with a plunge once again. But this time you could feel the earth under your feet.. Safe at last..... Must try, but one thing to keep in mind is to tighten your safety jacket so that you also float along with it.. :)

The IIM Interviews.. An experience that changed everything (IIM - Ahmedabad)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:34:00 +0000

Monarch Hotel, Infantry Road, 8th April 2010

I Was at the Hotel at 8.30 in the morning. I was still not out of the happy/crazy feeling that i had received a call from IIM A. Was telling myself "be calm" all the time. Didn't want to ruin it as i had done it for IIM Bangalore Interview due to excitement.

It all started with verification of a few documents and then the Essay Writing. The topic "The pen is not always mightier than the sword". Had just ten minutes to do all thinking/writing/organizing etc etc. Managed to fill up one side of a page and a bit more. That's all what could be done. One of the most time limited essay i had ever written. To be frank I don't remember what i put in. I still remember the art of essay writing which could gain me more marks at school, but then this was the place i could never think of using it.

After the Essay writing it was the time for the interview. Luckily this time i was not at the end of the list. Felt happy that at least they wouldn't be in a urgency to finish of my interview. The long wait for my turn had just begun. People went in with smiling faces and came out of the room with an inverted smile. Every time someone came out of the room the rest would jump in to get a few pointers. "Too much of technical stuff" was the word of caution in the air. A sense of confidence did build up at that point of time (#define Technical "Walk in the Park").

it was my turn and i walked in to the room. The doors shut behind me. There were 2 panelist for taking my interview. My file with the certificates was taken over by one of the panelist before i could say anything. Thankfully had put in all the unimportant ones in a different file :)

Was completely ready for the technical session

Int1: Tell me something about what you work on.
Me: I told them about all the good things i work on.

Int2: Can you implement me a system with so and so?
Me: I pulled out a sheet of paper and put in how it could be done.

By now i was the Lion of the jungle (I could answer the questions put to me in a pretty good manner). Just 2 questions and then they decided its not worth asking me technical questions. This wasn't expected. The questioning started on basic general awareness

Int1: What do you think about maoist problem and how do you think you can resolve it?
Me: I answered what i knew and of course the solution for that also was derived on the spot, though not convincing.

Int2: Do you know something about the High court Judge who has been recently involved in a scam?
Me: I don't know

Int1: You don't know !!!!!!!!!!!!! (Surprise)
Me: Yes sir. I have no idea......:(

This followed a series of question (7/12) which had only a 3 word answer from my side "I don't know". During this process the lion turned into a tiger and then into a cat and then almost into a rat. I had completely goofed up the interview. Came out of the interview room just like the rest (with an inverted smile). I looked up my watch to see how long had the interview gone. Staggering 14 minutes. The curve on the inverted smile curved even more. The longer the interview goes, the more you have chances of getting in was the guru mantra. Was one of the saddest days that i had encountered after a long time. Carried the inverted smile back home only to be consoled by Dad and Mum. Few good friends called up to checkout how it went. "We will pray for you" were the lovely words they said after i spoke about the interview.

Well, Prayers do work..................................... :)

The IIM Interviews.. An experience that changed everything (IIM - Calcutta)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 09 May 2010 03:46:00 +0000

Hotel Monarch Luxur (22nd March 2010, 9:30 am)

After lots of preparation and the bad Bangalore Interview experience, it was the time for testing out my Bad luck at the IIM Calcutta Interview.

Reached Monarch Hotel in the morning (Almost an hour before the actual time since i had to find out where it was on Infantry Road)

We were supposed to have a GD and then a personal interview for both courses (PGDM and PGDCM). I was the last one in the panel courtesy my CAT registration number. We were made to sit in a U format for the GD. The topic for the GD was announced "IPL is sounding the death knell for cricket". As soon as the topic was announced the guy in the other extreme corner started it off with a bang. I just didn't want the corner person to start the discussion since the entire GD would shift towards that corner and people on the other end wouldn't be listened to.

I usually never spoke unless i had a clear thought process (LOL) (atleast at formal discussions), but this was different. I did wanted the GD to be focused on one of the corners with me being at the other end. To avoid this i had to speak up and speak up as soon as the first person stopped. I did reenter once more to chip in a few more pointers. That was it and the GD was done. I had a satisfying feeling that i could make my point and i also didn't have to cut through anyone.

After the Group Discussion it was the long wait for the interview. Being the last person in the list ends you with such trouble.

The PGDM Interview

Was pretty much nervous after the previous interview for IIM Bangalore. Entered the interview room pretty much tensed. I was asked to sit down. There were 3 panelists for the interview. I somehow saw a streak of happiness on their faces. May be the previous person they spoke to was really good or may be they are relieved that i am the last person in the panel and they could go for lunch after this.

Here is the exact transcript of the interview
Int1: Ok Mr Renjith. Tell me something about yourself.

I started off telling that i am an Electronics and communication Engineering graduate and have been working in ittiam for the past so and so years. I was interrupted at that point

Int1: What did you say Mr Renjith? ATR?
Me: No sir, its Ittiam

Meanwhile one of the panelist (Int3) who does know about the company starts speaking. He starts explaining about the company to the other panelists. he says "Its ITTIAM, i think therefore i am, Rene Descartes. Its a highly innovative company". He also conveys some more information to the other panelist (Don't remember everything). At this point my interview completely changed course. It starts to lean towards more of technical information and being an ittian means, it was just a walk in the park.

It did follow with a long list of technical questions and i would say that it really went well. Then there were a list of question, about the company, when was it started, what kind of people you work with, how well were you able to communicate with people, did you working at your company change anything, why didn't you change your company etc etc etc..

Then came the GK or to say the hobbies part of the interview. I has written painting as my hobby and that ensured that they had lots and lots of questions to fire at me

Int2: You have said that painting is your hobby.
Me: Yes sir

Int3: What do you think about M F Hussain and him accepting citizenship from another country
Me: It is a great loss to the country that we have lost such a acknowledged artist.

Int2: Why do you think he had to do so.

I did explain about some of his work and what led to his work not being accepted by a larger section of the society.

Int1: But i think that is not the reason for all this to happen !!
Me: I don't know sir. Whatever i stated before is what i felt was the reason.

Int2: Do you feel that you have learned everything that your company can offer?
Me: No sir. I feel that learning is a continuous process and you get to learn something new everyday provided you look out for it.

Int1: So you mean to say that you have a lots left to learn
Me: Yes sir.

Int3: Thanks for coming Mr Renjith.
Me: Thankyou

The last question did put me in a lot of dilema. If i answered saying that "I have learned enough" that might make me over rating myself, but on the other hand if i said "I haven't learned enough" then i might be sent back. Just stuck to the true fact that "I have lots left to learn"

PGDCM Interview

Once again my registration number had let me remain on the bottom of the list for the interview. I was the last but one person to go for interview. Had gained a bit of confidence from the PGDM interview and it did reflect in the PGDCM interview also.

There were 3 panelist for the Interview. I was standing at the door when the call came in.

Int1: Please come in
Me; Thank you.

The panelist were busy setting the forms and papers and I was just standing. I asked them if I can take a seat and the reply came in the affirmative. A gentle laugh followed from the panelist followed. Was half confused by then.

Int1: Tell me something about yourself

I spoke what i studied, what i did (at work) after doing my engineering etc etc

Int2: You are from Bangalore right?
Me: Yes sir

Int1: I am new to Bangalore. Can you tell me something about it

I somehow (by luck, fate, interest, don't know) knew about Bangalore's history. After all am proud of being a Bangalorean. Did tell them about bangalore, a bit on why/when it was made the capital, the lalbagh botanical gardens, bangalore cantonment etc. So far so good

Coming to hobbies, i was quizzed on painting and sketching.

Int3: You said your hobby includes painting and sketching
Me: Yes sir

Int3: Can you draw a sketch of one of us now.
Me: I can do that sir, but it would consume some time. May be about an hour or so.

Int2: Can you not do it within 3 minutes
Me: I can do that sir, but it would no more be called a sketch. It might as well be called a cartoon.

I was asked about different types of pencil (H/B configuration to be precise) i might use for sketching varying shades of a picture

Int1: Can you differentiate how a 5 year old and a 10 year old would sketch the same object but would look different?

Took a simple example of a tree, drew on a piece of paper and explained how a 5 year old and a 10 year old would draw the same object yet look different. Had to draw about 5 sketches to explain a creative kids observation.

Int1: You seem to be good at it. What about a kid who is not so creative. How would his sketch look like?
Me: He would be stuck at the first one... (smiles :))

Meanwhile one of the panelists picks up my certificates and goes through it.

Int1: You have studied Bio in your 12th standard
Me: Yes maam

Int1: I am from a Zoology background. Now apply the same thing whatever you did with the sketch to zoology and tell me.

Was totally left blank. Asked for a minute of time. That one minute never seemed to get over. At the end of it somehow manage to squeze in classification of animals which would start off from herbivorous, carnivorous etc to Phylum, strata, class, genre etc. Managed to remember those words.

That was it and it was over.. The rest is HISTORY

The IIM Interviews.. An experience that changed everything (IIM - Bangalore)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 02 May 2010 08:26:00 +0000

IIM - Bangalore (18th March, 2010 First day, first show)

The GD round has been replaced by the essay writing. Wrote the essay and was waiting for the interview. My name ended up being last on the list and had to wait quite a long time before my turn arrived. Was completely excited and charged up as I walked into the room to attend my Personal Interview. I was asked the question what do i do at work. I replied promptly. Then the real twist in destiny began.

Int-1: So you are a DSP Engineer
Me: Yes Sir

Int-1: I would like to ask you a question regarding fourier transforms. How do you represent fourier transform in terms of inverse laplace transform.. (Don't remember the question properly)
Me: (Completely taken back by the question) No idea sir. Worked on system development of past 3 years. Don't remember any of it.

Int-1: Ok then let talk about your work. If you were to explain a simple audio system in terms of encoders, decoders etc to your grandmother. How would you do it.
Me: Took modern day telephone system as an example and explained the same. (Don't know how good it was.)

Int-2: I still dont understand why you want to do an MBA?
Me: I told the truth why i wanted to do an MBA. It was what i wanted to do.

I still don't know how the panelist would be able to judge whether someone really wants to do an MBA. With proper training anyone could just put in a lot of assertion into their words to get things communicated. A genuine person on the other hand would have really simple reasons why he wants to do an MBA

Int-2: I am still not convinced why you want to do an MBA.

I was somehow expecting this.. I hadn't put in exotic things as examples to convey my points. I was too straight forward in approach.

Int-1: Tell me something about you job. Do you love your Job?
Me: (Told everything i did at office). I Like my job sir.

Int-3: Are you frustrated with your job?
Me: No sir.

My excitement of attending the first interview seems to have translated into frustration for them. I was just excited with getting through and may be it gave them the wrong impression

Int-2: Has your work at the company influenced the decision making of the company

I did tell genuinely how my work did influence a few decisions. They didn't seem to be too much interested in it (May be because it was genuine)

Int-1: Let me have a look at your references.. You seem to be pretty low on scores in your references. What do you have to say about it?
Me: The evaluation has been fair sir. We are a company of 200 hundred people, each on selected from about 500 shortlisted resumes. I wouldn't be surprised if i even turned out in the bottom 50 % of the people working in the company.

Int-3: Can you throw me some light into the woman's reservation bill.. Or .. ok .. Just give me 3 good points for and against the Woman's reservation bill.
Me: I only have a few points for the bill but i do have quite a lot of points against the bill.

Int-2: Ok then you can give me 10 points against the Woman's reservation bill

I did present a few points but couldn't put out 10 points

Int-3: Why do you think the percentage of women is less at IIM's
Me: a. Percentage of Girls taking the test is low.
b. Guys tend to fare better in CAT

Int-2: That's it... Thanks for turning up
Me: Thank you sir

Think i answered totally out of my mind.

Did not get through anyway...

Green Tracks Bangalore - FIR

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:12:00 +0000

Serious setbacks due to improper servicing led me on the lookout for a good FIAT car service center in Bangalore for my Palio. One of my friends at office owns a FIAT Palio 1.6 GTX and he recommended me to try out Green tracks on Hosur Road. I too did a bit of research and found out that there are only a few named service guys for FIAT vehicles.

It wasn't hard locating the service center since proper directions had been given to me by my friend. The service center was a really spacious and well maintained one.

    Mr Hari, the service adviser spoke to me regarding the details of the vehicle and did a thorough check. I did quite some cribbing and hoped that these would be fixed. I was given an estimate of about 3500 Rs which i thought was pretty decent. I was expected to receive details regarding an oil leak by afternoon.

     My first stage of disappointment was when i didn't receive a call till 4 in the evening. I decided to call them up. I was asked to wait for another hour. They did get back to me with a leaky brake cylinder which required replacement (1600 Rs). I was also told that the vehicle would be ready only by thee next day. I was somehow hoping to get a billing amount of about 5k.

    I received a call the next day stating that my bill amount was about 6.5k. Didn't know what to say. Went to pick up the vehicle. One of my vehicle tire had gone for a toss (thanks to badly maintained road dividers). Got that also replaced. Total of about 10k.

    The surprise was when i took my vehicle out for a spin. Somehow felt like the engine has been removed from my car due to lack of any sound. It was just smooth sailing. My theater dimming lights were also fixed :) apart from all the repairs etc. Just returned from a superb rainy ride. Its just wonderful

I've learned...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:47:00 +0000

Just a beautiful collection of quotes i found on the web (nothing original)

I've learned...
that you can do something in an instant
that will give you heartache for life.

I've learned...
that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I've learned...
that we are responsible for what we do,
no matter how we feel.

I've learned...
that either you control your
attitude or it controls you.

I've learned...
that heroes are the people who do what has
to be done when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I've learned...
that my best friend and I can do anything
or nothing and have the best time.

I've learned...
that sometimes the people you expect to
kick you when you're down will be the
ones to help you get back up.

I've learned...
that true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.

I've learned...
that just because someone doesn't love you
the way you want them to doesn't mean they
don't love you with all they have.

I've learned...
that maturity has more to do with what types
of experiences you've had and what you've
learned from them and less to do with how
many birthdays you've celebrated.

I've learned...
that no matter how good a friend is, they're
going to hurt you every once in a while and
you must forgive them for that.

I've learned...
that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by
others, Sometimes you have to learn to forgive
yourself.

I've learned...
that our background and circumstances may
have influenced who we are, but we are
responsible for who we become.

I've learned...
that just because two people argue, it doesn't
mean they don't love each other. And just
because they don't argue, it doesn't mean
they do.

I've learned...
that we don't have to change friends
if we understand that friends change.

I've learned...
that two people can look at the exact same
thing and see something totally different.

I've learned...
that even when you think you have no more
to give, when a friend cries out to you,
you will find the strength to help.

I've learned...
that credentials on the wall do not
make you a decent human being.

I've learned...
that the people you care about most
in life are taken from you too soon.

I've learned...
that family and friends are what make
us who we are today, and without them
we would never be complete.

I've learned...
that you cannot make someone love you.
All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in. :)

The Long Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:33:00 +0000

Have enjoyed long rides for ever and it had been a long time since i went on a drive alone.. This time though, one of my friends after a long long time did catch up with me for the wonderful ride. A beautiful ride on Mysore road. Vehicles racing at speeds of 100-120 kmph and zooming past you like anything. I have always enjoyed riding my bike, both on highways and in small gully's. But its more than just fun riding on the highway..

CCD on Mysore road is one of my favourite destination. Love the atmosphere at the place, no city lights, cool winds blowing, no honking from irritated drivers and no deafening music. There are 2 CCD's on the way to Maddur from Bangalore. The second one (After Barista) is the one worth visiting.

For those who love to get along with friends, a weekend drive to this destination is an amazing way to revive old memories..

HBSC Credit Cards - How to charge someone who pays on time?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:21:00 +0000

Hello buddies. I am your best friend for spending the money you don't own. Am HBSC Credit Card. You end up using me for anything and everything and at the end don't have the money to repay. My boss enjoys to have such people as so called "customers" and lets down a huge rain of interest over YOU losers. Best part, "YOU still pay".. We have a huge set of people who come under this category. My boss likes them a lot. Infact he loves them to the core.

But what about all those sincere people who pay on time. "They suck" is what my boss says. We at HBSC do have a few tricks up our sleeves so that we can get these buggers pay extra no matter they pay on time or not.. Below are just a few.

Case 1: YOU took a new credit card from us this in the beginning of this year. YOU paid back on time everytime. Our sales executives had promised YOU that your card is free and does not carry any annual fees. How can we make YOU pay extra?
Ans: Let me try to put in an annual fee of Rs 2000 + 206 (10.3% of fees levied, RBI guidelines I say) and hope you buggers don't notice a thing. If you don't bother i can do that every year. Cool isn't it. After all the sales executive might have just given you the wrong information.. ha ha.. or may be.. just may be.. he forgot to tell you about this. Unless you are not sure about it, i can always get this amount applicable on your card.

Case 2: YOU were very sure that your card came with no annual fees and i had to annul the charges.. Now what can i do so that i still get YOU to pay?
Ans: I have a few cool options up my sleeve.
a. Give your cheque for clearance on the last date of payment so that you foolish people end up paying fines and then you end up blaming your respective banks. I will make you get an impression that its only your f----- bank that doesn't clear cheques on time.
b. Somehow see to it that the cheques don't get cleared at all. This way i will be able to impose you a fine of 350 Rs + 10.3% (RBI guidelines sir, we cant help). Of course the interest on the late payment still holds good..:)
c. What if the mistake is on your side. You forgot to sign the cheque or may be you just corrected something and forgot to cross sign at that place. Please don't be disheartened friends. We will inform you regarding the same. Now if you ask me when will you do that, am damn sure i would do it after your last date of payment. We at HBSC are committed to service and value your time . We only communicate with customers on or after the billing date (Since you have registered for DNC (do not call) service). We do this so that you are not bothered by our frequent calls. Please note that you are free to call us anytime. We have efficient people who can see to it that they don't stop while speaking and that helps (You keep your mouths shut). YOU give me a brick, we give YOU a boulder.

Case 3: YOU decided to pay by cash at our branch office after we tried extracting money from YOU using the previous techniques. This way YOU could avoid any late payments or need not worry about cheques being returned.
Ans: Now you feel that i have no methods left for getting YOU to pay extra, but i still do. I just managed to put in a small note in the previous statement saying that any cash transaction will be accompanied by a fee of 100 Rs + 10.3%(RBI guidelines, can't help). Now what does that mean. Anybody who doesn't have a bank account or a cheque book and holds our credit cards will fetch me easy cash without any reason. And those who have it, i know what i can do... Cool isn't it. And since the amount is not that huge in terms of figure YOU might just not notice it when you get your statement. And even if YOU manage to notice it, we have good people to yell at you to look into your last statement and check on the microscopic words which have been modified recently.

Our Moto: You can run from us now, but we are gonna hump u for sure.. "The Local Bank"

YOU can send in your suggestions and any new techniques for retrieving money to us by mail. We at HBSC value your suggestions (Although we might never consider it if it means you not needing to pay). Best suggestions would be rewarded with a Credit card.... LOL

Valentine Day Fever

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:57:00 +0000

Characters: Mamboy, X-men, Mark

Its always difficult to find a good girlfriend. More trouble is in store when your parents are forcing you to find one. Somehow i always find Mamboy's parents complaining about this every time i visit him. The situation had been escalated to such extent that the criteria for finding the person had crossed the barriers of language, caste, creed and even religion. The only criteria put forward to Mamboy was that the girl should be an Indian (This was after X-man and Mark convinced Mamboy's mom that his best friend was a foreigner named Catherine)

Valentine's Day was coming close and Mamboy's company put forward a dress code for the day which everyone were to follow. A RED shirt was the dress code for the guys. Mamboy didn't have one and decided to get one for himself. Being a workaholic, he couldn't find time to get one and decided to get help (From his Mom)

Mamboy being a shy and hesitant person thought its not good to tell his Mom the real reason behind the shirt. He decided to fake one. He said that its sports day and he should be wearing a red shirt since he belonged to a team.

Valentine's day arrived and Mamboy wore the red shirt to office. His mom asked him whether it was the sports day today. He replied in affirmative.

In the afternoon Mamboy get a call from home (From his Mom). The conversation is given below

Mom: Give it to her

Mamboy: Give what?

Mom: Give the phone to her.

Mamboy: To whom? What are you saying?

Mom: I know everything. You lied to me? Give the phone to her

Mamboy: To whom?

Mom: I am watching TV 9. They are explaining the significance of red/white/yellow shirts on valentines day. Red means you already have a Girlfriend. Now give the phone to her.

Mamboy: No mom. I am in RED team. Today is sports day. That is why am wearing red.

(Mamboy is totally freaked out and doesn't know what to say. Meanwhile his Manager seems to be laughing out loud on the phone talking to someone)

Mom: I am your mother. You cant lie to me. I hear a girl laughing. Give the phone to her

Mamboy: No mom, there is no one over here.

Mom: Swear on me that you don't have a girlfriend.

Mamboy: I swear i don't.

Mom: I knew you are a waste fellow. Now confirmed. Looks like you will never get a girlfriend. You have time till the next Diwali to find one. You know whats going to happen after that.

Mamboy's Mom hangs up the phone and Mamboy is relieved. He still has his red shirt in remembrance of the incident. He is no more planning to wear it in the near future, at least not on Valentines day.

Moral: Never wear Red shirt on Valentines Day and try declaring it as sports day....:)

Onam and the boat rowing experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:27:00 +0000

Onam brings with it a lot of joy and happiness and along with it an annual get together for all Malayalam speaking people next door.

Lots of hardwork and dedication is reflected at the occasion.. Though it happens a few weeks after the actual festival, the festive mood is all in the air. A delayed festive celebration is what i can say.

The main even this time has been the Alapuzha boat race replication.. It was one of the better events i ever witnessed. It had hard work, emotion, drama and a lot of comedy. A Few of us were busy preparing for the event for a long time and everything seems to be perfect (Till the day)..

Some last minute preparations and everything was set (Boat prepared well in advance, the oars were ready and all of them were in a really upbeat mood for the event). One of the team members (Appu) was instructed to show enthusiasm and row better. Rest all looked fine.

The event started well with Appu, Ranjith (Not me) and Rahul doing well in the beginning. The rowing speed was supposed to increase gradually and then increase in pace with time and wind up with the guys enacting to win. The rowing went fine till Appu realised that its time to shift gears (A bit too early). Appu started rowing as if he never rowed before.. Now the situation was that Appu was rowing at the top gear and the team was still to pick up.. Ranjith realized that he needs to catch up with Appu or the show is gonna be a flop. Ranjith started to do the same. Rahul realizing that both the buggers are going off track had to follow along. It was a comedy of errors which would never be forgotten. The Video would give you a better idea. It was one of the most funny and hilarious event..

There was some compensation for the team members since their pic ended up on PAGE 3. Thankfully it did not carry these details.

Trying to regain a hobby lost

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Its just been too long since i just picked up my pencil and drew a sketch... Due to huge shortage of ideas and drained out brain, decided to pic up a very good looking pic and try out a bit on rescaling it to a bigger version... and here is the result of the tough work..

Took the pic from my mobile since i was too lazy to get hold of the camera and take a snap..

Think i did justice to the eyes

Didn't have too many ideas about what to do with the sketch... Tried putting her up on my wall.. Looks too pretty to be ignored every time i look at the picture...... so

Have decided to give it away to someone who can give me a good reason why i should give it to him/her, pretty simple... :)

Blunders at Written/Interview - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:50:00 +0000

Characters: Fred, Nash

Getting into a company from campus had been one of the primary goals for the we final year grads at the college. We tried really hard and those placed on the first day of the recruiting season walked with their heads held high. It might have been a really thrilling experience to get placed on the first day of the season. You had a job in your hand before even stepping out of the college and that too your first job. Those were the fortunate ones. A few of us never got placed for a whole month and were already showing signs of being uncomfortable.

It was at that point of time that we friends decided to help each other out and work hard for getting things done and put in some extra hours of effort for getting into good organizations. I still remember spending quite a number of hours with friends and R.S.Agarwal. Not to forget Shakunatala Devi, whose puzzles were no more puzzles by the end of the recruitment season.

Fred was pretty much upset that he wasn't getting through the written tests for the companies he applied for. He tried for a few ones initially and then decided to take up the test only after an excellent round of preparation. He worked hard. I mean to say really hard. He was very much determined to get into a good company.. Does hard work really pay off.....?

It had been a very busy Tuesday morning and one of Fred's dream company had come for placement. Fred had prepared well enough to get him through the first round. He had worked on all the previous test papers the company had put up. We also helped him understand the pattern of questions that were to be expected. He knew that the written round was the only hurdle in him landing up with a job in the company. The interview would be a cake walk for him. He stood among all the others enlisted for taking the test. The tests kicked off at 10 in the morning and i believe Fred did really well.

We caught up with Fred in the afternoon and discussed about what happened. Fred was very happy by his performance. He said that he got almost 90 odd out of the 100 in the test paper. We were all very happy for him to have done well.

In the Evening the result for the tests were put up and Fred expected his name to be on the top of the list (or may be at least in the first 10). To his surprise he did not find his name in the top 10. He said to himself that the guys on top of the list must be a pretty smart bunch of guys. He decided to scroll through the list to find his name. His surprise changed to shock. His name didn't feature in the list of 50 people. He just knew that this couldn't happen. He had done really well and he knew it. He caught hold of the placement coordinator Nash and ask him what the reason was.

Nash blasted him saying who the hell asked you to perform so well. The company has an upper cut off for the test paper. They believe that people who cross the upper cut off don't stay with them (Hopefully the CEO knows what the recruiters are looking for). Fred didn't know what to say. His silence spoke more than anything else. He later got into an organization with no cap on showing off his skills (at work).

Still working hard on getting placed into your dream company..............?

First Episode of MB at College

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Characters: Super geeks

It was the first year at college and with 100 odd geeks sitting right next to you, the chances of bunking a class was next to impossible. As the theory goes "A 25% addition of geeks to the class increases the probability of a bunk being unsuccessful by 100%" and my class was full of them. None of my neighbors (including me) had their ranking in 4 figures or greater and these statistics made the situation much more challenging.

But on one fateful day the unthinkable happened at last. We had just one class in the morning and due to some reason we did not have any more classes till 3 in the afternoon. The geek population(almost all, except for a few students from another branch who were clubbed with us for the first year) decided to spend their valuable time in the library/browsing center. A few others decided to take to the play grounds. One of us was not interested in any of these and decided it was time to go home and take some rest. He called upon everybody and said that we don't need to stay till 3pm to attend a single class. So the decision was taken that everybody will be leaving for home immediately. There were a few cries of resentment from the super geek population.

Sorry, forgot to introduce the "super geek" population. These were a a bunch of people who had taken this oath before joining
1. Thou shall attend every class no matter what, when or how it is
2. Thou shall not co-operate in group activities (Bunking, Putting out your voice when required)
3. Thou shall not live and let others live (Would lie over the answer sheet in the exams so that no one accidentally sees you writing your name on it, Would give away your fellow members if the word suspension was uttered)
4. Thou shall always stay ahead of the rest (Would occupy the first benches in the class, Would occupy the place under the fan in the workshop first, Would participate in every technical contest all over the planet)
5. Thou shall give justice to the rank they have scored and uphold the honour and dignity of the geek population (no need to explain this)

Now back to the main incident. A few of us decide to call off the class, but don't really know how to do it since they really don't know what calling off means. We have a stupid idea on hand. "Why not ask the prof not to take the class". The super geek population is also convinced. A few of us (from the non super geek population) go to the prof and ask him not to take the class today. He says he cant do that. We try our level best. At last one of the guys asked "What can we do so that you don't take the class". My prof was a smart guy and said if no one is in the class when i come, the class will be called off. He knew that there would be at least the super geeks for spoiling the plan. They think for a moment and then return to the class. One of them addresses the class and says that the class has been called off. Everybody is happy including the super geeks. They all leave with out saying anything more.

A few of them stay back just to ensure that even by chance nobody remains in the class. Feel sorry for the super geeks but it had to be done.

Murphy's Law and Me

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Locking horns with luck has been one of my greatest achievements throughout my student days and still going on. I always wanted to test my luck and my luck always went by the Murphy's Laws. My luck was so biased to Murphy's laws i sometimes felt that i don't carry luck with me but a well defined set of Murphy's laws. It did help out in a way that my expectations were pushed down to the zero level. I rarely took a chance with anything and whenever I did it ended up with dire consequences.

Here are a few incidences i remember. Most of them have happened in the final exams for Lab

Computer Communication Networks labs:
There are about 3o odd programs to learn for the Lab exams. I end up learning the logic behind 29 of them write the programs myself and test it out. i don't find enough time to test out the last one. I get into the lab praying "Oh god, please don't give me the 30th program" and pick out a chit on which the name of the program is written. Bingo, its the 30th one. I end up spending 1.5 hours trying to figure out how to get it done. Write the program in the next 10 minutes and end up debugging for the next one hour.

Digital Communications lab:
My lab exams were on the first day of the Lab season. My batch was the third one. Came to know from a few reliable sources that the optical fiber cable experiment is not giving proper outputs anymore due to some problems in the equipment. I never prayed i think but god just knew what i was supposed to be given. Bingo, here you have it. I end up trying out everything possible to make it work for an hour. No luck. Almost given up hope. I decide to read the Manual for the equipment for the first time. I do an in exam study for another hour (Basically Yuddadalle Shastrabhyasa). At the end of it figure out that one of the settings on the equipment had been changed by someone. Somehow i finish my labs in the last minute. All the time during this i get crazy stare from people in the lab who wanted to leave early.

These are just a small part of the huge set.......:)