The Song of My Life

Mass Effect Memories: Part 4

2014-06-08T17:37:00.002+06:00

It took me a while to get all DLCs for Mass Effect 1 wanted to get the full experience, which I did with Dragon Age: Origins.

I installed the game on my humble PC and started playing.

As soon as I reached the character creation screen, glimpses of my past gameplay started haunting me. However, I quickly started enjoying the creation part because now I have a strong RPG completion resume.

In no time, my male Shepard was ready to save the universe. I didn't do much with the default character model, but I spent more time in customizing the skills. Basically my Shepard turned out to be a heavy weapons specialist with high accuracy and damage. I don't exactly remember the traits, but I didn't pick anything "bionic".

The next few hours went by smoothly. I rescued Ashley from the distressed planet, and also got the vision from the beacon.

Soon enough, I reached the Citadel.

I was a bit cautious, because I remember getting overwhelmed by side quests in my last play through.

To be continued..

Mass Effect Memories: Part 3

2014-06-08T17:36:00.003+06:00

So i decided to change the title of this series. I started getting sick of the name.

Over the years, my gaming preferences changed a lot. By 2008, I got completely sick and tired of first person shooters. I think the last shooter game I tried playing was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which was actually a very good game.

But I quickly lost interest due to a disconnected, and confusing story line, and I also found my character to have a minimal role in the grand scale of events.

At that point of time, I was an active member of a Gamespot Union. This might not ring a bell to many; http://gamespot.com, one of the most popular gaming websites had a unique feature called "Unions", which were basically user created discussion boards. The feature had a good following, and there were hundreds of small, but active boards that were self-governed; e.g. the owner and his appointed moderators would take care of proceedings.

The union had about 10 active members, and we were very much geographically aloof. But we had a common liking for strategy games, and from this union, I garnered an interest in RPGs. Most of the members were RPG veterans, and I started getting all sorts of recommendations from them.

They walked me through the basics, and soon enough, I found myself playing Neverwinter Nights. Previously, I tried NWN2, but as you've already figured it out, I was trying to play that game as an action title, and I hated everything that involved role playing.

But this time around, my mind was more receptive towards a slower approach to gaming, and I also managed to get involved with the story line. I struggled with certain quests at the beginning, but I managed to figure out ways and I eventually finished the game quite easily.

After that, I started playing RPGs like a possessed man. I breezed through Dungeon Siege 2, Witcher 1, Neverwinter Nights 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Drakensang, Risen, etc. within a very short period of time.

Among these, I loved Dragon Age: Origins the most, and by the end of 2010, I had already done with my 15th play through of DA:O.

I didn't have any other game to play, and I suddenly remembered. Wasn't Mass Effect an RPG, too?

ME 2 was out by then, and I thought I should start with the new one. But at the last moment, I decided to start with the first game, and the rest is history.

To be continued.....

Mass Effect Memories: Part 2

2014-06-08T17:35:00.002+06:00

Quake 3 Arena was one of my most favorite games, ever. I spent countless hours fragging humans and bots alike. To me, role playing games were an alien breed. I've only played a demo of Diablo once, and I didn't like the game at all.

I tried playing Oblivion (Elder Scrolls IV) before, but I didn't understand the underlying concepts; e.g. I had no clue when I kept on getting a prompt on the screen that my character is being heavily encumbered; I only got pissed off at my character because he suddenly started moving very, very slowly.

So when I started Mass Effect, I had little clue about weapon upgrades, suit upgrades and inventory management. I didn't even know that weapons can be bought and sold; I just ignored the vendors.

When my team reached the Citadel, I totally lost direction. I didn't know what to do, or to be precise, who to beat up. I also didn't like it the way random strangers (especially Garrus) invited themselves in to my team. I also didn't like it inside the spaceship, and I wanted to slap the bearded pilot guy for his cheeky comments.

So after dilly dallying for almost a week, I figured out a way of getting back to my ship Normandy, and I went in search of some alien lady.

I landed on a planet, and was asked to roam around using a rover kind of vehicle. At first, it seemed fun to move around with the rover, but soon, it became boring, and I couldn't find where to go, what to look for and what to do.

After trying to get out of the vehicle (in vain) and also to find out my objectives, I gave up playing Mass Effect. I didn't have a big hard drive back then, and I uninstalled and moved on to other games.

I forgot about Mass Effect for a long, long time. Until some other events unfolded.

To be continued.....

Mass Effect Memories: Part 1

2014-06-08T17:34:00.003+06:00

Me and a couple of my friends went to a games store back in 2008 to get a latest, graphically satisfying shooter. This visit was planned in order to check out the graphical capabilities of my newly acquired graphics card. I don't exactly remember the model I had back then, but it was either a new generation Radeon or an Nvidia Geforce.

We mistook Mass Effect for a third person shooter, and I started playing the game with a trigger happy mentality. I quickly made a female character; mostly using default stats and customization options. I didn't understand any of the options/choices given to me, and I just kept on clicking buttons to get things done.

After this distracting and impeding experience, I managed to start the game. When the game actually started, things still didn't improve much. I had to listen through a long brief, and none of the speech presented to me made any sense.

Even after my character was dropped in a somewhat lonely planted to check out some suspicious alien activities, I was being barraged with conversations, interruptions and FMVs. I thought all of these were taking away immersion value from my experience.

All I wanted was to kill some bad guys and to save the earth. Instead, I kept on getting updates on some Shepard dude and random people kept on saying random stuff to me.

The setting was breathtaking, though. I could see a huge towering structure ahead of me, and two moons were visible in the sky.

My friends were watching me play. They also got impatient. We agreed that this is the finest looking shooter that we've ever seen, but it is also the slowest and most irritating shooter we've encountered.

They left soon, and I spent almost an hour trying to figure out how things work in the game. I got bored and overwhelmed with the different options; I was totally unaware how I could utilize the inventory system, and I was angered at the developers for not setting 0-9 as weapon swap hotkeys.

I was coming from a Quake 3/Unreal Tournament background. I've never ever played an RPG before and I hated the very thought of those games.

To be continued....

RIP This Blog

2014-05-14T16:11:00.002+06:00

I've moved on from blogger.com

Find me on Quora:
http://www.quora.com/Ishtiaque-Khan

And weebly:
http://ishtiaque-khan.weebly.com/

Third Child of The Goat: Part 1: Banish The Irish

2013-11-24T17:38:00.002+06:00

In a far, far away land, there's this eating out place which named itself "West Ireland Cafe". It could as well be East Ireland, but that doesn't change things much. I saw it a couple of times while driving by; it's in the rich and posh area of the city.

To seem authentic, and genuine, like either of the first two goat children, they even put up a shamrock logo on top of the restaurant signboard. However, what follows below is not only mysterious, but also defies any logic that the most over the top Rajinikanth stories suggest.

"A Thai and Continental food place". Wait, what? THAI? As in not the body part thigh, but rather the food genre that represents the country Thailand? Since when did Irish men (or women, to cover all scenarios; ah well, I am also adding mad men/women and children) start being good at cooking eastern Asian cuisine?

When you hear about Irish men, some of the few things that pop up in our minds is an Irish pub. In every notable tourist location, you will find an Irish pub or two. They serve beer, steaks, and a variety of other stuff, but nothing Thai. Or even if they do serve Thai food, they never promote or highlight this as their culinary specialty.

However, this guy, one of the third children, have heard that Thai food is in vogue. So he decided to add it with his fake Irish themed food store to attract more customers. "Enhancing the appeal and broadening the scope of attracting more customers", he thought.

While people are still searching for Irish themed authentic restaurants and filling their test buds in genuine Thai food places, this guy is wondering why his restaurant stays empty, stays fool.

I am also wondering.

Third Child of The Goat: Intro

2013-11-24T17:27:00.001+06:00

Third child of the goat is an unfortunate soul. He or she has to wait for her mother to finish feeding his elder siblings; hoping that there would be enough milk left for him when they are done drinking.

But alas, what happens in reality is that by the time the third child is ready for feeding, the mother has already depleted her internal source of food for the children. The third child feels sad, but before reacting, he notices that his siblings are now well fed, and they are jumping in joy.

The third child, without thinking much, starts jumping up and down; just like his siblings--the first and second child of the goat mother.

After a while, the third child forgets that he has not yet received any food/drink, and there isn't really any reason behind his profound happiness.

But he keeps on rejoicing. Just because others are doing the same. After a while, he even forgets why he was there and what he was supposed to do. He only imitates the feelings of others, and joins the bandwagon.

All hail the third child of the goat.

I wanted to add a nice, shiny picture of three jumping goats here, but couldn't find anything appropriate. If I ever find something like that, I will definitely add it here.

This'll have to do for now.

First Two Hours of GTA V

2013-11-16T12:21:00.000+06:00

Well, the first few hours of a game can be very, very crucial. Especially, for a game as anticipated as GTA V, these initial levels can set the tone for the rest of the game. In contrast with earlier titles in the series, or at least the last one, I almost immediately found myself inside the game with one of the three characters, yielding a gun.

Things looked familiar, but not everything was exactly like there were in GTA IV. The crosshair was too small for me, and I haven't yet found a way to change it. But then again, I haven't been exposed to much gun play either.

The scene unfolded inside a bank. My character was part of a heist job, and things seemed to go really smooth. I was slowly being introduced to gameplay basics and controls, and it felt like a good old tutorial level. But suddenly things got chaotic, and after some adrenaline high minutes, I found my character alone; all his buddies have died and apparently he was getting caught by the law enforcers.

Suddenly, I was taken elsewhere, credits rolled in, and I was now controlling another character. The gorgeous graphics was showcased for a while, and Los Santos never looked better. Yet, flashes of GTA San Andreas came back to my mind. Saw some bicycles, homes designed like CJ would come out of them any moment.

I wasn't allowed to do much with the first character, which I came to know (not from the game) as Trevor, but this new character was duly introduced. He is an African American person named Franklin, and he works in a automobile sales store. I was introduced to a number of supporting characters over the next one hour, and I was also introduced to Franklin's special skill. In true GTA style, I completed a few driving missions.

I wouldn't get much in to the mission details, but from the 2 hours I've managed to play, I felt happy and contented. When I come back to play the new episode of a long running franchise, honestly speaking, I don't want a hell lot of innovation. I do want to have some new things, but the core gameplay should stay true to the series's theme.

I liked the fact that police is still vigilante. It's not really possible to hijack a car in broad day light and get away with the theft without alerting the authorities. Also, GTA is still not carmageddon. Killing off innocent bystanders and ramming on to other vehicles has dire consequences, and they can be adequate to cause the failure of your mission.

After completing a mission, I was walking in the streets and suddenly I saw a tram. I just hopped inside without thinking much, and nothing really happened. I saw some guys chatting away, and after 30 seconds, a cut scene started playing. After a while, I was dropped in a station closed to my next mission (it was the only available mission at that moment). I was actually impressed. I don't know why. This doesn't seem to be a technological marvel, but I didn't have to select my destination, pay any money or do anything other than hopping in. It just felt good.

Hijacking cars is easy as always, and there are ample ammunation shops for grabbing those ever useful sources of firepower.

The game looks and plays a lot like GTA IV, but the graphics has been vastly improved and there are a number of subtle improvements.

But world interaction still stays limited; considering the vast opportunities that lie around.

More to come...

My Website Has Been Launched

2013-08-26T12:56:00.000+06:00

Click Here

to access my website. It is still a work in progress, but you can see a thing or two. Creating a website has never been easier, it seems. Thanks to Quora for helping me find weebly.

I remember the days of authoring dalnetbeatles.tk, using a combination of Microsoft Frontpage, Adobe Dreamweaver and a number of other resources. I hosted the site in Geocities and used the free domain .tk to give it a fancy look. I used animated GIFs, midi sounds and basic page layouts.

I think I will also recreate the dalnetbeatles site. For those who are wondering, Dalnetbeatles was the one and only chat channel dedicated for discussing the life and music of the Beatles, not so much arguably the best rock band ever in DALNet, an IRC server.

Does IRC sound alien to you? I can understand.

New Story: Poked By the Ball

2013-07-09T15:32:00.002+06:00

Poked By The Ball

Today, when I was taking a shower, a story idea suddenly hit me. I guess multiple factors are the motivation behind this story:

1. Watching the movies "Horrible Bosses" and "Bad Teacher"
2. Going through some hassles regarding a bad "office" (not mine, of course--the Italian Embassy in Dhaka, if you must know)
3. The idea of a horrible office where horrible people can fit in.
4. Reading a lot about Steve Jobs.

The main character in this short story is named Steve, but it has no resemblance with the real life Steve Jobs (RIP).

Oscar Wilde Quotes

2013-07-03T11:19:00.003+06:00

He is indeed the master of irony and sarcasm!

The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing.
Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes.
No good deed goes unpunished.
A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction.
Crying is for plain women. Pretty women go shopping.
He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.
A true friend stabs you in the front.
The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.
Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people we personally dislike.
Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.
A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying."
You can never be overdressed or over educated.
“I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there.”
“I am not young enough to know everything.” Edit:By J.M. Barrie
Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.
The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.
"I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability."
The basis for optimism is sheer terror.
To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.
"Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong."
One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.
One can survive everything, nowadays, except death, and live down everything except a good reputation.
All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does, and that is his.
"I can resist anything except temptation."
It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.
“I have nothing to declare except my genius.”
“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”
After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations.
Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.
To define is to limit.
Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
The suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.
How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.
“I like men who have a future and women who have a past.”
Youth is wasted on the young.
Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them
sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence,

Original Source: http://qr.ae/pjbuy

Ducking The Ducks

2013-06-10T17:33:00.000+06:00

Just like many other people walking on this Earth, I, too, have some eccentricities. I have a very specific list of food items that I hate eating. Hatred is actually a strong word, I jut can't stand those food, or I feel guilty and awkward whilst force-digesting them on certain unfortunate moments.

Within this list, "Duck" has a high place. High in a sense that even if no other food is available, I still don't want to eat it--I'd rather starve than eat Duck. So whenever a host invites me for food and offers me cooked duck, roasted duck or any other form of duck ,I have to politely decline.

This happens quite a lot when I visit my in laws. They have a thing for ducks (like many other normal people--Disclaimer: I am the eccentric one; it is solely my problem that I fail to devour ducks with the same level of passion and pleasure others, including my beloved wife can.)

Let me elaborate a bit on the disclaimer part. I am by no means a vegetarian; I love eating chicken and beef, and I also believe that having a preference for ducks (as a food item) is perfectly normal, and I reiterate; it's all in my mind.

I tried thinking a lot. What are the repelling factors that prevent me from enjoying a good "duck meal"? Both my parents and sister, and almost everyone else in the family I know eats duck. I wouldn't say everyone "loves" duck, but no one else has an issue with them birds. So, it's not a family thing.

I enjoy meat. I love beef and I prefer exotic chicken dishes. I am even up for mutton and lamb, and I am sure I will try venison or rabbits if I come across them someday. So, it's not a vegetarian thing either.

I am not allergic to Ducks. I have eaten (or had been forced to) ducks many times, but I never enjoyed eating the meat and a constant feeling of guilt engulfed me. Guilt.....

Yes, after analyzing all facts and thinking hard, I could only come up with one explanation. I feel guilty while eating ducks and it brings a bad taste in my mouth. I just can't continue eating the once alive now turned in to food cute little birds.

Just look at this image. An image of a white bird which signifies serenity, peace, innocence and calmness. You may term me a hypocrite or you can just say I am "full of shit", but the fact remains--I feel guilty.

I feel like a killer,a criminal who is in some way linked with the murder of an innocent living being. If I was less voracious, this bird might have not ended up in the dining table. He might have still flown across the blue skies with his white wings spread across. I can see the image clearly in my mind. Ducks, making their not so cute quack quack noise and flying above my head like free angels.

Well, comparing ducks with angels is a bit outrageous, but there is no point in denying the fact that while alive, they are cute, lively and full of life. No one has the right to kill a duck who was a wife to a male duck or a mother to a group of young ducklings or yet to be hatched eggs. Also, killing a male duck might make the young ducklings orphan.

In an era of violence and indifference, writing pages after pages on the lives of ducks seem like a uncalled for luxury. And yet, I am writing away, trying to explain my dilemma. I don't shed a single tear when thousands of people are dying under the rubble of a crashed building, but I can't eat ducks because they are cute while living.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I can't stop the killing of innocent human beings, but I can at least play my small part in giving the same fate to innocent ducks, right?

Review of Wangchuk Hotel, Bhutan

2013-06-09T11:20:00.001+06:00

Review posted in my travel blog

Review Posted in Tripadvisor

Review of hotel Wangchuk where we stayed during our Bhutan trip. A full fledged travel blog is in progress.

Hopefully I will be able to finish writing it within this month.

Whatever Happened to my Blog Friends?

2013-05-30T17:30:00.003+06:00

Most people who I knew blogged has changed.

Most of them stopped blogging and moved on with life.

Some of them are still blogging. A very, very few of them. I actually hope some of them would quit writing.

Some people who didn't give a dime about blogs (when this thing first started) are now avid bloggers. But they blog in Bengali.

People who are writing blogs now are not like the ones who used to write.

The term "blogger" has too much negative association nowadays.

I don't want to be termed as a blogger anymore.

A simple writer will do....

Recommendations for Beatle Fans

2013-05-04T11:26:00.002+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to The Beatles (band): What other bands would you suggest listening to those who like the Beatles? on Quora

Some Disappointing Differences Between Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (the film) and Deathly Hallows (the book)

2013-04-07T11:32:00.000+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to Harry Potter (movie series): What were some disappointing differences between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (the film) and Deathly Hallows (the book)? on Quora

What is your favorite "going the extra mile" customer services story?

2013-03-31T13:51:00.000+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to What is your favorite "going the extra mile" customer services story? on Quora

What do Bangladeshi school textbooks say about their formation and independence from Pakistan?

2013-03-07T11:38:00.001+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to Bangladesh: What do Bangladeshi school textbooks say about their formation and independence from Pakistan? on Quora

What is the best question no-one has ever asked me before?

2013-02-11T12:59:00.002+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to Survey Questions: What is the best question no-one has ever asked you before? on Quora

What is So Great About The Beatles?

2013-01-03T10:27:00.001+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to The Beatles (band): What is so great about The Beatles? on Quora

Grading: What Are The Funniest Things that you Have Observed on Answer Papers?

2012-12-18T12:26:00.002+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to Grading: What are the funniest things that you have observed on answer papers? on Quora

My All Time Favorite ODI XI

2012-12-04T10:26:00.001+06:00

I started watching cricket seriously since 1992, so I have mostly considered people from that time on-wards while selecting my team.

Well, here's my pick:

1. Saeed Anwar
2. Adam Gilchrist (WK)
3. Brian Lara
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sakib Al Hasan
6. Jacque Kallis
7. Michael Bevan
8. Wasim Akram (C)
9. Muttiah Muralidharan
10. Curtly Ambrose
11. Allan Donald

12th Man: Jonty Rhodes

Some logic behind the selections:

Saeed Anwar was the first batsman to go near the 200 run mark in ODIs. He is one of the most iconic left handed batsman to ever walk on the cricket grounds, and till today he serves as a big inspiration to all opening batsmen. Few batsmen could destroy the opponent's bowling like he did.

Also, he will make a great pair with Adam Gilchrist. Just like Saeed, Gilchrist, too, has been one of the most demonic openers ever, and Australian ODI XI has never been the same since he retired. His wicket keeping skills gives me the luxury of picking an additional batsman, and thus I will go with him.

Brian Lara, enough said! He is one of the most creative players ever, and he can turn the tides of a game anytime.

I am not a very big fan of S.R.Tendulkar, but he is highest scorer in ODIs, so, yes, he gets the number 4 slot. He can dominate any bowling lineup anyday, so...

Sakib Al Hasan has proven himself to be a very versatile and effective all rounder, and he has been topping the best ODI allrounder's list on a frequent basis. He can be the 5th bowler and the 2nd spinning option for the team, as well as being an effective number 5 batsman. He is also a great fielder.

Kallis is such a great player to have in the team! He can score loads of quick runs, and grab some tricky wickets with his much effective medium pace.

Bevan is arguably the best finisher cricket has ever seen. He is also one of the most underrated players. I firmly believe that he deserved more opportunities and accolades. His left handed chinaman spinners can also come in handy in the ODI games.

Wasim Akram can spearhead any pace attack and bring excellent results. There won't be any other bowler like him. He is also a great batsman who can hit sixes and fours during the penultimate overs of a game.

While Warne was a great test bowler, Murali was great in all formats of cricket--he even left his mark in T20s. He is a match winning bowler, and he is the team's primary spinning option.

Ambrose was part of the West Indies team when they were in their decline stage, and yet he shone above his contemporaries in many ways. An effective bowler in the ODIs, he didn't shy away from hitting a few sixes also.

Finally, Allan Donald will be the new ball partner of either Wasim or Curtly, and he is the kind of bowler who can set fire even on a very much flat or batsman friendly pitch.

Arguably the best fielder ever, Jonty Rhodes comes in as the 12th man.

So my team has 3 specialist fast bowlers, 1 fast medium bowler (Kallis), 3 spinners (Murali, Sakib and Bevan). As for batting, there are 4 specialist batsmen and 4 all rounders. I think this is a much balanced game.

Few names I considered, but had to leave out:

1. Steve Waugh (one of the game's most successful all rounders)
2. Chris Cairns (records will never do proper judgement to this great all rounder)
3. Sanath Jayasurya (This was a tough call; he could add a great spinning option in the team and can be considered as a great replacement for Saeed Anwar)
4. Imran Khan (The most charismatic captains of all; his captaincy and all round skills are difficult to be matched)
5. Glen Mcgrath
6. Andy Flower
7. Mark Boucher

The Worst Piece of Design Ever Done

2012-10-07T10:24:00.000+06:00

Read Quote of Ishtiaque Khan's answer to Design: What is the worst piece of design ever? on Quora

The Most Challenging Question That I've Ever Been Asked in a Job Interview?

2012-10-07T10:19:00.001+06:00

Haha, not mine, but an interesting image nonetheless!

The question that baffled me terribly wasn't really an unusual one, but it came as a complete surprise to me. Without any introductions or any other questions, the interviewer just told me that he is giving me 10 minutes to sell myself to the interview board.

It was a disaster. Instead of talking about myself, I ended up stating my opinions on the organization, bashing the company's strategy and predicting that the entrance of any competent global competitor would decrease their market share significantly.

I didn't get the job, but my prediction came out to be true after almost 10 years

If I was ever asked the question again, this is how I would respond:

If you ask me now, I'd say that any business owner or top executive would want me to be in their team because of the following things:

I am cold blooded, and not in a negative way. I am almost always calm and cool; I never panic and I always take crisis situations with a pacifying mood. Sometimes people misunderstand me by thinking that I cannot fathom the gravity of the situation and thus I can remain calm, but they change their opinion when I am the first to devise and implement the right strategy to eliminate the crisis.

I am confident, but not arrogant. Yes, I know my limitations and I also know the extent of my abilities, which gives me a strong sense of ownership and control. If I don't know the solution to a problem and lack expertise, I don't hesitate in admitting it. However, when someone else tries to do my job or tries to ridicule me, I handle the situation with utmost confidence and I prove my abilities to them.

I am a great team player. I know how to bring the best out of my team mates--I know the ways of combining my skills and expertise with the same of the other members of the team to get the best output.

I am open minded, and I often think out of the box. Yes, proven and tested workflows and formulas can get the job done, but new ideas can do a better job, or replace the job in hand with something better that will yield bigger and better results!

I look at the big picture and I also think ahead. I consider work and life as a grand game of chess; one needs to anticipate the next 3 or more moves from the opponent, and one also needs to keep on creating, evaluating and updating the game plan for each type of resources. Focusing only on the pawns or rooks won't win you the game; you have to keep your eyes open for everything.

Background:

Just like a number of my recent blog entries, this comes from Quora. My answer did not get many up-votes, but I consider it to be important (for me).

The Most Dance Worthy Tracks

2012-08-14T17:40:00.000+06:00

Someone in Quora asked

What are the most danceable songs ever made?

And here's what I wrote:

I think Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presley will always be on top of any such list. As soon as you hear the first guitar lick and the opening verse, your legs automatically starts twisting. It happens all the time.

You Should be Dancing by Bee Gees. The title says it all. You should be dancing!

In Smooth Criminal , Michael Jackson does his famous moonwalk, and many other cool dance moves.

Rockafeller Skank by Fatboy Slim. This song was included in the original American Pie movie, and it was also featured in the video game Fifa 99. Always makes me wanna dance.

We Like To Party by Vengaboys. Yeah, it's a silly song, but the beat is much dance-worthy.

Barbie Girl - Aqua. Another one of those stupid songs that does magic to your feet.

Scatman's World - Scatman John. I am a big fan of Mr. John Paul Larkin. He was a genius, and he managed to convert his biggest weakness in to his biggest strength. Rest in peace man, God bless your soul. Whenever I hear his songs I pray for his departed soul. He was a great inspiration to everyone who has some kind of weakness in their lives.

I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles. Vintage beatles; many of their early works were heavily inspired by Little Richard and Chuck Berry, and this is a great, classic dance song.

Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry. This song has one of the most famous guitar solos, and it has a similar effect as Jailhouse Rock.

Long Tall Sally - Little Richard. Another classic dance track.

Well, that's my mini list