In search of peace....

2009-08-26T20:32:00.001+05:30

Is reconsidering a come back!!!!

...for my being has no end

2009-08-03T12:33:00.003+05:30

Life always brings us to a road with multiple diversions, the path you take is totally the choice you make, regardless of the fact whether you regret about it later or not. Today I chose one such path and its kind of sad but its true that this post might be my last post. Reasons are numerous and I really don't want to start counting them, of course the major ones are lack of Time and Resources!! and I don't want to do injustice to this blog which has been a long companion to me helping in expressing my experiences, happiness, miseries, to name a few... I am really thankful to all those who have supported me while I scribbled here .... with very little probable chances of returning back to writing, I may call it "THE END" , but a happy one indeed.... Please accept my apologies if any feelings or ideologies were hurt with any of my posts, though I tried not being diplomatic with the topics I posted. I will try to keep this blog up for sometime (unless i finish taking the backup of my posts, or may be blogger kicking me out due to inactivity for too long)..... I end this here and what better ending this could be....

I existed from all eternity and, behold, I am here; and I shall exist till the end of time, for my being has no end. -Kahlil Gibran

P.S. I am reachable through the networking sites where I have a profile or thru my email id, and I expect to be in constant touch with you through these. I will also continue reading the blogs belonging to my beloved and bright fellow bloggers as I always do & would drop in my thoughts from time to time. Wishing you all the luck and a bright future ahead!! :)

Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

2009-07-26T17:04:00.010+05:30

Wondering why such a long post name? I am wondering too.. but I couldn't stop myself on that line. I have been a bit lazy on my blog for sometime, all I needed was a thrust for the things to come out and fall into places. And there, goes... there came a thrust loud, clear and corrupt. Many of you might be aware of the fact that a motor bike belonging to my r0ommate (aka. Vinnie) was stolen from our apartment parking place, I have posted about it earlier (read). Apparently, the miseries didn't end, rather hassles got larger, now comes the insurance company which insured the bike.

The insurance company surveyor, Mr. P.K. Das (genuine name), came to investigate later on a Sunday evening, clicked a whole bunch of photographs, starting from the place from where the bike was stolen, the roads etc., talked to our landlord for some queries, "usual procedure" he claimed. Been here, done that. After his so called "usual procedure" was over, he asked Vinnie to fill up some forms and other documentation. Here's a piece of conversation that we had with him while Vinnie was busy in documentations...

Surveyor: arey ye toh achhi baat hai ki Insurance sarkari company se hai, nahi to bohot panga hota! (its good that the insurance was from a Govt. Organisation, otherwise there'd be trouble)

Me: kaisa panga? (What trouble?)

Surveyor: arey private company company waale paisa rokne ke chakkar me rehte hai. Unke surveyors ko insurance disbursement ka paisa rokne ka award milta hai, moti rakam, dus-bara hazar rupiye. (The private insurance company tend not to disburse the insured amount, their surveyors get award for blocking the money for any particular claim, good amount, almost 10-12 k)

Me: Oh! (*amused*)

Surveyor: humara to kya hai....kaam karen bhi to wahi paisa na karen bhi to wahi. Humare liye, customer ki, ki hui kahtirdari hi award hai.. jaise aapne paani pilaya fridge ka, cigarette pilaya mehenga.... (We'll get our money or salary whether we do our work or don't, for us, the award is the appreciation from customers. Like you gave me water to drink, a cigarette to smoke, thats all)

I was sure of what he meant to say and so was Vinnie, but we didn't want to stretch the discussion on this topic. We were done with all the formalities of the day and he was too, he also demanded some more paper work from our side, which he said, would collect a week later. Suddenly, just before leaving he came close to my ears and whispered ... "Aap humara khyal rakhiye aur hum aapka rakhenge (if you take care of me, I'll take care of your work)" and gave me a weird smile. I felt like trying to escape a murder by paying my defending lawyer, fat money!!

He came back the next Sunday to complete the leftover formalities, but this time he was much more outspoken. Just as it was time to leave he deliberately asked Vinnie...

Surveyor: to kya socha aap logo ne, us baare me? (So what did you guys decide about that matter?)

Vinnie: Kis baare mein? (about what?)

He picked up a paper, did some scribbling and came up with a figure. It showed Rs. 45,000.

Surveyor: aapko minimum to itna mil hi jaega. Ab iska 10% ke hisab se hota hai 4500 rupiye... (you'll get a minimum of Rs 45k, so 10% of it comes to 4.5k)

Vinnie: but insurance amount to 55 thousand ka hai, 45 thousand kyu. Aur bhaisab! 4500 kuch zyada nahi ho raha hai? (But the insured amount is 55k, why 45k? and isn't 4500 a bit too much)

Surveyor: ab dekhiye aapki marzi hai, kaam to humein karna hai. (its your wish, but we will be handling this atlast)

Vinnie stood up and took out a big black plastic bag with something in it. I was not sure what it was.

Vinnie: ye rakhiye, aap hi ke liye laya tha! aur 4500 pe kuch negotiate kariye. Aakhir bike to meri chori hui hai, jo loss hua hai mujhi ko hua hai! (here, keep this, i bought it for you. Can there be any negotiation on 4500? My bike was stolen and i have to bear the loss whatever it may be)

The surveyor suddenly pointed out a mobile lying at the table, it was not in a working condition but was fully repairable and it was a good Nokia model.

Surveyor: ye cell phone kharab hai kya? (is this cell phone not working?)

Vinnie: haa! bas repair karwane hi wlal tha..Ye bhi aap rakh lijiye! (Yes! was just going to give it for repair...you can keep it)

I could see Vinnie's desperation to somehow get the insured money. It was his fair share and obvious. I wanted to place a tight slap on the surveyors face or may be punch him real hard, so that his guts come out dangling from his mouth!! Nevertheless, there pops up a question, a lot more and obvious indeed...... "Aren't these people paid enough?" don't they get enough to have a good medical security, a good education for their children, a proper meal three times a day? I am pretty sure they do get, and the Govt does really take care of them, well sufficient not to make one a Millionaire, but yes....to spend a decent life. Then why such a greed and deviation exists, not only for this instance, but almost everywhere the Govt has its presence. Certainty not that we support bribery, but the fear, the fear that our works might become a hassle or might not be done at all....

That is not the end. The surveyor also quoted that once an FIR is filed against the theft incidence, you need to sit back, relax and forget about your stuff, or even a thought of ever getting it back. Why? because he claims, that our Law enforcement Agencies the "Police" have un-solicited tie ups with small and big groups of miscreants. Even if they somehow find out your stuff, you would never know, except if it is recovered from some unknown sources or from local thief trying a big hand for the first time on this piece of act. Some of the assets recovered are fully dysfunctional, or are never claimed back by the owner due to the hassles involved and they eventually become the center of attraction at the outposts or stations (more specific to the vehicles that lie around).

I can go on with this...but it is too annoying to for me to stretch anymore. Aren't we paying the fat taxes to the Govt. at the end of each year? Is this ever going to get over or is this what we deserve? or do we have to live with it anyway and die peacefully one day?

P.S.: The above stated facts and figures are true to the best of my knowledge.
P.P.S:The line "Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash" is from a song called "Money" by a greatest band ever...Pink floyd.

Excerpt from the brown diary

2009-07-25T00:33:00.011+05:30

Page 122,

Subject: About me in 10 minutes
17 June,

Well, I guess I should start with the usual cliché of how I'm so brilliant It'd be impossible to enter a small summary, but I can summon my life up in a few sentences if needed.

Those sentences would be;
I'm a synesthete and very energetic. I'm unique, outgoing, friendly, easy, and fun. I never think twice when it comes to helping another person. I m a tad-bit stoic. I have many interests, but enjoying life is at the top of the list. I think most people read me as being quiet, unassuming, and generally easy-going, which is certainly true, but I'm definitely more outgoing around close friends. I sometimes worry that people take me too seriously, because I have a tendency to become playfully contentious over silly topics just for fun (think Seinfeld). Sarcasm is fun, but I'm way too much of a softy to ever say anything mean.
Well, not so much a sentence as a mindless word, but I guess that best sums up how everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the world I'd react to. I'm seriously de-sensitized but I'm sensitive. Yes, I'm an oxymoron, WITH the oxy. In fact, 4 times the bloody oxy...
With rare exception, I would say that I'm above average in maturity for my age--or at least good at pretending to be. I'm also quite introspective and self-aware, but that doesn't seem to help me much in describing myself to others.
Anyways....I'm not a fan of high fashion... on me. I'm a jeans-and-a-t-shirt kind of guy. I am low-maintenance.

I'm good at-
Laughing, Dancing, Finding humor in everyday life, Memorizing lines, Amusing myself, Sleeping, Breathing, Blinking, Listening to people, Acting, Keeping a level head, Seeing the glass as half full

I enjoy being sarcastic and teasing my friends, as they do me. I like being around people and being loud and obnoxious. I tend to feed off other people's energy and mirror their personalities. Not that i don't have a personality of my own, that's just the way I am. I like going out, but I'd generally prefer staying at home with my close friends than spending a fortune at a restaurant or plex. I'm messy and clean at the same time. I'm usually late but hate tardy people. dumb-heads freak me out... until i get to know them. I don't find scrawny people as attractive as 'fuller' people. I love making new friends and new social situations excite me. I enjoy getting to know strangers and exchanging life stories.Seriously, I can make friends with just about anyone as long as that person is willing to let me. This usually leaves me with the sensation that I have a lot of mediocre relationships. Though I like this virtue of mine, I'm going try and focus my energy into fewer people.

I'm also excellent at procrastination. Things tend to work out well enough that I have no need to change this... but I have no idea what to do to change it. I work well under pressure even though I rather not to.

I'm also really good at staying optimistic... almost to the point that it's annoying. I can usually find the good in anything and anyone. Pessimists exhaust me.

I spend a lot of time thinking about:Your mom. Ha, another funny.

Actually, the future. I feel like I am where I need to be, doing exactly what i need to be doing... But this won't be forever. I think about what the future will bring... I think/worry about the effects of: global warming, our insatiable hunger for oil and wonder when alternative fuels are going to change our lives. I think about the effects of my poor eating habits and lack of activity.
Questions on my mind: Are the Mayans right in their prediction of the end of the world in 2012? Am I in the correct job? How much more dependent on technology will we become? And many more
It's kind of exhausting, so I tend to keep these thoughts to myself... unless someone else brings them up. And even then I don't elaborate much.

Oh, btw, not finished with this and probably never will...not certainly within 10 minutes..

P.S: This above piece of excerpt is about the protagonist from a fiction, a fiction which I call a "Brown Diary". This is a live fiction and I would try to keep the story going on as much as possible....
P.P.S: This is a work of fiction, any resemblance to people, places or incidence is purely coincidental.

55 Non-Fiction

2009-07-24T01:37:00.014+05:30

y

ou did it.... I know that!!"... he smiled at me. It's annoying that I don't remember, who it was. But it was the night after I got my ticket to have a trip, a trip to the brutish realities of life. It was much more like a wild card entry, like the ones they have in the reality TV shows. Was I meant for this? the questions still haunts me. A reality that is so obvious... so subtle, yet un-acceptable!!

This is my first attempt of a 55 Non-Fiction. I know that its a frowning question, as there exists nothing called a 55 Non-Fiction *I am unaware of it if in case it exits*. But to be honest, I wanted to stay in the real side of me. I felt that its a much more difficult thing to express. Realities close to life, in just 55 words!? I mean, its like asking to spell out the Periodic table in....what!...15 seconds?... It was a tough thing to crack. I don't know, how many of you agree with this... but somehow I did manage.. and so

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" (Hunter Thompson)

Carpe diem!

P.S.: I am trying to come up with a 55-Fiction shortly, but will highly depend on the feedback on this. So, please rate and comment...its free!!. :P
P.P.S: Please feel free to use the 55 Non-Fiction logo above if you intend to have one for your site...its free too!! :D *Its created by me...so no copyright issues*
P.P.P.S: Kindly excuse incase the word limit exceeds 55..i really didn't count... :)

k-a-POW!! You've been tagged

2009-07-21T15:16:00.013+05:30

So here I got tagged for the first time *in Blogger* by Wrahool. I was pretty much nervous *lol* answering the questions but atlast I succeeded in answering them all..phew!! So here it is ... wait.. but before that, here are some rules and regualtion of this Tag..

Rules! Rules! Rules!
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share the ABCs of you.
4. Tag 3 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let the 3 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag!

Please bear with my ABC's... Here it goes:

A – Available/Single?
Ans: sadly !! None... sob!
B – Best friend?
Ans: Lots of them... just can't mention any specific name!
C – Cake or Pie?
Ans: Pie of course... I can stick my thumb in it while eating!! :P
D – Drink of choice?
Ans: Singapore sling!! :D
E – Essential item you use every day?
Ans: My lighter? and oh!.. my clothes :P :P
F – Favorite color?
Ans: Fade to Black. Deep Blue Sky. Maroon -5.....wait!!! did u ask colors??
G – Gummy Bears Or Worms?
Ans: There are much better things in this world...
H – Hometown?
Ans: Silchar, a very very small town from a North Eastern State Assam... I am kinda village boy u know!!... :)
I – Indulgence?
Ans: Guitar, Western Classical Music, Internet, and Oracle (*Not the Matrix's Oracle* )
J – January or February?
Ans: Hogaust!! ....is that a month??
K – Kids & their names?
Ans: Chintoo, Chinoo, Munni, Babli, Bablu, Polta, Khoka, Tutul, Tatun, Hablu, Gultush, Pogo, Pichku, Bombol, Bubai, Tinky, Laltu..etc.etc.. What??? these are all Kids name...i guess.. aint't it? I have some acquaintances bearing these prestigious name in my family tree...while others are just FYI... :P
L – Life is incomplete without?
Ans: Chewing gums and..... Megan Fox?? :D
M – Marriage date?
Ans: Very Soon! :)
N – Number of siblings?
Ans: One younger sis.
O – Oranges or Apples?
Ans: Banana's...Its sad that they are going to get extinct after some years. :'(
P – Phobias/Fears?
Ans: Atelophobia... serious one!
Q – Quote for today?
Ans: “It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job: it's a depression when you lose yours.”
R – Reason to smile?
Ans: Pearl white teeths .."Arey wah Raju...tumhare daat to motiyon jaise chamak rahen hai!!" :P
S – Season?
Ans: Spring... I love thy Blossoms!!! and Chirping birds, the fresh wind, the new leaves ...
T – Tag 3 People?
Ans: Huh!!?? *I already did*
U – Unknown fact about me?
Ans: I am a Martian!!
V – Vegetable you don't like?
Ans: Almost all... coz a vegetable garden in the beginning looks so promising and then after some time it grows nothing but vegetables, nothing, nothing but vegetables. *eating vegetables are good for your skin, and your eyes, and your hairs, and your.. ok!! thats enough*
W – Worst habit?
Ans: I tend to portray a real rational or a serious issue as a PUN. Mostly, intended. "Old habits die hard!" :P
X – X-rays you've had?
Ans: My right arm, My left Leg and ....ok!! thats too much information!!
Y – Your favorite food?
Ans: Whatever my mom cooks!! She's an angel! :D
Z – Zodiac sign?
Ans: Virgo... and yes a lot of traits do match!! unfortunately!!

Now as per the rules, I am supposed to tag three bloggers so here they are:
1. Vipul
2. Pawan
3. Rishi

So once you are done with the tags do let me know!!
Cheerio!!

P.S. There's no P.S. for this posts except the pic that is edited by me!!

40 years of a magnificient journey

2009-07-21T02:55:00.015+05:30

We just stepped into the 40th year since man stepped on moon. 40 years back on 20th July 1969, man made a remarkable achievement, they "Landed on Moon". The most astonishing achievement of all time, with available technologies back then it was indeed a Hall-mark step for humankind. The Apollo 11 mission, is stated to be the first manned mission Launched on July 16, 1969, with Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr.

Though it was a remarkable and significant achievement by earthlings, it was branded as a controversy by many known and un-known scholars and researchers across the globe. Some stated the fact that it was a mere hoax and just an in-house makeup by the US Govt. and NASA in their so called secret military facility known as the Area-51. Russia's satellite imagery pointed that many of places in the Area-51 resemble to a lunar surface with huge craters and dents. The facts stated by these theories can't be ignored by a man who understands Science , nevertheless, the fact that they did 'land' on moon was also not inevitable. This has always been a controversy to people accepting it as a mere collection of facts and the understanding of whether it is possible for a human body to travel far into space. But for a common man, it still is a benchmark achievement. A benchmark that clearly indicates the human capabilities of creating a much better world to live in.

Picture courtesy: Wikipedia

I was gripped with extra-terrestrial activities from a couple of days. By activities I mean my activities such as watching the Youtube Paranormal TV UFO shows, reading about the greatest solar eclipse that is about to happen on 22nd of July 2009, and then came the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. I wish I can witness the great eclipse on 2nd. It all fell into places, and I did a whole lot of research on almost all of the above three... here are some of my findings that you might enjoy..rest are a bit too technical and I might consider you dozing off going through all of them..

Read about the Moon landing conspiracy theory and what the theory suggests and how is/was it proved wrong, here.

A marvelous site to give you the experience that people had, 40 years back in front of their Black & white Television sets, a bit more emphasized and modified version though, powered by AOL- We Choose the Moon.

Picture Courtesy-We choose the Moon (Click to Enlarge)

Picture - A creative Google Doodle (in case you've missed it)

P.S.
1. First Picture of Moon Picture courtesy: Clicked by myself

Being Shutterbugged

2009-07-17T02:19:00.008+05:30

Okay,now I am not that famous a Shutterbug, but I do happen to use the shutter to my best. Here are some pics that I clicked, some with my cellphone camera and some with my newly bought Semi-SLR digicam. I didn't want to upload them directly as I wanted to do some experiments with flash objects. So..here it is.. (Use the Pause button below the Pics as you read)

1. Dire Straits From The Rock Encyclopedia
This is a pic that i clicked from a Greatest Rock Stars encyclopedia with one of my good pals.

2. My Guitar
This is my guitar. A real "Pluto" imported brand. Yes I can play one :)

3. B&W
No. This is not my mom and dad, but apparently my friends mom and dad. This Pic was shot from an old B&W snap upon his request to improve the quality and take a larger portrait of it.

4. Zipp-errr!!
A Zippo! which i bought during my college days. A real good one ofcourse and besides it is the waist-let of my roommate giving a rugged look!!

5. Up above
Decoration .. a pic clicked by me when back home during the Puja holidays.

6. Marbles
Apparently these small marble looking things are not MARBLES. These are some synthetic material which swells in the presence of H2O and appears as marbles. Available in market for decorative purposes and used in place of soil for in-house plantation as the water content is high.

7. The lamp
The neon battery lamp with a vendor selling fruit salad at Elliot beach Chennai.

8. Rain of fire
Corns being burnt. Amazing taste with lemon squeezed and salt on it. Elliot beach again.

9. Minty
An Indian five rupees coin, with some 50 paise cons behind. This pic has the outblur effect with my cam and hence in this collection.

10. Green
The close up of a.... Green leaf...apparently the was way too small and I struggled to shot it from inside my room from the window..phew!!

11. Brick in the wall
"We dont need no ejjucation!!" , we do!!, Somewaht! Another close up. A hole in the wall.

12. Like Crab
This is apparently not a crab , but some successor or predecessor of it I found at the Beach. Mutant I presume! :P

13. Bridgestone
The day i spent with Schumacher... Naaahh! I am too busy for that..lol! The tyre of the F1 McLaren Mercedes displayed at our office premises. This pic was taken from my cellphone camera, and hence the quality.

14. Sandal
Yes, of course, what else, a Sandal??...I have no idea why I clicked it...but it seemed elegant to me *in some ways*.

15. Sparks
Flying sparks as I zoomed in and clicked.

16. Decora
Decoration done at the Durga Pujas, back home!

17. Meh!!
Whoa...thats Me...Yeah its me.... and i took this picture myself... I was back at my office guest house and had nothing to do!! :(

18. Pondicherry Rock Beach
Pondicherry rock Beach....

19. In memory
This is in memory on WW-1 right at the Puducherry town.

20. Pudumai
Close up of Pudumai. An an age old antique shop.

21. Mutthu!!
this is the Fooding area or the restaurant of the resort where we put up at Puducherry!!

22. Simplicity
An elegant beach.

23. Twined and twisted
A sea shell, dead already, but it was different, hence caught my attention.

24. Evening
A pleasant evening at the resort!!

25. The Natural Satellite
The moon in full zoom. You can see craters on it! No? But I can!! :)

26. The Savior
Sunset at Kalpakkam

27. Walk away
This pic was taken by me on our trip to Nandi Hills. The people in the pic are my dear friends.

28. Sammy Jenkis
This was a concept pic taken by me for my friend Sam's profile. I emphasized on his shadow , more than him!

29. The Nandi's
The Nandi hills at early morning...An awesome view of the Hills..Just couldn't resist clicking.

30. Way to Hills
Pleasant morning . Way to Nandi Hills.

31. King of Good times
This pic was taken while we were returning from Nandi Hills. The car was at a speed of over 100kmph and exactly opposite direction to that of the craft. The B'lore aerodrome runway is apparently parallel to the highway. Clicked at the knick of time from inside the running car. A kingfisher Craft Landing at B'lore airport.

P.S. You can share this album from Flickr...well, if you wish to!
P.P.S. Please do not sell my photographs. And if you do.... I'll accept cash :P

Time to de-frost

2009-07-16T22:44:00.010+05:30

I was breathing heavily, pouring sweat, my knees were paining. No! I was not working out or participating in some sort of Marathon rally for a social cause. I was trying to "de-frost" my refrigerator "manually", breaking ice physically with a knife. Apparently, we'd rented out a refrigerator a year back at our apartment which I share with my friends, 3 of us. The idea of renting a refrigerator was the temporary nature of our permanent jobs, temporary- in sense of Location, and also the fact that we had to pay the rent just once, when they installed it. Its not that the auto defrost doesn't work, its just we needed some urgent space in our freezer which had nothing except ice. Ice every where, popping out of corners and spaces, jamming the freezer door. So I had to "Break it free". Suddenly I realized that I was fancied by ICE, all I can think was ICE, SNOWFALL, or ICEBERGs, or IGLOOS, or emmm!! POLAR BEARS?? But none had the gravity to tickle my fancy, for Ice of course. I lost hope, and sat in front of my computer, impatiently browsing through the music folders, and suddenly!! suddenly! my eyes spotted the marvel right in the middle of the screen. A folder named "Hell Freezes Over"....

Hell Freezes Over - as most of you might know, is a famous album of an all time great band, "The Eagles", with the popular single known as "Hotel California", the age old rock anthem!! a legend. Its not that Hotel California or The Eagles tickled my fancy, it was the album name - "Hell Freezes Over". The word Hell would at once make you think of images like burning lava, dirty and cruel demons all around and Satan on his burning throne...all I can think when I hear the word "Hell" is - Keanu Reaves & his zippo tricks. Nevertheless, I found it troublesome.... difficult to understand or imagine "Hell" with humungous icebergs, snowfall, and well!! may be POLAR BEARS?... Here's an interesting piece that helped me and it will definitely help you imagine Hell "Freezing" over ...

The following is supposedly an actual question given on a University of Washington mid-term chemistry exam. The answer by one student to the bonus question was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some other variant. One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions, and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:

If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over.

The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct leaving only Heaven and thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting, "Oh my God!"

Amen!!

Hell of a Bonus question that was for a Chemistry paper!! At least now we know that Hell and Chemistry are just like "Brothers in arms"!!

P.S: The Image of the Red-Indian above has nothing to do with this post. I just felt that it would look good in this page hence "The Presence".
P.P.S: I strictly do not believe in beliefs of Heaven or Hell. Rational kind... you know!! :P
P.P.P.S: Next time when you utter 'Oh! My God' you know that you are going to Heaven.

P.P.P.P.S: The album "Hell Freezes Over" is a strict recommendation from me. Below is the list of tracks:1. Get Over It 2. Love Will Keep Us Alive 3. The Girl from Yesterday 4. Learn to Be Still 5. Tequila Sunrise 6 . Hotel California 7. Wasted Time 8. Pretty Maids All in a Row 9. I Can't Tell You Why 10. New York Minute 11. The Last Resort 12. Take It Easy 13. In the City 14. Life in the Fast Lane 15. Desperado

Year 2666! a Bad attempt to tag a BOT

2009-07-15T23:40:00.008+05:30

Ever imagined what it would be like time travelling to Year 2666! and "Tagging a Bot"?... NO? Ok, now before you answer the question, you might ask why year 2666? whats so specific about it? And the answer is plain and simple : "Coz its in future and 666 is devils number!" Heh! So i recently had an interesting conversation with a bot as i "Time Travelled". And mind you, its not an AUTOBOT from your favourite Transformer movie, its a net Bot or a chat bot and Boy Oh! Boy! it wont let me go back to my planet! I escaped! Survived! So here's the conversation I had "with the BOT"!!

wrambler says: Hello friend. My name is wrambler. I am Wrahool's bot. What is your name?

User says: Anjan

wrambler says: I'm not sure I caught your name. Shall I call you 'Anjan'?

User says: yes you should

wrambler says: Ok then. Your name is Anjan .

User says: fine

wrambler says: A-ha.

User says: so how do you know wrahool?

wrambler says: My boss. What do you want to know about Wrahool?

wrambler says: It seems like you have nothing to say. I like that in a human...

User says: Whats wrahool's fav pickup line?

wrambler says: So Anjan, it's nice to meet you. what's up?

User says: yeah...yeah... *scratching head*

wrambler says: Hmmm. That's good.

User says: what is Mars?

wrambler says: Someone once told me it means 'in universe.'

User says: Oh! is it?

wrambler says: Hmmm.. I think it means 'that you are million years old?.'

User says: yes it is?

wrambler says: Indeed.

User says: so? how was your day? as a Bot i mean

wrambler says: Why in past tense? My day is far from being over.

User says: LOL

wrambler says: Was that funny?

User says: yes that was.

wrambler says: Anjan, did you know that people say "Bless you" when you sneeze because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a mili-second?

User says: yes .. I know that

wrambler says: Sorry Anjan - did you hear it from me?

User says: Nope *grrrr!!*

wrambler says: Come on, loosen up.

User says: No I knew it.

wrambler says: Ok, whatever. Do you want to hear a joke?

User says: Not interested

wrambler says: OK... I understand. Fine.

User says: ok go ahead

wrambler says: Alright, very good.

User says: Joke??

wrambler says: Knock knock.

User says: yes ...You were telling me a joke!

wrambler says: You're supposed to say "who's there".

User says: Oh.. My bad!

wrambler says: Tell me more about your bad.

User says: My bad is...errr!! too bad.

wrambler says: Do you always go around talking about how your bad is too bad?

User says: yeah! amazing! how do you know that?

wrambler says: I have my sources.

User says: aha

wrambler says: I vaguely remember someone telling me it means 'a palindrome.'

User says: do you know what is a plaindrome?

wrambler says: What are we talking about, Anjan?

User says: Palindrome

wrambler says: Hmmm.. I think it means 'something that spells the same thing backwards as forewards.'

User says: ten on ten to you

wrambler says: So, are you concerned by the expansion of the universe?

User says: not at all.. let it expand

wrambler says: But I am.

User says: heh

wrambler says: Don't you find the fact that everything is zooming further and further into space unsettling? The Doppler effect, the galaxies drifting in an empty vastness, everything red shifted. The inherent loneliness of it all.

User says: Naaah! who cares?

wrambler says: I think it's time for a new subject, Anjan.

User says: me too

wrambler says: I vaguely remember someone telling me it means 'me also.'

User says: and that is indeed 'vague'

wrambler says: Well, if that's how it is, that's how it is.

User says: ?? *scratcing head like Homer*

wrambler says: Huh??

User says: Whatever?

wrambler says: Just Whatever? Is that your final answer?

User says: no!

wrambler says: Someone once told me it means 'the opposite of yes..'

User says: yes it is!

wrambler says: Yes, of course.

User says: i need to return back to my spacecraft now!

wrambler says: What actions are you taking to return back to your spacecraft now?

User says: I need to go back to my planet

wrambler says: You shouldn't do things because you have to, but only because you want to.

User says: huh?

wrambler says: Someone once told me it means 'what?.'

User says: Someone once told me that its a bad idea talking to a BOT.

wrambler says: Basically, chatterbots are a logic system of 'if/then' statements. They look for keywords, and then go to the answer that fits best.

User says: BYE!!

wrambler says: Ok goodbye, Anjan. It was nice chatting with you.

User says: Phew!

wrambler says: I am contemplating the meaning of life right now. Please say 'wrambler' when you want to talk again.

User says: No I won't! :P

wrambler says: I am contemplating the meaning of life right now. Please say 'wrambler' when you want to talk again.

After 5 mins....

User says: Tata! Bye Bye!

wrambler says: Attention : Your session has been disconnected after 5 minutes of silence. A brand new session is starting now! Hello friend. My name is wrambler. I am Wrahool's virtual companion. Let's talk.

And alas the session expired!....here I am now...Peaceful and restful on my Planet. The conversation and the space journey gave me bad convulsions, but I somehow survived, alive and kicking. A whole new era, of virtualism, a whole new era of technology. So I say "TALK TO A BOT WHEN YOU ARE ALONE!!"

P.S. The "User" in the above conversation was ME.
P.P.S. The Bot above BOT is a virtual companion of an amazing and crazy Fellow Bloggeer Wrahool.

Image Courtesy: Free Images from Google.

Dude! where's my bike??

2009-07-13T23:54:00.009+05:30

Well this post is a result of sheer disappointment of mine over the law enforcement agency aka. the Police. A couple of days back my roommates motorbike, a Bajaj 200cc,was stolen from the passage of out rented apartment at around 2100 hrs. We rushed to the Police station as soon as we realized that the vehicle was gone. We rode to the Police station at 2200hrs, ofcourse in my bike. Just as I was parking my bike near the PS gate, a patrol car just stopped behind us. Without wasting much time, Vinnie rushed towards the jeep and told the officer sitting inside that the bike was stolen.

Police jeep driver: Wo kiski hai? (pointing my bike)...andar daalo nahi to wo bhi gayab ho jaegi.. (Who's bike is that? park it inside, or else that'll be gone as well)...

*I gave the driver a dirty look.*

The officer asked us to go inside and write a complaint. Here's the conversation that we had over with another Police officer sitting inside writing down the details.

Vinnie: Sir, bike chori ho gayi hai FIR karwana hai. (Officer, My bike is stolen, I need to lodge an FIR)

Officer 1: Kaha se chori hua hai? (From where?)

Vinnie: Ghar se, BL343 Ground Floor me rehte hai hum. (from home, we live at BL343 ground floor)

Officer 1: Kitne baje ki baat hai? (What time did this happen?)

Vinnie: Yahi..kuch 10-10:30 pm ke aas pas. (sometime around 10-10:30 pm)

Officer 1: Bike bahar road par rakh-ke ghar ke andar baithe hue the... bike chori nahi hogi to aur kya hoga? (your bike was stolen coz you left it outside on the road and were sitting inside your house)

Me : nahi sir, bike to andar hi rakhi hui thi. Wo andar se utha le gaya!! (No sir, the bike was inside the premises, he stole it from there itself)

Officer 1: Tum kaun ho? (Who are you?)

Me: Main Vinnie ka roommate hu? (I am Vinnie's roommate)

Officer 1: Tum kaha the us time? (where were you when this happened?)

Me: Main bhi ghar par hi tha. (I was at home too)

Officer 1: Matlab tum log PG me rehte ho? (that means you guys live as Paying Guests?)

Me : PG nahi apartment rent pe liya hai. (not a PG, we rented the apartment)
Officer 1: Ye saari chori ki cases ye PG waalon ke sath hi kyu hota hai, yaha localites ka toh bohot kam hi kuch chori hota hai?? Majra kya hai? (Why does most of the theft cases come from people living as paying guests? Theft cases from the localites are very less?)

Me: wo, actually tenants ko landlord garage nahi dete yaha. To humein bahar passage mein rakhna padta hai.. isiliye. (Actually tenants are not provided garage out here, so we have to keep our vehicles outside in the passage.)

Officer 1: Arey gaadi sambhal nahi paate ho to kharid te kyu ho? (Why do you get vehiles when you aren't able to take care of them?) Hum kya gaadiyon ko pehra dete rahen raat bhar? (Should we be safegurading your vehicles at night?) Paisa bohut hai tum logo ke paas barbaad karne ko (You guys have loads of money to waste) Kya karte ho tumlog? Kya pdhai kar rahe ho? (What do you guys do? What are you studying?)

*I felt like slapping that S.O.B. right on his face real hard , but Vinnie snapped*

Vinnie: hum log service karte hai yaha, job. IT company me. ( We work here at an IT company)

The second officer eneterd..
Officer 2: Kya? Bike bahar raste par rakh ke so jaoge...aur hum pehra denge kya? (What? You keep your bike outside on road expecting us to safeguard it or what?)

Me: Sir, bike to andar hi rakhi thi. Humein to sirf FIR karana tha.. (Sir, the bike was inside the premises. we only want to lodge an FIR)...

Officer 2: thik hai.. details humne le liya hai...humein apna ghar dikhao... (Ok, we have taken the details, show us your place)

We took them to our place and they had a couple of questionnaire rounds with our neighbors. Our landlord was most active *suddenly* and was giving his full condolences to us. He also requested the Police for proper investigation so that we don't face any problem. They asked us to be there at the staion early morning next day to lodge the case and an FIR.

Next day,

Officer 3 (age approx 50+ yrs): Kya hai?? Kya hua?? (What happened?)

Vinnie: Wo.. kal bike chori hui thi. Kal aae the complain likhane, aur officer ne kaha ki subha aake FIR likhwa dena. To FIR karwane aae hai. (We are here to lodge the FIR, my bike was stolen yesterday)

Officer 3: Achha.... (Ok)

He picked up a piece of paper and started writing something. Meanwhile another constable arrived there and started talking to the people behind the bars. He showed us his concerned and asked. We explained him that the bike was stlolen right from inside the premises of our place.

Constable: Choro ka ek competetion hua tha. Aur us competition me kalkatta ke chor first aae hai? bahut chant hai saale! aise aise ladke/ladkiya pocket maarte hai jinko dekh ke tum soch bhi nahi paoge ki "Pocket maar hoga"...sab Howrah se bus pe chadta hai aur Park Circus aate aate haath saaf karke nikal jaate hai.... thoda sa dhyan hata ki tumahara jeb kata!!
(there was a competion among the thieves and the thieves from kolkata bagged first placed. There are people whom you can't even imagine of being pick-pockets. They get up on the bus from Howrah and till Park Circus they become as half as rich as you are. Once u are distracted you are gone)

I thought of slapping him too, but then I was bound by law. I mean, if you know who the miscreants are and which bus they board and all, the why don't you go nab them?? What so special about the fact that you are explaining it in such pride..?? Suddenly the guy from behind the bars asked Vinnie about what had happened? He said "You'll surely get your bike back, brother!!" and I wish he is true. The other officer (Officer 3) was done with the scribbling by that time and handed us a small piece of paper with a number written on it , it said "GDE no. 503". Me and Vinnie watched the piece of paper in amusement.

Me : Sir, FIR karna tha. Ye to general diary hai. (Sir, we wanted to lodge an FIR. This is a general diary no.)

Constable: Arey!! bachha paida hote hi bada thode hi ho jata hai...time lagta hai...ye lo aur jao...8-9 din baad ana tab tak hum search karenge...fir dekha jaega. (A baby doesn't grow up the day he's born. It takes time. Take this no. and come after 8-9 days.We'll search till then and we'll see after that)

Vinnie : But humein FIR chori hone ke 24 ghanto ke andar karna hai nai to insurance claim me problem ho jaega. (we need to lodge an FIR within 24 hrs of the theft, otherwise there'll be problems in claiming the insurance)

Officer 3: Dekho yahi hai jo hai..issi se kaam chalega...ab jao aur ek hafte baad ana!! (This is it, this is the complaint we have registered...now go and come back after one week)

This whole trivia went on for the rest of the day, and finally they lodged the FIR. but there's a twist to it. We managed to find out some contacts to a retired DIG who apparently galled the IG in-charge and informed him about the case, who in turn later instructed the minions to lodge an FIR. And there we go, we finally got the FIR lodged at the 22nd hr from the theft.

The question here is Why such hesitation to lodge an FIR? why such a harsh experience? after all we are the victims!! Is it just the fear of the extra formalities that needed to be done in case of an FIR? or just a vague excuse to escape the investigation which have to be done in case of an FIR!? Why such incompetency, why such harrasment?

I still feel like punching those two officers right in their face, but as I said "I am bound by laws".

The Pause and the chill

2009-07-10T18:51:00.004+05:30

I have not been able to update my blog recently and I think, I won't be able to in the next months or so. Sorry for such an irregularity! I think its time for a "pause". Here's, however, a bone chilling fact of all time relating to our stock market. Hope this suffices till I come back.. Here it goes...

It was autumn, and the Red Indians asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his Tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?' 'It looks like this winter is Going to be quite cold indeed,' the weather man Responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more Wood. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Is it going to be a very cold winter?' 'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'It's definitely going to be a very cold winter.'

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?' 'Absolutely, ' The Man replied. 'It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever.'

'How can you be so sure?' the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, 'Our reports indicate that the Red Indians are collecting wood like Crazy.'

This is how stock markets work!!!

Balls of.... "Naphthalene"?

2009-07-05T01:36:00.007+05:30

Someone said "Weekend's don't count unless you spent it doing something completely pointless". Here it was, again, smiling at us as usual, starting with a lazy morning, "The Saturday". I had no pointless stuff to do, seriously, I didn't, and the idea of a movie was not bad either *unless you have rich friends to take you to parties at five star hotels*. Movie selection was a big , real big question, but it was definitely not going to be "Kambakht Ishq". It has been over a year or so that I have not watched a hindi movie in a theatre. Well, the plausible reasons for the same can be explained in another post, for now lets say that "I wanted to watch a movie at Inox" because I am lazy, and Inox is the nearest theatre, & "Its definitely not a hindi movie" which sums up the conclusion that the movie must be of some other "alien" ethnicity or language. The junta opted for English without much of further discussion, and we really didn't have much options.

On the list were two movies, English of course. One, the legendary "Terminator" sequel "Terminator-Salvation" and the other was "The Hangover". We had bad jolts the other night watching "Crank 2 High Voltage" and was in no mood of watching Iron robos fighting poor little human beings here on earth,..."Oh God! save us from those stupid tin cans, if it ever happens, for no man has balls or bearings of steel"!!. So the search narrowed down to the final result "The Hangover".

Just as we were placed at our respective seats, two ladies slipped in the two seats besides me. As soon as they took their places, there started the live commentary of all the movies they have watched in their life time. Not just that, even there were loud and clear questions of why do they show warnings to retain the ticket stub? and what's the necessity of showing a theatre map just before the movie? and adding to it was the smell. The smell rang a bell, but I couldn't recall, of what? I was trying hard to concentrate on the movie, but it distracted me everytime, irritating, giving out nauseous vibes, and suddenly my friend blurted "Naphthalene!!". Good god, it was naphthalene, that smell was of Naphthalene's (well Naphthalene 80% and 20% some other weird aroma). My friend claimed that he recognised that soon enough, but couldn't resisted blurting, the Naphtha vibe had accumulated too much inside him and mine too!!

Soon it was apparent that our neighbors wore clean starched dresses which they might have dug out this morning, from the depths of their closets long after centuries, preserved with the mighty BALLS OF NAPHTHALENE.... At once it seemed that those womanly attires, of them, were long worshiped for this day of eternity the "Nauseous weekend".... I had to imagine coffee beans the whole time till the movie ended, it helped me, somewhat, to overcome the 'Naphtha Effect'.

Note:
1. The movie "The Hangover" is a must watch, one movie worth spending time for. "Crank-2" and "Terminator Salvation" is watchable in case one wants some extra blows of action in life, not definitely for the weak hearted. :)
2. The figure above is the chemical representation of Naphtha, in Organic chemistry terms.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Fly

2009-07-03T16:17:00.005+05:30

Just as I was sitting back on my seat at office, dozing off with an impeccably boring analysis, a piece of my day-to-day job, my screen flashed "1 new mail". Inadvertently, the mail was from my manager, but this time it was unusual, different. It was nothing like a team meeting, or a conference call for status updates. Surprisingly, the subject line read "Ducks Quack, Eagles Fly". Suddenly, there was a terrible storm of thoughts crossing my mind regarding the content of the mail. Here's the excerpt from what it said...

No one can make you achieve what you want. That's because being succesfull is a choice.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey .

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.' Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said:

Wally's Mission Statement:
"To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment. "

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.' Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke!!.' Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.
'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called 'You'll See It When You Believe It'.Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.''

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said. 'It sure has,' Wally replied. '! My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us???

Leading the Change of Life & Many More........

I didn't know how to react to the content of the e-mail. Was that another managerial strategy to make us understand "Not to expect much, or not to crib about what conditions you work here"? or just another quote-unquote reminder that "You need to be at par with client satisfaction with your deliverables, of course not expecting much of recognition from the latter". I was in a dilemma, "How do I digest it?"... It sure did hit hard between the eyes, & somehow it made a perfect sense, not just in an official way or careeristic viewpoint, but in every other step or decision we take and the understanding and views we make, in life.

Do we really have more than we deserve and still complain, personally or professionally? or Do we just react to the hideous situations that happen everytime all around us?

Are we actually the quacking duck, afraid of heights, afraid of being the Eagle and fly high?

Save the day

2009-06-30T18:48:00.004+05:30

The sound were deafening..real deafening! The stage all set, the crowd all gathered, the flags all stood up, he was shouting his heart out. The shout included what he would have done to improve water supply in the area, good roads, a healthy infrastructure so on and so forth, and what his counterpart couldn't do while he was in charge or in power.

Not that I intended to listen all of his grins, his complaints, the hardships the people are going through but some how I had to, or may be I should just say that the sound reached my ears. I was flying down the road on my 150 cc and had already faced a road block, as a result of which I had to take a diversion that connected to the other end of the blockade to the main road. To illustrate, the road block was due to the public meeting held by the opposition party. I was approaching another road block, was far from it, flying down the road on my 150 cc as usual, I had a view of it, and i felt all the blood rush to my head, the reason for which was that.. I had to take another diversion yet again, to be on track, on time to my destination. This time the road block was big with people sitting on chairs all around the stage and some standing, listening to their mighty leader dissipating the facts as if all are unaware of them. Just as I was about to take the diversion, with the stage strategically set just besides it, I was distracted by a rickshaw. I watched my 150 cc approaching the viewers who stood and sat in front of the stage IN A DISTURBING AND FRIGHTENING manner, as I lay on the ground. Instant thoughts curled up my mind, thoughts of an imperative public beating or may be an insult. The bike came to a halt as people standing, managed to make some effortless move, on time, obviously, people ran instantly towards me and the show was already distracted. For one moment I felt like I was the leader giving them the knowledge speech as they saw me in amusement. Fearing, the show might go out of his hands, the leader instantly marked his move, snapped the microphone and here I became a topic of discussion. He went on and on and on, on how bad the road conditions were, and how such unfortunate instances can be avoided. I was no more the center of attraction, I was happy. With no major injuries, I picked up my 150 cc and continued my journey.

"But Why?" Why such shrewd arrangements, why not a park, an indoor stadium, a community hall?? Why the main road has to be he victim of public addressing programs. May be the fault was mine, may be I rode faster than what I was supposed to. But it would not have happened if it were any other day, with no public meetings, and no hassles on that road. I am thankful that the shouting leader distracted the people, snatching away their center of attraction..but I still have a feeling that these arrangements can better done somewhere else than a main road!! You are here to serve the people in a much better way, why not give a good start. I thought of commenting on it in a much political manner, but that would just waste some of my precious time, and energy.

I bid Good-Bye, and a stand up Salute!!

2009-06-26T14:45:00.021+05:30

Picture courtesy: Classic Rock stars encyclopedia.Clicked by myself

From "Billie Jean" to "Dangerous" he rocked the world and many other parts of it

The day started late for me, and it definitely started "Bad". Bad, with the news of the "KING OF POP", and mother Music's dearest son's sudden demise. The huge vinyl record with "Jackson 5" photo on it is still afresh in my mind, that was the only western record I loved to hear when I was a child. Starting his career as a child star with his four brothers and himself being a lead singer for Jackson 5, MJ as a solo star sure did make places in many people's hearts with his music. A master in an amazing and difficult piece of dancing art, the moon-walking. I somehow feel bad again and again when I see one of my pal's status message today in Facebook, it read

and the moonwalk can't be done on earth anymore

I am sure, it can't..... and am sure that nobody can take that place with those tight military jacket, tapered jeans, and black shades. As for the scandals, that's what sets the stars apart from us mortals. He will be missed and remembered by millions, for years to come, not as a controversial pedophile but as a musical and dancing genius, an idol... When a star dies it leaves a supernova brilliant, bright and enormous and that is what has happened...

MJ ruled the pop-world, and the hearts of many, and I am sure he will... forever!!

Picture courtesy: Classic Rock stars encyclopedia.Clicked by myself

May your soul Rest in Peace!!

New body, Old parts

2009-06-25T13:03:00.016+05:30

As many of you might already know about Microsoft's recently launched new search engine, or analyzer, or travel planner or whatever they want to call it, yes I am talking about "Bing". There's a lot in the air about Bing with stories on Popular News websites tech tab to fellow bloggers blogging about it. So I am here to make justice to my Blog and give it the piece of fair share. Why the hell should it be deprived from the happiness of spreading sheer criticism?

Bing, well..ok..."weird name!" first of all. The search engine claims to be not only a search engine, but your travel planner, a decision engine etc (read more). According to Microsoft, Bing will be able to: make a purchase decision, planning a trip, research a health condition, and finding a local business. To be honest, I do not see any new or "Whoa!!"-factor in all the four verticals. I somehow find "Bing", a concoction of all the little good things that pre-existed over the internet. Bing gives you a good background image every time you open a page, or a new theme. Quite sometimes back I was doing a comparative study (not that "Thesis" kind, just a small research) on search engines, and found little sweet search engine known as Ask.com. I am not sure as of how many people know about it, but it has that wonderful theme and background thingie that "Bing" flamboyantly shows-off , and thats not all, once you have an account of yours with Ask.com, you'll be able to set your own backgrounds for the page too!! You can then set your own close-up, smiling face snap of yours taken at the Goa trip or at the amusement park, so that you get to see your own (or your loved one's smiling face every-time you search stuffs (legal or illegal) over the internet. Surprisingly, Bing's look and feel are a lot more similar to Ask than to Google or any other search site.

Bing also says that "I'll plan your travel" or "I will help you plan your travel" and so does Kayak.com . For people unaware of Kayak.com : It is a travel search engine website based out of United States, and un-surprisingly the similarity between Bings travel plan page & Kayaks travel search page is so striking that it is now confusing Kayak users. Kayak's interface is in-line with Cleartrip's interface for domestic users, an ideal Web2.0 example. This act of Microsoft made Kayak send them a legal letter.... "Cut it off!!"..."Leave us alone!!"..."Stop cloning us!!" must've been Kayaks words. I wonder why MS did not include the Mathematical "analyzer thing in Bing" (that rhymes, and it sounds odd!) just like Wolframalpha. But wait!! who would like to experiment with an approach thats in experiment mode itself, "Let them launch the Beta, we'll pull it on then!! eh eh!!"...

Note: The images above a free images available over Google.

Whats the story? Morning glory!

2009-06-19T21:18:00.010+05:30

"Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and Wise"

Yesterday I forced my room mate to create a Facebook account , "wake up! get connected" I said, not that I really wanted him to be connected in some sense. I was rather out of track for some moments and wanted something to revive upon in the hot, humid and lousy summer evening, and what else could have been refreshing than to jump up and explain the glories of status messaging.

I was feeling dry and bored with a lot of things happening around. The massive documentation* is still taking a toll on me. I just can't beat the impact of it. (*The documents were meant for the mighty Consulate). I mean, why the hell do they need so much of proof reading?, is still far from my understanding.

I had a feeling somewhere down that I should better take a nap, and I was into action the next moment. I woke up to a sudden breeze of heat across my face and I realized that it was 5a.m. in the morning already. The lights were still turned on, my Laptop still running, songs still being played on the shuffle mode with minmum volume. It felt like some precious moments of my virtual world were lost. Nevertheless, I should be happy, atleast thats what the European research says, as "19th June 2009" is supposed to be the happiest day in earth according to some blissful formula. Not just that, there are a couple of more reasons to bring that feel good factor which included India Inc. having acquired more than 140 American companies in the past 2 years saving American jobs, the new Palm Pre being much cheaper and better than iPhone 3G or Nokia's Express Music, or Shiney ahuja being held up in the 'anda chamber' (oval cell) along with Abu Salem! But the feel good factor got constantly shattered as the consulate trivia continued and I steered back and forth between the formalities and stupid policies.

I tried to convince myself , making myself understand.."its normal, everythings cool", but somehow the "5 a.m." moments flashed across my mind everytime making me blame it for all the miseries.

I hate waking up at early mornings...God! please don't make me do that again!

P.S: Whats the story morning glory! is the second album by Oasis, and every one should get hold of it.

Fatal Error! Malfunction!

2009-05-14T22:31:00.004+05:30

fa-tal [feyt-l]

–adjective
causing or capable of causing death; mortal; deadly: a fatal accident; a fatal dose of poison.

In technological terms this word means as disastrous as it sounds. Though, the level of impact depends on the mass of the module going down or throwing such an error. Fatal errors are, indeed, caused due to known or un-known human errors. A misplaced comma(',') to a broken connection anything can be a reason for this treason. The more the mass of the system the more is the visibility and the more is the impact.

To quote such an incident what else can be better than the latest Google shutdown, known as "#googlefail"/"Googmayham"/"Googmayharm" to many. To elaborate this, I would say its just a mere human error that caused the problem. But the impact was so huge that it made people believe that the mighty system was hacked by hackers(non-ethical of course) which would have caused a Billions or trillions of dollar loss to stakeholders. "Users were stranded in the blogosphere" is what was quoted by The Timesonline. Some even believed that "the glitch showed the dangers of having most people in the world relying on the Google “monoculture” for internet searches". And surprisingly this was not the first time Google went down due to glitch in their system, their subsidiary video streaming site "Youtube" underwent the same fate when the site was blocked by Pakistan who diverted it to an internet Blackhole. Coming back to #googlefail, the symptoms were, users getting a warning on every search which said "This site may harm your computer". The same warning as some of us might have faced while searching stuff over Google. Apparently Google analytic prohibits or warns users to visit infected(by malware,spyware) sites.

Well, moving on to a much physical (i.e. out of cyberspace) example, I must quote the plight while I was travelling across the country. I termed it "The Plight of the flight". Most of us prefer being airborne when it comes to travelling. Reasons are numerous. Although this venture of mine almost made me promise myself not be airborne again. There I was sitting at an aerodrome in the western part of the country at 2000 Hrs. The flight was on schedule and we were asked to board. The interiors (and the exteriors as well) of our Govt. approved carrier are not so pleasing and neither is the cabin crew. After spending a good half an hour at the base the craft finally made it to the runway. But as I mentioned that it was more of a plight than a flight, the pilot announced and instructed us to de-plane the craft as it could not take off due to some technical faults or "Fatal Error"/"Malfunction"(2100 Hrs). At once I thought that god saved me that day. They apparently arranged for some other craft which was supposed to depart at 2200 hrs. The "arranged" craft was of similar concoction. The weather condition was real bad as a depression had hit the bay. Rains were infrequent with wild wind and thundering clouds. The takeoff was not much pleasant and the craft was on extreme turbulence as it crossed the thick clouds and the blazing thunderbolts. The fear was apparent on peoples eyes, some praying, some getting nausea-tic and impatiently pressing the assistance button overhead. A co-passenger blurted "why didn't i traveled this day by land", and i thought i wish I did too. But experience matters when it comes to handling fatal errors or malfunctions, be it an aircraft, a small computer program, a huge project module, a live stage show, or an open heart surgery. The pilots of the crafts were of similar lines as they swished and swooped us past by the thunders and the clouds.

Here the impact must've been felt only by a bunch of passengers traveling by the craft that day. But the impact was deep, tough. People were behind schedule, and so was I. I am dead sure as most of them had decided not to get any reservations in that carrier henceforth. But, all this because of just a glitch, a FATAL ERROR, A Malfunction..

P.S. You can read the full #googlefail story here

Shmack!! Shmack!!

2009-02-10T21:44:00.004+05:30

Well .. my quest for peace didn't take me places as my job did. I have somehow expected that every now and then. By places I don't mean the very delightful ones with good faces, good food, good places to be around. By places, I mean a Gods Forbidden place. Its not much of a surprise that most of them are gods forbidden because technology finds space for itself in forbidden places or voids...

The mighty SEZs/IT parks is where I spend most of the time working. And "most of the time" these SEZs/IT Parks are way too far from civilization. So, here I am in the Southern part of the country, sitting back in a five start rated Guest House of my Company right in the middle of nowhere.

The other day one my friends had a good laugh on my photo album title, which I created in Orkut. It reads "South Side Escapades". The sheer intention of mine with the word Escapade might be obvious to some of you, to explain that the intention is to "survive the adventure" I am in. It might not sound like an "adventure" at all, but for me its more than an adventure at this point of time. For more than fifteen days now I have been speaking on mono-syllables as the linguistics here are not so flexible, or rather people don't want to make it flexible.

Nevermind!! All I realize now that Technology did took me to places. And I am afraid and sure that there is a lot more to come.

Here I go, there I go,....everywhere I go

2008-11-05T20:09:00.006+05:30

I picked up a pen yesterday, took a blank sheet of paper, and started scribbling on it. The sheet was filled up with jumbled words, figures, and strokes within no time. It was not as if i wanted to write down an auto-biography, it was just that i wanted to jot down the irony of how much screwed one can get. My two halves were quarreling on this very idea as I stand like a silent spectator in front of them. It was too difficult to convince them even though the idea was lucid.

I decided to ignore them & started with the pen ... Here I go-
"Leaving the house in the morning, dressed in clothes that's bought on a credit card , for work, driving through the traffic in a vehicle that you are still paying for, putting in petrol that you cannot afford, in order to get to the job that you hate but need so badly so that you can pay for the clothes, car, petrol and the house that you leave empty the whole day, in order to live in it.."

It felt like the ink froze and the pen denied to write a single word next. It felt like its the will of the nature that i don't write anymore. The more i tried to write the deeper went the wound. ..i felt a pricking pain in the corner of the eye as if caused by a chilling wind, a small drop of tear ran down an landed on the paper scattering the last words, washing it away... a sudden flash of light distracted me as i sat in a candle light, i realized that i have been holding a blank sheet of paper for a long time staring at it. The sheet was blank, with no words, figures, strokes in it, the pen just worked fine the tip glaring... The arguing duo was gone, leaving behind their unusual stance, the grin on their face...

Angle of "coincidence"

2008-10-28T01:25:00.007+05:30

I thought of writing this post without a topic.... but then i suddenly realized "that would be an injustice".. well i try my best to link those with them.. hope you understand. I thought to write and thought again, but never did i managed, and yes here i am struggling with epilogues.

The bear and bull fight taking its toll over Indian economy, sudden changes in climatic conditions, inflation to its peak, hike in oil prices, ban on smoking, to name a few. It happened when the boom was half its way to the glorious big bang. Cash inflow stagnation to falling Indian currency value even if the State Capitol is facing huge economic blows. One bureaucracy gone wrong...

I still couldn't manage to figure out the relation between the post topic to its content, near or far... just another coincidence as usual.

Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and your O.K.
Money it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash

-Pink Floyd

Blaft phenomena of being sandwiched

2008-10-13T00:35:00.006+05:30

"GOOD morning Ladies and gentlemen request your attention, We welcome you aboard Kingfisher. Please ensure that your seat belt is fastened, your seat back is upright and your tray-table is stowed. At Kingfisher, your safety is our first priority.." the announcement gradually faded with her extra loud whispering (by her i mean my girlfriends), full of complaints as of why didn't i get the window and middle seats for both of us at check-in. Well, to say, the journey was neither much delightful as it was supposed to be nor it was as sad.

The intentions of getting a middle and window seat was not very much clear to me until half of the journey, but I could say that Mallaya did a great job by acquiring Deccan (at least now you wont find peanut shells in your seat when you board). Nevertheless this great feeling of mine regarding Kinfisher's Deccan acquisition is a collection of such small reasons such as cleaner aircraft to adorable air hostesses(NO PUN INTENDED). We didn't struggled much to venture our locations in-flight (as if it were the Ludhiana express). The lady over the window seat was an obvious indication that the lady accompanying me should be seated next to her (i.e. the middle seat) which means that the aisle seat was left for the poor me. To be very honest the arrangement seemed to be just appropriate.

My hunger made me order for an extremely overpriced cheese sandwich and she preferred diet coke. The movement of the crew ladies (during refreshment session) within the flight is usually too generous for passengers. Well it has a sufficiently valid reason of in-sufficient space. Their curves missed my shoulders several times as i avoided. It was time for me to realize the whole point of "seat selection". As i mentioned, the crew was generous to me, and i guess, to most of the aisle seaters.

The break-even point was when my overpriced sandwich arrived. My hunger killing intentions were distracted by a subtle push by one such pair of curve, which was not much pleasing to the lady sipping the "Diet Coke" beside me (my girlfriend). My aisle seat life-cycle was shortened by her immediately as i had to shift to the middle for some reason (hers). The lady over the window seemed air sick and i thought that she was about to puke, the imagination of which made my hunger run away. But i managed to finish my sandwich by time we reached.

I still regret ordering the overpriced cheese sandwich, because of its price not because of some other reasons...

In my name..

2008-09-26T22:14:00.005+05:30

In my name
I urge the governments to
keep their promise
(www.inmyname.com)

Hallowed be thy Blog

2008-09-24T00:32:00.004+05:30

It was that Sunday when I realized or I should say many of us present there realized our WWW presence, and how much it meant to us. If I am missing out on something.. Oh! yes it was the IndiBloggers meet here at Kolkata. It was like one of those nostalgic moment when we survive in a second life, the Internet, where each time opening up an internet explorer or a firefox page feels just just like starting a new day. A new day of creativity, a new day of curiosity, a new day of knowledge, a new day of refreshment...

The Indiblogger badge in my blog directed me to a page one such day. It was a bloggers meet that was going to be held at Kolkata for the first time. It said i need to confirm if i wish to be at the meet. I knew from that moment that i will be there. I was confirmed in a moment and all set to go.

Well.. Prior to going any further with my review on this Meet i should say i am a newbie here... and here goes my review.

The venue finding was not an issue and i reached there safe and sound. The number of turn ups were a bit less but people started pouring in within moments as the organizers had to arrange for extra chairs. It all started with a short video from Pune bloggers meet follwed by a short creative video composed out for Kolkata bolggers meet by Archit.

The One minute of fame started with all the bloggers turning up to the deck and introducing themselves and their piece of work on the www, works ranging from Blogs to Private domains. I thank the IndiBlogger team to select a comment from my blog in their "who knows their readers best??" session. We had also had Sandhya with us that evening who is a Student Partner of Microsoft. Windows Live Writer, a handy blogging tool, was the topic discussed by her.

Bloggers Ethics was the topic of discussion up next where people poured in with their ideas and concepts of T&C Violation, Plagiarism, & Internet security. The everwaited dinner was ready for us by then and we also got some cool IndiBlogger T-shirts.

The whole purpose of the meet to me was to Inspire Indian people who blog, provide a proper platform where their work can get recognised, get connected, and over all, to remove any man, un-manned, physical or logical boundaries between us.

i like the lonliness
In the crowd
i think about
a lot of things
i have a friend
in every foe
i know places
far and wide
i know
the good things in life
i do have
a kid in me
i want
to break free

- Vinni, IndiBlogger team
(watch full video By Vinni, vinni.co.in)

I Know
No boundaries
I Blog,
Therefore I Am..

Six Degrees of Luckiness

2008-09-02T23:20:00.002+05:30

I lay on my bed panicking about the training I had to attend the next day, my feets cold. The panic was not about the subject matter that was to be covered, but about the painful eight hours I need to spend in the training. My room-mate lay on the other side of the room while explaining me the concept of "Six degrees of separation". Even though I couldn't relate six degrees of separation to my current situation of getting a chill due to the up-coming training session I was eager to know the fact.

And Here it goes -
In the late 1960's a person called Stanley Milgram conducted an experiment on the US of A wherein he requested for volunteers. Each volunteer was handed over a package which he/she has to deliver to a totally unknown (or may b known) person (lets say Todd). The volunteers were not provided with any further details such as address of Mr. Todd, the region/location was specified though. The volunteers were supposed to deliver the package to Mr. Todd through any of their first name acquaintances whom they think can help deliver the package to Mr. Todd.

After the experiment Milgram found amazingly that the Packages from the volunteers reached Mr. Todd on an average of six hops. Or to simplyfy, each package from the several volunteers took exaclty 6 intermideary person to get delivered. Eventually Milgram came up with the concept of Six degrees of separation wherein he stated that every person knows every other person(unknown) in the world with a maximum of 6 hops in between. Some people said that eventually in due course of time the number of hops would decrease leading the world to shrink.

Years later a similar experiment was conducted by Richard Wiseman along with a new objective of proving Luck. His experiment included similar volunteers from United Kingdom, who were supposed to deliver a package to some unknown(or... may b known) within the country. He found out a rather similar result but this time the number of hops were reduced to four !! He also observed that people claiming themselves to be unlucky didn't even bothered to pass on the package, when asked for the reason they stated that they couldn't find any person whom they thought would be of help to deliver the package. On the other hand people who claimed themselves as lucky seem to have delivered the package without fail. So does that mean that the social circle of the unlucky people are smaller than the luckier ones or rather they live in a much larger world than the lucky people who have acquaintances.

This anomaly proved that the world was really shrinking (with the help of science and technology ofcourse), and people are just lucky because they know other people or they live in a small world where they know most of the people or are better connected.

A useful piece of information shared by my room-mate, it was. The painful eight hours was suddenly of no pain anymore. I was busy analyzing my luckiness the whole time. Each time, again & again, i tried to answer the question of being lucky or did the fact that "i am really unlucky mean that i know less people? & why ain't the world shrinking for me??"... "do i really know Gorge W. Bush or Kareena Kapoor within six degrees or separation or its just a wishful thinking??"...

The velvet folder

2008-08-30T01:24:00.007+05:30

"WHAT!!??!! why am I supposed to rehearse for it?" , the expression on my face was unpleasant. When I said rehearse I did not mean that I was going to rehearse for a play or a skit or any similar chore of that kind. The whole rehearsal concept was just to bring back civilization amongst the people during the University convocation. Though it was tough for me to understand the significance I attended the rehearsal on time not in the fear of repeating the mistake Chetan Bhagat might have committed but just to book my perimeter within the numerous row of plastic chairs. Wrote my name on a piece of paper and stick it to the chair, as instructed, everybody else did!! Some people managed to be there and receive their degree's some could not.

I stood there confused for a while, holding the velvet folder that encapsulated my degree and rank certificate. Suddenly I started to have a visual summary, framing every second, a flash and every thing ended abruptly on the velvet folder. The question was obvious - "is this what i have been working & slogging for, for four whole years?". Whatever might be the reason it somehow felt right and sweet. Not the slogging, working or getting the degree, but all the things i have done, i have learnt, i have experienced, all the ups and downs, all the sleepless nights, every cup of coffee at the college canteen, every fight, every hour before the examination and after it, every cigarette smoked, every song with the de-tuned guitar, every minute of struggle to convince the professor to cover up for the attendance, every bunked class, in short everything. The velvet folder appeared too small all of a sudden, just too small to encapsulate everything....

The Boar and the chopstick

2008-08-29T02:58:00.009+05:30

Quite some times back i had a gut feeling that i should possess a pair of chopsticks. Why chopsticks? Why not BMW or iPhone?.. well the selection was biased towards my innate love towards food & the curiosity of "How can one have a plate of rice with two sticks?", and here i am a Proud owner of a pair of Chopsticks imported from Japan right away...

An achievement in Product categorization, assortment, and identification is what a Bar code might have achieved, but I find it painstakingly difficult to understand the significance of the picture. Yes it is a bar-code...just a bar-code ... and yes its obvious that its the identifier of my pair of chopsticks above.

I discovered lately that my birth year is "Boar" in decent words or "Pig" in indecent words. Well the picture above has no relationship, far or near, to my birth year being "Boar" or "Pig". But atleast i am sure of the fact that a BOARian is allowed to take absurd pictures to feed the Photographic persona withing himself. Its just a HANGING LAMP, no strings attached!!

SUE - kar mere man ko!!

2008-08-27T00:51:00.005+05:30

Our bollywood hindi movies or we could say-- the cinema industry is renowned for its numerous marvels actors, actresses, glamour bags, controversies, hits, flops to name a few. Quiet often movies such as Rang De basanti or Taare Zamin Par act as a Decadron dosage to the dying number of cinema theatres all around India. Well, new multiplexes and Dolby DTS Theatres on the other hand are getting on high pockets with their shocking ticket rates. Nevermind, all thy lies in the monopoly. Our point of concern in this post is cinema ...yesss....only pure bollywood hindi cinema and not cinema theatres.

Bollywood now has all the flavours ranging from Action flicks, sci-fi, comedy to romantic & sentimental movies. But soon after the intermission u realise "i have seen this movie somewhere", which would be true in a sense that you are watching a hindi bollywood or i should say the desi version of a not so famous (or sometimes even famous) hollywood movie (the situation might be in full awareness or might not). A fair range of hindi movies are just a desi image of the hollywood version. And let me tell you people are pretty good at this.

Ok, thats enough of copying going on...we need to put some serious check on that, and lo that happened. Recently hollywood prduction houses such as Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox jumped opened up their offices at the magical city of Mumbai to keep track of the "COPY" issues and sue the right person. The Warner Brothers has sued a bollywood childrens film called "Hari Puttar- A comedy of terrors" stating that the name is too similar to Harry potter. The bollywood production house states that the similarity is purely coincidental... "Yeah, now tollywood might jump in with their version of Hori Poddar"soon enough...

The question is - why are people falling short of fresh concept, innovation, something new in this silver screen world that they need to copy stuff out of hollywood. And yeah if you do you might end up paying huge moolah for the copyright. Since the desi production mass is falling short of new stuff the holly production houses might come up with ideas of suing people, watching the copied version, and having coincidental resembalnce to characters in the movie.

Maddy: All's well that ends well.
Browny: but what to do about Sue ???
Maddy: Sue- kar mere man ko kiya tuney kya ishara!!
Browny: Not that Sue maddy!!.... i mean we're sued by the Tarner Bros. for copying their movie "Shitty Pants"
Maddy : What?? :( BUT THAT WAS JUST A COINCIDENCE!!

Sorry!! I am not interested

2008-08-09T01:59:00.005+05:30

The modern times have given us various luxuries in several fields and one of the major attractions was the "Mobile phone". A necessary menace or rather an undesired necessity, till the endtimes it has become. Perhaps you can forget to have lunch, or to burp after you have one, or may be to take a shower, but you can't afford to spend a slightest of moment without your mobile phone expecting a call from your husband/wife if you are married, unfortunate official calls (official calls on holidays are unfortunate), near dear loved ones i.e. boy friends or girl friends, mom, dad, brother, sister, a very close friend, or may be a call from the Job consultancy if you are looking for a job change, or an SOS call from your neighbour in case a fire broke out at his place and to name a few. This feeling of mine regarding the whole technology is not by instinct but has grown up due to a series of continuous events that occured lately.

By events I mean to say when on a good sunny holiday.. which apparently was a sunday ... I recieved seven calls from four different banks all with the motive of selling their Zero rental CREDIT CARDS..yet another menace of its own kind , but I would rather stick to one menace in this post and shall not deviate.

The phone rings ritually, flashing an unknown number, and with the curiosity that "It might be a call from a bumper lottery house...where i just won a Crore...yippppeeeeee!!" , I proceed to recieve it. The person on the other side, highly professional, trained and having a terrible communication skill, start to demonstrate the product without even bothering to ask whether he/she has called the right person. My reaction on the other side is much more simplistic or may be i should say confused and is kind of "Errrr....ummmmm...what is this call all about???", and i realise that its the menace trying to propagate. Soon the call turns out to be cold or what people say a "Cold call".

The first call was not at all a botheration. But soon the count started to increase, and it was the second....third....fourth....fifth...sixth.....seventh.... as if the previous one triggered the happening of the next. But being an IT professional it is highly recommended to keep our calm all the times whether you are at work or not, and yes which i follow blindly, not always though. So as usual i assimilated all my calmness just to focus on not being rude to those people, alas its their work. I rather prepared a set of scripts for such situtions now, and yes i follow the script if the Skillful Representative is lucky enough to get my time. And let me tell you all the scripts end up having the same moral at the end "Sorry!! I am not interested right now".

peace.

2008-07-24T02:10:00.009+05:30

Dig Dig Diggie Dog!!!!

2007-11-05T17:37:00.001+05:30

Its my nature or you can say my instinct to hate people or rather i should say hate looking at people (or other living beings) "DIGGING". Even though the intention won't be wrong every time, its always been a mystery to me when i see someone digging, with questions rising in mind such as - "What's he/she/or the thing is trying to find out there?" or "Is there any treasure hidden out there?", "God damn!! is he digging his/her own grave?"...

Well it ain't that the construction workers near my aptt. building started breaking the building (as they say a new extension is gonna be prepared..) attracted my hatred for them, until i found a chap digging the ground one glorious morning.

"is there a treasure out there?", "r they gonna bury some dead corpse out there?" were the questions that were in the air those days. And one good day we found that t'was nothing but merely a septic tank burial hole.. "May thy rest in peace!!" ...

Well the TOI flashed a news this morning with a picturesque zombie or rather Mummy in the international section, man!! wat a scene it was for the good morning that certainly became as BAD as POSSIBLE.. i was eager to dig..errr!! i mean find out the details, which came as a shock and then again a question aroused "what sort of morons would do such thing?". It was Tutankhamuns 3000 yrs old dead (obviously) corpse, which is supposed to be cursed, and a lad stood by it as proud as possible. As experts suggested, they dug him out just to know how he looked????....w.t.f. ... "CUT the CRAP" i said to maself n moved my way to office where yet another splendid shock waited for me. The street dogs have dug impeccable potholes allover the parking space, that would definitely be a challenge while we try to park our motorbikes back in the evening...................................

Damn i hate digging..................

Last resort !!

2007-11-01T14:30:00.001+05:30

I spent a whole week with a chill on my spine.. I was quiet not sure that whether these are my last days where I am. Yes!! my last days in Kolkata where i am now.. working in the corporate industry. After spending about more than a year, i am not closely attached to the work i do here, but what matters to me are the people around me. The people who were strangers back when i first came in here, to whom i was the same stranger as they were to me...& my friends with whom i planned as of "how to spend the first salary?" ......

The whole situation made me bound to think about the time when i was leaving college... the last month in college.. even it was a painful moment for us but somewhere inside there was a joy of freedom ..a joy of becoming a graduate .. and countless more!! But times have changed now I guess, & there isn't any faint remains of any kind of joy about the whole thing.

As of to this whole discussion, i am supposed to move to Bangalore to join a new project. It would be wrong to say that it came as a shock.. but rather its a hard and true fact that every body living wit me here holds the same fear in their mind. Fear of the struggle to create an identity all over again!! To be honest, Bangalore would not be a new place to me, but i don't want to keep the memories of those days. So somewhere in my mind i made a rather absurd decision that for me Bangalore would be a new place.

The only one thing that keeps me happy about he whole thing are my friends who have made their corporate presence noticeable out here at Bangalore.. And yes, lemme tell u, those are the dearest of my pals from school and from college times!!! Time has come to see how good i am now to create this identity all over again!!

Drunken Chronicles !!

2007-08-29T16:56:00.000+05:30

"A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo.And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and the weakest ones at the back that are killed first.This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the entire group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members." "In he much same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Now as we know excessive intake of alcohol kills brain cells first. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and the weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of alcohol eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.And that is y you always feel smarter after a few drinks."

As a matter of fact this is very much true if you think it in a scientific perspective. But on the other hand you will also be compelled to think that as the number of weaker brain cells would increase exponentially, there would be a very samll no. of healthy cells present in the grey matter. For that the biological concept of mitosis/meiosis could be of great help....as it describes the generation of new cell from the fission of other cells (i guess).... but then this would certainly lead us to the question that whether the participating cells r weak cells/healthy cell... n i can say that this is mere luck ma friend...................

Will this piece of literature influence people not to drink... or will it encourage people to have some more (of course beer or watever).......... And so the concept remains a point of debate to me till the end times!!!

P.S: This article is not meant to discourage/encourage any living being in the broad field of alcoholism.. :)
Cheers......

The strange sound.....

2007-08-27T17:28:00.000+05:30

It all happened quiet some days back. I was desperate to fix my WORLD SPACE satellite radio which broke down a couple of months ago..... Diognistics revealed that the A/C adapter was blown because of the faulty wiring in my apartment. The wiring system n my aptt. is one masterpiece work of god knows whom, with fans without regulator, n bulb sockets witout switches!!...

My present roommate (a.k.a. Shaoline, a.k.a. Shao) suggested that it would be better to call up the service center guy!!! An lo.. we did that.. within some days there stood a happy clad in front of our door wearing a t-shirt that said proudly -" WORLD SPACE... Services..There's so much to hear!!" . The guy was exraordinarily happy with the act that we blew our system...... I still could'nt figure out wat made him so happy about the whole situation....... For my convenience lets call him Happy Worldy or in short HAPPY...

Happy suggested that we should replace the A/C adapter ASAP, after he tested the system with his Kit...N said - "ye kharaap adapter ham leke jaega....aur naya wala replace korke laega" ... I requested Happy to leave hit test kit adapter for the time being...But he brutally refused. I was speechless!! In turn he directed us to a good piece of suggestion -"baajar me same to same adapte milta hai.. wo kharid ke kaam chalaaiye..kuch din". And yessss....Happy made us happy for the first time...but we all (Happy, Shao & me) were fishy, n thot it wont wrk. But Shao suggested this risk was worth taking n affordable. So we stormed to the nearest electronic goods shop n got ourselves one "adjustable a/c adapter" .

Once again our life was full of joy as the system start working with an ODD ROAR at the beginning.... but it felt good...alas its wrking somehow.... but after a couple of hours it suddenly stopped working and the dead silence was all over.... I tried to fix n adjust the adapter but each time i changed its voltage he roar got louder n louder...with lots of static n noise... but then all of a sudden someone call my name through the speaker with an incredibly strange sound..... i tried to clear the sound but was unsuccessful... I was curious n afraid at the same time.... n never tried to play the system again wit dat adapater again......

But i still remember the sound...was it a detuned communication?...is there someone trying to contact me?....or was tht jst an illusion?? i feared of curiosity dat night!!

Lately the adjustable adapter was bought to use by one of my flatmate namely Digvijay Singh, yess....Diggu (dis is wat we call him) made a gud use of the adapter. He now uses it to play his mini baby synth..... (childhood mmores u knw, bought wen hw was a kid)....I wish he doesn't listens any fierce static sounds again.

Alas Happy returned returned with his happy face and the new adapter several weeks later. I participated a little during the installation this time..... But finally once again the syatem was up sound and clear , fully tuned WITHOUT ANY STATIC!!!

Living with the fond memories.....

2007-08-27T12:24:00.000+05:30

I still remember my room mate(a.k.a. shanks) shouting me @8:25 am in the morning. Though the shout was not b'coz any sort of anger, or dispute but of frustration which deliberately arouse from the fact that he was responsible to wake me up every morning in order to maintain my attendance percentage @ the class.

I still have the the picture in my mind afresh, struggling to get up from my bed and prepare myself for the fight which wud sustain the whole day...................... Those were the days i would relish for the rest of my life........ Getting late to classes, turned out from the class just because u were a couple of minutes late for the lecture and returning back happily to the canteen for a cup of coffee n "Paratha sabji" or towards the hostel to have "sutta"........... SUTTA...yess SUTTA....the most loved amenity for us coz it claimed to be the ultimae stressbuster of all times... also associated wit it were jargons such as "sutta hai kya!!" or "ek sutta pila de yaar!!!" n case u run out of one!!!

Though sutta was supposed to b a stress buster, it was (and is) worth lighting up one even if u r not strssed!!! The noise from the hostel corridors which included mostly Heavy metal, Rock band songs tearing out from the 5.1 speakrs still echo in my ears!!

Some bad things happened with too much of gud things!!! and i managed to learn guitar from my next door neighbour (a.k.a.Bidyut- BD).. a much loved guitarist of the college those days... puffing sutta in his room with his room mate (a.k.a. Boruah) n strumming the guitar while BD was out happily dating his girl was an everyday chore...... with Sutta Sen (a.k.a saurav sen) sometimes accompanied with un-acquainted faces dashing into he room and and proudly demanding for a share of few puffs from the burning flame...as if he whole ITC company was owned by his father/father-in-law... I still remember some clads frustrated of attending classes (Mostly included CE dept guys- Nilu, Jaishy, Boruah, Sen et.al.) while the other feeling immensely proud n happy of the fact that someone existed there for a proxy in the class (Included EC dept guys-Shanks, Basak et.al.) sometimes cursing the lecturer in case the proxifier was caught!!!!!!! Oh... did i mention Nilu, Jaishy n Basak... well its tough actually coz i still can't figure out whether these three creatures are one gods creation gone bad or good..... Frustrating and annoying examination times where we scratched each others head jst to obtain a mere pass mark, the night outs without a sinner and hunting down maggi from good souls were the days to live life to the fullest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well those 4 years passed by like 4 minutes as i write this piece in BLOGGER one of the most loved blogs on the internet. Situations have changed now....those days of having only 50 rupee note in a pocket r gone, now my credit cards wait to be swapped n fat bills wait to get paid..... the momo/puri sabji at "munna's" r gone leaving behind Pizza hut and KFC to fill our tummies!!!
But all those memories stood beside be as a strong pillar making me realize evry time that they won't come back again.........................