AAAAAARRRRRRRGH!

10 most irritating categories of people

1. Public smokers: Killing themselves and poisoning others, the worst human beings who pollute the world around us for their personal satisfaction. Worst are the nicotine stinking people coming near you after somoking, even worse is the ones trying to hide that nicotine stink using chweing gums.

2. Drunkards: Out of control and with a nauseating stink, these people are worst especially when we encounter them in public transportation. Sometimes they sit or stand near you putting you in the most awkward situation, especially when the bus is crowded. In an AC coach or Volvo AC bus, the worst smell fills the air like poison.

3. Nose picking people: Often encountered in buses and public places, having the worstest public hygiene and lack of civic sense. Don't they realize that it is a disgusting scene to others as bad as digging into ur a****le or rubbing your crotch area?

4. People who spit in public: This is yet another case of spreading your diseases to others by spitting in whatever possible places possible. Sometimes with yucky paan combination or more yucky beetle leaf combination, this not only is unhygienic but also spoils the neatness of public places

5. Late comers: Be it for a causal meet or a family outing, I hate keeping people waiting and I expect the same from others too. Simply because time is precious and we cannot take someone for granted just because we know them well. It is better to specify a later time or cancel the plan rather than making someone wait and testing their patience. Same applies when specifying time of return when you leave home. I am talking about delays of an hour or more here, not 10-15 mins.

6. Opinion thrusters: There are people who generalize their personal opinion as a public talk. Or canvass their thoughts in such a way that others should agree upon it. And in some cases, try to change our opinion on something and replace theirs instead. All these irritate me to such a extent and it is in one way a mental torture to deal with such people.

7. Sadists: There are many ways people behave as sadists. But what I often encounter is those who inspite of knowing that a person likes something or someone keep telling their bad comments and dump their hatredness towards that peson or thing in front of us. I dislike many things but never talk bad about it to someone who has a liking for it. But I have never had a similar reciprocation from anyone, infact it hurts a lot when people talk bad about something to you, knowing very well it is close to your heart. They are no less than sadists.

8. Egoists: Another worst class of people to deal with especially when you have to interact with them frequently for personal or official reasons. When people are stubborn for a long time, you lose any interest of having even a casual chat with them. At some point of time, it is good for everyone to give up and have a respect for others' feelings and there is nothing wrong in being the first person to give your hand for a shake.

9. Big mouths: Such people are really annoying may be since I am someone who enjoys silence more than noise. People who talk more than their age, people who make a fuss of everything, people who talk too much about themselves, people who are opinionated, people who talk non-stop are all very irritating to handle in life.

10. Irresponsible people: At some age everyone should acquire a maturity and be capable of taking up responsibilities failing which there is no way that they can face hurdles in life. It is really irritating to come across people, be it younger or older ones, who fail in their responsibilities and become dependent on others instead of they supporting the ones dependent on them. And when you assume onus of doing something, it is always good to act responsible and if you can't, it is better that you never take it up in first place.

5 most irritating things around me

1. Power cuts: Most worst thing to happen in a hot and humid city like Chennai and whats most irritating about it is that common man who uses fans and lights at his house has to take suffering for power scarcity while political and spiritual events, commercial establishments etc can still waste power in worthless ways and still enjoy doing so.

2. Traffic jams: Most traffic jams occur with equal responsibility of civic sense lacking public and ineffective traffic management. Drivers, especially the ones driving lorries, public buses and two wheelers ride without any botheration for others around them which is the only reason all traffic control measures go in vain.

3. Flyovers: While it is good to see flyovers that come across railway level crossings, the ones inside the city have no meaning and doesn't serve any purpose, as most of them are not used by public transport, are built in a direction in which there is less traffic flow and in many places they have led to congestion on either sides of the flyover. How can you call a flyover effective when it has less traffic flow and the whole area below it is congested?

4. Autodrivers: Chennai probably has the worst auto transport thanks to its drivers. From demanding double fare for a minimum charge walkable distance taking advantage of helplessness of passengers to ruthlessly charging high fares for every trip blaming fuel fares, autowallahs in Chennai have been behaving like they are from other planet to help people here. And worst that there is no regulation or any control over them till now.

5. Government functions: Anything that deals with government departments or officials is an annoying dealing where inspite of paying heavy amounts in white and black, you work happens only at their own pace and convenience. While it is being claimed of as a trustable and safe, even a simple transaction in a public sector bank is still a painful affair. Somethings never change and this complacence has become a character of government establishments.

The Bus Shift

I have been traveling in city bus to office for more than two months now. I deliberately chose to travel in city bus and cancelled my company bus pass end of last year.

I always enjoy bus travel, especially sitting in the window seat, looking outside and listening to music all the way. But this is not the reason for the shift, because I do this even in company bus.

The main reason was that there was no thrill, no adventure in life. So I atleast I wanted to add some spice to it. Changing buses and sometimes traveling routes, trying different permutations and combinations of bus routes from my home to office... There is a lot of uncertainty with all these which I love very much.

One more important difference is whenever you get into office bus everyday all you get to see is "shit-yet-another-day" kind of faces, atleast that is what I get to see in my bus route. But people who travel everyday in crowded government buses surprisingly look very excited with a good attitude to start the day.

The only problem is the bus timings as no bus in Chennai runs according to any timetable. Again, uncertainty, which is a different experience. Hail the Deluxe and A/c buses which give you utmost comfort especially after a tired day in office.

The Fourth Quarter...

Last "urupadiyaana" post from me was in October 1st week. While I see my friends who are blogghave moved ahead with festivals Deepavali, Karthigai, New Year and Pongal and incidents like Mumbai Blasts, Satyam debacle etc. I am still lagging a week behind my birthday last year.

Back after a long time, I decided to clear off arrears first :D

The tags that were given by Nirmal long back; I am managing to complete them now in next two posts. :) Before that a recap of the "quarter" that went by.

This year saw one of my most eventless birthdays as I bunked office and took rest at home receiving fewer than normal amount of calls. People finally have a job :)

Ever since that day, life has been buzzing with so much activity that I have no time to sit and write a single proper blog post in months.

Very next day after my birthday, got awarded "Maestro" officially for some good work in my project, which as usual was received by my manager on my behalf. I stayed off the team outing that day aware of the boring events that will be conducted and unaware of this award.

End of October I got results of my official assessment, something which screwed me up for 5 hrs like no other exam in my life. Phew, finally I had to admit that I do know Java basics, having cleared this exam by some strange miracle. That soon paved way for my promotion and I moved to next level in my stream. One big achievement after 4 years of work.

November's Diwali was again dull compared to previous years, with not even Thalaivar's film getting released. :( End of November was my cousin’s marriage which happened in Cuddalore. I was curious to visit the place and even Pondicherry, close to it, but heavy rains that lashed Tamilnadu that time spoiled all my plans. It was just another “go there-attend marriage-come back” trip. :'(

Talking about rains, Chennai was screwed up like anything by Nisha, with yet another year of water mismanagement showing its teeth off. And employees of "kadamai-ganniyam-kattupaadu" companies like mine, who won't drop employees home ahead of scheduled time, had to suffer a lot to reach home on that cursed day, when there was a jam right from Gemini flyover till Saidapet, proceeding towards Velacherry.
While Mumbai blasts and the following terrorists attacks has yet again shown the worst face of our neighbors and inefficacy of the nation's rulers, corporate industry saw its worst phase with more bankruptcy and ramp downs Satyam taking a shocking top spot. I would not want to write any more on this, as anything is uncertain for all corporates in today’s scenario and every one is keeping hands crossed for the good thing to happen soon.

December's biggest happening was my trip to Hyderabad in the month end, which left a lot of memorable imprints in my mind. The world class laser show and boating to Buddha Statue at Lumbini Park, the Prasad's IMAX and the Ramoji film city are some legacies left behind by Naidu gaaru’s regime.
Ramoji film city in particular has been part and parcel of most Tamil and Telugu films, even those of superstars. You can easily call it as Hollywood of India, since everything you experience there is available here at prices affordable for everyone. One day is not just enough to roam around the place. It’s an ecstasy to be experienced by everyone, words cannot express it. And kudos to the management who are maintaining it professionally so well, mainly keeping the place clean and tidy inspite of the crowd visiting everyday.
One more exciting thing about Hyderabad is its new domestic and international airport that has come up at Shamshabad. Lying very much out of the city, its really another wonder in the hitech city. The moment you enter the airport limits, you would be in another world, and it takes 7 kms to reach the airport from that limit. All along the way you can see the efforts taken to make it look like no less than a city in US.

Airport is stunningly huge, taking inputs from San Francisco, Hong Kong and many other international airports. I was just in visitors lobby to receive my uncle, hopefully would get to see the complete airport in its interiors soon. And after Bangalore and Hyderabad, Chennai should definitely do something about its international airport atleast, since it has become more or less like Central Railway station now.

New year 2009 has started with new hopes and expectations, and hope this year brings lots of happiness and good health to everyone in the world. We started off with a full working day which we happily spent in planning and then execution of an adhoc team outing. It was lots of fun and enjoyment after a long time since college days, and it went on well inspite of a screwed up planning and unpleasant surprises along way.
Last but no the least, Slumdog Millionaire is one of the best things to happen ever since the invention of celluloid, as it has lot of India to it. Morons somewhere have already started protests terming the film as rational for some scenes while some pseudo patriots feel that the film insults India. As if the Murders, Ek Choti Si Love stories, Om Shanti Oms and other world level craps made in India have glorified the image of India on world stage!
This is a brilliant film that connects with you so well that you cannot hold yourself emotionally in many scenes. With golden globes becoming reality and Oscars not too far, you cannot feel anything but happy for the Indian talent that has made this film possible. JAI HO!

To be or not to be...

The following might seem to be a explosion of pessimistic thoughts from a frustrated soul or a immature ramblings of a sambar sadham/appalam/curd rice/pickle-eating Typical South Indian(TSI). Fortunately or unfortunately, this is how I am able to think when some one pampers me with dollar note allowances :D

Here's nothing but a collection of what a TSI encounters in his day to day life in the US of A- the paradise of NRIs with a thirst for money.

Bay Area as far as I heard and seen is the most Indian part of West coast, and much safer place than many other locations in US. In that way, I was lucky to have landed up there twice, that too in the best season which is almost like the one in Bangalore/Delhi in India. Especially my place was full of Indians, most of them Gujjus and Andrawalas.... Optimistic na? :P

Americans are very courteous or appear to be so always. You keep walking on the road and out of somewhere a "Hi" pops up. You turn around to see that its some American uncle/aunty whom you haven't even seen before any time. And you think about your double bedroom apartment in India where you can hardly recognize your neighbor when you meet him outside.

And they are happy to see happy faces around them unaware of the turmoils you have gone through on that day. I was walking back home one weekend when an old man told me "You dropped something".. When I turned around in astonishment, he laughs saying "Its your smile". I was like "Enna koduma sir idhu!" Just then I realized how serious I had been looking all the while.

They have abundance of water resources and the power to create new ones. Still you get only tissues in most places to keep yourself clean. Its not a problem for them any day, because all they eat is dry breads, coke and lot of other stuff most of which TSIs like me cannot even thrust below the throat. But for the amount of oil, spices and gravies we Indians take in everyday, we would need a whole bunch of tissues and picking up them so much anywhere would be looked upon like an odd act.

One major confusion that most people face is that of directions. The left hand steering and the reversed driving pattern would get anyone totally mad for few days until you get used to it. Most times you end up taking the bus in opposite direction in a hurry and finally realize it only when the route is totally new.

You gotta thank the bus driver even if driving you in bus is what he is paid for. And even if you are a regular traveler and you get in and get down at the same stop for many days, unless you raise a stop request, the bus will not stop for you to get down. Old people and handicapped get highest privileges, and if you barge into a bus (like you do in India) when an oldie/handicap is getting down, you would be looked upon like a traitor and worst case would hear an unpleasant "Wait.. Step off" from the driver.

When our people get immersed in Subway, McDonalds, Taco Bells and pizzas, most non-Indians love eating spicy Indian food right from South Indian Dosas to exotic North Indian dishes. And most Indian buffets will find equal number of non Indian population as the Indians.

People(read NRIs) consider it as a big fuss when a new entrant Indian complains about chill weather or wears a jacket. But for a TSI who has spent most of the life in hot and humid climate, even a 16 degrees would be a cold weather until he gets used to it. Unfortunately, no one understands this and keep speaking of their adventures during last winter ending with a scary note "How are you gonna stay here in winter?"

If you are a regular bus traveler, you would frequently encounter variety of strange people. There will be depressed people, who either keep taking to themselves or who talk uselessly with people around. If you get into any conversation with them , you are done because the talk will not stop until you or the other person gets down from the bus.

Then there will be drunkards, especially on weekends who keep mumbling some nonsense with all bad words in English interspersed in between. Unless you share their drink or talk in their wavelength they would not consider you worthy to even sit near them. Apart from this, I have seen some strange characters like the chinese mottai lady who carries half a dozen huge polythene bags of clothes back and forth for no known reason and the fully-covered-in-rags guy whose face is also covered completely with a black cloth all the time.

One more interesting scene is that of couples, who irrespective of the time of the day start feeling their love for each other and stop caressing each other front and back, left and right in public. This can be seen not only in buses or any public gatherings, but even in shopping malls when looking through the racks. I can't understand how could one feel love when looking at Tropicana and Kellogs :P

Leaving office @ 7 PM in India is a proud feat because it means that you are lucky enough than your fellow software coolies who might be slogging till 10 PM or midnight or even after that. But leaving @ 7 PM from your office in US makes you feel like you are the most pitiful soul in the office who is slogging late hours for completing the work :D

Some Indian aunties(aunty => more than 50 yrs of age) and uncles who gave birth to NRIs :D unfit themselves into unusual outfits that you really feel sad for their wannabe American style. There are of course lots of aunties who roam around in sarees/salwars with all essential accessories to protect themselves from heat/cold.

They have no work than to roam around and find similar poor souls, after their sons/daughters are away to office and their grand children to play schools. May be, this in in a way better than your parents staying 1000s of miles away while you calculate every cent and talk to them through calling cards.

But whats the use of the dollars you earn in a country of strange and weird people, when you can't spend proper time with someone you love and care for and be near them when they need you?

That's precisely(!! :P) to be or not to be onsite!

A Tale of Four Cities

Hiring an auto in Kerala:

You need to go to railway station from a hotel in Trissur. You call an auto, get in with your luggages. Meter switched on showing Rs.10(Minimum charge for 2 Kms) You reach station which is about 1.3 kms from your place. Just then you are reminded of special Kerala chips which you forgot to buy. You request autowallah to leave you at the shop at main road.(almost half a kilometer away) Meter is reset now. He leaves you at the shop. You give him Rs.20, he picks Rs.10 from his pocket and gives you.

Hiring an auto in Hyderabad:

You need to return late night from a dinner to your house situated in a residential area. The time is around 9.30 PM. You take an auto, he asks you 5 Rs. extra charge over the meter charge, as it is late night. The meter charge is Rs.23, you give him Rs.30 and he hands over Rs.2 back to you.

Hiring an auto in Bangalore:

You need to travel from Koramangala to Madiwala. Auto 1 has gone without stopping. Same with Auto 2. Auto 3 stops but on hearing Madiwala the autowallah turns his face and goes without a reply. Same with Auto 4. Auto 5 and 6 also does not stop. Auto 7 agrees to take you home and after reaching home you pay him the meter charge.

Hiring an auto in Chennai:

You need to go from T.Nagar bus stand to your house. Empty autos slow down and you say the destination. First one moves away saying "varaadhu". Second one asks you Rs.50 (Nominal rate is Rs.25) You look for the third one who asks you forty. You bargain for Rs.30 and get in. You watch the dummy electronic meter with a sigh which is running for no known reason. You reach your home and the meter has run for about 2 kms and the fare has increased by 20 Rs. You hand over Rs.30 to the auto driver who looks like "the happiest man in the world".

You walk up the steps wondering "what on the hell bothers these guys in life that is not affecting auto drivers in any other state!!!"

An evening with stars....

I had been with Vikram to Birla Planetarium today. It was a long time plan we had in mind but it happened today unexpectedly. It has a so-called science museum with I guess 8 galleries on various disciplines. It also plays a 3D show and the planetarium show, all for a single ticket.

At the entrance of museum, a security who could be as old as 65 years, checked our tickets and explained to us the things to be seen in very detail. When we turned to go inside surprised at this detail of explanation, he called us slowly took us to a corner. Then he said "tea ku edhaavadhu kaasu kudunga sir. government employee sir. Sambalam kammi" etc etc. Me and Vikram looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. We gave the old man a change and went inside.

The museum is in a pathetic condition to say the least. Compared to Birla museum at Hyderabad or Vishweswaraiya museum at Bangalore, this is nothing. I wonder if anything has been updated in the science related sections for many years. Most of the exhibits were out of service. Every exhibit has a switch to operate but the probability that it works turned out to be less than 30%. If this is what the government projects to tourists as science, then I wonder what they will think of India!!! The only worthy thing I felt was the mirror world that had quite a few exciting illusions with mirrors.

We rushed up after seeing few galleries to the 3D show. There was one big crowd of school kids shouting like a fish market there. We stood there waiting for the delayed show talking about state of Indian education. Just then, from inside a group of kids from the previous show came out. From their faces we could make out that it was some "My Dear Kuttichathan" kind of 3D that was running inside. We decided not to risk it anymore. :P

We made our way straight to Planetarium and after about 15 minutes delay we were allowed inside. The show was the only saving grace of the whole evening even though it was Tamil.(we had no other option as the English show was sold out) As usual our people without any self discipline started with whistles, unnecessary claps and glowing mobile torch lights on the dark ceiling.

If maintained and conducted well, the whole thing could have been a wonderful showpiece for visitors and a memorable visit. Atleast for the sake of situated in a place near IIT and Anna University, I wish that the Government takes some measures to improve the condition of the whole setup.

Anyhow, we had fun and watched a lot of unintentional comedies. :)

Random thoughts for November

Vijay TV has started with a new tele serial called "Kaadhalikka Neramillai". I am not calling it mega serial because Vijay TV doesn't run serials for years like other channels. It features popular TV anchor Prajin with Chandra Lakshmanan(who I read is from Kolangal). I am not sure how good is the serial but I am watching it for I feel its fresh and much better than loads of crap running in prime time in other channels.By the way, the serial has a very good and well shot title song.

Listen to it at: http://vijay.indya.com/serials/kni/index.html

Watch a promo video below:

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The Jodi No. 1 season 2 is over after a lot of drama and dance. The final was a day of award as anyone and everyone except audience got awards. This is too much of diplomacy I would say!!! Yet another episode of Simbu's polambalgal. If he comes to small screen, he can give a run for money to all those crying mega serial heroines. :P

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Read 3 books in past 2 weeks. First one was "5 point someone" of Chetan Bhagat, a book that needs no introduction. Simple narration, realistic and a very good experience. I loved it.

Next was "12 Red Herrings" of Jeffrey Archer. It is a collection of 12 short stories by the novelist. I would say all stories were not excellent but atleast I felt good reading them. All of them had that crispy racy narration that I find in every Archer's book. The first and last stories were the one I loved the most. Especially, the last one, was too good.

It is about a young man, ending up accidentally in a unplanned date in a theater with an unknown girl. The story builds up like the girl sells an extra ticket at the counter as the person who was supposed to come did not turn up. Our hero grabs the ticket, sits near her and builds up a conversation with her in the interval between the acts.
The story is stopped at a point when they come out of the theater and our hero asks her out for dinner. From here, Archer gives 4 endings to the story, each of which is thrilling and enjoyable. The best thing is 3 of these 4 endings have the same conversation with same dialogs, but each of them said in a different context. And each ending is based on who that "other person" is, whose ticket was sold in theater. :)

The final one is "The Prodigal Daughter" by.. Archer once again. I don't know if I have a good taste of reading but somehow I like these novels because they seem to be a realistic fiction, has a lot of emotions in it, the narrative style as good as I can visualize the scenes and above all, its very understandable English. :D

This is the story of a daughter of an immigrant in US who becomes the President of the country after a lot of struggles. I got so very attached to the story that I was even in tears at one or two instances :D Romba feelings aaiduchu.. enna panna!! :P

Random Thoughts....

I have not blogged for a long, so bringing here few of the recent frustrations that came to my mind:

1. The dumbo bandh conducted by Government on October 1 for a dumbo reason. All that was gained by a Chennai citizen is a working Saturday and chance to watch a lot of drama with stunts on TV.



2. The drama played on Vijay TV's Jodi No.1 Season 2. Lets leave aside the debate on who was right, Simbhu or Prithviraj. But that was a dirty drama played to raise the TRP of the show, and Simbhu showcased his arrogance once again. Epdi thaan appanum pillayum orey dialogue-a pesaraangalo!!



3. The stinking and clumsy Chennai infrastructure. Every area of the city stinks with garbage and drainage leaks and every area is congested with traffic jams. Unplanned, haphazard projects in many parts have made the life of common man pathetic.

4. The messed up T.Nagar. Traffic regulations have been totally screwed up by the so-called "Traffic police" leading to congestion in every nook and corner of the area. Add to that the non-stop purchase crowd, which will ransack things from numerous shops till the last breath of their life.

5. My sucking new office. Lacking in facilities to infrastructure to ambiance to comfort, in everything, I wonder if I should call it my fate or curse to be put up there. I can understand there, may be some hiccups when companies move to new offices, but such unplanned movements are not expected in big corporates.

6. The big junk released by Microsoft names as Windows Vista. Except for few UI changes and complicated user controls, there is nothing useful in this hefty version of Windows. Consuming memory like hell and irritatingly slow few times even with 2 GB of RAM, it totally sucks, I will be happy if Microsoft offers a downgrade option back to Windows XP as my friend told me.

Comedy Awards Galore!!!

The king of comedies is back again. I am talking about the TN government giving away State Awards for films released in 2006 and 2005(!!!) As usual, every actor and actress in the film industry has been conferred with some award.

Who ever runs the government, always the State Awards are the most funniest ones. I guess, the problem is not with the government but with the "eminent" jury that comprises of Mohan, director S.P. Muthuraman, Sivakumar, Charuhaasan, Deva, and Sripriya .

The presence of Sivakumar has been very efficient, as he has made sure that Ghajini bagged as much awards as possible in 2005 and Paruthiveeran got early awards for 2006, while lot many good films have released before that.

Now lets have a look at the comedy awards of 2005:

Best Storywriter

Karu Pazhaniappan (Sathurangam)

Award for a film that never released in theatres and no one has seen what it is all about.

Character Artiste

Rajkiran (Male) (Sandai Kozhi

An award for a film, for which he doesn't get any good reviews. Thavamaai Thavamirundhu was his best performance in that year.

Best Actor

Rajnikanth (Chandramukhi)

Agreed he is the superstar, but an award for a performance that was not very great even in his own standards and that was not even comparable to Vikram's in Anniyan?? And wat the hell, Vikram doesn't even have an award in special award category!!!

2006's awards are more hilarious:

Best Storywriter

Perarasu (Thirupathy)

No comments!!!

Best Actor

Kamal Haasan (Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu)

Even most Kamal's fans felt it was not the best of him. He deserved an award for much better films!!

Best Film

Second: Paruthiveeran

Best Actor (Special Prize)

Karthi (Paruthiveeran)

Best Actress

Priya Mani (Paruthiveeran)

Awards for 2006 to a film that released in 2007??

Finally this is the ultimate!!!

Best Villain

Pasupathy (E)

My God!! Pasupathy had a positive role in "E" that no where is in the villain genre. Aasish Vidhyaarthi was the villan of E!!

The review of "E" says: "As usual Ashish Vidyarthy plays a baddie. A tailor-made role for him, which he does with aplomb. But the pick of the movie is Pasupathy, who launches a crusade against poor Indians being made 'Guinea Pigs' by international pharmaceutical firms. He even lays down his life for the cause. His role is very powerful and potent."

God knows what the jury saw in any of the films!!!

Information Courtesy: IndiaGlitz, Behindwoods

How to Be a Hero....

Just got these from How to Be a Hero website(Courtesy: Sundar)

Hello, Wizard.

Character Stats:

Rogue (4)
Warrior (6)
Wizard (19)
Paladin (19)

Your Profile:

You're intelligent, educated, and just a bit superior to everyone you know. If you're still in school, you probably make A's, if you're not too bored to waste the effort. If you work, your annoying boss relies on you to solve the problems no one else can figure out. You've never met a puzzle you can't solve. When it comes to leisure, you'd rather read, play a strategy game, or surf the 'Net than run around getting sweaty. You're a brainiac, and you're not ashamed to admit it.

Above all, you're a mastermind and a great thinker. You see the unknown as territory to be conquered, and the mysterious as something to be systematically unraveled. You don't have time for fools; you only spend your time with people who can comprehend your obfuscatory convolutions. You enjoy amassing knowledge, both useful and trivial.

Your Mission:

You were put on this earth to enlighten people. They will listen to you, because they are impressed by your vocabulary, your erudition, and your ability to grasp concepts that invariably elude them. You are the one who has to figure things out, because let's face it - you're the only one smart enough.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to Discover Something. Something small, or something big. Find an unknown insect in your own backyard. Discover a cure for sunburn. Develop a faster way to get the dishes done. Calculate the number of molecules in the Andromeda galaxy. Discover a comet. Discover SOMETHING.

And do make it a priority. The Famous Adventurer of Silmaria has a crystal ball trained on you, and will be noting your progress.

A Warning:

Try to remember: you're not infallible. If people around you are all nodding and smiling, it may just be because they don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about. Check your facts and admit the possibility that even you can make mistakes. Loosen up. Make friends with a Rogue and have him or her try to poke holes in your theories. Who knows; you might actually have fun.

On another note - making plans and formulating theories can be quite stimulating, but at some point, you are going to have to actually DO something. Employ a Warrior, if necessary, to put your brilliant schemes into action. Just be sure your instruction manual is written in very small words.

My Inner Hero - Wizard!

There are many types of magic, but all require a sharp mind and a cool head. There is no puzzle I can't solve, no problem I can't think my way out of. When you feel confused or uncertain, you can always rely on me to untangle the knots and put everything back in order for you.

How about you? Click here to find your own inner hero.

Stalling Parliament costs taxpayers Rs 20,000 a minute

Today after reading this statistics from Rediff.com my hatred towards politicians has increased leaps and bounds.... :-(

The Rediff Special | George Iype
August 09, 2006

India loses nearly Rs 20,000 (about $400) every minute when politicians stall proceedings in Parliament.

Paralysing Parliament is a favourite political weapon for Opposition parties. When the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance coalition was in power, the Congress-led Opposition stalled Parliament on many issues.

Now that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance is in power, the BJP-led Opposition keeps disrupting Parliament whenever it can.

"Politicians have lost the sensibility to understand that every minute they disrupt Parliament, the common man's precious money is going down the drain," says Justice V R Krishna Iyer, the respected, retired Supreme Court judge.

"Politicians are not worried because they live by exploiting the taxpayer's money in India," the judge adds.

The parliamentary secretariat does not have the exact figures of how much money is lost when Parliament is paralysed.

Six months ago, the non-governmental organisation National Social Watch Coalition published a report titled 'Citizens Report on Governance and Development - 2006.'

The Coalition study found that between 1951 and 2003-2004, the cost of running the two Houses of Parliament registered an increase from Rs 100 per minute to Rs 18,430 per minute.

That figure is now estimated to have reached Rs 20,000 per minute.

Some other findings of the Coalition's survey:

* In the 11th Lok Sabha (1996 to 1998) 5.28 per cent of the total Parliament time was lost in pandemonium. The figure increased to 10.66 per cent in the 12th Lok Sabha and more than doubled to 22.4 per cent between 1999 and 2004.

* The current 14th Lok Sabha recorded 38 per cent time lost in the first two sessions, thanks to the row over the induction of 'tainted' members of Parliament into the UPA government and the absence of 'absconding' minister Shibu Soren.

* The Rajya Sabha, reacting similarly to these issues, lost a whopping 46 per cent time in the corresponding 201st and 202nd sessions.

'The loss of time through pandemonium leading to the loss of designated parliamentary business eventually also translates into substantial loss of public money,' the report said.

The current Monsoon Session of both the Houses of Parliament is the fifth session of the 14th Lok Sabha. It began on July 24 and ends on August 30, and has 28 working days.

Out of this, there are three holidays: August 9 (Raksha Bandhan), August 15 (Independence Day) and August 16 (Janmashtami).

That means the Monsoon Session has 25 working days. At six hours a day, the session has 150 working hours to debate important national issues, discuss and pass several legislations, carry out a number of Constitutional amendments, etc.

On the first day of the session, the Opposition walked out in protest against the Manmohan Singh government's handling of terrorism and price rise.

By today, August 9, the members of Parliament should have spent 72 hours in the honourable tasks of legislations and debating national issues. About 35 hours have been lost because of Opposition walkouts, disruptions and pandemonium in both the Houses.

That means Rs 4.2 crore or Rs 42 million (about $800,000) has already been lost this session.

Pesticide cocktail in Coke, Pepsi

The following news snippet sends shivers down my spine as I read the bitter truth. Its high time that celebrities stop advertising for such hazardous chemicals and people realise the truth and shift over to traditional fruit juices and other hramless drinks!!!

August 02, 2006 20:13 IST
The Centre for Science and Environment on Wednesday came out with a fresh study claiming the presence of 'pesticide cocktail' in 11 brands of soft drink giants Coca Cola and PepsiCo, three years after the same brands were found to have contained pesticides.

The new findings, publicised after testing 57 samples of 11 soft drink brands of Coca Cola and PepsiCo collected from 25 manufacturing units across 12 states, claims that all the bottles examined were a "cocktail of 3-5 different pesticides" which was 24 times above the standards finalised by Bureau of Indian Standards.

"We have found pesticide residue in all soft drinks tested. Three years ago, when the tests were conducted we could spot only four pesticides. This time it has increased to five in some cases," Sunita Narain, director, CSE said.

The study - 'Soft Drinks - Hard Truth II' - claims that the average amount of pesticide residues found in all the samples was 11.85 parts per billion, which is 24 times higher than the BIS standards for pesticides in soft drinks (0.5 ppb).

It also found the presence of Lindane (a carcinogen), Chlorphyrifis (a neurotoxin), Heptachlor, Mealthion and HCH. Heptachlor, banned in India, was found in 71 per cent of the samples, at four times higher than BIS standards.

On an average, the levels of deadly Lindane were over 54 times above the approved standards while one Coca Cola sample from Kolkata had this pesticide 140 times. Chlorpyrifos levels were on an average 47 times higher and a Coca Cola sample from Thane tested for this particular pesticide at a level that is 200 times than the approved levels.

The full article is available at: http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/02cola.htm

India votes for football over cricket!

I came across this  interesting article from Times of India last week,  which disproves the theory that Indians are crazy only about Cricket!!!! 

A few statistics from the article:

Six out of 10 women drool over the England captain Beckham, every second man favours football over cricket.

Is it going to be the locks of Beckham or Mahi's mane, Ronaldo's power or the Wall's class, Ronaldinho's jig or Yuvi's charm? Call it sports enthusiasts' fickleness or the fact that football fever is all around us!

With the FIFA World Cup kicking off in Germany, it's a fever that's gripping the otherwise cricket-crazy nation and loyalties seem to be shared. As far as football goes, the tussle is between the glam and game. The fairer sex drools over the glam quotient offered by the footballers rather than the game whereas for the kids and men, it's always the action on the field that matters.

Forty-six per cent of the men polled and 48 per cent kids have a liking for soccer whereas for women, football comes after cricket with 37 per cent votes in favour of soccer compared to 46 per cent for cricket. For 41 per cent men, cricket was secondary vis-a-vis football.

It's interesting to note that kids are more inclined towards soccer. In cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Kolkata, the survey received an overwhelming response in soccer's favour with 9 out of 10 kids favouring soccer in certain cases.

Cricket rules in Delhi and Mumbai, and as expected, Kolkata is floored by football. But surprisingly, 65 per cent women in Bangalore and Ahmedabad also voted in favour of football whereas the percentage was 35 in Hyderabad.

David Beckham emerged as India's favourite football icon, courtesy his glam quotient and off-field antics. A whopping six out of 10 women rooted for the English captain. But the men voted for the Brazilian striker Ronaldinho, casting 40 per cent votes for his on-field skills.

His teammate Ronaldo had the support of 26 per cent fans with diehards like 13-year-old Chinmay from Pune saying he would stop watching football when Ronaldo leaves the game.

(The survey was conducted for a sample size of over 500 people across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in the age group of 9 to 35 years)

The full article is available at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1631981.cms

Back again....

I am back after a month of self-imposed hibernation. Lots of exciting things happened in this period. I went for a 2 day trip to Chennai and recharged myself. I met a lot of intersting people online and in person and had good experiences and new friendships.

My Orkut scrap count crossed 5000 and friends count became 170+. (Is that an achievement? lol...) Bangalore turned from very hot to super cool with early monsoon rains with an awesome climate.

I had one week of fun and masti in my team at office where we played lots of games and tourneys giving great fun and relaxation. To top it all I went for an adventurous and awesome outing with my team members(probably the final one as my project is heading for a close). The experiences fromt he team outing will follow in the next blog post.

And yeah, back to blogging as usual...... :-)

Peg after Peg...

From a mail forward... Nicely illustrated effects of drinking. Mabbu maharajas could relate more to this one... ;-)

I never take risk while drinking

When I come from office in the evening, wife is cooking
I can hear the noise of utensils in the kitchen
I stealthily enter the house
Take out the bottle from my black cupboard
Shivaji Maharaj is looking at me from the photo frame
But still no one is aware of it
Becoz I never take a risk

I take out the glass from the rack above the old sink
Quickly enjoy one peg
Wash the glass and again keep it on the rack
Of course I also keep the bottle inside my cupboard
Shivaji Maharaj is giving a smile

I peep into the kitchen
Wife is cutting potatoes
No one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I: Any news on chopra's daughter's marriage
Wife: Nope, she doesn't seem to be that lucky. Still they are looking out for her

I again come out; there is a small noise of the black cupboard
But I don't make any sound while taking out the bottle
I take out the glass from the old rack above sink
Quickly enjoy one peg

Wash the bottle and keep it in the sink
Also keep the Black Glass in the cupboard
But still no one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I: But still I think chopra's daughter's age is not that much
Wife: What are you saying? She is 28 yrs old... like an aged horse
I: (I forgot her age is 28 ) Oh Oh...

I again take out potatoes out from my black cupboard
But the cupboard's place has automatically changed
I take out the bottle from the rack and quickly enjoy one peg in the sink

Shivaji Maharaj laughs loudly
I keep the rack in the potatoes & wash Shivaji Maharaj's photo & keep it in the black cupboard

Wife is keeping the sink on the stove
But still no one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I: (getting angry) you call Mr. chopra a horse? If you say that again, I will cut your tongue...! Wife: Don't just blabber something, go out and sit quietly...

I take out the bottle from the potatoes
Go in the black cupboard and enjoy a peg
Wash the sink and keep it over the rack
Wife is giving a smile

Shivaji Maharaj is still cooking
But still no one is aware of what I did
Becoz I never take a risk

I: (laughing) So chopra is marrying a horse!!
Wife: Hey go and sprinkle some water on your face...

I again go to the kitchen, and quietly sit on the rack
Stove is also on the rack
There is a small noise of bottles from the room outside

I peep and see that wife is enjoying a peg in the sink
But none of the horses are aware of what I did
Becoz Shivaji Maharaj never takes a risk

Chopra is still cooking
And I am looking at my wife from the photo and laughing
Becoz I never take what???

Cattell 16 Factor Test

Courtesy: Venkat

Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results Warmth |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Intellect |||||||||||| 38% Emotional Stability |||||||||||||||||| 58% Aggressiveness |||||| 18% Liveliness |||||||||||| 38% Dutifulness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Social Assertiveness |||||||||||| 38% Sensitivity ||||||||||||||| 42% Paranoia ||||||||| 26% Abstractness ||||||||| 30% Introversion ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Anxiety |||||||||||| 34% Openmindedness ||||||||||||||| 42% Independence ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Perfectionism |||||||||||||||||| 58% Tension |||||||||||||||||| 54%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

Judas was no Traitor: Says New Gospel

Can History be changed? A history that is as old as 2000+ years and is firmly rooted in the mind and hearts of people? Not only as History, but as a religious belief? Well, expect the unexpected.

The dictionary describes 'Judas' as a betrayer. For 2000 years and more, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles who sold his master for 30 pieces of silver, has been condemned to infamy for this terrible act of betrayal. New evidence says, there was a Gospel of Judas, and according to it, he was not the villain he has been made out to be.

Proofs for Gospel of Judas, the fifth and the new addition to those of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John has been unearthed and authenticated by a group of experts.

According to these documents, the betrayal of Jesus Christ is a secret mystery between him and Judas. A National Geographic statement says the key passage in the text comes when Jesus tells Judas '... you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me,' indicating that Judas, by helping Jesus get rid of his physical flesh, will help liberate the true spiritual self or divine being within.

To read the full article visit this link from Rediff.com: http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/apr/07judas.htm

And it is for sure controversial subject to be discussed. You can read what people say at this link: http://mboard.rediff.com/board/board.php?boardid=news2006apr07judas

Heaven and Hell!!!

From a mail forward.... :-)

Looks correct!!!! ;-)

Mobile Manners

Copyright:http://www.hutch.in/event/mobile_manners.asp

This is issued like a public interest message by Hutch. It applies to all mobile users. A nice initiative from a mobile service provider.

When we talk loudly on the phone or play our favourite ringtones little do we realise that we are in someway disturbing others’ private space. We get away with our behaviour but leave a sour experience for others.

Hutch brings you some tips that will help you become an ideal mobile user. One who’s sensitive to the people around, and uses his mobile phone in the best way possible.

Speak Softly
You don't have to shout to be heard by the person on the other end.

Lights off, mobile off.
At theatres, keep your mobile phone off. And let others enjoy the show as well.

Pray in silent mode.
God may call you when you're in a temple or church. But it's unlikely he'll use a mobile phone.

Don't speak while eating.
At restaurants, enjoy the food and company. Calls can wait.

Anybody can tell a bad tune.
So choose your ringtones wisely. And remember that only you need to hear it, not your neighbour.

A word before any picture.
Ask for permission before you take anyone's picture on your mobile phone.

The power of Media!!!

Thanks to Vikram for this nice forward!!!

CLASSIC VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
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MODERN VERSION...

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. BBC, CNN, AAJ TAK, NDTV show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticizes the Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper. Opposition MP's stage a walkout.

Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by BBC,CNN, AAJ TAK and NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Think !!!