1001.0010

I Love Test Cricket

2008-12-28T19:12:00.002-08:00

What a match Steyn is having. Five wickets in the first dig, a maiden Test fifty, now he comes back into the attack and snaps up a couple wickets in a maiden over. He can do no wrong at the MCG. Australia are falling apart at the seams while Ponting bats excellently at one end. Steyn has nine wickets in the match. Australia lead by only 80 runs. I love Test cricket.

So do I!

signing off,

Surreal Moment

2008-10-24T17:32:00.001-07:00

I was watching Body of Lies the other day. It is a decent movie, doesn't tell you anything that you don't already know unless you are one of those people who cannot spot Mexico on the world map. At the end Hoffman tells Ferris, "Ain't nobody likes the Middle East, buddy. There's nothing here to like."

Quite true. In the global world where the boundaries are shrinking fast, we are becoming narrower and narrower and are just thinking of ourselves. Now as Seinfeld would say, not that there is anything wrong with that. But when you try to impose your views on them without knowing their background, there is something wrong with that.

The example is of middle east, but can easily be applied for any region in India, especially with current row between so called Marathi Manus and Outsiders.

signing off,

Clever

2008-08-08T20:08:00.001-07:00

There are few laugh out loud moments in Jaane tu ya jaane na.

{You know, spoilers alert. Blah, blah, blah.}

1. Pappu Can't Dance sala song. I don't watch any "entertainment" channel like Zee or Star (thankfully I don't have to) nor do I track latest songs or happenings in movies online. So I was potentially spared from onslaught of the clips of the song 5 hrs a day 6 days a week (That's how much I watch tv). When I watched the song in the movie for the first time, I was, too be frank, not impressed. But all that changed with that "Papa kehte hai" snippet. Very clever lyrics!

2. 12 o'clock Cindrella incident! :-)

3. Ratna Pathak's "Phone pe beta" (Btw, if you want to watch Ratna Pathak in full form, look no further than Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, the funniest comedies of recent years)

4. And of course, Naseeruddin Shah. He is splendid and plays the late father without being creepy like Chamatkar. (Remember that?)

The other thing that I liked is the music, both soundtrack and background scores. Heartwarming "Tu bole", playful "Kabhi kabhi Aditi", soft romantic "Kahin to" and very different interpretations of "Jaane Tu Meri Kya Hai" to match Aditi's and Jai's characters. (So instead of being male and female versions of the song, they become Jai and Aditi versions.) These and of course Pappu. Maybe they should have included Jai, Aditi, Meghna and Amit themes in the soundtrack. That would have made my day.

All in all, very enjoyable film. Go watch it.

signing off,

PS: I hear that Olympic opening ceremony was spectacular. I should catch it on youtube.

Indian Mythology and Andrew Stanton

2008-07-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

Q: What did Sugreev say when he saw Vali die?

A: WALL-E!!!

Save the opportunity of this very poor joke, the movie is quite brilliant and clever. We don't see a lot of vibrant colors that we saw in Nemo land or Nemo water, but the visuals are breathtaking nevertheless. There are numerous chuckles for grown-ups while the offsprings will enjoy the cuteness of WALL-E, that indestructible cockroach and EVE. A must watch!

Besides, what a year this is turning out to be for movie buffs! Already we or I have seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda, WALL-E. And at least one more to come, the Batman. Woo hoo!!

signing off,

Of Presidential Candidates

2008-07-09T15:39:00.002-07:00

There's no doubt that /. commentators are quite impressive. Exhibit A

signing off,

Travel Chronicles

2008-07-08T11:12:00.001-07:00

What is it with flights and me? Does Joe Pesci want me to give up on flying and just take a walk instead? First time when I had traveled to US, the date was shortly after 26th July. For folks in Mumbai, that date is as notorious 11th September. Thus my flight got canceled and I had to reschedule. Next time there was that whole visa issue and I had to extend my vacation by two weeks. This time the flight gets canceled, I get stranded in Amsterdam (Amsterdamn seems more appropriate), and get routed to Mumbai via AMS-KWI-MCT-AMD-BOM. Four different countries, five different airport. Curses, nwa.

Then while coming back they lose my bag. Agreed it is on the way and I will get it tomorrow, but you know one gets frustrated with these kind of things.

Had it not for those wonderful 6 days between these two flights and had I not been looking forward to actually flying again in a few months time, I'd have accepted your suggestion of giving up on flying. :-) Maybe some day.

signing off,

How to Open and Close?

2008-06-22T17:33:00.002-07:00

If your movie begins with AC/DC and ends with Black Sabbath, it is ought to be good.

And so it is. Barring a few flaws in second half where we get reminiscence of the bore movie Transformers when two Iron Men fight, the movie is delight to watch. Very Sleek. Robert Dawney sir, if I may quote Mr President, are awesome!

Now to next big superhero release of summer. I am sure Mr Nolan and Mr Bale will not disappoint me :-)

signing off,

Kingdom of What?

2008-06-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Sure, Temple of Doom was one thing, Georgy and Stevie. I know I should be taking this with a handful serving of Sodium Chloride, but just what were you smoking this time?

Although the ants scene and the bike were kind of cool, only two notable things in the movie were Karen Allen (Is she always like that?) and Cate Blanchett. Now is there anything that babe can't do right?

Maybe I am harsh and nostalgic. But give me the Indy of Raiders of Lost Ark anytime. They don't make movies like those anymore. :Sigh:

signing off,

Business Communication

2008-05-22T09:26:00.002-07:00

Using incorrect grammar is considered sign of progression these days. One thing that I have observed is the managers in my organization tend to drop "I" or "We" from all sentences. And the sentences will invariably end with "ASAP". Their email would read something like this,

Request you to go through the LLD and revert back ASAP. Request you to fill the timesheet ASAP. [sic]

The bad usage of English language is not limited to the PHBs though. The other day I received this email from the developer who shall remain anonymous,

Access give only on *** database servers. *** DB and VSS yet to provide access. I will let you know about this.

No one have access to *** servers, Cannot logon *** servers, its just given for information.

Hope you able to logon all *** database servers. Please confirm. [sic]

Believe it or not, this guy has about 8-9 years of experience in my organization. I bet he knows a lot more stuff than many of us do; I cannot help but wonder why he is just a developer. I think I know why.

signing off,

My Daddy's Better than Yours

2008-04-13T23:12:00.001-07:00

If you follow the Indian music industry overall (not just one particular regional songs), you tend to observe a thing. Usually when a song is "dubbed" from "the other language", there are comparisons made by the music zealots and people sitting on bench outside the saloon alike about which version is better. Most of the times it leads to nothing but a feverish regional debate and accusing each other of "stealing" the stuff. I thought, in the Western World, having the concept of "covering the song", the bickering would be minimal. But every now and then I am proved wrong.

Case in point, the song "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" by Def Leppard and its cover by Mariah Carey. Now I understand that each person has their own music taste and entitled for an opinion, but the comments on youtube video on both songs were getting pretty nasty. There was a gentleman (or a lady, no way to tell from the user name), who was calling a Carey fan by names that shall not get airtime on this blog. Then there was one lady (or might have been Chris Crocker) who was defending Carey by calling a Leppard fan "mean hearted" and asked him to leave Carey alone. Pretty amusing :-) If you ask my opinion, Def Leppard's version simply rocked. Man! What riffs!! What vocals!!! I have never liked Mariah Carey anyways, and this does not make me start liking her anymore than I should have liked Celine Dion after the whole "You shook me all night long" incident :-)

And for the record, I will not listen a single bad word against a song cover called "The Man Who Sold the World" by a certain someone named Kurt Cobain and his little known band Nirvana. If you are a big Bowie fan, go back to your mom's basement and listen to him. My dad is way better than yours.

signing off,

I Have a Dream

2008-04-11T15:20:00.003-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, your very special moment of Zen for today:

"From the beginning, George W Bush has been frequently ridiculed for his speaking style", The narrator says. "Now seven years later he's credited with some of the most eloquent and visionary speeches ever delivered by an American President." [Video 1 2]

signing off,

भरलं वांगं

2008-04-03T22:24:00.003-07:00

वांगं खूप लोकांना अावडत नाही म्हणे!! पण लहानपणी त्यांनी बैंगन राजा नावाचं कॅरेक्टर बघितलं नसेल, किंवा त्यांची जीभ निव्वळ दगड असेल, अजून काय?

येतो मग,

Of God and the Tax Season

2008-03-31T17:25:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting with my tax consultant last week. He asked me a whole lot of questions about my earnings, savings, stocks, medical expenses, educational expenses etc. Routine stuff, in other words you hear in the tax office. He asked me how much I had spent towards religious activities last year. I asked him to clarify. He said, "You know, how many miles did you travel to go to the temple?"

Boy! A tough question. I made a quick calculation and told him, "About 60 mi".

He seemed excited. "Good. So how much for the whole year?"

I should mention that this tax consultant was Indian, calling me from Bangalore I guess.

"Actually that's about it." I clarified.

He was speechless for a few moments. Or maybe it was the phone connection. "What?? How many times did you go to the temple?"

"About two-three times."

"Shouldn't you be going more regularly?" He asked.

"To get more tax rebate?" I quipped.

He seemed aghast. Perhaps a little disappointed. "No you know, aren't you a Hindu? You should."

I have not been so much patronized by even my parents since I was 12. Why do people seem so surprised to hear something like this?

signing off,

Bhaiyya Sehwag!

2008-03-28T15:54:00.001-07:00

I am a Tendulkar guy. Contrary to what I say, I tend to get disappointed, however little it might be, when he gets out. Now I know this person who is undoubtedly Sehwag guy. He has unabashedly supported Sehwag throughout the years I have known him. I remember when we were in Chennai earlier this decade (boy, the time has surely flown) and cricket and pay-raises were the only things that brought our otherwise diverse group of folks from all over India to the passionate round tables; he used to be the only one supporting Sehwag. Now I don't mean that rest of us did not enjoy his huge six over the midwicket or cracking square cut backwards of point. But he was the one who said big things about Sehwag where rest of us just more or less agreed that probably Sehwag was a one-match wonder.

Today I cannot help but remember him and how he must be content with himself. I can almost hear him boisterously cheer Sehwag in his own typically Delhite accent, "Sehwag, bhaiyya, Sehwag! $%#$ di South Africa $%@#*@$%^!!"

Cheers to that mate! Cheers!!

signing off!

Silver Spamming

2008-03-26T15:56:00.001-07:00

Sorry Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). I know your Silverlight technology is bright and shiny. But I am on my office network and you know, "not supposed" to install anything unless thoroughly tested and approved. I bet you have a similar policy on your desktops too, where "the developers" will be "frowned upon" if they install unauthorized software, say (*gasp*) Thunderbird to read their (*gasp*^2) Gmails or (*gasp*^3) Firefox!

So please let me know if you have any brighter and shinier button which kills these "Install Silverlight" "Install Silverlight" windows once and for all till my IT department decides otherwise. You know, some might even call it a "popup window". Heh. Their nerves.

signing off,

With Sugar on Top

2008-03-04T08:31:00.003-08:00

As Colbert would say, "WE DID IT!" With all shouting, sound effects and whistling!

To Mr Ponting and his minions, please treat this as a personal offensive gesture to derive that we are not gracious winners. Frankly, who's listening to you?

signing off,

The Fallen Warrier

2008-02-18T11:06:00.003-08:00

Q: What happens when a human face hits the ice surface and skids for about 10 yards at about 40 mph?

A: This.

And oh by the way, skiing totally rocks! I am going there again next Saturday :-)

signing off,

Sizable Minority

2008-02-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

From the news report on primaries in Virgina and Maryland:

There is a sizable minority population in those states.

My doubt: If it is a sizable minority, why not call it a majority?

signing off,

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-02-09T00:05:00.000-08:00

Previous posts on birthdays: '05 '06 '07

signing off,

The Best Things in Life Are Free

2008-02-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

Or at least are the ones you aren't required to spend a fortune on. I am a firm believer in this philosophy, when I consider eating outside. When I was in Mumbai, I had been to this local McD where I ate this veggie burger for about Rs 60. Then I had this tangy vada-pav on streets of Kurla for Rs 5. The burger was presented to me with perfectly round slices of onion and tomato with a leaf of lettuce. Vada-pav came with a fried green chilly and a mixture of tamarind and mint chutney. Burger was given in a clean white plate. Vada-pav was handed over to me by the boy directly. Burger was good enough. Vada-pav was smashingly delicious. I did not order second burger. But I had two more vada-pav.

Then there was a case of that famous gol-gappa in Delhi. I have heard this a lot - man you should go to Delhi and eat the gol-gappa there. What you get in Mumbai/Bangalore is a cheap imitation. So when I was in Delhi, I did try my hand at this 2 (or was it 4 I don't remember) pieces for Rs 10 variation. People around me, seemingly local, were enjoying it. But I did not like it a bit. It did not have the trademark peas, the water was tasteless and the potato mixture it had was totally bland. Again compared that to 6 pieces for Rs 5 at my local Pani-Puri-wala, whose smashed peas mixture and spicy water makes your eyes and nose water besides your mouth; I'd have chosen the cheaper but much better version any day. Don't ask me about Bangalore pani puri though. :-)

There are a lot of examples to support this. Like Rs 50 Shivsagar Pav-bhaji (which in my opinion is simply riding on Madhuri Dixit's name) or Rs 20-30 Pav Bhaji at any other place. Like Chinese restaurant serving you expensive but boring chop-suey and a roadside Chinese gadi wala giving you much better version of that. Like Rs 50 for two pieces of idlis at the food mall at Bombay-Puna Expressway or a complete package of idli-dosa-chuney for two at the same price on roads of Chennai. Simply heaven!

Clearly this philosophy is not for the weak hearted and weak stomached. One must go against all the rules of cleanliness and health risks associated while having such food. But once you overcome that, roadside food trumps, beats the heck out of, kicks that snooty butt of any 'clean' restaurant food.

signing off,

Arranged Marriage

2008-01-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

"I have heard arranged marriages are big in India." My colleague (American) had said just a few weeks prior to my vacation. "I find it interesting. Your parents choose your match and you simply follow. Does is not sound like you are taking risk with your life?" I began formulating the answer even I did not know and have always dreaded. "But then even here our marriages can and do fail after people choose their life partner themselves. So I guess it all depends on each person and his or her ability to adjust in life", she had answered herself after contemplating for a few minutes.

Yes. Adjust. Compromise. It did sound scary initially. What if she does not like rock music? What if she does not like sandwiches? What if she does not enjoy rain? What if she does everything by consulting her astrologer? What if she is sick of traveling? What if she makes me watch 'Kyon ki saans bhi kabhi bahu thi' type serials? What if she does not like kids? What if she is not flexible? What if she does not like Ducktales? Horror!!

Jokes apart, for 99% of us mortals, marriage is the single biggest decision in our life, and thus one of the most difficult decisions. I mean, if one has to stay with her for about 40-50 years (clearly I am not being pessimistic, just realistic), share nitty-gritty of his life, raise a family, manage emotions in good and bad times, maintain good relations between all stakeholders without sacrificing too many of his personal interests, how in the world does finding the correct life partner sound like an easy task which can be achieved over a four week vacation? And then how can I be so sure that my elders know the best for me? I mean, they are my elders and all that. But to add to complications I am here across the seven seas. How well do they know my conditions to make an informed decision? Or would they rely on outdated memories and telephonic conversations to arrive at hasty judgment that I will be forced to follow for rest of my life? Furthermore, marriage is not just between her and I, but it will be union of our entire families. How can I know that I or for that matter she will be accepted in the 'other' family as readily? There are hundreds of such questions. How and where does one search for the answers?

I didn't know answer to a single question posed. But maybe I was not required to. So in that moment so unlike me, I said yes and I got engaged a couple of days later to P. And when I look back and think about it now just after a week, I feel I am so ready for my arranged marriage. :-)

signing off,

खिचडी

2008-01-23T23:00:00.000-08:00

तुम्हाला पडवळाचा मुरंबा करता येतो? म्हणजे, पुलंच्या शब्दांत, एक पडवळ घ्यावं, ते उभं चिरावं, वगैरे वगैरे. माझी (खरं सांगायचं तर आमच्या बाबांची) एक पाककृती, जी मी पुढे लिहिणार आहे, तिचं नावंच ऐकून लोक तो मुरंबा खाल्ल्यासारखं तोंड करतात. साबुदाण्याची खिचडी? कांदा घालून?? पावनं, बरं वाटत नाही का काय?

आपल्याकडे साबुदाण्याला एक स्थान आहे, ते म्हणजे फक्त उपवासाच्या खाण्यात. नाही म्हणलं तरी, वड्यांनी साबुदाण्याला थोडंसं "चमचमीत खाणं" या सदरात आणण्याचा एक क्षीण प्रयत्न केला पण तोही फसला. आता तर अशी अवस्था आहे की साबुदाणा म्हणलं की डोळ्यासमोर एखादी मूर्ती, नाकासमोर उदबत्तीचा वास (ज्याने मला खोकला येतो) यायलाच पाहीजे. अशा वातावरणात, तुम्हीच सांगा, कांदा अश्या अत्यंत अधार्मिक प्रवृत्तीच्या मुलाशी साबुदाण्याच्या खिचडीसारख्या सुशील मुलीचं कोणता बाबा लग्न लावून देईल? (मी सध्या "मार्केट"मध्ये असल्याने माझ्या उपमाही तशाच)

पण जर तुम्ही असल्या पुरोगामी विचारांचे नसाल आणि नुसते पोहे उपमा खाउन कावले असाल तर कधीतरी एखाद्या रविवारी कु़टुंब माहेरी किंवा किटी पार्टीला गेल्याची संधी साधून ही खिचडी ट्राय मारा.

एक वाटी साबुदाणा - दोन-अडीच वाटी पाण्यात धुउन दीड-दोन तास भिजवून ठेवा.ते भिजले की त्यातलं जास्तीचं पाणी काढून त्यात चवीनुसार दाण्याचा कूट, मीठ, थोडंसं तिखट आणि चिमूटभर साखर टाकून बाजूला ठेवा.एक कांदा आणि एक हिरवी मिरची बारीक चिरा. कढईत तेल गरम करून त्यात जिरे तडतडू द्या. ते झालेले वाटले की मिरची नि कांदा परतून घ्या. कांदा "मस्त तेल मैं फ्राय" करून झाला की त्यामध्ये साबुदाणा व इतर जिन्नस मिसळा व झाकण ठेउन शिजू द्या. साधारण १५/२० मिनिटांनी ते उतरवा व वर ओला खवलेला नारळ आणि "बारीक कटा हुआ हरा धनिया" भुरभुरवून गरम गरम खा.

आणि ती खाऊन "अजि मी आज ब्रम्हांड पाहिले" असे वाटले नाही तर सांगा.

येतो मग,

WTB?

2007-12-13T18:34:00.000-08:00

These days I have developed a strange habit. I sleep with my earphones on. And whole night the laptop is playing the iTunes library in shuffle and repeat mode. Well it's not exactly new. I remember I used to drain the batteries of my Sony Walkman in a single night. But at least then I never used to listen to Trivium, Tool, Black Sabbath and stuff!

If I haven't said it before, I will say it now. VLC is the best damn video/audio player there is. It simply kicks butt of Windows Media Player (duh!), iTunes (duh!), Real Player (DUH!). I haven't used WinAmp since 2.9* ages, but I have read that v3* and v5* are pure crap. So if you are not using VLC, give it a try. I bet you won't go back.

signing off,

And Here Is the Boss

2007-10-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

They say that Mt Rainier inspires each one in some ways. Indeed. How else can you explain two boys getting off their lazy bums on Saturday morning at 5:00 AM to drive about 80 mi to catch sunrise at the Reflection lake? Unfortunately while the intentions were noble, the road to Reflection lake was closed due to snow! So we just got this photo out of the whole 5 hrs trip -

Even that does inspire one, doesn't it?

signing off,

How Much Does It Cost to Bring Down a School?

2007-10-22T21:11:00.000-07:00

Somebody please give her a ballpark figure. :-)

[via]

For more on Little Becky, visit this site.

signing off,

Sweet Mother of All That Is Pure

2007-10-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

Check this out: thedailyshow.com

But where is the full screen button mommy?

signing off,

Seattle Downtown

2007-10-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

I simply love the photogenic face of Seattle downtown. And I love my camera too.

signing off,

Stephen Colbert for President!

2007-10-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

Let's see how far it goes :-) Kinda dream come true for many, if only he had not removed Stewart's name from the bumper sticker. Damn you Huckabee, Putin and Colber't'! But seriously, I think Stephen will not make any dent for 2008 election. But if he is serious, this can be a good experience for 2012 election.

On the topic, I am reading "I Am America" currently. It is funny, but not hilarious. I liked "America (The Book)" by Jon better than this one so far.

And MSNBC, instead of challenging Ron Paul supporters, you need to watch episodes of Poll Smoking with Dave Gorman (which sadly is removed from YouTube by ViaCom, but you can see it on ComedyCentral I think). Internet polling as it is biased, that is why you add the disclaimer about possibility of skewed results. You don't go bashing the supporters. Ever heard of the Streisand effect?

signing off,

In the Shadow of Mt St Helens

2007-10-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

So we decided to climb Mt St Helens. Now I have already completed a trek of approximately 9 mi total distance which gained about 4300 ft in elevation. But this was task ominous any way you looked. Consider this: the summit stands at 8,363 ft above sea level. The path to it is about 5 mi which consists three parts: about 2 mi of trails through the forest, then about 1.5 mi of boulders and rocks and last but not the least remaining path largely covered with volcanic ash which is quite slippery. Then to add to the complications, on Sunday, when we decided to climb, the weather looked bad even by the Northwest standards. The day would start with freezing temperatures, high about 41 and 70% chances of rain along the day. But our platoon (squad really) was up for the task.

We stayed about 30 miles West of the Climbers Bivouac on Saturday night. Sunday early morning at about 6 AM, we set out for Jack's Restaurant, while it was still drizzling. The accident on I-5 North just across our hotel didn't do any good to our morals. The road was foggy and when we reached Jack's to collect our permits, we were not encouraged at all. See these faces, they surely don't look like happy faces, do they?

Or they do. Of course this was from previous night where we had a small impromptu party with BK burger meals and beer (I had water, as usual). I digress. Here's the photo while we prepare for the trek:

We had initially hoped that the rain might subside and we will be able to see the actual scenery around but no, it didn't. But we were able to spot few gems:

After about an hour and half, we reached this point beyond which the climbing permit is required.

I thought if we make past this board, I'd be able to justify to some extent the $22 spent on the permit :-) After a brief halt, we proceeded. But the wind and rain was too much for us. The snow on rocks had started thickening too. I will let few more photos do the talking now:

After about four hours of strenuous trek, we finally returned to the base. Look at us. Just look at us, drenched to our cores:

Now after some time we stopped at Yale Lake and I posed in my pajamas. (Refer to my previous photos for explanations)

* All photos courtesy my friend Paul (the one in red jacket).

Finally, the title is dedicated to the superb documentary called In the Shadow of the Moon. Inspiring stuff, go see it.

signing off,

Finished it Already!

2007-07-27T23:39:00.000-07:00

I know I am not as fast as some who finished to book on last Saturday. I am not a book reviewer either. What I will do instead is just write about how I felt after finishing the series finale of the Harry Potter series.

Spoiler Alert!! Don't read further if you haven't finished the book or if you give a s#&$.

How did I find the book? Definitely interesting in parts. Rowling had me clutching the book till 2 o'clock in night on two consecutive nights before I dozed off. The way the story begins is like how you would expect - chaos ranging with the Dark Lord on his helm of power and thus causing a death in as early as second chapter. And then it flies like a speeding sedan doing 95 mph on a deserted freeway in middle of the night until it is slowed down by a jam caused by accident or something. For next twenty excruciating minutes, it crawls through the mess and once cleared, again it attains its original speed.

This is my first complain with the book. The middle part of the book, like a boring second session of the third day of a much anticipated test match, simply doesn't move. I know Rowling wanted us to understand that it is not easy for someone (especially for the group of Harry, Hermione and Ron - short on information, plan and consul) to find a goddamn horcrux. But then revelations such as secrets of R.A.B. and Gryffindor's sword come by without any efforts from Harry and Co. Things do fall in place, Harry is simply in right place at the right time. I felt I might as well have skipped few pages and missed nothing worthwhile.

Then the other problem is the whole Severus Snape's death episode. I was afraid that Rowling might pull a Wachowski, and she did. Snape's death is similar to Trinity's death in the Matrix Revolutions. How lame was that? Fortunately for Severus, Rowling redeems him at least after his death putting an end to one of the most vociferously fought cyber-battles similar to Emacs vs Vi: Is Severus Snape evil?

But that aside, other parts of the book were thoroughly entertaining. This book was by far the bloodiest in the series with as many as twenty deaths (WP) with six of good men, women, elves and animals passing on. With so many deaths, there is not much time to moan like there was in case of Sirius or Dumbledore. Or like the character of Harry, even Rowling makes us to deal with the death as an inevitable part of the life. The proceedings in Ministry, Gringotts and Hogwarts are nail biting. Malfoy Manor, Godric Hollows not so much. The humor in certain situations is notable and helps us keep the tension in check. And no, I didn't miss the Quidditch matches. Enough of it already!

So finally after all this, my conclusion? Not to be missed if you want to finish the storyline. Well, duh! But again, not the best book in the series either. That would be PoA or HBP.

signing off,

Two Launches

2007-07-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

Take it from me, you been part of a really, really fortunate generation. How else can you explain this - within a space of three weeks, we are witnessing two greatest product launches ever (and by ever I mean since June 07). First the iPhone and tonight, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I plan to go to our neighborhood Borders store just to see all the hoopla. For the records I had also driven ~15 mi in the torrential rains to our nearby Apple store to check out the iPhone. But unfortunately I had told the 'Apple Genius' that I was there to resolve an issue with my Macbook. So he allowed me in without standing in 'the line' outside, but also directed me to the remotest corner inside the store farthest from any iPhone :-) So I could not even touch it!

But back to Harry da Puttar, I am as excited as anybody to find out how the series ends. Especially after HBP which is a perfect stage for the grand series finale. Unless of course, Rowling pulls off a Lucas or a Wachowski. :-)

So there you go, my second post in two part series of the Potter posts. Happy reading!

signing off,

Bring Out My Freudian Hat

2007-07-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday night I had one disturbing dream. For all that matter, all my dreams, whatever I can remember of it anyways, are disturbing. I hardly remember my dreams if they are pleasant. Or maybe I have never had any pleasant dreams. And I don't know why I tend to remember the rest so crystal clear.

Now when I say disturbing, it usually involves death. And it tends to be anyone - me, a friend, a family member, a spider or another equivalent bug, a colleague or a complete stranger. Yesterday's dream death was particularly gruesome and gory. Like the Final Destination 2 opening scene, it was something to do with a pileup because of three idiots who were scampering across I-5. The other day, there was a huge spider devouring me and in the dim flickering light of the cellphone, I could briefly see its internal organs before passing out. Then one particularly fine morning in winter many years ago, I had fallen off the cliff and on my way down, I had met a particularly nasty person I knew back then. Even though in real life she had nothing but disregard for me, she seemed mellow in the face of the death. She did kinda start off the conversation, talked few good things about me for a while and finally had even apologized with teary eyes before bouncing off a protruding tree branch off the cliff.

Brrrrr!! Tonight is going to be a hell of a long night!

signing off,

Preferences

2007-06-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

एकानं मला काल विचारलं - उद्या काय आहे माहीत आहे?

मी खूश! जून एकपासून अगदी ज्या उत्साहात होतो, शेवटच्या दिवशी एकजण भेटला त्या विषयावर बोलायला. उद्या ना? iPhone येतोय!!

त्याने माझ्याकडे "भो पामरा! कसे होणार तुझे?" असं बघितलं आणि म्हणाला, "अरे उद्या सिएटल मधे बृहन महाराष्ट्र मंडळाचं संमेलन आहे. येतोयस ना?"

येतो मग,

Of Sequels and Originals

2007-06-08T15:16:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite movie reviewer said this about Ocean's Thirteen -

Ocean's Thirteen is the first sequel of the summer of 2007 not to fall on its face.

Even though I have not yet watched this number 13, I wouldn't place my bets on lucky number 3. Especially after that last week's movie marathon, when I watched Spider Man 3, Shrek 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End back to back to back (well almost).

How I hope this sequel doesn't disappoint me now that I have spent a good $20 on it :-)

While we are on the term disappointment, even though I love my iPod and am considering a Macbook strongly because how I feel about Mac OS-X, Apple and Mr Jobs, I am praying that all this hoopla doesn't create a large bubble (possibly largest in this decade) only to be burst very shortly after June 29. Call me pessimistic, but after a summerful of disappointment, when that summer is yet to start in certain parts of US, I am little apprehensive. That's all.

signing off,

Maybe It's Stuck

2007-05-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe it reminds me of myself during the days when I used to think that a kick-butt guitar solo is performed to give the guy singing the song some break, but I love the way Frances McDormand ask s "When does it start?". Check it out -

The main reason for back-to-back rock post is VH1. I was watching their show and some guy was talking about defining moments in Metal history. He mentioned Stairway to Heaven as one of them. I was astonished, Stairway to Heaven - Metal?? When? How? Who? Then I do some research and turns out that they are notorious for such false taxonomy.

Well, I hope they don't label Celine Dion as defining artist in rock and roll based on this. :-)

signing off,

Playing What We Want

2007-05-23T15:30:00.000-07:00

96.5 Jack FM is an interesting radio channel. I have not heard them taking calls from Joe listener to find out what he wants to hear. They skip all middle steps and instead just play what they want :-)

Point is, this morning, their playlist on my way to office was like this -

Why Can't This Be Love - Van Halen
Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
Higher - Creed
Def Leppard - Bringin' on the Heartbreak
Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian
Blondie - Call Me
Guns 'N Roses - Paradise City
Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge

It was like someone at radio station was reading my mind (or my iPod) and playing what I want instead :-)

Totally made my morning!

signing off,

Things Remembered

2007-05-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

आई बाबांचा लग्नाचा वाढदिवस होता मागच्या आठवड्यात. तर मी कधी नव्हे ते त्यांना एक bouquet पाठवला. आमच्या पिताजींनी ते courier परत पाठवलं. कारण? त्या मंद rediff.comने त्या bouquetवर माझं नाव लिहिलंच नव्हतं :-) बाबा फ़ोन वर म्हणाले, "मला वाटलं कोणत्यातरी बँकेने पाठवलं असेल ते."

:-) Happy Anniversary, आई बाबा! आणि लवकर बरे व्हा.

येतो मग,

A Funny Sign

2007-05-12T16:59:00.000-07:00

Clerks is a funny movie. Some people find it offensive or distasteful, like Pulp Fiction or even Fight Club. But you gotta admit that the movie is freakin hilarious.

Check out this sign from the counter in Quick Stop Groceries -

signing off,

Image acquired using a screen capture program while running the DVD.

The Emerald City

2007-04-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

It can and does get better than this, but for now I love the photo. This was during our Bremerton to Seattle ferry on that laid back Saturday afternoon, when for once, we did not have rain.

signing off,

RIP Jackson, Hamilton, Grant, Washington

2007-04-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

च्यायला, या ऑस्ट्रेलियाच्या बैलाला ढोल. देऊनच टाकाना त्यांना तो वर्ल्ड कप! नुसता वैताग!

आणि हा सब्जेक्ट आमचे जे पन्नास डॉलर्स गेले (क्रिकेट मॅचेस बघण्यासाठी विकत घेतलेल्या पॅकेजसाठी) त्यांना समर्पित.

येतो मग,

No Kidding

2007-04-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

Two ladies in my new office share their office wall. On that wall they showcase their nameplates. One lady bears the family name Schumacher. The other one, Ferrari.

As I said, no kidding!

signing off,

Argument

2007-03-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of /. The nerds there sometime can get on you, but sometimes you stumble upon a real gem, such as this - (I quote mi from this discussion)

In short, you have to remember, that you (an administrator) exist for the benefit and convenience of these people, not the other way around. So if they want to be able to access their webmail, you must have a much better reason than "you may get a virus" to deny it to them.

I bet, more productivity is lost, when an employee brings in flu and half the office gets sick. But no one is advocating forcing people to take vitamin C and wear scarves, right?..

Nice!

signing off,

पॉलिटिकल कथेकरी बुवा

2007-02-25T21:52:00.000-08:00

आता मी काही धार्मिक वगैरे नाही (असं म्हणायची फैशन संपली नाही ना?) पण कधी जर कोणी मला देवळात घेऊन गेलं तर मी जातो. कशाला कोणाचं मन वगैरे दुखवा? आणि दुसरं म्हणजे आमचं सर्वात जवळचं देऊळ 20 मैलावर आहे आणि तो रस्ता drive करायला मस्तच आहे. दुधात साखर म्हणायचं तर, थोडा पाऊस पडून गेला होता दुपारीच. असल्या मौसमात अगदी खंडाळ्यात आल्यासारखा गारवा आला होता हवेत आणि मला देवालाही नाही म्हणता आलं नाही.

तर सांगायचं काय, सगळं मस्त माझ्या मनासारखं चाललं होतं. आम्ही देवळात पोचलो आणि रीतीरिवाज पूर्ण केले (you know, नमस्कार, प्रसाद वगैरे). एक कोणीतरी बुवा काहीतरी सांगत होते, ते थोडंसं ऐकून निघू असं मत मांडण्यात आलं आणि आम्ही त्या carpetवर तळ ठोकला.

बुवा रंगात होते. 'आत्मू'उन्नती विषयी ते सांगत होते. (माझं मराठी वाचन पु.लं.पुढे जात नाही) आणि थोडंसं sensibleही वाटलं मला ते. आपण आपल्या शारिरीक गरजांना खूप महत्त्व देतो, खूप काळजी घेतो. बौद्धिक गरजांसाठी शाहरूख खानचे सिनेमे पाहतो. इत्यादी, इत्यादी. पण आध्यात्मिक गरजांसाठी ... (हे बुवांचं नाही, माझं प्रवचन आहे; आत्ताच सांगून टाकतो, नाही म्हणजे नंतर confusion नको!) सांगायचं काय, कदाचित बाकी सगळ्यांनाही ते पटलं असावं की काय, पण त्यांच्या बोलण्याकडे लक्ष देणारा मी एकटाच नव्हतो. बुवांनाही ते जाणवलं. 7-8 जणांचा group जर तुम्ही काय बोलताय याच्याकडे कान टवकारून लक्ष देत असेल, तर तुम्हालाही थोडंसं अवसान येतं आणि तुम्ही तुमच्या आवडत्या विषयावर येता. माझी ही theory आहे. कधीतरी prove करीन.

ते आले त्यांच्या सनातन धर्मावर. थोडं Christian आणि ईस्लाम धर्मांशी comparison करून, सनातन धर्म श्रेष्ठ कसा हे अगदी उत्साहात त्यांनी सांगितलं. त्यांच्या बाजूलाच एक आजी बसल्या होत्या. त्या पण देवळाच्या management teamमधल्या दिसल्या. कारण यानंतर लगेचच त्यांनी 'आरतीची वेळ झाली' असं बुवांना बजावलं. माझ्या डाव्या बाजूला बसलेला स आणि माझ्या पुढे बसलेली म यांची नजरानजर झाली आणि दोघेही गालातल्या गालात हसू लागले. मला प्रथम कळलं नाही. नंतर जाणवलं की त्या आजी त्या बुवांच्या better half असल्या पाहीजेत. म्हणूनच म आणि स ला त्या बजावण्यात "been there done that" असं काहीतरी वाटलं असावं. बुवा थोडेसे हिरमूसले, पण अगदी थोडा वेळ. "ये बहोत डरती है, मै जबभी ईस विषयपे आता हूं।" असं काहीतरी बोलून परत चालू झाले. 5-10 मिनिटांनी माझे डोळे थोडेसे जडावले. पूर्ण दिवस हाफिसात काम केल्यावर अजून काय होणार? पण अचानक जेंव्हा मला पं नेहरुंचं नाव ऐकू आलं तेंव्हा मी खडबडून जागा झालो. पं नेहरु?? अमेरिकेतल्या देवळात?

झालं काय, तर बुवा पुनर्जन्म या विषयावर होते. त्यातही Christian आणि ईस्लाम धर्म पुनर्जन्म मानत नसल्याने सनातन आणि झालंच तर हिंदू धर्म श्रेष्ठ कसा हे दुस~यांदा prove झालं. (टाळ्या) नंतर त्यांनी बरंच काही सांगितलं त्याचा सारांश असा - माणूस या जन्मात जे काही करतो ते त्याच्या गतजन्मांचं प्रतिबिंब असतं (वा! वा!) आणि त्यांचा प्वॉईंट असा होता की नेहरू परिवाराने जसं काही आपल्या लोकशाहीवर राज्य केलंय, त्यावरून असं सिद्ध होतं की त्या परिवाराच्या links मागील जन्मी कोणत्यातरी तशाच परिवाराशी असल्या पाहिजेत. म्हणून त्यांच्या मते, पं नेहरु मागील जन्मी रावण (हो, हो, रामानंद सागर यांच्या रामायणातलाच) असलेच असणार.

या वाक्यानंतर आजीबाईनी बुवांना धारेवर धरून आरती करायला लावली हे कालचं शेंबडं पोरही सांगू शकेल. मी माझी केस रेस्ट करतो. त्या बुवांपेक्षा पॉलिटिकल बुवांना मी तरी स्वत: भेटलेलो नाही.

येतो मग,

Nevertheless!

2007-02-13T16:03:00.000-08:00

To do -

Practice parallel parking.
Signal when shifting lanes.
Look when backing.

And I am not even sad that I couldn't beat her.

signing off,

Corollary 1

2007-02-09T11:06:00.000-08:00

It is true then.

But also,

Previous birthdays: 05, 06

signing off,

The Bowl Game Is Here

2007-02-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

Go Manning! Go Colts!

signing off,

Dependents

2007-01-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

And while we are on the 'Ron and Don Show', let's talk about the other thing they talked about yesterday. Mainly, how the current generation has been busy with the texting or emailing. We have all heard about/read the studies how those laptops and cellphones are encroaching private spaces between friends, families, spouses and so on. There are reports for those who care, that even when some couples are being intimate in their bed, they will answer cellphone or check the text message!! (I just hope they don't get pissed off if that is a telemarketer calling them :))

That deeply worries me. Not because I am sad for the couple (you know, all that "moment's gone" thing), but because I am irrecoverably (seems like it) addicted to cellphone and laptop myself. And when anyone starts talking about how it affects productivity at work and relationships at home, I keep thinking that has to be on my to-do list. Good intentions.

But the problem is I can't do it even after so many tries and retries. While I don't let any of that interfere with my work, more often or not, my breaks mean surfing to my favorite websites (which are currently /., wikipedia, technorati and my favorite bloggers' feeds) to read anything new. And at home, I surf whatever I can, whenever I can. It may not be completely useless actually. I seem pretty well informed than quite a few of my colleagues and friends. But some times I wonder when was it I read an actual newspaper or a book without being interrupted or took a stroll outside or discussed somethings with friends (and not on Google Talk, no) or just did not sit in front of this idiot box.

Same is with cellphone. I remember days when I used to remember phone numbers. Those days are long gone now. Maybe it is also because there is a lot to remember now. But I can't give such excuses because I don't even try to remember. While many will say it is a good thing and that "frees up" my memory for something else useful, it puts you in very awkward positions if you forget your cellphone or if the battery is drained out or something. After one such incident, I started writing down all important numbers on paper. But still, no efforts to remember.

So what was the point here? Yeah. Dependency on machines. Isn't that supposed to be science fiction?

signing off,

Go Green?

2007-01-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

I am an avid listener of a our local debate show called 'The Ron and Don Show'. It's kinda like 'Hannity & Colmes'. Or had it been more sarcastic, like 'Even Stephven' from yore.

So back to the point. Today they were discussing, like everyone and their grandmothers, on feasibility of us going green in the near future. After Don made all those patriotic (terror-free gas), genial and humanitarian (global warming, think of your grandchildren) points, he claimed people of Puget Sound may not mind spending 50¢ extra for all those points he mentioned. He said, as people don't mind paying a little extra for pesticide-free organic food, the idea can be extended to environment-friendly green gas.

Good thinking. But as Ron said in countering, and I think so too, the "green-gas" may not be as cheap. Ron quoted a study which says, people may be ending up paying $10/gal for going green/terror-free if one takes into account the supply of domestic oil, globally declining oil reserves, limitations on supply of hybrid cars as other sector is still very profitable (may be not Ford Motor).

And simply put, a common man/woman with average income and family to feed may not be in position to afford that kind of hike in his/her monthly gas expenses. Maybe let us not jump on the gaswagon. Going live on small scale is the key.

signing off,

A Quest

2007-01-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

This is silly. But I have been haunted by a particular song for too long now. The worst part is that I don't recollect the song title, who sang it or anything else about it. Anything except that the song is a duet and the video features a woman and a man (presumably the singers) in a white attire against a completely white background. And it used to air a lot on MTv and Channel V (both back in India) when I was in college, most likely '95-'97 period.

Now it was not the greatest of songs, in my opinion. Otherwise a search on Google, Wikipedia and Youtube on such a scale that I have done since last five-six months, should have resulted in something. But then, why does it bother me so much? Maybe just something to do with first few English songs that I ever heard and tried to memorize. See, I have not forgotten many such as this, this or this.

How on earth do you search for song on such basis?

signing off,

Touché

2007-01-07T18:16:00.000-08:00

During a lighter moment in the movie Kabul Express, which by the way isn't a must watch, but a way better way to spend your time instead of wasting it over Dhoom2, when Suhel (John Abraham) tells Imran Khan, "But Madhuri [Dixit] is married and has moved to US now", he simply replies, "That’s just it, isn’t it? All our best things end up making their way to the US."

:-)

signing off,

Duh!

2006-12-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

8*3 is not 18. I should get some sleep :-) And maybe, pay more attention to Golbguru's advise!

signing off,

Now I Know (Part 1)

2006-12-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

... why they call it a 'howling wind'. The tall and seemingly sturdy trees outside my house, otherwise so comforting, were swaying so hard that at one time we feared one of them might fall on our apartment complex crushing us in our sleeps. But luckily that scenario never happened and I am glad to report that all of our walls are still standing.

But same could not be said about the power. PSE which is a primary electricity provider in the Greater Puget Sound cut off power to more than 700,000 households in the region, making King County one of the worst hit counties in WA state. Include all other people in rest of WA and OR states, the number quickly rose to over a million. While many of them, including me now have power restored, sitting in the couch with their hot lunch, some unfortunate ones may not get their power until after Christmas!

This was also the first time we lit our fireplaces at the apartment here. Some of us didn't know how to operate it and filled their houses with smokes triggering the fire-alarms and inviting as many as 4 fire-trucks in the apartment! But in general it was a exciting experience as we gathered around the fire, had cold snacks, played cards and some other silly games. And it also meant I did not access internet for more than 48 hrs straight which may be a record for last two-three years.

PS: This post started out on that windy Thursday night, but couldn't be published before because of the reasons obvious.

signing off,

So Long Frank!

2006-12-13T14:22:00.000-08:00

Frank Barone has left us. May his soul rest in peace. I hope he finds his recliner, tv, remote and a sandwich or lasagna set up for him over there.

signing off,

The Happiest Place on Earth

2006-11-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

Now it is a norm that there is a rain (or a storm, snow or a developing tornedo) wherever I go. Seattle in Sep 05 (Duh!), LA in Oct 05, Philly and DC in Jan 06, Raliegh NC in Sep 06 and now Anaheim CA in Nov 06. And now we are having this Arctic blast in WA state, one of the worst patches in recent Northwest history, causing heavy snow storms and temperatures in teens in Federal Way! What is the deal with this North American weather and me?

Meanwhile, with your indulgence, here are few snaps of me posing with the celebrities I met during this Thanksgiving weekend. Check them out -

signing off,

DeFense DeFense

2006-11-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

Recognize anyone? :-)

signing off,

Finally!!

2006-11-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

The prolonged wait is over and now I am a proud owner of this beauty -

Oops, I meant this -

signing off,

Few Random Thoughts

2006-11-05T23:04:00.000-08:00

It was misspelled by the author, miscommunicated by the narrator and quite naturally, misunderstood by the entire audience, barring one. She fully grasped what exactly he had meant to say, not through the words she heard, but through her senses. Grabbing her bag and offering apologies to other patrons, she slid across the aisle as quietly and quickly as she could and walked out of the auditorium. She tried calling his mobile, but there was no available network. "F%*k!" she swore so loudly that few uninterested souls around, who had come out of the play for various reasons, suddenly shot their glances at her. "Definitely not used to hear a girl say that," she thought, whispered a "Pardon me" and started walking more briskly. The entire lobby was watery because of the heavy rais the city was being lashed with. She did not even heed when she almost slipped once, but ran out of the entrance calling out for a cab.

signing off,

Dor

2006-10-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Now, if you have not watched the movie Dor yet please do so whenever you get the chance. Nagesh Kukunoor amazes again :)

(Now spoiler ahead - do not read if you haven't watched it)

A pop quiz in memory of Shreyas Talpade:

Why did Zeenat (Gul Panag) give Meera (Ayesha Takia) a hand and pulled her in the moving train?

Ans:

Because when Meera gave her maafi-namaa through the window, a glance told her that that Meera had not signed it.

signing off,

My Favorites

2006-10-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

This blog is now officially a huge fan of two very funny gentlemen named Jo(h)n Stewart (refer Geraldo Rivera episode :-)) and Stephen Colbert. I don't deny that I am sad that I missed out Seinfeld in early nineties and Daily Show in late nineties and early this decade (Aah, I was not in USA at that time, I guess :-)). But now I own Seinfeld seasons 1-6 and have kind of by-hearted it. And thanks to some really good fellows out there on comedycentral.com, I can find a lot of current episodes posted on it. And again in spirit of sharing videos, youtube.com has a lot of past episode snippets on the show as well.

So if you are politically inclined and like humor, I'd heartily recommend you to not miss The Daily Show (TDS) on Comedy Central station every Monday through Thursday at 10c/11p. And if you like Daily Show, you will most definitely appreciate its spin-off - hosted by one of the funniest alumni of TDS, Stephen Colbert - The Colbert Report, that follows TDS on the same channel. If you want to start off, check out Indecision 2000 and Indecision 2004 on youtube - those were the special shows dedicated to analyze 2000 and 2004 elections. Pure genius!

But please don't watch any of these during the office hours, even if you have a little free time off during your lunch break. Or you will be looked upon as that-crazy-guy-who-is-always-laughing. Consider yourself warned.

signing off,

Lage Raho Munnabhai!

2006-09-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

After that poor excuse for a movie sequel called Phir Hera Pheri, I was really not ready for this. But Lage Raho Munnabhai far exceeded my expectations being such a well executed movie. You never are bored for more than three minutes at a time during the whole time. It does not let you to even think of getting bored when Circuit and Munna are raining cats, dogs, frogs, bulls, professors, doctors and builders everywhere. And this with the messages lauding non-violence and truth - very subtly put in many of the sequence. Don't miss the way the teacher handles the government babu who is out there just to be bribed. Or the guy who says sorry to other tenant at whose door he tends to spit a lot. Or Jimmy Sheregil's moment with Parikshit Sahni. Or the way Boman Irani breaks down at the end. It does go a little over the top for a brief period, but luckily Hirani brings it back to close with panache.

I also liked it for the stand it takes on astrology and numerology. I am not the best advocate you will find to promote such things. So I really laughed out loud as if Lucky Singh uttered my own sentiments when he ridiculed multiple Ks and birthtime shtuff. Really, a cleverly written script can bring such joys to one's lone evenings.

One cannot say anything other than, "Lage raho Hirani, Sanjubaba, Arshad and Vinod Chopra!"

signing off,

Bizarre, Bizarre World

2006-08-21T01:40:00.000-07:00

Mummy, can I send "her" a Valentine's Day card?

No babboo, they don't want you to get spoiled by the Western Culture.

Mummy, can I write about how I won today's race on my blog?

No babboo, they don't want you to write anything which might be used by the anti-national elements.

Mummy, can I climb on the top of our society's "dahi-handi"?

No babboo, they don't want you to fall down and hurt yourself.

Mummy, can I watch Seinfeld?

No babboo, they don't want you to watch adult serials on English channel. You can watch DD1.

Mummy, what in the frigging world is the frigging problem with them?

Watch your tongue babboo, they don't want you to speak like that.

signing off,

Bad Analogy?

2006-08-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

I said, Bill Gates is very much like our very own Karan Johar. Everyone knows their product is the worst. Despite that, everyone seems to have a first hand/eye experience to tell so.

"Man, don't use/see it."
"Boss, I have to. How would I know?"

signing off,

Comic

2006-07-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

My recent comment (and subsequent criticisms on it) set me into thinking why did I make that comment in the first place - "Sometimes things are so bad, that it is actually fun watching them. It is like reading Chacha Chowdhary comics." (the comment was made in response to why did I enjoy watching movie Insaniyat, a post in itself) :-)

I am sure it will invite the wrath of the die hard fans of Chacha Chaudhary and co. And invite it did. Pran, who is "heartthrob of millions of Indians", has apparently very large following. Growing up, his creations like Mr Chaudhary, Sabu, Rocket, Chachee, Raka, Paploo, Taploo and few other chappies were constant companions of our lives, too. As we read more of it though, the subtle fun (?) in these comics started becoming more apparent. Such as few state-of-the-artly crappy artwork including Chacha's fully-visible-moustache even in the side view, cubic houses with small black rectangles for doors/windows, patches of twigs, flowers, leaves etc lying in the corner to give appearance of greenery, hurriedly scribbled text (which, in some cases, even used to go out of the speech balloon). For Hindi versions, you could have stopped here. But for those who got their hands on the English ones, they could have easily fainted at the language usage, which was extremely funny. (And this, according to this wiki article, was probably intentionally done so as to make Indian children understand easily) I guess this only made it difficult. I crave to meet the genius translator who came up with such sentences. But I need not go far, for their next generation is still in the existence, who instead of writing dialogues in the comic books, write badly formatted emails. Moreover, the characters in the story, apart from Chacha Chaudhary / Sabu / Chachee / Rocket, could well be explained in a single word - buffoon. They existed on the barren lands just to get outsmarted by Chacha or to get thumped by Saboo. I wonder if Chacha really needed "the brain that is faster than the computer" to outsmart those lads. The mystery might be explained if one discovers the computer Pran had in mind when he wrote this masterpiece.

Maybe I am going too far. Maybe comic books are not supposed to be dissected by grown-ups like this. (I first wrote, grown-ups like me, then realized that was a oxymoron) Maybe Pran who had degree in Fine Arts, did not draw these things, but delegated it to a junior draftsman who was sulking, like our present day IT professional, because of less remuneration. Maybe the English translator kept dictionary in front of him/her and literally translated each word as it came. And maybe that was the best we had. Sigh!

But one look at the Calvin and Hobbes, my faith in comics is restored. So let me go back and read the adventures of the Spaceman Spiff. It is a myth, at least for me, that you don't enjoy comics after a certain age.

signing off,

Update: Read this blog to get few more insights on Chacha Chaudhary (with full stories!)

http://www.vishalpatel.com/features/chacha01/chacha01pg01.htm

Home Alone - IV

2006-07-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am back to being alone at home for more than ten consecutive days for the fourth time. I am sure, I can beat Macaulay Culkin at least now.

I kinda like being alone. It is boring as hell, but it has its advantages. Mostly you can get up whenever you want to get in bathroom could have been the reason. But since we have two bath, I gotta come up with something else. Wait, wait. I can watch any channel on TV. Mostly it is TBS and that is what I watch when my roomie is here anyways. Yeah, I know, I can cook whatever I want. Man, this cannot be the reason - cooking takes almost all of my free minutes when I do it alone.

Damn, I hate being alone at home.

But I find solace in fact that this is much better than the two times I was alone in Bangalore for about two months each time. At least now I have the idiot box and my latest and probably most coveted DVD collection - Seinfeld. As it turns out now, I am not alone. I am with Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer. :-)

signing off,

The Wizards

2006-07-01T01:51:00.000-07:00

There was a comment from the commentator on ESPN which was showing now legendary France vs Brazil quarter final just few minutes before close of second half. "How many wizards are out there tonight?" he exclaimed. He was indeed referring to Zidane, Henry, Vieira and co. Considering the other side had lineup like Ronaldinho, Roberto Carols, Ronaldo, Cafu, Kaka and co, the comment could have looked overambitious on any other day. But not today sir.

It was like witnessing other aging wizard of our age - Tendulkar - marshalling the team for world cup victory not so far from today. Magic moments indeed. Hail Zidane! Hail France!

signing off,

वरण भात

2006-06-11T01:50:00.000-07:00

ब~याच (maybe सगळ्याच) अमराठी लोकांना नुसता वरण भात म्हणजे काय चीज आहे हे कळत नाही. मी त्यांना समजावून थकलोय, seriously. तरी मी, जो थोडासा माझ्यात मराठी नावाचा बाणा उरला आहे, त्याला स्मरून जमेल तसं त्याला market करत असतो, जिथं जिथं chance मिळेल तिथे. पण त्यामुळेच की काय, "एवढंच? च्यायला! आळशी आहेस नुसता!" किंवा "फोडणी नाही दिली तर कसली ती आमटी??" किंवा "आता तुला कळलं असेलच की तू असला कडक्या का आहेस ते" असले टोमणे (of course, हिंदी किंवा इतर भाषेत) मला नवीन नाहीत.

पण, imagine this. कोणतेतरी मस्त तांदूळ (बासमती सोडून), गुरगुट्टया का काय म्हणतात तसे शिजवलेले. तूरडाळ, थोडीशी हळद घालून तीन शिट्टया देउन, थोडंसं मीठ मिसळून आणि अगदी हलक्या हाताने रवीने घूसळून एकसारखी केलेली. एक ताजं लिंबू. आणि तूप, preferably, घरीच लोणी कढवून (आईने - तुम्ही किंवा बाबांनी नाही) केलेलं. साजूक, रवाळ - त्याला तुम्ही काहीही म्हणा. हे सगळे ingredients एकत्र करा, जेवढं तुम्हाला आवडतं तितकं लिंबू पिळा, हातानेच (चमच्याने किंवा forkने नाही) मिसळा. आणि खा. (Duh! अजून काय?)

आहाहा!! ती चव मी कितीही चांगलं लिहून तुम्हाला कळणार नाही, unless तुम्ही मराठी आहात आणि तुमचे preferences सारखं burger, pizza, Chinese वगैरे खाउन आंग्लाळलेले (अबब! कसला शब्द आहे हा!) नसले तर.

signing off,

The Number of the Beast

2006-06-06T06:41:00.000-07:00

Don't presume by the title that I am too been taken over by all this 666 phenomena. As a matter of fact, I don't believe in the numerology stuff either. But again, this song is awesome. Check it out on youtube.com.

signing off,

Let There Be Light

2006-05-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

The lamp that lighteth the corner, enlightenth the whole room.

signing off,

Zaroor Suniye Saahab

2006-05-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

"There is no essential difference between classical and popular music. Music is music. I want to communicate with the listener who finds Indian classical music remote." - Amjad Ali Khan. Source http://www.sarod.com.

You know, before today, I had never listened to Amjad Ali Khan Saheb bar a few minutes here and there - like in one of my all time classic comedy movies - Chashm-E-Baddoor. Remember when our man Siddharth (Farooque Shaikh) goes the shopping spree after getting the money order, and is going through the assorted LPs and requests to the unidentified shopowner "Zara ye sunaiyega, Amjad Ali Khan Saheb". And he obliges, "Zaroor suniye saahab". Then Siddharth continues shopping and the music continues to play in background. I like that situation in that movie, as so many other situations, very much. More so for the music. So I always tried to listen to his work. But so stuck I am between Pancham and Pink Floyd, it has really never worked out.

And after so many years, it was today when I listened to one of his CD 'Moksha'. And I am glad I did, even though I didn't understand any technicality like the raaga name. I even recommended it to my team-mate here and he recognized it as 'the music they usually play in the restaurants'. He is American, you see. :-) Btw, he liked it too. We then had some discussion on Indian music. Yeah, I am aware that I don't know much about it, but at least I knew more than him. :-) That was one "cross-cultural-exchange" objective I scored.

Btw, a question to my three readers (including me). Does anyone have that song I mentioned? I'd be happy to listen to it once again.

signing off,

Integrity? Hmm.

2006-04-29T04:35:00.000-07:00

Let's say you go to 7-11, purchase some snickers worth of $7.99 and give a $10 bill. The store assistant gives you $1.01 back. I can bet a quarter that you are prompt in making him realize he owes you a dollar more. But what if he gives you $3.01 back? Do you keep it or do you give the extra dollar back? Does your hand falter even for a moment before giving it back? Or does it falter while slipping that extra dollar in your wallet?

Integrity, as my friend used to say, is something like wearing a helmet while you are riding a bike. If you are just on the way to the neighborhood bakery for a quick snack which is at most quarter of a mile away, you usually dismiss wearing helmet, as, "What the heck", you think, "you will not be gone that far."

But, how far it does have to be before you wear your helmet?

signing off,

Ode to the Queen

2006-04-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

Check this out! Found on youtube.com -

I am reminded of my last post on her. You are missed lady. Very much.

signing off,

Love at First Sight

2006-04-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Buying clothes, is like love at first sight. You go to the shop. Look at all available options. You keep on rejecting the lot because a color does not match your taste, a size does not fit you, or you already have this pattern in the same color and you name the reason. You are a tad disappointed when your friends keep on getting the stuff they like and when even it fits them.

But then there it is, lying on the last aisle, the lone shirt/trouser catches your glimpse. First you dismiss it thinking it is too good to be true (to avoid further heartbreak). But then you gather courage and try it on. And when it fits you just perfect, you cannot help but grin. Your acquaintances confirm the blush on your cheeks too.

It is then you know you are in love. Again.

signing off,

The Nevada Song

2006-03-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

I am listening to the remixed version of the song "Ye Wada Raha" performed by Vaishali Samant (rememberd more for it's video featuring three scantily clad women in pink (*drools for a moment before typing anything further) during the good old days when the music videos had not fully lost their sanctity). My boss is kinda curious to know what the heck do I listen to all day. So he demands to hand over the earphones.

For few moments he tries hard to make out anything of those hindi words. Then he exclaims suddenly, "Ooh, ooh! (He likes to say this a lot. Other favorite being yada yada yada) I think I just recognized one word. Do you know Nevada is also a state in US?"

I am perplexed. "Nevada?!"

Then it dawns on me - the chorus is, "Ye wada, ye wada, ye wada ..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Btw, the second most difficult thing to do when you are at client's place would be to attend the vendor meeting. Each one of your team-mates is blasting the vendors for not meeting targets. You think you can be little more demanding too. But then you realize you yourself are a vendor for the client. :-) So suddenly you find yourself sympathizing with the vendor for these unreliastic targets you are asking them. It's a delicate act, I recommend you to at least experience it sometime.

The most difficult thing has to be wake up and reach office at 8:00. In all these months I am here, I must have come to office at 8 not more than four times, three incidents out of which were during my first week in US, when I was under a strong jet-lag. In my next appraisal, I am definitely getting at least a Needs Improvement on timeliness.

signing off,

अनुभव

2006-03-21T22:05:00.000-08:00

काही लोक मला म्हणाले, की मी बराच समजदार झालोय.

मी म्हणालो, Naturally. Seattleमधे आल्यापासून मी बरेच पावसाळे बघितले आहेत.

Now I will admit that no one has told me this, but I just created that joke. Which proves my second point!

signing off,

Of Purrs and Bah!s

2006-03-21T05:41:00.000-08:00

The author of this blog is a huge fan of humor. And if it is sarcastic, it adds to the fun. Sadism works too, only if it ain't directed to him.

So it does not take more than four engineers to figure out that he is also a fan of Scott Adams. Yes, that Scott Adams. And naturally he recommends you following titles for must read/must see (in that order) -

Heck, go and read anything you place your paws on.

signing off,

Rollo Tomassi

2006-02-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

Doesn't he give you a creep? He commits a crime, and then he escapes because he has all the right connections. Btw, many are benefited because he escapes and no one is really happy to see Rollo punished. Not Sid, not Patchett nor anyone else. Well, except maybe Jack or Ed or Bud. And not that they are taintless fellows themselves. They have had their own interests in doing so. The only people who really affected are those guys in Night Owl who just got shot because they were at wrong place at wrong time.

And that is how sounds the story of late Ms Jessica Lall. Let her soul rest in peace. I am rather dejected by the sound of submission of her sister's comments. Now should she join IAS? Police force? Politics? Whatever she does, Rollo goes on and on.

signing off,

Beauty and the Beast

2006-02-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

signing off,

तो ना? अगदी झंप्या आहे!

2006-02-16T04:17:00.000-08:00

मला नाही वाटत, आपण gossip करताना जास्त डोक्याला टेन्शन देतो. "तो ना? अगदी झंप्या आहे!", "ती ना? कसल्याच उपयोगाची नाहीये." आपण सगळेच असं कधीतरी म्हणलो असू, कोणाला तरी, कोणाबद्दल तरी. (the actual adjectives people are most likely to use are replaced for PG-13 ratings) आणि mostly, त्या बोलण्याला "खरं" म्हणणं म्हणजे, थोडंसं, "अतिशयोक्ती अलंकाराचे एक उदाहरण द्या", या प्रश्नाला अजून एक उत्तर देण्यापैकीच असतं. मग, असं तद्दन खोटं बोलताना आपण असा विचार का नाही करत, की याचे repercussions काय होतील?

"मूँह खोलनेसे पेहले" एक क्षण थांबणं, "जर अशी माझ्याबद्दल कोणी बकबक केली, तर मला कसं वाटेल?", असं स्वतःला विचारणं, खरंच, एवढं कठीण आहे काय?

signing off,

Move On

2006-02-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

"Before we start the meeting, let's wish Nikhil a very happy birthday.", said my team member.

"So finally have you turned eighteen?", chirped another.

Damn. I don't look so kiddish, do I? As it is, I am concerned about moving into the late twenties starting today. Actually it should have been just another year added to the age column. Why has it got me in so much thinking, then? I've been trying to figure that out since January. And these guys. Gaaah!

But yeah. If last year was twenty five and generous, this year has to be 'twenty six and anxious' or 'twenty six and already too old' or 'twenty six and ..' Yeah, yeah. I know.

signing off,

Visiting Oxford

2006-02-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Having already been to two of the major cities in the US, namely Seattle (Hear, hear!) and Los Angeles, I have at least something to answer the question - "Where did I go in the US?" if my assignment were to get over in last year. Anywhere I go to next is like a bonus for me. And when that bonus happens to be Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York over a three day weekend in mid-Jan, I could not have asked for more. And add a chance to meet your friends after nearly 4 years, make it my most memorable weekend in the US so far.

At this point, I can write a long post to explain the trip. But I resist that. For my readers, here is curtailed version of my visit (all sentences converted from first person past tense to something which contemporary English language may not completely identify with) --

Leave for Seattle airport on Friday the 13th. Now the day lives upto it's reputation and my flight gets delayed by an hour and half. My heart is racing fast as I have a connecting flight to catch in Chicago. Meanwhile, get some gifts for my friends (yeah, I can sometime show some sense in life. But not always, I remember I had not carried anything for Rji). Watch five kids just laughing, running, playing all over the terminal. Get into the flight at around 12:00. Sleep very awkwardly in flight. Arrive in the windy city at about 5:00 AM local time and find that I did not make any mistake in carrying the thickest jackets I have. (Btw, I was looking like an idiot in that jacket at Seattle airport where temperature on that night was in mid forties) Switch to Philly flight, and complete remaining sleep.

Wake up at around 9 AM local time only to find the clouds all over airport. (for a moment I wonder whether I came back to Seattle) Curse those clouds and come out. Find AB waiting near baggage claim. He has changed quite a bit since I last saw his photos. Meet AJ in his car waiting outside. He is quite the same, except the weight. Go to their house. Freshen up, talk, eat, talk, drink, talk. Meet N. Leave for Washington. Phenomenon is also on the way to DC. Talk with Mittal on phone. Reach DC and find yourself in a windy chilly and rainy evening. A walk of three-four blocks proves that we cannot venture outdoors anymore and we take shelter in the Air and Space Museum. After hour and half in there and quick bite, set out towards Capitol, Washington Monument and White House in that order. Because of some confusion in one ways, by the time we are through with all three, it is already dinner time. So move to an Indian restaurant in George Town, have dinner and start return journey to Philly. Btw, phenomenon has not made to DC because of a broken car.

After reaching Philly, plan for next day's possible NY visit. Because of very bad weather observed in DC and similar prediction for rest of the weekend, there is a clear division of opinions on the continuation of the original plans. So meanwhile, decide to play a cool card game called Take It Easy. Seattle, as usual, loses to Philly being so outnumbered by 0.5 to 3. Sleep at around 4.

Wake up late next morning. Get ready and have a good lunch prepared by NE. Continue discussions on general topics. Later in afternoon, decide suddenly to go to NY despite bad weather. Book the hotel, pack the bags and off we go. After around two hours of relentless drive on NJTP, locating the hotel, dumping the bags and getting ready for the "16^oF, Strong winds SW, and intermittent rains" night and parking the car in one the "$20 for 24 hours" garages, march towards the Times Square. A little walk, again, proves that we can no longer do any outdoor adventures, and go for a pizza in a nearby restaurant. Decide to go for some movie and go to a screening of Munich in the nearby theater. It is a good movie. After the movie, have a coffee at Starbucks while discussing over the history. The coffee brings us some courage. So go out on to take photographs of empty streets and buildings. After we are satisfied, go to a subway station and reach the hotel at around 4.

Wake up at 9 next morning. Get ready by 11. Have breakfast in Starbucks. Decide that I cannot catch the 6 o'clock flight from Philly in the evening and try to reschedule it. After a couple of calls, reschedule it successfully for next day morning. Set out for Statue of Liberty. Wander for around 3 hrs there. Purchase some mementos and have a little lunch at cafeteria. Then start return journey towards Manhattan island. Visit "the Bull" near Wall Street. Go to the Empire State Building. Get awed by the NY city from up above. Go to the Rockefeller Tower. Enjoy little skating (watching skaters, not doing it). Again have a coffee at Starbucks (Let me admit it, I am addicted to Starbucks coffee. It's quite like Idlipur's coffee) nearby and catch a subway back to parking lot. Get the car, circle around few more roads to get glimpse of UN building and leave NY city. Get a ticket on NJTP for speeding.

Catch the flight back to Seattle early next morning from Philly airport. Lose checked-in luggage at Sea-Tac. Find it after half an hour. Miss your roommate who has come to receive you and take a cab instead to home. Reach office at 1:00.

So this was it. My brief summary of what I did on the long weekend in January. And now you know why it has taken me such a long time to write this post.

PS - The title should be evident to those who know my friends AB and AJ. For others, it is a derived nick name for these two fine gentlemen.

PS2 - And btw, I am quite sad that the Seahawks lost to the Steelars. They had so many chances to win it. But alas!

signing off,

Ratings

2006-01-27T00:09:00.000-08:00

Well well well well well.

I'm not in total agreement to accept someone who has rated Style (2) at 1/5, Devdas (2) at 1.5/5, Dil Chahta Hai (4.5) at 2/5, Asoka (1.5) at 2.5/5, Lagaan (4.5) at 3/5, Garam Masala (2.5) and Rok Sako to Rok Lo (1.5) at 3/5, Kaal (1.5) and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2) at 4/5 and Veer Zaara (3) at 5/5. (Ratings in bracket mine) For the records, I don't agree with even James Berardinelli for some of his reviews. But this guy is too much for me. His ratings just don't match with mine, barring a few obvious.

Ok, let's assume that, this Mr Adarsh is just looking at the possible box office returns.

Naaaay! I'd not bet on his ratings, even if someone bribes me with a box of Snickers.

Btw, this issue came up - whether we should accept his ratings of 2.5/5 for Rang De Basanti. I guess, I should watch movie myself and make the decision on how good/bad the movie really is. I have not yet watched it, but Mr Adarsh is not going to hold me from it.

Now that would be a real shocker for my friend dis, who knows me as the one who rejected watching movies like One Dollar Curry because of very bad reviews. But dear dis, we all have our prejudices.

signing off,

Socha Na Tha

2006-01-08T00:50:00.000-08:00

Have you watched a mushy love story recently which despite threatening to be made into another KJ movie having all such required ingredients, leaves you a satisfaction of watching a well made movie with especially good dialogues and hummable music? If no, then I'd recommend you to watch Socha Na Tha. And no, I am not being sarcastic. Though inexplicable at moments, it gives you a nice close-to-life account of the situation, though some might argue that such situation in itself is quite an unreality.

And btw, I'd recommend you even Tarzan the Wonder Car, being such an ardent admirer of Ayesha Takia. :-) Man that lady is damn cute!

It's a weird coincidence that I watched a movie on similar theme just last week. The Family Stone is based on the guy with a long time girlfriend who eventually does not end up marrying her. Am I trying to hint something? Well, heck no!

signing off,

मेतकूट भात

2005-12-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

आज खूप वर्षांनी मेतकूट भात खाल्ला. चव विसरलोच होतो त्याची अगदी.

signing off,

It Doesn't Get Better Than This

2005-12-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

Pulp Fiction on Thursday.

Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers on Friday.

The Shawshank Redemption on Saturday.

And Hammer of the Gods to read in between.

Update on 12/11: When Harry Met Sally on Sunday. (Unbelievable week, this truly has been for the movie-lover in me.)

signing off,

Cute

2005-11-29T10:34:00.000-08:00

She's cute. Very bery cute, has a soft voice and the most expressive eyes. In fact, she's a clear winner for the category - "The cutest woman I've met till now."

And possibly, the one I'll ever meet for the rest of my life.

Happy birthday dear! May all the happiness in the world be yours!

signing off,

Thanks!

2005-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

A day prior to Thanksgiving, I was confused on the whole Thanksgiving stuff. "Man, when in Rome, you must be like the Romans," my friend declared, "You have been in the US for more than 3 months now and you don't know anything about their festivals? What kind of visitor are you? Ever paid attention to the cultural exchanges that cross-cultural program you took back in the office at Bangalore, spoke about? Would you like someone coming to your home and telling you that they are confused about Christmas? Leave everything aside, yes even keeping up with match scores, google it now and find it out. And once you do it, let me know as well."

The point is misunderstood. Let me rephrase. A day prior to Thanksgiving, I was confused on the whole Thanksgiving shopping stuff. Should I buy anything or not? Let me find out what I need now and what I'd like to have.

I definitely need a camera. I have been drooling over the Canon Digital Rebel XT ever since I received my first salary here. But it is quite expensive and I need some time and some more guts to go for it, especially when "I have arrived in the US just at the right age to save for my home, my marriage, my wife, my car, my kid, my kid's education, my parents' retirement, my own retirement and all seasons of Duck Tales on a DVD collection."

So the camera is out, for now. Next I'd like to have a laptop. But what the hell I'm going to use my laptop for? Blogging, playing music, playing games, reading newsgator, contributing on my employer's intranet forums, free porn, cricket, chatting, tagging music, Yahoo finance and moneycontrol, Outlook web access, downloading music, Imagestation. Is it worth spending my time? Not completely. In case you have not observed in the right hand section on "What I am reading", I have not completed a book that I started reading in September till today. (And because it was due, I had to return it too) I need to devote some more time for reading. And no, by reading, I don't mean just erotic stories. And with a laptop around, it is simply not possible.

So laptop is out, for now, too. Then I definitely need some stuff which I can give as gift to my friends, relatives, if I can get it cheaper in bulk. But what kind of useful stuff I can get at CompUSA or BestBuy or Circuit City where my friends are planning to go to? Would someone like a wireless earphone? What about 1 GB flashdrive? Or a camera maybe? Yeah let's see.

So I was thinking about this stuff on Thursday evening. I had prepared dal rice for me (in case you don't know, my roommate - A - is on three weeks' vacation to India and I am all alone to experiment in my kitchen!) and was just finishing my starters (chips and ketchup), when I received a call from S announcing that they have invited me for the dinner. I hate this. I struggle for an hour for this dal (again the time taken was because it was not my recipe I was trying, but A's) and this idiot calls me after all the hard work is over? I am very much tempted to swear at him and kick his you_know_what. But I am equally tempted by his offer to order Palak Paneer Pizza from Pan-Am and finally accept his suggestion to finish the rice on Friday. And while we are ordering pizza over the phone, we decide to leave for the Tacoma mall very early at 4:30 AM to get in the queue not to miss any good deal. So I am dressed very casually in a capri and sandals. Some last minute wisdom and I wear socks because it is quite cold outside. Then we go out and get the pizzas, go to S's (not the one who called me, the other one) place and devour it. Then, with contented stomach and mind, we start thinking about the next day's shopping list. My wristwatch shows 10:30 PM PST.

We search the sites like bf2005.com and blackfriday.gotadeal.com and come up with our wish list. We divide ourselves in three groups and assign each aforementioned shop to each group. Then our self-proclaimed leader S (the one who called me) addresses us with all the vehemence he can muster after a sumptuous meal about the meaning of being a thanksgiving shopper. The point of picking-anything-we-see-as-a-good-deal-and-dropping-it-in-the-shopping-cart is repeatedly stressed upon us. It is more important, according to S, to do this, as we just have a single cellphone between us. That cellphone at that hour reads 11:15 PM.

Now as we are ready to head for home for a short nap till 4:30 AM when we are decided to leave, I notice that CompUSA opens at 12:00 AM and not at 5:00 AM according to a popular belief that holds in the bedroom. In a sudden found passion, S calls to leave for Tacoma mall whatever state we are currently in. A little bit of arguments over how reliable my information is and a couple of unanswered phone calls to CompUSA later, we are all set to leave. And S assures us that we should be back by around 1, so no need to go to everyone's house to get ready. I wear R's 30" jeans and S wears M's 34". I have a jacket and am wearing socks, so am good for any reasonably cold night out, but S is in his bedroom sleepers. Despite of that, he refuses to wear any shoes. With a bottle of water and few monkey caps, we are all set to go. The car radio shines with bright green letter of 11:45.

We hit I-5 and within 20-25 minutes are in a reach of Tacoma mall exit with emotions ranging from total skepticism to complete optimism. When we enter into the CompUSA premise, we see a not-so-long line outside the store and we are quite happy at our intelligent decision making. Sharp at 12, we are let inside the store and we start raiding whichever rack we see fit attacking. Soon our shopping carts are full to their brims. But while we are enjoying our loot, we don't pay attention to a queue being formed for billing around the store. This is longer than the one outside and we curse ourselves for not getting into it, when we had a chance. But there is no point in cribbing now, so one of us gets in the queue and others continue shopping. After we have picked some more missed items, two of us get in the line and other three go in the car for rest. We keep shuffling the resting population and finally when we are done with the shopping and are out in the car, it is around 2:45 AM.

As per the original plan, we are thinking now to go home, get refreshed a bit, and get the map and driving directions to the South Center mall where Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears and JCPenny are located in one campus. But some of the sane one's argue that they can see Circuit City, Sears and JCPenny at Tacoma mall, sitting right in the car and start debate over whether we should travel 40 mi more to go to South Center mall just for an additional Best Buy. But the tiredness (and lust for few things in Best Buy) is taking over the majority and we decide to listen to it. So we get out of the mall area, start towards I-5. But suddenly S remembers that there is another entry for I-5, which is less congested (For those who are wondering about why we are worried about congestion at 3:00 AM, let me see you in your elements at that hour). So we take a U-turn and head towards the other one. And next thing we see is Best Buy. Now the sane ones take over the tired ones and we confirm on staying the Tacoma mall till 5:00 AM.

Now there are two shops opening at the same time. So we split ourselves in two groups, me, S and S for BestBuy and M and R for Circuit City. We have a single most important advantage over the other group. The car. So we get in the long queue in the freezing night one by one, while other two relax. To add to the shivering temperature, just when S is thanking someone for a clear weather, it starts raining. But luckily, S (the other one) has bought an umbrella (!) at CompUSA (!!) and we make a full use of it. God bless his instincts. We are also served with the Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Starbucks coffee by the BestBuy employees. God bless them too. A few hours roll by and at last all the cheap stuff is unleashed before us. At least I feel like a kid in the free candy stores, looking at the sheer volume. We quickly set for the stuff we need and within 10 minutes we have finished filling up the shopping cart. Now as we are wiser with our experience in CompUSA, one of us quickly gets in the line and other continue wandering about in the wonderland. It does not take much and at 5:45 AM, we are out of it.

The other commando unit of R and M has attacked Circuit City well, with a caveat. When we reach, they are awaiting us with a bad news. The thing is that we have purchased 8 Panasonic cordless phones from BestBuy and it was available in Circuit City for $10 less! And before anyone can ask, M worsens the scene with the information that they are sold out and are not taking special orders. But still we venture into Circuit City and leech out whatever we deem fit for ourselves. The Circuit City billing counter is the worst we have seen in last 6 hrs, and it is almost 7 AM when we are finished with everything and head back to the car.

We are really hungry, tired and smelling bad (what would you expect if you don't sleep whole night and don't brush?) by now. So while some of us are thinking of going home and hitting their respective beds, S (the leader) and R think it'd be the best to stay here for 2 more hours, and finish Sears and JCPenny once for all and then go home with the satisfaction of I_got_everything_and_all_you_got_is_sleep. To fuel our further excavation, we purchase 2 dozen of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and after finishing 15 of them, enter Sears while it showers heavily outside.

The shopping at Sears is quite unhappening, at least for me, as I don't usually find the right sized clothes in Men's section and I am ashamed to check out the Boy's section. So I just purchase a Tee and refill my inventory of socks and undergarments. After that me and S are no longer interested in further shopping and we back out to catch up with remaining sleep in the car. R and M join us soon (at about 9:00 AM). After an hour of sleep or so, first R and then I start wondering why the hell hasn't S come back to drive us home. I take up the job to conduct a search for him at Sears and JCPenny. I don't have to trot too much, and find him at Anna's shopping for things like pillows and towels. I too join him for it and after 10 minutes we are back to the car.

Everybody is too eager, at this point to reach home and sleep. But as we reach home, S (the leader) thinks it would be in everybody's best interest to finish off the accounts till it is fresh. The interests are his too many, I guess, since he has paid for the most of the things! But still it is a valid point when we have spent around $1,500 and we crawl our way out of the unromantic numbers by 1:00 PM. After a quick meal of rice-dal, we are all set to part and put an end to the wonderful experience at the Thanksgiving shopping.

signing off,

Update I: After coming home at 3:00 PM on Friday afternoon, I got in the bed and woke up at 11:00 AM next morning. That's 20 hrs straight, barring an hour when I woke up at 1:00 AM to answer a phone from S, drink water and start writing this blog. Should I call guys at Guinness Book of World Records, do you reckon?

Update II: I have not brushed my teeth yet after I brushed on the Thursday morning at the moment of starting this blog. Yuck!

Update III: I have brushed my teeth thrice on Saturday.

सहजच

2005-11-17T21:58:00.000-08:00

काही तरी मराठीत लिहावसं वाटलं म्हणून हा सर्व खटाटोप! तर झालं काय, एका मराठी email groupला एक mail लिहील्यानंतर मला आतल्या आत थोडं विचित्र वाटलं.

"रात्री जास्त खाल्ल्यामुळे असेल." माझं खडूस मन, अजून कोण?

"नाही रे बाबा. हा mail वाच."

असंच surf करता करता एक site सापडली. खूप जूनी आणी छान गाणी आहेत इथे. निवांत वेळेत अवश्य़ visit करा.

http://www.aathavanitli-gani.com/

"तुला काहीच चुकीचं वाटत नाही?" – मी.

"तु येडा झालायंस, एवढंच वाटतंय!"

"अबे खजूर ‘तू’ मधला ऊकार दीर्घ आहे, एवढं पण आठवत नाही? तसंच मी पण जूनी आणि आणी हे दोन शब्द चुकवले होते."

"मग?"

"अरे, मग म्हणून काय विचारतोस तोंड वर करून? आपली भाषा आपण नाही नीट लिहीली, तर कोण लिहीणार? तुला काहीच वा़टत नाही?"

"भाऊ, अचानक तुला मराठीचा एवढा पुळका कसा काय?"

अजून तरी याचं उत्तर मला मिळालं नाही.

signing off,

Some Things Never Change

2005-11-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

This is my least favorite cliché. People use this phrase anywhere, like their favorite food joints, their favorite newspaper, their favorite bath soaps, their favorite manager (umm, I guess this is a far-fetched one for the most, but imagine yourself being your favorite manager) and so on.

But today I want to use this. About my height, waist and weight. I would be surprised if I grow beyond 5'6" in length or 28" in diameter and 55 kg in specific gravity. It has been same almost 5 years now at these dials. Some things never change. You can take my word for it.

signing off,

Exciting Times Are Ahead!

2005-11-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

Tank: Goddamn, I...I gotta tell you, I'm fairly excited to see what you're capable of, if Morpheus is right and all...We're not supposed to talk about this, but if you are...Damn, it's a very exciting time. We got a lot to do, lets get to it..

And so am I excited. For the next office release, whenever it might happen. Just stumbled upon this blog today and boy, it does look good! :-) Especially, "sort by, group by, filter by color" options! I have spent some of my billable time coding for that. Thank god, they realized that it can be someone's need!

Btw, it is not too difficult you see. Like a makeshift code that I wrote, you could insert a dummy column besides the one you want to sort, populate respective cell's colors in the dummy column, sort the dummy column and delete it! I know it is not a very efficient way of coding, but what the heck, it works and I don't have to spend a penny to purchase any add-in!

signing off,

These Days

2005-11-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

Imagine the look on the face of a cat that just has devoured a full can of cream all by herself. Add 9 to it and multiply by 29. That might give you faint idea of the kind of look on my face right now.

That is because I just have acquired this - - beauty. I think I am in love! :-) (Photo taken by my friend with his Olympus C765)

And the title is tribute to a wonderful album by Bon Jovi, which has some gems like These Days, My Guitar Lies Bleeding in My Arm, Bitter Wine, All I Want Is Everything, Hey God, Something for the Pain and Damned. An album for solitude, I call it. And I am lucky that I found this album after so long! Damn, How I miss my cassette collection in Bangalore! :-(

signing off,

The Wait ...

2005-10-30T09:55:00.000-08:00

On some days, someone has to wait.
They have no choice, but to wait.
But if one has willfully selected that option to wait,
And despite knowing that, if that someone cannot wait,
Then that someone should have chosen premium shipping option to avoid wait.

:-) Can't just wait till Friday.

signing off,

The Technology and My Imaginations

2005-10-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

Imagine this. You have gone places, have taken a lots of beautiful photos with your flashy digital cameras and have come back home gleaming. Isn't it fun? :-)

That unfortunately, my friend, is where the fun ends. You'd agree to this, especially if you have tried to sort out all those photos in your 256 MB card. The digital camera is a useful tool for the ease of use and cost per photo stats. But when it comes to sorting out those humongous pile of photos, you are left really helpless.

You know what I'd like to want? I'd like to have a camera, to which, after taking this picture-

- , I tell, "The Wizard Island" and it will store that picture with that name. Similarly for following pictures.

Crater Lake:

Lake - from Lodge place

A mountain and it's reflection in the Diamond Lake

On the road

A peak from the boat in Diamond lake

The lemon rice, which I did not prepare.

And to avoid overwriting, it can append these names with a number, which keeps auto-incrementing. And to recognize my voice, it can have some sort of voice recognition software installed on the PC, the training data of which can be transferred to the camera through USB.

Now what is the phone number of Canon's R&D dept?

signing off,

How Not to Make Aloo Paratha

2005-10-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

I learned it the hard way today. Even though we did manage to finish 3 parathas each, and my roommate did say, "ok", I got to admit they were pathetic. Here are some pointers that all you bachelor boys can pick from me and avoid the obvious embarassment. You got to make sure that -

1. You drain out the boiled potatos completely before smashing them. Don't let the batter be wet. If it is loose, you could add rice flour/corn flour to it. I did not have any of these, so I added wheat flour. The result was not too bad, but it was not too good too. Ever heard of prevention being better than cure?

2. You don't put too much garlic or too much onion in the batter. If it is too much, then you'll have to add bit more potato. If you do that, you'll have to keep the batter for the next day to make aloo wada. :-)

3. While rolling, don't use excessive flour on the dough. If you do, please wipe the extra flour off it before putting the paratha on the pan. But use a bit more oil. That way it would become soft and not papad-like.

But here are few good things I did -

1. Grate your onion and garlic in a mixer, instead of chopping with a knife. That way it would become a smooth mixture and the sharp edges of cut onions will not cut through your paratha while rolling. And just the right quantity of onion does make parathas delicious, unlike my sister's thinking who screamed through the phone - "Who puts onion in aloo paratha?"

That's it? Just one good thing? Yeah I told you it was pathetic. I'll try to be good next time. That is if next time my roomie allows me to do it :-)

signing off,

A Death Prediction

2005-10-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is amusing.

So this man predicts his own death. And these leading news channels believe it. And they air him for straight 7 hrs.

Tch. Tch. Tch. I keep missing these comedy shows.

Btw, if you don't know, I have predicted my own death long ago. I am going to die in the first half of this century. Now should I contact ABC or CNN?

signing off,

Tired

2005-10-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

I am tired. That is mainly because of lack of proper sleep on weekends. Now if you don't know what proper sleep is, try to call me on weekends at 12 in noon. If I answer in first 3 rings, please conclude that I am not getting proper sleep. :-)

But last two weekends have been quite hectic. We drove to Crater Lake for the weekend of 9th. Then I went to LA to meet my friend on next weekend (of 16th). And if you want to crunch most of the things like I did in those two days, you'd be tired no doubt. Unless you happen to be sleeping in your cubicle in weekdays. I could have done that, but my manager sits very close to me and he might come investigating if he hears me snoring.

signing off,

Revolution

2005-10-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

To my naive mind, it seemed, a revolution was at hand. But suddenly something happened ...

[...]

I learnt something that day. What, I am still to decipher.

-Siddharth in Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. [don't recollect the entire/exact dialogue. Will be glad if someone has it]

That is how I am feeling right now after, well, 10/10. Are we really making our opinions quite prematurely too?

Talking of revolution, we did take a revolution last weekend around the Crater Lake in OR. That was a ultimate experience! Some writeup on that soon. Till then, have a look at this pic. And no, it is not a wallpaper downloaded from national geographic. It is the snap one of us has taken :-)

signing off,

Rok Sako to Rok Lo or What?

2005-10-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

Some happenings close to home:

There is a management institute called IIPM
JAM magazine does a fact research about the IIPM's tall claims: jammag.com
A blogger, Gaurav Sabnis, backs it: fraud-that-is-iipm.html
Gaurav gets a legal notice from the IIPM: im-disconnecting-my-cable-connection.html
JAM mag editor, Rashmi Bansal, defends: lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs.html and she is spammed with, rather uncivilized, comments from so called IIPM students and alumni.
Because of some very bizarre threats to Gaurav's employer, IBM, from IIPM, he calls it quit by his own choice: update.html
Desipundit and another bloggers condemn the act: lies-damned-lies-and-fake-blogs/

It might seem to some, that money can buy you everything. But it cannot ever buy you self esteem. Not definitely after what those guys have resorted to with the fake bloggers and ridiculous acts. Even if IIPM were at par with other institutes as they have claimed, in this situation it looks like they will have to try real hard to get back the credibility, if at all there was one.

And in case someone is reading this, these views are entirely my own and nothing to do with my employer, girl-friend, parents, goldfish, laptop or bicycle.

signing off,

Time Machine

2005-10-04T17:02:00.000-07:00

There are different theories on what a time machine is and what would it look like if incepted. If you ask me, the time machine just looks like a small, circular and translucent plastic disk which you can play on either a CD player or your computer. For there is nothing like a song that takes me back in memory lanes.

Just the other day something made me rethink on this. I was listening to Kannathil Muthamittal's title song performed by Chinmayee. For those who don't know, it is one of the brilliant albums by A R Rahman for a very sensitive movie by Mani sir. This song always takes me back to a seat no 7 of the II AC compartment of Bangalore-Chennai Madras mail. It has been almost 3½ years to that journey, now that I think about it, but still it is as vivid as if I had been sitting on that window seat restlessly at 1 AM listening to this song again and again and again just yesterday night. And I did not stop until my third set of batteries were drained out of charge.

And who can forget Dil Deewana from movie Maine Pyar Kiya? I guess I should have been fifth standard when that song was a rage. And when I used to return from school, almost without fail our murphy radio used to play this song. Just as 7:05 Marathi news was an indicator for us to start for the school (and 7:15 news would mean we are too late!), this Lata Mangeshkar classic turned out to be my personal benchmark for something breezy, not just because of it's warming lyrics, but more so because of it's association with the closure of those excruciating school hours.

Then there is Bin Tere Sanam by Udit Narayan and Kavita Krishnamoorthy. It takes me to my cubicle in Bangalore office where I spent days searching for that song online (trying different loopholes in the system which did not allow downloading songs) just because I needed it for someone. But those efforts were all worth it considering that lovely song. That did teach me a thing or two about bending the rules! :-)

Another song is a Marathi song. It goes like "Hiravya hiravya rangachee jhade ghanadaT, Sang _____ (not sure what this word is) disto kasa khandyaLyacho ghaat!" I dunno which movie is that one from, but whenever I think about it, even though that song, as far as I remember, is picturized in a train, a premier 118 NE rushing madly on winding downhill roads comes to my mind. Now I think, this transformation in transports might have been because when our tv's speakers were not working, we used to watch the movies while playing cassettes our new Sony 2 in 1 and this might have one of those unfortunate fusion moments.

Of course, another worth mentioning item (pun not intended) is, Thanda Thanda Panee by Baba Sehgal, which was my first stage appearance (as a part of chorus, mind you) in my school days. Yeah, yeah, I know, don't give me that look. Things do happen at that age!

signing off,

Tools

2005-09-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Ability to use a tool is so important these days. Even gorillas are feeling the heat. :-)

Their manager would be happy with this month's metrics.

Link courtesy Amit Varma.

signing off,

Gladiator

2005-09-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

They are showing Gladiator on tbs this Friday. Now tbs network is famous for comedies. Like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Sex and the City, Seinfeld and the list goes on. But Gladiator is not a comedy movie, you'd argue. No sir, it ain't so even for tbs. But the way they are showing the promos is quite funny! They initially show some gladiators fighting soldiers and animals and then camera zooms on Russel Crowe while narrator says, "If your parents named you Maximus Decimus Meridius, you'd be a little ticked off too!" Then da da da da and finally Maximus says "I'll have my vengeance!"

Considering your situation, had Crowe been wearing Elvis dress it would have been very funny, but still it is pretty darn funny. Go, nku, have yourself a laugh. Not that loud though!

signing off,